AINOTAMENISHIS Live '418 (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
You heard 'em on the recent Tokyo Flashback comp number six, now here's a full length document from this Japanese psych/punk combo. Do the math: out of print cd-r release x now on vinyl x on the ever-reliable Holy Mountain label = come 'n get it, Japanese psych fiends! Holy Mountain name drops Gaseneta and Velvet Underground as comparisons/influences. Somewhere in there for sure is the soul of the Ainotamenishis' rock abandon, like so many other heavy-duty Flashbackers we've been lucky to hear.

AIR 10,000 Hz Legend (Astralwerks) cd 15.98
The French Band (remember they informed us of this fact on the cover of their first album?) has returned. Whatever -- we've been very vocal in the past about our strong dislike for the puffy shallowness that is Air. My main argument was that their music made no musical sense -- they just seemed all moody style and no substance. And they still haven't got any depth, but... I think Air is finally starting to get better. I think they've taken enough bong hits and sort of seen the light and taken off the poseur fashion victim outfits, deciding to truly be their own goofy selves. This new album comes across as a pastiche of sunny pop tidbits, with songs sounding like the Beach Boys, Serge Gainsbourg, and Beta Band. There's stoopid flute, psychedelic guitar solos, propulsive Neu-derived rhythms, weird stuttering vocal glitches that sound like the cd player is skipping, and best of all, a Macintosh computer voice that says stuff like "I am spacing out with you. I will be your angel." It's pretty ridiculous and that's what makes it A-OK. As big hyped electronica albums go, this one is way better and more interesting than UNKLE, Chemical Bros, Gorillaz, Beck, etc. We really like this new Air album!!
RealAudio clip: "How Does It Make You Feel?"
RealAudio clip: "Electronic Performers"

AIR 10,000 Hz Legend (Astralwerks) 2lp 17.98
Now on LP! The French Band (remember they informed us of this fact on the cover of their first album?) has returned. Whatever -- we've been very vocal in the past about our strong dislike for the puffy shallowness that is Air. My main argument was that their music made no musical sense -- they just seemed all moody style and no substance. And they still haven't got any depth, but... I think Air is finally starting to get better. I think they've taken enough bong hits and sort of seen the light and taken off the poseur fashion victim outfits, deciding to truly be their own goofy selves. This new album comes across as a pastiche of sunny pop tidbits, with songs sounding like the Beach Boys, Serge Gainsbourg, and Beta Band. There's stoopid flute, psychedelic guitar solos, propulsive Neu-derived rhythms, weird stuttering vocal glitches that sound like the cd player is skipping, and best of all, a Macintosh computer voice that says stuff like "I am spacing out with you. I will be your angel." It's pretty ridiculous and that's what makes it A-OK. As big hyped electronica albums go, this one is way better and more interesting than UNKLE, Chemical Bros, Gorillaz, Beck, etc. We really like this new Air album!!
RealAudio clip: "How Does It Make You Feel?"
RealAudio clip: "Electronic Performers"

AIR Cherry Blossom Girl (Source) cd ep 9.98

AIR Everybody Hertz (Astralwerks) cd 9.98
Sounds like Air got some more folks drunk on their French designer cologne and hair tonic and coerced them to do some mingling and remixing. Most notable party goers: Adrian Sherwood (applying his trademark deep dubby stamp), Mr. Oizo and The Hacker (hello, New Order?). Includes five versions of their cut "Don't Be Light", two each of "How Does It Make You Feel" and "People In The City", as well as one previously unreleased track and a live video. Plentiful four-on-the-floor beats for beaucoup de derriere shaking. A cringeworthy chorus of love-you-down crooning alternates with a cold computer voice asking "how does it make you feel?"
RealAudio clip: "How Does It Make You Feel? (Adrian Sherwood Version)"
RealAudio clip: "Don't Be Light (The Hacker Remix) "

AIR Everybody Hertz (Source / Virgin France) 2lp 13.98
And here's the vinyl. We reviewed the cd version thusly: Sounds like Air got some more folks drunk on their French designer cologne and hair tonic and coerced them to do some mingling and remixing. Most notable party goers: Adrian Sherwood (applying his trademark deep dubby stamp), Mr. Oizo and The Hacker (hello, New Order?). Includes five versions of their cut "Don't Be Light", two each of "How Does It Make You Feel" and "People In The City", as well as one previously unreleased track and a live video. Plentiful four-on-the-floor beats for beaucoup de derriere shaking. A cringeworthy chorus of love-you-down crooning alternates with a cold computer voice asking "how does it make you feel?"
RealAudio clip: "How Does It Make You Feel? (Adrian Sherwood Version)"
RealAudio clip: "Don't Be Light (The Hacker Remix) "

