SIMPLY SAUCER Cyborgs Revisited (Sonic Union) cd 14.98
Thirty or so years after first blasting off, the band known as Simply Saucer soars into view once again. Truly a twisted gem of the '70s pre-punk art-rock underground, the *Canadian* '70s pre-punk art-rock underground no less, this Hamilton, Ontario band was freaking people out back in 1974 with the material you'll find on this spiffy new cd reissue. The lucky and enlightened among you might already have the long out of print early-'90s cd version of this album, or even the original LP posthumously released in 1989, but this new edition of their half-studio, half-live "Cyborgs Revisited" adds 8 bonus tracks, including lo-fi demos, additional live stuff, and both sides of the Saucer's lone 1978 single. With or without these bonus tracks, it's a great fuckin' record, boldly owing allegiance to (early) Pink Floyd and the Velvet Underground and The Stooges. They've also got much in common with the likes of the Pink Fairies, Faust, NYC no-wave a la Von Lmo, and the contemporaneous crazy Ohio underground scene of the '70s (Rocket From The Tombs, Electric Eels). Yep, all these inspirations are immediately evident, not too far into side one of "Cyborgs Revisited": witness the the lengthy amazing repetitive Floydian effects instrumental "Mole Machine" as it segues into the acoustic intro of "Bullet Proof Nothing", Simply Saucer's idea of a love song, with lyrics like "Treat me like dirt/drive me insane" delivered in a sloppy Lou Reed drawl.
S.S. (unfortunate initials, hopefully nothing to do with their song "Nazi Apocalypse"!) were formed in '72 by a bunch of Canuck weirdos, notable among them lead guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Edgar Breau, and Sun Ra/Eno inspired electronics dude John LaPlante, aka "Ping Romany" -- Ping being a good stage name for the guy playing the primitive oscillators, tone generators, and theremin! They fought the good fight for a few years, cranking out freakish, space-fx laden proto-punk rock n' roll with sci-fi titles like "Dance The Mutation", eventually dabbling in Toronto's nascent "new wave" scene.
It's certainly no surprise that the Saucer never "made it" -- though that '78 single seems like a stab at poppier (or at least goofier) sound -- and, with no successful commercial career in the offing, they eventually disbanded. Dunno if they could ever be cited as an influence by anyone 'cause they were so obscure, but hypothetically anyway S.S. could be the warped template for today's garage artisans -- Comets On Fire, especially -- totally punk *and* psych, with skronked out guitar, snotty vox, oscillating noise waves and tumbling drums. Glad to have this back in print, and it's certainly a timely reissue considering how well this fits in with some of today's art-punk retro-electro trends!
MPEG Download: "Nazi Apocalypse"
MPEG Stream: "Nazi Apocalypse"
MPEG Download: "Illegal Bodies"
MPEG Stream: "Illegal Bodies"

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CALIFONE Deceleration Two (Perishable) cd 16.98
This is the second installment in Califone's music for animated and experimental films series on Perishable Records. You might recall Deceleration One from early last year. This cd features soundtracks for three films: "Francis" an animated work by Brent Green (track 1), "Fireworks (No Mail Days Are Sad Days)" by Jeff Economy (tracks 2-4), and Alla Nazimova's adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play "Salome" from 1922 (tracks 5-16). As opposed to their more familiar languid twang, here they frequently venture into more fragmented experimental noise soundscapes with 'scenes' shifting swiftly and quite drastically. Overall, it's a very percussive and textural affair, but it still retains that distinct Califone somberness too, that is, right up until the twelfth track "She Dances" in which they slide into an almost funky slippery groove. As we mentioned last year in regards to the first volume, Califone's film scores certainly pique your interest about the films themselves, but they also succeed as captivating listens on their own.
MPEG Download: "Fireworks III"
MPEG Stream: "Fireworks III"
MPEG Download: "She Dances"
MPEG Stream: "She Dances"

DECEMBERISTS Castaways And Cutouts (Kill Rocks Stars) cd 14.98
Andee seems to always find one thing on the list to rave about. This week is no different, here's
Andee raving about this Decemberists disc:
I can't figure out why I like this record so much. On first listen it really doesn't sound like my kind of thing at all. Yet it just sort of grabbed me and I can't stop listening to it. Which is pretty exciting considering how much music I hear everyday and how seldom something just completely takes my breath away. Especially when I'm not expecting to like it! The Decemberists play a sort of mutant hybrid of indie pop and folk. And it is a bit twee, which would usually put me off right away. But for some reason, this record manages to claw it's way out of the twee-pop ghetto. The singer has a very affected, sort of British air which reminds me a bit of Belle And Sebastian (who I'm not a huge fan of), but way less wispy and more gritty and world weary. A bit like Robyn Hitchcock or Dan Bejar of the Destroyer (and the New Pornographers) The music though sounds a lot like Neutral Milk Hotel, all strummed guitars and belted-out vocals, but mixed with the dreamy and pastoral popscapes of Belle and Sebastian and even a little bit of the Pogues sort of celtic campfire stomp/gypsy street music vibe. Lilting and dreamy, but also really sharp and emotional. The lyrics are very bookish and the subject matter is very Dickensian, evoking cobblestone streets and gaslamps and hungry street urchins and idealised Victorian romance. Heartbreakingly bittersweet and once in a while even sort of funny. Like Edward Gorey drawings set to music. A lot of that has to do with the instrumentation, wheezing almost Parisian sounding accordians, ominous rumbling cellos, ghostly theremins, and droning warbling organs that affortlessly create that sort of late night, empty streets, drunk and bitter, wistful and sort of hopeful, broken hearted aura that so much music strives for.
From loping waltzes to bouncing pop to crawling dirges, the Decemberists weave a totally magical spell that totally envelops you and transports you to wherever it is the Decemberists are plying their wares. It's all just so beautiful and catchy and melancholy and absolutely fucking great!
MPEG Download: "Leslie Anne Levine"
MPEG Stream: "Leslie Anne Levine"
MPEG Download: "Odalisque"
MPEG Stream: "Odalisque"
MPEG Download: "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect"
MPEG Stream: "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect"

FRANCISCAN HOBBIES, THE Masks & Meanings (Soft Abuse) cd 10.98
Courtesy of new Florida-based label Soft Abuse, "Masks And Meanings" is the first full-length "real" cd from San Francisco's wonderfully dreamy improvisors The Franciscan Hobbies, following the "Caterpillars Of The Oak Beauty" cd-r on their own Jewelled Antler label. Featuring members of Thuja (Loren Chasse, Glenn Donaldson, Rob Reger) and others, including Greg Bianchini from SF folk troubadours The Muons, you can perhaps guess what this sounds like. Somewhere between the psychedelic forest drones of Thuja and the folkiness of Glenn and Loren's Blithe Sons project. Abstract, droney, relaxing. Gently plucked guitar strings, rattling and rustling noises of indeterminate origin, very organic and natural sounding. Field recordings and non-instrument sound making fill sonic spaces alongside what might be mellow kraut/hippy jams on guitars and percussion, if they weren't so damaged and sparse and loosely structured. It's music, like sunlight, filtering down through the leafy branches of the forest canopy, into a grassy nest the Hobbies have burrowed out and furnished with antiques. Afternoon light, and shadowed darkness and dust. Indeed, like most of the J.A. projects, The Hobbies often record out-of-doors, in meadows in Golden Gate Park for instance. They came up with their name, actually, from a piece of wood they randomly found on the site of one of their recording sessions, upon which the words "Franciscan Hobbies" were printed. Their music's mysterious yet oddly whimsical vibe is carried through the collage artwork and song titles ("Wasp Embodiment", "Plough Drawn By Toads"). Very nice. That some tracks end with abrupt edits would be about our only complaint... Definitely for fans of Tower Recordings, Kemialliset Ystavat, the whole Jewelled Antler "collective" and suchlike. You know who you are/what this is.
MPEG Download: "A Preordained Sequence"
MPEG Stream: "A Preordained Sequence"
MPEG Download: "The Matchless Phenomenon"
MPEG Stream: "The Matchless Phenomenon"

MELT-BANANA Cell-scape (A-Zap) cd 13.98
A new record from spazz-prog-punk rockers Melt-Banana and while the overall sound is not all that different, they continue to get better and better, and dare we say more listenable with each record. Less ear splitting high end skree this time around, and a much warmer production, as well as some really catchy songs and great riffs make this possibly the best MB record yet. Plus there's a bunch of strange midtempo 'breakdowns' as well as some bizarre production and electronic fuckery that add even more dimension to MB's already unique sonic palette. But fear not, still present are the fingernails-on-a-chalkboard guitars and the hyperspeed chipmunk vocals and the spazzy rhythms, it all just sounds much more refined. Allan thinks the new Melt-Banana sounds like a bizarre hybrid of three other records on this weeks list: the Simply Saucer, the Agoraphobic Nosebleed and the Cats And Kittens cds. Which is actually not all that far off the mark!
MPEG Download: "Shield For Your Eyes, A Beast In The Well On Your Hand"
MPEG Stream: "Shield For Your Eyes, A Beast In The Well On Your Hand"
MPEG Download: "A Dreamer Who Is Too Weak To Face Up To"
MPEG Stream: "A Dreamer Who Is Too Weak To Face Up To"
MPEG Download: "Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold"
MPEG Stream: "Lost Parts Stinging Me So Cold"

