LARSEN La Fever Lit (Important) cd 14.98
Gone are the days when Larsen would hire Michael Gira to produce one of their claustrophobic albums under suspiciously odd circumstances. After 13 years in existence, the Italian post-rock collective has emerged as a champion of cinematic pop on La Fever Lit, sharing a sound that has more in common now a days with Sigur Ros than with the Swans. Sure, the band's sound on La Fever Lit persists in their hypnotizing arrangements for cyclical rhythms buttressing slow-burning crescendos of guitars and electronics, but the moodiness and abject urgency which marked their earlier recordings have been supplanted with an opulence, majesty, and a celebratory nature with occasional detours back into the bittersweet. On a handful of the tracks, Larsen's usually instrumental pieces have been augmented with vocals by Annie Anxiety, the one time member of Crass and contributor to Current 93, who presents herself as a detached diva singing torch songs of urban decay, which is well suited for Larsen's sweeping overtures.
MPEG Stream: "Tu Ark"
MPEG Stream: "Lefrak City Limits"

LARSEN LLL (Important) lp 27.00

LARSEN MUSM (Enterruption) 2lp 17.98

LARSEN Play (Important) cd 13.98
The first album from Italy's Larsen was shrouded in mystery, literally they would have had us believe, as it (Rever) came accompanied by the unlikely story that it was recorded with the band concealed behind a screen, producer Michael Gira never actually ever laying eyes on the bandmembers, as they played in concealment and he twiddled the knobs in the studio on his side of the screen. Probably not a true story, but a good one! This new disc comes with a (somewhat) more plausible narrative: apparently Larsen, in preparing for their next record, decided to improvise, just as an exercise, around a bunch of their favorite melodies from tracks by British glitchtronica masters Autechre. In doing so, they eventually came up with their own material, tracks that weren't literally "covers" or in any way direct interpretations of Autechre songs, but were nonetheless heavily influenced and inspired by Autechre's songwriting -- again, in terms of melodies, not the glitchy science of the Autechre duo's stuttering beats. But along with Autechre, their label also cites Einsturzende Neubauten, Six Organs of Admittance, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Gira's Swans as possible influences, and those references seem equally likely to our ears, especially since Larsen's ritualistic, repetitive post-rock doesn't sound remotely like Autechre. Well wait a sec...it does...remotely. By casting such gentle "Autechre-ish" melodies in the context of such completely different instrumentation (guitar, drums, bass, harmonium, xylophone, accordion, keyboards, cello, violin...) and arrangement, Larsen's Play highlights just how melodic Autechre are, something perhaps obscured by the skittering electronic component of their own music. Autechre issues aside, Larsen sure do still sound mysterious. And Play perhaps surpasses what we thought was a pretty brilliant debut (an AQ record of the week, almost exactly three years ago). As with Rever, Play is a largely instrumental, slowly unfolding, mesmerizing, multi-part epic of both tranquility and power, anchored in hypnotic drum-grooves and bathed in delicate instrumental textures. However inspired, it's Larsen that has done the hard work here of constructing such a moody monument.
MPEG Stream: "C"
MPEG Stream: "E"

LARSEN Rever (Young God) cd 13.98
The story of how this record came to be is almost impossible to believe, yet Michael Gira (Angels of Light / Swans) seems like a reliable enough source that it could in fact be true. Beginning sometime last year, Gira started receiving a series of arcane CD-Rs from the Italian collective / hermetic cult that simply labeled themselves as Larsen. The music within was a diverse collection of sounds that in Gira's words included "a whispered song, accompanied by a distant accordion, as if playing in the next room, or a drone of unknown origin, or a short burst of percussive chaos -- sometimes just a single sound or noise, a scraping sound, as if someone were slowly etching a piece of rusted metal with a blade of some sort, or the sound of saliva working in the mouth." The last package that he received did not include a CD-R, but a handsome amount of money, a plane ticket to Italy, and a request for his presence to produce an album for Larsen. Intrigued by the music he had heard up until then, Gira took Larsen up on their offer. Once in Italy, Gira was never allowed to see the band who had situated themselves in the recording studio behind a screen. He described their actions as often emerging as if part of some ceremonial rite, but the liturgical music for these rites have all of the trappings of a band who are far more interested in Sonic Youth than the archetypes of ceremonial musics. Hypnotic, interlocking math rock grooves pulse from forceful minor-key guitar chords, counterpointed with accordions, trumpet blurts, mechanical tape whirrings, tectonic rumbles, and other incredibly rich textural elements. The resulting album is a stunning collection of tense musical constructions that have been gilded with a fragile sadness, recalling the likes of recent Unwound, Blonde Redhead, Ulan Bator (another exceptional band produced by Michael Gira), and bits of This Heat and fellow weirdo Italians the Starfuckers.
The one qualm with the album is on how the record ends. It has been a longstanding belief of mine that Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" should have ended with the graceful haze of "Hyperstation" and done away with the unnecessary exclamation of "Eliminator, Jr." Similarly, Larsen ends "Rever" badly, as a beautifully repetitive groove simply cuts out, making you wonder if California is returning to the days of rolling blackouts. If only every record had one thing wrong with it instead of eighty-eleven problems, and in spite of that one misgiving, this is one of the best records we have heard in quite a while.
RealAudio clip: "Akin"
RealAudio clip: "Finger Number 6"
RealAudio clip: "Impro 2"
RealAudio clip: "Maya"
RealAudio clip: "Radial"

