DUNGEN Skit I Altt (Mexican Summer) lp 16.98
Now on vinyl!!!
Ready to space out and drift off into a Swedish psychedelic never-never land?? Well if you are, Dungen is back and will take you there. The sixth album from these Scandinavian faves delivers the usual Dungen goodies. 10 new tracks, some proggier, some soft-rockier, some straight-up poppier than others, all quite nice! Oh and let's not forget the searing psych guitar freakouts like the one that erupts in track 5, "Hogdalstoppen". So fans of Dungen will be pleased - and at this point we'd like to assume you all are already familiar with Dungen, and thus most likely fans... which means we can reduce redundancy review-wise by simply saying, yeah, get this, you'd like it! Dungen don't go in any strange new directions here, it's just more of what we dig about 'em, though perhaps compared to their previous album 4 (which was their fifth, oddly enough) they return a bit to "the rock" from where they were on that one. Certainly Dungen can make the loveliest of lovely music when they wanna, or indulge in urgent rhythms and bursts of distorted guitar jangle. And all of it is carefully arranged, everything in its place, even when they're doing the freakout thing. Somehow they have the ability, in the all-instrumental first track for example, to be both blissed out and kick up a garagey ruckus at the same time. Elsewhere, the bliss out is nothin' but, with gentle female vocals, strings, and handclaps keeping the beat.
Listening to this, for the first time we realized that Dungen reminds us a bit of XTC side project The Dukes Of Stratosphear; it's partly mainman Gustav Ejstes' voice (even in Swedish), partly his pop smarts, and of course partly Dungen's fantastical, effortless retroishness... but at this point maybe we can say that Dungen have moved from "retro" category into the one designated "timeless"!
MPEG Stream: "Brallor"
MPEG Stream: "Min Enda Van"
MPEG Stream: "Hogdalstoppen"

DUNGEN Stadsvandringar (Dolores) cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in stock -- momentarily anyway -- the last copies, we're told! So if you're already digging the new Dungen cd (the recently-much-hyped Ta Det Lugnt) you ought to seriously consider picking up this one too, we think it's as good or even better. Here's what we said about it two years ago when we first listed it: Dungen's "Stadsvandringar" is Allan's new favorite cd (favorite new cd?). After a couple listens, he was well and truly hooked. Dungen is a Swedish band and what they play is Swedish retro psych-pop. Really really good Swedish retro psych-pop! This disc is, apparently, Dungen's second album after a vinyl-only effort that started a buzz. It looks and sounds perfectly '60s (or early '70s) with a front cover photo-collage in which wunderkind bandleader/singer/guitarist/songwriter Gustav Ejstes could be a dead ringer for a long-haired Owen Wilson. Musically, it sure casts a spell that that's definitely not-of-our-era... with sugary vocal refrains, wild fuzz guitars, Hammond B-3 organ riffing, lush arrangements, and some quite lovely flute bits (gettin' a bit proggy there, nothing wrong with that). Hints of trad Swedish folk music show up as well, not unlike that Arbete Och Fritid reissue we reviewed not long ago, one of Dungen's Svenska psych-prog-folk forefathers. The vocals are all in Swedish, and are sorta nasal, but good. Overall, this disc is just magical, convincingly retro yet standing on its own songwriting-wise. Melodically it's just as irresistable as the latest from Dungen's pal Bjorn Olsson, also reviewed here recently, but of course Dungen is more of a psychedelic rock thing. Imagine, maybe, if you can, something somewhere between the Kinks and Caravan, circa '69, with Swedish singing... Or just take Allan's word for it, this is great! We can only wonder why Dungen's retro-inclined Swedish labelmates like the Caesars and the Soundtrack Of Our Lives have gotten domestic US release and lots of attention, while this even better band is still only an import. Ah well, at least it's worth the higher import price!
NB. we should warn you that there's that annoying copy control technology on this cd (which means that 2 of the 11 songs aren't on Allan's iPod, boo hoo).
MPEG Stream: "Stadsvandringar"
MPEG Stream: "Solen Stiger Upp Del 1 & Del 2"

DUNGEN Stadsvandringar ( Astralwerks) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Huzzah! This is not only finally available again, but it is now also a much more economically priced domestic release! We used to stock the Swedish import, back before Dungen got popular enough to have US releases, but it went out of print pretty much exactly just before most people over here realized they wanted one. For all of you who have been digging Dungen's much-hyped third album Ta Det Lugnt or the recent cd reissue/expansion of their self-titled debut, but haven't yet had the opportunity to delve into the psych-pop wonders found on Dungen's second album Stadsvandringar, well here it is at long last!! It's probably our favorite Dungen release, at least as good or better than those other records. Here's what we said about it back in 2003 when we first listed it as an import:
Dungen's Stadsvandringar is Allan's new favorite cd (favorite new cd?). After a couple listens, he was well and truly hooked. Dungen is a Swedish band and what they play is Swedish retro psych-pop. Really really good Swedish retro psych-pop! This disc is, apparently, Dungen's second album after a vinyl-only effort that started a buzz. It looks and sounds perfectly '60s (or early '70s) with a front cover photo-collage in which wunderkind bandleader/singer/guitarist/songwriter Gustav Ejstes could be a dead ringer for a long-haired Owen Wilson. Musically, it sure casts a spell that that's definitely not-of-our-era... with sugary vocal refrains, wild fuzz guitars, Hammond B-3 organ riffing, lush arrangements, and some quite lovely flute bits (gettin' a bit proggy there, nothing wrong with that). Hints of trad Swedish folk music show up as well, not unlike that Arbete Och Fritid, one of Dungen's Svenska psych-prog-folk forefathers. The vocals are all in Swedish, and are sorta nasal, but good. Overall, this disc is just magical, convincingly retro yet standing on its own songwriting-wise. Melodically it's just as irresistable as the latest from Dungen's pal Bjorn Olsson, also reviewed here recently, but of course Dungen is more of a psychedelic rock thing. Imagine, maybe, if you can, something somewhere between the Kinks and Caravan, circa '69, with Swedish singing... Or just take Allan's word for it, this is great!
MPEG Stream: "Stadsvandringar"
MPEG Stream: "Solen Stiger Upp Del 1 & Del 2"

DUNGEN Ta Det Lugnt (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in stock! There was quite a run on these recently after Pitchfork gave this a rave review...hey didn't anyone read *our* review of this some months before? Anyway, we've got a few more (at a slightly better price, the label repressed 'em and made 'em cheaper too) and here's what we said about it before: Like fellow Swede and AQ-fave Bjorn Olsson, Gustav Ejstes is a brillant timewarped melody-maker. Though, his "solo" project Dungen sounds more like a band than Olsson's albums do. Wunderkind Ejstes is certainly enamored of '60s/'70s psych-pop and his obsession has borne some fabulous fruit. This is his third album to date (the first being a vinyl-only affair we have yet to hear, the second being the now-hard-to-find Stadsvandringar cd that Allan raved about on our list two years ago). So we were pleased to hear about the release of Ta Det Lugnt. It rocks more than the last one, being brasher, with more in the way of electric guitar frenzies in a Hendrix kinda style. But otherwise it's pretty similar, with Ejstes singing his hook-filled songs in the same somewhat nasal, Swedish langage voice as before. There's jazz jamming, folk frolics, and plenty of fuzz. A retro trip indeed from searing electric rippage to spaced-out, sentimental melodicism.
MPEG Stream: "Panda"
MPEG Stream: "Ta Det Lugnt"
MPEG Stream: "Sluta Folja Efter"

