FAR EAST FAMILY BAND Tenkujin (Phoenix) cd 17.98
The wonderful flood of Japanese '70s psych rock reissues continues, something those folks who have yet to hear these previously hard-to-find gems (many "popularized" by megafan Julian Cope in his Japrocksampler book) can be quite glad of. The item under consideration here, a compact disc reissue of the final, 1977 release by hippie space travellers Far East Family Band, is another nifty one, though we'd probably recommend the other, earlier FEFB albums before this if you don't have those already. Fans looking to complete their collections, though, won't be disappointed - even though by this point keyboardist Kitaro had left the family / band (for eventual New Age stardom), on Tenkujin FEFB were still quite potent at making tripped out, synth-laden, New Age friendly psych. In other words still the kind of band where the same guy credited with operating a pile of synthesizers (Teisco 100F, Hillwood SY 1800, Combo, Basky, Rockyboard, Korg 700S, Mellotron, Yamaha, Solina String Ensemble) also plays the bamboo flute. And then there's all the guitars and other things as well that are part of their big wash of psychedelic sound.
The title track, with a driving, almost disco beat, and echoey, dubby FX, would fit in with a lot of late '70s kosmic krautrock, the Ashra, Michael Rother sort of stuff, heck it sound a bit like some bands today too, we're thinking Jonas Reinhardt and Maserati. Lots of burbling electronics and shimmering synth over propulsive percussion. FEFB's usual Pink Floydisms certainly come to the fore too, on the blissful, balladic likes of "Timeless Phase" and elsewhere... Make that blissful AND bombastic, the latter especially on the album-ending instrumental "Ascension".
Numbered, limited edition reissue in the usual Phoenix wallet sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Tenkujin"
MPEG Stream: "Timeless Phase"
MPEG Stream: "Ascension"

FAR EAST FAMILY BAND Tenkujin (Phoenix) lp 24.00
Also now reissued on (180 gram) vinyl!!!
The wonderful flood of Japanese '70s psych rock reissues continues, something those folks who have yet to hear these previously hard-to-find gems (many "popularized" by megafan Julian Cope in his Japrocksampler book) can be quite glad of. The item under consideration here, a compact disc reissue of the final, 1977 release by hippie space travellers Far East Family Band, is another nifty one, though we'd probably recommend the other, earlier FEFB albums before this if you don't have those already. Fans looking to complete their collections, though, won't be disappointed - even though by this point keyboardist Kitaro had left the family / band (for eventual New Age stardom), on Tenkujin FEFB were still quite potent at making tripped out, synth-laden, New Age friendly psych. In other words still the kind of band where the same guy credited with operating a pile of synthesizers (Teisco 100F, Hillwood SY 1800, Combo, Basky, Rockyboard, Korg 700S, Mellotron, Yamaha, Solina String Ensemble) also plays the bamboo flute. And then there's all the guitars and other things as well that are part of their big wash of psychedelic sound.
The title track, with a driving, almost disco beat, and echoey, dubby FX, would fit in with a lot of late '70s kosmic krautrock, the Ashra, Michael Rother sort of stuff, heck it sound a bit like some bands today too, we're thinking Jonas Reinhardt and Maserati. Lots of burbling electronics and shimmering synth over propulsive percussion. FEFB's usual Pink Floydisms certainly come to the fore too, on the blissful, balladic likes of "Timeless Phase" and elsewhere... Make that blissful AND bombastic, the latter especially on the album-ending instrumental "Ascension". Limited edition.
MPEG Stream: "Tenkujin"
MPEG Stream: "Timeless Phase"
MPEG Stream: "Ascension"

FAR OUT Nihonjin (Phoenix) cd 17.98
Japanese '70s psych alert! Grab yer Japrocksampler and look this one up, you want it!! (It's number eleven on Julian Cope's list of his top 50 Japanese psych faves.)
Having reissued the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin, we were hoping that Phoenix would turn their attentions to that band's original incarnation. They made one album as Far Out, and rarely has a band name been better chosen. Their 1973 lp is a stone classic, from that iconic white glove hanging on a clothes line in front of a blue background album cover to the two side long tracks of tripped out, heavy psychedelic music within. Well, Phoenix have granted our wish, which is awesome 'cause we've always wanted to list/review this album but previous cd reissues have been expensive and hard to come by.
Track one/side one, "Too Many People", eases the listener into things gently, with an echoing heartbeat pulse, some ambient Moog drone, and sad and mellow vocals, accompanied by delicately grooving guitar/bass... by the halfway point (8 minutes or so in) the track has gotten a lot more menacing, with plodding, heavier beats, thicker bass, adorned with "Eastern" sounding guitar licks and distorted acidic soloing. Yeah! 'Tis something that Flower Travellin' Band fans will find to their liking for sure! Towards the end of the song, when the vocals come back in, it's built up into a rather majestically progtastic piece of work that, when it all too suddenly ends, will leave you, the listener, wondering where your epic Nipponese longhaired fantasyland went, what's with all this boring, non-cosmic, not-so-grandiose reality you've so rudely been reacquainted with?
To fix that, at least temporarily, put the headphones back on, and cue up track two/side two, "Nihonjin", another similarly massive trip that can only be described as "far out"... this cut was later reworked a couple years later for the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin opus, though the original here is rawer, less Klaus Schulzified and symphonic.
Like we said, Cope had this up at #11, but for us it might nudge right into the top 10...
MPEG Stream: "Too Many People"
MPEG Stream: "Nihonjin"

FAR OUT Nihonjin (Phoenix) lp 24.00
ALSO NOW REISSUED ON VINYL!!
Japanese '70s psych alert! Grab yer Japrocksampler and look this one up, you want it!! (It's number eleven on Julian Cope's list of his top 50 Japanese psych faves.)
Having reissued the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin, we were hoping that Phoenix would turn their attentions to that band's original incarnation. They made one album as Far Out, and rarely has a band name been better chosen. Their 1973 lp is a stone classic, from that iconic white glove hanging on a clothes line in front of a blue background album cover to the two side long tracks of tripped out, heavy psychedelic music within. Well, Phoenix have granted our wish, which is awesome 'cause we've always wanted to list/review this album but previous cd reissues have been expensive and hard to come by.
Track one/side one, "Too Many People", eases the listener into things gently, with an echoing heartbeat pulse, some ambient Moog drone, and sad and mellow vocals, accompanied by delicately grooving guitar/bass... by the halfway point (8 minutes or so in) the track has gotten a lot more menacing, with plodding, heavier beats, thicker bass, adorned with "Eastern" sounding guitar licks and distorted acidic soloing. Yeah! 'Tis something that Flower Travellin' Band fans will find to their liking for sure! Towards the end of the song, when the vocals come back in, it's built up into a rather majestically progtastic piece of work that, when it all too suddenly ends, will leave you, the listener, wondering where your epic Nipponese longhaired fantasyland went, what's with all this boring, non-cosmic, not-so-grandiose reality you've so rudely been reacquainted with?
To fix that, at least temporarily, put the headphones back on, and cue up track two/side two, "Nihonjin", another similarly massive trip that can only be described as "far out"... this cut was later reworked a couple years later for the Far East Family Band's Nipponjin opus, though the original here is rawer, less Klaus Schulzified and symphonic.
Like we said, Cope had this up at #11, but for us it might nudge right into the top 10...
MPEG Stream: "Too Many People"
MPEG Stream: "Nihonjin"

