BAD ACID The Burnout Issue (Tabs 10,11,12) 3 x dvd-r + mini-magazine 27.00
Sad sad news, UK underground heavy/spacey/metallic/psychedelic magazine/compilation Bad Acid is no more. Longtime readers of the aQ list have no doubt enjoyed an issue or two (or three or four) of this sprawling publication, a combination printed zine, and computerized PDF zine, complete with an audio component that usually clocks in at at least 12 hours, sometimes twice that. It's been 10 years, and Bad Acid editor Dave Gedge has a family, and kids, has been losing money (magazines, even ones as amazing as Bad Acid are most definitely a labor of love) and furthermore is a Buddhist, so in addition to simplifying his life, Gedge has simply been burnt out, which is why this final salvo is called The Burnout Issue. And this final issue is the only bit of silver lining, but WHAT a silver lining it is. This final issue is in fact, THREE issues, #10, #11 and #12, and while the printed part might be the most minimal yet, it's more than made up for by the contents of the 3 dvd-r's. This time, the magazine itself is more of an index, as it takes EIGHT pages, in tiny text, to list all the bands and songs and videos and interviews and articles.
As usual, it's split into sections, the first is the PDF magazine, accompanied by music from each band as well as a review of the band's most recent record. Some of the bands in the magazine this time around: Carlton Melton, Aluk Todolo, Bong, Plastic Crimewave Sound, Sylvester Anfang, Residual Echoes, White Hills, Der Blutharsch, GNOD, Jazzfinger, Grey Daturas, Hooded Menace, Necro Deathmort, The Gates Of Slumber, Flood, The Wounded Kings, Full Blown Expansion, Hey Colossus, Ancestral, Isis, Pelican, Scott Kelly of Neurosis, Sutcliffe Jugend, The Accused, Inade, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Atomic Bitchwax, Snail, The Twilight Sad, Ramesses, Ufomammut, Witchsorrow, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, Slomatics, Root, Nordvargr, Antonius Rex, Russian Circles, Centurions Ghost, Nebula, Freedom Hawk, Steve Von Till of Neurosis, Leeches Of Lore, Dianogah, Sardonis, Torche, Turzi, Ancestors, L'Acephale, and loads more, including TONS of bands we had never heard of.
The second section is the interviews, and features Meads Of Asphodel, Nadja, Expo 70, Centurions Ghost, Vincent Black Shadow, Gnaw, Unearthly Trance, At War With False Noise, Old Corpse Road, Alice Donut, and more! The next section features label profiles of Denovali, Rocket and Future Noise, featuring loads of recordings from lots of bands on each label.
Then there's a section of bonus audio, with still more tracks, including jams from Sundial, B*Tong, Disappears, Fire Witch, Realmbuilder, Jex Thoth, White Buzz, Rich Hoak, Loscil, Jonas Reinhardt, Fauna, Big City Orchestra, and once again, a whole mess of bands we've never heard.
There's also a bunch of videos, by Total Fucking Destruction, White Hills, Psychofagist and a bunch more, some short films as well, and finally, a section of bonus MP4's, featuring promo videos from Expo 70 and others, and more short films and live footage.
Phew! It's epic and sprawling, and is equal parts rad bands you know and new discoveries. Way recommended for anyone who likes music AT ALL. But definitely Bad Acid leans toward the heavy and the psychedelic and the left of center. So yeah, obviously WAY recommend, and while Bad Acid will continue on in a different, bloggier, form, it just won't be the same, so you best buy this final issue of Bad Acid and add it to that shelf of magazines you keep and treasure and reread...

BAD BOY MADE GOOD: THE REVIVAL OF GEORGE ANTHEIL'S 1924 BALLET MECHANIQUE A Film By Ron Frank And Paul D. Lehrman (EMF Media) 2dvd 55.00
One of the most infamous pieces of music of the twentieth century and a long time AQ favorite, is the Ballet Mechanique, composed by George Antheil, a piece composed for 16 synchronized player pianos, seven electric bells, a siren, two human played pianos, an array of percussion and three airplane propellors. The strange thing is it was never played or recorded or performed the way Antheil envisioned it. Due mostly to the fact that at the time of its composition it was essentially unplayable, as many of the elements in the piece would not even exist until after Antheil had died (MIDI, computers, etc.).
This documentary is a fascinating portrait of the composer's life, his revolutionary compositions, his 'bad boy' reputation, his time in Paris hanging out with Stravinsky, his circle of friends which included Hemingway, Picasso, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, but it's mostly the story of the Ballet Mechanique, and how, for the very first time, forty years after it was created, it was properly performed, with every element present, and a sound as close to Antheil's original vision as had ever been realized.
The sound of the piece, even on the cd version we had a few years back, is INSANE, cacophonous, wild, intense, freaked out and so impossibly intense, and the story of Antheil, and his journey to the place in his life where he could come up with such a visionary sound, and the actual piece itself with all of the components in place and a sound even bigger and weirder and wilder and even more strangely beautiful, is an absolute wonder to behold.
Two discs, the first features the documentary, the second disc contains the entire premiere performance of the original orchestration of the Ballet Mechanique, extended interviews with Antheil's friends featured in the film, and the 1925 Ballet Mechanique film, complete with the newly realized version of Antheil's score. Amazing!

