DARKTHRONE Dark Thrones & Black Flags (Peaceville) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!
None more self-referential. (Not even Manowar.) This album actually has the words "Dark" and "Throne" in the title. Dark Thrones & Black Flags, could they make it any more plain? Implying the grimnity of Darkthrone's traditional necro Nordic black metal with a severe dose of '80s punk (and metal) infesting the proceedings, which is basically the Darkthrone formula of recent years. If you liked, say, last year's Darkthrone album, F.O.A.D., you'll like this (and if you didn't, you won't!). While we can't expect 'em to replicate old classics like A Blaze In The Northern Sky or Transylvanian Hunger, we do know they can make F.O.A.D. Part II! Heck, it even looks almost identical.
Musically, this album rocks, it's a punked-up slab of riffy, raw black metal. Utterly old school - even though it's Darkthrone's new school sound (for the actual ye olde Darkthrone stuff, we still have a few copies of their deluxe demos collection The Frostland Tapes reviewed 2 lists back). There's anthems like "Hiking Metal Punks" and icy epicks like "Norway In September", but whatever the style, headbangingness is job number one. The production is typical Darkthrone filth, the vocals (from both Fenriz and stringed-instrument wielder Nocturno Culto) range from the usual rasping croaks to higher pitched yelps and even some weird, clean vocals (like the chorus of the opening track, "They Winds They Called The Dungeon Shaker" - that's an awesome title by the way, whatever it means). Fenriz does a Tom G. Warrior (Celtic Frost) sometimes, and even gets kinda witchy, sounding just a bit like ol' King Diamond on "Hanging Out In Haiger". On the drums, he bashes away enthusiastically as always. Guitarwise, Nocturno keeps it grim (of course) but throws in the occasional surprisingly widdily solo.
So, basically, the cold, old ones are back with another album of all about their favorite stuff: metal, camping, Darkthrone. It mixes their punk side (which they took to the furthest extreme a couple albums back on The Cult Is Alive) with hoary heavy metal homage, again a la F.O.A.D. And there's definitely a bunch of tracks on here that give that album's biggest hit, the catchy "Canadian Metal", a run for its money! We like.
MPEG Stream: "They Winds They Called The Dungeon Shaker"
MPEG Stream: "Hiking Metal Punks"
MPEG Stream: "Blacksmith Of The North (Keep That Ancient Fire)"

DARKTHRONE F.O.A.D. (Peaceville) cd 16.98
If metal fans/dilettantes Circle were to actually make a metal album, as opposed to a "metal" album (one that in the end really sounds like Circle), maybe it would come out something like F.O.A.D., the latest (number thirteen, uh oh!) full-length from Norwegian black metal icons Darkthrone. This album, entitled F.O.A.D. (which stands for something Off And Die, you figure it out), is a collection of nine songs, each one of them with a specific inspiration or inspirations that will resonate with all true metal fans, which Darkthrone obviously are. We know this not just 'cause the old school vibe of these songs, retro-riffed and raw and fueled with punkish attitude, but also 'cause Darkthrone drummer Fenriz has kindly provided notes on each track in the photo-illustrated cd booklet. So you can scope snapshots of Darkthrone's summer camping trips whilst reading about how the track "Canadian Metal" is lyrically a tribute to their favorite Canadian metal bands (natch) but musically is inspired more by (non-Canadian bands) DeathStrike, Onslaught, Darkthrone and Motorhead -- and, for the heck of it, is dedicated to their Central American fans! Or learn that the song "The Church of True Metal" is dedicated to Manilla Road and the late singer of another '80s American true metal cult, Omen. Or see that Fenriz claims that "Pervertor Of The 7 Gates" is inspired by "Axegrinder/Darkthrone, Humble Pie (!), Celtic Frost (duh), Impostor... and Poison Idea!". You may have noted how ridiculously, circularly self-referential (reverential?) it is, when several times they cite Darkthrone (themselves!) among a particular track's influences. At least they're being honest!
The cd booklet also includes a shopping list of 20 true metal (mostly, though The Residents are on here too) recommendations from Fenriz and guitarist Nocturno Culto, their suggestions to get your music listening back on the proper, perverse track. Can't argue with any of their picks, and in fact we're gonna be on the lookout for the few we didn't already have, but again it's a funny thing to find in a cd booklet. We guess they're concerned about "the kids" these days not knowing what's what.
But the reason we mentioned Circle above is 'cause this seems to be a very "conceptual" metal album, metal for metal's sake made by fans in a very explicit and nostalgic fashion. There's a metallic version of Comic Book Guy, record-collector nerdism in equal doses with a punk WTF? approach. Circle calls it NWOFHM. Darkthrone's making NWOBHM. No it doesn't compare to any of their past classics like A Blaze In The Northern Sky or Transylvanian Hunger. Less grim, more grins.
This sort of thing tends to demystify what is (was?) one of the seminal, scary bands from the notorious Nordic church-burning, corpse-painted black metal scene. But we've already gotten the idea that Darkthrone don't take themselves too seriously anymore, and maybe never did, nor do they care what other folks think. We realized that long ago when we read an interview with 'em that mainly talked about how much they loved the Simpsons TV show. Also there was the silly message that Andee once got on his answering from Fenriz (thanks to a mutual friend who was over in Norway working on an as-yet-unreleased black metal documentary). And of course not long ago we reviewed the DVD of Nocturno Culto's bewilderingly mundane home movies. The curtain has been pulled back, and what we find are two none-too-serious yet none-more-black dudes from Norway who loooooove metal (and camping). And happen to be fuckin' Darkthrone. So they can say F.O.A.D. then you gotta take it. If it's too crude and dumb and retrogressive and punk for you, fuck off and die. Otherwise, let the headbanging commence.
MPEG Stream: "These Shores Are Damned"
MPEG Stream: "Canadian Metal"

