(Wolvserpent) lp 23.00

AURICLE, THE s/t (s/r) cd-r 7.98
People went nuts for the most recent record from local psychedelic space rockers 3 Leafs, and rightfully so, a primo clutch of tripped out, druggy drift. The Auricle finds one of those Leafs exploring another quadrant of the outer reaches, this time with a drastically different arsenal, violin, French horn, ukulele and sampler, sounds strange, but this trio makes it work, a healthy dollop of reverb, a little delay, the violin unfurling loooooong velvety ribbons of sound, the French horn moaning out melancholy melodies, the Ukulele spinning out little upper register trills, sent spiraling into the ether, the sampler... well, not sure what it's doing, probably just taking all of the rest of the sounds and subtly twisting and transforming, the end result is something that is definitely space-y, abstract and atmospheric, haunting, playful pizzicato melodies surface here and there, the violin sometimes drifting into more traditional sounds, making this sound like a chamber ensemble drifting through space, and that's just the first track.
The rest of the record definitely branches out a little, from warped minimal sort-of-bluegrass, looped and hypnotic, to otherworldly music box like warble, to clattery almost industrial sounding machinemusic, to deep almost new age sounding ethereal ambience, to strangely drone-y old timey back porch blues, to slow spaced out slowcore lullabies, all tied together by the woozy washed out reverby production, and the strange and wonderful instrumentation.
MPEG Stream: "Fake Moisture"
MPEG Stream: "Truth Gets Its Shoes On"

BIRD TRAPS Don't Be So Reckless (Black Cross Recordings) cd-r 9.98
A copy of this just showed up in the mail one day, all the way from Australia, a long time ago, but then somehow disappeared, lost we can only assume, amidst all of the stuff that is continually piling up here at aQ. Eventually, after some back and forth with the band we managed to secure another copy, and WOW are we glad we did. We were expecting something heavy and dark, not sure if it's the name that maybe had us confusing them with the Bird Blobs (bad ass Aussie garage punks) or the fact that they were pals with the Grey Daturas, either way, this is anything but dark and heavy, instead, Bird Traps traffic in something much more ethereal and ephemeral, slow shimmering soundscapes, cinematic and warm, lush and emotional, long slowly unfurling melancholic melodies, sun dappled and soft focus, dreamlike abstract chamber music of sorts reminding us of William Basinski, the Caretaker, Rachel's, Klimek, Max Richter, Tim Hecker, Belong, but unlike many of those sound sculptors, the music of Bird Traps is not distorted, or decayed, not warped or blown out, but IS hushed and delicate, mysterious and gauzy, a softly spun series of mini epics, long tones stretched out over hazy expanses of minimal whir, of blurred minimal melody, the songs developing gradually, soft swells giving way to gentle washes of crystalline sound, completely mesmerizing, able to envelop the listener in a velvet cocoon of sonic tranquility, but infused with just enough pathos and emotion, to make the sounds compelling, evocative, intimate and intense. A soundtrack to a slowly shifting, nearly static sepia toned film of the sky melting into the horizon, the stars fading into the cloak of night, this world slipping into the next...
MPEG Stream: "Floorboards"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Be So Reckless"

BOHREN & DER CLUB OF GORE Mitleid Lady (Latitudes 0:11) (Southern / Latitudes) cd ep 13.98
BACK IN STOCK!!
Long rumored, long awaited, Bohren and Der Club Of Gore's installment in Southern UK's limited edition Latitudes series is, finally, here!! While the Latitudes series has included a disparate selection of interesting artists, including AQ faves like Circle, Shit & Shine, Grails, and now Bohren. You'd think they were asking US who they should put out! Certainly if they HAD asked us, we'd have said Bohren, we're (as you probably know) huge fans, we're still in awe of the live show they played in San Francisco a few months back, also something that we didn't ever think we'd see. The stage was in total darkness except for small lights shining from directly above each musician, one bassist, one keyboardist, and another who played keys, bass, and sax as necessary. And while it was unfortunate that there was no drummer (for some reason he couldn't travel with the band) their usual slow tempo meant that the keyboardist could "play" sampled drums fairly effectively, though doubtless it would probably have been even better had the actual drummer been there (however, one of our friends who was at the show didn't even realize there was no live drummer present, due to the darkness, and the fact that the glowing Bohren skull-head logo in the center of the stage looked like it was on a bass drum head!). Their music was so beautiful, and sooooo heavy. Literally one of the HEAVIEST performances we've ever witnessed, SO MUCH BASS it was insane. And remember, they're essentially a jazz group.
So, we like Bohren. You like Bohren (or if you haven't heard 'em, may we suggest their most recent album, Dolores?). And so we're both excited that this is here. Heck, we've been waiting for it for a while. Apparently the Latitudes folks like to get people all in a tizzy by announcing things YEARS in advance of the actual release. As a result, Bohren fans have been asking about this one, since, well back when Barack Obama was still an unknown community organizer, it seems. We had sorta given up hope of ever actually seeing it come out, assuming it was a figment of someone at Southern's overactive imagination. But then what do you know, out of the blue, with no warning, here they are. We got ALL the copies we're gonna be able to get, and good luck finding it elsewhere. So act fast if you want one.
Here's the lowdown: Like the previous Latitudes volume, from White Magic, this is an ep, just one song in fact, and while Bohren have been known to make some looooong songs, this one is "only" 10 and a half minutes in length. But of course what with Bohren's typical mesmeric glacial pace and soporific atmospheres, when "Mitleid Lady" is playing it's as if time has stopped, anyway... the bass frequencies throbbing gently, the sparse snick...snick...snick of the drummer's high hat, the dulcet liquid tones of electric piano melodically meandering... eventually the merest suggestion of a sweet whisper of smoky saxophone... ahhh the unique slo-mo "jazz" of Bohren is utterly entrancing as usual. This track was recorded back 2006 (we said it was long awaited), after their Geisterfaust record and before the more recent Dolores, and sounds like it could easily have found a place on either album. But having it here on its own disc is actually rather nice, as a "concentrated" (not really) dose of Bohren's special sound to savor.
It's also an attractive collectible artifact, in the usual die-cut, cardboard Latitudes packaging, including an insert with text in German on one side, and a curiously unexpected picture of the mostly all-bald Bohren guys on the other side - all four of them dressed in black, of course, but standing in a grassy park on a sunny day somewhere, three of them wearing shorts, two of 'em in sandals and flipflops!
LIMITED EDITION! 1000 COPIES ONLY! We got less than 100, and that's IT.
MPEG Stream: "Mitleid Lady"

BUNKUR II - Nullify (Displeased) cd 13.98
BACK IN STOCK!!
It's been 5 years since the last Bunkur record, the appropriately titled Bludgeon, possibly one of the slowest, heaviest sickest doomdronedirge discs EVER. Corrupted, Esoteric, Khanate, Asva, Rigor Sardonicous, Skepticism, Fleshpress, all heavy and slow, but it always seemed like Bunkur managed to push that sound a little further. And if anything, record number 2 from these guys, titled Nullify, might have thrown down the gauntlet, creating a single, sprawling, 77 minute cloud of oozing slow motion black hate. Until Corrupted come through with their rumored triple disc single song, Nullify might just rank as the one to beat. That is if by beat, you meant create a doom record, that was impossibly slow, with instruments tuned insanely low, a sprawling skeletal song structure that is so spare and sparse it seems essentially structureless, with vocals that sound like you're vomiting up your internal organs, drums that sound like they're playing to some subterranean deathmarch, and basslines that aren't really lines at all, more like subsonic tones emanating from some bottomless pit. Cuz that's what it would take to out-doom these Dutch destroyers. But hell, why bother, better to just sit back, and let Bunkur's filthy black tide wash over you.
Slow, and epic, not really 'heavy' as much as dense, dark, deep and dismal, in fact Nullify almost sounds more ritualistic and abstract than doomy, like a heavier blacker Abruptum, lots of rumbling and groaning and howling and creeping and oozing, here and there the band do lock into something more propulsive, and by that we mean like 4 or 5 bpm, the drums offering up some chaotic fills, the bass swelling and undulating, but just as quickly whatever forward momentum is generated is dispelled and the band grinds back to a near static rumble. In a weird way, this is almost a drone record, strangely soothing in fact, a blurred smeared expanse of rumbling buzzing low end, the vocals and grinding riffage, so low and filthy and downtuned, that they just sound like more layers sound, but strap on some headphones, and it's like being sucked into hell, a harrowing sonic journey through the deepest pits of the underworld, every crushing thrum like the soul shattering footstep of some massive demon, every streak of hiss like a fiery blast of hellbreath, intense and brutal, massive and mysterious, punishing and pummeling, a gorgeously grim expanse of ultra, mega, multiple o'd, beyond funereal, kvltish hell doooooooooooom. And thus, gets our highest, or perhaps lowest, recommendation.
MPEG Stream: "Nullify - Excerpt I"
MPEG Stream: "Nullify - Excerpt II"

CLEANING WOMEN U (Cobra) cd 17.98
We're a sucker for pretty much anything Finnish. The weirder the better. So when we discovered Cleaning Women, a trio of Finns, who dressed up like ladies, housecoats, stockings, the whole nine yards, and who performed on an assemblage of customized kitchen appliances and household items, stoves, ironing boards. drying racks, clothes horses, we were sold before we even heard a note.
Luckily they had the music to back up their eccentric presentation, a strange chaos of wild percussion, blown out fuzz bass, and crooned vocals. Their second record was a soundtrack of sorts, and ended up being way more varied and schizophrenic than their debut, and once again, for record number three, the simply titled U, they've shifted gears again, and really hit their stride. Where as before, it seemed like the music was secondary to the concept, here, the music is dark and brooding and hypnotic, poppy and melodic, minimal and mesmerizing, they even seemed to have ditched the drag, if the band photo is any indication, they're still glamorous, and odd looking, but in a sort of Euro vampire glam rock way. But the music. Wow. Everything we loved about the first two records distilled and compressed into something magical.
The opening track is like a super minimal junkyard Circle, with its endlessly repeating main riff, the clanky percussion, the woozy seasick rhythm, there's even a creepy interlude partway through, with tolling bells, booming metallic rumbles and mysterious reverbed whistles, before the band launch back into it, this time adding vocals, the Circle comparison becoming even more apt, like an industrial Circle covering Morricone or something? However you slice it, it's amazing.
The second track almost sounds like an analog Kraftwerk, with it's blooping bassline, and motorik melody, mix in a little twangy guitar, swirling synths, super cinematic and dramatic. The third track is a pop gem, with it's dreamy vocal melody, and softly propulsive rhythm, and pizzicato strings, it almost reminds us of Uz Jsme Doma, but way more mellow and shimmery.
"The Miners' Song" sounds like a warped Pink Floyd outtake, until the main riff kicks in, fuzzy and fierce and downright heavy, and suddenly we're back in hypnorock territory, but with a distinctly playful pop edge.
The second half of the record is more of the same, from super minimal bowed string dronescapes, rife with surfy twang and delicate shimmer, to strange otherworldly cabaret pop, with xylophone like percussion, and cool Eastern melodies, to clattery math pop workouts that sound like some mad mix of Nomeansno and Sparks, to the eight minute closer "Scythians", which again veers into Circle territory, spidery looped melodies over simple motorik rhythms, reverbed and softly woozy, before shifting gears, introducing chanted vocals and slipping into a super dramatic slow build, culminating in a cool hauntingly harmonized choral outro.
Absolutely WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Quartarius"
MPEG Stream: "Across The Void"
MPEG Stream: "Scythians"