BAD BRAINS Black Dots (Caroline) cd 15.98
In case you missed it on our mystery themed in-between list last week, something we reviewed just for that, for the first time...
It's pretty much acknowledged that Bad Brains are one of the most influential American bands of the 20th century, having blown the minds of every young hardcore band in the D.C. and New York scenes and beyond. Their sound went way further than just "punk" or "rock", blending jazz, fusion, and reggae into something that defies simple classification. While most people might be familiar with the group from their godly self-titled debut and after, Black Dots collects early material recorded at the then fledgling Inner Ear Studios from a session in 1979. The studio at that point was in owner/engineer Don Zientara's basement, with band members situated inside while H.R. did his thing in the backyard. It's easy to imagine how cramped things were, but between song banter reveals a band in good spirits as they tear the living fuck out of their early material. Bad Brains in '79 weren't as fast, distorted, and manic as they would become, but the chemistry is still totally unbelievable, sounding both loose and ridiculously tight at the same time. And even with modest recording gear the band sounds HUGE. This looser style works particularly well for their reggae numbers, always a point of contention with many fans. These recordings almost sound like some hyper charged group from the 60s taking things into new worlds. Not many bands could sound this bad ass while also sounding like they are having the most fun ever - but I guess if you wrote songs like "Pay To Cum", "Regulator", "Banned In D.C.", "Attitude" and everything else here, you'd also be having the best time ever. Loads of personality with this band (check out H.R.'s hilarious kiss off of "Bye, Celeste" at the end of "Red Bone In The City", their reworking of "God Save The Queen"), it's completely easy to see why they were such a force to be reckoned with. They were just different. Better. And again, completely bad ass. There's almost no point in going on with this review, sure you'll have some people who prefer what Bad Brians became, but others will tell you that music kind of doesn't get any better than this, stripped to its bare form. Whatever the case, it all leads to the same recommendation: ESSENTIAL.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Need It"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Bother Me"
MPEG Stream: "How Low Can A Punk Get?"

BAD BRAINS Black Dots (Caroline) lp 12.98
In case you missed it on our mystery themed in-between list last week, something we reviewed just for that, for the first time...
It's pretty much acknowledged that Bad Brains are one of the most influential American bands of the 20th century, having blown the minds of every young hardcore band in the D.C. and New York scenes and beyond. Their sound went way further than just "punk" or "rock", blending jazz, fusion, and reggae into something that defies simple classification. While most people might be familiar with the group from their godly self-titled debut and after, Black Dots collects early material recorded at the then fledgling Inner Ear Studios from a session in 1979. The studio at that point was in owner/engineer Don Zientara's basement, with band members situated inside while H.R. did his thing in the backyard. It's easy to imagine how cramped things were, but between song banter reveals a band in good spirits as they tear the living fuck out of their early material. Bad Brains in '79 weren't as fast, distorted, and manic as they would become, but the chemistry is still totally unbelievable, sounding both loose and ridiculously tight at the same time. And even with modest recording gear the band sounds HUGE. This looser style works particularly well for their reggae numbers, always a point of contention with many fans. These recordings almost sound like some hyper charged group from the 60s taking things into new worlds. Not many bands could sound this bad ass while also sounding like they are having the most fun ever - but I guess if you wrote songs like "Pay To Cum", "Regulator", "Banned In D.C.", "Attitude" and everything else here, you'd also be having the best time ever. Loads of personality with this band (check out H.R.'s hilarious kiss off of "Bye, Celeste" at the end of "Red Bone In The City", their reworking of "God Save The Queen"), it's completely easy to see why they were such a force to be reckoned with. They were just different. Better. And again, completely bad ass. There's almost no point in going on with this review, sure you'll have some people who prefer what Bad Brians became, but others will tell you that music kind of doesn't get any better than this, stripped to its bare form. Whatever the case, it all leads to the same recommendation: ESSENTIAL.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Need It"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Bother Me"
MPEG Stream: "How Low Can A Punk Get?"

BAD BRAINS Build A Nation (Oscilloscope) cd 14.98
We really didn't have very expectations for this one as most big time punk reunion records have been pretty dismal and depressing. But we're happy to report that this is not bad at all, in fact it's pretty damn good! With the original lineup together and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys on production duties, Build A Nation was recorded like the good old days, right to tape. Of course nothing Bad Brains could do will ever replicate the fire and intensity of their legendary ROIR debut, but this is for sure better then any of their releases in the '90s. Going back to their roots the record finds a nice balance of punk rock songs and HR's love of roots reggae and offers up a much less metallic slant then their last several discs. You can tell that Adam Yauch put a lot of love and care into recording his heroes and he really was able to get a sound from the band that represents so much of the best parts of who they are. Any self-respecting punk/punk-lover knows that Bad Brains are one of the most important bands in the history of American Hardcore so it's very nice to hear a new record from them that kicks serious ass...
MPEG Stream: "Build A Nation"
MPEG Stream: "Jah Love"

BAD BRAINS I Against I (SST) cd 16.98

BAD BRAINS Live At CBGB 1982 (MVD Visuals) dvd 16.98
Bad Brains were (are?) arguably the greatest hardcore band of all time, and this collection of killer footage from three consecutive nights of shows way back in 1982 definitively demonstrate what a powerhouse they were. 1982 was indeed a good year for H.R. and the boys for sure, and by the looks of the crowd bounding all over the stage -at times it's hard pick out the actual band members -- they can do no wrong.
The dreads may still short at this stage, and yes, there are a few Rasta soliloquies here and there, but for the most part, the mosh level stays high. Frontman H.R. is always in command, staking out his little portion of the stage, and while axeman Dr. Know is still developing his craft, even back then, he was already blowing minds. And it sure is pretty weird to see the bald white kids skanking around to the stony-Jah riddums... But that's part of what made Bad Brains so bad ass. It's a very racially diverse crowd and everyone seems to be there to mosh or skank and not to fight or fuck shit up. Which is pretty cool.
The footage itself has a wonderful quality to it, especially for the era, the audio is good and it seems as though the video was compiled using the best songs from each of the three nights at CBGB. You can't go wrong with this, and we'd be hard pressed not to recommend this as CRUCIAL to your '80s hardcore video archive.

