BATTLETORN Evil Chains (Mega Blade) cd 13.98

BAUDRILLARD, JEAN Le Xerox et L'Infini (The Tapeworm) cassette 7.98
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Second of two releases on the newly launched UK label Tapeworm, the other being a killer solo bass record from long time aQ fave and turntablist, Philip Jeck, while this one, well, this one is a bit harder to describe. A spoken word record by two mysterious ladies called Patrica And Ellen, reading a work by legendary (anti) post modernist Jean Baudrillard. Recorded By Vicki Bennet of People Like Us, these readings are riveting, due in no small doubt to Baudrillard's tangled wordplay, but also due to the strange delivery of the two women, who take turns, in their thickly accented voices, reading the texts, sounding like they're perhaps seeing those words for the first time, struggling through pronunciations, little giggles and asides, brief breaks as one hands the text to the other. We'll be the first to say, that we're not much for 'spoken word' records, but somehow this transcends, becoming some sort of art, or sound poetry, especially when the two are reading together, those moments are fantastic, playful, silly, and the delivery of the two, slightly off, with both randomly dropping out, or stopping for a breath, makes the reading sound less 'read', and more weirdly musical.
Obviously, this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely fun, and interesting, and quite strange! Like the Jeck tape, LIMITED TO 250 COPIES, we got about a dozen...

BAUER, KARL AND ELISA AMBROG (AXOLOTL & MAGIK MARKERS) Psychic Hygiene (Spirit Of Orr) 7" 5.00
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**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Found a little stash of these. Already out of print so these are the last copies...
Another strange (but then again, maybe not so strange) collaboration. Karl from Axolotl and Elisa from Magic Markers get together to make some beautiful and slightly noisy music together.
Elisa's guitar seems to be taking center stage on the A side, scrabbly and angular, chaotic and scarping and grinding, dense tangles of high end squiggle and scrape laid over a distant hum of tape hiss and other abstract ambience.
The flipside is more bluesy, kind of. A sort of ghostlike disembodied folk, a bit of twang, lots of clunk and clatter, stumbly and spacious, the notes and melodies gnarled and twisted into strange atonal shapes, deep rumbling swells here and there, clouds of high end shimmer, soft washed out buzz, a dreamy creaky blissed out noiseflecked abstract guitarscape. Haunting and strangely pretty.

BAUER, MATT Nandina (self-released) cd 9.98
San Francisco has quite the impressive (and ever-growing) grassroots folk / country / blues music community, both past and present. Jolie Holland, Sean Hayes, Dieselhed, Virgil Shaw, Crooked Jades, Waycross, Court & Spark... the list goes on and on. Of course, there's always room for one (or two or three) more, isn't there? Well, over the last few weeks, a few folks have been comin' in asking for a gent known as Matt Bauer (not to be confused with Skullflower / Total / Sunroof! / Youngsbower's Matthew Bower, mind you!). Apparently Mr. Bauer had a new self-released cd out, but after much sleuthing about we were unable to track the elusive fellow down... that is, until last week! Yes, we're pleased to report that he's surfaced, and kindly brought in some of his cds himself. And it was worth the wait. Nandina is a fine album of earthy, comforting, melancholic folk songs with warm and weathered male vocals.
MPEG Stream: "Window Hill"
MPEG Stream: "Cold Valley Rain"

BAUER, MATT The Island Moved In The Storm (La Societe Expeditionnaire) cd 13.98
As the temperature and leaves gradually fall into autumn, a fittingly dusky and haunting album from former Bay Area now New York based folk troubadour Mr. Matt Bauer has arrived! It's a devastating song cycle inspired by the story about the mysterious death of a girl (posthumously known as Tent Girl) which took place back in 1968 in Bauer's old stomping grounds in Kentucky. Absolutely heart-rending and beautifully realized, The Island Moved In The Storm is a wonderful progression from his 2006 Wasps And White Roses cdep. Unquestionably his best work to date! The artfully Spartan arrangements allow much room for his achingly withered voice and deeply affecting words to sink in. He was ably assisted by many musical luminaries: Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen of St. Vincent, Alela Diane, and Dirty Projectors' Angel Deradoorian to name a few. Fans of M. Ward, Jolie Holland, Sean Hayes and maybe even Calexico too, please take note immediately! This just may be your new favorite album and artist! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Sheltering Dark"
MPEG Stream: "Florida Rain"

BAUER, MATT The Jessamine County Book Of The Living (Crossbill Records) cd 9.98
Wow, do not miss The Jessamine County Book Of The Living. Matt Bauer's third full length is another deeply moving intimate work. Once again, he's gathered many of his musical friends around him for this lush bluegrass-y embrace. His nimble banjo picking and fine piano playing are now accompanied by strings, woodwinds, brass and more. Wonderful. The string quartet was recorded here in SF, the vocals of Garrett Pierce in Davis, and the rest of the production took place in Brooklyn and Lexington. And by "the rest", in part we mean some gorgeous female vocals from the likes of Jolie Holland and Mariee Sioux. Bauer's hushed voice is mournful yet comforting, and is perfectly complemented by the ladies' luminous delivery. Perhaps the album's crowning jewel is the fourth track "Blacklight Horses", a solemnly lovely Bauer and Holland duet. Just might move you to tears... actually many of Bauer's songs have that effect. Needless to say, this album is heartily recommended. Definitely for fans of Ms Holland, M. Ward and Iron & Wine.
MPEG Stream: "Useless Is Your Armor"
MPEG Stream: "Blacklight Horses"

