TBA (AKA NATALIE BERIDZE) Size & Tears (Max Ernst) 2cd 18.98
"Too wrong and too dreamy." So says the press release for this 2cd set of electronic curiosities from Natalie Beridze; and it's a strangely apt description of these sounds, of course, meant in the best possible way. Beridze hails from the former Soviet republic of Georgia; and some time ago, she caught the attention of Thomas Brinkmann, who has since helped produce her albums and released them on his Max Ernst imprint. There's a strange intimacy to her collages of whispered spoken word and MIDI-sequenced piano solos that stream around the concrete slabs of post-techno breakbeats and electroid glitches. Given the leftfield abstractions of her work, references to Autechre and Aphex Twin have been popping up in the media; but her work (like that of Ukraine's Zavoloka) speak with a whimsical playfulness through electronics and semantics that is almost completely detached from a dancefloor context. A difficult set of recordings to take in, given its atypical agenda; but this is well worth spending some time with.
MPEG Stream: "March In Ocean And Falling Asleep"
MPEG Stream: "Itaka Farewell March"

TEAR GARDEN To Be An Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide (Nettwerk) cd 16.98
Combining the wonders of cEvin Key (of Skinny Puppy and Download to name but two of his many projects), Edward Ka-spel (of Legendary Pink Dots), Ryan Moore (aka Twilight Circus) and their cast of like-minded co-horts, it's Tear Garden. Rich, velvety, and hypnotic. Check out track 3 "In Search Of My Rose". If you like the more dub-tinged moments of the Pink Dots' album A Perfect Mystery (undoubtedly due to the bass and percussion presence of Mr. Moore), this earlier album is definitely for you. Gorgeous!

TECHNO ANIMAL Brotherhood of the Bomb, The (Matador) 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 their awesome "Dead Man's Curse" cd single I raved about a coupla months ago, this newest full length from Techno Animal is dark, dark screwed-up mutant hip hop with an unavoidably ferocious driving breakbeat on the bottom end. *Totally* heavy and intense, from the English duo of Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick who've worked variously in such outfits as Godflesh, Sidewinder, Ice, God, The Bug etc.
About half the tracks are instrumentals and they stand on their own quite well -- interesting, dynamic, not repetitive -- but even their excellence pales in comparison to the tracks that have various hip hop MCs adding to the mix, cos those are REALLY good. With Dalek, members of Anti Pop Consortium, Rubberroom, El P from Company Flow, and last but not least Toastie Taylor toasting deliriously on "Piranha". I like this record more every time I listen to it. Highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: "DC 10"
RealAudio clip: "Piranha"
RealAudio clip: "Sub Species"

TECHNO ANIMAL Dead Man's Curse (Matador) cd ep 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fucking totally heavy and intense 3-song single from the English duo Techno Animal (Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick who've worked variously in such outfits as Godflesh, Sidewinder, Ice, God, etc). This is dark, dark screwed-up mutant hip hop with an unavoidably ferocious driving breakbeat on the bottom end that will appeal to fans of the Wordsound label (Sensational, Spectre, Hawd Gangstuh Rappuhs, etc). Techno Animal, who've released a full length on Digital Hardcore and have worked with everyone under the sun who're important in the new mutant hip hop world, will also be familiar to fans of Force Inc's crazy weird Electric Ladyland series, and they've worked with rappers from New Kingdom and Anti Pop Consortium -- on this new single, it's Roger Robinson/Attica Blues and on their upcoming album they've corralled El-P/Company Flow and the terminally weird Divine Styler. This is a perfect intro to Techno Animal's sound, so don't miss out any longer (like I did until now) cos you know how much it sucks to have to go backwards looking for out-of-print singles like you're gonna want to do. Highly recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Dead Man's Curse"

TECHNO ANIMAL Dead Man's Curse (Matador) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fucking totally heavy and intense 3-song single from the English duo Techno Animal (Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick who've worked variously in such outfits as Godflesh, Sidewinder, Ice, God, etc). This is dark, dark screwed-up mutant hip hop an unavoidably ferocious driving breakbeat on the bottom end that will appeal to fans of the Wordsound label (Sensational, Spectre, Hawd Gangstuh Rappuhs, etc). Techno Animal, who've released a full length on Digital Hardcore and have worked with everyone under the sun who're important in the new mutant hip hop world, will also be familiar to fans of Force Inc's crazy weird Electric Ladyland series, and they've worked with rappers from New Kingdom and Anti Pop Consortium -- on this new single, it's Roger Robinson/Attica Blues and on their upcoming album they've corralled El-P/Company Flow and the terminally weird Divine Styler. This is a perfect intro to Techno Animal's sound, so don't miss out any longer (like I did until now) cos you know how much it sucks to have to go backwards looking for out-of-print singles like you're gonna want to do. Highly recommended.

