FIERY FURNACES Blueberryboat (Rough Trade) lp 16.98
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 9.98
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 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!
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 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)"

FIERY FURNACES Remember (Thrill Jockey) 3lp 24.00
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)"

FIERY FURNACES Widow City (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
Fiery Furnaces music is peculiar to say the least. Their sources of inspiration always run the gamut in style, era, mood and tempo. And yet, they're truly one of a kind, their sound immediately recognizable, their albums always wilamodern day New York City. With all of their music's mischievous, wheezing organ quirks and theatrical harp-glossed flair, the Friedbergers aren't afraid to exert a little muscle now and again, thrusting in a funked-up groove, a disjointed drumbeat or distorted guitar when the need arises. This trip is nothing short of gregarious, a little bit itchy, and delightfully enchanting. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Clear Signal From Cairo"
MPEG Stream: "Japanese Slippers"

FIERY FURNACES Widow City (Thrill Jockey) lp 14.98
Fiery Furnaces music is peculiar to say the least. Their sources of inspiration always run the gamut in style, era, mood and tempo. And yet, they're truly one of a kind, their sound immediately recognizable, their albums always wild'n'woolly surprise filled aural adventures. When listening to Widow City it's easy to imagine that Edward Gorey's Gashly Crumb Tinies, The Brothers Grimm, Mary Tourtel's Rupert Bear and Enid Blyton's Noddy commandeered a rickety time-travellin' spaceship and crashed it into a thatch of poison ivy in modern day New York City. With all of their music's mischievous, wheezing organ quirks and theatrical harp-glossed flair, the Friedbergers aren't afraid to exert a little muscle now and again, thrusting in a funked-up groove, a disjointed drumbeat or distorted guitar when the need arises. This trip is nothing short of gregarious, a little bit itchy, and delightfully enchanting. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Clear Signal From Cairo"
MPEG Stream: "Japanese Slippers"

FIERY FURNACES, THE Blueberryboat (Rough Trade) cd 15.98
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!
MPEG Stream: "Straight Street"
MPEG Stream: "Chris Michaels"

FIERY FURNACES, THE Gallowsbird's Park (Rough Trade) cd 15.98
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.
MPEG Stream: "South Is Only A Home"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Dance Her Down"

FIFTH COLUMN, THE The Early Fifth Column: Indiscreet Music 1976-1980 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Possibly also subtitled "We'll Put It Out If The Boss Insists", which makes sense since the Fifth Column was the pre-Hijokaidan band of Alchemy chief Jojo Hiroshige (he wasn't the main member, just a participant). The Fifth Column (or Dai-Go-Retsu in Japanese) wasn't an all out noise assault like Hijokaidan, but rather an experimental musical collective dabbling in everything from electronics and tape loops to sax skronk to "improvised voice drama" to toy instrument improv...all sorts of dadaistic chaos! (One thing they seem really partial to is the use of chimpmunk/gremlin style pitch-shifted voices.) The results of their weird and wild experiments are documented on this cd anthology, which, unlike many Alchemy releases, boasts English-language liner notes giving detailed yet cryptic information about the band, in the form of an interview reprinted from a French 'zine called "Rock Art", circa 1984. We can only imagine that the Nurse With Wound folks were or would have been big fans of Dai-Go-Retsu. Historically interesting, to be sure, and entertaining too.
RealAudio clip: "By-Onnyk Solo"
RealAudio clip: "Here's A Camel"
RealAudio clip: "A Picnic At The Bottom Of A Frozen River"

FIFTH COLUMN, THE The Middle Fifth Column: Suspect Music 1981 - 1990 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
BACK IN STOCK!
We know you've been waiting for this: the sequel to the Early Fifth Column cd, which was a collection issued back in 2001 on the Alchemy label (run by former Fifth Columnist Jojo Hiroshige) documenting the career of this extremely underground Japanese avant-garde collective circa 1976 to 1980. Now, The Middle Fifth Column is here to deal with the years 1981-1990, and anyone familiar with the intriguing weirdness found on the previous disc will find this to be just as weird and interesting if not more so! Fifteen tracks of noisy experiments, freaked out jazz improv, synth boppiness, disturbing tape loops, bizarre vocals, drum machines and electronics... it's eclectic strange DIY madness that takes a definite inspiration from Faust (note the "It's A Rainy Day Sunshine Girl" quote in track two) and assuredly also other NWW-list worthy outfits. This comes with extensive, English-language (as well as Japanese) liner notes that give details on each track, from interviews with the band members (there was a core group that formed various "bands" who released tapes -- about 50 of them -- in the Fifth Column cassette series). About "It's A Rainy Day" they say: "There are times in life that, whatever you play, it turns into that song, and this was one such occasion."
Very cool. Whatever the weirdest stuff you have in your record collection is, this disc will no doubt make friends with it!!
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Moon"
MPEG Stream: "Mello-Dyne"

