NARROWS, THE Benjamin (Wantage USA) cd 12.98
It's been ages since we've heard from Bellingham Washington's Narrows, whose last two (and only two) records, Alligator and The Skull At Life Size, were huge AQ favorites. Our Narrows obsession was solidified by a mindblowing show at the Hemlock where the band laid waste to all post rock past and present in a matter of 30 or 40 minutes, managing to rock so hard, even with the frontman / guitar player seated the whole time. A mix of lurching loping metallic bombast and lilting whispery post rock moodiness, not like the current crop of metallic post rockers though, no the Narrows were something much more unique... all the best parts of nineties mathrock, June Of 44, Slint, Rodan, but filtered through that weird Bellingham outsider vibe (also responsible for Reeks And The Wrecks) and lovingly wrapped in some serious skull crushing riffage. And of course songs. Killer songs. Moody and mournful, personal and emotional, and catchy as all get out.
We had sort of given up on the Narrows, we knew there was a record in the works, but they sort of seemed to drop off the musical map completely, until all of our fears were assuaged by the sudden appearance of this here brand new full length, that is somehow even better than their first two discs, heavier, prettier, weirder....
Beginning with the nine minute near perfect post rock epic "The Sasquatch", a sequence of big groaning downtuned riffage, huge pounding drums all wrapped around a strange insistent loping groove, with wailed super emo vocals, like a prettier Melvins almost, or a resurrected Engine Kid, some Unwound, a little bit of Sub Pop, a little Amrep. These super dynamic nine minutes might as well go on for 90 minutes as far as we're concerned.
The second track, the even longer "Last Of The Norsemen", is all slithery slowcore, with crooned sadboy vocals, spidery guitar melodies, shuffled drums, until the crashing chorus, a gorgeous minor key stop start lurch, along the same lines as Codeine's "Cave In", with burbling underwater bass added to the mix, and a convoluted mathy arrangement, before drifting back into the moody lope of the first few minutes, peppered with strange slippery guitar chords and unexpected dynamics, somehow totally off kilter and alien sounding, but super catchy and melodic and surprisingly pretty!
"Quellish" is up next with its serpentine distorted crunch and crashing blown out drumming, letting up here and there for some muted shuffle and croon, before the bombast is brought in again, a super emotional musical seesaw, that manages to subvert the tired loud-soft-loud-soft thing and turn it into something new and exciting sounding.
As if the deal wasn't already sealed for best post-math-whatever-rock / slowcore record ever already, they finish it off with the heartwrenching "Over and Out", a sort of damaged Pinback on horse tranquilizers mathy groove, with big booming Albini-ish drums, over blooping underwater bass, and slithery minor key distorted guitar melodies, and a super subtle hook to die for. The song has a wicked, super dramatic coda with crumbling distorted riffing, and super emotional leads, yeah LEADS, what self respecting post rock band can whip out the leads and bring you to your knees without sounding the least bit cheesy? Can't think of very many (or any really)... but The Narrows pull it off effortlessly. There's an "Over and Out" part two, but it's more sort of a coda, that now burned into your ears/heart/soul melody is pulled apart, wrapped in some twangy Morricone-ish guitar, some tinkling music box like keyboards, and allowed to unfurl lazily into the distance, becoming more and more abstract and indistinct, culminating in seven minutes of silence... Needless to say one of our favorite new records, pushing all our buttons, old math rock, new post rock, metal, pop, heavy, pretty, strange... Absolutely and utterly recommended (as is seeing these guys live if you get the chance)!
MPEG Stream: "The Sasquatch"
MPEG Stream: "Last Of The Norsemen"

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ACID EATER Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. (Time Bomb) cd 17.98
Not to be confused with the Christine 23 Onna record of the same name (although both are fronted by Japanoise legend Masonna), this Acid Eater is a blown out blast of ultradistorto organ drenched spaced out primitive garage rock stomp. We got a little taste of Acid Eater on the Demonic Freak Scene compilation we reviewed last year, and have been hankering for more ever since. 
Imagine the heaviest, most fuzzed out garage rock you've ever heard, now take that and run it through a handful of distortion pedals, a bank of Acid Mothers worthy FX, blast it through a wall of busted old Vox amps, wrap the whole thing in feedback and reverb, and suddenly you're in some alien alternate future where the world is populated exclusively by Japanese noiserock beatniks, who are constantly blasting fuzzed out walls of overblown sixties sounds from their low flying spacecraft...
Imagine if Merzbow remixed your favorite Fuzztones record, or the Stooges released records on PSF and were augmented by some insane drug addled organist with WAY too many amps. Serpentine blues rock riffs, all tangled up with thick warbling organs, the vocals a snarling distorted howl, buried in the mix, and all dubbed out, the drums a crumbling, percussive pound, somehow as in the red as the rest of the instruments, every cymbal crash swallowing up all the other sounds, but it's the riffs, and the organ, and Masonna's wild eyed vocalizing that keep this blacklight space garage party going. Not to mention the killer hooks... Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. perfectly captures how intense and freaked out it must be to experience this sound live, super distorted, feedback everywhere, the instruments in your face, the speakers threatening to blow, sweat, blood, spit, a swirling chaotic musical melee, heavy, distorted, fuzzy and funky, wild and woolly, spaced out and gloriously gloriously noisy. 
MPEG Stream: "EYE"
MPEG Stream: "Nothing Can Bring Me Down "
MPEG Stream: "A.C.I.D."

ACID EATER Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. (Time Bomb) lp 23.00
Not to be confused with the Christine 23 Onna record of the same name (although both are fronted by Japanoise legend Masonna), this Acid Eater is a blown out blast of ultradistorto organ drenched spaced out primitive garage rock stomp. We got a little taste of Acid Eater on the Demonic Freak Scene compilation we reviewed last year, and have been hankering for more ever since. 
Imagine the heaviest, most fuzzed out garage rock you've ever heard, now take that and run it through a handful of distortion pedals, a bank of Acid Mothers worthy FX, blast it through a wall of busted old Vox amps, wrap the whole thing in feedback and reverb, and suddenly you're in some alien alternate future where the world is populated exclusively by Japanese noiserock beatniks, who are constantly blasting fuzzed out walls of overblown sixties sounds from their low flying spacecraft...
Imagine if Merzbow remixed your favorite Fuzztones record, or the Stooges released records on PSF and were augmented by some insane drug addled organist with WAY too many amps. Serpentine blues rock riffs, all tangled up with thick warbling organs, the vocals a snarling distorted howl, buried in the mix, and all dubbed out, the drums a crumbling, percussive pound, somehow as in the red as the rest of the instruments, every cymbal crash swallowing up all the other sounds, but it's the riffs, and the organ, and Masonna's wild eyed vocalizing that keep this blacklight space garage party going. Not to mention the killer hooks... Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. perfectly captures how intense and freaked out it must be to experience this sound live, super distorted, feedback everywhere, the instruments in your face, the speakers threatening to blow, sweat, blood, spit, a swirling chaotic musical melee, heavy, distorted, fuzzy and funky, wild and woolly, spaced out and gloriously gloriously noisy. 
MPEG Stream: "EYE"
MPEG Stream: "Nothing Can Bring Me Down "
MPEG Stream: "A.C.I.D."

ACRIMONY Bong On - Live Long! (Leaf Hound) cd 16.98
We've long been fans of the druggy stoner grooves of the UK's Acrimony, ever since 1996's Tumuli Shroomaroom, a record that has been out of print for a while now, otherwise we would have most certainly given it some long overdue love on the AQ list. Just recently, Japanese label Leaf Hound reissued Tumuli Shroomaroom (which we now have in stock, and will list next time) but also this killer odds and sods collection called appropriately enough Bong On - Live Long! So we figured we oughta tackle the newest release first, plus for long time fans like us, there's tons of amazing out of print stuff on it we'd been dying to hear.
Acrimony exist in a similar sonic universe as their metallic countrymen Electric Wizard (as well as folks like Boris, Church Of Misery, Kyuss, Bongzilla, etc.) and while not quite as filthy and blown out and Sabbath obsessed, they are definitely just as heavy, but probably way more groovy and spaced out, adding some Hawkwind to the mix, and some organ (fuck yeah!) turning crushing druggy jams into crushing freaked out groovy druggy SPACE jams which is never a bad thing. 
Collecting tracks from old eps, compilations, and a split with Church Of Misery (even a badass Status Quo cover!), every song here is a sludgy groovy stoner space jam of the highest order, the riffs are massive and downtuned, the drums a barrage of pounding pummel, the vocals a raspy howl, wah guitar everywhere, hooks galore, lots of swing and groove, throbbing distorted bass, churning riffage that often slowly morphs into a spaced out sprawl a la Monster Magnet or Hawkwind, even the folks who don't get high here (Andee, and...?), can imagine that this is exactly what that must (or at least -should-) sound like, heavy and freaky and groovy and mind blowing. 
Fans of bands like Electric Wizard and Nebula and Ufomammut and Orange Goblin and Spiritual Beggars and the like who have somehow missed out on these guys might just have found a new favorite band...
MPEG Stream: "Spaced Cat #7 (Hammond Moon - Bong Mix)"
MPEG Stream: "Earthchild Inferno"
MPEG Stream: "O Baby"

