INQUISITION Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult (Sylphorium Records) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is for everyone who flipped out about Inquisition's latest album Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer, the one we highlighted on our last list (and which, unfortunately, we're all out of already, though more are on the way from Germany, never fear). We've just managed to get in a few copies of the band's earlier output, of which this is their debut disc, originally from 1998 (repressed in 2003). Compared to MGoL, it's equally super Satanic and weird, but a bit rawer in production (something that a certain sort of black metal fan would perhaps prefer). Their uniquely monotonous, croaking, creepy style is fully evident already, and the music surely suits their lyrics about black blood, chalices, red eyed beasts and horned moons. Ah yes, it's creaky crushing droning doomed demon moon moan metal at its best, or soon to be. And now I want to see all the terrible old black magic movies they sampled their song intros from...
MPEG Stream: "Unholy Magic Attack"
MPEG Stream: "Empire Of Luciferian Race"

INQUISITION Invoking The Majestic Throne Of Satan (Sylphorium Records) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
True black metal fanatics know this band, whose album on No Colours, The Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer, was Allan's number one black metal pick of 2005, for sure, Satan help me. Well here's the hard to find second Inquisition, the 2001 record that preceded that slab of infernal genius that Allan likes so much, and which cultish aficionados of plodding, aching black metal should delight in as well. It took us forever to get (just a handful) more of these to list, and they probably won't be around for long. As we've said, this one is Wrest from Leviathan's favorite Inquisition opus, and not only just because it features guitarist/vocalist Dagon croaking the immortal line: "Touch me with your magic hoof"!!
MPEG Stream: "Embraced By The Unholy Powers Of Death And Destruction"

INQUISITION Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer (No Colours) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can the No Colours label do no wrong? Inquisition's Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer is definitely Allan's favorite black metal release of the YEAR. So grim, so eerie, so very metal, and weird in a weird way. That is, there's nothing else out there quite like this band. They do that thing that the best black metal bands do: they're both totally of their genre (a formulaic genre, to be extra-redundant) yet manage to be utterly their own thing too. Fans of the elite likes of Burzum, Graveland, Mutiilation, Xasthur, and Immortal ought to immediately bow to Inquisition whilst also recognizing just how different a band they are. And it's also the sort of black metal I might spring on an extremity-friendly music fan even if they were unaware of the above mentioned artists.
Although this was the first I'd heard of Inquisition, it's actually the third album from this American (Seattle-based, but with Colombian connections?) Satanic black metal band. Redundant again? Sure, all black metal by definition is supposed to be Satanic. But these guys are so SERIOUS about it (well, I don't know for sure... the Inquisition duo of Dagon and Incubus do look kinda silly in the cd booklet photos...but I don't think that's intentional). That they go so over-the-top in their Satan worship is part of what moves them beyond mere stylistic formula and into a realm of obsessive uniqueness.
This record works so well 'cause it's simultaneously weird as fuck (hypnotically croaking vocals, the aforementioned Satanically overloaded lyrix, and strange, keening high-end guitar parts that make this the EERIEST black metal I've heard in aeons) while being fully metal with a rock n' roll backbone: slow-to-mid tempos, memorable riffs, and killer old-school fuzz guitar tone. Indeed, were it not for the love of Lucifer they express with every breath, Inquisition could just has easily have opted to call this album The Glorious Magnificence of Fuzz (though a strain of fuzz quite different from the '60s garage fuzz as heralded elsewhere on this week's list in our review of the Plastic Cloud reissue)! Sonically, that's a big part of what satisfies here, a crucial factor in of Inquisition's equation of extremity. It's truly a heavy, buzzing, trance-like blurr.
It's got to mean something when I (Allan) play something over and over and over again, considering how much (too much) music I'm getting every week. But this was -- is -- in heavy rotation in my home and even though I put it on my iPod I still took the cd itself along with me on vacation as a talisman/token/icon/fetish object just to look at... good thing I don't actually believe in Satan! I even had to go and track down their harder-to-find first two albums, also both excellent, though I do think this is their best... and if you want someone to back me up, note that Leviathan's Wrest himself is a big Inquistion fan, partial to their second album but also of the opinion that this one is brilliant too. So, an AQ black metal rave, make no mistake! Mesmerizing, crushing, gloomy, fucked up, beautiful, genius.
MPEG Stream: "Under The Black Inverted Pentagram"
MPEG Stream: "Of Blood And Darkness We Are Born"

INQUISITION Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer (No Colours) lp 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Our favorite release from maybe our favorite weird weird black metal band, now on vinyl!! Gatefold sleeve, with lyrics inside, and of course some band photos that are just completely over the top.
Can the No Colours label do no wrong? Inquisition's Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer is definitely Allan's favorite black metal release of the YEAR (2005 is when it came out, but it would be a shoe in for black metal record of the year EVERY year). So grim, so eerie, so very metal, and weird in a weird way. That is, there's nothing else out there quite like this band. They do that thing that the best black metal bands do: they're both totally of their genre (a formulaic genre, to be extra-redundant) yet manage to be utterly their own thing too. Fans of the elite likes of Burzum, Graveland, Mutiilation, Xasthur, and Immortal ought to immediately bow to Inquisition whilst also recognizing just how different a band they are. And it's also the sort of black metal I might spring on an extremity-friendly music fan even if they were unaware of the above mentioned artists.
Although this was the first I'd heard of Inquisiton, it's actually the third album from this American (Seattle-based, but with Colombian connections?) Satanic black metal band. Redundant again? Sure, all black metal by definition is supposed to be Satanic. But these guys are so SERIOUS about it (well, I don't know for sure... the Inquisition duo of Dagon and Incubus do look kinda silly in the cd booklet photos...but I don't think that's intentional). That they go so over-the-top in their Satan worship is part of what moves them beyond mere stylistic formula and into a realm of obsessive uniqueness.
This record works so well 'cause it's simultaneously weird as fuck (hypnotically croaking vocals, the aforementioned Satanically overloaded lyrix, and strange, keening high-end guitar parts that make this the EERIEST black metal I've heard in aeons) while being fully metal with a rock n' roll backbone: slow-to-mid tempos, memorable riffs, and killer old-school fuzz guitar tone. Indeed, were it not for the love of Lucifer they express with every breath, Inquisition could just has easily have opted to call this album The Glorious Magnificence of Fuzz (though a strain of fuzz quite different from the '60s garage fuzz as heralded elsewhere on this week's list in our review of the Plastic Cloud reissue)! Sonically, that's a big part of what satisfies here, a crucial factor in of Inquisition's equation of extremity. It's truly a heavy, buzzing, trance-like blurr.
It's got to mean something when I (Allan) play something over and over and over again, considering how much (too much) music I'm getting every week. But this was -- is -- in heavy rotation in my home and even though I put it on my iPod I still took the cd itself along with me on vacation as a talisman/token/icon/fetish object just to look at... good thing I don't actually believe in Satan! I even had to go and track down their harder-to-find first two albums, also both excellent, though I do think this is their best... and if you want someone to back me up, note that Leviathan's Wrest himself is a big Inquistion fan, partial to their second album but also of the opinion that this one is brilliant too. So, an AQ black metal rave, make no mistake! Mesmerizing, crushing, gloomy, fucked up, beautiful, genius.
Be warned, the sleeves are a little wonky, as if they were glued strangely, and the paper just wasn't thick enough. When they're closed they seem fine, but the weirdness becomes evident when the sleeve is opened. But beyond that little quibble, how can you possibly resist 'touching the magic hoof, ON VINYL!?!?
MPEG Stream: "Under The Black Inverted Pentagram"
MPEG Stream: "Of Blood And Darkness We Are Born"

