FERRARO, JIM (JAMES) On Air (Underwater Peoples) 2lp 29.00
Originally released as a super limited cd-r back in 2009, James Ferraro (formerly of drone-noise duo The Skaters, and now rechristened 'JIM' if the cover art is to be believed), unveils his twisted alien radio pop masterpiece in vinyl. And while we were perhaps a bit confused by the all out what-the-fuck-ness of Night Dolls With Hairspray, we were prepared for On Air, which if anything is even weirder.
Sure the first two tracks are misleadingly dreamy, all synthed out shimmer, and futuristic sci-fi ambience, warm and whirring and washed out, like it was dubbed from some old VHS tape, but then BAM, the title track drops, and we're hurled into some alternate eighties commercial pop MTV universe where Ferraro is a purveyor of radio pop jingles, which sound like Ariel Pink doing a commercial for Applebee's, recorded on a boombox with dying batteries, the sound warped and warbly, but even beyond the sound quality, there's honky tonk piano, female background vocals, pretty sure we said this about Night Dolls With Hairspray, but we're kind of confounded how Ferraro makes this music. It really sounds like he's just singing over purloined music from old TV broadcasts, but apparently this is all original, and if anything, that WTF has been cranked even further, and we have to say, once we were prepared, we're kind of getting WAY into this stuff.
It's like Ariel Pink and Gary War and all those guys but taken too far, so far that this stops being ironic retro lysergic pop and becomes downright avant garde, and beyond that, these warped pop songs, and yeah, they're about as warped as can be, are catchy as fuck, warped confusional pop songs surrounded on all sides by strange malfunctioning effects, the vocals sped up chipmunk fast one second slowed down to a rumbly crawl the next, there are heavy distorted guitars all over the place, more John Parr than actual metal, but in keeping with that Eighties radio vibe for sure, there are all manner of synths, and strange programmed rhythms, the sound is so all over the map and twisted tweaked and utterly demented that it's nearly impossible to describe.
Ferraro's sound is about as far removed from the Skaters as is possible, and while his old bandmate continues to create sonically similar murky lysegry via Monopoly Child Star Searcher, Ferraro is happy as can be in his glammy alien outsider radio pop universe, and we kind of are too.
MPEG Stream: "Remote Control"
MPEG Stream: "On Air"
MPEG Stream: "Electrocuted Hair"
MPEG Stream: "Flashy Kamikaze"

FERRER, IBRAHIM Bue0na Vista Social Club Presents (Nonesuch) cd 17.98
You may have already heard Ibrahim Ferrer on the spectacular second track off the Buena Vista Social Club record, his high, light voice soaring over the expert Cuban instrumentalists backing him up. How lucky are we to have an entire album of Ferrer's lovely voice?

FERRER, IBRAHIM CON CHEPIN Y SU ORQUESTA ORIENTAL Mi Oriente (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a recording of Buena Vista Social Club fave Ibrahim Ferrer in his salad days, singing with Electo "Chepin" Rossell's orchestra. Recorded in Havana, mostly in 1960 & 1961, this lineup of Chepin's orchestra also features: Pastor Manzano on trumpet; Remberto Ibarra on alto sax; Emerido Ferrera on percussion; Loreto Vistel, Epifanio and Faustino on trumpets; Luis Castell on piano; J. Guerra on tenor & baritone sax; Enrique Acosta on tenor sax, Ismilbo Correa on tumbao; Chepin on violin; and along with Ferrer on vocals there's Carlos Quintana and Isidro Correa.

FERRIO, GIANNI Big Guns (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.
Soundtrack to the italian film directed by Tony Arzenta is super-spy-alious and breaks down to sexy-ville. For fans of other easy tempo releases and the Vampyros Lesbos.

FERRIS, D.X. 33 1/3 Series: Reign In blood (Continuum) book 10.95
We've only read the first half so far, but c'mon, it's Reign In Blood, one of the greatest thrash metal records ever. And music obsessives, you should already be reading this series, up close and intimate looks at not bands, but your favorite records, interviews with the bands, the fans, and all sorts of awesome behind the scenes drama!
Anyway, Reign In Blood is still an amazing record two decades later, and metal bands are still finding influence there, some WAY more than others.
This volume digs deep into maybe the most influential 29 minutes of metal EVER. Interviews with the bands, the producers, the engineers, the roadies, and most interestingly, the fans, a who's who of rock luminaries including: Tori Amos, Phil Anselmo, Page Hamilton of Helmet, Danzig, Jack Endino, Larry from Pelican, Angela from Arch Enemy, Kurt from Converge, Charlie from Anthrax, Sean from White Zombie, Matt from High On Fire, Gene Hoglan, rapper Ill Bill, Nergal from Behemoth, Buzz from the Melvins, Ripper Owens, Devin Townsend, Kat VonD, all the dudes from Mastodon, and tons more.
So far a super fun read, most of the series is, we've probably read about half of 'em, but as soon as we finish this review, first thing we do when we get home is to finish reading about REIGN IN BLOOD!