FAR-OUT FANGTOOTH Pure & Disinterested (Siltbreeze) lp 15.98
We had never heard of these guys before, but were definitely pretty taken with the name, the sort that sets the bar pretty high in terms of the music living up to the band name, but these weirdo Philly psych rockers pull it off. Opening up with a cool creepy intro, all gamelan like melodies, buzzing metallic percussion, creepy piano, twisted sci-fi FX and crumbling distortion, before launching into a cool stretch of depressive gloom pop, all low slung basslines, simple motorik drumming, and melodic guitar jangle, before launching into something a bit more blown out, a psychedelic squall that is grounded by an oh so sweet guitar melody which holds it all together, and keeps it firmly rooted in pop, the vocals come in, all laid back and woozy, very Sonic Youth-y, and in fact, the whole sound is very nineties indie rock, we hear some Bardo Pond, some Swirlies, a soft cacophony of jangle and crunch, even some Dinosaur Jr, in the crunchy leads, opener "Hate" is definitely our new noise pop / post punk jam, the sort of thing you could almost imagine Eric's Trip whipping up. For all the obscure comparisons the label throws out (Cramps, Bauhaus, Blue Oyster Cult), some of which we definitely here, the sound seems to hew much closer to classic indie rock and nineties shoegaze, a druggy dreamy psychedelic rocking combo of Sonic Youth, Eric's Trip, The Swirlies, Bardo Pond, Dinosaur Jr along with a heaping helping of early Siltbreeze. We're pretty psyched on these new SB releases (check out the Kitchen's Floor elsewhere on this week's list), both of them feel like they were transported straight here through some crazy timewarp from Siltbreeze circa 1995! Except if they were from '95 they'd be on cd, which would be nice.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, vinyl-only. Comes with a download coupon too.
MPEG Stream: "Pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "Hate"
MPEG Stream: "White Valley"

FAR-OUT FANGTOOTH Thorns (Hozac) 7" 6.50
We first heard this Philly garage psych combo via their debut lp on Siltbreeze, which was a killer, and Siltbreeze was definitely the perfect match, as is Hozac, the label that put out this brand new 7", the A side of which begins with a woozy, druggy sprawl of dirgey psychedelia, the feel very eighties Aussie, until the track explodes into a frenzy of guitar crunch and drum bombast, spaced out and heavy, a little bit Sonic Youthy for sure, a pounding garage psych freakout that we can't get enough of!
The B side starts out with some lo-fi noise pop garage punk swagger, crooned vox over an almost Gary Glitterish groove, a little glammy, with a killer main hook, before the final track an echo drenched super noisy garage rock pound, all sweat drenched, bloody nosed, fat lipped blow out. Awesome.
LIMITED TO 475 COPIES!!

FARAH Gay Boy (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
Hipster dance jams from the Johnny Jewel hit factory.

FARAH Law Of Life (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
More sultry late night space disco jams from Italians Do It Better. You might remember them forom their tracks on the After Dark comp.

FARFLUNG A Wound In Eternity (MeteorCity) cd 14.98
It a bit weird we've never listed any records by LA space rockers Farflung. They've been plugging away for almost 12 years, and A Wound In Eternity is in fact record number 12. At least one or two of us here have some old FF records in our collection, regardless, it's finally time to right this very wrong.
Self proclaimed the heaviest and trippiest FF record yet, A Wound In Eternity is indeed both trippy and heavy, due possibly to the recent addition of various new members, their sound as always borrows heavily from Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, the usual heavies, but with their own distinct twist, and listening to this now, we're feeling a definite glam vibe, a bit of garagey-stomp, really catchy and hooky, but just the tone and the arrangement is sort of reminiscent of classic seventies glam, albeit super charged and a bit more drugged up and spaced out. Which is probably why we hear so much Monster Magnet in FF's sound, they have a similar over the top glamrock meets space metal crunch.
Chunky riffs, propulsive rhythms, dramatic vocals, all wound up into a set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun stoner psych space rock blowout. The tracks often burn slow, sometimes pounding away, other times drifting lazily through space, but most of them culminate in huge drone-y psychedelic freakout outros, everything wrapped in swirls of FX, the guitars blossoming like supernovas, the drums growing more and more chaotic. A few tracks have a definite Circle vibe going on too, the group locked into super mesmerizing looped hypnorock grooves, but even then, the band eventually looses themselves from gravity, drifting into the stratosphere, only to burn out in a blaze of blinding, deafening distorted effects drenched buzz...
The lp version is ultra deluxe, and while they last, we have the super limited edition cd version, that comes in a fancy mini-lp style gatefold sleeve, and includes the same two bonus tracks that are on the lp.
MPEG Stream: "Unborn Planet"
MPEG Stream: "Endless Drifting Wreck"
MPEG Stream: "Possession"

FARFLUNG A Wound In Eternity (MeteorCity) 2lp 22.00
It a bit weird we've never listed any records by LA space rockers Farflung. They've been plugging away for almost 12 years, and A Wound In Eternity is in fact record number 12. Several of us here have at least one or two old FF records in our collection, so it's finally time to right that very wrong.
Self proclaimed the heaviest and trippiest FF record yet, A Wound In Eternity is indeed both trippy and heavy, due possibly to the recent addition of various new members, their sound as always borrows heavily from Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, the usual heavies, but with their own distinct twist, and listening to this now, we're feeling a definite glam vibe, a bit of garagey-stomp, really catchy and hooky, but just the tone and the arrangement is sort of reminiscent of classic seventies glam, albeit super charged and a bit more drugged up and spaced out. Which is probably why we hear so much Monster Magnet in FF's sound, they have a similar over the top glamrock meets space metal crunch.
Chunky riffs, propulsive rhythms, dramatic vocals, all wound up into a set-the-controls-for-the-heart-of-the-sun stoner psych space rock blowout. The tracks often burn slow, sometimes pounding away, other times drifting lazily through space, but most of them culminate in huge drone-y psychedelic freakout outros, everything wrapped in swirls of FX, the guitars blossoming like supernovas, the drums growing more and more chaotic. A few tracks have a definite Circle vibe going on too, the group locked into super mesmerizing looped hypnorock grooves, but even then, the band eventually looses themselves from gravity, drifting into the stratosphere, only to burn out in a blaze of blinding, deafening distorted effects drenched buzz...
The lp version is super deluxe, and while they last, we have the super limited edition cd version, that comes in a super fancy mini-lp style gatefold sleeve, and includes the same two bonus tracks that are on the lp.
MPEG Stream: "Unborn Planet"
MPEG Stream: "Endless Drifting Wreck"
MPEG Stream: "Possession"

FARINA, GEOFF Already Told You (Southern) cd 8.98
The fellow from Karate has struck out on his own (yes, pun intended). Envision a two star hotel in the middle of nowhere with a cocktail lounge/restaurant whose vinyl banquettes are populated by senior citizens and families of four. There's no stage, no grand piano, just a gent named Geoff Farina sitting on a stool at a microphone with guitar in hand crooning gentle meandering ballads...
MPEG Stream: "Femmes Damnees"
MPEG Stream: "Already Told You"

FARINA, GEOFF Reverse Eclipse (Southern) cd 14.98
Leader of Karate releases a solo effort full of mournful musings and solo electric guitar.

