ASHLEY, GREG Medicine Fuck Dream (Birdman) cd 13.98
Medicine Fuck Dream is the debut recording for the Texan expatriate Greg Ashley, who now calls Oakland his home. With the current roster of multi-faceted psychedelia spread throughout Northern California (i.e. Jewelled Antler, Six Organs Of Admittance, Kelly Stoltz, etc.), the East Bay seems well suited to Ashley's druggist songwriting. Yup, the whole album seems to be cast in a fog of pot smoke; but, Ashley's craft is in pulling together a great range of influences from the haze and turning it into his own. Big Star stands strong in his pantheon, as does the Opal / Mazzy Star sound of dreamy troubaour folk. A couple of the tracks reflect Syd Barrett's flair for the stumblingly comical, but always cast under the doped-to-oblivion spell of Spacemen 3. Ashley's fluttering whisper of a voice may not be the finest in the world, but his eccentric production with massive Joe Meek reverb bathing some of his tracks and fizzling tape hiss on the others, more than makes up for what he lacks on that front. A great debut!
MPEG Stream: "Mona Rider"
MPEG Stream: "Deep Deep Down"

ASHLEY, GREG Medicine Fuck Dream (Birdman) lp 10.98
Now, several years after this was released on cd, here's vinyl! What we said about the cd release: Medicine Fuck Dream is the debut recording for the Texan expatriate Greg Ashley, who now calls Oakland his home. With the current roster of multi-faceted psychedelia spread throughout Northern California (i.e. Jewelled Antler, Six Organs Of Admittance, Kelly Stoltz, etc.), the East Bay seems well suited to Ashley's druggist songwriting. Yup, the whole album seems to be cast in a fog of pot smoke; but, Ashley's craft is in pulling together a great range of influences from the haze and turning it into his own. Big Star stands strong in his pantheon, as does the Opal / Mazzy Star sound of dreamy troubaour folk. A couple of the tracks reflect Syd Barrett's flair for the stumblingly comical, but always cast under the doped-to-oblivion spell of Spacemen 3. Ashley's fluttering whisper of a voice may not be the finest in the world, but his eccentric production with massive Joe Meek reverb bathing some of his tracks and fizzling tape hiss on the others, more than makes up for what he lacks on that front. A great debut!
MPEG Stream: "Mona Rider"
MPEG Stream: "Deep Deep Down"

ASHLEY, GREG Painted Garden (Birdman) cd 13.98
Greg Ashley has a sound and knack for songwriting that's wise way beyond his years. His records with his excellent band The Gris Gris and his debut solo outing a few years back prove his ability to write songs that are both smart and trippy, rocking and subdued. He's been compared to Roky Erickson, who casts a mighty long shadow, yet one of Ashley's greatest strengths is how he always makes it sound so easy. There is an effortless and natural grace to the way Ashley's songs are delivered that never feels forced or calculated, but instead sounds like they've been locked in some deep vault for decades just waiting for someone to discover. Painted Garden reveals a more acoustic and seductive side to Ashley's songwriting, demonstrating that there are other ways to achieve psychedelic states without relying exclusively on freakouts and feedback. Painted Garden is filled with elegant songs that should definitely appeal to fans of Vetiver and Yo La Tengo. Ashley is by no means a one trick pony though, his willingness to explore different sides of his songwriting persona is something we can't help but love. "Sailing With Bobby" has such a wonderful and dizzying melody, it immediately made us think of Sonic Youth's "Little Trouble Girl". We think it's safe to say that no matter what the current trend in the indie music scene might be (freak folk, psych rock, indie pop, etc.) Ashley will continue to make music his own way, transcending all the hype and thriving for a long time to come!
MPEG Stream: "Song From Limestone County"
MPEG Stream: "Sailing With Bobby"
MPEG Stream: "Medication #5"

ASHLEY, GREG Painted Garden (Birdman) lp 10.98
Greg Ashley has a sound and knack for songwriting that's wise way beyond his years. His records with his excellent band The Gris Gris and his debut solo outing a few years back prove his ability to write songs that are both smart and trippy, rocking and subdued. He's been compared to Roky Erickson, who casts a mighty long shadow, yet one of Ashley's greatest strengths is how he always makes it sound so easy. There is an effortless and natural grace to the way Ashley's songs are delivered that never feels forced or calculated, but instead sounds like they've been locked in some deep vault for decades just waiting for someone to discover. Painted Garden reveals a more acoustic and seductive side to Ashley's songwriting, demonstrating that there are other ways to achieve psychedelic states without relying exclusively on freakouts and feedback. Painted Garden is filled with elegant songs that should definitely appeal to fans of Vetiver and Yo La Tengo. Ashley is by no means a one trick pony though, his willingness to explore different sides of his songwriting persona is something we can't help but love. "Sailing With Bobby" has such a wonderful and dizzying melody, it immediately made us think of Sonic Youth's "Little Trouble Girl". We think it's safe to say that no matter what the current trend in the indie music scene might be (freak folk, psych rock, indie pop, etc.) Ashley will continue to make music his own way, transcending all the hype and thriving for a long time to come!
MPEG Stream: "Song From Limestone County"
MPEG Stream: "Sailing With Bobby"
MPEG Stream: "Medication #5"

ASHLEY, ROBERT Dust (Lovely Music) 2cd 28.00
This record really just makes me mad. Robert Ashley has composed "Dust" to be a polemic on the lost conversations of homeless men and women. It's not really clear if Ashley's lyrical content is the collected results from homeless poets or if it is Ashley's fictionalization of the plight of the homeless. But the potential for the class-based argument that a wealthy white man fabricated his own stories of what it means to be homeless is the least of his problems. First off, this patronizing piece of high moralism falls not far from those classic ABC after school specials on why taking acid is deadly. Secondly, I don't know which crappy poetry slam Ashley picked Jacqueline Humbert from, but her perfectly groomed speaking voice trying to mimic Laurie Anderson has got to go. Thirdly, why the hell has Ashley turned to this tepid new ageist ambient, after his "Automatic Writing" stands as one of the eeriest pieces of academic compositions? Fourth, when will the "conceptual" community learn that aesthetics can never be forgotten whenever a concept is presented in a public forum? I'm choking on my own rage now.