BAUER, MATT The Jessamine County Book Of The Living (Crossbill Records) lp 14.98
Wow, do not miss The Jessamine County Book Of The Living. Matt Bauer's third full length is another deeply moving intimate work. Once again, he's gathered many of his musical friends around him for this lush bluegrass-y embrace. His nimble banjo picking and fine piano playing are now accompanied by strings, woodwinds, brass and more. Wonderful. The string quartet was recorded here in SF, the vocals of Garrett Pierce in Davis, and the rest of the production took place in Brooklyn and Lexington. And by "the rest", in part we mean some gorgeous female vocals from the likes of Jolie Holland and Mariee Sioux. Bauer's hushed voice is mournful yet comforting, and is perfectly complemented by the ladies' luminous delivery. Perhaps the album's crowning jewel is the fourth track "Blacklight Horses", a solemnly lovely Bauer and Holland duet. Just might move you to tears... actually many of Bauer's songs have that effect. Needless to say, this album is heartily recommended. Definitely for fans of Ms Holland, M. Ward and Iron & Wine.
MPEG Stream: "Useless Is Your Armor"
MPEG Stream: "Blacklight Horses"

BAUER, MATT Wasps And White Roses E.P. (Crossbill ) cd ep 6.98
A familiar face around this neighborhood -- you might recall his debut cd Nandina a couple of years back -- Mr. Bauer caught us off guard recently when we received a package from him addressed from New York. He'd pulled up anchor and moved across the country! Fortunately his brother still lives around the corner from our shop and can supply us with Matt's latest cdep. It picks right up where he left off on the final somber strains of Nandina's closing track "Jordan In A Plastic Bag". Such achingly beautiful, weathered folk melancholia, this time with the added pleasure of female vocals accompanying Matt's on a pair of songs. Who might those ladies be? Why, noneother than Ms Jolie Holland ("Carve It Out") and Ms Mariee Sioux ("Wasps And White Roses"). Each voice compliments the other so well! Also making a couple of appearances are fiddle player Alisa Rose ("White Horse" and "Poor Robin"), and Nathan Wanta guest sings along on the last number "Poor Robin" too. Seven songs of which five are originals (three with vocals, two without), plus two traditional numbers. Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "Carve It Out"
MPEG Stream: "Wasps And White Roses"

BAUHAUS Burning from the Inside (Beggars Banquet) cd 12.98

BAUHAUS Crackle (Beggars Banquet) 2lp 16.98

BAUHAUS Crackle (Beggars Banquet) 2lp 16.98

BAUHAUS Go Away White (BMI) cd 14.98

BAUHAUS Gotham (Metropolis) 2cd 21.00
Documenting these Goth superstars' recent live reunion tour, two discs worth. At first listen, one thing we can say is that this is surprisingly damn HEAVY. Yes, this includes "Bela Lugosi's Dead" amongst other black eyeliner hits. And, this has a new studio track too, their first in like 15 years, a cover of Dead Can Dance's "Severance".

BAUHAUS In The Flat Field (4AD) 2cd 21.00

BAUHAUS Mask (Beggar's Banquet) 2cd 26.00

BAUHAUS Shadow of Light / Archive (Beggars Banquet) dvd 15.98
Both Shadows of Light and Archive had been made available in the '80s as collections of Bauhaus' videos and live recordings; and now they've been compiled onto a single DVD for your viewing pleasure. Shadows of Light originally featured all of the videos Bauhaus made, including the particularly grotesque chiaroscuro of "Mask" as well as four live tunes recored in stark black & white at the Old Vic in London. Archive fills in the remainder of the live material shot at that Old Vic show, albeit framed by a curious vignette of a Victorian gentleman being pursued by a couple of no-good thugs. Nonetheless, Peter Murphy stands out as a vampish hybrid of David Bowie and Iggy Pop during these outstanding live versions of "The Passion Of Lovers," "Dark Entries," and "Stigmata Martyr." Essential for anybody bit by the '80s revival bug.

BAUHAUS The Sky Gone Out (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98

BAUHAUS The Sky's Gone Out (Beggars Banquet) cd 12.98

BAXENDALE You Will Have Your Revenge (Le Grand Magistery) cd 15.98
A total meltdown between Stephin Merritt's Future Bible Heroes and Momus' melodramatic baroque-pop. Heavy duty dance beats with pouty Brit boy and candy-coated girl vocals. For fans of Pulp too.

BAXTER, LES Black Sunday / Baron Blood (Citadel) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mostly known for his exotica work, Les Baxter did compose a few stirring horror scores. "Black Sunday" and "Baron Blood" (both from the early 60s) are blood-and-thunder compositions for dissonant chords of cymbals, timpani, and brass. According to the liner notes: "It scarred a generation."

BAXTER, LES Cry of the Banshee / Edgar Allan Poe Suite (Citadel) cd 14.98
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"Whatever caused this, some said that during this particular passage they thought they saw Satan materialize - others were not sure just who the spiritual image was, but I feel I must warn those who might have a fear of the supernatural of the possibility of such an occurance" - Les Baxter, referring to the unexplained mysteries which were perported to occur when listening to his scores of "Cry of the Banshee". Truely scary stuff. Also featured on this disc are his score for "The Edgar Allan Poe Suite" and John Cacavas' "Horror Express."

