LOOP Heaven's End (Reactor) 2cd 16.98
When people think of spaced out, drone-y drug rock, Spacemen 3 seem to get all the love, which is of course fair, Spacemen 3 totally rule, their music is magical, especially for some of us who will probably only ever experience drug use by strapping on a pair of headphones and blasting Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To. But c'mon, let's share the love, with another group, who existed during the same time, in basically the same place, and who were sonically quite similar, yet crafted their own distinctive and incredibly iconic body of work, one that has been criminally unavailable for years now. These two reissues are the first in what will hopefully be a comprehensive reissue campaign for London space rockers Loop.
For years, Loop have been a favorite of in-the-know music nerds, whose Spacemen 3 collection is most likely rivaled by their Loop collection, and basically, to love one, is indeed to love the other. You like thick looped guitars, blown out distorted buzz, krautrocky rhythms, song structures that are simple, cyclical, repetitive, hypnotic, guitars dripping with effects, vocals drawled lazily and buried in the mix, everything hazy and washed out and bleary eyed and druggy. Wait, were we talking about Loop or Spacemen 3? Exactly. The main difference to our ears, was that Loop always seemed to rock way harder. The Spacemen would often flutter off in tripped out ambient flights of fancy, dropping the drums completely, letting the guitar pulse and throb, the vocals drifting ethereally over the top. And sure, Loop were capable of that too, but seemed to hew closer to a more driving sound, the drums much more integral to their overall vibe. The sound of Loop was equal parts Krautrock and space rock, and their name was definitely referenced their sound. Loop mainman Hampson would even go on to form Main, a more guitar loop based outfit, whose obsession with texture and loops absolutely informed all of the Loop recordings. The guitars were thick, wreathed in distortion, delay, reverb, doused in effects, that not only altered their timbre, and their tone, nut also often made the guitars sound backwards, creating woozy of kilter jams that seemed to slowly and subtly shift and change shapes before our very ears. The vocals weary and washed out, the drums skeletal and simple, but all fused into totally tripped out, drugged out, kraut infused space rock bliss.
Heaven's End was Loop's debut, released in 1987, just a year after Spacemen 3's first record (and apparently Spacemen 3 were always quite annoyed by constantly being compared to Loop), and inadvertent or not, it's the Loop record that is the most Spacemen sounding. Lo-fi, raw and gritty. The opener "Soundhead" is surprisingly rocking, with lots of wah guitar, propulsive drumming, ethereal vocals, the song that would define the sound of Loop, but it's the second track where the record really gets going, slipping into a slow motion Stooges groove, a lurching looped riff, the vocals buried in the mix, the drums a simple pound, a main refrain that's catchy as fuck, the whole thing constantly repeated over and over and over and over, totally blissed out and trancelike. The following track slips even further out, the guitars super sharp and buzz drenched, the tempo a lugubrious crawl, the drums total barebones, swirling spaced out effects, the guitar billowing out into soft focus buzzscapes over which the rest of the instrumentation seems to hover weightless. The title track is a simple garage-y pound, with the cymbals and the guitars looped backwards (hinting at some Teenage Filmstars to come maybe?), the guitar stuttering creating incidental rhythms, very druggy and mesmeric. And so it goes, each song, a simple motif, locked in and set on repeat, the core remaining near static, looped into infinity, while all around that groove various guitars and effects and voices swirl and whirl and spin and stretch and shimmer divinely. Easily one of our all time favorite records for sure.
This deluxe reissue not only comes in a super spiffy full color mini lp style gatefold sleeve, with printed inner sleeves, it also comes with a whole bonus disc, featuring alternate mixes of two of the album tracks, as well as a killer cover of Suicide's "Rocket USA", with a cool programmed drum beat, tripped out psychedelic guitars, and hushed almost crooned vocals, and the three tracks from the Peel Sessions, included a seriously stretched out version of "Straight To Your Heart". SO AWESOME!!!
SO TOTALLY AND UTTERLY RECOMMENDED. ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! And for recent converts to the world of druggy space rock, anyone who has been digging local droney drug rockers Wooden Shjips (and we know there are LOTS of you out there), will definitely fall in love with Loop!!
MPEG Stream: "Soundhead"
MPEG Stream: "Straight To Your Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Forever"

LOOP Fade Out (Reactor) 2cd 16.98
When people think of spaced out, drone-y drug rock, Spacemen 3 seem to get all the love, which is of course fair, Spacemen 3 totally rule, their music is magical, especially for some of us who will probably only ever experience drug use by strapping on a pair of headphones and blasting Taking Drugs To Make Music To Take Drugs To. But c'mon, let's share the love, with another group, who existed during the same time, in basically the same place, and who were sonically quite similar, yet crafted their own distinctive and incredibly iconic body of work, one that has been criminally unavailable for years now. These two reissues are the first in what will hopefully be a comprehensive reissue campaign for London space rockers Loop.
For years, Loop have been a favorite of in-the-know music nerds, whose Spacemen 3 collection is most likely rivaled by their Loop collection, and basically, to love one, is indeed to love the other. You like thick looped guitars, blown out distorted buzz, krautrocky rhythms, song structures that are simple, cyclical, repetitive, hypnotic, guitars dripping with effects, vocals drawled lazily and buried in the mix, everything hazy and washed out and bleary eyed and druggy. Wait, were we talking about Loop or Spacemen 3? Exactly. The main difference to our ears, was that Loop always seemed to rock way harder. The Spacemen would often flutter off in tripped out ambient flights of fancy, dropping the drums completely, letting the guitar pulse and throb, the vocals drifting ethereally over the top. And sure, Loop were capable of that too, but seemed to hew closer to a more driving sound, the drums much more integral to their overall vibe. The sound of Loop was equal parts krautrock and space rock, and their name was definitely referenced their sound. Loop mainman Hampson would even go on to form Main, a more tranquil guitar loop based outfit, whose obsession with texture and loops absolutely informed all of the Loop recordings. The guitars were thick, wreathed in distortion, delay, reverb, doused in effects, that not only altered their timbre, and their tone, nut also often made the guitars sound backwards, creating woozy of kilter jams that seemed to slowly and subtly shift and change shapes before our very ears. The vocals weary and washed out, the drums skeletal and simple, but all fused into totally tripped out, drugged out, kraut-infused space rock bliss.
Fade Out was record number two for Loop, and found the band making a definite move forward in terms of production and sound, and an obvious shift away fro a sound they shared with countrymen Spacemen 3. The sound on Fade Out is much heavier, and way louder, the guitars sharper and more jagged, the bass more present, the vocals way more prominent, the sound immediately less druggy and washed out and more rocking. "Black Sun" is a propulsive slab of spaced out garage-y krautrock, the guitars ringing out, the second guitar a buzzing over the top, the drums busy and powerful, the whole thing still wreathed in effects, but now the murk had been replaced with something much more effulgent, a strange burnished glow, suffusing the sound, less like laying in darkness and watching colors swirl and shimmer, and more like staring directly into the sun. "This Is Where You End" continues on in the same vein, with gruff almost growled vocals, over that distinctive looped guitar figure, with multiple guitars offering up extra melody and texture.
"Fever Knife" stands out as it slows things way down, and the guitars are muted, not quite as sharp, with plenty of squiggly fun house mirror guitar melodies intertwined with that main riff, the tempo, a head nodding soporific groove, definitely reaching back a bit to the sound of Heaven's End. But then comes "Torched" with a incendiary guitar sound so loud and in the red, it threatens to blow your speakers, dwarfing the drums and bass in the background, churning and soaring, white hot and blown out big time.
The title track is another slowed down druggy dirge, the main riff lumbering woozily along side a steady simple beat, haunting processed vocals, and chunks of extra guitar buzz, the whole thing downright doomy. The last three tracks are gorgeous squalls of druggy throb and crumbling guitar buzz, the record finishing up with a short stretch of shimmering ambient drift. SO GREAT!!
The deluxe reissue of Fade Out not only comes in a super spiffy full color mini lp style gatefold sleeve, with printed inner sleeves, it also comes with a whole bonus disc, featuring a whole mess of extra stuff, alternate mixes of three tracks on the record, an awesome demo version of "This Is Where You End", the Peel Sessions from the Fade Out era, and most exciting of all a series of Fade Out Guitar Loops, from shimmering high end buzz, to whirring smears of low end rumble, definitely hinting at Hampson's post-Loop outfit Main.
SO TOTALLY AND UTTERLY RECOMMENDED. ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL! And for recent converts to the world of druggy space rock, anyone who has been digging local droney drug rockers Wooden Shjips (and we know there are LOTS of you out there), will definitely fall in love with Loop!!
MPEG Stream: "Black Sun"
MPEG Stream: "This Is Where You End"
MPEG Stream: "Fade Out"

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AFCGT s/t (Dirty Knobby) 10" 12.98
Whew! The first time we got something in from AFCGT, it was a painfully limited cd-r that exploded like a supernova and then disappeared just as quickly from the site. So, it's a damn good thing that this awesome collaboration between A Frames and the Climax Golden Twins has resulted in another batch of unbelievably good recordings. This time, it's a bit less limited, as Dirty Knobby has pressed these 8 tracks onto a 10", which should mean this thing will be around a little bit longer than the debut. The sound of AFCGT here is pretty much the same. Instrumental tunes with Mack truck rhythms, spring-loaded basslines, and giddy explosion of jagged guitar riffs that come together in what AFCGT blurts out as "New Punk." These swamp mutations of detuned Cambodian garage pop songs with an excess of stereoscopic distortion certainly have a Sun City Girls meets the Birthday vibe going on, with occasional excursions into a free noise mess of devolved noise and out of control drum fills, sort of like some of the Laddio Bollocko breakdowns. Who can complain about a Laddio Bollocko reference? Not us!

ALPS, THE A Path Through The Moon (Root Strata) cd-r 9.98
In the wake of The Alps recent full length, III, comes not one, but two lengthy cd-r eps culled from the same recording sessions that produced III. Mostly improvised, those sessions for III found the trio expanding their sprawling abstract free folk into a sound much more spacious and druggy, New Age-y and blissed out, and in the process they ended up with more music than would fit on a single record. The good news is, that since the music was all improvised, and was all recorded during the same sessions, these two eps play like sides 3 and 4 of III, had it been expanded to a double album. Which is most definitely a good thing. Both of these discs, A Path Through The Sun, and A Path Through The Moon, are limited to 100 copies, of which we have 30, and those will most likely disappear in a flash. So act fast if you don't want to miss out on these. And needless to say (although we will anyway), everybody who dug III will absolutely need these.
As we mentioned in our review of III, The Alps have retained much of their free folk sound, yet have managed to incorporate more krautrock, more new age, even more space rock into that sound, creating a hybrid that manages straddle the underground cd-r scene, and something much more expansive and epic.
A Path Through The Moon, is cut from the same cloth as the sunnier Path, but offers up some krautrocky folk drift right out of the gate, reverbed guitar floats on clouds of cymbal sizzle, while a super spare rhythm holds it together, the whole track swaying woozily, the guitars laid back and softly psychedelic, the drums more of a subtle pulse than a driving force. The second track is all glistening sun baked guitar drone, the strums and picking allowed to melt into each other, creating a hazy web over the constant shimmer below, a distant rhythmic throb barely audible, very washed out an bleary eyes and lovely. The track after that sticks out a bit, a brooding low end rumble, riff with buzz and random room noise, a slow burner for sure, that at one point incorporates wailing female vocals (sampled we assume), some hip hop (!) and what sounds like random dialog buried beneath the churning buzz and rumble.
The band quickly shift back to folkier climes, offering up two chunks of glimmering steel string Appalachia, the first gorgeously sun dappled and lush, albeit peppered with bits of buzz and feedback near the end, the second much moodier and murkier, the guitar drifting through a field of soft hiss and washed out shimmer, before dropping out completely and leaving those background sounds to fade out until the end. And finally, the band finish up with a 9+ minute epic that is all over the place, starting out as a warm whirring drone, shifting to a sax flecked free jazz drift, then veering into a piano driven krautgroove, then a Reichian looped piano jam flecked with reverbed steel strings and zither like percussion, finally finishing off with a spacious stretch of free folk, minor key chords drifting through long stretches of near silence.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. Packaged in a plain chipboard sleeve, the liner notes pasted on one side, a printed insert showing through a diecut on the other side.
MPEG Stream: "The Coming Tide"
MPEG Stream: "Breaking Clouds"

ALPS, THE A Path Through The Sun (Root Strata) cd-r 9.98
In the wake of The Alps recent full length, III, comes not one, but two lengthy eps culled from the same recording sessions that produced III. Mostly improvised, those sessions for III found the trio expanding their sprawling abstract free folk into a sound much more spacious and druggy, New Age-y and blissed out, and in the process they ended up with more music than would fit on a single record. The good news is, that since the music was all improvised, and was all recorded during the same sessions, these two eps play like sides 3 and 4 of III, had it been expanded to a double album. Which is most definitely a good thing. Both of these discs, A Path Through The Sun, and A Path Through The Moon, are limited to 100 copies, of which we have 30, and those will most likely disappear in a flash. So act fast if you don't want to miss out on these. And needless to say (although we will anyway), everybody who dug III will absolutely need these.
As we mentioned in our review of III, The Alps have retained much of their free folk sound, yet have managed to incorporate more krautrock, more new age, even more space rock into that sound, creating a hybrid that manages straddle the underground cd-r scene, and something much more expansive and epic.
A Path Through The Sun begins with a lush layer of distant shimmer, over which steel strings shimmer and layers of background buzz swoon and swell, sounding not unlike James Blackshaw or Jack Rose, but soon the background builds unto a churning wall of distorted guitars, and the song is transformed into something wholly other. The following track is a longform near static drone, but densely layered and subtly colored with all manner of details, streaks of overlapping high end laid over a sea of rumbling overtones, laced with delicate spidery guitar melodies. Track three is the first hint of the bands more kraut side. Buzzing metallic guitars swirl over a stripped down Can like bass and drums groove, that stays solid, as those guitars twist ands turn, creating psychedelic clouds of sound over that motorik groove. The last two tracks find the band returning to a more dronefolk sound, a brief stretch of moaning bowed steel strings, glistening high end harmonics, and tinkling chimes gives way to a warm wheezing outro, guitars unfurl fragmented melodies over a slow swaying harmonium drone, lilting, and sun dappled and so dreamy.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. Packaged in a plain chipboard sleeve, the liner notes pasted on one side, a printed insert showing through a diecut on the other side.
MPEG Stream: "Instant Light"
MPEG Stream: "Lunar Mansions"

ANIMATED EGG, THE Guitar Freakout (Sundazed) cd 19.98
The product of Jerry Cole, veteran Los Angeles session guitar player who worked with everyone from the Beach Boys and The Byrds to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, The Animated Egg was a fictitious band capitalizing on the "Now Sound" of sixties psychedelic pop. Like Hal Blaine's Psychedelic Percussion, Guitar Freakout was basically a corporately-funded psych exploitation record, but one that actually delivers the fuzzy and funky sonic goods! Of course, references to acid trips abound, but while a few songs are merely fuzzy and groovy takes on standard blues forms, songs like the hallucinatory heavy "Sock It My Way" and "I Said, She Said, Ah Cid" really show why this is a holy-grail for crate-diggers. This reissue features the entire album plus eleven bonus tracks from Cole's other psych-sploitation outfits, such as The Generation Gap, T. Swift and The Electric Bag and The Projection Company. If some of these tracks feel vaguely familiar, the producers of this record appropriated a lot of these same tracks for the 101 String's Astro-Sounds From Beyond 2000 adding even more and spacier string effects over the top of the originals. DJ's should definitely pick this up, and anyone else who loves wild psych-pop.
MPEG Stream: "I Said, She Said, Ah Cid"
MPEG Stream: "Sock It My Way"
MPEG Stream: "That's How It Is"
MPEG Stream: "Expo In Sound"

ANIMATED EGG, THE Guitar Freakout (Sundazed) 2lp 38.00
The product of Jerry Cole, veteran Los Angeles session guitar player who worked with everyone from the Beach Boys and The Byrds to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, The Animated Egg was a fictitious band capitalizing on the "Now Sound" of sixties psychedelic pop. Like Hal Blaine's Psychedelic Percussion, Guitar Freakout was basically a corporately-funded psych exploitation record, but one that actually delivers the fuzzy and funky sonic goods! Of course, references to acid trips abound, but while a few songs are merely fuzzy and groovy takes on standard blues forms, songs like the hallucinatory heavy "Sock It My Way" and "I Said, She Said, Ah Cid" really show why this is a holy-grail for crate-diggers. This reissue features the entire album plus eleven bonus tracks from Cole's other psych-sploitation outfits, such as The Generation Gap, T. Swift and The Electric Bag and The Projection Company. If some of these tracks feel vaguely familiar, the producers of this record appropriated a lot of these same tracks for the 101 String's Astro-Sounds From Beyond 2000 adding even more and spacier string effects over the top of the originals. DJ's should definitely pick this up, and anyone else who loves wild psych-pop.
MPEG Stream: "I Said, She Said, Ah Cid"
MPEG Stream: "Sock It My Way"
MPEG Stream: "That's How It Is"
MPEG Stream: "Expo In Sound"

ANWECH My Frozen Dream Slept Too Eternally (Fog Of The Apocalypse) cd 14.98
Weirdo black metal obsessives no doubt remember Italian band Leaden, whose awesomely titled album, Monotonous Foghorns of Molesting Department, we raved about a while back. Not only were the songs called things like "Black Apartment Of Depression" and "When Out Seems To Vanish", but the music was a stumbling confusional mix of blackened doomy slowcore and lurching murky black fuzz, that managed to be more droney and hypnotic than blasting and buzzing, but so weird and unique that we just couldn't get enough of it.
So when we discovered the guy from Leaden had another band, we knew we had to track it down. This isn't that new, but it's the firs time we've managed to get enough to list. And while it doesn't really sound much like Leaden, it is just as weird, but in a whole different, maybe even more brilliantly fucked up way.
My Frozen Dream Slept Too Eternally is only 4 songs, but they're all long, and there's so much packed into each. It would be worth it even if it was just one song, the opener, "Strongest Nocturnal Silence" is the black metal gloom pop what-the-fuck jam of the year. Of any year. Beginning with a simple doomy, almost Sabbathy riff, the drums join in, simple and stripped down, and then the vocals, holy shit. Somewhere between the Ethel Merman like warble of Urfaust and a doped up Axl Rose. A raspy harsh falsetto croon, draped over a warm thick doomy black groove that is equal parts black metal, slowcore and slooowed way down punk rock. The end result is something haunting and creepy and off kilter and amazingly moody and evocative. When the track shifts to the 'chorus', it's a hook that will stick in your head forever, the lurching riff, the anguished vocals. And we're only 5 minutes in. The track shifts gears and suddenly it's just a guitar, unfurling a mournful melody, the notes dripping in effects, drifting over space-y Tangerine Dream style synths, until a distorted guitar comes back in adding a layer of woozy swirling riffage, then the track builds and builds, the guitars getting more psychedelic and frenzied, the synths more dramatic and tense, and suddenly it's some sort of spaced out epic, Godspeed versus Hawkwind by way of Abruptum and Urfaust, the vocals come back in, and finally, the track explodes into a blast of about as black as it gets here, minor key doom-ed black metal, rife with super movie melodies, that minus the vocals and some of the buzz, could be some sort of dark post rock record.
Wow. Like we said, that song alone would be worth the price of admission, but there are three more long ones to go, and they hardly tread the same ground.
The next track starts off all churning downtuned chug underpinned by stumbling double kick, an almost Khold style groove, with some strange murky synthesizers than transform the track into something much more moody and unhinged, the vocals adding their own bit of anguished mystery, the track veering all over the place, the synths shifting the mood from punkish pound to swirling dizzying doom psych and back again. The next track is another punkish jam, with those disembodied keyboards that make this sound like Burzum covering Khold covering Nuit Noire. Shifting repeatedly from loping melancholy dirge to blurred buzz to lumbering moody dirge.
The final track is total blackened post rock. The guitars tangled and minor key, a swirling layer of ghostly keyboard over the whole thing, the vocals, a raspy mournful howl, the melodies constantly shifting and swirling, the song slipping into post punk groove, then dirgey doom metal pound, then black metal blast, but always twisted up by those vocals, and the off kilter keyboards, and the thing is, it may be damaged and demented, but beyond simply being 'bizarre', the sound is intense and emotional, epic and melancholic, dark and weirdly beautiful, while still managing to be heavy, buzzy, totally freaked out, fucked up and so fantastic.
MPEG Stream: "Strongest Nocturnal Silence"
MPEG Stream: "Misanthropic Sensation Far Away From The Light"

APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE Sincerest Misery (Eyes Like Snow / Northern Silence) cd 13.98
If you've already guessed from the band name and album title that this is old school DOOM METAL, you'd be correct. What could be more doom than the idea of "Sincere Misery"?? Doom, depression, misery, of course. Sincerity, that's also a hallmark of the truest doom, from Ozzy's earliest croakings with Black Sabbath... he always sounded so sincere, that was a big part of his charisma. Later on, the prayerful likes of Trouble held the same sort of feeling...
So, with this debut, these guys are part of the grand tradition, that's for sure. Cleanly-sung vocal lamentations, soaring o'er CRUNCHY, crawling riffs, sheer epick heaviness in copious quantities, basically. With a variety of interestin' twists here and there to give Apostle Of Solitude their own identity, such as the sampled spoken narrative of some Depression-era old timer over the wide-open-spaces jamming of "This Dustbowl Earth", like a psychedelic Americana. And when comes solo time, they really shine. As achingly gorgeous as doom'd metallic guitarwork can be, yet sharp and fierce too. Perfectly complimenting the glacial gloominess of the band's pained plodding, which reaches its peak on the massive "Warbird", stretched out to over 14 minutes. File alongside the slow and low likes of Solitude Aeturnus, Reverend Bizarre, and home-staters Gates Of Slumber (for whom their guitarist/vocalist played drums, once upon a time).
Oh and we've gotta mention the hidden bonus track, a cover of Sabbath's "Electric Funeral". We think doom bands should resist the urge to cover Sabbath songs, but we're sure for obvious reasons it's an overpowering urge, so we don't blame 'em. At least AoS had the sense to make it an unlisted track at the end of the album. Why do we think doom bands shouldn't cover Sabbath? Well, we ALREADY know you like Sabbath, right? And you're not gonna improve upon the original, nor sound different enough to be interesting from the novelty angle. And now you've gone and ensured that the best song on your album is a cover. Whoops. However, hardly a serious complaint, and true doom fans will enjoy not only AoS's reverent cover of "Electric Funeral" but the whole album for sure. So, TDFs, get this, and also don't miss the new one from Finland's The Wandering Midget, from the same label, reviewed this list too!
MPEG Stream: "The Messenger"
MPEG Stream: "A Slow Suicide"

BERNSTEIN, DAVID W. (EDITOR) San Francisco Tape Music Center: 1960s Counterculture And The Avant-Garde (UC Press) book 26.00
We apologize to tape music buffs near and far, but we shamefully snoozed on reviewing this awesome book about this music movement's seminal Bay Area based hub back in June of this year when it was first published. We thought that now would be a good time (what with the holiday gift-giving season just around the corner as well as the chillier stay-inside-with-a-good-book autumn and winter months) to give it a good ol' shout out! Better late than never, right?
Those already well acquainted will need no further explanation, but for those unfamiliar, in a nutshell, the San Francisco Tape Music Center was a vital cultural and educational meeting ground of adventurous pioneers in audio arts and science. The sonic explorations of composers Morton Subotnick (who performed an in-store presentation here a few years back), Steve Reich, Ramon Sender, Don Buchla, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley among others produced some of the most stunning and influential avant-garde sounds of the period in an utterly unassuming locale right here in SF. This creatively tangled web of tape-loop and tape-delay, analog synthesizers and various other electronic tentacles came into fruition back in the early '60s. These days, having been schooled by the wonderful reissued works of numerous seemingly like-minded audio renegade technicians of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, John Baker to name a few), we still can't help but conjure images of the electronic music artists of that decade donning lab coats with pocket protectors and bespectacled consternated gazes, but this 344-page book reveals just as much the kaleidoscopic opening of minds induced by sound (and in some cases substances). In fact, for those of you who were captivated by the revelatory glimpse of the LA counterculture in the '60s courtesy of the recent Source Family book (The Source: The Untold Story Of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa And The Source Family), this serves to some degree as a Bay Area counterpart (albeit perhaps somewhat less Hollywood tabloid scandalous). It's the first ever first-person retrospective of the SFTMC. Many a fond memory and occasionally a hair-raising tale were unearthed for this tome. Our current favorites include one involving wild escapades to keep the center afloat on a less than shoestring budget as well as a desperate search across a floor/sea of tape edit detritus to find an errant single note snippet using a dismantled reel-to-reel playback head!
An inspiring, fascinating and often entertaining document of interviews with and essays by all the key figures and more. This 322-page softcover tome is also packed with color and black & white photos, diagrams, drawings, and a comprehensive chronology. But wait, there's still more! A dvd is tucked away in the back which features video documentation from the 2004 Wow & Flutter: The San Francisco Tape Music Center, 1961-Now festival / reunion of sorts that took place in Troy, NY.
Highly recommended!

