BASTRO Antlers (Drag City) cd 14.98
Here's a band that far outshone most of their contempories but somehow managed to slip through the cracks and become more known as a footnote of the bands that came after than the rock legends they truly were. Ever wonder where David Grubbs spent his time after Squirrelbait and before Gastr Del Sol? Ever wonder what Bundy Brown did before Tortoise? Ever wonder what John McEntire did before he was in Tortoise and the Sea & Cake and started producing Stereolab Records? Did you ever wonder what band featured members who would go on to play in bands like Slint, Evergreen, King Kong, The For Carnation and more? Well, if you did, the answer is a resounding BASTRO!
This live release was supposed to coincide with the two proper Bastro lps finally released together on a single cd, but there seems to be some weird legal hang up, presumably with Bastro's old label Homestead, but for now we have this glorious live record, from one of the most amazing bands of the late eighties / early nineties.
If you're already a fan, this record is Holy Grail type shit, all songs that were never recorded, caaptured live right before the band broke up. Some of these songs morphed into Gastr Del Sol songs, but a whole new record of never-before-heard Bastro songs should have your jaw around your ankles. And for those of you new to the whole Bastro experience, these songs will definitely whet your appetite for more.
Bastro are really hard to descibe, which could be why maybe they ended up going over a lot of people's heads. They incorporated lots of elements of other post hardcore / college rock bands but in perfectly obtuse, totally unlikely ways. You can hear bits and pieces of Jesus Lizard, Big Black, Rapeman, Scratch Acid, Drive Like Jehu and Don Caballero. They started out as a sort-of-industrial-noise rock band a la Big Black, turned into a pumelling noise rock combo, and eventually morphed into a dense, complex avant-math-rock outfit, which is where this live recording catches them, live in 1991, in Chicago and Germany. Super serpentine guitar lines, extended convoluted song structures, impossibly mathy drumming (resident AQ drummer Andee spent ages learning and then playing along to Bastro songs, and considered McEntire one of his favorite drummers back then) all in a dense tangle of fragmented pop, mathy post rock and obtuse musical chaos. So incredible. As much as we love the bands that came after, Bastro still hold a special place in our heart, their music somehow transcending the music of almost all of their contemporaries, melodic, heavy, bizarre, beautiful. We're dying for the reissue of the albums proper, but for now we'll just listen to Antlers, over and over and over and over and over.....
Also includes two live Quicktime videos of Bastro live in Germany and Holland!!!
MPEG Stream: "Antlers"
MPEG Stream: "Educated Fool"

BASTRO Diablo Guapo (Homestead) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow, Homestead reissues two of Andee's favorite records ever (see The Frogs, below). There was a time, pre-Tortoise and pre-Gastr del sol, when John McEntire and David Grubbs rocked. I mean really ROCKED. Hard to believe, but in 1989, those guys were making some of the meanest, noisiest (barely indie) rock around as Bastro. Nasty Albini-ish high end guitar assaults, hammering rhythms, and howlingly furious vocals, made them Slint's bigger and meaner noise rock brother. Awesome.

BASTRO Sing The Troubled Beast (Homestead) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BAT FOR LASHES Two Suns (Astralwerks) cd 14.98
Natasha Khan, the artist behind Bat for Lashes, is a one-woman wonder. Though assisted by numerous musicians - including Scott Walker (!) on "The Big Sleep" - Bat for Lashes is obviously Natasha's heart and soul project. When one person is the primary songwriter/musician, there's an almost undefinable connectivity and synergy in the instrumentation that is difficult to achieve with a "real" band. The interplay between vocals and synths, how one will flow into another and then back, just as the koto-inspired drum programming kicks in, it's brilliant. There's pretty, tinny piano synths, brooding gothic synths, and sweeping orchestral synths, with just enough violin or guitar or live percussion to keep it from sounding completely electronic. Honestly, the artist that comes to mind more than anyone else while listening to "Two Suns" is Kate Bush, and while that may be a turn-off for some, it's a huge freakin' compliment as far as we're concerned. Like Kate Bush, Bat for Lashes can turn what would otherwise be semi-cheesy instrumentation into interesting, beautiful songs. Highlights include the opening song "Glass" (a little bit Bjork, a little bit of the Creatures), the second song "Sleep Alone" (a whole lot of Kate Bush), and the Scott Walker duet "The Big Sleep".
MPEG Stream: "Glass"
MPEG Stream: "Siren Song"
MPEG Stream: "The Big Sleep (Featuring Scott Walker)"

BAT FOR LASHES Two Suns (The Echo Label) lp 24.00
Also now on vinyl! Natasha Khan, the artist behind Bat for Lashes, is a one-woman wonder. Though assisted by numerous musicians (including Scott Walker (!) on "The Big Sleep"), Bat for Lashes is obviously Natasha's heart and soul project. When one person is the primary songwriter/musician, there's an almost undefinable connectivity and synergy in the instrumentation that is difficult to achieve with a "real" band. The interplay between vocals and synths, how one will flow into another and then back, just as the koto-inspired drum programming kicks in, it's brilliant. There's pretty, tinny piano synths, brooding gothic synths, and sweeping orchestral synths, with just enough violin or guitar or live percussion to keep it from sounding completely electronic. Honestly, the artist that comes to mind more than anyone else while listening to "Two Suns" is Kate Bush, and while that may be a turn-off for some, it's a huge freakin' compliment as far as we're concerned. Like Kate Bush, Bat for Lashes can turn what would otherwise be semi-cheesy instrumentation into interesting, beautiful songs. Highlights include the opening song "Glass" (a little bit Bjork, a little bit of the Creatures), the second song "Sleep Alone" (a whole lot of Kate Bush), and the Scott Walker duet "The Big Sleep".
MPEG Stream: "Glass"
MPEG Stream: "Siren Song"
MPEG Stream: "The Big Sleep (Featuring Scott Walker)"