BAD BRAINS Quickness (SST) cd 12.98

BAD BRAINS Rock For Light (SST) cd 12.98

BAD BRAINS s/t (ROIR) lp 15.98

BAD DUDES Eat Drugs (Kill Shaman) lp 14.98

BAD DUDES s/t (Brain Burger) cd 14.98
Oh man, these Bad Dudes will for sure push all your smart alecky, manic prog, fuzzy synth, indie pop, angular art metal buttons and then some. Imagine the Champs, Upsilon Acrux, XRBXR, Zebulon Pike, Pinback, and Behold The Arctopus, in a dark alley, ready to rumble, armed only with synths, drum machines, gameboys, dayglo metal guitars, lots of zippers and wristbands, and of course vocoders. The resulting bloodshed sounds a bit like Rob Crow fronting Mr. Bungle, while they hold a new wave dance competition in the room next door. Wild and weird and fun and funny and a little bit confusing but in a good way!
MPEG Stream: "Megasquid"
MPEG Stream: "Xombie"
MPEG Stream: "Rum Siero"

BAD GRID The War On Huh? (Public) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The War On Huh? is the first full length from Bad Grid (aka Mark Nemeth and Paul Brown) and it's comprised of a baker's dozen lo-fi, electronic pop/rock songs laden with socio-political commentary on "Generals And CEOs", "Barbara Bush" and "Radical Republicans" with plenty of newsreel soundbites (unfortunately they've included a bunch of already way too over-played Bush clips). The vocals are delivered in a low, somewhat sullen speak-sing style reminiscent of Daniel Ash. As a result their statements in songs such as "Solution Song" and "Enjoy Your Life" occasionally come across as somewhat passive or defeatist rather than rallying. May seem a bit contradictory, but they get their message across -- raising awareness while keepin' things downbeat.
MPEG Stream: "Evidence Song"
MPEG Stream: "Enjoy Your Life"

BAD LIVERS Dust On The Bible (1/4 Stick) cd 13.98
Long out of print cassette-only release on CD for the first time! Not as punk as their other stuff, Dust on the Bible is decidedly gospel with fiddle, tuba, and accordion. Excellent.

BAD LIVERS Industry & Thrift (Sugar Hill) cd 15.98
Twangy fingerpickin' bluegrass punk rockers, this Austin duo play their own brand of hillbilly boogie, like the Squirrel Nut Zippers if they were country, not swing. Banjoriffic!

BAD NEWS s/t (Rampage/Rhino) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is one of the funniest records ever. Now, my coworkers might disagree, having been forced to hear this cd two and sometimes three times a day, but trust me.
The Young Ones was a wickedly funny confrontational sort of sketch comedy show in England, starring, a punk, a hippy, a new waver/square, and a business man. Really Funny.
After that show ended, 3/4 of the stars started the Comic Strip, another sketch comedy show. Bad News is from two episodes of the Comic Strip that focused on the Heavy Metal band Bad News.
This is like a foul mouthed mean spirited take on Spinal Tap. If you remember the Young Ones, I'm sure you can imagine what those guys, playing the world's shittiest heavy metal band would sound like.
Songs, interspersed with argument after argument after fist fight after failed attempt at making 'scary woodland sounds' after shouting match after argument. It is so relentless you can barely take it after an hour. Any one who is into Longmont Potion Castle or the Great Phone Calls record or Jon Wayne (the band) or Spinal Tap will love Bad News. Plus, if you can, rent the video, which is just as funny as the cd. You get to see Bad News actually perform at a British Metal festival, and get pelted with bottles and eventually beaten to a pulp, as well as all your favorite metal stars (Ozzy, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Lemmy) talking about how much Bad News suck. Soooooooo recommended.

BAD NEWS s/t (EMI) cd 12.98
Let's just go on the record and say, that British comedy is far superior to American comedy. Especially in the realm of the ultra-uncomfortable. Love Curb Your Enthusiasm? Just wait until you check out Peep Show. Can't get enough of the Office? Well the British original is way funnier, and WAY more brutal. And you haven't even begun to feel massive gloriously hilarious discomfort until you've seen Alan Partridge (review of the series DVD elsewhere on the AQ site).
But way back when, the Brits were already showing us a thing or too, with the utterly amazing, very DIY, and funny as fuck Young Ones, finding its way to American TV in the '80s... the tale of a hippy, a 'mod', a punk, and a creepy money obsessed shyster, all living in a run down house together, with a talking hamster, an insane landlord, and bands like the Damned or Madness showing up every week to rock out in the living room. After the Young Ones dissolved, the punk, the hippy and the mod went on to the long running meta-sketch comedy show The Comic Strip. Super smart and sharp, but not afraid of being really really dumb once in a while (but in a really smart way).
Hence we have Bad News. The worst heavy metal band you've never heard. Taking the whole Spinal Tap thing in a much more dismal, depressing, volatile and gut busting direction. Culled from two episodes of The Comic Strip, the disc captures all of their 'hits' as well as track after track after track of the band bickering and even physically abusing each other.
As if you couldn't tell already, this is one of the funniest records ever. EVER! And unlike lots of 'joke' musical projects, the songs are completely kick ass. In fact the song "Drink Till I Die" sounds like some lost Motorhead B-side. Hell, A-side even.
They do a painfully bad version of "Bohemian Rhapsody", a Christmas single, and a handful of amazing originals, like their theme song "Bad News" and the super kick ass "Warriors Of Ghengis Khan". But the songs, as good and as funny as they are, are merely musical interludes for the fighting that comes between. And the cool thing, is it's not just clips from the show, it's band meetings, aborted recording sessions (including an amazing bit where they spend forever trying to make 'scary woodland sounds', resulting in one of them moo-ing like a cow, and yet another fight ensues since 'cows are not scary or evil'), confrontations over who re-recorded whose parts, lots of screaming and yelling and tons of profanity. It's intense and brutal and so goddamn funny. It's so relentless you can barely take it after an hour. Any one who is into Longmont Potion Castle or the Great Phone Calls record or Jon Wayne (the band) or Spinal Tap will love Bad News. Plus, if you can, rent the video, which is just as funny as the cd. You get to see Bad News actually perform at a British Metal festival, and get pelted with bottles and eventually beaten to a pulp, as well as all your favorite metal stars (Ozzy, Scorpions, Def Leppard, Lemmy) talking about how much Bad News suck.
Soooooooo goddamn funny and amazing and essential.
MPEG Stream: "Drink Till I Die"
MPEG Stream: "Excalibur"
MPEG Stream: "Warriors Of Ghengis Khan"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Dreams"

