LAIKA Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing (Too Pure) cd 13.98
Laika aren't a band of sudden changes or startling shifts. They've effectively cast their spell, soothing and grooving their way through three smokily trippy albums, and you might recall their splendid ten year retrospective compilation from earlier this year callled Lost In Space. Well, we're pleased to report that with the lengthily titled Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing, they're showing no signs of stopping. That said, this full length contains perhaps their most low key and stripped down tracks ever. Their usual lush assemblage of samples and diverse array of instruments have been stripped down to the Laika bare bones basics Fender Rhodes keys, undulating bass lines, kinetic rhythms and Margaret Fiedler's spoken-sung vocals. Still very hypnotic and moody, it makes for a perfect late night wind down album.
MPEG Stream: "Girl Without Hands"
MPEG Stream: "King Sleepy"

LAINE, FRANKIE Rocks And Gravel (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 17.98
Who kicks ass? Frankie Laine, that's who! Those of us here who know that, were stoked to see this new disc on Omni, the awesome Australian reissue label who've brought us a lot of weird '60s and '70s country music obscurities, among other things... this ain't country, but it IS cowboy. High noon showdown gunfighter style. Although Frankie Laine, born Francesco LoVecchio, a Sicilian-American, was brought up in the big city of Chicago, where his grandfather was apparently gunned down by mobsters during Prohibition (!), he made his mark as a singer in part by evoking another mythic, lawless era in American history: the Old West! With songs like "Bowie Knife", "The 3:10 To Yuma", "Wanted Man", "The Hanging Tree", "Dead Man's Hand", and "Gunfight At The O.K. Corral" (all included here), Frankie Laine was the go-to guy for your Western horse opera film theme song...
Yet, as we said, this music not country by a long shot, more like full-throated big band pop. Nor is it weird and obscure, far from it (although several of the 28 tracks here have never in fact been on cd before). Hugely popular in his prime, selling millions of records in the '50s and '60s, Laine was a big star with a big voice. And what a voice! Well supported by the bombastic jazz orchestra arrangements (many courtesy of "Johnny" Williams, later of Star Wars fame), Laine's showstopping tenor is, however, the main attraction. He really belts is out, they called him "Mr. Leather Lungs" for a reason! Perfect for mythic, larger than life ballads of manly adventure, and songs about dreary workingman's toil as well. Some of this material might sound corny to modern ears, but talent shines through, and it's pure entertainment. We can honestly say that folks here who were expecting this to be hokey instead were quite surprised at how much they enjoyed it, comparing it to some of Scott Walker's or Gene Pitney's more dramatic performances! And it's certainly got some of the same "saddles and sixguns" kitsch factor as Omni's enjoyable Lorne Green reissue, but of course Laine is a much more gifted singer, these are actual classics.
Growing up listening to everything from opera to blues to jazz, Laine possessed plenty of technique in addition to a naturally commanding voice, and listening to the title track here for instance, you can understand how folks who originally only heard him on the radio might have assumed he was African American, he almost sounds like Cab Calloway on that one. This disc really spans his oeuvre, including a bunch of his aforementioned hits, plus standards like "Riders In The Sky", along with others we'd never heard before, drawn from a half dozen LPs and a like number of 45's circa 1956-'64. There's all those Western themed songs of course, he also tackles such subjects as bullfighting ("The Moment Of Truth") and coal mining (Merle Travis's "Sixteen Tons", though actually we prefer Tennessee Ernie Ford's version, surprisingly finding Laine's rendition just a bit too cutesy), with odes to femme fatales thrown in as well ("The Swamp Girl")....
As with all Omni titles thus far, nicely done. The 18 page cd booklet includes thorough liner notes (where were learned about his grandfather's demise), lots of photos and album covers. Nice. Definitely one of the best single disc Frankie Laine collections we've seen, all it's missing is "Mule Train". Many of the tracks here were bigger sellers back in the day than most things that Omni has previously reissued, but do YOU have 'em already? If not, you're missing out. Once you've heard "Bowie Knife", you'll be hooked. Or at least, we were, from a very young age!
MPEG Stream: "Rocks And Gravel"
MPEG Stream: "Bowie Knife"
MPEG Stream: "The Swamp Girl"

LAINHART, RICHARD Ten Thousand Shades Of Blue (IX) 2cd 14.98
Another winner from AQ fave Phil Niblock's always eclectic and engaging IX label. While sometimes stuff on IX tends a little too much toward the academic (and maybe this one is no different), the music on 'Ten Thousand Shades Of Blue' sounds much more organic, pure and intense and dreamy. Monochromatic dronescapes built from multi-tracked and processed bowed tam-tams, bowed Japanese temple bells, voices, bowed and struck vibraphones, and a realtime interactive computer music system. Expansive and soothing washes of humming low end. One of the best late night/sleeping/chillout records of the year.
RealAudio clip: "Bronze Cloud Disk"

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR Cannibal Massacre (Southern Lord) 3" cd 8.98
Tiny 3" slab of black thrash brutality from this Chicago horde. Features ex-members of metal humorists 7000 Dying Rats!

