DANAVA Hemisphere Of Shadows (Kemado) cd 10.98
It's not really all that much fun writing a review of this new Danava album. What's fun is listening to it, turned up loud... and maybe getting buzzed on a substance of choice whilst doing so. Whoo-hoo! Granted, that's the case with lots of albums, classics like say Deep Purple In Rock or Alice Cooper's Love It To Death. The kind that require, nay inspire, such behavior. Those, though, weren't just released, but this was, so all the more an occasion for drunken loud listening. They don't make 'em like this all that often anymore, so kudos to Kemado for bringing us the real deal (ironic, isn't it). Though its exactly what we've come to expect from Portland psych-prog-stoner rockers Danava, and are happy to hear once again.
Since the time we checked in with these boys, they've undergone some lineup changes. They now rock to the beat of a different drummer, for one thing. And the guy who only played synths is gone now... but in his stead, way better yet, they've added a 2nd guitarist for extra twin axe attackin', so that's a win. The bassist and the singin' lead guitarist are the same, and that's what really matters in this band, those dudes. They slay.
Needless (at this point) to say, this new album is a killer, replete from the very get-go with rollicking, riff-rockin' badassery. These new Danava jams are seriously being kicked, way out. And they're, y'know, real songs too, with real vocals and everythin', like it's back in 1973 or so and they've got something to prove, those twin guitars givin' with the glorious harmonies (think Thin Lizzy, on the song "I Am The Skull" here especially). They sound like old time Pentagram too, but galloping like they wuz in the Preakness. The Preakness of freakness. Danava are doin' it, here. They're gonna out rock, out prog, out psych, out retro-proto-metal all comers. Speedy and sinuous, no doubt a bit of stress on all the wrists and necks involved in the making of this music. And there's still the usual embellishments of spacey synthy FX sprinkled about, even with that one guy gone. It's all almost a bit overwhelming, which is why it's nice that the very last track, the instrumental "Dying Into The Light" winds things up on a calming, eerily pretty note. Whew...
And, it should be noted that they further pay tribute to their '70s forebears by covering a song, "The Last Goodbye", by obscure UK blooze bashers Slowbone, not that you'd think it wasn't one of their own.
So, yep, getting ripped and listening to these guys rip (rollercoaster style, like they do) is of course way better than writing or reading this review. The response should be obvious. We, or well at least one of us anyway, is gonna kick back and crank this right now. You, should buy a copy and do the same as soon as you can.
By the way, all that drink/drug stuff is meant metaphorically, for all we know the guys in Danava, and their intended listening audience, are super straight edge, not stoners, let alone beer drinkers and hell raisers - though we doubt it.
MPEG Stream: "Shoot Straight With A Crooked Gun"
MPEG Stream: "The Last Goodbye"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Skull"

DANAVA Hemisphere Of Shadows (Kemado) lp 17.98
It's not really all that much fun writing a review of this new Danava album. What's fun is listening to it, turned up loud... and maybe getting buzzed on a substance of choice whilst doing so. Whoo-hoo! Granted, that's the case with lots of albums, classics like say Deep Purple In Rock or Alice Cooper's Love It To Death. The kind that require, nay inspire, such behavior. Those, though, weren't just released, but this was, so all the more an occasion for drunken loud listening. They don't make 'em like this all that often anymore, so kudos to Kemado for bringing us the real deal (ironic, isn't it). Though its exactly what we've come to expect from Portland psych-prog-stoner rockers Danava, and are happy to hear once again.
Since the time we checked in with these boys, they've undergone some lineup changes. They now rock to the beat of a different drummer, for one thing. And the guy who only played synths is gone now... but in his stead, way better yet, they've added a 2nd guitarist for extra twin axe attackin', so that's a win. The bassist and the singin' lead guitarist are the same, and that's what really matters in this band, those dudes. They slay.
Needless (at this point) to say, this new album is a killer, replete from the very get-go with rollicking, riff-rockin' badassery. These new Danava jams are seriously being kicked, way out. And they're, y'know, real songs too, with real vocals and everythin', like it's back in 1973 or so and they've got something to prove, those twin guitars givin' with the glorious harmonies (think Thin Lizzy, on the song "I Am The Skull" here especially). They sound like old time Pentagram too, but galloping like they wuz in the Preakness. The Preakness of freakness. Danava are doin' it, here. They're gonna out rock, out prog, out psych, out retro-proto-metal all comers. Speedy and sinuous, no doubt a bit of stress on all the wrists and necks involved in the making of this music. And there's still the usual embellishments of spacey synthy FX sprinkled about, even with that one guy gone. It's all almost a bit overwhelming, which is why it's nice that the very last track, the instrumental "Dying Into The Light" winds things up on a calming, eerily pretty note. Whew...
And, it should be noted that they further pay tribute to their '70s forebears by covering a song, "The Last Goodbye", by obscure UK blooze bashers Slowbone, not that you'd think it wasn't one of their own.
So, yep, getting ripped and listening to these guys rip (rollercoaster style, like they do) is of course way better than writing or reading this review. The response should be obvious. We, or well at least one of us anyway, is gonna kick back and crank this right now. You, should buy a copy and do the same as soon as you can.
By the way, all that drink/drug stuff is meant metaphorically, for all we know the guys in Danava, and their intended listening audience, are super straight edge, not stoners, let alone beer drinkers and hell raisers - though we doubt it.
MPEG Stream: "Shoot Straight With A Crooked Gun"
MPEG Stream: "The Last Goodbye"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Skull"

DANAVA Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger (Kemado Records) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first heard this Portland stoner-prog-metal combo on the Invaders comp of happenin' heavy psych metal that the Kemado label put out a few months ago. Their track was one of the several highlights there. Went to go see 'em when they played here with Parchman Farm not long ago, too, and the Danava boys SLAYED, shredded, and (incidentally) were all really skinny. Awesome band. Basically a rippin' power trio with extra (and to be honest, seemingly unnecessary) keyboard electronics action. So we're looking forward to their upcoming full length debut due later this year on Kemado, who made the wise decision to sign these guys. As a teaser to that, here's a single-sided limited-edition 12" vinyl release featuring an epic track entitled "Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger".

DANAVA s/t (Kemado) cd 12.98
A few months back, we listed a one-sided, one-song 12" vinyl record that was a teaser for this, the debut album from Portland, Oregon's magnificent Danava, an eagerly awaited release 'round here for sure. And so we'll pretty much recap a bunch of what we said in the review of that 12", which featured their epic tune "Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger", also found on this disc: we first heard this stoner-garage-prog-metal combo on the Invaders comp of happenin' hipster heavy psych metal that the Kemado label released earlier this year. Their track was one of several highlights on that collection. We went to go see 'em when they played in Oakland with Parchman Farm not too long ago, and even more recently in The City when they were supposed to be opening for Witchcraft, and in both instances the Danava boys SLAYED, shredded, and (incidentally to the music) were all really skinny. Awesome band. Basically a rollicking, rippin' power trio with extra psychedelic embellishments from keyboards and electronics. If we were a label, we'd have signed 'em in an instant, and that's what Kemado wisely did some time ago. This resultant product comes close to capturing the excitement of their live show, while revealing other aspects we didn't hear whilst headbanging. It's got a reworking of their killer tune "By The Mark" from the Invaders comp, plus the aforementioned 12" track, and three others that are equally masterful, like "Eyes In Disguise" (hearing a hint of Black Sabbath in the vocal line on that one). When the fleet-fingered guitarist gets goin', and when the drummer and bassist lock in, Danava build to pure, amped up, enthused rocka rolla ecstasy and almost could just as well be a totally instrumental band and get away with it, but they have the bonus of actual decent singing capability and vocal hooks as well. Recommended if you like to rock.
MPEG Stream: "Maudie Shook"
MPEG Stream: "Longdance"

