BUSH CHEMISTS Dub Fire Blazing (Dubhead) cd 12.98
More of Andee's favorite not-exactly-traditional electro-dub from the Bush Chemists. The appeal for me, used to be the exaggerated use of effects (even for dub!) that the Bush Chemists seemed to treat everything to: vocals, drums, guitar, EVERYTHING! Making their records loose and sloppy and completely psychedelic. On this record though, they employ a handful of guest vocalists and focus more on the melodies and less on the crazy reverb/delay, which I was disappointed by at first, but the more I listen to it, the more it reveals itself as a completely great, sort-of-traditional (for the Bush Chemists at least) highly recommended dub record.
RealAudio clip: "Fire Blazing"
RealAudio clip: "This Sound"

BUSH CHEMISTS Raw Raw Dub (Roir) cd 15.98

BUSH, KATE 50 Words For Snow (Anti) cd 17.98
At this point in her career, any new release by Kate Bush is an event. When the release in question is a record of the caliber of 50 Words For Snow, one can only marvel at the artistry and career of one of the world's greatest living pop artists. After all, she's never toured (aside from a short one in 1979 for The Kick Inside), and, Director's Cut notwithstanding, has only released 2 albums of new material in the last 18 years. In the '80s, Bush's penchant for making awesomely strange videos and MTV actually playing those videos helped sell records. Since the (televised) music video's demise, however, someone who does not play live has to rely on the strength of the LP itself. This is where Kate Bush has always shined, not only in the quality of the songs, but in the quality of the recordings themselves.
Like the B-side of Hounds of Love (also called The Ninth Wave), 50 Words For Snow is thematic and purposeful, a "concept" record if you will. Slow, sparse and deliberately paced, the seven songs carry the listener for over 65 minutes with strings, drifts of piano, and sparse, jazzy drums. Whereas The Ninth Wave, told the story of one person's journey through death into ghostly haunting and, finally, redemption and forgiveness, 50 Words For Snow is more a series of icy vignettes. They paint pictures of a woman first creating, then making love with a snowman, a wraith watching her dog watch her corpse, a hunt for a yeti. Although sometimes thematically humorous, it's tragic comedy that interests Bush: a kind of sad, beautiful quirkiness that is somehow universally human and uniquely Kate Bush.
From her work with Peter Gabriel in the '80s to Prince's guitar playing on The Red Shoes, collaborations have been an important part of Kate Bush's work. 50 Words finds her working with longtime compatriot Del Palmer as engineer and occasional bass player, Sir Elton John in the duet "Snowed In At Wheeler Street," and the British actor Stephen Fry.
When Director's Cut was released in early 2011, some noise was made over Kate's "huskier" voice, the slight change in its timbre. Really? There's not a moment on 50 Words that could have been done better, vocally. If Kate knows anything, she knows how to change, and how to create characters. If people expect artists with careers spanning 30+ years to remain static, well, that's why records are made, right? To capture a moment that can always be revisited. Very few artists have the longevity and integrity of Kate Bush, and that's something that should not go unrecognized or unappreciated.
The cd version comes in a hardback-book style package with the booklet glued to the inside cover. The gatefold double lp comes with a large, full-color lyric booklet and a cd version of the entire record.
MPEG Stream: "Snowflake"
MPEG Stream: "Misty"
RealAudio clip: "Among Angels"

BUSH, KATE 50 Words For Snow (Anti) 2lp 28.00
At this point in her career, any new release by Kate Bush is an event. When the release in question is a record of the caliber of 50 Words For Snow, one can only marvel at the artistry and career of one of the world's greatest living pop artists. After all, she's never toured (aside from a short one in 1979 for The Kick Inside), and, Director's Cut notwithstanding, has only released 2 albums of new material in the last 18 years. In the '80s, Bush's penchant for making awesomely strange videos and MTV actually playing those videos helped sell records. Since the (televised) music video's demise, however, someone who does not play live has to rely on the strength of the LP itself. This is where Kate Bush has always shined, not only in the quality of the songs, but in the quality of the recordings themselves.
Like the B-side of Hounds of Love (also called The Ninth Wave), 50 Words For Snow is thematic and purposeful, a "concept" record if you will. Slow, sparse and deliberately paced, the seven songs carry the listener for over 65 minutes with strings, drifts of piano, and sparse, jazzy drums. Whereas The Ninth Wave, told the story of one person's journey through death into ghostly haunting and, finally, redemption and forgiveness, 50 Words For Snow is more a series of icy vignettes. They paint pictures of a woman first creating, then making love with a snowman, a wraith watching her dog watch her corpse, a hunt for a yeti. Although sometimes thematically humorous, it's tragic comedy that interests Bush: a kind of sad, beautiful quirkiness that is somehow universally human and uniquely Kate Bush.
From her work with Peter Gabriel in the '80s to Prince's guitar playing on The Red Shoes, collaborations have been an important part of Kate Bush's work. 50 Words finds her working with longtime compatriot Del Palmer as engineer and occasional bass player, Sir Elton John in the duet "Snowed In At Wheeler Street," and the British actor Stephen Fry.
When Director's Cut was released in early 2011, some noise was made over Kate's "huskier" voice, the slight change in its timbre. Really? There's not a moment on 50 Words that could have been done better, vocally. If Kate knows anything, she knows how to change, and how to create characters. If people expect artists with careers spanning 30+ years to remain static, well, that's why records are made, right? To capture a moment that can always be revisited. Very few artists have the longevity and integrity of Kate Bush, and that's something that should not go unrecognized or unappreciated.
The cd version comes in a hardback-book style package with the booklet glued to the inside cover. The gatefold double lp comes with a large, full-color lyric booklet and a cd version of the entire record.
MPEG Stream: "Snowflake"
MPEG Stream: "Misty"
RealAudio clip: "Among Angels"

