Mixing well-read indie rock with joyful, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms, Vampire Weekend grew from one of the first bands to be championed by music bloggers into a chart-topping, Grammy Award-winning act that helped define the sound of indie music in the late 2000s and 2010s. After establishing the foundations of their bright, intricate style with 2008's Vampire Weekend, the band soon became hugely successful; they're the first indie rock act to have two consecutive albums (2010's Contra and 2013's Modern Vampires of the City) enter the Billboard 200 at number one. With each release, Vampire Weekend's music grew more diverse, incorporating ska, hip-hop, and '80s pop influences that nevertheless complemented their signature style. Similarly, the band weathered the loss of founding member Rostam Batmanglij to deliver some of their most polished and ambitious work with 2019's Father of the Bride, their third chart-topper.
From Bad Time Records comes THE SHAPE OF SKA PUNK TO COME: VOLUME 1, featuring 12 brand new / unreleased tracks from some of ska punk's boldest and brightest.
Safe in the Hands of Love marked the vanguard arrival of Yves Tumor. Unclassified and unannounced, the release received widespread acclaim and cemented itself as a landmark in the hallowed Warp catalog. The experimentalist voiced a new generation, creating a surreal pop stratosphere for outsiders and the masses alike. Heaven To A Tortured Mind is the next step in that searing trajectory. A mindfully crafted studio album, gracefully blending genre into alternative bliss. Effortless and inspired, Heaven To A Tortured Mind is an album for lovers, losers and the unconcerned.
Miles Davis' concert of February 12, 1964, was originally divided into two LPs, with all of the ballads put on My Funny Valentine. These five lengthy tracks (which include "All of You," "Stella by Starlight," "All Blues," "I Thought About You," and the title cut) put the emphasis on the lyricism of Davis, along with some strong statements from tenor saxophonist George Coleman and freer moments from the young rhythm section of pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams.