ABRUPTUM Evil Genius (Southern Lord) cd 14.98
Ah Abruptum, how we've missed you. Nary a peep since 2004's killer black ambient masterpiece Casus Luciferi, which while an amazing gorgeously bleak slab of droning mystery, really barely scratched the surface, only hinting at the harsh, hateful, bizarre black metal beast Abruptum once was.
That's where Evil Genius comes in. And evil Genius is exactly what it is. A collection of old demos, it was originally released with an actual razor blade inside and a sticker instructing the listener to kill themselves. There were also loads of strange rumors surrounding the band, including the one about mainman It being a dwarf, who tortured himself in the studio, in order to capture true anguish. After all, Abruptum were, according to their own edict, "the pure audial essence of evil"... Who knows how much of that stuff was true (we like to think ALL of it), and ultimately it doesn't really matter, the proof is in the pudding, and in this case the pudding is a sludgy, filthy, crusty, primitive chunk of harsh, stumbling, lurching, distorted psychedelic black metal. Or maybe black doom would be more appropriate. There are no blast beats or blazing buzzing riffs, instead, Evil Genius is a confusional garbled outsider mess, but a glorious one, keyboards lurch in and out of the mix, usually atonal and off kilter, the drums plod and pound, tortured and strangled vocals howl and grunt, belching out strange black growls, tons of thick black ambience surround everything, seeping into every bit of music like some strange black mold, weird squeaks and groans, and all sorts of random sounds pepper the entire record, hard to say if they are footsteps or the cracks of a whip or creaking hinges, but they all sort of get sucked into Abruptum's dizzying blurry and buzzy soundworld. And guitars of course, lots of them, tuned way down, sometimes not tuned at all, occasionally spewing out some strange black shaped riff, but other times just buzzing or droning, roaring or squealing, often sounding less like a guitar than some sort of hellish demon speaking in tongues.
But as fucked up and bizarre as Evil Genius is, it's still eminently listenable, even catchy at times, almost pretty at others, but always, a totally baffling, fucked up and completely damaged way out black metal what-the-fuck blast of, well, EVIL GENIUS!!
All new artwork, with brand new liner notes from It, and while it's hard to tell for sure, we're led to believe that there is at least one extra track, as EG compiles the first two Abruptum demos ("s/t" and "The Satanist Tunes") as well as the "Evil" 7" and their track from the long out of print Tribute To Euronymous compilation cd (which we think is the bonus track).
So absolutely and utterly RECOMMENDED!!
MPEG Stream: "Honores Vultus Mutares Ex Aeris Campi"
MPEG Stream: "Icendio Fulminis Telis"
MPEG Stream: "Animum, Mentem Alcis Iuventutem Largitionibus, Hostes Ad Dimicandum, Commotis Exita Sacris Thyias"
MPEG Stream: "De Profundis Mors Vas Cousumet"

BOXCUTTER Oneiric (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
We're really not sure how we managed to miss this one. Especially with us always dying for more grime. More blissed out dark and doomy dubstep. Well, this is IT!!! This 'it' actually came out almost a year ago! But so what! We just discovered it, and maybe you missed it as well. Boxcutter is everything we've been hankering for. And digging elsewhere. Milanese (a past AQ record of the week), Kode9, Virus Syndicate, that Mary Anne Hobbs comp, the Science Faction: Grime comp, Boxcutter fits right in amongst those killers. And is totally kicking our ass. Maybe more dubstep than grime (although it sounds pretty grimey to us, and we're not even really sure of the difference), this is dense and skittery, blown out dub drenched grimey and and filthy dark-as-fuck electronica. The rhythms throb and shuffle, a hiccuping stutter, that is not so much funky as fucked up and hypnotic, occasional beats get all gnarled up, glitching and buzzing before falling back into line. All around the beats, thick clouds of strange synths and spaced out FX hover and swirl, peppered with melodic fragments, and thick rib cage rattling bass lines.
Some of the tracks are WAY laid back, dubbed out to the extreme, a sort of late night / early morning chill out sound. All dark and druggy, heavy lidded and sort of shuffling drowsily. But other tracks are HUGE and bumping. Bursts of blown out synth fuzz, massive rolling bass lines, streaks of sizzling sound that careen from speaker to speaker, bits of fluttering flute suspended over dense rhythmic tangles, huge smears of undulating low end, kick drums that punch right through your sternum, sounding almost like some killer dancefloor destroying jungle dubplate played at 16 rpm.
Heavy and thick and dark and fuzzed out and spacey and groovy and so fucking great!!
MPEG Stream: "Tauhid"
MPEG Stream: "Grub"

----*
----* Highlights :
----*

BRIGGS, ANNE The Time Has Come (Water) cd 14.98
Finally this British Folk classic becomes both widely available and affordable! In a lot of ways Anne Briggs is the British equivalent of Karen Dalton, both were distinctive and influential interpreters of traditional folk songs, and both adamantly hated recording. While Briggs' fate is less tragic than Dalton's, her self-imposed retirement from singing at 27 and long willful reclusion has left fans with a similarly slim catalog of recordings to pore over. Yet Briggs is no obscure figure. Discovered by Ewan MacColl in the early sixties, Brigg's pure yet untutored vocal delivery had tremendous influence on many of the key figures of the British folk revival, namely, Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, June Tabor and Linda Thompson. By the time of her retirement, she was legendary. The Time Has Come is her second (and in our opinion, best) album, originally released in 1971. Here for the first time she records some of her own songs, a few of them popularized by other artists, like the title track previously covered by her former boyfriend, Bert Jansch. But perhaps influenced by the emergence of rock elements in the folk scene, she also updates the arrangements of her guitar and bouzouki accompaniments so that even the traditional tracks are handled with a warm but modernly melancholic pastoral grace. An artist at what now has to stand as her peak. Perfect for Spring!
MPEG Stream: "Sandman's Song"
MPEG Stream: "Highland Hare"
MPEG Stream: "The Time Has Come"

CHALK, ANDREW Goldfall (Faraway Press) cd 25.00
Goldfall originally came out in late 2006 as a heavy duty slab of vinyl, swaddled in a delicate piece of tissue paper that also featured an elegant print reminiscent of Shoji screen prints. Chalk released a mere 300 copies through his Faraway Press imprint; and as with most of the tiny vinyl pressings that Chalk had done with his now defunct Mirror project with Christoph Heemann, it went out of print very quickly, with its scarcity only matched by the critical praise heaped upon it. Thankfully, Chalk has been far more willing to repress his hard to find material through Faraway Press; and Goldfall is the latest part of this reissue campaign. In contrast to the floral artwork which Chalk has replicated on the hand-screened / die-cut cardboard sleeves, Chalk's sound production within is a far darker and heavier experience. Sourced from the meandering piano interludes of Vikki Jackman, Goldfall is a dark, shadowy record of protracted reverberation and timbral rumblings. In comparison to Chalk's previous piano album Blue Eyes Of The March or to other exceptional piano abstractions (i.e. Jonathan Coleclough's Period or Brian Eno's Thursday Afternoon), Goldfall is downright ominous. Upon closer investigation into the sounds on Goldfall, the second track is a backwards remix of the first, turning the entire experience of listening to the album as a palindrome of shadows, with each darkly flecked piano tone on the second track harder to locate against the structure of the first given the droning miasma of Chalk's impeccable sound. Far from being like one of David Jackman's tiresome attempts at elongating his increasingly pointless ideas, Chalk's experiment was one to be discovered by the audience. We may have spoiled something magical about the record, or maybe not. It's still a magnificent, ominous piece of dronescaping; and you all should know that Andrew Chalk + ominous = highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Goldfall 1"
MPEG Stream: "Goldfall 2"

COHRAN, PHILIP & THE ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE The Malcolm X Memorial (Zulu) cd 16.98
Philip Cohran is a true unsung hero in the history of cosmic jazz. He played with Sun Ra in the late '50s and '60s and was a cofounder of the AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). In the late '60s he ran the Afro-Arts Theater in Chicago, which was the location of this mesmerizing concert that Cohran performed with the Artistic Heritage Ensemble as a tribute to the late Malcolm X. Originally released on LP on Cohran's Zulu label, the record has been out of print for ages and commanded big dollars from those lucky enough to track down a copy. Lucky for us this amazing performance is now available on cd for the first time. The first track starts a reeeal slow before the fire starts to burn hotter and hotter as the performance goes on. With an ensemble that included trumpet, trombone, tuba, conga, guitar, bass, percussion, sax, cornet and vocals from Sister Ella Pearl Jackson, this is some seriously forward thinking jazz, just dripping with soul and consciousness. Like the more melodic moments of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and early Sun Ra, this is totally essential and one of the best jazz reissues we've heard in quite a while!
MPEG Stream: "Malcolm X"
MPEG Stream: "El Hajj Malik El Shabazz"

DENNIS DUCK Goes Disco (Poo-Bah) cd 14.98
Awesome slab of early turntablism, from a member of the legendary LAFMS, the Los Angeles Free Music Society, a loose group of artists, writers and musicians active in the seventies and eighties. Dennis Duck, aka Mehaffey originally released this disc as a cassette tape, limited to 20 copies, each one hand decorated and signed.
So here we are almost 30 years later, and heck if this doesn't still sound amazing. Raw and simple and ultra primitive turntable manipulation, none of the techniques here are mind blowing, in fact, odds are most of them are something we all tried with our own record players at one time or another. Lots of changing the pitch, placing the record on the spindle so it wobbles up and down, placing a seven inch atop a 12" and letting the needle be bumped back every time it touched the seven inch, adjusting the anti-skating setting to cause the record to skip or the needle to jump, it all comes down to two things, the choice of records, and the random behavior of the needle and the records. The records Duck employs are fantastic, weird and wonderful, strange children's records, bizarre jazz, spoken word as well as a handful of discs that end up so fragmented and transformed it's hard to say what they were pre-fuckery. And while some of these tracks don't do a whole lot other than play at the wrong speed, or skip haphazardly, others DO, their bits and fragments looped into strange rhythms and bizarre arrangements, something weird and new and totally mesmerizing.
Our favorite track might just be the nearly 8 minute "One O'Clock Jump", a dense swirling assemblage of strange percussion, jazzy horns, sped up and skipped into incredibly complex patterns, a few minutes in it's difficult to discern the various sounds, or even remember what it is you were listening to, it sounds like some primitive lo-fi lost piece by Reich or Riley, or Lubomyr Melnyk's Wave-Lox performed on turntable instead of piano, swirling and spinning and skipping and looping and hiccuping and blurring into impossible patterns and textures. Hard to believe that it could possibly be just a turntable and a couple records, it sounds like some modern processed piece done on a computer and -treated- to sound like an old piece of vinyl. A few other lengthy tracks near the end of the disc explore similar territory, weaving dense sprawling flurries of loops and skips, and those tend to be our favorites, although the shorter ones do have their own magic, leaning more toward the brief and playful, percussively skipping little sonic vignettes between the longer stretched out skipscapes. Awesome!
Definitely for fans of Marclay, Jeck, Strotter Inst, Yoshihide, Bastien, Brinkmann, Tetriault , Gum, Saule, Cordier, Loop Orchestra, the recently listed Prehistoric Fuckin' Moron(s) and other like minded turntable tinkerers...
MPEG Stream: "Intro "
MPEG Stream: "Do The Fence"
MPEG Stream: "4xie"
MPEG Stream: "Nice Shave"

DENNIS DUCK Goes Disco (Poo-Bah) 2lp 29.00
Awesome slab of early turntablism, from a member of the legendary LAFMS, the Los Angeles Free Music Society, a loose group of artists, writers and musicians active in the seventies and eighties. Dennis Duck, aka Mehaffey originally released this disc as a cassette tape, limited to 20 copies, each one hand decorated and signed.
So here we are almost 30 years later, and heck if this doesn't still sound amazing. Raw and simple and ultra primitive turntable manipulation, none of the techniques here are mind blowing, in fact, odds are most of them are something we all tried with our own record players at one time or another. Lots of changing the pitch, placing the record on the spindle so it wobbles up and down, placing a seven inch atop a 12" and letting the needle be bumped back every time it touched the seven inch, adjusting the anti-skating setting to cause the record to skip or the needle to jump, it all comes down to two things, the choice of records, and the random behavior of the needle and the records. The records Duck employs are fantastic, weird and wonderful, strange children's records, bizarre jazz, spoken word as well as a handful of discs that end up so fragmented and transformed it's hard to say what they were pre-fuckery. And while some of these tracks don't do a whole lot other than play at the wrong speed, or skip haphazardly, others DO, their bits and fragments looped into strange rhythms and bizarre arrangements, something weird and new and totally mesmerizing.
Our favorite track might just be the nearly 8 minute "One O'Clock Jump", a dense swirling assemblage of strange percussion, jazzy horns, sped up and skipped into incredibly complex patterns, a few minutes in it's difficult to discern the various sounds, or even remember what it is you were listening to, it sounds like some primitive lo-fi lost piece by Reich or Riley, or Lubomyr Melnyk's Wave-Lox performed on turntable instead of piano, swirling and spinning and skipping and looping and hiccuping and blurring into impossible patterns and textures. Hard to believe that it could possibly be just a turntable and a couple records, it sounds like some modern processed piece done on a computer and -treated- to sound like an old piece of vinyl. A few other lengthy tracks near the end of the disc explore similar territory, weaving dense sprawling flurries of loops and skips, and those tend to be our favorites, although the shorter ones do have their own magic, leaning more toward the brief and playful, percussively skipping little sonic vignettes between the longer stretched out skipscapes. Awesome!
Definitely for fans of Marclay, Jeck, Strotter Inst, Yoshihide, Bastien, Brinkmann, Tetriault , Gum, Saule, Cordier, Loop Orchestra, the recently listed Prehistoric Fuckin' Moron(s) and other like minded turntable tinkerers...
MPEG Stream: "Intro "
MPEG Stream: "Do The Fence"
MPEG Stream: "4xie"
MPEG Stream: "Nice Shave"

DIABOLI The Antichrist (Northern Heritage) cd 15.98
You know how much we love Finnish music, forest folk, drifty drones, motorik hypnorock, but there's something in particular about Finnish black metal... something so utterly distinct, something so, well Finnish. It's hard to describe, but Finnish metal bands seem to have a certain vibe that permeates their sound, whether they be super buzzing and black, or primitive and stumbling, or somewhere in between.
Beherit, Ajattara, Sargeist, Satanic Warmaster, Finntroll, Horna, Behexen, Barathrum, Clandestine Blaze, Baptism, if you're familiar at all with most of those bands you probably see what we mean. It's something sonic but not obvious. A nod to the old school, but without sounding totally dated or retro. Finnish BM is grim and buzzing and brutal and black and totally Finnish.
One of the longest running Finnish BM hordes would probably have to be Diaboli, and The Antichrist, their 6th album since 1996, has everything we've come to love about them, and Finnish black metal in general. Lots of buzz, and simple riffing, the tempo is not midtempo, but also not a furious blast, it's fast for sure, but the tempo is tempered by the melodies, the arpeggiated chords spread out over each track like some melancholy shroud. The vocals are appropriately growled, the whole sound drenched in blackness and buzz, but it's that 'Finnish thing', whatever it is, that makes them stand out.
The first track is a classic blast of old school black metal, relentless blast beats, cyclical hypnotic riffing, epic majestic melody, the whole thing wrapped in delay and reverb, a dense black cloud, the track a galloping monster, but with some hidden bits of emotion and melody lurking underneath. Mysteriously pretty but disturbingly black. And maybe that's the thing we can't put our finger on. The strange melancholy melodiousness of track 5 "Emptiness" also hints at some strange heart of gold. albeit wrapped in a tattered black musical cloak. The guitars are muted and sound almost post rock, while the drums blast along solidly beneath. Each new guitar line introduces another unlikely and surprisingly melodic element. But let's not overstate the melodic aspect, and the 'prettiness' here, even though it is present, and is a vital part of the sound, ultimately, you gotta love the buzz, the brutal blasting blackness of old school black metal. Fans of Finns like Horna, Beherit, Clandestine Blaze will definitely dig this...
MPEG Stream: "Cursed Be Thy Name"
MPEG Stream: "Malicious Satanic Vengeance"

DIELECTRIC FIELD RECORDING ALL-STARS Re: Record (Dielectric) cd 10.98
Final release from beloved local label Dielectric, so sad, but what a way to go! After a clutch of killer releases, some simple and lovely, some high concept, all beautifully executed and assembled, each sonically breathtaking: the Dielectric Drone All-Stars, the Dielectric Minimalist All-Stars, a handful of super limited cd-r's as well as a four pack of killer 12"s, Dielectric bows out with their most expansive and sonically overwhelming release, the Dielectric Field Recording All-Stars, and like each of the Dielectric All-Stars releases, the title says it all, minimal, drone, and now field recordings. Although all three of those distinctions tend to blur together, especially here.
The All-Stars this time around are ten strong: label head honcho Drew Webster, Jen Boyd, Leticia Casteneda, Cria Cuervos, Mark Griswold, WIll Mitchell, Maggi Payne, Toby Paddock, Rudy Trubitt and Aaron Ximm. As with any record like this, there are three critical elements, the players, the sounds, and how those sounds are woven into something listenable. Sometimes a straight field recording can be as compelling as the most intricately composed piece of music, but sometimes, it's exciting to hear a piece of music only to learn later that it was actually a recording of insects or cars or sneezes or whatever. The Field Recording All-Stars got you covered either way.
The above ten recordists, compiled an incredible palette of sounds, from all over the world, there's even a chart inside the cd booklet, to see who contributed what sound to each track. The sources are overwhelming to just read, let alone hear: a floating restaurant in Barcelona, Spain, evening in Oakland, California, song on Chinese radio station, eating an apple, pigs in a pen, squeaky shoe, tomato, red ball, phasing radio, Voice of Vietnam, space shuttle, shortwave, Barcelona subway, SF 6am, freezer, blue angels, record player, various radio broadcasts, buskers in Paris Metro, under a dock Berkeley, CA, incident on subway, Chile, dog versus rattlesnake, finger-picked acoustic guitar, weird buzz, air traffic controller, storm drain, weird radio, underwater, answering machine, TV show, shortwave sweep, protest march, failing speaker, Rise up!, protest drums, Riley running, police siren, crosswalk signal, police dispersing demonstrators, turntable, creek pebbles, buoy, leaky organ oscillator tube, Wuhan taxi dispatcher, Chinese busker, wasp nest, streetlight, skipping cd, church mass on radio, unknown feedback, violin, psalter & ball bearing and a slide guitar! Phew!
Now, not all of those sounds are present on each track. Some tracks play out like straight field recordings, voices, vehicles, birds, animals, strange clatter and thumps, footsteps, dogs barking different texture and timbres presented raw and unprocessed, but on other tracks, the various sounds were woven together by Webster, aka Die Elektrischen into fantastical soundscapes, running the gamut from deep cavernous drones, grinding metallic melodies, strangely rhythmic bits of skitter and shuffle, dreamy backwards warble, slow shifting underwater shimmer, a few tracks even almost rock, the core being some sort of buzzing guitar or vibrating steel string, with the various found sounds simply adding to the texture or lurking in the background as another layer of sound, while other tracks are epic and expansive, mysterious new worlds of sonic wonder, like wandering beneath strange colored skies, or slow shifting landscapes, swimming in strange seas, every track is like a sonic road map of some unexplored territory, some soft and shimmery, some harsh and brutal, others just really really strange, but every one totally listenable and truly fascinating. This is one of those discs that is definitely amazing on first listen, but benefits from closer scrutiny, repeated listens, deeper listenings reveal so much more going on, layer after layer, each unfolding and blossoming and blurring into each other like some dizzying kaleidoscope of sound. So good.
MPEG Stream: "Making A Recording... Go Away Please"
MPEG Stream: "Crunchy Frog"
MPEG Stream: "Aether"
MPEG Stream: "Bigger Fewer Smaller Manyer"

GROMM Happiness - It's When You Are Dead (BlackMetal.Com) cd 9.98
As far as black metal album titles, it's pretty impossible to beat Happiness - It's When You Are Dead. Sure Blizzard Beasts is awesome, so is A Blaze In The Northern Sky, even Rebel Extravaganza has its perverse charm. But no album titles we can think of are so simple and succinct. Happiness - It's When You Are Dead. Perfectly capturing the miserablism and death obsessed nihilism of black metal without the usual overwrought hand wringing wordiness. Simple. We like it. And we like Gromm too.
Much like how the Russian BM bands share a sonic sensibility, so too do the Ukrainian bands, Nokturnal Mortum, Mistigo Varggoth Darkestra, Drudkh, Hate Forest, and of course Gromm. If you like that stuff, odds are you'll like these guys too. And considering how insular and inbred those scenes are, we wouldn't be all that surprised if Gromm shared members with one, some or all of those bands.
For those new to Gromm, on the surface it's everything we love about black metal, furious and frosty, blasting and black and brutal, with guitars that are super distorted, so much so that sometimes they seem to crumble and overload the speakers, recorded so hot they shoot into the red adding another layer of (unintentional?) distortion, the vocals are raw and garbled, not growling or grunted so much as twisted and strangled, the drums are kick ass, furious and blasting, but there is tons of melody in the music of Gromm, and not just in the slowed down melancholy parts, but in the buzzing frosty blasts, melodies and strange catchy bits lurk everywhere. There's some super weird production too, like when an ultra loud effects-heavy acoustic guitar is laid over the black buzz, so loud and thick that it spreads out and almost completely obscures the music beneath it, making it sound really damaged and creepy.
And that kind of stuff is all over Happiness, but even without all the subtle weirdness, the record kills, the songs are amazing, the sound is epic and catchy, fast and fuzzed out, brutal and black.
Extremely recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Seeds And Bones"
MPEG Stream: "On The Way Of Chains"
MPEG Stream: "Without A Pack, Without A Herd"

GROUPER Cover The Windows And Walls (Root Strata) lp 14.98
It doesn't really seem possible that the music of Grouper could get any more beautiful, any more majestic and epic, or any more mysterious and dreamlike. No, but what it can do is change, and grow, expand, and subtly alter its shape and timbre, it's coloring and shading, which is what it has been doing, on every single outing, but never so much as on Cover The Windows And Walls. The core of Grouper's sound remains unchanged, dense bleary eyed fields of druggy reverb, thick swirls of blurred vocals, smeared into indistinct melodies, all abstract and shimmery, soft focus and billowy, the musical version of those soft fuzzy grey clouds that fill the sky at twilight. It's still an impossible blend of Arvo Part, Morton Feldman and Skullfower, but the new record sounds a little bit more, well, folky maybe, or perhaps slightly less tripped out. A lot of it has to do with the vocals, which have attained an until now unheard of clarity. Which in no way means you can actually hear the vocals, they are still another gauzy layer in Grouper's blown out soundscape, but, sometimes, they -are- a bit clearer, you can actually pick out words here and there, sometimes even whole lines. Before, if we hadn't been told, we wouldn't necessarily have even known that the main element of Grouper's sound was in fact vocals. They were that indistinct and that drenched in FX. But here, it actually sounds like a singer, singing songs, but just barely, it's almost like listening to some super lonesome stripped down folk, recorded onto a wax cylinder, and then broadcast through a huge speaker mounted at the very bottom of an elaborate cave system, the songs careening back and forth and picking up more and more reverb and echo with every bounce, until they become this blissed out beautiful blur. Thick buzzing single guitar notes spread out into wavery fields of murky muted twang, which wrap themselves serpent like around the equally disembodied vocals. Imagine a field recording of ghosts performing ancient folk songs, a whispery thrum, so barely audible, that it's nearly impossible to capture, but once it is, and the sound is turned up enough to be audible to the human ear, it becomes this gorgeously distorted smear of sound.
What else can we say about Liz Harris and her Grouper project? We've hardly heard anything this beautiful and mysterious ever. EVER!
Absolutely and emphatically recommended.
Limited to 300 copies! We got 30 copies, and once these are gone, it will be gone forever.
MPEG Stream: "Cover The Windows And Walls"
MPEG Stream: "Opened Space"
MPEG Stream: "Down To The Ocean"

HEDAYAT, DASHIELL Obsolete (Mantra Mantra) cd 21.00
What do you get when you take members of Gong, William Burroughs, Robert Wyatt's 5 year old son Sam and probably some pretty amazing drugs and mix 'em all up? The answer is THIS, Obsolete, a lost psych/prog masterpiece from 1971. Dashiell Hedayat's second record found him recruiting Daevid Allen and Gillie Smith from Gong to round out the lineup of his band, and began work on what would turn out to be a crazy twisty and turny cosmic psych/prog epic, from start to finish. There are moments of structure and actual fleshed out songs and melodies but there are also of course a non stop litany of amazing outbursts, squeaks, rantings, yells, and cutups. But what makes the record so great is how it can go from manic acid soaked freakout to stunning beauty in the blink of an eye. There are guest appearances from William S. Burroughs, the the cooing of Sam Wyatt (Robert's son who was 5 years old at the time), but ultimately this record is fueled by the great pairing of Gong and Hedayat, whose vocals run the spectrum from beautifully sung, to subtly spoken to wild and deranged.
The LP was originally released on the legendary avant-garde label Shandar, an amazing label out of France in the '70s who put out records by folks like Albert Ayler, Sun Ra, Stockhausen, Steve Reich, Sunny Murray, Pandit Pran Nath, Cecil Taylor, and more. Obsolete is such a perfect snapshot of early 70's free rock exploration. There are moments that are confusing, moments that are absurd, moments that are HEAVY and moments that are utterly profound. Hedayat sums it up perfectly in the original liner notes: "This record must be played as loud as possible, must be heard as stoned as impossible..." And whether or not you are actually taking his words to heart, when you listen to Obsolete, it's pretty impossible not to feel like you're on some kind of wonderful and deranged trip. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Cielo Drive"
MPEG Stream: "Long Song For Zelda"

HYPOTHERMIA Kold (Those Opposed) cd 14.98
There couldn't be a more appropriate name for this Swedish duo, as it's unlikely you'll ever hear anything colder or frostier. This is harsh and frostbitten, depressive and miserable black metal. Full length number two, after last year's Veins, Kold takes their monochromatic miserablism a step further, two tracks, two riffs, okay, maybe four at the most, one track twenty seven minutes long, the other nineteen, each one a loping midtempo buzz, the drums a relentless plod, the guitar a buzz so blurry and indistinct it almost sounds like a drone, and the vocals, well, you thought they were weird on Veins, they're even more strangled and bizarre here, somewhere between an Orcish death rattle and some sort of beast vomiting up its last meal, sometimes mumbling in a strange mewling grunt, other times a leather lunged glass throated growl, you can almost feel the blood and spittle. But it's the perfect compliment to the music. Hateful, sorrowful, suicidal, depressive, the sound of Kold is just that, so cold and lonely, emotional and intense. About three quarters of the way through the first track, the distorted guitar drops out leaving just a jangly clean guitar, drums and vocals, which is unexpected for sure, but ends up sounding strangely emotionally charged. Soon the vocals drop out too and it's just drums and clean guitar and it almost sounds like some outsider bedroom indie rock, before the buzz kicks back in and the track unwinds in a Burzumic blaze of frosty buzz.
The second track may be even weirder, a blown out buzzy riff, and even doomier rhythmic plod, and the vocals are completely unhinged, falsetto screams, what sounds like that weird breathing-in-backwards singing, growling and grunting and shrieking and wailing hysterically, all over a surprisingly lilting minor key dirge, buzzing and droning, epic yet surprisingly melodic, with another surprise right at the end, a three minute clean-guitar and drum coda, simple garage-y drumming, sort of shuffling and crashing beneath some truly moody jangly strum.
MPEG Stream: "Svag Fysisk Lusta"
MPEG Stream: "Svartade Passager"

