OSBOURNE, OZZY Blizzard Of Ozz (Epic) cd 12.98
In the same spirit as listing My Bloody Valentine's 'Loveless' a few lists past, it occurred to us that like 'Loveless' there are probably some of you who don't own 'Blizzard Of Ozz.' Or perhaps some of you probably had it when you were 15, but haven't thought about it in years or bothered to pull out that dirty old cassette and throw it on. And if you're anything like us, you've become mildly obsessed with MTV's 'The Osbournes', and you've been getting a good laugh at doddering, senile old Ozzy, who is perplexed by the TV remote control, his dogs that shit all over the house, his truly bizarre children, and who occasionally loses control and throws a log through his neighbors' windows. The show is so popular, the BBC reported that President Bush is a fan and has asked Ozzy to have dinner with him at the Whitehouse. Never thought I'd see the day. (Neither did Ozzy, who said "I thought I'd be on a wanted poster on the wall, not invited to his place to tea.") And if I did see the day, I imagined it with a much hipper president. But with all this media hype, it's easy to forget that Ozzy (in Black Sabbath and solo) is responsible for some of the best heavy metal ever! The first two Ozzy records ('Blizzard Of Ozz' and 'Diary Of A Madman') are total classics, ultra heavy and completely kick ass, with some of the best riffs ever comitted to tape, as well as some ridiculously catchy songs (it's strange to look back now and realise how much poppier Ozzy was than we remember, closer to Van Halen than Slayer). And since these were both re-released (remastered with bonus tracks and extra photos/liner notes) they technically -are- new releases. And since some of you may have missed the boat (even Windy, who's always loved 'Crazy Train' yet never knew it was Ozzy) we figured what the hell. And while both are great, we figured we would focus on 'Blizzard Of Ozz' since it is the best place to start for the unititiated ('Diary Of A Madman' is a little weirder and a little heavier) and since it holds a special place in Byram's heart, who has the following to say about it:
"I would certainly never claim to be an expert on metal and my eyes fairly glaze over shortly after Andee and Allan begin one of their 'which album by _____ (random metal band) is the best' arguments. Having identified with punk rock in my formative years (though my appearance and actions made me look more like an effete and dorky new-waver at best), I was scared of the big hairy guys who I associated with metal in high school. But long before all that nonsense of cliques and fitting in, I used to ride around the suburbs on my BMX bike and listen to music regardless of its association to a particular fan demographic. With my walkman strapped on, "Blizzard of Ozz" was my soundtrack while I made my rounds checking the pay phones and newspaper machines for change. And I'm certain that I wasn't the only young suburbanite who wandered the streets plugged into Ozzy. As his first solo album away from Black Sabbath, the million-plus-selling "Blizzard of Ozz" demonstrated that Ozzy had a broader appeal than his earlier efforts with the group had. Over 20 years later, after people get over their ironic chuckling, this album still holds its ground. Those of you who've now lost or worn out your old cassettes and those of you who never gave the post-Sabbath Ozzy a chance should pick this 24-bit remastered and low priced classic up immediately!"
Also, if you were disappointed by the totally pointless / throwaway bonus tracks on the recent Judas Priest reissues (and let's be honest, 90% of bonus tracks on *all* reissues), you won't be here. The bonus track, 'You Lookin' At Me Lookin' At You,' is more kick ass-catchy metal and seems like it would have fit perfectly on the original album. A total timeless classic, for metalheads and non-metalheads alike.
RealAudio clip: "Crazy Train"
RealAudio clip: "I Don't Know"
RealAudio clip: "Mr. Crowley"
RealAudio clip: "Suicide Solution"
RealAudio clip: "No Bone Movies"

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ANAAL NATHRAKH The Codex Necro (Mordgrimm) cd 16.98
Thank god (or Satan) that this record is as good as it is, because of all the trouble we had to go through to get it! We became aware of British black metal act Anaal Nathrakh from first seeing ads for this album in Terrorizer magazine (the UK's metal version of The Wire), then Terrorizer named it record of the month, and then one of the top 40 records of 2001! Yet no metal distributors in the United States had ever even heard of Anaal Nathrakh. Not even the band themselves could help us out, and the one distributor that did offer the album only had TEN COPIES. Our tiny little store wanted at least twice that many.
But, many frustrating conversations and unproductive emails later, we finally have The Codex Necro in stock and are happy to report that it is as heavy, as weird and as completely cool as we had hoped. The formula is still blasting black metal mayhem, but A.N. up the intensity a notch as well as mixing in all sorts of fucked weirdness: bizarre ambient electronic soundscapes, creepy cloying melodies buried in the mix, strangely hypnotic vocal chants, light speed fuzzed out blast beats, found sound interludes, and totally processed and INSANE vocals, from growling guttural bowel-shaking grunts to maniacal high pitched, electronically fucked-with shrieks. Plus the riffs are ultra catchy, and the guitars are so distorted and recorded so hot, it feels like demonic claws are being scraped across your ear drums. Take the raw, "necro" sounds of Nordic black metal pioneers Darkthrone and give them the bombastic force of the best-produced, over-the-top Cradle of Filth stuff, and you're thinking Anaal Nathrakh. When they say necro, they mean it. And they say it a lot. Like in the liner notes: "Anaal Nathrak plays Fucking Necro Exclusively!...Fuck Everything".
RealAudio clip: "The Supreme Necrotic Audnance"
RealAudio clip: "When Humanity Is Cancer"
RealAudio clip: "Submission Is For The Weak"

CLINE, NELS SINGERS Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone) cd 15.98
No, there's no singing, and these ARE instrumentals...'The Nels Cline Singers' is just Mr. Cline's clever name for what's really the new version of his fantastic Trio. Nels on electric guitar (of course, for he is the master of that instrument), plus bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola, create jazz (is it?) and/or rock music that's both noisy and blissful. Some tracks are downright melodically catchy, some others work through repetition and drone. The heavy, bluesy "Lowered Boom" is a departure for Cline, showing off his Hendrix-inspired chops...other tracks dip into the languid, liquid pool of jazzier Cline fare past, as in "Lucia" where the Singers paint a gentle watercolor in sound. Then the distortion kicks in for the 15+ minute epic "Blood Drawing" that sees the trio scaling to some intense heights. Their energy level is always high, even with the moments of restraint. 'Post rock' fans should do themselves a favor and check out Mr. Cline's work, starting with this disc, and see how he and his band destroy all the indie darlings who do the quiet/loud instrumental thing... Recommended!!
RealAudio clip: "Blood Drawing"
RealAudio clip: "Cause For Concern"
RealAudio clip: "Suspended Head"

DALTON, KAREN It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best (Koch) cd 16.98
Wow, what a gem of an album that I (Windy) can't believe I never heard before. Doubtless some of you are already aware of Karen Dalton, but for those of you who, like me, are new to her, here's the story:
The half-Irish, half-Cherokee Oklahoman moved to New York around 1960, where she immediately fell in with the Greenwich Village folk scene (there's an awesome photo here of her, Bob Dylan, and Fred Neil). Though Dalton didn't write her own songs, her interpretations of pieces by Fred Neil, Jelly Roll Morton, Tim Hardin, etc. are just lovely...
And HER VOICE! It's this glowing, honeydripping voice -- a country-blues Billie Holiday kind of voice. It is *stunning*. The instrumentation includes Karen on 12-string guitar and banjo, and she's got a talented band backing her up, but her gorgeous voice is foregrounded clearly throughout.
Includes lots of liner notes (written by Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders, Fugs, etc.) that appear to only scratch the surface of this amazing woman: she was a lifelong dumpster diver, for one thing, and also a single mom. She was reportedly so shy that only by sort of tricking her into a recording session were these songs ever laid down on tape! Most of them are first and only takes, recorded in one day: so fresh, so alive, so sweet. Enjoy.
RealAudio clip: "Little Bit of Rain"
RealAudio clip: "How Did the Feeling Feel to You"

GENUINE ELECTRIC LATIN LOVE MACHINE FEATURING JESTER, DJ Introducing The Neat Beat (Compulsive) cd 11.98
By now you're probably sick of hearing how much AQ adores DJ Jester -- the Filipino Fist, the Boca Burger Slingin' Travelling Turntablist. His bedroom turntablist debut River Walk Riots disc is still a bestseller here, a crazy and a super funky/funny ride through hip hop, classic rock, country, and just complete weirdness, where he incorporates samples of Richard Simmons, Iron Butterfly, the theme from S.W.A.T., Run DMC, Hank Williams, Black Sabbath, that Ofra Haza song, Aerosmith, James Brown... the list goes on.
Anyway, like Kid Koala did with Bullfrog, Jester has now released a disc with a band, Genuine Electric Latin Love Machine. It's loads of fun and a logical progression from the lo-fi River Walk Riots. Here the sound is much more hi-fi, the samples are fleshed out with upbeat and booty-shakin' rhythms, and the result is an honest to gosh party disc on the level of Milk Cult, Cat Five, and those Future Primitive live mixes. Yep it's that good. And I have to say the "Edgar" track with the sad sack Simpletext voice lamenting how lonely he is ("it sucks to be me") gets us every time! Very fun, worth a listen, say Windy and Andee.
RealAudio clip: "Hey That's My Truck"
RealAudio clip: "Looky Looky"
RealAudio clip: "Edgar"

JECK, PHILIP / OTOMO YOSHIHIDE / MARTIN TETREAULT Invisible Architecture #1 (Audiosphere) cd 16.98
The first release on the new label Audiosphere is also the first in a series, called Invisible Architecture, of experimental music collaborations. Despite the series' foofy highbrow title and the annoyingly oversized "super jewel box" (which merely ensures that instead of getting rightfully filed in the Jeck, the Tetreault or the Yoshihide section, the cd will instead get put on a record store shelf where customers can't get to it, or in a glass enclosed cabinet next to a dusty Robert Johnson box set), this collaboration amongst three of AQ's very favorite experimental turntablists is a *wonderful* recording. Twenty seven minutes of slowly building, creepy, textured atmospherics improvised live by the three turntablists, each of whom have their own recognizably distinct style that happily complements the other two perfectly. Jeck weaves his always-brilliant hazy wash of vinyl hiss, grainy warmth, and half-murmured somber vocal loops (the only human voices heard on this record). Over this foundation Yoshihide and Tetreault add highlights in the form of sonic outbursts and abstract electronics, but remember this is all done on turntables. At times it sounds like a gurgling underwater maelstrom, at times it conjures tense nightmare images, and at *all* times it is so so so so beautiful. We wish it was longer!
The soundclips chart the progression of the piece, so listen to all three.
RealAudio clip: "excerpt 1"
RealAudio clip: "excerpt 2"
RealAudio clip: "excerpt 3"

LOW / VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA split 7" (Misplaced Music) 7" 5.98
Expensive split single from the UK. One of Low's best-loved but never-released songs, "David & Jude" is brief and starkly beautiful. The addition of Calvin Johnson on melodica is very nice. Leeds quintet Vibracathedral Orchestra offer up a cyclical groove of primitive percussion in a macabre carnival atmosphere. Worthy of your time.

MARS VOLTA, THE Tremulant EP (GSL) cd ep 7.98
If you've been in search of some new and exciting sounds, you simply should not miss this introductory EP to The Mars Volta. Although this sextet will undoubtedly receive much attention for two of its members' past band (Omar and Cedric were the most recognizable members of At The Drive-In) not to mention the presence of Jon Theodore (of Golden and formerly of Royal Trux and Him) on drums, they fully deserve to be taken on their own ground.
The Mars Volta are determined *not* to take the path of least resistance by retracing the steps they've already trod. Instead, they're traversing a fresh, dynamic terrain. Crafting intricate, multi-layered songs with a definite *prog* angle. Shades of King Crimson and Yes (and U2 in the vocals, but it's not annoying at all). And they've got the chops to successfully execute their formidable mission. The vocals - so untethered, hoarse and fiery in ATDI - are here molded into an emotional falsetto that rings clear and strong with additional effected ones adding an air of alienation. The music is an amazing, intricate blend of ultra-tight drumming, deep bass, keyboards and guitar made even more potent and unsettling by carefully arranged, foreboding samples and electronics. Oh and in case I didn't make myself clear... They absolutely rock! If these three songs are any indication, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Blistering!
Please note: this is not to be confused with DeFacto (TMV members Omar, Cedric, Jeremy and Ikey's experimental dub side project).
RealAudio clip: "Eunuch Provocateur"
RealAudio clip: "Cut That City"

MARS VOLTA, THE Tremulant EP (GSL) lp 7.98
If you've been in search of some new and exciting sounds, you simply should not miss this introductory EP to The Mars Volta. Although this sextet will undoubtedly receive much attention for two of its members' past band (Omar and Cedric were the most recognizable members of At The Drive-In) not to mention the presence of Jon Theodore (of Golden and formerly of Royal Trux and Him) on drums, they fully deserve to be taken on their own ground.
The Mars Volta are determined *not* to take the path of least resistance by retracing the steps they've already trod. Instead, they're traversing a fresh, dynamic terrain. Crafting intricate, multi-layered songs with a definite *prog* angle. Shades of King Crimson and Yes (and U2 in the vocals, but it's not annoying at all). And they've got the chops to successfully execute their formidable mission. The vocals - so untethered, hoarse and fiery in ATDI - are here molded into an emotional falsetto that rings clear and strong with additional effected ones adding an air of alienation. The music is an amazing, intricate blend of ultra-tight drumming, deep bass, keyboards and guitar made even more potent and unsettling by carefully arranged, foreboding samples and electronics. Oh and in case I didn't make myself clear... They absolutely rock! If these three songs are any indication, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Blistering!
Please note: this is not to be confused with DeFacto (TMV members Omar, Cedric, Jeremy and Ikey's experimental dub side project).
RealAudio clip: "Eunuch Provocateur"
RealAudio clip: "Cut That City"

