TUSS, THE Confederation Trough EP (Rephlex) cd ep 11.98
A three track EP of adventurous breakcore electro with plenty of acid squiggliness thrown in the mix for good measure has a lot in common with Richard D. James' Analord series he did under the AFX moniker. Lo and behold, the author of The Tuss seems to have been identified as Richard D. James (despite plenty of internet driven counterintelligence by the publicists at Rephlex, serving only to hype these recordings all the more.) But regardless of who is behind this, it's quite solid complement to the Rushup Edge album from The Tuss.
MPEG Stream: "Fredugolon 6"
MPEG Stream: "GX1 Solo"

TUSS, THE Rushup Edge (Rephlex) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The identity of The Tuss has become a matter of net-born mystery and conspiracy, yet the fingerprints of Richard D. James (aka Aphex Twin) are smeared all over the cross referenced Myspace accounts of possibily fictionalized characters. James has always had a knack for media sleights of hand in half-heartedly disguising his work. Certainly the entire hullabaloo behind The Tuss makes the album all the more interesting; and what you'll find is exactly what you would expect from the mastermind of Aphex Twin and all of those other projects that may or may not be authored by Richard D. James. There's the archetypal breakbeat skitter which developed out of James' involvement with post-rave hardcore techno and tumbled into drum 'n' bass snare crashes; there's plenty of acid squiggles and vocoder squelchiness to provide a electro edginess; and then there's the unmistakable idiosyncratic constructs of perpetual melody streams and hyper complex drum programming that always seem perfectly at ease with their speed and delivery. The Tuss is probably not the most innovative offering from James (hence, the hidden identity we'd imagine, if it is indeed a James production), but there's something quite refreshing to hear just how good these musical signatures and templates still sound today.
MPEG Stream: "Last Rushup 10 F"
MPEG Stream: "Death Fuck Mental Beats"

TUSSLE Warning EP (Smalltown Supersound) cd ep 14.98
It's been about a year since Tussle's great sophomore release, Telescope Mind, and now they've put together an ep of remixes from that disc, calling on the capable hands of folks like Optimo, Dennis Young (Liquid Liquid), Kango & Torkill and their friends Hot Chip (who they hit the road with for a jaunt across the east coast last summer). We are still really anxious to hear what the new incarnation of Tussle will end up sounding like (as there has been some major line up shifts since the original recording of the songs getting the remix treatment here). But until then this will sit nicely next to the other forward thinking kraut-meets-dance-floor offerings in this current chapter of Tussle ever evolving sound.
MPEG Stream: "Flicker 33.3 (Hot Chip Remix)"
MPEG Stream: "Warning (Kango & Torkill Mix)"

TUSSLE / PUBLICIST Split Infinitive (Voltaire) 12" 11.98
Release number three from local label Voltaire Records, and it's another good one. After the debut from Publicist (aka Sebastian Thomson from Trans Am) and the Affairs Online compilation, which included the debut of Lovelock (aka Steve Moore of Zombi), comes this killer split, featuring Publicist once again, this time teamed up with aQ faves Tussle, with each band offering up one original, and then remixing a song by the other.
Tussle start things off with a groovy chunk of bouncy bass driven electro, wreathed in strings, and underpinned by what sounds like blurred pianos, it's a dizzying mix of dancefloor slink, and low slung electro-pop, the production lush and softly psychedelic, the rhythms a bit dubbed out, definitely digging the new sound, and we're excited to hear more. They also take on Publicist's "Hand To Mouth" from the Voltaire 12" and make it their own, pulsing synths, garbled processed vox, even bigger beats, some robotic funk swirled in, what sounds almost like some talk box, seriously propulsive and groovy.
Publicist offers up some minimal synthscapery, a stuttery rhythmic bit of clipped synth pulse, over a krautdisco groove, and some thick funky basslines, everything softly distorted and seriously buzzy, the song blossoming into a sort of sci-fi Moroder-ish disco funk groove, with some swirly psychedelic synths and some kick ass robo-vox. And then Tussle's track gets Publicized into something a bit darker and groovier, thick dubbed out bass pulses, wild percussion, all over a churning low end groove and lush swells of cosmic synth, not to mention some weird breathy vocalizations, the whole thing sounding like the music from the credit sequence in some eighties sci-fi fantasy epic. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: TUSSLE "Soft Crush (Publicist Remix)"
MPEG Stream: PUBLICIST "Hand To Mouth (Tussle Remix)"

TV POW Despite Ourselves (Fire Inc.) 3"cd 9.98
The Chicago lap-top trio TV Pow has always been a hit or miss operation, situating themselves closest (when at their best) to their one time Icelandic collaborators Stilluppsteypa as a recombination of microwave / glitch work and the erratic, shifting collage technique of The Hafler Trio. This record too is a collection of mixed results, starting off nicely with a set of modulated (and audible!) tones intertwined with a strange crackle of unidentifiable field recording, very bass heavy thumps and harsh edits emphasized by harsh static bursts. TV Pow peters out with some gossamer applications of barely audible glitches that warranted the title "this is the part the austrians like." Is this the future of artistic satire?
RealAudio clip: "(slow) jam"
RealAudio clip: "this is the part the austrians like"

TWINS The Other Side Of (Ruralfaune Synth Series) lp 21.00
Yet another sonic time machine trip, right back to the mid eighties, and as usual, you find yourself transported directly to the credits of a VHS tape in the bargain section of the local video store, or right into a montage of various characters getting ready for the big dance / race to raise money to save the school / rendezvous with the cute girl you've always had a crush on. It's so strange how these youngsters can so masterfully channel a time before they were even born, but then there are plenty of people who are channeling the sixties and seventies, maybe it's more a question of WHY. The decade better forgotten, whether it be fashion or music, but once again, given enough space, we have to say, as reimagined by this new generation, this stuff sounds pretty dang good.
Twins is the latest in a long line of new outfits channeling the sound and spirit of eighties pop music. Zombi, Majeure, Umberto, Outer Limits Recordings, Puro Instinct, Dylan Ettinger, Autre Ne Veut, Craft Spells, Innercity, Greatest Hits, Gatekeeper, Soft Metals, well now you can add Twins, aka one man band Matt Weiner, to that list, but of that whole bunch, we're definitely feeling like Twins might be the weirdest, and at the same time, the most genuinely eighties sounding of the bunch. Or maybe it's just how we wish music in the eighties sounded, or how we remember it, whether it's true or not. Woozy doomy warbly sci-fi funk, crappy Casio disco, warped druggy new wave electro pop. The drums programmed and reverbed, woozy guitar jangle, throbbing synth funk bass, and the vocals, warped and sexy, a whispery croon, heavily effected, the pitch control seemingly on the fritz, slipping into crazy falsetto one second, deep bellow croons the next, the perfect match for the throbbing pulsing neon new wave surrounding it. Unlike the dancey grooves and haunting Carpenter soundtracks of many of the other eighties revivalists, Twins is more concerned with pop music, this is like a glance into some alternate universe, where eighties MTV continued on into the future virtually unchanged, just becoming more and more damaged and fractured and fantastically freaky as it's broadcast across time and space. We're definitely reminded on fucked up pop weirdos like Gary War and Ariel Pink, but if anything, this takes those already fucked up sounds, and adds a whole other level of new wave cabaret drama, transforming a mere exercise in romantic retroism, into something totally and dementedly inspired.
Released on the Synth Series sub label of the mighty Rural Faune, and of course very very limitedÉ
MPEG Stream: "About Us"
MPEG Stream: "Worn Out"
MPEG Stream: "Drive By Digital Ghost"
MPEG Stream: "Danger Zone"

TWISTED SCIENCE Deep and Warm (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.
After the abrasive drum & bass album 'The Sharpest Tool in the Box', Jon Tye (aka Twisted Science) completely shifts course for this whimsical electronica-concrete album. Sorta like u-ziq meets Jim O'Rourke.

TWISTED SCIENCE The Sharpest Tool In The Box (Lo) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Harsh jagged ultra distorted electronic music ranging from furious drum and bass to half-time sputtering noise... This is one of our unanimous favorite new releases.