FARM The Innermost Limits Of Pure Fun (EM Records) cd 22.00
Ah, yes it's summertime! Warm sunshine and trips to the beach! And what's more summery than surf music? Lo and behold, our favorite label for obscure and amazing reissues, Japan's EM Records, has a special new series of five, count 'em, five reissues devoted to lost "surf" music treasures. The first two, by Farm and Peter Martin & Finch, are out now, with the others to follow in short order. We're pretty sure all of 'em are awesome.
And if you're familiar with the eccentricity of this label, you'll know that this "EM Under Water" series isn't going to be about, y'know, "regular" surf music of the Jan & Dean or Ventures variety, nope. These first two releases are both soundtracks to rad '70s surfing movies, and are fully psychedelic, with tripped out grooves, synth experiments, and heavy rock jamming all part of the mix.
This one's really fantastic. The music for the legendary 1970 Australian surf documentary The Innermost Limits Of Pure Fun was done by a hippy band called Farm from Santa Barbara who themselves were part of the SoCal surf scene. Their lead guitarist, Denny Aaberg, even wrote a novel about his surfing days called Big Wednesday that was eventually made into movie starring Jan-Michael Vincent and Gary Busey! Other members later on played with such bands as the Surf Punks in the '80s and the Beach Boys in the '90s... and weirder still, The Captain from Captain and Tennille is on here somewhere too. But this is like none of that, needless to say. Farm's sound was more of a special surf/soundtrack/psych hybrid...
There's plenty of glorious mellow jazzy groovers on here, with organ that reminds us a bit of Bo Hansson's stuff, as well tracks like the heavy electric blues of "Zan Ho Zay" and the gorgeous folky acoustic guitar intricacy of "Innerspace". Mostly instrumental, but for two charming vocal cuts, "Crumple Car" and "The Eater", this is surf-psych at its peak for sure. A lot of the record was constructed around live jams, including the soundtrack's finale, the 13 minute improv "Coming Of The Dawn", a track Farm recorded in real-time response to a projection of the film's most awe-inspiring "inside the pipe" sequence. The filmmaker had rigged up a waterproof camera contraption that he was able to strap to his back and use to shoot while riding his board, one of the innovative techniques that made it a groundbreaking surf movie. This soundtrack had to help too!
This reish, done in the usual thorough EM style, is packaged in a nice gatefold sleeve with a thick, fully illustrated booklet in English and Japanese and other bits of ephemera tipped in, and includes a QuickTime video clip on the cd of an interview with the band. As well, both this and also the soundtrack to Drouyn include liner notes by Aussie surf music expert Stephen J. McPharland (author of Waltzing The Plank: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Australian Surf Music 1963-2003).
MPEG Stream: "Crystal Shingles"
MPEG Stream: "Animal"
MPEG Stream: "Snake Charmer"

FARMACIA Crucial Sky In The Land Of Premonitions At Lorenzo's Weekend (Psych-O-Path) cd 14.98
We all agree here at AQ that this is a really amazing disc. We also all agree that it's tough to describe! Which is maybe why we didn't manage to review it right when it first appeared a few months back. But now we'll try, since we like it so much and want you know about it. Simply put (which is impossible), Farmacia from Argentina straddle the line between minimal dance music and rhythmic noise. Crucial Sky In The Land Of Premonitions At Lorenzo's Weekend (there, doesn't that title tell you all you need to know? no? uh, yeah, you're right) is the work of a trio who are making their OWN original music first and foremost, not something we hear everyday. There's an experimental, home-brewed, kit-bashed approach here that possesses some of the charming weirdness of Argentine AQ faves Reynols without sounding like them... much more user-friendly, these guys! It's a sort of playful industrial/electro music, part Throbbing Gristle, part Aphex Twin, part Mouse On Mars, part Ratatat. One track even reminds us of Itavayla, or Trans Am. There's bopping abstract noises, wordless vocals, distortion and drone and disco-friendly beats. Surprisingly beautiful, beautifully surprising. The three members are credited with the use of plenty of analog synths, samplers, computers... an array of ethnic flutes... eggs, noises, and "atmospheric crucial voices"... y'know, the usual stuff. And the results are, as we said, tough to describe. But we figure it's got a wide appeal, to fans of Kraftwerk and Cluster back in the '70s... to fans of Lindstrom yesterday. Totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Doctor Krupa"
MPEG Stream: "Estas Tecnicas"
MPEG Stream: "Que Se Le Va A Hacer"

FARMERS MANUAL RLA (Mego) dvd 32.00
In theory, this DVD produced by Austrian electronic experimentalists Farmer's Manual consists of "every locatable live recording and more dating from 1995 until 2003." The press release goes on to describe that these performances were "about algorithms and their artifacts. Clicks and textural discontinuities were rampant. The demeanor of the performers was stoic: that of accountants working a spreadsheet program rather than artists expressing themselves. Despite the apparent detachment of the performers, the musical pace was extremely rapid, both in terms of events per second and the speed of textural change." Despite the claim of a total running time of whopping 03:21:38:03 (d:h:m:s), all that could be extracted from computers-as-DVD-players we rely on here at Aquarius was 17 minutes of footage of 3 guys aimlessly breaking through a cheaply constructed wall. But maybe it's just as well we didn't find three whole days of that! Caveat emptor.

FARNETI, MICHAEL Good Morning Kisses (Companion) lp 21.00
We can always count on local reissue label Companion Records to foster the kind of rare hidden musical gem that perhaps won't appeal to everyone, but will get a select group of enthusiasts very excited over the discovery of someone's sincerely unique, but often-times misguided musical vision. Companion's specialty has always been private press vanity records, such as the Louie Louie, Charlie Tweddle, Marc Mundy and New Creation records, and for their first foray into vinyl releases have given us two quite amazing but very different musical visionaries: the latent mope-psych of Stan Hubbs and the spirited orchestral lounge stylings of Michael Farneti.
Hailing from South Florida and recorded in 1976, Michael Farneti's Good Morning Kisses is a brilliant head-scratcher. Indeed, it seems Farneti is channeling Van Dyke Parks, The Neon Philharmonic, Harvey Sid Fisher and Scott Walker in his wide-eyed enthusiastic and sometimes melancholic songs about Movie Stars, ESP, New York Muggers and Georgia Peaches. Without a hint of irony, Farneti exudes a wonderfully naive charm with strange (and perhaps unintentionally humorous) lyrics and sometimes goofy songs (an example: "Shower, shower, shower until you smell like a flower" on the title track). While we admit we maybe use Ariel Pink's name as a comparison too much in our reviews, it does seem apropos here, because if Ariel Pink played piano in a Reno airport lounge in the seventies, it might sound a lot like Good Morning Kisses. It definitely has the falsetto harmonies, Theremin flourishes, and washed out orchestral yacht rock arrangements that can be heard on Doldrums. Though some songs may make you cringe ("Rock Candy Roll"), there are plenty of golden moments and for fans of unique musical visionaries like the ones we mentioned above, Good Morning Kisses has a lot to offer. Limited to 500 copies. Sweet!
MPEG Stream: "Nineteenth Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Movie Star"
MPEG Stream: "ESP Switch"
MPEG Stream: "In The Jungle"

FARQUHAR, JW The Formal Female (Shadoks Music) cd 17.98
Woah. This is a weird one. A home-recorded psychedelic one-man-band "rock opera" from 1972, originally a rare privately pressed LP, now reissued on cd. Super freaky and moody and fuzzed out, with a messed-up "my woman done me wrong" vibe to it all. One JW Farquhar of Philadelphia sang and played all the instruments, though there are some other, presumably non-existent musicians credited on the sleeve... get a load of his supposed band, some of the best fake names ever: "Riffery Lowknut" on fender bass, "Slash Mullethead" on percussion, and "Callust Likfinker" on lead guitar! Steel Mammoth wishes they'd thought of those.
In the liner notes JW says that many of these songs "were written as an outcry against the materialistic nature of the woman during that time period". Maybe a little bit misogynistic? Well, apparently JW had just recently gone through a difficult divorce after having been married for 10 years, and was pretty down on women in general. Regardless of the merits of his bitter outlook, the bummed-out emotions expressed are certainly real. And feed into some genuinely twisted, trippy music.
The first two tracks, "The Formal Female" and "The Want Machine", are both multi-part suites, 11-12 minutes each. Groovy, laid back, lonely stuff, rife with FX and heavy doses of fuzz guitar (at one point, JW does to the traditional wedding march what Hendrix did to the "Star Spangled Banner"). "The Want Machine", with its funky guitar and guttural dialogue, almost sounds like the freakin' Jimmy Castor Bunch circa It's Just Begun, jivin' and acid-dosed (here, downer-dosed).
On "My Bundle Of Joy", JW's sad, melodic vocals are accompanied by what sounds like a primitive drum machine ticking away. It's really weird and lovely. Not sure what it reminds us of, maybe Vincent Gallo? Also, there's a good deal of woozy harmonica, or what could be Augustus Pablo style reggae melodica, all throughout the album. "Where Have You Been" and "Mansions" are equally odd and entrancing. Spacey, echoey, outsider rad dudeness! JW Farquhar is part George Brigman, part Dreamies, part Bobb Trimble, part Perry Leopold... like we said, a weird one. Not every Shadoks reissue is amazing, but sometimes when they find an obscure gem, like this, they really hit it out of the park, we're telling you. And as break-up records go, this one's unique.
MPEG Stream: "The Formal Female"
MPEG Stream: "The Want Machine"
MPEG Stream: "My Bundle Of Joy"

