Lee Fields & The Expressions

My World

Release Date: June 2

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Lee Fields is a bona-fide, 100%, unadulterated, pure, gut-bucket soul singer. While the crate-digging funk and soul community bestowed "legendary" status upon him due to his undeniably solid series of rare 7" singles (and one LP) recorded and released on his own independent labels in the 70s, he's never been satisfied to sit in a dusty corner. New York label/production team Truth & Soul have brought him to light with brand new album My World, full of beat-heavy, deep soul ballads that will show soul-revivalists the world over what real soul is.

When Truth & Soul rose from Soul Fire's ashes in 2004, the first mission of label owners/producers Jeff Silverman and Leon Michels was to record a sweet soul record that would be modeled after the near perfect formula that bands like The Moments, The Delfonics, and The Stylistics had created, but with a decidedly modern bend.

Four years later and Lee Fields & The Expressions have successfully created a unique and personal sound that can hold court with the bands they set out to emulate. However, what they've accomplished goes beyond a carbon copy of sweet soul from the 60's and early 70's. The formula has remained the same but the style has been adapted for the ears of youngsters whose experiences with soul began with Amy, not Al, Otis and Marvin. Thirty years of retrospection has colored this cross-generational melding of the minds, yielding classic results: hip hop-reared record collectors come full circle to produce an album of beautiful soul music with one of the progenitors who made it all possible.

The Antlers

Hospice

Release Date: June 23

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Brooklyn indie rock dramatists The Antlers self-released the gut-wrenching Hospice - a record about caring for the terminally ill, even when they're mentally abusive - earlier this year. On the strength of high praise from the folks at Pitchfork and NPR, who named the record one of the young year's finest, New York's Frenchkiss Records scooped the band up and quickly set an official, widespread release for the album.

Re-mastered, and supported by a recently-wrapped up run of dates with Au Revoir Simone, Hospice is set for digital release on June 23rd, and physical release on August 18th. Last month, the band offered up "Two," the first remastered taste from the record, in Pitchfork's Forkcast.

The Antlers are currently playing a string of shows with Page France offshoot Cotton Jones, and next month will hit the stage at the Pitchfork Music Festival in preparation for their tour with Frightened Rabbit.

Hospice has already garnered amazing reviews from just about everyone who's heard it. Time Out New York calls it "truly heart-wrenching," while Flavorpill says it's "a profound meditation on love and loss," and the Wall Street Journal's blog calls it "a deeply moving album that brings to mind "Funeral" by Arcade Fire and "Songs in A&E" by Spiritualized."

Listen to the aforementioned "Two" below.