Grant-Lee Phillips - Ladies Love Oracle - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Several years ago, Grant-Lee Phillips found himself wandering the elegant halls of the Norton Simon Art Museum in Pasadena, California. Amid a collection of highly detailed Indian paintings, one piece stood out. He jotted a note in his notebook, struck by both the imagery and the ominous title. That entry would eventually inspire the name of his 12th solo album In the Hour of Dust.InchA common theme throughout Indian poetry and painting,Inch Phillips explains, Inchis this concept of 'the hour of cow dust.' It's that moment when cows are led home and kick up dust; a cue to prepare the lamps. Night is about to fall.InchWhile Phillips doesn't shy away from today's larger societal issues, In the Hour of Dust is an intimate, self-produced album. It's stripped-down musical presentation and often autobiographical lyrics reflect personal reckonings, all set Inchagainst this larger discordant backdrop.InchLike many, Phillips grapples with staying afloat in the chaos of modern life. For him, songwriting is a way to push back against the encroaching dark - to light the lamps and find a path forward, for both himself and his listeners.InchWe can focus on all the various freedoms being threatened,Inch Phillips says, Inchthings we might've taken for granted a year or two ago. But eventually, it comes back to very human, primal things. I don't see songs of love and songs of protest as that far apart. It's all about recognizing the value of connection in a disconnected time.Inch

Arriving as a standout group in the current American shoegaze renaissance, Phoenix four-piece Glixen transcend all expectations of what the genre should currently look and sound like. The band creates a profoundly heavy sonic experience with their music, paying respects to their predecessors but resulting in something completely modern. An amalgamation of influences like Björk, My Bloody Valentine, Godflesh, t.A.T.u, and Hum, their sound crawls with intensity and introspection to contrast lead singer Aislinn Ritchie's lulling vocals.In 2024, the band released Inchlust,Inch Inchforeversoon,Inch and Inchsick silentInch beginning to preview what the upcoming Sonny DiPerri (My Bloody Valentine, DIIV) produced Inchquiet pleasuresInch EP will sound like.Glixen has had a massive 2024! From playing SXSW and Treefort Festival to supporting genre stalwarts like Interpol, DIIV, Nothing., Tanukichan, Turnover and Glare, Glitterer, Softcult and Fish Narc, they've played to packed crowds across the United States. The run continues in 2025 with their first ever headlining North American tour with support from contemporaries she's green and Suzy Clue. InchA crucial contributor to the ongoing American shoegaze renaissance.Inch - STEREOGUMInchListening to the guitars is akin to the feeling of being squeezed from above, a slow dreamlike compression.Inch - THE FADERInchTowering, sensual shoegaze.Inch - ALTERNATIVE PRESS

With golden voice and silver-dipped pen Grant-Lee Phillips LITTLE MOON, his first album since 2007 's STRANGELET, is track after track of well-anchored classic American music - Rock and Folk swirl under clouds of cinematic strings for a primer on the art of the timeless tune. His legendary well of melody is in full display on LITTLE MOON, with even the most lilting piano ballad standing comfortably on a thick, powerful trunk. Long one of Los Angeles' most sought after songwriters, Grant-Lee meets LITTLE MOON with positive inspirations including the birth of his daughter Violet and a creative calm that saw the songs well up organically from earlier live collaborations with drummer Jay Bellerose, producer bassist Paul Bryan and keyboardist Jamie Edwards. Captured live in the studio with limited overdubs, the album keenly chronicles the sunny day feel of the songs and that ever-elusive in the moment groove of a finely-tuned band working out equally finely-crafted material.