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR Carnage (Southern Lord) cd 13.98
We all loved 7000 Dying Rats. A hilarious group of metalheads who would be blasting out impossible grind metal one minute, playing the theme from Beverly Hills 90210 the next, and discussing cocks with confused and increasingly threatened metalheads the next. We always joked that if you removed the humor and the skits and the peurile obsession with sex and poop, that they would be one of the most intense and heavy grind metal bands around and would be HUGE. Like lots of bands we love, that problematic sense of humor kept them from mainstream success (or any success?). And so, almost like we predicted, comes Lair Of The Minotaur, a three piece thrash metal behemoth, 2/3 of which come straight from the gaping, smirking jaws of 7000 Dying Rats. But instead of getting rid of the humor altogether (and who would want that), they channelled that humor into the pure absurdity of their band name, song titles and their impossible amalgam of classic black / death metal and buzzing blazing grindcore. LOTM are obviously the modern spawn of Celtic Frost and Bathory and Venom, with all the requisite riffing and grunting, all quite impressive, but even faster and more furious than their forefathers. And they still can't seem to shake their joke/grind roots completely, as occasionally, mid thrash attack, they'll switch to 2 or 3 bars of grinding blast beats, whether they fit or not. Which is what makes LOTM so awesome. Taking the classic metal we know and love and (not so) seriously fucking with it!
MPEG Stream: "Carnage Fucking Carnage"
MPEG Stream: "The Wolf"

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR The Ultimate Destroyer (Southern Lord) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Juggernaut Of Metal"
MPEG Stream: "Behead The Gorgon"

LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR War Metal Battle Master (Southern Lord) cd 15.98

LAKE MILLIONS, THE Sea Of Stories (self-released) cd-r 7.98
Originally going by the ill chosen moniker, Bananas, this solo ambient project from 3 Leafs' Josh Pollock (aka DJ Female Convict Scorpion) was wisely rechristened The Lake Millions, a name much more in keeping with the sound, a sound that actually surprised us. Pollock's 'ambient' record is not so much ambient, as it is a sort of serene, tranquil, dreamlike psychedelia, we were expecting a simple minimal landscape of drones and tones, but instead, the sound here is luish and lovely, spare aching guitar melodies, wreathed in reverb, soft tangles gradually unfurling, blossoming lazily, sun dapped and soft focus. The slide guitar adds a subtle twang to the proceedings. Imagine Barn Owl, if instead of trafficking in dark brooding droned out doom folk, they set up in a meadow, under the late afternoon sun, gorgeous blue sky overhead, soft billowy white clouds drifting by, the grass waving softly in the warm breeze. The vibe is definitely back porch-y and dreamlike. Some tracks sound like a lost, more blissed out strain of classic Americana, others drift drowsily through a hazy, old timey, faded memory, reverb drenched shimmer. And here and there tucked away amidst all this sunshiney dreamfolk drift, there are some subtle haunting minor key melodies, the cinematic vibe that runs throughout, growing shadowy and a bit sinister, it's mostly a subtle melodic shift here and there, but then check out the title track, which closes things with an epic sprawl of brooding abstract drift, somehow weaving the warm melodious vibe of the previous tracks into something distinctly darker, but with a warm glow that seems to infuse the sound, however dark, with a lush glowing loveliness, the song unfolding as a tense sonic sprawl, that over the course of its 13 minutes, finds sonic shadows gradually being overtaken by the light. Gorgeous!
MPEG Stream: "The Ocean Of Notions"
MPEG Stream: "The Twilight Strip"
MPEG Stream: "Sea Of Stories"

LAKE OF BLOOD As Time And Tide Erodes Stone (The Flenser) lp 14.98
We first heard LA black metal horde Lake Of Blood on a split with aQ black metal faves Panopticon, but sadly, that split was so limited we were never able to get enough copies to list/review. So here it is two years later, and Lake Of Blood return with their first proper full length, in the form of a two song, 32 minute lp on local label The Flenser, where LoB prove to be a good fit, their epic slowburn doom flecked post black metal sounding right at home amidst other Flenser outfits like Panopticon, Bosse-De-Nage, Ghast, Necrite, Palace Of Worms, and Seidr.
The A side begins with the sound of surf, the soft white noise of crashing waves, which leads directly into a very wavelike progression of crashing lurching doom, plenty of lumbering stop/starts, angular riffage, crashing staccato heaviness, that almost sounds more like noise rock than black metal (we're hearing Dazzling Killmen for sure), it's not until about 4 minutes in that the band launch into some serious blackness, but even then, it's not the typical buzz and blast we were expecting, instead, the guitars are super bright sounding, and there's loads of melody, and even some acoustic guitars strumming away below the surface, and they pepper their blackened blasting with returns to the opening lurch and lumber. The song gets dense and mathy and pretty complex and proggy, with some seriously kick ass drumming, and over the course of the 17 minutes, the band slip easily from mathy blasting blackness, to stuttery abstract doom, to super melodic drift, to noise rocky crunch and to classic metal churn. All the while the strange production, and those mysterious buried acoustic guitars transforming the song into something all its own.
The flipside offers up more of the same, if a bit more straight ahead, less mathiness, and less of that doomy vibe, and more blasting and thrashing, with the first 5 or 6 minutes veering into almost classic black metal territory, until the band change gears again, and unfurl a droned out bit of almost psychedelic sounding post rockiness, laced with spoken word, and long stretches of droned out buzz, and when the band slip back into some more black buzz, the sound seems to shift dramatically, that mysterious acoustic guitar returns, and the sound is suddenly way more progressive, the sound flitting from dirgey and doomy, to buzzy and mathy, to noisy and chaotic, to super melodic and almost poppy, finally slipping into another bout of classic metal riffing before finally fading out into the surf sounds that opened the record.
MPEG Stream: "Proxigean Arcanum"

LAKE OF DRACULA (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
A "supergroup" of folks from what Skin Graft likes to call Chicago's "Now Wave" scene. (Someone from the label even asked to speak to our store's "Now Wave" buyer. Geez.) Regardless of such silliness, this band is comprised of Heather from the Scissor Girls, Marlon Magas from Couch, Weasel Walter from the Flying Luttenbachers and Al Johnson from the mighty U.S. Maple. In addition, Fred Lonberg-Holm contributes cello on one track and the mighty Jim O'Rourke had a hand in the recording. This is the band that will be opening for 50 Foot Hose and the Silver Apples at the Kilowatt here in S.F. on June 1st.

