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!

CYRUS (RANDOM TRIO) From The Shadows (Tectonic) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Gutter"
MPEG Stream: "Mind Games"

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'EON Palinopsia (Hippos In Tanks) 12" 11.98
Another slab of awesome eighties style electro new wave digital funk dreaminess, from a mysterious Canadian, released by the label that brought us Games and White Car. Layered synths, pulsing minimal beats, all drifting beneath reverbed soulful vox, a bit like a more electro/new wave How To Dress Well (a recent AQ Record Of The Week), the music leaning more toward the Goblin/Carpenter/Zombi axis, sort of futuristic retro sci-fi soundtracky, slipping from droning electronic psychedelia, to pounding big beat to almost '80s MTV style electronic pop, the vocals drawing it all together, and weirdly enough, reminding us quite a bit of Peter Gabriel, as if someone took those old classic Gabriel records, and time machined them into the body and soul of some modern music maker, who created the same music, but filtered through a slightly cracked, modern avant electronic music lens, the result a psychedelic electronic retro pop, equal parts new wave, old soul, eighties pop, synth wave and dream pop. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Almost Out Of Time"
MPEG Stream: "2040"
MPEG Stream: "What We Want To Be"

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.

D.A.F. (DEUTSCH AMERIKANSICHE FREUNDSCHAFT) Das Beste Von D.A.F. (Mute / Grey Area) cd 14.98
Deutsch Amerikansiche Freundschaft (German American Friendship) or better known as D.A.F. were one of those key early electronic groups that provided the missing link between Cold Wave Minimalism and German Industrial Techno. They, themselves called it EBM or Electronic Body Music. Formed in 1977, out of weirdo art music outfit, Der Plan, D.A.F. started out as a five piece group pioneering the new wave of German Industrial music two years before Einsturzende Neubauten. But after their first two albums, the group quickly slimmed themselves down into the efficient two man sequencer team of Robert Gorl and Gabi Delgado. Playing up themes of Nazi fetishization and hardcore homosexual sex, with the spare and sometimes brutal production of krautrock pioneer, Conny Plank, D.A.F.'s songs were massive underground club hits in the early eighties. If anyone remembers John Dwyer's shortlived "fauxmosexual" industrial-electro joke band, Zeigenbock Kopf, he pretty much ripped D.A.F. off wholesale, if somewhat poorly! This "best of" covers the three records D.A.F. made for Virgin between 1980-1982, Alles Ist Gut, Gold Und Liebe, and Fur Immer, altogether ignoring their Industrial beginnings (sadly), as well as their later 2006 incarnation (thankfully). But it is this fertile period that D.A.F. became famous for, and it's probably a more consistent listen as a whole than if all periods of the group were represented. Fans of groups like Cold Cave, Cut Copy or any of the coldwave / post-punk comps from Belgium, France and Germany, should definitely check this out!
MPEG Stream: "Was Ziehst Du An Heute Nacht"
MPEG Stream: "Der RŠuber Und Der Prinz"
MPEG Stream: "Prinzessin"

D1 Missin'/Cocaine (Tempa) 12" 10.98

D1 Trail Run (Tempa) 2x12" 17.98

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
Not many albums can be so deeply and personally satisfying while bringing together such a wide range of people and tastes. Daft Punk's Discovery was an absolute game changer! A record that convinced folks who thought they didn't like dance music, that maybe they just hadn't heard the 'right' dance music. And it showed those in the techno/house world that hooks and memorable songs were as important as great beats and tones. Discovery can and has brought so many of us to a pure state of ecstasy. Start to finish its a flawless album that merges the bands love of prog, house, disco, arena rock, techno, and pop into an explosive whole that has spawned countless imitators over the years, but no one will ever get it as right as Daft Punk did on Discovery.
What other record could unite fans of Madonna and Magma!? We could go on and on listing such a crazy wide range of artists and bands influenced by Daft Punk (Panda Bear, Citay, Justice, Wildildlife, Kanye West, Simian Mobile Disco, Hercules & Love Affair, No Age, etc!).
A decade after its release Discovery still sounds so thrilling every time we put it on. No matter what your usual musical persuasions are, there is no denying that with Discovery, Daft Punk made a record that can get into every music lovers heart!
MPEG Stream: "One More Time"
MPEG Stream: "Aerodynamic"
MPEG Stream: "Something About Us"

