COUCH Profane (Matador / Kollaps) cd 14.98
These German post-rockers continue on in the light, jazzy, prog-ish pop vein that they embarked on in their previous endeavour 'Fantasy', but it's perhaps even more bright and pretty than that. Yes, it appears they've definitely left the advanced math books behind. Lovely and chiming like a super-deluxe music box, but with a steady, anchoring rhythm section so it won't float away.

COUSIN SILAS Necropolis Line (Earthrid) cd-r 11.98
It's been almost 3 years since we last heard from Cousin Silas and back then he was slouching around dark electronic graveyards and dodgy ambient parts of town with the rest of the Fflint Records stable. For this most recent release, Silas may have relocated to Earthrid records, another upstart electronic cd-r label, but his Fflinty roots still show, and that Silas sound we love so much is still in full effect. That sound is a delicate shimmer, a blissed out ambience, chillout music for folks who hate chillout music. A warm, languid and luxurious pop ambience, like a Boards Of Canada record stripped of any trace of rhythm, all the beats removed leaving just a soft billowy cloud of sound. Thick washes of slow shifting swirl, beneath all sorts of subtle swoonsome melodies float and hover, spin and shift, like watching oil and water mix, dreamy and drone-y and rife with all manner of muted color. When rhythms do surface, they are mumbled and subtle, more like a soft pulse or a minimal murky throb. But always way down in the mix, beneath an expansive sparkling and twinkling ocean of sound. The record's title Necropolis Line sounds ominous, and the skull locomotive and train wreck imagery on the cd seem to reinforce that vibe, however, this disc really isn't as dark or dreary or ominous or evil as you might expect, instead it's way at the other end of the spectrum, slightly out of focus, fuzzy and rich with subtle melody, sun dappled, lazy and hazy and oh so dreamlike. In the past we've described Cousin Silas as Boards Of Canada or The Orb for the underground set. But this new record is so soft and shimmery and accessible, it might be more accurate to classify this as Fflint for the mainstream set. Either way, one of the dreamiest slabs of latenight / early morning ambience we've heard in ages. So lovely!
MPEG Stream: "Black Wurm"
MPEG Stream: "Entropy"
MPEG Stream: "Cluster 784"

CRACK WE ARE ROCK Live In Africa (Kimosciotic) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SF's Crack:WAR strike back with two new tracks of electro street hustle with slovenly vocalisations. No, they didn't tour Africa, but their fans sure act like animals at their live shows. Wild.

CRACK WE ARE ROCK Silent Fantasy (Kimosciotic) lp 13.98
Now on vinyl! Remixed and remastered!
Here's what we said about the cd version:
"Silent Fantasy" is the dementedly catchy full length debut from SF's Crack:WAR. Like the baddest girls in the schoolyard, frontwomen Le Kim & L'Erin accost listeners with spoken-sung lyrics that often go off the rails from sassy into the realm of the surreal and sordidly bizarre. Meanwhile, King Riff and Obscuratron put together distorted disco deconstructions that the right combination of substances would probably render wildly danceable. The sounds may not be too vastly removed from the legions of electro clones, but those looking for a soundtrack to lolling about trendy clubs and shopping for designer handbags will definitely be disappointed. This is San Francisco, not New York, and noise reigns supreme. You want cutting edge fashion? Crack:WAR give you over the top renditions of clowns, sailors, and bloody, masked anti-heroes. You asked for benignly "shocking," "sexy" lyrics and dirty-girl posing? Crack:WAR will give you illicit sex in caves with mutilated body parts, but you're gonna have to pay. Unlikely to be a hit at electro clubs in Williamsburg, and I mean that in purely complimentary terms.

CRACK WE ARE ROCK / WOLF EYES My Dad's Boyfriend / Day of Hell (Fcute) 12" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Electronic art-noise soundclash representing SF and Ann Arbor. San Francisco's Crack:WAR, fresh off their tour of Japan, pump out three dark electro tracks -- Liquid Sky meets Throbbing Gristle. Ann Arbor rock deconstrucivists Wolf Eyes churn out a sidelong piece, pummeling like their previous full length effort "Dread". Limited press with generic found 12" sleeves.

CRACK, CARL (Digital Hardcore) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited edition in one of DHR's generic slimline cases. A full length that's real pretty and not nearly as violent as other DHR records. At one point during the record we're sure he is messing with Two Lone Swordsmen...

CRACK, CARL (Digital Hardcore) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited edition in one of DHR's generic slimline cases. A full length that's real pretty and not nearly as violent as other DHR records. At one point during the record we're sure he is messing with Two Lone Swordsmen...