LAKE OF DRACULA (Skin Graft) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A "supergroup" of folks from what Skin Graft likes to call Chicago's "Now Wave" scene. (Someone from the label even asked to speak to our store's "Now Wave" buyer. Geez.) Regardless of such silliness, this band is comprised of Heather from the Scissor Girls, Marlon Magas from Couch, Weasel Walter from the Flying Luttenbachers and Al Johnson from the mighty U.S. Maple. In addition, Fred Lonberg-Holm contributes cello on one track and the mighty Jim O'Rourke had a hand in the recording. This is the band that will be opening for 50 Foot Hose and the Silver Apples at the Kilowatt here in S.F. on June 1st.

LAKE OF DRACULA Skeletal Remains (Savage Land) cd 13.98
BACK IN STOCK!
What's weird is we don't remember liking Lake Of Dracula very much back in the day, but listening to this now, it's sort of kicking our ass in a huge way. Pounding sludgy new wavish punk rock, with a serious gothy dark vibe. Sort of like Chrome playing Interpol or something. Big crunchy guitars playing doomy angular riffs, a simple garagerock thud, thick swaths of feedback, occasional squalls of psychedelic freakout, and vocals that rant and rave in a super dramatic croon. Most of this disc is take from a live radio broadcast recorded May 28th, 1997, but there are a handful of extra tracks taken from singles and compilations. This short lived combo ('95-'97) featured Flying Luttenbachers drummer extrordinaire Weasel Walter on the GUITAR, Marlon Magas from Couch and Magas on vocals, Jessica from the Jacks on bass and Heather M. from the Scissor Girls on the drumkit as well as some guest rock action from Al of U.S. Maple fame.
Shit, the more we listen to this, the more we're digging it. An ultra chaotic mix of old school industrial thud, gloomy depressive punk rock, psychedelic garage rock stomp, a hellish sort-of-rockabilly with reverbed guitars and galloping drums, gloomy doom and in-your-face no-wave freakout. Seems like it would be a big ol' mess and it sort of is, but it sounds so impossibly good. Like the Strokes with frontal lobotomies recording for Bulb, or some caveman doom band covering Franz Ferdinand after taking huge handfuls of horse tranquilizers. Getting a jump on the current crop of new wave revivalists by a decade. But their new wave was a whole lot darker, damaged and demented!
MPEG Stream: "Four Teachers"
MPEG Stream: "Plague Of Frogs"
MPEG Stream: "Biographers Of The Flaming Druglords"
MPEG Stream: "Cherries And Socks"

LAKE OF DRACULA Skeletal Remains (Rococo) lp 15.98
Now on vinyl! Here's what we said about the cd edition when it came out a few years back:
What's weird is we don't remember liking Lake Of Dracula very much back in the day, but listening to this now, it's sort of kicking our ass in a huge way. Pounding sludgy new wavish punk rock, with a serious gothy dark vibe. Sort of like Chrome playing Interpol or something. Big crunchy guitars playing doomy angular riffs, a simple garagerock thud, thick swaths of feedback, occasional squalls of psychedelic freakout, and vocals that rant and rave in a super dramatic croon. Most of this disc is take from a live radio broadcast recorded May 28th, 1997, but there are a handful of extra tracks taken from singles and compilations. This short lived combo ('95-'97) featured Flying Luttenbachers drummer extraordinaire Weasel Walter on the GUITAR, Marlon Magas from Couch and Magas on vocals, Jessica from the Jacks on bass and Heather M. from the Scissor Girls on the drumkit as well as some guest rock action from Al of U.S. Maple fame.
Shit, the more we listen to this, the more we're digging it. An ultra chaotic mix of old school industrial thud, gloomy depressive punk rock, psychedelic garage rock stomp, a hellish sort-of-rockabilly with reverbed guitars and galloping drums, gloomy doom and in-your-face no-wave freakout. Seems like it would be a big ol' mess and it sort of is, but it sounds so impossibly good. Like the Strokes with frontal lobotomies recording for Bulb, or some caveman doom band covering Franz Ferdinand after taking huge handfuls of horse tranquilizers. Getting a jump on the current crop of new wave revivalists by a decade. But their new wave was a whole lot darker, damaged and demented!
MPEG Stream: "Four Teachers"
MPEG Stream: "Plague Of Frogs"
MPEG Stream: "Biographers Of The Flaming Druglords"
MPEG Stream: "Cherries And Socks"

LAKE, BAMBI My Glamourous Life As A Broadway Hostess (Bambi Lake) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Perhaps one of the most recognizable figures from the old school SF punk scene -- if you've checked out Jim Jocoy's great photo book We're Desperate, you might've seen a snapshot of her from back in the day! -- Bambi Lake has just released a lounge cabaret-styled album of covers and originals including "Cockettes Remembrances", "The Golden Age Of Hustlers" and "I'm One Of God's Children (Who Hasn't Got Wings)". Recorded live at the Dark Room here in SF.
MPEG Stream: "Cockettes Remembrances"
MPEG Stream: "I'm One Of God's Children (Who Hasn't Got Wings)"