OLSSON, BJORN s/t (Gravitation) cd 15.98
Sweden's Bjorn Olsson (a member of The Soundtrack Of Our Lives) returns with yet another album of nostalgic soundtrack-sounding stuff that'll have you asking yourself "where have I heard this before"? Of course, that may be because, when you get through the whole album, you'll have heard many of the songs twice! (Yep, for the same obscure reason he did so on his last album "UPA", ol' Bjorn put the same songs twice on one disc, though the second time around they're definitely different mixes at least.)
Anyway, after hearing these tracks a couple times (that is, after one spin of the disc, heh) we found ourselves -- store employees and customers alike -- fairly whistling along, mostly because Olsson's catchy melodies are quite irresistible, but also partly 'cuz several of the best tracks here indeed feature whistling as the melodic lead (think Morricone's "Giu La Testa"). Yep again, as with his previous two albums Bjorn continues to emulate Ennio Morricone, to the point where he's nearly out Heroded Herod. Along with his knack for melody -- super catchy and incredibly reminiscent of specific tunes that will rest on the tip of your tongue -- Olsson's arrangements are increasingly more brilliant to boot. Like a spaghetti western that takes place in a sunny, pastoral meadow or something. A very lovely album, that at first we thought might be a bit too "Hallmark card" pretty, but really really grew on us. Windy's new favorite album, and Byram likes it too!
MPEG Download: "Juli"
MPEG Stream: "Juli"
MPEG Download: "Gotenborg"
MPEG Stream: "Gotenborg"
MPEG Download: "Instrumental"
MPEG Stream: "Instrumental"

PERNICE BROTHERS Yours, Mine & Ours (Redeye) cd 15.98
With bandleader credits under the monikers Scud Mountain Boys, Big Tobacco, and Chappaquiddick Skyline, perennial AQ-favorite Joe Pernice offers his third as the Pernice Brothers. Yes, this is the most polished and radio-ready of all his records, but that doesn't mean it is watered down at all. Moving away from his country rock explorations with the Scuds, the Pernice Brothers explore the world of pop, albeit very melancholy, achingly bittersweet, emotion-drenched, sincere singer-songwriter pop. His near 'n dear influence remains the same as ever -- Bread. Wonderful Bread, who share with Pernice a love for delicately, carefully, quietly sung vocal melodies and sympathetic instrumentation -- warmly strummed guitars (at times reminiscent of The Smiths even!). Pernice's music has gotten me thru more than one broken heart... Now if you haven't heard Pernice before we'd recommend you start with Scud Mtn Boys' Massachusetts or the Big Tobacco album, but if you're already a fan we certainly recommend Yours Mine and Ours.
MPEG Download: "How"
MPEG Stream: "How"
MPEG Download: "Sometimes I Remember"
MPEG Stream: "Sometimes I Remember"

SURFACE OF ECEYON Dragyyn (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98
Second release from this cosmic psych rock ensemble (which features folks from Yume Bitsu and Landing) and it continues their entropic quest for transcendental enlightenment via wah wah pedals, big amps and long, long songs. This is some druggy, space-y, droney, stretched out, blissed out, EPIC shit. This is like Hawkwind played by indie kids, a punk rock Tangerine Dream, a more dreamy Comets On Fire. You get the picture. Noodly guitars are stretched out over droning organs, slowly building into monstrous slabs of psychedelic swirl and heady heaviness. Krautrock rhythms demarcate loose fields of strum and twinkle, inducing hypnotic head nodding and stretched out serenity. PLUS, the record is called Dragyyn AND there's a picture of a dragon on the cover AND the inside text tells the whole Surface Of Eceyon and Dragyyn mythology AND the bands line-up is identified as Seabearde, Lyfeforce, Sephryn, Dragyyn, and Eceyonic Man. I mean, c'mon! If I smoked pot, I would definitely pop this in my boombox, get a bunch of weed, and go lay on top of a hill looking for dragon shaped clouds and trying to figure out the meaning of everything.
MPEG Download: "Stolen Wind"
MPEG Stream: "Stolen Wind"
MPEG Download: "Council Is Called"
MPEG Stream: "Council Is Called"

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AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED Altered States of America (Relapse) 3" cd 14.98
The grand return (albeit slight) of the masters of hyperspeed, crushing, gore-y metallic grind. We raved about their most recent full length Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope, hailing it as the best grind record of last year, which it was! So how does this new one stack up? Well, musically, it's got everything its predecessor had, drums like handfuls of ball bearings hurled at your windshield, guitars like electric carving knives hooked up to a car battery and used to saw your ears off and low end like a hot tar blanket wrapped around your head. But the concept rules on this one. 100 songs (the first being tracked -before- track one to accomodate the 99 song cd limit), the majority clocking in at or a little under 10 seconds, all on a 3" cd. Pretty cool. But the listenability of 4 second blasts of short sharp grinding carnage is maybe a bit debatable. And taking into consideration how unbelievably complex and convuluted AnB songs are, it seems like all 100 tracks could've been woven into 3 or 4 proper tracks. But where would the fun be in that?! And those of you who have been hankering for more of that sick, sick, fast as fuck, brutal blurred grinding metal that only a few bands can pull off (AnB, Pig Destroyer, etc.) and miss song titles like 'Children Blown To Bits By The Busload', 'When Taking A Shit Feels Sexy', 'Mosquito Holding Human Cattle Prod', 'Holiday Bowl Full Of Asshole' then look no further. The 100 song 3" grindcore ep of the year without a doubt!
MPEG Download: "Spreading The Dis-Ease"
MPEG Stream: "Spreading The Dis-Ease"
MPEG Download: "4 Leeches (40,000 Leeches)"
MPEG Stream: "4 Leeches (40,000 Leeches)"

AMBARCHI, OREN / JOHAN BERTHLING My Days Are Darker Than Your Nights (Hapna) cd 14.98
Pure drone bliss on offer here from the prolific Australian guitar experimentalist Oren Ambarchi (whom you may already know) and Swedish musician Johan Berthling (a less familiar name -- he's brother to Andreas Berthling, and with him a member of the field recordings group Tape, who are also to be found on Hapna). These two got together in a studio in Stockholm last year with the intent to drone, and drone they did, Ambarchi on electric guitar and Berthling playing the harmonium. They recorded what, with some editing, became this single track, thirty minute long cd release. "My Days Are Darker Than Your Nights" is a totally pleasant -- assuming that serious drones are yr cup of tea to begin with, that is -- shimmering, buzzing, faintly grinding drone piece. Ambarchi's guitar eventually, occasionally engages in some wavering tones, cyclic and repetitive in the vein of some '70s minimalist Reich/Riley thing, while Berthling's harmonium always pulsates mechanically, and ever so slightly melodically, in the background. The sound of both merges into a gorgeous whole. Good stuff, a strong n' steady drone release that really mesmerizes (though it's got a high end that might not allow peaceful sleep, a la some of Tony Conrad's drones). Is this sort of thing the religious music of the 21st century? Could be....
MPEG Download: "My Days Are Darker Than Your Nights"
MPEG Stream: "My Days Are Darker Than Your Nights"

ASTATKE, MULATU Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) lp 16.98
Now is one of those rare times when the dedicated lovers of vinyl are rewarded with something exclusive to LP. By now we're all pretty familiar with Mulatu Astatke, what with Ethiopiques #4 and the LP reissue of his "Ethio Jazz" album he's practically a household name by now (at least around here). I'm kidding of course, but rabid fans of the inimitable funk/soul/groove sounds from Ethiopia no doubt place him pretty high on the short list of the greatest from the period. And what's better is that "Mulatu of Ethiopia" contains entirely exclusive tracks. Yep, that's right, none of these tracks are on any of the discs in the Ethiopiques series (though there are two reworkings of tracks -- "Dewel" and "Munaye" -- from Ethiopiques 4). The album itself, a reissue of a 1972 release of the same title, was recorded by Astatke in the U.S. during his tenure here and until now it fetched high prices on the collector's market. Given Astatke's experiences working in the U.S. with American jazz and Latin jazz musicians it should come as no surprise that it sounds nothing like anything else in the myriad Ethiopian groove reissues. For one, it's super smooov' (in a good way) with Mulatu picking up his mallets and playing vibes through it all and the recording -- which must have been done at some swank U.S. studio -- is ultra lush (what's that? You say you can hear the bass?) The music on this album totally sounds like a soundtrack to some long lost Michael Caine political intrigue film. You can almost see the cigarette dangling out of Caine's mouth as he drives around in an Austin Healey tailing a bad guy. On "Mulatu of Ethiopia" Astatke is accompanied by a pretty tight ensemble, much smaller than the orchestras of the Amha recording era. The backbone of his accompaniment is an uber funky organ/electric piano that sounds at times like they've got a wah wah pedal hooked up to it. Also included in the ensemble is electric bass, drums, percussion and plenty of soloing assistance from saxophone, flute and trumpet. Highly recommended, but act fast 'cause, as with so many things, we only have a few...
MPEG Download: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Stream: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Download: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"
MPEG Stream: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"

