CAGE, JOHN Credo In Us (Wergo) cd 19.98

CAGE, JOHN Diary: How To Improve The World (Wergo) 8cd 93.00
"This landmark Wergo set presents 8 out of 10 volumes from John Cage's unfinished spoken diary. Read in the composer's own inimitable voice, these recordings provide fascinating insights into Cage's musical and life philosophies. These are not simply spoken word recordings -- each volume is sonically composed. Changes in typography in the printed text correspond to simultaneous changes in the stereophonic position and simultaneous changes in the volume of Cage's voice. This deluxe 8 CD boxed set includes a 64-page booklet containing several photographs taken in John Cage's loft and during the recording sessions in 1991, as well as a complete chronology of the composer's life." - Wergo liner notes. This is the new edition of this infamous Wergo document, with new, slimmer packaging and new written book.

CAGE, JOHN Empty Words (Parte III) (Ampersand) 2cd 17.98
What a fucking nut. Two discs of Cage reading, calmly and without expression, cut-up non-sensical passages from Henry David Thoreau's journals, live in Milan, 1977. The audience reaction is, however, quite expressive! Over the two discs the outcry builds: clapping, jeering, stomping, shrieking. Eventually the recording is more of the noise-making audience's near-riot than of Cage's performance, which is certainly in keeping with the man's philosophy of "music". Amazing and absurd. What a fucking nut!

CAGE, JOHN Four Walls (Long Arms) cd 15.98

CAGE, JOHN Music of Changes (Hat Hut) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cage's first work composed entirely by using the I Ching (the title is taken from the name of Kurt Wolff's book on the I Ching "The Book of Changes". Every pitch value, note duration, expressive marking is determined by this painstaking process -- a process that Cage caught much flack for from many of his total serialist contemporaries. This was the first recording of that piece ever made, performed by David Tudor on solo piano and recorded in 1956. Comes in a fold out cardboard slip case printed with three pages of excellent liner notes by Art Lange.
RealAudio clip: "III"

CAGE, JOHN Works For Violin 3: Two4 (Mode) cd 16.98

CAGE, JOHN & DAVID TUDOR Indeterminacy (Doxy) lp 36.00

CAGE, JOHN / DAVID TUDOR Indeterminacy (Smithsonian Folkways) 2cd 25.00

CAGE, JOHN / DAVID TUDOR Mureau / Rainforest II: A Simultaneous Performance (New World Records) 2cd 29.00

CAGE, JOHN / KENNETH PATCHEN The City Wears A Slouch Hat (Cortical Foundation) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Never-before-released radio play collaboration between John Cage and writer/artist Kenneth Patchen performed in 1942. In what has to be one of the oddest Cage pieces ever, professional radio voice talents unravel a truly surreal story in straight '40s radio drama style. Replacing the usual radio drama sound effects is a percussion ensemble led by John Cage which punctuates the dialog throughout. Along with muted gongs, tin can xylophones, and marimbula are an assortment of electronic gadgets, including an audio frequency oscillator, electric buzzers and recorded sounds. Also included on this disk is "Credo in us" with Genevieve Blons on shortwave radio, and a 1939 recording of Cage's "Imaginary Landscape" for shortwave radio. Oh, and according to the Cortical Foundation, this cd is limited to a pressing of 1000 copies.
RealAudio clip: "City Wears A Slouch Hat"

CAIN A Pound Of Flesh (Rockadrome / Vintage) cd 14.98
Rockadrome's Vintage division comes through with the proto metal goods yet again, this time reissuing the 1975 debut album from Minnesota hard rockers Cain (put out on compact disc once before by Rockadrome's previous incarnation Monster Records, but long out of print). First off, you know this is gonna be heavy when you see that cover, graphically and grossly depicting an actual pound (or more) of actual flesh overflowing from a tin can marked Cain. "8 Prime Cuts" it says on the can. And there are, 8 prime cuts of good ol' '70s American riff rock. (Plus four more bonus tracks from '78 on this cd reish.) It's along the lines of Grand Funk, Starz, Bad Company, Ted Nugent, Moxy, with some hints of Angel and Blue Oyster Cult...
Frontman Jiggs Lee's barechested vocals lead the charge with barroom bravado, as Cain kick out their jams, consisting of hard hitting party time grooves definitely made to be blasted LOUD out of muscle cars in the Midwest. Full of funky rhythms and dramatic crescendos, Cain's music is basically swaggering cock rock, with nods to both glam and the proggier fare from the likes of Led Zep and Queen (there's even flute in the intro to the second track, "Katy"). Speaking of Queen, you gotta love a band that has a song called "Queen Of The Night" and then another one, two tracks later, entitled "South Side Queen".
If you liked the recent Rockadrome reissue of Poobah, you'll want to check this out too. And for even more proto metal awesomeness that's shown up here this week, see also our review of the Up All Night various artists collection!
MPEG Stream: "Queen Of The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Heed The Call"

CAINA Hands That Pluck (Profound Lore) 2cd 13.98
Latest full length from this long running experimental black metal one man band, masterminded by Andrew Curtis-Brignell, who has been doing Caina since he was a teenager, and who for this new record is joined by a pretty elite group of guests, Imperial from Krieg, Rennie Resmini from hardcore legends Starkweather, and Chris Ross from Blood Revolt / Revenge / Axis of Advance.
Like on past records, the sound of Caina is a tough one to pin down, fusing total shoegaze pop, to indie pop jangle, crushing downtuned doom to soaring epic post rock slow build, gloomy gothy drift to churning mathy almost-prog, and pretty much anything else Curtis-Brignell can think of. The opening track here is the perfect example, exploding right out of the gate with a chugging almost punky D-beat pound, with wildly bellowed vox, but laced with shimmery melodies, the vocals heavily effected, and insanely high in the mix, swinging wildly from speaker to speaker, eventually the song slipping to what sounds almost more like Mogwai, that sort of brooding, smoldering crescendo, building to an explosive climax, before fading into a bit of shimmery drift, hushed and softly psychedelic, a smeared expanse of woozy low end and hazy guitar glimmer, which leads directly into a burst of old school raw black metal blast, guttural vox, stumbling blast beat, murky frenzied riffing, but this is Caina after all, so it doesn't take long for the sound to splinter into something weirdly mathy and dynamic, and then transform into a dreamy melodic drift, hovering beneath some sick vokills, and again building slowly to something much more fierce and frantic.
It would probably be a bit confusing to go track by track and try to describe every part of every song, needless to say, it's wildy varied, but never to the point of losing cohesion, it's an epic sonic patchwork, woven deftly into some super idiosyncratic avant black metal, infusing the usual blast and buzz and pound, with field recordings, swirling synths, strange samples, blissed out kosmische drift, tribal drum driven math rock, all manner of strange vocals, the sound constantly shifting from black metal blast, to depressive dirge, melodic jangle to drifty drone and back again.
It's probably too all over the map for the true grim hordes, but most aQ metalheads will find this stuff easy to get lost in, a wild sonic journey through some twisted epic black metal otherworld.
Included with the album proper is a bonus disc, featuring reinterpretations of four older tracks, remastered versions of the originals and a Nico cover, both the old and new version of the older songs definitely light on the metal, more jangly and atmospheric, darkly psychedelic, with the biggest surprise might be the re-done version of "To Pluck The Night Up By Its Skin", which is retitled "To Funk The Night Up By Its Shit" and is exactly what the title warns us it might be, a groovy, almost disco-y reworking, but insanely enough, it's actually pretty awesome, and ends up sounding like a slightly darker dirgier version of that whole Eurodisco Carpenter / Goblin worship that is so popular these days.
Sweet packaging too, full color six panel digipack with booklet packed with liner notes, lyrics and photos.
MPEG Stream: "Profane Inheritors"
MPEG Stream: "Murrain"
MPEG Stream: "The Sea Of Grief Has No Shores"
MPEG Stream: "Callus And Cicatrix"