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Big Silver Shining Motor of Sin E.P. (Warp) cd ep 8.98
Two Lone Swordsmen chase their recent Double Gone Chapel album with this six song ep (containing remixes and instrumental versions of three TLS tracks -- "Showbizz Shotguns", "Feast" and "Sex Beat"). Continuing in much the same stark dark vein, each track follows simple basslines, minimal repetitive synth melodies and uncomplicated programmed beats. The male vocals that appear on a few of the tracks are delivered in an electro-friendly cold monotone speak-sing. If you dug the change in direction that they took on their last full length (i.e, away from their mellow electronica past and towards an edgier, more 'rock' sound), then you just might dig this ep which sorta bridges their two musical personalities.
MPEG Stream: "Showbizz Shotguns"
MPEG Stream: "Sex Beat (Dub)"

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Further Reminders (Warp) cd 15.98
The follow-up to "Tiny Reminders" from Andrew Weatherall (formerly of Sabres of Paradise) and Keith Tenniswood comes in the shape of a remix collection. They asked a few of their friends to have a go at some tracks from their last album. It begins (and ends) in a promising, dreamy dance beat-less manner courtesy of C-Pij but then quickly reverts into the less than thrilling, ambient-techno TLS are known for. But there are some nice moments in the reworking of songs by Calexico (a reciprocal remix for their contribution to Calexico's "Even My Sure Things Fall Through") and Lali Puna. But maybe it's the strength and beauty of those artists that raises them above the rest on this album. As well there are a few other detours from the 'Swordsmen's usual downtempo arena, most notably into some dubby territory on track 5 entitled "Neuflex" as remixed by Dry & Heavy.
RealAudio clip: "Neuflex Dry & Heavy Remix"
RealAudio clip: "Lali Puna Its Not The Worst"
RealAudio clip: "Calexico Tiny Reminder No 3"

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Peppered With Spastik Magic (Rotten Golf Club) cd 15.98
What do the following artists have in common? Calexico, Starsailor, Lalipuna, St. Etienne, Luke Slater, Primal Scream, Howie B, Stereo MCs, Force Legato, Texas, Six By Seven, Alter Ego and Slam -- hmmm, any guesses? Well folks, they've all had their music remixed by Two Lone Swordsmen. Please note: Most tracks bear little resemblance to the original songs. If you're a fan of any/all of the abovementioned artists in search of more of the same, you'll probably want to continue your quest. If you dig late '90s IDM with skillful digital dismemberment of melody and Cuisinart-style fragmentation of beats, this might be for you. By the way, this compilation serves to warm up the decks in preparation for TLS' forthcoming full length due out in June.
MPEG Stream: LALIPUNA "Nin.Com.Pop (T.L.S. Remix)"
MPEG Stream: CALEXICO "Untitled 3 (Virus Style Mix)"

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Stay Down (Matador) cd 13.98
This is lovely, melodic, burbling electronica from the famed Andrew Weatherall (Sabres of Paradise etc). Mellow and groovy, it's similar in concept to KLF's pastoral Chill Out, but underwater!

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Stay Down (Matador) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is lovely, melodic, burbling electronica from the famed Andrew Weatherall (Sabres of Paradise etc). Mellow and groovy, it's similar in concept to KLF's pastoral Chill Out, but underwater!

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN Swimming Not Skimming (Emissions) cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second full-length from Andrew Weatherall's latest incarnation. Dark, brooding, burbly, epic, yet overtly relatively subtle (lots going on but you have to listen closely) experimental electronica...

TWO LONE SWORDSMEN The Double Gone Chapel (Warp) cd 14.98
For eight years IDM duo Two Lone Swordsmen have made pleasing electronic music, nothing to knock your socks off nor put your knickers in a knot, just well executed, predominantly downtempo tracks. Now they've ventured into some unchartered territory... at least for them. The Double Gone Chapel can easily be tagged their "rock album". What it actually resembles is a diluted version of analog synth slingers Add (N) To X who themselves became dilutions of their past more engaging selves years back. Vague jamming -- a la get a farty synthesizer sound, come up with a simple riff and repeat until 'groovy'. 'Cheers' to them for trying new things, but 'Boo' for feeling compelled to release it before getting their rock chops up to snuff. Cmon Warp, some quality control! There's so many other bands who do this much better. Offering a bright light amid all the dullness is the second to last song "Taste Of Our Flames". With its woozy male / female vocals and heavy fuzzed bass tones, this smokily intoxicating, somber number could've been a great album closer... but it isn't. Instead, they tagged on a redundant post-rockish instrumental. Adding one more confusing glitch in the TLS system this time around.
MPEG Stream: "Stack Up"
MPEG Stream: "Taste Of Our Flames"

TYCHO Dive (Ghostly International) cd 11.98
Dive may be the latest release from the man known as Tycho, aka Scott Hansen, but it's the first thing of his most of us here have heard, and we have to say we're pretty swept away by Hansen's sonic vision, a musical accompaniment to some sort of abstract futuristic utopia, rendered in shades of glistening, sun dappled shimmer, abstract IDM skitter, and warm, lush, organic atmospheres. The sound is definitely shoegazey, and a little bit house-y, flecked with glimmers of new age ambience, wreathed in wisps of celestial ethereal drift, and smears of late night chill out electronica, all filtered through what to our ears sounds like a decidedly indie rock filter, with the occasional acoustic guitar and wistful melancholy melody woven deftly into glistening expanses of crystalline electronica, or minimal dreampop space-prog, all floating lazily beneath swells of swooshing synths and wreathed in woozy moodiness, and all driven by skeletal shuffles and warm liquid pulses, those pulses occasionally coalescing into a sort of eighties retro Knight Rider style groove, and briefly positioning Tycho's sounds alongside folks like Zombi and Umberto, but not only are the sounds here more prismatic and dreamy, they're also decidedly more rhythmic, and more IDM style electronic, definitely a retro-futuristic sort of dancefloor vibe, but only if you can imagine said dancefloor in the middle of a sun dappled meadow, beneath a blue sky and surrounded by rolling hills as far as the eye can see. It seems like those two elements wouldn't really work, but they kind of do, creating something minimal and groovy, but also tranquil and meditative, a sort of new age / soft focus electronic kosmische indie pop, that would be the perfect soundtrack to the romantic montage in some low budget experimental underground art film (or heck, these days, even some big budget car commercial)!
MPEG Stream: "A Walk"
MPEG Stream: "Hours"
MPEG Stream: "Daydream"

TYCHO Dive (Ghostly International) lp 22.00
Dive may be the latest release from the man known as Tycho, aka Scott Hansen, but it's the first thing of his most of us here have heard, and we have to say we're pretty swept away by Hansen's sonic vision, a musical accompaniment to some sort of abstract futuristic utopia, rendered in shades of glistening, sun dappled shimmer, abstract IDM skitter, and warm, lush, organic atmospheres. The sound is definitely shoegazey, and a little bit house-y, flecked with glimmers of new age ambience, wreathed in wisps of celestial ethereal drift, and smears of late night chill out electronica, all filtered through what to our ears sounds like a decidedly indie rock filter, with the occasional acoustic guitar and wistful melancholy melody woven deftly into glistening expanses of crystalline electronica, or minimal dreampop space-prog, all floating lazily beneath swells of swooshing synths and wreathed in woozy moodiness, and all driven by skeletal shuffles and warm liquid pulses, those pulses occasionally coalescing into a sort of eighties retro Knight Rider style groove, and briefly positioning Tycho's sounds alongside folks like Zombi and Umberto, but not only are the sounds here more prismatic and dreamy, they're also decidedly more rhythmic, and more IDM style electronic, definitely a retro-futuristic sort of dancefloor vibe, but only if you can imagine said dancefloor in the middle of a sun dappled meadow, beneath a blue sky and surrounded by rolling hills as far as the eye can see. It seems like those two elements wouldn't really work, but they kind of do, creating something minimal and groovy, but also tranquil and meditative, a sort of new age / soft focus electronic kosmische indie pop, that would be the perfect soundtrack to the romantic montage in some low budget experimental underground art film (or heck, these days, even some big budget car commercial)!
MPEG Stream: "A Walk"
MPEG Stream: "Hours"
MPEG Stream: "Daydream"

U-ZIQ Duntisbourne Abbots Soulmate Devastation Technique (Planet Mu) cd 14.98

U.S. GIRLS / DIRTY BEACHES split (Silbing Sex) 7"+download 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the same label that brought us the killer 7"/cd from Spanish electro punk outfit Der Ventilator (reviewed elsewhere on this list), comes this killer split, featuring long time fave US Girls, and new super hyped combo (or one man band, we're not sure), Dirty Beaches.
US Girls, aka Megan Remy offers up another fantastic batch of lo-fi psychedelic greywave, all murky and muddy, haunting and ritualistic, a strange drum driven vocal chant starts things off, her voice witchy and warped, all wreathed in a cloud of whirring low end, before the sound blossoms into a weird electronic groove, all minimal programmed percussion, beneath a soft haze of distortion and tangled psychedelic guitars, before launching into the final and longest track, a sort of creepy underwater goth dub workout, that sounds a bit like a more minimal avant lo-fi Zola Jesus, a looped sonar rhythm, Remy's vocals chant like and mesmerizing, eventually the beat and vox are swallowed up by a cloud of electronic squiggles and warped spaced out FX. Dirty Beaches is similarly murky and echoey, but instead of witchy electronic minimalism, he/they offer up a moody croon over a super minimal bit of rhythmic crunch, and some barely audible melody, the sound a woozy, warped bit of washed out drift, the rhythm more like a distant chugging train, a hushed pulse, there seems to be some super minimal guitar too, an almost Johnny Cash bit of low slung strum, but it too is wreathed in murk and transformed into just another warped undulating throb, the whole thing dark and dreamily dubby.
Super sweet packaging, full color cover in a thick plastic sleeve sealed with a sticker, pressed on green vinyl with a download coupon too.
MPEG Stream: US GIRLS "Mah Marie"
MPEG Stream: DIRTY BEACHES "Drunk Driving"

UDAY NAPOLEON Crack Crack Crack/Brains (Flogsta Danshall) 7" 6.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Skweee!!! See our Museum of Future Sound review for more explanation...