AUSTERITY PROGRAM, THE Terra Nova (Hydrahead) cd ep 9.98
The power of independent trucking indeed! This is some serious Big Black worship. Which is not a bad thing. I mean, if you're gonna find inspiration for your two-guys-and-a-drum-machine rock band, you can't really do better than the mighty 'Black. While no band can possibly hope to approach the ferocity and misanthropy of BB at their prime, The Austerity Program make a pretty good go of it, especially considering they are probably nice, respectable young men with not nearly as much opinion/pent-up anger/baggage as Big Black front man Steve Albini and thus have to work a bit harder to get ANGRY enough to make music this pissed. Screeching, clanging guitars, over machinelike rhythms, with half shouted/half sung vocals adding slight melody to the caustic, abrasive noisescapes. It's got a bit more of a post rock feel, but that's not a bad thing. It definitely helps make The Austerity Program sound a little more like themselves. Good stuff.
MPEG Download: "Song 3"
MPEG Stream: "Song 3"

BANHART, DEVENDRA The Black Babies (UK) (Young God) cd ep 9.98
We've been told that amidst the piles of four-track recordings that Devendra Banhart has made, there are over 100 songs yet to be released. All of the tracks from the critically acclaimed debut album "Oh Me Oh My..." (even NPR has been raving about it!) came from that wealth of material. Thus, it's somewhat disappointing that the "The Black Babies (UK)" ep -- so-called 'cause it was originally intended just for release in England -- only features 6 previously unheard offerings of his wonderfully bizarre folk songs and 2 tracks from the aforementioned "Oh Me Oh My..." album. Nonetheless, "The Black Babies" is a very welcome addition. Devendra's voice continues to belie his gender with a straining vibrato that sounds more like a crazed Billie Holiday, or more accurately like the '60s Village folk maven Karen Dalton. Overdubbing just his voice and his elliptical fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar through borrowed four-tracks, Devendra's songs work through their ability to communicate the extremes of emotion with so little to work with. It also doesn't hurt his cause that all of his material is swathed in the audio cobwebs of tape hiss, residual ambience, and purposefully unkempt production. In light of such lo-fi indie-rock offerings as The Mountain Goats and Sebadoh, none of this is new; although Devendra's subject matter seems far more magical and outlandish than the rumpled tragicomedies of those acts. While the highlights of "Oh Me Oh My..." were the bloodcurdling songs of pain and abjection, "The Black Babies (UK)" features more of his sort-of love songs, albeit, quite atypical love songs, in which Devendra pines for places like Maine, South Carolina, or Spain. This is some of the finest in magic realism.
MPEG Download: "Surgery I Stole"
MPEG Stream: "Surgery I Stole"
MPEG Download: "Onward The Indian"
MPEG Stream: "Onward The Indian"

BEANS Inner Cosmosis (Foreverbad) cd 14.98
Ah, not to be confused with the other current artist by the same name (Beans of Antipop Consortium), this is indeed the wonderful experimental band from Vancouver. Released on their own label, Inner Cosmosis features a much more expansive and cohesive sound than their previous releases. This in itself is quite something to behold, as those three earlier cds (Portage on Zulu Records, Crane Wars and Tired Snow EP, both on Zum Records) were accomplished and quite enjoyable as they were. However, it seems they've moved away from their previous Godspeed/Mogwai leanings towards something more their own. Much like their Zum labelmates and pals Xiu Xiu, Beans incorporate homemade string and percussion instruments into the traditional band lineup. And along with a marimba, some tapeplayers, turntables and other electronics, they take you on an intriguing sonic journey. A very soothingly fluid and groovy hour plus (as the cd cover art tells, this is 63:19 long). Stretch out with Beans for a while. Of the seven tracks, all but one exceed six minutes in length. To top it all off, this impressive work was actually recorded live one rainy fall evening. So very nice!
MPEG Download: "Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Sun"
MPEG Download: "Absolute"
MPEG Stream: "Absolute"

CATS & KITTENS Our World's Sounds (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
Meow. We have trouble keeping that Time Stereo "The Cat" cd-r in stock, but now at least we can offer you this new cd, also of cat sounds. This is from the same label that brought us the ever-popular Frogs and Deep Into The Earth natural sounds recordings (and Woodfire, and Sea & Dolphins, etc.). Cats might seem a bit more warm and cuddly than frogs and fish, but when miked up close and amplified all that purring takes on a massive droning quality, and playful kitten cries become disturbingly angst-filled. There's some twittering songbirds also heard here in the background, which may explain the feline excitement. On the back cover it says something about the cats "contemplating doves that seem to outsmart them every time" -- good, as a recording of cats devouring doves might not be so pleasant. Not that this won't drive your housemates (and housecats, and dogs!) insane if played back at high volume. So don't let the cute n' colourful cover (what's that kitten doing playing with a sewing machine, anyway?) fool you. This is a serious piece of sonic documentation every bit as interesting as a Francisco Lopez field recording *and* as dramatic as a Dead Raven Choir cd-r.
MPEG Download: "Biscuits! Purrrr...fect"
MPEG Stream: "Biscuits! Purrrr...fect"
MPEG Download: "Kittens Demand Some Attention From A Contented Purring Mother"
MPEG Stream: "Kittens Demand Some Attention From A Contented Purring Mother"

CONVERGE The Long Road Home (Deathwish) dvd 18.98
What to say about the mighty Converge? Not sure I can top Allan's description from a few lists back:
"Pummelling, complex, and super heavy. There's dizzying changes and lots of textures, from razor-sharp guitar riffing to theremin squiggles to throat-shredding screams. Going beyond your usual technical metal/hardcore brutality, Converge utilize Shellac/Slint style post-rock style dynamics and non-screaming vocals as well."
Converge are probably one of, if not our favorite metalcore bands ever (along with Coalesce, Heaven Shall Burn, From Autumn To Ashes and a few select others) and have continued to progress musically, taking their Slayer meets NYHC to completely new and original places.
This DVD basically chronicles the hundreds of live performances from 1994 to the present. It's cool to see this stuff live, it's way more palpable and dangerous, and the virtuosity takes a back seat to the sweat and aggresion and fury and chaos and fun. Swirling pits and bouncing band members and flailing stage divers. Recorded at huge festivals, little clubs and tiny low-ceilinged basements. Super intimate and really cool. Two sided disc, with the first side being the feature, 20 or so songs, recorded live all over the world, some on film, some on video, all varying degrees of sound/picture quality, but all furious and awesome to watch. The bonus footage on side 2 is three entire live shows as well as a super arty music video.

CULPER RING 355 (Neurot) cd 15.98
Named, for some reason, after a Revolutionary War spy cell, Culper Ring is an experimental collaborative side project from three Bay Area underground music notables: Steve Von Till of Neurosis/Tribes Of Neurot, Kris Force of Amber Asylum, and Mason Jones of Subarachnoid Space. There's none of Neurosis's crusty metal grind to be found here, so this might appeal more to fans of Subarachnoid's space rock and Amber Asylum's gothic chamber strings, with the spacey folky vibe these three conjure up. Apparently inspired by the likes of Coil, Nurse With Wound and Current 93, Culper Ring utilize violin, effects-laden guitars, haunting female vocals and some electronic noises to generate a soundworld that's melancholic, dark, a bit droney and "psych". It's actually quite pretty and mellow, with eight untitled tracks to wander through your ears. Not bad at all for a project that we suspect got its start just 'cause the principals all happened to share a practice space.
MPEG Download: "track eight"
MPEG Stream: "track eight"

CUTS, THE 2 Over 10 (Birdman) cd 13.98
It's kinda of ironic that what sounds to me like a fully authentic power pop record from the early '70s was actually made this year by young 'uns from Oakland! This is so pitch perfect Nuggets-y that even the purists amongst us will be impressed. The singer sound a li'l bit Tom Verlaine/Television, a li'l bit Ric Ocasek/Cars. The sweet poignancy of some of the tracks recalls "#1 Album"-era Big Star, when they rocked more than they wept. Recorded in Memphis with Greg Cartwright of the Oblivians. Recommended.
MPEG Download: "How Can I Get Through"
MPEG Stream: "How Can I Get Through"
MPEG Download: "Flip A Coin"
MPEG Stream: "Flip A Coin"