ASHLEY, ROBERT Wolfman (Alga Marghen) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is one of three separate shards of electronic music history (Ashley, Neuhaus, and Palestine) recently unearthed by Italian audio archaeologists Alga Marghen.
"Wolfman" collects four pieces circa 1957-1964 by American original Robert Ashley, a composer known for his releases on Lovely Music. Noisy tape-music and electronics to accompany equally extreme vocal performances. Pretty wild, and hard to take, certainly pioneering stuff!
MPEG Stream: "The Wolfman"

ASHTORATH Darkstorm Entwinded (NOTHingness) cd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As we mentioned in the review of the Exxasens cd elsewhere on this list, Belgian label NOTHingness, a long time aQ fave, is no more. The folks who ran NOTHingness decided to close shop and start a new label called Consouling Sounds. But we did manage to get one last NOTHingness release, this gorgeous collection of haunting forest dronescapes from a Canadian outfit called Ashtorath. 
And yeah, drone records are a dime a dozen these days, but this is much more than just a drone record, it's more like a collection of creepy cinematic soundscapes which just happen to be intensely droney. The music of Ashtorath is moody and melancholic, dramatic and dark, haunting and harrowing. Beginning with the sound of insects in the night, thunderstorms, whipping wind, a tolling bell, it sets the stage for what's to come. A slowly unfolding sonic narrative, synths unfurl woozy melodies, mysterious drones and whirs lurk just below the surface, guitars wrapped in reverb ring out over the sound of rainfall, peppered with bits of muted glitch, moaning ghostly tones, creepy tinkling chimes, deep resonant rumbles, mysterious voices, warbly woozy music box melodies, this tuff is just so creepy and weird, definitely sounds like it could have been pulled right out of some super sinister underground arty horror film. A little bit neoclassical, a little bit dark ambient, a little bit horror movie score, some drone, and even some almost metallic distorted guitar, lurching and lumbering through a field of whirring weirdness on the last track.
Pretty and droney enough for the free noise drone rock cd-r crowd, but of particular interest to folks into Zombi, Goblin, Trollman Av Ildtoppberg, Ensepulchred, Zombie Battle Axe and actual horror movie music. 
SUPER LIMITED. ALREADY OUT OF PRINT. We got the last copies...
MPEG Stream: "Stormshard"
MPEG Stream: "The Darkwood Forest"
MPEG Stream: "Of Ebon Wings"

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS Never Grew Out of Being Holden Caulfield (Pink Skulls) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second Ashtray Navigations disc in two weeks! This time, it comes courtesy of our pal Glenn (Blithe Suns, Ivytree, Jewelled Antler, etc.) and his Pink Skulls cd-r label. Originally begun to release stuff that was too weird / out there or just too different from the Jewelled Antler aesthetic, Pink Skulls seems to be getting a little closer to its big brother label with this release, as this new Ashtray Navigations wouldn't be all that out of place on JA. A sweet dreamy three-part mini epic. Part one is a long meditative simple high end drone, keening and warbling, up and down in a simple two note melody. Parts two and three are brief addendums, one a series of rumbling low end swells, chirping crickets, and detuned guitars, the other a sort of echo of the first, with distorted lilting melodies over a wash of Skullflower style high-end scree. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Good Fight Over A Woman"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Fin Shark His Home Is The Ocean"

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS The Love That Whirrs (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
BACK IN STOCK. The UK's Ashtray Navigations (aka Phil Todd) has been spitting out cd after cd after tape after tape after cd-r after cd-r for years now. Close to twenty would be our guess. If not more even. Which is pretty dang impressive. So here we are twenty years down the line and Todd is still kicking up the sort of glorious din that shames most of the other free noise outifts out there. Billowing clouds of thick chordal bliss, washes of high end feedback and layer after layer of sonic skree, all shifting and swirling and drifting with subtle acustic guitars in the background as well as whining reeds unfurling melancholy Eastern melodies. The closest comparison would have to be Sunroof! or Vibracathedral Orchestra, who just so happen to occupy the same sonic scene as Todd and his Ashtray Navigations. From pixilated clouds of abstract tinkle and glimmer to dense supernovas of roiling sonic fury, The Love That Whirrs is totally essential listening (like all things Sunroof!, VCO, Pelt, Skullflower, Jazzfinger, etc.) for all you freeambientdronedrifters out there!
MPEG Stream: "The Soul Of Man Under Socialism"
MPEG Stream: "Darwin's Seal, Animal Tracks And Bones"

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS To Your Fucking Feather'd Wings (Gold Sounz) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS Triste Tropiques (Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers / Blackbean & Placenta) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another fucking drop dead record of gorgeous, hazy ambience from this UK mystery man. Droning and buzzing and humming with tinges of middle eastern flavor and No Neck Blues Band style free chaos. Fans of NNBB and Chalk/Coleclough should deinitely check this out.

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS When You See The Moon You've Got To Howl (Rhizome) cd-r 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New release from AQ pal Jon Dale's Rhizome Recordings label. Three gorgeously hazy tracks of shimmery minimal abstraction from this mysterious UK outfit. Track one is all warbly synths, bleating horns, and keening angelic oscillations, like slow motion free-jazz played over Sunroof! outtakes. Track two is a sun dappled blissout of buzzing sitar-like guitars over Spacemen Three guitar pulses, with fuzzed out melodies and found sound snippets. The final track is a buzzing mosquito soundscape of squiggly synths, scribbled shortwaves, and ghostly hums over muted conversations. Good stuff for fans of Skullflower, Sunroof!, Vibracathedral Orchestra and the like!
MPEG Stream: "The Less I See Of Me The Better"

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS You Cannot Tell Cigars By The Picture On The Box (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd 14.98

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS / SANDOZ LAB TECHNICIANS / R.O.T. & TOSS (Veglia) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is a 3 band split cd featuring two of the best free noise units around as well as a group we hadn't heard until now. Ashtray Navigations (from the U.K.) contribute two tracks of delicate screech and rumbling flutter as well as a lovely live track of what sounds like processed radio static with slight melodic traces transmitted from somewhere below the surface of the earth. New Zealand's Sandoz Lab Technicians spread out a minimal wash of low end hum and far away melody, laying heavily atop wistful strains of some mysterious refrain, all murky tinkle and chime. Finally R.O.T./Toss offer up some good old fashioned Skullflower-style guitar drone/feedback hypnotics, but with a more trance-y dream feel. Really great!

ASHTRAY NAVIGATIONS / UNIVERSAL INDIANS Blues For Black Afternoon/Blues For Nervous System (American Tapes) split cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Michigan's Universal Indians (who you may remember from their handsome split lp with Gravitar) and Scotland's Ashtray Navigations (known for their tapes) combine on this split cd, both bands being purveyors of murky psych/noise guitar improv splurge. Pretty cool, the packaging is crap though...

