AGENT RIBBONS And The Star Crossed Doppleganger (Seven Inch Project) 7" 5.98
Geez, if only we still had our Fisher Price record player, this opaque guacamole-green 7" would look so good spinnin' there in our bedroom this dark winter's eve. The music on this new Agent Ribbons record is as delightfully darling as that thought... except maybe carpet the floor with cushy moss, blanket the bed with a patchwork of gingham and string blossoming ivy from the nightstand. Oh and sprinkle the whole lot with twinkling pixie dust. Those who were charmed by this Sacramento duo's enchanted folk pop debut album On Time Travel And Romance last year won't wanna miss Ms Natalie and Ms Lauren's two new tunes. Plus they've found the perfect matching offkilter bewitching maven to do the cover art, Dame Darcy! Sure to tickle pink fans of Jolie Holland, Ditty Bops, Coco Rosie, and y'know what? We'd bet Agent Ribbons would be a favorite of Astrid Lindgren's irrepressible storybook heroine Pippi Longstocking too.
By the way, this is the first installment of the Seven Inch Project. Yup, it's a brand new series of very limited edition 7"s being released by some cool folks down in Long Beach, CA. Only 500 records of each edition will be pressed on hefty 70 gram colored vinyl, packaged in impressive sturdy gatefold sleeves, and hand-numbered. Truly a joy to hold and admire in your hands and in your ears. Oh and each one comes with an mp3 download passcode for all you newfangled types. So hop to it!

AGENT RIBBONS On Time Travel And Romance (self-released) cd 12.98
It's always nice when a little word of mouth proves fruitful! SF solo troubadour Garrett Pierce (whose own fine musical wares we've stocked a-plenty) recommended these female songstresses to us recently. Agent Ribbons are two gals Natalie Gordon and Lauren Hess who hail from Sacramento, CA. Their folk pop sound is very old tyme-y, down-home-y, with an almost impromptu feel. They sing quirky lyrics atop a Spartan backdrop of strummed electric guitars, accordion and drums. Very light, playful and girly. They name such other female artists as Mirah, Josephine Foster, Faun Fables, Mary Timony, Blossom Dearie, Jolie Holland, Ditty Bops and Dame Darcy as influences, and you can definitely hear it on On Time Travel And Romance. Highlights include the very Holland-y heartfelt "Call Me Margaret" and delightfully dipsy "Chelsea". Fun, warm and welcoming! We think fans of Rilo Kiley will take a shine to this too.
MPEG Stream: "Chelsea, Let's Go Join The Circus"
MPEG Stream: "Call Me Margaret"

AGENTS DEL FUTURO Mydrone (Dielectric) cd-r 11.98
Our pal Drucifer's Dielectric label has been laying low of late, for the most part... yet Drucifer did dig this debut recording from Agents Del Futuro enough to add it to the Dielectric discog as a limited edition cd-r packaged in a colorful, collaged, oversized, silkscreened folder! ADF (a one man band, that man being local Mission-dweller Jesse Clark, a painter and percussionist) makes improvisational use of all sorts of acoustic instruments and non-instruments (some of 'em include: bike wheel, Korg 770, squeaky door, doumbek, dried seed pods, Paiste 22" symphonic gong, Turkish tea cups, marimba, radio, echoplex, harmonium, sandpaper, bass, singing bowl, drum set, piano, tuned Nepalese gongs, voicemail, billiards...) along with electronic processing and tape looping of the sounds produced, to create the 17 tracks of Mydrone. Some of it is indeed droney, other parts almost poppy... there's lotsa noisiness, fractured beats, glitchtronic sampling, some singing... all of it together kinda broken down and damaged and unpredictable. A fun lo-fi stew of soundmaking weirdness, running the gamut from dreamy to jittery, that totally fits into the Dielectric roster alongside artists like Die Elektrischen, Karen Stackpole, Gerrit, the Dielectric Minimalist All-Stars, and Brian and Chris.
MPEG Stream: "Not Fucking Printz"
MPEG Stream: "Mydrone"

AGENTS OF ABHORRENCE Character Dissection (Numerical Thief) lp 15.98
This brutal blast of glorious grind from down under is finally available on vinyl. One sided, the other side etched and it looks AMAZING! All new art, gatefold sleeve. So killer.
Here's what we had to say about the cd when we first got it in:
Not sure what it is about the number 9 but it somehow figures heavily into the mythos of these mysterious grindlords from Australia. Their first release was a super limited 9". This latest disc, another blown out blast of pummeling technical grind, is 9 songs packed into 9 ultradense minutes. Hmmm. 9. 9. 9. Upside down is... 6. 6. 6. Ahem, anyway... As with all great grind, these guys pack more riffs and parts into 9 minutes than most bands can manage in an hour! 9 mini epics, each a dizzying squall of whirlwind riffs, shrieking vocals, chaotic drum splatter and a wall of low end that hits you like a block of concrete to the sternum. The guys in Whitehorse hipped us to these guys so you can get an idea of the sort of heaviness we're talking here. But where Whitehorse destroy with glacial malevolence, AoA annihilate with frenzied fury! Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Dead End"
MPEG Stream: "Heart(less)"
MPEG Stream: "Sleepwalker"

AGENTS OF ABHORRENCE Character Dissection (Numerical Thief) 3" cd-r 11.98
Not sure what it is about the number 9 but it somehow figures heavily into the mythos of these mysterious grindlords from Australia. Their first release was a super limited 9". This latest disc, another blown out blast of pummeling technical grind, is 9 songs packed into 9 ultradense minutes. Hmmm. 9. 9. 9. Upside down is... 6. 6. 6. Ahem, anyway... As with all great grind, these guys pack more riffs and parts into 9 minutes than most bands can manage in an hour! 9 mini epics, each a dizzying squall of whirlwind riffs, shrieking vocals, chaotic drum splatter and a wall of low end that hits you like a block of concrete to the sternum. The guys in Whitehorse hipped us to these guys so you can get an idea of the sort of heaviness we're talking here. But where Whitehorse destroy with glacial malevolence, AoA annihilate with frenzied fury! Awesome.
Cool little 3" cd-r packaged in a deluxe oversized slim DVD case, with full color insert.
MPEG Stream: "Dead End"
MPEG Stream: "Heart(less)"
MPEG Stream: "Sleepwalker"

AGENTS OF ABHORRENCE Covert Lobotomy (Missing Link) 9" 14.98
How can you not love a band called Agents of Abhorrence? Or a record called Covert Lobotomy? Well, with names like those you can probably guess what sort of business these agents get up to. A thrashing grinding buzz of epic proportions. Swarms of bombinating riffs and spastically thrashing drums, howled vocals and ultraprecise ultracomplex song structures. Massive and masterful grind! Pete from the mighty Whitehorse hipped us to these guys and he was right on the money. Clear vinyl packaged in a gorgeous cut-away sleeve, hard to describe but really, really cool looking. Beautiful and of course VERY LIMITED!!