BUSH, KATE Aerial (Columbia) 2cd 21.00
We all know that Kate Bush's fans are some of the most devoted and patient ones around. We're sure all of you out there who count yourselves in those ranks have been tingling with anticipation for this, her first studio album in eons (her last one being 1993's The Red Shoes). It's a double album, even! And we're pleased to report that it doesn't disappoint the diehards nor the newcomers. Although the overall production has an adult contemporary sheen to it, she sounds positively refreshed and bursting with creative inspiration. While Aerial is certainly filled with her trademark unconventional elegance and enigmatic grace, our interest in this album was extra piqued when AQ pal Wobbly mentioned a few notable and peculiar elements that Bush has encorporated into a few of the numbers such as bird song and laughter (the album's title track and closer "Aerial"), her son's voice and a recital of Pi (on the second song)!
MPEG Stream: "Pi"
MPEG Stream: "Aerial"

BUSH, KATE Director's Cut (Fish People) cd 15.98
When we first heard the details behind Kate Bush's new record, Director's Cut, some of us (those not prone to be insanely excited about ANYTHING Kate Bush) asked, "Why a record of songs that have already been recorded? Why not something new?" The original impetus behind the idea for Director's Cut was that 20 years ago, Kate had asked the James Joyce estate for permission to use sections from the "Penelope" section of Ulysses for her song "The Sensual World", and was denied; this time around, they said "Mmmmmmmmm, yes" (Kate Bush fans will get that joke). So she retitled the song "The Flower of the Mountain" and re-recorded the vocals, then re-recorded the drums, then at some point decided that maybe some of her other songs from that time period needed another looking at. The fact is that Kate Bush is a perfectionist, a major reason why she has toured only once in her career, and she says she was never happy with the overtly digital sound of The Red Shoes. All of the songs on Director's Cut are taken from The Sensual World or The Red Shoes, the vocals and drums re-recorded, with most of the rest of the instrumentation left intact. The effect is a very warm record, one with a lot of space within the tracks that serves to bring the listener closer, especially in the iconic "This Woman's Work". "Deeper Understanding" is the only track where the original is immediately superior, the Director's Cut version pushing the Bulgarian choir to the background and adding an auto-tuned vocal track (done by Kate's son Bertie). The song's theme of digital alienation is still prescient and apt, however, to our ever more computer reliant society. Fans who have absorbed The Red Shoes and The Sensual World's songs into their psyches might have an immediate reaction against hearing songs they love messed with in any way, even by K8 herself. But, truly, seriously, sit with this record and listen to it twice though. Once you're not expecting the original versions, Director's Cut is an outstanding record by an incomparable artist.
MPEG Stream: "Flower Of The Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Song Of Soloman"
MPEG Stream: "Lily"

BUSH, KATE Director's Cut (Fish People) 2lp 21.00
When we first heard the details behind Kate Bush's new record, Director's Cut, some of us (those not prone to be insanely excited about ANYTHING Kate Bush) asked, "Why a record of songs that have already been recorded? Why not something new?" The original impetus behind the idea for Director's Cut was that 20 years ago, Kate had asked the James Joyce estate for permission to use sections from the "Penelope" section of Ulysses for her song "The Sensual World", and was denied; this time around, they said "Mmmmmmmmm, yes" (Kate Bush fans will get that joke). So she retitled the song "The Flower of the Mountain" and re-recorded the vocals, then re-recorded the drums, then at some point decided that maybe some of her other songs from that time period needed another looking at. The fact is that Kate Bush is a perfectionist, a major reason why she has toured only once in her career, and she says she was never happy with the overtly digital sound of The Red Shoes. All of the songs on Director's Cut are taken from The Sensual World or The Red Shoes, the vocals and drums re-recorded, with most of the rest of the instrumentation left intact. The effect is a very warm record, one with a lot of space within the tracks that serves to bring the listener closer, especially in the iconic "This Woman's Work". "Deeper Understanding" is the only track where the original is immediately superior, the Director's Cut version pushing the Bulgarian choir to the background and adding an auto-tuned vocal track (done by Kate's son Bertie). The song's theme of digital alienation is still prescient and apt, however, to our ever more computer reliant society. Fans who have absorbed The Red Shoes and The Sensual World's songs into their psyches might have an immediate reaction against hearing songs they love messed with in any way, even by K8 herself. But, truly, seriously, sit with this record and listen to it twice though. Once you're not expecting the original versions, Director's Cut is an outstanding record by an incomparable artist.
MPEG Stream: "Flower Of The Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Song Of Soloman"
MPEG Stream: "Lily"

BUSH, KATE Hounds Of Love (EMI) cd 14.98

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98
Norway's always-on-it Rune Grammofon label seem to have a special penchant for finding "jazz" bands with electric guitars who really can rock, like the recently reviewed Hedvig Mollestad Trio, and the band currently under consideration, the oddly-named Bushman's Revenge, an instrumental bass/drums/guitar (and some vibraphone) trio. This is Rune G's third release by 'em, the follow up to 2010's Jitterbug, which we really liked a lot. And we like this one too!
First off, first off... the opening track is a slightly rambunctious, bass-burbling cover version of the gorgeous "As We Used To Sing" by the late great jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, from his criminally-out-of-print for years now 1990 masterwork, Ask The Ages! Excellent choice, making for an auspicious beginning to this album. So nice to hear that lovely melody again, as any Sharrock fan will surely agree. Bushman's Revenge bring to it a very lively feel, that's in keeping with the rest of the disc, recorded live in the studio, with few overdubs, and lots of energy. This band is quite electric, let's say, with dense squalls of guitar to the fore (of course, that's why they'd cover Sharrock, and heck last time out they covered Motorhead!), but they also take some serene detours too (even at volume). Among those mellower moments, "John Lennon Was The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" has a title that might sound facetious, but the particularly calm and beautiful music so named seems quite sincere.
Once again, a great "jazz" album for folks who love amped-up, tangled-up rock.
Gatefold lp (with download), or digipaked cd, both with Rune G's usual distinctive Kim Hiorthoy graphics.
MPEG Stream: "As We Used To Sing"
MPEG Stream: "No More Dead Bodies For Daddy Tonight"
MPEG Stream: "Jeg Baker Kokosboiler"

