AUER, JON The Perfect Size (Houston Party) cd 8.98
Yes indeed folks, this here is a little 5-song ep from the gent who along with Ken Stringfellow make up the fabulous Posies. As the credits tell, Mr. Auer makes all the noise on this release (with the exception of some drum assistance from Darius Minwalla on two tracks). And what can I say other than this release exhibits yet more shining examples of his fine pop songwriting skills. The only problem you may find is that if you're at all familiar with the Posies, you can't help but feel that something is missing here because it's the fabulous vocal interplay between Jon and Ken Posie that elevates their exceptional individual talents to pop greatness. Nevertheless, these are some top notch tunes including a cover of "Gold Star For Robot Boy" by another pop genius, Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard.

AUFGEHOBEN Khora (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Pop quiz! Or not so "pop" really. Whom have we ever compared to Anaal Nathrakh -and- This Heat -and- High Rise -and- Merzbow?? Why Aufgehoben of course. Their name sounds German (it means something along the lines of "nullified" or "voided" in that language). And early on, their music did have krautrocky, rhythmic underpinning. Underpinning brutal ultra distorted NOISE rock that is. And that noise has gotten only noisier and noisier, believe it or not (disbelieve at your peril).
Aufgehoben are in fact from England, and certainly fit in with the harsh n' heavy tradition of bands like Skullflower, God, Ramleh, and more recently, Shit And Shine, with whom they share the multiple drummers thing, though Aufgehoben manage to make do with just two of the species freaking out on their drum kits. They also utilize "bricks and metal" as well as the usual guitars and electronics.
But if you had to guess, from just listening to 'em, you'd probably pick Japan as their country of origin. Again, 'cause of the sheer noisiness of this, but also 'cause of how the album's last, longest track "Jederfursich..." (26:57) is an epic, repetitively pounding psych guitar blow out (blow up?) that would have the combined forces of both Boris and Merzbow running for cover... whereas the tracks that precede it aren't quite as "rock", though no less noisy, maybe more so, in the vein of Wolf Eyes, who too might reach for the earplugs when confronted with this.
Khora's first track "Ignorance Oblivion Contempt" is a vigorous splattering of utterly fried sounds, shrill shards of feedback and frantic trash-compacting percussion colliding and imploding and becoming one dense, writhing mass. That's followed by "Annex Organon", which features a more sparse sort of clatter, but you'd still better be careful about turning up the volume! Next, on "A Bastard Reasoning", we get over ten minutes of mayhem that begin with random meteor strikes of percussive, concussive distortion and then turn into a rumbling, tumbling skree-for-all. Damn.
The relative rockiness n' riffiness of the aforementioned fourth and final track, even if the riffs sound like they're played with explosives rather than on guitars, is just a slightly more controlled sort of chaos, building and building and building... kinda like a Cadaver In Drag track -being- dragged, behind a tank, down a rocky road.
No, Aufgehoben's brand of utterly destroyed instrumental improv has NOT been tamed at all on Khora, their 5th album, and 2nd for Holy Mountain, who quite rightly hail that ultimate track "Jederfursich..." as being "easily the most massive song of the year". Being obsessed with Les Rallizes Denudes and Keiji Haino, and putting out Blues Control and Wooden Shjips records, would lead you too to say things like that about Aufgehoben. Get this and see, we think you'll agree... This damage is definitely for fans of similar subversive sonic conspirators and AQ faves Shit And Shine.
MPEG Stream: "Ignorance Oblivion Contempt"
MPEG Stream: "Jederfursich..."

AUFGEHOBEN Anno Fauve (Riot Season) cd 21.00
There's not a band around these days that more embodies the concepts of LOUD, and NOISY than the UK's mighty Aufgehoben. But being loud and noisy is not enough on their own. If it were, we'd sure have a lot fewer shitty bands floating around. No, Aufgehoben (formerly Aufgehoben No Process) are masters of their craft. That craft being ear splitting, strangely rhythmic, massively overblown super distorted totally fucked up noise rock. This stuff is so amazing, and amazingly alien, it's hard to know how to describe it. It's sort of like free jazz, meets free noise, meets Krautrock. Maybe Laddio Bolocko covering Masonna. Or a handful of This Heat Records and a handful of Merzbow records run through a meat grinder and then performed by Sun Ra. Or Mainliner and God (the '90s British noise band, not the deity) going toe-to-toe. A mind bendingly perplexing polyphonous cacophony of zig zagging melodies, almost like someone dropped a handful of notes in a particle accelerator and let 'er rip. If you thought their previous two albums were head-smashers and ear-melters, you'll be blown away by this one. Featuring, as on their prior Magnetic Mountain opus, the guest "stereo guitar" of British improv maverick Gary Smith. Yes, as we've said of them before, "the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock" are back and all pretenders should be running scared.
MPEG Stream: "Solar Ipse"
MPEG Stream: "Avant Primitiv"

AUFGEHOBEN Anno Fauve (Fourier Transform) lp 44.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There's not a band around these days that more embodies the concepts of LOUD, and NOISY than the UK's mighty Aufgehoben. But being loud and noisy is not enough on their own. If it were, we'd sure have a lot fewer shitty bands floating around. No, Aufgehoben (formerly Aufgehoben No Process) are masters of their craft. That craft being ear splitting, strangely rhythmic, massively overblown super distorted totally fucked up noise rock. This stuff is so amazing, and amazingly alien, it's hard to know how to describe it. It's sort of like free jazz, meets free noise, meets Krautrock. Maybe Laddio Bolocko covering Masonna. Or a handful of This Heat Records and a handful of Merzbow records run through a meat grinder and then performed by Sun Ra. Or Mainliner and God (the '90s British noise band, not the deity) going toe-to-toe. A mind bendingly perplexing polyphonous cacophony of zig zagging melodies, almost like someone dropped a handful of notes in a particle accelerator and let 'er rip. If you thought their previous two albums were head-smashers and ear-melters, you'll be blown away by this one. Featuring, as on their prior Magnetic Mountain opus, the guest "stereo guitar" of British improv maverick Gary Smith. Yes, as we've said of them before, "the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock" are back and all pretenders should be running scared. THIS IS TH SUPER SUPER LIMITED ALREADY OUT OF PRINT VINYL VERSION, only 200 copies made, pressed on heavy transparent vinyl, housed between two thick perspex sheets with four interchangeable translucent paper inserts, wrapped in white electrical cable and individually numbered with a photograph of a 'found' number!!!
MPEG Stream: "Solar Ipse"
MPEG Stream: "Avant Primitiv"