AGENTS OF OBLIVION Agents of Oblivion (Rotten Records) cd 15.98
Dax Riggs and Mike Sanchez of the criminally overlooked Acid Bath (RIP) continue to rock with the metal of their former (and much loved) outfit tempered with Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie and slithery Iggy production. Plus the emotional intensity and murky melodicism of Jeff Buckley. Excellent! A runner-up for album of the week, actually. This proves that "classic rock" wasn't only made in the '70s. Music to drive your Camaro to.
RealAudio clip: "Endsmouth"
RealAudio clip: "Dead Girl"

AGF Delay On My Pillow (Mixer) 3" cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On DelayOnMyPillow, AGF -- aka Antye Greie-Fuchs of Laub -- offers a digitized variation on the musique concrete tradition, in particular the psychological narratives described in Luc Ferrari's work. Just like Ferrari, Greie-Fuchs amplifies closely mic'd whispers to capture all of their lip-smacking and breathy intonation and positions those whispers right up against the speakers while tiny digital events and processed environmental recordings flutter in the background. She effectively creates an artificial stage for those vocalizations coupled with her own Bjorkish vocals, alternating between sounding charmingly intimate and downright creepy. Extending what cinematic allusions can be drawn from such a composition, Greie-Fuchs offers brief interludes of detached electro-funk, bip-hop, and post-techno acting as segues between the bulk of the work. A curious, modern-day reinterpretation of musique concrete.
MPEG Stream: "Delay On My Pillow"

AGF / DELAY Explode (AGF) cd 15.98

AGF.3 & SUE.C Mini Movies (Asphodel) cd+dvd 17.98
A conceptualist first and an electronicist second Antye Greie-Fuchs has developed a successful career mapping out the dullness of daily life. This was particularly true for her post-Laurie Anderson monotone recitation of dictionary definitions for 'code' over glitch-hopped electronica, found on her recording Language Is The Most. She and San Francisco's highly decorated multi-media artist Sue Costabile have been collaborating for some time now, performing mostly through the European sound-art festival circuit; and Mini Movies marks their first release together sprawling across a CD and appropriately a DVD. While smeared with brittle digital glitches, AGF and Sue C do little to hide their infatuation with R&B slowjam grooves. In turn they replace the narrative excesses of R&B lovesongs with topics as banal as possible: recipes, commuting, jetlag, e-mail, etc. Even when Sue C pines for the next time she can "get really fucked up," it's more of an afterthought as if there's nothing else of any real value to wish for. Composed and filmed in New York, San Francisco, London, and Berlin, Mini Movies acts as something of a fragemented travel diary between the two artists, communing with both artists' shared sensibility of everyday modernity.
MPEG Stream: "Marzipan"
MPEG Stream: "Exist Slow"

AGGROLITES, THE Dirty Reggae (Axe Records) cd 16.98
Adapting their name from their heroes The Aggrovators and the Crystalites, the Aggrolites are a California reggae band with a truly amazing knack for replicating the sounds of late sixties, early seventies Jamaican reggae. They're so good at reproducing a classic reggae sound that they were chosen as Prince Buster's backing band when Mr. Dread played at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in 2003. How they do it, we know not, but they can pull off a pre-Black Ark Lee Perry sound like no one else. Listen to "Burning Bush" and you have to wonder where that keyboard came from. Thankfully the Aggrolites aren't all about creating a convincing replica and while the guitar, bass, drums and organ all fit the bill, the vocals don't aim to imitate any Jamaican singer. Instead singer Jesse Wagner manages a scratchy, punk-rock-cum-blues vocal style more reminiscent of Los Lobos than anything else. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Hot Stop"
MPEG Stream: "Burning Bush"

AGGROLITES, THE Reggae Hit L.A. (Hellcat) cd 13.98
Although they look like an old Fat Wreckords or Epitaph dude punk band, The Aggrolites aren't what they appear to be. In fact, they're a band (yes from L.A.) whose heart pounds to a solid reggae beat. However, unlike the reggae influenced bands who've come before them (The Clash, Rancid, etc), The Aggrolites have immersed themselves completely in the genre, doing a remarkable job of recreating the classic early Jamaican reggae sounds. Along the way you can hear deep reverent bows to the likes of The Ethiopians, The Skatallites, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Alton Ellis, Toots & The Maytals among others. Adding more proof to the pudding, the quintet have performed as backing band for many greats such as Phyllis Dillon, Derrick Morgan, and Prince Buster as well as Tim Armstrong of Rancid and Madness. There's nothing aggro about this here album. Nope, all you get are breezy good times!
MPEG Stream: "Work It"
MPEG Stream: "Rhythm & Light"

AGGROVATORS MEETS THE REVOLUTIONARIES At Channel One: Instrumental (Striker Lee) cd 14.98
This isn't a new re-issue, it's been out for a while now, but we just picked it up. This is one of the best dub records I've heard in a long time. Very simple dub with patient and simple solo lines. In fact, this whole record is quite stripped down and compact -- maximum effect with minimum means. There is no recording date here, but it sounds as though it was recorded in the early seventies, evidenced by a complete lack of synth presence -- instead, good old organ and even way out of tune piano still fill the key spot. The melodic phrases are broken up nicely, sprinkled with spring reverb, tape delay and filled in with solo lines that avoid upstaging and never stray far from the austere fabric of the tunes. With the cast here it should probably not come as a surprize that this should be such a great record: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, Roland Alfonso, Skullie and more. Recorded at Channel One and at King Tubby's of course and produce by Bunny Lee. On the cover art tip, there's a nice drawing of three dred-locked rastas wielding machine guns and firing away in every direction.
RealAudio clip: "The Conqueror"
RealAudio clip: "Bionic Man"
RealAudio clip: "Special Brew"

AGGROVATORS MEETS THE REVOLUTIONARIES At Channel One: Instrumental (Striker Lee) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We just got vinyl in of this album that got reviewed in the last list, so I thought I'd post it again. Also, I thought I'd mention that the title had been misprinted in the last list, if that makes any difference, as "Aggrovatorsbionic" -- we honestly don't know how that happened. I think it has something to do with what looks like tea leaves that are stuck in between the keys on our iBook. This is one of the best dub records I've heard in a long time. Very simple dub with patient and simple solo lines. In fact, this whole record is quite stripped down and compact -- maximum effect with minimum means. There is no recording date here, but it sounds as though it was recorded in the early seventies, evidenced by a complete lack of synth presence -- instead, good old organ and even way out of tune piano still fill the key spot. The melodic phrases are broken up nicely, sprinkled with spring reverb, tape delay and filled in with solo lines that avoid upstaging and never stray far from the austere fabric of the tunes. With the cast here it should probably not come as a surprize that this should be such a great record: Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Jackie Mittoo, Tommy McCook, Roland Alfonso, Skullie and more. Recorded at Channel One and at King Tubby's of course and produce by Bunny Lee. The LP cover art here is a bit different, painted in full color, but this one still depicts another group of machine gun weilding rastas battling it out with some unknown enemy. On Jamaican vinyl, but we haven't had any complaints of warping or defects yet.

AGGROVATORS, THE Dubbing It Studio 1 Style (Jamaican) cd 14.98
It's now getting to the point where, not only can I pick out a new disc from the Jamaican Recordings label from 15 feet by their distinctive layouts, but I almost have a Pavlovian response when I see a new one. Because Jamaican recordings continues to prove that they're a label to be reckoned with. Not only do they consistenly pick out excellent and often rare tracks, but the recordings themselves are always of top notch fidelity. This collection of dubs by producer Bunny "Striker" Lee's session / super group The Aggrovators is no exception to the reputation that Jamaican is earning here at AQ. The tracks on this collection were originally recorded at Randy's Studio 17, Channel 1 and Dynamic Sounds and are all dubs of tracks that were Jamaican versions of American and U.K. soul and R&B. Being three times removed from the original song you'd be hard pressed to know what cover is being dubbed unless you pick out a clue from the periodic fade ins of the vocal tracks laden with reverb and delay.
RealAudio clip: "Not Just Another Dub"
RealAudio clip: "Live & Learn Dub"

AGITATED RADIO PILOT / THE NETHER DAWN split (Pseudo Arcana) cd-r 14.98
Originally released as a lathe cut in a couple of ultra limited pressings (and we're talking ULTRA, as in two pressings, 50 copies each) pressed by lathe legend Peter King, thus of course gone in the blink of an eye, this little gem is now available as a cd-r to appease all you digital only folks. It's also probably limited, but thankfully not nearly so.
A split record teaming up PseudoArcana head Milton and his Nether Dawn project with Irish one man band Agitated Radio Pilot. And it's a perfect match up, each bands' sound perfectly complimenting the other's.
Agitated Radio Pilot unfurls slow growing, wheezing melancholy melodies and warm warbly atmospheres, split into 4 tracks, it sounds more like one lengthy extended pastoral drift, a lazy wander beneath leafy trees and a burnt orange late afternoon sky, laid back and blissed out. Melancholy and gauzy. The muted buzz of guitars, warbly melodies, all very hazy and indistinct.
Nether Dawn (this time accompanied by fellow NZ noisemaker James Kirk) counter with their own brand of blurry haziness. Long drawn out drones, hushed whispered vocals, smeared buzz, distant washes of distorted guitar and muted rhythmic clatter. It sounds like pop songs stretched out and pulled apart into spare skeletal stretches of somnambulant sound. Like ARP, it's all very soft focus and dreamlike. So lovely.
MPEG Stream: AGITATED RADIO PILOT "Leading A Small Ghost Home By The Hand"
MPEG Stream: THE NETHER DAWN "Under Your Night"

