Kansas The Absence of Presence (Phil Ehart)

This past July 17, Kansas released their new studio album,The Absence of Presence (Inside Out Music). The album was coproduced by drummer Phil Ehart—check out this early interview from 1977 Modern Drummer’s first year of publication—and guitarist Richard Williams, who, like Ehart, was a cofounder of Kansas in 1973. The Absence of Presence is available on CD, double LP, 180-gram vinyl, a limited-edition Deluxe CD + 5.1 Blu-Ray Artbook, and digitally on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and all other streaming services.

Lotus Free Swim (Mike Greenfield)

Instrumental-electronic quintet Lotusrecently announced that their new studio album, Free Swim,will be released Friday, August 21. The album, which was recorded earlier this year at Spice House Sound in Philadelphia, marks the follow-up to the band’s 2018 audio/video release Frames Per Second. It’s the band’stenth full-length independent studio album overall, not including their multiple live, EP, and remix collections. In addition to Mike Greenfield on drums and Chuck Morris on percussion, Lotus features Jesse Miller on bass and modular synth, Luke Miller on keyboards and guitar, and Mike Rempel on guitar.

Motörhead Ace of Spades Reissues (Philthy Animal Taylor)

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Motohead’s Ace of Spades, on October 30 BMG is releasing new deluxe editions of the classic album. In addition to hardback book-packs in two-CD and triple-LP formats, the album will be released as an ultimate fan, collector-edition box set, containing a bevy of era-specific treasures and forty-two previously unreleased tracks. Highlights include The Ace of Spades album, half-speed mastered and created from the original master tapes; two double-live albums of previously unheard concerts from the Ace Up Your Sleeve tour; A Fistful of Instrumentals, a 10″ EP of previously unreleased, instrumental tracks from 1980.; The Good, The Broke & The Ugly, a double album of B-sides, outtakes and rare tracks; Ace on Your Screens, a DVD compilation of rare TV appearances from 1980-81, a live concert from 1981, and a 5.1 audio mix of the original album; a 40-page book, and a selection of collectibles. Motorhead at this time featured bassist/vocalist Lemmy, guitarist Fast Eddie Clarke, and drummer Philthy Animal Taylor. Advertisement