FIFTHS OF SEVEN Spry From Bitter Anise Folds (Les Disques du Soleil) cd 15.98

FIFTY FOOT HOSE ...Live And Unreleased (Captain Trip) cd 17.98
Back in 1995 Aquarius Records organized an all-day show benefitting us (and the IRS); performers included a short list of some of our favorite artists, such as Dirty Three, Barbara Manning, Mark Eitzel, Dieselhed, Virginia Dare, and J Church. One of the most highly-anticipated sets was the reunion of experimental psychedelic freaks The Fifty Foot Hose, led by original member (and current neon sculptor) Cork Marcheschi and featuring bass playing by Lennie Bova of Tripod Jimmie, plus a host of other likeminded folk. While Cork has issued the original Fifty Foot Hose album on his own Weasel Disc label (available here), this is a document of their fabulous live set from the Bottom of the Hill, and includes a 10+ minute encore jam that left some folks melting in their shoes and others' ears changed forever. Japanese import. Photos by Gail Butensky.

FIFTY FOOT HOSE Cauldron (Phoenix) cd 17.98
Wow, it's hard to believe we've never reviewed this album before because Fifty Foot Hose have always had a special place in our hearts. One of our favorite underground San Francisco bands from the original psychedelic era, we were very lucky to have them play at our 25th anniversary party when they revived a few years back, in the mid '90s. Led by bass player Cork Marcheschi, a noted sculptor and instrument builder, who, inspired by experimental composers John Cage, Edgar Varese, Terry Riley and George Antheil, began modifying his own form of electronic instruments using elements from theremins, fuzzboxes, cardboard tubes and a speaker from an old WWII bomber. Filling out the band were guitarist David Blossom and his wife Nancy on vocals who helped bring out the bands more jazz and psychedelic influences. Like a witchier United States of America (the band) with a more lysergic bent, Cauldron, the band's best known 1968 release goes through an array of styles from oscillating drone interludes, and folk-funk, to anxious mind-melting freakouts. This album has gone in and out of print so many times that it's no wonder we haven't been able to keep it around long enough to review it. A longtime favorite. Limited to 1000 copies. The lp is also quite limited (probably even moreso). Don't miss it.
MPEG Stream: "If Not This Time"
MPEG Stream: "Rose"
MPEG Stream: "Cauldron"

FIFTY FOOT HOSE Cauldron (Phoenix Records) lp 24.00
Wow, it's hard to believe we've never reviewed this album before because Fifty Foot Hose have always had a special place in our hearts. One of our favorite underground San Francisco bands from the original psychedelic era, we were very lucky to have them play at our 25th anniversary party when they revived a few years back, in the mid '90s. Led by bass player Cork Marcheschi, a noted sculptor and instrument builder, who, inspired by experimental composers John Cage, Edgar Varese, Terry Riley and George Antheil, began modifying his own form of electronic instruments using elements from theremins, fuzzboxes, cardboard tubes and a speaker from an old WWII bomber. Filling out the band were guitarist David Blossom and his wife Nancy on vocals who helped bring out the bands more jazz and psychedelic influences. Like a witchier United States of America (the band) with a more lysergic bent, Cauldron, the band's best known 1968 release goes through an array of styles from oscillating drone interludes, and folk-funk, to anxious mind-melting freakouts. This album has gone in and out of print so many times that it's no wonder we haven't been able to keep it around long enough to review it. A longtime favorite. Limited to 1000 copies. The lp is also quite limited (probably even moreso). Don't miss it.
MPEG Stream: "If Not This Time"
MPEG Stream: "Rose"
MPEG Stream: "Cauldron"

FIG. 4 (Recordhead/Luna) cd 15.98
Fig. 4 is a longrunning trio starring Tobin Sprout of Guided By Voices,who plays guitar and handles the vocals. Bob Pollard of GBV contributes occasional background vox. This release compiles all the tracks from their selftitled LP which was limited to 300 copies, and adds one previously unreleased live studio piece.

FIGHTER D This Is About You (Heartcore) cd 7.98
If Simple Machines were still around, Fighter D would be there.

FIGURE OF MERIT Vatic (Codebreaker / Earache) cd 15.98
It's always nice for us here to check out something that we got out of the blue, just sent to us, or dropped off, with no expectations, and then really really dig it. Dig it enough that we feel like if we didn't already have it, we'd have to go out and buy one. In fact many all time AQ faves were discovered in just such a manner. And that's also the case with this Figure Of Merit cd. It's something that we'd never heard of before we got a copy in the mail (and the packaging didn't offer to many clues as to what to expect, either). What to make of song titles like "Arrow To The Sun" and "Blackhammer"? Could be metal, maybe. But then there's the not-so-scary title "Overhead Projector" as well. Though we did know it had to be some sort of metal 'cause of the record label it came from. So, it was up to the music to "do the talking" (as it should be). And Figure Of Merit's music turned out to be right up our alley. Heavy duty hardcore ugly rock noisy metal. Kinda like Cavity or Eyehategod with all their feedback intros, weighty riffage and churning, compelling rhythms. FoM's angsty, screamier vox put us in mind of something like the Jesus Lizard though, or maybe the Dazzling Killmen meets Unsane would be a better point of reference. But what especially makes Figure Of Merit a band of merit in our books is the exuberant, metallic majesty that many of their riffs possess. It's truly noble headbanging material, welded to the dirtiest of dirge-core extremes. So, Vatic from this Minneapolis four piece gets an AQ recommendation without doubt.
MPEG Stream: "Aorta"
MPEG Stream: "Blackhammer"