ASIA NOVA Magnamnemonicon (Drone) 10" 14.98
The amazing Drone Records label, run by Stefan Knappe of Maeror Tri / Troum, has been quietly releasing super limited, hand made slabs of gorgeous drone music for years now. Mostly 7", always vinyl (although there will soon be a 2cd collection of early out of print singles on Andee's tUMULt label), each disc an ultra personal exploration of the drone, sometimes soft and dreamlike, sometimes harsh and noisy, but always beautiful. Recently, Drone has launched a new series, 10"s this time, with a very complicated premise: "A concept that embraces the prospect of infinite possibilities for artists to create music about the intangible such as: the unnameable, the unspeakable, the unthinkable, the unidentifiable, etc. Various aspects related to "The Unknown". Sound artists and artwork designers were invited to work on the theme of the "grey matter" / the "dark continent" surrounding us & within us. Transforming this paradoxical idea into acoustic and visual objectifications." Phew. Pretty heady stuff. But these first three installments are up to the task, creating dark and disturbing and truly though provoking dronemusic. We can hardly weight for the rest of the series.
The second in the series is from Asia Nova, who hail from California, and offer up slow shifting instrumental swells, like an orchestra tuning up in outer space, crumbling waves of deconstructed melody slowly stretched into a vast ocean of hiss and static and tiny sonic events that gradually dissipate into the surrounding sounds. In the background hovers ominous gurgling rumbles and far away melodic sparkles. The other side is barely there, an ultra minimal drone, more space than sound, like drifting through some darkened undersea cavern, a barren abstract sonic landscape. Incredibly spare but strangely alluring.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Pressed on pink and white swirled vinyl.

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION Community Music (Virgin France) cd 16.98
Apparently this is the new Asian Dub Foundation record (as it features the latest single "Real Great Britain"). If not, this is certainly the first time we've seen this record. Imperialism, Marxism, and racial politics are still the driving force behind Asian Dub Foundation whose aggressive ragga drum & bass is fueled with brash Bollywood orchestral samples, big bass grooves, and sincerely impassioned rants.

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION Rafi's Revenge (FFRR UK) cd 19.98
This is the actualization of Edward Said's orientalist theories into a musical context of feverish drum & bass breaks compounded with a stellar use of antiquated 60's fuzz guitar and impassioned political rants. ADF makes Atari Teenage Riot's upper middle class politics seem very weak in comparison.

ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION Time Freeze 1995/2007: Best Of Asian Dub Foundation (Caroline) cd 21.00
Along with being a 'best of' collection, this double disc set also treats Asian Dub Foundation fans to plenty of unreleased material, BBC sessions, remixes, other rare stuff, and three brand new tracks. 32 tracks in all. Gives a fantastically thorough overview of this British group's slick melting pot of hip hop, ragga, dub, breakbeat, worldbeat and more. Sure to please devotees, but might be a bit much if you're new to this group.
MPEG Stream: "Rebel Warrior"
MPEG Stream: "Stop Start"

ASKA / HYPOTHERMIA Melankoli / Abuse Myself (I Want To Die) (Unjoy) 7" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Killer match up between two AQ faves, Hypothermia (who we've raved about in the past) and Aska, who have yet to grace our list (until now!). Massive, brutal, abysmal, blackened doomic buzz from both, Aska even tackle a GG Allin cover and dedicate it to Poison Idea's Pig Champion. Awesome.

ASKEW, ED Ask The Unicorn (ESP-Disk) cd 15.98
Could the time be any more right for an album of intimate, individual psychedelic folk music from three decades ago to be reissued? This is almost more 'now' than it was then, really! Ed Askew's Ask The Unicorn was originally released on LP by the legendary, eccentric free-jazz and folk label ESP-Disk back in 1969. Now at last it's on cd (twice, in fact, more on that in a sec). We think anyone into, say, Devendra Banhart will enjoy this. In fact, we wonder what Mr. Askew thinks of the music of Mr. Banhart (if he's ever heard him). We'd imagine he'd think... "Not bad, but I did that 30 years ago!!"
One artsy guy with a weird imagination and a nasally-but-nice, gentle, emotive voice and a guitar, singing and playing from the heart, his tripped out lyrics turning tight circles with their rhyme schemes, Askew comes across a bit like a druggier, rawer, more obscure and stream-of-conciousness Bob Dylan or something.
Note: weirdly enough, two different editions of this have just been released on cd. The one we've got doesn't actually say Ask The Unicorn on it (except as a song title) but is indeed that album, with three bonus tracks and a sticker proclaiming this to be the "Artist's Edition". Not sure what's going on there, as we also received word that Askew, while happy this was in stores, didn't actually know it was coming out! The extra tracks apparently come from a cd-r version he'd been circulating to friends or something. Anyway, this version seems to be the better deal, and we're only mentioning all this so as to preempt any confusion about what exactly this is.
The bonus tracks are quite worthwhile, with two ("The Accordion Man" and "Green Song") dating from back in the day and one ("A Soldier's Song") from 2005! Yeah, the new track sticks out, both his voice and the production being quite different, and Askew even seems to be deliberately making it seem up to date with references to computer mice and monitors -- and there's even a drum machine part that starts up halfway through the song! But actually it's a nice tune and comes last on the disc so its inclusion isn't too jarring. Indeed, it helps bring this great music into the present, where it belongs.
MPEG Stream: "Fancy That"
MPEG Stream: "The Accordion Man"

ASKEW, ED Little Eyes (De Stijl) cd 13.98
In a matter of weeks, The De Stijl label has knocked us out twice in a row, with reissues of two psychedelic folk albums from the misty past that we'd otherwise never have known about. Both surprises by already-AQ-fave artists, as well! We just listed De Stijl's cd reish of the long-lost 1974 Michael Yonkers album Grimwood, and now here's a previously unreleased, long-rumoured 1970 recording entitled Little Eyes from NYC acid folk troubadour Ed Askew, whose 1969 ESP-Disk album Ask The Unicorn we'd all agree is a highlight on that multifarious and mindblowing outsider jazz/improv/folk/protest rock label. If you liked that one, you'll definitely like this!
As established on Ask The Unicorn, Ed Askew's music here is intimate and eccentric, gentle and rambling. Just one sorta high, nasally voiced guy and his guitar (and harmonica too), singing his own timeless, twisted, lonely songs of love and loss, roughly hewn and bleeding with emotion. As we've said before, he's like a weirder, rawer Bobby Z. (and a thirty years ago and then some precursor to Devy B. for sure). We're talking about Bob Dylan and Devendra Banhart there, for those of you (like Andee) not hip to those diminutives.
In addition to the ten songs ("transferred from acetate, with flaws intact") recorded for Askew's never ('til now) released follow-up to his ESP debut, De Stijl has also included six more tracks, taken from live radio performances done by Askew circa 1970-'71, which fit right in, as the Little Eyes studio sessions were done more or less live anyway, mostly single takes, no edits or overdubs, with flaws intact as well... flaws? not to our minds... In a digipak, with a couple vintage b&w pics of the bearded, bushy haired Askew, and liner notes by Byron Coley.
MPEG Stream: "Songs For Pilots"
MPEG Stream: "City Of Glass"

