KENNELMUS Folkstone Prism (Sundazed) cd 13.98
Another fine reissue from fine reissue label Sundazed (who put this out in '99 -- so we're slow, sorry) of late sixties era psych rock. Kennelmus were from the Arizona desert and played a sunbaked style of almost surfy psychedelia, as documented on this, their sole LP release from 1971. Influenced by the Beach Boys, early Alice Cooper, and we'd have to assume some mind-expanding drugs, this is gorgeous stuff that's also weirdly unhinged as you'll discover as the album progresses. 'Indonesian instrumental '60s guitar pop band The Steps doing Morricone Western soundtrack music' (cool!) is the first thing we thought after hearing the initial three or four songs, but then as the tracks advance, more and more songs feature vocals, often silly, nasal ones...partially because of this, at times this reminds us of another strange band originally from Arizona, the Sun City Girls!
Kennelmus have their own, unique vibe, but you never know what to expect: there's the song "Mother Of My Children" with vocals that sound exactly like Lee Hazlewood, lotsa studio trickery and effects (backwards guitars galore), and then album-closer "The Raven" (yes, the famous Edgar Allen Poe poem set to music). Which explains the bird silhouette on the disc's fantastic purple cover. If you liked Sundazed more recent reissue of the Gandalf album we reviewed last list, this is way weirder but similarily lovely and obscure.
RealAudio clip: "I Don't Know"
RealAudio clip: "Dancing Doris"
RealAudio clip: "Black Sunshine"
RealAudio clip: "Think For Yourself"

MAGMA Theusz Hamtaahk: Trilogie au Trianon (Seventh) dvd 47.00
Perhaps we can give this 2 hour, 43 minute dvd a fuller review sometime, but as they've been blowing out of here fast, here's a brief description as we wanted to list it this time before we run out (again) -- never fear, though, 'cause we will be able to get more in the event they're gone when you ask for yours.
It's our favorite beyond "prog" band Magma, live in concert for their 30th anniversary in Paris, May 13th and 14th 2000. This concert dvd is a total pro job, with great sound and of course out-of-this-world music, as the one and only Christian Vander and his (mostly much younger) current incarnation of Magma play the entire "Theusz Hamtaahk" trilogy: "Theusz Hamtaahk", "Wurdah Itah", and "Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh". Vander is older and grayer and burlier, still totally in command of his drum kit and his band, his majestic and bizarre musical vision undiminished, and in fine voice as well. Dramatically lit and well shot (with multiple cameras), it's the next best thing to actually seeing them live -- and not everyone is that lucky.
The bonus material on this all-region NTSC DVD includes interviews (in French) and additional live footage of a cute little kid playing drums on stage with Vander, who I'd guess is the proud dad. That chapter is called "Fabien, cadet de la Zeuhl".

HANSSON, BO The Lord of the Rings (Virgin / Silence) cd 17.98
There's so many reasons to love this record. Here's two: (1) it's about the Lord of the Rings! and (2) it's a beautiful, timeless album of psychedelic instrumental music worth listening to even if you don't know Gandalf from Frodo. So lovely. It's a big fave of most of us here at AQ. (Oh, a third reason would be that it was the first release on Sweden's Silence label, and sold quite well, helping them bring the world such essential psych as International Harvester and Algarnas Tradgard later on!)
Previously we've stocked the One Way label version of this, but now, no doubt thanks to the success of the LOTR movie, there's a newly remastered edition on Virgin that's got not only nicer packaging but also a previously unreleased bonus track! No information is given about that over eight minute long bonus track, but it's called "Early Sketches From Middle Earth" and sounds like a demo of themes later used on the album proper. This is what we wrote about the disc before:
Many of you already know and love Bjorn Olsson's atmospheric "Instrumentalmusik" cd which Omplatten released a couple years ago. What you may not know -- we didn't -- is that Olsson's album was essentially an homage to the work of fellow Swede, '70s prog/jazz/psych keyboardist Bo Hansson, and specifically his fantastic 1970 album "Sagan Om Ringen" or "The Lord of the Rings" (itself an homage to Tolkien's trilogy). Bo Hansson, together with a group of three other musicians -- percussion, saxophone & flute -- make the music. Bo plays organ along with guitar, bass and moog. The tracks, all instrumental, are lovely atmospheric numbers, reminiscent of early Pink Floyd, or similar kosmiche krautrock of the era. The album doesn't necessarily make you think of hobbits and orcs, there's no overt "fantasy/medieval" themes or anything (it's not like German pomp metal band Blind Guardian's version of the Silmarillion!). But it does capture the otherworldly, pastoral feel of Tolkien's work. Indeed, it would be appropriate to call this album magical...whether you're a Tolkien fan or not you should check it out! Recommended.
It's just too bad that Peter Jackson didn't use any of this music in his otherwise amazing LOTR film adaption! Now if only they'd reissue Hansson's "Watership Down" album as well...
RealAudio clip: "Leaving Shire"
RealAudio clip: "Lothlorien"

SKEPTICISM The Process Of Farmakon (Red Stream) cd ep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's always a happy day here at Aquarius when we get new music from Finland's Skepticism. I mean, a depressing day. Soooooooo wonderfully depressing. Skepticism are our favorite funereal forest doom metal band, we've described them before as the Labradford of black metal. Almost ambient, droning, downer stuff, plodding along through a nighttime fog. Imagine the music of a suicidal church organist, teamed up with some longhaired Scandinavian death metal teens. Beautiful.
As with all their releases, more of the same yet with enough difference to be a significant, essential addition to their ouevre. This time, the 'what the fuck?' aspect is highlighted by the bizarre bubbling noises that join the gruff vocals and downtuned guitars on the title track, which sounds as if it was recorded on a ship slowing sinking on the River Styx. As is their wont, this two-song ep (18+ minutes) precedes a full-length due out sometime later this year, supposedly.
RealAudio clip: "Backward Funeral And The Raven"
RealAudio clip: "The Process Of Farmakon"

DAVIS REDFORD TRIAD The Mystical Path Of The Number Eighty Six (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Psychedelic rock music inspired by and/or the cause of various psychological anomalies and psychic phenomena! Seriously. The Davis Redford Triad is the fully levitational drone-rock unit centered on the outer-mind guitar explorations of Steven Wray Lobdell (just don't call him Stevie Wray!). He's the bearded hippy with the brow, holding the dog in his lap, both of whom stare out at you from the back cover of this release. You may also know him from his other projects (Baseball Astrologer, Sufi Mind Game, and the lovely acoustic solo set "Automatic Writing By The Moon", also on Holy Mountain). Oh, and of course he's also the guitarist in Faust! Yes, although Lobdell's from the Pacific Northwest, he somehow ended up playing guitar with those re-united krautrockers on their last few albums. Faust of course wouldn't hire just any old long-hair to play guitar, and our favorite 'new Faust' album "Ravvivando" wouldn't have been nearly as excellent without him.
We really liked the Triad's second album, 2000's German-titled but Eastern-tinged "Ewige Blumenkraft" but really, *really* liked their much heavier first LP, "The Mystical Path Of The Number Eighty Six". Originally released in 1997 as a limited edition vinyl artifact, the Triad's debut album has long been in need of compact disc reissue, and at last here it is. This classic has now re-emerged in remixed and re-sequenced form, and includes a theremin track mysteriously missing from the LP version...
It's a really good late night listen, as Lobdell & co. conjur a kosmic kraut vibe via deep, droney instrumental psych jams on guitar and organ, with drums on one track and some electronics thrown in. But mostly guitar, lots of guitar! It's essentially a solo album. Fans of Keiji Haino (another Faust collaborator) and his band Fushitsusha should dig this...though Fushitsusha can be a lot more abrasive. Lobdell's clouds of distortion are rather more 'round' and pleasant than the extremes of Haino's skree. Yet amid the Triad's transportational anthems you'll find some abrasive distorto-grind to be sure (right in the very loud, very dark first track actually). Other comparisons could be made to guitarists like Caspar Brotzman (at his most Hendrix-feeling), or Blue Cheer's Randy Holden (at his most abstract)...
Truly essential for anyone into heavy drone-psych guitar from Bardo Pond to Population II to Fushistsusha. Even if you have the original vinyl, you should check this cd out, as it's quite a bit different. And look for a new Triad release in the fall.
RealAudio clip: "Solar Aquarius"
RealAudio clip: "Mysteries of Cydonia"
RealAudio clip: "Hymn of the Virgin Sun Queen"

MASTODON Remission (Relapse) cd 14.98
Amazing, very METAL metalcore is what Atlanta's Mastodon crank out. These guys used to be in AQ-faves Today Is The Day, which is quite obvious when you hear 'em. They're heavy, aggressive, technical, and -- most importantly -- imaginative. Already up there with the likes of Coalesce and Converge in our estimation. Mastodon seems even more metal than those metalcore worthies, though.
Maybe it's how the guitarist is partial to spitting out those Zakk Wylde-style harmonic squeals. Or maybe it's simply the crushing, crunching, complex riffs and drumming. But there's also some quite pretty melody to be found amidst Mastodon's math n' mayhem, and they have an almost 'post-rock' sense of dynamics (something most 'extreme' metal acts lack). Imagine your favorite old AmRep noise-rock act gone metal...or, Dazzling Killmen mixed with The Champs? Something like that. Also, they cut back on the movie samples that cluttered up their otherwise awesome debut ep (as per our suggestion?). Very impressive.
RealAudio clip: "March Of The Fire Ants"
RealAudio clip: "Ol'e Nessie"
RealAudio clip: "Workhorse"
RealAudio clip: "Mother Puncher"