AGITATED RADIO PILOT / THE NETHER DAWN split (Pseudo Arcana) lathe cut lp 28.00
Ultra limited latest release from the uber prolific Antony Milton and his always genius PseudoArcana label. This time it's an ultra limited lathe cut, created of course by the lathe cut master himself, Kiwi legend Peter King. Limited to 50 copies, the initial pressing of this lp disappeared in no time, but we managed to get a tiny handful of this, the second and final pressing, and it's a doozy. Packaged in a gorgeous hand screened/painted brown paper cover with a brown paper inner sleeve and housed in a resealable plastic jacket, and the record itself clear with printed inner labels, this split teams up label head Milton and his Nether Dawn project with Irish one man band Agitated Radio Pilot. And it's a perfect match up.
Agitated Radio Pilot unfurls slow growing, wheezing melancholy melodies and warm warbly atmospheres, split into 4 tracks, it sounds more like one lengthy extended pastoral drift, a lazy wander beneath leafy trees and a burnt orange late afternoon sky, laid back and blissed out. Melancholy and gauzy. The muted buzz of guitars, warbly melodies, all very hazy and indistinct.
Nether Dawn (this time accompanied by fellow NZ noisemaker James Kirk) counter with their own brand of blurry haziness. Long drawn out drones, hushed whispered vocals, smeared buzz, distant washes of distorted guitar and muted rhythmic clatter. It sounds like pop songs stretched out and pulled apart into spare skeletal stretches of somnambulant sound. Like ARP, it's all very soft focus and dreamlike. And remember, with lathe cuts, the more you play them, the more they degrade, and the sound gets even fuzzier and blurrier and more washed out. So after a bunch of plays this might sound even better! So lovely.
Second and final pressing of 50 copies, once these are gone, we won't bee able to get more.

AGITATION FREE 2nd (Revisited) cd 17.98
Here's two long time AQ Krautrock favorites - the first and second albums by Berlin band Agitation Free - that have been previously available as cds on the Spalax, and then on Garden Of Delights labels. But now krautrock reissuers Revisited have done even newer reissues, which is great 'cause we LOVE these records and we're glad of an excuse to list 'em again, especially since the previous edition has been unavailable for some time now. Also, Revisited has found some bonus tracks to include on each!!
The ethnic influence that so defined Agitation Free's debut is not as much a factor on 1973's Second - but both the West Coast style guitar jamming AND the way-out-there electronics experimentation really come to the fore. Again, mostly instrumental (one exception being the ominous, electronically treated reading of an Edgar Allen Poe poem that forms the last track, backed by gloomy Mellotron-led prog rock), psychedelic, trippy stuff, utterly gorgeous. Electronically created environmental sounds, wild and spacey synths, and relaxed, melodic guitar are all to be found here in abundance. Second was the second great album from this brilliant, often overlooked, Krautrock band. After Second they departed the scene with their excellent swansong live album, Last (not yet reissued by Revisited), though some other posthumous live/archival documents have subsequently been released as well.
The bonus track included here is "Laila '74", a nearly 8 minute live version of the album track(s).
MPEG Stream: "Dialogue And Random"
MPEG Stream: "Haunted Island"

AGITATION FREE Last (Spalax) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not too long ago we reviewed the recent reissues (on the Garden of Delights label) of the first two albums by this AQ-beloved krautrock band, an outfit up there with Pink Floyd, Ash Ra Tempel, Wishbone Ash, Can, Guru Guru, etc. in our book of cool '70s psych/prog.
Recorded live in 1973 and '74, and then originally released in '76, this is Agitation Free's third album (and, at the time, final album -- though there's been other posthumous live/archival releases since then). We thought since everybody likes their first two so much we ought to tell you about "Last"! Basically, if you liked the wide-open, psychedelic jamming guitars and electronic experimentation of Agitation Free's "Malesch" or "Second" you'll want to check this one out too. The three cosmic, spacey instrumental tracks here include a version of the lovely "Laila II" from their second album, and bits from their first. And track three, the VERY spacey, minimalist rock of "Looping IV" (which, at 23 minutes, covered the original LP's entire B-side), will lull you into a beatific trance just as well as anything by today's expert space/drone bands like Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Landing, or Kinski...
RealAudio clip: "Soundpool"

AGITATION FREE Malesch (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's two long time AQ Krautrock favorites -- the first and second albums by Berlin band Agitation Free -- that have been previously available as cds on the Spalax label. But now Garden of Delights has done new reissues, which is great 'cause we love these records and we're glad of an excuse to list 'em, as we hadn't ever reviewed them before. And Garden of Delights is known for their thorough, high-quality productions. In the thick cd booklets, you get a band history essay (in English and German), collector's info on various vinyl pressings, photos, graphics, discography, and the obligatory Garden of Delights catalog (but that they've shrunk to 2 pages, to leave more room for all the Agitation Free material). Really nice. And the sound is great too of course. No bonus tracks, though, so if you've already got the Spalax versions, an upgrade to these will be mainly a visual/textual improvement.
They got their start as a hippie commune band, with ties to Guru Guru, Tangerine Dream, and Amon Duul. Their debut, "Malesch" (Arabic for "it doesn't matter, take it easy"), is a true cosmic Krautrock classic, blending the spacey psych of Pink Floyd and fellow krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Popul Vuh with a flair for Eastern "exoticism". Plus, in the intertwining guitars, you'll find some hints of the American West Coast psych sound (yes, even a little Grateful Dead -- but don't let that scare you off). The album was recorded in 1972 not long after the band was sent on a tour of the Middle East by the Goethe Institute, and incorporates field recordings (decades before the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor!) from their trip: the bustle of Cairo streets, desert winds, calls to prayer, friendly airline pilots... These tapes are a key element of this record's appeal (along with their sheer talent for jamming and their synth and electronic experimentation). Oh, and some great Hammond organ sounds too. Basically, this is a fantastic album of mostly instrumental psych / drone / ethnic rock, that's generally mellow but powerful too. Whether to the Great Pyramids of Egypt (where the album cover was shot) or to inner space, "Malesch" portrays a true trip indeed. So recommended.
RealAudio clip: "You Play For Me Today"
RealAudio clip: "Ala tul"
RealAudio clip: "Pulse"
RealAudio clip: "Rucksturz"