LARSEN Seies (Important) cd 14.98
Larsen is an enigmatic post-rock ensemble who have been responsible for some interesting conceptual projects all of which have been immaculately executed. For their highly acclaimed album Rever, the ensemble hired Michael Gira (Swans, Angels of Light) as the producer, but never allowed him to actually see the band as they played behind a curtain. Larsen followed this album with a breathtaking record reconstructing the melodic phrasing of Autechre through their own repetitive patterns for guitar, bass, vibraphone, accordion, and drums. Seies doesn't enjoy any of the conceptual agendas of the previous record; or rather if there are any concepts to the record, Larsen has shrouded them from their audience. The hymnal post-rock hypnosis from the previous records is certainly present, conjuring a spaghetti western swagger heard in the more bad-ass Morricone soundtracks. In these looping dirges, Larsen also call to mind the desolate soundtracks composed by Calla and some of the late period work of Swans; this is especially true for the tracks in which former Swans singer Jarboe appears! There's guest appearances a plenty on Seies as Current 93's cellist Julia Kent appears on some early tracks, and the dark ambient overlord Lustmord conjures his own black clouds on some of the later cuts.
MPEG Stream: "The Snow"
MPEG Stream: "Mother"
MPEG Stream: "Marzia"

LARSEN AND FRIENDS Abeceda (Important) cd+dvd 22.00
The Italian darkly-bent post-rock ensemble Larsen gathered a handful of equally darkly clad eccentrics to join them in a live tribute to the work of the Czech vanguard artist Karel Teige, who had been noted for introducing the works of the major Surrealists to Prague in the early 1920s. One of Teige's projects was Abeceda (which translates as alphabet from the Czech), the multi-media collaboration with the poet Vitezslav Nezval that sought a poetic abstraction between cabaret and typography. It was this project in particular that had piqued the interest of Larsen. Being not all that familiar with the original work, it's hard to say how well Larsen's homage reflects the original, or if this follows in the footsteps of their Autechre covers album, which alchemized the IDM melodies of Autechre into their own interlocked port-rock hypnosis. But in many ways, Abeceda is often dominated by the presence of their most well-known guest, David Tibet of Current 93. When his inimitable voice joins the languid melodies and swelling crescendos of instrumental arpeggiations, it's hard not to consider this a Current 93 album especially given the unique phrasing and metaphors about sin, relational collapse, and death that are so common to Tibet's themes in Current 93. In addition to Tibet, Larsen have also invited Johann Johannsson, Julia Kent, and Baby Dee onto the stage to add their instrumental panache to the beautifully rendered mix.
MPEG Stream: "Abeceda 2"
MPEG Stream: "Abeceda 5"

LARVAL HAIRS Aedes Flashback (Monorail Trespassing) 2 x cassette 14.98
This sort of rarefied minimalism is not entirely expected from the likes of Monorail Trespassing, although the Larval Hairs project does live up to the high caliber releases which the label has been steadily releasing. Ades Flashback is a double cassette intended to be played at the same time on separate systems. While similarly minded excursions have been demonstrated throughout the sound-art world with multi-channel transmissions, there's something wholly unpretentious about Larval Hairs' production. Little more than two boom boxes are required, although we'd suggest taking those two boom boxes to one of those huge resonant concrete bunkers in the Headlands and seeing how everything bounces. Side A aggregates sinewaves, small swells from rapidly splashing saw-tooth waves, a soft extension of pink noise, and other synthesized oscillations that suggests the longform feedback works of Jason Kahn or a rougher version of Eliane Radigue's early minimalism. The corresponding Side C (which we're assuming is what's to go with Side A, although you could probably switch it all around and it would still sound really cool), contains similarly-minded elements tuned to slight different pitches. Side B broadcasts another series of synthesized tones which hit some skull-drilling harmonic convergences through ever slight oscillations and phase shifts. Side D takes a grittier approach to the synth pulse drone with grinding saw-tooth patterns situated just below the surface of rumbling vibrational tones. Both tapes are 45 minutes in length and are housed in a really nice double tape case, something we've not seen in ages. Limited to 100 copies and certainly recommended.

LAS MALAS AMISTADES Jardin Interior (Psych-o-path) cd 13.98
Wow! To be able to make music that is both charming and soulful is a feat few can meet. This collective from Bogota, Columbia have done just that. Crafting really colorful minimalist pop that totally hits its mark. Eighteen short 4-track recorded songs that all feel like tiny treasures you want to keep in your pocket for good luck. Their ability to keep intact the most satisfying elements of primitive song writing while allowing themselves to explore all kinds of different sounds and styles. Think tropicalia meets The Residents meets Young Marble Giants meets a Smithsonian Folkways record of the future. Excellent!
MPEG Stream: "Malo"
MPEG Stream: "Soy Feliz"

LAS MALAS AMISTADES Jardin Interior ( Honest Jon's) 3 x 7" 23.00
This great album now available on vinyl, a triple 7" set to be exact! Here's our review from when we listed the cd version:
Wow! To be able to make music that is both charming and soulful is a feat few can meet. This collective from Bogota, Columbia have done just that. Crafting really colorful minimalist pop that totally hits its mark. Eighteen short 4-track recorded songs that all feel like tiny treasures you want to keep in your pocket for good luck. Their ability to keep intact the most satisfying elements of primitive song writing while allowing themselves to explore all kinds of different sounds and styles. Think tropicalia meets The Residents meets Young Marble Giants meets a Smithsonian Folkways record of the future. Excellent!
MPEG Stream: "Malo"
MPEG Stream: "Soy Feliz"