TECHNO ANIMAL Radio Hades (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.
A collection of a ton of compilation tracks (mostly from their contributions to the "Electric Ladyland" series on Force Inc) and singles for Chrome. More of the devastating dub and heavy-handed hip-hop you've grown to expect from Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick.

TECHNO ANIMAL Versus Reality (City Slang) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Five dark and sinister new tracks with great remixes by Porter Ricks, Ui, Spectre, Tortoise, and Alec Empire.

TECHNO ANIMAL VS. DALEK Dalek Vs. Techno Animal (Matador) 12" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A teaming up of UK industrial/electronica and American indie-rap. Side one is a Techno Animal track -- Megaton -- and a remix of Dalek's "Classical Homicide", side two is the other way around: Dalek's "Homicide" and Dalek's remix of Techno Animal's "Megaton". Surprisingly "big beat" stuff for Techno Animal, the remix of Dalek has some serious ass bass that makes our neighbors call up and complain no matter how quiet we play it!

TECHNO MIT STORUNGEN Ein Projekt Von Jon Rose cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Avant-electronica turntablists Otomo Yoshihide, Frank Schulte, Christian Marclay drop huge breakbeats around the free music improv-noodling of Marc Ribot, Fred Frith, Iva Bittova, Chris Cutler, Phil Minton, Jon Rose, Sainkho Namtchylak, Nick Collins, Evan Parker, and others. Odd and enjoyable.

TELEDUBGNOSIS Magnetic Learning Center (WordSound) cd 14.98

TEMPLETON, MARK Standing On A Hummingbird (Anticipate) cd 15.98
Nice title! And, oooh. It's a very nice recording too. This debut album by electro-acoustic glitchtronica artist Mark Templeton should appeal to fans of Paul Wirkus, Mitchell Akiyama, Guiseppi Ielasi and others working in the experimental-but-beautiful, lowercase field of painterly abstraction, processed instruments, delicate drone, and (last but not least) ambient melodies. Mark Templeton's use of guitar, accordion, vibraphone, cymbals and especially banjo have us most closely comparing this to Geoff Mullen's wonderful thrtysxtrllnmnfstns, as Templeton is similarly submersing the notes played acoustically into a warm, electric bath of creaking staticky stuff, accompanied by murmuring field recordings and chirping digital glitch, like the pleasant but disintegrated soundtrack to some grainy super 8 footage, barely heard beneath the whirr of the film projector itself. Sweet swells of sound throb and drift, fracture and coalesce. It's all very lovely and mysterious, gentle caresses for curious ears.
MPEG Stream: "Pigeons Hurt"
MPEG Stream: "Standing On A Hummingbird"
MPEG Stream: "Pattern For A Pillow"

TENNIS Europe On Horseback (Bip-Hop) cd 15.98
Tennis is the collective nom de plume for British electronica artists Ben Edwards and Douglas Benford, who are respectively known better as Benge and Si-Cut.Db. At first, their collaboration sounds like a mutation of the utopian neo-dub of Pole and Kit Clayton, in which all of the grooves have been shredded into jagged patterns, and reassemled into disjointed filter techno rhythms. However with a outfit name like Tennis, the inevitable Ping Pong 8-bit rhythmic bleeps had to get going, with some bleepy dub elements relating it to the Pole / Clayton continuum. Just imagine two Kraftwerk dummies swivelling at the waist and smacking a tiny ball back and forth. Unlike the majority of the Force Inc / Mille Plateaux, Tennis retains a welcome sense of humor while rivalling their German counterparts in post techno innovation.

