By:

Staff

Our writers highlight a handful of notable records scheduled to hit the shelves this Tuesday. Plus, check the full list of this week's releases:

The Be Good Tanyas

Hello Love

Nettwerk

The British Columbian songstresses in the Be Good Tanyas have been described in various places as hobo-erotica, goth-folk or, more conventionally but less accurately, alt-country. Their third album, Hello Love, finds them digging deeper into their influences, both in songwriting and in covering songs from traditional spirituals to Neil Young to Prince. The ladies grew up on punk, discovered folk, and infuse their tunes with lovely ethereal harmonies and lush instrumental that belie the bittersweet tenor of their lyrics. ~Chris Sahl

Artist: http://www.begoodtanyas.com/

Label: http://www.nettwerk.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/thebegoodtanyas 

Busdriver

Kill Your Employer

Anti

If you like your underground hip-hop literate, complex and frequently self-deprecating, then Busdriver, a.k.a. Regan Farquahar, may be your man. For this, the lead single from his forthcoming fourth album, the emcee switched from indie hip-hop label Mush to punk luminaries Epitaph and unleashed some labor-induced anger. The track's bombarding beat, courtesy of Boom Bip, could easily be mistaken for a Diplo production, while fellow underground L.A. fixture Daedelus twists the original's energy with his characteristic kaleidoscopic touch. If only I could ever wrap my head around Busdriver's delivery. ~Alex Ruder

Artist: http://www.epitaph.com/artists/album/495

Label: http://www.epitaph.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/busdriverofprojectblowed 

Califone

Roots and Crowns

Thrill Jockey

The artistry of Tim Rutili couldn't have come out of any other country but our good ol' U.S. of A. We're a throwaway culture, obsessed with shedding our skins, leaving them behind, and moving onto the latest and greatest. But Rutili comes along, picks up those pieces and reassembles them -- right down to the junkyard-like improvised percussive instruments he often uses. Fittingly, Rutili describes his band Califone's new material thusly: "At the bottom of these songs are the memories and images you sift through." As always, fellow ex-Red Red Meat man Ben Massarella joins Rutili here, as does producer Brian Deck. The album's thirteen tracks include a cover of Psychic TV's "The Orchids." ~John Zeiss

Band: http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=10009

Label: http://www.thrilljockey.com/

Audio: http://www.thrilljockey.com/catalog/?id=100443 

Chavez

Better Days Will Haunt You

Matador

Some years back I picked up Matador's '97 comp What's Up Matador for a few bucks off a used rack, quite a bargain because the double disc contains forty-four songs. I was drawn to it for Pavement's "Texas Never Sleeps," Liz Phair's "Stratford on Guy," The Fall's "Hey Student," and other tracks by Yo La Tengo, Spoon and Cat Power. But as often happens with great comps like that, it was a song by a band I didn't know anything about that really stood out. That was Chavez's "Unreal is Here," three minutes of epic, philosophical indie-rock perfection. Now a lot more listeners will get a second chance at discovering Chavez, as Matador is re-releasing a slew of Chavez material in a two-CD/one-DVD set, Better Days Will Haunt You. The collection includes all of Chavez's two studio albums, Gone Glimmering and Ride the Fader, B-sides, compilation tracks, and even the unreleased song "White Jeans." ~John Zeiss

Band: http://www.matadorrecords.com/chavez/

Label: http://www.matadorrecords.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/breakupyourband

"Boys Making Music, Music Making Men" DVD trailer

"The Guard Attacks/Unreal is Here" MP3

"You Faded" MP3 

Chin Up Chin Up
This Harness Can't Ride Anything
Suicide Squeeze

Band: http://www.chinupchinup.com/

Label: http://www.suicidesqueeze.net/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/chinupchinup 

Cold War Kids

Robbers & Cowards

Downtown

Blogosphere favorites Cold War Kids' full-length debut, Robbers & Cowards shows a range of touchstones, from post-punk and new wave to Americana and Brit-pop. Whether this Orange County quartet has the hutzpah and imagination to rise above the countless other Net-hyped, faux-British-accented, every-genre-but-the-kitchen-sink indie-rock bands remains to be seen, but Robbers & Cowards will provide the first definitive clue. ~Chris Sahl

Artist: http://www.coldwarkids.com/

Label: http://www.downtownrecordings.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/coldwarkids 

Four Tet

Remixes

Domino

Few artists can pull off two CDs' worth of remixes -- and Four Tet is one of those few. Since breaking free from U.K. post-rock trio Fridge at the turn of the millennium, Kieran Hebden has kept the quality high and the diversity rampant on his four solo albums, two deejay mixes, and a pair of experimental collaborations with Steve Reid. The first disc of this conveniently packaged set gathers twelve remixes he's done for a variety of artists (including Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Madvillain, Beth Orton, Bloc Party, and Sia), and the second disc compiles original Four Tet tracks remixed by like-minded artists (Caribou, Koushik, Boom Bip, Battles, J Dilla). ~Alex Ruder

Artist: http://www.fourtet.net/

Label: http://www.dominorecordco.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/fourtetkieranhebden 

