3/17/23 New Releases at Mills Record Company
Created between Palm Springs, California and Hilo, Hawai'i, V is the first double album from the Hawaiian-New Zealand singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Ruban Nielson's Unknown Mortal Orchestra band. Designed to play as one continuous movement and road-tested on dry California freeways, V is the definitive Unknown Mortal Orchestra car record. It's also the fifth full-length album Ruban has released in twelve years. Across fourteen sunbleached songs - written solo or with his brother Kody - Ruban draws from the rich traditions of West Coast AOR, yacht rock, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music. Over a laidback blend of singalong anthems and cinematic instrumentals, he evokes blue skies, afternoons spent lounging by hotel swimming pools and the alluring darkness that lurks below perfect, pristine surfaces. It's a duality expressed in the dilapidated sunset blues and the saltcorroded soul Ruban explores through tracks like 'Layla' and 'Nadja. ' During the pandemic's early days, Ruban reunited with Kody at a cousin's wedding in Hawai'i. With assistance from their father, Chris Nielson (saxophone/flute) and longstanding Unknown Mortal Orchestra member Jake Portrait, they brought everything Ruban had been thinking about together. The result was V, due for release on March 3, 2023, through Jagjaguwar. When they talked about records that moved them in that spine-shivering manner, Ruban started thinking about the 70s AM radio rock and 80s pop songs that had lurked on the edge of his subconscious mind for most of his life. He wanted to write his version of records like that, leading to the two glorious uptempo singles Unknown Mortal Orchestra released in 2021, 'Weekend Run' and 'That Life'. However, the golden good times never last forever. Not long after, health issues began to plague his extended family. Putting his recordings aside, he helped his mother and his uncle move home from New Zealand and Portland to Hawai'i, and began dividing his time between Hawai'i and Palm Springs. During this period he reconnected with his relatives, reassessed his past, and started to look at things with fresh eyes. Hawai'i brought back memories of the darker side of his parents' lifestyle as entertainers. On those trips, he heard those classic AM radio rock records everywhere. They were inextricably intertwined with the palm trees, swimming pools, and glamorized hedonism he'd internalized from his childhood. There's a type of music in Hawai'i called Hapa-haole (Half white). You can hear it expressed in signature Unknown Mortal Orchestra style through the humid guitar-led atmosphere of V's penultimate song, 'I Killed Captain Cook'. Although the songs are presented in a traditional Hawaiian manner, they're mostly sung in English. Having been influenced by Hawaiian music since Unknown Mortal Orchestra's first album, Ruban saw a space for himself within the tradition. When he reflected on his success, he realised he had the responsibility and platform to represent Hapa-haole music on the global stage.
Over the span of two decades, M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez has firmly established himself as an artist whose work transcends mere escapism in favor of full-on worldbuilding. Whether it be via his celebrated studio albums, film soundtracks, or compositions for stage productions, Gonzalez has proven that nothing surpasses his ability to perfectly encapsulate a specific time, emotion, or sense of place.
Now with Fantasy, the Platinum selling, GRAMMY nominated artist returns with his most personal album to date. Featuring long-time collaborator Justin Meldal-Johnsen and Joe Berry, M83s touring keyboardist and sax player, the album was born out of extended jam sessions that lasted nearly a year. The result is an exuberant, live-sounding record where trademark M83 goosebump moments abound.
Frightened Rabbit
Pedestrian Verse: 10th Anniversary [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition 2LP]
Vinyl: $35.19 Buy
Frightened Rabbit has earned a wide range of critical applause and a fervent international fan following with their emotional melodies and frank lyricism. As moving and triumphant on stage as they are on record, Frightened Rabbit has performed countless headline shows, as well as sharing stages with such like-minded artists as Modest Mouse and Atlantic labelmates Death Cab for Cutie. The band has also won over audiences at a scope of international festivals, including Glastonbury, T in the Park, Oxegen Festival, and Latitude in the UK, Australia's Splendour in the Grass, and our own Lollapalooza and South By SouthWest (SXSW).
The Flaming Lips
Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell EP [Limited Edition Glow In The Dark Green Vinyl]
Stoned Cold Country (Various Artists) - LP
In celebration of The Rolling Stones' 60th anniversary, some of Country's biggest stars have come together for Stoned Cold Country, a forthcoming tribute album filled to the brim with reimagined versions of the legendary Rock band's catalogue, to be released in 2023 on BMG.
Features Covers from Country's Biggest Stars: Jimmie Allen, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Eric Church, Steve Earle, Elle King, Marcus King, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Elvie Shane, Koe Wetzel, The War And Treaty, Lainey Wilson & Zac Brown Band.
"More Than This is an incredibly deeply personal album to myself lyrically. But the whole band has put their heart and soul into this record. We're proud of it," says lead singer and songwriter Conrad Ellis. "It's a very personal album to me on the lyrical level, because it's all about the hurdles I've overcome in life, over the past two or three years, and coming out the other side of is as a person. It's all about growth and change. I think a lot of people will connect to it on a deep level, that's what I'm hoping anyway."
The title asks, "Do you want to be more than you are? Do you want more on the financial side of things? Do you just want more from life in general, or do you want more from your love life? You want more from your job. Do you think you deserve that in some areas?"
"'More Than This' doesn't come from a sense of entitlement," stresses Ellis. "It comes from wanting to make something of yourself and your life."
Mystic
Cuts For Luck And Scars For Freedom [RSD Essential Indie Colorway Black Ice 2LP + Ruby Red 7in]
Vinyl: $60.35 Buy
Songs of Surrender features 16 new acoustic and reimagined recordings from the U2 catalog, produced andcompiled by The Edge, including One, I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For, and Pride (In The Name OfLove). U2 have sold over 175 million albums, won 22 Grammy awards, and released 14 studio albums. LimitedEdition Indie Exclusive Opaque White 2 LP. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl with 4-page insert featuring liner notes fromThe Edge.
Kacey Musgraves
Same Trailer Different Park: 10th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition Picture Disc- Zoetrope LP]
Vinyl: $36.20 Buy
Kacey Musgraves will be releasing a limited edition Zoetrope Picture Disc Vinyl in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of her debut Platinum and Grammy winning album- Same Trailer Different Park. The album went to #1 on the Country Album Charts when it was released in 2013. Kacey co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Album won the Grammy award for the Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The album featured the break-out singles- Merry Go Round, Blowin Smoke, and Follow Your Arrow.
Created between Palm Springs, California and Hilo, Hawaii, V is the first doublealbum from the Hawaiian-New Zealand singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producerRuban Nielsons Unknown Mortal Orchestra band. Designed to play as one continuousmovement and road-tested on dry California freeways, V is the definitive Unknown MortalOrchestra car record. Its also the fifth full-length album Ruban has released in twelve years.Across fourteen sunbleached songs - written solo or with his brother Kody - Ruban draws fromthe rich traditions of West Coast AOR, yacht rock, weirdo pop and Hawaiian Hapa-haole music.Over a laidback blend of singalong anthems and cinematic instrumentals, he evokes blue skies,afternoons spent lounging by hotel swimming pools and the alluring darkness that lurks belowperfect, pristine surfaces. Its a duality expressed in the dilapidated sunset blues and the salt-corroded soul Ruban explores through tracks like "Layla"and "Nadja".