PORTLAND, Maine — We've got four releases to talk about this week, a nice mix of the old, the new, and the offbeat. Here are the albums Chris Brown selected and what he had to say about each of them.
Genevieve Stokes – "With a Lightning Strike" – vinyl only
Genevieve Stokes signed to Atlantic Records the same year she graduated from Falmouth High School. She has grown incredibly as an artist since then and will release her first full-length album this Friday. She must have listened to a lot of Regina Spektor and Fiona Apple when she was younger. Their influence, especially Spektor's, is all over Stokes' work. She has expanded her sonic palette on this new album. She has a multi-generational appeal. People who are looking for an earthier version of Lana Del Rey will enjoy her just as much as Gen Xers who were inspired by Tori Amos.
Shoutout to the Maine Academy of Modern Music, which was where she joined her first band. She will perform at Bull Moose in South Portland on Oct. 4 and at the Portland House of Music on Oct. 19.
Dewmar Campfire Records – "Spooken Words" – vinyl only
You might remember the spooky Halloween record we showed you a year ago. This is the sequel, and it contains more found recordings. These recordings date from the late 1960s and were made at a mysterious New Age Center/voluntary hospital. Not much is known because the center and the surrounding 900 hectares burned down in the early 1970s. It's especially creepy for me (Chris) because it contains a story therapy tape of someone named Chris B. He sounds just like me even though the recordings supposedly date from before I was born.
It’s the kind of thing you might play out your window on Halloween.
The Smile – "Cutouts" – CD, LP (white vinyl)
The Smile are the two best-known members of Radiohead, Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, with a different drummer. This is their third album. There is plenty of here for Radiohead fans to enjoy, including some new sounds. We expect these two to pleasantly surprise us and they constantly do that on "Cutouts."
Jimi Hendrix – "Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision" – 3CD/1 Blu-ray or 5LP/1 Blu-ray
This new box set contains 38 previously unreleased tracks recorded at Jimi's then-new recording studio, Electric Lady. This consists of my favorite Experience lineup – the one with Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell. The Blu-ray contains a documentary about the studio. It also contains new 5.1 mixes of "First Rays of The New Rising Sun," which is the best guess as to what Jimi's fourth album would have been like.