DANAVA s/t (Kemado) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now On Vinyl! Here is what we said about this album upon its cd release last year:
A few months back, we listed a one-sided, one-song 12" vinyl record that was a teaser for this, the debut album from Portland, Oregon's magnificent Danava, an eagerly awaited release 'round here for sure. And so we'll pretty much recap a bunch of what we said in the review of that 12", which featured their epic tune "Quiet Babies Astray In A Manger", also found on this disc: we first heard this stoner-garage-prog-metal combo on the Invaders comp of happenin' hipster heavy psych metal that the Kemado label released earlier this year. Their track was one of several highlights on that collection. We went to go see 'em when they played in Oakland with Parchman Farm not too long ago, and even more recently in The City when they were supposed to be opening for Witchcraft, and in both instances the Danava boys SLAYED, shredded, and (incidentally to the music) were all really skinny. Awesome band. Basically a rollicking, rippin' power trio with extra psychedelic embellishments from keyboards and electronics. If we were a label, we'd have signed 'em in an instant, and that's what Kemado wisely did some time ago. This resultant product comes close to capturing the excitement of their live show, while revealing other aspects we didn't hear whilst headbanging. It's got a reworking of their killer tune "By The Mark" from the Invaders comp, plus the aforementioned 12" track, and three others that are equally masterful, like "Eyes In Disguise" (hearing a hint of Black Sabbath in the vocal line on that one). When the fleet-fingered guitarist gets goin', and when the drummer and bassist lock in, Danava build to pure, amped up, enthused rocka rolla ecstasy and almost could just as well be a totally instrumental band and get away with it, but they have the bonus of actual decent singing capability and vocal hooks as well. Recommended if you like to rock.
MPEG Stream: "Maudie Shook"
MPEG Stream: "Longdance"

DANAVA Unonou (Kemado) cd 14.98
A rockin' return (of course!) from Portland's finest, the mighty Danava. Retro stoner rock melodic metallic garage prog psych heaviness. Whew that's a mouthful. What did we say about 'em when reviewing their recent 7"? "A band whose ripping '70s style metallic power trio action is augmented by a dusting of trippy space rock synthesizer soundz from fourth member Rockwell."
The deal with Danava is that, bottom line, they rip. Metal or indie or retro or hipster or whatever, we don't really care, we just know that they obviously love the same sort of '70s prog excess we dig (a la Sabbath's Sabotage), with flamboyant keyboard flourishes (check out the last minute of "Where Beauty And Terror Dance" ferinstance), write actual songs, sing 'em too, and totally kick ass live. Maybe that's not much to ask from a band, but these days, such real deal rock n' roll acts are few and far between. Likewise with kick ass albums like this one. Who else might we cite? Birds Of Avalon are one of 'em. Also recent Danava tour mates Witchcraft. And Oakland's Drunk Horse (imagine them in cahoots with SF's Crime In Choir perhaps, to approach the boogie prog shred you get with Danava).
Unonou brings fans another seven songs sprung from the bulging collective Danava forehead, in the manner to which we have become accustomed. Which means, they feature virtuosic guitar (and bass) solo action, frenzied drumming, Ozzish vocals (very much so, up to and including some snippets of the lyrics), and the aforementioned eccentric electronic embellishments. Plus, this time 'round, there's a frickin' horn section throwing down in several songs! The album ends with the 13+ minute "Mind Gone Separate Ways", wherein the band manage to kick out the jams whilst making melodic space rock fusion, wow. Yep Unonou has got its share of sinister moodiness and spaceouts but consists mostly of REALLY energetic rollercoaster, uh, rippage (to use that term once more). Danava's '70s era references/influences would seem to include proggy Black Sabbath, early Blue Oyster Cult, lashings of Gobin (like the disco-ish groove that starts off "The Emerald Snow Of Sleep"), very early Alice Cooper, maybe even Jobraith... If that sounds good to you, get this, and definitely don't miss 'em live whenever that chance presents itself.
MPEG Stream: "Where Beauty And Terror Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Spinning Temple Shifting"

DANAVA Unonou (Kemado) 2lp 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 TOO!
A rockin' return (of course!) from Portland's finest, the mighty Danava. Retro stoner rock melodic metallic garage prog psych heaviness. Whew that's a mouthful. What did we say about 'em when reviewing their recent 7"? "A band whose ripping '70s style metallic power trio action is augmented by a dusting of trippy space rock synthesizer soundz from fourth member Rockwell."
The deal with Danava is that, bottom line, they rip. Metal or indie or retro or hipster or whatever, we don't really care, we just know that they obviously love the same sort of '70s prog excess we dig (a la Sabbath's Sabotage), with flamboyant keyboard flourishes (check out the last minute of "Where Beauty And Terror Dance" ferinstance), write actual songs, sing 'em too, and totally kick ass live. Maybe that's not much to ask from a band, but these days, such real deal rock n' roll acts are few and far between. Likewise with kick ass albums like this one. Who else might we cite? Birds Of Avalon are one of 'em. Also recent Danava tour mates Witchcraft. And Oakland's Drunk Horse (imagine them in cahoots with SF's Crime In Choir perhaps, to approach the boogie prog shred you get with Danava).
Unonou brings fans another seven songs sprung from the bulging collective Danava forehead, in the manner to which we have become accustomed. Which means, they feature virtuosic guitar (and bass) solo action, frenzied drumming, Ozzish vocals (very much so, up to and including some snippets of the lyrics), and the aforementioned eccentric electronic embellishments. Plus, this time 'round, there's a frickin' horn section throwing down in several songs! The album ends with the 13+ minute "Mind Gone Separate Ways", wherein the band manage to kick out the jams whilst making melodic space rock fusion, wow. Yep Unonou has got its share of sinister moodiness and spaceouts but consists mostly of REALLY energetic rollercoaster, uh, rippage (to use that term once more). Danava's '70s era references/influences would seem to include proggy Black Sabbath, early Blue Oyster Cult, lashings of Gobin (like the disco-ish groove that starts off "The Emerald Snow Of Sleep"), very early Alice Cooper, maybe even Jobraith... If that sounds good to you, get this, and definitely don't miss 'em live whenever that chance presents itself.
MPEG Stream: "Where Beauty And Terror Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Spinning Temple Shifting"

DANAVA Where Beauty & Terror Dance (Kemado) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay, two new songs from Portland's finest melodic heavy psych rockers Danava, a band whose ripping '70s style metallic power trio action is augmented by a dusting of trippy space rock synthesizer soundz from fourth member Rockwell... Just saw 'em recently opening for Witchcraft, one of the only bands around that's capable of giving us as much of a rock n' roll thrill as these guys.
On this seven inch (which includes a coupon enabling a free download of mp3 versions of these tracks) you get the title cut "Where Beauty & Terror Dance", and on the flip, their cover of "Jericho" by fuzzblasted English psychedelic proto-metallers Stray, originally from that band's 1971 album Suicide. All right!

DANCE OF DAYS (Soft Skull Press) book 20.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Just got this in, haven't had a chance to read it yet, although by the looks of the single chapter that was pre-published in an issue of Punk Planet, this is going to be a stunningly interesting book. Mark Andersen (co-founder of Positive Force DC) and Mark Jenkins collaborated on the story of DC Punk, its beginnings, its influence, and all the fallout when punk got noticed by the dreaded mainstream. They interviewed *all* the relevant people, include lots of photos, and tell the story in a sort of narrative documentary way. Over 400 pages, and there's even a "where are they now" section. I'm taking one home right now.

DANCE OF DAYS (Soft Skull Press) book 20.00
This book, written by Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins, is a history of the DC hardcore punk scene, from Bad Brains to Minor Threat to Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Scream, Void, the Riot Grrl scene, etc. A lot of you were already listening to this music at the same time the events of the book were unfolding, but the book just so handily puts into context so much of what was swirling round at that time, everything from who started which band and what their lyrics were all about to political postering campaigns, why Fugazi always tries to play benefits, the DC-Olympia connection. There are tons of photos and quotes, even a solemn "where are they now" section at the end. Very very well done.