DUNGEN Ta Det Lugnt (Kemado) 2cd 15.98
The Dungen frenzy continues. The Swedish psych-pop sensations just played some shows on our shores (to mixed reviews -- they might not be an accomplished live act quite yet) and now their much hyped Ta Det Lugnt album from a year or so ago makes the transition from import item to domestic release. We were like, big deal, we have this already and the import's not that expensive -- until we discovered that this digipack US version on Kemado is a DOUBLE cd. That's right, this comes with an extra disc of otherwise unavailable Dungen tunes. Argh. But a good argh I guess, if you're a Dungen fan willing to buy this again 'cause you love 'em so much and want the extra songs. And no argh at all if you've slept on 'em this long -- get it now and then all your already into Dungen friends can burn the bonus disc off of you...
The album proper got this review from us before, let's revisit that review with some updates:
Like fellow Swede and AQ-fave Bjorn Olsson, Gustav Ejstes is a brillant timewarped melody-maker. Though, his "solo" project Dungen sounds more like a band than Olsson's albums do. Wunderkind Ejstes is certainly enamored of '60s/'70s psych-pop and his obsession has borne some fabulous fruit. This is his third album to date (the first being a self-titled LP since reissued on cd in expanded form, the second being the now-hard-to-find Stadsvandringar cd that Allan raved about on our list three years ago, soon to be reissued too we're told). Ta Det Lugnt rocks more than the last one, being brasher, with more in the way of electric guitar frenzies in a Hendrix kinda style. But otherwise it's pretty similar, with Ejstes singing his hook-filled songs in the same somewhat nasal, Swedish langage voice as before. There's jazz jamming, folk frolics, and plenty of fuzz. A retro trip indeed from searing electric rippage to spaced-out, sentimental melodicism. Hard not to love, we've found.
Now, there's the matter of that extra disc, which is fourteen minutes in length. The five previously unreleased songs on there are AWESOME. So basically, if you really like Dungen you've got to buy this (again). Sorry but that's the way it is. 'Nuff said.
MPEG Stream: "Panda"
MPEG Stream: "Ta Det Lugnt"
MPEG Stream: "Sluta Folja Efter"

DUNGEN Ta Det Lugnt (Subliminal Sounds) 2lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! And about time, since a) Dungen is so hugely popular and b) they're so wonderfully retro that their music sure does belong on that "vintage" format. Here's some of what we said when this came out on cd originally:
The album proper got this review from us before, let's revisit that review with some updates:
Like fellow Swede and AQ-fave Bjorn Olsson, Gustav Ejstes is a brillant timewarped melody-maker. Though, his "solo" project Dungen sounds more like a band than Olsson's albums do. Wunderkind Ejstes is certainly enamored of '60s/'70s psych-pop and his obsession has borne some fabulous fruit. This is his third album to date (the first being a self-titled LP since reissued on cd in expanded form, the second being the now-hard-to-find Stadsvandringar cd that Allan raved about on our list three years ago, soon to be reissued too we're told). Ta Det Lugnt rocks more than the last one, being brasher, with more in the way of electric guitar frenzies in a Hendrix kinda style. But otherwise it's pretty similar, with Ejstes singing his hook-filled songs in the same somewhat nasal, Swedish langage voice as before. There's jazz jamming, folk frolics, and plenty of fuzz. A retro trip indeed from searing electric rippage to spaced-out, sentimental melodicism. Hard not to love, we've found.
Now, you may know that the domestic version of Ta Det Lugnt came on cd with an extra, bonus disc. That material is not to be found on this vinyl edition. BUT, Subliminal Sounds has also just released a 12" entitled Tyst Minut, listed nearby, that features those tracks.
MPEG Stream: "Panda"
MPEG Stream: "Ta Det Lugnt"
MPEG Stream: "Sluta Folja Efter"

DUNGEN Tio Bitar (Kemado) cd 14.98
Dungen have done it once again. Gustav Ejstes' obsession with the sunshiney trippiness of '60s/'70s psychedelia is captured perfectly on Tio Bitar. Fuzzed to death Hagstrom guitar wails, delayed and reverbed Fender Rhodes, and beautiful lilting flute melodies...all the things we've come to expect from Dungen. The song writing is just as good as on Ta Det Lugnt, with maybe a slightly harder edge.
On the track "Ett Skal Att Trivas", the guitar line sounds almost Sabbathy, yet with such a keen pop sensibility that even those of us with cuddlier dispositions can't stop listening! The lead guitar work by Reine Fiske adds incredible energy to many of the tracks, a series of wonderful psych-pop gems, rife with extended jamming, TONS of instruments, and amazing little interludes. One of the highlights of this record is the textured and super lush production. You can almost imagine David Axelrod sneaking into the studio and laying his magic hands on the board giving it that unique warm and organic glow. All the instruments nestled in the mix just exactly where they should be with an overall sound both enticing and whimsical. For anyone who loves the Dungen sound, as we do, Tio Bitar is essential and we have a feeling this will win them a big batch of new fans as well.
MPEG Stream: "Familj"
MPEG Stream: "Gšr Det Nu"
MPEG Stream: "Svart €r Himlen"

DUNGEN Tio Bitar lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DUNGEN Tyst Minut 12" (Subliminal Sounds) 12" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The extra tracks from the extra disc that came with the domestic cd version of Dungen's Ta Det Lugnt now makes it to vinyl, in addition to the album itself (the double LP version of which is listed nearby). Five songs here, all of 'em awesome. Sorry it's a not-cheap import but if you're dedicated to your turntable then here you go.

DUNGER, NICOLAI This Cloud Is Learning (Overcoat) cd 14.98
Sometimes it can take a while for word to get around (or for a record to become available here in the States)... Nicolai Dunger is a gentle Swedish singer-songwriter, and a personal fave of those fine Calexico fellows (in fact you might've seen him performing on tour with them). As you may or may not have noticed from the artists they've chosen to collaborate with and take on the road (Howe Gelb, Neko Case, Amor Belhom Duo, Lambchop, Richard Buckner, Lisa Germano, Francoize Breut and Nancy Sinatra) those Arizonan gents have mighty good taste! Anyways, this is a domestic reissue of Dunger's third album which originally came out on Dolores Recordings in 1999. He actually has seven full lengths which were released on almost as many labels (the first was back in 1996!). Sir Nicolai crafts wonderful, lilting folk pop songs perfect for drifting off to catnap-land in the shade of a big ol' weeping willow tree. You might think of him as the Swedish counterpart to Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith or perhaps a gutsier Kings Of Convenience. Each song beckons you to lean in close as he sings his thoughtful lyrics atop the wistful arrangements which on this album were played by fellow Swedes Soundtrack Of Our Lives and they lend a very subtle trippiness to the proceedings. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Father"
MPEG Stream: "While Birds Become Fishes"

