BLACK BUG s/t (FDH) lp 14.98
We have been DYING for this. The Black Bug I Don't Like You 7" was probably our favorite single of the last however many years, we've played it to death, over and over, just waiting for a full length to materialize, hoping and praying it would be even half as good as the 7", but maybe steeling ourselves for disappointment. But thankfully that steeling was totally unnecessary, as the full length more than lives up to the impossible expectations set by that two song salvo.
This Swedish new wave garage punk 3 piece are a furious feral synth driven monster, their sound equal parts cold wave gloom, riot grrl yowl, in-the-red punk rock, and ultra raw blown out garage pop, but even that's a bit reductive, there's something magical about what these three conjure up, both in sound and song, with just synth, bass, vocals and programmed drums. Their sound is all over the map, from howling pounding furious crunch, to warped woozy synthy drone, to dour pulsing minimal cold wave, to super anthemic almost emo garage rock, and every variation in between. The recording is raw and lo-fi, the drums, the synths, the bass, the vocals, in various stages of blown out distorted crumble, the drums are clipped and weirdly processed, pushed as loud as they can go, the synth too, fuzzy, buzzy, wreathed in a sort of decaying haze, the vocals of frontwoman Lily are wild and unhinged and super emotional, sometimes a playful yelp, sometimes a cold croon, other times a full on hysterical shriek.
But it's not just the sound, the songs are incredible, short sharp bursts of new wave gloom pop. "Fell In Love With" is like a lo-fi riot grrl Soft Cell, with stuttery drums, insanely distorted synth and blown out bass, and Lily's vocals so intense and snarly, a depressive descending melody that is totally irresistible. "Inside Out", one of the few songs with male vocals, courtesy of Lily's partner Ruslav, a brooding propulsive chunk of synth doom, Joy Division via Cold Cave, like a more raw and lo-fi Sixx or Soror Dolorosa. "The Wave" is like an ultra raw lo-fi Aavikko a sort of woozy alien krautrock, "Beating Your Heart Out" is the buzz synth breakup song you blast in headphones to soothe your black and broken heart, a cathartic buzz drenched dirge, "I've Got Eyes" sounds like it could have been on Captured Tracks or Sacred Bones, that sort of modern retro synth wave weirdness that anyone into Blessure Grave or Blank Dogs should lose their shit over, "Make Her" is like some lost riot grrl anthem, run through a bank of busted effects pedals and broadcast through a wall of blown speakers, warped and warbly and crumbling before your ears, but somehow, still heavy and hooky and fucking incredible.
This whole record is visceral and immediate, emotional and bombastic, a bloody screaming sonic gem, equal parts heart and hooks, groove and grind, blast and buzz, an insanely catchy chunk of ultra blown out, bloodied and bruised, gloom-wave noise-pop genius. Record Of The Week, fuck that. Record Of The Year!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Fell In Love With"
MPEG Stream: "Beating Your Heart Out"
MPEG Stream: "Inside Out"
MPEG Stream: "Razorface"
MPEG Stream: "Well Well"

ZOLA JESUS Stridulum (Sacred Bones) cd ep 11.98
This is one of those reviews that's both so exciting yet daunting to write. Trying to describe in mere words how a record has totally taken over our ears and left us in awe of its power, intensity, not to mention its incredible sound. We have always loved what we've heard from Zola Jesus in the past. But something has changed and the bar has been raised seriously high with this new ep. Without a doubt, one of the most mesmerizing and entrancing records we've heard all year. Zola Jesus has left behind the layers, noisiness and muddled sound of her past efforts and found her way to something much more clear, emotional, epic, haunting and so precisely focused.
There is definitely something to be said for quality control. The six songs on Stridulum are all practically perfect, not a wasted note, not a throw away line, each and every one has already seemed to seep into our subconscious, to get stuck in our head, and to resonate at such a deep level. With a sound like classic '80s Siouxsie revamped for the oughts, dark and ominous with soaring and strong vocal that leave no room for doubt. She means every single note, every single word, every single sentiment , that she expresses with such undying spirit on this record.
In lots of ways this transition to a new more focused and intense sound reminds us a lot of the leap that John Maus made when he released Love Is Real. While his past outings were eccentric, cool and weird, Love Is Real felt like a statement, a totally unique vision that had the ability to capture your attention right away and keep you coming back for more. That's what Stridulum is like, Zola Jesus demonstrates that her music doesn't rely on some sort of noise / FX aesthetic or trendy sound (lo-fi, washed out, layered drones, etc.) but that she is an artist with a truly unique and special vision. Don't get us wrong, we loved her past records and we love so much of the music that has come out in the last few years that is aligned with many of the aforementioned musical trends but there comes a time when you want to hear something that really feels like it has weight, strength and something true to say. More songs than sound, more music, than art.
There is no other way to say it, we have been totally intoxicated by this record. It's under our skin, on the tip of our tongues. It's made its way into our heads and every part of our body. It's both so physically moving and emotionally present. We also think its one of those records that could appeal to so many different folks. People who dig all sorts of sounds: Kate Bush, Fever Ray, Chromatics, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bat For Lashes, Nico, PJ Harvey, The Creatures, Diamanda Galas, John Maus, Joy Division, Blessure Grave, Jarboe, Bjork, White Magic, Cold Cave, Bauhaus, Patti Smith, etc. With Stridulum, Zola Jesus has really carved out her own unique niche, positioning herself as one of the most interesting, original and exciting music makers in the underground these days. What makes it even more impressive is that she is barely twenty one years old and somehow manages to find time to go to school when not creating these sublime sounds. We're almost scared (in a good way) of what her future holds. This is the sound of someone truly coming into their own and owning their moment with such fierce clarity and hypnotic power. Absolutely stunning!
MPEG Stream: "Trust Me"
MPEG Stream: "I Can't Stand"
MPEG Stream: "Manifest Destiny"

ZOLA JESUS Stridulum (Sacred Bones) 12" 14.98
This is one of those reviews that's both so exciting yet daunting to write. Trying to describe in mere words how a record has totally taken over our ears and left us in awe of its power, intensity, not to mention its incredible sound. We have always loved what we've heard from Zola Jesus in the past. But something has changed and the bar has been raised seriously high with this new ep. Without a doubt, one of the most mesmerizing and entrancing records we've heard all year. Zola Jesus has left behind the layers, noisiness and muddled sound of her past efforts and found her way to something much more clear, emotional, epic, haunting and so precisely focused.
There is definitely something to be said for quality control. The six songs on Stridulum are all practically perfect, not a wasted note, not a throw away line, each and every one has already seemed to seep into our subconscious, to get stuck in our head, and to resonate at such a deep level. With a sound like classic '80s Siouxsie revamped for the oughts, dark and ominous with soaring and strong vocal that leave no room for doubt. She means every single note, every single word, every single sentiment , that she expresses with such undying spirit on this record.
In lots of ways this transition to a new more focused and intense sound reminds us a lot of the leap that John Maus made when he released Love Is Real. While his past outings were eccentric, cool and weird, Love Is Real felt like a statement, a totally unique vision that had the ability to capture your attention right away and keep you coming back for more. That's what Stridulum is like, Zola Jesus demonstrates that her music doesn't rely on some sort of noise / FX aesthetic or trendy sound (lo-fi, washed out, layered drones, etc.) but that she is an artist with a truly unique and special vision. Don't get us wrong, we loved her past records and we love so much of the music that has come out in the last few years that is aligned with many of the aforementioned musical trends but there comes a time when you want to hear something that really feels like it has weight, strength and something true to say. More songs than sound, more music, than art.
There is no other way to say it, we have been totally intoxicated by this record. It's under our skin, on the tip of our tongues. It's made its way into our heads and every part of our body. It's both so physically moving and emotionally present. We also think its one of those records that could appeal to so many different folks. People who dig all sorts of sounds: Kate Bush, Fever Ray, Chromatics, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Bat For Lashes, Nico, PJ Harvey, The Creatures, Diamanda Galas, John Maus, Joy Division, Blessure Grave, Jarboe, Bjork, White Magic, Cold Cave, Bauhaus, Patti Smith, etc. With Stridulum, Zola Jesus has really carved out her own unique niche, positioning herself as one of the most interesting, original and exciting music makers in the underground these days. What makes it even more impressive is that she is barely twenty one years old and somehow manages to find time to go to school when not creating these sublime sounds. We're almost scared (in a good way) of what her future holds. This is the sound of someone truly coming into their own and owning their moment with such fierce clarity and hypnotic power. Absolutely stunning!
MPEG Stream: "Trust Me"
MPEG Stream: "I Can't Stand"
MPEG Stream: "Manifest Destiny"

KHORSHID, OMAR Guitar El Chark (Sublime Frequencies) 2lp 30.00
A record like this is pretty much destined to be an aQ Record Of The Week. A super limited double lp, on Sublime Frequencies, featuring two whole lps of spaced out Arabic instrumental psychedelic surf rock and Eastern progressive beat, from legendary Arabic actor and musician Omar Khorshid, who is criminally unknown outside of the Middle East, especially considering his high profile, and the fact that this is some of the heaviest, buzziest, most rockingest stuff we've heard yet on Sublime Frequencies.
Born in Cairo, and widely considered to be the greatest guitarist in the Arab world, Khorshid became a ubiquitous presence in the Middle East, performing live, in televised concerts as an actor in films and on television, by the seventies he began working with a legendary Beirut composer, and his music became more and more avant and progressive, as did those who looked to him for inspiration, he helped introduce modern electronics, reverb, delay and other effects, pushing his sound way out, and creating something totally unique, and pretty fantastical.
On first listen, you can't help but be blown away. Wild tangled outer space synths, buzzy sitar like guitars, wild drumming, a strange sort of hypnotic buzzing Eastern style surf rock, which to these ears sounds like it was cooked up in a makeshift kitchen recording studio by an Arab Joe Meek. Fuzz guitar all over the place, almost like a Middle Eastern Ventures, propuslive, hypnotic, totally rocking, energetic and inspired, and seriously progressive, especially for the time.
His death was as dramatic as his life, after performing in 1977 at the Egyptian / Israeli summit at the White House, and being seated between Presidents Carter, Begin and Sadat, he was constantly harassed, enduring several assasination attempts and near constant surveillance, before being killed at age 36 in a mysterious car crash.
But his legacy lives on in his music, finally being exposed to a wider audience, a music at once original and forward thinking, exuberant, ebullient, fun and funky, wild and rocking and totally unique. Definitely one of our favorite Sublime Frequencies releases. Only on vinyl for now, and while it's likely there will be a cd version (which we'll also make a Record Of The Week when the time comes), we can never be 100 percent sure, so better grab one of these quick, espeically considering we only got 40 of these and most likely won't be able to get any more!

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APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE Last Sunrise (Profound Lore) cd 13.98
Full length number two from these Midwestern true doomlords, who hail from the very metal state of Indiana, featuring former Gates Of Slumber drummer Chuck Brown (who sings and plays guitar here), and who do indeed traffic in TROO DOOM! By now you should know what that means, huge distorted Sabbathy riffs, slow doomy grooves, big crushing drums, clean soaring dramatic vocals, epic and soulful, with occasional stretches of more subdued shimmery clean guitar drift, mournful guitar harmonies, as well as brief blasts of almost all out thrashing, but those moments are indeed brief, the majority of the record is spent in full doom groove mode, lurching, lumbering, pounding, heavy and majestic, the sound definitely softened by the VERY melodic vocals, but it also makes their sound pretty unique. Emo doom, maybe?
And like the last record, AoS really like to do covers, and they sure can pick em. Last time they did Sabbath's "Electric Funeral", and while it was killer, it also did what great covers often inadvertently do, outshine the band's originals. So this time around the band run into the same problem, they slay on absolutely killer covers of The Obsessed, the Misfits and Born Against for fuck's sake! And all three RULE, but end up sounding WAY better than anything on the record. We were joking that you should buy this awesome 3 song covers ep, which comes with a bonus album of all originals, and if you're really feeling these covers, you can track down the European version, which features DIFFERENT bonus tracks, Thin Lizzy, Celtic Frost and a different Misfits jam.
Either way, good stuff, but you may find your self returning to the covers more than the record proper, especially the Born Against cover which destroys. And we won't even go into the atrocious cover photo featuring what looks like a jock on a date with a fifty year old European mom, the two of them having decided to engage in an extremely unlikely suicide pact... WTF? Well these guys like to be different, anyway. What other true doom band would have someone wearing a Neutral Milk Hotel t-shirt in their band photo, either?
MPEG Stream: "Last Sunrise"
MPEG Stream: "Acknowledging The Demon"
MPEG Stream: "Streetside (Obsessed)"
MPEG Stream: "Astro Zombies (Misfits cover)"

AUTECHRE (Oversteps) (Warp) cd 16.98
Long gone are the days of Autechre albums like Incunabula, Amber, and LP5 where spiralling electronic melodies tumbled upon algorithmic breakbeats with ghostly allusions to hardcore techno and hip-hop. Over the past five records (LP5 being perhaps the last Autechre album to embrace the 'classic' IDM sound), abstraction for the sake of abstraction has been the order of the day. The atonal squiggling set upon a wooden breakbeat on "Treale" is about a close as (Oversteps) comes to a classic Autechre track, but much of this album seems to be wandering without much clear intention as to what might happen next. Just a fizzing sound here, and a blobby splutter of jazzy midi-synth there. That said, at least some of us have been digging this quite a bit, not for it's Autechre-ness, but rather for the fact, that much of the weird mopey rhythms and synthy splutter, remind us of all of those fucked up weirdo guitar synth bands we're so obsessed with: Xynfonica, Shevalreq, Thursar, Gluttony, somehow, and in some weird way, the less rhythmic, more ambient tracks on (Oversteps) sound like cleaned up, less obviously fucked up versions of that outsider weirdness, which to most ears might not be a plus, but to some of us, makes this Autechre pretty cool, and weird, and we definitely find ourselves drawn to it, listening to it more often that we might have expected...
MPEG Stream: "Pt2ph8"
MPEG Stream: "Treale"
MPEG Stream: "Os Veix3"

BAD ACID Tab 9 magazine+dvd-r 17.98
All right doom / grind / stoner / sludge / heavy music obsessives, it's time for your now monthly (!) fix of extreme heaviness, in the form of the latest Tab of the Bad Acid audio/video zine, which is supposedly gonna be a monthly occurrence, which is definitely good for our ears, but makes keeping up a bit tough. But if you're into heavy sounds, then you're pretty much for sure gonna want one of these.
First there's a DVD, this time featuring a couple aQ faves, Mono, Le Ira De Dios and Blood Fountains, a few bands we'd heard of: The Atlas Moth, Seven That Spells, as well as a whole bunch of new-to-us artists: Das Bluul, El Thule, !Xazzaz! and more. And that's sort of what makes Bad Acid so awesome, a few favorites, but even more new discoveries.
Which is where the insane and epic audio compilation comes in. Check out this list: Circle, Cough, Skitliv, White Hills, Pelican, Weird Owl, Vincent Black Shadow, Poochlatz, Tusk, Grey Daturas, The Atlas Moth, Ufomammut, Sunroof!, Kemialliset Ystavat, Lords Of Bukkake, Atlas Sound, Eternal Elysium, and that's just the bands we've heard of. There are about 50 or 60 more!
Then there's a sample for the Murkhouse label, as well as an art gallery, and that's just the DVD.
There's also a huge printed magazine, with reviews of ALL the bands featured, plus interviews with Ancestors, White Hills and more. Not to mention the bad ass cover art. Housed in a dvd case, killer stuff, better grab one of these quick so you have time to digest all these heavy sights and sounds before it's time for Tab 10!!!!

BLACK TAMBOURINE s/t (Slumberland) cd 13.98
A previous version of this collection became available again not too long ago, and we were so excited we decided to make it our Record Of The Week, and then whattaya know, a year later, Slumberland go ahead and repackage it, reissue it, AND add a handful of bonus tracks (ironic, since the earlier edition was entitled "Complete Recordings"). And this time they've also put it out on vinyl, too!! So if you negelected to pick this up the first time around, now's the time, and if you did, you just gotta figure out if you want to buy it again for the four bonus tracks, which are pretty dang great. Here's what we said about the so-called Complete Recordings version:
As of late 2008 and early 2009, there's been some serious hubbub over Slumberland, the stalwart indie label of Brit-inspired, shoegazing bliss pop, thanks to a couple of kick ass records from Crystal Stilts and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. So a revisitation into perhaps the quintessential Slumberland outfit seems appropriate. Black Tambourine was a shortlived project featuring two of the guys from Velocity Girl, a chanteuse named Pam Berry, and Slumberland label boss Mike Schulman. They only released three singles, contributed a track or two to compilations, and played less than five shows before breaking up in 1991. Go figure that Complete Recordings anthologizes all of these tracks plus an unreleased single.
Black Tambourine's songs begin as jangly, melodic pop which gets tousled about in a blur of amplifier distortion piled onto reverb piled onto more amplifier distortion and just a little more reverb. Yup, it's the same wonderful sound that was also broadcast from the Shop Assistants, My Bloody Valentine (circa Isn't Anything, well cuz Loveless hadn't been released yet!), Jesus & Mary Chain, the Pastels, and almost any given band on Creation circa 1988. But no matter how great that all consuming shoegaze sound can be, the band has gotta have good songwriting chops; and Black Tambourine had 'em for sure. At times, there's that ramshackle quality of good old American DIY indie pop, but for the most part, the songs are effortlessly catchy and melodic with a swagger pushed forth by Pam Berry's reverb drenched and melancholy vocals. Still sounds great after all these years!
MPEG Stream: "Black Car"
MPEG Stream: "Pack You Up"
MPEG Stream: "Drown"

BLACK TAMBOURINE s/t (Slumberland) lp 14.98
A previous version of this collection became available again not too long ago, and we were so excited we decided to make it our Record Of The Week, and then whattaya know, a year later, Slumberland go ahead and repackage it, reissue it, AND add a handful of bonus tracks (ironic, since the earlier edition was entitled "Complete Recordings"). And this time they've also put it out on vinyl, too!! So if you negelected to pick this up the first time around, now's the time, and if you did, you just gotta figure out if you want to buy it again for the four bonus tracks, which are pretty dang great. Here's what we said about the so-called Complete Recordings version:
As of late 2008 and early 2009, there's been some serious hubbub over Slumberland, the stalwart indie label of Brit-inspired, shoegazing bliss pop, thanks to a couple of kick ass records from Crystal Stilts and Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. So a revisitation into perhaps the quintessential Slumberland outfit seems appropriate. Black Tambourine was a shortlived project featuring two of the guys from Velocity Girl, a chanteuse named Pam Berry, and Slumberland label boss Mike Schulman. They only released three singles, contributed a track or two to compilations, and played less than five shows before breaking up in 1991. Go figure that Complete Recordings anthologizes all of these tracks plus an unreleased single.
Black Tambourine's songs begin as jangly, melodic pop which gets tousled about in a blur of amplifier distortion piled onto reverb piled onto more amplifier distortion and just a little more reverb. Yup, it's the same wonderful sound that was also broadcast from the Shop Assistants, My Bloody Valentine (circa Isn't Anything, well cuz Loveless hadn't been released yet!), Jesus & Mary Chain, the Pastels, and almost any given band on Creation circa 1988. But no matter how great that all consuming shoegaze sound can be, the band has gotta have good songwriting chops; and Black Tambourine had 'em for sure. At times, there's that ramshackle quality of good old American DIY indie pop, but for the most part, the songs are effortlessly catchy and melodic with a swagger pushed forth by Pam Berry's reverb drenched and melancholy vocals. Still sounds great after all these years!
MPEG Stream: "Black Car"
MPEG Stream: "Pack You Up"
MPEG Stream: "Drown"

BOGGS, DOCK When My Worldly Trials Are Over (Monk) lp 16.98
Italy's Monk Records delivers the goods once again with this amazing ep collecting alternate takes from legendary banjo player Dock Boggs' New Brunswick catalog. With only three songs, two of which are presented twice, this may not be the place to start if you are new to Boggs (for that you are advised to check out False Hearted Lover's Blues, also on Monk, where the final cuts for these songs appear, or the Folkways collection of an older but still vital Boggs from the early 1960s), but obsessives will want to snap this one up for sure. Side One features alternates of "Lost Love Blues", "Will Sweethearts Know Each Other There?", and "Old Rub Alcohol Blues". Boggs pretty much gives us what we would expect, with his nasally voice cutting through his percussive banjo melodies. It is a voice from a world that is long gone, like some distant broadcast from a type of person who no longer exists. And while it burns with heartache and self deprecation, these songs are catchy and even kind of upbeat, save "Old Rub Alcohol Blues", which shares some of the ominous melodies from Boggs' famous "Sugar Baby". Additional alternates for "Lost Love Blues" and "Will Sweethearts Know Each Other There?" compose side 2, again providing some fascinating insight into Boggs musical approach.
Packaged in Monk's handsome cardboard disco sleeve, this is some serious music that will no doubt be a reason to celebrate for fans of Boggs and Appalachian music in general.

BOOK OF SAND How Beautiful To Walk Free (self released) cd 11.98
After conjuring up three killer discs of home brewed lo-fi blackened ultra doom as Light, the band decided to call it quits, which isn't that surprising considering their album titles: A Million Dead Beneath The Ice, Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever, Worse Than Anyone Would Have Expected. C'mon, a band can only sustain that level of misery and misanthropy for so long. Thankfully, one half of Light has returned with his new project, Book Of Sand, a similarly moody and murky outfit, but with a sound much more raw and black, a sea of churning blurred riffage, of buried blast beats, and hysterical shrieked vocals, not as noisy as WOLD, or as chaotic as Portal, but some smeary bleary otherworld right in between.
But it's not that simple to describe these guys, while the opener is a dizzying swirl of disembodied black metal drift, the second track sounds almost like Circle, a simple motorik beat, and locked and looped rhythm, eventually the drums shift to double kick, the guitar shift to something more atonal and minor key, the reverb drenched vokills grow more maniacal, but throughout, that krautrocky groove remains, turning the otherwise raw blackness into some sort of hypnoblack metal.
The rest of the record is a blown out blur, but one that slips from in-the-red ferocity, with soaring Liturgy like trills, to total buzz drenched white noise blow out, to tangled gnarled buzzy weirdness, to weirdly minimal lo-fi muted thrum, finally finishing off with the nearly 14 minute "When We Are Gone, The World Will Be Awash With Light", a warped sprawl of slowly mutating black metal, that sounds like it's either slowing down, or melting, the various elements becoming less and less distinct, bleeding and oozing into each other, attaining at one point an almost shoe gaze-y bliss, albeit constructed from black buzz and shards of white noise. Fucking awesome.
Just like the Light cd-r's, this one comes in a handcrafted, silkscreened sleeve, complete with Japanese style obi, but unlike the Light records, this one is a proper cd.
MPEG Stream: "Destruction, Not Reformation"
MPEG Stream: "No Flags"
MPEG Stream: "The Night And Day Will Pass Away"

CARY, TRISTAM It's Time For... (Trunk) lp 17.98
It's funny to think that if you could somehow remove someone you probably have never heard of from existence how remarkably changed things would be. Case in point, British electronic composer and inventor Tristram Cary, considered by some "the father of electronic music" who gets this loving and long overdue retrospective treatment from Trunk Records (hopefully it's the first of many). Perhaps not as well known as Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, or John Baker, Cary made an indelible mark on modern music, not just for his soundtracks to such Hammer classics as Quartermass and The Pit, and his sound effects work for the first Dr. Who series, but one of his most important contributions was his role in the creation of EMS (Electronic Music Studios), the UK's first ever synthesizer company. Without their first major products, the VCS 3 synthesizer, the suitcase Synthi[A] and the Delaware, The BBC Radiophonic workshop, Brian Eno and Pink Floyd (just to name a few artists) would have had sounded completely different.
Born the third son of novelist Joyce Cary, Tristram Cary learned electronics not through artistic or musical means but as a radar operator in the Royal Navy where he first encountered modern German tape equipment. He soon became interested in working with recorded sound, and after studying composition and learning a few instruments, he started building up his first electronic studio. Subtitled, Works For Film, Television, Exhibition and Sculpture, the pieces included here are mostly from his commissions as an industrial sound designer creating sound pieces for industrial films and sculptural World Expo exhibitions. Highlights include "Divertimento" a piece that Olivetti commissioned for the grand opening of their UK training center in Surrey. Combining the cold sounds of Olivetti's business machines against the warmth of the human voice (represented here by the Ambrosian singers ) and a jazz drummer. "Shapes For Living", a short film about product design, premiered at EXPO 70 and most of the non-instrument sounds were created by enhanced and exaggerated recordings of bad packaging, poor design and users struggling with it. "A Hill, Some Sheep and A Living" was for a 1967 television documentary and features an instrumental ensemble. The final track "Narcissus", features a flute player and two tape recorders that starts off soft and pastoral and ends up all kinds of weirdly terrifying as the flute playing through the recorders gets more layered and processed and sped up. Cary died two years ago and Johnny Trunk had been working with him and Cary's son John on this compilation for a couple of years before, so it's nice that this retrospective highlighting a little known, but highly influential player in the development of British electronic music finally sees the light of day!

CRUCIFIST Demon Haunted World (Profound Lore) cd 13.98
Released a little while ago on the ever eclectic and elite Profound Lore label, the debut by blackened thrashers n' bashers Crucifist is something we don't want to overlook. It's not just another band featuring Brutal Truth bassist Dan Lilker (also ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D., Venomous Concept, Hemlock, Exit-13, etc.) but also features two members of true doomlords Orodruin. So, while Crucifist ostensibly play (very) old-school black metal, they also incorporate an unhealthy helping of doom and death-grind musicks, anything really to make this disc all the more filthy and crusty sounding. Lilker's rubbery bass is simply sick, a heavy anchor for the wicked riffs, widdly guitar bits, and the wretched vokills (by a guy named Ron, who is thus nicknamed "The Rondertaker", haha). The Rondertaker reminds us a bit of King Fowley from Deceased, singing in a raspy guttural gargle with the occasional Tom G. Warrior death grunt. Throw in some horror movie atmospherics (such as "Neon Corpse", an interlude of chant and FX) and copious amounts of chaotic energy (surging to the fore on such cuts as "Witchgrip"), and you're in for a nice and nasty dose of old schoolish underground extreme metal mania. They've basically written their own review of this album with the song title "Skull-Smashing Face-Ripping Death"... if you like that, you'll like this! Another one that might do for a review, meant in the best possible way: "Putrid Mother Lode"!
This should appeal to fans of the ancient likes of Venom, early Voivod, Autopsy, and Hellhammer, especially the latter when they slow it down, which they do to crushing effect often enough... it should also be noted that Crucifist dare to blaspheme against NWOBHMer's Angel Witch with a cover of their "Angel Of Death"!
By the way, guitarist John Gallo, one of the Orodruin guys, also has a solo project called Blizaro, doing synth-based, Italian horror soundtrack influenced, eccentric doom metal, that RULES, and will have a new full-length out on Razorback sometime this spring that we expect will be amazing, look out for it!
MPEG Stream: "Pursuit Of The Pious"
MPEG Stream: "Curse Of The Plasma Hound"
MPEG Stream: "Witchgrip"

DAILY VOID Eclipse Of 1453 (Sacred Bones) 12" 14.98
The third in Sacred Bones' ongoing series of 12"s comes from Chicago's Daily Void, who take eighties crusty punk (a la Rudimentary Peni, Crass, etc.) and give it a Sacred Bones, lo-fi new wave weirdo garage rock makeover, and the result is pretty bad ass, easily the heaviest most rockingest release on SB so far. Pounding crusty darkwave infused garage rock crunch, all swirling distorto guitars, pounding chaotic drummage, new wave vocals that slip from Nik Blinko to Jello Biafra, but usually hover somewhere right in between, spidery minor key melodies and urgent guitar crunch, wrapped around depraved tales of stabbing, strangulation, face ripping and all sorts of harsh grim weirdness, at one point a howl of "SIX SIX SIX" gets drenched in distortion and sent spinning into a glorious cacophony, the whole record an exercise in cold wave thrash, crusty garage punk and revamped noise rock anarcho wave radness, retro for sure, but looking back to a way different past than most of the Sacred Bones stable, and we're digging it big time.

