January 2021

Jimkata are a three-piece anthemic, synth-washed, electro-rock band based out of Ithaca. With a triumph of swirling analog synths, infectious pop hooks and candid lyrics, Jimkata have built a distinct sound which has been resonating with listeners across the country.

Topics

Since its beginnings in Jamaica in 1959, the story of the pioneering Island Records label has been inextricably linked to the story of its founder, Chris Blackwell. Now, Blackwell has curated a series of compilation LPs, featuring his hand-picked tracks that correspond with his and Island’s legendary history.

On February 26, Island Records / UMe will release Volume One of The Vinyl Series, a 14-track album covering the years 1962 to 1969. Volumes Two and Three will follow later this year and explore Island’s history in the decades that followed.

After a hugely successful year, Bob Marley 75 continues into 2021 with several birthday celebrations leading up to Marley's 76th Birthday on February 6, including a global virtual birthday celebration hosted by Cedella Marley, Songs of Freedom: The Island Years on 6LP or 3CD, and a Bob Marley Tribute Livestream by Stephen Marley. 

Jane Lee Hooker deliver a shot of 100 proof Brooklyn rock ‘n’ roll with their new single & video for “Jericho." It's the first single off their forthcoming summer 2021 release.

What if longtime friends Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk came clean about the fact that their bevy of instrumental theme songs and film soundtracks—including the New York Times’ famed podcast The Daily, Cheryl Strayed’s Dear Sugar Radio, and many indie film scores—were only half of the story? Well, there’s no need to get rhetorical, because the day has come for Brunberg and Landsverk, known collectively as the Portland-based duo Wonderly, to share their other side with the world.

Topics

The Austin rock group Black Pistol Fire is back with a brand-new full-length album, Look Alive, out January 29 via Black Hill Records. A far-reaching sonic landscape, venturing out beyond traditional rock touchstones, Look Alive, sees the acclaimed group refining their singular two-man approach, outfitting explosive, impassioned rock ‘n’ roll with an expansive, ethereal, and cinematic soundscape.