FARQUHAR, JW The Formal Female (Brainblobru) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Reissued recently by Shadoks on cd, now also available on vinyl!
Woah. This is a weird one. A home-recorded psychedelic one-man-band "rock opera" from 1972, originally a rare privately pressed LP, now reissued. Super freaky and moody and fuzzed out, with a messed-up "my woman done me wrong" vibe to it all. One JW Farquhar of Philadelphia sang and played all the instruments, though there are some other, presumably non-existent musicians credited on the sleeve... get a load of his supposed band, some of the best fake names ever: "Riffery Lowknut" on fender bass, "Slash Mullethead" on percussion, and "Callust Likfinker" on lead guitar! Steel Mammoth wishes they'd thought of those.
In the liner notes JW says that many of these songs "were written as an outcry against the materialistic nature of the woman during that time period". Maybe a little bit misogynistic? Well, apparently JW had just recently gone through a difficult divorce after having been married for 10 years, and was pretty down on women in general. Regardless of the merits of his bitter outlook, the bummed-out emotions expressed are certainly real. And feed into some genuinely twisted, trippy music.
The first two tracks, "The Formal Female" and "The Want Machine", are both multi-part suites, 11-12 minutes each. Groovy, laid back, lonely stuff, rife with FX and heavy doses of fuzz guitar (at one point, JW does to the traditional wedding march what Hendrix did to the "Star Spangled Banner"). "The Want Machine", with its funky guitar and guttural dialogue, almost sounds like the freakin' Jimmy Castor Bunch circa It's Just Begun, jivin' and acid-dosed (here, downer-dosed).
On "My Bundle Of Joy", JW's sad, melodic vocals are accompanied by what sounds like a primitive drum machine ticking away. It's really weird and lovely. Not sure what it reminds us of, maybe Vincent Gallo? Also, there's a good deal of woozy harmonica, or what could be Augustus Pablo style reggae melodica, all throughout the album. "Where Have You Been" and "Mansions" are equally odd and entrancing. Spacey, echoey, outsider rad dudeness! JW Farquhar is part George Brigman, part Dreamies, part Bobb Trimble, part Perry Leopold... like we said, a weird one. Not every Shadoks reissue [the cd reish is on Shadoks] is amazing, but sometimes when they find an obscure gem, like this, they really hit it out of the park, we're telling you. And as break-up records go, this one's unique.
MPEG Stream: "The Formal Female"
MPEG Stream: "The Want Machine"
MPEG Stream: "My Bundle Of Joy"

FARRAR, JAY Sebastopol (Artemis) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Nothing special about our Northern California city of Sebastopol compelled Jay Farrar to name his new album as such, he just liked the sound of it. With an array of new (for a geetar traditionalist like Farrar) instrumentation like Roland keyboards, tambura, sax and melodica, and a bunch of non-traditional tunings that he both looked up and made up, Jay Farrar augments the trademarked dusty backroads sound that he perfected in Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt. His gritty introspective vocal tone is still intact, and the music is still much more grounded in "no depression" style country than his former bandmate Jeff Tweedy's work with Wilco, who're getting more pop with each record. Still, I have to admit this record doesn't have the instantly classic sound that Uncle Tupelo or even Son Volt featured. If you're new to Farrar, try to pick up Uncle Tupelo's Anodyne (fucking stunning!) or Son Volt's Trace first. Maybe I just have to get used to the slight development in his sound, and along with that Jay's newly-shorn locks with wire rimmed glasses (yech, we liked him better when he had stringy long hair and looked like Ian Christe!)
P.S. Gillian Welch and Kelly Joe Phelps guest.
RealAudio clip: "Voodoo Candle"
RealAudio clip: "Vitamins"
RealAudio clip: "Make it Alright"

FARRAR, JAY Stone, Steel & Bright Lights (Artemis) cd 16.98
While his former Uncle Tupelo co-frontman Jeff Tweedy's country rock roots have sprouted into exploratory pop blossoms, Jay Farrar has nurtured and honed his own, keeping them closer to the country trellis both in his band Son Volt and goin' solo. We have been waitin' and waitin' for him to make an album as good as (if not better than) that of his old band's -- an album worthy of his remarkable voice -- but neither his previous albums, Terroir Blues and Sebastopol, nor his ThirdShiftGrottoSlack ep, have been quite able to capture that elusive magic. This being a live album filled mostly with songs from those three solo releases means we're probably not going to find our Farrar fix here. That said, some of the live renditions do outshine the album versions. And as always that voice is still so rough and gorgeous. Nineteen songs including two new ones and a closing double-whammy of Pink Floyd and Neil Young covers. Includes a bonus live dvd.
MPEG Stream: "Doesn't Have To Be This Way"
MPEG Stream: "6 String Belief"

FARRAR, JAY Terrior Blues (Act/Resist) cd 15.98
Even though Jay Farrar was the better songwriter in Uncle Tupelo, and had THE VOICE that defined their sound, all whiskey soaked and gravelly, he has been totally eclipsed post-Uncle Tupelo by his ex-band mate Jeff Tweedy and his band Wilco, who have been critical darlings since day one, and over the last year or two have managed to win over the public as well, selling tons of records and having the tale of their label swapping debacle and their subsequent artistic and commercial triumph told time and time again. And actually it makes a lot of sense, as Tweedy's songwriting really blossomed once he was on his own and out from under Farrar's formidable songwriting shadow. While Farrar's work in Son Volt and on his solo records has lacked the spark that made his work in UT so intense. And unfortunately that continues to be kinda true...
Now, the sound is there. It always has been. Drifting and plaintive and melancholy with that gruff gorgeous voice. Unfortunately, there are no songs. And that's the problem. If you can get it into your head that this is not a pop record of actual songs, but an extended assembly of sounds, then it may be more satisfying for you. Slippery slide guitars pick out warbly melodies, alongside thick rich acoustic guitars and warm reverberant cellos. And again, there's that voice. And this release boasts some interesting production as well as a six part suite of spacy, experimental instrumental interludes scattered throughout, but all that just doesn't quite make up for the lack of CATCHY songs. But like I said, it does *sound* SO GOOD. I just desperately want Farrar to knock one out of the park the way Tweedy did with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I know it'll happen. And I'm willing to wait, 'cause I know it'll be worth it.
MPEG Stream: "California"
MPEG Stream: "No Rolling Back"
MPEG Stream: "Hard Is The Fall"

FARRAR, JAY ThirdShiftGrottoSlack (Artemis) cd ep 7.98
This five song EP from former Uncle Tupelo founder Jay Farrar is, well, okay. As in *just okay*, i.e. there's nothing that stands out as extraordinarily beautiful here -- none of the heartbreaking chord changes, the instantly hummable melodies, the abject naked emotion -- that made his previous quality work so memorable. Not even one great song to make the price of the disc worth it. It's a bummer; I mean he still plays a worthy, if slightly generic, brand of twangy Americana, but it isn't as vital or intense as before. So I say, if you're a fan, you'll probably want this, but if you're new to Farrar, Uncle Tupelo, or his post-Tupelo band Son Volt, then you should really start with any of the Uncle Tupelo records (Anodyne being my fave, but all are grrreat).
RealAudio clip: "Kind of Madness"

