JECK, PHILIP Stoke (Touch) cd 14.98
Compared to the recent release of the collaboration between avantgarde turntablists Philip Jeck, Otomo Yoshihide, and Martin Tetreault, Jeck's solo production receives the superior packaging job -- not only with the normal sized digipack (and not that stupid 'super jewel case') but also with the beautiful design from Touch's Jon Wozencroft. Furthermore, Jeck's album clocks in nearly 20 minutes longer and is two bucks cheaper.
OK, so it looks good, but what does it sound like?, you ask. The AQ verdict is -- it sounds wonderful! Philip Jeck's take on turntable experimentation involves using multiple turntables and scratchy old records to create blissfully beautiful surface-noise looping. His largely improvised compositions make the most gorgeous, repetitive, droning use of good old-fashioned record crackle and hiss. Jeck takes great care to allow for scraps of melody to emerge from the original music on the records with snippets of piano, sitar, and slow-motion vocals, popping out of crackled loops and often recalling the height of the Robin Storey era Zoviet France in the late '80s.
What differentiates this new album from the previous excellent ones in his ouevre is its dynamics (perhaps due to the fact that these were all live performances?) -- the music is more active in terms of the elements used and their resulting emotional power. In fact, the first track "Above" is the creepiest composition I've ever heard from Jeck. The dynamism is also evident in that he uses more individual sounds that unfold over time but *not* necessarily being looped. It's nice to hear him trusting the sounds to stand on their own rather than needing the looping effect to make them beautiful. Highly recommended!!
RealAudio clip: "Above"
RealAudio clip: "Pax"

RONDELLUS Sabbatum (Beg The Bug) cd 11.98
OK, here's an Aquarius-approved 'high concept' album, all right: Estonian medieval music group Rondellus performing covers of Ozzy-era BLACK SABBATH songs translated into Latin!!! Now *this* sounds like a Black Mass! Backed by lute, harmonium, psaltery, frame drum, bagpipe, and sundry other early instruments, Rondellus' male and female vocalists sing Latin versions of "Verres militares" ("War Pigs"), "Funambulus domesticus" ("A National Acrobat"), "Symptoma mundi" ("Symptom of the Universe"), and nine others -- it's all amazingly beautiful, and soooooo appropriate for Sabbath. Some songs are immediately recognizable, others will probably sound familiar to dedicated Sabbath fans only. Partly that's because of the unique arrangements, and partly because the songs selected for "Sabbatum" thankfully avoid (except for "War Pigs") the over-obvious: there's no "Iron Man" or "Paranoid"; indeed, instead they even picked a few less well known songs like "Junior's Eyes" and "A Hard Road" from Ozzy's last album with the Sabs, 1978's "Never Say Die"! Cool! There's plenty of variation in the instrumentation and vocal arrangements throughout the disc, and it's obvious a lot of hard work and love of Sabbath went into it. Maybe you know (another AQ-fave disc) the Atrium Musicae de Madrid's reconstruction of what ancient Greek music might have sounded like? This is along the same lines, imagining what it would have been like if Iommi/Butler/Osbourne/Ward had made church music back in the 13th century!! Rondellus' languid, haunting renditions demonstrate how timeless Sabbath's music is.
One of the best, and most original, 'tribute' records ever. Now they should go on tour with Apocalyptica (the Finnish cello quartet that does Metallica covers)!
RealAudio clip: "Oculi filioli"
RealAudio clip: "Funambulus domesticus"
RealAudio clip: "Post Aeternitatem"

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CASKET LOTTERY Survival Is For Cowards (Second Nature) cd 12.98
The Casket Lottery was borne of the mighty Coalesce, but their sound is far removed from Coalesce's pummelling metalcore. More a bizarre hybrid of emo, power pop, weird almost-prog, new wave and just balls-out rock. Huge emotive swells of thick rich chords, gorgeous harmonies (thanks to the two vocalists with similarly keening, whiny sad boy vocals, but whose voices are different enough to give the music some extra breadth), and an amazingly inventive rhythm section. Imagine a mix of Death Cab For Cutie, Appleseed Cast, Heavy Vegetable, Built To Spill, and Joy Division. Or something like that. Heartbreakingly catchy songs with heavily chorused wandering bass lines, huge, booming drum lines (with occasional dubbed out snares and clattery percussion), and guitars that wander freely between metallic crunch and wispy post rock strum, offering up delicate, chiming harmonics and driving riffage in between. This is sooooo good. Everyone who flipped for those Appleseed Cast records should definitely check this out. The Casket Lottery are like Appleseed Cast's older brother, still innocent and optimistic, but a little more well travelled and with a few more broken hearts under his belt. This record is driving in your shitty old van across country, mix tape for that girl you like, laying in the tall grass thinking about the future, getting lost in your feelings, bobbing your head and air guitaring without meaning to, finding solace for that hole in your heart, perfect pop/rock/punk/emo/whatever-you-want-to-call-it record.
RealAudio clip: "Code Red"
RealAudio clip: "The Bridge"
RealAudio clip: "Searchlights"
RealAudio clip: "Since You"

CASKET LOTTERY Survival Is For Cowards (Second Nature) lp 10.98
The Casket Lottery was borne of the mighty Coalesce, but their sound is far removed from Coalesce's pummelling metalcore. More a bizarre hybrid of emo, power pop, weird almost-prog, new wave and just balls-out rock. Huge emotive swells of thick rich chords, gorgeous harmonies (thanks to the two vocalists with similarly keening, whiny sad boy vocals, but whose voices are different enough to give the music some extra breadth), and an amazingly inventive rhythm section. Imagine a mix of Death Cab For Cutie, Appleseed Cast, Heavy Vegetable, Built To Spill, and Joy Division. Or something like that. Heartbreakingly catchy songs with heavily chorused wandering bass lines, huge, booming drum lines (with occasional dubbed out snares and clattery percussion), and guitars that wander freely between metallic crunch and wispy post rock strum, offering up delicate, chiming harmonics and driving riffage in between. This is sooooo good. Everyone who flipped for those Appleseed Cast records should definitely check this out. The Casket Lottery are like Appleseed Cast's older brother, still innocent and optimistic, but a little more well travelled and with a few more broken hearts under his belt. This record is driving in your shitty old van across country, mix tape for that girl you like, laying in the tall grass thinking about the future, getting lost in your feelings, bobbing your head and air guitaring without meaning to, finding solace for that hole in your heart, perfect pop/rock/punk/emo/whatever-you-want-to-call-it record.

EARTH Extra - Capsular Extraction (Sub Pop) cd ep 9.98
Kind of a holy grail for those who didn't pick up the long-out-of-print original version of this when it was first released, the 1991 debut cd by the Pacific Northwest's late great drone/doom masters Earth. Originals sell for big $$$ on eBay. And those who DO have one consider it an old friend. Now Sub Pop has finally got their act together (prodded by the pleas of many an Earth fan, including Allan here at AQ, who takes full credit, so you can thank him) and have reissued it at last -- this time in a jewel case instead of the mere cardboard sleeve of the original version (another triumph for Allan). The artwork is the same, though: the medical-text inspired "Postgraduate Seminars: Eye Surgery - Concepts and Problems" graphics. There's no extra tracks or anything, but the original three tracks ("A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Parts 1 & 2", "Ouroboros Is Broken") are more than enough: 32 minutes of downtuned dirge, metallic slow-motion sludge riffery that goes to extremes of low, slow heaviness that even the mighty Melvins never achieved. The lengthier, airier follow-up "Earth 2" might be Earth's masterpiece, but "Extra-Capsular" was their devastating opening act, sounding like the grand, ominous martial music meant to accompany an invasion by malevolent Underearth Dwellers. I remember when I first got this, most of my friends thought it was the most retarded record ever. Now they know better. Well, actually, they probably don't, but WE know. So recommended.
Earth on this disc consisted of mastermind Dylan Carlson (guitar/vocals) plus Dave Harwell (bass) and Joe Preston (bass/percussion). Joe of course later went on to fame and fortune in the Melvins, and later, his one man band Thrones.
Oh, and this is the Earth record that one Kurt Cobain plays on as well, which I know confused and dismayed a lot of frat/jock guys back in the day!
RealAudio clip: "Ouroboros Is Broken"

FRIDGE Eph Reissue (Temporary Residence) 2cd 12.98
So beautiful!!! The London-based trio Fridge has finally wrested back the rights to their masterpiece Eph from the evil major label and have re-released it themselves in the UK, and for the first time in the US, on Temporary Residence. Windy's hands down #1 favorite album of 1999, Eph is a flawless effort from a band that had finally found their true and rightful sound (in my opinion their earlier releases were more exploratory and too influenced by other bands). I swear to god, on Eph, Fridge destroyed every other post rock band out there. A stunning combination of dark theatrical Morricone style melodies alongside electronic and organic instrumentation, Eph swells with emotion and tasteful skills, like other postrockers Tortoise, Village of Savoonga, and the sentimental side of the Aphex Twin. The music is instrumental, layered with guitars, backed by stunning drumming that leaves out a downbeat now and then to wonderful effect, and seriously melodic. Like Tortoise, the band is totally beloved by the electronica scene yet is resolutely rock in its instrumentation and live performances, with any electronics merely functioning as embellishments to the core sound. AQ-pal and fellow Eph fan Hrvatski said of the record "The timing is perfect for someone to concoct a millenium-lullaby out of old casio beats, organ drones, phased guitars, swell loopery, and random acoustic/electric machinery; these guys have done it. Positively, absolutely destined to be 'huge', if not I'm going into hiding, deep within the earth's crust until this whole thing blows over..." Definitely for fans of the abovementioned Tortoise, Village of Savoonga, and of course Four Tet, which is a solo project of Fridge member Kieran Hebden.
The reissue also contains a second bonus disc that brings back to life the out-of-print "Kinoshita Terasaka" single and the "Of" EP, plus two previously unreleased remixes by Matt Herbert (Dr Rockit) and Viennese electronicist Patrick Pulsinger.
You *must* hear this record. I don't usually use Andee's favorite final word in my reviews, but I have to here. ESSENTIAL.
RealAudio clip: "Ark"
RealAudio clip: "Transcience"
RealAudio clip: "Yttrium"

MARKANT Vice Versa (Markant) cd 15.98
The once hyper-prolific Markant entered the IDM / electronica community with a flurry of releases, which seemed to appear with almost monthly regularity. These vinyl only releases (now all out of print) were short albums or long singles each clocking in around 35 minutes, and were often situated near the melancholic, lullaby electronica of Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada. After a brief, ill advised detour into questionable sort-of jazz-fusion (ala Squarepusher) at the end of his series of vinyl only releases, Markant has shifted his attention to more fully developed albums on cd. "Vice Versa" is his second cd release after "Ifram," firmly planted back in the aesthetics of his earliest singles with lilting electronics and whirring, cybernetic breakbeats. Markant hasn't the knack for melody and rhythm that any of the aforementioned artists have; yet he is certainly aware of his own limitations. Markant succeeds through his insistence upon the theme of repetition and difference, as he sequences tightly structured palpitations of simple melodies, ambient washes, and mechanized rhythms that by themselves would be quite uninteresting. Yet, after layering his tracks for 8 - 12 minutes and gradually shifting the parameters of those sounds, Markant crafts a sublime electronica which really does get under your skin. If you're one of the many who claim allegiance to Boards of Canada, you should certainly check this album out and allow it some time to grow on you.
RealAudio clip: "Spurwechsel"
RealAudio clip: "Vice Versa"

MORRICONE, ENNIO Danger: Diabolik (OST) (Sycodelic (M.D.W.C.G.C.G.)) cd 17.98
One of the early filmworks from Mario Bava (best known for his horror flicks), Danger: Diabolik is a spectacular, unusual and campy romp of a movie. From 1967, it's an Italian comic book come to life complete with wonderfully mad leaps of logic, a bevy of foxy ladies, and a suitably sexy musical accompaniment. Move over Batman! James Bond, step aside! You're no match for Diabolik who we should mention is no super-hero. He's a super-criminal wrapped in skin-tight black leather and latex. This soundtrack offers up a smattering of gleefully stilted dialogue snippets including Cup's fave, the "Dry up, stupid!" line, but the seemingly relentless revisiting of the main track "Deep Down"- slinkily kitten-crooned, perky horns, slow'n'wistful, sly Peter Gunn-esque and oh so many more - may quickly wear on your nerves without D:D's swoonful eye candy. FYI: Even if you've yet to see the film, you might already be familiar with its kitschful flair. Mike Patton (in Fantomas) and the Beastie Boys have both plundered this amazing film for it's seriously astounding set designs and stunningly sleek wardrobe.
RealAudio clip: "Driving Decoys"
RealAudio clip: "Criminal / Justice Solution"
RealAudio clip: "Charading Chauffeurs In Wait"
RealAudio clip: "Deep Down"
RealAudio clip: "Valmont (Underworld Don) Philosophies"
RealAudio clip: "Money Orgy"

X-RAY SPEX The Anthology (Castle) 2cd 19.98
In the last years of the seventies, X-Ray Spex, fronted by singer / songwriter Poly Styrene, were one of the most visible and artistically successful punk originals. Led by Poly Styrene who had charisma with a capital C, the British band's songs were super intense, noisy and ragged -- while simultaneously catchy, ridiculously melodic and hook-filled. Powerful, hundred-miles-an-hour drumming, wailing skronk saxophone, Poly's sandpaper yowl of a voice -- it all adds up. X-Ray Spex obviously influenced Sleater-Kinney (especially in the vocals -- if you're a SK fan you simply have to get this), as well as pretty much any grrl punk group you can think of, and, heck, a lot of male-led bands too. And along with the Raincoats and LiliPut, X-Ray Spex is THE foundation of the female vision of Punk.
Simply put, this is one of the best albums Punk ever produced (and one of Windy's all-time favorites). If you haven't already, you owe it to yourself to hear this record. YOU WILL LOVE IT.
That said, this here reissue just might turn out to be the definitive anthology of X-Ray Spex's career. There's the entirety of their Germ Free Adolescents album, and the "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!" single. And even if you have Germ Free Adolescents already, here are some plum reasons to get this double disc set: an additional ten tracks of rough mixes, instrumental versions, a song never before released, a fantastically energetic recording of their second live gig ever (1977 at the Roxy) where Poly's voice is so shot by the end of the concert that it's totally cracking (in a good way) all over "Oh Bondage! Up Yours!", and last but not least, three (quite good) songs from their 1995 reunion. Also lyrics, photos and some hard-to-read liner notes. I'm taking this home right now and seriously so should you.
RealAudio clip: "Art-I-Ficial (Rough Mix)"
RealAudio clip: "Oh Bondage! Up Yours! (live)"
RealAudio clip: "Germ Free Adolescents"
RealAudio clip: "Cigarettes"