AGITATION FREE Malesch (Revisited) cd 17.98
Here's two long time AQ Krautrock favorites - the first and second albums by Berlin band Agitation Free - that have been previously available as cds on the Spalax, and then on Garden Of Delights labels. But now krautrock reissuers Revisited have done even newer reissues, which is great 'cause we LOVE these records and we're glad of an excuse to list 'em again, especially since the previous edition has been unavailable for some time now. Also, Revisited has found some bonus tracks to include on each!!
So, for those unfamiliar with Agitation Free, here's the deal... They got their start as a hippie commune band, with ties to Guru Guru, Tangerine Dream, and Amon Duul. Their debut, Malesch (Arabic for "it doesn't matter, take it easy"), is a true cosmic Krautrock classic, blending the spacey psych of Pink Floyd and fellow krautrockers Ash Ra Tempel and Popul Vuh with a flair for Eastern "exoticism". Plus, in the intertwining guitars, you'll find some hints of the American West Coast psych sound (yes, even a little Grateful Dead -- but don't let that scare you off). The album was recorded in 1972 not long after the band was sent on a tour of the Middle East by the Goethe Institute, and incorporates field recordings (decades before the likes of Godspeed You Black Emperor!) from their trip: the bustle of Cairo streets, desert winds, calls to prayer, friendly airline pilots... These tapes are a key element of this record's appeal (along with their sheer talent for jamming and their synth and electronic experimentation). Oh, and some great Hammond organ sounds too. Basically, this is a fantastic album of mostly instrumental psych / drone / ethnic rock, that's generally mellow but powerful too. Whether to the Great Pyramids of Egypt (where the album cover was shot) or to inner space, "Malesch" portrays a true trip indeed. So recommended.
The bonus track here is a definite bonus: a 15 minute live cut from Munich in '72. And there's a Quicktime movie video bonus as well, the band at Sakkara in Egypt, near the pyramids! Making this krautrock essential, even more essential.
MPEG Stream: "Pulse"
MPEG Stream: "Rucksturz"

AGITATION FREE Second (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's two long time AQ Krautrock favorites -- the first and second albums by Berlin band Agitation Free -- that have been previously available as cds on the Spalax label. But now Garden of Delights has done new reissues, which is great 'cause we love these records and we're glad of an excuse to list 'em, as we hadn't ever reviewed them before. And Garden of Delights is known for their thorough, high-quality productions. In the thick cd booklets, you get a band history essay (in English and German), collector's info on various vinyl pressings, photos, graphics, discography, and the obligatory Garden of Delights catalog (but that they've shrunk to 2 pages, to leave more room for all the Agitation Free material). Really nice. And the sound is great too of course. No bonus tracks, though, so if you've already got the Spalax versions, an upgrade to these will be mainly a visual/textual improvement.
The ethnic influence that so defined Agitation Free's debut is not as much a factor on 1973's "Second" -- but both the West Coast style guitar jamming AND the way-out-there electronics experimentation really come to the fore. Again, mostly instrumental (one exception being the ominous, electronically treated reading of an Edgar Allen Poe poem that forms the last track, backed by gloomy Mellotron-led prog rock), psychedelic, trippy stuff, utterly gorgeous. Electronically created environmental sounds, wild and spacey synths, and relaxed, melodic guitar are all to be found here in abundance. "Second" was the second great album from this brilliant, often overlooked, Krautrock band. After "Second" they departed the scene with their excellent swansong live album, "Last" (not yet reissued by Garden of Delights, but still available on Spalax), though some other posthumous live/archival documents have subsequently been released.
RealAudio clip: "Laila, Part I"
RealAudio clip: "Dialogue And Random"
RealAudio clip: "Haunted Island"

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED Altered States of America (Relapse) 3" cd 14.98
The grand return (albeit slight) of the masters of hyperspeed, crushing, gore-y metallic grind. We raved about their most recent full length Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope, hailing it as the best grind record of last year, which it was! So how does this new one stack up? Well, musically, it's got everything its predecessor had, drums like handfuls of ball bearings hurled at your windshield, guitars like electric carving knives hooked up to a car battery and used to saw your ears off and low end like a hot tar blanket wrapped around your head. But the concept rules on this one. 100 songs (the first being tracked -before- track one to accomodate the 99 song cd limit), the majority clocking in at or a little under 10 seconds, all on a 3" cd. Pretty cool. But the listenability of 4 second blasts of short sharp grinding carnage is maybe a bit debatable. And taking into consideration how unbelievably complex and convuluted AnB songs are, it seems like all 100 tracks could've been woven into 3 or 4 proper tracks. But where would the fun be in that?! And those of you who have been hankering for more of that sick, sick, fast as fuck, brutal blurred grinding metal that only a few bands can pull off (AnB, Pig Destroyer, etc.) and miss song titles like 'Children Blown To Bits By The Busload', 'When Taking A Shit Feels Sexy', 'Mosquito Holding Human Cattle Prod', 'Holiday Bowl Full Of Asshole' then look no further. The 100 song 3" grindcore ep of the year without a doubt!
MPEG Stream: "Spreading The Dis-Ease"
MPEG Stream: "4 Leeches (40,000 Leeches)"

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED Bestial Machinery (discography vol. 1) (Relapse) 2cd 14.98
How can you not love a band called Agoraphobic Nosebleed? Especially when some of the members also do time in a group called Pig Destroyer? And when they spew forth a ear splitting, skull cleaving, gore drenched stew of hyperspeed buzz and grind, complete with impossibly fast drum machine blast beats, soul crushing downtuned riffage and insanely frenzied vocals. You can't. Not love them that is. And thus we do love these deranged grind freaks. So much so that we proudly proclaimed their Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope album one of the best grind records ever! And we were equally enamored of their 100 song 3" cd released not soon after. But this is the one we've been waiting for. ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX TRACKS, two whole discs compiling everything they ever recorded before they signed to Relapse, which is a whole heck of a lot. Every long out of print seven inch, every impossible to find compilation track, even thirteen previously unreleaed tracks! All absolutely the most furious, most fucked up grind you'll ever hear, million mile an hour tempos, fifty parts per minute-long tracks, blurry and buzzy and thrashing and pummeling and mind meltingly complex, replete with bizarre ambient interludes, sludgy doom metal breakdowns, freaked out ultranoise, all scattered amidst prickly thorny squalls of glorious gut ripping grind! Gorgeously packaged with tons of liner notes, track listing, discography, as well as some impossibly Pushead-like artwork credited to someone who is NOT Pushead!
MPEG Stream: "5% Control"
MPEG Stream: "Prey For Death / Hollowpoint / Conform to...Death / Life Is Paing Profit Is The Motive"
MPEG Stream: "Victims As Dogs"
MPEG Stream: "Dead Above The Neck"
MPEG Stream: "10,000 Bullets "
MPEG Stream: "Centipede"
MPEG Stream: "Cut To Happy Hour"
MPEG Stream: "Military Scientist"

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope (Relapse) cd 15.98
Second full length by this outfit led by Scott Hull (of Pig Destroyer and formerly of Anal Cunt). The distinction between Hull's other project Pig Destroyer and ANB (both are furious grind metal units) is maybe a little nebulous, but the most obvious differences are: ANB uses a drum machine instead of a live drummer, and their songs are way more varied and for the most part, WAY weirder. Totally inhuman, lightning speed hyper-blast beats, harsh and brutal guitar tone, insane riffing, and super distorted totally sick vocals. Most of the tracks are blazing fast and brutal as fuck, but occasionally they slow it down to a midtempo old school thrash attack (speaking of old school thrash, there's even a Nuclear Assault cover with Dan Lilker on bass/vox!). The production is really bizarre with lots of samples, weird electronic bits, and lots of digital fx and processing on the vocals and guitars. There's even a weird almost techno number that manages to be just as fearsome as the rest of the more metal tracks. All the production craziness and occasional electronic bits remind us a little of James Plotkin's WAY far out glitch-grind Atomsmasher album we dug so much. And the cover art courtesy of Hydra Head honcho and member of Isis, Aaron Turner, is also very cool. So far, "Frozen Corpse" is easily the best grindcore record this year, as far as Andee and Allan are concerned!
RealAudio clip: "Machine Gun"
RealAudio clip: "Dead Battery"
RealAudio clip: "Hungry Homeless Handjob"
RealAudio clip: "Bitch's Handbag Full Of Money"
RealAudio clip: "Unwashed Cock"
RealAudio clip: "Kill Theme For American Apeshit"
RealAudio clip: "Doctored Results"