CLEANING WOMEN U (Cobra) lp 24.00
We're a sucker for pretty much anything Finnish. The weirder the better. So when we discovered Cleaning Women, a trio of Finns, who dressed up like ladies, housecoats, stockings, the whole nine yards, and who performed on an assemblage of customized kitchen appliances and household items, stoves, ironing boards. drying racks, clothes horses, we were sold before we even heard a note.
Luckily they had the music to back up their eccentric presentation, a strange chaos of wild percussion, blown out fuzz bass, and crooned vocals. Their second record was a soundtrack of sorts, and ended up being way more varied and schizophrenic than their debut, and once again, for record number three, the simply titled U, they've shifted gears again, and really hit their stride. Where as before, it seemed like the music was secondary to the concept, here, the music is dark and brooding and hypnotic, poppy and melodic, minimal and mesmerizing, they even seemed to have ditched the drag, if the band photo is any indication, they're still glamorous, and odd looking, but in a sort of Euro vampire glam rock way. But the music. Wow. Everything we loved about the first two records distilled and compressed into something magical.
The opening track is like a super minimal junkyard Circle, with its endlessly repeating main riff, the clanky percussion, the woozy seasick rhythm, there's even a creepy interlude partway through, with tolling bells, booming metallic rumbles and mysterious reverbed whistles, before the band launch back into it, this time adding vocals, the Circle comparison becoming even more apt, like an industrial Circle covering Morricone or something? However you slice it, it's amazing.
The second track almost sounds like an analog Kraftwerk, with it's blooping bassline, and motorik melody, mix in a little twangy guitar, swirling synths, super cinematic and dramatic. The third track is a pop gem, with it's dreamy vocal melody, and softly propulsive rhythm, and pizzicato strings, it almost reminds us of Uz Jsme Doma, but way more mellow and shimmery.
"The Miners' Song" sounds like a warped Pink Floyd outtake, until the main riff kicks in, fuzzy and fierce and downright heavy, and suddenly we're back in hypnorock territory, but with a distinctly playful pop edge.
The second half of the record is more of the same, from super minimal bowed string dronescapes, rife with surfy twang and delicate shimmer, to strange otherworldly cabaret pop, with xylophone like percussion, and cool Eastern melodies, to clattery math pop workouts that sound like some mad mix of Nomeansno and Sparks, to the eight minute closer "Scythians", which again veers into Circle territory, spidery looped melodies over simple motorik rhythms, reverbed and softly woozy, before shifting gears, introducing chanted vocals and slipping into a super dramatic slow build, culminating in a cool hauntingly harmonized choral outro.
Absolutely WAY recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Quartarius"
MPEG Stream: "Across The Void"
MPEG Stream: "Scythians"

DEATH DOMAIN Ethidium Bromide / Programmed Cell Death (Dark Entries) 7" 6.98
Dark Entries has only a couple of releases under their belt, but the aesthetic of the label is firmly dictated by those releases: darkened post-punk electronics and dour new wave. Obscure reissues seems to be the focus for Dark Entries, but then there is Death Domain, a contemporary one-man band out of Baltimore, who might as well have been releasing work in Belgium circa 1983. The two tracks here fall between two somewhat obscure sounds -- Kas Product (who you might recall doing the title track to the So Young But So Cold compilation of French coldwave from the '80s) and Leather Nun (in particular the Slow Death single recorded for Industrial Records way back when). Death Domain have the aggro rhythms of Kas Product cranked through the most primitive of drum machines, and the life-support system synths that Leather Nun provided for that one single. All together, it's pretty damn good. Yeah, Cold Cave again rears their oh so influential of late head here, but think Cremations, not Love Comes Close.
Limited to 500 copies, with glow-in-the-dark silkscreened covers!
MPEG Stream: "Ethidium Bromide"
MPEG Stream: "Programmed Cell Death"

DESIRE If I Can't Hold You Tonight (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
Always an exciting day at AQ when a new slab of vinyl from Italians Do It Better comes our way. Earlier this year we got totally addicted to the debut full length from Desire, a record that was so spot on in its 80's sleek and sultry, late-night dance jams infused with a dark romantic aching yearning. With the intoxicating vocals of Megan Luise setting such a perfect tone for the impeccable production of Johnny Jewel (Glass Candy, Chromatics, etc.). So it's rad to get different versions of two of our favorite songs from the album. Side one gives us a totally lysergic slow burning stretched out version of "If I Can't Hold You Tonight" and then a completely stripped down minimal vocal version. Side two starts off with an instrumental version of their cover of "I Can Dream About You" followed by a goosebump inducing 8-track demo of the song that proves that Desire are not just about style and dancefloors, but that their music really does evoke such strong emotions. The 12" offers a much more minimal and slow burning side of Desire then the more over-the-top, all out 80's disco vibe of the full length. We're melting into this wax!

ENOID Suicide Genocide (Bergstolz) 10" 13.98
Another blast of furious blasting blackened sickness from Swiss one man horde Enoid, masterminded by Bornyhake, who also does time in the equally awesome Borgne. We reviewed the Enoid full length Ataraxiis a few lists back, and Suicide Genocide takes up right where that one left off, furious and frantically blasting black metal, Norwegian style, and yeah, he's Swiss, but the sound is classic Scandinavian black metal, the riffs epic and soaring, the drumming brutal and lightning speed, the vocals demonic and bile spewing, the buzz cranked WAY up, the tracks dense and complex lurching from maniacal frenzied blasting, to sludge-y doomic pounding to weirdly melodic, often all those elements colliding midsong. And he's not just a killer player, he's capable of crafting some pretty excellent songs too, hidden amidst all that gnarled blackness and buzz drenched blast, lurk plenty of hooks, subtle perhaps, but there nonetheless infusing this filth with a vibe that keeps it from being just another slab of grim black whatever.
What is it about the Swiss, it's hard to pinpoint, but we're becoming mildly obsessed with bands from Switzerland, Paysage D'Hiver, Darkspace, Wacht, Ordo Infandorum Rituum Occultus (both reviewed elsewhere on this list), Sun Of The Blind, Borgne, and yeah, like the Ukraine, it's probably all the same 4 or 5 guys, but who cares, they've tapped into something, that's positioning Switzerland to give France and Norway And heck, the Ukraine a run for their black metal money.

FREEDOM HAWK s/t (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
We have to admit, when we first got this in, there were some Freedom Rock jokes, "Is that Freedom Hawk? Well, TURN IT UP", but that lasted precisely until we threw it on the stereo, at which point "Is that Freedom Hawk? Well, TURN IT UP" stopped being a joke and became a COMMAND, something we found ourselves thinking if not saying every time someone put it on in the store. Easily the heaviest, hookiest, grooviest slab of stoner rock / hard rock / classic metal we've heard all year. Huge sun baked riffs, throbbing fuzz bass, crashing drums, and howled Ozzy like vox, and most importantly some seriously catchy songs. Think a killer mix of vintage Kyuss, early Queens Of The Stone Age and classic Ozzy. It's stoner rock for sure, it is after all on the stoner rock centric Meteor City label, but it's so METAL, and so so poppy and catchy, and yeah heavy, totally rocking, very likely to induce headbanging, or at the very least air guitaring. One or two folks here thought maybe it was too derivative, and hell these guys do plunder and purloin, but they were quickly won over by the sound, the songs, and how these guys OWN their influences. Even the folks less inclined toward this sort of stuff, we've caught throwing this on when they though no one was listening.
At first we thought this was just a fun record, a sort of guilty pleasure even, but fuck it, this RULES, a killer hard rock / stoner metal record, well crafted, the playing bad ass, the sound warm and crunchy, the songs so catchy, guaranteed to stick in your head like crazy. We could go on and on, and usually do, but the true test is really how much we end up listening to something, and how often it gets played in the store, and if that's really the case, well, then this might just end up being one of THEE records of 2009 (in fact it even made it onto one aQuarian's top 10!!)...
MPEG Stream: "On The Other Side"
MPEG Stream: "Universal"
MPEG Stream: "My Road"

FRESH & ONLYS, THE Second One To Know (Woodsist) 7" 6.98
What more do you need to know? A new Fresh & Onlys 7", which means two more slabs of perfect pop. Not as fucked up and lo-fi as most of their contemporaries, the Fresh & Onlys traffic more in a total classic pop, Beach Boys, Kinks, Raspberries, Shoes, Cheap Trick, Beatles, sure it's rough around the edges, there are some woozy effects, the sound is wee bit lo-fi, but you'd be hard pressed to find any underground combos making pop as pure and catchy as these guys.
The title track is a soaring chunk or nearly perfect power pop, with a chorus to die for, amazing harmonies, and a lush yet lo-fi sound. The flipside is a little bit more shuffly, with acoustic guitars, skittery percussion, a much less obvious hook, but one that definitely sounds like something sixties and British. Awesome. Another band who seem to be bringing back the heyday of the 7", not merely a dumping ground for leftovers, but instead a showcase for a band's best and most immediately appealing songs...

GILDED ROOKS, THE Scarecrow's Pockets (Out Of Round) cd 11.98
Wow! if you've a penchant for rustic melancholia richly rooted in American country folk traditions, don't miss this new SF quintet's debut album. Although these days The Gilded Rooks are a full band of five, for these recordings which were captured in Nashville, TN, the band leaders Jessy Brown and Devon Angus were backed by locals Red White Blue. From the sounds of things, they got along smashingly well. The performances are terrific!, so easy-going and relaxed, you can easily imagine that they've been playing together for years. Scarecrow's Pockets is wonderfully drowsy and withery in mood and tempo. Brown's honeyed lilt and Angus' considerably more bristly, Waits-tinged delivery play off one another beautifully. The band tastefully embellishes the core guitar, bass and drums with piano, lap steel and organ, as well as surprise appearances of bright horns and a ghostly whisper of musical saw - all while still maintaining plenty of space to allow the duo's vocals to truly take flight. Each of the dozen songs is burnished to a mellow, whisky hued glow. Very warm and inviting despite the plaintive tones. Highlights are the opening title track, "31 Pages (Of Country Music)", and the closing "Joan Of Arc Of Bernal Hill". Along with the ten originals, they transform Jules Shear's "All Through The Night" (popularized by Cyndi Lauper) into a sweet shadowy lullaby, and also do a terrific rendition of Richard Thompson's "Walkin' On A Wire". Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Scarecrow's Pockets"
MPEG Stream: "All Through The Night"
MPEG Stream: "31 Pages (Of Country Music)"

GIRLS AT DAWN, THE s/t (Captured Tracks) lp 13.98
As we all make our 2009 favorite lists, we started thinking about what label released the most rad music and Captured Tracks would be pretty hard to beat with their amazing onslaught of killer releases this year, from folks like Blank Dogs, Brilliant Colors, Roman Soldiers, Dum Dum Girls, Gary War, Grass Widow, Woods, Thee Oh Sees, The Mayfair Set... God damn! They put out more amazing records in one year then many labels do in a decade! So it's so fitting that in the final days of 2009 we get one more slab of wax from Captured Tracks that we can't seem to stop listening to.
The Girls At Dawn for sure fit into the Captured Tracks aesthetic and would sound right at home on a bill with any of the above mentioned bands, yet they totally have their own unique charm that has made us so smitten with them. The way they infuse a haunting girl group element into their raw garage pop is totally hitting the spot. Makes us think of Grass Widow teaming up with The Sandwitches or a more lo-fi Slumber Party, or maybe Slant 6 / Quixotic doing Phil Spector and Thee Headoatees covers. In other words this is fucking great!

GOLDEN RING, THE Iranian Styled 60's Garage & Other Exotic Sounds (Persianna) cd 25.00
We first heard the Golden Ring on the amazing compilation Raks Raks Raks: 17 Golden Garage Psych Nuggets From The Iranian 60's Scene, and we knew we had to hear more, and just like that, a collection of 7"s and assorted tracks from the band that was one of the first and most important Iranian garage bands, mixing traditional Iranian music and instrumentation with Western pop of the time, like the Beatles, the results were mindblowing, totally ahead of their time, even know these songs sound incredible, catchy and groovy, but also totally psychedelic and mysterious.
The band never recorded a proper album, which makes this collection all the more amazing, every track here rules, it's a wonder this wasn't reissued ages ago. This is head and shoulders above much of the stuff that gets touted as lost classics.
The collection begins with "Tulip" that sounds like it could have been a Joe Meek production, in fact much of this record had us thinking it could have been a made up band masterminded by Meek, it's that far out, and that brilliant. "Tulip" adds swirling organ to twangy surf guitars, definitely offering a nod, intentional or otherwise to the Telstars, but it's track two where things get really good.
"Beauty" begins with tinkling melodies, and Bollywood like vocals, the sound swirling and definitely psychedelic, very dynamic and groovy, but them in come soaring operatic female vocals, and did we mention the stop start breakdown complete with whistling, so good, so totally classic, but at the same time, so unlike any of the other vintage garage rock we've heard.
And so it goes, much of the record is definitely very Middle Eastern sounding, almost like Iranian folk music given a garage makeover, the Beatles influence is definitely all over the place, as is plenty of whistling, and more of that swirly organ, the production is fantastic, lush, but definitely experimental, there's harmonica, giving those tracks a twangy Morricone vibe, there are dizzying organ driven rockers, the sound murky and washed out, the melodies tangled and weirdly atonal, there are some parts that sound very Bollywood, others just sound totally far out.
"Sun Full Moon" is a favorite, the whole song warped and warbly, guitars bending and swerving, the harmonicas practically melting, it sounds like the pitch is constantly shifting, like a mistake in mastering, but the result is super tripped out and amazing. This whole collection is just fantastic, hard to work on the list cuz this is pretty much all we want to listen to. Totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Tulip"
MPEG Stream: "Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Dancing Beauties"
MPEG Stream: "Heads Or Tails"