ASO, AI Chamomile Pool Show (aRCHIVE) dvd 22.00
Just got these in today, list day, four new aRCHIVE dvd titles (Ai Aso, Mick Barr, Khlyst, and Suishou No Fune). So, we haven't had a chance to watch 'em yet but since they're limited and all we figured you'd rather we just went ahead and listed 'em now rather than waiting 2 weeks. And all four artists are pretty cool after all.
Ai Aso is not so well known, 'round these parts, as the other three artists in this batch of dvd releases, but AQ customers should remember the Japanese chanteuse from her solo cds on Pedal that we've reviewed previously - and also from her split 7" (and photo book) with Wata from Boris.
The material on this dvd comes from a 2007 show by Ai Aso & band in Tokyo, with guest cameos from Wata and also guitarist Michio Kurihara. Not having seen it yet, we can only assume it's in the same vein of dreamy psych pop we recall from Ai Aso's solo albums...
Gorgeously packaged as per aRCHIVE standards (diecut, letterpress, heavy cardstock foldy cover). And, OF COURSE, it's limited to just 600 copies!!!

ASOBI SEKSU Citrus (Friendly Fire) cd 14.98
New Yorkers Asobi Seksu brings the bright carefree pop of the late '80s (think: The Primitives, Lush, Velocity Girl) together with the moody UK shoegazers of the early '90s (a la My Bloody Valentine, Ride, Swervedriver or perhaps the more recent atmospheric modern rock of Magyar Posse). However, what sets their second album Citrus apart is its high gloss J-pop production style. Each song showering the listener with a Puffy Amiyumi level of shiny shiny, sugary pearliness. Singer Yuki Chikudate's high flittery delivery recalls that of Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser... and if you don't know Japanese then the lyrics may prove just as cryptic as Fraser's. Countering the sweetness of Yuki's vocals are her bandmate James Hanna's variety of electric guitars. He builds up billowing spirals of highly effected washes which he punctuates with sharper edged, punchy melodic segments. All the while Chikudate's voice ties giant bows of satiny sorbet ribbons around the proceedings. Yes, Citrus is filled with many seemingly incongruous elements, but the band whips them all together into a delectable effervescent confection. Yum!
MPEG Stream: "Strawberries"
MPEG Stream: "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper"

ASPECTS OF PHYSICS Systems of Social Recalibration (Rocket Racer) lp 13.98
Up from the ashes of San Diego's Physics comes Aspects Of Physics. In the sonic experimentations that form Systems of Social Recalibration, this quintet utilized an array of synths, computers and guitars new and old that might make a gear geek quiver. The result? Seven predominantly electronic tracks that morph from flowingly celestial and crystalline to sputtering and glitchy to tenuous drones. Their combination of occasional warm guitar melodies, layers of viscous synths and considerably icier digital textures works well. Ultimately however, it's questionable if the groups's aural output lives up to their multimedia-ness, theories and creative process (check out the enclosed booklet and their website for the detailed and diagramed skinny). Pressed on almost-pure white vinyl.

ASS COFFEE If Your Face Were On Fire, I'd Put It Out With A Sickle (One Lump Or Two) cd-r 5.98
This questionably monikered combo and their brilliantly titled cd come courtesy of loyal AQ customer Garrett Splain and it's a doozy. Fucked up and off kilter post-free-avant-rock with the some cool production techniques, the occasional bizarrely programmed drum machine and what sounds like vibes or a xylophone supplying far-away melodies. The recording is a bit lo-fi, but it only adds a nice kind of gritty ambience to the proceedings. Adventurous fans of Laddio Bollocko, Trans Am, Don Caballero and the like might really dig this.
RealAudio clip: "It's Lonely Being A Cannibal"
RealAudio clip: "The Dry Land Just Wants Your Affection, Kissy Girl"

ASS PONYS Lohio (Checkered Past) cd 15.98
When the Ohio-based Ass Ponys' first album Mr Superlove came out 11 years ago, I was really into it; their plainspoken vocals along with the epic indie rock melodies just broke my heart in a good way. It's eleven years later now and their sound hasn't changed much, but there's more stuff out there that sounds like this, so much so that their take on the homefried sound isn't really singular anymore (not that it has to be singular in order to be good, but you know). They recall the quiet/loud bombasticism of Flaming Lips, the vocals are very Michael Stipe-like, mixed with Vic Chestnut, and their sensitivity reminds me of Howe Gelb and Giant Sand.
RealAudio clip: "Last Night It Snowed"

ASS PONYS The Okra Years (Shake It) 2cd 14.98
Chuck Cleaver and his rag tag band ride again... well, sorta! A heap o' early Ass Ponys tunes have gotten a remasterin' and a reissuin'! Yupsiree, two dozen of 'em -- many have been totally out of print for ages including a bunch from two of their early albums Mr. Superlove and Grim, but some of the others were never released in the first place! On much of the first disc of The Okra Years, the Ohio band sound like a quirky cross between a few of their contemporaries, namely the ruminations of REM, the haunting reverb-drench of Galaxie 500 and the sweet jangle pop melodies of Unrest... or perhaps more simply stated a slightly countrified (country-fried?) Velvet Underground. They even do a rendition of "All Tomorrow's Parties". On the second disc, they lean more heavily into the warbly lonesome cowboy in the tavern style of twang. We dug 'em then, and we dig 'em now. If you favor indie rockers who on occasion will take to driving rusty ol' tractors, but you've yet to make the acquaintance of Ass Ponys, you'd better get a move on... your ride is here!
MPEG Stream: "It's Not Happening"
MPEG Stream: "Her Father Was A Sailor"

ASSACRE Fantastic Illusions Worth Dying For cd-r 5.98

ASSASIN Achieve (RMC) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix.