TONY, CARO & JOHN All On The First Day (Shadoks Music) cd 14.98
The amazing, beautiful, anarchic, DIY psych-folk-pop of Tony, Caro & John's terribly rare "All On The First Day" LP (originally privately released in an edition of just 100 copies) has now been revived on CD for, hopefully, a larger audience! This comes to us from the label that's been responsible for bringing us those fab "Love, Peace & Poetry" psychedelic rock compilations (y'know, the Latin American one, the Asian one, the Japanese one, etc.). Among the most recent installments in that series was a disc devoted to British psychedelic obscurities. One of that comp's highlights, we all agreed, was a cut by this trio. That track, the amazingly Neutral Milk Hotel-ish "There Are No Greater Heroes" appears here as well, on Shadoks' reissue of Tony, Caro & John's entire sole album, from 1972. Now, we know that a lot of the time it's true that a great track selected for a compilation doesn't a great album make from whence it came...after all, the compilers are likely to pick the BEST song off an album for their comp. So we were wary -- but curious -- when we heard this whole album was being reissued. Happily, there's actually a lot of other great songs on here besides "There Are No Greater Heroes", although that one still reminds us the most of Jeff Mangum's stuff. Taken together, Tony, Caro & John's songs manage to strike a balance between creepy melancholy and kaleidoscopic pysch silliness. Not only that, but they have more than just a nostaglic vibe going for them -- they are good songwriters/performers with some delightful, weird ideas. Fans of the Incredible String Band and other British hippie folk psych of the period definitely need to hear this. Kudos to Shadoks for digging this up, and doing such a nice job of it too. The booklet has some charming color photos of Tony, Caro and John in their garden, modeling the latest in hippy fashions circa '72. There's also complete lyrics and liner notes from the band, who are still active making music together! AND, five bonus tracks appended to the album make this an even nicer find, consisting of stuff from the period that didn't make it on to the original LP, but *should have* (unlike the general run of bonus tracks!).
RealAudio clip: "Eclipse Of The Moon"
RealAudio clip: "There Are No Greater Heroes"
RealAudio clip: "The Snowdon Song"

CUL DE SAC China Gate (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
2nd studio album (after the out of print ECIM) from these far-out Bostonian instrumentalists. A nice one.

STARFUCKERS Infinitive Sessions (DBK Works) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On this new disc, the Starfuckers do a song called "Eternal Soundcheck", demonstrating an awareness of what most people are going to think about 'em...and it's true, most folks just aren't gonna get this. But, we urge you, give it a chance!
Italy's Starfuckers, if you're not familar with 'em, play an abstract, sparse, and totally unique brand of what they term 'rock concrete', something that kind of sounds like This Heat falling down the stairs, but trying to be really quiet about it. Percussive and full of near-silences, their almost-randomly-improvised-sounding music uses guitar, drums, and electronics to take the 'glitch' aesthetic out of the laptop arena and into that of the live band. It's as if they played 'normal' songs, then removed about 70 percent of the music, and shuffled the remaining sounds around. It's counter-intuitive, disjointed stuff, yet every dissonant chord played on the guitar, every bassy electronic rumble, every drum hit seems to have meaning, unknowable meaning. Attentive listening will reveal compelling rhythms and structures. If you dig the likes of US Maple, Supersilent, Kevin Drumm's solo guitar stuff, or that last guitar-less Fushitsusha record, you'll enjoy the Starfuckers. Indeed, you probably already do.
Ok, let's talk about "Infinitive Sessions": the first three tracks ("Blues Off", "Drive On", and "Off Blues") seem to follow on pretty directly from the stuff on their previous album "Infrantumi", kinda being more of the same (which is fine, 'cause there's not nearly enough of this stuff wethinks). One difference though: "Infinitive Sessions" is wholly instrumental, there's none of the Italian spoken in sinister whispers that cryptically caressed your ears on their prior releases, which perhaps is a pity.
Then the aforementioned "Eternal Soundcheck" ups the crackly drone quotient quite nicely for the next 12 minutes, before the final two tracks ("Funked X" and "Vamped X") reveal that the Starfuckers have gotten into a new and unexpected 'funk' bag! Not funk in any accepted form, of course, just the suggestion of funk via a 'funky' guitar sound. This caused their label to compare this record to The Contortions, Big Flame, and James Brown, but that's going way too far. They're MORE 'no wave' than The Contortions, and if the JBs ever laid down 'grooves' like these, The Godfather of Soul would have fined them, fired them, rehired, then fined and fired them again. Maybe a jazz cat like Miles Davis coulda gotten into this 'funk', but even he never took THIS much drugs. These tracks sound a bit like "Rated X" from Miles' "Get Up With It" turned into a 'Glitches' Brew' of funk fuckery.
We've never liked the term 'post-rock', as applied to such bands as Mogwai, Slint, A Minor Forest, and Shellac, however it seems to us that what the Starfuckers play is trully 'post-rock', in a very literal sense, and apparently that's the idea. The Starfuckers website (www.nanananan.it/starfuckers/) features the following statement from one Henry Clitus Colagetti, the President of something called CAMC (the Commitee for Abolition Of the Middle Class): ROCK IS DEAD, WHAT DRAGS ITSELF FOR MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS IS NOTHING ELSE THAT ITS CORPSE CONTINUOUSLY EXHUMED BY CULTURAL INDUSTRY.
ROCK IS DEAD IN 1975 WHEN LOU REED PUBLISHED "METAL MACHINE MUSIC" THAT DECREED THE END OF ROCK MUSIC.
"INFRANTUMI" BY STARFUCKERS IS THE FIRST ROCK ALBUM AFTER "METAL MACHINE MUSIC".
THE NEW ROCK, RESPECTING THE BASIC ELEMENTS THAT CONSTITUTE WHAT WAS ROCK MUSIC - REPETITION AND SIMPLICITY OF PLAYNG - RISES AGAIN BASING ON THE PRINCIPLES OF ASYNCHRONY, UNTUNING AND NEGATION OF EGO.
FUTURE IS ALREADY BEHIND YOU.
He's talking about "Infrantumi" but the sentiment applies to this new release as well, of course.
Best band ever? Well, WE rate these guys with Reynols, the Thai Elephant Orchestra, Fushitsusha, Faust, and few others in the pantheon of fucked but totally original and brilliant musical units.
RealAudio clip: "Drive On"
RealAudio clip: "Eternal Soundcheck"
RealAudio clip: "Vamped X"

TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI & NEW DIRECTION Call In Question (PSF) cd 16.98
Some of the heaviest "jazz" ever, recorded in 1970 amazingly enough. The drummer should be in a hardcore band, the guitar player (the legendary Masayuki Takayangi) makes Sonny Sharrock sound like a wimp, and the bass and sax are equally intense. Our fave Takayangi release. Noise guitar way ahead of its time. Beautiful, beautiful noise.
RealAudio clip: "Extraction"

FUCKING CHAMPS, THE V (Drag City) cd 14.98
Fuckin' fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fuckin' A. These guys rule. Yeah, the name change was stupid, but this, their second album for Drag City as The "Fucking" Champs *does* make you think such basic, expletive-laden, fists in the air, devil-horn sign waving thoughts. Fuck yeah! The Fucking Champs. Indeed. And even if Drag City (as a part of the "joke" presumably) won't let it be known that The Champs play METAL (or maybe it's the band's idea to keep that a 'secret' on their press material, preferring the term "total music"), they are a -for real- metal band. A weird one, and a great one. Now, I do worry for The Champs' sake that their instrumental math-metal virtuosity is enjoyed mainly as a novelty by their legions of ironic indie-rock fans...and if so, how many of these fans are going to be interested in "VI", "VII" and "VIII" when they come out? 'Cause "V", their latest, sees these lads go from strength to strength without significantly altering or diluting their vision. If you already love the Champs, you'll love "V" for sure, it's a lot like "IV" but without the one song with vocals found on that album (c'mon Tim Soete, sing!!). Also there's more fusion and classical moves on here -- one song is listed as copyright 1723 J.S. Bach ("Air On A G-String", which IS Johan's original title, although we were suspicious).
Indeed, within their distinctive sound, variety abounds on "V", from "I Am The Album Cover" which channels the techno-blues rockisms of late-period ZZ Top, to the Frippertronics-ish-isms elsewhere. There's also a bit of electronic tunesmithery that's so much better than anything they did in their collaboration with Trans Am. But that's no big stretch for this band, and for the most part "V" is heavy, rockin' Champs-at-their-best stuff, the trio dealing out rapid, tense riffing, no-denying-it's-metal-lic sheets of sound, and hard hitting drum filigree left right and center. Familiar faves previously only heard live and on old demo cassettes also appear. Melody and math and metal intertwine wonderfully over the fifteen tracks found here, and it's so good it's no joke. No more of a joke than, say, Hammers of Misfortune is (think about it).
That's the deal with the Champs. There's nothing inherently funny about their music (in fact, without vocals/lyrics, they're LESS funny than many of their influences, like Carcass and Metallica). Maybe that's why they like that "total music" tag. 'Cause at the end of the day, they make this music, and you listen to it, for the sake of the music alone, not for some post-hip, ironic, spoof-on-metal hilarity. I mean, a few of the song titles are amusing, but you also know they kind of mean stuff like "Hats Off To Music". No joking here, really. (But we do have to ask Josh Smith about The Guitar That Was Made Of Water that he has listed in his vast equipment array, among other things...)
Anyway, in sum: another winner from one of our all-time favorite bands!!
RealAudio clip: "Never Enough Neck (Pt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "I Am The Album Cover"
RealAudio clip: "Nebula Ball Rests In A Fantasy Claw"
RealAudio clip: "Chorale Motherfucker"