GR & FULL-BLOWN EXPANSION s/t (World Sound) cd 23.00
Imagine a slow, but nervously tense rhythmic krautrock ritual, but one that seems like somehow the likes of Bo Diddley, Link Wray, or Hasil Adkins would feel at home sitting in on... you're in Full-Blown Expansion territory.
Early last year, when gonzo French psychpunkrockers Gunslingers were over here on tour, they stayed at Allan's house, and their guitarist Gregory Raimo gifted Allan with a copy of one of his solo releases, an LP attributed to GR & Full-Blown Expansion, which has now been reissued on compact disc. A darn good thing 'cause we'd have wanted to list the LP but it was limited to just 300 colored vinyl copies and we never managed to get any for the store. Now that it's on cd version we've got a chance to justly rave about this wigged out, trance inducing music! While we already were familiar with some music made by the other 2/3rds of the Gunslingers trio, who y'know also play in the much more black metallic and equally awesome bands Aluk Todolo & Diamatregon, we didn't know as much about Gregory Raimo.
Judging by the motorpsycho acid rock six string action GR unleashes in Gunslingers, whom we tagged as trafficking in "utter aggro over the top distortodelic geetar excess" and compared to The Heads and Mainliner, we expected, well, a total amped-up electric geetar full-blown blow-out on his solo set. And yeah, you DO get some of that here all right, particularly later in the album on tracks like "The Scene (Slowly's Getting Louder)" which sure as heck does get loud and fuzzy, like Kinski or your fave Tokyo Flashback psych. But even more crucial to this album may be the roiling, percolating rhythms, evident right away in opening 12+ minute track/trip "Descent Along The An-Ti-Fohn-Nul" which had us convinced this was rad right off the bat, along with its spacey vibe, slashing bursts of guitar distortion, and greasy, drawling bathed-in-effects vocals...
GR's percussion is described thusly, in cryptic but no doubt accurate fashion: "regular & extensionist drums, loco-drums & asymmetric drumming". Crude and entropic it might be, but very effective in propelling these tracks into the a very krauty zone. Some parts are mantrically mesmeric, others more "free" and chaotic, but hypnotic, definitely repetitive and raw.
This record really sounds like a bunch of freaks jamming intently, late at night. Enough so that it's almost weird that it's actually a one man jam, GR playing ALL the instruments, guitar, drums, organ, bass, vocals, effects... layering 'em together via 4-track overdubbing. It's 43 minutes long, but how many man-hours went into it? We're reminded of a looser, garagier and greasier A.R. & Machines, maybe, this krautrockiness somehow bringing in freakbeat rockabilly leanings, so Guru Guru for sure, also considering GR's song titles like "All Stoned Day Long They Take You"!
Each track is different, same weird krauty vibe but different, from the twangy surf licks reverberating over groovy bass lines heard in "Tranfiguration On A Sepiachord", to the druggy jazzy moody improv skitter-skatter scribble-scrabble of "The Metal Spike", to "The Intercessor Speaks" which sounds like a more chaotic Circle or dubbed out Doktor Kettu, to the electrically zapped This Heaty droning finale of "Blind Black Or Pearly White" wherein the electronics really take over... Assuming he recorded this at home, what the heck do his neighbors think? Utter madman in the next-door apt.?! Thanks GR!! We want to hear more from Gunslingers, of course, but are also looking forward to more Full-Blown Expansion, too!!
Get this while you can, we hear the digipack is kinda limited too, it comes with the same graphics as the original LP and has liner notes by Billy Miller from the legendary Texas psychsters Cold Sun!
MPEG Stream: "Descent Along The An-Ti-Fohn-Nul"
MPEG Stream: "Transfiguration On A Sepiachord"
MPEG Stream: "The Intercessor Speaks"

GRIPPERS NOTHER ONESERS At Simmer Beach (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 21.00
Another new release, and another incomprehensibly confusional band name from James Ferraro, formerly one half of warped soft noise duo the Skaters, now a bonified solo phenom, with about a million cd-r's and tapes and lps under various monikers, including his very own actual mom and dad approved name
For Grippers Nother Onesers, Ferraro does more than loop and sample, there seems to be some actual riffing going on, as well as lots of singing, a warbly warped reverb drenched falsetto, over fuzzy fractured riffage, even some drumming, but all the instruments are smeared and blurred and muddied, so instead of coming even remotely close to sounding like a proper rock record, it still sounds like a Ferraro jam, but this time it's got more of a Ariel Pink meets Prince vibe (mostly cuz of the vox), the music tweaked and twisted, the fact that it's actually being played and then buried under a patina of muted hiss and hum, makes it all the more compelling. We're sure there was actual playing on other records, but this one sounds the most like a band, albeit a damaged drugged out band from another dimension, where all communication takes place via busted up old transistor radios, and all record players shift from 33 to 45 constantly, so all sounds seem to twist and melt before your very ears.
The soulful falsetto crooning is the high point here, turning even the most disjointed fucked up Jeck-ian jam into a dizzying slab of alien soul pop. Fans of Ariel Pink and other warped poppers, if you're not already hip to Ferraro's groove, now's the time...

HORISONT Tva Sidor Av Horisonten (Crusher) cd 14.98
Wow. Or maybe not wow, 'cause we should be used to it by now. But yeah, wow. ANOTHER Swedish band that seems, magically, to be from the '70s, though they're actually quite contemporary in 2010. Like AQ faves Witchcraft, Burning Saviours, Dead Man, Elope, Dungen, Graveyard, et. al., newcomers Horisont possess the secret to sounding so '70s, that they probably think Nixon, or maybe Ford, is still the US President. At the latest (and at their most metal), it wouldn't appear that their influences extend beyond the early years of the NWOBHM. (Though that's not to say you won't flash on QOTSA or something while listening to this, but its more akin to vintage and obscure likes of, say, Highway Robbery and Vardis.) And not only do they sound '70s, but like those other Swedish bands we mentioned, they're damn good, too.
In fact, it's from the same label that brought us Dead Man that we've imported the debut cd by Horisont. We ordered it on LP too, but unfortunately they arrived damaged, hopefully we'll get more soon and be able to list the vinyl next time. And while vinyl (or 8 track?) might be the appropriately retro medium for this music, even on cd Horisont kicks out the heavy progressive blues rock in utterly killer fashion, a la early Sabbath (but with maybe more in the way of uptempo energy), Led Zeppelin, UFO, and we think we even hear a little Aerosmith. And what's even more awesome, track 4, "The Unseen", reminds us of Uli-era Scorpions too! Also of course, Horisont sound a lot like their Scandinavian '70s prog-psych uncles, November, Life and others. This IS pretty dang bluesy, and rockin', with high, wailing vox, tasty guitar licks, lumbering riffage, and a propensity for cow-bell-knockin' boogie. They make no bones about it, they even named a song "Horisont Boogie", just in case you didn't believe us. All right! Yet, we must say they boogie quite elegantly, and they also have their mystic moods too, getting mellow and melancholic on occasion, and about half-way through this ten song set, they switch from singing in English to their native language, which adds to the "progg" vibe most charmingly.
Classy, catchy, way impressive stuff, especially for a debut. We're looking forward to seeing 'em play live someday (no, we don't know if they're gonna tour in the USA any time soon, but they ARE playing at the Roadburn festival in Holland next year that Allan here has plans to attend...). We don't know how they do it, but they do. All lovers of '70s proto-metal prog heaviness, who dig hearing a new band doing it right, give it up for Sweden and HORISONT!
This is what that Dead Weather blues rock album we never got around to reviewing really shoulda sounded like, although Dead Weather, for all their supergroup status, and bonus points for covering Pentagram, aren't of course Swedish and that's not their fault we suppose.
MPEG Stream: "Nightrider"
MPEG Stream: "Just Ain't Right"
MPEG Stream: "Efter Min Pipa"

IRON MAN I Have Returned (Shadow Kingdom) lp 16.98
Now on vinyl too!
Here 'tis, the long awaited (with our review longer awaited still, perhaps) fourth full-length opus from a veteran Maryland doom metal band who have finally gone a bit beyond the obvious Black Sabbath emulation that their name suggests. Ok, they still DO sound a lot like Black Sabbath: current vocalist Joe Donelley was frontman for a Sabbath tribute band (and looks a fair bit like Ozzy, in one of his more bloated phases), and of course guitarist Al Morris III is an accomplished riffmeister who's known as "the African-American Tony Iommi" not just 'cause he's a black man who plays an SG and wears fringed leather jackets.
We've previously reviewed a reissue of this band's 1994 album The Passage, and if you liked that one, you'll probably like this, despite the, uh, passage of so many years since that one. The vocalist on that record had more of a Dio thing going on, though, but as we said the singer in their lineup these days is definitely an Ozzy disciple, without doing an outright impersonation all the time, so he's kinda in the mode of Wino.
This new album definitely -sounds- good (and HEAVY), with nice thick, almost slick production, the guitars full and fuzzy. As doom goes, this is on the uptempo side, and it's darn catchy too! Too bad Ozzy didn't simply hire these guys to write/record his last few albums for him (including the vocals!), the title track here for instance would easily be a radio hit, if only it had Ozzy's name on it, far superior to whatever computer-generated product the Oz-man has crapped out lately. Ah well, Ozzy's not doin' it, so Iron Man has to, even without hope of hits.
Sabbath/Ozzy fans open to a modern take on that trad sound, and heck grunge fans looking for something a bit more metal, should welcome the return of Iron Man.
MPEG Stream: "Curse The Ages (Curse Me)"
MPEG Stream: "Blind-Sighted Forward Spiral"
MPEG Stream: "Fallen Angel"

JAVELINA Beasts Among Sheep (Translation Loss) cd 14.98
Any record that starts with a solid 30 seconds of feedback is definitely gonna be good, and then when it explodes into a frenzy of melodic crusty metal, with super distorted howled vocals (and some competing black metal shrieks), spidery harmonized guitar melodies and thick swells of stonery sludge, it pretty much seals the deal. Which is precisely the case with Beasts Among Sheep, the latest from Philly's Javelina, named for a tusked swine that terrorizes the Southwest, killing small animals and destroying gardens, but this Javelina is something way more imposing and terrifying, a lurching, ultra distorted sludge metal juggernaut, that takes what could be a head spinning kitchen sink approach to their craft and instead fuses all sorts of disparate elements into something super heavy, groovy, melodic and rocking, definite references would include NOLA bands like Kylesa, Baroness, Down, Eyehategod, Crowbar, that same sort of swampy groovy and downtuned sludge, but the guitars are straight up NWOBHM, often busting out incredible harmonized leads right in the midst of a plodding tarpit sludge workout. And the vocals, flip from cookie monster growl to demonic shriek, giving the record a totally different vibe, the bass driving everything, especially when they slow it down and get all brooding and doomy, but shit, the riffs, some of the most kick ass riffing we've heard in ages. Fans of Mastodon and High On Fire will probably dig the shit out of this too, but it's away weirder and rawer and so much more catchy and fucked up and original as far as we're concerned. Be sure and stick around after the records' doomcrustprog blowout closer "Beware The Wrath Of The Patient Man", for the frenzied crust sludge secret track tucked away at the end.
Absolutely essential heaviness for sure...
MPEG Stream: "You're Gonna Hate This"
MPEG Stream: "A Little Paranoia Goes A Long Way"
MPEG Stream: "Towers Of Silence"

KALLABRIS Music For Very Simple Objects (Substantia Innominata / Drone Records) 10" 13.98
It's unlikely that Michael Anacker (aka Kallabris) had much if anything to do with the once prolific, post-industrial outfit Cranioclast; but Kallabris did release a couple of magnificent pieces of submariner drone records in the late '80s through the Jazztone imprint which had some sort of cohabitation with the Cranioclast in-house label CoC. In many ways, those early Kallabris records were an obvious precursor to what Leyland Kirby has done recently with his Caretaker project in conjuring the mood of a Victorian ship slowly sinking out at sea. Haunted melodies, incidental creaks of distressed metal, and maudlin ambience are found in both sets of recordings. Jump ahead a decade or two, and Kallabris has buried some of the emotional sentiment found in his earlier work, moving more towards a sense of dislocation and unease through electro-acoustic means. Indebted to the German cut-n-paste work of P16.D.4 and G*Park, Music For Very Simple Objects may have begun humbly (e.g. field recordings and found objects), but results in two highly refined collages. The first side is filled with empty holes, bracketed by small events which get treated with all sorts of oblique effects, ending up sounding stoic and black in nature. The flip is more of the 'drone' side recalling the early Kallabris sounds (after-all this is released by Troum's Drone Records!), with slippery sustained tones oozing out of a musique concrete introduction of gossamer metallic klanks and clicks.