DUNN, KYLE BOBBY A Young Person's Guide To Kyle Bobby Dunn (Low Point) 2cd 16.98
Following in the footsteps of Phill Niblock and Jim O'Rourke, the Brooklyn based composer Kyle Bobby Dunn presents his own Young Person's Guide into an immersive arena of fluid minimalist gestures and post-classical ambience. Dunn sources his compositions from guitar, brass, and strings, some of which have been extracted from sessions with small ensembles of classically trained musicians; and everything is worked out in the digital studio, with the swells of a violin and timbre of a trombone elongated into introspective, somber compositions of elegant dronescaping. While this process does appear similar to Niblock's approach with his source material, Dunn is far more poetic and much more of a romantic than Mr. Niblock and presents bleary mirages revel in impressionistic images of cinematic landscapes. Tranquil organic tones manifest through gaseous shimmers, occasionally graced by a repetitive half-melodic interlude or a deep-end reverberant rumble. Much of Dunn's work could easily nestle next to one of Rhys Chatham's more placid guitar symphonies, or any of the cinematic soundscapists that Type has been championing for many years now, or the compositions of John Luther Adams, or even the narcoleptic mood engineering of Stars Of The Lid. Really beautiful stuff. Unfortunately, we only have limited stock on this title!
MPEG Stream: "Butel"
MPEG Stream: "There Is No End To Your Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Empty Gazing"

DUNN, KYLE BOBBY Ways Of Meaning (Desire Path) lp 16.98
Ways Of Meaning is a beautifully serene ambient album from the classically trained composer Kyle Bobby Dunn. In sourcing much of his weightless tones, gossamer half-melodies, and immersive atmospherics from guitar and organ, Dunn develops a number of almost baroque flourishes throughout the haze and mist of his warm rich sounds that lean more to the sound of a medieval chorale pitched at quarter-speed than to the contemporary narcoleptic sounds of today's ambient practitioners. The looping interplay between the golden guitar tones on his "Canyon Meadow" begins to resemble an impressionist orchestration for French horns, albeit run through William Basinski's tape machinations that push all of the sounds in and out of focus. His charmingly titled "Movement For The Completely Fucked" is hardly the epithet that one might assume; rather, Dunn's placid composition for somber guitar mesmerism offers solace to whomever may be deemed completely fucked. Fans of Eno's Music For Airports, anything from Stars Of The Lid, and even some of the contemplative works of Arvo Part would be well served to check out this album. Vinyl only!

DUNN, TREVOR TRIO-CONVULSANT Sister Phantom Owl Fish (Ipecac) cd 17.98
The former Bungle and current Fantomas bassist unleashes the second album of spazz-jazz from his Trio-Convulsant (following up one from long ago that we can't get anymore). Ranging from hard (almost metallic) to soft (cocktails, anyone?), and generally pretty high on the notes-played-per-unit-of-time count. Complex compositions and loose improv coexist here, and the playing is at a very high level, from Dunn as well as his cohorts Mary Halvorson (guitar) and Ches Smith (drums). If you have Zorn, Cline, Ribot, that sort of stuff in yr "jazz" collection, you'll find that the Trio-Convulsant fits in there quite nicely too.
MPEG Stream: "Liver-colored Dew"
MPEG Stream: "The Single Petal Of A Rose"

DUNN, TREVOR'S TRIO-CONVULSANT Debutantes & Centipedes (BUZZ-Records) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mr. Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, with Adam Levy on guitar and Kenny Wollesen on drums make up the Trio-Convulsant.

DUOTANG The Bright Side (Mint) cd 14.98
Like a wonderful melding of Spoon (Girls Can Tell) and The Jam (but not Jam & Spoon!), this is the third full-length from this super-sharp Canadian pop duo (their first two were "Smash the Ships and Raise the Beams" and "The Cons and the Pros") with a penchant for fine wine and the '60s Brit sounds of The Who, The Kinks, the aforementioned Jam and oh, The Beatles too. Looking fab as always in their custom-made suits, these gents make a surprisingly big pop sound between (primarily) just the two of them. Sean supplies the bouncing drum beat, and Rod provides the wonderfully full bass guitar lead melodies (that's right there are no six-strings here) and the frequently Paul-Weller-deadringer vocals. Prior to the release of "The Bright Side", they both took some time off from the band, Sean to school and Rod to the lush Winnipeg pop group Novillero. The break seems to have done them a world of good, as this is their most confident and polished work to date. Much more edgy and driving than their previous poppier efforts. The addition of horns, keyboards, and a few female backing vocals help flesh out the Duotang landscape. Check out the lovely "Toast To The Life-long Friends". On Mint Records (home to the New Pornographers, I Am Spoonbender, Neko Case, and the Evaporators). Very recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Present Blind"
RealAudio clip: "Toast To The Life-Long Friends"
RealAudio clip: "The Witch Hunters"
RealAudio clip: "Words of Simon"

DUOTRON Vs. Tom Smith (Menlo Park) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Side one: "Po' Po' Pee Poo" (17:34). Side two: "Po' Po' Pee Poo (version)" (17:43).

DUOZERO Esperanto (Small Voices) cd 10.98
We managed to get a small handful of these from a distributor, they're priced super cheap, as the label has since folded, so these are the very last copies we'll ever be able to get, and we have just EIGHT of these...
We tried to find out more about this record, but all we could find online was a bunch of crazy super academic babble that talked about the roots of the Esperanto language, the texts of Borges and Calvino, the art of Dubuffet, heavy metalinguistics, and other stuff that really shed no light at all. But yeah, while this is definitely coming to us from the world of academic sound, the actual SOUND is quite pleasing, the opener is a dark droney, softly rhythmic psychedelic landscape of layered tones, and soft sonic pulsations, swirling effects, and muted glitches, over which a voice in French recites the lyrics, the result a sort of abstract minimal Chain Reaction sort of Portishead, that same rainswept moonlit city downtempo moodiness, the second track sounds a bit more like recent outings by Byetone or Alva Noto, that sort of machinelike electro, but a bit more organic, lots of cinematic tension, cold dark grooves that are surprisingly hypnotic. And so it goes, a series of strangely abstract, and slightly academic groovescapes, a few super abstract, a couple sort of noisy, but for the most part, darkly hypnotic, lushly textured, sonically dense and lushly layered, strangely sultry and weirdly mysterious, a fantastic surprise, that just might be the perfect late night avant academic chill out disc we've ever heard.
MPEG Stream: "Prana"
MPEG Stream: "The Moving Box"
MPEG Stream: "Esperanto"

DUPLEX Ablum (Mint) cd 14.98
We've always had customers askin' for kids music, but there's also always been a dearth of suitably AQ-ilk releases... until now! The recent flood of children's music compilations arrivin' here (so many in fact that we've made a children's section in the store!) has spurred us to ask, "just what does it take to categorize something as 'child worthy'?" Okay, besides the obvious 'no swear words' rule, what other criteria is there? Lots of the recent stuff we've received that's been hailed as kinder-oriented has just been light, bubbly, electronic musicbox-y melodies. Pleasing enough to listen to, but not particularly attention-grabbing nor attention-keeping. What?! Don't the artists think the kids wanna rock too? Really, with the exception of They Might be Giants' Here Are The ABCs album which is both thoroughly educational and engaging, most of the releases seem to be offering sedation rather than stimulation. Hmm, maybe it's the musician-parents' sly way of seeking some respite from their kids' hyperactive behaviour? Well, unlike most of the current pre-school poseurs (wink!), this cd features honest to goodness kids! Duplex is a band whose members' ages range from 3 years old up to 37! Much like TMBG there's some pretty fine pop songwriters in the Duplex camp -- the elder members also play in a number of Vancouver bands (including A.C. Newman's). Ablum is filled with eighteen delightful story songs and singalongs (topics include salad, multiplication, camels, a character called Mr. Slim, and uhh, pooing and peeing). Apparently it's even been accepted for distribution to all of the elementary schools up in Vancouver. How's that for a stamp of approval?
MPEG Stream: "Yr Mama"
MPEG Stream: "Hanu"
MPEG Stream: "Multiplication Treehouse"

DUPRAT, ROGERIO A Banda Tropicalista Do Duprat (Cherry Red) cd 14.98
Mutantes producer's album... lotsa strings.