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

AUFGEHOBEN Messidor (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Yer ears ready for a bit of a challenge? This, the fourth album from take-no-prisoners English instrumental noise-rock project Aufgehoben (nee Aufgehoben No Process) ought to be just the thing. Seven tracks, 45 minutes of crumpled, crinkly skree in the form of amp-frying distortion, chaotic falling-down-the-stairs song structures, and clattering pipe-fightin' percussion. It's "music" that's been brutally improvised and manipulated, coming out sounding something like Merzbow meets the Starfuckers. At its most extreme (which is very, and most of the time) this stuff's so in-the-red it's infrared.
This time around we're hearing less of the krauty rhythmic pummel and snatches of near-melody that characterized their earlier releases (like their last one, 2004's Anno Fauve), and more just sheer blown-out, blow-it-up loud skronky noise, or threatening-to-be loud glitchscapes of brief silences, scrapery and FX. The "small print" in the cd booklet somehwhat puzzlingly specifies the instrumentation/methodology as "paper, stone, electronics, two drums, one mono GS" and "no bass, no overdubs, no no no process", along with the usual disclaimer that Aufgehoben "accept no responsibility for health or hardware". A smart lawyer they must have... Messidor is a seriously OTT session for fans of the likes of Wolf Eyes, Shit and Shine, and Skullflower.
MPEG Stream: "Ruckfragen"
MPEG Stream: "Manotgog"

AUFGEHOBEN NO PROCESS The Violence Of Appropriation (Junior Meat) cd 14.98
As promised in last list's review of this British avant-noise-rock band's juggernaut of a second album, we can now offer you copies of their debut, "The Violence Of Appropriation", which bears the alternate title "Cool Tastes In Heavy Sounds". Heavy Sounds indeed! While not *quite* as punishingly always-in-the-red as their follow-up album (which co-billed guitarist Gary Smith), this is still a distortion-fest with lots of guitar and massive rhythmic propulsion. Compared to that 2nd album, the beats here are perhaps "funkier", if that makes any sense in the context of this noisy-as-heck outfit, which employs a music-improvised-live-then-sampled-and-deconstructed methodology a la Phantomsmasher, Radian, and Pluramon. Imagine one of the loud, noisy, semi-industrial bands from the early '90s Pathological stable (God, Terminal Cheesecake) attempting some sort of instrumental modern-day take on experimental krautrock, with Merzbow doing the mixing! This quote from the cd booklet's literal small print gives both the recording details and a definite sense of their sonic overload aesthetic: "1 All sounds and musics utilised in this recording were produced via live and undirected improvisation involving the services of two drummers, a floating pool of guitarists, bass players, keyboard operators, string-scrapers, and non-and-quasi musicians. 2 No sounds extraneous to those original improvised sessions, recorded in Bethnal Green between November and December 1998, were employed in the final product. 3 Aufgehoben No Process accept no responsibility for damage caused by this recording to hi-fi, hearing, or aesthetic sensibilities. 4 Aufgehoben -- past participle of Aufheben, the sublation or simultaneous cancellation, preservation and suppression of terms, a process immanent to the object itself." Yep, whether part 4 of that makes sense to you or not, the rest of the quote gives a pretty clear picture of both their working methods and (part 3) the extremity of the results.
RealAudio clip: "Brief Blank"
RealAudio clip: "Mondo Cult Trip"
RealAudio clip: "Happening And Formless"

AUFGEHOBEN NO PROCESS VS. GARY SMITH Magnetic Mountain (Junior Meat Recordings) cd 14.98
Whoa... This, the second album from mysterious Brighton UK outfit Aufgehoben No Process, is some serious, distorted, noise-rock mayhem. And LOUD.
Led by Wire scribe Stephen Robinson, and consisting of one, maybe two drummers plus sampler and other indisclosed instrumentation, the Aufgehoben boys (apologies if there's girls in the band, but I'd be surprised, this has a very definite male energy!) are teamed here with (against?) improvising "stereo guitarist" Gary Smith (whom you might know from his heavy "fusion" bands Mass and Powerfield, and most recently the Glass Cage match-up with Hugh Hopper and Shoji Hano, along with other solo and collaborative efforts) for thirteen tracks of high-density heaviness. They indeed scale "magnetic mountains" of riff and noise, venturing also into a few moody valleys of equally-distorted, but quieter, improv fuckery. Mostly, though, this is fully in-the-red sonic assault of utter devastation, full of martial drum pummel, Smith's swooping stereo guitar skree, and beyond-metal instrumental intensity, the likes of which the UK hasn't heard since the glory days of early Skullflower or Kevin Martin's God (and without God's dumb vocals) -- and even then this is taking it up a notch. Heck, even the scariest grindcore metal bands from the early Earache label roster would be sent crying home to Satan upon hearing this. Along with the old Pathological bands like God and 16/17, you could compare this to the best of the current Japanese scene -- imagine the noisiest Japanese psychrockers (Mainliner, Musica Transonic, High Rise, Boris) with a healthy dose of Merzbow added in! So it makes a lot of sense that Aufgehoben No Process enlisted Gary Smith, 'cause he's previously played with High Rise's Nanjo Ashahito, and the rhythm section of his band Mass are former members of God, as well. But this Aufgehoben disc is even louder and noisier than any of that, they're kinda of the Anaal Nathrakh of improv noise rock! We were very impressed, and glad we managed to track some of these down for the store (we'll get their first cd in eventually too).
RealAudio clip: "Gourdportalplaning"
RealAudio clip: "Grosse Module"
RealAudio clip: "Magnetic Mountain "

AUFKREMA Rehearsals 2002-2003 (Tour De Garde) cassette 5.98
Strange and mysterious rehearsal recordings from this Canadian black metal horde, most notable for the fact that it's all improvised. As the liner notes proclaim: "We think there should be more spontaneity in black metal and extreme music in general and this release is a tribute to the primal energy and chemistry we felt and experienced while playing/recording." Hear! Hear! And while this is all improvised, don't be expecting super abstract weirdness and ambient black drone, no this is still raw and kvlt black metal, grim and buzzing, with some super killer riffing and some seriously awesome drumming. Strangely recorded too, murky practice space production. The guitars thick black smears, and the drums super blown out and in the red, but still kind of washed out and muddy, and when the blasting double kick drums come in, it's less like a staccato dut-dut-dut-dut-dut-dut than a massive roiling wave of low end speaker shredding thrum.
We only have 6 or 7 copies of this, and we're not sure if we can get more when we sell out...