ASSASIN / EINSTEIN How Fi Get It / Something (Killa) 7" 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hip hop remix.

ASSAULT, DJ Hot 'n' Horny Taco (Intuit-Solar) 12" 7.98
Strangely referred to as "Hot 'n' Horny Taco", although it doesn't say it anywhere on the sleeve or label, nor is there any reference to tacos in this single's two focus tracks. Features vocal and instrumental versions of "Love The Pussy" on side A, wherin a woman repeatedly asks "Do You Want To Rub The Pussy, Touch The Pussy, Fuck The Pussy", and three versions of "G-String" (from the recent "Jefferson Ave" disc) on the flip. Sleeve art by Mark Dancey (Motorbooty). We at Aquarius prefer hot 'n' horny burritos. From Taqueria Farolito. On Mission St. at 24th.

ASSAULT, DJ Jefferson Ave. (Intuit-Solar) cd 16.98
The king of Detroit ghetto-tech returns with seventeen new tracks of accelerated funk. Much to our disappointment, the spastic intensity which made 'Belle Isle Tech' and 'Off the Chain for the Y2K' so exciting is lost to expanded track lengths, mild and tired rhythms, and boring reiterations of old material ("Ass-N-Titties 2001?" anyone?). However, "Nipples-N-Clits" (a play on the Kibbles & Bits jingle) is good for a laugh first time 'round. Nowhere near as abrasive as we expected, especially not the track about women's panties.

ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND Ekranoplan (Tee Pee) cd 16.98
It's hard not to love a band called Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, especially when they sound like some long lost seriously blown out bluesfuzzspacerock behemoth transported through some fluctuating rift in time, sucked straight out of the Fillmore West circa 1967, and transported to the right here and right now. But if every science fiction story EVER has taught us one thing, it's that rifts in time are tricky, and are more often than not unpredictable, so it seems that somehow on the way here, Assemble Head's rock DNA got all mixed up with the tangled genetic codes of other hippy jamming space time explorers like Monster Magnet, Blue Oyster Cult, the Outlaws, Neil Young and about a million others.
The result is a divine, occasionally laid back, more often than not super charged Californian drug fueled psych rock jam, that takes its various influences and shuffles em all up from song to song, managing to sound close enough to the originals to feel all warm and fuzzy and familiar, but just twisted and tweaked enough to sound like it could have only come from Assemble Head's kick ass world of Sunburst Sound....
The opener is a seriously drug addled blast of FX drenched Stooges-y stomp, the vocals soaring, the guitars grinding out slithery riffs, the drums a relentless pound, all wrapped up in a dense cloud of bleary eyed pot smoke shimmer. Some serious Monster Magnet worship for sure, right down to the Dave Wyndorf-esque vocals. We're not complaining, the world can always use more of that satanic drug rock for sure... The next track though takes everything in a whole different direction, spinning a fuzzy web of indie jangle and grunge-y groove, sounding like some weird mix of Screaming Trees and Dinosaur Jr. But later still, the band changes direction again, and stretches out into extended groovy, organ laced Southern Rock jams, the guitars a slow drawl, everything still hazy and buzzy, but less kinetic and more stoned. But then a song later, and the band are strapped back in and headed for the heart of the sun, with huge fuzzy arcs of white hot guitar and dense swirls of blurry FX and killer acid fried riffing. 
Just have a quick gander at the tripped out psychedelic cover art, huge mountain faces, swirling stormclouds, erupting volcanos, futuristic cities, floating heads shooting lazers from their eyes, a metallic moon half buried on a sandy beach, a wall of human faces, a pirate ship in a fiery sky, it definitely gives the listener a good idea of what to expect, what sort of gloriously wild and wooly, spaced out, tangled up dirgey fuzzy sprawl lurks inside. 
MPEG Stream: "Ekranoplan"
MPEG Stream: "Mosquito Lantern"
MPEG Stream: "Rudy On The Corner"

ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND Ekranoplan (Tee Pee) lp 14.98
It's hard not to love a band called Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, especially when they sound like some long lost seriously blown out bluesfuzzspacerock behemoth transported through some fluctuating rift in time, sucked straight out of the Fillmore West circa 1967, and transported to the right here and right now. But if every science fiction story EVER has taught us one thing, it's that rifts in time are tricky, and are more often than not unpredictable, so it seems that somehow on the way here, Assemble Head's rock DNA got all mixed up with the tangled genetic codes of other hippy jamming space time explorers like Monster Magnet, Blue Oyster Cult, the Outlaws, Neil Young and about a million others.
The result is a divine, occasionally laid back, more often than not super charged Californian drug fueled psych rock jam, that takes its various influences and shuffles em all up from song to song, managing to sound close enough to the originals to feel all warm and fuzzy and familiar, but just twisted and tweaked enough to sound like it could have only come from Assemble Head's kick ass world of Sunburst Sound....
The opener is a seriously drug addled blast of FX drenched Stooges-y stomp, the vocals soaring, the guitars grinding out slithery riffs, the drums a relentless pound, all wrapped up in a dense cloud of bleary eyed pot smoke shimmer. Some serious Monster Magnet worship for sure, right down to the Dave Wyndorf-esque vocals. We're not complaining, the world can always use more of that satanic drug rock for sure... The next track though takes everything in a whole different direction, spinning a fuzzy web of indie jangle and grunge-y groove, sounding like some weird mix of Screaming Trees and Dinosaur Jr. But later still, the band changes direction again, and stretches out into extended groovy, organ laced Southern Rock jams, the guitars a slow drawl, everything still hazy and buzzy, but less kinetic and more stoned. But then a song later, and the band are strapped back in and headed for the heart of the sun, with huge fuzzy arcs of white hot guitar and dense swirls of blurry FX and killer acid fried riffing. 
Just have a quick gander at the tripped out psychedelic cover art, huge mountain faces, swirling stormclouds, erupting volcanos, futuristic cities, floating heads shooting lazers from their eyes, a metallic moon half buried on a sandy beach, a wall of human faces, a pirate ship in a fiery sky, it definitely gives the listener a good idea of what to expect, what sort of gloriously wild and wooly, spaced out, tangled up dirgey fuzzy sprawl lurks inside. 
MPEG Stream: "Ekranoplan"
MPEG Stream: "Mosquito Lantern"
MPEG Stream: "Rudy On The Corner"

ASSEMBLE HEAD IN SUNBURST SOUND, THE s/t (Sunburst Sounds) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local psych merchants vinyl-only debut. For Comets fans!