BIBLE, JEREMY & JASON HENRY Shpwrck (Experimedia) cd-r 10.98
We've picked up another title from the Ohio based field recordists / audio collagists Jeremy Bible and Jason Henry, after being suitably impressed by their earlier album Vectors. The title alone to Shpwrck offers unsettled maritime references, and the lulling pace of lugubrious half melodies and creaking metal does little to alter the course down to the bottom of the ocean. The opening track is effectively simple repetition of a haunted melody, with all of the tape oxidization and murk that makes for a successful Disintegration Loop for William Basinski. Bible and Henry introduce quiet cracklings which sporadically make themselves known, sort of like embers popping in the aftermath of a fire. This combination is so effective, immediately other sublime works with seaworthy themes come to mind: Nurse With Wound's Salt Marie Celeste, Elegi's Sistereis, or the Philip Jeck / Gavin Bryars / Alter Ego redux of The Sinking Of The Titanic. More recognizable instrumentation comes to the forefront throughout the rest of the album, with twinkling bells and flutes contrasting next to a dystopian blurt of a post-Cosey Fanny Tutti trumpet with matching bellows from huge metallic objects being struck and then twisted into a deep, dark ambient smear. There's even some piano which alternates between maudlin impressionist gestures and angry minor key strikes. For all of the baroque objects which litter the descent way way down, Bible and Henry coax an even surface of atmospheric shadow and tactile grit into the mix. A very fine collection of work that is also quite limited. 150 copies, we believe.
MPEG Stream: "Shpwrck1"
MPEG Stream: "Luupn"

BLOOD CEREMONY s/t (Rise Above) lp 24.00
Now in stock on vinyl! We highlighted the cd the other day, saying the following:
Been looking forward to this one! The debut album from this seemingly time-lost Toronto band, the latest in the current spate of retro-proto-doom-metal bubbling up from the underground. All the heavy '70s Sabbath/Pentagram riffs -and- occult vibe of a band like Witchcraft, with soaring female vox and a thick coating of vintage Hammond organ, spooky and bombastic. It's an equation along the lines of Atomic Rooster + Jacula + Jex Thoth, maybe. Yeah, we're down with this. And that's just after hearing the first song. Then track two kicks in with some proggy flute! With LOTS more flute to follow on the rest of this album. So now they've added some Jethro Tull to the mix... Black Widow, Uriah Heep, Rainbow, and a mess of other more obscure '70s acts could also be cited as references too, along with the much more recent likes of the aforementioned Witchcraft and Jex Thoth.
Now, if you hate Jex Thoth's singing, you might have a similarly tough time with Blood Ceremony, but we found that the lady here isn't quite as polarizing a proposition. And it's her dramatic vocals that gives Blood Ceremony their special sound, along with her flute playing. She's also the organist. But let's not forget the guitars... it's tough not to grow your hair long and sprout bellbottoms when exposed to these lumbering, loping riffs, all of 'em seemingly from the school of Sleep's Sabbathier-than-thou classic "Dragonaut"! Or imagine Electric Wizard given a medieval, madrigal makeover.
And the lyrics... "I see witches in the sky, flying toward the quaalude eye"?? Ok. These guys and gal are definitely "smoking black drugs from Satan's bong" (I think that's what they said). Speaking of witchcraft, the dark arts of pagan ritual are of course Blood Ceremony's main subject matter, on tracks like "Into The Coven". The grooviest black mass we've attended in a while, right here. After spinning this for a while, if you find toads hopping about near your stereo, we wouldn't be surprised...
MPEG Stream: "Master Of Confusion"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Coming With You"

BLOOD OF KINGU De Occulta Philosophia (Supernal) cd 15.98
It's been a while since we heard from Ukrainian black metallers Drudkh (and all of their albums seem to be currently out of print sad to say) or ambient side project Dark Ages (and of course Hate Forest, another band featuring the same members has been split up since 2005). So what has Drudkh mainman Roman Saenko been up to for the last little while? Why crafting an epic black metal album based around Sumerian and Ancient Egyptian mythology and histry of course! And this is it. Blood Of Kingu, a swirling blackened blast of buzzing guitars, blasting drums, buried vocals, soaring melodies, and the occasional traditional folk interlude. The root sound is not that far removed from older Drudkh or Hate Forest, but imagine that sound a bit more lo-fi, a little more drenched in buzz, the riffing more looped and cyclical, the mood more majestic and epic, and you'll get an idea of the Blood Of Kingu sound.
Each track is a drone drenched slab of relentless riffery, furious and lightning fast, the drums careening chaotically beneath a thick layered wall of frenzied buzz, the vocals chanted and almost like throat singing, super low in the mix, giving the proceedings a sort of ritualistic vibe, with each song made up of only really one or two parts, creating a super tense, ultra hypnotic black metal mesmer, with the guitars swirling occasionally into gorgeous surprisingly melodic harmonies, while below, the track continues to churn and thrash violently.
Fans of Drudkh and Hate Forest and other Ukrainian black hordes absolutely need this, as do folks who love their black metal drone-y and hypnotic and trancelike.
MPEG Stream: "Your Blood, Nubia! Your Power, Egypt!"
MPEG Stream: "Mummu Tiamat"
MPEG Stream: "Stronghold Of Megaliths, Thorns And Human Bones"

BOREDOMS 77 Boa Drum (Commons) 2cd + dvd + Book 125.00
It's finally here! An audio / video document of the amazing 77 Boa Drum performance that took place in Brooklyn on July 7th, 2007. Originally filmed for a full length theatrical and dvd release, those plans were scrapped for some reason, so this right here is the only document of that fantastic and now legendary performance.
Available only as a very pricey import, 77 Boa Drum contains 2cds, a full recording of the performance split into two halves, a dvd, featuring 20 minutes of video from the event, all housed in a massive and gorgeously designed green and gold hardcover book, packed with tons of photos, including a couple of our very own Andee, who was one of the 77, diagrams of the drum layout, various text and other imagery. It's really pretty fantastic, totally deluxe and elaborate. And beyond object as art, listening to the recordings, the sound is massive and powerful and beautiful, more than just a spectacle, it was a sprawling chunk or rhythmic organic sound, equally composed and improvised, the power of that many drummers, each contributing his or her own style, combined with the Boredoms three drummer attack, and Eye's homemade multi necked guitar and spaced out electronics. If you missed it, you might want to think about picking one of these up (cheaper than the plane ticket woulda been, right?). And even if you were there, that almost makes this even more essential, an amazing, over the top, keepsake of one of the most amazing performances we've ever seen or been a part of, and the very first Boa Drum.
Needless to say, this is crazy limited, and we only have a few of these. When we run out, we'll hopefully be able to get more, but there's certainly no guarantee. So if you really want one, act fast.

CAT POWER Dark End Of The Street (Matador) 2x10" 14.98
Chan Marshall & co. give us -another- batch of cover songs from the Jukebox sessions on this special vinyl-only release. She interprets Otis, Aretha, Credence, Fairport Convention and The Pogues, some ("Fortunate Son") more convincingly than others ("It Ain't Fair"). The further she moves away from the song's original mood, it seems, the stronger the outcome. Those of you who have followed Chan's career to this point know that she has forgone the trappings of indie rock for what this reviewer would call "indie soul." None of these songs have quite the pull of, say, "Satisfaction" on the first covers record, but "Fortunate Son" comes close, due in no small part to Jim White's minimal drumming and the undeniable smoky appeal of Chan's voice.

CROWNED HEADS OF EUROPE, THE Witnesseth (Sounds Of Battle And Souvenir Collecting) lp 17.98
From the folks behind Gog And Servile Sect, both big time faves around here, comes another curious bit of abstract heaviness, the curiously monickered Crowned Heads Of Europe. A CRAZY limited lp, only 100 copies, and for a quick idea of what you're in for, have a look at the legend on the back of the sleeve: "dROne. aRT/dOOM. experiMENTAL. sataniC/celestial." Indeed. We're sold already. Helps too that the packaging is pretty elaborate and trippy too, a thick gold metallic fold over sleeve, printed in black ink, the back side is only a half sleeve, revealing the black vinyl lp within, but also revealing a layer of textured prismatic holographic plastic.
So what exactly are The Crowned Heads Of Europe all about. Is it art doom drone satanic celestial experimental? Yeah, pretty much. Deep drones, recorded so hot and in the red, that the sound crumbles, wrapped in hiss and distortion, wreathed in soft edged feedback, the melodies abstract, a reverb drenched chiming blur, that gives way to a thick caustic downtuned crumbling sonic churn, a black ambience equal parts MZ412 and Wolf Eyes, a subtle industrial vibe, and plenty of shimmer surrounding the heavy grinding core. As the record progresses, no matter how heavy and corrosive the sound, it also manages to be weirdly pretty, a little psychedelic too. The record offers up brief squalls of squiggly distorted high end, only to follow with a lurching slow motion bass dirge, trudging through a creepscape rife with ghostly voices and melodies, processed vocals drown beneath slabs of FX drenched crush, super minimal doomic drones a la Trollmann, blossom into shimmery stretches of soft swirl and dreamy ambience, finishing off with a longform blast of crumbling in-the-red dronedirgedoom, the sounds so blown out, the overtones seem to add a whole layer of accidental melody, and the tones beating against one another create strange stuttering rhythms, everything buried beneath layers of filthy distorted murk and buzz, before slipping into something soft and hauntingly pretty, fading out in a blur of minimal cinematic creep.
LIMITED TO 100!!! Each lp comes with a cd-r containing all the music on the record.
MPEG Stream: "Processional (The Four Faces)"
MPEG Stream: "Vena Amoris"
MPEG Stream: "Bluebonnets"

DARSOMBRA + VARIOUS ARTISTS Nymphaea (Public Guilt) cd-r 9.98
Hopefully you already know Darsombra, seeing as we made their last Public Guilt release, Eternal Jewel, a Record Of The Week not too many moons ago. Atmospheric dark doom-drone experimentation not unlike a more sinister Expo '70 or a proggier Nadja. If you don't know 'em, get this and you'll get to know at least one of their songs really really well, in a way.
Track one here, "Nymphaea", is a head-nodding exercise in bass heavy, slow-building psychedelic instrumental throb. It starts out with plenty of distortion, and only gets heavier and more blown-out as it plods forth, adding a snakily melodic guitar line to further entrance the listener. It originally appeared as Darsombra's contribution to the "untitled" 3cd comp PG help put out last year, and now it has spawned this collection of remixes, a dozen of them, tracks 2-13!
It's pretty fascinating to hear this single song morph from track to track, 'cause they're all very different, the each remixer definitely making it their own, from blissed out vocal pop (Max Bondi & Bleeding Heart Narrative's "Hyena Amp mix") to big-beat crash-boom electro (Pulsoc's "True Love Never Dies remix") to creepy drone-noise ambience (Guilty Connector's "Dotonburi Neonnights") and that's just the first three mixes on here! Elsewhere, Ala Muerte adds eerie female voice doing Latin chant, Destructo Swarmbots strip the track down to a minimal low-end hum, The Heirs Of Rockefeller crank up the fuzz, focussing on the song's incessant hypnotic plod... all these and the rest of the remixers generally fucking with this track in many compelling and often unexpected ways. Darsombra have every reason to proudly approve what's been done with, or done to, their "Nymphaea" here. Remixers not already mentioned above also include Perfekt Teeth, Magicicada, Strotter Inst., Decimation Blvd. & Darla Hood, Blood Fountains, and le knell.
LIMITED EDITION! 250 COPIES ONLY! We only got 20! On a black cd-r in a slim, screen printed sleeve with vellum obi.
MPEG Stream: DARSOMBRA "Nymphaea"
MPEG Stream: BLOOD FOUNTAINS "Nymphaea Seance remix"
MPEG Stream: PULSOC "Nymphaea True Love Never Dies remix"
MPEG Stream: THE HEIRS OF ROCKEFELLER "Nymphaea The Drugs Won The Drug War Mix"

ELDRIG Mysterion (Supernal) cd 15.98
The return of Portland one man black metal horde Eldrig. We have been totally obsessed with the two previous records, Kali and Everlasting War Divinity, both sounding like an impossible mix of Godspeed and Darkspace, furious and relentless and blackened, sweeping, epic and emotional, looong tracks, rife with droning buzz guitars, furious drumming, surprising melodies, all wrapped around some super abstract and far out mythologies, but here, those same strange obsessions are tangled up with a totally new, and seriously demented and unlikely sound.
As we mentioned in previous Eldrig reviews, like much black metal, there seems to be in Eldrig, some somewhat unpleasant political leanings, flirtations with Aryanism, Nietzschism, that sort of thing, which is only represented in the lyrics and the artwork as the music is all (or almost all) instrumental. But the more we hear, and the more we dig into the strange liner notes, the less this seems like some sort of NSBM, and the more it appears to be an all consuming and twisted obsession with all manner of problematic and crackpot theologies, far out mythologies, arcane symbolism, Eldrig revel in exploring the hidden meanings of symbols, both classic and traditional, forbidden and shocking, the music, in some strange way expressing the power and energy behind and within these symbols, the words wrapped around those symbols, and the people who lived and died over ideas and beliefs and yes, symbols. The booklet is gorgeous this time, thick marbled matte black pages, with text and symbols in super reflective ink, each song represented by a symbol, and some notes on the symbol and the music from Eldrig himself, there's a pentagram (of course), the cosmic egg, the AUM, the black sun, and of course the sunwheel (aka the swastika). The text accompanying the sunwheel speaks merely of the 'golden sun' and its abstract symbolic significance. But fair warning, folks sensitive to this stuff should steer clear, it's subtle but it's definitely there (for instance, Eldrig are still obsessed with Savitri Devi, a crackpot who was all about combining Nazism and Hinduism), although the interest does seem more abstract and intellectual than political or social.
But all of that hardly prepares you for the sonic shift Eldrig have undergone since the last album. Where was once, massive stretches of near static buzz and blast, sweeping epic blackened heaviness, there is now, what can only be described as, well, power metal. Black power metal (not BLACK POWER metal, if only!), Symphonic and super melodic and seriously over the top. It's barely even black metal anymore, lots of guitar leads, and squiggly melodies, and lush keyboards, there are vocals this time around, and they are blackened throat shredding vokills, the drumming is insane, the guitar is buzzy and insectoid, but the arrangements are ridiculous, totally epic and major key, the melodies sound sped up, keyboards everywhere. It's like Hammerfall with a black metal makeover. Some of the tracks do dip into doomy black grimness, the guitars thick and grinding, the vocals raspy and hateful, ploddingly along, but without fail, in will swoop some totally nuts guitar freakout, or an avalanche of majestic keyboards, sometimes the tracks slip into full on melodic hard rock, bordering on power ballad, there are even stretches of pretty clean guitar laid over burbling brooks and chirping birds, but those tracks always seem to return to some sort of furious power metal buzz. It sounds ridiculous, and it is, sort of, but it's also completely unhinged and fucked up and GENIUS. Not sure what he was thinking, but with Mysterion, Eldrig has crafted some totally outsider black metal, and be sure, this will definitely not appeal to the the troo and the grim, instead this is for fans of the fucked, the damaged, the so bizarre it blows your mind. And Mysterion most definitely blows our mind. Fucked up blackened power metal record of the year? As if there could possibly be any other contenders...
MPEG Stream: "The Ray Of Green Light"
MPEG Stream: "Physis"

FEAR DROP No. 14 (Featuring Nadja, Troum, Dirge, Savage Republic and more) magazine + cd 14.98
We all love the Cure, their music informs so many of the sounds we love these days, from gloom pop to doom metal, the music of the Cure is so evocative, so dark and textured and epic, while remaining incredibly catchy and poppy. Elsewhere on this list you'll find a 2cd tribute to the Cure, which is worth buying ONLY for the Jesu track, but if you're looking for some serious Cure love and obsession, not to mention some killer covers, then the latest issue of Fear Drop will definitely hit the spot.
A whole magazine dedicated to the Cure's Pornography, a short study of the music, the band, the songs, the sound. Extensive and well researched, in both English and French, but even if you're not crazy obsessed with the Cure, you still might be pretty excited by the accompanying cd, all the songs from Pornography, covered by groups like Nadja, Troum, Dirge, Savage Republic, Year Of No Light, Contagious Orgasm, Kill The Thrill and Wild Shores. The Nadja version of "One Hundred Years" is awesome, a loping fuzz drenched dirge, weary vocals, thick crumbling guitars, sweeping and epic. Troum tackle "Cold" and create a thick sprawling smear of warm ambient dronemusic, thick and layered, the vocals an ominous whisper, cinematic, creepy, and hauntingly beautiful. Probably worth it for the mag and those two track, but thankfully, the rest of the tracks are pretty excellent as well, ranging from Neurosis-y metallic doom dirge (Dirge doing "A Short Term Effect"), to blissed out shoe gazey new wavey blur (Kill The Thrill doing "A Strange Day"), to buzzing brooding industrial folk, rife with militaristic drums, dramatic strings, squiggly radio interference, and moaning melodies (Contagious Orgasm doing "Pornography"), to sweeping washed out post rock swirl (Year Of No Light doing "The Figurehead") and on and on. Essential for obsessive Cure fans, but the disc is rife with dark, gloomy, buzz drenched heaviness, that would no doubt make the Cure proud.
MPEG Stream: NADJA "One Hundred Years"
MPEG Stream: TROUM "Cold"

FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION, DJ Frosoblomster (self released) cd-r 10.98
Mix number two from mysterious local turntablist and DJ, the brilliantly monickered DJ Female Convict Scorpion, whose mixes are less DJ mash-ups and more haunting artistic assemblages, incorporating free jazz, fuzzy funk, found sounds, bits of dialogue, sampled instruments, stripped down beats, pretty much no genre is off limits, but those genres are basically meaningless once everything is mixed together.
From the opening track, with its ominous chiming bells beneath Tom Waits' gravelly voice spinning a yarn, the mix slips smoothly, into a deep laid back minimal grooves, surrounded by swirling sheets of soft focus effects, before the mix shifts, and wailing female vox are draped over a thumping beat, a sea of record crackle, bits of hum and distant whir, Shadow wouldn't be all that far off as a reference, but imagine if Shadow was raised on prog and punk rock and art films and free jazz, then how would a mix of his sound? A bit like this perhaps.
The tracks veer wildly from super rhythmic workouts, to drifting minimal soundscapes, strange electronics drift in and out, mournful horns, spidery guitars, strings are bowed and plucked, deep rumbles surface from below, tribal drumming is laid beneath tangled world music voices, creating gorgeous and unintended harmonies, dense clouds of blooping bleeping effects over skittery free jazz skronk, dark reverbed noir-ish guitars shimmering beneath subtle percussion, breathless vocalizing and steel string scrape, deep ritualistic chanting drifting over the sound of sirens, funky drumming and subtle barely there dronemusic in the distance, Really good stuff. Made even better by the fact that we weren't able to identify a single source for any of the sounds within!!
Beautiful packaging. Full color printing on thick matte paper, super haunting and tripped out imagery, pressed on black cd-r's each with an actual postage from some other country affixed to the face.
MPEG Stream: "Dum Sechs Unt Glum eine Rum"
MPEG Stream: "Floorshow At The Top OF The World"
MPEG Stream: "The Peaches 'n' Herb Of Freak Folk"

FENNESZ Black Sea (Touch) lp 16.98
Now available on vinyl, this recent Record Of The Week!
Which came first Tim Hecker or Christian Fennesz? If one is to merely look at the discographies of the twin kings of digitally tricked out guitar sculpting, the chronological answer is obvious: Christian Fennesz. But in the four years that have transpired between his brilliant album Venice and the 2008 opus Black Sea, Fennesz must have seen a younger protege in Tim Hecker coming up in the rear view mirror with his own dramatic sound for smeared guitar whose beauty is similarly rendered through error. Not only does Black Sea feel like a response to Tim Hecker's work, it also stands as Fennesz' most fully realized album, perhaps even more so than the sunburst explosion of meta-pop on Endless Summer.
Fennesz works best in the cold, with ice, snow, and frost dusting the strings of his guitar and seeping into the circuitry of his computer; and the cold landscape is exactly where he situates himself on Black Sea. Not surprisingly, Touch's Jon Wozencroft perfectly matches a photograph of an abandoned train track set onto a barren wintry landscape, looking a hell of lot like the photographs that Anselm Keifer uses as a background over which he dumps tar, paint, cement, lead, ash, and whatnot into his alchemical paintings.
Black Sea opens with the fizzling crunch of digital errata getting mangled even further by digital means, with Fennesz sculpting a sea swell of a half melody in the distance. Considering the contemplative and cold nature of the rest of the album, this track is a bit discordant; but Fennesz isn't going for the Menche / Merzbow attack, just something of a wake-up call. But gradually, even this first burst of noise quells in a plaintive round of finger picking on the guitar, out of which a beautiful cloud of vaporized drone begins to amass and a subharmonic throb of distortion settles in. These sounds become the template for the rest of the album, all wrapped in gray, muted timbres. When noise bursts through Fennesz' circuits, the attack almost immediately blurs into clustered loops, drones, and sympathetic noises to smooth the edges into a shimmered glisten of remarkable beauty that exhibits a cold, overcast, and gray soundsmear, certainly on par with the sleepytime shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine. After an exceptional collaborative track with Rosy Parlane of lunar landscape ambience riddled with dust before opening into a hymnal melody, Black Sea comes to an end with one of Fennesz' best tracks ever in "Saffron Revolution," with its soaring vapor trail of tone-bent guitar drone and a majestic crescendo of sustained, soft focus distortion. A truly marvellous piece of work.
MPEG Stream: "Black Sea"
MPEG Stream: "Glide"
MPEG Stream: "Saffron Revolution"

FLIPPER Generic Flipper (Water) cd 15.98
At long last, reissues of the four best works by San Francisco's own Flipper!
Founded in 1979, Flipper was an anomaly. Though featured in the 2006 documentary "American Hardcore," alongside bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains, they seemed totally miscategorized. They were far easier understood in the context of SF artpunk, but their shitty production values, menacing lyrics and nihilistic attitude ingratiated them with the hardcore crowd.
Often credited with inspiring a thousand sludge rock bands, there's no doubt that their influence runs far and wide. From '80s contemporaries like No Trend and Drunks with Guns, to Rick Rubin's copycat band Hose, to bands with later, greater success like the Melvins and Nirvana, the impact of Flipper is formidable. In fact, the Melvins in particular owe so much to Flipper; having recorded SO MANY covers of their songs - and obviously influenced by Flipper's hollow, sparse, plodding drum style - they may be Flipper's number one fans. But unlike their disciples, Flipper's music remains far less polished, less categorizable and more enigmatic, in our humble opinion.
Their debut album, Generic, is classic - a crushing, pounding, drug-addled nightmare of existential angst and torment. Lyrically hateful - yet hopeful - Flipper seems like a band at war with the audience and themselves. Their music is an utter trainwreck - it's often out of time and out of tune. You get the feeling that the band could really give a damn about playing well or recording quality. It's cynical, blase and yet utterly hypnotizing. It's also occasionally hilarious. From the opener "Ever," with its caustic lyrics (complemented by hand clapping!) to the seriously dark and murky "(I Saw You) Shine," to its ultimate peak with the optimistic "Life" ("Life is the only thing worth living for"), it's a glorious, fucked up listening experience.
Ending with the 8 minute long epic "Sex Bomb" - a punk "Louie Louie" if there ever was one - Flipper managed to create an album that epitomizes alienation and discomfort. It's pure poetry.
Reissue contains additional photos and obligatory liner notes by Nirvana's Krist Novoselic, who joined the band a few years ago.
MPEG Stream: "(I Saw You) Shine"
MPEG Stream: "Life"
MPEG Stream: "Sex Bomb"

FLIPPER Gone Fishin' (Water) cd 15.98
At long last, reissues of the four best works by San Francisco's own Flipper!
Founded in 1979, Flipper was an anomaly. Though featured in the 2006 documentary "American Hardcore," alongside bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains, they seemed totally miscategorized. They were far easier understood in the context of SF artpunk, but their shitty production values, menacing lyrics and nihilistic attitude ingratiated them with the hardcore crowd.
Often credited with inspiring a thousand sludge rock bands, there's no doubt that their influence runs far and wide. From '80s contemporaries like No Trend and Drunks with Guns, to Rick Rubin's copycat band Hose, to bands with later, greater success like the Melvins and Nirvana, the impact of Flipper is formidable. In fact, the Melvins in particular owe so much to Flipper; having recorded SO MANY covers of their songs - and obviously influenced by Flipper's hollow, sparse, plodding drum style - they may be Flipper's number one fans. But unlike their disciples, Flipper's music remains far less polished, less categorizable and more enigmatic, in our humble opinion.
Flipper's second album finds them better recorded, although it almost doesn't sound right - like an ill-fitting suit. And no suit can make this band sound any less dirty - Gone Fishin' is still full of lurching, menacing bass lines and repetitive, drug-fried riffs. And occasional piano. And horns. And xylophone. It almost sounds like a UK post-punk band at times, until the vocals kick in and it degenerates into a sloppy, group sing-a-long. It's a mess.
Best songs include the triumphant opener "The Light, The Sound," the chilling "Sacrifice" (since covered by the Melvins, yes, on Lysol), and the disorienting "Talk is Cheap."
The cover reproduces a scaled-down version of the original LP art, which is an interactive cut-out model of their tour van and band members. You could cut this one out, but it's not recommended.
Reissue contains additional photos and highly entertaining liner notes by Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, who rightfully gives thanks.
MPEG Stream: "The Light, The Sound"
MPEG Stream: "Sacrifice"
MPEG Stream: "Talk's Cheap"

FLIPPER Public Flipper Limited (Water) cd 19.98
At long last, reissues of the four best works by San Francisco's own Flipper!
Founded in 1979, Flipper was an anomaly. Though featured in the 2006 documentary "American Hardcore," alongside bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains, they seemed totally miscategorized. They were far easier understood in the context of SF artpunk, but their shitty production values, menacing lyrics and nihilistic attitude ingratiated them with the hardcore crowd.
Often credited with inspiring a thousand sludge rock bands, there's no doubt that their influence runs far and wide. From '80s contemporaries like No Trend and Drunks with Guns, to Rick Rubin's copycat band Hose, to bands with later, greater success like the Melvins and Nirvana, the impact of Flipper is formidable. In fact, the Melvins in particular owe so much to Flipper; having recorded SO MANY covers of their songs - and obviously influenced by Flipper's hollow, sparse, plodding drum style - they may be Flipper's number one fans. But unlike their disciples, Flipper's music remains far less polished, less categorizable and more enigmatic, in our humble opinion.
Live albums are often throw-aways, but this one is so NOT. On this masterful double CD compilation, Flipper demonstrates more than a casual flirtation with Public Image Ltd, at whom the band enacts revenge for allegedly stealing the "Generic" concept years prior. It's a sprawling, chaotic selection of some of Flipper's best songs, and many that don't appear on any other readily available release. Gloriously muddy, deranged swampfests of feedback, documenting the oft-touted rowdy live experience that their studio-recorded output may not have conveyed. This release definitely captures the best elements of Flipper - humor, depravity and a sloppy yet confident self-critique of what it means to be a band playing rock music.
Did we mention on-stage banter?
"Don't dance, I don't give a shit!"
"Is everybody on speed? I'm getting a contact high like a motherfucker!"
"Are you satisfied yet? Can we leave?"
The cover reproduces a scaled-down version of the original LP art, which was an interactive board game based on Flipper's touring life on the road. You could cut it out and construct it, but it's not really recommended.
Reissue contains additional photos and liner notes by writer Steven Blush, who still needs to explain why the movie made from his American Hardcore book chose Flipper as San Francisco's contribution to said 'American Hardcore', and not Crucifix, the Fuck Ups, Code of Honor, or even Fang.
MPEG Stream: "The Game's Got A Price"
MPEG Stream: "Love Canal"
MPEG Stream: "We Don't Understand"

FLIPPER Sex Bomb Baby! (Water) cd 15.98
At long last, reissues of the four best works by San Francisco's own Flipper!
Founded in 1979, Flipper was an anomaly. Though featured in the 2006 documentary "American Hardcore," alongside bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains, they seemed totally miscategorized. They were far easier understood in the context of SF artpunk, but their shitty production values, menacing lyrics and nihilistic attitude ingratiated them with the hardcore crowd.
Often credited with inspiring a thousand sludge rock bands, there's no doubt that their influence runs far and wide. From '80s contemporaries like No Trend and Drunks with Guns, to Rick Rubin's copycat band Hose, to bands with later, greater success like the Melvins and Nirvana, the impact of Flipper is formidable. In fact, the Melvins in particular owe so much to Flipper; having recorded SO MANY covers of their songs - and obviously influenced by Flipper's hollow, sparse, plodding drum style - they may be Flipper's number one fans. But unlike their disciples, Flipper's music remains far less polished, less categorizable and more enigmatic, in our humble opinion.
Sex Bomb Baby! is a compilation of the band's singles, several of which were released before their seminal debut album Generic. Recorded in a trash can, their dirgey, feedbacky songs somehow transcend. Add cheap studio effects, the occasional arty sample or spoken monologue, and Flipper's trademark angst/sneer/fucked up genius definitely shows through. This album is a good companion to Generic but the uninitiated should start there first, not here. Aside from different versions of "Sex Bomb" and "Ever" from Generic, there's the insanely creepy "Ha Ha Ha," a live version of their most overtly political song "Sacrifice," and the bludgeoning "Earthworm." There are other nuggets here, but also quite a few jokey songs that were probably funnier to a teenaged-bong-smoking Flipper freek than the Flipper freek of today.
Reissue contains additional photos and decently entertaining liner notes by Henry Rollins, who was responsible for the last reissue of this oft-reissued disc.
MPEG Stream: "Ha Ha Ha"
MPEG Stream: "Ever"
MPEG Stream: "Earthworm"

