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The Way Things Fall ? the band’s first full length since 2007’s Why Bother? ? is a record that sounds both focused and coherent, flowing with a conceptual ease. "[The album] flowed efficiently and agreeably for us," says Miller. "We have never worked better together. We believe this is because we exorcised all of our demons through our past records, we have no baggage, we started anew. We left behind the self-conscious adolescents." And indeed, ADULT. have never sounded so self-assured, so poised, and so vital.

After her highly-acclaimed debut Strange Cacti landed in the hands of listeners, it became very obvious the special presence Angel Olsen offered to listeners. She had a fresh edge to her sound, a warm and wonderful range, and a level of skill and charm out of this world.

Half Way Home is a continuation of her elegance brought forth on Strange Cacti, a collection of both new and old music, honed and matured, thoughts revisited. We're hearing this same beautiful girl with that same beautiful voice, this time brought up to a new level, in no doubt a growth and reach brought on by several roadtrips with the one and only Bonnie "Prince" Billy and crew.

The work of Angel Olsen is entirely her own: a raw, glowing sound that stands out now just as much as it did in 2010. It's an emotional stew with Angel's robust voice up front, bold and engaging, coming out of the background, aching to be heard. With the help of Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang) behind the board and playing throughout the songs, Half Way Home is a natural progression showcasing the wondrous sounds of a songwriter with such a voice that is rarely found.

The charming strength of the resulting Dungeonesse rests in the dichotomy formed by of a bold re-introduction of the beautiful imperfections of the human voice into a landscape of what is an increasingly mechanized process of music making. The fun resides in the listen.

Nightmare Ending is the first proper Eluvium album released since 2010's Similes, the unexpectedly vocal-heavy ambient-pop record that simultaneously delighted and confounded longtime fans. But the Nightmare Ending story actually began years earlier, as it was intended to be the follow-up to the watershed album, Copia. Conceived as a way of helping loosen his selfimposed ideals of perfection, Cooper labeled each Nightmare Ending track as either a "dream," or an "imperfection" ? a way of differentiating the philosophical concept of "dream vs. reality," couched in the more tangible technical distinctions of "flawless vs. flawed." With each progressive listen those differences naturally challenged themselves, and without relying on the standardized perfection protocol, Cooper became increasingly reluctant to release any of it. He shelved it, and pursued Similes instead. But Nightmare Ending wouldn't go away; it lingered in the back of his mind, the abandoned fruits of a truly worthwhile and noble journey towards a less creatively constraining mindset. Cooper returned to it with renewed vigor, writing and recording in a blur of time that spanned several years, ending with a pair of inspired collaborations with Mark T. Smith of longtime friends and label mates, Explosions In The Sky ("Envenom Mettle," closing Disc 1)and Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo ("Happiness," closing Disc 2). The result is a body of work that encompasses everything remarkable about past Eluvium albums, executed more powerfully and poignant than ever before.

Mikal Cronin’s self-titled debut from 2011 was all about endings: the end of college, the end of a serious relationship, and the end of his time in Los Angeles, where he grew up. So it’s no surprise that his sophomore release MCII—and first disc for Merge Records—is all about new beginnings. “Since the first record came out, my life has changed quite a bit,” Cronin says, referencing his move to San Francisco and tours with Ty Segall as well as with his own band. “I was presented with a whole new slew of problems and situations that I was trying to work through.” “Am I Wrong” and “Shout It Out” dissect his fears over a new relationship, while “I’m Done Running from You” and “Weight” find him freaking out about what it means to grow up in the 21st century. Other than these few exceptions, Cronin played all of the instruments. “It all makes total sense to me, but when I step back, it sounds kind of schizophrenic,” Cronin says. “Hopefully it all sounds enough like me to make sense.”

Margaret Chardiet was born and raised in New York City. She has been making power electronics / death-industrial music under the name Pharmakon for five years. As a founding member of the Red Light District collective in Far Rockaway, NY she has been a figurehead in the underground experimental scene since the age of seventeen. She describes her drive to make noise music as something akin to exorcism where she is able to express, her ?deep-seated need/drive/urge/possession to reach other people and make them FEEL something [specifically] in uncomfortable/ confrontational ways.? Engineered by Sean Ragon of Cult of Youth at his self-built recording studio Heaven Street, Abandon is Pharmakon?s 1st proper studio album and also her first widely distributed release.

Crawling Up The Stairs is the second LP from Austin, Texas' Pure X. Made up of principal members Nate Grace, Jesse Jenkins and Austin Youngblood, they stay true to the dense sound they explored on their last album, Pleasure, but add twinkling atmospherics and a new clarity to their carefully cultivated, emotionally heavy songs.