ASTATKE, MULATU Ethiopian Modern Instrumental Hits (L'Arome) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Vinyl Headz pay attention! About two years ago we were fortunate enough to catch a few copies of Mulatu Astatke's Ethio Jazz on vinyl. Volume 4 of Ethiopiques (easily the single most popular release in the series) was essentially the album Ethio Jazz, but expanded to include another five Astatke tracks. This release includes those five tracks previously only available on Ethiopiques Vol. 4, plus three tracks of Astatke's which were on Ethiopiques Vol. 1, and one track of his from Ethiopiques Vol. 8. Here's a little background on Astatke from our Ethio Jazz review: "Astatke had the unique privilege to be sent off to school in 1960 (at the age of 17) to study music in London. From there he continued on to the United States, attending The Berklee School of Music in Boston and later moving to New York. One can imagine he picked up a wide range of influence, and that he did. He became absorbed in Latin and Caribbean musics, eventually forming his own group the Ethiopian Quartet in New York. Upon his return to Ethiopia in the late sixties he was treated like a king, being hailed as 'the first-Ethiopian-musician-educated-abroad' and as a arranger/bandleader he was unequalled."
This record is an absolutely stunning collection of instrumentals. Most are composed by Astatke, while others are arrangements of traditional songs or other composers. His music is a wonderful amalgam of swinging jazz tunes, sweet soul and punchy funk and laden with fuzzy electric guitars and tremolo drenched electic pianos. What's more is that unlike the afro-funk of Nigeria, the rest of Africa or the world even, the unique scales of Ethiopian music produce the most haunting melodies that we've ever heard. Now for the bad news: we only have a small handful of these puppies in stock and when they're gone, they're gone... No more, vamoosh! Another small pointer for those that do pick this up: the copy we cracked open had the A side and B side labels mis-printed on the vinyl. We suspect the whole pressing may have this erroneous labelling. No biggy, just something to pay attention to when identifying what you're listening to.

ASTATKE, MULATU Ethiopiques Vol. 4 (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Ethiopia was the site of some of the most beautiful yet sadly forgotten music in the 60's and 70's. This compilation takes some of the best tracks from the enterprising Amha Records. This label specialized in recording unusually catchy and groovy pop songs that are not dissimilar to late 60's Jamaican rocksteady fused with jazz signatures and Ethiopian folk, plus plenty of James Brown funk.
This disc features the all instrumental "Ethio Jazz" by Mulatu Atatke. We don't know of anyone who's heard this and not fallen absolutely in love with it. Recommended without reservation!
RealAudio clip: "Netsanet"
RealAudio clip: "Sabye"
RealAudio clip: "Gubelye"

ASTATKE, MULATU Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) cd 24.00
Finally! This amazing disc of fantastic Ethiopian grooves available on CD!
By now we're all pretty familiar with Mulatu Astatke, what with Ethiopiques #4 and the LP reissue of his Ethio Jazz album he's practically a household name by now (at least around here). I'm kidding of course, but rabid fans of the inimitable funk/soul/groove sounds from Ethiopia no doubt place him pretty high on the short list of the greatest from the period. And what's better is that "Mulatu of Ethiopia" contains entirely exclusive tracks. Yep, that's right, none of these tracks are on any of the discs in the Ethiopiques series (though there are two reworkings of tracks - "Dewel" and "Munaye" - from Ethiopiques #4). The album itself, a reissue of a 1972 release of the same title, was recorded by Astatke in the U.S. during his tenure here and until now it fetched high prices on the collector's market. Given Astatke's experiences working in the U.S. with American jazz and Latin jazz musicians it should come as no surprise that it sounds nothing like anything else among the myriad Ethiopian groove reissues. For one, it's super smooov' (in a good way) with Mulatu picking up his mallets and playing vibes through it all and the recording - which must have been done at some swank U.S. studio - is ultra lush (what's that? You say you can hear the bass?) The music on this album totally sounds like a soundtrack to some long lost Michael Caine political intrigue film. You can almost see the cigarette dangling out of Caine's mouth as he drives around in an Austin Healey tailing a bad guy. On Mulatu Of Ethiopia, Astatke is accompanied by a pretty tight ensemble, much smaller than the orchestras of the Amha recording era. The backbone of his accompaniment is an uber funky organ/electric piano that sounds at times like they've got a wah wah pedal hooked up to it. Also included in the ensemble is electric bass, drums, percussion and plenty of soloing assistance from saxophone, flute and trumpet. HIGHLY recommended, but act fast 'cause, as with so many things, we don't know how long this will be available.
MPEG Stream: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Stream: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"

ASTATKE, MULATU Mulatu Of Ethiopia (Worthy) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now is one of those rare times when the dedicated lovers of vinyl are rewarded with something exclusive to LP. By now we're all pretty familiar with Mulatu Astatke, what with Ethiopiques #4 and the LP reissue of his "Ethio Jazz" album he's practically a household name by now (at least around here). I'm kidding of course, but rabid fans of the inimitable funk/soul/groove sounds from Ethiopia no doubt place him pretty high on the short list of the greatest from the period. And what's better is that "Mulatu of Ethiopia" contains entirely exclusive tracks. Yep, that's right, none of these tracks are on any of the discs in the Ethiopiques series (though there are two reworkings of tracks -- "Dewel" and "Munaye" -- from Ethiopiques 4). The album itself, a reissue of a 1972 release of the same title, was recorded by Astatke in the U.S. during his tenure here and until now it fetched high prices on the collector's market. Given Astatke's experiences working in the U.S. with American jazz and Latin jazz musicians it should come as no surprise that it sounds nothing like anything else in the myriad Ethiopian groove reissues. For one, it's super smooov' (in a good way) with Mulatu picking up his mallets and playing vibes through it all and the recording -- which must have been done at some swank U.S. studio -- is ultra lush (what's that? You say you can hear the bass?) The music on this album totally sounds like a soundtrack to some long lost Michael Caine political intrigue film. You can almost see the cigarette dangling out of Caine's mouth as he drives around in an Austin Healey tailing a bad guy. On "Mulatu of Ethiopia" Astatke is accompanied by a pretty tight ensemble, much smaller than the orchestras of the Amha recording era. The backbone of his accompaniment is an uber funky organ/electric piano that sounds at times like they've got a wah wah pedal hooked up to it. Also included in the ensemble is electric bass, drums, percussion and plenty of soloing assistance from saxophone, flute and trumpet. Highly recommended, but act fast 'cause, as with so many things, we only have a few...
MPEG Stream: "Mascaram Setaba"
MPEG Stream: "Kasalefkut-Hulu"