BATAGOV, ANTON The Wheel Of The Law (Listen Different) 3cd 38.00
We first listed this late last year, and it was a HUGE hit around here, but before we knew it all of our suppliers were out of it and we were unable to get more, waiting for copies to make it here all the way from Russia! Well, it's a few months later and we finally got enough to re-list! So those of you who slept on this the last time get another chance to pick up this gorgeous chunk of dreamy minimalism...
This is not actually new, but this is the first time we've been able to get this, and the moment we heard it, we knew it was something we had to list! Recorded in 1999, and orginally released in 2002, The Wheel Of The Law compiles three epic pieces of gorgeous minimalism from Russian composer Anton Batagov. Three discs, three tracks composed for organ, glockenspiel, xylophone, piano and percussion, inspired by Buddhism and the Quest for Nirvana, and the practices involved: peace, meditation, deep thought, breathing, conciousness. Repetitive and melodic, lush and so so beautiful. Someone once referred to Batagov as sounding "like Reich on vodka", not sure we hear the vodka, or even any sounds distinctly and immediately recognizably Russian, but there is certainly plenty of Reich here, as well as Riley, and most definitely some Harold Budd, especially in the delicate, spare piano arrangements. The first disc, "Circle Of Time" is four long movements of warm rich swells of organ, flowing lazily beneath delicate cyclical chimes and abstract piano figures, very dramatic and hypnotic. The second disc, the 4 track Voidness cycle: "Appearances And Voidness", "Clarity And Voidness", "Bliss And Voidness", "Mind And Voidness", introduces the same delicate chimes found on the first disc, but this time over a repeating series of haunting moaning violin melodies. Minor key and mildly atonal, the melodies are spread out over a spare background of complex overtones, all drifting dreamily into space. The final disc: "Liberation Through Listening In The Between" is again a massive sprawl of lush static organ drones, wavering and subtly pulsing, with simple three and four note melodies played out over minutes instead of seconds, chiming and ringing, resonating above the organ's mesmerizing drone, the whole thing supported by a barely there framework of simple percussion, so subtle and simple that it's basically a single drum, muted and way down in the mix, offering a sort of pulse for the piece, a musical heartbeat, slowed down, as if in meditation or contemplation.
So completely an utterly breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Dus-Kyi Khor-Lo 1"
MPEG Stream: "Dus-Kyi Khor-Lo 4"

BATES, MARTYN / TROUM To A Child Dancing In The Wind (Transgredient) cd 14.98
For those well acquainted with the prose of Aquarius Records, the German duo Troum should be a familiar reference to any one keen on dark dronescapes; but Martyn Bates is something of an enigma to us despite being a stalwart of neo-romantic British art-rock thanks to wealth of recordings with his group Eyeless In Gaza. Blessed with the angelic voice of a classic crooner, Bates certainly fits in with the theatrically inclined singers such as David Sylvian, Scott Walker, and Gordon Sharp. Even when Eyeless In Gaza began under the banner of post-punk, Bates' impassioned delivery enveloped the anti-pop sensibilities with a majestic aura that probably repelled just as many potential fans that might be swayed by his rapturous clarion. To be completely honest, we've never been entirely convinced by Bates or Eyeless In Gaza, despite numerous attempts by lifelong fan and AQ pal Loren Chasse to convince us otherwise. In working with Troum on To A Child Dancing In The Wind, Bates has presented himself again as the occultish troubadour, but with Troum's dark elegance wrapped around his voice, we may need to reconsider. Nocturnal for sure, but hardly as overwhelmingly dark as some of the other Troum records (i.e. Tjurkurppa 2 or Sigqan); To A Child Dancing In The Wind has Troum wrapping shadowy drones and their slow motion churn of heavily processed guitar, accordion, harmonica, and bass as the tapestry for the celestial hymns scribed by Bates. For those transfixed by David Sylvian's collaborative efforts with Fennesz on Blemish, we would hazard to guess that you'll find this album equally as emotive and beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "To A Child Dancing In The Wind"
MPEG Stream: "Mad As The Mist And Snow"

BATES, TYLER The Devil's Rejects - Original Motion Picture Score (La-La Land / Lion's Gate) cd 16.98
Some of you may be tired of us going on and on about that Devil's Rejects movie (we listed the Banjo And Sullivan and the killer soundtrack recently). Well tough luck! We finally got the score in and it's amazing, even if you didn't see the movie. A dark and droney, rumbling creep fest, that if you weren't paying attention you might just mistake for a Lustmord record! We kid you not. Don't know too much about Tyler Bates, other than he has a deft hand at composing a scary score, albeit a hand dripping with viscera and blood! Slow building stretches of rumbling shimmering drones, creaking and crackling, splintering into shards of high end, slow heart beat like pulses, all ominous and oozing with dread, occasionally interrupted by blasts of pulsing teutonic crunch, chaotic rhythms stumbling wildly over tangles of atonal melody and and swirls of keening noise. There are moments of obvious soundtrack-ness, where the music was required to dictate some on screen action, a snippet of bump and grind funk, a brief passage of dizzy goofy circus music, but for the most part, each track is a dense black hole of musical misery and dark drones, that should totally hit the spot for all you dark ambient doom drone creatures of the night.
MPEG Stream: "Tiny And His Girl / Police"
MPEG Stream: "Official Clown Business"
MPEG Stream: "Staples"

BATHGATE, ALEC Pet Hates/Happy Hound (Flying Nun) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Imported from New Zealand. Bathgate is also guitarist in Tall Dwarfs.

BATHGATE, ALEC The Indifferent Velvet Void (Lil' Chief) cd 11.98
In a former life, Alec Bathgate was one half of the New Zealand indie rock band Tall Dwarfs (Chris Knox was the other half). He's now gone solo, shifting his focus slightly for The Indifferent Velvet Void. His overall sound is along the lines of the soft, wispy twee folksiness crafted by Elephant 6 Collective bands such as Olivia Tremor Control, Minders or Apples In Stereo, but we sensed some subtle Raspberries '70s softrock influences too. The first song immediately made Ms Cup start singing "Yummy yummy yummy I've got love in my tummy!" but then again that might also be because she'd just eaten an enormous slice of chocolate cake. Nevertheless, this is some super sweet retro poppiness which just might tickle your fancy if you dig any/all of the artists mentioned above!
MPEG Stream: "In The Shadows"
MPEG Stream: "New Day"

BATHORY Blood Fire Death (Black Mark) cd 16.98

BATHTUB SHITTER Angels Save Us + Mark A Muck (Shitjam) cd 12.98
When it rains, it pours. Especially when we're talking about, um... shit? Bathtub shitter that is. Now that the world has discovered the joys of Bathtub Shitter and the 'Shitter are no longer just an underground grindcore secret, the band have systematically been re-releasing their long out of print (and unbelievably kick ass) early seven inch singles. Bathtub Shitter were pretty dang prolific with more than a dozen singles and even more compilation tracks under their belts before they finally released a proper full length. So here we have the Angels Save Us 7" from 2002 and the Mark A Muck 7" from 2001, as well as a bonus track from a long out of print grindcore compilation. So if you're new to Bathtub Shitter, here is as good a place to start as anywhere. Imagine a grindcore band that incorporates bits of Zeppelin, and surf rock, and metal into their grind, occasionally veer off on questionable tangents and explore truly bizarre musical flights of fancy the way Japanese bands are often wont to do. But as with most bands, it's the vocals that -make- the band, but most bands probably don't have a skinny Japanese vocalist who bellows like an overwight demon with indigestion one minute, and screeches and squeals like an hysterical teenage girl the next. Sounds weird? It is. Really weird. But so funny and cool. A completey unpredicatable and super fun blast of chaotic grinding metallic rock and roll weirdness.
Limited to 1000 copies and hand numbered!
MPEG Stream: "Introduction (Bathtubshitter Theme Song)"
MPEG Stream: "Reek And Leak"
MPEG Stream: "Big Hip Pig"

