LOW RED LAND Weight Of Nations (self-released) cd 11.98
This is the debut album from Bay Area indie rockers Low Red Land. The band wastes no time in stepping up to the plate to take a swing at the emotive smart pop ball being played by the likes of Pinback, Built To Spill, and Modest Mouse. Plenty of punch, big fuzzy guitars, emo boy vocals and some nice rhythmic twists.
MPEG Stream: "Dreams That Heroes Dream"
MPEG Stream: "You're Alive"

LOW SKIES I Have Been To Beautiful Places (Flameshovel) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Five's Gone Quiet"
MPEG Stream: "Pull It Over"

LOWBROW READER OF LOWBROW COMEDY, THE Issue #4 - Fall 2004 magazine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The humorful fourth issue of the New York based mag The Lowbrow Reader features an article written by Neil Michael Hagerty titled My TV Don't Work No More: A Tribute To 'Wings'... yes, the tv show not the band! Another highlight is an interview with journalist Margeaux Watson about her experiences interviewing Ol' Dirty Bastard. There's also writings about Larry David and Jackie Mason, a handful of haiku and assorted comics and illustrations packed into the 32 pages. Neat!

LOWBROW READER OF LOWBROW COMEDY, THE Issue #5 - Summer 2006 magazine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's been a bit of a wait since the last issue of this New York comedy themed mag was published back in the fall of 2004, but the slightly more biting Issue 5 was well worth the wait! Neil Michael Hagerty reappears with his tribute to Don Knotts. There's a comicstrip about a visit by Jack White to the editor's apartment for a Time Out New York interview, as well as a couple of articles unfurling the pros and cons of Chevy Chase. A wry, entertaining read.

LOWBROW READER OF LOWBROW COMEDY, THE Issue #6 - Summer 2008 magazine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Well, although the date on the latest issue of The Lowbrow Reader says "summer" and it's barely spring, we can appreciate LBR's eagerness for the warmth of the sun. Heck, we were just as eager to receive this long awaited comedy-centric mag! New Yorkers Jay Ruttenberg and Neil Hagerty (yes, that Neil Hagerty!) are the driving forces behind this 36-page witzine. Included are editorials on Gene Wilder and overlooked comedies, as well as a survey asking celebrity folks (Patton Oswalt, Randy Newman, and John Waters among them) the question: "What Should We Do With America's CEOs? As always, cleanly laid out and well illustrated so that your chuckles, laffs and guffaws can be let loose unencumbered.

LOWBROW READER OF LOWBROW COMEDY, THE Issue #7 - Summer/Fall 2009 magazine 3.00
Finally a new issue of this dandy New York zine! Neil Michael Hagerty (y'know, of Royal Trux, Howling Hex, etc.) is still the "writer at large" for this wry, wit filled tome, and this time he's joined in Lowbrow Reader land by David and Shelley Berman (aka Silver Jews) among a dozen or so other contributors. This issue features editorials on comedians Don Rickles and John Mulaney, articles about novelist Gilbert Rogin, overlooked comedy flicks circa 1968 through 1983. Always a good, entertaining read and re-read! 32 pages.

LOWDOWN Revolver II (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98

LOWDOWN, THE Y Is A Crooked Letter (Zum) cd 11.98

LOWE, FRANK & EUGENE CHADBOURNE Don't Punk Out (Emanem) cd 19.98

LOWE, NICK Jesus of Cool (Yep Roc) cd 16.98
Nick Lowe had a huge influence on the early years of punk and new wave, working on albums by folks like The Damned, Elvis Costello and The Pretenders. But when it comes down to it, Nick Lowe is all about pure pop chops. His debut, released originally in 1978, is finally getting the proper reissue treatment it deserves including all the tracks issued on the UK and US versions along with eight extra tracks! As smart as they are clever and catchy these songs have always made us think of what it would sound like if Elvis Costello did a record of Harry Nilsson covers. With a sly sense of humor and a knack for infectious hooks, Jesus Of Cool (also released at one point under the title Pure Pop For Now People) still stands as one of Lowe's greatest moments. Chances are you've heard and loved some of these songs before without knowing that this was the record they were from, if that's the case, you might have a new old fave here.
MPEG Stream: "Music For Money"
MPEG Stream: "So It Goes"

LOWE, NICK Jesus of Cool (Yep Roc) lp 25.00
Nick Lowe had a huge influence on the early years of punk and new wave, working on albums by folks like The Damned, Elvis Costello and The Pretenders. But when it comes down to it, Nick Lowe is all about pure pop chops. His debut, released originally in 1978, is finally getting the proper reissue treatment it deserves including all the tracks issued on the UK and US versions along with eight extra tracks! As smart as they are clever and catchy these songs have always made us think of what it would sound like if Elvis Costello did a record of Harry Nilsson covers. With a sly sense of humor and a knack for infectious hooks, Jesus Of Cool (also released at one point under the title Pure Pop For Now People) still stands as one of Lowe's greatest moments. Chances are you've heard and loved some of these songs before without knowing that this was the record they were from, if that's the case, you might have a new old fave here.
MPEG Stream: "Music For Money"
MPEG Stream: "So It Goes"