CAINA I, Mountain (God Is Myth) 3" cd-r 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 the first in a super limited series of 3" cd-r's dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft. This inaugural installment comes from UK one man black metal horde Caina, whose debut record indeed bore a passing resemblance to AQ faves, Lurker Of Chalice, the weirder side project of Leviathan's Wrest, but managed to be it's own strange black beast.
And if anything, I, Mountain is even stranger, with barely any black metal, in fact there's very little here that might be considered metal at all. But that in no way means this isn't dark, or mysterious or subtly heavy.
I, Mountain is an instrumental interpretation of Lovecraft's At The Mountains Of Madness, and is an intense sonic journey.
The first five minutes are a blissy dreamy drift, muted acoustic guitars, glistening and shimmering, it's not until five minutes in that the tenor becomes ominous, with haunting crumbling production and mysterious minor key ambience. Then it's about halfway through before we get the first hint of anything resembling metal, and even then, it's thick clouds of noxious distortion, drifting in the background, a sort of black ambience, but this quickly gives way to a churning doomy sludge, downtuned guitars, thick waves, layer after layer, slowly shifting and pulsing.
Finally, with only minutes to go, the metal kicks in, but it's no black blast, instead a propulsive metallic dirge, thick guitars, and pounding simple drums with the occasionally splattery fill, trudging resolutely forward before the drums drift off, leaving dense peals of processed guitar to swirl and shimmer ominously before the dark ambience fades to black.
I, Mountain is tracked as a single 20+ minute track, although in the booklet, the sections are separated into movements. Packaged in a slim jewel case, with a 4 panel booklet and a thick card insert with a photo of Lovecraft on one side and an essay on the other. Nice!
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!!! We got 20, and it's already out of print, so when we run out, we will not be able to get more...
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

CAINA Mourner (Profound Lore) cd 12.98

MPEG Stream: "Waves Engulf A Pier"
MPEG Stream: "Hideous Gnosis"
MPEG Stream: "I Reeled In Heaven"

CAINA s/t (Universal Tongue / Bubonic Productions) cd ep 12.98
Latest from this one man UK avant black metal outfit, whose Temporary Antennae record on Profound Lore we raved about a while back, a four song ep that like Temporary Antennae, and most of the other Caina records, veers all over the place, taking seemingly disparate sounds and parts, and weaves them all together into something cohesive and compelling, mysterious and a bit bizarre.
The record opens with some sunshiney post rock, all warm sun dappled synths, simple drums, whooshing major key shimmer, epic and majestic and pretty, which only makes the second track that much more menacing, with it's overdriven crumbling guitars, its growled demonic vokills, its weird spaced out arrangement, more doom than black metal, until the song revs up and blasts blackly before slipping into something much more abstract, the vocals remain, but the music transformed into something more jangly and poppy, the sound once again shifting back toward something blown out and blissy, a soaring emotional coda that does not at all match the song's ominous beginning.
The third track is the most fucked up of the bunch, beginning with some plodding, weirdly melodic depressive black metal, before everything drops out leaving just the guitars, to unwind some folky fluttery melodies, over subtle bass throb, and warm synth swells, eventually dropping out completely, leaving just some sampled voices, which just so happen to be Jim Jones from the People's Temple recorded in Guyana, creepy and fucked up for sure, the music shifts to match, a lurching start stop that sounds a bit like the recent Funeral Mist.
The final track begins with some almost-cheesy Goblin-y soundtracky synth, laid over some simple shuffling drumming, spidery minor key guitar, post rocky and drifty and dreamy. About halfway through, some warped metallic chug gradually builds into a pounding math metal workout, again all very major key and epic sounding, gradually becoming less and less epic, as the sound shifts slowly toward a more raw and blasting blackness.
Cool stuff, definitely twisted and confusional, but we're beginning to think that's precisely why we dig Caina so much...
MPEG Stream: "Drilling The Spire"
MPEG Stream: "To Pluck The Night Up By Its Skin"

CAINA Some People Fall (God Is Myth) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first we heard about this UK outfit Caina, was that they sounded a bit like Lurker Of Chalice, Wrest from Leviathan's more experimental black metal side project. And if you're anything like us, which we're thinking in matters Leviathan you most definitely are, then that was pretty much all we needed to hear. And it does definitely share some sonic similarities, although it is most definitely it's own mournful, melancholy blackened beast.
The opening track doesn't prepare you at all for the rest of the disc, it's a strange and murky, shimmering ambient soundscape, rich swells of epic sound, like an instrumental post rock Constellation band run through some sort of Jeck / Basinski / Tim Hecker filter rendering everything smeary and gloriously indistinct. Distant drums, bits of percussive skitter, all drifting below a sun baked expanse of glistening soft focus drone. Quite lovely. And the rest of the record is lovely too, just in a much more bleak and blackened way. The opening track has a definite shoegazer vibe that manages to stretch out and settle over all the tracks here. Thick reverby guitars, super primitive practice space drums, arpeggiated minor key melodies, strange little guitar leads spun out into the ether, ultra raw vocals way up in the mix, huge guitar chugs, lilting sort of sea sick rhythms, bizarre convoluted song structures, blast beats that seem to just sink into the mire, long stretches of caliginous dark ambience, gorgeous slabs of simple hypnotic guitar, the whole record wreathed in a dense funereal sonic fog. Dark and creepy and pretty but still so bleak and black. Lurker / Leviathan fans need this for sure. As does anyone into weird damaged blissed out black metal. And if you love stuff like My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain, M83, Phillip Jeck, Tim Hecker and the like, but can't really imagine what all those bands would sound like in a black metal context, look no further...
MPEG Stream: "The Validity Of Hate Within An Emotional Vacuum"
MPEG Stream: "Black End Tyme Collapse"
MPEG Stream: "Satanikultur Pessimis"