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza (Rune Grammofon) lp 24.00
Norway's always-on-it Rune Grammofon label seem to have a special penchant for finding "jazz" bands with electric guitars who really can rock, like the recently reviewed Hedvig Mollestad Trio, and the band currently under consideration, the oddly-named Bushman's Revenge, an instrumental bass/drums/guitar (and some vibraphone) trio. This is Rune G's third release by 'em, the follow up to 2010's Jitterbug, which we really liked a lot. And we like this one too!
First off, first off... the opening track is a slightly rambunctious, bass-burbling cover version of the gorgeous "As We Used To Sing" by the late great jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, from his criminally-out-of-print for years now 1990 masterwork, Ask The Ages! Excellent choice, making for an auspicious beginning to this album. So nice to hear that lovely melody again, as any Sharrock fan will surely agree. Bushman's Revenge bring to it a very lively feel, that's in keeping with the rest of the disc, recorded live in the studio, with few overdubs, and lots of energy. This band is quite electric, let's say, with dense squalls of guitar to the fore (of course, that's why they'd cover Sharrock, and heck last time out they covered Motorhead!), but they also take some serene detours too (even at volume). Among those mellower moments, "John Lennon Was The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" has a title that might sound facetious, but the particularly calm and beautiful music so named seems quite sincere.
Once again, a great "jazz" album for folks who love amped-up, tangled-up rock.
Gatefold lp (with download), or digipaked cd, both with Rune G's usual distinctive Kim Hiorthoy graphics.
MPEG Stream: "As We Used To Sing"
MPEG Stream: "No More Dead Bodies For Daddy Tonight"
MPEG Stream: "Jeg Baker Kokosboiler"

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE Jitterbug (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98
Hadn't heard this jitterbuggin' Norwegian bunch before, though they have a previous album on Rune Grammofon and one before that as well. Definitely gonna have to track down those too, 'cause this one is pretty great, if you're into avant rock/jazz instrumental rippage. At peak power, they're QUITE energetic and frenzied, but unfailingly musical too, and the disc has much in the way of moodier, mellower moments as well.
Bushman's Revenge are a trio of electric guitar, bass, and drums, with a cameo appearance on two tracks here by organist Stale Storlokken of Supersilent. The guitarist is also a member of the proggy and metallic "blackjazz" group Shining. Which maybe explains why this is often so much heavier and rockier than most quote unquote fusion, and also why they do a Motorhead cover ("Damage Case" from Overkill done as an instrumental, or what they call a "Happy Go Lucky Karaoke Version", which stomps along exuberantly with a full-on freakout in the mid-section). Elsewhere, they veer from tangled and distorted guitar onslaughts to stately melodic reveries... and even play some deviant blues ("While My Guitar Gently Breaks"). Bushman's Revenge are for fans of other Rune G "fusion" like Scorch Trio for sure, and also we'd recommend 'em folks partial to Nels Cline.
MPEG Stream: "Kill Your Jitterbug Darlings"
MPEG Stream: "Wind And Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Professor Chaos"

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE Jitterbug (Rune Grammofon) lp 24.00
Hadn't heard this jitterbuggin' Norwegian bunch before, though they have a previous album on Rune Grammofon and one before that as well. Definitely gonna have to track down those too, 'cause this one is pretty great, if you're into avant rock/jazz instrumental rippage. At peak power, they're QUITE energetic and frenzied, but unfailingly musical too, and the disc has much in the way of moodier, mellower moments as well.
Bushman's Revenge are a trio of electric guitar, bass, and drums, with a cameo appearance on two tracks here by organist Stale Storlokken of Supersilent. The guitarist is also a member of the proggy and metallic "blackjazz" group Shining. Which maybe explains why this is often so much heavier and rockier than most quote unquote fusion, and also why they do a Motorhead cover ("Damage Case" from Overkill done as an instrumental, or what they call a "Happy Go Lucky Karaoke Version", which stomps along exuberantly with a full-on freakout in the mid-section). Elsewhere, they veer from tangled and distorted guitar onslaughts to stately melodic reveries... and even play some deviant blues ("While My Guitar Gently Breaks"). Bushman's Revenge are for fans of other Rune G "fusion" like Scorch Trio for sure, and also we'd recommend 'em folks partial to Nels Cline.
MPEG Stream: "Kill Your Jitterbug Darlings"
MPEG Stream: "Wind And Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Professor Chaos"

BUSHMAN'S REVENGE Never Mind The Botox (Rune Grammofon) lp 24.00
Last list, we highlighted A Little Bit Of Big Bonanza, the newest full-length from this Norwegian improvising unit on Rune Grammofon. The takeaway: "...a great 'jazz' album for people who love amped-up, tangled-up rock."
Fans will be interested in this vinyl-only 12", intended as a companion to that new album, recorded at the same sessions. It consists of cover versions of some of their faves. Bushman's Revenge has previously covered Motorhead and Sonny Sharrock, among others, and the covers presented here are equally diverse. Jazz, alt-rock, metal, they know no boundaries. They cover The Pixies ("Monkey Gone To Heaven"), The Police ("No Time This Time"), Black Sabbath ("War Pigs"), Sun Ra ("We Travel The Spaceways"), and even themselves ("Bushman Rock", a song left off their earlier Jitterbug album). As you might expect, these compositions are all respectfully rearranged, and deranged, when given the Bushman's Revenge treatment.
Comes with mp3 download.

BUSHWICK BILL Little Big Man (Screwed) cd 15.98

BUST Summer 2002 magazine 4.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The summer issue of Bust magazine is dedicated to motherhood. Articles about helping your friends in the delivery room, visiting your mother in jail, being a cool punk mom, how Rufus Wainwright much loves his mommy, when the father of your child is an anonymous donor, and much much more. I happen to have a lot of punk liberal moms around me lately and I kept feeling the desire to buy them a copy of this issue. Bust is always so good, and the hip mom is often under-represented and under-appreciated. (And gals, the one handed read is a juicy one.)

BUSTA RHYMES Anarchy (Elektra) cd 16.98
Busta's got some way-metal looking cover art, like a nu-Sepultura album or something. The album? At first listen, not too impressive. Kind of wacky and silly. Too bad, 'cause we usually like Busta.