LOWE, ROBERT A. A. Fazo IV: La Kvalito de Speguloj (Rainbow Body) cd 13.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! A good thing since the recent vinyl is already out of print...
Robert Lowe is better known now for his work as Lichens and with Om, better known then for being in nineties indie noise rockers 90 Day Men. Recently, those Lichens recordings have oozed a cosmic vibe of enveloping transcendence through looping vocals and shimmering guitars; and through Om, he's been instrumental in furthering the Middle Eastern dervish vibe in Om's live sets (as of this writing, it's unclear if he'll join the band in the studio). That said, it's all electronics for Lowe on this formerly lp-only, micro-edition pressing. The first side sinks into a side-long excursion that glides along a sedate hypnotic groove of downer electronic bass pulses, which almost has a hyper stripped down Tricky-meets-Conrad Schnitzler slinkiness to the rhythm. Filter swept tonal bendings and pixie-dusted melodies float about the laid back rhythms. Chill-out music, indeed. The second side contains five shorter cuts of library music redux with spiralling arpeggiations and weird-science bloopiness that fits perfectly into the Oneohtrix Point Never / Pulse Emitter camp of electronic meditations. The titles all give you a chance to bone up on your Esperanto!
MPEG Stream: "Cyclamen"
MPEG Stream: "Clearlight Alhemio"

LOWE, ROBERT A. A. Fazo IV: La Kvalito de Speguloj (Rainbow Body) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ooh! A hyperlimited LP from Robert Lowe, better known now for his work as Lichens and with Om, better known than for being in nineties indie noise rockers 90 Day Men. Recently, those Lichens recordings have oozed a cosmic vibe of enveloping transcendence through looping vocals and shimmering guitars; and through Om, he's been instrumental in furthering the Middle Eastern dervish vibe in Om's live sets (as of this writing, it's unclear if he'll join the band in the studio). That said, it's all electronics for Lowe on this LP-only, micro-edition pressing. The first side sinks into a side-long excursion that glides along a sedate hypnotic groove of downer electronic bass pulses, which almost has a hyper stripped down Tricky-meets-Conrad Schnitzler slinkiness to the rhythm. Filter swept tonal bendings and pixie-dusted melodies float about the laid back rhythms. Chill-out music, indeed. The second side contains five shorter cuts of library music redux with spiralling arpeggiations and weird-science bloopiness that fits perfectly into the Oneohtrix Point Never / Pulse Emitter camp of electronic meditations. The titles all give you a chance to bone up on your Esperanto! Only 300 copies!

LOWE, ROBERT A. A. & ROSE LAZAR Gyromancy (Thril Jockey) Book + 3" CD 15.98
Third in Thrill Jockey's limited edition cd/book releases, following the Atomic Yggdrasil Tarot from aQ fave Daniel Higgs of Lungfish. Whereas Higgs' was a regular sized full color book, this one, from Rob Lowe, aka Lichens, and artist Rose Lazar is pocket sized, a little perfect bound book, one side is illustrations by Lowe, flip it over, and the other side features illustrations by Lazar.
Both Lowe and Lazar share a very similar style, unclear if that's always the case, or if they chose to emulate a certain style just for this release, but it's quite striking, tribal andelaborate, crystals and raindrops, clouds and rainbows, lots of stippling and tiny lines, geometric shapes, disembodied hands, mysterious text, toadstools. Lazar's half is much more childlike and innocent, while Lowe's is a bit more detailed, with lots of tiny lines and miniature shapes, more sort of spiritual, while Lazar's is more playful.
The accompanying cd is a single 15 minute piece, split into movements, of original music from Lowe, who normally performs under the name Lichens, typically using only his voice and a handful of effects, creating ghostly shimmery soundscapes. But here, Lowe is using all manner of soundmakers, certainly keyboards or synths of some kind, the result is an airy, glistening, sparkly modern new age. Little flurries of synth notes are looped over and over into a very krautrock like mantra, in the second movements, those flurries are smoothed out into something much more tranquil, a whirring backdrop for a super minimal raga, bits of subtle buzz, and strange bits of percussion, all very woozy and dreamy and Eastern sounding, the final movement melds the two, bits of buzz and whir are sent hurling into the void, through clouds of glimmery spaced out effects, blissy and softly tripped out, perfectly complementing both artist's drawings in the book. Metaphysical, abstract, dreamlike and mysterious.
While they last we have the ultra limited version, which feature the cover on both sides hand painted by each artist, and come housed in a screen printed cloth bag. Once these are gone, you'll get the normal version, which is slightly cheaper.
MPEG Stream: "Twilighting"

LOWERCASE (Amphetamine Reptile) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A guitar/drums duo. Long. Wandering. Droning. Slintish. Vocals-buried-in-the-mix. Recently transplanted to SF from Palm Desert. Very not amrep sounding.

LOWERCASE (Amphetamine Reptile) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A guitar/drums duo. Long. Wandering. Droning. Slintish. Vocals-buried-in-the-mix. Recently transplanted to SF from Palm Desert. Very not amrep sounding.

LOWERCASE (Punk In My Vitamins) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco's most under appreciated post rock band. The addition of a bass player (Tiber from P.E.E.) has bolstered their sound, making their droning hypnotic take on Unwoundy Slint rock rumble and throb like never before. Improved songwriting and an awesome Tim Green production. The single has 2 unreleased tracks including a beautifully delicate piano piece that even Allan liked.

LOWERCASE Kill The Lights (Amphetamine Reptile) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This SF drums and guitar duo has added a bassist for their sophomore release. Maybe you'll catch them opening for the Melvins on tour.