HYPOTHERMIA Kold (Antihumanism) cassette 4.50
There couldn't be a more appropriate name for this Swedish duo, as it's unlikely you'll ever hear anything colder or frostier. This is harsh and frostbitten, depressive and miserable black metal. Full length number two, after last year's Veins, Kold takes their monochromatic miserablism a step further, two tracks, two riffs, okay, maybe four at the most, one track twenty seven minutes long, the other nineteen, each one a loping midtempo buzz, the drums a relentless plod, the guitar a buzz so blurry and indistinct it almost sounds like a drone, and the vocals, well, you thought they were weird on Veins, they're even more strangled and bizarre here, somewhere between an Orcish death rattle and some sort of beast vomiting up its last meal, sometimes mumbling in a strange mewling grunt, other times a leather lunged glass throated growl, you can almost feel the blood and spittle. But it's the perfect compliment to the music. Hateful, sorrowful, suicidal, depressive, the sound of Kold is just that, so cold and lonely, emotional and intense. About three quarters of the way through the first track, the distorted guitar drops out leaving just a jangly clean guitar, drums and vocals, which is unexpected for sure, but ends up sounding strangely emotionally charged. Soon the vocals drop out too and it's just drums and clean guitar and it almost sounds like some outsider bedroom indie rock, before the buzz kicks back in and the track unwinds in a Burzumic blaze of frosty buzz.
The second track may be even weirder, a blown out buzzy riff, and even doomier rhythmic plod, and the vocals are completely unhinged, falsetto screams, what sounds like that weird breathing-in-backwards singing, growling and grunting and shrieking and wailing hysterically, all over a surprisingly lilting minor key dirge, buzzing and droning, epic yet surprisingly melodic, with another surprise right at the end, a three minute clean-guitar and drum coda, simple garage-y drumming, sort of shuffling and crashing beneath some truly moody jangly strum.
MPEG Stream: "Svag Fysisk Lusta"
MPEG Stream: "Svartade Passager"

JASPER TX A Darkness (Lidar Productions) cd 18.98
Brand new full length from one of our favorite new outfits, the strangely named Jasper TX, the work of one man, a Mr. Dag Rosenqvist, who as you might have presumed, is not, in fact from Texas. And actually, based on the music of Jasper TX, it's a bit difficult to even begin to guess where Mr. Rosenqvist hails from. One minute we're tempted to suggest some tiny village in the Alps, surrounded on all sides by snowy peaks and lush verdant forests. Moments later, we'd guess he was from the desert, existing amidst miles and miles of wide open space, the sky threatening to swallow the world whole. Another theory would be that Jasper TX comes from nowhere, or at least, nowhere we would recognize, an alternate universe perhaps, and alien land, somewhere different, dark, mysterious, separated from our world by a thin gauzy veil, so as we glimpse into that world we see and hear a reflection of our world, but one that is slightly skewed, obfuscated, fuzzy and blurry and indistinct. Which is precisely why we seem to love it so much.
Like many of his sonic brethren, Rosenqvist takes simple bits of pop music, and pulls them apart, wrapping them in bits of crackle and hum, and setting them amidst soft warm melodies and dreamy shimmering soundscapes. A sort of abstract, spaced out ambient post rock might come close. But it's not really that simple to describe. It's effervescent, weightless, dreamlike, but at the same time, dark and heavy and intense. Each song a struggle between the two. A subtle tension that imbues the songs with emotion and urgency, even at their most blissed out and laid back.
A Darkness, as the title implies, might just be a tad bit darker than past outings, although the first track might not immediately let on. it's a doleful warm summer afternoon drift of soft focus post rock guitar, all minor key and meandering melody, floating along a slow flow of strange static and buzzing hum. But after that, it's a slow descent into a darker place, thick washes of warm drone and whirling winds of hiss and buzz, looped vocal snippets, strange beeping and distant industrial grind, before breaking through the black sky in a burst of effulgent bliss, still minor key and miserable, but briefly unhindered by the black buzz of the preceding 8 minutes. The next track is a desert-y drift, like Godspeed covering Calexico, harmonicas and little bits of twang hover amidst a dense reverbed soundscape, like a blown out and stripped down Galaxie 500. Beyond that, the sound continues to darken, huge billowing clouds of low end rumble and metallic shimmer, muted FX drenched snatches of distant piano, peppered with strange scrapes and scratches, footsteps? Someone digging? All very mysterious and haunting.
The record ends with the epic 20+ minute "Some Things Broken, Some Things Lost", a glistening slow motion drift, everything sparkling and glimmering, crystalline guitars smeared into long slow streaks of sound, melodies muted and blurred, gorgeous and ethereal, before transforming into a skipping crackly glitchscape, a whirring minimal drone hovers beneath a storm cloud of record crackle and a skipping record rhythm, before slowly blossoming into world of warm melody, a sonic expanse streaked with oranges and yellows, dark burnished reds, guitars flittering like little birds, just bits of melody against a stained glass sky. So lovely...
MPEG Stream: "Better Days To Come"
MPEG Stream: "Destroy Detroit (The Sign Of Buildings Never Built)"

JASPER TX D + A (self released) 3" cd-r 8.98
Not sure if the title of this super limited cd-r has anything to do with the OTHER Jasper TX release elsewhere on this list, although we think it sort of must, c'mon, this is D + A, the other disc is called A Darkness, hmmm... Or maybe it's a play on "DNA"...
Anyway, D + A follows a similar sonic path as A Darkness in that the sound of Jasper TX, for these releases at least, seems to be growing darker and more ominous, everything painted in deep blues and rich browns and of course lots and lots of black.
The two lengthy tracks on D + A are ultra minimal, and surprisingly smooth and hi-fi. Part of what we loved about the other Jasper TX releases was the crumbling lo-fi aspect, the hiss and crackle and sonic imperfections wrapped around the glimmering glistening melodies inside. But Jasper TX do wear it well, this new smoother sound, and these tracks benefit, glowing darkly from within, shimmering and spreading out like barely there ripples on the surface of some massive body of oceanic sound. This is definitely the most minimal we've heard Jasper TX, and we're loving it... there's a lot of subtle overtones happening (a la Niblock) and the results are truly divine. Subtle for sure, but so so lovely.
Ultra limited of course, already out of print as far as we know, we got about 30 copies but those will definitely be gone in a flash...
Packaged in cool mini hand painted jackets in a plastic sleeve with a printed sticker.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

JENSEN SPORTAG s/t (Midisport) cd 12.98
When we think of Nashville, maybe tweaked out art damaged techno is not the first thing that comes to mind. But lucky for us, some pretty fucked up and great damaged electronic pop IS in fact coming out of the country music capitol of the world, courtesy of Jensen Sportag. With cover art and guest vocals on a track by Ariel Pink you can begin to imagine what kind of wonderful weird world Jensen Sportag inhabits. And any link to the totally nuts Ariel Pink should give you an idea of what's in store. Citing influences from Sun City Girls to Autechre to R. Steevie Moore, this is most definitely outsider techno in all its warped glory. While electronic music is jam packed with way too many posers aiming to make the cleanest, the crispest, the dreamiest and the smoothest music around, it's so damn refreshing to hear someone remember that for the most part electronic music is best when it's cheap, sleazy and out of control!
MPEG Stream: "Graves"
MPEG Stream: "Ms Violet"
MPEG Stream: "Thundercover"

KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT Alkuharka (Beta-Lactem Ring) lp 21.00
One of our favorite slabs of freaky Finnish forest folk, now available on lp!! Pressed on thick vinyl in a deluxe jacket with a printed inner sleeve and all new artwork!
The 18 tracks found here are a riotous festival of Finnish folk-psych. A pagan parade in a forest glade. Abstract, druggy, dark, delightful... We're always entranced by Kemialliset Ystavat's damaged improv folk mystery, and Alkuharka is yet another reason for us to keep saving our pennies in order to afford a trip to Finland (lucky Andee's been there once already). Anyone into anything along the lines of Tower Recordings, Thuja, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Six Organs Of Admittance, the whole Broken Face 'zine scene (to whom Kemialliset mainman Jan Anderzen used to contribute much art) will want/need this. Horns flutes guitars drones bells tapes voices feedback. Wheezing buzzing bliss. With contributions from honorary Finns Dylan Nyoukis (Prick Decay) and Campbell Kneale (Birchville Cat Motel), Jan and company are the true underground krautrock heirs, making music so long haired that it's furrier than any Animal Collective. Music from the soundtrack to The Wickermoomin, perhaps?
MPEG Stream: "track 2"
MPEG Stream: "track 4"
MPEG Stream: "track 9"

LESBIAN Power Hor (Holy Mountain) cd 14.98
Black Metal. No, wait. Sludge-doom. Wait, no, it's post-rock. Huh? Seattle's Lesbian (who do themselves no favors with their dumb name, although they used to be called Lesbian Witch, not sure if that's better or worse) are, to us, pleasingly confusional and compelling when given a listen, their extended, epic songs -- 4 tracks in 1 hour here, folks -- veering from sheer metallic violence to moody melody to shoegazing stoner space-outs... it's like Wolves In The Throne Room one moment, Pelican or Isis the next. And it's great. Definitely another "heavy" winner from the eccentric Holy Mountain label, fresh from their successes with the likes of Om and Mammatus, two other question-mark-metal bands with heady, hypnotic abilities.
Their throat-torn vocals and the weighty riffage argue for Lesbian's status as metallers, while the many passages of quiet blissfulness reveal a surprisingly sensitive side, just as emotionally effective, each opposed aspect of their music enhancing the power and beauty of the other via Lesbian's devastating dynamics and psychedelic synergy. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Black Forest Hamm"
MPEG Stream: "Powerwhorses"

LIFELOVER Erotik (Total Holocaust) cd 14.98
We first discovered the band Lifelover a year or two back and were kind of knocked for a loop. Their first record (which we have yet to list) was on the same label as Bone Awl, Urfaust, Planet Aids, Vrolok, Emit, Gauhaert, so we were sort of expecting some bizarre black metal, and while it was indeed sort of black metal, it was most definitely bizarre. Album art featuring multiple photos of a naked young Scandinavian woman, covered in blood and laying in the grass in the middle of a bright summer day, the music inside was just as unexpected. A sort of dark metallic pop. A buzzing blasting mournful melancholy sound that reminded us mostly of Katatonia, albeit a bit more damaged and demented.
The new record, Erotik, is even stranger, and sounds even MORE like some strange variation of Katatonia. Again the root of the sound is a dark loping minor key melancholia, buzzing guitars, not so much black as grey, monotone vocals way down in the mix, simple drumming, bits of extra percussion, but most notably, lots of piano, a sparse minor key plinking spread across most of the songs, or strange chordal clusters, WAY up in the mix surfacing within driving riffs or amidst droning spacious shimmer. It's definitely that more-metal Cure sound, also a bit like Beyond Dawn, that sort of gloomy eighties vibe, gothy and depressive, moody and dark and spacious, with super catchy and epic melodies. But, and this is a very big BUT, Lifelover are SOOOOOO much more fucked up.
Some songs begin as droning doleful midtempo rockers, but then the vocals begin to come unhinged, more manic, more on-the-verge, soon the singing has transformed into hysterical shrieks and maniacal howls. Sometimes the band will drop out and all there will be left are swoonsome strings, with some strange muttering over the top, sometimes the muttering is backwards. Once in a while there is straight up indie rock jangly guitar, often paired with double kick drums??! And piano too. And did we mention harmonica? Strange samples too, people talking, and children... weird synths, muted almost techno-like rhythms, reverb drenched pianos drifting in space. And then there are handclaps. Yep, handclaps, in songs that are so dour and dark, handclaps are the last thing you expect. But they work. In some really strange way, they sound perfect. Every song is sort of like that, 'normal' on the surface, but always slightly twisted. So yeah, simple moody midtempo blackened pop, but with piano, and demented vocals and handclaps... and lots of um... backwards stuff... especially...
In the 11 minute final track, the amazing "Nitlott", which begins with almost cheerful sounding piano, simple soaring strings, an almost straight up ballad, with hushed vocals, spoken in Swedish, that get more agitated but never quite flip out like elsewhere. This goes on for nearly 5 minutes before the metal kicks in, but it's not any old metal, it's backwards, the guitars being sucked backwards with that distinct sssshhhhhwwwooo before each note, the reversed decay now transformed into the note's attack. A chugging riff turned into a smeared metal blur, the drums a weird backwards sssffft sssffft sssffft, with occasional stretches where the riff is flipped forward briefly, before the band launches back into its strange backwards march. The whole thing ending with a delicate minor key guitar melody hovering and then dreamily drifting off. So awesome. And so weird. Maybe our new favorite black metal record. Then again, this is barely even a black metal record... maybe it would be a bit more accurate to call Erotik our new favorite black-depressive-backwards-piano-jangle-bliss-drone-techno-pop-experi-metal record... Absolutely!
MPEG Stream: "Nitlott"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Illness Of Mine"
MPEG Stream: "Vallkommen Till Pulvercity"

LSD-MARCH Empty Rubious Red (Tequila Sunrise) lp 21.00
Super deluxe, and of course ultra limited vinyl version of the now out of print Empty Rubious Red cd released on aRCHIVE a while back. Thick vinyl, gorgeous sleeves, even an obi! Limited to 1000 copies, only 800 in the US, pressed on 180 gram vinyl and so so nice.
The last time we listed a limited edition cd by Japan's LSD-march, we sold out of it in about, oh, two seconds. That was the Live cd that came our way (and went). Then we listed the cd version of Empty Rubious Red, which lasted only slightly longer. Why is everybody so grabby with the LSD-march? Is it because of the cool packaging? Is it because they seem to always be limited? Maybe... but of course it's also 'cause if you love heavy duty distorto guitar psych in the vein of cult '70s Japanese heroes Les Rallizes Denudes. And you do get that here on the dronily intense, trippy title track, in spades. But for much of the rest of the album you also get the kinder, gentler side of LSD-march, with Shinsuke Michishita handling vocals and guitar and bass and percussion and whistling (yes, there's some whistling!) all by himself, joined by drummer Ikuro Takahashi on just two of the tracks. It's quite intimate, really, maybe even romantic -- these are love songs, aren't they? The lyrics are in Japanese but the titles "I Have Been Saving My Love For You" and "I Only Have Hands For Hold You" (sic) sure sound like love songs. Dunno about "Nude And Bizarre" though. A gorgeous late night listen, echoey and emotional. Spacious, slow, drowsy. Melancholic, melodic. Compared to the destructive, amped-up attack of that Live album, the beautiful balladry here is like night and day... a mistily overcast day with rays of sun glinting between the clouds.
Mastered by Khanate's James Plotkin.
Ok, 'nuff said. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Nude And Bizarre"
MPEG Stream: "Empty Rubious Red"

MNORTHAM Automnal 2003 (And / OAR) cd 13.98
As of spring 2007, the nomadic lifestyle of Michael Northam may land the American born sound artist in New Delhi where he might manage a media arts facility or he might take up the humble calling of a gardener in the south of France, where he could find plenty of inspiration for his ecologically tinged compositions. The excitement, fear, and instability of not really knowing where housing might come from has been the existence for Mr. Northam for many years now, and he's always managed to build an impressively cohesive body of work through composition, performance, and exhibition. The Automnal 2003 disc was originally a self-published CD-R which Northam gave to his friends and colleagues as a testament to the benefits, joys, trials, and failures to his chosen lifestyle. During the 24 months between August 2001 and the autumn of 2003, Northam picked up and moved his studio 13 times across Europe and North America; and the three extended tracks on Automnal represent three particular places along that journey. The first track opens with a glassy drone of sustained string vibration which sound remarkably like the more pastoral tones of Phill Niblock. Aquatic rumblings and fluttering patterns emerge as complementary elements to the Northam's droning infinitude that aptly fits Northam's geographical subject, a glacier on the Switzerland / France border. The second track is my (Jim's) favorite piece that Northam has created to date. With a gaping low-end drone beautifully stacked with what seem to be choral harmonics built from the environmental recordings of crickets near a stream, Northam offers a breaktaking, nocturnal piece of activated ambience much like Zoviet France's Shadow Thief Of The Sun or Gas' Konigsforst minus the motorik rhythm, of course. For the finale of Automnal 2003, Northam presents a sinewy vibrational hypnosis that's quite similar in frequency to the first track, yet he manages to dislocate the bleary ambience with a subcutaneous stream of crackle and static. A wonderful record!
MPEG Stream: "Weave"
MPEG Stream: "Creek"
MPEG Stream: "Ils Grosbois"

MORKHEIM Danske Hymer Til Morket (NOTHingness) cd-r 7.98
It's been a while since we heard from NOTHingness records, but they're back, after a year-long hiatus, with a killer slab of heathen funereal slow motion dooooooooooooom. By now we shouldn't really need to go into too much detail about all those extra 'o's but, needless to say, Danske Hymer Til Morket is massive, and glacial, sloooooooow, and ultra heavy, a tarpit trudge through an expansive landscape of warm washed out synths, slow plodding drums, and downtuned distorted guitars, spread out like the thick black wings of some beast, completely blotting out the sun and smothering the earth in thick pitch black shadow.
Unlike a lot of the funeral doom we've been digging lately, the sound of Morkheim is actually quite melodic, reminiscent of the classic UK doom bands like Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride, but of course slowed waaaay down and dipped in filth, left to crawl bloody and broken across a soundscape of lurching, slithering rumble and buzz.
The keyboards that wash over everything here definitely remind us of ultradoom legends Skepticism, and it's easy to hear Moss and Esoteric and the like, but it's the melodies, and the synths, and the strange mix of the classic and the modern, that results in some strange hybrid, epic and majestic, dark and droning, brutal and black, that makes Danske Hymer Til Morket so interesting. Just check out the album closer, an all acoustic Viking lament, with just simple fingerpicked guitars and soaring majestic vocals, that manages to somehow sound just as heavy and intense as the trudging pummel of the rest of the record.
LIMITED TO 111 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "Ragnarok"
MPEG Stream: "De Gamles Dod"

NID Plate Tectonics (Aufabwegen) cd 16.98
While not new, we only just discovered NID, and our discovery came about in a very random manner, considering various related works were right under our nose. We listed a killer 4 way split 12" a while back called One Man Drone, and our favorite track from the spit was a piece by a group called B(degree)Tong. We later discovered that the man behind B(degree)Tong was previously a member of German experimental sound-collective NID. But what we did not know was that NID was sometimes also known as Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, a group who had various releases on the Drone Records label, one of which is included on the recent tUMULt collection of out of print Drone singles.
So now it's sort of come full circle and we have this, the only proper full length recording (as far as we know) from the group NID, aka Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim and it's pretty amazing. Pretty bizarre too, but then with a (sometime) name like Feine Trinkers Bei Pinkels Daheim, what else would you expect?
Three looooooooong tracks. Each an epic, incredibly varied soundworld, blending found sounds and field recordings with drones and intense blasts of layered sound. The opener begins with a muted cacophony of birds and crickets, before disappearing into a roiling black cloud of rumbling low end and distant droning guitar buzz. It almost sounds like sticking your head out of a speeding car, the wind whipping by and causing all sorts of distortions, but blurred into an impressively massive wall of sound. Within all this whipping sonic wind and rumbling whirs, are strange bits of percussion, the clang and bang of metal on metal, shakers and simple rhythms, they drift briefly in the eye of the storm, before the drone drops again, even more furious than before, until it fades out amidst the dreamy shimmer of female vocals and haunting minor key melodic buzz. Really intense and strangely beautiful.
The second track is another deep cavernous roar. A bit smoother than the previous number, but not for long, bit of metallic buzz surface amidst the undulating rumbles, with some serious dynamic spikes, some of which sound like brief bursts of SUNNO 0))), and others are even lower and more aggressive bits of low end exploration. There are bits of static and random buzz here and there, but mostly it's black and dark, a massive growling beast, slowly uncoiling into a monster that blocks out the sun. Near the end of the track, the darkness abates and in its place is a strange skipping stuttering snippet of music, wrapped in hazy distortion and looped into a mesmerizing rhythm, repeated over and over and over, gradually crumbling and becoming more and more distorted before erupting into a final burst of chest rattling low end, finally slowing down and sputtering to a halt.
The final track is over twenty minutes and is the most melodic of the bunch. Beginning with a looped cycle of xylophone melody, over a throbbing low end pulse and streaks of keening distant guitar and bits of operatic female vocals. Very ominous and mysterious sounding. When suddenly everything stops, and there's a guy with a British accent ranting over someone ransacking a kitchen, breaking glass, clanging cutlery, and suddenly it's gone, and we're back in some new dronescape, a mumbled voice looped into a haunting mantra, beneath distant thunder like rumbles, and little blurs of high end melody, indistinct, but gradually building in intensity. The drones drift away leaving birds and voices, and some strange bits of hiss and skree, before transforming into a plodding doomdrone beast. A simple stretched out rhythm over cavernous thrums and the sound of subway cars, everything pulsing and throbbing, a bizarre bit of dark collage, that manages to be strangely musical and completely hypnotic.
An amazingly weird record, and absolutely essential listening for the drone obsessed, which we would assume should be most of you...
MPEG Stream: "Mid-Atlantic Rift"
MPEG Stream: "Earth's Crust"

OH SEES, THE Sucks Blood (Castle Face) cd 13.98
John Dwyer has been a busy bee as of late. His great new free jazz outfit Swords & Sandals has been playing fiery short sets all around town. He's started his own record label, Castle Face and his first release on the label is his latest Oh Sees (OCS) record which just might be the best one yet! Produced by Kelly Stoltz, Sucks Blood has a wonderful focus that gets stoney, blurry and all bleary and sunsoaked yet the songs still feel so well crafted and the record so perfectly paced. The opening track finds Dwyer reconstructing his garage rock roots with a smokin' lo-fi burner that would make Roky Erickson proud. As the record moves on there is an intoxicating hazy moodiness that emanates so effortlessly from every track start to finish. We love how timeless this record sounds and feels. It's doesn't at all feel like a part of any current trend or scene. Instead it sounds like someone locked up in their room with a window half open as sun, clouds and wind mingle in the sky and songs grow and blossom organically. With no one to please but himself, you get the feeling that Dwyer was able to totally relax and make exactly the record he's been wanting to make for ages. We've already been listening to this in our headphones as we walk through the city, on those afternoons made for wandering aimlessly just to see where you might end up, and this is the perfect soundtrack for sure. Whether laying in the grass, or sitting on the porch, or staying in bed till late in the afternoon, this is the perfect sounds for being busy doing nothing. So totally nice!
MPEG Stream: "It Killed Mom"
MPEG Stream: "You Make Me Sick, Oh Yeah"
MPEG Stream: "Ship"

OH SEES, THE Sucks Blood (Castle Face) lp 11.98
John Dwyer has been a busy bee as of late. His great new free jazz outfit Swords & Sandals has been playing fiery short sets all around town. He's started his own record label, Castle Face and his first release on the label is his latest Oh Sees (OCS) record which just might be the best one yet! Produced by Kelly Stoltz, Sucks Blood has a wonderful focus that gets stoney, blurry and all bleary and sunsoaked yet the songs still feel so well crafted and the record so perfectly paced. The opening track finds Dwyer reconstructing his garage rock roots with a smokin' lo-fi burner that would make Roky Erickson proud. As the record moves on there is an intoxicating hazy moodiness that emanates so effortlessly from every track start to finish. We love how timeless this record sounds and feels. It's doesn't at all feel like a part of any current trend or scene. Instead it sounds like someone locked up in their room with a window half open as sun, clouds and wind mingle in the sky and songs grow and blossom organically. With no one to please but himself, you get the feeling that Dwyer was able to totally relax and make exactly the record he's been wanting to make for ages. We've already been listening to this in our headphones as we walk through the city, on those afternoons made for wandering aimlessly just to see where you might end up, and this is the perfect soundtrack for sure. Whether laying in the grass, or sitting on the porch, or staying in bed till late in the afternoon, this is the perfect sounds for being busy doing nothing. So totally nice!
MPEG Stream: "It Killed Mom"
MPEG Stream: "You Make Me Sick, Oh Yeah"
MPEG Stream: "Ship"

PANDA BEAR Person Pitch (Paw Tracks) cd 15.98
This is one of those rare records that totally captures and captivates you the very first time you hear, and somehow you can already tell that it's most definitely going to be a part of your life for a long time to come. With its expansive sound and spot on use of repetition and irresistible melodies this is an album with so much charm and character, so much power and passion, that it's impossible not to get swept up in its sunbaked glaze.
Person Pitch arrived right around the first day of Spring and we immediately found ourselves basking in the sun dappled glory of this, the latest outing from Noah Lennox, who not only records as Panda Bear on his own, but also is a member of like minded sonic explorers Animal Collective and Jane. Brian Wilson and Beach Boys inspired records are old hat these days and in fact we've sort of begun to dread the singular vision and by rote re-creation of bands aping the colorful pop melodies that Wilson created. Sugary Beach Boys worship has grown so prevalent in the last several years, we were definitely bit skeptical when we started hearing about the very Beach Boys-esque new Panda Bear record. But what's so refreshing about Person Pitch is hearing someone finally dig deeper, discovering the more magical and glorious elements of the Brian Wilson/Beach Boys sound. Taking ideas and inspiration from the experimental and instrumental golden gem "Diamond Head" on the Friends album as well as creating gloriously high in the sky vocal melodies Lennox has found a way to mix oddity with conventional beauty and the results are divine. Stretching sound and using repetition to create a trance like state that makes you wanna close your eyes and rock your body back and forth or just space out and stare into space until you start really seeing stars.
We already know this will be the soundtrack to so many warm summer nights, spontaneous afternoon getaways, and car rides on the coast heading for the beach and getting lost in sand, sky and sun. So totally recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Bros"
MPEG Stream: "Good Girls/Carrots"
MPEG Stream: "Comfy In Nautica"

RAKHIM Crimson Umbrella (20 Buck Spin) cd 12.98
Disturbing, verrrrry disturbing.
You might expect that something from Circle and Pharoah Overlord members going under the names Krypt (Jussi) and Rudimentor (Janne) might be sorta metallic (especially after that Krypt Axeripper ep reviewed last list). This silver-on-black screenprinted package certainly looks dark and evil: the illegible logo, the band photo (long hair, spiked armbands), the song titles -- there's just two of them, "Transylvanian Error" (17:45) and "Ultimate Sword" (16.34). And the album title is a nod to Jussi's favorite '80s "metal" act, Jesters Of Destiny.
But we also know to expect the unexpected from our Finnish friends. So while this IS dark and evil, there's not a metal riff in sight. Rather, this duo utilize percussion, voice and effects to create a psychologically sick, rhythmically fucked drone-zone. The two long tracks are black, bottomless abysses both, caverns echoing with monstrous processed vokills and clattering pipe-fights, awash in a dense, drifting electronic miasma.
The label press info references Z'ev (the percussion), Faust (the weirdness), Wolf Eyes (the noise), Darkthrone (the evil) and we hear all that for sure. We'd further compare Rakhim's improvised blackness to black metal experimentalists (and AQ ROTWer's) Abruptum, with some of the screaming sounding like the insane-asylum inmates from a Staalagh record! Maybe like Staalagh on a broken boombox, being played the the corner of a room where spaced-out Circle side project Dr. Kettu are jamming with the Black Boned Angel.
Actually, last year we reviewed an expensive Qbico import LP by Rakhim (weirdly enough, we still have a few copies, if you act fast...) and ever since experiencing the mesmerizing psychedelic murkiness of that debut we've been wanting to hear more.
Disturbing, yes. But we like being disturbed like this!!
MPEG Stream: "Transylvanian Error"
MPEG Stream: "Ultimate Sword"

SHITMAT Hang The DJ (Wrong) cd 15.98
We love Shitmat. A lot! As any regular reader of the AQ list must realize by now. But this new one sort of threw us for a loop. Shitmat was our go to guy for that blasting old school nineties heavy ragga jungle, bass bin rattling drum and bass, with super blown out synths, buzzing bass, and those hyper charged drum breaks. As we've said before, it's one of those sounds that we could listen to FOREVER.
Well, Hang The DJ starts off from a whole different angle. With a more mash-up vibe going on. In fact, the first few tracks could pass for Girl Talk tracks, with their million bits and pieces all cobbled together into a head spinning pop culture dance floor concoction. Well, once we got over our initial shock, we started to really dig it, sure it wasn't what we were expecting, but damn if it wasn't kicking our asses. Furious and freaky, skittering skipping and completely brilliantly baffling. Classic pop songs, old diva standards, heavy metal guitars, snippets of hip hop, and pretty much everything else under the sun. It began to almost sound like Girl Talk crossed with Venetian Snares. But the more we listened, the more we could hear the Shitmat sound. A bit obscured and all tangled up in there, but still that same cheeky sense of humor and flair for killer stuttery beats.
But about halfway through the disc something happened. The jungle returned, subtly at first, but soon, we were in full on dance floor destroying ragga jungle heaven, killer toasting, gnarled Amen breaks sliced and diced, huge drops, massive slabs of synth bass, some full on bursts of hardcore gabber...
And then before we knew it, it was gone, and we were back to stuttering skittering mash-ups, but suddenly it all made more sense. The next time through, those opening mash-ups sounded perfect butted up against those wild jungle tracks, and the jungle bits perfectly segued into the million-sample-a-minute freakouts, and all of a sudden, it seemed like we just might have ourselves a new fucked up electronic sort-of-jungle mash-up dance record....
MPEG Stream: "Badman And Robin'"
MPEG Stream: "Bloodclot Jungle Techno!"
MPEG Stream: "Jesus Was A Raver"