LALI PUNA Faking the Books (Morr Music) cd 16.98
Lali Puna's third album is not as engaging on first listen as its two full length predecessors 1999's Tridecoder and 2001's Scary World Theory, but it's definitely grown on us with repeat listens. Valerie Trebeljahr's sweet wisp of a voice wafts gracefully around the abrasive guitars and woozy synths of wunderkind Markus Acher (Notwist, Village of Savoonga, Tied & Tickled Trio). Like The Notwist and brother Micha's Ms John Soda, Lali Puna are able to straddle the rock / electronica line incredibly well. On the one hand, they can exude an amazing amount of warmth for a band founded in the electronic recording studio and on the other they can rock out with the best: tracking live drums, bass, guitar and violin as often as they rely on sequencers and synths. Acher and Trebeljahr never forsake good, solid song writing with infectious hooks and rich harmonies for studio wizardry gimmicks. In fact, they utilize the two with uncanny balance and effect. Before closing, the comparisons that will be drawn, nay have been drawn, between Lali Puna and Stereolab must be addressed. Yes, many tracks on Faking The Books immediately bring to mind the aformentioned English electroni-rock warhorse. And while certain superficial likenesses are admittedly there: female singer, similar cache of electronic gear, and an ostensibly pop music format, it's what lies at the core of their respective musical engines that makes them different. Think of Lali Puna as what might happen to Stereolab if they managed to be a little less regimented and a little more playful.
MPEG Stream: "Faking The Books"
MPEG Stream: "Micronomic"

LALI PUNA I Thought I Was Over That (Morr Music) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Lali Puna fans, here's a double disc compilation of odds'n'ends from your favorite German pop-tronic dreamies! The first disc is a jumble of old and new remixes (for Dntel, Two Lone Swordsmen and Boom Bip) and originals (previously available on a handful of EPs and compilations), whereas the second disc is composed entirely of remixes by other folks (with one exception "Left Handed Dub" by Lali Puna themselves). Of the nineteen tracks, eight are previously unreleased including two new ones recorded early this year -- the dreamy opener "The Failure Of The Leading Sign Industry" and the very Stereolab-y pop-kraut "Past Machine". Actually the remixes (by the likes of Dntel, Two Lone Swordsmen, Boom Bip, Alias, Flowchart, Sixtoo, Thomas Leboeg and To Rococo Rot) don't sound all that far off from the originals. So what that means is turn off your phone, don your cozy pjs, stretch out and settle in for a long lulling listen. Lemme hear you say, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
MPEG Stream: LALI PUNA "Past Machine"
MPEG Stream: LALI PUNA / DNTEL "Faking The Books (remix)"

LALI PUNA I Thought I Was Over That - Rare, Remixed And B-Sides (Morr Music) cd 17.98
Lali Puna fans, here's a double disc compilation of odds'n'ends from your favorite German pop-tronic dreamies! The first disc is a jumble of old and new remixes (for Dntel, Two Lone Swordsmen and Boom Bip) and originals (previously available on a handful of EPs and compilations), whereas the second disc is composed entirely of remixes by other folks (with one exception "Left Handed Dub" by Lali Puna themselves). Of the nineteen tracks, eight are previously unreleased including two new ones recorded early this year -- the dreamy opener "The Failure Of The Leading Sign Industry" and the very Stereolab-y pop-kraut "Past Machine". Actually the remixes (by the likes of Dntel, Two Lone Swordsmen, Boom Bip, Alias, Flowchart, Sixtoo, Thomas Leboeg and To Rococo Rot) don't sound all that far off from the originals. So what that means is turn off your phone, don your cozy pjs, stretch out and settle in for a long lulling listen. Lemme hear you say, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
MPEG Stream: LALI PUNA "Past Machine"
MPEG Stream: LALI PUNA / DNTEL "Faking The Books (remix)"

LALI PUNA Left Handed (Morr Music) cd ep 11.98
Just a short three song dose of Lali Puna's German pop dreaminess. Valerie Trebekjahr's vocals once again seem weightless. Her words float like feathery wisps through the fragile transmissions of electronic tapestries. The languid title track and its subsequent dubbed out version are much less song-structured and ethereally catchy than their past efforts -- especially in contrast to the final track... Now, this might be a good thing or a bad thing -- you decide! -- the cd closes with a heavenly cover of the theme song from the '80s movie Electric Dreams (originally done by Human League).
MPEG Stream: "Left Handed"
MPEG Stream: "Together In Electric Dreams"

LALI PUNA Micronomic (Morr Music) cd ep 8.98
Micronomic is a song from Lali Puna's most recent full length Faking The Books. In addition to appearing in its unadulterated state, the dreamy pop song gets the remix and video treatment for this cdep -- an expansive remix by Boom Bip (in exchange for the one they contributed to the recent B.B. release Corymb), and video by Luis Briceno. Another album track "Alienation" is also remixed by their tourmates Alias. Both remixers are totally respectful of Lali Puna's overall sound, injecting more billowy spaciousness into the lovely already-atmopheric tracks. Rounding out this 5-song ep are two brand new ones "The Daily Match" and the moody instrumental "Harrison Reverse". Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Micronomic Boom Bip Remix"
MPEG Stream: "The Daily Match"