DARKEST HOUR Hidden Hands of a Sadist Nation (Victory) cd 12.98
Seems to me like every hardcore kid in America must have gotten an In Flames songbook for Christmas, cause more and more US metalcore is sounding remarkably like Swedish melodic blackened, death metal. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Now that In Flames have their eyes on the nu-metal prize and wear matching white denim outfits and prance around on MTV lip sync-ing to sing-along choruses and playing cookie cutter "MTV metal" someone had to step up to the plate. Darkest Hour are one of the few metalcore bands that are truly capable of writing actual songs and crafting honest to goodness hooks with super catchy melodies and totally original parts. They still destroy. Thick guitars and howled vocals. Super complex song structures and crazy drumming. It's all HEAVY AS FUCK! But amidst all the chaos and pummelling brutality are the kind of hooks that stick with you the way a pop song does. I find myself humming Darkest Hour riffs all the time lately and that's pretty strange. Although maybe it shouldn't be. One of our favorite new metalcore records, and it may just be catchy enough for you brave pop fans. But probably not.
MPEG Download: "The Sadist Nation"
MPEG Stream: "The Sadist Nation"
MPEG Download: "Pay Phones and Pills"
MPEG Stream: "Pay Phones and Pills"

DEAD RAVEN CHOIR Their Feet Are the Foraging Ground For Wolves (Jewelled Antler) 3" cd-r 5.98
The missing number 5 in the Jewelled Antler Library series of 3" cds turns out to be by Dead Raven Choir, the Texas-by-way-of-Poland based folk/improv one man project that the Jewelled Antler powers-that-be seem to be totally in love with of late -- this is their 3rd DRC release this year! As with his previous Jewelled Antler cd-rs, DRC here conjures up some eccentric vocal theatrics and sparse, haunted acoustic guitar playing, like some sort of Eastern European Jandek. And his black metal obsession with wolves continues in the title here as well. Scarily beautiful, with atmospheric piano and unknown other sounds providing a hissing soundscape for his vocal, all three tracks here featuring macabre poetry by Paul Verlaine.
MPEG Download: "Night Scene"
MPEG Stream: "Night Scene"
MPEG Download: "The Horn's Sound In The Wood"
MPEG Stream: "The Horn's Sound In The Wood"

DELGADOS, THE All You Need Is Hate (Mantra) cd single 5.98
Attention all Delgados completists... Here's the newest single from your fave Scottish band! That said, the two previously unreleased songs included on this EP makes this a worthwhile acquisition for any bittersweet grand pop fan. The Emma Pollock-sung "Mad Drums" was recorded during the Hate sessions and surely sounds fitting as a lovely addendum and the E.L.O. cover "Mr. Blue Sky" is a rambunctious number that when done Delgados style recalls their early more raucous garage pop sounds.
MPEG Download: "Mad Drums"
MPEG Stream: "Mad Drums"
MPEG Download: "Mr. Blue Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Blue Sky"

DILUTE The Gypsy Valentine Curve + Special Bonus 3" Disk (Toad) cd + 3"cd 13.98
One of the Bay Area's most wonderful bands sees a reissue of its debut (and IMO best) album, here in a deeeeluxe Japanese pressing -- thick gatefold cover with obi, 2 full color artwork prints, and a 3" live disc, on Andee's pal Hama's new Toad label.
There's real stark emotion nakedly playing across the music of Dilute, whose totally epic tone recalls Flaming Lips, and vocalist Marty Anderson sounds just like a cross between Neil Young and the Lips' Wayne Coyne. Yet Dilute strips out all the bombastic orchestration of, say, the Lips and instead leaves in just the lurching exclamation points, millisecond shards of noise, and fills in the rest of the music with serene fingerpicked arpeggios and sad romantic melodies. The songs remind me of Fuck's (in fact, fans of Fuck will *love* this) -- deconstructed and barely there; multisectioned with lots of hinted-at yet unstated segues and harmonies that your brain automatically fills in without the band having to. That takes smarts and a lot of musicianly restraint. This is a wonderful record!
MPEG Download: "Bea"
MPEG Stream: "Bea"
MPEG Download: "Freedumb"
MPEG Stream: "Freedumb"

DOF if more than twenty people laugh, it wasn't funny (Highpoint Lowlife) cd 11.98
A bedroom electronica record that combines warm, pastoral interweaving guitars with sweet fingerpicking on acoustic guitar mixed with gentle clicks and whirrs, melodic and soothing yet just glitchy and quietly manic enough to add some texture and grit to the organic lushness. Emotional, melancholy chord changes. Like Papa M or Sonna meets Mouse on Mars and Oval. Yep, it's that pretty!
MPEG Download: "derail in dream"
MPEG Stream: "derail in dream"
MPEG Download: "two times two makes five is such a charming concept"
MPEG Stream: "two times two makes five is such a charming concept"

ELUVIUM Lambent Material (Temporary Residence) cd 14.98
Lambent...ambient and gentle like a lamb? Actually the word means luminous, which is appropriate as well, for music this light and pretty, casting a soft glow. Wispy, but not wimpy. Eluvium is the work of Portland Oregon's Matthew Cooper, a post-rock bliss-out artist if there ever was one. His music, constructed of layers of guitar, piano melodies, and some distant voices perhaps, swells and falls, wrapping the listener in pale, gauzy colors and textures. On the fourth and longest (15 min.) piece, "Zerthis Was a Shivering Human Image" Eluvium gets nicely fuzzed, warm and deep and droning -- not so light but still pretty. Whoosh. There's five lovely tracks here total, all of which should appeal to fans of Stars Of The Lid, Brian Eno, Landing, Labradford, Sonna, P. Jeck, etc. We like.
MPEG Download: "Under The Water It Glowed"
MPEG Stream: "Under The Water It Glowed"
MPEG Download: "Zerthis Was A Shivering Human Image"
MPEG Stream: "Zerthis Was A Shivering Human Image"

FLYING LIZARDS Secret Dub Life of the Flying Lizards (Mister E) cd 13.98
While the Flying Lizards are best remembered for their new wave / post punk antics in the '70s -- avantgarde electronic novelty covers of pop tunes, most famously the dub influenced tinkering of their jaunty version of "Money (That's What I Want)" from '79, they had a more serious interest in dub and experimentation as well. "The Secret Dub Life..." is an example of such that should not go unnoticed, and here we have a reissue to check out. The somewhat murky story is that back in 1978, Flying Lizards main man David Cunningham was given the chance to remix some tracks laid down by Jah Lloyd and some unidentified Jamaican musicians. Confronted with a mono master only (and with no fancy studio or samplers at his disposal) he had to be rather inventive with the mixes, doing them in his free time so that this album was only fully completed and released in 1995! (Although, his original experience with these mixes informed much of his subsequent work through the eighties, we're told in his liner notes.) Real nice, authentic sounding low-tech ambient dub stuff, loaded with weird sound effects, and really not at all like the Flying Lizards "hits" you may have heard.
MPEG Download: "Preface"
MPEG Stream: "Preface"

GIBBARD, BENJAMIN & ANDREW KENNY Home: Volume V (Post-Parlo) cd 11.98
Ben Gibbard goes country! Just kidding, but this does kinda make me muse "What if Death Cab For Cutie went unplugged?" Fans of Elliott Smith might take a shine to his four song contribution to this installment of the Home Series (past volumes have featured Spoon's Britt Daniel, Julie Doiron, Damien Jurado and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst among others). A nice contrast to his recent electronic pop recordings with Postal Service. He's joined by Andrew Kenny of American Analog Set. All eight songs are softly sung, atop equally softly strummed acoustic guitars.
MPEG Download: "You Remind Me Of Home "
MPEG Stream: "You Remind Me Of Home "
MPEG Download: "Secrets Of The Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Secrets Of The Heart"

HIGH TONE SON OF A BITCH Better You Than Me (Unknown Controller / Shifty) cd 8.98
For those of you who miss the big ol' fuzzed out desert rock of the mighty Kyuss, or can't get enough of the throbbing blown out RAWK of Fu Manchu and Nebula, this here SF band will almost definitely hit the spot. High Tone Son Of A Bitch mix the above bands sounds with some Thin Lizzy melody, some Eyehategod sludge, and some quirky complex arrangements to come up with some first rate stoner/sludge/doom rock. This 4 song ep also features appearances from Dave Edwardson of Neurosis playing Moogs... and our very own Andee behind the drum kit (but just for this ep)!
MPEG Download: "Fortune's Crown"
MPEG Stream: "Fortune's Crown"
MPEG Download: "Better You Than Me"
MPEG Stream: "Better You Than Me"