GHAST May The Curse Bind (Todestrieb) cd 14.98
We were all prepared to write this review thinking that this Ghast, from Wales, was in fact, the same as the Ghast whose last two split albums we had reviewed recently. The sound was quite different, but hey, bands do that all the time. Thankfully, we dug a little deeper and discovered that indeed there are two different Ghasts, one French Canadian, one Welsh!
This Ghast is the one from Wales, and since they are in fact not the Ghast we already knew and loved, they are totally new to us, but there's plenty of room in our shrivelled black hearts for two different Ghasts, which is a good thing as we're starting to think we love these guys too. Where the -other- Ghast traffic in a crumbling lo-fi slow motion blackened doom, the Welsh Ghast, on So May The Curse Bind, their first proper full length, up the black quotient quite a bit. Right out of the gate, opening track "Crawl, Blighted And Afraid" explodes in a flurry of punkish blast beats, harsh vokills and buzzing frenzied riffage, raw and primal and a bit lo-fi, this is definitely frosty and grim sounding, but before too long the band can no longer resist the black hole pull of doom, and the tempo slows to a lurch, the blast beat transforms into a pound, the riff churns and chugs, occasionally, spinning out into little squalls of furious buzz, the melodies minor key and epic, a relentless black doom dirge, that shifts back to blasting buzz to finish off in a blaze of blackened fury.
The rest of the tracks follow a similar path, veering back and forth between stumbling chaotic frenzy and lumbering doomic crush, buried within the murk and the mire though are haunting hook filled melodies and surprising guitar harmonies, which add a bit of texture and color to the blurred blackness. A few of the tracks slip into a D-beat pound, others stretch out into woozy seasick almost-waltzes, while "Pale Robe" slows everything waaaaay down for a weary depressive crawl through clouds of Burzumic buzz and spidery minor key guitar melodies, a sort of black doom ballad, melancholy, miserable, and weirdly beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Crawl, Blighted And Afraid"
MPEG Stream: "Give Your Wrists"

HATEFUL ABANDON Famine (Or Into The Bellies Of Worms) (Todestrieb) cd 14.98
What a difference a name makes, oh ok, and an extra member. The UK's Abandon, formerly a tortured suicidal black metal one man outfit, has changed their name to Hateful Abandon, added a fella called Swine to the lineup, and the result is really strange and unexpected.
Abandon, before the name change, trafficked in a super harsh and hateful black metal along the lines of Xasthur or Leviathan, buzzing riffs, deep depressive blackness, laced with hysterical shrieking vocals. But on Famine, gone is ALL of the buzz, and much of the vocal hysteria, in its place, something equally depressive, but sonically completely removed from the black metal of its former incarnation. The sound here is all clean guitars and simple loping drums, deep moody basslines, more gloom and goth than blast and buzz. Joy Division is the obvious reference. The occasional blackened shriek being the only reminder that this band was once grim and harsh. But hell, c'mon, the sound doesn't need to be grim and harsh for the vibe to be. and the vibe here is definitely grim and bleak, and sorrowful and depressive. Much like the recently reviewed Frail cassette, that matched up black metal vox with Cure-ish eighties new wave, Hateful Abandon subtly infuse a bit of blackness into what would otherwise be just a slab of gloomy miserablist gothic slowcore. Which would be fine with us of course, but the mix is pretty bizarre, and the result is pretty excellent. Guitars chime and ring out, melodies unfurl lugubriously, the bass is serpentine and soporific, the drums more keeping time than driving the songs, the vocals, lazily drawled, from soft sad boy croon, to deep gothy bellow, to demonic shriek, often in the same song, but the shrieking is in fact kept to a minimum, relying much more on the gloomier less harsh vocals, which definitely makes this something dark and brooding and moody and melancholic, not even remotely heavy, which means this is only for truly adventurous and open minded metalheads, or for the rest of you, who like it dark and creepy and haunting and hypnotic, and might not mind the occasional hellish howl with your doomy dreary dirges...
MPEG Stream: "Rats Whisper Murder"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Spine"

HELIOS Caesura (Type) cd 15.98
You can't always judge a record by its cover. But after one look at the cover of Caesura, disc number four from Boston's Helios, we could pretty much tell this would be a wondrous escape into some heavenly realm of ambient goodness. Between the latest Grouper release and the cosmic psychedelia of the recent Alps disc, Type seems to have tapped into some infinite well of dream pop specialists. And Helios is one of the most outstanding members of this cast of dream weavers. Boston's Keith Kenniff, the man behind Helios, has crafted an album of delicate, gorgeous compositions shrouded in winter's haze. Light and somber guitar passages stepping along side sparse electronic beats and percussion to create a lush wreath of pop ambiance. Unlike some pop ambient records that too easily meander into the dreary corners of space, Caesura remains anchored to earth. Invoking images of quiet pines and blissful isolation, there's a captivating relationship between the more industrial, electronic backbone of the record and the droning, organic melodies that hover above. Caesura is the perfect soundtrack for gazing out at the morning fog on lonely winter mornings. Need we say much else?
MPEG Stream: "Hope Valley Hill"
MPEG Stream: "A Mountain of Ice"

HELIOS Caesura (Type) lp 19.98
You can't always judge a record by its cover. But after one look at the cover of Caesura, disc number four from Boston's Helios, we could pretty much tell this would be a wondrous escape into some heavenly realm of ambient goodness. Between the latest Grouper release and the cosmic psychedelia of the recent Alps disc, Type seems to have tapped into some infinite well of dream pop specialists. And Helios is one of the most outstanding members of this cast of dream weavers. Boston's Keith Kenniff, the man behind Helios, has crafted an album of delicate, gorgeous compositions shrouded in winter's haze. Light and somber guitar passages stepping along side sparse electronic beats and percussion to create a lush wreath of pop ambiance. Unlike some pop ambient records that too easily meander into the dreary corners of space, Caesura remains anchored to earth. Invoking images of quiet pines and blissful isolation, there's a captivating relationship between the more industrial, electronic backbone of the record and the droning, organic melodies that hover above. Caesura is the perfect soundtrack for gazing out at the morning fog on lonely winter mornings. Need we say much else?
MPEG Stream: "Hope Valley Hill"
MPEG Stream: "A Mountain of Ice"

HORNA Sanojesi Aarelle (Moribund) 2cd 17.98
It's hard to say exactly why, but Horna might just be our favorite black metal band EVER. No matter what we're listening to, no matter how heavy or dark or grim or fucked up or mind blowing that whatever is, the minute we throw some Horna on it's like all that listening never happened. We're suddenly in thrall to Horna's timeless black buzz. Ensorcelled, enraptured, smitten even. Horna are heavier than anything else, buzzier and more black. There's just something magical and mysterious about Horna, they're Finnish, that could be part of it. But their sound is totally unique, even though that sound is assembled from all the bits that make up all black metal. It's a sound simultaneously frenzied and furious and heavy as fuck, but also simple and punky, even a little groovy here and there, the songs swing wildly from impossibly blazing black blasts to lurching chug and back again. The guitars are massive and thick, and while Shatraug's vocals were always amazing, there's now a new second vocalist Corvus, the two mix it up big time, hellish shrieks, punk rock barks, death metal growls, all adding a weirdly emotional element to their grim blackness. And like most of our favorite bands, there's a definite pop element buried beneath, hooks all tangled up with the lurching, thrashing, head banging buzz, drifting just below the surface, making these songs not only brutal and black, but crazy fucking catchy as well. It's almost as if someone took Iron Maiden, dragged them into the forest, where they were forced fight and then mate with Darkthrone, then the offspring were fed human flesh and blast beats, slathered in corpsepaint and doused in black buzz, until they emerged feral and fucked up, demented and delirious, but ghostlike vestiges of their more traditional lineage continue to linger on. Fuck it. We could make up cool little stories and spend the next several paragraphs exhausting our black metal thesaurus, but basically, none of that really matters. This review could have been two words long. HORNA RULE. If you're into black metal, and you don't love Horna, then you're not. Not really. And if you're new to the genre and want to hear traditional black metal done about as well as humanly, or inhumanly possible, then Horna is the band to start with, and this double disc is as good a place as any to dive in...
MPEG Stream: "Muinaisten Alttarilta"
MPEG Stream: "Verilehto"
MPEG Stream: "Mustan Kirkkauden Sarastus"

INVISIBLE BEES 1st (Anti-Guru) cd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A gorgeous disc of drifting, moody, softly psychedelic dronefolk from this mysterious duo called Invisible Bees. Fans of all things darkly twangy, drone drenched, shimmery and haunting, will definitely want this, the sounds inside are gorgeous, the packaging is over the top luxurious, the bad news is, it's limited to only 50 copies, and we only got a handful. So we'll be brief, but needless to say, do your best to grab one of these, you won't be sorry.
Loping bass, over fragments of folky steel string guitar, plenty of swirling wheezing ambience, more folk than drone in fact, the steel strings guiding the Invisible Bees' sound. The twang and pick and strum, pulled apart, and set amidst deep soft swells of warm washed out whir, the melodies minor key and mournful, in the distance shimmering streaks of high end sway to and fro, the percussion is minimal, the ambience is thick, super moody and cinematic, creepy, and beautifully ominous, a disembodied skeletal folk music for the drone set. Really fantastic, and practically criminal that only 50 people will get to hear it.
Incredible packaging, full color, hand water colored covers with cloth binding with a full color printed inner sleeve as well!
MPEG Stream: "Syrup Of Bees"
MPEG Stream: "We Are Not Supernatural"

LANDSTRUMM, NEIL Lord For Ŗ39 (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
So far we've only reviewed a single 12" from Mr. Neil Landstrumm, which is weird cuz we've been pretty nuts for his fractured electronica, especially his last record Restaurant Of Assassins, which melded drill and bass, old school jungle, electro skitter, and video game sounds into something totally tweaked and fucking kickass.
This new one follows the same template for the most part, but with a bit more focus on dubstep this time around, which is fine with us, as Landstrumm's take on dubstep us pretty demented to say the least. The opener is a dubbed out low slung jam, complete with deep reverberating bass, eighties Goblin-y Knight Rider synths, cinematic strings, and chopped up and processed vocals. A sound falling somewhere between Richard D. James and Venetian Snares, but a bit more dubbed out. The second track has 'Krunk' in the title, but if anything it's even more dubby and stripped down than the opener, the main melody a whirring grinding bass synth, and some playful bleeps and bloops, the rhythm stuttery and skittery.
Dubstep really is the cornerstone for the whole disc, that wavery bass buzz anchoring most of the songs, but it's what Landstrumm adds to the mix that makes things so cracked, whether it's a barrage of malfunctioning video game glitchery, haunting orchestral 8-bit swells, Miami bass handclaps and slithery fuzzy keyboard stabs, super blown out rumbling low end rumbles, whatever it is, it all gets tangled up with whatever dubbed out bass heavy groove Landstrumm has assembled mad scientist style, from stuttery loops, old drum machines, analogue synths, bass guitars, and lots and lots of video games. Might be our favorite dubstep record of the year, if it wasn't so unlike most other dubstep records...
MPEG Stream: "Transmission"
MPEG Stream: "Easter Krunk Power"
MPEG Stream: "Shit Daddy Bass"

LEGENDARY PINK DOTS Plutonium Blonde (ROIR) cd 16.98
It's been over a quarter of a century now that the Legendary Pink Dots have been unleashing their dark and brooding psychedelic spaced out sounds and they've somehow managed to maintain a seriously strong cult following despite being ignored by much of the underground music establishment (they've pretty much always been ignored by Wire magazine ferinstance). While we can't say we've stayed up to date with all of their recent output, Plutonium Blonde grabbed our attention in a BIG way from our very first listen and we've since been spending lots of time with its languid and melancholic sounds. Such a perfect blissed out Sunday night record to put on when you have nowhere to go and all you want to do is melt into the couch and daydream. Edward Ka-Spel sounds as iconic as ever and this really does sound like the Dots at their best, creating moody and dramatic songs that remind us of later period Coil covering mid-'70s Pink Floyd. Really nice!
MPEG Stream: "Faded Photograph"
MPEG Stream: "Torchsong"
MPEG Stream: "Oceans Blue"

MANTECA Ritmo Y Sabor (EM) lp 24.00
Our hands down favorite reissue label for far-flung exotica, Japan's EM Records, not only has a new amazing release, but has also finally made the big leap to vinyl!! (Actually, they'd done a few lps before, but this release is vinyl ONLY). And what better choice for a vinyl reissue than this rare mid-'70s slab of Afro-Cuban percussive funk madness by Cuban master "bongosero", Lazaro Pla, or as he was better known to the world, Manteca! Eight relentlessly heavy bass-driven grooves featuring Manteca's organic percussive excursions that range from almost modernist compositions of repetitively shifting layers of driving rhythms to deep salsa jams and afro-cuban FUNK. Imagine Tussle with a Cuban rhythm section or Konono No. 1 with a limber funky bass player, or even one of the best Beastie Boys instrumentals from back in the day. Having performed with many legendary Cuban combos including Ernesto Lecuona's Cuban Boys, Manteca's recorded output as leader and featured soloist have been quite rare. Beautiful and dazzling with a no-frills production that acknowledges the traditional roots of Cuban music but with a forward thinking progressive edge. So Awesome! And DJs, get on it, you've got your new secret weapon right here.
MPEG Stream: "Afro Funky"
MPEG Stream: "Abacua"
MPEG Stream: "Gozando El Timbal"

MORKER Hostmakter (Northern Silence) cd 14.98
We had never really heard Morker before. Our first experience with them was on a split lp with Draugsang which was too limited and too expensive for us to get enough to list (we actually do have a couple copies in stock, just ask), but we liked what we heard so we decided to get a handful of the new full length, number two from these Swedes it's pretty excellent.
We spend a lot of time focusing our energies on things that are damaged and demented and fucked up and bizarre and not always entirely musical, but once in a while it hits the spot, especially metalwise to get a blast of something heavy and brutal and black but still melodic and catchy, and thus we have Hostmakter, a gorgeous collection of melodic black metal, which reminds us alternately of old Dimmu Borgir, Dissection and Dark Tranquility, all bands we most definitely love, and who traffic in a style of black metal that seems to have fallen out of favor, or maybe we've just been too preoccupied with the seedy filthy underbelly of black metal to notice. Whatever the reason, this disc is hitting the spot for sure, each track is epic and hooky and melodic, the vocals still raw and raspy, the guitars still buzzing and frenzied, but those black elements are wrapped around something much more musical, melodies soar, guitars tangle up in Maiden-ish harmonies, there's definitely a power metal element too, the songs are peppered with interludes and breakdowns, arpeggiated clean guitars, doleful piano, all providing brief respite from Morker's epic majestic black bombast.
Definitely recommended.
MPEG Stream: "I Flodens Forsande Brus"
MPEG Stream: "Segertag"
MPEG Stream: "Mitt Arv"

NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun (Limited Edition) (Students Of Decay) 2cd / 2 x cd-r / 2 x 3"cd-r 45.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the insanely limited, and pretty pricey, super deluxe version of Natural Snow Buildings' The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun. It was limited to 120 copies. It is out of print. Sold out. We only got a very few of these (as in 5), and will not be able to get more. The deluxe version features normal double disc version, PLUS, 2 more full length cd-r's, and 2 three inch cd-r's for a total of SIX DISCS. The extra discs are housed in a cardstock fold over sleeve, each one hand painted by the band, hand numbered, inside are 4 full color inserts, all of the discs held together by a printed full color obi. WE ONLY HAVE 5 COPIES OF THIS. IT WILL UNDOUBTEDLY SELL OUT IMMEDIATELY. AS IN MERE MINUTES! ONCE THESE ARE SOLD OUT, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE THE STANDARD, CHEAPER, TWO DISC VERSION. IF YOU ABSOLUTELY DO NOT WANT THE STANDARD VERSION, AND ARE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE DELUXE $45 VERSION, THEN PLEASE PUT A NOTE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THE ORDER FORM TO THAT EFFECT.
Originally released in two editions, one limited to 32 copies, another 19 copies, France's Natural Snow Buildings had arguably created their masterwork, a sprawling two and a half hour epic, that seemed destined to only be heard by those 51 people. But making more at that point was an impossibility, as each one was hand painted, painstakingly assembled, and the magic and mystery of The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun seemed to be lost forever. That is until now. Students Of Decay, spent months putting together this deluxe reissue, which again, was way too limited, with only 500 copies pressed, and is already sold out and out of print from the label. We have 25 copies, and that's all we'll ever have.
Some of you might remember the three way split The Snowbringer Cult, which featured the duo of Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte, aka Natural Snow Buildings filling two discs with their folky drones and drone drenched folk, one disc a proper NSB release, the other split between each member's solo project, Isengrind and Twinsistermoon. The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun, while ostensibly credited to NSB, plays a bit like The Snowbringer Cult, as it covers all sorts of ground, from fluttery strum and croon, to deep buzzing drone, to drifty druggy spaciness, to motorik kraut jams, to sun dappled forest folk, and every possible stop in between. Makes sense really, as 150 minutes is a lot of sonic space to fill, and the two fill it to overflowing with a luxurious array of gorgeous sounds, from light and airy to dark and brooding, it really seems foolish to go into too much detail, as these will probably disappear in a matter of minutes, but for the uninitiated, it can't hurt to dig a little deeper.
The duo dip their toes in reverb drenched sixties female folk, quickly switching gears and unfurling a fifteen minute krautjam constructed from simple metallic percussion, and ominous buzzing drones, before immediately switching back for some ramshackle lo-fi bedroom strum and croon, and then slipping smoothly into a gorgeously blissed out slow motion space drone drift, all glimmering long tones and soft blurred shimmers. And the thing is, no matter what the sound, or what sort of sonic otherworld the duo are exploring, they manage to imbue the sound with innocence and wonder, while seeming to master it completely, and making it their very own. The dronemusic here is epic and understated and utterly divine, the folk and pop parts are gorgeous, catchy, intimate and emotional, and when the two collide, they create something else entirely, and the band are able to take it in any direction, a brief fragment, burning bright and then gone, or a stretched out sprawling epic, simple figures, subtle melodies, allowed to drift and blossom, the pop elements, and the folk elements, transformed into perfect parts of an even more perfect whole.
Packaged in a gorgeous fold over black white and yellow cardstock sleeve, adorned with the band's eye popping artwork, inside, a 6 panel black and white insert on thick paper, with liner notes, more wild images and liner notes from Time-Lag's head honcho Nemo.
MPEG Stream: "Cut Joint Sinews & Divided Reincarnation"
MPEG Stream: "Wisconsin"
MPEG Stream: "Dance Of The Moon & The Sun"

NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun (Students Of Decay) 2cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Originally released in two editions, one limited to 32 copies, another 19 copies, France's Natural Snow Buildings had arguably created their masterwork, a sprawling two and a half hour epic, that seemed destined to only be heard by those 51 people. But making more at that point was an impossibility, as each one was hand painted, painstakingly assembled, and the magic and mystery of The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun seemed to be lost forever. That is until now. Students Of Decay, spent months putting together this deluxe reissue, which again, was way too limited, with only 500 copies pressed, and is already sold out and out of print from the label. We have 25 copies, and that's all we'll ever have.
Some of you might remember the three way split The Snowbringer Cult, which featured the duo of Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte, aka Natural Snow Buildings filling two discs with their folky drones and drone drenched folk, one disc a proper NSB release, the other split between each member's solo project, Isengrind and Twinsistermoon. The Dance Of The Moon And The Sun, while ostensibly credited to NSB, plays a bit like The Snowbringer Cult, as it covers all sorts of ground, from fluttery strum and croon, to deep buzzing drone, to drifty druggy spaciness, to motorik kraut jams, to sun dappled forest folk, and every possible stop in between. Makes sense really, as 150 minutes is a lot of sonic space to fill, and the two fill it to overflowing with a luxurious array of gorgeous sounds, from light and airy to dark and brooding, it really seems foolish to go into too much detail, as these will probably disappear in a matter of minutes, but for the uninitiated, it can't hurt to dig a little deeper.
The duo dip their toes in reverb drenched sixties female folk, quickly switching gears and unfurling a fifteen minute krautjam constructed from simple metallic percussion, and ominous buzzing drones, before immediately switching back for some ramshackle lo-fi bedroom strum and croon, and then slipping smoothly into a gorgeously blissed out slow motion space drone drift, all glimmering long tones and soft blurred shimmers. And the thing is, no matter what the sound, or what sort of sonic otherworld the duo are exploring, they manage to imbue the sound with innocence and wonder, while seeming to master it completely, and making it their very own. The dronemusic here is epic and understated and utterly divine, the folk and pop parts are gorgeous, catchy, intimate and emotional, and when the two collide, they create something else entirely, and the band are able to take it in any direction, a brief fragment, burning bright and then gone, or a stretched out sprawling epic, simple figures, subtle melodies, allowed to drift and blossom, the pop elements, and the folk elements, transformed into perfect parts of an even more perfect whole.
Packaged in a gorgeous fold over black white and yellow cardstock sleeve, adorned with the band's eye popping artwork, inside, a 6 panel black and white insert on thick paper, with liner notes, more wild images and liner notes from Time-Lag's head honcho Nemo.
Again, LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. ALREADY SOLD OUT AND OUT OF PRINT. THESE ARE THE LAST COPIES EVER!
MPEG Stream: "Cut Joint Sinews & Divided Reincarnation"
MPEG Stream: "Wisconsin"
MPEG Stream: "Dance Of The Moon & The Sun"

NOCTURNAL EMISSIONS Drowning In A Sea Of Bliss (Klanggalerie) cd 17.98
You would be right to be skeptical of Nocturnal Emissions, as the long standing project has released a handful of duds amidst a catalogue of mediocre records. HOWEVER, the one exception is Drowning In A Sea Of Bliss, which is not only the best Nocturnal Emissions record, but also one of the most brutal, abrasive pieces of industrial electronics ever, alongside the best that SPK and TG produced back in the day and certainly providing a template for the caustic electro-shock treatments of Wolf Eyes, Prurient, UW Owl, and the like.
Drowning In A Sea Of Bliss originally came out on lp in 1983 through Nocturnal Emissions' own Sterile Records and was later reissued by Touch, first on cassette and then on cd in the early '90s. At the time, Nocturnal Emissions was the British duo of Nigel Ayers and Caroline K, the former of whom has helmed the project since the late '80s on his own veering into soft-focus ambient and questionable electronica. Nocturnal Emissions was always much better when Ayers had his foil in Caroline K, although the division of labor was always a bit murky. This album had been envisioned as a vinyl release. with two distinct sides - one being a series of audio collages of overblown noise, distorted media cut-ups, tape loops, and primitive electronics, and the second girded to a series of minimal-wave rhythms with plenty of noise bursts and dead-eyed tonalities. For better or for worse, the two cd reissues of the album have not broken up the album into individual tracks (which are listed in the liner notes), but instead present each side of the lp as a single continuous track. We had hoped that Klanggalerie would remedy this, but alas, the problem remains. That said, this minor quibble doesn't detract from the brutal power of this album, with the first half being what Cabaret Voltaire should have done with all of their Burroughs' inspired cut-ups. Here, maniacal loops of analog distortion and piercing screams corrode into sharply rendered bursts of noise and plenty of deconstructed samples from military commercials and news clippings. The second half is no less blackened, but is far more clinical with the primitive electronic rhythms actually getting sort of groovy from time to time, even as shards of searing noise burst forth. Think early Coil or Fad Gadget. Fucking incredible is what this is.
If there's one Nocturnal Emissions record you should get, this is the one.
MPEG Stream: "Norepinepherine"
MPEG Stream: "Total State"
MPEG Stream: "Education For Consumption"

PERINEUM The Nail And Key (Chambara) cd-r 9.98
There's a seriously thriving noise scene in San Francisco, shows all the time, tons of tapes and cd-r's, performances in warehouses, street corners, micro labels popping up all the time, the one bummer, for us at least, is we're not all that into noise. Well, Allan is into Japanese noise, the rest of us like things that are noisy, but prefer our NOISE to be pretty, or droney, or in some way not all that harsh. Soft noise some folks might call it.
But we're not noise prudes, our ears are made of stern stuff, and there's plenty of thick, buzzing caustic skree we love to cuddle up to. Like this, the debut full length from local duo Perineum, made up of two members of other aQ faves, Ben from local black metal horde Horn Of Dagoth, and Derek from local kraut / drone outfits Horseflesh and Ozmadawn.
Two tracks, appropriately enough titled "The Nail" and "Key". "The Nail" begins with a wall of crumbling caustic distorted heaviness, a swirling buzzing churning swirl of processed tapes, effected vocals, tons of fractured effects, all ground into a roiling black cloud, but something strange happens about three quarters of the way through, the noise abates, leaving a ghostly smear of backwards melodies, delicate crystalline shimmer, soft resonant swells, all layered and fused into a dreamy warm drift that gradually grows quieter and quieter.
"Key" begins as a whispered bit of hiss and whir, like a collage of amp buzz and muted record crackle, smeared into a fuzzy prickly bit of soft white noise, within which is buried subtle rhythmic variations, slowly shifting textures, gradually growing more and more corrosive, the sound decaying and crumbling, bits of feedback beginning to show through, the sound like a Wolf Eyes / Blue Sabbath Black Cheer mashup, eventually within all that hiss and buzz, deep moaning melodies become barely visible, jagged shards of high end surface like chunks of black ice a winter sea, and the sound grows white hot, before fading and gradually disappearing completely.
Packaged in a cool mini dvd style plastic case, with printed and collaged inserts, and the inside of each case hand painted with some mysterious and arcane symbol.
MPEG Stream: "The Nail"
MPEG Stream: "The Key"