INQUISITION Nefarious Dismal Orations (No Colours) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ready to be touched by the magic hoof?!
Two years ago, we just about sold our souls to Satan in tribute to the glorious magnificence of this band's Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer album. Allan's favorite black metal record of 2005 by far. Now this two-man cult is back with a new album for No Colours and we're sacrificing babies over here in celebration. Well not really but guitarist Dagon and drummer Incubus would probably like to hear that. And if anyone was gonna convince us through the power of stabbing riffage, flashing battery, and croaking vox that Satanism is the way to go, these are the dudes to do it!!
What makes the storming black metal of this Seattle duo so special? Certainly not just their love of Satan, though they do seem more sincerely devoted than most. No, they're just -different- from the hordes of hordes out there. For one thing, Dagon's vocals aren't the usual high-pitched anguished rasps, nor are they deathly grunts. They're more like droning crypt-creakings, layered and insidious, truly "nefarious dismal orations", an integral part of Inquisition's trance-inducing doomic atmospheres -- along with the varispeed velocity of their attack, seemingly simultaneously plodding yet blurred with speed. Then there's the RIFFS. You can't argue there. Inquisition understand old school heavy metal hookiness without being overtly retro, y'know? And this stuff oozes METAL as much as it gives off a sinister shine of actual originality and serious Satanic faith. Pure metalness plus weirdness (in the arcane, occult sense of "the weird"), yeah! We're spellbound. And what the heck is going on with the buried, backwards masked munchkinisms we think we're hearing at the end of the amazing title track?
Clearly Germany's No Colours, a label with lots of staggeringly excellent, evil bands, is well aware that Inquisition is indeed a cut above and deserving of special treatment. They've produced a limited edition initial run of this cd, a thousand copies packaged inside a black cardboard slipcase with a die-cut pentagram!! If that wasn't enough, there's also a full-colour poster folded up and inserted inside the slipcase too. We got a bunch of 'em but don't know how long these will last [note: they are in fact now gone and the ones we now have are no-longer slipcased, sorry].
It would be wrong and misleading to say that this sounds like Om meets Watain, but somehow it we think it has the EFFECT of what such a indescribable hybrid would sound like. But if we did have to compare Inquisition on this album to anybody, we're reminded the most of good ol' Immortal. Recommended as if you couldn't tell already.
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Monumental War Hymn"
MPEG Stream: "Where Darkness Is Lord And Death The Beginnning"

INQUISITION Nefarious Dismal Orations (No Colours) picture disc lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally availabe on vinyl! And not just any vinyl, super evil full color picture disc vinyl! Packged in a full color gatefold sleeve, the picture disc an eye popping detail of the bizarre oil painting on the cover. Sorta pricey cuz of the bad exchange rate and overseas shipping, but well worth it, after all, how else will all you vinyl obsessives be able to TOUCH THE MAGIC HOOF?!
Two years ago, we just about sold our souls to Satan in tribute to the glorious magnificence of this band's Magnificent Glorification Of Lucifer album. Allan's favorite black metal record of 2005 by far. Now this two-man cult is back with a new album for No Colours and we're sacrificing babies over here in celebration. Well not really but guitarist Dagon and drummer Incubus would probably like to hear that. And if anyone was gonna convince us through the power of stabbing riffage, flashing battery, and croaking vox that Satanism is the way to go, these are the dudes to do it!!
What makes the storming black metal of this Seattle duo so special? Certainly not just their love of Satan, though they do seem more sincerely devoted than most. No, they're just -different- from the hordes of hordes out there. For one thing, Dagon's vocals aren't the usual high-pitched anguished rasps, nor are they deathly grunts. They're more like droning crypt-creakings, layered and insidious, truly "nefarious dismal orations", an integral part of Inquisition's trance-inducing doomic atmospheres -- along with the varispeed velocity of their attack, seemingly simultaneously plodding yet blurred with speed. Then there's the RIFFS. You can't argue there. Inquisition understand old school heavy metal hookiness without being overtly retro, y'know? And this stuff oozes METAL as much as it gives off a sinister shine of actual originality and serious Satanic faith. Pure metalness plus weirdness (in the arcane, occult sense of "the weird"), yeah! We're spellbound. And what the heck is going on with the buried, backwards masked munchkinisms we think we're hearing at the end of the amazing title track?
Clearly Germany's No Colours, a label with lots of staggeringly excellent, evil bands, is well aware that Inquisition is indeed a cut above and deserving of special treatment. They've produced a limited edition initial run of this cd, a thousand copies packaged inside a black cardboard slipcase with a die-cut pentagram!! If that wasn't enough, there's also a full-colour poster folded up and inserted inside the slipcase too. We got a bunch of 'em but don't know how long these will last.
It would be wrong and misleading to say that this sounds like Om meets Watain, but somehow it we think it has the EFFECT of what such a indescribable hybrid would sound like. But if we did have to compare Inquisition on this album to anybody, we're reminded the most of good ol' Immortal. Recommended as if you couldn't tell already.
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Monumental War Hymn"
MPEG Stream: "Where Darkness Is Lord And Death The Beginnning"

INQUISITION Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (Hells Headbangers) cd 13.98
Time once more to touch the magic hoof! As we mentioned in our write up of Negative Plane's long awaited new one last list, we're also basking in the evil radiation of a new release from another cult back metal fave of ours as well, and finally have enough copies of 'em in to not only review, but make Record Of The Week, as our Lord Satan commands, and this incredible musick deserves, laced as it is with killer riffs and curious weirdness. That'd be the latest from the duo known as Inquisition, who, although they sound like they hail from some alien Hell, actually currently dwell in the grim fog of the Pacific Northwest, originating however from the jungles of Columbia.
Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (a great title, and one that makes this review itself perhaps not seem so verbose and purplish of prose) is again full of what we expect from Inquisition: blazing battery, buzzing guitars, and most crucially the bizarre croaking of the "robot frog" as the Invisible Oranges blog so pithily describes the vocal stylings of guitarist Dagon. His unique voice, unlike any else in black metal (though most closely akin to Abbath of Norwegian blizzard beasts Immortal, whom they remind us of in other respects as well) is one of the main things we like about the idiosyncratic Inquisition. In a way, his rasping ribbetting and our reaction to it is representative of the whole of what makes Inquisition so great. It's absurd, it's eccentric, it's evil, it's impossible to forget once you've heard it. Likewise with their eerie guitar tones and occult atmospherics, no one else sounds quite like them even within the highly formalized realm of black metal. Furthermore, the eccentric and otherworldly elements of their music are like 1000X more brilliant because Inquisition are simultaneously rooted in pure old school metal, meaning memorable riffs, indeed actual, quite catchy SONGS. Which has a lot to do with why we were so blown away when we finally got to seem them play live on tour last year. If you saw 'em too, you know it was one of the best 2 piece performances by a metal act ever. Very very metal, a churning maelstrom of axes and spikes and swords given musical form. Listening to this album, it's all here, the keening guitar soli that burrow into your brain, the riffs like the lashings of a whip, and the vokills such stern Satanic admonitions. And moments of majestic melody amidst the buzz and blurr, including one cheery passage we might have to play 'round Xmas time, hahaha.
So, another one to worship from Dagon and Incubus! And once again, adorned with excellent Antichrist Kramer artwork, more third eye skull psychedelia of morbid metalhead fantasies, something which we could also say of the music itself.
Oh man, that just made us think of something insane, what if Daniel Higgs teamed up with Inquisition someday, a la one of our other Records Of The Week this list, by The Skull Defekts?! That would be awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Astral Path to Supreme Majesties"
MPEG Stream: "Command of the Dark Crown"
MPEG Stream: "Desolate Funeral Chant"