JAYHAWKS Blue Earth (Ryko / Restless / Twintone) cd 15.98
Avid readers of the list know how much we LOVE the Jayhawks. From their twangy No Depression-ish Hollwood Town Hall major label debut, to their super-produced ultra-lush masterpiece Tommorow The Green Grass to the stripped down classic pop of their most recent Rainy Day Music, reviewed a couple lists back. This is the second Jayhawks release, but was actually just a collection of demos that were gussied up a bit for release. Thus, being demos, the songs do sound a little rough, and lack the production and lush vocal interplay that eventually defined the Jayhawks sound, but even so, they still manage to be pretty darn good. Cause as far as we're concerned, even the worst Jayhawks songs are better than the best songs of most bands. Disc opener 'Two Angels' resurfaces on their amazing Hollywood Town Hall album in a much more finished form. But it's cool to hear the song before it got worked over and got the Rick Rubin big production. And so it goes for most of Blue Earth, a lot of these tracks might have blossomed had they been re-recorded and reworked, but as they are, they are gorgeous, twangy, catchy diamonds in the rough. Comes with three additional unreleased demos as well as new liner notes.
MPEG Download: "Two Angels"
MPEG Stream: "Two Angels"
MPEG Download: "She's Not Alone Anymore"
MPEG Stream: "She's Not Alone Anymore"

JOHNSTON, DANIEL The Early Recordings Volume 1 (Dualtone) 2cd 17.98
Finally released on cd, this double disc o' the one and only Daniel Johnston includes "Songs Of Pain 1980-83" and "More Songs Of Pain". They were his very first two cassettes that he recorded in his parents' basement over two decades ago. The inner child sings out freely from this oft-troubled grown man whose freewheeling musical spirit and imagination have captured the hearts of many fellow artists over the years (Sonic Youth, Half Japanese and Nirvana to name just a few). His songs - perky primal melodies crudely hammered out on piano or guitar and sung in his distinct singsong delivery - are filled with genuine naivete, broken hearts, playful silly musings and downright strange meanderings. And these early recordings while still retaining their tape hiss and muffledness, not to mention Johnston's coughs, commentary and pauses are perhaps his most immediate and impactful. Pretty darn wonderful!
MPEG Download: "A Little Story"
MPEG Stream: "A Little Story"
MPEG Download: "I Save Cigarette Butts"
MPEG Stream: "I Save Cigarette Butts"

LAZARUS Songs For An Unborn Sun (Temporary Residence) cd 14.98
Gorgeous album! Lazarus is Trevor Montgomery (ex-Tarentel), the lanky, gravel-voiced troubadour of sadness who has here laid down some of the most poignant and heartfelt vocal and acoustic guitar tracks ever. And the album would be lovely left at that, but then to make it even better, Trevor asked Marty Anderson from the amazing local group Dilute to embellish the music: the results are quietly stunning. Marty adds his own barely-there creaky treble vocals -- he sounds like a wrinkled crone following creepily on Montgomery's every step (in a good way) -- and tiny dots of electric guitar squiggles. A singer songwriter record with fascinating audible touches that make it both hauntingly bittersweet and yet refreshingly cleansing. Another winner from the Temporary Residence label.
MPEG Download: "Poets the Liars"
MPEG Stream: "Poets the Liars"
MPEG Download: "Ocean (Burn the Highways)"
MPEG Stream: "Ocean (Burn the Highways)"

MAJESTICONS, THE Beauty Party (Big Dada) cd 17.98
Not sure why this record is so appealing, but it just is. It's big and dumb and fun and crazy and silly. Fairly sure it's a send up of the current MTV party hip hop sound, from bumping big beats, to slow jams to Mariah Carey sort of stuff. But it's so perfect it could easily fool fans of the real thing. Which I suppose is the point. Reminds me a lot of the N.E.R.D. record, all relentless driving beats and buzzing synth lines with goofy singing/rapping. Kind of lo-fi but you can tell it would sound bumpin' in your boomin' system. A big wild party, a big messy sloppy mix of all sorts of sounds: Missy Elliot, L'Trimm, Miami bass, two step garage, Vanity 6, and all sorts of crap. There's even a sort-of-cover of the Pet Shop Boy's 'Opportunity'. Weird. And the lyrics are so goddamn funny. The slow jams do get a bit much as the record progresses, but there's a couple wicked tracks that make the whole thing pretty worth while. I'm functioning completely under the assumption that this is all a perfectly calculated/executed joke, but if it's not a joke, it's almost even funnier.
MPEG Download: "Piranha Party (Gentrification Party)"
MPEG Stream: "Piranha Party (Gentrification Party)"
MPEG Download: "Fader Party"
MPEG Stream: "Fader Party"

MANES Vilosophe (code666) cd 14.98
Questions, questions, questions. Boy does this new release from Germany's Manes raise some questions. Like, how did this exemplar of raw, primitive, droney black metal end up making melodic trip hop? And how did they get Ozzy Osbourne (or, in truth, his close sonic approximation) to handle the vocals?? And, with all these changes, didn't this genre-fucking, once-but-no-longer black metal act release this disc on Garm of Ulver's Jester label, alongside recent works by Ulver themselves, another band, along with Arcturus and to a lesser exent Mayhem, who delight in upsetting their (former) fans who obsess about "true" black metal? Certainly if it's old-school black metal purity you're looking for, forget about the new Manes, stick with their 1999 "Under Ein Blodraud Maane". The open-minded, however, might actually dig this. It's only about 10 percent metal, with lots of samples and beats and layers of noise, and tons of Survivor-esque melodic pathos. It all kinda sounds like one epic song, the Ozzy meets The Cure style vocals soaring over junglist / tech step Amen breaks, with what heavy metal riffing there is being gloom-pop catchy a la Katatonia. There's even a track that drops in what sounds like Spandau Ballet's saxophonist. Other parts have a Pink Floyd-gone-industrial vibe. In The Woods meets Aphex Twin, perhaps? Solefald meets Cyclefly at a rave? Quite a shocking transformation from the howling-at-the-moon, spikes n' corpsepaint black metalness of their earlier material!! Now, it might have been a more interesting progression if Manes had gone the other way, done this in 1999 and then come out with the black metal of "Blodraud"...especially since most metallers who get into the realm of electronica tend to produce albums that are at least 3 years behind the times. And Manes haven't avoided that problem. Yet, somehow, we can't help but enjoy this, it's got a certain sincerity and quality and spark, and sheer chutzpah to it that works for us.
MPEG Download: "Death Of The Genuine"
MPEG Stream: "Death Of The Genuine"

MERZBOW Ikebana: Merzbow's Amlux Rebuilt, Reused and Recycled (Important) 2cd 16.98
Although it says that this is not a remix record on the sticker, not sure what else you could call it. A bunch of folks incorporate bits of the Merzbow record Amlux into their original compositions. The sound is all over the place. From hip-hop instrumentals to crazy turntablism to glitched out big beats to all out noise to malfunctioning video game sounds to riot grrl-ish techno to droning soundscapes and beyond. Features: DJ Spooky, DJ/ Rupture, Plug, Alec Empire, Negativland, Hrvatski, Mouse On Mars, KK Null, Kim Cascone, Kim Hiorthoy, Nobukazu Takemura, E.A.R./Sonic Boom, Cornelius, Atom, Custom Drummer, Bola, Jack Dangers, Freiband and a bunch more. Two discs!

MERZBOW Timehunter (Ant-Zen) 4x3"cd 30.00
Merzbow must have a thing for office supplies. The 50 cd Merzbox didn't come in some crazy custom designed box or wrapped in human flesh or anything like that. It was in a regular old Case Logic cd carrying case. The kind you keep in your car. So it came as no surprise that this new four 3" cd set comes in a day planner. Yep. Like the kind your Mom scheduled your soccer games in when you were 12. Granted, the name and title are silkscreened in silver on the front. But it's still a regular old day planner. Inside are a calendar, much like...well, like a day planner, although the design is a little more sleek and stylish. And the occasional day is filled in with stuff to do. Although the stuff to do reads: 4:34/65#//32 or something like that. But it's all part of the concept. Time. Get it? The four 3" discs are mounted nicely (and securely, thankfully) on two pages of the calendar. We were super excited to hear this because supposedly the samples are from 70's hard rock bands like Golden Earring, Spontaneous Combustion and the like. Coupled with fierce breakbeats and mutated into walls of guitar drone. Yeah, sounds great doesn't it? Well, it is pretty great, but I don't think it necessarily sounds like it was described. It's definitely more dynamic than the majority of Merzbow releases (dynamics was, to me, always Merzbow's main failing) but it's not nearly as wall of guitar sounding as the recent "24 Hours - A Day Of Seals" 4cd set which definitely channelled the spirt of Skullflower or Earth, it actually reminds us way more of the recent "Merzbeat" cd we reviewed several lists back with some almost-danceable beats, and lots of murky rhythms and pulses. But there ARE moments of heaviness although they aren't necessarily heavy the way you might envision when you hear the word heavy along side the idea of samples of 70's hard rock. It's more like thick, corrosive waves of sound, that very well could've been guitars or something else organic at some point, but have shrugged off their mortal coils and became MERZ-sounds. Good stuff. Nice to see there's still some new ideas and new directions to be explored even after 152,342 releases. This definitely ranks as some of the more interesting/appealing Merzbow and it's certainly worth a listen. Especially if you're also in the market for a kind of expensive daily planner.
MPEG Download: "Warhorse"
MPEG Stream: "Warhorse"
MPEG Download: "Space Trackin'"
MPEG Stream: "Space Trackin'"