Where Pleasure was built on syrup-slow hooks and a weighty, sexy haze, Crawling Up The Stairs is the sound of Pure X emerging from that humid cocoon to stare all the screwed up parts of life directly in the face and embrace them. When Grace's voice, cracked and worn, breaks through a fog of downtempo drums and misty guitar on "Someone Else," the pain that used to be visible in his face when he was on stage is pushed to the forefront of their sound, his voice growling and moaning with barely contained anger and apocalyptic worry in anguished falsetto. Crawling isn't a record about escape, it's about what you do after you've realized that escaping isn't an option and you just have to face the world you live in head on.

Saltland is the new project led by Montreal-based cellist Rebecca Foon (Esmerine, ex-Silver Mt. Zion), joined by Jamie Thompson (Unicorns, Esmerine) on miniature percussion, programming and signal processing.

I Thought It Was Us But It Was All Of Us is a beautifully restrained debut album that telescopes the directness and delicacy of Foon's compositional and vocal styles into lush, twilight atmospheres aglow with luminescent tendrils and flickering particles. Foon sings of childhood innocence lost, of serene utopic reveries and downcast dystopic horizons, and the search for soft, stoic strength in a darkening world, in most cases propelled by Thompson's handmade percussion and understated programming/processing.

The album's ambience also owes much to the work of Mark Lawson, the award-winning producer (Arcade Fire) who collaborated closely with Foon to record and mix these songs. With contributions from Laurel Sprengelmeyer and Jess Robertson (Little Scream), Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson), Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) among others, Saltland offers up an unassumingly immersive debut album of searching songs that blend several core influences into a distinctively naturalistic sound. Saltland stakes out a unique space where minimalism, shoegaze, dream-pop, coldwave, chamber music, drone and ambient/electronic coexist and coalesce.

The cover of Brooklyn-based Small Black's second LP, Limits of Desire, features a photo of a man and a woman embracing on either side of a ladder, completely naked, divided by its triangular arc. They're close, but they can't get any closer. It's a moving depiction of connectivity and interaction in the 21st century and it serves as a sort of source code for the record.

Limits of Desire is Small Black's most accomplished album yet. It's a crystalline realization of a sound they've been building toward since their self-titled EP in 2009. Now a full-time four piece, Josh Hayden Kolenik (keys, vocals), Ryan Heyner (guitar, keys, vocals), Juan Pieczanski (bass, guitar) and Jeff Curtin (drums, percussion), the band have moved way beyond the hazy home recorded sound of their previous releases toward a full-fledged, but still self-produced, clear approach. Where 2010?s New Chain was a lesson in maximalist pop, Limits of Desire finds the band trimming their sound to the essentials, yet hitting new and unexpected heights with the addition of live drums, electric guitar and trumpet to the existing Small Black palette. Tonally the songs sweep and glide over lush keys, bolstered by lyrics that illustrate the semi-abstract moments of lost opportunities and misread signs, hinted at by the cover image. The title track whirls softly, and channels luminaries Tears for Fears and The Blue Nile, anchored by Pieczanski's punchy bass as Kolenik sings: "Other lives droned/ far from the grass where I lay/ each eye stared out the opposite way." As much as the record is about looking for deeper connections, it's also about avoiding real life, if only for a moment?getting out of your own head just long enough to calm down and find perspective.

?Free At Dawn? and ?No Stranger? do what fans have come to love Small Black for, only better. They?re smart pop bangers tinged with a specific brand of melancholy that slowly build to night-affirming climaxes. While "Breathless? ups the tempo, over synth stabs, with lyrics that tackle apathy and uncertainty with catchy grace: "I'm standing in tomorrow's way/ future's fine/least it seems okay." It paints a concise portrait of a generation struggling with unlimited freedom and malaise.

The band builds on a rich history of synth pop by making a thoroughly modern album, on both the front and back end. One that seeks out cohesion, connection and calm in a world that won?t sit still. Limits of Desire doesn't attempt to provide any solutions, but coming to terms with not finding the answers feels infinitely more fruitful.

Includes Limits Of Desire on both compact disc and LP (on limited-edition white vinyl while supplies last), 17 x 22" glossy poster featuring the album artwork, and digital download code for the full album (as .zip file containing 320kbps mp3s), redeemable April 30th, 2013. First 200 orders will also receive a limited-edition 12 x 12" print with artist portraits of the band.

"Elite Excel" is the first listen to Stellar Om Source?s new album Joy One Mile. Furthering her sound further from the formless soundscapes of her earlier work by digging up the roots of NYC electro and Detroit techno, Christelle Gualdi's version of dance music remains unpredictable and inventive. Featuring a top-notch remix by recluse producer Kassem Mosse.

Available for the first time on vinyl, ?In the Golden Autumn? is a product of founding member Martin Newell and fellow kitchen porter, Martin Chapman. This is the first record in the ?Vol.2? batch of formerly cassette-only reissues that have been remastered for a long overdue vinyl release. This legendary lo-fi band, which continues to be highly influential as evident in the critical claim of the first three records from the band, released in spring of 2011.