LALI PUNA Our Inventions (Morr) cd 15.98
Markus Asher had once been quite a prolific producer of avant poptones, beginning way back when with the underappreciated Village Of Savoonga and moving onto the arcing indietronica brilliance of The Notwist whose zenith occurred with Neon Golden back in 2002. Lali Puna was an Asher project that ran concurrent to both Savoonga and Notwist, with often sublime impressionist songs matching the breathy vocals of Valerie Trebeljahr with percolating electronics wrapped around twee pop ballads. Our Inventions is the first album by Lali Puna in quite a long time. Six years since the last proper record. Five since a collection of B-sides and remixes. Not much has changed for Lali Puna. The band settles upon polite, slightly melancholy melodies that flicker upon delicate rhythms built out of clockwork sequences and restrained tappings on the drumkit. Delicate as always.
MPEG Stream: "Remember"
MPEG Stream: "Our Inventions"

LALI PUNA Scary World Theory (Morr Music) cd 16.98
Hurrah! The second album has surfaced from this lovely, willowy electronic quartet. Valerie Trebeljahr's breathy vocals drift in and out of the gently stuttering and pulsing beats and soft soothing synth tones and textures. No great departures from their "Tridecoder" album, if perhaps growing a bit darker and even more subdued. FYI: members include Markus and Christoph of Village of Savoonga.
RealAudio clip: "Middle Curse"
RealAudio clip: "Come On Home"

LALI PUNA Scary World Theory (Morr Music) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hurrah! The second album has surfaced from this lovely, willowy electronic quartet. Valerie Trebeljahr's breathy vocals drift in and out of the gently stuttering and pulsing beats and soft soothing synth tones and textures. No great departures from their "Tridecoder" album, if perhaps growing a bit darker and even more subdued. FYI: members include Markus and Christoph of Village of Savoonga.

LALI PUNA Tridecoder (Darla/HausMusik) cd 14.98
While this quartet boasts the talents of Markus Acher and Christoph Brandner from Village of Savoonga, Valerie Trebeljahr and Florian Zimmer, this is far from that band's dark, textured, moody compositions. Lali Puna lead by Trebeljahr is much more of an airy, textured, pretty combo. Think a German Stereolab. Playful programmed beats, wafting organ drones, twinkling electronics, murmurred vocals, and an ample array of sampled sounds.

LAMB Best Kept Secrets: The Best Of Lamb 1996 - 2004 (Koch) cd + dvd 16.98
We love Lamb... we really do! Just check out our reviews of their past releases. Well, if you're new to this group and need a concise tutorial of their works, this might be the Lamb release for you. With both cd and dvd in hand, you'll get to experience them aurally as well as visually. However we'd like to note that titling this collection "Best of" seems somewhat odd as there's no indication of what criteria was used to come to these selections (and it's not like they're charting hits on the radio). Really, their finely crafted albums are always chock full of sultry electronic tracks, and favorites seem to differ from fan to fan. Languidly atmospheric, richly textured, rhythmically complex, and oh so wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "B Line"
MPEG Stream: "Gabriel "

LAMB Between Darkness And Wonder (Koch) cd 16.98

LAMB Fear of Fours (Fontana) cd 15.98
On their second album, Lamb's skewed take on Portishead's 60's spy thriller/jazz electronica gets an infusion of hefty drum & bass. That they can reproduce their sound live without too much bending over tape decks (hey a live drummer!) is a wonderful thing, and the female singer's voice is breathy and emotional. Fans of their first record will not be disappointed, they'll be pleased that Lamb is moving forward rather than treading water! 'Fear of Fours' is a lot less dark and moody and a lot more varied than their debut. Excellent and highly recommended.

LAMB s/t (Fontana, which means Mercury, which means Polygram) cd 15.98
Finally available domestically is this excellent drum'n'bass duo's full length record, whose indispensable, lovely vocals (and mind you, we usually hate annoying diva vocals over jungle) sound like a cross between Bjork and Sinead O'Connor over some of the most complex, tense and unboring (yay!) percussion we've heard in a long time. Highly recommended.

LAMB What Sound (Mercury (Australia)) cd 21.00
Although dark and languorous and dreamy and romantic, Lamb's third full length is still a little bit of a disappointment, at least when stacked up against their past efforts. The sound is definitely more polished and more commercial, and definitely a little less freaked out (less deum and bass). Everyone but me (Andee) here at AQ thinks this record sucks, but I still really like it. Her voice is totally captivating and his programming is as creative and off kilter as ever. Worth it alone for the the tracks 'Gabriel' and 'What Sound'. 'Gabriel' is a gorgeous, melancholy Portishead-y ballad with lush strings, shimmering melodies and distorted drums. And 'What Sound' is as good as vintage Lamb like 'Cotton Wool' or 'B-Line', with a sultry, breathy vocal and super fucked up skittery drum loop. While there are a few serious mis-steps (funky bass?) most of the record is pretty cool. Fans of the last two Lamb records, Portishead, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey will as usual find much to love. Ridiculously high priced import. No word on the domestic release.
RealAudio clip: "Gabriel"
RealAudio clip: "What Sound"

LAMB What Sound (Mercury (Australia)) 2lp 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Although dark and languorous and dreamy and romantic, Lamb's third full length is still a little bit of a disappointment, at least when stacked up against their past efforts. The sound is definitely more polished and more commercial, and definitely a little less freaked out (less drum and bass). Everyone but me (Andee) here at AQ thinks this record sucks, but I still really like it. Her voice is totally captivating and his programming is as creative and off kilter as ever. Worth it alone for the the tracks 'Gabriel' and 'What Sound'. 'Gabriel' is a gorgeous, melancholy Portishead-y ballad with lush strings, shimmering melodies and distorted drums. And 'What Sound' is as good as vintage Lamb like 'Cotton Wool' or 'B-Line', with a sultry, breathy vocal and super fucked up skittery drum loop. While there are a few serious mis-steps (funky bass?) most of the record is pretty cool. Fans of the last two Lamb records, Portishead, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey will as usual find much to love. Ridiculously high priced import. No word on the domestic release.