SHITMAT Hang The DJ (Wrong) lp 22.00
We love Shitmat. A lot! As any regular reader of the AQ list must realize by now. But this new one sort of threw us for a loop. Shitmat was our go to guy for that blasting old school nineties heavy ragga jungle, bass bin rattling drum and bass, with super blown out synths, buzzing bass, and those hyper charged drum breaks. As we've said before, it's one of those sounds that we could listen to FOREVER.
Well, Hang The DJ starts off from a whole different angle. With a more mash-up vibe going on. In fact, the first few tracks could pass for Girl Talk tracks, with their million bits and pieces all cobbled together into a head spinning pop culture dance floor concoction. Well, once we got over our initial shock, we started to really dig it, sure it wasn't what we were expecting, but damn if it wasn't kicking our asses. Furious and freaky, skittering skipping and completely brilliantly baffling. Classic pop songs, old diva standards, heavy metal guitars, snippets of hip hop, and pretty much everything else under the sun. It began to almost sound like Girl Talk crossed with Venetian Snares. But the more we listened, the more we could hear the Shitmat sound. A bit obscured and all tangled up in there, but still that same cheeky sense of humor and flair for killer stuttery beats.
But about halfway through the disc something happened. The jungle returned, subtly at first, but soon, we were in full on dance floor destroying ragga jungle heaven, killer toasting, gnarled Amen breaks sliced and diced, huge drops, massive slabs of synth bass, some full on bursts of hardcore gabber...
And then before we knew it, it was gone, and we were back to stuttering skittering mash-ups, but suddenly it all made more sense. The next time through, those opening mash-ups sounded perfect butted up against those wild jungle tracks, and the jungle bits perfectly segued into the million-sample-a-minute freakouts, and all of a sudden, it seemed like we just might have ourselves a new fucked up electronic sort-of-jungle mash-up dance record....
MPEG Stream: "Badman And Robin'"
MPEG Stream: "Bloodclot Jungle Techno!"
MPEG Stream: "Jesus Was A Raver"

SOFT CIRCLE Full Bloom (Eastern Development) cd 14.98
Soft Circle is the long-awaited solo debut of former Black Dice drummer and visual artist Hisham Bharoocha. Channeling the cosmic meditative vibe of bands like Popol Vuh and Quintessence and filtering them through similar avant-rock tropes of his contemporaries, Animal Collective, Gang Gang Dance and Exceptor, Bharoocha has crafted a warm yet subdued inner space travelogue. Filled with sitars, tamboura, layered and delayed vocalizing, marimba repetitions and drum circles, Full Bloom sounds like the logical next step after Black Dice's 2002 release Beaches and Canyons. But Black Dice as a group would never have released something so transcendentally focused as Full Bloom, leaving no doubt that Bharoocha's departure from the band was all for the better. The music also complements Bharoocha's concerns as a visual artist nicely, sharing a multi-layered kaleidoscopic spiritualism loaded with tribal and ritualistic ruminations.
Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Ascend"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled"

SOFTWAR s/t (Digitalis) cd 12.98
Full disclosure: the members of this new, Jewelled Antler-related outfit making their debut release on the Digitalis label are not only all friends of ours, but one of 'em, namely Christine Boepple, works here at AQ (she's the charming lass dealing with all your mailorder requests). And until recently, another of the Softwar bunch, Kerry McLaughlin, was also working here side-by-side with Christine. So, OF COURSE this is great! And if all you regular mailorder customers don't order one, well, don't say we didn't warn you about what happens when you get on Christine's bad side... But seriously, this IS good, a relaxing fantasy camping trip into the wilds of Northern California (and into the basement musical lairs where these folks dwell when they're at home).
It is, as you might expect, improvised, abstract psych-folk. Drifting and densely detailed. Jewelled Antler's Franciscan Hobbies (among other JA acts) would be a close parallel, as would Finnish contemporaries Kemialliset Ystavat. Softwar's mysterious droning moods are sweetened by distorted melodies and haunting, gentle female singing. The sounds and structures are inherently unstable, with queasy keyboards and overloaded electronics sending the listener softly to the floor (or up to the clouds), where one can safely bask in the queer beauty of Softwar's fragmented songforms, which range from whispery lullabies adorned with clinking and tinkling atop their shimmering drones, to much more beard-stiffening, rhythmic jamming, with suggestions of a primitive communal hippy vibe recalling krautrockers Siloah ferinstance.
Like the artwork that accompanies it -- vintage photos of happy, groovy people playing "non-competitive group games" in the Whole Earth Catalogue era of the 1970s -- the music is playful and nicely captures the spirit of icebreaking games that were designed sincerely with the ideal of changing society.
We mentioned Kerry and Christine, who have played in a zillion bands from this scene, Kerry in Franciscan Hobbies, Buried Civilizations, and Skygreen Leopards among others, Christine in Skygreen Leopards, Ov, Kyrgyz, Franciscan Hobbies, Whysp, etc. But Softwar's also got two guys to go with those two girls: Geoff Koops (Franciscan Hobbies, The Shitty Listener) and long-time AQ fave Loren Chasse, whom we're sure you already know quite well from all of his myriad projects. Let's list a few together shall we? Thuja, id battery, Of, Ov, Coelacanth, Blithe Sons, Franciscan Hobbies, Child Readers, L/R, Kyrgyz, etc. etc. etc.
As wonderful as so many of those other projects have been, we're truly convinced that these four teaming up to wage Softwar is a very special thing.
MPEG Stream: "Psychic Shake"
MPEG Stream: "Hagoo (The Victory Over Moods)"
MPEG Stream: "The Softwar"
MPEG Stream: "Fraha"

SOIL SING THROUGH ME MEETS KOHOUTEK New Milk (Wabana) cd-r 13.98
Second release we've been able to get our hands on from Soil Sing Through Me, a sort of underground freak folk supergroup featuring members of Feathers and Sunburned Hand Of The Man, who for this disc have teamed up with DC outfit Kohoutek for an evening of communal music making, the results should be no surprise, a druggy blown out meandering laid back psychedelic folk free for all. Blasted, stoned, groovy and fucked up.
You can definitely hear more SHOTM than Feathers, or maybe it's Kohoutek who we had never heard anyway, but this is not so much folky as sort of spaced out and trippy. Simple propulsive tribal rhythm jams and simple stripped down rock beats are the framework for these inner space excursions, wah guitar and slivers of silvery feedback drift to and fro, melodies are spread out over the proceedings like a tattered old blanket, there seem to be vocals too, but they are minimal and are usually buried under a ton of FX and psychedelic shimmer, keyboards buzz and huge spacious expanses offer the players plenty of space to stir up subtle bits of percussive clatter, glistening flurries of blurry buzz, strange spidery little melodies all tangled up amidst the stumbling drums and rumbling bass. This definitely has a Dead C vibe, but then what improvised noise rock psych jam doesn't? No good ones, that's for sure.
The usual suspects will eat this up. Sunburned Hand obsessives for sure need this, as do all you free folk noise rock cd-r freaks...
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES, most likely already out of print. Packaged in the instantly recognizable skull and crossbones Wabana purple painted digipak.
MPEG Stream: "III"
MPEG Stream: "VI"

STALAGGH Projekt Misanthropia (Autopsy Kitchen) cd 11.98
Second disc from this Dutch black ambient doom outfit and it's just as harrowing and horrific as the first. For more on the band and their strange ways, see the review of the last record Nihilistik Terrror elsewhere on the website.
But, in a nutshell, these guys are brutal, harsh, extreme and really fucking scary. Musically as well as in their modus operandi. Not content with coaxing the harshest of sounds from their instruments (there are instruments?) and emitting harsh demonic howls and hysterical maniacal shrieks themselves, these guys managed (through some dubious connections) to recruit a handful of inmates, in local psychiatric hospitals, to supply the 'vocals' and much of the artwork. And it sounds like it. Stalaggh's sound is a harsh swirling drone drenched freaked out noise, raw and hissy, loads of buzz and shriek and industrial whir, all whipped up into a dense stormcloud of sound, but it's the vocals that truly disturb, and this time they're everywhere, male, female, howling, moaning, weeping, wailing, sometimes barely audible, sometimes ferociously way up in the mix, always completely freaked out and brutally intense. This is like wandering through some old school mental institution, wandering the halls, all set to the sounds of SPK or Throbbing Gristle. This is the sound of human suffering, not just musically, but in every way, this is hate and confusion and misery and loneliness and sadness and despair and depression all channelled into a single 35 minute track. This record is sad and scary, and thus pretty fucking amazing.
It definitely takes a strong stomach, and a lot of mental resolve, and some seriously iron clad ears, but it ends up being worth it. Very little music is this raw and intimate and frightening and seriously scary. It's really pretty fascinating, as well as a little bit repugnant, definitely hard to listen to, but almost equally hard not to.
Limited to 100 copies, each one hand numbered and the inside features a reproduction of a piece of artwork drawn by one of the mental patients.
[The digipaks are all a little worn on the edges, but that's how they all came...]
MPEG Stream: "Projekt Misanthropia (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Projekt Misanthropia (excerpt 2)"

TOMB OF... ...Those Dismal Moments (Tour De Garde) cassette 5.98
We went absolutely nuts for the last record by this UK via Greece ambient doom one man band, a baffling mix of Windham Hill like piano, and harsh hateful demonic growls. As if George Winston were possessed by the spirit of Satan. Simultaneously soothing and dreamy, ominous and so very black. The combination of piano and vocals was so simple, yet so intense and emotional, a bastardized take on the singer songwriter, a lonely soul expressing sadness and misery through music, but placing it in a black ambient context. We sold tons and it even compelled Andee to get in touch with the band to see about releasing a record on tUMULt.
So here is the follow up to ...The Rotting Break, and while in some ways it is sonically similar, it is different enough to be exciting and new. This time instead of piano, it's huge expanses of sweeping synths, delicate crystalline chimes, huge swells of rumbling low end, very epic and dramatic, with an almost loped hypnotic quality, it's like the super dramatic denouement of some horror movie, but looped into some slowly evolving mantra, the whole thing wreathed in dense swirls of reverb and echo, the vocals, sometimes a deathly growl, other times a strange alien grumble, way down in the mix, guitars wail and scream, but they too are buried beneath the thick tendrils of warm whirring chords and buzzy blown out ambience. It's almost like entering some crumbling old church in a dream, everything foggy and indistinct, the sky is visible through the roof, the windows are all broken, you can see hills and trees outside, lost and wandering in a dreamlike daze, slowly taking in all of the destruction, the mystery and the misery. It doesn't even have to be a church, just some old ruined building, as long as it has history, and is imbued with the life force of lost spirits and lonely souls. ...Those Dismal Moments is actually quite true to its title, if anything it just may be more sad, and miserable, more mournful and dismal than ...The Rotting Break. And we're not sure whether it's intentional or not, but there is so much distortion and tape hiss, so much fuzz and buzz, it almost sounds like a Tomb Of... record recorded by Philip Jeck or Tim Hecker, all blown out and blurry, indistinct and shot through with warm streaks of dusty sunlight... So completely amazing!!

TOMUTONTTU s/t (Beta-Lactam Ring) lp 22.00
Tomutonttu is Jan Anderzen, member of Kemialliset Ystavat, Avarus, Anaksimandros, and who knows how many other Finnish free folk outfits. He's one of the kings of that scene. His hand (and gnarled guitar, and wheezing keyboard...) have been in tons of our favorite records and projects. This however is the first chance we've had to hear Anderzen on his own as Tomutonttu, seeing as the first Tomutonttu was so limited it disappeared before we were able to get even a single copy.
Needless to say, fans of all things folky and Finnish will love this, it fits perfectly amidst the Avarus and Kemialliset releases, but it stands on it's own too, strange in its own right, personal, and lovely, but also spacey and kind of freaked out. But then why would we expect anything else?
The record begins with the calls of whippoorwills, soon joined by the calls of yet more birds, all whipping wildly above a thrumming drone made up of buzzing kazoo vocals, moaning muted strings, and some mysterious pulsing minimal throb. Sounding almost like a super lo-fi "Symphony Of The Birds" all tangled up with some chunk of freaky forest folk. Ends up those aren't real birds, as their calls slow down and get all twisted up, it becomes evident it's a record of birds being slowly manipulated, becoming more and more abstract, the bird calls transforming into weird rumbles and flurries of high pitched squiggles, all over the growing buzz of a shimmery space guitar and more of that strange buzzy kazoo like moaning, peppered with deep rich sonic swells, very dreamy and alien, like some sort of otherworldly nature recording.
The next track hews closer to the Finnish folk sound, sort of medieval sounding with drifting high end keyboard melodies draped over muted rhythmic clang and sweet swoonsome swirls of soft sound. The last track on side A sounds like some strange Bollywood Western, minor key and very Eastern sounding, processed guitar and blown out keyboards all tangled up into a gorgeously lilting melody, dreamy and sparkly and super playful.
Side B begins with more playfulness, this time the percussion, all drenched in reverb and echo, like some sort of wind chime garden, muted into strange melodies, droning keyboards beneath, very haunting and otherworldly, it almost sounds African, like likembes, sometimes there are hints of gamelan too, at least in the timbre and the melodies, but all warm and distorted and dreamily blown out. The next track is a brief snatch of what sounds like some unearthed old time recording, all fuzzy warble and a softly keening melancholy melody. And finally, the lengthy final track is a reprise of the opener, all tinkling chimes, distant moaned vocals, and soft clouds of constantly shifting and swirling bird calls, dizzying but also strangely soothing. Definitely one of the nicest records we've heard from the Avarus/Anaksimandros/Kemialliset Finnish freakfolk axis...
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!! Pressed on 220 gram vinyl, packaged in amazing jackets with eye popping artwork and printed full color inner sleeves. These are gonna go fast and once these are gone they are GONE.

V/A Babcotte, Sudbury And Eaton: The English School Of Funerary Origin (The Guild Of Funerary Violinists) cd-r 10.98
Another glorious glimpse back at the long lost art of the Funerary Violin. A genre all but forgotten and lost, some say quashed by the Catholic Church, a gorgeous mournful body of work, solo violin pieces to be performed at funerals, sad and sorrowful, minor key and miserable, dense with dark emotions, perfectly transporting the listener back to an nineteenth century funeral, the procession, the mourners clad in black... Very beautiful and evocative. But it's not just the music, it's the tangled history of the players and the personalities, the musicians and the composers and the patrons responsible for much of the music. Oh, and the fact that it's all made up.
That's right, these amazing scratchy wax cylinder recordings of simple melancholy violin pieces, and the text accompanying them have all been fabricated. Although sometimes it's tough to tell when hearing the genuinely creepy, crackly and realistically old timey sounding music, and reading the extensive tales of the composers and their tragic lives. Maybe it is all real? Who are we to say? Just because there is only one person in the entire world who knows everything, anything actually, about the mysterious Guild Of Funerary Violinists. And the fact that none of the performers or composers are mentioned anywhere, recorded, written, anecdotal, except within the pages of the book, the liner notes and the website of the genre's discoverer (perhaps creator).
But like we mentioned in a past review of another Funerary disc, who cares? The music is dark and mysterious, emotional and creepy, and the text is fascinating, impossibly well researched considering none of it is real, and totally fun to read.
This disc (supposedly) collects the work of three of the most important figures in the English School Of Funerary Violin. Babcotte, Sudbury and Eaton. All of these recording recovered from the extensive collection of Funerary relics kept by Gunter II, Prince of Schwatzburg-Sonderhausen, who in addition to the wax cylinders heard here, also counted among his prized possessions, the coffins of Goethe and Heine, as well as the death mask of Beethoven. The first Babcotte track here is thought to be performed by Gunter, himself an accomplished violinist, however the rest, the legendary "Funerary Suite # 4", due to their sound and performance are considered to be the work of Wilhelm Kleinbach (whose disc we reviewed a list or two back). The Eaton piece, a slow mournful, sometimes atonal dirge, is performed by the composer himself, captured on wax cylinder in 1913. And the final piece, "The Erroneous Dirge Of George Babcotte is performed and recorded by Maria Rotaru in 1975, a young Romanian violinist who tried to pass the work off as her own composition. When the truth came out, Rotaru disappeared mysteriously, and it was only after the collapse of the Soviet Union that this piece resurfaced. Or so we're told...
Even without the fantastical backstory, the music is worth the price of admission. Each piece is wonderfully crafted and beautifully performed, all solo violin, keening mournfully, minor key melodies drifting dreamily in some, the scrape and sawing of the bow constructing miserablist dirges in others, all except the more recent bathed in a thick cloak of crackle and static, giving it that Jeck / Hecker fuzzy-blurry-dreamy vibe we can never seem to get enough of. The fact that this music is set amidst such a dense and complex, passionate world of intrigue and mystery, love and death, only makes it that much more exciting. And the fact that every single bit of it is made up, well, as far as we're concerned that just seals the deal.
Recommended!
MPEG Stream: PRINCE GUNTER II "The Erroneous Dirge Of George Babcotte"
MPEG Stream: WILHELM KLEINBACH "Funerary Suite No. 4 - March"
MPEG Stream: WILHELM KLEINBACH "Funerary Suite No. 4 - Introduction And March"
MPEG Stream: WILHELM KLEINBACH "Funerary Suite No. 4 - Dream"

V/A Cherrystones Word (Tlon Uqbar) cd 10.98
Hey, here's the third killer compilation we've had from British 'digger and DJ Cherrystones (aka Garreth Goddard)! Cherrystones Rocks and Cherrystones Hidden Charms were both excellent, eclectic collections of groovy '60s/'70s international psych-rock surprises, and Cherrystones Word continues the tradition, complete with his customary detailed notes on each track included in the cd booklet. This one though seems somehow darker and more deviant, with a wider, weirder range, from '60s pop-psych to '70s krautrock to '80s garage-rock. It's definitely not necessarily a floor-filling DJ mix, more like what we'd imagine a random shuffle through Garreth's iPod playlist of fuzzy freakiness might turn up. The overall theme seems just to be cool and obscure, with an unexpected quotient of experimental prog and even queasy, off-kilter New Waviness included in the mix. Here's the run-down: Brainbox (featuring the hyper-Hendrixy guitar of Jan Akkerman, later of Focus fame), Dead Moon, George Brigman and Split, The Deviants, Chrome, Nosferatu, Fusioon, Roger C. Reale & Rue Morgue (a cover of The Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself"), Kontakt Mikrofoon Orkest, Midnight Circus (not the Messthetics one), Pan y Regaliz, Episode 6, Bintangs, George Romanos, and Lard Free. Who would put the exquisite, flute-laden Spanish psych sadness of Pan y Regaliz on the same comp with notorious sci-fi guitar punks Chrome? Or think that Dead Moon's urgent garage punker "Dead Moon Night" should go on the same disc with the slow and sinister sax-laced heaviness of "Warinobaril" by French freak proggers Lard Free? Or clue us into the R&B side of The Deviants, while also introducing us to the percolating quirk-funk of Spain's synthy Fusioon? Well Cherrystones would. Word!
MPEG Stream: BRAINBOX "Amsterdam, The First Days"
MPEG Stream: FUSIOON "Farsa Del Buen Vivir"
MPEG Stream: PAN Y REGALIZ "Dead Of Love"

V/A Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation (Numero) 2cd 27.00
The Numero Group has helped spawn a much needed revival and rediscovery of lost soul from the 60's and 70's, showing the world that there was much more amazing music beyond the Motown monopoly. Amazing soul records were being released everywhere by all sorts of small independent labels. We'll never ever tire of really good soul done juuuuust right and once again the Numero Group has hit the bulls eye. This collection focuses on the Chicago label Twinight. The label began with the name Twilight but soon found out another label with the same name existed so they changed one letter and thus became Twinight which would prove to be an appropriate moniker for the label, as most of the records they released were only played during the wee hours of broadcasting day often referred to as the twinight hours. The label was known primarily for its one star Syl Johnson but this collection digs even deeper and exposes the music and the artists who never had big hits but who produced some classic soul burners.
This collection isn't as flashy or outright catchy as some of the past Eccentric Soul collections but it's that great kind of tasty soul that heats up nice and slow and keeps you coming back for more.
Another fantastic collection of lost soul treasures!
MPEG Stream: JOHNNY WILLIAMS "Breaking Point"
MPEG Stream: ELVIN SPENCER "Lift This Hurt"
MPEG Stream: JOSEPHINE TAYLOR "Is It Worth A Chance"
MPEG Stream: KRYSTAL GENERATION "Satasfied"

WATAIN Sworn To The Dark (Season Of Mist) cd 13.98
You've fallen victim to Rabid Death's Curse (2000). Casus Luciferi (2004) gripped your soul. After three years, now it's time to become Sworn To The Dark, with the return of Uppsala, Sweden's mighty "black metal milita", Watain. True underground black metal KINGS. One of the few "new" (they started in '98) bands to achieve (and deserve) the same respect lent to this Nordic scene's originators, bands like Immortal, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, and Satyricon. Watain belong in such illustrious company there's no doubt, but there's one band with which they're most closely linked: Dissection. Still hugely influenced by Dissection in their prime (this is in fact dedicated to the memory of the late Jon Nodrveidt), Watain continue to earn our amazed respect with cold fierce dark riff after riff here on this headbanging storm of an album. They've upped the ante on old school art. Notorious for their blood drenched stage show, Watain's new album brings that blood to your home, spitting from your stereo speakers in an occultic frenzy. Needless to say, recommended to all Watain worshippers... and if you aren't already into Watain, but call yourself a black metal fan, you should waste no time buying this and then bowing down, as you shall.
MPEG Stream: "Legions Of The Black Light"
MPEG Stream: "The Light That Burns The Sun"

WATAIN Sworn To The Dark (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) 2lp 23.00
You've fallen victim to Rabid Death's Curse (2000). Casus Luciferi (2004) gripped your soul. After three years, now it's time to become Sworn To The Dark, with the return of Uppsala, Sweden's mighty "black metal milita", Watain. True underground black metal KINGS. One of the few "new" (they started in '98) bands to achieve (and deserve) the same respect lent to this Nordic scene's originators, bands like Immortal, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, and Satyricon. Watain belong in such illustrious company there's no doubt, but there's one band with which they're most closely linked: Dissection. Still hugely influenced by Dissection in their prime (this is in fact dedicated to the memory of the late Jon Nodrveidt), Watain continue to earn our amazed respect with cold fierce dark riff after riff here on this headbanging storm of an album. They've upped the ante on old school art. Notorious for their blood drenched stage show, Watain's new album brings that blood to your home, spitting from your stereo speakers in an occultic frenzy. Needless to say, recommended to all Watain worshippers... and if you aren't already into Watain, but call yourself a black metal fan, you should waste no time buying this and then bowing down, as you shall.
MPEG Stream: "Legions Of The Black Light"
MPEG Stream: "The Light That Burns The Sun"

WEREJU Through The Depths Of Unknowing (Electric Requiems) 2cd 12.98
A while back we listed a killer chunk of ultra sludge from Irish doom-mongers Wreck Of The Hesperus, whose particular brand of doom fell more in line with Eyehategod than Esoteric. A sort of blown out slithery not quite groovy drugged out sludgey bile spewing stoner doom. Phew. We dug it very much though. But who would have thought that under all that blown out distortion and downtuned swagger, lurked a shimmery droney drifting soft side. Certainly not us, but here we are, sinking deep into the dolorous embrace of Wereju, the dark ambient drone side project of one of those Hesperians. Not so much black ambient as dreamy droney drift, although that may just be splitting hairs. Hard to say what the sound source is, we're guessing guitar, but the end result is pretty and shimmery, dark and billowy, slow soft swells of rumbling whir, steel string reverberations smoothed into muted abstract melodies. At it's most fierce, you can hear some Sunn 0))), as the tones distort and overload the poor speakers on our computer, but more often than not Wereju occupies a sonic space somewhere between the hushed minimalism of Niblock and Coleclough and the slightly more active and blown out doomdone ministrations of the more aggressive proponents of dark ambience. Two discs, loooooong songs, every one a slow shifting hypnotic slab of mysterious darkness and ur-drone divinity.
Way Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "In The Midst Of Forgetting"
MPEG Stream: "A Siege Of Shadows"
MPEG Stream: "Drift...Like Sleep"

----*
----* Cassettes: Black Metal, Free Folk And More :
----*

AMORT / THE COMFORT WIVES Black Blood / Locusta (Orobas) cassette 4.00
Tape number two from ambient slowcore doom outfit Amort, whose first tape we dug heavily. A dense drifty blend of SUNNO))) style ultra doom, and lilting Low like atmospherics. This time they're teamed up with the strangely named Comfort Wives, who based on the name were ready to be disappointed by, but just like Mom always told us about books and covers, The Comfort Wives actually kick up a pretty mean din. The strange thing is how different Amort sound here. Actually to be honest, the labeling is sort of confusing and we just assumed Side A was the Comfort Wives but in fact appears to be Amort unless the tape was mislabeled. Either way, both sides are awesome, we'll go by the label for now. So Amort sound much more like a band, than a man crafting bleak dronescapes on his own. A plodding midtempo, noisy blackness, huge guitars so low and blown out they threaten to overwhelm the whole recording, which is in no way a band thing, in fact, it's the sort of guitar sound most bands would kill for. An in the red throbbing downtuned buzz, wrapped around a sort of melodic noise rock. The sound here is not so much black metal as it is taking bits and pieces of black metal and incorporating them into their own sound. And the sound here is more of a mournful minor key midtempo dirge rock, with super catchy melodies, simple drumming, some cool harmonies, all wrapped in a blacker than normal production, with some harsh howled vocals. Like a poppier, noise rockier version of Bone Awl or Beherit maybe? Cool stuff regardless, but a strange direction for Amort, while The Comfort Wives end up sounding more like Amort did on the last tape, but somehow darker and doomier and sludgier and much more black metal. An epic and corrosive sonic sludge, that unfurls like some thick black fog. Slow minor key guitar figures drift amidst wide open space, vocals gurgle and growl, all swallowed up by a MASSIVE glacial downtuned dirge, before the low end abates and leaves a simple strummed, almost out of tune guitar to sort of meander, before the blackness falls again. This is not so much BM as ultra doom, or black ambience, the guitars rumble and reverberate, single chords stretched out over vast expanses, the vocals another layer of low end, the riffs so slow they seem to be single plodding thuds that ring out and bleed into the next crusty note, a bit like Abruptum, a ritualistic black minimal doom, epic and murky and hellish and muddy and massive and seriously scary...

DAVENPORT FAMILY At The Foot Of Zodiac Mountain (Meudiademorte) cassette 5.98
Ultra limited release from the Davenport Family, the extended lineup of free folkers Davenport, released on the Meudiademorte label.
This is a single 35 minute jam, and it is a monster, sure there's the usual, clattery percussion, distant folky jangle, shimmery ambience, but shit here gets way more fierce and scary. Some massive slow motion stripped down folk doom. Epic sludgy rhythms, a plodding crashing thud, demarcating a harsh landscape of wild tribal drumming, strange echoe-y vocals, streaks of guitar feedback, like some krautrock free folk doom metal Taj Mahal Travellers or something. Everything blown out and abstract, hung loosely around a relentless rhythmic death march, trawling through dense clouds of damaged FX, dubbed out drums, clattery percussion and huge bassy throbs. Tribal and primitive, spacey and majestic, pounding and surprisingly brutal for a bunch of hippy free folk misfits. Awesome!!
LIMITED TO 230 COPIES!!! We got about 20, after these are gone they are gone for good.