DARKTHRONE Frostland Tapes (Peaceville) 3cd 18.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Released to coincide with the band's 21st anniversary (!!!), Frostland Tapes collects a bunch of super sough after rarities, lost and live recordings and most importantly (at least for Darkthrone fanatics), the unreleased instrumental version of their Goatlord album.
As much as we're tempted to say every metalhead probably should own almost anything these guys release, this one, while pretty fucking excellent, might just be more of a 'For Fans Only' sort of thing. Although if you've never heard Darkthrone before, and want to jump in way back at the beginning, and experience the band through rough lo-fi live recordings or raw primitive demos, then hell yeah, this will definitely do the job. But if that sounds a bit too intense of an introduction, then try either Transylvanian Hunger or A Blaze In The Northern Sky, we guarantee you'll be hooked, you can always come back for this one later!
For the rest of you, who have all the records proper, odds are you're gonna want this too... the 1988 Land Of Frost demo, the 1988 A New Dimension demo, the Thulcandra 1989 demo, the legendary 1989 Cromlech demo, a 1990 show recorded live in Denmark, and of course a rare instrumental version of Goatlord recorded in 1991. Lots of songs you know, some you probably don't, varying degrees of fidelity, but c'mon it's Darkthrone, the more raw the better!!!!
Housed in a super fancy hardcover book style package with tons of rare photos, liner notes and a funny (aren't they all?) interview with Fenriz...
MPEG Stream: "Land Of Frost"
MPEG Stream: "Thulcandra"
MPEG Stream: "The Watchtower"
MPEG Stream: "A Blaze In The Northern Sky"

DARKTHRONE Goatlord (Moonfog) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Rex"
MPEG Stream: "Pure Demoniac Blessing"

DARKTHRONE Hate Them (Moonfog) cd 12.98
Album number ten from perhaps the most revered (or as the band prefers, most hated) of black metal's old guard, the dynamic duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto. Clocking in at just over a half an hour and according to the liner notes, recorded AND mixed in a mere 26 hours, Hate Them is the latest installment in more than a decade of Christ crushing, poser smashing, misanthropic, grim and buzzy black metal. Emperor are gone, Mayhem are old news, Immortal are cartoons, Satyricon are techno, which leaves Darkthrone to carry the torch of simple, hateful, aggressive and virtually-unchanged-since-1990 black metal. You don't fix what ain't broke! Howling barbed wire guitars, bloodied vocal chords, and Fenriz's 'unique' mostly midtempo drumming, thrashy and sloppy. The blast beats may be 1/10 the speed of other black metal bands, but what Darkthrone lack in speed and finesse they make up for in grim atmosphere and raw aggression. Possibly the only true black metal band left.
MPEG Stream: "Rust"
MPEG Stream: "Det Svartner Na"

DARKTHRONE Plaguewielder (Moonfog) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Like the passing of a rare comet, the appearance of a new Darkthrone disc is a time for God-fearing natives to cower and tremble, and for the chosen, corpse-painted few (black metal fans) to revel in barbaric worship. Yes, Nocturno Culto and Fenriz (who, along with Frost and Satyr of Satryicon, and Ihsahn and Samoth of Emperor, are one of Norwegian black metal's most dynamic duos) return with, if we've counted properly, their ninth album: six tracks, forty-three minutes of blasting grim rock Hell. Fenriz pounds the drums whilst Nocturno Culto rasps Fenriz' hateful, curious lyrix over his own buzzsaw guitar riffarama. This new disc isn't an earthshattering leap forward in the annals of the dark arts (they don't constantly innovate like labelmates Satyricon) but they give you what you want: good old true black metal in the Darkthrone tradition (which IS the true black metal tradition). Dark, heavy, wretched -- excellent! Digipackaged, with suitably scary (and arty) artwork, and pics of Fenriz and Nocturno sans corpsepaint.
RealAudio clip: "Weakling Avenger"
RealAudio clip: "I, Voidhanger"
RealAudio clip: "Wreak"

DARKTHRONE Preparing for War (Peaceville) cd 21.00
Perhaps the most essential, archetypal Norwegian black metal act ever (along with Emperor and Satyricon if you want to quibble) get an early-years "best of" treatment from former label Peaceville, for whom they recorded a bevy of classic (and currently hard-to-find, some of them) albums. The 70 minutes on offer here feature cuts from the sought-after "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" album, from utter classic "Transylvanian Hunger" (the full album of which we also have in stock at the moment, as it's domestically available unlike much of their other output), and from "Soulside Journey" and "Under A Funeral Moon" as well. That's enough for the Darkthrone novice -- get this if you can't track down all those records, for a taster (but note that obviously there's nothing here from their more recent discs on the Moonfog label). Then, for the true fan, we get rare live and demo material from the late '80s, before Darkthrone's first LP: truly "cult" stuff indeed. And, the nicely-done digipackaging (four panels folding out in a cross-shape) includes handwritten liner notes from the band, from which we learn that he of the best black metal name ever, Nocturno Culto, is actually called "Ted" by his friends.

DARKTHRONE Preparing For War (Peaceville) 3cd 34.00

MPEG Stream: "Snowfall (Demo 1988)"
MPEG Stream: "Archipelago (Demo 1989)"
MPEG Stream: "Iconoclasm Sweeps Cappadocia (Demo 1989)"

DARKTHRONE Ravishing Grimness (Moonfog) cd 12.98
Norwegian black metal legends, the self-proclaimd "most hated band in the world" Darkthrone, come out of semi-retirement to surpise us all with a long-awaited new release! Cold, grim, & evil, guaranteed! My only disappointment with this disc is that band member Nocturno Culto, who possesses my favorite black metal name ever, has for some reason seen fit to change his moniker to the somehow-less satisfying "Nocturnal Cult". Despite that, though, the Celtic Frost inspired winter forest doom-ride of "Ravishing Grimness" more than upholds the Darkthrone legacy (and is a worthy answer to the amazing "Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone" tribute compilation released last year).