LOWERCASE The Going Away Present (Punk In My Vitamins) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco's most under appreciated post rock band (due mostly to a rather unsuccessful stint on Amrep) really come into their own on this record. The addition of a bass player (Tiber from P.E.E.) has bolstered their sound, making their droning hypnotic take on Unwoundy Slint rock rumble and throb like never before; from the catchy as fuck title track to the 'good morning captain' of 'Thistrainwillnotstop'. Improved songwriting and an awesome Tim Green production will hopfully make this the record that gets people to sit up and take notice. The single has 2 unreleased tracks including a beautifully delicate piano piece that even Allan liked.

LOWERCASE The Going Away Present (Punk In My Vitamins) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco's most under appreciated post rock band (due mostly to a rather unsuccessful stint on Amrep) really come into their own on this record. The addition of a bass player (Tiber from P.E.E.) has bolstered their sound, making their droning hypnotic take on Unwoundy Slint rock rumble and throb like never before; from the catchy as fuck title track to the 'good morning captain' of 'Thistrainwillnotstop'. Improved songwriting and an awesome Tim Green production will hopefully make this the record that gets people to sit up and take notice.

LOWFISH Eliminator (Suction) cd 14.98
Lowfish's "Eliminator" shuffles between early Autechrisms with sad melody lines topping elegant post-electro / IDM breakbeats and simple arrpeggiated synth sequences more on line with mid 80s New Order and the recent output from Console.

LOWFISH The Accident Causer (Ersatz Audio) 12" 5.98
Look out! Toronto electro surgeon Lowfish (Gregory De Rocher of Suction Records, not to be confused with Berlin's DJ Highfish) rips out four new numbers for Detroit's premier electro dealers Ersatz Audio. Playful, bubbly hip-hop-electrofunk from the label you know and trust.

LOWRIDER Ode To Io (Meteor City) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Kyussism. A religion? A 'zine? Both? Either way, someone from Kyussism claims this band Lowrider to be the new Kyuss, so I guess they know what they're talking about. If you're into that so-called "desert rock" sound, the fat bass, stoner groove, '70s worshipping thing, you must love the late and (to you) great Kyuss and probably will love these guys too. THEY certainly love Kyuss. File with all the other Sabbath-by-way-of-Kyuss psychedelic heavy rock bands, and put 'em at or near the top of the pile.

LOYDE, LOBBY Beyond Morgia (Aztec Music) cd 21.00

LOYDE, LOBBY Obsecration (Aztec Music) cd 21.00

LOYDE, LOBBY WITH SUDDEN ELECTRIC Live With Dubs (Aztec Music) cd 21.00

LOZENGE Doozy (Toyo) cd 10.98
Carousel jazz-spazz. Freaked out no wave skronk. Made me woozy. Love the cover painting.

LSD Real Garage Punk From Sweden 1966! (Subliminal Sounds) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"That these songs never had more than three chords each was a matter of style. If there were more, then it was jazz." Words of truth uttered by Martin Thornstrom ringleader of the abrasive garage Swedish band LSD. Along with LSD, the album also features loosely related bands Klunk's Klan (whose ridiculous "Hound Dog and Jam" is worth the price of admission), WWH, and Staffan & Martin.

LSD POND (LSD MARCH + BARDO POND) s/t (aRCHIVE) 2cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This one hardly needs a review. Space rockers Bardo Pond, jamming with Japanese psych-rockers LSD-March! Two discs, looooooooong songs, plenty of sprawling druggy psychedelia, throbbing serpentine basslines, busy groovy drumming, and lots and lots and lots of guitars, buzzing and whirring, grinding and roaring, wailing and howling.
Culled from two stoned, late-night recording sessions on days off from the 2006 Bardo Pond / LSD-March / Masami Kawaguchi's New Rock Syndicate East Coast tour, these tracks were edited together by Bardo Pond-er Michael Gibbons with no overdubs, just a document of epic, swirling, lurching, grooving spaced out psych rock.
Incredible recording, super clear, almost studio quality, multiple drummers, multiple guitar players, the sound is loud, and intense, sometimes blissing out into laid back stretches of near ambient tranquility, but always building back up into howling squalls of freaked out psychrock nirvana. The first disc is the more jammy of the two, more loose and improvised sounding, even the opening track fades in with the track already in full swing, like they had already been jamming for a while before we even got to the part.
The second disc introduces flute, and some electronics, and begins with a looped lick, over some skittery drumming, and some serious grinding growling low end, it goes on for ages, and we never really wanted it to stop. It does eventually, which is okay as the band has already moved on, locking into some new looped rhythm, the guitars fiery arcs of sound, that low end continuing to grind and buzz, the multiple guitars and guitar parts careening wildly over a roiling backdrop of howling moaning distorted buzz.
The second track on disc two is almost entirely ambient, sounding more like Toho Sara or something, the guitars smeared and blurred, everything buzzy and rumbling, clouds of tinkling shimmer and random percussive clatter, hand drums, glitchy electronics, streaks of feedback, thick swaths of distorted abstract riffing, culminating in a soaring blown out multiple guitar-ed Ur-drone. The disc finishes off with a 20 minute scorcher that goes from furious psych skree meltdown, to stumbling abstract freeform flutter and back, the players locked in a battle to the death, full freakout, ultra-noise mode, vocals scrambling over a dogpile of grinding electronics, a sea of shrieking feedback, an avalanche of drum chaos, and about a ton of blown out guitar damage. Phew.
Every time we play this in the store, someone buys one, or someone comes out from the back to see what the heck is playing. This might just be one of the most played discs in the store recently. And rightfully so.
As always, aRCHIVE spares no expense on the packaging, but they may have outdone themselves this time. A thick textured black ink on cream cardstock gatefold sleeve, the words LSD and POND embossed and printed in reflective silver ink, inside an 8 page black and white booklet affixed to the sleeve, with live photos and liner notes, each disc in it's own black sleeve, printed in silver ink, Japanese characters, the two discs held together by a Japanese style obi, in the same style as the cover. WOW.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES. A one time pressing, so don't miss outŠ
MPEG Stream: "We Are LSDPOND (2nd Version)"
MPEG Stream: "Sugatanaki Kyofu"