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED PCP Torpedo / ANBRX (Hydra Head) 2cd 14.98
"All records should be six minutes long!! I just listened to this whole record, and it was awesome!"
- Me (Andee) ranting when I threw this on the first time.
By now, it takes a whole lot for us to give a shit about a 'remix' record. Pretty strange that one of the first remix records in ages to totally kick our asses would come from grindlords Agoraphobic Nosebleed and avant post metal label Hydra Head. But remixes aside for the moment, metalheads and grindfreaks should be thanking their lucky stars that AnB's legendary PCP Torpedo 6" has finally been released on cd. All SIX minutes of it. One of the most perfect slabs of mechanized grind metal EVER. Dense, convoluted, heavy, ridiculous, scary, blazing fast, buzzing and snarling, short and sweet. PERFECT GRIND! So it would almost be worth it for PCP on cd alone (okay, maybe $15 for 6 minutes is a bit steep, but it's soooo good!). Thankfully, PCP's 6 minutes gets rounded out by an hour long bonus disc of remixes from folks like Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Godflesh, etc.), James Plotkin (Khanate, Phantomsmasher), DJ Speedranch, Merzbow, Jansky Noise, Vinda Obmana, and a bunch more. From Plotkin's timestretched, ultradistorted industrial freakout mix, to the Godfleshy sludge and pummel of Broadrick's mix, to the skittery acid fried IDM Dev/Null mix, to Vinda Obmana's bleak wasted industrial soundscape mix, it's all totally weird and wonderful, most of it very very noisy. But what would you expect when the source material is the violent and vitriolic hate fueled fury of Agoraphobic Nosebleed?!
And then there's the packaging! HOLY SHIT. Totally deluxe double disc digipak, all in vivid yellows and reds and oranges, the front some sort of factory, with multicolored flames licking the sky as pills rain from the heavens. The inside is a dizzying blur of pills and capsules, each disc covered in tiny little flames, the six minute PCP disc a little black 3" cd embedded in a 5" plastic disc, all flickering little blue flames, the remix a 5" black disc with red flames, so completely and overwhelmingly gorgeous. Includes a black and white insert with all the liner notes and lyrics confusingly tucked amidst and within a litany of pharmecutical jargon, suggestions for dosages, various health warnings and lists of side effects. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: "Thanksgiving Day"
MPEG Stream: "Thinning The Herd"
MPEG Stream: "James Plotkin - Phantomsmasher Mix"
MPEG Stream: "Justin Broadrick - Flesh Of Jesu Mix"

AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED/CONVERGE The Poacher Diaries (Relapse) cd 10.98
A.N.: Super fast, brutally heavy grind, courtesy of Scott Hull (ex- Anal Cunt) and a drum machine. Converge: East coast metal core, pounding and shrieking, ala Colesce. Excellent.

AGUAYO, MATIAS Are You Really Lost (Kompakt) cd 15.98

AGUAYO, MATIAS Minimal (Kompakt) cd ep 13.98
Matias Aguayo is one half of what used to be Closer Musik, a minimalist goth-techno project on Cologne's Kompakt label. The Chilean-born Aguayo and his German "bandmate" Dirk Leyers split after one album, and both went on to other things. Leyers went even more minimal and more blissful. While Aguayo put out one of the weirdest releases to have been considered techno at all, his solo record Are You Really Lost? Well, this ep is the first we've heard from him since then. Once again, he brings back his signature bizarro mix of Latin beats, come hither vocals, and all manner of randomly sampled and sequenced whatever. Along with the single new track, there are two remixes, one from DJ Koze of International Pony and one from Markus Rossknecht. Koze produces a remix that could make friends with any number of Miami Vice meets French filter house jams. Pretty fun, really. On the other hand, Rossknecht's work is fairly run-of-the-mill minimal techno, which is fine but not particularly memorable. If nothing else, this is worth picking up to play the Koze track at your next cocktail party. Closer Musik fans, listen up! Good stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Minimal (DJ Koze Remix)"
MPEG Stream: "Minimal (Original Mix)"

AHAB The Call Of The Wretched Sea (Napalm) cd 16.98
While it may have been a bit of a misstep to release a metal record based on Moby Dick and with a big ol' whale on the cover in the long black shadow cast by Mastodon's Leviathan record, it would be even more of a mistake to pass up this Ahab record based solely on that. Obviously a lot of though went into the sound and the artwork and the execution, and if anything, we actually like this record more than the Mastodon.
So if you can get past the whole Mastodon thing, you're in for some massive and fantastically epic slow motion doom. This German outfit is CLASSIC doom, well not quite like Sabbath and Candlemass, but not the filthy slow motion grungy grimey dirgey sludge sort of doom either, this is epic and majestic, slow and sorrowful, occasionally loping with bursts of wild kick drums, more often trudging along glacially, a funereally death march through the pouring rain, knee deep in black sonic murk, but with a surprising amount of dynamics, stops and starts, some super hooky riffs, mournful guitar melodies, massive downtuned chugs that sometime morph into mathy metal workouts. Vocals that rumble and groan, a huge guttural gurgle, the whole thing impossible heavy and aggressive, but strangely pretty. Definitely reminds us of old Cathedral, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, that sort of thing. Like classic heavy doom metal slowed waaaaay down and made somehow even heavier. As much as we love extreme doom, the slower and the sludgier the better, it's actually nice to hear some extremely dark depressive doom with some actual melodies, and some memorable riffs, heck even some songs. We'd forgotten how good stuff like this sounds. One of our favorite new TRUE DOOM records for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Below The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "The Pacific"

AHLEUCHATISTAS What You Will (Cuneiform) cd 14.98
Whew! 14 tracks of frenetic, uber-mathy instrumental prog rock here, the Ahleuchatistas representin' the younger indie/post-rock wing of the venerable progressive rock and jazz fusion label Cuneiform's roster. We heard them recently on that Power Up! compilation of Nintendo video game theme music covers (reviewed last list), which put 'em in the company of such acts as Upsilon Acrux and The Fucking Champs. They're a prog power trio with some punk cred (in part from their edgy energy, in part from their evident political leanings, as evidenced by song titles like "Remember Rumsfeld At Abu Ghraib" and "Ho Chi Minh Is Gonna Win!"). So here's their most recent (third) full-length and, well, it's a doozy if you're dizzy for this sort of herky-jerky, highly concentrated (and concentrating) display o' chops. It's not all Primus-on-45 busyness, there's definitely post-rock moody bits to mellow things out a bit (think Rumah Sakit, Turing Machine, Chevreuil...), but clearly their calling card is the roiling, sped-up complexathons that certainly suggest these guys get their money's worth out of their practice space rent. For fans of the aforementioned Upsilon, Hella, Don Cab, Mick Barr's various outfits, Bozart, and like minded mathy dudes.
Includes three QuickTime videos of these guys playing live, so you can see they're for real!
MPEG Stream: "Remember Rumsfeld At Abu Ghraib"
MPEG Stream: "I Used To Be Just Like You, But Now I Am Just Like Me"

AHMED, ILYAS Between Two Skies (self-released) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another way too limited disc of lilting and lovely fingerpicked folk. Solo steel string guitar, dark and delicate. Beautiful!