DANCERS OF BALI: GAMELAN OF PELIATAN, 1952 (World Arbiter) cd 16.98
Is there an inherently more pleasing sound then that of gamelan music? We think not. Something about the tones and tempo of it that make our ears so damn happy. This is an amazing recording from 1952 of one of the first world tours of Gamelan music. An ensemble of Peliatan dancers and musicians trekked across the globe and gave Westerners a glimpse of the magic and spellbound bliss that is gamelan. So amazing that sounds made a half century ago still ring with so much vibrancy and color. Without a doubt so many of today's sonic explorers have been touched by the power of Gamelan music as you can't help but hear the influence of Gamelan on records by folks like Aphex Twin, Four Tet and Colleen. In fact so much of good electronic music aims for this height of rhythm, tone and effervescence. We could listen to these sounds all day and night. Something so great about how you can both have this on in the background or listen with attentive focus and each way you get something that feels so totally invigorating and satisfying from the experience.
Whether you are a Gamelan aficionado or a newcomer to the sounds, this can serve as both an introduction or as another wonderful document of these brilliant sounds.
MPEG Stream: "Kapi Radja"
MPEG Stream: "Angkat - Angkatan"
MPEG Stream: "Baris"

DANDY WARHOLS Odditorium (Capitol) cd 17.98

DANE, BARBARA The Tradition Years - Anthology Of American Folk Songs (Empire Musicwerks) cd 13.98
Sometimes one person's tragedy is another's good fortune. Don't know if any of you scored any good deals from Tower Records sad going out of business sale, but we were surprised at some of the finds still available on the second to last day. Of course the Rock and the Hip Hop sections were long plundered, but if you ventured into the Folk, World, and 20th century composer section, you could still find a $35 import for just 4 bucks of some obscure koto avant-jazz or take a chance on an old folkie that we had never heard of which is the case with this gem. Who is Barbara Dane? Well we thought she would be some songbird like Carolyn Hester or Texas Gladden, but Dane's voice is truly a force to be reckoned with, not a collegiate howler, like Judy Henske or Dorris Henderson but husky, low and tainted with regret. Here on her first recording on the Tradition label (home of John Jacob Niles) she delivers some of the loneliest sounding interpretations of songs from the folk cannon including the Carter Family's "Single Girl", "Girl of Constant Sorrow", and Woody Gutherie's "Ramblin'". Moonshinin', the painful bedevilment of men and standing tall on one's own are consistent themes in these songs, accompanied by guitar and banjo. Dane, who is still alive and still singing is now known for being more of a Blues singer, but she entered that particular world through these amazing folk interpretations. What a nice discovery! Fans of John Jacob Niles, Cat Power, and Karen Dalton will find lots to love here. Since not everybody was as lucky as one of us happened to be to find this at the Tower sale, we thought we'd order 'em in -- even at full price, it's well worth it!!
MPEG Stream: "When I Was A Young Girl"
MPEG Stream: "Little Maggie"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Sing Love Songs"

DANGER MOUSE & DANIELE LUPPI Rome (Capitol) cd 16.98

DANGER MOUSE & JEMINI Ghetto Pop Life (Lex) cd 13.98
Newset release on the so far flawless Lex hip hop label, and while this is of course another winner, it's way less OUT THERE than the first few releases, and way more pop. Which is not a bad thing. Not at all. Just means if all things were fair, this shit would be HUGE and all over MTV. I mean c'mon, the DJ, Dangermouse, wears a huge furry mouse costume! How cool is that. And the tracks he comes up with are amazing, bizarre sample, soaring strings and angelic choirs, all layered under funky basslines and simple BIG beats. And Jemini's flow is so smooth, but still manages to be really unique, spitting all sorts of random madness. And there's plenty of actual hooks and REAL singing. Reminds me a lot of Outkast with their penchant for writing real songs instead of the tired old looped sample/beat structure of almost all hip hop. But as much as I do like Outkast, I like DM and Jemini way better. It's just a little bit weirder, and catchier, and more fun. Which is saying a lot. Features guest spots by Tha Liks, Organised Confusion and the Pharcyde! And of course there's the packaging....Lex's packaging is easily the best we've ever seen. But this record is just unbelievable, even for Lex. Embossed, metallic gold ink on weirdly textured black paper of a huge pile of crystals/jewels, a cat jeweller, and a reclining mouse with some swiss cheese bling. Really hard to explain. But pretty much everyone who has seen it says something along the lines of "Holy fuck!"
MPEG Stream: "Ghetto Pop Life"
MPEG Stream: "Medieval"

DANGER MOUSE & JEMINI Ghetto Pop Life (Lex) 2lp 21.00
Newset release on the so far flawless Lex hip hop label, and while this is of course another winner, it's way less OUT THERE than the first few releases, and way more pop. Which is not a bad thing. Not at all. Just means if all things were fair, this shit would be HUGE and all over MTV. I mean c'mon, the DJ, Dangermouse, wears a huge furry mouse costume! How cool is that. And the tracks he comes up with are amazing, bizarre sample, soaring strings and angelic choirs, all layered under funky basslines and simple BIG beats. And Jemini's flow is so smooth, but still manages to be really unique, spitting all sorts of random madness. And there's plenty of actual hooks and REAL singing. Reminds me a lot of Outkast with their penchant for writing real songs instead of the tired old looped sample/beat structure of almost all hip hop. But as much as I do like Outkast, I like DM and Gemini way better. It's just a little bit weirder, and catchier, and more fun. Which is saying a lot. Features guest spots by Tha Liks, Organised Confusion and the Pharcyde! And of course there's the packaging....Lex's packaging is easily the best we've ever seen. But this record is just unbelievable, even for Lex. Embossed, metallic gold ink on weirdly textured black paper of a huge pile of crystals/jewels, a cat jeweller, and a reclining mouse with some swiss cheese bling. Really hard to explain. But pretty much everyone who has seen it says something along the lines of "Holy fuck!"

DANGER MOUSE & JEMINI Twenty Six Inch (Lex) cd ep 7.98
Those of you who missed DM and Jemini's Ghetto Pop Life album from a little while back need to rectify that situation immdediately! And this six track ep is that kick in the ass to remind you to do just that, and to remind us just how fucking brilliant these guys are. Sure we all dig Outkast, but if there was any justice in this MTV /pop / radio world, DM and Jemini would be just as huge. This is funky and fun and weird and wonderful. Catchy and crazy and better than anything you see on MTV or hear on the radio. The song 'Ghetto Pop Life' (remixed here twice) is without a doubt the underground 'Hey Ya'. Seriously. Guest spots by Cee Lo, the Alkaholicks and Saddat X. Get this, then get the full length, and then wait for the next full length like it's December 26th and you're already counting the days until next Christmas!
MPEG Stream: "What You Sittin On? DM's 26" Remix"
MPEG Stream: "Ghetto Pop Life Remix"

DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE Dark Night Of The Soul (Capitol / Lex) cd 16.98
After all the hype, the drama, the "is it coming out or isn't it?", the beautiful book packaged with the blank cd-r so you could download this record illegally, we sort of expected to be blown away, but at first it was just the opposite, we were actively bummed out, not just disappointed, but appalled. Mostly because this was the last recorded music we'd hear from two of our favorite songwriters EVER, Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse and Vic Chesnutt, both of whom took their own lives. And frankly it kind of sucked. But we've listened to it a few times now, and it's not nearly as bad as we first thought. It seems more like a case of too many cooks, there's no way a record featuring so many guest stars and contributors could be cohesive, or at least the chances are pretty slim. Especially when you look at the list: Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Vic Chesnutt, The Flaming Lips, David Lynch, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, James Mercer of The Shins, Nina Persson of the Cardigans, Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals. And the record sounds exactly like you'd expect from that list, like a crazy mish mash of styles and personalities, of sounds and approaches, none of which really work at all with each other. The real question is WHY all of those people? Some sort of friend rock situation? Strip away all the bullshit and all the guest vocals and probably hidden in there is a really good Sparklehorse record. But instead, it's more like a compilation, and not an especially cohesive one, which is maybe fine, but some of the songs, the more rocking ones specifically, are stinkers, and definitely disrupt the flow. Chesnutt's track is pretty great, his voice always so intense, tortured and emotional, perfectly complimented by Linkous's gorgeous hazy production. Which in places does sound incredible, the guest-less Linkous tracks are pretty good, or the ones where the guests try to fit themselves into Linkous' sound instead of the other way around, but even then, for the most part there are no rough edges at all, which was always the best part, the crackle and buzz, the glitch and hum, the happy accidents, but throughout, the production slick and glossy, a little TOO slick. How we would have preferred some sort of super intimate DIY Linkous / Chesnutt collaboration, but alas, it's never to be. So best we just take what we can from this mostly disappointing collection. We'll probably end up picking 4 or 5 songs, to load on to the iPod, and then just forget all about the rest...
MPEG Stream: "Revenge (Feat. The Flaming Lips)"
MPEG Stream: "Grim Augury (Feat. Vic Chesnutt)"
MPEG Stream: "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It) (Feat. David Lynch)"
MPEG Stream: "Pain (Feat. Iggy Pop)"

