{"title":"20 20 20","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"today-reissue","title":"Today (Reissue)","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen Galaxie 500's \u003ci\u003eToday\u003c\/i\u003e was released in 1988, it set off a chain reaction of quiet explosions still being felt. Never before had a record so emphasized the calming elements of rock music, transforming what at first seems like a collection of bridges into fully realized songs. and one can draw a straight line from here to the many groups they influenced, like Low, Belle and Sebastian, and Bon Iver. \u003ci\u003eToday\u003c\/i\u003e is full of idiosyncrasies. The trio of Damon Krukowski, Dean Wareham, and Naomi Yang were recent harvard grads who intuitively eliminated any histrionic tradition to rock songs, leaving core emotion (not for nothing did they include a cover of \u003ci\u003eDon't Let Our Youth go to Waste\u003c\/i\u003e, by the kings of feeling, the Modern Lovers). It was produced by Mark Kramer, who was best known for his work with cataclysmic slop rock pioneers such as Bongwater, Ween, and King Missle. The bands hometown of Boston was just coming out of its love affair with Mission of Burma and pouncing upon the spasmodic electricity of the pixies. despite, or perhaps because of, all these elements, \u003ci\u003eToday \u003c\/i\u003ethrived. More than 30 years after its initial release, its title is still no misnomer. the music, recorded with what many thought at the time was too much reverb, sounds present, alive, and indeed a product of today. Songs like \u003ci\u003eFlowers, Temperatures Rising\u003c\/i\u003e, and of course \u003ci\u003eTugboat \u003c\/i\u003e(the bands debut single) stand the test of time and exist in an eternal now\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP.","offer_id":50409840345419,"sku":"2001403","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50409839919435,"sku":"314829","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/9234bdbe-c401-4a65-a9cb-037cc13192cd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726629641"},{"product_id":"a-sky-record","title":"A Sky Record","description":"\u003cp\u003eIconic indie folk pop duo from Galaxie 500 return with a dreamy collaboration with atmospheric Japanese guitarist Kurihara. With its meditative tempos and enveloping guitar work by Michio Kurihara—‘it’s like this golden net,’ Naomi said of his gorgeous, versatile playing—\u003ci\u003eA Sky Record\u003c\/i\u003e offers shelter from the squall. If it has the glow of a long-delayed reunion between friends, that’s not accidental: Kurihara hasn’t traveled outside of Japan in some time, so Damon and Naomi hadn’t recorded with him in nearly ten years. When they finally made it back to Japan in November 2019 for a brief tour, they were elated to book some time with Kurihara at the aptly named studio Peace Music.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“In those long stretches of quarantime, the tracks they returned from Japan with had distinct moods but not yet any lyrics. (Kurihara works best when trying to conjure a specific feeling or natural image—after all, he did once make a solo record, Sunset Notes, on which every song was based on a different sunset he’d witnessed...) How to write about the pandemic? How to not write about the pandemic? Naomi first struck upon the appropriate tone when re-reading the journals of one of her favourite abstract painters, Charles Burchfield. She arranged this found language into the lyrics of the iridescent ‘Season Without Time,’ which also became a tribute to a friend that she and Damon had lost in the last year.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"Blue | LP","offer_id":50414519517515,"sku":"1160051","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50414521024843,"sku":"1163301","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4a429bec-dccd-40db-b0d5-623a6b4eba8e_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726683733"},{"product_id":"on-fire-reissue","title":"On Fire","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eOn Fire\u003c\/i\u003e is widely recognized as the canonic pinnacle of Galaxie 500's career. The artwork conveys this, with a low-angle shot of the band, looking up towards an amber sky. This record marked the realization of their signature sound. Nowhere is it clearer than on the album opener, \u003ci\u003eBlue Thunder\u003c\/i\u003e, the closest a song can come to waves crashing on a beach in songform. Lyrically inconsequential, with a chorus composed entirely of la's, the tracks power lies in a systematic build and break of intensity that reaches a Spector-like climax. It is the quintessential Galaxie 500 song, encapsulating all that was great about the band. With the Boston trio once again utilizing the bizarre genius of producer Mark Kramer, \u003ci\u003eOn Fire \u003c\/i\u003esounds like anything but. The