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"

DAFT PUNK Tron Legacy OST (Walt Disney Records) cd 15.98
It's kind of hard to review this objectively. As of right now, we're exactly 17 hours away from seeing a movie we've been waiting more than 20 years for, and we can barely write reviews, except for the fact that if we don't get the list done early, we won't get to go see TRON, and we know it's gonna be amazing. Some of us already have plans to see it 3 times, once in 3D, once in a normal theater, and once on the IMAX, the previews look incredible, and the music we'd heard sounded incredible. What a great idea, who better to do the music for the new Tron than a couple of guys who look like they just stepped straight out of the movie anyway. Helmeted and futuristic, makes sense that they play DJs in the movie as well. But we digress.
We'd heard nothing but complaints and gripes about Daft Punk's score for Tron Legacy, most directed at the fact that it sounded more like a soundtrack than a Daft Punk record. Which makes sense, but that's just us.
To be fair, much of the soundtrack, doesn't sound like Daft Punk at all, so for sure, folks after a Daft Punk record, you may just be disappointed. But Tron obsessives, well, shit, you either already bought this, or didn't even get this far cuz you already tossed it in your cart. For everyone else, Daft Punk have crafted a pretty excellent score, instead of Daft Punking all the music, they actually worked with a real orchestra, and tried to create a classic score, a la John Williams, or Hans Zimmer, and to these ears, it sounds pretty great, soaring and epic and lush and evocative, and there's plenty of electronics, sometimes melded to tense strings, othertimes wrapped around orchestral swells, and occasionally left alone to create John Carpenter like synthscapes. It's not until about halfway through that it gets remotely Daft Punky, "End Of Line" is a brooding, moody, bit of propulsive sci-fi synthery, "Derezzed" is THEE jam, the one that you've no doubt heard by now, and the only REAL Daft Punk sounding track, but it's killer. Can hardly wait to see what's going on in the movie during this song, and finally, the end titles, which sound like Daft Punk doing their best eighties straight to video sci-fi VHS video jam and it rules, but beyond that, it's way more soundtracky, than Daft Punky.
We've been listening to this like crazy, and digging it big time, even removed from the movie, it sounds great, but more than anything, it has us DYING a little bit more every minute to finally see the movie!
Comes in super futuristic reflective Tron style packaging!
MPEG Stream: "Derezzed"
MPEG Stream: "Fall"
MPEG Stream: "End Of Line"
MPEG Stream: "Recognizer"
MPEG Stream: "Rinzler"

DALEK From Filthy Tongue Of Gods And Griots (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Not purely hip hop nor dub nor electronic, Dalek might be right at home on Mike Patton's similarly genre-leaping label Ipecac. You may have heard Dalek rapping on top of Techno Animal's "Dead Man's Curse" track, a big favorite of Windy's from 2001. This full length is ferocious and powerful, full of threatening silences and massive bursts of noise. I like it. Dalek's epic, incantatory vocal stylings are pushed right up against apocalyptic, doom-laden instrumentation: high pitched squealing feedback that sounds like air raid sirens, abandoned machine bleeps, paranoid dub-heavy beats, crashing cymbals and other live drumming, shimmering guitar. There's even a psychedelicky track called "Forever Close My Eyes" that's got staticky record hiss, tabla, ethereal organs, melancholy melodic guitar strumming, even (what sounds like) sitar. Very well done! There's comparisons to be made with the DefJux (El-P, Cannibal Ox, Company Flow) sound -- scary hip hop with lots of noisy bits -- so if you like DefJux you'll porobaby get into this. Also definitely for fans of Spectre, Sensational, Techno Animal. Look for an upcoming split with Kid606, and there's even a collaboration with krautrockers Faust that'll hopefully get released by someone.
RealAudio clip: "Spiritual Healing"
RealAudio clip: "Forever Close My Eyes"

DAM FUNK Rhythm Trax Vol.4 (Stones Throw) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

