Pop. 1280, “Imps Of Perversion”

Dumb Numbers, s/t

Explosions In The Sky And David Wingo, “Prince Avalanche: An Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”

Black Dice, “Beaches And Canyons”

Ciara, s/t

Deer Tick, “The Rose”

The Birthday Party, “Live 1981-’82” (Vinyl only)

Joan Of Arc, “Testimonium Songs”

Roomful Of Blues, “45 Live”

The Cult, “Electric Peace” (reissue)

Mayer Hawthorne, “Where Does This Door Go” (vinyl)

Michael Franti And Spearhead, “All People”

Robin Thicke, “Blurred Lines”

Buddy Guy, “Rhythm And Blues”

Afro Celt Sound System, “Pod”

Before we round up this week’s new releases, read up on yet another new album that will help you have beautiful skin, mighty calves, perfect pitch, and shiny teeth, just like MCMX’s genetically flawless staff!

El-P and Killer Mike, Run The Jewels
El-P and Killer Mike play the Terrace on Saturday, July 20, and their free collaborative album suggests this will be one of the best shows of the summer. Now, it’s not necessarily the best thing El-P has ever done—there’s a lot to be said for the grim, suffocating world El creates when rapping and producing by his lonesome on albums like Cancer for Cure and Fantastic Damage. But his work with Atlanta’s Killer Mike, beginning with last year’s album RAP Music, has definitely yielded some of his most fun material so far. Many of the tracks here have Mike and El-P trading short, rapid-fire verses, which only brings out more of a warped sense of humor in both of them (see the closing track, “A Christmas Fucking Miracle”). Guest spots are few and well-used: Big Boi contributes…

Behold, some words another recent favorite from the most pleasant-smelling record store staff in the southern Wisconsin region!

Little Legend, No Way To Tell EP (Available via Bandcamp)
(So, full disclosure, Little Legend played our Record Store Day party this past April. This is on account of they are fun.) Little Legend might be the only band in Madison that really overtly tries to do that Springsteen-type thing—earnest songs about blue-collar folks with big existential yearnings, and so forth. That’s fine, because it’s hard to imagine anyone doing it with this band’s convincing heart, sly humor, and punchy dynamics. In contrast to the polish of Little Legend’s first, self-titled EP, the new No Way To Tell lets the sound breathe more, capturing the warmth and volatility of the band’s live sound. Lead singer Brandy Tudor writes about people mourning lost glory and purpose on “Heavyweight,” a man getting locked up and laughing it off in “Bailout.” But these aren’t hacky tough-guy archetypes. They’re people with real guilt and real sins, and, on a song like “For Heaven’s Sake,” that…

Behold! MCMX’s handsome and courageous clerks offers more notes on some of their favorite releases of the year so far.

Chris Corsano And Bill Orcutt, The Raw And The Cooked
Prolific avant-jazz drummer Chris Corsano and former Harry Pussy guitarist Bill Orcutt recorded this LP during a series of live dates in 2012. While a lot of Orcutt’s solo work has been on acoustic guitar, he plays electric here, sparring with Corsano in a series of harsh, fierce improvisations.

Dessa, Parts Of Speech
Minneapolis’ Dessa focuses on vulnerability, grief, envy, and other forms of human weakness on her latest LP. It’s bit more concise than her first full length, 2010’s A Badly Broken Code, but overall just as impressive. With Dessa, you always have to stop wondering whether you’re listening to a confessional singer-songwriter or a rapper, hip-hop production or moody chamber-pop arrangements. It’s really none and all of the above, plus, on Parts Of Speech, a Bruce Springsteen cover. Though it feels more raw and personal than her previous work, it’s still full of reminders that Dessa’s an elegant, self-possessed word nerd, even dropping a reference to lorem ipsum [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum] on “Sound The Bells.”

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