FERRO, GABO Canciones Que Un Hombre No Deberia Cantar (Costurera Carpintero) lp 14.98

FESCAL Alchemical Wanderings (Time Released Sound) cd 35.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of two new releases from local art-label Time Released Sound, the other, the second release from mysterious modern classical soundscaper Strie is reviewed elsewhere on this week's list, and this, the latest release from a South Korean soundscaper/dronescaper who calls himself Fescal, and this single 50 minute tracks is a beauty, all tinkling melodies and gauzy staticky haze, warm softly billowing drones, and distant smoldering atmospheres, the production gives it the feel of some antiquated recording recently unearthed, the music too is timeless in its own way, the sound shifting dramatically throughout, from hushed black ambient thrum, to warm almost chamber music, and from washed out soft focus psychedelic drift, to barely there blurred atmospheric shimmer, and all the indistinct stops in between. Fans of Machinefabriek and Jasper TX, of Tim Hecker and Philip Jeck, this is definitely for you.
Like with all TRL releases, the packaging is fantastic and extravagant, LIMITED TO JUST 100 COPIES, the cd is housed in a hand worked black digipak, housed in a see-through anti-static bag, stickered on the front, with a pressed metal tag affixed to the bag with wire, inside there's a screw topped pyrex test tube containing metal and glass shavings, and inside the digipak are all manner of litmus strips, found artifacts, chemical notations as well as liner notes.
ALREADY SOLD OUT AT THE LABEL AND OUT OF PRINT. We have 5 or 6 copies, and then these are gone for good!
MPEG Stream: "Alchemical Wanderings"

FESCAL Moods & Views (Twice Removed) cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first discovered Fescal, via his Alchemical Wanderings release on Time Released Sound, and not soon after we reviewed it, Fescal got in touch and offered us the remaining copies of his super limited Moods & Views cd-r on Twice Removed, so of course we got all the copies we could, and besides some INSANELY deluxe packaging (more on that in a bit), the music is just as lovely and haunting as Alchemical Wanderings.
Separated into two nearly half hour 'movements', Fescal weaves a gorgeous sprawl of minimal electronic dronemusic, that right off the bat had us in the mind of Oval, but where Oval was all liquid swirl and skipped cds blurred into lush lustrous dreaminess, Fescal is a bit more home brewed, the sounds a little more raw and less polished, the first piece here, a deep sonorous thrum, pulsing gently, as if it was caught in a slow moving current, or drifting in a gentle breeze, the sound itself though is dark and ominous, a distorted drone, that seems to shift subtly with each pulsation, and is wreathed in a gauze-y haze, everything wrapped in a cloud of crackle, that sounds a bit like either a sputtering campfire, or an old scratchy record spinning lazily on an antique turntable. There's little variation, or what variation there is, is subtle enough that it's almost imperceptible, instead, the piece sucks you in, and holds you in thrall for its full 28 minutes. Super gorgeous dreamy dark minimalism for sure.
The second piece is a whole 'nother beast entirely. Gone is the woozy washed out shimmer, and in its place a heaving sprawl of distorted low end, but muted and blurred into hazy ghostlike shapes, buried in the mix, moaning tones, and mysterious low end melodies, the sound thick, and softly caustic, a bit more industrial, and a bit more sinister. Soft noise sprawls into blackened ethereal thrum, shot through with keening streaks of high end, and what sounds like strange industrial field recordings, everything still wreathed in that warm comfortable crackle.
The packaging is just as stunning as the music, a textured paper outersleeve, wrapped in twine, with a fabric flower affixed to the front, the whole thing wrapped in rough twine. Inside, a printed insert, with liner notes and credits, as well as a beautiful fold out poster, printed on gold metallic paper, bundled with another insert, also on textured paper. Each cd-r also includes a tiny personalized note from Fescal, and these are LIMITED TO 50 COPIES!!! Already sold out and long out of print. These are the last copies we'll be able to get.
MPEG Stream: "Moods & Views"

FESCAL Two Winter Poems ( Dronarivm) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the third release we've reviewed from Fescal, the first was on local label Time Released Sound, which should give you an idea of Fescal's sound, and sadly this one too, like both before it, is INSANELY limited, we have ten copies of a total run of 100 and won't be able to get more once we sell out.
Fescal delivers two long tracks of softly psychedelic, pastoral drone music, long layered tones, softly undulating beneath a sky full of fractured melody and ethereal shimmer, all smeared into heaving swells of deep chordal thrum. Buried within seem to be voices, a distant angelic singing, which imbues the sound with a melodic warmth that keeps this from being simply dronemusic. The sounds too are imperfect, bits of sound crumble here, distort there, sounds drop out, others waver, still others surface, it's dreamy and druggy and divine, the first track here is a heady stretch of lush, lustrous drones, and deep listening mesmer, a sound which wouldn't have been out of place on Root Strata or yeah, Time Released Sound. But unlike much of this music that sounds passive, this music is powerful, the sounds alive, and active, beneath the surface is a roiling world of complex structures and continually shifting melodies, this first track glows with a mysterious inner warmth, and exudes and a cosmic energy that seems to bathe the listener in an otherworldly golden light.
The second track is much more contemplative, cut from the same song cloth, but where the first seemed to smolder with some mysterious energy, the second sound more entropic, casting off all that energy, the sound of melting snow, of fading light, of waning life, still pastoral and dreamlike, but a bit more melancholy, the end not the beginning, a haunting, and lovely rumination on what has been, and what can never be again, faded memories and future dreams of the past. So lovely.
Fantastic packaging too. A small textured box, with printed art affixed to the front. inside a small plastic bag containing some sort of dried plant, on a nest like bed of blue confetti, a printed, numbered full color insert, and a gorgeously printed, textured paper, vellum songbook, containing the titular poems, as well as the liner notes.
MPEG Stream: "Winter Morning"
MPEG Stream: "Winter Evening"

FESTERED Flesh Perversion (Razorback) cd 10.98

FESTIVAL OF DEAD DEER The Many Faces Of Mental Illness (Three.One.G) cd 13.98
Loud, disjointed and full of youthful rage and angst. This is raw, noisy, twisted music constantly on the verge of combustion. On the super cool San Diego-based record label run by The Locust's Justin Pearson.