LAS MALAS AMISTADES Patio Bonito (Honest Jons) cd 17.98
We listed this last year at an expensive import price ($25) but said it was well worth splurging on, because of its great music and beautiful packaging. Well thankfully Honest Jons has now got a better US distribution deal, and the price has come down a bit, so we're listing it again, in case you didn't actually splurge before, but were tempted.
A couple years ago we were swept off our feet by Jardin Interior, the debut full length by a collective of artists and musicians from Bogota, Columbia known as Las Malas Amistades. We've been hungry for more of their colorful DIY pop, which reminded many of us of some strange blend of Young Marble Giants and a great lost Smithsonian Folkways record. Their follow up does not disappoint one bit. While it's a little less eclectic and quirky than Jardin Interior it's still brimming with a unique charm that is all their own. This time the sounds had us thinking of early Devendra Banhart playing Congregation covers in a friend's bedroom. Channeling the best South American psych-pop of the past with a crafty and playful disposition and a great timeless quality, you could totally imagine this coming out in 1982 as easy as today, the sounds are classic and timeless.
MPEG Stream: "Dime Lo Que Suenas"
MPEG Stream: "Desinfiado"
MPEG Stream: "U"

LASCOWIEC Asgard Mysteries (Dark Hidden Productions) cd 13.98
We sold out of these pretty quick, so for those of you who may have missed out, here's another chance...
We've been meaning to review something from this SF duo for a while now, the mysteriously monickered Z.V.H. and V.J.C, who make up the equally mysterious Lascoviec (formerly Angkor Vat). But their demos disappeared before we had the chance, and we've yet to receive the forthcoming split with Hungarian black metal masters Marblebog, but thankfully, Dark Hidden Productions has compiled their first two demos, Gesamkunstwerk and Gunshots Ring Out Over Vinland Streets, both originally released in 2006, onto one cd, and added a few bonus tracks to sweeten the deal.
Lascoviec traffic in droning, hypnotic, trance like black metal buzz, the guitars long washed out streaks, the vocals a distorted croak, often sounding like another layer of static, the melodies are melancholy and sorrowful, some tracks have programmed drums, pounding away machine like under a buzzy blurry blanket of epic majestic chordal whir, others are harsh and chaotic, with the drums lost int he mix, leaving just a thick undulating sheet of acid riffing and tortured vokills. There are plenty of clean guitars, and tranquil folky interludes, but just as many grinding ultra raw blackened dirges, the guitars thick and viscous, the vocals more of a animalistic hiss, the drums a buried throb, here and there dreamy washes of synth surface, but far from being tranquil, they're fuzzy and distorted, and slightly ominous, with a definite Tim Hecker or Philip Jeck vibe. Elsewhere the band craft weird sort of new wave sounding reverbed guitar jam, but still subtly creepy and haunting. Swirls of strings build ominous tension before exploding into super sharp jagged shards of weirdly blown out clean guitar riffing over relentless blastbeats.
And that's sort of what's so amazing about these guys, their sound varies so dramatically, from record to record, but even from song to song, sort of like the EEE stuff, the texture and the production are as critical as the songs and the riff, some are muted and murky and bassy and lo fi, others are sharp and angular, the guitars sonically are all over the place, sometimes soft and subtle, sometimes downtuned and sludgy, sometimes buzzy and brittle, the drums more often than not are buried WAY down in the mix, but that just makes the songs sound freer, as if they could fall apart or drift away at any moment.
Grim and gorgeous, twisted and intense, dramatic and a bit fucked up, long sheets of buzzed out bliss butted up against short sharp raw blasts of true blurred blackness, often getting all tangled up within the same song. What's not to like, this is some seriously amazing shit. Buzzy and black enough for the grimmest of warriors, but tripped out enough for folks into freaky outsider blackness.
Fair warning: Lasoviec are on Dark Hidden Productions, a label with dubious political leanings, and with definite ties to the Pagan Front, the hub for all things NSBM, aka National Socialist Black Metal. Although the band seem to be more concerned with themes cosmic and spiritual, nature and mythology, there are definite racist implications, the link is undeniable, so regardless of the band's stance, the label's is clear, and thus, another instance where the listener has to decide if the music trumps the possible unpleasant politics.
MPEG Stream: "I"
MPEG Stream: "II"
MPEG Stream: "Borghild Darkened"
MPEG Stream: "Outro"

LASCOWIEC / MARBLEBOG / VERZIVATAR Deep Horizons Of Eternity (Turanian Honour) cd 9.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We've been trying to get our hands on enough of these to list for ages, a killer 3 way split of obscure strangely melodic blackness, released on Hungarian label Turanian Honour, featuring long time aQ faves Marblebog, Bay Area depressive black metal duo Lascowiec and Verzivatar, another Hungarian horde we had never heard until now.
Lascowiec, whose killer demo compilation we raved about a while back (which we still have a small handful left), returns with four more tracks of washed out black beauty, darkly depressive and beautifully buzzy, the music of Lascowiec is a blurred and smeared minor key mystery, remove the distorted vokill croak, and you'd be left with a deep swirling shoegazey bit of soft focus buzz. The riffs are muted and muddy, lo-fi but still lush, locked into trancelike loops, woozy and warbly and hypnotic, about as pretty as black metal can sound without ceasing to be black or metal. Spidery tangled little melodies, wreathed in otherworldly effects, distorted but not harsh or jagged, more smoothed out and blissy, the vocals the grimmest element, but for the most part, it's the music that carries Lascowiec, gorgeously mournful, and hauntingly lovely buzzy blackness.
Marblebog offer up two songs, epic and majestic, melodic too, but with some super twisted way UP in the mix vocals, that transform an otherwise loping mysterious minor key dirge into something creeped out and harrowing. The main melody is gorgeous, almost power metal sounding, albeit slowed down and draped over a monotonous doomy drum plod, but those vocals, the perfect blend of harsh and hellish, brooding and pretty. Their second track is another strange blend, this time the guitars and drums are buried beneath thick swirling keyboards, and some fucked up demonic gurgled croaking vocals. Again, the effect is the same, a sort of woozy softly buzzing prettiness transformed into a fractured, Burzumic, off kilter depressive black dirge.
Finally Verzivatar deliver two tracks of fierce and frantic blasting blackness, but like the other two bands on the split, their sound is marked by an unlikely melodiousness, the riffs, frenetic and buzzy are also soaring and majestic, the vocals here too are weird, but less black metal, or really metal at all, more like a raspy punkish howl, or a strangled mewl. Gives Verzivatar a sort of crusty punkish vibe, reminding us a bit of French faerical black metal punks Nuit Noire. Definitely need to hear more from these guys.
All three bands offer up some seriously gorgeous melodic grimness, some surprisingly blissed out black metal buzz, unfortunately this is LIMITED TO 666 COPIES, and has been out for a while, so not sure we can get more. Each one is hand numbered, with a big full color booklet, liner notes, lyrics and the works.
MPEG Stream: LASCOWIEC "By Eight Hooves To Asgard"
MPEG Stream: MARBLEBOG "Rivers Of Eternity"
MPEG Stream: VERZIVATAR "Final Catharsis"