TENOR, JIMI Cosmic Relief (Sahko) cd ep 8.98
This bespectacled Finnish eccentric continues his journey into the darker corners of exotica lounge-land... often coming across as an accomplished, cocktail hour Joy Division. Sort of like a soundtrack to the dark'n'swirlies you get after one too many flaming fruity hi-balls. A great wind-down album after you've boogied the night away to the strains of the Moroder cd we've also listed this week.
RealAudio clip: "Natural Cosmic Relief"
RealAudio clip: "Paradise Can Wait"

TENOR, JIMI Cosmic Relief (Sahko) 12" 9.98
This bespectacled Finnish eccentric continues his journey into the darker corners of exotica lounge-land... often coming across as an accomplished, cocktail hour Joy Division. Sort of like a soundtrack to the dark'n'swirlies you get after one too many flaming fruity hi-balls. A great wind-down album after you've boogied the night away to the strains of the Moroder cd we've also listed this week.
RealAudio clip: "Natural Cosmic Relief"
RealAudio clip: "Paradise Can Wait"

TENOR, JIMI Out Of Nowhere (Matador) cd 13.98
This record was quite a surprise. None of us had any really strong feelings about Jimi Tenor, other than knowing we really didn't care for his weird brand of loungey exotic electronica. And while that sound is still evident, it is balanced by some amazing pieces written for and performed with a 60 piece Polish orchestra. Dark and brooding and surprisingly original, sort of like an extra dark Hitchcock soundtrack; makes the loungey stuff make more sense in the context of the record, as a sort of foil, light balancing the dark. Really great.

TENOR, JIMI Out Of Nowhere (Matador) lp 11.98
This record was quite a surprise. None of us had any really strong feelings about Jimi Tenor, other than knowing we really didn't care for his weird brand of loungey exotic electronica. And while that sound is still evident, it is tempered by some amazing pieces written for and performed with a 60 piece Polish orchestra. Dark and brooding and surprisingly original, sort of like an extra dark Hitchcock soundtrack laced with loungey jazzy exotica. Really great.
Also, the sticker on the front points out that the players on this record got their inspiration from eating the same cabbage and sausage meal every day!

TENOR, JIMI Utopian Dream (Puu / Sahko) cd 16.98
More trippy dippy lounge-a-tronic from Finland. Yes, Mr. Oddball Jimi Tenor is back as we knew he'd be. In his "Utopian Dream" he draws from the past... his own. He borrows bits from both of his earlier albums "Intervision" (1997) and "Out Of Nowhere" (2000). Some tracks made me think "intriguing, moody electronic soundtrack" or "sleek'n'icy chill room", while others made me think "easy listenin' muzak" and still others brought to mind "doofy scat-singin' flute-tootin' jazz bub". Weigh it all out and you've definitely got some impressive hits here, but also a handful of misses (some of which are cringeable), but that's usually the case and the charm with Mr. Tenor. He's a dabbler in many styles and he does so without hesitation and usually very well. Please note: included on this album are all four songs from his "Cosmic Relief" EP released earlier this year.
RealAudio clip: "Natural Cosmic Relief"
RealAudio clip: "Grilli-Ilda (Barbeque Pleasure)"
RealAudio clip: "Bacon Alive"

TENOR, JIMI Utopian Dream (Puu / Sahko) lp 16.98
More trippy dippy lounge-a-tronic from Finland. Yes, Mr. Oddball Jimi Tenor is back as we knew he'd be. In his "Utopian Dream" he draws from the past... his own. He borrows bits from both of his earlier albums "Intervision" (1997) and "Out Of Nowhere" (2000). Some tracks made me think "intriguing, moody electronic soundtrack" or "sleek'n'icy chill room", while others made me think "easy listenin' muzak" and still others brought to mind "doofy scat-singin' flute-tootin' jazz bub". Weigh it all out and you've definitely got some impressive hits here, but also a handful of misses (some of which are cringeable), but that's usually the case and the charm with Mr. Tenor. He's a dabbler in many styles and he does so without hesitation and usually very well. Please note: included on this album are all four songs from his "Cosmic Relief" EP released earlier this year.

TENOR, JIMI AND KABU KABU Joystone (Ubiquity) cd 16.98
Is this a soundtrack for a porno film? Jimi Tenor and his funk lounge rhythm section Kabu Kabu are certainly laying it on hot and heavy on this new outing on nu-soul label Ubiquity. We've been entertained in the past by Tenor's eccentricies whether they be working with a drunk Polish orchestra or channeling Prince via his own Finnish techno-cabaret style musings. Not sure what people will think with this one. While the rhythm section is tight, with some full on seventies blaxsploitation "schwing", Tenor's creepy lothario persona can either make folks swoon or cringe. You decide.
MPEG Stream: "Hot Baby"
MPEG Stream: "Smoking"
MPEG Stream: "Horror Water"

TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM Compressor (Extreme) cd 14.98

TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM Constructing Towers (Extreme) cd 14.98
When we reviewed Halo's seminal Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence) album, we described them as "one of the heaviest, creepiest, most intense bands we have heard", we went on to compare them to Godflesh and Neurosis and Earth and Whitehouse and Cop Shoot Cop and Gore and Noisegate, holy shit, just writing that has us wanting to hear Halo again...
Anyway, it's been at least 5 years since we've heard a peep out of Halo, but even back in the day, one of the Halo guys had a side project called Terminal Sound System, which at the time ditched the crushing industrial metallic pummel of Halo in favor of creepy dark ambience and skittery electronica. Well since then, it seems that Terminal Sound System has developed into a full time concern, and in the process TSS's sound has soaked up all kinds of electronic music along the way, from jungle to dubstep, while remaining creepy and heavy and super intense, and we are digging it big time.
The record begins with some creepy pulsing ambience, the drums an almost jazzy skitter, until 'the drop', where the background sounds grow jagged and harsh, the drums exploding in a squall of rhythmic freakout, before it immediately simmers right back down. It almost sounds like a junglized Necks, long stretches of smokey dark shimmer, peppered with blown out blasts of grinding metallic dubstep rhythms and thick buzzing drones. But then the song shifts gears, and the drums pull way back, returning to their muted skitter, while over the top, Young Gods like guitar loops add a sort of carnivalesque prog element to the proceedings, growing ever more dramatic and tense, exploding in an incredible climax of massive rumbling bass, like some sort of doom dubstep. Fuck, I know we say this all the time, but that track alone is worth the price of admission.
But moving forward, the title track, is a brooding chunk of old school tech-step jungle, with plenty of blackened droney ambience hovering beneath the still sort of jazzy programmed drum and bass stutter. "Year Of The Pig" is another fractured take on dubstep, the drums, chopped and hiccuppy, heavy with FX, careening from space-y shuffle to dense staccato pound, while all around the beat swirls minor key piano stabs, swooshing spaced out effects, shards of metallic buzz, the whole track freezing occasionally and locking into a super jagged stop start stutter. Again, somehow the sound is a bit jazzy, but so heavy and dark and aggressive...
The rest of the record is all over the place, from subtly industrial post rock, complete with chiming guitars hook filled melodies, and strange effected vocals, sounding almost like a Jesu / Nadja sort of thing, to dark shimmery black ambience laced with super low bass buzz, and haunting minor key swells, to Eastern Muslimgauze style electronic drifts, to what can only be described as a sort of fractured dubstepped cabaret jazz, to fuzzy gauzy, reverb drenched Portishead-ish downtempo shimmer, to epic, ethereal blissed out post rock electronic drone, like Jesu meets Godspeed meets Asbestoscape, which is how the record finishes up.
Seriously fucking awesome. Has us wanting to hear more Terminal Sound System, and has us hankering to go back and revisit Halo as well...
MPEG Stream: "In Your Planet"
MPEG Stream: "Constructing Towers"
MPEG Stream: "Year Of The Pig"

TES LA ROK No Need 2 Be Nasty (Red Volume) 12" 14.98

TEXTURA Ten Dimes (self-released) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

THE BUG London Zoo (Ninja Tune) 3lp 45.00
NOW ON THICK TRIPLE VINYL!!!
Hard to believe it's been 5 years since the last Bug full length. We were so obsessed with Pressure, it was exactly what we had been dreaming of, a disc of dancehall, but supercharged, the beats bigger, the toasting more tongue twisting and agile, the flows sick sick sick, the loops and music darker and more fucked up. Makes sense when you have a look at Kevin "The Bug" Martin's resume, having recorded as God, Ice, Techno Animal and Curse Of The Golden Vampire, so imagine classic dancehall filtered through all that cracked and noisy business. Fucking mind blowing. And it's not like Martin has been doing nothing since Pressure. There's been a steady flow of ep's and 12"s, singles and one-offs, but we were long overdue for another batch of damaged fractured fucked up and funky dancehall, and finally, here it is!
And it's so so good. Not quite as hard as Pressure, much more musical, but somehow all the better for it. The beats are still bangin', and the vocalists Martin has gathered are pretty top shelf: Tippa Irie, Ricky Ranking, Flowdan, Killa P, Warrior Queen, Spaceape and Roger Robinson. All of 'em on fire, and the tracks, total dancefloor destroyers, groovy, funky, a wild dancehall mashup, that stuttery beat in all its various permutations, simple looped Double Dutch repetition, skittery almost jungle, murky stripped down dubstep, pounding buzzing gabbery crunch, rubbery woozy shuffle, groovy late night minimal throb and several other variations. 
It's hard to pick favorites, all the tracks are pretty amazing, although we're pretty partial to the songs featuring Ricky Ranking, the super hooky "Murder We", with it's growled buzzing verses, but then an insanely catchy chorus, with gorgeous vocals and lazer gun style FX, then there's the closer "Judgement" a sort of slow jam, but so washed out and fuzzy, menacing and sinister, complete with soulful breakdowns, which shift effortlessly into the growly buzz drenched verses (stick around too, after a few minutes of silence, there's a really beautiful outro). The Warrior Queen tracks are awesome too, especially "Poison Dart" with its school yard flow and rib cage rattling synth buzz, unfurling a weirdly catchy melody beneath pounding simple rhythms and WQ's wicked flow. "Fuckaz" with Spaceape is a pulsing throbbing groove, the vocals a sing songy flow, not nearly as murky and mean sounding as his collabs with Kode 9, and the opener "Angry" with Tippa Irie, is a super bouncy ragga jam, the beat so simple but so infectious, and the vocals again raspy and raw, perfectly balancing the wild bounce beneath. Hard to know what else to say. We're such suckers for dancehall, especially when it gets revved up a bit. Here's hoping we don't have to wait another 5 years.
MPEG Stream: "Angry ft. Tippa Irie"
MPEG Stream: "Murder We ft. Ricky Ranking"
MPEG Stream: "Fuckaz ft. Spaceape"

