Now Hear This! � April 2023

Devon Gilfillian
Love You Anyway
Fantasy

Cited as �one of the most exciting young artists in Nashville�s burgeoning soul scene� by Rolling Stone, Love You Anyway is the second full-length LP from the Philadelphia-born Devon Gilfillian. With an incisive eye and unassuming swagger, along with Gilfillian�s deep knowledge and love of vintage soul, R&B, rock and hip-hop, Love You Anyway re-imagines modern soul music.

All Time Low
Tell Me I'm Alive
Fuelded By Ramen

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The band�s ninth album leans into amping up the pop, dialing down the punk and plotting a course for the adult pop-rock mainstream. There are more than enough bangers here to gatecrash the next-gen pop-punk party playlist, but Tell Me I�m Alive signals that All Time Low are now all grown up with somewhere else to go.

Everything But The Girl
Fuse
Verve

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Fuse is a modern take on the lustrous electronic soul the band first pioneered in the mid-90s. Thorn's affecting and richly textured voice is once again up front in Watt's glimmering landscape of sub-bass, sharp beats, half-lit synths and empty space, and as before, the result is the sound of a band comfortable with being both sonically contemporary, yet agelessly themselves.

Meredith Moon
Constellations
True North Records

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Hiding her lineage with the simple description as a "multi-instrumentalist songwriter," Moon�s songs are crafted in a true storyteller's fashion. She has been described as a 'gem' among the Old-Time music scene for her unusual expression of the genre, combining influences of folk-punk with traditional Appalachian step-rhythms and banjo.

Fake Names
Expendables
Epitaph

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Instead of rehashing the past, the post-hardcore dream team (featuring members of Minor Threat, Refused, Girls Against Boys, Fugazi & S.O.A.) Expendables is a reinvention that sees the band dialing back the distortion and leaning into the melodies. The result pairs their unparalleled pedigree with a pop sensibility that�s slightly unexpected and wholly satisfying.

Shana Cleveland
Manzanita
Hardly Art

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Cleveland�s third solo album, Manzanita, is some of her most low-key and slowly blooming material to date, fleshing out softly flickering folk tunes with understated orchestral arrangements. It's a lovely album to get lost in, offering sounds which might go unnoticed on the first few spins, but will rise up as repeat listens make Manzanita's insular and mysterious dreamworld a more familiar place.

100 gecs
10,000 gecs
Atlantic

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The hyperpop trailblazers take sharp left-turns into pop-punk and nu-metal on this whiplash-inducing jamboree. It�s short but sweet, throwing its turbulent flurry of punches and then dipping out before listeners have a chance to really think about what�s going on. And therein lies the key to making the most of 10,000 gecs: don�t think too hard about it, just take a deep breath and ride the wave.

Kid Bloom
Highway
AWAL

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Highway plays like a 12-track ride through connection, mental health and self-discovery, all covered in a neon sheen. Bursting with �80s synths, hip-hop beats and Lennon Kloser�s psychedelic guitar work, the album is more than feel-good summer music; it�s a statement of intent for an artist who draws from a wellspring of inspirations, from David Bowie to the Weeknd.

Fall Out Boy
So Much (For) Stardust
Fueled By Ramen

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For their first album in over five years, Fall Out Boy have brought the drama and theatre back to rock music with this pop-infused masterpiece. Whether it�s these Brian May-style, Everest surmounting, guitar solos, the big band ensemble or Patrick Stump�s glistening pop star vocals, So Much (For) Stardust is an album on the scale of a Broadway spectacle. Worth the wait? Without a doubt.

Altin Gun
ASK
ATO

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Their 5th album in as many years Ask marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterized Altin G�n's first two albums. It is a record that radiates the infectious energy found in the Amsterdam-based sextet's celebrated live performances and next levels the group's ground breaking sonic palette of Turkish psychedelic groove pop, sci-fi disco and dreamy acid folk.

Melanie Martinez
Portals
Atlantic

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Portals confirms the death of Martinez�s notorious alter-ego Cry Baby, last seen considering whether to walk in to the light at the beguiling conclusion of 2019�s internationally acclaimed full-length film, K-23. �Portals screams death is life is death is life is death is life. A continuous loop. A circle,� says Martinez. *Available on Bloodshot Translucent Vinyl*

Dick Stusso
S.P.
Hardly Art

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When Nic Russo dips into his alter ego Dick Stusso things get bizarre. On his most recent offering, S.P. the artist delivers Attention Deficit Disorder folk-rock that, like a toddler, the songs enter the room, causing disturbance/joy before quickly departing, giggling as they exit. The album plays with noise on one hand and beauty on the other, crafting a weird and disjointed, yet engaging ride.

Category VI
Firecry
Moribund Records

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Bold and true female fronted anthemic Canadian power metal combustion. Category VI bring classy and classic 1980's traditional heavy metal into the 21st century with blazing glory and with Firecry unleash a global scale climate changing metal cyclone which just may melt the North American frozen tundra with utter perfection!

Alex Nunziati
Black Space Void
Moribund Records

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The highly anticipated 2nd solo album by scene legend Alex Nunziati (Malamorte, Theatres des Vampires, Lord Vampyr)! Musically, the true metal sound of prior album Ill Mangiatore... has been upgraded to a pure 80's thrash metal attack, shaded by elements from 80's hardcore as well. A musical genius in all respect, Alex Nunziati never disappoints.

Now More Than Ever
Creatrix
Thirty Tigers

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All-American Rejects co-founder Tyson Ritter didn�t start Now More Than Ever with the expectation it would turn into a real band � but a real band is very much what it has become. They�re here to help make sure the pillars of pop and rock will never fall, and they�re prepared to go down believing. �This is our little monolith,� Ritter says. �It might be six feet tall amongst giants, but it�s pure.�

Blondhsell
Blondshell
Partisan Records

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In the past few years, Sabrina Teitelbaum AKA Blondshell has transformed into a songwriter without fear. The hook-filled songs on her self-titled debut are clear-eyed statements of and about digging your way towards confidence, self-possession, and relief. All of this is powered by brilliant, crystalline melodies, and gigantic choruses that are wrapped with shredding guitars.

Ann-Margret
Born To Be Wild
Cleopatra Records

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One of Hollywood's brightest lights and star of such film classics as Bye Bye Birdie and Viva Las Vegas, Ann-Margret proudly presents all new recordings of her singing pop and rock standards in her own ineffable, entrancing singing voice! Featuring The Who's Pete Townshend, Aerosmith's Joe Perry, The Oak Ridge Boys, Robben Ford and so many more!

Daniel Caesar
Never Enough
Republic

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Following the recent release of his critically acclaimed singles �Do You Like Me?� and �Let Me Go,� multi-Platinum, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Daniel Caesar releases his third studio album, Never Enough.

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The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a national level organization comprised of the best independent record stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995 with the goal of uniting like minded independent store owners, giving them a more powerful voice in the music industry. The stores that make up CIMS are all very different, but we share the same desires � to be the heart of our communities, to super-serve our customers, to support and develop artists, and to share our love of music.

For more information about CIMS and the stores in our organization, please visit cimsmusic.com or find us through social media with the #cimsmusic hashtag. And please remember to always shop local by supporting your neighborhood record store.

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Now Hear This! � April 2023