AIR Late Night Tales (Thrive) cd 17.98
Many a time, late at night, while hanging out with friends or that some special someone, we've found ourselves turning to our Air records to provide the perfect post-party soundtrack. Deep coming down comfort for a perfect long ride home. So it makes perfect sense that Air would be the latest band creating their own perfect late night mix for the Late Night Tales series.
We have to admit, that previous releases in the series have left us a bit underwhelmed, with some of our favorite bands showing a real lack of creativity in their selections. But that all changes right now, with this Late Night Tales, as Air have indeed put together a PERFECT late night mix! It's that perfect combination of the totally obvious and the sort of obscure. Songs that demonstrate many of the band's other sonic sides not necessarily represented in their music. This is one of those mixes that forces you to continually see what the heck is playing, 'cuz whatever track is playing, it's kicking you ass. The pacing, the order, the mood, it's the perfect late bliss-out and drift-off. Melting melting melting in the best possible way. From the dreamy spaced out side of Black Sabbath to maybe the most stunning Lee Hazelwood song we've ever heard, a should-be classic from the Troggs, some impeccable mood music from Nino Rota, a bit of Japan that flows right into some Scott Walker, and lots more. Tan Dun and Cat Power, Robert Wyatt, The Cure, Minnie Riperton, The Band... So awesome. This collection definitely ranks up their with any of our favorite mixtapes. It's easy to get the feeling that the boys in Air made this mix just for you.
MPEG Stream: BLACK SABBATH "Planet Caravan"
MPEG Stream: LEE HAZLEWOOD "My Autumn's Done Come"
MPEG Stream: THE TROGGS "Cousin Jane"

AIR Moon Safari (Source/Caroline) cd 16.98
Quite pleasing and well executed (if not very challenging) French electronic lounge music that sometimes sounds as simple and airy as a Beautiful South song, sometimes as smoky 'n' dense as Portishead. Bonus points for creative Jean Jacques Perrey sampling...and for giving him songwriting credit! But the best reason to own this album is one song! The awesome "Sexy Boy". Fat bloopy analog synth grooves propel it along in the most infectious fashion. Fluffy goodness!
MPEG Stream: "Sexy Boy"

AIR Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks) cd 17.98
While it's been over three years since Air's last record that doesn't mean they've been sitting around doing nothing. In fact just in the last year they made all the music for Charlotte Gainsbourg's great new record 5:55, curated one of the best Late Night Tales compilations, and one half of Air, J.B. Dunckel released his first solo record under the moniker Darkel. But yes like many of you, we've still been getting antsy for a proper new Air record. And here we have it and we have to say it does not disappoint. Pocket Symphony is Air at their moodiest, creating an impeccable atmosphere that flows perfectly from start to finish. There are some guest vocals appearances from Jarvis Cocker (Pulp fans rejoice!) and Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) but truly the strength of Pocket Symphony comes in the instrumentation and overall mood that only the guys in Air seem to be able to conjure up. In many ways this is their most somber recording since their score for The Virgin Suicides. A perfect come down record.
MPEG Stream: "Space Maker"
MPEG Stream: "One Hell Of A Party"
MPEG Stream: "Photograph"

AIR Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks) lp 22.00
Now on vinyl too!
While it's been over three years since Air's last record that doesn't mean they've been sitting around doing nothing. In fact just in the last year they made all the music for Charlotte Gainsbourg's great new record 5:55, curated one of the best Late Night Tales compilations, and one half of Air, J.B. Dunckel released his first solo record under the moniker Darkel. But yes like many of you, we've still been getting antsy for a proper new Air record. And here we have it and we have to say it does not disappoint. Pocket Symphony is Air at their moodiest, creating an impeccable atmosphere that flows perfectly from start to finish. There are some guest vocals appearances from Jarvis Cocker (Pulp fans rejoice!) and Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) but truly the strength of Pocket Symphony comes in the instrumentation and overall mood that only the guys in Air seem to be able to conjure up. In many ways this is their most somber recording since their score for The Virgin Suicides. A perfect come down record.
MPEG Stream: "Space Maker"
MPEG Stream: "One Hell Of A Party"
MPEG Stream: "Photograph"

AIR Sexy Boy (Source) cdep 5.98
French electronica sensations Air, with their big hit/best song in a radio edit and three exciting mixes...including one by Beck Hansen. Also, "Jeanne" with Francoise Hardy appears here.

AIR Surfing On A Rocket (Astralwerks) cd ep 8.98
Two album tracks "Surfing On A Rocket" and "Alpha Beta Gaga" from Air's most recent full length Talkie Walkie get put through the remix mill -- three mixes a piece by the likes of Juan MacLean (ex-Six Finger Satellite), Mark Ronson, Nomo Heroes, and Joakim. The stand-out is the first "A.B.G." mix on which Ronson gets all funky and hippity-hoppy with some help from Rhymefest. Pretty cool. Plus briefly interrupting the remix party is one brand new track the slow, smoooth swooner "Easy Going Woman".
MPEG Stream: "Easy Going Woman"
MPEG Stream: "Alpha Beta Gaga - Mark Ronson Vocal Mix (feat. Rhymefest)"