THEBOYLUCAS Out Of The Wires (Output) cd 16.98
We were watching this show on MTV, something like 'The Top 21 Under 21' that was a countdown of all the MTV stars who have hit the big time before they're even old enough to drink. Which was pretty depressing (the authors of this review are well into their thirties) even though it all sucked. So imagine how the barely-out-of-his-teens Theboylucas makes us feel. Granted it's not quite the big time, but this record is so goddamn good. Okay. Back up. End Rant. Start again. We usually look to the Output label for dirge-y death dub or super skeletal hip hop, all sparse and bare bones with slightly sinister overtones, like Skull or Rhythm and Sound. But Theboylucas takes a different tack altogether. Theboylucas is a twenty year old kid from the UK (arggh!) who takes lo-fi acoustic sad boy indie rock (ala Badly Drawn Boy, Elliott Smith) and filters it through a handful of Warp Records 12"s and a motley assortment of effects boxes, buries it all under a dreamy wash of Oval-ish glitch and Autechre-ish skitter and comes up with one of the most original takes on indie electronica we've heard in a long while. Imagine Boards Of Canada with a handful of dodgy patch cords, some crappy old gear, and fronted by a scruffy tattooed punk in cut off fatigues and converse hi tops with a laptop instead of a guitar and who just broke up with his girlfriend. Or imagine if Lou Barlow grew up listening to Aphex Twin and put records out on Warp or....well you know what we're getting at. 'Out Of The Wires' takes the hushed, close miked urgency of Sparklehorse, the warbly sad boy vocals of Songs:Ohia (only very rarely, as it's mostly instrumental), the skittery glitched-out electro-dub of Pole or Kit Clayton, and sprinkles in a little EMO, and voila, we're talking late-night-chillout, new-friend-make-out, two-in-the-morning-doze-off, first-thing-in-the-morning-mellow-out, FIRST-MIX-TAPE-FOR-THAT GUY/GIRL perfect indie-electronica. At moments, it's reminiscent of the super blissed out post rock of Hood or the spacey electronica of Third Eye Foundation and somehow manages to be dreamy and ambient without drifting into Darla style 'bliss out' wussy electronica. A definite must for fans of Boards Of Canada and everyone who bought the DNTEL from the last list, and a pretty good gamble for all you really adventurous indie rockers! SO good.
RealAudio clip: "There Are Great Monsters Going Past"
RealAudio clip: "Ferris Wheel"
RealAudio clip: "Go On, Crease Your Carhartts"

THEE VAPORIZER Ovrspliffed (Roborecords) cd 14.98

THIEVERY CORPORATION Mirror Conspiracy (ESL) cd 16.98
The Thievery Corporation tries to make silky music. But the silk that their sound emulates is the cheaply made synthetic stuff that is woven into the erotic apparel sold by Adam and Eve. Clad on unsexy white people who saturate themselves in Drakkar Noir, these cheap silken garments (bright pink for the ladies, purple paisleys for the gents) have the intrinsic defect of chemically adhering to the skin as soon as it is permeated with sweat. Despite the best efforts of clumsy grinding, the romantically inclinded duo has the unfortunate task of attempting to peel this molecularly fused cloth from their skin before moving onto more unmentionable things. Cotton is king.