MARIACHI EL BRONX s/t (Swami / White Drugs) cd 13.98
The first Bronx record had us at first sight, it's rad blood dripping fangs front cover, and then we threw it on and were blown away, the perfect blend of punk rock and pop, not pop punk, but a gnarled heaviness that had hooks galore with out sacrificing any of its ferocity. We described their sound as being a bit like a metalcore Strokes, or a poppier Coalesce, or the bastard offspring of Rocket From The Crypt, Quicksand, and the Hives. Sounds killer? It is. Err.. was. Three records, all of them heavy and catchy and punky and poppy. We were super psyched to discover a brand new Bronx record, but weirdly enough, the name on the record was Mariachi El Bronx, and there was a big crab on the cover, with the bands name on it in big gold letters, we sort of just assumed that the band were taking the piss, but lo and behold, we threw it on, and whattayaknow, no punk rock, none at all, straight up, real mariachi music.
The band live in L.A. and grew up around Mexican culture and mariachi music, and found some of those sounds sneaking into their music, so apparently they decided to go for it and bam, Mariachi El Bronx was born. At first we were definitely a bit put off, and weren't sure what to make of it, but the first two tracks stuck in our heads immediately, and we found ourselves returning to this record over and over again, and listening to more of it and constantly, and it's sort of become one of our new favorites. And this is not like a punk mariachi record, or dudes messing around, this is serious mariachi music, from the instrumentation, to the vocal harmonies, it's pretty amazing that a punk band could pull something like this off, but they do, big time. Just listen to the samples, odds are you'll be as smitten as we were.
And again, be warned, there is nothing weird or freaky or far out about this record, other than it's being played by a bunch of punk rockers, this is just a gorgeous collection of super catchy mariachi music, and we dig it big time!
MPEG Stream: "Cell Mates"
MPEG Stream: "Litigation"
MPEG Stream: "Despretador"

MEHRPOUYA, ABBASS Mehrpouya Sitar (Persianna) cd 25.00
Long overdue reissue of this lost psychedelic Indian funk gem from one of Iran's top sitarists, his only record, recorded sometime in the seventies, and a holy grail ever since. The liner notes claim this is one of the rarest and most in demand albums from Iran, and it's easy to hear why. Imagine your favorite jams from the Ethiopiques series, WITH SITAR and FLUTE, and we're talking total psych funk groove nirvana.
Heavy and fuzzy and druggy and a little bit space-y these mostly untitled jams totally destroy, we can only imagine the sort of joyous meltdown any crate digger lucky enough to snag one of these must have experienced, the drums are fierce, powerful, organs swirl, flutes soar and flutter, and all over the tracks that sitar buzzes gloriously. Some of the songs are a bit folkier and more pastoral, sounding like some seventies acid folk record only with sitar and haunting Eastern melodies. But it's the stomping funk workouts that seal the deal, especially the 11 minute funk rock epic "African Jumbo" (one of only two songs here with titles), that sounds straight out of some seventies sitcom, or like it was purloined by Tarantino for one of his soundtracks, looped and hypnotic, super melodic and catchy as all get out. A few of the tracks feature vocals, deep and dramatic, and those songs slip into Bollywood love scene territory for sure, mysterious and moody, in fact the last few songs tend toward ballad territory, until the record closer, a bonus track taken from a super rare tape, that is murky and heavy with strings and wah guitar, total Indian blaxploitation soundtrack groove, that slips from sexy strut, to dreamy croon, to cinematic soar and back again. Amazing stuff. Fans of the Ethiopiques series and the funkier Sublime Frequencies releases will definitely dig...
MPEG Stream: "1"
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "African Jumbo"

MIST s/t (Amethyst Sunset) lp 17.98
Mist is the Ohio-centric retro-grade electronics duo featuring John Elliott of Emeralds and Sam Goldberg, who runs the Pizza Night tape label. This is actually the third outing for Mist, as the two have mustered a couple of other cassettes, released earlier this year which disappeared before we even had the chance to grab any. Fortunately, we did manage to snag some of this LP on Amethyst Sunset, which will most likely be around for at least a little while, although it is limited to 500 copies. The Elliott / Goldberg authored electronics here don't veer too much from the Emeralds spaced-out electronics that reflect the best in the realm of late '70s / early '80s progressive electronics (e.g. the more abstracted moments from Kraftwerk and the Eno collaborations with Fripp and Cluster). It's not quite as dark or as melancholy as Emeralds and thus sounds like those sci-fi percolations that fellow knob-twiddler Oneohtrix Point Never and Pulse Emitter have rejuvinated in recent years. Certainly, these are elegant passages of arppegiating analogue electronics and heavily sequenced patterns that intertwine nicely into chiming, sparkling, bubbling zone-tripping.

ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER / KEITH FULLERTON WHITMAN / NO FUN ACID / PREHISTORIC BLACKOUT 4 way split (Protracted View) 2cassette 15.98
These two tapes, housed in a soft-plastic case a la RRRecords, offer documentation of four live, and very nice electronic sets from one evening at the Glasslands Gallery in Brooklyn, featuring the 2009 darling of outro-electronics Oneohtrix Point Never, the ever impressive Keith Fullerton Whitman, No Fun Acid (aka Carlos Giffoni in his 'acid' guise), and Prehistoric Blackout (aka Taylor Richardson of Infinity Window).
Oneohtrix Point Never begins his set with a lugubrious plodding synth melody before nestling into those stratospheric arcs of Juno-synth tones found on his recent Russian Mind LP. Keith Fullerton Whitman kicks out squiggles and step-patterned melodic phrases via a C64 emulator on his iPhone (no shit!) which gradually explode into a kaleidoscopic supernova after lifting out of a thick set of modulated tones 'n' drones. Giffoni has been talking up his love of acid techno with No Fun Acid being the project to act upon that infatuation. He sets down a simple breakbeat and begins a set that would make Phuture proud, in a pretty straight forward, but wholly effective techno workout. Prehistoric Blackout offers a four-note synth melody that drifts with counterpointed arpeggiations, tremolo lazer beams of sound, and tripped out, looping electronics. It should be noted that this is a room recording, and not a board mix. But as a result, there is some very amusing banter that Whitman provides at the end of his set with two enthusiastic women describing his set as a being akin to achieving multiple orgasms. Ahem. Throughout most of the sets, the audience politely stays quiet with the exception for the beginning of the Prehistoric Blackout set. Super limited, we've got less than a dozen of these.

OPIUM WARLORDS Live At Colonia Dignidad (Cobra) cd 17.98
We made The Puritan our Record Of The Week a couple lists back, the twisted ultra doom project of Reverend Bizarre's S.A. Hynninen, aka Albert Witchfinder, and that record was indeed twisted and doomy, crushing and slow, warped and mysterious, a little bit gothy and dramatic, a lot bit pummeling downtuned crush. So now we have Opium Warlords, Hynninen's most recent project, which we would have made our record of the week as well if it was a bit easier to get, cuz holy shit, it's like an even more fucked up Puritan, the slow parts are slower, the croony gothy parts, are, well, MORE. It's a creepy crawly burning, sprawling avant doom juggernaut, equal parts classic doom a la My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, Japanese sludge a la Corrupted, Boris, Solar Anus, and strange minimal prog, but it's WAY poppier too, and pretty, so much so, that we often forget what we're listening to, seventies British prog? Peter Hammill? Sounds strange, and it definitely is, but even in true doom outfit Reverend Bizarre, Hynninen and his crew were way weirder than your average doom band. And the thing with Opium Warlords, is at first it just seemed slow and weird, but it totally blossoms, the more melodic songs revealing themselves as epic and catchy, well crafted avant prog. Or something.
The record opens in full on doom mode, big crashing chords ring out, lots of space, the vocals a mewling croon that goes from growl to falsetto, as the track plods along for 8+ minutes, lurching along doomily, yet melodically, before slipping into the second track, a super spacious skeletal drift, that sounds more like Bohren than Boris, before finally stumbling into full on doomsludge, harsh howled vocals, and strange twisted melodies, until the record shifts gears entirely.
The next two songs, nearly 22 minutes, is a smoldering dark cabaret, guitars distorted and spidery, with Hynninen really singing, dramatic and emotional, it almost sounds like some long lost dark krautrock ballad, no drums, minus the occasional rumbling percussion off in the distance, just a warm drift of lush chords, and minor key melodies, really gorgeous, and timeless sounding.
Which gives way to another bout of doomic pummel, but again surprisingly melodic, all instrumental this time, just the guitars churning, the drums pounding, all wound into a tense chunk of doom pop heaviness.
The next track gets all Eastern with some layered guitars, and abstract percussion, heavy for sure, but also a bit raga like, with a strange mix, big bass thrums way up in the mix, the song eventually transforming into a convoluted math metal workout, which gives way to yet another chunk of more classic sounding doom. Slooooow, and spare, harsh growled almost falsetto vocals, over the pounding drums and big distorted chords left to ring out, heavy and slow, but still really pretty...
The final proper track, is all muted bass strum, jangly clean guitar, total dreamy pop vocals over the top, eventually growing more and more rocking, before finishing off in a tangle of almost Champs sounding guitar harmonies and then 30 seconds of feedback and amp buzz.
The whole thing put to bed by the 5 second closing track, a brief burst of pounding grunted furious grind metal. Phew.
Baffling. Brilliant. Even the booklet is utterly confusional. Packed with random text, strange doodles, diagrams, there's even a fragment of one of his papers from grade school, plus the record is NOT live, and it's unclear if this is a band, or if Hynninen plays everything himself, the artwork is super striking, very pink, and on the back, Hynninen offers up this description of Opium Warlords' self described "Black Gobi Desert Rock", which just may render the above review moot:
"A ritual of jet-black sonic occultism inside an imaginary subterranean temple. A mental trip to the minimalist galaxies of suffocatingly slow and heavy nekroambiences. A ground-breaking bi-polar exploration. A droner's delight and headbanger's holiday. A rave of deranged militarist dance beats. A celebration of psychosexual isolation. Essential and easy-to-listen-to fear music for unbalanced and self-hating youth. Kutu-vibrations for sweatshirt-sporting rillirillos. A message "from beyond". Uncontrolled emotional outbursts to cheer up those with the long faces. Something just for you, who "have heard it all" and "really could not care less". Quality time for a suicidal inner-space astrodoomonaut."
MPEG Stream: "I. Soon Be Here, Prince Of Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "II. Return To The Source"
MPEG Stream: "III. Let It Pour, Let It Pour"