FETISH 69 Dysfunctions and Drones (Trost) 2cd 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fetish 69. The name says everything, right? Well, perhaps not on this double CD of remixes and collaborations. With a name as bad as Fetish 69 (implying some horrid diva-house disaster or worse a My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult sex-horror-shock industrial parody), it's quite a relief to discover the deep dub electronics of Austria's Fetish 69 sound almost exactly like Scorn -- right down to the big rolling basslines, isolationist atmospheres, and slinky trip hop beats. On this double CD, the first chapter ("Dysfunctions") is comprised of the more beat oriented material (with contributions / remix work from James Plotkin, Spectre, Scorn's Mick Harris, Toxic Lounge, etc.) The second CD ("Drones") isn't so much drones (like Hazard or Andrew Chalk) as it is sort of downtempo noir sound not unlike Barry Adamson, with Tribes of Neurot, Fritz Ostyermayer, and Krupica contributing. Pita adds the most notable and intriguing exception to the set with a digitally obliterated remix of the original, that really has nothing to do with what Fetish 69 sounds like (or what they used to sound like, 'cause when we first encountered this band back in the early '90s they were a metallic/industrial noise-rock outfit responsible for a few fairly heavy and now deleted cds on the Nuclear Blast label, so it was quite a surprise to find them still active, and with such friends).

FEU THERESE Ca Va Cogner (Constellation) cd 15.98
The second full length from Feu Therese, the Montreal group captained by Jonathan Parent (former guitarist for Fly Pan Am), continues along the dark mysterious path they explored on their 2006 self-titled debut, but it's not without stretches of levity. In fact, the album opens with an unexpected jaunty guitar and synth line and a charming gent singing in French. Far more melodically inclined than its predecessor and far less bleakly brooding, Ca Va Cogner draws much inspiration from classic kraut, prog and space rock with some tracks being quite reminiscent of vintage works by Richard Pinhas, Kraftwerk and Cluster. Layers of synthesizers and electric guitars sweep across the steady, pulse-like drum beats and occasional male utterances and croonings. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Visage Sous Nylon"
MPEG Stream: "La Nuit Est Une Femme"

FEU THERESE s/t (Constellation) cd 14.98
Yet another somber (mostly) instrumental ensemble from the Godspeed You Black Emperor collective! This new group's sound is distinguished by layers of rich tremoloed guitar, organ drones and jazz inflected horns. Their closest kin in that Montreal music community is easily the heady improv jam driven Fly Pan Am, and their sonic resemblance is no coincidence. Feu Therese is the project of FPA guitarist Jonathan Parant, and as with most every branch of the mighty GYBE tree, folks from the other groups join in. Their self titled debut is a brooding dedication to Luc Ferrari. Five stormy disparate tracks ranging from six to twelve minutes.
MPEG Stream: "Ferrari En Feu"
MPEG Stream: "Tu N'Avais Qu'Une Oreille"

FEUD, THE Versus yr Unuiverse (Rosewood Union) cd 13.98
Tripped out, jazzy post rock from New York City: super varied and intersting; from droning Kraftwerkian electronica work outs to full bore free jazz freakouts to dirgey Slint rock instrumentals. On Rosewood Union, a British label that has become the new home for really cool and fucked up underground 'post rock.'

FEUHLER s/t (Ostinato Schallplatten/Dephine Knormal) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The relative ease with which this German band outshines the post-rock-fanboy holy-grail trio Don Caballero (keeping in mind that we really like Don Cab), makes one wish that the general indie rock audience at large was harder to please. Then perhaps more bands would try to expand on the Don Cab sound instead of incessantly aping it, and more records would sound as jaw droppingly brilliant as this one. In place of Damon Che's non stop avalanche of 'Moby Dick'isms and DonCab's metal-in-post-rock's-clothing is a complex sonic tapestry of hypnotic drones and cyclical riffs. Feuhler take the droning single note repetition of Tony Conrad, the scraping stones of Loren Chasse, the heavy prog of Voivod, the dynamics of Slint, and the slowly evolving Reich-ish rock of Circle, and fashion a music at once emotive and heavy, intellectual and kick ass.

FEVER Too Bad But True (DHR) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Andee's favourite hip hop record of 1998, which originally came out on Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore label in Germany, has been released here in the States at domestic prices!
After a year of disappointment from big name hip hoppers (RZA, Method Man), DHR surprises us all with what may be the weirdest and best hip hop record of the year. Deep, dark, and disturbingly distorted. Murky, monotone, and menacing. Sort of like Sensational and Alec Empire having a fist fight in a dark alley!

FEVER Too Bad But True (DHR) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Andee's favourite hip hop record of 1998, which originally came out on Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore label in Germany, has been released here in the States at domestic prices!
After a year of disappointment from big name hip hoppers (RZA, Method Man), DHR surprises us all with what may be the weirdest and best hip hop record of the year. Deep, dark, and disturbingly distorted. Murky, monotone, and menacing. Sort of like Sensational and Alec Empire having a fist fight in a dark alley!