PINHAS, RICHARD / MERZBOW Keio Line (Cuniform) 2cd 16.98
Yes, that's right. Japanese noise maestro Masami Akita, aka Merzbow, teamed up here with guitarist Richard Pinhas of pioneering '70s French synth-prog act Heldon in a Tokyo studio last year. An unexpected collaboration, perhaps, but a successful one - two action-packed discs worth! Here at AQ you could call us Merzbow fans - one of us even dutifully reviewed EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' DISC in the 50-cd Merzbox that came out a few years ago. He's not only pretty much thee originator of Japanese noise but we still find him to be one of the genre's most interesting practitioners. But since Merzbow is, almost by definition, so prolific, we can't get excited about every single release he puts out (the obi blurb here claiming "He has recorded and released nearly 100 cds" may be the understatement of the century... isn't it more like 1000??). This one, though, we are quite excited about. 'Cause Pinhas is another AQ fave. We love Heldon, and also enjoy much of his solo work since the '70s, right up to 2006's Metatron.
So, what does the Merzbow-Pinhas summit sound like? It's plentiful and varied, but the basic impression is that of Merzbow's fried electronic noise zips and zaps like someone shooting down spaceships amidst Pinhas's glimmering, glorious Frippish guitar drone. Merzbow is credited with EMS Synthi A and "all noises" though Pinhas, with his guitar and "loop system" isn't exactly quiet. As Merzbow's machines emulate the sound of a sparking, arcing live electric wire, electricity shooting sparks in sizzling patterns, Pinhas keeps the pleasurable pulse of his guitar going and going. There was obviously much mutual admiration here, between "Merzdon" and "Heldrow" as one of the track titles puts it, Merzbow thrilled to play with one of his '70s heroes, Pinhas quite aware of how he paved the way for further extremes of experimental, electronic music, but not resting on his laurels at all. They bring out the best in each other, easily making this one of our favorite recent documents from either artist. Pinhas sure can't wimp out here, and Merzbow keeps his contributions psychedelically listenable.
This is available as a double cd on Cuneiform, or a deluxe triple vinyl set on the Dirter Promotions label. Expensive, but quite fancy.
MPEG Stream: "Chaos Line"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck The Power (and Fuck Global Players)"

PINHAS, RICHARD / MERZBOW Keio Line (Dirter Promotions) 3lp 42.00
Yes, that's right. Japanese noise maestro Masami Akita, aka Merzbow, teamed up here with guitarist Richard Pinhas of pioneering '70s French synth-prog act Heldon in a Tokyo studio last year. An unexpected collaboration, perhaps, but a successful one - two action-packed discs worth! Here at AQ you could call us Merzbow fans - one of us even dutifully reviewed EVERY SINGLE FREAKIN' DISC in the 50-cd Merzbox that came out a few years ago. He's not only pretty much thee originator of Japanese noise but we still find him to be one of the genre's most interesting practitioners. But since Merzbow is, almost by definition, so prolific, we can't get excited about every single release he puts out (the obi blurb here claiming "He has recorded and released nearly 100 cds" may be the understatement of the century... isn't it more like 1000??). This one, though, we are quite excited about. 'Cause Pinhas is another AQ fave. We love Heldon, and also enjoy much of his solo work since the '70s, right up to 2006's Metatron.
So, what does the Merzbow-Pinhas summit sound like? It's plentiful and varied, but the basic impression is that of Merzbow's fried electronic noise zips and zaps like someone shooting down spaceships amidst Pinhas's glimmering, glorious Frippish guitar drone. Merzbow is credited with EMS Synthi A and "all noises" though Pinhas, with his guitar and "loop system" isn't exactly quiet. As Merzbow's machines emulate the sound of a sparking, arcing live electric wire, electricity shooting sparks in sizzling patterns, Pinhas keeps the pleasurable pulse of his guitar going and going. There was obviously much mutual admiration here, between "Merzdon" and "Heldrow" as one of the track titles puts it, Merzbow thrilled to play with one of his '70s heroes, Pinhas quite aware of how he paved the way for further extremes of experimental, electronic music, but not resting on his laurels at all. They bring out the best in each other, easily making this one of our favorite recent documents from either artist. Pinhas sure can't wimp out here, and Merzbow keeps his contributions psychedelically listenable.
This is available as a double cd on Cuneiform, or a deluxe triple vinyl set on the Dirter Promotions label. Expensive, but quite fancy.
MPEG Stream: "Chaos Line"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck The Power (and Fuck Global Players)"

PLOTKIN, JAMES Indirmek (Utech) cd 14.98
Another disc that somehow slipped under our review radar, which we're only getting to now, even though it's been in the shop since the beginning of the year. James Plotkin should really need no introduction, nowadays he produces and masters pretty much every weird, dark, doomy, heavy, drone record, but has of course played in Khanate, Phantom Smasher, Flux, Romance, O.L.D. and more...
For his entry into Utech's Arc Series, Plotkin has crafted two extended dronescapes, the first recorded live in 2007, hushed and muted and darkly beautiful, deep blackened shimmers, soft rumbling swells, a low end sprawl that over the course of 40 minutes (!) sheds its glassy darkness and reveals a hissing whirring blur underneath, but even then, the sound is smoothed out, blurred, smeared, subtly melodic, not even really ominous as much as mysterious and hauntingly tranquil.
The second track, performed and recorded in 2006, is a whole different beast, a chopped up assemblage of malfunctioning electronics, swirls of glitch and buzz, fractured melodies, damaged streaks of FX, swirling metallic shimmer, dense clouds of collaged high end skree, deep whorls of tangled crunch and moaning bass tones, all tangled and mangled, twisted into uncomfortable shapes and shot through with shards of grinding high end, wrapped in gauzy layers of warm sepia toned whir. While not as simply beautiful as the first track, within the second lurks much melody and beauty, all tangled up with the constantly twisting and twisted buzz and crunch of Plotkin's blackened soundscaping.
Gorgeous packaging, metallic gold and black fold over sleeves, with striking photography by Max Aguillera-Hellweg. Probably super limited, we've had these for a while, we have a decent amount, but once we run out, not sure we can get more....
MPEG Stream: "Afyon"
MPEG Stream: "Amfetamin"

ROSE, JACK Dr. Ragtime And His Pals (Tequila Sunrise) lp 23.00
Now available on vinyl. Super deluxe, and of course, super limited!!
A new Jack Rose record is always cause for celebration around here. Along with James Blackshaw, Ilyas Ahmed, Richard Bishop and a few others, Rose is one of the new modern masters of the steel string guitar, helping to reinvent and redefine neo-Appalachia or modern folk or whatever you want to call it.
No huge changes, we're happy to announce, just more of Rose's gorgeous steel string beauty, gossamer sheets of buzzing shimmer, droning ragas, traditional bluegrass, slippery slide, melancholy melodies, jaunty pick and strum, the mood occasionally dark and ominous, sometimes playful and festive, and other times dreamy and serene, it's as much about the sound as the songs. To see Rose play live is pretty mindblowing, his mastery of the guitar is truly humbling, his playing incredibly physical, but so fluid and seemingly effortless. And the sounds that emerge from that chunk of wood and steel are consistently breathtaking. Which is true even on record, those sounds well removed from the actual recording, but retaining much of the physical act of the performance, the energy and the emotion, the sound vibrant and LIVE. This new record is no different. Sonically, well in line with the rest of Rose's recorded works, but like every new Rose record that comes along, it manages to subtly expand and progress, sonically and compositionally, while continuing to sound classic and timeless.
Fans will obviously need Dr. Ragtime, but for folks who have yet to discover the magic of Jack Rose this is a perfect place to start, and odds are those same folks will very likely find themselves wanting and perhaps even needing more!
Gorgeous packaging, clear shiny ink on gold matte sleeves, with printed pink and white Japanese style obi.
MPEG Stream: "Miss May's Place"
MPEG Stream: "Bells"
MPEG Stream: "Revolt"

RUSSELL, ARTHUR Love Is Overtaking Me (Audika) cd 16.98
AQ pal, experimental musician, yoga instructor and Root Strata label head, Jefre Cantu, was so in love with this record that he nearly insisted that he review it for our list. Being the overly busy beavers that we are, we were more than happy to oblige. Take it away, Jef.....
I have to admit it, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to the work of Arthur Russell. My ears didn't exactly perk up when I first heard his re-released early disco recordings a few years back (which says more about my taste for the genre at that time than his take on it). But when a good friend of mine passed along the collection of airy rock/jazz/classical mutant instrumentals that are collected on First Thought, Best Thought I was floored. And hooked. It proved to be the perfect entry point for me into Russell's storied body of work, and lead me on a path to other equally addictive outings such as his hallucinatory World Of Echo, and the weird electronic funk of Calling Out of Context. And now, thanks in no small part to Russell's long time lover Tom Lee, we have Love Is Overtaking Me' a lovely set of folksy pop songs culled from (literally) hundreds of cassette and reel to reel tapes that span his carrier from the early '70s to the year before his untimely death in 1992. I'm happy to say it's a real pleasure to listen to, as this collection highlights a side of Russell's work that's hardly been hinted at before. Tunes like the opening "Close My Eyes" or "Maybe She" are arresting to hear if for no other reason than how bare Russell sounds, his mellow croon laid blank against an acoustic strum. The opening passage on "Goodby Old Paint", a cover of a cowboy standard, may just be one of the most gorgeous things he's done, only disappointing in its brevity. It's the kind of thing I could listen to over and over for an entire Sunday morning. Joined with a full band for most of the disc, tracks like "I Couldn't Say It To Your Face", "Hey! How Does Everybody Know" and "The Letter" are sunny summer day pop songs, cast in lyrics about love, dogs, dads and full moons. Each one's a perfect bit of headphone candy, layered with hooks that may go unnoticed on the first, or even second listens, but ultimately stick to the sides of the brain for days on end. It's really staggering to think that the 21 tracks here have never been heard by the public before, and just as staggering to consider what could have become of Arthur Russell had he lived till now. Finally, the disc winds down with the heartbreaking romantic downer "Love is Back", where he softly sings over a spare constellation of keyboards & electronic beats "Being sad is not a crime...."
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Old Paint"
MPEG Stream: "I Couldn't Say It To Your Face"
MPEG Stream: "Love Is Back"

SHEFFIELD, COLIN ANDREW Signatures (Invisible Birds) cd 38.00
The veil of mediated sound hangs heavy upon the work of Colin Andrew Sheffield, a Texan born sound artist currently living in Seattle. His work is almost entirely based upon recontextualizing sounds from already released works, although unlike such plunderphonic artists like Christian Marclay, John Oswald, and Wobbly who allow for the samples to utter their origins, Sheffield obliterates almost all of the references into a field of static vibrations, densely compacted layerings, and hyper-stretched drones. Through his digital crucible, Sheffield extracts something almost completely different out of the sources that he puts into it.
In running the ever impressive Elevator Bath label, Sheffield has found an outlet for a handful of his recordings, mostly as small run editions with the one exception being his outstanding First Thus cd. Signatures was commissioned by the San Francisco based label Invisible Birds, as the debut in what hopes to be a great catalogue of sound art composition that's somehow related to bird sounds and their environment. Keeping true to his working methods, Sheffield's contribution to Invisible Birds reclaims sounds from other records amidst what Sheffield claims to be field recordings of water and birds. The results have been so heavily obfuscated through the process that it's hard to hear any twitter of birdsong. The thunderous low-end repetition on the last track is purported to be the flapping of a bird's wing, but it's hard to discern. All of this said, Sheffield's results are gorgeous. At first, the album has almost an ominous feel, as a shimmering, arctic hush is shot forth from the speakers with layer upon layer of sympathetic vibrations interweaving into a hypnotic, if cybernetic sound. It sounds sort of like the classic Chain Reaction artists like Porter Ricks or Hallucinator with all of the techno extracted, and only a cold, cold drone of digitality left behind. By the end of the album, Sheffield brightens things into a stunning crescendo of church organ-like chords suspended in time and space with glints of vinyl crackle hanging like sunflecked dust floating in air. Here, Sheffield gives the impression of William Basinski reclaiming a Ligetti choral piece. Very highly recommended.
INSANELY LIMITED. Already out of print. This is the super deluxe version which comes housed in a quite nice box, the disc wrapped in fabric, and includes a booklet and a bonus 3" cd-r!!
MPEG Stream: "Beneath The Waves"
MPEG Stream: "Surrender"
MPEG Stream: "Breath Of Day"

SHOP ASSISTANTS Will Anything Happen (Cherry Red) cd 17.98
Only a few of us had even heard of this Scottish '80s indie sensation when this amazing reissue first hit our shelves but as soon as we listened we all instantly became huge fans and couldn't believe how they had managed to slip so far under our radar.
Coming out of the same scene that spawned The Pastels, this is really the precursor to the amazing twee and indie rock that would so dominate the underground music scene in the decade to come. Kind of like an impossibly amazing mix of Heavenly, The Vaselines and the driving spirit of early R.E.M. The songs of the Shop Assistants practically sound like the blueprints for K records. We have to believe folks like Beat Happening and The Softies had copies of this record when the whole International Pop Underground movement started up. We hear so much of our favorite indie pop sounds in this record: Magnetic Fields, Yo La Tengo, Belle & Sebastian, Electrelane, Vivian Girls, The Aislers Set, we could go on and on. It also makes perfect sense that Stephen Street engineered the record as it also fits so nicely sonically next to the records he worked on with The Smiths. The Shop Assistants can sound so dreamy and also so peppy and rocking, fully charming and irresistible without every being cutsey. This is a must have for anyone with a love for any of the bands mentioned above, indie rock, twee, dream pop, etc. Totally endearing and so damn good! If we have anything to do with it, Shop Assistants will no longer be the best kept secret in indie pop history. This is amazing!
MPEG Stream: "I Don't Want To Be Friends With You"
MPEG Stream: "All That Ever Mattered"
MPEG Stream: "All Of The Time"

SOUND PROJECTOR, THE 17th Issue magazine 10.98
About every 7 and a half months or so, we get an email from Sound Projector publisher/editor Ed Pinsent over in England, informing us of the release of a new issue and politely inquiring as to whether we would like to perhaps order some copies. As if we would say no! Of course, his email elicits a "hell yeah!!" response from us, and some days or weeks later, depending on the vagaries of the international postal system, an exhausted mailman arrives bearing a heavy package stuffed with Sound Projectors, in this case, issue #17. And then we have hours of reading and mental note-taking ahead of us. Mental note-taking? That's 'cause aside from the odd interview or three (this issue: Sharon Kraus, Gen Ken Montgomery, Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words) SP consists almost ENTIRELY of record reviews. And we LOVE record reviews. Sure, some are of things we already reviewed ourselves. But we find a lot of new (and old) stuff here, things we'd never heard of, or have in stock but hadn't yet gotten around to listing yet. So it's a great way to supplement your steady diet of Aquarius Records New Arrivals list reviews, that's for sure.
As per usual, this issue is broken into many "chapters" devoted to musics grouped either geographically ("The Nordic Realms") or by format ("Vinyl Viands 12-inch") or, mostly, by genre or should we say micro-genre ("Atoms Of Pure Noise", "The Droning Ones", "Utter Freakdom", "Shh - Quiet Music"). Literally hundreds and hundreds of albums discussed, in an opinionated and expert fashion. We definitely respect their reviewers, even if we don't always agree (though we often do, and in fact get name-checked in their thumbs up for the band Quest For Blood). And the wide range of music covered is right up our eclectic alley, from experimental field recordings to hippie folk to Norwegian black metal. We really can't imagine any regular AQ customer not wanting, nay, needing this magazine.
As big as ever (172 pages thick!), this issue is actually a bit less expensive than other recent Sound Projectors, as Ed found a cheaper (and faster, miracle of miracles) way to post 'em to us from across the pond. Yay!
Also, this comes with a special bonus, a free download of an album by Rhode Island synth-wizard Mudboy, exclusive to this issue of the Sound Projector.

SPACEMAN, J. & MATTHEW SHIPP SpaceShipp (Treader) cd 17.98
This match-up had to happen really, even if it was just so they could call the record SpaceShipp. Legendary Jazz pianist Matthew Shipp teams up with Spacemen 3's Jason Spaceman for two extended pieces of modern minimal dronemusic.
Apparently the two performed live together at Patty Smith's Meltdown Festival, and this recording is an extension / corollary of that performance. And it's a doozy. Shipp abandons the piano in favor of the Harmonium, while Spaceman wields his trusty Vox Starstreamer, the two conjure up some seriously deep drones. The opener is the 41 minute "Inner", and is a slow moving near static stretch of massive minimalism, the guitar and organ unfurling long tones, creating all sorts of layers and textures, complex overtones, and subtle barely there rhythms, the obvious references are Reich, Niblock and Palestine. The piece occasionally shifts and the tones become fuzzier, a bit more blown out and buzzy, but they quickly revert to their more murky washed out state. Total divine Ur-drone action, mesmerizing, hypnotic, and dreamlike.
The second track, "Outer", is only 11 minutes long, and features Shipp on the Celeste, creating delicate crystalline music box like melodies, while Spaceman creates all sorts of scrapes and buzz in the background, which slowly coalesces into a Spacemen 3 sort of looped buzz, the two elements at odds, but strangely complimentary, the combined sound woozy, warped and warbly, but still haunting and strangely lovely.
Gorgeously packaged like all Treader releases, this one features a blue matte paper fold over sleeve, with a metallic gold jellyfish embossed on the front.
MPEG Stream: "Inner"
MPEG Stream: "Outer"

SPRUNG AUS DEN WOLKEN Faux Pas (Klanggalerie) cd 17.98
Sprung Aus Den Wolken came out of the Berlin underground in the early 80s, right alongside Einsturzernde Neubauten and Malaria, producing their own claustrophobic rhythm and noise out of junked electronics and instruments. Just as Neubauten built their own studio to serve their metal bashing purposes, Sprung Aus Den Wolken had their Cassettencombinat studio in which to tinker around with mutant grooves, sparkplug guitar scratchiness, and yelping vocals. Given the lo-fi material produced through Cassettencombinat, the studio was probably little more than a tangle of 1/4" cables, a 4-track, and whatever gear the various participants could cobble together. Yet out of these constraints, Sprung Aus Den Wolken had managed some truly inspired post-punk tunes, which sort of come across as a weird hybrid of Neubauten, The Ex, and Gang of Four. The Neubauten connection may be obvious as a very young kid named Alexander Hacke had found his way into the Sprung Aus Den Wolken camp at about the same time he began scraping infernal noises alongside Blixa Bargeld and crew. Where Neubauten was all about a bleak destruction of sound with darkly serious connotations, Sprung Aus Den Wolken were considerably more playful in their slop and sonic debris, often working in catchy grooves, basslines, and guitar bursts that tease with the notion of a pop hook into their danse macabre. Faux Pas was their first LP, recorded back in 1982, with some of this material appearing on the Vinyl On Demand boxset of Cassettencombinat material. But none of this has been on cd, until now. Klanggalerie has also included a couple of tracks from a few years later when Sprung Aus Den Wolken actually went into a proper studio (or maybe Cassettencombinat got a really fancy upgrade) for the "Pas Attendre," which earned the band a wider audience through its inclusion on the Wings Of Desire soundtrack.
MPEG Stream: "Akcam La"
MPEG Stream: "Noch Lange Nicht"
MPEG Stream: "Warte"
MPEG Stream: "Pas Attendre"

SVARTE GREINER Man Bird Dress (SMTG Limited) lp 15.98
Another fantastic document of Svarte Greiner's abstract ambient acoustic doom. Not doom in the traditional sense, but more a sort of darkly mysterious, slow motion sprawl that shares a mood and sprit with doom music, although sonically it falls more in line with the free noise limited cd-r crowd.
This super limited lp captures three long tracks, that all seem to flow together into one epic (or they would if it didn't require flipping the record over), groaning strings, splattery percussion lay out a sort of free jazz / abstract folk drift, fluttery woodwinds, bits of rumble and shimmer, all billow out into a skeletal dronemusic, spare and spacious, that builds in intensity, becoming a brooding slow burning almost post rock, culminating in a thick wash of blurred buzz and textured low end whir, heavy and hypnotic, a little psychedelic and spacey.
The flipside begins with a field recording, or what sounds like one, beneath which lurks barely audible tones, shimmery strings strange vocalizations, bleating horns, all super minimal and way off in the distance, eventually all coalescing into a placed stretch of minimal ambience, deep ominous rumbles crumble beneath glassy expanses of glassy glimmer, until finally, another thick guitar heavy drone surfaces, turning he track into a near static downtuned dirge, not metallic, more dense and layered and lush, shot through with streaks of feedback and chunks of looped buzz, crumbling and roiling and slowly fading out.
So beautiful. Definitely for fans of Aidan Baker, Xela, Acre, Tunnels, Fear Falls Burning, RST, The North Sea, and other masters of dark droning ambience. Incredible packaging too, two tone printing on heavy chipboard sleeves, LIMITED TO ONLY 300 COPIES.

SZCZESNY, DAWID Luxated Symmetry (Porter) cd 14.98
Many of the records we love best are the ones that are the most difficult to figure out where we would file them in the store. Such is the case with the engaging and genre transcending aural delights of Polish sound artist Dawid Szczesny. His sounds are filled with suspense and restraint. You can tell he is someone whose love of music and sound spans a wide distance yet he has the skill and foresight to keep his creations fluid and filled with a brimming mood that never resorts to melodrama and never goes over the top, crafting soundscapes that remind us of everything from Moondog to Pierre Bastien to Philip Jeck to J.P. Shilo to a more elegant and restrained take on what many in the Chicago jazz/post-rock scene aimed to create (Tortoise, Chicago Underground Duo, Isotope 217 etc.).
We've been loving so much of what Porter has been putting out but this release is really getting tons of play and might be our favorite of their non-reissue releases yet!
MPEG Stream: "Cushicled"
MPEG Stream: "Fully Functional"
MPEG Stream: "Contiguity Of Yours"

TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM Constructing Towers (Extreme) cd 14.98
When we reviewed Halo's seminal Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence) album, we described them as "one of the heaviest, creepiest, most intense bands we have heard", we went on to compare them to Godflesh and Neurosis and Earth and Whitehouse and Cop Shoot Cop and Gore and Noisegate, holy shit, just writing that has us wanting to hear Halo again...
Anyway, it's been at least 5 years since we've heard a peep out of Halo, but even back in the day, one of the Halo guys had a side project called Terminal Sound System, which at the time ditched the crushing industrial metallic pummel of Halo in favor of creepy dark ambience and skittery electronica. Well since then, it seems that Terminal Sound System has developed into a full time concern, and in the process TSS's sound has soaked up all kinds of electronic music along the way, from jungle to dubstep, while remaining creepy and heavy and super intense, and we are digging it big time.
The record begins with some creepy pulsing ambience, the drums an almost jazzy skitter, until 'the drop', where the background sounds grow jagged and harsh, the drums exploding in a squall of rhythmic freakout, before it immediately simmers right back down. It almost sounds like a junglized Necks, long stretches of smokey dark shimmer, peppered with blown out blasts of grinding metallic dubstep rhythms and thick buzzing drones. But then the song shifts gears, and the drums pull way back, returning to their muted skitter, while over the top, Young Gods like guitar loops add a sort of carnivalesque prog element to the proceedings, growing ever more dramatic and tense, exploding in an incredible climax of massive rumbling bass, like some sort of doom dubstep. Fuck, I know we say this all the time, but that track alone is worth the price of admission.
But moving forward, the title track, is a brooding chunk of old school tech-step jungle, with plenty of blackened droney ambience hovering beneath the still sort of jazzy programmed drum and bass stutter. "Year Of The Pig" is another fractured take on dubstep, the drums, chopped and hiccuppy, heavy with FX, careening from space-y shuffle to dense staccato pound, while all around the beat swirls minor key piano stabs, swooshing spaced out effects, shards of metallic buzz, the whole track freezing occasionally and locking into a super jagged stop start stutter. Again, somehow the sound is a bit jazzy, but so heavy and dark and aggressive...
The rest of the record is all over the place, from subtly industrial post rock, complete with chiming guitars hook filled melodies, and strange effected vocals, sounding almost like a Jesu / Nadja sort of thing, to dark shimmery black ambience laced with super low bass buzz, and haunting minor key swells, to Eastern Muslimgauze style electronic drifts, to what can only be described as a sort of fractured dubstepped cabaret jazz, to fuzzy gauzy, reverb drenched Portishead-ish downtempo shimmer, to epic, ethereal blissed out post rock electronic drone, like Jesu meets Godspeed meets Asbestoscape, which is how the record finishes up.
Seriously fucking awesome. Has us wanting to hear more Terminal Sound System, and has us hankering to go back and revisit Halo as well...
MPEG Stream: "In Your Planet"
MPEG Stream: "Constructing Towers"
MPEG Stream: "Year Of The Pig"

TRISKELE ...Les Murmures De La Foret... (Abhore) cd 16.98
Another mysterious black metal horde from the great white North, hailing from Quebec, Canada, Triskele, like many of their French Canadian black metal countrymen, have much in common with their actually French brethren, owing much to the Black Legions and the various groups and scenes that brief movement inspired.
Les Murmures is not new, it was actually released way back in 2003, and there are two more recent records, but as those two were SUPER limited and both seem to be out of print now, we figured that probably some of you, like us, managed to miss out on this, which is a shame, as this is some seriously blown out, buzz drenched, miserablist black metal.
Supposedly Les Murmures was recorded in a forest (Like Ulver's epochal Nattens Madrigal) and it definitely sounds like it could have been, after a brief ambient keyboard / chanted intro, the band spews forth a churning torrent of crumbling black distortion and blasting drums, almost totally obscured by the sheet of hiss and buzz that envelops the proceedings. Almost more than a forest, this sounds like it was recorded in a cave, or at the bottom of a well, or in some massive concrete bunker. The vocals are a harsh glass gargling howl, inexorably tangled up with the buzzing reverb drenched guitars, and those drums that sound more like a wall of cymbal sizzle punctuated by barely audible rhythmic pulses, but don't get us wrong, it sounds AMAZING, super lo-fi and totally raw, slipping from chaotic stumbling blast, to lurching doomic creep and back again. Some tracks are explosions of furious white noise buzz and relentless drum splatter, but when the band locks into a groove, and slows it down a bit, the depressive genius shines through, the vocals transforming into an hysterical shriek, all manner of melancholy and mournful melodies rising to the surface, before being obliterated by another frosty white blast of black fury.
Then there's the title track, a nearly 12 minute stretch of buzz and drum ambience, the drums pounding out some tribal rhythm, while all around it streaks of whir and buzz swirl and swoop, the drummer also managing to incorporate some unlikely percussion, there's even some primal wailing at one point, it's actually nearly impossible to imagine this track NOT being performed in the forest, lit by firelight, the mysterious haunting sounds holding the woods' wild beasts at bay.
WAY recommended. Essential for fans of outsider depressive blackness and grim blown out black forest buzz.
MPEG Stream: "Reverence"
MPEG Stream: "Tenebre"
MPEG Stream: "La Foret Noire"

