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Now Hear This! – April 2022

Ruth B. Moments In Between Downtown Records Buy Now Following her gold-certified 2017 debut Safe Haven and multi-platinum hit single “Lost Boy,” Moments In Between is a raw emotional accounting of the anxieties and uncertainty Ruth faces as a woman in her mid-twenties, giving voice to her inner strife via warm vocals, shapeshifting textures, and hazy harmonies. Produced by Patrick Wimberly (Beyonce, Solange, Blood Orange, Ellie Goulding) Keshi Gabriel Island Buy Now R&B, alternative-pop sensation Keshi is well known for his flawless falsettos, genre-defying style, and multi-layered instrumentals. He independently wrote, produced, and engineered his past three EPs, which quickly climbed the charts. With Gabriel, Kehi’s main focus has been to create an “opus record” like his musical inspirations of John Mayer and Frank Ocean. Snotty Nose Rez Kids Life After Fontana North Buy Now The Canadian hip-hop duo of Haisla (indigenous) descent from Kitimat, BC, tackles a lot of the lows the group felt with their career stalling due to COVID and mental health issues that have impacted them due to isolation, suicides, and deaths in their community. SNRK gets personal with their lyricism, much like their first two albums, while shedding a positive light and provide some much-needed empowering messaging. The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys Never Slow Down Smithsonian Folkways Buy Now The GRAMMY-nominated group pours every ounce of passion they have into these recordings, this time with even more fervor and zeal with the addition new band member Laura Orshaw. Taking on material by their heroes the Stanley Brothers, Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard, George Jones and more, the Po’ Ramblin’ Boys bridge the gap between the past and present, proving the eternal importance of bluegrass. Brad Mehldau Jacob’s Ladder Nonesuch Buy Now The album features new music that reflects on scripture and the search for God through music inspired by the prog rock Mehldau loved as a young adolescent, which was his gateway to the fusion that eventually led to his discovery of jazz. Jacob’s Ladder is made up of original compositions by Mehldau alongside interpolations and covers of songs by Rush, Gentle Giant and Yes. Gabriel Kahane Magnificent Bird Nonesuch Buy Now Magnificent Bird’s tight construction (originally 24 tracks, pared down to ten) makes its themes throb in technicolor: wildfires, recurring dreams, a shadowy “emperor” (is that a Silicon Valley tech bro?) all float in and out of the frame. The brevity somehow enhances its urgency and power, like a carefully considered letter to an old friend. And, like such letters, the album is also a belated return to the confessional mode. Michael Bublé Higher Warner Buy Now Higher catapults the star’s enormous talent into the stratosphere as he continues his ongoing journey reinventing and interpreting the music of America’s most beloved standards amongst others. Fitting perfectly throughout these gems are a handful of Buble’s originals that further cement his gift for writing and performing great pop tunes and luscious ballads. An irresistible and uplifting collection from the ultimate romantic. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway Crooked Tree Nonesuch Buy Now Crooked Tree explores Tuttle’s love of bluegrass, which she discovered through her father, a music teacher and multi-instrumentalist, and her grandfather, a banjo player. Across these thirteen tracks, she honors the bluegrass tradition while also pushing the genre in new directions. Features collaborations with Sierra Hull, Old Crow Medicine Show, Margo Price, Billy Strings, Dan Tyminski and Gillian Welch. Chick Corea Akoustic Band Live Concord Buy Now Under any circumstances, these thrilling live recordings would be a welcome addition to Corea’s prodigious discography. With the news of his passing still so fresh in listeners’ minds, its release comes as an opportunity for fans to bid farewell while cherishing the communal energy and playful vigor that made the pianist a favorite of jazz lovers around the world for nearly 60 years. Ceramic Animal Sweet Unknown Easy Eye Buy Now Ceramic Animal’s glam, post-punk, psych rock and ’70s pop sounds impressed Dan Auerbach, who signed them to his Easy Eye Sound label and invited them down to Nashville to write and record their fourth album, Sweet Unknown. Together, they created an album that marries the glitter-stomp of T. Rex with the slow rush of Tame Impala and the extravagant melodicism of Todd Rundgren. Son House Before After Easy Eye Buy Now A new album of unreleased recordings from the legendary “Father Of The Delta