CRACK: WE ARE ROCK Cosmic Mind Flight (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
On album #2, Crack W.A.R. have tempered their bad girl electro-sass wild side in favor of a more brooding, dankly industrial sound. Still very energetic tempo-wise, but somewhat less in-your-face in the vocal department. The haphazard cut'n'paste fashion of their Silent Fantasy album and rambunctious live shows were what stirred a fun, messy, funky ruckus in the local hipster scene last year. On Cosmic Mind Flight, they seem to have opted for less noise and spectacle and shifted their priorities to honing their songs and sound. As a result, it does sound 'better' but you might find it a bit lacking in the C:W.A.R. bizarro personality that drenched their debut.
MPEG Stream: "Wedlock"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Devil"

CRACK:WE ARE ROCK Silent Fantasy (Tigerbeat6) cd 10.98
"Silent Fantasy" is the dementedly catchy full length debut from Crack:WAR. Like the baddest girls in the schoolyard, frontwomen Le Kim & L'Erin accost listeners with spoken-sung lyrics that often go off the rails from sassy into the realm of the surreal and sordidly bizarre. Meanwhile, King Riff and Obscuratron put together distorted disco deconstructions that the right combination of substances would probably render wildly danceable. The sounds may not be too vastly removed from the legions of electro clones, but those looking for a soundtrack to lolling about trendy clubs and shopping for designer handbags will definitely be disappointed. This is San Francisco, not New York, and noise reigns supreme. You want cutting edge fashion? Crack:WAR give you over the top renditions of clowns, sailors, and bloody, masked anti-heroes. You asked for benignly "shocking," "sexy" lyrics and dirty-girl posing? Crack:WAR will give you illicit sex in caves with mutilated body parts, but you're gonna have to pay. Unlikely to be a hit at electro clubs in Williamsburg, and I mean that in purely complimentary terms. Added bonus: seizure-inducing live videos to play on your computer!
RealAudio clip: "Animal Trap"
RealAudio clip: "Hooker Leg"

CRANK Heftibag (Mille Plateaux) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second Mille Plateaux release by this glitchy electronica artiste, who also recorded the excellent "Approximate Love Boat" disc under the name Lo Res. Includes a remix by Meme recording artist Henrik Johannson.

CRANK Wanton Phenomena (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Very good, very odd debut on the revered Mille Plateaux label from a So Cal electronica dadaist who has previously recorded for Phthalo and Metroplex. Warped 4/4 techno with wild swells of dark and spastic drum programming...

CRISTAL Re-Ups (Flingco Sound System) lp 23.00
Not sure about you, but Cristal for us conjures up images of MTV Cribs and Jay-Z and 50 Cent partying at some exclusive club, or hot babes in bikinis sipping drinks on a yacht moored right off Miami Beach, but most definitely evoke the dark blackened sonic abyss that is this, the first release from the oddly monickered Cristal, a trio that just so happens to feature one member of long time aQ faves Labradford.
And Labradford is a good jumping off point for Cristal, there's a definitely sonic connection, but where Labradford built on the most minimal of sounds, this trio seems to break the sound down into the smallest possible parts, creating, hyper detailed microscopic droneworlds that virtually REQUIRE headphones.
Lots of blurbs have referenced SUNNO))) but the sound of Cristal is less about power and force, more about texture and timbre, whereas SUNNO))) explode outward, Cristal collapse inward, like that ride at Disneyland, where you travel into the microscope. This is minimal microscopic, but incredibly rich and detailed sound.
Ultra deep ambience, a sound both subterranean and subaquatic, metallic shimmering high end washes over everything like some sort of alien sheen, fields of glistening cricket like chitter adds texture to otherwise slow shifting smooth expanses of warm soft swirl, dreamy and ethereal, fields of high tones surface here and there like a symphony of gently rubbed wine glasses, the only real jarring moment is at the beginning of side 2, the opening track an ear splitting burst of super hot white noise hiss, almost Merzbowian in its intensity, all chaotic and crumbling and buzzy, but the disc quickly returns to it's more tranquil drift for the remainder of side 2, a wash of low end whispers, of textured blurred melodies, sounding quite a bit like some Ligeti choral piece sloooooowed way down. Really quite lovely. Just be prepared for that brief blast, otherwise, a gorgeously deep dark minimal dronescape that will for sure hit the spot for the slow and low obsessed.
LIMITED ONE TIME PRESSING OF 500 COPIES. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Housed in a super swank gatefold sleeve, printed black on black!