ASHER The Depths, The Colors, The Objects & The Silence (Mystery Sea) cd-r 17.98
Another gorgeously subdued missive from one of our favorite cd-r labels, Mystery Sea. Each release somehow fits into the label's focus on "night-ocean drones" whether literally, sonically, conceptually or spiritually. And every disc impeccably designed and packaged, the artwork as much a part of the art as the music inside. 
This installment (one of two on this week's list) comes from the East Coast, Massachusetts to be exact, from a one man band known only as Asher. One of the better-known artists to release a record on Mystery Sea, Asher, focuses on field recordings, processed and manipulated into fantastic minimal microlandscapes of sound, creating textures and melodies, spreading found sounds and bits of generated music into long-form, slow-moving near static drones. But closer examination reveals all sorts of subtle rhythms, and constantly changing tonal colors, deep swells and distant shimmers, keening slivers of amp skree, but smeared into glistens rather than glares, the sounds of people and things, barely visible through the glorious blurry fuzz. Really quite lovely. Very close listening is definitely required, but the listener will be suitably rewarded by a beautiful and haunting otherworld of sound. 
MPEG Stream: "Partly Framed In Sunlight"
MPEG Stream: "The Blue Gently Linked"

ATAVIST II: Ruined (Profound Lore) cd 14.98
Oh, the misery! Vying with the likes of Moss and Marzuraan for the title of Sludge Lords of England, Atavist offer up their second full-length (hence the title), following a split with Nadja not long ago. But Atavist are a complex beast with a tortured soul that in some ways is really less about sludge than it is about sheer sadness, opting for beauty over brutality much of the time.
Drums echo. Acoustic guitars weep. And then the walls of doom-drone (droom?) riffage come closing in, crashing down. But although there's heaviness galore, with gruff vokills raging, the gentle side to Atavist is nakedly displayed here too. Tranquil, haunting, Atavist possess almost a campfire drone post rockishness that curdles Khanate-like when the heaviness is let loose. All seven tracks, together something of a continuous emotional breakdown, demonstrate definite extreme mood swings, all of 'em melancholy and majestic, some of 'em massively metal. Actually it's a six-part dirge, plus a bonus track at the end, appropriately enough a cover of "I Hate The Human Race" originally by Boston sludge merchants Grief.
For fans of both Mogwai and Asunder for sure. So good.
MPEG Stream: "II"
MPEG Stream: "VI"

BANHART, DEVENDRA Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL) cd 14.98
Well, the folk may be less present, but the freak is still going strong as ever. And why shouldn't he be when he's the charmed breather of life into this strange Topanga Canyon cocktail party. No, Neil Young couldn't make it, neither could Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, or any of the usual suspects you might expect from ground zero of the west coast singer-songwriter renaissance in the seventies. Instead Devendra and cohorts with their ever-changing band names (Hairy Fairy, Navajo Gospel, White Rainbow Moccassin Woman, and lately The Spiritual Boner) have imported some remarkably far-flung musical touch-stones. From Vegas Elvis to Caetano Veloso to J.J. Cale. Throw in a little Byrds with a pinch of Led Zeppelin, add some Lover's Rock, some Post-Tropicalia, a bit of gender-bending, a taste of gospel and even a hint of Al Jolson mixed with Allan Sherman. It's a pretty daring concoction that, with a couple of notable exceptions (The treacly gospel choir of "Saved" and the cringe-inducing doo-wop of "Shabop Shalom"), works rather brilliantly. It's definitely a stretching-out record with Devendra bravely exploring more theatrical musical niches that would terrify most artists, and while at moments it can border on cheese, for the most part it's got some of the best songwriting, band performances and production that he's committed to wax (or plastic) so far. Deluxe edition features full color booklet of Devendra's lyrics, drawings and paintings. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Seahorse"
MPEG Stream: "Tonada Yanomaninista"
MPEG Stream: "Carmencita"
MPEG Stream: "The Other Woman"

BANN Antiochia (Grief Foundation) cd ep 8.98
This is the first we've heard from German ambient doomlords Bann, and the first release on the fledgling Grief Foundation label (already a well respected UK metal distro) and we're pretty smitten. This is epic and heavy stuff, with a slightly medieval flair. Three looooooong songs, the first, beginning with what sounds like some creepy Carpenter / Goblin horror movie score, until the drums gradually fade in and we're in Skepticism style doom land, and then finally the guitars kick in and we're in the midst of some seriously crushing medieval doom, a plodding swinging lurching dirge, that quickly segues into an almost Renn Faire sounding bridge, complete with fluttering flutes and sweeping keyboard swells and an awesomely ridiculous spurt of classical strings before resuming its glacial plod. Halfway through the guitars fade out leaving a swirl of whispery synths, delicately plucked acoustic guitars, hushed vocals, strange sound effects, all drifting ominously, before that folky medieval crush crashes back in. Simultaneously lilting and lovely, buzzing and brutal. 
The second track begins with a roaring fire, looped snippets of conversation that become more and more frenzied, grandiose King's court keyboards, finally enveloped by a gorgeous melancholy riff, that trudges along, beneath a sprinkling of pointilist piano, another break partway through reveals rain and thunder, whipping winds and strange reverbed German voices, a creepy cinematic interlude, that quicklygives way to that same loping melancholy dirge, the piano just making  it that much more emotional and dark. Very classic sounding, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, but with a demented medieval twist. 
The final track begins with melancholy folk guitar, warm swells of synthesized strings, soon joined by buzz drenched riffage, slow and droning, the whole track sounding quite a bit like classic Burzum, slowed down, and with weird witchy vocals and an epic Viking-style recurring melody, Gorgeously mournful and completely trance inducing.
Total epic medieval ambient doom!!!
MPEG Stream: "Allerwachen"
MPEG Stream: "Aber Aus Der Asche Wird Ein Schwan Entstehen"

BEN, JORGE Forca Bruta (Dusty Groove) cd 14.98
One of the more understated figures in Tropicalia gets one of his best but equally understated albums reissued. Forca Bruta, from 1970, didn't yield any of the hits he was known for such as "Chove Chuva", "Mas Que Nada" or "Umbabarauma", but it's still one of his best collections of songs. Backed by Trio Mocoto, who accompanied Ben through many of his biggest hits, Forca Bruta is a more mellow groover of samba soul that despite its simpler acoustic arrangements packs a powerful punch with some seriously amazing musicianship. Ben wasn't as radical a political figure as his compatriots Gilberto Gil or Caetano Veloso, but was instrumental in importing West African rhythm influences into his music which was influential in both Veloso's and Gil's musical development. Awesome reissue, highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Oba, La Vem Ela"
MPEG Stream: "Aparece Aparecida"
MPEG Stream: "O Telefone Tocou Novamente"

BISHOP, SIR RICHARD Polytheistic Fragments (Drag City) cd 14.98
Sir Richard Bishop has been on a roll of late, making killer alchemical guitar compositions on a variety of labels such as Locust and Southern's Latitude series. Now perched for awhile on Drag City, Bishop has anointed us with probably his best and most diverse work yet. Featuring 11 concise compositions, Bishop's frame of reference varies wildly from flamenco to the early jazz stylings of Django Reinhardt. Most of the tracks have a much lighter tone compared to his last release "While My Guitar Violently Bleeds". But most notably on Polytheistic Fragments is the inclusion of a couple of amazingly beautiful piano compositions, such as the 8 minute centerpiece "Saraswati" that features languid piano cycles accompanied by droning tamboura that in a perfect world would be the only music we would ever need.
MPEG Stream: "Elysium Number Five"
MPEG Stream: "Cemetary Games"
MPEG Stream: "Saraswati"

BLOODY PANDA Pheromone (Level-Plane) cd 13.98
This panda is bloody, dead, and gone...welcome to the funeral. Bloody Panda's debut full length, Pheremone, is a treat of funerary DOOM to be sure, but we get a lot of super rad doom don't we? It seems like every list there's another sky-melting, sun exploding super heavy band to flood your earholes (thankfully!). Among the heap of doomy metal Bloody Panda certainly stand out. First of all, the most obvious unique quality is the wailing, crooning vocals of front woman Yoshiko Ohara. Her beautifully chromatic singing adds a sort of otherworldly haunted vibe to BP's punishing sound. So weird and sick and ghostly. Also the band is just ruling! The musicianship on this is outrageous. Check out the drumming on the opening "Untitled" track, the pattern at the end (you'll know). That's some bugged out shit right there. There's organ, and guitars and basses tuned to the sublevels of hell, and really interesting rhythmic structures scattered throughout the entire record. There's also a ton of subliminal noise elements beneath much of the music. Basically if you're a fan of less-traditional, fucked up weird ass doom metal, this record is for you. Enough twists and turns to make it stand out among the hordes of heavy. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Coma "
MPEG Stream: "Fever"

CATALYST, THE Marianas Trench (The Perpetual Motion Machine) 12" 7.98
Killer one sided slab of crushing, heavy post hardcore stoner grunge screamo heaviness from these Richmond Virginia noisemakers. Grinding, pummeling, super distorted and angular post punk, but with some serious groove, and vocals that go from howled to screeched to crooned (well almost), killer riffs, filthy and heavy, pounding drums, mathy and chaotic, think Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid, Mudhoney, Halo Of Flies, the Melvins, lots of Amrep, some Sub Pop, and here and there, Nirvana at their noisiest and heaviest. 
Definitely old school, and can't help but remind us of the good old grunge days, but it's hyped up, and filtered through a more modern take on post screamo hardcore, some seriously heavy, hooky ass kicking stuff. 
Limited to 700 copies, these are on clear vinyl with the flipside sporting an awesome tripped out, psychedelic blue ink silkscreen. All housed in an amazing full color sleeve. Way recommended. 