DAM-FUNK Toeachizown (Stones Throw) 2cd 16.98
Funk - It's a tricky thing. In the wrong hands it can be some of our least favorite music in the world (think cheesy bass slapping bro's in dorky outfits, you know that scene) but the few who really possess TRUE FUNK can move us like no others.
Of course there is the old school pantheon of funk pioneers like Parliament-Funkadelic, The JB's, The Gap Band, The B.T. Express, Cameo, Betty Davis, Rick James, Zapp, Con Funk Shun, and Prince, but when it comes to modern day funk it's really rare to get the real deal. Folks either be faking the funk so hard it hurts, or they rely so heavily on being retro copy cats that they don't really bring any new flavor to the funk legacy they so want to be a part of. Which brings us to Dam-Funk, who has most definitely got the true funk special spirit running through his veins. We had heard his amazing mixes over the last couple years and knew the guy had talent but it wasn't until this proper full length of his own songs that we totally realized just how damn special and full of the real funk this man is.
While of course taking inspiration from many of the above mentioned funk pioneers, Dam-Funk is no mere retro act, as he knows that one of the major defining forces of true funk is how it should always be injected with a sense of very modern/future minded vision that's always a bit left of center. While folks like Outkast, Sa-Ra, and Gnarls Barkley have gotten close to entering that realm, Dam-Funk really lives, breathes and exudes the true funk aesthetic. He's able to bring in his futuristic electronic stylings informed by everyone from Kraftwerk to Cybotron/Model 500 and inject such natural soul into his beats and grooves.
Everything about this record kills, all the elements come together so perfectly, the production, the vocals, the actual songwriting, it's all there and it all just oozes real funk! There's also a second all instrumental disc, which helps keep Dam-Funk's amazing party of a record going on and on and on and we STILL really can't get enough. No joke, every single time we've played this in the store someone has bought a copy, and even if you're a bit funk-shy we think you should give this a chance! Funk jam of the year contender for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Let's Take Off (Far Away)"
MPEG Stream: "Burn Straight Thru U"
MPEG Stream: "Searchin' 4 Funk's Future"
MPEG Stream: "Rollin'"

DAN THE AUTOMATOR Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Sequence) cd 17.98
A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator fashion (Tortoise, Zero 7, Bobby Digital, Air, Masta Ace). It all runs seamlessly together, very downtempo loungey. But, Dan, you bought all those weird dancehall 7"s from us, along with Hermann Nitsch, the Sounds of American Doomsday Cults, Daddy's Curses and other full-on oddities -- we'd really *love* to hear you mix THAT stuff together...
RealAudio clip: TORTOISE "Seneca"
RealAudio clip: FANTOMAS "intro"

DAN THE AUTOMATOR Wanna Buy A Monkey? (Sequence) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally available on vinyl!!
A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator fashion (Tortoise, Zero 7, Bobby Digital, Air, Masta Ace). It all runs seamlessly together, very downtempo loungey. But, Dan, you bought all those weird dancehall 7"s from us, along with Hermann Nitsch, the Sounds of American Doomsday Cults, Daddy's Curses and other full-on oddities -- we'd really *love* to hear you mix THAT stuff together...
RealAudio clip: TORTOISE "Seneca"
RealAudio clip: FANTOMAS "intro"

DARK DAY Strange Clockwork (self-released) cd 12.98
R.L. Crutchfield is best known as one of the pioneers of no-wave in his band DNA as well as a forefather of cold-wave with his first few outings as Dark Day. What lots of people don't know is that Crutchfield has continued to make and release records under the radar without pause for the better part of three decades. His newer recordings, including Strange Clockwork, find him working in an almost miniature style. Short tracks that have a music box fragility but also incorporate sort of renaissance fair elements, all transformed into sonic stop motion experiments. Primitive sounding drum machine beats under electronics heavily influenced by baroque classical music. In many ways reminiscent of some of the more recent work of another electronic music pioneer, Wendy Carlos.
MPEG Stream: "Telegraph"
MPEG Stream: "Floating Island"
MPEG Stream: "Sleepwalking"

