{"title":"Year in Review","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"crooked-fingers-dignity-and-shame","title":"Crooked Fingers - Dignity and Shame","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDignity and Shame\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, Crooked Fingers' fourth full length finds front man Eric Bachmann embracing great traditions of American Music from appalachian folk, southwestern blues, country and good old rock and roll. Bachmann is supported here by a cast of returning players from 2003's breakthrough \u003ci\u003eRed Devil Dawn\u003c\/i\u003e and a few new faces who bring a renewed depth and intensity to his songs. When the opening picked guitar notes of \"Islero\" give way to distant congas and then build into a trumpet fueled southwestern lament, it is clear that this is a very new direction for Crooked Fingers. The relaxed interplay of Bachmann and road tested sidemen Barton Carroll and Dov Friedman break Bachmann's songs free of all previous influences. Bachmann's songwriting is confident and with backing vocals from \u003cspan style=\"background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(0,0,0);\"\u003eLara Meyerratken\u003c\/span\u003e (Luna, Ben Lee), songs like \"Call to Love\" and \"Valerie\" soar into a joyful abandon only hinted at on previous Crooked Fingers records.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl LP (Reissue)","offer_id":53420719800631,"sku":"MRG248LP","price":41.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739173613879,"sku":"MRG248CD","price":13.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739173581111,"sku":"MRG248digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/484a41f70f44f6f7d2d9921d552bb66628ab3739_34d5b3dd09942d6320ef4dcf5cddea392fc20843_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785380533"},{"product_id":"the-new-pornographers-the-former-site-of","title":"The New Pornographers - The Former Site Of","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eA woman is trapped on a cruise ship. A preacher decides to go down with his town. A man at the florist finds himself lost in the meaning of the arrangement. These and other people at personal and societal extremes are the subjects of ten timely, timeless short stories collected as meticulously crafted pop songs by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/the-new-pornographers\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color:hsl(0, 75%, 60%);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe New Pornographers\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e on their forthcoming album, \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Former Site Of.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album, like Continue as a Guest, finds The New Pornographers—bandleader A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, and Todd Fancey—expanding their already rich catalog in surprising fashion. Joined for this album by legendary session drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, The Cult, The Rolling Stones, Fiona Apple), the space contained in a New Pornographers song has never been this clearly articulated or generously textured, giving a distinct pulse to the characters whose lives spill out in Newman’s tender, evocative lyrics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739429957943,"sku":"MRG879LP","price":26.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739430023479,"sku":"MRG879CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739429925175,"sku":"MRG879digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/4c633a7e49309d114fbf80fba2b1a0a98f48a0af_2ad28f738074bb530588376028e1858aeef32435_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789600600"},{"product_id":"crooked-fingers-swet-deth","title":"Crooked Fingers - Swet Deth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eOne afternoon, \u003cstrong\u003eEric Bachmann\u003c\/strong\u003e’s son returned home from school with a sheath of pictures he’d drawn, all of them macabre. “There were crows and sinister figures with scythes and tombstones,” he recalls, “and in the center, there was a strange, lush green tree growing out of all of this red and black. On one of them, he had written ‘DETH, SWET DETH,’ and everything clicked in my head.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSwet Deth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, Bachmann’s first album under his \u003cstrong\u003eCrooked Fingers\u003c\/strong\u003e moniker after a 15-year hiatus, organized itself around the image: its songs are about death, yes, but there’s a sweetness to them, a wry sensibility to his lyrics that comes from having experienced many kinds of death and the life that follows in its wake. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739437232439,"sku":"MRG878LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739437265207,"sku":"MRG878CD","price":13.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739437297975,"sku":"MRG878digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/daad99a58fb73aff434a2b3ae17185008419f533_ad5accffb8cc43d9758ffdf2756ece9f9cbbc89c_medium_jpg_b3cd9166-e9bc-4058-9002-46c48f04286e.jpg?v=1789600613"},{"product_id":"superchunk-i-dont-want-to-get-over-you-b-w-i-dont-want-you-anyway","title":"Superchunk - “I Don’t Want to Get Over You” b\/w “I Don’t Want You Anyway”","description":"\u003cp\u003eSuperchunk returns from their 2025 US tour with covers of The Magnetic Fields' “I Don't Want to Get Over You,\" and Look Blue Go Purple's “I Don't Want You Anyway,\" featuring cover art by Glen Baldridge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn addition to a limited number of the tour-exclusive 7-inch being available to purchase, “I Don't Want to Get Over You” is now available digitally, and wherever you stream music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo strangers to the allure of Stephin Merritt's songbook, Superchunk's take on “I Don't Want to Get Over You” recasts The Magnetic Fields' depressive epic as a manic, guitar-forward ripper, making Merritt's lyrics writhe in an entirely new kind of agony.