FEVER RAY s/t (Mute) cd 14.98
Fever Ray is the solo project for one Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as half of the Swedish oddball electro-pop duo The Knife. Her voice, with all of the helium-tinged falsettos and pitch-shifted growlings, had always been one the most compelling aspects of The Knife. In that schizophrenia of multi-tracked voices and personalities, she sang duets with herself, adopting masculine roles in the downpitched vocals and her naturally pixie voice taking the feminine perspective, which she often affects in unnatural ways through harmonic phaseshifts and chorus effects. With the bouncing lurch of The Knife's rhythms, her tales took on seductively nightmarish proportions, with a grotesque witchiness and atypical Goth blackness which had much more Wolfgang Press to it than Siouxsie. So for her solo project, her voice with its inscrutable yet pansexual personalities finds itself even more central to the music.
This is certainly due to the more downbeat electronic arrangements that she produces on her debut album, which is wholly devoid of those awkward yet sleek big beat techno numbers which punctured The Knife's Silent Shout. Musically, she creates a plastic exoticism, which relates to no particular indigenous music but instead has been filtered from Martin Denny through Chris & Cosey to arrive here with fake bird sounds, canned congo drums and faux marimba vibes flitting amidst sweeps of digital synthesis and softened drum machine beats. It may be more low-key than The Knife, but Karin's still an oddly brilliant tweaker. There had been some rumors (you know, from the Internet) which raised questions as to if The Knife would be 'breaking up.' If that were indeed rooted in fact, Fever Ray should stand as a pretty great phoenix rising from those ashes.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle Walks"
MPEG Stream: "Now's The Only Time I Know"

FEVER RAY s/t (Rabid Records) lp 17.98
Fever Ray is the solo project for one Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as half of the Swedish oddball electro-pop duo The Knife. Her voice, with all of the helium-tinged falsettos and pitch-shifted growlings, had always been one the most compelling aspects of The Knife. In that schizophrenia of multi-tracked voices and personalities, she sang duets with herself, adopting masculine roles in the downpitched vocals and her naturally pixie voice taking the feminine perspective, which she often affects in unnatural ways through harmonic phaseshifts and chorus effects. With the bouncing lurch of The Knife's rhythms, her tales took on seductively nightmarish proportions, with a grotesque witchiness and atypical Goth blackness which had much more Wolfgang Press to it than Siouxsie. So for her solo project, her voice with its inscrutable yet pansexual personalities finds itself even more central to the music.
This is certainly due to the more downbeat electronic arrangements that she produces on her debut album, which is wholly devoid of those awkward yet sleek big beat techno numbers which punctured The Knife's Silent Shout. Musically, she creates a plastic exoticism, which relates to no particular indigenous music but instead has been filtered from Martin Denny through Chris & Cosey to arrive here with fake bird sounds, canned congo drums and faux marimba vibes flitting amidst sweeps of digital synthesis and softened drum machine beats. It may be more low-key than The Knife, but Karin's still an oddly brilliant tweaker. There had been some rumors (you know, from the Internet) which raised questions as to if The Knife would be 'breaking up.' If that were indeed rooted in fact, Fever Ray should stand as a pretty great phoenix rising from those ashes.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle Walks"
MPEG Stream: "Now's The Only Time I Know"

FEVER RAY s/t (Deluxe Edition) (Mute) 2cd + dvd 21.00

MPEG Stream: "If I Had A Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Now's The Only Time I Know"
MPEG Stream: "Been Here Before"
MPEG Stream: "Seven (Live In Lulea)"

FEVERDREAMS Essaouira (Crucial Blast) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
Feverdreams is dark and mysterious. A rumbling and shimmering miasma of soothing low end, staticky buzz, and occasional clatter and skree. Gorgeous slow building sound scapes with subtle non-repeating rhythms and with layers and layers of drone, whir, throb, and clang. This would be nightmare music if it wasn't so damn pretty.
RealAudio clip: "One "
RealAudio clip: "Two"
RealAudio clip: "Four"

FEVERWITCH For Ears Unfurling Like Flowers (self-released) cassette 5.98
This is the first we've heard from local songstress/soundscaper Feverwitch, and with that band name, the strange song titles, the unorthodox characters/spelling, you might be thinking Witch House, a genre we all loved but which seemed to have been a bit of a flash in the pan - and to a degree you'd be right, from the very first few second of the first track FW unfurls some seriously haunting slomo mesmer, ritualistic and cinematic, whirling organs, slowed down male vocals drone beneath FW's dramatic croon, what sound like strings swoop and soar, darkly mysterious and almost liturgical, like a lo-fi 4 track Arvo Part, spectral and shimmery, murky and moody, the perfect late night chill out bliss out, with a slightly witchy/demonic edge to it.
And really, that's how the whole tape plays out, vibes of Twin Peaks, hints of Grouper, definitely plenty of Witch House residue, gothy and gloomy, some of the tracks are like otherworldly ballads, FW's distinctive vocals nestled in fields of processed vocals, delicate tinkling piano, crystalline expanses of hushed thrum, others build to strident singer/songwriter drama, albeit steeped in thick clouds of reverb and delay, and when the drums come in (which is seldom), they had some heft, some rhythmic gravitas that gives the song a ghostly propulsion. Swirls of cosmic synths drift in, adding a sort of new age / sci-fi vibe, everything blurred into a washed out lysergic sonic haze, that's darkly and dreamily divine.
Then there's the final track, where FW really gives her voice a workout, letting loose with the sort of voice that gives you chills, dramatic operatic, somewhere between Kate Bush and Diamanda Galas, wild trills, soaring impossible melodies, all over sweeping faux strings and brooding atmospheric swirl. Wow.
Really nice, fans of Grouper, Zola Jesus, Chelsea Wolfe should check this out for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Veni^2"
MPEG Stream: "Bower Bird"