UFFIE Sex Dreams And Denim Jeans (Elektra / Ed Banger) cd 13.98
We're pretty sure there's not a person alive who hasn't heard Ke$ha's "Tik Tok", an insanely and inanely addictive chunk of electronic commercial pop, that at least a handful of aQ-ers have ended up digging despite themselves. But WAY before Ke$ha, there was Uffie, a spoiled bratty slutty teenager, who moved to Europe, fell in with the Ed banger crew, and ended up being an unlikely sort-of-star with her inane but AWESOME jam "Pop The Glock", dopey lyrics, autotuned vox, super catchy, we don't know anyone who didn't dig it, whether they wanted to or not, but that was YEARS ago, so it seems fortuitous that Uffie finally unleashes her proper full length debut, right when the climate is right for another vapid, gold digging, slutty, super hot electronic superstar. And of course "Pop The Glock" is here, it is her best song after all, and if it weren't for all the swearing, it's not hard to imagine this being all over the radio, although the vibe is more trashy euro than US mall punk, but still, it sounds as good as ever.
The only problem, is that "Pop The Glock" is so good, the rest of the record sort of pales, but even then, this is a pretty bad ass dose of sweaty, groovy, club bangers, "ADD SUV" should be blasting in every club, total coke and crystal, VIP room, stripper anthem, "MCs Can Kiss" sounds like a modern version of Roxanne Shante, a sort of dumbed down "Cars That Go Boom" (which as already sorta dumb), "First Love" is about as close to a sensitive ballad as Uffie can get, still all about sex, and laced with heavy beats and buzzy synths, and then there's the title track, that almost sounds like Best Coast, summery and sunshiney and fuzzy and poppy, which is weird, but besides "Pop The Glock" might be the best song here...
Obviously, this is poised to be THEE guilty pleasure of the year, but that's only if you feel guilty for digging this, which we don't really at all!
MPEG Stream: "Pop The Glock"
MPEG Stream: "ADD SUV (Ft. Pharell Williams)"
MPEG Stream: "MCs Can Kiss"
MPEG Stream: "First Love"

ULTRA LIVING Transgression (After Hours / Bubblecore) cd 14.98
Weird Japanese indie pop/electronica/jazz group, described as some impossible combination of salsa, beats, and Zappa, or something like that. Their brand of willful eclecticism is of the very brave (foolish?) variety, where they don't so much fuse genres as skip among them from track to track, making this sound almost more like a compilation than a band. For instance, track four is an interpretation of Ornette Coleman's "Skies of America", with saxophones a-plenty, but by track six we're experiencing a hip hop song featuring guest MC Mike Ladd. Other guests and musical approaches are introduced over the course of the album, but at least one unifying factor is the recurrence of saxophones, and another is the recurring vocals of Kyoko Brown, who manages to come as close as a Japanese (-American?) woman can to sounding like Mike Patton, appropriate since I'd imagine that Mr. Bungle fans looking for something in the electronica vein would go for this... Interesting!

ULTRA RED Plan de Austeridad - BBC Remixes (Beta Bodega) 12" 8.98

ULVER 1993-2003: 1st Decade In The Machines (Jester) cd 14.98
Lupine Norwegian tricksters Ulver have been around for 10 years now, and mark the occasion with this invitational remix album, something very appropriate for a group whose whole career has been about morphing and reinventing themselves, remaining weirdo outsiders in whatever genre they visit. A decade ago they started out (and still have some residual allegiance to) the Nordic black metal genre, but today we're not sure what genre they claim, certainly it's not metal anymore. Glitchy electronica and downtempo beats took over from buzzing guitars and blast beats, but there's a definite connection between the two as this project proves.
Remixers include Ulver themselves (whose track goes way back to their Vargnatt demo tape from '93 for source material) and an international cast of experimentalists: Merzbow, Fennesz, Stars Of The Lid, Neotropic, Bogdan Raczynski, Third Eye Foundation, Information, Upland, Pita, V/Vm, Jazzkammer and a few others. An impressive and unusual line-up, certainly not entirely what we expected. Some do drones, some delve into beat-scapes, while others go for the raw black stuff, such as Merzbow (of course) whose ten-minute "Vow me Ibrzu" is one of the highlights, being a properly scary and noisy trawl through the evil riffage of Ulver's metallic past. Quite a few of the mixes are drawn from Ulver's more recent electronica efforts (Perdition City, the Silence eps, and the Lycantropen Themes soundtrack), but not all -- early stuff from Ulver's classic lycanthropian "Trilogie" of black metal albums (Bergtatt and Nattens Madrigal specifically) makes it on here as well. Several more mixes derive from Ulver's industrial version of William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the double cd that was an early signpost of Ulver's willingness to violate genre norms and musical categorization. Like it says here, wolves evolve...
MPEG Stream: FENNESZ "Only The Poor Have To Travel"
MPEG Stream: UPLAND "Lost In Moments Remix"
MPEG Stream: MERZBOW "Vow me Ibrzu"

ULVER A Quick Fix Of Melancholy EP (Jester) cd 10.98
The title doesn't lie. This latest transmission from those Norwegian eccentrics Ulver consists of but four songs, a sampling of gothic glitch rock, the sad-synth-symphonic soundtrack to a ghost story left to you to imagine. The melodies and electronic beats give little clue to Ulver's origins as a vulpine black metal band, although the final track is in fact a rearrangement of a piece from their 1996 Kveldssanger opus, and makes an ominous, distortion-filled ending to the ep without altering the mood already set by the chamber strings and doleful male singing of the previous three tracks. With this ep, Ulver continue their ectoplasmic existence as a restless spirit that filters through many musical bodies, fully possessing none but leaving weird nightmares behind...
MPEG Stream: "Little Blue Bird"
MPEG Stream: "Eitttlane"

ULVER Lyckantropen Themes (Jester) cd 13.98
This latest release from unclassifiable Norwegian electronica experimentalists Ulver (y'know, the not-a-black-metal-band-anymore-so-don't-even-ask Ulver) is a soundtrack to some sort of arty werewolf film (we think, check out the trailer at http://www.lyckantropen.com/trailer.php) by Swedish director Steve Ericsson. Following on in the style of their recent, quite nice "improv-glitch" eps (collected on the Teachings In Silence cd reviewed last list), Ulver's music for Ericsson's film is suitably dark and moody -- and glitchily melodic. Loops and crackle and synth drones, almost entirely instrumental, in a very "modern" electronic vein -- not a bit like Ulver's previous werewolf-themed albums (Nattens Madrigal for instance)! You'll hear no distorted metallic Darkthrone worship here (although things get a little frantic on the disc's tenth and final track). This is informed more by the likes of Tarwater and Autechre and downtempo electronica, and they do it well. Scoring soundtracks may indeed be Ulver's new true calling, though we'd still love it if they'd surprise us again in the future with yet another new direction. As good as this is, they've yet to really be as original or unique in their adopted/adapted "electronica" guise as they were in the realm of black metal.
RealAudio clip: "track 8"
RealAudio clip: "track 10"

ULVER Metamorphosis (Jester) cdep 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The most predicably unpredicable band on the Norwegian black metal scene has to be Ulver. They've made an album of metallic, raw Darkthrone worship, another of pure acoustic folk, and (most recently) even a double cd combining William Blake poetry with industrial beats. Now, with this new four-track ep, they've gone fully techno, Ulver-style, meaning dark, heavy electronica beats with only traces of the old Ulver remaining, mainly in the occasional Viking-opera vocals. Appropriate to this "metamorphosis", the cd tray features the following message from the band: "Ulver is obviously not a black metal band...we are proud of our former instincts, but wish to liken our association with said genre to that of the snake with Eve. An incentive to further frolic only. If this discourages you in any way, please have the courtesy to refrain from voicing superficial remarks regarding our music and/or personae. We are as unknown to you as we always were." Yet another surprising release from this unique band.