FIGURINE The Heartfelt (Monika) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the second full length release by this amazing trio which features a member of Dntel. Some of the sweetest electronic dance melodies are found right here on 'The Heartfelt'. Imagine the Pastels, Aphex Twin, New Order and Future Bible Heroes (the hi-energy disco side project of Magnetic Fields Stephen Merritt) having a slumber party. Hints of 80's synth pop merge and mingle with early rave or current experimental electronics. There are lovely new wave heart-wrenching vocals, with perfect, sweet boy/girl harmonies. It's no surprise that this gets the thumbs up from AQ friend Owen Ashworth of Casiotone For The Painfully Alone.
RealAudio clip: "Impossible"
RealAudio clip: "Stranger"
RealAudio clip: "Way Too Good"

FIGURINE, JAMES Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake (Plug Research) cd 14.98
While many techno-pop / electro-clash folks have recently shed many of the trappings of that deliriously champagne-bubbly dancefloor sound in favor of other directions (more rock in the case of Fischerspooner for instance), not so with James Figurine. Yes, he's of the band Figurine and yes, he's also known as Jimmy Tamborello of DNTEL and one half of Postal Service. Why mess with what he does best in all of his projects? He soldiers on with his new album titled Mistake Mistake Mistake Mistake. Funny thing tho' is that we can't hear any. So maybe the title was intended as a conjuring away of such maladies? Dunno, but what ya get is ten sparkling sweet electronic pop confections that fall dead center between Postal Service and Fischerspooner (think: more heft than PS and more twee than FS). Guest stars include Jenny Lewis and Kings Of Convenience's Erlend Oye.
MPEG Stream: "555666888333"
MPEG Stream: "You Again"

FIGURINES Skeleton (The Control Group) cd 14.98
Not to be confused with the electronic pop band known as Figurine (singular). Figurines make punchy pop that's sort of like a cross between The Arcade Fire, The Pixies and Violent Femmes... or alternately as someone here described, "Daniel Johnston singing with Pavement". The first three songs' get the ball rolling at quite a feverish pace. After that, things ease up a little into more of a gentle lope which we think is kinda disappointing after that juiced-up introduction. It just made us keep hoping they'd get a second wind. That's not to say the slower numbers are at all inferior, it just takes a little time to adjust to this very different tempo. So maybe you could break your Figurines' Skeleton listening session in two, depending on your personal preference, mood and energy level?
MPEG Stream: "The Wonder"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Ponds"

FILA BRAZILLIA Another Late Night (Azuli) cd 24.00
Expensive import disc that we brought in because we're unsure whether or not it's going to be released domestically. Kind of like Studio k7's DJ Kicks series of DJ mixes, it's not Fila Brazillia at all here, but them spinning a collection of their favorite records, what they call "late night music" made for getting stoned to and probably having stylish sex. Some of the tracks included here are by the Beta Band, John Barry, Eno, Kelis, and Infesticons. But while the DJ Kicks series of discs (by the likes of Andrea Parker, Kid Loco, etc) displayed a lot of DJ personality in the way they're mixed, this disc sounds like a merely linear succession of tracks with little or no DJ creativity added to the mix. Not sure how much work was output on Fila Brazillia's part here, but I suppose it is a decent collection. Nonetheless I have to ask -- what's the point? I've made better mixtapes than this and so have you.

FILAMENT 29092000 (Amoebic) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Perhaps also titled: "The Oscillating 'Will' And The Flickering 'Self'", this is the first live album from the duo of Japanese turntable experimentalist Otomo Yoshihide and sampler technician Sachiko M. Filament was formed, we're told, "as a persistent laboratory of memory-free, post-sampling music." Translation: Otomo's turntables and Sachiko's sampler are content-free, "empty" devices, used to make minimalist electronic music of piercing intensity. Sasaki Atsushi's liner notes go on to say:
"People listening to this CD for the first time may have trouble accepting the fact that this was a live performance before a large audience, so powerfully stoic is Filament's music. To the constant sound of subtly strengthening and weakening sine waves are added the intermittent miniscule sound of circuitry, and a dull mechanical hum (too soft for us to recognize its origin). From beginning to end hardly anything happens here, but at the same time an amazing number of events occur. If one were to give a name to this 'onkyo' of just under 30 minutes, the words composition, improvisation, and performance would probably all be too extreme. But all of these are included in this quiet phenomenon. When producing sound, even if one reduces as much as possible what is called 'self-consciousness', one can never completely eliminate it. This is because the 'I' that produces, decides to produce, and thinks about producing sound the 'I' that listens to, decides to listen to, and thinks about listening to sounds are always there. The minimal 'I' performing minimal 'listening' and 'sound production,' possessing a minimal 'will'...." Ok, lost me there. Still, I think you'll know if you want this!