FIELD BOSS / HEY COLOSSUS split (At War With False Noise / Black Horizons / Crucificados) 7" 11.98
A crushing double dose of extreme low end downtuned heaviness from these two UK heavyweights, up first, long time aQ faves Hey Colossus, who tackle an unlikely cover, Andre Williams' "Jailbait", and transform it into some seriously creepy crawly doom blues. A monstrous chugging plod underneath distorted mush mouthed rambling vocalizing, sounding much like a sludgier Oxbow, or maybe the Melvins covering King Snake Roost. As the track progresses, the vocals get more and more garbled, and the background chugs grow more and more intense, transforming from churning riffage into a blurred sheet of black buzz, undulating beneath the relentless pound and chug. AWESOME.
Field Boss, formerly known as Tractor (as they're credited on the 7" label) kick right back with some of their own low slung creep, all thick ropy bass, coruscating sheets of feedback, a sound that's equal parts old school AmRep crush and industrial pound, the song title "Headache" maybe referencing legendary noise rockers Big Black, which would make sense, cuz there's definitely that sort of vibe about this. The track slowly unfolds into keening slo-mo super distorted guitar leads that tangle and become more and more atonal, draped in layers over the churning sonic sludge, until finally, the song explodes into a final tangle of grinding blasting punkish crush, pelted with swirling clouds of hissing distorted static. So good.
Some essential heaviness for sure, and gorgeously packaged in a super swank silk screened black on metallic silver, cardstock 6 panel fold out sleeve, LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!

FIELD MICE, THE For Keeps (LTM) cd 17.98
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991, the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice. This cd reissue contains For Keeps, their final album originally released in 1991, with all the tracks from the singles September's Not So Far Away and Missing the Moon. By the time For Keeps was released, the Field Mice had expanded to a five piece, and sounded like it, with big arrangements and lush production, extended drone-y jams and blissed out ambient jangle, definitely setting the stage for Belle And Sebastian and a legion of other twee pop outfits to come...
MPEG Stream: "Five Moments"
MPEG Stream: "Star Of David"

FIELD MICE, THE Skywriting (LTM) 2cd 23.00
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991, the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice.
Skywriting was the Field Mice's second album originally released in June 1990. This 2cd reissue includes that lp in its entirety as well as all the tracks from the EPs The Autumn Store and So Said Kay, two rare comp tracks and three unreleased tracks.
Skywriting found the Field Mice stretching out a bit occasionally displaying influences from the then burgeoning dance / ambient scene, with sequenced rhythms, samples, and almost funky rhythms, all mixed in and amongst more classic and timeless sweet pop songsmithery.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle"
MPEG Stream: "Canada"

FIELD MICE, THE Snowball (LTM) cd 17.98
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991,the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice.
Snowball was the Field Mice's debut album, originally released in 1989 as a 10" mini lp. This cd reissue also includes all the tracks from the first three singles as well as a rare compilation track. Snowball is maybe the weirdest of the bunch, with all that sweet jangle and shimmery pop glimmer, but structured around occasional drone-y almost krautrock like rhythms, brief glimpses of studio whirr and swoosh, and once in a while extended hypnotic bliss outs. At its root though, it's still simple and sweet, dreamy dreamy pop.
MPEG Stream: "Let's Kiss And Make Up"
MPEG Stream: "You're Kidding Aren't You?"

FIELD MUSIC s/t (Chrysalis) cd 14.98
Field Music are primarily Peter Brewis and Andrew Moore, but for their self-titled debut they're joined by string players Emma Fisk, Rachael Davis and Peter Richardson as well as sax player John Steele. You might've seen/heard the two lads before though. They're in a couple bands you might be more familiar with... Franz Ferdinand and Maximo Park. Who? Never heard of 'em. Hahahaha. Ahem, this project is far less punchy and rambunctious than either of their day jobs. The tunes are still very poppy, but in a much more gentle breezy fashion. Sort of a well-crafted cross between Sea And Cake, Pinback and Brian Wilson. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "If Only The Moon Were Up"
MPEG Stream: "Tell Me Keep Me"

FIELD, THE From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt) cd 15.98
What's release without tension? What if there's no real release, just an ongoing tension? Like you are hovering over a brink of a precipice but somehow knowing you are not going to fall and die you really get into the powerful momentum of floating fixed in space between the universal expanse above and the bottomless nothing below. That is how The Field (aka Axel Wilner) fashions his tightly edited minimal trance compositions on his Kompakt debut, From Here We Go Sublime. Like the best Kompact releases, from The Pop Ambient series to Wolfgang Voigt's Gas albums, The Field make the most out of nothing much at all. But what incredible nothings! The evolving repetitions of finely honed razor-sharp edits off of bits of samples, such as the vowel sounds of words, belied by rudimentary drum programming only occasionally reveal their source, including a bit of Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" and The Flamingo's "I Only Have Eyes For You", more famously sampled by The Fugees. Dare we say it, This is sublime!
MPEG Stream: "Sun & Ice"
MPEG Stream: "Over The Ice"
MPEG Stream: "The Deal"

