Crucial Releases: March 6

The word...

I didn’t have high expectations for this week, as there weren’t many albums on my watchlist for March 6th (especially after last week was stacked), but the one I did know of met my high expectations. Then, as always, there were a couple surprises AND a couple of surprise benefit album announcements. So, it ended up being a pretty good week after all.

This week’s featured album is Let’s Give the Land Back to the Animals by Bitter Branches. Bitter Branches is a veritable 90’s hardcore supergroup, with members of Calvary, Deadguy, Lifetime, Lighten Up, Kiss It Goodbye, No Escape, Paint It Black, and Walleye.

Bitter Branches may have the 90’s hardcore background, but their sound is squarely in the Black Flag crossed with The Jesus Lizard realm of hardcore and post-hardcore. The lyrics are everything you’d expect from Tim Singer writing about our current world. It’s a powerful combination.

Anyway, head over to the full review for more.

Benefit Albums

This week was also a really good one in terms of high quality benefit albums: one a compilation and one a legendary abandoned recording session from a legendary band and producer… both releases benefiting some very worthwhile charities, so please be generous!

HELP(2) from War Child Records

→ Purchase on Bandcamp

From War Child Records:

HELP(2) is a brand new collaborative album, inspired by the landmark 1995 release ‘HELP’, which brings music lovers together in support of War Child’s vital work delivering immediate aid, education, specialist mental health support, and protection to children affected by conflict around the world.

All proceeds from album sales support War Child UK to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict around the world.

HELP(2) features music by Anna Calvi, Arctic Monkeys, Arlo Parks, Arooj Aftab, Bat For Lashes, Beabadoobee, Beck, Beth Gibbons, Big Thief, Black Country, New Road, Cameron Winter, Damon Albarn, Depeche Mode, Dove Ellis, Ellie Rowsell, English Teacher, Ezra Collective, Foals, Fontaines D.C., Graham Coxon, Greentea Peng, Grian Chatten, Kae Tempest, King Krule, Nilüfer Yanya, Olivia Rodrigo, Pulp, Sampha, The Last Dinner Party, Wet Leg, and Young Fathers.

An impressive collection of musicians and from a couple listens, a charity album that’s worth your purchase and support.

Highlights for me include:

• “Strangers” by Black Country, New Road
• Beth Gibbons covering “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground
• “Parasite” by English Teacher
• beabadoobee covering “Say Yes” by Elliott Smith
• “Obvious” by Wet Leg
• Olivia Rodrigo covering “The Book of Love” by The Magnetic Fields

Albini Sessions by Fugazi

→ Purchase on Bandcamp

Next up is Fugazi’s recording of In On The Killtaker with Steve Albini. From the band:

In the fall of 1992, the members of Fugazi were deep in the process of finishing up the songs that would eventually come out as the “In On The Killtaker” album the following year. The band had been working on the songs for a couple of years and had gotten as far as recording a few of them at Inner Ear as well as making numerous practice recordings, but by late October they seemed to have hit a bit of a wall. In an attempt to shake things up, it was decided that they would take up Steve Albini’s standing invitation to do a free recording at his Electrical Audio Studio, which at the time was located in the basement of his house on North Francisco in Chicago.

The band only planned to record a couple songs with Albini, but everything – from hanging out to the recording process – went so well, they ended up doing all of the songs.

Initial playbacks were positive, but the band (and Albini) continued to listen after the session ended and ultimately came to the same conclusion: the songs felt flat.

Fugazi ultimately went back to Inner Ear Studio to record the official In On The Killtaker with producer Ted Nicely, which was released by Dischord in June 1993.

The band on releasing the recordings now:

To honor Steve, who died in 2024, and to support the work that he and his wife, Heather Whinna, have done with the non-profit Letters Charity organization, Fugazi has decided to make Steve’s entire original mix officially available for the first time in transfers pulled directly from the master tapes.

This is a digital-only release and the band is donating its share of the proceeds to Letters Charity – a nonprofit organization on a mission to use Art as a conduit to transform passive compassion into immediate assistance through the distribution of money given, without expectation or judgment, directly to families experiencing poverty.

Honorable Mentions

HELLHOUND by VIAL

• 💿 Released: 6 March on CandyShop Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: grunge X punk, Mannequin Pussy, Hole, Nirvana, Pinkshift, Destroy Boys
• 🎧 Your first song: “IDLE HANDS”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Strictly 4 The Scythe by Denzel Curry

• 💿 Released: 6 March on Loma Vista Recordings
• 🤘 FFO: southern hip hop
• 🎧 Your first song: “THE SCYTHE (feat TiaCorine & A$AP Ferg)”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp

Tough Touch by Scout Gillett

• 💿 Released: 6 March on Slouch Records
• 🤘 FFO: alt country x indie rock; Bully x Lucinda Williams x Japanese Breakfast
• 🎧 Your first song: “Song Name”
• 💰 Support: Bandcamp