TUMA, SCOTT Hard Again (Truckstop) cd 14.98
Finally managed to get some of these back in stock. A former aQ Record Of The Week, still seemingly out of print, but got a bunch direct from the man himself! Still, not sure how many he has to spare though, so get 'em while you can...
You know how you can go on at length about this and that, but when you prepare to talk about that one thing you totally love, you find yourself completely tongue tied. I, Andee, kind of feel like that about this record. The minute we put this on, I knew this was it. One of my favorite records of the year, easy. Maybe one of my favorite records period.
Scott Tuma is probably not a household name to most of you, except those of you, who like me, were obsessed with Souled American, since that's where he spent most of the eighties, helping create those molasses slow, rickety bluegrass song-skeletons that we here at AQ love so much. And his time spent in Souled American shows here, on his first 'solo' record. But unlike the stoned and unsteady lurch of SA, 'Hard Again' is all crystalline shimmer, with Tuma's guitar, guiding us unsteadily through soundscapes of tape hiss and skittering snares, moaning chords and weeping melodies.
Take a little John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke's Bad Timing, Souled American, maybe some spacey Brian Eno, play it back on a ancient tape machine, and listen to these understated and completely gorgeous guitarscapes, warbling notes, shimmering harmonics and tape hiss and ambient noise all over. Some of the tracks take the Souled American sound and stretch it to its breaking point. Notes versus space, and the space always wins. But the space is never complete, each note rings out, reverberating into the next, creating a delicate latticework of notes and overtones. On one of the tracks a drummer chimes in, but takes a completely new direction with his kit, sounding as if pebbles and sand were being scattered on the snare, with rattles and sizzles scattered between the notes of the lush guitar. Probably the closest 'Hard Again' gets to an actual song is song 5. Wintery and glistening, with carnival melodies played unsteadily and gently, evoking late afternoon strolls through abandoned carnival midways, light blanket of snow on the ground, while the entire scene is hazy seen through the veil of snowflakes filling the sky. This record is just one long lush walk through a cloudy landscape of foggy daydreams and wistful memories. Similar to the way Philip Jeck takes turntables and crafts old fashioned film strip flashbacks of days gone by, Tuma, takes the guitar, and paints vivid images, faded by the passing of time, the snow on the ground, the water in the basement and the rays of the sun, and evidence by clicks and whirrs and hum, which only add another layer to this already rich document.
So so beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Beautiful Dreamer"
MPEG Stream: "Your N Baby"
MPEG Stream: "Drums Midway"

TUMA, SCOTT The River 1 2 3 4 (Truckstop) cd 14.98
One of two long out of print records from Scott Tuma back in stock! Technically still out of print, we're getting them direct from Tuma himself, so they might run out quick, so if you somehow missed out on this the first time around, don't blow it again...
This is record number two from AQ fave Scott Tuma and it's just as beautiful as last year's Hard Again album that we couldn't stop raving about. For those who don't know, Tuma spent the majority of his career as the guitar player for stoned country deconstructionists Souled American. And Tuma has continued to deconstruct that sound even further. Taking the glacial slow motion country of Souled American as a jumping off point, Tuma manages to remove most of the distinctly 'song' elements and focus more on sound, and the impression of that sound. Slow and dreamy, full of space and even more purposeless in terms of song structure than ever, but consequently more effective at creating moods, evocative and stunning, epic and totally timeless. The instrumentation is simple, acoustic guitars, banjos, harmonica, organ, with plenty of ambient clatter, instrument buzz, foot steps, chairs creaking, breathing and shuffling all add to the spare beauty. Wheezing chords underpin purposeful notes gently plucked and left to hang momentarily in the warm air, before drifting gently out of earshot. Melodies slowly reveal themselves from a smattering of notes introduced slowly and sporadically somehow knowing that they will all eventually fall snugly into place. Lush, slowly shifting drones with barely-there melodies suspended within like insects in amber. Warm blankets of sound, woven simply, but perfect in their simplicity. Completely mesmerizing and so soothing. Like Phill Niblock composing for Palace, or Godspeed backing up John Fahey, or Philip Jeck and a handful of country 78's. Simply amazing.
MPEG Stream: "The River 1"
MPEG Stream: "The River 2"

V/A African Scream Contest (Analog Africa) cd 24.00
Samy Ben Redjeb, the man behind the Analog Africa label, allegedly went through some 3000 records before picking the 14 tracks that make up this amazing compilation of mid-'70s sounds from Benin and Togo - the two smaller countries that happen to be sandwiched between Nigeria and Ghana, two of the dominant cultural forces in African music at that time. As much as the music included on African Scream Contest shows the influence of those neighboring heavyweights, there are plenty of other elements coming into the mix. You can hear Afro-Cuban horn blasts and clave rhythms alongside samba grooves and James Brown funk. That you can hear blues and soul being filtered through highlife, Afrobeat, and even traditional choral music is one of the things that makes this period of African music so exciting: no one influence holds any more sway than any other, and the result is something totally unique that manages to be strangely familiar while sounding like nothing you've ever heard in your life.
Like the title says, this stuff is definitely raw - you can hear musicians who not only taught themselves how to play, but in doing so created their own culture, national identity and music. For every influence pulled from elsewhere in the world (be it US funk or Brazilian rhythms), there's something distinctly regional through which it gets filtered; for example, Benin is the birthplace of voodoo, and that must surely have been an influence on the sense of wild abandon and frenzy that this music manages to capture so perfectly. Simply put, this is heavy stuff!
The standard for these kinds of compilations has been set incredibly high by labels like Strut, Sound Way, Soul Jazz and the like, but if anything Analog Africa have raised the bar even higher. It took three years of research, crate digging, interviews and detective work to put this compilation together and it shows: this presentation of the music, liner notes and archival materials is meticulous, loving and borders on obsessive. This is an amazing collection of songs that once again shows the incredible depth of cultural output happening in Africa in the '60s and '70s. It's a great time to be a fan of these musics, and this stunning compilation shows us exactly why. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: GABO BROWN & ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO "It's A Vanity"
MPEG Stream: LOKONON ANDRE & LES VOLCANS "Mi Kple Dogbekpo"
MPEG Stream: LE SUPER BORGOU DE PARAKOU "Congolaise Benin Ye"

V/A Calypsoul 70 - Caribbean Soul & Calypso Crossover 1969-1979 (Strut) cd 16.98
One of things we were most thankful for musically this year was the reemergence of Strut, the label we fell in love with for their great and deep digging tastes in booty moving obscure dance music from across the globe. Their Disco Not Disco comps are legendary for finding such outsider post-punk and left-field disco jams and they have released such amazing collections of Afrobeat, library music, old school hip-hop, etc. But the label seemed to disappear for the last few years so we were crazy stoked to see them back and on fire once again, with another volume of Disco Not Disco, as well as the awesome Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story collection, Nigeria 70, Disco Italia, and more! Which brings us to their latest immaculately packaged, well researched and most importantly totally jamming collection of Caribbean soul and funk from 1969-1979. The twenty tracks on here range from very Western influenced classic soul & funk to steel pan fueled jams, reggae tinged burners and loud & proud political anthems. A whole bunch of artists we'd never heard before that we are loving as well as a few AQ favorites sprinkled throughout (Amral's Trinidad Cavaliers Steel Orchestra, Cedric Im Brooks). We're so happy that this great label is strutting their stuff once again!
MPEG Stream: JUAN FORMELL Y LOS VAN VAN "A Ver Que Sale"
MPEG Stream: AMRAL'S TRINIDAD CAVALIERS STEEL ORCHESTRA "90% Of Me Is You"
MPEG Stream: OPHELIA "Red Light Lady"

V/A Dancehall: The Rise Of Jamaican Dancehall Culture (Soul Jazz) 2cd 25.00
Avid readers of the list know we love dancehall, from classic dancehall reggae, right up to the more aggro super heavy junglized ragga dancehall. And those same readers are probably well familiar with the Soul Jazz label, and their amazing, elaborate, painstakingly assembled, meticulously researched reissue compilations. Every one packed with classics and rarities in equal measure, always with a massive booklet packed with liner notes, info about all the tracks, anecdotes, photos and whatever else they can squeeze in there. You probably can tell where this is heading. Soul jazz releases now number in the hundreds, but they have yet to release a bum disc. This double cd keeps the streak alive BIG TIME.
An awesome and comprehensive primer on dancehall reggae, done in the inimitable Soul Jazz style. Have a look at the artists: Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Chaka Demus And Pliers, Barrington Levy, Sister Nancy, Cutty Ranks, Super Cat, Cornell Campbell, Gregory Isaacs, Eek A Mouse, Clint Eastwood, and that's just the ones we know, there's also Half Pint, Reggie Stepper, Horace Ferguson, Toyan, Early B, Trinity, Lone Ranger, Michigan & Smiley, Triston Palmer, Lady Ann, Brigadier Jerry, Conroy Smith and more and more and more.
And the tracks! A bunch of essential jams, some have found there way onto other comps, but many have NOT. If you're like us, that dancehall rhythm is just irresistible, such a killer groove, whether it's wrapped around mellow guitar and smooth crooning, or jagged melodies and rough and raw toasting, we just can't get enough. Pretty sure you're feel the same after filling your ears with all these jams.
Includes tons of amazing photos as well extensive notes on each track, and each artist.
MPEG Stream: TENOR SAW "Pumpkin Belly"
MPEG Stream: CHAKA DEMUS & PLIERS "Murder She Wrote"
MPEG Stream: CUTTY RANKS "Chop Chop"
MPEG Stream: SUPER CAT "Trash And Ready"

V/A Japan: Shakuhachi: The Japanese Flute (Nonesuch) cd 12.98
Another winner for the Nonesuch Explorer Series. Originally released in 1976, this entry focuses on the restrained yet dulcet tones of the shakuhachi, a five holed bamboo flute that has been used as an accompaniment for study and meditation in Japanese culture for well over a millennium. These five live performances by master flautist Kohachiro Miyata of the Ensemble Nipponia display a graceful yet glacial spareness that focus on subtle but revelatory moments of drama and tension rather than lyrical or melodic songforms. Akin to a philosophical reading of time moving through nature, like the sound of wind through reeds, or a ripple across a surface of water, this is music to slow our lives down and be ever blissfully aware of the eternal present moment in front of us.
MPEG Stream: "Shika No Tone"
MPEG Stream: "Akita Sugagaki"

V/A Kung Fu Super Sounds (De Wolfe) cd 21.00
Soon after heaping tons of praise on the mighty Enter The Dragon Soundtrack, we're thrilled to also see this killer compilation of unreleased De Wolfe library tracks drawn from the legendary Shaw Brothers martial arts films circa 1976-1984. If you've seen a Hong Kong Ku Fu flick of that vintage, chances are good you've seen a Shaw Bros. movie. Influencing everyone from The Wu-Tang Clan to Quentin Tarantino, these low-budget "bashers" with insanely impossible story lines have fed the fertile imaginations of midnight movie geeks for years. These 43 movie cues hand-picked by Gareth "Cherrystones" Goddard, Joel Martin and Jon Jigoku, display quite a sweeping emotional range of sounds: moody spy themes, old west-style standoffs, funky Moog passages, ritual drums, suspicious flutes and percussion, tense orchestrations, haunting siren song. The best part is the names the De Wolfe library gave the cues: "Electro Beat 5", "Nerve Stretch 2", "Tension Trip", "Moonbird", "Bitter Lemons", "Dogarnit". For the library music fan or martial arts geek in your life!
MPEG Stream: "Perceptions In Rhythm"
MPEG Stream: "Moonbird"
MPEG Stream: "Dr. Witch-Wot"
MPEG Stream: "Crime Club"
MPEG Stream: "For and Against"
MPEG Stream: "Dogarnit"
MPEG Stream: "Moog Shot 25"

V/A Like Black Holes in the Sky: The Tribute to Syd Barrett (Dwell) cd 14.98
A comp featuring exclusive tracks by AQ faves like Circle, Jesu, and Stinking Lizaveta, among others?! Heck we'd want one even if it was a tribute album to, say, Kid Rock or Limp Bizkit. (Actually those sound like they'd almost be interesting in a sick sort of way.) This IS a tribute album, it's on the tribute-o-centric Dwell label after all, but the subject is much more acceptable: '60s psych legend Syd Barrett. And though we love early Pink Floyd and solo Syd too, none of us here are quite obsessed enough to expertly critique this comp's covers of Syd Barrett tunes from that side of things... but doubtless if that's the sort of detail you want, you can find some Internet chat page all aflame with commentary on the ins and outs and ups and downs of these bands' take on the music of Syd Barrett, who was most 'correct', and all. What we can tell you is, to our ears, this is a damn cool comp!
While tributes are often quick-buck cash-ins full of no-name acts, this one's good for several reasons, excellent songs to start with, with an equally excellent selection of bands doing the tributizing, several big-time AQ faves among 'em as we said: Circle! Jesu! Stinking Lizaveta! Unearthly Trance! freakin' Pentagram!! The compilers seem to have asked bands that lurk at the swirling vortex of heaviness/psychedelia/metal/prog and persuaded some of the best to put on the paisley and do their best Syd impressions.
Here's the full lineup: Kosmos (featuring Away from Voivod), Kylesa, Intronaut, Stinking Lizaveta, Jarboe (from the Swans), Pentagram, Giant Squid, Yakuza, Jesu, Unearthly Trance, Dredg, Circle, and Zodiak. Some do their Syd HEAVY, whereas others lighten up their usual sound. Intronaut definitely display some pop talent, and Stinking Lizaveta, normally all-instrumental, surprise with an excellent vocal rendition of "Matilda Mother" - but at about 1:48 into the song their true Stinking Liz identity comes to the fore, as they turn on the searing, psychedelic guitar soloing and bass-heavy groove. Lumbering cuts from Kylesa ("Interstellar Overdrive") and Zodiak ("See Emily Play") are true to form. Amidst this lineup, Jarboe's track, a version of "Late Night" (also recently covered by Belong on their Colorloss LP) is a bit of left turn, as it's all about her whispery vocals (nice, NOT annoying as sometimes we find her) and not so much about guitar like so many of the others here.
Some other random observations regarding a few of these tracks: Ancient doom metallers Pentagram, the oddest entry only 'cause it's so hard to believe they really exist in this time and place, stick close to the original of "Flaming", Bobby Liebling singing in his weird old man voice, but with an affected British accent (or maybe it's just how he often sounds a bit like Ozzy anyway). Giant Squid do a Syd song called "Octopus", natch, and make us want to check 'em out as we sorta slept on their album. Yakuza's intense version of "Lucifer Sam" really makes us think of Voivod - except Voivod, known for their Floyd covers, never did this particular one. Speaking of Voivoid, who here gets "Astronomy Domine"? Dredg, with a sparkling rendition. Jesu brings loads of shoegazing slo-mo fuzz and echoing vocals to their take on "Chapter 24", just as you might expect. And Circle's version of "Rats" is -very- Circle sounding, in their sorta folky-mode (a la their Forest album) with Mika Ratto's acid-gobbling vocals not at all out of place.
So, listen for yourself, this is one of those rare tributes you could probably enjoy either as a fan of the bands on it (as many of you are) and/or as a fan of the subject of the tribute. We imagine a Floyd freak could wind up getting into some cool new music as a result of this comp, and likewise it'll probably turn on some Jesu fans, or whatever, to the wonders Syd Barrett's melodic, acid visions.
And it's a "legitimate" tribute, in the sense that Syd Barrett and his Pink Floyd colleagues really were one of the crucial '60s artists to pioneer and make possible the wide range of weird, spaced out music we all love today, of which the bands on this comp are all good examples.
MPEG Stream: YAKUZA "Lucifer Sam"
MPEG Stream: INTRONAUT "Arnold Layne"
MPEG Stream: JESU "Chapter 24"

V/A (BOYS NOIZE) I Love Techno 2008 (N.E.W.S.) cd 17.98
Okay, it's time to come clean. After fighting it for years. And beginning every techno review with a disclaimer like "we don't really like techno all that much", it's time to just admit it, we love techno. We do. well, we must, this is the SECOND comp called I Love Techno that we've raved about on the list. And we've been listening to it nonstop since it first came in. Sure we love Pop Ambient, and heroin house, and all the more minimal weirdo shades of techno, but the stuff on this comp falls closer to the French stuff we also love, Daft Punk, Justice, with wild buzzing synths, pounding big beats, crazy melodies, and this comp is overflowing with total dancefloor destroyers. The first I Love Techno comp, was a bit more on the minimal side of things, playing into a sound we already loved, but this 2008 collection is not minimal at all. It's maximal. Big time. Snarling, swirling, buzzing, pounding, wild, sweaty, strobe lit, electro flecked, synth heavy techno, and if we actually were inclined to dance, this comp would keep us moving FOREVER.
Opening with a brief burst of old school electro, the sound quickly shifts to a killer mashup, pounding beats and buzzy spacey synths, and cold clinical spoken female vocals, IN GERMAN. Cold wave via Daft Punk. Or something. And after that's it's on, and it don't stop. Synthesizers buzz and howl, squeal and shriek, beats shuffle, skitter, pulse, throb and pound, this shit is wild and weird and freaked out and actually sort of heavy in its own way.
Two tracks right in the middle, one by Bingo Players, the other by Les Petits Pilous, are completely nuts, jagged chunks of synth buzz, shooting out staccato style, locked in with pounding beats, like the frenzied climax of the ultimate techno jam, stretched out into whole songs. The record closes with the ultimate techno one-two punch. Boys Noize, who assembled this comp, offer up "My Head", which begins a hiccupping chopped up stutter, laced with squiggly synths, and it just gets more sharp and caustic and jagged and blown out and groovy and funky and far out as fuck. Which segues perfectly into Errorsmith's "In A Sweat", which starts out all fuzzy and hiss drenched, muted beats all strangled and stunted, before the beat drops, a super distorted fuzzy groove, that just gets weirder and weirder, the various synths slip from super low end buzz, to super sharp high end skree, constantly shifting tone and timbre, while the beat manages to stutter and skip all over the place, the whole thing culminating in a high end hiss storm.
So yeah, I suppose we do love techno. That is, as long as techno always sounds this funky and freaked out and fucked up and kick ass. Way recommended. Even for technophobes, as this has definitely won over a few of those around here.
MPEG Stream: PROXY / I-ROBOTS "Raven / Frau (Acapella)"
MPEG Stream: JAN DRIVER "Rat Alert"
MPEG Stream: BINGO PLAYERS "Get Up (Diplo Remix)"
MPEG Stream: LES PETITS PILOUS "Wake Up"

WANDERING MIDGET, THE The Serpent Coven (Eyes Like Snow / Northern Silence) cd 13.98
The return of The Wandering Midget!! Sounds like the title of some lost Tolkien novel, as it well should. The Wandering Midget are not in fact a 'he', but rather a 'they', and THEY are a group of true doomlords from Finland, who rule the riff and have an amazing vocalist who deftly straddles the line between classic doom wail, and over the top insanity.
We reviewed the Midget's I Am The Gate ep a while back (we still have a few copies left), and ever since had been jonesing for more more more. And now we have it. The Serpent Coven. Nearly an hour of modern doom, troo doom, total Sabbath / Pentagram worship in the best possible way. Massive riffage, pounding drums, incredible grooves, some serious hooks. A bit like Electric Wizard, but not as sludge-y, much more classic sounding. And the vocals, holy shit, a bit of an Ozzy wail, but WAY more campy and over the top, definitely a make or break for most folks, but if you're anything like us, and you love Messiah from Candlemass, Scott Reagers of Saint Vitus, and other high end howlers, then Samual Wormlus (good name!) will fit pretty comfortably in your doom vocal pantheon.
The thing about doom, is it's pretty easy to make, like drone music, simple minor key riffs, tuned way down, lugubrious tempos, and blammo! Wrap that in enough buzz and satanic imagery, and you're doom! But to make doom magical and mysterious is a whole 'nother thing. That requires some sort of alchemy, that is indeed rare, and that sort of power is possessed by a very few, but listening to The Serpent Coven, there is no doubt in our minds that The Wandering Midget is made up of such otherworldly alchemists.
The Midget slip from churning Sabbathy groove, to super slowed down ultra doom, to spaced out doomic drift, all within the space of a single looooooong track, even mixing in some seriously unlikely elements (the strange prog / folk clean guitar into tangled psychedelic space rock middle section of "Bring Forth The Accused" being the perfect example), to create their own unique and seriously idiosyncratic take on a WAY overplayed genre.
ALL HAIL THE WANDERING MIDGET, BOW BEFORE THESE MIGHTY DOOMLORDS FROM THE NORTH, AND DIG THEIR EPIC DOOOOOOOM!
MPEG Stream: "Taynia"
MPEG Stream: "Family Curse"

WAVVES s/t (Woodsist) cd 14.98
We've got ourselves a new obsession! We knew very little about Wavves before we put this disc in but oh my god once we did we became so instantly addicted. This is some TOTALLY BLOWN OUT beach party crusty pop that's as bombastic as it is so totally catchy. We think they're from San Diego and that makes perfect sense, cause these songs just make you want to skate and hang out by the ocean getting baked by the sun and throwing caution to the wind. Imagine No Age and Thee Oh Sees collaborating together or what it might sound like to play the Beach Boys and JFA at the same time. This is some seriously gritty grimey pop that makes you glad you still have that shitty car stereo, as this was meant to be blasted in the most lo-fi blown out way possible, while driving around getting lost in these sun soaked washed out anthems. Filled with such contagious youthful exuberance it's making us feel like we're 19 again, in the best possible way.
There is such a bold urgency to this record, it grabs your attention and never lets go and we never want it to. As soon as it's over we pretty much only want to listen to it over and over again. We're reminded a bit of Holy Shit, Abe Vigoda, and the great and often overlooked 90's noise-pop outfit Further. But what makes Wavves so addictive is that they aren't a one trick pony, the few atmospheric electronic interludes and slower spacey tracks are just as potent as their wide eyed and full throttle jams. We've got a feeling there is a great future ahead for Wavves and what a totally awesome way for it to start. So rad!!!
MPEG Stream: "California Goth"
MPEG Stream: "Wavves"
MPEG Stream: "Spaced Raider"
MPEG Stream: "Side Yr On"

WICKED WITCH CHAOS: 1978-86 (EM Records) cd 19.98
Sometimes we just have to pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming, and that Japan's EM Records and all the crazy stuff they somehow find and reissue is actually real! Seriously, it's hard to believe, EM dig up such obscure things that are just so AQ-perfect, so darn weird. We have whole sub-genres of stuff in stock here at the store all because of EM - steel pan funk, psychedelic surf soundtracks, singing saw music! And quite a few one-off items that pretty much represent new genres in and off themselves. Like this one, which EM almost too tamely describes as "Obscure evil psycho machine-funk from '80s Washington D.C. Psychedelic madness!".
From the moment Wicked Witch showed up in the mail, we were ensorcelled. Heck, this pretty much had us with the cover, featuring a Vice magazine Dos and/or Don'ts worthy photo of a mysterious, ridiculously bad ass lookin' African American fellow wearing shiny black leather and spikes, sporting a knife in a scabbard attached to one of his boots. He's got his hands on his hips, his eyeballs are colored in red, and we sure wouldn't want to mess with his rad dudeness. But even that strange, sinister image couldn't have prepared us for what this actually sounds like... Which is, to us, ARIEL PINK PLAYING FUNK!! It's that damaged, that lysergic, a one-man outsider take on the druggiest moments from early '70s Miles Davis and especially Funkadelic, like "Wars Of Armageddon" off of Maggot Brain ferinstance.
The first track of this anthology, "Fancy Dancer", a 7" single from 1985, drops the listener right in at the deep end, a dense miasmic phantasmagoria of percolating off-kilter grooves, funky vampings, and creepy, low-end synth buzzings and growlings, further made freakier towards the end of its 5 1/2 minutes with a dose of wild psychedelic electric guitar soloing. Damn. Don't even know if funk is the right word for this. How about "glunk"? 'Cause it's got such a melty, gooey viscosity to it. The credits tell us this appeared on a 7" single from 1985, with all instruments and vocals by Richard Simms (he's the cover star, he's Wicked Witch, and he's apparently quite a character!). Next, track two, "Erratic Behaviour", is maybe even more murky and chaotic, a mixture of echoing, babbling voices and tick-tocking drum machine, set loose amidst swirling electronics. It comes from another 7" single, circa '83, as does the similar track three, "X Rated", which adds some "sensual" guest female sex-freak vocal exhibitionism over the lashing beats, bass throbs, and general dementia. But it's at least as spooky as it is sexy...
Then, track four, "Vera's Back", suddenly shifts things into another realm, delving into Wicked Witch pre-history. Written and produced by Simms, this track was originally released in on a 12" in 1978 by a band he was in (on bass and vocals) called Paradiagm [sic]. It's twelve minute workout of shredding jazzfunk fusion, with over the top chops, a la Return To Forever, with violin and echoing vocals and proggy changes galore. It's a lot "cleaner", less distorted and drugged out than Wicked Witch's later bizarre cauldron bubblings, but still pretty crazy, some of it like Goblin on speed!
The next three tracks bring us back to the more unusual funk (or glunk?) stylings of Rick Simms solo in the '80s, with two takes (one instrumental, one vocal, though both have vocals, the latter just more n' nuttier of 'em) of a track called "Electric War", from a 1984 Wicked Witch 12", and then, for a finale, the disc comes full circle with a previously unreleased, extreme remix of "Fancy Dancer" done in '86. Again, weird, dense, DIY outsider grooviness. Yep, CHAOS: 1978-86 is aptly titled. And we're still astonished, dunno how EM does it. Who digs deeper? You couldn't make this stuff up, we know, but we're still pinching ourselves. Maybe Wax Poetics will do a feature on Wicked Witch one of these days... we can only imagine what became of Simms, perhaps institutionalized in some asylum for the Funkily Insane. In the meantime, you can pour over the photos included herein.
FYI, the above review describes the programming of the cd version, EM's lp of this has a slightly different running order and in fact some different tracks! The vinyl edition omits the "Fancy Dancer" remix and the "Electric War" vocal version. But, its "Erratic Behaviour" and "X Rated" are both remixes different from what's on the cd. And, there's a whole 'nother previously unreleased cut on the lp, "Under Your Spell", eight and half minutes long, from 1986! So we can't tell you which format to choose. Either one, or both, are highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Fancy Dancer"
MPEG Stream: "Vera's Back "
MPEG Stream: "Electric War (Instrumental)"