FILM SCHOOL Harmed (Full Frame) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Film School's latest offering comes in the form of a 2-song 7" record. The A-side "Harmed" is a sneak preview of their forthcoming full length, and the B-side "The Longest Way" is exclusive to this release. They're a pair of very somber indie rock songs with male vocals that sound as if they're being sung by the sullen little brother of Pinback's Rob Crow... which suits us just fine!

FILM SCHOOL Hideout (Beggars Banquet) cd 10.98
Film School will probably never win any awards for originality, but if you're looking for this very specific sound of Brit rock, this Bay Area band delivers it in spades. Exceptionally so! For almost a decade now, they've honed their authentic blended rendition of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure and Slowdive from right here in the Bay Area. Their latest album Hideout keeps that sound alive while also recalling the early '90s American guitar wash kings Swervedriver. Buzzy blankets of effected electric guitars warm and tingle, while Krayg Burton's vocals waver in the zone between sleepy and druggy. Strangely comforting. Film School's line-up has always been somewhat nebulous and ever-changing, at times including members of Pavement, Fuck and Elephone. So it's not surprising that with the exception of Burton and keyboardist Jason Ruck, there's a whole new band for this album. Bassist Lorelei Plotczyk, drummer James Smith and guitarist Dave Dupuis step into the roles vacated by bassist Justin Labo, drummer Donny Newenhouse and guitarist Nyles Lannon (be sure to check out his terrific current solo album!).
MPEG Stream: "Dear Me"
MPEG Stream: "Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl"

FILM SCHOOL Hideout (Beggars Banquet) lp 13.98
Film School will probably never win any awards for originality, but if you're looking for this very specific sound of Brit rock, this Bay Area band delivers it in spades. Exceptionally so! For almost a decade now, they've honed their authentic blended rendition of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Cure and Slowdive from right here in the Bay Area. Their latest album Hideout keeps that sound alive while also recalling the early '90s American guitar wash kings Swervedriver. Buzzy blankets of effected electric guitars warm and tingle, while Krayg Burton's vocals waver in the zone between sleepy and druggy. Strangely comforting. Film School's line-up has always been somewhat nebulous and ever-changing, at times including members of Pavement, Fuck and Elephone. So it's not surprising that with the exception of Burton and keyboardist Jason Ruck, there's a whole new band for this album. Bassist Lorelei Plotczyk, drummer James Smith and guitarist Dave Dupuis step into the roles vacated by bassist Justin Labo, drummer Donny Newenhouse and guitarist Nyles Lannon (be sure to check out his terrific current solo album!).
MPEG Stream: "Dear Me"
MPEG Stream: "Sick Hipster Nursed By Suicide Girl"

FILM SCHOOL On & On (Beggars Banquet) cd ep 4.98
Here's a hint of what's to come in Film School land! These New Yorkers found a new label home at Beggars Banquet and have a new full length slated for January of next year. From the very '80s British influenced sounds of these new songs, it's gonna be a perfect fit. We've gotta say that it's probably unlikely that Robert Smith is gonna be retiring as lead vocalist of The Cure any time soon, but if he did (or even if he called in sick or wanted to play hooky one day), Film School's lead singer Krayg Burton could step right in at the wink of an eye. Oddly enough the last time we heard from these guys was their Harmed 7" earlier this year, and back then his vocals were more along the lines of Pinback's Rob Crow. Anyhoo, On & On blends a romantic vocal angst (a la mid-period Cure) with fuzzy, swirling shoegazer guitars like those of Slowdive, Ride or The Church. Note: the cd version features one additional tune "February".
MPEG Stream: "On & On"
MPEG Stream: "Plus One"

FILM SCHOOL On & On (Beggars Banquet) 7" 4.98
Here's a hint of what's to come in Film School land! These New Yorkers found a new label home at Beggars Banquet and have a new full length slated for January of next year. From the very '80s British influenced sounds of these new songs, it's gonna be a perfect fit. We've gotta say that it's probably unlikely that Robert Smith is gonna be retiring as lead vocalist of The Cure any time soon, but if he did (or even if he called in sick or wanted to play hooky one day), Film School's lead singer Krayg Burton could step right in at the wink of an eye. Oddly enough the last time we heard from these guys was their Harmed 7" earlier this year, and back then his vocals were more along the lines of Pinback's Rob Crow. Anyhoo, On & On blends a romantic vocal angst (a la mid-period Cure) with fuzzy, swirling shoegazer guitars like those of Slowdive, Ride or The Church. Note: the cd version features one additional tune "February".
MPEG Stream: "On & On"
MPEG Stream: "Plus One"