CAINA Temporary Antennae (Profound Love) cd 13.98
We were super into the first couple records from UK black metal outfit Caina, especially their entry in the HP Lovecraft 3" cd-r series, but then after that we sort of lost interest, not sure what it was exactly, the records started sounding more acoustic, more folky, not that we're opposed to that, it just wasn't doing it for us. So we almost skipped this new disc completely, but boy are we glad we didn't. Another instance that has us wondering what the hell we were thinking, and giving us cause to go back and see if maybe we just weren't way off the mark.
Because Temporary Antennae is really something else. Heavy, and folky, and creepy, and pretty goddamn weird. Beginning with some rumbling black ambience, assembled from what sounds like chants and guttural vocalizations, culminating in an incredibly freaky processed voice, leading us into the first song proper, a killer start stop blackened groove, that almost sounds like Led Zeppelin mixed with Lurker Of Chalice. We had compared Caina to Lurker way back when, and it still sort of applies. If you consider Lurker to be the gothier doomier creepier less distinctly black metal side of Leviathan. The sound her is definitely black, but not buzzy and blasty, instead, the guitars almost jangle, the voice is deep and dramatic, and the arrangement is more epic, almost post rocky, with haunting majestic melodies, warm reverb drenched ambience, all very moody and dour, another black metal band that seems to be leaning heavily toward old school slowcore. But filtering in all sorts of doom and folk and various other unlikely elements.
And so it goes with Temporary Antennae, simple skeletal drum machine rhythms beneath glimmering fx laden shimmer, haunting operatic vocals, all giving way to a super slow, but surprisingly not 'heavy' funereal doom, rife with clean guitar, and fucked up bellowed vox, atonal off kilter blasting blackness stutters into a lurching arrangement that makes it sound more like Ved Buens Ende than anything more traditionally black, and again, shot through with moody mathy clean guitar, crooned vocals, processed shoegazey guitars, and out of the blue drum machine throb and pulse, there's even what sounds like some eighties FM radio new wave, all synthy and poppy and jangly, which gradually transforms into something much heavier, like Jesu or Nadja, the same sort of M83 fuzziness, and then suddenly the record will shift again into a brooding gothic pop, all mournful melodies and spare drumming, guitar harmonics and distant hazy shimmer, only to change gears again moments later, taking the shape of a sort of melancholic sadcore jangle, like Mazzy Star or The For Carnation, and for the next few songs, the sound shifts, continually slipping from jangle to shimmer to drift, but never really returning to anything remotely metal, but by that point, you don't really want it to, you're in some sort of blissed out trance state, which is precisely the point.
Only the most adventurous and pop savvy metalheads are gonna dig this. Even at its heaviest, things are still pretty fuzzy and jangly and pretty, but if you've been digging stuff like Alcest and Amesoeurs, then this might just hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Ten Went Up River"
MPEG Stream: "Willows And Whippoorwills"
MPEG Stream: "Tobacco Beetle"

CAIRO GANG, THE s/t (Narnack) cd 14.98
What's this? Some unexpected prettiness on the usually angular edgy Narnack label? A refreshing change. The Cairo Gang's music brings many other non-Narnack artists to mind. Despite the moniker, this is a one man band. Most notably Mr. Emmett Kelly's softly lilting vocals and bossanova rhythms that pepper the album draw immediate comparisons to Sam Prekop and Sea And Cake. Further into the album, the ninth song "Last Time Since September" seems like a breezy lil' something that The Shins might do on a mellow afternoon, while the eleventh track "Silhouette" is very awash in swishy shoegazin' guitars a la Ride, Slowdive or Jesus And Mary Chain. To boot, the sweet flittery recorder playing evokes a wide-eyed innocence seldom heard these days. Amid all of this laidback, contemplative melodicism though Kelly does on occasion descend into brief periods of dissonance and wooziness which prevents the listener from completely drifting off into dreamland. Taken in one sitting, this album's variety of indie pop sounds is quite reminiscent of Unrest and The Lilys too. A hazy late summer evening kind of listen.
MPEG Stream: "Last Time Since September"
MPEG Stream: "Silhouette"

CAKE Comfort Eagle (Columbia / Sony) cd 16.98
These local favorites, that for painfully obvious reasons, have made it big (-ish). The worst song on this cd is the hit on MTV. With embarrassing lyrics, funky, kooky riffs, and gratuitous poppy bullshit, this release was unbearable for me to listen to. Yuck.

CAKE Fashion Nugget (Capricorn/Mercury) cd 12.98
As seen on MTV.

CAKE Pressure Chief (Columbia ) cd 16.98

CAKEKITCHEN, THE How Can You Be So Blind (Hausmusik) cd 16.98
Graeme Jefferies and his brother Peter have been stalwarts of the New Zealand indie-pop community since the beginning practically, with their careers beginning with their gritty re-invention of Joy Division and Swell Maps as the little heard Nocturnal Projections way back in the early '80s. The Jefferies brothers' sound matured as they founded This Kind Of Punishment, often contrasting the agitated punk energies of Peter's songwriting tendencies against Graeme's introspective tracks which highlight his emotive baritone and simple acoustic guitar numbers. Eventually, This Kind of Punishment collapsed and the brothers parted ways, with Peter producing some questionable solo projects and Graeme forming The Cakekitchen in which he continues to hone his skills as an indie-rock troubadour. It's a little bit surprising, although sort of appropriate that "How Can You Be So Blind" has been released by Hausmusik, the German label best known for Village Of Savoonga and Notwist. While The Cakekitchen shares none of the indietronica that the beloved Notwist embraced or the post-rock deconstruction of Village Of Savoonga, the melancholic sentimentality of Jefferies' singer / songwriter ideals definitely resonates with both German projects. Serene and bittersweet, Jefferies croons over beautifully rough-hewn arrangements for guitar, drums, bass, and a lilting violin; but on occasion, his voice waltzes into surprisingly carnivalesque harmonies, sounding a bit more like Syd Barrett. Nevertheless, fans of Iron & Wine, Elliott Smith, 16 Horsepower, and M. Ward will definitely find much to love in The Cakekitchen.
MPEG Stream: "The Rainmaker"
MPEG Stream: "The Resurrection of Lieutenant Ghmpinski"

CALABI-YAU Compactified (Faria) cd 18.98
This Russian dark-ambient duo have named themselves after two mathematicians (Eugenio Calabi and Shing-Tung Yau) who specialized in differential geometry and collaborated on defining a hypertechnical thesis which was later expanded through string theory. It's unclear whether these electronic cosmonauts have a background in high-level mathematics, although they do give a rudimentary explanation (in English) as to the metaphors that they are seeking through their music towards their namesake's research: as string theory describes poly-dimensional spacetime as coiled up and unobservable amidst those dimensions which are able to be seen. A clinical distance is duly noted in the sounds grafted onto this CD, as billowing clouds of synthetic mist and slow-motion shadow streaked across the refined surface of this album. But at the same time, Compactified isn't a completely detached piece of inhuman computer music trapped by the restraints of pure mimicry. There is a sense of the sublime which hovers throughout the album, the mystery of what we do not know about our own universe even as science makes great advances as to its origins, and the cosmological beauty which parallels the subatomic and the galactic. At times, Calabi-Yau recalls some of Lustmord's investigations of sound minus the death obsession; at times, Aidan Baker's softly modelled ambience is not far from earshot.
MPEG Stream: "Voie Lactee"
MPEG Stream: "Ocean Heliomorfique"

CALCULATORS Circuit Breaking Silence (Fine Line) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Popular but now sadly defunct SF synth-wave quartet easily recognized by their white belts and ties. Quite frankly this band rocked with a hearty dose of thick Roland Juno 60 and Moog synth lines. Half this album was recorded by Helios Creed at Half Machine Studios. Also check out their 10" record "Simplicity And Style".