LAST ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC SPACE JAZZ & PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE, THE (MADLIB) Miles Away (Stones Throw) cd 17.98
Madlib is one prolific producer, one of our favorites actually, but there is something refreshing to hear his fine production techniques with a live jazz ensemble. Miles Away plays special tribute to all the cosmic jazz and groove we love from artists in the sixties and seventies, from John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, The Tribe's Phil Ranelin, Fred Walker, Roy Ayers, Larry Young, Woody Shaw, and Harry Whitaker amongst others. Basically, all of the cats who have inspired hip-hop over the last few decades. Lots of tribal percussion, piano, vibes and flutes in airy compositions that are as contemplative as they are grooving. Beautiful! Nicely packaged in a miniature lp style sleeve, too.
MPEG Stream: "One for The Monica Lingas Band"
MPEG Stream: "Tones For Larry Young"
MPEG Stream: "Mystic Voyage (For Roy Ayers)"

LAST EXIT Koln (Atavistic) cd 14.98
Brotzmann, Sharrock, Jackson and Laswell kick out the jams in Koln!

LAST HARD MEN, THE s/t (Spitfire) cd 17.98
This isn't new or anything, but how the hell did we miss this?!? And more importantly, how could this not be the best band ever? Jimmy Flemion from the Frogs on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Chamberlin from the Smashing Pumpkins on drums, Kim Deal of the Pixies / the Breeders and last but not least, Skid Row's Sebastian Bach on lead vocals. Sounds like a mess, and it is. Kind of. But in a really good way. The Last Hard Men are all over the sonic map. From grungy metallic rock numbers, to percussive reworkings of show tunes ("I Enjoy Being A Girl"), to Alice Cooper covers ("School's Out"), to totally majestic, and totally great rock ballads, to Scorpions covers ("In Search Of The Peace Of Mind"), to retardedly simple Frogs-like singalongs, to weird band personality interviews, and everything in between. When we first heard this, we weren't exactly sure what to think, but the more we hear these songs, the more they seep into our brain at all hours of the day. Some awesomely atrocious cover art adds to the overall weirdness (and may account for us never having noticed it when it came out in 2001).
MPEG Stream: "Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "Who Made You Do It"
MPEG Stream: "The Most Powerful Man In The World"
MPEG Stream: "If You Want To Rock, Go To The Quarry"

LAST OF THE BLACKSMITHS s/t (self-released) cd 9.98
The hospitable Bay Area country/folk stable grows and grows. There's such an awesome sense of kinship among the artists (think of sorta 'six degrees of Jolie Holland' - yes, she does make an appearance here on viola!). Garrett Pierce and Matt Bauer, the band's pals and terrific singer/songwriters in their own right, brought this in recently on the band's behalf, and we're glad they did. This self-titled, self-released album is quite an impressive debut. The Last Of The Blacksmiths' Americana sound which vacillates between woe begone twang and roots rock groove has much in common with the likes of Jason Molina, Jay Farrar and Will Oldham. Fans of those artists should definitely sit up and take notice.
MPEG Stream: "Knowing Me"
MPEG Stream: "Pushing Down"

LAST OF THE BLACKSMITHS Young Family Song (Vanguard Squad) cd ep 11.98
You might recall The Last Of The Blacksmiths' fine self-titled debut back in 2006. Despite this Bay Area band's name, The Last Of The Blacksmiths prove they're in no danger of extinction. They've stood strong for over two years and now have a sophomore cdep under their belt. If you've a hankering for some slow creeping soulful Americana, Young Family Song is for you. The band's brooding bleary folk-rock melancholia will bring you down in the best possible way. Steeped in hard liquor and salty tears, these are songs of slurred speech and blurred vision that cast a heady spell that linger long after this short ep is over.
MPEG Stream: "Autumn Vacation"
MPEG Stream: "Giving Up"

LAST OF THE JUANITAS Hawaii (Flapping Jet) cd 13.98
From San Diego comes indie rock's next big thing, Last of the Juanitas. People have been talking about this band for ages. Talking about how amazing their shows are, their records are. And there's definitely something to talk about here. Noisey, sloppy, super heavy indie rock, somewhere between Don Caballero, June of 44, A Minor Forest, Shellac and The Fucking Champs. One of this new breed of indie rock bands that aren't afraid of their metal (but still too scared to just come right out and BE A FUCKING METAL BAND, but that you can discuss at length with Andee or Allan some other time).