AHMED, ILYAS Between Two Skies / Towards The Night (Digitalis) 2cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
FINALLY! FINALLY!! FINALLY!!! Lots of you probably remember when we listed these discs a few years back, both were cd-r's back then, and both were limited to about 50 copies. We got so many orders, and rightfully so, Ahmed's sound as and is gorgeous and spare, simple and spacious, darkly emotional and sweetly mournful. Ilyas promised to make more cd-r's for all the people who ordered them, but somehow, he never managed to make it happen. We waited and waited and waitedŠ But you know what? That's okay now, as Digitalis has thankfully stepped in and taken Ahmed's first two cd-r's and reissued them as real cds, and in some super deluxe packaging to boot.
For those who missed out on the cd-r frenzy way back when, Ahmed is a guitarist, pianist, and crafter of drones, but guitar is his main instrument. He explores a sonic steel string world similar to folks like James Blackshaw, Jack Rose and of course John Fahey, dense little tangles of minor key finger picking and lush metallic strum. Darkly melodic, and strangely timeless sounding. Moody and so so gorgeous. Fans of the above mentioned guitarists will absolutely want this, even just for the Towards The Night disc, which finds Ahmed doing his best modern Appalachia, and he does it so well, completely mesmerizing and intense and emotional and impossibly lush.
On the other disc, Between Two Skies, Ahmed takes his guitar, that ghostly Appalachia, all subtle and subdued, washed out and weary sounding, and sets it amidst mysterious and lush sounding soundscapes, tinkling piano, long drawn out vocal parts, slightly reminiscent of Sigur Ros, wordless, warm and fuzzy, unfurling like another layer of sound, the atmosphere gauzy and dreamlike. All the while the guitar weaves delicate little melodies, little blurs of soft focus sound wrapped in shimmering drones and warm whirring ambience.
Both discs are distinctly different, but manage to sound perfect together, each subtly complimenting the other. Folks who were lucky enough to get those cd-r's the first time around, have probably played them to death and can no get some much sturdier replacements, and for everybody else, a long overdue to get lost in Ahmed's mysterious and lovely soundworld.
Beautifully packaged in a thick two color offset printed cardstock gatefold sleeve, with a printed cardstock insert. Remastered by Pete Swanson of The Yellow Swans with extensive liner notes from David Keenan.
MPEG Stream: "Black Midas"
MPEG Stream: "As Those Above"
MPEG Stream: "Golden Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "Shumsun"

AHMED, ILYAS Century Of Moonlight (Time-Lag) 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.
We've all gone nuts for the dark and brooding folk flecked soundscapes of aQ customer Ilyas Ahmed. Appalachian guitars atretched into ghostly swirls. So lovely.
Limited to 222 and hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Softly, Tomorrow"
MPEG Stream: "Red Spring"

AHMED, ILYAS Naqi (self-released) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As much as we love cd-r's, there are times, with certain records, that they make us so frustrated. Sure part of the charm of a super limited cd-r release is that it's fleeting. Often handmade and labor intensive. So the whole project becomes ultra personal for both the artist and the listener. But some records just need to be heard by more than 50 or 100 or even 200 people. Such is the case with Ilyas Ahmed. An Aquarius customer who sent us one of his home recorded discs a while back and who completely blew us away. We've been bugging him ever since to send us more and more cd-r's (and you in turn have been bugging us like crazy to get more copies of the old discs, and keep our eyes peeled for new ones). The first four are already long gone, so we were super excited to get this new one a few days ago. And it's just as good as any of the others, if not better. Definitely stranger. Before, Ahmed offered up little snippets of some long lost forest folk. Shimmery and pastoral, lilting and so so pretty. And while much of this disc explores similar territory, overall, it's much darker, and a bit more aggressive. The opening track is sort of glam folk jam, dark super distorted steel string strum and soaring ethereal falsetto vocals. The riff is sort of grungy, dripping with distortion, but never obfuscating the urgent strumming, and leaving space for Ahmed's super dramatic wail. Had this track been played with electric guitars plugged into big amps with pounding drums, it might sounds a tiny bit like modern day Circle. Weird, bit so cool.
After that, things veer back into moire blissy folk territory, with finger picked steel string guitar, more subtle crooned vocals, simple percussion, a late night drift through an abstract drug folk dreamworld. But the last two songs bring things right back, with the guitar again drenched in reverb and distortion, a little more languid and laid back, but still a fuzzy druggy muted squall, a little bit reminiscent of Rein Sanction actually, but a bit more mellow and shimmery soft. Lazy drawled vocals over fuzzed out Mascis style riffing, all blown out but still mumbly and lo-fi with distant falsetto vocals hovering wraithlike just behind the strum and buzz. Naqi may be a dreamy free folk record, but it's got some serious teeth, a little fuzzy buzz and a fried amp patina that makes these songs sound way more druggy and psychedelic. Which is most definitely a good thing.
Each sleeve is hand designed, a unique collage on the front, album and artist hand written on the back. Includes a printed insert.
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES. Each copy hand numbered as well.
MPEG Stream: "Dirty Thinner"
MPEG Stream: "For What We See"

AHMED, ILYAS Speaking Of Shadows (self-released) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hard to believe that Ilyas Ahmed was "just" an AQ customer until recently. We were totally blown away the first time we heard his music, and ever since have been unable to keep his cd-r's in stock. All way too limited, all totally gorgeous. Dreamy and drifty, gently played acoustic guitar, wraithlike, lilting soft focus falsetto vocals, sometimes the songs sound like snippets of some long lost mysterious pastoral folk epic, sometimes all the elements get blurred into sparkling shimmery sun drenched streaks of sound dotted with bits of random electronic interference and strange high end drones. Warm and languorous, each track wrapped in a gauzey late afternoon porch production, minor key melodies hover and fade, vocals ebb and flow, the guitar, buzzes and drones, but mostly shimmers and floats. Such lovely lovely music. Truly a shame that his releases are so limited. 
Thus, this is LIMITED TO 150 COPIES. We got 30. Each hand numbered. You do the math.   
MPEG Stream: "Softly, Tomorrow"
MPEG Stream: "Red Spring"

AHMED, ILYAS The Vertigo Of Dawn (Time-Lag) cd 15.98
Hot on the heels of the recently reviewed, way overdue, double disc reissue of two LONG out of print cd-r's, comes a brand new disc from one of our favorite music makers, Ilyas Ahmed.
In the past, Ahmed has found himself lumped in with lots of modern guitarists, of the neo-Appalachian persuasion, Blackshaw, Rose, etc. And while Ahmed can definitely fingerpick with the best of them, his records were never distinctly 'guitar' records in that same way, even though most of his songs are based around a guitar. And his prowess on the steel string was never really the focal point of those discs. Instead, he used the guitar and those bits of Appalachia, merely as elements in a much larger sonic picture. Vocals, raga like drones, horns, hand drums, each part of a lush lush expansive soundscape, which just happened to be draped across a framework of steel string shimmer, while all around that acoustic guitar, swirled strange and wondrous sounds.
The new disc, The Vertigo Of Dawn, while indeed rich with lustrous guitar, is even more far out, more psychedelic, more druggy, and manages to turn that guitar into something weird and wonderful, a hazy fuzzy ghostlike folk, otherworldly and haunting.
The record begins with a tripped out ESP style free jazz drone drift, all long tones and moaning horns, very serene and sedate and meditative, lots of space, warm whirling reverb, the horns hovering over a soft backdrop of deep rumbles and muted buzz, Eastern style melodies played out like snake charmer melodies, the whole thing very exotic and mysterious and free jazzy.
The second track begins with some aggressively strummed guitar, distorted crooned vocals, and some killer Eastern style melodies (again), it's like freak folk filtered through some Middle Eastern bazaar. The following track is more druggy and woozy, the acoustic guitar again the focal point, but surrounded on all sides by swooping backwards guitars, and ghostlike falsetto vocals. The next track is a sunshiney hippy folk jam, with simple subtle percussion, strummed minor key guitar, but wrapped around some truly haunting vocals and horns, high and drawn out, sometimes hard to tell if it's a horn or a voice, but they add a strange tension, and turn the fluttery folk into something much more intense and mysterious. The whole record is like a long strange trip for Ahmed's guitar, its gentle melodies, and simple strumming, making their way through strange song after strange song, sometimes, floating unmolested, just glimmering and glistening, while other times being buffeted by thick squalls of buzz and whirring drones, and at others, slowly pulled apart into strange minimal steel stringscapes, each note a sparkling star in a constellation of minor key melancholia, often accompanied by Ahmed's lonesome falsetto wail, wrapping protectively around the guitar's fragile shimmer. So nice.
Fans of all that neo-Appalachia stuff will definitely dig this, as will folks into the freak folk cd-r scene, but even if you're into folky psych like Six Organs Of Admittance, Steven R. Smith, Scott Tuma, and other steel string soundscapers, you might find this much to your liking...
The packaging is fantastic as well, both the lp and the cd are housed in super deluxe fabric textured gatefold sleeves, both with printed insert, the lp is on 180 gram vinyl and is limited to 750 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Golden Universe"
MPEG Stream: "Under The Singing Sea"