BUSTA RHYMES Genesis (Flipmode) cd 17.98
Busta Rhymes has always been a sort of guilty pleasure...well, not really a guilty pleasure, since I've never really felt at all guilty for digging this stuff, but more like a pleasure that's tough to explain. People have a hard time believing (and rightfully so) that an MTV/radio staple can produce stuff that's creative, unique and totally fucking mad, but BR has consistently come up with some of the coolest, weirdest hip hop. His speedy tongue-twisting flow, his knack for weird hooks and his ridiculous videos (if you have MTV) have made him a huge hit, which is surprising for someone who would normally be found way out on the fringe. But his likeable goofball persona has made him way more approachable and MTV-friendly than other hip-hop weirdos: Sensational, Cannibal Ox, Anti Pop Consortium, etc... and made it easier for him to sneak some truly wacked out stuff onto MTV. But all of that aside, this shit is so completely fucked and bizarre it's practically impossible to believe that he's so huge. Like trying to get your head around the concept of the Boredoms or the Melvins on a major label. And while this stuff may be weird, it still manages to be funky and groovy and fill dancefloors, with folks gyrating spasmodically to his blurry, hiccuping, choppy, stuttering, pounding, bumping, kick ass ragga-tinged kick-ass hip hop. His best yet!
RealAudio clip: "Break Ya Neck"
RealAudio clip: "As I Come Back"
RealAudio clip: "What It Is"

BUSTA RHYMES The Big Bang (Flipmode) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Get You Some"
MPEG Stream: "Touch It"

BUSUCHAN Defrag My Heart (Spam) cd 8.98
Another bizarre project from our favorite local Hello Kitty maniac and metal maven, the one and only (thank god) Steven Schultz. You may know him from such amazing/ridiculous projects as Stalin Claus Superstar! (y'know, the 4cd rock opera box set), or his "I Forgot To Get A Rap Name!" rap album, or the "History Of Vats" disc that started all this genre-splicing home-recording madness way back when. His new effort, monikered Busuchan, is along the lines of "Vats" or much of "Stalin Claus": insanely accomplished musically, insanely retarded humoristically (witness such song titles as "Jesse Jackson Wants His Forehead Back" and "Bitch, I Stole Your Man, Ho!"). Although, like "Vats" (but not the opera), Steve does this all himself -- drums, guitar solos, electronics, vocals, artwork, silly liner notes, everything. Wow. Imagine a one-man Mr. Bungle, but more metal and with (even) more annoying vocals. This cd is graced by a photo of the man himself decked out oh so convincingly as a coy Japanese schoolgirl. (Possibly the most disturbing picture we've seen lately, and we spend a lot of time on the internet!) But we must tip our hats to Mr. Schultz. Dragging in and desecrating everything from doo wop to electronica to black metal, this is completely spazzy, twisted and strange -- and unfortunately catchy enough to get stuck in your head. This made some people laugh, made others roll their eyes, and still others... uncomfortable. Stop looking at my ass, indeed! Steve Schultz fans (ohmigod it's true, he probably does have fans, indeed, deserves 'em) line up now!
RealAudio clip: "Terpsechlorean Splendor Of Careening Trilobites"
RealAudio clip: "Looking All Deformed Like Cindy Crawford"
RealAudio clip: "Scrotum Symphony"

BUTCHER, JOHN Trace (The Tapeworm) cassette 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We had never been that interested in the music of John Butcher, an accomplished improviser and saxophonist, a master of skronk and squeal, whose electronically treated sax is capable of whipping up a serious sonic storm, and who has played with a ton of other incredible musicians, Derek Bailey, Phil Durrant, Eddie Prevost, etc. Not sure why, but for whatever reason, lots of the Butcher stuff we've heard just didn't do it for us. But doing a bit of research after getting this tape in the mail, we're thinking maybe we just weren't hearing the right stuff, seeing as Butcher is much more than your run of the mill avant improv jazz guy, treating his saxes, processing them into strange buzzing drones, and haunted layered pulses, exploring space and timbre, recording in caverns and caves, metal containers and abandoned railway stations and we should know by now that UK cassette label The Tapeworm would not lead us astray.
Two side long live improvisations, the first a three part epic for tenor and soprano saxophones, that takes the sound of the saxes and adds all sorts of grit and buzz and crackle, it almost sounds like an old crackly record of a sax solo being played in a big empty hall, multiple saxes are layered and the overtones throb and undulate, the sounds crumbling and moaning, ringing out, wreathed in a super spacious natural reverb, totally mesmerizingly intense and beautiful. It does get a bit more traditionally jazzy part way through, but even then, the sound shifts from blown out drone, to wild chaotic skronk, to spaced out fluttery dreaminess, to incredibly high pitched symphonies of tangled whistle, that at times almost sounds like guitar feedback. Intense!
And speaking of feedback, the flipside is in fact a sprawling 20 minute piece for 'saxophone controlled feedback' and piano, and consists of deep swirling tones, lustrous fields of muted shimmer, the piano not so much being played as offering up sympathetic vibrations, the whole thing delicate and crystalline, long stretches of hushed distant keening, slipping into warm bell like swells, deep low end rumbles, all laid atop one another, creating a sort of ethereal sonic field of abstract melody, until finally (or perhaps for the first time audibly) the piano enters, offering up isolated plinks, allowed to ring out, as the feedback swirls around each note sympathetically, creating something truly mysterious and otherworldly. So nice.
LIMITED TO 250 COPIES!!

BUTCHER, JOHN / DURRANT, PHIL Secret Measures (Wobbly Rail) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Andee sneers, "Jim thinks this record is jazz because it has saxophone on it. Jim only wishes all jazz sounds like this; shrieking & sputtering sax electronically processed into skittering waves of grit, buzz, squeaks, groans, drones, and hiccups. As if Pan(a)sonic or Pita of Mego were forced to take sax lessons as children. Like a more animated, more abrasive version of the Parker/Casserly 'Solar Wind' collaboration. I think Jim is jazz."
Jim retorts, "No, I certainly am not."

BUTCHER, JOHN AND PHIL DURRANT Requests and Anti-Songs (Erstwhile Records) cd 14.98
Phil Durrant's "live electronic manipulation and modular feedback" explode alongside the skronk sax of John Butcher.