BATHTUB SHITTER Bathtub Shitter Xmas (tUMULt) 3"cd 5.98
It's Christmas time again, and what better way to celebrate than with this cute lil' blast of Xmas grind from Japanese shitgrind legends Bathtub Shitter! The perfect stocking stuffer, for bad kids and good kids alike!
Every kid dreads finding a lump of coal in their stocking come Christmas morning, so much so that many spend the weeks or months before the big day doing their very best to ensure their spot on Santa's 'Nice' list. No more teasing the siblings, no more grousing about yardwork, cheerfully doing all their chores, eating all their vegetables, doing all their homework. Whatever it takes. But this year kids have something else entirely to worry about. Sure finding a lump of coal is a drag, but how about finding your stocking full of shit!! Well around here, that's something to be excited about. Because this is the year that Brown Santa comes to town. And who better to fill our hearts with Christmas cheer and regale us with tales of Brown Santa than Japan's shit obsessed grind lords Bathtub Shitter? That's right, it's a Bathtub Shitter Christmas. Record! Forget your Nat King Cole, and Perry Como, and Bing Crosby, and Barbara Striesand, this is the only Christmas record you need! And it's conveniently stocking sized, a cute lil' 3" cd, jam packed with furious grind, howling pummeling brutality, and lots and lots of shit.
For those of you new to the wonderful world of Bathtub Shitter, let's refer to a past review that perfectly and succinctly describes the Bathtub Shitter Experience:
Imagine some strange mix of Drop Dead, the Boredoms, Brutal Truth, CSSO, death metal, grindcore, and well....um...shit! Crunchy riffs swing from almost-surf rock, to Zeppelin groove to metallic crunch, but spend most of their time in grind mode, splattered and speeding out of control. Crazy drumming, farting bass and some wicked guitar noodling add to the sick sonic stew. But the vocals are where things get really weird. The main vocals are of the burping, grunting, cookie monster death metal variety, belching out indecipherable tales of shit and shitting, but their foil is a squealing, squeaking little girl of a man voice, sounding either like a babblingly hysterical middle age housewife shrieking at the top of her lungs or a horror movie cheerleader being eviscerated, screaming in that terrified way only dying cheerleaders in horror movies do. The two vocal styles swing and switch and battle and butt heads like some sort of bastard grindcore Beastie Boys. Or imagine Chuck D as Chris Barnes in his Cannibal Corpse days and Flavor Flav as the aforementioned shrieking dead cheerleader. With the everpresent S1Ws made up of members of S.O.D. and Angelcorpse. Other sorts of vocals are occasionally introduced like the 'dog barking underwater' and the 'asthmatic yodel'. The truly strange part is that all of the various vocals come from the very same guy!
Speaking of vocals, our Bathtub Shitter Xmas starts off with the a cappella "Brown Santa", a confusing and brilliantly bizarre series of shrieks and gurgles, grunts and wheezes. This guy could very well give Jaap Blonk a run for his money. Track two is the reverential hymn "Holy Shit", a grinding blast of Japanoise flecked surf-sludge-grind-rock, with insane squiggly guitars, chugging downtuned riffs, blasting octopoidal drumming and of course the 'Shitter hi / lo, shriek / growl vocal battle is in full effect. And finally, what better way to finish things off, than with a classic holiday chestnut, this time roasted over roaring hellfire!! WOOOAHHHAAAA. "Little Drummer Boy" turned into a sludgy slab of slow motion drone metal, huge churning guitars, the only glimpse of the original being the martial snare drum rat a tat tat-ing beneath all that sludge and of course the impossibly guttural growling cookie monster vocals spewing out a barely recognizable "parumpapumpum".
Wow! Now if that doesn't sound like something everyone would want to find in their stocking or under the tree Christmas morning then we don't know does!
"We're dreaming of a... Brown Christmas!"
MPEG Stream: "Holy Shit"
MPEG Stream: "Brown Santa (A Cappella Version)"

BATHTUB SHITTER Dancehall Grind (Shitjam Records) cd 12.98
Holy shit!!! A brand new record from our favorite Japanese stoner grind sludge punk rock group. Possesor of quite possibly the best band name ever. And most appropriate too, as the band seems strangely pre-occupied with shit (although not bathtubs so much). It's been raining 'Shitter reissues as the band works through their considerable back catalog of singles and split eps, so we ordered this thinking it was another reissue, but lo and behold, it's a whole disc of brand spanking new Bathtub Shitter. For those of you new to the world of Bathtub Shitter, imagine the bastard spawn of Brutal Truth, the Boredoms, Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, and Dick Dale. Stoner grooves collide with buzzing goregrind, surf rock licks sit unexpectedly amidst sludge metal riffs and lightning fast blast beats. A glorious goofy grinding metallic mess as only the Japanese can do it. But the star of any Bathtub Shitter is Masato Henmarer Morimoto, the owner of quite possibly the most ridiculous and breathtaking set of vocal chords ever. On first listen, we were convinced that BS must have had at least two vocalists, maybe more, but it's all the work of one man, Masato. Once you hear it you'll understand why it's so hard to believe. There is of course the requisite goregrind gurgle, a rumbling, phlegm spewing demonic growl, then there's the sort of punk rock yelp, that balances the first voice a bit, but it's the third distinct voice that blows the mind. A piercing, falsetto, damsel in distress, horror movie massacre, cheerleader / housewife shriek. It's so crazy, but sounds so great, especially when engaged with the aforementioned growl in a sort of unholy duet, like a grindcore Beastie Boys, but battling atop a swirling squirmy mass of downtuned guitars, rumbling bowel loosening bass and blasting splattery drumming. WE LOVE BATHTUB SHITTER.
Packaged like the last few BS releases in an oversized 7"style sleeve with really cool and creepy cover art!
MPEG Stream: "Skate Of Bulgaria"
MPEG Stream: "World Dun Hole"
MPEG Stream: "Umber"

BATHTUB SHITTER Early Yeah(s) (Shitjam) cd 12.98
Ah, Bathtub Shitter. Even the mere mention of the band gets us all smiling. Not just because Bathtub Shitter is quite possibly the most stupidly brilliant band name ever, and not just because their lyrics are composed in a dizzyingly bizarre confusional sort of Japanglish, and not just because they sing mostly about shit, but because they are still one of the coolest, weirdest grind bands we have ever heard. If you're a regular AQ customer, you are probably already well aware of how much we love Bathtub Shitter, and probably have a good idea of why, but those of you yet to be acquainted with the 'Shitter, let's recap. Imagine if you will, the Boredoms covering Agoraphobic Nosebleed, or maybe a wacky, damaged Japanese Pig Destroyer. Wild and splattery grind, huge downtuned guitars, blazing fast, super complex riffs, pounding blast beats, and a vocalist who manages to grunt with the best of 'em, a guttural gargling demonic gurgle, but who, in the blink of an eye, can switch to a hysterical shriek, that sounds a bit like a mad housewife or a terrified cheerleader in a horror movie as she is about to be ritually disemboweled. Amazing! Seeing them live, it's completely baffling to see these two voices coming from the same skinny little Japanese guy, so much so that until we actually did see them, we were convinced there had to be two vocalists.
This is Bathtub Shitter record number three, and is quite possibly the best of the bunch, compiling all of their long out of print seven inches, compilation tracks, songs from splits as well as some demos and unreleased tracks. Packaged in an oversized seven inch sleeve, with cool gory cover art on one side, one of those goofy punk rock / heavy metal style collages of onstage / backstage hi-jinks on the other, and of course all the lyrics inside. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES WORLDWIDE, AND HAND NUMBERED!
...And coming soon, in plenty of time for the holidays, you knew it had to happen... a Bathtub Shitter Christmas record!! On Andee's tUMULt label!! Holy shit!!
MPEG Stream: "Shit Fly"
MPEG Stream: "Bathtub Shitter"
MPEG Stream: "Asu"