DANGER MOUSE & SPARKLEHORSE Dark Night Of The Soul (Capitol / Lex) 2lp 21.00
After all the hype, the drama, the "is it coming out or isn't it?", the beautiful book packaged with the blank cd-r so you could download this record illegally, we sort of expected to be blown away, but at first it was just the opposite, we were actively bummed out, not just disappointed, but appalled. Mostly because this was the last recorded music we'd hear from two of our favorite songwriters EVER, Mark Linkous from Sparklehorse and Vic Chesnutt, both of whom took their own lives. And frankly it kind of sucked. But we've listened to it a few times now, and it's not nearly as bad as we first thought. It seems more like a case of too many cooks, there's no way a record featuring so many guest stars and contributors could be cohesive, or at least the chances are pretty slim. Especially when you look at the list: Black Francis, Julian Casablancas, Vic Chesnutt, The Flaming Lips, David Lynch, Jason Lytle of Grandaddy, James Mercer of The Shins, Nina Persson of the Cardigans, Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals. And the record sounds exactly like you'd expect from that list, like a crazy mish mash of styles and personalities, of sounds and approaches, none of which really work at all with each other. The real question is WHY all of those people? Some sort of friend rock situation? Strip away all the bullshit and all the guest vocals and probably hidden in there is a really good Sparklehorse record. But instead, it's more like a compilation, and not an especially cohesive one, which is maybe fine, but some of the songs, the more rocking ones specifically, are stinkers, and definitely disrupt the flow. Chesnutt's track is pretty great, his voice always so intense, tortured and emotional, perfectly complimented by Linkous's gorgeous hazy production. Which in places does sound incredible, the guest-less Linkous tracks are pretty good, or the ones where the guests try to fit themselves into Linkous' sound instead of the other way around, but even then, for the most part there are no rough edges at all, which was always the best part, the crackle and buzz, the glitch and hum, the happy accidents, but throughout, the production slick and glossy, a little TOO slick. How we would have preferred some sort of super intimate DIY Linkous / Chesnutt collaboration, but alas, it's never to be. So best we just take what we can from this mostly disappointing collection. We'll probably end up picking 4 or 5 songs, to load on to the iPod, and then just forget all about the rest...
MPEG Stream: "Revenge (Feat. The Flaming Lips)"
MPEG Stream: "Grim Augury (Feat. Vic Chesnutt)"
MPEG Stream: "Star Eyes (I Can't Catch It) (Feat. David Lynch)"
MPEG Stream: "Pain (Feat. Iggy Pop)"

DANGER: DIABOLIK (Paramount ) dvd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A MUST-SEE finally available on dvd! We sold a bunch of the amazing soundtrack to this when we could get it. Now we don't have the soundtrack anymore, but with this dvd you're getting the visuals too, and WOW are these great visuals.
Danger: Diabolik is remarkable for so many reasons... One of which being that it's the one definitely non-horror movie from one of the kings of classic horror movies, Mario Bava. Another being that it's the absolute pinnacle of stunningly stylish, captivatingly campy '60s spy flicks. Sooo many filmmakers have drawn heavy influence from Danger: Diabolik.
Another example of just how ahead of the curve this movie was is the fact that it was based on a comic book decades before the recent onslaught of comic book-based superhero and supervillain movies.
Two scenes of note: the trippy cheesoid psychedelic party scene; and Diabolik and his lady in bed writhing in all that money. Not to mention how stunning the couple look, how the guy seems strangely uninterested in her, how they both seems pretty asexual, but how totally amazing their outfits are.
With flabbergastin' set design, lighting and wardrobe, this is definitely a stylistic masterpiece. And the music is way rad too.
And we mustn't forget to mention that this movie has one of the best lines of script-writing, "Dry up stupid!"

DANGERDOOM Sofa King / Mince Meat (Epitaph) 12" 6.98

DANGERDOOM The Mouse And The Mask (Epitaph) cd 14.98
MF Doom has to be one of the most important rappers around. As cliched as it sounds, he is one of the only hip hop artists taking shit to a whole 'nother level. Everyone's all gaga for Kanye West, and sure, he's doing his part to subvert MTV and commercial radio, but ultimately he's making mainstream pop music, no matter how creative it is. But Doom is the true subversive, his confusing raspy slur, spitting brilliantly garbled non sequiturs, his pacing and cadence so damaged and off kilter, but at the same time so funky and perfectly catchy. And his choice of musical partners is impeccable. Madvilllainy was absolutely brilliant with Doom teaming up with Madlib, for a drowsy, laid back jazzadelic joint, equal parts smooth jazz, funky R+B, spy movie soundtracks and far out alien funk. Every track a dense assemblage of killer loops, horns and flutes, porno wah guitar, and Doom's killer laconic flow. So we were all a bit excited when we found out Doom would be teaming up with the DJ of the moment, Dangermouse, who most folks have only heard on the DM and Jemini record from a few years back, but who is way more (in)famous for his unofficial and so far unreleased Grey Album, a wicked mash up of the Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album. The perfect choice to go up against Doom.
But even more perfect is that this disc also teams Doom up with various characters from The Cartoon Network's late night adult oriented Adult Swim cartoons, considering Doom is sort of a cartoon character himself. Present and accounted for: Master Shake and Meatwad from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, also their surly New Jersey neighbor Karl, Space Ghost, Thundercleese, Brak and Zorak, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law, the cast of Sealab 2021 and our favorites, Ignignokt and Err, the Mooninites. For those unfamiliar with all those characters, it may just sound like a bunch of crazy characters adding flavor to Doom's bizarre universe, but for fans, it's pretty exciting to hear Meatwad rap in his weird high pitched gurgly voice, or hear Brak do a little rhyming, or Master Shake's continual indignant phone calls to Doom trying top get on this record. This could have all gone seriously south and ended up as nothing but a commercial for the Cartoon Network, but it of course transcends its parts and becomes one of the coolest craziest rap records of the last couple years. The music is dense and catchy as fuck, weird loops, and stuttering rhythms are woven into perfect backing tracks for Doom and his cartoon counterparts, bouncy and fun, fun and funky without being totally goofy. Just a teensy bit malevolent too, with random characters (Shake and Space Ghost) pitted as Doom's foes, while others, like Meatwad and Karl just sort of go along for the ride. And a wild ride it is, samples are brilliantly sliced and diced and re-assembled (check the chorus of "Mince Meat"), repeated listens reveal all sorts of little sonic details, and then Doom just seals the deal, with some of the most amazing rhymes ever (check "Vats Of Urine") and a cartoon personality that might make you wonder when he'll be getting his own show. Sure the year's almost over, but wouldn't really make any difference... HIP HOP RECORD OF THE YEAR!
MPEG Stream: "The Mask"
MPEG Stream: "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"
MPEG Stream: "Mince Meat"
MPEG Stream: "Vats Of Urine"