BUTCHER, NICK Guitar Machine (West Main Development) cd-r 9.98
We're a sucker for folks who make their own instruments, for musicians who customize machines and noisemakers, who use instruments in exactly the way they were never meant to be used, extra turntable arms on a record player, loudspeakers made from car radiators, all sorts of stuff used for percussion, guitars made from steel strings and tin cans, vacuum cleaners, dental tools, if it sounds good, we're all for it.
Amongst those instrument builders and sonic experimentalists, we're partial to those who gravitate toward the discarded, toward junk, old broken records, busted up guitars, malfunctioning electronics, tape players with dying batteries, one string guitars, NO string guitars, so we were pretty sure that this Nick Butcher guy would be right up our alley.
He only uses broken and found things to make sounds, not even instruments necessarily, old busted up keyboards, crappy tape players, old guitars missing strings, and coolest of all, cassette tapes that have been taken apart, cut up, looped, reassembled and played again on said crappy tape players. He also does a sort of primitive real time multitracking, playing one tape and recording it on another, making a loop, then re-records those to make another loop and so on, and so on, using the various loops, room sound, broken instruments and whatever else, to create gorgeous haunting mysterious soundscapes.
These 4 tracks were recorded live, in a big room, you can tell from the echo, the footsteps, the bits of shuffling, every little creak or scrape, magnified and wreathed in natural reverb, but even knowing what we know about the process, just listening, it's hard to imagine how he makes these sounds. Dark minimal gorgeous drone-y drifts, hushed and melodic, like Basinski or something, looped, but subtly so, the tones overlapping into subtle harmonies, the sound of the room and much of a presence as the music itself, gauzy and hazy and so so divine. The second track begins similarly, but almost sounds like some sort of modern microdub, Pole or something, the loop stuttering and allowing small bits of empty space in sort of like anti-beats, a softly propulsive ultra minimal minor key krautdrone, like the hushed shadowy, whispery side of a group like Expo 70, except made with busted tapes and broken tape recorders!
The third track is the first with guitar, a couple strums a few plucks, it seems like maybe he was recording them, cuz fragments of those first guitar scrabbles return in fuzzy, fractured loop form, and again are assembled into a warm woozy series of soft swells, that are eventually overwhelmed by another soft loop, this one swirly and softly psychedelic, finishing off with a brief bit of, yep, warm, weary, dreamy, softly looped washed out drone-y ambient bliss. So so so so so nice.
MPEG Stream: "Pewter Image"
MPEG Stream: "Motorsport Park"

BUTCHIES 3 (Mr. Lady) cd 12.98
The third full length by the Butchies (aka Melissa York and Kaia Wilson former drummer and guitarist of beloved queercore hotties Team Dresch, and bassist Alison Martlew). With each album, they've moved farther and farther from their feisty punk days. That's not to say they don't rock out every once in a awhile. No, it's just generally more tempered down, more composed. And this slower, more melodic approach compliments Kaia's pleadingly emotive vocals. Three women in full command, and telling it like it is. On Kaia's very own Mr. Lady record label.

BUTCHIES, THE Population 1975 (Mr. Lady) cd 10.98

BUTLER, CHRIS The Devil Glitch (Future Fossil) cd 11.98
Chris Butler, former member of The Waitresses (y'know, "Square Pegs", "I Know What Boys Like", "I Could Rule The World If I Could Only Get The Parts"), has written the world's longest pop song according to the Guinness Book Of World Records... well, it held this honor back in 1996 at least. Don't know if it's been beaten yet!

BUTLER, KEN Voices Of Anxious Objects (Tzadik) cd 15.98
In Tzadik's "Lunatic Fringe" series, hybrid instrument creator and composer Ken Butler! Strangely klezmery. (Mr. Butler was featured in the Gravikords... unusual invented instruments book and cd.)

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Blind Eyes Sees All (MVD) dvd 19.98
Reissue of the 'Blind Eye Sees All' video featuring amazing vintage footage of the Buttholes at their stumbling, drunken, high on LSD, crowd baiting best, recorded live in 1985 in detroit.
Tons of AMAZING live footage, as well as some ridiculous interviews, pontificating by Gibby, nudity, tons of rare photos, a live bonus track, and BUTTHOLES KARAOKE!! This rules. Buy it.

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Brown Reason To Live (Alternative Tentacles) lp 9.98
The debut recording by these legendary Texan drug punks, finally available again on vinyl! Brown Reason To live was the Surfers' first record, a seven song ep, originally released in 1983, and reissued later bundled onto a cd with their live PCPP ep, but as good as that live stuff was/is, these tracks all on their own constitute one of THEE legendary punk rock records EVER. And we say punk rock knowing full well that the Buttholes' version of punk rock had almost nothing in common with what the rest of the world at the time considered punk.
These songs are damaged and disturbing, wild and chaotic, extended stumbling lysergic blowouts, as likely to erupt into a strange woozy sea shanty or a bit of twangy gallop as a blown out blast of pounding punk, moreso really. And while the sound here is not as overtly whatthefuck as the records that would come right after, it's weird enough that you could tell something freaky was going on, and you can hear the seeds that would blossom into that the Surfers eventually became. The Buttholes merged the punk sounds that surrounded them, with their own twisted take on DIY music making, not to mention lots and lots and lots and lots of drugs. All of these songs are timeless, total classics, but "The Shah Sleeps In Lee Harvey's Grave" is practically a punk rock anthem, or no less than the genre's swan song. Depending on how you look at it, maybe both. For the band anyway, the track was every bit a standard as "Free Bird" was for Skynyrd. Listening to this again now, it seems insane that a band like this - who at one time seemed destined to a life of cult obscurity - achieved such enormous mainstream success. It's all urine under the bridge now though, we try to ignore the last few releases and focus on the years when the Butthole Surfers were untouchable ('83-'88?), and this is where it all started, a ferocious fucked up chunk of drug addled genius called Brown Reason To Live.