OPIUM WARLORDS Live At Colonia Dignidad (Cobra) lp 29.00
We made The Puritan our Record Of The Week a couple lists back, the twisted ultra doom project of Reverend Bizarre's S.A. Hynninen, aka Albert Witchfinder, and that record was indeed twisted and doomy, crushing and slow, warped and mysterious, a little bit gothy and dramatic, a lot bit pummeling downtuned crush. So now we have Opium Warlords, Hynninen's most recent project, which we would have made our record of the week as well if it was a bit easier to get, cuz holy shit, it's like an even more fucked up Puritan, the slow parts are slower, the croony gothy parts, are, well, MORE. It's a creepy crawly burning, sprawling avant doom juggernaut, equal parts classic doom a la My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost, Japanese sludge a la Corrupted, Boris, Solar Anus, and strange minimal prog, but it's WAY poppier too, and pretty, so much so, that we often forget what we're listening to, seventies British prog? Peter Hammill? Sounds strange, and it definitely is, but even in true doom outfit Reverend Bizarre, Hynninen and his crew were way weirder than your average doom band. And the thing with Opium Warlords, is at first it just seemed slow and weird, but it totally blossoms, the more melodic songs revealing themselves as epic and catchy, well crafted avant prog. Or something.
The record opens in full on doom mode, big crashing chords ring out, lots of space, the vocals a mewling croon that goes from growl to falsetto, as the track plods along for 8+ minutes, lurching along doomily, yet melodically, before slipping into the second track, a super spacious skeletal drift, that sounds more like Bohren than Boris, before finally stumbling into full on doomsludge, harsh howled vocals, and strange twisted melodies, until the record shifts gears entirely.
The next two songs, nearly 22 minutes, is a smoldering dark cabaret, guitars distorted and spidery, with Hynninen really singing, dramatic and emotional, it almost sounds like some long lost dark krautrock ballad, no drums, minus the occasional rumbling percussion off in the distance, just a warm drift of lush chords, and minor key melodies, really gorgeous, and timeless sounding.
Which gives way to another bout of doomic pummel, but again surprisingly melodic, all instrumental this time, just the guitars churning, the drums pounding, all wound into a tense chunk of doom pop heaviness.
The next track gets all Eastern with some layered guitars, and abstract percussion, heavy for sure, but also a bit raga like, with a strange mix, big bass thrums way up in the mix, the song eventually transforming into a convoluted math metal workout, which gives way to yet another chunk of more classic sounding doom. Slooooow, and spare, harsh growled almost falsetto vocals, over the pounding drums and big distorted chords left to ring out, heavy and slow, but still really pretty...
The final proper track, is all muted bass strum, jangly clean guitar, total dreamy pop vocals over the top, eventually growing more and more rocking, before finishing off in a tangle of almost Champs sounding guitar harmonies and then 30 seconds of feedback and amp buzz.
The whole thing put to bed by the 5 second closing track, a brief burst of pounding grunted furious grind metal. Phew.
Baffling. Brilliant. Even the booklet is utterly confusional. Packed with random text, strange doodles, diagrams, there's even a fragment of one of his papers from grade school, plus the record is NOT live, and it's unclear if this is a band, or if Hynninen plays everything himself, the artwork is super striking, very pink, and on the back, Hynninen offers up this description of Opium Warlords' self described "Black Gobi Desert Rock", which just may render the above review moot:
"A ritual of jet-black sonic occultism inside an imaginary subterranean temple. A mental trip to the minimalist galaxies of suffocatingly slow and heavy nekroambiences. A ground-breaking bi-polar exploration. A droner's delight and headbanger's holiday. A rave of deranged militarist dance beats. A celebration of psychosexual isolation. Essential and easy-to-listen-to fear music for unbalanced and self-hating youth. Kutu-vibrations for sweatshirt-sporting rillirillos. A message "from beyond". Uncontrolled emotional outbursts to cheer up those with the long faces. Something just for you, who "have heard it all" and "really could not care less". Quality time for a suicidal inner-space astrodoomonaut."
MPEG Stream: "I. Soon Be Here, Prince Of Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "II. Return To The Source"
MPEG Stream: "III. Let It Pour, Let It Pour"

ORANGE GLASS s/t (self released) cd-r 9.98
What is it about Nova Scotia and pop music? Has one place produced so much great indie pop music in the last 20+ years? Ever? We don't think so. Sloan, Eric's Trip, Hardship Post, Super Friendz, The Inbreds, Thrush Hermit, Jale, The Memories Attack... And that Halifax sound, while hard to describe exactly, is immediately recognizable by the pop savvy, but even if you've never heard any of those bands (and if you haven't, well hell, get on it!), if you love the rocking jangle of nineties indie pop, if you grew up listening to records on Sub Pop, and K, and Kill Rock Stars, and love big crunchy riffs, even bigger hooks, gloriously lo-fi production, keening sad boy vox, lyrics about love and girls and heartbreak, then you need to do some digging, and why not start here, with this collection of tracks from long defunct indie rockers Orange Glass.
Now we consider ourselves pretty big fans of all those bands, Andee even released the most recent record by The Memories Attack, which happens to feature a member of Eric's Trip AND Mr. Ron Bates, a longtime aQ customer, and frontman for the late great Orange Glass. How did we not know about OG. Everything about them screams BAND WE WOULD HAVE LOVED AND OBSESSED OVER AND PUT ON EVERY MIXTAPE!! But better late than never.
None of the Orange Glass records are available anymore, but Bates recently decided to put together a compilation, of album tracks, singles, compilation tracks, unreleased recordings, to pass out to his friends, we convinced him to let us have 20 of the 50 he made, so odds are once these are gone, they are gone for good. So don't miss out, you'll be sorry.
There's a definite sonic link to Eric's Trip, and of course the Memories Attack, from hissy lo-fi 4 track bedroom folk, to rambunctious crashing power pop, fuzzy guitars, wild drumming, and of course hooks hooks hooks, another one of those bands that should have been huge, or if not huge, at least as popular as all the above mentioned outfits. The sound quality varies greatly from super raw demo rehearsal space sound, to full on studio shine, but nothing can disguise how fun and catchy and amazing these songs are, and Orange Glass were, and for those with an indie rock heart, you may have just discovered a new favorite that by all rights should have been an old favorite too.
Super nice silver metallic covers, inside liner notes on where all the tracks comes from, each one hand numbered, LIMITED TO 50 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "Preoccupied"
MPEG Stream: "Saturn And The Moon"
MPEG Stream: "Wait A Day"
MPEG Stream: "Knock Wood"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Pilot"

ORDO INFANDORUM RITUUM OCCULTUS / WACHT split (Bergstolz) 7" 7.98
Brand new 7" of grim buzz from two mysterious Swiss black metal bands, neither of which had we ever heard of, and neither of which feature members of any other notable bands. Switzerland is of course the home of Paysage D'Hiver and Darkspace and Enoid among others, so we had high hopes for these two hordes.
Wacht begin the proceedings with what almost sounds like a metal Star Spangled Banner, a sort of twisted guitar intro that soon gives way to a furious murky raw buzz, the drums and bass (if there is any) lost in a storm of relentless riffing and howled anguished vokills. Some killer riffs lurking in that roiling blackness, and the drums do leap out here and there, but for the most part it's like a heaving black cloud of sound, dense and hypnotic.
The much less simply monickered Ordo Infandorum Rituum Occultus (or OIRO for short), offer up their own bit of frosty grimness, a much more stripped down buzzing blast, pounding almost D-beat style rhythm, grunted vocals, raw and old school, but with some strange stuff lurking in the details, maniacal screams, some cool gnarled riffage, layered guitars, that seem to drop in and out, giving the track a sort of dizzying vibe, at times almost like a more stripped down straight ahead Deathspell Omega.
Definitely laves us dying for more from both bands, and as is always a good sing with a single, we've found ourselves flipping this over constantly and listening to both sides over and over again...

PALACE OF WORMS The Forgotten (Flenser) cd 8.98
For a while, San Francisco seemed like some sort of black metal mecca, record after record and shows galore, all sorts of grim and kvlt hordes, Leviathan, Draugar, Crebain, Horn Of Dagoth, Elk, Necrite and more. And while some of those bands are still active, the recordings have seemed to dry up, more a trickle than a torrent. We know there is a Crebain record in the works, there's the forthcoming Mastery 2cd on tUMULt, a rumored Leviathan, but there are lots of new bands too, Botanist, Kerasphorus, and these guys, or rather this guy, Palace Of Worms, and finally a new slab of fucked up freaked out blackness from SF to obsess over, and believe us, this is well worth obsessing over.
Anyone into any of the above mentioned bands will dig PoW for sure, a dizzying blend of troo black metal buzz, and experimental post rock, which is evident from the first few seconds of the record, beginning with haunting majestic synths, then a brittle lo-fi blast of metal, that sounds like it was played on a mandolin, or pitched up, before the song proper kicks in with a wall of frenzied super saturated black buzz, croaked vokills, and buried in the mix blast beats, switching gears multiple times throughout the song, chugging doomic sprawl, to gnarled Deathspell style blackprog, with plenty of tangly guitar lines and lurching tempo changes, clean guitar, very reminiscent of another aQ BM fave Woe, the same sort of melodic sensibility fused into a seriously harrowing chunk of grim black aggression.
The rest of the record follow suit, dipping occasionally into ultra raw, old school black metal pound, weird almost industrial shoegazey ambience (sounding a bit like Nadja or Jesu), classic midtempo Burzumy blackness, awesomely creepy Eastern tinged black ambience, almost Katatonia moody sounding melodic blackness, but always returning to that furious heaviness, all lightning speed riffage, hellish vox, dizzying complex rhythms, soaring synths, but all infused with that strange, and subtle pop element that turns grim and black into something much more interesting, and makes Palace Of Worms another band to add to SF's black pantheon.
MPEG Stream: "Far From The Light"
MPEG Stream: "The Antagonist"
MPEG Stream: "As I Slumber Amongst The Cold Thoughtless Stars"

PIRATE CAT RADIO The Ladies (And Gentlemen) Of Pirate Cat Radio 2010 Calendar (self-released) calendar 19.98
Radio stations are a dying breed. In fact, real commercial radio stations are basically dead already, at least if you're into weird underground sounds. And it seems like record stores, newspapers, magazines, movie theaters, are quickly following radio into an overflowing cultural graveyard. But we can help, by supporting all the things you love, buying records from your local record store (or us!), seeing movies in your local arthouse theater, renting movies from the cool video store in your town instead of Netflix, subscribing to the magazines you love instead of reading them online, ditto for newspapers, and of course radio. Which continues to thrive, and live on, just in a different guise, college radio is of course alive and kicking, KUSF, WFMU, KFJC, we could go on and on, internet radio too, and of course, PIRATE RADIO. San Francisco has a rich history of pirate radio, our very own Allan even used to have show on pirate radio. which brings us to this here calendar, published by the fine folks at Pirate Cat Radio, who need your support. Listen if you can, on the web (piratecatradio.com) or on the air at 87.9 FM, visit their cafe in the Mission here in SF and eat and drink while a DJ spins, but most of all, donate, or buy one of these calendars. EVERYONE needs a calendar, and yeah $20 seems a bit steep, but you're not just buying a calendar, you're supporting this amazing radio station, who were recently fined $10,000 by the FCC, in a seemingly endless battle for the airwaves, or at least the right to broadcast freely on those airwaves.
You probably have your own pirate radio station in your town, do a little digging, or just set your dial for Pirate Cat Radio and show them some love. Plus, who couldn't use a calendar jam packed with tattooed and pierced ladies and gents, hamming it up, getting all dolled up, and mugging for the camera, plus a schedule so you can tune in and see what all the fuss is about!

PUSSYGUTT Gathering Strengths (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 23.00
The return of Pussygutt, a male/female duo from Idaho, who traffic in slow brooding black ambience and ultra doom, and whose last two records have been huge favorites around here, which makes sense as we really can't get enough of sidelong tracks, and sprawling expansive stretches of slow rumbling drones, and minimal slabs of blackened doomic crawl, and gathering Strengths does NOTHING to disappoint, offering up a single two part track, spread out over two sides, beginning with what sounds like oboes or some sort of woodwind (it's in fact a clarinet), long layered tones, emitting endless overtones, laid atop a barely there bit of low end rumble, strange melodies emerging from the constantly shifting layers, eventually joined by mysterious strings, chiming bells, super cinematic and soundtracky, and yet another instance of 'why don't these guys score movies', the music sublime and emotional, not what you'd expect necessarily, slowly building in intensity, until finally, the hammer falls, and a black cloud of rumbling doom descends, hardly overwhelming, but instead wrapping around those keening strings, creating a haunting otherworldly bit of black doom chamber music.
The flipside starts off a bit folkier, shimmering drones drift over simple hand drums, the melodies simple and melancholy, a muted firelit psychfolk, smoldering and dreamlike, eventually building to something much more epic and intense, never exploding into a frenzy of doom, or exploding at all, instead, just hovering, and ratcheting up the tension, again, totally cinematic and dramatic, like some timeless ritual being performed by cloaked figures gathered before a fire, while in the background cities crumble and the sky turns to ash.
Intense, and intensely beautiful. LIMITED TO 550. Each one hand numbered, and housed in super striking, silkscreened heavy sleeves.