WICKED WITCH CHAOS: 1978-86 (EM Records) lp 24.00
Sometimes we just have to pinch ourselves to make sure we're not dreaming, and that Japan's EM Records and all the crazy stuff they somehow find and reissue is actually real! Seriously, it's hard to believe, EM dig up such obscure things that are just so AQ-perfect, so darn weird. We have whole sub-genres of stuff in stock here at the store all because of EM - steel pan funk, psychedelic surf soundtracks, singing saw music! And quite a few one-off items that pretty much represent new genres in and off themselves. Like this one, which EM almost too tamely describes as "Obscure evil psycho machine-funk from '80s Washington D.C. Psychedelic madness!".
From the moment Wicked Witch showed up in the mail, we were ensorcelled. Heck, this pretty much had us with the cover, featuring a Vice magazine Dos and/or Don'ts worthy photo of a mysterious, ridiculously bad ass lookin' African American fellow wearing shiny black leather and spikes, sporting a knife in a scabbard attached to one of his boots. He's got his hands on his hips, his eyeballs are colored in red, and we sure wouldn't want to mess with his rad dudeness. But even that strange, sinister image couldn't have prepared us for what this actually sounds like... Which is, to us, ARIEL PINK PLAYING FUNK!! It's that damaged, that lysergic, a one-man outsider take on the druggiest moments from early '70s Miles Davis and especially Funkadelic, like "Wars Of Armageddon" off of Maggot Brain ferinstance.
The first track of this anthology, "Fancy Dancer", a 7" single from 1985, drops the listener right in at the deep end, a dense miasmic phantasmagoria of percolating off-kilter grooves, funky vampings, and creepy, low-end synth buzzings and growlings, further made freakier towards the end of its 5 1/2 minutes with a dose of wild psychedelic electric guitar soloing. Damn. Don't even know if funk is the right word for this. How about "glunk"? 'Cause it's got such a melty, gooey viscosity to it. The credits tell us this appeared on a 7" single from 1985, with all instruments and vocals by Richard Simms (he's the cover star, he's Wicked Witch, and he's apparently quite a character!). Next, track two, "Erratic Behaviour", is maybe even more murky and chaotic, a mixture of echoing, babbling voices and tick-tocking drum machine, set loose amidst swirling electronics. It comes from another 7" single, circa '83, as does the similar track three, "X Rated", which adds some "sensual" guest female sex-freak vocal exhibitionism over the lashing beats, bass throbs, and general dementia. But it's at least as spooky as it is sexy...
Then, track four, "Vera's Back", suddenly shifts things into another realm, delving into Wicked Witch pre-history. Written and produced by Simms, this track was originally released in on a 12" in 1978 by a band he was in (on bass and vocals) called Paradiagm [sic]. It's twelve minute workout of shredding jazzfunk fusion, with over the top chops, a la Return To Forever, with violin and echoing vocals and proggy changes galore. It's a lot "cleaner", less distorted and drugged out than Wicked Witch's later bizarre cauldron bubblings, but still pretty crazy, some of it like Goblin on speed!
The next three tracks bring us back to the more unusual funk (or glunk?) stylings of Rick Simms solo in the '80s, with two takes (one instrumental, one vocal, though both have vocals, the latter just more n' nuttier of 'em) of a track called "Electric War", from a 1984 Wicked Witch 12", and then, for a finale, the disc comes full circle with a previously unreleased, extreme remix of "Fancy Dancer" done in '86. Again, weird, dense, DIY outsider grooviness. Yep, CHAOS: 1978-86 is aptly titled. And we're still astonished, dunno how EM does it. Who digs deeper? You couldn't make this stuff up, we know, but we're still pinching ourselves. Maybe Wax Poetics will do a feature on Wicked Witch one of these days... we can only imagine what became of Simms, perhaps institutionalized in some asylum for the Funkily Insane. In the meantime, you can pour over the photos included herein.
FYI, the above review describes the programming of the cd version, EM's lp of this has a slightly different running order and in fact some different tracks! The vinyl edition omits the "Fancy Dancer" remix and the "Electric War" vocal version. But, its "Erratic Behaviour" and "X Rated" are both remixes different from what's on the cd. And, there's a whole 'nother previously unreleased cut on the lp, "Under Your Spell", eight and half minutes long, from 1986! So we can't tell you which format to choose. Either one, or both, are highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Fancy Dancer"
MPEG Stream: "Vera's Back "
MPEG Stream: "Electric War (Instrumental)"

WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL (Plexifilm) dvd 26.00
Amazing portrait of this prolific musical figure who, as is often the way, sixteen years after his death has gained a wider popularity and recognition than when he was alive. Russell had his hands in many musical pies from the early New York avant-garde composer scene and leftfield disco, to no-wave pop, country rock and dubby cello abstractions. In fact, his estate with the help of the Audika label have been diligently uncovering hours of unreleased recordings, including the stunning recent compilation of early recordings, Love Is Overtaking Me, reviewed elsewhere on this list.
Beginning with his childhood upbringing in the corn belt of Iowa as a shy bookish cello student, he soon escaped to San Francisco during the Summer of Love, where he met up with Allan Ginsberg, writing cello accompaniments for his poetry and studying North Indian music at the Ali Akbar School of Music. Moving to New York, he met up with Ernie Brooks of the Modern Lovers and formed the band The Flying Hearts and became musical director of The Kitchen where he collaborated with the likes of David Byrne, Rhys Chatham, and Phillip Glass among others. Always with an acute ear for new sounds, Russell latched on to the burgeoning underground disco scene, especially at Larry Levan's Paradise Garage and The Loft, where he released a string of amazing ahead-of-their-time dance singles under constantly changing monikers: Dinosaur L, Loose Joints, Indian Ocean etc. As he became increasingly more ill from AIDS, his last years focused on deeply personal but experimentally abstract song forms involving the cello and a barrage of effects pedals with soft echoed vocals.
An obsessive perfectionist, Russell was notorious for his difficulties in finishing projects, which often strained or sabotaged his professional relationships (namely Robert Wilson and Francois Kevorkian), and was a key reason for his lack of a wider success during his lifetime. At the time of his death, he had over 1000 hours of recordings that hadn't been released including 96 mixes of the same song! The documentary includes interviews with and footage of Allan Ginsberg, David Toop, Bob Blank, Lola Love, Ernie Brooks, Philip Glass, Jens Lekman and Audika label head Steve Knutson as well as Russell's surviving partner Tom Lee and Russell's parents. Although beautifully shot and always engaging, we think the documentary plays it a bit safe at times, especially on its coverage of Russell's involvement with the late-seventies / early eighties club music scene and his experiences as a gay man in New York at this time. This is most likely out of respect for his parents. Other than that this is a killer key document of a major musical force for whom we are just beginning to feel the reverberations of his influence.

WOODEN SHJIPS Holiday Cassingle (self released) cassette 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco psych-lords Wooden Shjips have definitely got the Christmas spirit this year! They've recorded a gift-wrapped "cassingle" featuring their interpretations of two seasonal hits, "O Tannenbaum" and "Auld Lang Syne", 8+ minutes each, suitably psyched-up Wooden Shjips style!! How cool is that. Even cooler, ALL proceeds from our sale of each of these - the whole five bucks - go directly to the SF Food Bank as a donation, as per WS's request. And doesn't "cassingle" seem Christmas-y? 'Cause it sounds like "jingle", as in bells, y'know.
Of course, this tape is a limited edition release. Only 100 copies made, not all of which are for sale (the WS giving away the rest to friends and family as Xmas gifts, naturally). They let us have 35 copies, and needless to say, better act fast if you want to stuff somebody's stocking with one of these, 'cause they'll be gone faster than you can say "Kris Kringle". Or "cassingle". First come, first served, ONE per customer, regardless if you've been naughty or nice.

WRNLRD Mldthr (Small Sacrifice / Order Of The Cloven Eye) cd-r 8.98
When we first discovered the mysterious and impossible to pronounce Wrnlrd, on the tip from an aQ customer, this one man band was way underground, with nothing but a clutch of cd-r releases, but since then, word has spread, and besides getting written up in all sorts of magazines and blogs, he's also released a critically lauded lp on Flingco Sound System, a label run by on of the guys who used to run Kranky.
And that record is fantastic, distinctly black metal, but with Wrnlrd's country and bluegrass roots showing through, and banjo on a black metal record is not something you hear every day! But in the beginning, the sound of Wrnlrd was a furious raw black blast of programmed drums and superdistorted riffage, garbled hellish vokills and snarling, swirling blackened psychedelic metal blowouts.
Mldthr is "record number 2 (Flower of 1, Cause of 4 and 7)" in the confusingly numbered discography, see the Wrnlrd website for more on that, a strange bit of numerology that is as confounding as Wrnlrd's music, and Mldthr sounds quite a bit like In From The Night Herd and Cperadt, which makes sense as those are the two numbers that follow Mldthr. That chart actually extends into the future including albums named, but yet to be recorded.
Anyway, like Wrnlrd discs 3 and 4, Mldthr is a swirling black vortex of shimmery black ambience, mechanical blasts, grinding black crunch, creepy stretches of murky black ambience, processed gurgles and almost industrial rhythms, everything raw and gritty and lo fi, blown out and super distorted and in the red, moody and muddy, with bits of found sounds, strange samples, all sorts of weird shit lurking below the surface, but to get below the surface, you have to plow through a torrent of frenzied black industrial buzz, the sound mechanical and machinelike, but imbued with asort of dizzying swirl that mkes it all feel warped and off kilter, twisted and a bit damaged. Which, if you're anything like us, is exactly how you like your black metal.
MPEG Stream: "Order Of The Cloven"
MPEG Stream: "Waerleogan"
MPEG Stream: "Rite Of Cares Cremation"

XELA In Bocca Al Lupo (Type) cd 15.98
Another gorgeous fuzzed out collection of washed out abstract dronescapes from aQ faves Xela, this one a four track, hour long sprawl of glistening, shimmering, crackle and hiss drenched drift. Type label head honcho John Twells, takes the sound of Xela, a sound we had previously described as "Dead C meets Pop Ambient meets Gooom" (Gooom the early home of M83, Abstrackt Keal Agram, Purple Confusion and others), even further out this time, letting the various sounds ring out, spread out, decay and space as much a part of the sound as the notes and arrangements. The amazing thing about Xela, is that it's almost not even music, it often sounds more like a manufactured field recording, sometimes recognizable - are those footsteps? the sound of running water?, the creaking of old machinery? - but just as often, a sound that is totally alien, is that the sound of strange creatures rustling below the surface of some barren asteroid? Is that a recording of magnetic fields, or of spirits or ghosts, or maybe even something there are no words for? Which is what makes the sound of Xela so magical, and mysterious.
In Bocca seems to be steeped in religious symbolism, with a mysterious sigil on the cover of the lp, Latin song titles, and even sonically, it's like a wander through the catacombs beneath some old abandoned church, as if envisioned by Tim Hecker and Philip Jeck, with plenty of loops, smears of hiss, muted buzz, fields of crackle, fragmented melodies, all drifting amidst and among all manner of sounds, footsteps, chiming bells, short wave interference, bits of guitar (?), warm chordal swirls, woven into an incredibly evocative soundscape, that most definitely brings to mind another time and place, a world of darkness and grey skies, of stone walls below the ground dripping with moisture, of dusty shafts of sunlight filtering through bent bars, painting the dirt floors blurred shades of black and brown.
The opening track is thick with distortion and buzz and crackle, its beauty sublimated by all the extraneous noise, but it's that noise that give the track its texture, that turns a drone, a drift, into something much more tactile, a sound that is felt as much as it is heard, but the second track, shrugs off all of that noise, at least in the beginning, leaving just the muted sounds of a carillon, drifting down from a crumbling tower, mournful and funereal, before from below, surfaces swirls of soft electronic buzz, which become more and more smooth and blurred, finally existing as a sheet of warm whir over the ever tolling bells.
All four tracks seem to exist as a single multi movement piece, each slipping smoothly into the next, in the third movement, the bells drift off, and over them are laid deep moaning tones, the buzz and crackle now merely a whisper, a haunting slow motion creep into a thick waterfall of pink noise, before distant drums (courtesy of the dude from Heavy Winged) announce the beginning of the final, and longest movement. Tribal, militaristic, but spare and still abstract, the drums unfurl a skeletal rhythm, while all around it, the sounds become more and more frenzied, feedback, squalls of amp buzz and hiss, cymbals explode like fireworks in a black sky, the background scribbled with electronic squiggles and jagged shards of distortion, growing more and more blown out, the drums growing wilder and wilder, buzzing synths emerging from the chaos, until the drums drop out and the track has been transformed into a spaced out synthscape, all layered and pulsing, buzzing and blissful, as if suddenly, the dank stone floor gave way, and the listener, the catacombs, and everything as we know it, collapsed inward, emerging in some otherworld, a neverending expanse of glimmering, glistening blackness, a slow motion swirl of mysterious voices and distant drones all stretched out along thick streaks of looped buzz stretching off into the void.
The cd is packaged in a normal jewel case, with quite striking, and bloody artwork, the 2lp is limited (of course) and comes in a thick chipboard brown jacket, adorned with a simple black symbol right in the center.
MPEG Stream: "Ut Nos Vivicaret"
MPEG Stream: "In Deo Salutari Meo"

XELA In Bocca Al Lupo (Type) 2lp 19.98
Another gorgeous fuzzed out collection of washed out abstract dronescapes from aQ faves Xela, this one a four track, hour long sprawl of glistening, shimmering, crackle and hiss drenched drift. Type label head honcho John Twells, takes the sound of Xela, a sound we had previously described as "Dead C meets Pop Ambient meets Gooom" (Gooom the early home of M83, Abstrackt Keal Agram, Purple Confusion and others), even further out this time, letting the various sounds ring out, spread out, decay and space as much a part of the sound as the notes and arrangements. The amazing thing about Xela, is that it's almost not even music, it often sounds more like a manufactured field recording, sometimes recognizable - are those footsteps? the sound of running water?, the creaking of old machinery? - but just as often, a sound that is totally alien, is that the sound of strange creatures rustling below the surface of some barren asteroid? Is that a recording of magnetic fields, or of spirits or ghosts, or maybe even something there are no words for? Which is what makes the sound of Xela so magical, and mysterious.
In Bocca seems to be steeped in religious symbolism, with a mysterious sigil on the cover of the lp, Latin song titles, and even sonically, it's like a wander through the catacombs beneath some old abandoned church, as if envisioned by Tim Hecker and Philip Jeck, with plenty of loops, smears of hiss, muted buzz, fields of crackle, fragmented melodies, all drifting amidst and among all manner of sounds, footsteps, chiming bells, short wave interference, bits of guitar (?), warm chordal swirls, woven into an incredibly evocative soundscape, that most definitely brings to mind another time and place, a world of darkness and grey skies, of stone walls below the ground dripping with moisture, of dusty shafts of sunlight filtering through bent bars, painting the dirt floors blurred shades of black and brown.
The opening track is thick with distortion and buzz and crackle, its beauty sublimated by all the extraneous noise, but it's that noise that give the track its texture, that turns a drone, a drift, into something much more tactile, a sound that is felt as much as it is heard, but the second track, shrugs off all of that noise, at least in the beginning, leaving just the muted sounds of a carillon, drifting down from a crumbling tower, mournful and funereal, before from below, surfaces swirls of soft electronic buzz, which become more and more smooth and blurred, finally existing as a sheet of warm whir over the ever tolling bells.
All four tracks seem to exist as a single multi movement piece, each slipping smoothly into the next, in the third movement, the bells drift off, and over them are laid deep moaning tones, the buzz and crackle now merely a whisper, a haunting slow motion creep into a thick waterfall of pink noise, before distant drums (courtesy of the dude from Heavy Winged) announce the beginning of the final, and longest movement. Tribal, militaristic, but spare and still abstract, the drums unfurl a skeletal rhythm, while all around it, the sounds become more and more frenzied, feedback, squalls of amp buzz and hiss, cymbals explode like fireworks in a black sky, the background scribbled with electronic squiggles and jagged shards of distortion, growing more and more blown out, the drums growing wilder and wilder, buzzing synths emerging from the chaos, until the drums drop out and the track has been transformed into a spaced out synthscape, all layered and pulsing, buzzing and blissful, as if suddenly, the dank stone floor gave way, and the listener, the catacombs, and everything as we know it, collapsed inward, emerging in some otherworld, a neverending expanse of glimmering, glistening blackness, a slow motion swirl of mysterious voices and distant drones all stretched out along thick streaks of looped buzz stretching off into the void.
The cd is packaged in a normal jewel case, with quite striking, and bloody artwork, the 2lp is limited (of course) and comes in a thick chipboard brown jacket, adorned with a simple black symbol right in the center.
MPEG Stream: "Ut Nos Vivicaret"
MPEG Stream: "In Deo Salutari Meo"

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AIR Moon Safari (Special Edition) (EMI) 2cd + dvd + book 25.00
Moon Safari is pretty much an undeniable classic by now. One of those records that sits in the collection of both casual music listeners and the more musically obsessed (i.e. folks like us!). At this point it's really easy to take this record for granted but it really still does hold it's weight. A seductive record that perfectly blends electronics with a smart and sexy pop sensibility. Channeling the rich history of French pop and infusing it with a very contemporary electronica sound this is one of those records of which we all have so many great memories. Celebrating the 10th (!) anniversary of its release, this deluxe package includes a disc of bonus tracks (remixes, live, etc.) as well as the dvd of their Mike Mills directed documentary "Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing."
MPEG Stream: "La Femme D'Argent"
MPEG Stream: "Kelly Watch The Stars"
MPEG Stream: "Sexy Boy (Sex Kino Mix)"

ANGEL WITCH s/t (25th Anniversary Expanded Edition) (Castle) cd 10.98
I (Allan) have been trying to regularly review some classic old hard rock and metal albums, reissues of stuff that we as a responsible record store -should- have on our website. Some have gotten better customer responses than others. I did a whole bunch of KISS reviews and those were sorta hit or miss. And then a few lists ago I reviewed Def Leppard's debut, On Through The Night, to small avail. New Wave Of British Heavy Metal gem Loose N' Lethal by Savage did far better, perhaps 'cause its more obscure. But here's something, well let's put it this way: I know for sure that not everybody out there already has this album. So we should expect to sell quite a few of these, ok?
Like the two albums named above, this is a bona fide NWOBHM classic. And one perhaps more aligned with the Sabbathy doom/occult vibe that we so adore here at AQ, from bands both old and new. And this, their 1980 debut, is Angel Witch's finest platter. Believe me, we don't have room here to discuss the ups and (mostly) downs of Angel Witch's ill-fated on-and-off career after this album. Better to imagine that this disc (including all the bonus tracks of equal vintage) was all they ever did, and allow it to shine from its pedestal of NWOBHM perfection, just a brilliant concoction of heavy riffs, ripping solos, melodic vocals (with some badass shriekin' upon occasion), and dark, mystic atmospheres. It's catchy, too. They had a way with memorable, stick-in-your-head choruses - once you've heard the song "Angel Witch" itself, it's always gonna seem familiar, ferinstance.
Angel Witch, as an exemplar of the NWOBHM, are indeed very British, with quite the Hammer Horror vibe. We'd think so even if one of the bonus tracks wasn't an instrumental called "Dr. Phibes". Speaking of bonus tracks, this reissue, the "25th anniversary edition", not only sports a "nice price" but also features even more extras than earlier Castle pressings, bringing the total of tracks on the disc to 20. There's six tracks from 7" and 12" singles and the Metal For Muthas comp, several of which are gems equal to the best of those on the album proper, plus an additional four live BBC radio broadcast recordings!
Highly recommended to any headbanger worthy of the name, being a macabre NWOBHM essential in league with Diamond Head, early Iron Maiden, and Witchfinder General - indeed, we must say that any fan of WG should be aware of this 'witch as well!
MPEG Stream: "Angel Witch"
MPEG Stream: "Gorgon"
MPEG Stream: "Loser"

BIBLE OF THE DEVIL / VALKYRIE The Auld Dirt Road / False Dreams (Heavy Birth Vinyl Records) 7" 5.98
We listed the latest album of dual Flying V action (Flying VV?) from Chicago's metal masters Bible Of The Devil last list. Here's another, new n' exclusive, kick ass track from them, "The Auld Dirt Road", on one side of this split 7" single they share with Virginia doomsters Valkyrie, who do a song called "False Dreams". Between 'em, BOTD and Valkyrie manage to turn this 7" inch into a shrine to all that's retro, rad, & rockin', with Bible leaning towards Thin Lizzy, and Valkyrie tilting towards Pentagram...
It's a limited edition release, naturally, on either red or blue colored vinyl (luck of the draw). We have but a handful.

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Drippers (70's Gymnastics) 10" 12.98
Now available on vinyl! And it still has the scratch and sniff cover too!!!
Black Moth Super Rainbow have made quite an impact in the last couple years with their crunchy and poppy take on analog electronic pop, a sound that falls so near the more playful side of Boards Of Canada, and has us imagining what it might sound like if Air covered Daft Punk, using busted up old equipment, the result would have to be oh so charming and satisfying.
Drippers is essentially a collection of outtakes and unreleased tracks, but this is no throwaway ep. In fact we've been playing this nonstop, loving how thick and distorted the sounds here are and marvelling at BMSR's ability to conjure up such catchy and washed out electronic pop delights. The fact that they got Mike Watt to play on one of our favorite tracks ("Black Yogurt") has us even more smitten. This is music that engages all the sensations and keeps us coming back for more and more.
MPEG Stream: "Black Yogurt (Featuring Mike Watt)"
MPEG Stream: "We Are The Pagans (Dandelion Gum Outtake)"

BOOK OF BLACK EARTH Horoskopus (Prosthetic) lp 23.00
Now available on vinyl!
Here's the Seattle band that we always confuse with Blood Of The Black Owl. I guess we need to learn to read. Anyway this is their second album, following up The Feast released on 20 Buck Spin two years ago. Again, it's a brootal, sludgey concoction of blackened 'metal of death' musick. 11 bombastically bulldozering tracks with some sort of anti-Christian, astrological agenda, or something. This is definite bad mood music, on the doomy side of death metal a la Incantation. Thick and crushing, with guttural DM vox, and much atmospheric gloom pervading the slower parts. The majestic, monstrous hell-belch that is BOBE's Horoskopus shows that these guys, several of whom used to be in a metalcore band called Teen Cthulhu, have matured into a full-grown Cthulhu! Wish we woulda seen 'em on their recent tour with Watain but we were busy working on the list that night...
MPEG Stream: "Death Of The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Horoskripture"

BOREDOMS Voaltz / Rereler (Commons / Rhythm Republic) 12" 26.00
A little while back we managed to score just like, three copies of new Japan-only Boredoms 12". Obviously, not enough to list. Now, they've done a second pressing, but again, it's super limited, we were only able to get a few, this time an outrageous 8 copies. So we're listing it, but please prepare to be disappointed if (when) we tell you we've run out.
Inside the insanely colorful sleeve, the two sides of this 12" contain remixes of the two Boredoms "breakbeat" tracks heard previously only on the bonus cd that came with the import-only Live At Sunflancisco dvd last year. (At least one of them, anyway, we're a little confused on that point). "Voaltz" gets a remix from Atlz and Kabamix, while DJ Coswamp takes care of "Rereler". We're not hip enough to Japanese DJs to actually know who they are, but since this is the Boredoms does it matter? The original tracks we described as "percussive party-pleasers... if your party digs the freaky Bore-tronix, that is!". Now they are perhaps even more party-palatable. (FYI, if it matters to you, this vinyl was pressed in the USA, not Japan. Our distributor thought some peeps might care.)

BRIGGS, ANNE s/t (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
NOW ON VINYL!!
There are few voices as pure and natural as Anne Briggs, an untrained but highly influential figure of the British Folk Tradition. This is a fine reissue of Briggs' first album from 1971 comprised mostly of traditional material that has only been previously available as expensive imports. While a few songs are backed by her guitar playing, a large number of them are sung a cappella. But with a voice like hers, the songs don't need much accompaniment. "Go Your Way" is one of our all time favorite songs period and well worth the price of admission. If fans of Shirley Collins or of all portents of magical folk music haven't already discovered and devoured Anne Briggs' scant but essential discography (she only recorded 30 songs before her self-imposed retirement at age 29!), the time has come!!
MPEG Stream: "Blackwater Slide"
MPEG Stream: "Go Your Way"

BRIGGS, ANNE The Time Has Come (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
NOW ON VINYL!!
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"

CAMPBELL, ISOBEL & MARK LANEGAN Sunday At Devil Dirt (Fontana) cd 15.98
Isobel and Mark are together again for another smokey affair, conjuring up songs that play like a country tinged film noir soundtrack. Evoking stark and rich emotion, their voices almost like devil (Lanegan) and angel (Campbell). As always when these two get together they create songs that feel very pensive and solitary. Much of this record seems less forced and more natural than some of the moments on their previous outings, where it seemed like they were trying a bit too hard to be a modern day Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra. While we still can't help but love these two more on their own (Campbell in Belle And Sebastian and solo, Lanegan solo and in the Gutter Twins and of course Screaming Trees!), we can't deny they are capable of making some magical music together.
MPEG Stream: "The Raven"
MPEG Stream: "Back Burner"
MPEG Stream: "Who Built The Road"

DEAD C Secret Earth (Ba Da Bing) lp 14.98
NOW ON VINYL!
So, this is the quote-unquote rockin' Dead C album? So we were told, that was the supposed spin on this one, the twenty-somethingth album from these veteran NZ "free-rock" heroes. But maybe we got that wrong, 'cause aren't they all equally (free-) rockin'? Probably what was meant was that this was more "song-y", in comparison to their previous album, last year's Future Artists, 'cause there's more singing... but otherwise, not such a huge departure. And their album before that, 2003's The Damned, was WAY rock on tracks like "Truth". It's always kinda funny getting into discussions about just how rock or noise or whatever the Dead C are, anyway, since the thing about them is that they're playing Dead C music exclusively, forging into otherwise uncharted, unnamed sonic territory with each release even after 20 years in the "biz", leaving all other underground noise/drone/rock/experimental/floorcore acts to play catch-up. As we said in our review of Future Artists, the Dead C have an amazing ability to take "unmusical sounds, caustic, abrasive, minimal and harsh, and weave them into something beautiful." That they surely do here. If you've never heard 'em before, this could be a fairly accessible starting point.
Certainly, you can't argue that lead off track "Mansions" (the 1st of 4 songs on this 45 minute disc) does not, underneath its avant-garde, noisily shambolic exterior, have a rock n' roll heart that's a-beatin'. As well, there's melody amidst the murk, with mumbly, half-whispered vocals rising to the fore. But really it's more moanin' than it's rockin', the whole album moaning and droning, full of shrill feedback textures and an eventually hypnotic sheen of percussive clangor (on the lengthy track 2 "Stations", and track 3 "Plains" especially). They stir up quite a dense din on the latter, leaving more space on album closer "Waves" for Michael Morely's plaintive vocals to wend thro' the distortion, showing the kinder, gentler side of the Dead C... Such a fine blend of immediate emotional impact and unsettling, unfamiliar audio explorations. As "song-y" as we say this is, who else writes songs that at each and every moment seem maybe like they are finishing, and/or beginning anew? Standard song structures and instrumental roles are abandoned or deprioritized in favor of an alien Dead C agenda of experimental, improvised (yet to their own logic disciplined) expressiveness that really does justify the "free" in the free-rock tag. As essential as ever.
MPEG Stream: "Mansions"
MPEG Stream: "Stations"

DEVIL'S BLOOD, THE Come, Reap (Profound Lore) cd 10.98
Profound Lore brings us this cd ep (five songs, nigh on 28 minutes) from The Devil's Blood, a female-fronted Dutch psychedelic hard rock act from Holland, who possess (or are possessed by?) a Satanic/occultic lyrical bent. Claiming inspiration from vintage sixties and seventies proto-metal and psych, The Devil's Blood have quite a lot in common with another "Blood" band with a witchy female vocalist reviewed here just last list, Blood Ceremony. We bet the two would get on famously. They sound different enough though, TDB not being so overtly retro-doom-metal, and more of a rockin' deal, no flutes or nothin'. Some '70s progginess comes in from the keyboards, infusing these tracks with cinematic bombast, but while this doesn't quite sound modern, it's not like they're trying to recreate the music of an earlier era, exactly, either. Although, like Witchcraft, they're big Roky Erickson fans, and cover the Rok's "White Faces" here.
Vocally, Jex Thoth haters might again have issues, but perhaps not. We're reminded a bit of Heart (who kicked ass upon occasion, don't you forget it, or let Sarah Palin ruin "Barracuda" for you). How else to describe this? Maybe imagine if Shocking Blue sang about Satan, and of course were quite a bit heavier too...
Sorta a surprise from Profound Lore, and a pleasant one. I guess not so strange since it kinda fits in with their recent Hammers Of Misfortune opus, the female vocals and keyboards and melodic content and all. Oh, and if you care, which we think you should, they get the thumbs up from Fenriz of Darkthrone, who included 'em on his list of record recommendations in the liner notes to Dark Thrones and Black Flags, reviewed here last list.
MPEG Stream: "The Heavens Cry Out (For The Devil's Blood)"

EARLY MAN / RAMMER Speed And Spikes Vol. IV (Relapse) 7" 5.98
Neo-thrash attack! Two of our faves among new breed of, uh, hipster-approved metal acts, Early Man (with a cut called "Tormentor Of The Unseen") and Toronto's even heavier Rammer (doing two tracks, "Street Trash" and "A New Imperium"). Vicious stuff, seven thrashing inches to spin again and again as you pound cans of PBR and hook the devil horn hand gesture skywards. Seriously.
On see-thru orange vinyl. Limited to 1000 copies.