DANGERDOOM The Mouse And The Mask (Epitaph) 2lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
MF Doom has to be one of the most important rappers around. As cliched as it sounds, he is one of the only hip hop artists taking shit to a whole 'nother level. Everyone's all gaga for Kanye West, and sure, he's doing his part to subvert MTV and commercial radio, but ultimately he's making mainstream pop music, no matter how creative it is. But Doom is the true subversive, his confusing raspy slur, spitting brilliantly garbled non sequiturs, his pacing and cadence so damaged and off kilter, but at the same time so funky and perfectly catchy. And his choice of musical partners is impeccable. Madvilllainy was absolutely brilliant with Doom teaming up with Madlib, for a drowsy, laid back jazzadelic joint, equal parts smooth jazz, funky R+B, spy movie soundtracks and far out alien funk. Every track a dense assemblage of killer loops, horns and flutes, porno wah guitar, and Doom's killer laconic flow. So we were all a bit excited when we found out Doom would be teaming up with the DJ of the moment, Dangermouse, who most folks have only heard on the DM and Jemini record from a few years back, but who is way more (in)famous for his unofficial and so far unreleased Grey Album, a wicked mash up of the Beatles White Album and Jay-Z's Black Album. The perfect choice to go up against Doom.
But even more perfect is that this disc also teams Doom up with various characters from The Cartoon Network's late night adult oriented Adult Swim cartoons, considering Doom is sort of a cartoon character himself. Present and accounted for: Master Shake and Meatwad from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force, also their surly New Jersey neighbor Karl, Space Ghost, Thundercleese, Brak and Zorak, Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law, the cast of Sealab 2021 and our favorites, Ignignokt and Err, the Mooninites. For those unfamiliar with all those characters, it may just sound like a bunch of crazy characters adding flavor to Doom's bizarre universe, but for fans, it's pretty exciting to hear Meatwad rap in his weird high pitched gurgly voice, or hear Brak do a little rhyming, or Master Shake's continual indignant phone calls to Doom trying top get on this record. This could have all gone seriously south and ended up as nothing but a commercial for the Cartoon Network, but it of course transcends its parts and becomes one of the coolest craziest rap records of the last couple years. The music is dense and catchy as fuck, weird loops, and stuttering rhythms are woven into perfect backing tracks for Doom and his cartoon counterparts, bouncy and fun, fun and funky without being totally goofy. Just a teensy bit malevolent too, with random characters (Shake and Space Ghost) pitted as Doom's foes, while others, like Meatwad and Karl just sort of go along for the ride. And a wild ride it is, samples are brilliantly sliced and diced and re-assembled (check the chorus of "Mince Meat"), repeated listens reveal all sorts of little sonic details, and then Doom just seals the deal, with some of the most amazing rhymes ever (check "Vats Of Urine") and a cartoon personality that might make you wonder when he'll be getting his own show. Sure the year's almost over, but wouldn't really make any difference... HIP HOP RECORD OF THE YEAR!
MPEG Stream: "The Mask"
MPEG Stream: "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"
MPEG Stream: "Mince Meat"
MPEG Stream: "Vats Of Urine"

DANGEROUS, JOHNNY Dangerous Liaisons (US2 Recordings) cd 12.98
Yet another review courtesy of former Outpunk label head, current A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. label mastermind, gay gangsta and AQ pal Matt Wobensmith:
It's the gayest hip hop album of all time! And when we say the gayest, we mean it in only the best way, of course. Not a novelty record, but a genuinely filthy -- yet sincere and highly addictive -- commercial hip hop album a la Missy/Timba, or maybe even Lil' Kim. Can people even handle that? Johnny is a precocious and foul mouthed dude, spitting nasty and controversial rhymes over hot, funked out 303s and club jams, including a tribute to Sheila E ("Sugar Daddy") and a posse cut over Digable Planet's "Rebirth of Slick". Best track could be "Crack Hit" -- a raunchy duet with LA homo horrorcore rapper Deadlee (album due out soon on A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.)... worth the price alone if just for the best line ever in the track "Crack Hit" -- "you thought I was talking about drugs? My ass IS a drug!" If there was any justice, people like Johnny Dangerous would be all over the airwaves, spreading hilarious fun and gay sex over the overblown Eminems and DMXs and 50 Cents of the planet.
MPEG Stream: "Crack Hit"
MPEG Stream: "Not Black Enough"

DANIEL, TED QUINTET Tapestry (Porter Records) cd 14.98
Porter Records have been unearthing some fine free musical gems lately, including killer rarities from Birigwa and Byard Lancaster, and have now unleashed this 1974 live free jazz set from Ted Daniel Quintet. Recorded and performed at Ornette Coleman's Artist House, a performance space in the Lower East Side, flugelhorn and trumpet player Daniels teamed up with a quintet featuring Khan Jamal on vibes (we're big fans of his Drumdance To The Motherland album), Tim Ingles on electric bass with wah wah pedal, brother Richard Daniel on Fender Rhodes and echoplex and Jerome Cooper on drums. Majestic and psychedelic, fans of Idris Ackamoor, Khan Jamal, and Roland P. Young will find plenty to love here. Right on!
MPEG Stream: "Asagefo"
MPEG Stream: "Tapestry"

DANIELL, DAVID Coastal (Xeric) cd 16.98

DANIELL, DAVID I-IV-V-I (Table Of The Elements) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
David Daniell was the guitarist for WAY underrated post rock slowcore drifters San Augustin, whose records were ultra understated and hushed expanses of soft focus guitar filigree, whispered melody, and barely there percussion, and his past solo records were super minimal as well, microsound explorations that basically required headphones to truly appreciate. So we were sort of expecting Daniell, for his entry in TOTE's Guitar series of one sided 12"s, to offer up a disc of near silence, coaxing the gentlest of sounds from his guitar, but instead, I-IV-V-I, named for the basic blues progression, is anything but. The opening track is a monstrous slab of tectonic buzz, layers of rumbling and crumbling distorted guitar, blurred into a Niblockian drift, warm and wavery, smeared and dreamy, but suitably tense and dramatic. Which is followed by a sort of looped Appalachia, steel string guitar, locked into a mantra like progression, the main figure locked into endless repetition, while in the background, a second (and maybe third) guitar offer up pretty little counterpoint and extra steel string buzz, texture and melody that seems to swirl beneath that hypnotic main riff.
"V" is all new age-y drift, another bit of soft dronemusic, laced with subtle layers of hiss and crackle, the melody a distant swell, which all gives way to a sweet melancholy guitar line that is processed into a layer of warm buzzing dreaminess, and finally the record finishes with a mournful, almost funereal sounding steel string buzzscape, that sounds almost like bluegrass, if it was stretched way out into long streaks of metallic shimmer, but Daniell drapes some playful major key melodies over the top, and the two, while seemingly at odds, mesh into something both haunting and mysterious, soft and weirdly pretty.
Pressed on super thick, swirled green, yellow and white vinyl. One sided, the other side features an etching by Savage Pencil, housed in a thick PVC sleeve, and as always, VERY LIMITED!

DANIELL, DAVID Sem (Antiopic) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The guitarist from the understated post-rock / improv group San Augustin, David Daniell presents his first solo album of microsound compositions that have much more in common with lowercase artists like John Hudak and Richard Chartier than the skeletal rockisms of Loren Mazzacane Connors. Having treated field recordings from the southern regions of the US through a number digital processes (probably using Max / MSP to run treated samples at very slow speeds), Daniell arrives at a similar restraint as his San Agustin project; however, he's realized his music through muted errata of unspecified pops and clicks floating amidst gentle electrical tones, deep bass flickerings, and lots of silence. "Sem" certainly captures the sense of meditation and the methodological hermeticism that his more well known lowercase contemporaries have produced. Headphones required.
MPEG Stream: "Sem 2"
MPEG Stream: "Sem 1"

DANIELS, WALTER, THE OBLIVIANS, & MONSIEUR JEFFREY EVANS Melissa's Garage Revisited (Sympathy for the Record Industry) cd 11.98
Some of the grittiest garage rock from the Oblivians is found on this collection of the recordings done at Melissa's garage in Memphis, with Walter Daniels (Jack-O-Fire) and Monsieur Jeffery Evans (Gibson Brothers and '68 Comeback) sharing the vocal duties. Half of these recordings were released on a very hard to find bootleg 10", with the other half released as a '68 Comeback single.

DANIELSON Ships (Secretly Canadian) cd 14.98
Conceived as a giant group hug with everyone Daniel Smith (aka Danielson Family, Tri-Danielson and Br. Danielson) has collaborated with or has wanted to collaborate with, this Moby Dick of a record cannot be completely contained on just one cd, so a series of 7 inches will follow with different collaborators, producers and labels. While the cd features appearances from Deerhoof, Sufjan Stevens, Serena Maneesh and Why?, among others, these sunny and ecstatic pop exuberances have become so embedded in the Danielson mythos, that it is sometimes hard to tell where the collaboration lies. But that's no matter, if you love the uplifting and heartfelt indie-pop of Polyphonic Spree, Flaming Lips or the Elephant 6 collective, you will definitely want to book a spot on this cruise.
MPEG Stream: "Bloodbook on the Half Shell"
MPEG Stream: "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"

DANIELSON Ships (Secretly Canadian) lp 13.98
Conceived as a giant group hug with everyone Daniel Smith (aka Danielson Family, Tri-Danielson and Br. Danielson) has collaborated with or has wanted to collaborate with, this Moby Dick of a record cannot be completely contained on just one cd, so a series of 7 inches will follow with different collaborators, producers and labels. While the cd features appearances from Deerhoof, Sufjan Stevens, Serena Maneesh and Why?, among others, these sunny and ecstatic pop exuberances have become so embedded in the Danielson mythos, that it is sometimes hard to tell where the collaboration lies. But that's no matter, if you love the uplifting and heartfelt indie-pop of Polyphonic Spree, Flaming Lips or the Elephant 6 collective, you will definitely want to book a spot on this cruise.
MPEG Stream: "Bloodbook on the Half Shell"
MPEG Stream: "Did I Step On Your Trumpet"

DANIELSON Tri-Danielson (Alpha) (Secretly Canadian) cd 13.98
Completely original vision put forth by the Smith family, headed by Daniel, complete with medical uniforms and synchronized dancing. A mix of twang, falsetto, female harmonies, and heart-tuggingly sweet lyrics. Has been described as sort of a more accessible Half-Japanese. We also carry Danielson's first couple of albums, which are amazing! Ask!