DARK DAY (R.L. CRUTCHFIELD'S) Exterminating Angel (Dark Entries) lp 14.98
Synth punk at its best! Here is the long overdue reissue of Dark Day's homage to the Luis Bunuel film of the same name. Dark Day was the project spearheaded by R.L. Crutchfield who first worked with Arto Lindsay and Ikue Mori in the earliest incarnation of the seminal No Wave band DNA in the mid '70s. By 1979, Crutchfield was striking out on his own as Dark Day; and at first, this band was an intentional reversal of roles within the trad-rock band with two women playing guitars and drums and a man behind the keyboards. The ladies for that incarnation were Nancy Arlen of Mars and Nina Canal of Ut; and they managed a few gigs and one hell of a great single - "Hands In The Dark" - which appeared many years later on a Soul Jazz No Wave compilation and has been covered spectacularly by the Chromatics. Canal and Arlen weren't terribly interested in continuing in the project, leaving Crutchfield to find likeminded folks to work with.
On Exterminating Angel (originally released in 1980 on the Lust/Unlust imprint Infidelity), Crutchfield recruited Phil Kline and Barry Friar to flesh out the Dark Day sound. At the time, Kline was an emerging composer who had worked with Glenn Branca and at least here, he styles himself after Mark Ribot or Arto Lindsay with his expressive shards and bends of guitar melody; and Friar follows the tom-heavy patter that Nancy Arlen brought to Dark Day on the "Hands In The Dark" single. But Dark Day is truly Crutchfield's vision, with his heavily syncopated synth chords, elliptical repetitions, and spiral staircase ascensions in lieu of the traditional verse-chorus song. Crutchfield preferred to keep a very restrictive use of synth tones and filters, all the while crafting a very claustrophobic, horror-laden atmosphere. The inventiveness of his minimalist melodies and twisted lullaby-like structures are all the more impressive, perhaps only matched by Young Marble Giants or Suicide. Motorik yet stumbling, Dark Day's songs are stark and bold in their poetry about freaks, suffocating anxiety, and the toxic life of contemporary society circa 1980. "Trapped" was a strange song to be the single for the album, as it's an epic, spiralling number with those ominous synths and siren-like blurts from a distant saxophone. Many of the other songs on the album were short and condensed, jabbing the grimly simple melodies deep into the ear-canal and then moving on. Like "Trapped" the album's finale - "No, Never, Nothing" - is another lengthy track, appropriating a Moroder like disco-syncopation to a sinister, nihilistic collage of texts taken from a children's book about raising unusual pets such as squirrels and chimpanzees. The more the song spins through it's punchy chords the creepier it becomes.
Exterminating Angel is the high-point of Crutchfield's recorded works, and stands also as one of lost gems of the No Wave era. This should have been released long ago, so we have to commend Dark Entries once again for their reissue campaign.
MPEG Stream: "Chameleon"
MPEG Stream: "Flightless Birds"
MPEG Stream: "No, Never, Nothing"

DARK NOERD The Beholder (Flapping Jet) 12" 9.98
AQ buddy Ian Christe is DARK NOERD, who so far has only made one recorded appearance, on the awesome 'Gummo' soundtrack. When Christe is not writing a comprehensive history of heavy metal or DJing, he's making black metal electronica unlike anything you've ever heard. This 12" splits its time pretty evenly between straight up drum 'n bass ala Photek and noisy black metal. On a couple of the tracks, the two meet, in a sloppy not-entirely-evil-sounding collision. With chugging lo-fi riffs being juggled between ping ponging electronic beats and howled hyper-distorted vocals. Can't say that it works exactly, but it is cool and weird and pretty impressive. One of the few records you metalheads can dance to.

DARK SIDE OF THE COP s/t (self-released) cd 11.98
The self-titled debut cd by the oddly monikered Dark Side Of The Cop (aka Marco Panella) is a super sweet and buoyant affair. Despite his name's nod to Pink Floyd, this one man band certainly wears his Brian Wilson influences on his sleeves in many ways. For one thing he has one of those soft wistful boy singing voices that occasionally brings to mind the abovementioned Wilson or David Gates. The disc opens with what sounds like a somber procession of tin toy trains, and robots, but they're just the tip of Panella's own personal mini orchestra. Warm guitar and piano soon join the fray along with some softly prickly programmed rhythms. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Detroit (Prelude)"
MPEG Stream: "Fool In The Hill"