POP GROUP, THE Y (WEA Japan) cd 26.00
Ever since the release of that great Soul Jazz "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" compilation on which The Pop Group appear, and also with the rise of current artists like San Francisco's Erase Errata whose work shares and reflects the spirit and energy of The Pop Group, there has been a huge amount of interest in this band's output, especially around these parts. The Pop Group's debut album "Y" isn't available on cd domestically, but thankfully the Japanese know better, and now through one of our distributors we've finally been able to stock an import version this highly sought after (but, alas, expensive) classic. Hopefully there will be more to come!
Formed in 1978 by four young men from Bristol, The Pop Group unleashed itself from the frigid political environment of their native England and its narrowing punk scene. Lyrically and visually committed to leftist political ideals (much like their peers in Crass and some time later, The Ex), and sonically more "out" and dissonant than any other "punk" act of their time, The Pop Group abandoned the "no future" stereotypes for more serious and thought provoking ideas both ideological and musical.
Produced by veteran reggae/dub producer and musician Dennis Bovell, who was also responsible for "Cut" by The Slits, another post-punk outfit with whom The Pop Group happened to share an early single (the fabulous "Where There's A Will" backed by The Slits' "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm"), this explosive 1979 debut kicks off with "Thief Of Fire" in which short blasts of guitar noise fills in the gaps where an aggressive bass funk and a primitive percussive drive weave in and out of each other. From there on, the record just gets more and more angular, outrageous, and weird as it unfolds. "Snowgirl" features crackling guitarwork accompanied by macabre tinkling piano and the odd wail of vocalist Mark Stewart (who would go on to form Tackhead and become an integral part of the On-U Sound collective). And of course there's the "hit" single (and arguably their defining moment), "She Is Beyond Good And Evil", a must-hear (it's also on the "In The Beginning There Was Rhythm" comp).
The booklet has lyrics in English and Japanese as well as a nice collage of photos. Highly recommended! While we are sure to soon run out of this hard-to-get import, we've been assured we'll be able to get more of them within a few weeks, never fear.
RealAudio clip: "She is Beyond Good and Evil"
RealAudio clip: "Snowgirl"
RealAudio clip: "We Are Time"
RealAudio clip: "Words Disobey Me"

PRINCESS SUPERSTAR Is (Rapster ) cd 17.98
I was all set to hate this record. You know that if someone's getting profiled on the often musically-clueless NPR, there must be something wrong with 'em. But nonetheless, this record actually is surprisingly likable, and Concetta Kirschner is commendably truly DIY: girlfriend owns her own publishing, her own label, writes her own lyrics, plus she paid for it all and produced the best song on the record (the one about Napster). Following the tried and true contemporary hip hop formula -- slightly recognizable samples, boasting of sexual prowess, famous guests (Kool Keith, Bahamadia, Beth Orton) -- seems to work for everyone else, so why not Princess Superstar. *And* her voice has got a kittenish singsong quality to it that's admittedly kind of appealing, if odd (and Eminem-like). Sure, the record has its fair share of filler tracks and predictable elements, but so does every other hip hop record I can think of. In short, Windy and Byram like this record a lot. And Allan and Andee at least like the "Bad Babysitter" song -- "makin' six bucks an hour, got my boyfriend in the shower"! If you've got a strong stomach for rappers that sound really white, you should definitely give this a try.
RealAudio clip: "You Get Mad at Napster"
RealAudio clip: "Bad Babysitter (feat. High & Mighty)"

RUINS 1986-1992 (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
Aquarius customers probably know this band already, the famed hardcore progrock bass/drum duo from Tokyo led by drummer extraordinare Tatsuya Yoshida. They're big favorites of several AQ-staffers, being one of Allan and Jeff's favorite bands ever! Super tight, technical playing, bass-heavy riffing, weird, nonsense vocals, impossibly complex *and* catchy songwriting... They are inspired by '70s prog bands, Magma especially, but take things to a much more intense, energetic, insane level than any band back then.
This new Skin Graft cd collects (as its title suggests) tracks from the first six years of the Ruins career, which, as great as the Ruins still are today, may have been their best era. There's the happy, hectic (Hella-like, to reference another two-piece we've recently raved about) really early stuff from when Hideki Kawamoto was the Ruins' bassist, and then more massive, majestic material from later on with bassist Kazuyoshi Kimoto and then Ryuichi Masuda (yep, Yoshida is currently playing with bassist number four). About half of these tracks are from long-out-of-print Japanese releases, while (the second) half of the disc pulls from the Ruins' two Shimmy Disc albums, which are also more-or-less out of print as well (the reason we say 'more-or-less' is kinda complicated, ask Allan if you care). And the tracks selected (by Yoshida, who also remixed and remastered 'em) do make for a good "best of" -- we'd have picked many of the same tracks ourselves. (Though Yoshida should have included "Power Shift" from "Burning Stone"! oh well).
Ok, this part of the review is for fellow Ruins fanatics: basically, you don't need this ONLY if you already have the "Burning Stone", "Stonehenge" (the original Shimmy version with the bonus tracks that is), "Ruins III" (aka "Infect"), and "Ruins II & 19 Numbers" cds. Otherwise you definitely need this!! Not to mention, these tracks are remastered, and you probably don't have the track "Cambodia" from the "NG II" comp... And if you've got the rare "Early Works" Ruins cd, don't worry, none of those recordings are on here.
Everybody else -- this is a great collection that we'd highly recommend as a starting place for your Ruins experience, although you'll eventually want to hunt down their out of print cds too, to hear the entire albums. Essentially, essential.
RealAudio clip: "Sanctuary"
RealAudio clip: "Human Being"
RealAudio clip: "Dadaism"
RealAudio clip: "Grubandgo"

SALVATORE Fresh (Racing Junior) cd 12.98
The new album from our new favorite Norwegian instrumental 'post-rock' band, finally in stock (along with restocks of the two discs we listed before, "Clingfilm" and "Jugend")! We think people will like this quite bit, although we're slightly less gung-ho about it than we were about those other two albums, maybe just 'cause this one seems to concentrate more on the 'prettier' side of Salvatore. Nothing wrong with that, it's just less intense. It's very poppy and sunny and nice, taking their Neu! influence into the Stereolab realm I suppose. The Salvatore boys recorded this in Morocco at the same time as "Jugend" and I guess this is the light to that album's darkness. Their hypnotic, Circle-ular grooves still transport the listener into lazy reverie, with plenty of gentle psychedelic guitar drift/drone and everything from xylophone to accordion cropping up in the mix. "Chant of the No No's" adds some sampled female vocals (very hazy and mumbled and repeating), while "Stork" features some jazzy pocket trumpet. If you got either of the other two Salvatores already, and dug their mellower moments, then you'll want this. If you haven't checked Salvatore out yet, you might start with this one if you're more into Tortoise than you are into Circle. It's Salvatore's Sunday morning album, you could say, rather than the evening/late-night listens of their other discs. Quite nice.
RealAudio clip: "Chant Of The No No's"
RealAudio clip: "The Seven Colours Of Gnaff"
RealAudio clip: "Vogel"
RealAudio clip: "Dune"

V/A Surrounded By Sun (Fonal) cd 14.98
From far north in Finland, the Fonal label, home to Es, Kiila, and a bunch of other fine bands, has just released a compilation focusing not only on their countryfolk but also likeminded artists from around the world. Psychedelic, experimental, indie, folkish music contributed by Greg Weeks, P.G. Six, Kemialliset Ystavat, Kiila, Tinsel, Fursaxa, Ville Leinonen, Scorces, Kuusumun Profeetta (Moon Fog Prophet), Floating Flower, Ring, Janne Laurila, Pekko Kappi, Alien Heart, and Sleeping Bags. Some names we know (several AQ-faves among them!) and some we don't, mostly obscure (to us) Finnish folks. All are exclusive to this comp, except for the Floating Flower track, which is a remix of an older song of theirs.
Floating Flower is an Acid Mothers Temple side project, featuring Kawabata Makoto on acoustic guitar, Yuki on vocals and violin, and Kaneko Tetsuya on tabla and electric guitar. A very lovely six minute track indeed. The P.G. Six track is another of his fragile, folk/psych compositions featuring just his voice, acoustic guitar, and piano. Greg Weeks, Janne Laurila, Ring, Ville Leinonen, and, well, quite a few of the artists on here take a much similar approach: sparse, homerecorded songs that are both quiet and melancholy (of course, some are better singers than others...). Fursaxa (who just played here in San Francisco with fellow psychedelic Philadelphians Bardo Pond) combines droning organ and sustained, sad female vocals. Scorces (members of Charalambides and Ash Castles On The Ghost Coast) does something similar, using bells instead of drones to back their extended, wordless vocal duet. Kinda creepy. The disc concludes with Kemialliset Ystavat's beautiful hippy-chant-folk-jam "Milla", which could have been an International Harvester outtake. This comp is very Ptolemaic Terrascope, to say the least! We like.
RealAudio clip: FLOATING FLOWER "Desert (remix version)"
RealAudio clip: GREG WEEKS "Howling For Blood"
RealAudio clip: PEKKO KAPPI "Aksyn Tyton Tanssi"
RealAudio clip: VILLE LEINONEN "Unisuudelma"
RealAudio clip: KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT "Milla"

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+ / - s/t (Teen Beat) cd 14.98
Very nice! The lovely, minimal vellum packaging offers very little in the way of liner notes and gives nary a hint of the sounds contained inside, but one thing we do know for sure is that this is the debut from +/- aka James Balayut and Patrick Ramos. And if those names sound familiar, well it just might be because they were two members of the fine NYC polished pop outfit Versus. Actually fans of said band might find this album a familiar friend as the overall sound flows quite closely to that of many songs from their last album, the subtly textured, varied and pretty "Hurrah". Mostly soft, warm and heartfelt vocals over lush instrumentation. Lazy day basslines, soothing organ drones, twinkling guitar melodies with a few bursts of My Bloody Valentine-esque feedback washes and an occasional playful, skitterish or blown-out programmed beat a la Cornelius. The warm boyish vocals reminded me of those of Elliott Smith, Sea & Cake and Mark Robinson. Standout tracks include "Beverly Road" and "Crestfallen". Check 'em out!
RealAudio clip: "Crestfallen"
RealAudio clip: "Beverly Road"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. Absolutely Freak Out (Zap Your Mind!!) (Static Caravan / Resonant) 2cd 17.98
The out of print, year 2000 vinyl-only double LP release from everyone's favorite Japanese communal hippy band finally makes it to compact disc! Two compact discs, actually, which makes room for 44 minutes of bonus track action!! Kawabata Makoto, Cotton Casino, Ichiraku Yoshimitsu, Magic Aum Gigi, Tsuyama Atsushi, and the rest of their large cosmic clan do their acid freakout krautrock-inspired thing all over these two discs, it's so fried and psychedelic it's hard to comprehend. From heavy Hawkwind-style rock jams to gentle ambient drift, it's all here, and it's all sooo very psychedelic. The crude, crazy tape edits in the midst of the pounding "Magic Aum Rock" jam on disc two will indeed zap your mind. Acid Mothers Temple, they can't be stopped! As much as we'd like to razz this band for putting out way too many releases, it seems that with AMT too much is never enough. Certainly their recent live show here in SF (you may have caught them elsewhere on tour) proved they're the real deal, absolutely. 21st century, get out of the way!
RealAudio clip: "Supernal Infinite Space"
RealAudio clip: "Stone Stoner"
RealAudio clip: "Magic Aum Rock"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. Pataphysical Freak Out MU!! (Eclipse) 2lp 23.00
This essential document of Acid Mothers Temple's early years is finally released on vinyl. Nice and thick and in a gorgeous gatefold with a bonus track, the side long 'Blue Velvet Blues Coda'. This record starts with AMT at their most rocking, dreamy velvety guitarscapes over sexy spoken French eventually erupt into shredding, drugged out Jimi Hendrix/Uli Roth worship. Guitars wail and squeal over a hyper distorted bashing and crashing rhythm section. Track two blisses out a bit with fingerpicked acoustic guitar and heavily reverbed female vocals, while space sounds beep and blip and bleep in the distance, Track three is a sixteen minute three part ambient sixties folk free-jam, sloppy strummed guitar, wailing anguished female vocals and crashing stumbling percussion. Track four starts out serene and sleepy, with gauzy strands of softly strummed guitars and slowly expanding space echo ripple. But within seconds, the entire band is bashing away in a free-jazz out-rock free for all. Psychotic guitar jams and a rhythm section careening out of control. Noisy avant-rock splatter. Track five is an almost 30 minute slow burning, volcanic slow jam. With incendiary emotive guitars squealing and spitting fire, while the drummer plays a simple slow motion 2/4 beat. This endless jam goes on and on and on and on, further and further out until it dissolves into nothingness. The bonus track on the vinyl is a gorgeous 20+ minute spaced out drone version of track five. The same melody is stretched to its breaking point as AMT pile layer after layer of suffocatingly rich guitars and warm buzzing synths, creating a monstrous, totally transcendent ur-drone. Quite possibly one of their best recordings, especially with the addition of the bonus sixth drone track.
RealAudio clip: "03"

ANDREW W.K. I Get Wet (Mercury) cd 10.98
Finally available domestically and at a much friendlier price! Here's what we wrote about the import...
Ah, Andrew W.K... Hard rockin' heartthrob. Vice Magazine mascot. Crushworthy object of Windy's adoration and Andee's guilty 'rock' pleasure. Bloody-faced and beeyootiful. Andrew plays pretty insanely catchy cock rock: super anthemic, major key, kickass and dumb (in a good way). He lies somewhere between the Ramones, Rocket from the Crypt, and Van Halen. And yeah, all the sounds are variations on a theme -- he basically writes the same song over and over with the same three chords, but what a song! This will have you air guitaring all over the place and bouncing in your seat.
RealAudio clip: "Party Hard"
RealAudio clip: "Girls Own Love"

ASANO, KOJI Spherical Moss Factory (Solstice) cd 14.98
With album number 26 in his rapidly expanding discography, Japanese experimental composer Koji Asano switches from packaging his cds in jewel cases to putting them in slim cardboard sleeves. He tells us that the reason for this change is in part because of a dream he had, about how his ancient Barcelona flat would collapse under the weight of all those jewel cases when he reached his hundredth release! And he's over a quarter of the way there already, so that's a real concern...
This 72-minute "Spherical Moss Factory" disc continues Koji's interest in high-end (shrill) sonic explorations, being a piece in two parts written for violin and contrabass, performed by the Koji Asano String Ensemble, which consists of Tomomi Tokunaga and Kentaro Suzuki on those instruments respectively. But the first few minutes of track one don't betray the stringed instrument sound source, as the near-inaudible scrape of Tomomi's violin starts things off in what sounds like an emulation of the sine-wave electronics of Sachiko M. But soon the listener realizes that this is no computer processed piece, but an avant-classical composition featuring real human musicians on acoustic instruments. Track two displays quite a bit more energy from the get go, as Tomomi saws away on her violin with abandon, before relaxing and entering into a duet with Kentaro's deep contrabass bowing. All throughout both tracks, the violin and contrabass together trade mournful moans in a melodic (if melancholy) mode, punctuated by frenzied scrabblings. We may not be season ticket holders to the symphony or 20th/21st century classical experts, but we know what we like, and we do like this.
RealAudio clip: "Spherical Moss Factory pt. 2"