BATHTUB SHITTER Lifetime Shitlist (Shit Jam Records) cd 12.98
Finally repressed and back in print!! In a new oversized 7" style sleeve with different artwork than the original jewel case version. Limited to 1000 copies, each one hand numbered. This is the record that started it all!! Our massive obsession with Japan's mighty Bathtub Shitter!!! Here's us raving madly about Lifetime Shitlist when we first heard it way back in 2004:
If you've been hanging out with me (Andee) much lately, you've undoubtedly heard me singing the praises of Bathtub Shitter. In fact before I had even heard them, I knew Bathtub Shitter had the potential to be my favorite band. C'mon, they're Japanese, they are called Bathtub Shitter, oh and did I mention they only sing about shit? For a while I was fantasizing about releasing a split with the two best bands in the world (as determined at the time solely by monicker as I had yet to hear either) Bathtub Shitter and Fuck I'm Dead. I'm still thinking about it, but while I ruminate, we're lucky to have this, the first full length Bathtub Shitter record and their only cd. We spent a good long while tracking down 7"s, but since the world leans heavily in the digital direction we had to wait until this beautiful shiny shit-obsessed marvel fell into our hands! What's it sound like you're probably wondering by now. Well, imagine some strange mix of Drop Dead, the Boredoms, Brutal Truth, CSSO, death metal, grindcore, and well....um...shit! Crunchy riffs swing from almost-surf rock, to Zeppelin groove to metallic crunch, but spend most of their time in grind mode, splattered and speeding out of control. Crazy drumming, farting bass and some wicked guitar noodling add to the sick sonic stew. But the vocals are where things get really weird. The main vocals are of the burping, grunting, cookie monster death metal variety, belching out indecipherable tales of shit and shitting, but their foil is a squealing, squeaking little girl of a man voice, sounding either like a babblingly hysterical middle age housewife shrieking at the top of her lungs or a horror movie cheerleader being eviscerated, screaming in that terrified way only dying cheerleaders in horror movies do. The two vocal styles swing and switch and battle and butt heads like some sort of bastard grindcore Beastie Boys. Or imagine Chuck D as Chris Barnes in his Cannibal Corpse days and Flavor Flav as the aforementioned shrieking dead cheerleader. With the everpresent S1Ws made up of members of S.O.D. and Angelcorpse. Other sorts of vocals are occasionally introduced like the 'dog barking underwater' and the 'asthmatic yodel' but I don't want to give away too much. It's better if you just let the Bathtub Shitter unfold before you like a beautiful, shit-filled flower.
MPEG Stream: "Control Of Own Hole"
MPEG Stream: "One One One"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Hip Raper"

BATHTUB SHITTER Lifetime Shitlist (Ramen Factory) lp 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl!!!
If you've been hanging out with me (Andee) much lately, you've undoubtedly heard me singing the praises of Bathtub Shitter. In fact before I had even heard them, I knew Bathtub Shitter had the potential to be my favorite band. C'mon, they're Japanese, they are called Bathtub Shitter, oh and did I mention they only sing about shit? For a while I was fantasizing about releasing a split with the two best bands in the world (as determined at the time solely by monicker as I had yet to hear either) Bathtub Shitter and Fuck I'm Dead. I'm still thinking about it, but while I ruminate, we're lucky to have this, the first full length Bathtub Shitter record and their only cd. We spent a good long while tracking down 7"s, but since the world leans heavily in the digital direction we had to wait until this beautiful shiny shit-obsessed marvel fell into our hands! What's it sound like you're probably wondering by now. Well, imagine some strange mix of Drop Dead, the Boredoms, Brutal Truth, CSSO, death metal, grindcore, and well....um...shit! Crunchy riffs swing from almost-surf rock, to Zeppelin groove to metallic crunch, but spend most of their time in grind mode, splattered and speeding out of control. Crazy drumming, farting bass and some wicked guitar noodling add to the sick sonic stew. But the vocals are where things get really weird. The main vocals are of the burping, grunting, cookie monster death metal variety, belching out indecipherable tales of shit and shitting, but their foil is a squealing, squeaking little girl of a man voice, sounding either like a babblingly hysterical middle age housewife shrieking at the top of her lungs or a horror movie cheerleader being evicerated, screaming in that terrified way only dying cheerleaders in horror movies do. The two vocal styles swing and switch and battle and butt heads like some sort of bastard grindcore Beastie Boys. Or imagine Chuck D as Chris Barnes in his Cannibal Corpse days and Flavor Flav as the aforementioned shrieking dead cheerleader. With the everpresent S1Ws made up of members of S.O.D. and Angelcorpse. Other sorts of vocals are occasionally introduced like the 'dog barking underwater' and the 'asthmatic yodel' but I don't want to give away too much. It's better if you just let the Bathtub Shitter unfold before you like a beautiful, shit-filled flower.
MPEG Stream: "Control Of Own Hole"
MPEG Stream: "One One One"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Hip Raper"

BATHTUB SHITTER Shitter At Salzgitter (Live In Germany 2004) (Power It Up) cd 12.98
What else to say about Bathtub Shitter at this point? We've gushed and gushed in review after review. If you're a loyal AQ list reader, you probably know all there is to know about these guys. But for those of you who have somehow missed out on the goofy grind glory that is Bathtub Shitter, check the AQ website to read all about Japan's masters of shitgrind! But in a nutshell, BS are a whirling blast of super technical downtuned metallic grind, with plenty of groove and surf rock (!) and any other weird musical bits they choose to incorporate. Fast and furious and sometimes funny. A buzzing blasting metallic maelstrom, topped with some of the coolest, weirdest vocals EVER! A grunting guttural death metal growl, gurgling and demonic, but that in the blink of an eye, can suddenly switch into hysterical falsetto, like a screeching cheerleader, or a yapping lap dog. So weird, but somehow so goddamn perfect too. They are Japanese after all, and seemingly any idea that sounds too ridiculous or dumb, can be pulled off by a Japanese band without even breaking a sweat.
Shitter At Salzgitter was recorded in Germany back in 2004 and features tons of BS 'hits': "War Of World Is Words", "Bathtub Shitter", "Fuck Hip Raper" and the brilliantly titled "Everybody Has The Wet"!
Nothing dramatically different, just some alternate versions of your Shitter faves as well as a handful of killer tunes you probably haven't heard. Between song banter is always the best part of a live record, and while BS keep it to a minimum, it's cool to hear the songs introduced in either haltingly polite English or raspy monster growls, sometimes both!! Rumor is these guys will make it over here this year so we can experience this stuff LIVE!! We can't wait.
ALL HAIL THE 'SHITTER!!!
MPEG Stream: "Holy Song For You"
MPEG Stream: "Wall Of World Is Words"
MPEG Stream: "Bathtub Shitter"
MPEG Stream: "Everybody Has The Wet"