BAD PARTY Coming Out Slowly (Animal Disguise) lp 13.98
From the same label that brought us the minimal hypnotic pummel of Mammal, and the shrill doomic psych sludge of Cadaver In Drag, comes Bad Party, another hateful noise drenched sonic assault on the senses.
This duo though takes a whole 'nother angle, kicking up a serious din of shitty programmed drum machine, huge moaning buzzing bass, yowled snotty vocals and sheets of squealing feedback. Falling somewhere between Big Black, Suicide and the Brainbombs, these two spew stripped down mechanical garage jams, a fuzzed out lo-fi party ruining stomp, minimal and stripped down, but still noisy as fuck, the lyrics nasty and mean and pretty fucking funny, woven into the lurching grooves and the almost new wave bass lines.
Some tracks get extra murky and grungy, while others sound almost well produced, but even at their cleanest (which is not all that clean at all) the proceedings are still showered in shrieking high end, and that awesome fuck-you caterwaul, you can almost picture these guys shirtless in huge stiletto heels and furs, trashing the stage with just a bass and a crappy old synth, sunglasses, booze and coke, and a cadre of ill behaved hangers on. Bad party indeed. Trashy and noisy and fucked up and fun. As long as it's not your party. Recommended.

BAD PLUS, THE For All I Care (Heads Up) cd 17.98

BAD PLUS, THE Give (Columbia) cd 16.98
Hadn't heard too much about the Bad Plus other than the ususal "They're that weird jazz group that does weird covers." A bit of an oversimplification perhaps, but yeah, the Bad Plus are a weird jazz group, and they do indeed perform lots of unlikely covers. But beyond that, they are a super original, super fucked up, totally original, post-bop jazz weird-rock hybrid. Which makes them a bit hard to pin down. They are definitely too weird and 'rock' to appeal to jazz snobs, but they have some serious jazz chops, serious enough that it definitely alienates a lot of the jazz-phobic among us. Which is too bad, because they are simply amazing. Splattery percussion is all over the place, skittering delicately one moment, crashing and pounding the next, matched by deep, throbbing upright bass, and wild mayhemic piano. Their originals show a firm grasp of the classics, but their choice of covers demonstrates a band history rich in indie and hard rock. In the past they have covered Blondie, Nirvana and Aphex Twin. This time around they take on Ornette Coleman's "Street Woman", as well as the Pixies' "Velouria", which gets deconstructed into a persistent throbbing pulse (that folks in the store mistook for an upstairs neighbor stomping around) with the song's unmistakable melody stretched out into a classical fugue, that eventually gives way to a weirdly funky free-bop workout. But the album's finest moment may just be their verison of Sabbath's "Iron Man", in which an out of tune piano intro gives way to a sludgy, jazzy dirge, surprisingly heavy, and weirdly chaotic and confusional. Part way through they unexpectedly change from minor key to major key, turning that classic metal riff into some sort of strange fanfare, all pomp and bluster, at once totally unlike the original, but at the same time you can imagine, maybe in some other dimension, the major key version being THE version. And that's what makes the Bad Plus so good, their ability to trample all over sacred ground, be it rock, or jazz, or uncoverable covers, but to do it in such a way that we end up thinking the muddy trampled ground, footprints, dead flowers and all, is almost superior to the cherished original.
MPEG Stream: "1979 Semi-Finalist"
MPEG Stream: "Cheney Pinata"

BAD PLUS, THE Prog (Heads Up) cd 17.98

MPEG Stream: "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
MPEG Stream: "Tom Sawyer"
MPEG Stream: "Physical Cities"

BAD PLUS, THE Suspicious Activity? (Columbia) cd 17.98
It's really easy for a band to be overshadowed by its gimmick, be it crazy makeup, wacky song titles, insane pyrotechnics, setting your drums up backwards at the front of the stage or whatever. A band has to really have the songs and the sound to keep their chosen gimmick in check. With L.A.'s acoustic free jazz combo The Bad Plus, it's their choice of covers. I mean, what proper jazz band would dare tackle songs by Blondie, Nirvana, Aphex Twin, the Pixies and Black Sabbath? Well, none actually. And since the Bad Plus is not a proper jazz group it works out just fine. Piano, bass and drums, all acoustic. From dark and minor key smokey simmer, to chaotic, splattery post bop freakout, to almost Neu!-like krautrock workouts to lush expansive jazz flecked soundscapes, these guys somehow manage to sound totally traditional and utterly fucked up at the same time. The bizarre cover this time around is Vangelis' "(Theme From) Chariots Of Fire" which the Bad Plus smash into a million little free jazz pieces, stick back together seemingly haphazardly, using just the original melody as the glue, as sputtering spastic percussive squalls rain down on manic piano runs and rumbling throbbing basslines, while that impossibly unforgettable melody creeps and skips and slinks in between. If you had never heard the Vangelis original, you'd think it was just the catchiest, weirdest wildest most perfect slab of freaked out jazz ever. Thankfully the originals play just as well, densely layered, ultra complex, wildly playful and darkly melodic, veering all over the jazz spectrum as well as careening occasionally way outside the realms of anything remotely jazzlike. Booklet includes an exclusive original comic strip from David Rees (Get Your War On). And definitely catch 'em live if you can, supposedly they're even wilder and weirder and likely to whip out even more ridiculous covers!
MPEG Stream: "Prehensile Dream"
MPEG Stream: "(Theme From) Chariots Of Fire"

BAD RELIGION New Maps Of Hell (Epitaph) cd 14.98

BAD RELIGION Process Of Belief (Epitaph) cd 15.98
Yet another one of Andee's guilty pleasures (hard to believe there can be so many). Bad Religion record number 341 or something, and while it's nowhere as good as 'Suffer' or 'Against The Grain' (both are completely amazing), the sound is still quite similar so there is a lot to like here. The only real change is much more melody, a bit less speed, and one of the most elaborate sleeves/cd booklets we have ever seen (especially for a 'punk' record).
RealAudio clip: "Supersonic"
RealAudio clip: "Prove It"

BAD RELIGION The Empire Strikes First (Epitaph) cd 14.98

BAD RELIGION The New America (Atlantic) cd 16.98
The newest offering from this 'intelligent' punk band. And while not their best record, certainly their best sounding (thanks to a sparkling and fairly creative Todd Rundgren production). They still remain head and shoulders above most pop punk bands. Catchy songs, hooks, and occasionally hyper-literate lyrics. It must suck to have helped define a genre, and then wake up one day, fifteen years later, opening for Blink 182. They deserve better.