AZURE RAY November (Saddle Creek) cd ep 11.98
In general I can't really handle female vocalists of the overly-breathy school of emotiveness. You know, the kind of voice that's become such a mainstream-adult-radio staple -- the Jewel / Fiona Apple axis. Their whispered voices are breaking oh so emotionally as if they're gonna cry all over the $800 Roberto Cavalli jeans their stylist told them to wear. Harrumph. And yet, while the ladies of Azure Ray do wield overly breathy voices, they don't milk it dry; they're not manipulating nor overdoing it. They simply have natural, lush voices suited to softly singing *this close* to the mic. Same thing with the cello which is usually terribly predictable in indie rock, but here it's wielded so genuinely. Azure Ray might have some superficial qualities in common with the aforementioned studio puppets, but listen close and you'll see they're the real thing.
This very pleasant, quiet half-hour EP from the Georgia-based duo has become a favorite of Cup and Windy. The title track "November" is so astonishingly pretty that I was struck the same way as when I first heard Mazzy Star -- by how instantly accessible and melodic it is. In fact its chorus positively reminds us of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All".
The delicately plucked acoustic guitars are embellished with piano, steel drums, and nice, subtle stereo separation effects. Features a Townes Van Zandt cover. Together with their producer Andy Lemasters (of Now It's Overhead, another AQ-fave), Azure Ray have also toured as Bright Eyes' band.
RealAudio clip: "November"
RealAudio clip: "For the Sake of the Song"

BLUE OYSTER CULT s/t (Columbia / Legacy) cd 12.98
BOC (that's Blue Oyster Cult, not Boards of Canada!) has always been mistakenly regarded as some sort of heavy metal band -- and while they originated and/or embraced much of the imagery associated with HM (umlauts, leather pants, long hair, occult symbols) and certainly rocked hard and heavy, they were much more of a psychedelic pop rock n' roll band than a "metal" one. Certainly their lyrics (famously, some penned by intellectual rock crits Sandy Pearlman and Richard Meltzer of Crawdaddy magazine, and Meltzer's then-girlfriend, poetess Patti Smith) are much more brainy and bizarre than what the average headbanger normally is forced to wrap their brain around. This album, now remastered, was BOC's 1972 debut -- but the band had been together under different names since their late '60s college days. Their roots as a weirdo psychedelic jamming band put them in a category closer to West Coast psych or Detroit's Stooges and MC5 than, say, Led Zeppelin, despite BOC's later arena-rock status.
Contains the hard rockin' hits "Transmaniacon MC", "Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll" along with several other somewhat more obscure but equally brilliant tunes full of the surreal, psychedelic lyrics and guitar work of which these guys were geniuses.
And this reissue also includes four bonus tracks, taken from the band's rejected 1969 demos under the name Soft White Underbelly. These are released here for the first time (well, outside of the recent mail-order only Rhino Handmade release of the Stalk-Forrest Group's entire unreleased album demos, which contains 3 of these cuts). A few of the SWU/SFG tracks were later reworked into BOC tunes, like the bizarre "I'm On The Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" found on this album. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Transmaniacon MC"
RealAudio clip: "I'm On The Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep"

BLUE OYSTER CULT Tyranny And Mutation (Columbia / Legacy) cd 12.98
The Red & The Black! BOC's 2nd album, from 1973, now remastered and all that. Includes 4 bonus tracks: three live tracks from bootlegs, and a studio outtake version of live fave "Buck's Boogie". "The Black Side" (LP side one) rocks hard with aggro classics like "Hot Rails To Hell" and "7 Screaming Diz-Busters", while LP side 2 ("The Red") gets a little artier with songs like the Patti Smith-penned "Baby Ice Dog" and psychedelic epic "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)". A misunderstood band that went over a lot of people's heads ironically due to their dumbed down image.
RealAudio clip: "Mistress of the Salmon Salt (Quicklime Girl)"

BLUE OYSTER CULT Secret Treaties (Columbia / Legacy) cd 12.98
Remastered and reissued: the third of BOC's debut trio of masterpieces, from '74. Features 5 bonus tracks -- 3 previously unreleased songs from the "Secret Treaties" sessions ("Boorman The Chauffer", "Mommy", and "Mes Dames Serat") as well as their version of "Born To Be Wild" and a single version of "Career of Evil", which also appears as an album track here, along with classics like "Dominance And Submission", "Flaming Telepaths", and more. Another essential BOC album, hard rock with lyrics worth listening to ("Career of Evil" started life as a Patti Smith poem).
Along with full lyrics and photos (each band member posing with guitar in front of a triple stack of Marshall amps), this has liner notes by Lenny Kaye (as do the reissues of s/t and "Tyranny and Mutation" as well).
RealAudio clip: "Career Of Evil"
RealAudio clip: "Boorman The Chauffer"

BLUE OYSTER CULT Agents Of Fortune (Columbia / Legacy) cd 12.98
The umlauted Oyster boys' fourth album, from '76, remastered n' reissued with bonus tracks etc. By this point, the Cult was getting pretty big. "Agents Of Fortune" features what must be their biggest hit, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". Worth it for that, and "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" and a few others. Though, we have to say their first three albums are stronger and less commerical sounding, and are recommended ahead of this one, which is just cheesier and wimpier, what with having more keyboards and the Brecker Brothers playing horns. But then again, it's got the poetic lyrics *and* vocals of Patti Smith on "The Revenge Of Vera Gemini" as well as the aforementioned afterlife romance classic "Reaper".
RealAudio clip: "The Revenge Of Vera Gemini"

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND THE MAGIC BAND Dust Sucker (Milksafe / Ozit Morpheus) cd 15.98
Talk of a legitimate release of the tracks on this disc has been going around for so long I all but gave up hoping it would ever be released. And then, suddenly, it's here. The bulk of the tracks on "Dust Sucker" are recordings that were intended to be released in 1976 for an album entitled "Bat Chain Puller". Instead, the album was shelved and many of the tracks were re-recorded by a later incarnation of the Magic Band for the album "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" in 1978, while a few others wound up on "Doc At the Radar Station" (1980) and "Ice Cream For Crow" (1982). Two of the tracks in this session -- "Seam Crooked Sam" and "Odd Jobs" -- never made it onto any album. Though the recordings used here are not the best, they are vastly superior to the many bootleg copies that have been floating around; they were taken from the master tapes that belonged to Don Van Vliet. Also included on this release are six live recordings (no indication of location) of "Bat Chain Puller", "Harry Irene", "Flavor Bud Living", "Floppy Boot Stomp", "Owed T'Alex", "My Human Gets Me Blues" and one unreleased studio recording -- "Well, Well, Well" (not to be confused with "Well" from Trout Mask Replica.)
RealAudio clip: "Bat Chain Puller"
RealAudio clip: "Seam Crooked Sam"
RealAudio clip: "Owed T'Alex (live)"

CATHETERS Static Delusions and Stone-Still Days (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
Falling somewhere between AQ faves the Burning Brides and other AQ faves the Electric Eels or Rocket From The tombs, the Catheters are about as close as anyone's come to being a modern day Stooges. Big praise, but this record smokes. It's heavy and noisy and sloppy and catchy as fuck. Garage-y punk rock with sexy screechy boy vocals equal parts Mudhoney, Stooges, 70's rawk, and burned out, hyper-distorted garage with songs that kill, razor sharp guitars, and a fucking damaged superstar vocalist.. Nice packaging too. Super fucked up, with all the registration off, the booklet folded wrong and mangled, crooked tray card, misprinted disc. So fucked up in fact that they were forced to put a sticker on it so people wouldn't return it.
RealAudio clip: "Been There Before"
RealAudio clip: "I Fall Easy"
RealAudio clip: "3000 Ways"

CLINIC Walking With Thee (Domino) lp 14.98
Now available on vinyl!!
Ah... at last the second full length record from this fucking amazing band from Liverpool. Driving, hectic drums, sinister vocals, Moogs, and either clarinet or melodica weave a sonic landscape of dance-y smartness, or smarty dance-ness. Obviously heavily influenced by old dub, Television, The Fall, Gang of Four, and some sweet, sweet Brit pop. But Clinic manages to take all of those influences and make something totally new and exciting. The singer sounds a lot like Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and there's a lot of the Beta Band too, in the diversity of influences yet firm grounding in indie rock. Add a solid rhythm, write some kick ass songs, and you've got Clinic. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Walking With Thee"
RealAudio clip: "Harmony"

COOPER, ALICE Welcome To My Nightmare (Atlantic) cd 16.98
Alice went solo in '75 with this slice of pop music horror theatre. Yup, no more Alice Cooper Band, just frontman Cooper, Alice himself (with producer Bob Ezrin and some pro studio hands like Dick Wagner and Tony Levin, even Kim Fowley). By the way, he performed the title track on the Muppet Show! There are indeed some campy classics on this reissue/remaster (with a few alternate take bonus tracks) but we say get the earlier discs first if you don't have 'em already!

CORN ON MACABRE I & II (Lumberjack) cd 13.98
It took me a while to even realise that the band name was a pun. That's always a bad sign. However, I instantly knew that Corn On Macabre is a BAD, BAD band name (this coming from the guy who reviewed the very amazing, terribly named Kareem Abdul Babar a few lists back). So if you can make it past the name, which I urge you to do, you'll discover an amazingly brutal, pretty original metalcore record. Packaged in a gorgeous two color, matte-stock digipak. All the songs are under two minutes (at least half are under ONE minute). Blazing. Noisy, crushing and pounding metallic hardcore with amazing song titles. Features members of PG.99, Waifle, Darkest Hour, and Enemy Soil. This cd collects their two 7"s as well as some extra stuff. Really fucking great!
RealAudio clip: "Trojan Clown"
RealAudio clip: "I Watched Friday The Thirteenth At My Grandmother's House An She Wasn't Into It (But She Let Me Watch It Anyway)"
RealAudio clip: "Shut Up And Play Something Evil"
RealAudio clip: "Who Wants To Be An Alien?"
RealAudio clip: "You're Okay, I'm Undead"

DEAD AND GONE The Beautician (GSL) cd 10.98
From right out of the starting blocks, Dead And Gone's comin' at ya full force - whether it be at a sinisterly creeping pace or a raging hardcore pummel-fest. Angry, festering vocals hoarsely growl over a thick, grumbling rhythm section and jaggedly angular guitars. Whereas their past releases have been marred by slipshod loose ends and murky rough edges, "The Beautician" contains some of Dead And Gone's most focused tracks to date. Fans of the GSL roster will certainly not be disappointed. Barrelling and beefy.
RealAudio clip: "Leave The Dead To Bury The Dead"
RealAudio clip: "Black Hole Heart"

DO MAKE SAY THINK & Yet & Yet (Constellation) cd 14.98
Less spaced out and expansive than their previous efforts, "& Yet & Yet" marks the third album from this Canadian post-rock, instrumental ensemble. Not a huge detour but certainly moving away from their usual much more drone-laden sound, they've composed a collection of gently flowing meditative tracks punctuated by shimmery cymbals, warm tones from analog synths and horns, and swells of feedback guitar washes. A soothing, unobtrusive work. Fans of the soft atmospherics of bands like Tristeza will surely welcome this into their mellow zone.
RealAudio clip: "Classic Noodlanding"

DO MAKE SAY THINK & Yet & Yet (Constellation) lp 14.98
Less spaced out and expansive than their previous efforts, "& Yet & Yet" marks the third album from this Canadian post-rock, instrumental ensemble. Not a huge detour but certainly moving away from their usual much more drone-laden sound, they've composed a collection of gently flowing meditative tracks punctuated by shimmery cymbals, warm tones from analog synths and horns, and swells of feedback guitar washes. A soothing, unobtrusive work. Fans of the soft atmospherics of bands like Tristeza will surely welcome this into their mellow zone.
RealAudio clip: "Classic Noodlanding"

DOIRON, JULIE Heart and Crime (Jagjaguwar) cd 13.98
Much like that of Chan Marshall (Cat Power) or Karla Schickele (of Ida), Ms Doiron's lilting, low voice has the ability to either gently lull you to sleep or bring you to tears depending on your state of mind. There's a palpable heavy-heartedness tugging softly at your sleeve. Very wintery and wistful. No frills or excess at all, just simply her voice and some minimal guitar and piano accompaniment. A wonderful way to fully enjoy her talents. "Heart And Crime" follows close on the heels of her lovely french album which we review in the last AQ List.
RealAudio clip: "All Their Broken Hearts"
RealAudio clip: "Oh These Walls"

DOUGLAS, DAVE The Infinite (RCA/Victor) cd 16.98
Masada's trumpeter teams up with some of Downtown NY's hardest working sidemen for six new original pieces and covers of Rufus Wainwright, Mary J. Blige and Bjork! Yeah! Feelin' it! The sssmooove sssoundsss of jazzzzzz!
RealAudio clip: "Unison (Bjork)"

DOWN II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow (Elektra) cd 17.98
The first song on the last Down record is easily one of the best (if not THE BEST) stoner-metal/New Orleans sludge rock song ever. EVER. The rest of the record didn't stand up to the opening track, but it was still a pretty solid record of ultra heavy stoner rock groove (how could it not be with Phil "I'm In Pantera But I Have Other Interests So Don't Hold That Against Me" Anselmo's brutally melodic rasp and guys from Corrosion Of Conformity, Eyehategod, and Crowbar laying down the riffs/beats). Oddly enough, with the new Down record, although not all that sonically similar to the first, the first track knocks you flat on your ass while the rest of the record struggles to reach the same intensity. Hmm, I'm beginning to see a pattern. Again, not to say this record doesn't rock, because it does. I think we were just hoping for a whole record of 'first songs'. That said, Anselmo has such an unbelievable voice, from growly, bluesy rasp to demonic howl to melodic almost eighties metal screech that every song bristles with anger and emotion. And the production is HUGE, warm and fuzzy guitars, pounding drums and thunderous low end, like a hyper-charged Molly Hatchet or Lynyrd Skynyrd on angel dust. But unlike the first Down record, this one seems to be much more varied, with slowly droning acoustic ballads (a la Agents of Oblivion/Acid Bath) shredding blues jams, straight up stoner metal, punky work outs and even a song that sounds like something off of Nirvana's "Bleach". If you loved the last Down record you've been dreaming about this new record for years, and if you're a fan of Acid Bath, Eyehategod, Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar, and all that Southern doomy stoner sludge, odds are this will be blasting from your pick-up in no time, 12 pack on the seat next to you, gun rack rattling against the rear window, dead buck in back, stars and bars trailing in the wind...
RealAudio clip: "Lysergik Funeral Procession"
RealAudio clip: "There's Something On My Side"
RealAudio clip: "Beautifully Depressed"

EELS Souljacker (Dreamworks) cd 17.98
Rambunctious and often bombastic pop tunes with quirky lyrics about things like that "Fresh Feeling" and a "Friendly Ghost". Kinda sounds like the following fictitious encounter: one fine sunny day Beck is shufflin' down the street and bumps into Too Much Joy. They decide to go cruisin' across town to pick up They Might Be Giants and Weezer in their party bus. They even drive by the house of Barenaked Ladies, but no one's home. If this sounds like your kinda wingding, here you go! Oh, and to sweeten the deal it also includes a bonus EP.
RealAudio clip: "That's Not Really Funny"
RealAudio clip: "Rotten World Blues"

ELECTRONICAT Amour Salé (Disko B) 12" 8.98
Four new scorching tracks by the Wolgang Voigt of France, Fred Bigot aka Electronicat. More of the addictive filthy analogue nastiness -- the soundtrack to your after hours drunken stupor -- from the latest remix darling of Depeche Mode. Nasty and pungent -- like good cheese, er, like French music should be.