CRISTINA Doll In The Box (Ze Records) cd 16.98
Yup, things tend to come around full circle, don't they? Cristina and her then husband Michael Zilka conspired to cash in on the whole disco craze of the late '70s but with a biting sense of sarcasm and a smarty-pants arrogance. With Zilka founding the now legendary Ze Records and Cristina releasing the 'artfully dumb' single "Disco Clone" in 1978, the two certainly started out on the right foot. Jump forward some twenty-five years later with a post-punk / avant-disco revival exploding thanks to the likes of the LCD Soundsystem, the Rapture, and the rest of the DFA line-up, and Cristina and her now ex-husband Michael Zilka have conspired to cash in once again with the reissue of her first two albums. Doll In The Box was originally an eponymous LP on Ze, released back in 1980 and was produced by August Darnell (better known as the ringleader of Kid Creole and the Coconuts). Perhaps we're too familiar with the more-clever-than-thou sensibility of LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge" that ripples throughout the entire post-disco retread, but Cristina's Doll In The Box sounds like a pretty straight forward disco album. Mind you, it's a mighty fine disco album with the rhythmic mono-pulse augmented by minimalist barrio swings, goof-ball covers (e.g. "Drive My Car" by The Beatles with Cristina affecting the air-headed breathiness of Marilyn Monroe), and lots of big, brash, baroque string section frilliness.
MPEG Stream: "Blame It On Disco"
MPEG Stream: "Disco Clone"

CROOKED The Original Score (WordSound) cd 14.98
Recently profiled in The Wire, Skiz "Spectre" Fernando and his WordSound label have released quite a few "illbient" hip hop records that we've been into here at Aquarius. This compilation highlights several of our faves from the WordSound crew: Scotty Hard, Spectre, Prince Charming, and of course rapper Sensational, among others. It's the soundtrack to Skiz's low-budget, 'student' WordSound film Crooked, which was previously available as a double with the DVD of said film. This is the better deal though, as it's 4 bucks cheaper AND you won't end up watching the decidedly tedious movie. Great soundtrack, though. This version, by the way, has 2 extra tracks but is also about eight minutes shorter, for some reason...OH WAIT, I figured it out: this disc is ENTIRELY DIFFERENT! So, forget what we said about this being a better deal, it's in fact a different deal. That was the "soundtrack", this is the "original score". Hmm. It seems that these are the tracks that were made expressly for the film, but weren't included on the soundtrack cd that came with the dvd. Unlike that disc, there's no previously available stuff on here (which was the case with several of the Sensational cuts on that one). So you gotta get both, WordSound hedz. This one's all about incidental mostly instrumental music from a dark, dubby, hiphop perspective, which is what a lot of WordSound stuff sounds like, even when it's not meant for an actual film. Artists, aside from the above mentioned, included Mentol Nomad, the dreaded Bill Laswell, Mr. Dead, and live drum n' bassers UV Ray.
RealAudio clip: SENSATIONAL "How 'Bout Some Credit"
RealAudio clip: SPECTRE "Father & Son"
RealAudio clip: MR. DEAD "Third Degree Burn"

CRUNCH 1 (Musik Aus Strom) cd 15.98
The story behind Crunch is an interesting one, indeed: Michael Fakesch (the member of Funkstorung who runs the Intelligent Dance Music boutique label Music Aus Strom) claims that he has no information about the identity or origin of Crunch. He received a DAT demo tape in the mail, and with it, only a cryptic e-mail address. No name. No postal address, although the package was mailed from from London. Solely based upon the merits of that demo, Fakesch blindly offered to release Crunch's first album. If you are to believe Fakesch's story, Crunch has maintained perfect anonymity -- and thus perfectly encapsulated the euphemism / insult "faceless techno bollocks!" Fakesch -- in both his solo outings and with Funkstorung -- has always walked the razor-thin success / failure line through the melodic arenas of IDM, a genre which holds the work of Autechre in such high esteem as to often haplessly delve into mere mimicry. Thus for Fakesch to fall for something as hard as he did for Crunch's demo, you gotta believe the Autechre influence there is really really strong! And it's true. (Who knows, maybe Crunch IS Autechre!) Crunch tends to sound most like the earliest Autechre releases (especially Amber), where sweeping synth motifs intertwine to form complex if sad melodic passages, which are more of a presence than the rhythmic complexities which tend to dominate later Autechre albums. If you're new to the IDM genre, pick up an Autechre album to start... but for confirmed Autechre/IDM fans, this is certainly one to get!!

