Ray Lamontagne – God Willin
Ray LaMontagne’s voice is like sea salt caramel: smooth, thick and sticky, with a little bite. Some people think it’s a bit too much; others can’t get enough. In his previous albums, the Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter has tried different wrappings for that instrument: He’s gone dark and moody; mimicked the manly chug-a-lug of his inspiration Stephen Stills; and put some horns on it, edging into retro-soul.

Nothing’s worked perfectly. But on this new effort, self-produced at home with his touring band on hand, LaMontagne made the good decision to not worry much about packaging. “God Willin’ & the Creek Don’t Rise” has a natural feel, comfortably ranging from bar-band rave-ups to contemplative acoustic numbers, with master pedal steel player Greg Leisz leading several tracks into the expertly unfussy territory of blue-chip Nashville country rock. Read the full Review

Esperanza Spalding – Chamber Music Society
A classically trained bassist, Esperanza Spalding made her jazz debut in 2008 and became something of an overnight sensation, with bookings on Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel and an invitation from President Obama to perform at the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and concert. As its title suggests, her new album draws on both her jazz and conservatory impulses. The result is an intimate, heady mix. Read the full review

NOFX – The Longest EP
“The Longest EP” is for fans of NOFX. Outsiders just wouldn’t get it. Plus, if you’re into punk and don’t already know NOFX, you seriously better wake up and smell the Valuum (lame joke, sorry).

It’s been referred to as the sequel to 2002’s “45 or 46 Songs That Weren’t Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records”, and all other NOFX EPs are going out of print on release of this album.

The artwork itself is a gift from the piss soaked Gods. It features a person or item from every one of the band’s previous releases, including Nubs, Timmy the Turtle, the nurse from “Pump Up The Vallum” and the George Bush clown. It was created by the genius behind the “Longest Line” EP artwork. Read the full review

Lost in the Trees – All Alone in an Empty House
Is it wrong to think that almost all music, at least of the vaguely ethereal variety, would sound better if played from two (or more) stereos at once, staggered slightly in time? I accidentally did this while listening to Lost in the Trees’ All Alone in an Empty House. The first take of the music came from iTunes, while the second, trailing closely behind, played via an automatic stream on Trekky Records’ Web page. Suddenly, string parts unfolded into a dense, sylvan thicket, like arms of ivy climbing into each other. It sounded, y’know, lost. Read the full review

Los Lobos – Tin can
Recorded in the East L.A. neighborhood where Los Lobos were birthed in the early ‘70s, there’s plenty of scruff in the stories on “Tin Can Trust.” The 11 tracks are all carefully decorated, be it the vintage guitar strut of “On Main Street” or the sparse atmospheres of “27 Spanishes,” where the hand drums, rhythmic clanks and jagged guitars reverberate as if they were laid down in an alley. Read the full review

New Releases:

Arcade Fire – Suburbs $26.97

Best Coast – Crazy for You $16.97

Books – The Way Out $19.97

Budos Band – III $16.97

Crowded House – Intriguer $19.97

Cut Chemist – Sound of the Police $18.97

Department of Eagles – Archive 03-06 $17.97

El-P – Weareallgoingtoburninhellmixxx3 $24.97

Endless Boogie – Full House Head $19.97

Brandon Flowers(Killers) – Crossfire(picture 10″) $6.97

Four Tet – Angel Echoes Remix $9.97

Herbie Hancock – Imagine Project $27.97

Jaill – That’s How We Know $15.97

Seu Jorge – Almaz $18.97

Lady Gaga – Remix $17.97

Lost in the Trees – All Alone in an Empty House $16.97

Love Language – Libraries $17.97

The McGarrigle Hour $18.97

Menomena – Mines $19.97

School of Seven Bells – Disconnect From Desire $24.97

Stars - Five Ghosts $19.97

Torche/Boris – Chapter Ahead $15.97

Next Stop Soweto Vol 3 – 24.97

Versus – On the Ones & Threes $24.97

Wolf Parade – Expo 86 $19.97

Recent Releases that finally got issued or we finally got in:

Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot $15.97

Devo – Something For Everybody $22.97

Eminem – Recovery $15.97

Gogol Bordello – Trans-Continental Hustle $21.97

Indian Jewelry – Totaled $15.97

JJ – N 2 $16.97

LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening $19.97

Meshuggah – Alive $24.97

Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More $15.97

Matt Pond PA – Dark Leaves $17.97

Punch Brothers – Antifogmatic $24.97

Robert Randolph – We Walk This Road $26.97

Sleigh Bells – Treats $19.97

Surfer Blood – Astro Coast $14.97

Rokia Traore – Tchamatche $28.97

Reggae Gold 2010 $17.97

Reissues:

Hawkwind – Hawkwind $17.97

Michael Hurley – First Songs $17.97

Metallica – Reload $29.97

National – Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers $18.97

Radio Birdman – Radios Appear $17.97

Santana/John McLaughlin – Love Devotion Surrender $24.97

Robin Trower – Bridge of Sighs $24.97

Tom Waits/Crystal Gayle – One From the Heart Sdtk. $19.97

So the links send you to our download site, thinkindie.com, so you can sample and/or download.

Contact us if you would like to purchase vinyl online , our standard charge for shipping vinyl is $3.

Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
The metrics of The Suburbs are misleading: At 16 tracks, including interludes and multi-part songs, it might seem like Arcade Fire are shooting for their Sandinista!, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, or Sign O’ The Times– a band at the peak of their powers reacting against the walls closing in by blowing everything up and trying anything. But the album actually plays out more like Bruce Springsteen’s The River, a generously paced collection of meditations on familial responsibility, private disappointments, and fleeting youth, much of which takes place in moving vehicles. It also reintroduces much-needed levity to an act that can be overbearingly self-serious. On the deceptively chipper chamber pop of “Rococo”, Win Butler borders on patronizing, evoking Nirvana’s “In Bloom” and using the title word as a sword to skewer an easy target: the hipster more concerned with following trends than locating a genuine understanding in the world around him. But the point is that Butler values directness and truth, and throughout The Suburbs, what he lacks in poetry, he makes up for with honesty. Read the full review

Gov’t Mule – Mulennium
December 31, 1999 ushered in a new century and millennium and called for something truly magical–and that night’s Gov’t Mule show at Atlanta’s historic Roxy Theatre delivered it. What made this New Years Eve show so extraordinary? For starters, Little Milton, one of Warren Haynes’ most important influences, joins Gov’t Mule for six songs including “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “It Hurts Me Too.” Mulennium also marks the 10th anniversary of Allen Woody’s death and is the first official release featuring the original Gov’t Mule trio issued since his passing. Read full review

Black Crowes – Croweology
whether you’re already a fan or just now discovering the band, Croweology will be a great addition to any music collection. It gives you a look at one of the greatest rock bands in the last 20 years, it is a blueprint for what Rock n’ Roll was, is, and could be, and the music ain’t half-bad, either. You can play this record when you’re down, you can play it when you’re looking for a reason to live, you can play this record when you want to blame someone, and you can play this record when you’re wanting to forgive. It covers all the bases… all in a 20-song package. Read the full review

Blue Giant – Blue Giant
When Conor Oberst went from angsty indie to twangy country, he sounded ridiculous in foreign territory. But when Kevin and Anita Robinson of the psychedelic Portland rock duo Viva Voce expanded to become the rootsy country quintet Blue Giant, the transition seemed much smoother. The Robinsons have roots in their blood, originally coming to the Northwest from Nashville by way of Alabama. Their new self-title full-length is a collection of full and folksy songs deeply steeped in the blues. Read the full review