EYEHATEGOD In The Name Of Suffering (Century Media) cd 11.98
We've referenced these drugged and ugly New Orleans masters of sludge-core in tons of reviews, as they're one of the ur-bands that established the rituals practiced by anything heavy and feedback laden, like Cavity, Corrupted, Khanate, Iron Monkey, Grief, Wellington, Acid Bath, Garadama, etc.
So it's about time we listed our favorite EHG album, their dark and dirgey debut "In The Name Of Suffering", first released in 1990 on the French Intellectual Convulsion label, later re-issued domestically by Century Media, with the original's gross medical cover pictures prudently tucked inside. When this came out, EHG immediately joined the Melvins, Skullflower, and Hellhammer in the pantheon of the heaviest, most fucked up bands ever. Misanthropic metallic misery, complete with samples of Charles Manson's wisdom. Later EHG albums are good too, but this one was never surpassed. If you are one of Aquarius' "doom" customers and you don't have this disc, we urge you, in the name of suffering, get it!
RealAudio clip: "Shinobi"
RealAudio clip: "Hit A Girl"

FAUST Freispiel (Klangbad) cd 17.98
Legendary krautrock band Faust's 30th anniversary is being celebrated with not free pinball and fireworks, but remixes... The remix cd ep that preceeded this was ok, if unneccessary. Here's the full remix album, with one of that Soft Cell guy's mixes from the ep, plus mixes from other mostly Euro electronica folks (Kreidler, Howie B., Surgeon, Funkstorung among them). Dead Voices On Air and, interestingly, The Residents also appear. All the tracks remixed come from Faust's recent (and quite good) Ravvivando album. Our verdict: still unneccessary, and not ok. But at least the remixers aren't violating classic old '70s Faust tracks, like with Can's "Sacrilege" remix project. And electronica fans will find this to be a fine electronica comp, like so many others. But Faust fans aren't going to see any improvement over the originals (not to be expected anyway) OR any other reason to listen to this...it's just uninteresting and predictable. Too bad, 'cause Faust are such an interesting band. If they HAD to do a remix album for their 30th, they should have picked artists with more of their eccentric artistic spirit. We'd be more keen on Reynols or Boredoms remixes, maybe Philip Jeck or Aphex Twin...oh well.

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE Infection And Decline (Troubleman Unlimited / UG Explode) cd 10.98
The umpteenth (tenth, actually) long player from Weasel Walter's constantly mutating free jazz / black metal / no wave / prog monster. "Infection And Decline" is the first recording to document the latest incarnation of the now-stripped down trio featuring bassists Jonathan Hischke and Alex Perkolup. That's right: bass, bass and drums. Nothing else. Six dense, blistering tracks of sonic destructo-insanity -- including the massive sixteen minute version of the Luttenbachers' live staple, Magma's "De Futura". (It's a different version than on their "Truth Is A Fucking Lie" album, with the new lineup, natch). Sick.
RealAudio clip: "De Futura"
RealAudio clip: "The Elimination Of Incompetence"

FLYING LUTTENBACHERS, THE Infection And Decline (Troubleman Unlimited / UG Explode) lp 8.98
The umpteenth (tenth, actually) long player from Weasel Walter's constantly mutating free jazz / black metal / no wave / prog monster. "Infection And Decline" is the first recording to document the latest incarnation of the now-stripped down trio featuring bassists Jonathan Hischke and Alex Perkolup. That's right: bass, bass and drums. Nothing else. Six dense, blistering tracks of sonic destructo-insanity -- including the massive sixteen minute version of the Luttenbachers' live staple, Magma's "De Futura". (It's a different version than on their "Truth Is A Fucking Lie" album, with the new lineup, natch). Sick.

FLYNT, HENRY C Tune (Locust) cd 14.98
Another gorgeous document of keening high end drone exploration from this central figure in the sixties Fluxus scene. The focus (as always) is on Flynt's electric fiddle, that squeals and scrapes and glides effortlessly between notes and deep into outerspace. Flynt's fiddle is accompanied by tamboura lending this piece a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor. Fans of Riley, Palestine, Nitsch, Cale and drone music in general will definitely want to pick this up.
RealAudio clip: "C Tune"

FULL MOON State of the Artist (Monster) cd 12.98
More '70s collector cock-rock rediscovered and reissued by the maniacs at Monster. If you like Truth & Janey, JPT Scare Band, Ultra, Winterhawk, here's another gem from the past. 1980 actually. Full Moon rocked Pennsylvania clubs and bars with Thin Lizzy-style dual guitars, which we like, and we like their curly hair (perms?) and striped shirts as well.

HELLACOPTERS, THE High Visibility (Gearhead) cd 13.98
The domestic release! Sweden's been churning out some fiery garage punk in the last few years. Example #1: The Hives! Example #2: these guys! Actually calling these guys garage punk - a genre in which they've been frequently categorized - is a bit misleading. In fact, this is slick hard rock - think Rocket From The Crypt meets MC5. Lead by former Entombed drummer Nicke Andersson (now on guitar and vocals), they kick out driving tunes heavy with '70s rock guitar and some almost Rick Springfield or Foreigner-ish vocals. It's been well-documented how seriously both bands rage in the live arena, kicking butt on most of their American contemporaries. So if you're seekin' some rawkin' good times - maybe a companion disc to your Hives' "Veni Vidi Vicious"? - look no further!
RealAudio clip: "Toys And Flavors"
RealAudio clip: "You're Too Good (To Me Baby)"

HERBALISER, THE Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ninja Tune) cd 16.98
I'm a fan of the Herbaliser, the Ninjatune duo whose mix of hip hop, trip hop and noir-ish beats is consistently really clever, listenable, and pretty much mistake-free. This new full length is really worth a listen. The record begins with a deep, velvet-voiced female diva crooning over a Tricky-like, dark breakbeat groove, and is accompanied by a veritable orchestra of trombone, violin, viola, cello, wurlitzer organ, flute, piccolo, "war drums", sax, Hohner clavinet... the list goes on. The next few tracks are excellent straightforward hip hop with guest vocalists including Rakaa Iriscience (Dilated Peoples), Blade, MF Doom, and more. The rhyming is tight, the instrumental backup is lighthearted, and the scratching is super seamlessly incorporated into the mix (something I wish happened on other records more often). The third strain represented here is instrumental interludes that are not filler and are genuinely cinematic -- these guys could seriously score a thriller or something. (And they get extra points for the "Taking of Pelham 123" sample!) The album continues to flit amongst the diva trip hop material, the great hip hop tracks, and the cinematic climaxes. Somehow the multiple personalities of the record don't seem as schizophrenic as they are inspired; maybe it's cos they're English, where hip hop isn't separated so much from dance music like it is in America (the Automator being the only American exception I can think of). Just extremely well executed! Recommended, especially for fans of stuff like Kruder and Dorkmeister, Tricky, underground hip hop in general, Kid Loco, etc.
RealAudio clip: "Something Wicked"
RealAudio clip: "Time 2 Build"

HERBERT Secondhand Sounds (Peacefrog) 2cd 21.00
When Matthew Herbert, the lauded electronicist who has also recorded as Wishmountain and Doctor Rockit (and probably a few I don't even know about), releases music simply as "Herbert", then you know he's in his experimental house music guise. Therefore you must have a strong stomach for four-on-the-floor beats, even if he's one of the most careful and original practitioners of what in lesser hands could be really boring predictable rhythms. Think a lighter Mouse on Mars, or Matmos without the indie rock influence.
What we have here is a double cd of remixes Herbert has executed for other folks, and a few on himself too. Remixees include Mono, Moloko, Nils Petter Molvaer, Motorbass, Terra Deva, and lots more. Now, as much as I like Matthew Herbert's Doctor Rockit persona, where he displays his delightful penchant for sampling the sounds of everyday objects like crunchy apples, I also have to say that with all these remixes gathered here in one place, Herbert's formula becomes clear: [1] take a vocal snippet from the original song, [2] loop it "artistically", [3] add some tinny house beats, and [4] let the thing repeat itself for six minutes. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to gather the remixes in one place -- because you kind of don't want to know that the guy has a formula at all. However, there are lots of folks who just love this sound, represented by the audio clip we've included below (of Gainsbourg's "Bonnie & Clyde" for heavens sake!), and will like this. I'm just not one of them.
RealAudio clip: SERGE GAINSBOURG "Bonnie & Clyde"

HIRSCHE NICHT AUFS SOFA Im Schatten Der Mohre (Streamline / Drag City) cd 14.98
"Im Schatten Der Mohre", originally released in 1987 on Dom Records, was the fourth album from the collected bent minds of Christoph Heeman, Achim P. Li Khan and Andreas Martin. Long deleted, unavailable for years, and thus highly sought after, this classic post-Faustian surrrealist assemblage is finally available again for the first time on cd via Heeman's Streamline label. Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa (literally "Moose Without A Sofa") originated in 1983 as a collaboration between Khan and a then eighteen year old Christoph Heeman. Inspired, no doubt, by Nurse With Wound and Stephen Stapleton's exuberant list of influences, the experiments of H.N.A.S. had come to an apex with the inclusion of Andreas Martin and in 1987, the record in question. "Im Schatten..." is highly reminiscent of the aforementioned NWW, early period Coil and, though Heeman would strongly disagree, the sound collage work of German rock-experimentalist pioneers Faust. Meditative, trance-inducing drones and gorgeous melancholic soundscapes collide with dissonant sonic abstractions while lulling piano breaks are juxtaposed amongst frail, inquisitive field recordings, spoken dadaist fragments and appropriations from early contemporary avant garde records. Very ahead of its time, and though more scattered and surrealist, foreshadows the dense, expansive soundscapes Heeman would later conjure with Andrew Chalk as Mirror.
RealAudio clip: "Im Schatten Der Mohre 1"
RealAudio clip: "Im Schatten Der Mohre 2"

KAWABATA, MAKOTO Infinite Love (Ochre Records) cd 14.98
This guy could poop on a stick and someone would put it out! And someone else would pay a lot for it on eBay! Thankfully, so far, he hasn't done quite that. But here's yet another (non-poop) new release from the man...
A blissful, if relatively non-active, listening experience proferred by Kawabata Makoto, leader of the wild psych freakout band Acid Mothers Temple. This is the music Kawabata makes when he's sleepy, maybe, and there are no jarring effects to disturb the blissful vibe, so it's also perfect for *your* bedtime. Improvised on guitar with no overdubs, the music sleepily drifts between good dream vs. nightmare. If you play it loud, the tension will crowd out all your other thoughts. If you play it quiet you'll feel rather soothed in its undemandingness. Three long tracks totalling 74 minutes.
RealAudio clip: "See You in a Same Dream Tonight"

MARDUK Blackcrowned (Limited Edition) (Regain) 2cd/video 40.00
Sweden's black metal panzer division get the box they always deserved. Two full cds of rare, unreleased and re-recorded goodies spanning their entire career. Plus a live video and a booklet with tons of photos and lyrics. This one's definitely just for diehard fans or big spenders looking for a $40 introduction to one of the most brutal black metal bands around. The re-recorded stuff sounds great, some weird covers, but for the uninitiated, check out 'Panzer Division Marduk' or 'Those Of The Unlight', but those who are already believers, you know you have to have this. Stupidly large box ala the Misfits box from a while back, nice looking, but lots of space and plastic (read: too much), just enough to make sure it won't fit comfortably anywhere on your cd shelf.

