Thrill Jockey Vinyl, CD & Tape 207 Items

Ride the Skies is the 2nd album by Lightning Bolt, and this rerelease makes it available to fans for the first time since it's original release. Compared to their first album it's cleaner, tighter, recorded in studio rather than live. Which is not to say this is boring or sanitized in any way, Lightning Bolt never fail to make magic, filling a space with loud, raw sound. Sounds of synth or guitar turn out to be bass, and riffs become patterns, become a beat in the background, become a wall of noise, become a clear sound above it all. Lightning Bolt are known for the sound that truly comes into it's own in this album. Outside of their 7 acclaimed albums, they're known for frequent & exhilirating live shows, and this reputation has created a market for their older titles. Ride the Skies is rereleased with deluxe packaging featuring jacket art that was designed by Brian Chippendale for the original release but has never been realized until now. Recent Thrill Jockey Lightning Bolt re-releases seem to move as quickly as the Brians playing live, as old and new fans jump at the rare opportunity to finally get an old favorite in a shiny new jacket."

Rose City Band is celebrated guitarist Ripley Johnson. A prolific songwriter, Johnson started Rose City Band to have an outlet to explore songwriting styles apart from Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo, where he is often not the lead songwriter. Rose City Band allowed him to follow his musical muses as they greet him and not be bound by the schedule of bandmates and demands of a touring group. Stepping out from behind the psychedelic haze that envelops his other output, Rose City Band's lean yet richly textured arrangements lay bare the beauty of his songcraft. On Earth Trip, Johnson reveals more of himself than ever before, coloring the project's country-rock twang with a melancholic, wistful undertone. It charts a journey of personal growth and introspection with surprising honesty, from pining for summers spent with friends to meditations on space, stillness and the splendor of the natural world. It continues Rose City Band's celebration of summer warmth and the great outdoors, seen from a new vantage point, and with newfound appreciation for the freedom and joy that nature provides. Earth Trip was written during a period of sudden shocks and drastic lifestyle changes for Johnson. Forced to cancel extensive touring plans for 2020, the guitarist found himself home for an extended period for the first time in years. No longer in constant motion, he was able to experience and enjoy the simple pleasures of home life, of being in one place: hikes in nature, bathing outside, and waking with the dawn. Forming new connections to his surroundings, from tending to a garden to sleeping out under the stars, Johnson found hope and healing in a more mindful relationship with the natural world. Themes of recalibration and finding personal space are equally mirrored in Earth Trip's lean production. Recorded at his home studio in Portland and mixed by Cooper Crain (Bitchin' Bajas, Cave), Johnson makes deft use of space while experimenting with new sonics. Shimmering pedal steel, woozy harmonica melodies, and stately piano enhance the album's introspective tone without ever clouding arrangements. Psychedelic elements that nod to Johnson's other projects and influences still appear throughout, but hover at the edge of perception, a subtle halo adding colour and texture to Johnson's songwriting rather than taking centrer-stage. He elaborates: "I told Cooper I was trying to capture that feeling when you take psychedelics and they just start coming on - maybe objects start buzzing in the edges of your vision, you start seeing slight trails, maybe the characteristics of sound change subtly. But you're not fully tripping yet. He got the idea right away and his mix really captures that feeling." Johnson's lithe guitar playing throughout treads a fine line between country and cosmic, taut melodies spiralling out into long reverb trails or free-form solos buoyed by a breeze, radiating summer warmth. Through its daring honesty and masteful arrangements, Earth Trip cements Johnson's place as a singular songwriter of inimitable skill. It's message of mindfulness and our interconnectedness to the environment expands on a long country and blues music tradition that draws a symbiotic relationship between storyteller and the land, capturing the beauty of the natural world while also emphasising our responsibility in preserving it for future generations

Helen Money, composer Alison Chesley, remains one of the most unique and versatile cellists today, her cello playing effortlessly moving from black metal to expansive ambient strings. She uses the cello to access and channel extremes of human emotion, employing extensive sonic manipulation, plucking and bowing techniques to summon an astonishing breadth and depth of sound. On her new album Atomic, Chesley pushes even further out towards the extremes of her output with daring minimalist arrangements that stand as her most intimate, direct, and emotionally bare work to date. The breadth of ideas explored throughout give Atomic a distinctive ebb and flow; an oblique narrative that conjures distinctive and palpable emotions without being prescriptive.
Atomic's title was inspired by Chesley's study of the early Roman Humanists, including Lucretius, who proposed the idea that everything is made up of tiny particles and thus interconnected. Written during a period of transition for Chesley and her family she drew immense strength from this idea of interconnectivity. The experience of recalibrating & reorienting herself in the world came to subconsciously inform Atomic's searching tone, Chesley pushing her music to surprising new places just as she and her family moved into new phases of their lives. Her embracing of minimalist structures reflects her own empathetic shift, collapsing barriers between artist and listener to find power and strength in intimacy. She mused on the implications of interconnectivity for how we should treat each other and our environment. She elaborates: "I've been thinking a lot about how the earth is our home; the universe; and how fragile this world is and how connected we all are to everything." In an increasingly fragmented world, Atomic presents a map for how we might navigate personal and collective trauma through the pursuit of openness, understanding and introspection.