LSD-MARCH Big Jar Solo Sets (aRCHIVE) dvd 15.98
Japanese heavy psych guitar exploders LSD-march performing live in a book store?? What happened to shhhhh, quiet please, people are reading? Well actually this DVD document of LSD-march live at Philadelphia's Big Jar books is actually a triptych of solo sets from each of LSD-march's three members, so they are relatively quiet (as compared to the usual full-band blow-out volume dealing). Filmed whilst on a brief US tour last fall, the softer side of each individual in the band is revealed. Drummer Ikuro Takahashi gets the most avant-garde, with an odd apparatus of oscillators giving off experimental drones... while both guitarists Shinsuke Michishita and Masami Kawaguchi do sets of gentle vocal/guitar folkiness, a la the calm in the storm often heard in LSD-march sets. Totally personal, and perfect for this intimate setting. Some use of video effects adds to the psychedelic atmosphere. And of course aRCHIVE has packaged this 550-copy limited edition (natch) dvd handsomely in a hand silkscreened folder with some very cool artwork commissioned for this release.

LSD-MARCH Constellation Of Tragedy (Important) cd 14.98
Fans of the "Tokyo flashback" scene, time to turn out the lights (or put on your shades), and curl up in the fetal position to slowly rock back and forth as you enjoy the latest from downer psych outfit LSD-march. This lovely new studio album is slow and sad, its depressive drowsiness expressed via gentle guitar strum, a background flutter of electronic theremin waves, whistling in the dark, fragile harmonica wheeze, somnolent harmonium drone, and Shinsuke Michishita's weary vocals...
Definitely inspired by Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, as well as the likes of The Jacks and Les Rallies Denudes out of the Japanese dark-psych past, LSD-march conjure a "constellation of tragedy" indeed, quite effective emotionally even though English speakers won't understand the lyrics.
Those of you who primarily listen to this stuff for the primal heavy duty psychedelic guitar slow-burn gunk, don't worry, your needs haven't been neglected either. You get a dose of that void-crawling, amped-up drone-a-delic action when the plodding track four, "Moeru Pyramid" hits the scene! One of their overall best, and best-recorded for sure (no live-in-a-trash-can bootleg sounds, though we like those too).
MPEG Stream: "Kimi Wa Tengoku"
MPEG Stream: "Moeru Pyramid"

LSD-MARCH Empty Rubious Red (aRCHIVE) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Last time we listed a limited edition cd by Japan's LSD-march from the Archive label, we sold out of it in about, oh, two seconds. That was the Live cd that came our way (and went) last month. Well here we go again -- but this time we were able to score more copies than before. So we figure our stock of Empty Rubious Red will last, say, four to five seconds. Why are y'all so grabby with the LSD-march? Is it because of the cool packaging with which Archive always takes great pains? Is it because there's only 500 pressed? Maybe... but of course it's also 'cause if you love heavy duty distorto guitar psych in the vein of cult '70s Japanese heroes Les Rallizes Denudes. And you do get that here on the dronily intense, trippy title track, in spades. But for much of the rest of the album you also get the kinder, gentler side of LSD-march, with Shinsuke Michishita handling vocals and guitar and bass and percussion and whistling (yes, there's some whistling!) all by himself, joined by drummer Ikuro Takahashi on just two of the tracks. It's quite intimate, really, maybe even romantic -- these are love songs, aren't they? The lyrics are in Japanese but the titles "I Have Been Saving My Love For You" and "I Only Have Hands For Hold You" (sic) sure sound like love songs. Dunno about "Nude And Bizarre" though. A gorgeous late night listen, echoey and emotional. Spacious, slow, drowsy. Melancholic, melodic. Compared to the destructive, amped-up attack of that Live album, the beautiful balladry here is like night and day... a mistily overcast day with rays of sun glinting between the clouds.
Nice packaging and graphics as usual (a clear plastic insert overlays the cd, which rests on a nub affixed to a card printed with curls of dark hair similar to the Live cd, if you ever saw one). Mastered by Khanate's James Plotkin, also as per usual with Archive releases. Ok, 'nuff said. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Nude And Bizarre"
MPEG Stream: "Empty Rubious Red"

LSD-MARCH Empty Rubious Red (Tequila Sunrise) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Super deluxe, and of course ultra limited vinyl version of the now out of print Empty Rubious Red cd released on aRCHIVE a while back. Thick vinyl, gorgeous sleeves, even an obi! Limited to 1000 copies, only 800 in the US, pressed on 180 gram vinyl and so so nice.
The last time we listed a limited edition cd by Japan's LSD-march, we sold out of it in about, oh, two seconds. That was the Live cd that came our way (and went). Then we listed the cd version of Empty Rubious Red, which lasted only slightly longer. Why is everybody so grabby with the LSD-march? Is it because of the cool packaging? Is it because they seem to always be limited? Maybe... but of course it's also 'cause if you love heavy duty distorto guitar psych in the vein of cult '70s Japanese heroes Les Rallizes Denudes. And you do get that here on the dronily intense, trippy title track, in spades. But for much of the rest of the album you also get the kinder, gentler side of LSD-march, with Shinsuke Michishita handling vocals and guitar and bass and percussion and whistling (yes, there's some whistling!) all by himself, joined by drummer Ikuro Takahashi on just two of the tracks. It's quite intimate, really, maybe even romantic -- these are love songs, aren't they? The lyrics are in Japanese but the titles "I Have Been Saving My Love For You" and "I Only Have Hands For Hold You" (sic) sure sound like love songs. Dunno about "Nude And Bizarre" though. A gorgeous late night listen, echoey and emotional. Spacious, slow, drowsy. Melancholic, melodic. Compared to the destructive, amped-up attack of that Live album, the beautiful balladry here is like night and day... a mistily overcast day with rays of sun glinting between the clouds.
Mastered by Khanate's James Plotkin.
Ok, 'nuff said. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Nude And Bizarre"
MPEG Stream: "Empty Rubious Red"