AIR Talkie Walkie (Virgin) cd 17.98
Wow, we've been blowing through these new Air cds so fast that it doesn't even seem like we need to bother to review it, it's like "here's that Air cd that you're already buying" would do. But, in case you're curious, the consensus here is that Talkie Walkie is really nice, not quite another Moon Safari thinks Allan, but Andee thinks otherwise. Gorgeously shimmery, reverbed piano and handclaps, sweet angelic vocals, lilting melodies, lush harmonies, and surprisingly catchy songs. If you didn't know this was Air, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was some new indie-rock / Elephant 6 / Notwist / psych-pop record. In fact the Notwist is an apt comparison, as is the Postal Service. Sweet indie rock fused with skittery electronica. And the results are so sublime. They even quote "I'm Not In Love" by 10CC in one song, complete with the heavy breathing! Remember the amazing music Air did for Sophia Coppola's Virgin Suicides. How the music managed to be as gauzy and sweetly innocent and emotionally charged as the film? Well, imagine that same sort of vibe but in a totally pop context! So good. Thankfully Air seem to have finally shed their loungy / exotica / kitsch for good in favor of this new, lush, much more satisfying sound. And I for one can't wait to hear more. This limited edition comes with a bonus DVD featuring a 35 minute live film with behind the scenes footage and other bonus stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Venus"
MPEG Stream: "Cherry Blossom Girl"

AIR Virgin Suicides (Astralwerks) cd 17.98
A new album from Air! And it comes in the form of a soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's film 'The Virgin Suicides'. Smoky sax, a scattering of spoken word, soaring musical swells, and cascading piano. Quietly groovy, but not without a frantic chase theme included in the mix (which Andee said sounds like black metal).

AIR + BARICCO City Reading (Astralwerks) cd 16.98
This grew out of a performance where Air provided instrumental backing for Allessandro Baricco reading from his novel, City. Baricco is a well-known contemporary Italian author, and City is about a young Mathematician with a vivid fantasy life.
Baricco reads his stories while Air play soothing, kind of creepy soundscapes. Baricco has a deep, lovely voice and the music of the Italian language makes this something strangely soothing to put on in the background. Dark and dreamy with lots of rumble and warm sonic blur, with field recordings of wind and chimes and all sort of other atmospheric ephemera. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Bird"
MPEG Stream: "Pat Cobhan Ride"
MPEG Stream: "Il Primo Giorno"

AIR CONDITIONING Dead Rails (Load) cd 14.98
Dead Rails is the second full-length from Air Conditioning, now quite at home on Load after a debut disc on Level Plane. They're from the same Allentown, PA scene as Pissed Jeans, and even (much more, whoah) noisier than those guys! They also were on a 4-way split LP we listed last time, the Tiger Tongue Pussy Cactus: Terminal Fantasies For Malefic Youth on Hospital Productions. Regarding that, we said Air Conditioning sounded like a supercharged noise rock Tim Hecker, all blown out buzz and buried melodies, and this follows suit.
Air Conditioning combine vacuum cleaner guitars with industrial-strength drum pummel for a noise rock delight, stress on the noise. Sheets of feedback shriek accompany indecipherable angst ridden punk hollers, all subsumed far below a tsunami of rumbling distortion. Although Dead Rails has its quiet, dare we say pretty side too, on the more ambient droning likes of "I Run Low". But when on the disc's final, 16+ minute track, Air Conditioning ask us to "Accept Your Paralysis", they've probably also caused said paralysis with their amped to the max geetar STATIC and mind-numbing rhythmic throb. Here, their noise rock gets almost psychedelic, like one of them Japanese bands, maybe Up-Tight or LSD-march, veering into Hijokaidan territory!
MPEG Stream: "Where To Litter / Trash Burning"
MPEG Stream: "Accept Your Paralysis / Cephalexin"

AIR CONDITIONING / VEGAS MARTYRS / COUGHS / THE NEW FLESH Tiger Tongue Pussy Cactus: Terminal Fantasies For Malefic Youth (Hospital Productions) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An awesome 4 band pile up, the state of modern black noise, or blackened noise rock, or whatever the fuck you want to call it. This stuff is fierce and heavy and demented and so great. From the same label that brought us the primitive black metal of Malkuth (reviewed elsewhere on this list), the raw black fury of Bone Awl, those killer Akitsa reissues and a recent MB reissue, comes this killer 4 band anvil to the head. Up first is the Vegas Martyrs, featuring Hospital head honcho and Prurient mastermind Dom Fernow, and just like the recently reviewed lp, it's another gloriously blown out and beautiful slab of blackened pop flecked noise rock. In the red and on the verge of destroying your speakers, VM offer up a killer Maiden-like riff over super distorted drums, garbled FX drenched vocals, super hypnotic and repetitive, all wrapped up in a crumbling stereo killing production, finishing off with several minutes of glitchy grinding murky noise...
Up next is Air Conditioning, who sculpt their noise into something sorta pretty, huge swaths of blown out buzz over blurred buried melodies, layer upon layer upon layer, all shifting and shimmering, it almost sounds like a super charged noiserock Tim Hecker. Abrasive but surprisingly lovely. Up third is The New Flesh, show kick out the jams, ultra lo-fi style, a noisy practice space sounding garage rock sludge jam, all downtuned guitars, distorted trash can drums, and a weirdly deep voiced vocalist, who occasionally let's loose with a glass gargling screech. Dirgey, grimey, almost like some long lost Swans rehearsal tape. Finally, finishing things up are the Coughs, who weave some strange drone-y dirge with skronky sax and buzzy bass, fuzz guitar, all in short sharp bursts, creating a weirdly spacious plod, looped and cyclical, until the wild female vocals come in, and suddenly the Coughs sound like they're channeling old school Riot Grrl through new school noise. Out of nowhere comes a blast of spastic drum freakout before returning to that gorgeously relentless sludge-y pulse...
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES. Packaged in a thick black on green paper sleeve, printed inside and out, pressed on clear green vinyl.