THIEVERY CORPORATION Shadow Of Ourselves (4AD) cdep 10.98
Four song ep from this popular electronica act, one track taken from their "Mirror Conspiracy" album.

THIEVERY CORPORATION The Cosmic Game (ESL Music) cd 16.98
Right from the get-go of their latest full length, Thievery Corporation are keeping their audience on their well-heeled toes (and maybe knockin' a few of them back on their heels a bit). The reason? Well, for one thing the first track "Marching The Hate Machines (Into The Sun)" features the Flaming Lips! Seemingly odd bedfellows, doncha think? Their participation on this album will surely open them up to a whole new audience. 'Lips presence aside, fear not dear TC fans, all of the duo's suave smooooth grooooovin' is intact, but they've encorporated a multi-culti vibe into each track. Their ultra mellow downtempo core, which already had a lot of jazz and dub in it, has now been even more deeply infused with the sounds of India, Brazil and Jamaica. Special guests include Sista Pat, Perry Farrell, Loulou, Gunjan, David Byrne, Sleepy Wonder, Gigi Rezende, Patrick de Santos and the aforementioned 'Lips.
MPEG Stream: "Marching The Hate Machines (Into The Sun)"
MPEG Stream: "The Supreme Illusion"

THIEVERY CORPORATION The Outernational Sound (Eighteenth Street Lounge Music) cd 14.98
Found myself getting rather sleepy while listenin' to this new Thievery Corporation DJ set album. It seemed like Outernational Sound was going to be another trademark T.C. moody, lush downtempo affair, but no! That was only until the eleventh track (of nineteen tracks total) when things kick in something mighty! Getting all funky and hip-hoppy... and we've got Breakestra, Antonio Carlos Jocafi and Major Force to thank for that. They're the ones responsible for the eleventh, twelveth and thirteenth tracks respectively. From there, the T.C. gents continue to do as they please, 'spinning' a totally mixed bag of musical selections. Thus, this is more of a keep-you-on-yer-toes mix rather than a flowing, sink-in-and-get-groovy one. Three things we're not so sure of about this release though: 1.) whether or not we need yet another version of George Harrison's "Within You Without You" - sitar-fest or otherwise, 2.) whether or not we need a song based around that lame, cheesy 'oriental' melody -- y'know the one that begins that 80s tune "Turning Japanese", the one that get's played when Long Duk Dong appeared in Sixteen Candles, 3.) whether or not we need an artist named Crazy Penis. Ewww!
MPEG Stream: BREAKESTRA "Cramp Your Style"
MPEG Stream: ANTONIO CARLOS JOCAFI "Simbarere"

THING WITH KEN VANDERMARK Immediate Sound (Smalltown Superjazz) cd 16.98

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Fear Of A Wack Planet (Domino) cd 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Once in a blue moon an absolutely perfect single drops from heaven onto us mere mortals. It's almost unheard of that this phenomenon would be realized by the same band twice. Yet Matt Elliot, Mr. Third Eye Foundation first gave us the brilliant "Semtex" single... and now "Fear Of A Wack Planet".
Majestic choral voices delicately float as haunting historical texts to a Baroque past with elegantly simple breakbeats forming the basic structure. Yes, this is the same alchemic formula that Enigma has been boring the world with for some time now, yet Third Eye Foundation's ability to manifest the sublime provides that elusive transcendental quality that makes this one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Fear Of A Wack Planet (Domino) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Once in a blue moon an absolutely perfect single drops from heaven onto us mere mortals. It's almost unheard of that this phenomenon would be realized by the same band twice. Yet Matt Elliot, Mr. Third Eye Foundation first gave us the brilliant "Semtex" single... and now "Fear Of A Wack Planet".
Majestic choral voices delicately float as haunting historical texts to a Baroque past with elegantly simple breakbeats forming the basic structure. Yes, this is the same alchemic formula that Enigma has been boring the world with for some time now, yet Third Eye Foundation's ability to manifest the sublime provides that elusive transcendental quality that makes this one of the most beautiful pieces of music I've ever heard.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Ghost (Merge/Domino) cd 12.98
Like a Kranky release set to kill, "Ghost" unleashes an entrancing storm of beats and noise that would rather pierce than caress. "Ghost" is a wailing banshee with a rhythm section, where Bristol space-rock meets drum and bass.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Ghost (Merge/Domino) lp 8.98
Like a Kranky release set to kill, "Ghost" unleashes an entrancing storm of beats and noise that would rather pierce than caress. "Ghost" is a wailing banshee with a rhythm section, where Bristol space-rock meets drum and bass.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION I Poo Poo On Your Juju (Domino) cd 16.98
I think we can all agree, that this is perhaps the worst name for an album ever ('cept for maybe Total's Buffin' the Celestial Muffin), but musically this record is pretty great. It's basically a collection of other people's songs remixed by Third Eye Foundation's Matt Elliott. Standout tracks include the Remote Viewer remix, the Blonde Redhead remix (that you might have heard on their recent ep) and the demented Chris Morris (British comedian / TV terrorist of Blue Jam, The Day Today, and Brass Eye infamy) remix. Others getting the Third Eye include Tarwater, Urchin, Faultline, and a few others.
RealAudio clip: MATT ELLIOTT VS. CHRIS MORRIS "Push Off My Wire"
RealAudio clip: REMOTE VIEWER / THIRD EYE FOUNDATION "All Of The WCKWC Want To Be Abstract (3EF Version)"