Steve Gunn and The Black Twig Pickers are key figures in the current resurgence of American traditional and folk music. Gunn's songwriting and inventive guitar playing are driven by his restless mind, having released 9 solo and collaborative albums and appeared as a guest on nearly as many since his debut in 2007. The Black Twig Pickers play a fervent form of traditional music from their Appalachian homeland. The group performs often forgotten traditional songs, especially from their Virginia stomping-ground, creating a living history of old time music. They also have an ongoing residency at the legendary Floyd Country Store.

Lightning Bolt redefines what it means to be DIY. An utterly singular band in every way, unbridled creativity and energy propel them well past most categorical boundaries, least of which is the boundary between band and audience. Theirs is an immersive experience - a sound so huge it can swallow us all.

Lightning Bolt redefines what it means to be DIY. An utterly singular band in every way, unbridled creativity and energy propel them well past most categorical boundaries, least of which is the boundary between band and audience. Theirs is an immersive experience - a sound so huge it can swallow us all. Oblivion Hunter is a monster. Not a compilation, not concept album and more than the sum of its parts, the record is a peek into the band's inner world on their home turf (the Hilarious Attic in Providence), collecting deep explorations into distortion, bass manipulation and its intersection with rhythm. A Limited release in 2012 sold out almost immediately. This first re-issue is a deluxe one coming with 4 different covers each matched with it's own color vinyl. Re mastered by Josh Bonati, you can now immerse yourself in this pivotal Lightning Bolt album's sonic oblivion and YOU are now the Oblivion Hunter. A cathartic listening experience, Oblivon Hunter finds blast-beats colliding with distorted vocals and all shapes and sizes of guitar noises, even some metallic riffage on the album closer and aptly named "World Wobbly Wide." Throughout, the sound is amped-up and free with an ear on the railroad tracks to the big sounds of industry and clamor. Bass sounds jump out of the speaker cones that conjure up ears in alien propulsion systems, nights in faraway wind tunnels. Experience this pivotal album in Lightning Bolt's catalog like never before.

Basque artist Elena Setién shapes the ethereal into immediate on the stunningly pristine songs of Unfamiliar Minds. Her command of melody and resolute voice are complemented by lush arrangements that surround the listener in a world of intimate beauty. Setién is an accomplished multiinstrumentalist, collaborator and improviser, having worked with artists like Mary Lattimore and Steve Gunn as well as composing for film and television. On Unfamiliar Minds, Setién reflects on isolation, confusion and harnesses uncertainty with optimism on ten ghostly wonders that capture ineffable feelings in radiant detail. After completing her Basque language album Mirande in collaboration with composer Xabier Erikizia (released on Forbidden Colors in October of 2020), Setién began composing Unfamiliar Minds during the height of lockdown, starting with songs she had begun in pre-pandemic times. As days turned to months Setién grew disconnected from the incomplete pieces made in a different reality. The paralyzing tension of those disorienting early months eventually gave way to new inspiration. Romantic poetry by Emily Dickinson served as a refuge and a springboard for Setién to ground herself in writing new songs in English. She drew inspiration from conversations with composers Gyan and Terry Riley as well as her collaboration with Xabier Erkizia for the Basque television series Altsasu. Erkizia and Setién extended their remote collaborations beyond the series as the two began focusing on their own reconfigured sense of mood and perspective after a year of so much pain and drastic change. Elena Setién's chameleonic songcraft effortlessly bends songs into immersive realms. Her music illuminates the fragilities and ephemeral nature of life with exceptional poise. Unfamiliar Minds is a palatial guide through trial and exaltation, a meditation on disquiet and hope for uncovering what lies ahead.

Imperium Droop brings two mavericks of sweeping exploration together into new avenues of musical expression. Kid Millions and Jan St. Werner explore a liminal space between improvisation and composition, a fluid yet defined sound-space, founded on the unique chemistry of their friendship and pushing into the future. Kid Millions stands as one of the most sought after drummers and improvisers in NYC, known for his work as the drummer for Oneida, his expansive solo work as Man Forever, as well as collaborations and performances with the likes of Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, Royal Trux, Boredoms, White Hills, and Spiritualized. Regardless of who he's working with Kid Millions radically redefines the drums as an instrument. Jan St. Werner has consistently remained at the vanguard of electronic music. In his work as one half of the visionary duo Mouse On Mars, as well as his acclaimed solo work both as a composer and sound artist, and in collaborations with The Fall's Mark E Smith, Oval's Markus Popp, Stereolab, and The National St. Werner constantly pushes the limits of recorded sound. Together, Millions and Werner have crafted a monument of unpredictable beauty built on breathless forays into the unknown. Werner's application of a seemingly infinite arsenal of textures unleashes colorful swaths of energy. Mats Gustaffson joins Werner on the maximalist "Color Bagpipes," unleashing torrents of swiveling melody and breathy clicks over the exponential thunder of Millions' drum kit. Pieces like "Dark Tetrad" and "Astral Stare" demonstrate the duo's mastery of space and surprise. Dark flutters flow in slow pulses across "Apotropaic" where erratic swirls of sound twist and mutate on "Sorrows and Compensations," unified as a single force by the overwhelming diversity of sounds. Millions' drums effortlessly rides each wave of Werner's prismatic deluges and channels their energy into dynamic movements. Through his singular prowess, Millions' tireless rhythms and subtle gestures mirror Werner's boundless textural palette and drive each piece towards transcendence. On Imperium Droop, Kid Millions and Jan St. Werner have combined their powers into an incomparable work of gripping and intrepid sonic fluctuations.