DARKTHRONE Sardonic Wrath (Moonfog) cd 12.98
Hail the return of Darkthrone! The elder statesmen of Nordic Black Metal! Still cult and true, and still sonically stirring up the blackest pits of hell. Ahhh, some things never change. Sardonic Wrath. What a cool fucking title. But then Darkthrone are no slouches when it comes to naming records. Plague Wielder. Ravishing Grimness. A Blaze In The Northern Sky. Hate Them. Transylvanian Hunger. And the cover is an amazing painting of sword wielding angels tumbling from heaven, through a rent in the black night sky. And the sound is classic Darkthrone. A thrashing, blackened assault on all that is holy. HUGE riffs, buzzy and blurry, simple pounding drumming, occasionally stumbling into breakneck blast beats, but more often, the speed remains a lumbering midtempo or sometimes a galloping punk rock boom-bap boom-bap boom-bap. Darkthrone have always been old school, and nothing has changed here, taking Venom-ous riffery and Celtic Frost-y melodies and Bathory brutality and sculpting them into the distinctly Darkthrone blueprint for modern black metal. If one thing has changed it could be that the lyrics and song titles have gotten a little...er...strange. Sardonic Wrath features such unlikely song titles as "Information Wants to be Syndicated", "Straightening Sharks In Heaven" and "Rawness Obsolete". Just adds to the eccentric appeal though. Darkthrone are truly one of the only black metal bands blazing their own blackened path, often finding other black metal hordes desparately trying to follow.
MPEG Stream: "Information Wants To Be Syndicated"
MPEG Stream: "Straightening Sharks In Heaven"

DARKTHRONE Soulside Journey (Back On Black) picture disc lp 23.00

DARKTHRONE The Cult Is Alive (Peaceville) cd 17.98
The cult is alive indeed. However, now more than any time over their 15+ year career, the cult sounds less black than ever, and instead like the heaviest, most kick ass eighties hardcore band you've never heard. Darkthrone have always had a punky edge, but this time the riffage is so straight up hardcore it's hard to even classify this as black metal. Sure the artwork looks like a Darkthrone records, and the vocals for the most part are appropriately grim, but there is no disguising the white hot boot stomping spiked and leathered streak of hardcore energy running through every track on The Cult Is Alive. Song titles like "Graveyard Slut", "Atomic Coming", "Shut Up", "Whisky Funeral", the riffs more than anything, and there are still blast beats, but when they do happen, they don't really blast as much as they sort of gallop, a reckless careening hardcore/fastcore, wild and almost out of control. Think Discharge, the Meatmen, GBH, but WAY heavier, and with a bit more evil atmosphere. And take away those blackened vocals, and you'd definitely be hard pressed to pick this out as a record by one of the founders of Norwegian black metal. And even the vocals, while mostly demonic black metal growls, just as often veer into a weird grunty hardcore shout a la Tesco Vee. There are still some very black moments, the strange slippery blackened main riff of "Whisky Funeral", long stretches of buzzing guitar that sort of swirl and drone, some Burzumy midtempo dirges, but those are just brief black flashes, cuz no matter how deep you delve into this dark forest, this is punk rock my friend, too old and too cold!
MPEG Stream: "The Cult Of Goliath"
MPEG Stream: "Too Old, Too Cold"
MPEG Stream: "Atomic Coming"

DARKTHRONE The Cult Is Alive (Peaceville) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The cult is alive indeed. However, now more than any time over their 15+ year career, the cult sounds less black than ever, and instead like the heaviest, most kick ass eighties hardcore band you've never heard. Darkthrone have always had a punky edge, but this time the riffage is so straight up hardcore it's hard to even classify this as black metal. Sure the artwork looks like a Darkthrone records, and the vocals for the most part are appropriately grim, but there is no disguising the white hot boot stomping spiked and leathered streak of hardcore energy running through every track on The Cult Is Alive. Song titles like "Graveyard Slut", "Atomic Coming", "Shut Up", "Whisky Funeral", the riffs more than anything, and there are still blast beats, but when they do happen, they don't really blast as much as they sort of gallop, a reckless careening hardcore/fastcore, wild and almost out of control. Think Discharge, the Meatmen, GBH, but WAY heavier, and with a bit more evil atmosphere. And take away those blackened vocals, and you'd definitely be hard pressed to pick this out as a record by one of the founders of Norwegian black metal. And even the vocals, while mostly demonic black metal growls, just as often veer into a weird grunty hardcore shout a la Tesco Vee. There are still some very black moments, the strange slippery blackened main riff of "Whisky Funeral", long stretches of buzzing guitar that sort of swirl and drone, some Burzumy midtempo dirges, but those are just brief black flashes, cuz no matter how deep you delve into this dark forest, this is punk rock my friend, too old and too cold!
MPEG Stream: "The Cult Of Goliath"
MPEG Stream: "Too Old, Too Cold"
MPEG Stream: "Atomic Coming"

DARKTHRONE Transilvanian Hunger (Back On Black) picture disc 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DARKTHRONE Transilvanian Hunger (Peaceville) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Transilvanian Hunger"
MPEG Stream: "Over Fjell Og Gjennom Torner"

DARKTHRONE Under A Funeral Moon (Back On Black) picture disc 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DARKTHRONE Under A Funeral Moon (Back On Black) picture disc lp 23.00

DARNIELLE, JOHN 33 1/3 Series: Master Of Reality (Continuum) book 10.98
Y'know this series of books, right? The 33 1/3 series, each one devoted to someone's (lots of people's) favorite album ever? We have a few in stock, and have listed a bunch in the past, from OK Computer to Meat Is Murder, most recently one about Slayer's Reign In Blood. All of 'em are pretty cool, if you're into the album in question, and sometimes even if you're not ('cause you then will be).
This one in particular has a lot going for it. Not only is it about one of the best albums by one of the best bands ever (sez Allan, excitedly jumping up and down), Black Sabbath's Master Of Reality. But it's written by our pal John Darnielle of Mountain Goats fame. He's an awesome writer. And, if you didn't know, a serious metalhead. He does a witty column, South Pole Dispatch, in the back of metal magazine Decibel each month, as a matter of fact.
In addition, John doesn't simply write a nonfiction, journalistic overview of the "behind the music" story of the making of this classic album. No, he takes this opportunity to do something a lot cooler and more creative - the book is actually a novel, written from the perspective of a teenage burnout in 1985. He's committed to a psychiatric facility, and writing in his journal all about his obsession with Master Of Reality, among other things. And it works as both a novel, and as rock crit too. This definitely illustrates an extra dimension to what we mean when we say Sabbath is "heavy."