LAST OF THE JUANITAS Hawaii (Flapping Jet) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From San Diego comes indie rock's next big thing, Last of the Juanitas. People have been talking about this band for ages. Talking about how amazing their shows are, their records are. And there's definitely something to talk about here. Noisey, sloppy, super heavy indie rock, somewhere between Don Caballero, June of 44, A Minor Forest, Shellac and The Fucking Champs. One of this new breed of indie rock bands that aren't afraid of their metal (but still too scared to just come right out and BE A FUCKING METAL BAND, but that you can discuss at length with Andee or Allan some other time).

LAST OF THE JUANITAS In The Dirt (Wantage) cd 13.98

LAST OF THE JUANITAS Time's Up (Wantage USA) cd 14.98
People seem to get really worked up about this band, and it's kind of easy to see why. They're super heavy and noisy post rock with just enough metal to balance out the meandering noodly parts. Recorded loud and in your face, with drums all over the place, LOUD guitars and the vocals buried in the mix. Imagine Unwound, A Minor Forest, Bikini Kill and Shellac all mixed up with the results coming out sounding a little like the Oxes or Hella (or some other indie-metal combo) doing Le Tigre covers. Cool.
RealAudio clip: "Of Course, Nowadays, They Call It Stalking"
RealAudio clip: "Make You Cry"

LAST PLANE TO JAKARTA #4 zine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Now the paragraph on the back of the promotional copy of Secret Name that I've got would have us believe that '...it is best to describe Low's approach as essentialism -- allowing each musical gesture to make maximum impact.' For me, 'it is best' to light oneself on fire if the alternative involves having to read this sort of thing about a band as fine as Low." That's right, folks, issue #4 of Last Plane to Jakarta is hot off the presses and we've got the "North American exclusive", as John Darnielle likes to tell us. Mountain Goats is Darnielle's musical outlet, and Last Plane to Jakarta is his forum for writing about other peoples music. Here he ruminates on Low (by way of Gary Numan and Lou Reed), Grim Reaper, Amorphis, Pantychrist (Justin Bond, Bob Ostertag and Otomo Yoshihide), and Suede. While AQ certainly champions an eclectic body of music, Last Plane's table of contents contains such a motley selection of why-the-heck-is-he-writing-about-THAT-record records that it's a bit disconcerting -- UNTIL you read the witty, passionate essays. It doesn't really matter whether you like the records he champions or not because just reading about them is a true pleasure. Highly recommended!

LAST PLANE TO JAKARTA #6 magazine 3.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Newest issue of John Darnielle's impossibly well-written music zine. It's quite fitting that all the essays are actually in the form of correspondence ("Letter to the Publicist at Touch and Go", "73 postcards to Prominent Surrealists, Most of Them Dead", etc), since Darnielle's writing style is so fucking personable, personal and appealing. Musical topics covered -- everything from Blonde Redhead to Meat Puppets, Biz Markie and the terrible Greek black metal band Rotting Christ, and finally an essay on Deicide in the form of a letter by a v-e-r-y depressed Florida metalhead. This is some of the best music writing I have ever seen.
AQ is the only North American retail outlet for Last Plane to Jakarta. There's a website now, too, at http://www.lastplanetojakarta.com. All writing on the website is exclusive to it (the zine and website do not overlap) and new stuff appears every week. For those who can't get enough of Darnielle's writing, some reviews penned by Allan can also be found at the brand new website NeuMu (http://neumu.net), a smart new music website started by Michael Goldberg of Addicted to Noise fame. The reviews section is called 44.1mhz and some of his topics are Low/Dirty 3, Destroyer, Roto, The Band, Steven R. Smith, and Susperia. Enjoy!

LAST POETS, THE The Last Poets/This Is Madness (Light In The Attic) 2cd 19.98
A double-cd release of The Last Poets' first two albums! Their 1970 self-titled debut broke out and made its own scene, forging a way for hip hop with politically charged, African-American enlightenments in syncopated rhythm. Fans of Sun Ra will notice similarities in vocal stylings, emotion and lyrical content, though in The Last Poets this treatment is much more fierce and raw than mystical and cool. 1971's This Is Madness got them a spot on President Nixon's Counter-Intelligence Programming lists. These street poets' use of graphic language (including the 'N' word used, oh, about five million times) pounds out their frustrations in the racial and social state of the country and at the time helped to extend their messages to a broader audience by way of its pure and utter rawness. Nicely packaged in the albums' original artwork, these albums are fierce documents of the group's seminal contribution to that time and still stir up some of the same emotions today.
MPEG Stream: "Wake Up, Niggers"
MPEG Stream: "New York, New York"