CRUNCH 1 (Musik Aus Strom) 2lp 15.98
The story behind Crunch is an interesting one, indeed: Michael Fakesch (the member of Funkstorung who runs the Intelligent Dance Music boutique label Music Aus Strom) claims that he has no information about the identity or origin of Crunch. He received a DAT demo tape in the mail, and with it, only a cryptic e-mail address. No name. No postal address, although the package was mailed from from London. Solely based upon the merits of that demo, Fakesch blindly offered to release Crunch's first album. If you are to believe Fakesch's story, Crunch has maintained perfect anonymity -- and thus perfectly encapsulated the euphemism / insult "faceless techno bollocks!" Fakesch -- in both his solo outings and with Funkstorung -- has always walked the razor-thin success / failure line through the melodic arenas of IDM, a genre which holds the work of Autechre in such high esteem as to often haplessly delve into mere mimicry. Don't get me wrong, a lot of those recordings are amazingly close replications of Autechre, mimicking not only their general style but also the quirks that differentiate each album. Thus for Fakesch to fall for something as hard as he did for Crunch's demo, you gotta believe the Autechre influence there is really really strong! And it's true. (Who knows, maybe Crunch IS Autechre!) Crunch tends to sound most like the earliest Autechre releases (especially Amber), where sweeping synth motifs intertwine to form complex if sad melodic passages, which are more of a presence than the rhythmic complexities which tend to dominate later Autechre albums. If you're new to the IDM genre, pick up an Autechre album to start... but for confirmed Autechre/IDM fans, this is certainly one to get!!

CRUNCH Crunch 2 (Colony) cd 16.98
Here's the second album from the London IDM / electronica duo Crunch, who had previously sent Michael Fakesch of Funkstorung an anonymous demo, which struck him so much that he released it despite Fakesch's claim that Crunch refused to communicate beyond that aforementioned demo. One can imagine that the radio silence treatment has ended for Crunch, as they've hired several like-minded IDM beatbreakers to remix their work (Funkstorung, Lusine ICL, Skoptic, and Bit_Meddler). As before, Crunch patterns themself after the 'classic' Autechre sound of "Chiastic Slide" and "LP5," where repetitions of minor-key, reverb soaked melodies (which could just be looped samples from snippets of a randomly generated slew of tones) intertwine with sputtering breakbeats. As Autechre's last couple of releases ("Confield" and "Gantz Graf") have expressed a stronger desire for generative randomness and non-structural rhythms, Crunch makes for a fine substitute for those looking for that specific IDM template.
RealAudio clip: "Cassette"

CRUNCH / KIMA VIDEO PROJECT Bit Hop (Colony Productions) cd 9.98

CRYSTAL CASTLES s/t (Last Gang Records) cd 14.98
Man, we really, really love old school video games around here. The Tron and Rastan games in the store, the Arcade Ambience field recording series, Power Pill Fist, etc. It has to be part of what lured us into the world of Toronto's Crystal Castles and their 8-bit electro mayhem. We're so glad this finally came out, because half of these tracks have been on the internet for about two years and a legitimate release was looking sort of unlikely. But here it is! We digress, on with the review.
Okay, so the duo has been lumped in -- maybe mistakenly -- with the Klaxons, Justice, Digitalism, and the like, but we hear darker, more interesting minor key melodies that occasionally hint at things like The Knife and Junior Boys. In reality, they're not divorced from any of those bands, but there's something about them that gets us. No, not just the aural video game quality, but the undeniable urge to somehow say they're just a bit more punk. Fun. Playful. In fact, there's a handful of tracks on the record that aren't even mixed. And when we saw them play here a year or so ago, their singer Alice was telling us about how she had been kicked out of the previous night's venue for underage drinking.
It doesn't hurt their art-punk street cred that they're best buds with LA's own Health, who they did a split 7" with a year or so ago. When listening to Crystal Castles, there's the feeling that this duo would be just as happy blasting their sounds through a shitty stereo system at their friend's house party, but lucky for us everyone else seems to be feeling it too -- and now they can invite us along to the party.
MPEG Stream: "Untrust Us"
MPEG Stream: "Xxzxcuzx Me"