DAUGHTERS s/t (Hydra Head) cd 14.98
Not sure why we never reviewed the last Daughters record, Hell Songs, it was a doozy, a gnarled chunk of chaotic noise rock, which ended up being the bands swan song. At least temporarily. After a hiatus of several years, the Daughters are back, and sonically very little has changed, a lurching pounding din that would fit pretty comfortably right between your Jesus Lizard and Botch records (sonically, not alphabetically), wild streaks of angular guitar, pummeling drum damage, howled mush mouthed vocals, a whirling dervish in sound, slipping from full on psychedelic noise rock freakout, to loping post rock lurch, effects all over the place, super dynamic, lots of stop / starts, plenty of metallic chug, throbbing fuzz bass, twisted guitar harmonies, stuttery glitched out production, and some subtle but KILLER hooks, shit this twisted and noisy and off kilter shouldn't be this catchy, but these guys always had a knack for slipping some pop into their noise, and if anything, some time away seems to have reinvigorated them, these jams sounds as heavy and freaked out and KICK ASS as ever. We only listened to this a couple times since it came in, but we've been spinning it over and over and can't seem to stop, which says more than we ever could. RECOMMENDED.
MPEG Stream: "The Virgin"
MPEG Stream: "The First Supper"
MPEG Stream: "The Hit"

DEAD AS DREAMS Their Steps Become Unbearable (Goatowarex) cd 11.98
Naming your black metal band after the only record by arguably one of the most important USBM bands ever, and around here definitely one of the most revered, is most certainly setting the bar pretty high, but then as we mentioned in the review of Dead As Dreams debut, you could do a lot worse than look to Weakling for inspiration.
We dug the first DaD release big time, a split tape with another Weaking obsessed outfit called Aurvandil, and on that split, DaD definitely did their best Weakling impression, a sprawling epic single track, rife with wild blasting beats, frenzied riffing and hysterical shrieks, but in the process, did manage to infuse enough of their own vibe to keep it on the homage side of hero worship.
So here we are, a year later, and Dead As Dreams have returned, and if anything, the Weakling worship has only intensified, not only did the band travel to San Francisco to record with Tim Green, who recorded Weakling's Dead As Dreams, the credits on the inside of the booklet are also in that weird, impossible to read vertical font, and are a dead ringer for the Weakling record, but musically, some things have definitely changed.
The template is similar, one single massive multi-movement 25 minute track, long swaths of frantic insectoid buzzing, wild chaotic blasting, but unlike the trancelike mesmer of Weakling, Dead As Dreams have crafted something much more multifaceted, those stretches of frenzied blasts are tempered by lumbering bits of black doom, the guitars tangled into gnarled harmonies, long drawn out expanses of murky buzz and spidery melody, the arrangement much more mathy and dynamic, relying less on repetition, and instead creating what is essentially a songsuite blurred into a single 'track'. Loping mid tempo Burzumic buzz gives way to gnarled Deathspell style riffery, which blossoms into blackened pound, laced with almost NWOBHM style melodies, as well as lots of cool woozy almost psychedelic sounding slow parts, not doomy so much as just droned out and seasick sounding. The blasting buzzy bits are definitely still beholden to Weakling in some ways, but hell, how is that any different than the millions of other bands following in the footsteps of Mayhem, or Immortal, or Satyricon. Weakling seems like a way more obscure and inspiring influence. And it definitely sounds like these guys were inspired, Their Steps Become Unbearable is a huge leap forward from that split cassette, which besides the songwriting, is also probably thanks to Tim Green's production, and the fact that the band that recorded this was made up of SF black metal veterans including members of Horn Of Dagoth, Elk and Palace Of Worms.
Removed from the shadow of Weakling, Dead As Dreams are most definitely an awesome band, but even acknowledging the group's unfettered love for their sonic forbears, these guys totally shred, and anyone who digs epic tranced out black buzz, should definitely check this out. And even though technically this is only an ep, it feels like a full length, a black expanse of parts and textures and layers and movements all spun into a glorious black epic.
MPEG Stream: "Their Steps Become Unbearable (exceprt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Their Steps Become Unbearable (exceprt 2)"

DESANTO, SUGAR PIE Go Go Power: The Complete Chess Singles 1961-1966 (Kent Soul) cd 24.00
While labels like The Numero Group and Soul Jazz have done a great job of unearthing so much amazing soul that slipped under the radar back in the day, there is still so much true golden soul to be mined. Of course there are the amazing songs here and there that some groups and folks created back in the day that have been included on compilations of lost soul, but then there are also artists who have entire legacies of amazing recordings and while they were not totally obscure, they just never got the full on fame & recognition they so rightfully deserved. Folks like Irma Thomas, Carla Thomas, Betty Everett, Betty Harris, etc. Sugar Pie DeSanto deserves a special place on that list as well. These are all people that with luck treating them a little different would be held in the same limelight as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, etc. Sugar Pie, who has lived most of her life right here in the Bay Area is truly a living legend. This collection of her Chess singles from 1961-'66 is filled with pure hip-shaking soul drenched rompers that burn with flare and sass. There is a strength and conviction in her delivery that makes her songs as deep hitting as they are fun and toe-tapping. This is full on sock-hop style dance floor burners, that you could imagine The Rolling Stones listening to at the time and getting inspiration and ideas from. So damn sassy, as she sings it like she means it. There are even a few duets with Etta James, and thinking of those two strong powerful women in the same recording booth gives us chills!
Sugar Pie Desanto has had such an amazing life with many ups and downs. She was a singer and touring member in the Johnny Otis Review as well as the James Brown revue. Her own live shows are something of magical legend, as folks who were lucky enough to see her back in the '60s still brag about what a mind blowing performance she put on. Just a few years ago her Oakland home was destroyed in a terrible fire, claiming the life of her husband. There were some benefit concerts in the Bay Area to help her during this difficult time and we're also hoping that this collection of her music helps with those burdens as well and more importantly shares her amazing music with a whole new set of ears. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: "Go Go Power"
MPEG Stream: "Do I Make Myself Clear"
MPEG Stream: "Mama Didn't Raise No Fools"

DOUBLE DAGGER Masks (Thrill Jockey) cd 11.98
Record number two from these post noise rockers, hot on the heels of their More disc which we loved. No guitars, just bass and drums, these guys lay down a killer din that's equal parts indie jangle, math rock tangle and pounding noise rock, the basses thick and distorted and buzzy and crunchy, unleashing grinding riffage, loping grooves, and everything in between, while the drums pound maniacally, actually as we're writing this, we realize we described these guys pretty much perfectly in the review for More, so maybe we should revisit that description for a second:
A chaotic, heady mix of all the things we love about math rock, post rock, noise rock, emo and screamo, equal parts Fugazi, Pavement and Fucked Up, a churning juggernaut of thick super distorted bass, pounding mathy rhythms and yowled vocals that definitely sound like the perfect mix of Ian Mackaye and Stephen Malkumus.
Which still holds true, but if anything, this go around is even more poppy, with some of the songs stretching out into chugging, slow building Fugazi style burners, with some rad bass harmonics, and squealing feedback, plenty of Jesus Lizard going on too, a little Shellac too, but the double bass attack definitely makes the sound all their own. Definitely reminiscent of some of our nineties favorites, but revved up and reinvigorated, and the songs are catchy as fuck, which pretty much trumps everything else. The fact that this is mathy and heavy and hypnotic is just icing on the post rock cake.
Cool diecut packaging, hand drawn monster masks with the eyes cut out, which change color depending on whether the disc or the insert is showing through.
MPEG Stream: "Imitation Is The Most Boring From Of Flattery"
MPEG Stream: "Pillow Talk"

DOUBLE DAGGER Masks (Thrill Jockey) lp 14.98
Record number two from these post noise rockers, hot on the heels of their More disc which we loved. No guitars, just bass and drums, these guys lay down a killer din that's equal parts indie jangle, math rock tangle and pounding noise rock, the basses thick and distorted and buzzy and crunchy, unleashing grinding riffage, loping grooves, and everything in between, while the drums pound maniacally, actually as we're writing this, we realize we described these guys pretty much perfectly in the review for More, so maybe we should revisit that description for a second:
A chaotic, heady mix of all the things we love about math rock, post rock, noise rock, emo and screamo, equal parts Fugazi, Pavement and Fucked Up, a churning juggernaut of thick super distorted bass, pounding mathy rhythms and yowled vocals that definitely sound like the perfect mix of Ian Mackaye and Stephen Malkumus.
Which still holds true, but if anything, this go around is even more poppy, with some of the songs stretching out into chugging, slow building Fugazi style burners, with some rad bass harmonics, and squealing feedback, plenty of Jesus Lizard going on too, a little Shellac too, but the double bass attack definitely makes the sound all their own. Definitely reminiscent of some of our nineties favorites, but revved up and reinvigorated, and the songs are catchy as fuck, which pretty much trumps everything else. The fact that this is mathy and heavy and hypnotic is just icing on the post rock cake.
Cool diecut packaging, hand drawn monster masks with the eyes cut out, which change color depending on whether the disc or the insert is showing through.
MPEG Stream: "Imitation Is The Most Boring From Of Flattery"
MPEG Stream: "Pillow Talk"

EGONOIR Die Saga (Amortout Productions) cd 13.98
It's been more than 3 years since we last heard from depressive German black metal weirdos EgoNoir, whose sound was equal part classic black buzz, and mournful moody melancholia. They have a new record that just came out, which we'll have soon, but this one is almost as exciting, a reissue of their 2004 demo Die Saga, recorded three years before their debut full length Der Pfad Zum Fluss, and if anything it's even more warped and twisted, more muted and murky and fucked up and freaked out. The same equation still applies, but the sound is so much more raw, the buzz thick, the distortion crumbling, the vocals doused in FX, all beneath a sheet of static and hiss, a lurching doomy plod, black metal riffage slowed down to a crawl, clean guitar filigree wrapped around croaked monstrous whispered vocals, the drums weirdly processed and effected, the guitars melty and lysergic, the fuzzed out drone an oozing black cloud, strange keyboards wheeze and shimmer, trumpets bleat and moan, strings soar beneath the roiling blackness, bits of electronics, weird glitch and grit, all add to the obscure moodiness.
Much of the record is spent stripped down and melancholy, weirdly mournful interludes with lush guitar strum, simple skeletal percussion, whispered vox, strange rhythmic thumps, haunting hushed ambience, but those interludes are constantly swallowed up by blasts of grinding black blast, or weirdly synth driven blackened new wave hypnorock, or mysterious choral drifts, awesome and totally demented.
The reissue includes a bonus track, a gloriously and insanely murky chunk of midtempo Burzumic blackness, that's SO muddy and muted, it practically makes Xasthur sound hi-fi, and turns some black metal into something much more blurred and washed out and trippy. So rad.
MPEG Stream: "Teil 1 - Das Neue Wesen"
MPEG Stream: "Teil 2 - Kurze Der Verwirrung"
MPEG Stream: "Up From The Graves"

EMERALDS s/t (Hanson) cd 14.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!!
Drifting backwards in time from the post-noise excursions into placid meditations for guitar and synth, Emeralds have become one of the favorites here at Aquarius; and for very good reason, everything they touch seems to turn to gold. Solar Bridge was a such a tease of an introduction for us, and probably was the same for many out there entering into the swirling concoctions of electronic drone; but it has been the two albums What Happened and Allegory of Allergies that really laid the foundation for their impending greatness. Not only do they have a strong grasp on the minimalist theatrics of the drone, but also Emeralds enjoys a selective memory of what made progressive electronics and progressive rock in the late '70s and early '80s great. The pastoral colorfields of Cluster, the alienated ethos of Heldon, and the insistent arpeggiations of Achim Reichel and Ash Ra Tempel all figure heavily into Emeralds sound.
This (formerly) vinyl-only, eponymous record seems to percolate and bubble with electronics, at times veering into the same Omni Magazine territory that Oneothrix Point Never has been mustering for the past year. It may not be a surprise that OPN and Emerald's guitarist Mark McGuire have collaborated in a project called Skyramps, which is as good as you might imagine. The three tracks on the first side wrangle squiggling rhythms, bleepity squelches, and bending sustained tones generated by Emeralds' two synth jockeys John Elliott and Steve Hauschildt, while McGuire dishes out his best Manuel Gottsching impression. The second side is one of the epochal, long form constructs that slows everything on the first side down to an elegant pace with watery field recordings laced throughout. Pretty fucking awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Overboard (Off The Deep End)"
MPEG Stream: "Geode"
MPEG Stream: "Passing Away"

EPMD Strictly Business (Priority) cd 14.98
Not to sound all old and grumpy, but they really don't make perfect hip-hop albums like they used to. Yeah, there is still some great hip-hop going on but so much of it seems to be 'single' based and not so much about a tight coherent album from start to finish. But man there was a golden era of hip-hop glory when groups like Public Enemy, Eric B & Rakim, The Beastie Boys, and Boogie Down Productions were making such fucking amazing jams, the sort of records you could listen to from start to finish over and over again. One of the most madly respected groups from that era is EPMD. We couldn't be more stoked that this Long Island duo's classic 1988 album Strictly Business has been reissued. It really is one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. There is something so immediately unique and recognizable about Eric Sermon and Parrish Smith's laid back yet totally intelligent, playful and infectious rapping skills and their use of such awesome samples and beats. One of the things that made this era of hip-hop so damn great was that the source material that they were sampling, chopping and making beats from was drawn from so many of the amazing warm soul records from the '60s & '70s. Zapp, Kool & The Gang, James Brown, George Clinton, they knew how to take from those greats and make something totally brand new which was the bread and butter of the EPMD sound.
What also makes Strictly Business such an all-time classic and different from so many of today's hip-hop albums is that there is absolutely NO FILLER. No stupid skits, no throw away tracks, every single one of the 10 songs totally kills and never overstays its welcome. It was so awesome when this reissue came into the store and just about everyone working here freaked out and we must have played it like ten times in just the first couple days, never realizing before we all shared such a feverish love for EPMD.
While it's a bit annoying that this remastered reissue has a big 'Snoop Dogg Approved' banner on the cover, his name bigger than anything else, we guess we don't mind too much if his endorsement helps a whole new generation get into the greatness of EPMD.
MPEG Stream: "Strictly Business"
MPEG Stream: "You Gots To Chill"
MPEG Stream: "It's My Thing"

FEMALE CONVICT SCORPION, DJ WWZ (self released) lp 14.98
Record number three, and the first actual lp release, from this local turntablist / mixologist / soundsculptor, who some of you may know as a member of various local rock units Three Leafs, Citay, the Auricle and others but as DJ Female Convict Scorpion, this mystery man weaves a sprawling web of sound, that is probably more aQ worthy than most DJ's we can think of, krautrock, to funk, to soundtrack, to psych rock, to space rock to drone, manipulated lps, but also effects and various insturments, a dizzying sonic overload, skittery rhythms, soulful horns, mysterious disembodied voices, lots of turntable warble, dragged vinyl rumble, spaced out reverby shimmer, pusling new age drift, skeletal grooves wrapped around glistening barely there melodies, warped old jazz records, plenty of crackle and pop, backwards beats, field recordings, haunting cinematic ambience gives way to electronic squiggle which in turn gives way to clattery free rock stumble, subsumed by a thick swell of speaker rattling low end rumble, detuned guitar, purloined preacher ranting, big pounding drums, free jazz skronk.
Fluttery flutes flit over a field of hum and shimmer, pepperd with electronic glitches and distorted intercepted boradcasts, mournful folk draped over, thick crunch and thrum, slowly melting into a sprawl of hushed blackened buzz, which dissipates leaving a funky drummer groove, which finally peters out into a barren expanse of twisted squelch and distant twang, more displaced voices, wrapped in an undulating slab of distorted bass throb, a twisted woozy rhythm, that drones on and on beneath swirling FX, Eastern percussive skitter, warbly horns, a washed out laid back coda to a long strange sonic trip.
Cool packaging too, each lp housed in it's own hand made duct taped sleeve, created from recycled zombie movie soundtracks!
MPEG Stream: "1"
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "3"

FLOOR Below and Beyond (Robotic Empire) 8cd 45.00
Obviously a $45, EIGHT cd set, comprising a band's entire recorded output, is most likely not for the dabbler, or the casually curious. But if you're anything like us, and have been obsessed with the band Floor, the band that turned into Torche, who managed to turn their downtuned sludge into a sort of insanely hooky, ultra heavy sludge pop, and if like us you were tempted to buy the outrageously over the top 8 cd AND 8 lp TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR box set, then this is for YOU. No vinyl, although it's packaged in a gatefold lp sleeve, this is eight cds, including the band's two proper releases, their s/t record and their Dove record as well as every single, compilation track, demo, live track, unreleased rarity, more Floor than most folks could possible need. But there are definitely some of you, like us, who will for sure need this. Need a Floor refresher? Here's what we had to say about the band's swansong Dove, included here:
Those of you who were into the whole punk/grind/crust scene in the nineties probably remember Floor, a ubiquitous presence at shows and on split 7"s, always confounding the punk rockers with their downtuned sludge and un-punk songwriting and two-guitar, drums, NO bass lineup. Imagine Nirvana's Bleach, but bury all the Beatles popishness so ubiquitous in those songs under even more layers of sludge. It's like Cavity covering Nirvana. Or a less purposefully annoying Melvins. Lots of pounding dynamics, hovering guitar sustain, and squealing feedback. And although the proceedings are almost always pinned down by a crushing slab of sonic sludge, that doesn't keep Floor from getting all poppy, like on the downright catchy "Figure It Out" complete with melodic vocals and catchy as fuck chorus. But it's always back to the hypnotic repetitive dirge, culminating in the 20 minute sixth track "Dove" (members of Floor would go on to be in a band called Dove), a slow motion, chugging juggernaut of muffled riffing and caveman drumming. But that's not all, there's a final blow, a fifteen minute minimal metal workout. Two chords, endless sustain and a simple pounding rhythm. File that track in your drone metal section right next your SUNNO))) and Earth. For fans of the Melvins, Gore, Corrupted, Boris, Nirvana and all things slow and sludgy!
And here's what we had to say about their debut full length:
One of our all time favorite sludge/metal/grind bands, who until now, had only released tracks on compilations and seven inches, finally unleashes a full length, and instead of wallowing in their underground-basement-split-seven-inch past and rehashing their slow motion grind (in the style of Cavity and Eyehategod), they've added LOTS of clean vocals and a surprising amount of melody, ending up with a sound somewhere between your favorite pop punk emo band, the Melvins, late period Fudge Tunnel, and Nirvana, but way, way heavier. Seriously. They've turned into a honest to goodness pop band, but a downtuned, amps-on-11, super-distorted, kick-in-the-guts pop band. Great production too with super distorted low end that makes their huge bursts of guitar sound like the end of the world!
And those constitute just TWO of the EIGHT discs. Phew!
The packaging is really cool too. A thick gatefold sleeve, inside one of the pockets is a massive 12" x 12" full color booklet, with extensive liner notes, track listings, photos, as well as reproductions of all the record covers, and in the middle, in the gatefold, the 8 cds are housed in little slots, affixed to the jacket, with the disc artwork matching the background artwork. Super sweet, and most definitely recommended. But mostly to the more obsessive amongst you!
MPEG Stream: "Namaste"
MPEG Stream: "In A Day"
MPEG Stream: "Scimitar"
MPEG Stream: "Return To Zero"
MPEG Stream: "Downed Star"

FLYING LIZARDS, THE s/t (Microwerks) cd 12.98
Wow, we kind of forgot what a weird and wonderful record this is. We've always had a place for the Flying Lizards in our hearts, but their blaze post-punk dub covers of fifties and sixties songs always seemed to outshine their other interesting qualities. Led by avant-composer David Cunningham, with the help of David Toop, Vivien Goldman, Steve Beresford and the flat vocal delivery of Deborah Evans, The Flying Lizards got their break when Virgin released their first single in 1979, a purposely skewed and dispassionate version of Eddie Cohran's "Summertime Blues" and it became a minor hit. But it was their second single and more enduring cover of Barret Strong's "Money" with its clanging prepared piano and trap percussion that got them on the charts and signed for a full album deal. That song gets a little overplayed these days, but the long version has one of the best extended dub breakdowns of the period that just doesn't get played enough. But besides the two covers and the channeling of Dagmar Krause (Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, The Art Bears) in the goofy cover of Kurt Weil's "Der Song Von Mandelay" that opens the record, lies a much stranger record. Sure there is the punk disco of "Her Story", "TV" and the danceable experimentation of "Russia". But there also is the triptych of minimalist dub experiments in the tracks "Flood" "Trouble" and "Events During Flood" that take the record to a much darker place. Culminating with Vivien Goldman's hushed and strange "The Window", proving that although the band was a one hit wonder, they were no one trick pony. This reissue doesn't contain the bonus tracks of previous reissues, but does include the single edit of "Money". Here's hoping Microwerks will reissue their other two records, Fourth Wall and Top Ten as well! Great stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Money "
MPEG Stream: "Her Story"
MPEG Stream: "Russia"
MPEG Stream: "Events During Flood"

FUJITA, MASAYOSHI & JAN JELINEK Bird, Lake, Objects (Faitiche) cd 19.98
Berlin-based electronica experimentalist Jan Jelinek, whom we've grown ever more enamored of thanks to his star turn in the role of Ursula Bogner (documented on a previous release via Jelinek's Faitiche label, purporting to be a collection of pioneering Radiophonic Workshop style electronic pieces by an obscure female composer from the sixties who it seems never actually existed except in Jelinek's imagination) here teams up with one Masayoshi Fujita, who plays a prepared vibraphone (and how many prepared vibraphone records do you have??), for a lovely, lovely disc of ambient droneworks.
It begins with "Undercurrent", a track of wavering shimmering meditative hum, softly crackling around the edges, some gentle melody glowing within. The idea of nature-sounds suggested by the disc's title are not dispelled by this music, however electronic (and vibraphonic) it may be. Track 2, "Workshop For Modernity", is composed of whirring and tinkling, again gentle, as if the sounds were conjured from the breeze. The next, "I'll Change Your Life", is even quieter, more "lowercase" in presence. We don't know much about Fujita (assuming he's real) but would guess if he's Japanese, he has some familiarity with Japan's "onkyo" school of soundmaking. The following tracks continue this disc's patient and pleasant trajectory, with much shuffling glitch and soft focus digital stutter, alongside/overtop/underneath the melodious but abstracted vibraphone. It's only on album closer "IA_AI" that the duo eventually build up a thick wall of drone-distortion, louder and louder, a dramatic crescendo that ends with a sudden silence. Quite nice, as we like to say, quite nice!! Sometimes experimental electronic stuff can be too clinical and abstract, academic exercises y'know, but this manages to maintain a human feel, an exquisite emotional resonance, by existing in real space with the sounds of real instruments. Yes, quite nice.
MPEG Stream: "Undercurrent"
MPEG Stream: "Waltz (A Lonely Crowd)"
MPEG Stream: "IA_AI"

FUJITA, MASAYOSHI & JAN JELINEK Bird, Lake, Objects (Faitiche) lp 19.98
Berlin-based electronica experimentalist Jan Jelinek, whom we've grown ever more enamored of thanks to his star turn in the role of Ursula Bogner (documented on a previous release via Jelinek's Faitiche label, purporting to be a collection of pioneering Radiophonic Workshop style electronic pieces by an obscure female composer from the sixties who it seems never actually existed except in Jelinek's imagination) here teams up with one Masayoshi Fujita, who plays a prepared vibraphone (and how many prepared vibraphone records do you have??), for a lovely, lovely disc of ambient droneworks.
It begins with "Undercurrent", a track of wavering shimmering meditative hum, softly crackling around the edges, some gentle melody glowing within. The idea of nature-sounds suggested by the disc's title are not dispelled by this music, however electronic (and vibraphonic) it may be. Track 2, "Workshop For Modernity", is composed of whirring and tinkling, again gentle, as if the sounds were conjured from the breeze. The next, "I'll Change Your Life", is even quieter, more "lowercase" in presence. We don't know much about Fujita (assuming he's real) but would guess if he's Japanese, he has some familiarity with Japan's "onkyo" school of soundmaking. The following tracks continue this disc's patient and pleasant trajectory, with much shuffling glitch and soft focus digital stutter, alongside/overtop/underneath the melodious but abstracted vibraphone. It's only on album closer "IA_AI" that the duo eventually build up a thick wall of drone-distortion, louder and louder, a dramatic crescendo that ends with a sudden silence. Quite nice, as we like to say, quite nice!! Sometimes experimental electronic stuff can be too clinical and abstract, academic exercises y'know, but this manages to maintain a human feel, an exquisite emotional resonance, by existing in real space with the sounds of real instruments. Yes, quite nice.
MPEG Stream: "Undercurrent"
MPEG Stream: "Waltz (A Lonely Crowd)"
MPEG Stream: "IA_AI"

GONJASUFI A Sufi And A Killer (Warp) cd 16.98
One of our favorite tracks from Flying Lotus's excellent Los Angeles record was the penultimate track "Testament" that featured a singer we imagined was discovered in some remote smoky opium den in Morocco. The voice felt ancient, a weezing whispering mixture of Jimmy Scott and Billie Holiday that we thought could have been a sample from an old dusty recording. Well, it turns out that voice is one Sumach Ecks (aka Gonjasufi), a San Diego based yoga instructor and one-time rapper and DJ who in a chance meeting with The Gaslamp Killer and Flying Lotus in Las Vegas, struck up a bond with the two producers and they started working together. A Sufi And A Killer is an amazing debut, a perfect fit between the dark off-kilter beats of Flying Lotus, Burial and King Midas Sound. But it also surprisingly displays a lot of vocal and musical range, moving into some rockier moments, tripping out on short interludes or sometimes delving down strange, mysterious but always interesting sonic tangents. Supposedly it took much longer to mix than it did to record, showing a dedication to detail that is truly rewarding to listen to. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Kobwebz"
MPEG Stream: "Ancestors"
MPEG Stream: "Candylane"
MPEG Stream: "Klowds"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY s/t (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
We had no idea what to expect from this record. It's on Sub Pop, the band's called Happy Birthday, the cover art is a sort of super DIY, bent musical note motif, like some weird eighties power pop demo, the back of the record is all scrawled pen and ink binder art, but what the heck, so we threw it on, and BLAAOW! Holy crap, total lo-fi nineties style power pop bliss out. Jangly guitar, lo-fi production, warbly boy vox and angelic female crooning, hooks galore, reminding us a lot of Nova Scotia pop, think Eric's Trip, Sloan, Super Friendz, Thrush Hermit, Hardship Post, the same sort of earnest, slightly melancholic, ramshackle pop that we never get tired of, and hardly anyone makes anymore (thank goodness for The Memories Attack!).
Every song is a cracked bit of peppy, bouncy, effervescent pop, with some angular guitar, some practice space drumming, warbly basslines, everything super distorted and fuzzed out, slipping from rollicking rocking, to in-the-red on-the-verge-of-collapse chaos, to woozy meandering minimal new wave (one track sounds like Ultravox via the more modern lo fi warped garage rock of the moment), lots of the songs have a distinctly eighties vibe, the vocals are sweet and always about to crack, slipping into a falsetto at every possible opportunity, keyboards wheeze and warble, the melodies are playful and serpentine, the production is hazy and reverby, but the band are constantly slipping in weird bursts of distorted crunch, or stretches of hushed crystalline drift, but always stumbling back into their irresistible fuzz pop. Record opener "Girls FM" is a total hit, a chorus that kills, not to mention an equally catchy verse/bridge combo, super sweet harmonies, a main riff that manages to crunch and jangle at the same time, weird fuzz bass that drops in and out, as well as all sorts of subtly twisted recording weirdness, only adding to the fun fucked up vibe.
The weird thing is that Happy Birthday is the project of Kyle Thomas, whose previous groups we've raved about in the past, Feathers, Witch, and King Tuff, but never did we expect that he might be capable of this kind of kick ass ultra catchy pure pop bliss out. But we're so pleasantly surprised, and damn if Happy Birthday didn't just leap into the running for pop record of the year!!
MPEG Stream: "Girls FM"
MPEG Stream: "2 Shy"
MPEG Stream: "Cracked"
MPEG Stream: "Perverted Girl"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY s/t (Sub Pop) lp 14.98
We had no idea what to expect from this record. It's on Sub Pop, the band's called Happy Birthday, the cover art is a sort of super DIY, bent musical note motif, like some weird eighties power pop demo, the back of the record is all scrawled pen and ink binder art, but what the heck, so we threw it on, and BLAAOW! Holy crap, total lo-fi nineties style power pop bliss out. Jangly guitar, lo-fi production, warbly boy vox and angelic female crooning, hooks galore, reminding us a lot of Nova Scotia pop, think Eric's Trip, Sloan, Super Friendz, Thrush Hermit, Hardship Post, the same sort of earnest, slightly melancholic, ramshackle pop that we never get tired of, and hardly anyone makes anymore (thank goodness for The Memories Attack!).
Every song is a cracked bit of peppy, bouncy, effervescent pop, with some angular guitar, some practice space drumming, warbly basslines, everything super distorted and fuzzed out, slipping from rollicking rocking, to in-the-red on-the-verge-of-collapse chaos, to woozy meandering minimal new wave (one track sounds like Ultravox via the more modern lo fi warped garage rock of the moment), lots of the songs have a distinctly eighties vibe, the vocals are sweet and always about to crack, slipping into a falsetto at every possible opportunity, keyboards wheeze and warble, the melodies are playful and serpentine, the production is hazy and reverby, but the band are constantly slipping in weird bursts of distorted crunch, or stretches of hushed crystalline drift, but always stumbling back into their irresistible fuzz pop. Record opener "Girls FM" is a total hit, a chorus that kills, not to mention an equally catchy verse/bridge combo, super sweet harmonies, a main riff that manages to crunch and jangle at the same time, weird fuzz bass that drops in and out, as well as all sorts of subtly twisted recording weirdness, only adding to the fun fucked up vibe.
The weird thing is that Happy Birthday is the project of Kyle Thomas, whose previous groups we've raved about in the past, Feathers, Witch, and King Tuff, but never did we expect that he might be capable of this kind of kick ass ultra catchy pure pop bliss out. But we're so pleasantly surprised, and damn if Happy Birthday didn't just leap into the running for pop record of the year!!
MPEG Stream: "Girls FM"
MPEG Stream: "2 Shy"
MPEG Stream: "Cracked"
MPEG Stream: "Perverted Girl"

HARNETTY, BRIAN & BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY Silent City (Atavistic) cd 16.98
The last Brian Harnetty record was a sleeper hit around here, fusing sampled bits of Appalachia and fragments of oral histories with dark brooding collaged soundscapes, the results were haunting and captivating, the two sounds working surprisingly well together, creating a sort of ghostly old world folk, the cracked and weathered voices wrapped in warm whirs and spectral ambience.
For his latest record (which has taken us a while to get in to list), Harnetty has assembled a conventional band and composed a set of gorgeous and dark chamber rock / dark jazz vignettes, utilizing piano, accordion, clarinet, trumpet, violin, drums, bells, vibes as well as vocals on a few tracks courtesy of Mr. Will Oldham aka Bonnie Prince Billy, but more on that in a second.
Harnetty hasn't abandoned his use of the strange old time samples either, they pop up throughout the record, a little burst of old timey Appalachia, a cute introduction from the bandstand of some dance, wild sawing fiddles, it sounds like a strange fit, but it weirdly sort of works. The record opens with a haunting ballad, all softly reverbed piano, and droning strings, shuffling drums, super moody and mysterious, when all of a sudden, right at the end, some old timey fiddle music fades while the song proper fades out, and the player says a few words and then we're already into the next song, another dark brooding drift. The whole record is pretty haunting and moody, a little Dirty 3, a little Max Richter, quite lovely, with the various old timey samples just adding a little bit of odd mystery.
As for the vocals, Will Oldham actually only sings on 3 of the 12 tracks, not sure it's worthy of co-credit, but his songs are in fact quite nice, his creaking about-to-break croon perfectly complimenting Harnetty's dark and dreamy arrangements. And in some ways, Oldham's songs as well as his voice manage to sound as old and dusty as the sampled songs and voices...
MPEG Stream: "The Night Is, And Lights Are"
MPEG Stream: "The Top Hat"
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping In The Driveway"

HAUD MUNDUS / WORMLUST Oblivio Appositus (Total Holocaust) cd 13.98
Another killer release from Total Holocaust, this one from two bands we'd never heard of before, Haud Mundus from Ireland, and Wormlust from Iceland, both bands, sharing members, so while the bands definitely sound different, there's some sonic overlap for sure. Two loooong songs from each, up first is Haud Mundus, who begin with a haunting cinematic doomic plod, all choral voices, soaring synths, strange mutterings, tangled guitars, before exploding into some serious woozy, depressive mid tempo raw blackness, ultra distorted, weirdly melodic, tangled and mathy arrangements, plenty of stops and starts, hushed ambient stretches, but when the band are rocking, it's some serious tripped out gnarled post black metal radness, the drums way blown out, the vocals buried in the mix, the guitars super epic and emotional, lurching and sea sick, almost like some noise rock / black metal hybrid, dizzyingly flitting from full on black blast to lurching downtuned lumber to weird shimmery drift. The second HM track is just as cool, beginning with a sort of Viking vibe, still weirdly distorted and in the red, eventually lurching into a more traditional sounding black metal blast, but even then, the riffs are twisted and angular, keyboards soaring here and there, a strange industrial breakdown, before finishing off with some killer abstract doomgaze pound. Seriously awesome. Only recording by these guys, and we're already dying for more!
Wormlust finds the vocalist of Haud Mundus teaming up with an Icelandic partner for some more twisted blackness, similarly blown out and off kilter, but the sound of Wormlust is more machinelike, bordering on industrial, downtuned and chuggy, with bellowed vokills, and loud drums, mostly midtempo, but with some awesomely tripped out psychedelic interludes, at times sounding a bit like a slower, more freaky, more raw Marduk, the first track finishing off with a swirling chaotic spaced out coda that just rules.
The second track is tripped out black psych workout, plenty of clean guitar, woozy riffage, echo drenched howls, lurching midtempo rhythms, soaring synths, droned out buzz, some super fuzz bass chug breakdowns, some glistening clean guitar drift, and a final 30 second blowout of pounding black crush. Oblivio Appositus is also Wormlust's only proper release, just two songs, but like with Haud Mundus, we're ready from these guys as well.
Packaged in a cool 6 panel embossed digipak.
MPEG Stream: HAUD MUNDUS "Veins Of Stone"
MPEG Stream: WORMLUST "Surge - About The Death Of A God"

HELVETETS PORT Exodus To Hell (Pure Steel) cd 14.98
Jussi from Circle recommended this Swedish band to us (we've found out about a lot of cool bands thanks to our friend Jussi), and after we tracked down some copies of their cd, we realized we needed to recommend 'em to you, too! Helvetets Port (which means Gate of Hell or something like that) are a current band playing a very deliberately retro, almost tongue-in-cheek style of '80s heavy metal. Not a joke though. They're totally for real, yet revel in the most ridiculous aspects of the music they love so much and strive to emulate. You can immediately see how this would appeal to Jussi (and us), since the next better thing than Circle's "NWOFHM" is of course the actual NWOBHM, which this band is obviously especially inspired by. Helvetets Port are four metal-lovin' Swedes playing dress up in color-coordinated spandex and scarves, but going beyond that to deliver the goods with galloping guitars, piercing falsetto shrieks, wonderful lyrics about diamond claws, Japanese warlords, and the threat of being killed by a reaper. That's what's most charming about this band, their (inadvertently?) silly, seemingly earnest songwriting in the best "story-telling" Iron Maiden-esque tradition. Their songs, though none of 'em long (2-3 minutes, most of 'em), are all mini-prog epics, utterly over the top, the band pushing to the limit of their ability and beyond, always totally catchy but also a bit awkward, their ambitious arrangements quite quirky. The accent-laden vocals, too, sometimes seem a bit strained, but these factors are overruled by their enthusiasm and just add to this band's "real people" feel, making their retro NWOBHM worship (and not just NWOBHM, as we suspect they like other, over the top old schoolers like Manowar and Thor too) seem all the more authentic, bound for cult fandom if they can keep it up.
They remind us a bit of the USA's Harbinger, another young band who like to pretend it's 1983, in real life as well as on record, in fact, if you watch the impressive/hilarious video that's supposed to be included as a bonus on this disc (we couldn't actually find it, but it's on YouTube anyway) for their song "Lightning Rod Avenger" you'll see these kids doing things the old fashioned way...
This was produced by the singer from Enforcer, another spandex-clad Swedish metal band of retro persuasion whom we've recommended previously, though Helvetets Port way outdoes Enforcer with their sheer, sincere, imaginative eccentricity (if not in other ways too). Hail Helvetets Port!!
MPEG Stream: "The Shogun"
MPEG Stream: "Killers In The Sand"
MPEG Stream: "Helvetets Port"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Claw"

HORSEBACK Milh Ihuh (Turgid Animal) 7" 9.98
This is not brand new, we somehow missed out on this when it first came out, but seeing as we're such huge fans of North Carolina's Horseback, we figured we'd get a handful of these, and holy shit, it's good. Two tracks, perfectly straddling the two sides of the group, the gorgeous blackened ambient drift, and the buzzing abstract avant black metal crush. Which makes sense as it came out right before their full length on Utech.
The A-side is a gorgeous cloud of mournful melodic drift, a haunting slow motion melody, played out in a haze of shimmering distortion and strange sonic grit, wreathed by streaks of cascading feedback, while buried vox howl in the ether. Some serious dreamlike black ambience, softly propulsive, definitely intense and caustic, but simultaneously languid and lovely.
The flipside takes the same sonic template, but blurs the sounds even further into a continuous black buzz, adding some murky blasting rhythms, a heaving, churning stretch of abstract black hole heaviness. LIMITED TO ONLY 250 COPIES! Comes with a Horseback sticker, quite possibly the last copies we'll be able to get.