Black Bile compiles some of Umberto"s most resplendent, sanguine music to date. The solo work of LA composer Matt Hill draws heavily from the world of cinema, spinning immersive narratives and rich atmospheres using sound alone. Hill, an active composer for film and television, recently scored the 2022 Jerry Pyle film Loveseat (soundtrack was released in 2023). Other recent scores include the 2020 thriller Archenemy, from the producers of cult classic Mandy.Inspired by the ancient Greek theory of the "four humors," an early medical theory linking the inner workings of the human body to the elements. "Black bile" specifically links the feelings of melancholy with autumn. Hill"s celestial compositions are an autumnal soundtrack conveying beauty, yearning, reflection and comfort.Many of the album"s phrases are constructed from just two notes or sounds, arranged by Hill into complex patterns that undulate with an organic pulse. The spare melodic structure holds a myriad of small and beautiful details. The songs began with Hill improvising on the piano, to find the notes and patterns that created the musical and emotional structure from which he could expand with textural detail. Hill then would often remove the initial structure leaving a sparer and more skeletal one which he could again expand upon to create a full piece. The careful attention to each detail gives his minimal compositions emotional heft. The album masterfully stakes Umberto"s claim among other avant-ambient boundary pushers such as Lawrence English or Laurel Halo.

The world of ENDON is one of constant evolution and revolution. The Tokyo-based ensemble of Taichi Nagura, Koki Miyabe, and Taro Aiko have made a name for themselves with their relentless exploration of sonic extremes in the vein of artists such as the Boredoms and Merzbow. The resulting music is a powerful emotional release for both artist and listener. Their commitment to evolution and dystopian noise as a playground for exploration and pure expression carried them through the recent departure of their drummer Shin Yokota and the tragic death of brother and band member Etsuo Nagura in 2020. Where some might have tried to replace members, ENDON"s core pressed forward with an autobiographical work exploring these changes and the shifts in their lives. Honest and raw emotions delivered with uncompromising sonic intensity, Fall of Spring is a thrilling tidal wave of sound and raw emotions born of the psyche of three individuals musically congregating into one tumultuous voice.Fall of Spring captures the electricity and unpredictability of ENDON"s live performances in vivid detail. The album harnesses the power of their storied performances through unpredictable movements, deft arrangements and an exhilarating textural palette. By imbuing their sound with raw feeling at every edge of obliteration, the trio are able to create what they call "organic music with inorganic material." For ENDON, those moments of suspense and surprise are the core of their music. As with their shows, Fall of Spring is a vessel for band and audience to share moments, to suspend time and move through grief and pain, and to bask in catharsis and resilience. ENDON continues to be a mercurial force in the world of extreme music.

Thrasher is the soundtrack to a virtual reality video game about a creature that has a life cycle that traverses different psychedelic realities. Thrasher was composed and performed by Brian Gibson, bassist of Lightning Bolt. It is the follow up to the acclaimed best-selling game and soundtrack Thumper. The central character in Thrasher is a giant centipede like creature, so Gibson employed a lot of melodic sequences that resonated well with its segments moving through space.The soundtrack has the drive you might expect knowing Gibson"s work in Lightning Bolt combined with complex melodic structures that are absolutely irresistible. In addition to bucking the hyperreality trend in gameplay, Gibson"s DIY ethos and warehouse culture roots permeate the entire soundtrack. He says it best: "Thumper has that combination of psychedelic and iconic that takes me back to the Fort Thunder days. Thrasher is a further exploration into some of those motifs." We recommend that you play this record VERY loudly.

Thrasher is the soundtrack to a virtual reality video game about a creature that has a life cycle that traverses different psychedelic realities. Thrasher was composed and performed by Brian Gibson, bassist of Lightning Bolt. It is the follow up to the acclaimed best-selling game and soundtrack Thumper. The central character in Thrasher is a giant centipede like creature, so Gibson employed a lot of melodic sequences that resonated well with its segments moving through space.The soundtrack has the drive you might expect knowing Gibson"s work in Lightning Bolt combined with complex melodic structures that are absolutely irresistible. In addition to bucking the hyperreality trend in gameplay, Gibson"s DIY ethos and warehouse culture roots permeate the entire soundtrack. He says it best: "Thumper has that combination of psychedelic and iconic that takes me back to the Fort Thunder days. Thrasher is a further exploration into some of those motifs." We recommend that you play this record VERY loudly.