AHMED, ILYAS The Vertigo Of Dawn (Time-Lag) lp 26.00
Hot on the heels of the recently reviewed, way overdue, double disc reissue of two LONG out of print cd-r's, comes a brand new disc from one of our favorite music makers, Ilyas Ahmed.
In the past, Ahmed has found himself lumped in with lots of modern guitarists, of the neo-Appalachian persuasion, Blackshaw, Rose, etc. And while Ahmed can definitely fingerpick with the best of them, his records were never distinctly 'guitar' records in that same way, even though most of his songs are based around a guitar. And his prowess on the steel string was never really the focal point of those discs. Instead, he used the guitar and those bits of Appalachia, merely as elements in a much larger sonic picture. Vocals, raga like drones, horns, hand drums, each part of a lush lush expansive soundscape, which just happened to be draped across a framework of steel string shimmer, while all around that acoustic guitar, swirled strange and wondrous sounds.
The new disc, The Vertigo Of Dawn, while indeed rich with lustrous guitar, is even more far out, more psychedelic, more druggy, and manages to turn that guitar into something weird and wonderful, a hazy fuzzy ghostlike folk, otherworldly and haunting.
The record begins with a tripped out ESP style free jazz drone drift, all long tones and moaning horns, very serene and sedate and meditative, lots of space, warm whirling reverb, the horns hovering over a soft backdrop of deep rumbles and muted buzz, Eastern style melodies played out like snake charmer melodies, the whole thing very exotic and mysterious and free jazzy.
The second track begins with some aggressively strummed guitar, distorted crooned vocals, and some killer Eastern style melodies (again), it's like freak folk filtered through some Middle Eastern bazaar. The following track is more druggy and woozy, the acoustic guitar again the focal point, but surrounded on all sides by swooping backwards guitars, and ghostlike falsetto vocals. The next track is a sunshiney hippy folk jam, with simple subtle percussion, strummed minor key guitar, but wrapped around some truly haunting vocals and horns, high and drawn out, sometimes hard to tell if it's a horn or a voice, but they add a strange tension, and turn the fluttery folk into something much more intense and mysterious. The whole record is like a long strange trip for Ahmed's guitar, its gentle melodies, and simple strumming, making their way through strange song after strange song, sometimes, floating unmolested, just glimmering and glistening, while other times being buffeted by thick squalls of buzz and whirring drones, and at others, slowly pulled apart into strange minimal steel stringscapes, each note a sparkling star in a constellation of minor key melancholia, often accompanied by Ahmed's lonesome falsetto wail, wrapping protectively around the guitar's fragile shimmer. So nice.
Fans of all that neo-Appalachia stuff will definitely dig this, as will folks into the freak folk cd-r scene, but even if you're into folky psych like Six Organs Of Admittance, Steven R. Smith, Scott Tuma, and other steel string soundscapers, you might find this much to your liking...
The packaging is fantastic as well, both the lp and the cd are housed in super deluxe fabric textured gatefold sleeves, both with printed insert, the lp is on 180 gram vinyl and is limited to 750 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Golden Universe"
MPEG Stream: "Under The Singing Sea"

AHMED, ILYAS Towards The Night (self-released) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited to 50 and we only have nine so once they're gone they are gone for good! Yet another self released cd-r gem comes our way. Ilyas Ahmed works his way around a guitar in a manner that would have fit right at home on the great "Wooden Guitar" comp that came out on Locust a few years back. Totally great playing that both wanders and resonates with ease and purpose. A little bit like a more loose Jack Rose with a definite Fahey influence and that early good Leo Kotke sound to boot. Something really humble and lowkey about the record that makes it sit so well too. Too bad these will be gone before you can blink, but now we know to keep our eyes out for future releases that hopefully won't be so super limited.
MPEG Stream: "Golden Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "Shumsun"

AHMED, ILYAS Yahan Aur Wahan (self-released) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What a thrill it is to discover one of our customers quietly making music as beautiful as, if not more so, than the music we love and listen to every day! Such is the case with aQ pal Ilyas Ahmed. We listed one of his cd-r's a few weeks back, which didn't last long since we only got a handful. We also got copies of his other limited cd-r which sold out so fast we didn't get enough to list at all. Well, we didn't want to blow it again so we made sure to reserve 30 copies of this, the newest cd-r release, and again it's a breathtaking bit of beauty. Solo acoustic guitar, gentle and lilting, soft focused and dreamlike. Definitely in the spirit of John Fahey, Richard Bishop, Jack Rose and the like, but much less Appalachia, and more introspective folk. Minor key and melancholy, fingerpicked steel string guitar, candlelit and moonlit, melodies flickering like shadows, deft and smooth, but effortless and carefree. So so so so lovely!
Packaged in a cardboard sleeve, with hand screened artwork affixed to the front and back. Hand numbered, LIMITED TO 200 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "100 Veils"
MPEG Stream: "Descend Again"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 19: Alemye (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Recorded in 1974, smack dab between the lps reissued as Ethiopiques 6 (1973) and Ethiopiques 7 (1975) Alemye is the third entry in this series given over to documenting Ahmed's complete recorded output, a totally unique, gorgeously smooth funk / soul / jazz groove accompanied by Ahmed's unmistakable crooning. There are plenty of resources to read more about Ahmed and the history of Ethiopian music, on the net, even elsewhere on our website, but this review is all about the music. This is sexy sultry stuff, lively horns and fluttering flutes sway hypnotically above a muted rhythm section of bass drum and organ, in fact the rhythm section is so subdued that it almost sounds like it's bleeding through the wall from a room next door. But that gives it a super warm, warbly droning feel, all dreamy and mesmerizing and totally otherworldly. But it's all about that croon. Ahmed is known as the James Brown of Ethiopia, which makes sense in that he is definitely a funk / soul superstar there, but sonically, he is way less hyper and energetic, less wild and teetering on the edge of collapse, and way more broodingly sexual and sensual, lights low, the room cloaked in smoke, tense and mysteriously intense, his voice slipping smoothly up and down impossible scales, a rich warm velvet purr, capable of soaring into passionate wails and back down again, slithering and shimmering with that perfcet vibrato. Extensive liner notes and photos as with all of the amazing Ethiopiques releases, of which this is apparently the penultimate installment, and an especially great one at that.
MPEG Stream: "Alemye"
MPEG Stream: "Wegenie"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 6 : Almaz (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
Now that many of you have discovered the rich and funky sounds of Ethiopia circa mid-1970s, here's a deeper look into the career of Mahmoud Ahmed, master crooner and national Ethiopian treasure. Almaz is his very first album (from 1973), which to our knowledge has never been released in Europe or America before today. It's unbelievably good -- full of impassioned soul-stirring vocals, funky horns, and gorgeous melodies. Trust us: you will be so happy with this cd! An excerpt from the liner notes says it better than we can: "For many years everything we knew about Mahmoud Ahmed (and Ethiopian music in general) was limited to the cult album Ere Mela Mela, recorded in 1975 but released for the first time in Europe in 1986. The first eruption of this brassy, electric urban pop, swinging and hypnotic, heart-rending and funky, so unusual, so different from anything else coming out of the African continent, this musical UFO long remained our only glimpse into Ethiopian groove. Mahmoud's first LP Almaz, recorded two years before 'Ere Mela Mela' now bears new witness to the talent of one of the greatest Ethiopian artists of the past 35 years."
MPEG Stream: "Asha Gedawo"
MPEG Stream: "Zemedie"

AHMED, MAHMOUD Ethiopiques Vol. 7 : Ere Mela Mela (Buda Musique) cd 15.98
One of the best in an amazing series!!! This reissue of Ere Mela Mela (previously on Crammed I think) is an essential purchase if you dig the grooves of the James Brown of Ethiopia, the amazing Mahmoud Ahmed.
MPEG Stream: "Ere Mela Mela"
MPEG Stream: "Metche New"