BATHTUB SHITTER Skate Of Bulgaria (Hater Of God) 5" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
OK. By now any avid reader of the AQ list doesn't need to know anything more than this: NEW BATHTUB SHITTER. If you're like us, that's more than enough to send a tingle down your insane Japanese grind metal lovin' record nerd spine. But if that's somehow not enough. How about 5" vinyl ep? SO much cooler than a boring old 7". Still not enough? Okay, this has to do it, the lyric sheet is printed in shit brown ink on a PIECE OF TOILET PAPER!!! So just do it. You know you want it. NEED it. But just in case you need more, or this whole 'Shitter business is new to you, let's go back to an old review where we summed up the whole Bathtub Shitter experience as perfectly as we'll ever be able to:
"Imagine some strange mix of Drop Dead, the Boredoms, Brutal Truth, CSSO, death metal, grindcore, and well....um...shit! Crunchy riffs swing from almost-surf rock, to Zeppelin groove to metallic crunch, but spend most of their time in grind mode, splattered and speeding out of control. Crazy drumming, farting bass and some wicked guitar noodling add to the sick sonic stew. But the vocals are where things get really weird. The main vocals are of the burping, grunting, cookie monster death metal variety, belching out indecipherable tales of shit and shitting, but their foil is a squealing, squeaking little girl of a man voice, sounding either like a babblingly hysterical middle age housewife shrieking at the top of her lungs or a horror movie cheerleader being evicerated, screaming in that terrified way only dying cheerleaders in horror movies do. The two vocal styles swing and switch and battle and butt heads like some sort of bastard grindcore Beastie Boys. Or imagine Chuck D as Chris Barnes in his Cannibal Corpse days and Flavor Flav as the aforementioned shrieking dead cheerleader. With the everpresent S1Ws made up of members of S.O.D. and Angelcorpse. Other sorts of vocals are occasionally introduced like the 'dog barking underwater' and the 'asthmatic yodel'. The truly strange part is that all of the various vocals come from the very same guy!"
Yeah, we know it seems lazy to just crib that description from an old review, but that's EXACTLY what they sound like. Not sure we could describe it any better than that first time we discovered Bathtub Shitter. In fact, just reading that again gets us all excited about the 'Shitter all over again!!
Packaged in a striking full color mini lp style sleeve, with aforementioned toilet paper lyric sheet, and as with most things like this, very very limited!

BATHTUB SHITTER Wall Of World Is Words (Power It Up) cd 15.98
We won't go into too much gushing detail about our obsession with Bathtub Shitter. For more on that, check the review of their debut Lifetime Shitlist. Needless to say, Bathtub Shitter are the greatest band ever. And definitely have the best band name ever! Okay, so hyperbole aside, the Shitter are the kind of band only Japan seems capable of producing, a chaotic, pounding grind metal juggernaut, with a lead vocalist who switches from demonic gurgling growl, to shrieking hysterical old lady squeal, often within the same verse, and an unhealthy obsession with all things shit. Yep, Japan is amazing. And so is Bathtub Shitter. Heavy enough to please metalheads and grind freaks, but weird enough for everyone else! This is a reissue of their out of print 10", on cd for the first time and with bonus tracks!
MPEG Stream: "Wall Of World Is Words"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck You"

BATOH, MASAKI A Ghost from the Darkened Sea (The Now Sound) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first release on North Carolina's Now Sound label to *not* feature a naked lady painted by the label president's dad! Congratulations, Jeremy! Masaki Batoh of the awesome Japanese band Ghost, who give hippies a good name, mind you, plays acoustic guitar, marimba, harmonium etc, and covers Can's "Yoo Doo Right".

BATOH, MASAKI Collected Works 1995-1996 (The Now Sound) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Both stellar solo albums coupled on one disc.

BATOH, MASAKI Collected Works 1995-1996 (Drag City) cd 14.98
Here's a welcome reissue of an old favorite, essential to any followers of the Japanese psych scene! It's Ghost leader Masaki Batoh's Collected Works 1995-1996, originally released on The Now Sound label and long out-of-print. The Works that this disc Collects consist of Batoh's two stellar solo LPs, A Ghost from the Darkened Sea and Kikaokubeshi, both recorded in the run-up to Ghost's crucial Lama Rabi Rabi album. Batoh's two LPs were somewhat different, with A Ghost From The Darkened Sea taking an intimate acid-folk song approach, including a damaged cover of Can's "Yoo Doo Right", while Kikaokubeshi is more droney and abstract, ambient with nocturnal nature whisperings around the blurry edges of his instruments. Together on this cd, it all makes for some dark and sad and beautiful, great late night listening. Batoh blends his acoustic guitar, marimba, harmonium, etc. with field recordings in a wonderfly dreamy, organic way. A must for all Ghost fans -- indeed, Andee contends that this is actually better than any other "Ghost" record! Thanks to Drag City for making this again available (owners of the old version note that although this looks just a little bit different, the tracks on it are all the same).
MPEG Stream: "World Of Pain"
MPEG Stream: "Death Star"

BATOH, MASAKI Kikaokubeshi (The Now Sound) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
1996 recordings by Batoh, leader of Japan's epic psychedelic folk-kings Ghost. Solo, he emits beautiful, dark, drone-folk, ambient with nocturnal nature whisperings around the blurry edges of his instruments. This lp is a follow-up to his previous solo lp...both of which are available on one compact disc, as well. Side A concludes with "Death Star," making for another timely tie-in. Strictly limited to 700 vinyl copies.