LAST SHADOW PUPPETS, THE The Age Of The Understatement (Domino) cd 14.98
Some records are worth it for just one track. Even if the rest of the record is amazing. It's that one moment of sonic perfection, that almost renders the rest of the songs, and all of the other music, an afterthought.
Which is the case with this, the debut from The Last Shadow Puppets, a barely disguised homage to the orchestral pop of the legendary Scott Walker. Which is precisely why the opening track, "The Age Of The Understatement" is so irresistible. The strings, soaring and dramatic, the shuffling militaristic snares, the main hook, a swirling cinematic, almost Morricone-ish chunk of moody continental classic pop music. Fuck Amy Winehouse, these guys should be doing the theme to the new Bond movie. This is mysterious, stuff, evoking, cobblestone streets, tweed overcoat, wandering lonely villages hands in pockets, head down against the cold wind, everything steely grey, winter skies, brooding clouds, fleeting shadows, little corner cafes, a missed rendezvous. Even the video taps into that, a lonely ice skater, tanks trundling through some winter landscape, the natty band members looking all sixties and mod, in overcoats and turtlenecks, astride the tanks, amidst soldiers, neon, empty concert halls, long Soviet looking hallways, huge empty town squares. Which makes it even more surprising to find out that the Puppets are in fact, Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner, a guy from Simian Mobile Disco, the guy from Final Fantasy and a member of UK pop band the Rascals.
It's not just that track either, the whole record is subtly over the top but perfect, dark, shimmery, chunky and rocking here and there, but more sort of brooding and mysterious, channeling the same sort of pomp and drama of classic Walker while giving it a slight modern tweak. The vocals are obvious, Turner's twang is so distinct, and he doesn't do much to disguise it, singing exactly how he would (and did) in the Arctic Monkeys, but it works, even in this new sonic landscape.
And even with the opening track being that good, the rest of the record holds up pretty well, introducing horns, vibraphone, sizzling synths, and all sorts of subtle sonic mystery into their dark string laden pop. Some tracks are sunshine-y and jangley, but even then, they are infused with a certain amount of foreboding. The more rocking tracks are thick with buzzing synths, and propulsive drumming, but those too, never lose their cinematic moodiness. And the strings, arranged by Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, who would have thought he had it in him, it's really the defining sound of the record, they soar and shimmer, shooting out high end streaks here, unfurling moaning cello like drones there, swirling into little climactic frenzies or drifting into lush minor key backdrops.
Every song is a like a little glimpse of some mysterious cold war spy movie, starring some dashing mystery man, rife with chase scenes, assassins, spies, murder, love, loss and betrayal, all set to The Last Shadow Puppets' pitch perfect chamber pop.
MPEG Stream: "The Age Of The Understatement"
MPEG Stream: "Standing Next To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Calm Like you"

LAST STEP s/t (Planet Mu) cd 14.98
Not much is known about Last Step. Apparently it's the work of one guy in Canada who prefers to stay very anonymous, even when dealing with his label Planet Mu, as it's reported they don't even know who he is and when they've talked to him on the phone he uses a vocoder and has all royalty checks sent to him via the St. Bernadetta Synth Hospital. But then again, Last Step might be the work of Aaron Funk (aka Venetian Snares). Luckily, anonymity isn't the only intriguing thing about Last Step, as it's his use of vintage old-school analog equipment that has won us over. Think Wagon Christ, Giorgio Moroder & Afrika Bambaataa all locked in a room with their old gear and your start to get an idea of what kind of old-school flavored electronica Last Step is all about.
MPEG Stream: "Lives With Angels"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Powder"

LASWELL, BILL Carlos Santana Divine Light (Legacy) cd 17.98
Why does Mr. Laswell anger me so? Well, while there is no question he is a very talented man, perhaps it is his shameless genre-bandwagon jumping and his insidious cashing in on other people's accomplishments that irks me. Yes, I think that's it.

LASWELL, BILL Dub Chamber 3 (ROIR) cd 14.98
It's Laswell. It's dub. It's his 3047th album this year, with 943 on the way. What more do you need to know.

LASWELL, BILL Imaginary Cuba (BMG) cd 15.98
Oh, come on, Bill. Ry Cooder already did this with the Buena Vista Social Club AND without watering down the beauty of indigenous Cuban musics with tepid 'dub' basslines and generic 'ambience'. This is musical imperialism at its worst.

LASWELL, BILL Invisible Design (Tzadik) cd 15.98
The newest solo album by this shockingly prolific bass player/composer/ producer. The liner notes say this is a 'cd of black magic and spiritual passion.' It's more like a experimental record of studio fuckery involving multiple bass tracks and assorted Laswellisms.

LASWELL, BILL Oscillations (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98
Yet another drum & bass novice tries his hand. This time it's Mr Laswell with help from DJ Ninj (also heard on recent Derek Bailey album) and it is actually quite good (surprising given recent Laswell mediocrities).

LASWELL, BILL Oscillations (Sub Rosa) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another drum & bass novice tries his hand. This time it's Mr Laswell with help from DJ Ninj (also heard on recent Derek Bailey album) and it is actually quite good (surprising given recent Laswell mediocrities).

LASWELL, BILL Oscillations Remixes (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98
Laswell's execllent drum 'n' bass "Oscillations" foray gets revamped by the likes of Vedic, Nico, Atom Heart (particularly great track, that one), Japan's Bisk, Belgium's DJ Grazhoppa, Endemic Void, Soul Static Sound, the ubiquitous Scanner, and even Ui.

LASWELL, BILL Sacred System: Chapter Two (Roir/Reachout) cd 15.98
Features Nicky Skopelitis, Graham Haynes and Bill Buchen. Sitar and tablas intersect with dub bass, processed flugelhorn and traps; and without colliding, playfully whirl around each laying down a tapestry of deep grooves and bissed-out ambience.

LASWELL, BILL Silent Recoil (Low) cd 15.98
"[This album] is a solid introduction to the Laswell sound and the Low label as a whole. For those unfamiliar with Las' work...A quick rundown is probably impossible; suffice to say his work with electronic music has largely dealt with lush, hyperrealistic environmental ambient and crisp, loping dub reggae. Silent Recoil brings these two elements into close proximity for its first two tracks, with echoey, slightly metallic drum loops and Laswell's seamless basslines pounding against dense, textures-deep tapestries of high res ambiance... This is groove music for home consumption; preferably quite loud and with few distractions. The third track, however, is a beast of an entirely different nature, and could almost carry the album even if the other two tracks were crap. An epic 25-plus minutes in length, "Undercurrent (Endless Light In The Nameless Land)" is the sort of chilly, richly-hued, dripping stalactite ambient that made Outer Dark and Outland such brilliant records. The elements are all familiar--nightmarish moans, field recordings, sparse synth passages, random bits of percussion--but as in all quality Laswell productions their combination here is novel, creating mood-based dynamics where perhaps melody or rhythm would be, bringing texture and a particular orientation toward sound to the forefront rather than the more easily grasped strategies of the album's first half-hour. Heads looking for pretty melodies or easily digested hooks won't find much of use hear, but then Laswell has never positioned himself as a particularly easy listen, and it would appear with Low (if Silent Recoil is any indication) that that, at least, hasn't changed." -- Loquacious Sean Cooper