V/A Deep Note: Music of 1970's Adult Cinema (O.S.T. Grammofonpladen) cd 14.98
Now here's a collection that's guaranteed to titilate: 40 hot and sticky tracks from 70's porn flicks. And it's all over the musical map, from tracks that sound like they could be from a lost recording of Raymond Scott's 'Soothing Sounds For Sex' to some dark hippy improv space rock a la Jackie-O Motherfucker. Then there are the standard Las Vegas grind style go-go tracks, some jazz bits, funk, and just a whole lot of songs that are really hard to imagine anything naughty being committed over. Case in point: the several tracks on this disc from the film "Diary of A Horny Housewife" in which a woman waxes poetic about her sexual fantasies while Vince Guaraldi style piano tinkles away in the background. But I guess that's the porn industry. I imagine some cheap ass producer finishes a skin flick and then, having no interest in music, just hires anyone to make some music for it with little or no direction for what would be suitable. Which isn't to say this is a bad collection. Oh Contrayer Mon Frayer! This is a truly bizarre collection of a wild variety of songs that are held together by sex. In fact, a good 25% of the tracks on here are merely dialog and another 25% at least are musical numbers with uh... err... vocals, no... Let's just call it erotic scat singing. Which brings us to fidelity. Yep, as you might imagine these tracks were most likely recorded straight from the porn tapes that featured them. So those of you looking to have a high fidelity audio orgasm are going to have to look elsewhere as this is the only way we're going to hear them aside from renting the tapes ourselves. If you're looking for information on the artists, you won't find that here either as there are no liner notes. As a consolation there are a few pretty pictures to look at in their stead. This release gets two 'thumbs' WAY up.
RealAudio clip: MAUI WOWIE "Bedtime Bongos"
RealAudio clip: ORGASMATRON 75 "Lydia's Trip"
RealAudio clip: KNIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN "Opening Scene"
RealAudio clip: DIARY OF A HORNY HOUSEWIFE "The Swingers"

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A CERTAIN RATIO Early (Soul Jazz) 2cd 17.98
A Certain Ratio, who took their name from a lyric off Brian Eno's flawless pop album Taking Tiger Mountain, began their career alongside fellow Mancunians Joy Division back in the late '70s, crafting a sound that evolved through the bleak references of punk into a groove-oriented, party-funk band by the mid-'80s. Strangely enough, the band's first ventures (including their first single "All Night Party" which is featured on this Soul Jazz compilation) were drumless, until the self-professed Funkadelic fan Donald Johnson filled in A Certain Ratio's rhythmic lack with an explosive prowess that matched the band's original proclivity for militant death disco grooves that were as good as anything on the first two Public Image Limited albums. A Certain Ratio rounded out their earliest incarnation with the eerie baritone vocals of Simon Topping, who shared more than a few of the theatrical affectations of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. Throughout the early '80s albums on Factory, Topping's vocals took a less central role, as A Certain Ratio began focusing upon the rhythmic dynamic of Jeremy Kerr's increasingly overactive use of slap bass and Johnson's explorations into jazz and Brazillian rhythms. Like Joy Division's transformation into New Order, A Certain Ratio re-created themselves within the context of the mid-'80s UK club culture.
In addition to the first disc which collects many of their best songs (although hardcore ACR fans might take issue with some of the selections), what's extra nice about this reissue are the b-sides and rarities that comprise the second disc. Those of us who missed out the first time around and are perhaps only familiar with the ACR tracks on the wonderful In the Beginning There Was Rhythm compilation will be surprised to hear that the driving dance-iness of those tracks were balanced out by the decidedly more gloomy sound typical of Joy Division's dark and angular choppiness. Far more punk than dance. Another fine case of a band's demos and rarities being a valuable good listen, instead of being collected for collectors' sake. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Do The Du"
RealAudio clip: "Choir"
RealAudio clip: "Life's A Scream"
RealAudio clip: "Touch"
RealAudio clip: "All Night Party (7" mix)"
RealAudio clip: "Knife Slits Water"

A CERTAIN RATIO Early (Soul Jazz) 2lp 19.98
A Certain Ratio, who took their name from a lyric off Brian Eno's flawless pop album Taking Tiger Mountain, began their career alongside fellow Mancunians Joy Division back in the late '70s, crafting a sound that evolved through the bleak references of punk into an groove-oriented, party-funk band by the mid-'80s. Strangely enough, the band's first ventures (including their first single "All Night Party" which is featured on this Soul Jazz compilation) were drumless, until the self-professed Funkadelic fan Donald Johnson filled in A Certain Ratio's rhythmic lack with an explosive prowess that matched the band's original proclivity for militant death disco grooves that were as good as anything on the first two Public Image Limited albums. A Certain Ratio rounded out their earliest incarnation with the eerie baritone vocals of Simon Topping, who shared more than a few of the theatrical affectations of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. Throughout the early '80s albums on Factory, Topping's vocals took a less central role, as A Certain Ratio began focusing upon the rhythmic dynamic of Jeremy Kerr's increasingly overactive use of slap bass and Johnson's explorations into jazz and Brazillian rhythms. Like Joy Division's transformation into New Order, A Certain Ratio re-created themselves within the context of the mid-'80s UK club culture.
In addition to the first disc which collects many of their best songs (although hardcore ACR fans might take issue with some of the selections), what's extra nice about this reissue are the b-sides and rarities that comprise the second disc. Those of us who missed out the first time around and are perhaps only familiar with the ACR tracks on the wonderful In the Beginning There Was Rhythm compilation will be surprised to hear that the driving dance-iness of those tracks were balanced out by the decidedly more gloomy sound typical of Joy Division's dark and angular choppiness. Far more punk than dance. Another fine case of a band's demos and rarities being a valuable good listen, instead of being collected for collectors' sake. Highly recommended!

AMBARCHI, OREN Suspension (Staubgold) 2lp 17.98
While Christian Fennesz has been very active in working with a diverse group of musicians, few of his collaborators have exhibited the likemindedness found in Sydney's tinkering guitarist Oren Ambarchi. For both Ambarchi and Fennesz, the guitar is the jumping-off point for making ultimately electronic music. Within the oblique electric shards of Fennesz' "Endless Summer," the jangling strum of his guitar is certainly heard; likewise, a gentle plucking from Ambarchi's guitar still resonates through his work, despite all of the processing. "Suspension" is Ambarchi's second recording for Touch, and stands miles above his previous album "Insulation." Citing Lucier as an influence (though much more in terms of tonality than methodology, as Lucier is far more interested in the execution of a system than Ambarchi), he has transformed the guitar into a strangely archaic tone generator that chimes with the color of a well weathered bell.
This beautiful record has been licensed from Touch to Staubgold for release on vinyl, which gets a couple of bonus remix treatments from the likes of Jim O'Rourke, Phill Niblock, Brendan Walls, and Micahel J. Schumacher.
RealAudio clip: "Vogler"
RealAudio clip: "This Evening So Soon"
RealAudio clip: "Gene"

ARCTURUS The Sham Mirrors (Ad Astra Enterprises) cd 13.98
They'rrrrre back! Norway's archetypal artsy "post-black metal" supergroup, featuring members of Ulver, Mayhem, and more. We thought they'd broken up after 1998's peak of bizarreness, "La Masquerade Infernale", as all we'd heard from them since then was a (supposedly) posthumous remix disc, the weird and wonderful "Disguised Masters". But no, apparently the 21st century got them going again, and here's a new album, a 2002 space odyssey full of more of their unclassifable art-rock meets black metal meets electronica hybrid! Basically, imagine Emperor trying their hand at "OK Computer", or late-period Faith No More pretending to make a Dimmu Borgir album.
One of the main figures in Arcturus (you may know) is Garm from Ulver (he's also boss of the amazing Jester label, current home to Ulver, When, Rotoscope, Bogus Blimp, Single Unit, Origami Galaktika, etc.) who is responsible for "voices of ghosts and monkeys and general manipulation" and lyrics. His songwriting partner Steinar Sverd Johnsen handles keyboards and composes the music. Out of the rest of the Arcturus lineup, "Lords of Chaos" readers will also recognize Hellhammer (of Mayhem and about a million other Nordic metal outfits) on "drums and flames". The band is rounded out by "high guitar rider" Knut M. Valle and "low guitar driver" Dag F. Gravem. Emperor's Ihsahn contributes "spitting voice" on one track as well.
Together these guys meld majestic keys, blasting drums, soaring vocals, melodic piano runs, rasping screams, and electronic atmospheres into what can only be described as Arcturus music. It's similar to "La Masquerade", but what seems new is how catchy and poppy some of this is. But, at the same time it's also quite metal indeed. Dark and heavy, not allowing the keyboards to overpower the guitars. And, after the gangsta rap and drum and bass remixes found on "Disguised Masters", this record seems almost normal! That is, if you can consider bombastic sci-fi metallic prog pop 'normal'. I guess it is, in the more advanced universe Garm and company inhabit. Brilliant!
RealAudio clip: "Kinetic"
RealAudio clip: "Nightmare Heaven"
RealAudio clip: "Ad Absurdum"

ATOMIC BITCHWAX, THE Spit Blood (Meteor City) 2cd 13.98
So we really liked the last few Atomic Bitchwax records. Member of Monster Magnet busts out and does a record of guitar wanker stoner rock. Sounds good. So what's wrong with the new one? Not sure exactly. It's just sort of flat. Sort of pointless. And there's some seriously bad vocals. Oh and then there's the cover of AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds.' Bad. Well, not bad, just the same as the original. I mean sure it's fun to play, but why listen to a sort-of-the-same-version when you could just throw on the real thing. And why in god's name put it first on the record?! Anyway, if you're in need of even more stoner rock, or need a Monster Magnet fix, and your standards aren't super high, go for it, otherwise, check out 500 Ft. Of Pipe or Spiritual Beggars or Roachpowder or some of the other killer stoner metal we've listed in the past.
Does come with a bonus cd, pretty cool Meteor City label sampler, chock full of, you guessed it, stoner rock.

BANANAFISH Issue #16 (Tedium House) magazine 10.98
Latest issue of beloved confusional music magazine Bananfish, that more often that not, is the only magazine that covers mostly folks we've never heard (of). This time is no different:
Robert Dayton - Canadian extrovert comic, Halim El-Dabh - selected exerpts from Denise Seachrist's upcoming biography, Paul Winstanley- New Zealand electroacoustic improvisor, AQ fave, Swedish electroacoustician Leif Elggren, fiction by Roger Pinnell, and tons of art/reviews. As well as a cd with exclusive tracks from Leif Elggren, Lateral Agriculture Order, Repeat, July Fourth Toilet, JDP Trio, Oren Ambarchi, Canned Hamm, Rosy Parlane, Dion Workman and Halim El-Dabh/Mike Hovancsek.

BANKS, DARRELL Is Here! (Sepia Tone) cd 13.98
Darrell Banks was a great, if obscure, soul singer whose too-short career started in the mid '60s and ended abruptly with his death in 1970. In that time he sadly only released two albums and seven singles of beautiful soul music in the vein of groups on the Stax records roster. This Sepia Tone collection isn't super-lengthy, but it's still exciting to be exposed to good ol' soul that's new to you (me at least) just when you thought you'd heard it all.
RealAudio clip: "I've Got that Feelin'"
RealAudio clip: "I'm Gonna Hang My Head and Cry"

BEIGE Ein Konigreich Fur Eine Handgranate (Nonplace) cd 15.98
If it hasn't happened already, Beige is likely to receive accolades from somebody like ArtForum or some other dinosaur institution desperately seeking a connection with what's 'hip' by claiming allegiance with electronica. Beige makes electronica that should be talked about and not heard; it's funky but only as a representation of funk. There's absolutely no soul, no sensuality... just ones and zeros that try to fool you into thinking that it's funky to have a sample of a wah-wah guitar or a Timbaland break. This is music to get your groove on while debating the principles of the Frankfurt School of Post-Modern thought.
RealAudio clip: "What Hat"

BERROCAL, JACQUE / DOMINIQUE COSTER / ROGER FERLET Musiq Musik (Fractal) cd 16.98
Originally released in 1973 in France by Futura Records via their SON series (which also included the wonderful "Tacet" by Jean Guerin. Futura also released otherworldly tripped-outness from the likes of Red Noise and Mahogany Brain). Recorded between '71 and '72, "Musiq Musik" saw Berrocal's introduction of his Musik Ensemble on record, combining gamelan and free jazz splendour with restraint and droneful grace. An amalgamation of eastern instrumentation (bells, Tibetan shells as well as various percussion and wind instruments), western instrumentation (just some horns), and just plain wacky instrumentation (ropes, balloons, explosives (!)), the music itself is an imaginative, lyrical journey into the landscape of the mind.

BIRDTREE, THE Orchards and Caravans (Jewelled Antler) cd-r 9.98
Glenn Donaldson has been incredibly active lately in a number of San Francisco psychedelic / improv outfits (all with records out on the local Jewelled Antler cd-r label), including Thuja, the Knit Separates, the Blithe Sons, the Sky Green Leopards, Youth Souvenir, and now the Birdtree. To him, each of these bands is a separate entity with its own distinct personality and with its own cast of characters. Before anything is put to tape, Donaldson has mapped out the internal logic of what each band should sound like, what the artwork should be, and what it should be called. It is as if he were working backwards, populating these ephemeral elements of music with all of the appropriate chords and sounds. The Birdtree is no exception as a band that continues to explore the expressive guitar melodies which Donaldson brings to the Knit Separates and the Skygreen Leopards; but in pursuit of a far more pensive and melancholic sound. To achieve this, Donaldson kept the Birdtree mostly for himself, occasionally accompanied by fellow Mirza / Thuja member Steven R. Smith. In this first incarnation of the Birdtree, Donaldson creates a mysterious set of songs that range from sketches for field recordings and indeterminant drones to majestic psychedelia with repetitive organ riffs, bowed oud, spectral guitar riffs, and Donaldson's distant, wistful vocals. The Birdtree is a haunting record, similar to Village of Savoonga, Graeme Jefferies, Richard Youngs-like finger picking, and even some of the Harvester / Parson Sound recordings. While there is something nice and personal about the handmade quality of this CD-R label, Jewelled Antler needs to be heard on a much broader level. This stuff is just too good not to be heard!
RealAudio clip: "Animals Of The Summit"
RealAudio clip: "Everyone Of Us A New Leaf"
RealAudio clip: "Raven Returns / The Uppermost Forest"

BOUNTY KILLER Next Millennium (TVT) cd 17.98
Released in 1998 by TVT records, Next Millennium is yet another record that is part of that new breed of dancehall which has almost more in common with hip hop than reggae. The production is filled with breakbeats and scratching and if that isn't enough it features cameos from Noreaga, Mob Deep and Killa Priest.
RealAudio clip: "Next Millennium"

