Recs with Merritt flips through the finest new vinyl releases for January 2024 including André 3000, Kali Uchis, and Sleater-Kinney

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 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 January 2024.

Jan 5

By the time The Velvet Underground released their fourth album, Loaded, band member, Lou Reed had left the band and the upcoming tour. After the slow sales of Loaded, the group decided to release archived material. The Velvet Underground Live at Max’s Kansas City: Expanded Version, was recorded in 1970 on cassette tape by Andy Warhol and Brigid Polk. The 2LP Expanded Edition of the legendary final concerts with Lou Reed, includes “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Sweet Jane,” “Pale Blue Eyes” and more. The Velvet Underground Live at Max’s Kansas City, is set to be released January 5, 2024 via Atlantic Records.

Other albums of note for the week:

Melanie Martinez After School

Doors Alive She Cried (40th Anniversary)

Three Amigos / O.S.T.

Paramore Paramore (10th Anniversary)

Elvin Jones Poly-Currents (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)

Lou Donaldson Midnight Creeper (Blue Note Tone Poet Series)

Sylvan Esso with

Trashcan Sinatras Cake

Guadalcanal Diary Walking In The Shadow Of The Big Man

Jan 12th

Kali Uchis‘ Orquídeas is the upcoming fourth studio album and second Spanish album by the Colombian-American singer-songwriter. The album covers multiple Latin genres including reggaeton, dembow and boleroIt. Orquídeas is set to be released on January 12, 2024, via Geffen Records.

Other albums of note for the week:

Lou Reed Hudson River Wind Meditations

Ginger Baker Horses & Trees

Kid Cudi Insano

Les Demerle Sound 67 Ft. Randy Brecker Once in a Lifetime

Tony Williams Emergency

Butasaku Forms

Czarface First Weapon Drawn

Cleo Sol Gold

The Vaccines Pick-up Full Of Pink Carnations

Eccentric Soul: The Saadia Label (Various Artists)

Public Image Ltd. First Issue

311 Mardi Gras 2020

Classic Example The Classic Example

Cocteau Twins Milk & Kisses

Tokyo Riddim 1976-1985 (Various Artists)

Dirty Ho Kung Fu Sounds – O.S.T.

Jan 19th

Sleater-Kinney’s eleventh studio album, Little Rope, one of the finest, most delicately layered records in the band’s 30-year career. The band has said that the songs on this album are perhaps the most complex and subtle arrangements of any Sleater-Kinney record, and a lyrical and emotional compass pointed firmly in the direction of something both liberating and terrifying: the sense that only way to gain control is to let it go. Little Rope is set to be released on January 19, 2024, via Loma Vista Records.

Other albums of note for the week:

90 Day Men We Blame Chicago

Danny Brown Quaranta

Les Cousins: Soundtrack of Soho’s Legendary Folk & Blues Club

Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psyched

Masahiko Togashi A Day In The Sun

Green Day Saviors

Hilton Felton A Man For All Seasons

Howard Shore Se7en Original Soundtrack

Joe Harrison Shadow Boxing

Neck Deep Neck Deep

Warren Haynes Man in Motion

Weldon Irvine In Harmony

Mary Halvorson Cloudward

Jan 26th

André Benjamin aka André 3000 may be best known as one half of one of the most unique voices in rap and hip-hop, Atlanta’s Outkast. André 3000 has said, “New Blue Sun is the continuation of discovery for me. My entire career has been fueled by this and it is the only thing that keeps me honest. This album is the most honest and interesting offering I can give today. I never could have imagined in high school, when I started rapping and doing music that I would be here right now playing wind instruments. Ha. This life ride always surprises me. I’m here for it.”  New Blue Sun is set to be released January 26, 2024 via Epic Records.

Other albums of note for the week:

Danielle Nicole The Love You Bleed

Smile Wall of Eyes

M. Ward Duet for Guitars #2

Popa Chubby Emotional Gangster

Menzingers Some of It Was True

Torres What An Enormous Room

Red Clay Strays Moment of Truth

Phish Round Room

Ty Segall Three Bells

The Smithereens The Lost Album

Sarah Jarosz Polaroid Lovers

Katy Kirby Blue Raspberry

John Morland In The Throes

Jamiroquai Late Night Tales: Jamiroquai

Fela Kuti Why Black Men They Suffer

E. Lundquist Art Between Minds