INQUISITION Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm ( Hells Headbangers) 2lp 24.00
This recent Record Of The Week, finally available on vinyl!
Time once more to touch the magic hoof! As we mentioned in our write up of Negative Plane's long awaited new one last list, we're also basking in the evil radiation of a new release from another cult back metal fave of ours as well, and finally have enough copies of 'em in to not only review, but make Record Of The Week, as our Lord Satan commands, and this incredible musick deserves, laced as it is with killer riffs and curious weirdness. That'd be the latest from the duo known as Inquisition, who, although they sound like they hail from some alien Hell, actually currently dwell in the grim fog of the Pacific Northwest, originating however from the jungles of Columbia.
Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm (a great title, and one that makes this review itself perhaps not seem so verbose and purplish of prose) is again full of what we expect from Inquisition: blazing battery, buzzing guitars, and most crucially the bizarre croaking of the "robot frog" as the Invisible Oranges blog so pithily describes the vocal stylings of guitarist Dagon. His unique voice, unlike any else in black metal (though most closely akin to Abbath of Norwegian blizzard beasts Immortal, whom they remind us of in other respects as well) is one of the main things we like about the idiosyncratic Inquisition. In a way, his rasping ribbetting and our reaction to it is representative of the whole of what makes Inquisition so great. It's absurd, it's eccentric, it's evil, it's impossible to forget once you've heard it. Likewise with their eerie guitar tones and occult atmospherics, no one else sounds quite like them even within the highly formalized realm of black metal. Furthermore, the eccentric and otherworldly elements of their music are like 1000X more brilliant because Inquisition are simultaneously rooted in pure old school metal, meaning memorable riffs, indeed actual, quite catchy SONGS. Which has a lot to do with why we were so blown away when we finally got to seem them play live on tour last year. If you saw 'em too, you know it was one of the best 2 piece performances by a metal act ever. Very very metal, a churning maelstrom of axes and spikes and swords given musical form. Listening to this album, it's all here, the keening guitar soli that burrow into your brain, the riffs like the lashings of a whip, and the vokills such stern Satanic admonitions. And moments of majestic melody amidst the buzz and blurr, including one cheery passage we might have to play 'round Xmas time, hahaha.
So, another one to worship from Dagon and Incubus! And once again, adorned with excellent Antichrist Kramer artwork, more third eye skull psychedelia of morbid metalhead fantasies, something which we could also say of the music itself.
MPEG Stream: "Astral Path to Supreme Majesties"
MPEG Stream: "Command of the Dark Crown"
MPEG Stream: "Desolate Funeral Chant"

INSECT NOISE IN STORED FOODSTUFFS s/t (Inra) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Insect Noise In Stored Foodstuffs" appears to be an industrial document produced by the 5th International Working Conference On Stored-Product Protection. This cd presents the sound investigation of the French team of Bunsel and Andrieu who used sensitive microphones with narrow frequency responses made to detect and identify the sounds of insect larvae which may be inhabiting otherwise quiet containers of grains and cereals. A handful of examples of the sounds including the grain weevil, the Indian meal moth, and the Lesser mealworm are accompanied by a running narrative both explaining the techniques used and the identification of the insects. And in case you missed the first 30 minutes of the document, the kind people at the 5th International Working Conference On Stored-Product Protection repeat the program in French. Hey, if that Smithsonian / Folkways "Sounds of North American Frogs" rocked your world, wait til this little gem comes your way!

INSECT WARFARE Endless Execution Thru Violent Restitution (625 Thrashcore) cd 9.98

MPEG Stream: "Repulsed By Radiation"
MPEG Stream: "Bestial Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Chainsaw Justice"
MPEG Stream: "Execution Mania"

INSIDE Celestial Telepathy (Barl Fire) 3"cd 4.98
Inside is Kiwi soundmaker Sandy Schaare and Celestial Telepathy is his debut. Twenty minutes of gorgeous psychedelic solo guitar. But don't be expecting any sort of wailing shredding freakouts, Schaare takes the guitar and manages to make some of the most beautiful un-guitarlike sounds you've ever heard. Soft billowy drifts, gentle shimmering clouds of sound, and what sounds like Tibetan bowls or distant chiming bells, a resonant ringing that spreads delicately like tiny ripples in a still pond. So gorgeous and tranquil.
Limited to 100 copies, packaged in a full color mini sleeve with original psychedelic artwork by Schaare himself, in a mini PVC plastic pouch with a printed insert.
MPEG Stream: "Inside"

INSIEMEMUSICADIVERSA (Die Schactel) cd/box/spinner 27.00
A gorgeously packaged new release from the label that gave us the totally amazing Luciano Cilio disc we raved about a few lists back. Don't know too much about this band, the name translates to Different Collective Music and most of this cd was released on lp as a super limited edition in 1977. Insiememusicadiversa were an Italian musical collective that incorporated chance compostition, twentieth century minmalism, free jazz, musique concrete and whatever else struck their fancy. For being recorded in the late seventies, the sound here is not that far removed from the current crop of free noise psych folk drone outifts we all know and love. A serious swell of No Neck Blues Band clatter in a head on collision with wild and weird Fluxus style experimentation, tribal hand drums, strange vocal chants and chirps, hoots and hollers, clangs and chimes and handclaps and noodly guitars, fluttering flutes, electronic squelches, synthesizer swoosh, haunting inside-the-piano pounding, majestic cymbal swells, crowd sounds, gurgling rumbling drones all woven into a dizzingly confusional musical soundscape. A beautifully random and chaotic mix of avant folk, experimental electronics, weird not-quite-prog and occasional fuzzed out white hot noisedrone.
Two bonus tracks not included on the original vinyl release and elaborately packaged in a printed cardboard box, with multiple inserts and posters as well as a board game style spinner utilized in the composition and recording of this record. Wow.
MPEG Stream: "Momento"
MPEG Stream: "Oscillatori"

INSOMNIA A New Dawn (Nothingness) cd-r 11.98

INSPECTAH DECK Resident Patient (Urban Icon) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "C.R.E.E.P.S."
MPEG Stream: "Get Ya Weight Up"

INSTANT AUTOMATONS Another Wasted Sunday Afternoon (Hyped2Death) cd 13.98
UK DIY lo-fi avant-punk, with home-made synths and drum machine, utterly distorted guitar n' bass, and some rather clever, sardonic lyrics pertaining to both society at large and their friends in particular -- yup, it's another one from the Messthetics vaults, as it were (see our reviews of Messthetics Greatest Hits and Animals & Men on our last two lists). Lincolnshire's Instant Automatons got their start as a schoolboy band in 1974, with early influences like Hawkwind and Kraftwerk, and suitably futuristic "instruments" sourced from their school's physics lab! The punk rock revolution of '77 came along just as they left school and pretty soon they'd picked their "vaguely self-mocking" name (out of a hat) and started recording in earnest, becoming pioneers of the nascent cassette music scene -- they were one of the first to advertise that if you sent 'em a blank cassette, they'd dub their album onto it and send it back, free of charge... the pre-internet precursor to downloading it seems. They kept at it for a few years, and so here's a sort-of "best of", consisting of 26 tracks, some previously unreleased, others compiled from various rare cassette and vinyl releases circa 1978-1982, including such numbers as "Short Haired Man (In A Long Haired Town", "Violence", "New Muzak", and "Gillian Is Normal". Lots of wise-ass wisdom to be found in the words to these and other songs. The Instant Automatons surely liked to take the piss, which makes for an entertaining listen. For instance, the atonal, spaced-out track "Electronic Music", with lines like "electronic music is the curse of the working classes" and "electronic music makes you unfit" is still pretty amusing today.
MPEG Stream: "Worcester Ave"
MPEG Stream: "Armchair Politics"

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK Penetrans (Staubgold) cd 14.98
Institut Fuer Feinmotorik are a German collective of techno / turntable engineers with the misleading motto: "to produce from almost nothing almost nothing." It is true that their turntablist source material may qualify as 'almost nothing' culled from run-out groove clicks, repetitive pops from razor bladed vinyl, and Rube Goldberg inventions to create repetitive sounds with various household items striking the turntable's tone arm. Yet the end results are far from 'almost nothing,' standing as an exceptionally good version of Thomas Brinkmann, where a structurally rigid techno follows the linear progressions of surgically concise clicks, pops, whirs, and hisses locked tightly in complex layers of overlapping rhythms.
RealAudio clip: "Problem"
RealAudio clip: "Rufen Sie Die Polizei"

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK Penetrans (Staubgold) lp 13.98
Institut Fuer Feinmotorik are a German collective of techno / turntable engineers with the misleading motto: "to produce from almost nothing almost nothing." It is true that their turntablist source material may qualify as 'almost nothing' culled from run-out groove clicks, repetitive pops from razor bladed vinyl, and Rube Goldberg inventions to create repetitive sounds with various household items striking the turntable's tone arm. Yet the end results are far from 'almost nothing,' standing as an exceptionally good version of Thomas Brinkmann, where a structurally rigid techno follows the linear progressions of surgically concise clicks, pops, whirs, and hisses locked tightly in complex layers of overlapping rhythms.