AIR KING SOUND AutoPilot (Air King Sound) cd 5.98
Geoff Marx, Thomas Muer and Derek Greenberg are the brains behind this sound installation from '98. Just now in at Aquarius, it is constructed using three simultaneously playing cds. One containing found environmental sounds, one of beats and one of melodic and harmonic content. Each collection of sounds is fragmented and randomly mixed up by the shuffle mode of the cd players, thus creating a constantly changing sonic environment.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS Assistant to the Assistant (Parallelism) cd 12.98
Mr. Gerard Cosloy and Ms. Claire Pannell return with their third album of indie-skronk. If you and your best friend were really good at improvising on a processed guitar, an analogue synth and a drum kit after listening to DNA, Handful of Dust, and Fushitsusha, then yes, you too could be as good as Air Traffic Controllers... then again you too might be CEO of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS Existence Period (Parallelism) cd 13.98
Gerard Cosloy & Claire Pannell's improv-skronk guitar/bass duo returns with a new album, recorded live to minidisc in various downtown NYC locations. Two guest saxophonists feature on one song, but despite that the aforementioned "skronk" element has in fact been reduced a bit from previous outings--"Existence Period" seems a bit prettier than earlier Air Traffic Controllers discs. Very nice.

AIRAKSINEN, PEKKA Madam I'm Adam (Love Records) 2cd 24.00
Remember that Arktinen Hysteria compilation of '60s-'70s underground electronic/avant-garde music from far-off Finland? Pekka Airaksinen was one of the composers whose work made that comp such a great freaky blast of Arctic creativity. His career has stretched from the late sixties 'til today, from his membership in the notorious Finnish underground 'rock' outfit The Sperm to solo recordings now being released on his own cd-r imprint. This anthology makes a valiant effort to wrangle some of the best of Airaksinen's diverse and bizarre output onto one disc, and also includes a second disc of 'remixes' of his stuff by a surprising array of current sound makers, among them Nurse With Wound, Es, Simon Wickham-Smith, Mira Calix, and Curd Duca. From proto-Industrial noise to electronic beats to free jazz to massive drones, Airaksinen's work is interesting and always avant-garde. We'd actually have preferred that both discs be given over to his original recordings (how 'bout a reissue of the entire 1970 Sperm album Shh!?) rather than get the remixes, but we're not complaining, this is a cool comp and doubtless more will be forthcoming especially if the presence of the big-name remixers get folks to buy this who aren't already intrigued by the pioneering Finnish sonic weirdness on offer.
MPEG Stream: GHANDI-FREUD "Molybdene"
MPEG Stream: THE SPERM "Korvapoliklinikka Hesperia"

AIRPLANES ARE BETTER Power (ReSTART) cd ep 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here is a new ep from this power pop trio of twenty year olds from El Paso Tx. They sound like emo boy rock, ala Slint (only harder) Drive Like Jehu or June of 44. You know what im talking about. three songs. Full sounding and driving with dual vocals. produced by Jim Ward of At The Drive-In.
RealAudio clip: "Orange On Brown"
RealAudio clip: "You Look Left"

AIRPORT 5 Life Starts Here (Fading Captain Series) cd 15.98
Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout have assembled an album's worth of material that just as well could (should? would?) be GBV. This is the second full length from this recently reunited pair of extremely prolific songsmiths. As with other Guided By Voices projects, there are some wonderful gems of songs here, and some questionable stuff. They're so spotty.
RealAudio clip: "Yellow Wife #4"
RealAudio clip: "I Can't Freeze Anymore"

AIRPORT 5 Tower in the Fountain of Sparks (Fading Captain) cd 15.98
Mr Robert Pollard has been quite prolific as of late. This is #13 in the Fading Captain Series. All new material and the first full-length collaboration between Robert Pollard and Tobin Sprout, since 1996's Guided By Voices 'Tonics And Twisted Chasers'. Of course fans of GBV are going to like this one.
RealAudio clip: "Burns Carpenter, Man of Science"

AIRPORT 5 / GUIDED BY VOICES Fading Captain Series #16: Selective Service (Luna Music) cd 12.98
Oh, those familiar voices and just as familiar chord changes of Bob Pollard and Tobin Sprout. In my opinion, the most successful tunes here are the more upbeat ones, the slower ones tend to somewhat trudge along. The title track I've fondly renamed "Hold Your Horses, I'm Tuning My Guitar". Yup, another episode in Mr. Pollard's ever-growing Fading Captain Series. For GBV die-hard completists only.
RealAudio clip: "Selective Service"
RealAudio clip: "Stifled Man Casino"