BAD SECTOR + TOMMASO LISA Reset / Rebis Perferiche (Old Europa Cafe) cd / book / 3"cd 24.00

BAD SECTOR / CONTAGIOUS ORGASM Vacuum Pulse (Old Europa Cafe) cd 15.98
"Vacuum Pulse" is a collaborative effort between Japan's Contagious Orgasm and Italy's Bad Sector, both of whom have extensive catalogues of post-industrial rumblings. This was originally a cassette from Old Europa Cafe, who fortunately issued this again in a digital format with two extra collaborative tracks. Bad Sector's sound is typified by slow Wagnerian melodic progressions creeping out of tense John Duncan-esque data-crunched drones. Contagious Orgasm prefers to lace processed authoritative speech patterns with Eraserhead radiator sounds. Their collaborative efforts sounds a lot like a louder Main without as much bass and with a gilded aura surrounding all of the work.

BAD STATISTICS Lucky Town Gone (Pseudo Arcana) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Awesome! We'd been waiting and wanting more from New Zealand's bizarre Bad Statistics ever since we got their vinyl-only debut, Static, last year. In addition to thinking they had a really excellent band name, we loved the doomic, droning weirdness of their propulsive krauty NZ noiserock, made even weirder by the utter outsider vocal garble that arose over their ritualistic music, like spirits or specters seemingly summoned from the other side. Now, huzzah, there's this new full-length, an actual cd on the Pseudo-Arcana label, and it pretty much picks up where the LP left off! 47 and a half minutes more of mysterious musical ceremony, Bad Statistics style, on these seven tracks. Again, the vocals (produced from the throat of one Thebis Mutante) are really strange, unhinged alien hippy rant-chant, like Ya Ho Wah's Father Yod speaking in tongues, sometimes looped and layered. Together with the throbbing drum beats, distorted electronic textures from guitar and bass, and hollow horn bleat and twitter on a track or two, you have the basic tempel-vibrating template for Bad Statistics' repetitive, rumbling, mesmerizing murk. Best listened to from a yogic position of spiritual openness, legs crossed, mind clear, third eye unblinking. Though, at their loudest, most intense chugging psychrock peaks, some vigorous rocking back and forth will be called for, maybe even full-on writhing on the floor.
Let's take the 13-minute title track as an example... it's moaningly eased into, the percussive plod slow and sparse, but after a short while Thebis cries out quite like Can's Damo Suzuki, and the pace picks up, cymbals crashing... before another long droning lull with whistling and mumbling drifting over the slo-mo chug of the guitars and drums... then towards the very end, the singer suddenly seems possessed, his voice dropping into a guttural exhortations, the din of the instruments rising into a psychedelic swirling howl... welcome to the reverse exorcism!!
Imagine the kosmic-kraut-primitivism of early Amon Duul, Tangerine Dream, or Siloah, with Circle's Mika Ratto as voice coach, encouraging Yod x Yoko vocal vibrations. Or the linear lo-fi insanity of a secret Dead C meets Reynols monster jam, if directed towards the worship of some ancient god, recorded on cheap cassette only as an afterthought. Yeah. It's pretty much awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Balloon Outbreak"
MPEG Stream: "Three Swarms Of Bees"

BAD STATISTICS Static ((K-RAA-K)3) lp 13.98
One of our favorite new records of late, comes to us all the way from New Zealand, but via Belgium (where their label, long time AQ faves Kraak are based). A mysterious troupe called Bad Statistics, their debut a two song vinyl only EPIC. Equal parts droney noise rock, propulsive krautrock, and even some weird sort-of-doom. Drenched in swirls of chaotic FX and a blown out in-the-red recording, that manages to be fierce and murky at the same time.
Each track takes up a whole side and is given plenty of time to change shape and direction, sound and spirit, transforming gradually, but managing to remain hypnotic and blissed out. The A side, begins as a doomy plod, but with clean guitars instead of downtuned distorted ones, the drums spare, and all manner of weird demon-y vocals, a sort of post rocky crawl. Eventually, synths join the fray, and along with the drums, they lock into a looped cyclical groove, over which, still more strange vocals croon and moan. And we're talking REALLY strange, mewling moaning howling weirdness. The music sounds like some spaced out Tangerine Dream, the drums a constant pound way down in the mix, the synths pulsing and throbbing, the vocals though turn it into some damaged outsider space jam. At one point the synths drop out and the vocals go crazy, sounding like they're speaking in tongues, before the band kick back in, launching into a fierce Hawkwind style FX drenched psychrock outro that goes on forever.
The second track is even better, and one of our favorite songs of the year hands down. A gorgeously blown out dirge, the guitars so hot they crumble with every downbeat, the recording super distorted and raw, but the melody and the main riff are super gorgeous, catchy and minor key, the track relaxes briefly, spreading out into a glitchy ambient murmur, over which guitars shimmer, little bits of electronics flutter, and the bass holds it all together with a simple dreamy groove. Very krautrocky, and a bit like a more lo-fi noiserock Necks. The track shifts constantly over the next ten minutes or so, to weird doomy twang, with gorgeous majestic riffing, thick bass chords, and some shapeless falsetto vocals, then to a super distorted psychdrone freakout, replete with chiming guitar harmonics, and a pulsing throbbing rhythm buried beneath a layer of crunchy buzz, then to a sunbaked space jam, all open chords, simple drumming, more shapeless vox, and finally to a washed out krautrock dirge, peppered with bits of backwards percussion, garbled voices, reverse guitar, and jagged chunks of crumbling distortion, until the whole thing slowly burns to black.
Sorry to everyone without a turntable, but this just may be the blown out space psych doom kraut jam of the year!!
MPEG Stream: "Static One (Excerpt)"
MPEG Stream: "Static Two (Excerpt)"

BAD STREET BOY Bad Power (Pharma Rec) cd 15.98
The hyperbolic sonic aggresion of Panacea is set aside for this side project dedicated to riding the new electro wave. Angular old-school robobeats, as heard on the amazing Electro Non-Stop compilation of a few months back.