CIRCLE Meronia (Ektro) cd 14.98
Ok, you could be forgiven one of these days for saying, "Hey Aquarius, if you love Circle so much, why don't you marry them?" (We'd consider it, would be get Finnish citizenship?) It's true, we love love love this astonishing prog/space/psych/metal/wtf? band from Finland, and aren't afraid to say it. Our love affair got even more heated if possible these past few weeks when not only did we have a great new album (their collaboration with Sunburned Hand Of The Man) to list last time, and another great new album (Katapult) to list the time before that, but also as you probably know, they were just in town on tour, blowing minds at the Bottom Of The Hill this past week. And we also hosted a Circle in-store performance and helped arrange a secret show for them inside our friend John's bus!! Andee even flew up to Portland to see them (and help drive their van down to SF so they would get here in time for all these events). Totally worth it, they certainly put on a show to see...
They're back in Finland now, but they left us with a whole bunch of copies of this at-long-last reissue of their debut album, originally released on the Bad Vugum label in 1994. It's been out of print for years but now Circle has just regained the rights and put it out again on their own Ektro label. Yay! (FYI, if you already have Meronia, don't worry, there's no extra tracks or anything, the artwork somewhat revised but otherwise no significant changes from the original so you don't have to buy it again.) We probably don't need to say too much about it, basically if you love Circle and never had a chance to get this before, get it now, it's essential. This IS the stuff that made us fans of Circle in the first place.
Actually, we could be all snobby and be like, so, you think you like Circle, eh? ha you haven't even HEARD Circle. But of course we're not like that. However it's true, if you're a Circle fan unfamiliar with Meronia, you're gonna both be instantly satisfied -and- in for a surprise (isn't that always the case with these guys?). Back in '94, they had a rather different lineup to the one that just played here (or on many of their other albums... bassist/bandleader Jussi has been the sole constant in Circle over the years). But their trademark "circular" repetitive pulse was of course fully formed, and some other things haven't changed either (it would seem that their favorite keyboard patch has remained the same for a loooong time, that synth strings sound is just like what they used on the tour that brought them here last week). What is different is the emphasis on angular heavy guitar rock riffs, washes of symphnonic magnificence, and the choral vocals -- which sound like monks chanting! Like Magma, Circle created their own "language" in which to sing, called Meronian. Pretty incredible.
This album links Circle to so such late '80s/early '90s alt-metal influences as Gore and Helmet, even Voivod. Turns out, Circle's metal leanings go way back, though of course this weirdness isn't really metal itself. It's some kind of monk-prog that oddly creates a mood that reminds us a bit of Swedish goth/doom metallers Katatonia, if they were a no wave Magmoid motorik space rock ensemble, perhaps.
Meronia is one of those albums that while we were listening to it, revisiting it while writing the review, ALL other thoughts and worries and everything was washed away. The head starts uncontrollably nodding, feet tapping in time, and ... huh, what, where were we? Yep, hypnotic Circle to the core.
Obviously, recommended. And we're also happy to report that several other long-gone Circle titles are also soon to be reissued by Ektro, including this album's similar but krautrockier successor, and arguably our favorite Circle album ever, Zopalki. So keep it tuned.
MPEG Stream: "Ed-visio"
MPEG Stream: "Dna"
MPEG Stream: "Hypto"

CLIMAX GOLDEN TWINS 5 Cents A Piece (Abduction) lp 21.00
Maybe it's a good thing that the Climax Golden Twins don't put out a lot of records. That way, when one of their damaged recordings of post-everything psychedelia marred with hallucinatory sound collages does come our way, we can savor it all the more. Along comes 5 Cents A Piece, and we couldn't be happier. Yup, this is a fucking great record. Is it their best? Maybe. But it most certainly ranks as one of the musical triumphs of 2007.
In many ways, the Twins have operated on parallel tracks to their geographical / spiritual brothers from the Sun City Girls, with the Twins mining more from the underbelly of Americana than the esoterica of South-East Asian pop. But Messrs Taylor and Millis are not without an appetite for such eccentricities, as Robert Millis continues to be an occasional contributor to the always exceptional Sublime Frequencies series. That said, the Twins are no longer a duo as they had been for so many years; here, on 5 Cents A Piece they've added the talents of percussionist Dave Abramson to their lineup. His quick turns from cosmo-rock hammerfist to free-jazz tumble down the stairs to plinkering vaudevillian backbeats make for the perfect foil to the twin guitar splatter of Taylor and Millis. As much as Abramson's presence is noticed on 5 Cents A Piece, the auditory dementia of Taylor and Millis steers the album (if it can be called 'steering,' that is). At times, they throw themselves into cacophonic skronk in a battle between finger tendon and guitar string as to which will snap first; then, they will slide easily into the ghostly folk melodies that paralleled their Highly Bred and Sweetly Tempered album from 2004. Elsewhere, a blast of West Coast hesher rock erupts amidst a headspinning, subterranean echo, with the Twins giving Comets on Fire a run for their money.
Limited to 500 copies and bound to be out of print in a matter of minutes, what more do you want to know? You need this!

CLOCKCLEANER Babylon Rules (Load) cd 13.98
Maybe the most aptly named band ever? Weird that when we first stumbled on Clockcleaner, it was in our search for more music from damaged drug addled caveman noisemakers the Violent Students, but it seems Clockcleaner is now the more viable band, with the VS sort of fading away, with only one proper record we know of. And where the sound of the Violent Students was more of a massive frontal lobe melting cacophony, Clockcleaner seemed to take that same aesthetic, and apply it to actual songs, the poppier Dr. Jeckyl to the Violent Students' Mr. Hyde...
And right off the bat, Clockcleaner up the ante with maybe their best song ever. A dense propulsive, grungy, filthy, swampy stomp, a malevolent, lascivious and lurching Swans slither, an ominous stumble and plod over Morricone Western twang, reverbed surf guitar, growled baritone vocals, sounding straight out of late eighties NY noise underground Copshootcop, the Swans, everything bathed in reverb, and swirling alien FX, bizarre little bits of melody... And the record sort of goes from there, adding damaged Jerry Lee Lewis piano pound, crumbling chest rattling bass, slippery drunken slide guitar, more super dramatic crooned vocals, still more reverb and effects, the whole thing a sort of hellish end of the world swing, plenty of groove, but gnarled and convoluted, dangerous and drunken, reminding us quite a bit of Lubricated Goat, King Snake Roost even Nick Cave, a blackened noise flecked confusional cabaret. Awesome.
Killer tape-faced cover art too...
MPEG Stream: "New In Town"
MPEG Stream: "Vomiting Mirrors"

CLUSTER Zuckerzeit (Revisited / Brain) cd 17.98
Finally! We can't even begin to tell you how long we have been waiting to list this. Forever going in and out of print and when available it was always super expensive, Cluster's 1974 album Zuckerzeit has finally been given the proper and readily available reissue (Thanks Revisited!) it absolutely deserves. Probably our favorite Cluster album, it is most notably famous for helming their transition from concrete synth dronescapers to their more well known persona as crafters of pastorally cosmic electronica. Adding crisp and propulsive drum programming to their haunting synth melodies, Moebius and Roedelius split the composing duties with Moebius leaning to the more experimental while Roedelius provides the melodic sheen. Zuckerzeit hailed a new direction and focus in German music of the early seventies, with groups like Kraftwerk, and Neu moving through similar reshapes in sound. Obviously, Boards of Canada and Aphex Twin have spent some time absorbing this album. Timeless and classic, we cannot recommend this album enough!
MPEG Stream: "Hollywood"
MPEG Stream: "Caramel"
MPEG Stream: "Heibe Lippen"