BUCKNOR, SEGUN Poor Man Get No Brother (AfroStrut ) cd 17.98
AfroStrut continues to mine the depths of Nigerian music history to demonstrate that all that came out of Lagos was not just Fela. Keyboardist Segun Bucknor, who had been included on the 'Nigeria 70' compilation, gets the spotlight with an entire disc of material recorded in the 70's. Like Fela, Segun had begun his recording career in the 60's playing in high life bands in Nigeria's fertile post-independance climate and by 1966 he began putting together his own bands. His first, The Soul Assembly, played mostly covers of American and British pop and no recordings apparently were made during this period. But towards the end of the sixties Nigerian groups were actively trying to separate themselves from the sounds of the west and create a new defining sound of Lagos. In 1968 Bucknor dropped "Soul" from his group's name and began forging his own sound. The tracks on this disc are all taken from recordings made between 1969 and 1975 by both "The Assembly" and the following incarnation "The Revolution". Unfortunately, comparisons to Fela are nearly unavoidable regardless of how much anyone else in the Lagos scene contributed to his sound. Like Fela, Bucknor's songs are founded on a persistent ostinato from the drums, bass and guitar over which, when there's no singing, either organ or saxophone can solo. Unlike Fela however, much of the tracks here extremely brief and average 3 and a half minutes, which Bucknor explains in the liner notes as being a requirement forced upon the musicians in the recording studio. So unfortunately, with the shorter songs you get a lot of arbitrary fade outs. It's a bit of a bummer because it seems to undermine the minimalist effect that works so well in a long song: holding the rhythm section to one pattern, only to switch it up ten minutes into the song. Despite all that the tracks on here are still quite nice and a few longer (between 9 and 12 minutes) tracks give you an idea of the way they might have been played live and not under such rigid studio constraints.
RealAudio clip: "Smoke"
RealAudio clip: "You Killing Me"

BUCKNOR, SEGUN Poor Man Get No Brother (AfroStrut ) lp 19.98
AfroStrut continues to mine the depths of Nigerian music history to demonstrate that all that came out of Lagos was not just Fela. Keyboardist Segun Bucknor, who had been included on the 'Nigeria 70' compilation, gets the spotlight with an entire disc of material recorded in the 70's. Like Fela, Segun had begun his recording career in the 60's playing in high life bands in Nigeria's fertile post-independance climate and by 1966 he began putting together his own bands. His first, The Soul Assembly, played mostly covers of American and British pop and no recordings apparently were made during this period. But towards the end of the sixties Nigerian groups were actively trying to separate themselves from the sounds of the west and create a new defining sound of Lagos. In 1968 Bucknor dropped "Soul" from his group's name and began forging his own sound. The tracks on this disc are all taken from recordings made between 1969 and 1975 by both "The Assembly" and the following incarnation "The Revolution". Unfortunately, comparisons to Fela are nearly unavoidable regardless of how much anyone else in the Lagos scene contributed to his sound. Like Fela, Bucknor's songs are founded on a persistent ostinato from the drums, bass and guitar over which, when there's no singing, either organ or saxophone can solo. Unlike Fela however, much of the tracks here extremely brief and average 3 and a half minutes, which Bucknor explains in the liner notes as being a requirement forced upon the musicians in the recording studio. So unfortunately, with the shorter songs you get a lot of arbitrary fade outs. It's a bit of a bummer because it seems to undermine the minimalist effect that works so well in a long song: holding the rhythm section to one pattern, only to switch it up ten minutes into the song. Despite all that the tracks on here are still quite nice and a few longer (between 9 and 12 minutes) tracks give you an idea of the way they might have been played live and not under such rigid studio constraints.

CADAVERIA The Shadows' Madame (Scarlet) cd 14.98
This Italian metal band is hard to figure out: visually, they look kinda Marilyn Manson-eque with big boots, devil-locks and black vinyl trenchcoats. So we expected some sort of vampire industrial goth thing, maybe with female vocals...well it's got female vocals, but not your usual variety! This band actually plays a weird hybrid of mid-tempo pounding black metal and catchy classical/folk riffage. Singer Cadaveria (ex-Opera IX) teamed up with members of Italian black thrashers Necrodeath for this new band that combines her unique vocals (a melodic but throaty rasp, sometimes venturing into sweeter, higher register) with majestic riffs on keyboard and guitar that really sound like Slough Feg or Hammers of Misfortune parts. Way more "heavy metal" than we'd expected at first glance. And way more original, fully of tricky twists you won't expect. We like! A kick ass surprise metal discovery for sure.
RealAudio clip: "Circle Of Eternal Becomings"
RealAudio clip: "Black Glory"

CALE, JOHN Vintage Violence (Columbia) cd 12.98
This is John Cale's first Solo recording, digitally remastered and with 2 bonus tracks. Originally released in 1970, this record was recorded shortly after Cale left the Velvet Underground to strike out on his own musically (away from Lou Reed mostly) and to produce other artists like Nico. The first few tracks on this record sound almost like they could be from some obscure Elephant 6 band, with howling throaty Neutral Milk Hotel-ish vocals over quirky sixties/seventies off kilter pop. As the record progresses it begins to show it's age a little more, reminding us more of Brian Eno or maybe Jonathan Richman.
RealAudio clip: "Gideon's Bible"
RealAudio clip: "Hello, There"

CARUSO Titles Are For Babies (Crustaceans and Reptiles) 7" 4.50
One of the niftier 7"s to pass through the store in quite a while is the work of Caruso, a young North Carolinian with his first release on the promising UK label Crustaceans and Reptiles. "Titles Are For Babies" is a quick excursion through a number of ecstatic avant-pop jingles, some only a couple of seconds long, others a couple of minutes, each picking some of the more interesting production techniques and effervescent songwriting signatures of Badly Drawn Boy, "Stars On ESP" era His Name Is Alive (whom Caruso covers), Elf Power, and Phil Spector. Certainly a very nice precursor to his pending debut on Pickled Egg in the upcoming months!

CHATHAM, RHYS A Rhys Chatham Compendium (Table of the Elements) cd 15.98
There are many reasons why somebody needs to smack some sense into Table Of The Elements, with this compendium of Rhys Chatham's work being simply the latest episode of marketing blunders. Sometime in the future, Table Of The Elements has plans to release a 3CD box set of Rhys Chatham's compositions of rock-as-minimalism for multiple guitar symphonies, a fusionist strategy also explored by Chatham's contemporary / doppleganger Glenn Branca. And that boxset is scheduled to have a huge booklet with essays by Chatham, Lee Ranaldo, and Tony Conrad, as well as artwork by Robert Longo. All of this sounds enticing, but until that day (which may never come after how long it took Table Of The Elements to complete the Captain Beefheart series), all we can offer from Chatham is this overpriced, condensed version of the boxset. Groan. Oh, and supposedly this has a track that *won't* be on the alleged box set. Smack!

DEBRIS Static Disposal (Anopheles Records) lp 16.98
The lp re-issue (after a cd reish a couple years ago) of one of those albums collectors would trade their first born for. Gladly. This is head-damaged, heavy Oklahoma psych-punk circa 1975, predating the Butthole Surfers by a solid decade but with the same references to Captain Beefheart and the Red Crayola. Not too many bands in the '70s sounded much like this, with maybe Pere Ubu, the Electric Eels and Simply Saucer being the closest comparisons we can make. "Static Disposal" was also one of the rarities on the notorious Nurse With Wound list! Recommended.

DESTROY ALL MONSTERS Swamp Gas (The End Is Here) cd 14.98
New recordings from Detroit's legendary Destroy All Monsters, recorded between 1998 and 2001. Less rock and more sound art pieces, some utilizing vocal tracks (from master tapes!) of Sun Ra and samples from Masaya Nakahara (aka Violent Onsen Geisha). Also contributing to the freak scene: Warn Defever (His Name Is Alive), Matt Smith, Erika Hoffman, Marnie Weber and Anneke Auer. Special packaging (read: annoying) in a large baggie with mini newspaper "The Swamp Gas Gazette", and original polaroid.

DONNIE DARKO (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) (Elgonix) cd 17.98
Easily one of, if not THE, best movies of 2001. Dark and beautiful and sad and haunting and creepy as fuck. Saw it right after Lynch's 'Mulholland Drive' and it was so much better. Next to 'Donnie Darko', 'Mulholland Drive' was like a hard up college kid's crappy student film. I can't believe that sort of faux-surrealism and those hokey special effects still have people freaking out about David Lynch. Anyway, 'Donnie Darko' is a gorgeously surreal, sort-of-horror film, sort-of-coming-of-age-film, with tender awkward teen romance, family tragedy, alienated youth, and with some time travel and a giant demon-faced bunny thrown in for good measure. So beautiful and tender, but genuinely frightening at the same time. And much of the mood is owed to the amazing score. A dark mix of rumbling drones and melancholy piano, wispy minor key song fragments, atonal musique concrete, and a totally soul stirring, heartbreaking, and eerie version of Tears For Fears' eighties classic 'Mad World' (you know the one: '...the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had...'). In fact most of the soundtrack (outside the score) is made up of songs by Tears For Fears, Joy Division and Echo And The Bunnymen, none of which, sadly, are included here. But the score and the reworked 'Mad World' are enough to make this a must own. Also includes an alternate mix of 'Mad World' with skittery lo-fi drum machine that actually works pretty well, giving it a sort of Portishead vibe. Like the movie, WAY recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Mad World "
RealAudio clip: "Gretchen Ross"
RealAudio clip: "Ensurance Trap"
RealAudio clip: "The Artifact and Living"

DRECOJECAI, PETROS Mistaken Receptions (Petros Drecojecai Archives) cd-r 10.98
According to the liner notes, written in (intentionally?) broken English, Petros Drecojecai was a would be anthropologist visiting California from Hungary in the mid 1990's. Drecojecai spent much of his spare time in between conferences listening to and recording what he thought were American talk radio programs but were in fact cordless phone transmissions of his neighbors that he was picking up. The excited and naive Drecojecai sent a cassette back to his native Hungary for his colleagues to listen to and now, years later, it has found its way back to our fair state in it the form of a cd-r. Claims to the validity of this account aside, 'Mistaken Receptions' is still quite the anthropological document. From banal accounts of toothaches to get rich schemes involving putting things in one's butt, there's a wealth of strange calls here that will satisfy both the voyeur as well as the connoisseur of found sounds and field recordings. While generally not longer than a few minutes each (some tracks are well under a minute) the random snatches of life give one enough information to start asking questions like: "Are these two a couple? Why don't they know one another's pager numbers then? What's he doing in her house? Why did smoking pot make him feel better?" Diet tips, sex tips, court tips, junkie poets, stripping, reading the riot act to would be boyfriends, and much more. It's all you ever / never wanted to hear and more.
RealAudio clip: "$500 A Night"
RealAudio clip: "Some Authority"
RealAudio clip: "In The Sink"

EA 11'00 (Drone Records) 7" 6.50
Drone Records -- run by Stefan Knappe of Troum and Maeror Tri -- exclusively produces seven inches mostly by emerging artists who specialize in expressive drone work (hence the label name). While there is something to be said for Drone's dedication to unknown artists, the work that comes from the ongoing series tends to be some of the best work from each of the artists' respective catalogues. This definitely includes more familiar names such as Reynols (with their infamous '10,000 Chicken Symphony'), Francisco Lopez, Spear, and Osso Exotico; but also lesser known artists such as Klood and Tarkatak. Drone tends to make small runs of these singles (usually about 250 copies and with handmade covers) and they always go fast.
EA is a Polish artist who only has a couple of cd-r releases under his belt, but has succeeded in developing a very nice amorphous version of late '80s Zoviet France, albeit without Robin Storey's trademarked looping structures. "11'00" is a delicate strain of manipulated feedback that complements a battery of distant gongs, extended guitar tones, and reverberated textural scrapings. Nice.

EDDIE THE RAT Food For the Moon Too Soon (Entarte Kunst) cd 9.98
Eddie The Rat is a 12 piece art-rock / choral ensemble from San Francisco, arriving at a sloppy psychedelic ceremonial music and with plenty of post-industrial / Burning Man / San Francisco 'Fringe' overtones and purposefully oblique verbal conundrums and anagrams. This album - recorded live at Artist's Television Access in 2001 - was one of the band's first incarnations. Eddie The Rat has a lot of good ideas that come out of the massive interaction, but occasionally come across as being too calculated in their 'weirdness' as if they want to get a redundant critical response such as, "Eddie The Rat is like Fellini on acid, or Hendrix on acid, or Zappa on acid." Given a little bit of guidance and a sympathetic producer, this band could turn into something as cool as those fucked-up psychedelic projects on ESP like Cro-Magnon or Godz, but they haven't quite gotten there yet.
RealAudio clip: "Waiting For (Ain't Never Gonna Get) Enlightenment..."

EHLERS, EKKEHARD Plays Hubert Fichte (Staubgold) lp 13.98
Supposedly, this is Ekkehard Ehlers' finale in the "Plays" series of tributes / homages, a disparate grouping of artists which has previously included Albert Ayler, Cornelius Cardew, and John Cassavettes, and rounds out with the German beat poet Hubert Fichte. Where those previous releases had been dominated by ephemeral drone work with refinied patinas of digital corrosion, this album curiously sounds like Pole doing free jazz, with erratic squiggles of granular synthesized saxophone and really lazy strums from a guitar seeping up from electronically sculpted metallic haze. Even those slowly developed basslines which Pole plops into his neo-dub show up in "Plays Hubert Fichte" although Ehlers disregards Pole's structuralism in favor of an amorphous improvisation of deep hovering movements. An odd record.

ELECTRONICAT Birds Want To Have Fun (angelika koehlermann) cd 16.98
On his fourth long player, Frenchman Fred Bigot has refined his unique style of psychedelic electropunk to excess. Gnarly analog synths rigged with loads of distortion are coupled with hard-as-fuck 808 shuffle rhythms and ripples of wah wah guitar. Imagine the songs of T-Rex as performed by Wolfgang Voigt or Marco Haas with traces of The Normal and Suicide, and sonic sensibilities akin to Panasonic and COH. So raw and simple, yet engaging and incredibly infectious. Also features guest vocals by G.D. Luxxe (aka Gerhard Potuznik, of Cheap/Mego fame, producer for many Chicks On Speed tracks). This shit is so glitter, Rodney's English Disco just might have to open up again.