BAD TIMES s/t (Sympathy For the Record Industry) cd 14.98
This is Eric Oblivian (Oblivians), Jay Reatard (Reatards, Lost Sounds), and King Louie Bankston (Persuaders, King Louie One Man Band, Royal Pendletons). They got together to record an album of songs they had worked up in their individual "bad times" outside of their regular bands. All three met in New Orleans for one day of practice and one day of recording. Totally fuzzed out fucked up lo-fi madness. Punky and Stoogesy, a wild and chaotic messy party.
RealAudio clip: "Over You"
RealAudio clip: "Momma Told Me So"

BAD TRIPS Open (Rocketship) lp 15.98

BAD TRIPS Open (Rocketship) lp 15.98

BAD TRIPS, THE s/t (Rocketship) lp 15.98

BADABOOM GRAMAPHONE issue #4 magazine + cd 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Huge (176 page) book-like zine. This issue's theme: folk music. Thus, reviews of weird & wonderful "folk" albums from around the world. Plus, Jim O'Rourke interviewing the Royal Trux, an essay on Nico, an interview with The Ex, a talk with Samoth of black metallers Emperor (!) and lots of other weirdness. The free cd compilation it comes with includes exclusive tracks from Pearls Before Swine, Six Organs of Admittance, Simon Joyner, Spires of Oxford, Cannanes, Richard Davies, and many more. Wow! Highly recommended, as always.

BADAWI Safe (Asphodel) cd 14.98
Some of you might be familiar with Raz Mesinai from his work with the illbient/ambient dub project Sub Dub. If so you know that he has this great ability to get to eerie places in the music he creates. Growing up in Jerusalem he spent many of his formative years around Bedouins and really really latching onto their musical stylings. Then studying with dervish sheik Murshid Hassan he became a master of Middle Eastern drumming excelling in the playing of everything from bendir to zarb to darbukka. Meanwhile, he also studied extensively with folk musician and Hasidic rabbi Harov Shlomo Carlebach. All this background info really sets the stage for this outing as Badawai. The underlying tension in his homeland is no doubt a constant fuel for his music. Taking from both Palestinian and Jewish traditions he creates songs that are loaded with suspense and sizzle under the surface. With an amazing ensemble including Eyvind Kang, Marc Ribot and Mark Feldman the result is darn near flawless. It might just be a matter of moments before Mesani is snagged by a big film studio because we can't think of anyone better suited to score films filled with drama, mystery, suspense and horror. Wow.
MPEG Stream: "Etheric Uprise"
MPEG Stream: "Safe"

BADGERLORE Stories For Owls (Free Porcupine Society) cd 14.98
What do you get when you take Tom Carter of Charalambides, Ben Chasny of Six Organs Of Admittance, Pete Swanson of the Yellow Swans and Rob Fisk of Seven Year Rabbit Cycle? The curiously monickered Badgerlore actually, who manage to take the disparate sounds of all the contributors and weave them into a rich thick sonic soup of fuzzed out psychedelic soundscapes, haunting disembodied falsetto vocals, urgently strummed acoustic guitars, keening minor key melodies, and darkly ominous rumbles and whirs, all beneath a thick haze of speaker hiss, staticky grit, warm thick reverb, fuzzy instrument buzz and atmospheric shimmer. So lovely. Packaged in beautiful hand screened / yellow ink sleeves.
MPEG Stream: "Stone Stick Earth Brick"
MPEG Stream: "String Wrist"

BADGERLORE Stories For Owls (Yik Yak) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What do you get when you take Tom Carter of Charalambides, Ben Chasny of Six Organs Of Admittance, Pete Swanson of the Yellow Swans and Rob Fisk of Seven Year Rabbit Cycle? The curiously monickered Badgerlore actually, who manage to take the disparate sounds of all the contributors and weave them into a rich thick sonic soup of fuzzed out psychedelic soundscapes, haunting disembodied falsetto vocals, urgently strummed acoustic guitars, keening minor key melodies, and darkly ominous rumbles and whirs, all beneath a thick haze of speaker hiss, staticky grit, warm thick reverb, fuzzy instrument buzz and atmospheric shimmer. So lovely. Packaged in beautiful hand screened / metallic ink sleeves.
MPEG Stream: "Stone Stick Earth Brick"
MPEG Stream: "String Wrist"

BADGERLORE We Are All Hopeful Farmers, We Are All Scared Rabbits (Xeric) cd 16.98
A welcome and wonderful follow up to the debut Badgerlore record from a couple years back. This time out Rob Fisk (7 Year Rabbit Cycle), Tom Carter (Charlambides), Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance, Comets On Fire), and Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans) add Glen Donaldson (Blithe Sons, Skygreen Leopards) and Liz Harris (Grouper) into the stew, creating hazy and blurry meditations that sound like some perfect cosmic meeting of the most ghostly moments of Loren Mazzacane Connors and the earthly explorations of The Jeweled Antler set. It's almost as if you can hear the sounds of the mud and the moon on this album as there is such a prevailing sense of nature intertwining with the outerworld. Grouper's sensibility is felt in a really nice way, adding wonderful layers of delay and mystique to the already mysterious surroundings. One of those records that perfectly fills that mysterious gap somewhere between waking and sleeping. Whispers of guitars, voices off in the distance, rumblings you can't totally place. It all feels like some weird fever dream where you can't really make out what's happening but you can't imagine being anywhere else, enthralled and blissfully entranced...
MPEG Stream: "The Crops That You Tend"
MPEG Stream: "Mountain Wine"
MPEG Stream: "Duet"