DESTRUCTO SWARMBOTS Clear Light (Public Guilt) cd 10.98
The return of the Destructo Swarmbots, who from the name, one can only assume is in fact a species of alien android, who appear in clouds of millions and millions of microscopic musical machines, that swarm into your ears and work their micromusicalmagic on your inner ear, and we love it. The last ep from these things (actually, this guy, named Mike) was a huge AQ favorite, a gorgeous soundscape of whirring droning ambience, and it wasn't difficult to imagine it could have been the work of millions of tiny sentient machines. 
This new one is a lot more organic, and more musical, conjuring up spaced out seventies krautrock as much as ambient experimental drone music. Trolling similar dark musical paths as Expo 70 or Horseflesh, to name a few recent AQ list luminaries, and thus the curtain is pulled back revealing the heart beating softly within each and every one of these Swarmbots. 
The opener is a nearly 40 minute ambient space jam, some musical outer space exploration, ribbons of buzzing guitar, and swirls of shimmery synth unfurl in huge weightless loops, drifting amidst glimmering stars and clouds of sonic space dust, rumbling and reverberating as the hull of the mother ship passes overhead. Eventually a keening wash of resonating high end builds into a swirling ocean of sound, melodies breaking apart and joining together again in different formations, almost like some primordial musical DNA, the guitar continuing to resurface like some massive black SUNNO))).
The three shorter tracks are like satellites orbiting the first: brief cinematic snippets of sound, strange ambience, mysterious murk, the warm warble of what sounds like horns, the groan and drone of low end tones, fluttering flickers of feedback, buzzing space synth psychedelic freakouts, cavernous low end loops, whirring minimal softdoom, haunting reverbed guitar muted and sent spinning into the ether, foghorn like swells, dreamy bleary eyed melancholy drifts, each track a strange little musical microcosm.
MPEG Stream: "Fireberry"
MPEG Stream: "Sipping On The Fog"

DYSRHYTHMIA / ROTHKO Fractures (Acerbic Noise Development) cd 9.98
Here's a split release we couldn't have anticipated, but certainly are enjoying: a pairing of NY math-metallers Dysrhythmia and sleepy British soundscapers Rothko (longtime faves of ours). Really it's not so strange, both bands are instrumental and fall into the "post rock" category thereby. Quite a contrast though, how they go about things. On Dysrhythmia's half, they offer up "Earthquake", a quarter-hour EPIC of soft-loud dynamic math rock, that percolates through wound-up metallic frenzies and moody stretches of heavy-duty ambience both. Pretty amazing. Imagine a mix of Isis and Crom-tech, or Don Cab playing Mogwai. Then Rothko lets you catch your breath and relax with their two rather more ambient-sounding tracks, adding much more low-end hum and drone to the proceedings... beautiful stuff. An unexpected split this, but satisfying start to finish, showcasing both the technical and the textural (Dysrhythmia more the former, Rothko very much the latter). FYI, Dysrhythmia's song is a reworking of one from an early, self-released album of theirs (before they signed to Relapse).
MPEG Stream: DYSRHYTHMIA "Earthquake"
MPEG Stream: ROTHKO "Torch"

DZJENGHIS KHAN s/t (Leaf Hound / Motorwolf) cd 15.98
This San Fran retro-rockin' power trio, a deliberate throwback to the proto-metal stylings of the Frisco ballroom daze's bad boys Blue Cheer, at last presents their debut album, a split release from Japanese label Leaf Hound and Dutch label Motorwolf, (both) home to likeminded heavies Orange Sunshine. We've been waiting for an album from this band for a while, having gone to see 'em play every chance we got, going on a few years now. We forget how we first discovered 'em, they were opening for somebody else at a sparsely attended show at the Hemlock, and we were like, Pentagram T-shirt, shaggy hair, vintage gear? Hmm, wonder if these guys will be good... oh yeah!
What other current SF band sounds so Blue Cheer? That'd be Parchman Farm... whose bass player extraordinaire, "Binksebus Eruptum", happens to hold down (and shimmy 'round and 'round) the bottom end in this band too. Live, his showmanship is part of the attraction, but the band's true charisma belongs to singing drummer Tommy Tomson, whose aw shucks, "God Damn", stoner authenticity talks the talk and walks the walk. Just like the rest of the band, who very definitely look the part. None of these kids were probably even born in 1971, but they sure seem like that's when they come from. It's not just Blue Cheer that inspires 'em, they're fully versed in vintage vinyl proto-metal from Highway Robbery to Road, Juan De La Cruz to Toad. Putting all that love of early '70s hard psych into this album, they've come up with a worthy ten tracks of fuzzed-out, blooze-based, badass guitar/bass/drums swagger, with raspy whisky vox, simple bashing beats, wah wah guitar rippage, and bellbottomed bass lines. It's a fairly raw recording, giving it a bit of a punk feel, reflective of their youthful energy and enthusiasm, not unlike seeing 'em live. The rather lo-fi, garagey production also makes it sound extra olden and all, as does the folky acoustic coda "Sister Dorien". Sure, you're not gonna feel like nobody's ever made this sort of music before, in fact the opposite is quite the point, but if you like proto-metal like we (and they) do, you gotta appreciate the purity of this band's approach, their knowing naivety. It's not just pot, these stoners are totally high on the Speed, the Glue, -and- the Shinki! Right on we say.
By the way, they wuz formerly known as Genghis Khan, the "Dzj" now tacked on at the beginning presumably both to try to differentiate 'em from what's probably about 10,000 other bands also named after the Mongol warlord, and also to reflect the lineup changes that have occurred since their inception (the drummer being the sole surviving member from the first time we ever saw 'em, which is fine 'cause he was clearly the star, though their original guitarist was responsible for writing some cool riffs it must be said).
MPEG Stream: "No Time For Love"
MPEG Stream: "Against The Wall"

END s/t (Black Hate) lp 14.98
Finally available on vinyl, this classic slab of grim droning buzz from mysterious Greek black metal horde End. Limited to 500 copies, we could a handful, but they won't last long...
These Greek guys just aren't happy about being a part of the human race. The grim, blasting, uber-distorto black metal musick they make is evidence of that, without one even needing to read the lyrics to such songs as "Pitiless Paranormal Reek" and "Humanitarianism". Pure nihilistic poetry. And even if you, like us, like being human, we all sometimes feel a little bit of what these guys feel, right? Anyway, we're happy they feel the way they do if only 'cause of the amazing and beautifully depressive music that they make as a result. If you like the droning distortion of folks like Burzum, Weakling, and Eikenskaden you'll definitely want to experience End for sure. But, their metal has moments of quiet, too, with good use of synth and acoustic guitar and even what must be field recordings or at least pseudo field recordings (from the forest, of the sky?). RecommENDed!!
MPEG Stream: "Pitiless Paranormal Reek"
MPEG Stream: "Nails And Forests"

FIVE ELEMENTS MUSIC VarunaGhat (Mystery Sea) cd-r 17.98
Yet another installment in the Mystery Sea label's ongoing series of "night-ocean drones", and none maybe more appropriate then this disc from Russian drone outfit Five Elements Music. Based on the Vedic concept of five elements air, fire, water earth and of course ether. Yup. However, here we're mostly concerned with water, as it seems that most, if not all the sounds on VarunaGhat are sourced from recordings of water.
It's hard to tell at first, as the sounds is just a whispered glimmer, a shimmering high end glint way off in the distance, hovering like fireflies over a vast expanse of hushed ambience, long drawn out barely audible tones, ultra minimal but quite lovely. Eventually, the tones grow louder and more pronounced, melodies surface, and the sound of water solidifies, and suddenly the drones are drifting along side a burbling stream, or the lapping of water on the shore of a lake, slightly percussive, hissing and gently frothing, adding a whole other layer of sound to the already carefully arranged soundscape. Each track here follows a similar pattern, from barely there, to a tangible exploration of some water based soundworld. The second track begins with a microscopic rumble, but soon, we're wandering through a rain forest, the sound of rustling branches, rain on leaves, streams and gently running water, all suspended in a strange glacial swirl of near static shimmer and soft blurred drones.
The final track is much more active, much more percussive, with the sounds processed into almost rhythms, dark and ominous, eventually building to what sounds like it could be the sound from some movie, leaves crunching underfoot, rain falling, foot steps, leaves and branches in the wind, all manner of water, splashing and dripping, again, all wrapped within a haunting smear of muted harmonics and deep rumbling whirs...
Definitely one of the nicest in the series, and certainly the most evocative, perfect late night drifting off music, the sound of rain combined with deep dark shimmering drones, pretty impossible to resist.
Like all Mystery Sea releases, strictly LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, each disc numbered on the tray card, and gorgeously packaged with striking full color artwork.
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 2"