DARKEL s/t (Astralwerks) cd 17.98
Nobody does suave, sleek, atmospheric electronic pop better then Air, so it's no surprise that this solo outing from one half of the French duo, hits the same spot pretty much dead on. Jean-Benoit Dunckel took time in between Air's follow up to Talkie Walkie and their work on Charlotte Gainsbourg's upcoming release to make his first solo record. This definitely leans toward the more song orientated pop leanings of Air. Still so lush, dreamy and sensual but with melodies and vocals that find their way into your head and don't ever go away. Catchy and inviting, this has bedtime romance written all over it. One of those great records to lounge around in the morning to, or to use as a secret weapon when you want to put the moves on that special someone. THE make-out record of 2006.
MPEG Stream: "Be My Friend"
MPEG Stream: "Earth"

DARKSTAR I Need You (Hyperdub) 12" 11.98

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.

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.

DAY, CARSON / ILET APT Into The Night (Dielectric) 12" 8.98
The first salvo of electronic vinyl madness from AQ pal Drucifer's new label comes in the form of four 12"s, beautifully packaged in distinctive orange sleeves (dance 12" style) and on nice thick vinyl, and sonically running the gamut from stuttery glitched out electronica to shimmery drones to speaker shredding digital rhythms to dreamy beatscapes.
Carson Day (NOT Carson Daly!) is a 17 year old SF local who according to the Dielectric website likes Tool, White Zombie, Boards Of Canada, Autechre and loads more. Don't notice much of the Tool or White Zombie influence, but the Boards/Autechre vibe is present in spades. Stuttery, skittery rhythms over dreamy pastoral backdrops, with hyper-distorted melodies, the occasional grinding, rib cage rattling low-end bass line and bursts of almost jungle peppering these dreamy, late night electronic workouts. Definitely for fans of Autechre, Boards Of Canada and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Different Agendas"
MPEG Stream: "Come Here Often"

DEACON, DAN Spiderman Of The Rings (Carpark) cd 14.98
By golly, we've received a bunch of tweaked pop releases this week -- Black Moth Super Rainbow, Shaky Hands, Welcome, Bonde Do Role -- but Baltimore's Dan Deacon and his merry melody makers (read: an assortment of well-worn effects pedals and electronic gizmos -- yup, he's a one-man band!) definitely take the daffy cake! That is, if the cake is a dizzying candy-jewelled sparkler inferno of vintage video game melodies and processed kiddie gang vocals. Having played a couple shows with Deacon, our own Matt Wildlife has attested to the live awesomeness of this fellow. However, despite the loosey-goosey frolicking nature of this album and his live show, he ain't no musical neophyte amateur. He's got some serious skills to pay the bills (i.e, classical training and a Masters degree in electro-acoustic composition!). Deacon's self-released seven albums to date, and this is his first for Carpark Records (home of quirkulicious releases by Ariel Pink, Ecstatic Sunshine, Animal Collective, Kit Clayton & Safety Scissors). Spiderman Of The Rings sounds like a sugar-coated battle royale between Arcade Fire and HR Pufnstuf. You want party? Here it is!
MPEG Stream: "Wooody Woodpecker"
MPEG Stream: "Wham City"

DEAD FADER Corrupt My Examiner (3BY3) cd 15.98
If only all electronic music sounded this sick, so heavy and distorted and twisted! From the same label that brought us Cloaks' Versus Grain records, a big favorite around here with it's noisy, chaotic, industrial crunch, Dead Fader do something similar, taking a root sound that's equal parts dubstep, electro, and that sort of synthy heavy Ed Banger stuff, and then cranks it WAY up, the beats are thick and distorted and crumbly, the synths are thick and fuzzed out and also WAY distorted, there's noise all over the place, rumble and buzz and whir and skree, feedback, glitched out damage, but all woven into super funky fucked up grooves, it's like some modern electronic record given an old school DHR makeover, reminds us a lot of Fever, for those of you who remember them, their record maybe one of the heaviest most distorted sort-of-hip-hop records ever.
The label compares Dead Fader to Burial playing through Slayer's backline, which isn't really that far off the mark, the sounds here are in-the-red, blown out, there are distorted almost black metal vocals buried in the mix, streaks of feedback, the beats and synths careen wildly, panned super hard, swinging from speaker to speaker, it's dizzying and relentless, dark and dense, abstract and freaky, with weird bursts of Goblin-y prog, thick pulsing synths, creeping monklike chanting, flurries of skitter and stutter, crumbling walls of electronic sound that are practically metal in their timbre and intensity, but for all its crunch and pummel, all its ferocity and aggression, and fucked up weirdness, it still manages to be melodic and groovy, funky and fun, the sort of dancemusic that we always wished existed, and it makes even the most intense jams and block rockin' beats from folks like Daft Punk or the Basement Jaxx or the Chemical Brothers or whoever sound downright flaccid.
Electronic record of the year? Quite possibly...
MPEG Stream: "Autumn Rot"
MPEG Stream: "JBE Zorg"
MPEG Stream: "No Thief"

