Recs with Merritt previews April’s best vinyl releases—Natalie Merchant, The National, and a new Smashing Pumpkins rock opera
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 are Marion Merritt’s picks for the best of April 2023’s vinyl releases.
April 4, 2023
Music lovers tend to dive deep into a genre, label, or artist. A deep dive a long while back into The Elephant 6 Collective exposed me to Olivia Tremor Control, of Montreal, Apples in Stereo, Elf Power, and Neutral Milk Hotel. Elephant 6 Collective founder Jeff Magnum’s Neutral Milk Hotel will put out On Avery Island Anniversary Edition—a masterpiece of trombones, keyboards, and unparalleled songcraft—on April 4 via Merge Records. For this anniversary reissue, the complete originally intended version of “Pree-Sisters Swallowing a Donkey’s Eye” will complete the album.
Other albums of note for the week of April 4th:
Chet Baker – Chet Baker Sings & Plays
Heather Woods Broderick – Labyrinth
Daughter – Stereo Mind Game
De la Soul – De La Soul is Dead
Anderson Paak. – Malibu
Manchester Orchestra – The Valley of Vision
Linkin Park- Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition
Thomas Bangalter – Mythologies
Mudhoney – Plastic Eternity
Ellie Goulding-Higher Than Heaven
Tim Hecker – No Highs
Wednesday- Rat Saw God
Yaeji – With a Hammer
Blondshell – Blondshell
Chelsea Wolfe – Abyss
Joey Bada$$$ – 2000
Braid – Frame & Canvas (25th Anniversary Edition)
Calvin Johnson – Gallows Wine
Hatchie – Giving the World Away (Deluxe)
April 14, 2023
Natalie Merchant’s Keep Your Courage is her ninth solo studio album and her first with all new material since 2014’s Natalie Merchant. As the producer of this album, Merchant gives us an eclectic mix of duets with Abena Koomson-Davis and contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa, Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. Keep Your Courage will be released on April 14th via Nonesuch Records.
Other albums of note for the week of April 14th:
Caroline Polachek – Desire
El Michels Affair & Black Thought – Glorious Game
Angel Olsen – Forever Means EP
David Bowie – Aladdin Sane (2013 Remaster)
Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (20th Anniversary Deluxe)
Brian Dunne – Loser on the Ropes
13th Floor Elevators – 13 Of The Best Of The 13th Floor Elevators
Feist – Multitudes
The Tallest Man on Earth – Henry St.
Fenne Lily – Big Picture
Fruit Bats – A River Running to Your Heart
The Hidden Cameras – The Smell of Our Own (20th Anniversary Edition)
Kara Jackson –Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
Neil Young & The Santa Monica Flyers – Tonight’s the Night (Live)
Metallica – 72 Seasons
Ozmotic & Fennesz – Senzatempo
Shannon Lay – Covers Vol. 1
Shygirl – Nymph_o
April 21, 2023
The Smashing Pumpkins’ twelfth studio album is a three-act rock opera titled ATUM (pronounced Autumn). ATUM will feature 33 tracks, and is the sequel to and final installment in a concept album trilogy that includes 1995’s Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and 2000’s Machina/Machine of God. ATUM was written and produced by Billy Corgan over the past four years and features the three original members: Corgan, James Iha, and Jimmy Chamberlin. AUTM will be released on April 21st via Martha’s Music.
Other albums of note for the week of April 21st:
Dr. Dre – The Chronic (reissue)
Benny The Butcher – Tana Talk 4
Everything But The Girl – Fuse
Ryuichi Sakamoto – 12
Silver Moth – Black Bay
Donnie & Joe Emerson – Dreamin’ Wild
Girlhouse – The Girlhouse
Rodrigo Y Gabriela – In Between Thought
St. Paul & The Broken Bones – Angels in Science Fiction
Sublime – $5 At The Door
April 28, 2023
The National’s ninth studio album, First Two Pages Of Frankenstein, is another forward step in their music catalog. The energetic album features guest appearances by Taylor Swift (“The Alcott”), Phoebe Bridgers (“This Isn’t Helping” and “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend”) and Sufjan Stevens (“Once Upon a Poolside”). First Two Pages Of Frankenstein will be released on April 28th via 4AD.
Other albums of note for the week of April 28th:
Rickie Lee Jones – Pieces of Treasure
Country Westerns – Forgive the City
John Williams – E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Soundtrack
Indigo De Souza – All of This Will End
Jessie Ware – That! Feels Good!
The Damned – Darkadelic
Neil Gaiman & FourPlay String Quartet – Signs of Life
Kelly Clarkson – Meaning of Life