AUGHRA & MOSH PATROL Is There Anyone Else Outside? (Magic Bullet) cd 12.98
We weren't sure what to expect from a band made up of one part abstract experimental postrock math metal grinders Forensics, and one part epic sweeping soundscapers This Will Destroy You, with the word 'mosh' in their band name, and very Donnie Darko-esque cover art featuring a little girl holding hands with a man in an oversized, raggedy bunny suit. But whatever we may have been expecting, it wasn't this...
The first descriptor that comes to mind would be something like emo-ambient, each track a dark and glistening, shimmery and abstract streak of sound, some poppy and propulsive, others skittery and electronic, still others super minimal and softly blurred. But each of them gloriously fuzzy and blissy and dreamy, and a little bit emo...
From the soft focus swirling drift of "Always Oversleeps" sounding like some strange Tim Hecker / Machinefabriek / Jasper TX hybrid, to the lilting piano / guitar drift of "Dog Years", that transforms part way through into a loping Flaming Lips style groove with distorted bass and strange alien drums, to the barely there ambience of "A Bluff Carried More Resolutely Through To The Final Limit", a lengthy found sound, soft synth shimmer, like sitting on the beach, listening to a Niblock performance from a mile way. Elsewhere, "Courage & Courtesy" sounds like some lost slowcore classic, all arpeggiated minor key guitar, simple drums and a warm buzzing drone in the background, "I Love You, Please Come Back" is the greatest electro indie track, the Postal Service never wrote, equal parts Autechre skitter and Death Cab swoon pop, "The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same" is a sprawling twangscape, steel strings buzzing lazily in a wide open expanse of billowy breezy sound... the record continued to wander all over the place, every stop some gloriously warm and soothing sonic confection, before finishing off with "One Day We Will Grow Old And Forget The Things We Had When We Were Young", a dense fuzzy wash of thick layered drones and swirling muted buzz, epic and about as heavy as this record gets, sounding not unlike Nadja at their most tranquil... So good. 
MPEG Stream: "Always Oversleeps"
MPEG Stream: "Dog Years"
MPEG Stream: "A Bluff Carried More Resolutely Through To The Final Limit"
MPEG Stream: "Courage & Courtesy"

AUGUST BORN s/t (Drag City) cd 14.98
All you free-folk fans have a real sweet treat here! Six Organs Of Admittance + L = August Born. That's right, this gentle, emotive, improvised-sounding folk album finds Ben Chasny of Six Organs Of Admittance teamed up with Hiroyuki Usui of the mysterious Japanese psych-folk unit L, whose lone album Holy Letters from 1992 became a Record Of The Week here at AQ when it was reissued last year on VHF. If you've heard of L, you're surely familiar with Six Organs. And if you like both of them (as we do), then the idea of this collaboration has probably already piqued your interest. We might as well just say, it's real nice, and let you come n' get it 'cause it's pretty much a no-brainer! Lonesome, loose, lovely music from two like-minded souls, collaborating across the vastness of the Pacific (via air mail, we suppose), Hiroyuki recording in Tokyo and Chasny in Northern California. The music here went back and forth between Chasny and Hiroyuki as many as five times, with each musician adding both electric and acoustic guitar and voice and other sounds/instrumentation -- tambora, autoharp, bass, tinkling bells, field recordings of gurgling water, and more -- building up these songs in ghostly layers that allow them to remain rather spare and delicate. The eleven tracks that resulted from this long-distance collaboration are so very pretty and mellow and somewhat melancholic -- a strum here, a percussive knock there, with loose melodic guitar and bass lines underpinning the rambling, pensive, and lowkey (if not always in key) vocals. It's wonderful, wandering, wondering music, for a sunlit afternoon reverie. In addition to the previous works of Six Organs and L, we're reminded of Richard Youngs, Jandek, Nagisa Ni Te, and some Jewelled Antler stuff.
MPEG Stream: "More Dead Bird Blues"
MPEG Stream: "A Lot Like You"

AUGUST BORN s/t (Drag City) lp 14.98
All you free-folk fans have a real sweet treat here! Six Organs Of Admittance + L = August Born. That's right, this gentle, emotive, improvised-sounding folk album finds Ben Chasny of Six Organs Of Admittance teamed up with Hiroyuki Usui of the mysterious Japanese psych-folk unit L, whose lone album Holy Letters from 1992 became a Record Of The Week here at AQ when it was reissued last year on VHF. If you've heard of L, you're surely familiar with Six Organs. And if you like both of them (as we do), then the idea of this collaboration has probably already piqued your interest. We might as well just say, it's real nice, and let you come n' get it 'cause it's pretty much a no-brainer! Lonesome, loose, lovely music from two like-minded souls, collaborating across the vastness of the Pacific (via air mail, we suppose), Hiroyuki recording in Tokyo and Chasny in Northern California. The music here went back and forth between Chasny and Hiroyuki as many as five times, with each musician adding both electric and acoustic guitar and voice and other sounds/instrumentation -- tambora, autoharp, bass, tinkling bells, field recordings of gurgling water, and more -- building up these songs in ghostly layers that allow them to remain rather spare and delicate. The eleven tracks that resulted from this long-distance collaboration are so very pretty and mellow and somewhat melancholic -- a strum here, a percussive knock there, with loose melodic guitar and bass lines underpinning the rambling, pensive, and lowkey (if not always in key) vocals. It's wonderful, wandering, wondering music, for a sunlit afternoon reverie. In addition to the previous works of Six Organs and L, we're reminded of Richard Youngs, Jandek, Nagisa Ni Te, and some Jewelled Antler stuff.
MPEG Stream: "More Dead Bird Blues"
MPEG Stream: "A Lot Like You"

AUGUSTUS, SETH Incarnation Blues (self-released) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's the debut release from SF folk singer/songwriter Seth Augustus. Having extensively studied Tuvan throat singing, he ably applies this captivating vocal delivery into his rootsy Americana sound. Unlike many other artists who attempt to add seeming incongruous international elements to a traditional western style of music, but whose attempts end up drawing too much attention to it, Augustus integrates the two well, imbuing his songs with a haunting comfort. Also although the cover art is a busy, brightly colored collage, the music itself is anything but that. Very barebones and earthy. Includes covers of Tom Waits and Charlie Patton songs.
MPEG Stream: "Tango 'Til They're Sore"
MPEG Stream: "Convolution Blues"

AUINGER, SAM & ROBERT ADRIAN W/ RUPERT HUBER Flugstunden / Applaus (Werks) cd 17.98
A split release between conceptual composer Sam Auinger and a collaboration by composers Robert Adrian and Rupert Huber. The Auinger piece is an awesome 40 minute digital manipulation of the sounds of jet engines, resembling flanging twin-blade flutter or amplified insects. The Adrian/Huber piece is a long, rhythmic collage of applause (clapping). Put that track on when you feel the need for a little positive re-inforcement!

AUM RIFLE, THE A Peal Of Bells (Shrimper) cd 13.98

AUNT SALLY Live 1978-1979 (P-Vine) cd 21.00
Aunt Sally only had one studio record, issued in 1978 on Japan's Vanity Records. Featuring the damaged vocal scree of Phew (who went on to record many solo records -- she's currently a frequent collaborator of Otomo Yoshihide and Seiichi Yamamoto, among many other luminaries of Japan's avant underground), this live collection documents the early manic insanity of her punk rock youth. Art damaged, lo-fi and certainly naive, many have made comparisons to NYC's DNA. However, Aunt Sally's less arty, slightly moronic approach fails to really match up to their Western counterpart.