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Electric Larryland (Capitol) cd 15.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Hairway To Steven (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Humpty Dumpty LSD (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. The Butthole Surfers went from being possibly one of our all time favorite bands, to embarrassing unoriginal MTV second stringers. Everything post 'Hairway To Steven' has been pretty lame. And those of you unfortunate enough to have heard the most recent record thus bore witness to the saddest beck-meets-eminem-meets-land-of-the-loops-meets-king-missile bid for MTV stardom. Which of course failed. And on top of that, they engaged in a scene alienating greed-not-common-sense based lawsuit against Touch and Go records, who were basically responsible for their popularity, but none of that really affects the music, these guys used to make, and while the above stuff has us a little hesitant to recommend buying anything on the Butthole's label Latino Bugger Veil, RECOMMEND WE MUST! 'Cause this collection of live tracks and outtakes is vintage Butthole Surfers, at their drug-addled, tribal-drumming, chaos-causing, club-crushing, strobe-lighted, naked-dancing, on-stage puking, audience-pulverising BEST! Lots of rare compilation tracks (from P.E.A.C.E., God's Favorite Dog, Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death, A Texas Trip, the Roky Erickson tribute), 4 track and 8 track home recordings, practice tapes, outtakes from the Rembrandt Pussyhorse sessions, alternate versions of album tracks, and more. Weird sickly sweet warbly ballads to full on tribal drug stomps, with war whoops and processed vocals careening all over the place. Supposedly culled from close to 300 tapes. Hope there's more on the way!
RealAudio clip: "One Hundred Million People Dead"
RealAudio clip: "I Love You Peggy"
RealAudio clip: "SpaceI"
RealAudio clip: "Perry Intro"

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Humpty Dumpty LSD (Latino Bugger Veil) 2lp 21.00
Recent Aquarius Record of the Week, now available in the lavish double LP vinyl format. Our 'controversial' write-up about the cd version:
Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. The Butthole Surfers went from being possibly one of our all time favorite bands, to embarrassing unoriginal MTV second stringers. Everything post 'Hairway To Steven' has been pretty lame. And those of you unfortunate enough to have heard the most recent record thus bore witness to the saddest beck-meets-eminem-meets-land-of-the-loops-meets-king-missile bid for MTV stardom. Which of course failed. And on top of that, they engaged in a scene alienating greed-not-common-sense based lawsuit against Touch and Go records, who were basically responsible for their popularity, but none of that really affects the music, these guys used to make, and while the above stuff has us a little hesitant to recommend buying anything on the Butthole's label Latino Bugger Veil, RECOMMEND WE MUST! 'Cause this collection of live tracks and outtakes is vintage Butthole Surfers, at their drug-addled, tribal-drumming, chaos-causing, club-crushing, strobe-lighted, naked-dancing, on-stage puking, audience-pulverising BEST! Lots of rare compilation tracks (from P.E.A.C.E., God's Favorite Dog, Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death, A Texas Trip, the Roky Erickson tribute), 4 track and 8 track home recordings, practice tapes, outtakes from the Rembrandt Pussyhorse sessions, alternate versions of album tracks, and more. Weird sickly sweet warbly ballads to full on tribal drug stomps, with war whoops and processed vocals careening all over the place. Supposedly culled from close to 300 tapes. Hope there's more on the way!
RealAudio clip: "One Hundred Million People Dead"
RealAudio clip: "I Love You Peggy"
RealAudio clip: "SpaceI"
RealAudio clip: "Perry Intro"

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Locust Abortion Technician (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Pioughd / Widowermaker (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Psychic, Powerless, Another Man's Sac (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS Rembrandt Pussyhorse (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98

BUTTHOLE SURFERS s/t ep + Live PCPPEP (Latino Bugger Veil) cd 14.98
Now available for the first time ever on CD. It's hard to believe after the band has been around for what, over 20 years now, has been played on top forty radio and has seen practically everything they've released, down to the most obscure tracks, get reissued, has only now had their first two -- now practically legendary -- eps released on compact disc. "The Shah Sleeps In Lee Harvey's Grave" is practically a punk rock anthem, or no less than the genre's swan song. Depending on how you look at it, maybe both. For the band anyway, the track was every bit a standard as "Free Bird" was for Skynyrd. I don't know what's weirder, the fact that these haven't been reissued until now, or that the band -- who at one time seemed destined to a life of cult obscurity -- has acheived such enormous mainstream success. It's all urine under the bridge now though, as you can have it all on disc and then some. Along with the original self-titled (a.k.a Brown Reason To Live) ep, and the follow up live PCPPEP from 1984, there are an additional three live ("Gary Floyd", "Matchstick" and an additional version of "Something") and one studio ("Sinister Crayon") bonus tracks that make it hard for those of us who already own the vinyl to resist the temptation.
RealAudio clip: "The Shah Sleeps In Lee Harvey's Grave"
RealAudio clip: "Sinister Crayon"

BUTTIGIEG, KURT Zoetrope (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We at AQ have long been fans of Campbell Kneale and his project Birchville Cat Motel who along with the Dead C, Omit, Gate and a handful of others have helped to define one of the richest free-rock-noise-drone scenes in the world. For years Kneale has been releasing cds, lps and cassettes (most of them quite limited) of noisy electronic soundscapes and gorgeous organic drones. So when we discovered Kneale also ran a label, we figured it was definitely worth checking out. And how right we were. Not only is all of the music on Celebrate Psi Phenomena amazing, but the packaging is perfectly and stunningly designed as well (quite nice considering this is a cd-r label. See our crappy cd-r packaging rants in the last three or four lists) with each cd in a plastic sleeve nestled between two sheets of old fashioned textured wallpaper, printed, and sealed with a gold star.
We're willing to bet that Kurt Buttkrieg is the only musician you can think of that calls Malta home. This is gorgeous otherworldly musiqe concrete. Far away drones, swoops of modulated electronics, keening feedback and speaker rattling low end rumble. Sparse and dynamic, but space-y with tons of reverb. Ethereal melodies are slowly introduced, creating a chillingly intense soundscape that could be the perfect horror movie soundtrack.
RealAudio clip: "Zoetrope"

BUTTLESS CHAPS Cartography (Mint) cd 16.98
Been meaning to list this for a while... Sadly this is the swan song for this fine Vancouver band who decided to call it quits earlier this year. Yeah, we've always given them a good natured hard time over the years about their band name. Quite simply, we felt it seriously undermined their songcraft which was so much more than the goofy moniker expressed. Turn a blind eye to the name, and you'll find that you can't knock their music. With each album they've gotten increasingly dark, lush, smoldery and composed. The dramatic somberness of the Americana stylings (or should that be Canadiana?) is quite a contrast to their earlier hybrid of new wave synth pop and rootsy folk, but Cartography still finds the band striking chords and balances between seeming opposites. The rustic and the elegant. The intimate and the expansive. The stormy and the utterly serene. The subtly applied electronic instrumentation are much more integrated into their rich earthy tapestry. A vocoded vocal here, a softly blooping synth countermelody there. Fans of the deep velvety voiced solemn twang bands such as Lambchop, Handsome Family, Red House Painters and on the other side of the pond Tindersticks or Pulp even, take note! A beautiful brooding farewell! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Cartography"
MPEG Stream: "Water By The Wayside"