CRYSTAL CASTLES s/t (Lies / Last Gang) 2lp 14.98
NOW ON VINYL!
Man, we really, really love old school video games around here. The Tron and Rastan games in the store, the Arcade Ambience field recording series, Power Pill Fist, etc. It has to be part of what lured us into the world of Toronto's Crystal Castles and their 8-bit electro mayhem. We're so glad this finally came out, because half of these tracks have been on the internet for about two years and a legitimate release was looking sort of unlikely. But here it is! We digress, on with the review.
Okay, so the duo has been lumped in -- maybe mistakenly -- with the Klaxons, Justice, Digitalism, and the like, but we hear darker, more interesting minor key melodies that occasionally hint at things like The Knife and Junior Boys. In reality, they're not divorced from any of those bands, but there's something about them that gets us. No, not just the aural video game quality, but the undeniable urge to somehow say they're just a bit more punk. Fun. Playful. In fact, there's a handful of tracks on the record that aren't even mixed. And when we saw them play here a year or so ago, their singer Alice was telling us about how she had been kicked out of the previous night's venue for underage drinking.
It doesn't hurt their art-punk street cred that they're best buds with LA's own Health, who they did a split 7" with a year or so ago. When listening to Crystal Castles, there's the feeling that this duo would be just as happy blasting their sounds through a shitty stereo system at their friend's house party, but lucky for us everyone else seems to be feeling it too -- and now they can invite us along to the party.
MPEG Stream: "Untrust Us"
MPEG Stream: "Xxzxcuzx Me"

CUNNINGHAM, CHRIS Rubber Johnny (Warp) dvd 14.98
We already knew Chris Cunningham was scary. Or was at the very least capable of conjuring up some scary images. C'mon, had you EVER seen a video as absolutely frightening as Aphex Twin's "Come To Daddy"? We thought not. Well, it seems appropriate then that this new video finds Cunningham and Richard James together again, and rest assured that "Rubber Johhny" almost makes "Come To Daddy" seem like a Backstreet Boys video. This time instead of lots of demented children with James' face, James plays the deformed and wheelchair bound Rubber Johnny, who lurks in the darkness where he is kept alone and locked up, peeking from behind walls or hunched over in his wheelchair pushed into a dark corner. The whole thing is a rapid fire series of shots and quick cuts, shot entirely in night vision it seems like, and we only get brief glimpses of Johnny, but every one offers a little more and each glimpse is more horrifying than the last. Holy fuck! What is it with these guys? And how the hell do they do it? This is absolutely amazing. Someone has to get Cunningham to make a movie. We can hardly imagine how insane that would be. And also, if the "Rubber Johnny" video wasn't enough, the book it comes packaged in features image after image of some of the most disturbing and fucked up photoshop EVER. Lots of armpits and buttholes and foreheads and scrotums all chopped and seamlessly assembled into some of the freakiest sort-of-human- creatures you will ever see. Eeeuw.

CURD DUCA Elevator 2 (Mille Plateaux) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Subtitled quite aptly "Electro-Acoustic Mood Music", the sequel to Curd Duca's Elevator starts off with his odd ball electronica/psychedelia and veers off into digital explosions, non-metric pulses, and jazz cut ups... all executed with a casual precision that makes even the most experimental parts highly listenable. Fans of Stock Hausen & Walkman should take note!

CURD DUCA Elevator 3 (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Digitalanalog mood music". Possibly the most accessible Mille Plateaux artist, the mysterious Curd Duca make quite short, pastoral pieces suffused with melodies and lightness, a little bit bossa nova, a little bit lounge, a little bit noisy weirdness. Always interesting. Recommended.

CURD DUCA Switched-on Wagner (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Minimalist mood music" based on the music of Wagner.

CURRENT VALUE Frequency Hunt (Position Chrome) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Similar to the apocalyptic drum and bass of labelmate Panacea (whom we love love love), but the horror show here is rather more clinical and restrained, though no less dark.

CURRENT VALUE In A Far Value (Position Chrome) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As a pure genre, drum & bass clearly reached its zenith a few years back and has tried to resurrect itself with all sorts of wacky 'nu-skools' like neuro-funk and speed garage... when drum & bass probably should be viewed as just another colour in the electronica palette. The Position Chrome stable artists of Panacea, Heinrich At Hart, and Current Value had originated their sound at the darkest end of the tech-step spectrum, but have been increasingly shedding the references of drum & bass, in favor of circular oscillations of dark beats and eerie atmospheres, while maintaining the clinical electro-shock metaphors of tech-step. Sounds like Skinny Puppy, doesn't it.

CURRENT VALUE Seeds of Mutation (Position Chrome) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ultra clinical, stripped down tech step. Hard and mean and scary and COLD. On Force Inc./Position chrome.

CURRENT VALUE Seeds of Mutation (Position Chrome) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ultra clinical, stripped down tech step. Hard and mean and scary and COLD. On Force Inc./Position chrome.

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN VAMPIRE (DHR) cd 19.98
A colossal team-up of Techno Animal (Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin) and Alec Empire generating brutalist breakbeats and devastating dub. Even better than you think it will be!!!

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN VAMPIRE (DHR) 2lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A colossal team-up of Techno Animal (Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin) and Alec Empire generating brutalist breakbeats and devastating dub. Even better than you think it will be!!!