LAMB OF GOD As The Palaces Burn (Prosthetic) cd 11.98

LAMB OF GOD Ashes Of The Wake (Sony) cd 12.98

MPEG Stream: "Laid To Rest"
MPEG Stream: "Hourglass"

LAMB OF GOD New American Gospel (Metal Blade) cd 15.98
Formerly known as Burn The Priest, and newly signed to Metal Blade, Lamb of God play super technical metal, with elements of black metal and grind. These guys keep getting better and better and faster and faster. Can't wait to hear the next record, when they'll probably be called something else.

LAMB, ALAN Night Passage (Dorobo) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

LAMB, ALAN Night Passage & Demixed (Dorobo) 2cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally, we've managed to restock Alan Lamb's Night Passage, one of the most evocative and sonically engaging dronescaping records that has ever passed through these doors. This Australian composer's sole source material is the sound of wind blowing against telephone wires. In recording the raw material, Lamb simply attaches contact microphones to telephone poles, sits back, and lets the weather blow through the wires how it sees fit. The resultant drones are sublimely rich in their metallic timbres and amazingly complex reverberations, that is not all that far off from Harry Bertoia's sound sculptures. I (Jim) actually had a very hard time believing that they were what Lamb said they were: unprocessed wire music. That is until one cold, blustery summer afternoon on the craggy coastline near Point Reyes north of San Francisco, I heard those exact same sounds from the wind raking across the telephone wires that extended out to a distant lighthouse. These sounds were eeriely beautiful, yet unsettling as they vibrated the air with such ubiquity that their origin was impossible to pinpoint.
For Night Passage, Lamb's recordings originate with the Faraway Wind Organ, a half mile of abandoned telegraph wires in the outback of Western Australia. Unfortunately, this network of wires has collapsed due to lightning and termites, making Lamb's recordings a very rare documentation of an amazing naturally occuring sonic phenomenon.
Also included with this double disc package is the Demixed album, in which Thomas Koner, Lustmord, Ryoji Ikeda, and Bernhard Gunter were given Lamb's raw recordings to treat and compose with. Where Lamb's compositional sensibility privledges the intrinsic qualities of his recordings with just crossfades and equilization, these four blurred the source material that reflected their own signature sounds. Koner leans to expansive gaping drones; Lustmord collapses everything within a bleak catacomb of oppressive ambience; Ikeda ruptures the sound into a subtle piece of minimalism; and Gunter stretches the boundaries of perception. This is one of the best all around remix albums, completing what is otherwise an already impeccable document.
MPEG Stream: "Night Passage"
MPEG Stream: "Kyros (demixed by Thomas Koner)"
MPEG Stream: "Fragmented (demixed by Lustmord)"

LAMB, ALAN Primal Image / Beauty (Dorobo) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Alan Lamb is a biologist who entered the realm of music after discovering the complex choral harmonics of the telephone wires that span his native Australia. Lamb's allegiance to both biology and the spectral sounds of the frequencies of a long thin wire reacting to natural events isn't that odd as Lamb himself explains, "that these principles (in wire frequencies) have much in common conceptually with those underlying the generation of coherent patterns in biological systems... and it is probably not too far fetched to suggest that wire music is an aural embodiment of some of the most fundamental dynamic laws of the universe."
"Primal Image / Beauty" is the culmination of 7 years of field recordings, during which Lamb discovered the best meterological situations for certain timbres, the best wires that emanated these harmonics, and good microphones to capture the sounds (for this phenomenon is externally ampified by the wires under the right circumstances). Even in listening to the incredible textural dronework from Organum or Xenakis, it is pretty awe-inspiring that this is simply the sound of the wind resonating a wire.
For those who live around the Bay Area, this phenomenon can be heard on occasion at Point Reyes, especially when the wind is coming straight down the coast from the north and strikes the wires which run east-west along the barren peninsula.
RealAudio clip: "Beauty"

LAMB, GARRY BRADBURY, DAVID BURRASTON, OREN AMBARCHI & ROBIN FOX, ALAN The Wired Lab : Wired Open Day 2009 (Taiga Records) 2lp 35.00