CALCULATORS Simplicity And Style (Spectator) 10" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.The now-defunct Calculators certainly fired up quite a new wave frenzy in their short life. Thick analog synth lines do battle with distorted guitars. This medium sized piece of vinyl features four prime examples of youthful SF synth rock.

CALCULATORS, THE Circuit Breaking Silence / Simplicity & Style (Princehouse) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Curious what some of those boys from The Rapture were up to prior to hookin' up with the DFA production team and hittin' the dancefloor? Here's your answer! The Calculators' Circuit Breaking Silence cd and Simplicity & Style 10" have both been out of print for a few years now, but have just been reissued together on one disc by uber hip'n'cool SF label Princehouse Records!
Here's what we had to say about them back then... first the cd:
Popular but now sadly defunct SF synth-wave quartet easily recognized by their white belts and ties. Quite frankly this band rocked with a hearty dose of thick Roland Juno 60 and Moog synth lines. Half this album was recorded by Helios Creed at Half Machine Studios.
and as for the 10":
The now-defunct Calculators certainly fired up quite a new wave frenzy in their short life. Thick analog synth lines do battle with distorted guitars. This medium sized piece of vinyl features four prime examples of youthful SF synth rock.
MPEG Stream: "Worthless In A World Of Wires"
MPEG Stream: "Electricity"

CALDER, KATHRYN Bright & Vivid (FU:M / File Under: Music) cd 17.98
Although her introduction into the public eye was trumpeted with the news of her being Carl Newman's long-lost niece, and she was subsequently somewhat saddled with the daunting task of filling the mighty shoes of Neko Case as female vocalist for the New Pornographers, Kathryn Calder has proven time and time again that she is a strong creative force in her own right. And she's not only fully defined her roles in the NPs and her own band (the sadly now defunct) Immaculate Machine, but on the solo stage as well. Bright & Vivid is her sophomore solo album, and such a lovely one it is. Far more lush than any of her previous recordings, she continues to explore and incorporate other instruments into the basic indie pop palette. This time synthesizers get the call, and from the opening track "One Two Three", the affair swoons with a dreamy '80s pop feel. Whereas her 2010 solo debut Are You My Mother was a wistful and poignant and deeply personal work, written and recorded during a two year period when Calder was caring for her terminally ill mother; Bright & Vivid's production was comparatively swift. However, the speed in which it came into being by no means indicates that it was in any way rushed. Each song is at once sweetly easy going and richly detailed. For this release, she enlisted the kind support and fine talents of friends Jon Wurster (of Superchunk and Mountain Goats), drummer Barry Mirochnick and guitarist Paul Rigby (both from Neko Case's band). Despite the autumnal hues of the cover art, the title is far truer to the overall feel. Although we've been a bit tardy in reviewing this (it came out a few months ago). we think now is the perfect time to give it a spin. Its blossoming warm tones are ready to sweep aside the grey winter doldrums and make way for spring!
MPEG Stream: "One Two Three"
MPEG Stream: "Who Are You?"

CALDERA LAKES Arranged (Ecstatic Peace) cassette 9.98
Kevin Shields! There's a name that garners a lot of attention; and it's pretty obvious why Eva Aguila uses that moniker for her scalding noise ventures which she has broadcast up and down the West Coast. We're sure that a few must have stumbled into grimy warehouse noise shows expecting The Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine to be slumming it, instead to find a woman behind a table of pedals and some weird typewriter looking thing, all of which sizzle and shriek with a blaring electricity. So, if the ruse has ever drawn anybody in, were they pissed? Bemused? Hard to guess, but in addition to her activities as Kevin Shields, Aguila also records and performs in the duo Caldera Lakes with Brittany Gould. Here, they swing between deconstructed dream-time, avant-folk meanderings and full-on noise mode. Everything on this tape is swimming in a suitably lo-fi soup that could be the shittiness of this cassette (ostensibly a 'professional' duplication job) or the antique haze purposefully grafted onto the production. Detached folksongs strummed in monotone on guitar, with spluttered events, eerie tones, and haunted voices that drone-on creating a vibe that's not too far from those of Christina Carter or Grouper; but as these tracks proceed, convulsive noises ramp their activity from minor overloads on a four-track into concussion bomb explosions muffled through the constant gauze of tape hiss. Elsewhere, percussive scrabblings trickle through a multitude of delay pedals, forming stoned / hypnogogic patterns in keeping with some of the early experiments by Zoviet France (e.g. Eostre, Signal Gesture Threat, etc.). Static electricity cracks the ether around these phasing delays gradually building into another swelling cloud of ominous charged particles. Limited to 100 copies!

CALE / CONRAD / MACLISE / YOUNG / ZAZEELA Inside The Dream Syndicate (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
These legendary "lost" recordings finally see the light of day, likely for a brief period of time only, as LaMonte Young's lawyers will most certainly issue a cease and desist order on the manufacturing and distribution of this, soon (we assume) making this document of seminal underground '60s NYC experimental art-drone music once again unavailable to the general public. Young's complaint revolves around the poor sound quality of this recording of his lengendary (yet largely unheard) ensemble which also featured the Velvet Underground's John Cale, violinist Tony Conrad, VU-founding percussionist (and mystic cult figure) Angus MacLise, and vocalist Marian Zazeela. The admitedly lo-fi mix (yes, it sounds really crude and crappy, although that has it's own obscure, grating charm, of forbidden music struggling to be heard after many decades of silence) is dominated by the twin mesmerism of Cale's and Conrad's strings with the cryptic pitter-patter of Angus MacLise's percussion occasionally making itself heard. LaMonte Young and his wife Marian Zazeela are credited with vocals, but can't really be heard doing anything at all. Maybe that's why he's so pissed off... Really what Young wants is sole composers credit, which seems a bit ridiculous to us (and to Tony Conrad et.al.)...so, we're stuck with this less-than-sonically-perfect document, for at least as long as Youngs lawyers let us...too bad these old dronesters couldn't have worked things out so that Young's supposedly crystal-clear tapes could have been used. Oh well, the triumph of a man's ego over "his" own art.