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION I Poo Poo On Your Juju (Domino) lp 15.98
I think we can all agree, that this is perhaps the worst name for an album ever ('cept for maybe Total's 'Buffin' the Celestial Muffin'), but musically this record is pretty great. It's basically a collection of other people's songs remixed by Third Eye Foundation's Matt Elliott. Standout tracks include the Remote Viewer remix, the Blonde Rehead remix (that you might have heard on their recent remix ep) and the demented Chris Morris (British comedian / TV terrorist of Blue Jam, The Day Today, and Brass Eye infamy) remix. Others getting the Third Eye include Tarwater, Urchin, Faultline, and a few others.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Little Lost Soul (Merge) cd 14.98
More pleasant electronica from Matt Elliot aka Third Eye Foundation, this time with vaguely ethnicky female voices sometimes making their way into the mix.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION Sound of Violence (Merge) cdep 8.98
New EP features some of the tinniest, lo-fi drum'n'bass we've heard, all the while trying really hard to sound EPIC, which adds up to a very appealing, enjoyable listening experience.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION You Guys Kill Me (Merge) cd 13.98
Matt Elliot latest full length dissolves almost all of the recognizable associations once heald with former collaborators Flying Saucer Attack. "You Guys Kill Me" actually holds more in common with another super star of Bristol... Tricky. Creepy over-processed guitar noises that end up wailing like screaming animals (see track 43 on the "Sounds of North American Frogs" collection on Folkways) with disjointed breakbeats. A little lighter, a little less angry and a little more playful than previous Third Eye records, but still maintains the intensity of lulling drones accompanied by edge-of-yr-seat rolling beats. Somewhere in the midst of Bowery Electric, Portishead and Bauhaus.

THIRD EYE FOUNDATION You Guys Kill Me (Merge) lp 8.98
Matt Elliot latest full length dissolves almost all of the recognizable associations once heald with former collaborators Flying Saucer Attack. "You Guys Kill Me" actually holds more in common with another super star of Bristol... Tricky. Creepy over-processed guitar noises that end up wailing like screaming animals (see track 43 on the "Sounds of North American Frogs" collection on Folkways) with disjointed breakbeats. A little lighter, a little less angry and a little more playful than previous Third Eye records, but still maintains the intensity of lulling drones accompanied by edge-of-yr-seat rolling beats. Somewhere in the midst of Bowery Electric, Portishead and Bauhaus.

THOMAS, ANDREW Between Building And Trees (Kompakt) cd 15.98
If we had to choose a favorite purveyor of pop ambience, it would definitely be tough to pick just one, but Andrew Thomas would definitely be a contender. We still find ourselves listening to his Fearsome Jewel Record, A hushed, understated collection of minimal drift and dreamlike shimmer, the usual washed out ambience infused with record crackle, and muted electronic glitchery, a bit like Gas fused with Philip Jeck.
We hadn't heard from Thomas in a while so we were thrilled to discover a new record, and it's just as fantastically sublime as we had hoped. Even more minimal than Fearsome Jewel, Between Building And Trees finds Thomas painting lush cinematic soundscapes, from subtly looped samples, warm whirring synths, there's still some record crackle, artifacts from the samples we presume, but it adds warmth and intimacy, making these sprawling shimmery soundscapes sound hand crafted, as if you could watch him at an old work bench, taking sounds and samples, as if they were scraps of leather or metal, and fashioning this gorgeous, sonic OBJECT. Lovely and whispery and melodic, warm and whirring and blissed out, this immediately became sleeping music of choice for some of us, the absolute perfect nocturnal soundtrack, some of the tracks so minimal the sounds seem to bleed into the background, fading into the starry sky, until the next track kicks in, and suddenly the stars are sounds, glimmering and pulsing, blurring into streaks of soft focus flutter and languorous dreamlike drift. So so so beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "One Thousand Pin Holes In A Black Paper Sky"
MPEG Stream: "A Dream Of A Spider"
MPEG Stream: "Light On Sea (From Above the World So High)"