ELEPHANT MAN Log On (Greensleeves) cd 14.98
With an album title like "Log On" you know that Elephant Man wants to let his audience know that he's still on the cutting edge... er, maybe. But this 2001 release does seem to follow in the trend of many rising stars in dancehall by working in a hip hop flavor into their productions. This newest album from Elephant Man hesitates from committing completely to the hip hop sound and the production here seems to be divided about 60 / 40 between dancehall and hip hop production aesthetics. The success of the album itself rests at around 50 / 50 good and bad. The biggest problem with the album is that it's just too damn long. I know it has probably been said before, but another great thing about the LP was that it limited just how much material an artist could put on their album without having to dish out for a double LP. Once technology allowed for the 80 minute CD it seems that everyone feels obliged to fill up that space. This disc, clocking in at just under 77 minutes, could probably been cut down to pretty tight 40 minute album. They could probably cut about 15 minutes off the album merely by trimming off every single "You Know!" uttered by Mr. Elephant Man. Though maybe just taking out the tracks with the circus calliope style melodies would be good enough. But along with cameos by Spragga Benz, Ricky Rudy, Buju Banton, Ward 21 and more, there's still a lot of good edgy, gruff and wheezy toasting on both dancehall and breakbeats.
RealAudio clip: "Warrior Cause"
RealAudio clip: "Yuh A War"
RealAudio clip: "Anything-A-Anything"

ELEPHANT MAN Log On (Greensleeves) lp 12.98
With an album title like "Log On" you know that Elephant Man wants to let his audience know that he's still on the cutting edge... er, maybe. But this 2001 release does seem to follow in the trend of many rising stars in dancehall by working in a hip hop flavor into their productions. This newest album from Elephant Man hesitates from committing completely to the hip hop sound and the production here seems to be divided about 60 / 40 between dancehall and hip hop production aesthetics. The success of the album itself rests at around 50 / 50 good and bad. The biggest problem with the album is that it's just too damn long. I know it has probably been said before, but another great thing about the LP was that it limited just how much material an artist could put on their album without having to dish out for a double LP. Once technology allowed for the 80 minute CD it seems that everyone feels obliged to fill up that space. This disc, clocking in at just under 77 minutes, could probably been cut down to pretty tight 40 minute album. They could probably cut about 15 minutes off the album merely by trimming off every single "You Know!" uttered by Mr. Elephant Man. Though maybe just taking out the tracks with the circus calliope style melodies would be good enough. But along with cameos by Spragga Benz, Ricky Rudy, Buju Banton, Ward 21 and more, there's still a lot of good edgy, gruff and wheezy toasting on both dancehall and breakbeats.

FLY PAN AM, LE Ceux Qui Inventent N'ont Jamais Vecu(?) (Constellation) cd 14.98
Beginning in a more than minimal, airy fashion, Le Fly Pan Am's new album swiftly breaks into a clamorous funky groove. Their cyclical bass and guitar lines gradually give way to hypnotic woodblocky tic-toc rhythms and circuit crunching fuckery which then boils up into a frantic snowballing together. And that's just the second track. From there, these Quebecois lads take us through a brief claustrophobic drone into more rounds of driving krautrock repetition and considerably more gentle and loping post-post-rock jams. Sounding much more wanky and clanky in their sonic explorations of repetition than we remember from their self-titled debut and Sedatif En Frequences Et Sillons follow-up. It has been quite a while since those releases and it sounds as though they've taken their fair share of odd twists and turns in that time. Building up and tearing down their sounds, experimenting more with digital and music concrete elements, but still distinctly of that Constellation Records / Montreal, Quebec collective sound. I'm just not quite sure if it all works this time around.
RealAudio clip: "Rompre L'indifference De L'inexitable Avant Que..."
RealAudio clip: "La Vie Se Doit D'etre Vecue Ou Commencons A Vivre"

FLY PAN AM, LE Ceux Qui Inventent N'ont Jamais Vecu(?) (Constellation) lp 13.98
Beginning in a more than minimal, airy fashion, Le Fly Pan Am's new album swiftly breaks into a clamorous funky groove. Their cyclical bass and guitar lines gradually give way to hypnotic woodblocky tic-toc rhythms and circuit crunching fuckery which then boils up into a frantic snowballing together. And that's just the second track. From there, these Quebecois lads take us through a brief claustrophobic drone into more rounds of driving krautrock repetition and considerably more gentle and loping post-post-rock jams. Sounding much more wanky and clanky in their sonic explorations of repetition than we remember from their self-titled debut and Sedatif En Frequences Et Sillons follow-up. It has been quite a while since those releases and it sounds as though they've taken their fair share of odd twists and turns in that time. Building up and tearing down their sounds, experimenting more with digital and music concrete elements, but still distinctly of that Constellation Records / Montreal, Quebec collective sound. I'm just not quite sure if it all works this time around.

FREESTYLE FELLOWSHIP Shockadoom (Whig Music) cd 14.98
Freestyle Fellowship's legendary status was carved out in the early and mid-nineties when the Southern California outfit made such amazing records as Innercity Griots and To Whom It May Concern. Then they broke up. Then they got back together and recorded these eight lean 'n mean cuts which are only now, in 2002, seeing the light of day. And then they broke up again and got back together *again* for the Temptation album (thumbs down).
Anyway, this is prime Fellowship territory, with simple chopped up melodies and spare beats backing up the unbelievably deft rhyming of Aceyalone, Jupiter, Mikah 9, and Peace. Very good, much better than most of the hip hop coming out these days, including the underground stuff.
RealAudio clip: "Can You Find..."
RealAudio clip: "Freestyle Acapella"

FURUDATE, TETSUO / ZBIGNIEW KARKOWSKI World As Will II (23Five) cd 12.98
Tetsuo Furudate and Zbigniew Karkowski have released their second collaboration under the banner of "World As Will" as an homage to the 19th century thinker Arthur Schopenhauer, whose philosophical principles had been spelled out most thoroughly within a four volume set of the same title. Schopenhauer purported that the world was understood through the objectification of the will; thus positioning the will itself as the ultimate source for reality and its creation. If each individual shapes their desires and understandings through the force of will, then social relationships are based upon a network of self-centered acts; thus, human suffering is not symptomatic but inherent to society as a whole. For Schopenhauer, morality is the denial of the force of will, and should be eschewed in favor of the will as the primal creative force even at the inevitable price of existential pessimism.
The Furudate / Karkowski collaborations (an album on Staalplaat and this record published by 23Five) have certainly followed Schopenhauer's fundamentals, with the creation of a violent, masculine, and ultimately tragic orchestrations as actions purely guided by edicts of the will. While based upon live arrangements for big horns, discordant strings, and timpani (in part composed by Karkowski and in part sampled from Wagner), the two offer a punishing collage in which the orchestral sounds spiral downward into brutal stabs of molten digital noise. "World As Will II" may lack some of the loud / quiet dynamics of the first volume, but the two more than make up for it in unrelenting intensity that falls between the totalitarian critiques of Laibach and the sonic bloodletting of Hermann Nitsch. A very difficult album.
RealAudio clip: "Part 1"
RealAudio clip: "Part 2"

GOEM Gast (Abri) cd 14.98
At one time, Goem seemed like a great idea - a bunch of Musique Concrete informed post-industrialists trying their hand at Pan Sonic style minimalist techno. For a couple of releases, it worked quite well; but "Gast" proves how incredibly limited Goem have become with their project, and how boring the microsound community has become as a whole. This album is a collection of remixes / collaborations between Goem and other artists who contributed to the yearly Mutek festival of experimental electronics in Montreal. For the most part, each of the artists (including Taylor Deupree, Richard Chartier, Mikael Stavostrand, Matmos, Mitchell Akiyama, Richard di Santo, and I8U) propose their remix / collaborations as an exact copy of the sheer boredom of Goem's pitifully miniscule, unwavering techno pulsations. Even Matmos - who should know better than this type of crap - just offer a minute and a half of indifferent static. A big disappointment.
RealAudio clip: "Second Walk (Taylor Deupree Remix)"

GRAND MAGUS s/t (The Music Cartel) cd 12.98
Stoner metal fans might already know this trio from the split 7" they did with fellow Swedes Spiritual Beggars that was released a while back on Southern Lord. Now, The Music Cartel presents their self-titled full-length debut, a heavy, bluesy stoner rock album that breaks no new ground but does what it does quite well. It's kinda in the Spirit Caravan mold, but with more of a Southern rock vibe. So far, a second stringer, but with potential. Their singer JB, with his classic if cliched American-sounding blues-rock pipes, is also now the new lead singer for Spiritual Beggars.
RealAudio clip: "Gauntlet"

HAWTIN, RICHIE DE9: Closer To The (R)Edit (Minus Inc.) 10" 8.98
Now available on vinyl, in a condensed, editted form.
Richie Hawtin (aka Plastikman) really wants you to know the concept behind this album. So, in his own words, here it is: "After recording, sampling, cutting and splicing over 100 tracks down to their most basic components, I ended up with a collection of over 300 loops, ranging from 1 note to 4 bars. I then started to recreate and reinterpret each track, putting the pieces back together as if an audio jigsaw puzzle -- using effects and edits as the glue in between each piece. This represents what those loops became and how their interactions created something that had not existed before."
Well, not exactly.
In reconstructing his decontructed history of Detroit / Berlin techno, Hawtin hasn't really "created something which had not existed before" as much as he's stated the obvious: the techno rhythm is wholly interchangeable. There, of course, are differences amongst the work of Wolfgang Voigt, Carl Craig, Maurizio, Stewart Walker, and Richie Hawtin... but their use of techno's rhythm is all virtually identical. Thus, in cutting all of those tracks down to a near molecular level (where the sampled sounds don't much opportunity to manifest their uniqueness), Hawtin is purposefully not emphasizing techno's aesthetic individuality, but its ultimate uniformity. So, Hawtin's "DE9: Closer To The Edit" may technically be something new, but it really sounds exactly like what techno should sound like -- big 909 or 808 four-on-the-floor drum kicks with tight cybernetic arpeggiations.
This is NOT a slight against this record, it's just that Hawtin has failed in achieving his lofty goals, BUT Hawtin has created a really great techno record, sounding just like Jeff Mills' "X-103" or his previous "Decks, EFX, and 909."

HIGH ON FIRE The Art of Self Defense (Tee Pee Records) cd 15.98
The demise of Man's Ruin was a big blow to the stoner rock scene, weeding (ha) out some crappy bands, to be sure, but also rendering some worthy albums out of print. Thankfully, in the case of San Francsico's favorite potsmoking doomsters High On Fire, Tee Pee Records has stepped in to rescue their debut album from oblivion. They first put it out on vinyl, and now, with HoF's sophomore release "Surrounded By Thieves" about to come out on Relapse (May 28th), have reissued it on cd as well! Like the LP version, this includes two new bonus tracks ("Steel Shoe" and a cover of Celtic Frost's "The Usurper") and boasts new (better) cover art courtesy of the Roger Dean of the stoner rock scene, Arik Moonhawk Roper. It's also a digipak now. Otherwise, what we had to say about the Man's Ruin version of "The Art of Self Defense" still holds true:
The Bay Area's slowest, heaviest, potsmokin'est doom metal combo Sleep (RIP) lives on in the form of ex-Sleep guitarist/vocalist Matt Pike's new band High On Fire. Sleep's last album, the infamous "Jerusalem", consisted of but one, super-long super-slow track. High On Fire speeds things up a bit (only a bit) but maintains the heaviness and the trademark Sleep sound. Right on.
RealAudio clip: "Steel Shoe"

HIGH RISE Destination: The Best Of High Rise (PSF / Tokuma) cd 19.98
You wanna hear some in-the-red, ultra-distorto, psychedelic speed freak rock n' roll? If you love it loud and crazy, this legendary Japanese band can't be beat. Led by bassist/vocalist Asahito Nanjo (also of Mainliner, Musica Transonic, and many other bands) and motorpsycho guitarist Nunehiro Narita, Tokyo's capital-P-Power-trio High Rise has been bashing out their primal garage fuzz attack (somewhere betwixt Blue Cheer and the Stooges, but faster) since the mid-80s! They're the missing link between Guitar Wolf and Fushitsusha. This new best of collection (for Japanese major Tokuma) includes 9 remastered album tracks spanning the years 1986-2001, along with their cut "Mainliner" from the Tokyo Flashback 2 compilation, and two previously unavailable tracks (studio version of "Live" fave "Ikon" and also the previously unrecorded new song "Heavenly Power"). Total blown-out rock action, ranging from short, under-a-couple-minute blasts to extended guitar freakouts in the ten minute range. This would definitely be a good place to start if you haven't yet heard this band, although the domestically available cds "High Rise 2" and "Live" could also do the trick. Or, if you've just got those, this disc will catch you up on some of the best of their other stuff from such albums as "Dispersion", "Desperado", and "Psychobomb".
RealAudio clip: "Popsicle"

HUNDRED SIGHTS OF KOENJI s/t (God Mountain) cd 19.98
This amazing 1994 debut by Ruins side-project Koenjihyakkei (aka Hundred Sights of Koenji) is supposedly out of print, but miraculously back in stock! We're not sure if it's actually been repressed or if somebody just found a hidden cache of these in a warehouse somewhere, but either way we're happy (and suggest you get 'em while you can)!
If you're familiar with the Magma-obssessed Tokyo bass and drums duo Ruins, imagine them becoming EVEN MORE Magma-obsessed and adding female vocalist/keyboardist and a guitar player (actually, adding a bass player, as the Ruins bass player switched to guitar for this). This uber-Ruins quartet then wrote a bunch of insane, gorgeous prog rock tunes (or, in one case, adapted a traditional Bulgarian one) and play them to dazzling perfection. The French '70s prog band we keep mentioning (Magma) were insane, but not quite this heavy or hyper. If you like Ruins and/or Magma and/or weird prog music, you might want to get this if you haven't already. Probably the best of Koenjikhyakkei's three albums, which are all pretty cool ("II" being out of print still, though).
RealAudio clip: "Doi Doi"
RealAudio clip: "Yagonahh"
RealAudio clip: "Zhess"

IMPERIAL TEEN On (Merge) cd 14.98
Imperial Teen are back from their major label excursion and now grace Merge Records with this cd filled with poppy, catchy songs, some with Clinic-like danciness. This is their best record by far. The melodies and harmonies get stuck in my head and are deceivingly sweet, being that some of the lyrics are biting and harsh. It's good, they should be proud, I'm happy they are on Merge. It's a good fit.
RealAudio clip: "Sugar"
RealAudio clip: "Million Dollar Man"

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK Penetrans (Staubgold) cd 14.98
Institut Fuer Feinmotorik are a German collective of techno / turntable engineers with the misleading motto: "to produce from almost nothing almost nothing." It is true that their turntablist source material may qualify as 'almost nothing' culled from run-out groove clicks, repetitive pops from razor bladed vinyl, and Rube Goldberg inventions to create repetitive sounds with various household items striking the turntable's tone arm. Yet the end results are far from 'almost nothing,' standing as an exceptionally good version of Thomas Brinkmann, where a structurally rigid techno follows the linear progressions of surgically concise clicks, pops, whirs, and hisses locked tightly in complex layers of overlapping rhythms.
RealAudio clip: "Problem"
RealAudio clip: "Rufen Sie Die Polizei"

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK Penetrans (Staubgold) lp 13.98
Institut Fuer Feinmotorik are a German collective of techno / turntable engineers with the misleading motto: "to produce from almost nothing almost nothing." It is true that their turntablist source material may qualify as 'almost nothing' culled from run-out groove clicks, repetitive pops from razor bladed vinyl, and Rube Goldberg inventions to create repetitive sounds with various household items striking the turntable's tone arm. Yet the end results are far from 'almost nothing,' standing as an exceptionally good version of Thomas Brinkmann, where a structurally rigid techno follows the linear progressions of surgically concise clicks, pops, whirs, and hisses locked tightly in complex layers of overlapping rhythms.