DARSOMBRA Ecdysis (At A Loss) cd 12.98
Low-end drones, mysterious field recordings, sitar, haunting melody... and crushing electric guitar heaviness? If your tastes are at all similiar to ours regarding this sort of thing, then Darsombra's Ecdysis is already sounding pretty intriguing! This 34 minute, six-track debut cd from Baltimore's Brian Daniloski (a member of metal mongers Meatjack) is right up our alley, and yours too if you dig the more abstract, arty, ambient sides of, say, Thrones, Melvins, Harvey Milk, Earth, and Fantomas. Ecdysis is just a bit scary, and full of super-heavy moments, so it could be taken as some kind of nightmare soundtrack. But there's much beauty and gentleness here too. You'll hear some major-key melodies, surprising in such a context, and a plethora of sampled sounds, from sinister voices to religious testifyin'. Anytime we find a disc where, y'know, one track sounds like 20th century classical meets Melvins and another like the labored, ritualistic breathing of some sort of demonic creature, and it's metal but not really, and kinda pretty too, well, there's only one way to end the review: recommended.
MPEG Stream: "My House"
MPEG Stream: "Drag The Carcass"

DARSOMBRA Eternal Jewel (Public Guilt) cd 8.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Break out the headphones, relax the body, and close the eyes, it's another one from the devastatingly droney and dark Darsombra, whose debut Ecdysis disc we really liked a couple years back. We like this just as much, maybe more. There's a great deal of melancholic, mesmeric beauty in Darsombra's isolationist grinding and evil ambient shimmer. We can imagine Darsombra's human operator, Brian Daniloski from the Maryland metalcore band Meatjack, up late at night alone in his home studio, lights dim, wreathed in smoke, hunched over his guitar and synth and effects and whatever else he uses to conjure this music, willing himself off into another place, out into the void of space, riding the dense waves of his own creation, returning only at dawn with another track for this album finished.
Let's discuss these tracks, but not in order... The echoey minimalism of "Drops Of Sorrow" is simply glorious, it's Riley or Reich from a psychdronedoom perspective. Or perhaps krautrock's Achim Reichel & The Machines playing Black Boned Angel!? Elsewhere, there's more gloom and glory, from the hushed sinister soundtrack melodies of opener "Auguries" to the haunting, spacey drone-whispers of "Night's Black Agents" - this disc's longest track at 17:34, reminding us of the 'Vox Insecta' work of old AQ fave Q.R. Ghazala. Then, with an intro of ommming voices (or synth) there's "Lamentings / Auguries", featuring sparse melodic guitar weepery buried beneath fuzzed out layers of deep, electronic drone and distortion. Again, this definitely sounds like it would make good soundtrack material for some eerie, arty Italian horror flick. And further cementing our love affair with the abstract attractions of Eternal Jewel, the calmly vibrating "Incarnadine" brings some rays of light to this disc at its very end, with its peacefully repetitive clusters of gentle chimings over a quiet drone.
Packaged by Public Guilt in a nice black, gothically graceful gatefold sleeve, this is definitely recommended. Imagine Expo '70 cloaked in black, performing a seance with Tony Conrad and Lustmord, and you'll have an idea of how much we must like this!
MPEG Stream: "Night's Black Agents"
MPEG Stream: "Drops Of Sorrow"
MPEG Stream: "Lamentings / Auguries"

DARSOMBRA + VARIOUS ARTISTS Nymphaea (Public Guilt) cd-r 9.98
Hopefully you already know Darsombra, seeing as we made their last Public Guilt release, Eternal Jewel, a Record Of The Week not too many moons ago. Atmospheric dark doom-drone experimentation not unlike a more sinister Expo '70 or a proggier Nadja. If you don't know 'em, get this and you'll get to know at least one of their songs really really well, in a way.
Track one here, "Nymphaea", is a head-nodding exercise in bass heavy, slow-building psychedelic instrumental throb. It starts out with plenty of distortion, and only gets heavier and more blown-out as it plods forth, adding a snakily melodic guitar line to further entrance the listener. It originally appeared as Darsombra's contribution to the "untitled" 3cd comp PG help put out last year, and now it has spawned this collection of remixes, a dozen of them, tracks 2-13!
It's pretty fascinating to hear this single song morph from track to track, 'cause they're all very different, the each remixer definitely making it their own, from blissed out vocal pop (Max Bondi & Bleeding Heart Narrative's "Hyena Amp mix") to big-beat crash-boom electro (Pulsoc's "True Love Never Dies remix") to creepy drone-noise ambience (Guilty Connector's "Dotonburi Neonnights") and that's just the first three mixes on here! Elsewhere, Ala Muerte adds eerie female voice doing Latin chant, Destructo Swarmbots strip the track down to a minimal low-end hum, The Heirs Of Rockefeller crank up the fuzz, focussing on the song's incessant hypnotic plod... all these and the rest of the remixers generally fucking with this track in many compelling and often unexpected ways. Darsombra have every reason to proudly approve what's been done with, or done to, their "Nymphaea" here. Remixers not already mentioned above also include Perfekt Teeth, Magicicada, Strotter Inst., Decimation Blvd. & Darla Hood, Blood Fountains, and le knell.
LIMITED EDITION! 250 COPIES ONLY! We only got 20! On a black cd-r in a slim, screen printed sleeve with vellum obi.
MPEG Stream: DARSOMBRA "Nymphaea"
MPEG Stream: BLOOD FOUNTAINS "Nymphaea Seance remix"
MPEG Stream: PULSOC "Nymphaea True Love Never Dies remix"
MPEG Stream: THE HEIRS OF ROCKEFELLER "Nymphaea The Drugs Won The Drug War Mix"