BAXTER, LES Fruit Of Dreams (El Records) cd 16.98
You usually know that you are either an obsessive music addict or totally eccentric or hell both when Les Baxter records start making their way into your collection. And we are the first to admit that most of us fit in those categories, so yes, of course we love the king of exotica, Les Baxter. Most of you are familiar with Baxter but maybe you didn't know that he was the in house conductor and arranger for Captiol records in the 50's making hits for folks like Nat King Cole. Always searching for new instruments, bigger orchestras and sounds filled with exclamation points and a whole lot of flavor, Baxter became a perfect fit for motion pictures as he would go on to score over 120 films with his specialty being Roger Corman films and teenage exploitation flicks. The Fruit Of Dreams combines two of his late 50s and early 60's albums on which he travels to "exotic" places in the world and brings those sounds back to people's suburban living rooms. Something so totally charming about the naivety and dramatic flair of these recordings. With titles like "Hong Kong Cable Car" , "Harem Silks From Bombay", "The Feathered Serpent of the Aztecs" you know this is that great over the top exploitive stylistic travelogue that you can't help but get swept up by. Brilliant and twisted minds like George Kuchar, John Waters, Beck and Jello Biafra all count themselves as unabashed Les Baxter fans...and so do we.
MPEG Stream: "Hong Kong Cable Car"
MPEG Stream: "Harem Silks From Bombay"
MPEG Stream: "Pyramid Of The Sun"

BAXTER, LES The Lost Episode (Dionysus) cd 13.98
Previously unreleased. From an old tv show.

BAXTER, LES The Lost Episode (Dionysus) 10" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Previously unreleased. From an old tv show.

BAY / OSLO MIRROR TRIO s/t (Conrad Sound) cd 9.98
Oslo meets the Bay Area in this cross-continental collaboration, first brought to our attention by bay area drummer extraordinaire Jacob Heule, who also tears it up in both Basshaters and Ettrick, two bands particularly known for their explosive live shows and improvisational finesse. The Bay / Oslo Mirror Trio chronicles an exceptionally fierce meeting of 3 Norwegian improvisers (Guro Skumsnes Moe, Havard Skaset, and Kyrre Laastad) and 3 Bay Area improvisers (Jacob Heule, Ava Mendoza and Tony Dryer). Don't be fooled by the "trio" tag, really this is a 6 person collaboration that covers all kinds of sonic territory. The disc opens with low electronic rumbles, metallic drones and shimmering percussion that chime and corrode into demonic clatter and wailing distortion. The instrumentation becomes less mysterious as the album unfolds, spastic drum fills flutter beneath walls of guitar feedback and head-splitting noise, sizzling electronics burn holes in amps and glimpses of double bass peer through the mix. While we definitely love the moments of chaotic bombastic whirl, we can also hear the group's careful attention to space and detail as moments of quiet restraint offer shelter from the storm. So nice! An impressive showcase of modern improv, we can't get enough!
MPEG Stream: "V1"
MPEG Stream: "H1"

BAYER, BLARKE The End Of You (Numerical Thief) 3" cd-r 11.98
If we didn't know better, we'd think that Australia and New Zealand were both made up of nothing but experimental musicians and dudes who run cd-r labels. How else to explain the seemingly endless supply of weird and wonderful music coming to us from those two places. Here's another new name to add to the rapidly expanding roster of enigmatic soundmakers from down under, Blarke Bayer. Sharing a label with US noisemakers Yellow Swans and Aussie powerviolence outfit Agents Of Abhorrence, Bayer aligns himself more with the processed guitar soundscape school of folks like Fennesz, Ambarchi, and the like. Gauzy strips of sound, layered into drifting waves of gentle feedback, warm fuzzy swells of muted guitar growl, distant keening melodic fragments, occasionally disrupted by cavernous resonant rumbles or tiny glitchy squalls, but for the most part, The End Of You is one long languorous sea of tranquility, a washed out dream world of layered guitar warmth and shimmery ambience. Quite beautiful.
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES! Packaged in a cool mini 3" printed gatefold sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "The End Of You"

BAYLE, F. L'Experience Acoustique, volumes 5-6 2cd 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BAYLE, FRANCOIS Fabulae (FCM) cd 16.98
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BAYLE, FRANCOIS Jeita (FCM) cd 16.98
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BAYLE, FRANCOIS Vibrations Composees / Grande Ployphonie (MGC) cd 16.98
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BBGUN MAGAZINE (BB Gun) magazine 6.00
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Bob Bert (ex-Sonic Youth, Pussy Galore, Chrome Cranks, and most recently the Knoxville Girls) and his partner in crime Linda Wolfe continue the transformation of their zine into a full on magazine - this issue features a full color section. Truly a labor of love, BB Gun has annually served as a historical rock document as well as a who's who of current NY hotpants. Within the pages of the mag, the content runs the gamut, but always with a balance of the old and the new. There are a few things you can always count on though: a dose of Rowland S. Howard, Jon Spencer, Lydia Lunch and Richard Kern, as well as some gems from Bob's seemingly bottomless treasure chest of stories from "back in the day". In this issue, we also get Vincent Gallo (the cover story), Yoko Ono, Michael Gira, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the White Stripes along for the ride. And why don't they throw in a few interviews / conversations between Christian Marclay and Lee Ranaldo, Lee Hazlewood and Dean Wareham, Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore? Heck, how 'bout some contributions from the likes of Marcellus Hall (Railroad Jerk), Mike Alway, Bleddyn Butcher, Ian Svenonius (The Make-Up), Byron Coley, Everett True, Clem Snide, Jack Sargeant, Ali Smith and Matt Verta-Ray too? And maybe some coverage of James Chance, Smokey & Miho, Mick Collins, Death By Chocolate, Mick Farren, Chris Buck, Peter Missing, Milo Jones? You betcha! Top it all off with a mountain of photos and reviews to serve as much more than the whipped cream and cherry. Always a fun read!