JOAO, KARE Sideman (Jester) cd 14.98
Jester (the unclassifiable Norwegian record label run by frontman Garm of the formerly but no longer black metal band Ulver) has rapidly become one of our favorite labels, what with releases by When, Ulver, Arcturus, Rotoscope, Esperanza, Bogus Blimp, Single Unit, and Origami Galaktika -- we've liked 'em all, actually! So whenever Jester puts out something new, even if we've never heard of the artist before (which is often the case) we make sure to check it out. Thus we ordered a few of this album by Norwegian musician Kare Joao without knowing at all what to expect. Turns out it's a psychedelic rock record along the lines of Pink Floyd (or even the Beta Band), Spacemen Three, Pharoah Overlord, and My Bloody Valentine. We've since learned that Kare was a roadie and sometime singer for AQ dirty rock faves Turbonegro! Some guys from that band, along with Garm himself, play on this. As for the sound, we were immediately enthralled by the "Tomorrow Never Knows" vibe of the seven-minute-plus lead-off track "Captain Trips", full of heavy psych guitar wash, echoey seagull synth sounds, tripped out guitar effects, and, last but not least, repetitive, catchy hooks. The rest of the album continues in this vein, pretty much. There's one track that's a little heavy on the vocals with backing Beach Boys style "oooh ooohs", maybe it's their stab at a Stranglers (or Strokes!) kinda song but it doesn't work that well for us in comparison to the rest of the disc, which definitely gets a big thumbs up. Hmm, high time we made a Jester section in our bins!
RealAudio clip: "Captain Trips"
RealAudio clip: "Channel Five"

KNUT Challenger (Hydrahead) cd 14.98
Switzerland hasn't exactly been known for their metallic output. You could probably count all the great Swiss metal bands on one hand (Celtic Frost, Coroner, uhhhh...Krokus....uh) but when they do metal, man do they do it right. This is album number two from Swiss metallers Knut (pronounced 'newt' not 'nut') and it's easily their best record yet. A crushing blend of super heavy post rock, screaming metalcore, crusty downtuned Neurosis-ish sludge and droning riffs that stretch into hypnotic loops while huge, pounding drums and agonised vocals are splattered throughout. Lots of stop/start song structures, extreme dynamics and intense aggression. Fans of Neurosis, Sepultura, and metalcore in general will be blown away. One of Andee's new favorites!
RealAudio clip: "Whacked Out"
RealAudio clip: "El Nino"
RealAudio clip: "Neon Gide"

LIVE HUMAN Live (C.O.D.) cd 11.98
Live Human's previous albums never really did it for me, so this great album is a revelation. Here the groundbreaking trio of standup bass, drums, and turntables is *live*, recorded right here in their hometown of San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall in July 2001 (this after playing a sold out show at the Montreux Jazz Festival!) While they have been called "punk jazz" by some XLR8R reviewer on the back of this cd, you should know that there is nothing punk about the trio's sound -- although their deft improvisations have certainly been informed by the jazz tradition.
Live Human mixes warmly organic bass lines that are funky but not overly so, with percussion that is as breakbeat "funky drummer" style as it is carefully shuffling, staccato and delicate. The third equal element is hiphop DJ Quest's visionary turntablist style. While he does his fair share of athletic, textural scratching here (he even plays with the tense sound of a skipping cd, of all things), it isn't overdone, nor boring, nor predictable. He brings in just enough outside elements like women's voices, snippets of old hip hop classics, James Brown's "heuh!", etc., to prevent the "jazz" from imploding self-indulgently into itself, yet not so much that it becomes a sample-heavy smorgasbord. It is incredible how perfect Quest's instincts are for what is too much and/or not enough. I have to say that the turntablist skills demonstrated here are so seamlessly integrated with the bass and the drums that I can't help but think this is one of THE FINEST examples of turntablism I have ever heard -- he knows that the way to us listeners' hearts is not to showboat his virtuosic skills, but instead to bow to the demands of the music itself.
This is an awesome record that is completely worth your money. As if that wasn't enough, it is purposely being sold directly from the label to retailers for the express purpose of keeping the price down and, according to the liner notes, "cutting out many of the redundant music-industry middle-men that traditionally add nothing to the art but are happy to pocket more than their fair share of the profit (biiiiaaaatch!)."
RealAudio clip: "Fr-Fre-Fre-Fresshhhhhhh!"
RealAudio clip: "Breakbeat"
RealAudio clip: "Human til Inifinity"

LOWFISH The Accident Causer (Ersatz Audio) 12" 5.98
Look out! Toronto electro surgeon Lowfish (Gregory De Rocher of Suction Records, not to be confused with Berlin's DJ Highfish) rips out four new numbers for Detroit's premier electro dealers Ersatz Audio. Playful, bubbly hip-hop-electrofunk from the label you know and trust.

MAGAS Bad Blood (Ersatz Audio) 12" 5.98
Second single from Chicago electro pimp Marlon Magas (he and wife / Metalux member Bridgette Wilson also run the squeaky clean underground electronic superstore Weekend Records And Soap!), formerly of no wave supergroup Lake Of Dracula and Detroit rawk legends Couch. Sad to say, the vocals are the weak spot here... and such a very weak, distracting spot it is! Remove them, and this sounds just like an Adult. backing track cast-off which unto itself isn't half bad. Produced by Adam Lee Miller of Adult. / Ersatz Audio. Much as I've loved almost everything from this label, this release tests my ardor.

MELVINS Hostile Ambient Takeover (Ipecac) cd 15.98
My god these boys are prolific! Last week a live album with Fantomas, now a new not-at-all-"ambient"-despite-the-title studio full-length. And the past 3 or 4 years have seen just as many Melvins releases. If after 1999's disparate trilogy of The Bootlicker, Crybaby, and The Maggot you don't know what to expect then I can tell you this is more in the vein of the relatively straight-ahead "classic Melvins" sound of The Maggot, yet a bit more subdued. Maybe this album starts off a bit too wacky, but it quickly returns to the dirgey sounds of the (old) Melvins we know and love. Heavy drums and driving guitar with a good dose of fucked up shit, like cow sounds and the like.
RealAudio clip: "Black Stooges"
RealAudio clip: "Untitled"
RealAudio clip: "Little Judas Chonge"

MIMEO / JOHN TILBURY The Hands of Caravaggio (Erstwhile) cd 14.98
MIMEO stands for Music In Movement Electronic Orchestra, a massive ensemble of European electronic musicians and improvisers that includes Keith Rowe, Phil Durrant, Kaffe Matthews, Jerome Noetinger, Gert-Jan Prins, Cor Fuhler, Thomas Lehn, Marcus Schmickler, Markus Wettstein, Christian Fennesz, Peter Rehberg, and Rafael Toral. Masterminded by Rowe who has worked for over 30 years in the seminal UK improv group AMM, MIMEO has been joined by fellow AMM member John Tilbury on piano. While there are plenty of interesting sounds that all of these artists have made on this album, "The Hands Of Caravaggio" lacks focus as a result of there being way too many cooks in the kitchen.
RealAudio clip: "Hands of Caravaggio 4"

MNEM Hypstatic Ground (Drone Records) 7" 6.50
Drone Records -- run by Stefan Knappe of Troum and Maeror Tri -- exclusively produces seven inches mostly by emerging artists who specialize in expressive drone work (hence the label name). While there is something to be said for Drone's dedication to unknown artists, the work that comes from the ongoing series tends to be some of the best work from each of the artists' respective catalogues. This definitely includes more familiar names such as Reynols (with their infamous '10,000 Chicken Symphony'), Francisco Lopez, Spear, and Osso Exotico; but also lesser known artists such as Klood and Tarkatak. Drone tends to make small runs of these singles (usually about 250 copies and with handmade covers) and they always go fast.
Mnem's "Hypstatic Ground" is another fine entry from the ongoing Drone series. It appears that Mnem is a couple of Finnish guys who have been tinkering around with the mechanisms of old reel-to-reel tape machines, to build warbling compositions of collaged creaks, clatterings, and buzzes with all sorts of slow descents into rumbling noise and infernal rhythmic grindings. If Philip Jeck ever wanted to make a piece that was seething and angry and subtly brutal, it would probably sound like this. Limited to 250 copies.

MORRISON, VAN Celebrities At Their Worst 3.1: Van Morrison's Contract Breaking Sessions (M.D.W.C.G.C.G.) cd-r 14.98
Having been released both in excerpt and complete form at various times in the past, the Mad God... label has decided to take a stab as well as part of their Celebrities At Their Worst series. The story goes that Bert Berns, who ran the label "Bang" on which Morrison released his first album, proceeded to release an album from a later session of recordings against Morrison's will. After Bern's passed away from a heart attack in 1967 his widow offered to release Morrison from his contractual obligations providing he record one more album for the label and give Bang Records the publishing rights. Rather than give them Astral Weeks, he slapped together 31 tracks of tomfoolery, many of which poke fun at Berns and his musical tastes.
RealAudio clip: "The Big Royalty Check"
RealAudio clip: "Want A Danish"
RealAudio clip: "Dumb Dumb George"

NASTASIA, NINA Blackened Air (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
The new album by critically acclaimed folk singer Nina Nastasia ia brimming with lush instrumentation and pretty Lilith Fair folk vocals. Didn't strike me as anything really special, but I know that some people would absolutely love it. Touching and pretty, it sounds a bit like Cat Power or Tara Jane O'Neill, but at times leans more AOR a la Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant. This is her second full length release recorded by Steve Albini and her first on Touch & Go. She also is involved with All Tomorrow's Parties 2.0 in the U.K.
RealAudio clip: "I Go With Him"
RealAudio clip: "Run, All You....."

NO Moongoon (Drone Records) 7" 6.50
Drone Records -- run by Stefan Knappe of Troum and Maeror Tri -- exclusively produces seven inches mostly by emerging artists who specialize in expressive drone work (hence the label name). While there is something to be said for Drone's dedication to unknown artists, the work that comes from the ongoing series tends to be some of the best work from each of the artists' respective catalogues. This definitely includes more familiar names such as Reynols (with their infamous '10,000 Chicken Symphony'), Francisco Lopez, Spear, and Osso Exotico; but also lesser known artists such as Klood and Tarkatak. Drone tends to make small runs of these singles (usually about 250 copies and with handmade covers) and they always go fast.
This is certainly one of the more curious 7"s from the Drone series, as No offers a series of vacant compositions for whispy synthetic trills, nervous vibrations offering the faintest shadow of a melody, and plinking piano reminiscent of Nurse With Wound's "A Missing Sense" or the Robert Ashley inspired tracks from "Automating Volume One." An interesting detour from this series that tends to center around the densely packed layers of dark guitar ambience from Knappe's Troum and Maeror Tri. Limited to 250 copies.

O'ROURKE, JIM I'm Happy, And I'm Singing, And A 1,2,3,4 (Mego) cd 14.98
There are those of us at this fine institution who wish to declare open season on Jim O'Rourke, and start blasting shotgun shells at him, his bunny suit, his 'post-irony' (whatever the fuck that is), and his chameleon-like approach towards all forms of music. Such a demonstrative proclamation would have been warranted on the basis of 2001's worst album, O'Rourke's "Insignificance." Given the prevailing atmosphere of hostility towards Jim O'Rourke , I (Jim) really wanted to hate this album. I mean I really wanted to give this a shitty review. But, in trying to be as honest as possible about the music that we carry, I can't.
Promoted as his electronic glitch album, "I'm Happy, And I'm Singing, And A 1, 2, 3, 4" has been conveniently released on the Austrian electronic glitch label Mego. Just like Mego's uber talented Christian Fennesz, O'Rourke fuses elements of antique melodic signatures within a Powerbook generated disfiguration into complex networks of sound that retain the timbre and colour of the original sounds in spite of the digital glitch manifestation. Initially, this album is nothing more than another pleasantly playful recombination of the current glitch aesthetic. He applies the Supercollider treatment to an accordion to dislocate the souce material with a fluctuating system of interlocking repetitive samples sounding like a digitized update of Frippertronics or even Terry Riley's time lag generator. Nice, but is completely overwhelmed by the same idea found on the Keith Fullerton Whitman album "21:30 For Acoustic Guitar" He follows this up with some fey dinner jazz piano lines and summertime guitar picking run through gossamer digitalized syncopations. Again, nice but nothing that Stephan Mathieu, Ekkhard Ehlers, or Fennesz haven't done better.
*However* if you were to stop listening to these two tracks, before getting to the 20-plus minute finale, you would have missed one of O'Rourke's finest moments alongside the criminally overlooked "Disengage" and slowly antagonistic "Happy Days." "And A 1, 2, 3, 4" (it appears that the song titles are just fragments of the album's title) is beautiful digital threnody with sombre violins passing through a Feldman like alternation through a harmonic series of notes. While it could be said that O'Rourke is *again* mimicking another artist, he does apply an ample amount of digtal signal processing (lots of warbled tremolo, granular dispersion, etc.) offering that which I've rarely heard from Jim O'Rourke: something "new."
RealAudio clip: "I'm Happy"
RealAudio clip: "And I'm Singing"
RealAudio clip: "And A 1,2,3,4"

O'ROURKE, JIM I'm Happy, And I'm Singing, And A 1,2,3,4 (Mego) lp 14.98
There are those of us at this fine institution who wish to declare open season on Jim O'Rourke, and start blasting shotgun shells at him, his bunny suit, his 'post-irony' (whatever the fuck that is), and his chameleon-like approach towards all forms of music. Such a demonstrative proclamation would have been warranted on the basis of 2001's worst album, O'Rourke's "Insignificance." Given the prevailing atmosphere of hostility towards Jim O'Rourke , I (Jim) really wanted to hate this album. I mean I really wanted to give this a shitty review. But, in trying to be as honest as possible about the music that we carry, I can't.
Promoted as his electronic glitch album, "I'm Happy, And I'm Singing, And A 1, 2, 3, 4" has been conveniently released on the Austrian electronic glitch label Mego. Just like Mego's uber talented Christian Fennesz, O'Rourke fuses elements of antique melodic signatures within a Powerbook generated disfiguration into complex networks of sound that retain the timbre and colour of the original sounds in spite of the digital glitch manifestation. Initially, this album is nothing more than another pleasantly playful recombination of the current glitch aesthetic. He applies the Supercollider treatment to an accordion to dislocate the souce material with a fluctuating system of interlocking repetitive samples sounding like a digitized update of Frippertronics or even Terry Riley's time lag generator. Nice, but is completely overwhelmed by the same idea found on the Keith Fullerton Whitman album "21:30 For Acoustic Guitar" He follows this up with some fey dinner jazz piano lines and summertime guitar picking run through gossamer digitalized syncopations. Again, nice but nothing that Stephan Mathieu, Ekkhard Ehlers, or Fennesz haven't done better.
*However* if you were to stop listening to these two tracks, before getting to the 20-plus minute finale, you would have missed one of O'Rourke's finest moments alongside the criminally overlooked "Disengage" and slowly antagonistic "Happy Days." "And A 1, 2, 3, 4" (it appears that the song titles are just fragments of the album's title) is beautiful digital threnody with sombre violins passing through a Feldman like alternation through a harmonic series of notes. While it could be said that O'Rourke is *again* mimicking another artist, he does apply an ample amount of digtal signal processing (lots of warbled tremolo, granular dispersion, etc.) offering that which I've rarely heard from Jim O'Rourke: something "new."