LSD-MARCH Kanashimino Bishouen (HP Cycle) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What sounds like a live LP from this Japanese guitar-psych combo, whose recent Suddenly, Like Flames cd we gave the thumbs up to not long ago. If you liked that one and have a turntable, you'll probably want this. It's more dark, distorto bar rock balladry from these black clad Les Rallizes Denudes worshippers, for fans of that band, as well as similiar Japanese downer-retro outfits like White Heaven, Overhang Party, and Shizuka. Assuredly limited too.

LSD-MARCH Live (aRCHIVE) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We could go on and on about how this is some awesome, super blown out and distorted Rallizes-like Japanese psych here but let's mention the important stuff first: this nicely-packaged live disc is limited to 500 copies, and is already sold out at the label and thus out of print! So the few copies we have now are the last ones we're gonna see. Maybe Archive (same folks who've brought us equally precious live documents by the likes of Boris, Khanate, Growing, and Keiji Haino, some of which went so fast we never even listed 'em) ought to up their press runs?
If you've never heard LSD-march before, we'd direct you to investigate their not-so-limited album Suddenly, Like Flames -- if only so as to leave more of these Live discs for all the fans who're sure to be elbowing each other aside to grab one of these.
But to fulfill our descriptive duties, we'll go on... Bookended by two different versions of "Black Bouquet" done by different lineups, this disc captures performances that were distorted to begin with, but whose clangor is only enhanced by the "recorded-in-a-concrete-garbage-can" atmosphere. And that's PERFECT for them, making this sound even more like of of those rare Les Rallizes Denudes boots... so we're not complaining at all! Lotsa flaming wreckage of wailing guitar, feedback and murk. Headnodding, driving beats. Slowing down for stretches of gentle balladry before kicking in again with the jams and cranking the VU meter...well actually their "VU" (as in Velvet Underground) meter is always cranked, isn't it?
Five of the eight tracks here were recorded in 2002 by guitarist/vocalist Shinsuke Michishita, bassist Masami Kawaguchi, and drummer Ikuro Takahashi (ex-Fushitsusha). The other three date from 1997 and thus feature an earlier LSD-march lineup with Shinsuke Michishita joined by Makoto Inoue on bass, and Eddie and Bill from the band COA on guitar and drums!
MPEG Stream: "Physical Bud"
MPEG Stream: "Clepsydra Flames"

LSD-MARCH Nikutai No Tubomi (Beta-Lactam Ring) 2cd 23.00
It's Japan's LSD-march at their heavy psych droney mostest, this time just the duo of guitarist Shinsuke Michishita and drummer Ikuro Takahashi, laying down two discs worth of Tokyo flashback style murk and grime...well especially on Disc 1, which is entirely one long song, the title track. It's a slow-building densely textured piece, a 39 minute slithering dark psychedelic guitar solo set amidst thick waves of distortion effects and cymbal washes... perfectly paced and hypnotically foreboding. Gradually the pulse quickens, vocals murmer o'er the miasmic throb, and the living ghost of Les Rallizes Denudes nods approvingly... this piece's payoff being its own mesmeric momentum. When the end does come, after an appreciable increase in volume and noise from the disc's beginning, you can imagine amps falling over, toppling like the monolith in 2001. Boris fans should approve of this metallic rumble.
Disc 2 features eight individual pieces, and offers a mediative comedown from disc one's climactic intensity (at first), track one "Aubade" being composed of tingling bells. "Elephant" is next, and is a weird one, a pattering of drums accompanying atonal string scrape that maybe suggests an elephantine trumpeting sound? The disc continues in an equally weird and diverse manner, all the tracks much more intimate and oddly experimental in sound than the more usual LSD-march issue electric storm of disc 1. It's more-or-less acoustic up to track 5, "Love", which stomps on some pedals for a distorted electric (distorted vocals too) dubby noise rock stumble. And then track six enters into some sort of ritual drone ceremony or something... all of this is pretty cool, LSD-march letting their hair down and doing something completely different from track to track, like we said in an experimental spirit, culminating in track 8, "Holy Ghost", a festive freakout for harmonica and scattered percussion. Perhaps their tribute to Albert Ayler, to hazard a guess.
It's like these two discs, one a long-form, heavy-duty improv, the other a potpourri of creative freaky ideas, are the intended out-there companions to their recent, much more tightly song-based album Constellation Of Tragedy on Important, a recent AQ highlight. Nikutai No Tubomi comes as equally recommended!
Oh, and lest we forget, this is a NUMBERED, LIMITED EDITION OF 500 COPIES!!! And comes in a fancy, thick gatefold package.
MPEG Stream: "Nikutai No Tubomi (excerpt)"
MPEG Stream: "Stone"
MPEG Stream: "Love"