DURAN DURAN Rio (EMI) cd 12.98

DURAN DURAN Seven & The Ragged Tiger (EMI) cd 12.98

DURAN DURAN DURAN Very Pleasure (Cock Rock Disco) cd 13.98
I'm not sure why I like this so much, but I DO!!... Duran Duran Duran exist in the same plane as Kid606 or Shitmat in some capacity. Taking instantly recognizable songs and ripping them to shreds. Then re-assembling them using super distorted gabber beats and glitched out electronic buzz. This is super crazed digital beat freak break-core constructed from fragments of Yaz and Slayer and various other chunks of popular music detritus. This is the aural version of mainlining coke, or like sticking pop rocks in your ear. Dense and relentless and not at all very dancable, although we all found ourselves at least tapping or bouncing to the imposible beats. Fans of the Kid, Pluxus, Lybithith, Shitmat, and the like will eat this up! Features some truly provocative cover art featuring two nude oil painted men, um...er... frolicking.
MPEG Stream: "I Hate The 80's"
MPEG Stream: "Manrammer"

DURAND, SOPHIE & MANU HOLTERBACH Verres Enharmoniques : Un (Clouds Of Static) cd 13.98
Good things most definitely come to those who wait! Those with good memories may recall that I (Jim) had trumpeted about a Sophie Durand & Manu Holterbach album as being one of finest sound art pieces of 2005 alongside the ephemerally beautiful Keith Berry disc The Ear That Was Sold To A Fish. Unfortunately, the label that had released the Durand / Holterbach collaboration had disappeared before any copies could make their way from the label's base of operations in Switzerland. Fortunately, the virtues of vigilance and patience held true, and Aquarius Records can now offer this magnificent recording to our discerning listeners.
The instrument behind what is hopefully the first installment to the Verres Enharmoniques series is a device that modifies the parlor trick of rubbing a wet finger across the rim of a wineglass to produce a continuous harmonic frequency. While the glass harmonica applied this same principle to a series of tuned glass bowls to produce several octaves of those harmonics, Manu Holterbach's invention hooks up four modified wine glasses to four foot pedals which control the water level within the glasses. Thus as water is pumped into the glass or drains out, the harmonic notes ascend and descent correspondingly. Holterbach and his partner Sophie Durand have performed with this instrument for several years now, with renowned sound artist mnortham making the bold claim that their performance was the loudest that he's ever experienced. Considering that their performances are unamplified, mnortham's claim is all the more astounding, but not impossible given that the purity of the frequencies from vibrating glass can rattle inside the human head. In rattling around the human head, these frequencies give the impression of high volumes without the sound pressure of a mountain of Marshall stacks. Durand and Holterbach apply these sounds as deep drones in subtle minimalist compositions with undulating movements and periodic phase patterns that have all of the majesty of LaMonte Young or Phill Niblock.
Sure the record is brilliant, but here's the other selling point: it's out of print and we only got a handful.
MPEG Stream: "Verres Enharmoniques : Un (excerpt)"

DURAND, WERNER & ALIO DIE Aqua Planing (Soleilmoon) cd 17.98

DURRETT, LIZ Husk (Warm) cd 13.98
On her debut album, Liz Durrett (aka Vic Chesnutt's niece) takes a few steps into the sedated folk pop terrain of her uncle, and a few steps back in time. These songs were written and recorded back in the mid-'90s when she was a teen (she's now well into her 20s), but they ache with a haunting despondence well beyond those years. She enlisted ample help and guidance from family members including ol' Uncle Vic (in the producer's chair) and her grandmother. In a sense, this album serves as a family gathering style clearing away of the old, but not simply to make way for the new. More so, Husk serves to unveil and contrast Durrett's 'then' with her 'now' (a new freshly written and recorded album is on the horizon). Her more folksy numbers are very soft, very wispy, and very Cat Power-ish while the other non-acoustic songs sound not unlike a baby Portishead! Check out the fourth and fifth songs ("Captive" and "BC") for a back to back example of this.
MPEG Stream: "Captive"
MPEG Stream: "BC"

DURRETT, LIZ The Mezzanine (Warm) cd 14.98
Dare we say that on her newest album, Liz Durrett out 'Cat Power's Chan Marshall? Now, we're by no means taking anything away from Ms Durrett nor are we suggesting that she's a copycat. No, it's just that this album inhabits a very similar territory as, say, the beloved Cat Power album Moon Pix. The reference is a total compliment. she's a great songwriter and a captivating performer in her own right. Oh yeah, and she doesn't sounds anything like her Uncle Vic (Chesnutt) neither! Whew, hope that clears things up and gets us out of any pickles. This is her second full length and it is so absolutely lovely -- a fantastic follow-up to her debut, Husk. Durrett shares her dreamy secrets in hushed pastel tones and delicately lilting folksy phrases. You'll have no choice but to linger a while (or at least for the 37 minute playing time) on this Mezzanine!
MPEG Stream: "Knives At The Wall"
MPEG Stream: "Cup On The Counter"

DURTHANG Passage Beyond the Cold Vales of Desolation (Insikt) cassette 4.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There are different sorts of buzz. Especially in black metal, where the buzz is God. Or Satan. High brittle ear shredding buzz. Thick, layered My Bloody Valentine blissed out buzz. Super downtuned SUNNO))) style buzz. In fact, if a band can discover a super unique, totally distinctive sounding buzz, they're halfway there. Everything else will hopefully fall right into place.
The second we threw this tape on, we were floored. What a completely overwhelmingly heavy and strange sounding buzz. Durthang are Swedish and play a plodding slow motion black doom. But the buzz!! Such a gloriously thick and dense sounding guitar tone, sort of blown out and tinny, but with the bass pumped way up so there's this ghostly low end. It's one of those sounds that is so pleasing to our ears, there almost doesn't even need to be any song, just single chord or a single riff churning out that perfect buzz forever and ever.
Thankfully the band back up their divine buzz with some killer songwriting, some super memorable riffs, and some amazing dark depressive atmosphere. An utterly bleak and depressive slab of brilliant slow motion black metal doom. So recommended.