TAAKE ...Bjoergvin... (Wounded Love) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second album from these obscure, grim black metallers. While not well-known, we really dug their debut ("Nattestid....") as an extremely well-executed slice of true black metal in the classic tradition, and this disc offers more of Taake's majestic dark-forest hymns. The songwriting operates within genre norms, but with much interest and variety, employing raspy lead vocals, clean choruses, fast parts, slow parts, strong melodies, and diverse instrumentation. They make use of piano and even jaw harp! The "boing boing" of that in the album's third track may seem humorous, but is really unsettling.
Runic warriors of rock n' roll, Taake join the likes of Kvist, Khold, Nagelfar, Potentiam, and Keep of Kalessin in the ranks of AQ-fave black metal acts that lack the hype of the Emperors and Dimmu Borgirs of the world, but are equally worthy of your attention. So, this album gets a definite thumbs up from AQ's own runic warriors Allan and Andee. It's one they'd play for curious and open-minded non-black-metal fan friends. Meanwhile, black-metal otaku, get this while you wait for the new Satyricon.
RealAudio clip: "track 1"
RealAudio clip: "track 2"
RealAudio clip: "track 3"

ELECTRIC PRUNES, THE Stockholm 67 (Birdman) cd 13.98
Our pal Dave put this KILLER record out and we think he describes it the best:
"In the winter of 1967, a psychedelic-garage-punk band from Woodland Hills, California, arrived in Europe for what would be their first and last tour of the continent. On the strength of their hit single 'I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night,' the band was welcomed with open arms by European rock fans as well as British rock royalty -- they smoked out with Hendrix, partied with Brian Jones and Keith Moon, and hung out in the studio with the Beatles -- but were also subjected to harassment and ridicule over the fact that their homeland was at war in Vietnam. Yep, good times, good times... Twenty days and six countries later it was all over. Luckily, on the last stop of the tour someone pushed the record button and this artifact is the result.
"Stockholm '67 finds the Electric Prunes at the height of the powers. Some ninnies have griped that the 'Prunes were nothing more than a psychedelic one-hit wonder, and a studio project at best. This performance burns the criticism to the ground. Over-amplified and fuzzed to the max, the Prunes here are explosive, noisy and wild. This recording proves that the Electric Prunes deserve to be ranked alongside the very best bands of their era."
RealAudio clip: "You never had it better"
RealAudio clip: "I had too much to dream (last night)"

WISHBONE ASH Argus (MCA/Decca) cd 11.98
Back on list 126, I (Allan) wrote about my belated discovery of the greatness that is Wishbone Ash's self-titled 1970 debut. Well, now it's about time to follow that up with a rave review of another Wishbone Ash record, this being the newly remastered and expanded edition of their third album, 1972's "Argus". Giving this a few listens, I've come to the conclusion that while their first album is certainly somewhat more of a "heavy rock" outing (think Cream meets Thin Lizzy), "Argus" is equally great, and is actually destined to be one of my ALL TIME favorite albums! Seriously, I'm becoming kinda obsessed with listening to this, with its absolutely gorgeous, gentle melodies and its extended instrumental workouts. Some internet investigation reveals that I'm not alone -- this record is in fact considered by many fans to be Wishbone Ash's absolute masterpiece. They just got everything right on this release, from the evocative cover photo of an ancient sentry to the achingly beautiful, stirring music. I can't get enough of the three-part vocal harmonies, the dual guitar leads, or the melancholic power of the riffs. Favorite tracks include the beautiful British folk of "Leaf And Stream", the anthemic "Warrior", and the shoulda-been-a-pop-hit "Sometime World". The whole album has a timeless vibe. Maybe you could call their style "rural progressive" rock? It's melodic, mystical and complex in ways that make it sound simple.
In addition to being remastered, this new 30th anniversary edition includes three bonus tracks: the entire "Live From Memphis" promo-only EP. These live-on-the-radio versions of "Phoenix" (from their debut) and "Jail Bait" and "The Pilgrim" (from their second album, "Pilgrimage") add another half-hour to the disc, being even more jammed-out and epic than the original studio cuts! So even if you already have the old cd of "Argus", you should consider replacing it with this disc, these bonus tracks are worth it! The loud-soft dynamics and interlocking instrumental loveliness of the live "Pilgrim" are positively 'post-rock', but better of course.
Truly 'classic' rock that needs to be rediscovered. My advice for this week: pick up that new Champs album, and order a copy of this as well. You'll be set for a while then!
RealAudio clip: "Leaf And Stream"
RealAudio clip: "Warrior"
RealAudio clip: "The Pilgrim (live)"

GOLDEN HOTEL The Silver Wilderness (Golden Hotel) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's always a little nerve wracking listening to a friend's record. Hoping that it's good so you don't have to hem and haw and eventually say something like "Wow...really interesting" or "Wow. Great guitar sound" or some other non-committal could-be-construed-as-saying-you-like-the-record sort of thing. So it's even more intense when it's someone's -first- record. But luckily, this time, there was no need to worry, 'cause this Golden Hotel record is a gorgeous, droney, space-y, drugged out psychedelic folk record. Golden Hotel is our customer Cayce (who has appeared in several of the AQ neighborhood films, he's the bearded fellow with the dog Cowboy) and his brother Sidney who is in AQ faves Torrez. And the Torrez connection definitely shows, with shimmery guitars and warm thick atmosphere, but the female vocals of Torrez are replaced with the brothers' rough but melodic warm warbly rasps and the sound is a little less lush and a bit more buzzing and immediate (plenty of instrument buzz, lip smacking, breathing). Warm swells of thick guitar wash over shimmering high end harmonics whirling quietly in the background as gently strummed acoustic guitar underpins delicate minor key melodies. Lots of stray sounds, varied instrumentation and production fuckery augment these ultimately simple folk songs, turning them into languid, stoned epics, with simple stumbling percussion, fuzzy far-away guitar, droning buzzing harmonies, pulsing underwater bass, and dreamy blissed out ambience. Definitely influenced by/reminiscent of Greg Weeks, Six Organs Of Admittance, Charalambides, Joshua, Songs:Ohia, Herman Dune, and other current practitioners of modern psych-folk. A great surprise and a fantastic record.
RealAudio clip: "Summer, Silver Lake/The Trouble Behind Mr. Peterson's Eyes"
RealAudio clip: "Palisade"
RealAudio clip: "All My Girls Are Singing"
RealAudio clip: "Everything Dying Sings"

TRANS AM TA (Thrill Jockey) cd 16.98
Trans Am unleash their new synth rock assault in the form of TA. And it appears they've really gone and done it... crossed the point of no return. Taken up permanent membership in the league of joke bands. With irony and silliness in full effect, there's no more trying to camouflage it. Although it sounds really great, a total hi-fi quality recording with a good synthy dance sound to it too, musicianship and production values can only carry it so far. This just sounds like an '80s parody utilizing 2002 technology. Geez, the first track "Cold War" sounds just like ZZ Top circa "Legs". I know I'm not alone in totally embracing that decade's keyboard dance music, and welcoming any current valiant attempts at its revival, but come on! Some quality control please! There's an enormous difference between the fun yet vacuous Dead or Alive or Animotion and the brilliance of artists like Gary Numan. Although the term 'new wave' has been bandied about lately with offensive, reckless abandon, distinctions need to be made. Not all '80s music was fluff and cheese! When Trans Am perform live they're a lot more guitar heavy and less synth-laden, and in my opinion sound sooo much better. I wish they could capture that energy on their recordings. Anyways, while I was listening to this and criticising it, some nice customer came in, loved it and bought it right away. Me, I'm extra disappointed that I can't even applaud their band photos this time around as Miami Vice dudes. You may recall their past press shots, so amazingly, so hilariously composed and executed.
RealAudio clip: "Cold War"
RealAudio clip: "Bonn"
RealAudio clip: "Different Kind Of Love"

VENOM At War With Satan (Castle / Sanctuary) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
So-called metalhead Andee says he never got into Venom 'cause they sounded too much like Bad News. But, Andee loooves Bad News. Sure, they were a joke band (Spinal Tap done by the Young Ones guys, basically) and Venom's a real band, meaning the joke's on them...but I think they had a sense of humor too. How can you not love a metal album with a song called "Aaaaaaarrghh" on it?? They knew what they were doing.
This was their third album, from 1983, and while it's got sturdy Venom compositions like "Rip Ride" and "Women, Leather And Hell", it's really essential for the plethora of bonus tracks alone, seeing as how they include two of Venom's all time best songs, "The Seven Gates Of Hell" and "Manitou" (taken from 12" vinyl eps). In addition, you get Monster Truck racing style TV adverts for the album which are of course hilarious, and a bunch of other great 12" tracks.
RealAudio clip: "The Seven Gates Of Hell"