CURSE OF THE GOLDEN VAMPIRE Mass Destruction (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Ipecac unleashes the latest chapter in the saga of the Curse Of The Golden Vampire -- otherwise known as Alec Empire and Techno Animal (Justin Broadrick and Kevin Martin). The last CotGV was a crushing super distorted dub/breakbeat/jungle free for all that we all pretty much dug. The new one is too, sort of. It's a much sloppier and noisier affair, which could be a good thing I suppose. But for me, it's lacking the huge beats that made the first one so appealing. Well, they're still there, but they're buried under so much nosie and skree and shkkkkgghhhhhhh that the whole thing sometimes veers closer to Japanoise territory than their DHR lineage would have you expecting. So, if you need a noise fix, and like your noise with some beats, this may be just what you need.
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Three"

CURSOR MINER Explosive Piece of Mind (Lo Recordings) cd 15.98
This album from Cursor Miner (aka Robert Tubb) is a darn sonic rollercoaster ride. A super fun and eclectic album, it starts out with an ominous 40 second digital roar, then proceeds into a Beck-ish slouchy, loping fashion which mutates into more stuttery electronics and bumpity-bump programmed beats like Hrvatski or Kid 606. All chopped up, chunky and playful with a definite pop heart, it blends together acoustic guitars, rubbery blumps and bleeps, samples and processed vocals. Cool.
RealAudio clip: "Never Been Seen"
RealAudio clip: "U Want To Want"
RealAudio clip: "Battery Powered Joy"

CUT CHEMIST The Audience's Listening (Warner) cd 14.98
The longtime dj collaborator and aQ fave turntable wizard Cut Chemist, who over the years has jammed with the likes of Jurassic 5, Ozomatli, DJ Shadow, Shortkut and Madlib, finally goes it alone... well, sorta. He's got a little help from his friends and the backing of a major label. Markedly absent is an abundance of wildly kinetic displays of scratchin' dexterity. With the exception of The Audience Is Listening's final track (and theme song!), his ol' over the top acrobatics on the decks have been tempered into the for the most part even-keeled energetically groovin' tracks. Its potential appeal is far broader. Although he is most renowned as a jaw-dropping turntablist, Cut Chemist has effectively done his part to further define the turntable as an everyday instrument rather than gimmick/trickster accessory -- muting its presence rather than trumpeting it. His beloved wit and playfulness are fortunately still fully intact in his samplin' selection as is evident in tracks such as "Spat". Other standouts surface midway through the proceedings, the sixth track "What's The Altitude" which features Hymnal (who along with Edan and Mr. Lif on "Storm" contributes the scant MC presence on the album -- both tracks shine a little bit extra) and the seventh "Metrorail Thru Space". A solid, skillfully composed and assembled solo debut.
MPEG Stream: "What's The Altitude"
MPEG Stream: "The Audience Is Listening Theme Song"

CUT OFF T.B. Retrology/Loving the Alien Part 3 (Position Chrome) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Panacea and Future Boi team-up to make more bad-ass distorted pummelling beats that stutter with violence.

CUTE THEORY Cute Theories (self-released) cd-r 11.98
This new SF group sure do indeed have their cute dial turned up to 'full', bringing together very childlike singsong female vocals, chiming musicbox and piano melodies, and an occasional indie boyish vocal too. That said, they don't completely induce sugar shock by tempering the tracks with some buzzing and hissing IDM interventions. It's a promising direction to take, although it can be somewhat jarring to the flow of the album at times -- as if they weren't quite sure where to go next or perhaps as if individual members wanted to try their hands at different things. It'll be interesting to see where they go from here... whether they'll further fuse the two distinct styles or focus more on one or the other or something altogether different. Anyways, it's a very homespun affair right down to the packaging: both the jewelcase and cd-r are handscreened with an image titled "Polar bunny in a snowstorm" (sorta reminiscent of Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch album illustration) and a sparkly sticker graces the traycard.
MPEG Stream: "Large Grain Container"
MPEG Stream: "Sprocket"

CYLOB Cut the Midrange, Drop The Bass (Rephlex) cd ep 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cylob's new three-track single has caused a bit of a stir here at AQ. Not 'cause of the title track, a catchy electronic pop-dance ditty a little safer than similar efforts from Aphex and Squarepusher ("My Red Hot Car" comes to mind, but this is less edgy, more "retro"). Not 'cause of track two, "With This Ring". No, it's the third track, an electronic adaption of the traditional British sea shanty "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor", that's causing the fuss. Most of us here at AQ can't stand it (anymore), but Allan helplessly likes it and Windy likes to play it because there's always the chance that it will cause Allan to involuntarily dance a little jig. And seeing Allan's butt shaking is a sight to behold, let me tell you. Silly stuff, sure to drive even all of us insane eventually. But for the moment it's an AQ (if not UK) dance smash, following in the tradition of another Rephlex-released and Cylob-produced track, The Jones Machine's "I'm The Disco Dancing" from a few years back.
RealAudio clip: "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor"