Blues.” The album comes from noted blues manager and historian Dick Waterman’s archives which were the first upon Son House’s 1964 re-discovery. Restored to remarkable clarity, by producer Dan Auerbach for Easy Eye Sound, these recordings represent the earliest recordings of House upon his return to the limelight after 20+ years away. Daryl Hall Before After Legacy Buy Now Drawing from 35 years of recordings, Before After unites highlights from Daryl Hall’s five studio albums and his groundbreaking Live From Daryl’s House performance series. Compiled and sequenced by Hall, its 30 songs paint a deeply soulful self-portrait of the artist, exposing the emotional depth at the core of his every musical impulse. Daniel Rossen You Belong There Warp Buy Now Grizzly Bear’s Daniel Rossen finally hits out alone on You Belong There, exploring the “uncharted territory of adulthood” via prog-folk compositions that highlight his confident vocals and knotty, multilayered guitars. Almost classic rock jukebox soundalikes, it’s Rossen’s smart lyrical touches and musicality that sets him apart from many of his contemporaries. Haunted Shores Void MNRK Buy Now Periphery guitarists Mark Holcomb and Misha Mansoor’s instrumental project, Haunted Shores, offers a collection of technical, progressive extreme metal, mixing elements of death, black and djent. With a couple of ambient respites, it’s mostly relentless riffs crashing down onto a slightly dissonant valley floors where thunderous Meshuggah guitar lines maraud freely. Papa Roach Ego Trip New Noize Records Buy Now Papa Roach deliver their most diverse album yet, bringing together themes of rock, rap, alternative and pop in a style that is authentically their own, on their 11th full-length album in the 22nd year of their careers. The band continues to veer across traditional boundaries that most bands barely have the nerve to occupy, creating one of the most diverse and fearless discographies in Rock music. Babyface Ray Face Empire Buy Now With an already impressive list of cosigns from artists such as Future and Tyler, The Creator, Babyface Ray continues his all-out assault to put Motor City on the map. Production on the twenty-track album is largely handled by 808 Mafia, DJ Esco and others, and features appearances from Icewear Vezzo, Yung Lean, Pusha T, G Herbo, Wiz Khalifa, 42 Dugg & Landstrip Chip. Nigo I Know Nigo Republic Buy Now The 51-year-old Japanese fashion designer, DJ, and producer’s debut album is a star-studded affair, shedding the Human Made founder’s legacy of producing J-pop and trip hop in favor of a trap-flavored gumbo, seasoned with appearances from famous pals like A$AP Rocky and Kid Cudi. Kae Tempest The Line Is A Curve Republic Buy Now A published poet and playwright, Tempest’s rhymes are delivered in the staccato cadences of rap but their beats have little to do with the familiar conventions of hip-hop, whether it be Vangelis-like synth washes, the sultry vocals of Lianne La Havas or hushed acoustic accompaniment. It’s smart, sharp and endlessly stimulating. LISTEN HERE LISTEN HERE Aldous Harding Warm Chris 4AD Buy Now Warm Chris blends the breezier ’70s folk of 2019’s Designer with the jazz explorations and the dark chamber pop of 2017’s Party. As usual, the idiosyncrasy and mystique of the Kiwi folk star’s songwriting is thrilling with Harding unafraid to treat the ridiculous and the sublime with equal reverence. It’s this unpredictability that keeps the listener constantly on their toes, perplexed and enthralled all at once. Josie Pace IV0X10V5 Negative Gain Productions Buy Now The blistering glow of downtempo post-industrial beats, electro-pop melodies and layered soundscapes are home to Josie’s captivating lyrics on the Detroit producers first full length album, IV0X10V5 (pronounced Noxious). These pop hooks and industrial tones grab you from the beginning and don’t let go. Who knew the world needed Glam-Industrial? The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a national level organization comprised of the best independent record stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995 with the goal of uniting like minded independent store owners, giving them a more powerful voice in the music industry. The stores that make up CIMS are all very different, but we share the same desires – to be the heart of our communities, to super-serve our customers, to support and develop artists, and to share our love of music. For more information about CIMS and the stores in our organization, please visit cimsmusic.com or find us through social media with the #cimsmusic hashtag. And please remember to always shop local by supporting your neighborhood record store.

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