GEIST s/t (The Funeral Agency) cassette 4.50
An absolutely killer slab of ultra raw, filthy and primitive lo-fi murky black metal. Lots of crusty riffing, blasting drums buried in reverb and tape hiss, bizarre grunted vocal spew, guitars that buzz and warble, and go from insectoid shrillness to tarpit filthiness often in the same song, and loads of low end bassy throb and other bits of random lo-fi 4 track production weirdness that make this freaky and fucked up.
While on the surface this sounds like classic old school minimal buzz and blast black metal, stripped down and blown out, Bone Awl, Beherit, Von, Abruptum... The weird thing is, and maybe this is supposed to be a secret, but we're pretty sure that the man behind Geist is in fact a former member of doomlords Yob! Hard to believe, but true! You won't hear that much Sabbathy sludge here although once in a while the songs slow down into a gorgeously doomy tarpit trudge, but it's never long before the band lurch back into action, and resume their harsh minimal pummel. So fucking great, the perfect balance of true kvlt blackness and slightly off kilter weirdness.
For fans of all things simple and sludgy and brutal and black and crusty and filthy and EVIL!!!!

MELEE Violent Forms Of Laughter Pt. 2 (Arbor) cassette 5.98
Ultra underground noisemakers Graveyards have a bunch of stuff out, all of it so limited none of it has made it into AQ, BUT, we managed to get a little handful of these, the most recent release from Melee, who as far as we can tell is the rhythm section of Graveyards with some added man power on trumpet(!).
Won't get into it too much as we only have a few of these, but Melee, are pretty great, doing a sort of abstract ambient thing, weird little electronic squiggles, distant hums and rumbles, low end drones and streaks of static and tape hiss, disembodied melodies and melodic fragments, drifting amidst slow shimmering soundscapes of ultra minimal buzz and throb. It's actually pretty dreamy, and as the band sort of blisses out, it does sort of sound like some VERY minimal abstract Taj Mahal Travellers thing, abstract and organic, simple, but rife with layers of sound and constantly shifting overtones. Some serious, super abstract, minimal psych dronedrift for sure.
Packaged in hand painted soft plastic tape cases, with paste on hand screened artwork, with a photocopied insert, each tape also with screened label and hand painted.
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES. We have 5 or 6...

ODD CLOUDS / WIGWAM split (Arbor) cassette / 3" cd-r 9.98
We only got three or four of these so tape nerds and noise rock nerds will want to jump on this fast. Limited to 100 copies and packaged in a cool oversized full color two sided old school plastic tape case, like the kind that might have house some language tape or something. It's pretty bad ass looking.
Inside, it's two Michigan noisemakers, Odd Clouds and Wigwam. Odd Clouds offer up a dense cloud of tribal electronic psychnoise, thick and drifting, like some damaged collision between the Skaters and the Yellow Swans, while Wigwam present us with their own brand of noisiness, a murky Wolf Eyes-ian expanse of grinding muddy rumble and slithery black ambience, with bits of industrial clatter and electronic fuckery here and there.
Also includes a bonus 3" cd-r with a 15 minute jam from Odd Clouds, more of the same, massive roiling dreamy expanses of blown out sound and electronic weirdness. packaged in a hand painted mini sleeve, and stuck inside the plastic tape case with the cassette.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. We have 4 or 5 and there will be no more once these are gone...

OVSKUM s/t (Insikt) cassette 4.50
We don't know too much about this strange Italian black metal band other than we fucking LOVE them. One of our new favorite BM outfits for sure. This is no ordinary buzzing black metal, although it does buzz and is most definitely BM, Ovskum, do some sort of midtempo, near ambient blackened plod. The guitars are huge and thick and seem to be crumbling into pieces, the drums are a midtempo trudge or a relentless martial march, the riffing is sometimes sludgy and thick, other times, angular and jangly, often both, a swirling slithering low end beneath keening upper register guitar skree and howled vocals. It's almost weird to call these guys black metal, they sound more like some super chaotic ambient noise rock, or spacey black sludge, or dreamy noise rock doom, all definitely fit... melodies are angular and obtuse, the drumming is sort of stumbly and simple, but the sound is HUGE, thick and swirling, raw and atmospheric, guitars are gnarled and convoluted, bits of melody and keening droneguitar are whispy streaks above the roiling fury below, some tracks forego the drums completely, and become these haunting abstract riffscapes, drifting and throbbing and crawling along malevolently... it's all so intense and dark and so so so good. No cds yet as far as we know, so needless to say both this and the Atto I - Atto II cassette are absolutely essential.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!

OVSKUM Atto I - Atto II (Insikt) cassette 4.50
We don't know too much about this strange Italian black metal band other than we fucking LOVE them. One of our new favorite BM outfits for sure. This is no ordinary buzzing black metal, although it does buzz and is most definitely BM, Ovskum, do some sort of midtempo, near ambient blackened plod. The guitars are huge and thick and seem to be crumbling into pieces, the drums are a midtempo trudge or a relentless martial march, the riffing is sometimes sludgy and thick, other times, angular and jangly, often both, a swirling slithering low end beneath keening upper register guitar skree and howled vocals. It's almost weird to call these guys black metal, they sound more like some super chaotic ambient noise rock, or spacey black sludge, or dreamy noise rock doom, all definitely fit... melodies are angular and obtuse, the drumming is sort of stumbly and simple, but the sound is HUGE, thick and swirling, raw and atmospheric, guitars are gnarled and convoluted, bits of melody and keening droneguitar are whispy streaks above the roiling fury below, some tracks forego the drums completely, and become these haunting abstract riffscapes, drifting and throbbing and crawling along malevolently... it's all so intense and dark and so so so good. No cds yet as far as we know, so needless to say both this and the s/t cassette are absolutely essential.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!

QUETZOLCOATL Vast Eternity Bridges (Abandon Ship) cassette 5.00
Now here's a tape label that knows how to do it right. Each tape, even though they're limited to only 100 copies, comes with super deluxe full color artwork, printed labels on the tape, each hand numbered, AND each tape is a different color to match the artwork. Nice!
The first release from Abandon Ship is the latest from one of our new dronedrift faves, Ireland's Quetzolcoatl, an offshoot of the equally cool Bonecloud, Quetzolcoatl are channeling the spirit of the legendary improvisers, especially Taj Mahal Travellers, with their slowly evolving sonic landscapes, abstract and epic, pure and organic, sounds drift and shimmer, layers upon layers of whir and warble, always moving and glistening. Dense but somehow super spacious and abstract. The sounds seem to float, weightless, like fog and smoke, although occasionally storm clouds gather and the sounds become more jagged and harsh, more dense and thick and corrosive, but always strangely soothing, with a minimal melodic undercurrent.
Not sure what it is about these guys, but they seem to be able to just sit down, close their eyes, plug in, and suddenly we're transported to some mountain top, some ancient temple, some deserted beach, some dense forest, some mysterious other-place, where the world is music, and the sounds are pictures and we can see the music with our ears and hear it with our eyes. So good.
Limited to 100 copies! Each tape hand numbered, we got about a quarter of the pressing but those will go fast so be quick...

S.O.C.M.Z. Seance Orchestra's Cosmic Mind Zoo (self released) 2 x cassette 10.98
This one is a mind bender. The strangely named Seance Orchestra's Cosmic Mind Zoo offer up two cassettes of ultra abstract, minimal soundscapery, one tape is all buzzing electronic hum, flittering fields of tinkling glass percussion, massive speaker shaking low end swells, grinding throbbing stuttering bass buzz that is so thick and dense it almost swallows the rest of the sounds completely up, angular crumbling guitar distortion, bits of voice and vocals, while the other tape is heavier and much more brutal, a definite Dead C style skree, but muted and spread out into a strange hissy staticky pulse, that throbs and emits a strange subtle melodiousness, murky and prickly and weirdly warm and washed out.
Two tapes, a color insert and some stickers all housed in one of those massive plastic multiple tape cases, that usually house language tapes or self help tapes, the artwork some complex bit of electronic diagramming.
As with all things like this, ultra limited, so if you want one don't be hemming and hawing...

SPECTRE FOLK Papa Smurf Smiles Down On Us From Heaven (Abandon Ship) cassette 5.00
Now here's a tape label that knows how to do it right. Each tape, even though they're limited to only 100 copies, comes with super deluxe full color artwork, printed labels on the tape, each hand numbered, AND each tape is a different color to match the artwork. Nice!
Release number two from Abandon Ship comes from Spectre Folk, aka Pete Nolan of the Magik Markers, GHQ, Wooden Wand & The Vanishing Voice, Shackamaxon and loads more, in the form of the strangely (stupidly?) named Papa Smurf Smiles Down On Us From Heaven, a surprisingly straight ahead psychfolk jam that is actually pretty kick ass. Aggressively strummed acoustic guitars, wailing leads, all sort of lo-fi, but still pretty heavy and rocking, with mumbled chant-like vocals, this sounds nothing like SF, then we check out the tape case and realize it's a Don Cherry cover from some Italian TV show!! Fuck yeah!! And a pretty bad ass one too (even though we didn't recognize it). A sprawling, lazy, laid back, dreamy and mellow, folky psych jam. Awesome.
The flip side begins with "I Hate This Shit" which seems to be live from the No Fun Fest, and sounds like it, a corrosive squall of guitar grrrrr and amp buzz and squealing feedback that goes on forever. Massive and epic and brutal and noisy but somehow a little bit trancey and pretty listenable. It took a few minutes, but once we sunk in, it was kind of blissy. The final track is a Byrds cover, shimmery and strummy, stripped down and really pretty.
Limited to 100 copies! Each tape hand numbered, already OUT OF PRINT at the label so once these are gone, that's it!

VXPXC Reticent Manifest (Abandon Ship) cassette 5.00
Now here's a tape label that knows how to do it right. Each tape, even though they're limited to only 100 copies, comes with super deluxe full color artwork, printed labels on the tape, each hand numbered, AND each tape is a different color to match the artwork. Nice!
Third in the opening salvo of releases from this brand new label comes from the until recently unknown to us VxPxC, and we were pretty dang pleased. Another in the new wave of drifting sonic abstracticians, weaving drone and folk, and simple primitive percussion, into a strange modern genre we have taken to calling freedronefolkdrfit or something similar. And VxPxC fit right in, hovering comfortably somewhere between Avarus and Davenport and the Starving Weirdos, with a bit of Dead C thrown into the mix (but a not so noisy bit). This release would have been right at home on Digitalis or Barl Fire or any of the handful of other labels documenting the modern soundworld.
On Reticent Manifest, the sound is laid back and wide open, there is a main riff, but it is murky and minimal and barely there, drifting, sort of throbbing in a mildly seasick manner, while atop this soft fluttering backdrop, random bits of percussion are shaken and rattled, keyboards wheeze out minimal melodies, it's all very playful and primitive, wistful and melancholy, dark and dreamy, although here and there, it does get dark and heavy with dense swells of rumble and throb, but it usually dissipate quite quickly back into another stretch of dreamy reverbed abstract drift.
Limited to 100 copies! Each tape hand numbered.

----*
----* FINALLY!! Black Metal Cassette Grab Bag Is Back!! :
----*

BLACK METAL CASSETTE GRAB BAG 3 Cassettes 3 x tape 12.00
Once again, we got a whole batch of killer black metal cassettes, too many to review, but all of them weird and grim, buzzing and black. Some are super fucked blacknoise, others are damaged stumbling outsider black buzz, while others are old skool blackness, raw and hateful and brutal, while still others fall somewhere in between. But all of them cool. Andee again bought one of each if that makes you feel any better (his room is starting to look like it did in high school, minus the Motley Crue and W.A.S.P posters, who thought at 37 he'd be contemplating buying a "cassette rack" for all his tapes).
This three pack is perfect for the black metal newbie, you're bound to get something you'll like, but if not, you can shrug it off and try desperately to wipe the foul blackness from your soul. But odds are you'll be hooked and want more. Black metal. AND cassettes.
Remember, only tapes that have NOT been reviewed are eligible for the grab bag and the bargain price.
That means we pick, it is random, and it will not include any tapes you have seen on the AQ list, or any tapes scheduled to be reviewed in the near future.
Also, this is a whole new batch of tapes, none of which we have had before, so even if you grab bagged a few lists back, you can go for it again and not worry about getting the same titles. All right!

BLACK METAL CASSETTE GRAB BAG 6 Cassettes 6 x tape 24.00
Once again, we got a whole batch of killer black metal cassettes, too many to review, but all of them weird and grim, buzzing and black. Some are super fucked blacknoise, others are damaged stumbling outsider black buzz, while others are old skool blackness, raw and hateful and brutal, while still others fall somewhere in between. But all of them cool. Andee again bought one of each if that makes you feel any better (his room is starting to look like it did in high school, minus the Motley Crue and W.A.S.P posters, who thought at 37 he'd be contemplating buying a "cassette rack" for all his tapes).
This six pack is for the slightly more serious black metalhead. Six tapes is a like dipping a toe into the darkside, having an itsy bitsy peek at the blackness that lurks beneath, 6 tapes says you just might be serious. You might one day pledge your allegiance to the dark lord. The again you may not. 6 tapes, you could go either way. But 6 plastic slabs of grim and brutal black buzz stuffed in your Walkman will definitely be plenty to while away long nights skulking around graveyards, and definitely enough to keep your car stereo buzzing on the way to see where Anton LaVey's house once was or to burn down a church or whatever. All hail YOU!
Remember, only tapes that have NOT been reviewed are eligible for the grab bag and the bargain price.
That means we pick, it is random, and it will not include any tapes you have seen on the AQ list, or any tapes scheduled to be reviewed in the near future.
Also, this is a whole new batch of tapes, none of which we have had before, so even if you grab bagged a few lists back, you can go for it again and not worry about getting the same titles. All right!

BLACK METAL CASSETTE GRAB BAG 10 Cassettes 10 x tape 40.00
Once again, we got a whole batch of killer black metal cassettes, too many to review, but all of them weird and grim, buzzing and black. Some are super fucked blacknoise, others are damaged stumbling outsider black buzz, while others are old skool blackness, raw and hateful and brutal, while still others fall somewhere in between. But all of them cool. Andee again bought one of each if that makes you feel any better (his room is starting to look like it did in high school, minus the Motley Crue and W.A.S.P posters, who thought at 37 he'd be contemplating buying a "cassette rack" for all his tapes).
Okay, now we're talking. Ten tapes is some serious shit. The demons and dark underlords are starting to take notice. There is a bit of scuttlebut in the halls of hell, you are dark, bleak and black. Of soul, of heart, of spirit. Ten tapes will keep your Walkman bleeding black while you apply all that corpsepaint. While you sharpen that axe and practice making those scary faces for your series of ultra grim Myspace videos. That goth girl at the video store might finally notice you. C'mon! You are the elite. The black legion. The black tape legions.
Remember, only tapes that have NOT been reviewed are eligible for the grab bag and the bargain price.
That means we pick, it is random, and it will not include any tapes you have seen on the AQ list, or any tapes scheduled to be reviewed in the near future.
Also, this is a whole new batch of tapes, none of which we have had before, so even if you grab bagged a few lists back, you can go for it again and not worry about getting the same titles. All right!

BLACK METAL CASSETTE GRAB BAG 20 Cassettes 20 x tape 80.00
Once again, we got a whole batch of killer black metal cassettes, too many to review, but all of them weird and grim, buzzing and black. Some are super fucked blacknoise, others are damaged stumbling outsider black buzz, while others are old skool blackness, raw and hateful and brutal, while still others fall somewhere in between. But all of them cool. Andee again bought one of each if that makes you feel any better (his room is starting to look like it did in high school, minus the Motley Crue and W.A.S.P posters, who thought at 37 he'd be contemplating buying a "cassette rack" for all his tapes).
The legions of hell shall now tremble before you, they will supplicate themselves before the newly appointed, Mr. Evil Lord of The TWENTY RANDOM BLACK METAL TAPES. You are the blackest. The most foul. You truly are the embodiment of unspeakable audial evil. You are a cassette tape warlord. Your tiny speakers spew blackness. Your ear buds are a direct link to the dark one...
There will indeed be a final battle. To the death, the future of mankind hangs in the balance. It will not be determined by the number of demons in your army, the number of horns on your head, the sharpness of your blade or the quickness of your tongue, NAY, the deciding factor will undoubtedly be cassette tapes. It has been written. IN THE BIBLE!! Or somewhere, but it has been written: "The more tapes you have, the more prepared you shall be for battle. You shall not be defeated easily, those twenty tapes are like a huge flaming pentagram, warding off all who would dare challenge you." But as we warned you before, be wary of he with more than twenty black metal tapes. He will be your ruination. His twenty five or even thirty tapes will spell your doom. The only way to defeat him is to ORDER ALL THE TAPES. If you dare. And, if you daren't, well, then, you shall just take your chance with twenty!!!! BE NOT AFRAID!!! Twenty is indeed a whole lot!!
Remember, only tapes that have NOT been reviewed are eligible for the grab bag and the bargain price.
That means we pick, it is random, and it will not include any tapes you have seen on the AQ list, or any tapes scheduled to be reviewed in the near future.
Also, this is a whole new batch of tapes, none of which we have had before, so even if you grab bagged a few lists back, you can go for it again and not worry about getting the same titles. All right!

----*
----* Selected New Arrivals :
----*

500MG Apocatastisis (Three Lobed Recordings) lp+cd 21.00
Record number two from Michael Gibbons, of druggy space rockers Bardo Pond, another vinyl only release, as he continues to explore the more blissed out acoustic side of the whole ambient free floating space rock dream folk sound his main band has been such a crucial part of.
Side one of Apocatastisis almost plays out like some sort of sampler, each track, a facet of Gibbons' psych folk psyche, every one an homage to someone who informed his sound.
The opener is dark and minimal, disembodied bits of backwoods folk set amidst huge expanses of spacious ambience, bits of random sounds drift in the huge spaces between notes, the next track is a buzzing Eastern style raga, all dreamy and drawn out, the next simple muted chunk of folky strum and twang, the final track a full on blast of Henry Flynt style drone fiddle minimalism, keening and sawing relentlessly, emitting gorgeous wavery drones.
So if side A is a sampler, then side B demonstrates just what Gibbons can do, taking those influences and those sounds he loves and turning them into something distinctly his own. Two lengthy jams, the first begins with a thick sheet of fuzzy ambience, a muted noisy drone before drifting off leaving a simple mournful slide guitar, to unfurl super emotional melodies and weave a gorgeously folky dreamdrift. The second track is even more laid back, a back porch, lazy afternoon, rocking chair, just my guitar and the land as far as the eye can see, old timey, but sort of modern leaning Appalachian blues, melodic and melancholy, but with a strange twist at the end, the introduction of bizarre bits of spoken word, a man's voice drifting in and out amidst the slowly unwinding guitar melodies and distant buzz. Nice.
Apocatastisis is limited to 677 copies, but we managed to get a bunch of the SUPER LIMITED version, only 191 copies made (each hand numbered) which includes a bonus cd with an extra 15 minute track, and it's a corker!! Beginning with spidery steel string buzz over a thick wash of swirling shimmer, the guitar begins its slow thoughtful march, lazily meandering through all sorts of landscapes and backgrounds, little flutters of backwards guitar melody, dense clouds of spacey effects, crunchy slabs of crumbling distortion, the background continually shifting and transforming while the guitar remains simple and solid, sometimes getting a little distorted, buzzing a bit, but always settling back into its dreamy drift, weaving its way through a spaced out and abstract, gorgeously psychedelic soundscape.
MPEG Stream: "Apocatastisis (Bonus Disc)"

ADULT Why Bother? (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
Awww c'mon Adult., why the resigned tone in your new album title?! We know you're not the defeatist types, and your new album has a momentum all its own!
This duo's music has gone through a few shifts in direction since their inception in the late nineties -- from the sharp icicles of classic Detroit techno and electro to the incensed shove of grrrrl punk -- but regardless of which direction they turn, there persists an overriding sense of frazzled nervous instability or 'anxiety always' (the title of their 2003 album), if you will. Fists and teeth are still clenched on this their fourth album, but Miller and Kuperus turn their wheels away from the abrasive electro-punk of their last album. They haven't returned completely to their minimal electro roots though. While the aggressive energy remains from the comparatively untethered Anxiety Always and 2005's Gimmie Trouble, Adult. have sharpened their focus and control here while at the same time unleashing a far more consuming, dense atmosphere; sinking deeper into the depths of goth industrial territory. Miller's prickly programmed beats have been partially engulfed by a thick ominous fog. Looming clanks and churnings occupy the former robotic stark spaces, and yet, Kuperus' sharp vocal exclamations still pierce out of the cloudy dank air. Her confrontational vocal performance continues to channel early female fronted post-punk bands such as Malaria!, X-Ray Spex, Liliput, and The Slits, if somewhat more muted and even-tempered than on their last couple albums. Check out the fevered itch of "I Feel Worse When I'm With You". Some folks around here were also reminded of Romeo Void and Fuzzbox. Alternately brooding and manic, and definitely devoid of the lethargy and apathy implied by the album's title.
Cool cover photos once again by Kuperus featuring a fresh manicure, milky skin, wheat, a rusted axe and a woman with her head concealed in a piece of luggage.
MPEG Stream: "Good Deeds"
MPEG Stream: "I Feel Worse When I'm With You"

AIR Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks) lp 22.00
Now on vinyl too!
While it's been over three years since Air's last record that doesn't mean they've been sitting around doing nothing. In fact just in the last year they made all the music for Charlotte Gainsbourg's great new record 5:55, curated one of the best Late Night Tales compilations, and one half of Air, J.B. Dunckel released his first solo record under the moniker Darkel. But yes like many of you, we've still been getting antsy for a proper new Air record. And here we have it and we have to say it does not disappoint. Pocket Symphony is Air at their moodiest, creating an impeccable atmosphere that flows perfectly from start to finish. There are some guest vocals appearances from Jarvis Cocker (Pulp fans rejoice!) and Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) but truly the strength of Pocket Symphony comes in the instrumentation and overall mood that only the guys in Air seem to be able to conjure up. In many ways this is their most somber recording since their score for The Virgin Suicides. A perfect come down record.
MPEG Stream: "Space Maker"
MPEG Stream: "One Hell Of A Party"
MPEG Stream: "Photograph"

AUFGEHOBEN Axiologue / Thermidor One Five (White Denim) 7" picture disc 7.98
Is it us, or is UK noise rock outfit Aufgehoben continually getting noisier and noisier? Is that even possible? We're beginning to think it is, even after the recent Messidor full length seemed to have reached a noise ceiling.
But here we are, two splattery, speaker frying blasts of no wave, free jazz noise rock. Or something. Not sure what to call it, but we like it. A lot. It does require a strong stomach and some iron clad earholes, but if you think you've got the stuff, that hop right in.
Two drummers, electronics, and very little else, are all these guys need to DESTROY. Side A begins with some rhythmic free jazz splatter before being swallowed alive by white hot bursts of crumbling distortion and swells of Merzbowian fury. The sheets of noise stuttering and almost 'skipping' into strange speaker shredding almost-rhythms, some otherworldly white noise pulse that bathes the rest of the song in a blinding and painfully loud glow.
Side B is cut from the same cloth, beginning with some Derek Bailey-ish guitar scrabble before the band launch into a full-on free jazz noise rock assault, loads of buzzing feedback, charged sheets of skree, all blown out and super distorted and in the red, interrupted by brief bits of tranquility, peppered with moments of grinding guitar scrape and spastic drum sputter, always quickly obliterated by a massive super nova of pure noise. Fucking brutal and massively intense!
Packaged in a plain black sleeve with some simple paste on art. Pressed on super thick vinyl, a gorgeous picture disc adorned with strange branch like patterns, like a fossil or some blurred winterscape. Nice!!
LIMITED TO 524 COPIES!!!

BABY GRANDMOTHERS s/t (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
This '60s Swedish psych trio is pretty obscure -- they only ever officially released one record, a 7" single that came out in Finland only -- but they haven't been forgotten 'cause the guys in this band eventually went on to play with such bigger, better-known acts as Mecki Mark Men and Kebnekajse. If you picked up that Psychedelic Phinland compilation we highlighted last list, you've heard "Being Is More Than Life" the B-side of their 7", it appears here too along with the A-side "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name" and several previously unreleased live recordings from the era (1967-'68), for a full hour of music in all.
The Baby Grandmothers really liked to jam, they had a thrice-weekly (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays!) residency at the short-lived psychedelic Stockholm club FILIPS, where much of the live material found here was recorded -- there's a reproduction of a flier in the cd booklet advertising them appearing at FILIPS with AQ faves Parson Sound (oh for a time machine!). So if you dig mostly-instrumental electric guitar oriented psych improv, dosed with plenty of feedback and fuzz, there's plenty here to turn you on, from stoned moody meanderings to freaked out solo spasms. It's all rather raw and energetically alive.
The lengthy liner notes in the photo-illustrated 15-page cd booklet tell the whole Baby Grandmothers story, from their origins in a R&B combo called the T-Boones to gigs opening for Jimi Hendrix to their transformation into the Mark II line-up of the prog-psych act Mecki Mark Men and beyond.
FYI: the Encyclopedia Of Swedish Progressive Music also reviewed this list comes with a bonus cd containing another half-hour of unreleased live Baby Grandmothers recordings from FILIPS, different material than what's on this disc.
MPEG Stream: "St. George's Dragon"
MPEG Stream: "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name"

BARDOT, BRIGITTE Show (Magic) cd 17.98
Some of you young'uns might not be familiar with this mighty blonde sexpot, but she sure set her fair share of hearts and loins aflame back in the sixties. Va va voom! She was perhaps less known for her singing than for her voluptuous physique, but she did indeed coo a few tunes back then, and did quite a fine job at it too. We just got this reissued Show album, and it showcases Bardot in all of her sweet and sexy glory. Kicky rocked up tunes, lusty slow orchestral ballads and saucy funky numbers, she did it all. This reissue includes the original fifteen album tracks plus four bonus cuts. Fab!
MPEG Stream: "Harley Davidson"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Qu'il Est Vilain"

BARK HAZE, THE Total Joke Era (Important Records) cd 14.98
While you just blinked or checked your email or watched some clips on YouTube, Thurston Moore released another record! Just kidding, but really, Moore shows no signs of slowing down his prolific pace, but as long as he keeps coming up with records as pretty and stoned sounding as this, we're not even the slightest bit anxious for him to slow down. Teamed up with Andrew Macgregor of Gown, they use their guitars to create gorgeously languid, slow shifting sonic landscapes reminiscent of Loren Mazzacane Connors, Roy Montgomery or that great Tom Carter / Bardo Pond collaboration from a few years back. Two long tracks that slowly unfold, beautifully and delicately...
Fans of Sonic Youth's more wandering and sprawling guitar passages will find much to love here. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Total Joke Era One"
MPEG Stream: "Total Joke Era Two"

BARR, MICK / OCTIS Iohargh Wended (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Good grief. Nobody but nobody plays such INSANE guitar as our pal Mick Barr (Crom-Tech, Orthrelm, Octis, Ocrilm, etc.). Makes sense he's got a new album out on John Zorn's Tzadik label, we figure Zorn would have to appreciate Barr's idiosyncratic high-end, hyper-speed shred. Zorn's right, Barr belongs in Tzadik's "composer series", with his name on the cover alongside that of his "band" Octis (which is just him solo, sometimes accompanied by an exhausted drum machine). Barr's spasmodic seizures of precision six-string technicality end up constituting some sort of cryptically-constructed, convolutedly-complex avant-garde new music, with maddening minimalist repetition and maximal metallic tones, a swarming symphony of extreme earhole abuse that certain folks (like us) just LOVE subjecting themselves to, and maybe even trying to understand. Imagine Yngwie interpreting Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music album and you're at least part-way there.
MPEG Stream: "Logargh - Rr 2"
MPEG Stream: "Wended - Wended"

BEACH HOUSE s/t (HeartBreakBeat) lp 14.98
Now available on vinyl for a limited time!
Wow! We haven't been this smitten with a debut release in quite a while. Didn't know much about this Baltimore duo but we do know, the second this record we laid ears on this the first time, we were immediately seduced by the glorious sounds within. Hazy, daydreaming pop with equal parts magic, mystery and dreamy darkness, all drenched in beautiful melodies and sincere sensuality. Kind of made us think of Broadcast taking a warm bubble bath with Coco Rosie. Lights out, candles burning, bubbles floating, reverb dripping. There is a timelessness in these songs that is so evocative, Warhol's factory, a summer twilight in Southern California in the '70s, an abandoned art studio in the UK. You can never quite put your finger on exactly where these songs are drawn from but in the end it's music truly unique and wonderful. A mysterious voice, a haunting presence and songs carry you off, eyes closed, to somewhere much more enchanting then wherever you really are. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Witch"
MPEG Stream: "Childhood"

