Recs with Merritt breaks down September’s coolest vinyl releases including Sigur Rós, Sparklehorse, Blonde Redhead, and Mitski
Recs With Merritt. // Art by Cassondra Jones
Records with Merritt is Marion Merritt’s vinyl store in Westport [1614 Westport Rd] with partner Ann Stewart. As a staple in our community for nearly a decade, we’ve partnered with Merritt for a new monthly column, where the tastemaker shares her picks for the best wax releases to look forward to grabbing, divided by release date.
Here’s Marion Merritt’s rundown of the most exciting offerings in September 2023.
September 1, 2023
Sigur Rós’ first album in ten years, ÁTTA has been described as their most intimate and emotional work to date. Multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson is back in the fold, having left the band in 2012, joining frontman Jónsi and bassist Georg Holm. ÁTTA leans heavily towards the orchestral and prominently features the London Contemporary Orchestra conducted by Robert Ames, alongside brass performed by longtime Icelandic collaborators Brassgat í bala. ÁTTA is set to be released September 1 via BMG.
Other albums of note for the week:
Earl Sweatshirt Sick!
Wayne Shorter Schizophrenia (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)
Big John Patton Let ‘Em Roll (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)
Marc Shaiman / Scott Wittman Some Like It Hot / O.B.C.R
Slowdive Everything Is Alive
Pineapple Thief Magnolia
Young, Neil & Crazy Horse Odeon Budokan
Jorge Ben Solta O Pavao
Kool Keith Black Elvis 2
Native Nod This Can’t Exist
Sept. 8, 2023
ANTI- Records is honored to share a never-before-heard album by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse called Bird Machine. Originally recorded in 2010 and mixed by Mark Hamilton, Mark’s brother Matt notes “great care has been taken to archive and preserve Mark’s music. We are very thankful for Mark and the beauty he brought to this world.”
Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band formed by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous in the mid-1990s. Throughout his career Linkous had collaborated with artists like Vic Chesnutt, Daniel Johnston, Tom Waits, Danger Mouse and David Lynch. Bird Machine is set to be released September 8, 2023 via ANTI.
Other albums of note for the week:
Nick Shoulders All Bad
Tyler Childers Rustin In The Rain
Chemical Brothers For That Beautiful Feeling
Steep Canyon Rangers Morning Shift
Prince Music from Graffiti Bridge
Albert Ayler Love Cry (Verve By Request Series)
Coral Sea of Mirrors
Reverend Horton Heat Full Custom Gospel
Postal Service Everything Will Change
Blind Boys of Alabama Echoes of the South
Various Artists Playing for the Man at the Door: Field Recordings
Courtney Barnett End of the Day (Music from the Film Anonymous)
Linda Ronstadt Canciones de Mi Padre
Beastie Boys Hello Nasty (Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset)
Olivia Rodrigo Guts
Betty Davis Reissues:
–Is It Love or Desire
-They Say I’m Different
-Betty Davis
-Crashin’ from Passion
Sept. 15, 2023
“The best thing I ever did in my life was to love people, ” Mitski says. “I wish I could leave behind all the love I have, after I die, so that I can shine all this goodness, all this good love that I’ve created onto other people.” She hopes her newest album, The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We, will continue to shine that love long after she’s gone. She calls her seventh album her “most American” as she witnesses all its sorrows and painful contradictions. The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We is set to be released September 15, 2023 via Dead Oceans.
Other albums of note for the week:
Kid Cudi Insano
Cowboy Junkies Lay It Down
Killer Mike Michael
Joyce Didonato Eden
Leon Bridges Good Thing (Anniversary Edition)
Lake Street Dive Lake Street Dive / Fun Machine
Cate LeBon Rock Pool
Explosions in the Sky End
Popa Chubby Emotional Gangster
Chaino Temptation
Baroness Stone
Sept. 22, 2023
Award-winning UK singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer James Blake sixth studio album Playing Robots Into Heaven follows the critically acclaimed Friends That Break Your Heart and will see Blake return to their electronic roots. Playing Robots Into Heaven is set to be released on September 22, 2023 via Republic Records.
Other albums of note for the week:
Khruangbin/Toro y Moi Live At The Fillmore Miami
Samantha Fish Live
Replacements Tim (Let It Bleed Edition)
Will Butler/Sister Squares Will Butler + Sister Squares
Pot Valiant Never Return
Kaytramine (Amine & Kaytranada) Kaytramine
Teenage Fanclub Nothing Last Forever
Susan Tedeschi Just Won’t Burn (25th Anniversary)
Kenny Cox Misdirection
Conway The Machine Won’t He Do It
Paula Cole This Fire
Shakira Donde Estan Los Ladrones
Tom Waits reissues:
–Rain Dogs
-Franks Wild Years
-Swordfishtrombone
Sept. 29, 2023
Blonde Redhead’s first album in nine years, Sit Down for Dinner, is a call to action to share a meal with those you love, the struggles of adulthood, communication breakdown of relationships and holding on to your dreams. Sit Down for Dinner is set to be released September 29,2023 via Section 1 Records.
Other albums of note for the week:
Nathaniel Merriweather/Lovage Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Kabaka Pyramid Kalling
Jason Isbell Southeastern (Anniversary Edition)
Djo Twenty Twenty
SBTRKT Rat Road
Slow Pup Yard
311 Music
B. Cool-Aid Leather BLVD.
Neighbourhood I Love You
TV On The Radio Return To Cookie Mountain
Run the Jewels Run the Jewels (Anniversary Edition)