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739437986103,"sku":"MRG876digital-1","price":1.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/bdb693915a7a5cc50bc97be50c7f2859325ac6c8_ef0a93926ea03428361c7adbd6ed53a4b3d87617_medium_jpg_2871dd11-ed5e-4b06-b4aa-11e907c9fb59.jpg?v=1789600615"},{"product_id":"charlotte-cornfield-hurts-like-hell","title":"Charlotte Cornfield - Hurts Like Hell","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHurts Like Hell\u003c\/i\u003e, Charlotte Cornfield’s 2026 Merge Records debut, is Cornfield’s sixth album. 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The album’s recurrent themes of personal growth and renewal, of love’s perseverance through difficulty and shame and awkwardness, are rooted there.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“That experience has pulled me out of myself and given me a different outlook on things,” she says. “The vulnerability and fragility and wildness of it all has made me less focused on self, more zoomed out.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat change in perspective is evident not only in her approach to the lyric — which now gives voice to characters and themes beyond her own headspace — but in how she approached recording. \u003ci\u003eHurts Like Hell\u003c\/i\u003e is the most open-hearted, full-voiced album of her career, and also her most collaborative effort to date.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Clear With Yellow Swirl)","offer_id":52739438281015,"sku":"MRG881LP-C1","price":25.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739438248247,"sku":"MRG881LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52739438346551,"sku":"MRG881CD","price":13.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739438313783,"sku":"MRG881digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/6e8dad4b04a72bd9fc4f3a7391d7e3af17708a5e_06d9a282b057cd34d9578067223d0bd0d17e2665_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382901"},{"product_id":"fruit-bats-the-landfill","title":"Fruit Bats - The Landfill","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eThe midwest, particularly the part of the midwest \u003cstrong\u003eEric D. 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Others turn organic waste into compost. \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Landfill\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/fruit-bats\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:hsl(0, 75%, 60%);\"\u003eFruit Bats’\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e June 12, 2026 album from \u003cstrong\u003eMerge Records\u003c\/strong\u003e, is something else entirely: a mountain dominating the landscape of Johnson’s heart.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Green\/Pink\/Clear Splatter)","offer_id":52739438706999,"sku":"MRG887LP-C1","price":25.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52739438674231,"sku":"MRG887LP","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52996580180279,"sku":"MRG887CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739438608695,"sku":"MRG887digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/f8ca6365bcd00be4ae9088fadafba12811feffdc_437b3ef3da6dbb3a896d4e89b0b86b30232bc25c_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789600617"},{"product_id":"superchunk-i-dont-want-you-anyway","title":"Superchunk - “I Don’t Want You Anyway”","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSuperchunk\u003c\/strong\u003e is back, sharing their cover of Look Blue Go Purple's “\u003cstrong\u003eI Don't Want You Anyway\u003c\/strong\u003e.” Originally released as the B-side of a \u003ca href=\"\/products\/superchunk-i-dont-want-to-get-over-you-b-w-i-dont-want-you-anyway\"\u003e7-inch\u003c\/a\u003e that also featured a cover of The Magnetic Fields' “I Don't Want to Get Over You,” Superchunk's snarling take on this classic Flying Nun deep cut is now available wherever you stream music.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739438739767,"sku":"MRG876digital-2","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/0fcfe26306dd8b9effd386650ea48d2dc20aa31b_8ca6365e7ffa960c1b34fd97b9144c6159f2560d_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382914"},{"product_id":"rosali-other-side","title":"Rosali - \"Other Side\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eTogether with Mowed Sound, Rosali shares “Other Side,” a rowdy and feral elegy for a world on fire. The track, a white hot country rock stomper, finds these friends and longtime collaborators wresting an anthem from the jaws of despair, finding something close to joy in the righteous fury of Middleman’s lyrics.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739439034679,"sku":"MRG889dig1","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/ff6fe130329fd90c0e2aa629cd75fb72f862798b_d066be7e73e9e385f0e1b088e4caab273ce3c9df_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382922"},{"product_id":"the-tubs-fade-to-black","title":"The Tubs - \"Fade to Black\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/collections\/the-tubs\"\u003eThe Tubs'\u003c\/a\u003e cover of Metallica's “\u003cstrong\u003eFade to Black\u003c\/strong\u003e” transforms the seminal power ballad into the pastoral, jangle-laden epic it was always meant to be.