BECK The Information (Deluxe Version) (Interscope) 2CD+DVD 26.00
New Deluxe box version of Beck's latest outing with an extra disc of remixes from Ellen Allien, Ricardo Villalobos, and Jamie Lidell among others and a DVD with even more videos on it then before, plus a lyric book, a blank book (for your thoughts?) and complete set of stickers! Here's what we said before:
Beck might be trying a bunch of new things in terms of presentation and packaging (for one thing the cover is a blank grid on which you can arrange the provided very Vice Magazine looking stickers), but it sure feels like he's retreading a lot of old terrain musically. Some songs sound like total rehashings of his 'hits' from Odelay and Sea Change. Actually two lyrics keep taking turns popping into our collective aQ head when we listen to this album. They are Steve Miller's "time keeps on slippin'... slippin'... slippin' into the fyooochaaa" from back in the '70s and Beck's own "I got two turntables and a microphone" from "Where It's At" (on his Odelay album). That said, all in all though this *is* a solid Beck album. It just didn't register the "Holy shit, this is groundbreaking stuff!" reaction that all the pre-release press made it out to be. It's just good ol' Beck recrafted and redesigned with fresh cool sounds and stickers too!
MPEG Stream: "Cellphone's Dead"
MPEG Stream: "The Information"

BEHRENS, MARC & PAOLO RAPOSO Hades (And / OAR) cd 13.98
Sourced from recordings made aboard Lisbon ferries and at the quays of Cais do Sodre (one of the neighborhoods in the Portuguese capital), Marc Behrens and Paolo Raposo have constructed an allegorical set of compositions on Hades that intentionally mirror the mythological journey in crossing the River Styx. According to the ancient Greek beliefs, Styx was a border between the Underworld and Earth; and a ferry was the only means of transportation across the river. When put into a modern context of sound art and field-recording based collage, quotidian sounds sucha as the rumble of a diesel motor as it spews crusty exhaust and the creaking of the hull against the pier takes on a much more profound significance. Behrens and Raposo have done quite a good job in highlighting particular sounds, frequencies, and vibrations from the aquatic journey in traveling through Lisbon by way of boat, as a way of transforming that experience into a sombre event of mournful bellows and anguished sighs. Yet on occasion, Hades becomes agitated with rasping clatters of mechanical noise, alluding that the end of life is certainly not an easy journey. For an album about such a portentous subject as death, Behrens and Raposo do well to concentrate upon their sounds through the lens of a minimalist conceptual framework and allow the mythological and allegorical images to flow around their well-grafted sound.
MPEG Stream: "Gate"
MPEG Stream: "Crossing Into Hades"

BERG SANS NIPPLE, THE Along The Quai (Team Love) cd 14.98
Tortoise-tronica! That's the one word which sprung to our mind after listening to the first few tracks on this album by this peculiarly named duo. The Berg Sans Nipple are Lori Sean Berg and Shane Aspegren, a couple of scruffy fellows who hail from France and Nebraska respectively. They take the jazz infused post-rock influence of that venerable band and funnel it through a primarily electronic focused instrument palette. Then they add some Notwist-y murmured male vocals, a little smooth soul, and the results are something fresh and new that sits just as comfily alongside Broken Social Scene and Air as it does the above mentioned Windy City veterans. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Ghost"
MPEG Stream: "Of The Sung"

BIRD, ANDREW The Mysterious Production of Eggs (Righteous Babe) cd 16.98
After enjoying Andrew Bird's latest album we thought we'd do a little backtracking and revisit his last album, 2005's The Mysterious Production Of Eggs which was released on Ani DiFranco's label Righteous Babe. Although he's been makin' some fine music since 1996, it was this album that really charmed lush pop loving ears far and wide. If you looked up "a distant, less eccentric, yet equally exceptional singer/songwriter cousin of Howe Gelb and M. Ward" in the dictionary, you just might find this gent. Polished, dark, elegant and earthy pop goodness for fans of the abovementioned fellows as well as Ron Sexsmith, Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley.
MPEG Stream: "Sovay"
MPEG Stream: "Fake Palindromes"

BLANKETSHIP AND THE DOLLSON FAMILY SINGERS Music With A Message (Gigante Sound) cd-r 9.98
Following up 2006's delightful Summer Set, Bay Area artist Blanketship returns with Music With A Message! This time he's got The Dollson Family Singers in tow for another aural collage of off-kilter, genre-jumpin' frolics. The one dozen hymns on Music With A Message chug along like a feel good wagon with a slightly wonky wheel rolling over hills and through towns with heads in the clouds, toes tapping and hugs aplenty. Sorta like Danielson Family taking Polyphonic Spree to Sunday School but not without a secret intoxicating visit to Bruce Haack and Perrey & Kingsley's exotica tiki lounge beforehand!
MPEG Stream: "Let Him Into Your Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Reach Up In The Sky"

BONNIE PRINCE BILLY Strange Form Of Life (Drag City) cd 12.98
Will Oldham fans have no shortage of offerings from their favorite prince as of late. This marks the third single released from his last full length The Letting Go. It includes one of the best songs from the album, "Strange Form Of Life", an early version of "The Seedling" as well as stripped down solo renditions of two of his older gems. The cd also includes a great video of "Strange Form Of Life" directed by Jennifer Parsons.
MPEG Stream: "Strange Form Of Life"
MPEG Stream: "The Sun Highlights The Lack In Each"

BROSSEAU, TOM Grand Forks (Loveless) cd 14.98
Mr. Tom Brosseau is the man behind Grand Forks, an album of really good country folk melancholia.
Grand Forks is a concept album with a narrative centered around the devastating flood of his hometown back in 1997. No frills and deeply poignant, this music finds comfort and solace on a lonely mud-encrusted barstool with a half empty bottle of Kentucky bourbon. With guests John Doe and violinist Hilary Hahn.
MPEG Stream: "I Fly Wherever I Go"
MPEG Stream: "Here Comes The Water Now"

CARROLL, BARTON Love & War (Skybucket) cd 15.98
Barton Carroll might not be a household name, but he's certainly made his presence felt on numerous other artists' albums and live performances. He's not only the multi-instrumentalist for Crooked Fingers, but he's also shared the stage with the likes of Azure Ray, Micah P. Hinson and Dolorean (not the metal band, duh). Love & War is his second solo folk album. The simple white text on black background on the front cover reflects the music's dark starkness, while the splash of green foliage on the back cover photo hints at Carroll's well manicured earthiness. His evocative lyrics' subject matter focuses on war history and literary works. Hence, the album's dominant mood is decidedly somber, at times evoking an almost funereal tone. Includes a stirring cover of "The Dark End Of The Street".
MPEG Stream: "Small Thing"
MPEG Stream: "Dark End Of The Street"

CLOCKCLEANER Frogrammer / Early Man (Richie) 7" 4.50
Latest blast of post punk noise rock mayhem from this Violent Students offshoot. For those of you who may not remember, the Violent Students are a crazy, druggy damaged noise rock behemoth, a stumbling Butthole Surfers-esque freerock what the fuck glorious mess that we went totally nuts for.
We later discovered a few of those Students also did time in a band called Clockcleaner, who ended up totally cleaning our clocks (ahem) but for a whole different reason, their strange nineties indie noise rock, shoulda-been-on-AmRep stun and pummel completely hit the pot, and pushed all those dusty buttons bands like the Cows and the God Bullies and Lubricated Goat used to push.
So here we have a brand new 7" ep from these musical miscreants, and it's a bit of surprise. The A side is total post punk new wave pop, or something, propulsive jangly guitars, simple drumming, yelped vocals, we're hearing tons of the Misfits and the Damned... sort of new wave art pop, but filthier and a little more lo-fi, and it's awesome! Noisy and hooky and super duper catchy.
But before you start screaming sell out, flip the disc over and we're back into nineties aggro post punk snarl and swagger, echoey clangy guitars, thick chunks of angular noise rock, keening guitars, reverbed vocals, lots of scrape and wail, and we love it. These guys kick serious ass, wrapping you in a nineties style Halo Of Flies while simultaneously dipping you head in a good old fashioned bucket of new wave jangle!!
Plus "Frogrammer"? How rad a title is that for a song?!?!

CURRENT 93 Black Ships Ate The Sky (Durtro / Jnana) 2lp 21.00
Now available on vinyl!!
Current 93's David Tibet is an apocalyptic poet in the truest definition, as his work hinges upon his obsessive desire to transcribe and translate the revelations, visions, nightmares, and dreams that have come to him over the past two decades. The apocalyptic genres of art have come to define the possibilities of how the world as we know it might come to an end (e.g. astrophysical disasters, nuclear war, zombies, fire-ants, etc.); however, in the earliest manifestations of apocalyptic art, it was simply the chronicling of revelations given from the heavens to man below. Throughout his numerous recordings in Current 93, Tibet has embodied the whole apocalyptic tradition, all the while strengthening his admittedly heretical belief in a Patripassianist Christ, who suffers beyond the crucifixion of Jesus throughout the aeons until his second coming (NB. this is but a brief synopsis of Tibet's complicated, Gnostic, and poetic theology).
Black Ships Ate The Sky has been in the works for almost four years, with Tibet's great friend and longtime collaborator Steven Stapleton proclaiming this to be a fantastic recording. Lo and behold, Black Ships Ate The Sky *is* a magnificent album, returning to the somber acid folk stylings haunted by the shadows and smoke last heard on the earlier masterpieces Thunder Perfect Mind and Earth Covers Earth. As on all of the Current 93 albums, Tibet surrounds himself with an impressive battery of musicians that reads like a who's who of alt-folk-avant-rock greats: Will Oldham, Ben Chasny, Antony (as in .. And The Johnsons), Shirley Collins, Cosey Fanni Tutti, William Basinski, Al Cisneros (from Om), and the aforementioned Steven Stapleton. Black Ships Ate The Sky is thematically based upon Tibet's vision aptly described in the title as it relates to a Christian hymn by Charles Wesley called "Idumae" which repeats itself seven times (eight if you count "Black Ships Were Sinking Into Idumae" sung by Cosey Fanni Tutti), as sung by Tibet's numerous guest vocalists. As strong as many of the versions of "Idumae" are, Tibet and his peculiar voice are central to Black Ships. He's impassioned throughout, occasionally possessed with an infernal rage as on the second version of the title track, and elsewhere adopting a gentle delicacy. The music swirls around simple guitar arrangements, laced with Chasny's acidic guitar leads and Stapleton's sidereal productions... and it's stunningly good together. Time will tell if this will be the greatest Current 93 record Tibet has produced (as many have already claimed); but it's clearly in the running.
MPEG Stream: "This Autistic Imperium Is Nihil Reich"
MPEG Stream: "Black Ships Ate The Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Idumae (featuring Shirley Collins)"

CYANN & BEN Sweet Beliefs (Ever) cd 15.98
Whoops, we didn't mean to list the import version of this last week, we forgot that the domestic would be here so soon... sorry! Here's it is, same album but much cheaper.
Parisian quartet Cyann & Ben continue their delicate steps through the shadows and glints of sunlight along dewy earthen paths. This music is transportive, shimmering with hushed guitar picking and whispery distant vocals; all embraced by blankets of drone. It's sort of the aural equivalent of being in a half-sleep state while gazing at the sky through draped layers of gauze. Visions shift and melt. It's at once intimate, grand and spacious. So dark yet so blissful. The album progresses at a slow creep, but as it does so, tensions mount with increasingly insistent electric guitar squalls. A stormy peak is reached at the seventh song "Let It Play" at which point all is stripped down to just voice and piano for the next song "Somewhere In The Light Of Time". If you dug Spring and Happy Like An Autumn Tree, this will delight you to no end. Fans of Low, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, what are you waiting for? Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "Words"
MPEG Stream: "Sunny Morning"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Beliefs"

DEAN & BRITTA Back Numbers (Zoe) cd 16.98
On their lovely 2005 'debut' L'Avventura, Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham went by their full names, now that they're all 'established' (as if you weren't already, former Lord and Lady of Luna-ville!), they're on first name basis. Heck, it's the most natural thing to do because Back Numbers is so warm, welcoming and familiar. It's like meeting up again with an old friend. There's no awkward pauses in making this acquaintance, just pick right up where you last left off. An enveloping album of dulcet, downy pop as only Mr. Wareham can do, and we love it! The duo are joined once more by Sonic Boom for a little keyboard and guitar flourish, and producer Tony Visconti. Amid their original numbers they've included a smashing cover of Lee Hazlewood's "You Turned My Head Around" as well as Claudine Longet's "White Horses", Donovan's Teen Angel" and The Troggs' fantastic "Our Love Will Still Be There". Glorious.
MPEG Stream: "The Sun Is Still Sunny"
MPEG Stream: "You Turned My Head Around"

FRAZER, PAULA AND TARNATION Now It's Time (Birdman) cd 14.98
Damn, this lady can sing! Now It's Time is her fourth full length, the follow-up to 2005's Leave The Sad Things Behind. From the sounds of it, she hasn't heeded that album's title. This SF country gal's music continues to resonate with a haunting heartbreak. That said, she's brought back some of the good things too, such as resurrecting her beloved old band Tarnation for the occasion. Despite her plaintive lyrical subject matter, she doesn't wallow, occasionally stepping up the overall languid tempo with a mildly jaunty clip. Front and center, her impassioned voice rings strong and clear. Wistful, but with a steadfast resolve.
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Never Know"

GARNEAU, CHRIS Music For Tourists (Absolutely Kosher) cd 13.98
Another unassuming, slightly off-kilter singer/songwriter joins the strong stable of artists at the Absolutely Kosher camp. Chris Garneau is his name and Music For Tourists is his debut album -- a baker's dozen folk pop tunes played out mostly on piano and guitar augmented by strings. Sweet and hushed, Garneau's boyish vocals seem to pursue the sensitive intimacy of the late Elliott Smith. The album as a whole has an underlying bedroom recorded feel, but with a fully fleshed out lush production afforded these days via the now easily accessible, user friendly recording technology. Pleasant lo-fi pop recorded with hi-fi capabilities.
MPEG Stream: "Relief"
MPEG Stream: "So Far"

GOLIGHTLY, HOLLY & THE BROKEOFFS You Can't Buy A Gun When You're Crying (Damaged Goods) cd 14.98
Oh Holly, you get us every time! With her timeless voice and snarly attitude, Golightly is one of the fiercest singers and songwriters of our time! With her new band The Brokeoffs we get to hear her take a break from her usual garage juke joint gems and explore the moonshine drenched world of Appalachia. From sparse country ballads to haunting blues, this record shows that no matter what musical direction Golightly takes on, the results are always fantastic. Musically, it's almost like a stripped down version of those haunting Tom Waits soundscapes, with an ever so wonderfully warped country twang and then of course the icing on the cake is Golightly's spot on vocals and delivery which make the songs so immediate and engaging. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "Devil Do"
MPEG Stream: "Just Around The Bend"

GOLIGHTLY, HOLLY & THE BROKEOFFS You Can't Buy A Gun When You're Crying (Damaged Goods) lp 16.98
Oh Holly, you get us every time! With her timeless voice and snarly attitude, Golightly is one of the fiercest singers and songwriters of our time! With her new band The Brokeoffs we get to hear her take a break from her usual garage juke joint gems and explore the moonshine drenched world of Appalachia. From sparse country ballads to haunting blues, this record shows that no matter what musical direction Golightly takes on, the results are always fantastic. Musically, it's almost like a stripped down version of those haunting Tom Waits soundscapes, with an ever so wonderfully warped country twang and then of course the icing on the cake is Golightly's spot on vocals and delivery which make the songs so immediate and engaging. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "Devil Do"
MPEG Stream: "Just Around The Bend"

GRAYCEON s/t (Vendlus) cd 10.98
Sounding just a bit like a weird cross between slo-mo doom bringers Asunder and tunics-and-tights folk metallers Falconer, San Francisco's Grayceon are an uncategorizable combo who rock the majestic medieval metal riffs in a sort of chamber-prog / post-rock context, with a big part of their sound deriving from the droning classical cello stylings of Jackie Perez Gratz (who indeed also saws the cello strings for Asunder, and also plays in Amber Asylum). Pummelling drums and sometimes thrashy guitar round out the trio's lineup, with both clean male and female vocals in the mix, though Grayceon's approach could work just as well instrumentally. The caress of their loud-soft, soft-loud dynamics should find this appealing to both indie/post rockers and, say, fans of Hammers Of Misfortune and the Fucking Champs. Imagine Rachel's on a date with Apocalyptica, perhaps. This self-titled debut consists of four songs in 45 minutes -- the last and longest track clocks in at an epic, elegant 20 minutes, and, like the rest of the album, provides stately and somber moodiness alongside headbangingly metallic moments... it's mournful, technical, and we think pretty cool!
MPEG Stream: "Sounds Like Thunder"
MPEG Stream: "Into The Deep"

HAGEN, NINA Fearless (Koch) cd 15.98
What a Blast from the Past! Probably the weirdest record produced by Giorgio Moroder, Nina Hagen's 1984 release Fearless has some of the craziest new-wave-disco tracks EVER made. Charting with "New York, New York", Hagen's tribute to that city's underground club culture, the rest of the record is a no-holds-barred romp of excess glamour and zany electro-funk, topped with her trademark bi-polar vocal range. There's even a cameo by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (man, they've been around for a while!). If you've been rocking lately to Maurice Fulton and/or his crazy "Paris Hilton" singing wife, Mu, or any of the Tiger Sushi G.D.M. series of past and present club jams, you might want to take an indulgent gander here. Guaranteed that the unique vocal stylings and punk-funk freakiness will have you saying WTF?! pretty darn quick. Glad to have this reissued! Also be sure to check out her Nunsexmonkrock album as well if you're new to Nina.
MPEG Stream: "New York New York"
MPEG Stream: "TV Snooze"
MPEG Stream: "Springtime In Paris"

HAMMOND JR., ALBERT Yours To Keep (New Line Records) cd 14.98
Now available domestically (this album was actually released last year in the U.K. of Rough Trade, and
a single was released on iTunes in September)! Includes two bonus tracks (covers of Guided By Voices' Postal Blowfish" and Buddy Holly's "Well... All Right").
Takin' a break from your very recognizable, very popular band to do a solo album comes with its own list of baggage requirements. Sure it's pretty much a given that the album is going to be met with an automatic built-in adoring audience. Most of said band's fans are simply gonna scoop it up without any hesitation. However, if you wanna: 1.) keep the favor of said fans; 2.) win legions of your own admirers; and 3.) not be totally chastised by critics, you've kinda got to do something completely different without sounding completely alienating. Don't know if all that concerns Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., but On Yours To Keep he is pretty much playin' safely by those rules. He's made a solid sweet'n'easy pop record filled with lots of his unmistakable jangleful guitars and an occasional horn. It sits in comfortably alongside recent albums by Money Mark and Sean Lennon. Most immediately evident are the pervading pop influences of Brian Wilson and the Beatles with a little Sound & Vision era Bowie and Uncle Tupelo-esque scruffy country rock rounding off Hammond's overall sound. For those looking for one, the sixth song "101" sounds the closest to Strokes territory, albeit gentler and prettier with better posture. Hammond's earnest, unshaven vocals are sort of a cross between Jeff Tweedy and Spoon's Britt Daniel. He's brought in a few ringers to ice the cake: the abovementioned Lennon as well as Ben Kweller, Fountains Of Wayne's Jody Porter, The Mooney Suzuki's Sammy Davis Jr., and his bandmates Julian Casablancas, Josh Lattanzi and Matt Romano.
MPEG Stream: "Cartoon Music For Superheroes"
MPEG Stream: "Well... All Right"

HEY COLOSSUS Project: Death (Shifty / Jonson Family Records) cd 11.98
It's the return of British sludge bludgeoners Hey Colossus, whose prior releases, including a split LP with Japanese doomsters Dot [.], we've recommended. Rhythmic and rumbling, this band plays a heavy hybrid of noisy punk and post rock, clearly conversant with both the unlikely extremes of krautrock and death metal. On Project: Death, the influence of the latter results in parts of such tracks as "On The Pleasure Of Hating" for short stretches approaching the pummelling tranciness of the Boredoms' Super Roots 3 (to reference a reissue recently reviewed). Shouting vox and down-tuned guitars also put these guys in league with such not-metal-but-even-scarier acts as Burmese and Unsane, their grinding grooves awash with an almost psychedelic level of FX (someone in the band plays nothing but Korg Kaoss Pad, apparently!). Menacing, murky, massive, murderous.
MPEG Stream: "Do They Ever Return?"
MPEG Stream: "On The Pleasure Of Hating"

HILL, ZACH + MICK BARR ZH/MB Volume 2 (Rock Is Hell) lp 22.00
Who could possibly be a match for Mick Barr's (Crom-Tech, Orthrelm, Octis, Ocrilm) insane avant sci-fi guitar shredding? We would have thought no one... But it makes sense, that the only true match for Barr's fretboard wiggery would be Zach Hill, a sort of Yngwie Malmsteen of the drum kit. A spastic octopoidal drum freak, who can cram a million more beats into a song than the busiest drummer you can think of. Not sure why no one thought of getting these guys together sooner. Their first meeting took place on last year's Shred Earthship, and now we have ZH/MB Volume 2.
And the results, much like on Shred Earthship are just what you would have expected. A mind blowing, ear shredding, speaker melting squiggle and noodle shredfest. Dense squalls of wildly dueling drum splatter and guitar freakout. Often note for note. Is it free jazz? Is it avant metal? Is it outrageous instrumental wankery? Well yeah, it sort of is, ALL of those. Ultra complex, incredibly convoluted, might be a stretch to call these songs, instead they seem to be exercises in instrumental dexterity, each one an over the top psychedelic metal freakout that has the listener panting and about to pass out after only thirty seconds, lord knows how these guys can keep it up for a whole record. The opener is the jazziest, due in no small part to some surprisingly melodic sax, but after that, it's one on one, drums vs. guitar, each wrapped around the other in some sort of insane ultimate fighting chokehold, a non stop barrage of notes and beats... imagine that someone had been collecting every note ever played, and every drum beat, and just piling them up in a huge dumpster, they're tiny, they don't take up that much room, but a trillion, or a million billion trillion, have that dumpster just about full. Now imagine being strapped down to a huge slab of black concrete, with strange metallic implements holding your ears wide open, then imagine that entire dumpster being upended and all of those notes and beats showering down on you like some sort of musical avalanche or metallic hailstorm. Sound good? Well then, my friend, this is indeed the record for you...
Packaged in killer white cloud on bright yellow sleeves, most are on black vinyl, a few are on yellow, so you might just get lucky. But don't ask, we said: YOU. MIGHT. GET. LUCKY.
Limited to 303 copies!!! We got a handful, and will NOT be able to get more.

J DILLA Ruff Draft (Stones Throw) 2cd 17.98
Ruff Draft is a deluxe 2-disc reissue of a 2002 self-released EP that captured a sea change in the late MC/producer's career. Having had two major works shelved by his embattled label MCA, and with his regular group, Slum Village, on extended hiatus, JayDee formed his own record label, changed his moniker to J Dilla and 10 years into a career as an MC and top producer for major labels went completely DIY. Attempting to get back to a direct, from-the-street feel, he made all the tracks "straight from the mother-fucking cassette" and brought back into play his favorite childhood pastime of making laborious looping tape edits from samples culled from his enviable record collection and multi-tracking the loops together and rapping over them. But it's in his choices of loops and edits that make him unique. Serpentine piano flourishes, backwards psych guitar, sci-fi keyboard crescendos, snippets of phrases, all glossed with reverb and stoner beats guaranteed to hook even the most casual of listeners. It's this alchemically charged attention to sound building that would lead to Donuts, his finest work to date. Since the original Ruff Draft was a limited vinyl only release that was little heard outside Detroit, it's nice to see it get the full deluxe treatment, even if the extent of the material is a bit slight (each disc is under 30 minutes). The first disc is the original 8-song EP with 2 bonus tracks, one of which is "Wild" featuring a kid hilariously singing Slade's "Cum On Feel The Noize". The second disc is the instrumental versions, which is a smart move to affordably package these together instead of releasing them separately. Those unfamiliar with Dilla's MC style, it's true he's a stronger producer, but to his credit, his style does not detract from any of the cuts (although we could've used less "Ruff Draft y'all's") and there are tracks here that work better on the vocal versions such as "Nothing Like This" featured recently on the Stones Throw's Chrome Children compilation, and "The $", whose loop is almost too brash and sketchy to enjoy on its own. As for the instrumental versions, it's nice to hear the closing loop of "Shouts" which makes us think of a hip-hop Steve Reich or Terry Riley's early tape loop repetitions. We could seriously listen to this track for hours uninterrupted and be totally happy. While posthumously credited as Dilla's lost masterpiece, it's more of an exciting document of a defining moment that might appeal more to folks already in love with his later production style than to new converts unfamiliar with his history. But definitely a worthwhile and satisfying listen!
MPEG Stream: "Nothing Like This"
MPEG Stream: "The $"
MPEG Stream: "Reckless Driving (Instrumental)"
MPEG Stream: "Wild (Instrumental)"

JORGE, SEU Live At Montreux 2005 (Eagle) cd 14.98
If you were expecting something along the lines of Seu Jorge's wonderful covers of David Bowie tunes that graced the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic, we're afraid you might be sadly disappointed. We sure were. Our giddy excitement to hear some new Seu Jorge was immediately extinguished when we realized that this new live album of his 2005 concert in Montreaux falls completely within the realm of 'adult contemporary'. Sure Jorge's voice is as gorgeous as ever, but whereas his Bowie covers showcased his tastefully light, mood-setting touch, this live cd comes across melodramatic, slick and heavy handed. Yikes.
MPEG Stream: "Mania De Peitao"
MPEG Stream: "Fiori De La Citta"

KING KONG Buncha Beans (Drag City) cd 14.98
If we didn't know that this album was brand new we could say "they don't make 'em like this anymore!" We'd probably even put money down on a bet that this was a long-lost indie rock album from the late '80s / early '90s. Yup, the sounds on Buncha Beans comes straight out of the wee hours of that period's college radio dial which is when/where this band first surfaced. Although Ethan Buckler (very early Tweez era bassist for Slint) originally intended King Kong to be something of a dance band, we've gotta say, their music is quite possibly some of the most untypical, unconventional disjointed dance music around. Go on, you try to dance to it! Maybe hop around in stocking feet in the privacy of your living room. Buckler's peculiar, atonal, almost spoken vocals, a cross between Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson and Fred Schneider of the B-52s (whom Buckler apparently modeled his King Kong sound after), push the tunes even further off the dance floor. A quirkuliscious, occasionally facetious, out-in-left-field kind of listen.
MPEG Stream: "Bulldozer"
MPEG Stream: "Tough Guys"

LAND OF TALK Applause Cheer Boo Hiss (The Rebel Group) cd 8.98
Regardless of which verb in this album's title you choose to exercise when addressing Montreal, Quebec's Land Of Talk -- we opted to cheer! -- we're sure you'll agree that these three young pop upstarts are an absolute deadringer for fellow Canadians Metric. They certainly seem equally influenced by those punchy '90s gals Veruca Salt, Elastica and Garbage too. They pack each of these seven songs with edgy energy, crunchy guitars and vibrant female vocals. Good good good!
MPEG Stream: "Speak To Me Bones"
MPEG Stream: "Magnetic Hill"

LEO, TED AND THE PHARMACISTS Living With The Living (Touch And Go) cd 14.98
Yippeee! Ted Leo And The Pharmacists are back!
The opening track kicks things into gear with sharp crunchy guitars that penetrate right to the roots of your hair and teeth(!). Said guitars are feverishly strummed atop a runaway train drumbeat... oh, and don't forget the handclaps! NEVER! As always, Leo's sound is very mod inspired a la The Jam with a little eighties power pop vocal flavor (Elvis Costello and Rick Springfield) and hard rock (lots of Thin Lizzy) in there. That said, Living With The Living keeps us on our toes with a couple twists that caught us by surprise -- three of 'em being the bizarre jig in the sixth tune "A Bottle Of Buckie", the fiery rock blast of "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb" and the unpredictable reggae turn on "The Unwanted Things". A neat balance of boyish charm, winking pop hooks, and anthemic balls-out rawk power!
Bonus alert! The first pressing of the cd includes a five-song cdep, and the initial vinyl edition includes a coupon for a free MP3 download of the entire album plus some extra non-album MP3s! More Leo to love!
MPEG Stream: "A Bottle Of Buckie"
MPEG Stream: "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb"

LEO, TED AND THE PHARMACISTS Living With The Living (Touch And Go) 2lp 15.98
Yippeee! Ted Leo And The Pharmacists are back!
The opening track kicks things into gear with sharp crunchy guitars that penetrate right to the roots of your hair and teeth(!). Said guitars are feverishly strummed atop a runaway train drumbeat... oh, and don't forget the handclaps! NEVER! As always, Leo's sound is very mod inspired a la The Jam with a little eighties power pop vocal flavor (Elvis Costello and Rick Springfield) and hard rock (lots of Thin Lizzy) in there. That said, Living With The Living keeps us on our toes with a couple twists that caught us by surprise -- three of 'em being the bizarre jig in the sixth tune "A Bottle Of Buckie", the fiery rock blast of "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb" and the unpredictable reggae turn on "The Unwanted Things". A neat balance of boyish charm, winking pop hooks, and anthemic balls-out rawk power!
Bonus alert! The first pressing of the cd includes a five-song cdep, and the initial vinyl edition includes a coupon for a free MP3 download of the entire album plus some extra non-album MP3s! More Leo to love!
MPEG Stream: "A Bottle Of Buckie"
MPEG Stream: "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb"

LICORICE ROOTS Shades Of Streamers (Essay) cd 15.98
Hmmm, sure sounds like these fellers have been chewing on something a bit more potent than licorice roots! While we're not sure about Shades Of Streamers' anti-inflammatory and expectorant properties we can confirm that the sound is strangely melted and slightly druggy. Originally signed to the more than appropriate New York art rock label Shimmy Disc (home to Bongwater, King Missile, early Boredoms, Ruins and Ween), Edward Moyse, Arthur Marks and Dave Milsom have been making experimental folk rock music for many moons that wavers and roams in the zone between Ariel Pink and Ween. Disarmingly warped.
MPEG Stream: "Starswept Dancer"
MPEG Stream: "Meteor Queene"

LITTLE FUZZY Shimmy Up (self-released) cd 11.98
Shimmy up, down and all around! The first few playful bars of Little Fuzzy's sophomore album made us think we'd stumbled onto Sesame Street... but Sesame Street for grown-ups, mind you! This SF gang keep on rollin' out their pop infused groovy goodness. Hey folks try this one on for size... new genre: 'twee funk'! Little Fuzzy, we thusly dub thee.
MPEG Stream: "Love's Delightful Labours"
MPEG Stream: "Shimmy Up"

LUNDBORG, PATRICK The Acid Archives (Lysergia) book 29.00
Two fine record reference works on the list this week, there's the Encyclopedia of Swedish Progressive Music (reviewed below), and this one, a tome devoted American private press musical weirdness from the psychedelic era; its subtitle is "Guide To Underground Sounds 1965-1982". And yes, it's an A-to-Z of bands, each release getting an opinionated write-up, sometimes from more than one reviewer, who don't always agree! Not just psych bands, but also folk-rock, hard rock, "incredibly strange music", sunshine pop, all sorts of stuff. As long as it's rare and obscure and has collectors salivating...
Here's a few of the bands included: Anonymous, BF Trike, Cromagnon, David Allen Coe, Euphoria, Francisco, Josephus, New Hobbits, Charles Mason, Peace Pipe, Ya Ho Wha 13... that's a very small fraction (hey I bet Fraction is in here... let's see, yep) of what you'll find. There's literally hundreds and of entries. Hours of browsing to be had.
In addition to this "Acid Archive" of reviews, which include discographical info on both the original releases -and- (where applicable) reissues, there's some other special features to this volume. You'll find top tens and "fave raves" from the book's various contributors, also a buying guide for collectors on a budget, and a forward by Mike Stax of Ugly Things magazine -- and if you're a dedicated Ugly Things reader, you definitely want this book!!
15 years in the making, this is as authoritative and indispensable as it gets, when it comes to weird music from way back. It's not quite as deluxe as that Swedish Encyclopedia (and not as expensive, either), but still really nicely put together. Paperback, 11 3/4" x 8 1/4", 298 pages, three columns per page of text, lots of cool b&w graphics (album covers, record labels, promo photos). Trippy!!