DARVULIA L'Alliance Des Venins (Battlesk'rs) cd 14.98

DARWINSBITCH Ore (Digitalis) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Attention all blackened drone heads!!! We've managed to get a few copies of the new Digitalis release from Darwinsbitch, and it's super dark and super gorgeous! Ore is a slow burring monumental slab of post-apocalyptic dooooomy ambience. Using violin and oscillators, Mills graduate Marielle Jakobsons creates a dim world where Eastern folk melodies meet damaged textures and desolate atmospheres. Not too far off from anything on the Miasmah label, we're hearing strong similarities to the recent Elegy release, but Ore takes a different more melodic route through smoldering layers of buzzing drone and washed out haze. A nice balance between industrial filth and organic beauty, Ore is quite the accomplishment and should definitely not be missed! Limited to an edition of 500, don't be left in the smoldering ruins without it!
MPEG Stream: "Iron Lake"
MPEG Stream: "Shadow Leaves"

DARWINSBITCH Steel Hum (Digitalis Ltd.) cassette 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A member of Myrmyr and Date Palms, Marielle V. Jakobsons has been a busy bee lately. Since graduating from the prestigious Mills College where she was involved in various sound art installations (including building a self-oscillating violin!!) she's been recording constantly, and honestly we can't get enough of what we've heard so far. Steel Hums is her debut tape release on Digitalis Ltd. under the name Dawrwinsbitch, and it's a mystical venture to unknown crossroads where Indian classical music meets modern composition. Combining the ever-growing possibilities of tape manipulation with long tone violin composition, Steel Hums is dark, dim, and somehow lush and beautiful. Kinda sounds like a lost recording of some ancient violinist, dug up in midst of some industrial ruins, or if Henry Flynt went gothic. Really awesome stuff!! AND Darwinsbitch has also just released a debut cd on Digitalis, much more on that once we get a hold of it. But for now, feast your ears on this little slab of gorgeously dark ambient beauty. And as usual for stuff on Digitalis Ltd., this shit is super super limited. Like, so limited we only have four. So if ya got your heart set on this little gem, we suggest you act fast. Oh and also, this tape ain't cheap, but trust us, the music on here is totally worth it!! Don't miss out this limited release from one of Oakland's finest female artists!!

DAS EFX The Very Best Of (Greatest Hits) (elektra) cd 12.98

DAS RACIST Relax (Greedhead) cd 13.98
It all started with a joke, a dumb joke, but a pretty funny one nonetheless. You'd have to be living under a rock to have not heard Das Racist's internet/mixtape hit "Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell", which was essentially a simple looped beat, with the group rapping "We at the Pizza Hut, we at the Taco Bell, we at the combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell" over and over and over. After millions of downloads/listens, as well as a couple of killer free mixtapes, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the world got hip to what the world of blogs had been freaking out over for ages.
And you know what, often the hype turns out to be just that, but in the case of Das Racist, they sorta deserve it. Alongside the stupid silly sense of humor, these guys have skills, wicked flows, hilarious / ridiculous / super smart lyrics, and they put together some killer jams, the hype is sorta too bad, cuz inevitably hipsters worldwide will decide these guys suck, now that they're getting some mainstream popularity, which is a shame, but what can you do, that seems to be the way (talking to you witch house). But fuck it. Check out "Michael Jackson" and see if you can resist, a wicked skittery beat, and a killer Bollywood loop, some amazing lines, including the goofy line delivered so dramatically: "I'm fucking great at raaaaaaapping!!!" (That's rapping, not raping, btw, don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.) Or "Rainbow In The Dark", with another irresistible loop, and more ridiculous, and ridiculously good lines, including references to Jeff Mangum, Kool G Rap, Donkey Kong, Schlomo, Pocky candies, and more whatthefuckness. Falling somewhere between Antipop Consortium and Odd Future, smart and surreal, this shit rules, popular or not. Check it out. Haters be damned.
MPEG Stream: "Michael Jackson"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow In The Dark"
MPEG Stream: "Relax"

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL A Mark A Mission A Brand A Scar (Vagrant) cd 16.98
This probably doesn't need an introduction, as Dashboard Confessional's songwriter Christopher Carraba has graced the cover of Spin and about a million other magazines as well as lurking around MTV. Yup, he's marketing himself as the safe, sensitive, pretty boy of punk, balancing the tough-as-fuck image complete with his full-arm tattoo sleeves with his Hallmark puppy-dog eyes and his acousticky emo heartbreak. "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar" is the grandest statement to date for Carraba's outfit, which honestly isn't saying all that much, considering that his previous outfits were more potential than actual substance. That said, Carraba is going for the same type of theatrical crescendos, dynamic riffs, and pregnant pauses that really made Sunny Day Real Estate such an archetype of emo. Given that Vagrant has joined forces with TVT to promote this album, you won't need us to tell you any more about this record; an army of unpaid interns will be doing it for us.
MPEG Stream: "Hands Down"
MPEG Stream: "Bend and Not Break"

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL Dusk And Summer (Vagrant) cd 14.98
Take a fountain of emo pop hooks, some big crunchy guitars and Dashboard Confessional's cute sensitive frontman Christopher Carrabba with vocals that still drip with just outta puberty angst... what do you get? Dusk And Summer, this season's scientifically formulated movie soundtrack and radio ready teen dream aka album number four for these anthemic modern emo rockers from Florida.
MPEG Stream: "Reason To Believe"
MPEG Stream: "Slow Decay"

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL So Impossible ep (Vagrant Records) cd ep 10.98
Still no one from the Vagrant roster of artists has come even remotely close to the emo-power pop majesty of the Get Up Kids or their oddball side project Reggie And The Full Effect. With Dan Hoerner, formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, Dashboard Confessional has the pedigree to be as good as any of the great emo groups, but haven't quite gotten there yet. On the "So Impossible" EP, Dashboard Confessional turns singer-songwriter with 4 tracks of acoustic guitar-led songs full of harmonies that have been strained to the brink of tears, similar to the better work from later period Rainer Maria. If any of their future records can really rock-out with songs like these, they could give the Get Up Kids or Rival Schools a run for the money...
RealAudio clip: "Hands Down"

DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL The Places You Have Come To Fear The Worst (Vagrant) cd 14.98
This is about the most emo record I've ever heard. Imagine a mostly acoustic Get Up Kids with high keening sad boy vocals, and massive minor chord swells of teenage heartbreak and dateless / post-break up saturday night loneliness lyrics. I wish I had this record when I was in my high school break-up mix tape making prime. But as it is, I'm 31, not broken up, and this record still manages to push those 'Say Anything' buttons that we all seem to still have.
RealAudio clip: "The Brilliant Dance"
RealAudio clip: "Screaming Infidelities"

DAT POLITICS Are Oui Phony (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
In case the album's title and cover art didn't clue you in already, the music sure will... Dat Politics aren't one to take themselves seriously. Man, it's almost admirable that these folks can let out a peep from under the weight of all that irony! Lots of crudely executed indie electronic dorkery with silly, snotty vocals yelped over top -- fits like a glove on the Tigerbeat6 label. Are Oui Phony alternately makes you wanna try to dance and makes you wanna smash your stereo. We dub thee 'brat-tronica'!
MPEG Stream: "Sad Snowman"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Connection"

DAT POLITICS Go Pets Go (Chicks On Speed) cd 15.98

DAT POLITICS Go Pets Go (Chicks On Speed) lp 16.98

DAT POLITICS Plugs Plus (Chicks On Speed) cd 16.98
Formed in the discreet industrial town of Lille, France, DAT Politics -- a former side project of Sub Rosa post rock outfit Tone Rec -- has evolved into a full-time labor of love. For four years, the trio (formerly a quartet) have been transforming horrendously irritating shards of noise into irresistibly catchy tunes. While there have been many wonderous moments of gleeful pop on past efforts, there were also many extended moments of dissonant fury. "Plugs Plus", their fourth lp and first for the Berlin-based Chicks On Speed label, retains more groove and melodic punch for a more cohesive 'pop' record. DAT Politics gets some support (and name checks) from some of their famous friends, though they certainly are crafty and amazing on their own. Aside from the supportive talents of Schlammpeitziger, Aelters and Felix Kubin, Blectum From Blechdom co-star on three tracks (all of which have something to do with food, strangely enough...), and the disc closes with the ridiculous "Pass Our Class", with help from Kid 606, Lesser and Matmos.
RealAudio clip: BLECTUM FROM BLECHDOM "Pie "
RealAudio clip: FELIX KUBIN "Tout Bleu"
RealAudio clip: "Morgens, Mittags"
RealAudio clip: "Nitpickers"

DAT POLITICS Sous Hit (Digital Narcis) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another fine disk of shrill and annoying 8-bit, high pitched noise-fuckery from Dat Politics. Not quite as "melodic" as some of their other releases, methinks. Those AQ customers who choose to come in near to closing time to shop have the greatest likelihood of hearing this disk in the store, as it may soon become our new "Hello, Aquarius is now closed" cd.

DAT POLITICS Tracto Flirt (Tigerbeat6) cd 10.98
This is the second reissue of Dat Politics' "Tracto Flirt," originally reissued through A-Muzik. The side project of Tone Rec specializes in excessive high-end squealiness, digitally distorted Nintendo crackle, post new-wave electronica (a la Cheap Records) and Mouse on Mars abstract techno wackiness.

DAT POLITICS Villager (A-Musik) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Released on A-Musik, known mostly for releasing whimsically abstract electronica (I seem to think there's a Mouse On Mars connection to the label), Dat Politics' "Villager" album is a fanciful exploration of rather clever timestretched melodic bits thrown in the blender of electron bending and digital glitchery. Dat Politics is also the all-laptop alter-ego of Sub Rosa post-rock/electronic band Tone Rec.

DATACH'I Mmale And Ffemale (Planet Mu) cd 15.98

DATACH'I This Is My EP (Caipirinha) 12" 5.98
Vinyl only ep teaser to Datach'i's upcoming full-length of tweaky electronica. And now the magic words: features remixes by Mogwai and Kid 606! oh, and by Bogdan Raczynski too.

DATACH'I We Are Way Swell Thank You (Caipirinha Music) cd 14.98
Following the Mogwai/Kid606/other fella remix ep released recently, here's the new full-length from this edgy electronica New Yorker.

DATE COURSE PENTAGON ROYAL GARDEN Report From Iron Mountain (P-Vine) cd 32.00
This is the debut recording from a new eleven piece fusion outfit featuring Otomo Yoshihide on guitar (yep, he's better known for his turntable artistry, but he's been doing guitar improv for a long time too). Basically, Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden (what a name!) is the brainchild of Naruyoshi Kikuchi (whose dexterous saxophone work can be heard in Otomo Yoshihide's New Jazz Quintet), who fronts this group on guitar and electronics. Joining the lineup are New Jazz Quintet members Kenta Tsugami and Yasuhiro Yoshigaki and many other luminaries from the Japanese improv underground. They play a weird, roiling electronic-jazz-fusion with samples, synths, and funky grooves. At its best, DCPRG is kinda like early '70s electric Miles with a Boredoms twist. But then there's some super-cheesy sounding stuff on here, the kinda sax blowing that gives the words "jazz" and "fusion" a bad name. So you might have to hit the fast-forward button once in a while. Despite that reservation, this is actually worth the $32 import price just for the twelve minutes of their delirious, almost unrecognizable, wildly psychedelic and funky instrumental cover of "Hey Joe"!! Then again, the kitschy pastiche called "Mirror Ball" that follows it, however, may tip your purchasing decision in the other direction. It sounds like some song we can't pin down, but whatever it is, it would be at home on an episode of "The Love Boat". It's hard to tell, is this really what underground Japanese avant-garde jazz is supposed to sound like, or is Date Course Pentagon Royal Garden meant to be an ironic pisstake on '70s lounge-jazz cheese? We're confused, and amused.
RealAudio clip: "Play Mate At Hanoi"
RealAudio clip: "Hey Joe"