FARSOT Insects (Lupus Lounge / Prophecy) cd 13.98
We never reviewed the debut from German black metal outfit Farsot, though we should have, and this new one is kicking our asses big time (in retalitation?). From the beginning of the first track, these guys unfurl something that manages to be furious and fierce, but also pretty weird and tripped out. Some classic riffing, super aggressive and intense, combined with some woozy wandering basslines, some deep crooned vox and some bizarre samples, eventually some more 'proper' black metal vokills come in, but somehow it doesn't make the sound any more black, instead the music shifts too, and the sound becomes way more melodic, rife with cool guitar licks and layered chant-like vocals, the song shifting from propulsive pound, to churning slow build chug, to epic cinematic soar, it's a weird combination for sure, and one that's pretty difficult to describe, but we're loving it. The sound is incredible, the production massive, the band sound huge, and fucking intense, and that's just the first song. The second track starts out all doomy and proggy, lurching start/stop arrangement and weird angular melodies, and even when the song kicks in proper, the guitars are weirdly droney and blurred into tranced out mesmer, creating a sound that's somewhere between grim blackness, and some sort of post black metal. There's also some clean guitar, and an ambient interlude, lots of melody, some cool slow burn psychedelia, all of which is why these guys get pegged as post black metal, which they most definitely are, but the connotations of that classification might obscure the fact of just how heavy and weird and still pretty black metal these guys really are. The more we listen to this, the more we're reminded of a WAY heavier and way more black metal Ved Buens Ende, if that makes any sense, the same sort of twisted take on BM, definitely cut from the same sonic cloth, but with their own unique modern twist on black metal, which just so happens to include plenty of classic metal riffing, all sorts of different clean vocals, lots of atmosphere, and mathy repetition, some loping meandering post rock rhythms, a bit of clean guitar jangle, some awesome abstract guitar drone drift, but ultimately, all woven into some seriously dense and dark metal. We dig A LOT.
MPEG Stream: "Like Flakes Of Rust"
MPEG Stream: "Empyrean"
MPEG Stream: "Perdition"

FARTICUS Gesneden Vlees (self-released) cd-r 5.98
We were gonna try, but we just can't do it... we can't... First release from this local band, and it's a doozy, heavy as fuck, chaotic and unhinged with a wild maniacal frontwoman, but, and it's a big BUT (pun most certainly intended)... Farticus? Maybe the worst band name ever. And that's coming from a store who has always championed Cream Abdul Babar!! Come on guys, you're dooming yourself to a life of local band-dom, of being perpetually a joke band, no matter how kick ass you are. And trust us, we know, we have spent time in bands with terrible names, embarrassing names, even scatological names, but somehow none quite as bad as Farticus. Plus, embracing the name, by having your logo be a shitting woman, all your song titles puerile and scatological and goofy, it definitely makes it hard to get to the music, but once you do, holy shit, these four songs are intense and brutal, tons of low end, the guitars chugging and churning, occasionally getting all twisted and warped, evoking prime era Butthole Surfers, the drums pounding and chaotic, and the vocals, shit, a wild banshee screech, sounding like a Riot Grrl all grown up ready to kick your ass. Reminds us a bit of classic SF weirdo rockers, Tragic Mulatto, in fact, if you can imagine the Buttholes, Tragic Mulatto, but with Unsane guitars, that's what this is all about.
Apparently the live shows are insane, the vocalist mobbed by men AND women, all grinding their faces into her pelvis, the band obviously are totally capable of destroying, so it's definitely worth it to try and make it past all the non musical stuff, the name, the song titles, the artwork on the cd, cuz once you strap on the headphones and close your eyes, this stuff will pummel you gloriously and utterly. At least in your iTunes you can change the band name and song titles and just enjoy the music. Reservedly recommended. If these guys revamped their aesthetic, and of course changed their name, they would be unstoppable.
MPEG Stream: "Vaginal Holocaust"
MPEG Stream: "My Fishy Cooter"

FASSETT, JIM Symphony Of The Birds (EM Records) cd 25.00
We recently discovered a completely amazing Japanese label called EM Records. Pretty hard to pin down what exactly it is that they specialize in but that's precisely why we're so smitten. From not one, but -several- singing saw records, to acid psych reissues, long lost singer songwriters, early experimental tape music, bizarre robot disco, fifties rock and roll, Australian dub, Isophonic boogie woogie (?) and tons more. We've only begun to dip into the wonderful world of EM, but we're going to start listing them one at a time. This record was initially the release that convinced us to get in touch with EM. Jim Fassett's Symphony Of The Birds is bizarre and beautiful and had AQ written all over it. The liner notes are mostly in Japanese so it's hard to know too many of the details, but Symphony Of The Birds is an amazing example of early tape music, it just so happens that all the tapes used were recordings of songbirds, which Fassett chopped, and cut, spliced and sequenced into a totally unique symphony of bird calls.
The record opens with Fassett's explanatory comments featuring our favorite line: "But keep in mind, as you listen, that nothing has been added. If you think you hear something that sounds like a particular musical instrument, or a human voice, or anything else other than birdcalls, YOU'RE WRONG." The first movement is definitely the best, whistles and chirps, chopped and stretched into dense swirls of psychedelic sound, if you weren't paying close attention, you'd be hard pressed to hear that it was birds making these sounds. Very trippy and spacey and alien sounding, like some crazy analog synthesizer freakout. The second movement involves a lot more itch shifting and changes in tape speed, resulting in sort of clunky purposeful melodies, the same bird call in different pitches to assemble very simple sing songy melodies. The third movement gets back on track, with some of the bird call slowed WAY down so they becomes rumbling drones, while others are sped up and repeated rapidly making impossible trills that almost sound like some blast of Sunroof!-y skree.
The last three tracks feature Fassett narrating an imaginary trip through a meadow, allowing us to study closely the bird song of each different bird isolated from the others, with some deft mixing and stereo panning, and the affect is actually quite stunning, with each bird getting 30 seconds to a minute right up on the mic! Cool!
The whole thing comes packaged in a super tough oversized (to accommodate the massive booklet) jewel case. The booklet contains lots of great photos, liner notes in Japanese, transcriptions of Fassett's spoken word segments on the disc, the album's original liner notes, and strangest of all, a pictorial guide to various and random birdcall records, separated by theme it seems: whistling accompaniment of instruments or big band, field recordings, canary training, instrumental, experimental happening (?) etc. Weird!
MPEG Stream: "Explanatory Comments"
MPEG Stream: "First Movement"
MPEG Stream: "Second Movement"

FAST FORWARD s/t (Vermiform) cd 10.98
Fucked up lo-fi DHR style disco terrorism from Los Angeles, recorded by some dude from Le Shok. Supposedly someone in this group moonlights in Death Drug, who also shares said ex-member of Le Shok. Like a messy, less tweakedly cute, American version of Japan's Polysics. Atari Teenage Riot goes lo-fi pinball goth? Lame KKK artwork by the usually amazing Matt Brinkman of Load/Fort Thunder/Non fame.

FAST, THE The Best Of The Fast: 1976 - 1984 (Munster) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
So damn punk! So shamefully obscure! It's the fearless Zone brothers aka The Fast! Cup heard about this band (who've caused much discombobulated head-scratching around here) from her good friend and fountain of the most obscure bits of information, Nardwuar The Human Serviette. Although The Fast did release a few singles and one album (produced by Ric Ocasek, no less!), their music's pretty impossible to find. Up until now you might've been fortunate to catch a rare glimpse of this NY band on a Hyped To Death collection, but the fine folks at Munster have come to your rescue with this fantastic compilation of twenty three songs. This cd is the extensively detailed sonic documentation of their electrifying eight year evolution-meltdown through garage, power pop, mod, glam, goth, metal, new wave and electronic dance! And it comes with graphic documentation too! The cd's booklet bursts with band history detailing their early stage antic mayhem (gogo girls dressed as nuns, giant lollipops, cheap guitar destruction, Cheerio showers and a mysterious event called the pencil solo?!), a gamut of fabulous wardrobe changes (badass skintight vinyl suits, pencil thin moustaches, zebra striped spandex, suspenders, bandanas, and elaborate makeup including a big black heart over one eye reportedly predating Paul Stanley's star), not to mention some coifs that put the current crop of jet black angular 'dos to shame. Plus there's a bunch of candid photos of the band cavorting with members of Blondie, The Cramps, The New York Dolls, The Ramones and Suicide to boot. All this from the group that would eventually morph into the astounding ultra-leather boys Man2Man who are a whole other amazing story. Really, this brief review simply can't do the Brothers Zone justice. So if you think you need more, I can tell you that there was an obsessively thorough story in Roctober Magazine a while back (issue #25). Oh and lest I forget, The Fast's music is simply a super good time! So very very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Boys Will Be Boys"
MPEG Stream: "Moontan"

FASTBACKS ...And His Orchestra (PopLlama) cd 13.98
Quite possibly the best example of the pure power pop brilliance that is the Fastbacks. Three early releases from Seattle pop greats Kurt Bloch, Kim Warnick and Lulu Gargiulo on one cd. Not only do you get '... And His Orchestra' (which is pretty much the bestest from start to finish), but also 'Everyday Is Saturday' (with their cover of "Midnight Confessions"), and '...Play Five Of Their Favorites' (with one of their best "In America"). Spanning the years '81 to '86 (yes, they've been around for two decades now!), these songs positively burst with joyful hooks and harmonies. A wonderful racket of Kurt's electric guitar and Kim and Lulu's unmistakable dueling vocals. Fast, furious fun even twenty years later.