DEADBEAT Journeyman's Annual (Scape) cd 16.98

DEADBEAT New World Observer (Scape) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
'Ambient' music soaked in cheap cologne.

DEADBEAT Something Borrowed, Something Blue (~scape) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Something Borrowed, Something Blue is Deadbeat aka Scott Monteith's follow up to his 2002 release Wild Life Documentaries. People will still undeniably draw comparisons to Stefan Betke's dub project Pole, but by now the world of Teutonic dub has unfolded everywhere since Betke's initial releases. So while that albatross is likely to follow Monteith for many a mile yet, it's safe to say he's charting waters leagues beyond the original Pole territory. And let's face it, there's much worse things an electronic artist could be compared to. The remaining Pole-esque vestiges on Something Borrowed remain the trademark square wave bass line, the dubbed out organ and -- of course -- the mock-Jamaican rhythms. There's much less dependence on the micro-rhythm sound palette, which gives Something Borrowed much more full sounding rhythms. Along with the addition of some very pretty and sparsely played piano on one track, there's a great deal more organic sound matter thrown into the mix here and Monteith makes good use of longer track times -- most between 7 and 10 minutes -- to experiment more with developing compositions including some pieces which pleasently drift off into rhythmless grainy soundscapes.
MPEG Stream: "Head Over Heels"
MPEG Stream: "Quitting Time"

DEADMAU5 4x4=12 (Ultra Records) cd 15.98
For everyone disappointed by the lack of proper, big beat, banging Daft Punk style dancefloor destroyers on the recent Tron soundtrack, well this is for you. The latest from Deadmau5, an electronic musician who performs costumed, much like the above mentioned Daft Punk. But where Daft Punk are some sort of futuristic spacemen, Deadmau5 wears a giant, lawsuit baiting mouse head, and sonically, Deadmau5 explores a soundworld not all that dissimilar to those of his electronic music compatriots, Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, Chemical Brothers and the like. Big beats sure, but with a dark melodic element that elevates this beyond pure dancefloor fodder.
"Some Chords" might be the electronic jam of the year (last year?), with its haunting moody intro, thick corroded/distorted synth sound, woozy minor key melody, and dubsteppy vibe (not to mention that dubstep bass wobble/warble), hypnotic, and dark, and rhythmic, and surprisingly cinematic.
Those same elements inform the rest of the record, fat fuzzy basslines, wheezing synths, big ol' block rocking beats, but with plenty of unlikely filigree, from strange Darth Vader like heavy breathing to dark moody piano to Jamaican style toasting, to ravey synth stabs. The songs with vocals are definitely on the pop side, sing songy, sounding like Double Dutch chants, playful and fun and funky, but it's the instrumental jams that are the fiercest, and must send dancefloors into fits. "One Trick Pony" manages to merge the two, with a totally pop verse, but when the vocals drop out, it's one of the hardest dubstep jams we've heard in ages. "Raise Your Weapons" sounds like a soulful radio ballad, crooning female vocals over dark minor key piano, but then suddenly, the vocals get all dubbed out, and the song gets super dense and heavy, and those throbbing dubstep basslines, squelchy synths and crushing stuttery big beats come tumbling out.
For fans of the poppier side of dubstep, Zomby, Rusko, Martyn, Roska, Guido, Mount Kimbie who aren't averse to some chest rattling big bass, and of course the above mentioned big beat electronicians (Daft Punk, Basement Jaxx, etc...)!
MPEG Stream: "Some Chords"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Selection"
MPEG Stream: "Animal Rights"