BUTTLESS CHAPS Love This Time (Mint) cd 13.98
Okay, we mentioned this already a couple of AQ lists ago, but we've just gotta ask again... what's the deal with so many Canadian indie bands' names? Are they trying to prevent people from checking them out? Take this band for example, they're called The Buttless Chaps! C'mon, that rivals Corn On Macabre or Cream Abdul Babar on the wince-o-meter. Contrary to what almost everyone who has encountered the band's moniker has thought, they are not a joke band! They are in fact a mighty fine hybrid of country and '80s new wave pop... yes, their instrumentation includes a synth *and* a banjo! I know, I know! Even the description makes them sound like a joke band, but give these fellows a listen and you'll surely see things a little differently. They move effortlessly from barnyard boot stompers and moonlight porchswing ballads to ABC-esque synth melodramas -- often fusing them together within a single song with nary a smartaleck wink nor a clumsy stumble. They seem quite sincere in their love of both genres. And we haven't even mentioned yet that lead singer Dave has a strong deep voice very well-suited to both musical styles (at times very akin to ABC's Martin Fry, Pulp's Jarvis Cocker or Handsome Family's Brett Sparks). Truly, if they were only a country band or conversely only a retro synth pop band, they'd be a damn good one, and no eyebrows would be raised (uhh, unless they were still called the Buttless Chaps... wink!).
MPEG Stream: "Numan"
MPEG Stream: "Babbles"

BUTTLESS CHAPS Where Night Holds Light (Mint) cd 16.98
Getting a bit caught up with our friends to the north at Mint Records... We've just gotten in a few new and new-to-us titles on this fine Vancouver indie label (this one as well as some by Neko Case's early band Maow, The Awkward Stage, The Pack A.D. and Immaculate Machine)!
This somber earthy beauty is from a couple of years back, but still sounds fresh as a daisy today! Actually we also just got in the 'Chaps most recent, terrific (but alas final) album in stock too (it hasn't been reviewed yet, so if you'd like to order it, just ask!). But with regards to this album in front of us... What do you do when a band's name sends unforgivable groaning shudders down your spine... but their albums send warm good tunes to your ears? When a band's this good, you just have to grin and bear it, we s'pose! As we recall, The 'Chaps who made 2003's Love This Time were an unconventional fusion of the new waver and the lonesome cowboy. This time around it sounds like the ol' country boys have taken control of the reins. Still, these Vancouver gents keep us on our toes with occasional injections of cascading empassioned piano, flighty bright horns, and wordy mouthful lyrics like "migratory birds". Definitely for fans of deep voiced shadowy twang artists such as Lambchop, M. Ward, and Tindersticks!
MPEG Stream: "Blanket Of Pain"
MPEG Stream: "Migratory Birds"

BUZZ See You Sioux (Dark Entries) lp 15.98
Jean-Christophe Van Thienen formed the French new wave project Buzz in 1983, after several formative years spent in the UK soaking up the divergent post-punk scene which spawned the artful pop of Adam & The Ants, the majestic gloom of Anne Clark and The Cure, and the DIY energy of countless bedroom / shed / garage acts tinkering with drum machines, electronics, and tape. Upon returning to Lille, France, he found a local radio station who would let him use the studio during off hours; and as such he recruited a couple of friends and neighbors to come into that studio to flesh out the sketches he had made on a couple of synths and drum machine. See You Sioux was the result of those sessions, self-released in 1985 as a cassette with hand-assembled artwork and press-type lettering in an edition of 250 copies. Van Thienen takes up the elliptical, somber atmospheres of the Belgian post-punk outfit Trisome 21 as well as the eccentric theatrics of Fad Gadget. The songs work through urgent synth melodies, jittery sparkplug guitar scratches, and propulsive rhythms from a nice combination of live drums and drum machines, with Van Thienen conjuring more of a French rock persona, perhaps striving towards the stylings of a Jacques Dutronc. Another great find from Dark Entries.
MPEG Stream: "Orange Mechanique"
MPEG Stream: "Berlin"
MPEG Stream: "L'Agent Secret"

BUZZCOCKS Flat-Pack Philosophy (Cooking Vinyl) cd 15.98
Yes, your eyes and ears aren't deceiving you... this is a brand new Buzzcocks album! Back in 2003 we were caught plenty off-guard when these grandfathers of punk pop reassembled and released a new self-titled album, and now they've gone and given us another surprise wallop in Flat-Pack Philosophy. And again, the band picks right up where they left off. One thing tho' we sure wish the vocals were up front in the mix like the Buzzcocks' recordings of yesteryear, but no, instead they're somewhat buried. Likewise, we were wishing that the guitars were crisper and crunchier, but no, they're more the 'modern' thick wall o' distortion kind that they used on their last album. Sigh, can't have everything can we? We're yearning for the Buzzcocks of old, but the Buzzcocks of new haven't veered too far off their original course. One of the album's highlights is certainly the tenth song ("Dreamin'") with its catchy neat picked guitar counter-melody, but the song that hits closest to home is the second to last song ("I've Had Enough"). The vocals are prominent and guitars crackle with that familiar Shelley/Diggle electricity. Yeah, that's the ticket!
MPEG Stream: "Dreamin'"
MPEG Stream: "I've Had Enough"