CALE, JOHN Black Acetate (EMI) cd 15.98

CALE, JOHN Dream Interpretation: Inside The Dream Syndicate Volume II (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second in a three-disc series of recordings culled from John Cale's personal archive of material from the late '60s. Upon listening to these visceral documents, one realizes that Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground, was more likely than not the one responsible for the wailing screech and howl that makes such Velvets songs as "Sister Ray" so stunning, and that it was the push and pull of his drone-leanings balanced with Lou Reed's more conventional songwriting that made the band great. Here, the Welshman Cale bestows upon us two pieces recorded with kindred spirit Tony Conrad on violin, with Cale on viola -- their twenty minute "Dream Interpretation" is a wonderful shimmering drone that is at once warm and organic yet also metallic and grating. "Ex-Cathedra", our favorite track here, is from 1967/68 and features Cale simply pumping on Vox organ, conjuring up yet another tense yet melodic, trebly drone that's macabre (isn't the sound of an organ often delightfully macabre?) and strangely lulling. Other tracks include Cale making solo electronic sounds, and a 'duet' with Angus Maclise (another founding member of the Velvet Underground) on cimbalon, an Eastern European hammered dulcimer. The only dud features Cale "playing" piano, innards and all, a rather been-there-done-that idea even in the late '60s.
If you're a fan of the noise-loving modern heirs to the Cale droneologist throne, bands such as Skullflower, Pelt, and Sunroof!, you've got to hear this. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Ex-Cathedra"

CALE, JOHN Hobosapiens (EMI) cd 15.98
Can't teach an old dog new tricks huh? Here's a founding member of the Velvet Underground and avant-garde/drone artist in his own right, John Cale, at 61 doing somersaults over his typically dour dirge with an open and eclectic musical palette. Neither truly avant-garde nor contemporary, Hobosapiens might remind one of Eno's Taking Tiger Mountain at points. It offers sonic-scapes of contemplation punctuated by an artful and considered assortment of unexpected instrumentation. This album's a critic-pleaser now but seems as though it's only the beginning of some fresh steps in Cale's music making!
MPEG Stream: "Reading My Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Twilight Zone"

CALE, JOHN New York in the 1960's (Table Of The Elements) 5lp 64.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Totally gorgeous vinyl reissue of the three archival cds released by Table Of The Elements a few years back, that documented Cale's early sixties minimal explorations. This new version comes housed in a black lacquered 12" box, beautifully silkscreened, with a hand screened oversized booklet (including extensive liner notes and a libretto) inside as well. In addition to the material from the three cds, there are two bonus tracks also previously released, that appeared originally on the Jack Smith compilations also on Table Of The Elements. Here's what we had to say about the three volumes originally.
John Cale's "Sun Blindness Music" is the first in a trilogy of archival recordings from this founder of the Velvet Underground. Much has been made already about Cale's contribution to both the history of rock and the history of minimalism, so we'll cut to the chase and get to the contents of this album, which features three of Cale's earliest compositions from the mid to late '60s. The title track spans almost 45 minutes, with Cale sustaining clusters of notes on a Vox Continental Organ, before indeterminately hammering down Phillip Glass-esque arpeggiations and then returning to the open ended drone. The two following tracks are quite good representations of '60s minimalism - with the proto-Amon Duul guitar strum of "Summer Heat" and the eerie electronic modulations on "Second Fortress."
Second in this trilogy of recordings culled from John Cale's personal archive of material from the late '60s. Upon listening to these visceral documents, one realizes that Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground, was more likely than not the one responsible for the wailing screech and howl that makes such Velvets songs as "Sister Ray" so stunning, and that it was the push and pull of his drone-leanings balanced with Lou Reed's more conventional songwriting that made the band great. Here, the Welshman Cale bestows upon us two pieces recorded with kindred spirit Tony Conrad on violin, and Cale on viola -- their twenty minute "Dream Interpretation" is a wonderful shimmering drone that is at once warm and organic yet also metallic and grating. "Ex-Cathedra", our favorite track here, is from 1967/68 and features Cale simply pumping on Vox organ, conjuring up yet another tense yet melodic, trebly drone that's macabre (isn't the sound of an organ often delightfully macabre?) and strangely lulling. Other tracks include Cale making solo electronic sounds, and a 'duet' with Angus Maclise (another founding member of the Velvet Underground) on cimbalon, an Eastern European hammered dulcimer. The only dud features Cale "playing" piano, innards and all, a rather been-there-done-that idea even in the late '60s.
As with volume II of this series, there are a few great tracks on volume III that make the price of ths disc worth it, and some throwaways that are of limited interest. The 10-minute "Stainless Steel Gamelan" track is the highlight here, and it's excellent even though it has nothing to do with gamelan per se. It features the Velvet's Sterling Morrison and Cale both "playing" the same guitar at the same time, an experiment which resulted in shimmering atmospherics and metallic percussive pulses, sounds that're as usefully evocative for today's DJ Shadow or Aphex Twin as they are here, maybe 30 years earlier. Also included on this disc is a funny hoedown of a piece wherein Cale plays with tape delay, Angus Maclise pounds various hand drums, and Terry Jennings -- a free saxophonist and crony of Lamonte Young -- sings on soprano sax. There's also a tremendous piece with Tony Conrad on a Vox reverb unit and Cale on electric piano -- it sounds like the soundtrack to a nightmare that won't end.
If you're a fan of the noise-loving modern heirs to the Cale droneologist throne, bands such as Skullflower, Pelt, and Sunroof!, you've got to hear this. Recommended.

CALE, JOHN Paris 1919 (Warner Bros.) cd 12.98
We've been meaning to list this for a long time. One of those special records that so many past and present aQ employees hold close to their hearts. This is John Cale's orchestral pop masterpiece! Last list we made his collaboration with Terry Riley one of our records of the week and while this is a different beast all together it definitely shows what a wide range of musical genius Cale had going on during the early '70s. Paris 1919 is most certainly a pop record, but not just any kind of pop record. This is one that immediately transports you to the lavish and lush fantastical worlds these songs take place. Backed by a band featuring members of Little Feat as well as the UCLA Symphony Orchestra, Cale was able to create songs that somehow are as delicate and understated as they are glowing and baroque.
It's a record that always makes us want to wander along pastoral hillsides filled with the greenest grass, a cup of delicious hot tea in our hands as we twirl and daydream through the afternoon. Cale's voice has never sounded better, and it's for sure his most emotive and sensitive statement ever put to tape. It's amazing how many newer bands we love that for sure had to be influenced so strongly by this record. Just listen to The Hidden Cameras, Kelly Stoltz, Jens Lekman, Beck or Belle & Sebastian and you can hear the legacy of Paris 1919 in their songs. Total pop perfection!
MPEG Stream: "Paris 1919"
MPEG Stream: "The Endless Plain Of Fortune"
MPEG Stream: "Hanky Panky Nohow [Drone Mix] "

CALE, JOHN Paris 1919 (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
ALSO ON VINYL! We've been meaning to list this for a long time. One of those special records that so many past and present aQ employees hold close to their hearts. This is John Cale's orchestral pop masterpiece! Last list we made his collaboration with Terry Riley one of our records of the week and while this is a different beast all together it definitely shows what a wide range of musical genius Cale had going on during the early 70's. Paris 1919 is most certainly a pop record, but not just any kind of pop record. This is one that immediately transports you to the lavish and lush fantastical worlds these songs take place. Backed by a band featuring members of Little Feat as well as the UCLA Symphony Orchestra, Cale was able to create songs that somehow are as delicate and understated as they are glowing and baroque.
It's a record that always makes us want to wander along pastoral hillsides filled with the greenest grass, a cup of delicious hot tea in our hands as we twirl and daydream through the afternoon. Cale's voice has never sounded better, and it's for sure his most emotive and sensitive statement ever put to tape. It's amazing how many newer bands we love that for sure had to be influenced so strongly by this record. Just listen to The Hidden Cameras, Kelly Stoltz, Jens Lekman, Beck or Belle & Sebastian and you can hear the legacy of Paris 1919 in their songs. Total pop perfection!
MPEG Stream: "Paris 1919"
MPEG Stream: "The Endless Plain Of Fortune"
MPEG Stream: "Hanky Panky Nohow [Drone Mix] "

