Record Rack: A round-up of the week’s new albums, expanded reissues and/or box sets, appearing each Monday on Slicing Up Eyeballs.
The Pretenders
RELEASE: 1979-1999 Box Set
BACKSTORY: Edsel Records this week reissues, in the U.K., the Pretenders’ eight Warner Bros. albums in expanded, bonus-packed, multi-disc editions, and also collects them in a combined 14CD/8DVD box set.
BUY: Amazon.co.uk
Kate Pierson
RELEASE: Guitars and Microphones
BACKSTORY: The B-52s co-founder makes her solo debut this week with a 10-track album described as “marrying party rock, psychedelia and socio-political punk” and featuring songs co-written by Sia.
BUY: Amazon.com
Colin Hay
RELEASE: Next Year People
BACKSTORY: The Men at Work frontman returns this week with his 12th solo album and first in nearly four years, a 12-song collection “full of quizzical, curious and cynical, yet open-hearted, songs.” Stream it here.
BUY: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk
The Juliana Hatfield Three
RELEASE: Whatever, My Love
BACKSTORY: Juliana Hatfield reunites her post-Blake Babies band for the group’s 12-song sophomore album, out this week, which comes 21 years after the debut Become What You Are.
BUY: Amazon.com
Texas
RELEASE: Texas 25
BACKSTORY: The Scottish pop-rock outfit this week celebrates its 25th anniversary with a new 2CD set featuring re-recorded versions of songs across the band’s back catalog plus four brand-new songs as well.
BUY: Amazon.com
Grant Lee Buffalo
RELEASE: Mighty Joe Moon
BACKSTORY: Plain Recordings this week releases a 180-gram vinyl reissue of Mighty Joe Moon, the second album from Grant Lee Buffalo, which emerged from the ashes late-’80s Los Angeles underground act Shiva Burlesque.
BUY: Amazon.com
Great to see Juliana Hatfield Three back after all these years.
Become What You Are has always been one of her better post-Blake Babies releases. I’m looking forward to this.