OPIATE Sometimes (Morr Music) cd ep 13.98
Well versed in the spatial relations of digi-dub techniques and a whimsical approach to IDM melody & rhythm, the Danish electronica artist Opiate (aka Thomas Knak) has nestled himself right in between Boards Of Canada and Pole. Released on the label Morr specializes in the electronica-pop hybrids of Lali Puna, Ms. John Soda, and other Notwist related projects, "Sometimes" politely follows the productions that Knak offered on a couple of the tracks on Bjork's "Vespertine." These 6 concise tracks of subtle programming skitter and fragmented melodies strike the balance between opposites (space vs. density, slow vs. fast, harmony vs. dissonance, etc.) with a mathematical precision. Nice.
MPEG Download: "Amstel"
MPEG Stream: "Amstel"

PELTOLA, MARKKU Buster Keatonin Ratsutilalla (Ektro) cd 14.98
It's always exciting when we get a new release on Jussi from Circle's Ektro label. Will it be South American stoner rock? Will it be an unearthed Finnish psych/folk rarity? Will it be an L.A. sort-of-glam band Andee was obsessed with when he was a freshman in high school? We never know. This latest release is from a man named Markku Peltola and there's very little information to be gleaned about him from the Ektro website. Only that he is a famous Finnish actor. Nothing about whether he has always played music or how he ended up making this record, but none of that is really neccessary to enjoy this beautiful gem. Dreamy, almost chamber ensemble-ish pieces, with strings and acoustic guitar and occasional electronic embellishments. The first band that leapt to mind was the Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and it's the comparison that seems to make the most sense. Light and breezy instrumentals with melancholy strings soaring over bubbly, bouncy rhythms. With the very lo-fi casio beats cropping up occasionally. Sometimes lounge-y, sometimes soundtracky, sometimes a little like a wedding reception. It may sound very pastoral and tame, but there are moments where there's some sort of weird creepiness hovering just below the surface with droney horns and the occsional garbled vocals. Although for the most part this is pretty and simple and quite nice.
MPEG Download: "Sahkosatula"
MPEG Stream: "Sahkosatula"
MPEG Download: "Ou-Ou-Ah?"
MPEG Stream: "Ou-Ou-Ah?"
MPEG Download: "Notskilla"
MPEG Stream: "Notskilla"

PENTAGRAM First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection (Relapse) 2lp 15.98
Now on vinyl, with a bonus 7" (a replication of their debut single from 1972, under the moniker Macabre) of tracks that appear on the vinyl/cd as well, though. This double LP is super limited and we have just one copy!! So, we can't imagine that it won't have already been bought by some major fan of the band by the time you're done reading this description, but here goes anyway:
Maryland-based doom metallers Pentagram are on some kinda roll, following up their awesome album "Sub-Basement" (see the review on AQ-list 128) with this collection of stuff they recorded almost 30 years ago! Yep, they've been around that long, although only vocalist/mastermind Bobby Liebling still remains from the lineup documented here, the *original* '70s Pentagram. Thus the subtitle: The Vintage Collection. Twelve tracks circa 1972-1976, mostly rare singles and unreleased demo tracks. Some of these songs were re-recorded for later Pentagram albums, but many haven't been (yet). Some of my favorite tracks from this album include:
"Starlady" ('76) -- why they didn't get signed on the strength of this potential single (a hit if I've ever heard one) I don't know. Or why KISS didn't buy the tune for their own use, that's perhaps even more of a mystery! (KISS's management was checking Pentagram out at the time, but no record deal resulted...)
"Forever My Queen" ('73) -- powerful doom metal that shows them at their Sabbath-like best (although, hearing this collection, you'll realize that Pentagram were equally into, and the equals of, other heavy contemporaries like Captain Beyond, Dust, and Blue Cheer).
"Last Days Here" ('74) -- it's like some Stones or "Raw Power"-era Stooges ballad, with Bobby doing his best Iggy impression.
"Be Forwarned" ('72) -- Pentagram re-recorded this epic, the A-side of first ever 7", on their 1994 "Be Forwarned" album, and when I first heard that version I knew it had to be an old song, 'cause it had such an authentic heavy psych vibe to it. So it's great to finally hear the original (more or less, see below).
"20 Buck Spin" ('73) -- again, the original version of a classic rockin' Pentagram track, covered recently by Pennsylvania doomsters Pale Divine.
All the tracks sound pretty great production-wise (except for the relatively lo-fi live rehearsal recording of "Last Days Here"), putting the previous Pentagram '70s rarities collection "Human Hurricane" to shame. Of course, Bobby did re-master and clean up these tracks in 2001. He also took the opportunity to add some vocals and guitar to "Be Forwarned", for reasons probably known only to him. There's also a few other questionable edits or fades only a Pentagram collector would notice. But such modern-day meddling doesn't detract in any way from the might of the music on offer. It's great stuff, and simply amazing to hear it sounding so good. Pentagram fans have a high tolerance for poor sound (witness the pretty much unlistenable live bootleg LPs that have been released) but this time, you get to *hear* the music as well as own it! Recommended to Pentagram fans (obviously) and ANYONE who likes good heavy '70s rock and roll! One of Relapse's best releases, ever.
RealAudio clip: "Forever My Queen"
RealAudio clip: "Starlady"

PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH Beard of Lightning (Off) cd 14.98
If only we all commanded the sort of indie rock power that Robert Pollard does. He wishes aloud for the chance to sing for eighties art-jazz-punk rockers Phantom Tollbooth and -Poof!- The band erase all the vocals from their definitive album Power Toy, and present it to Pollard, so he can sing and rewrite all the vocals and melodies. Now why you would feel compelled to do that to a record that you already loved, just the way it is, is a whole other question and I'm sure the answer involves the mighty EGO in some way. But I digress. Power Toy was an awesome record of murky, college art rock infused with some skronky jazzy bits and some punk rock aggression. They sort of hovered somewhere between the Homestead / Touch And Go Midwest punk rock scene (Husker Du, Killdozer, etc.) and the NY art rock world (Bongwater, King Missle, Shimmy Disc) and featured Dave Rick who did time in Yo La Tengo way back as well as guesting in lots of NY bands at the time. So what does Pollard bring to the table? Lots of familiar melodies, that scruffy, almost-fake-British accent he does so well, and a pretty interesting take on a record most people have probably never heard. Being that I love the orginal, it's harder for me to get into the Pollard-ized version, but for folks who haven't, or for folks who are GBV completists, this is just a really cool art/pop/punk/rock record and is just the next eclectic step in Pollard's unpredictable artistic path. And hopefully this will kick someone's ass to reissue the proper version of Power Toy. And in case anyone's listening, Andee would really like to play the drums on Bastro's 'Sing The Troubled Beast' and would really like to sing on The Frogs' 'It's Only Right And Natural'! Now we wait....
MPEG Download: "Mascara Snakes"
MPEG Stream: "Mascara Snakes"
MPEG Download: "Atom Bomb Professor"
MPEG Stream: "Atom Bomb Professor"

PLAID Parts In The Post: Remixes (Peacefrog) 2cd 18.98
Hot on the heels of Aphex Twin's "26 Mixes For Cash," the pioneering electronica duo Plaid offers their encyclopedic history of remix work dating back to 1994. Certainly none of the brilliant pisstakes, caustic re-inventions, and acid workouts found on "26 Mixes" will be found on "Parts In The Post," as Plaid have attempted to define themselves through a narrow production signature as 'leftfield'. Using multiple lego-block electronic melodies that waltz and spiral around skittered breakbeats, Plaid has crafted some of the wackier and quirkier moments in electronica. To their credit, this has worked on a number of occasions, in particular their wonderful remix of Bjork's "All Is Full Of Love," or the haunted plinky-plonk melodies of Studio Pressure's "Relics." Yet at the same time, the factory pre-set cornball jazz on the Gregory Flecknor Quintet's "Juicy Jazz Girls" or the caucasian stiffness of Kooolaking's latin house number "One Latin" don't do Plaid any favors. Without having the original to compare them to, it's quite possible that Plaid was working with flawed material to begin with. However, in the post-Aphex era when a remix can be anything, Plaid should give themselves the opportunity to do better by not painting themselves in a corner. "Parts In The Post" is not without its fine moments, although it is more for die-hard collectors of Plaid than newcomers to the group.
MPEG Download: BJORK "All Is Full Of Love Remix"
MPEG Stream: BJORK "All Is Full Of Love Remix"
MPEG Download: STUDIO PRESSURE "Relics"
MPEG Stream: STUDIO PRESSURE "Relics"