VENOM Black Metal (Castle / Sanctuary) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Lay down your soul to the gods rock and roll!" Do it here and now, by buying the reissue of Venom's 1982 sophomore album, the timeless statement known as "Black Metal".
Super raw, heavy, and fast (for the day, anyway, back when Venom were the world's ONLY black metal band). A looser, scarier Motorhead basically. The story goes that they had to record some of these songs twice simply 'cause they got 'em RIGHT the first time... Includes faves "Countess Bathory" and the genre-defining title track, along with the Van Halen-gone-NWOBHM "Teacher's Pet", demonstrating Venom's more frivolous side. And the final track is an "At War With Satan" preview! Yes, a preview of the title track from their next album. Had (has) anyone else ever done that?
Like the other recent Venom cd reissues, the jewel case is packaged inside an embossed cardstock slipcover. The many bonus tracks include four Radio One recordings of songs from the album, some 12" versions of tracks including the classic "Die Hard", and the outtake "Hounds of Hell".
RealAudio clip: "Die Hard"
RealAudio clip: "Countess Bathory"

VENOM Welcome To Hell (Castle / Sanctuary) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Home taping is killing music...so is Venom" so it says on the sleeve to this much needed newly remastered reissued cd edition of the debut by British black metal pioneers Venom. This was, in fact, truth in advertising, and music today needs killing as much as it did back in 1981, so thanks to Sanctuary for this reissue. Like the other two Venom reissues we now have in stock (their second album "Black Metal" and their third "At War With Satan") this comes packaged in a jewelcase w/ cardstock slipcover, with a cd booklet full of photos and liner notes. Better yet, there's eleven bonus tracks, including demos and outtakes like "Bitch Witch" that were previously available on the long out of print "Skeletons In The Closet" anthology. As debuts go, "Welcome To Hell" was a stunner, establishing Venom as THE most extreme band of their day. They were the rawest, dirtiest, most evil of the celebrated New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) bunch, with, say Def Leppard at the opposite end of the spectrum. Today's black metal bands, even if they seem so much more serious and artistic than Venom, still owe these guys big time, however cartoonish Venom's Satanism seems now.
RealAudio clip: "Angel Dust"
RealAudio clip: "In League With Satan"

WILSON, GARY You Think You Really Know Me (Motel) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If ya ain't been paying close attention, you might erroneously think that our AQ collective aesthetic runs to whatever is "weird", for the simple reason that it's "weird". But you'd be wrong. Heck, there's obviously no integrity in just being anti for anti's sake. People who're into EVERYTHING weird, regardless of quality, usually are trying to prove something about themselves, it's got nothing to do with music. So, while I can totally appreciate the weirdness of this reissue of the legendary Gary Wilson album, and its first appearance on cd, I can't fully recommend it to you... because it's pretty bad. Not "so bad it's good." This is "so bad... period!" On the other hand, Neil Strauss from the NY Times thinks it's good -- he wrote that big article about Wilson that's largely responsible for the current hype and interest -- so if you actually trust Strauss or whoever, then go for it. If you trust AQ, save yer money. It sounds like a syrupy "slow jams" record made by a complete dork who's kinda bitter about some failed relationship(s). There's no pleasure to be found in listening to Wilson's pitiful attempts at songwriting and performing, no joy in knowing he feels worse than you ever did. The Langley Schools cd, with the Canadian kids singing pop hits, is a great example of rock performed by amateurs who're so earnest, super touching, and poignant... and thus the Langley Schools cd is (to *some* of the AQ staff) Good Listening. But I swear, the Gary Wilson just doesn't deliver. Did someone mash Bobby Conn through the Steely Dan filter?! Sigh. The only way to convince yourself that you like this record is to look at it ironically. And that's no way to listen to music! "Irony." Feh.
This review was written by someone who has owned the Gary Wilson record for, like, seven years. Go figure.

VORAK Triumph Of The Will (Destruktive Kommandoh) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Is it a screeching petrodactyl attacking a piano? Wagner gone mad with a drum machine?? Actually this is a Nietzsche-obsessed multi-instrumentalist manaic from Austrialia. Vorak is his one-man "black metal" band, and he's either got to be joking or he is totally out of his mind.
So totally demented, so totally retarded, Vorak's 1996 debut "Triumph Of The Will" might even edge out Benighted Leams' "Astral Tenebrion" as the most retarded black metal album ever -- which means it's so amazing you'll die. Among other things, Vorak plays fretless bass and vibraphone, but it all comes out as utterly nonsensical noise. Perhaps the only "metal" thing we've heard that's more fucked than Vorak are the mp3's by Exhumed Narcissist Paleontologist (http://www.reckankomplex.com/enp) but that's definitely a joke (being Keith "Hrvatski" Whitman's death metal band).
Why did a label even release this?? We don't know, but we're glad they did. We've been dying to share this with y'all ever since we discovered it a while ago, but only just recently managed to get a few copies of this disc, cheap. (Unbelievably, there's a second Vorak album from 1998 that's equally insane, but perhaps not surprisingly it doesn't seem that anyone we deal with stocks it!).
RealAudio clip: "Blitzkrieg -- Fighting Under The Rune of Triumph"
RealAudio clip: "Bloodlust, Discipline, Hatred"
RealAudio clip: "Hail The Nuclear Berserker!"

PUBLIC NUISANCE Gotta Survive (Frantic) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's the record that was never released on account of the Manson murders! (More on that in a second.) This double cd contains all the recordings of Public Nuisance, an obscure (but pretty great) teenage garage/psych band that got together in Sacramento circa 1964. As befits their punky name, they looked like a bunch of hoods, decked out in all-black outfits, with two of 'em sporting proto-Ramones style long hair. That, plus the fact that we read they were like an American version of the wild and crazy English freakbeat bands, piqued our curiosity big time. Supposedly, also, they were as "heavy as the Stooges". The truth is, that's a bit of a stretch. Some of this *is* at least heavier than, if not the Stooges, the Stones, but they do a lot of lighter, Beatles-y stuff too. They perform a nice cover of the Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping" in fact. So they were as much a pop-psych band as they were a down and dirty garage combo. On the other hand, their song "Love Is A Feeling" sounds EXACTLY like the White Stripes! The 28 tracks here actually cover quite a wide spectrum of sounds from sweet, harpsichord and theremin laced pop to raw, primal R&B stomp w/ plenty o' fuzz. This collection mainly consists of 1969 sessions recorded for an LP that never came out 'cause their label was owned by Terry Melcher, the guy who also owned the house where the Manson Family killed Sharon Tate! After the murders, Melcher, afraid for his life, went into hiding and his label folded... But now, decades later, here are those unreleased sessions plus some rare singles tracks recorded under the band's earlier moniker Moss & The Rocks. Maybe a single-disc "best of" would have been more uniformly killer, and cheaper, but we can't really argue with getting to hear it all. The super thick, colorful, photo-filled cd booklet is full of essays written by Mike "Ugly Things" Stax, Clark Faville, and others -- including notes about each and every song!
Definitely something for fans of the Seeds, Stones, Creation, and "Nuggets" stuff in general to check out. Even if they're not quite the "unknown Stooges" we'd hoped for, Public Nuisance are pretty cool.
RealAudio clip: "Love Is A Feeling"
RealAudio clip: "Time Can't Wait"
RealAudio clip: "Daddy's Comin' Home"
RealAudio clip: "Holy Man"

ARCTURUS The Sham Mirrors (Ad Astra Enterprises) cd 13.98
They'rrrrre back! Norway's archetypal artsy "post-black metal" supergroup, featuring members of Ulver, Mayhem, and more. We thought they'd broken up after 1998's peak of bizarreness, "La Masquerade Infernale", as all we'd heard from them since then was a (supposedly) posthumous remix disc, the weird and wonderful "Disguised Masters". But no, apparently the 21st century got them going again, and here's a new album, a 2002 space odyssey full of more of their unclassifable art-rock meets black metal meets electronica hybrid! Basically, imagine Emperor trying their hand at "OK Computer", or late-period Faith No More pretending to make a Dimmu Borgir album.
One of the main figures in Arcturus (you may know) is Garm from Ulver (he's also boss of the amazing Jester label, current home to Ulver, When, Rotoscope, Bogus Blimp, Single Unit, Origami Galaktika, etc.) who is responsible for "voices of ghosts and monkeys and general manipulation" and lyrics. His songwriting partner Steinar Sverd Johnsen handles keyboards and composes the music. Out of the rest of the Arcturus lineup, "Lords of Chaos" readers will also recognize Hellhammer (of Mayhem and about a million other Nordic metal outfits) on "drums and flames". The band is rounded out by "high guitar rider" Knut M. Valle and "low guitar driver" Dag F. Gravem. Emperor's Ihsahn contributes "spitting voice" on one track as well.
Together these guys meld majestic keys, blasting drums, soaring vocals, melodic piano runs, rasping screams, and electronic atmospheres into what can only be described as Arcturus music. It's similar to "La Masquerade", but what seems new is how catchy and poppy some of this is. But, at the same time it's also quite metal indeed. Dark and heavy, not allowing the keyboards to overpower the guitars. And, after the gangsta rap and drum and bass remixes found on "Disguised Masters", this record seems almost normal! That is, if you can consider bombastic sci-fi metallic prog pop 'normal'. I guess it is, in the more advanced universe Garm and company inhabit. Brilliant!
RealAudio clip: "Kinetic"
RealAudio clip: "Nightmare Heaven"
RealAudio clip: "Ad Absurdum"