THOMAS, ANDREW Fearsome Jewel (Kompakt) cd 14.98
We first heard Andrew Thomas on the amazing Pop Ambient 2004 compilation released on Kompakt and reviewed a few lists back (a Record of the Week in fact), and while that whole collection was mesmerising and beautiful, Thomas' music definitely stood out. This New Zealander has obviously found a home amidst these German ambient pop explorers, but has managed, along with Wolfgang Voigt (aka Gas), to really move beyond ambient techno into another world, a sonic world of sweet timelessness and endless shimmer. Lush and lugubrious ambient soundscapes of warm and muted underwater loops, breezy and shimmery, with record crackle, radio static, heartbeat like pulses, tinkly piano, reverberant drones, and dreamy, meandering melodies. Totally mesmerising and trance like. One epic 30 minute piece in 10 loosely connected movements. Equal parts AQ faves Gas, Philip Jeck and Pierre Bastien. So recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Fearsome Jewel 2"
MPEG Stream: "Fearsome Jewel 3"
MPEG Stream: "Fearsome Jewel 4"

THOMAS, PETER Warp Back To Earth (Bungalow) 2cd 21.00
With reissues of Peter Thomas' bombastic scores for 60's German sci-fi movies and tv shows appearing almost once a month, a remix album would certainly not be far behind... and here it is! Stereolab, High Llamas, Coldcut, John McEntire (Tortoise), St. Etienne, Mr. Scruff, Stock Hausen & Walkman, Tipsy, Momus, Dauerfisch, Yoshinori Sunahara, Mina, Brezel Goering, The Sons of Silence, Schneider TM, and Ronnie & Clyde all take their turns at mutating Thomas' scores. But that's just disc one... Disc two documents the sounds of Peter Thomas himself.

THOMAS, RICHARD Shoes And Radios Attract Paint (Lo) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Record of the week second runner up! Extremely appealing, subtle, layered drones beautifully held together with "bleeps and clicks." Lovely, hard-to-describe full-length cd expounding the talent of Mr. Thomas who was featured on the last Lo recordings compilation (so you know it must be good). Unanimous store favorite. Sounds just so "right" -- kind of like the first time you heard Oval or Flying Saucer Attack. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

THOMAS, RICHARD Soggy Martyrs (Lo) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While his previous outings marked an interesting return to music (he also was the drummer for the underrated 4AD band Dif Juz in the 80s), his painterly electronica has stumbled a bit, not quite succeeding where Squarepusher has in fusing electronic squiggle to 70's jazz.

THOMAS, RICHARD & THE WORMHOLES Seven Point Plan to Destroy Astrology (Lo Recordings) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An amalgamation of the warped psychedelic out-rock generated by the Wormholes and the outstanding electronica fuckery from Richard Thomas, whose Shoes and Radios Attract Paint was one of the electronica gems for 1997.

THOMAS, TOBIAS Please Please Please (Kompakt) cd 15.98
What can we say, this is just a really cool record. Please Please Please is electro-lounge at its finest- totally ambient and dreamy with a quirky bit thrown in here and there for good measure. Most of the album is instrumental, building slightly in speed to accommodate the minimal, sharp, airy vocals that come in on the third to last song and to make way for Thomas's most daring feat on the record -- a remix of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams." If you are as big a fan of well remixed classics as some of us are, you'll be pleased pleased pleased. Overall, Please Please Please is a total chillout record perfect for summers on the porch. LOVE IT!!
MPEG Stream: "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (Ada Mix)"
MPEG Stream: "Wild Wild Berry"

THROBBING GRISTLE 20 Jazz Funk Greats (Mute) cd 15.98

THROBBING GRISTLE D.O.A.: The Third And Final Report (Mute / Industrial Records) cd 11.98