MATMOS WITH J LESSER Live (Vague Terrain) cd 11.98
This limited edition collection of live material from Matmos with J Lesser (and a couple of guests) exposes the improvisational ability of this San Francisco electronica duo (or trio if you count Lesser) who are mostly reknowned for their transmutation of arcane sound sources (surgical suction, crayfish nerves, acupuncture) into IDM / tech-house. Where their studio albums have been crafted in full cognizance of the play between techno's rhythmic propulsion and the textural eccentricity of some of their source material, Matmos' live performances always try to integrate the performative, risk-taking elements of improvisation alongside pre-programmed rhythms and sequences. Thus, Matmos' live shows can't ever be accused of being the non-performances of a dude and his laptop, or sounding like their records for that matter. With these 11 live excerpts, Matmos ramble through dense processed bloopings made with skipping cds, walkie talkies, acoustic guitar, vacuum cleaner tubes, and duck calls (the latter being the most obtuse sound source on this album) alongside plenty of electronic skitter, resulting in something more in line with Gastr Del Sol and Red Crayola than what one may expect from Matmos. A couple of tracks (ones not qualified as improvisations in the liner notes) do venture into the throbbing electronica found on "Quasi-Objects" and "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure," including those aforementioned duck calls which I would really like to think is Matmos member M.C. Schmidt's answer to house divas. These tracks span the band's career with tracks dating back to 1997.
Matmos wanted to keep this a limited release, only selling these to a handful of shops across the globe. While not quite exclusive to Aquarius, this album isn't terribly likely to be showing up at many other shops! Act fast!
RealAudio clip: "Live 4"
RealAudio clip: "Live 6"
RealAudio clip: "Live 8"

MELVINS / FANTOMAS Millennium Monsterwork 2000 (Ipecac) cd 13.98
Here it is! Your opportunity to (re)experience the New Year's Eve 2000 festivities Fantomas-Melvins-tagteam-style. This live album captures their combined heavy eccentricities featuring the vocal acrobatics of one Mr. Mike Patton and the deep rumble-grumble and howl of one Mr. Buzz Osborne. There were even a few fine Melvins' classics in their repertoire that evening including "Hooch", "Night Goat", "Skin Horse" and "Mombius Hibachi". Go on, relive the magic!
RealAudio clip: MELVINS "Night Goat"

MERZBOW Amlux (Important) cd 12.98
In the continuing onslaught of Merzbow releases (and considering the emphatic reverence displayed by the attendees at Akita's All Tomorrow's Parties performance, as well as Sonic Youth's seal of approval, there will no doubt be tons more to come), Newbury, MA's Important Records, notorious for their domineering presence on eBay (selling the latest releases just as they come out to the sad suckers who pay top dollar because they don't know where else to find them -- just do an eBay search for "Acid Mothers" and you'll see the same three or four collector scum sellers raking it in -- and in fact, just as I write this review, there is a copy of "Amlux" listed on eBay as "unreleased" product), has offered what they like to refer to as "the definitive modern Merzbow record". Sure, this is prime Merzbow, replete with sonically massive sounds sure to mesmerize and amazing frequency dynamics, as expected with any high quality Merzbow document. At high volumes, it would destroy eardrums if not small buildings. But can you make such a claim as "definitive" in regards to any one particular Merzbow release? One such contender might just possibly be the Merzbox (still available, by the way), as it displays the many moods and faces of Akita-san. However, the Merzbox represents the primitive era, pre-Powerbook methods of Akita's activities. How about "Hard Lovin' Man"? Definitely one of the highlights of post-analogue Merzbow (and even post-shoegazer bliss!). "Frog"? Beautiful. I feel it is much too soon to declare a modern Merzbow product "definitive" as a statement as strong as that is generally reserved for a piece of art that holds up through the test of time. But what do I know? Maybe Important Records are on to something. One important (har har!) note about this release: it contains the source material which will be distributed to various artists to remix for a compilation titled "Merzmix" (how original). Remember that remix disc "Scumtron" that came out years ago? Anyway, contributors thus far include: Acid Mothers Temple (bling bling!$!), Bola, Chicks On Speed, Jack Dangers (Meat Beat Manifesto), Alec Empire, Arto Lindsay, KK Null, Sonic Boom and DJ Spooky with the possible inclusion of many more artists. Anyway, to break it on down: Is it good? Yes. Essential? Maybe. Definitive? You decide.
RealAudio clip: "Takemitsu"
RealAudio clip: "Looping Jane"

MERZBOW / MATSUNAGA KOUHEI Split (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
Split disc between two noise giants from Japan via Kid 606's Tigerbeat6 imprint. Masami Akita furthers his explorations in the digital domain, appropriating the tranquil somniloquisms of Olivier Messiaen's "Mode De Valeurs Et D'intensite Pour Piano" and transmutating it into the unique extremity that is Merzbow. The Kouhei tracks are slightly more rhythmic, though somewhat static, DHR-style beat destruction. You might recall his work from the "Upside Down" release on Mille Plateaux to which Merzbow as well as Masonna contributed.
RealAudio clip: MERZBOW "Nakesendow"
RealAudio clip: MATSUNAGA KOUHEI "Garden Of Earthly Delights (Center)"

MORRICONE, ENNIO Psycho Morricone (GDM) cd 16.98
Ah, Morricone compilations. So many to choose from, so little time (and money). Being an avowed Morricone fan-atic, I (Windy) have had to be very very picky with all these records suddenly appearing out of the woodwork. I mean, we want quality, right. Some bang for our buck. It's quite nice that Dagored has taken to releasing worthy, whole soundtracks to single films that Morricone scored (altho please put out Come Maddalena!), and yes, it's also nice when a variety of labels collect the best tracks for those of you who only want one or two Morricone cds. But the *point* of the collections is to represent his best work, and to dispense with the filler tracks, or the ones that just obviously don't work when there's no images to accompany them. Unfortunately it would appear that Psycho Morricone, which claims to feature tracks from twelve Morricone-scored films such as Copkiller, Il Serpente, L'Attentato, Revolver, etc, is comprised of just that: filler! It's decent music of course, but Morricone fans will not find any unearthed gems, or even any memorable melodies or effects. It's basically lot of scary high-pitched violins, and some rackety percussion, and it's only slightly scary or 'psycho'. I'm looking forward to hearing the other attempts by GDM to collect Morricone stuff, namely the Bizarre Morricone and the Chase Morricone titles, but this one is, sadly, a disappointment.
RealAudio clip: "Rapimento"
RealAudio clip: "Paura e aggressione"

MURRAY, SUNNY s/t (ESP Disk) cd 14.98
1966 recording from the legendary free jazz drummer, originally released on the seminal ESP label. The quintet featured here includes the brilliant Alan Silva, Jack Graham, Jacques Coursil and Byard Lancaster.

MY MORNING JACKET Chocolate and Ice (Badman) cd ep 10.98
Hurrah! You get a double dose of My Morning Jacket this AQ List 'cause along with their split cd they did with Songs: Ohia, - which is quite nice, by the way! - we've got this new six-song EP too. Of the half dozen tracks, the standout is the unexpected 24-minute "Cobra". Although the rest of the songs do still retain their wonderful, shadowy, lonesome twang, this track is a refreshing change allowing the band to diverge from their usual path. With much less of a rootsy rock feel, it leans more heavily on a smoky blues guitar sound. From an almost funky groove, it dissolves into a lovely drone and returns to the more familiar somber country-folkish mood. Mainman Jim James subtly shifts his vocal delivery too, veering from his usual Neil Young-ish nasality to an almost Damo Suzuki (CAN) drowsy murmurred uttering. Quite effective. An added note, the items in the title made for a very cool textured cover image.
RealAudio clip: "Cobra"
RealAudio clip: "Sweetheart"

MY MORNING JACKET / SONGS: OHIA split cd (Jade Tree) cd 10.98
Four songs from My Morning Jacket and an almost ten minute long track by Songs: Ohia. The former includes a kinda dorky, messing-with-the-speed-control track called "The Year In Review" as well as a couple of numbers that fans of Sparklehorse might take a shine to - most notably the beautiful weeper "Come Closer". And as for Songs: Ohia's lengthy "Translation", it's completely on par with their recent efforts... that is, a brittle, lonely dolefulness that mainman Jason Molina has refined over his prolific career.
RealAudio clip: MY MORNING JACKET "Come Closer"
RealAudio clip: SONGS: OHIA "Translation"

NEED NEW BODY Need New Body (File 13) cd 13.98
Rising from the ashes of Philadelphia art-psych-rock combo Bent Leg Fatima comes this eccentric quintet who play a jumble of experimentations in free jazz and art rock. Sax, organ, drums and other random percussive instruments are tossed into the mix with no guitars in sight. Out of churning rhythmic jams and ramshackle, hoarse vocal songs sprout odd moments of minimal spoken word and tumbling, spartan percussion. Brought to mind elements of Captain Beefheart, Sun Ra, and Sun City Girls.
RealAudio clip: "Track 2"
RealAudio clip: "Track 6"

PENTAGRAM Sub-Basement (Black Widow) lp 15.98
Now on vinyl! Limited and collectable, no doubt. A great record, here's the review we wrote for the cd version: There's been a lot of activity lately from these semi-legendary lords of doom, surprising coming from a band that's been around for about thirty years and has dwindled down to only two members! But (thankfully for all fans of dark, doomy heavy metal) founder/frontman Bobby Liebling and henchman/drummer/guitarist/bassist Joe Hasselvander have been busy bees, following up their well-received 1999 album "Review Your Choices" with this new slab of heaviosity. As with "Review", they mix newly penned songs (by Joe) with old, unrecorded '70s compositions by Bobby. This new disc might be even better than "Review", though, 'cause Bobby's vocals aren't as weirdly affected. "Sub-Basement" is a solid addition to the hallowed (and rapidly expanding) Pentagram catalog, filled with killer songs and atmosphere. They masterfully combine droning, monolithic moments of almost SUNN0))) like proportions with utterly rocking vintage '70s riffage. Although they're not Sabbath clones, they mine similar territory, fitting in as well with (former) contemporaries like Captain Beyond and Dust. But at this point, if you've listened to these guys enough, you can't say that they sound like anything other than themselves -- always an amazing achievement for any rock band! The Pentagram sound revolves around Bobby's unique voice/personality and eccentric songwriting choices that only could be made by folks fully centered in the heavy, psychedelic seventies. Let's hope they hang around for another 30 years!
RealAudio clip: "Buzzsaw"
RealAudio clip: "Sub-Basement"
RealAudio clip: "Out Of Luck"

RADIO 4 Gotham (Gern Blandsten) cd 11.98
If you're expecting the total retro pop catchiness of Radio 4's debut album "The New Song And Dance", you might be a bit disappointed with "Gotham" (as we initially were). That's not to say this is a disappointing album. It's just that after the first song "Our Town" (a great driving pop number that I keep hitting 'repeat' after), things are a bit ... different. In fact, this almost sounds like a completely different band save for the recognizable Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello-ish vocals. It's as if the Radio 4 fellows have been deeply immersed in their Clash albums. Moving more in the direction of such current groups as Outhud or !!! with their funky grooviness. They've expanded their sound and incorporated electronics into the mix to complement their dub-influenced bass lines and jagged guitars. May take a few listens for it to get its less obvious hooks into you. And may trigger you to dance rather than sing along.
RealAudio clip: "Our Town"
RealAudio clip: "Calling All Enthusiasts"
RealAudio clip: "Certain Tragedy"

RADIO 4 Gotham (Gern Blandsten) lp 8.98
If you're expecting the total retro pop catchiness of Radio 4's debut album "The New Song And Dance", you might be a bit disappointed with "Gotham" (as we initially were). That's not to say this is a disappointing album. It's just that after the first song "Our Town" (a great driving pop number that I keep hitting 'repeat' after), things are a bit ... different. In fact, this almost sounds like a completely different band save for the recognizable Joe Jackson/Elvis Costello-ish vocals. It's as if the Radio 4 fellows have been deeply immersed in their Clash albums. Moving more in the direction of such current groups as Outhud or !!! with their funky grooviness. They've expanded their sound and incorporated electronics into the mix to complement their dub-influenced bass lines and jagged guitars. May take a few listens for it to get its less obvious hooks into you. And may trigger you to dance rather than sing along.
RealAudio clip: "Our Town"
RealAudio clip: "Calling All Enthusiasts"
RealAudio clip: "Certain Tragedy"

RADIO BERLIN The Selection Drone (Your Best Guess) cd 13.98
Radio Berlin's new full length is a much tighter and more propulsive effort than their promising debut album "Sibling", but still retains the swirling, sirening synth and guitar sounds and lamenting, angstful vocals popularized in the early '80s by British bands like The Cure, Siouxsie & the Banshees or Echo And The Bunnymen. These Vancouver lads execute this style well with a youthful verve. So, now that they've polished up their performance, if they could shift their focus to bringing something new of themselves to this picture, things might get considerably more interesting, but in the meantime, if your itchin' for the O.G., you just might want to head for The Cure's "Pornography".
RealAudio clip: "Selection Drone"

RAILROAD JERK One Track Mind (Matador) cd 8.98
OK kids, put down your White Stripes records, and your Clinic records, and your John Spencer Blues Explosion records, and burn your Strokes records, and your Yeah Yeah Yeahs records. This is the real shit: gritty, cocksure, whiteboy blues, junkyard percussion, folk-imploded, grungy gutter rock, lower east side, steal your girlfriend, screw your sister, get drunk on overpriced cocktails, nice suit and shoes, indie-rhythm-and-blues, rock and fucking roll. It's kind of a shame that these guys didn't put this record out now (instead of 1995). 'Cause like lots of great forgotten bands, Railroad Jerk were just a few years ahead of their time (that time being now, with all of the above bands blowing up big) and a little too smart for the folks who just wanted to shake their bootys or get wasted. Railroad Jerk play a shuffling, down and dirty, langorous folk-blues. They do rock, but even when they are rocking, they still seem laid back and relaxed, cool and calm, smoking a cigarette, sitting on the hood of their beat up piece of shit, whistling at ladies walking by. The sound is augmented by clanging junkyard percussion, and angular Ribot-ish riffs. Their ace in the hole is vocalist/guitarist Marcellus Hall, who has a wicked way with words, crafting some of the most acerbic and catchy lyrics I've ever heard, a sexy and intesnsely deadpan delivery, and a gorgeously raspy melodious voice, that can go from crooning to howling in the same line. Even after seven years of constant play at my house and in the van, this record remains one of my all time favorites. It's sometimes hard for me to put into words why a record just connects and seems to completely destroy, and I think that's crucial to a piec of music that really moves and inspires. You aren't necessarily supposed to translate it into words. But I did my best. Check out the sound samples. You will not be disappointed. And I urge anyone into the current crop of stripped down garage rockers (see above) to check this record out. It will knock you out. Plus it's "nice-priced" at only 8.98.
RealAudio clip: "Gun Problem"
RealAudio clip: "Bang The Drum"
RealAudio clip: "What Did You Expect?"
RealAudio clip: "Forty Minutes"
RealAudio clip: "The Ballad Of Railroad Jerk"

RANDOMNUMBER I Understand Your Date and Time of Nowhere (Rocket Racer) cd 11.98
What do sandpaper and spraypaint bring to mind? Abrasiveness? Graffiti? Woodwork? Well, this is definitely not the case with Randomnumber. Those particular materials are what adorns this cd. Squares of sandpaper of varied grit are the insert and traycard. Gold dots and brown quadrangles are painted directly on the jewel case. Very pretty actually. As for the sounds contained within, it's Matt Roberts, drummer of Hood, doing the electronica thing. Sounding not unlike... Hood! Chimingly pleasant, if a bit forlorn, guitar plucking meanders around electronic tones. Skittery-scattery beats. There's an abundance of this sort of music around as of late, but if you haven't had your fill yet, this is actually quite nice. Also sounds a lot like the artists on the 555 or Fuzzybox labels.
RealAudio clip: "Connection Is Lost"

RHAPSODY Power Of The Dragonflame (LMP) cd 14.98
Either you've been eagerly awaiting this new full-length album from Italy's best, most baroque, bombastic symphonic metal band since their last release (the "Rain Of A Thousand Flames" ep), or you could care less. Double bass drums, crazy keyboards and guitar, it's absurdly operatic metal to the max, from the Carmina Burana inspired opening to the epic, 19 minute closer "Gargoyles, Angels of Darkness". And it's a concept album, part IV (the final chapter ) of Rhapsody's "Algalord Chronicles", which you can read about in the thick, full color booklet -- there's even a map of the band's Middle Earth-like fantasy world.
They call what they do "Hollywood Metal" but that refers to a Hollywood that only makes blockbuster fantasy films about dragons and wizards...not surprisingly, Peter Jackson gets a mention in band leader Luca Turilli's thanks list!
If you want to take a chance on some ridiculous yet amazing metal, you could do no better than check this out!
RealAudio clip: "The March of the Swordmaster"
RealAudio clip: "When Demons Awake"
RealAudio clip: "Steelgods of the Last Apocalypse"

RIP OFF ARTIST, THE Pump (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
Umpteenth record from Matt Haines and his first for Mille Plateaux. Super rigid algorithmic textures akin to the aesthetic of Schematic artists Phoenecia or Richie Devine. Skittering, frenetic rhythms whisk by your ears before you can actually process them, this music lingers in your head long after the disc has ended.

