Third Man Us Vinyl & CDs

Review: Raincoats' bassist Gina Birch may have delivered the alternative rock 'n' roll song of the year in 'I Play My Bass Loud', title track on this, her debut album, and the record's opener to boot. There's always something to be said for saving the best for a little into an LP track list, but when you're making such bold and unforgettable statements of intent we also appreciate the need to dive right in. A low slung - and fittingly bass heavy - downtempo plodder that oozes cool, swagger, pithy observations and witticisms, it almost feels out of time with today's world, invoking the stoned end of 1990s garage heroes in all the best ways. From thereon in, it's hard to fault anything here, with songs ranging from the weird, jerky 'I Will Never Wear Stilettos' to the ultra-minimalist experimental offering 'I Am Rage', dub wise 'Digging Down' and tortured soul grit of 'Wish I Was With You'. A phenomenal release you need in your life.

Review: The first of three albums from the Japanese post-everything auteurs titled Heavy Rocks, arrived in 2002 with the second and third installments coming in 2011 and 2022, respectively. These volumes served to allow the group to fully explore their heaviest tendencies with full abandon, and none are as adored or praised (or essential to own on vinyl) than the minimal orange adorned first entry. Plumbing the depths of psychedelic stoner rock, heaving sludge and cavernous doom metal, all whilst retaining accessible grooves and absurdly catchy riffage, this is Boris at their most abrasive, face-melting and imposing, while also serving as a solid entry point into their beastly 20+ album discography.

Review: The first instalment of the three-album cycle from Japanese post-everything auteurs Boris, titled Heavy Rocks, originally landed in 2002 with the second and third volumes arriving in 2011 and 2022, respectively. These projects offered the subversive trio a chance to fully explore and expand their heftiest tendencies with total sonic abandon, with none being more adored or praised (or vital to collect on vinyl) than the minimal orange adorned first entry. Plumbing the depths of psych stoner-doom with forays into heaving sludge metal, all whilst retaining catchy grooves and absurd riffage, this is Boris at their most abrasive, face-melting and imposing, while also serving as a solid entry point into their beastly 20+ album discography. This pressing also comes on orange vinyl for the extra aesthetic-bothered collectors.

Review: Grant Green's Live at Club Mozambique is getting a first ever and long overdue issue on vinyl courtesy of a new partnership between Third Man Records and Blue Note Records called the 313 Series Partnership in recognition of the fact it will focus on seminal jazz talents from Detroit, whose zip code is 313. The record was recorded live on January 6th and 7th, 1971 at Club Mozambique and showcases Green's extensive foundatiosn in r&b. When added to his next level mastery of bebop and a style that always favoured expressiveness over technical expertise and you have an enthralling listen.

Review: A live album by the American jazz guitarist Grant Green, Live At Club Mozambique - you guessed it - was recorded at the Club Mozambique in Detroit, on the night of January 6-7, 1971. Not released until 2006, and not to be confused with the Lonnie Smith album of the same name, the LP ended up as a means for longer-serving fans to recall Green's funk-oriented style in the late stage of his career. Renowned as an album that flaunts Green's sheer passion, poured into instrumental spectacle alone - the passion of playing - it's heard backed by a stellar band, including Houston Person on tenor saxophone, Ronnie Foster on organ and Idris Muhammad on drums.

Review: Muriel Grossmann is a prolific and prodigious talent. She plays sax, sings and composes and has penned plenty of albums, themes recent of which was Universal Code in summer 2023. Now the contemporary spiritual jazz maestro makes her debut on Jack White's U.S.-based Third Man Records label and once again comes some musical evolution. The name is inspired by her experiences of devotion resulting from her Buddhist meditation practice. It features plenty of extremely talented musicians and is a jazz album for the 21st century and beyond. This is a limited "sun & moon" orange vinyl version.

Notes: "With his gratifying archive, Matt Goody details one of the most successful eras in the history of rock music - Flying Nun Records, formed in 1981 by Roger Shepherd in a Christchurch record shop. Shepherd and his brilliant cohorts served up the legendary output of not only kingpins like The Clean, The Chills and Tall Dwarfs, but also captured the best from favourites of mine like Able Tasmans, Bird Nest Roys, Look Blue Go Purple and The Verlaines. Goody provides the most comprehensive presentation yet of Flying Nun's rise from Shepherd's notepad to international underground rock sovereignty - and a vital part of one nation's collective art history." - Bob Nastanovich, Pavement