OPIATE Possible (Vertical F) 12" 9.98
During the past four or five years, the Raster Noton label has developed a very precise aesthetic or language of the electronic glitch within in a post-techno context. While artists like Goem and Taylor Deupree have taken the Raster Noton vocabulary of utopian purity and clinical sterility as an endgame of overly conceptualized minimalism, Raster Noton has recognized the folly of completely dehumanizing art, and has been returning to the elemental musical systems of harmonies and melodies, albeit with incredibly subtle applications. While examples of such are easy to find in the latest work from Raster bossman Carsten Nicolai (aka Noto and Alva Noto), the reconnection with melody is most pronounced in the work of Raster's newest associate Opiate, the solo project of Danish glitch-dub artist Thomas Knack. "Possible" -- released through the increasingly interesting Vertical Form label -- quietly bristles with a digital clickery that Opiate filters into delicate electro-glitch grooves, complete with whirring textural filters and a profoundly delicate use of ghostly melodies which correspond nicely to the work that Opiate did for Bjork's "Vespertine" album.

OSBOURNE, OZZY Diary of a Madman (Epic / Sony) cd 12.98
One bizarre fact that we overlooked in our review of the reissue of Ozzy Osbourne's "Blizzard of Ozz": the bass and drum parts have been totally re-recorded!! Weird. Apparently due to some sort of monetary dispute with the original rhythm section of bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake, Ozzy elected to have his current bassist and drummer (ex-members of Suicidal Tendencies and Faith No More, respectively) redo the rhythm tracks, which seems kinda fucked up, in theory. While most of us couldn't tell the difference, a couple AQ customers were adamant that the differences were extreme, night and day. Whatever. If you don't have these, it's either beat up old copies from the thrift store, or these shiny new aluminum versions. Regardless, 'Diary Of A Madman' is just as much of a classic as 'Blizzard Of Ozz'. With some of Ozzy's greatest tunes: 'Over The Mountain', 'Flying High Again', 'You Can't Kill Rock And Roll' and a bunch more. The bonus track here isn't nearly as crucial as the unreleased gem on 'Blizzard Of Ozz' but fans will be pleased nonetheless with the live version of "I Don't Know" featuring Randy Rhoads. Extra liner notes and photos, but if you don't have this, what the hell is wrong with you?! A little weirder and a little heavier than 'Blizzard Of Ozz' maybe, but still kick ass metallic rock and roll, and better than most anything else released in the last 20 years!
RealAudio clip: "Over The Mountain"
RealAudio clip: "Flying High Again"
RealAudio clip: "Diary Of A Madman"
RealAudio clip: "You Can't Kill Rock And Roll"

PAN AMERICAN The River Made No Sound (Kranky) cd 14.98
More soothing, minimal atmospheric washes with deeeep bass thuds from Mark Nelson (also of Labradford). We've had a number of people come in lately asking for "relaxing music", and well, if any of those folks are listening now, they can be assured that Pan American's follow-up to their lovely 360 Business/360 Bypass is the perfect sonic relief they've been seeking. Spacious and airily ambient. No guarantees, but these 55 minutes of calm might be just what you need if your day takes a stressful turn.
RealAudio clip: "Right Of Return"

PAN AMERICAN The River Made No Sound (Kranky) 2lp 15.98
More soothing, minimal atmospheric washes with deeeep bass thuds from Mark Nelson (also of Labradford). We've had a number of people come in lately asking for "relaxing music", and well, if any of those folks are listening now, they can be assured that Pan American's follow-up to their lovely 360 Business/360 Bypass is the perfect sonic relief they've been seeking. Spacious and airily ambient. No guarantees, but these 55 minutes of calm might be just what you need if your day takes a stressful turn.

PEDRO THE LION Control (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
College rock lives on. And David Bazan, Pedro The Lion's mainman has been at it for many a year now. Mopey boy vocals and fuzzy electric guitars that bring memories burbling back of the late '80s / early '90s college radio darlings like Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr. or Sebadoh or later '90s incarnations like Marcy Playground (remember their sorta-hit "Sex And Candy"?). Catchy and driving tunes, yes. The guitars also bring to mind Bob Mould's distinct, solid sound, but uh oh what's this? Sounds like he decided to update his sound with... the Cher vocal treatment. Groan. Y'know, I think I can still dig up my old "Green Mind", "Copper Blue" and "Birdbrain" albums. They're around here somewhere.
RealAudio clip: "Options"
RealAudio clip: "Rehearsal"

PEDRO THE LION Control (Jade Tree) lp 10.98
College rock lives on. And David Bazan, Pedro The Lion's mainman has been at it for many a year now. Mopey boy vocals and fuzzy electric guitars that bring memories burbling back of the late '80s / early '90s college radio darlings like Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr. or Sebadoh or later '90s incarnations like Marcy Playground (remember their sorta-hit "Sex And Candy"?). Catchy and driving tunes, yes. The guitars also bring to mind Bob Mould's distinct, solid sound, but uh oh what's this? Sounds like he decided to update his sound with... the Cher vocal treatment. Groan. Y'know, I think I can still dig up my old "Green Mind", "Copper Blue" and "Birdbrain" albums. They're around here somewhere.

PIIRI GPU (Revised) (Vertical Form) cd 16.98
Outside of the impressive techno-minimalism of their group Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio and Ilpo Vaisanen have been developing very distinctive styles that veer considerably from their partnered work. Where Vainio has taken to the laptop generation of fractured ambience, Vaisanen has been experimenting with an interesting recombination of electronic dub built around variations of rigid rhythms which sound very much like looped samples from a '60s jazz drummer shuffling a brush suggestively across a snare head. As Piiri, Vaisanen has released a couple of brilliant 10"s on Raster Noton, but not enough material to warrant a full-length. Thus, Vertical Form has flushed out this Piiri album with a bunch of remixes by Farben, Pan American, Smyglyssna, Dual Excitor, and Phonem. As with the majority of remix albums, "GPU (Revised)" is a mixed (ha) affair, with the original Piiri track standing out easily as the best work. Pan American is probably the only remix artist who doesn't retard Ilpo's shuffling rhythms by turning them into microhouse grooves (Farben) or stupid post-irony clunkiness (Smyglyssna). Rather Pan American offers an effervescent dub with all of those rhythms processed into a glassine wash akin to Vladislav Delay.
If you're really interested in the Piiri sound, you might be better served by those hard to find Raster Noton 10"s...but they *are* hard to find.
RealAudio clip: PIIRI "Original"
RealAudio clip: PAN AMERICAN "Pan American Mix"

PIIRI GPU (Revised) (Vertical F) 2lp 16.98
Outside of the impressive techno-minimalism of their group Pan Sonic, Mika Vainio and Ilpo Vaisanen have been developing very distinctive styles that veer considerably far from their collective work. Where Vainio has taken to the laptop generation of fractured ambience, Vaisanen has been experimenting with an interesting recombination of electronic dub built around variations of rigid rhythms which sound very much like looped samples from a '60s jazz drummer shuffling a brush suggestively across a snare head. As Piiri, Vaisanen has released a couple of brilliant 10"s on Raster Noton, but not enough material to warrant a full-length. Thus, Vertical Form has flushed out this Piiri album with a bunch of remixes by Farben, Pan American, Smyglyssna, Dual Excitor, and Phonem. As with the majority of remix albums, "GPU (Revised)" is a mixed (ha) affair, with the original Piiri track standing out easily as the best work. Pan American is probably the only remix artist who doesn't retard Ilpo's shuffling rhythms by turning them into microhouse grooves (Farben) or stupid post-irony clunkiness (Smyglyssna). Rather Pan American offers an effervescent dub with all of those rhythms processed into a glassine wash akin to Vladislav Delay.
If you're really interested in the Piiri sound, you might be better served by those hard to find Raster Noton 10"s...but they *are* hard to find.

PUBLIC NUISANCE Gotta Survive (Frantic) 2cd 22.00
Here's the record that was never released on account of the Manson murders! (More on that in a second.) This double cd contains all the recordings of Public Nuisance, an obscure (but pretty great) teenage garage/psych band that got together in Sacramento circa 1964. As befits their punky name, they looked like a bunch of hoods, decked out in all-black outfits, with two of 'em sporting proto-Ramones style long hair. That, plus the fact that we read they were like an American version of the wild and crazy English freakbeat bands, piqued our curiosity big time. Supposedly, also, they were as "heavy as the Stooges". The truth is, that's a bit of a stretch. Some of this *is* at least heavier than, if not the Stooges, the Stones, but they do a lot of lighter, Beatles-y stuff too. They perform a nice cover of the Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping" in fact. So they were as much a pop-psych band as they were a down and dirty garage combo. On the other hand, their song "Love Is A Feeling" sounds EXACTLY like the White Stripes! The 28 tracks here actually cover quite a wide spectrum of sounds from sweet, harpsichord and theremin laced pop to raw, primal R&B stomp w/ plenty o' fuzz. This collection mainly consists of 1969 sessions recorded for an LP that never came out 'cause their label was owned by Terry Melcher, the guy who also owned the house where the Manson Family killed Sharon Tate! After the murders, Melcher, afraid for his life, went into hiding and his label folded... But now, decades later, here are those unreleased sessions plus some rare singles tracks recorded under the band's earlier moniker Moss & The Rocks. Maybe a single-disc "best of" would have been more uniformly killer, and cheaper, but we can't really argue with getting to hear it all. The super thick, colorful, photo-filled cd booklet is full of essays written by Mike "Ugly Things" Stax, Clark Faville, and others -- including notes about each and every song!
Definitely something for fans of the Seeds, Stones, Creation, and "Nuggets" stuff in general to check out. Even if they're not quite the "unknown Stooges" we'd hoped for, Public Nuisance are pretty cool.
RealAudio clip: "Love Is A Feeling"
RealAudio clip: "Time Can't Wait"
RealAudio clip: "Daddy's Comin' Home"
RealAudio clip: "Holy Man"

REPUTATION, THE s/t (Initial Records) cd 14.98
Have to admit that when I saw the name of this band I groaned and thought "oh no, not another 'The ____' retro rock band (a la The Go, The Strokes, The Gossip, The Pattern, etc etc etc). And hurrah! This isn't. What it is is very mid-'90s-ish female-fronted power pop not unlike Veruca Salt, Belly or lead singer Elizabeth Elmore's previous group the unsung Sarge of Champaign, IL. It's nice to hear she's still wielding her crafty songwriting pen. The basic rock ingredients of guitar, bass and drums provide a solid base for her voice as well as the warm polished piano and mellotron embellishments. But it's clear her voice is indeed the focus in this quartet as she delivers her alternately throaty, belted-out and lilting, emotive vocals with confidence right to the end - closing the album with a stirring rendition of Elvis Costello's "Almost Blue".
RealAudio clip: "Either Coast"
RealAudio clip: "For The Win"

RUBBER O CEMENT High Speed Electronic Cardboard (Toyo / Lincaster) cd + comic 5.98
Following their compilation release with Pink & Brown, The Lowdown and Lozenge (also on Toyo), SF's cardboard and tin foil superheroes Rubber O Cement are back with twenty-three more tracks of comical lo-fi power electronic action. Rumors (which are true, by the way) of a Caroliner member's involvement have been denied, yet the aesthetics in sound as well as artwork prove otherwise. Comes in an oversized screenprinted cardboard package, each with its own random superhero comic enclosed.
RealAudio clip: "Raman Effect On Nucleon Electroscope"

SCREAMERS In A Better World (Extravertigo / Xeroid) 2cd 17.98
Finally got more of these back in! And we're not sure how long we'll have them. So if you missed out last time, don't snooze and lose again!! Still in a jewel case and with a few extra photos. Amazing seminal punk group the Screamers hailed from Seattle/LA and, amazingly enough, never released any official recordings, but that has not deterred rabid fans from picking up bootlegs on eBay for hundreds of dollars a pop. In the late '70s they became on of LA's biggest club bands, and, according to the press release, "were so far ahead of their time in doing away with electric guitars in aggressive rock music that they were called 'techno-punk' back in 1978"! This double cd features over two hours of recordings of four live shows, some demos, and even a radio spot. Bravo to the Extra Vertigo and XeroID labels for putting this out.
RealAudio clip: "I Wanna Hurt"
RealAudio clip: "122 Hours Of Fear"
RealAudio clip: "If I Can't Get What I Want, I Don't Want Anything"
RealAudio clip: "Peer Pressure"

SEMIAUTOMATIC Resident Genius (5rc) cd 14.98
Here is another dancey / tough / all over the place gem from the prolific duo of Akiko and Rop (from The Peechees and The Lefties and Rice, to name a few). On this record, like their previous releases, Semiautomatic fuse electronica, new wave, punk, and political girl growliness for a unique and diverse listening experience. At times you can't believe the songs are all from the same band because can sound mean and snarly then ethereal and akin to Liz Frazier. Fresh off the 5rc Jamboree tour, Semiautomatic have their hard working fingers in many pies, with split 7" 's coming out all over the place and tracks on numerous compilations. If you have appreciated the hard work and killer cd's that 5rc has been releasing this year (Hella, Xiu Xiu) you should check this one out, sez Sadie
RealAudio clip: "Tight Pants"
RealAudio clip: "Resident Genius"
RealAudio clip: "The Birds of Weather"

SND Tender Love (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
Don't expect anything new from SND's third record despite Mille Plateaux's claims of "their influential progressions in electronic experimentations." As before, this Sheffied duo offer pleasant, but detatched bitstreams of muted house grooves, synthetic organ pulses, and jittery syncopations.
RealAudio clip: "Tender Love 4"

SPENCER, JON BLUES EXPLOSION Plastic Fang (Matador) cd 15.98
Still crankin' out the ball-bustin' bad boy blues rock is the gent known as Mr. Jon Spencer. And along with his trusty Blues Explosion, he presents this his eighth album proper. Plenty of howlin' and an ample supply of "mama!"s and "ahkintaykitnomoah!"s, but with thankfully less self referential "The Blues Explosion" banter. There is less spit, bite and sneer than he's been able to muster up on past releases. For those hardcore JSBX fans there are a limited number of lps and cds specially, kitschily packaged in cello-bag with hang-card... oh, and there are cheesy promotional plastic fangs for the taking. Yep, JSBX has sunk that low.
RealAudio clip: "Point Of View"

SPENCER, JON BLUES EXPLOSION Plastic Fang (Matador) 2lp 18.98
Still crankin' out the ball-bustin' bad boy blues rock is the gent known as Mr. Jon Spencer. And along with his trusty Blues Explosion, he presents this his eighth album proper. Plenty of howlin' and an ample supply of "mama!"s and "ahkintaykitnomoah!"s, but with thankfully less self referential "The Blues Explosion" banter. There is less spit, bite and sneer than he's been able to muster up on past releases. For those hardcore JSBX fans there are a limited number of lps and cds specially, kitschily packaged in cello-bag with hang-card... oh, and there are cheesy promotional plastic fangs for the taking. Yep, JSBX has sunk that low.