ULVER Perdition City (Jester) cd 15.98
Well it's pretty clear that these Norwegian weirdos will never be a "black metal" band again. Following the industrial and techno experimentation of their last two releases comes the new disc, "Perdition City" (pretentiously subtitled "music to an interior film"), and with this album Ulver seem fully committed to their new electronica personae, sounding more like Portishead or Tarwater than anything remotely metal. So, there'll never to be another beautiful acoustic folk masterpiece like "Kveldsangger" or a darker-than-Darkthrone black metal assault like "Nattens Madrigal" from these guys...and it's a pity, 'cause even though this new, noir-ish electronic Ulver effort is OK, it's got nothing on the originality and passion of what they once were. Dark, faux-soundtrack stuff, not bad (except for the truly god-awful vocals that thankfully only occur a couple of times, and the saxophone also gives some of us problems) but why? Several other pioneering black metal bands have successfully incorporated electronic/industrial sounds into their music (Mayhem, Satyricon...) without going entirely over to the other side. If Garm (aka Trickster G) and the other guys in Ulver want to do an atmospheric electronica band, which evidently they do, why keep the Ulver name? All that means is that some Ulver fans (like Andee) will hate this, and some (like Allan) will still add it to their collections out of loyalty and curiosity. But if it WASN'T Ulver, I don't think Andee would hate it so much, OR Allan would buy it...argh. At least this isn't Marylin Manson cheese ala Kovenant... Oh, this includes a cd-rom video clip as well, but it didn't work on our Macs. Ulver fans, make your choice... Ulver: up their own ass with trendy electronica artiness, or post-black metal innovators?

RealAudio clip: "Lost In Moments"
RealAudio clip: "The Future Sound Of Music"

ULVER Silence Teaches You How To Sing EP (Jester Records) cd ep 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Formerly black metal avantgardists Ulver of Norway present 24 minutes of electonic experimental improv, a slowly-unfolding collage of organic drones and beats and clicks and field recordings and post-rock piano melody etc., that might remind you of everything from Tarwater to Philip Jeck to Fennesz to Mogwai... Quite mellow, dark and beautiful, a soundscape composed, in part, of static-y electro-grime overlaying scratchy vinyl looping with occasional wordless drifting vocals.
The long, lone track on this limited edition ep was constructed from material recorded in a one-night "Dead City Centre jam" last February during the sessions for Ulver's most recent full-length, the love it or hate it "Perdition City". Unlike that album, though, this ep benefits from a lack of horrendous vocal and saxophone contributions! While some of Ulver's past attempts to branch out into non-black metal genres have been, as just alluded to, kinda shaky (if commendable in spirit), this stands up well in the "experimental/electronica" category. Recommended, as possibly Ulver's best post-metal effort.
RealAudio clip: "Silence... (excerpt)"

ULVER Svidd Neger (Jester) cd 14.98
We're still waiting on the upcoming string quartet version of Ulver's black metal masterpiece Nattens Madrigal, but in the meantime they've released something else new, another soundtrack effort (their second, after last year's Lyckantropen Themes). As with that album, Ulver are in their current manifestation as a dark, avant-electronica act, their Nordic metal past a mere shadow cast over the proceedings. With eerie, tinkling piano and far-off, distant screams, Ulver create sonic echoes of crimes that we'll assume appear on celluloid in Svidd Neger. Melancholic horns and downtempo beats make this a creepy yet club-contemporary sounding listen. And after you're lulled into thinking it's all gonna be quiet and mellow, wham some ominous heavy chords come crashing down, Mogwai-style. Mostly though, this is quiet and creepy, and menacingly melodic.
MPEG Stream: "Wild Cat"
MPEG Stream: "Rock Massif Pt. 1"

ULVER Teachings In Silence (Black Apple) cd 11.98
Warehouse find! Not ours of course since we don't have a warehouse, but some of these classic Ulver discs turned up so we grabbed a bunch. It had been a while since we listened to this, but returning to it now, we realized what a killer disc this is, and figured a bunch of folks may have missed out on it, so here's another chance for you, it's long out of print, going on 5 years maybe, so once these are gone, they will again be gone for good...
here's our review from when we first carried it way back when:
This new cd from Norwegian avantgarde ex-black metallers Ulver isn't really new, as it actually is a reissue compilation of their two limited edition, now out of print eps "Silence Teaches You How To Sing" and "Silencing The Singing" on one handy, domestically issued disc (by a new label run by Aaron from noise-pop outfit Iran, who met Ulver while in Norway filming a documentary about the black metal scene! Which should be coming out soon, as in 2007!). So, you don't need it if you already have those two import discs, but if you don't, we most certainly recommend it -- both eps are two of Ulver's best post-black metal efforts to date, as they move into unclassifiable experimental/electronica realms. To sum up our previous commentary on these eps: "Silence Teaches You..." is a single, 24 minute track of electonic experimental improv, a slowly-unfolding collage of organic drones and beats and clicks and field recordings and post-rock piano melody etc., that might remind you of everything from Tarwater to Philip Jeck to Fennesz to Mogwai... Quite mellow, dark and beautiful, a soundscape composed, in part, of static-y electro-grime overlaying scratchy vinyl looping with occasional wordless drifting vocals. It was constructed from material recorded in a one-night "Dead City Centre jam" during the sessions for Ulver's previous full-length album, the love it or hate it "Perdition City". Unlike that album, though, this ep benefits from a lack of horrendous vocal and saxophone contributions! The similar in method/sound "Silencing The Singing" follows, three tracks providing another half hour of music, constructed of repetitive melodic and non-melodic loops (some notes on a piano, scratchy vinyl surface noise, what might be far-off voices), gradually joined by electronic blips and beats. The mood is quiet and languid, as are the rhythms, although the last track builds into a lovely few final moments of loud distortion.
Ulver of course originally made their name in the black metal scene, with such classic the-forest-is-my-throne-style albums as "Nattens Madrigal" and "Kveldsanger", full of church-burning riffs and wolverine vocals (and acoustic folk music in the case of "Kveldsanger"). And we won't deny that that's some of their best stuff -- it is. But since those days they've abandoned black metal and morphed into some sort of odd, willfully abstract electronic/experimental band -- and as well, Ulver leader Krystoffer "Garm" Rygg started up the fab Jester label to release music by all sorts of likeminded (i.e. fucked) Norwegian artists (including AQ faves When, Bogus Blimp, Origami Galaktika, Rotoscope, and of course Ulver).
And while Ulver's black metal past isn't overtly evident on these recordings, we could suppose that their earlier appreciation of the grim, lo-fi, trance-like ambience created by their (former) heroes Darkthrone and Mayhem is still a part of Ulver's sound, explaining their music's current immersion in a grimy (if not grim) background of constant crackle and buzzing drones. Well, that and the fact that such sounds are now as hip in experimental/electronica circles as they are cult in metal.
MPEG Stream: "Silence Teaches You How To Sing"
MPEG Stream: "Darling Didn't We Kill You?"
MPEG Stream: "Speak Dead Speaker"

UMBERTO Final Exit (Black Moss) one-sided silk-screened 12" 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The latest chunk of seventies/eighties faux giallo soundtrack John Carpenter / Goblin worship from longtime aQ faves Umberto comes in the form of this EXTREMELY limited one-sided silk-screened 12". Umberto, aka Matt Hill, who is one half of psychedelic spacekraut explorers Expo 70, offers up another glorious slab of brooding cinematic ambience, this one a lot more ambient that past outings. More on that in a second. Final Exit is packaged in a super striking fold over sleeve, which features the image of one unlucky man's final exit, laying on a bed, suffocated with a plastic bag over his head, the sleeve also bears the legend: "This record is intended to accompany the last moments of your suffering." It also features a seal, adorned with a flower, and the words "good life / good death". The record itself is one sided, the flipside featuring another image of that same man, this time eyes opened and bulging! Morbid for sure. And the music follows suit. Sort of. In some ways it almost sounds more like a slightly more sinister and soundtracky Expo 70, with warm swoonsome synth swirls, a sort of darkly new age-y drift, moody and broody, with lush swells that sound almost choral, the vibe is definitely majestic and cinematic, but is also minimal and restrained. A few minutes in, percolating synth melodies surface amidst the dark swirls, and then a simple heartbeat like pulse, motorik and minimally propulsive, near the end the sound changes tone and timbre becoming much more gristly and distorted the hum and thrum transformed into a crumbling buzz, ominous and sinister, the whole sound hazy and gauzy, and gradually fading to black.
The record sounds great at both 33 and 45rpm, but we tend to like things slower, so at 33 it definitely sounds much creepier and gloomier.
LIMITED TO JUST 150 COPIES!!! Each one is hand numbered. When we run out, we will NOT be able to get more, so if you want one, act fast.
Word of warning: These come in those super brittle plastic picture disc sleeves that, to be blunt, kinda suck, so every single one of the sleeves is slightly damaged, whether it's cracked on the corner, or with a seam split, it's the nature of those sleeves, and of having them shipped from overseas too (which also resulted in some some bent corners and so forth), so if you're super anal, or a nit picky collector, you have been warned, everyone else, you should be fine, they're all housed in a second polybag anyway, and the records themselves are in perfect condition (and look amazing!), so grab one before they're gone!