LASWELL, BILL & PETE NAMLOOK Psychonavigation 2 (Fax) cd 15.98

LASWELL, BILL / MILES DAVIS Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974 (Columbia) cd 16.98
A "reconstruction and mix translation" by Laswell, long awaited and hotly debated...and rumoured to be quickly pulled, due to some disputes over rights...

LATARTARA, JOHN & KHRISTIAN WEEKS With For Intoned (Sachimay) cd 13.98
Drone-obsessive experiments from new music composers John Latartara and Khristain Weeks use repeating sonic figures from Tibetal bowls, string quartet, flute, and tape manipulation of differing lengths to create cyclical repetitions.

LATCHO DROM (OST) (Caroline) cd 15.98

LATE BP HELIUM Amok (Orange Twin) cd 14.98
A new combo on Jeff Mangum's label Orange Twin Recordings. Much like their likeminded predecessors from the Mangum-led Elephant 6 music collective (Olivia Tremor Control and their many offshoots), Late BP Helium won't be pigeonholed into any single genre category. They've a sound that's very hard to pin down, cavorting in the carnivalesque, the horn skronkin' funky, the psychedelic, the experimental and the playfully poppy. Sometimes reminiscent of Lloyd Cole, OTC, The Jam and/or a Rachel's-y chamber string ensemble even. Is that diverse enough for you? If you dig music that doesn't linger in one place for longer than one song, the flighty Late BP Helium might be just the band for you.
MPEG Stream: "Candy For Everyone"
MPEG Stream: "Reminder To Self"

LATE YOUNG Nativity (Laughing Cops Unlimited) cd-r 3.98
Tantric no wave. If you can dig on the hypnotic and disturbing qualities of groups like Swans, or maybe a Godflesh with live drumming, you're getting close. Late Young isn't about one specific moment, the whole consumes itself. You've really got to enjoy the dark, suspended animation and become immersed within the dynamics of an aural onslaught. At the end, with a healthy session of reflection, you may feel closer to understanding, or coming to peace with what you've just experienced. It doesn't need any obvious, gimme hooks or sing-a-longs. It's more about creating an environment, teasing it up to it's maximum potential, then annihilating it. Picture Thom Wilson (who produced both TSOL and Christian Death) and New York no wave group Mars undergoing some animalistic transmogrification alongside His Hero Is Gone. Just fucking brutal, dark, repetitive, spiritual. This disc contains four tracks, each of which is an effects-soaked, fist full of mushroom nightmares. These particular recordings were born "out of sessions probing the helter skelter limits at the altar of guitar perversion, tom heavy foundation, and worship of holy reverb." Let go, sit back, and be consumed.
MPEG Stream: "Suez Canal"
MPEG Stream: "Monochrome"

LATEDUSTER Easy Pieces (Merck) cd 13.98

LATEDUSTER Five Easy Pieces (Firetrunk) cd ep 12.98
Lateduster are a pleasingly lowkey, soothing combo from Minneapolis, and guess what? We've got not one, but two cds by them in stock - this right here is their new five song ep. Neither release veers too far from their path of mellowness, if anything, these newer tracks are a bit more active and at times tread on more solid ground than those that came before. Five Easy Pieces shows Lateduster shifting gears somewhat, trading in the soft washes and sparse twang of their self-titled debut for a more sinewy electric guitar sound and a definite overall jazzy feel. Features members of Fog - Andrew Broder and Martin Dosh.
MPEG Stream: "Shaker/Flicker"
MPEG Stream: "A Gallon Of Hope"

LATEDUSTER s/t (Firetrunk) cd 12.98
One of two Lateduster cds that we have in stock right now! This is officially their full length debut, but it's actually a collection of two new songs and six remastered ones which were originally released on two previous eps. Are we making things more confusing than necessary? Let's make things a bit more straightforward then and say that this Minneapolis trio have made some lovely pastoral soundscapes - soothing lengthy ones that allow you to sink in for a good five to ten minutes. They done so by skillfully blending together drifting waves of spartan lanky guitars, sampled beats, gently grooving bass, shuffling percussion, and electronic hiss and sputter - locking in with each other for a spell, then dispersing into the mist. Features members of Fog - Andrew Broder and Martin Dosh. Very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Leave It On"
MPEG Stream: "Watermelancholy"

LATIN PLAYBOYS Dose (Atlantic) cd 15.98
Newest offering from the still odd pairing of David Hidalgo and Louie Perez from Los Lobos and hotshot producers Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom that resulted in their breathtaking 1994 debut. Dose continues in the same vein, but sacrifices song for sound, eschewing the more 'pop' sensiblities of the first record, in favor of a dark, sound effect laden, oddly produced barrio soundscape.