FASTBACKS New Mansions in Sound (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
Contains an extra song not included on the cd version.

FASTBACKS New Mansions in Sound (Sub Pop) lp+7" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Contains an extra song not included on the cd version.

FASTBACKS The Day That Didn't Exist (Spin Art) cd 14.98
After countless albums jam-packed full of ultra excellent power pop on such labels as Seattle's Popllama and SubPop, the Fastbacks are back with yet another catchy gem, this time on Spin Art Records. Still maintaining the high quality hooks'n'harmonies, and youthful exuberance they've held for well over a decade, Kurt, Kim, Lulu, and Mike will rock you. Yes, they will.

FASTEST Astromancy (self-released) cd-r 9.98
The return of Fastest! Longtime readers of the list are by now no doubt familiar with this weirdo outsider one man band, whose sound seems to meld eighties video game music, midi synth guitar metal, almost hip hop style grooves, growled/crooned sort of metal vocals, into a twisted head spinning concoction that either has people freaking out and wanting every single release, or freaking out and wanting it to stop. Odds are this most recent record will be no less divisive. It's funny to see regular aQ customers come in and FREAK OUT that there's a new Fastest, a way more visceral reaction that lots of other more high profile (and yeah, less ridiculous) releases. But that should tell you something. Odds are, everyone out there who bought most/all of the other Fastest cd-r's, are gonna want this one too cuz it's another twisted whatthefuck batch of homebrewed midi-metal weirdness, just check out the opening track "Fantasy II", with its chugging churning almost metallic riffing, the weirdly catchy atonal main melody, the whispered/crooned vox, the stumbling stuttery programmed drums, the track displaying some surprising malevolence, slipping easily from Legend Of Zelda style cloying 8-bit synth swoon, to weird electronic guitar chug crunch, and then stripped down bass driven dirgery before a strange syncopated breakdown. It's genius, and ridiculous, and impossible to stop listening too, and if you're like us, you can never have enough Fastest.
The rest of the record is more of the same, churning dark synth heavy, drum machine driven musical drama, wild blast of Bollywood drumming, all tangled up with woozy synth melodies, thick rumbling distortion and weird blown out production, there's definitely an eighties vibe, but also an alien video game vibe too, heck there's even a seriously warped 'dance' number this time around too! This is the sort of thing people like James Ferraro are trying to conjure up, but this is the real deal, the genius inner workings of a truly and fantastically warped musical mind, and a sound that is truly unique, and unlike anything you've heard. EVER. Join us in our ridiculous fascination / obsession with the fucked up musical world of Fastest!
This is in fact record number EIGHT, counting the awesomely titled greatest hits collection Magicmancy, if you need any/all of the other ones just ask, a few are reviewed on the aQ site, including Theme, which was a Record Of The Week. So if you're up for some seriously whatthefuck sounds, it really doesn't get much more damaged and awesomely demented than this.
MPEG Stream: "Fantasy II"
MPEG Stream: "Alter Fate"
MPEG Stream: "Make It Real"
MPEG Stream: "Through Your Eyes (Vanessa's Secret Version)"

FASTEST Divine (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Divine (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Foresee (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Into The Night (self-released) cd-r 9.98
Fastest's Theme, a Record Of The Week a few lists back, was a surprise hit around here (not a surprise for everyone though, some of us knew, few would be able to resist the twisted confusional home brewed madness that is Fastest), but we sold them like crazy, and in that review we mentioned Fastest also had a handful of other records, and got a bunch of reponses from folks wanting more.
So here you go, Into The Night, not sure where it falls in the Fastest catalog, which is now up to 8 or 10 releases, but it's another one of our favorites, second only to Theme, and like Theme, the sound here is pretty idiosyncratic and difficult to describe, warbly buzzying synths, stumbling weirdly programmed drums, that seem to explode into impossibly tangled rhythmic flurries, that is when they're not locked into some warped robotic groove, the melodies are twisted as well, moody and melancholy one second, then all sunshiney the next, like the music for the final screen on some old school video game, all 8 bit bleep and bloop, underpinned by weirdly bloopy low slung bass, and those chaotic beats. And did we mention the vocals, sort of sung/spoken, Allan here thinks it sounds like rapping, and likens Fastest to mush mouthed headphone rapper Sensational, but Fastest is much more strident, his vocals urgent and dramatic, often delivered in what sounds like a growled death metal grunt, but just as often whispered or crooned, the vocals locked tight with staccato rhythms, the ominous buzzing synths, the midi guitar melodies, slipping from epic and intense and almost heavy, to fuzzy and bouncy, but more often than not somewhere right in between. In some ways, Into The Night is a bit darker than Theme, and the spastic avalanche like drum programming sounds even more out of control, which is most definitely a good thing. For more on our obsession with Fastest, check out our review of Theme elsewhere on the aQ site, but if you've yet to check out the fractured and fantastically fucked up musical stylings of this one man band, this is as good a place to start as any, and who knows, you might find yourselves needing ALL of them. We did!
Like Theme, the packaging is awesome and over the top and a bit confusional. A custom (not real) barcode right on the front cover, a cool tray card that wraps up and around the edge, the Fastest logo all sharp and heavy metal looking, notes exclaiming "digital audio compact disc" and "state of the art phonorecord", the ASCAP publishing logo/info not less than FOUR times on the back cover, a shoutout to TDK, and of course, like Theme, a production credit for someone/something named Daemaeen Hephaestus Chastical. Oh, and a cool lazer etched discface! Needless to say (but we will anyway) CRAZY RECOMMENDED.
MPEG Stream: "Mnemonic Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Prevail"
MPEG Stream: "Effusive Feelings"
MPEG Stream: "Legend"