REID, STEVE Odyssey Of The Oblong Square (Universal Sound) cd 17.98
Steve Reid is a free jazz legend, his resume, musical and otherwise, is mindblowing, he played in Sun Ra's Arkestra, was a Motown session drummer, was in James Brown's band and played at the Apollo, he lived in Africa, was jailed for opposing the Vietnam War, was a Black Panther, lived in a loft with Meryl Streep and her brother, put on shows and performances there, and played with Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Lester Bowie, about a million others, including more recently Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, which resulted in three amazing albums, all big time aQ faves.
Odyssey Of The Oblong Square is one of Reid's first records, released originally over 30 years ago, was extremely limited even at the time, and is some serious left field, out-funk free jazz genius. Reid was featured recently in Soul Jazz's Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82 collection, and this record was definitely a musical cornerstone of the rapidly developing free jazz underground in the seventies. Listening to this now, it still sounds as powerful and radical and emotional as it must have nearly 4 decades ago. Wild horns, dense skittery rhythms, sprawling clouds of constantly shifting tempos and timbres, super melodic, but also wild and chaotic, and most importantly FUNKY. The bass is the standout, which is saying something when all the players are so incredible, but it's like a living thing, throbbing and undulating, flurries of rapid fire notes, long languorous tones, even one long stretch where the bass just seems to buzz and hum, transforming the sound into something much more dark and intense, a solid anchor to allow the drums and horns to explore and expand. The two longest tracks here are epic, the band so tight, but simultaneously so loose and expressive, the final track "Ginsamseng" at one point finds the horns playing super loooong tones, layered and shifting, almost sounding like free jazz composed by Phill Niblock. Wow. So intense, and definitely spiritual and utterly transcendent, more than music, this is musical expression, the soul made sound, and that sound lives on, and continues to inspire. Way recommended.
The reissue features the original super striking yellow and black Masonic album artwork, as well as new liner notes, detailing Reid's life and musical exploits. Another fantastic reissue from Universal Sound / Soul Jazz.
MPEG Stream: "Deacon's Son"
MPEG Stream: "Odyssey Sweet"

REID, STEVE Odyssey Of The Oblong Square (Universal Sound) lp 24.00
Steve Reid is a free jazz legend, his resume, musical and otherwise, is mindblowing, he played in Sun Ra's Arkestra, was a Motown session drummer, was in James Brown's band and played at the Apollo, he lived in Africa, was jailed for opposing the Vietnam War, was a Black Panther, lived in a loft with Meryl Streep and her brother, put on shows and performances there, and played with Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Lester Bowie, about a million others, including more recently Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, which resulted in three amazing albums, all big time aQ faves.
Odyssey Of The Oblong Square is one of Reid's first records, released originally over 30 years ago, was extremely limited even at the time, and is some serious left field, out-funk free jazz genius. Reid was featured recently in Soul Jazz's Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82 collection, and this record was definitely a musical cornerstone of the rapidly developing free jazz underground in the seventies. Listening to this now, it still sounds as powerful and radical and emotional as it must have nearly 4 decades ago. Wild horns, dense skittery rhythms, sprawling clouds of constantly shifting tempos and timbres, super melodic, but also wild and chaotic, and most importantly FUNKY. The bass is the standout, which is saying something when all the players are so incredible, but it's like a living thing, throbbing and undulating, flurries of rapid fire notes, long languorous tones, even one long stretch where the bass just seems to buzz and hum, transforming the sound into something much more dark and intense, a solid anchor to allow the drums and horns to explore and expand. The two longest tracks here are epic, the band so tight, but simultaneously so loose and expressive, the final track "Ginsamseng" at one point finds the horns playing super loooong tones, layered and shifting, almost sounding like free jazz composed by Phill Niblock. Wow. So intense, and definitely spiritual and utterly transcendent, more than music, this is musical expression, the soul made sound, and that sound lives on, and continues to inspire. Way recommended.
The reissue features the original super striking yellow and black Masonic album artwork, as well as new liner notes, detailing Reid's life and musical exploits. Another fantastic reissue from Universal Sound / Soul Jazz.
MPEG Stream: "Deacon's Son"
MPEG Stream: "Odyssey Sweet"

RHODES, EMITT Recordings (1969-1973) (A&M / Geffen) 2cd 31.00
Finally, after a handful of shoddy reissues, bootleg compilations, and a never ending quest to track down every bit of recorded brilliance from this unsung pop genius, comes this amazing and comprehensive collection from the greatest pop singer song writer you've probably never heard of.
Some folks might be familiar with Rhodes from his time in psych pop combo The Merry-Go-Round, but it's on these 4 solo records, that Rhodes truly blossomed into something of a pop music marvel, playing almost all of the instruments himself, drums, bass, piano, guitar, writing, recording, singing, and creating some of the most timeless pop music you'll ever hear. Often called 'the one man Beatles' (in fact there's a new documentary about Rhodes with that title) due in no small part to his voice, a dead ringer for Paul McCartney's, as well as his songwriting, which definitely owes much to the Beatles and the Wings (McCartney again obviously), in fact, sometimes it's incredible how much some of these songs sound like they could have been Wings tracks, but unlike the Wings' tendency toward bombast and overkill, these songs remain sublime and simply brilliant. Besides the McCartney comparisons, there's also the Kinks, the Bee Gees, among others, you might have even heard Rhodes on the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums, and he did have some moderate success, with at least one album and one single charting, but for the most part hovered just below the radar, which is criminal once you hear these songs, 4 albums, every song a practically perfect pop gem, from brooding heartfelt ballads, lush soaring chamber pop, to jangly power pop, his vocals gorgeous, the harmonies angelic, the arrangements incredible.
All four records are fantastic, but his self titled debut, from 1970, ranks up there as one of THEE absolute greatest pop records of all time. Every song could have been a hit, just listen to the sound samples below, the first 5 tracks from that record, impossibly catchy, and dreamy, and lush and so goddamn good. Especially "Long Time No See", with it's strangely morose minor key main melody, fuzzed out psych guitar, strange mix, and super dynamic arrangement, really dark, but still so catchy. As for modern musicians who owe a debt to Rhodes, we'd wager Elliott Smith was a huge fan, and if he wasn't he sure would have been, and Ted Leo is another, mostly the voices, and the knack for crafting hooks.
And while most singer songwriter music from the 70's sounds dated, ALL of these tracks sound as fresh and exciting as ever. If you've never heard Rhodes, you're in for a treat, this collection is one of those rare records, that had practically everybody here in a tizzy, and thus gets played nonstop.
Total pop perfection. Absolutely recommended and totally essential.
MPEG Stream: "Long Time No See"
MPEG Stream: "With My Face On The Floor"
MPEG Stream: "Somebody Made For Me"
MPEG Stream: "She's Such A Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Lullabye"

SADNESS SATURN She (Frozen Veins) cassette 8.98
We first came across the mysterious black metal entity Sadness Saturn a while back with their awesome split cassette with Utarm. Picking up where they (or maybe he?) left off, Sadness Saturn returns with She, a three song tape that manages to be both raging and strangely meditative. Soundwise, it's a bit like a slightly less bizarre Velvet Cacoon, and it will also make sense to reference experimental black metallers Servile Sect, with whom the Sadness Saturn mainman is also involved. On side 1, "Childhood And The Journey To Satan" plods with a steady drum pound framing some queasy sounding melodies as tortured vocals scream out under a thick blanket of fuzz. The melancholy sounds of guitars and keyboards creep out like a mist of beautiful negativity, accompanied by plain spoken female vocals that actually make this sound a bit like a black metal Cold Cave! The song "Like Ghosts In The Freezing Night" is particularly effective as the calm female voice speaks out above the super intense (yet drumless) black metal atmosphere lurking below the surface. The appropriately named "Dreamer" brings She to its beautiful conclusion, a loping and majestic piece of black metal ambience that is almost uplifting, sort of like if Klaus Schultz had been digging some Ulver. Sound good? You bet.
This handsomely packaged cassette is professionally presented to us by the awesome Japanese label Frozen Veins, and with only 100 copies out there, you are gonna want to act fast!

SCROTUM POLES Auchmithie Forever (Dulc-I-Tone) lp 15.98
We first heard the Scrotum Poles on one of those Messthetics collections, and obviously we were intrigued by the name, though weirdly enough, their sound didn't live up the puerile promise (threat?) of their band name, instead the 'Poles trafficked in some seriously hooky punkish pop, way more pop than punk, similar to say the Television Personalities or even the Go-Betweens at times. This long in the works reissue compiles a load of unreleased home and studio recordings from these Scottish punks, and they're pretty fantastic, catchy, hooky, stumbly, the sound ultra lo-fi, murky and muddy, but the dodgy recording suits the songs, which range from solo acoustic rave ups to pounding punkish jams, pure power pop to sloppy super rocking indie jangle, and several shades in between. After only a handful of listens we've been finding ourselves with lot of these tracks firmly lodged in our heads, which pretty much says it all.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Packed with photos and lyrics and liner notes, and housed in a thick fold out sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "It Just Ain't Fucking Funny"
MPEG Stream: "Just Another Number"
MPEG Stream: "Be No More"
MPEG Stream: "Pick The Cats Eyes Out"
MPEG Stream: "On The Streets Where You Live"

SECOND DECAY La Decadence Electronique (Dark Entries) lp 17.98
Dark Entries made their debut as a label several months ago with the awesome reissue of the Eleven Pond LP and with that single release we knew we were witnessing the birth of a an awesome reissue label, one with its heart set on finding obscure synth-pop and darkwave and and shining the spotlight on records that never got the love, attention or distribution they deserved the first time around.
Second Decay were a German electronic-pop group who formed in the late 1980's dedicated to the sound of analog synthisizers, the album's back cover proudly remarks 'This album was produced without MIDI. It is dedicated to our beloved synthesizers.' And there is no doubt these guys had deep love for the sounds of synthesizers as they used them to craft very infectious, dark new wave with full on pop chops. While there have been tons of reissues and attention paid to the amazing music that was made in Germany in the 70's it's really cool to see someone digging up some of the gold in a post-Kraftwerk Germany as Second Decay have a sound that brings Neue Deutsche Welle to mind (e.g. Grauzone, Liaisons Dangereuses, etc.) and the more dark tinged blasts of electro-pop that folks like Depeche Mode and The Human League were making on their early records, or even early 80's Cabaret Voilatire, and of course you can tell they were WAY influenced by the mighty Kraftwerk. We also hear a cool similarity to the recently reissued Patrick Cowley & Jorge Socarras record Catholic, which kind of makes perfect sense as the man behind Dark Entries was instrumental in saving and preserving the cache of Cowley tapes from which that record was culled.
With new bands like Cold Cave and Xeno & Oaklander grabbing our attention lately with their awesome updated version of that classic vintage synthwave sound, it's pretty rad and perfect timing to hear a lost classic from folks who were making that sound almost twenty years ago. Limited to just 500 copies all screen printed and with an amazing remastered sound thanks to the work of the legendary George Horn at Fantasy Studios. This will make you want to wear all black and dance all night. Minimal wave/gothpop at its best!
MPEG Stream: "Poisonned Water"
MPEG Stream: "Enclose My Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Laboratorium"

SECRETS OF THE MOON Privilegium (Lupus Lounge) cd 14.98
We've been longtime champions of French black metal. You've got Deathspell, Blut Aus Nord, Peste Noire, Antaeus... the list goes on. And while we're at it, we can add Secrets Of The Moon to that list. Not only is this trio French, but they certainly have the pedigree to be mentioned in the same sentence as all those greats, featuring members of Antaeus (including dreamboat female bass player LSK), Merrimack, and a slew of other bands. There's just something about the way the French do it, things are more majestic, sometimes almost elegant in the delivery, but of course, grim and evil at the same time. And like Antaeus, Secrets Of The Moon give off an almost industrial vibe at times. The drums are a super heavy with a militaristic feeling, the guitars squiggle and screech out all kinds of sour, evil sounding riffs, and the vocals are a steady tortured rasp. Structurally, things are complex and at times a bit proggy, a blackened tangled web of metallic grandeur. There's all kinds of windy atmosphere also, and the interesting choice of cover art - an, um, black apple - gives Privilegium a cool negated religious feeling. What's not to love?
Beautiful packaging on this one, with the aforementioned apple presented on a super glossy digipack with a giant matte bite munched out. Tasty.
MPEG Stream: "Sulphur"
MPEG Stream: "Black Halo"
MPEG Stream: "I Maldoror"

SILK FLOWERS As Above So Below (Captured Tracks) lp 13.98
The label describes Silk Flowers' music as eerie and experimental pop, which while a bit reductive, is somewhat accurate. Simple electronic rhythms drift through fields of reverb, alongside warm whirring synths, while over the top, deep baritone vocals dramatically croon, very new wave and gothic, it's weird how all of these 'cold wave' sort of bands are just coming out of the woodwork, although we're not complaining, we dig this woozy washed out dour depressive synth driven gloom rock. And Silk Flowers are definitely among the gloomiest, slipping from goth pop, to creepy warbly crawl, to swirling psychedelic cold wave, all the sounds warm and wreathed in delay and echo, the melodies minor key and melancholy, the guitars atonal and fragmented, the perfect foil for the thick washes of synth buzz, the bass unfurling a slow motion Crispy Ambulance / Joy Division sort of lugubrious throb, a gorgeously hazy gothic synth pop, that dabbles into heavier spacey synth psych, as well as muted almost cabaret sounding goth pop, the vocals sometimes dangerously close to over-the-top, but even then they sound pretty perfect with the rest of the music.
Fans of all the gothy, gloomy, synthy goodness that we've been digging so much lately around here, should consider this heartily recommended.