RYE COALITION On Top (Tiger Style) cd 14.98
It's good to see/hear that Rye Coalition continue to succeed where the seemingly likeminded And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have recently fallen flat. That is, this NY outfit maintain a consistent level of intensity in their aggressive angry boy rockin'. And they do so increasingly well with solid, heavy drumming, sneering guitar riffing and oh yes, a few "mama"s and "yeah yeah"s thrown in for good measure. Produced by Steve Albini.
RealAudio clip: "Stairway To The Free Bird On The Way..."

SHAGRAT Pink Jackets Required (Get Back) cd 14.98
Another collection of '69/'70 material by Steve "Peregrine" Took's post-Tyrannosaurus Rex acid-folk-rock outfit, mined from the bottomless vaults of Shagrat drummer/co-conspirator Twink. Includes demo versions of songs previously released on the recent Shagrat "Lone Star" collection, and tracks from Twink's classic "Think Pink" album as well. Probably for completists only, or conversely, for those who don't have any of this stuff. It's just the tip of the Pink Fairies/Tyrannosaurus Rex/Hawkwind/etc. psychedelic iceberg.

SIGHTINGS s/t (Load) cd 12.98
The pristine, calming baby blue and pink bars that make up the cover art of this release give not a hint of the chaotic sonic stew contained within. Sightings are a New York cacophonous trainwreck spewing a distorted murky mess of vocal screaches and howls over spazzy guitar, bass and drumming.
This is the dissonant and flailing full length follow-up to their debut 7".
RealAudio clip: "Cuckoo"
RealAudio clip: "Wax Doors"

SIGHTINGS s/t (Load) lp 10.98
The pristine, calming baby blue and pink bars that make up the cover art of this release give not a hint of the chaotic sonic stew contained within. Sightings are a New York cacophonous trainwreck spewing a distorted murky mess of vocal screaches and howls over spazzy guitar, bass and drumming.
This is the dissonant and flailing full length follow-up to their debut 7".
RealAudio clip: "Cuckoo"
RealAudio clip: "Wax Doors"

SPIRIT CARAVAN So Mortal Be (Tolotta) 7" 3.50
Two new tracks from these stoner metal heroes. The A-side's "So Mortal Be" is typical rockin' Spirit Caravan fare, while on B-side "Undone Mind" bassist Dave Sherman takes over on vocals from Wino, his rougher, more wretched pipes fitting well with the song's doomier vibe. White vinyl by the way.

TEETH OF LIONS RULE THE DIVINE Rampton (Southern Lord) cd 12.98
A doom metal super-group (or, to borrow a pun from Julian Cope, a stupor-group) featuring members of Sunn O))), Goatsnake, Khanate, Iron Monkey, Cathedral, Burning Witch, etc... (that is, Stephen O'Malley, Lee Dorian, Greg Anderson, and Justin Greaves). The three loooong tracks on offer here were jammed out and recorded in a practice space somewhere in England, with vocals dubbed in later by Cathedral's Dorrian. Then, months later, the tapes were mixed by doom/stoner producer of note Billy Anderson, although it doesn't seem there was much he could do to improve the somewhat lo-fi recording quality. Regardless, this is a discful of malevolent trance-metal for fans of the genre, particularily the more drugged-out variety (the fans and/or the music). Sounds a lot like impromptu verisons of your dirgier Melvins fare (like "Charmicarmicat" or "Lysol"), featuring thudding drums and distant-sounding, church-organ-worthy guitar drone/feedback a la Earth (note that the band's name is taken from an Earth "2" songtitle), topped by Dorrian's ugly vocal pronouncements. Like a lot of so-called super-groups, less than the sum of its parts, and thus not on par with Khanate or Sunn, but "Rampton" is still a slow, low ear-grind that non-ADD fans of those bands will want to experience.
RealAudio clip: "The Smiler"

TRIBES OF NEUROT Adaptation And Survival (Neurot) 2cd 15.98
I've always been into the concept of Tribes Of Neurot. The concept of a band starting another related band that experiments and expands on their original sound seems kind of cool. And ToN are cool, but their sound/visual/art/ambient onslaught has never translated especially well to record. Sure, if you're in that dusty old warehouse, sprawled out on the floor, looking up at the crazy shifting projections, letting the rumbling waves of low-end wash over you, putting you in a trance, then yeah, it's perfect. But on record Neurot always bordered on ambient/new age, without the viscera of the wild images and the sweaty bodies and the skull rattling vibrations. So we're happy to report that Neurot's latest high concept sound piece succeeds where the others may not have. The concept of insects, and their abilty to adapt, survive, and outlast virtually all other species is the foundation of this gorgeous piece of drone work. Originally released as a super limited set of vinyl records, disc one collects all of those records. A swarming, buzzing, whirring, vibrating, pulsatingly alive piece of manipulated found sound, wherein the sounds of insects are stretched and twisted and reshaped into dynamic washes of anthropomorphic hum. Truly breathtaking. Ominous but somehow serene at the same time. The idea behind the different vinyl records was to play several at once creating completely unique mixes, everytime you listened. Disc two contains one possible mix, and the liner notes suggest you play both the source disc and the mix disc for even more possibilities. An ambitious project that manages to hit the mark, both musically and conceptually.
RealAudio clip: "Adaptation And Survival 3"
RealAudio clip: "Adaptation And Survival 4"
RealAudio clip: "Adaptation And Survival Mix"

VAINIO, MIKA / FENNESZ, CHRISTIAN Invisible Architecture #2 (Audiosphere) cd 16.98
The second in the "Invisible Archecture" series of live collaborations from Audiosphere is Christian Fennesz and Mika Vainio from Pan Sonic. Housed like the Jeck / Tetreault / Yoshihide album in the annoying "super jewel box," this features a 34 minute collaboration between the two and a 32 minute solo track from Vainio, both recorded during a night of performances at Kaaitheatherstudio in Brussels on November 29, 1999. The Fennesz / Vainio collaboration is a densely saturated drone piece that's heavy on the loud / quiet dynamic, often matching delicate fractalizations of trademarked Megoisms from erratic clipped samples and pinprick bleeping alongside aerated drones culled from layers of processed distortion. This hints at the signature of both artists; yet, it doesn't appear that there's any of the random noise generation and guitar processing that makes the two artists' solo work so interesting. Thus, their collaboration doesn't seem as fully realized as we would hope and stands more as another entry into the realm of electronic improvisation. Vanio's solo track follows the path of his recent solo work (in particular "Kajo") with spartan minimalist gestures across vast expanses of barely audible resonant buzzings, extending into hypnotic pulsations of stripped down techno more like his Pan Sonic work.
RealAudio clip: VAINIO / FENNESZ "Live 1"
RealAudio clip: VAINIO "Live 2"

VON SCHIRACH, OTTO Boombonic Plague: Chopped Zombie Fungus Vol. 1 (Schematic) 12" 8.98
More hyperspastic funk-ass algorithmic computer music from Miami butt-technician Otto Von Schirach. First in the Chopped Zombie Fungus trilogy of eps.

WOBBLY Playlist (Illegal Art) 3"cd 9.98
Disguising itself as a demonstrational disc from Broadcast Programming, a corporate music marketing and programming group developed to "help you stay on top of your market", the latest ep from Jon Leidecker presents itself as a conceptual piece (complete with introductory salespitches from "friendly" announcers) which restructures everything we have conventionally come to understand as popular music and radically recontexualizes it into what we understand as "electronic" music. From C&W to R&B, AOR to hip hop, Leidecker's deconstructional sampling methods as Wobbly destroys the contexts in which those genres lie, crafting a new environment where what was once unbearably intolerable becomes highly addictive. A self attesting fan of Top 40 radio, Wobbly splices the essential pop element of a song and exploits the hell out of it. And then it becomes another pop song! Just a little teaser for the Wobbly's upcoming plunderphonic hit album "Wild Why".
RealAudio clip: "Do Not Milk Or Touch Me"
RealAudio clip: "Reoutsourcer"
RealAudio clip: "Vertical Peady"

WORMWOOD Requiescat (Arm / Legion) cd 9.98
Pounding, ugly, crusty doomcore from this Seattle metal band, mastered by Steve Austin of Today Is The Day (not that it matters terribly much who masters something, but Mr. Austin's name will give you an idea where these folks are coming from). Other hints: Eyehategod with keyboards? A black metal Neurosis? A nastier, less spaced-out Tarantula Hawk? Tribal drumming, blissful piano interludes, lotsa feedback, scary vocals...
RealAudio clip: "track 3"

XENAKIS, IANNIS Metastasis / Pithoprakta / Eonta (Le Chant Du Monde) cd 14.98
These three pieces date back to the early orchestral work of Xenakis in the mid '50s and early '60s when the Greek composer / mathematician was shifting away from Serialism towards what he called "Formalised Music." "Metastatis" divided the orchestra into its individual elements, with 61 instrumentalists playing 61 different parts. This strategy of aesthetic decision through mathematics was the basis for his awesome electronic work including those found within Xenakis' "Electronic Music" anthology. "Pithoprakta" was one of Xenakis' early scores that employed a Stochastic model of exploring the theories of probability within music, as a means of creating a dense granular sound from a 50 piece orchestra (46 strings, 2 trombones, 1 xylophone, and 1 woodblock, if you must know). "Eonta" was almost an impossible score to perform, as certain parts for the piano and brass solos were calculated on an early IBM mainframe computer. Either you're impressed by such conceptual overdrive or you're not.
RealAudio clip: "Eonta (deuxieme partie)"
RealAudio clip: "Metastasis"

XIU XIU Knife Play (Absolutely Kosher) lp 11.98
Absolutely Kosher has just released a vinyl version of this new AQ-favorite, with the LP packaged in a plastic bag with a folded poster. We said this about the 5rc cd version so very recently:
This band is great! Bravo to Xiu Xiu for being original in an indie rock world where originality just doesn't seem very important anymore -- groups like Adult and the Faint are reworking '80s electro / new wave, every other band has got a member who made a (boring) "experimental" solo record with his laptop and wants to sound like Fennesz, and just how many Get Up Kids copycats do there need to be?
And then there's the local group Xiu Xiu who've put out a record on Kill Rock Stars' sister imprint 5RC. The two girls and two guys in Xiu Xiu are so familiar with indie rock's cliches that they anticipate them... and then mess with the formula, thereby coming up with a far artier and more interesting sound (kinda like how Bjork and Radiohead do). Example: the lead singer's voice is this super intense, desperate, achingly sad, warbly moan (a la The Cure / Talk Talk / Ultravox), and we're used to hearing that kind of voice accompanied with Brit-style synthpop stuff (i.e. "Melt With You"). Yet with Xiu Xiu the backup to that incredible voice is trumpets and saxophones and clattery percussion (bells, gongs, perhaps even pots 'n pans), with a solid yet obviously lo-fi Casio beat keeping time, and velvety basslines which are where the melody often resides. The band are also admirably unpredictable in leaving guitar pretty much in the background (if it's present at all) and instead letting this crazy synth action function *just like a guitar solo* -- distorted, climactic, wailing. So cool!
Xiu Xiu is arty and chaotic, but with new wave '80s poppiness. This is a very weird record that is also accessible and really good.
RealAudio clip: "Hives Hives"
RealAudio clip: "Poe Poe"
RealAudio clip: "Over Over"
RealAudio clip: "I Broke Up "
RealAudio clip: "Don Diasco"
RealAudio clip: "Tonight and Today"

XTC A Coat of Many Cupboards Boxset (Caroline) cd 58.00
AQ-pal and our computer-life-saver Eric Rose wrote the following review for us:
Brand-new 4-disc set of live tracks, album demos, alternate versions, and outtakes from those crafty popsters from Swindon: XTC. Few bands inspire and facilitate such rabid collector-frenzy and completism among their fan-base, and in a magnanimous gesture, the "lads" have thrown open the vaults, bringing almost 20 years worth of buried treasure to the surface. (Also rumored for release later this year: "Fuzzy Warbles" - a collection of non-album demos). Hardcore XTC fans already know that they need this like they need air to breathe, and thus will buy it track-list unseen. The trick, then, is creating a solid overview/sampling of the band's career that'll appeal to the casual fan, while offering the diehards something that they haven't yet gotten their collector-paws on. In this regard, the set is a success, covering the ground between their Devo-meets-New York Dolls beginnings in '75 to their stately, elegant pop of the 90's, via recordings that are -- for the most part -- recently-unearthed and un-bootlegged. A sprinkling of "representative" album tracks throughout provides a nice counterpoint to the largely unpolished nature of the collection. As an added bonus, the set includes a 60-page book, featuring track commentary by the ever-witty Andy Partridge and the ever-humble Colin Moulding.
RealAudio clip: "Things Fall to Bits"
RealAudio clip: "Yacht Dance"
RealAudio clip: "Find the Fox"