BUZZCOCKS s/t (Merge) cd 14.98
Who doesn't love this band? Who can resist those rapid-fire hooks or that relentless energy? Unlike many other veteran bands who've either continued sloggin' on long past their prime, or conversely broke up early only to reform in recent years, the Buzzcocks haven't stuck with the safe, the tried and true, nor have they become a tired, lackluster version of their former selves. They came together in 1975, kicked pop punk ass (and to this day have had an immeasurable influence on countless bands), split in 1981, reformed in 1989, and here they are fourteen (!) years later with a new super-charged album on Merge Records. As a band, they've not withered nor have they rested on their punk rock laurels. On the up side, the songs are still filled with lots of crunch, but they're also much beefier - often more reminiscent of the Husker Du/Bob Mould fuzzy wall of roaring guitars. On the down side, unfortunately the vocals are buried a bit deeper in the mix which somewhat obscures their wry lyrical wit. Actually come to think of it, this also adds to the Husker Du-iness. However, one thing's for certain, the tip of Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle's songwriting pen sure hasn't dulled over the years. Trademark Buzzcocks' hooks galore. Given that though, we would like to draw your attention to one song here that rang rather familiar not as a Buzzcocks tune but instead as one by the Gin Blossoms - weird! The Diggle penned "Sick City Sometimes" = "Hey Jealousy". Really! Give it a listen. This is definitely much less raw and immediate sounding that the Buzzcocks of old, but this is not at all troublesome nor disappointing, as they've successfully moved onto a much more refined and fleshed out presence. If you want the rambunctious, rough'n'tumble lower-fi pop-punk energy of yesteryear, don't waste another moment, revisit their classic Singles Going Steady. If you want to hear a band who've aged very very well, check out this self-titled album.
MPEG Stream: "Jerk"
MPEG Stream: "Sick City Sometimes"

BUZZCOCKS Singles Going Steady (IRS) cd 12.98
A total, absolute, complete, utter classic from this seminal punk pop band! So many hooks! So much energy! So influential! So damn good!

BUZZCOCKS Singles Going Steady (4 Men With Beards) lp 15.98
A total, absolute, complete, utter classic from this seminal punk pop band! So many hooks! So much energy! So influential! So damn good! 'Tis time for some serious jubilation because Singles Going Steady is once again available on the format on which it was originally released back in '79 - that is, on record! And of course an album this fine deserves to be pressed on a fine slab of 180 gram vinyl, and it is! Tops! (Is that enough exclamation points for you?)

BUZZOV*EN Revelation: Sick Again (Hydra Head) cd 12.98
Revelation: Sick Again is the legendary long lost unreleased final album from North Carolinian stoner sludge sickos Buzzov*en, and while recorded over a decade ago, it languished unreleased due to various legal difficulties, which were just the latest, for a band who essentially existed in a world of difficulties and dysfunction, be it jail, drugs, violent shows, band breakups, cancelled tours, but of course all of that stuff found its way into the groups nihilistic, heavy as fuck, drug addled sound. Recorded during a period of "exhaustion, drug-induced confusion and frustration" (although how that differs from other Buzzov*en records we're not entirely sure), Revelation: Sick Again is everything we've come to love about Buzzov*en: woozy, slithery Sabbathy riffage, sheets of feedback, big pounding drums, Kirk Fisher's whiskey soaked glass gargling yowl, songs that slip from blasting and frenetic, to wasted and druggy, long stretches of droned out blackened lumber dropped between bursts of low slung sonic swagger, and filthy crusty metallic crunch, the tracks peppered with strange samples and lots of grit and grime, the sound a gnarled melding of Black Flag's My War and classic Sabbath, sludgey, groovy, heavy, wasted and warped and so goddamn good.
MPEG Stream: "Symptom"
MPEG Stream: "Drying Out"
MPEG Stream: "Break Me Off"

BUZZOV*EN Revelation: Sick Again (Hydra Head) lp 24.00
Revelation: Sick Again is the legendary long lost unreleased final album from North Carolinian stoner sludge sickos Buzzov*en, and while recorded over a decade ago, it languished unreleased due to various legal difficulties, which were just the latest, for a band who essentially existed in a world of difficulties and dysfunction, be it jail, drugs, violent shows, band breakups, cancelled tours, but of course all of that stuff found its way into the groups nihilistic, heavy as fuck, drug addled sound. Recorded during a period of "exhaustion, drug-induced confusion and frustration" (although how that differs from other Buzzov*en records we're not entirely sure), Revelation: Sick Again is everything we've come to love about Buzzov*en: woozy, slithery Sabbathy riffage, sheets of feedback, big pounding drums, Kirk Fisher's whiskey soaked glass gargling yowl, songs that slip from blasting and frenetic, to wasted and druggy, long stretches of droned out blackened lumber dropped between bursts of low slung sonic swagger, and filthy crusty metallic crunch, the tracks peppered with strange samples and lots of grit and grime, the sound a gnarled melding of Black Flag's My War and classic Sabbath, sludgey, groovy, heavy, wasted and warped and so goddamn good.
MPEG Stream: "Symptom"
MPEG Stream: "Drying Out"
MPEG Stream: "Break Me Off"

BUZZOV-EN Violence From The Vault (Relapse) cd ep 11.98
Not sure why we never reviewed anything by these pot fueled purveyors of crusty sludge, could be that all of their records predated the list, but we have shown much love to post Buzzov-en stoner sludge combo Weedeater, the thing is, everything we love about Weedeater, existed in Buzzov-en, even more. Heavier, sludgier, stonier, crustier, filthier, these five songs were recorded right before the band disbanded in the mid nineties, and the band are on fire, lurching, churning, downtuned heaviness, KILLER riffs, caveman drum pound, vocals buried WAY down in the mix, from pounding dirge, the thrashing chaotic crunch, the band just sound relentless and fucking ultra intense here, could be that it was close to the end, could be the fact that the whole band was falling apart to problems with drugs, whatever it is, this stuff sounds fierce and violent and raw and on the edge. The sound is weirdly murky and muddy, blown out, but not super hot sounding, more blurred and buzzy, but it suits the mood big time.
There are of course goofy samples before most of the songs, which seems par for the stoner sludge course, and there's the totally demented drugged out 16 minute "Nod" which does in fact sound like the whole band nodding off mid song, captured on tape, a stumbling, abstract soundscape of guitar buzz, and weird voices, swirling effects, deconstructed riffage, total psychedelic sonic headfuck, which rules, but it's the other 4 songs that put most of Buzzov-en's contemporaries, past and present, to shame. These tracks may have been recorded 15 years ago, but they still sound incredible, and anyone into the current crop of drug metal heavies, who somehow missed out on these guys back in the day, well, now is the time to make things right. The liner notes mention a possible new Buzzov-en record in 2010 as well, we can only hope...
MPEG Stream: "Mainline"
MPEG Stream: "Paintake"