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK Wenig Information (Kein Titel) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
'The Institute for Precision Motoricity' manipulates the run out grooves on 6 to 8 records with rubber bands, adhesive tape, toothbrushes, etc... to generate acoustic signals from what should simply be the empty pops of the stylus in an infinite termination of its course. The resulting pulses resemble a super lo-fi yet quite successful reconstitution of Thomas Brinkmann / Mike Ink's minimal techno.

INSTITUT FUER FEINMOTORIK (IFF) Abgegriffen (Marriage) lp 16.98

INSTRUMENTAL WARD / AA PLEIADIAN split (In Your Eardrums) 7" 4.50

INSTRUMENTAL WARD, THE Physiology, Hygiene, Narcotics (In Your Eardrums) cd 10.98
Upon entering into this downtempo 'Ward (which if you don't count the vocal samples is indeed entirely instrumental), you'll encounter a loose and laidback sample-heavy assembly of drumbeats, swirling harp, snippits of French dialogue, and later on some trumpet and choral flourishes too. This is the duo's second full length release and it comes from the label who served up the moody atmospheric downtempo cd-r by Angle Of Repose earlier this year. Although I.W.'s rhythm sampling could be a bit tighter in spots, Physiology, Hygiene, Narcotics does have its groovy moments, particularly the third track "The Other Heartache" and a bunch in the second half of the album such as the seventh "Here I Go" with its stutter almost percussive vocal samples and the skittery ninth "I Dreamed".
MPEG Stream: "The Other Heartache"
MPEG Stream: "I Dreamed"

INTAGLIO s/t (Solitude Productions) cd 13.98
Another warehouse find (or closet find, since we don't really have what one might call a warehouse), this one, the 2005 full length from Russian funeral doom duo Intaglio, whose sound is a ponderous downtuned plod, a blackened, sprawling slo-mo creep, the guitars oozing and droney, the drums a spare thud, the vocals a guttural gurgle, the sound melancholic and mournful, this is the sort of doom that is tranced out and meditative, not sick and sinister, trafficking in a vibe similar to Skepticism or Thergothon or Evoken, these guys create epic expanses of slow, smoldering heaviness, no extreme dynamics, no blasts of black buzz, instead, simply, an ever expanding black cloud of sound, woozy and washed out, the chords ringing out, the notes fading into blackness before the next chord crashes in and takes its places, the melodies unwinding almost dreamily, minor key, darkly melodic, this may be heavy and 'doom', but to these ears it almost sounds like perfect late night drift off music for metalheads.
Only a few copies of these in stock, once they're gone, we might not be able to get more...
MPEG Stream: "Dark Cherry Day"
MPEG Stream: "Solitude"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Fake Surfers (In The Red) cd 13.98
To the list of lo-fi noise popping shit gazing garage rockers, Thee Ohsees, Mayyors, Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking, Blank Dogs, Wavves, and the like, you can now add the Intelligence. We've seen some live footage of these guys on YouTube, and they kick up a pretty crazy racket, but on record, they're much more subdued and trippy, crafting dark brooding echoey gloom pop, with muted drumming, soft focus jagged guitar crunch, woozy weary vocals, everything surrounded by a haze of delay and tape hiss and amp buzz, positioning these guys closer to groups like Ariel Pink, Holy Shit, and the like, but then when you think you have 'em pegged, they kick out a surfy, groovy hand clappy jam, that sounds surprisingly like "Walking On The Sun" by Smashmouth (we know, we know, but it's true!) although somehow in their hands it sounds WAY cooler. Crunchy guitars, distorted vox, big booming drums, clanging and chiming chords, warm whirring organ, it's also the closest the Intelligence get to sounding like Thee Ohsees weirdly enough. The rest of the record is a much more twisted lo-fi jangly proposition, with many of the songs sounding like creepy sixties garage rock (Fuzztones?) or skiffle-ly reverbed soft pop, but even then, the songs sound fragmented and twisted, with circusy keyboards adding a definite haunting vibe, and some really odd, but oddly catchy hooks. Acoustic guitars, rubbery basslines, trashy practice space drums, and weary deadpan vocals, all woven into some cool, laid back garage jangle, occasionally exploding into a bit of pounding crunch chug, but usually slipping back into something more washed out and groovy.
Not sure what it is, but we just can't stop listening to this. Which is pretty much the best recommendation we can give...
MPEG Stream: "South Bay Surfers"
MPEG Stream: "Tower"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Eat Skull"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Fake Surfers (In The Red) lp 10.98
To the list of lo-fi noise popping shit gazing garage rockers, Thee Ohsees, Mayyors, Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking, Blank Dogs, Wavves, and the like, you can now add the Intelligence. We've seen some live footage of these guys on YouTube, and they kick up a pretty crazy racket, but on record, they're much more subdued and trippy, crafting dark brooding echoey gloom pop, with muted drumming, soft focus jagged guitar crunch, woozy weary vocals, everything surrounded by a haze of delay and tape hiss and amp buzz, positioning these guys closer to groups like Ariel Pink, Holy Shit, and the like, but then when you think you have 'em pegged, they kick out a surfy, groovy hand clappy jam, that sounds surprisingly like "Walking On The Sun" by Smashmouth (we know, we know, but it's true!) although somehow in their hands it sounds WAY cooler. Crunchy guitars, distorted vox, big booming drums, clanging and chiming chords, warm whirring organ, it's also the closest the Intelligence get to sounding like Thee Ohsees weirdly enough. The rest of the record is a much more twisted lo-fi jangly proposition, with many of the songs sounding like creepy sixties garage rock (Fuzztones?) or skiffle-ly reverbed soft pop, but even then, the songs sound fragmented and twisted, with circusy keyboards adding a definite haunting vibe, and some really odd, but oddly catchy hooks. Acoustic guitars, rubbery basslines, trashy practice space drums, and weary deadpan vocals, all woven into some cool, laid back garage jangle, occasionally exploding into a bit of pounding crunch chug, but usually slipping back into something more washed out and groovy.
Not sure what it is, but we just can't stop listening to this. Which is pretty much the best recommendation we can give...
MPEG Stream: "South Bay Surfers"
MPEG Stream: "Tower"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Eat Skull"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Males (In The Red) cd 13.98
We first heard The Intelligence on a split with Thee Oh Sees, which makes sense, considering both bands traffic in the same sort of stripped down, raw and sweaty garage punk, and we were pretty nuts about The Intelligence's first full length, Fake Surfers, which demonstrated that these guys weren't nearly as blown out or in the red as many of their compatriots, their sound more low slung, reminding us of groups like the Wipers and the Leaving Trains as much as groups like the Mayyors, Blank Dogs, Wavves and the like. The guitars muted and muddy, a crunchy jangle, the vocals less a distorted wail, and more a reverbed croon, the songs simple and stripped down, but catchy as fuck, and super poppy, raw and urgent, most hovering around the two minute mark, short sharp blasts of fuzzy reverby garage pop, replete with buried in the mix synths, and some fuzzy background vox... and what on the surface sounds pretty straight ahead, will crumble right before your ears as the band unleash some sort of insanely hook filled chorus, or a bad ass earworm of a bridge, like on the awesomely titled "Tuned To Puke", which features a pounding rhythm and a looped sounding cyclical woozy main riff, the vocals sticking close to the main melody, but then the guitars soar, unleashing a shimmering bit of jangle, laced with some 'ooooh'-ing vox, and then it's right back to the churn and crunch again. But it's those moments that make The Intelligence so special, and make their songs stick in your head. And like Fake Surfers before it, every listen of Males just makes us want to hear more...
MPEG Stream: "Bong Life"
MPEG Stream: "Tuned To Puke"
MPEG Stream: "Sailor Itch"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Males (In The Red) lp 13.98
We first heard The Intelligence on a split with Thee Oh Sees, which makes sense, considering both bands traffic in the same sort of stripped down, raw and sweaty garage punk, and we were pretty nuts about The Intelligence's first full length, Fake Surfers, which demonstrated that these guys weren't nearly as blown out or in the red as many of their compatriots, their sound more low slung, reminding us of groups like the Wipers and the Leaving Trains as much as groups like the Mayyors, Blank Dogs, Wavves and the like. The guitars muted and muddy, a crunchy jangle, the vocals less a distorted wail, and more a reverbed croon, the songs simple and stripped down, but catchy as fuck, and super poppy, raw and urgent, most hovering around the two minute mark, short sharp blasts of fuzzy reverby garage pop, replete with buried in the mix synths, and some fuzzy background vox... and what on the surface sounds pretty straight ahead, will crumble right before your ears as the band unleash some sort of insanely hook filled chorus, or a bad ass earworm of a bridge, like on the awesomely titled "Tuned To Puke", which features a pounding rhythm and a looped sounding cyclical woozy main riff, the vocals sticking close to the main melody, but then the guitars soar, unleashing a shimmering bit of jangle, laced with some 'ooooh'-ing vox, and then it's right back to the churn and crunch again. But it's those moments that make The Intelligence so special, and make their songs stick in your head. And like Fake Surfers before it, every listen of Males just makes us want to hear more...
MPEG Stream: "Bong Life"
MPEG Stream: "Tuned To Puke"
MPEG Stream: "Sailor Itch"