BATS (MICHEL BARATAUD) The Inaudible World - A Sound Guide Of The French Bats (Ballade Dans L'inaudible - Methode D'identification Acoustique Des Chauves-Souris De France) (Sittelle) 2cd 39.00
I know we've said this before, but the more crazy animal sounds we hear, the more we wonder why musicians even bother. Sure, you'd be hard pressed to get a pop song out of a sled dog or a purring kitten or an insect or a croaking frog, but for any other sounds all bets are off. Be it rumbling or clicking or squeaking or whirring or chirping or some impossible mix of all of those, or even (especially) those sounds we're not exactly sure how to describe, the animal kingdom has us beat. Thousands of years of evolution, technological advances, every manner of sound making device imaginable, and somewhere, there's some little furry thing that can make those same sounds with its mouth or by rubbing its legs together, or using some parts only they possess. That's what makes records like this totally fascinating and completely humbling.
Most of us have seen bats at one time or another, flitting overhead, barely visible in the dark, or maybe at the zoo. But who among us has ever really heard a bat, until now? And these recordings aren't the mewlings and scratchings and other various sounds that small animals make, no these are the sounds of the bats' ultra sensitive sonar, recorded by expert Michel Barataud using a heterodyne detector and a simple tape recorder, culled from a study that lasted from 1988-1995 and covered 251 different bats of 20 different species! The neat thing about this collection is the fact that there are two discs, one with the original recordings, the other with those same recordings slowed down 10 times (we we can hear what the bats are "hearing"). So cool!
The first disc is an expansive series of creaks and clicks, percussive knocks and thumps, strange melodies that sound like analog synths, high pitched pulses, shortwave-like squawks, chattering, sputtering Geiger counter-like rhythms, all very minimal and totally hypnotic. Sounds so much like a record on ultra-minimalist label Raster-Noton it's not even funny. One can almost imagine Ryoji Ikeda or Alva Noto, after spending years locked in a pressure sealed white cube of a studio, packed with state of the art sound modules, liquid cooled speakers, hard disc recorders, every bit of sound recorded and played back in a perfect listening vacuum, each click and tone painstakingly crafted and carefully placed, stepping outside with finished disc in hand, and then upon hearing the delicate fluttering pattern of clicks and chirps of the bats' sonar, throwing their disc to the ground and stomping it to bits, uttering in their best Simpsons Comic Book Guy voice, "Oh... I've wasted my life."
Gorgeously spare and hauntingly musical, an uber-minimal intricate rhythmic soundfield with impossibly abstract barely there melodies and surrounded by the sounds of no sound. Lovely.
On disc two, those very same sounds are slowed down, and thus become less like percussive clicks and more like melodic chirps. The slowed down versions sound remarkably like bird calls, but unlike the trills and songlike elements of birdsong, each note here is suspended all by itself, floating in a soundscape of ambient whir, before it is supplanted by the next. An extended melody spread out over minutes instead of seconds, like a 45 rpm record of bird calls played at 16 rpm. The sped up sounds on disc two are occasionally joined by the sounds of insects and the surrounding landscape, filling out the sound with the chirp of crickets and the croaking of frogs, a distant cacophony underpinning the bats' mysterious melodies.
Included is a 50 page oversized book which contains all of the field notes, recording details, notes on each track and each animal, complete with charts and graphs, very dense and scientific, and there's even a page with a blank chart so you can go out there and take some field recording notes yourself!
MPEG Stream: "Disc One, Track One"
MPEG Stream: "Disc One, Track Two"
MPEG Stream: "Disc One, Track Four"
MPEG Stream: "Disc One, Track Six"
MPEG Stream: "Disc Two, Track One"
MPEG Stream: "Disc Two, Track Two"
MPEG Stream: "Disc Two, Track Three"
MPEG Stream: "Disc Two, Track Four"

BATS, THE At The National Grid (Magic Marker Records) cd 15.98
Hey, nature lovers! We've recently gotten a ton of great field recording cds of frogs, bats and other earthly wonders (to be listed soon, we promise!!). So that means we must be extra dilligent to make sure we don't confuse the critter-monikered bands with the actual creatures of the same name. That said, these Bats are most certainly human, and their latest album (their first in about a decade!) At The National Grid is filled with the wistful, finely crafted and composed pop that made these folks along with fellow New Zealanders Tall Dwarfs such pop fan favorites back in the late '80s and early '90s. Indeed these new songs sound strikingly like The Bats of old. Their tunes are sure to give ya the warm fuzzies much like those of the Go-Betweens do. Imagine a less mature gent sounding incarnation of the latter band and you'll get a pretty good idea of the former. However, that description probably won't help you if you're somehow not yet familiar with either band. If that's the case, and you do have a soft spot for really good and intelligent gentle pop, all we can say is, what the heck are you waiting for?!
MPEG Stream: "Western Isle"
MPEG Stream: "Flowers & Trees"

BATTIATO, FRANCO Clic (BMG Italy) cd 13.98

BATTIATO, FRANCO Fetus (Water) cd 15.98
Strange and introspective Italian prog-rock ballads from the one and only Franco Battiato. Based on themes of creation and rebirth, this first release from 1972 in his eccentric experimental mode is more song-oriented than later synth-prog efforts Sulle Corde Di Aries or Clic, but no less exceptional. A student of Stockhausen with a singing-style reminiscent of Pugh Rogefeldt or Tom Ze, Battiato combines the synthy arpeggios of Tangerine Dream with musique concrete-like manipulations of found recordings and ecstatic bursts of orchestrated pop. Awesome! New reissue includes liner notes from Jim O'Rourke.
MPEG Stream: "Energia"
MPEG Stream: "Mutazione"

BATTIATO, FRANCO Pollution (Water) cd 15.98
Although it's only a very small section inside our store, many of our most devout and curious shoppers have found gem after gem in our Italian Prog section. Franco Battiato is one of those gems for sure. One of those endlessly creative artists who completely defies categorization. Sweeping in scope and eccentric in all the right ways it's no surprise that Battiato has finally begun to get the attention he so rightly deserves, as folks like Jim O'Rourke have gone out of their way to champion these forward thinking sounds from decades ago. Released in 1973, Pollution is a psychedelic synth masterpiece foreshadowing so much of what was to come in the landscape of electronic music. With out-of-this-world synths that make Rick Wakeman's playing seem pedestrian, and an otherworldly dimension orchestrated to perfection. Like David Axelrod getting super psychedelic and arranging a record for Ash Ra Tempel. So extravagant yet totally coherent. These sounds are so alive, so full of color, wonder and beauty. It goes without saying that as more folks discover this record it will probably be sampled to death, and we wouldn't be all that surprised if Four Tet, DJ Shadow, or Plaid hadn't already borrowed a bit here and there. Like Jean Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, this is an early '70s psych-prog masterpiece that is an across the board AQ favorite!
MPEG Stream: "Areknames"
MPEG Stream: "Plancton"
MPEG Stream: "Pollution"

BATTIATO, FRANCO Sulle Corde Di Aries (BMG Italy) cd 14.98

BATTIATO, FRANCO ZA (Artis) cd 16.98
Minimalist avant piano and voice from 1970s Italy. This composer, we've been told, is much beloved by the Chicago Tortoise crowd. We will also soon be restocking his Jukebox which is a lovely, soaring soundtrack to an older Italian TV movie.