HUNX AND HIS PUNX Gay Singles (True Panther Sounds) cd 13.98
Yay! Now on cd, this previously vinyl-only collection from last year, here's what we wrote about that, then:
As hard as we tried, we were never able to get in all the 7" singles that Hunx & His Punx released on labels like Bachelor, Shattered House, True Panther and Bubbledum, since Hunx began recording with his Punx while his other band Gravy Train! was on an indefinite hiatus. So we were so psyched to find that True Panther was compiling all those 7"s on a single lp, and since they're are all pretty much already out of print, so this might be your only chance to get all those tracks. Appropriately titled Gay Singles, the cover features an eye popping close up of a zebra stripe jockey clad crotch.
Hot on the heels of a long tour he's just embarked on supporting Jay Reatard, we're so excited that Hunx & His Punx gets to spread his amazingly flamboyant and sexy spirit and pure garage pop and punk perfection to a wider audience. A total student/lover of all things popular culture, Seth Bogart (aka Hunx) has become such a master of infusing his songs with playful and seductive themes, crafting killer pop jams, displaying plenty of tongue in cheek lyrics and a whole lot of skin, yet this is not just some kind of joke rock, as there is a really great understanding of true pop music, girl group sound and power pop and Ramones style punk rock. So damn catchy and loaded with innuendo and sex appeal that's sure to create a party anywhere and anytime these punx perform (or even just get blasted on your boombox!). So damn fun!
MPEG Stream: "You Don't Like Rock N Roll"
MPEG Stream: "Cruising"
MPEG Stream: "Teardrops On My Telephone"

INDIGNANT SENILITY Plays Wagner - Part 2 (Type) lp 19.98
The second volume of Pat Maherr's deconstructed classical epic culled from thrift store records of Wagner symphonies and operas. With all the dust and wear still intact, Maherr runs the source material through layers of filters and processing until they are mere specters of their original sound. Slowed, and blurred into tremulously washed out and ephemeral murmurs, slow-rising intensities and tonal vibrations, it's easy to see why classical music always seems to be haunted, even without much manipulation. But their is something to be said about the grandeur and power of classical music's biggest ego deconstructed into something so unearthly and spectral and yet so beautifully sad that even at it's most reduced, one still can't remove the huge flow of powerful feeling inherent in the recording. The ghosts can be exorcised but never fully banished. Both part one and part two will be soon released on one cd, but like all of Type's vinyl, it won't be around too long. Highly Recommended!!

ISAACS, GREGORY Slum In Dub (African Museum) cd 14.98
We love our dub hard and heavy and full of deep deep vibrations. Every few months it seems we're rediscovering an amazing dub record that had somehow slipped under the radar and are only now becoming total obsessions. That's precisely the case with this mind blowing full on dub joint by Gregory Isaacs recorded in Jamaica at King Tubby's studio in 1978. While Isaacs is usually most associated with and respected for his amazing singing skills, and for pioneering the whole lovers rock movement, Slum In Dub shows a completely different side of Isaacs' sound. This is a full on instrumental minded, way seductive dub record for sure. Very minimal singing, instead only small hints of Isaacs' voice which bleed into the mix occasionally, and one or two songs where the vocals appear a bit more pronounced, creating a truly singular dub exploration that stands as further evidence of just how on fire he was during this era, no matter what direction and style he experimented with. Smart as he was, he enlisted the legendary Prince Jammy to mix the album, giving it the timeless and intoxicating feel that we're totally addicted to now, thirty two years after its initial release.
We could see modern day left-field dub lovers like Tussle, Excepter, Sun Araw, and the whole Dubstep scene freaking out about this record, or probably already listing it as an all-time favorite and major source of inspiration. Better late than never on this one, cuz as much as we can't believe we are just hearing this now, it almost doesn't matter considering how thrilled we are to have found a new favorite dub jam!
MPEG Stream: "Public Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "Reform Institution"
MPEG Stream: "Leaving"

ISHIKAWA, AKIRA & COUNT BUFFALO Uganda (Tiliqua) cd 34.00
This incredible far out and fantastic Record Of The Week has been out of stock for a while, seemingly out of print, but recently the label discovered a stash, so we grabbed as many as we could, and you now have one more chance (most likely your last) to grab one of these before they're gone for good. You won't regret it, everyone we know who bought a copy freaked out and declared it one of their new all time favorites, and for good reason as it's an amazing, mind blowing, tripped out chunk of pure sonic inspiration. It's strange and beautiful and weirdly heavy, and proggy and tribal and it's funky as all get out... Here's our original review from when we first made it our Record Of The Week:
It's no longer out of the ordinary for a rock band to look beyond rock for inspiration. Or a jazz band, looking to expand their sound. It definitely makes sense as musicians are generally constantly striving to explore, to open their minds, their music, searching for unique instruments, new ideas, new sounds, even looking for something much more ineffable, something more spiritual. Psychedelic rock bands have typically looked East, The Beatles are probably the prime example of a rock band looking to India for musical AND spiritual inspiration. But on a much smaller scale, modern music develops and expands by incorporating new influences, the more 'exotic' the better. So for years, we could watch bands do just that, incorporate new instruments, sitars, tablas, whatever, alternate tunings, Eastern scales. Jazz musicians on the other hand, tended to look to Africa for inspiration, the tribal drumming, the vocal chants, all found their way onto tons of amazing records, amazing in part because of what they borrowed from the African music that was their genesis, as with many many discs by the Art Ensemble, Coltrane, Don Cherry, etc., etc.Š
So if all this borrowing and influence is so commonplace, what's the big deal with this disc, a deluxe reissue of a rare 1972 LP entitled Uganda, by Japan's strangely named Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo? Well to begin with, imagine a Japanese jazz drummer in the early seventies, so obsessed with African music, that not only are his records already rife with African influences, but he eventually travels there, and proceeds to play with local musicians, collects indigenous instruments, and returns, driven to realize the record he knows he must make, Uganda, a record that manages to sound like African music, jazz and psychedelic rock, while sounding like nothing else. Ishikawa teamed up with fellow percussionist Larry Sunaga, a bassist and guitarist, and a saxophonist, who instead of playing sax, composed all four lengthy pieces here, the results are amazing. Dense, dizzying, abstract and tribal, fuzzy and tripped out, long stretches of solo hand drum percussion, furious acid fuzz freakouts (courtesy of guitarist Kimio Mizutani, from Love Live Life+1, People, and other freaky Japanese '70s psych units), chanting and handclaps, all woven into an expansive, sprawling divine chunk of out there Afro-fuzz-psych-jazz-rock divinity.
Take the first track "Animals and Dawn", nearly 12 minutes long, and over those 12 minutes, the song veers and drifts through about ten distinctly different sounds and styles, all held together by the relentless African drum jam that runs through all four tracks. Beginning with what sounds like some strange low end synth buzz, those drums kick in, intense and hyper rhythmic, amazingly recorded, so on headphones it sounds like drums are all around you. That buzz, pulses and undulates beneath the frenzied drumming, and this goes on for almost 3 minutes, which is when some wild super distorted acid psych guitar swoops in, jagged and freaked out, spitting out soaring wah wah drenched buzz, before the bass joins in and the drums coalesce into a more recognizable groove, and the band nails it, heavy, slithery proto-metal, churning and pounding, eventually locking into a super technical prog workout, and then dropping out completely, again leaving just the drums, which are soon joined by hand clapping, and chanted African style vocals. Finally, for the last four minutes or so, the band unwinds a groovy jazzy prog workout, still underpinned by those same rhythms, but now the bass carries the groove, letting the guitar go wild, wild psychedelic leads all tangled up in great strange shapes over the groovy rhythm below. Eventually, the song is swallowed up by effects, reverb, delay, echo, as if the band were playing on some huge elevator, as we sit on the surface, listening as the band slips further and further into darkness. Holy shit. If this were a $30 single, that track alone would make this essential for folks into psychrock, proto-metal, free jazz, avant African music or really anyone into strange and fantastical sounds.
The second track, "Asking For Love", once again begins with African drums, the two percussionists, offering up wild tangled beats for nearly two minutes, until in swoops a weird synthy buzz, which quickly transforms into a seriously Led Zep worthy riff, the drums a strange counterpoint to the distinctly rock and roll riffage, and the vocals soaring and shouting, but this kick ass riff fades out only after a minute, and we're back to more dense drumming, Mesmerizing and hypnotic, locking into incredible grooves, veering off into off kilter time signatures here and there, but always returning to that groove. This continues until about one minute from the end, when the bass and guitars explode in a buzzing psychedelic freakout, the drums mirroring the intensity of the axes, locked into an ever expanding supernova of blown out sound, until the furious explosive finish. Whew.
Track three (on the original, the start of side 2) "Battle", begins with some straight up jazz prog, angular and complex, the drums and guitars locked tight, the whole thing convoluted and intricate, stopping suddenly after 30 seconds, at which point an African thumb piano plucks out a delicate music box melody, while in the background, other strange instruments scrape and thump and honk, eventually blossoming into a full on Afro-jam, the drums pounding away, male and female vocals, call and response over the mesmeric beats below, but again, this only lasts a few minutes before switching gears and launching right back into the angular prog that opened the track. This happens a couple more times. Long stretches of abstract percussion, plenty of buzz, and rattle, melodies played out on mysterious African instruments, separated by brief blasts of that  buzzing tangled prog, which is exactly how the track finishes off.
The closer, "Pygmy" begins with a groovy walking bass line, a cowbell heavy almost-funk rhythm, eventually some acidic wah wah guitar, and suddenly we're in some serious seventies, Blaxploitation soundtrack style jazz funk, the bass a constant presence, that groove irresistible, the vocals soulful, the percussion still busy and intense, beneath the more static rhythm driving the songs. The guitar and vocals get all tangled up, the vocals more sort of scatting, the guitar offering up jagged shards of high end, or unfurling soaring psychrock leads, the bass and guitar locking into step right at the end, for one final super tight psychprog finish.
It almost seems ridiculous to describe each song in detail, as that's only part of the story. All four tracks work together, leading into one another, offering up bits from pervious songs, giving up little sonic hints as to what might come later, and it's not just the arrangements, it's the feel, the mood, the vibe, and while mere description might make some of the songs sound schizophrenic, flipping back and forth from part to part, some parts lasting only a few seconds, nothing could be further from the truth. The composition here is as deft as the performance, the arrangement is simultaneously free and abstract, yet, tight and composed. The songs breathe and open up, drift and wander, but never seem to lose their direction, and the grooves ever present, even if on the surface the band seem to be drifting though inner space.
Uganda is truly unique, freaky and far out for sure, but most definitely an essential chunk of jazzy, proggy African Japanese psych rock bliss, organic, expansive, epic, rhythmic, space-y, proggy, heavy and funky!! If you've got Julian Cope's Japrocksampler book, you'll find it in his Top 50 list of Japanese psych essentials, right above the debut from Flower Travellin' Band.
As with all Tiliqua releases, gorgeously packaged. This one is housed in a full color miniature box, printed front and back, with a Japanese style obi of course, and inside extensive liner notes in both Japanese and English, with tons of photos. And it is limited of course, not sure how limited, but judging from how quick past Tiliqua releases fly out of here, better to be safe than sorry. And this is actually the first in a new Tiliqua series called Distorted Oriental Sensory Perceptions 1969-1978 focusing on "Obscure Japanese Psychedelic rock artifacts." We can hardly wait to see what they dig up next... there's a lot of others on that Japrocksampler list we'd love to hear...
MPEG Stream: "Wanyamana Mapambazuko"
MPEG Stream: "Na Tu Penda Sana"
MPEG Stream: "Vita"

JABLADAV Communion With Mother & Machine (self released) cd-r 8.98
Latest from our favorite one man, Weakling by way of Black Flag styled black metal band, but don't be expecting any gnarled black blasts or pounding frenzied freakouts, Communion With Mother & Machine falls more in line with any of the various Jabaldav ambient records, but is notable for being created using mostly Buddha Machines and Black Boxes. A slow burning sonic collage, a blackened sprawling composition, that takes those prerecorded loops, as well as the process of switching from loop to loop (including any clicks or buzzes), and weaves them into a lush, densely layered dronescape, along with samples of other Jabladav recordings, field recordings of nature at night, Mellotrons, as well as some effects and feedback, the process is detailed in the liner notes, a simple technique of setting up the boxes in a circle around the microphone, with a particular box manually moved closer to increase its volume / presence, the colors of the Buddha Machines used are detailed as well (1 red, 1 orange, 1 white and 2 blue), as is the recording gear used, and various other steps of the process. And while that stuff is definitely interesting, it's the finished recording that matters, and it's incredible, a swirling, smoldering loopscape, crickets chirping over distant whirs, slowly shifting layered melodies, the glitch and grit of the tiny speakers adding more buzz and blur to the proceedings, deep melodic swells pulsing and shimmering, the loops slipping from organic and amorphous to machinelike and repetitive and back again, creaks and groans, disembodied voices, everything building to lush heaving slabs of layered density, laced with tinkling melodies, all set amidst thick clouds of muted crunch, smoothed into gorgeous expanses of blissed out lustrous mesmer. So great.
Total nirvana for dronelords, and as with all Jabalav stuff, WAY recommended, whether buzzy or beautiful, or both.
Packaged in super swank 6 panel digipaks, each one signed and hand numbered, and limited to ONLY 100 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "Communion With Mother & Machine (Excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Communion With Mother & Machine (Excerpt 2)"

JAWBREAKER Unfun (Blackball) cd 13.98
There are those bands from your youth that you liked, some that you loved, and then those special few that managed strike a nerve, to get inside your psyche and speak right to you in a way that almost nothing else could. For many of us, Jawbreaker were that band! They were a group you would become obsessed with, get tattoos of their logo, memorize their lyrics, drive hundreds of miles just to see them if they didn't play in your hometown. Makes us feel old, but this is the 20th anniversary of their amazing debut, Unfun, which came out in 1990 and was the soundtrack to ours and so many others coming of age. Punchy, catchy, and fast yet filled with so much raw emotion and personal conviction. While they played a lot at places like Gilman Street and were associated with the now made-famous-by-Green-Day East Bay punk scene, there was something much more vital and real in Jawbreaker's music than in so many of their contemporaries. Their music was for people who loved the sweat, energy and passion of punk but also hated the rigid/forced and contrived politics and fashion that the music was so often aligned with. This was a new voice. While other bands were singing copycat tired played out songs about smashing the state, Jawbreaker were writing songs about real moments in life that we could all relate to. It was the soundtrack to the house party you felt awkward at, the first encounter with that person you had a crush on, the solitary moments when you found yourself walking aimlessly with a zine in your back pocket and duct tape holding your shoes together as you tried to figure out what was coming next in your life.
Unfun was smart pop-punk, not the Warped Tour/Epitaph brand that would soon sweep over the nation. It was born from the influences of '80s bands like Husker Du, The Replacements and Rites Of Spring. They truly were going against the punk rock grain at the time which was ruled by very narrow minded scene politics and silly posturing. With lyrics like 'Sorry we're not hard enough to piss your parents off', they were actively distancing themselves while critiquing the clique/silly nature of the scene they were thrown into, yet they embodied so many of the real reasons why people fall in love with punk rock in the first place. While the sound was definitely quite different, their music had the same kind of integrity and passion as Fugazi. They meant every single note, every single word. And for sure the words are such a big part of Jawbreaker's legacy. Front man Blake Schwarzenback was like the J.D. Salinger of the '90s punk/indie rock generation. He had an insight and ability to really nail so many truths about interpersonal relationships, daily life, and constant struggles with the mundane, as well as crises of spirit, of love and loss. Yet the music never let the lyrics overpower, as the band was such a triumphant and kick ass and tightly connected unit.
Putting this on all these years later, not only do a flood of emotions and memories hit us, but it still sounds so fucking good and relevant! Since Jawbreaker were so true to their own vision (even if it meant that the punk police of the time thought they were too soft or didn't have the right haircuts) they were able to create a music with so much true soul and such an undying spirit that it still holds up so strongly to this day. An absolute all time classic and favorite!
This remastered reissue also includes some bonus tracks from the Whack & Bite ep, which are great too, but it hardly matters, as the record is pretty much perfect as it is.
MPEG Stream: "Want"
MPEG Stream: "Softcore"
MPEG Stream: "Busy"
MPEG Stream: "Lawn"

JAWBREAKER Unfun (Blackball) lp 13.98
There are those bands from your youth that you liked, some that you loved, and then those special few that managed strike a nerve, to get inside your psyche and speak right to you in a way that almost nothing else could. For many of us, Jawbreaker were that band! They were a group you would become obsessed with, get tattoos of their logo, memorize their lyrics, drive hundreds of miles just to see them if they didn't play in your hometown. Makes us feel old, but this is the 20th anniversary of their amazing debut, Unfun, which came out in 1990 and was the soundtrack to ours and so many others coming of age. Punchy, catchy, and fast yet filled with so much raw emotion and personal conviction. While they played a lot at places like Gilman Street and were associated with the now made-famous-by-Green-Day East Bay punk scene, there was something much more vital and real in Jawbreaker's music than in so many of their contemporaries. Their music was for people who loved the sweat, energy and passion of punk but also hated the rigid/forced and contrived politics and fashion that the music was so often aligned with. This was a new voice. While other bands were singing copycat tired played out songs about smashing the state, Jawbreaker were writing songs about real moments in life that we could all relate to. It was the soundtrack to the house party you felt awkward at, the first encounter with that person you had a crush on, the solitary moments when you found yourself walking aimlessly with a zine in your back pocket and duct tape holding your shoes together as you tried to figure out what was coming next in your life.
Unfun was smart pop-punk, not the Warped Tour/Epitaph brand that would soon sweep over the nation. It was born from the influences of '80s bands like Husker Du, The Replacements and Rites Of Spring. They truly were going against the punk rock grain at the time which was ruled by very narrow minded scene politics and silly posturing. With lyrics like 'Sorry we're not hard enough to piss your parents off', they were actively distancing themselves while critiquing the clique/silly nature of the scene they were thrown into, yet they embodied so many of the real reasons why people fall in love with punk rock in the first place. While the sound was definitely quite different, their music had the same kind of integrity and passion as Fugazi. They meant every single note, every single word. And for sure the words are such a big part of Jawbreaker's legacy. Front man Blake Schwarzenback was like the J.D. Salinger of the '90s punk/indie rock generation. He had an insight and ability to really nail so many truths about interpersonal relationships, daily life, and constant struggles with the mundane, as well as crises of spirit, of love and loss. Yet the music never let the lyrics overpower, as the band was such a triumphant and kick ass and tightly connected unit.
Putting this on all these years later, not only do a flood of emotions and memories hit us, but it still sounds so fucking good and relevant! Since Jawbreaker were so true to their own vision (even if it meant that the punk police of the time thought they were too soft or didn't have the right haircuts) they were able to create a music with so much true soul and such an undying spirit that it still holds up so strongly to this day. An absolute all time classic and favorite!
This remastered reissue also includes some bonus tracks from the Whack & Bite ep, which are great too, but it hardly matters, as the record is pretty much perfect as it is.
MPEG Stream: "Want"
MPEG Stream: "Softcore"
MPEG Stream: "Busy"
MPEG Stream: "Lawn"

KOSS Ancient Rain (Mule Electronic) cd 16.98
As much as we love so much of the noisier and heavier psychedelic sounds that come out of the Japanese underground, we have to say lately it's been some of the more blissed out and dreamy records from Japan that have been moving us the most. Folks like Fuqugi, Painting Petals On Planet Ghost, and Eddie Marcon have shown us that just as so many Japanese bands have mastered blown out psychedelic madness, others know how to conjure an equally entrancing sound, but replacing the all out assault with a gorgeously tranquil and languid state of sound.
We loved what we heard last from Koss, his 2008 outing Four Worlds Converge As One, but we're even more entranced and deliriously lost at sea with Ancient Rain. Such tender and delicate movements of sound, that maintain an element of melodicism while still capturing an overall mood and ambience. For sure in line with the great Pop Ambient sounds out of the Kompakt camp, like Gas and early Klimek, as well as the more washed out and ethereal sides of Fennesz, Murcof, Jan Jelinek, The Fun Years and Colleen.
Majestic and flowing, evoking deep sleep, dark drifts, set to the sounds of the waves on an ocean. Tapping into a feeling of lightness and ease with subtle undertones of something a bit darker bubbling just below the surface, Koss creates a sound that throughout the entirety of Ancient Rain manages to feel so honest and organic, lush, rich, and otherworldly, a soundtrack to the perfect daydream...
MPEG Stream: "Dream"
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Rain"
MPEG Stream: "Beauty"

LIARS Sisterworld (Mute) 2cd 21.00
Liars are such a strange band, we've mentioned it before, but it definitely bears repeating, it seems like they get some sort of sick satisfaction out of gleefully subverting all expectations, some sort of thrill from annoying their loyal fanbase. Every record could go in any of a million directions, some far less appealing than others, and often, it's those less appealing directions that the band find most alluring. So it's usually best to approach a new Liars record prepared to be, at the very least disappointed, quite possibly pissed off.
Sisterworld however was immediately appealing, yeah, sure, a bit weird, but it's the Liars, this time they unfurl a sort of slow burning mystery of a record, super dramatic, with some gorgeous guitar playing and rough, whiskey soaked vocals, moaning cellos, sweet vocal harmonies, a twisted dark pop, with bursts of angular noise rock. Album opener "Scissor" might be one of the best songs they've written, with brooding, moody verses, a soaring bridge with lush harmony vocals, and a crashing synth driven breakdown blow out.
The rest of the record is sort of a schizophrenic mess, but in a good way, the band dipping their toes into woozy gloom pop, twisted cabaret, dreamy swirly string laden swoon, weird angular synth punk, hushed crystalline balladry, skeletal new wave, atonal noise flecked indie rock, furious buzzing dirge rock, but all the various shades and permutations held together, by that Liars vibe that's hard to quantify, but for being as scattershot as Sisterworld seems, it's also a weirdly cohesive set of songs, twisted for sure, but well crafted, and oddly and subtly catchy to boot.
While they last, we have the super deluxe, double disc, which comes in an incredible accordion foldout mini hard cover die cut book packaging, and a whole disc of remixes, from folks like Atlas Sound, Tunde Adebimpe from TV On The Radio, the Melvins (!), Devendra Banhart, Thom Yorke, Boyd Rice and more! Most of the remixes are super radical, the songs all twisted up and reimagined, without losing the essence of the originals, a few add electronics, a couple get all chopped and screwed and looped, one or two are heavied up, and one even gets some female rapper action, pretty wacked, but what would you expect from a remix of a record that's already pretty weird to begin with? The more we listen to the remix disc, we almost might like it more than the record proper....
MPEG Stream: "Scissor"
MPEG Stream: "No Barrier Fun"
MPEG Stream: "Here Comes All The People"
MPEG Stream: "Drip"

LOCRIAN Territories (At War With False Noise / Basses Frequences / Small Doses / BloodLust!) lp 14.98
With every single release these guys get better and better, their sound, a constantly evolving, ultra dense blend of abstract black metal and deep ambient dronemusic, the early records were more about energy and vibe than execution, still eminently listenable, heavy and atmospheric, black and brutal, but their skills as composers and arranges have definitely made leaps and bounds, arriving finally at Territories, the latest sprawling epic from this Chicago duo, here, aided and abetted by a whole bunch of guests, including Blake Judd from Nachtmystium, Andrew Scherer, drummer for black metallers Velnias, and Mark Solotroff, power electronics maestro, and man behind Bloody Minded and the BloodLust! label.
And the guests make their presence felt right away, on opener inverted ruins, a smoldering doomic plod, more power electronics than black metal, with Solotroff ranting over a sea of swirling buzz and skree, glitched out electronics, and some simple stripped down drumming. Over the course of the track, it begins to coalesce into a more ominous creep, shedding noise as it goes, before finally slipping into a deep shimmering drone, which introduces the next track, a lush, slow building cinematic dronescape, constantly shifting layers, drifting through clouds of cymbal shimmer and blackened buzzing strings. It's not until nearly the end of side one that black metal rears it's ugly head, a flurry of manic riffing, and they're off, a pounding midtempo blast of raw feral blackness, insane shrieked vocals, chaotic drums, muted riffs, all blurred into a blackened haze, lo-fi and muddy, but also epic and intense.
The flipside opens with another bout of power electronics, dueling synths unfurl undulating layers of wheeze and warble and buzz, laced with shimmering overtones and fragmented melodies, a churning black sonic sea, that eventually fades out leaving, a smoldering stretch of shadowy guitar, of blissed out ambience, a short stretch of crystalline chiming guitars laid over a warm whir, shoegazey and blissed out, which finally leads into the closing track, the weirdest of the bunch, with organ and saxophone, acoustic guitars, and pretty much all the gusts present and accounted for, a bleak buzzing driftscape, sort of post industrial, keening melodies over fractured buzz, and deep rumbles, creaks and skree and groaning low end, finally explode into full on melodic black metal, martial drumming, epic riffing, more tortured vokills, cool tangled woozy minor key melodies, a swirling druggy ambience, weirdly catchy and otherworldly, but still heavy and psychedelic, maybe our favorite track, and the perfect way to wind down this serpentine blackened outsider drone metal journey...