LATYRX The Album (Quannum Projects) cd 14.98
This amazing album was originally issued in 1997 but it sounds so incredibly fresh even today -- I readily admit that I didn't recognize its true brilliance until now. Most of the members of the now-famous Solesides crew pitched in on this self-titled debut statement from Latyrx (MCs Lateef and Lyrics Born), including DJ Shadow who produces four stunning tracks, Chief Xcel, and Blackalicious. The two MCs often let their rhymes flow forth right on top of each other, a cool textural effect is produced, as if the production efforts weren't interesting sounding enough -- overall you're hearing Mo'Wax-style groove, smart samples, and advanced apocalyptic scariness that today's El-P and Cannibal Ox have perfected. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Latyrx"
RealAudio clip: "Burnt Pride"

LAU NAU Kuutarha (Locust) cd 14.98
Ahh, Finland. We've said that before. Now perhaps people in Finland think about California the way we think about Finland. But of course they'd be wrong. We don't have any analog to Moomins trolling about in our forests. Whereas our fantasies about that far-off land are quite accurate. At least, judging by the ongoing gurgle of cd-rs and tapes and cds and such flowing from their fertile "free-folk" underground, from Kemialliset Ystavat to Avarus to Kiila. And recordings like Lau Nau's Kuutarha just make our fantasies of Finland more and more vivid and otherworldly. Lau Nau is Laura Naukkarinen and a few friends. She's a very lovely singer, a member of Kiila, Paivansade, and Anaksimandros. Here her melodic Finnish-language vocals are set to droneily folkish backing, making for quitely distorted lullabies. Finnophiles will agree that this could also definitely be compared to Islaja, but perhaps rawer, more broken down and abstract. And to make a Finland-California comparison, well, this could basically be a Finnish version of Jewelled Antler's Franciscan Hobbies, with Laura Naukkarien's vocals. So very very nice. (Hmm, which came first? Jewelled Antler or the these Finnish forest folk folks? Doesn't matter, it's the zeitgeist we guess!)
For some reason, we like to look at the list of instruments and non-instruments used on records like these, maybe you do to, so here goes: acoustic bass, bass recorder, five-stringed kantele, acoustic guitar, tenor recorder, violin, bamboo flute, colorful juice glasses, mortar, mandolin, witch laugh megaphone, baby's rattle, bike bells, banjo, cowbells, electric guitar, organ, willow whistle, tablas, percussion, cymbals, comb, beer cans, tamboura...
MPEG Stream: "Jos Mimulla Olis"
MPEG Stream: "Kuula"

LAU NAU Kuutarha (Locust) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl, limited to 500 and just about gone we're told.... Ahh, Finland. We've said that before. Now perhaps people in Finland think about California the way we think about Finland. But of course they'd be wrong. We don't have any analog to Moomins trolling about in our forests. Whereas our fantasies about that far-off land are quite accurate. At least, judging by the ongoing gurgle of cd-rs and tapes and cds and such flowing from their fertile "free-folk" underground, from Kemialliset Ystavat to Avarus to Kiila. And recordings like Lau Nau's Kuutarha just make our fantasies of Finland more and more vivid and otherworldly. Lau Nau is Laura Naukkarinen and a few friends. She's a very lovely singer, a member of Kiila, Paivansade, and Anaksimandros. Here her melodic Finnish-language vocals are set to droneily folkish backing, making for quitely distorted lullabies. Finnophiles will agree that this could also definitely be compared to Islaja, but perhaps rawer, more broken down and abstract. And to make a Finland-California comparison, well, this could basically be a Finnish version of Jewelled Antler's Franciscan Hobbies, with Laura Naukkarien's vocals. So very very nice. (Hmm, which came first? Jewelled Antler or the these Finnish forest folk folks? Doesn't matter, it's the zeitgeist we guess!)
For some reason, we like to look at the list of instruments and non-instruments used on records like these, maybe you do to, so here goes: acoustic bass, bass recorder, five-stringed kantele, acoustic guitar, tenor recorder, violin, bamboo flute, colorful juice glasses, mortar, mandolin, witch laugh megaphone, baby's rattle, bike bells, banjo, cowbells, electric guitar, organ, willow whistle, tablas, percussion, cymbals, comb, beer cans, tamboura...
MPEG Stream: "Jos Mimulla Olis"
MPEG Stream: "Kuula"

LAU NAU Nukkuu (Locust) cd 14.98
Lau Nau's Nukuu walks an incredibly fine line between the expansive forms and consistent density and texture of drone music, while also hiding within that density many structural shifts more akin to folk music. Watching her music vibrate between these two poles is the main attraction on this record, but remarkably, she finds an incredible amount of detail and freedom to explore between them. The songs often anchor in centrifugal clusters of tone and texture, looping and feasting on themselves, while occasionally a lyrical vocal passage, or a particularly noteworthy electronic or acoustic phrase will emerge to a more singular position in the mix. Other songs however, are less roiling and give the listener the opportunity to bask in the delicacy and winsome precision in Lau's voice, sometimes creaky and childlike, other times whispered and ghostly. Lau's decisions regarding the modalities and textures of her instrumentation, as well as the cadences of her lyrics, sung in Suomi, all reflect Finland's liminal position between the influences of Europe and Asia. That said, given her lo-fi recording approach at times, she can sound eerily similar to some of the '78s we've been graced with in the past year from Dust-to-Digital's Victrola Favorites and Black Mirror collections. The obvious comparisons to Islaja and Kuupuu, her collaborators in Hertta Lussu Assa, yields Lau a more innocent, gentle, and dare we say motherly distinction, as opposed to the bewitching dark humor of the other two. Without indulging her biography too much, it is worth noting Lau gave birth to a son in the interim since her last album. Apparently much of the record was written while her child was sleeping, and so too it is titled, "sleeps." Naturally it follows that there are a few lullabies in the mix, but there is also a keen sense of independence, as though these songs are about digesting much more than motherhood, a feet in itself. Like another Scandinavian luminary on this list, El Perro Del Mar, Lau butts up against an almost hymnal like intimacy at times, though her work is naturally more feral, and less controlled and crystalline. