Distant Populations, just the fourth full-length album of Quicksand’s career, comes as a comparatively swift follow-up to Interiors--which itself came a full 22 years after its predecessor, 1995’s Manic Compression. Critically lauded and deemed very much worth the wait, Interiors succeeded in reestablishing the band as the powerful and contemporary entity they had always been.

Distant Populations has a punchier, more up-tempo sound than its predecessor; its 11 songs are concise, carved sonic jewels boasting not a single wasted note; and its raw power, its gripping lyricism, leaps out from the very first listening. It is a striking step up for the band.

The songwriting itself had been no minor process: Following the release of Interiors, the band successfully toured around the world and in the process fully re-established their chemistry together. Looking forward to making the next album, the three of them—frontman/ guitarist Walter Schreifels, bassist Sergio Vega, and drummer Alan Cage—had methodically recorded various soundchecks, improvisations, and show rehearsals, and compiled the results. “Eventually, when it came time to make a record,” Schreifels says, “we would just edit down to the ones that were most exciting to us all, and then refocus on them and see if we could recapture the magic from it.” 

There may be a final irony in the title of Distant Populations. Practically speaking, that’s precisely whom Quicksand recorded it for: Listeners very far away. Not a single one of these songs has ever been played live onstage. The band has dates on hold for the fall, notes Schreifels, and fingers are crossed Quicksand will be out there performing very soon. They will likely be the most memorable shows of the band’s career. 

Capitol Nashville’s Mickey Guyton will release her album, Remember Her Name, on September 24. Mickey co-penned 15 of the 16 songs on the album. Remember Her Name follows the release of her critically acclaimed Bridges EP which included “Black Like Me” for which she went on to receive a historic GRAMMY nomination. Her performance on the prestigious GRAMMY show was the first by a black female country artist and was touted by NPR as “the night’s most affecting live performance.”

Jaime – the first solo album from Brittany Howard – has been reimagined by an astonishing cross-section of the five-time GRAMMY winners’ peers. Featuring fresh takes and remixes from Bon Iver, Childish Gambino, Common, Michael Kiwanuka, Little Dragon & more - Jaime Reimagined illuminates these songs in a brilliant and new light. Jaime was awarded four stars by Rolling Stone, MOJO and Q, named the Best Album of 2019 by NPR and nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Alternative Music Album category.

2021 release. Migos Culture III is the groundbreaking third installment finale of the blockbuster Culture trilogy. As a knockout climax, it spotlights their nimble ad-libs, bulletproof bars, head-spinning hooks, and irreplaceable chemistry. And it's stacked with A-list co-stars: Cardi B, Drake, Future, Justin Bieber, Polo G, Youngboy NBA and the late Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke to name a few. The streets, the internet, and the game have been begging for Culture III for three years, and now Migos have delivered.

Migos Culture III is the groundbreaking third installment finale of the blockbuster Culture trilogy. As a knockout climax, it spotlights their nimble ad-libs, bulletproof bars, head-spinning hooks, and irreplaceable chemistry. And it's stacked with A-list co-stars: Cardi B, Drake, Future, Justin Bieber, Polo G, Youngboy NBA and the late Juice WRLD and Pop Smoke to name a few. The streets, the internet, and the game have been begging for Culture III for three years, and now Migos have delivered.

On their 3rd full-length album, The Beautiful Liar, the multi-platinum-selling alt-rock band X Ambassadors pay homage to beloved fictions of their childhood, sharing songs that tell the tale of a blind teenage girl discovering her long-dormant superpowers. It's the latest and most ambitious outcome of the band's hyper-creative tendencies. They have augmented the album's storytelling component by weaving in a series of interludes between songs that propel its wildly original plot forward.

The first live Steely Dan album in over 25 years. Featuring Hey Nineteen, Aja, Reelin' in the Years & more.

Donald Fagen's acclaimed solo album performed live by The Steely Dan Band. Featuring I.G.Y., New Frontier & more.