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / JOSEPH MATTSON Empty The Sun (Drag City) cd + book 15.00
Music for airports, music for sleeping, music for film...it's about time someone made music for reading! For his brand new novel Empty The Sun, writer Joseph Mattson called upon the talents of Ben Chasney (Six Organs Of Admittance) to create a musical accompaniment to his novel. What a fantastic idea, especially consideringChasney has shown over the years an ability to create mood and atmosphere with a subtlety and undeniable authenticity that rings with such undeniable truth.
Centered around Chasney's mesmerizing guitar playing as well as wonderful accompaniment by Steve Ruecker on pedal steel, rattlers and bowls, Empty The Sun really is the sound we would want playing as we lose ourselves in a good book. Similar in mood and disposition to the great soundtrack to Mister Lonely that J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls created last year, this is one of those records that flows with a pastoral bliss that could, and we find ourselves wishing WOULD, go on forever and ever. Mostly instrumental, there are a few tracks with really nice subdued vocals including some of the most warm and intoxicating vocals we've heard from Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers).
The music of Six Organs Of Admittance really does speak to the soul, so evocative and creative and original, yet still warm and familiar, a rare beast that is as much a fan favorite as an artist's artist, so it's no surprise that Mattson was compelled to bring Six Organs into his world of words, just as film makers like Cam Archer have turned to Six Organs for music in his films, and just about every painter or visual artist we know has copies of Six Organs records in their studio. The sounds Chasney creates seem to be the perfect accompaniment for creation and exploration. And what also makes Chasney's music so amazing is the way it evokes a feeling of comfort, and a gloriously soporific dazem even while you're just sitting on a bus watching your surroundings blur by...
We haven't had a chance to dive into the actual book yet but with a quick skim we're anxious to ring in the new year laying on the couch with Six Organs playing as we dive into what looks to be a compelling novel.
Gorgeously packaged as well, both the cd and lp, each with a slightly different sized novel, to fit the format...
MPEG Stream: "Two Blades"
MPEG Stream: "Goodnight Hal"
MPEG Stream: "Lord, I have Returned"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / JOSEPH MATTSON Empty The Sun (Drag City) lp + book 17.98
Music for airports, music for sleeping, music for film...it's about time someone made music for reading! For his brand new novel Empty The Sun, writer Joseph Mattson called upon the talents of Ben Chasney (Six Organs Of Admittance) to create a musical accompaniment to his novel. What a fantastic idea, especially consideringChasney has shown over the years an ability to create mood and atmosphere with a subtlety and undeniable authenticity that rings with such undeniable truth.
Centered around Chasney's mesmerizing guitar playing as well as wonderful accompaniment by Steve Ruecker on pedal steel, rattlers and bowls, Empty The Sun really is the sound we would want playing as we lose ourselves in a good book. Similar in mood and disposition to the great soundtrack to Mister Lonely that J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls created last year, this is one of those records that flows with a pastoral bliss that could, and we find ourselves wishing WOULD, go on forever and ever. Mostly instrumental, there are a few tracks with really nice subdued vocals including some of the most warm and intoxicating vocals we've heard from Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers).
The music of Six Organs Of Admittance really does speak to the soul, so evocative and creative and original, yet still warm and familiar, a rare beast that is as much a fan favorite as an artist's artist, so it's no surprise that Mattson was compelled to bring Six Organs into his world of words, just as film makers like Cam Archer have turned to Six Organs for music in his films, and just about every painter or visual artist we know has copies of Six Organs records in their studio. The sounds Chasney creates seem to be the perfect accompaniment for creation and exploration. And what also makes Chasney's music so amazing is the way it evokes a feeling of comfort, and a gloriously soporific dazem even while you're just sitting on a bus watching your surroundings blur by...
We haven't had a chance to dive into the actual book yet but with a quick skim we're anxious to ring in the new year laying on the couch with Six Organs playing as we dive into what looks to be a compelling novel.
Gorgeously packaged as well, both the cd and lp, each with a slightly different sized novel, to fit the format...
MPEG Stream: "Two Blades"
MPEG Stream: "Goodnight Hal"
MPEG Stream: "Lord, I have Returned"

SKADEN, THE You Will Hope I Had Died (BlackMetal.com) cd 13.98
Finally! The return of Eikenskaden, whose mastermind (and only member as far as we know) was also responsible for the baffling brilliance that was Mystic Forest. Long time readers of the aQ list will no doubt know how much we love Stefan Kozak, and both Mystic Forest and Eikenskaden, so much so that Andee even released Eikenskaden's amazing 665.999 on tUMULt.
And we're happy to report, that besides being just as cool and weird as we remember, along with a strange name change, Eikenskaden is now known as The Skaden, the sound has gotten even MORE bizarre and all overt the map, which is definitely a very good thing.
Right from the outset, the intro to the first track "Pain and sexual Overdose Delusion" (yes there's still a definite BDSM vibe, in the song titles, subject matter, even artwork) Kozak confounds by opening with what sounds like a black metal theme to a James Bond movie we'd kill to see, with it's frantic jangle clean guitar, moaning horns (sounds like horns at least), and super moody melody, but soon, the song kicks in full bore and we're in more familiar Eikenskaden style soaring epic melodic black metal territory. But things get WAY weirder pretty quickly, as the song shifts gears and transforms into a sort of string laden sea shanty, like some strange musical, dramatic and playful, but still growly and buzzy and sinister, a truly weird combo. The second track, is a brooding Katatonia like slab of dour doomic black metal, with lots of slow jangly guitars, spaced out stretches of dramatic post rock, complete with whispered female vox and soaring guitar melodies. And the record just continues to confound, the strange loping almost jig-like fiddle on "A Peaceful Moment", along with the haunting slow build Godspeed like string quartet gone black metal second half of the same song, the wild progged out frenzy of "Grand Final" with frantic speed picked distorted riffing, jangly clean guitar, and tangled flutes laid over growled black metal vox, like some sort of Burzum / Tull mashup, that eventually morphs into some super hypnotic blackened noise rock, the flute along for the whole ride, and finally, the final track, the title and lyrics all in Japanese, which at the outset appears to be the most truly black metal track on the record, but as you might expect, the track seesaws from black buzz, to lurching dramatic cabaret, to haunting shimmery string laden skitter, all the while a female recites the lyrics in Japanese way down in the mix, and those horns return, cloaking the track in a serious noir vibe, before it lurches back into some blasting blackness. Some serious what-the-fuck for sure, but we love it. Did we mention EVERY song begins with the sound of wind blowing? So good.
If you already dig Eikenskaden and Mystic Forest, this is obviously essential, otherwise, if you're looking for something black metal, but still super melodic and WAY WAY twisted, you probably couldn't hope for anything better, or weirder than this!
MPEG Stream: "Pain and sexual Overdose Delusion"
MPEG Stream: "The Suicide Of Thoughts"
MPEG Stream: "White Noise In A Monochrome Night"

SLOMATICS / SELAAH split (Spirit Of Division) cd 10.98
We first discovered the doomlords known as Slomatics via another doomy combo, now defunct UK trio Like A Kind Of Matador, who released their only record on Andee's tUMULt label, and Slomatics definitely hit the spot, slow, crushing bruisers, downtuned and spaced out, heavy as fuck, and nothing has changed since then. On this limited split, they offer us 3 more slabs of lumbering ultracrush, a sound that falls somewhere between Harvey Milk, Like A Kind Of Matador and Electric Wizard. Churning riffage, howling vocals buried in the mix, big booming drums, all very druggy and hypnotic. The two shorter songs here get downright rocking, at least by Slomatics standards, slipping into a head banging 16rpm groove, that sounds a little like ZZ Top on thorazine, and a LOT like a less melodic, way meaner Torche. Definitely need more from these guys and SOON.
Slomatics team up with an outfit called Selaah, who couldn't be more different, solo guitar, looped and cyclical, a bit like a lo-fi Riley or Reich piece played on distorted electric guitar. Super mantra like, and circular, the sound does eventually build to a Sunroof!-like ur-drone finale, before suddenly shifting into a cool shimmering shifty layered upper register dronescape, before gradually growing prettier and prettier, and simultaneously more and more faint. Cool stuff. And definitely a nice way to balance the extreme low end heaviness of the first three tracks.
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES. Hand numbered...
MPEG Stream: SLOMATICS "Superlab"
MPEG Stream: SELAAH "17:36"

SOLID DUDES KITCHEN Season One (Gentlemen) dvd 11.98
We definitely love food, and eating, from shitty take out, to fancy pants high end dining. But we've never really found a cooking show we dug enough to watch regularly. One that spoke to us, regular dudes (and ladies) who like music, like to cook, but don't always want to spend hours making food, but do once in a while want to try something crazy.
And while we're not sure Solid Dudes Kitchen speaks EXACTLY to us, it comes pretty damn close. It's funny, there's music, animation, and some killer food. Not to mention two likable dudes manning the kitchen.
One guy cooks, the other watches and provides smart ass commentary. Which is probably a lot like lots of our kitchens. Plenty of swearing, jokes about balls, butts, farts, and other dude stuff. Both guys are tattooed and cool, used to play in rock bands, the key being, they're pretty funny, and seem like dudes you'd totally be into hanging out with and making dinner and drinking. And they do seem like out kind of dudes. For Superbowl Sunday, they make the least DUDE food possible, a beet salad, but moments later, they make pot brownies, the instructions delivered in a buzzing snarling metal / grindcore song. The next episode features the guitarist from the Dillinger Escape Plan, their pal, back from tour, and they're cooking him some comfort food, while said pal, straps on a guitar and rocks out in a computer generated hellish landscape, where he comments on each stage of the cooking, but wordlessly, just shredding wildly, subtitled of course, so you know what he's 'saying'. And that's another thing that makes Solid Dudes Kitchen so rad, some seriously high production values, the editing is amazing, the credits are different each time, super fancy, tons of animation, and variations of that stuff pop up throughout each episode.
And if you weren't sold already, wait til you get to the episode where they make a bacon burger, but not just ANY bacon burger, a bacon burger in which EVERY element is some variation of pork, called the pork motherfucker. There's bacon, but there's also self brined ribs, there's bacon fat mayo (!), there's also pickled onions, braised pork belly, pancetta and ground pork and breadcrumb patties on toasted buns, with cheese. Mmmmmmmm.
The episodes are short, so they're fun to watch, even if you don't want cook anything, although why wouldn't you? And after watching all these, we can't figure out why the heck these guys aren't Food Network superstars. Maybe it's all the metal and swearing and ass jokes...

TAKE UP SERPENTS (Prayers) From Beneath The Sand (Custodian, Color Zoo Containers) cd-r 9.98
Latest batch of corroded sonic mystery from this former Bay Area outfit, now headquartered somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Recorded live on KFJC, this set is a head spinning blown out collage of processed sounds, fractured percussion, treated noise, warped feedback, a roiling, pulsing, swirling blur of muted rhythms, in-the-red sheets of sound, twisted and melting melodies, all framed by a strange narrator, his voice processed and transformed into something totally alien, a nonstop stream of political and paranoid invective, warnings, threats, advice and all manner of all woven and tangled in the ever shifting fields of abstract whir and skree. Warped tapes wrap around mumbled chants, everything hissy and hazy and washed out, bits of dialogue from films (?), field recordings, plenty of tape hiss, and degraded crumbling distortion, occasional stretches of spare almost ambience, but even those brief respites are laced with haunting sonic filigree, creaks and groans, clatter and clanks, whispers and rumbles, occasional bursts of tribal drumming pepper the streaks of high end and the stuttering low register whir, throbbing, pulsing, hypnotic and heavy in its own way. This is definitely noise, but more textural and sculpted, than just white out ear shredding pummel, plenty rhythmic, with loads of low end creep, and howling chaotic crunch, all the disparate sounds woven into a super freaky, otherworldly alien transmission from some other plane.
And like all the releases on Custodian, Color Zoo Containers, every release is stunning, most painstakingly hand assembled, these cds have super striking transparent inserts, with all sorts of symbols and strange text, that continues onto the sticker sealing it shut, the discs are printed so the disc image mirrors and blends into the cover image, and of course, these are SUPER LIMITED, only 97 COPIES, each one hand numbered!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Defining Terrorism / Invoke The Deities"
MPEG Stream: "Mythology (Part 1)"

TERRORIZER issue #190 magazine 9.25
Another fine issue of this monthly must-read metal mag from the UK... this issue comes bagged with the usual free cd sampler, its got tracks by Gorgoroth, Katatonia, Count Raven, Saviours, Swallow The Sun, Griftegard, Sacred Steel, and others... including, uh, a band called Milking The Goatmachine. And, also this issue comes with an Immortal poster. Then, of course, the magazine itself is full of good readin', about such bands as Nile, Hypocrisy, Shrinebuilder, Pelican, Katatonia, Dark Funeral, Belphegor, Rammstein, Gorgoroth, and freakin' Manilla Road!! Among others. Plus reviews and news and whatnot as per usual.