CYLOB Cut the Midrange, Drop The Bass (Rephlex) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cylob's new three-track single has caused a bit of a stir here at AQ. Not 'cause of the title track, a catchy electronic pop-dance ditty a little safer than similar efforts from Aphex and Squarepusher ("My Red Hot Car" comes to mind, but this is less edgy, more "retro"). Not 'cause of track two, "With This Ring". No, it's the third track, an electronic adaption of the traditional British sea shanty "What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor", that's causing the fuss. Most of us here at AQ can't stand it (anymore), but Allan helplessly likes it and Windy likes to play it because there's always the chance that it will cause Allan to involuntarily dance a little jig. And seeing Allan's butt shaking is a sight to behold, let me tell you. Silly stuff, sure to drive even all of us insane eventually. But for the moment it's an AQ (if not UK) dance smash, following in the tradition of another Rephlex-released and Cylob-produced track, The Jones Machine's "I'm The Disco Dancing" from a few years back.

CYLOB Living In The 1980's (Rephlex) cdep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Former Aphex Twin prodigy Cylob has taken an irony-laden approach to early '80s top-40 synth-pop with lots of vocoder vocals about sex and how cool it was to live in the '80s.

CYLOB Mood Bells (Rephlex) cd 17.98
So Cylob are kind of a gimmicky band. Once in a while they come up with a great electro pop gem, like the (admittedly love-it-or-hate-it) sea shanty on their Cut the Midrange ep we review also in this list. But now they've bestowed this silly, silly full length on us. Called Mood Bells, it is just that, the sounds of all sorts of bells, gongs, and various other resonating percussive instruments. Very simple and serene, with lots of time devoted to waiting for the bells to fade out and such, but not beautiful enough or melodic enough or (face it) good enough to warrant such stark simplicity -- and not only that but I'll bet these sounds were made by pushing the "bells" sample button on a Casio or something. Maybe that's too mean. But this isn't good enough to warrant wondering about it any longer. Check out Cylob's sea shanty instead!

CZUKAY, HOLGER, VS. DR. WALKER Clash (Tone Casulaties) 2cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can's Czukay teams up with Dr. Walker (of Air Liquide) for two discs of live-recorded (on tour in the USA and in Cologne) "techno" jamming. This is a little better than we thought it would be, but it's still pretty bad. Thick rhythmic throbbing, utilizing dictaphone, shortwave radio, samplers, and an 808.

D Untitles (Soul Static Sound) cd 14.98
Pleasant, soundscapey abstract electronica from Soul Static head honcho Darryl "D" Moore (who we admire for his collaboration with To Rococo Rot). Nice, but a bit short for a purported "full-length": 5 tracks, 20 minutes.

D Untitles (Soul Static Sound) lp 12.98
Pleasant, soundscapey abstract electronica from Soul Static head honcho Darryl "D" Moore (who we admire for his collaboration with To Rococo Rot). Nice, but a bit short for a purported "full-length": 5 tracks, 20 minutes.

D-84 Pirate Planets 3-16-99 (Phthalo) cd 13.98
PHTHALO 18. D84 is the work of local powerbook technician Blevin Blechtum (one half of Blechtum From Blechdom along with Kevin Blechdom... just to keep everything straight). For another non-CDr release from Phthalo (keep 'em comin' Dmitri!), D84 massproduces percolating electronic rhythmic inventions culled from lots of expressive sample manipulations. Layers of buzzing electrostatic droning flange nervously next to
references to the stochatic electronics of academic circles (after all both Blechtum & Blechdom did go to Mills). Fans of Matmos are requested.

DADDYLONGLEGS Horse (Palm Pictures / Pussyfoot) cd 16.98
This collaboration between Howie B and Naked Funk is surprisingly good, reminding us of Two Lone Swordsmen-style melodic expansive electronica.