In this remarkable tale of creativity and chaos, do-it-yourself innovation and extraordinary attempts at world domination, Needles and Plastic tells the inside story of one of New Zealand - and the world's - great independent music labels. Hundreds of full color & black and white photos illustrate the story! Founded in 1981 by Roger Shepherd in Christchurch, New Zealand, Flying Nun Records unleashed an extraordinary wave of music that had an impact around the world. Needles and Plastic is the first comprehensive history of the early years of the label and its bands covering the critical period from 1981-1988 when many of the most influential and critically acclaimed artists emerged on Flying Nun, bands like - from The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines, Straitjacket Fits and Bailter Space. The influence of the obscure label became apparent in the 1990s, when big-time indie acts like Pavement, Cat Power or Yo La Tengo started covering Flying Nun bands.

In entries on over 140 records from The Clean's 'Tally Ho!' 7" in 1981 to The Verlaines Bird-Dog LP in 1988, Matthew Goody tells the story through the records themselves. His book draws on years of in-depth research to reveal the stories of the bands, the recordings, the songs, and the audience, with a host of significant characters contributing along the way - Shepherd, Chris Knox, Doug Hood, Hamish Kilgour and many more. In this remarkable tale of creativity and chaos, do-it-yourself innovation and extraordinary attempts at world domination, Needles and Plastic tells the inside story of one the world's great independent music labels.

Review: The debut LP from the Raconteurs, released in May 2006. Serving as most fans' introduction to the band, Broken Boy Soldiers is the home for such canonical classics as 'Blueveins', 'Hands' and the anthemic 'Steady, As She Goes'. Such hits went so far as to charm even stalwart director, Jim Jarmusch, to direct a mystical music video for the lattermost song, owing to his penchant for music with a looming, bluesy edge, an aesthetic which the band had by then nailed. Railing against the predominant order of the day - steady living, unquestioned teleologies - the Raconteurs successfully delivered and now re-deliver a compelling, authentic Detroit blues rock project, best, it must be said, known as a latter-day effort by the one and only Jack White and friends.

Review: For a city that famously has been losing inhabitants since the decline of the US motor industry began, leaving behind both economic scars and neighbourhood-sized population block holes, Detroit's impact on western music culture has been ridiculously consistent, with the Michigan metropolis ranking among America's healthiest and most significant sonic hubs. From Motown to techno adn Eminem, sounds born here have echoed around the world, and in many cases made a bid for global domination.
Less talked about is the space rock, shoegaze and dream pop scene the town has long been home to, which was in a particularly good place during the 1990s. The second Southeast of Saturn compilation returns to that community and that time, presenting a number of lesser known talents from the area. Highlights including Grimble Grumble, Sabine, Shapeshifter, Star Phase, and The Sunflower Conspiracy.

Review: Notably breaking away from their distinctive red and white colour palette, this new edition of The White Stripes' blues rock classic 'White Blood Cells' comes as a heavyweight LP. Cut directly from the original 14" master tapes and happily repackaged into what is arguably its best reissue yet, we're sure any true White Stripes fan will be lost without it; while it is their third album, White Blood Cells was for many music listeners their first introduction to the Detroit duo, thanks to the breakout hit 'Fell In Love With A Girl' catapulting them to stardom.

Review: Jack White is most famously the founding member of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather but is also an accomplished solo artist. His fifth studio album, Entering Heaven Alive, is another one that sticks to his signature approach to making music, and that is in DIY fashion in his own Third Man Studio throughout 2021. It comes almost alongside his other new album Fear of The Dawn and neither of them had much backstory. This one is said to simply draw from "different inspirations, different themes, different moods."

Review: Limited to just 2000 copies, Jack White's newest solo album 'Fear Of The Dawn' comes in a distinctive blue and white sleeve, making this move away from the White Stripes' native red and white colouration clear. Prefaced by the buzzing lead single 'Taking Me Back', we're stoked for the promised energy of this LP, which is the first of two albums slated to hit the shelves in 2022. This LP comes in either single black, 'astro' blue, or 'glow' white versions, as well as CD for the digi-heads.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface mark on the record but otherwise in good working order***


Ever the king of the DIY approach, the inimitable Jack White recorded this one at his own Third Man Studio last year, then mastered it and released it himself on his own label. It's his fifth solo album - the second of the year - and is something of a therapy session for the cult singer-songwriter, with highlights galore. There is a real confessional quality to the songs here, especially on the likes of 'Please God, Don't Tell Anyone' which is about his regret for the way he lived certain parts of his life. He also professes his love for his new wife Olivia Jean, with plenty of fluid melodies and understated grooves also featuring throughout a fine album.