Carrie Underwood will be releasing a Special Edition of her Christmas album, My Gift, on September 24th. This new version will include all 11 tracks from the 2020 release as well as 3 new tracks, including “Favorite TimeOf Year,” “All Is Well,” and “Let There Be Peace/Something In The Water” that was performed on her HBO Max special, My Gift: A Christmas Special From Carrie Underwood.

On September 24, Raleigh-based, globally acclaimed band The Connells release Steadman’s Wake, their first new album in over 20 years. The Connells started recording music in the autumn of 1984, and since their debut album Dark Days, the band has gone on to amass worldwide acclaim for their melodic and introspective alternative rock sound. The band’s 5th studio album, 1993’s Ring (featuring their hit "'74–'75") reached top 10 status in 11 European countries, peaking at #1 in Norway and Sweden.

2021 release. The songs on William Shatner's Bill chronicle significant autobiographical moments in his life and the ideas, challenges, and questions he's confronted along the way. The resulting work blends long-form autobiographical poetry and prose, music, spoken word, performance art, and philosophical exploration. Toggling between passion and despair, reflection and yearning, this collection explores his life journey during a pivotal and chilling moment of history.

It's been said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture (impossible and absurd). But what about singing about movies? Sufjan Stevens and Angelo de Augustine have paired up for a collaborative project that does just that. A Beginner's Mind is their debut album that contains 14 songs (loosely) based on (mostly) popular films. The source material is highbrow, lowbrow, and everything in between. The music is folksy, sweet, sincere and harmonically effervescent-Simon & Garfunkel with New Age flourishes. This album runs the gamut and has fun with it, even while it's songwriters remain fully rooted in the melancholy folk idioms they are known for.Daniel Anum Jasper, a pioneer of Ghanian movie poster painting, was commissioned to paint a series of new works for A Beginner's Mind. His paintings are a graphic simulacrum for the same sense of wonder, wordplay, and intrigue that shape A Beginner's Mind. By transforming old films into vital new songs, Stevens and de Augustine ask us to consider ourselves from a previously unconsidered vantage point-a new way of seeing and hearing-an exercise that's as necessary and relevant now as it's ever been.

Third Eye Blind follow-up 2019's Screamer with their seventh studio album, Our Bande Apart. Written and recorded in the last days of the lockdown lead single "Box of Bones" concerns itself with the ambivalence and stakes of relationships under pressure. It was the first recording session for the band since before lockdown and one can hear the exuberance they have playing together in the same room again. The second single will be "Again."

While spending time trying to conquer the audio of live-stream athome performances, I got better acquainted with my friend Adam McDaniel, an engineer and producer in Asheville, NC. Adam and I had known each other for years. When the band was a bit smaller I'd often rent his studio, Drop of Sun, for pre-recording / pre tour rehearsals. Summer 2020 was tough for many reasons. But Adam and his wife Emily opened their home to me and made it a safe space to create and let go. I had an idea to record some covers and bring some of the band into the mix, or add other players. I wanted to record 80's songs that I'd overheard walking the aisles at the grocery store, and I needed to laugh and have fun and be a little less serious about the recording process in general. I thought about completely changing some of the songs and turning them inside out. I'd heard "Gloria" by Laura Branigan for the first time at a family Christmas gathering and I was amazed at all the aunts who got up to dance. I imagined them all dancing and laughing in slow motion, and that's when I got the idea to slow the entire song down and try it out in this way. I felt that "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats could be reinterpreted to be about this time of quarantine and the fear of being around anyone or having too much fun. It made me wonder, is it safe to laugh or dance or be free of it all for just a moment? I know it's not really in my history to do something unintentional or just for the hell of it but my connection to these songs is pretty straightforward, I just wanted to have a little fun and be a little more spontaneous, and I think I needed to remember that I could!

For more than two decades, SOJA have elated audiences across the globe with their fresh yet timeless take on roots reggae, a sound born from their shared passion for making music that transports and inspires. On their first new album in four years, Beauty in the Silence, the 2x GRAMMY-nominated band deepens that communal spirit by collaborating with artists from all corners of the reggae world, including UB40, Slightly Stoopid, Dirty Heads, and Rebelution. White with Green/Blue/Red Splatter LP.