LOPEZ, FRANCISCO Untitled (2006-2007) (Monochrome Vision) 2cd 17.98
The first published work in Francisco Lopez' ongoing Untitled series was Untitled 74, released on Table Of The Elements in 1998; and in less than a decade that number of untitled compositions has bloated to well above 200. With this Russian release, Lopez collects many of the Untitled recordings, dated from 2006 and 2007, giving some credence to his numbering systems. Perhaps, he didn't just start with #74 and jump around; rather he's constantly making field recordings, composing new works, and considering raw material from various collaborators, with too much work to get everything released.
It's been a while since we had to cautiously approach the work of Francisco Lopez with the concern that he might be issuing an inaudible or near-inaudible record, and even those long periods of silence which do pop up on some of his records are completely done away with on this collection. The reason for this is that each track is a discrete composition of repurposed environmental sound, stretched, blurred, occluded into magnified hiss, aerated drone, grotesquely exaggerated texture, and industrial hum snapped against the sounds of the Amazon and the Costa Rica rainforests, whose rich bird and insect life chatter in polyphonic choruses. Source material on a couple of tracks was provided by Rapoon and Lawrence English; and there's a piece that Lopez composed for an avant-garde chamber ensemble, that certainly presents an ominous atmosphere of piano stabs against agitated strings and rumbling double bass, very Zeitkratzer. As a whole, this 2cd set is Absolute Lopez near his absolute best!
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 193"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 194"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 202"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 203"

LOVESLIESCRUSHING Crwth (Chorus Redux) (12k) cd 14.98
Chorus was a record by the post-shoegazing duo Lovesliescrushing that was released via an obscure Peruvian imprint called Automatic Entertainment sometime in 2007. Needless to say, it's an album that practically nobody has heard, barring a download from a blog or something. Despite the novelty of this incredibly rare record, Chorus was also a major departure for the duo in that voice was the only source material for all of the blissed out driftscapes, with Scott Cortez eschewing the fizzed, opiated, and blurred guitar in favor of effects-heavy treatments upon the wordless vocals of Mellisa Arpin-Duimstra. Crwth is a re-edit of the raw material used for Chorus, emerging with a very similar muted hue of softed loops and delicate drones that hang gently upon the backdrop of digital dust blown upon a velvet surface. For those of you who had gotten a hold of the limited 2cd boxset on Projekt (or had been familiar with the last couple of Lovesliescrushing albums for that matter), this sole use of voice isn't all that much of a stretch, as Lovesliescrushing has been pushing a trajectory away from the beautiful noises of their MBV-inspired Bloweyelashwish and toward an angelic, slightly melancholy ambience with only the flicker of a song structure hovering at the bottom of their echo chamber. It's been said that Lovesliescrushing finds themselves between Slowdive and Fennesz; yes, that's true, but the reductionism down to an essential beautiful sound is taken even further than that imagined hybrid. Really, this is quite fantastic.
MPEG Stream: "Dzai"
MPEG Stream: "Glenq"
MPEG Stream: "Shemerr"

MAINLINER Mainliner Sonic (Assommer) lp 17.98
CLEAR VINYL! Limited release!!
Back in '97, when this utterly distorted slab of Japanese psychrock was originally released on compact disc, we were perhaps a little bit more succinct in our reviews than we are now, saying simply in two sentences: 
Nanjo, Kawabata and Yoshida return, with another blast of High Rise-style psychedelic riffery. Turn it up past, like, "2", and give your stereo speakers a few final thrilling moments before they fry.
Still true! Perhaps, for those just tuning in, we should add that Asahito Nanjo is the bassist from legendary PSF-label psychedelic speed freaks High Rise, Makoto Kawabata is of course the hairy bearded "motor psycho" guitarist from the beloved Acid Mothers Temple, and Tatsuya Yoshida is the eight-armed drummer from Magmoid prog duo Ruins, just to mention the primary crucial underground Tokyo acts these cats have been involved in. Mainliner Sonic was the trio's 3rd album, give or take a cd-r or cassette or two, if we've got the chronology correct. And it's just one of two Mainliner efforts with Yoshida on the drums, a lineup that happened to be identical to that of another, more spazzed out band, Musica Transonic. 
At a little more than a half hour in length, these five tracks represent a typical in-the-red session of Mainliner's more Les Rallizes Denudes than thou loud garage psych improv groove mayhem. Really, you've heard of "fuzz monsters"? This is, like, fully 94 percent fuzz, almost like a blast of Merzbowian noise, with some crashing drums and raucous riffing and squiggly soloing buried beneath. Totally trance inducing. All the noisiest garagiest bands today PLAYING AT THE SAME TIME might not be able to top this. For fans of Acid Eater for sure!!!
The cd version has been out of print for years (though we hear rumors of a reissue on a Chinese label...) so it's even awesomer to have this vinyl edition on new label Assommer (run by one of the guys from the LA psych band OGOD, currently on tour in the USA with Acid Mothers Temple).
MPEG Stream: "Tsukisasaru"
MPEG Stream: "Mainliner Sonic II"

MAKO SICA Dual Horizon (La Societe Expeditionnaire) lp 17.98
Mako Sica first came to our attention about a year ago with their awesome cassette on PlusTapes and an insanely limited 12" on Permanent Records. They really struck a chord with us, as the Chicago trio conjured an intimate collection of songs that sounded lush and expansive in a way other groups only hope to achieve. The cassette was lo-fi, but not as an excuse, and now the band ventures to new realms with their proper full length debut. Recorded live in an actual studio with no overdubs, the higher fidelity is used to the band's advantage, as they are able to properly expand upon the sound they nailed on the home recorded cassette. The three lengthy songs on Dual Horizon are the result of musicians who clearly understand the importance of working together as a unit to achieve something else entirely. Sure, there are bands (or more often than not "dudes" with solo projects) doing similar things throughout the globe - you may be reminded of a more Americanized version of Urthona with less distortion, or perhaps Expo '70 if their interests lay grounded in the desert instead of the cosmos - but Mako Sica is its own beast altogether, and more than most, these guys use negative space as an instrument unto itself for a truly unique feeling that is as beautiful as it is unsettling. It should also be noted that Dual Horizon was recorded by Todd Rittmann of US Maple fame, another band these guys recall at times, though after a couple handfuls of peyote.
"I'itoi" opens the record with wordless droning chants and some sparse bells. An atmosphere is established as windy sounds creep in, giving things a nice ominous vibe. Eventually, something begins to take shape as it bubbles out of the haze before turning into a thick ambient fog. The song is evocative of the middle of nowhere, the badlands from which the band took its name, and sharp bursts of jagged guitar snake about while voices continue to swirl in the mix. The sound is huge but still remains grounded by the musicians who refuse to lose control of their instruments to psychedelic noodling. Soon, a steady rhythm comes in and takes things heavenward as one guitar takes the lead with super fast picking on the high notes while the other holds down the role of bass. Things eventually change direction with a pronounced drumbeat taking you to another place altogether. "5th One Is The Dark" begins life with a softly muted root note taking the lead during the lengthy buildup. A tremeloed guitar begins to sound like something blowing in the wind, and though it's a bit "surfy" sounding, there are no waves in the desert, and it becomes another part of the band's enveloping sound. Sustained feedback and a voice soon work their way in, and though you can hear words, you are unsure of what is taking form. The song is dramatic and highly cinematic, managing to conjure the incomprehensible hugeness of nature while also sounding affirmative of the cycle of life that will continue after we're gone.
Taking up all of side 2 and clocking in at 21 minutes, "Dunes" rides out with giant sweeps of low end before everything drops and a steady tom rhythm comes in like a heartbeat. The guitars come back with a submerged melody and jangly high notes as you venture to the far reaches of your mind, and at around the 4 minute mark, things actually start to move with the flow of a "rock" song, but in a very minimal way, again utilizing the the open space around the band. It's interesting how the drums avoid using cymbals too much, as this works really well with the band's lineup; nobody overtakes anyone else and they sound like a living, breathing unit, and even though there is a lot of improvisation going on, the band clearly knows where to take things. As the song winds down, more voices emerge and disappear, with a blaring trumpet melody helping to further disorient you in the best of ways.
The record itself is pressed up on some awesome black and white hazed vinyl and includes a download card for those of you who plan to wander off under headphones with this thing playing on repeat. And while we're at it, we should point out the fact that there's only 250 of these bad boys out there, so don't sleep on this!
MPEG Stream: "I'itoi"
MPEG Stream: "5th One Is The Dark"
MPEG Stream: "Dunes"

MARHAUG, LASSE The Quiet North (Second Layer) cd 15.98
Back in 2006, Lasse Marhaug released an album with Joachim Nordwall from the Skull Defekts and Johannes Helden called When The Ice Is Leaving, Scandinavia Is Burning. With a title like that, the album should have been all fire and brimstone of Nordic noise: abusive, throttling, and demonic. It was not. Instead, that was the album you would expect from an album called The Quiet North; and The Quiet North is certainly not quiet. Pure brutalist noise is what Marhaug has in store for us. This wall of obsessive, oppressive distortion comes by way of guitar, various effects pedals, and various pieces of metal to tremendous effect. This is not a subtle record, the various squalls from the guitar strings being grabbed with bloody fingers and scraped with those pieces of metal have the crazed wall-of-sound frenzy you could hear in any number of Matthew Bower productions setting upon a rumbled low-to-mid range distortion that comes across like a two ton pile of gravel being slowly dumped upon the roof of a tin shed. The album begins with a bang and does not let up until its abrupt conclusion some 30 minutes later. Exhilarating to say the least.
MPEG Stream: "The Quiet North"

MEADS OF ASPHODEL, THE / OLD CORPSE ROAD English Black Punk Metal / The Bones Of This Land Are Not Speechless (Godreah) cd 14.98
The return of our favorite crust punk obsessed black metal horde, Meads Of Asphodel. Not sure if they've always been so into eighties punk, but over the last few records, the band have seen fit to mix it up, sprinkling classic covers amidst their epic pagan black metal jams, seems like a weird mix, but somehow, in the twisted sonic world these guys inhabit, it sort of works.
Two new tracks, a creepy, medieval intro, buzzy synths, rumbling drones, a growled distorted proclamation, some weirdly cheesy piano, tinkling chimes, sirens, a serious dose of whatthefuck, which gives way to 7 minutes of totally majestic, and classic sounding pagan blackness. NWOBHM inspired guitar harmonies, wrapped around pounding drums, chugging black riffs, the arrangements convoluted and complex, peppered with soaring synths, creepy processed vokills, some haunting interludes, with more of that creepy spoken word, and then right back into the tangled epic thrashing. And then it's on to the covers, some of which make perfect sense, some of which don't at all, which only makes them that much cooler. Doom, Hellbastard and Conflict, the Meads versions of which are appropriately raw and pounding and thrashing, the Hellbastard track has some strange piano melodies draped over chugging guitars and monklike chants, the Conflict cover is weirdly produced, turning the metallic crust punk into something almost cabaret sounding. We had never heard Skeptix before, but the Meads version is awesome, fierce and fast and melodic and heavy as fuck, definitely gonna have to track down the original. Then there's the last cover, going waaaaay back to the roots of heavy metal, The Kinks' "You Really Got me", which the Meads tweak, making the main riff minor key, so it definitely sounds black metal, the vocals over the top and WAY goofy, at first it seems so silly, but as the track plays on it makes some sort of twisted sense, and definitely suits the Meads' fucked up sound.
The Meads share this disc with countrymen Old Corpse Road, a sort of naturalistic folk flecked black metal band, but barring the intro of the first song, there's nary any folk to be found, the band spitting out epic, almost orchestral sounding blackness, not that far removed from Cradle Of Filth, with keyboards WAY up in the mix, wild shrieking vox, even some creepy plonking piano melodies, and that's when the folk comes in, the band breaks down into a sort of jig, launching into a jam that wouldn't be out of place on a Finntroll record, complete with group sing along, incredibly catchy, and the more we listen to this, the more we find ourselves digging these guys. Three looooong tracks, super dramatic, over the top, keyboards all over the place, wild vocals that slip from deep croon to hysterical shriek, a tangled almost circusy bit of blackened chaos that is totally kicking our asses. Which means WAY recommended, for both Meads AND Old Corpse Road, and we definitely need to hear more OCR...
MPEG Stream: THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL "On The Surface"
MPEG Stream: THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL "Same Mind (Doom Cover)"
MPEG Stream: OLD CORPSE ROAD "Hob Headless Rises"

MIR s/t (Savage Land / Wallace / A Tree In A Field) cd 13.98
It's been well over a decade since our ears have been assaulted by a -new- recording from intense Swiss industrial-jazz juggernaut 16-17, though thankfully in recent years there's been a couple crucial reissues via the Savage Land label, including one, of 1994's Gyatso, that we made a Record Of The Week not too long ago, in 2008.
While 16-17 are long gone, now it's almost as if some of their extreme spirit has been reincarnated in the form of this new band, MIR, whose debut compact disc on Savage Land is in fact produced by 16-17 mastermind Alex Buess. MIR, it turns out, is the project of one-time 16-17 drummer Daniel Buess (who is apparently NOT related to Alex, oddly enough) in a trio with two others. Daniel is credited with drums, metal percussions, and electronics, while the other members of MIR play guitar, bass, organ, and synth, lots of synth. Heavily effected electronics and punishing percussive strikes are definitely the two key elements of MIR's all-instrumental "experimental rock music" sound. They traffic in droning noise, isolationist improv, sludge and skree filled soundscapery, and no wavish punk, MIR synthesizing something both avant garde and physically primal.
Among the seven tracks on this not-quite-half-hour album, the most 16-17 sounding one here is probably "Animal Instinct", with the swingin' jackboot precision of its big rhythmic boom-thwap, floor-scraping distorted bass, and dense layers of abstract electronic groan and drone (however there's no sax attack though, which is one way that MIR differs from 16-17). To mention a few other songs, there's also the skittery grooves of "Jimbo", the sinister shimmering drones of "Organ Donor", the uptempo energetic guitar throttling of "Hit", and the sudden attacks and echoed decay of the darkly atmospheric "Terminal Reverb", which sounds like it's part Starfuckers, part Spectre.
Also we could also compare MIR to a mix of Supersilent and Shit & Shine, perhaps... along with, of course, 16-17. Very cool, and best played LOUD, if you dare.
MPEG Stream: "Animal Instinct"
MPEG Stream: "No Parts Inside"
MPEG Stream: "Terminal Reverb"

MONOS Above The Sky (ICR) cd 15.98
BACK IN PRINT, NOW AS A SINGLE CD!!! Over the past few years, Darren Tate has been wandering into some wildly weird electronics, broadening the scope of his aesthetic beyond the seminal recordings he made with Andrew Chalk (amongst others) as Ora, and more recently through Monos. For the most part, Monos has been a collaborative project between Tate and Nurse With Wound engineer extraordinaire Colin Potter, but at other times, we're pretty sure that Tate is the only one behind the wheel. For Above The Sky, the Monos line-up includes Tate, Potter, and fellow British dronescraper Paul Bradley; and this record is a top notch, vintage sounding Monos disc for sure.
The extended pieces found on this album were culled from the one and only live Monos gig in 2006, the handful of recordings from that gig were processed, recreated, forgotten about, rediscovered, and processed again throughout various starts and stops over the next four years. The resulting album is surprisingly coherent, presenting itself as a sinewy mass of undulating drones dappled with various textures, shadowy events, field recordings, subtle instrumentation, and then some. The ghostly ambience that introduces this album is sublimely beautiful, like the druggy drones of Nurse With Wound (e.g. Soliloquy For Lilith) or the permafrost laden expanses of Thomas Koner or even a darker version of Leyland Kirby's much-lauded hauntological ambience. Distant sound elements of scraped metal echo to the foreground, as the latent sounds from some occluded ritual in some forgotten place. Shimmering acoustic clouds of resonance peel away into field recordings of numerous birds flitting about. Later on, semi-melodic phrases hover near the event horizon dominated by ominous electrical vibrations and dilated drone fields. Seriously, this is fantastic stuff!
MPEG Stream: "A Place Of Voices"
MPEG Stream: "Cloudless Day"

MOTORPSYCHO Heavy Metal Fruit (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98
Having been around for years and years (with the cult following to show for it), this Norwegian band now release their umpteeth album, however just their third for Rune Grammofon. Apparently we missed their vinyl-only 2nd one for the label, whoops, but we really liked their RG debut a couple years ago, Little Lucid Moments. And again, this is a similar hard-to-pin-down hybrid of trippy space rock, indie rock pop, and, as befits this disc's Blue-Oyster-Cult-lyric-derived title, even a little bit of metal. Maybe more than a little bit on the 13 minute opening track "Starhammer (Feat. The Electric Psalmon)", which goes through several musical mood-swings, at certain, most metallic points sounding a lot like Black Label Society, believe it or not, complete with big grungy riffs and harmonic pinch squeals a la Zakk Wylde, with vocals too that sound a bit Ozzy-esque, though elsewhere on that track (and album as a whole) they wander far out into abstract Pink Floydian space...
By the way that's not the longest song on here, either, the disc wrapping up in epic fashion with a 20 minute, 4 part suite entitled "Gullible's Travails". In between, there's some shorter songs, including the delicate piano lullaby "Close Your Eyes" and the rockin' roadhouse spaceout "The Bomb-Proof Roll And Beyond (For Arnie Hassle)", but their kitchen-sink-inclusive prog aesthetic is operative throughout, Motorpsycho utilizing Moogs and mellotrons, horn players borrowed from Jaga Jazzist, dreamy vocal choruses, and plenty of hard rock guitar. Occasionally they take some twists and turns we don't like quite so much as others, and also they're one of those bands we'd probably like even better if they didn't sing in English, but mostly Motorpsycho's arty indie/stoner rock meets cinematic synth sound, confusionally crammed with shimmering psychedelic jamming, edgy energetic rock riffage, and lovely laidback poppiness, is quite pleasing!
MPEG Stream: "Starhammer (Feat. The Electric Psalmon)"
MPEG Stream: "The Bomb-Proof Roll And Beyond (For Arnie Hassle)"
MPEG Stream: "W.B.A.T."

MOTORPSYCHO Heavy Metal Fruit (Rune Grammofon) 2lp 32.00
Having been around for years and years (with the cult following to show for it), this Norwegian band now release their umpteeth album, however just their third for Rune Grammofon. Apparently we missed their vinyl-only 2nd one for the label, whoops, but we really liked their RG debut a couple years ago, Little Lucid Moments. And again, this is a similar hard-to-pin-down hybrid of trippy space rock, indie rock pop, and, as befits this disc's Blue-Oyster-Cult-lyric-derived title, even a little bit of metal. Maybe more than a little bit on the 13 minute opening track "Starhammer (Feat. The Electric Psalmon)", which goes through several musical mood-swings, at certain, most metallic points sounding a lot like Black Label Society, believe it or not, complete with big grungy riffs and harmonic pinch squeals a la Zakk Wylde, with vocals too that sound a bit Ozzy-esque, though elsewhere on that track (and album as a whole) they wander far out into abstract Pink Floydian space...
By the way that's not the longest song on here, either, the disc wrapping up in epic fashion with a 20 minute, 4 part suite entitled "Gullible's Travails". In between, there's some shorter songs, including the delicate piano lullaby "Close Your Eyes" and the rockin' roadhouse spaceout "The Bomb-Proof Roll And Beyond (For Arnie Hassle)", but their kitchen-sink-inclusive prog aesthetic is operative throughout, Motorpsycho utilizing Moogs and mellotrons, horn players borrowed from Jaga Jazzist, dreamy vocal choruses, and plenty of hard rock guitar. Occasionally they take some twists and turns we don't like quite so much as others, and also they're one of those bands we'd probably like even better if they didn't sing in English, but mostly Motorpsycho's arty indie/stoner rock meets cinematic synth sound, confusionally crammed with shimmering psychedelic jamming, edgy energetic rock riffage, and lovely laidback poppiness, is quite pleasing!
MPEG Stream: "Starhammer (Feat. The Electric Psalmon)"
MPEG Stream: "The Bomb-Proof Roll And Beyond (For Arnie Hassle)"
MPEG Stream: "W.B.A.T."

NADJA Under The Jaguar Sun (Beta-Lactum Ring) 2lp 33.00
Now on vinyl, the recent double album from prolific drone doom duo Nadja, each disc a whole record unto itself one crushing and heavy, the other blissed out and shimmery, but both records meant to be played together simultaneously, Zaireeka style, if you're so inclined (and equipped).
Both lps sound a bit clearer on their own, the doomier record is spacious and spaced out, bass driven with simple programmed drums, hushed vocals, lots more tripped out effects than usual, a dizzying cloud of glimmers and chimes, swoops and bleeps, all wrapped around simple lumbering crush and heaving swells of lush heaviness, very Godfleshy sounding actually, pretty stripped down, long stretches of low end rumble and drum pound. One track is all ambient, washed out and hushed, some woozy slowcore drift, that gives way to a final track that is gorgeously caustic, blown and and sun baked, heavy heavy heavy, the weird thing is that without the second disc, it definitely sounds less lush, more murky, which for Nadja is not actually a bad thing. Probably most folks don't have a way of listening to both records simultaneously, so know that the first lp is a killer blast of sludgy Nadja doomdrone that sounds great as it is.
The second lp is a much more abstract affair, obviously as it's meant to add texture and depth to the original, but it actually sounds pretty amazing on its own, all looped and hazy and gauzy, very Philip Jeck sounding in places, and in fact, this second disc has becomes a great late night drifting off record, with only one track that gets loud, and even then it's a soft cacophony of tones and blurred melodies, like a timestretched gamelan broadcast through a kaleidoscope.
So together, it's a little difficult to get the balance right, but when you do, it sounds pretty neat, the slower prettier numbers seem to work better, as the two tranquil drones have an easier time blending, the heavier jams get pretty chaotic, but listening to the final super heavy track, with both lps blasting, it is pretty transcendent, if there was some way to run both these through headphones at the same time, it might just send you spinning into some other dimension, certainly it'll probably invoke some sort of spontaneous hallucinations. Heavy, and pretty, and together, way dense and psychedelic!
And the packaging, wow! A huge hardcover book-like gatefold lp sleeve, super striking for sure, and like the cd version, probably super limited too!
MPEG Stream: "SUN1jaguar"
MPEG Stream: "SUN2windstorm"
MPEG Stream: "Ocelotonatiuh"
MPEG Stream: "Ehecatonatiuh"

NECHOCHWEN Azimuthus To The Otherworld (Bindrune) cd 12.98
Along with the gorgeous washed out ambient nature doom of Celestiial, and the epic outsider black metal mystery of the most recent Blood Of The Black Owl comes this, another new release on the cult Bindrune label, the first record from amazing one man band Nechochwen, a black metal act of sorts, whose intent is to explore Native American Indian heritage, through sound, but this is a strange hybridized exploration of Native American culture for sure.
Beginning with classical guitar, tribal hand drums, ominous spoken word, streaks of keening high end guitar, wailed emotive wordless vox, it definitely sounds a bit Native American, until the band launch into some seriously blasting full on metal, thrashing blackened riffage, pounding drums, with flurries of double kick, growled gruff vokills, rife with sprawling arrangements and epic melodies. It's thematically focused on the tribes that dwelled in the Ohio River Valley nearly two millennia ago, not that you'd necessarily know that from just listening, but it definitely infuses the sound with a unique vibe, that you're unlikely to find in much music, let alone black metal. Acoustic guitars, simple loping drumming, and chantlike vocals, in fact much of the record is acoustic, darkly melancholic, lush and warm and hauntingly beautiful, with fluttery flutes, hand drums, sitar like steel string buzz, occasionally erupting into blasting blackness, or twisted bits of rhythmic churn, or plodding ambient doom, or creepy black ambient drone, masterfully exectued, an expansive, incredible exploration of history through blackened folk flecked sound. Like other those Bindrune releases, not quite like anything else.
MPEG Stream: "Allumhammochwen: The Crossing"
MPEG Stream: "At Night May I Roam"
MPEG Stream: "Gissis Mikana"
MPEG Stream: "Red Ocher"

NILSEN, BJ & STILLUPPSTEYPA Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna (The Helen Scarsdale Agency) cd 14.98
BACK IN STOCK!!!
For a country whose entire population is only half that of San Francisco, Iceland has an exceptionally prolific arts community. One could easily look to the big Icelandic names in pop music (i.e. Bjork and Sigur Ros); but there's also slightly lesser known (but even more adventurous) music from the likes of Johann Johannson, Apparat Organ Quartet, and the entire output of the Kitchen Motors institution. But our personal favorite from Iceland remains Stilluppsteypa, whose dada drunkenness and black humor has developed arctic undercurrents to their increasingly bleak drone-based work. On Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna, the Stilluppsteypa duo of Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson and Helgi Thorsson have hooked up once again with the Swedish sound artist BJ Nilsen, perhaps best known for his triumphant elemental drone work as Hazard released through Touch. Sigmarsson sums up the communal idea behind this album as a "love for drones, Scandinavia, and alcohol." Of course, he then proceeds to type a polysyllabic onomatopoetic bunch of drunken text that makes our extend-o-spelling of doom seem trite by comparison.
The previous collaboration Vikinga Brennivin was an homage to the Icelandic firewater of the same name; yet it held a clarity and singlemindedness rarely attributed to alcoholic excess. Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna has that same contradictory dualism of conceptually relating to being fucked up without totally losing a grip on reality. Or perhaps these three Scandinavians have gotten so loaded that they drifted into a parallel universe of liquid physics and amorphous gravity. Needless to say, Drykkjuvisur Ohljodanna is another masterful album of alchemical drone, that's even darker and more morose than its predecessor. Sonar pulses and crackles of wood break up the jet-black atmospheres of frozen electronic drones, resonant frequencies, and hallucinatory echoes rippling way out on the outer regions of the event horizon for this sonic black hole. At times falling close to the constant spiralling of Nurse With Wound's Salt Marie Celeste, and times recalling the best isolationism of Thomas Koner. Somber, magnificent, and exquisitely constructed!
MPEG Stream: "Svefnlaus / Somnlos"
MPEG Stream: "Undir Ahrifum / Sundurlaus"
MPEG Stream: "Skuggbild / Skuggamynd"

OBSKURIA Burning Sea Of Green (World In Sound) cd 23.00
Strange but kinda cool department: This is the second album (we missed the first) from this international, intergenerational hybrid kraut/psych/spacerock band, featuring members of Peru's La Ira De Dios, the USA's Dragonwyck, and Germany's Karmic Society and Treacle People. Well, we're fans of rockin' fuzzpunks La Ira De Dios anyway, don't really know the others. Apparently, inspired by residual '60s psychedelic vibrations, these likeminded folks got together to do some jamming, and that's what this is, all improvised, each track edited down from one-take jam sessions! Well, except for the surprise SLAYER cover, they do "Black Magic" from Show No Mercy! (Or, had we been paying attention, maybe not such a surprise, as apparently they also did Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" on their first album, we'll have to look into that...)
Otherwise, it's all in the realm of spacey stoner rock jamming with lots of fuzz guitar, Hammond organ and Hawkwindy FX, also wailing female vocals dubbed in over top (someone channelling their inner Grace Slick). Not the hippest band in the world, no, but fun and far out. Their unexpected speed metal obsession sure helps heavy it up, keeping this from totally retro tie-dye hippiedom, while at the same time, they manage to make Slayer fit in with their spaced-out sound. Some parts remind us of Circle, some parts remind us of Jex Thoth!
MPEG Stream: "Somewhere"
MPEG Stream: "Black Magic "
MPEG Stream: "Memories Of Mysteria"

PANOPTICON Collapse (Flenser / Lundr / Pagan Flames Productions) 2lp 24.00
This awesome slab of weirdo pagan anarcho black metal now on vinyl, an ultra deluxe double lp, in a full color gatefold sleeve, pressed on swirled vinyl, with a vinyl only bonus track, an Amebix cover, featuring Amebix frontman Rob "The Baron" Miller!!!
We get a lot of weird black metal here, that is after all some of our favorite stuff, but this may just be the first disc we've gotten from an anarcho vegan pagan black metal band! We've gotten a few cd-r's from this Kentucky based one man black metal band over the last little while but have been waiting patiently for a proper full length, that we could get enough of to list, and this, Collapse, is it.
And it was well worth the wait, a crushing, expansive, super varied chunk of crusty outsider black metal. Rife with news samples, killer mathy and not typically black metal drumming, spidery guitars wrapped around the usual buzz drenched riffage, the sound not just grim and buzzy, but epic and majestic and melodic. The first song is nearly 16 minutes long, and shifts through more parts and moods than most black metal full lengths. The opening 5 minutes is all intro, or seems it, a lilting minor key drift in the beginning, a pounding blackened buzz later, all underpinning depressive newscasts, before the song really explodes, literally almost, as the blasting and buzzing and pounding is interspersed with recordings of gunshots and explosions, perfectly tangled up with the music so it's difficult to tell what's drumming, and what are reports from tanks and guns, pretty effective, and noisy and chaotic, the song shifts gears a few more times, from doomy plod, to furious blast, to stripped down bluegrass, pretty sure that's a banjo, maybe even some slide guitar, but weirdly haunting and twangy, and somehow it doesn't sound out of place at all.
The second track is another 15 minute epic, which begins as many metal tracks do with the sound or thunder and rainfall, before more acoustic guitar joins in, still more slide, very twangy as well, then the drums come in, and some chimes or bells, a strange combination, loping and folky and darkly mysterious, it's not until nearly halfway in before the track explodes in another frenzy of black buzz, croaked vox, frenzied riffage, blasting drums, building to a super noisy coda, before an outro made up entirely of insect buzz.
After another 10 minute blowout, equal parts menacing majestic pagan blackness and abstract drifting folkiness, comes the strangely melodic final track, all hand drums, bongos maybe, almost jaunty guitar melodies, hushed whispered vocals, minimal, but strangely distorted drums, all wound around a stomping murky insistent doomfolk outro.
Needless to say, way recommend, an exciting new variant of the ever evolving sound of black metal, one we definitely never expected, but are digging big time.
MPEG Stream: "The Death Of Baldr And The Coming War"
MPEG Stream: "Aptrgangr"

PARTCH, HARRY Delusion Of The Fury (Sony) 2lp 29.00
The Harry Partch vinyl reissue campaign continues with this sprawling double vinyl reissue of Partch's master theatrical work, Delusion Of The Fury. Written between 1963 and 1969 and combining an ensemble playing Partch's unique instruments with operatic vocalists, mime, dance, lighting and staging, it was designed to create an experience more akin to the ancient ritual theater of the Greeks than traditional or modern stagecraft. Over the course of two acts, the first tragic, the second more comedic are intertwining stories of conflict and reconciliation. The first, based on a Japanese Noh play, is about a prince's pilgrimage to make amends for killing another prince in battle. The prince and the ghost meet, reliving the death scene over and over again until they necessarily come to a point where both life and death have to reconcile each other. The second act is from an African tale about a deaf hobo and a mother searching for her missing son in which a simple misunderstanding arises and is exacerbated by the law who thinks the two parties are merely a married couple having a tiff. Instead of fighting the judges decision, they decide to become a family. So again, there is a reconciliation with death and a reconciliation with life. The music using the elaborate instruments and 43 tone scale that Partch invented creates amazing microtonal bell sounds and gamelan like rhythms with slow chords underlying the faster paced rhythms. They act in part like the forces of nature that lead the characters through their various predicaments, and emphasize the stories larger tragic and comic resonances. There is nothing in modern music that quite resembles Harry Partch's one of a kind musical vision and it's great to see these available on vinyl once again.

PERRY, LEE Ironman (On-U Sound) 12" 12.98
HOLY SHIT! If there was gonna be a dubstep jam of the year, this is IT. Lee Perry taking on Black Sabbath's immortal "Iron Man", and it's a twisted, speaker shaking, dancefloor destroying, bass heavy whatthefuck for sure, with Perry's vocals slurred and laid back and definitely a little drunken sounding, the chorus a woozy pitch shifted sing along, with that classic main riff replaced by thick stuttering bass wobble, the drums wildly skittering, the whole thing dense and bassy and HEAVY. The flipside is the 'dub' mix, and if anything, it just takes the best parts of the original (which is basically EVERYTHING) and twists them all up, and makes them somehow even MORE, the bass more distorted, the beat harder and more convoluted, the vocals chopped up to mirror the stuttering bass, all wound up into a totally irresistible dubbed out, bass heavy, dubstep CRUSHER. We can only imagine what must happen when a DJ lets this one rip. Fucking epic. Now we need to hear Lee Perry take on a whole record of Sabbath dubs. But for now, this will do, BIG TIME. And of course WAY limited, ONLY 300 COPIES. Grab one while you can...

R.Y.N. Archaic Techniques Of Ecstacy (Equation) lp 27.00
Brand new, ultra limited, super deluxe lp from these architects of grim drone and black ambience, after a gorgeous Drone Records 7", and two full lengths, Astral Death and Cosmic Birth, both brimming with dark waves of glacial crush and blurred abstract shimmer, comes Archaic Techniques Of Ecstacy, another fantastic exploration into dark sonic depths and empty black space.
In the past we've compared these guys to Sunroof!, SUNNO))) and Wolf Eyes, and it's always worth noting that R.Y.N. includes a member of UK doomdrone heavyweights Marzuraan, but R.Y.N. are definitely their own beast, unafraid to deviate dramatically from 'their sound', or to take that sound and pull it apart only to reassemble it into something even darker and more abstract. Which is sort of what seems to be happening on Archaic Techniques Of Ecstacy, two side long tracks that creep and drift, that ooze and crawl, a haunting collection of muted clatter, and creaking industrial ambience, like a field recording of some abandoned mining colony in the middle of nowhere, the wind shifting bits of metal, the resultant clang and clatter, groan and hum strangely musical. Long streaks of buzzing whir, like an airplane passing overhead, way off in the distance, the shimmer of soft breezes, the various elements casting flickering shadows, moonlit and menacing. Eventually the sounds coalesce into something more dronelike, a raw, minimal, layered bit of lowercase rumble, but infused with all manner of smeared texture and deep subterranean hum.
The flipside is even more harrowing, a soft squall of dense tones and blackened reverberations, a whirling swirling black hole of sound, metallic buzz muted into greyed streaks, laced into and layered over an endless abyss of abject minimal whir, a roiling churning sea of slowed down chimes, or blurred vibrations, or melted tones, like a black sonic cloud eating away at the very fabric of its surroundings, a crumbling grim decay rendered in sound, fantastically haunting and totally mesmerizing.
As with all Equation stuff, the packaging is incredible, a cool 3 panel dark brown on light brown fold over jacket, with a super heavy stickered inner sleeve, as well as a handful of inserts on nice thick textured paper liner notes, woodcuts, and of course LIMITED to 233 COPIES, each one hand numbered. So nice.