FORTID Voluspa Part II: The Arrival Of Fenris (No Colours) cd 15.98
We somehow managed to miss out on Voluspa Part I, but fear not, you can join right in for part two, you haven't missed too much, and if you did it's easy enough to get caught up. 
Fortid are from Iceland and offer up a dense, and epic sprawling prog black metal. With some Viking overtones, and lots of gorgeous ambience mixed in. There's plenty of buzzing guitar and harsh hellish howls for the truly black hearted, but these bursts of blackness are often accompanied by long drawn out piano flecked intros, or loping melancholy midtempo bridges, and more often than not super dramatic, near operatic crooning. 
Opening with a drawn out tranquil soundscape, all glistening synths and warm washes of ambience, the band soon lurch into action, the guitars a fierce buzz, the vocals warm and almost chant like, the drums a blasting chaotic freakout, definitely programmed, but they sound real, sort of distorted, until they stumble through some inhuman fill, which they do a lot, and piano everywhere, even during the heaviest blasting buzz bits, the piano is there, offering up some haunting minor key melodic counterpoint.
The sound is definitely Viking, with plenty of moody melancholy Katatonia sort of musical drama, sweeping and epic and sorrowful, but don't get the wrong idea, sure a lot of this is moody and gloomy and dramatic, but there are also stretches of furious black blasting, old school grim buzz, it's just that those moments are often butted up against something much more melodic or progressive. It makes for a pretty great mix, a very dynamic blackened musical journey for sure. 
Recommended for all fans of progressive and avant black buzz, and this will probably hit the spot for anyone who typically digs stuff on No Colours...
MPEG Stream: "Odin's Sacrifice"
MPEG Stream: "Baldur's Murder"

GENESIS s/t (Guerssen) cd 23.00
No, not that Genesis. In fact several bands around the world in the '70s were named Genesis. This is the Colombian group who may just be running away with the title of Our Favorite Genesis! Founded by Humberto Monroy who was in another AQ favorite South American psych outfit, The Speakers, this is some breezy and beautiful psych-folk-rock with tasteful use of flutes, acoustic, electric and 12-string guitar and warm melt-in-your-ears vocals. With a pep and playfulness that hints at Tropicalia but with a much more laid back and sensual disposition, falling somewhere between the colorful psych-pop of Madrid's Agamenon and the dreamy acid-folk of Chile's Congregacion. For those that speak Spanish, the lyrics are very smart and impassioned, praising the farmers, the environment, natives and the lower classes. This was their 2nd album, originally released in 1974 and so very well standing the test of time. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Suenas, Quieres, Dices"
MPEG Stream: "Reconfortame"
MPEG Stream: "Manos De Hombre"

GENTLEMANS PISTOLS s/t (Candlelight) cd 14.98
Blimey, this is our favorite pure heavy rock n' roll album in a month of Sundays, pretty much, well since the Birds Of Avalon debut a few lists back anyway. '70s stylings to the max, fully indebted to the likes of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and the MC5. And paying those debts with freshly minted $100 bills. (If only, in a perfect world these guys would be raking it in like Wolfmother.) Signed to the Rise Above label over in England, home to Electric Wizard and Witchcraft and sundry other sterling stoner/doom outfits, this British band is indeed kinda Witchcrafty, if Witchcraft were more single-mindedly concerned about kicking out the jams... like a more cock-rock Witchcraft perhaps. Certainly Gentlemans Pistols are as much convincingly "out of time" as those Swedes, a bellbottomed retro-rockin' good time that ought to get your head to banging with such should-be car stereo staples as "Just A Fraction", "Widow Maker", and the MC5-ish high energy "Out Of The Eye" amongst the ten equally rad tracks on offer here. Gentlemans Pistols win us over with confident melodic vox, an abundance of catchy riffs, and a bit of clever... what's up with the song title "Parking Banshee"? They're sly ones, these guys, even when displaying some slightly cheesy, lemon-squeezin' rawk and roll lyrics that we suspect are halfway tongue in cheek, on the track "Heavy Pettin'" in particular, which is a slower, bluesy number a la Zep's "Dazed And Confused"... Definitely an album for Pentagram and Leaf Hound and even Raging Slab fans... Recommended, rockers!!
MPEG Stream: "Just A Fraction"
MPEG Stream: "Out Of The Eye"
MPEG Stream: "Widow Maker"

GREY DATURAS / MONARCH Dawn Of The Catalyst (20 Buck Spin) cd 13.98
A while ago we were informed that French ultradoom combo Monarch had called it a day. We were crushed. One of our favorite purveyors of filthy slow motion doooooooooom, fronted by a woman, a rarity in doom for sure, and with a penchant for smiley skulls and Hello Kitty. A band that seemed tailor made for the very bizarre tastes of the AQ faithful, seemed to be no more. 
But before we could begin our campaign of mourning, black clothes spray painted with cute skulls, black Hello Kitty armbands, we discovered that in fact we were misinformed, or maybe the band had taken a break, or something, but we cared not, for whatever reason, Monarch was still alive, and would live to doom another day. And doom they did. Gracing us with more and more glorious downtuned heaviness, including their bad ass cover of Turbonegro's "I Got Erection"!
So now that we're pretty comfortable with the continued existence of our favorite cute doomsters, we can wait patiently for each new, massive slab of harsh slow motion glacial dooooooooooooooooooooom. And for folks new to Monarch, don't go expecting this to actually -sound- cute. They may be fronted by an adorable French girl, who spins playfully on the beach in their videos, but when she opens her mouth to sing, it's the sound of blackness and misery, a demonic caterwaul, unrivaled by most male metal vocalists. And sure the art on their records may be cute cartoon burning churches and big eyed ghosts, but the sounds inside are slow and black as tar, guitars tuned so low they rumble instead of roar, drum beats so far apart, the drummer can probably smoke a cigarette between beats. And we're happy to report that this 16+ minute chunk of doom is all that and more. The more being the haunting ethereal female vocals partway through... Crushingly heavy, weirdly beautiful. A plodding symphony in slow motion. Essential Monarch beautiful brutality.
The surprise here is the Grey Daturas track, also a 16 minute epic, that on first listen sounds surprisingly doomy, and a lot like the Monarch track. The Daturas are often heavy, but rarely doomy like this, but it suits them. And they pepper their doom with all sorts of sonic weirdness, bits of electronic fuckery, strange modulated feedback, subtle FX, until about 13 minutes in, when the song suddenly morphs into a muted wall of smeared and crumbling white noise, a blast of blurred sound that eventually fades into nothingness. 
Pretty amazing stuff, from both bands. Doom hounds will be well pleased. Super fancy gold inked black cardstock gatefold sleeve too...
MPEG Stream: MONARCH "Rapture"
MPEG Stream: THE GREY DATURAS "Golden Tusk The Endearing"

HEALTH s/t (Lovepump United) cd 12.98
We all got a little taste of the damaged schizoid brilliance of the band Health, on their recently reviewed split with Crystal Castles. For those of you who missed out on that review, Health were a lucky discovery on a recent record shopping trip when we were in New York, bought on a whim, cuz the cover looked cool and the description sounded promising, this disc rapidly became one of our new favorites and most played, but when we actually sat down to describe why, we were sort of at a loss for words. 
Health definitely have a distinct sound, it's just that they're able to twist it into so many different shapes, some aggressive and angular, some heavy and harsh, some dreamy and drifty, some electronicky and new wave-y, but all of them fucking awesome, and always retaining some specifically Health-y sound. 
The track that sealed the deal for us was "Perfect Skin", a gorgeous heavy slowcore jam, super dynamic, awash in tons of reverb and distortion, with a hook to die for, just listen to the sound sample, it kind of sounds like a heavy metal Low with a glimmering Galaxie 500 production or a blissed out shoegaze-y Torche or even a way poppier Swans, or like all of those, but none of those. It's just so good, heavy, weird poppy... Which pretty much describes the whole record, no matter how Health have managed to twist their sound. 
The opener is all tribal drums, glistening new wave guitars, spidery melodies, and super distorted bass rumble, while the track right after is a 30 second blast of chaotic Locust-y hardcore, super convoluted and mathy, but which quickly gives way to an almost funky new wave-y Liars-ish guitar/drum jam, sort of spazzy, but with some seriously This Heat moments, filtered through some cracked dancefloor sensibility. The record goes on like that, and sort of veers back and forth between new wave-y tribalism, thick with buzzing synths and dense drumming, and super chaotic spazz rock, furious bursts of synth flecked grind. At some points, Health remind us of a spazzier, New York DIY version of Icicle Works, which is most definitely a good thing. Impossible now to not imagine them whipping out a bad ass grinding blissed out version of "Whisper To A Scream" or "Cauldron Of Love".
Health are at their best we think, drifting along lazily, wrapped in washed out synths, and draped over subtly funky rhythms, reverbed and blissed out, peppered with crunchy guitars and those dreamy vocals, but the bursts of manic energy definitely add a whole other dimension, and after a few listens it's hard to imagine the record any other way. 
So recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Perfect Skin"
MPEG Stream: "Glitter Pills"
MPEG Stream: "Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Triceratops"