BE GOOD TANYAS Blue Horse (Nettwerk) cd 16.98
On the last list we raved about Jolie Holland's debut album Catalpa, but well before she recorded Catalpa, she did time as a sidekick/auxilliary member of Canadian bluegrass folk outfit the Be Good Tanyas, providing fiddle, guitar, vocals, arranging and songwriting (her song "The Littlest Birds" appeared on Blue Horse before it showed up on Catalpa!) Folks who dug Holland's solo record will find so much to love here. A lush blend of guitar, mandolin, banjo, electric violin and double bass. Traditional bluegrass infused with modern songsmithery and utterly enchanting vocals weaving strange harmonies, at once classic and traditional but at the same time ghostly and otherworldly, making these songs sound like they were pulled from the ether, from some abstract time in the past. Lilting and forlorn, melancholy and dreamily perfect.
MPEG Stream: "Rain And Snow"
MPEG Stream: "The Littlest Birds"
MPEG Stream: "Broken Telephone"

BE GOOD TANYAS Chinatown (Nettwerk) cd 16.98
Following their fine Blue Horse debut album, the Be Good Tanyas' second full length offers a well selected mix of traditional numbers, originals and covers. On Chinatown the group, perhaps most notable for the very early membership of Ms Jolie Holland (whose since pursued a solo path), prove they've got nothing to prove. While many folks seem hell-bent on comparing the two, each glows warmly luminous in its own right (or shall we say light?). That's not to say that fans of one won't find much to love in the other, but this ain't no competition, is it? Embrace 'em all as their music embraces you! Effortlessly conjures visions of old tyme potbelly stoves, porchswings, corncob pipes and pitchers of lemonade.
MPEG Stream: "Waiting Around To Die"
MPEG Stream: "It's Not Happening"

BE GOOD TANYAS Hello Love (Nettwerk) cd 15.98
Oh how we adore those Be Good Tanyas! Their first two albums Chinatown and Blue Horse hold solid places in our hearts. Both albums came out ages ago, leaving us craving more for years! Primarily known stateside for far too long as Jolie Holland's former band, with the aptly titled Hello Love the Canadian country folk trio gracefully glide out of Holland's shadow and into their own rustic autumnal spotlight. That said, Holland does make a brief vocal appearance on the eighth track, their cover of Mississippi John Hurt's "Nobody Cares For Me". They also do wonderful versions of "A Thousand Tiny Pieces", a song by SF's dear Sean Hayes and "For The Turnstiles" by Neil Young. They're definite album highlights. Not so sure about their cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" tho' which you'll find hidden at the end of the album. Oops, sorry to blow the surprise, but maybe they should've kept it hidden?!
An aside: Kinda burns our biscuits that an artist signed to Nettwerk Records (i.e, an international and pretty much 'major' label who could buy them the moon tenfold) is getting Canadian government funding grants while unsigned, empty pocketed independent candidates go empty handed. Geez, that just doesn't sit right.
But regardless, a super pretty twangy delight.
MPEG Stream: "Human Thing"
MPEG Stream: "For The Turnstiles"
MPEG Stream: "A Thousand Tiny Pieces"

BE PERSECUTED I.I. (No Colours) cd 16.98
According to No Colours, the strangely named Be Persecuted are in fact the first Chinese black metal band. Not sure how one determines if a band is in fact the first from a country, especially one as big as China, but Be Persecuted are certainly the first Chinese black metal band -we've- ever heard, and I.I. is really pretty fantastic.
Strange song titles like "Painful Assemble" and "Be Resented For Livelihood" barely hint at the strange mournful melancholia inside. Beginning with a very Eastern style synth intro, the band launch into some blasting buzzing super grim classic sounding black metal. But then the keyboards surface, and for the rest of the record seem to always be lurking in the background giving the sound a very creepy sorrowful vibe. And the distortion. Not sure what these guys use for distortion pedals, but holy shit, it's some of the harshest and thickest fuzzy hiss we've heard in ages. Like Darkthrone and Burzum if they ran their guitars through a thousand hair dryers set on high.
The best tracks are the more midtempo numbers, where the band totally excel in finding their own Burzumic path, like on the 13 minute "Wilderness", a slow loping buzz drenched midtempo plod, as depressive and doomy as any BM we've heard. But the track that seals the deal is "Some How", which is the only song here actually sung in Chinese, and that begins with a lovely lilting acoustic guitar, gently fingerpicking a melancholy melody, before the distortion and drums kick in, but the song doesn't really change, it's the same lilting lope, just wreathed in a dense field of crackling buzzing distortion. It's almost like some slow core rock ballad but dipped in a boiling cauldron of Burzum! Pretty weird for sure, but so fucking cool. The record winds down with a reprise of the intro, only this time the notes are dirty and distorted, grinding and buzzing through the same melody but with a completely different result...
Awesome!
MPEG Stream: "Suicide Forest"
MPEG Stream: "Painful Assemble"
MPEG Stream: "Be Resented For Livelihood"