YOSHIHIDE, OTOMO'S NEW JAZZ ENSEMBLE Dreams (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Avantgarde Japanese pop vocalists Jun Togawa and Phew join our favorite turntable experimentalist's jazz unit for their second release on John Zorn's Tzadik label. It's very different from the previous New Jazz Ensemble disc, and is really not readily identifiable as an Otomo Yoshihide album. Most of the tracks heavily feature singing, and it's only at the very end of the disc that the Ensemble breaks into any sort of "free jazz" cacophony. More of a Japanese vocal album then, than a jazz/electronic thing, so Otomo fans who aren't as eclectically adventurous as the man himself might want to pass on this one.
RealAudio clip: "Preach"
RealAudio clip: "Eureka"

ZORN, JOHN Hockey (Tzadik) cd 16.98
The Zorn archival onslaught continues with another cd reissue of one of his many game piece compositions. 'Hockey' was recorded in 1980 and performed by an all-star cast of Downtown NY visionary improvisors. The composition itself, written in 1978, requires that each improvisor limit themselves to five sounds, which are repeated through a series of solos, duos and trios. If you've witnessed Zorn's Cobra ensembles, this is sort of an early prototype of a fragmental portion of the complex game piece that is still performed in many various combinations. Includes two incarnations: the first, all electric, features Eugene Chadbourne (guitar and effects), Wayne Horvitz (amplified piano) and Bob Ostertag (various electronics). The second version features Polly Bradfield (violin), Mark E. Miller (percussion) and Zorn himself (various duckcalls on clarinet mouthpiece). Along with the versions restored here from the original Parachute lp, over twenty minutes of material is added as a bonus!
RealAudio clip: "Take 2"

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1/3 OCTAVE BAND Fading Light From Distant Suns (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
1/3 Octave Band's sound is a slowly unfolding haze of purposeful minor key guitar strum that dissolves into rumbling guitar shimmer and warm chordal washes of hum and fuzz and occasional electronic buzz. Buried in the gossamer layers of sound are clanging crashes, gritty throbbing and almost imperceptible melodies. 1/3 Octave Band take the bliss-out of Spacemen 3, roll it in angel dust and dip it in tar before laying down and drifting off. So nice.
RealAudio clip: "One"
RealAudio clip: "Two"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Blankangelspace (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Two extended tracks from label overlord and sole member of the very prolific Birchville Cat Motel. The first track is 20 minutes of growling modulated wheeze, thick and low and rumbling, with subtly shifting melodies suspended jsut below the surface. Over the course of the track, the sound gets more urgent and more aggressive with swooping upper register scrapes and wails. Track two is an epic at 40 minutes. A primal drone built from instrument buzz, that beats and slowly shifts as the tones overlap and intermingle. This minimal hum and whirr builds in intensity until the low end threatens to shake your stereo from its now-precarious perch. Melodies crystallize from the cosmic slop, becoming a lush and spaced out epic drone ala Taj Mahal Travellers, with sparse (very occasional) percussion and keening high end explorations. Totally mesmerising.
RealAudio clip: "Blankangelspace 1"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Creeping Frost Onset (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Another slab of prime drone from CPP main man Campbell Kneale, this time enlisting the help of two Kneale family members and utilising oscillators, turntables, clarinet, violin, motorized acoustic guitar, bowed roof (!) and various toy instruments. Starting with a dog whistle range sine wave that wavers and flutters on its way to your eardrum, it's soon joined by complementary (but no less piercing) harmonics as well as a barely audible low end pulse. You gotta be patient with this one. After about ten minutes, the high end shimmer becomes the foundation for a cacophony of clang and strum and feedback and clatter eventually breaking down into what sounds like a primitive preschool free jazz jam session. Toy pianos, caveman percussion, with spurts of beeping and squeaking and lots of noodling that eventually works its way back up to a shrieking, skronky free jazz drone ending in a meditative jazzy free rock shimmer...Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Creeping Frost Onset"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Crop Circle Empires (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Birchville mainman (only man) and CPP head honcho releases another gem. One 40 minute, delicate and crystalline drone. Quiet and slowly shifiting, like the sound of ice melting or a black hole forming or both. So gorgeous.
RealAudio clip: "Crop Circle Empires"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Long Vanished Spirals (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is a compilation of the a-sides of most of Birchville's super limited lathe cut singles. From roaring blasts of distorted guitar, buzzing and squealing to gentle bowed Middle Eastern melodies to shimmering blissed out dronescapes to crackling clatter and clang, rattle and scrape to speaker melting almost-power-electronics. An awesome compilation of Kneale's many different sonic personalities.
RealAudio clip: "Long Vanished Spirals"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL September (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is a super limited tour-only release for Birchville's recent Japanese tour. One hour long track. There's something about a piece of improvised music, when everything just clicks and the result is transcendent, spectacular, and becomes almost a living thing, instead of a piece of music played by some guys. And 'September' is a perfect example. This hour long, static drone is a lush chaotic mix of guitars, squealing and feeding back, layer upon layer, woven into gossamer washes of rough (pleasingly so) sound. Like My Bloody Valentine with all of the rhythmic/rock band elements removed. Just the very essence of sound, drone, music. So beautiful.
RealAudio clip: "September"

BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Shapeshifter (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is an expanded line-up (expanded from the usual one man Birchville Cat Motel) performing all acoustic recorded between 1999-2000. Sparse and clattery, with lots of random percussion, woodwinds and bowed metal drones. A clinking clanking, rattling free folk/jazz, sounding somewhere between Native American Folk music, No Neck Blues Band, an orchestra tuning up and a stripped down and acoustic Godspeed You Black Emperor. Mostly calm and meditative with occasional moments of free clamour and stumbling rhythmic fall out.
RealAudio clip: "Shapeshifter 1"
RealAudio clip: "Shapeshifter 4"

BUTTIGIEG, KURT Zoetrope (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
We're willing to bet that Kurt Buttkrieg is the only musician you can think of that calls Malta home. This is gorgeous otherworldly musiqe concrete. Far away drones, swoops of modulated electronics, keening feedback and speaker rattling low end rumble. Sparse and dynamic, but space-y with tons of reverb. Ethereal melodies are slowly introduced, creating a chillingly intense soundscape that could be the perfect horror movie soundtrack.
RealAudio clip: "Zoetrope"

DEL Vampyr (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is a single hour long track, an improvised soundtrack to a 1930 Carl Dreyer film. Turkish drum, electronics, guitar and powerbook. Very spare and ambient with lots of room sound, clicks and clatter, the sound of people laughing (at the film we would imagine) and slowly shifting instrument buzz. Dark ambient guitarscapes, wistful feedback, subsonic rumble and gentle notes pulled almost imperceptibly from the guitar.
RealAudio clip: "Vampyr"

EKKO Sinking Ships (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Danish noise-rocker Nicolas Kauffmann spits out a Dead C-ish free rock pummel. Guitars squeal and howl and roar into a dreamy din of chordal dissonance. Feathery, frothy soundscapes of drone-flecked brutality. The epic thirty minute final track is a slow burning, churning and volatile wash of instrument hum, guitar buzz and clattery scratch and scrape.
RealAudio clip: "One"

EMPTY MIRROR Extricate / Misnomer (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Empty Mirror is New Zealanders Ben Spiers and Karl Willis, utilising a strange array of soundmaking devices including acoustic guitar, violin, baby monitor, radio, reed organ, turntables, saucepan lids, dictaphone and more. In 'Extricate' (tracks 1-6) a haunting piano sets a somber mood while turntables sputter and spit out sonic fragments as a warm buzz threatens to envelop the whole sound. The sound palette soon expands to include radio static, industrial clang, arrythmic scrapes and skronks as well as almost-melodies. 'Misnomer' is less somber, more free and unstructured. Sporadic guitar strum, looped voices and far away organ almost coalesce into actual songs, but dissipate into free rock scatter before it can happen.
RealAudio clip: "Attraction"

LUGOSI Golden Five Aluminum Lake (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Gorgeous, lo-fi, space-y, almost ambient free-rock, dark and langorous. Minor key and strangely melodic, almost sitar-ish guitars crawl lazily over deep reflective drones and muted feedback. Late night, bliss out, doped up dream music. Think the Dead C covering Stars Of The Lid. That nice!
RealAudio clip: "One"

MILTON, ANTONY Near / Far (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Four tracks of droning dreaminess. Track one is a stuttering, wheezing violin drone over absent mindedly strummed, downtuned guitars sounding like a doped up Roy Montgomery. The second track is an industrial landscape of machinery buzz and electronic hiss while crystalline guitar feedback soars above it all. Track three is keening upper register drone ala Vibracathedral Orchestra with rhythmically struck low notes stretched into a loose framework for freak-out guitar. The final track is a murky swirl of haunting, distant minor key swells underpinning static and buzz and malfunctioning electronics. Like Nurse With Wound scoring a Fulci or Bava film. Hauntingly mesmerising but rough and abrasive at the same time.
RealAudio clip: "Window Sill"

PIMMON (VS LEMPK) Thong Of Naif (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Pimmon is probably one of the best know artists in Celebrate Psi Phenomena (other than Birchville Cat Motel) and here offers more unique Australian 'electronica.' Rumbling and gurgling low end, haunting and atmospheric with rhythmic crackle over found sound snippets and fragments of popular song, with occasional mood-shattering glitches.Loops low in the mix drift in and out becoming murky rhythms before dissipating in a cloud of grit and buzz. Imagine a raw and lo-fi Oval. Like a swamp full of buzzing insects, broken and abandoned instruments, and lost and hungry noise musicians. Good stuff.
RealAudio clip: "One"

SEHT Dronemusic (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
Dronemusic indeed. Seht is one Steven Clover, who has released a handful of limited lathe cuts under different names. On 'Dronemusic' Clover crafts deep, rich sonorous drone music, seemingly simple but lush with harmonic overtones. As the record progresses, the drone becomes less and less obvious, from looped guitars and spastic rhythmic guitars to vaccuum cleaner drones and distorted woofer rumble to super austere almost Bernard Gunter-esque minimal dronescapes.
RealAudio clip: "The Dark Room"

WRIGHT, PETER A Tiny Camp In The Wilderness (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is a gorgeously sublime drone record reminiscent of Maeror Tri/Troum or Organum at times. Lots of bowed guitars, bowed cymbals, random found sounds (markets, rain, church), and guitars all looped into thick velvety drones, with clanging percussion and singing cymbals. Rumbling, wheezing, whirring.
RealAudio clip: "5 Minutes 17 Seconds"
RealAudio clip: "7 Minutes 20 Seconds"

YERMO / M.C.M.S. The Womb That Gives Birth To Itself (Celebrate Psi Phenomena) cd-r 10.98
This is a split between the curiously monikered Yermo and the also curiously monikered M.C.M.S. But they seem to be a perfect match and this is possible one of the best discs in this series. Yermo presents one thirty minute piece, a wall of shimmering skree and ear tickling high end with a muted, throbbing hum underneath. The track drifts further and further into space as sound particles seem to be pulled apart and the soundscape is stretched taut to the point of being almost transparent, like a swarm of insects or a fleet of helicopters buzzing waaaaaay off in the distance. By the fifteen minute mark, the sound expands and deepens as moaning '2001: A Space Odyssey'-ish thrum buzzes and circles, like floating through space or being lost in the depths of an enormous cavern. M.C.M.S. offer probably the most beautiful drone piece I have ever heard. A chiming and gently clanging slow motion gamelan-scape with subtly booming sonic ripples and a mournful, lethargic funereal beat. So perfect.
RealAudio clip: YERMO "One"
RealAudio clip: M.C.M.S. "Two"

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V/A music inspired by the film 'Scratch' (Transparent) cd 17.98
Okay, I totally lamed out and forgot to go see this movie, argh! Judging from the soundtrack, the film (a feature documentary about scratching) must be amazing, although I'm not sure if any of the tracks here were actually in it -- this album is billed as a Bill-Laswell-construction of music "inspired by" the film. Nonetheless, great disc. It is seamlessly put together, with no pauses between tracks, just very brief interludes where turntablists (Cut Chemist, DJ Shadow, Grand Wizard Theodore, Mixmaster Mike, Afrika Bambaataa, Qbert etc) speak interestingly about their personal experiences with scratching and its history. There are performances by the Skratch Piklz, X-Ecutioners, Faust, DJ Krush, Afrika Bambaataa and many more, and there's even an over-the-top 2002 version of Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" with a buncha DJs scratching like crazy on it. I appreciate the mix of contemporary stuff combined with a look back at the history of turntablism -- if that's what the movie is like then I really missed out.
I find some of the purely turntablist albums a bit much to take in one sitting, and so might you, but this album is so well put together, perfectly sequenced, and refreshingly varied in terms of DJ scratching styles, that I really enjoyed the listen. If you've never bought a turntablist record before, this is a great place to start. And people who've already got turntablist wax in their collections should give it a go too. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: HERBIE HANCOCK, WITH MIXMASTER MIKE, GRANDMASTER DXT, ROB SWIFT, QBERT, BABU, FAUST & SHORTEE "Rockit 2.002"
RealAudio clip: CUT CHEMIST SPEAKS / CAT FIVE VS SNAYK EYEZ "Turntable Transformer"

V/A U-Sound, Vol. One (Parallelism) cd 15.98
Parallelism is the London based imprint run by Matador head /Air Traffic Controllers guitarist Gerard Cosloy. Portland, OR based Tom Greenwood and Josh Stevenson (of Jackie-O Motherfucker and Cast Exotic Archives, respectively), collect recordings documenting the worldwide post-psychedelic underground via their Unity Sound Archive label (aka U Sound). In short, Greenwood and Stevenson set up short-lived (about one week long) installations in which a revolving cast of artists continuously perform prearranged and/or improvisational pieces that last several hours at a time. This two cd set compiles excerpts of live performances in various U Sound installations throughout 1999 in NYC. Artists featured: Matthew Valentine, Glands of External Secretion, Daniel Carter, Black Magic, Decaer Pinga (Prick Decay), Tara Jane O'Neil solo and with Sai Flora, Michael Hurley, Eagle Blood (Brian Degraw, Saul Williams, actor Leo Fitzpatrick and Angelblood member / fashion designer Jess Holzworth), Greg Anderson, Jeff Perkins, PG Six, Tim Barnes & Glen Kotche, Double Leopards, Sewerz, Unity Sound Ensemble, Furchick w/ the Armaround, Josh Burkett, Tono-Bungay, The Doves, Army Of Ghosts (ex-Aylers Angels), Far Fetched (Paul Major), Lady E Quartet (with Dean Roberts and Tim Barnes) and various formulations of Jackie-O Motherfucker. An excellent document of an amazing ongoing project!
RealAudio clip: MATTHEW VALENTINE "Jud The Obscure"
RealAudio clip: TONO-BUNGAY "SCZPLK"
RealAudio clip: LADY E QUARTET "Courtship Of Fangoso Lagoons"