CADAVERIA The Shadows' Madame (Scarlet) cd 14.98
This Italian metal band is hard to figure out: visually, they look kinda Marilyn Manson-eque with big boots, devil-locks and black vinyl trenchcoats. So we expected some sort of vampire industrial goth thing, maybe with female vocals...well it's got female vocals, but not your usual variety! This band actually plays a weird hybrid of mid-tempo pounding black metal and catchy classical/folk riffage. Singer Cadaveria (ex-Opera IX) teamed up with members of Italian black thrashers Necrodeath for this new band that combines her unique vocals (a melodic but throaty rasp, sometimes venturing into sweeter, higher register) with majestic riffs on keyboard and guitar that really sound like Slough Feg or Hammers of Misfortune parts. Way more "heavy metal" than we'd expected at first glance. And way more original, fully of tricky twists you won't expect. We like! A kick ass surprise metal discovery for sure.
RealAudio clip: "Circle Of Eternal Becomings"
RealAudio clip: "Black Glory"

EARTH Extra - Capsular Extraction (Sub Pop) cd ep 9.98
Kind of a holy grail for those who didn't pick up the long-out-of-print original version of this when it was first released, the 1991 debut cd by the Pacific Northwest's late great drone/doom masters Earth. Originals sell for big $$$ on eBay. And those who DO have one consider it an old friend. Now (now being 2002!) Sub Pop has finally got their act together (prodded by the pleas of many an Earth fan, including Allan here at AQ, who takes full credit, so you can thank him) and have reissued it at last -- this time in a jewel case instead of the mere cardboard sleeve of the original version (another triumph for Allan). The artwork is the same, though: the medical-text inspired "Postgraduate Seminars: Eye Surgery - Concepts and Problems" graphics. There's no extra tracks or anything, but the original three tracks ("A Bureaucratic Desire For Revenge Parts 1 & 2", "Ouroboros Is Broken") are more than enough: 32 minutes of downtuned dirge, metallic slow-motion sludge riffery that goes to extremes of low, slow heaviness that even the mighty Melvins never achieved. The lengthier, airier follow-up "Earth 2" might be Earth's masterpiece, but "Extra-Capsular" was their devastating opening act, sounding like the grand, ominous martial music meant to accompany an invasion by malevolent Underearth Dwellers. I remember when I first got this, most of my friends thought it was the most retarded record ever. Now they know better. Well, actually, they probably don't, but WE know. So recommended.
Earth on this disc consisted of mastermind Dylan Carlson (guitar/vocals) plus Dave Harwell (bass) and Joe Preston (bass/percussion). Joe of course later went on to fame and fortune in the Melvins, and later, his one man band Thrones.
Oh, and this is the Earth record that one Kurt Cobain plays on as well, which I know confused and dismayed a lot of frat/jock guys back in the day!
RealAudio clip: "Ouroboros Is Broken"

CLINE, NELS SINGERS Instrumentals (Cryptogramophone) cd 15.98
No, there's no singing, and these ARE instrumentals...'The Nels Cline Singers' is just Mr. Cline's clever name for what's really the new version of his fantastic Trio. Nels on electric guitar (of course, for he is the master of that instrument), plus bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola, create jazz (is it?) and/or rock music that's both noisy and blissful. Some tracks are downright melodically catchy, some others work through repetition and drone. The heavy, bluesy "Lowered Boom" is a departure for Cline, showing off his Hendrix-inspired chops...other tracks dip into the languid, liquid pool of jazzier Cline fare past, as in "Lucia" where the Singers paint a gentle watercolor in sound. Then the distortion kicks in for the 15+ minute epic "Blood Drawing" that sees the trio scaling to some intense heights. Their energy level is always high, even with the moments of restraint. 'Post rock' fans should do themselves a favor and check out Mr. Cline's work, starting with this disc, and see how he and his band destroy all the indie darlings who do the quiet/loud instrumental thing... Recommended!!
RealAudio clip: "Blood Drawing"
RealAudio clip: "Cause For Concern"
RealAudio clip: "Suspended Head"

V/A Surrounded By Sun (Fonal) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From far north in Finland, the Fonal label, home to Es, Kiila, and a bunch of other fine bands, has just released a compilation focusing not only on their countryfolk but also likeminded artists from around the world. Psychedelic, experimental, indie, folkish music contributed by Greg Weeks, P.G. Six, Kemialliset Ystavat, Kiila, Tinsel, Fursaxa, Ville Leinonen, Scorces, Kuusumun Profeetta (Moon Fog Prophet), Floating Flower, Ring, Janne Laurila, Pekko Kappi, Alien Heart, and Sleeping Bags. Some names we know (several AQ-faves among them!) and some we don't, mostly obscure (to us) Finnish folks. All are exclusive to this comp, except for the Floating Flower track, which is a remix of an older song of theirs.
Floating Flower is an Acid Mothers Temple side project, featuring Kawabata Makoto on acoustic guitar, Yuki on vocals and violin, and Kaneko Tetsuya on tabla and electric guitar. A very lovely six minute track indeed. The P.G. Six track is another of his fragile, folk/psych compositions featuring just his voice, acoustic guitar, and piano. Greg Weeks, Janne Laurila, Ring, Ville Leinonen, and, well, quite a few of the artists on here take a much similar approach: sparse, homerecorded songs that are both quiet and melancholy (of course, some are better singers than others...). Fursaxa (who just played here in San Francisco with fellow psychedelic Philadelphians Bardo Pond) combines droning organ and sustained, sad female vocals. Scorces (members of Charalambides and Ash Castles On The Ghost Coast) does something similar, using bells instead of drones to back their extended, wordless vocal duet. Kinda creepy. The disc concludes with Kemialliset Ystavat's beautiful hippy-chant-folk-jam "Milla", which could have been an International Harvester outtake. This comp is very Ptolemaic Terrascope, to say the least! We like.
RealAudio clip: FLOATING FLOWER "Desert (remix version)"
RealAudio clip: GREG WEEKS "Howling For Blood"
RealAudio clip: PEKKO KAPPI "Aksyn Tyton Tanssi"
RealAudio clip: VILLE LEINONEN "Unisuudelma"
RealAudio clip: KEMIALLISET YSTAVAT "Milla"

HUNDRED SIGHTS OF KOENJI (AKA KOENJIHYAKKEI) s/t (God Mountain) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY. NOW AVAILABLE ON THE SKIN GRAFT LABEL DOMSTICALLY, THOUGH, SEE ELSEWHERE ON OUR SITE!
This amazing 1994 debut by Ruins side-project Koenjihyakkei (aka Hundred Sights of Koenji) is supposedly out of print, but miraculously back in stock! We're not sure if it's actually been repressed or if somebody just found a hidden cache of these in a warehouse somewhere, but either way we're happy (and suggest you get 'em while you can)!
If you're familiar with the Magma-obssessed Tokyo bass and drums duo Ruins, imagine them becoming EVEN MORE Magma-obsessed and adding female vocalist/keyboardist and a guitar player (actually, adding a bass player, as the Ruins bass player switched to guitar for this). This uber-Ruins quartet then wrote a bunch of insane, gorgeous prog rock tunes (or, in one case, adapted a traditional Bulgarian one) and play them to dazzling perfection. The French '70s prog band we keep mentioning (Magma) were insane, but not quite this heavy or hyper. If you like Ruins and/or Magma and/or weird prog music, you might want to get this if you haven't already. Probably the best of Koenjikhyakkei's three albums, which are all pretty cool ("II" being out of print still, though).
RealAudio clip: "Doi Doi"
RealAudio clip: "Yagonahh"
RealAudio clip: "Zhess"

MARS VOLTA, THE Tremulant EP (GSL) cd ep 7.98
If you've been in search of some new and exciting sounds, you simply should not miss this introductory EP to The Mars Volta. Although this sextet will undoubtedly receive much attention for two of its members' past band (Omar and Cedric were the most recognizable members of At The Drive-In) not to mention the presence of Jon Theodore (of Golden and formerly of Royal Trux and Him) on drums, they fully deserve to be taken on their own ground.
The Mars Volta are determined *not* to take the path of least resistance by retracing the steps they've already trod. Instead, they're traversing a fresh, dynamic terrain. Crafting intricate, multi-layered songs with a definite *prog* angle. Shades of King Crimson and Yes (and U2 in the vocals, but it's not annoying at all). And they've got the chops to successfully execute their formidable mission. The vocals - so untethered, hoarse and fiery in ATDI - are here molded into an emotional falsetto that rings clear and strong with additional effected ones adding an air of alienation. The music is an amazing, intricate blend of ultra-tight drumming, deep bass, keyboards and guitar made even more potent and unsettling by carefully arranged, foreboding samples and electronics. Oh and in case I didn't make myself clear... They absolutely rock! If these three songs are any indication, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Blistering!
Please note: this is not to be confused with DeFacto (TMV members Omar, Cedric, Jeremy and Ikey's experimental dub side project).
RealAudio clip: "Eunuch Provocateur"
RealAudio clip: "Cut That City"

CLOTTED SYMMETRIC SEXUAL ORGAN (CSSO) Are You Excrements? (Morbid) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This underground Japanese band surprised and delighted us with this crazy fuzzed-out stoner-rock meets grind metal release. Clotted Symmetric Sexual Organ (let's just call 'em CSSO) really kick 'em out, wallowing in total wahwah-happy heavy psych guitar overdrive. It's wild and distorted and super-energetic, a blend of '60s garage, '70s hard rock, and '90s noise-thrash. Forget Acid Mothers Temple, this is the real Japanese freak-beat! Indeed, CSSO could learn Kawabata Makoto a thing or two about over-the-top motorpsycho guitar. Imagine AMT or High Rise with a garagey Guitar Wolf edge, going nuts with that style of psychedelic freakout, then breaking into a speedy grind part with blast beats and cookie monster vocals! It's like a weird, wonderful mix of The Groundhogs and Napalm Death or something. When CSSO's stoner/grind rock attack isn't going full-tilt they throw in spacey sections of shoegazing drone tones, trippy electronics, and other cosmic krautrock inspired soundz -- sometimes sheer, blissful noise. Then it's back to the catchy rockin' stuff, like Hendrix gone grind. Like AMT or the Boredoms, they can be quite playful and confounding -- for instance, one song features what might be the world's longest fade-in, it's two minutes before you can really hear anything at all!
Partially 'cause this was so unexpected (we thought they might be a good but generic grindcore band) but also because it's so great, this just totally blew us away. A new favorite in the long line of genre-bending, rule-defying bands from Japan (Boredoms, Melt Banana, Boris, et. al.), and thus highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Cosmic Super Strong Odure"
RealAudio clip: "Living Dead A Go Go"
RealAudio clip: "Are You Excrements?"