UMBERTO Freeze (Not Not Fun) 7" 9.98
The first thing you notice is the goofy Eddie Murphy cover art, with the altered tagline "He's been ZUULed, thrown through a window, and arrested." The second thing you notice are the equally cheesy sounds inside, channeling the same eighties VHS soundtrack grooves as before, but somehow, where in the past, Umberto sounded like horror movie scores, or lost John Carpenter soundtracks, or sci-fi fantasy weirdness, this one sounds like it COULD actually have come from an Eddie Murphy movie, funky synthed out grooves, programmed drums, faux horn melodies, at least on "Put An APB On Those Bastards". "Common Street trash" almost sounds like it could have been titled "Love Theme from Common Street Trash", all hazy washed out melodies, another weird horn like refrain, everything super dramatic and heartfelt and again fantastically cheesy. "Going Rogue", laces some piano over soaring strings, some big stadium drums, a slow building super tense, but all too brief bit of dramatic musical tension, before the big finish, "Illegal Entry With Intent To Zuul", with its Barney Miller bassline, sizzling high hats, new wave drums, and yep, another cheesy electronic sax solo, all washed out and woozy, as faded as the crappy VHS print of whatever imaginary movie this came from, the funky bass rooting it solidly mid eighties, same with the sax, the second half gets a little more far out and new wavey, with some strange synth melodies, all the while teetering right on the edge of goofy retro synth revivalism and the sort of thing we weren't sure we understood even the first time around... Goblin fans should be pleased!
MPEG Stream: "Put An APB On Those Bastards"
MPEG Stream: "Illegal Entry With Intent To Zuul"

UMBERTO From The Grave (Permanent) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL (& earlier cd-r version is out of print)!!!!
Doubtless many movie (and music) buffs would agree that Italian '70s and '80s "giallo" (horror/thriller) cinema, from directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, had soundtracks usually as evocative and inspirational as any visual aspect of the films, soundtracks which often stand as effective works of art all on their own. The scores by prog band Goblin being perhaps best known, influencing such modern day bands as Zombi and Crime In Choir. Now here's another, utterly blatant and most excellent example of Italian giallo soundtrack worship by a current artist: Umberto!
Umberto is actually a one-man band, that man being Matt Hill, live collaborator / touring member of AQ faves Expo '70! Under his guise of Umberto, he has just released his first album as limited edition cassette and cd-r on the Sonic Meditations label run by Expo '70 mainman Justin Wright. While Expo '70 has proven to be especially adept at channelling the heavy kosmiche bliss of prime '70s krautrock a la Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, Umberto is equally savvy at conjuring the dark, suspenseful soundtrack-y sounds of Goblin and the like. With, some cosmic Klaus-y krauty-ness thrown in as well. This definitely sounds like it could be an actual soundtrack, in fact, someone should MAKE a film just to use this as a soundtrack. You can certainly do so in your imagination, aided perhaps by the cinematically suggestive track titles, which include "Running Blade", "Intermission", "Dream Sequence", "Shower Scene", and "End Credits" (the only track here with vocals, otherwise it's all instrumental... and the vocals on this last track are some sort of hard-to understand, chant-like invocation). Listen with the lights off for best results.
Umberto has a heavily synthesized sound, keyboards buzzing and droning and squelching, crunchily distorted or eerily ethereal, sounding at once like ominous Gothic organ music and also spacey futuristic electronica. Mechanical drumming plods along, propulsive beats adding to the menacing atmosphere. There's also plenty of fat disco synth-bass, and we bet folks into Italians Do It Better 12"s, or Black Devil Disco Club, or even skweee would get a kick out of this too, not just Goblin fanatics... but yeah Goblin fanatics (and John Carpenter and Zombi fans too) REALLY ought to check this out! Very cool, very creepy, and even at times kinda catchy-groovy.
MPEG Stream: "Forsaken Dawn"
MPEG Stream: "It Came From The Swamp"
MPEG Stream: "Running Blade"

UMBERTO From The Grave (Sonic Meditations) cassette 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Doubtless many movie (and music) buffs would agree that Italian '70s and '80s "giallo" (horror/thriller) cinema, from directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, had soundtracks usually as evocative and inspirational as any visual aspect of the films, soundtracks which often stand as effective works of art all on their own. The scores by prog band Goblin being perhaps best known, influencing such modern day bands as Zombi and Crime In Choir. Now here's another, utterly blatant and most excellent example of Italian giallo soundtrack worship by a current artist: Umberto!
Umberto is actually a one-man band, that man being Matt Hill, live collaborator / touring member of AQ faves Expo '70! Under his guise of Umberto, he has just released his first album as limited edition cassette and cd-r on the Sonic Meditations label run by Expo '70 mainman Justin Wright. While Expo '70 has proven to be especially adept at channelling the heavy kosmiche bliss of prime '70s krautrock a la Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, Umberto is equally savvy at conjuring the dark, suspenseful soundtrack-y sounds of Goblin and the like. With, some cosmic Klaus-y krauty-ness thrown in as well. This definitely sounds like it could be an actual soundtrack, in fact, someone should MAKE a film just to use this as a soundtrack. You can certainly do so in your imagination, aided perhaps by the cinematically suggestive track titles, which include "Running Blade", "Intermission", "Dream Sequence", "Shower Scene", and "End Credits" (the only track here with vocals, otherwise it's all instrumental... and the vocals on this last track are some sort of hard-to understand, chant-like invocation). Listen with the lights off for best results.
Umberto has a heavily synthesized sound, keyboards buzzing and droning and squelching, crunchily distorted or eerily ethereal, sounding at once like ominous Gothic organ music and also spacey futuristic electronica. Mechanical drumming plods along, propulsive beats adding to the menacing atmosphere. There's also plenty of fat disco synth-bass, and we bet folks into Italians Do It Better 12"s, or Black Devil Disco Club, or even skweee would get a kick out of this too, not just Goblin fanatics... but yeah Goblin fanatics (and John Carpenter and Zombi fans too) REALLY ought to check this out! Very cool, very creepy, and even at times kinda catchy-groovy.
MPEG Stream: "Forsaken Dawn"
MPEG Stream: "It Came From The Swamp"
MPEG Stream: "Running Blade"

UMBERTO From The Grave (Sonic Meditations) cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Doubtless many movie (and music) buffs would agree that Italian '70s and '80s "giallo" (horror/thriller) cinema, from directors like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, had soundtracks usually as evocative and inspirational as any visual aspect of the films, soundtracks which often stand as effective works of art all on their own. The scores by prog band Goblin being perhaps best known, influencing such modern day bands as Zombi and Crime In Choir. Now here's another, utterly blatant and most excellent example of Italian giallo soundtrack worship by a current artist: Umberto!
Umberto is actually a one-man band, that man being Matt Hill, live collaborator / touring member of AQ faves Expo '70! Under his guise of Umberto, he has just released his first album as limited edition cassette and cd-r on the Sonic Meditations label run by Expo '70 mainman Justin Wright. While Expo '70 has proven to be especially adept at channelling the heavy kosmiche bliss of prime '70s krautrock a la Klaus Schulze, Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel, Umberto is equally savvy at conjuring the dark, suspenseful soundtrack-y sounds of Goblin and the like. With, some cosmic Klaus-y krauty-ness thrown in as well. This definitely sounds like it could be an actual soundtrack, in fact, someone should MAKE a film just to use this as a soundtrack. You can certainly do so in your imagination, aided perhaps by the cinematically suggestive track titles, which include "Running Blade", "Intermission", "Dream Sequence", "Shower Scene", and "End Credits" (the only track here with vocals, otherwise it's all instrumental... and the vocals on this last track are some sort of hard-to understand, chant-like invocation). Listen with the lights off for best results.
Umberto has a heavily synthesized sound, keyboards buzzing and droning and squelching, crunchily distorted or eerily ethereal, sounding at once like ominous Gothic organ music and also spacey futuristic electronica. Mechanical drumming plods along, propulsive beats adding to the menacing atmosphere. There's also plenty of fat disco synth-bass, and we bet folks into Italians Do It Better 12"s, or Black Devil Disco Club, or even skweee would get a kick out of this too, not just Goblin fanatics... but yeah Goblin fanatics (and John Carpenter and Zombi fans too) REALLY ought to check this out! Very cool, very creepy, and even at times kinda catchy-groovy.
MPEG Stream: "Forsaken Dawn"
MPEG Stream: "It Came From The Swamp"
MPEG Stream: "Running Blade"