FIELD, THE From Here We Go Sublime (12") (Kompakt) 12" 11.98

FIELD, THE Looping State Of Mind (Kompakt) cd 16.98
Album number three from one of our favorite forces to emerge in the world of electronica over the last several years. Their (his?) Kompakt debut, Here We Go Sublime, still stands as one of our favorite records of the last five years and this new one is making us think we probably have lots of great records from The Field to look forward to for a long time to come. The Field's hypnotic take on minimal techno has the ability to win over folks who might not usually find themselves listening to techno records, while at the same time putting those who do occupy that word into a perpetual state of bliss.
Looping State Of Mind finds The Field taking their trademark approach to repetition and harnessing it deftly to reach ecstatic levels of energy, yet also demonstrating a knack for evoking much needed breeziness into their sound. We can't wait for some serious late night drive-time with this blasting as we cruise over bridges and under freeway ramps, only paying attention to the road ahead and the blinking lights of the city that surrounds us. So damn good!
MPEG Stream: "Is This Power"
MPEG Stream: "Looping State Of Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Arpeggiated Love"

FIELD, THE Looping State Of Mind (Kompact) 2lp+cd 23.00
Now here in the vinyl format too (which comes with the cd as well, as a bonus).
Album number three from one of our favorite forces to emerge in the world of electronica over the last several years. Their (his?) Kompakt debut, Here We Go Sublime, still stands as one of our favorite records of the last five years and this new one is making us think we probably have lots of great records from The Field to look forward to for a long time to come. The Field's hypnotic take on minimal techno has the ability to win over folks who might not usually find themselves listening to techno records, while at the same time putting those who do occupy that word into a perpetual state of bliss.
Looping State Of Mind finds The Field taking their trademark approach to repetition and harnessing it deftly to reach ecstatic levels of energy, yet also demonstrating a knack for evoking much needed breeziness into their sound. We can't wait for some serious late night drive-time with this blasting as we cruise over bridges and under freeway ramps, only paying attention to the road ahead and the blinking lights of the city that surrounds us. So damn good!
MPEG Stream: "Is This Power"
MPEG Stream: "Looping State Of Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Arpeggiated Love"

FIELD, THE Looping State of Mind Remixe (Kompakt) lp 13.98

FIELD, THE Sun & Ice (Kompakt) 12" 9.98

FIELD, THE Things Keep Falling Down (Kompakt) 12" 9.98

FIELD, THE Yesterday And Today (Anti / Kompakt) cd 15.98
The Field's 2007 album From Here We Go Sublime caught many people by surprise, and we were happy to find ourselves included in that crowd of Field supporters. This was a minimal techno record playing the part of a pop album, through sleights of hand that extracted the sappiest moments of the '80s without appearing the part of the ironist. In pixel-painted blurs of entrancing melodies and soothing ambient warmth, The Field offered nostalgia without having a damn Lionel Richie song stuck in your head. Yup, one of the more memorable samples from From Here We Go Sublime was a wistful guitar lead from Richie's "Hello." In a lot of ways, The Field reached a pinnacle for Kompakt's Pop Ambient strategies, easily surpassing perhaps the album that started it all: Gas' Pop.
Jump two years down the line and several trips around the world, The Field returns with a second album that shouldn't disappoint those who were held rapt by the debut. Yesterday and Today has much of the restrained crescendos of velvety hypnosis grafted onto the steel girds of German engineered techno. Yes, we do know that The Field's Axel Willner is from Sweden, but the heart and soul of the motorik pulse is firmly rooted in Germany. Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Basic Channel, and of course, Kompakt are the obvious references in the formal structures of The Field, with his source material being those misty-eyed remembrances of music's past. If there are specific samples to be recognized in Yesterday and Today, they are not overt and obvious; but the sentiment is still the same. Nice.
The vinyl version includes a cd of the album as well!
MPEG Stream: "Leave It"
MPEG Stream: "I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet"
MPEG Stream: "Yesterday & Today"

FIELD, THE Yesterday And Today (Anti / Kompakt) 2lp+cd 19.98
The Field's 2007 album From Here We Go Sublime caught many people by surprise, and we were happy to find ourselves included in that crowd of Field supporters. This was a minimal techno record playing the part of a pop album, through sleights of hand that extracted the sappiest moments of the '80s without appearing the part of the ironist. In pixel-painted blurs of entrancing melodies and soothing ambient warmth, The Field offered nostalgia without having a damn Lionel Richie song stuck in your head. Yup, one of the more memorable samples from From Here We Go Sublime was a wistful guitar lead from Richie's "Hello." In a lot of ways, The Field reached a pinnacle for Kompakt's Pop Ambient strategies, easily surpassing perhaps the album that started it all: Gas' Pop.
Jump two years down the line and several trips around the world, The Field returns with a second album that shouldn't disappoint those who were held rapt by the debut. Yesterday and Today has much of the restrained crescendos of velvety hypnosis grafted onto the steel girds of German engineered techno. Yes, we do know that The Field's Axel Willner is from Sweden, but the heart and soul of the motorik pulse is firmly rooted in Germany. Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Basic Channel, and of course, Kompakt are the obvious references in the formal structures of The Field, with his source material being those misty-eyed remembrances of music's past. If there are specific samples to be recognized in Yesterday and Today, they are not overt and obvious; but the sentiment is still the same. Nice.
The vinyl version includes a cd of the album as well!
MPEG Stream: "Leave It"
MPEG Stream: "I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet"
MPEG Stream: "Yesterday & Today"