A Hawk and a Hacksaw

The Way the Wind Blows

Leaf

How perfect a time is it right now for a Neutral Milk Hotel comeback? Zach Condon, a.k.a. Beirut, is getting accolades plying a sound very reminiscent of Jeff Mangum's. The Decemberists, a band that's always had a bit of Neutral Milk Hotel in it, just released its first album on a major label. And Mangum has even come out of hiding a few times recently to join Olivia Tremor Control on stage. Now here's Mangum collaborator Jeremy Barnes back with a new Hawk and a Hacksaw album. Those who got turned on to DeVotchka's sound while watching Little Miss Sunshine will find a similar sound to enjoy here. ~John Zeiss

Band: http://www.brokenheartfoundation.org.uk/hawk/

Label: http://www.theleaflabel.com/

Audio: http://myspace.com/ahawkandahacksaw 

Damien Jurado

And Now That I'm in your Shadow

Secretly Canadian

A man. A guitar. A gruff but pleasant voice. Songs full of sad storytelling. Damien Jurado has been mixing these simple ingredients to create some of the best music of the past decade. Regardless of whether you could call it folk, indie rock, or even alt-country, Jurado's music would be a superb sampling of any of those genres. Like Raymond Chandler with a six string, he tells tales of small-town infidelity, the brutal life on the windswept plains of the American Midwest, and the devils and angels that are eternally on our shoulders. Jurado is joined here by long-time tour helpmates Eric Fisher on drums and Jenna Conrad on various stringed instruments. Just in time for the temperature starting to drop, And Now That I'm in Your Shadow should prove to be winter's album to beat for cold, stark songcraft. ~John Zeiss

Artist: http://www.damienjurado.com/

Label: http://www.secretlycanadian.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/damienjurado 

Johann Johannsson

IBM 1401: The User's Manual

4AD/Beggars Group

Icelandic composer J�hann J�hannsson strives to unite man and machine with IBM 1401: The User's Manual, which merges a sixty-piece string orchestra and forty-year-old sampled sound from the hulking early 1960s computer known as the "Model T" of the computer industry. Originally written for a live dance performance, J�hannsson's score is an ambitious and hauntingly melodic contemplation on the complicated emotional connection between man and computers during the dawn of the digital age. Or, less pretentiously, some beautiful-ass shit. ~Chris Sahl

Artist: http://www.johanjohannsson.com/

Label: http://www.4ad.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/johanjohannsson 

Melvins

A Senile Animal

Ipecac

Incestuous relationships are nothing new to music, especially regarding musicians who are involved with Ipecac label-head Mike Patton. Leave it to the members of the Melvins to reinvent the sludge-rock wheel by assuming the equally bass-centric members of Big Business are into their 'fro headed freak show. Now boasting two drummers (as if Dale Crower wasn't punishing enough), the band returns with its first album of new material since 2005's Sieg Howdy! with Jello Biafra. Early reports insist there is less gimicky double drumming than you might expect, but I have to believe Buzz and company will maximize the rhythmic onslaught to its fullest. Delicate the Melvins aren't. ~Zach Hothorn

Band: http://www.melvins.com/

Label: http://ipecac.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/themelvins 

Portastatic

Be Still Please

Merge

It's all Mac all the time. This guy gets around. Mr. McCaughan the multi-tasker (see: Superchunk, running Merge Records) returns with his second Portastatic album of the year, after earlier soundtrack work for the tiny indie Who Loves the Sun. And keep in mind, Portastatic is supposedly his side project. How many side projects do you see releasing multiple albums in one year? More perfect indie pop ensues on Be Here Now. And, as Mac is aging, he seems to be speaking his mind more on the issues of the day. On "You Blanks" he laments, "All my songs used to end the same way/ Everything's going to be okay/ You fuckers make that impossible to say." ~John Zeiss

Band: http://www.portastatic.com/

Label: http://www.mergerecords.com/

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/portastatic 

Shooter Jennings

Live at Irving Plaza, 04.18.06

Universal South

If the chronically weak-piped Jennings wanted to silence his critics in Nashville, he's certainly gone about it the wrong way. This live disc, recorded in New York City and pronounced like the guys in the salsa commercial, is further proof that this Yankee sympathizer forgot who really buys his records. Boasting songs from his most recent album, Electric Rodeo, as well as his 2005 debut, the album is sure to include more "yos" than "yeehaws" from the audience. Further proof of the evils of nepotism. ~Zach Hothorn

Band: http://www.shooterjennings.com/

Label: http://www.universal-south.com/

Stream: http://www.myspace.com/shooterjennings

These Arms Are Snakes

Easter

Jade Tree

Two years later, we have a follow-up to Oxeneers. These Arms Are Snakes is the most visible piece of a Tacoma/Seattle family that's previously included Roy, Botch, and Harkonen (similar to the "Let's share!" dynamic among Anticon members). Easter is another not-quite-prog-meets-not-quite-hardcore addition to the band's three-year-old catalog, and it includes a few spooky keyboard riffs as well as a touching ballad called "Perpetual Bris," which should make for some decent mood music. ~China Bialos

Band: http://www.thesearmsaresnakes.org/

Label: http://www.jadetree.com/

"Horse Girl" MP3

Audio: http://www.myspace.com/thesearmsaresnakes