FILM SCHOOL s/t (Beggars Banquet) cd 13.98
For Film School's full length debut on Beggars Banquet, they've skillfully pieced together the well-worn pages of your beloved '80s British alternative rock scrapbook. We definitely hear echoes of The Cure, The Church and yes, Echo And The Bunnymen from lead singer Krayg Burton's unmistakable Robert Smithian, on-the-verge emotiveness to the distinct effected guitar sound.
Lushly swirling shoegazer dreaminess that occasionally lingers on an unexpectedly atmospheric passage. What Film School lack in originality they more than make up in execution on this self-titled album. They could almost revive the dour yet romantic boy rock style all by their lonesome... well, with the assistance of one of the most appropriate labels around. Includes "On & On", one of the band's best songs to date, and the title track of the teaser ep that came out late last year.
MPEG Stream: "Harmed"
MPEG Stream: "Like You Know"

FINAL 2 (Sentrax) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Forbidding ambient-drone project from Godflesh's Justin Broadrick. British import.

FINAL 3 (Neurot) 2cd 16.98
BACK IN STOCK!
As much as we always loved Godflesh and Techno Animal and most everything else Justin Broadrick was involved in, by the end there, a few years back, a lot of that stuff began to sound just a little bit tired and dated and sometimes even just plain not good. But now! Holy shit! Not sure what it was, but -something- happened during those few years in between. First there was Jesu, a total revelation, everything we loved about Godflesh, but swathed in thick swirls of My Bloody Valentine guitars and warm fuzzy M83-isms. A gloriously blissed out, but still impossibly heavy, sunkissed drone drenched chunk of dreamlike heaviness. And now we have the long overdue resurrection of Broadrick's ambient project Final. And something strange has happened to the music of Final as well. What was once bleak, dark, barren and clinical isolationism, has grown into something warm and alive, a series of blurry and buzzy and blissy miniature soundscapes. Warm and warped and warbly, very much like the sonic worlds created by Tim Hecker. Final now explore a musical world gauzy and sepia toned, dreamlike melodies obfuscated by warm rich layers of crackle and hum, chimes ring out, drifting delicately on a sea of sonic swirl, bits of glitch and grit surface occasionally, as does the occasional almost-rhythms, the whole record like a dusty old scrapbook of small faded snaphots capturing some lost time or some forgotten place. An abstruse drone music, viewed through a window dense with rain coursing down it's surface, giving everything a soft focus, a warped otherworldliness. The mood can occasionally still be ominous and creepy, even sort of menacing at times, but even then, it's diffused, washed out and grey, or blown out and dappled with winter sunlight, or smeared into an indistinct blur of pale moonlight, dreamy and droney and so beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "The Light Orchestra"
MPEG Stream: "Seasick"
MPEG Stream: "Negative Youth"

FINAL FANTASY He Poos Clouds (Tomlab) cd 15.98
First of all -- remember what we hope your mom told you about judging a book by its cover or a record by its title. No doubt about it, this boasts a pretty terrible title... so much so that we were tempted to not even order any. But, ok we got that out of the way now, so on to the music...which is not terrible at all... in fact it's amazingly super good! We've been hearing bits and pieces from this young Canadian, Owen Pallett over the last couple years. His violin work with The Arcade Fire, touring duty with The Hidden Cameras, interesting live covers of Joanna Newsom songs, articles praising him in the NY Times. His debut album was pretty hard to come by so it's been this, his sophomore release that will be most people's introduction to his complex and grandiose approach to pop song writing. Like a more angsty Sufjan Stevens he arranges smart pop songs with multi-instruments and lots of peaks and valleys. Final Fantasy displays a bare emotional honesty that recalls Xiu Xiu and label mates Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, a dramatic flare that rivals Rufus Wainwright, a melancholy side similar to Stephin Merrit and a complex approach to song structure that would make Van Dyke Parks proud. If any of those aforementioned names get your attention then for sure this is a new kid on that smart emotional epic pop rock block that you're gonna want to get to know. Just stand back in case he does indeed poo clouds...
MPEG Stream: "Song Song Song"
MPEG Stream: "The Arctic Circle"
MPEG Stream: "Many Lives -> 49mp"

FINAL SOLUTION, THE Brotherman (OST) (Numero Group) cd 15.98
Leave it to the Numero Group to dig up a soundtrack so lost that the film it accompanies was never even made. Cut back to 1975, when the blaxploitation film era was at its peak before its downhill slide from socially uplifting noirs to clowning ninja-pimp buffoonery, and you have the seeds of a film in the making. A former gangster turned preacher who robs the robbers and gives to the poor. Brotherman! But first, before casting, before even finishing the script, what's needed is a Grade A soundtrack. Cue guitarist, songwriter and arranger Carl Wolfolk and his fledgling Chicago-based vocal group, The Final Solution. Dipping into the SuperFly well, but with enough uniquely inventive guitar work that allows it to stand apart firmly on its own, Wolfolk created an amazing score of songs and instrumentals that still sounds remarkably fresh and non-cliched. Using flamenco style funk guitar flourishes that stab around the four part harmonies, Wolfolk interjected socially smart song-writing with sweet Northern soul nuances. Unfortunately, the plug was pulled on the film before even a still was shot, leaving Wolfolk to carry around his masterwork for more than 30 years, hoping someday the music would be released. Well, Brotherman, your time has come!
MPEG Stream: "Brotherman"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Ready For Love"
MPEG Stream: "No Place To Run"