DURUTTI COLUMN Amigos Em Portugal (Kooky) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Amigos Em Portugal was originally released in 1983 as an attempt to further extend the Factory Records empire (which spawned the likes of Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, and later The Happy Mondays). It's curious that the Durutti Column was the band of choice for the Portuguese expansion, as the Durutti Column has always been a beautiful if less than conventional project. For the most part, Amigos Em Portugal is an instrumental album of spindly duets for wintery piano coupled with solo guitar; and the CD reissue also features Dedications for Jacqueline (which may or may not have been a part of the original Amigos album) that does find Durutti Column's Vini Reilly singing his sleepy lullabies sounding an awful lot like Genesis P-Orridge on the PTV album Dreams Less Sweet. Just as the original album has been a difficult to find item for years, the reissue on Kooky is only limited to 1000 copies, surely to be gobbled up quite quickly.
MPEG Stream: "Lisboa"
MPEG Stream: "Lies Of Mercy"

DURUTTI COLUMN LC (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
There are those certain records for all of us that just change things when they enter your world. For a few of us here, this 1981 album by Durutti Column is one of those records. An album that showed that music could be sparse and majestic at the same time. D.I.Y., yet and grandiose in how it evokes emotion, memory, longing and desire. The work of Vini Reilly, Durutti Column emerged out of Factory Records yet their sound was something completely of its own world. Merging impeccable guitar playing with subtle drum machines, soft vocals and a golden warmth that makes this one of those albums that makes you melt everytime you put it on.
Pastoral and blissful, LC is filled with both perfect restraint and full on flowing beauty. You can hear how traces of the more blissed out side of Krautrock influenced him, merging that with the stripped down emotional quality of British folk and placing it into a very modern moment. While not an obscure band by any measure, we are still blown away though by how many people who would love Durutti Column have never heard them. And with the reissue of their first two lp's we hope that so many of those folks finally do. We could go on and on listing folks whose music we love and who have undoubtedly been influenced by Durutti Column, and this record in particular: Felt, Fuqugi, Danny Paul Grody, Colleen, James Blackshaw, Ducktails, Fennesz, Manuel, A.R. Kane, My Bloody Valentine, and on and on. One of our favorite records of all time, so if you didn't have this before, now's the time!

DURUTTI COLUMN Tempus Fugit (Kookydisc) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Of all of the bands that hailed from Factory Records back in the early '80s, The Durutti Column is the only one that is still active alongside New Order. The Durutti Column is principally the work of guitarist / vocalist Vini Riley with his drum machine and whomever happens to be near the studio when he's recording. After all of those years of releasing his music on Tony Wilson's various permutations of Factory, Riley released Tempus Fugit as the first Durutti Column album on his own label Kookydisc.
A skeletal man with a frail voice, Riley produces an accurate reflection of his own body through his music; however, his albums have always been a bit of a mixed bag. Each album has ill advised excursions into tepid jazz and occasional ambient-lite guitar noodlings. Sure, Durutti Column records might be better off without the obvious (to us) dud tracks, but the same spirit that sends Riley down aesthetic deadends also guides the Durutti Column to some of most personal and beautiful expressions of melancholia in the past 25 years. Tempus Fugit suffers from these same pitfalls, as there's a curious attempt at a grime rhythm track on his oh-so wee drum machine and a strange spacious track with hand-claps and slap-bass lines that goes nowhere, but much of the same gossamer guitar escapades, spectral ambience, and ghostly vocals found on his classic albums LC and The Return of the Durutti Column are still present. That said, if you're new to the Durutti Column, this might not be the best place to start. Those aforementioned albums are far better, but if you've ever fallen under the spell of the Durutti Column in the past, Tempus Fugit has plenty of gems to be discovered.
MPEG Stream: "The Man Who Knows"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled For You"

DURUTTI COLUMN The Return Of The Durutti Column (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
We've got two great vinyl reissues of the first two lps from Manchester's Durutti Column this week. Despite the title, The Return of The Durutti Column was their debut release from 1980, originally on Factory Records. While the title is tongue in cheek (as was the original album cover, covered in sandpaper so that it would scrape and scuff any record filed next to it), it was truly a return, as by the time they were set to record, the original five piece group enlisted by Factory label boss Tony Wilson had dissolved into sole member, guitarist Vini Reilly. In less capable hands, this might of been devastating, but Vini Reilly, a true alchemist of the electric guitar, could more than hold his own. Working with Martin Hannet, who provided the atmospheric production and synth washes, and a couple of session players, The Return of... is a tour-de-force of warm pastoral instrumentals, soft textures and intricate jazz-like compositional dynamics.
Durutti Column didn't have the typical Factory Records sound associated with bands like A Certain Ratio or Joy Division. In fact, Reilly's interweaving filigree guitar lines and bright chiming tones sounded more like a group that would be on Crepuscule or even 4AD. "Sketch for Summer" is one of the most beautiful openers ever and completely sets the tone for the rest of the album. Sweeping and expansive, yet also introspective and labyrinthian, Reilly conjures beautifully spiraling melodies that glide and wander, sometimes letting themselves get lost in the exploration but never get aimless or muddled. Highly Recommended!

DURUTTI COLUMN, THE Idiot Savants (Fullfill) cd 16.98

DURUTTI COLUMN, THE LC (Factory Once) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "Sketch For Dawn 1"
MPEG Stream: "Portrait For Frazer"

DURUTTI COLUMN, THE Sporadic Three (Kooky) cd 14.98

DURUTTI COLUMN, THE The Return of... (Factory Once) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Despite the fact that the Durutti Column has primarily been a solo project for Vini Reilly, the avant-guitarist from Manchester did not start the Durutti Column; in fact he was invited to join the band by Factory Records head honcho Tony Wilson. Yet during the band's first year in existance, all of the members departed except for Reily who shrugged his shoulders and kept on going. One has to wonder if Reilly under different circumstances would have named his project The Durutti Column, which was inspired by the Spanish Civil War anarchist Buenaventura Durutti and a Situationists Internationale comic strip from the '60s. The themes found in the Durutti Column's music are far more painterly, poetic, and delicate than the semantic disruptions and political chaos that the name suggests.
The Return of the Durutti Column was actually the debut album for Reilly and producer extraordinaire Martin Hannett who was instrumental in shaping Durutti Column's minimalist rock atmospheres and wintery moods. Durutti Column was perhaps the only band on Factory which has never been accused of being a Joy Division clone, which makes sense upon listening to the delicate guitar playing cast in a snowstorm of reverb. Originally conceived as an instrumental album, the cd reissue of The Return of the Durutti Column adds a couple of tracks including Reilly's touching tribute to Ian Curtis entitled "Lips That Would Kiss" and a guest appearance from Clock DVA's Jeremy Kerr. Without Durutti Column's beautiful music, there would be no Bark Psychosis, no Labradford, and no Sigur Ros. Seriously.
MPEG Stream: "Sketch For Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Requiem For A Father"

DURY, BAXTER Len Parrot's Memorial Lift (Rough Trade) cd 14.98
Introducing Ian Dury's son! Now, if you're expecting him to follow down a similar path of fiery, wry Cockney punk as that of his father, think again! Right from the get go, his debut full length instead reveals some strong psych and pretty pop leanings bringing to mind a gentle gathering of Mercury Rev and Belle & Sebastian. Very soft, poetic and wistful, but also very detailed and lushly produced. There's some truly gorgeous misty moments and great pop songs on Len Parrot's Memorial Lift. Positively dreamy.
RealAudio clip: "Oscar Brown"
RealAudio clip: "Lucifer's Grain"