HENGST, CLIFF AND SCOTT HEWICKER Good Times: Bad Trips (Gallery 16 Editions) book 25.00
Ever had a bad trip? And no, not just an "oh I'm freaking out man" sort of trip, we're talking the sort of trip that sticks with you forever. The first time, the worst time, the best worst time, sex, death, injury, mayhem and misery, well our very own Scott Hewicker and his partner Cliff Hengst have been collecting tales of these bad trips from a who's who of artists and musicians, friends and family, even AQ employees and have finally compiled them all into one volume, this here gorgeous hardcover book entitled Good Times: Bad Trips, and not only packed with stories, but with all sorts of original and found artwork to accompany these far our freaked out tales of drugs and debauchery. 
The contributors include Devendra Banhart, local luminary John Dwyer, our very own Irwin Swirnoff and our very own Lauren Robertson, Martin Schmidt and Drew Daniel from Matmos, John Koch from Troll, Ezra Feinberg from Citay, Alexis Georgopoulos from Arp, Wayne Smith from Aero-Mic'd, Nathan Burazer from Tussle, Jack Hanley (of Jack Hanley Galleries) as well as loads of artists and writers like Chris Johanson, Shaun O'Dell, Keegan McHargue, Leslie Shows, Kevin Killian, Dodie Bellamy... the list goes on and on and on. 
The thing is, it almost doesn't matter who wrote which story, so much so that the credits are tucked away, way in the back of the book, so the stories are just that, stories, removed from their authors, not overly writerly, instead conversational, like hanging out drinking and telling tales, where most bad trip stories actually get told. And these are some seriously demented stories. Some are super funny, some are really intense and brutal, some are so ridiculous they sound made up, others are more mundane, but resonate as experiences most of us have shared. It's an amazing read. A killer collection of short stories, all of them fascinating, tales of stolen jet skis, yellow food banquets, secret upper crust sex societies, deflowered virgins, brain loops, dead body mannequins, emergency room freakouts, smoking out with Lee Scratch Perry, football player rapists, midnight calls to Mom, industrial strength lasers, heart murmurs, talking crows, living nude books, grey music, naked hippies, sex with surrealists, skin rashes, mouths full of dough, Cher costumes, stolen Harry Potters, boom box kicking, fake pistols, guitar masturbating, mother meltdowns, Tesla coils and so so so much more. 
Gorgeously designed and laid out, plus the book is jam packed with eye popping art, paintings, drawings, collages, photographs and ephemera, all suitably warped and trippy, beautiful and bizarre, collected, found or created by Hewicker and Hengst. And all housed in a super swank, full color 136 page hard cover book. Each one signed by the artists!! Absolutely recommended. And a limited run of only 1000 copies, so buy now or be prepared to sell a kidney or take out a second mortgage on your house to pick one up on eBay later...

IRON AND WINE The Shepherd's Dog (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
Ahhhh. Finally. A new Iron And Wine. Another delicate intimate breathy song cycle from Mr. Sam Beam. Every record is an absolute gem, and this one is no different. But wait, this one is actually quite different... Still a gem, but a whole new sonic world, much more varied and lush, expansive and haunting, with what sounds like a serious backup band, other voices, strings and percussion, it would be enough to get our heads spinning if the songs weren't so goddamn perfect. 
In the past, on other Iron And Wine records, you know those slow motion shots of fields and plains, the horizon going on forever in every direction, the sun making rainbow flares, and little bits of dust and pollen drifting in the hot afternoon sun, billowy white clouds drifting in a deep blue sky... that's what those records sounded like. Exactly. Slow and lazy and languorous, soft focus, hushed an intimate. Eyes closed, you were immediately transported to some lost field filled with flowers, laying in the breeze, staring at the sky, the blades of grass tickling your skin... But with each successive record, the sound of I+W got a little bit darker, a little bit less fluttery and folky, more rocking, but never veering too far from that immediately recognizable safe and warm sound... until now. 
This is a dark record, especially for Iron And Wine, minor key, intense, propulsive, with a strange steely edge, a little ominous, and yeah, just a little bit dark. Not all the way through, glimmers and hints here and there. But on some songs, like "White Tooth Man", the sound is definitely edgy and slightly sinister, electric slide guitar offering up menacing little filigree, the strumming more insistent than usual, even the vocals are frenzied, slipping into a gorgeous falsetto. All very tense. The rest of the record is more classic I+W sounding, that mysterious dark edge, more a shadow in the background, but the sound is like a whole 'nother band, lots of percussion, drumming, warm organ, harmonica, electric guitar, it almost pushes the sound into Eagles / America territory, bands Iron And Wine definitely had some affinity with in the past, but now made more solid, sonically. It's definitely a nice change, and lets the songs spread their wings. And while these changes were hinted at on the Woman King ep, Beam and Co. have definitely made those changes more sweeping, creating a whole new Iron And Wine sound in the process. And those aren't the only changes, check out "Boy With A Coin", with its strange almost electronic rhythms, weeping slide guitars and stuttery handclap backdrop, strange and alien sounding but really really cool.  
Maybe this new sound is not quite as intimate, it no longer sounds like Beam is sitting at the foot of your bed, singing for you, whispering in your ear, every song a special personal lullaby, but these new songs have other riches to offer, layers of sound to unwrap, melodies to unfurl, now it's more like sitting in some strange clearing, late at night, around a fire, all the players cloaked in shadow, the branches casting strange black shapes on the ground, the songs coming to life and filling the night air with music both lovely and haunting, mysterious and familiar...
MPEG Stream: "Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car"
MPEG Stream: "White Tooth Man"
MPEG Stream: "Love Song Of The Buzzard"

IRON AND WINE The Shepherd's Dog (Sub Pop) lp 14.98
Ahhhh. Finally. A new Iron And Wine. Another delicate intimate breathy song cycle from Mr. Sam Beam. Every record is an absolute gem, and this one is no different. But wait, this one is actually quite different... Still a gem, but a whole new sonic world, much more varied and lush, expansive and haunting, with what sounds like a serious backup band, other voices, strings and percussion, it would be enough to get our heads spinning if the songs weren't so goddamn perfect. 
In the past, on other Iron And Wine records, you know those slow motion shots of fields and plains, the horizon going on forever in every direction, the sun making rainbow flares, and little bits of dust and pollen drifting in the hot afternoon sun, billowy white clouds drifting in a deep blue sky... that's what those records sounded like. Exactly. Slow and lazy and languorous, soft focus, hushed an intimate. Eyes closed, you were immediately transported to some lost field filled with flowers, laying in the breeze, staring at the sky, the blades of grass tickling your skin... But with each successive record, the sound of I+W got a little bit darker, a little bit less fluttery and folky, more rocking, but never veering too far from that immediately recognizable safe and warm sound... until now. 
This is a dark record, especially for Iron And Wine, minor key, intense, propulsive, with a strange steely edge, a little ominous, and yeah, just a little bit dark. Not all the way through, glimmers and hints here and there. But on some songs, like "White Tooth Man", the sound is definitely edgy and slightly sinister, electric slide guitar offering up menacing little filigree, the strumming more insistent than usual, even the vocals are frenzied, slipping into a gorgeous falsetto. All very tense. The rest of the record is more classic I+W sounding, that mysterious dark edge, more a shadow in the background, but the sound is like a whole 'nother band, lots of percussion, drumming, warm organ, harmonica, electric guitar, it almost pushes the sound into Eagles / America territory, bands Iron And Wine definitely had some affinity with in the past, but now made more solid, sonically. It's definitely a nice change, and lets the songs spread their wings. And while these changes were hinted at on the Woman King ep, Beam and Co. have definitely made those changes more sweeping, creating a whole new Iron And Wine sound in the process. And those aren't the only changes, check out "Boy With A Coin", with its strange almost electronic rhythms, weeping slide guitars and stuttery handclap backdrop, strange and alien sounding but really really cool.  
Maybe this new sound is not quite as intimate, it no longer sounds like Beam is sitting at the foot of your bed, singing for you, whispering in your ear, every song a special personal lullaby, but these new songs have other riches to offer, layers of sound to unwrap, melodies to unfurl, now it's more like sitting in some strange clearing, late at night, around a fire, all the players cloaked in shadow, the branches casting strange black shapes on the ground, the songs coming to life and filling the night air with music both lovely and haunting, mysterious and familiar...
MPEG Stream: "Pagan Angel And A Borrowed Car"
MPEG Stream: "White Tooth Man"
MPEG Stream: "Love Song Of The Buzzard"

