The warm sound of the Sea & Cake gets a just a touch more guitar based on their lucky 7th album – with a bit more of a kick in the drums and bite to the strings in spots – a subtle but definite change from the one of the most consistent indie pop crews ever This time out, longtime producer/drummer John McEntire stays behind the drums and other percussion and lets producer Brian Paulson man the booth – which may, or may not be the reason for the slightly punchier vibe, but it works. This is still very much the Sea & Cake we've loved since the get go – there's no mistaking Sam Prekop's vocals – but there's an anthemic turn or two applied to their mannered genius. Some reviewers give them flak for supposedly repeating themselves, but those folks need to listen more closely. Titles include "Up On Crutches", "Too Strong", "Crossing Line", "Coconut", "Exact To Me", "Lightning", "Introducing", "Left On" and "Transparent". LP, Vinyl record album

The boys turn the whimsy back up a notch for their sweetly synth-soaked latest effort, and Prekop's voice has never been so confident and out front. The tunes seem longer and have a more languorous feel than their last couple records, but the hooks are just as sweet. It took a long while to come to the realization, but we don't know what we'd do without a new Sea & Cake record every couple of years – each one fits like a favorite sweater. As kind of a bonus track there's a nice electronic cover of Bowie's "Sound And Vision" that sounds really out of character for the usually predictable (but no less enjoyable) group. Other tracks include "Four Corners", "Left Side Clouded", "Hotel Tell", "Shoulder Length", "One Bedroom", "Interiors", "Mr. F", and "Try Nothing". CD

Maybe the warmest record by the Sea & Cake – drawing a lot more from their earlier The Biz and Sam Prekop's solo album than their previous The Fawn, adding strings to a lot of the melodies instead of the electronic sounds. Sunny avant pop that manages to pull off a little bit of soulfulness with their trademark laidback charm. Tracks include "Afternoon Speaker", "All The Photos", "You Beautiful Bastard", "The Colony Room", "The Leaf", "Everyday", "Two Dolphins", "Midtown", "Seemingly", and "I Missed The Glance". CD

The Sea & Cake's most instantly addictive album in years – one that blends the more anthemic style of their recent work with some bubbling synthy grooves! The group is nothing if not consistent, and they don't radically rework the set structure – with Sam Prekop's effervescent, breathy vocals over arrangements that sometimes lean on the uptempo rockishness that accented the previous LP, along with more glossy electronic impulses. Another essential album from one of our favorite Chicago bands! Titles include "Aerial", "A Fuller Moon", "On A Letter", "Car Alarm", "Weekend", "New Schools", "Window Sills", "Down In The City", "Pages", "The Staircase", "Mirrors" and more. CD

You might know these guys in a number of other forms – Sam's the long-running vocalist in Sea & Cake, McEntire is from Tortoise and countless production efforts – but here, the old friends collaborate on new territory that's really wonderful – a set of electronic instrumental tunes that unfold with a great sense of beauty! We're tempted to read the title as a reference to Eno and Bowie working together in Berlin – and while that might be a bit of a stretch, there's definitely the energy of two respectful partners exploring new musical territory here – stepping out on beautiful new sounds that we hope are the start of a new chapter in their careers! Titles include "Ghost At Noon", "Yellow Robe", "Ascending By Night", and "Crossing At The Shallow". CD

A wonderful little record from this longtime stalwart of the Chicago scene. Sam started out in Shrimpboat, gained great fame in Sea & Cake, and here delivers his most wonderful performance to date – a beautiful set of jazzy pop tracks, with backing by Josh Abrams, Archer Prewitt, Jim O'Rourke, and the great drummer Chad Taylor. The tracks bristle with a lovely sense of energy, and they have a sophistication that's wonderful – matched with a lyricism that keeps them always sounding fresh. Sam's turned into a wonderful vocalist, too – and we're betting you won't be able to take this one off the turntable once you get started. Titles include "The Shadow", "Don't Bother", "The Company", and "Faces & People". LP, Vinyl record album

