Encore Records

Andrew Bird

Break It Yourself

After a long string of lush, intricately plotted collections of classically minded indie pop, crafty violinist, minutia-loving songwriter and peerless whistler Andrew Bird offers up Break It Yourself, an intricately plotted collection of classically minded indie pop that eschews the meticulous studio refinement of Armchair Apocrypha and Noble Beast.

Islands

A Sleep and a Forgetting

Islands’ new album A Sleep & A Forgetting continues the band’s penchant for crafting adventuresome and infectious state of the art pop music.

But this time band leader Nick Thorburn has infused the songs with a personal introspection that gives the record a new and powerful emotional resonance. “This album is far more personal than any I’ve made before,” Thorburn explains. “I left New York after the end of a relationship and came to Los Angeles. There was a piano where I was staying and that’s where I wrote these songs. This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming.

Bahamas

Barchords

The sophomore album from the musical pseudonym of Toronto-based singer/songwriter Afie Jurvanen.

Afie’s disarmingly forthright, captivatingly melodic songs have already earned him both a devoted fan base and a significant amount of critical acclaim on both sides of the border.

On Barchords, the determined, down-to-earth tunesmith delivers a beautifully bittersweet, infectiously uplifting set whose insightful lyrics, rousing melodies and raw, intimate performances exude an organic warmth and a timeless sense of universality.

Of Montreal

Paralytic Stalks

Quirky, funky indie pop outfit Of Montreal offer their 11th full-length with Paralytic Stalks, finding band brainchild Kevin Barnes at his most personal since 2007 release Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

Recorded in Athens, Georgia at Barnes’ home studio with engineer Drew Vanderberg (Deerhunter, Best Coast) and a crew of session musicians (a first in Of Montreal history), Barnes lays bare his emotions to ponder revenge, self-loathing, and relationship turmoil through an eclectic ‘60s pop, revivalist prog, and pseudo country-tinged lens.

Amy Winehouse

Lioness: Hidden Treasures

A collection of previously unreleased tracks, alternate versions of existing classics, as well as a couple of brand new Amy compositions.

Following her tragic passing, some of the producers and musicians who worked closely with Amy Winehouse, among them Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, spent time listening over the many recordings that Amy had made, before, during, and after the release of Frank and Back To Black.

It was said by all who worked with Amy that she never sang or played a song the same way twice. It quickly became apparent to Salaam and Mark that they had a collection of songs that deserved to be heard.

The Fall

Ersatz

29th album from legendary Manchester based band.

As with any Fall record, “Ersatz” retains many of their most distinctive elements whilst offering a fresh take on Mark E Smith’s familiar style and subject matter. The current line-up delivers another intriguing addition to the band’s body of work here.

Atlas Sound

Parallax

The third long player from Atlas Sound, the ever expansive solo project from Bradford Cox of Deerhunter.

Atlas Sound is not a “side-project,” but rather a fully fleshed musical landscape chock-full of pop chronicles culled from sci-fi fever dreams and mid century rock .

This is perhaps Cox’s best work to date, juxtaposing his modern, sometimes avant, songwriting sensibilities against a backdrop of ambient loneliness and a quiet feeling of desperation.

Billy Joel

Piano Man (Deluxe)

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of this 1973 album from the singer/songwriter including a bonus disc containing a previously unreleased 1972 live radio concert (predating Joel’s Columbia signing by a year), a crucial stepping-stone in his career.

Noel Gallagher

High Flying Birds

The debut solo album from the former Oasis songwriter and guitarist.

Limited CD/DVD version.

Jesus and Mary Chain

Psychocandy

Deluxe three disc (two CDs + DVD) edition of this 1985 album from the British Alt-Rock icons.

This edition features all the non-album b-sides, as well as previously unreleased demos, rare outtakes including controversial early track ‘Jesus Fuck’, BBC Radio Sessions and much more.

The DVD contains the promo videos for the singles released from the album alongside seminal and previously unreleased TV appearances, including their jaw-dropping live TV debut on the Old Grey Whistle Test, a performance of two songs on The Tube, a studio performance and interview from Belgian TV, and never before seen footage of the infamous riot at North London Polytechnic - this includes excerpts of the band’s performance on the night, highly entertaining interviews with all four original members, and scenes of the crowd destroying the venue!