Fresh Wax -- A New Column on Vinyl Releases and Reissues

This marks the first column in a new series called Fresh Wax in which long-time vinyl aficionado Jason Ferguson highlights some of the best releases of the week to come out on wax. There's no shortage of record stores in this town that carry new LPs and 7 inches, but sometimes it's hard to keep up with the reissues and projects that are getting vinyl releases.

Hopefully, this column helps make that a lot easier. After the jump read more about some of the hottest vinyl releases to hit the market this week.

Welcome to Fresh Wax, an analog outpost in this digital world. As you fine readers are most certainly aware, vinyl has gone and staged something of a comeback recently. While most folks will credit dance music and hip-hop for keeping vinyl pressing plants in business, my theory is that it's been the metal and indie communities - especially those with the foresight to include MP3 download coupons with their LP releases - that have played a much larger role in the revival.

Those multi-colored double-10-inches and limited-run 7-inches - many of which come from labels right here in Seattle - have not only created a brand new generation of vinyl collectors, but have clued in iPod-addled ears to the sonic superiority of the LP listening experience. Now there are more new albums being released on vinyl than at any time since the mid-'90s.

With all those new releases coming at a furious pace, it seemed like a good a time as any to provide our fidelity-loving readers with a regular roundup of hot new wax. I'll do my best to round up the week's new releases that will be available on vinyl, as well as those albums that are being reissued on wax; I'll also try to point out one or two notable releases. Enjoy!

New Releases:
Here We Go Magic - Here We Go Magic Yeah, I know; even though I'm hoping Dwight Howard and the boys will pull out a miracle, there's not much hope that the Orlando Magic are gonna win the NBA Finals. Still, I was pleased to see that this quirky indie-prog concoction was coming out on vinyl.

Trey Anastasio & Don Hart - Time Turns Elastic
Anti-Flag - The People or the Gun
Deerhunter - Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca
Dredg - The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion
Golden Triangle - Golden Triangle
Iron Maiden - Flight 666 (2LP pic disc)
Liechenstein - Survival Strategies in a Modern World
LIttle Girls - Thrills
The Low Anthem - Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
Mos Def - The Ecstatic
Moss - Tombs of the Blind Drugged (double 10-inch)
Pelican - Ephemeral
Placebo - Battle for the Sun
Slim Twig - Contempt
Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Wooden Ships - Contact

Reissues:
Avegned Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen and Sounding the Seventh Trumpet (180g)
Cake - Motorcade of Generosity
Cannibal Corpse - Butchered at Birth and Vile (180g)
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Tim Hecker - Harmony in Ultraviolet
Joan of Arc - Flowers (180g)
Sly & the Family Stone - Life (180g)
Yes - Close to the Edge and 90125 (180g)
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy (180g)

--Jason Ferguson