FREEDOM'S CHILDREN Astra (Shadoks / Normal) cd 17.98
We've had different editions of this before, here's the latest, now reissued via Shadoks. Glad to have it back in our vintage psych section, where it has lots of friends.
Astra exhibits heavy psychedelic vibes from these '70s South African proggers, getting all, um, astral and spacey and downright spooky at times on this, their second album dating from 1971 (or maybe 1970?). A lost classic, this is, if you're a fan of Pink Floyd and/or cosmic Krautrock stuff of similar vintage. It's super trippy, with echoey vox singing weird conceptual lyrix over majestic acid rock meets church organ jams.
Shadoks has also just reissued FC's other two albums, Galactic Vibes (reviewed this list) and their debut Battle Hymn Of The Broken-Hearted Horde.
MPEG Stream: "The Homecoming"
MPEG Stream: "Tribal Fence"

FREEDOM'S CHILDREN Galactic Vibes (Shadoks / Normal) cd 17.98
Newly reissued, here's a superb slice of acid rock psych from South Africa, circa 1971. Shadoks have also reissued one from Freedom's Children we already loved, Astra (also on this list), and another one yet to be reviewed here, their debut Battle Hymn Of The Broken-Hearted Horde.
This was their third album, following Astra which had made them the #1 pop band in South Africa. Hmm, things were different back when! But if you were a hippy hearing this then, Galactic Vibes was definitely everything its title promised. Lots of spaced out guitars echoing over polyrhythmic percussion, certainly a multi-layered cosmic experience, peaking perhaps with a 16 minute extended live version of "The Homecoming" from the Astra album, complete with an epic drum solo. Elsewhere, there's the freaky blips and bloops of an experimental "electronic concerto", lovely Middle Eastern inflected, orchestrated balladry, moody pop bombast, and, maybe best of all, fuzzed out heavy stoner riffery!! Opener "Sea Horse" is one of album's bad ass proto-metal moments, in a Frijid Pink style, and on "That Did It" they rock out again, much like Led Zeppelin or Leaf Hound. Other parts of this album make 'em seem closer to a homegrown South African Pink Floyd. All in all, pretty damn cool for those of you for whom a druggy album title like Galactic Vibes has already piqued some interest.
No bonus tracks, but this does feature lengthy liner notes in tiny, tiny type, full of info.
MPEG Stream: "Sea Horse"
MPEG Stream: "1999"

KOSTER, JULIAN The Singing Saw at Christmastime (Merge) cd 14.98
Julian Koster is best known for his stint in legendary Elephant Six outfit Neutral Milk Hotel as well as his membership in The Music Tapes. But this holiday season he's going to be known as the man who played Christmas songs on his lovely singing saw, turning old classics into something much more breezy and haunting. It's kind of reminding us of that awesome reissue EM Records put out of the early '20s musical saw stylings of Sam Moore, only if he were to play all of the holiday season's greatest hits. Even for those of us who don't usually get into the spirit of Christmas music can't deny how fun this is!
MPEG Stream: "The First Noel"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Bells"
MPEG Stream: "O' Holy Night"

LA DUSSELDORF Individuellos (Water) cd 15.98
Also now reissued by Water, Individuellos is the third and final outing for Klaus Dinger's post-Neu! kraut glammers, La Dusseldorf. Originally released in 1980, it has a slightly more pronounced eighties treatment then Viva or their self-titled debut, but the big keyboard driven rhythms on opening number "Menschen" are unmistakably classic La Dusseldorf. Not every song on here is classic, but the ambient "Sentimental" with its layered tones and backwards recordings showcase a sublime side not as present on their earlier records. Probably not as essential as the reissues of those first two records (which, by the way, we now have on vinyl), but much much better than we had expected!
MPEG Stream: "Menschen"
MPEG Stream: " Sentimental"
MPEG Stream: "Das Yvonnchen"

LA DUSSELDORF s/t (4 Men With Beards) lp 17.98
ALSO NOW REISSUED ON VINYL!
We're very excited about these two DOMESTIC (thus, cheaper) remaster/reissues from Germany's La Dusseldorf! La Dusseldorf were THE masters of anthemic open and clean-sounding happy funky krautrock, inspiring the likes of Eno and Bowie (Heroes-era). They crafted repetitive hypnotic percussion with layers of super clean life-affirming melodies that were driven by minimal lyrics. Neu! co-founder Klaus Dinger and drummer Hans Lampe (who joined Neu! for their 3rd album 75) formed La Dusseldorf following the breakup of Neu! They were joined by Klaus' brother, Thomas, on percussion and vocals, Harald Konietzko on bass, and Nicolas van Rhein on keyboards. Any fan of Neu! will immediately recognize that Neu! sound, which is still evident here, but where Neu! was icy and detached, La Dusseldorf is positive and practically bubbling with warmth. You could also picture 'em as Neu!'s clean-cut little brother, with more in the way of vocals too.
Like Harmonia (a product of fellow ex-Kraftwerker, Michael Rother), the La Dusseldorf albums have an incredible, ahead-of-their-time production level and truly sound like they could be current releases (we've already witnessed a couple customers' disbelief at the date there were originally released!). This self-titled, four track debut from 1976 is absolutely classic Krautrock. "Silver Cloud", with its huge drums and layers of simple, syrupy melody create one of our favorite krautrock songs ever. It's epic and unforgettable and alone makes this album worth picking up. At the time of this album's release, it was played on German radio a bunch and even became a "funk" hit! Another highlight, "La Dusseldorf", opens with the chanting of a football [soccer] audience and leads into a pulsating anthemic rhythm also joined by the valliant one-word chant of "Dusseldorf".
Both the self-titled and Viva records are highly recommended as an integral part of any Krautrock kollection. Psych, prog, proto-punk and all kinds of other music fans, this is what you need!
MPEG Stream: "La Dusseldorf"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Cloud"

LA DUSSELDORF Viva (4 Men With Beards) lp 17.98
ALSO NOW REISSUED ON VINYL!
We're very excited about these two DOMESTIC (thus, cheaper) remaster/reissues from Germany's La Dusseldorf! La Dusseldorf were THE masters of anthemic open and clean-sounding happy funky krautrock, inspiring the likes of Eno and Bowie (Heroes-era). They crafted repetitive hypnotic percussion with layers of super clean life-affirming melodies that were driven by minimal lyrics. Neu! co-founder Klaus Dinger and drummer Hans Lampe (who joined Neu! for their 3rd album 75) formed La Dusseldorf following the breakup of Neu! They were joined by Klaus' brother, Thomas, on percussion and vocals, Harald Konietzko on bass, and Nicolas van Rhein on keyboards. Any fan of Neu! will immediately recognize that Neu! sound, which is still evident here, but where Neu! was icy and detached, La Dusseldorf is positive and practically bubbling with warmth. You could also picture 'em as Neu!'s clean-cut little brother, with more in the way of vocals too.
Like Harmonia (a product of fellow ex-Kraftwerker, Michael Rother), the La Dusseldorf albums have an incredible, ahead-of-their-time production level and truly sound like they could be current releases (we've already witnessed a couple customers' disbelief at the date there were originally released!). Viva, their second record, from 1977, is filled with Krautrock anthems, culminating in 20 minute long album closer "Cha Cha 2000" - an epic of krauty proportions. And the instrumental number "Rheinita" managed to chart in Germany!
Both the self-titled and Viva records are highly recommended as an integral part of any Krautrock kollection. Thanks to the fine people at Water Records, who also made sure these are properly packaged with liner notes and lyrics, they are finally available again. Psych, prog, proto-punk and all kinds of other music fans, this is what you need!
MPEG Stream: "Viva"
MPEG Stream: "Cha Cha 2000"

LUCIFER'S FRIEND s/t (Revisited) cd 17.98
From the vaults of the legendary krautrock label Brain comes another cool digipacked reissue on Revisited. We've been fans of this particular album for a long time, previously stocking a Repertoire reissue when we could get it. In fact, looking into our archives, we see that we reviewed it on two separate occasions, giving it quite similar but different reviews. Well, here's a third, based on those.
This self-titled 1970 debut album is one of the two early Lucifer's Friend albums we recommend, the other being its 1972 sequel, Where The Groupies Killed The Blues, which perhaps will be reissued again as well. After that, the records we've heard aren't as good. But THIS, this is a great piece of '70s proto-metal very much akin to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Budgie, and (especially) Uriah Heep! Some psychedelic weirdness, lots of heavy riffing (on guitars and organ) and total wailin' rock god vocals (courtesy of British singer John Lawton, who later DID join the Heep). As krautrock goes, they're more like early Scorpions than the more out there stuff you might be thinking of (Faust, Can, Kraftwerk, Cluster...) but this -was- recorded by Conny Plank.
The first track, the triumphal rocker "Ride The Sky" (recently covered by doomsters Trouble on their abortive comeback Simple Mind Condition) begins with a trumpeting French horn motif that will definitely make you think of Led Zep, sounding uncannily like the "ah ahhhhhh ahh" intro to "The Immigrant Song", though this came first. There's a cool live video of this track on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5DpOdf-_yM&feature=related.
If you dig that, you'll dig this album... !!!
(FYI, Revisited has included 2 bonus tracks this time 'round.)
MPEG Stream: "Ride The Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Keep Goin'"

LUNCH, LYDIA / SUICIDE Frankie Teardrop (Blastfirst Petite) 10" 15.98
This is one of two new entries in the ongoing series of Suicide related 10" singles, celebrating Alan Vega's 70th birthday (despite the fact that he was born in 1948, a mere 60 years ago). Both sides feature versions of the horrific electro-thud masterpiece "Frankie Teardrop" from the classic eponymous record released back in 1977. The A-side is a new cover from like-minded misanthrope Lydia Lunch, screeching out the vocals on top of a monophunk electronic arpeggiation. It's certainly the best we've heard from Lydia Lunch in many, many, many years. The B-side is a demo version of "Frankie Teardrop," which finds Martin Rev's musical accompaniment for ominous, analog synths pretty much worked out, even in demo form, but Alan Vega's story about Frankie Teardrop himself hadn't quite evolved into a tragedy about an everyman whose life just sucks. Instead, Frankie is cast as a Vietnam vet / detective given a particularly unfortunate assignment. It's not as clinically articulated as on the proper album, but has more of a Philip K. Dick vibe going on. Limited to 1500 copies.

NON TOXIQUE LOST Wanton (Klanggalerie) cd 17.98
Non Toxique Lost began in the early '80s as a German industrial band that had stuck true to the avant-garde / difficult listening propositions to also come through Throbbing Gristle and Dome. While plenty of other industrialists such as Psychic TV and Einsturzende Neubauten honed their craft for occluded electronics with sinister motives into downright catchy tunes, Non Toxique Lost chose a murky collage strategy for metal bashing, undulating electronic arppegiations, and megaphone vocal barking. Wanton was the first album for Non Toxique Lost, recorded between 1982 and 1984 and released a year later on vinyl. There's an aggressive deconstruction of sound within the primitive synth-punk arrangements which get splattered into amassed distortion from guitar freakouts blowing out of way too small amplifiers on top of lumbering electronic loops, all of which get cut up and mangled on tape. One of the early members of Non Toxique Lost was Achim Wollscheid, who had also begun his solo project of DIY musique concrete called S.B.O.T.H.I. before developing his highly conceptual sound art projects throughout the late '90s. It seems that Non Toxique Lost is still around, although Wollscheid left many years ago. Either way, Wanton is a fascinating document of art-damaged noise from this little known German industrial project.
Limited to 300 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Inschallah"
MPEG Stream: "Condor"

PARKER, WILLIAM Double Sunrise Over Neptune (Aum Fidelity) cd 14.98
These three amazing long compositions taken from live performances at the twelfth annual Vision Festival in New York in 2007 will be difficult to convey in a one minute sound clip. Their sweeping scope performed by a tight 16-piece unit of horns, woodwinds, and strings (including an oud and electric guitar), journey through a broad modal push and pull of ethnic, improvisational and modern compositional forms, veiled by an almost cosmic exotica. That aspect comes courtesy of the East Indian singer Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, whose sometimes wordless, sometimes poetic vocals interweave throughout the piece's dynamic colorful tones and earthy textures, yet they never overly predominate. This one requires attentive listening to the deep and wide unfolding of these compositions for its full rewards, but it's well worth it!
MPEG Stream: "Morning Mantra"
MPEG Stream: "Neptune's Mirror"

PORT O'BRIEN All We Could Do Was Sing (self-released) cd 15.98
If the exuberant outpouring of song from the likes of Arcade Fire, Bright Eyes, Hidden Cameras, and Wolf Parade get you all giddy and weak in the knees, then we might have a new fave for you! But particularly like the former two, Port O'Brien can get serious too and take a more solemn tone. On the more hushed songs (which are also some of the album's best) such as "Stuck On A Boat", "Don't Take My Advice" and "Will You Be There?" the lights are dimmed and the instrumentation stripped down to a skeletal folksy assembly of Van Pierszalowski's brittle, emotive young voice and guitar, and Cambrian Goodwin's comforting pluck of the banjo. Glowing warmly throughout the proceedings, almost as if at a distance, are some understated violin and cello backing. The album's title says it all. When everything else fails you (whether you be the player or the listener), music is where you will always find solace, stimulation, escape. And Port O'Brien does so in each of these achingly bittersweet songs.
MPEG Stream: "I Woke Up Today"
MPEG Stream: "Stuck On A Boat"
MPEG Stream: "Will You Be There?"

QUINTRON Too Thirsty 4 Love (Goner Records) cd 12.98
No one does organ fueled fuzzy garage party rock better than New Orlean's quirky Quintron. Too Thirsty 4 Love has been sounding so damn good blasting from our stereo. Like a way more disturbed B-52's channeling The Cramps, these are the sounds you would want to be going nuts to at the best Halloween party ever. While Quintron is often just laughed off as a joke or novelty artist, the truth is, there is so much blood, sweat, guts and grit to these songs, and this outing is reminding us again of how damn great he really is!
MPEG Stream: "Waterfall"
MPEG Stream: "Dirt Bag Fever"

QUINTRON Too Thirsty 4 Love (Goner Records) lp 13.98
No one does organ fueled fuzzy garage party rock better than New Orlean's quirky Quintron. Too Thirsty 4 Love has been sounding so damn good blasting from our stereo. Like a way more disturbed B-52's channeling The Cramps, these are the sounds you would want to be going nuts to at the best Halloween party ever. While Quintron is often just laughed off as a joke or novelty artist, the truth is, there is so much blood, sweat, guts and grit to these songs, and this outing is reminding us again of how damn great he really is!
MPEG Stream: "Waterfall"
MPEG Stream: "Dirt Bag Fever"

RICHTER, MAX 24 Postcards In Full Colour (Fat Cat) cd 14.98
Max Richter first caught our attention with his gorgeous arrangements on Vashti Bunyan's long awaited return to the world of music, 2005's Lookaftering. He's put out several of his own post-classical works, and his latest is just simply stunning. 24 short tracks made for gray days spent looking out the window as rain falls gently and memories drift to the surface. Most of these tracks are under two minutes and were actually intended to be used as ringtones. Somehow Richter is able to pack such strong emotions into these short tracks but also allows the listener to fill in the blanks and wander away. Anyone who uses these as ringtones will for sure be sporting the most elegant and classy cell phone around. Simply beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Cathodes"
MPEG Stream: "Lullaby From The Westcoast Sleepers"
MPEG Stream: "In Louisville At 7"

SCOTT, RAYMOND Figurine And Clavivox (PressPop) figurine + cd 44.00
We're listing this again this week 'cause we have just a few left, and it's definitely a very special Christmas present-y kind of thing you might have missed on our last list...
We rarely carry toys, not cuz we don't all love toys, but we already have our hands full with just music. But every once in a while, a toy comes along that speaks directly to music nerds like us. And you presumably. And the folks at PressPop in Japan definitely seem to have our number!
Way back in 2005, they released a Bob Moog action figure, wearing a sportcoat, red bowtie and glasses, finger extended to depress a key on his trusty analog Mini-Moog synthesizer. As we proclaimed back then, the perfect gift for "AQ vintage-synthesizer-lovin', action-figure-collectin' shoppers", and we were right, those Moog dolls flew out of here like you wouldn't believe. So here we are 3 years later, and just in time for Christmas, it's time for the second in PressPop's series of electronic music innovators, this time none other than Raymond Scott!
By now, Raymond Scott should need no introduction, if you need to know more, do a search on the aQ site and read all about this electronic music pioneer,, his life, his music, and his legacy. Needless to say, like Moog, with out Scott, a whole lot of your favorite bands would sound a whole lot different. Not to mention the fact that he's responsible for some of our favorite cartoon music ever.
Anyway, if you're like us, your music room or computer or wherever it is that you spend all your music listening time, deserves to be blessed by Saint Scott, his visage overlooking you sanctuary, as he reaches out to add his own synthesizer buzz to whatever it is you're listening to. The body is the same as Mr. Moog's, so he's got the same magic finger outstretched, but Mr. Scott is dressed in a natty grey suit (with a Raymond Scott 100 year anniversary silkscreened on the back) with a black tie, accompanied by his keyboard of choice, the Clavivox, which he invented and patented in 1956 (and which featured a sub assembly constructed by a young Bob Moog who would design the first Moog synthesizer a decade later!). The doll and the keyboard are housed in an eye popping full color box designed by Mr. Archer Prewitt (of the Sea & Cake), and the back of the box features a killer illustration of another Scott invention, the Electronium, a keyboardless automatic composition and performance machine!
And as if that weren't enough, also included is a cd, with more killer Archer Prewitt artwork, which includes: "Powerhouse", probably Scott's most famous bit of cartoon music, a track from Scott's Soothing Sounds For Baby, his collection of electronic music for infants, really beautiful and strange, alien and hypnotic, and coolest of all, three archival tracks of Scott talking about and then demonstrating his various inventions, the Clavivox, the Electronium and the Rhythm Modulator. Holy Cow!!!
As with the Moog doll (now long gone), these are indeed super limited, and a little pricey with overseas shipping, but have a read, a look, a listen, so worth it, the perfect gift for the synthesizer nerd or music obsessive in your life, or heck, buy it for your own geek self, we did!
(Counts as 3 items for shipping purposes, not one or two, as per our usual 'box set rule'.)

SENOR COCONUT Around The World (Nacional Records) cd 13.98
Senor Coconut is back with a new set of party favorites. His endearing covers over the years have included everyone from Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Sade. This time out he's on a trip around the globe with each song being a cover of an artist from somewhere different in the world. But his eye is clearly on catchy and mostly familiar pop music (Eurythmics, Daft Punk, Telex, etc). Still totally fun and playful but not quite at the level of pure joy and innovative reinterpreting that his prior releases demonstrated. It kind of feels a little phoned in, but still filled with enough winners to keep us smiling.
MPEG Stream: "Around the World (Intro)"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Moscow Discow"

SIGUR ROS Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endlanst (XL) 2lp 17.98
NOW ON VINYL!!!
Up until now Sigur Ros has not really been a band we'd associate with wordiness, with spontaneity or with bare flesh. They surprise us with a mouthful of an album title and an eyeful of an album cover. The music as well has floored us -- startlingly different from the trademark blissed out Icelandic grandeur of their previous four full lengths. Nothing tooo drastic, mind you, but Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust refreshes both the band and the listener with songs that are somehow at once both rawer'n'heavier and warmer'n'lighter. Instead of end-to-end waves of dreamy blanketing embraces, there are also moments of bracing starkness and (dare we say?) exuberant immediacy. The combination builds to a (yes, epic!) centerpiece number "Ara Batur" which apparently was recorded in one take and features ninety performers including the London Oratory Boys Choir and the London Sinfonietta orchestra. Whoa, stunning! it's easy to see why they chose to doff their clothing for this one!
MPEG Stream: "Gobbledigook"
MPEG Stream: "Ara Batur"

STRIBORG Nefaria / A Tragic Journey Towards The Light (Southern Lord) cd 13.98
Another of our favorite Striborg records (although we pretty much love them all) back in stock!
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)"

TERRORIZER issue #177 December 2008 magazine + cd 9.25
Thee new issue of this metal readin' essential has Norwegian black metal icons Satyricon on the cover, just in time for Christmas, we mean, their new album. Also: Bloodbath, Cradle Of Filth, Cynic, Paradise Lost, Napalm Death, Aura Noir, Misery Index, Down, and many many more - in fact, there's a brand new section "Choice Cuts" devoted to brief bits on a whole bunch of more underground acts, like Oakenshield, Book Of Black Earth, Phazm, SerpentCult, Guillotine, Outlaw Order, and plenty more we'd actually never heard of before.
Plus lots of other features, including a 20th anniversary label report on Lee Dorrian's stoner/doom institution, Rise Above. And of course tons of reviews, one of the main reasons to pick this up every month for sure. Also, there's the usual free sampler cd stuck to the cover.
Best pull quote of the issue: "I spelt 'U' as 'V' so it looked cooler". That's from the "Choice Cuts" piece about Swedish one-man band Doom:Vs.

WARA El Inca (Mandrax) lp 35.00
Now reissued also on vinyl... here's what we said about the cd edition:
Wow! Progressive Rock from Bolivia? Who knew?
Wara's first album from 1972 (the liner notes say they have recorded 16 albums as of 2004, but this is the first we have heard of them) is a strange hybrid of South American psych with classical symphonic elements, Andean native musical structures, soaring harmonies and boogie rhythms.
Incorporating a classical string section with flute and oboe alongside the shredding fuzz guitar, simmering organ and drum breaks, this is unlike any South American psych we've heard in awhile. While Wara is more of a psych band than a prog outfit, they lean towards '70s proto-metal vocal theatrics and Beethoven rather than the Beatles, using long songs with varied passages of loud and soft dynamics. Killer!
MPEG Stream: "Realidad"
MPEG Stream: "Wara"

WAX POETICS Issue #32 magazine 9.99
Sly Stone makes the cover (did he really have to wait 'til issue 32?), and inside there's the usual profusely and colorfully photo-illustrated, deep-digging stuff about the likes of Jean Grae, Egyptian Lover and Arabian Prince, Jimmy Cliff, Large Professor, Houston rappers HSID, and even South Korean B-boys! Among other things. In case you didn't know already, or figure it out from that run-down, Wax Poetics is THE magazine of cool hiphop/soul/funk/reggae/jazz hipness old and new, for vinyl fetishists and general groove-hounds, and as usual this issue is a must-read if you're at all into that stuff, and why the heck wouldn't you be?!

WEST, KANYE 808s & Heartbreak (Roc-A-Fella) cd 15.98
Some records are totally unanimous AQ favorites and then there are those times that we are split pretty divisively on something. The latest from Kanye West has both some haters and some big time lovers here at the store. Those who love it (Irwin, especially!) can't get enough of its raw emotion (these are songs recorded after the death of his mother and the breakup of his engagement) and totally stripped down 808 beats that almost sound like they could be at home on a Kraftwerk or Suicide record if it was produced by Timbaland. This time out Kanye isn't rapping as much as he is singing, but knowing he doesn't posses the world's best singing voice he uses a whole lot of auto-tuning on his vocals. That's where those not as in love with the record tend to get turned off as he does use them on almost every track, a la T-Pain, but those who love the record feel that those vocals fit so perfectly in the flashing heart on sleeve feel of the record. Anyone who has recently experienced heartbreak will probably have a much easier time fully surrendering to these songs. It's almost like some kind of electro-emo-hip-hop carried out with such fiery passion and it almost sounds like it was all recorded in his bedroom on an 808 infused with the emotions and dire after-effects of a broken heart. So thumping, electric and pulsating. The record does sound like a heart pulsating with such rapid motion throughout. Give this record a chance, even if you have a hard time with Kanye's huge ego, because under all the bluster and bravado he really is pretty talented!
MPEG Stream: "Say You Will"
MPEG Stream: "Paranoid"
MPEG Stream: "Love Lockdown"

WINDEREN, JANA Surface Runoff (Autofact) 7" 10.98
At first glance, it's easy to assume this is part of Touch's recent series of seven inches, and on first listen, there's nothing to dissuade us, but in fact, this is the latest release from Autofact, who does indeed have a deal with Touch to do their vinyl, but this is not a Touch record, although as we mentioned it might as well be, and will no doubt appeal to the same folks.
Processed field recordings, recorded using hydrophones (underwater mics). The A side is a swirl of textured gurgles, almost a straight field recording of a pastoral creekside (birds, splashes, wind) but as the track progresses the sounds become more textural, almost rhythmic at times, sounding much more like Tim Hecker or Oval.
The flipside features a collage of underwater recordings from rivers in Norway, Iceland, England and Germany, deep rumbles, soft creaks, occasional insects, the sound of a stream, water lapping on the shore, the sound shifting to more of a warm whirring very dreamy and abstract, slipping back and forth, above water, below water, crystalline and spacious, murky and muddy and indistinct, woozy and swoony and quite pleasing.
Beautiful Jon Wozencroft style full color photo cover, and limited to only 500 copies.