RADAR BROTHERS, THE The Illustrated Garden (Merge) cd 14.98
While they are most certainly still very Pink Floyd-esque in their interstellar expansiveness, the beloved Radar Brothers' fifth album has what might be their most straightforward pop songs to date... and we're digging 'em! The mood is downright upbeat and breezy at times, but it totally works with the band's warm enveloping sound which also suited their earlier slow creeping melancholia just as well. The Illustrated Garden is a wistful instead of solemn listen, and a wonderful follow-up to their last full length, Auditorium. Songs such as "Rainbow", "Radio" and "Horses Warriors" are perfect for cruising down the West Coast on a warm spring or summer day with the top down. As always, recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Dear Headlights"
MPEG Stream: "Horses Warriors"
MPEG Stream: "Radio"

RAMLEH Valediction (Second Layer) cd 15.98
It should be noted that the British label Second Layer released a Skullflower album entitled Malediction only to be followed up by a Ramleh album with the title Valediction. Given the cross pollination of ideas / band members / history between these two seminal ensembles of drugged-out, bleakly rendered psychedelic noise / anti-rock, it's hard to read the similarities of these titles as a mere coincidence.
The good news about Valediction is that this in NO WAY resembles the regrettable 10" that Ramleh produced in 2009, even as this album is technically the first full album by Gary Mundy and Anthony DiFranco since 1997 (the Ramleh we made a Record Of The Week last time was a reissue of a couple '80s era cassettes). Valediction qualifies as a return to their power electronics aesthetic that they built around the likes of Whitehouse and helped promote through their Broken Flag label, originating back in the early '80s. Here, squalls of hiss, noise, distortion, and compressed low-end rumbles blast forth with a hurricane fury, exhibiting the same misanthropic disdain for humanity as found in the early recordings but coupled with an oozing psychedelic panache that could only emerge from the many years of exacting the heavy psych noise-rock of albums like Works III or Boeing. "Valediction VI" is much more a propulsive track, with a punk bassline chugging through a thick wall of churning distortion while Mundy issues a chanting vocal stream of indecipherable words through a guitar pickup (or maybe it's a megaphone, who really knows with how wonderfully shitty it sounds), ending with a searing chunk of Merzbow-like noise. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Valediction II"
MPEG Stream: "Valediction VI"

RANGERS Suburban Tours (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 17.98
Another chunk of weirdo lo-fi retro pop whatthefuck from the always amazing Olde English Spelling Bee label, this one from one man band Rangers, aka Joe Knight, whose sound takes the poppiest moments of James Ferraro, that sort of late night eighties cheesy soundtrack sound, and runs it through some Ariel Pink alien FM radio, mixes in a little Roxy Music, a little PiL, and what comes out sounds like some alternate universe, slightly off center angular, barely funky, retro MTV pop, all swirling synths, groovy rhythms, crooned vocals, melancholy melodies, all wrapped in old VHS tape haze, a blurred wayback machine, turning cable access shimmer, mirror balls and sports coats over T-shirts and overproduced videos into sound, a sound that falls squarely in the current hypnogogic camp, but lists WAY toward the avant yacht rock side of the sonic spectrum. Definitely twisted, a bit psychedelic, woozy and warped and warbly, while subtly subverting the sounds of our childhoods into a dreampop that manages to be weirdly transcendent, totally retro, and enthusiastically cheesy. Ariel Pink and John Maus fans will go nuts for this, as well as anyone who wishes they never threw away that box of videos in the garage, that had every single video from '82-'87, recorded off Night Flight, every morning after the parents went to bed.

SANKT OTTEN Morgen Wieder Lustig (Hidden Shoal) cd-r 11.98
After a way too long break, Hidden Shoal return to aQuarius, with two new gems, both from long time aQ faves, the first is the latest from SF dreamdronedrifter Wes Willenbring, reviewed elsewhere on this list, and this right here, the latest from German outfit Sankt Otten, who we originally described as a mix between Bohren And Der Club Of Gore and Portishead (they're often described in the press as the German Portishead), and really Bohren and Portishead, can't do much better than that. But we were excited to hear how these guys might have changed over the last couple years, and in fact, their sound has shifted quite a bit.
At least in the beginning, the murk and the muted minimalism has been replaced by something much more washed out and ethereal, glimmering and dreamlike, the opening track is a weightless swath of gauzy chordal shimmer that leads directly into a deep throbbing bass synth, we were prepared for a descent into darkness, but weirdly, the sound shifts toward something more epic, a chiming gamelan like melody, over warm soaring synths, skittery drums, a sort of laid back droney downtempo shuffle, but laced with a weirdly major key melody.
It's around track three, where the group slip into some serious downtempo trip hop territory, a gorgeous hazy trawl through greyed electronics and blackened ambience, more laid back skitter, thick throbbing bass, and all sorts of sweeping swirling melody, dark and epic and mysterious. But SA continue to defy the German Portishead pigeonhole, by cranking up the tempo, veering into a sort of krautrock by way of Four Tet one minute, whirling Pop Ambience the next, synthy sprawling blissed out prismatic new age the next, over the course of the record slipping back and forth between these various sounds, sometimes melding several at once, a gorgeous, moody sonic journey, from haunting atmospheric darkness, to sun dappled rhythmic mesmer, to spaced out psychedelic synth, to eighties sounding new wave to hushed dreamlike ambience, to creepy slowcore crawl. Awesome stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Ein Himmel Voller Galgen"
MPEG Stream: "Mutter, Jazz Und Der Heilige Geist"
MPEG Stream: "Mit Popcorn Und Champagner"

SCOTT-HERON, GIL I'm New Here (XL Recordings) cd 13.98
We weren't expecting to like this as much as we do, but this record really kills!! His first recording in 16 years, Gil Scott-Heron doesn't overindulge, rather I'm New Here shows a much leaner and meaner side to this artist who has never had a hard time examining his demons. "Me and The Devil" is a contender for single of the year as this Robert Johnson blues classic gets a dark almost Portishead-like update. But this isn't just a younger makeover for a classic artist, it's closer in kin to the respectful reinvigoration of Johnny Cash's later American releases. The arrangements are spare, though inspired by the minimal chill of dubstep in parts, they suit Scott-Heron's tough spoken word turns that pepper the album throughout. The Bill Callahan-penned title track sounds like a world-weary folk dirge from the early seventies by Lee Hazlewood that is a stand-out among many
on here. A fine return to form!
MPEG Stream: "Me & The Devil"
MPEG Stream: "I'm New Here"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Take Care of You"

SEGALL, TY Caesar (Goner) 7" 4.98
Another blast of fuzzy jangle rock bliss from aQ fave Ty Segall, two killer jams of stripped down warped garage pop.
The A side, taken from Ty's recent Lemons album, starts out all strummy and jangly, with some seriously fuzzy bass, the vocals a reverbed croon, shifting into a falsetto here and there, at one point getting all tangled up in effects in a twisted distorted psychedelic freakout. There's even a super rocking PIANO SOLO! But all that stuff is just icing, on what is a killer hook, and a crazy catchy jam.
The B side is a little more grimy and buzzy than the first track, sounding almost like the Stooges "Search And Destroy" slowed down to a garagey dirge, but again, Segall wraps that jangle and crunch around a hook most bands would kill for. Awesome.
It's about time someone took all these 7"s and compiled them on a single collection, cuz like all the rest, this one is limited too, and will likely be gone before you know it.

SHE & HIM Volume Two (Merge) cd 15.98
Most people probably already have an opinion on She & Him before they even hear a note of music. That's fair enough, after all, it would be easy to automatically hate the musical project of doe eyed actress Zooey Deschanel and her collaborator M. Ward. But if you actually take a few minutes to give this a chance, the less cynical of you might be pleasantly surprised, provided you aren't expecting a drastic redefinition of the sonic landscape. She & Him make easygoing, upbeat pop music with lushly orchestrated production (courtesy of Ward, who clearly knows a thing or two about makin' music) and a sunny vibe that will no doubt bring up thoughts of worry free summers and young love. Deschanel's voice is girlish and innocent, never forceful or attempting to wander beyond her range, instead just keeping things sweet and simple, and she certainly has a knack for crafting songs that are catchy, heartwarming, and fun. While there isn't too much stylistic variety on display here, the songs do flow together as a whole quite well, with plenty of acoustic guitar leads, sweet sounding string accompaniment, and lots of dreamy, layered vocals. This should definitely appeal to fans of Camera Obscura, Velocity Girl, and other similar sounding outfits, and hopefully people can overcome whatever hangups they might have and just enjoy this for what it is, a totally likable sweet and sunshiney pop record.
MPEG Stream: "Thieves"
MPEG Stream: "Ridin' In My Car"
MPEG Stream: "Home"

SKULLFLOWER / WHITE MEDAL split (Turgid Animal) 7" 9.98
What else do you need to know besides this: SUPER LIMITED SKULLFLOWER 7". Not much we'd imagine, but heck, just in case, it might be good to know that this chunk of Skullflower guitarnoise, veers dramatically away from the spate of recent releases, that focused on a more harsh, speaker shredding, ear wrecking intensity, and slips back to something a bit more warm and washed out, definite Sunroof! territory for sure, albeit less upper register skree and more wall of thrum low end crush. Blissed out and melodic, think Jesu, Nadja, SUNNO))), but totally and distinctly Skullflower, heavy, and harsh, dense and intense, but shot through with pretty melodies and constantly shifting layers and textures, a dizzying drift of soft focus muted Merzbowian buzz. So good. Had this been stretched out into a full length record we'd be talking serious Record Of The Week contender for sure.
The flipside comes from UK one man black metal horde White Medal, who counters with his own murky slab of downtuned distortion drenched doomic black buzz, a heaving sea of muddy low end and swirling muted chaos, the drums blasting away, but buried in the mix, the vocals a howling demonic inhuman wail, the sound so blurred and blackened, that it sounds almost static, even though beneath the surface, the drums are blasting, the riffs grinding, a glorious smear of woozy melancholic buzzing blackness, dense and ferocious, but washed out and weirdly melodic. Both sides rank up there with some of the best stuff we've heard from either outfit. But act fast, only 400 COPIES!

SPLINTERS, THE Kick (Double Negative) cd 9.98
We knew when we heard their debut 7" from last year that The Splinters were going to be a band to keep our ears on. With their debut full length they've shown just how damn good they really are! As these four ladies from right here in the Bay Area have such a knack for creating uptempo, catchy and super smart post-punk jams. What's most refreshing about The Splinters is that they have carved out their own niche at a time when so many other like-minded bands are all going full on lo-fi in their take on Young Marble Giants, Black Tambourine, Vaselines, etc. Splinters have a totally different, much more song based approach that recalls some of our favorite '90s Kill Rock Stars and K records bands. Lots of the songs on Kick have an awesome Sleater Kinney vibe, but way more stripped down, poppy and hooky. It's like they found the magic of the Carrie Brownstein moments on records like The Hot Rock and merged them into their more economic approach to crafting songs, with no wasted space or filler. We're also reminded a bit of totally awesome and underrated bands from the past like Helium and Slant 6. And while we are sure The Splinters would fit just fine on bills with bands like Girls At Dawn, Vivian Girls, Brilliant Colors, etc., it's so awesome they aren't blindly following any trends but instead making music in a way that feels so true to themselves. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: "Sorry"
MPEG Stream: "Sea Salt Skin"
MPEG Stream: "Cool"

SUN ARAW On Patrol (Not Not Fun) 2lp 28.00
Latest cloud of smoked out dub psych damage from this one man band, a massive sprawling double lp, every song bleeding into the next, one epic druggy abstract sonic trip. The Sun Araw sound keeps drifting further and further out, and in the process, approaching something that sounds a bit like reggae, but filtered through a cracked Not Not Fun filter, and a bank of busted amps and malfunctioning effects pedals. Oh and pot smoke. Lots and lots of pot smoke.
Woozy, warbly, prismatic, sun baked (and just plain baked), stripped down, dubbed out, inner space drift. Wah Wah guitars hover over skeletal rhythms, reverb and delay coats everything in earshot, disembodied chantlike vox are draped over SA's twisted mutant lo-fi dub. The record drifts into some warped murk, still peppered with plenty of upstroke reggae guitar jangle, but wrapped in wheezing keyboards and some super distorted fuzz bass.
The second record begins all ethereal and new age, some hushed glimmering ambient drift, near static, before launching into some dubby krautrock, muted and muddy and minimal, flurries of keyboard tangle spray notes at the relentless motorik pulse, still more abstract vox and lots of gorgeously spidery guitars, all tangled up into minor key melodies that seem to fade into the background, the whole record sort of hazy and ghostly, while somehow remaining krauty and dubby. The sidelong final side strips everything away, or piles it all on, blurring and smearing and winding everything into a dense layered drift, looped and hypnotic and psychedelic, that wouldn't sound out of place on a Monopoly Child Star Searchers record. Rad stuff. Thick vinyl, full color gatefold sleeve, and yeah, probably limited.

TUMA, SCOTT Dandelion (Digitalis) lp 19.98
By now, most AQ customers are probably well familiar with Mr. Scott Tuma, who we of course first discovered playing guitar for legendary stoner slow-mo-country geniuses Souled American, in some ways, his underwater woozy guitar haze helped define that group's sound, and after striking out on his own, that sound became more and more distinctive, and we of course became more and more obsessed with Tuma's incredible abstract Appalachian soundscapes, equal part ambient drone music and haunting minimal guitar music.
Dandelion might just be Tuma's darkest and most abstract outing to date, after several brief tracks of music box ambience, delicate chimes, hazy melodies, wheezing smoldering rumbles, disembodied shimmer and rickety barely there rhythms, the record unfolds into it's first longform piece, an absolutely gorgeous driftscape, clouds of hiss and blur swirl softly and in slow motion, before a skeletal banjo, picks out a mournful melody, one note at a time, letting each note drift into the ether, before sending the next to follow. Around this haunting bit of abstract drift all manner of field recordings, sirens in the distance, chirping birds, whipping winds, tinkling chimes, rustling branches, a riveting stretch of folkdrone ambience for sure.
A brief bit of tangled glistening guitar melody leads into the second epic, this one ominous and foreboding, slivers of guitar buzz and shards of feedback draped over a softly swirling morass of muted buzz and smeared psychedelic swirls, clouds of cymbal shimmer hover in the background, as do tinkling chimes and flurries of abstract percussion, before fading out into a hushed bit of skeletal Appalachia.
The flipside is three loooooong tracks, the first taking up almost half of the side, beginning with dense swells of low end, a blackened dronescape that almost sounds Wolf Eyes worthy, abject and bleak, grim rumbles beneath ashen layers of whir and hiss, those sounds seem to gradually coalesce into melodies, and what sounds like strings, the mood shifting dramatically, more cinematic, and epic, still haunting and dour, but infused with a warm glow, laced with still more random free drum skitter and glimmering cymbal shimmer, the gradually evolving sound stately, and elegiac, darkly and mysteriously lovely.
The record finishes off with two more tracks, more like the older Tuma recordings, less dark, with that woozy Souled American vibe, delicate crystalline guitars set over reverbed landscapes of amorphous sway and drift, the two tracks forming the perfect sun dappled cloud covered coda to a fantastic, and fantastically enigmatic songsuite, from one of our favorite sonic alchemists...

UMBERTO From The Grave (Permanent) lp 14.98
NOW ON VINYL!!!!
Doubtless many movie (and music) buffs would agree that Italian '70s and '80s "giallo" (horror/thriller) cinema, from directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, had soundtracks usually as evocative and inspirational as any visual aspect of the films, soundtracks which often stand as effective works of art all on their own. The scores by prog band Goblin being perhaps best known, influencing such modern day bands as Zombi and Crime In Choir. Now here's another, utterly blatant and most excellent example of Italian giallo soundtrack worship by a current artist: Umberto!
Umberto is actually a one-man band, that man being Matt Hill, live collaborator / touring member of AQ faves Expo '70! Under his guise of Umberto, he has just released his first album as limited edition cassette and cd-r on the Sonic Meditations label run by Expo '70 mainman Justin Wright. While Expo '70 has proven to be especially adept at channelling the heavy kosmiche bliss of prime '70s krautrock a la Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, Umberto is equally savvy at conjuring the dark, suspenseful soundtrack-y sounds of Goblin and the like. With, some cosmic Klaus-y krauty-ness thrown in as well. This definitely sounds like it could be an actual soundtrack, in fact, someone should MAKE a film just to use this as a soundtrack. You can certainly do so in your imagination, aided perhaps by the cinematically suggestive track titles, which include "Running Blade", "Intermission", "Dream Sequence", "Shower Scene", and "End Credits" (the only track here with vocals, otherwise it's all instrumental... and the vocals on this last track are some sort of hard-to understand, chant-like invocation). Listen with the lights off for best results.
Umberto has a heavily synthesized sound, keyboards buzzing and droning and squelching, crunchily distorted or eerily ethereal, sounding at once like ominous Gothic organ music and also spacey futuristic electronica. Mechanical drumming plods along, propulsive beats adding to the menacing atmosphere. There's also plenty of fat disco synth-bass, and we bet folks into Italians Do It Better 12"s, or Black Devil Disco Club, or even skweee would get a kick out of this too, not just Goblin fanatics... but yeah Goblin fanatics (and John Carpenter and Zombi fans too) REALLY ought to check this out! Very cool, very creepy, and even at times kinda catchy-groovy.
MPEG Stream: "Forsaken Dawn"
MPEG Stream: "It Came From The Swamp"
MPEG Stream: "Running Blade"

UNEARTHLY TRANCE / VOLITION Winter Split (Wolfsbane) 7" 11.98
Just one glance at the cover of this 7" should send most doom obsessives into an involuntary frenzy, the weird black and white washed out image, the twisted barely legible writing, so distinctive and immediately recognizable, but this is not in fact a lost record or weird reissue from New York doom legends Winter, but is in fact, the next best thing, two contemporary outfits, tackling their favorite Winter tunes, an homage / tribute to a criminally under appreciated band, especially considering that their sound predicted pretty much all the slow and low heaviness going on these days, and that the sound, and most of the bands that practice it, would sound a whole lot different if it wasn't for these guys, whether they know it or not.
Up first are long time aQ faves Unearthly Trance, who add their own twist but don't drift too far from the original, lumbering, lurching, plodding crusty doom sludge bliss, a filthy midtempo plod, peppered with bursts of double kick drumming, guttural vox, and of course twisted tarpit guitar buzz. UK sludge beasts Volition also don't mess with Winter's sound all that much, unfurling a blackened and dense bit of sprawling doom, that more than classic ultra doom, sounds more like a grindcore record played at 16rpm. Both sides rule, essential modern megadoom, and if you've yet to discover the dismal joy of Winter, maybe these two tracks will convince you to track some of that shit down. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered, and these are the last copies we'll be able to get...

V/A Framework 250 (Framework Editions) 4cd 55.00
Beginning back in 2002, Framework is a radio show hosted by Patrick McGinley, who presents his listeners with an hour dedicated to field recordings and their use in composition. The first broadcasts appeared via Resonance FM in London, with syndication of the show expanding through various stations online and over-the-air in Belgium, Greece, and on occasion New York. The shows are stellar productions (even when streamed online) with McGinley often able to solicit exclusive field recordings from his numerous contacts around the globe. In celebration of the 250th broadcast and in support of his original host Resonance FM, McGinley has assembled this amazing 4cd document of exclusive compositions that in some way, shape, or form incorporate the art of field recording into the final piece. The list of contributors is quite large, and certainly acts as a who's who in the realm of avant-garde composition, featuring Phill Niblock, Asmus Tietchens, Peter Cusack, Steve Roden, Giancarlo Toniutti, and of course Chris Watson (arguably the pinnacle of sound ecology). But there's plenty of those who we here at aQuarius have long championed: Loren Chasse, Michael Northam, McGinley's own project Murmer, Jonathan Coleclough, Tarab, Keith Berry, John Grzinich, Eric Cordier, Richard Garet and our own Jim Haynes.
With four discs, there's a lot to cover and a surprisingly large amount of high caliber material. So, here it goes... Wooden creaks, bell strikes, and distant bird calls slowly percolate to the surface of Jonathan Coleclough's collaboration with Ben Owen, who collectively augment those sounds with Feldman-like gestures of windswept tonal clusters. Stalwart concrete / sound artist Toy Bizarre offers a compacted mass of water sounds; and Mark Schrieber offers a composition of squeezed noise courtesy of a windshield wiper grating against a contact microphone. Jim Haynes scrapes slabs of slate together before transmitting a harmonic overdrive of clustered bell-n-shortwave tone-floatation. Toshiya Tsunoda's exquisite study in low-end vibration patterns originated from a rope lashed from a boat to pier in his native Japan. Seth Nehil turns the cacophony of a traffic jam into a meditative thrum punctuated by mechanical gestures, aerated hisses, and oblique moanings. Having set contact microphones upon several pieces of wood mounted to a small dam, Maksims Sentelevs captured a polyphony of chiming noises amidst the bubbling watery percolation that's quite unsettling. Eric Cordier's haunted ululations and distant squeals loop hypnotically, making allusions more to horror sound effects rather than typical field recording fodder, even if the material is probably the sound of a gull screeching just off the shoreline. Jeph Jerman's grey hiss of a field recording scrabbles with the sound of insects rummaging around bamboo, all the while sounding like an extract cassette from the bottom of a tarpit. Conducting something of a small ritual with objects around his apartment, Loren Chasse layers textural sounds into an enthralling, mysterious mass of hushed sound. Tarab's corroded drones and tactile spillages from pure field recordings are as captivating as ever, proving that he's one of the more under-recognized composers around today. Steve Roden's contemplative, lulling piece is beautifully composed from two notes on guitar quietly plucked against the hiss of a rainstorm recorded back in 1930s on a 78 as an early sound effects record. Keith Berry's hauntological ambience could easily give Leyland Kirby a run for his money. Industrial rumble and concrete bunker reverberation dominate the low-end frequencies of Jez Riley French's exceptional contribution, perfectly situated next to the obscurant documentation from Giancarlo Toniutti's rattlings of ironworks and deep environmental droning. Chris Watson makes no secrets as to the source on his recording "Ravens" who sound as ominous and cackling as you would expect. Phill Niblock's contribution was sourced from a field recording he made back in 1986 of church bells, but elongated digitally into a slightly atypical piece for the minimalist, as it's less than 6 minutes long!
Whew! All of this and more. There's also the fact that this is limited to 250 copies. Actually, none of these discs were to be available in shops at all, but McGinley made one exception to this rule, allowing Aquarius to have a handful of these. We have less than a dozen, and it remains to be seen if we'll be able to get more. Yes, it's expensive, but it is worth it for the material at hand, plus the proceeds are going to support McGinley's production for Framework and Resonance FM.
MPEG Stream: MAKSIMS SENTELEVS "River Dam Performed"
MPEG Stream: ERIC CORDIER "Montchaibeaux"
MPEG Stream: JONATHAN COLECLOUGH & BEN OWENS "Two Chambers"
MPEG Stream: TARAB "Untitled Artefacts"
MPEG Stream: STEVE RODEN "Six Small Storms"
MPEG Stream: GIANCARLO TONIUTTI "Chooramuuk, Girasrum"
MPEG Stream: PHILL NIBLOCK "Bells And Timps"

V/A Lagos Disco Inferno (Academy) cd 13.98
There's been a deluge of reissues and compilations of groovy '70s music from West Africa coming out lately, on this list in fact you'll also find Soundway's Nigeria Special Vol. 2 reviewed, with another one, their Nigeria Afrobeat Special comp, waiting in the wings. Well we just say, bring it on! If it's as good as THIS, we want to hear it!! Lagos Disco Inferno (the title says it all) is brought to us via the Academy label, who were responsible for that amazing Ofege reissue, among other great releases. Compiled by vintage vinyl fiend Frank Gossner (who does a blog called Voodoofunk), this is packed with a dozen tracks of burning, sweat-soaked funk/disco grooves, total dancefloor fuel, recordings circa 1976-'82 from Nigerian artists including Blo, Pogo Ltd., Doris Ebong, Grotto, Nana Love, Tirogo, MFB, Paradise Stars, Christy Essien, Geraldo Pino, Asiko Rock Group, and Emma Dorgu.
Track one, Doris Ebong's "Boogie Trip", with her persuasive vocals and some psychedelic electronic FX, is an insanely funky, and freaky, number that gets the party started right, in fact, it features the sounds of a wild dance party going on in the background (as there should be!). And track after track, the Lagos Disco Inferno party doesn't stop... right though to Nana Love's almost 15 minute tour-de-force "Hang On", which ends the album leaving you wanting more, more, more. Damn.
This is simply amazing from start to finish, a f*cking awesome comp, if you don't dig it then we doubt you've even got a funky bone in your body. The acts here could certainly compete with American contemporaries like the JB's, Kool & The Gang, and the BT Express, these exuberant tracks bursting with chicken scratch guitar, fat bass, ecstatic vocal squeals, and tight horn sections being put through their paces (ferinstance, on the aforementioned "Hang On"). James Brown is clearly a big influence, and Christy Essien on "Take Life Easy" sounds like she could have been one of his funky divas. To mention a few others, though we can't begin to pick favorites, we like how Geraldo Pino's "African Hustle" mixes in "Blow Your Head" style JB synth wiggle and vocal exclamations worthy of Jimmy Castor. "Everybody Get Down" by Asiko Rock Group is over 8 minutes of sheer get down grunt indeed. Pogo Ltd.'s insistent "Don't Put Me Down" also delivers the JB's vibe we enjoy (sounding a bit Ethiopiques too), while MFB's "Boredom Pain" has got more of a laidback groove, with soulful vocals and an eruption of fuzzed out acid rock guitar soloing that kicks in part way through - this could easily be something from those recently reviewed records by Amanaz or Witch from down in Zambia... Hey, but rather than talk about all twelve tracks, let's just say two words: get this! And again, two more: get down!!
Includes knowledgeable liner notes, the cd in a digipack, the vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve.
MPEG Stream: DORIS EBONG "Boogie Trip"
MPEG Stream: ASIKO ROCK GROUP "Everybody Get Down"
MPEG Stream: MFB "Boredom Pain"
MPEG Stream: GROTTO "Bad City Girl"

V/A Lagos Disco Inferno (Academy) 2lp 19.98
There's been a deluge of reissues and compilations of groovy '70s music from West Africa coming out lately, on this list in fact you'll also find Soundway's Nigeria Special Vol. 2 reviewed, with another one, their Nigeria Afrobeat Special comp, waiting in the wings. Well we just say, bring it on! If it's as good as THIS, we want to hear it!! Lagos Disco Inferno (the title says it all) is brought to us via the Academy label, who were responsible for that amazing Ofege reissue, among other great releases. Compiled by vintage vinyl fiend Frank Gossner (who does a blog called Voodoofunk), this is packed with a dozen tracks of burning, sweat-soaked funk/disco grooves, total dancefloor fuel, recordings circa 1976-'82 from Nigerian artists including Blo, Pogo Ltd., Doris Ebong, Grotto, Nana Love, Tirogo, MFB, Paradise Stars, Christy Essien, Geraldo Pino, Asiko Rock Group, and Emma Dorgu.
Track one, Doris Ebong's "Boogie Trip", with her persuasive vocals and some psychedelic electronic FX, is an insanely funky, and freaky, number that gets the party started right, in fact, it features the sounds of a wild dance party going on in the background (as there should be!). And track after track, the Lagos Disco Inferno party doesn't stop... right though to Nana Love's almost 15 minute tour-de-force "Hang On", which ends the album leaving you wanting more, more, more. Damn.
This is simply amazing from start to finish, a f*cking awesome comp, if you don't dig it then we doubt you've even got a funky bone in your body. The acts here could certainly compete with American contemporaries like the JB's, Kool & The Gang, and the BT Express, these exuberant tracks bursting with chicken scratch guitar, fat bass, ecstatic vocal squeals, and tight horn sections being put through their paces (ferinstance, on the aforementioned "Hang On"). James Brown is clearly a big influence, and Christy Essien on "Take Life Easy" sounds like she could have been one of his funky divas. To mention a few others, though we can't begin to pick favorites, we like how Geraldo Pino's "African Hustle" mixes in "Blow Your Head" style JB synth wiggle and vocal exclamations worthy of Jimmy Castor. "Everybody Get Down" by Asiko Rock Group is over 8 minutes of sheer get down grunt indeed. Pogo Ltd.'s insistent "Don't Put Me Down" also delivers the JB's vibe we enjoy (sounding a bit Ethiopiques too), while MFB's "Boredom Pain" has got more of a laidback groove, with soulful vocals and an eruption of fuzzed out acid rock guitar soloing that kicks in part way through - this could easily be something from those recently reviewed records by Amanaz or Witch from down in Zambia... Hey, but rather than talk about all twelve tracks, let's just say two words: get this! And again, two more: get down!!
Includes knowledgeable liner notes, the cd in a digipack, the vinyl in a nice gatefold sleeve.
MPEG Stream: DORIS EBONG "Boogie Trip"
MPEG Stream: ASIKO ROCK GROUP "Everybody Get Down"
MPEG Stream: MFB "Boredom Pain"
MPEG Stream: GROTTO "Bad City Girl"

V/A Maximum Prog (Past & Present) cd 17.98
Those industrious diggers over at the Past & Present label bring us another cool comp of vintage jams, subtitled "16 Rare Gems From The Golden Age Of British Progressive Rock", though the title itself pretty much tells you all you need to know: MAXIMUM PROG! Which is a bit of a bold claim, given just how "maximum" much prog can be by definition, the prog genre all about indulgence, excess, and bombast, that is if you take the likes of ELP as a prime example. And we do (bow down to ELP!). So at any rate, even if you believe as we do that too much progginess is never enough, this disc certainly will provide plenty more than the recommended MINIMUM daily dose of the stuff!!
There's well over an hour of music here, but squeezing 16 bands on means that the compliers necessarily could NOT pick the most epic-length songs, so there's no 20+ minute side long suites here, in fact, nothing even in the double digits, some songs even as short as (gasp) 3 minutes, like "normal" pop music.
But aside from the relatively reined-in track lengths, this stuff is definitely the proggermost of the poppermost! If not the toppermost of the proggermost, in terms of renown - while we consider ourselves pretty "into" prog, the some of these acts being well off our radar, we'd heard of only maybe a third of 'em previously (though perusal of the informative liner notes reveal many connections to other bands and artists we do know). Here's the whole lineup: Aardvark, Abacus, Big Sleep, Brainchild, Czar, Don Shinn, Goliath, Heaven, 9:30 Fly, Quicksand, Quiet World, Rock Workshop, Samurai, Second Hand, Sweet Slag, and Titus Groan. All tracks circa 1969-'73, most from right around '70 and '71. And as you'd expect, the music here is rather more complexified than just plain ol' psych pop or hard rock, variously employing classical-sounding keyboards or fluttering flutes or jazzy horns, but not forgetting the acid rock guitar action either, with instrumental flurries and ambitious arrangements and (yup) plenty of bombast... but also some killer grooves and catchy melodies.
A few of our faves have got to be the heavy, distorted keyboard riffage of Aardvark's still rather lovely "Copper Sunset", the urgently freaked out "Wade In The Water" from Rock Workshop (a group featuring cult jazz/rock guitarist Ray Russell, playing a wild solo here) and Sweet Slag's rollicking n' riffy "Specific", amongst non-specific others. There's lots of nifty prog treats here, we're guessing the compliers probably cherrypicked some of the best tracks even from what might prove to be somewhat dodgy full-lengths...
Basically an unofficial, overachieving volume 5 in Past & Present's popular Electric Asylum series, as far as we're concerned, so if you liked those check this out too! Booklet includes notes and discographical info about each obscure band, along with vintage photos and clippings.
MPEG Stream: AARDVARK "Copper Sunset"
MPEG Stream: ROCK WORKSHOP "Wade In The Water"
MPEG Stream: HEAVEN "This Time Tomorrow"

V/A Nigeria Special: Volume 2 - Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 (Soundway) cd 16.98
Soundway has been building quite the amazing catalog with their brilliant Nigeria Special series. A collection of sounds that truly demonstrates that there is an endless wealth of amazing music made in Nigeria during the 1970's. This is volume two in the Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues series and somehow it manages to meet or even beat the excellence of the first outing. What makes the collection so cool is how while still sharing a similar sound and pedigree, there is so much diversity in the sounds and instrumentation. Worth it all alone is the mind blowing track by Twins Seven, complete with otherworldly vibraphones and entrancing call and response vocals. We love how these comps turn us on to specific artists that then send us off on crazy hunts to try to find more songs and records by those artists. But then, that's exactly what a great mix is meant to do.
As a whole, Nigeria Special: Volume 2 has such a perfect sunshiny, laid back yet triumphant spirit. It's been our go-to record on Sunday afternoons when people are relaxing on a beautiful day, visiting the store, carefree after a leisurely stroll though the Mission, and the second we throw this on, we always see people casually swaying and tapping their feet as they make their away around the store, and they inevitably ask what's playing so they can grab a copy and hold on to that unbeatable feeling for the rest of the day, and for every weekend to come...
MPEG Stream: TWINS SEVEN "Totobiroko"
MPEG Stream: OPOTOPO "Agboho"
MPEG Stream: JAMES ETAMOBE & HIS ALL WEATHER BAND "Agboyabakpa"