INTERCESSOR - ANOTHER ROCK'N'ROLL NIGHTMARE (SRS Cinema) dvd 16.98
Zombies and sorcerors abound in this campy horror/thriller that stars (and was produced by and based on a concept by) Jon Mikl Thor... or just THOR if you prefer. Its soundtrack features tunes by D.O.A., Joe Preston, Street Walkin' Cheetahs, and yes, THOR!!!

INTERFACE Recordings Field, H (Deep Listening) dvd 17.98

INTERNAL VOID Unearthed (Southern Lord) cd 12.98
Unexpectedly good album from this Maryland doom metal band, whose previous releases (from, like, six years ago) were pretty bad. But I guess they've been honing their craft and now their Sabbathy, Saint Vitus-like sound has taken on an even more bluesy, hard rock quality that sets them apart from their doom/stoner peers and makes "Unearthed" quite a pleasure.

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL Featuring... (K) cd 12.98
Finally in! This is the all-star K Records/Olympia, WA scene collaboration/compilation. Is that enough 'slashes' for ya? A recording project co-ordinated by a gentleman by the name of Paul E. Schuster. These are all his songs which he asked his musical friends to augment and accessorize. Kinda like Stephin Merritt's project The 6ths, but maybe a bit more diverse in the ensuing interpretations and outcome. Calvin Johnson, Lois Maffeo, Kathleen Hanna, Slim Moon, Carrie Brownstein... they're all here.

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Nothing We Can Control (Overcoat) cd 14.98
International Airport is comprised of Glasgow indie-scene veterans Aggi of the Pastels (as soon as the vocals began, I knew it was her) and Tom Crosley of Drag City folk duo Appendix Out (Tom is also in Pastels). But, International Airport is much less singsong pop than Pastels. Softly floating pastoral goodness, mostly instrumentals but with a few vocal tracks. It will not blow you away (it's far too demure for that) but it may make your dreams sweet. With appearances by members of Incense and Belle and Sebastian. What a lovely world it would be if the masses looking for the new Sea and Cake album would turn their attention to International Airport.
RealAudio clip: "De Merging Van Bruin en Groen"

INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER Sov Gott Rose-Marie (Silence) cd 17.98
Finally available again!! The late sixties Swedish musical aggregation that was Parson Sound / International Harvester / Harvester / Trad, Gras Och Stenar (really all one evolving band) was basically an example of the genre we've decided to call "international krautrock". Like a Scandinavian Amon Duul, these freaks tap into some decidedly cosmic psychedelic sounds, and aren't on some sunshiney '60s flowers and beads trip. No, their sound certainly acknowledges death and darkness. We've already raved about the Parson Sound collection released earlier this year. "Sov Gott Rose-Marie" ("Sleep Tight, Rose-Marie") was the next step for this group, recorded under their new name International Harvester (taken from the American heavy machinery company, but also intending a Harvester / Grim Reaper double-meaning, with International giving it a political bent). This album, released in 1969 on the Finnish label Love Records, now makes a long-awaited cd appearance on Silence (along with their follow-up under the shortened name Harvester). It's pretty fucking great. If you've heard and loved the Parson Sound like we did, just come and buy this now! It's got grinding cello, baying horns, hippie percussion, mesmerizing jams *and* sudden jarring juxtapositions, from total mellowness to the very heavy. International Harvester mix folk music (though not to the extent they did on their next album, "Hemat"), jazz, field recordings (singing birds, barking dogs), lullabies, and more into their mind-blowing stew of psychedelic "free rock", which is also full of Terry Riley / Eastern inspired repetition and drone. Lyrically, this is just as radical, not shying from religion and politics.
Silence has added an incredible, lengthy (24 minute!) bonus track called "Skordetider" ("Harvest Times") that the band originally intended for an album B-side but never used. It's hypnotic, powerful jam that could have fit well on that Parson Sound release. In other words: wow! Additionally, this cd features extensive liner notes documenting the group's history (the same essay is also found in Silence's reissue of the Harvester album, but with different photos). A perfect companion to that Parson Sound double cd, this is definitely one of the reissues of the year for us.
MPEG Stream: "Sov Gott Rose-Marie"
MPEG Stream: "There is No Other Place"
MPEG Stream: "Skordetider"

INTERNATIONAL HELLO s/t (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98

INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND Safe At Home (Sundazed) cd 14.98

INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE BAND, THE Safe At Home (Sundazed) lp 15.98
Gram Parsons = Country Rock Pioneer. Before he made those two incandescently beautiful solo albums with Emmylou Harris (that IMO no record collection should be without, and we always have them in stock), before he joined the Byrds, he formed the International Submarine Band who recorded just this one album for Lee Hazlewood's record label, with Hazelwood chanteuse Suzi Jane Hokum as producer. Not nearly as good as the Parsons material later to come, it's still pretty worthwhile... and how nice to have it on 180 gram vinyl with one extra track previously unavailable on record.