AURA NOIR Increased Damnation (Hammerheart) cd 11.98
Not a new album from these Norwegian black metal thrashers, but a re-release of their rare 1995 debut mini-cd "Dreams Like Deserts" with the addition of a bunch of previously unreleased tracks, including a few live tracks and two recordings with Fenriz of the illustrious Darkthrone on vocals! Aura Noir's guitarist plays in black metal legends Mayhem, and the band also features members of weirdos Dodheimsgard and the even weirder Ved Buens Ende (who we'd rather see a new release by, but what can you do?)... "Increased Damnation" is indeed a great speedy slice of artful blackened thrash metal, however.
RealAudio clip: "Towers of Limbs and Fevers"

AURA NOIR The Merciless (Tyrant Syndicate / Peaceville) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We're excited about this album for a few reasons: 1) it's the first release from a new imprint called Tyrant Syndicate, run by none other than Norwegian black metal godfathers Darkthrone themselves! 2) besides that, we were already fans of Aura Noir -- a band featuring members of Mayhem, Ved Buens Ende and Dodheimsgard. And oh, and most importantly, 3) it is a merciless (yes it is) blackened thrash attack, with a nasty grin and a death-grunt for every poser mowed down by their onslaught. Blazing guitars, thumping tubs, and a Darkthrone-approved n' authenticated old school attitude! Venomous.
MPEG Stream: "Funeral Thrash"
MPEG Stream: "Sordid"

AURAL FIT II (PSF) cd 16.98
Another of several new PSF titles new in stock, and this one's a BRUTE. Holy moly. Deafening sandpaper for the ears... and we love it, just like we love the likes of Skullflower, Aufgehoben, and Cadaver In Drag, all of whom share the same sonic sandpapery, amped up overload absurdity of this band. Aural Fit, you may recall, if you read our list attentively or are especially tuned in to the Japanese underground, had a track on the Tokyo Flashback 5 comp, followed by a self-released full-length (now out of print) that we recommended some years back to fans of Boris and Earth looking for an even more extreme dose of heavy-duty, doomy dirge. On this new disc, Aural Fit still do the dirge, some of the time, remaining ultra-heavy all of the time. But, their sound has gotten even more "cacophonic and dense" so that it's ridiculous the band's called, merely, Aural Fit. More like Aural Apocalypse! They're not having a fit, they've having a catastrophic explosion. The sound of mechanical monsters on the march, lumbering through the smoking ruins of civilization, crushing and killing anything that hasn't already fled or been vaporized by their initial onslaught. It's four tracks, 38+ minutes of feedback, distortion, pounding percussion, and buried screams. Punishing noise rock, psych rock insanity. Utterly blown-out freak-outs, so in-the-red that your shuddering stereo speakers would be glowing if you looked at 'em through infrared goggles!
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

AURAL FIT Livestock (Slant Eye Archives) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We tracked this down for those of you who really liked the first band on that recent Tokyo Flashback 5 compilation, or who, failing that, end up intrigued by the following description... We're talking about a Japanese trio called Aural Fit. We'd never heard of 'em before, but we were impressed by their cut "Behind 20, Beyond 20k" on that comp, which we described as "a very heavy, doomy, dirgey track that fans of Boris and Earth will dig, cacophonic and dense". Turns out they'd recently released a full-length cd entitled Livestock that's equally dirgey. Five tracks, 33'36" of unrelentingly creepy, cavernous, noisy, plodding improv psych. This is the dark, moody, hypnotic, rumbling music of rock n' roll void-dwellers, with crashing drums, harsh blasts of feedback guitar, and anguished vocals buried in the mix. Chances are they're fans of Fushitsusha and Skullflower...
(We've actually only got 11 copies of this, hopefully we can get some more, but please be patient if we run out.)
NB. the band put this out themselves, so Slant Eye Archives is their own label, something that anyone offended by the name might want to know!
MPEG Stream: "Obedience"
MPEG Stream: "Sensory Deprivation"

AUROBINDO Involution (Ash International) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mark Van Hoen (Locust) appears courtesy R&S, Belgium, & Daren Seymour (Seefeel) appears courtesy Warp Records, Ltd = impeccable resumes. Check out the inner grooves = "This is what they want." & "A bony prime cut."

AUROBINDO Involution (Ash International) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mark Van Hoen (Locust) appears courtesy R&S, Belgium, & Daren Seymour (Seefeel) appears courtesy Warp Records, Ltd = impeccable resumes. Check out the inner grooves = "This is what they want." & "A bony prime cut."

AURORA PLASTIC COMPANY Low Noise (Bobby J) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A dirty, yet simmering atmosphere surrounds these free noise improvisations built out of lo-fi guitar feedback, siren like modulations of analog electronics, theremin, clarinet, accordion, organs, etc. Wouldn't be out of place on Ecstatic Peace or Siltbreeze.