CALE, JOHN Stainless Gamelan: Inside The Dream Syndicate Volume III (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Third in a three-disc series of recordings culled from John Cale's personal archive of material from the late '60s. Upon listening to these visceral documents, one realizes that Cale, a founding member of the Velvet Underground, was more likely than not the one responsible for the wailing screech and howl that makes such Velvets songs as "Sister Ray" so stunning, and that it was the push and pull of his drone-leanings balanced with Lou Reed's more conventional songwriting that made the band great.
As with volume II of this series, there are a few great tracks here that make the price of ths disc worth it, and some throwaways that're of limited interest. The 10-minute "Stainless Steel Gamelan" track is the highlight here, and it's excellent even thought it has nothing to do with gamelan per se. It features the Velvet's Sterling Morrison and Cale both "playing" the same guitar at the same time, an experiment which resulted in shimmering atmospherics and metallic percussive pulses, sounds that're as usefully evocative for today's DJ Shadow or Aphex Twin as they are here, maybe 30 years earlier. Also included on this disc is a funny hoedown of a piece wherein Cale plays with tape delay, Angus Maclise pounds various hand drums, and Terry Jennings -- a free saxophonist and crony of Lamonte Young -- sings on soprano sax. There's also a tremendous piece with Tony Conrad on a Vox reverb unit and Cale on electric piano -- it sounds like the soundtrack to a nightmare that won't end.
If you're a fan of the noise-loving modern heirs to the Cale droneologist throne, bands such as Skullflower, Pelt, and Sunroof!, you've got to hear this. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Stainless Steel Gamelan"
RealAudio clip: "Terry's Cha-Cha"

CALE, JOHN Sun Blindness Music (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
John Cale's "Sun Blindness Music" is the first release in a planned trilogy of archival recordings from this founder of the Velvet Underground. Much has been made already about Cale's contribution to both the history of rock and the history of minimalism, so we'll cut to the chase and get to the contents of this album, which features three of Cale's earliest compositions from the mid to late '60s. The title track spans almost 45 minutes, with Cale sustaining clusters of notes on a Vox Continental Organ, before indeterminately hammering down Phillip Glass-esque arpeggiations and then returning to the open ended drone. The two following tracks are quite good representations of '60s minimalism - with the proto-Amon Duul guitar strum of "Summer Heat" and the eerie electronic modulations on "Second Fortress."
An essential artifact!
RealAudio clip: "Second Fortress"
RealAudio clip: "Summer Heat"

CALE, JOHN Sun Blindness Music (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
John Cale's "Sun Blindness Music" is the first release in a planned trilogy of archival recordings from this founder of the Velvet Underground. Much has been made already about Cale's contribution to both the history of rock and the history of minimalism, so we'll cut to the chase and get to the contents of this album, which features three of Cale's earliest compositions from the mid to late '60s. The title track spans almost 45 minutes, with Cale sustaining clusters of notes on a Vox Continental Organ, before indeterminately hammering down Phillip Glass-esque arpeggiations and then returning to the open ended drone. The two following tracks are quite good representations of '60s minimalism - with the proto-Amon Duul guitar strum of "Summer Heat" and the eerie electronic modulations on "Second Fortress."
An essential artifact!
RealAudio clip: "Second Fortress"
RealAudio clip: "Summer Heat"

CALE, JOHN Vintage Violence (Columbia) cd 12.98
This is John Cale's first solo recording, digitally remastered and with 2 bonus tracks. Originally released in 1970, this record was recorded shortly after Cale left the Velvet Underground to strike out on his own musically (away from Lou Reed mostly) and to produce other artists like Nico. The first few tracks on this record sound almost like they could be from some obscure Elephant 6 band, with howling throaty Neutral Milk Hotel-ish vocals over quirky sixties/seventies off kilter pop. As the record progresses it begins to show it's age a little more, reminding us more of Brian Eno or maybe Jonathan Richman.
RealAudio clip: "Gideon's Bible"
RealAudio clip: "Hello, There"

CALE, JOHN Words For the Dying (All Saints) cd 16.98

CALE, JOHN & TERRY RILEY Church Of Anthrax (Wounded Bird) cd 16.98
More music needs to be like this! Open and unfettered yet baroquely mysterious and cryptic; taking strange careening detours that cast endlessly distorting sonic reflections. Minimal but complex, driving and repetitive, yet sloppily unraveling with a ponderous noisy pop undercurrent that is both reverent and perverse. Is this a rock record led by a chamber ensemble? Or an avant-garde composition ambushed by lurching bass and drums? Or both? Makes sense that this album is called Church of Anthrax and both of its high priests are one time Velvet Underground and Dream Syndicate members John Cale and the guru of minimalism Terry Riley.
This one time collaboration from 1971 has just been re-issued and it's never sounded better! Touching on experimental jazz, minimalist composition, free rock and baroque pop yet remaining elusive and restless, never settling neatly into any one genre. It was recorded at a time when such cross-pollination of sounds was not only new but very necessary. John Cale plays all sides of his musical personae returning to his avant-garde roots with LaMonte Young in the Theater of Eternal Music but infusing it with the noisy economy of The Velvet Underground and the poetic pop of his subsequent output. While Terry Riley allows his more purist minimal aesthetic to become looser and emotive, paving the way towards his soundtrack works a few years later. Add to it the shambling drums of Bobby Columby from Blood Sweat and Tears (uncredited here) and the strange guest appearance of little known singer, Adam Miller (probably best known for the sesame street song, "We all Live in the Capital I") and what we have is this truly odd and hypnotically amazing document. Something that sounds more Germany than New York, like a collaboration between Can and Ralf and Florian of Kraftwerk or between Faust and Cluster. Or more contemporarily and unlikely, say between Wooden Shjips and Shogun Kunitoki with a guest vocal appearance by Thom Yorke of Radiohead!
The title track opens with a deep low multi-horned drone before the bass and drums kick into what begins to sound like a more driving version of The Kinks'"Powerman". But instead of going into a formal song structure, the riff repeats with Riley's pipe organ laying circular filigree riffs over the top, maintaining a constant lurch forward, and glassy saxophone stabs and atonal guitar rising from underneath creating an uneasy rhythm that slowly unravels into a propulsively droney stew. The air clears for the beautiful "Hall of Mirrors in The Palace of Versailles" with Cale on piano and Riley on solo saxophone trading off building and lilting riffs that rise and coalesce into shimmering tones. It's the moment that feels unique to each of them: the melodic minimalism of Cale's Dream syndicate days, and the all night time-delayed sax pieces of Riley's "Poppy Nogood and The Phantom Band". But with its mirror imagery and gorgeous repetitions, it feels wonderfully cinematic like a lost score for Alain Resnais' "Last Year at Marienbad". The next track, "The Soul of Patrick Lee" is perhaps the strangest because it's the only one with vocals, which wouldn't be unusual for John Cale as he wrote it and it sounds like him, but oddly he relegates the singing duties to his friend Adam Miller, an obscure singer-songwriter who wrote a Partridge Family tune and sang the above mentioned Sesame Street song. This track provides a breather of sorts, a short baroque folk ballad interlude between the other longform pieces, but it's like a haunting theme that adds to the mysterious soundtrack feel of the whole record. "Ides of March", the longest piece, features chugging piano riffs and skittering drums over a looped but drunkenly lopsided groove that wavers in and out of sync, building in a weird way where all the notes that seem off finally becoming locked in and right. Closing the record is the short "Protege" which ups the vampy piano riffs and Moe Tucker like drums before careening into a swift blast of noisy distortion. A sudden ending to this curious record that leaves us wanting more. Thankfully there's the repeat button!
MPEG Stream: "Church of Anthrax"
MPEG Stream: "The Soul of Patrick Lee"
MPEG Stream: "Ides of March"