BE YOUR OWN PET s/t (Ecstatic Peace / Universal) cd 11.98
Are you sad that the Yeah Yeah Yeah's seem to have gone all '80s pop? Still looking for that blistering loud, fast and fun rock sound with some strong commanding female vocals at its helm? Then Be Your Own Pet have got your fix for sure. Creating quite a buzz in the last couple years with their full throttle rock sound planted firmly in punk rock as well as in the garage. This definitely had us thinking a bit of the glory of The Gits, a young PJ Harvey doing Stooges covers, and yeah, the urgency of the YYY's on their first ep and full length. They've won the heart of Thurston Moore whose Ecstatic Peace has been putting out their records and this is one of those rare instances where the hype seems to make sense as this is some great rockin' fun.
MPEG Stream: "Bunk Trunk Skunk"
MPEG Stream: "Fill My Pill"

BEACH BOYS Friends / 20/20 (Capitol) cd 14.98
We've been enjoying quite a nice run of summer fever here in SF. Lots of outdoor adventures, picnics in the park, trips to the beach, fresh fruit to eat, naps with the windows open. So we thought while we've been indulging in all of summer's glory we would take the time to actually list one of our all time favorite Beach Boys records, even though its not a new reissue or anything. In fact it's two albums on one cd. While of course Pet Sounds always gets lauded as the Beach Boys' masterpiece, we think that Friends might be a contender for one of their greatest records as well. Every single track on Friends is pure pop perfection! You can hear the next several decades of smart pop music foreshadowed in the songs on Friends. "Busy Doin' Nothin" is like the sweet and quirky song Beck is still trying to make, "Little Bird" sounds like one of Yo La Tengo's most bittersweet numbers and the amazing instrumental "Diamond Head" with its reverb and ocean wave sounds provides the sonic blueprint for one of our favorite records of the last year, Panda Bear's Person Pitch. Not one clunker in the batch, Friends is truly one of the greatest pop records of all time!
While it would be worth it just for Friends, this two-for-one cd also contains 20/20, the Beach Boys' last album of the '60s. It's got a couple misses but wow are there some amazing musical moments to be found. You can definitely hear some bits and pieces that would end up as part of the soon-to-come masterpiece Smile, as well as some of the best songs Dennis Wilson wrote and sang for the band. It's also the album that features an uncredited (for obvious reasons) contribution from Charles Manson. He and Dennis Wilson had become friends before the Tate / LaBianca killings and as a gift he gave Dennis a song "Never Learn Not To Love" which was simply credited to Dennis after the Mason murders went down. The collection also includes 5 bonus tracks and really nice track by track commentaries in the liner notes.
The perfect music to make this an endless summer (as is, umm, well, probably the BB's Endless Summer too). If you don't have these Beach Boys albums we can't recommend these enough. Pop perfection!
MPEG Stream: "Friends"
MPEG Stream: "Diamond Head"
MPEG Stream: "I Went To Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "Never Learn Not To Love"

BEACH BOYS Smiley Smile / Wild Honey (Capitol) cd 14.98
Yes, the elusive (but not as elusive as Smile, the legendary unreleased/unfinished Brian Wilson masterpiece that this was released in the stead of) Smiley Smile album most notably contains the summertime anthem "Good Vibrations", but it's actually the second song entitled "Vegetables" that's worth the price of admission alone. An absurd ode to their absolute veggie love featuring some sonic embellishment - read: chewing - from none other than Paul McCartney. Add "She's Goin' Bald" to the equation and is there any question what mad pop scientists the Beach Boys were? We've never understood the fuss over Smile, what they actually released here was GREAT. Now, throw in another whole album, namely Wild Honey, plus six bonus tracks and woo-hooo... you need this!

BEACH BOYS, THE Pet Sounds (Capitol) cd 14.98

BEACH BOYS, THE Pet Sounds (Capitol) lp 22.00
While the recently resurrected Beach Boys masterpiece, Smile!, was conceived by Brian Wilson as "a Teenage Symphony to God", we always thought that description better described Wilson's first major master stroke, Pet Sounds, an incomparable combination of heartfelt bittersweet emotion and complex pop orchestration. Classic songs like "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)", "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and of course, "God Only Knows" were the first real deliveries of promise set up by game-changer early hits like "In My Room", and "Warmth of The Sun" that showed the band could forge deeper into complicated emotional territory than its goodtimes-beach-fun persona would suggest. Even the two instrumentals, "Let's Go Away for Awhile" and the title track are some of the best rainy day soundtrack material imaginable. An absolutely perfect record, nice to have it back in stock on vinyl!