MAS RAPIDO! Pity Party (Parasol) cd 15.98
Despite their moniker, Mas Rapido! aren't necessarily a speedy bunch. Were we anticipating some feverish punk popsters? Maybe so, but no, this veteran Seattle pop duo Donna Esposito and Frank Bednash (formerly known as Toothpaste 2000 and prior to that incarnation they were Cowboy And Spin Girl) take their own sweet time crafting toothsome, psych-tinged pop songs with a definite retro '60s feel. Much of their latest album Pity Party seems modeled after the top notch song craft of Big Star and Elephant Six which is a good thing in our books!
MPEG Stream: "Emily Lloyd"
MPEG Stream: "Girl Du Jour"

MELECHESH Emissaries (Osmose Productions) lp 21.00
Now available on vinyl!!
Holy crap this band SLAYS. What (the death metal band) Nile are to Egypt, this black metal outfit is to Iraq... That is, Melechesh consider themselves to play "Mesopotamian metal", lyrically focused on the mythology and mysticism of ancient Sumer. Except that, moreso than Nile, the music of Melechesh more fully incorporates influences from the traditional folk musics of the Middle East. So they're kind of an extreme metal version of the '60s Turkish psych bands we love so much, the garagey fuzz guitars replaced with downtuned distorted METAL guitars, making bellydance music with blastbeats. And, unlike Nile who are Americans, the guys in Melechesh actually all originally hail from the region (they're Arabs, emigrated to Europe). Well, they used to have a Texan in the band, the illustrious occultic drumbeast known as Proscriptor (of Absu fame) but on this album he's been replaced with a new drummer, Xul. Proscriptor's a tough act to follow but this Xul guy manages to do so quite well! Wow.
We've raved about 'em before, so hopefully you've already got some Melechesh in your collection and are as excited as we are about this new release, which is from the get-go a raging maelstrom of vicious riffage and masterful metal composition. Crushing AND catchy, technical, and very very METAL, yet with that extra Middle Eastern X-factor that makes it even better in our book, and allows the band to slow down for extra-ethnic, atmospheric interludes like "The Scribes Of Kur". Really, there's nothing we can find fault with here at all. A seriously great Middle Eastern metal assault, which even includes a cover of a song by a (Middle Eastern influenced) Canadian pop band, The Tea Party, weirdly, and cooly, enough. It's a shame that it's impossible to think about the ancient cultures and traditions of Middle East, and Iraq in particular, that Melechesh drawns such inspiration from, without of course dwelling on the current fucked up situation there, which sadly hasn't gotten any better since the release of Melechesh's last album back in 2003...
MPEG Stream: "Rebirth Of The Nemesis"
MPEG Stream: "Deluge Of Delusional Dreams"

MIZUTANI, KIYOSHI Scenery Of The Border: Environments And Folklore Of The Tanzawa Mountains (And / OAR) 2cd 15.98
A few years back, Kiyoshi Mizutani ventured into the Tanzawa mountain range located to the southwest of Tokyo in order to document the sounds of that very isolated region. In the liner notes to this album, Mizutani explains that this region enjoys a complex history with centuries worth of military endeavors and legends including one tragedy which Mizutani alludes to about "the losing army's princess." Needless to say, the mountains may have been of strategic importance to any number of rival factions; but by now, their remoteness and desolation harbors only a small population. He focuses his attention upon three aspects of those mountains: the natural (which is the dominant voice of the Tanzawan environment), the ceremonial folklore of the people, and the residual noise of the man-made. Mizutani's love of bird sounds was evident on one of his early sound works simply entitled Bird Songs; and the spirited chatter of many a bird dots Mizutani's field recordings. Crickets, cicadas, and plenty of insect choruses also feature into Scenery Of The Border, as does a broad range of watery recordings from quiet drips from a misty rain to the immersive white noise of waterfalls. The few recordings that feature a human presence are of restrained Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies, which Mizutani mentions have rarely been heard outside of that region. It's these ritualistic stompings and hushed bits of chanting that stand amongst the highlights of this incredible field recording document.
MPEG Stream: "Hail At Mt. Tanzawa"
MPEG Stream: "Million Times Invocation Of Yozuku"
MPEG Stream: "Blue And White Flycatcher At Shiomizu Pass"

MODEST MOUSE We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank - Regular Edition (Sony) cd 17.98
There is a certain level of possessiveness that seems to go hand in hand with being an independent music enthusiast. Sometimes this possessiveness turns to snobbery in thought or can often be expressed in comments like: "they were never as good as their first 7 inch" or "I only like the OLD stuff", etc... It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but part of it is definitely the fact that discovering cool bands is a lot of work, and when you do discover a band, even though you're eager to share them with all your friends, you're NOT eager to share them with the rest of the world. The rest of the world discover their new bands by simply turning the radio to some random top 40 or even lower 100's college station, while the indie music obsessive is reading zines and going to shows and checking out opening bands and reading music blogs or whatever. Sometimes the indie music nerd (okay, snob) can feel ripped off when their special "find" becomes popular. It's safe to say that Modest Mouse is no longer a special find (if your aforementioned possessiveness is contained check out the American Idol contestant's cover of "Float On" for a Mustang commercial; if your possessiveness is not so easily contained, steer clear...it might make you blow your top!)
Most of us remember the first time our bodies came alive to the sound of Modest Mouse. For some of us no record will ever compare to This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About or Lonesome Crowded West (or maybe even actually, their first 7 inch!), while others will find themselves flailing uncontrollably to the angsty lispy yells of Isaac Brock for the first time with the band's latest, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Brock's folky growl may be the only thing that has remained constant over the years as the band's instrumentation has turned from raw ruckus to structured madness. The highly anticipated recruitment of The Smith's guitarist Johnny Marr is subtly felt throughout the band's most recent project and The Shin's James Mercer contributes some nice airy backing vocals on "Florida" and "We've Got Everything," but it is clear that Brock still holds the reigns...and let's them go at exactly the right moment. Whether this is the first or fifth full length you've heard by Modest Mouse, we think you'll be pleased. And who would have EVER thought Modest Mouse would be #1 on the Billboard charts?!?! Wow.
This is the normal version but for all you super fans. We also have the deluxe version of this album which comes with a slipcover and 32 page booklet.
MPEG Stream: "Dashboard"
MPEG Stream: "Florida"

MODEST MOUSE We Were Dead Before The Ship Sank - Limited Edition (Sony) cd 23.00
There is a certain level of possessiveness that seems to go hand in hand with being an independent music enthusiast. Sometimes this possessiveness turns to snobbery in thought or can often be expressed in comments like: "they were never as good as their first 7 inch" or "I only like the OLD stuff", etc... It's hard to pinpoint exactly why, but part of it is definitely the fact that discovering cool bands is a lot of work, and when you do discover a band, even though you're eager to share them with all your friends, you're NOT eager to share them with the rest of the world. The rest of the world discover their new bands by simply turning the radio to some random top 40 or even lower 100's college station, while the indie music obsessive is reading zines and going to shows and checking out opening bands and reading music blogs or whatever. Sometimes the indie music nerd (okay, snob) can feel ripped off when their special "find" becomes popular. It's safe to say that Modest Mouse is no longer a special find (if your aforementioned possessiveness is contained check out the American Idol contestant's cover of "Float On" for a Mustang commercial; if your possessiveness is not so easily contained, steer clear...it might make you blow your top!)
Most of us remember the first time our bodies came alive to the sound of Modest Mouse. For some of us no record will ever compare to This Is A Long Drive For Someone With Nothing To Think About or Lonesome Crowded West (or maybe even actually, their first 7 inch!), while others will find themselves flailing uncontrollably to the angsty lispy yells of Isaac Brock for the first time with the band's latest, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank. Brock's folky growl may be the only thing that has remained constant over the years as the band's instrumentation has turned from raw ruckus to structured madness. The highly anticipated recruitment of The Smith's guitarist Johnny Marr is subtly felt throughout the band's most recent project and The Shin's James Mercer contributes some nice airy backing vocals on "Florida" and "We've Got Everything," but it is clear that Brock still holds the reigns...and let's them go at exactly the right moment. Whether this is the first or fifth full length you've heard by Modest Mouse, we think you'll be pleased. And who would have EVER thought Modest Mouse would be #1 on the Billboard charts?!?! Wow.
This limited edition cd packaging includes a deluxe slipcase and 32-page color booklet!
MPEG Stream: "Dashboard"
MPEG Stream: "Florida"

NEETZACH True Servants Of Satan (Sublife Productions) cd 15.98
Straight up, Satan lovin' black metal here from previously obscure necro Norwegians Neetzach, who piqued our interest 'cause they've got drummer Dirge Rep in the band, he who previously pounded the skins for AQ fave Viking-prog kings Enslaved (and some other bands too, like Gehenna and Gorgoroth). That's a fair assurance of quality, and these True Servants Of Satan don't disappoint, if it's a grim and violent, raw thrashing black metal buzz (and buzzing) you're after. Blurring blasts and noxious rasps emanate from this disc like fumes from a toxic tomb, the old-school atmosphere enhanced by some slower, sea-sick riffage and the way Dirge's drums beat on your skull. Good Satanic stuff for fans of Gorgoroth, Mayhem, Darkthrone and the like.
MPEG Stream: "The Glorious Days Are Over"
MPEG Stream: "Quill Of Cain"

NEGATIVA s/t (Prodisk) cd 14.98
No band will ever match the insane no-wave freaked out death metal what-the-fuck of Gorguts' Obscura album. An impossibly chaotic blast of tangled guitar lines, obtuse drumming, bizarre songwriting, atonal melodies, fractured rhythms, all whipped into quite possibly, one of the greatest, weirdest death metal records ever as far as we're concerned. But if any band was to come close, it sure as heck would be Negativa, for the obvious reason that it's the work of Gorguts mastermind Steeve Hurdle, along with some of his likeminded pals from other techmetal combos like Ion Dissonance and Augury. The opening track blows out of the gate a perfect post-Obscura grinding chugging masterpiece. Not quite as dense and freaked out as anything on Obscura, a little more linear, but all the stuff we love is there. The guitars are baffling, not just riffs and licks, they scrape and grind and keen and shriek and rrooooar, pick slides everywhere, the drums a chaotic blur beneath, it's absolutely dizzying. This is the stuff that makes us fall in love with death metal all over again. But it's the second track that really blows our minds. Imagine Obscura era Gorguts playing downtuned doom metal, a weird death sludge, guitars so slow, they slither and crumble, over the top, other guitars clang and wail, mournful melodies drift by, bits of percussive crunch, the drums stumble and plod, it's like some fucked up version of diSEMBOWELMENT. The band does kick it up a notch and blows into some midtempo death metal before splintering into a near ambient stretch of Tool-like bass, scraping steel strings, huge plodding doomdrums and lots and lots of space. Super abstract and doomy, before building into a loping atonal minor key groove. Hard to explain other than to say it's fucking AWESOME! The third and final track is more of what we go in track one, another brain melting burst of avant death metal, guitars and drums and bass so convoluted and fucked up, we can barely manage to headbang. But goddamn if we're not loving it.
Short stuff, three songs in twenty minutes, but as with Gorguts, there are more notes and parts than most bands can jam into a whole 60 minute full length. We're already dying to hear more, especially off that fucked up damaged death doom. Bring it on!
MPEG Stream: "Chaos In Motion"
MPEG Stream: "Rebellion"

OKKERVIL RIVER Black Sheep Boy - Definitive Double-Disc Set) (Jagjaguwar) 2cd 14.98
Hmmmm, it might seem a bit strange to have a so-called "definitive" version of such a relatively young release, (heck, we weren't so sure of the original full length - see below) but after hearing this in its entirety, it doesn't seem odd at all. Y'see, Okkervil River's 2005 album was only one piece of their ambitious Black Sheep Boy concept puzzle. This double disc brings it all together -- the original album, the companion cdep Appendix, and the song "The Next Four Months" (previously available on their "For Real" single). Also included are videos for that song and an alternate version of "No Key, No Plan".
Here's what we said about the original 2005 version:
Hmmm, don't recall Okkervil River sounding quite like they do on a number of these new songs. Imagine an older Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) filling in as the frontman for slick alt-rock bands such as Counting Crows or Gin Blossoms. Maybe they're seeking a broader more mainstream audience? Dunno, just not sure it really works for them, at least not on Black Sheep Boy (fyi: the album is named after a Tim Hardin song which Okkervil River also chose to be the album's opening song, and a fine version it is!). Lead singer Will Sheff is known to be a impassioned, angstful vocalist, but the band's feverish performance on the more rockin' tunes still comes across a little forced. To boot, the mix seems off balance between the vocals and the too-loud bursts of electric guitar. You can get a sense of the dynamic that they were trying to capture, but again it's not quite 'there'. That said, the album's high point -- and also the point where things take a general shift for the better -- is the fifth song "Get Big" on which Sheff duets in beautiful world-weary fashion with Amy Annelle (of The Places). It's downright heartbreaking! After that the band mellows down and allows the melancholia to extinguish the rock flames in a flood of whiskey and tears. These slower, moodier numbers' arrangements are tastefully fleshed out with pump organ, mandolin, lap steel, Wurlitzer, vibraphone, synthesizers, horns, strings, samples and field recordings. This is where Sheff (also the band's main songwriter) truly shines. Composing and performing songs of lush somber beauty are his forte. Indeed, since they insist on mixing their two very different personalities on each album, if you prefer one better that the other (as we do), it can make for a somewhat exasperatingly jarring listening experience. That said, the album's highlights are well worth the frustration.
MPEG Stream: "Get Big"
MPEG Stream: "So Come Back, I Am Waiting"

ORTHODOX Gran Poder (Southern Lord) 2lp 17.98
We originally stocked the import version of this massive slab of doom a while back, but recently sold a bunch of the domestic version on Southern Lord, who in addition to reissuing it, also tacked on an exclusive bonus track... a cover of Venom's "Genocide"! Well, now it's available on vinyl (a super swank 2lp housed in a gorgeous gatefold sleeve, pressed on cool red/brown swirled vinyl), and guess what? You got it, ANOTHER bonus track!! This time, a cover of Black Sabbath's "Black Sabbath"!! Holy crap! Essential for any of you out there who haven't picked this up yet, and quite possibly worth buying all over again for you doom freeks!!
DOOM. As per AQ tradition, we should throw some extra 'O's in there just to indicate just how doomy this is -- DOOOOOOooooooooOOOM! Not to get sidetracked, but Doom might be the only musical genre that you can deliberately misspell to indicate extra enthusiasm for whatever example of said genre you're describing. RRRRap doesn't work. Nor would you say Woooorld Music. And adding extra 'o's to Pop is a just bad idea, unless you're talking about pop you don't like. But doom, being all about being slow and low, just gets doomier when you exaggerate the spelling into doooooooooooom. The point of all this? That the debut disc from Spanish doom band Orthodox, needs, like, exponential 'o's to really get at its doominess.
Recently and rightly hailed as an Album Of The Month on Julian Cope's psychedelic drone/doom/druid rock lovin' website Head Heritage, Orthodox's Gran Poder ("Great Power") consists of ultra looong tracks of gloomy, glacial heaviness mixed with more chaotically rockin' parts, with one brief piano-laced interlude separating tracks two and three. These crushing compositions are almost symphonically grand, and often exceedingly slow grind of eternally doomed drone like Earth or SUNNO))), sometimes speeding up to rock out psychedelically in the style of Argentina's Los Natas, graced with heavily tremelo-laden vocals or utterly spaced out ambience that make us think of Thrones and Yob.
Throughout this sludgey stoner soundscape, you'll hear feedback wailing like lamenting lost souls, the rumbling drum battery either nervously dodging the lugubrious riffs as they fall from the sky, or pounding in unison with the guitar and bass, sounding like the gates of an abandoned ancient cavernous cathedral slamming shut... over and over again.
Before these Southern Lord versions appeared, we had imported a whole bunch of these direct from the label in Spain because we were pretty sure that fans of the likes of Corrupted (who also sing in Spanish, after all) and Yob and Sleep and UFOmammut and all the other extra-o's deservin' dooooooOOOOoom bands that we love would want this! It seems we were correct. But if for some reason you need further convincing, please look up Julian Cope's review on his site, where he references Flower Travellin' Band's Satori and the Mediterranean paganistic roots of Catholic ritual and "Rumble" by Link Wray and much much more, his incredibly enthusiastic review almost a call to arms for doom fanatics... and he also includes cool pictures of the black-robed band members he took on a trip to their land!
MPEG Stream: "Geryon's Throne [excerpt 1]"
MPEG Stream: "Geryon's Throne [excerpt 2]"
MPEG Stream: "El Lamento Del Cabron"

OTHER MEN Wake Up Swimming (Robcore Records) cd 14.98
Long before Rob Crow became an indie rock household name via the dreamy song of Pinback, he had already long been an AQ favorite dating back to one of his first bands Heavy Vegetable. With quirky melodies, short songs, super complex arrangements, incredible vocal harmonies and eccentric spirit, Heavy Vegetable were one of the most interesting and endearing bands to come out of the nineties San Diego scene. Of course Crow has continued to write great songs after he pulled the plug on Heavy Vegetable with Thingy, Optiganally Yours, Pinback, his solo outings and the multitude of side-projects he's been cranking out recently (The Ladies, Goblin Cock). But we've always had such a deep infinity for Heavy Vegetable so we were super duper excited when we found out that Rob had reunited almost the whole original Heavy Vegetable lineup for this new project called Other Men. While not as quirky or idiosyncratic as Heavy Vegetable, this is still prime-era old school HV Rob Crow song writing. Impassioned and moody, dense and tangled, swinging wildly from part to part and cycling through a handful of convoluted tempos, usually in the same song. Weird and wonderful and pretty damn catchy to boot!
The first release on Rob's own label, simply called Robcore, and another fine addition to the always expanding catalog of the hardest working man in indie rock.
MPEG Stream: "Total Nutcase"
MPEG Stream: "Other People"

OUGENWEIDE Ougenweide / All Die Weil Ich Mag (Bear Family) cd 17.98
Medieval minstrelry!! Andee has been making fun of Allan for liking this so much, so if you want to get into the middle of that argument, give this a listen. This cd reissues the first two albums by Germany's Ougenweide, an early '70s folk-rock act who were sort of a Germanic version of contemporaneous UK folk-rockers Fairport Convention or Pentangle, perhaps. Gryphon, definitely. Or maybe you remember the Norwegian band Kong Lavring, reviewed here some time ago? Ougenweide are sorta like that, but German. (Another parallel would be France's Malicorne.)
Sweet female vocals, bombastic male ones, flutes n' lutes, lots of ye olde melodiousness and harmoniousness, alongside some fairly rippin', energetic "hoedown" parts that will kick your ass for thinking this is even a wee bit too twee, though twee it often is. Those plugged-in interludes allow us to consider this troupe a krautrock as well as a krautfolk (?) band. And speaking of krautrock, their first record was produced by none other than Achim Reichel (of A.R. & Machines fame!).
So we'll sum up Ougenwiede as dexterous and delightful music made by prancing hippies obsessed with the Middle Ages but willing to throw some fuzz bass in where it will do the most good. Pretty cool if you don't mind your acid folk to have strong RenFaire leanings! (It helps that it's all in German, we think.)
The 22 tracks here come from their self-titled debut from 1973 and its 1974 follow-up All Die Weil Ich Mag, and it's the first time on cd for both of 'em. And since this is a Bear Family reissue, it's about as nicely done as a reissue can be, packaged with a 38 page booklet stuffed with liner notes (in English and German), lyrics, and vintage photos. Appropriately, the booklet is styled after an illuminated manuscript and decorated with medieval woodcuts.
MPEG Stream: "Der Fuchs"
MPEG Stream: "Nieman Kan Mit Gerten"
MPEG Stream: "Es Fur Ein Pawr Gen Holcz"

PANTALEIMON Cloudburst (Durtro Jnana) cd 10.98
Pantaleimon is the work of Andria Degens, who may be best known as the wife of David Tibet from Current 93; and she, like many of Tibet's friends and partners, has contributed on occasion to the Current 93 cause. It goes without saying that the Pantaleimon project shares plenty of Current 93's inspirations from British folk music; but where Tibet uses those musical archetypes as a medium for mystical revelation, Degens' approach is far more impressionistic and delicate. Given song titles such as "Crystalline Rain," "Ascension of the Sun," and the title track of this 20 minute EP, the splendor of nature springs from her elliptical guitar instrumentals that draw favorable comparisons to the likes of Marissa Nadler and Steven R. Smith.
MPEG Stream: "Cloudburst"
MPEG Stream: "Crystalline Rain"

PAPERCUTS Can't Go Back (Gnomonsong) lp 13.98
Now available on vinyl!
Musing about the name of this dandy SF one man band, we can't help but feel that he must be referring to the pretty delicate scissor craft and not the annoyingly painful stationery-inflicted wound. The Papercuts' retro-tinged pop is a honey sweet, wistful confection. Released on Devendra Banhart's Gnomonsong label, this new album moves upwards and onwards from 2004's Mockingbird. It's decidedly more mid-fi and more psych folk leaning than those previous lower-fi chamber pop styled recordings. Perhaps a little earthiness has rubbed off on him from the folks with whom he's recently collaborated such as Skygreen Leopards and Vetiver? Or perhaps he's been spending more time out in the wondrous wilderness? Whatever it may be, the results are splendid. Can't Go Back caught us daydreaming about paddling a lil' rowboat down a gentle stream, and peering dreamily over the edge into the sundappled depths. As we gaze at a fallen leaf drifting by, the sparkly glint from an orange-gold carp catches our eye. Aaaah. This album will surely appeal equally to fans of Yo La Tengo, Low, Olivia Tremor Control and the abovementioned Skygreen Leopards. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Dear Employee"
MPEG Stream: "Just Another Thing To Dust"

PETTERSON, TOBIAS & ULF HENNINGSSON The Encyclopedia Of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-1979 (Premium Publishing) book+cd 54.00
Ok, this item has a fairly self-explanatory title, eh? Also, here's the subtitle: "From Psychedelic Experiments To Political Propaganda". Interested? If so, then all that really remains for us to say is, yeah, you should seriously consider picking this up, it's really well done and a good value for the money. Physically, this is a gorgeous tome, and all signs point to it being quite accurate and thorough information-wise.
If you're at all like us you're aware that in recent years the spate of reissues from the Swedish psych / prog scene -- like for instance the whole amazing Parson Sound / International Harvester / Harvester / Trad Gras Och Stenar axis -- has been pretty thrilling. Having a guide to both the bands we've heard of and the many, many more that we haven't is pretty great. Also if you're like us you LOVE books full of pictures of record sleeves, wherever they're from and whatever they are. And this book's got tons of album covers, many of them psychedelically sensational, reproduced in full color!
Plus there's loads of factual info for those curious about the bands, or for record collector types trying to figure out what the original vinyl is worth. Each entry consists of info on the band's line-up, a descriptive paragraph discussing their music and history, as well as a detailed discography. Algarnas Tradgard, Arbete & Fritid, Aunt Sally, Charlie & Esdor, Bo Hansson, Kebnekajse, Life, November, Mikael Ramel, Pugh Rogefeldt, Samla Mammas Manna, Trettioariga Kriget, Turid... they're all here and of course plenty more we'd never heard of before.
In addition to this A-Z of bands, there's a band member index and label discographies as well, with that of the Silence label being the most impressive. And, there's also an introductory essay dealing with the political dimension shared by a lot of the music from the Swedish scene. Apparently, in Sweden there was a difference between "prog" with one g and "progg" with two g's, with the former referring as usual to progressive rock bands like ELP and Yes, latter being a distinctly Swedish concept of (not-necessarily virtuosic or complex) music that reflected the ideals of the left-wing Movement of the times.
All in all, very intriguing and tantalizing, leaving us to look at the those album covers and begin dreaming record collector dreams!
235 pages, hardback, 8 1/2" x 12". Full color EVERYWHERE, and lots of cool b&w photos too. A deluxe production indeed. And there's a bonus cd included as well, featuring the obscure jamming psych band Baby Grandmothers, with three previously unreleased live tracks from 1967 (different from the stuff on their archival Subliminal Sounds cd release also reviewed this list).
If only there was a book like this for EVERY cool musical scene past and present...
NB. mailorder customers, be aware that due to the size and weight of this book, it counts as more than one item for freight purposes -- so any order that includes this book will ship UPS at the 3+ items rate of $6.50 for shipping & handling.