RUINS 1986-1992 (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aquarius customers probably know this band already, the famed hardcore progrock bass/drum duo from Tokyo led by drummer extraordinare Tatsuya Yoshida. They're big favorites of several AQ-staffers, being one of Allan and Jeff's favorite bands ever! Super tight, technical playing, bass-heavy riffing, weird, nonsense vocals, impossibly complex *and* catchy songwriting... They are inspired by '70s prog bands, Magma especially, but take things to a much more intense, energetic, insane level than any band back then.
This new Skin Graft cd collects (as its title suggests) tracks from the first six years of the Ruins career, which, as great as the Ruins still are today, may have been their best era. There's the happy, hectic (Hella-like, to reference another two-piece we've recently raved about) really early stuff from when Hideki Kawamoto was the Ruins' bassist, and then more massive, majestic material from later on with bassist Kazuyoshi Kimoto and then Ryuichi Masuda (yep, Yoshida is currently playing with bassist number four). About half of these tracks are from long-out-of-print Japanese releases, while (the second) half of the disc pulls from the Ruins' two Shimmy Disc albums, which are also more-or-less out of print as well (the reason we say 'more-or-less' is kinda complicated, ask Allan if you care). And the tracks selected (by Yoshida, who also remixed and remastered 'em) do make for a good "best of" -- we'd have picked many of the same tracks ourselves. (Though Yoshida should have included "Power Shift" from "Burning Stone"! oh well).
Ok, this part of the review is for fellow Ruins fanatics: basically, you don't need this ONLY if you already have the "Burning Stone", "Stonehenge" (the original Shimmy version with the bonus tracks that is), "Ruins III" (aka "Infect"), and "Ruins II & 19 Numbers" cds. Otherwise you definitely need this!! Not to mention, these tracks are remastered, and you probably don't have the track "Cambodia" from the "NG II" comp... And if you've got the rare "Early Works" Ruins cd, don't worry, none of those recordings are on here.
Everybody else -- this is a great collection that we'd highly recommend as a starting place for your Ruins experience, although you'll eventually want to hunt down their out of print cds too, to hear the entire albums. Essentially, essential.
RealAudio clip: "Sanctuary"
RealAudio clip: "Human Being"
RealAudio clip: "Dadaism"
RealAudio clip: "Grubandgo"

HOLLIES, THE Greatest Hits (Epic) cd 12.98
Perfect paisley pop from these British Invaders, whose gorgeous harmony vocals and expert songsmithery garnered 'em many a hit from the mid sixties through the early seventies, including "Bus Stop", "Carrie-Anne", "King Midas In Reverse", and ten others found here. This is one of those "Best Value" budget cds that you should probably already have, but if not here it is again, now remastered and with an extra, bonus hit ("The Air That I Breathe"). If you haven't really listened to The Hollies before, you're in for a treat! And, you too can wonder at why the foreboding, minor key song "Bus Stop" has supposedly happy lyrics about meeting a girl and getting married!
RealAudio clip: "Look Through Any Window"
RealAudio clip: "Bus Stop"

CASTOR, JIMMY The Everything Man: The Best Of Jimmy Castor (Rhino) cd 10.98
Awesome collection of stuff by this '70s funk master.

JIMMY CASTOR BUNCH, THE 16 Slabs of Funk (RCA) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Heavy, heavy psychedelic acid funk with some Latin vibes, stuff that could have made Funkadelic proud, collected from the Jimmy Castor Bunch's earliest albums.
These 16 slabs of funk include almost all the really good songs (which is almost ALL of the songs) from the band's first 2 RCA albums ("It's Just Begun" and "Phase Two"), plus a few from their somewhat less awesome (actually quite weak) third and final RCA disc, the jazzy "Dimension III". Jimmy and the band bounced back and recorded many more funk classics after they left RCA, not letting disco get them down, and you can find those (and a few others from the earlier doo-wop phase of his career) on the "Everything Man" best of comp Rhino released a few years back, which only has a couple of the songs found here. There WAS a 2-on-1 import cd reissue of the first two of Castor's RCA LPs that we had a while ago, but we haven't been able to get it lately. I like the review I wrote of that disc a lot though, so why not quote some of it here:
"Blending fat funk guitar, '60s astrologically-obsessed psych rock, Hendrix worship (there's a weird tribute to Jimi here, a Purple Haze/Foxy Lady hybrid cover), as well as doo wop, soul and some sappy r&b...they don't make 'em like this anymore. "It's Just Begun" will send you back, way back, to the time of the "Troglodyte". The cave man theme recurs, with "Phase Two"'s "Luther The Anthropoid (Ape Man)"... Heavy acid funk stomp, silly sexual primal urge stuff to be sure, mixed with some lighter, more 'spiritually' oriented cuts. As we move into album no.2, there are definitely some really bad moments of love song cheese to interfere with your enjoyment of the BAAADDD moments of troglodyte funk, but on the whole this is deep and weird enough to be essential to the dedicated funkateer. For fans of early Kool & the Gang, Parliament, B.T. Express, that sort of thing, but the best stuff here's got a dosed and primordial edge unlike anything else excavated from the early '70s era."
This collection cuts out the worst of the "love song cheese" alluded to above (although the songs added from "Dimension III" aren't any better unfortunately) and so makes for, along with Rhino's "Everything Man" comp, a mandatory funk purchase. Not rare groove, but "everywhere groove" as it says in the liner notes.
RealAudio clip: "It's Just Begun"
RealAudio clip: "L.T.D. (Life, Truth & Death)"

JUDAS PRIEST Painkiller (Sony) cd 12.98
Supreme metal triumph. The last good (in fact, great) Judas Priest album, also happened to be their last with 'Metal God' Rob Halford at the mic. Originally released in 1990, "Painkiller" at the time seemed like the big Priest comeback, after a string of crap, commercial late-eighties releases ("Ram It Down", "Turbo"). But, it was SO good that the classic Priest line-up imploded soon thereafter. At least they went out with a bang (and never should have done anything else afterwards!). The proudly uber-metallic, melodic but mighty and punishing beast that is "Painkiller" influenced many a more recent metal band, with songs from this album even getting cover treatment from a host of younger outfits. Lyrically, it's totally over the top and cheesy (but cheesy in a good way, unlike "Turbo" et.al.) with song titles like "Leather Rebel" and "Metal Meltdown". The twin guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing was at an all-time peak, spitting out riffs and trading off leads left and right. New drummer Scott Travis' double bass barrage also added to the band's firepower. Belongs in the book of "ultimate metal albums" for sure. It's actually hard to imagine any record being MORE metal than this one! Like the other discs in the JP reissue series, this is remastered and includes a couple of ok but non-essential unreleased bonus tracks. Allan remembers buying this on cassette at Sam The Record Man on Toronto's Yonge St., back in his college days, and it's one of the albums that helped forge his love of metal. We had to physically restrain him from making this reissue "record of the week". Well, no, not really, but he likes it a lot, and was excited about this cd.
RealAudio clip: "Painkiller"

FALCONER Chapters From A Vale Forlorn (Metal Blade) cd 15.98
Falconer's self-titled debut from last year was one of the "true metal" sensations around AQ at the time (that is, for Andee and Allan anyway, and I think we're getting Windy into 'em now too). The band's folk-derived melodicism and sheer heavy metal might was an unbeatable combination. This new disc is just as good, with songs that threaten to stick in your head for weeks (you're warned, listen to the sound samples a couple of times and you'll be humming 'em tomorrow). Of course, the folkiness and subject matter of songs like "Enter The Glade", "Lament Of A Minstrel" or "We Sold Our Homesteads" may seem silly to some, but that's ok. We like 'em that way. (The Lord Weird Slough Feg is another good example.) But it's not all Medieval folk-epics. Other songs, like "Busted To The Floor", demonstrate the rockin' Rainbow/Riot side of Falconer, complete with jamming Deep Purplish keyboards. You may recall the guitarist and drummer of Falconer used to be in a Viking black metal band called Mithotyn that we also really liked. They broke up but we're happy Falconer was the result, maintaining Mithotyn's heaviness but upping the melodic content. (Mithotyn fans, note: their sought-after final album, "Gathered Round The Oaken Table", has been reissued and is now back in stock!) The guitarist's riffs are still heavy, and catchier than ever, and their totally-NOT-black-metal vocalist utterly shines. It's not so much his voice itself that gets us, but his style and ability. He's damn good, and (because of his theatrical background) he does stuff other singers wouldn't think of -- there's lots of interesting detail in his vocal arrangements and delivery. He helps make Falconer one of the best 'power metal' bands on the planet. Catchy, heavy, majestic, a bit ridiculous, what more do you want?
RealAudio clip: "The Clarion Call"
RealAudio clip: "Busted To The Floor"