DUSK & BLACKDOWN Margins Music (Keysound Recordings) cd 15.98

DUST Ballet (Phaserprone) cassette 8.98

DUST Hard Attack (Buddha) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Of Dust's two albums, this 1972 LP is considered the harder of the two, the more metal, the somewhat more Sabbathian. "Downer rock" they called it back then (we're told). Their song "Suicide" (track 9) -- whooah, that could be Pentagram! This track alone makes this an essential purchase for any true doom/psych fan. It's an all time classic. Between that and the awesome Frank Frazetta cover painting, what more could you want?
But it's not all doom n' gloom n' barbarians -- "Hard Attack" has its lighter side, but unlike a lot of their peers, the poppier and/or less rockin' stuff Dust do is actually really great. Sure, a song like "Thusly Spoken" features strings and a Beatlesy melody, but the lyrics still name-check Satan and speak of dancing demons. Lush, gorgeous downer-pop that sets you up to be crushed by the following, urgently hard-rockin' track "Learning To Die". They do that throughout the album, alternating gentle -- even acoustic -- numbers with the proto-metal workouts that the headbangers of 1972 must have loved.
It's hard to understand why Dust didn't "make" it, as this stuff is certainly the equal of big sellers from their era by Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. Great singing, riffs, melodies, and that "feel" -- it's all here.
We mentioned Pentagram above -- if you bought that awesome Relapse label anthology of Pentagram's original seventies recordings that we recommended a few lists back, you should definitely check out the work of Dust, who were both contemporaries of and an influence on the Ram's Head boys. Dust are an important name on the list of forgotten but godlike '70s hard rock bands that make today's so-called stoner rockers sound like punk wanna-bes (bands like Lucifer's Friend, Highway Robbery, Orang-utan, Toad, Budgie, Sir Lord Baltimore, Captain Beyond, Leafhound, etc.). In a word (again): classic. Too bad you'll never hear 'em on your local "classic rock" radio station... [note -- these are out of print cut-outs, so they're drilled, but cheap]
RealAudio clip: "Walk Softly In The Rain"
RealAudio clip: "Suicide"

DUST Hard Attack (Repertoire) cd 26.00
Dust's two early '70s proto-metal classics had been out of print on cd for far too long - and even the last time we had 'em, YEARS ago, we could only get a few drilled, cut-out copies. But now, huzzah, import cd reissues are available, packaged in those slim digi-wallet sleeves. Definitely feels good to have 'em back in our vintage heavy rock section once more, were they belong as essentials in that genre.
Of Dust's two albums, this 1972 lp is generally considered the harder of the two, the more metal. Though that may be in part 'cause of the cover art, and album title! But perhaps it is somewhat more Sabbathian. "Downer rock" they called it back then (we're told). Their song "Suicide" (the penultimate track on side 2 of the original vinyl) - whooah, that could be Pentagram! That song alone makes this an essential purchase for any true doom/psych fan. It's an all time classic. Between that and the awesome Frank Frazetta cover painting, what more could you want?
But it's not all doom n' gloom n' barbarians - Hard Attack has its lighter side, but unlike a lot of their peers, the poppier and/or less rockin' stuff Dust do is actually really great. Sure, a song like "Thusly Spoken" features strings and a Beatlesy melody, but the lyrics still name-check Satan and speak of dancing demons. Lush, gorgeous downer-pop that sets you up to be crushed by the following, urgently hard-rockin' track "Learning To Die". They do that throughout the album, alternating gentle - even acoustic - numbers with the proggy proto-metal workouts that the headbangers of 1972 must have loved.
It's hard to understand why Dust didn't "make" it, as this stuff is certainly the equal of big sellers from their era by Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. Great singing, riffs, melodies, and that "feel" - it's all here.
We mentioned Pentagram above - if you've got that awesome Relapse label anthology of Pentagram's original seventies recordings, First Daze Here, you should definitely check out the work of Dust, who were both contemporaries of, and an influence on, the Ram's Head boys. Yes, Dust are an important name on the list of forgotten but godlike '70s hard rock bands that make today's so-called stoner rockers sound like punk/grunge wanna-bes. That '70s pantheon includes, besides Dust, bands like like Lucifer's Friend, Highway Robbery, Jerusalem, Orang-utan, Toad, Budgie, Sir Lord Baltimore, Captain Beyond, Bang, Stray, Leafhound, etc. In a word (again): classic. Too bad you'll never hear 'em on your local "classic rock" radio station...
Oh, and Dust featured the future Marky Ramone on drums, by the way, before he decided punk was the way to go (or even had that option)...
MPEG Stream: "Walk In The Soft Rain"
MPEG Stream: "Learning To Die"
MPEG Stream: "Suicide"

DUST Hard Attack (Akarma) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Of Dust's two albums, this 1972 LP is considered the harder of the two, the more metal, the somewhat more Sabbathian. "Downer rock" they called it back then (we're told). Their song "Suicide" (track 9) -- whooah, that could be Pentagram! This track alone makes this an essential purchase for any true doom/psych fan. It's an all time classic. Between that and the awesome Frank Frazetta cover painting, what more could you want?
But it's not all doom n' gloom n' barbarians -- "Hard Attack" has its lighter side, but unlike a lot of their peers, the poppier and/or less rockin' stuff Dust do is actually really great. Sure, a song like "Thusly Spoken" features strings and a Beatlesy melody, but the lyrics still name-check Satan and speak of dancing demons. Lush, gorgeous downer-pop that sets you up to be crushed by the following, urgently hard-rockin' track "Learning To Die". They do that throughout the album, alternating gentle -- even acoustic -- numbers with the proto-metal workouts that the headbangers of 1972 must have loved.
It's hard to understand why Dust didn't "make" it, as this stuff is certainly the equal of big sellers from their era by Deep Purple or Uriah Heep. Great singing, riffs, melodies, and that "feel" -- it's all here.
We mentioned Pentagram above -- if you bought that awesome Relapse label anthology of Pentagram's original seventies recordings that we recommended a few lists back, you should definitely check out the work of Dust, who were both contemporaries of and an influence on the Ram's Head boys. Dust are an important name on the list of forgotten but godlike '70s hard rock bands that make today's so-called stoner rockers sound like punk wanna-bes (bands like Lucifer's Friend, Highway Robbery, Orang-utan, Toad, Budgie, Sir Lord Baltimore, Captain Beyond, Leafhound, etc.). In a word (again): classic. Too bad you'll never hear 'em on your local "classic rock" radio station... [note -- these are out of print cut-outs, so they're drilled, but cheap]
RealAudio clip: "Walk Softly In The Rain"

DUST s/t (Buddha) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not a new release, but listed for the first time 'cause we love it: The American hard rock trio known as Dust are another of those legendary early '70s bands that get mentioned in the same breath with heavies like Captain Beyond, Sir Lord Baltimore, The James Gang, Bang, and the like. They cut two excellent LPs of late-psychedelic-era proto-metal back in '71 and '72. This the first, self-titled one, and of their two albums, this one's swampier, with a lot of slide and country/southern rock moves on tracks like "Stone Woman" and "Chasin' Ladies". But then there's the lugubrious and weighty 10-minute epic "From A Dry Camel" and the gentle acoustic dreaminess of "Often Shadows Felt". Mostly, though, the album kicks ass with uptempo hard rockers. Maybe they could be considered the American version of Nazareth (with vocals somewhat less soaked in whiskey). What we're saying is: pretty great!
Dust features the future Marky Ramone on drums, by the way, before he decided punk was the way to go. [note -- these are out of print cut-outs, so they're drilled, but cheap]
RealAudio clip: "Love Me Hard"