DATE PALMS Honey Devash (Mexican Summer) lp 21.00
The Date Palms debut lp on Root Strata, Of Psalms (now sadly out of print) was one of our standout favorite records from last year. A blissful combo of Eastern drone classicism and hypnotic psych fluidity. Now the core Oakland-based duo of Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons follow their debut up with this stunning, no doubt limited, vinyl-only release on Mexican Summer (which comes with a download card).
Composed of two side-loooooong tracks, the structure of Honey Devash is set up in the form of two ragas as their basic foundation but open wide enough to allow a number of key compositional elements to play through. The title track is the morning raga stirring softly at first with slowly energizing phase shifts and bowed violin drones setting up the mood before the heavy bass riff bursts forth into a forward moving momentum aided by percussive elements and all sorts of sonic layering: oscillating bloops, arc-ing violin loops and modal electric piano phrases. Slowly-burning upward toward a white hot light, the gorgeously smoldering momentum breaks off into a purifying hypnotic cosmic bliss punctuated by spacy violin figures before a long slow fade.
The second side track, "Honey Dune" is the evening raga and it cools down with a wide drifting expansiveness lke the end of a long desert heat just before twilight. The mood is less propulsive, more contemplative but beautifully rich with added instrumentation of bass clarinet, tampura and cascading piano motifs. Melodically pretty and explorative, the track gives ample room for each instrument to stretch out and play yet remain tethered to a unifying whole by the grounation vibes of Trevor Montgomery's basslines.
Like some heady hybrid of spiritual Eastern jazz and rockish psych extrapolation, fans of Bruce Palmer, Dadawah, L. Shankar, Brightblack Morning Light, and Spacemen 3 should definitely scoop this up.
This is the perfect soundtrack for hot desert nights, staring at the stars. Sooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DATE PALMS Of Psalms (Root Strata) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Date Palms is the new project of heavy electronic / cassette tape manipulator Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons (Myrmyr, Darwinsbitch) and is a strange, yet fantastic fusing of Eastern style raga drones, and hypnotic Spacemen 3 style bass buzz, which seems like a weird combo, but it definitely works, situating the Oakland duo right between those two not so disparate (as you might think) sounds, the music almost like some sort of slowcore spacerock dronedrift, writ abstract and minimal and Eastern, if that makes any sense. Sure it's on Root Strata, and both Date Palms are individually involved in the avant garde, but this could have easily come out on Kranky, or some other similarly outrock label, and these two could totally tour with a band like Low, or Stars Of The Lid, their slow smoldering drift a perfect fit, but the exotic array of Eastern instruments, and the duo's deft arrangements, and meticulous crafting of this hushed meditative minimal dronemusic, most definitely positions this just as easily outside the realm of 'rock music', and firmly in the world of the 'experimental'.
The opener is a perfect example, beginning with layered drones, the sound is immediately recognizable as some sort of Eastern raga, but the minute the bass comes in, the sound is transformed, and we can't help but hear Spacemen 3, at their most blissed out, and heck, they did make a record called An Evening Of Contemporary Sitar Music after all, which if we're not mistaken contained no sitar at all, the point is, Date Palms are channeling the same sort of druggy psychedelic minimalism, but adding that distinctly Eastern element, this opening track sounds like a way slowed down Moon Duo, with the keyboard swapped for some mysterious Indian instrument, and the guitar swapped for a bass, the groove is glacial, and is the perfect anchor for the more abstract buzz and drift. The bass does dissipate briefly, and at that point it sounds like Indian classical music, but then when the bass comes back in, along with some gorgeous melodic guitar counterpoint, the sound is brought right back to something more Western. The push and pull is dizzying, but subtly so, a fantastic hybrid, that works perfectly, combining to musics that both traffic in repetition and drone, the resulting hybrid is absolutely mesmerizing, the sort of rare sound that would appeal to the space rock bliss out crowd as much as the abstract minimal dronemusic crowd.
The rest of the record follows suit, the warm liquid basslines introducing a looped style mesmer, while all around, the duo introduce various bits of percussion, tinkling chimes, processed tape loops, sympathetic overtones and harmonics, on at least one track, the sound grows particularly fierce, the drone and drift wrapped in a squall of tangled psychedelic guitar, but that leads directly into the most blissed out of the bunch, the nearly 14 minute centerpiece, a smoldering drift where the bass part is so slow it almost sinks right into the background buzz like another layer, this time the processed guitar shimmer definitely evokes Sound Of Confusion era Spacemen 3, a gorgeous blurred dronescape that is utterly hypnotic, and 14 minutes is not even nearly long enough. The record closes though with what to us is the strangest of the bunch, definitely the most traditionally melodic, with a proper 'riff', the bass pronounced and fuzzy, and the melody played on an organ, the vibe almost classic rock, weirdly enough, but again, slowed waaaaaaay down and stretched waaaaaaay out, resulting in another gloriously abstract bit of raga drone slowcore drift.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Psalm 7"
MPEG Stream: "Psalm 3 Intro"
MPEG Stream: "Psalm 5"