LSD-MARCH Shindara Jigoku (Siwa) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The second vinyl-only release we've had from Tokyo's LSD-march, whose LP Kanashimino Bishouen on HP Cycle and cd Suddenly, Like Flames on Last Visible Dog were both devastating dark psych-out outings in the tradition of Les Rallizes Denudes. This one, handsomely presented in hand-screened cover in a limited edition (of course), hews to their murky brand of psychedelic blackness, while leaning perhaps towards the gentler side of said blackness... Fans will recognize three of the six tracks here as being reinterpretations of cuts from the Suddenly, Like Flames cd. Again the line-up features guitarist/vocalist Shinsuke Michishita joined by drummer Ikuro Takahashi and guitarist (not bassist, this time) Masami Kawaguchi. We've only got a few...

LSD-MARCH Suddenly, Like Flames (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
Downer murk and amp-flaming distorto rock from a young Japanese psychedelic rock trio in the wasted, wigged-out tradition of many on those PSF label Tokyo Flashback comps, also harking further back of course to underground '70s lo-fi legends Les Rallizes Denudes! LSD-march, named for a track on the first, heaviest album by krautrockers Guru Guru, slowly whisper and wander through a veil of feedback and plodding rhythms. There's both gentle and searing stuff to be found here. These guys are more serious, mysterious and melancholy than Acid Mothers Temple, with a definite Velvets vibe at times. And when the guitars get cranked, this sounds like the Neil Youngiest of Nagisa Ni Te freakouts. With liner notes (and stamp of approval) from Japanese translator/psych expert Alan Cummings.
MPEG Stream: "A Bud Of Flesh"
MPEG Stream: "Suddenly, Like Flames"

LSD-MARCH Under Milk Wood (Important) cd 14.98
Here's another fantastic transmission from the Black Snowflake Sound studio in Sapporo, Japan, sent out by these prolific psych peddlers! The duo of Michishita Shinsuke on vocals/guitar and Takahashi Ikuro (ex-Fushitusha) on drums have crafted what sounds to us like sort of a cross between two of their recent releases, Constellation Of Tragedy on Important (the gentle, twilight ballads) and Uretakumo Nakunarutorika on Beta-Lactam (freaky, experimental WTF?). Of course, with more than a few flashes of the heavy Les Rallizes Denudes-style amped-up throb and grit we all love included as well. Starting off all slow sad and soft, this disc would be a good LSD-march for Nagisa Ni Te fans as well as those into Rallizes. Moody melody abounds. "Bisyonure No Kimi" is lovely and languid, but also blanketed with shivering guitar feedback and distortion, clouding over Michishita's gentle vocals. Meanwhile Takahashi's drumming is also an crucial contributor to the mood. His deliberate, echoing clank and plink of rhythms on "Ai No Sakebi" are especially effective, in unsettling combination with the piercing Quicksilvery lead guitar unleashed by Michishita.
At about halfway through the disc, LSD-march kicks the volume up a few notches for the lumbering, distorto-rocker "Dare Ga Hoeru". But then the very next track, "Taiyoko No Uta" is so weird and glitchy it could be by Starfuckers or US Maple - it's a good example of the abstract, experimental side of LSD-march to which we referred above, like something from Uretakumo Nakunarutorika. They do channel the Rallizes once more, though, on the disc's final and longest named track, "Kimi No Uta Wo Kiite Boku Wa Akuma Ni Natta" (7:17) a slow burner which eventually erupts into muzzy heaviness, mustering quite a bit of drama in the manner of Up-Tight or Shizuka.
That's the last song, sort of, but the disc ain't over. And just gets stranger. There's two unlisted, untitled bonus tracks yet to come, including an 8 minute cut stringing together botched takes of a song called "My Mother's Killed Me" (?), featuring all their flubs and false starts, including talkback from the increasingly frustrated (and British?) sound engineer. At one point, they have to stop 'cause someone's cell phone goes off and ruins the take. Whoops. But eventually, by the end, they get the song on tape in its entirety, and it's a nice garagey groover. We're really into the fact that they included all the screw-ups. We love stuff like that. And halfway think that's how they wanted it to sound, based on some of their other strange ideas... There's another, similar bonus track that's only 18 seconds though. More WTF? for you.
Basically, Under Milk Wood manages to incorporate everything we already loved about LSD-march, plus some other confusional stuff we didn't even know they were into that's also rad. And everyone here seems to be digging it, even if they weren't already huge LSD-march fans. The band's best yet? Maybe, certainly a good one to get!!
MPEG Stream: "Bisyonure No Kimi"
MPEG Stream: "Ai No Sakebi"
MPEG Stream: "Kimi No Uta Wo Kiite Boku Wa Akuma Ni Natta"