AHOUSEN s/t (PSF) cd 16.98
"Lunatic avant-free-rock, honed in guerrilla street performance" we're told. Hmm, we know the streets of Tokyo are crowded, but we bet Ahousen cleared the block they were rockin'. Of course, had we been there to see 'em, we'd have stayed put in the street, digging Ahousen big time. This is some serious psychedelic guitar grit, drum tumble, distorto-bass trudge, avant-sax blat, and angsty-screamy vocal burble, from a Japanese band we first heard on PSF's Tokyo Flashback vol. 6 comp. The guitarist, Katsu, played in a band called Lizard back in the '70s, the drummer is Tail from Suishou No Fune. The quartet is rounded out by Suu on sax and vocals, and Akira on bass. Dunno what other bands they may be from, but being part of Ahousen seems cool enuff! Wild and wooly but also sometimes achingly melodic and melancholic, Ahousen (aka Ship Of Fools in English) is part free jazz, part psych rock, and part Japanese folk. It's like Albert Ayler meets Blue Cheer. Or Musica Transonic with sax and a hint of Enka.
Beginning auspiciously enough with the energetic onslaught of "All Creatures", Ahousen's self-titled debut consists of four tracks in total, ranging in length from 7 minutes to an epic 28 ("Ophelia", which occupies the 2nd half of the album, certainly is a dramatic performance, compelling throughout, moving from moments of delicate frolic to heavy duty freakdom). Speaking of drama, even in the album's less fierce, more folky moments (like on the relatively lovely "A Leaf"), Suu's nervous breakdown, primal scream vocals up the emotional ante on everything else, his extreme outbursts being a major element of Ahousen's sound, and impact. Compared to other Tokyo Flashback style acts we like from the Tokyo psych scene, such as LSD-march and Up-Tight, these guys somehow sound more '70s underground, and more OUT there - in part due to the free jazz factor, in part due to those vocals... Radical. Fans of Fushitsusha and Kaoru Abe now have a dream date. And let's not limit ourselves merely to Japanese references, anyone into intense underground noisemaking from like likes of, I dunno, Raccoo-oo-oon, might want to sail into the maelstrom with this Ship Of Fools too. Pretty fantastic.
MPEG Stream: "All Creatures"
MPEG Stream: "A Leaf"

AI ASO Chamomile Pool (Pedal) cd 19.98
A couple of years ago Japan's Ai Aso served up an absolute dreamcake of an album titled Lavender, then last month she teamed up with Wata of Boris for an amazing book and 7" set. Ai's delights keep on coming with this, her latest full length. Her cooing Japanese waif vocals float like fallen blossoms atop a blurred watercolor stream of effected guitar and steady programmed Casio-esque rhythms. Taking a dip in this Chamomile Pool will surely have the same calming effect as the tea of the same name. We imagine it'd even make a great substitution for traditional baby lullaby fare. This will definitely soothe children of all ages, but the overall serenely elegant tone ensures its adult appeal too. Not an abrasive tone in sight, everything is smooth, soft and so very enchanting. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Date"
MPEG Stream: "Hundred Years"

AI ASO Lavender (Pedal Records) cd 19.98
The gentlest Japanese folktronica imaginable. The album's title pretty much sums it up perfectly -- the faintest purple hue, the soft yet bright fragrance of the plant!

AIDS WOLF Lovvers (Lovepump United) cd 11.98
It's hard not to love Aids Wolf. They've got a band name conceived to piss people off, nasty and offensive but also perfectly and almost brilliantly nonsensical. Then there's the eye poppingly garish cover art. Equal parts Black Dice style collage, outsider art, abstract modern design, with just a pinch of naked ladies (and men!). And then there's the music! They sound loud, and crazy, and completely confusing. Like some crazy performance featuring the Boredoms, Afrirampo, Spunk, Total Shutdown, Nautical Almanac and Wolf Eyes, all playing simultaneously, when suddenly someone sets off a bomb and blows the whole club to bits, the pieces are scraped up, broken teeth, shattered skulls, obliterated instruments, sizzling flesh, blood and gore and all manner of gruesome musical splatter, dumped into a huge pot, melted down and smeared all over a piece of wax and pressed up into this here record. A dizzyingly ear shredding, brain melting mix of shrieked vocals, stumbling no-wave, blasting free noise, crusty costume rock and club destroying temper tantrum spazz-outs. Goes down like a mouthful of rusty nails. Fans of any of the above mentioned bands, at least ones with strong stomachs and ears of steel, might find something to love. Maybe. So yeah, it might be hard not to love Aids Wolf, but we're doing a really good job so far.
MPEG Stream: "Spit Tastes Like Metal"
MPEG Stream: "Chinese Roulette"

AIDS WOLF / FUGUE Split (Blood Of The Drash) 7" 5.98

AIHIYO Live (PSF) cd 22.00
This is the second and possibly last document of Keiji Haino's cover band, which mutates Japanese rock classics (as well as the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", and "Satisfaction" by the Stones) into free-floating garage. This Haino record is certainly the worst of his career... It's so bad that
you might be seeing my large collection of Fushitshusha / Haino records showing up in the used bin here at Aquarius really soon. Okay, I know that it's live and there is some "improvisation" that is going on here, but these are simplest blues based chords to ever be written, and Haino's band can't even figure out when to change chords. It's not hard to figure it out; the shittiest fraternity cover band could figure how to play a garage song - even after a few beers. And furthermore, Haino's voice is meant for the caterwaul and siren scream to accompany a furious guitar solo, not to limpwristedly sputter monosyllabic grunting over a blues band that would get booed off the stage anywhere else in America, but in San Francisco or New York, where a bunch of pseudo-intellectuals will be scratching their chins, chain-smoking Bebes, and sipping sludgy double espressos that have been cold for well over an hour and lost any flavor what-so-ever. When you listen to rock'n'roll, you should drink beer. Preferably, Pabst Blue Ribbon, but Schlitz or Olympia will do. Where was I... yeah this record sucks. I'm mad and Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska! [Note: Jim wrote this, not Allan or Jeff, who actually have big Keiji Haino collections, and beg to differ with Jim -- far from being the worst record of Haino's career, this in fact one of his best!! The cover of "Satisfaction" alone makes this worth the 21 bucks. Totally amazing, awesome album. Really. Or so WE think. And we drink PBR.]

AINIGMA Diluvium (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00
I'd like to thank whomever was working the counter at Rockit Scientist in NYC, one day when I happened to visit that very cool East Village record shop a couple years ago. 'Cause they happened to be spinning an LP reissue of this, the lone album by obscure krautrock act Ainigma. Never had heard of 'em before, but they made an impression, as I'm a sucker for all early heavy progressive '70s sounds. And for the time it was originally released (1973) these guys were pretty heavy, though it's definitely an low-budget, basement sort of underground production. Especially heavy is the 17 minute title track, which even includes about a minute and a half of drum solo! Shades of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"! Also as per Iron Butterfly, there's a LOT of organ on this album, swirling and chunking amid the wailing guitar and pounding drums. No surprise then that the REALLY big influence on these teenage Bavarian lads was Vincent Crane's Atomic Rooster, along with other organ-based heavies out of the UK back then like Uriah Heep and Deep Purple. But Ainigma's take on those sounds was definitely waaay fuzzed and garagey-punk, and also quite jammy, more instrumental than vocal oriented.
So ever since that day at Rockit Scientist I'd been hoping for a cd reissue to materialize, and now at last Garden Of Delights has done the job, giving it their usual swank treatment (two bonus tracks plus thick booklet w/ German and English liner notes, lyrics, band photos, and even pictures of -previous- reissues of this record!), nice!
MPEG Stream: "Diluvium"
MPEG Stream: "Prejudice"