New CD Releases, June 23rd: Pete Yorn, The Mars Volta, Cheap Trick, Dream Theater, Regina Spektor, and more!!
Pete Yorn “Back and Fourth” (Sony)
The alt-rock singer/songwriter is finally set to release his fourth studio album, which follows 2006’s “Nightcrawler.” “Back and Fourth” marks a production shift for Yorn, who played virtually all of the instruments on his first three albums, but worked with drummer Joey Waronker (Beck), pianist/arranger Nate Wolcott (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley), bassist Joe Karnes (John Cale), backing vocalist Orenda Fink (Azure Ray) and Jonny Polonsky (the guitarist in Yorn’s touring band).
The New Jersey native will showcase the new material at a sold-out album-release show at LA’s Roxy Theatre June 24. He’ll then launch a two-month North American tour beginning July 9 in San Diego, CA.
Yorn also has plans to drop another studio effort this fall–“Break Up,” an album of duets with actress/singer Scarlett Johansson. The nine-track record is set to hit stores on Sept. 8.
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The Mars Volta “Octahedron” (Warner Bros.)
The psychedelic-inspired hard-rock band returns to the fray with the release of its fifth studio album. “Octahedron” follows 2008’s “The Bedlam in Goliath,” which featured the Grammy Award-winning song “Wax Simulacra.”
Having appeared earlier this month at the mammoth Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, TN, the group will again see massive crowds when it shows up in August at the second annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco.
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Cheap Trick “The Latest” (Cheap Trick)
The legendary classic rock band is ready to give fans “The Latest.” This new disc, which follows 2006’s “Rockford,” was produced by Julian Raymond and includes a cover of Slade’s “When the Lights are Out.”
Cheap Trick–frontman Robin Zander, guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson and drummer Bun E. Carlos–will back “The Latest” by joining Def Leppard and Poison on the road. The 40-city trek kicks off June 23 in Camden, NJ.
Also of note, the group made headlines recently when it announced plans to interpret The Beatles’ classic 1967 album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” during an engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton, which kicks off Sept. 13.
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Dream Theater “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” (Roadrunner)
The prog-metal act, which formed in 1985 in Long Island, NY, is set to unleash its 10th studio album. “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” follows 2007’s “Systematic Chaos.”
The new offering will be available in several different formats. Along with the standard CD, the effort will also be sold as a vinyl LP and as a three-disc special-edition package with the full album, as well as a disc of instrumental mixes and one featuring six cover songs.
Dream Theater will support “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” with another round of “Progressive Nation” tour dates. The trek begins July 24 in Miami and will end Aug. 29 in Los Angeles.
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Regina Spektor “Far” (Warner Bros.)
The Moscow-born singer/songwriter/pianist is back with a follow-up to 2006’s “Begin to Hope.” “Far” features work from four big-name producers–Jeff Lynne (Electric Light Orchestra), Mike Elizondo (Eminem), David Kahne (Paul McCartney) and Garret “Jackknife” Lee (R.E.M.). Spektor will support “Far” with a seven-city North American trek that begins Sept. 11 in Saint Paul, MN, and finishes Sept. 24 in Philadelphia.
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More new releases:
Neal E. Boyd, “My American Dream” (Decca)
Shawn Colvin, “Live” (Nonesuch)
Dinosaur Jr., “Farm” (Jagjaguwar)
Kurt Elling, “Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman” (Concord)
Escala, “Escala” (Columbia)
Judy Garland, “Live at the Palladium” (Collector’s Choice)
Michael Johns, “Hold Back My Heart” (Downtown)
Bob Marley, “B is For Bob” (Tuff Gong)
VNV Nation, “Of Faith, Power and Glory” (Red)
Soundtracks and scores:
“Hair (The New Broadway Cast Recording)” (Ghostlight)
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Reprise)
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