SPIRITUAL BEGGARS s/t (Regain) cd 14.98
The rare first album by Swedish stoner rockers Spiritual Beggars finally reissued on cd with four bonus tracks! Not to be confused with fellow stoner rockers Spirit Caravan, Spiritual Beggars is the band in which ex-Carcass, current Arch Enemy six stringer Michael Amott gets his heavy '70s groove on. Fans of their other albums (like the mighty "Mantra III" and "Ad Astra") will want this of course, but those other albums are recommended for starters 'cause we really dig the Hammond organ action that's not yet a part of the Beggars' sound on this one, recorded as a pure power trio. But then again, that leaves more room for Mike's guitar. Swirling psychedelic stomp for fans of Kyuss, Monster Magnet, late-period Trouble, and the like. Also note the "Foxy Lady" cop on opener "Yearly Dying", and "Purple Haze" is clearly part of their vocabulary too.
RealAudio clip: "If This Is All"

STRAIGHT OUTTA HUNTER'S POINT (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK) (Mastamind) cd 12.98
This is the soundtrack from first time director Kevin Epps' documentary about Hunters Point, a San Francisco community and neighborhood that has been struggling for years with gangs, drugs, poverty, pollution, unemployment and gentrification. The film focuses on the hip hop subculture/industry as it examines those bigger issues. The soundtrack was voted one of 2001's top ten records by independent rap magazine Murder Dog, and for good reason. Bristling with energy and anger, 'Straight Outta Hunter's Point' features all rappers and prooducers from the neighborhood, and stands up to any hip hop compilation released recently. The sound is a little bit gangsta, a little Cash Money 'bling bling', a little No Limit dirty South, but with a sound and lyrical content that is all Hunter's Point. Really great. See the film if you can.
RealAudio clip: T-KASH / TOO INCOGNITO "Victim Of Da RAPGAME"
RealAudio clip: HECTIC / BABYFINSTA / BIG T "Thug Shit"
RealAudio clip: HECTIC / FEDDY / BABYFINSTA "Feddy Its Getting Hectic"

SUPERCHUNK Art Class (Song for Yayoi Kusama) (Merge) cd ep 6.98
This EP contains two different versions of "Art Class" a song from their most recent album Here's To Shutting Up - the album track and a live acoustic version. Sandwiched between the two are a couple of previously unreleased, suitably bittersweet Superchunk pop numbers. As an added treat there's even a video for "Art Class" (Merge's first foray into the world of "enhanced" cds) from the 'Chunk's rockin' show at the Cat's Cradle in their homebase Chapel Hill, NC last fall. Not surprisingly, the acoustic version of "Art Class" is the gem here. I've always preferred Superchunk's acoustic renditions, the frenzied guitar strumming more achingly pretty, the melody stands out more, and Mac's voice is pushed to the foreground. By the way, the title track is dedicated to artist Yayoi Kusama, obsessive compulsive polka dot maven / infinity mirror fanatic and a favorite of several AQ staffers.
RealAudio clip: "A Collection Of Accounts"

THUG EMPORIUM EP (Quaketrap) cd-r 7.98
A happenin' EP from the Mission's own Thug Emporium, this is underground hip hop done really well, like kitchen sink Cannibal Ox, with catchy yet sinister melodies forming a backdrop to the several guest MCs. No nonsense, no silly skits, no mistakes, nothing predictable. Fresh and genuine and homegrown. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "HarDcOre"
RealAudio clip: "CitY oF QuaKeS"

TRISTEZA These Walls (Gravity) cd ep 7.98
Hot on the heels of their remix collection "Mixed Signals" comes this EP. It seems that recently this mellow instrumental quintet have been moving further from their gentle guitar-dominant post-rock tracks into more gentle electronic-accented post-rock sounds. This release seems quite transitional. Overall, it's just what we've come to expect from these San Diego fellows - well-executed, unobtrusive, pleasant soundtracks. Perhaps you may find the docile repetition either shimmeringly hypnotic or numbingly sleep-inducing? However, track 6 jolts us out of our slumber with a disruptive, skronky, horn-filled jazzy jam-out. And did they intend for the cover art to resemble intestines? Puzzling.
RealAudio clip: "Stop Grass"
RealAudio clip: "Auxilio Mate"

VAN BERGEN / PRINS / FENNESZ Dawn (Grob) cd 15.98
Yet another electronic improvisation featuring Christian Fennesz, which are becoming as banal and commonplace as "electronica compilations featuring Kid 606". "Dawn" was recorded in Berlin in November, 2000 with Fennesz performing with Peter Van Bergen on saxophone and electronics and Gert-Jan Prins on FM modulations and electronics.
RealAudio clip: "Dawn"

VORAK Triumph Of The Will (Destruktive Kommandoh) cd 9.98
Is it a screeching petrodactyl attacking a piano? Wagner gone mad with a drum machine?? Actually this is a Nietzsche-obsessed multi-instrumentalist manaic from Austrialia. Vorak is his one-man "black metal" band, and he's either got to be joking or he is totally out of his mind.
So totally demented, so totally retarded, Vorak's 1996 debut "Triumph Of The Will" might even edge out Benighted Leams' "Astral Tenebrion" as the most retarded black metal album ever -- which means it's so amazing you'll die. Among other things, Vorak plays fretless bass and vibraphone, but it all comes out as utterly nonsensical noise. Perhaps the only "metal" thing we've heard that's more fucked than Vorak are the mp3's by Exhumed Narcissist Paleontologist (http://www.reckankomplex.com/enp) but that's definitely a joke (being Keith "Hrvatski" Whitman's death metal band).
Why did a label even release this?? We don't know, but we're glad they did. We've been dying to share this with y'all ever since we discovered it a while ago, but only just recently managed to get a few copies of this disc, cheap. (Unbelievably, there's a second Vorak album from 1998 that's equally insane, but perhaps not surprisingly it doesn't seem that anyone we deal with stocks it!).
RealAudio clip: "Blitzkrieg -- Fighting Under The Rune of Triumph"
RealAudio clip: "Bloodlust, Discipline, Hatred"
RealAudio clip: "Hail The Nuclear Berserker!"

XINLISUPREME Tomorrow Never Comes (Fat Cat) cd 15.98
Japanese duo Xinlisupreme have been touted by their label Fat Cat as a mix of My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain, and Merzbow! Fat Cat has done well to preload our expectations with three advanced references to avant-rock history, but it has to be said that Xinlisupreme can't so easily be triangulated. True, their debut album "Tomorrow Never Comes" does live up to such claims with their topical application of chainsaw fury feedback worthy of any number of Merzbotic apocalyptic noise metaphors; yet, Xinlisupreme simultaneously demonstrates how such guitar squall can be applied with grace, tenderness, and fragility. As a result, this combination has much more in common with the psychedelic use of noise by fellow Japanese bands like Shizuka or Nagisa Ni Te. Of course, both My Bloody Valentine and Jesus & Mary Chain have their own breathtakingly sublime moments, yet the analogy between the My Bloody Valentine / Jesus & Mary Chain camp and Xinlisupreme dissolves in how each define noise-pop, with the former adding the explosive noise flourishes to well-developed pop songs, and the latter offering pop structures as ghostly, vacuous signposts within emotionally charged noise washes. Or perhaps, it could be stated MBV / JAMC are pop with noise and Xinlisupreme are noise with pop. Regardless of the pithy semantic argument, Xinlisupreme has made a pretty amazing shoegazing record, that has reaminated the genre with a vigor not heard in a very long time.
RealAudio clip: "All You Need Is Love Was Not True"
RealAudio clip: "Fatal Sisters Opened Umbrella"

YABBY YOU Dub It To The Top (Blood & Fire) cd 14.98
Another fine collection from Blood & Fire. 'Dub It To the Top' contains not only the entire 1977 Yabby You LP 'Yabby You Meets Michael Prophet: Vocal & Dub' plus 7 b-side dubs from singles he released between 1976 and 1979. All but one track (recorded at Perry's Black Ark Studio) were recorded at the fabulous Channel 1 studio and all were mixed at King Tubby's studio by Tubby himself or Prince Jammy. Stellar performances from all aside, the production quality is excellent to boot: if the tracks haven't come directly from the master tapes, they might as well have with the nice remastering job that's been done here.
RealAudio clip: "Zambia"
RealAudio clip: "Turn Me Loose Dub"

YOUNG, NEIL Are You Passionate? (Reprise) cd 16.98
There isn't really a review for this because, much to our disappointment, we couldn't get past the first minute of the first song. See if you can.
RealAudio clip: "You're My Girl"

----*
----* Compilations :
----*

V/A All Tomorrow's Parties 2.0 (ATPR) cd 14.98
Steve Albini/Shellac is the chosen artist to curate the next All Tomorrow's Parties festival in the U.K., and so here's the requisite compilation cd. Their bands of choice are Shellac (doh!), Mission of Burma, Bonnie Prince Billy, Nina Nastasia, Threnody Ensemble, Do Make Say Think, Rachel's and the Fall among others. The second track by Mission Of Burma is the best. Misson Of Burma are such a great band and I hope all kinds of indie rockers are introduced to them via this comp. Other than that I found it mellow and uneventful. Sounds more like a big pat on the back/reacharound for Albini's 'buddies' than an actual 'wow, what a cool compilation'. The Sonic Youth one was better...but it's hard to have respect for any of the ATP "curators" when none of 'em have yet invited Stinking Lizaveta to play!! [sez Allan]
RealAudio clip: BONNIE PRINCE BILLY "Early Morning Melody"
RealAudio clip: MISSION OF BURMA "Trem Two"

V/A Crooked: The Movie/The Soundtrack (WordSound) cd+dvd 18.98
Skiz Fernando, the mastermind behind WordSound, the underground illbient hiphop label outta Crooklyn, NY (now relocated to Baltimore, actually), has written, produced, and directed a straight-to-dvd movie called Crooked. It stars our favorite laid-back, mumble-mouthed rapper with the Elmer Fudd laugh, the one and only Sensational, playing himself in a fictionalized version of the story of his pursuit of fame and fortune in a fucked up music industry. Various WordSound related artists make cameo appearances, including the Anti-Pop Consortium, Mr. Dead, and Scotty Hard (playing a plainclothes cop!). Open mics, drug deals, gunfights, vinyl-diggin', it's all here.
The double-disc digipack contains a dvd of "Crooked" and also a cd with the film's 21-track, 73 minute soundtrack, featuring Sensational, Anti-Pop Consortium, Spectre, Scotty Hard, Prince Paul, Unipod, Leon Lamont, Ish, Mad Luck & Robo, and Mentol Nomad. Dark, druggy, damaged, dubby hiphop in the freaky WordSound style is what you'll find here, and with the exception of Sensational's cuts, we're told all are exclusive to this soundtrack.
As for the dvd itself, well, you know how your parents taught you, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all? Well, we're gonna try to apply that rule here, but we will just say it's a sometimes amusing, mainly tedius bonus to a pretty great WordSound compilation cd! The liner notes compare it to Space Is The Place, Wild Style, Rockers, and Ghost Dog! Definitely not. Although it's funny to see Sensational acting (and he's not bad), this would have been so much better if they would have just made a real documentary about the whole WordSound scene, rather than trying to make a fictional "movie". It's also possible that Skiz and Co. were so stoned when they edited it that they left stuff in they were supposed to take out, or vice versa...
But, it has its moments -- some of the best parts feature the horrified reactions of a snotty record store clerk and a sleazy label exec to Sensational's lo-fi rap stylings. And, WordSound headz will want to check it out anyway, along with the soundtrack.
Wordsound sold us this direct, apparently it's not available through their regular distribution channels, so it may prove to be a rather "limited" release.
RealAudio clip: SPECTRE "Bottom Feeder"
RealAudio clip: ISH "I Gonna Sell"
RealAudio clip: LEON LAMONT "Fear of Mermaids"
RealAudio clip: SENSATIONAL "Chunky Buds"

V/A Rough Trade Shops: Electronic 01 (Mute / Rough Trade Shops) 2cd 19.98
Second compilation release from the influential and highly regarded Rough Trade shops in the UK. This collection focuses on the stores' favorite electronic artists (or in some cases influential to the genre) and songs throughout the years. Though all tracks are available elsewhere, these two discs cover the many aspects of the genre and its fringes: from the early experimentations of Joe Meek to the ephemeral Powerbook abstractions of Fennesz, the pivotal dancefloor innovation of Kraftwerk to the prodigous inventiveness of Aphex Twin. Forty-one tracks total with: Brian Eno, Rod Freeman & The Blue Men (Joe Meek), Oval, Barbara Morgenstern remixed by Robert Lippok, Throbbing Gristle, Christian Zanesi, BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Doctor Who!), i-F, Raymond Scott, Schneider TM vs. Kpt. Michi. Gan, Thomas Leer & Robert Rental, Autechre, New Order, Matmos, Uusitalo, Pierre Henry, Aphex Twin, Terre Thaemlitz, Kraftwerk, John Cage, NON, Faust, To Rococo Rot, Can, Stereolab, Pan Sonic, Arovane, Lb, D, The Human League, Aux 88, Bruce Haack, Kevin Blechdom, Fischerspooner, Thomas Brinkmann, The Normal, Depeche Mode, Dexter, Fennesz, Farben and Elph vs Coil. Surprisingly, Kid 606 does not make an appearance here.