PIAZZOLLA, ASTOR Essential Tango (Manteca) 2cd 15.98
Essential, indeed! But not only for tango aficionados! And you don't even need to dance, but really who isn't moved by this music? This is simply stunning. This Argentina-born tango music master's impassioned compositions can make time seem like its standing still. Even by today's standards, Astor Piazzolla's works tear down the genre's boundaries venturing far into unchartered territory. Challenging, complex and downright experimental at times, and yet never alienating nor impermeable. His rebellious streak is evident in the spritely dissonant whips and slashes in "Muerte Del Angel" which make for a marked contrast next to the slow, sobering languidity of "Resurreccion Del Angel". His fingers step nimbly across his bandaleon keys creating intricate melodies that dance about the gloriously grand sweeping flourishes. This generous 24-track double disc set compiles many of his most renowned works along with some live and rare recordings. Absolutely captivating.
MPEG Stream: "Los Suenos"
MPEG Stream: "Vuelvo Al Sur"

PUSSYCAT L'Integrale (Magic) cd 17.98
We recently got a bunch of '60s French pop compilation cds in stock, and they've been delighting us to no end. One of the chanteuses who appears on Sixties Girls Vol. 1 is Pussy Cat... yes, you heard us correctly! Her name is Pussy Cat and this is a whole cd full of her sweetheart pop tunes. Dare us to say it? Well, do ya? They're darn near purrrr-fect. Oooch! SORRY!
MPEG Stream: "Ba Ba Ba... Boof"
MPEG Stream: "Moi Je Prefere Ma Poupee"

RAUHOUSE, JON Steel Guitar Heart Attack (Bloodshot) cd 13.98
Few can match Mr. Jon Rauhouse's musicianship, range and artistry. On this his third solo album, he's truly outdone himself! A pure genius at capturing moods that evoke a time long passed, he moves effortlessly from romantic old time balladry to Hawaiian tiki-lit happy hour, twilight swing jazz to chilling spookiness, lonesome range mournings to kicky covers of the Mannix and The Andy Griffiths Show theme songs. There's a little something for everyone here! He's joined by his dear friends Tommy Connell (guitars), Calexico's John Convertino (drums), Joey Burns (bass) and Jacob Valenzuela (trumpet), Paul Rigby (guitar and mandolin player extraordinaire aka Rauhouse's six-string cohort in Neko Case's touring band) and many others who know what's good for 'em. While Rauhouse's main focus is on the magic of the instrumental, he ices the cake with some sweet lady vocals by his pals Neko Case, Sally Timms, Kelly Hogan and Rachel Flotard. Excellent!
MPEG Stream: "Grief"
MPEG Stream: "Mannix"
MPEG Stream: "East Of The Sun (Feat. Neko Case)"

RHOMBUS, THE Margins (self-released) cd 9.98
On his second release, Bay Area artist The Rhombus (aka Cody Hennesy) offers utterly soothing, warm, down to earth folk pop. The softest spoken acoustic guitars and male vocals are joined by some equally mellow shufflin' electronic textural and rhythmic elements. Everything is ultra hazy and blissed out. For fans of Arab Strap, Badly Drawn Boy, Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and The Delgados seeking something a little lighter and more playful. Really really comfy good!
MPEG Stream: "Target"
MPEG Stream: "Rice"

ROCK-A-ROLLA Issue 8 - Mar/Apr 2007 magazine 11.98
Brand new issue from one of our new favorite far out music mags. A bastard offspring of the Wire and Terrorizer, lots of metal and heaviness, but plenty of weirdness too, covering pretty much everything experi/metal under the sun...
On the cover this time, ultra dark hip hop outsiders Dalek. Inside, Q & A with Coady Willis from Big Business, avant grinders The Locust, Wino and The Hidden Hand, brutal noise technician Prurient, Swedish black ambient guru Nordvargr, art doom outfit Black Sun, the Residents, classic label highlight on Earache, a whole mess of news, album reviews, DVD reviews, live reviews, and the back page is a one minute interview with Spencer Seim from Hella. Awesome!
Plus there's now another reason to love Rock-a-Rolla, even more, as Kevin McCaighy, the man behind killer, kick ass, AQ beloved zine Salt, is now an RaR contributor as well, so in addition to all the other usual good stuff, there are tons of Salt-y reviews to hold us over until the next proper issue!!

RTX Western Xterminator (Drag City) cd 14.98
YES! The follow up to the RTX's totally sick first record, Transmaniacon!!!! This record is the next step in RTX's path to hair metal scuzzy party excellence. The opening track, "Western Exterminator" which is a sort of dusty old Mexican cantina acoustic number, with sweet backwards guitar shreds and flute solos... might be a little unexpected, but by the second track we know what's up. The good time Shreddy Van Halen "Balls To Pass" harkens back to the debut. Filled to the brim with hot lixxxx and killer song writing. Jennifer Herrema's voice is sounding as fucked up as ever, adding a really cool noisy element to all the songs. The lyrics are also perfect. In the third track, "Black Bananas" she sings something about being the Garbage Collector...!!! Fuck yeah. Basically, if you like the first one, and also if you like the Accelerator side of Royal Trux, you're gonna love this record. Its a little bit more metal, especially on the track "Wo-Wo Din"...weird heavy. Uhhh, don't know what else to say...the whole record is killer and we're probably gonna be partying and BBQing to it all summer...poppy, heavy, party, noisy, kinda weird, and PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Balls To Pass"
MPEG Stream: "Wo-Wo Din"

SHITTY LISTENER, THE Fruitless Accomplishment (Greengate Press) cd-r 9.98
Back in stock for a super limited time...
The return of The Shitty Listener! Maybe one of our all time favorite band names EVER. And it's about time. We all completely dug the Girls All Say EP we listed a while back, but it just wasn't enough. It was only 9 minutes long after all. Well, Fruitless Accomplishment clocks in at a whopping 26 minutes, and thus manages to take all the elements we liked on the EP, and spreads them out, expands and explores, which just means there's so much more to like.
Actually released as a book, that just so happens to also contain a cd, for our purposes, we'll just go ahead and consider Fruitless Accomplishment a cd, that just so happens to come with a book! For those new to the Shitty Listener, it's not really a band, instead it is one man, Jason Honea, from from the Jewelled Antler outfits The Child Readers and the Franciscan Hobbies, as well as the Chord Fort, the Knit Separates and Teenage Panzercorps. The Shitty Listener is his Honea's mostly solo, lo-fi, bedroom folk project. And is deeply connected to his poetry/lyrics and artwork. As is evidence by this deluxe book/cd combo.
The sound is incredibly intimate and low fidelity. Mostly recorded on micro cassettes or handheld tape recorders, Honea incorporates tape hiss and whatever ambient sound happens to occur in the background, whether it's a plane flying by, a dog barking, the sound of crickets, it all just becomes part of the sound. And just like old Sebadoh tapes, the ch-chunk sound of the record or stop buttons being pushed, as well as weird warbles in the tape, become as much a part of the song as the song itself. Lilting melancholy piano, gentle acoustic guitar strum, and not much else support Honea's warbly falsetto, plaintive and emotive, always way down in the mix, a sort of drifty fuzzy dreamy melody within each song. But that's more than enough. Each song ends up sounding surprisingly lush. Our favorites though have to be the ones that sound like they were recorded from a distance, or through the wall or window. Those tracks almost sound like Honea was singing and strumming indoors, while the mic was outside, capturing most of the music, but more than anything all of the ambient action happening around it. Other highlights include the a capella "Bad Wonder", "I Call You Up" which sounds a bit like Morrissey fronting Sentridoh, the minute long "Across My Dreams", a sort of processed dreamy guitarscape, and the 7 minute medley "Sweet To My Mind w/ Someone Flame-Like & Up Too Much", the first half of which sounds a bit like a Basinski composition, but made manually, by playing a figure on the piano, pushing stop on the tape player, pressing record and playing the figure again, over and over and over. So weird and wonderful.
Fruitless Accomplishment is a strangely compelling collision between abstract experimentation and lo-fi pop loveliness, and the results are truly divine!
The packaging is pretty dang divine as well. Packaged in a newsprint covered sleeve with collaged color art affixed to the front and back, inside is the cd-r, an insert with the liner notes, four full color and two black and white inserts featuring various drawings and collages by Honea, and Real Flowers, a small book of poetry, gorgeously printed on nice paper and with a full color paste on cover!
MPEG Stream: "Get A Grip"
MPEG Stream: "Pretty Soon Now"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet To My Mind / Someone Flame-like & Up Too Much"

SOFTLIGHTES Say No ! To Being Cool. Say Yes To Being Happy (Modular) cd 14.98
Not sure what it is exactly about this band, but there's something special that has sort of captured our hearts. It might have been seeing their amazing video on YouTube for the track "Heart Made Of Sound", where every word in the song is written out visually, in yarn, or food, or piss on concrete or whatever. Even the parts of the song without singing are represented visually with strange colored shapes moving and rearranging themselves in time to the music. And somehow, that video does sort of explain what it is about this band. It's fun and colorful, catchy and playful, but sort of strange, and a little bit unexpected.
This is pure, wide eyes indie pop for sure, simple jangly guitars, shuffling drumming, keyboards wheezing and bouncing melodically atop the rest of the song, and of course a winsome sad boy singer, lots of acoustic strum, and swooshy ambience. The closest comparison would have to be Death Cab For Cutie or maybe the Postal Service, Modest Mouse too, and fans of those bands will absolutely LOVE Softlightes. But those of us who wouldn't normally give this the time of day, have been playing it like crazy. The sound is just so glistening and gossamer, lush and weirdly spacey, lots of reverb and ambient swirl, some strange bits of electronic buzz, some drum machine, some power pop guitar crunch, some vocoder, it's all mixed in there, but none of that stuff would mean anything if this record weren't chock full of perfect little pop songs, which it is. Later on, the record gets lighter and lighter, almost to the point of seventies soft rock, but even then it's strangely lilting and lovely, almost precious, but never so much that it bugs, just enough to sort of wrap your head and fill you ears with soft poppy goodness.
"Heart Made Of Sound" is definitely the star here though, the one that gets the most repeats, and is definitely a possible contender for pop song of the year, and well worth the price of admission, but the rest of the record is right there behind it, blissy and jangly and dreamy and sucking us right in and wrapping us up tight in a perfect crystalline dream pop cocoon.
MPEG Stream: "Heart Made Of Sound"
MPEG Stream: "The Ballad Of Theodore And June"
MPEG Stream: "Girl Kills Bear"

SONIC YOUTH The Destroyed Room: B-Sides And Rarities (Goofin') 2lp 14.98
Now available on vinyl!!
A totally fantastic collection of Sonic Youth b-sides and rarities spanning the years 1994-2003 with the bulk of the material coming from the Jim O'Rourke years of 2001-3. This is Sonic Youth at their most expansive. Except for three tracks, this is an all-instrumental Sonic Youth. Sprawling guitars, layers of sound, building tension, dreamy passages, all the elements that have made Sonic Youth one of the best bands of the last quarter century. In many ways this recalls some of their more experimental works released on their SYR imprint, while managing to still be very listenable and rewarding. It ends with an even longer version of their epic beauty "The Diamond Sea" which for many of us is the perfect snapshot of everything great about Sonic Youth. Once again, showing that their music is as relevant and timeless as ever!
MPEG Stream: "Fire Engine Dream"
MPEG Stream: "Fauxhemians"

STANDING NUDES When I Arrive / Fight Song (True Panther Sounds) 7" 5.98
This 7" is a gem! Standing Nudes are a really great poppy post punk band from Brooklyn who craft wonderfully catchy songs with just the right amount of weirdness. The A Side, "When I Arrive" is tipped further towards the pop side of things with a catchy melody, some wah wahness and a really noisy ring modded guitar solo. The B Side, "Fight Song" is slightly more bombastically rocking. Pounding toms and shredding guitars. Both songs are amazing and deserve many repeated listens. Angular, hooky, weird and ultimately catchy as hell.

STRIBORG Nefaria / A Tragic Journey Towards The Light (Southern Lord) 2lp 17.98
Now available as a deluxe double lp! Housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve and pressed on 180 gram clear vinyl!
The return of our favorite one man Tasmanian rain forest black metal horde, the mighty Striborg, whose damaged outsider lo-fi black buzz has held us in its thrall since the very first time we heard it years ago. Even though this is only the second Striborg release we've managed to get enough of to review and list, there have actually probably been more like a dozen full lengths from Striborg so far...
And lord knows we've tried to track down enough copies of those old releases to list, but as they are all self released on Striborg mainman Sin Nanna's own label, they've been mighty tough to get a hold of. Thankfully, he's taken to tacking on old out of print records at the tail end of new records. So here we've got the brand new full length Nefaria, coupled with his '95 demo A Tragic Journey Towards The Light. And the amazing thing is that even after all that time, and all those releases, the sound is just as lo-fi, fucked up and damaged as ever. The atmosphere is creepy and gloomy, the vocals a strangled croak swathed in reverb, the drums a stumbling thrashing mess, a dank black buzz that writhes and squirms, filthy and mysterious and so fucking awesome. There are some haunting ambient tracks too, whirring warbly synths drifting wraith like, sometimes with a lurching subtle beat buried way down in the mix, but for the most part, it's all damaged buzzing blackness, wrapped around bizarre arrangements and loads of lo-fi hiss and whir. Amidst the weirdness there are some breathtaking moments, moody and emotional and strangely haunting, like the first half of closer "Black Apparitional Void" a slowcore midtemo Burzumy buzz replete with distant keyboard melody and gorgeous minor key melodies, as lovely and sorrowful as it is buzzy and black, with bizarre muddy swells that briefly swallow up the entire song before quickly receding back into the murk, before the song lurches into a dizzying squall of buzzing guitars, processed vocals, and bizarrely recorded drums, the rest of the track going from lo-fi to even more lo-fi and back again.
But then we're only scratching the surface as far as lo-fi is concerned, cuz up next is Striborg's very first recording, A Tragic Journey Towards The Light, which is so lo-fi and so liberally sprinkled with effects, that at times it stops being black metal and becomes some weird swirling morass of black sound. The drum machine is doused in reverb, doubling and blurring, almost like some hyperspeed dub, during the super dynamic start and stop parts, the vocals and the drums are so caked in FX, that they sound like some sort of children's TV show special effects sounds, and the vocals, a garbled tongue twisting whatthefuck stream of growls and guttural yelps, the guitar a squiggly distorted streak over the churning blur beneath, so completely over the top and confusing to listen to, but so completely and impossibly catchy. This is the Striborg that ensorcelled us back in the day, and it sounds just as amazingly fucked as ever!
MPEG Stream: "Nefaria"
MPEG Stream: "Somnambulistic Nightmares"
MPEG Stream: "Garmonbozia"
MPEG Stream: "Beyond The Shadow Of Silence ('95)"

STRIP MALL SEIZURES No English (True Panther Sounds) lp 10.98
Oakland's own Strip Mall Seizures spew forth a thrashing, pounding, and super noisy record on excellent San Francisco imprint, True Panther Sounds. No English is a cacophonous, damaged and ultimately danceable record for the people that like their keyboards turned WAY UP! Hella good.

TAAKE ...Doedskvad (Dark Essence) cd 15.98
Back in print and available again (in a swank digipak, with bonus live video footage)!! Here's our review of Doedskvad when we reviewed it a couple years back:
In a recent show of photography by Peter Beste devoted to Norwegian black metallers, we were happy to see Taake's Doedsjarl Hoest pictured alongside better known musicans from bands like Immortal, Enslaved and Carpathian Forest. Hoest and Taake certainly deserve to be in such company, and they're definitely one of the current Norwegian bands really keeping the flame of blackened Viking metal flickering. We've been fans of these runic warriors ever since their debut Nattestid... in 1999, getting even more into 'em when their second album ...Bjoergvin... came out in 2002, and now are excited that the third installment in the Taake trilogy, ...Doedskvad, is at last here!
...Doedskvad surely equals its predecessors, upholding tradition (theirs, and that of cold, grim black metal in general) by offering up some seriously epic rasp n' riffage that's mostly majestically midpaced but sometimes thrashes forward at a headbanging, drums-blasting gallop. Really excellent, really cult. Think something along the lines of older Enslaved, with the torched cathedral architecture of Weakling and some Cradle of Filthiness in the vocals. And it should be mentioned that Hoest and comrades Lava, Corax and Mord are joined by a slew of guests, including Helvestekommandant Nattefrost of Carpathian Forest, Taipan of Orcustus and someone amazingly (or amazingly stupidly) named "Discomforter"!
MPEG Stream: "II"
MPEG Stream: "IV"

TAPE OP MAGAZINE Issue No. 58 magazine 4.50
Essential reading for recording nerds and studio gear whores, but surprisingly fun to read even for those of us not so well versed in patchbays and preamps.
This month: John Fry of the legendary Ardent Studios, Jody Stephens, also of Ardent studios but probably more well known for being the drummer in Big Star, a recording history of power pop legends the Posies, techno musician and producer Matthew Herbert, producer Terry Manning, exercises to help keep you alert and relaxed after way too many hours in the studio, a whole bunch of gear reviews (modulators, condensor mics, compressors, processors, limiters and a spacecoupler!), as well as a bunch of record reviews...
Cool.

TRANS AM Sex Change (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
For a few years it seemed like Trans Am could do no wrong. Their live shows were legendary, loud and on fire. Albums like Futureworld, Surveillance and The Red Line were some of the best offerings to come out of the post-rock scene for sure. But as the '90s came to end a new decade brought some seriously lackluster releases, including their last and most disappointing outing, Liberation. So when Sex Change came our way we were a bit skeptical. BUT we are happy to report that Trans Am have seriously redeemed themselves with this new record! Their love of vintage prog, '70s rock, and '80s synthesizer glory all come together to create their most cohesive album since The Red Line. At their best Trans Am have always been masters at being both retro and futuristic simultaneously... Pulling inspiration from Magma, Heldon and mid-late '70s Can and crafting a record that cuts out the fat and shows off a revitalized, lean and mean Trans Am.
MPEG Stream: "First Words"
MPEG Stream: "Reprieve"
MPEG Stream: "Shining Path"

TRANS AM Sex Change (Thrill Jockey) lp 12.98
For a few years it seemed like Trans Am could do no wrong. Their live shows were legendary, loud and on fire. Albums like Futureworld, Surveillance and The Red Line were some of the best offerings to come out of the post-rock scene for sure. But as the '90s came to end a new decade brought some seriously lackluster releases, including their last and most disappointing outing, Liberation. So when Sex Change came our way we were a bit skeptical. BUT we are happy to report that Trans Am have seriously redeemed themselves with this new record! Their love of vintage prog, '70s rock, and '80s synthesizer glory all come together to create their most cohesive album since The Red Line. At their best Trans Am have always been masters at being both retro and futuristic simultaneously... Pulling inspiration from Magma, Heldon and mid-late '70s Can and crafting a record that cuts out the fat and shows off a revitalized, lean and mean Trans Am.
MPEG Stream: "First Words"
MPEG Stream: "Reprieve"
MPEG Stream: "Shining Path"

UNLUCKY ATLAS s/t (self-released) cd-r 8.98
The sweet sound of mandolin charts the course for Unlucky Atlas. Sorry, couldn't resist the pun, but yes, that stringed instrument is integral to this new Chicago acoustic foursome's sound. Said instrument along with guitar, fiddle, cello, autoharp, and male and female vocals are entwined gracefully making for a harmony filled, somberly atmospheric, earthen seven song debut. Comes packaged in a lovely letter pressed cardboard jacket. Very very nice.
MPEG Stream: "Noble Enterprise"
MPEG Stream: "Great Awakening"

VANISHING VOICE Nordic Visions (Important) cd 14.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON CD! !!
This was previously available as a super limited vinyl-only release which is now out of print. Here's what we had to say about the record when we listed the lp:
Another missive from the Wooden Wand Universe, a dizzying world so filled with hokum and smoke, character changes and rotating pseudonyms that it's really hard to keep things straight. We may be only half-right on the details, so bear with us. Vanishing Voice, (the choral and instrumental Body of the Wooden Wand Mind) taking advantage of Wooden Wand's momentary dalliance with spiritual advisor Satya Sai and the Sky High Band in California, has retreated into the dark woods of Norway (or perhaps Vermont?) to imbibe in some dirty pagan Ur-folk jams. Kicking up a whirring dust devil vortex of clatter and murk, the title track is a side-long excursion and sounds fresh off the Gypsy Freedom sessions except minus the free jazz horns and howling vocals. The three ghostly tracks on side B, offer up some haunted banjo picking, subdued chanting, wolf howls and something we can only describe as "baby skree", which sounds like the mewling of a lost baby animal whose cries are unraveling like thread through the branches. Remember that scene in the Blair Witch Project, where the lost campers wander into that grove of trees with all those creepy hanging stick sculptures and strangely wet piles of rocks?
Well, this record sounds like it was recorded there. Spooky!
MPEG Stream: "Eideltrout"
MPEG Stream: "Black Gold"

VULPECULA In Dusk Apparition (Invictus Productions) cd 14.98
Archival recordings from the late great Vulpecula, an American black metal band (featuring members of Order From Chaos) who strove to combine 'space music' a la Steve Roach and Vangelis with black metal. The result might not live up to what one might hope for when faced with the possibility of some sort of ambient space black metal, but it's still pretty awesome. The "spaciness" comes mostly in the form of the track intros and outros, long swirling swaths of spaced out FX and whirring synths, as well as the occasional interlude of ambient shimmer, sometimes laced with wandering minor key guitar lines or weird samples and sound snippets. The core of their sound though was a more classic nineties blackened death metal, buzzing guitars, killer riffing, demonic vocals, but unlike a lot of those bands, Vulpecula had a definite prog vibe, strange extended song structures, lots of meandering melodies, extended melodic instrumental passages, strange sonic tangles and dense bursts of busy drumming, definitely shades of Opeth and Samael as well as some other distinctly less metal influences.
Probably the weirdest part of In Dusk Apparition is the cover of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom", beginning with that immediately memorable buzzing synth melody, before it's swallowed by thick growling chugging guitars, the vocals a whispery demonic ghostly rasp, draped over the strangely melancholy dirge. Lots of reverb, and a lot less melody, make Vulpecula's version sound more like a black shadow of the original, but within the rest of the disc it sounds perfect, more like an original referencing some classic melody, than an actual cover.
For folks who miss the sprawling death flecked blackness of the late nineties, a kick ass spaced out swirl of ambient black metal prog...
MPEG Stream: "Eltanin Shadowcast"
MPEG Stream: "Major Tom (Coming Home)"

WARPIG s/t (Relapse) cd 14.98
Attention hard rockers and proto-metal freaks! Finally, the self titled debut and only release from Canada's Warpig gets the deluxe reissue treatment, thanks to those rockers at Relapse. After numerous shoddy bootlegs, this is the first time this record has ever been officially available on cd, and the first time it's been available at all since the original record was released in 1970. Very much in the same vein as the recent Relapse Pentagram reissues, this is some serious stuff, heavy and psychedelic, groovy and dark, Warpig were a heavy rock outfit very much in the spirit of Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly, Blue Oyster Cult...
Heavy heavy riffs, thick fuzzy organ, kick ass drumming, and wild wailing vocals, lengthy extended riffing, organs atop guitars, slithery snake-like leads, throbbing sludgy bass lines, and catchy-as-fuck songs...
Every track is a killer: the wild proggy Jethro Tull-ish groove of the opener "Flaggit", the "In A Gadda Da Vida" meets Black Sabbath jam "Tough Nuts", they even had a song called "Melody With Balls" fer chrissakes!! One of the best (and strangest) tracks is the lengthy instrumental epic "Advance In A Minor", a dense moody, almost classical sounding metallic prog workout, with loping minor key stretches of muted low end guitar strum and simple piano chords, strung between killer bursts of mathy prog, staccato and dynamic, the whole track eventually twisting itself into some slow burning hard rocking blow out, propulsive and relentless. Later on in the record is another lengthy jam, the strangely titled "U.X.I.B.", rife with wild wailing leads, a groovy main riff, fuzzed out organ, and long stretches of blissed out space rock drift, with the vocals not joining in until nearly halfway through. Unlike a lot of supposedly heavy "proto-metal" records, where one or two of the tracks rock super hard and the all the rest are just bad twelve bar blues bar rock, every track here kicks ass, heavy and proggy and groovy and spacey and pretty dang metal for 1970. Quite recommended! Includes all new artwork, rare photos and brand new liner notes...
MPEG Stream: "Flaggit"
MPEG Stream: "Tough Nuts"
MPEG Stream: "Melody With Balls"

WEE HAIRY BEASTIES (KELLY HOGAN & JON LANGFORD) Animal Crackers (Bloodshot) cd 15.98
You might recall Bloodshot Records' rollicking frolicking children's music compilation The Bottle Let Me Down from a few years back. 'Twas fun for the whole family! Well, they've jumped back into the playpen for another go 'round. This time, the indisputable lord and lady of the label Jon Langford and Kelly Hogan have teamed up for this delightful collection of off-kilter kiddies' tunes. With songs like "A Newt Called Tiny", "Flies On My Taters", Ragtime Duck" and "Lightnin' The Turtle", who can resist? Hmmmm, wonder if they're available for babysitting.
MPEG Stream: "Flies On My Taters"
MPEG Stream: "Ragtime Duck"

WINEHOUSE, AMY Back To Black (Universal Republic) cd 14.98
If you have been paying attention to the British tabloids and gossip blogs lately, then most likely you, like us, have heard about Ms. Winehouse's drunken antics (her ongoing feuds with white Brit soul-sister Lily Allen, her heckling Bono at a recent awards show, or her oddball sense of fashion), long before you would have actually heard her sing. But who doesn't love a Hot Mess these days, especially one who can surprisingly deliver the classic soul goods as forcefully as she. Seriously, every time we play this, customers do double takes when they see her skinny frame on the cd and hear this big ballsy voice, they just don't match up. At least not until you hear the lyrics, especially on the opening track, the very timely "Rehab", and you can see that her rough charm belies some hefty emotional damage. Backed by the Dap-Kings (well, the band sounds like them and she's touring with them, so we think it's them) and featuring a cameo by Ghostface Killah, Ms. Winehouse's second album is a lovelorn soul cocktail made from the tawdry shards of a broken gin bottle.
MPEG Stream: "Rehab"
MPEG Stream: "You Know I'm No Good"
MPEG Stream: "He Can Only Hold Her"

WIPERS Is This Real? (Jackpot) lp 19.98
Now available (again) on vinyl, one of the best records EVER, from one of the greatest, most intense, brooding and rocking post punk band of all time.
For those who are new to the Wipers, these guys were one of those bands that never got all that popular, but were definitely a band's band, the kind of group that gets namechecked by everybody, and thus influenced everybody, but still remained way below the radar.
Formed in 1978, the Wipers spent their career toiling away in obscurity, seemingly adverse to recognition or popularity, even turning down the opening slot on several Nirvana tours, worried that it would seem too opportunistic. And Cobain was probably the Wipers' biggest supporter, even covering a bunch of their songs. In fact, lots of people who hear the original versions of "D-7" or any of the Wipers' tunes Nirvana usually covered, think it must be some punk band covering Nirvana, instead of the other way around. And the more Wipers you hear, the more you realize Cobain did more than just cover their songs, his songwriting style and melodic flair is definitely heavily indebted to the Wipers. Some of the more brooding less rocking Wipers songs sound just like Nirvana tracks that could have been. Minor key mope rock that sort of builds and builds, not necessarily getting louder and faster (although sometimes they did) but getting more and more intense, threatening to explode, the kind of genuine angst and fury that can NOT be faked and imbues music with that sort of emotional charge that turns good music into great music. Cobain had it. So did Greg Sage. And Is This Real? proves it. Big time. One of those record where EVERY track feels like a hit. Like a classic. "D-7", the title track, "Tragedy"... all dark and driving, murky and moody, rough and totally rocking. But at the same time impossibly catchy and poppy. Big time pop. Hooks all over the place. But of course wrapped in all sorts of minor key murk, and fuzzy distorted heartbreak. One of the best bands, and best records, you may have never heard. Until now!
MPEG Stream: "D-7"
MPEG Stream: "Is This Real?"
MPEG Stream: "Tragedy"
MPEG Stream: "Mystery"

WIRE, THE #278, April 2007 magazine 9.98
Brand new issue of the Wire, which means more "Adventures In Modern Music". and while the Wire is always a pretty good read, this is the first issue in a while to be jam packed with AQ faves and most definitely the best Invisible Jukebox in ages.
On the cover: Terry Riley! Need we say more? Inside: jazz noise reprobates Aufgehoben, Finnish folk fairy Islaja, legendary Japanese guitarist (and recent Boris collaborator) Michio Kurihara, Global Ear on Sao Paulo, instrument builder Hal Rammel, Invisible Jukebox with the Dead C!!!!, Maja Ratkje from Spunk and Fe-Mail, Martyn Bates of Eyeless In Gaza and of course tons of reviews, records, cds, tapes, 7"s, videos, dvds, performances and installations, and as usual of course a whole lot more!