DATURA Visions For The Celestial (Astral Projection) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Some druggy downer stoner rock from the man behind space rock outfit Lamp Of The Universe, only a few in stock...
We're huge fans of NZ guitarist Craig Williamson and his space raga rock outfit Lamp Of The Universe, whose sound is actually light on the rock, and heavy on the space and the raga, with buzzing sitars, and loping krautrock grooves, blissed out ambience and wispy clouds of spaced out FX. But way back in 1999, before the birth of LOTU, Williamson was doing time in a little band called Datura, who shared some sonic sensibilities with his later outfit, spacey, groovy, buzzy, but Datura rocked, we mean ROCKED, some serious stoner rockÊHawkwind / Monster Magnet worship for sure. BigÊol' wah wah guitar riffs, pounding drums, downtuned fuzz guitars, BIG BIG amps unleashing thick walls of sun baked drug drenched sound. The kind of sound we could gladly listen to forever. But...
...It's the vocals that will make it or break it for you. Super throaty rock croon, very reminiscent of Kyuss, some folks here thought it sounded a little too bar rock, or like the one rock guy on every season of American Idol, channelling some Eddie Vedder with that "yyyyuuuuuaaaayy" sort of classic rock yowl. But if you were into Kyuss, or any of the first wave of stoner rock bands (Beaver, Dozer, tons of other Man's Ruin bands) or any bands on the Small Stone label, this will definitely push those space rock, desert rock, stoner rock, slow groove, blown out guitar, beer and pot laced laid back groove buttons for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Magnetise"
MPEG Stream: "Sunshine In Purple"

DATURAH Reverie (Graveface) cd 13.98
Germany's Daturah return with a second album of magnificently, majestically moody post-rock. As before, it's mostly instrumental, with just some spoken voice samples (Godspeed style) buried in the mix, occasionally punctuating the sweep of Daturah's spacey songs. Mostly it's repetitiously reminiscent of Mogwai and Isis and Sigur Ros and Pelican and the like, with five long songs (nine and a half to thirteen plus minutes) going on and on, all very sad and pretty. The guitars swell and chime, drums metronomically keeping time, and as we mentioned time does pass, during which Daturah's quiet parts yearn always for the crush to come, when they heavy it up - sometimes almost achieving a black metal buzz (burz?), or hint of one, that could make you think you were listening to part of a recent Katatonia album for a moment or two. Atmospheric and/or heavy, and always melodically, melancholically tremulous, Daturah slowly dive in and out of the loud-soft dynamics thing with grace and gravitas, if not utter originality. Nice, though.
MPEG Stream: "Ghost Track"
MPEG Stream: "Deep B Flat"

DATURAH s/t (Graveface) cd 9.98
Oooh. Nice one here for fans of Mogwai and Mono and the like... Germany's Daturah are quite adept at that style of dynamic soft-loud mesmerization, being both gently melodic and heavy too. It's easy to lose oneself in this lulling but loud set of really pretty post-rock.
Daturah bring the depresso-drone hammer of melancholy down with some force on these three stretched-out, mostly-instrumental epics. Some half-buried voices are to be heard, tranmissions lost in shortwave ether, drifting in the mix, a la Godspeed or Nadja. But the focus is on the magnificent oceanic swells of guitar. On "Warmachines" they really manage to rock out, whereas other parts of this are suffused with light, lightness.
If you like Mogwai, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Pelican, Growing, Cult Of Luna, Isis, etc., this is 45 minutes of music you'll also like, we're pretty sure!
MPEG Stream: "Warmachines"
MPEG Stream: "Shoal"

DATURAH s/t (Graveface) cd 9.98
Oooh. Nice one here for fans of Mogwai and Mono and the like... Germany's Daturah are quite adept at that style of dynamic soft-loud mesmerization, being both gently melodic and heavy too. It's easy to lose oneself in this lulling but loud set of really pretty post-rock.
Daturah bring the depresso-drone hammer of melancholy down with some force on these three stretched-out, mostly-instrumental epics. Some half-buried voices are to be heard, tranmissions lost in shortwave ether, drifting in the mix, a la Godspeed or Nadja. But the focus is on the magnificent oceanic swells of guitar. On "Warmachines" they really manage to rock out, whereas other parts of this are suffused with light, lightness.
If you like Mogwai, Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Pelican, Growing, Cult Of Luna, Isis, etc., this is 45 minutes of music you'll also like, we're pretty sure!
MPEG Stream: "Warmachines"
MPEG Stream: "Shoal"

DAUBY, YANNICK Alisen (Cloud Of Static) cd ep 13.98

DAUBY, YANNICK Overflows (Sonoris) cd 13.98
A French born composer now living in Taiwan, Yannick Dauby comes from the same school of concrete-centric field-recording as Eric LaCasa, Tarab, Jean-Francois Laporte, and to a lesser extent Francisco Lopez. As such, Dauby pulls his compositions together from a near constant investigation of the environment, with the chorales of frogs and cicadas situated next to the thrum and hiss of heavy industry. Where LaCasa in particular is interested in matching particular textures and frequencies into sympathetic collages of intertwined sounds from any number of sources, Dauby has more of an interest in emphasizing a divergence in his sounds, juxtaposing comparatively dissonant field recordings to force them into a dialogue. So you'll find rasping blurts of locusts buzzing above a constant hum of some unnamed high-speed electrical dynamo, which gradually fades against a backdrop of metallic clinking, that almost sounds like the ambience of an ancient blacksmithery, becoming a smart counterpoint between two forms of human innovation. Dauby's composition is one of slow evolution with his numerous passages of water (thunderstorms, streams, subterranean dripping), the din of distant traffic, various bird utterances, windstorms, and clattering squeaks and whirls from industry effortlessly moving in and out of each other. All of these field recordings originate from France and Taiwan, although Dauby is very cautious not to make either locale too obvious, even when the chatter of children intermixes with that of incessant insect noise. It makes for a great, psychogeographical listen!
MPEG Stream: "Overflows Extract 1"
MPEG Stream: "Overflows Extract 2"
MPEG Stream: "Overflows Extract 3"

DAUERFISCH Crime Of The Century (Bungalow) cd 15.98
The ultimate in suave chic pop. Positively groovy. Ideal music for the Euro-fashion show runways including the catfights backstage. One part Heaven 17. Remember "Let Me Go"? Well, check out the track entitled "So Gut". One part Charles Wilp. One part Human League. One part Pizzicato 5 (see "Whole Lotta Weasel"). One part dorky weirdness. Well shaken, and topped with an avalanche of cocktail fruit, olives and canapes. So very very fun.