AUSTERITY PROGRAM, THE Black Madonna (Hydra Head) cd 13.98
It's hard to know exactly what to say about these guys, we have to fight our urge to just gush madly, and as you all probably realize by now, we can only put up so much of a fight... the last Austerity Program record was a bombastic homage to the drum machine fueled acerbic brutality of the late great Big Black, which we absolutely loved. But this record somehow manages to retain that sound (how could it not at least a little, especially considering the lineup is guitar, bass and drum machine?) while taking it so much further. Sure Big Black were amazing, as were the legion of drum machine driven behemoths that followed, but the Austerity Program are way more than the sum of their parts. Especially the drum machine part, which seems to define most bands that utilize one... The drum machine here doesn't always sound like a machine at all, which is the key, it's super tight, and precise, but could maybe be an actual drummer. Occasionally the band do take advantage of the machine's super human abilities, but for the most part, the drumming while crushing and brutal is also weirdly deft and subtle. The vocals also can't help but give a nod to Albini and Big Black, it's not a hellish howl or a guttural growl, it's more of an angry nerdy wail, a hyper literate, snarky rant delivered in a sung / spoken, regular guy shout. But the vocals are generally few and far between, which means it's mostly all about the bass and guitar...
And fuck if these aren't some of the heaviest, and thickest guitar sounds ever. It helps that the riffs totally destroy, super catchy, weirdly melodic, soaring and epic as often as they are metallic and pummeling. Sometimes super affected, but just as often a straight forward chest caving crunch, the bass throbbing and pulsing right along, often offering up some super unlikely melodic counterpoint, never content to just be a low end presence, the bass grinds and growls as intensely as the guitars. 
The overall sound ends up being some strange hybrid of Big Black (obviously), Harvey Milk, Jesu, a little bit of Fugazi and some hints here and there of black metal buzz, all tightly wound into an utterly intense crushing blast of beautiful brutality. From the first track, you'll be pretty much knocked the fuck out. It's a super complex mathy metallic workout, the guitars, swirl and soar, slither and shimmer, all the while pounding out some of the most bad ass riffs ever, and it's super dynamic, with the drums and guitar locked tight, stopping to emit little squalls of corrosive feedback before spiraling back into walls and washes of furious buzz. All the tracks are impossibly gorgeous and melodic, as well as being super ultra tight and clinical, guitars are massive, roiling and thick, the riffs warm and dense, but jagged and razor sharp, and the arrangements are mindblowing, super complex, but not to the point of destroying the flow of the songs, just perfectly obtuse and tangled, so much so that it sounds like one of these guys must have gotten some sort of calculus degree just to program the drum machine. But it's not all pound and crush, some tracks are slow and brooding, the guitars building and building, a haunting groovy Fugazi like percussive chug, that eventually builds to a completely catchy, massive grinding guitar / pummeling percussion battle that manages to take the shape of a crazy catchy song at the same time. 
We'd be remiss if we didn't mention the fact that these guys are also really fucking funny too. But in that all to rare way, where the music is absolutely NOT funny, the humor is subtle, and clever, and just a bit snarky, but it's all over the place, EVEN in the music, but subtly so. From the sticker and obi text on the outside, to the lyrics (especially the part where they scream "Here is my favorite part" before, well, what just might be their favorite part), to some of the clever arrangements, some of the strangely almost recognizable melodies, right down to the WTF liner notes, a chunk of pseudo-scientific data analyzing the various songs on the album, based on things like "distinct drum patterns", "average tempo", "vocal references to death", "abrupt pauses" and more. There are graphs and charts, and lengthy descriptions of how the "Divergence Index Value" of each song was calculated. Even the cover art, various swaths of old lady plastic flowers... these guys just totally rule. They're heavy and ultra brutal, but don't take themselves too seriously, they're funny, but the music is not, the humor is smart and funny, and somehow perfectly compliments the sheer epic intensity of the music...
They also had a contest celebrating the release of their new record with the grand prize being your very own customized song, and as if that weren't enough, have a peek at this amazing Austerity Program infomercial:
http://pl.youtube.com/watch?v=1WcsV7hQ1V4
As if it weren't already painfully obvious, absolutely essential, totally recommended, one of our favorite new records, and a no brainer for record of the week!
MPEG Stream: "Song 12"
MPEG Stream: "Song 17B"
MPEG Stream: "Song 19"

AUSTERITY PROGRAM, THE Song 20 (The River) (Hydra Head) 7" 7.98
A while back we made the debut full length from drum machine noise rock duo The Austerity Program our record of the week. And we still throw it on pretty regularly. Heavy, abrasive, hooky, a modern Big Black, but with a way better sense of humor.
We've been waiting patiently for the band to release something else, and now the waiting has finally paid off. A brand new two track 7", featuring "Track 20" and the oh so illusive "Track 1". One of these days we'll figure out their modus operandi, do they just pick numbers at random to attach to songs? Or, as we hope, are they chronological, all written in a flurry of activity, and picked out haphazardly for various releases. Thus this 7" would contain one of their more recent tracks, and the very first one! It sort of sounds like it too, but more on that in a second.
"Track 20" brings it all back, it starts out all slow and brooding, but soon launches into a surprisingly melodic blast of machinelike metal, of industrial noise rock indie pop, not sure what to call it, but it most definitely hits the spot. Super distorted guitars, Justin Foley's anguished howls, the drums as sharp and creatively programmed as ever. Part way through there's a killer mathy breakdown, the riffs splintering into space, complete with some swooping backwards high-hats, and a big finish where the drums get wild enough that it almost sounds like a real drummer.
But the flip side, "Track 1", is KILLER, super dynamic stop / start arrangement, the riffing eventually locking into a seriously buzzy loop, the whole track turning a wee bit black metal in face, even the drums get turned up a notch with flurries of double kick drum, underpinning the instrumental crush above. In some ways, it almost sounds unfinished, like a sketch almost, but even in its sketch like form, it's most definitely one of our favorite AP tracks yet!
SUPER LIMITED of course, packaged in a cool thick sleeve made out of some mysterious map, inside, a little sticker guiding you to a download of the two tracks!

AUSTERITY PROGRAM, THE Terra Nova (Hydra Head) cd ep 9.98
The power of independent trucking indeed! This is some serious Big Black worship. Which is not a bad thing. I mean, if you're gonna find inspiration for your two-guys-and-a-drum-machine rock band, you can't really do better than the mighty 'Black. While no band can possibly hope to approach the ferocity and misanthropy of BB at their prime, The Austerity Program make a pretty good go of it, especially considering they are probably nice, respectable young men with not nearly as much opinion/pent-up anger/baggage as Big Black front man Steve Albini and thus have to work a bit harder to get ANGRY enough to make music this pissed. Screeching, clanging guitars, over machinelike rhythms, with half shouted/half sung vocals adding slight melody to the caustic, abrasive noisescapes. It's got a bit more of a post rock feel, but that's not a bad thing. It definitely helps make The Austerity Program sound a little more like themselves. Good stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Song 3"

AUTECHRE Chiastic Slide (Warp) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This isn't even remotely new, but it does happen to be perhaps the best Autechre record to date. And as it is only now being released domestically and at a decent price (it was $20 until now) we figured it was time to give this record its due. Besides being my favorite Autechre record, it is also their least melodic (which could be why I like it so much), eschewing much of their flair for sad simple little melodies in favor of crunching digital crush, with maniacally skittering breakbeats and super intense walls of digital distortion. Harsh and brittle but somehow warm and 'catchy' at the same time. Some of the melodies -do- remain, but they are buried under an avalanche of chopped up beats and angular glitch. Listening to this record, it's easy to see why these guys inspired such a massive wave of imitators. If you love any of the Autechre albums or are fans of any of the many wannabes (Funkstorung, etc...) then do yourself a favor and check this shit out.
RealAudio clip: "Chiastic Slide 1"
RealAudio clip: "Chiastic Slide 2"
RealAudio clip: "Chiastic Slide 3"

AUTECHRE Chiastic Slide (Warp) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This isn't even remotely new, but it does happen to be perhaps the best Autechre record to date. And as it is only now being released domestically and at a decent price (it was $20 until now) we figured it was time to give this record its due. Besides being my favorite Autechre record, it is also their least melodic (which could be why I like it so much), eschewing much of their flair for sad simple little melodies in favor of crunching digital crush, with maniacally skittering breakbeats and super intense walls of digital distortion. Harsh and brittle but somehow warm and 'catchy' at the same time. Some of the melodies -do- remain, but they are buried under an avalanche of chopped up beats and angular glitch. Listening to this record, it's easy to see why these guys inspired such a massive wave of imitators. If you love any of the Autechre albums or are fans of any of the many wannabes (Funkstorung, etc...) then do yourself a favor and check this shit out.