BADLY DRAWN BOY About A Boy (Original Soundtrack) (XL Recordings) cd 16.98
Once Byram brought it to our attention that Mr. Damon Gough sounds remarkably like a rather chipper Elliott Smith, we couldn't hear these songs as being sung by anyone but! Check out the songs "Something To Talk About" or "River Sea Ocean" if you wanna hear for yourself what we're talking about. So if you've been craving something new from either of these gifted songcraftsmen, this soundtrack might be calling your name. It's all here! Rollicking do-do-dododo's, sweeping string and horn swirliness, sweetly strolling acoustic guitar melodies, lush female backing vocals... oh yes, and of course, his scruffy, knit-capped, sensitive guy voice. He *is* a lot more happy then Elliot Smith, though, and the music sounds that way too. Oh and one more lil' observation, the second track sort of swerves in and out of Sanford and Son tv show theme song-ness. Strange, but aside from that oddness, this impressive soundtrack will certainly not disappoint Mr. Gough's many admirers, will certainly win him a batch of new ones, and will tide everyone over until the next BDB album proper.
RealAudio clip: "Something To Talk About"
RealAudio clip: "River Sea Ocean"
RealAudio clip: "Walking Out Of Stride"

BADLY DRAWN BOY Born In The U.K. (Astralwerks) cd 16.98
Another solid ear pleaser from Mr. Damon Gough. He's always been a fine folk popster (or pop folkster?), but Born In The U.K. might be his most country leaning album to date, and his most smooth and accessible. He's definitely scaled back a bit from the grand orchestrations of his last album, 2004's beauty One Plus One Is One. While he might be prone to rambling and mild distemper on stage, here on record he keeps things even keeled, the tone warm and the mood down low. Still very steeped in sentimentality. His songs always make you go "awwwww". Some have liken him this time to a more sullen Neil Diamond (mind you, not quite to the extreme of Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachmann). Maybe a bit damp, but never dreary. Such shufflin' shamblin' sweater wearin' earthiness makes a perfect accompaniment to an autumn cuddle up.

MPEG Stream: "Welcome To The Overground"
MPEG Stream: "The Way Things Used To Be"

BADLY DRAWN BOY Have You Fed The Fish (Artist Direct) cd 16.98
In-store listens of this new Badly Drawn Boy album have drawn more vocal comparisons to the intelligent, tweaked pop of Robyn Hitchcock than to the sentimental, boyish heartbreak of Elliott Smith (to whom he formerly bore more than a striking vocal resemblance). Yet, this also seems to be his most accessible work to date. Whereas Hour Of Bewilderbeast was lovely, melancholic, and flowing, this is much more saturated, eccentric, and lively (much like Hitchcock or more recently Destroyer's Dan Bejar). Actually Damon Gough's recent soundtrack to About A Boy seemed a much more logical full length successor to his debut! However, this album does still shine with the sharp, detailed songcraft (often very reminiscent of Lennon and McCartney) and soaring grandeur of his previous works, not to mention the deeply romantic heart, but he's incorporated more classic '60s/'70s pop rock elements (y'know, lots of piano, a fine variety of backing vocals!) into the arrangements. A little different, yes, but pretty great in a grow-on-you-with-every-listen kind of way.
RealAudio clip: "Born Again"
RealAudio clip: "You Were Right"

BADLY DRAWN BOY One Plus One Is One (XL Recordings) cd 16.98
Damon Gough has pulled out all the stops for One Plus One Is One -- another totally grand Badly Drawn Boy album. Although his last full length Have You Fed The Fish received mixed reviews around these parts, O.P.O.I.O. looks to be the one to which both old fans and newcomers will take a fresh, generous shine. Can this man write a song or what?! And sing it in that achingly sensitive lad voice (still very much like fellow beloved folk-pop troubadour the late Elliott Smith)? And incorporate such a range of styles into his pop structures (some country, some cabaret, some prog even!)? And arrange it all in the most lush yet still earthy orchestrations? Soaring strings, introspective piano, feverish flutes, acoustic guitars? It really doesn't matter what instrumentation he chooses, his songs on this album consistently charm the pants off the listener. Who else can make an album that's the perfect soundtrack for both dreary'n'rainy and warm'n'sunny days. So damn good! One particular album highlight (of which there are many) is the seventh song "Year Of The Rat" which comes complete with glorious children's chorus (psst, the kids reappear on the fourteenth song "Holy Grail"). Absolutely splendid!
Note: this domestic release includes two bonus tracks!
MPEG Stream: "Year Of The Rat"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Ask Me I'm Only The President"

BADLY DRAWN BOY The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (XL/Twisted Nerve) cd 10.98
Now released domestically!...When we first heard the Badly Drawn Boy, we couldn't believe our ears. Who was this guy? He was like a Britpop Beck; sort of Beck-like voice, twisted pop sensibilities, beautifully Sentridoh-style home recording, and songs that kill. Well, we still don't exactly know who he is, except for the fact that he's the Mercury Prize winner, but at least now there's more than two impossible to find eps. Surprisingly, for his first full length, BDB has abandoned the lo-fi bedroom sound, and lots of his Beck-isms and created a lush, hyper-produced pop masterpiece. Somewhere between Elliott Smith, Radiohead, and Beck. Right off the bat, the first song is a spare arrangement for strings and oboes and cornets. In fact the whole record is dotted with swelling string parts, horns, accordions, bleeps and bloops and super creative production. This is a weird and beautiful (albeit commercial, compared to his earlier recordings and remixes) record, definitely for fans of Beck, Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Quasi, Built to Spill, etc. Imagine Beck or Elliott Smith, if they grew up in England, listening to Radiohead and Oasis, and cut their teeth doing remixes for a who's who of British pop/dance groups, and put a record out on MoWax. It's kind of like that, but not exactly. But it *is* totally great.
RealAudio clip: "The Shining"
RealAudio clip: "Once Around the Block"