JABLADAV Dead As Duck (self-released) lp 15.98
This AQ fave awesome slab of Black Flagged grim and tangled black metal Weakling worship gets the super deluxe vinyl treatment. Gorgeous full color sleeves, thick black sleeves for the lp, both numbered and signed in metallic silver ink. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!!
For a band that didn't exist for very long, only had one record and who have been broken up for years now, SF's mighty Weakling still cast a pretty long shadow. We still sell Dead As Dreams like crazy, more and more people are professing their undying love for Weakling's black grandeur every day, and band after band, some more subtly than others are displaying in their music, some serious Weakling worship. Wolves In The Throne Room are a recent example, they obviously expanded on the sound but there are moments where WITTR are a dead ringer for Weakling. Then there is Jabladav, who almost come off as a sort of Weakling homage, what with the very Dead As Dreams-ish title, the album artwork, and of course Weakling topping the thanks list, which also includes Burzum, Darkthrone, Black Flag, Ildjarn and Wolves In The Throne Room. But Jabladav, seem to approach metal from a distinctly non-metal background. It's subtle, but noticeable. Black Flag in the thanks list should give you some indication. Not that this isn't black and buzzy, heavy and thrashing and brutal, it is, one man, just guitar bass, mellotron and drums, but there is a distinctly post rock, punk rock vibe that permeates much of Dead As Duck. Take out some of the thick swaths of dramatic keyboards and insane bursts of double kick drumming, and sometimes you're left with some very Greg Ginn-ish angular metallic post punk. But when all is said and done, Jabladav whip up some serious black skree, with buzzy crunchy guitars dominating the mix, some murky drumming, bits of bass here and there, a little keyboards, mostly instrumental, but when there are vocals, they are a haunting croon, much like the madman in Urfaust. There are even some dreamy folky interludes. Fucking awesome stuff for sure. We've been playing this like mad since we got it. So if you dig any of the aforementioned bands (we might even include in the list Earl Shilton, Carcass, even the Champs maybe) you'll definitely love this!
And again, LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, each sleeve hand numbered and signed, these will be gone in no time...
MPEG Stream: "Dead As Duck"
MPEG Stream: "Waiting For A Winter's Decention"
MPEG Stream: "Zarqawi Mortus"

JONES, SHARON & THE DAP-KINGS 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone Records) cd 14.98
Amy Winehouse might have used the Dapkings as her band to gain all sorts of fame and fortune earlier this year but make no mistake, it's Sharon Jones who is still the queen of modern day soul! 100 Days, 100 Nights is her third album and it's three for three now, as it's just as solid, stunning and soulful as her previous outings. In fact this could be her best yet and that's saying a whole lot since her other two albums are big time favorites around these parts.
Her voice is as strong and sexy as ever and the songwriting remains utterly top notch. Jones has this ability to transport us back in time to the late '60s when soul records sounded so warm, raw and punchy. It's incredible how her sound stands up when compared to the all-time great soul singers. Just put this on after some Candi Staton, Aretha Franklin, or Betty Lavette and it will be oh so obvious, that Jones will absolutely be remembered as another all time queen of soul!
MPEG Stream: "Nobody's Baby"
MPEG Stream: "When The Other Foot Drops, Uncle"
MPEG Stream: "Something's Changed"

KTL 3 (OR) lp 27.00
Hot on the heels of KTL number two, comes, you guessed it, number three, this one however is a brief two tracks, carved into a gorgeous one sided lp, with the other side featuring a super striking etching than none other than Savage Pencil. 
Like 2, 3 also features music the duo of Stephen O'Malley (SUNNO))), Khanate, etc.) and Peter Rehberg (Pita) composed and recorded for the theatre piece Kindertotenlieder by Gisele Vienne and Dennis Cooper, which goes a long way to explaining why, 3, even more than 2 maybe, sounds so dramatic and even cinematic at moments. 
The first of the two tracks here is quite brief, an introduction almost, effects and glitched electronics swirl over a deep black whorl of muted guitar buzz and warm organ whir, a pulsing, vibrating, shimmering backdrop that hovers and flutters beneath streaks of electronics and smeared feedback, and groaning industrial creaks and grinds. 
The second track is the main attraction here, and takes up most of the side, based around an incredibly intense super low speaker rattling rumble, a sort of blurred and abstract low rider bass, almost more felt than heard, that throbs and sets bones rattling in your skin, a bottomless black morass, a sonic tar pit which all manner of strange and subtle sounds seem to be struggling against, desperately trying to keep from being sucked under. Scrabbling, atonal Derek Bailey like guitar scratch and scrape, haunting plink plonk melodies, tiny high end trills, sparkling slivers of feedback, subtle electronic shadings, all drifting on that ominous and constantly shifting extreme low end black sonic sea. A truly haunting, gorgeous chunk of deep deep deep black ambience...
Packaged in ultra thick jackets, the vinyl housed in a black printed inner sleeve, sealed with a sticker. 

LIARS s/t (Mute) cd 14.98
Every new Liars album brings with it some fretful hesitation as to what direction they'll venture into next. Not afraid of alienating their fan base in favor of exploring some obsessive but ultimately impenetrable concept, Liars have a love 'em or hate 'em relationship with most folks. After the atmospheric and rhythm-heavy Drums Not Dead, Liars bring the guitar riff back into full focus, and deliver for the first time in a while a relatively straight ahead rock record, but not in a way they've done before. There's no underlying concept to negotiate and the song structures are concise and compact. Yet they're still pushing these self-imposed limitations into kaleidoscopic realms that are sort of dubby, proggy, damaged and yet melodic. Lurching from furious and dissonant assaults into charged and sublime pop hooks. It's quite possibly their best record yet.
MPEG Stream: "Plaster Casts of Everything"
MPEG Stream: "Sailing To Byzantium"

M.I.A. Kala (Interscope) cd 11.98
Holy shit this record is amazing!!! What a charged and dynamic follow up to one of the hottest debuts of the decade. It doesn't surprise us though, as we knew from the first time we heard M.I.A. that she had some special power inside of her. She is that rare world voice in music that we desperately need so much right now. It's incredible how she crosses lines and borders like very few other artists seem able to.
Kala is one of the few records that we sell to every kind of person and taste. Metalheads, indie rockers, pop kids, dance-heads, hip-hop aficionados, experimental music lovers.... they're all going crazy for the new M.I.A. and for great reason. It's one of the most kick ass, colorful and fully realized albums to come out in a long time.
She was denied entry to the States repeated times when making this record, so her initial plans to record the record with Timbaland were thrown out the window. But this countries' insane border policies ended up being a blessing in disguise, as it forced M.I.A. to look elsewhere for producers, so she traveled throughout Africa and India where she did lots of raw field recordings which all come to life in such exciting ways on Kala. In fact Kala is kind of like what we imagine might happen if Konono No.1 were transported to Bollywood. While we've recently been swept up by the mystical power and strength of some fierce women of the past like Selda and Betty Davis, we can't think of anyone in the modern day who better conjures up that kind of unique energy and spirit than M.I.A.
This is a record meant to be blasted LOUD. So next time you have folks over, no matter what sort of music they dig, don't worry it won't be awkward just throw on M.I.A. and every single one of them will dig it like crazy. Guaranteed.
Without a doubt a contender for record of the year!
MPEG Stream: "Bird Flu"
MPEG Stream: "World Town"
MPEG Stream: "Paper Planes"

MACHINEFABRIEK Koploop (self released) 3" cd-r 8.98
Another brief but fantastic little self released 3" cd-r from the ever prolific Machinefabriek, aka Rutger Zuydervelt. We won't go into too much detail, as  obviously fans already know they need this, and folks new to the gorgeous soft sounds of Machinefabriek could do worse than starting with this relatively cheap introduction. And as always, this is super limited, we only got a handful, and that might be all we can get. 
Once again utilizing a strange arsenal of sound making devices: memo recorders, mixing deck, effects pedals, guitar, banjo, organ, laptop as well as violin and cello (provided by guest musicians), Zuydervelt weaves a breathtaking world of tranquil ambience, all summery shimmer, warm summery warble, soft languorous drones that flow and pulse like the tides. Near the end it opens up and becomes some impossibly expansive soundworld, almost choral sounding, like some homespun piece by Arvo Part, the strings emerging near the end to flutter and flit, like butterflies after a rain storm. So lovely. 
Packaged in a mini 3" sleeve, strikingly designed, also includes an URL where you can download an alternate version of Koploop...
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE, THEE Themes For Proxima (Foreshadow) cd 8.98
Newest release from these mysterious Italian black metallers, who recently have evolved into a more sort of avant industrial experimental outfit, albeit with black tendencies. Much in the way Ulver transformed from grim buzz to moody cinematic ambience, Thee Maldoror Kollective have almost entirely shed their black metal skin, revealing a strange metallic skeleton and a circulatory system of buzz and glitch, beats and samples. 
Only the most adventurous black metallers will dare tread here, four tracks from the soundtrack to a Spanish movie called Proxima, sounding a bit like Skinny Puppy crossed with Muslimgauze, crunchy grinding beats, glitched out electronics, snippets of Eastern melodies and female vocals, little chunks of skittery breakbeats, haunting stereo ambience, record crackle, and creepy synth melodies, and that's just the first song. Epic and cinematic, haunting and mysterious. 
The other three tracks are just as leftfield, a symphony of beeps and buzzes, snippets of voices, crunchy guitar way down in the mix, processed into sort of industrial grooves, more Skinny beats, shuffling Boards Of Canada style electronica, new wavey synths, moaning mournful strings, tablas, operatic vocals, skipping skittering chopped up loops, exotic tribal percussion... Quite dizzying, an intense immersive listen that definitely leaves us wanting to see whatever crazy film these sounds could possibly be designed to accompany. 
Included at the end are two older tracks, remixed and revamped, not sure what they sounded like before, but they've been modernized and minimalized, the first one sounds like some sort of Chain Reaction heroin house, that builds into some synth Euro Kompakt groove, with swooning synths, and all manner of robotic glitches and bleeps, while the second is super creepy and ambient, all high end shimmer and ominous drones, sort of Hitchcockian and John Carpenterian, with a distant heartbeat like pulse, and disembodied minor key melodies.
Definitely a weird one, no metal to be found here, but still pretty awesome. Fans of later Ulver will definitely dig, as will folks into abstract electronica, weird mood music and creepy soundtracks...
MPEG Stream: "Gorilla Move (Grey 01)"
MPEG Stream: "Ouranian Tablet (Brown 05)"
MPEG Stream: "Io Little Birds Remix"