guitars are warm blankets enwrapping Dean Wareham's vocals, percolated by the open percussion of Damon Krukowski and anchored by the emotion-laden bass of Naomi Yang. Songs like Snowstorm, Strange, and Decomposing Trees have an endless quality, without beginnings or ends, but rather frozen somewhere on a spectrum of melancholy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"Orange LP","offer_id":50415958458699,"sku":"2001402","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f1e31902-fba3-4e58-a8fa-54db9939a612_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726694112"},{"product_id":"this-is-our-music-reissue","title":"This Is Our Music (Reissue)","description":"\u003cp\u003eAfter producing two albums celebrated by a thirsty underground network of fans, Galaxie 500 released what turned out to be their unexpected swansong, \u003ci\u003eThis is our Music\u003c\/i\u003e. The title is an intentionally declarative statement. After being labeled masters of the disengaged and forlorn, Damon Krukowsi, Dean Wareham, and Naomi Yang delivered a full-length comprised of their most stately material. Here, one can hear potential realized, as well as changes afoot. \u003ci\u003eFourth of July\u003c\/i\u003e is a surprisingly up-front song for the band,with rolling drums and a bass-heavy refrain, and it proved to be their most popular single. The track sets the stage for the dynamism of \u003ci\u003eThis is our Music\u003c\/i\u003e. When Galaxie 500 sounds wistful (\u003ci\u003eSummertime\u003c\/i\u003e), it sounds like years of yearning actualized; when the band sounds regretful (\u003ci\u003eSorry\u003c\/i\u003e), it comes pleading on its knees. The trio found a beautiful balance between increased production values and knob-twiddler Mark Kramers odd handed approach. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50416220373323,"sku":"2001401","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/32455609-b62b-42d7-85d6-9d04d904d7b3_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726699004"},{"product_id":"within-these-walls-1","title":"Within These Walls","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 2005, Damon and Naomi released \u003ci\u003eThe Earth is Blue\u003c\/i\u003e, an album that looked out to all the places they had visited and cultures they've experienced. Two years later, and two decades into their uniquely realized career, the duo cast their view inward with the release of \u003ci\u003eWithin These Walls\u003c\/i\u003e. With emotional songs of highly personalized lyrics, Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang explore the depths of the human condition, with its pain and loss and tragedy balled up with the quiet beauty of existence. and, beyond life itself, where to look for inspiration on such solemn topics? Everyone has their own sources, but Krukowski and Yang took it directly to the chairman of the board. \"we bought lots of Frank Sinatra LPs, cleaning out the local stores. He released one sad album and one happy album a year, you can tell by whether he's smiling or frowning on the cover.\" Listening to the production style of those albums (especially the sad ones!), how the arrangements were able to load on instruments while keeping the vocals pure and clear, Provided a new approach for how Damon and Naomi would go about recording the new record, which has a greater amount of varied instrumentation than they ever used before. Saxophonist Bob Rainey arranged horn and also lush string accompaniment (including cello performed by Helena Espvall of espers), while the \"silent third member\" of Damon and Naomi, Michio Kurihara, contributes his skills as one of the world's greatest guitar players throughout. Damon and Naomi have fully realised their ideal of how to be a band.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50452365738315,"sku":"1008240","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/47d17e88-7a21-408a-b43a-79fe5c843935_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727149535"},{"product_id":"a-sky-record-companion","title":"A Sky Record Companion","description":"\u003cp\u003eCompanion book to indie icon's latest album. 8 inches x 10 inches, 48 pages, full colour with 34 photographs. It features Contributors:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJarvis Cocker\u003cbr\u003eSoichiro Nakamura\u003cbr\u003eMichio Kurihara\u003cbr\u003eDamon Krukowski\u003cbr\u003eSusanne Sasic\u003cbr\u003eNaomi Yang\u003cbr\u003eRichard Youngs\u003cbr\u003eLindsay Zoladz \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"20 20 20","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50466134425931,"sku":"1130170","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/3e4912fc-5749-4fb8-bf7e-14ebc6af3a6d_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727306138"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/20-20-20.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}