OXBOW An Evil Heat (Neurot) cd 14.98
This is REAL 'emo' rock, let me tell you. Not indie-pop emo but totally heavy, insane, noisy emotionally cathartic art rock mayhem. URB magazine says this is a 'must have', which is pretty bizarre because while WE think Oxbow rules, it's hard to imagine your average URB reader enjoying Oxbow's utterly fucked up, dark, hard, downright disturbing sounds! Yes, San Francisco's best kept secret have unleashed their long-awaited fifth album, via Neurosis' Neurot label (which is why they appeared at last year's Beyond The Pale festival, dropping many an astonished jaw even among the crusty, tough lookin' Neurosis fans in attendance). It's nine tracks of Zeppelin-heavy hard guitar rock melded to pounding noise and creepy ambience. Take your most intense Albini/Jesus Lizard mathrock, haunt it with Satanic blues ghosts, and top with the psycho-sexual theatrical vocals of a muscular frontman who writes for "Grappling" magazine when he's not on stage. Although his tortured, damaged wailings are difficult to decipher, you can follow along with the lyric sheet if you dare. And even without that aid, the emotions on display are quite plain, painful and raw. On much of this record, Oxbow brings things to a dark bluesy simmer, out of which the band bursts full bore whenever your defenses are down. And they have some help: with the song "S Bar X", the illustrious ranks of past Oxbow guest vocalists (Lydia Lunch, Marianne Faithfull, etc.) are now joined by Jarboe of Swans. We also must note that "An Evil Heat" ends with an immense, 32 minute freeform drone/noise/improv rock symphony, which could have been a whole album release by itself, really! (If you liked Old Man Gloom's "Seminar III" you'll want "An Evil Heat" for this track alone.)
RealAudio clip: "...The Stick"
RealAudio clip: "Sawmill"

PENTAGRAM First Daze Here (Relapse) cd 14.98
Maryland-based doom metallers Pentagram are on some kinda roll, following up their recently released and quite awesome album "Sub-Basement" (see the review on AQ-list 128) with this collection of stuff they recorded almost 30 years ago! Yep, they've been around that long, although only vocalist/mastermind Bobby Liebling still remains from the lineup documented here, the *original* '70s Pentagram. Thus the subtitle: The Vintage Collection. Twelve tracks circa 1972-1976, mostly rare singles and unreleased demo tracks. Some of these songs were re-recorded for later Pentagram albums, but many haven't been (yet). Some of my favorite tracks from this disc include:
"Starlady" ('76) -- why they didn't get signed on the strength of this potential single (a hit if I've ever heard one) I don't know. Or why KISS didn't buy the tune for their own use, that's perhaps even more of a mystery! (KISS's management was checking Pentagram out at the time, but no record deal resulted...)
"Forever My Queen" ('73) -- powerful doom metal that shows them at their Sabbath-like best (although, hearing this collection, you'll realize that Pentagram were equally into, and the equals of, other heavy contemporaries like Captain Beyond, Dust, and Blue Cheer).
"Last Days Here" ('74) -- it's like some Stones or "Raw Power"-era Stooges ballad, with Bobby doing his best Iggy impression.
"Be Forwarned" ('72) -- Pentagram re-recorded this epic, the A-side of first ever 7", on their 1994 "Be Forwarned" album, and when I first heard that version I knew it had to be an old song, 'cause it had such an authentic heavy psych vibe to it. So it's great to finally hear the original (more or less, see below).
"20 Buck Spin" ('73) -- again, the original version of a classic rockin' Pentagram track, covered recently by Pennsylvania doomsters Pale Divine.
All the tracks sound pretty great production-wise (except for the relatively lo-fi live rehearsal recording of "Last Days Here"), putting the previous Pentagram '70s rarities collection "Human Hurricane" to shame. Of course, Bobby did re-master and clean up these tracks in 2001. He also took the opportunity to add some vocals and guitar to "Be Forwarned", for reasons probably known only to him. There's also a few other questionable edits or fades only a Pentagram collector would notice. But such modern-day meddling doesn't detract in any way from the might of the music on offer. It's great stuff, and simply amazing to hear it sounding so good. Pentagram fans have a high tolerance for poor sound (witness the pretty much unlistenable live bootleg LPs that have been released) but this time, you get to *hear* the music as well as own the disc! Recommended to Pentagram fans (obviously) and ANYONE who likes good heavy '70s rock and roll! One of Relapse's best releases, ever.
RealAudio clip: "Forever My Queen"
RealAudio clip: "Starlady"

NECRO SCHIZMA Erupted Evil (From Beyond Productions) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Does the name Hellhammer mean anything to you? The raw, Venom-worshipping, Melvins-inspiring cult metal band that later morphed into Celtic Frost? Well it meant A LOT to the guys in Necro Schizma, a Dutch doom band whose 1989 demo tape has just now been rescued from obscurity and released on cd. Vocalist Cronald, guitarists Bert and Pulle, and drummer Barney recorded their "Erupted Evil" demo for $100 in three hours, but the results are, for true doomheads, utterly priceless and timeless. Slow, simple, crawling, distorted guitar and agonized vocal retching -- stuff that's all the better for being played as primitively, and recorded in as lo-fi a fashion as this was. Necro Schizma almost make their heroes Hellhammer sound pro and polished. Wow. If you're into current practicioners of slow, scary heaviness like Corrupted and Khanate, you should check this out.
In addition to the six tracks from Necro Schizma's demo tape that appear here, there's another seven tracks recorded at a live gig in 1990. They do a cover version of Hellhammer's classic "Triumph of Death" both live and on the demo, and it easily could be one of their tunes (except maybe it's a little *faster* than their own stuff!).
Aside from Hellhammer, they also list as inspirations Venom, Bathory, Celtic Frost, Manowar, Angel Witch, Messiah, Judas Priest, and Slaughter (we're pretty sure that'd be the Canadian thrash act, not the the American hair metallers). They don't mention Saint Vitus, but boy does the guitar sound like vintage Dave Chandler!
Doom. Pure doom. Made by fans back in the day, luckily unearthed for fans today. We only have a few copies, and may or may not be able to get more, so if you think you want one, be quick. Thanks to Greg Anderson (Southern Lord/Goatsnake/SUNNO)))) for turning us on to this!
RealAudio clip: " Bestial Lust"

CIRCLE Zopalki (Bad Vugum) 2lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bizarrely enough, I don't believe that we've ever listed this before, one of our favorite records by one of our favorite bands. This, the second album from these Finnish space/prog rockers, from 1996, sees them really delving into neo-Krautrock sounds and psychedelic hypnosis complete with sinister string arrangements. This one's dark and murky and heavy and a contender for our favorite Circle record ever, and that's saying something! If you don't have this one already, you should get it! While the CD is terminally out of print, we have the very last copies of the vinyl... don't blame us when they're gone.

WRAY, LINK Rumble! The Best of Link Wray (Rhino) cd 16.98
The best single-disc Link Wray comp. Twenty tracks, including all-time classic "Rumble" (the birth of rock n' roll distorted guitar), "Raw Hide", "Ramble", "Jack The Ripper", "Run Chicken Run", "Ace of Spades", "Batman Theme", "Switchblade", etc. All great, mostly-instrumental, slices of early rock n' roll from the master.

SALVATORE Clingfilm (Racing Junior) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Norway strikes again! The amazing Salvatore (not to be confused with the cryptic No Neck Blues Band offshoot K. Salavatore) is a mostly instrumental five piece band from that Scandinavian country. They share a lot with their Finnish neighbors (and AQ-faves) Circle: the motorik Neu! drum-pulse, spacey psych drone krautrock inclinations, dubby, echoey production techniques, and "circular" rhythm-based songwriting that generates a pleasant hypnotic state in the listener.
But Salvatore's urgent, headnodding music possesses a gorgeous charm of its own, as there's a lot more in the way of psychedelic guitar burn and use of feedback in their compositions than is usual with Circle. Some other bands that Salvatore seem to reference along with Circle and Neu!: Can, Pell Mell, Flying Saucer Attack, Village of Savoonga... not bad company.
From the first moment we heard this band, we thought: wow, we've *got* to get more of these, Salvatore is a natural for Aquarius! It took us a couple months, but we were finally able to import a bunch of both their first and second albums at a good price direct from Europe. And, after playing them in the store, we're pretty sure we were right about 'em -- we sold some immediately! So good. Both discs are totally recommended, with "Clingfilm" (2000) being overall more structured and melodically catchy and "Jugend" (also 2000) being perhaps more heady, intense, and soundscapey. And both, of course, are not just recommended, but *mandatory* for fans of Circle!
RealAudio clip: "Halloo!"
RealAudio clip: "Horsegirl"
RealAudio clip: "Schneekaos"