BADLY DRAWN BOY The Hour of the Bewilderbeast (XL/Twisted Nerve) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited pressing on vinyl! When we first heard the Badly Drawn Boy, we couldn't believe our ears. Who was this guy? He was like a Britpop Beck; sort of Beck-like voice, twisted pop sensibilities, beautifully Sentridoh-style home recording, and songs that kill. Well, we still don't exactly know who he is, but at least now there's more than two impossible to find eps. This too was a little difficult to get (check out the price) but it was worth it. Surprisingly, for his first full length, BDB has abandoned the lo-fi bedroom sound, and lots of his Beck-isms and created a lush, hyper-produced pop masterpiece. Somewhere between Elliott Smith, Radiohead, and Beck. Right off the bat, the first song is a spare arrangement for strings and oboes and cornets. In fact the whole record is dotted with swelling string parts, horns, accordions, bleeps and bloops and super creative production. This is a weird and beautiful (albeit commercial, compared to his earlier recordings and remixes) record, definitely for fans of Beck, Elliott Smith, Radiohead, Quasi, Built to Spill, etc. Imagine Beck or Elliott Smith, if they grew up in England, listening to Radiohead and Oasis, and cut their teeth doing remixes for a who's who of British pop/dance groups, and put a record out on MoWax. It's kind of like that, but not exactly. But it *is* totally great.

BADMARSH & SHRI Signs (Outcaste) cd 16.98
Following up their 1998 disc "Dancing Drums", here's a second album of "Indian electronica" that again sees DJ and producer Badmarsh teaming up with multi-instrumentalist Shri (bass, tabla, flute...). On the UK Outcaste label, for fans of that "Untouchable Outcaste Beats" sound.

BADU, ERYKAH Mama's Gun (Motown) cd 16.98

BADU, ERYKAH New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War (Universal / Motown) cd 16.98
Let's get this right out of the way, Erykah Badu is a genius! While we love and can't get enough of folks like Sharon Jones and Nicole Willis, there really is no one else like Erykah Badu, someone who is taking soul and funk into new and outer dimensions. She represents the best of hip-hop culture as well as carrying on a legacy of spiritual and cosmic soul. Badu has that something special that you can't really put your finger on but you sure can feel.
Her last record Worldwide Underground ranks as one of our favorite psychedelic soul/hip-hop records ever made! Five years later, she returns with another ambitious and crazy rewarding record that boasts Madlib as a producer, as well as the Sa-Ra crew, collaborations and guest spots by Georgia Ann Muldrew, Bilal, Omar Rodriguez (Mars Volta), and more. There's super tight and punchy live instrumentation, and samples that demonstrate a wide reaching and enlightened taste (The Yamasuki Singers, Eddie Kendricks, Curtis Mayfield, Nancy Wilson, etc). Badu is mindful and super knowledgeable about the past but she isn't a retro act, she is so about the here and now and could care less about trends and fads. She is one of the few high profile modern artists who truly has her own vision and such a special touch. Her live show a few years ago at the Paramount Theater in Oakland we reminisce about all the time, her band was so out there in the best of ways, and she owned the stage, even playing the Theremin and taking everyone in attendance to the outer limits of a super soul planet we wish we could always orbit.
Her new record starts off with an adaptation of the Roy Ayers produced Ramp classic "American Promise" and from there on out is filled with some of the best songs Badu has recorded to date, including a couple chilling tributes to her close friend J Dilla who passed away since her last album. New Amerykah has a couple moments where it trips up, but like all brave artists it takes the courage to slip up from time to time in order to create so much musical magic. Highly recommended, and for sure check out Worldwide Underground as well if you haven't!
MPEG Stream: "The Healer"
MPEG Stream: "Soldier"

BADU, ERYKAH New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return Of The Ankh (Universal Motown) cd 16.98
Erykah Badu is one of those singular artists who is able to create such a devotional and personal relationship with her listeners. Where New Amerykah Pt. 1 had a fiery political undertone, New Amerykah Pt. 2: Return Of The Ankh, is much more personal and relationship minded. But no matter what Erykah's songs are about, there is always a sense of authenticity and integrity that runs so strongly through them. In many ways this is the closest in sound and theme to her breathtaking debut Baduizm, as it shares a similar slow melting groove and such rich instrumentation that you just don't come by on many contemporary soul records. The amazing thing about Erykah Badu is how she is both so modern, futuristic yet an integral link to the history of powerful and spiritual soul. She doesn't rehash, or mimic, instead she's created a sound and style that is so totally her own.
New Amerykah Pt. 2 is as seductive as it is psychedelic. You can tell she has a deep love of pioneers like Ramp, The Rotary Connection, and Dorothy Ashby, but she has learned from her deep love of true hip-hop how to take from her influences yet create something totally new and unique out of it. There is no one like Erykah Badu around, she has proven she is a musical visionary, and her live shows only further prove that she is the real deal, capable of creating magic with her music that hits the soul in such deep and true ways. She also stands out in the way she is still very committed to the artform of the album. From start to finish this is a record that takes you on a journey that you want to revisit over and over again. The thing that makes Erykah Badu albums so remarkable is how they slowly seep into your subconscious. They are never about the latest trends or a quick fun ride, instead they are the kind of records you turn to at those crucial moments of your life and become a narrative that becomes as much a part of your journey as it is hers. These are songs that empower, comfort and challenge. Once again Erykah Badu has proven to be one of the strongest and most unique musical voices of our time!
MPEG Stream: "Window Seat"
MPEG Stream: "Love"
MPEG Stream: "20 Feet Tall"