LSD-MARCH Uretakumo Nakunarutorika (Beta-Lactam Ring) cd 16.98
Lest we forget, it bears repeating that LSD-march is named after the final song on side two of the first album, UFO, by heavy krautrock legends Guru Guru back in 1970. That the modern day Japanese band chose such a moniker implies taking on not just a certain influence, but something to live up to. Are they worthy? Well, we think LSD-march have already proved pretty deserving of their name. But if there was ever any doubt, this new album ought to settle the question. It's seeeeeeeeeeeeriously trippy. I mean, wow, man. Honorary krautrock magna cum laude!
And surprisingly, that's -without- really sounding like the usual LSD-march fare. The sunglasses-at-night-Les-Rallizes-style-distorted-guitar-blowout side of LSD-march isn't exactly in evidence. The mellow, melodic VU-ish balladry for which they are also known is not to be found here, either, this doesn't have the slow and sad vibe of LSD-march's previous studio outing Constellation Of Tragedy. This is a different beast, far freakier really! There IS guitar on here, of course, but the focus isn't on riffs, but rather primitive rhythmics, built in part from tape loops and tape edits. These tracks are shambolic, stripped down, not really song-like, much more confusional and counterintuitive than we'd have expected, except that we were prepared for this by the odd, interesting material on the eclectic, experimental 2nd disc belonging to LSD-march's earlier Beta-Lactam opus, Nikutai No Tubomi. It's as if a lot of other, heavier LSD-march stuff is what they do when they're in public, playing a "rock show", all amped up and emo, but this is more like what goes on at home, at the LSD-march Temple down the block from that of the Acid Mothers, unwinding, getting high, and fooling around with some weird DIY psych that's more playful than it's dark, more delightfully demented than downer depressive.
The freakiness is in full effect right off the bat. Track one, "Kumoitachikumo", has a skittering beat wending throughout, hippie hand percussion intercut with distorted abstract noises and weird chanted Reynolsian vocals. We could imagine a cool 12" techno/disco edit of this, actually. Like something Eye from Boredoms would remix. We're also reminded a bit of the recent AQ Record Of The Week from Finland's Fricara Pacchu. And it just gets curiouser and curiouser... a few tracks later, "Aimakuramaku" sounds like a jam session for drum kit + chirping crickets. Maybe it is?
The carefully channeled cosmic chaos and lo-fi psych ritual found on Uretakumo Nakunarutorika could be Ya Ho Wa 13 and Amon Duul inspired, the cut-up weirdness perhaps a nod to early Faust. And there's parts that are even sorta Sun City Girlsish, like track five, "Uzunisase", utilizing a looping lick of exotic Eastern-sounding psych guitar, that halfway through gets mutilated and mangled by some abrupt tape edits. And actually they do slip on the shades to delve into some eerie dronology a few times too...
The strange sounds here really manage to invoke a lot of AQ-approved musicks, from the aforementioned krautrockers, to (most definitely, and dear to our hearts) the '90s underground Japanoise outsiderness of the Boredoms and Omoide Hatoba, to peeps from the freakfolk Finnish scene like Anaksimandros and Avarus. In fact, if you told us that LSD-march had moved to Finland and recorded this deep in the woods there, we'd believe it. Now that's a recommendation!!
We know that's not the case, though recommended this is, as it was recorded at someplace called Black Snowflake, by a sound engineer named Richard Horner (which doesn't sound Finnish, or Japanese for that matter, does it?), who also happens to be credited with some voice and electronics, alongside the two usual LSD-march band members, founder Michishita Shinsuke ("vocal, guitar, bass, electronics" it says) and drummer Takahashi Ikuro, ex-Fushitsusha (here, credited with "vocal, instruments"). Also worth mentioning, is the swank packaging, a thick, colorful oversized glossy cardstock sleeve, like a miniature LP jacket. First 500 limited copies only, anyway.
MPEG Stream: "Kumoitachikumo"
MPEG Stream: "Uzunisase"
MPEG Stream: "Tatamikomo"

LUASA RAELON Into The Void (Crucial Bliss) cd-r 8.98
Along with the Light Of Shipwreck and Aidan Baker discs reviewed elsewhere on this list, Luasa Raelon is the third of three killer new releases from Crucial Bliss, the Crucial Blast sub-label focusing on things equally as crucial, but way more blissful than the mothership label.
Luasa Raelon is the work of David Reed, the same guy responsible for Envenomist (whose Black Bile tape we raved about on the last list, and which we have very few copies of...) and has a similarly bleak and black feel. In fact, the label describes the sound as "Cthulhian ambient death" and who are we to argue...
A concept record about a lost expedition left to die in space, the sound is appropriately spacious and massive, buzzing and grim, black and foreboding. Massive swells of billowing buzz, wrapped around slow shifting expanses of near static whir, over the top, thunderous industrial crashes and sputtering shortwave transmissions, distant keening melodies, muted klaxons sending sonic ripples out in the emptiness of space, long stretches of downtuned brutality draped over epic minimal smears of barely there blur. Mournful melodies pulled apart and tangled up with grinding distorted crumbling decaying riffage, everything lumbering and drifting into the bottomless depths of some sonic black hole.
Like Wolf Eyes doing the score for the remake of 2001 A Space Odyssey, a bleak wasteland of tones that grind and buzz and rumble, stretching out into infinity, an epic sonic blackness, from coruscating doomdronedirge to soft shimmery black ambience, the soundtrack to your cold corpse floating through the great black void.
And as with all Crucial Bliss releases, the packaging is super striking, an oversized fold over thick cardstock sleeve, full color inside and out, creepy alien tendril artwork, the cd attached to a plastic hub affixed to the sleeve...
LIMITED TO ONLY 200 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Mariners"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Matter"