AIRWAY Beyond The Pink Live (Cortical Foundation) 2cd + 7" 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Of the three recent releases / discoveries from the Los Angeles Free Music Society through the Cortical Foundation, Airway's "Beyond The Pink" is the strongest, if not the most listenable. Joe Potts -- one of the more prominent players in the LAFMS -- began Airway as a plot "to subliminally program audiences behind the cover of a chaotic wall of sound." It may difficult to tell if Airway has succeeded in their subliminal programming, as I've not encountered any unusual cravings to overthrow the government or even to get a piece of fried chicken. But Airway does succeed in their wall of chaos at least on this live recording from a reunion performance of Airway on Valentine's Day 1998, with a thick noise attack that is propelled by a simple 4/4 beat and topped off with indecipherable hollers and trumpet blasts, sounding a lot a Marc Cunningham ensemble like Mars or Convulsion bastardizing a Glenn Branca guitar symphony. On that night, Potts was joined by Mike Kelley, John Duncan (who confided that it was a blast to play in Airway that night), Don Bolles, Dennis Duck, Fredrik Nilsen, and about a dozen other noisemakers. Only one of the CDs has music on it, with the other being a CD-rom with various visual ephemera and a video of the show in question. The 7" is sloppy archival recordings from the '70s and dictates the size of the well-designed, gatefold package. Limited to 700 copies.
RealAudio clip: "Beyond The Pink Live"

AISLERS SET How I Learned To Write Backwards (Suicide Squeeze) cd 13.98
Hurrah! The much anticipated third album from our favorite world-weary pop angels has arrived! Very '60s Brill Building girl group style production but with less naive, sugarcoated lyrical sentiments. Sooooo sssplendid! Beautifully recorded, with layer upon layer of beautiful melodies and instrumentation. This band really does just get better and better. Their recordings have the hugeness and details reminiscent of Phil Spector or Joe Meek. And the use of reverb is flawless. The soft echoey lovely vocals just melt my heart and the songs are so individually rad that they stand on their own and apart from each other. This record is softer and sadder in some ways, perhaps their darkest work to date. Less poppy or optimistic than previous songs I've heard. I really can't take it off my stereo at home. Absolutely, totally and completely recommended!!!
RealAudio clip: "Catherine Says"
RealAudio clip: "Attracion Action Reaction"

AISLERS SET How I Learned To Write Backwards (Slumberland) lp 10.98
And hurrah again for the Aislers Set, as we now have their new full length on vinyl too! It's the highly anticipated third album from our favorite world-weary pop angels. Very '60s Brill Building girl group style production but with less naive, sugarcoated lyrical sentiments. Sooooo sssplendid! Beautifully recorded, with layer upon layer of beautiful melodies and instrumentation. This band really does just get better and better. Their recordings have the hugeness and details reminiscent of Phil Spector or Joe Meek. And the use of reverb is flawless. The soft echoey lovely vocals just melt my heart and the songs are so individually rad that they stand on their own and apart from each other. This record is softer and sadder in some ways, perhaps their darkest work to date. Less poppy or optimistic than previous songs I've heard. I really can't take it off my stereo at home. Absolutely, totally and completely recommended!!!
RealAudio clip: "Catherine Says"
RealAudio clip: "Attracion Action Reaction"

AISLERS SET Mission Bells (Suicide Squeeze) 12" 5.98
Hurrah! The beloved Aislers Set return with this 3-song 12". It contains two versions of the title song (sung in English and Spanish) as well as "I'm So Glad To See You Go". Super splendid pop once again from Amy, Wyatt, Yoshi, and Alicia. Slinky'n'jangly guitar, low-key organ, a vibrant horn section and the always welcome vocal pairing of Amy's unmistakable sweet, drowsy lilt and Wyatt's gentle, boyish charm. Sooo good. And this is just a little hint of what's to come in their third full length due in February - certainly cause for celebration. Can't wait!

AISLERS SET Terrible Things Happen (Slumberland) cd 12.98
This is the debut album from the highly anticipated new project from Amy of Henry's Dress/Go Sailor, Alicia of Poundsign, Wyatt Trackstar, and Yoshi of Scenic Vermont. And what a debut it is! There's certainly no shortage of fine songsmiths in this SF combo, and the resulting pop chemistry is pretty darn magical. Soft, pretty and a bit droll, but with ample bounce and feist when required. Superb indie pop gems that are not to be missed... really! You need this now... or bear the wrath of Sadie and Cup!
MPEG Stream: "California"
MPEG Stream: "Long Division"

AISLERS SET The Last Match (Slumberland) cd 13.98
Local popsters Aislers Set finally return with their second, super anticipated full length. Unabashed mod-pop fans of the Postcard Records / Belle & Sebastian / Zombies variety, the Aislers' first album Terrible Things Happen has been a steady bestseller at AQ ever since it came out 2 years ago. Look for the same to happen with The Last Match -- it's that toothsomely good and that insanely catchy. Warm, jangly with honest to goodness real songs. Belle and Sebastian are rumored to be big fans, and coincidentally enough, when we play this in the store some folks mistake the Aislers Set for B&S when Wyatt, not Amy, is singing.
MPEG Stream: "Balloon Song"
MPEG Stream: "The Red Door"

AISLERS SET The Red Door (Slumberland) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SF pop heroes return with a newly recorded version of "The Red Door", from last year's highly acclaimed LP "The Last Match". Also included are two new songs, a live cover of Girls At Our Best's "Warm Girls" and "Summers Reprise".