Martin Newell, who formed the legendary lo-fi band Cleaners From Venus in the small town of Wivenhoe, England began work on ?In the GoldenAutumn? in the warm early spring of 1983. One of Newell?s chief problems at this time, apart from constant money shortages, was finding musical collaborators who shared his own skewed pop vision. The absolute opposite of a musical perfectionist, the founder Cleaner believed that great pop was to be had by doing things quickly, in slapdash fashion and by ?fumbling around in the dark in search of happy accidents.? Liner notes explaining the time and place are written by Newell himself, giving some insight into each song.

Remastered and available for the first time on vinyl, ?Under Wartime Conditions? is a product of Martin Newell collaborating with longtime friend and former Cleaner Lol Elliot. This is the second record in the ?Vol.2? batch of formerly cassette-only reissues from this legendary lo-fi band, which continues to be highly influential as evident in the critical claim of the first three records from the band, released in spring of 2011.

This is one of the many Cleaners from Venus formerly cassette only releases from founding member Martin Newell, who formed the legendary lo-fi band Cleaners From Venus met in the small town of Wivenhoe, southeast England began work on ?In the Golden Autumn? in the warm early spring of 1983. One of Newell?s chief problems at this time, apart from constant money shortages, was finding musical collaborators who shared his own skewed pop vision. The absolute opposite of a musical perfectionist, the founder Cleaner believed that great pop was to be had by doing things quickly, in slapdash fashion and by ?fumbling around in the dark in search of happy accidents.?

Remastered and available for the first time on vinyl, ?Songs for a Fallow Land? is a product of Martin Newell collaborating with longtime friend and former Cleaner Lol Elliot. This is the third record in the ?Vol.2? batch of formerly cassette-only reissues from this legendary lo-fi band, which continues to be highly influential as evident by the critical claim from the first three record from the band, released in spring of 2011. Originally self-released by Newell to the tune of ?If people want it, they?ll find it.?

This is one of the many Cleaners from Venus formerly cassette only releases from founding member Martin Newell, who formed the legendary lo-fi band Cleaners From Venus met in the small town of Wivenhoe, southeast England began work on ?In the Golden Autumn? in the warm early spring of 1983. One of Newell?s chief problems at this time, apart from constant money shortages, was finding musical collaborators who shared his own skewed pop vision. The absolute opposite of a musical perfectionist, the founder Cleaner believed that great pop was to be had by doing things quickly, in slapdash fashion and by ?fumbling around in the dark in search of happy accidents.?

This is a collection of previously unreleased songs from founding member of the legendary lo-fi band The Cleaners From Venus, Martin Newell, before, during and after his time with the band (1967-1985). Newell collected these songs from the forgotten nooks and crannies of his colorful musical background. This record is the first release from the band containing new songs from the time, since they disbanded in 1986. Liner notes unveil a personal glimpse into each song, written by Newell himself.

As the finishing piece to the ?Vol. 2? batch of formerly cassette-only releases from The Cleaners From Venus, the band?s cult continues to grow as a new generation discovers this influential band. This release comes off of critical claim from the first three records from the band, ?Vol. 1,? released in spring of 2011.

The legendary lo-fi band Cleaners from Venus formed in the small town of Wivenhoe, southeast England at the turn of 1980s by Martin Newell. The man, the myth, but to rock singer and part-time kitchen porter with a love of sunny 1960s pop music, punk rock and musical comedy. He never cared much for any kind of musical rule book and broke new ground with music that garnered a cult following and a highly-influential sound that continues to inspire. These 4 albums span the next chapter in the unveiling of the entire discography from the band (1981-1985). One album included here contains 12 unreleased songs, making it the first “new release from the band in over 25 years, dubbed “A Dawn Chorus: Early Cleaners and Beyond.’’

This is a beautiful, 4xCD foldout wallet with booklet including album bios written by Newell himself and never-before-released photos.

What began as the extremely lo-fi two-piece of Elias Rønnenfelt (Iceage) and Loke Rahbek recording on 4-track has evolved into an experimental noise/ industrial/ techno pop quartet. On this album Vår utilize everything from acoustic guitar, power electronics, bass, trumpet, multi-tracked vocals, and various percussive instruments, to broken glass & sheet metal samples. No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers is a remarkable debut, an emotional rollercoaster of sorts which at times is profoundly uplifting, at times decidedly morose but remains unfailingly moving throughout.

?Empty Estate? is the follow-up EP to the critically acclaimed ?Nocturne?, which received several year-end accolades including album of the yearin Under The Radar and iTunes. The 7-song EP was recorded in Brooklyn at Gary?s Electric by Al Carlson in January.