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

V/A A Date With John Waters (New Line) cd 14.98
How could anyone refuse a date with John Waters? The legendary directory and cultural icon has hand picked 14 songs to set the mood for love and romance in all its twisted glory. Who better then Waters to pick those perfect old pop hits each with just the slightest hint of subversion and a coy wink. Ike & Tina, Patience & Prudence, Josie Cotton, Dean Martin, Edith Massey and more all singing songs that you just can't not like. The camp value is of course high but these are good songs, great songs maybe, and that can't be denied. Some of us have already bought copies to send to our moms and loved ones. Such saucy fun!
MPEG Stream: MILDRED BAILEY & HER SWING BAND "I'd Love To Take Orders From You"
MPEG Stream: MINK STOLE "Sometimes I Wish I Had A Gun"
MPEG Stream: PATIENCE AND PRUDENCE "Tonight You Belong To Me"

V/A Bombay Connection Vol. 2, Bouncin' Grooves From Bollywood Films 1959-1972 (Bombay Connection) cd 16.98
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to list. Vol 2 features all the golden greats spanning 1959-1972. Songs from all of those amazing nightclub scenes. You know what that means: intoxicating instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and splashes of color that you can practically hear captured in these wild and fantastic songs. All the great Bollywood luminaries are included: R.D. Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!!
MPEG Stream: MOHAMED RAFI "Jan Pahechan Ho"
MPEG Stream: KISHORE KUMAR & ASHA BHOSLE "Bum Pam Bum Pam Pa Ra Ra"
MPEG Stream: ANAND PRAYAG & CHORUS "Pretty Pretty Priya"

V/A Bombay Connection Vol. 2, Bouncin' Grooves From Bollywood Films 1959-1972 (Bombay Connection) 2lp 32.00
We can never get enough of the colorful, zesty, infectious sounds of golden era Bollywood. Luckily we have two more outlets for our fix as Bombay Connection has released two volumes of Bollywood hits that we've been groovin' to in the store for a few months now and finally have gotten enough to list. Vol 2 features all the golden greats spanning 1959-1972. Songs from all of those amazing nightclub scenes. You know what that means: intoxicating instrumentation, impassioned vocals, and splashes of color that you can practically hear captured in these wild and fantastic songs. All the great Bollywood luminaries are included: R.D. Burman, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kalyanji-Anandji, Sapam-Jagmohan, etc. So fun and so great!!
MPEG Stream: MOHAMED RAFI "Jan Pahechan Ho"
MPEG Stream: KISHORE KUMAR & ASHA BHOSLE "Bum Pam Bum Pam Pa Ra Ra"
MPEG Stream: ANAND PRAYAG & CHORUS "Pretty Pretty Priya"

V/A D-I-Y: Do It Yourself (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
After punk exploded, an entire community of independent labels arose to document the wide spanning world of do it yourself, home recorded, punk and post punk that blew up soon after. This great Soul Jazz collection focuses on the explosion of those small Do It Yourself labels that began to emerge in the UK scene in late 70's and early 80's. Labels like Rough Trade, Heartbeat, Small Wonders, Zama, New Hormones, etc. all releasing 7" singles and albums from the likes of The Buzzcocks, Throbbing Gristle, Swell Maps, Kleenex, Glaxo Babies, and a whole lot more. Killer selection of bands and tracks, and a gorgeous 40-page booklet with band biographies, label spotlights, amazing photos and tons of artwork. Just like how those Can't Stop! compilations made us wish we were in Australia smack in the center of the post-punk era, this collection once again reminds us how fertile the underground music scene was in the UK during the '77-'82 era and has us longing for our own punk rock time machine (although this comp sort of is a punk rock time machine when you think about it!). An important nice historical document and a killer disc!!
MPEG Stream: THE NAFFIS "Slice 1"
MPEG Stream: THOMAS LEER "Tight As A Drum"
MPEG Stream: KLEENEX "Ain't You"

V/A D-I-Y: Do It Yourself (Soul Jazz) lp 24.00
After punk exploded, an entire community of independent labels arose to document the wide spanning world of do it yourself, home recorded, punk and post punk that blew up soon after. This great Soul Jazz collection focuses on the explosion of those small Do It Yourself labels that began to emerge in the UK scene in late 70's and early 80's. Labels like Rough Trade, Heartbeat, Small Wonders, Zama, New Hormones, etc. all releasing 7" singles and albums from the likes of The Buzzcocks, Throbbing Gristle, Swell Maps, Kleenex, Glaxo Babies, and a whole lot more. Killer selection of bands and tracks, and a gorgeous 40-page booklet with band biographies, label spotlights, amazing photos and tons of artwork. Just like how those Can't Stop! compilations made us wish we were in Australia smack in the center of the post-punk era, this collection once again reminds us how fertile the underground music scene was in the UK during the '77-'82 era and has us longing for our own punk rock time machine (although this comp sort of is a punk rock time machine when you think about it!). An important nice historical document and a killer disc!!
MPEG Stream: THE NAFFIS "Slice 1"
MPEG Stream: THOMAS LEER "Tight As A Drum"
MPEG Stream: KLEENEX "Ain't You"

V/A Studio One Kings (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Another in an amazing string of great Studio One collections compiled by the seemingly infallible Soul Jazz label. The title of this one says it all. These are the heavy hitters in Studio One's rich history. Harkening back to the classic 60's and 70's Jamaican sound, a glorious golden musical era, which included rocksteady, ska, roots, and lovers rock. Classic and rare tracks are collected from the likes of Alton Ellis, Ken Booth, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, and an amazing 10 minute Dylan cover by Freddie McGregor, and of course so much more. Much like its female counterpart, The Women of Studio One, which came out a couple years ago and STILL stands as one of our favorite collections, Studio One Kings has that same impeccable lineup, working as an album as much as a collection, perfect from start to finish and not at all just a bunch of random good songs. A wonderful combination of breezy confidence and deep deep passion. With spring in full bloom and summer within arms reach we can't think of a better ways to soak in the sun then with the kings of Studio One.
MPEG Stream: BURNING SPEAR "Them A Come"
MPEG Stream: KEN BOOTHE "Be Yourself"
MPEG Stream: ALTON ELLIS "The Well Run Dry"

V/A Studio One Kings (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
Another in an amazing string of great Studio One collections compiled by the seemingly infallible Soul Jazz label. The title of this one says it all. These are the heavy hitters in Studio One's rich history. Harkening back to the classic 60's and 70's Jamaican sound, a glorious golden musical era, which included rocksteady, ska, roots, and lovers rock. Classic and rare tracks are collected from the likes of Alton Ellis, Ken Booth, John Holt, Delroy Wilson, and an amazing 10 minute Dylan cover by Freddie McGregor, and of course so much more. Much like its female counterpart, The Women of Studio One, which came out a couple years ago and STILL stands as one of our favorite collections, Studio One Kings has that same impeccable lineup, working as an album as much as a collection, perfect from start to finish and not at all just a bunch of random good songs. A wonderful combination of breezy confidence and deep deep passion. With spring in full bloom and summer within arms reach we can't think of a better ways to soak in the sun then with the kings of Studio One.
MPEG Stream: BURNING SPEAR "Them A Come"
MPEG Stream: KEN BOOTHE "Be Yourself"
MPEG Stream: ALTON ELLIS "The Well Run Dry"

----*
----* New DVD's :
----*

DECEMBERISTS, THE A Practical Handbook (Kill Rock Stars) dvd 15.98
We consulted our calendar and it told us that this month we'd see a new Decemberists dvd, and what do you know, it spoke the truth! Despite the dvd's title which made us think it would be some sort of how-to manual, A Practical Handbook is packed with lots of fan pleasing goodies such as a documentary, a complete twelve song long concert at Roseland Theater in Portland, OR from November 2005, and five music videos for their songs "The Tain", "The Bachelor And The Bride", "16 Military Wives", "The Soldiering Life", and "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect".

FINGERED DVDZINE Winter / Spring 2007 (Fingered Media) dvd-r 14.98
Here's the super cool new issue of the young dvdzine Fingered! It features rad Bay Area indie bands Erase Errata (live clip and tour diary), Tussle, Clip'd Beaks, Fuckwolf, Lemonade, and Black Fiction; plus work from visual artists Olivia Park and Krak! May be best consumed in a somewhat altered state. To boot, the dvd-r comes in a cool screenprinted sewn canvas sleeve, perfect for toting your assorted amenities.







----*
----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed :
----*

If you want to order one of these, just do a search and then click on the buy button and it will be added to your cart!

31 KNOTS "The Days And Nights Of Everything Anywhere" (Polyvinyl) cd/lp 14.98/14.98
ACRE "17:34" (EMR) 3" cd-r 7.98
ACRE "Candyflipping" (Yarn Lazer) cd-r 7.98
AIRWAY "Live At Lace" (Harbinger Sound) cd 14.98
ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND "Ekranoplan" (Tee Pee) cd 13.98
AZRAEL "Act III: Self & Act IV: Goat" (Moribund) 2cd 14.98
BARK HAZE "s/t" (Important) lp 14.98
BEE GEES "Horizontal" (Reprise) 2cd 23.00
BEE GEES "Idea" (Reprise) 2cd 23.00
BIG BUSINESS "Here Come The Waterworks" (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
BOOK OF BLACK EARTH "The Feast" (Kreation) lp 14.98
BORAT dvd 30.00
BORAT (OST) "Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan" (Atlantic) cd 16.98
BORATTO, GUI "Chromophobia" (Kompakt) cd 15.98
BROUGHTON, DAVID THOMAS "It's In There Somewhere" (Bird War) cd 17.98
BURNING SAVIOURS "The Giant" (Rise Above) 7" 9.98
CASH, JOHNNY "At San Quentin - Legacy Edition Box Set" (Columbia) 2cd+1dvd 45.00
CASHMORE, MICHAEL "The Snow Abides" (Durtro Jnana) cd 12.98
CAVE, NICK & THE BAD SEEDS "The Abattoir Blues Tour" (Mute) 2cd+2dvd 33.00
CHEVY BOYS, THE (Anthem) dvd-r 12.98
CHINESE STARS, THE "Listen To Your Left Brain" (Three One G) cd 14.98
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS "Communal Rust" (Community Library) cd 16.98
CLOUDS "Legendary Demo" (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
COLEMAN, ORNETTE "Sound Grammar" (Phrase Text) cd 21.00
CORNER, PHILIP "Extreme Positions" (New World) 2cd 33.00
DALEK "Abandoned Language" (Ipecac) cd 15.98
DARK QUARTERER "s/t" (Unisound) cd 14.98
DATURA "Visions For The Celestial" (Astral Projection) cd 14.98
DEAD CHILD "s/t" (Cold Sweat) cd ep 10.98
DON'T NEED YOU: THE HERSTORY OF RIOT GRRRL (Urban Cowgirl Productions) dvd 17.98
DONEDA, MICHEL, GIUSEPPE IELASI, & INGAR ZACH "Flore De Cataclysmo" (Sedimental) cd 14.98
DR. DELAY "Rajaz Meter" (Funk Weapons) cd-r 15.98
DYING FETUS "War Of Attrition" (Relapse) cd 12.98
EARTHLESS "Sonic Prayer Live" (Gravity) 10" 10.98
EL FOG "Reverberate Slowly" (Moteer) cd 15.98
EL-P "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" (Definitive Jux) cd/lp 16.98/16.98
ENOCKSSON, ERIK "Farval Falkenberg" (Kning Disk) cd 15.98
ERASERHEAD "OST" (Subversive Cinema / Absurda) cd 21.00
FAUST "In Autumn" (Dirtier Promotions) 3cd+dvd 60.00
FIELD, THE "From Here We Go" (Kompakt) cd 15.98
FORGOTTEN TOMB "Negative Megalomania" (Avantgarde) cd 14.98
FURSAXA "Alone In The Dark Wood" (Eclipse) lp 16.98
GASMAN "This One's For You" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
GIFFONI, CARLOS & LASSE MARHAUG "Lesbian Brunch" (aRCHIVE) cd 14.98
GIL, GILBERTO "Gil Luminoso" (DRG) cd 16.98
GRINDERMAN "s/t" (Anti) lp 11.98
GROMM "Cold Old Thorns" (BlackMetal.Com) cd 9.98
GROMM / ENDLESS BLIZZARD "In The Glare Of Black / Beyond The Frozen Gates" (BlackMetal.Com) cd 9.98
GROMM / WINGS OF WAR "In The Glare Of Black / War Forever" (BlackMetal.Com) cassette 4.50
HAVOK UNIT / ANDOCEANS / THE SIN:DECAY (V/A) "Synaethesia - The Requiem Reveries" (Vendlus) cd 9.98
HORNA "Aania Yossa" (Moribund) cd 14.98
ITO, TEIJI "Tenno" (Tzadik) cd 16.98
J CHURCH "Horror Of Life" (No Idea) cd 13.98
KARACA, CEM & KARDASLAR "Puskullu Moruk" (Destur) 10" 22.00
KLAXONS "Myths Of The Near Future" (Geffen) cd 10.98
LIFELOVER "Pulver" (Goatowarex) cd 14.98
LIK "Lekamen Illusionen Kallet" (Agonia) cd 15.98
LIZZIE BORDEN "Master Of Disguise" (Metal Blade) cd+dvd 14.98
LOCUST, THE "New Erections" (Anti) cd 13.98
LORDI "The Arcockalypse" (The End) cd+dvd 14.98
LOUDEST WHISPER "The Children Of Lir" (Sunbeam Records) cd 16.98
LOVERS "Sleep With Heat" (Orange Twin) cd 15.98
LUSTMORD "Juggernaut" (Vault Works / Hydra Head) cd 16.98
MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ "L'Autre Cap" (K) cd/lp 14.98/13.98
MEKURYA, GETATCHEW & THE EX "Moa Anbessa" (Terp) cd 18.98
MIDDIAN "Age Eternal" (Metal Blade) cd 13.98
MINSK "The Ritual Fires Of Abandonment" (Relapse) cd 12.98
MOEBIUS "Tonspuren" (Captain Trip) cd 26.00
MOEBIUS / PLANK "Material" (Captain Trip) cd 26.00
MOEBIUS / PLANK "Rastakraut Pasta" (Captain Trip) cd 26.00
MOEBIUS / PLANK / NEUMEIER "Zero Set" (Captain Trip) cd 26.00
MOONDOG "Rare Material" (Roof Music) 2cd 30.00
MOVING GELATINE PLATES "s/t" (Musea) cd 21.00
MRWEBI, GWIGWI "Mbaqanga Songs" (Honest Jon's) cd 17.98
N.I.L. "s/t" (Battle Kommand) cd 14.98
NADJA "Touched" (Alien8) cd 13.98
NUMINOUS EYE "The Farthest Thing" (Charnel Music) cd-r 9.98
OBSCURUS ADVOCAM "Verbia Daemonicus" (Battle Kommand) cd 14.98
OLD WAINDS "Where The Snows Are Never Gone" (Miriquidi) cd 14.98
OPTIMO "Walkabout" (Endless Flight) cd 16.98
ORCHESTRA BAOBAB "African Classics" (Sheer Sound) cd 14.98
OTOMO, YOSHIHIDE "Multiple Otomo" (Asphodel) dvd+cd 16.98
OUGENWEIDE "Ohrenschmaus / Eulenspiegel" (Bear Family) cd 17.98
OVSKUM "Atto III" (Northern Sky Productions) cassette 4.00
OXLEY, TONY "The Advocate" (Tzadik) cd 16.98
P.G. SIX "Slightly Sorry" (Drag City) cd/lp 14.98/14.98
PAGAN ALTAR "Mythical & Magical" (Oracle Records) cd 21.00
PALESTINE, CHARLEMAGNE "A Sweet Quasimodo Between Black Vampire Butterflies" (Cold Blue) cd 14.98
PARKER, EVAN "The Topography Of The Lungs" (Psi Records) cd 21.00
PILIA, STEFANO "The Suncrows Fall and Tree" (Sedimental) cd 14.98
PINEBENDER "Working Nine To Wolf" (Lovitt) cd 12.98
PINHAS, RICHARD "Single Collection 1972-1980" (Captain Trip) cd 26.00
POLE "Steingarten" (Scape) cd 16.98
POWERHOUSE SOUND "Oslo/Chicago: Breaks" (Atavistic) cd 17.98
PSYOPUS "Our Puzzling Encounters Considered" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
QUELLET, ISRAEL "Oppressum" (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98
RAAIJMAKERS, DICK "Complete Tape Music Of Dick Raaijmakers" (Basta) 3cd 33.00
RAMESES III "Honey Rose" (Important) cd 9.98
REDMAN "Red Gone Wild" (Island Def Jam) cd 14.98
SCHMICKLER, MARCUS "Demos" (A-Musik) cd 17.98
SCOTCH EGG, DJ "Scotch Hausen" (Very Friendly) cd 14.98
SHIRE, DAVID "The Hindenberg (OST)" (Intrada) cd 30.00
SHIRE, DAVID "Zodiac (OST)" (Varese Sarabande) cd 16.98
SILMARIL "The Voyage Of Icarus" (Locust) cd 14.98
SOLID GROUND "Made In Rock" (Mellotronen) cd 17.98
SOLITUDE AETERNUS "Alone" (Soul Food) cd 17.98
SPLINT! "Moro" (Lampse) cd 17.98
STARCHASER NETWORK "s/t" (Tarot Productions) cd 14.98
STARS OF THE LID "And Their Refinement Of The Decline" (Kranky) 2cd STOOGES "The Weirdness" (Virgin) 2lp 22.00
STOOGES, THE "The Weirdness" (Virgin) cd 14.98
SVENONIUS, IAN "The Psychic Soviet" (Drag City) book 15.98
SWALLOW THE SUN "Hope" (Candlelight) cd 13.98
TAAKE "Nekro" (Karisma) cd ep 13.98
TINARIWEN "Aman Iman: Water Is Life" (World Village) cd 19.98
TOMOKAWA, KAZUKI "Satoru" (Tiliqua) lp 26.00
TORAL, RAFAEL "Space Solo 1" (Quecksilber) cd 15.98
TOTIMOSHI "Ladron" (Volcom) cd 13.98
UNSANE "Visqueen" (Ipecac) cd 16.98
URGEHAL "The Eternal Eclipse: 15 Years Of Satanic Black Metal" (Agonia) cd 15.98
USAISAMONSTER "Geronimo" (Lovepump United) 7" 9.98
USSACHEVSKY, VLADIMIR "Electronic And Acoustic Works" (New World Records) cd 16.98
V/A "Lovin' Fire: 20 Obscure Gems From The UK And Europe" (Psychic Circle) cd 16.98
V/A "New York Hustle Vol 1" (Soul Jazz) 2cd 23.00
V/A "New York Hustle Vol 2" (Soul Jazz) 2cd 23.00
V/A "New York Hustle" (Soul Jazz) 2cd 23.00
V/A "Paper Rad Uniform" (Vicious Pop) 7" 8.98
V/A "Reactions To Raaijmakers" (Basta) cd 21.00
V/A "Rock You Sinners! The Dawn Of British Rock and Roll" (Rev-Ola) cd 15.98
V/A "Si, Papa Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba Volume One" (Waxing Deep) cd 17.98
V/A "Sidewalk Songs & City Stories: New Urban Folk" (Trikont) cd 17.98
V/A "We All Love Ennio Morricone" (Sony Classical) cd 17.98
V/A "White Bicycles" (Fledg'ling) cd 16.98
V/A (JOE MEEK) "Joe Meek Freakbeat - You're Holding Me Down" (Castle Music / Sanctuary) cd 24.00
V/A (JOE MEEK) "They Were Wrong! Joe's Boys - Volume One" (Castle Music / Sanctuary) 2cd 24.00
VOG "s/t" (Shifty) cd 11.98
WOODEN SPOON "The Folk Blues Guitar Of...." (Bo'Weavil) cd 17.98
WUTHERING HEIGHTS "The Shadow Cabinet" (Sensory) 2cd 15.98
WYRD "Huldrafolk" (Kreation) 2lp 17.98
XYNFONICA "A Feast For Famished" (Hekaloth / Cyclops) cd 15.98
YOUNG, NEIL "Massey Hall 1971" (Reprise) cd + dvd 24.00
ZARPA ROCK "Los 4 Jinetes Del Apocalipsis" (Iberian) cd 23.00
ZOZOBRA "Harmonic Tremors" (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
ZU & NOBUKAZU TAKEMURA "Identification With The Enemy: A Key To The Underworld" (Atavistic) cd 14.98

_______________________________________________________________________

ABOUT MAILORDER


Please place your order via our website.

[1] We will contact you to verify your order and let you know when it will be shipped. Please note that occasionally it may take a day or two for us to reply. We are not a faceless bunch of computers replying to your order -- we are human beings!

[2] If we are out of some of your items and we think we will get them within the same week, we can wait to ship. Or... If it's going to be more than a few days to complete your order, we will ship what we have and then will contact you as the remainders arrive.

[ note ] Due to the everchanging nature of the independent record business, we are not responsible for listed price changes (due to supplier price changes) and often cannot update our site fast enough to reflect these changes, but we will always try to let you know of any differences.


DOMESTIC SHIPPING :
--------------------------------
1-2 items $4.50 USPS Priority Mail
3+ items $6.50 UPS Ground

Further Explanation (Please Read!):
Within the USA, an order of 3 or more items will be shipped via UPS ground for a flat fee of $6.50. These packages are automatically insured and trackable.

However, if your package contains just 1 or 2 items, we will ship your order via USPS Priority Mail, and charge you $4.50 for shipping. These packages are NOT insured or trackable, sorry. So if you desire those safeguards, please request UPS delivery at the $6.50 rate. You must mention this in the comments field of our online order form.

Also, please note that UPS will not ship to PO Boxes. If you only have a PO Box, we can ship packages of 3+ items via US Postal Service and charge you by weight according to their rates. Special shipping needs (e.g. UPS Next Day) are also do-able, just ask.

Another important note: box sets DON'T (usually) count as one item. Sorry. A box set will generally bump you up into the "three or more items" category. Y'know, they're big. Boxes.


INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING :
-------------------------------- For foreign customers we ship via US AIRMAIL ("Letterpost"). Your price is based on the actual cost of shipping plus $1. You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package, No Correspondence" category and see the price for "Letterpost". 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound.)


We highly recommend insurance for your international package, but it is very expensive! You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package, No Correspondence" category and see the price for "Parcel Post". 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound.)


INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE :
-------------------------------- You are hereby forewarned that Aquarius is not responsible if your international package gets lost in the mail. Insurance is your only recourse if your records never show up. Since the terrible events of 9/11, mail service has been slow and undependable... and while we haven't experienced any *confirmed* permanently lost mail, insurance might provide some additional piece of mind in this time of upheaval. We strongly recommend it. But yes, it is very expensive. It's your choice. Again: Aquarius is not responsible for lost mail, so if you aren't willing to take a (slight but real) risk, please buy the insurance.

International insurance is very expensive! In fact often the insurance costs more than the value of your package, in which case it obviously does not make sense to insure it. You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package, No Correspondence" category and see the price for "Parcel Post", which is the way insured packages are sent. 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound.)

For example: for a one-pound package worth $18 going to England, shipping without insurance is about $8. But with insurance, the shipping / insurance total is over $16!

It is your reponsibility to check the international rate calculator in order to determine whether or not you want international insurance. If you tell us you want international insurance, we will add it to your order no matter how much it costs!


PAYMENT :
-------------------------------- Payment is via credit card: Visa, MC, Discover, and Amex. Money orders are accepted only from customers within the USA. If you must pay by money order, you have to confirm the order with us through email or phone BEFORE you send any payment. We cannot take personal checks for mailorder, sorry!


QUESTION?
-------------------------------- Email the mailorder department: mailorder@aquariusrecords.org

______________________________________________________________________

SOME SELECTED UPCOMING RELEASES


----} April 4th
Throne Of Katharsis "An Eternal Dark Horizon" cd on Candlelight
Jarvis Cocker "Jarvis" cd on Rough Trade
Air Conditioning "Dead Rails" cd on Load
Caravan "If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You" cd reissue on Eclectic Disc
Caravan "In The Land Of Grey & Pink" cd reissue on Eclectic Disc
Manowar "Gods Of War" cd on Magic Circle
David Lee Roth "Sonrisa Salvaje" remastered cd reissue (the Spanish language version of "Eat 'Em And Smile")

----} also soon
Earth "Hibernaculam" lp on Southern Lord
Larsen "Musm II" cd on Important
Larsen & Friends "Abeceda" cd w/ dvd on Important
Merzbow "Merzbear" cd on Important
John Zorn "Six Litanies For Heliogablus" cd on Tzadik

----} April 10th
Blonde Redhead "23" cd/lp on Matador
Shearwater "Palo Santo: Expanded Edition" 2cd/2lp on Matador
Love Of Diagrams "Mosaic" cd/lp on Matador
Xiu Xiu "Remixed And Covered" cd on 5RC

----} April 17th
DHG (Dodheimsgard) "Supervillain Outcast" cd on Moonfog/The End
Kool Keith "Ultra-Octa-Doom" cd

----} April 20th
Twink "Ice Cream Truckin'" cd on Mulatta

----} April 24th
Mammatus "The Coast Explodes" cd on Holy Mountain
White/Lichens "s/t" cd on Holy Mountain
Cornelius "Sensuous" cd domestic release
Vibracathedral Orchestra "Wisdom Thunderbolt" cd on VHF
Destroy All Monsters "Grow Live Monsters" DVD on MVD Visual
Seefeel "Quique (Redux Edition)" 2cd on Too Pure

----} May 1st
Dungen new album on Kemado

----} May 5th
Jakob Olausson "Moonlight Farm" cd on Destijl

----} May 8th
Electrelane "No Shouts, No Calls" cd/lp on Too Pure
Lavender Diamond "Imagine Our Love" cd/lp on Matador

----} May 15th
KTL "2" cd on Editions Mego
Boris w/ Kurihara "Rainbow" domestic cd version on Drag City
Revelation "Never Comes Silence" cd reissue on Leaf Hound

----} May 21st
Orthodox "Amanecer en Puerta Oscura" cd on Alone Records

----} May 29th
Richard Youngs & Alex Neilson "Electric Lotus/Lotus Edition" LP+cd on VHF
Blues Control "s/t" cd on Holy Mountain

----} June 28th
Striborg "Ghostwoodlands" cd on Displeased

----} also in June
Revelation "Unreleased Album" + "Salvations Answer" cds on Leaf Hound

----} also upcoming sooner (maybe real soon) or later (possibly much later)
Masayuki Takayangi "Independence - Tread On Sure Ground" cd on Tiliqua
Slough Feg "Hardworlder" cd on Cruz Del Sur
Secret Chiefs 3 "Path Of Most Resistance" cd on Mimicry
Alva Noto "Xerrox" cd/2lp on Raster Music
Inquisition "Nefarious Dismal Oration" cd on No Colours
Neurosis "Given To The Rising" cd on Neurot
Boris w/ Kurihara "Rainbow" LP version on Inoxia
Velvet Cacoon "Genevive" 2LP version
Velvet Cacoon "Northsuite" 2LP version
Asbestosdeath "Unclean/Dejection" cd/lp on Southern Lord
v/a "Portland" 3lp on RRR
v/a "Texas" 3lp on RRR
v/a "Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word 2" cd on Delay 68
Sonic Youth "Daydream Nation" 4lp reissue on Goofin'
Vibracathedral Orchestra "Thunderbold Wisdom" cd on VHF
Richard Youngs / Alex Neilson "Electric Lotus / Lotus Edition" cd on VHF
Thunderstorm "As We Die Alone" cd


_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________



Lots of love from your devoted AQ staff

Andee Cup Jim AllanLaurenAshleyPamJasonChristineIrwinMattScott and Sally