V/A The Rustler Presents: Because You're Funky (Lo) cd 16.98
The Rustler is this legendary British record collector who's compiled this look at super rare funk 45s. The sort of no-name, lost-gem stuff that DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist spin on their all-45s tours, including a single that someone offered the Rustler a thousand pounds for! That the almost-completely electronica label Lo put this out is testament to how much this Rustler's taste is revered by the new electronicists like Luke Vibert. This is a whopping 24 tracks of instrumental fun, wailing saxophones, plink-plank guitar, guys exclaiming "OW!" and "HEUH!". Some of it veers into Brady Bunch cheese territory, but on the whole pretty straightforward and cool.
RealAudio clip: LES COOPER AND HIS SOUL ROCKERS "Wahoo"
RealAudio clip: DAVY JR AND GUESS WHO "Down Beat"
RealAudio clip: THE FOUR OF CLUBS "Funkity"

V/A The Rustler Presents: Because You're Funky (Lo) lp 16.98
The Rustler is this legendary British record collector who's compiled this look at super rare funk 45s. The sort of no-name, lost-gem stuff that DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist spin on their all-45s tours, including a single that someone offered the Rustler a thousand pounds for! That the almost-completely electronica label Lo put this out is testament to how much this Rustler's taste is revered by the new electronicists like Luke Vibert. This is a whopping 24 tracks of instrumental fun, wailing saxophones, plink-plank guitar, guys exclaiming "OW!" and "HEUH!". Some of it veers into Brady Bunch cheese territory, but on the whole pretty straightforward and cool.

V/A Trojan Mod Reggae Box Set (Trojan) 3cd 15.98
Trojan records continues its English subculture series of box sets with a collection devoted to the phenomenon known as Mod. The fifty tracks collected here represent the most popularly played tracks in Mod clubs both during the style's heyday in the early sixties and its resurgence in the early eighties. The tracks all date from 1960 to 1970 and are primarily ska, but there are some oddballs here including some great cuts from Lord Kitchener and Lee Perry. Other popular artists amongst the Mods on this collection are John Holt (his 'Ali Baba' is apparently the most requested track at Mod clubs), Tommy McCook, The Skatalites, The Maytals, Duke Reid's All Stars, The Heptones, (a very young) Jimmy Cliff, and a slew of others. One glaring omission, despite even being mentioned several times in the liner notes, is Prince Buster. Seems like, what with his huge influence on the later Mod bands that formed in England, I can't imagine that licensing restrictions would hold Trojan back. Oh well.
RealAudio clip: HOLT, JOHN "Ali Baba"
RealAudio clip: ALPHONSO, ROLAND "El Pussycat"
RealAudio clip: LORD KITCHENER "Kitch You're So Sweet"

V/A Wrong Application (Tigerbeat6) cd 12.98
Holy crap, another compilation from everybody's favorite electronic superstar Kid 606 and friends. Compiled by Andrew Nosnitsky, the concept behind "Wrong Application" was to create audio tracks resulting from non-audio, pure data information origination. Hexadecimalica anyone? "Wrong Application" furthers the aesthetic of the Matmos/Lesser/Kid 606/etc. co-op project Disc in a rather ultraexcessive fashion (imagine that!), resulting in pure digital errata and sonic terrorism akin to the Susan Lawly camp of extreme music, but in an 'electronica' context. Featured artists: Blitter, Lesser, Farmers Manual, Phthalocyanine, Kid 606, Pimmon, Electric Company, Underwood, Suetsu, Viratone Ballad and No Human Intervention. Tracks are sewn together with interludes and segues by a shy Keith Fullerton Whitman (aka Hrvatski) under the guise of 'Anonymous'. Not for anyone looking for a pleasurable ass moving experience. Brutal.
RealAudio clip: BLITTER "That Perceptrons"
RealAudio clip: LESSER "192041 DAE Error Encountered"
RealAudio clip: KID 606 "so.nk.izz.obtuse.and.unneccessary"

----*
----* In Stock, No Chance to Review :
----*


A WILD MAN BRANDISHING AN UPROOTED TREE "s/t" (Supermegacorporation) cd 8.98
ANTIPOP CONSORTIUM "Arrhythmia" (Warp) cd 16.98
AQUEDUCT "Power Ballads" (Popular Music) cd 14.98
ASATO, ISAMU "Fuyuh Mayah" (Japan Overseas) cd 15.98
AZURE RAY "Burn & Shiver" (Warm Electronic Recordings) cd 14.98
BAILEY, DEREK "New Sights, Old Sounds" (Incus) 2cd 19.98
BJORK, BRANT AND THE OPERATORS "s/t" (The Music Cartel) cd 13.98
BOOKER T. & THE MG'S "Green Onions" (Sundazed) lp 15.98
CATTLE DECAPITATION "Human Jerky" (Three One G) cd 14.98
CLOUDDEAD "Sound Of A Handshake" (Mush) 10" 8.98
COLTRANE, JOHN "Coltrane" (Impulse) 2cd 23.00
CROWN, THE "Crowned In Terror" (Metal Blade) cd 15.98
DIANOGAH "Millions Of Brazilians" (Southern) cd 14.98
DIE TODLICHE DORIS "Kinderringellreihen Fur Wharen Toren Des Grals" (Psychedelic Pig) cd 15.98
DOS TRACKS ":)" (Schematic) 2lp 14.98
ELECTRIC WIZARD "Let Us Prey" (The Music Cartel) cd 13.98
EL-P & AESOP ROCK "Dead Light" (Chocolate Industries) 12" 7.98
FILLE QUI MOUSSE "Se Taire Pour Une Femme Trop Belle" (Fractal) cd 16.98
FRANCIS, SAGE "Personal Journal" (Anticon) cd 13.98
FREEFORM "Audiotourism: Original Music Vietnam And China Vol. 2 Remix" (Quatermass) cd/2lp 16.98/16.98
FRITH, FRED & MAYBE MONDAY "Digital Wildlife" (Winter & Winter) cd 16.98
GRAVEDIGGAZ "Nightmare In A-Minor" (BMG) cd 15.98
HAIR POLICE "Blow Out Your Blood" (Freedom From) cd 9.98
HAPSHASH & THE COLORED COAT "Featuring The Human Host & The Heavy Metal Kids" (Akarma) cd 16.98
HERMAN DUNE "Switzerland Heritage" (Prohibited) cd 12.98
HIROSHIGE, JOJO "The Very Best Of Jojo Hiroshige" (Alchemy) cd 19.98
HUMAN REMAINS "Where Were You When" (Relapse) 2cd 14.98
KAWABATA VS. TSUYAMA "Freak Out Battle In Chicago" (Acid Mother's Temple) cd-r 14.98
KHAN, ALI AKBAR / SWAPAN CHAUDHURI / ALAM KHAN "From Father To Son" (Alam Madina) cd 13.98
KRONOS QUARTET "Nuevo" (Nonesuch) cd 15.98
LLOOP "Bulbbs" (theAgriculture) cd 14.98
LYMAN, MEL FAMILY "Birth" (Transparency) 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
MEEK, JOE "I Hear A New World (special edition)" (RPM) cd 15.98
MEPHISTA "Black Narcissus" (Tzadik) cd 16.98
MOUNTAIN GOATS "Ghana" (3 Beads of Sweat) cd 14.98
NAGISA NI TE "Feel" (Jagjaguwar) cd 13.98
NAONO "Slope Drifting" (Vibrant) cd 15.98
NAUSEA "Punk Terrorist Anthology" (Black Noise Records) cd 14.98
NOTO "Endless Loop Edition 2 (E, F, G, H)" (Raster Noton) 2x10" 17.98
O.G. RON C. "Southern's Finest Chopped & Skrewed" (GVM) cd 16.98
PARKER, WILLIAM QUARTET "O'Neal's Porch" (Aum Fidelity) cd 14.98
PARLOUR "Octopus Off-Broadway" (Temporary Residence) cd 12.98
POIRE_Z "+" (Erstwhile) cd 14.98
PROSTHETIC GUITARS "s/t" (Dial Records) cd 9.98
QBERT, DJ "Y" (Thud Rumble) lp 14.98
RADULESCU, HORATIU "Streichquartett nr. 4 opus 33" (Edition RZ) cd 16.98
SETH "Divine X" (Osmose) cd 14.98
SISSY SPACEK "H13" (Helicopter) cd 9.98
SOILWORK "Natural Born Chaos" (Nuclear Blast) cd 14.98
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS "Rings" (Epic) 2cd 16.98
TANAKH "Villa Claustrophobia" (Alien8) cd 13.98
THEORY IN PRACTICE "Colonizing The Sun" (Listenable) cd 14.98
TIMESBOLD "Woe Be Gone..." (Tin Drum) cd ep 10.98
TWEET "Southern Hummingbird" cd 16.98
ULTIMATE FAKEBOOK "Open Up And Say Awesome" (Initial Records) cd 14.98
V/A "...." (Edition) cd 14.98
V/A "Don't Fuck With Us" (Digital Hardcore) 3cd 14.98
V/A "Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down: Tribute To Kris Kristopherson" (Jackpine Social Club) cd 14.98
V/A "Disco Nouveau" (Ghostly International) cd 14.98
V/A "E2-E4 2001 Inspiration From E2-E4 - Tribute To Manuel Gõtsching" (SAL Disc) 2cd 19.98
WESTERBERG, PAUL "Stereo" (Vagrant) cd 15.98
WIESE, JOHN "Live At Mon Ton Son: August 28, 2000 Sapporo Japan TT 17:19" (Helicopter) cd 4.98
WU-TANG PRODUCTIONS PRESENT: KILLA BEEZ "The Sting" (Koch) 2cd 17.98
YAU, R.H.Y. "The Hidden Tongue" (Ground Fault) cd 8.98
YONKERS, MICHAEL BAND "Microminiature Love" (Destijl) lp 13.98
YOSHIHIDE/ROWE/SUGIMOTO "Ajar" (Alcohol) cd 17.98
ZIEGENBOK KOPF "The Architecture Of Dark Dance" (Toyo) cassette 4.98


_______________________________________________________________________
FILM FEST PLUG: "TRIBUTE"


With all the interesting flicks competing for your time at this year's San Francisco Film Festival (which began last night), filmmaker Rich Fox thought it would be a good idea to send us a screener of the film he co-directed, TRIBUTE, a 'rockumentary' about, yes, tribute bands. He thought it was something we at Aquarius would like, and hoped we'd mention it on our list...well, we DO like it! And so here's the plug: TRIBUTE is a hilarious, touching, and sometimes bizarre look at the perhaps misguided lives of those musicians who've figured out that if you can't make it to the top yourself, the next best alternative to simply *pretend* to be your musical heroes. But the tribute gig has its own trials and tribulations, as you'll see. Tributes to KISS, the Beatles, the Monkees, Queen, Journey, and Judas Priest are examined. Some of these tribute bands have their own dedicated *fans* who make it into the movie too, and if anything they're weirdest part. Worth seeing. Here's the details:

TRIBUTE (http://www.tributethemovie.com)

Saturday, April 27, 2002 at 4:15 PM
Tuesday, April 30, 2002 at 9:45 PM

AMC Kabuki 8 Theaters
1881 Post Street (at Fillmore)
San Francisco, CA

For tickets visit www.sfiff.org or call 1-925-275-9490


_______________________________________________________________________
SELECTED UPCOMING RELEASES


----> any second now
Gary Wilson "You Think You Really Know Me" cd reissue on Motel

----> sometime soon but we can't say when
Boris & Merzbow "Megatone" cd on Inoxia
Boris "Heavy Rocks" cd on Inoxia
Last of the Juanitas "Time's Up" ccd/lp on Wantage
Naked City "Live Vol. 1: Knitting Factory 1989" cd on Tzadik

----> April 23rd
Rovo "Live At Tonic 2001" 2cd on Tzadik
John Zorn "Masada First Live 1993" cd on Tzadik
The Promise Ring "Woodwater" cd on Epitaph
Badly Drawn Boy "About A Boy" OST cd on Arista/Twisted Nerve/XL
Cornershop "Handcream For A Generation" cd on Beggars Group
Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco) "Chelsea Walls" cd on Ryko
Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" cd on Atlantic
Nonphixion "The Future Is Now" cd on Landspeed
Damon and Naomi "Song To The Siren" live cd + DVD on Sub Pop
Luna "Romantica" cd on Jetset
Elvis Costello "When I Was Cruel" cd
Q-Tip "Kaamal The Abstract" cd on Arista
Bebel Gilberto "De Tarde, Vendo O Mar" cd on Evolver
Derek Bailey "Ballads" cd on Tzadik
v/a "Times Ain't What They Used To Be vol. 5" and "vol. 6" cds on Yazoo

----> April 30th
Alice Coltrane "Eternity" cd reissue on Sepia Tone
Alice Coltrane "Transcendence" cd reissue on Sepia Tone
Country Teasers "Science Hat Artistic Cube Moral Nosebleed Empire" cd/2lp on In The Red
Alabama Thunder Pussy "Staring At The Divine" cd on Relapse
Panacea "Underground Stardom" cd

----> 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
Radar Bros. "And The Surrounding Mountains" cd on Merge
Trans Am "T.A." cd on Thrill Jockey
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
Beat Happening "Crashing Through" cd boxset on K
The Makers "Strangest Parade" cd/lp on Sub Pop
John Vanderslice "Life And Death of an American Fourtracker" cd on Barsuk
Elf Power "Creatures" cd on SpinART
Steven R. Smith "Lineaments" cd on Emperor Jones
The Gossip "Arkansas Heat" cdep on Kill Rock Stars
Concentrik "Lucid Dreaming" cd on Emperor Jones
Track Star "Lion Destroyed The Whole World" cd on Better Looking

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

----> May 21st
John Zorn "Iao" cd on Tzadik
The Flatlanders "Now Again" cd on New West Records
William Parker Quartet "Raining On The Moon" cd on Thirsty Ear
Beachwood Sparks "Make The Cowboy Robots Cry" cdep/12" on Sub Pop
Ugly Casanova (Modest Mouse!) "Sharpen Your Teeth" cd/lp on Sub Pop
The Cannanes with Explosion Robinson "Trouble Seemed So Far Away" cd on Slabco
Puffy Ami Yumi "An Illustrated History" domestic cd collection on Bar/None
DJ Spooky vs. Shadow Records "Modern Mantra" mix cd on Shadow

----> May 28th
Mastodon "Remission" cd on Relapse
High On Fire "Surrounded By Thieves" cd on Relapse
Red Harvest "Sick Transit Gloria Mundi" cd on Relapse
Uphill Battle "s/t" on Relapse

---> 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" on Matador
Tarentel "Singles, Vol. 1" cd on TRL
Rumah Skit "Obscured By Clowns" cd on TRL
Sonna "Kept Luminesce/Mirameko" cdep on TRL
Danielson Famile "A Prayer For Every Hour" 2cd on Secretly Canadian
DJ Cheb I Sabbah "Krishna Lila" cd on Six Degrees
Looper "The Snare" cd on Mute
Manowar "Warriors Of The World" cd on Metal Blade
In Extremo "Sunder Ohne Zugel" cd on Metal Blade

---> June 11th
Agoraphobic Nosebleed "Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope" cd on Relapse
Origin "Infirmitas, Infinitas, Inhumitas" cd on Relapse

---> June 25th
Orange Goblin "Coup de Grace" cd on TMC
Sons of Otis "The Pusher" 10" picture disc on TMC


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Windy Byram Jeff Andee Jim Sadie Allan and Cup