SALVATORE Jugend - A New Hedonism (Racing Junior) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Salvatore's second album, subtitled "Music from and inspired by De Utvalgte's literary installation based on The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde", was recorded in Morocco for reasons unclear to us, although we could go on and draw comparisions to the wonderful trance music of that country. Salvatore don't end up sounding at all like the Master Musicians of Jajouka, of course, but they do sound inspired by sources and forces as deep as those at the root of the Master Musicians' music, if it's not blasphemous to say that about an electric-guitar wielding "postrock" band.
Read the review of Savatore's debut "Clingfilm" nearby to get the lowdown on these Norwegians, whose albums are a must for any fan of AQ-faves Circle.
"Jugend" is equally as good as "Clingfilm", with maybe more of the drone quotent, though that's a generalization. It does feature as its opening an eleven-minute epic called "Jugend II" that's an awesomely beautiful heavy guitar drone piece, each delicious wave of feedback-distortion seemingly designed to directly trigger your brain's pleasure centers. Play this one LOUD! Elsewhere on the album, mellow out to the dub effects of "Gallo" or the sheer beauty of "Ambrosia".
And let's just say that track three, "We Have Found The Enemy And He Is Us", may be the best Circle song Circle never wrote!
The theme of Wilde's "Dorian Gray" is the battle of Youth and Beauty with Time, with the lesson being: Live! Such exhortations make sense when in the grip of this music! A fucking great record.
Although Salvatore do remind us so strongly of Circle (and Circle offshoots like Ovalki, Ektroverde, and Pharaoh Overlord), it seems likely that such similarities are the result of shared influences rather than a direct ripoff. And, even if Salvatore *are* shamelessly copying the Circle blueprint, we can forgive 'em 'cause they do it sooooo well.
A final note: their brand new album, entitled "Fresh" will be arriving in a few weeks, we'll list it when we get it. And we hear that they are recording a fourth album in Chicago with Tortoise's John McEntire...
RealAudio clip: "We Have Found The Enemy And He Is Us"
RealAudio clip: "Jugend II"

LAPORTE, JEAN-FRANCOIS Mantra (Metamkine) 3" cd 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When one of our friends told us about this little cd containing an experimental piece using the sounds of a Zamboni, we got very very excited. A Zamboni! (That's that unusual machine that resurfaces the ice in hockey rinks.) Upon hearing it, we were even more thrilled, 'cause it's an amazing 20 minute drone work! And practically everyone who works here has bought one by now...
This cute 3" cd, released through Metamkine's esteemed 'Cinema Pour L'Oreille' series of electro-acoustics and musique concrete, contains one track, "Mantra", which opens with a trio of motors starting up and emitting a gentle purr. As these engines warm up and shift through various perfunctory cycles, a wide spectrum of metallic vibrations slowly spins through the stereo field. While it would be nice to believe that these movements coincide with a Zamboni circling a really nice binaural microphone, it's more likely that Laporte exercised his artistic license with a judicious use of crossfading and stereo panning upon his field recordings. As the disc draws near its end, it sounds as if a screw or bolt is loosened by the vibrations and two pieces of metal begin a clamorous bell-ringing arrhythmia. When these motors finally are shut down, those pieces of metal still resonate for a beautifully sustained coda.
Back to the Zamboni issue: we'd been told by 'reliable' informants (Loren Chasse who heard about it from Ferarra Pan who heard it on Scot Jenerik's radio show) that the source material for Jean-Francois Laporte's "Mantra" was a Zamboni. As the liner-notes (all in French mind you) indicate that Laporte incorporated the sound of an air compressor from an ice-skating rink, it didn't rule out the possibility that indeed that air compressor could belong to a Zamboni, but it didn't actually say anything about Zambonis. (Are they even called Zambonis in France, anyway?) As you can tell, we Aquarians like the Zamboni and would really like to believe that the Zamboni was responsible for this album. Thus, we contacted the label, who merely sent us an English translation of the original liner notes, which again stated the source material to be an air compressor. Thus, we are left to ponder the quandary: is it or is it not a Zamboni?
Putting this grand existential question aside and the true origin of the source material out of sight for the moment, what's true is that Laporte has indeed sculpted one of the most compelling drone compositions that we've encountered in quite some time. For loyal readers of these lists, that's no idle comment as artists like Oragnum, Jonathan Coleclough, Mirror, John Duncan, and Francisco Lopez still rank highly for us in the pantheon of dronescapers. Not only as working model but also as a something of belief system, Jean-Francoise Laporte applies the ideals of the mantra to the urban landscape. To him, the hypnotic audio elements of refrigerators, motorcycle engines, and in this case the Zamboni / air compressor rise above their mundane properties to become something that can be meditated upon and hold transcendent properties.
A very, very nice recording, Zamboni or not. Even if you don't normally buy all the weird, droney experimental stuff we recommend, you might want to take a chance and try this out. After all, it's only 20 minutes out of your day and eight bucks. And, maybe it's a Zamboni!
RealAudio clip: "Mantra (Excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Mantra (Excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Mantra (Excerpt 3)"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Dark Noontide (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
The excellent split LP that Six Organs Of Admittance recently did with Charlambides really whet our appetite for this disc, the third full-length album from Ben Chasny (Six Organs, on record at least, is pretty much just him). Actually, we've been eager for another Six Organs disc since Ben's last cd, "Dust & Chimes", brightened our world (in its melancholy way) back in 2000. Hunched over his 4-track up in the wilds of McKinleyville, California, Ben has outdone himself with the eight tracks on offer here. The album begins with a beautifully sung psych-folk song, soon delves into dark, sad drone pieces, early '70s krautrock-inspired tabla-and-feedback jams (you wouldn't think it's just one guy and a 4-track, but rather a stoned group of freaks really feeling the kosmiche vibe together), some gorgeous solo acoustic guitar in a Fahey mode, and more of his dreamy late-night acid-folk songwriting. Six Organs is definitely among the best of the currently-burgeoning "Terrastock Nation", and we'd certainly rank Mr. Chasny with similarily-inspired and inspiring contemporaries like Greg Weeks, Richard Youngs, P.G. Six, Masaki Batoh, Amps For Christ, Joshua Burkett, and Kawabata Makoto. So very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "This Hand"
MPEG Stream: "On Returning Home"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE 41st Century Splendid Man (tUMULt) picture disc 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WAREHOUSE FIND!!! ONLY 20 COPIES AND THEN THESE ARE AGAIN GONE GONE GONE!!
We managed to get 20 copies from a distributor who found a stack of these in a corner of their warehouse. This was originally limited to 500 copies and was out of print in a flash, so this will almost certainly be your last chance to pick one of these up at a reasonable price. Here's what we had to say about this one the first time around, a few years ago (with some minor updates and adjustments):
Finally a new sonic missive from Andee's tUMULt label, the latest installment of psychedelic majesty from Japanese avant-hippy heroes Acid Mothers Temple. This was the first in what was planned to be a series of 12" picture discs. While the series is on hold indefinitely, this disc is still something else! Recorded well over a year ago, this is AMT at their absolute prime, featuring special guest star Tatsuya Yoshida of the Ruins! Two extended tracks (35 + minutes) of transcendental psych-drone. Side one has to be the most beautiful track they've ever recorded. Uncharacteristically tranquil and captivatingly beautiful. Droning, shimmering chimes coalesce into some sort of cosmic Ur-drone, punctuated by simple caveman thuds and epic swooshes, resulting in a grand and gorgeous ambience! Side two is a single track separated into two apparent movements. The first sees AMT back on more familiar ground, with swooping synths and freak out guitar. A stumbling kosmic krautrock, with motorik rhythms and free guitar, amidst a swampy wash of rumbling low end and squealing synths. The track erupts into bubbling atonal out-rock exploration splattered with mad scientist synthesisers as the whole thing slowly mutates into 'cosmic slop' of the nth degree, becoming gradually free-er and free-er. The second 'movement' is all slithery free jazz with bubbling cauldrons of synth sputter, wild keyboards and Can-like rhythms until the whole thing gets all dreamy, eventually blissing out completely. When Andee asked AMT to do a 12", they weren't yet Wire cover stars with so many dozens of releases out -- but this is still one of their absolute best recordings!
As you might have guessed, this is EXTREMELY LIMITED. Hand stamped sleeves. A gorgeous picture disc, with a striking flowers/UFO image on one side, and a scintillatingly saucy photo on the other (you'll just have to buy it to see it!). Still only available as a picture disc lp!

BASHO-JUNGHANS, STEFFEN Waters In Azure (Strange Attractors Audio) cd 13.98
Here's the seventh cd (!) from Berlin's foremost acoustic 12-string manipulator. We liked last year's "Inside" disc from Junghans (his first domestic release), and this one follows suit with more of his explorations in "minimalist solo steelstring guitar". Repetitive, mesmerizing, rhythmic strum builds and builds while individually picked and slid notes spray like metallic drops of liquid, falling from his guitar strings in shimmering, chiming streams...or something like that. "Waters In Azure" has an obvious watery theme that Junghans renders quite well musically. It's all very beautiful, and sometimes almost manaical in its minimalist single-mindedness. Junghans likes to experiment with arbitrary structures on his playing, limitations (like, say, using but one finger or string) that force him into extreme new compositional solutions. But the results don't sound forced, they just sound like nothing you've really ever heard from a "normal" solo guitarist. He also always records totally live and direct with absolutely no overdubs or effects, which is rather incredible when you listen to some of this! Equally for fans of Robbie Basho and Rod Poole.