AUTECHRE Cichlisuite (Warp) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Their new, much-anticipated full length, also available as 2 separate 12"s for 8.98 each.

AUTECHRE Confield (Warp) cd 14.98
During the past few years, Autechre's work has come to mean much more than a personal aesthetic expression for Autechre themselves, as members of electronica's ivory tower (the IDM list in particular) have placed Autechre's work within a universally accepted canon of specific rhythms, melodies, and structures. Funkstorung, Richard Devine, Cex, Bannlust, Markant, Crunch, and Arovane are just a few of the artists whose work is based solely upon the worship of that Autechrist aesthetic canon. It may be up for debate if these deliberate imitations are earnest homages or hollow rip-offs. In anycase, the fact remains that a number of Autechre's albums stand amongst electronica's best. What separates Autechre from their imitators is the understanding that experimentation is a neccessary but risky procedure. Not every attempt at a complex algorithmic sequence is going to result in breathtaking rhythm, not every melody is going to be memorable. But from the anxiety of experimentation, Autechre has succeeded more often than not, and should be commended for upholding their experimental ideals.
However, "Confield" is a drastically different record for Autechre, as they have become too self-involved in making experimental art for the sake of experimentation. All of their previous records have a trace element of hip hop, as if Autechre has taken the futurism of Afrika Bambaata and Grandmaster Flash to a logical extreme of dense cybernetic spaces and whirring binary clatter. Autechre may have been predicting that hip hop wouldn't catch on to this (if at all) for quite a long time; however, the angular hip hop productions of Destiny's Child or Ludacris have indeed developed similarities to Autechre's sound. I would postulate that these similarities rather than the imitators from their own camp are what pushed Autechre towards the more experimental / less accessible forms on "Confield."
This album has almost completely done away with the bass heavy hip hop breakbeats. Instead, Autechre sublimates the rhythms to seasick fluctuations of timestretched glitches and phasing sequences. Similarly, the big romantic melodies which Autechre pioneered on their first album ("Incunabula") and revitalized on their last ("AE5") have gone missing. While the individual sounds are interesting, well-groomed pieces of digital errata, Autechre's micromanagement of the sound has made them lose sight of the bigger picture: making a good record, not just a good sound.
RealAudio clip: "Lentic Cathachresis"
RealAudio clip: "Sim Ajshel"
RealAudio clip: "VI Scose Poise"

AUTECHRE Draft 7.30 (Warp) cd 16.98
As nervous as the die-hard Star Wars fans had been about the second prequel "Attack of the Clones," the beleaguered contributors to the IDM list echoed a hushed anxiety about Autechre's seventh full album "Draft 7.30." Would it, like its predecessor, be "unlistenable noise?" Well, the answer may come as a disappointment to those who hold Autechre's "Chiastic Slide" or "Amber" as the pinnacles of contemporary electronica; but at the same time, "Draft 7.30" isn't nearly as problematic as "Confeld." During the past decade or so, Autechre had built the instantly recognizable trademark sound of fragmented breakbeats and melodic fragments that flicker between paranoia and melancholia. This sound sparked a huge number of imitators which certainly out-number the already large catalogue of work from both Autechre and their alter-ego Gescom. While it's difficult to prove their intent, it seems less and less a coincidence that Autechre would choose to abandon their trademark when so many others are replicating their ideas. While "Confeld" had been a radical departure for Autechre as a sea-sick collage of digi-static vibrations with only a modicum of success, Autechre has returned to one of their strengths on "Draft 7.30" in aligning constantly fluctating rhythms along a continuous structure. Thus, fractured electro breaks and obtuse techno ploddings spiral out from a consistent center amidst cascades of digital fuzz which is the obvious result of bending downpitched samples into the ugly parameters of digital distortion. Unfortunately, Autechre offers another mixed bag in the name of re-invention.
MPEG Stream: "Tapr"

AUTECHRE Draft 7.30 (Warp) 2lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As nervous as the die-hard Star Wars fans had been about the second Prequel "Attack of the Clones," the beleaguered contributers to the IDM list echoed a hushed anxiety about Autechre's seventh full album "Draft 7.30." Would it, like its predecessor, be "unlistenable noise?" Well, the answer may come as a disappointment to those who hold Autechre's "Chiastic Slide" or "Amber" as the pinnacles of contemporary electronica; but at the same time, "Draft 7.30" isn't nearly as problematic as "Confeld." During the past decade or so, Autechre had built the instantly recognizable trademark sound of fragmented breakbeats and melodic fragments that flicker between paranoia and melancholia. This sound sparked a huge number of imitators which certainly out-number the already large catalogue of work from both Autechre and their alter-ego Gescom. While it's difficult to prove their intent, it seems less and less a coincidence that Autechre would choose to abandon their trademark when so many others are replicating their ideas. While "Confeld" had been a radical departure for Autechre as a sea-sick collage of digi-static vibrations with only a modicum of success, Autechre has returned to one of their strengths on "Draft 7.30" in aligning constantly fluctating rhythms along a continuous structure. Thus, fractured electro breaks and obtuse techno ploddings spiral out from a consistant center amidst cascades of digital fuzz which is the obvious result of bending downpitched samples into the ugly parameters of digital distortion. Unfortunately, Autechre offers another mixed bag in the name of re-invention.

AUTECHRE ep7 (Nothing) cd 14.98
This new release from Autechre is available domestically on one cd, or split into two import-only vinyl 12"s. It's also somewhat misleadingly termed an "ep", seeing as the cd is actually pretty long. Since 1992, Autechre has been digitally redesiging the electro mainframe into terse fragmented breakbeats bearing little resemblance to the sounds of Afrika Bambaata. Hard disc skippings, flanging distortion, and other digital 'mistakes', which had been stumbled upon by all sorts of artists (Oval, Ryoji Ikeda, V/VM, etc...), have become the sources for Autechre's sound. Autechre's stuttering staccatic rhythms appear as the attempts to fuse the flesh and bone of Autechre's human bodies with their machines: blood flows as streaming digital pulses, neural synapses fire erratic distorted beats, and melody has been gradually dissolved perhaps as metaphor of the transformation of the 'human spirit' into its mechanical other.
I will admit to being excessive in my analysis of all things Autechre...but this outfit is something really special and this ep is no exception.