AISLERS SET / HOW Split (Slumberland/555) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A Henry's Dress reunion of sorts. Side A is more lovely pop from local favorites The Aislers Set, while the B side is from her ex-bandmate, now in How, engaging in a little blatant Who worship.

AISLERS SET / THE FAIRWAYS Yeh Yeh / The Rain Fell Down (Yakamashi Records-Chocolate Bars & Crashing Cars) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Split single from two beloved local groups doing the noisepop so well. The Aisler Set track is a version of the French pop classic. Lovely artwork and foldout poster by comic book artist Adrian Tomine of Optic Nerve fame.

AIX EM KLEMM s/t (Kranky) cd 14.98
One guy from Stars of the Lid, one guy from Labradford. Making lovely sounds together not unlike those of the aforementioned bands. Spacious. Soothing. Pretty. Kranky. (The label, not the feeling.) We like.

AJATTARA Itse (Spikefarm) cd 15.98
Pounding Finnish black metal hell. Super heavy. But also simple and melodic, with swirling keyboard textures and vocals alternating between harsh screeching and clean sort-of-chanting. (Courtesy of the singer from Amorphis, apparently relishing this chance to get back to his primitive raw metal roots). Midtempo and relatively straight forward (sort of verse-chorus-verse), with BIG riffs and pounding rhythms (no blast beats here) reminiscent of Bathory or Venom, but with better production, and a dark, threatening vibe, thanks to all the minor key, horror movie keyboard embellishments. Pretty great stuff from Spikefarm, who have yet to fail us.
RealAudio clip: "Yhdeksas"
RealAudio clip: "Verivalta"

AJATTARA Kuolema (Spikefarm) cd 15.98
Second album from these Finns, equally blackend and pounding as the first.

AJATTARA Tyhjyys (Spikefarm) cd 17.98
Tyhjyys (whatever that means?) is this Finnish black metal band's third album. Getting no argument from Ajattara's fans at AQ, they haven't strayed from their successful formula of dark, midtempo, heaviness -- adorned with eerie keys and underpined by pounding drums. And they still 'sing' in Finnish. Although a crushing proposition overall, some melody emerges amid the guitar riffs and vocal rasps. It's bouncy death march music for industrial goblins.
MPEG Stream: "Harhojen Renki"
MPEG Stream: "Langennut"

AJILVSGA Gathering Of Owls (Digitalis) cassette 8.98
Some super experimental low end doom drone minimalism from Brad Rose, who besides playing in The North Sea, Corsican Paintbrush, Jade Emperor also runs the insanely cool Digitalis label.
Up until now, most of what we've heard from Rose has been on the folky side of things, who knew he had this in him. A seriously grindingly dense churning buzzscape. Caustic and thick, huge slabs of heaving low end, layer upon layer of black hole heaviness. Dentist drill high end surfaces here and there, but overall, every track here is some sort of leap into sonic tar, struggling to breath or even hear, your ears clogged with crumbling back grit, your body pinned to the ground beneath wave after wave of slow motion blacknoise pummel.
You know if you need this. If you're into the slow, and low and HEAVY, you probably do. But this was LIMITED TO ONLY 72 COPIES. It's out of print. We have 15. Do the math.
Red cassette cases, red cassettes, cool full color sleeves on nice textured paper, each copy hand numbered.

AJILVSGA White Path / Red Path (Peasant Magik) cassette 8.98
The fourth cassette from this East Coast minimal drone duo, half of which, as we've mentioned before, just so happens to be Brad who runs the Digitalis label.
This tape takes up right where the last one left off, a dark slowly expansive exploration of deep black minimalism, this one begins less heavy than the others, murky and mumbly, looped low end drifts out from the speakers like doomy ripples, soft pulses, distant throbs, part way through the sound gets all airy and swooshy, almost like some blackened new age. But that's just about when the sound thickens, and grows slightly more corrosive. A crumbling, grinding muted flow more soothing than heavy.
But flip the tape over, and we're back in the heavy guitar realm, with swirling streaks of buzz and pulsing effects, droned out chordal whir, intense blown out squalls of freaked out noise, dense swells of high end skree, everything warped and warbly and wrapped in damaged electronics and strange sonic glitches, an avalanche of fragmented riffage building to a Total like rrrroooaaar. Cool.
LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES!!! Comes packaged in a full color fold out cardstock insert, the tape wrapped in a cassette obi, screen printed on heavy textured paper and each one hand numbered.