BATTISTI, LUCIO Amore E Non Amore (Water) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Dio Mio No"
MPEG Stream: "Seduto Sotto Un Platano Con Una Margherita In Bocca Guardando Il Fiume Nero Macchiato Dalla Schiuma Bianca Dei Detersivi"
MPEG Stream: "Una"

BATTISTI, LUCIO Umanamente Uomo: Il Sogno (Water) cd 14.98
Lucio Battisti, a major star in the sixties and seventies in his native Italy, has never had a following here, which is surprising since his romantic psych-inflected ballads are not a far cry from anything Scott Walker or Caetano Veloso produced during the same period. Umanamente Uomo: Il Sogno marks the beginning of an experimental phase for Battisti, dwelling into lushly dramatic arrangements of electric piano, wah guitar, church organ, culminating in the outstanding instrumental "Il Fuoco". While not as far out as say, Franco Battiatio's synth-prog experiments around the same time, we think folks will find a lot to like about Lucio Battisti's unique arrangements of baroque psych-pop.
MPEG Stream: "Innocenti Evasioni"
MPEG Stream: "Sognando E Risognando"

BATTLEMASTER Warthirsting & Winterbound (Forcefield) cd 13.98

BATTLES B EP (Dim Mak Records) cd ep 12.98
Battles seems to have a thing for EPs. Well, why not? Might be the best format for their brand of attention-span sapping math rock. And you do get a full half-hour here, filled out with these five tracks of advanced instrumental action. This band -- featuring (ahem, selling points here) Ian Williams from Don Caballero/Storm And Stress, Tyondai "Son of Anthony" Braxton, John Stanier of Helmet/Tomahawk and Lynx's Dave Konopka -- are pros at making impressively complicated yet undeniably enjoyable post-rock music, as lively as it is listenable (which we mean in a good way). Often hectic but never harsh. It's as if these guys are taking King Crimson's early '80s comeback classic Discipline and giving it a fractured, abstract and electronic makeover. Venturing into totally deconstructed Starfuckers-ish territory, the twelve minute "BTTLS" might be the highlight, or at least the most abstract track on here by far... but the whole B EP is a fine dose of Battles for their quickly growing legion of fans.
MPEG Stream: "Ipt2"
MPEG Stream: "Dance"

BATTLES B EP (Dim Mak) 12" 10.98
Battles seems to have a thing for EPs. Well, why not? Might be the best format for their brand of attention-span sapping math rock. And you do get a full half-hour here, filled out with these five tracks of advanced instrumental action. This band -- featuring (ahem, selling points here) Ian Williams from Don Caballero/Storm And Stress, Tyondai "Son of Anthony" Braxton, John Stanier of Helmet/Tomahawk and Lynx's Dave Konopka -- are pros at making impressively complicated yet undeniably enjoyable post-rock music, as lively as it is listenable (which we mean in a good way). Often hectic but never harsh. It's as if these guys are taking King Crimson's early '80s comeback classic Discipline giving it a fractured, abstract and electronic makeover. Venturing into totally deconstructed Starfuckers-ish territory, the twelve minute "BTTLS" might be the highlight, or at least the most abstract track on here by far... but the whole B EP is a fine dose of Battles for their quickly growing legion of fans.
MPEG Stream: "Ipt2"
MPEG Stream: "Dance"

BATTLES EP C (Monitor) cd ep 12.98
This is one pedigreed post-rock combo here! Battles consists of Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm And Stress), Tyondai Braxton (son of jazz genius Anthony and solo artist in his own right), John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk) and Dave Konopka (Lynx). These gents have joined forces to tangle their guitar strings, various drum implements, and electronic gadgetry into a big knot that might seem loose but is probably really tight if you were to try and unravel it. And while their compositions might be 'difficult', listening to this is not. Battles sounds like a post rock band (a la Don Cab or Lynx) playing the music of Conlon Nancarrow on Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research equipment. Or Gershon Kingsley making math rock. Weird, complex, delightful. And rather than debut with a full length, they've released two new eps in various formats. There are the five tracks of EP C cd ep, and the two-song limited Tras 12" vinyl and cd ep (the latter of which also includes a video clip).
MPEG Stream: "Hi/Lo"

BATTLES EP C / EP B (Warp) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two of the three killer Battles eps (C and B) on a single import cd (note: both eps are still available separately) from this far out post Don Cab post Helmet post-prog-jazz-mathrock-whatthefuck-supergroup! Here's what we had to say about the two eps when we first reviewed them a while back:
EP C:
This is one pedigreed post-rock combo here! Battles consists of Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm And Stress), Tyondai Braxton (son of jazz genius Anthony and solo artist in his own right), John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk) and Dave Konopka (Lynx). These gents have joined forces to tangle their guitar strings, various drum implements, and electronic gadgetry into a big knot that might seem loose but is probably really tight if you were to try and unravel it. And while their compositions might be 'difficult', listening to this is not. Battles sounds like a post rock band (a la Don Cab or Lynx) playing the music of Conlon Nancarrow on Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research equipment. Or Gershon Kingsley making math rock. Weird, complex, delightful.
EP B:
Battles seems to have a thing for EPs. Well, why not? Might be the best format for their brand of attention-span sapping math rock. And you do get a full half-hour here, filled out with these five tracks of advanced instrumental action. This band -- featuring (ahem, selling points here) Ian Williams from Don Caballero/Storm And Stress, Tyondai "Son of Anthony" Braxton, John Stanier of Helmet/Tomahawk and Lynx's Dave Konopka -- are pros at making impressively complicated yet undeniably enjoyable post-rock music, as lively as it is listenable (which we mean in a good way). Often hectic but never harsh. It's as if these guys are taking King Crimson's early '80s comeback classic Discipline and giving it a fractured, abstract and electronic makeover. Venturing into totally deconstructed Starfuckers-ish territory, the twelve minute "BTTLS" might be the highlight, or at least the most abstract track on here by far... but the whole B EP is a fine dose of Battles for their quickly growing legion of fans.
MPEG Stream: "Hi/Lo"
MPEG Stream: "Ipt2"
MPEG Stream: "Dance"

BATTLES Mirrored (Warp) cd 15.98
With only a couple ep's under their belts, Battles have been taking their sweet time creating their first proper full length and wow, has all that time and patience paid off! Mirrored is one of those records that grabs you right off the bat and sucks you in, intense and immediate, but with a staying power that has had us listening to this record over and over, finding new things to love about it each and every time. Math rock may be an equation that's been solved and worked out to a point of no return, but Battles have taken the polyrhythms and driving elements from their individual math rock roots (Don Cabellero, Helmet, Lynx) and added so many exciting ingredients to the mix. Fantastical prog like arrangements, spacey excursions, dance floor flirtations, a dose of oddly alien vocals, and a mesmerizing infusion of elements from 20th century composition, all whipped up together to make a record that sends you soaring into another galaxy with a fury and energy that can't be denied. In lesser hands all these elements could sound clumsy or forced, but Battles have found a way to make it all sound so seamless and fun! Like Goblin hijacking a Steve Reich composition, and dumping bags of glitter and the spiciest spices all over the place, creating the most beautiful and supercharged kind of mess. Some of our favorite artists, many who are maybe too prolific for their own good, could learn a thing or two from these guys. Sometimes truly honing your craft and perfecting that vision is worth it when the results are this glorious!
MPEG Stream: "Race: In"
MPEG Stream: "Ddiamondd"
MPEG Stream: "Tij"