PLEASED, THE One Piece From The Middle (Self Released) cd-r 7.98
If you like The Strokes, this new SF group sound JUST LIKE THEM! The lead vocalist is a deadringer for Julian Casablancas. Slouchy sullen singing over hectic, jangly guitars.
MPEG Download: "If You Can Afford It"
MPEG Stream: "If You Can Afford It"

PREFUSE 73 One Word Extinguisher (Warp) cd 17.98
First of all let's just say: Highly recommended for fans of similar hybrid-minded artists like Amon Tobin, Boom Bip, Nightmares on Wax, Kid Koala, Fridge, etc!
With his second full length for Warp, the label that rarely puts out bad records, Prefuse 73 has created a downtempo breakbeat electronica album with a healthy grounding in hip hop. Yet the tracks with rapping don't stick out like sore thumbs (like on some lesser records I can think of) -- the album instead works as a happy, seamless whole, with cut-up buried rapping seguing into jazzy groove numbers blending into synth workouts next to glitch-filled triumphs of editing and then there's a vocal snippet and so on... There are no filler tracks, it's all quality -- bass-heavy, booty shakin', delicately clickety clackety *quality*. It's also delightfully unpredictable; you never know where it's going to take you next. Smoke pot to this record, or at least listen loud with headphones. The AQ staff was unable to get behind Mr Herren's first album but this one is just so good... With guests Tommy Guerrero, Daedelus, Mr. Lif, and more.
MPEG Download: "The End of Biters - International"
MPEG Stream: "The End of Biters - International"
MPEG Download: "Busy Signal (Make You Go Bombing Mix)"
MPEG Stream: "Busy Signal (Make You Go Bombing Mix)"

SCOTT, RAYMOND Kodachrome (Basta) cd 19.98
Like the "Pushbutton Parfait" album that was released last year "Kodachrome" is a collection of contemporary recordings of the music of Raymond Scott. But unlike the former, "Kodachrome" contains material written by Scott which has never been released before (with the exception of one track, "Naked City", which was also recorded for "Pushbutton Parfait"). The tracks on this collection were penned between 1935 and 1953 (with the bulk coming from the mid-forties) for a much larger band than those late thirties cuts he recorded with his quintette. The Metropole Orchestra, a twenty-something-odd piece orchestra, has faithfully transcribed 17 of Scott's big band works and recorded them here, revealing yet another musical facet of the ever fascinating Raymond Scott. As much informed by a vigorous passion for jazz as by a talent for classical counterpoint, the tracks on Kodachrome are rife with arrangements that are at once immensely complex as they are irresistibly catchy.
MPEG Download: "Egyptian Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Egyptian Summer"
MPEG Download: "Minor Prelude (a.k.a. 2nd Prelude)"
MPEG Stream: "Minor Prelude (a.k.a. 2nd Prelude)"

SET FIRE TO FLAMES Telegraphs In Negative/ Mouths Trapped In Static (Alien8 Recordings) 2lp 19.98
Now On Vinyl!
Cut from the same collectivist French-Canadian cloth as Godspeed You Black Emperor, the thirteen members of Set Fire To Flames take a slightly more experimental approach to creaTING INSTRUMENTALS THAT MAY at times approach the epic scale of GYBE in track length, but occupy a much less theatrical and grandiose territory in scope. "Telegraphs in Negative..." was recorded almost entirely in a collapsing barn, with instrumentation including cello, bass clarinet, guitar, saw, french horn, marimba, glockenspiel, music box, gutted two-track motors, tapes, contact mics and faulty electronics. The barn itself heavily inflects these recordings, as bits of field recordings as well as in the way the recording process captures not just the sounds of the instruments but also their interaction with space and architecture. It makes for a record that's very intimate not neccesarily in an emotional sense, but in the way it involves the listener with a very specific mood, location and group process. Opting for tangents into extended drones, collages and improvisation rather than reaching for epic melodic climaxes, the sound is sparse, crumbling and dark, but not entirely melancholy. Spread over two discs (edited and reconstructed from hours of recordings), it's also a little long to be constantly engaging. But still pretty cool.

SIN ROPAS Trickboxes On the Pony Line (Sad Robot) cd 13.98
Sin Ropas (aka Tim Hurley of Red Red Meat and Califone, Noel Kupersmith of Brokeback and Chicago Underground Duo, and Danni Iosello) keep things all loose and lanky not unlike old Lou Barlow or Beck. Listening to their new album, you might envision the band slumped and beleaguered in the recording studio - barely able to lift a drumstick or a guitar pick even! But they managed to do so and the results are quite a fine and enveloping listen. Sorta like finding yourself sinking in a strangely intoxicating vat of molasses. Uhh, not that I've ever encountered a vat of molasses, but this is how I'd imagine it'd be - slooowly lulling, slightly unsettling and full of bittersweet aches. Sinews of bluesy guitar notes are stretched and strung together loosely leaving plenty of space for the hoarse drowsy vocals and ramshackle percussion. Very earthy and lowkey. Perfect for a lazy spring evening.
MPEG Download: "Hands Inside"
MPEG Stream: "Hands Inside"
MPEG Download: "Candy Cobra"
MPEG Stream: "Candy Cobra"

SOFT PINK TRUTH Do You Party? (Soundslike) cd 16.98
If Martin Schmidt has anything to say in the matter, "Do You Party" will be the one and only Soft Pink Truth album. For the Soft Pink Truth is the work of Drew Daniel, Schmidt's partner in the acclaimed San Francisco electronica duo Matmos. Where Matmos flirted with notions of dance music, incorporating all sorts of electro-acoustic experiments and eccentric sampling techniques, the Soft Pink Truth offers a cheese ball pastiche of queer pop culture references -- disco fantasy, robot funk, big booty bounces, and house cliches all rolled up in a ridiculous explosion of libidinal pleasure. It's clear that the clipped house grooves that emerged in Matmos' third album "A Chance To Cut Is A Chance To Cure," were just teasings of the bright-pink, spandex electro-pants that Daniel was itching to put on. Thus, "Do You Party" is the full realization of those house leanings that Daniel wanted to explore, but had been kept in check by the "experimental" aesthetic which Matmos had so carefully constructed. In fact the Soft Pink Truth is the by-product of a dare to Daniel from Matthew Herbert to make this record; and Daniel dutifully produced a cheesy, nasty, and funky house album but with plenty of twists and turns to make it much more than your garden variety Castro club fodder. Along with the Sylvester acid squelches, there's a goofy Vanity 6 cover of "Make-Up" with disembodied vocals presented by Bevin Blechtum and there's also plenty of smarty-pants gender bending allusions that pop up throughout the album. But when the day is done, the (soft pink) truth about "Do You Party" is that it's all about booty.
MPEG Download: "Make Up"
MPEG Stream: "Make Up"
MPEG Download: "Promo Funk"
MPEG Stream: "Promo Funk"

SONIC YOUTH / ERASE ERRATA Buddy Series Vol. 1 (Narnack) 7" 8.98
Here it is! The wait is over. Sonic Youth and their buddies Erase Errata. New songs from both bands. We have no idea what the fuck is up though with the price or why a domestic 7" should ever be more than $4 or $5 bucks. But not much we can do about it. They cost us a fortune. Maybe it's the poster. It -is- full color. Or the xeroxed insert. It -is- on blue paper. Whatever. We only have a handful and won't be able to get more. Buy it now or buy it later on Ebay for even more.