DANIELSON FAMILE A Prayer For Every Hour (Secretly Canadian) 2cd 15.98
The totally original oddity that is Danielson sees their very first album (1995) reissued. A double disc set, this has 24 inspirational songs that're meant to be played at the top of every hour over the course of one day. Amazing, amazing band. All six members are indeed kids from the same Northern New Jersey family (except the keyboardist who's been a family friend since grade school), they're hardcore shiny happy Christians who sing about God's love and stuff, they dress in handmade white doctors and nurses uniforms. Weird huh? They also have this super sweet visual aesthetic going on with handmade quilts with songlyrics embroidered on them and hand-drawn pictures and stuff. They even designed a Danielson Famile loafer for Fluevog Shoes.
Their sound? Daniel, the lead singer and guitarist, yowls in a whiny falsetto that has a punchy punk energy to it, while his sisters Rachel and Megan cavort on flute and xylophone and accompany Daniel's vocals with the prettiest call-and-response backup harmonies and, best of all, choreographed dances and hand gestures. You cannot take your eyes off the girls -- they're like the Supremes, narrating the entirety of each song with their hands and bodies in perfect unison. It's like the Supremes mixed with the angular savage songwriting chops of the Pixies mixed with the precision vocal stop-start antics of Heavy Vegetable. Uh huh!
This deluxe double disc reissue features 4 quicktime clips you can play on your computer! There's one short film explaining how to listen to the album, a video for one of the songs, and two live performances (the historic live debut of the Famile!) at head of the Famile Daniel Smith's Rutgers BFA thesis show. Note, it looks to me like they weren't just playing his thesis show, it looks like the Danielson Famile in all its glory actually *is* his thesis.
RealAudio clip: "Nice of Me"

DANIELSON FAMILE Tri-Danielson (Omega) (Secretly Canadian) cd 13.98

DANIELSON FAMILE, THE Fetch the Compass Kids (Secretly Canadian) cd 13.98
Seeing the Danielson Famile recently open for Low at the Great American Music Hall was a thing of beauty -- the audience, who were mostly there for Low, was gloriously converted to the totally original oddity that is Danielson. Long story short: all six members are indeed kids from the same Northern New Jersey family (except the keyboardist who's been a family friend since grade school), they're hardcore shiny happy Christians who sing about God's love and stuff, they dress in handmade white doctors and nurses uniforms. Weird huh? They also have this super sweet visual aesthetic going on with handmade quilts with songlyrics embroidered on them and hand-drawn pictures and stuff. They even designed their own shoes for Fluevog Shoes.
Anyway, this is one band who truly must be seen live in order to "get it." They are UNBELIEVABLE. Daniel, the lead singer and guitarist, yowls in a whiny falsetto that has a punchy punk energy to it, while his sisters Rachel and Megan cavort on flute and xylophone and accompany Daniel's vocals with the prettiest call-and-response backup harmonies and, best of all, choreographed dances and hand gestures. You cannot take your eyes off the girls -- they're like the Supremes, narrating the entirety of each song with their hands and bodies in perfect unison. It's like the Supremes mixed with the angular savage songwriting chops of the Pixies mixed with the precision vocal stop-start antics of Heavy Vegetable. Uh huh! Now it must be said that they're not as good on record as they are live (and it sort of doesn't help that a customer of ours who is gay engaged one of the Danielsons in coversation and had to hear that the Bible says homosexuality is wrong), but anyone who's seen them live may want a cd or two to keep them company between Danielson concerts. Try this one on for size (or any of their previous albums which were all reissued recently.)
RealAudio clip: "We Don't Say Shut Up"

DANIELSON FAMILE, THE Flip Flop Flim Flam (Fluevog) cd ep 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A li'l single cd containing just one song, which was commissioned by powerhouse shoe maker John Fluevog, who I guess is a big Danielson fan. The Famile also designed a lovely shoe for the line, a heavy white loafer with a big red leather heart on top (where shoelaces go). We wish the shoes came with the single, but alas. There is a picture of it here, though. And of course this is a *limited* release.
RealAudio clip: "Flip Flop Flim Flam"

DANIELSON FAMILY Tell Another Joke at the Ol' Choppin' Block (Secretly Canadian) cd 13.98

DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE (A DOCUMENTARY MUSICAL BY JL ARONSON) (Image Entertainment) dvd 27.00
Friends, relatives and fans of Daniel Smith and co. (aka Danielson aka the Danielson Family aka Danielson Famile aka Br. Danielson aka...), here's something you'll want to add to your beloved distinctly non-secular pop band's keepsake box. Heck, you probably already intimately know almost all of the stories revealed in this intimate documentary. Well, nothin' like a little reminiscing, right? Actually you might encounter a few surprise revelations along the way. Filmmaker JL Aronson has crafted a pleasure to watch for fans and newcomers alike, an artful work that combines live footage, animation, archival clips and stories galore. Of course, you also get a heap of bonus material too: deleted scenes, commentary, music vids, etc!

DANNY & THE NIGHTMARES The End Is Near Again (Cool Beans) cd 9.98
It's been a while but... the inimitable man-child Daniel Johnston rides again... with full band in tow! The End Is Near showcases Daniel... er, I mean Danny raising a garage rawk style ruckus with his pals the Nightmares. Not for everyone, but hardcore fans of Johnston will surely rejoice!
MPEG Stream: "Lost Hero of Rock n Roll"
MPEG Stream: "Natzi"

DANSE SOCIETY, THE Demos Vol. 1 (Dark Entries) lp 17.98
British Goth outfit the Danse Society signed to Arista in 1983, in the wake of dour post-punk acts like The Cure and Bauhaus getting courted by the major labels with considerable success. The album that followed for the Danse Society - Heaven Is Waiting - was met with a tepid response, given the promise of their raw, commanding live presence and the strength of the two previous singles the band released through their own imprint. These recordings were made prior to the Arista album, with just five of the 11 tracks making the cut for Arista's commercially viable edicts and a few others relegated to B sides. The sound here is much more tempestuous, claustrophobic, and bleak through the band's ferocious rhythm section featuring Paul Gilmartin's tumbling, tribal drums and the spectral, heavy flange of Tim Wright's bass. This was the tried and true formula of many of the Bat Cave alumni: Sex Gang Children, Southern Death Cult, Siouxsie, Virgin Prunes, Specimen, Killing Joke, etc. The intensity of The Danse Society's sound is demonstrated in the differences between the demo version and the Arista version of "Come Inside" the former of which really does put the rock in Goth-rock, with Sisters Of Mercy inflected guitars swarming around that rhythm section and vocalist Steve Rawlings parading around the track with suitable theatrics and bravado. The title track of the Artista album could have been a Killing Joke track off of Nighttime with its death-disco basslines and metronomic percussion, flecked with atmospheric synths and droned guitars. In so many ways, The Danse Society never sounded better than they did on these demos. Another tip of the hat to Dark Entries for digging this one up!
MPEG Stream: "Arabia"
MPEG Stream: "Come Inside"
MPEG Stream: "The Hurt"
MPEG Stream: "Seduction"