DUST s/t (Repertoire) cd 26.00
Dust's two early '70s proto-metal classics had been out of print on cd for far too long - and even the last time we had 'em, YEARS ago, we could only get a few drilled cut-out copies. But now, huzzah, import cd reissues are available, packaged in those slim digi-wallet sleeves. Definitely feels good to have 'em back in our vintage heavy rock section once more, were they belong as essentials in that genre.
So, for those who need to know: the American hard rock trio known as Dust are another of those legendary early '70s bands that get mentioned in the same breath with heavies like Captain Beyond, Sir Lord Baltimore, The James Gang, Bang, and the like. They cut two excellent lps of late-psychedelic-era proto-metal back in '71 and '72. This the first, self-titled one, and of their two albums, this one's swampier, with a lot of slide and country/southern rock moves on tracks like "Stone Woman" and "Chasin' Ladies". But then there's the lugubrious and weighty 10-minute epic "From A Dry Camel", and conversely, the gentle acoustic dreaminess of "Often Shadows Felt". Mostly, though, the album kicks ass with uptempo hard rockers, including the ripping, rollicking instrumental "Loose Goose" that closes the album quite frenetically.
Maybe Dust could be considered the American version of Nazareth (with vocals somewhat less soaked in whiskey). And they're a lot like Highway Robbery, whose lp reissue we raved about recently. What we're saying is: pretty great! And also: any Danava fan oughtta check 'em out!
Oh, and Dust featured the future Marky Ramone on drums, by the way, before he decided punk was the way to go (or even had that option)...
MPEG Stream: "Stone Woman"
MPEG Stream: "Love Me Hard"
MPEG Stream: "From A Dry Camel"

DUST s/t (Akarma) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can't get the cd version anymore, but now there's a vinyl reissue for you '70s hard rock diehards...the American hard rock trio known as Dust are another of those legendary early '70s bands that get mentioned in the same breath with heavies like Captain Beyond, Sir Lord Baltimore, The James Gang, Bang, and the like. They cut two excellent LPs of late-psychedelic-era proto-metal back in '71 and '72. This the first, self-titled one, and of their two albums, this one's swampier, with a lot of slide and country/southern rock moves on tracks like "Stone Woman" and "Chasin' Ladies". But then there's the lugubrious and weighty 10-minute epic "From A Dry Camel" and the gentle acoustic dreaminess of "Often Shadows Felt". Mostly, though, the album kicks ass with uptempo hard rockers. Maybe they could be considered the American version of Nazareth (with vocals somewhat less soaked in whiskey). What we're saying is: pretty great!
Dust features the future Marky Ramone on drums, by the way, before he decided punk was the way to go.

DUSTER Contemporary Movement (Up) cd 12.98
Is Duster from the San Joaquin Valley? I'm not too sure, but they really could be the mope-rock, dressed-in-black distant cousins of Grandaddy. The lackadaisical indie strum of Grandaddy does certainly play a part in Duster's "Contemporary Movement," but Duster also incorporates the high tension atmospheres from driving percussive rhythms and minor chord chugs not unlike the classic Factory sounds of Joy Division, Crispy Ambulance, and the Abecedarians. But balanced with a warm and fuzzy, low-fi home recorded, strummy, breathy, whispery sort of Pavement-on-codeine. This may be the perfect lonely, late night slowcore sad-rock(read 'goth'?) that the emo kids and the Slinty people have been waiting for.

DUSTY TRAILS s/t (Atlantic) cd 15.98
New duo comprised of Vivian Trimble (formerly of Luscious Jackson) and Josephine Wiggs (formerly of the Breeders). "A synthesis of elegance and groove"... their words not ours. Quite simply this sounds like music from some 70's tv movie love scene starring Suzanne Somers, as performed by a very stoned Luscious Jackson. Easy listening, dinner music with a faux tropicalia feel. They do get points for including a song sung by Emmylou Harris though. Andee says this is a seventies female version of New Wet Kojak's 'I'm so sexy and dangerous' bullshit rock. See NWK review in AQ list #91.

DUUDLEVILLE TALES, THE (Wiggleton Press) book 27.00
Another warehouse (read: closet) find, and another past super cool aQ fave that would make quite the nice stocking stuffer for your weirdo-art obsessed loved one...
This doesn't have anything to do with music really, but when we saw it we knew we had to carry a handful of these. Some of the coolest, cutest, weirdest art we've seen in a long time. A bizarre and playful mix of Jamie Hewlett who does the art for the Gorillaz (also Tank Girl!), UK via Japan art terrorist and master of Monsterism Pete Fowler and a healthy does of Sanrio doused with acid and rolled in peyote.
Check it out: a gorgeous cardboard box, full color and drenched in reds and oranges and browns, all the text printed in shiny reflective metallic gold ink and that's just the box. Once you crack it open you'll discover an enormous 16 panel accordion fold out on heavy card stock, one side is a dense and dizzyingly bus assemblage of characters and shapes, animals and figures, buildings and bits of random color and geometry, equal parts hip hop mural, children's book and bizarre Japanese manga. Amazingly, there's a whole other layer printed in reflective gloss, that is only visible from certain angles and gives the whole thing an even more psychedelic vibe. The flip side, features sketches of various characters in from the art on the other side, with brief descriptions of and anecdotes about each.
As if that weren't enough, each box contains an actual hand drawn sketch, signed and numbered, several full color stickers, and a coupon that you can send in to adopt a lost duudle, which will eventually make up a new piece of art, a world map showing the new homes of each adopted duudle.
So completely cool.

DUVALL, AL Coroner & Knives (Boontling Recordings) cd 9.98
We got some olde style banjo storytelling here! It's sparse and earnest. Sort of dark and damaged, maybe even drunken. It's rythmically spastic, melodically sour. The vocals are atonal and a little out of rhythm, but absolutely endearing. A musical saw sweetens things up on "Nymph Du Prairie". This album's totally awesome! Features Al's brother, Andy Duvall (formerly of Zen Guerilla) on percussion.
MPEG Stream: "Saxonburg, Ohio"
MPEG Stream: "Nymph Du Prairie"