FIELDS, IRVING TRIO Bagels And Bongos (Reboot Stereophonic) cd 16.98

FIELDS, LEE Faithful Man (Truth & Soul) lp 19.98

FIELDS, LEE My World (Truth & Soul) cd 16.98

FIELDS, LEE Problems (Soul Fire) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
God DAMN! Lee Fields has SOUL, ladies and gentlemen, and just in case a couple decades of watered down, completely non-visceral R&B has made you forget exactly what that means, let this record remind you. He's got the funk and the pride like James Brown, the smooove moves like Isaac Hayes, and he's here to spread the love and the grooves straight from the gut. And it feels sooo good! Mr. Fields has been making funk records since the seventies, many of which are highly sought-after collectables. Respected in the funk community, he earned the nickname "Little J.B." for good reason, but he's definitely got his own thang going on -- plus, when was the last relevant record from the godfather of soul? Uh huh, exactly. Enter Lee, who has been making kick ass heavy funk records with the Soul Providers and Sugarman Three as well as recording under his own name for the excellent nuveau rare groove label Soul Fire (kin to Daptone in the recent funk 45 resurgence). This will set fire to your behind, make sweet love to you, then give you advice on how to keep your woman. OK, the last part may be ill advised, but when Lee Fields brings it on with such sincerity it's hard not to believe in him.
RealAudio clip: "Problems"

FIEND 3: Caledonian Mystic (God Bless) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the third solo project from Brendan O'Hare of Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, and the Telstar Ponies. Desperate space rock complete with drug-addled vocals, knob twiddling, and sparse guitar based structures.

FIERY FURNACES Bitter Tea (Fat Possum) cd 14.98
Yeah, that hits the spot! The Fiery Furnaces' tea may be bitter but it sounds mighty good to these ears. While their last, occasionally laborious release (Rehearsing The Choir, a collaborative effort with their grandmother) tossed a few folks off their wagon of devotees, this album will surely win them back and then some! Oddly enough it was originally meant to be a companion to its predecessor, but it has an altogether different tone and energy. It's more like a contrasting counterpart.
The brother and sister duo's strange stagey cabaret flair is in full bloom with lots of rambunctious mischief and intriguing instrumentation. Actually quite a few of the songs could easily be mistaken for something on the new Sparks album. Check out the second tune "I'm In No Mood". Is it just us or is Eleanor Friedlander's high delivery not a deadringer for Russell Mael's falsetto?
They've spent some time at play in the studio, running the recordings of the vocals and instruments backwards, noodling with synthesizers and such. Mind you the former does get a little tedious after a while -- they use that trippy application quite generously -- particularly on the lengthy seventh track "The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry" which ends up seeming much longer than its 5:44 minutes. Nevertheless for those who love the pair's devil-may-care attitude and pilfering of styles from all time periods and places, this album will definitely not disappoint!
MPEG Stream: "I'm In No Mood"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Waiting To Know You"

FIERY FURNACES Blueberryboat (Rough Trade) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Delving deeper into the strange and the eccentric and in the process carving out their own lil' musical niche, The Fiery Furnaces' impressive sophomore album Blueberryboat is like one heck of a wild carnival ride - like a tilt-a-whirl, funhouse and rollercoaster all rolled into one. At times Eleanor Friedberger's vocals seem more oddly affected in a Kate Bush sort of way laced with a mix of campy glam Rocky Horror Picture Show, old tyme cabaret, and sing-song nursery rhyme stylings. The music is heady, sometimes plodding, sometimes careening and often quite surprising, occasionally blending a thick squidgy electronic backdrop with their more familiar acoustic and electric guitar-based instrumentation. A wonderfully woozy listening adventure!

FIERY FURNACES EP (Rough Trade) cd 10.98
Another great release from this truly dynamic duo! Following two awesome albums comes this collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks. Now for most other bands the phrase "b-sides and unreleased tracks" usually means "cast-offs and not-good-enoughs", but for the 'Furnaces it means nothing of the sort. Their consistent high standard carries through all of their releases including this one. With their broad palette of instruments and ideas they fly in the face of current trends. They thoroughly enchant, puzzle, and rock, adding a novel 'talky' electric guitar line, some beautiful waterfall piano melodies, or some bubbly blurbly synthesizer whenever the occasion calls for it. They shuttle through and blend styles with carefree glee -- barreling in one direction with full momentum and then turning completely on a dime. Eleanor Friedberger has one of the most expressive devil-may-care voices around, delivering her vocals with a knowing nod and a sly wink. Her brother Matthew is sure no slouch either. However perhaps the thing that sets them apart the most from a lot of bands these days is their lyrical content. Theirs is true 'story rock'. Each song unfurls a whimsicaln yarn or intriguing tale, but the subject matter is seldom fluffy, hell, it's frequently downright dark and twisted. Great stuff!
Oh and please note that although it's titled "EP", it's not all that short... it actually has ten songs!
MPEG Stream: "Single Again"
MPEG Stream: "Tropical-Iceland"