AUTECHRE ep7.1 (Warp) 12" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This new release from Autechre is available domestically on one cd, or split into two import-only vinyl 12"s. It's also somewhat misleadingly termed an "ep", seeing as the cd is actually pretty long. Since 1992, Autechre has been digitally redesiging the electro mainframe into terse fragmented breakbeats bearing little resemblance to the sounds of Afrika Bambaata. Hard disc skippings, flanging distortion, and other digital 'mistakes', which had been stumbled upon by all sorts of artists (Oval, Ryoji Ikeda, V/VM, etc...), have become the sources for Autechre's sound. Autechre's stuttering staccatic rhythms appear as the attempts to fuse the flesh and bone of Autechre's human bodies with their machines: blood flows as streaming digital pulses, neural synapses fire erratic distorted beats, and melody has been gradually dissolved perhaps as metaphor of the transformation of the 'human spirit' into its mechanical other.
I will admit to being excessive in my analysis of all things Autechre...but this outfit is something really special and this ep is no exception.

AUTECHRE ep7.2 (Warp) 12" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This new release from Autechre is available domestically on one cd, or split into two import-only vinyl 12"s. It's also somewhat misleadingly termed an "ep", seeing as the cd is actually pretty long. Since 1992, Autechre has been digitally redesiging the electro mainframe into terse fragmented breakbeats bearing little resemblance to the sounds of Afrika Bambaata. Hard disc skippings, flanging distortion, and other digital 'mistakes', which had been stumbled upon by all sorts of artists (Oval, Ryoji Ikeda, V/VM, etc...), have become the sources for Autechre's sound. Autechre's stuttering staccatic rhythms appear as the attempts to fuse the flesh and bone of Autechre's human bodies with their machines: blood flows as streaming digital pulses, neural synapses fire erratic distorted beats, and melody has been gradually dissolved perhaps as metaphor of the transformation of the 'human spirit' into its mechanical other.
I will admit to being excessive in my analysis of all things Autechre...but this outfit is something really special and this ep is no exception.

AUTECHRE Gantz Graf (Warp) cd ep 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Somewhere amidst the nervous clattery percussive goodness that is Autechre, melody resides. Intrepid listeners will hear timestretched vocals and pure tones behind the clickety clackety headlong rush to... well where *are* they going anyway? I'm not quite sure. Um, maybe it doesn't matter. This is more quintessential Autechre, impossibly chaotic but nothing new. It sounds good, though, especially the last track where the notes tumble out so manically, competing with each other for milliseconds of space that it just becomes one big melodic wash of texture, like sand turning into glass. Very nice. Twenty minutes, three tracks.
The DVD version of this adds three video tracks, including one by the amazing Chris Cunningham for the track "Second Bad Vilbel," whose visuals can be read as one robot's nightmare of loneliness after we got to see it fall in love in the Cunningham-directed Bjork video "All is Full of Love." Staticky, color separated and full of interference, this video, along with the two others, is pretty good and makes the extra $5 worth it. Maybe.
RealAudio clip: "Cap.IV"

AUTECHRE Gantz Graf (Warp) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Somewhere amidst the nervous clattery percussive goodness that is Autechre, melody resides. Intrepid listeners will hear timestretched vocals and pure tones behind the clickety clackety headlong rush to... well where *are* they going anyway? I'm not quite sure. Um, maybe it doesn't matter. This is more quintessential Autechre, impossibly chaotic but nothing new. It sounds good, though, especially the last track where the notes tumble out so manically, competing with each other for milliseconds of space that it just becomes one big melodic wash of texture, like sand turning into glass. Very nice. Twenty minutes, three tracks.
The DVD version of this adds three video tracks, including one by the amazing Chris Cunningham for the track "Second Bad Vilbel," whose visuals can be read as one robot's nightmare of loneliness after we got to see it fall in love in the Cunningham-directed Bjork video "All is Full of Love." Staticky, color separated and full of interference, this video, along with the two others, is pretty good and makes the extra $5 worth it. Maybe.

AUTECHRE Gantz Graf (Warp) dvd + cd ep 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Somewhere amidst the nervous clattery percussive goodness that is Autechre, melody resides. Intrepid listeners will hear timestretched vocals and pure tones behind the clickety clackety headlong rush to... well where *are* they going anyway? I'm not quite sure. Um, maybe it doesn't matter. This is more quintessential Autechre, impossibly chaotic but nothing new. It sounds good, though, especially the last track where the notes tumble out so manically, competing with each other for milliseconds of space that it just becomes one big melodic wash of texture, like sand turning into glass. Very nice. Twenty minutes, three tracks.
The DVD version of this adds three video tracks, including one by the amazing Chris Cunningham for the track "Second Bad Vilbel," whose visuals can be read as one robot's nightmare of loneliness after we got to see it fall in love in the Cunningham-directed Bjork video "All is Full of Love." Staticky, color separated and full of interference, this video, along with the two others, is pretty good and makes the extra $5 worth it. Maybe.

AUTECHRE Incunabula (Warp) cd 15.98

AUTECHRE Peel Sessions Volume 2 (Warp) cd ep 7.98
This is Peel Sessions Volume 2 from the UKs masters of skitter and stutter. While not as brilliant as the last full length 'LP5' or the fantastic 'EP7' it is nonetheless pretty great. If you are new to this whole Autechre thing, start with the older 'Chiastic Slide', but if you're already a fan, this is just more of what you know (and probably love).

AUTECHRE Quarstice (Warp) cd 14.98
Yeah, somebody is probably going to tell you that Quarstice is brilliant, that this isn't like the last couple of records, which sorta sucked, and that they were wrong to try to convince you that the last couple of records were any good, but that *this* one IS really, really great. Don't be fooled. Autechre hasn't made a great album since 1998's AE5; and Quarstice again fails to live up to Autechre's potential. Here is a collection of 20 short tracks, which supposedly have some sort of revisionist take on the acid tracks and electro breaks that spawned Autechre nearly 20 years ago. Yet, there is nothing squelchy in the acid percolation, no punch to the breaks, no unsettled melodies which seemed to come out of nowhere, no passion. When there are grooves, they sound quite leaden, never venturing anyplace interesting or exciting. Unfortunately, a bit of a big yawn...
MPEG Stream: "Altibzz"
MPEG Stream: "Tankakern"
MPEG Stream: "Notwo"

AUTECHRE Quarstice (Warp) 2lp 21.00
Yeah, somebody is probably going to tell you that Quarstice is brilliant, that this isn't like the last couple of records, which sorta sucked, and that they were wrong to try to convince you that the last couple of records were any good, but that *this* one IS really, really great. Don't be fooled. Autechre hasn't made a great album since 1998's AE5; and Quarstice again fails to live up to Autechre's potential. Here is a collection of 20 short tracks, which supposedly have some sort of revisionist take on the acid tracks and electro breaks that spawned Autechre nearly 20 years ago. Yet, there is nothing squelchy in the acid percolation, no punch to the breaks, no unsettled melodies which seemed to come out of nowhere, no passion. When there are grooves, they sound quite leaden, never venturing anyplace interesting or exciting. Unfortunately, a bit of a big yawn...
MPEG Stream: "Altibzz"
MPEG Stream: "Tankakern"
MPEG Stream: "Notwo"

AUTECHRE s/t (LP5) (Nothing/Warp) cd 15.98
Ever since Autechre's stellar self titled album was released a few months back on Warp, we have heard rumors of Nothing releasing this stateside. But attempts to uncover information from Nothing was met with ignorance and belligerence. OK, Nothing might be really busy promoting the aforementioned Marilyn Manson record more so than these... after all he and Trent Reznor provide the hefty sums that purchase the UK rights for Autechre, Squarepusher, and Plaid... but does that give clueless Nothing the excuse to deny information to those who are genuinely interested?
Regardless, if you haven't picked up this Autechre record by now, please do so. It may be the year's best electronica record!