WOODEN SHJIPS Vol. 1 (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
REPRESSED and BACK IN STOCK... The vinyl version of this major AQ fave.
For those of you who missed out on the limited edition double cd version of the Wooden Shjips debut release on Holy Mountain, here's a proper reissue of that bonus disc, with the addition of the music from Shjips' now out of print Summer Of Love 7", in a vinyl version (they also did a separate digipack cd too we already listed).
This record has the three tracks from the Shjips debut Shrinking Moon For You 10" and both cuts from their Dance, California / Clouds Over Earthquake 7". We'll try to summarize what we said about these songs before. The music from the 10" starts off with the title cut, a fuzzy garagey stomp, a groove that locks in and plows forward relentlessly. We began to feel like we were listening to some sort of garage rock Steve Reich. Guitars just sort of buzzing along, blooping new wave bass right underneath, simple solid drumming. But then in swoops some super feedback guitar that sounds like a demented horn section, and before you can examine it more closely it disappears, and we're back to the groove. That happens a few more times before the vocals kick in, sort of sing songy, but SO drenched in delay that the words get all jumbled up and are sort of jettisoned into outer space. There is also a subtle wash of fuzzy keyboards giving the whole thing a sort of Loop vibe. the second track is quite similar except the vocals are a bit more distinct, sort of laidback and mumbly. After a few listens, it became clear that there is some sort of minimal thing going on, but it's more like some lost Velvet Underground track arranged for Reich and Riley. Droney and drifty and druggy and totally mesmerizing. The third track bucks the trend and instead veers off into some tripped out ambience, with drifting motes of guitar fuckery, random sounds and noises, and some cool creepy backwards vocals. Sort of like an indie hipster freenoise "Revolution #9." Cool.
The two tracks from the 7" are also quite sonically similar to the 10" cuts. First up, surprise surprise a buzzy lo-fi garage groove, beneath bizarre super distorted insectoid guitar leads, buzzing WAY up in the mix and sounding almost like some primitive malfunctioning synth. But the whole time, beneath the alien buzz, the groove just hums along, like some extra baked Velvet Underground outtake. "Clouds Over Earthquake" is way more laid back, some blown out sun baked riffage, a super lazy groove, like Loop played at 16rpm, decorated with warm hornlike melodies that eventually stretch out into some serious outerspace psych rock explorations. The vocals we loved so much on the 10" resurface here too, laconic, drawled sung/spoken and super affected, very Lou Reed sounding albeit buried way down in the mix and absolutely drenched in thick reverb and fuzzy delay. Awesome!
So those tracks are all here (not in that order though) along with a radio edit of "Dance, California" for completists.
But unlike the bonus disc that came with the first pressing of the Shjips' debut, this disc tacks also on the Summer Of Love 7", an 11+ minute slab of everything we love about these guys: a relentless, neverending blown out fuzzy groove, all warm whirring organ, fuzz guitar, and throbbing bass, the drums a super solid motorik framework, the vocals sort of sung / spoken, reverb and delay EVERYWHERE, the strangest addition are the haunting horns that drift and moan ghost like over the fuzz jam below. By the second half of the track, the band have locked it in and sound like they are never gonna stop. A looped cyclical minimal fuzzrock jam that sounds almost like some crazy crossbreeding of the Doors and Spacemen 3, which should appeal to Circle, Salvatore and Magyar Posse fans as much as all the druggy psychrock dronesters out there.
Anyone who missed out on that bonus disc NEEDS this. For everyone who DID get it (and there are a whole lot of you), you just have to figure out if it's worth buying again to get that extra S.O.L. 7" material if you don't have that.
Either way, killer stuff and absolutely essential!
MPEG Stream: "Clouds Over Earthquake"
MPEG Stream: "SOL '07"

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V/A My Own Wolf: A New Approach To Ulver (Cold Dimensions) 2cd 22.00
We've given tribute albums a bit of stick in the past. After all, the things seem to be a dime a dozen, sometimes the result of genuine fannish enthusiasm but often just a commercially-motivated exploitative exercise. Yet, it's still hard not to be tempted by the concept, as long as the former rather than the latter motivation is in force. (In fact, our own Andee has plans for a tribute album of sorts on his tUMULt label: I'm Sorry And I Miss You, a black metal reimagining of Slint's Spiderland! So we can't bag on 'em all.) Hard to argue with a bunch of your favorite bands doing songs by another favorite, really. And those are obvious rules of what makes a good tribute: a worthy honoree (who has SONGS, not just a "sound"), and a roster of participants from whom you also want to hear. One good example, on this very list we highlight a highly enjoyable tribute to Syd Barrett that certainly obeyed all those rules.
The black metal realm has spawned a few tributes, the most worthwhile we can think of being the brilliant (and out of print) Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone. It certainly met those two basic tests of what would make a good tribute, featuring bands equally as famous and influential as Darkthrone themselves (which also made it that much more significant of a tribute, to see the likes of Emperor and Immortal bowing down to Darkthrone).
Likewise, in this case, Ulver is certainly a worthy subject. Early on, they were a true Norwegian black metal force to be reckoned with, whether in their acoustic folk mode or when doing their own tribute of sorts to Darkthrone, the brilliant Nattens Madrigal. Later, they morphed in many surprising ways, pretty much leaving the confines of black metal entirely but still somehow staying Ulver. In fact, if you put together an anthology of Ulver's "greatest hits" it would sound a bit like a various artists album itself, since their career has been so stylistically diverse, from grim black metal to experimental electronica... In some ways, it's cool to have this tribute just to provide a perspective on the wide range of Ulver's output. 'Cause one byproduct of a good tribute is to get you to go back and listen to the originals, maybe even giving some attention to songs you had previously overlooked. That said, we're also pleased to see that a chunk of the bands appearing on My Own Wolf chose to cover stuff from Nattens Madrigal...
The next question is, are the bands appearing here worthy? Well, we'll admit we haven't heard of rather many of them. It is a double cd, though, with a ton of tracks. And the ones we know, like Aidan Baker (Nadja) are all pretty interesting, kinda avant-garde metal bands that probably all really do look up to Ulver. Some play industrial-metal, others acoustic folk, everything in between and beyond, from trip-hop to psychedelia to dooooooooom, each finding at least one if not several aspects of Ulver's multifaceted career to worship, really. There's songs here from probably every Ulver release ever, including their demos! And these bands are from all over the place, a lot from Russia and France in particular, but also from Finland, Ukraine, Australia, Israel, Germany, Latvia, USA, Canada, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and Brazil!
Here's the lineup: Unfurl, Avathar, Mura Hachigu feat. Nokturnes, Smohalla, Asmodee, Selvmord, Sael, Otzephenevshiye, Wardaemonic, FB[Force], Karna, Fluoryne, Year Zero, Sinestesia, Pryapisme, Joey Hopkins Midget Factory, Aidan Baker, Panacea Enterpainment, project:a, Catapulus, Jaaportit, Wheel Of Knowledge, Zweizz, Bosque, Noises of Russia, and Ashtar.
While there's already one "official" tribute to Ulver of sorts (the remixes disc 1st Decade In The Machines) this one is perhaps more honest in its tributor-to-tributee relationships, i.e., no hipster cred required. It's certainly more "metal" but plenty of other things besides. Obviously, compared to some tributes, the lineup on My Own Wolf is drawn from far deeper underground. No A-list black metal acts here like on that Darkthrone tribute. But you have to imagine that any band interested in doing an Ulver cover is at the very least not an "ordinary" band. And, indeed, some of 'em here are pretty interesting, and we wouldn't have heard about 'em otherwise. You gotta hand it to Ulver: who else could inspire tribute from such a diverse selection of bands/genres?
MPEG Stream: MURA HACHIGU FEAT. NOKTURNES "Blinded By Blood"
MPEG Stream: OTZEPHENEVSHIYE "Wolf And Destiny (Forest Fire Version)"

V/A Perfect As Cats - A Tribute To The Cure (Manimal Vinyl) 2cd 21.00
ATTENTION JESU OBSESSIVES!!! If you're -really- and -truly- obsessed with Jesu, and maybe money is no object, then you just might want to pick this up. A pretty cool version of "The Funeral Party" all done up Jesu style, a little bit blissed out and eighties sounding, definitely a good match, Jesu and the Cure. And as far as we know, this is the only place to find that track. 7 minutes = $21.00, you do the math. "But what about the rest of the tracks" you ask? Well, it's all Cure covers which could be cool, and the money made goes to charity, but quite frankly, the rest of the compilation is pretty bad. Some of it, just so-so to middling, but some of it GODAWFUL. Totally cringeworthy.
Only a few bands we'd heard of: Dandy Warhols, The Muslims, Kaki King, Bat For Lashes, Indian Jewelry, Ex-Reveries. And sure there are a couple ok tracks tucked away in there, but for the most part, minus the Jesu song, you'd be much better off not wasting any of your valuable listening time here.
But back to you Jesu freaks, if you'd pay $20 for some rare 7" on eBay, this might just be the same difference...
MPEG Stream: JESU "The Funeral Party"

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

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

ABSU "Tara" (Agonia) picture disc 26.00
ABSU "The Third Storm Of Cythraul" (Agonia) picture disc 26.00
AKIMBO "Jersey Shores" (Neurot) cd 14.98
ANGEL "Hedonism" (Editions Mego) cd 17.98
BENGE "Twenty Systems" (Expanding) cd+book 27.00
BLACKSHEEP "s/t" (Doubt Music) cd 16.98
BLEY, PAUL "Barrage" (ESP) cd 14.98
BRONX, THE "3" (White Drugs / Original Silence) cd 14.98
BRUCE CARKISS "Definitive Edition" (Skulls Of Heaven) cd-r 8.98
BULLWACKIES ALL STARS "Black World" (Wackie's) cd/lp 17.98/17.98
BUNNY BRAINS, THE "What Makes You Think You Can Save Yourself (From Yourself)?" (self-released) cd-r 13.98
BURROUGHS, WILLIAM S. "Break Through In Grey Room" (Sub Rosa) cd/lp 14.98/16.98
CANDLEMASS "Lucifer Rising" (Nuclear Blast) cd ep 10.98
CAPRICORNS "River, Bear Your Bones" (Candlelight) cd 14.98
CHROME "Alien Soundtracks" (Noiseville) cd 16.98
CHROME "Half Machine Lip Moves" (Noiseville) cd 16.98
CHROME "Third From The Sun" (Noiseville) cd 16.98
CINDYTALK "Silver Shoals Of Light" (Bluesanct) 10" 17.98
CLP "Super Continental" (Shitkatapult) cd 17.98
COLD NORTHERN VENGEANCE "Domination and Servitude" (Bindrune Recordings) cd 11.98
COLOSSAL YES "Charlemagne's Big Thaw" (Ba Da Bing) lp 13.98
COMMON "Universal Mind" (Geffen) cd 15.98
CRADLE OF FILTH "Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder" (Road Runner Records) 2cd/lp 23.00/23.00
CROWNING GLORY / THE GATES OF SLUMBER "Dead Man's Paradise / Riddle Master" (Rise Above) 7" 10.98
CSS "Move (Remixes)" (Sub Pop) 12" 4.98
CULT OF LUNA "Eternal Kingdom" (Earache) cd 13.98
CYBOTRON "Implosion" (Aztec Music) cd 24.00
DEAD CAN DANCE "Aion" (4AD) cd 13.98
DEAD CAN DANCE "The Serpent's Egg" (4AD) cd 13.98
DJ / RUPTURE "Uproot" (The Agriculture Records) cd 16.98
DRY RIB "Whose Last Trickle" (Hyped To Death) cd 12.98
DUSK & BLACKDOWN "Margins Music" (Keysound Recordings) cd 15.98
ENSLAVED "Frost" (Season Of Mist) cd 14.98
ETHEREAL WOODS "Kenilworth" (Supernal) cd 15.98
FAXED HEAD "From Coalinga To Osaka: Live In Japan 1985" (Web Of Mimicry) dvd 14.98
FERRARO, JAMES "K2-Chameleon Ballet" (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 17.98
FERRARO, JAMES "Multitopia" (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 17.98
FINAL "Dead Air" (Utech) cd 16.98
FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN "Black Trenchcoats & Swastikas 'n Shit" (Panaxis) cd 12.98
FREE BLOOD "The Singles" (Rong / DFA) cd 14.98
FREE POP ELECTRONIC CONCEPT, THE "A New Exciting Experience" (Vampisoul) cd/lp 23.00/25.00
FREEDOM'S CHILDREN "Battle Hymn Of The Broken-Hearted Horde" (Shadoks / Normal) cd 17.98
GLASS CANDY "Deep Gems" (Italians Do It Better) cd 13.98
HAINO, KEIJI "Koitsukara Usetaitameno Hakarigoto (The 21st Century Hard-Y-Guide-Y Man)" (PSF) cd 22.00
HARRIS, DAVE & THE POWERHOUSE FIVE "Dinner Music For A Pack Of Hungry Cannibals" (Basta) cd 21.00
HULL, SCOTT "Requiem" (Relapse) cd 15.98
IBITSU "Foolproof Betters...." (Editions Mego) cd 17.98
JEPSON, WARNER "Totentanz and Other Electronic Works, 1958 - 1973" (Melon Expander) cd 19.98
KAMPFAR "Heimgang" (Napalm) cd 16.98
KEEP OF KALESSIN "Kolossus" (Nuclear Blast) cd + dvd 13.98
KILLERS, THE "Day & Age" (Island) cd 15.98
KIRKEGAARD, JACOB "Labyrinthitis" (Touch) cd 16.98
KOZELEK, MARK "Finally" (Caldo Verde) cd 13.98
KRISTYL "s/t" (Erebus) cd 21.00
KULTIVATOR "Barndomens Stigar" (Mellotronen) 2cd 28.00
LANDED "How Little Will It Take" (Load) cd+3"cd 15.98
LEMONADE "s/t" (True Panther Sounds) cd 14.98
LITTLE JOY "s/t" (Rough Trade) cd 12.98
LOW "Secret Name" (Kranky) lp 16.98
LOW "Songs for a Dead Pilot" (Kranky) lp 11.98
LUCKY DRAGONS "Dark Falcon" (Marriage) lp 15.98
MAHER SHALAL HASH BAZ W/ MASAMI SHINODA "s/t" (PSF) dvd 27.00
MAMIFFER "Hirror Enniffer" (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
MAX, AGATHE "This Silver String" (Xeric) cd 16.98
MAXIMUM JOY "Station MXJY" (Victor) cd 42.00
MERZBOW "Eucalypse" (Soleilmoon) cd 28.00
METALOCALYPSE "Season II: Black Fire Upon Us" (Adult Swim) 2dvd 34.00
MILK (SCORE BY DANNY ELFMAN) "OST" (Decca) cd 16.98
MILLENNIUM, THE "Begin" (Sundazed) lp 21.00
MITSURU, NASUNO "Prequel Oct. 1998 - Mar. 1999 + 1" (Doubt Music) cd 16.98
MORGENSTERN, BARBARA "bm" (Monika) cd 15.98
MOTLEY CRUE "Too Fast For Love" (Motley / Eleven Seven) cd/lp 14.98/21.00
MUNRO, CHARLIE QUARTET "Eastern Horizons" (Votary) cd 24.00
MURCOF "Versailles Sessions" (Leaf) cd 13.98
NAILGUNNER "Apocalypse Now Or Never" (AreaDeath) cd 11.98
NISENNENMONDAI "Tori / Neji" (Smalltown Supersound) cd 16.98
NO AGE "Teen Creeps" (Sub Pop) 7" 3.98
NOTWIST, THE "Boneless" (Domino) 7" 5.98
OBITS "One Cross" (Stint) 7" 6.98
OCEAN "Pantheon Of The Lesser" (Important Records) cd 14.98
OPETH "Watershed (Collector's Edition)" (Roadrunner) 2cd 23.00
ORCHESTRE POLY-RYTHMO DE COTONOU "The Vodoun Effect: 1972-1975" (Analog Africa) cd 24.00
OXBOW "Lover Ungrateful" (Midmarch Records) 7" 7.98
P.A.R.A. "Mermalien" (Olde Engish Spelling Bee) lp 17.98
PANTALEIMON "Under The Water" (Bluesanct) 7" 8.98
PEDAL "s/t" (Staubgold) cd 17.98
PEGATAUR "Eternal Flight" (For Once Records) cd 13.98
PENTAGRAM "Review Your Choices" (Season Of Mist) cd 14.98
PENTAGRAM "Sub-Basement" (Season Of Mist) cd 14.98
PENTEMPLE "s/t" (Southern Lord) cd/lp 15.98/16.98
PERFORMING FERRETS "No One Told Us" (Hyped To Death) cd 12.98
PORN + MERZBOW "And the Devil Makes Three" (Truth Cult) cd 17.98
RACEBANNON "IV: Acid Or Blood" (Southern) cd 14.98
REHBERG, PETER "Work For GV 2004-2008" (Editions Mego) cd 17.98
REPLACEMENTS, THE "All Shook Down" (Sire / Rhino) cd 16.98
REPLACEMENTS, THE "Don't Tell A Soul" (Sire / Rhino) cd 16.98
REPLACEMENTS, THE "Pleased To Meet Me" (Sire / Rhino) cd 16.98
REPLACEMENTS, THE "Tim" (Sire / Rhino) cd/lp 16.98/17.98
RILES, ZAK "s/t" (Important) cd 14.98
RITUAL "Widow" (Shadow Kingdom) cd 12.98
RST "Tomorrow's Void" (Utech) cd 16.98
RUNEMAGICK "Dark Dead Earth" (Century Media) 2cd 16.98
SANHEDRIN "s/t" (Breathing Bass) cd 19.98
SERPENTCULT "Weight Of Light" (Rise Above) cd/lp 15.98/27.00
SEVEN THAT SPELLS + KAWABATA MAKOTO "Cosmoerotic Dialogue With Lucifer" (Beta-Lactam Ring) cd 17.98
SIGUR ROS "Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endlanst" (XL) cd+dvd+book 96.00
SILENT LAND TIME MACHINE "& Hope Still" (Time Lag / Indian Queen) cd 14.98
SLOMO "The Bog" (Important) cd 14.98
SMITHS, THE "Sound Of The Smiths" (Rhino) 2cd 31.00
SONDHEIM, ALAN "Ritual-All-7-70" (ESP) cd 14.98
SQUAREPUSHER "Just A Souvenir" (Warp) cd/lp 14.98/22.00
STEREOLAB "Peng" (Too Pure) lp 14.98
STEREOLAB "The Groop Play Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" (Too Pure) lp 14.98
STOOGES, IGGY AND THE "Raw Power" (Sundazed) lp 21.00
STOOGES, THE "Gimme Some Skin" (Get Back) cd/lp 17.98/16.98
STORM THE CASTLE! "The History Of Doomed Expeditions Vol. 1" (Lightbulb Detective Agency) cd 13.98
SUMMER, DONNA "Bad Girls" (Casablanca) cd 11.98
SUN RA "On Jupiter" (Art Yard) cd 17.98
SUN RA "Sleeping Beauty" (Art Yard) cd 17.98
SUNKEN FOAL "Fallen Arches" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
SUSANNA "Flower Of Evil" (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98
TELESCOPES, THE "Singles Compilation 1989-1991" (Mind Expansion) cd 15.98
TEN KENS "s/t" (Fat Cat) cd 14.98
TERAKAFT "Akh Issudar" (World Village) cd 21.00
TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM "Compressor" (Extreme) cd 14.98
THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES "Tail Swallower And Dove" (Suicide Squeez) cd 14.98
THOR "Keep The Dogs Away" (Scratch Recordings) cd 14.98
TIMES NEW VIKING "Stay Awake EP" (Matador) 7" 3.98
TIPSY "Buzzz" (Ipecac) cd 16.98
TOIL "Obscure Chasms" (Ruin Productions) cd 14.98
TRUTH AND JANEY "Erupts!" (Rockadrome / Vintage) cd 14.98
TWITCH, JD "10 Inches Of Fear" (RVNG International) 10" + cd 16.98
USAISAMONSTER "Space Programs" (Load) cd 15.98
V/A "Afrobeat Nirvana" (Vampisoul) cd 16.98
V/A "Anthology Of Dutch Electronic Tape Music: Volume 1" (Basta) 2cd 24.00
V/A "Anthology Of Dutch Electronic Tape Music: Volume 2" (Basta) 2cd 24.00
V/A "Cazumbi" (No Smoker) lp 33.00
V/A "Female Blues Singers: Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me" (Sub Rosa) cd/lp 15.98/15.98
V/A "Instro-Hipsters A Go-Go" (Psychic Circle) 5cd 62.00
V/A "Japanese Traditional Music: Gagaku - Buddhist Chant" (World Arbiter) cd 17.98
V/A "Lords Of Chaos: The History Of Occult Music" (Index Verlag) cd 15.98
V/A "Messthetics Greatest Hiss (#110)" (Hyped to Death) cd 14.98
V/A "Nice Ass 001" (Nice Ass) cd-r 8.98
V/A "Oz Days Live" (Oz) 2cd 29.00
V/A "Rocksteady Fever" (Kingston Sounds) cd/lp 21.00/21.00
V/A "Shbahoth: Iraqi-Jewish Song From The 1920's" (Renair) cd 22.00
V/A "Skull Disco (2) Soundboy's Gravestone Gets Desecrated By Vandals" (Skull Disco) 2cd 24.00
V/A "Wackies Sampler Vol. 3" (Wackies) cd 17.98
VAJRA "Live" (PSF) cd 16.98
VAMPIRE WEEKEND "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" (XL Recordings) 7" 5.98
VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR "Time Vaults" (Abstract Sounds) cd 13.98
VILLALOBOS, RICARDO "Vasco" (Perlon) cd 17.98
VIRUS SYNDICATE "Present: Contagious Vol. 1" (Tyke) cd 17.98
VOIVOD "The Outer Limits" (Metal Mind Productions) cd 17.98
WAX POETICS ANTHOLOGY VOLUME 2 book 39.95
ZEITKRATZER / CARSTEN NICOLAI "Electronics" (Zeitkratzer) cd 17.98
ZEITKRATZER / KEIJI HAINO "Electronics (3)" (Zeitkratzer) cd 17.98
ZOMBY "Where Were U In '92" (Werk Discs) cd 17.98

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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

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SOME SELECTED UPCOMING RELEASES

----} on the way to us now
Fennesz "June" 12" in the Table Of The Elements Guitar Series
Andrew Burnes "Telescope" 12" in the Table Of The Elements Guitar Series
David Daniel "I-IV-V-I" 12" in the Table Of The Elements Guitar Series

----} also in December
Circle "Tyrant" vinyl version on Latitudes
Morkobot "Morto" cd on Supernatural Cat

----} January 13th, 2009
Journey To Ixtlan cd (maybe lp too) on Aurora Borealis

----} January 21st
La Otracina "Blood Moon Riders" cd/lp on Holy Mountain
MGR Y Destructo "Amigos De La Guitarra" cd/lp on Neurot
MV & EE with the Golden "Drone Trailer" cd/lp on DiChristina
Colossal Yes "Charlemagne's Big Thaw" cd on Ba Da Bing

----} also in January
Wino "Punctured Equilibrium" cd on Southern Lord
Cattle Decapitation "The Harvest Floor" cd on Metal Blade

----} February 4th
Aethenor "Faking Gold And Murder" cd on VHF
Astral Social Club "Octuplex" cd on VHF

----} February 15th
Bunkur "Nullify" cd on Displeased

----} February 18th
Beirut / Realpeople "March Of The Zapotec" 2cd on Pompeii
Boston Spaceships "Planets Are Blasted" cd/lp on GBV, Inc.

----} also in February
Amber Asylum tba cd on Profound Lore
Psyopus "Odd Senses" cd on Metal Blade
Saros "Acid Plains" cd on Profound Lore
Zombi tba cd on Relapse
Irepress "Sol Eye Sea" cd on Translation Loss

----} also in March
Amesoeurs tba cd on Profound Lore
Deftones "Eros" cd on Warner Bros.

----} also in April
Loss "Despond" cd on Profound Lore

----} also in May
Bloodhorse "Horizoner" cd on Translation Loss
Minsk tba cd on Relapse

----} also upcoming sooner or later or sooner or later
Grumbling Fur (Guapo + Jussi from Circle) cd
Der TPK (Teenage Panzerkorps) "Games For Slaves" lp on Siltbreeze
Adam Payne "Organ" cd/lp on Holy Mountain
Jacob Kirkegaard "Labyrinthitis" cd on Touch
Zeitkratzer & Terre Thaemlitz "Electronics" cd on Zeitkratzer
Jandek "London Tuesday" cd on Corwood
Elder Utah Smith "I Got Two Wings" cd+book on Casequarter
Oxbow "Fuckfest" cd reissue on Hydrahead
Combat Astronomy "Earth Divided by Zero" cd
Ovens "s/t" cd on tUMULt
Diamatregon "Crossroad" cd on tUMULt
Amocoma "Go To Hell" cd on tUMULt
Rosetta "Wake/Lift" vinyl version
Necrofrost "Blackeon Lightharvest" cd
Mariana Topley-Bird w/ Dangermouse
Anton Batagov "Passionate Desire To Be An Angel" cd on Long Arms Records
The Heads tba 2cd 'best of' on Leafhound
Black Boned Angel / Nadja collaboration cd/lp on 20 Buck Spin
Japancakes "If I Could See Dallas"
Iro "Tamafuri" cd on PSF
Diza Star "Contact High Diza Star" cd on Fractal
DDAA "Action and Japanese Demonstration" cd reissue on Fractal
Wolfgang Voigt "Freiland - Klaviermusik" 12" on Profan
When "Are You Silent" cd on Jester
Sean Smith "Eternal" cd on Ultra Hard Gel
Risto "Live!" cd on Fonal
Sperm "Shh!" lp reissue on Destijl
Jandek "Glasgow Sunday 2005" cd on Corwood
Jazzfinger "The Sun's Golden Blood" cd on Beta-Lactam Ring
Troum "Eald-Ge-Streon" cd/2lp/2cd on Beta-Lactam Ring
Bohren & Der Club Of Gore "Mitleid Lady" cd/lp on Latitudes
Slough Feg "Ape Uprising" cd on Cruz Del Sur
Slough Feg "The Slay Stack Grows - Early Demos and Live Recordings" 2cd on Shadow Kingdom Records
Intrusion "The Seduction Of Silence" cd on Echospace
KTL "IV" cd on Editions Mego
Pan American "White Bird Release" cd/lp on Kranky
Der TPK (Teenage Panzerkorps) "Games For Slaves" lp on Siltbreeze
Adam Payne "Organ" cd/lp on Holy Mountain
Last Step "1961" cd/3lp on Planet Mu
v/a "Noise Room" cd on Soniq
Robert Pollard "Crawling Distance" cd/lp on GBV, Inc.
KK Null "Oxygen Flash" cd on Neurot
Distance "Repercussions" on Planet Mu
Country Teasers / Ezee split lp on Holy Mountain
Vetiver "Hey Doll Baby" 7" on Gnomonsong


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SONIC MUPPETS!
Fri, Dec 19 & Sat, Dec 20
Single tickets $8 regular, $6 seniors, students & teachers; $6 YBCA Members
Double-feature tickets $10 regular, $8 seniors, students & teachers; $8 YBCA Members
Tickets: http://www.ybca.org/tickets/production/view.aspx?id=8438


7 pm
MUPPETS MUSIC MOMENTS
The Muppets are back! We originally presented this program last year, and it was so popular wešre bringing it back for the holidays. Music was always an integral part of The Muppet Show, and this program assembles a collection of some of the classic musical numbers interpreted as only the Muppets can. It features a wide range of musical genres including performances by guest stars Paul Simon, Elton John, Deborah Harry and many more. Suitable for ages 4 and up. (70 min, digital video)


8:30 pm
SONIC YOUTH: SLEEPING NIGHTS AWAKE
BY PROJECT MOONSHINE
A dazzling and loud new documentary on Sonic Youth. Crisp black-and-white images collide with SYšs blend of punk, garage rock, and avant-garde sensibilities. The film was shot entirely by seven high school students and features interviews, backstage footage, and 10 songs performed live in Reno in 2006. (2008, 84 min, digital video)

Visit the Muppets at http://www.muppets.com

View the trailer for Sonic Youth: Sleeping Nights Awake:
http://www.projectmoonshine.org/images/moonshine_sonicyouth_preview_medium.mov

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Lots of love from your devoted AQ staff

Andee Cup Jim AllanIrwinScottNickSallyAntaeusandJon