AJILVSGA Winter Hunt (Abandon Ship) cassette 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Third release in almost as many weeks from this relatively new drone-doom duo, half of which just so happens to be Brad Rose, Digitalis head honcho, as well as member of the North Sea, Corsican Paintbrush, Jade Emperor, the Golden Oaks and probably a few more that we're forgetting.
But don't let that fee folk pedigree fool you. This new outfit, Ajilsvga is certainly free but not folk at all. Exploring a world of near static heaviness similar to like minded folks in SUNNO))), Sunroof!, Vulture Club, Half Makeshift, but leaning toward the lugubrious sludgey ambient doom side of the slow and low spectrum.
On Winter Hunt, it's a thick squall of buzz and rumble, guitars, or organs, or synths, but mostly guitars we think, all set on stun and allowed to unfurl thick waves of thick viscous low end. A swirling morass of grinding glacial low end, sheets of crumbling distorted chordal whir, off in the distance, keening tones floating above the roiling rumbling below, a heaving heaviness, strangely soothing and meditative as much as dense and intense.
Fans of the above mentioned bands will dig this big time, as well as anyone into the low, slow and heavy, the dark, dense and drone-y.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. Package in full color two sided sleeves.

AJILVSGA / MASS ORNAMENT / THE NORTH SEA / ALMS 4way Split (Digitalis) 2 x cassette 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Holy crap is this beautiful, two cassettes in a big oversized white vinyl double tape case, like the ones that language tapes used to come in, or noise tapes after that, a 4 way split of related bands, all integral parts of the Digitalis label family. The bad news, is that this is limited to only 85 copies, and is already sold out. We got 15 of those, and once those are gone, we WILL NOT be able to get more sad to say. Another awesome record that WAY too few people will get to hear. As much as we love cool limited stuff, and special releases and all that, at some point we would probably be willing to trade more releases for more copies, good music is meant to be heard by more than a handful of folks, and if your release sells out in one hour or one day or one week, then probably you could have sold a whole lot more, and a bunch of folks are gonna miss out. But heck, you all know all that, you just want us to pipe down and tell you about this super limited double cassette so you can throw it in your cart and move on. OK, then...
Up first Ajilsvga, the doomdronedirge project of Digitalis label head honcho Brad Rose and his partner in low end crime, probably the nicest thing we've heard from them, a long stretch of crumbling rumbling droney heaviness, but all tangled up with ghostly voices, soaring soft harmonies, giving the track a definite SUNNO)) meets Arvo Part vibe. Cool. Flip the tape over and we've got 4 tracks from Mass Ornament, Rose's partner Eden, who supplies much of the artwork and is responsible for those vocals on the Ajilsvga track. MO offers up some droning drifting, brooding ominous doom folk, multi-tracked vocals over moaning low end, glistening melodies, creepy and crawly and so beautiful. Fans of Inca Ore and Grouper should for sure check this out.
Tape 2 starts out with Alms which just so happens to be the other half of Ajilsvga, and treads similar ground, big billowy low end rumbles, deep and resonant, throbbing and shimmering blackly, building in intensity, all sorts of FX join the fray, and the drone gets more and more caustic and buzzy. Good stuff. Another doomdirgedeathdrone artist to look for more from.
Flip the tape over, and it's the North Sea, Rose's long running solo project, who in the past has explored the fringes of free folk and ambient drone, but lately has been exploring the world of low end heaviness, as he does here again, offering up a seriously dense and thick dronescape, a gorgeous undulating, pulsing, heavy, slow motion tarpit drift.
Definitely amazing stuff. First come, first served, one per customer, hopefully, they'll repress it or release it on cd or something, but for now, be quick or be happy without....

AKAGO, YAMA s/t (Sewer Records) cd-3 ep 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Super limited release from the very cool Sewer Records in Sweden. This 3" cd-r deviates from Sewer's ususally harsh/noisy/brutal aesthetic and explores a dark shimmery, Eastern tinged soundscape, with creepy reverbed female vocals, warm dark rumbles, gentle ripples of swoosh and whoosh, and the occasional clang and clatter. Quite nice.
RealAudio clip: "Tokyo Bay"

AKATEN 4 (Magaibutsu) cd 11.98
Tatsuya Yoshida is insane and Atsushi Tsuyama is even more insane. Here are some of the bands they're involved with: Ruins, Omoide Hatoba, Ruins-Hatoba, Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner, Tairikuotoko vs. Sanmyakuonna, etc. Akaten is the two of them together, just fooling around. They specialize in short, conceptual, almost-non-musical tracks. For instance, "4" features their attempts at simulating various bird calls.

AKATEN Chateau du Akaten (Magaibutsu) cd 14.98
Two of the underground Japanese music scene's most proficient, prolific, and (sometimes) silly figures team up yet again for the duo project Akaten. That's bass-playing trickster Atsushi Tsuyama (Omoide Hatoba, Acid Mothers Temple, etc.) and drummer extraordinaire Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, Koenjihyakkei, Musica Transonic, etc. etc.). This fifth Akaten disc sees them continue the humorous, conceptual, improvised antics of their previous releases. Most of the 20 short tracks on "Chateau" take some object or idea and attempt to either musically mimic it, or evoke it in song -- from wine to miso to fishing to the USA (in several sections: Record Company/Fast Food/United States/Baseball/National Park) to standing and browsing in a bookstore! These musical vignettes or impressions are sometimes funny, certainly strange, and quite varied (mixing sound effects, vocal acrobatics, pop, hardcore prog, and psych-rock, as you might expect from these guys). Not either musician's most serious work, obviously, but fun.
RealAudio clip: "Wine"
RealAudio clip: "USA: National Park"
RealAudio clip: "Tooth Brush"
RealAudio clip: "A Tradesman In Osaka"