FINCHES Six Songs (+1) (Dulc-i-tone) lp 14.98
Now on vinyl! Here's what we said about the cd version back in 2005: A no-frills and super down to earth debut. As the title states this is a half dozen tunes (plus one extra titled "Come Sit Beside Me" on the LP!) from Bay Area folksy folks The Finches. The duo of Ms Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and Aaron Morgan share the singin' and guitar playin' duties, and Morgan also handles the bass playin' too. Each of their songs is thoughtful, well-crafted and slightly rough around the edges much like Carolyn's lovely lino-cut cover art. Achingly intimate and pretty, and quite along the lines of folk-pop songstresses such as Cat Power or Julie Doiron. Nice!

FINCHES, THE Human Like A House (Dulc-i-Tone) cd 14.98
The Finches' Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and Aaron Morgan follow us their self released debut 6-song ep with this full length. Human Like A House is comprised of some of the gentlest folk pop imaginable. It's a bit more polished and fleshed out with the addition of cello, pedal steel and percussion joining their Spartan vocals, guitar and bass. As charming as their previous release, the dozen tunes are dewy skinned and doe eyed, sort of like the aural equivalent of a Margaret Keane painting.
MPEG Stream: "Human Like A House"
MPEG Stream: "Two Ghosts"

FINCHES, THE Six Songs (self-released) cd 7.98
A no-frills and super down to earth debut. As the title states this is a half dozen tunes from Bay Area folksy folks The Finches. The duo of Ms Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs and Aaron Morgan share the singin' and guitar playin' duties, and Morgan also handles the bass playin' too. Each of their songs is thoughtful, well-crafted and slightly rough around the edges much like Carolyn's lovely lino-cut cover art. Achingly intimate and pretty, and quite along the lines of folk-pop songstresses such as Cat Power or Julie Doiron. Nic

MPEG Stream: "The Road"
MPEG Stream: "The Horse With Two Front Doors"

FINDLAY, SZAM Die Hautfabrik (Resonant) cd 16.98

FINEST DEAREST Off Sides (self-released) 7" 5.98
Following up their debut cdep, last year's Pacemaker EP, these sprightly SF popsters continue to keep things short'n'sweet on their second release. This 7" features two snappy pop numbers with buzzing guitars, crisp drumming and emotive female vocals from Ms Carly Schneider. When they slow things down a bit on the b-side "March Into The Flames" they bring to mind a more brooding Sleater-Kinney. More please!
Limited pressing of 300 on ultra pale green clear vinyl.

FINEST DEAREST Pacemaker EP (self-released) cd 4.98
These new SF band proudly let it be known that they in fact are spring chickens (their bio says that they "were born in the '80s, raised by the '90s"), and their youth definitely shows in Pacemaker's punchy energy level and wide-eyed vocal sweetness, but the band also shows some pop smarts beyond their years. Influences that they cite include Pavement, Sonic Youth, Blonde Redhead and Cursive, and the impact of those bands is clearly evident. However, they fortunately haven't fallen into the easy trap of simply mocking their idols. They're not just a soundalike. Theirs is solid guitar driven indie pop defined by some interesting postrock-ish twists and graced by the swoonsome female vocals of Ms Carly Schneider (whose soft voice you might've also heard on the equally well-received debut release from another Bay Area band Empty Rooms). This EP fits well alongside fellow Bay Area smart pop upstarts Tartufi, and also recalls acclaimed 90's indie bands such as PEE and Velocity Girl. A very promising debut!
MPEG Stream: "Sleep Until The Weekend"
MPEG Stream: "Slow Going"

FINEST DEAREST s/t (DIY Or Die) cd 9.98
Onwards and upwards, Bay Area pop darlings Finest Dearest have returned with their second cd release, and it's filled with some terrific driving tunes! Indeed, since 2005's Pacemaker cdep and even last year's Off Sides 7", it sounds like they've gotten a whole lot darker and edgier, and the shadowier tones are evident right way with the cd packaging's deep hues and stylin' fontography. it's a definite marked contrast with the delicate homespun art of their previous releases, and yes, the music contained within follows suit. Led by Carly Schneider's sweetly biting vocals, the band definitely still recalls the early '90s indie pop dreams of Velocity Girl and Tsunami, but with more of the modern day sheen and wise-beyond-their years complexity of groups such as Tegan & Sara or Rilo Kiley.
MPEG Stream: "Naming Ceremony"
MPEG Stream: "Making A Sound 1"
MPEG Stream: "March Into Flames"

FINGERED DVDZINE Winter / Spring 2007 (Fingered Media) dvd-r 14.98
Here's the super cool new issue of the young dvdzine Fingered! It features rad Bay Area indie bands Erase Errata (live clip and tour diary), Tussle, Clip'd Beaks, Fuckwolf, Lemonade, and Black Fiction; plus work from visual artists Olivia Park and Krak! May be best consumed in a somewhat altered state. To boot, the dvd-r comes in a cool screenprinted sewn canvas sleeve, perfect for toting your assorted amenities.