ASTATKE, MULATU, FEATURING FEKADE AMDE MASKAL Ethio Jazz (L'Arome Productions) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If I had a dime for everytime someone has picked up a copy of Ethiopiques #4 and asked if we had it available on vinyl I'd probably be able to afford to buy the original pressing of "Ethio Jazz" for the price it fetches on e-bay. But now for a mere 170 dimes vinyl lovers everywhere can at last have a copy of their own. Mulatu Astatke's "Ethio Jazz" was released as Volume 4 of Ethiopiques (expanded from 9 to 14 tracks for the CD issue) and is easily the single most popular release in the series (at least here at AQ anyway.) Astatke had the unique privilege to be sent off to school in 1960 (at the age of 17) to study music in London. From there he continued on to the United States, attending The Berklee School of Music in Boston and later moving to New York. One can imagine he picked up a wide range of influence, and that he did. He became absorbed in Latin and Caribbean musics, eventually forming his own group the Ethiopian Quartet in New York. Upon his return to Ethiopia in the late sixties he was treated like a king, being hailed as "the first-Ethiopian-musician-educated-abroad" and as a arranger/bandleader he was unequalled. This record is an absolutely stunning collection of instrumentals. Most are composed by Astatke, while others are arrangements of traditional songs or other composers. A "jazz" record, yes this is, but hardly just. "Ethio Jazz" is a wonderful amalgam of swinging jazz tunes, sweet soul and punchy funk and laden with fuzzy electric guitars and tremolo drenched electic pianos. What's more is that, unlike the afro-funk of Nigeria, the rest of Africa or the world even, the unique scales of Ethiopian music produce the most haunting melodies that we've ever heard. For better or worse, this record has probably the broadest appeal of any release we've had. Very highly recommended (and for CD buyers, if you haven't picked up Ethiopiques #4 yet we always keep them in stock.)
RealAudio clip: "Netsanet"
RealAudio clip: "Sabye"
RealAudio clip: "Gubelye"

ASTERISK Dogma (Gold Standard Laboratories) cd 14.98

ASTERISK* / JENNY PICCOLO Split (31G) 10" 10.98
A split 10" hardcore head-to-head battle between the late great DC grind freaks Jenny Piccolo and Asterisk*, a new (to us) band of hardcore killers. Of the two, Asterisk* kicks a bit more ass, especially on the final roaring track "Exodus". Asterisk* rage... hard. They've titled their side "Dogma III: The Mythology of Heavenly Poultry" as inspired by C.J. Hjelm's book "Manniskan och Anglavariden". And on their side, Jenny Piccolo give a nod to Will Oldham and the awesome Swedish band Female Anchor of Sade.

ASTEROID DESERT SONGS Till Your Dog Come To Be Feed (Creativeman Disc) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Totally fun, dizzyingly silly Japanese band takes zany electronic hiphop rock to a new level, coming across like a combination of Afrika Bambaataa and The Chipmunks.

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB #1-7 (self-released) MP3 cd-r 10.98
For those of you who missed out on the first seven installments of Astral Social Club's limited series of self released cd-r's (us and probably most of you), the ASC swoops in to save the day with this massive MP3 cd-r, containing every track from all 7 of those discs, 589 mb's, 57 tracks, over FIVE HOURS!!! All for 11 bucks! Hard to beat, and as we've only made it through the first three, we can tell you already, it's well worth it.
Astral Social Club just so happens to be Mr. Neil Campbell, the mastermind behind the genius Vibracathedral Orchestra as well, who for years, has been spending his days off from VCO, recording disc after amazing disc of deliriously spaced out drone, blown out extended ragas, and seemingly endless slabs of hypnotic pulse and drift. Pick any track on any of these seven releases and you'll be instantly transported to some other world, where sounds are alive, everything is glistening, the sky is full of vivid blinding streaks of sound, synths pulse and throb, it's like Terry Riley or Steve Reich transported to some imaginary sci-fi future where they spend all their time composing for Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh.
These seven discs cover a whole lot of ground, from epic droning raga like bliss a la Skullflower or Sunroof!, to simple mesmerizing minimalism a la Riley or La Monte Young, sometimes both at the same time. All of it amazing.
MPEG Stream: "1.1"
MPEG Stream: "1.2"
MPEG Stream: "7.1"
MPEG Stream: "7.2"

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB #11 (self-released) cd-r 10.98
On the last list we reviewed #1-7, an Astral Social Club mp3 cd which collected the first 7 volumes of their self released cd-r series and everybody flipped. We've barely been able to keep them in stock (if you're waiting, more are on the way!). Well, the series is now up to volume 12! No plans as of yet for another mp3 collection, and volumes 8 through 10 seem to be already gone, but we've got a bunch of number 11 and number 12, both of which are killers. 
This here disc, number 11, begins with some strange (and not very ASC like) murky, looped percussion, with bits of electronic glitch, sounding almost a little like some sort of twentieth century classical filtered through some primitive krautrock. After that though we're back in familiar territory, with glorious sparkling epic shimmering drones, technicolor cascades of rich reverberant sounds and all manner of glimmering glittering ear candy, super minimal dark ambience, with drifting whale call melodies and deep rumbling swells, Sunroof!-y bit of high end raga sparkle, complete with the sounds of crickets and running water, sun dappled, dreamy looped guitar sheen, all wrapped up into one big glorious space drone whole. 
The last three tracks might be the best here, dense synthscapes, lots of hiss and whir, with buried rhythmic pulses, weird underwater bloops and burbles... all three tracks sounding very much like some white label Pop Ambient 12". Awesome. 
Packaged in thick plastic sleeves with a full color paste on insert. And of course, quite limited...
MPEG Stream: "1"
MPEG Stream: "2"

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB #14 (self-released) cd-r 10.98
Latest in the ongoing series of self released cd-r's from Mr. Neil Campbell, aka Astral Social Club, formerly of divine dronesters Vibracathedral Orchestra. This is number 14, and sonically begins with a track (after a brief noisy intro) that had us thinking this might end up sounding like the recent releases on Important, taking the blissed out incandescent white hot ragas, and transforming them into some strange propulsive alien dance music. And yeah, on the Important discs, dance music might have been stretching it a bit, but here, at least on the opening track, the beat is definitely the focal point, insistent and pulsing, laying down a simple groove amidst flittering clouds of spacy FX and little bleeps and bloops.
But after that it's right back to business, the business of thick corrosive washes of overblown distortion and buzzing droning ragas, thick slabs of feedback, grinding chunks of guitarbuzz, processed vocals, all wound up into a snarled dronepsych blowouts.
A few of the track eschew the noisy psych side completely, choosing instead to tinkle and drift through tranquil smears of soft sound, but even those tracks eventually build to intense climaxes, high end streaks and tangled slivers of feedback all wound up into gorgeously shimmering upper register skreescapes.
Another gorgeous collection of dense freeform psychedelia, definitely for fans of all things Vibracathedral, Skullflower, Yellow Swans, Skaters and the like, and those afraid of beats, or dancefloor phobic, no matter how noisy and strange that particular dancefloor is, can just skip over that second trackŠ
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "3"