INTERPOL Antics (Matador) cd 14.98
Sophmore records are so tricky. Especially when they follow the HUGE BREAKTHROUGH MASSIVE HIT RECORD. What can a band do? Why do you think there are so many amazing debut records? It's because the band has been waiting their whole life to release that record. Years and years to work on those songs. Years and years of playing those songs, until they are perfect and tight. The second album is cursed by the fact that it has to be written and conceived beneath the fallout of the first, often written on tour, in hotels and on buses which for most bands is not at all how they are used to writing songs. Such is the case with Interpol. Their debut, Turn On The Bright Lights, was perfect. Dark and catchy and funny and gloomy and chock full of perfect post-punk post-new wave pop classics. Everyone we know loved that record. Metalheads, punk rockers, whatever. It didn't matter. It was that good. So then the question is how did Interpol weather the sophmore slump. Disappointment is inevitable right? Well, track one definitely threw us off, a slow maudlin tail dragger, a lot like our least favorite track on Bright Lights. The next track "Evil" was definitely a return to form, but there was still something a little off, not as good maybe? We couldn't put our finger on it. We were all a little bit bummed. Sure it sounded pretty good. The whole record did, but we were all disappointed and sort of wrote it off as an 'oh well' and figured we'd just go back to Bright Lights. But a funny thing happened. We all kept putting Antics back on the stereo, all of us. And gradually we all came to the realization that Antics is a fucking amazing record!! Maybe more subtle, a little darker, not so immediately catchy, but isn't that what a second record should be? No one wants to hear the same record again, and lord knows the band doesn't want to play those songs over again. So yeah, this record is awesome. As good as Bright Lights, just different. Which is a good thing. A great thing actually. It takes some growing, but all great records do. "Evil" is punky and funky and about as upbeat as Interpol get, with sing songy, over ennunciated vocals, super reverbed guitar and a irresistable rhythmic bounce. And once you get to track five "Slow Hands", the single, you're definitely sold. "Slow Hands" definitely sounds like it could have come straight off Bright Lights, but with a decidedly more Strokes-like jangle that gives way to classic Interpol minor key chug and haunting reverbed piano chorus. After that you might as well just give in and admit that this is probably going to be one of the best records of the year. Antics has quickly turned into one of those rare records (New Pornographers, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc.) that we have to -force- ourselves not to listen to so we won't burn out on it! So good!
MPEG Stream: "Evil"
MPEG Stream: "Slow Hands"
MPEG Stream: "Not Even Jail"

INTERPOL Antics (Matador) 2cd 14.98
Interpol's second record gets the deluxe (if slightly premature) reissue treatment with a new double disc version. The second disc features some extra B-sides / unreleased tracks: "Song Seven", "Narc (Paul Banks Remix)", "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)", "Fog Vs. Mould For The Length Of Love", "Public Pervert (Carlos D Remix)" as well as three quicktime videos, including the ultra creepy puppet car crash hospital video for "Evil" and the cool ultra trippy backwards slo-mo video for "Slow Hands". Here's what we had to say about the record last time around:
Sophomore records are so tricky. Especially when they follow the HUGE BREAKTHROUGH MASSIVE HIT RECORD. What can a band do? Why do you think there are so many amazing debut records? It's because the band has been waiting their whole life to release that record. Years and years to work on those songs. Years and years of playing those songs, until they are perfect and tight. The second album is cursed by the fact that it has to be written and conceived beneath the fallout of the first, often written on tour, in hotels and on buses which for most bands is not at all how they are used to writing songs. Such is the case with Interpol. Their debut, Turn On The Bright Lights, was perfect. Dark and catchy and funny and gloomy and chock full of perfect post-punk post-new wave pop classics. Everyone we know loved that record. Metalheads, punk rockers, whatever. It didn't matter. It was that good. So then the question is how did Interpol weather the sophmore slump. Disappointment is inevitable right? Well, track one definitely threw us off, a slow maudlin tail dragger, a lot like our least favorite track on Bright Lights. The next track "Evil" was definitely a return to form, but there was still something a little off, not as good maybe? We couldn't put our finger on it. We were all a little bit bummed. Sure it sounded pretty good. The whole record did, but we were all disappointed and sort of wrote it off as an 'oh well' and figured we'd just go back to Bright Lights. But a funny thing happened. We all kept putting Antics back on the stereo, all of us. And gradually we all came to the realization that Antics is a fucking amazing record!! Maybe more subtle, a little darker, not so immediately catchy, but isn't that what a second record should be? No one wants to hear the same record again, and lord knows the band doesn't want to play those songs over again. So yeah, this record is awesome. As good as Bright Lights, just different. Which is a good thing. A great thing actually. It takes some growing, but all great records do. "Evil" is punky and funky and about as upbeat as Interpol get, with sing songy, over ennunciated vocals, super reverbed guitar and a irresistable rhythmic bounce. And once you get to track five "Slow Hands", the single, you're definitely sold. "Slow Hands" definitely sounds like it could have come straight off Bright Lights, but with a decidedly more Strokes-like jangle that gives way to classic Interpol minor key chug and haunting reverbed piano chorus. After that you might as well just give in and admit that this is probably going to be one of the best records of the year. Antics has quickly turned into one of those rare records (New Pornographers, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc.) that we have to -force- ourselves not to listen to so we won't burn out on it! So good!
MPEG Stream: "Evil"
MPEG Stream: "Slow Hands"
MPEG Stream: "Not Even Jail"

INTERPOL Antics (Matador) lp 11.98
Sophmore records are so tricky. Especially when they follow the HUGE BREAKTHROUGH MASSIVE HIT RECORD. What can a band do? Why do you think there are so many amazing debut records? It's because the band has been waiting their whole life to release that record. Years and years to work on those songs. Years and years of playing those songs, until they are perfect and tight. The second album is cursed by the fact that it has to be written and conceived beneath the fallout of the first, often written on tour, in hotels and on buses which for most bands is not at all how they are used to writing songs. Such is the case with Interpol. Their debut, Turn On The Bright Lights, was perfect. Dark and catchy and funny and gloomy and chock full of perfect post-punk post-new wave pop classics. Everyone we know loved that record. Metalheads, punk rockers, whatever. It didn't matter. It was that good. So then the question is how did Interpol weather the sophmore slump. Disappointment is inevitable right? Well, track one definitely threw us off, a slow maudlin tail dragger, a lot like our least favorite track on Bright Lights. The next track "Evil" was definitely a return to form, but there was still something a little off, not as good maybe? We couldn't put our finger on it. We were all a little bit bummed. Sure it sounded pretty good. The whole record did, but we were all disappointed and sort of wrote it off as an 'oh well' and figured we'd just go back to Bright Lights. But a funny thing happened. We all kept putting Antics back on the stereo, all of us. And gradually we all came to the realization that Antics is a fucking amazing record!! Maybe more subtle, a little darker, not so immediately catchy, but isn't that what a second record should be? No one wants to hear the same record again, and lord knows the band doesn't want to play those songs over again. So yeah, this record is awesome. As good as Bright Lights, just different. Which is a good thing. A great thing actually. It takes some growing, but all great records do. "Evil" is punky and funky and about as upbeat as Interpol get, with sing songy, over ennunciated vocals, super reverbed guitar and a irresistable rhythmic bounce. And once you get to track five "Slow Hands", the single, you're definitely sold. "Slow Hands" definitely sounds like it could have come straight off Bright Lights, but with a decidedly more Strokes-like jangle that gives way to classic Interpol minor key chug and haunting reverbed piano chorus. After that you might as well just give in and admit that this is probably going to be one of the best records of the year. Antics has quickly turned into one of those rare records (New Pornographers, Neutral Milk Hotel, etc.) that we have to -force- ourselves not to listen to so we won't burn out on it! So good!
MPEG Stream: "Evil"
MPEG Stream: "Slow Hands"
MPEG Stream: "Not Even Jail"