AKBAYRAM, EDIP s/t (Shadoks Music) 2cd 19.98
Glad tidings for Turkish psych freaks, or those soon to become Turkish psych freaks (just give this a listen!): here's a new must-have collection crammed full of swirling, fuzzed-out electric saz, impassioned vocals, and traditional Turkish folk gone funk! If you are indeed into the groovy East-meets-West psychedelia that flourished in Istanbul back in the '60s and '70s, artists like Mogollar, 3 Hur-el, Baris Manco, and Erkin Koray, chances are you may already be familiar with Edip Akbayram and his band Dostlar (formed in '73), as a while back we reviewed a compact disc reissue of Edip's circa '76 album Nedir Ne Decildir and gave it a hearty recommendation. This new Edip Akbayram double disc on the Shadoks label contains 24 tracks, including ten of the 14 cuts found on that previous reissue (meaning, if you already have that cd, you still will want this for the whole disc and then some of songs you don't have... and you can't get rid of the Nedir reissue either if you want those four songs that don't overlap). So this is definitely the Edip set to get at any rate.
The colorful music of Edip Akbayram and Dostlar is pretty much the hardest-rockin' all the Turkish psych acts of the era we've heard... darn heavy in spots. The Anatolian folk-rock of the sixties is blended with a polyester '70s wah-wah funked-up progginess here. It's vibrant and colorful music to make you feel like you're in some smoky, swinging nightclub on one of the warren of narrow, twisting side-streets off of the hip main drag Istiklal in the Beyoglu neighborhood of Istanbul, back in the day, sweating on the dance floor or sitting back, sucking on a hookah.
The cd booklet is full of cool photos, and a page of liner notes, giving Edip's bio but no info on the tracks themselves, we're just told that they're from his first two albums and singles. However, they do include English translations of the song titles, which should give some idea of Edip's seemingly dire outlook on life (or the outlook shared by his Turkish folk sources), with such songs as "Sorrow And More Sorrow", "Miserable", "In Vain", "Our Village Is Full Of Smoke", "Don't Touch My Sad Soul", "Tyrant", "Gallows Pole" and even "My Car Broke Down"! Sounds like a bummer, yet many of these tracks are amazingly upbeat musically!
Edip definitely belongs high up in the reissued ranks of all the incredible, obscure, groovy sixties/seventies psych sounds from all around the world that we can't get enough of here at AQ: Os Mutantes, San Ul Lim, Mogollar, Blo, Bango, Brincos, Krysztof Klenzon, Juan de la Cruz, Los Dug Dugs, He 6, the stuff on comps like Cherrystones Rocks, Welsh Rare Beat, Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, Studio One Funk, etc. etc. etc.
MPEG Stream: "Deniz Ustu Kopurur"
MPEG Stream: "Yakar Inceden Inceden"
MPEG Stream: "Arabam Kaldi Yolda"

AKCHOTE, NOEL / EUGENE CHADBOURNE / MARC RIBOT Lust Corner (Winter & Winter) cd 17.98
Improv guitar duets between Akchote and Ribot, and Akchote and Chadbourne (who's also responsible for some banjo and, on one song, vocals)...several Ornette Coleman compositions are essayed, and the whole thing seems to be inspired by the disturbing/erotic photography of Japan's Nobuyoshi Araki. Indeed, Lust Corner is beautifully packaged with an assortment of Araki's photos.

AKCHOTE, NOEL / ROLAND AUZET / LUC FERRARI Impro-Micro-Acoustique (Blue Chopsticks) cd 14.98
Artists and title says it all, eh?

AKERCOCKE Choronzon (Earache) cd 14.98

AKERCOCKE The Goat of Mendes (Peaceville) cd 16.98
Akercocke has been touted as England's great black metal hope. A lot to live up to when you consider the UK has produced Venom, the fathers of black metal, and probably the most successful black metal band of all time, Cradle of Filth. Setting a course for less commercial waters, Akercocke base their songs around the familiar sound of classic death metal, with a great deal of the vocals grunted cookie monster style. But they do manage to mix it up with super catchy leads, clean operatic singing, a handful of truly amazing riffs and ridiculously complex breakdowns with some of the most inhuman drumming ever and quite a bit of truly psychotic shrieking. Mix in a bit of gloom and goth, dark ambience, and even some horns (!) and this is something pretty original. But it is hard to not see the similarites between Akercocke and their more commercial brethren Cradle of Filth. Both bands employ creepy female back up vocals, both bands enjoy the naked lady concept quite a bit (album covers/videos), and essentially both bands are drawing from the same well. The main differnce being that Akercocke's vocalist is not nearly as 'pretty' as Dani Filth and they don't wear nearly as much leather and PVC, in fact, Akercocke wear suits and ties! Fans of Cradle of Filth should love this stuff, but the folks that think CoF are too cheesy or too commercial might get the same sort of gothy metallic thrill, but with more underground metal oh-you've-probably-never-heard-of-them bragging rights.
RealAudio clip: "Of Menstrual Blood And Semen"
RealAudio clip: "A Skin For Dancing In"