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB #15 (self released) cd-r 10.98
It's that time again, another volume in Astral Social Club's ever expanding self released cd-r series. It's been only a few months since the last one, but who's complaining? If we didn't have to work and do stuff and eat, and all that, we might just spend all our time high as a kite, sprawled out on a big ol' fuzzy sofa, with Astral Social Club blasting through 1000 watt quadraphonic speakers mounted in the ceiling.
But, as it is, we'll just have to make do rocking these cd-r's in our iPods. Which is fine, as this stuff is perfect to drown out daily life, or to fill your head with whirs and buzzes, drone and spaced out psych, to chillout, drift off, or to groove to on some alien dancefloor, or to blast from your strange sleek pod like vehicle as you speed down some alien highway. Neil Campbell, ex-Vibracathedral Orchestra, the man behind ASC, continues to dabble in dance music, as well as spacekraut, taking his usual Sunroof!-ed ragas, into all sorts of new directions. Sure the core of the sound is still the circular looped hypnotic longform drone, but many of the tracks here get twisted into strange mesmerizing rhythms, some bordering on dance grooves, but even at its 'funkiest' it's still blissy and droney and spaced out and druggy. A few of these tracks still show that Campbell can hold his own within the dreamdrone set, offering up transcendental slabs of glistening high end that Sunroof! Or Birchville would love to call their own, but then right after, will come some super minimal percussive flutter, some swirling abstract FX-scape, or some pounding almost house sounding banger. But all filtered through Campbell's uniquely cracked effects-soaked, drug-infused, blissed out, space drone soundworld.
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Four"

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB #8-16 (self-released) MP3 cd-r 10.98
The second in the Astral Social Club mp3 reissue program. One disc, 9 cd-r's and close to 8 hours worth of blissed out shimmer, soft dreamy noisescapes and mutant alien discodrone, all jammed onto one little disc. So for those of you who missed out on any of the numbers 8 through 16 (heck we did too, we only reviewed 3 of those!), then this is a good way to get it ALL!
First, an Astral Social club primer would probably be useful:
For those who don't already know, Astral Social Club just so happens to be Mr. Neil Campbell, the mastermind behind the genius Vibracathedral Orchestra, who for years, has been spending his days off from VCO, recording disc after amazing disc of deliriously spaced out drone, blown out extended ragas, and seemingly endless slabs of hypnotic pulse and drift, and more recently a sort of fractured otherworldy dancemusic.
Okay then, odds are, most of you are probably gonna want this, but in case you need a quick description of some of the sonic joys to be found within, here goes:
Strange and murky, looped percussion, with bits of electronic glitch, sounding almost a little like some sort of twentieth century classical filtered through some primitive krautrock, glorious sparkling epic shimmering drones, Technicolor cascades of rich reverberant sounds and all manner of glimmering glittering ear candy, super minimal dark ambience, with drifting whale call melodies and deep rumbling swells, Sunroof!-y bit of high end raga sparkle, complete with the sounds of crickets and running water, sun dappled, dreamy looped guitar sheen, all wrapped up into one big glorious space drone whole, dense synthscapes, lots of hiss and whir, with buried rhythmic pulses, weird underwater bloops and burbles... all sounding very much like some white label Pop Ambient 12", thick corrosive washes of overblown distortion and buzzing droning ragas, thick slabs of feedback, grinding chunks of guitarbuzz, processed vocals, all wound up into a snarled dronepsych blowouts, tranquil smears of soft sound, high end streaks and tangled slivers of feedback all wound up into gorgeously shimmering upper register skreescapes, circular looped hypnotic longform dronemusic, blissy and droney and spaced out and druggy, transcendental slabs of glistening high, super minimal percussive flutter, swirling abstract FX-scapes, pounding almost house sounding bangers all uniquely cracked, effects-soaked, drug-infused and blissed out and more more more more.
Essential listening for fans of all things drone-y and blissed out, fans of Vibracathedral, Skullflower, Yellow Swans, the Skaters and folks looking for some truly twisted outsider dance trax to go with their ambient dronemusic.
packaged in a thick PVC plastic sleeve, in a plain white jacket with a paste on front cover image.
MPEG Stream: "1"
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "3"
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Four"

ASTRAL SOCIAL CLUB MCR Blast (alt.vinyl) 8" square lathe cut 26.00
Holy shit! Record collector nerds and weird music obsessives might as well prepare to give up their first born or take out another mortgage on the ol' homestead, cuz this series of ultra limited 8" SQUARE lathe cuts is gonna break the bank, but it's so so so worth it. This is the first in a series that looks like it will include a who's who of noise rock / free rock / avant noise / free folk luminaries, including SO many all time AQ faves it makes our heads spin. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The first batch of these babies just showed up, three titles, each a custom hand cut, Peter King lathe cut, 8", and SQUARE!!! Packaged in gorgeous square and triangular die cut sleeves, super fancy textured paper, with a paste on front cover and a printed insert, each insert hand numbered, each release limited to 150 copies. Phew.
For those new to the lathe cut, it's a hand cut record, on polycarbonate not vinyl, they are more fragile than normal vinyl, and after repeated plays the sound quality can degrade a bit, but in our experience, in most cases it just makes them sound cooler. Peter King is THE MAN when it comes to super limited small run lathe cut releases, and pretty much every cool band you can think of has gone to him for some super rare or limited release or another.
So anyway, these are clear, they are 8"s across, shaped like a square and are insanely limited, and thus, pretty dang expensive! This is the second in the series and features Astral Social Club, an offshoot of the mighty Vibracathedral Orchestra. And as you might expect, this is two sides of gloriously buzzing raga like ur-drone. Glistening, glimmering, shimmering, sparkling, guitars and sitars and strings and reeds all tangled up in a blissed out harmonious buzz, albeit very melodic, with weird subtle sonic colorations and constantly shifting overtones. So lovely!