FASTEST Magicmancy (self-released) cd-r 9.98
We've noticed a lot of customers going a little Fastest crazy recently. Which doesn't surprise us. In fact, we were so nuts for Fastest, we made his Theme album our Record Of The Week one week. Although considering what Fastest actually sounds like, maybe we are a little surprised. It is, as we've explained in the past, some of the most fantastically twisted, and utterly polarizing music we've heard in ages. Like all the best art, there's no middle ground with Fastest. There are only two responses, the first, a baffled look on the face, and the thought that how could something like that exist and why would people want to listen to it. The second being, a baffled look on the face, and the thought that how could something like that exist and I MUST OWN EVERY SINGLE RECORD!!! And we're not exaggerating. While there may be a few folks out there who have indeed just bought one, maybe two, the majority of folks do indeed go nuts and order them ALL. This one might be designed more for you dabblers out there, as it's a sampler of sorts, featuring a couple tracks from each of the Fastest records, but we have to say, we've sold a bunch so far, and most to folks WHO ALREADY OWN ALL THE RECORDS!! Such is the power of Fastest. If by now, you're wondering what the heck we're on about, and haven't already checked out our Record Of The Week review for Theme, or or review of Into The Night, well, let us tell you all about the many joys of Fastest. This time it starts with the wonderfully redundant album title, MAGICMANCY, which yes, basically means 'magic magic', and this is indeed some magical musical magic. This one man bedroom band from the East Bay, seemingly armed with a guitar synth and a drum machine, creates some of the strangest music we've ever heard, it sometimes gets filed in the metal section, due in part to the very metal looking Fastest logo, but also because the vocals are a mysterious sort of black metal rasp, but the music is about as far from metal as it could get, Allan thinks it sounds like hip hop (no one else does), imagine warped synth melodies, sputtering stumbling rhythms, slipping from dark ominous creep, to sweetly melodic Legend Of Zelda style video game music, and back again, it's twisted, baffling and totally brilliant.
Check out opener "Blame", with it's wild free jazz blackened psych squall opening salvo which quickly gives way to some fuzzy synthy drift, the vocals here definitely almost rapped, the song constantly peppered with reprises of that opening squall, not to mention jagged shifts, from part to part, the sound buzzy and fuzzy, the vocals sounding very Lou Reed-ish here for sure. Then there's "Legend" with its pounded synth organ churn, it's mechanical drumming, dirgey and doomy, a little bit proggy, the grunted vocals all tangled up with the awesomely atonal synth buzz. "Foresee" offers up our favorite side of Fastest, wildly sputtery almost Indian sounding rhythms, haunting minor key melodies, the opening is dark and mysterious, but then it suddenly shifts into a fuzzy groove, again, constantly twisting and shifting, the sounds all over the place, often the song structured like changing channels, abrupt and off kilter. "Jetsound II" is one of our favorites, starting with the simulated rumble of jet sounds before slipping into a dreamy lilting little ditty that sounds like the final screen from some 8-bit video game, transformed into a sort of eighties soft rock ballad. We could go on, but by now you probably know if this is your cup of tea. For more about Fastest, and to feed what we can only imagine will blossom into a full blown obsession like it has in the rest of us, go check out the reviews of Theme and Into The Night elsewhere on the site. And for those who have resisted up until now, this might be the perfect way to ease your way in.
Brilliant and baffling. If you want all six of the other records too, just ask...
MPEG Stream: "Blame"
MPEG Stream: "Legend"
MPEG Stream: "Foresee"
MPEG Stream: "Jetsound II"

FASTEST Mnemonic Dreams (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Phaeton (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Phaeton (self-released) cd-r 9.98

FASTEST Theme (self-released) cd-r 9.98
It's been a boom in outsider music these last few weeks at AQ, first it was the random rediscovery of Doug Hream Blunt's Gentle Persuasion, a fantastic and fantastically strange disc of breezy lo-fi outsider funk, that was dropped off by the man himself and required quite a bit of reconnoitering to track him down to get more (a continuing saga). And now there's this. A mysterious disc by a one man band known simply as Fastest, a cd-r that just showed up here one day, and none of us can remember how or when. In the mail? Dropped off? Spontaneous generation? It was just here one day, and we were mesmerized from the second we laid eyes on it. The cover is a huge blue owl against a blue background. The band name Fastest is written in big green letters, in a sort of cartoonish metal font, and superimposed right on the cover is a big barcode. The whole thing printed out on a home laser printer. The tray card folds all the way up around the side so there's an extra panel visible through the clear tray that boldly proclaims: "digital audio compact disc - state of the art phonorecord." The tray card features the ASCAP logo (ASCAP is the company that determines musician royalties) no less than three times, the logo is superimposed again on the back in a little white square, and at the top, blue text explains that the record was "Produced by Daemaeen Hephaestus Chastical". We were almost afraid to throw it on, because we were convinced that there was no way the music could live up to the cryptic promise of the packaging. We were wrong.
The title track starts things off, and immediately you know this is like nothing you've ever heard... a flurry of lo-fi distorted programmed beats, that sound like they could have been lifted straight off that Vijaya Anand Dance Raja Dance Bollywood compilation on Luaka Bop from years back, but any resemblance to Bollywood ends there, as some strange atonal midi synth guitars swoop in, along with some woozy warbly bass, the strangely syncopated programmed beats sputtering wildly in the background, the song slipping into a moody drift, the vocals a strange ominously hushed whisper, that even remind us a bit of the slowed down mush mouthed rapping of Sensational, eventually there's a sort of chorus, the midi guitars buzzing, while a strange synth unfurls a twisted melody, and then there's the most brilliantly baffling break, a stop/start flurry of stuttering beats, and some more warped woozy melodies, eventually joined by a sort of midi guitar least, atonal and detuned, the whole thing sounding like it's melting before your ears, before finally returning to the 'chorus'. Holy shit. What just happened? What is this? How had we not heard this before? Very reminiscent in fact of those absurd midi guitar releases we raved about on lists past, all of them work of a single man, released under different names: Shevelreq, Xynfonica, Gluttony, Thursar. If you were as into those as we were, stop reading and buy this now. Everyone else, read on, and sink deeper into the glorious musical madness that is Fastest...
The first song is so perfect, and perfectly demented, we dared not go on. We just kept listening to that one song over and over and over. Heck we wanted it to be OUR theme song. But eventually we knew we had to go on, and somehow, Fastest managed to confuse us again. And again.
After some simulated jet engine sounds, "Jet Sound II" begins, but it's super melodic and all 8 bit sounding, and reminds us of music from The Legend Of Zelda, but those vocals, dark and ominous, weirdly offset the cheerful melodies and loping programmed rhythms. "Televise" begins with sample bells, and immediately returns us to The Legend Of Zelda, until the vocals come in, locked in tight with the main melody, making for some strange electronic lo-fi midi-pop mystery.
"While You're Here" might be our other favorite (if we were forced to pick), with it's haunting melody, over minor key distorted finger picked guitar, tinkling chimes, very cinematic, again like some dramatic moment in a video game, but definitely dark and haunting, but of course, the song slips right back into some Zelda-y minimal 8 bit balladry, replete with those slightly ominous gruff vocals.
"Million Lies" begins with some dramatic syncopated start/stop dynamics, before slipping into some pulsing electronic groove, but this time, the vocals are super distorted, and even more creepy, and the drums erupt into little flurries of rhythmic tangle.
And so it goes, the sound drifting from Bollywood flecked 8 bit video game soundtrack songsmithery, to eighties style midi driven synthwave, and some hard to describe stops in between, culminating in the final three tracks, maybe the darkest and heaviest of the bunch.
"Seasons Change" is all distorted bass, stereo panned so the buzz flits from ear to ear, the drums spastic and skittery, the vocals as grim and ominous as at any point, the melodies creepy and minor key, which leads right into "Alter Fate" all swirling synths and stuttery almost IDM sounding beats, the whole thing blurry and smeary, before slipping back into the dirgey synthy creep of the previous track, a sort of second movement, laced with more strange disembodied high end melodies over the tumbling drum fills and more gruff whispery vox, finally culminating in "The Wind", which begins with appropriately enough, swirling wind, distorted acoustic guitar, a gauzy patina of lo-fi buzz, before finally launching into a tense stretch of buzzing swirling electronic weirdness, the various chunks of low end fuzz and warped melodies, adding some serious pathos, growing ever more distorted and finally finishing in a blaze of super distorted programmed beats, chaotic and noisy and psychedelic, before winding down with more acoustic guitar.
Absolutely baffling and disturbing brilliantly, total genius outsider mystery music, this is the sort of thing groups like Gary War and Ariel Pink are striving for, but just can't ever quite reach. Fantastically idiosyncratic, highly personal, and completely warped and cracked and demented and literally unlike anything you've heard. It's not hard to imagine this finding its way onto one of those incredible strange music comps or one of those Songs In The Key Of Z collection, it's certainly divisive, it's definitely too much for some folks, so be warned, this is strange strange stuff. But folks around here have become a bit obsessed, and can't seem to get enough. Which is good, cuz there are at least THREE other cd-r's. If you decide you need those too, just ask...
MPEG Stream: "Theme"
MPEG Stream: "Televise"
MPEG Stream: "Million Lies"
MPEG Stream: "Seasons Change"