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOwen Williams on “Fade to Black”:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"Signing to Merge is a dream come true for The Tubs...we’ve been huge fans since we were teens. They’ve put out some of our fave records of all time and we could tell you them all here but we don’t have the space. Call Taylor on +** **** ****** if you’d like the full list.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eI’ve always been a big fan of a Metallica ballad. Obviously I like the riffs too but I think there’s a weirdly beautiful and singular quality to their ballads, even though the lyrics are basically always trash. We thought it’d be fun to jangle up Fade to Black and give it a sort of folk rock reinvented outro to announce the signing.\"\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52739439067447,"sku":"MRG891digital","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/9a7e6bb40f35bbded85931ebdb920f6b60725737_b6c0162cf3dc24ff6cec0b235e60c487f8e57a54_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1785382926"},{"product_id":"case-oats-bottom-of-an-afternoon","title":"Case Oats - Bottom of an Afternoon","description":"\u003cp\u003eJust in time for their first-ever run of US headline dates, \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/case-oats\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCase Oats\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e are back, sharing “\u003cstrong\u003eBottom of an Afternoon\u003c\/strong\u003e,\" written and performed by \u003cstrong\u003eCasey Gomez Walker\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eSpencer Tweedy\u003c\/strong\u003e. Rather than stripping down their sound, this configuration of \u003cstrong\u003eCase Oats\u003c\/strong\u003e reveals new facets to their songwriting, centering Gomez Walker's voice in an entirely different soundscape than the one that buffeted her on the band's 2025 debut album\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/case-oats-last-missouri-exit\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLast Missouri Exit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. The instrumentation, including an aching trumpet solo by Gomez Walker, laps at the frayed edges of pained memory, haunting her already disarmingly beautiful, honest sense of the lyric.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cu\u003eCasey Gomez Walker, on “Bottom of an Afternoon”:\u003c\/u\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"This song is a mantra for grief. As a kid I read Aesop’s Fables and was comforted by the idea that there’s always a moral to draw from an experience. 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Laid down on a mobile recording rig in a house on the shore of a frozen lake in Wisconsin, Max emerged after ten days of solitude with a record of neither fallow nor verdant earth, but, staggeringly, one that occupies the threshold between the two, a space that accommodates the potential for stagnation and growth: their hopes, their worries, the time it takes to arrive at an unknown destination, and the courage to accept what’s there, waiting to be realized.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditional sessions for the album were recorded in Subar’s home studio, in the same house where \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/case-oats\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCase Oats\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, the \u003cstrong\u003eCasey Gomez-Walker\u003c\/strong\u003e-led outfit in which \u003cstrong\u003eSubar\u003c\/strong\u003e plays guitar, recorded their 2025 debut \u003ca href=\"\/products\/case-oats-last-missouri-exit\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLast Missouri Exit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e. In one session, he added bass. In another, his brother, \u003cstrong\u003eSam Subar\u003c\/strong\u003e, played drums. Further instrumentation was provided by \u003cstrong\u003eCase Oats\u003c\/strong\u003e bandmates \u003cstrong\u003eSpencer Tweedy\u003c\/strong\u003e (drums on “I Never” and “Way Up”), \u003cstrong\u003eJason Ashworth\u003c\/strong\u003e (upright bass), and \u003cstrong\u003eScott Daniel\u003c\/strong\u003e (violin), as well as frequent collaborators \u003cstrong\u003eChet Zenor\u003c\/strong\u003e (electric guitar), \u003cstrong\u003eKelly Hannemann\u003c\/strong\u003e (piano), and \u003cstrong\u003eSarah Weddle\u003c\/strong\u003e (vibraphone, organ, and electric piano). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnything Could Be\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e heralds \u003cstrong\u003eMax Subar’s\u003c\/strong\u003e arrival as one of his generation’s most exciting singer-songwriters, but, more importantly, it offers the listener both the transformative space in which the album was shaped, and a portrait of the artist, and person that artist became in making it. Its 11 songs are imbued with what the poet \u003cstrong\u003eAdrienne Rich\u003c\/strong\u003e called “a wild patience,” a radical stillness that is, itself, a journey towards consciousness, peace, and self-awareness. It makes no promises about what’s next. 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It is the band’s sixth full-length record, and the first to feature the band’s \u003cstrong\u003eMax Grunhard\u003c\/strong\u003e as producer since 2019’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/ibibio-sound-machine-doko-mien\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:hsl(0, 75%, 60%);\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDoko Mien\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e. 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In two couplets, sung over birdsong and Moss’ classical guitar, she captures an entire universe created in the bond between two people, asserting that whatever she learns from love and intimacy, there will always be something unknowable just beyond. Across the nine songs that make up \u003ci\u003eThe Knife, The Needle,\u003c\/i\u003e Moss renders joy and pain in exquisite peals of psych-folk, offering an understanding of healing as a process rather than an object one obtains. 