FINGERS, THE Bomb The Space (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The latest blast of free-noise-out-rock from Campbell Kneale's always reliable Celebrate Psi Phenomenon label comes courtesy of The Fingers, a duo that takes free jazz and dips it in a boilng, churning vat of 100 proof Fushitsusha and then wraps it in some Harry Pussy. Wild and wooly guitar freakouts, drenched in reverb, careen wildly amidst some splattery, chaotic and very loose free drumming, that crashes and pounds relentlessly, only occasionally tighting things up into almost-straight-ahead-rhythms, before crumbling back into the thick and gorgeous mess of this drum/guitar battle. But the guitar is definitely in control, laying a thick, viscous layer of six string skronk and atonal no-wave clatter over EVERYTHING. Noisy and nice. Fans of Japanese psychedelic noise freakouts, and all things chaotic and free will dig this like crazy.
MPEG Stream: "One"

FINN, SIMON Magic Moments (Durtro Jnana) cd 14.98
Very few things have changed for Simon Finn's mythological folk music in the twenty-five years between his nearly forgotten debut Pass The Distance (1970) and his second album Magic Moments (2005). If anything, the current infatuation with the acid folk meanderings of Six Organs of Admittance, Devendra Banhart, the Skygreen Leopards, and Fursaxa has opened the way for obscure folk artists from the '70s such as Simon Finn. Without David Michael of Current 93 stumbling across one of few original copies of Pass The Distance, Finn would have continued to toil as farmer in Canada; but fortunately, David (don't call him Tibet anymore!) Michael reissued the album with much acclaim and provided Finn with the impetus to record many of the songs that he has been quietly composing during his 25 year hiatus.
Like Pass The Distance, Magic Moments still speaks of a Gnostic mythology, in which knowledge, revelation, and secrets creep throughout his tales of death, sex, gods, devils, and his relationship with those archetypes. It's the darker side of psychedelia, hallucinations, and liminal thought that Finn explores; but the music itself remains a simple vehicle for Finn's expressionism, as his arrangements are little more than voice and acoustic guitar. This bare aesthetic is the major difference from his Pass The Distance album, which enjoyed a complex production with wild stereo pans and eccentric instrumentation from collaborator David Toop. Also missing is the epileptic rage which punctuated several of the tracks from Pass The Distance, but Finn is considerably older allowing his lyrical content to speak through his Syd Barrett meets Cat Stevens voice rather than through phlegm and spit. All things considered, Magic Moments is certainly recommended listening for acid folk fans.
MPEG Stream: "Walkie Talkie"
MPEG Stream: "Eros"

FINN, SIMON Pass The Distance (Durtro) cd 14.98
Back in 2003 when Current 93 played in San Francisco, David Tibet came into Aquarius, having previously arranged to use Andee's practice space in preparation for C93's gigs. Inevitably, I (Jim) got to talking with Tibet about music and so forth. In the course of our conversation, Tibet happenend to mention that if I liked the demented folk wanderings of Comus, then I should attempt to track down a copy of Simon Finn's Pass The Distance. Almost all of C93's references to the esoterica of folk music have been right-on (e.g. Shirley Collins, Incredible String Band, Comus, etc.), so when Tibet utters praise for something, it's worth listening in. The quest to find this record did not look good, considering that there were legal problems surrounding this record back in 1970 that resulted in very poor distribution of the original vinyl. Even if I did manage to come across it, would I really want to cough up a couple hundred bucks for something I've never heard?
Fortunately, Tibet solved that problem for me by re-issuing this exceptional piece of oblique folk through his Durtro imprint. Anyone who has been enamored of the current string of avant-folk wanderings of Devendra Banhart, Jewelled Antler, Jandek, and Fursaxa would be advised not to miss this record. Yeah, it's as good as Tibet made it out to be. It appears that Finn was an individual who was probably swept up in the Jesus Movement of the late '60s which took an antinomian, free-spirited approach to Christian scripture. The lyrics to Pass The Distance, Finn's first and only record, are splattered with loosely Christian imagery and apocalyptic doomspeak, which are the obvious appeals for Tibet and his polyglot of Christian gnosticism. His songwriting is a primitive concoction of psychedelic free strum and Wicker Man-ish pagan folk; but the delivery is Finn's strength. On certain songs, Finn wanders through his lyrics with a bizarre lack of melody as if he's enjoying a handful of mushrooms at the time; yet at others, he bares his teeth with an incendiary emotional ferocity which uncannily resembles Devendra Banhart's possessed yelps on his first album. Altogether, Pass The Distance emerges as a true gem and easily ranks as one of the best reissues of 2004.
MPEG Stream: "Very Close Friend"
MPEG Stream: "Jerusalem"
MPEG Stream: "Big White Car"