LAMBCHOP Aw Cmon (Merge) cd 14.98
These two records were born from an experiment undertaken by Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner. The experiment? To try and write a song every day for a year. Apparently, the experiment was a success and the song-a-day regime was easier than expected. These two releases represent the cream of the crop of those..um...365 songs?!?! Phew, could've been a 20 disc set! The Lambchop sound is in full effect. lush, and sweet, lots of strings and big arrangements, with Wagner's distinctive and lugubrious drawl. For those of you unfamiliar with Lambchop, imagine Vic Chesnutt fronting the Tindersticks. That gives you a rough idea. But Wagner's arrangements aren't always dour and dark. His songs evoke afternoon tea in the parlour and lazy mornings on the porch as much as they explore loneliness and despair. A sort of big band / lounge / no depression / Gone With The Wind / redneck musical. Played impeccably. Wagner's caustic wit seems to have mellowed with age, but it suits Lambchop's ever mellowing smooth sound to a T. While the two parts of this set -are- different, they are similar enough that, we're not sure what to say. They exist as a sort of call and response, one complimenting the other. So it seems unlikely that anyone would buy just one. And needless to say, if you're a Lambchop fan, you're definitely gonna want both.
MPEG Stream: "Being Tyler"
MPEG Stream: "Four Pounds In Two Days"
MPEG Stream: "Steve McQueen"

LAMBCHOP Damaged (Merge) cd 14.98
Between this new album from Lambchop and those from Jason Molina and M. Ward, whoa, this is quite the week for country rock excellence!
Listening to the latest Lambchop album is a lot like wrapping your winter-chilled bones in an old wool blanket... or like being hugged by your favorite bearded uncle -- a bit bristly, but utterly warm and comforting. Y'know, something / someone you can always count on. Their country rooted sound is thick, smooth and dark like molasses with the piano, bass, steel guitar, strings and vocals all melting together beautifully. When this band is 'on' they simply can't be beat for deep, shadowy Americana goodness, and with Damaged they most definitely are! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Paperback Bible"
MPEG Stream: "The Rise And Fall Of The Letter P"

LAMBCHOP Damaged (Merge) lp 14.98
Between this new album from Lambchop and those from Jason Molina and M. Ward, whoa, this is quite the week for country rock excellence!
Listening to the latest Lambchop album is a lot like wrapping your winter-chilled bones in an old wool blanket... or like being hugged by your favorite bearded uncle -- a bit bristly, but utterly warm and comforting. Y'know, something/someone you can always count on. Their country rooted sound is thick, smooth and dark like molasses with the piano, bass, steel guitar, strings and vocals all melting together beautifully. When this band is 'on' they simply can't be beat for deep, shadowy Americana goodness, and with Damaged they most definitely are! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Paperback Bible"
MPEG Stream: "The Rise And Fall Of The Letter P"

LAMBCHOP Hank (Merge) 10" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Introducing The Nashville Sound." Live ep proves they haven't lost it.

LAMBCHOP I Hope You're Sitting Down (Merge) cd 14.98
Lambchop's debut full length from 1994 is, in Windy and Andee's opinion, also their very best! Trembling mandolin, moody horns, bandleader Kurt Wagner at his most lucid, and heartbreaking melodies. A sort of dark gothic twangy lost gem of an album. God I love this record!
RealAudio clip: "Let's Go Bowling"
RealAudio clip: "Betweemus"

LAMBCHOP Is A Woman (Merge) cd 14.98
It's been years since I (Windy) reviewed a Lambchop record. Having deeply adored this Nashville collective's debut full length from several years back (I Hope You're Sitting Down), I haven't found their ensuing musical trajectory very interesting. Their records have progressively gotten slower, more introspective, less twangy, and less hook-filled and melodic. That's not to say their new material is bad. In fact, this new album seems to signal their complete transformation to a different kind of band, one that isn't concerned with the traditional sounds I had favored, but who are now more into creating long, melancholy song poems crooned by bandleader Kurt Wagner, with poignantly pretty flourishes of honkin' baritone sax, hushed female backing vox, emotional piano, etc. Lambchop has become mood music (like Talk Talk did too): it's not about actual songs anymore, it's about being inside Kurt Wagner's head. While their sound is certainly valid and perhaps interesting to some, I have to say I found Is a Woman quite boring. Buyer beware.
RealAudio clip: "The New Cobweb Summer"

LAMBCHOP Mr. M (Merge) cd 14.98
Way back in the mid-nineties, we were a bit obsessed with Nashville's Lambchop, their first record I Hope You're Sitting Down still ranks as one of our all time favorites, a fantastic record of dark twangy slo-mo gothic country ballads rife with clever wordplay that at times reminded us quite a bit of occasional Lambchop member, the late great Vic Chesnutt. Lambchop's vocalist and main songwriter Kurt Wagner's distinctive laconic mumbly croon as much a defining part of their sound, as the lush twang flecked, almost orchestral arrangements.
For whatever reason, we kind of lost touch with Lambchop, as their sound grew more soulful and introspective, we of course checked in occasionally, and looking back on past reviews it seems we always welcomed them back with open arms. And the latest, Mr. M looks to be no different. Another gorgeous songsuite, hushed and gently twangy, warm and lush and darkly dreamy, Wagner's vocals sounding as perfect as ever, and the lyrics, well, the first line of the album opener finds Wagner dropping the F-bomb right off the bat, amidst soaring swirling strings and a shuffling almost easy listening jazziness. The rest of the record is not nearly so string laden, but the songs are all pretty fantastic, we'd say it was a return to form, but really, these guys never stopped. Mr. M has definitely rekindled our love of Lambchop (and had us running home to throw on I Hope You're Sitting Down), and while we may not love it as much as those old records, it definitely still hits the spot.
MPEG Stream: "If Not I'll Just Die"
MPEG Stream: "2B2"
MPEG Stream: "Gone Tomorrow"

LAMBCHOP Nixon (Merge) cd 14.98
Nashville's Lambchop add a little soul to their twang. Introspective male vocals. Nice.