BEACH BOYS, THE Smile Sessions (Capitol) 2cd 37.00
The newly released, highly anticipated Smile Sessions are finally here and it's been an occasion for all sorts of debate and nerd-ery among us. First off, some of us have been obsessed with the record for years, having acquired various bootlegs, the recent Brian Wilson re-do, as well as tracing the seeds of the Smile sessions throughout the trajectory of the later Beach Boys records (which are some of our favorites). While our bootleg versions always had the main song cycle separated from the various shorter interludes and segues that connected them, the Brian Wilson re-do saw the potential of what could have been, yet it still felt like a cover version of what was supposed to be the real thing.
Now what the Smile Sessions tries to do, and for the most part succeeds in doing, is taking the blueprint Wilson made with the re-do and marrying the songs and interludes into a solid dazzling whole. The flow of what is understood as the proper album has never sounded better with the rich harmonic vocals, symphonic arrangements and beautifully antiquarian lyricism provided by Van Dyke Parks combined in elaborately layered arrays of epiphanal pop orchestration. It also adds a disc and a half of bonus material, session segments, and stereo mixes of various tracks and interludes left off the main album, which is where the debate among us begins. Scott appreciates the bonus material but really wishes (and this goes for most reissues with bonus material) that they isolated the whole of the album to one disc, so that you really get a sense of the proper album's completion. Starting multiple alternate versions of "Heroes and Villains" (whose lyrical motif is repeated in various forms throughout the record) shortly after "Good Vibrations" ends, mimics the sensation we imagine Brian Wilson probably felt in realizing he couldn't finish the project because it kept endlessly replaying in his head. Andee thinks that the bonus material is the real gold here and just wants to get the elaborate 5 cd/2lp/2x7" version just to geek out on endless takes of "Good Vibrations" and all the rehearsals and studio chatter (and he also thinks that Scott should just learn how to use the stop button on his cd player.). Allan doesn't understand the "lost record" appeal of it all. "What was wrong with Smiley Smile?" Oh, Allan.
We're sure plenty of folks will be having their own geeky debates. For instance, why isn't "Cool, Cool Water" included in the main song cycle like it was in the bootlegs, and in Brian Wilson's version (renamed and rewritten as "Blue Hawaii")? Instead it's relegated to the bonus material. But really that's all music geek piffle to be argued and discussed in some other forum. For the most part, the main album is put together quite faithfully to Wilson's vision and it sounds amazing!. We're used to the sometimes slightly abrupt transitions that have long become a part of the record's charm and the result is still quite incredible and kaleidoscopic. No matter our particular desires of how we would try to put this together, it's still quite a remarkable feat. We still wonder if Wilson finished and released this as it was meant to be in 1967, would we still care so much about it? That's for another debate. Still for those obsessed as we are or even for the newly curious this comes Highly Recommended!!!!!
The two cd version comes housed in a box with a 36 page booklet, liner notes by Brian Wilson, a 15" x 20" poster and a button!
While the 5cd+2lp+2x7" box comes housed in a 3D version of Frank Holmes illustrated storefront cover. 4 and a half discs of bonus material including a disc each of the "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations sessions alone. The 2lps have the album proper as well as a side of extra bonus material and two 7"s with the 2 parts of "Heroes and Villains" on one and "Vege-Tables" / "Surf's Up" on the other. Plus a 60 page case bound book, liner notes by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston and a 24" x 36" poster. Wow!!!
MPEG Stream: "Cabin Essence"
MPEG Stream: "Surf's Up"
MPEG Stream: "Child Is The Father of The Man"
MPEG Stream: "The Elements: Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)"
MPEG Stream: "Look (Song For Children)"
MPEG Stream: "Smile Backing Vocals Montage"
MPEG Stream: "Cool Cool Water (Version 2)"

BEACH BOYS, THE Smile Sessions (Capitol) 5cd+2lp+2x7" 169.00
The newly released, highly anticipated Smile Sessions are finally here and it's been an occasion for all sorts of debate and nerd-ery among us. First off, some of us have been obsessed with the record for years, having acquired various bootlegs, the recent Brian Wilson re-do, as well as tracing the seeds of the Smile sessions throughout the trajectory of the later Beach Boys records (which are some of our favorites). While our bootleg versions always had the main song cycle separated from the various shorter interludes and segues that connected them, the Brian Wilson re-do saw the potential of what could have been, yet it still felt like a cover version of what was supposed to be the real thing.
Now what the Smile Sessions tries to do, and for the most part succeeds in doing, is taking the blueprint Wilson made with the re-do and marrying the songs and interludes into a solid dazzling whole. The flow of what is understood as the proper album has never sounded better with the rich harmonic vocals, symphonic arrangements and beautifully antiquarian lyricism provided by Van Dyke Parks combined in elaborately layered arrays of epiphanal pop orchestration. It also adds a disc and a half of bonus material, session segments, and stereo mixes of various tracks and interludes left off the main album, which is where the debate among us begins. Scott appreciates the bonus material but really wishes (and this goes for most reissues with bonus material) that they isolated the whole of the album to one disc, so that you really get a sense of the proper album's completion. Starting multiple alternate versions of "Heroes and Villains" (whose lyrical motif is repeated in various forms throughout the record) shortly after "Good Vibrations" ends, mimics the sensation we imagine Brian Wilson probably felt in realizing he couldn't finish the project because it kept endlessly replaying in his head. Andee thinks that the bonus material is the real gold here and just wants to get the elaborate 5 cd/2lp/2x7" version just to geek out on endless takes of "Good Vibrations" and all the rehearsals and studio chatter (and he also thinks that Scott should just learn how to use the stop button on his cd player.). Allan doesn't understand the "lost record" appeal of it all. "What was wrong with Smiley Smile?" Oh, Allan.
We're sure plenty of folks will be having their own geeky debates. For instance, why isn't "Cool, Cool Water" included in the main song cycle like it was in the bootlegs, and in Brian Wilson's version (renamed and rewritten as "Blue Hawaii")? Instead it's relegated to the bonus material. But really that's all music geek piffle to be argued and discussed in some other forum. For the most part, the main album is put together quite faithfully to Wilson's vision and it sounds amazing!. We're used to the sometimes slightly abrupt transitions that have long become a part of the record's charm and the result is still quite incredible and kaleidoscopic. No matter our particular desires of how we would try to put this together, it's still quite a remarkable feat. We still wonder if Wilson finished and released this as it was meant to be in 1967, would we still care so much about it? That's for another debate. Still for those obsessed as we are or even for the newly curious this comes Highly Recommended!!!!!
The two cd version comes housed in a box with a 36 page booklet, liner notes by Brian Wilson, a 15" x 20" poster and a button!
While the 5cd+2lp+2x7" box comes housed in a 3D version of Frank Holmes illustrated storefront cover. 4 and a half discs of bonus material including a disc each of the "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations sessions alone. The 2lps have the album proper as well as a side of extra bonus material and two 7"s with the 2 parts of "Heroes and Villains" on one and "Vege-Tables" / "Surf's Up" on the other. Plus a 60 page case bound book, liner notes by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston and a 24" x 36" poster. Wow!!!
MPEG Stream: "Cabin Essence"
MPEG Stream: "Surf's Up"
MPEG Stream: "Child Is The Father of The Man"
MPEG Stream: "The Elements: Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)"
MPEG Stream: "Look (Song For Children)"
MPEG Stream: "Smile Backing Vocals Montage"
MPEG Stream: "Cool Cool Water (Version 2)"