FASTWAY s/t (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
In Allan and Andee's quest to keep everyone up on some of the choice metal they may have missed out on (Kix anyone?), we bring you Fastway. Featuring guitarist Fast Eddie Clark from Motorhead and the Robert Plant like wail of David King (who later found success in the popular Pogues-ish band Flogging Molly, believe it or not!), Fastway struck a perfect balance between '80s hard rock/ pop and heavy '70s Sabbathy dirge. Some might remember their 'big' hit, "Say What You Will". Catchy and groovy and heavy! Also, the song "We Become One" contains the best riff, EVER, Andee insists. Allan, of course, scoffs - well, he loves the riff, but scoffs at Andee's hyperbole. Both agree, though, that this album rules!
MPEG Stream: "We Become One"
MPEG Stream: "Heft"
MPEG Stream: "Say What You Will"

FASTWAY Trick Or Treat OST (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

FAT JOE Jealous Ones Still Envy (Atlantic) cd 16.98
You need this record just for the single 'We Thuggin', maybe one of the best singles of the year, a wickedly catchy track of bouncing, party gangsta hip hop, with an insanely catchy R. Kelly chorus (and lucky you, there are two versions; the remix features a different arrangement, and all different vocals, including a particularly nasty Busta Rhymes guest spot). But outside of those tracks, this is a pretty solid record. Huge beats, monster production, boasting and bragging, bitches and ho's, Miami beach parties, lots of guns and lots of fucking. And one track even features the amazing growl of Buju Banton.
RealAudio clip: "We Thuggin'"
RealAudio clip: "We Thuggin Remix"
RealAudio clip: "King Of New York"

FAT WORM OF ERROR Ambivalence and The Beaker (Resipiscent) cd 14.98
Supposedly, past members of long time aQ faves Deerhoof call Fat Worm Of Error home these days, and while you'll be hard pressed to hear any of the sweet poppiness or twisted hookiness that makes Deerhoof so near and dear, you will find magnified and even more twisted versions of everything else, the most damaged and demented parts of the noisier more abstract Deerhoof, here writ large, in huge swaths of confusional whatthefuck lurch and stumble, looped stutter and glitched out ambience, deconstructed antipop and damaged avant noiserock, with most of the rock removed. Each track is a slow building, sprawling sonic ooze, of gnarled strangled atonal guitars, bizarre vocals that swing wildly from murky mumbles to frenzied yelps, stumbling chaotic percussion, squiggly electronics, and clouds of malfunctioning electronics, streaks of skittery drum machine bleep and bloop, buried samples, loads of hiss and hum and whir and rumble and skree, held together by long stretches of mysterious ambience, flecked with chimes and bells, little rhythmic clicks, truncated barely there melodies, warm whirling layered textures, the tracks do occasionally coalesce into almost songs, and when they do, it sort of sounds like a field recording of OOIOO, OvO and Rubber O Cement engaged in some serious sonic warfare, but more often, the record just sort of swirls and drifts and lumbers, occasionally jaggedly, but just as often weirdly soothingly, sounding like Avarus or No Neck Blues Band bad-tripping though some Sid And Marty Kroft style psychedelic noise forest. Weird!
MPEG Stream: "Wipeless Two"
MPEG Stream: "Golden Nozzle"
MPEG Stream: "Broods"

FAT32 s/t (Web Of Mimicry) cd 13.98
Sometimes some good old fashioned 'rock math' is the best way to start a review... Imagine Rhode Island spazz-rock duo Lightning Bolt, via Japanese hyper-prog heavies Ruins, mix in a little Hella, maybe some Crom-Tech and some Flying Luttenbachers, and then filter it all through the cartoon music of Carl Stalling, but don't stop there, this drums/keyboard duo also lace their sprawling drum-synth duels with stretches of gorgeously creepy Carpenter-ish synth soundtrackery, and bizarre samples, sometimes locking into churning sprawls of krautish hypno-rock, and other times exploding into shards of what almost sounds like Venetian Snares style drill & bass. Thankfully, there's more to Fat32 than pointless ADD mathiness, with the songs displaying a surprising knack for melody and groove, and cleverly hiding proper songs amidst all the genre stutter and controlled chaos. That said, this is still the sort of head spinning, ultra acrobatic musicianship that makes Fat32 sound right at home on Web Of Mimicry, alongside outfits like Secret Chiefs 3, Estradasphere and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, although sonically these guys do tend more toward the metal/punk side of the spectrum. Just check out the sample below for "Hard Drive", which might be the best of the bunch, a dizzying, super hypnotic blast of hyper rhythmic metallic pound, the Lightning Bolt vibe in full effect, but the keyboard gives Fat32 a much more expansive sonic palette, letting the keys somehow supply both the buzzing synth riffage, as well as blasts of 8-bit video game squiggles, all sort of effects and constantly morphing tangled melodies, the sound shifting frenetically from looped metallic mesmer to pounding chugging heaviness and back again. Then there's the epic 17 minute closer, which displays the group's Naked City like mastery of genre hopping, and the same sort of desire to cram it all into one song, and they pull it off, with most of the track pounding mathily, but they pepper it with squalls of psychedelic shimmer, bloopy video game goofiness, Pantera vocal samples (!), lumbering downtuned doominess, cheesy organ grinding polka, wide open stretches of abstract free noise drift, droned out textures and layers, super angular math-punk and plenty more. Fans of any or all of the above mentioned bands will dig for sure...
MPEG Stream: "Hard Drive"
MPEG Stream: "Temper"

FATBOY SLIM On the Floor at the Boutique (Astralwerks/Skint) cd 16.98
"The definitive and official DJ mix-cd by Fatboy Slim, packed with 19 slammin', hands-in-the-air party anthems..." says the sticker affixed to this documentation of the last night of the famous Big Beat Boutique club. Good for dancing, but armchair listeners' interest will dwindle quickly. A bit antiseptic and predictable. In fact, if it's party music you want, the locally-produced Future Primitive discs, especially Z-Trip and Radar's live set, have much more integrity, wit and originality. But each to her own!

FATHER Return Of Father (Root Strata) cassette 8.98
One of two new tape releases from Root Strata this week, this one from the cryptically monikered Father, who we know absolutely nothing about, but whose sound will no doubt hit the spot for fans of other recent Root Strata cassette jams from Arrow Kleeman, Ekin Fil, Tom Carter and Ben Vida.
Return Of The Father is a hushed blurred shimmer of sounds, a collage of what sounds like tangled melodies, finger picked guitars, deep resonant drones, all smeared into hazy, gauzy, shapeless atmospheres, lush layered clouds of disembodied melody drifting through grey skies, a muted murky bleary eared churn one second, a soft cacophony of chimes and tinkling melodies the next, occasional tiny avalanches of percussion woven into dreamily clattery drift, but the sounds seeming to all slowly gravitate toward a gauzy pop ambient blur, channeling Tim Hecker, Belong, Mountains, Klimek and other similarly minded sonic obfuscationists. So nice.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Blocks"
MPEG Stream: "Drain"
MPEG Stream: "Rugs"
MPEG Stream: "Dyatlov Pass"

FATHER BEARD The Voyage Out (Yen Agat) cd-r 9.98

FATHER BEARD Tokens, Then Light (Yen Agat) cd-r 9.98
Everything about Father Beard is far away, which makes sense since it's the project of former Mirza members Brian Lucas and Mark Williams and they live far away -- from us and from each other. Brian lives in Thailand and Mark lives in Spain, but somehow, it seems like they managed to meet in an air cave high above their two countries and record an album of narcotic, whisper-quiet songs. Plodding bass keeps the music from drifting aimlessly in the ether, while street-sound field recordings lend a Sublime Frequency sense of mystery and foreignness. Imagine Spacemen 3 buzzing out of a broken radio in an un-airconditioned cab on a street crowded with tuk-tuks and bovine - but instead of being sweaty, dusty and stressed out, you're high on delay pedals, drifting down the Mekong and off the edge of the earth. Recommended listening for humid afternoons and early morning opium dens.
MPEG Stream: "Siamese Gift"
MPEG Stream: "Last Song"