V/A Nigeria Special: Volume 2 - Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-76 (Soundway) 3lp 30.00
Soundway has been building quite the amazing catalog with their brilliant Nigeria Special series. A collection of sounds that truly demonstrates that there is an endless wealth of amazing music made in Nigeria during the 1970's. This is volume two in the Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds & Nigerian Blues series and somehow it manages to meet or even beat the excellence of the first outing. What makes the collection so cool is how while still sharing a similar sound and pedigree, there is so much diversity in the sounds and instrumentation. Worth it all alone is the mind blowing track by Twins Seven, complete with otherworldly vibraphones and entrancing call and response vocals. We love how these comps turn us on to specific artists that then send us off on crazy hunts to try to find more songs and records by those artists. But then, that's exactly what a great mix is meant to do.
As a whole, Nigeria Special: Volume 2 has such a perfect sunshiny, laid back yet triumphant spirit. It's been our go-to record on Sunday afternoons when people are relaxing on a beautiful day, visiting the store, carefree after a leisurely stroll though the Mission, and the second we throw this on, we always see people casually swaying and tapping their feet as they make their away around the store, and they inevitably ask what's playing so they can grab a copy and hold on to that unbeatable feeling for the rest of the day, and for every weekend to come...
MPEG Stream: TWINS SEVEN "Totobiroko"
MPEG Stream: OPOTOPO "Agboho"
MPEG Stream: JAMES ETAMOBE & HIS ALL WEATHER BAND "Agboyabakpa"

V/A Ouaga Affair (Savannahphone) cd 17.98
While there has been no shortage of awesome collections of sounds from West Africa in the '70s, this collection somehow steps ahead of the crowd as it fantastically focuses on the much overlooked sounds coming from Burkina Faso, between the years 1974-1978. Combining heavy psych grooves, Afro-funk, rich orchestration and rock, into a sound that is warm, warbly and infectious. The recordings sound quite lo-fi, not an aesthetic decision as is the style these days, instead, a result of resources in the region during this era being extremely limited. But luckily it suits the music perfectly, as the songs jump out on their own without the need for fancy studio polish. And the echo, reverb and understated production really would make so many of today's lo-fi hipsters drool in envy. Another strength of the compilation is how well it works from start to finish, really feeling like a unified album and not just a random mix of songs from a singular time and place. Some tracks burn while others melt, some smolder, and others swing. With an overall vibe and sound that falls somewhere between The Psych-Funk 101 compilation we've been digging so much, and some of the recent comps from labels like Soundway and Honest Jons that have also done much to shed light on so many of the amazing sounds coming out of Africa in the '70s.
MPEG Stream: VOLTA JAZZ "Mama Soukous"
MPEG Stream: CISSE ABDOULAYE & SUPER VOLTA "A Son Magni"
MPEG Stream: MAMO LAGBEMA "Sind M'bassa"

V/A Physical, Absent, Tangible (Contour Editions) cd-r 11.98
Contour Editions is a new label curated by New York based sound artist Richard Garet, whose tense grey drones had marked his very impressive Four Malleable 2cd set on And/OAR as well as an exceptional collaboration with Brendan Murray released back in 2009. The same technical rigor that Garet employs in his own compositions extends to this compilation of various artists working around the globe, including i8u (Canada), Christopher DeLaurenti (Seattle), Gil Sanson (Venezuela), and Brian Mackern & Gabriel Galli (Uruguay). Aside from DeLaurenti, whose phonography collection of orchestral intermissions has long been a favorite of ours, this compilation is an introduction to all of the artists present. Not a bad thing at all, considering how strong each contribution is.
Garet had charged these sound artists to consider the "evocation of the in-between immaterial spaces" - not quite the existential pursuit into nothingness, silence, or the void; but rather, the faintest of sounds brought close to the event horizon, the ghosts that tickle at the edge of perception, etc. Fortunately, none of the artists employ the clicks and cuts techniques which emerged from the Max/MSP crowd from the nascent days of the millennium. Sure, things are quiet and undoubtedly processed and/or produced by digital means.
i8u is the work of Canadian composer France Jobim, who's actually been around quite a while, producing all sorts of electronica-laced computer-driven compositions. Her track eschews all of the mid-range frequencies, instead splitting her attention between a deep rumbling low-end of a slightest pierced tones at the high-end. Despite the extremes of tonality, there's something rather lulling and enveloping about this piece almost achieving the same generative stasis that Thomas Koner produces. Christopher DeLaurenti presents two tracks of stone-faced slabs of grey noises looped and snapped into a darkened ambience. Gil Sanson's eight vignettes are open ended by design, with the composer encouraging the listener to hit shuffle on the cd player. These buzzes, drones, and smeared field recordings connect through a muted aesthetic of dreamy discomfort. The Mackern & Galli piece bristles with electrical static cracked upon a shortwave radio with Morse code blips streaming into the foreground and peculiar gestures of feedback sneaking throughout. Bits of radio transmission break through these disembodied elements, giving the piece the detached aesthetic which was endemic to The Conet Project and The Ghost Orchid, despite the very-hands on approach to this piece. All together, the album seamlessly flows from one track to the other, almost making it difficult to discern where one composition begins and another ends.
Hopefully, one of many good things to come from Mr. Garet's label. Oh yes, it's limited to 150 copies, too!
MPEG Stream: I8U "Rarefaction"
MPEG Stream: CHRISTOPHER DELAURENTI "Sigil"
MPEG Stream: GIL SANSON "La Montana Se Ha Ido 4"
MPEG Stream: BRIAN MACKERN & GABRIEL GALLI "Temporal De Santa Rosa"

V/A Troubled Troubadours (Omni) cd 16.98
There's no shortage of incredible reissue labels, and depending on our mood, or what record just came out, we could go any way if forced to pick, but honestly, we find ourselves always coming back to Omni, not only are their reissues incredibly and meticulously researched and curated, with extensive liner notes, rare photos, all that jazz, but the sounds are bizarre and beautiful, balancing precariously between unsung country classics, and the demented dark underbelly of country music, we love both, but definitely lean toward the latter, and thankfully, so does Omni it seems. As if to prove that point, along comes Troubled Troubadours, another collection of sick twisted country sounds, which on the surface, aren't so obviously twisted, but dig a little deeper and these songs blossom into far out tales of misery and woe, murder and mayhem, even one about shooting God! Weird indeed.
There are some musical moments of madness, the bizarre looped vocal / Theremin sounding main melody on Homer And Jethro's "Monster Mash" sounding "A Crept Into The Crypt And Cried" for example, but then there's intense dark musical gems like Waylon Jennings' "Delia's Gone", a brooding dark creep complete with haunting sitar buzz. Dolly Parton contributes two tracks, one a haunting tale of an abandoned mother, the other, a harrowing tale of a women committed, and longing for her Daddy to come set her free. And then there's the aforementioned "Are They Gonna Shoot God", a weepy melodramatic soft focus hippy country ballad, where a little boy asks his daddy if they're gonna shoot God, while an angelic chorus echoes the question. Weird. Porter Wagoner is present of course, Omni has already done two Wagoner collections, and here Wagoner tells the tale of "Waldo The Weirdo". Cargill Henson makes an appearance too, after two of his own Omni collections, with the reverbed jangle of "Daddy, What's A Tree?". There's Bobby Bare's "Your Credit Card Won't Get You Into Heaven", a cautionary tale, all gospel organ and baritone croon, and Lester Flatt's "I Can't Tell The Boys From The Girls", another cautionary tale of sorts, about dating in the big city, and so it goes. Every song, no matter how traditional sounding on the surface, hiding something sick or sinister, hilarious or goofy underneath.
If you dug any of the other Omni records, Porter Wagoner, Dee Mullins, Johnny Paycheck, Lorne Greene or the Plantation Gold collection, which was a former Record Of The Week, then odds are you're gonna dig this too. And most definitely recommended to any fans of incredibly strange music. Country or otherwise...
MPEG Stream: WAYLON JENNINGS "Delia's Gone"
MPEG Stream: MARK SLADE "Are They Gonna Shoot God?"
MPEG Stream: PORTER WAGONER "Waldo The Weirdo"
MPEG Stream: STONEWALL JACKSON "Push The Panic Button"
MPEG Stream: HOMER AND JETHRO "I Crept Into The Crypt And Cried"

WARMTH Privacy From God (Black Horizons) cassette 7.98
Brand new ultra limited full length from Warmth, who really couldn't have chosen a more appropriate monicker, as the sounds here are indeed warm, dark, swirly, humid, shimmery, a drifting blackened dronescape of elongated tones, blurred melody, and smoldering low end. Not really dense or heavy or blown out, instead, the sounds are hushed, muted, dense and deep, barely there, a whirring whispery smear of sound, industrial but only slightly, machinelike, but simultaneously organic, a haunting otherworld of looped rumbles and layered clouds and swirls of melodic fragments, and constantly shifting textures, a warm, lush, soft noise, rife with what sound like field recordings, but could also be mechanical detritus, creaks, groans, clicks, even those sounds dialed way back, just another bit of hazy grit added to the already washed out sprawl of dreamlike ambient dronedrift.
Privacy From God is a strange hybrid of sounds that in other hands would be cranked up, doused in distortion and spewed from massive speakers, but Warmth take those same sounds and pull them apart into microscopic clusters of dreamy ambient minutae, soothing, surreal, softly undulating, hushed and looped expanses of near static, frozen in time, dreamdrone minimalism. So nice.
Packaged in a clear plastic oversized clam shell case, with silver offset printing on black vellum paper. Hi-bias chrome tapes with silver labels. And... LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!!!

WETDOG Frauhaus! (Captured Tracks) cd 13.98
Hell yeah! We knew just a short time ago when we heard their 7" on Captured Tracks, that these females from the UK were going to be a band we were gonna end up digging BIG TIME. With a full length hot on the heels of that 7", we are indeed digging this like crazy, as Frauhaus! is some totally immediate and addicting off-kilter post punk. Taking their love of greats like the Raincoats and The Slits and infusing so much of their own energy, vision and charisma into the songs giving them a very unique sound. In so many ways they feel like the perfect band to carry the torch for the great Erase Errata who sadly seem to have broken up (though we would be thrilled if that wasn't the case!). Herky jerky rhythms, songs that cut out all the fat, yet are full of such melodicism and incredible songwriting chops, something that so many groups who usually pull from similar sources of inspiration seem to be lacking. In fact there are some totally rad moments here that make us think of a scrappy DIY version of The Breeders or a way punkier Electrelane.
It's been so cool to play this record and then figure out what would be so perfect to play afterwards, as you can go in so many directions. We've rocked Chin Chin, Kleenex/Liliput and early Bow Wow Wow right after playing Wetdog and it seems to keep the same energy and spirit going pretty much perfectly. Short but sweet these fourteen tracks clock in at just under a half hour, but every single moment is filled with such energy and exhilaration!
MPEG Stream: "Lower Leg"
MPEG Stream: "Round Vox"
MPEG Stream: "Tidy Up Your Bedroom"

WHEELER, BILLY EDD A Big Bag Of Songs (Omni) cd 16.98
A big bag of songs indeed! 28 of them as a matter of fact, and all pretty incredible from a singer/songwriter we weren't familiar with, though we did know his two most famous songs, "High Flying Bird" and "Jackson", as performed by others such as Johnny Cash, Jefferson Airplane, Judy Henske and Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood. Billy Edd Wheeler was smack in the middle of the crossroads where country, folk, pop and rock meet. Mentored by famed songwriting team Leiber & Stoller, Wheeler penned many great tunes for Cab Calloway, Lonnie Donnegan, Hank Snow and The Kingston Trio as well. Wheeler had a very folksy style using the big classic sixties country-pop production (the kind you've heard on plenty of other Omni reissues from Dee Mullins, Porter Wagoner, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Paycheck and Henson Cargill), but underneath the wholesome exterior of the songs lie pointed messages about the environment, taxes, falling out of love, the desperation of the hard working poor, and the soul-killing culture of the white-collar worker. Highly skilled with language and a turn of phrase, Wheeler was a master at weaving an epic story into a three minute pop song, whether it be a coal miner yearning to fly away like a bird, a mushroom taking elevator operator, a badass cowboy preacher, or the emotional wreckage of a marriage on the skids. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Blistered"
MPEG Stream: "After Taxes"
MPEG Stream: "Jackson"
MPEG Stream: "High Flying Bird"
MPEG Stream: "Bernard"
MPEG Stream: "The Girl Who Loved The Man Who Robbed The Bank In Santa Fe (and Got Away)"

WILLENBRING, WES Close, But Not Too Close (Hidden Shoal) cd-r 11.98
It's been a while since we've heard from Australian label Hidden Shoal, and just as long since we've heard from SF sound sculptor and dreamdronedrift composer Wes Willenbring, but now that we're all reunited, we can go ahead and gush over yet another fantastic Hidden Shoal release, and another gorgeous disc of ethereal ambience from Mr. Willenbring.
Willenbring is an accomplished pianist and guitarist, and those instruments form the basis of these songs, in some places that's obvious, but in others, the piano and the guitar, or any semblance of either, are blurred, or smeared, or pixelated into hazy clouds of sound, of softly shifting streaks of crystalline shimmer, the guitar often transformed into a buried pulse, the piano into soft focus flurries of barely there melody, at its most diffused and abstract, this is total bleary eyed starlight pop ambience, the sort of hushed orchestral drift that would appeal to fans of other sonic abstractionists like Stars Of The Lid or Tim Hecker or Fennesz. But Willenbring doesn't rely entirely on effects or processing, much of the music here is darkly delicate chamber music, shimmering strings, over pointillist piano, buzzing steel strings unfurling melancholic melodies in slow motion, one note at a time, a sound that's lush and haunting, cinematic and subtly epic.
Totally sublime moody minimalism, a late night moonlit, slip-into-the-ether sort of dreamdrift dronemusic, equal parts gauzy abstraction and languid whispery post rock drift, that is as divine as it is dreamy.
MPEG Stream: "I'm Looking Forward To Your Funeral"
MPEG Stream: "Oh, Most"
MPEG Stream: "The Anti-Social Aesthetic"

WOODEN SHJIPS Vol. 2 (Sick Thirst) cd 14.98
Few bands around these parts are received with such a fanatical devotion as local heroes Wooden Shjips. Everything they touch turns to gold, and when the band puts out a single, you'd better hop on that shit PRONTO, or else you miss out... until the band graciously collects everything in one essential package. Vol. 2 puts together their most recent, already out of print singles, and like everything on Vol. 1, these songs are just as good, sometimes even BETTER than what you get on their proper full lengths. More than likely most of you probably haven't been able to obtain these songs, so what you get here is as follows: the Sub Pop 7", side 1 of the "Vampire Blues" European tour 7", a live track from yet another Euro tour 7" with the Heads, the Contact 12" on Mexican Summer, and a live track from a Yeti magazine sampler. Everyone of these songs is absolutely amazing and will no doubt bring on tears of joy.
The Sub Pop 7" kicks off with the awesome "Loose Lips", a song that would shoot off way beyond the clouds if the rhythm section didn't keep things perfectly grounded like it does. The song swirls about in classic Shjips fashion with a nice melodic organ lead driving things forward and awesome submerged vocals. Next up is "Start To Dreaming", proving once again that a Wooden Shjips B-side is nothing to be taken lightly. It's by far one of the band's most beautiful songs, starting life with a slow but steady bassline and a mournful guitar lead before the pace picks up and pretty much knocks you out with its unbelievable beauty. Goddamn.
The band's cover of Neil Young's "Vampire Blues" is next, an upbeat rocker reconfigured perfectly for the Shjips' psychedelic approach. "Death's Not Your Friend" is from the split 7" with the Heads, and the band proves they can deliver in a live setting. The song is super rhythmic and dense as hell, a total joy to listen to for both long car rides through god knows where OR solitary walks in the woods, take your pick.
"Contact" is a Shjips' styled cover of a Serge Gainsbourg song, and it moves along at a steady midtempo groove. The song is anchored by a hypnotic bassline, allowing the submerged wah guitar and French sung vocals to do their thing. Side 2 features "I Hear The Vibrations" in its superior form, the "E-Z Version". The song first appeared in a truncated version on the Vampire Blues single, which was wisely left off in favor of this take. Maybe you recall that we put it all out on the table in our original review and pretty much declared this to be the band's best song to date, a claim we still stand by. It's the kind of song that would go on forever if we had our way.
The album closes with another live tune, "Outta My Head", from the Yeti sampler. The burly bass/guitar attack is impossible to ignore while the simple drumming incorporates a jangly tambourine into its nonstop pound. The organ spits out awesome hazy melodies as the guitar blissfully distorts all over the place, and it's a great way to end the album, making you want to see these guys level some small club.
So yeah, this is not at all a hard sell, we probably didn't even have to bother with a review, but we love this band so much that we just felt like throwing in our two cents. For everyone who missed out the first time along, this is a no brainer. And if you've been living under a rock, Vol. 2 also serves as a highly worthy introduction to one of our fine city's flagshjip bands.
MPEG Stream: "Loose Lips"
MPEG Stream: "Vampire Blues"
MPEG Stream: "I Hear The Vibrations (E-Z Version)"

WOODEN SHJIPS Vol. 2 (Sick Thirst) lp 14.98
Few bands around these parts are received with such a fanatical devotion as local heroes Wooden Shjips. Everything they touch turns to gold, and when the band puts out a single, you'd better hop on that shit PRONTO, or else you miss out... until the band graciously collects everything in one essential package. Vol. 2 puts together their most recent, already out of print singles, and like everything on Vol. 1, these songs are just as good, sometimes even BETTER than what you get on their proper full lengths. More than likely most of you probably haven't been able to obtain these songs, so what you get here is as follows: the Sub Pop 7", side 1 of the "Vampire Blues" European tour 7", a live track from yet another Euro tour 7" with the Heads, the Contact 12" on Mexican Summer, and a live track from a Yeti magazine sampler. Everyone of these songs is absolutely amazing and will no doubt bring on tears of joy.
The Sub Pop 7" kicks off with the awesome "Loose Lips", a song that would shoot off way beyond the clouds if the rhythm section didn't keep things perfectly grounded like it does. The song swirls about in classic Shjips fashion with a nice melodic organ lead driving things forward and awesome submerged vocals. Next up is "Start To Dreaming", proving once again that a Wooden Shjips B-side is nothing to be taken lightly. It's by far one of the band's most beautiful songs, starting life with a slow but steady bassline and a mournful guitar lead before the pace picks up and pretty much knocks you out with its unbelievable beauty. Goddamn.
The band's cover of Neil Young's "Vampire Blues" is next, an upbeat rocker reconfigured perfectly for the Shjips' psychedelic approach. "Death's Not Your Friend" is from the split 7" with the Heads, and the band proves they can deliver in a live setting. The song is super rhythmic and dense as hell, a total joy to listen to for both long car rides through god knows where OR solitary walks in the woods, take your pick.
"Contact" is a Shjips' styled cover of a Serge Gainsbourg song, and it moves along at a steady midtempo groove. The song is anchored by a hypnotic bassline, allowing the submerged wah guitar and French sung vocals to do their thing. Side 2 features "I Hear The Vibrations" in its superior form, the "E-Z Version". The song first appeared in a truncated version on the Vampire Blues single, which was wisely left off in favor of this take. Maybe you recall that we put it all out on the table in our original review and pretty much declared this to be the band's best song to date, a claim we still stand by. It's the kind of song that would go on forever if we had our way.
The album closes with another live tune, "Outta My Head", from the Yeti sampler. The burly bass/guitar attack is impossible to ignore while the simple drumming incorporates a jangly tambourine into its nonstop pound. The organ spits out awesome hazy melodies as the guitar blissfully distorts all over the place, and it's a great way to end the album, making you want to see these guys level some small club.
So yeah, this is not at all a hard sell, we probably didn't even have to bother with a review, but we love this band so much that we just felt like throwing in our two cents. For everyone who missed out the first time along, this is a no brainer. And if you've been living under a rock, Vol. 2 also serves as a highly worthy introduction to one of our fine city's flagshjip bands.
MPEG Stream: "Loose Lips"
MPEG Stream: "Vampire Blues"
MPEG Stream: "I Hear The Vibrations (E-Z Version)"

XASTHUR 2005 Demo (Hydra Head) cd ep 10.98
Recorded back around the time of Subliminal Genocide, Xasthur's debut on Hydra Head, which was a momentous occasion in the BM underground for sure at the time, with many of the troo grim hordes crying foul, an underground black metal icon signing to a very UN-underground label, but it worked, SG was incredible, murky and intense and epic and grim as fuck and no one could really argue with the Xasthur / Hydra Head union at that point. Things quickly changed though, the next few records found Xasthur mixing it up, once again to the chagrin of the same haters whose feathers were ruffled before. Personally, we loved those records too, we even dug the eventual switch to real drums, we've yet to really hate a Xasthur disc. Although as far as we're concerned, nothing will ever touch Nocturnal Poisoning, the first and still maybe best Xasthur record, and the 3 records that preceded the Hydra Head debut are nearly as good, The Funeral Of Being, Telepathic With The Deceased and To Violate The Oblivious. So this demo comes right after those records, and just before Subliminal Genocide, and sounds like it, it may be designated a 'demo' (although with Xasthur, it's hard to really imagine there's much sonic polishing that goes on from the demo stage to the record proper stage), but essentially it's a couple unreleased Xasthur jams, vintage Xasthur, and that's all we need to know.
The first track is a pounding, super distorted murkscape, the buzzing riffage laced with arpeggiated clean guitar melodies, those anguished howls, drums BURIED in the mix, a seasick ebb and flow, woozy and warped, and gloriously low fidelity, lumbering through thick fields of haze and buzz, a weirdly washed out ambient vibe, even at it's fiercest moments. The second track is way more mellow, a dreamy blurred doomic plod, the guitars muddy and WAY out of tune, which only makes the music that much more twisted and atonal and grim, this finds Xasthur at his most Striborg, creating mournful blackened dirges behind a constant wall of smeared fuzz, lo-fi hiss, and tangled gnarled riffage, occasionally slipping into weirdly melodic interludes, only to stumble back into the buzzy fray. There are some awesome sort-of-leads, flanged and seriously psychedelic, totally druggy doomy bleak buzz. So good. Fans will want this for sure, maybe not the place to start necessarily (that would be Nocturnal Poisoning or Subliminal Genocide) although this does make a pretty tempting two song teaser of muddy murky grim black genius. If we weren't already fans, this might lure us to the dark side for sure...
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 4/05"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 5/05"

YONKERS, MICHAEL Lovely Gold (Drag City) lp 17.98
One wonders how many new discoveries will be unearthed from legendary outsider rocker Michael Yonkers. But man, we don't want it to stop. Whether he's putting out new stuff or digging through the vaults, Yonkers' strange story just keeps getting better and better, and to think that the man has retained such an amazing vision for almost 50 years is truly astounding. Lovely Gold collects songs from a period in Yonkers' career that many of us had yet to hear: the late '70s. 1977, in fact, you know, the year of punk and all that shit. But Lovely Gold is something else, and like most of this guy's stuff, it defies simple categorization. The strangest aspect of Yonkers' music is how it manages to recall things we all know and love, mostly from a garage rock template, but things are warped into beautiful creations that only Yonkers could produce.
Take a look at this cover. Michael Yonkers sitting in front of a wall of recording devices. That's really all he needs, and the man is going it alone on this one. Actual percussion is sparse, with guitars providing most of the rhythm. There is a welcome abundance of multilayered vocals here, which combine for amazingly ethereal sounds. The songs "I Knew You'd Remember" and "Will It Be" show off this effect best of all. These songs are unbelievable, the kind that will stop you in your tracks. Mutant gospel? Experimental Gregorian chanting? What the fuck IS this stuff? Totally amazing for one thing, but trying to describe it is no easy task. You might think of Silver Apples or Peter Grudzien, but if you look at the back cover with the photo of the jumpsuited Yonkers holding the Fender Jaguar he whittled into a plank, that should really tell you that you're in strange territory indeed (Minneapolis to be exact). The song "Drifting Off" actually sounds like the work of a band, it rides out with a nice spooky feeling and sounds a bit more like the material on Microminiature Love. "Gone Down Old Sun" uses guitar strumming as percussion while the layered voices moan in unison, the end result sounding like your favorite pop song stretched and warped beyond anything you could have prepared for. "Nevermore" (listed, for some reason, as a "bonus track"), ends things on a very high note, sounding a bit like the song "Puppetting" from MML, only with vocals delivered from beyond the grave by Edith Piaf. At the end of the record, you realize you have just had access to someone's strange and fantastic private world. We can only wonder what else is out there waiting to see the light of day. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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----* AQ x WFMU x SXSW 2010 POSTERS :
----*

SAVAGE PENCIL AQ x WFMU x SXSW 2010 (green) poster 15.00
That's right, we've got a handful of these cool posters we commissioned to promote/commemorate this year's aQuarius recOrds and WFMU sponsored South By Southwest showcase. They were for sale at the show, and the remaining copies we've got we're now making available to our local and mailorder customers (who, if you weren't lucky enough to be in Austin, hopefully listened to the show via WFMU's live feed).
EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION! Only 90 copies printed. Of which we only got half, a few of those went to the bands, which means not many of these left. Handscreened. Two color (one is dark green on light green, the other is blood red on grey). Featuring original art by one of our favorite underground artists, Savage Pencil! It's a crazy tangled squiggly mass of angry bird heads and strange intricate tendrils, it's super striking, and of course also features all the bands who played the show, as well as all the other show info. They're super sharp, and as they say, suitable for framing, so get one while you can. If you order one with other stuff, it will have to ship separately in its own tube, and so will require an extra separate shipping charge, just so you know.
For bigger better pictures, go here:
http://twitpic.com/1b719b
and here:
http://twitpic.com/1b71df

SAVAGE PENCIL AQ x WFMU x SXSW 2010 (red) poster 15.00
That's right, we've got a handful of these cool posters we commissioned to promote/commemorate this year's aQuarius recOrds and WFMU sponsored South By Southwest showcase. They were for sale at the show, and the remaining copies we've got we're now making available to our local and mailorder customers (who, if you weren't lucky enough to be in Austin, hopefully listened to the show via WFMU's live feed).
EXTREMELY LIMITED EDITION! Only 90 copies printed. Of which we only got half, a few of those went to the bands, which means not many of these left. Handscreened. Two color (one is dark green on light green, the other is blood red on grey). Featuring original art by one of our favorite underground artists, Savage Pencil! It's a crazy tangled squiggly mass of angry bird heads and strange intricate tendrils, it's super striking, and of course also features all the bands who played the show, as well as all the other show info. They're super sharp, and as they say, suitable for framing, so get one while you can. If you order one with other stuff, it will have to ship separately in its own tube, and so will require an extra separate shipping charge, just so you know.
For bigger better pictures, go here:
http://twitpic.com/1b719b
and here:
http://twitpic.com/1b71df

----*
----* Selected New Arrivals :
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ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O Are We Experienced? (Prophase Music) 2lp 36.00
NOW ON VINYL!! Limited to 500 copies, colored, gatefold.
Are they? After all, how much of an experiment can it be after you've made, like, several hundred albums? Is it still an experiment the 1,000th time you do it? Though we can usually guess at the results of any "experiment" by this prolific Japanese hippie psych outfit, it's not like we don't want to hear that sound of theirs again and again and again. However, this time 'round it DOES seem that they're going a little further out than usual, and the title isn't simply an excuse for cover graphics parodying the Jimi Hendrix album... The eleven tracks found here are pretty weird, many taking a kitchen sink sound collage approach that just might incorporate everything from blown out freek guitar scramble (of course), to acoustic flute folk, to echoing sound FX, to chaotic cocktail jazz, to garbled electronics and tape manipulations. Not necessarily nothin' they haven't done before, but not quite like this. It comes closer to some early Boredoms stuff or even Hanatarash cut-ups than it does the extended jam-outs of most AMT releases. So yeah, they are experimental. And successfully so, in our pseudoscientific opinion. At least, we found this quite intriguing/entertaining. Welcome to the Acid Mothers Laboratory!
MPEG Stream: "Wired Stinky Pussy Luver"
MPEG Stream: "Close Encounters Of The Electric Spirits"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Big Asshole Emmanuelle"

BEIRUT Lon Gisland (Pompeh) lp 10.98
Now available on vinyl!
Here's a new five song ep from Balkan gypsy music revisionists Beirut! Mainman Zach Condon has picked right up from where his luminous debut album Gulag Orkestar left off... and he's assembled a full band in the process! You might recall that A Hawk And A Hacksaw's Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trosk provided musical support on the album. This ep is comprised of four new songs and an alternate full band version of "Scenic World" (which originally appeared on the album). If you dig the abovementioned A Hawk And A Hacksaw, you're probably already familiar with their pals and collaborators Beirut (and vice versa). If not, what're you waiting for? Wonderful stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Elephant Gun"
MPEG Stream: "Carousels"

BIRD AND THE BEE, THE Interpreting The Masters Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates (Blue Note) cd 16.98
There's no shame in our game when we tell you that pretty much every single one of us here at AQ are huge Hall & Oates fans. Not even in some ironic way, we just think there is no denying how damn good, suave and catchy their songs were and are. In fact our own Andee and his pal Jay Lesser even spent some time trying to get their H+O cover band Rich Girl going (although to be fair, much of it had to do with the then current swarthy state of Jay's facial hair, which in Andee's eyes made him a dead ringer for John Oates, but we digress...). In so many ways the music of Hall & Oats is more relevant then ever these days, with a whole new generation of sensitive boys channeling blue eyed soul and swoonsome dance beats (Junior Boys, Washed Out, Hot Chip, Neon Indian, Postal Service, etc.). So it was only a matter of time that someone cashed in on how damn great their songs were and made an entire record of covers. The Bird And The Bee have stepped up and tackled all the biggest and best Hall & Oates hits. "One On One", "Private Eyes", "Rich Girl", "Sara Smile", "Maneater", they're all here. All the songs that have seeped into your subconscious on one level or another, whether you wanted them to or not. But why would you not?
As their moniker would imply The Bird And The Bee are a duo who keep things very easy and breezy. The kind of group who has major NPR and KCRW affiliations. Some of us here think they make a great match for these Hall & Oates tunes, letting the songs shine through without ruining them with any forced gimmicks or sonic shtick. Very laid back and simple covers that also display moments where the band are able to really make these songs their own. Sort of.
Since so many of us are huge Hall & Oates fans,we did listen to this with very skeptical and critical ears and it's true some of us aren't feeling it as much as others. Lets just say those folks are humming along, sure, but not finding this to be any sort of an improvement on the originals. But if you can use a little light, carefree and smooth interpretations of Hall & Oates classics (sung by a girl, by the way) in your life then this does the trick mighty fine.
MPEG Stream: "I Can't Go For That"
MPEG Stream: "Sara Smile"
MPEG Stream: "Private Eyes"

BLACK BONED ANGEL The Witch Must Be Killed (Conspiracy) lp 22.00
Back in stock, final copies we're gonna get!!
Latest slab of sprawling outsider minimal ambient sludge doom drone from this (now) duo, fronted by none other than Campbell Kneale, he of Birchville Cat Motel and Our Love Will Destroy The World, but as most of you probably already know, BBA is a whole 'nother beast. A snarling, slow motion, glacial, tarpit, black crawling beast, a sparse, yet still dense assemblage of massive riffing, the riffs themselves doused in crumbling distortion and left to just decay before our ears, only to have another crunching chord wash over us, not so much riffs as long arrangements of massive notes and chords, a forward momentum of nearly nil, these guys create some serious ultra doom, that rivals groups like Moss for sheer sonic weight.
The Witch Must Be Killed is a two sided two parter, the first side begins with a long stretch of near silence, hushed ambient drift, before the band really kick in with a Neurosis-at-16rpm dirge, and calling it a dirge is being generous, it's so slow, it's almost like a soundscape assembled from bits of riff, and occasional crashing drum pound, but the result is intoxicating, gorgeously hazy and blown out and weirdly epic, especially with the addition of a whole other layer of sound, what could be distant waiting vox, or another high end guitar, or some sort of noisemaker, but what that extra layer does is add some serious pathos, tension, what would otherwise be a metallic creep, becomes something totally emotional and intense, like a metal Godspeed crossed with an even more minimal Corrupted, but WAY spaced out, cosmic and otherworldly, more in line with something like Jesu or Nadja, but way heavier, and WAY more metal.
Repetitive, hypnotic, mesmerizing, nearly endless, a sprawling primordial metallic ooze, that envelops and consumes, sucking the listener into a black vortex of minimal metallic sound, the song itself developing slowly, nearly imperceptibly, for it is an actual sound, not just a hodge podge of sounds, a song that fills up nearly two sides, until about halfway through side two, when the band slip into their own sort of Filsofem, a blurred wash of buzz and rumble, of swirling hiss, of smeared effects and black ambience, laced with a haunting melody, played over and over, way off in the distance, partially obscured by the murk, while beneath it strange voices surface and swirl, the guitars smolder and burn, totally gorgeous and weirdly dreamy and otherworldy, as the record dissolves into an extended outro as bleary eared and buzzy as the best Birchville jam, just rendered via big amps and loud blackened guitars. Awesome.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!