DAEDELUS Denies The Day's Demise (Mush) cd 13.98
Daedelus has such great taste! From the cover art (a frame borrowed from Winsor McCay's classic Little Nemo In Slumberland comic strip) to the wide range of influences, you can these all shape his amazing and eclectic blend of uber smart and sharp post modern electronica/hip-hop. While some folks like Scott Herren (Prefuse 73, Savath & Savalas, etc) need many side projects to fit the needs of a particular sound & style they want to explore, Daedelus has mastered bringing it all together under one colorful umbrella. Brazilian mamba meets warped out glitches meets post rock momentum meets anything and everything. From start to finish this album has lifted us into the air and into a world where you keep moving and the colors keep changing and somehow it always makes perfect sense. This is for sure the most assured and coherent album in an already impressive back catalog. Daedelus has proven with this release that he is a creative musical mind fresh in his prime.
MPEG Stream: "Bahia"
MPEG Stream: "Light's Out"
MPEG Stream: "Never None The Wiser"

DAEDELUS Her's Is > [sic] (Phthalo) cd 12.98
L.A. native Alfred Weisberg-Roberts is Daedelus, and he apparently wasn't as sure about the success of this project as was Dimitri from the Phthalo label, who claims he had to pry this out of Weisberg-Roberts fingers in order to release it. "Her's Is> [sic]" is a dark electronic narrative riddled with strange answering machine recordings from a dosed-up raver girl who thinks she's a poet. Rapid rhythmic cuts and muddled electronic calliope melodies mutate into the harsh, almost industrial aesthetic of the early Rephlex catalogue. For an electronic record, this has the uncanny lo-fi feel, as if this album's originated on a 4-track rather than a computer. Odd to say the least. We haven't yet decided who (Alfred or Dimitri?) was right about the merits of this recording...

DAEDELUS / BOOM BIP 2806:42:12 (Mush) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We all loved Donnie Darko. And apparently so did Boom Bip and Daedelus, who decided to get together and make a couple tracks inspired by and perhaps borrowing from the film. Boom Bip's side is a throbbing ambient wash, like listening to Crash Worship scoring a love scene from Sixteen Candles. Propulsive tribal drumming underpins huge shifting slabs of new wave-tinged ambience, minor key and melancholy. Sounds like it could have been lifted wholesale from the actual score! Daedelus' track is a skittery moody, down tempo late night electronica workout. Hip hop infused soundscapes, dreamy and dark with gorgeously mournful piano (sampled from the film) sounding like a track Shadow could've come up with in his prime. Limited to 2000 copies, never to be repressed.

DAFT PUNK Alive 2007 (Virgin) cd 17.98
It's been over 6 months since Daft Punk played in San Francisco but anyone who was there will never forget it. Daft Punk proved they are one of the greatest live experiences on the planet. From an immaculate trance inducing light show, to a futuristic pyramid shaped console that they were housed in and then of course the loud, supremely danceable songs that they blasted through the amphitheater as thousands of people grinning wildly, completely let themselves go, dancing with ecstasy and an adrenalized joy that we rarely ever get to experience. Alive 2007 captures that show (and that recent tour) perfectly. It's pretty much the same set they played here as they morph many of their songs into one new track which gives a new life to many of their already well known songs from their three albums.
We're sure that at least one Daft Punk record has found its way into your subconscious (Discovery will always be our favorite!) as they are a duo who have discovered an amazing way to be accessible to such a wide range of people (ravers, metal heads, hip-hop kids, gay club scene, indie rockers, ordinary joes, etc) yet create music with such charged and creative energy. They manage to bring elements of disco, prog, house, psychedelia, funk and rock to a level of ecstatic heights rarely reached in popular music. Long live Daft Punk!!!
MPEG Stream: "Burnin' / Too Long"
MPEG Stream: "Aerodynamic Beats / Forget About The World"
MPEG Stream: "Around The World / Harder Better Faster Stronger"

DAFT PUNK Discovery (Virgin) cd 16.98
Ha! Ha! Ha!!! It comes with a fucking credit card! A credit card, forsooth! What a bunch of scrubs.

DAFT PUNK Human After All (Virgin) cd 17.98
Man, what is it about Daft Punk that makes me want to take my clothes off and freak out like a retarded art-school girl?! Actually, I kinda wish this record, their third, was as dynamic as their last album, Discovery. Some of the tracks on Human After All, however, quickly get into their perfectly produced ironirock/electro groove, then just kind of sit in em for a while, then it stops and a new song begins this process again. But whatever, HAA maintains that awesomely big, totally sexy, electrorockified sound. Robot Rock might be my fave, like a perfect blend of Eddy Grant's Electric Avenue and Def Leppard. Oui c'est bon!!!!
Our French duo, Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter, obviously enjoy what they do and make music for the sake of making music, sorta like post-modern musical-pharmacists. So tune-in, turn-on and drop-out man.
MPEG Stream: "Human After All"
MPEG Stream: "Robot Rock"