FINN, SIMON Pass The Distance (Mayfair Music) lp 32.00
NOW ON VINYL!!!
Back in 2003 when Current 93 played in San Francisco, David Tibet came into Aquarius, having previously arranged to use Andee's practice space in preparation for C93's gigs. Inevitably, I (Jim) got to talking with Tibet about music and so forth. In the course of our conversation, Tibet happened to mention that if I liked the demented folk wanderings of Comus, then I should attempt to track down a copy of Simon Finn's Pass The Distance. Almost all of C93's references to the esoterica of folk music have been right-on (e.g. Shirley Collins, Incredible String Band, Comus, etc.), so when Tibet utters praise for something, it's worth listening in. The quest to find this record did not look good, considering that there were legal problems surrounding this record back in 1970 that resulted in very poor distribution of the original vinyl. Even if I did manage to come across it, would I really want to cough up a couple hundred bucks for something I've never heard?
Fortunately, Tibet solved that problem for me by re-issuing this exceptional piece of oblique folk through his Durtro imprint. Anyone who has been enamored of the current string of avant-folk wanderings of Devendra Banhart, Jewelled Antler, Jandek, and Fursaxa would be advised not to miss this record. Yeah, it's as good as Tibet made it out to be. It appears that Finn was an individual who was probably swept up in the Jesus Movement of the late '60s which took an antinomian, free-spirited approach to Christian scripture. The lyrics to Pass The Distance, Finn's first and only record, are splattered with loosely Christian imagery and apocalyptic doomspeak, which are the obvious appeals for Tibet and his polyglot of Christian gnosticism. His songwriting is a primitive concoction of psychedelic free strum and Wicker Man-ish pagan folk; but the delivery is Finn's strength. On certain songs, Finn wanders through his lyrics with a bizarre lack of melody as if he's enjoying a handful of mushrooms at the time; yet at others, he bares his teeth with an incendiary emotional ferocity which uncannily resembles Devendra Banhart's possessed yelps on his first album. Altogether, Pass The Distance emerges as a true gem and easily ranks as one of the best reissues of 2004, the year we first heard it, but still sounds just as good, 4 years later.
MPEG Stream: "Very Close Friend"
MPEG Stream: "Jerusalem"
MPEG Stream: "Big White Car"

FINN, SIMON Silent City Creep (Durtro / Jnana) cd ep 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Silent City Creep is a very limited, five track EP from Simon Finn, whose recently reissued Pass The Distance holds an eerie similarity to contemporary acid folk troubadours like Devendra Banhart, Six Organs of Admittance, and the Skygreen Leopards. Not surprisingly, Mr. Finn had been a long time favorite of Current 93's David Tibet who was responsible for reissuing Pass The Distance as well as Silent City Creep. Originally intended as something that would only be sold at a Current 93 / Simon Finn show earlier this year in Canada, a few copies have surfaced for general consumption. But we must stress that there's only a few, and we will not be able to get anymore than what we currently stock. All of these tracks were recorded back in 1975 and appear to feature Finn all by his lonesome. Any number of these tracks could have easily fit onto Pass The Distance, even if they didn't feature accompaniment from David Toop and Paul Burwell; thus this makes a great additional for all of you who had fallen in love with Pass The Distance.
MPEG Stream: "Walkie Talkie"
MPEG Stream: "Silent City"

FINNTROLL Jaktens Tid (Spikefarm / Century Media) cd 14.98
A Finnish black metal band, all of whose music is about trolls. Hence the name! This is their sophomore release, their first disc was a concept album apparently about the war between the trolls and the Christians (!) and it was a big favorite of both of AQ's big black metal freaks (Andee and Allan, of course). This new disc is also great. We can't tell you what the concept is this time (the lyrics are all in Finnish, or Trollish maybe) but we're sure it too is about trolls. Heck, their keyboardist boasts the fab moniker Trollhorn! Speaking of the keyboards, that's a big part of their sound -- a rollicking, happy sort of folk metal, kinda like Venom meets an oompah-band. Yes, their record label (who it seems don't care much about selling records) describes Finntroll as the world's first "Polka-metal" outfit! And it's true. A very weird, very fun group indeed. Our favorite track is the one where it sounds like they, keyboards and all, have been submerged in an aquarium (there's some sort of bubble machine going). Huh? It's brutal, it's silly, it's great.
RealAudio clip: "Slaget vid Blodsalv"

FINNTROLL Midnattens Widunder (Spikefarm) cd 14.98
The first disc from these Finnish troll-metallers... Black metal polka at its best. Yup, polka. So great. This album tells the story of the (hitherto obscure) war between the Christians and the trolls.