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Having perfected their sound across two albums and hundreds of shows, the London-based Celtic jangle boyband push themselves even further into the shimmering heart of virtuosic indie rock, with the addition of fiddle player \u003cstrong\u003eChris Haigh\u003c\/strong\u003e adding a key element to the album’s lushness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHard Life\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, the persona familiar to listeners of \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCotton Crown\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDead Meat\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is still present, but so too is a second voice, steelier and more experienced. These voices argue, pester one another, merge into each other, and break apart, sometimes over the course of a single song. 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Produced by Ryan Olson (Poliça, Gayngs) with songs by Lambchop's principal Kurt Wagner and member Andrew Broder, Punching the Clown was tracked over three days at April Base, the studio of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and features Vernon on banjo as well as a six-part choir throughout.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e----\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo hear \u003cstrong\u003eKurt Wagner\u003c\/strong\u003e tell it, \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePunching the Clown\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e began as a ghost hunt. After hearing a song on the radio while driving one night — “a minimal single chord strummed banjo and a small group of voices” — he went looking for it and failed. In his pursuit, he discovered “lined out singing,” a form of acapella call-and-response gospel singing that began in Scotland in the 1800s and became a root of American gospel and country music when Scottish immigrants settled in Appalachia. 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Following \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNew Breed\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e (2019) and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/dawn-richard-second-line\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:hsl(0,75%,60%);\"\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSecond Line\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e(2021), \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCreole Culture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is akin to a panel of a triptych: a fully-realized sonic and narrative universe in which Richard, as King Creole, rebuilds her hometown of New Orleans in her image. She not only honors her city for what it was or what it gave her, but stakes a claim for it as a cradle of global culture now and for all time.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"merge records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Champagne Wave)","offer_id":52996582342967,"sku":"MRG896LP-C1","price":28.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52996582375735,"sku":"MRG896LP","price":27.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":52996582408503,"sku":"MRG896CD","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52941994787127,"sku":"MRG896digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/7e4ddbd65607cf637f2db660c3c469a386ffa989_8828bfe9d4689669e2fbd39278ece1d7d1663251_medium_jpg_56971f4c-8834-4bfa-8b12-b09b2e1b86ad.jpg?v=1789600620"},{"product_id":"the-clean-great-sounds-great-good-sounds-good-so-so-sounds-so-so-bad-sounds-bad-rotten-sounds-rotten","title":"The Clean - Great Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-So Sounds So-So, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten!!","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eOn November 13, 2026, Merge Records will reissue two 1982 releases by \u003cstrong\u003eThe Clean\u003c\/strong\u003e: their second EP \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreat Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-So Sounds So-So, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten!!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e(usually referred to as \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreat Sounds Great\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e), and the \u003cstrong\u003e“Getting Older” \u003c\/strong\u003e7-inch single. These vinyl releases represent the first time either title has been in print on the format since its initial release, and the first time either release has been made available on vinyl in North America.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eFollowing the success of their first EP \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoodle Boodle Boodle\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, released in November 1981, the band were keen to keep up their momentum while still being fresh in the minds and ears of the New Zealand public, but were also determined to try something different and not repeat themselves musically. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eRecorded in an old house in Christchurch by Doug Hood and Chris Knox in March 1982, \u003ci\u003eGreat Sounds Great\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003ehas a noticeably different feel and vibe to its predecessor. The band intentionally selected the more eclectic and idiosyncratic material from their set to record, and the recording process was more considered in its approach and arrangements than before. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eThe most similar song to the sound of \u003ci\u003eBoodle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eis the opening instrumental “Fish.” It’s also the only guitar workout on the EP, and features three separate guitar tracks to thicken up the sound. Reflecting the recent instrumental changes in their live set, there is also a strong presence of organ throughout the record, most notably on “Beatnik.” Accompanied with a video clip made by director Simon Morris, the song proved to be an enduring classic with repeated screenings on New Zealand television which further cemented the band’s success. Some songs used only three or two of the four available tracks on Chris Knox’s TEAC 4-track machine, with “Side On” and “End of My Dream” being respective examples of this minimalist approach to recording.     \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eDespite being given mixed reviews upon its release in May 1982, \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreat Sounds Great \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003eended up being just as successful as \u003ci\u003eBoodle,\u003c\/i\u003e reaching #4 in the New Zealand charts and remained in the charts for three months. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eReflecting the way they were originally issued in 1982, these reissues will be pressed on black vinyl and have been remastered by Tex Houston with fresh transfers of the original master tapes that are held at Alexander Turnbull Library (National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":52996624908599,"sku":"MRG854LP","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52996624941367,"sku":"MRG854digital","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/394de4d6ecb7fc384f7718f278342b95bcaf7f4e_76bb7ddb61471397079a0c54e7731e74eea710ae_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789589284"},{"product_id":"the-clean-getting-older","title":"The Clean - Getting Older","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eOn November 13, 2026, Merge Records will reissue two 1982 releases by \u003cstrong\u003eThe Clean\u003c\/strong\u003e: their second EP \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreat Sounds Great, Good Sounds Good, So-So Sounds So-So, Bad Sounds Bad, Rotten Sounds Rotten!!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e(usually referred to as \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGreat Sounds Great\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e), and the \u003cstrong\u003e“Getting Older” \u003c\/strong\u003e7-inch single. These vinyl releases represent the first time either title has been in print on the format since its initial release, and the first time either release has been made available on vinyl in North America.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eFollowing the success of their first EP \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBoodle Boodle Boodle\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, released in November 1981, the band were keen to keep up their momentum while still being fresh in the minds and ears of the New Zealand public, but were also determined to try something different and not repeat themselves musically. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eReleased posthumously after the band first split in late 1982, “\u003cstrong\u003eGetting Older\u003c\/strong\u003e”\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003ewas their humble attempt at a “\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#222222;\"\u003eWall Of Sound”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e style production, with overdubbed viola, trumpet, maracas and drone guitar accompanied by backing vocals from Chris Knox and Martin Phillipps. The b-sides show the band at possibly their most experimental, with “Scrap Music” being two separate performances of the same instrumental laid over the top of each other with one panned from side to side. “Whatever I Do is Right\/Wrong” features no guitar at all — a bold move from a band known for its inventive guitaring. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eCollectors should take note that this 7-inch contains a small hidden extra — a few extra seconds of group discussion and false starts preceding “Whatever I Do is Right\/Wrong” (humorously titled \"Arguing\" on the back cover) that has been shaved off from all previous digital releases of the song.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eReflecting the way they were originally issued in 1982, these reissues will be pressed on black vinyl and have been remastered by Tex Houston with fresh transfers of the original master tapes that are held at Alexander Turnbull Library (National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl (Black)","offer_id":52996625006903,"sku":"MRG853LP","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":52996625039671,"sku":"MRG853digital","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/8da48e294f551a0b1ae36d682b60a0d38ca86628_00020c709687972f0911ea5ffca700eea3533752_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789589287"},{"product_id":"m-h-aol-scam-manifesto","title":"M(h)aol - Scam Manifesto","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(51,51,51);\"\u003e“'Scam Manifesto' is a song I wrote during one of my semi-regular social media breaks,” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConstance Keane (drums\/vocals, she\/her) \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:rgb(255,255,255);color:rgb(51,51,51);\"\u003esays. “My entire feed was 'how to lose the last 5 lbs’ and obituaries for people I didn’t know. It’s about the guilt I feel about my own hypocrisy. Publicly, I say that as a woman it’s my right to be as ugly and old as I want and still value myself, while privately I was consistently fixating on a list of things I would change about my appearance. It’s about having one rule for others and another one for yourself.