CALEXICO Aerocalexico (Our Soil, Our Strength) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Attention all Calexico fans! We're pleased as punch to be one of only two shops in the whole world to have not one but two splendid self-released Calexico discs which are otherwise only available at their shows or on their website. However, please note: we've got very limited quantities of these, so hop to it! Both make fine companions to the band's albums proper.
This is their 2001 collection of recordings which took place in a number of locales - at home in Tucson, in the Wavelab studio also in their hometown, in Nashville, TN, and live on the KPRO Radio in Amsterdam. It should actually be subtitled "Family and Friends" as it features exactly that! The Burns brothers, Mia Convertino, Howe and Sofie Gelb, Doug McCombs among many others. A whopping twenty three tracks in all that make for a remarkably cohesive 56 minutes of music! Included are a stirring cover of Nick Drake's "Clothes Of Sand", an instrumental of Goldfrapp's "Humano", as well as a handful of traditionals "Bees And The Flies", "All The Pretty Horses" and "6 White Horses". Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Clothes Of Sand"
RealAudio clip: "Bees And The Flies"

CALEXICO Carried To Dust (Quarterstick) cd 14.98
A while back, we thought it would make an excellent April Fool's Day New Arrivals List, to have all the reviews written not by staffers, but by our Moms! The logistics proved a bit too tricky, but some Moms were definitely into it, especially Andee's Mom, Gail. Now without airing too much dirty laundry, teenage sons and Moms often clash, and in many cases it has to do with music, in my (Andee) case, it was heavy metal, of course. And what's a Mom to do when her son starts dressing weird and wearing spikes and listening to that devil music?! Well a lot has changed in 20 years, and now Gail is a regular rad music aficionado, putting other Moms to shame. She even hung up on me once because she was watching a special on VH1 about heavy metal. Man would the sixteen year old me have a meltdown! Well, it just so happens, that Gail is a big fan of Tucson boys Calexico, so we figured we'd get her to weigh in on their new record. Thanks Mom! Here's what she has to say:
My son, Andee has been quite generous over the years, giving me cds I like and request, cds he THINKS I should like, and then there's Calexico, a band we both like. Neither of us can remember what sparked my interest in this band, but since I now live in Tucson, I appreciate their fascination with the Southwest, and their fusion of country, Latin and folk (I am, after all, a '60s gal!). Ironically, I will see them live on September 20th at a Democratic fundraiser, at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Take that, teenage Andee!
Other than their newest release, I only have 2 of Calexico's albums, The Black Light and Hot Rail, and like them both, even though I think they are quite different from each other. There's an evocation of place in their songs, which to me is one of the most appealing elements of their music. In Carried to Dust, a beauty from start to finish, I was transported from the first track, "Victor Jara's Hands", to a road trip somewhere near the border, a la Thelma & Louise, in an old convertible, music blaring, hiding a beer between my legs, and feeling young, happy and free. I don't know who Victor Jara is or was, but the verses are sweet and melancholy and then the chorus soars with horn fanfare. Definitely feel-good music!
"Two Silver Trees" morphs into an entirely different mix of instrumentation and vocals. I can't help but think they were influenced just a tad by the opening music from The Sopranos, but perhaps I'm hearing what others won't.
My favorite track has to be "The News About William". Flowing, but desolate... I'm lying on my chaise lounge looking at the amazingly bright stars in a gorgeous blue/black Tucson night sky, letting the music of Calexico spirit me away.
MPEG Stream: "Victor Jara's Hands"
MPEG Stream: "The News About William"

CALEXICO Carried To Dust (Quarterstick) lp 14.98
A while back, we thought it would make an excellent April Fool's Day New Arrivals List, to have all the reviews written not by staffers, but by our Moms! The logistics proved a bit too tricky, but some Moms were definitely into it, especially Andee's Mom, Gail. Now without airing too much dirty laundry, teenage sons and Moms often clash, and in many cases it has to do with music, in my (Andee) case, it was heavy metal, of course. And what's a Mom to do when her son starts dressing weird and wearing spikes and listening to that devil music?! Well a lot has changed in 20 years, and now Gail is a regular rad music aficionado, putting other Moms to shame. She even hung up on me once because she was watching a special on VH1 about heavy metal. Man would the sixteen year old me have a meltdown! Well, it just so happens, that Gail is a big fan of Tucson boys Calexico, so we figured we'd get her to weigh in on their new record. Thanks Mom! Here's what she has to say:
My son, Andee has been quite generous over the years, giving me cds I like and request, cds he THINKS I should like, and then there's Calexico, a band we both like. Neither of us can remember what sparked my interest in this band, but since I now live in Tucson, I appreciate their fascination with the Southwest, and their fusion of country, Latin and folk (I am, after all, a '60s gal!). Ironically, I will see them live on September 20th at a Democratic fundraiser, at the Rialto Theater in Tucson. Take that, teenage Andee!
Other than their newest release, I only have 2 of Calexico's albums, The Black Light and Hot Rail, and like them both, even though I think they are quite different from each other. There's an evocation of place in their songs, which to me is one of the most appealing elements of their music. In Carried to Dust, a beauty from start to finish, I was transported from the first track, "Victor Jara's Hands", to a road trip somewhere near the border, a la Thelma & Louise, in an old convertible, music blaring, hiding a beer between my legs, and feeling young, happy and free. I don't know who Victor Jara is or was, but the verses are sweet and melancholy and then the chorus soars with horn fanfare. Definitely feel-good music!
"Two Silver Trees" morphs into an entirely different mix of instrumentation and vocals. I can't help but think they were influenced just a tad by the opening music from The Sopranos, but perhaps I'm hearing what others won't.
My favorite track has to be "The News About William". Flowing, but desolate... I'm lying on my chaise lounge looking at the amazingly bright stars in a gorgeous blue/black Tucson night sky, letting the music of Calexico spirit me away.
MPEG Stream: "Victor Jara's Hands"
MPEG Stream: "The News About William"

CALEXICO Convict Pool (Quarterstick) cd 10.98
Our favorite Arizonans are back with another fantastic release! Really, do Joey Burns and John Convertino ever disappoint?! This six-song EP features three covers and three originals. They've finally release their version of the Minutemen's "Corona" (always a hit when they play live!), as well as Francoiz Breut's "Si Tu Disais", plus if there was ever a band who could/should cover Love's "Alone Again Or"... it is Calexico! And they do so here in grand fashion, joined by Swedish vocalist Nicolai Dunger. Not surprisingly the three originals are of their trademark Southwestern sound and consistent high caliber. To top things off, just as they did on their last EP Even My Sure Things Fall Through, they've offered up a little extra visual treat in the form of the animated short El Kabong Rides Again for which Calexico provided the soundtrack ("Minas Del Cobre" from their album The Black Light).
MPEG Stream: "Alone Again Or"
MPEG Stream: "Si Tu Disais"

CALEXICO Descamino (Quarterstick) 12" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A little 4 song 12" to hold everyone over til the next full length, "Descamino" takes songs from Calexico's fantastic last album of mood and twang 'The Black Light' and sprinkles in a little Bundy Brown (ex-Tortoise) and voil‡!