We've loved the work of Timo Lassy and Jukka Eskola for many years – right back to when we first heard them in the Five Corners Quintet – and here, the players are reunited in a set that was recorded in New Orleans, and digs deep into that city's musical roots! Make no mistake, this isn't some hokey attempt to recreate a Nola sound – but just overseas musicians using the scene to really find new inspiration – as the tenor of Timo and trumpet of Jukka are matched with work from Delfeayo Marsalis on trombone, David Torkanowsky on keyboards, Roland Guerin on bass, and Herlin Riley on drums. A few tracks add in additional brass – and titles include "Cross Atlantic Connection", "At Leroys", "King Cake", "Duke Of Bayou", "Long Walk", and "Sweet Holler". LP, Vinyl record album

Rare unreleased live material from Dexter Gordon's best years – a 1967 performance that was recorded by Danish Radio at the Cafe Montmartre – the Copenhagen base where Gordon had set up camp overseas, and was very quickly hitting a whole new level of his music! That level is heard here very strongly – on the kind of long tracks that show what a superbly imaginative soloist he'd become – with help from Kenny Drew on piano, Bo Steif on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. All tracks are very long, with that totally solid, totally tight, totally confident solo style that became Gordon's stock-in-trade during these years – and titles include "The Squirrel", "Cheese Cake", "Sonnymoon For Two", and "You've Changed". CD

Funky genius galore – a massive package that brings together both the complete studio and live recordings by the Average White Band – plus some great surprises as well! The group are the stuff of legend – an overseas combo, but one with a groove so tight they were able to get plenty of play on American soul radio stations back in the 70s – and continued to live on long and strong for decades afterwards, thanks to heavy samples of their music by other generations, and a longtime love of their groove by fans of classic funk and soul! And even into the 80s, the group continued to sound great – shifting to a cool, compressed groove that made for some excellent steppers – while still sticking to the funk at their core. The box set contains all of that work, and more – all studio albums, and their double-length live set – plus a full bonus CD of mixes and rarities too. Titles include the CD debut of On The Strip – plus the albums Show Your Hand, Average White Band, Put It Where You Want It, Cut The Cake, Soul Searching, Person To Person, Benny & Us, Warmer Communications, Feel No Fret, Shine, Volume 8, Cupid's In Fashion, and Selected 12" Mixes & Rarities. 133 tracks in all – with a bonus book of images and text, including reflections on the music from the group's Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie. CD

Think the Beastie Boys went straight into hip hop? No – back at the start, they were three guys with plenty of energy who dabbled in a number of modes that were brewing big in the New York scene of their youth – including punk rock and reggae, both of which are featured here along with early hip hop experiments! The set begins with their searing "Egg Raid On Mojo" – the moves through "Beastie Boys", "Transit Cop", "Jimi", "Holy Snappers, "Riot Fight", "Beastie Rvolution", and "Michelle's Farm". But maybe best of all, the album includes the incredible Cooky Puss EP – which features the original "Cooky Puss" song that has the group calling up Carvel Ice Cream, and harassing the staff by asking to talk to an ice cream cake! LP, Vinyl record album

Hip work from Al Castellanos – one of the mainstays of the excellent Mardi Gras Latin label! Nice cheesecake cover too! LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic meeting of two generations of soulful music – Sheila E, the daughter of Cali Latin soul genius Coke Escovedo, meets up with the snappingly funky world of Prince – and results in one of the strongest records of Sheila's career! The singer/percussionist had already been around for about a decade on record – turning out some great Latin work with her brother Pete in the Bay Area – but this set has Sheila going of the top with a great Paisley Park groove, really working with lots of influences from Prince, but still also getting plenty of Latin elements of her own into the mix – on long tracks that are filled with wonderful rhythms and plenty of great percussion too! Titles include the sublime title cut "The Glamorous Life" – plus "The Belle Of St Mark", "Oliver's House", "Strawberry Shortcake", "Noon Rendezvous", and "Next Time Wipe The Lipstick Off Your Collar". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Although James' early 70's ouvre is often cited as his best funky stuff, he made some darn nice tracks at the end of the 70's, as this swell 2CD set hopes to prove! The package compiles some of the best work that James did during the disco era – and although a few of the tracks have an obvious nod to the club dancefloors, most of the material is dead-on funk, with the classic Godfather sound. Titles include "Bodyheat", "Your Love", "Sex Machine" (the 12 minute version from 1977), "For Goodness Sakes, Take A Look At Those Cakes", "Spank", "Nature", "Rapp Payback", and "Bring It On, Bring It On". Some nice unreleased material, good notes, and even a few 12" single mixes! 23 tracks in all – and a great batch of material! CD