DWARR Animals (Brand X Recordings) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Eccentric outsider doom metal from the '80s, from waaaaaay down underground. Now hold up, if the words "doom" or "metal" make you think, not for me, think again (maybe). This isn't like any metal you've ever heard, really. More like spaced out '60s heavy psychedelic guitar rock (one song's called "Heavy Vibrations", man), overloaded also with shrill synth symphonics and trippy effects... That's where the "outsider" tag comes in, Dwarr being a one-man band, all the work of South Carolina multi-instrumentalist (but especially guitar!) Duane Warr (hence the name Dwarr), whom we get the impression is quite a character. It's so DIY that the cds have his phone number on 'em, in case you want to get in touch. His privately pressed music comes off like a cough-syrup dosed mixture of Black Sabbath and Todd Tamanend Clark (whom you should know from the double cd anthology we raved about a few years ago). Or, The Happy Dragon Band playing Pink Floyd, from beyond the grave. Maybe a lo-fi Captain Beyond, on even more drugs than Captain Beyond were ever on. Or imagine if Bobb Trimble was an '80s metaller, perhaps (and worked out in the gym a lot more?). Sorry to use so many almost equally obscure references, but it's hard to compare this confusional beast to anything else.
Look at that insane cover painting, a surreal post-apocalyptic landscape (that's a malevolent-looking Statue of Liberty sunken in polluted looking water next to a cave populated by long-haired, skull-faced cannibalistic mutants, with an avatar of Dwarr himself, we're guessing, striking a heroic he-man pose in the upper right hand corner). The music itself is as surreal and apocalyptic and ridiculous as that image, matching up to it much more than most other "metal" albums ever match up to their cover art, both in subject matter and, ah, execution.
Just from the cover painting, let alone the music, this Dwarr album is SO perfectly Aquarius, you'd almost think we made it up. But no, Dwarr's for real, something we'd vaguely heard tell of and been curious about for years, and finally went to the trouble of tracking down (not so hard, thanks to the Internet, now that everybody and their grandmother's bands are on MySpace). And lo and behold, it turned out Dwarr had issued ALL four of his albums (two from the '80s, two from the '00s, believe it or not!) on compact disc. So we had to get a bunch of this one, his second, from 1986, probably his best and "heaviest". A Record Of The Week, easy.
There's 13 tracks, each one incredible (or incredibly strange). There's nothing that's NOT freaked out about this. Even the poppiest songs (like the title track "Animals") are full of sluggish grooves, druggy lyrics, buzzing electronics, melodic stoned vocals, acid rock guitar (and acid WTF synth). Elsewhere it gets away from rock/metal song structure entirely, with interludes of eerie atmospherics, spacey soundscapes overlaid with ominous whispered declamations, and weirdass instrumentals, like the squirrelly, proggy bombast of "Chocolate Mescalyne", a track that if you sped it up a lot would almost fit in on a Orthrelm album.
And then there's the DOOM. Oh yeah, while it's not "normal" doom it IS doom. Sludgy, Sabbath-riffed doom indeed, despite the trebly production. "Ghost Lover", for instance, gives us the feel of both the Sabs' "Iron Man" and "Electric Funeral", and Duane's vocals are particularly Ozzy-ish on the uber-heavy "Evil Lures" too... Great stuff if you really really appreciate the stranger, more psychedelic aspects of true doom artistry, the spirit is HERE.
Three cheers for avant garde new wave downer rock hippie heavy metal weirdness! That gives special thanks "to the Columbia High School Band for the use of their percussion instruments". We are so pleased to play a role in sharing this culter than cult classic with you, which by the way comes in fairly no-frills packaging, the cd in a thin cardboard sleeve with full-color album art front and back but no lyrics, liner notes, nothin' like that. It's pretty cheap though. Not that you should need any further incentive to pick this up, after reading our ravings above...
MPEG Stream: "Animals"
MPEG Stream: "Cannabinol: The Function"
MPEG Stream: "Ghost Lovers"
MPEG Stream: "Evil Lures"
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Vibrations"

DWARR Animals (Drag City) cd 14.98
A lot of you should already be familiar with this amazing "outsider" psych/metal obscurity, as we made the previous, self-released reissue of it a Record Of The Week back in February, and sold a ton of them. Recently, we contacted Dwarr to order more, and were told it was being re-reissued, on DRAG CITY! How 'bout that?! So, if you missed it when we ROTW'd it, here it is again, now on vinyl as well as compact disc! And the packaging has been upgraded considerably. The same unbelievable cover painting of course, but the cd now comes in jewel case instead of a no-frills sleeve, so there's a booklet full of more bizarre artwork, photos, and new liner notes from Dwarr himself, etc. Nice. Drag City even did a vinyl version too - which, unfortunately, we've already pretty much run out of, but should be able to list next time. Here's what we wrote about this this first time 'round:
Eccentric outsider doom metal from the '80s, from waaaaaay down underground. Now hold up, if the words "doom" or "metal" make you think, not for me, think again (maybe). This isn't like any metal you've ever heard, really. More like spaced out '60s heavy psychedelic guitar rock (one song's called "Heavy Vibrations", man), overloaded also with shrill synth symphonics and trippy effects... That's where the "outsider" tag comes in, Dwarr being a one-man band, all the work of South Carolina multi-instrumentalist (but especially guitar!) Duane Warr (hence the name Dwarr), whom we get the impression is quite a character. It's so DIY that the cds have his phone number on 'em, in case you want to get in touch. His privately pressed music comes off like a cough-syrup dosed mixture of Black Sabbath and Todd Tamanend Clark (whom you should know from the double cd anthology we raved about a few years ago). Or, The Happy Dragon Band playing Pink Floyd, from beyond the grave. Maybe a lo-fi Captain Beyond, on even more drugs than Captain Beyond were ever on. Or imagine if Bobb Trimble was an '80s metaller, perhaps (and worked out in the gym a lot more?). Sorry to use so many almost equally obscure references, but it's hard to compare this confusional beast to anything else.
Look at that insane cover painting, a surreal post-apocalyptic landscape (that's a malevolent-looking Statue of Liberty sunken in polluted looking water next to a cave populated by long-haired, skull-faced cannibalistic mutants, with an avatar of Dwarr himself, we're guessing, striking a heroic he-man pose in the upper right hand corner). The music itself is as surreal and apocalyptic and ridiculous as that image, matching up to it much more than most other "metal" albums ever match up to their cover art, both in subject matter and, ah, execution.
Just from the cover painting, let alone the music, this Dwarr album is SO perfectly Aquarius, you'd almost think we made it up. But no, Dwarr's for real, something we'd vaguely heard tell of and been curious about for years, and finally went to the trouble of tracking down (not so hard, thanks to the Internet, now that everybody and their grandmother's bands are on MySpace). And lo and behold, it turned out Dwarr had issued ALL four of his albums (two from the '80s, two from the '00s, believe it or not!) on compact disc. So we had to get a bunch of this one, his second, from 1986, probably his best and "heaviest". A Record Of The Week, easy.
There's 13 tracks, each one incredible (or incredibly strange). There's nothing that's NOT freaked out about this. Even the poppiest songs (like the title track "Animals") are full of sluggish grooves, druggy lyrics, buzzing electronics, melodic stoned vocals, acid rock guitar (and acid WTF synth). Elsewhere it gets away from rock/metal song structure entirely, with interludes of eerie atmospherics, spacey soundscapes overlaid with ominous whispered declamations, and weirdass instrumentals, like the squirrelly, proggy bombast of "Chocolate Mescalyne", a track that if you sped it up a lot would almost fit in on a Orthrelm album.
And then there's the DOOM. Oh yeah, while it's not "normal" doom it IS doom. Sludgy, Sabbath-riffed doom indeed, despite the trebly production. "Ghost Lover", for instance, gives us the feel of both the Sabs' "Iron Man" and "Electric Funeral", and Duane's vocals are particularly Ozzy-ish on the uber-heavy "Evil Lures" too... Great stuff if you really really appreciate the stranger, more psychedelic aspects of true doom artistry, the spirit is HERE.
Three cheers for avant garde new wave downer rock hippie heavy metal weirdness! That gives special thanks "to the Columbia High School Band for the use of their percussion instruments". We are so pleased to play a role in sharing this culter than cult classic with you...
And Drag City is pleased to do so now too, obviously!
MPEG Stream: "Animals"
MPEG Stream: "Cannabinol: The Function"
MPEG Stream: "Ghost Lovers"
MPEG Stream: "Evil Lures"
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Vibrations"