BEACH BOYS, THE Smile Sessions (2lp Version) (Capitol) 2lp 29.00
Finally, In Stock On Double Vinyl!
The newly released, highly anticipated Smile Sessions are finally here and it's been an occasion for all sorts of debate and nerd-ery among us. First off, some of us have been obsessed with the record for years, having acquired various bootlegs, the recent Brian Wilson re-do, as well as tracing the seeds of the Smile sessions throughout the trajectory of the later Beach Boys records (which are some of our favorites). While our bootleg versions always had the main song cycle separated from the various shorter interludes and segues that connected them, the Brian Wilson re-do saw the potential of what could have been, yet it still felt like a cover version of what was supposed to be the real thing.
Now what the Smile Sessions tries to do, and for the most part succeeds in doing, is taking the blueprint Wilson made with the re-do and marrying the songs and interludes into a solid dazzling whole. On the vinyl version, the flow of what is understood as the proper album has never sounded better with the rich harmonic vocals, symphonic arrangements and beautifully antiquarian lyricism provided by Van Dyke Parks combined in elaborately layered arrays of epiphanal pop orchestration over the first three sides. The last side is a handful of selected stereo mixes and session excerpts, a really small taste of bonus material compared to the whole extra cd of the 2cd version and the 4 extra cds of the deluxe box set.
For the most part, the main album is put together quite faithfully to Wilson's vision and it sounds amazing!. We're used to the sometimes slightly abrupt transitions that have long become a part of the record's charm and the result is still quite incredible and kaleidoscopic. No matter our particular desires of how we would try to put this together (For instance, why isn't "Cool, Cool Water" included in the main song cycle like it was in the bootlegs, and in Brian Wilson's version, there renamed and rewritten as "Blue Hawaii"? Instead it's relegated to the bonus material on the cd versions!) , it's still quite a remarkable feat. We still wonder if Wilson finished and released this as it was meant to be in 1967, would we still care so much about it? Allan doesn't understand the "lost record" appeal of it all. "What was wrong with Smiley Smile?" Oh, Allan.
We're sure plenty of folks will be having their own geeky debates. Still for those obsessed as we are or even for the newly curious, this comes Highly Recommended!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Cabin Essence"
MPEG Stream: "Surf's Up"
MPEG Stream: "Child Is The Father of The Man"
MPEG Stream: "The Elements: Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)"
MPEG Stream: "Look (Song For Children)"

BEACH BOYS, THE The Pet Sounds Sessions (Capitol) 4cd box 57.00
The best record ever? The Beach Boys' best record? Can't stand "The Sloop John B."? This is the way to make up your mind. Any more versions of "Pet Sounds" and you'd die.

BEACH BOYS, THE The Pet Sounds Sessions (Capitol) 4cd box 57.00
The best record ever? The Beach Boys' best record? Can't stand "The Sloop John B."? This is the way to make up your mind. Any more versions of "Pet Sounds" and you'd die.

BEACH FOSSILS Clash The Truth (Captured Tracks) cd 14.98
If the true measure of a record, is the impression/perception of the 'first listen', this new record from jangle poppers Beach Fossils might be the most popular record in the store right now. Cuz every time we play it in the store, and we do mean EVERY time, someone buys a copy. Whether they knew the band or not! BF's infectious hook heavy wistful jangle is in full effect on Clash The Truth, but unlike past records, the sound here is definitely a bit darker, which most certainly suits them. Quickly scanning back over our reviews of past BF records, it's all "breezy", "sunny", "lazy, dazed & glazed", and all of those definitely still apply, but one comparison seems even more apt, which is where we compare their sound to Pavement covering The Smiths. Here, the songs are wistful and melancholy, all cloudy skied and fading afternoon light, when the songs rock, they almost sound new wavey, or even post rocky, like the soaring majesty of "Carless", keening soaring swirls of melody and frenetic drumming, all driven by Joy Division like basslines, and when they don't rock, they're wistful gems like "Sleep Apnea", all shuffling drums, chiming acoustic guitars, little flurries of effects heavy melody, and reverbed sad boy vox.
Some songs unfurl dreamily, in the shadow of mournful strings, others are propulsive and a little bit garage-y, and others are straight up retro pop jangle, and still others are crunchy and fuzzy and almost shoegazey, a few even have a distinctly Interpol vibe (check out "Caustic Cross"), and a bunch definitely remind us of Unrest and that old Teenbeat sound, which is most definitely a very good thing. But without fail, all of the tracks here are lush and lovely, lilting and hook heavy, catchy and dreamy, and again pretty goddamn irresistible.
MPEG Stream: "Clash The Truth"
MPEG Stream: "Generational Synthetic"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep Apnea"
MPEG Stream: "Careless"
MPEG Stream: "Caustic Cross"