STARK REALITY Now (Stones Throw) 2lp 16.98
Also, now available on vinyl! Reviewed last time here on cd, as follows: Here's a weird one. Imagine a late-sixties jazz-funk combo playing fucked up versions of children's songs written in the 40s and 50s by Hoagy Carmichael. Actually, you don't have to imagine that, if you just listen to this disc. 'Cause that's what's happening here. The first eight tracks on this cd were orginally released in 1970 as "The Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop" LP. Dunno what kids thought of it, but the heads must have loved it, unless it tripped 'em out too much. The idea (hatched by Hoagy's son Bix, who worked at Boston's WGBH public TV station with musican Monty Stark, the leader of The Stark Reality) was to psychedelize ol' Hoagy's music for hippie youngsters. The result were these awkwardly funky, severely distorted (in every possible way), jazzed-out cuts, featuring Stark's crazily atonal fuzz-equipped vibes and bizarrely straight singing/rhyming. The music appeared in a WGBH kid's show, then was released on LP. That LP is apparently quite an expensive rarity these days, with those that have heard it either thinking it brilliant or insane or both. The LP track "Rocket Ship" was one of Windy's favorite cuts on Peanut Butter Wolf's recent "Jukebox 45" mix cd, and he has now reissued the whole album on his Stones Throw label, so we all can judge its merits, along with several non-Hoagy bonus cuts. The thorough liner notes do their best to explain the whole deal, and indicate that more than one lucky beat-diggin' hip hop DJ has made this their secret weapon.
It's utterly ridiculous yet oddly compelling. You'll either have to turn it off after two minutes or it'll become an all-time fave, that's the sort of record this is! Easily the most warped, heaviest jams ever on subjects like basic musical notation, remembering the number of days in each month, and recipes for cooking stew. I mean, some of this makes Sun Ra's wiggiest solos sound normal.
MPEG Download: "Junkman's Song"
MPEG Stream: "Junkman's Song"
MPEG Download: "All You Need To Make Music"
MPEG Stream: "All You Need To Make Music"

SUNN White1 (Southern Lord) 2lp 18.98
For a limited time, now briefly available on swank double vinyl!!
Rumbing distortion. Doom. Drone. The vibrations have begun, another SUNNO))) disc is upon us!
As you probably know, the shorthand description for this band is that they're the SUNN that orbits Earth (the band). But actually this release from Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson's heavier-than-thou SUNNO))) proves that (as we knew all along) they exert their own gravity in the universe of dark heavy drone musicks. Previous efforts like "Flight Of The Behemoth" have been faves round here, and they also made a fan out of pagan psych-rock maven / monolith expert Julian Cope, who appears here on the 25 minute opening track "My Wall" reading an epic poem! It's a bit like Current 93 but of course waaaay heavier. SUNNO))) has some other heavy friends involved with this recording too, among them the mighty Joe Preston (Thrones, ex-Melvins, ex-Earth!) who brings in some of the fucked up programmed drumming that makes his Thrones project so special. Meanwhile, Jessamine/Fontanelle's Rex Ritter not only plays on the disc, but took care of the recording and mixing too. And the doom-folk direction that Cope's presence suggests is furthered by vocal contributions from Nordic ice witch doom vocalist Runhild Gammelsaeter (whom some will know from her band with Greg Anderson, Thor's Hammer). The final, spacey track with her and Preston dueting is a dronefolk dream. Holy Wotan! Space rockers, drone fiends, pagans, and doom heads alike all should worship this dark SUNN... And we're told the recording session apparently yielded enough material for more than one album, thus there should be a White2 to look forward to someday!
MPEG Download: "The Gates Of Ballard"
MPEG Stream: "The Gates Of Ballard"
MPEG Download: "A Shaving Of The Horn That Speared You"
MPEG Stream: "A Shaving Of The Horn That Speared You"

UTON Zwuiji (Jewelled Antler) 3" cd-r 5.98
The Jewelled Antler collective offers another record outside their immediate ranks of Thuja and company. Although they've had a couple of CD-R releases popping up from tiny labels around the globe, this is our introduction to Uton. This anonymous, acoustic-noise-drone band hails from Finland, although they seem far more at home within the New Zealand community of Birchville Cat Motel, Anthony Milton, and Handful of Dust. "Zwuiji" is the 7th in the continuously impressive "Library Series" of 3" CD-Rs from Jewelled Antler, but is a bit more grating than most from the collective which typically opiates themselves with hazy improvised psychedelia and obtuse folk renderings. Rather Uton revels in mistreating their electric gear in order to fill up the audio specturm with buzzing drones that swarm out of their amplifiers like angry wasps. Scratchy violins and atonally shifting wind instruments hover behind these gritty walls of vibrating feedback which comes across more as a misaligned engine block rattling all of those tones inside your head than as a typical trick with a couple of effects boxes. Certainly the fans of cd-r labels Celebrate Psi Phenomenon or PseudoArcana will want to pick this one up.
MPEG Download: "Zwuiji 02"
MPEG Stream: "Zwuiji 02"
MPEG Download: "Zwuiji 03"
MPEG Stream: "Zwuiji 03"

VANDER, CHRISTIAN Les Cygnes Et Les Corbeaux (Seventh) cd 21.00
BACK IN STOCK (just a few, though).
Magma fans, heads up. Magma maestro Christian Vander does a bird-themed "orchestral" release (voices, piano, percussion, and keyboards -- no real orchestra, unfortunately, but it sounds loads better than Glenn Danzig's orchestral synth effort, remember that?). The vocals are definitely the thing here most in the Magma vein, totally over the top at parts, Vander and his wife Stella taking the lead but with plenty of choral back-up from their zeuhl cohorts. Musically, it's got its massive and majestic moments, with pretty piano interludes linking big, stirring emotional passages.
So, the big question: without the Magma connection, would I likely be listening to this sort of thing? Well, and this is tough for a guy with a Magma wristwatch to admit, but, probably not... it's a bit too Peter & The Wolf at times. The vocals are awesome, the fake flutes aren't. Still, I bought one, and enjoyed it!
We really have to quote the label's press release on this, just for kicks: "Fifteen years in composition (1982 - 1997) and more than four years in the making, this music is something entirely new, bridging the compositional efforts of the 20th Century post Schoenbergian greats to create a 21st Century music which grasps the essence of the vast interior stillness behind all sound and pierces the intensity of silence behind all noise. Disavowing all mechanical tempos, this free-flowing masterpiece reveals itself through the formless form of vortices and spirals, cascading, recursive, ineffable. 65 minutes of fluttering wings, of song, of cries, of absolutely different sensations, this is a neo-impressionist composition of revolutionary proportions and aspirations." "I have found in the motion of swans and crows a parallel with the inner motion of the Kosmos itself. Or, at least, this is what I perceive in it."--Christian Vander, 6th March 2002
Wow. Dunno about all that, but as a bird-inspired cosmic keyboard symphony from the mastermind behind one of the most astounding '70s prog rock rock bands ever, this will tempt serious Magma fans!
MPEG Download: "Sahiss Siiaaht"
MPEG Stream: "Sahiss Siiaaht"
MPEG Download: "Les Cygnes Et Les Corbeaux Sont Venus"
MPEG Stream: "Les Cygnes Et Les Corbeaux Sont Venus"

WALL OF SLEEP Overlook The All (psycheDOOMelic) cd 11.98
All right, psycheDOOMelic is the new doom metal label run by Hegedus Mark, the Hungarian doom/psych freak responsible for the excellent doom-oriented Psychedelic fanzine. Wall Of Sleep's debut ep (four songs, 22 minutes) is one of the label's first releases. WOS feature two ex-members of Hungarian Sabbath-worshippers Mood, and pretty much sound just like what you'd expect! Nothing less, nothing more. Chugging massive doom riffage and Ozzy-possessed vocals (albeit with a wee bit of a Hungarian accent that might take some getting used to -- this becomes particularily noticable on their cover of Sabbath's "The Wizard", the last track here, complete with harmonica!). Did you know that "The Wizard" is the song that converted Allan into a raving Black Sabbath/metal fan back in his college days? So he has to give this the thumbs up, and recommends Wall Of Sleep to all hungry (and/or Hungarian) Sabbath/Sleep/Vitus/Obsessed obsessives out there...
MPEG Download: "Overlook The All"
MPEG Stream: "Overlook The All"

WOBBLY / PEOPLE LIKE US / MATMOS Wide Open Spaces (Tigerbeat6) cd 15.98
Not gonna spend a lot of time on this one, not because this isn't a good record; rather it's just that by the time you've finished reading about this record, it might already be gone. We have limited stock on this collaborative album of plunderphonia from People Like Us, Matmos, and Wobbly, and it's apparently already gone out of print, without any plan for future repressings. All in all "Wide Open Spaces" sounds an awful lot like People Like Us' previous album "Fistful of Knuckles," a cavalcade of bawdy jokes culled from Western storybook records, but that isn't to say that neither Matmos nor Wobbly can be heard. On the contrary, there's plenty of Maymos' twisted rhythms and Wobbly's mutant samples splattered throughout the album. Recorded live at the San Francisco Art Institute on October 5, 2002.
MPEG Download: "Clawing Your Eyes Out Down To Your Throat"
MPEG Stream: "Clawing Your Eyes Out Down To Your Throat"
MPEG Download: "Cattle Call"
MPEG Stream: "Cattle Call"

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V/A Azadi!: A Benefit Compilation For RAWA (Fire Museum / Electro Motive) 2cd 14.98
Longtime supporter of the rights of Afghani women, AQ-customer Steven Tobin has produced benefit shows and now this double disc benefit cd -- and what a comp it is. The musical choices are all over the genre map yet it works nicely as a sit-down listen, and it will certainly