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Every Friday, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf and Lilliput Records co-owner Tanner Musgrove tell you about the new albums you can\u2019t miss on a new episode of On Vinyl. Check out their top picks and a list of this week\u2019s other releases, and listen to their full conversation using the player on this page or on the 88Nine airwaves at 1 p.m. every Friday.<\/i><\/p>\n
This Friday\u2019s theme is \u201cmany happy returns\u201d \u2026 apparently!<\/p>\n
We get some artists jumping back into the mix after years of stasis (Sweden\u2019s The Mary Onettes) and well-beloved artists dusting off their classic foundational releases to gift some nostalgia-laced dopamine for their longtime fans (Drive-By Truckers and Everything But the Girl).<\/p>\n
The lone outlier from this long-game formula? Austra, the operatic dark synth-pop project of Katie Stelmanis, returning for her first new music after five years out of the release calendar. If you\u2019ve been yearning for the seasonal goth-y vibes to linger a little longer, dip into her album for a little hit of the otherworldly.<\/p>\n
Happy New Music Friday!<\/p>\n
Austra, <\/b>Chin Up Buttercup<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Austra is the project of trained opera singer Katie Stelmanis. That classical background is a big draw because it makes her voice really unique, especially against the sonic backdrop of dark electronic rock. She\u2019s not afraid to lean into her darker side, even devoting a song from her new album to The X-Files<\/i>. \u201cSiren Song\u201d was inspired by Fox Mulder\u2019s search for his sister, and centers around desire and manipulation.<\/p>\n The full album, Stelmanis shares, is \u201ca grief album you can dance to,\u201d which really does describe it to a tee. For folks who need this one in physical form so they can dance until the record skips, there\u2019s a limited edition neon orange version available, as well as plain black via Domino Records<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Drive-By Truckers, <\/b>The Definitive Decoration Day<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Athens-based Drive-By Truckers have been making dusty rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with Grapes of Wrath<\/i>-like lyrics since the mid-\u201990s. Now they\u2019re back with a new version of lauded 2003 album Decoration Day<\/i>, tacking on \u201cThe Definitive\u201d ahead of the original title.<\/p>\n This version is remastered by engineer Greg Calbi and features some of Jason Isbell\u2019s first songs with the band. If you want to hear the sound of a band taking off, it also has a bonus double-live album recorded at Flicker Bar in Athens back in 2002. For fans who want\/need this one on vinyl, there are black or burgundy options with a four-LP gatefold and 40-page book available from New West Records<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n Everything But The Girl, <\/b>The Best of Everything But the Girl<\/u><\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The week gets another definitive compilation, this one from Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt (aka Everything But The Girl). These 16 songs span their 40-plus-year career as a band \u2014 from jazzy-folk debut Night and Day<\/i> to 2023 contemporary electronica album Fuse<\/i>.<\/p>\n In an interview about this new comp, Thorn shares, \u201cWe always liked albums that had a fast side and a slow side, so we thought we\u2019d start with the bangers and wind down with the ballads.\u201d It\u2019s available on standard black vinyl<\/u><\/a> with a gatefold sleeve and four-page booklet.<\/p>\n