LUBELSKI, SAMARA Future Slip (Ecstatic Peace) cd 11.98
It's nearly impossible not to be ensorcelled by Samara Lubelski's mystical voice. She possesses that rare human instrument that is both otherworldly, and warm and familiar, easily seducing the listener after only a few seconds. Had she been born decades earlier, she most likely would have been musical comrades with sixties chanteuses like Francoise Hardy, Joyce, Brigitte Fontaine, Jane Birkin, etc.
Future Slip finds her in top form with lush instrumentation creating the most perfect daydream backdrop for her beautiful vocal delivery. With Thurston Moore in the producer's chair (returning the favor for all the great playing Samara did on his solo outing Trees Outside The Academy). And it's really important to note that Samara isn't just a lady with a gorgeous voice, she's also such an accomplished musician with a wonderful knack for smart and sizzling song construction. A lot of Future Slip brings us to those more mellow Stereolab moments or when Latetitia Sadier records as Monade. Lubelski also finds kindred spirits in folks like Juana Molina and we have a feeling that Charlotte Gainsbourg's new album in the works with Beck writing and arranging could become the perfect companion piece for this record. Future Slip sways and swirls with such ease and lingers with such a nice soft psychedelic shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Culture King '66"
MPEG Stream: "Walking In The Waves"
MPEG Stream: "Empire's Dream"

LUBELSKI, SAMARA In The Valley (C.O.M.) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

LUBELSKI, SAMARA In The Valley (Eclipse Records) lp 14.98

LUBELSKI, SAMARA Parallel Suns (The Social Registry) cd 14.98
3rd Record of Majestic Pop Folk from former Tower Recordings member.

LUBELSKI, SAMARA Spectacular Of Passages (Social Registry) cd 14.98
Lubelski has been on Tower Recordings albums and this is her 2nd solo outing. Very pretty orchestral pop with a slight breeze that hushes all the way through. Armed with an excellent cast of players including P.G. Six and Tim Barnes. Sure to please fans of Isobel Cambell, Camera Obscura and when Georgia sings for Yo La Tengo. So nice and pretty.
MPEG Stream: "Magic Winding"
MPEG Stream: "Lick 'n Leap"

LUBELSKI, SAMARA The Fleeting Skies (The Social Registry) cd 14.98
After playing second fiddle (literally) for psych folk luminaries like Metabalismus and the Tower Recordings for the last decade Smara Lubelski finally steps out and releases her first proper solo record. And boy is it lovely. Dark meandering folk, with hints of psychedelic swirl and Appalachian twang. Ms Lubelski's drowsy murmurred vocals are sorta reminiscent of the Pastels' Katrina and Aggi (but much more self-assured and in tune) or even more so Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley. Delicate chimes and fluttering flutes compliment her voice perfectly.
Oh, and P.G. Six drops in to play along on a couple of songs.
MPEG Stream: "The Fleeting Skies"
MPEG Stream: "Keeper Of Beauty"

LUBELSKI, SAMARA The Fleeting Skies (The Social Registry) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After playing second fiddle (literally) for psych folk luminaries like Metabalismus and the Tower Recordings for the last decade Smara Lubelski finally steps out and releases her first proper solo record. And boy is it lovely. Dark meandering folk, with hints of psychedelic swirl and Appalachian twang. Ms Lubelski's drowsy murmurred vocals are sorta reminiscent of the Pastels' Katrina and Aggi (but much more self-assured and in tune) or even more so Yo La Tengo's Georgia Hubley. Delicate chimes and fluttering flutes compliment her voice perfectly.
Oh, and P.G. Six drops in to play along on a couple of songs.
MPEG Stream: "The Fleeting Skies"
MPEG Stream: "Keeper Of Beauty"

LUCAS & FRIENDS Discover A World Of Sounds (Vinyl Commmunications) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Pea Hicks from San Diego, California has a habit... scrounging around thirft stores for recordable 78s and crappy TDK tapes filled with nearly pornographic love letters, 'foul-mouthed' kids whose definition of obscenity is the word 'jerk', and attempts to get baby to recite the alphabet. Mr. Hicks has built a hilarious collage of all of these found recordings, occasionally augmenting them with his arsenal of Optigon keyboards (which are the focal point of his other outfit, Optigonally Yours, a duo with Heavy Vegetable's Rob Crow).
Hearing this makes us long for those tapes we made when we were young... not so much for nostalgia, more in fear that our embarrassing tapes will find their way to a thrift store, and eventually onto your stereo.

LUCAS, GARY The Edge Of Heaven: Gary Lucas Plays Mid-Century Chinese Pop (Indigo) cd 22.00
This new record from ex-Captain Beefheart's Magic Band guitarist Gary Lucas is a gorgeous and heartfelt musical love letter to the Chinese pop that changed his life. The liner notes detail his years spent in Taipei, in the midst of a torrid love affair where he first discovered this languid, lush pop, that would influence his playing and songwriting for years and plant the seed that would become a full blown obsession with Chinese vocalist Chow Hsuan (who you may have heard on the soundtrack to Wong Kar Wai's In The Mood For Love). This record is totally gorgeous. No Beefheart skronk or Magic Band mayhem here, just dreamy and ethereal, wistful and delicate, perfect pop. So lovely. Gently fingerpicked guitars, and soaring, songbird vocals, with lilting melancholy melodies and spare, spacious arrangements. Also, amidst these gorgeous pop songs are scattered solo guitar pieces, also traditional Chinese although they don't always sound it, that are really beautiful and sound quite a bit like John Fahey or Jim O'Rourke, ranging from faux Appalachian abstract blues folk to shimmery, heavily reverbed minor key soundscapes, albeit with slightly Eastern tinged melodies. But it's the gorgeous vocals that are the centerpiece here, from two amazing vocalists, effortlessly channelling the spirit and sound of Chow Hsuan and the Chinese pop of the mid twentieth century. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Old Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Please Allow Me To Look At You Again"
MPEG Stream: "The Mad World"
MPEG Stream: "The Wall"