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Download","offer_id":52996625072439,"sku":"MRG913dig1","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/eb2aa22ec42818c829db9a352ddbda3152f054ca_ac968a0197af9314dd65caa5b6d3ab007d3f68c3_medium_jpg.jpg?v=1789589290"},{"product_id":"tanner-york-welcome-to-the-shower","title":"Tanner York - Welcome to the Shower","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eOn \u003cstrong\u003eFebruary 26, 2027\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eMerge Records\u003c\/strong\u003e will reissue \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/artist\/tanner_york\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:hsl(0,75%,60%);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTanner York’s\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003edebut album, \u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWelcome to the Shower\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e. Emerging from the power pop underground in 2025, \u003ci\u003eWelcome to the Shower\u003c\/i\u003e is sweet and psyched out, full of Big Star bravado and Brian Wilson’s bittersweet bliss. The Merge reissue, arriving on CD and limited-edition opaque “Baby Bloo” Peak Vinyl, features the previously unreleased track \u003cstrong\u003e“Dumbest Person Alive.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003eMade in a short frenzy while studying music tech at UNC Asheville, \u003ci\u003eWelcome to the Shower\u003c\/i\u003e was, according to York, the product of his getting “pretty obsessed with recording on 8-track cassette recorders, along with the idea of the ‘perfect pop song.’” \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTanner York on \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWelcome to the Shower\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp style=\"margin-left:36pt;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"background-color:transparent;color:#000000;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eI don’t know if I achieved that anywhere on here, but this crop of bite-sized songs has remained very near and dear to my heart. Most of the music I was listening to at the time was home-recorded in a very obvious and proud way. I loved the idea of basking in the limitations, and I became infatuated with small-sounding music.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"Peak Vinyl (Baby Bloo)","offer_id":53096245985591,"sku":"MRG919LP-C1","price":22.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53096246018359,"sku":"MRG919CD","price":13.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":53096246051127,"sku":"MRG919digital","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/mrg919_tanneryork_welcometotheshower_3600.jpg?v=1793050475"},{"product_id":"lambchop-demoed","title":"Lambchop - Demoed","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOn February 5, 2027, Merge will release a vinyl edition of \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemoed\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003ea collection of tracks from \u003cstrong\u003eLambchop's\u003c\/strong\u003e 2026 \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/products\/lambchop-punching-the-clown?_pos=1\u0026amp;_psq=punching+the+clown\u0026amp;_psid=b1c6b328a\u0026amp;_ss=e\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePunching the Clown\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, each a collaborative spin from \u003cstrong\u003eKurt Wagner\u003c\/strong\u003e and friends. The digital version of this release will be available on November 20, 2026. Both formats are available for\u003cstrong\u003e preorder\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003enow\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn excerpt from Kurt on \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDemoed\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDEMOED\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Is this really a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003elambchop\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e record? …\u003cstrong\u003eabsolutely\u003c\/strong\u003e. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWe made a list of people to ask and sent them the demos along with the finished Punching the Clown album. We asked them to keep it simple and not over think it, to keep it in the spirit of what a demo might be. Like a sketch for a painting, a demo. Sometimes they added other elements furthering their artistic involvement. It was their choice, their reaction to the premise and the tune.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLooking at it now, it does seem like one of those tribute records that happen after an artist dies or needs to raise funds for an operation or medical treatment. But I assure you, I am very much alive and all over what you hear here. Unlike cover versions of our songs, these are songs we made — I’m just not the singer. Jake, Haley, Alan, Channy, Dan, Lauren, Jenn, and Mari are.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Merge Records","offers":[{"title":"LP (Black)","offer_id":53396049297719,"sku":"MRG907LP","price":21.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Download","offer_id":53396049330487,"sku":"MRG907Digital","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0966\/3935\/3143\/files\/mrg907_lambchop_demoed_3600.jpg?v=1792701883"}],"url":"https:\/\/mergerecords.com\/collections\/year-in-review.oembed","provider":"Merge Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}