MAUSOLEUMS, THE I Am The Mausoleum (Chinese Workers Labor Union) cd-r 8.98
A customer turned us on to the Mausoleums, a super distorted buzz drenched experimental 'black metal' combo, which we later discovered was in fact an aQuarius mailorder customer! Small world for sure. But even if we had no idea who the heck this was, we would still be suitably blown away. 
You think Wold and Velvet Cacoon know a thing or two about buzz and distortion, well, those guys have nothing on the Mausoleums...
It's hard to even quantify how blown out and buzzy the sound is here, it might make more sense to reference Japanese noise music cuz this almost sounds like straight up super distorted speaker melting N.O.I.S.E., on the surface at least. Until you notice a roiling whirlpool of blackened riffing and howled vocalizing, just beneath all that harsh hiss and brutal buzz. It's almost like Ildjarn or Beherit recorded by Masonna and produced by Merzbow. Blasting and relentless, face melting fury, guitars so distorted they sound like they might crumble into jagged shards, drums that sound like bursts of white noise, but all deftly shaped into riffs and songs and chunks of seriously scalding blackened metal. 
But then the band will unleash something like "Cicada", a gorgeous loping slowcore jam, again doused with delay and buried under a layer of distorted grit, but strangely lovely, with a bit of melancholy twang mixed in. 
Or the freaked out blackpsych blast of "Joan Of Arc" a track that sounds like a dense slab of pure black buzz and howl, until suddenly a gorgeous chunk of indie jangle surfaces, still dripping with distorted buzz, but so goddamn dreamy and melodic, like an even more distorted damaged My Bloody Valentine, the drums and cymbals so corroded and decayed, they balance out the dreamy jangle. Elsewhere, riffs are dipped in molten hellfire and pushed all the way into the red, crumbling distortion is draped over lilting minor key guitar, strange Greg Ginn-ish angular guitars are twisted and melted down into more black buzz...
And while the majority of the record is some of the filthiest, blackest buzzingest metal you'll ever hear, the buzzing blackness is split up by all sorts of unlikely and not that black jams, the strangely skeletal Stereolab-ish post rock of "Lenin Not Lennon", the creepy black electro (replete with strangely Beatles-esque guitar) of "Insignificance", the metalized buzz wrapped Neu!-isms of "Running Through The Reeds", the warbly organ flecked garage stomp of "I Guess I'm Like A Prince, Maybe" and the Spacemen 3 like druggy drone of "Like A Prince", all seemingly out of place, but when listened to as a whole, seem to perfectly balance the extreme brutal buzz of the rest of the disc. 
Maybe too fucked up and far out for most metal heads, but folks into super damaged heaviness, and freaked out whatthefuck metal will dig this BIG TIME. 
MPEG Stream: "Day Of Wrath"
MPEG Stream: "Cicada"
MPEG Stream: "Joan Of Arc"
MPEG Stream: "You Die Defiant"
MPEG Stream: "Lenin Not Lennon"

MOORE, DUDLEY Bedazzled (OST) (Acme) cd 24.00
One of our all time favorite movies featuring arguably our most favorite song of all time! Dudley Moore and Peter Cook, one of Britain's best comedy duos were at their creative peak in this 1967 Stanley Donen classic in which Moore, apart from writing and starring, also provided the jazzy piano-led score. In the film, Moore's character meets the devil (awesomely played by Peter Cook) after a failed suicide attempt and sells him his soul for seven wishes. Infatuated with a co-worker, Moore uses his seven wishes to become more attractive. First as an intellectual, then as a rock star, then a wealthy industrialist. Each time outwitted by Cook who consistently one-ups Moore's attempts at charm. The best scene is the rock star segment, where Moore, after delivering his best Cliff Richards imitation in a music showcase ("Love Me"), is shocked to be followed by Drimble Wedge and The Vegetations, led by Peter Cook in full Velvets/Warhol mode with an army of modly-dressed dancing girls performing the title track, "Bedazzled", an arch call and response that is the pinnacle of psychedelic ambivalence ("You knock me out / I don't want you"). Incredible! The rest of the score is jaunty and jazzy, reminiscent of Vince Guaraldi and the Michael Garrick Trio. This reissue contains both Mono and Stereo versions.
MPEG Stream: "Moon Time"
MPEG Stream: "Love Me"
MPEG Stream: "Bedazzled"

MULLEN, GEOFF Armory Radio (Barge Recordings) 2lp 18.98
Geoff Mullen, a string picker and dronelord, released two amazing records over the last few years, both huge favorites around here. Both thrtysxtrllnmnfstns and The Air In Pieces were gorgeous, slow unfolding collections of buzzing strings and slow burning ambience. Mullen's instrument of choice was the banjo, and on thrtysxtrllnmnfstns he twisted and stretched that instrument into new and amazing shapes, whereas The Air In Pieces found Mullen exploring even more abstract territory, smearing and blurring the source material until it was unrecognizable. 
But on Armory Radio, his brand new vinyl only double lp, he's exploring a whole new world of sound. Expansive and epic and abstract, but dense and heavy, and thick with sound, intense noisy, busy soundscapes, fuzzed out and droning, buzzy and washed out. A similar vibe as folks like Tim Hecker, William Basinski, Aidan Baker, Dialing In and Axolotl...
But where those folks take their piece of music and leave it out in the rain, recording it through a dusty window onto a wax cylinder, played back on a tin can and twine, evoking faded memories, old photographs, rainy twilights, foggy mornings, everything bleary eyed and soft focus, Mullen's Armory Radio is a much more intense and sonically aggressive proposition. Beneath the fuzz and whir, the layers of grit and glitch, there aren't just simple pop songs hidden underneath or muted melodies blurred and buzzed, there's a whole world of sound, chunks of field recordings, bits of melody, huge sweeping drones, epic, slow sprawls of shimmer, of dark and light, strange arrangements fall to pieces and somehow reassemble often in completely different order then before they crumbled, or pieces from some crumbled melody will be swept up by a wash of whirling low end, and tangled up into some new, more alien melody. 
Armory Radio begins with a burst of grinding fuzz, a dense slab of furious grinding thrum, which quickly gives way to softer squalls of glitched out buzz, warm throbbing sonic stormclouds, everything in a constant state of motion, chaotic and unmoored, but with little threads that connect all four sidelong pieces. This is definitely a noise record, but SOFT noise, thick and corrosive, but with soft edges, like stepping into the eye of a hurricane, watching all sorts of shapes and sounds spinning around you, a grinding, thick morass of constantly shifting crunch and crumble, of billowy soft smears, all barely obscuring a mysterious and impossible to fully grasp world of beauty beneath. So good. 
LIMITED TO ONLY 500 COPIES!! Pressed on thick 140 gram vinyl, packaged in super deluxe sleeves, all hand-screened, hand-stamped and numbered. 
MPEG Stream: "Part 1"
MPEG Stream: "Part 2"

NIFLHEIM Neurasthenie (Sepulchral Productions) cd 11.98
Sepulchral is turning out to be one of our new favorite black metal labels, bringing us the blackened noise from the new grim frostbitten North, Canada that is, with the folk flecked Metal Noir Quebecois of Forteresse, the grim depressive buzz of Sombres Forets, and now this, the latest from doombuzz merchants Niflheim, whose latest is a sorrowful trawl through the dourest of human emotio