CALEXICO Even My Sure Things Fall Through (Quarterstick) cd ep 10.98
If there's one thing you can count on, it's pure Calexico quality. Even their newest grab bag ep of eight odds and ends (unreleased tracks, remixes and b-sides) and three videos (on cd-rom) is no exception. Joey Burns and John Convertino craft musical treasures of enveloping intrigue and mariachi mystery. Richly toned and textured like the beautiful varied shades of a desert sunset.
RealAudio clip: "Chanel No. 5"
RealAudio clip: "Crooked Road and The Briar"
RealAudio clip: "Crystal Fronteir (widescreen version)"

CALEXICO Feast of Wire (Quarterstick) cd 14.98
Right out of the starting gate, this new Calexico album rings with a fond familiarity, perhaps leaning a little more towards traditional country than their past mariachi-drenched sound. However, from that point on John Convertino and Joey Burns take a winding path away from both the sound and style that have defined them for three superb albums, returning only every so often to their trademark lushly reverbed slinking twang with horns. It's a bold move with results that are both successful and refreshing for the group. That's not to say they're unrecognizable, nor sounding like a completely different band. Not at all, each song is most certainly distinctly Calexico. Still very cinematic and expansive. However, there's subtly executed shifts and additions that build gloriously upon their work to date. The simmering second song "Quattro" has an almost Fleetwood Mac "Tusk" rhythmic feel, and oddly enough the sixth is called "Not Even Stevie Nicks" a surprisingly sunkissed '70s-ish pop rock song. High strings slide and soar through the atmosphere of "Black Heart". Mid-album, hushed backing vocals grace the chorus of "Woven Birds". The Convertino-penned "The Book And The Canal" is a brief hushed interlude centered around misty piano melody. For those of you itchin' for some more familiar moments, there's still plenty on songs like "Guero Canelo" and "Close Behind" (both written by Burns). Something new for old Calexico fans and a great introduction for those who've yet to experience this fabulous group. Wonderful, and very recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Quattro"
RealAudio clip: "Black Heart"
RealAudio clip: "Not Even Stevie Nicks"

CALEXICO Feast of Wire (Quarterstick) lp 15.98
Ah yes, we do have this on vinyl now too! Right out of the starting gate, this new Calexico album rings with a fond familiarity, perhaps leaning a little more towards traditional country than their past mariachi-drenched sound. However, from that point on John Convertino and Joey Burns take a winding path away from both the sound and style that have defined them for three superb albums, returning only every so often to their trademark lushly reverbed slinking twang with horns. It's a bold move with results that are both successful and refreshing for the group. That's not to say they're unrecognizable, nor sounding like a completely different band. Not at all, each song is most certainly distinctly Calexico. Still very cinematic and expansive. However, there's subtly executed shifts and additions that build gloriously upon their work to date. The simmering second song "Quattro" has an almost Fleetwood Mac "Tusk" rhythmic feel, and oddly enough the sixth is called "Not Even Stevie Nicks" a surprisingly sunkissed '70s-ish pop rock song. High strings slide and soar through the atmosphere of "Black Heart". Mid-album, hushed backing vocals grace the chorus of "Woven Birds". The Convertino-penned "The Book And The Canal" is a brief hushed interlude centered around misty piano melody. For those of you itchin' for some more familiar moments, there's still plenty on songs like "Guero Canelo" and "Close Behind" (both written by Burns). Something new for old Calexico fans and a great introduction for those who've yet to experience this fabulous group. Wonderful, and very recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Quattro"
RealAudio clip: "Black Heart"
RealAudio clip: "Not Even Stevie Nicks"

CALEXICO Garden Ruin (Quarterstick) cd 14.98
Each time that you think this Tucson, AZ band can't possibly get any better or can't possibly bring anything new to their palette without sacrificing some core element of their sound, they go and do it! Excuse the horticultural puns (we're sure other reviewers have already exhausted the lot) but we can't resist, Calexico do indeed continue to grow, to blossom, to flourish with each album. And we get the feeling that they've still only scratched the surface.
Some of us had the deluxe treat of catching a sneak peek of these songs when John Convertino (always a joy to watch!), Joey Burns and their ensemble of stellar multi-instrumentalists played a couple of hush-hush live shows right around the corner from AQ at the Make-Out Room a couple months ago. 'Twas an ultra intimate, yet totally rocking affair, drenched with passion, polish and earthy elegance. We were floored!
Continuing on from their excellent last album Feast Of Wire's '70s west coast (Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, etc) pop/rock infused vibe that drew the focus more towards Burns' vocals and pop song structures, Garden Ruin features the heaviest doses of singing yet (by practically all of the members!) as well as effective explorations into beautiful, crashing waves of guitar and percussion dissonance -- particularly on the spectacular, emotionally draining final track "All Systems Red" on which Burns' voice captures a previously unreached depth of expressiveness. The band has already drawn some criticism for deserting their beloved trademark mariachi style trumpets and expansive cinematic atmospheres, but we think those accusations are unfounded. Yes, this is their most accessible album to date, but fear not, "old" Calexico devotees! Those elements that characterized their earlier releases are still very much present on Garden Ruin (as they were on Feast Of Wire), they're just much more integrated. Other stand-out tracks include the falsetto-ly sung, chiming "Panic Open String", the wispy retro pop number "Lucky Dime" (think Kings Of Convenience meets Olivia Tremor Control) and the smoldering duet "Roka" with its guest vocalist Amparo Sanchez. Breathtaking. On Garden Ruin, Calexico reaches out to every one of us -- an indie kid who just wants to hug him/herself and sway to the sweet gentle folksy ballads, a rock adventurer who loves to get lost in the expanses of Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai and Village Of Savoonga, a lover of the sparkling Southwestern horns and jazzy guitar flourishes -- and never loses sight or sound of their burnished golded Arizonan desert heart. Y'know, there has never been a Calexico release that we haven't heartily recommended. They've given us no reason to start now. What more can we say... except holler from the rooftops, "Recommended!!!"
MPEG Stream: "Cruel"
MPEG Stream: "Yours And Mine"
MPEG Stream: "All Systems Red"