INTERPOL Our Love To Admire (Capitol) cd 14.98
If slow and steady wins the race, Interpol's third album will surely be in the winner's circle... but what's the prize? Moody post punk pop for the masses? Maybe! Their first release on a major label happens to be their most moderate and perhaps most broadly appealing. Few studio pyrotechnics and overarching productions, Our Love To Admire is simply a solidly crafted and executed. Tastefully tame, it is. In particular Paul Banks sullenly tormented vocals are more restrained that on either of their previous albums. In some ways this is a plus. That is, his performance comes across as much more effortless, but we do miss some of his bombastic anguished ennunciations. After a couple listens we can say that none of the songs have jumped out and bitten us on the nose nor nailed us in the heart quite yet. However much like Antics did, we have a sneakin' suspicion that this will be a 'grow on you' album, gradually taking root with each listen. (Andee listened to it on the plane back from New York, in an exhausted sleep deprived stupor, and emerged with Our Love To Admire as one of his new favorites, its languid droniness and laid back dolor the perfect soundtrack for being lost in strange cities, being trapped in grey walled airports, staying up all night, and wandering through sweltering summer city streets!)
Psst, for super fans and collectors, there's also a limited deluxe version which comes in an elegant black hardcover book style package with a 24-page booklet and 18"x24" poster. Don't know exactly how limited it will be, so hop to it if you wanna secure a copy for yourself.
MPEG Stream: "Pioneer To The Falls"
MPEG Stream: "Mammoth"

INTERPOL Our Love To Admire - Deluxe Edition (Capitol) cd 21.00
If slow and steady wins the race, Interpol's third album will surely be in the winner's circle... but what's the prize? Moody post punk pop for the masses? Maybe! Their first release on a major label happens to be their most moderate and perhaps most broadly appealing. Few studio pyrotechnics and overarching productions, Our Love To Admire is simply a solidly crafted and executed. Tastefully tame, it is. In particular Paul Banks sullenly tormented vocals are more restrained that on either of their previous albums. In some ways this is a plus. That is, his performance comes across as much more effortless, but we do miss some of his bombastic anguished ennunciations. After a couple listens we can say that none of the songs have jumped out and bitten us on the nose nor nailed us in the heart quite yet. However much like Antics did, we have a sneakin' suspicion that this will be a 'grow on you' album, gradually taking root with each listen. (Andee listened to it on the plane back from New York, in an exhausted sleep deprived stupor, and emerged with Our Love To Admire as one of his new favorites, its languid droniness and laid back dolor the perfect soundtrack for being lost in strange cities, being trapped in grey walled airports, staying up all night, and wandering through sweltering summer city streets!)
This deluxe version comes in a hardcover book style sleeve, with a bunch of extra photos and a poster, but no extra music....
MPEG Stream: "Pioneer To The Falls"
MPEG Stream: "Mammoth"

INTERPOL Remix (Matador) cd ep 4.98
We recently listed the double cd reissue of Interpol's Antics, with an extra disc of remixes. For those of you who really wanted the remixes but didn't want to have to buy the whole dang thing over again, here you go. Four tracks, just the remixes: "Song Seven", "Narc (Paul Banks Remix)", "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)", "Fog Vs. Mould For The Length Of Love", "Public Pervert (Carlos D Remix)".
MPEG Stream: "Narc (Paul Banks Remix)"
MPEG Stream: "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)"

INTERPOL Remix (Matador) 4x12" 25.00
We recently listed the double cd reissue of Interpol's Antics, with an extra disc of remixes. For those of you who really wanted the remixes but didn't want to have to buy the whole dang thing over again, but felt like spedning a crapload of dough on some insanely deluxe packaging, here you go. Four tracks, just the remixes: "Song Seven", "Narc (Paul Banks Remix)", "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)", "Fog Vs. Mould For The Length Of Love", "Public Pervert (Carlos D Remix)" in a ridiculously elaborate gatefold foldout embossed quadruple lp set. Only got a few of these since we weren't sure if anyone would care about a $25 version of a $5 cd ep.
MPEG Stream: "Narc (Paul Banks Remix)"
MPEG Stream: "Not Even Jail (Daniel Kessler Remix)"

INTERPOL s/t (Matador) cd 13.98
The best way to enjoy Interpol these days, is to probably stop hoping they'll write anything as iconic and awesome as "Obstacle 1", or "PDA", or "Evil", or "Narc", or "Slow Hands". Their debut Turn On The Bright Lights was pretty much perfect, packed with classics, almost all of the way through. Antics, after that, was pretty dang good, with some of those above mentioned jams ranking among the band's best, but with some filler for sure. Then came Our Love To Admire, which while enjoyable, was more about the sound, and the voice, hearing the SOUND of Interpol, most folks seemed to decide, was maybe as close as we'd get to hearing THOSE songs. So with the band's switch back to Matador, hopes were definitely not high, at least in terms of hoping for a classic. Most folks we know dig Interpol, and would buy the new one either way. Again, maybe mostly to hear THAT SOUND. But then we heard the single "Lights", and damn if it wasn't a serious chunk of brooding CLASSIC sounding Interpol, the main riff a killer, the whole thing moody and intense and evocative, the band sounding fierce. So suddenly, hopes got a little bit higher.
And so now we have the full length, on a new (old) label, with a new bass player (Dave Pajo of Slint, Papa M and a ton of others), and while we'd still say "Lights" might be the best jam here, the whole record is pretty damn great, maybe what some might call a return to form. Dark and brooding, catchy as fuck, the Interpol sound in full effect. Opener "Success" starts things off with a catchy chunk of dour new wave pop, the bass sounding a bit more fuzzy and muscly (or is that just our imagination), and the rest of the record following suit. First listen didn't knock our socks off, but every listen since has found our socks progressively a bit more knocked off every time. The hooks are huge, the sound is lush, the tendency to brood and not rock out seems to have found a balance this time around, there are some electronic drums on a few tracks, and then there's the surprisingly strong, darkly mysterious closing songsuite, "Try It On", with its skittery drum machine, looped sounding piano and glitchy synths, the lush, smoldering dramatic doom ballad "All Of The Ways", that sounds almost more like the Editors (which is not a bad thing at all), and finally the record closer "The Undoing", another haunting epic, with more electronic drums, a strangely baroque sounding arrangement, and a surprisingly sunshiney sheen glowing from within it's black sonic heart. So good. So good in fact, that when we've played this to death, which is looking to be inevitable at this point, we're gonna go back and revisit Our Love To Admire and see if maybe there was something we missed, here's hoping...
MPEG Stream: "Lights"
MPEG Stream: "Success"
MPEG Stream: "The Undoing"

INTERPOL s/t (Matador) lp 15.98
The best way to enjoy Interpol these days, is to probably stop hoping they'll write anything as iconic and awesome as "Obstacle 1", or "PDA", or "Evil", or "Narc", or "Slow Hands". Their debut Turn On The Bright Lights was pretty much perfect, packed with classics, almost all of the way through. Antics, after that, was pretty dang good, with some of those above mentioned jams ranking among the band's best, but with some filler for sure. Then came Our Love To Admire, which while enjoyable, was more about the sound, and the voice, hearing the SOUND of Interpol, most folks seemed to decide, was maybe as close as we'd get to hearing THOSE songs. So with the band's switch back to Matador, hopes were definitely not high, at least in terms of hoping for a classic. Most folks we know dig Interpol, and would buy the new one either way. Again, maybe mostly to hear THAT SOUND. But then we heard the single "Lights", and damn if it wasn't a serious chunk of brooding CLASSIC sounding Interpol, the main riff a killer, the whole thing moody and intense and evocative, the band sounding fierce. So suddenly, hopes got a little bit higher.
And so now we have the full length, on a new (old) label, with a new bass player (Dave Pajo of Slint, Papa M and a ton of others), and while we'd still say "Lights" might be the best jam here, the whole record is pretty damn great, maybe what some might call a return to form. Dark and brooding, catchy as fuck, the Interpol sound in full effect. Opener "Success" starts things off with a catchy chunk of dour new wave pop, the bass sounding a bit more fuzzy and muscly (or is that just our imagination), and the rest of the record following suit. First listen didn't knock our socks off, but every listen since has found our socks progressively a bit more knocked off every time. The hooks are huge, the sound is lush, the tendency to brood and not rock out seems to have found a balance this time around, there are some electronic drums on a few tracks, and then there's the surprisingly strong, darkly mysterious closing songsuite, "Try It On", with its skittery drum machine, looped sounding piano and glitchy synths, the lush, smoldering dramatic doom ballad "All Of The Ways", that sounds almost more like the Editors (which is not a bad thing at all), and finally the record closer "The Undoing", another haunting epic, with more electronic drums, a strangely baroque sounding arrangement, and a surprisingly sunshiney sheen glowing from within it's black sonic heart. So good. So good in fact, that when we've played this to death, which is looking to be inevitable at this point, we're gonna go back and revisit Our Love To Admire and see if maybe there was something we missed, here's hoping...
MPEG Stream: "Lights"
MPEG Stream: "Success"
MPEG Stream: "The Undoing"