FIERY FURNACES EP (Rough Trade) lp 14.00
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Another great release from this truly dynamic duo! Following two awesome albums comes this collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks. Now for most other bands the phrase "b-sides and unreleased tracks" usually means "cast-offs and not-good-enoughs", but for the 'Furnaces it means nothing of the sort. Their consistent high standard carries through all of their releases including this one. With their broad palette of instruments and ideas they fly in the face of current trends. They thoroughly enchant, puzzle, and rock, adding a novel 'talky' electric guitar line, some beautiful waterfall piano melodies, or some bubbly blurbly synthesizer whenever the occasion calls for it. They shuttle through and blend styles with carefree glee - barreling in one direction with full momentum and then turning completely on a dime. Eleanor Friedberger has one of the most expressive devil-may-care voices around, delivering her vocals with a knowing nod and a sly wink. Her brother Matthew is sure no slouch either. However perhaps the thing that sets them apart the most from a lot of bands these days is their lyrical content. Theirs is true 'story rock'. Each song unfurls a whimsical yarn or intriguing tale, but the subject matter is seldom fluffy, hell, it's frequently downright dark and twisted. Great stuff!
Oh and please note that although it's titled "EP", it's not all that short... it actually has ten songs!

FIERY FURNACES Gallowsbird's Park (Rough Trade) lp 14.00
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger, the brother and sister duo known as The Fiery Furnaces have certainly drawn lots of comparisons to the plethora of other boy/girl, brother/sister duos of late (White Stripes, The Kills, The Raveonettes to name just a few), but hang on a sec! Don't dismiss them as a bluesy, garagey raw rock copycat pair. 'Though there's definitely waves of low slung slouchy blues, garage and rock flowin' through their veins, there's also plenty more goin' on here. While The Fiery Furnaces are definitely not silly, they are full of whimsy, wit and carefree spirit. Gallowsbird's Park begins at a frantic pace of descending xylophone and piano lines while snarky guitars and thumpin' drums elbow their way through the fray. Eleanor's delivery has a distinct saucy devil-may-care tone to it. She seems to be having a blast kicking out each verse and chorus with such sass. This album is a rambunctious freewheeling jumble, however that's not to say it's by any means messy. What it is is a darn good time! Recommended.

FIERY FURNACES Rehearsing My Choir (Rough Trade) cd 12.98
Here's the latest album from the always slightly bizarre brother and sister duo Fiery Furnaces. The opener contains their familiar frantic piano playing that often brings to mind visions of the chase scenes in old Tom & Jerry cartoons. From there things launch off into something that resembles a peculiar radio play. Whereas in the past the pair's eccentricities surfaced in their obtusely poetic lyrics and Eleanor Friedlander's vocal performances, here they materialize in the broader array of weird sounds and the prominent vocal presence of the mysterious Ms Olga Sarantos. Curious as we are, we did a little sleuthing to try to figure out what the heck Eleanor and Matthew were goin' on about! What we discovered was that Rehearsing The Choir is even more of a family affair that usual. It's a collaboration with their grandmother Sarantos! Loosely based around her stories of living in Chicago, it's a lively, peppery collection.
MPEG Stream: "The Garfield El"
MPEG Stream: "Guns Under The Counter"

FIERY FURNACES Rehearsing My Choir (Rough Trade) lp 19.98
Also on vinyl! Here's the latest album from the always slightly bizarre brother and sister duo Fiery Furnaces. The opener contains their familiar frantic piano playing that often brings to mind visions of the chase scenes in old Tom & Jerry cartoons. From there things launch off into something that resembles a peculiar radio play. Whereas in the past the pair's eccentricities surfaced in their obtusely poetic lyrics and Eleanor Friedlander's vocal performances, here they materialize in the broader array of weird sounds and the prominent vocal presence of the mysterious Ms Olga Sarantos. Curious as we are, we did a little sleuthing to try to figure out what the heck Eleanor and Matthew were goin' on about! What we discovered was that Rehearsing The Choir is even more of a family affair that usual. It's a collaboration with their grandmother Sarantos! Loosely based around her stories of living in Chicago, it's a lively, peppery collection.
MPEG Stream: "The Garfield El"
MPEG Stream: "Guns Under The Counter"

FIERY FURNACES Remember (Thrill Jockey) 2cd 16.98
For those of you that somehow have missed seeing a Fiery Furnaces show or for those of you wishing to relive the magic... The band has defied The Foghat Principle (as immortalized in Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube" video which starred the fellas from Mr. Show... but we digress!) which proclaims that "your fourth album shall be DOUBLE LIVE!" Instead they held out a few albums longer, and made it their seventh. It's a good thing though, we think, because that means this hefty 51 track compilation features a bunch of songs from their most recent (and arguably their best) album Widow City. Psst, you might even recognize their touring bassist - Sebadoh's awesome Jason Loewenstein! Woo hoo! The band is as deliciously delirious, dark and strange in concert as they are on records, but with the added unpredictability of the live setting their songs of twisted folklore and fairytales seem to unravel at the seams and reweave into themselves and the adjoining tunes into something that's at once oddly familiar yet altogether different. The track names on the back of the digipak add to the disorientation - they're not the actual original song names, but a set of six equally perplexing chapter titles. A vast, wild 'n' wooly, suitably enigmatic listening experience.
MPEG Stream: "Chief Inspector Blancheflower (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "The Wayward Granddaughter (Live)"