BATTLES Mirrored (Warp) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl!!!
With only a couple ep's under their belts, Battles have been taking their sweet time creating their first proper full length and wow, has all that time and patience paid off! Mirrored is one of those records that grabs you right off the bat and sucks you in, intense and immediate, but with a staying power that has had us listening to this record over and over, finding new things to love about it each and every time. Math rock may be an equation that's been solved and worked out to a point of no return, but Battles have taken the polyrhythms and driving elements from their individual math rock roots (Don Cabellero, Helmet, Lynx) and added so many exciting ingredients to the mix. Fantastical prog like arrangements, spacey excursions, dance floor flirtations, a dose of oddly alien vocals, and a mesmerizing infusion of some elements from 20th century composition, all whipped up together to make a record that sends you soaring into another galaxy with a fury and energy that can't be denied. In lesser hands all these elements could sound clumsy or forced, but Battles have found a way to make it all sound so seamless and fun! Like Goblin hijacking a Steve Reich composition, and dumping bags of glitter and the spiciest spices all over the place, creating the most beautiful and supercharged kind of mess. Some of our favorite artists, many who are maybe too prolific for their own good, could learn a thing or two from these guys. Sometimes truly honing your craft and perfecting that vision is worth it when the results are this glorious!
MPEG Stream: "Race: In"
MPEG Stream: "Ddiamondd"
MPEG Stream: "Tij"

BATTLES Tras (Coldsweat) cd ep 9.98
This is one pedigreed post-rock combo here! Battles consists of Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm And Stress), Tyondai Braxton (son of jazz genius Anthony and solo artist in his own right), John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk) and Dave Konopka (Lynx). These gents have joined forces to tangle their guitar strings, various drum implements, and electronic gadgetry into a big knot that might seem loose but is probably really tight if you were to try and unravel it. And while their compositions might be 'difficult', listening to this is not. Battles sounds like a post rock band (a la Don Cab or Lynx) playing the music of Conlon Nancarrow on Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research equipment. Or Gershon Kingsley making math rock. Weird, complex, delightful. And rather than debut with a full length, they've released two new eps in various formats. There are the five tracks of EP C cd ep, and the two-song limited Tras 12" vinyl and cd ep (the latter of which also includes a video clip).
MPEG Stream: "Tras"

BATTLES Tras (Coldsweat) 12" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is one pedigreed post-rock combo here! Battles consists of Ian Williams (Don Caballero, Storm And Stress), Tyondai Braxton (son of jazz genius Anthony and solo artist in his own right), John Stanier (Helmet, Tomahawk) and Dave Konopka (Lynx). These gents have joined forces to tangle their guitar strings, various drum implements, and electronic gadgetry into a big knot that might seem loose but is probably really tight if you were to try and unravel it. And while their compositions might be 'difficult', listening to this is not. Battles sounds like a post rock band (a la Don Cab or Lynx) playing the music of Conlon Nancarrow on Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research equipment. Or Gershon Kingsley making math rock. Weird, complex, delightful. And rather than debut with a full length, they've released two new eps in various formats. There are the five tracks of EP C cd ep, and the two-song limited Tras 12" vinyl and cd ep (the latter of which also includes a video clip).
MPEG Stream: "Tras"

BATTLES, THE Tomorrow's Eager Hands (Soft Abuse) cd 14.98
Please note this is Vancouver band THE Battles, not to be confused with the post-rock Battles (no 'the')!
This is The Battles' follow-up to their 2001 debut Lycanthropy. While their record label has stickered this cd's shrinkwrap with mentions of "stylistic nods to Todd Rundgren, Mayo Thompson and Robyn Hitchcock", we hear The Battles' veering more towards Split Enz / Crowded House territory. That's a-ok with us, 'cause those Finn brothers are a couple of mighty fine songwriters with expressive voices and on the first few songs of Tomorrow's Eager Hands, The Battles' mainman Steve Wood sounds like he could be their younger brother. Later in the album, the abovementioned nods become more apparent as they draw in closer to the sound of their Vancouver brethren Destroyer (a few of whose members also appear here as well as a few from New Pornographers and Loscil). As well, they take a brief spacey soundscape detour which is much more in line with their five-years-ago selves, but seems somewhat incongruous here. Overall though there's plenty of retro pop smarts and poetic penmanship to sink your ears into... good stuff!
MPEG Stream: "Omega Man"
MPEG Stream: "Northern Man"

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 25th Anniversary Edition Original Soundtrack (Geffen) cd 14.98
25 years? Oh my god. Well, if you're at least that old you'll remember the movie/TV show Battlestar Galactica, a Mormons-in-space allegory that gave the world those Cylon baddies and inspired George Lucas' even more successful Star Wars cycle of films. Oh, ok, maybe it was the other way around. Ahem. Anyway, here (at last) is a remastered cd reissue of the soundtrack, which proves to be a pretty fine faux-classical bit of work composed by Stu Phillips and performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Play it for your hoity-toity symphony goin' friends and tell 'em it's a rare 20th century classical thing from Russia or a new Jonathan Bepler Cremaster score or something... then see what they think when the bonus track, the *Disco Version* of the main theme, comes on at the end! Lotsa fun. And the cover art bears mentioning: it's hard to believe this was the actual movie poster, but it was -- it looks so much like you'd imagine the Mad magazine parody to look like. I mean, that's a caricature of Lorne Greene, not a proper portrait, right?
MPEG Stream: "The Cylon Trap"
MPEG Stream: "Theme From Battlestar Galactica (Disco Version)"

BATTLETORN Evil Chains (Mega Blade) cd 13.98

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

BAUER, KARL AND ELISA AMBROG (AXOLOTL & MAGIK MARKERS) Psychic Hygiene (Spirit Of Orr) 7" 8.98
Found a little stash of these. Already out of print so these are the last copies...
Another strange (but then again, maybe not so strange) collaboration. Karl from Axolotl and Elisa from Magic Markers get together to make some beautiful and slightly noisy music together.
Elisa's guitar seems to be taking center stage on the A side, scrabbly and angular, chaotic and scarping and grinding, dense tangles of high end squiggle and scrape laid over a distant hum of tape hiss and other abstract ambience.
The flipside is more bluesy, kind of. A sort of ghostlike disembodied folk, a bit of twang, lots of clunk and clatter, stumbly and spacious, the notes and melodies gnarled and twisted into strange atonal shapes, deep rumbling swells here and there, clouds of high end shimmer, soft washed out buzz, a dreamy creaky blissed out noiseflecked abstract guitarscape. Haunting and strangely pretty.

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

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

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