LAMBCHOP No You Cmon (Merge) cd 14.98
These two records were born from an experiment undertaken by Lambchop frontman Kurt Wagner. The experiment? To try and write a song every day for a year. Apparently, the experiment was a success and the song-a-day regime was easier than expected. These two releases represent the cream of the crop of those..um...365 songs?!?! Phew, could've been a 20 disc set! The Lambchop sound is in full effect. lush, and sweet, lots of strings and big arrangements, with Wagner's distinctive and lugubrious drawl. For those of you unfamiliar with Lambchop, imagine Vic Chesnutt fronting the Tindersticks. That gives you a rough idea. But Wagner's arrangements aren't always dour and dark. His songs evoke afternoon tea in the parlour and lazy mornings on the porch as much as they explore loneliness and despair. A sort of big band / lounge / no depression / Gone With The Wind / redneck musical. Played impeccably. Wagner's caustic wit seems to have mellowed with age, but it suits Lambchop's ever mellowing smooth sound to a T. While the two parts of this set -are- different, they are similar enough that, we're not sure what to say. They exist as a sort of call and response, one complimenting the other. So it seems unlikely that anyone would buy just one. And needless to say, if you're a Lambchop fan, you're definitely gonna want both.
MPEG Stream: "Sunrise"
MPEG Stream: "Low Ambition"
MPEG Stream: "There's Still Time"

LAMBCHOP OH (ohio) (Merge) cd 14.98
Another beautifully deeeeeep, somber lament of an album from one of Nashville's finest... Lambchop! Actually on a number of songs on OH (ohio), main man Kurt Wagner's smooth low voice reminded us quite a bit of a cross between Stuart Staples of Tindersticks and Jim Croce. In fact, if you found yourself pleasantly enveloped by the former's most recent album Hungry Saw, you might find yourself likewise captivated by OH (ohio). Steeped in melancholia and a haunting nostalgia, this is a fantastic progression from Lambchop's last full length, 2006's Damaged!
MPEG Stream: "Slipped, Dissolved And Loosed"
MPEG Stream: "A Hold Of You"

LAMBCHOP The Decline Of Country & Western Civilization Part II: The Woodwind Years - A-Sides, B-Sides, Compilation Tracks & Unreleased Songs (Merge) cd 14.98
Those Lambchop folks are so generous and prolific! They've followed up their two albums Aw C'mon and No You C'mon from 2004 with this hearty offering of eighteen odds and ends. This Nashville band seldom disappoints, always playing with an abundance of energy, wit and heart. We've said it before and we'll say it again, while listening to songs like "Loretta Lung" or "Mr. Crabby" it's remarkable just how much frontman Kurt Wagner's voice bears a resemblance to that of Vic Chesnutt. They surely have many fans in common (or if not, they should!). Heck, Chesnutt has even played with Lambchop in the past. Theirs is some terrific dark country rock that can be all gorgeously slinking 'n' smoldering or all rugged 'n' stubbly. A couple of fitting comparisons that we'll use once more are: Vic Chesnutt fronting the Tindersticks or a countrified Luna. Highlights include "Ovary Eyes" and the aforementioned "Mr. Crabby".
MPEG Stream: "Ovary Eyes "
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Crabby"

LAMBCHOP Tools In the Dryer (Merge) cd 14.98
Lambchop has been around since, like, 1987 and the revolving membership has at times included from 3 to 14 members. If you've ever seen Lambchop live, you know how delightful they are, each member working together to create a harmonious whole, and boy do they look like they're having *fun*. Clarinet, trumpets, slide guitar, rattly percussion... all curling protectively around the emotive hushed talk/sing voice of Kurt Wagner. Though they get tagged as "alt.country" a little more often than necessary (probably due to the twangy slide guitars and their residence in Nashville), they can just as often be heard playing an almost '50s-sounding sentimental love song, or a fiercely strummed indie pop number, or even, as found here, remixed into something kinda dance-y.
Tools in the Dryer is a collection of long out of print singles, one offs, b-sides, cassette releases, etc. AQ-pal and Lambchop member Jonathan Marx did the compiling, and he came up with the jewels from Lambchop's past, there aren't any duds here and it's all quite pretty. Includes a remix by Mark Robinson (Unrest / Teenbeat Records). Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Nine"
RealAudio clip: "The Militant"
RealAudio clip: "Cigaretiquette"

LAMBCHOP What Another Man Spills (Merge) cd 13.98
Kurt Wagner and his Nashville-based ensemble (here with the addition of Vic Chesnutt) bestow another winner upon us. While their first record used pretty, melancholy country twang to such spectacular effect, every succeeding album has gone slightly more and more towards old American r&b, as evidenced here by the Curtis Mayfield and Frederick Knight covers (wonderfully done). Also covered: East River Pipe.

LAMBCHOP & HANDS OFF CUBA CoLAB (Merge) cd ep 10.98
Genre cross-pollination has been happening a lot lately, hasn't it? And here it goes again! This four-song cdep brings together Lambchop's country twang and Hands Off Cuba's electronica. The results? Well, the first song "Prepared" is softer than a goosedown pillow, cozier than a giant hearth, and lazydays-ier than a giant hammock. The most familiarly Lambchop sounding track of the four, it's a gently glistening combo of guitars, piano and deep male vocals. Then, the second track "Blur" introduces CoLAB's programmed stuttery rhythms, strings and twinkling melodies which carry on through the final two tracks. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Prepared"
MPEG Stream: "Blur"