TODD Big Ripper (Riot Season) cd 16.98
You would most definitely be forgiven for not expecting big things from a band called Todd. And you sure as shit would probably wouldn't expect something this fierce and heavy and fucked up. But once you realize these guys are on Riot Season, and that they count as members (or did at one time) guys from long time aQ faves Shit And Shine, then it all begins to make a bit more sense. Right down to the taking-the-piss monicker.
And Todd most definitely have plenty in common with their way more tweaked and druggy countrymen S+S, but where S+S do their multiple drummered post Buttholes freak out thing, Todd are a bit more riffy and raw, still rhythmic and heavy and blown out and in the red, but more pounding and relentless, maybe more akin to Brainbombs and Rusted Shut and Twin Stumps and White Mice and the Mayyors, you get the drift, howled marble mouthed vox, riffs crumbling with distortion, so much so that half the time they just sound like a wall of fuzz, the bass a wash of bowel rattling rumble, the drums pounding and frantic, the band swing from unhinged Scratch Acid / Jesus Lizard noise rock, to seasick post rock groove, to lurching sludge-y doom, to full on filthy space rock trip outs, to repetitive, looped sounding dirge-y drug rock, there's even some warped twang flecked almost slowcore sounding drift, but even then, the vocals are unhinged, and the amps sound like they're gradually turning to some sort of black goo, and the band eventually stumble back into a filthy field of sonic broken glass and ear shredding pound and howl.
Needless to say, if you dig Shit And Shine, Brainbombs, No Balls, Twin Stumps, Butthole Surfers, Rusted Shut, Oxbow, Hey Colossus, the Anals, Billy Bao, any of that sort of crusty, metallic, noise drenched filth, then these guys will definitely hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Track Side Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Happy Easter Florida"
MPEG Stream: "French And Out Of France"

TYVEK Blunt Instrumental EP (Night People) lp 15.98
Of all the current crop of weirdo garage poppers and minimal cold wavers, the one band who we WISH would shower us with a million releases is the one band that DOESN'T. So when there's a new Tyvek record, you can bet we're all over it. After the recent reissue of their killer debut 7" Mary Ellen Claims, which we played to death, and the Siltbreeze record that's been on nonstop rotation since we first got it in, comes this new record, a gorgeously packaged, short collection of songs, not all instrumental as the title implies, but like the other Tyvek jams, stripped down and catchy, a little stumbly and raw, urgent and hooky, a little new wave-y, a little punky, and way retro poppy, these songs rule, a couple of them almost sound unfinished, sans vocals, but it hardly matters, they're still killer slices of punky retro pop goodness. Most of the songs sound like they could have been yanked right off the Siltbreeze record, and then there's the sprawling final track, a long sprawling, hypnotic slab of warped and warbly minimal new wave pop, with strange murky bits of percussion, spidery guitars, everything muddy and washed out and druggy, almost wish they would have stuck this on on the other side and let it fill the whole thing up. but they couldn't cuz the flipside is silkscreened, a cool blue image on a clear slab of wax, next to a thick silkscreened sleeve, super nice, and probably super limited as well...

ULTRABUNNY Outer Bounds Of Sound (Noiseville) lp 17.98
The latest in Noiseville's Outer Bounds Of Sound series (past installments have come from Wicked King Wicker, Burnt Hills, Kleistwahr) comes from Ultrabunny, aka the trio that was borne from the demise of legendary noiserock freaks the Bunnybrains.
Ultrabunny are heavy and minimal, repetitive and super rocking, a bit like a krautrock Harry Pussy, after a slow build, the band lock into a super repetetive single riff groove, solid and mesmerizing, the sort of sound you wouldn't mind filling up the entire side, soon the vocals come in, a feral caterwaul, the band lurching and pummeling, a sort of looped sounding drug rock, that pounds away, those cracks in your skull slowly spiderwebbing, your grey matter dribbling from your ears.
All the tracks here were improvised and recorded live, most are a single riff, maybe two if you're lucky, the vocals yelp and howl, sometimes moan, on one track they just sort of hold a single note, adding another layer of drone to the proceedings, it might be a guitar too, but either way, the track just churns and pounds, the various elements subtly shifting and tangling, creating a sound that seems slightly warped, as if some greater power was holding his finger down on the band, as if they were a record, altering the speed, making everything seems woozy and melty and tripped out and WAY psychedelic.
The B-side is a lot heavier and more distorted, wild and on the verge of collapse, channeling some of that classic Japanese psych noise, but still filtered through a cracked lo-fi dirt rock vibe.
Killer noise drenched spaced out psychedelic hypnorock, which tells you all you need to know, us, we're digging this big time, especially the B-side.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!!

V/A Light: On The South Side (Numero Group) 2lp + Book 57.00
As much as we love Mississippi Records, and we DO love them, we're beginning to wonder why the Numero Group doesn't engender the same slavish devotion. If anything, they're like Mississippi with more money, fancier releases, maybe that's the problem, they're not punk enough, whatever it is, plenty of folks DO understand, and do worship at the altar of Numero Group, cuz it's no mystery as to what just might be the best reissue label going. And if the last 50+ releases didn't convince you, and this one STILL doesn't, we give up.
Light is a gorgeous and massive hardcover book / double lp combo, the book features photos by photographer Michael L. Abramson, who between the years 1975 to 1977 visited a handful of legendary blues bars on Chicago's South Side, not to capture the groups performing, but instead the folks in the crowd, and at the bar, and in the parking lot, and the results are amazing, 100+ photos available for the first time, of folks all dolled up and out on the town, drinking, dancing, socializing, the clothes are amazing, the hair is amazing, a fascinating snapshot of another side of Chicago's blues music scene, the side NOT on stage. The book is massive 12" x 12", with essays and a section of ephemera, and if that weren't enough, the book comes with a double lp featuring funky Chicago blues, just the sort of music the folks in these photos were grooving to live or playing on the jukebox. House in a super striking gatefold sleeve, also included is a little snapshot / catalog, a jukebox 7", printed inner sleeves, liner notes, photos of the 7" labels, ALL that housed in a super thick, boxlike slipcover/ Incredible. Visually, sonically, meticulously researched, perfectly assembled and presented, not sure where Numero Group can go next, but we're dying to find out.

V/A Steppas' Delight 2 (Soul Jazz) 2cd 23.00
BACK IN STOCK!!
The first Steppa's Delight dubstep comp on Soul Jazz totally knocked our socks off. We're so desperate for new dubstep and grime all the time, and we have such limited access to limited 12"s and white label dubplates, that we anxiously await the release of comps, hoping they'll compile some of the best jams, and usually offer up a bunch of new tracks as well.
Since the last Steppa's Delight comp though, a funny thing happened, dubstep continued to mutate and transform and is now something totally different than it was 18 months ago. The core sounds and structure remains the same, THAT beat, and THAT groove, the deep wobbly bass, but the sounds aren't so dark, or sinister, instead, the sound of dubstep has gotten a bit dancier, looking back to jungle and even house, incorporating more melody, more vocals, the sound almost more electro, with buzzy synths wrapped around that rumbling wobble. That said, there's still some darkness lurking in the grooves, and as much as we dig almost everything here, we can't help but lean toward those darker jams, Kutz's "Hardbody" is buzzy and bleak and ominous, "Purple City" by Joker & Ginz starts out all skittery and dancey, but then explodes with some of the fiercest most distorted bass on the comp.
A bunch of the tracks are super stripped down and skeletal, reminding us of some of the Skull Disco 12"s, all barebones and minimal, and some of the tracks are super atmospheric and ethereal. Killer stuff for sure, but be warned, if you're looking for stuff like Kode9 or Burial, you won't find much of that here, but if you're looking for big stuttery beats, thick throbbing bass synth wobble and can't get enough of that dubstep 'step, then this should definitely hold you over until the next comp...
MPEG Stream: JOKER & GINZ "Purple City"
MPEG Stream: SULLY SHANKS "Give Me Up (LD Remix)"
MPEG Stream: KUTZ "Hard Body"

V/A Warp20 (Unheard) (Warp) cd 16.98
Sure some of you music freaks managed to snag one of those crazy Warp boxsets, celebrating the label's 20th anniversary, and what a twenty years it's been, kicking our asses with amazing records from Boards Of Canada, Squarepusher, Autechre, Aphex Twin, Chris Clark, Chris Morris, Disjecta, Broadcast, Grizzly Bear, Flying Lotus, Maximo Park, Born Ruffians, Prefuse 73, Battles, we could go on, needless to say, few labels boast that sort of track record. So this box set was pretty thrilling, albeit a bit unaffordable for most of us. Which is where the cd versions come in. Three releases, one featuring Warp bands covering tracks buy OTHER Warp bands, another release featuring one disc of songs chosen by fans, another by Warp themselves, a sort of greatest hits, both of those we'll review soon, and this one, probably the one most folks were most excited about, featuring rare and previously unreleased tracks by Boards Of Canada, Seefeel, Broadcast, Flying Lotus, Plaid, Autechre, Clark and more! And it's just as good as we had hoped.
Broadcast do a Nico cover, all buzzy and moody and spacey, the first new Boards Of Canada music in 3+ years (since Trans Canada), and of course it's washed out and dreamy and divine, a killer old old Autechre track, the Plaid song is amazing and had us pulling out our old Plaid records, The Clark song is short, but oh so sweet, weirdly skeletal and glitchy and otherworldly, Flying Lotus go all abstract and ambient, and the Seefeel is dark brooding, warm and whirring pop ambient bliss, so good. Totally reminds us of why Warp were so important, and continue to be, and this comp is incredible, a perfect mix of future funk and old school electronica, dubbed out glitchy skitter, and lush electro dream pop. You definitely need this, and probably those other Warp20 collections as well, more about those on the next list...
MPEG Stream: BOARDS OF CANADA "Seven Forty Seven"
MPEG Stream: FLYING LOTUS "Tronix"
MPEG Stream: BROADCAST "Sixty Forty"
MPEG Stream: SEEFEEL "As Link"

YVES / SON / ACE Parade Of Thought / Can't Sleep (Night People) lp 14.98
The strangely monickered Yves/Son/Ace is in fact a solo project from one of the members of gothic post punk new wavers Factums, who we dig big time, and Parade Of Thought / Can't Sleep totally pushes all the same buttons, and if anything is just more abstract and out there, taking the same elements employed to create the gloom pop of Factums but here pulls them apart, recontextualizes them, tangles them all up, worrying less about songs, and more about texture and mood, resulting in a super weird bit of gothy synthy drift.
Long whirring drones, overlap creepy minor key melodies, primitive drum machines bleep and bloop, vocals awash in delay and reverb hover ghostlike amidst the proceedings, the various elements sometimes seem to coalesce into proper songs, but just as soon splinter into spectral fragments, imagine your favorite cold wave band composing the soundtrack for a Victorian haunted house, or for some super abstract arthouse horror film, and this might be what it would sound like.
Super abstract and druggy, these song fragments seem to crumble to pieces, those pieces drifting and joining up with other pieces to make a new brief 'song', before the whole process repeats itself, horns bleat, rhythms stutter, synths whir and wheeze, vocals croon and yelp, effects swirl and swoop, what's not to love!?
Super cool packaging, clear vinyl, housed alongside a black on purple silkscreened sleeve, and like the other Night People records, probably pretty dang limited...