BEACH FOSSILS Clash The Truth (Captured Tracks) lp 17.98
If the true measure of a record, is the impression/perception of the 'first listen', this new record from jangle poppers Beach Fossils might be the most popular record in the store right now. Cuz every time we play it in the store, and we do mean EVERY time, someone buys a copy. Whether they knew the band or not! BF's infectious hooky heavy wistful jangle is in full effect on Clash The Truth, but unlike past records, the sound here is definitely a bit darker, which most certainly suits them. Quickly scanning back over our reviews of past BF records, it's all "breezy", "sunny", "lazy, dazed & glazed", and all of those definitely still apply, but one comparison seems even more apt, which is where we compare their sound to Pavement covering The Smiths. Here, the songs are wistful and melancholy, all cloudy skied and fading afternoon light, when the songs rock, they almost sound new wavey, or even post rocky, like the soaring majesty of "Carless", keening soaring swirls of melody and frenetic drumming, all driven by Joy Division like basslines, and when they don't rock, they're wistful gems like "Sleep Apnea", all shuffling drums, chiming acoustic guitars, little flurries of effects heavy melody, and reverbed sad boy vox.
Some songs unfurl dreamily, in the shadow of mournful strings, others are propulsive and a little bit garage-y, and others are straight up retro pop jangle, and still others are crunchy and fuzzy and almost shoegazey, a few even have a distinctly Interpol vibe (check out "Caustic Cross"), and a bunch definitely remind us of Unrest and that old Teenbeat sound, which is most definitely a very good thing. But without fail, all of the tracks here are lush and lovely, lilting and hook heavy, catchy and dreamy, and again pretty goddamn irresistible.
MPEG Stream: "Clash The Truth"
MPEG Stream: "Generational Synthetic"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep Apnea"
MPEG Stream: "Careless"
MPEG Stream: "Caustic Cross"

BEACH FOSSILS Face It / Distance (Captured Tracks) 7" 6.98
A new short and sweet batch of dreamy breezy jangle pop from Beach Fossils, and like their self-titled debut, the sound here is warm and lush, sweet and swirly, laid back and jangly, the guitars liquid and prismatic, the vocals lazy and drawled, all wrapped around propulsive super melodic basslines and simple skeletal drum machines, and while the sound is somewhat familiar, seeing as Beach Fossils are swimming in a pretty crowded sonic pool these days, Beach Fossils manage to easily transcend, their sound somehow special and truly unique, the songs so catchy, so ethereal and magically melodic, boy / girl vocal harmonies drifting over softly surfy Beach Boys reverby guitars and tangled tendrils of melody, the production impossibly lush, the A side so perfectly poppy, but then the B side swooping in to maybe be our favorite of the two. So good, fans of all things reverby and jangly, blissy and poppy, will dig big time.
MPEG Stream: "Face It"

BEACH FOSSILS s/t (Captured Tracks) cd 13.98
Sometimes the stars just align so perfectly. The first time we got to hear Beach Fossils it was a breezy and sunny afternoon. The front door was wide open, the wind gently blowing through the trees outside, and the songs we were hearing couldn't have provided a more perfect soundtrack. Beach Fossils is a one man band, and there definitely seem to be legions of those these days. But damn, if folks can keep creating songs as good as these alone in their bedrooms, then we say who needs a full band! Beach Fossils stands out from so much of the recent lo-fi indie garage pop, being not so much about feedback and distortion and low fidelity. Instead, it's the amazing songs on the record that grab your attention. Lazy day, dazed & glazed pop gems that remind us of a wonderful sound situated perfectly betwixt Kurt Vile and Pavement.
There is something so authentic and fresh sounding in Beach Fossils' music. It compels us to let go and immediately give in to the soft breezes that seem to accompany the soaring washed out melodies on display here. Major contender for pop record of the year perhaps, and without a doubt another PERFECT summer album!
MPEG Stream: "Sometimes"
MPEG Stream: "Youth"
MPEG Stream: "Lazy Day"

BEACH FOSSILS s/t (Captured Tracks) lp 16.98
Sometimes the stars just align so perfectly. The first time we got to hear Beach Fossils it was a breezy and sunny afternoon. The front door was wide open, the wind gently blowing through the trees outside, and the songs we were hearing couldn't have provided a more perfect soundtrack. Beach Fossils is a one man band, and there definitely seem to be legions of those these days. But damn, if folks can keep creating songs as good as these alone in their bedrooms, then we say who needs a full band! Beach Fossils stands out from so much of the recent lo-fi indie garage pop, being not so much about feedback and distortion and low fidelity. Instead, it's the amazing songs on the record that grab your attention. Lazy day, dazed & glazed pop gems that remind us of a wonderful sound situated perfectly betwixt Kurt Vile and Pavement.
There is something so authentic and fresh sounding in Beach Fossils' music. It compels us to let go and immediately give in to the soft breezes that seem to accompany the soaring washed out melodies on display here. Major contender for pop record of the year perhaps, and without a doubt another PERFECT summer album!
MPEG Stream: "Sometimes"
MPEG Stream: "Youth"
MPEG Stream: "Lazy Day"