CASH, JOHNNY American VI: Ain't No Grave (American) cd 13.98
Like Tupac, Johnny Cash keeps putting out records from the great beyond. American VI: Ain't No Grave is billed as his last recordings before passing away. And it marked another collaboration between him and producer Rick Rubin, who really did help inject new life into Cash and Cash's music at the dusk of his career. Like many of the Cash / Rubin American recordings, VI features lots of covers (Kris Kristofferson, Tom Paxton, Porter Wagoner, Sheryl Crow even, etc.). But it's the albums lead off track, the crushing, mournful yet triumphant "Ain't No Grave" that really steals the show. It's like some amazing deep and soulful and apocalyptic country-gospel DOOM. Unfortunately the rest of the record doesn't quite live up to the power of that lead off track, but damn we've been listening to that one on repeat...
MPEG Stream: "Ain't No Grave"
MPEG Stream: "Cool Water"
MPEG Stream: "Satisfied Mind"

CASH, JOHNNY American VI: Ain't No Grave (American) lp 13.98
Like Tupac, Johnny Cash keeps putting out records from the great beyond. American VI: Ain't No Grave is billed as his last recordings before passing away. And it marked another collaboration between him and producer Rick Rubin, who really did help inject new life into Cash and Cash's music at the dusk of his career. Like many of the Cash / Rubin American recordings, VI features lots of covers (Kris Kristofferson, Tom Paxton, Porter Wagoner, Sheryl Crow even, etc.). But it's the albums lead off track, the crushing, mournful yet triumphant "Ain't No Grave" that really steals the show. It's like some amazing deep and soulful and apocalyptic country-gospel DOOM. Unfortunately the rest of the record doesn't quite live up to the power of that lead off track, but damn we've been listening to that one on repeat...
MPEG Stream: ""
MPEG Stream: ""
MPEG Stream: ""

CELER Brittle (Low Point) cd 14.98
Much will be made about Brittle being the final Celer recording, as Celer's Danielle Basquet-Long died unexpectedly at the age of 26. Celer's lingering ambience has often focused upon the melancholy of echo and a somberness of sound through their heavily treated arrangements for piano, violin, bells, harpsichord, and whistles; and that sense of elegaic loss seems even more prescient on this record, even as it wasn't intended to be so. A monolithic, ever shifting album of elongated tone, drone, slippage, and elegant ambience, Brittle beautifully falls between the Leyland Kirby exercises in haunted ambience and the dark studies that Brian Eno offered on his seminal album On Land. Quite nice, indeed.
MPEG Stream: "Eustress"

COCONUTS s/t (No Quarter) lp 15.98
NOW ON VINYL!!!!
The quietly menacing, and curiously mesmeric, NYC-by-way-of-Australia trio Coconuts (that's plural, not to be confused with SF band Coconut, singular... nor should it be confused with what you probably THINK a band called Coconuts might sound like, either!) offer up what we'll assume to be their debut, on the always interestin' No Quarter label (home to Burning Star Core, Circle, Psychic Paramount, and many other faves). This self-titled disc comprises 5 tracks, mostly all but one of 'em pretty long (but not in the double digits or anything), 34 minutes or so total. When it's on, though, you'll sink pretty deep into their sounds, that it'll seem like it would take much longer to swim back to the surface, helplessly drifting with the wave-action of their heavy plodding rhythms, Coconuts' semi-skronked, but not un-melodic, keening guitars like the plaintive calls of homeless, strung-out whales...
We noticed they thank Blues Control, we can see how they'd fit in with those guys, this has got an abstract, similarly droned-out vibe, darker though, and more spare, maybe like void-travelling Moon Duo, stripped down and spooky, a downer-dosed slo-mo krauty psych groove, spacey and druggy. The vocals are hushed moans, drafty exhalations to go with the droney murk and mope of the music, which slowly throbs and buzzes, the percussion an echoing thud, the electric guitar an avant acid blues wash... The confusional element of all this is perhaps accentuated by the digipak packaging, which is oriented with the spine on the longer side, what's normally the top, or bottom... some of us here (ok, it was Allan) griped that this means when you file it on a standard cd shelf, you won't be able to fit it there with the spine facing out, you'll have to have it facing either up or down, so the name of the cd won't be visible, which is normally one of the functions of the spine, but whatever, not a big deal, at least it fits on a cd shelf at all unlike a lot of other cd packaging options. In any case, it's a cool disc!
MPEG Stream: "Lost Bitches"
MPEG Stream: "Dark World"
MPEG Stream: "Dean's Blues"

FAR OUT Nihonjin (Phoenix) lp 24.00
ALSO NOW REISSUED ON VINYL!!
Japanese '70s psych alert! Grab yer Japrocksampler and look this one up, you want it!! (It's number eleven on Julian Cope's list of his top 50 Japanese psych faves.)
Having reissued the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin, we were hoping that Phoenix would turn their attentions to that band's original incarnation. They made one album as Far Out, and rarely has a band name been better chosen. Their 1973 lp is a stone classic, from that iconic white glove hanging on a clothes line in front of a blue background album cover to the two side long tracks of tripped out, heavy psychedelic music within. Well, Phoenix have granted our wish, which is awesome 'cause we've always wanted to list/review this album but previous cd reissues have been expensive and hard to come by.
Track one/side one, "Too Many People", eases the listener into things gently, with an echoing heartbeat pulse, some ambient Moog drone, and sad and mellow vocals, accompanied by delicately grooving guitar/bass... by the halfway point (8 minutes or so in) the track has gotten a lot more menacing, with plodding, heavier beats, thicker bass, adorned with "Eastern" sounding guitar licks and distorted acidic soloing. Yeah! 'Tis something that Flower Travellin' Band fans will find to their liking for sure! Towards the end of the song, when the vocals come back in, it's built up into a rather majestically progtastic piece of work that, when it all too suddenly ends, will leave you, the listener, wondering where your epic Nipponese longhaired fantasyland went, what's with all this boring, non-cosmic, not-so-grandiose reality you've so rudely been reacquainted with?
To fix that, at least temporarily, put the headphones back on, and cue up track two/side two, "Nihonjin", another similarly massive trip that can only be described as "far out"... this cut was later reworked a couple years later for the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin opus, though the original here is rawer, less Klaus Schulzified and symphonic.
Like we said, Cope had this up at #11, but for us it might nudge right into the top 10...
MPEG Stream: "Too Many People"
MPEG Stream: "Nihonjin"

FINAL + FEAR FALLS BURNING s/t (Conspiracy) lp 22.00
Back in stock, FINAL copies we're gonna get!
We're surprised it took this long for these two avant guitarists to join forces, Final, aka Justin Broadrick, aka the man behind Godflesh, Jesu, Grey Machine, Techno Animal etc, and Fear Falls Burning, aka Dirk Serries. In some ways both have a similar approach to the guitar, both able to sculpt sprawling expanses of layered drone music, transforming six strings into something much more, a sound generator capable of conjuring heaving, roiling dronescapes as well as hushed ambient drifts.
The opening track seems more influenced by later period Broadrick, as it sounds a lot like a washed out, minimalized Jesu track, a slow, warm, lugubrious riff, looped over and over, poppy and melodic, but slowed down enough that it becomes trancelike, with Serries (we assume) adding a sky full of tangled and layered high end contrails, adding a dark tension, and a mysterious beauty to the melancholic main riff, the whole thing wreathed in a gauzy dreamlike production.
The second track is more static, less riff based, and more wide open, a blackened landscape of rumbling low end string buzz, and singing high end skree, the skree muted so instead of being piercing, it's more smoldering, a glowing buzz, that pulses and throbs, the guitars constantly shifting, the layers overlapping and intertwining, gorgeous but still tense and dramatic, easily could have been extended to fill up a whole record and we definitely would not have complained.
The flipside begins with a smokey bit of folk flecked darkness, that definitely reminds us of groups like Earth or Barn Owl, a tiny bit of twang, a subtle choral vibe, warm and washed out, melancholy and minor key, the guitar unfurling skeletal melodies that blossom lazily, and then seem to fade into the background, just in time for more to take their place, a subtly active twangscape of muted buzz and almost country sounding drones, again, drifting ghostlike through a sepia toned haze.
The record closes with a gorgeous, thick bit of dronemusic, the background a sitar like buzz gives the track a definite raga like vibe, while in the foreground, another guitar moans, unleashing warped low end melodic tangles, delivered in slow motion, mimicking the sound of a horn almost, a muted bleat, but pulled into strange alien melodies, mirrored by the ever shifting, and highly melodic background buzz. This one definitely could have been stretched out forever, absolutely mesmerizing, the sort of drone you never ever want to end.
Gorgeous packaging, a black on black sleeve, with a very subtle die cut, revealing yet more black from the sleeve within. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES.

GALAXIE 500 Today / Uncollected (20/20/20) 2cd 15.98
Once more with feeling! All three of Galaxie 500's classic studio albums have been affordably reissued each with a bonus disc of one of their previously released post-breakup rarity collections: Uncollected, The Peel Sessions and the live Copenhagen cd. Here's what we recently said about them:
We can't believe it's been 20 years since this trio (and their trio of albums) so gracefully touched our lives during the band's way too brief lifespan. Boy, does it make us feel old! But we can't complain too much as it's so awesome to see these three crucial records available once again! For those who may not know, Galaxie 500 was made up of core members Damon Krukowski (drums), Naomi Yang (bass, vocals) and Dean Wareham (guitar, vocals), who are probably more well known now for the bands that formed in Galaxie 500's wake: Damon and Naomi, Luna, and Dean and Britta.
Hailing from the mid-eighties Boston college rock scene (all three attended Harvard), Galaxie 500 were very different from The Pixies and Throwing Muses, who were the more prominent Boston bands at the time, favoring slower-paced reverbed drenched songs, big in sound but played with a minimalist economy. Influenced by later period Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, Young Marble Giants and early New Order (all of whom they covered), Galaxie 500's signature dream pop sound (courtesy of producer Kramer, Bongwater frontman and head of the great Shimmy-Disc label) paved the way for both the shoegaze and slowcore scenes of the early nineties. In fact Kramer went on to produce Low's debut in 1994. After three great records for Rough Trade, Galaxie 500 parted ways less than amicably, with guitarist/vocalist Wareham unexpectedly quitting to form his own band Luna, leaving the rhythm section of Damon and Naomi to fend for themselves. While both parties went on to more successful ventures, none of them have quite replaced Galaxie 500's unparalleled pop majesty in our hearts.
Today was Galaxie 500's 1988 debut, and it's a slow burning paean to the more unstable sides of love and patient resolve. The elliptical rhythm section smolders and intensifies without ever fully "rocking out" while the warm guitar work strums over the top occasionally veering into understated solos. But Wareham's forlorn low-key vocals with clever but enigmatically simple songwriting is what ties the songs together. The centerpiece of the album is their cover of Jonathan Richman's "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste". The original version being a short, a capella, almost spoken poem, in Galaxie 500's hands, it becomes a simmering epic as they bookend the singing with forceful driving instrumental passages, sounding like something the early Velvets would have come up with. The final song, "King of Spain" was also their first single, and nicely sets up of what this band is all about: lonely and introspective but decisive, leading and in full control.
Today is paired up with with what almost could be considered a lost record, Uncollected: Rarities and Outtakes 1987-1990. Originally compiled for the G500 box set and then released individually, it's a 14-song rarities collection that includes their loving covers of songs by Jonathan Richman (an alternate version of "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste"), Young Marble Giants ("Final Day"), The Rutles ("Cheese and Onions") and The Beatles ("Rain"), as well as nine originals not on any other album. Uncollected serves as a great overview for newcomers to the enduring, wonderful, shimmering dream pop songs of these short-lived, long-disbanded, indie rock deities.
MPEG Stream: "Flowers"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste"
MPEG Stream: "Oblivious"
MPEG Stream: "Final Day"
MPEG Stream: "I Can't Believe It's Me"

GALAXIE 500 On Fire / Peel Sessions (20/20/20) 2cd 15.98
Once more with feeling! All three of Galaxie 500's classic studio albums have been affordably reissued each with a bonus disc of one of their previously released post-breakup rarities collections: Uncollected, The Peel Sessions and the live Copenhagen cd. Here's what we recently said about them:
We can't believe it's been 20 years since this trio (and their trio of albums) so gracefully touched our lives during the band's way too brief lifespan. Boy, does it make us feel old! But we can't complain too much as it's so awesome to see these three crucial records available once again! For those who may not know, Galaxie 500 was made up of core members, Damon Krukowski (drums), Naomi Yang (bass, vocals) and Dean Wareham (guitar, vocals), who are probably more well known now for the bands that formed in Galaxie 500's wake: Damon and Naomi, Luna, and Dean and Britta. Hailing from the mid-eighties Boston college rock scene (all three attended Harvard), Galaxie 500 were very different from The Pixies and Throwing Muses, who were the more prominent Boston bands at the time, favoring slower-paced reverbed drenched songs, big in sound but played with a minimalist economy. Influenced by later period Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, Young Marble Giants and early New Order (all of whom they covered), Galaxie 500's signature dream pop sound (courtesy of producer, Kramer, Bongwater frontman and head of the great Shimmy-Disc label) paved the way for both the shoegaze and slowcore scenes of the early nineties. In fact Kramer went on to produce Low's debut in 1994. After three great records for Rough Trade, Galaxie 500 parted ways less than amicably, with guitarist/vocalist Wareham unexpectedly leaving to form his own band Luna, leaving the rhythm section of Damon and Naomi to fend for themselves. While both parties went on to more successful musical ventures, none of them, at least for us, have quite replaced Galaxie 500's unparalleled pop majesty in our hearts.
On Fire was the band's 1989 follow-up to Today, and is widely considered their best album (though we love them all, and really find it hard to favor one in particular over the others). It's definitely their most varied yet most assured album. The songs have more blissed-out dynamics, without losing their understated verve. The instrumentation is augmented on a few songs by more acoustic guitar underlayers and moments of organ and even guest cameo Ralph Carney's tenor sax on "Decomposing Trees". But a noticeable standout is Naomi Yang singing on "Another Day", a soft gauzy highlight on an already stellar album. If there were any longstanding regrets about this band among fans, the big one would be we wished she got to sing more. The cover song this time goes to George Harrison's "Isn't It A Pity", a sentiment that extends way past Harrison's original intent and hovers over this band like a ghost. The cd version includes all the tracks from the Blue Thunder EP, including the stellar New Order/Joy Division cover, "Ceremony".
On Fire is paired with The Peel Sessions and the band were as dreamy as ever when they stopped by John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show for these sessions back in 1989 and 1990. These eight tracks were compiled from those two visits - the first four were recorded 10/30/90 and the second were from 09/24/89. Included are a few tasty covers of tunes by Young Marble Giants ("Final Day"), Buffy Sainte-Marie ("Moonshot"), The Sex Pistols (Submission), and another version of Jonathan Richman ("Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste") as well as four tracks from the On Fire album.
MPEG Stream: "When Will You Come Home"
MPEG Stream: "Another Day"
MPEG Stream: "Ceremony"
MPEG Stream: "Final Day"
MPEG Stream: "Moonshot"

GALAXIE 500 This Is Our Music / Copenhagen (20/20/20) 2cd 15.98
Once more with feeling! All three of Galaxie 500's classic studio albums have been affordably reissued each with a bonus disc of one of their previously released post-breakup rarities collections: Uncollected, The Peel Sessions and the live Copenhagen cd. Here's what we recently said about them:
We can't believe it's been 20 years since this trio (and their trio of albums) so gracefully touched our lives during the band's way too brief lifespan. Boy, does it make us feel old! But we can't complain too much as it's so awesome to see these three crucial records available once again! For those who may not know, Galaxie 500 was made up of core members, Damon Krukowski (drums), Naomi Yang (bass, vocals) and Dean Wareham (guitar, vocals), who are probably more well known now for the bands that formed in Galaxie 500's wake: Damon and Naomi, Luna, and Dean and Britta. Hailing from the mid-eighties Boston college rock scene (all three attended Harvard), Galaxie 500 were very different from The Pixies and Throwing Muses, who were the more prominent Boston bands at the time, favoring slower-paced reverbed drenched songs, big in sound but played with a minimalist economy. Influenced by later period Velvet Underground, The Modern Lovers, Young Marble Giants and early New Order (all of whom they covered), Galaxie 500's signature dream pop sound (courtesy of producer, Kramer, Bongwater frontman and head of the great Shimmy-Disc label) paved the way for both the shoegaze and slowcore scenes of the early nineties. In fact Kramer went on to produce Low's debut in 1994. After three great records for Rough Trade, Galaxie 500 parted ways less than amicably, with guitarist/vocalist Wareham unexpectedly leaving to form his own band Luna, leaving the rhythm section of Damon and Naomi to fend for themselves. While both parties went on to more successful musical ventures, none of them, at least for us, have quite replaced Galaxie 500's unparalleled pop majesty in our hearts.
This Is Our Music from 1990 wasn't planned as a final album, as the band seemed to be striving for larger recognition with their most accomplished and widely-received record. The opener "Fourth of July" (which was also the single) leaps out with a charge more than any of their other opening songs. Yet most of the rest of the songs are sublimely slow beautiful bummers, with more noticeable shoegazey shimmer. Of course, the centerpiece, yet again is another gorgeous cover. This time it's Yoko Ono's "Listen, The Snow Is Falling". Sung by Yang, the band expands upon a simple original with a stretched out epic instrumental climax. The final track, "King of Spain, Part Two", a kind of reprised follow-up to the B-side of their first single, brings the band around full circle, as the song seems to drift off into the sunset. You couldn't plan a more perfect note for a band like Galaxie 500 to end on. The cd features the Fourth of July single and B-side, VU's "Here She Comes Now", as bonus tracks.
Paired with This Is Our Music is the live Copenhagen disc from a performance in December 1990 recorded by the Danish National Radio. I, (Scott) saw them on this tour (their biggest but sadly their last) in support of the Cocteau Twins, and needless to say, they slayed! The proof is right here!
MPEG Stream: "Fourth of July"
MPEG Stream: "Listen, The Snow Is Falling"
MPEG Stream: "King of Spain pt. 2"
MPEG Stream: "Here She Comes Now (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Let Our Youth Go To Waste (Live)"

HEADS, THE Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive (Invada / Rocket Records) 2lp 28.00
BACK IN STOCK!
NOW AVAILABLE AS A SWANK DOUBLE LP!!!
What we said when we reviewed the now AWOL cd version back in 2008: Hailing from Bristol, England, the ultra-powerful power quartet (formerly a trio) known so appropriately as The Heads are here to freak you out again. We've been waiting for, like, three years for a new full-length album from these guys, who are just about our favorite heavy-psych-stoner-garage-rawk band currently existing in this blessed world. Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive is finally here and we are NOT disappointed. Totally chuffed is more like it.
This, their seventh album, contains 19 new tracks, some of them weird under-a-minute droning FX interludes, others fuzz-fueled manic marathons lasting upwards of a quarter hour. Oh god the fuzz! This is some heavy, heavily distorted wailing swirling insanity indeed. Comets On Fire can't even compare. You have to go to Japan, maybe, and stick your head right next to the amps of a band like High Rise or Mainliner to approximate The Heads' in-the-red, pedals-to-the-metal, flyin' high, inner eye stare down acid energy sound. But we also have to imagine that they think of themselves as a pop band of sorts. The Fall would be one reference (the vocals do remind us of Mark E. Smith). And the Stooges were a pop band too, let's remember, and along with Hawkwind must be one of The Heads biggest sources of inspiration. But The Heads ain't a retro act, this is future/now rock action we're glad to be around to witness (on disc, that is, never seen 'em live but would love to!!).
Punkishly menacing and kind of metallic (with bongos, though!), or spacey and mantric, this never lets up and never gets dull. Over the course of 72 minutes they always seem to have a new trick up their sleeves, or a new pedal to step on... all heads should agree that The Heads have outdone themselves with this one!!
MPEG Stream: "Earth / Sun"
MPEG Stream: ""Pass, The Void""
MPEG Stream: "Return Of The Bemmie"

INFINITE BODY Carve Out the Face of My God (Post Present Medium) lp 11.98
NOW ON VINYL, WITH A DOWNLOAD CODE!
LA's Kyle Parker, working here under the name Infinite Body, is a tireless performer of blissed-out noise and heavily synthesized powerdrone workouts, which accompany a pretty effective light show triggered by various stepped decibel meters. So the louder Parker gets during a piece, the more kaleidoscopic light floods the stage. Simple, but very effective for what the man does. The Infinite Body sound is also simple but very effective, as we've previously enjoyed a couple of amazing (and limited) LPs and a really great split lp with like-minded beautiful malcontent Emaciator. Parker / Infinite Body is one to take off from the post-MBV practice of burying simple melodies and rudimentary structures deep beneath a hyperdelic surface of tactile white noise. The overall timbre of these sounds is a blinding sparkle of sunburst reflection jacked through rudimentary electronics. Intense for sure, and even violent at times; but there's a rarefied beauty to Infinite Body's work that combined with those elegantly violent allusions into a sound sort of like a deconstructed A.R. Kane, as if the dream-pop womb of sound is to envelop the listener and slowly suffocate him or her with cotton candy. It's not quite what David Keenan had in mind when trying to work out a definition for the American aesthetic of Hypnogogic Pop, but both hypnogogia and pop operate well within the boundaries of this Infinite Body. Very nice.
MPEG Stream: "What They Wanted To Be Was Useless"
MPEG Stream: "Out To Where I Am"
MPEG Stream: "Sunshine"

JONAS REINHARDT Powers Of Audition (Kranky) lp 14.98
Now available on vinyl!
It's been a great year for krautrock inspired kosmiche pastiche. As records by Arp, Cloudland Canyon, Growing and White Rainbow have found a new generation using old analog synths to orbit the earth with lots of great results. It was so fitting and ideal that Jonas Reinhardt got to make their live debut playing the after party for the Cluster show in Big Sur at the beginning of summer which some of us were lucky to see, and we were immediately impressed with what is slowly becoming one of the most exciting outfits to emerge from San Francisco in a long while.
Reinhardt is the alter ego of Jesse Reiner who played in Crime In Choir and Ascended Master, as well as serving as one of the guitarists in Citay, whom he recently parted ways with so he could focus all his attention on this project. He's really managed to find his inner Klaus Schulze with this record creating an album that shimmers and pulsates with strength and grace. Like the best of '70s era Tangerine Dream with the ominous moments of Goblin and healthy nods to Cluster and Harmonia this is sure to please fans of spaced out propelling cosmic adventures in sound. It seems as this was recorded before the live version of the band was formed as recent live shows finds Jonas Reinhardt catching much more of a groove as they create 'kraut style' dance parties with totally thrilling results. We can't wait to hear them capture that side of their sound on tape, but until then this is a really great beginning of what we have a feeling will be a long running and rewarding project!
MPEG Stream: "Lord Sleep Monmouth"
MPEG Stream: "Every Terminal Evening"
MPEG Stream: "Tandem Suns"

MALACHAI Ugly Side of Love (Domino) lp 22.00
NOW ON VINYL!!!! This should-have-been-Record-Of-The-Week, big-time-highlight from the last list, now on lp...
This was a total left field surprise, what on the surface appears to be some lost seventies retro rock, proto metal, fuzzy, groovy, heavy jam, is in fact, the work of two electronic musicians who cobbled this disc together via samples, computers, effects and yeah, some actual instruments. We weren't sure how we felt about it at first, but after a few minutes we were pretty much sold. And have been jamming this ever since.
For actual seventies proto-metal freaks, and retro reissue obsessives, this could definitely rub you the wrong way, but for the rest of us, who can dig some twisted modern take on the shit we LOVE, then this might totally hit the spot.
The guitars are fuzzy, the organs are warm and warbly, plenty of twang, some Morricone-esque moodiness, some rad old hard rock drumming, killer vox, hand claps, plenty of jangle, hooks galore, there are also plenty of rad psychedelic interludes, with twisted backwards guitars, swirling FX, all sorts of primitive electronics and layered collaged sounds, but it's the songs that seal the deal. Super heavy, totally groovy, while to these ears it sounds like classic proto-metal, to some folks around here it sounds more like current retro revivalists like White Stripes, Earl Greyhound, Wolfmother, but this stuff is so much cooler and weirder, the little studio tricks that make certain notes stutter, the samples that are played like an instrument but are still wreathed in record crackle, lots of backwards sounds everywhere, it's like some lost sixties psychedelic hard rock lost gem, reimagined and reinterpreted using modern day technology and it RULES.
MPEG Stream: "Shitkicker"
MPEG Stream: "Snowflake"
MPEG Stream: "Blackbird"
MPEG Stream: "Moonsurfin'"

MAUS HAUS Winter / Zig Zag (Rocinante) 7" 5.98
Two new songs from this local Oakland sextet who are not afraid of tight and compositionally complex pop epics. Like a mix of Aavikko's energetic synthetic pop, Grizzly Bear's vocal harmonies and Liars urgent avant leanings, Maus Haus are probably amongst the hardest working local musicians and it shows! This white vinyl 7" comes with a download card for both songs plus three other brand new tracks from their Sea Sides EP. That's a lot of bang for your bucks!

MOJO March 2010 magazine+cd 9.99
Syd Barrett is the cover star, this issue featuring "the inside story of Madcap Laughs" with input from David Gilmour, Robert Wyatt and others. Also this ish: Captain Beefheart, Dr. Feelgood, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the reader's poll 2009, and more. Including, believe it or not, an interview with Sly Stone, who has a new album coming out! As always, LOTS to keep most music junkies busy reading here. Plus there's a free cd on the cover, a "recreation" of Madcap Laughs, covered track-by-track by a diverse selection of artist including Hush Arbours, Skygreen Leopards, Hawkwind, J Mascis, REM, Jennifer Gentle, Hope Sandoval, Robyn Hitchcock, and more!

MOON DUO Killing Time EP (Sacred Bones) 12" 14.98
This has been out of print for a while on vinyl, we just recently listed the cd version, and then suddenly voila, the vinyl is back in print, but for how long, nobody knows, which of course means if you still need the vinyl, grab one quick, while it lasts...
All right! Moon Duo returns with another hazed out transmission from some lost dimension (otherwise known as San Francisco), this one courtesy of the always cool Sacred Bones label. The duo (obviously) features Ripley Johnson from local heroes Wooden Shjips, and their sound is not too far removed from Ripley's main band, maybe a little more ethereal and not quite as overtly "rocking", but definitely following a similar path of hypnotic, fuzzy repetition that we can't get enough of.
Moon Duo are capable of creating powerful songs from very little and they obviously understand the power of simplicity. Each of the four songs on this ep utilize the same hypnotic drum machine groove, altered to various pitches and speeds to accommodate each individual song. The result is like a mechanical heartbeat, throbbing relentlessly with krauty precision, and almost serving as some sort of chain to link each of the songs together. The record begins with "Killing Time", which sounds a bit like a Joy Division part looped forever as the soft, distorted vocals lurk beneath melodic guitars and fuzzy background static. With its buzzing organ and controlled feedback, "Speed" rocks a bit like Suicide augmented by shrieking guitar pulses and, uh, harmonica? Maybe. The cool thing here is how sounds blend together in a cyclone of warm, pulsating analog goodness. At times you are unaware of what you're hearing, and even though it gets noisy and overblown, the results are always catchy and super melodic.
Side 2 begins with "Dead West", which has a cool underwater feel. The song fucks with your perception of time and place, as it could have been recorded 40 years ago or 40 years from now. Sonically, it is a bit reminiscent of fellow California space travelers Sun Araw with its percussive guitar strumming and shimmering psychedelic feel, as a little keyboard melody stands at the center of things while the rest of the sounds oscillate all over the place. "Ripples" gives off a Spacemen 3 vibe as the drumbeat is slowed significantly. The guitars have a nice bit of twang to them, and the sounds once again appear to get caught in some sort of musical whirlpool as they merge together before a cool fadeout.
Picking up where the last ep left off, Killing Time finds Moon Duo descending even deeper into a state of super rhythmic, dreamy psychedelia. Just the way we like it.