UMBERTO Prophecy Of The Black Widow (Not Not Fun) cd 11.98
It's about a month late for Halloween, but we're still pretty thrilled that this Record Of The Week from last year is now available as a cd! Here's what we said about the original vinyl version which we got in October, last year:
We LOVED the previous Umberto album, From The Grave, and are stoked that he/they/it have finally returned with another full length packed with oodles of Goblin-y goodness, just in time for Halloween!!
But the sound of the Expo 70-associated Umberto is not strictly that scary, at least not all the time, in fact, like Goblin and other '80s Italian fright-film soundtrackers, most of the scary stuff here is really just an *underlying* un-ease, a sinister suspenseful undercurrent over which more "groovy" stuff gets down. And way more groovy this one most definitely is, some serious haunted dancefloor action, or horror movie disco, or whatever you want to call it, but Umberto has for sure upped the funk/groove quotient, lacing the usual cocktail of thick, tense, pulsing synth throb, minimal motorik rhythms and heavy ominous drones with plenty of funky basslines, crunchy modulated keyboard buzz, soaring synths, chanted voices and propulsive grooves... Here and there, the sound gets all stripped down leaving just gurgly, crumbly distorted low end peppered with spaced out booming rhythms, or creepy ambient atmospheres, but the songs tend to slip quickly back into haunted shuffly rhythms, woozy horror movie atmospherics, ominous strings laced funky grooves and dark descending bass blarp.
The second side begins with one of those tracks that sounds like the music that always introduces us to the main character in all those seventies thrillers, the little girl playing with her dollies, the old woman in the garden, the sound is tranquil but subtly sinister, here it's a music box like melody, plinking dreamily beneath haunting strings, and soft swirls of creepy voice like synth, total horror movie soundtrack shivers for sure.
After that it's back to wah guitars, chiming bells, groovy Italo funk haunted dancefloor grooviness, but this time with some cool washed out M83 style female vocal textures, a shoegazey gauze over that propulsive Goblin-y groove.
If we had to pick a single song that was THE ONE here, it would probably be "Someone Chasing Someone Through A House" which sounds exactly LIKE THAT, pulsing throbbing synths, electronic squelches, deep ominous drones, dark swells, foreboding and creepy and tense and SCARY!
The album ends with an upbeat track entitled "Everything Is Going To Be Ok", all sun-coming-up, yay we survived the zombie onslaught good cheer & cheesiness. The sort of music that plays over the closing credits, or even better, over the final shot which lulls you into a sense of false security, before a decaying hand bursts through the ground, or a beast explodes from the water and drag our heroine out of the boar, some sort of shock to let you know that evil won't stay buried... which of course usually leads to a sequel, and we are definitely looking forward to the next installment of groovy Gobliny sonic scares from Umberto!
MPEG Stream: "Temple Room"
MPEG Stream: "Widow Of The Web"
MPEG Stream: "Black Candles"

UMBERTO Prophecy Of The Black Widow (Not Not Fun) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We LOVED the previous Umberto album, From The Grave, and are stoked that he/they/it have finally returned with another full length packed with oodles of Goblin-y goodness, just in time for Halloween!!
But the sound of the Expo 70-associated Umberto is not strictly that scary, at least not all the time, in fact, like Goblin and other '80s Italian fright-film soundtrackers, most of the scary stuff here is really just an *underlying* un-ease, a sinister suspenseful undercurrent over which more "groovy" stuff gets down. And way more groovy this one most definitely is, some serious haunted dancefloor action, or horror movie disco, or whatever you want to call it, but Umberto has for sure upped the funk/groove quotient, lacing the usual cocktail of thick, tense, pulsing synth throb, minimal motorik rhythms and heavy ominous drones with plenty of funky basslines, crunchy modulated keyboard buzz, soaring synths, chanted voices and propulsive grooves... Here and there, the sound gets all stripped down leaving just gurgly, crumbly distorted low end peppered with spaced out booming rhythms, or creepy ambient atmospheres, but the songs tend to slip quickly back into haunted shuffly rhythms, woozy horror movie atmospherics, ominous strings laced funky grooves and dark descending bass blarp.
The second side begins with one of those tracks that sounds like the music that always introduces us to the main character in all those seventies thrillers, the little girl playing with her dollies, the old woman in the garden, the sound is tranquil but subtly sinister, here it's a music box like melody, plinking dreamily beneath haunting strings, and soft swirls of creepy voice like synth, total horror movie soundtrack shivers for sure.
After that it's back to wah guitars, chiming bells, groovy Italo funk haunted dancefloor grooviness, but this time with some cool washed out M83 style female vocal textures, a shoegazey gauze over that propulsive Goblin-y groove.
If we had to pick a single song that was THE ONE here, it would probably be "Someone Chasing Someone Through A House" which sounds exactly LIKE THAT, pulsing throbbing synths, electronic squelches, deep ominous drones, dark swells, foreboding and creepy and tense and SCARY!
The album ends with an upbeat track entitled "Everything Is Going To Be Ok", all sun-coming-up, yay we survived the zombie onslaught good cheer & cheesiness. The sort of music that plays over the closing credits, or even better, over the final shot which lulls you into a sense of false security, before a decaying hand bursts through the ground, or a beast explodes from the water and drag our heroine out of the boar, some sort of shock to let you know that evil won't stay buried... which of course usually leads to a sequel, and we are definitely looking forward to the next installment of groovy Gobliny sonic scares from Umberto!

UMILIANI, PIERO Musicaelettronica, Volume Uno (Easy Tempo) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the output of Italian '60s/'70s groovedelica reissue label Easy Tempo. Fortunately this release didn't escape our notice, 'cause it's super great. Italian composer Piero Umiliani has been the subject of numerous reissues and compilations as his "space age bachelor pad" music is finding a newer audience 30 years after it was created. And while the sticker on the cd reminds you that Umiliani's experimental synthesizer (moog, mostly) pop material can favorably be compared to the exotica of Martin Denny, the '60s rock of Jefferson Airplane, and jazz a la Ellington, we're here to tell you that at times the music sounds utterly contemporary, as modern and fresh and full of original ideas as any new "electronica" artist out there. In fact, the electronic material is so clean and avant sounding that we are instantly reminded of Krautrock pioneers Cluster and Neu. You heard me--Cluster. Yeah, it's that good! Not that it's all super serious or anything -- there's a great version of "Caravan" on here worthy of Perrey & Kingsley. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Motore a loni"

UMILIANI, PIERO Musicaelettronica, Volume Uno (Easy Tempo) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sometimes it's hard to keep up with the output of Italian '60s/'70s groovedelica reissue label Easy Tempo. Fortunately this release didn't escape our notice, 'cause it's super great. Italian composer Piero Umiliani has been the subject of numerous reissues and compilations as his "space age bachelor pad" music is finding a newer audience 30 years after it was created. And while the sticker on the cd reminds you that Umiliani's experimental synthesizer (moog, mostly) pop material can favorably be compared to the exotica of Martin Denny, the '60s rock of Jefferson Airplane, and jazz a la Ellington, we're here to tell you that at times the music sounds utterly contemporary, as modern and fresh and full of original ideas as any new "electronica" artist out there. In fact, the electronic material is so clean and avant sounding that we are instantly reminded of Krautrock pioneers Cluster and Neu. You heard me--Cluster. Yeah, it's that good! Not that it's all super serious or anything -- there's a great version of "Caravan" on here worthy of Perrey & Kingsley. Highly recommended!

UNAGI s/t (Kimosciotic) cd 9.98
A fantastic record in the sampladelic genre: fans of DJ Shadow, Barry Adamson, David Holmes should take note! It's rare that we'd quote a press release in an AQ review, but in this case the reasons why I (Windy) like this record so much are exactly what's stated herein:
"Unagi extends an invitation into his unique sonic wonderworld, constructed from forgotten vinyl and dollar bin digging. He serves up mid-fi sample based music, sidestepping the antiseptic production values dominating present day hip-hop. Influenced by luminaries such as Lonnie Liston Smith and Eumir Deodato, Unagi offers tracks carefully crafted with an ear refined through a lifetime of musical consumption. This self-titled debut album is a stylistic drive-by of love. Unagi's magazine is loaded with an array of themes ranging from space jazz, Caribbean cruise ship lounge, roller rink couples' skate and Sunday afternoon afterglow soul fusion."
MPEG Stream: "Crazy Chase"
MPEG Stream: "Blown Away"
MPEG Stream: "Tickle Time"

UNAGI s/t (Kimo Sciotic) lp 11.98
Now on LP! A fantastic record in the sampladelic genre: fans of DJ Shadow, Barry Adamson, David Holmes should take note! It's rare that we'd quote a press release in an AQ review, but in this case the reasons why I (Windy) like this record so much are exactly what's stated herein:
"Unagi extends an invitation into his unique sonic wonderworld, constructed from forgotten vinyl and dollar bin digging. He serves up mid-fi sample based music, sidestepping the antiseptic production values dominating present day hip-hop. Influenced by luminaries such as Lonnie Liston Smith and Eumir Deodato, Unagi offers tracks carefully crafted with an ear refined through a lifetime of musical consumption. This self-titled debut album is a stylistic drive-by of love. Unagi's magazine is loaded with an array of themes ranging from space jazz, Caribbean cruise ship lounge, roller rink couples' skate and Sunday afternoon afterglow soul fusion."
MPEG Stream: "Crazy Chase"
MPEG Stream: "Blown Away"
MPEG Stream: "Tickle Time"