AUTECHRE s/t (LP5) (Warp) lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Autechre's sad little melodies over angular electro breakbeats have taken on the very distinctive trait of deceleration, as the pulsing electronica speed through dystopic conduits only to hit vacuums within the digital spaces causing vertiginous slow motion freefalls. With every release Sean and Andy successfully redefine electronica while maintaining their exquisite signature. Highly recommended.

AUTECHRE Tri Repetae (Wax Trax / Warp) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

AUTECHRE Untilted (Warp) cd 15.98
Sorry to say, another disappointing album from the duo responsible for so many exceptional electronic records throughout the '90s. Incunabula? Chiastic Slide? AE5? Remember those records? All absolutely brilliant. Well, the brand new eponymous album from Autechre is not much like those albums and is sort of dull dull dull: a few half assed attempts at the melodies that once seemed second nature, and drum programming that sounds more like they're trying out a whole new set of drum kicks, snares, and time-stretched fizzes with little in the way of ecstatic complexity or groove-oriented dynamism. Autechre should have taken Aphex Twin's lead, who instead of treading musical water has fallen back on the sounds that bring him joy, the old school acid breaks of his ten EP Analord series.
MPEG Stream: "LCC"
MPEG Stream: "Pro Radii"

AUTECHRE Untilted (Warp) 2lp 17.98
Sorry to say, another disappointing album from the duo responsible for so many exceptional electronic records throughout the '90s. Incunabula? Chiastic Slide? AE5? Remember those records? All absolutely brilliant. Well, the brand new eponymous album from Autechre is not much like those albums and is sort of dull dull dull: a few half assed attempts at the melodies that once seemed second nature, and drum programming that sounds more like they're trying out a whole new set of drum kicks, snares, and time-stretched fizzes with little in the way of ecstatic complexity or groove-oriented dynamism. Autechre should have taken Aphex Twin's lead, who instead of treading musical water has fallen back on the sounds that bring him joy, the old school acid breaks of his ten EP Analord series.
MPEG Stream: "LCC"
MPEG Stream: "Pro Radii"

AUTECHRE / HAFLER TRIO aeo3/3hae (Die Stadt) 2cd 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Very quiet electronic wisps, distant rumblings, and hushed drones mark the beginning of the second collaboration between Autechre and The Hafler Trio. Again, The Hafler Trio's Andrew McKenzie houses his work in a beautiful, if fragile folio, much like his previous releases on Phonometrography, whom McKenzie has inexplicably ceased doing business with. Why you might ask? Has he ever needed a reason for his actions? At least, Autechre has remained on good terms with McKenzie enough to complete this twin set of recordings. After almost 16 minutes of shrouded-in-secrecy wash and whir, a short segment of randomly splattered fizzing electro-static gives evidence to one of the few sounds on either compilation that clearly hints at Autechre's signature sound, harkening to their most recent recordings Confield and Draft 7.30, but without any of Autechre's already dwindling appreciation for rhythm. In other words, you'd certainly be excused for thinking this a Mego release of laptop noise. The clicks and cuts gradually dissolve across a sea of low end acousmatic rumblings and stretches of inactivity, bringing disc one to a close. The second disc features a considerable increase in audibility, as dense reverberating swells of electric sound (e.g. h3o's Exactly As I Say) snaps to an equally beautiful passage of post-Ligetti electronic chorale music. If you're a fan of the Hafler Trio, it almost goes without saying that you'll want to pick this up; but it must be said that if you're looking for more in the way of Autechre, you won't find much of it here. As with all Hafler Trio releases, no sound samples can be made available.

AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS Jealousy & Diamond (Kranky) cd 14.98
Our first thoughts on finding out just who was in this new band Autistic Daughters were that it was our dream of a glitch-drone rock supergroup! Yup, we're pretty keen the line-up of Autistic Daughters on their debut release for Kranky (LP on Staubgold): New Zealand's Dean Roberts + Viennese improv scenesters Werner Dafeldecker and Martin Brandlmayr. Guitarist Roberts we know from his old bands Thela and White Winged Moth, not to mention his fine solo recordings like Be Mine Tonight (also on Kranky) and And The Black Moths Play The Grand Cinema (recently reissued on Staubgold, and raved about here a few weeks ago!). Meanwhile drummer and vibraphonist Martin Brandlmayr has been an integral part of several AQ-fave recordings, playing in various post-rock/glitch/jazz groupings, among them Radian and Trapist. Bassist Dafeldecker we've also encountered playing in numerous interesting situations. So what have they all got up to together here? Again, the common thread of all three members previous projects is the combination of live playing with electronics and processing in the studio, and that's the modus operandi here. Like the Roberts records mention above, this is in a slow-moving, mopey, mellow vein, full of hazy, droning textures, fragmented melodies, and shuffling, sorta This Heat-ish percussion. Roberts sings (and, in addition to guitar, plays harmonium and harmonica), and his gentle vocals guide this towards being a sort of indie-pop Radian, something fans of, say, Village Of Savoonga will probably like. And there's a Kinks cover: "Rainy Day In June", that fits right in and goes some way to suggest that Roberts and co. see what they're doing as much in the rock/pop tradition as being about electro-acoustic experimention. Quite nice!
MPEG Stream: "The Glasshouse and the Gift-Horse"
MPEG Stream: "Spend It On The Enemy (While It Was Raining)"

AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS Uneasy Flowers (Kranky) cd 14.98
Teeter-tottering betwixt morose indie-rock songishness and purely textural, experimental soundscapery, this avant garde and all together moody international trio, consisting of Dean Roberts (Thela, White Winged Moth), Werner Dafeldecker and Martin Brandlmayr (Radian, Trapist) brings us their second album for Kranky, following up 2004's Jealousy & Diamond. Slow and steady and suffused with low-key drama, Uneasy Flowers should satisfy anyone's yen for (again) an uneasy-feeling yet smoothly executed mix of New Zealand indie-murk free noise and European glitch-drone laptoppery. The album is pleasingly bathed in a glow of wavering distortion/feedback (shortwave static style), scattered with This Heatish percussive patterns (from Brandlmayr) and fragile vocals (from Roberts). Nice!!
MPEG Stream: "Uneasy Flowers"
MPEG Stream: "Liquid And Starch"