INTERPOL s/t ep (Matador) cd single 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Interpol aren't groundbreaking or anything, but boy does this NYC quartet sound good. (They probably look good too, got the 'scrod' style DOWN.) The singer's voice has the arch desperation of Joy Division's Ian Curtis. The music is dominated by intertwining guitars that're sometimes angular and choppy, sometimes pensively creating a lush blanket of minor key intensity. Very Factory Records, very Echo & the Bunnymen... but not annoyingly so, for a modern group. I like it! This is a three song, inexpensive teaser single in preparation for the full length to be released August 2002.
RealAudio clip: "PDA"
RealAudio clip: "NYC"

INTERPOL The Black EP (EMI) cd ep 11.98
What to do with the most hyped band in the land (except for maybe the Strokes) while the world waits for a new album to drop? That's right an EP of alternate versions of tracks we already love! Six tracks, the first, "Say Hello To The Angels", from their brilliant full length Turn On The Bright Lights, the second, NYC, a demo version from 2001. The other 4 are from the Black Session, live recordings for French Radio, of the tracks "Obstacle 1", "Specialist", "Leif Erickson", and "PDA". The live versions are a little sloppy and the vocals aren't always 'on' but it's fun to hear the band let down their hair, loosen their ties, and rock a little. Definitely for hardcore Interpol fans. And if you're not, get their Turn On The Bright Lights and you soon will be.
MPEG Stream: "NYC (demo)"
MPEG Stream: "Obstacle 1 (Black Session)"

INTERPOL Try It On (Matador) 12" 11.98
Three remixes of this track from Interpol's most recent record, reworked by Ikonika, Banjo Or Freakout and Salem. Yep, Salem! Odds are while all three mixes are pretty cool, that's the one that will most likely seal the deal.
Ikonika takes Paul Banks' original vox and drapes them over some swirling strings, and some skittery dubstep big beats, lacing the track with squiggly effects and bloopy synth melodies. Banjo Or Freakout leave some of the original track intact, but bookend those bits with some heady psychedelic swirl and dreamy looped mesmer.
Salem basically obliterate any trace of the original track, barring some chopped and screwed snippets of Banks' vox and a tiny bit of guitar right at the end, leaving just a fantastically twisted wreckage of classic cough syrupy Salem trip out, the sounds all woozy and warped, total dreamy drag, the primitive drum programming, over thick crunchy swells of symphonic synth, effects swirling all over the places. Hell, if you didn't know it was a remix, you could easily believe this was yanked right off their King Night full length. Worth it for the Salem mix alone for sure, but even more worth it for all three!!
MPEG Stream: "Try it On (Salem Remix)"

INTERPOL Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador) cd 10.98
The Strokes, Andrew W.K., The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, and now Interpol are part of a recent rash of New York punkish bands birthed from the music hype machine as the great salvation of rock 'n' roll. Strange that these bands would garner such praise, since none of them operate outside of the arena of the homage -- either as ironic hyperbole in Andrew W.K. or as The Strokes' downward mobility to blue collar rockisms. Of all the aforementioned bands, Interpol seem the most interesting as they've managed to successfully resurrect Ian Curtis, a task that hasn't really met with much success in other bands. I mention just Curtis, as his persona seems to resonate much more strongly with Interpol than Joy Division as a whole. Sure there are ghosts of Factory's post-punk jaggedness and mororsely bleak temperament; but Interpol's forceful minor keys offer other roadstops past The Strokes' take on brightly-colored, guitar jangle and the sublime washes of fuzzy feedback heard in the early '90s shoegazer bands (MBV, Ride, Slowdive, etc.). Musically, Interpol's debut "Turn On The Bright Lights" is an excellent marriage of those aforementioned styles; but like Joy Division, Interpol is driven by a charismatic singer with a flair for dramatic bombast and a predilection for angst. Paul Banks, Interpol's singer, is a rare breed in the contemporary world of depressed vocalists who have typically followed the emo-centric whimper and scream approach of Sunny Day Real Estate to infuse any lyrical content with immediacy and passion. Instead, Banks can actually really sing, his nervous vibrato echoing the musical accompaniment played between depressed weariness and urgent conviction.
Much of Interpol's aesthetic choices and lyrical content (love / hate relationships, urban isolationism, and sexual dependency) have already been done to death, but few have been able to do them as well. "Turn On The Bright Lights" is a fantastic record and actually lives up to all of the hype that has surrounded it.
RealAudio clip: "Untitled"
RealAudio clip: "Obstacle 1"
RealAudio clip: "Say Hello To The Angels"
RealAudio clip: "Stella Was A Diverr And She Was Always Down"

INTERPOL Turn On The Bright Lights (Matador) lp 12.98
The Strokes, Andrew W.K., The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Liars, and now Interpol are part of a recent rash of New York punkish bands birthed from the music hype machine as the great salvation of rock 'n' roll. Strange that these bands would garner such praise, since none of them operate outside of the arena of the homage -- either as ironic hyperbole in Andrew W.K. or as The Strokes' downward mobility to blue collar rockisms. Of all the aforementioned bands, Interpol seem the most interesting as they've managed to successfully resurrect Ian Curtis, a task that hasn't really met with much success in other bands. I mention just Curtis, as his persona seems to resonate much more strongly with Interpol than Joy Division as a whole. Sure there are ghosts of Factory's post-punk jaggedness and mororsely bleak temperament; but Interpol's forceful minor keys offer other roadstops past The Strokes' take on brightly-colored, guitar jangle and the sublime washes of fuzzy feedback heard in the early '90s shoegazer bands (MBV, Ride, Slowdive, etc.). Musically, Interpol's debut "Turn On The Bright Lights" is an excellent marriage of those aforementioned styles; but like Joy Division, Interpol is driven by a charismatic singer with a flair for dramatic bombast and a predilection for angst. Paul Banks, Interpol's singer, is a rare breed in the contemporary world of depressed vocalists who have typically followed the emo-centric whimper and scream approach of Sunny Day Real Estate to infuse any lyrical content with immediacy and passion. Instead, Banks can actually really sing, his nervous vibrato echoing the musical accompaniment played between depressed weariness and urgent conviction.
Much of Interpol's aesthetic choices and lyrical content (love / hate relationships, urban isolationism, and sexual dependency) have already been done to death, but few have been able to do them as well. "Turn On The Bright Lights" is a fantastic record and actually lives up to all of the hype that has surrounded it.

INTERSYSTEMS Peachy (Streamline / Cortical Foundation) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Quite possibly the reason for Intersystem's being was to re-create John Cage's "Indeterminancy" but with a hell of a lot more drugs involved. "Peachy" is the first album from Intersystems and dates back to 1967. While the group had expanded throughout their brief career with the addition of several visual artists (such as the installation artist Michael Hayden), Intersystems' core members were poet / acid prohet Blake Parker and electronic knob twiddler John Mills-Cockell. "Peachy" simply featured that core duo with Parker offering his best John Cage impression in the recitation of emphatically spoken vignettes of lysergically apocalyptic poetry, and Mills-Cockell playing David Tudor with his surreal punctuations through electronic noise and musique concrete elements. The end result is very strange, even for Aquarius' tastes, and is certainly worth checking out if you're into Nurse With Wound.