MUTANTES, OS E Seus Cometas No Pais Do Baurets (Universal) lp 17.98
NOW ON VINYL! Cool. We've never had this fifth Mutantes platter on vinyl before, but it's just been reissued, and the cd is AWOL, so here's what we said about that version, a few years back:
One more time, welcome to the mixed-up Technicolor tropicalia psych-pop pleasuredome that is the music of Brazil's one and only Os Mutantes! This, their fifth album, from 1972, was their last with original vocalist Rita Lee before the band headed off into way proggier '70sness on later efforts of that decade, and it's one splashy send-off all right. We've said before that Mutantes discs #1 (Os Mutantes) and #2 (Mutantes) are the absolute must-have essentials, with #3 (A Divina Comedia Ou) running a close third... but #4 (Jardim Eletrico), and this fifth one too are also full of great Mutantes moments that fans should certainly hear! (And it should be added that if you dig Yes, tracking down some of those subsequent Mutantes efforts might be worth it as well...)
It should come as no surprise to Mutantes aficionados that as a collection of songs, Mutantes E Seus Cometas No Pais Do Baurets is all over the place, from the McCartneyesque, Moog sizzling "Balada Do Louco" to the groovy, wacked-out prog-funk of the nearly 10-minute long title track. You'll hear peppy '50s rockabilly pastiche ("Posso Perder Minha Mulher, Minha Mae, Desde Que Tenha O Rock And Roll"), Zep-heavy fuzz rockers ("A Hora E A Vez Do Cabelo Nascer"), lovely folkiness ("Vida de Cachorro"), and a honky tonk piano beerhall singalong ("Todo Mundo Pastou II"). And one of Allan's (but not necessarily everybody else here's) favorite tracks has got to be the ultra kitschy, goofy "Dune Buggy"... there's certainly lots of humor and bizarre bits woven in and out of pretty much all these tunes, again as per Mutantes' usual modus operandi (as is the Beatles influence felt throughout). Definitely a fun listen!
MPEG Stream: "A Hora E A Vez Do Cabelo Nascer"
MPEG Stream: "Vida de Cachorro"
MPEG Stream: "Dune Buggy"

PIERCED ARROWS Descending Shadows (Vice) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl!
The sudden breakup of garage punk legends Dead Moon caught more than a few people off guard, but we safely assumed Fred and Toody Cole, rock n' roll lifers by definition, wouldn't sit still for too long. Now Fred and Toody are back at it with new drummer Kelly Halliburton, and fans of the Coles' vast musical history will surely rejoice. The sound is not too far removed from Dead Moon - in fact, we might go as far as to say that it isn't in any way removed - so if you dig scuzzy, no frills rock free of all bullshit, this will be right up your alley. Descending Shadows cuts right to the point with production that is upfront and immediate, not at all over the top, working perfectly for these impassioned tunes. Vocals are split pretty evenly between the Coles and there is plenty of great husband and wife punk harmonizing. The songs are full of classic Pacific Northwest fuzz and grit, with Toody's simple driving basslines and Halliburton's steady pound working right alongside Fred's melodic riffing. For fans of Dead Moon, this one is a no brainer, while Descending Shadows is also a highly worthy place to start for the uninitiated. Really awesome stuff, not surprisingly.
MPEG Stream: "This Is The Day"
MPEG Stream: "Paranoia"
MPEG Stream: "On The Move"

SHOUT OUT LOUDS Work (Merge) lp 16.98
Also on vinyl... The third full length by this Stockholm based band is the first to reach our ears... thanks to those fine folks at Merge Records. Seriously, have they ever steered us wrong? We think not!
Although the black and white band photo on the front cover made us think tis was an obscure '80s Talking Heads or Camper Van Beethoven record, Shout Out Louds are a perfect fit on the label who delivered Superchunk, Destroyer, Arcade Fire, The Clientele, She & Him, and Camera Obscura among many others. If you dig pretty chiming guitar lines and sweet boy vocals, don't miss this! The album starts out with a punch then gradually mellows out over the course of the next few songs. Along the way they incorporate elements of '70s soft rock, '80s art rock, '90s college rock. Yes, that's a lot of rock rock rock, but they do dish out the pop a-plenty too! Definitely for fans of New Pornographers, Death Cab For Cutie, Peter, Bjorn And John, and The Pernice Brothers!
MPEG Stream: "Fall Hard"
MPEG Stream: "Throwing Stones"

SPACEMEN 3 Sound Of Confusion (Fire Records) lp 16.98
It took over a month, but these hotcakes are finally repressed and back in stock!!
Hmm. There's no point in really "reviewing" Spacemen 3 records at this point. They're surely one of the top 10 greatest bands to ever exist and even with their influence touching so many bands everywhere, no one - NO ONE - sounds like Spacemen 3. They just got it in ways other bands couldn't. Simple as that. It sure is great to have the band's Glass Records output, their first three full lengths, available on vinyl (some nice 180 gram vinyl to boot) for the first time in God knows how long. They look amazing in their heavy duty sleeves, and after years of absorbing every molecule of the shitty looking Taang Records cd versions, seeing these records as they were initially presented puts things into perspective even more. They just look so classic, so timeless, and so many years later, it makes perfect sense why we felt like we uncovered some secret portal when we discovered this band. Any song they ever did is the perfect soundtrack to any moment of any or every day.
Sound Of Confusion was the band's first statement after building up a repertoire for a few years. It's their most aggressive record and even though the future was full of surprises, it is the album that set the template for how most people will describe Spacemen 3: loud droning guitars, a minimal but intensely psychedelic approach that is almost violent in its focus, and of course, an inseparable cloak of drugginess. Lyrically, you just can't fuck with songs like "Losing Touch With My Mind" and their mindblowing cover of Juicy Lucy's "Just One Time", retitled as "Mary Anne". The album contains three originals, and three amazing covers that manage to become originals, and a sort of original/cover hybrid. Everything Spacemen 3 did is worth your time, they're definitely an appropriate band to get obsessed with, so why not start at the beginning?
MPEG Stream: "Losing Touch With My Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Hey Man"
MPEG Stream: "Mary Anne"

SPACEMEN 3 The Perfect Prescription (Fire Records) lp 16.98
It took over a month, but these hotcakes are finally repressed and back in stock!!
Hmm. There's no point in really "reviewing" Spacemen 3 records at this point. They're surely one of the top 10 greatest bands to ever exist and even with their influence touching so many bands everywhere, no one - NO ONE - sounds like Spacemen 3. They just got it in ways other bands couldn't. Simple as that. It sure is great to have the band's Glass Records output, their first three full lengths, available on vinyl (some nice 180 gram vinyl to boot) for the first time in God knows how long. They look amazing in their heavy duty sleeves, and after years of absorbing every molecule of the shitty looking Taang Records cd versions, seeing these records as they were initially presented puts things into perspective even more. They just look so classic, so timeless, and so many years later, it makes perfect sense why we felt like we uncovered some secret portal when we discovered this band. Any song they ever did is the perfect soundtrack to any moment of any or every day.
For some people, it's Playing With Fire. For others, probably most, it's The Perfect Prescription, Spacemen 3's ultimate statement and the record where everything was working together in absolute harmony. The record cover itself seems to completely capture the essence of Spacemen 3, with Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce holding their guitars, eyes closed, no doubt concentrating deeply on the contents of their minds. It seems fair to call this their pinnacle, as things would become increasingly more split between the group's mainmen from this point on. The Perfect Prescription is one of those rare albums that is completely beyond criticism. Don't even try. Beginning in classic Spacemen 3 style with "Take Me To The Other Side", the album subsequently incorporates a wide array of influences and styles, from soul to gospel to country, making it clear that, even though they did it better than anyone else, there was far more to this band than just walls of fuzzed out drones. Even with this diversity, everything on the album belongs to Spacemen 3 - especially their cover of the Red Crayola's "Transparent Radiation" - and they were able to harness all their powers into something which is, yeah, pretty fuckin' definitive. We could go on forever, but we won't.
MPEG Stream: "Take Me To The Other Side"
MPEG Stream: "Walkin' With Jesus"
MPEG Stream: "Feel So Good"

SPACEMEN 3 Performance (Fire Records) lp 16.98
It took over a month, but these hotcakes are finally repressed and back in stock!!
Hmm. There's no point in really "reviewing" Spacemen 3 records at this point. They're surely one of the top 10 greatest bands to ever exist and even with their influence touching so many bands everywhere, no one - NO ONE - sounds like Spacemen 3. They just got it in ways other bands couldn't. Simple as that. It sure is great to have the band's Glass Records output, their first three full lengths, available on vinyl (some nice 180 gram vinyl to boot) for the first time in God knows how long. They look amazing in their heavy duty sleeves, and after years of absorbing every molecule of the shitty looking Taang Records cd versions, seeing these records as they were initially presented puts things into perspective even more. They just look so classic, so timeless, and so many years later, it makes perfect sense why we felt like we uncovered some secret portal when we discovered this band. Any song they ever did is the perfect soundtrack to any moment of any or every day.
Performance was released to fulfill contractual obligations with Glass, sort of an easy solution before moving on to bigger things. Still, it comes completely recommended, as it captures Spacemen 3 in a live setting on the Perfect Prescription tour, and there's no reason to complain about that. Apparently they weren't exactly pleased with this particular set, and the drums are surprisingly low in the mix, but they tear things up just as you would expect, with the molten guitars taking over everything everywhere. Recorded in 1988 in a setting one could imagine the band being quite comfortable in - Amsterdam - Performance is a fiery run through some early classics, and it will no doubt give you further insight into Spacemen 3's revolutionary approach. Goddamn, there sure aren't any bands like this these days.
MPEG Stream: "Mary Anne"
MPEG Stream: "Take Me To The Other Side"
MPEG Stream: "Starship"

SPIN April 2010 magazine 4.99
Special "under the influence" issue. No, they didn't get all their writers drunk. Instead, the idea is, "a bunch of stars grill their idols", hence, Britt Daniel talks to Ray Davies, Charlotte Gainsbourg talks to Kim Gordon, Ted Leo talks to Paul Weller, Billy Joe Armstrong talks to Paul Westerberg, Gerard Way talks to Iggy Pop... plus there's the usual other stuff you'd expect to find in an issue of Spin.

STROTTER INST. Bolzplatz (Everest Records) 10" 17.98
Got a few copies of this avant turntable masterpiece back in, figured we'd relist it in anticipation of the almost for sure upcoming Strotter Inst instore!
We are huge fans of weird turntable music, from Jeck, to Gum, to Otomo Yoshihide, to Martin Tetrault, but as much as we love all of those folks, our heart belongs to Strotter Inst., aka, Christoph Hess, an older Swiss turntable mad scientist, who creates Frankensteinian record players with multiple arms, weird obstructions forcing the needle to jump and skip, strange strings and rubber bands, that the moving parts pluck and strike, all creating gorgeous mechanical symphonies of sound, with JUST the player, when the manipulated records are added (and they often are NOT), things only get more expansive and lush and amazing.
This latest release from Hess finds his interest in fucking with lps and their players extending to even the pressing process, with the various tracks mastered at different speeds, requiring a small diagram on the label demonstrating which part of which side plays at which speed. Not that it necessarily matters, as Hess' crazy sonic concoctions sound great at any speed.
The sounds here follow on from those on the many other records of his we've reviewed, like some sort of minimal DIY krautrock, or a band like Avarus, populated exclusively by homebuilt noise making robots, all assembled from turntables, it is unbelievable to hear these sounds and know they were designed and planned by Hess, but it's the machines that are creating these gorgeous hypnotic rhythmscapes.
Hypnotic, repetitive, cyclical, but always shifting subtly, crackle, scrape, rumble, hiss, skip, all deftly arranged into propulsive grooves, the rubber bands offering up melody, strange rubbery tones, percussive, but definitely melodic, while the turntable itself, when not striking or plucking the bands, unleashes strange grinding rhythms, peppered with percussive scapes, haunting textural whirs, the rhythms almost tribal, often skeletal and sparse, but just as often dense and layered, when the records are included in the sound making, the various manipulated grooves, spit out even more strange clicks and moans and bleeps and even some strangely appropriate counter rhythms.
Absolutely fantastic stuff, we would imagine as amazing to see as to hear, lucky for us, there's a good chance, Hess will be in the US soon, and will hopefully be visiting aQ for a demonstration / performance.

TERRORIZER issue #193 magazine 9.25
The February '10 issue of the UK's ultimate extreme metal magazine (always a must read we think) is here. Finntroll are the cover stars, and they deserve to be, what with all the trouble they went to with makeup, costuming, prosthetic troll ears and stuff. Plus they're awesome. Also this ish: Sigh, Shining (the jazzy one), Rotting Christ, Cathedral, Ov Hell, Anaal Nathrakh, Eyehategod, Cannibal Corpse, Nirvana 2002, Chthonic, White Wizzard, Claw, and loads more. Also, news of a Godflesh reunion, a special feature on the origins of "metalcore", and a bit about the upcoming Roadburn fest that Allan's gearing up to go to.

WIRE, THE #314 April 2010 magazine+cd 9.98
Yay! Konono No.1 and their "Congotronics" on the cover! And also stuck to the cover, "The Wire Tapper 23" cd sampler w/ Han Bennink, Clogs, The A Band, Raymond Dijkstra, Rolf Julius, Aaron Martin, and a whole bunch of others we haven't ever heard of. Inside, interviews and stuff about Joanna Newsom, Giacinto Scelsi, Eleh, Edgard Varese, Stefan Goldmann, The Gaslamp Killer, and more. Plus all the usual interesting reviews and columns and charts and all.

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V/A Good God! Born Again Funk (Numero) lp 19.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON LP!!!
You know music is beyond powerful and soulful when it can be all about faith in something you don't personally believe in, yet you can't stop listening to it! The sentiment, passion and energy put into the music transcends any one specific belief and becomes more about the music and its ability to truly tap into raw spirit and deep conviction.
Such is the case for the amazing gospel jams compiled once again by the always dependable Numero Group, in their second volume of gospel burners that we think might even outshine their first installment from a few years back. These are the reeeeal deal, unfiltered sounds that were blasting in black churches in the 1960's. Informed by the soul and deep funk of popular secular music, folks took that inspiration into their churches to create sweaty, impassioned deep grooved fiery and catchy songs that spoke of their deep running spirituality and beliefs. And it's just impossible not to get swept up in the spirit of these songs. Musically it's just some of the most solid, groove filled and exquisitely performed soul music we've ever heard. The equivalent of getting to hear Aretha Franklin or James Brown let it all hang out in the house of the Lord. Most of the tracks here come from Chicago, whose long history of spiritual soul is reaffirmed once again.
While most of us here are everything from Atheists to Buddhists to Jewish to Quaker to Agnostic to worshipers of nature and sometimes even Satan (got to represent out black metal tendencies) we all can't help but testify to the righteous sounds in this collection. For the duration of the eighteen songs on Good God! Born Again Funk, we are all devout believers! Vinyl version coming in a few weeks, by the way...
MPEG Stream: T.L. BARRETT & YOUTH FOR CHRIST CHOIR "Life A Ship"
MPEG Stream: THE INSPIRATIONAL GOSPEL SINGERS "The Same Thing It Took"
MPEG Stream: SENSATIONAL FIVE "Coming On Strong"

V/A Maximum Freakbeat (Past & Present) cd 17.98
'60s beat music gettin' crazy and psychedelic, but not too flower-powery psych, more hard and frenzied, that's "freakbeat", music that took throbbing distortion and unhinged vocals to outta control heights never before heard on this planet, and rarely since with this much swinging sixties style. The early Who, maybe The Sonics in the USA, that's freakbeat: rockin' stuff to which terms like "deranged" and "psychotic" can be applied with abandon. Supposedly most authentic freakbeat dates from 1966, certainly many of the 21 tracks here do, on this killer comp of bands from the UK and elsewhere doing the freakbeat thing. You've heard of the Troggs, they're on there doing "Lost Girl", maybe also you know Syndicat ("Crawdaddy Simone") and Wimple Witch ("Save My Soul"), if you do you'll be curious to hear the other acts you maybe haven't heard of, and if you DON'T know those songs, you're in for a treat, they're classics indeed. Sinister grooves, sneering vox, this stuff was about as punk as it got back then, catchy and chaotic. The besides the three we mentioned, the lineup here includes Elois, Red Squares, Truth, Lee Kings, Crying Shames, Southern Sound, Missing Links, Mark Four, Wheels, Game, Mascots, Fairies, Motions, Thor's Hammer, Allen Pound's Get Rich, Primitives, and Ricketts. Originally released about 10 years ago, now back in print thanks to Past & Present, who appreciate a good compilation (see their own Maximum Prog highlighted this list for an example).
MPEG Stream: WIMPLE WITCH "Save My Soul"
MPEG Stream: TROGGS "Lost Girl"
MPEG Stream: THOR'S HAMMER "I Don't Care"
MPEG Stream: ALLEN POUND'S GET RICH "Searchin' In The Wilderness"

V/A Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 (Subliminal Sounds) lp 28.00
This is a bit confusing, like the lp version of volume 1, this lp has the same title as the cd version yet has a decidedly different tracklisting. Needless to say, if you've dug these comps, and wished for a vinyl version, this is definitely worth picking up, and if you're a vinyl fanatic, and have never checked out any of the Thai Beat A Go-Go series, boy are you in for a treat.
Hot on the heels of the first volume, Subliminal Sounds has released this second collection of Thai garage beat pop go-go madness. And we have to say it might be even better than the first. Like the first volume the tracks here are all distinct replicas of popular music from the Occident of the late sixties, including lots of covers (like The Beatles' "Lady Madonna"). But what makes this collection stand out for us is both the inclusion of a wider range of severely demented production aesthetics and a great deal more songs that, vocally, sound more Thai. The album starts off with a bang courtesy of Viparat Piengsuwan's "YoK YoK" with chipper explosive vocals that could only come from Thailand. So cute it'll make you barf. We're soon led into Surapon's "Ding Dong", which sounds like a seriously fucked up deconstruction of the "Surfing Bird". All the tracks are fantastic and freaked out.
The songs sure, but of course, there's the demented production too, like excessive reverb in the oddest places and a strange Thai version of the Chipmunks vocals that'll have you spitting your milk out your nose. Highly recommended!

V/A Willow Songs (Finders Keepers) cd 17.98
The original Wicker Man movie has got to be one of our all time favorite films as well as pretty much one of our all time favorite soundtracks. The movie falls into an elusive subgenre of psych-folk films like The Ballad of Tam-Lin, or Herzog's Heart of Glass, that mix pre-Christian folkloric musical elements and themes with a modern or counter-cultural revivalism often with darkly beautiful and sometimes terrifying results. There is no doubt that the Wicker Man as both a film and soundtrack was a key touchstone in the recent freak-folk movement. That the songs featured on that soundtrack with all their barely concealed bawdyness and lyrical waxing of the cycles of nature, sexuality and death were actually based on traditional British folk music is at this point no surprise either. Finder's Keepers does a lovely job here collecting much of the traditional material that formed the basis for the songs performed in the Wicker Man movie. Although the most remembered song from that movie, "Willow's Song" was not traditionally based, it's the song that let us into the perverse mysticism of the movie's characters and made us pay attention to the duplicitous meanings found in the traditional material. Here, that song is represented by a beautiful instrumental version taken from the original soundtrack recordings but not featured on the actual soundtrack release. The cd also features traditional versions of "Corn Rigs", based on a Robert Burns poem, "Gently, Johnny", the Maypole song "Rattlin' Bog", and "Highland Lament", as well as children's songs and instrumental jigs.
MPEG Stream: "Highland Lament"
MPEG Stream: "Gently Johnny, My Jingalo"
MPEG Stream: "Willow's Song (Instrumental)"
MPEG Stream: "Willy O'Winsbury"

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

ALVA NOTO "For 2" (12K) cd 14.98
AMON DUDE & THE HOOPO / NUSLUX "split" 7" 9.98
ANDREW W.K. "Close Calls With Brick Walls / Mother of Mankind" (Steev Mike) 2cd 17.98
ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT "Coconut" (Domino) cd/lp 14.98/22.00
ARCHITEUTHIS REX "Dark As The Sea" (Utech) cd 14.98
ATOM TM "Music Is Better Than Pussy" (Rather Interesting) cd 21.00
BEAUTIFUL LOSERS, THE "Nobody Knows The Heaven" (Lion Productions) cd 16.98
BHATTACHARYA, DEBASHISH "O Shakuntala!" (Riverboat) cd 16.98
BLEAK HOUSE "Suspended Animation" (Buried By Time And Dust) cd/lp 11.98/25.00
BLEEKER, ALEX AND THE FREAKS "s/t" (Underwater Peoples) lp 14.98
BON NO KUBO "s/t" (PSF) cd 16.98
BONNIE "PRINCE" BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG "The Wonder Show Of The World" (Palace / Drag City) cd/lp 14.98/17.98
BURZUM "Belus" (Byelobog Productions) cd 21.00
CHERRY, DON "Brown Rice" (A&M) cd 17.98
DECREPITAPH "Beyond The Cursed Tomb" (Razorback) cd 10.98
DERAKUSHI "s/t" (PSF) cd 16.98
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN "Option Analysis" (Season Of Mist) cd 16.98
DRUNKDRIVER "Born Pregnant" (Parts Unknown) lp 13.98
ELEH "Location Momentum" (Touch) cd 15.98
EUGENIUS "Oomalama & Tireless Wireless" (Fire) 2cd 23.00
FACTUMS "A Primitive Future" (Assophone) lp 16.98
FAY, BILL "Still Some Light" (Coptic Cat) 2cd 15.98
FEHLMANN, THOMAS "Gute Luft" (Kompakt) cd/2lp + cd 15.98/19.98
FLUXION "Perfused" (echocord) cd 16.98
FRAT DAD "Greg The Nerd / Freak In Nature" (Underwater Peoples) 7"
FURSAXA "Mycorrhizae Realm" (ATP) cd 14.98
GIL, GILBERTO "Bandadois" (Geleia Geral / Warners) cd 17.98
GLANDS OF EXTERNAL SECRETION "Meat Receiving" (Ultra Eczema) lp 27.00
GOLDFRAPP "Head First" (Mute) cd 14.98
HANCOCK, HERBIE "Secrets" (Columbia) cd 6.98
HELLISH CROSSFIRE "Bloodrust Scythe" (I Hate Records) cd 15.98
HORAFLORA "Gland Canyon" (Instal Records) cd-r 8.98
HOWE, CATHERINE "What A Beautiful Place" (Numero) lp 17.98
JAMESON RAID "Just As The Dust Has Settled" (Shadow Kingdom) cd 14.98
JARNOW, AL "Celestial Navigations: The Short Films Of Al Jarnow" (Numero) dvd 28.00
JOHNSON, TOMMY "Cool Drink Of Water Blues" (Monk) 2lp 30.00
KINGDOM COME (ARTHUR BROWN'S) "Galctic Zoo Dossier" (Esoteric) cd 23.00
KLEENEX / LILIPUT "Live Recordings, TV-Clips & Roadmovie" (Kill Rock Stars) cd + dvd 19.98
KNIFE, THE (IN COLLABORATION WITH MT. SIMS & PLANNINGTOROCK) "Tomorrow, In A Year" (Rabid / Mute) 2cd 19.98
LEMONADE "Pure Moods" (True Panther Sounds) 12" 8.98
LEWIS, FURRY "I Will Turn Your Money Green" (Monk) 2lp 30.00
LISA O PIU "Behind The Bend" (Subliminal Sounds) lp 22.00
LOS CAMPESINOS "Romance Is Boring" (Arts & Crafts) cd 14.98
LOTHAR AND THE HAND PEOPLE "Presenting..." (Microwerks) cd 12.98
LUSTMORD "[TRANSMUTED]" (Hydra Head) 12" 10.98
MOUNT FUJI DOOM JAZZ CORPORATION "Succubus" (Ad Noiseam) cd 23.00
NABAY, AHMED JANKA "Bubu King" (True Panther Sounds) 12" 9.98
NOTHING PEOPLE "Soft Crash" (S.S.) lp 14.98
ONNA "Katawa" (PSF) cd 16.98
PANTHA DU PRINCE "Stick To My Side" (Rough Trade) 12" 8.98
PELT "A Stone For Angus Maclise" (self released) lp 17.98
RAMASES "Glass Top Coffin" (Esoteric) cd 23.00
ROGUE WAVE "Permalight" (Brushfire) cd 15.98
SAFT, JAMIE "Black Shabbis" (Tzadik) cd 16.98
SAINT VITUS "Born Too Late" (SST) lp 12.98
SAINT VITUS "Thirsty And Miserable" (SST) 12" 9.98
SERENA-MANEESH "No. 2: Abyss In B Minor" (4AD) cd 13.98
SERPENT'S KNIGHT "Silent Knight...Of Myth And Destiny" 2cd 17.98
SESAME STREET "Old School Vol. 1" (E1 Entertainment) 3cd 21.00
SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA, THEE "Kollaps Tradixionales" (Constellation) cd/cd+book 15.98/21.00
SJOB "Movement" (Academy) cd/lp 13.98/13.98
SONODA, SATOSHI "Everything Lies Beyond The Boring Summer Grasses: Early Works Of Satoshi Sonoda 1977->1978 Memories Of Yashushi Ozawa" (PSF) cd 16.98
SPECIAL INTERESTS "Volume 2" magazine 3.98
SPEED, GLUE & SHINKI "Eve" (Phoenix) lp 24.00
SUMMER CATS "Your Timetable" (Slumberland) 7" 5.50
SUN RA AND HIS MYTH SCIENCE SOLAR ARKESTRA "The Antique Blacks" (Art Yard) cd 21.00
TANGERINE DREAM "Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares" (Lilith) lp 26.00
TANLINES "Settings" (True Panther Sounds) 12" 9.98
THOU / LEECH "We Pass Like Night, From Land To Land" (Gilead Media) lp 16.98
TRIPTYKON "Eparistera Daimones" (Century Media) cd 13.98
URAL UMBO "s/t" (Utech) cd 14.98
V/A "Harder Shade Of Black" (Pressure Sounds) cd/lp 15.98/14.98
V/A "Karl Rove: Courage And Concequence" (Seismic.Wave) lp 20.00
V/A "Killing Melody: Instrumental Music From Japanese Pinky Violence Movies" (Ethbo) lp 28.00
V/A "Nigeria Afrobeat Special" (Sound Way) cd/lp 16.98/30.00
V/A "Reportage: Spela Sjalv" (Expo Norr) lp 17.98
V/A "Secret Museum Of Mankind Vol. 1" (Outernational) 2lp 32.00
V/A "Wolf's At The Door: Lost Recordings From The Spirit Of The South" (Sutro Park) lp 17.98
VAINIO, MIKA / KOUHEI MATSUNAGA / SEAN BOOTH "3. Telepathics Meh In-Sect Connection" (Important Records) cd 14.98
VANGELIS "Who Killed The Dragon? (The BYG Sessions)" (Finders Keepers) 12" 14.98
VHS HEAD "Video Club" (Skam) cd 9.98
VOICE OF THE SEVEN THUNDERS "s/t" (T Chant) cd 14.98
WARMTH "Original Warmth" (Turgid Animal) cd 12.98
WHILE HEAVEN WEPT "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" (Cruz Del Sur) cd 16.98
WHITE FENCE "s/t" (Make A Mess) lp 14.98
WHITE STRIPES. THE "Under Great White Northern Lights" (Warner) cd 16.98

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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" category and see the price for "Priority Mail International". 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound. 1 lp is usually a little over 1.5 pounds.)


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" category and see the price for "Priority Mail International", which is the way insured packages are sent. 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound. 1 lp is usually a little over 1.5 pounds.)

For example: for a one-pound package worth $18 going to England, shipping without insurance is about $11.00. But with insurance, the shipping / insurance total is over $26.00!

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Money orders are accepted, but only in $USD. International customers please note that they must be international postal money orders purchased at a post office. Additional processing fees may apply. 

If you wish to pay by money order, you must confirm the order with us through email or phone BEFORE you send any payment. It's best to just use the secure order form on the website, and when checking out mark money order as your payment choice. We will then process your order and respond with all the crucial payment info.

We also accept payment by Paypal. If you opt for this payment method, we will send you a paypal total and payment instructions as soon as we've confirmed your order with you. Please do not send payment until you have received human contact from our mailorder department.

Unfortunately, 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 right now, here real soon
Pagan Altar "Judgement Of The Dead" vinyl reissue on Buried By Time And Dust
v/a "Pomegranates" vinyl version on Finders Keepers

----} March 30th
Dum Dum Girls "I Will Be" cd/lp on Sub Pop
Hooded Menace "Never Cross The Dead" cd on Profound Lore
Circus Devils "Mother Skinny" cd/lp on Happy Jack
Starkey "Stars (Feat. Anneka)" 12" on Planet Mu
Culted "Of Death And Ritual" cd on Relapse

----} April 6th
Dead Meadow "3 Kings" cd+dvd/2lp on Xemu
Jonsi "Go" cd/lp on XL

----} April 13th
Brillian Colors "Never Mine" 7" on Slumberland
Thou "Baton Rouge, You Have Much To..." 12" on Robotic Empire
Capsule "Tape + Demo + Tour + More" lp on Robotic Empire
Crazy Dreams Band "War Dream" lp on Holy Mountain

----} also in April
Daniel Higgs "Say God" 2cd/2lp on Thrill Jockey
Mi Ami "Steal Your Face" cd/lp on Thrill Jockey
Trans Am "Thing" cd/lp on Thrill Jockey
Lali Puna "Our Inventions" cd/lp on Morr Music
Roky Erickson "True Love Casts Out All Evil" cd on Anti
Erykah Badu "New Amerikah, Part 2"
Growing "Pumps" cd on Vice
Sharon Jones & The Dapkings "I Learned The Hard Way" cd on Daptone
Darkthrone "Circle The Wagons" cd on Peaceville
Black Francis "Nonstoperotik"
Sylvain Chauveau "Singular Forms" cd on Type
Kayo Dot "Coyote" cd on Hydra Head
Sloath s/t lp on Riot Season
Acid Mothers Temple "In O To Infinity" cd on Important
Ambarchi / O'Rourke / Haino "Time Formosa" cd on Black Truffle
Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg s/t (aka "Je T'aime") cd/lp on Light In The Attic
Ken Camden "Lethargy & Repercussions" cd/lp on Kranky

----} May 4th
The New Pornographers "Together" cd/lp on Matador

----} June 8th
Watain "Lawless Darkness" cd/lp on Season Of Mist

----} also upcoming sooner or later or sooner or later or whenever
Billy Green "Stone (OST)" vinyl version on Finders Keepers
Expo 70 "Sonic Messenger" and "Black Ohms" vinyl editions on Beta-lactam Ring
v/a "Cold Waves & Minimal Electronics Vol. 1" cd/2lp on Angular
Wet Dog "Frauhaus" lp on Captured Tracks
Jean-Pierre Massiera "Horrific Child" cd/lp reissue on Finders Keepers
v/a "The T.A.M.I. Show" dvd
Jack Rose & Glenn Jones "Things That We Used To Do" dvd on Strange Attractors
The Sticks "s/t" cd/2x7" on Upset The Rhythm
Xasthur "2005 Demo" 12" reissue on Hydra Head
Harvey Milk "s/t" vinyl edition on Hydra Head
Torche / Boris "Chapter Ahead Being Fake" split 10" on Hydra Head
Pyramids w/ Nadja "Lustmord / Ulver Remix" 12" on Hydra Head
Vex'd "Cloud Seed" cd/2lp on Planet Mu
M. Holterbach & Julia Eckhardt "Do-Undo" cd on Helen Scarsdale
Flying Lotus "Cosmograma"
Jonsi Birgisson "Go" cd on XL
Alps "Le Voyage" cd/lp on Type
Grasslung "Feeding Your Horizon" on Root Strata
Jim Haynes "Rocks. Hills. Plains" on Root Strata
Nurse With Wound "Skrag" cd on United Dairies
Jonathan Coleclough "Flutter" 2cd-r on October
Johann Johannsson "And In The Endless Pause" cd/lp on Type
Jay Reatard "Blood Visions" lp on Fat Possum
King Khan & BBQ Show "Invisible Girl" cd/lp on In The Red
Felix "You Are The One I Pick" cd on Kranky
Papercuts "Where Are The Waves" cd on Gnomonsong
The Roots "How I Got Over" cd
Max Richter "Memory House" cd
Crispy Ambulance "Plateau Phase" cd reissue on LTM
Ocean "Pantheon Of The Lesser" 2lp version on Important
Grumbling Fur (Guapo + Jussi from Circle) cd
Combat Astronomy "Earth Divided by Zero" cd
Anton Batagov "Passionate Desire To Be An Angel" cd on Long Arms Records
Japancakes "If I Could See Dallas"
Jazzfinger "The Sun's Golden Blood" cd on Beta-Lactam Ring
v/a "Noise Room" cd on Soniq
Country Teasers / Ezee Tiger split lp on Holy Mountain
Erase Errata TBA cd on Kill Rock Stars
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists TBA cd/lp on Touch And Go
Rodan TBA cd/lp on Quarterstick
Deftones "Eros" cd on Warner Bros.
Swell Maps "International Rescue" clear vinyl LP reissue on Alive
Loss "Despond" cd on Profound Lore
Trans Am "What Day Is Tonight" cd on Thrill Jockey
Boduf Songs "Strait Gait" cd/lp on Latitudes
Barn Owl "The Conjurer" cd on Root Strata
Current 93 "BS:SO" cd on Coptic Cat
Mark Van Hoen "Where Is The Truth" cd/lp on City Center Offices
The Fall "Future Our Clutter"
New Pornographers "Together"
Panda Bear "Tomboy"

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Lots of love from your devoted AQ staff

Andee Cup Jim AllanIrwinScottNickSallyJonandAndrew