UNGU, OBENG & JALAN BUNTU WITH GROUP UANG WAYANG OF PALEMBANG 1951: Sumatran Ladies Wearing Hats As Outlawed By Government (Hot Air) 3"cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
According to the *well documented* liner notes, this album was originally released on cassette in South East Asia in 1982. The story goes that Obeng Ungu (Purple Screwdriver in English) and Jalan Buntu (Mountain Sidewalk) recorded the album as an homage to all the Sumatran women who risked death in order to defend their freedom to wear western style hats, which were outlawed in 1950 by the government in attempt to stop the Westernisation of Sumatra -- known as "Barang Menceret" (literally "Diarrhea of Commodities"). They even came up with some archival photos to reinforce their story and if it's not a fictitious account then it's quite a problematic joke.
The music on the disc is classic Hot Air material though: quirky and humorous electronica, squeaks, farts and irreverence (thumbs in the face to the pretensions of high brow electronica abound.) The disc starts off with a field recording of insects buzzing on a lonesome highway and then goes into some ping pong ball bouncy electronica with ersatz-Asian melodies that almost sounds like an attempt to imitate Burmese Pat Wiang (a melodic circular set of drums that sound like rototoms). Included also are a lot of really cheesy gamelan-esque samples and synth sounds in to boot. The end result is audio tourism where the tourist never even leaves home, but just comes up with a fictional vacation. Our mysterious tour guides Obeng & Jalan (most certainly Matt Wand -- we're making an "ass" of "u" and "me" here that it's Mr. Wand behind this) have produced some wickedly funny /possibly offensive electronic fuckery. Hot Air has released this mini cd as part of their "Hot Air Global Education Series" in cooperation with "The Hotairian Institute".
RealAudio clip: "Dada Besar, Kepala Kecil"
RealAudio clip: "Rabu: Sakit Tangani, Sabtu: Sakit Pantat"
RealAudio clip: "Menyelam Pakai Pipa Udara"

UNIFORM Protocol (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
Ex 2nd Gen mainman Wajid Yaseen abandons his damaged hip hop in favor of damaged minimal glitch and drone. Noisy and weird and way abstract. Features guests Lydia Lunch, Alan Vega, Dalek and more. Cover art by infamous actionist Franko B.

UNITS History Of The Units (Community Library) cd 14.98
Moog-enabled synth punk subversion straight outta San Francisco in the late '70s/early '80s, entertaining n' agitating electronic New Wave action excavated and reissued! And it's totally timely considering how many bands in today's scene would so love to sound like this.
We won't pretend we were familiar with The Units before this fantastic anthology album showed up. Perhaps we'd heard the name before (or maybe we were confusing 'em with ol' Jandek's 1978 debut album, also under the name The Units), but we knew nothing about this band 'til we heard this disc a few weeks ago. And as soon as we did, it went into heavy rotation here at the store. These Units were definitely a important piece of San Francisco punk/new wave history, but just a bit before our time. Well, not Aquarius's time, just us folks who work here now! Actually, a close reading of the thanks list in the cd booklet will find a shout out to Aquarius, 'cause (if you didn't know) Aquarius was THEE punk/new wave record store in San Francisco in the '70s... (Which reminds us, we've got to get more of our history up on the AQ website.) And, in fact, The Units' debut lp Digital Stimulation was the very first release on seminal SF indie 415 Records (who had their biggest hit with Romeo Void), a label run in part by Aquarius' owners at the time. So this most certainly isn't the first time that The Units music has been blasting regularly in the Aquarius shop, it's just been a few years, is all.
Putting things in proper place/time/scene perspective, this archival disc starts off with an audio snippet of the late SF punk "godfather" Dirk Dirksen on stage at Mabuhay Gardens, good-naturedly mocking both The Units (accidentally referring to them by the name of another band, the Zeros) and their cheering fans (with the sardonic comment "obviously, people with as little taste as yourself would become ecstatic over such average talent"). Then, making us ecstatic, twenty tracks of prime Units music follows, The History Of The Units containing most all of the tracks from their 1980 415 Records album Digital Stimulation as well as a handful of stuff taken from early 7"s and demo tapes, as well as more experimental pieces recorded for film soundtracks and art happenings and other ephemera.
Not unlike Devo, The Units had a concept thing going, all about a critique of alienated modern industrial society, dehumanizing conformity, and corporate culture, with songs like "Cannibals" and "Work". Perhaps perversely choosing to use machines to make their point, The Units tried to take the human element out of the rock band equation, preferring for instance to project their own propaganda films rather than allow the audience to focus on a frontperson. And yes, they do also sound quite bit like Devo at times, which is way okay by us!
Their synth-obsession was also in part an anti-guitar thing, a reaction to the mainstream. In fact, they took their anti-guitar philosophy to the extreme of not only having a "stamp out guitars" logo, but also making fake guitars out of plywood to smash on stage, while letting their synths play on "cruise control". So definitely The Units were highly conceptual, art schoolish, but not academic - the liner notes are clear that the idea was to be an all-synth band that "kicks ass" (the full quote being: ""I wanted an all synthesizer band... and not some fucking polite, socially acceptable electronic experiment in academia. I didn't want a doctorate in electronic doodling. No, I'm talking about a synth band that kicks ass!") and according to what we're hearing here, they succeeded. And they were not without contemporaries. There were The Screamers, Nervous Gender, and of course Devo; all of whom wanted to take the synthesizer into punk. For many of the Units tracks, it would very easy to replace the lead synth lines with guitars and have an equally kick ass rock song, but the fact is that these are Moog-powered cuts which do oscillate between a quirky sensibility with angular chops and a full-throttle punk car-crash. If you would think the former finds the Units sounding like Devo and the latter like the Screamers, you'd be right!
Yes indeed, the songs on this disc range from urgent Devo-esque pop punk and Screamers-y rants to moody proto-'80s dance tracks to more abstract, instrumental, rhythmic/textural electronic pieces like "Tight Fit" and "East West". There's loads of electric energy, some goofy humor, and certainly serious intent. So many gems here, incorporating buzzing droning distorted synths, propulsively skittering drum beats, and monotone vocals (both male and female).
Their incredible singles "Cannibals" (a tempestuous, driving song that was pure '70s punk), "High Pressure Days", and "Warm Moving Bodies," are prominently featured here, all of which were impressively catchy. Their ability to write these hooks earned them a deal with Epic, who released two seminal 12" singles (which couldn't be licensed for this compilation) and has been sitting on another collection of recordings since 1983. But beyond the hook, the Units were plenty weird, as seen in their peculiar lullaby melodies on "Red" which almost comes across like a Rodd Keith song-poem with a very sparse arrangement. Despite the band's curses toward academic music, a few choice intertwining moments of the Units minimalist grooves come awfully close to sounding like a punked out Terry Riley! Hardly polite music!
Other selections here include the cold wave weird science of "Digital Stimulation", the gloriously grinding downer melody of "Contemporary Emotion" (apparently a cover, a song by some contemporaneous hard rock band we've never heard of called Trakstod Station), and there's even an ode to our very neighborhood, "The Mission Is Bitchin", with lyrics about burritos and marijuana!
Of course it's all a bit dated, of its era, and that's part of the charm... but like we said, a lot of this also sounds like it could be put out by a band today, since everything old is new again and the '80s New Wave / synth thing is a current retro craze. Definitely this is a good time for The Units to be reissued!
And Community Library have done a really nice job of it, the gatefold cd sleeve containing a thick 32 page cd booklet with elaborate colorful collage style liner notes by bandleader Scott "Dr. Tex Nology" Ryser, a Units manifesto of sorts, he also talks about the wild and crazy San Francisco of the '70s/early '80s era, and also there's several pages of old fliers for Units gigs at the Fab Mab and other SF punk venues... we noticed one for the Warfield too, with The Units opening for OMD and Gary Numan. Also shows with Romeo Void, Dead Boys, Soft Cell, Psychedelic Furs, Dead Kennedys, Crime, Screamers, Iggy Pop, the Police, Tuxedomoon... Definitely makes us young 'uns wish we'd been around in SF back then. (Another note about the packaging, it says copyright 2007 on the back but that that's a mistake, it's when the artwork was initially prepared, this is indeed a brand new 2009 release, with also a vinyl version upcoming as well, not sure when, though.)
MPEG Stream: "Cannibals"
MPEG Stream: "Warm Moving Bodies"
MPEG Stream: "i Night"
MPEG Stream: "East West"