Three albums from Dutch drummer Eric Ineke – served up in a single set! Dexternity is a tribute to the music of Dexter Gordon, one that's led by drummer Eric Ineke, and which features the reed talents of Sjoerd Dijkhuizen on Dexter's role – blowing both tenor and a bit of soprano sax! The rest of the group features Rik Mol on trumpet, Rob Van Bavel on piano, and Marius Beets on bass – and titles include "The Panther", "Body And Soul", "Soy Califa", "Cheese Cake", "Boston Bernie", and "Fried Bananas". Meets The Tenor Players is a selection of tracks from different sessions, all of which feature drummer Eric Ineke interacting with a range of famous tenorists – including some key American players recording overseas! The set features work from Dexter Gordon, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, Clifford Jordan, Johnny Griffin, Lucky Thompson, Goerge Coleman, and Grant Stewart – each of whom play on their own tracks – with piano work from players who include Rein De Graaff, Rob Agerbeek, and Rob Madna. Titles include "Let There Be Life Love & Laughter", "Prayer To The People", "Walkin", "Lady Bird", "Stablemates", and "Wee". Cruisin is a later date from Dutch drummer Eric Ineke, but one that maybe burns with even more fire than some of his earlier albums – thanks to the work of some great musicians in the quintet! At some points, the group takes off in strongly soulful hardbop formation – but at others, they can equally slide into a slightly modern mode, but all without losing their swing at all – a performance that's given plenty of focus from Ineke's drumming, and topped with these warmly lyrical piano lines from Rob Van Bavel, plus trumpet from Rik Mol, tenor and bass clarinet from Sjoerd Dijkhuizen, and bass from Marius Beets. Titles include "Oak City", "When We Were One", "Just A Tune For You", "What Is This", "Cruising", and "Seven On The Richter Scale". CD

A further chapter in the big band years of JJ Johnson – heard here at a point when JJ was pushing his ensemble even more than before, with a fluid groove that almost matches the energy of similar groups on MPS at the time! There's a real undercurrent of hipness going on in the record – a quality that's not content to ape bigger band modes of earlier years, and instead finds a whole new space in sound – a relatively lean quality, but one that still uses the added players to create some magnificent qualities in sound – all to support the well-blown lead solo work by Johnson. There's a nice groove on most numbers, and the album features some especially nice reeds from Jerome Richardson and Frank Wess. Johnson handled arrangements, and titles include "Short Cake", "Space Walk", "Little Dave", and "Euro #1". LP, Vinyl record album

A very groovy set of short jazzy numbers from Quincy – a consummate expression of all the work he'd forged in the 60s on soundtracks and other jazz sides for Mercury! The album features Quincy working through a lot of soul numbers – jamming on them instrumentally with players that include Jerome Richardson, Bobby Bryant, Plas Johnson, Ray Charles, Carol Kaye, and Ben Tucker – plus a nice brace of percussion from Ray Bryant and Gary Coleman. Titles include "Boss Bird", "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)", "Mohair Sam", and "Baby Cakes". LP, Vinyl record album

Shame about the cover, but cheescake nudie image aside, the album's got all the poise, class, and grace you'd expect in some other classics from pianist Roland Hanna – a player who already attained majesty in his music, long before he started adding "Sir" to his name! There's a fair bit of classical numbers here, used as surprising vehicles for jazz expression by Hanna – not the usual "jazz meets classical" vibe that stays very faithful to the structure of the original compositions – but more just a basic inspiration for improvisational melodies, played by the trio in a way that has Roland's piano strongly out in the lead, with subtle accompaniment from Ron Carter on bass and Grady Tate on drums. Titles include "Prelude", "Like Grains Of Sand", "Serenade", "Apres Un Reve", "Based On Gustav", and "Going Home". CD