V/A Vs. Kitty-Yo (Quatermass) cd 16.98
The respected Belgian label Quatermass here releases a new "vs" comp (a couple previous ones being remixes of the work on Atom Heart's Rather Interesting label and the Kompakt label). Here they ask five of their artists to remix five artists from the German Kitty-Yo label. The originals *and* the remixes are found here, which is nice. The remixers are Add N to (X), Calla, Tal (aka Wolfgang Voigt of Gas), Fibla and Mira Calix. And the orignals reworked here are by Peaches, Gonzales, Rechenzentrum, Stol, and Couch. The Peaches tune "Lovertits" is handsomely cut up and reassembled in an appealingly lurching fashion; Add N to (X) actually make Peaches rapping sidekick Chilly Gonzales palatable (they mainly shut him up); Fibla punch up the warmth and melody of an already heavenly piece of hushed electronic mellowness from Stol; and the wonderful Warp artist Mira Calix makes a relatively ho-hum Chain-Reaction-style heroinhouse track from Rechenzentrum into a very interesting track full of unpredictable (hallelujah) beats.
All in all a nice compilation, relaxing but illuminating, with a variety of electronica subgenres nicely sequenced and nicely messed-with.
RealAudio clip: MIRA CALIX VS RECHENZENTRUM "Submarine"
RealAudio clip: FIBLA VS STOL "[010]"
RealAudio clip: PEACHES "Lovertits (Original)"
RealAudio clip: TAL VS PEACHES "Lovertits (Remix)"

V/A You Don't Need Darkness To Do What You Think Is Right (Geographic) cd 13.98
Do you like the sweet, drowsy pop sounds of groups such as The Pastels? If your answer is an emphatically murmurred "yes", boy, have we got THE compilation for you! Released on Stephen Pastel's own label, it consists completely of very like-minded, like-sounding artists, most of whom have full lengths already available on Geographic. Although we kinda grimaced at the Bill Wells Octet song - due to our mild aversion to the very "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" whistling and la la la's - the rest of the songs here are delightfully light and dreamy. Some strummy acoustic, some sparkling electronic. Includes The Pastels' cover of Sly & The Family Stone's "Everybody Is A Star" as well as tracks by fellow Scots Appendix Out, Future Pilot AKA, and International Airport (featuring members of The Pastels and Appendix Out), the Japanese folk-psych of Maher Shalal Hash Baz and Nagisa Ni Te, and My Bloody Valentine's Kevin Shields plus the debut of Sister Vanilla (Ms Linda Reid and her brothers Jim and William... that's right, the Jesus & Mary Chain boys).
P.S. Buyer beware: You might be tempted to get this only for the Kevin Shields track, his first in umpteen years, but unfrotunately it's not impressive at all, and it's also short. The reason to get this is for all the other artists on this great label.
RealAudio clip: PASTELS "Everybody Is A Star"
RealAudio clip: SISTER VANILLA "Pastel Blue "

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ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM "Arrhythmia" (Warp) cd 16.98
ATOMIC BITCHWAX, THE "Spit Blood" (Meteor City) 2cd 13.98
BANKS, DARRELL "Is Here!" (Sepia Tone) cd 12.98
BEIGE "Ein Konigreich Fur Eine Handgranate" (Nonplace) cd 15.98
BUCKNOR, SEGUN "Poor Man Get No Brother" (Afro Strut) cd/lp 17.98/19.98
CLOUDDEAD "Sound Of A Handshake" (Mush) 10" 8.98
DESTROY ALL MONSTERS "Swamp Gas" (The End Is Here) cd 14.98
FILLE QUI MOUSSE "Se Taire Pour Une Femme Trop Belle" (Fractal) cd 16.98
FLOGGING MOLLY "Drunken Lullabies" (Side One Dummy) cd 14.98
FREEFORM "Audiotourism: Original Music Vietnam And China Vol. 2 Remix" (Quatermass) cd/2lp 16.98/16.98
FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP "Shockadoom" (Whig Music) cd 14.98
FRIDGE "Semaphore" (Output) cd 16.98
GOEM "Gast" (Abri) cd 14.98
HAINO, KEIJI & TATSUYA YOSHIDA "Until Water Grasps Flame" (Noise Asia / Sonic Factory) cd 14.98
HARCOURT, ED "Here Be Monsters" (Capitol) cd 10.98
HENRY COW "Western Culture" (East Side Digital) cd 16.98
HERMAN DUNE "Switzerland Heritage" (Prohibited) cd 12.98
HIGH RISE "Destination: The Best Of High Rise" (PSF/Tokuma) cd 19.98
HIROSHIGE, JOJO "The Very Best Of Jojo Hiroshige" (Alchemy) cd 19.98
HUMAN REMAINS "Where Were You When" (Relapse) 2cd 14.98
HUNDRED SIGHTS OF KOENJI "s/t" (God Mountain) cd 19.98 [back in stock!]
JOAO, KARE "Sideman" (Jester) cd 14.98
KNUT "Challenger" (Hydrahead) cd 14.98
MAHOGANY BRAIN "With (Junk-Saucepan) When (Spoon-Trigger)" (Mellow) cd 16.98
MARU SANKAKU SHIKAKU "s/t" (Captain Trip) 3cd 34.00
NAGISA NI TE "Feel" (Jagjaguwar) cd 13.98
OLNEYVILLE SOUND SYSTEM "What Is True and What Is False" (Load) lp 12.98
OPEN CITY "L.A. We Revise Your Neglect" (Thin Wrist) lp 9.98
OPEN CITY "s/t" (Thin Wrist) lp 9.98
OPUS AVANTRA "Opus Magnum" (Akarma) 4cd box 51.00
OSBOURNE, OZZY "Diary Of A Madman" (Epic) cd 12.98
PARKER, WILLIAM QUARTET "O'Neal's Porch" (Aum Fidelity) cd 14.98
REPUTATION, THE "s/t" (Initial Records) cd 14.98
SND "Tender Love" (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
SOILWORK "Natural Born Chaos" (Nuclear Blast) cd 14.98
STRAIGHT OUTTA HUNTER'S POINT "OST" (Mastamind) cd 12.98
TIMESBOLD "Woe Be Gone..." (Tin Drum) cd ep 10.98
ULTIMATE FAKEBOOK "Open Up And Say Awesome" (Initial Records) cd 14.98
V/A "Audio.nl" (Shadow Records) cd 14.98
V/A "Crooked: The Movie/The Soundtrack" (Wordsound) cd+dvd 18.98
V/A "The Rustler Presents: Because You're Funky" (Lo) cd/lp 16.98
VAN BERGEN / PRINS / FENNESZ "Dawn" (Grob) cd 15.98
WU-TANG PRODUCTIONS PRESENT: KILLA BEEZ "The Sting" (Koch) 2cd 17.98
XINLISUPREME "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Fat Cat) cd 15.98


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AQ CO-SPONSORS FRIDGE SHOW


F R I D G E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
plus Explosions In The Sky and Tarentel
Wednesday, April 17 at 9:00 PM
The Great American Music Hall
$12.50

AQ is giving away a pair of tickets for each show! We'll have a random drawing on Monday the 15th. Come on in and fill out a ballot.

We're super excited to be co-sponsoring the first San Francisco appearance of one of our fave bands Fridge. This is a major event! I can't think of another band that combines organic instrumentation with electronic flourishes and does it so well (though many try). See below for soundclips and what we wrote about their most recent album Happiness. It also doesn't hurt that local darlings Tarentel and the Austin-based, louder-than-Mogwai band Explosions in the Sky are opening the show.

FRIDGE "Happiness" (Temporary Residence) cd 12.98
The UK trio Fridge's 1999 album Eph was a big staff fave here at Aquarius, a stunning combination of dark theatrical Morricone style melodies alongside electronic and organic instrumentation. It swelled with emotion and tasteful skills, like other postrockers Tortoise, Village of Savoonga, and the sentimental side of the Aphex Twin. Just perfect.
Fridge's new album Happiness is another fine work. While Happiness isn't as breathtakingly surprisingly good as Eph (which Temporary Residence is reissuing in May 2002 with tons of extra stuff), it's nonetheless soooo lovely. The magic is in the simplicity of the music: each song features a lilting melody that simply carries you along for four or seven or eleven minutes, building upon itself with just a minimum of elements -- cut up piano and xylophone on one track, childrens voices on another, drum machines and glockenspiel on yet a third.
The record will appeal to fans of Tortoise, Papa M, To Rococo Rot, and definitely Four Tet (Fridge member Kieran Hebden's other project).
RealAudio clip: "Cut Up Piano and Xylophone"
RealAudio clip: "Long Singing"
RealAudio clip: "Harmonics"
RealAudio clip: "Five Four Child Voice"


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SELECTED UPCOMING RELEASES


----> April 9th
Earth "Extra-Capsular Extraction" cd reissue on Sub Pop
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion "Plastic Fang" cd/2lp on Matador
Arcturus "The Sham Mirrors" cd on The End
Neil Young "Are You Passionate" cd on Warner Bros.
v/a "Times Ain't What They Used To Be vol. 5" and "vol. 6" cds on Yazoo
Gravediggaz "Nightmare in A-minor" cd on Empire
Pulp "We Love Life" domestic cd release on Rough Trade/Sanctuary
Imperial Teen "On" cd on Merge
764-Hero "Nobody Knows This Is Everywhere" cd/lp on Tigerstyle
Superchunk "Art Class (Song for Yayoi Kusama)" cdep on Merge
v/a All Tomorrows Parties 2.0 (curated by Shellac) cd on Touch and Go
Steve Earle "Side Tracks" cd
The Crown "Crowned In Terror" cd on Metal Blade

----> April 16th
Bananafish issue #16 magazine + cd
Melvins "Hostile Ambient Takeover" cd on Ipecac
Dianogah "Millions of Brazilians" cd/lp on Southern
Fly Pan Am "Ceux Qui Enventent" cd/lp on Constellation
Sage Francis "Personal Journals" cd on anticon
Dat Politics "Plugs Plus" cd
Grand Magus "s/t" cd on TMC
High On Fire "Art of Self Defense" cd reissue on Tee Pee

----> April 23rd
Naked City "Live Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989" cd on Tzadik
Badly Drawn Boy "About A Boy" OST cd on Arista/Twisted Nerve/XL
Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) "Chelsea Walls" cd on Ryko
Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" cd on Atlantic
Cornershop "Handcream For A Generation" cd on Beggars Group
Q-Tip "Kaamal The Abstract" cd on Arista
The Promise Ring "Woodwater" cd on Epitaph
Nonphixion "The Future Is Now" cd on Landspeed
Derek Bailey "Ballads" cd on Tzadik
Luna "Romantica" cd on Jetset
Damon and Naomi "Song To The Siren" live cd + DVD on Sub Pop
Elvis Costello "When I Was Cruel" cd

----> April 30th
Electric Wizard "Let Us Prey" cd on TMC
Alice Coltrane "Eternity" cd reissue on Sepia Tone
Alice Coltrane "Transcendence" cd reissue on Sepia Tone
Brant Bjork & The Operators "s/t" cd on TMC
Dan The Automator "Wanna Buy A Monkey" LP version

---> May 7th
Tom Waits "Blood Money" cd/lp on Anti/Epitaph
Tom Waits "Alice" cd/lp on Anti/Epitaph
Tarentel "Ephemera" cd on Temporary Residence
Fridge "Eph" Reissue 2cd on Temporary Residence
Cul De Sac "Immortality Lessons" live cd on Strange Attractors Audio House
Landing "Seasons" cd on Ba Da Bing!
Major Stars "Distant Effects" cd on Squealer
20 Miles "Keep It Comin..." cd on Fat Possum/Epitaph

---> May 14th
The Fucking Champs "V" cd/lp on Drag City
Spaceboy "Seaching The Stone Library For The Green Page of Illusion" cd on Southern Lord
Mary Timony "The Golden Dove" cd/lp on Matador
XTC reissues
El-P "Fantastic Damage" cd/3lp on Def Jux
David Grubbs "Rickets & Scurvy" cd/lp on Drag City
Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit "Playing Secret Rhythms" cd/2lp
Push Button Objects "Fly (You Ain't)" 12"
Tony, Caro & John "All on the First Day" cd reissue on Shadoks
Brigade "Last Laugh" cd reissue Shadoks
Peacepipe "s/t" cd on Shadoks
Eighteen Visions "Vanity" cd on Trustkill
Hemdale "Rad Jackson" cd on Relapse

---> May 21st
John Zorn "Iao" cd on Tzadik
Z'ev "The Sapphire Nature" cd on Tzadik
DJ Spooky vs. Shadow Records "Modern Mantra" mix cd on Shadow
Puffy Ami Yumi "An Illustrated History" domestic cd collection on Bar/None

---> also in May
v/a "156 Strings: Nineteen Totally Original Acoustic Guitarists" cd on Cuneiform (curated by Henry Kaiser, featuring Richard Thompson, Jim O' Rourke, Fred Frith, Eugene Chadbourne, Rod Poole, Tisziji Munoz, nels Cline, Peter Lang, etc.)

---> June 4th
Belle & Sebastian "Storytelling" soundtrack cd on Matador


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"We consider the animals to be lower,
and to me, that makes no sense at all.
If you look at a tree or a mushroom or a squirrel,
it's perfectly in tune with itself.
It has no problem being exactly what it is,
and it does what it's meant to do without any complaints or problems.
Because we create all these problems in being,
we think we're somehow higher than the animals.
But it's we humans who have a difficult time
even caring for our children, or anything."
-- Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, interviewed at pitchfork.com


Have a great day,
Windy Byram Jeff Andee Jim Sadie Allan and Cup