UNITS History Of The Units - The Early Years: 1977-1983 (Community Library) lp 14.98
This past Record Of The Week NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! There's fewer tracks than on the cd version, but at least the lp includes a download code to get mp3s of ALL of the tracks from the cd reissue. No booklet unfortunately (although it seems some of the booklet is reprinted on the cover), but there is an insert, with some liner notes, as well as an explanation for the song choice on both the cd and lp, the lack of the Units' major label material and the reasoning behind less songs on the lp. Regardless, totally essential, especially now that it's on vinyl. Here's what we said about it before:
Moog-enabled synth punk subversion straight outta San Francisco in the late '70s/early '80s, entertaining n' agitating electronic New Wave action excavated and reissued! And it's totally timely considering how many bands in today's scene would so love to sound like this.
We won't pretend we were familiar with The Units before this fantastic anthology album showed up. Perhaps we'd heard the name before (or maybe we were confusing 'em with ol' Jandek's 1978 debut album, also under the name The Units), but we knew nothing about this band 'til we heard this disc a few weeks ago. And as soon as we did, it went into heavy rotation here at the store. These Units were definitely a important piece of San Francisco punk/new wave history, but just a bit before our time. Well, not Aquarius's time, just us folks who work here now! Actually, a close reading of the thanks list in the cd booklet will find a shout out to Aquarius, 'cause (if you didn't know) Aquarius was THEE punk/new wave record store in San Francisco in the '70s... (Which reminds us, we've got to get more of our history up on the AQ website.) And, in fact, The Units' debut lp Digital Stimulation was the very first release on seminal SF indie 415 Records (who had their biggest hit with Romeo Void), a label run in part by Aquarius' owners at the time. So this most certainly isn't the first time that The Units music has been blasting regularly in the Aquarius shop, it's just been a few years, is all.
Putting things in proper place/time/scene perspective, this archival disc starts off with an audio snippet of the late SF punk "godfather" Dirk Dirksen on stage at Mabuhay Gardens, good-naturedly mocking both The Units (accidentally referring to them by the name of another band, the Zeros) and their cheering fans (with the sardonic comment "obviously, people with as little taste as yourself would become ecstatic over such average talent"). Then, making us ecstatic, twenty tracks of prime Units music follows, The History Of The Units containing most all of the tracks from their 1980 415 Records album Digital Stimulation as well as a handful of stuff taken from early 7"s and demo tapes, as well as more experimental pieces recorded for film soundtracks and art happenings and other ephemera.
Not unlike Devo, The Units had a concept thing going, all about a critique of alienated modern industrial society, dehumanizing conformity, and corporate culture, with songs like "Cannibals" and "Work". Perhaps perversely choosing to use machines to make their point, The Units tried to take the human element out of the rock band equation, preferring for instance to project their own propaganda films rather than allow the audience to focus on a frontperson. And yes, they do also sound quite bit like Devo at times, which is way okay by us!
Their synth-obsession was also in part an anti-guitar thing, a reaction to the mainstream. In fact, they took their anti-guitar philosophy to the extreme of not only having a "stamp out guitars" logo, but also making fake guitars out of plywood to smash on stage, while letting their synths play on "cruise control". So definitely The Units were highly conceptual, art schoolish, but not academic - the liner notes are clear that the idea was to be an all-synth band that "kicks ass" (the full quote being: ""I wanted an all synthesizer band... and not some fucking polite, socially acceptable electronic experiment in academia. I didn't want a doctorate in electronic doodling. No, I'm talking about a synth band that kicks ass!") and according to what we're hearing here, they succeeded. And they were not without contemporaries. There were The Screamers, Nervous Gender, and of course Devo; all of whom wanted to take the synthesizer into punk. For many of the Units tracks, it would very easy to replace the lead synth lines with guitars and have an equally kick ass rock song, but the fact is that these are Moog-powered cuts which do oscillate between a quirky sensibility with angular chops and a full-throttle punk car-crash. If you would think the former finds the Units sounding like Devo and the latter like the Screamers, you'd be right!
Yes indeed, the songs on this disc range from urgent Devo-esque pop punk and Screamers-y rants to moody proto-'80s dance tracks to more abstract, instrumental, rhythmic/textural electronic pieces like "Tight Fit" and "East West". There's loads of electric energy, some goofy humor, and certainly serious intent. So many gems here, incorporating buzzing droning distorted synths, propulsively skittering drum beats, and monotone vocals (both male and female).
Their incredible singles "Cannibals" (a tempestuous, driving song that was pure '70s punk), "High Pressure Days", and "Warm Moving Bodies," are prominently featured here, all of which were impressively catchy. Their ability to write these hooks earned them a deal with Epic, who released two seminal 12" singles (which couldn't be licensed for this compilation) and has been sitting on another collection of recordings since 1983. But beyond the hook, the Units were plenty weird, as seen in their peculiar lullaby melodies on "Red" which almost comes across like a Rodd Keith song-poem with a very sparse arrangement. Despite the band's curses toward academic music, a few choice intertwining moments of the Units minimalist grooves come awfully close to sounding like a punked out Terry Riley! Hardly polite music!
Other selections here include the cold wave weird science of "Digital Stimulation", the gloriously grinding downer melody of "Contemporary Emotion" (apparently a cover, a song by some contemporaneous hard rock band we've never heard of called Trakstod Station), and there's even an ode to our very neighborhood, "The Mission Is Bitchin", with lyrics about burritos and marijuana!
Of course it's all a bit dated, of its era, and that's part of the charm... but like we said, a lot of this also sounds like it could be put out by a band today, since everything old is new again and the '80s New Wave / synth thing is a current retro craze. Definitely this is a good time for The Units to be reissued!
MPEG Stream: "Cannibals"
MPEG Stream: "Warm Moving Bodies"
MPEG Stream: "i Night"
MPEG Stream: "East West"

UNITUS Cross Contamination (DHR) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AQ faves Unitus get picked up and reissued by like-minded noiseniks DHR. Here's what we said about this the first time around:
We discovered the D-Trash label (and consequently Unitus) via the amazing DHR 'Don't Fuck With Us' compilation from a few lists ago. Unitus is definitely very beat heavy ala DHR, but lays the beats down in a thick, dark miasma of digital crunch and ambient drones and rumbles. Making for an almost dreamy, definitely droney, hypnotic drum and bass workout with stretches of ambient whir, reminding us quite a bit of the seminal Third Eye Foundation 12" 'Semtex' from a few years back. Nice thick analog sounding dirgescapes, with simple, skittery beats woven throughout. Really fucking great! Maybe electronic music isn't dead after all. You just have to know where to look.
RealAudio clip: "Obmutecre"
RealAudio clip: "Recombinant"
RealAudio clip: "23"

UNITUS Cross Contamination (D-Trash) cd 11.98
Along with the Schizoid, these flew out of here, so we grabbed a handful of extra copies for anyone who missed out on these when we listed this reissue a little while back:
Everyone here digs the shit out breakcore. Whether it's DJ Scud, Christoph De Babalon, all that DHR digital hardcore stuff back in the day. Just like jungle, it was a sound we never got tired of, but all the folks we loved making that sort of music seemed to just sort of drop off the map. DHR folded, or at least is keeping such a low profile we can't get their records, other Breakcore folks have moved onto different sounds. But oh how we long for those super distorted beats, those grim sprawling soundscapes, the darker and more ominous the better.
Well, lucky for us it seems that Canadian label D-Trash has stuck to their breakcore guns, keeping the sound and spirit alive, even releasing a brand new compilation, a tribute to Atari Teenage Riot (reviewed elsewhere on this list). It helps that the man behind D-Trash is none other than Schizoid, our favorite digital hardcore black metal breakcore sound manipulator for sure.
Way back when, we reviewed this disc by a group (or person) called Unitus, it totally destroyed us then, and has now been reissued and sounds just as fantastic now.
We first heard Unitus on the amazing DHR 'Don't Fuck With Us' compilation years and years ago. And when we finally got this full length it was everything we had hoped it would be. Killer breakbeats over thick distorted guitars and viscous buzzing drones. Unitus is definitely very beat heavy and was right at home on DHR, but unlike a lot of that stuff, the beats are laid down in a thick, dark miasma of digital crunch and ambient drones and rumbles. Making for an almost dreamy, definitely droney, hypnotic drum and bass workout with stretches of ambient whir, reminding us quite a bit of the seminal Third Eye Foundation 12" 'Semtex'. Nice thick analog sounding dirgescapes, the drone on and on and on with simple, skittery beats or grinding crunchy rhythms woven throughout. Really fucking great! Even still. This doesn't sound dated at all, and in fact if anything, it puts to shame much of the electronic music coming out now.
MPEG Stream: "Obmutecre"
MPEG Stream: "Recombinant"
MPEG Stream: "Metal To Ashes"

UNKLE End Titles... Stories For Film (Surrender All) cd 14.98

UNKLE Psyence Fiction (MoWax) cd 15.98
Sigh. This is not as good as those salivating music critics would have you believe. The sizable and impressive line-up of cameos does not save this disaster of an album, and shouldn't even be listed for fear of embarassing the artists associated--oh hell, UNKLE '98 is James Lavelle of Mo'Wax (what happened to the other guy?) who has roped in DJ Shadow as his new partner, with appearances by Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Mike D. of Beastie Boys, and Jason Newsted of Metallica along with a bunch of others... Psyence Fiction is like the aftermath of the collision of a Lexus and a BMW, as both drivers of the vehicles were too busy making record deals on their cell phones to pay attention to the road. You just get pissed-off waiting for it to end while the tow-trucks come to drag the sad wreckage out of your way. Mo' money, mo' problems--this is like when someone gets too rich, too fast and buys a really big ugly house. There's no accounting for taste, but somehow this ostentatious display is aesthetically offensive. It's supposed to be THE end-of-the-millenium hybrid-genre watershed record that crosses boundaries and all that crap. But we all know what's *really* gonna be playing when 1999 rolls over to 2000--"Wonderwall".