DANTE AUGUSTUS SCARLATTI Hemispheres Of Desolation (Auris Apothecary) cassette 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If you follow aQuarius on Facebook and Twitter, then you may have gotten a little taste of what is quickly becoming our new favorite label, Auris Apothercary. The first releases we got from them, was a tiny glass vial, with a single tape loop within, old Norwegian recordings of oceanographic instruments, the second was a series of NEC tapes, each with the original music from classic Nintendo games, with the packaging perfectly emulating the original designs. The vials sold out in a flash, we might have a couple of the tapes left (just ask), but we will henceforth endeavor to review anything and everything we can get from AA. A quick look at their other releases reveals an impossibly meticulous approach to packaging, everything in limited numbers, mostly because they are all hand designed and assembled, in fact, just take a look at this, a tape from someone (or something) called Dante Augustus Scarlatti, whose tape comes housed in a printed, clear plastic slipcover, with the tapecase itself also silkscreened, not to mention ANOTHER transparent insert, cool line drawings of mountains, and old maps, the two tape spools behind silver inked globes (the tapes cleverly not rewound, so each spool is a perfect planetoid sphere, the various layers perfectly blended into one elaborate almost 3 dimensional image, each one also numbered, limited to just 99 copies. With things like this, it almost doesn't even matter what it sounds like, it's a piece of art, that would look just as nice sitting on your shelf as it would jammed in your Walkman. But don't let its artiness keep you from enjoying the mysterious sounds inside, nearly two hours of rumbling drones and swirling atmospheric mystery, blurred industrial landscapes of dreamlike crumble, buried barely there rhythms, constantly shifting textures, guitars and oscillators woven into heaving swells of washed out decay and feedback wreathed glacial drift, each side a single slow burning expanse of tectonic creep and gauzy greyed out ambience, totally hypnotic and mesmerizing minimal dronemusic that should most definitely appeal to all the aQ shoppin' dronelords out there.
Again, LIMITED TO 99 COPIES, we got a handful, not sure we'll be able to get more when we run out...

DANTE AUGUSTUS SCARLATTI Recycled HNW (Auris Apothecary) cassette 5.98
It's like Christmas around here (we know, it is ACTUALLY like Christmas around here right now), whenever we get a new batch of tapes from Auris Apothecary, not only is it bound to sonically all over the map, without fail the packaging is totally stellar, often high (or low) concept, meticulously hand assembled, often involving organic matter, or broken glass, or sponges, or scrolls, or who knows what else. Needless to say, every AA release is special, and is often as much a work of sonic art, as it is a piece of music.
We reviewed a record by Dante Augustus Scarlatti (the group, not the person, we think) a while back, a fantastic collection of rumbling drones and blurred psychedelic soundscapery, and this latest one is sort of a continuation of that, utilizing 15 separate drones, culled from strings and voices and organs, in the form of buzz and hiss and skree and thrum and hum and whir, laid atop one another, bleeding and oozing into each other, the sound MASSIVE, and thick and layered, the sounds crumbling and constantly shifting, on the surface, this is a noise tape, but the noise is blurred and washed out, and more droney than noisy, thick billows of sound, textured and strangely lush (but still fairly low fidelity), dubbed onto recycled tapes, with the idea that any imperfections in the original tapes, be it bleed through of the original sounds or decay from worn magnetic tape, would all contribute to the sound, and those random imperfections only serve to add texture to the already heavily textured dronescapes. Fear of noise should not keep anyone from enjoying this stuff, cuz as we mentioned, it's a warm, thick, muted undulating noise, that washes over you like a glorious low end avalanche.
LIMITED TO 405 COPIES, each one hand printed, in ELEVEN different color variations, a printed insert along with the tape housed in a stickered and sealed plastic bag with a spray painted white printed label.

DANTESCO s/t (Stormspell) cd 11.98
Recently we highlighted the new album from Puerto Rico's most epic doomy operatic metal band, Dantesco, Seven Years Of Battle. Simultaneously released with that, Stormspell has also brought out this raging disc of demos from their very first year of battle, back in 2004. They were as over the top and impressive then as they are now. Plus bonus tracks, including two more covers rather revealing of their obscure epic influences: "Queen In Black" originally by Swedish cult Sorcerer (whose album has recently been reissued, and we'll probably be listing soon!) and "Deliver Us From Evil" by the legendary Warlord, which by itself would be enough to get the true metal heads here at AQ to buy this, though we'd be buying it anyway since we're Dantesco fans already! For those, like us, who can't get enough of the EPIC! (Or the unintentional visual hilarity of this otherwise quite serious -sounding- band's band photos...)
As with other Stormspell releases, this is a limited, numbered edition...
MPEG Stream: "Cronicas De La Muerte Negra"
MPEG Stream: "Dantesco"
MPEG Stream: "Deliver Us From Evil"

DANTESCO Seven Years Of Battle (Stormspell) cd 11.98
THEE most epic, grandiose, operatic, regal, majestic, bombastic, portentous power / doom metal this side of Sweden's mighty Candlemass, quite possibly comes from the island of Puerto Rico, in the form of this band, called Dantesco. We haven't listed anything by them before, but we've actually been fans of 'em for a while (well, Allan and Andee anyway, as this particular style of metal isn't admittedly to everyone's taste). So we were excited to get this new disc, their third proper album, not surprisingly released seven years after the band's inception, which comes to us via the excellent Stormspell label, who specialize in anything obscure and '80s (or that sounds that way) in the metal realm. See also Immaculate, reviewed this list, and also recent releases by Noctum and DarkBlack.
The big deal with Dantesco is pretty much their singer, Erico La Bestia, who possesses a powerful and versatile voice, capable of deep somber recitations, as well as fists-clenched screaming in his upper range (which is up there!). We'd guess he's a tenor, not quite sure, but he sure sounds operatic, and regardless of whether he's singing in English or Spanish (on this album, 2 of the 8 tracks are in Spanish) we find both his voice and vocal stylings quite compelling. The man was clearly BORN to sing in a band like this, lucky for the other dudes in Dantesco. If such a thing as epic doom metal didn't exist, they'd have had to invent it for him.
Not that the rest of the band are chopped liver. The crunching, lead weight riffage provides a solid base for La Bestia's histrionics, and certainly the spiraling, intricate soloing of the guitarists also grabs our attention. It's all part of the vast and elaborate architecture, the castle walls and cathedral spires, conjured by Dantesco's music, which ultimately conveys much emotion and a great deal of gravitas. And is of course very very metal. To underscore that point, the disc ends with a slaying Savatage cover, "The Dungeons Are Calling", and it's evident that Erico relishes doing that sudden "aaaaah!!" thing that was Savatage singer Jon Oliva's trademark. Also of course this is for fans of the aforementioned Candlemass, as well as the likes of Solitude Aeternus, Doomsword, Mercyful Fate, Powers Court, Warlord, Cirith Ungol, etc.
As with other Stormspell releases, this is a limited, numbered edition. FYI they've also just put out a self-titled Dantesco disc, consisting of the band's demos from seven years ago.
MPEG Stream: "Rasputin"
MPEG Stream: "Purinos Polemos (Viriathus)"
MPEG Stream: "El Baile De Las Brujas"

DANUBIANS s/t (Cuneiform) cd 13.98
The wonderful Seattle-based improviser Amy Denio (sax, accordion, guitars, voice) meets up with a group of folks from the Eastern European improv/rock scene, including Czech drummer Pavel Fajt (who you might know from his work with Iva Bittova) and the guitarist and violinist from Hungarian band Kampec Dolores. The results are predictably pleasant and quirky, melding jazz, rock, and folk music.

DANUBIUS s/t (Web Of Mimicry) cd 13.98
Mr. Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3 guitarist Trey Spruance discovered this group playing the folk/gypsy music of Eastern Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Balkans) in a local San Francisco cafe, and immediately persuaded 'em to release a cd on his own Web of Mimicry label 'cause he was so impressed. And indeed, Danubius are an undeniably fun and capable band, with a repertoire stretching from the streets of Budapest to the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea -- bringing in both "village" and "city" musics, demonstrating more diversity than many other traditional Eastern European music groups might. The twenty tracks on this album are organized into several suites, ethnomusical groupings such as "Hungarian Gypsy restaurant style" and "Transylvanian Suite". All share unflagging energy, bright sounds, evocative traditional instrumentation (accordion, cimbalom, tambura, hurdy gurdy, etc.), and some fancy pickin' on the ancient folk/popular tunes they're bringing to your stereo. We're told that the band members (who originally hail from all over Eastern Europe) will get into violent arguments on stage about how the pieces should be played, or say things like "I'm from Romania -- what do I know about this song from your village in Hungary?" but this disc demonstrates that when they manage to set aside their differences they can make some beautiful music together. And in fact, they have a serious purpose in doing so. To quote the liner notes: "Danubius is hoping to show a way into the future that allows traditional world musics to flourish, not just exist as a resource for 'samples' that can be thrown into some 'mix'. We believe that the experience of hearing this music live creates an emotional reaction that cannot be compared to hearing bits and pieces in films, in electronic compostions, or as a component of a 'world music' recording." A laudable goal. The liners go on to briefly discuss each track, helping to make this an educational package -- but one you can dance to as well.
Danubius are not unlike "old world" bands like Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocarlia who have created a following for gypsy/wedding music in the West, although those groups, especially Fanfare Ciocarlia, play what might be termed a more "hardcore", frenzied version of these musics. Whereas, after all, the music of Danubius *does* sound like tunes you'd hear in (appropriate) restaurants. Even the wildest Romanian dance music they play won't make you choke on your dinner, while Fanfare's performance might require the Heimlich. Danubius are little more restrained. At least on disc -- but after hearing this I'm going to have to look for a chance to see 'em live.
RealAudio clip: "Hategana"
RealAudio clip: "Joc ca la Stana"
RealAudio clip: "Blateshnichka kopanista"

DARA PUSPITA 1966-1968 (Sublime Frequencies) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first heard about this Indonesian sixties all girl garage group when three of their records were reissued on Chicago label PlusTapes, we all went nuts for them, as did you, we couldn't keep them in stock, but sadly they were crazy limited. Even at the time, and even on tape, we wanted to make one or all of them Records Of The Week, but they disappeared before we had a chance. But now Sublime Frequencies swoops in and saves the day, reissuing on a compact disc all three of the Dara Puspita's records proper (all the stuff on the cassettes, and then some!). But what's so great about these ladies? Read on....
Dara Puspita (Flower Girls in English) were Indonesia's most successful girl group in the sixties, and one of the few -actual- bands, who played their own instruments as opposed to just singing with all male backing bands. Even though rock and roll was banned at the time, with some bands being jailed for performing rock music live (Koes Bersaudara in particular, whose Sublime Frequencies disc we reviewed a few lists back - Dara Puspita and Koes Bersaudara had very similar histories, their careers often directly influenced by each other, the whole story to be found in the copious liner notes). Dara Puspita took their influence from that banned rock music, borrowing liberally from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles (whose songs they were warned by the authority to not perform, the very songs that got Koes Bersaudara jailed!) and the like, but giving it their own twist.
Performing a mix of covers and originals, these ladies were legendary for their wild live shows, but they really shine on record, with a totally distinctive and keen pop sensibility, gorgeous lilting vocals, an awesome rhythm section and some really excellent guitar playing. Dara Puspita weren't avant garde or super far out, not really heavy or psychedelic, instead they were just a kick ass pop group, an awesome garagey rock and roll band, catchy and fun, super energetic and with a distinctly unique vibe that makes this sound so special. Just listen to the sound samples. You'll be hooked in no time.
Lavish packaging, a full color six panel digipak, with tons of photos, a huge booklet of liner notes, with the story of the band, of the recording, more about the state of Indonesia at the time, the producer and more more more. So great!!
MPEG Stream: "Lonely Street"
MPEG Stream: "Bertamasja"
MPEG Stream: "Mari Mari"
MPEG Stream: "Minggu Jang Lalu"
MPEG Stream: "A Go-Go"
MPEG Stream: "To Love Somebody"
MPEG Stream: "Aku Tetap"

DARA PUSPITA A Go Go (PlusTapes) cassette 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the newly launched Plustapes cassette label comes THREE tapes from this Indonesian sixties all girl garage group. Do you really need to know any thing more? Indonesian. Sixties. All girl. Garage? We didn't think so, but just for the heck of it...
We were gonna write separate reviews for each of these, but they're so cheap, and so good, and odds are if you want one, you're going to want them all. So far pretty much everyone who has heard these has gone totally nuts for these kick ass garage rock girls.
Dara Puspita (Flower Girls in English) were Indonesia's most successful girl group in the sixties, and one of the few -actual- bands, who played their own instruments as opposed to just singing with all male backing bands. Even though rock and roll was banned at the time, with some bands being jailed for performing rock music live, Dara Puspita took their influence from that banned rock music, borrowing liberally from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles (whose songs they were warned by the authority to not perform) and the like, but giving it their own twist.
Performing a mix of covers and originals, these ladies were legendary for their wild live shows, but they really shone on record, with a totally distinctive and keen pop sensibility, gorgeous lilting vocals, an awesome rhythm section and some really excellent guitar playing. Dara Puspita weren't avant garde or super far out, not really heavy or psychedelic, instead they were just a kick ass pop group, an awesome garagey rock and roll band, catchy and fun, super energetic and with a distinctly unique vibe that makes this sound so special. Not to mention all the fuzzy record crackle, which only adds to the appeal! For us at least...
Each tape is strictly LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, each one hand numbered, the tapes are the same color as the covers, each of which sports original artwork from Plastic Crimewave!!
ONE PER CUSTOMER!!!
MPEG Stream: "A Go-Go"
MPEG Stream: "To Love Somebody"
MPEG Stream: "Aku Tetap"

DARA PUSPITA Green Green Grass (PlusTapes) cassette 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the newly launched Plustapes cassette label comes THREE tapes from this Indonesian sixties all girl garage group. Do you really need to know any thing more? Indonesian. Sixties. All girl. Garage? We didn't think so, but just for the heck of it...
We were gonna write separate reviews for each of these, but they're so cheap, and so good, and odds are if you want one, you're going to want them all. So far pretty much everyone who has heard these has gone totally nuts for these kick ass garage rock girls.
Dara Puspita (Flower Girls in English) were Indonesia's most successful girl group in the sixties, and one of the few -actual- bands, who played their own instruments as opposed to just singing with all male backing bands. Even though rock and roll was banned at the time, with some bands being jailed for performing rock music live, Dara Puspita took their influence from that banned rock music, borrowing liberally from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles (whose songs they were warned by the authority to not perform) and the like, but giving it their own twist.
Performing a mix of covers and originals, these ladies were legendary for their wild live shows, but they really shone on record, with a totally distinctive and keen pop sensibility, gorgeous lilting vocals, an awesome rhythm section and some really excellent guitar playing. Dara Puspita weren't avant garde or super far out, not really heavy or psychedelic, instead they were just a kick ass pop group, an awesome garagey rock and roll band, catchy and fun, super energetic and with a distinctly unique vibe that makes this sound so special. Not to mention all the fuzzy record crackle, which only adds to the appeal! For us at least...
Each tape is strictly LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, each one hand numbered, the tapes are the same color as the covers, each of which sports original artwork from Plastic Crimewave!!
ONE PER CUSTOMER!!!
MPEG Stream: "Lonely Street"
MPEG Stream: "Bertamasja"

DARA PUSPITA Jang Pertama (PlusTapes) cassette 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the newly launched Plustapes cassette label comes THREE tapes from this Indonesian sixties all girl garage group. Do you really need to know any thing more? Indonesian. Sixties. All girl. Garage? We didn't think so, but just for the heck of it...
We were gonna write separate reviews for each of these, but they're so cheap, and so good, and odds are if you want one, you're going to want them all. So far pretty much everyone who has heard these has gone totally nuts for these kick ass garage rock girls.
Dara Puspita (Flower Girls in English) were Indonesia's most successful girl group in the sixties, and one of the few -actual- bands, who played their own instruments as opposed to just singing with all male backing bands. Even though rock and roll was banned at the time, with some bands being jailed for performing rock music live, Dara Puspita took their influence from that banned rock music, borrowing liberally from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles (whose songs they were warned by the authority to not perform) and the like, but giving it their own twist.
Performing a mix of covers and originals, these ladies were legendary for their wild live shows, but they really shone on record, with a totally distinctive and keen pop sensibility, gorgeous lilting vocals, an awesome rhythm section and some really excellent guitar playing. Dara Puspita weren't avant garde or super far out, not really heavy or psychedelic, instead they were just a kick ass pop group, an awesome garagey rock and roll band, catchy and fun, super energetic and with a distinctly unique vibe that makes this sound so special. Not to mention all the fuzzy record crackle, which only adds to the appeal! For us at least...
Each tape is strictly LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, each one hand numbered, the tapes are the same color as the covers, each of which sports original artwork from Plastic Crimewave!!
ONE PER CUSTOMER!!!
MPEG Stream: "Mari Mari"
MPEG Stream: "Minggu Jang Lalu"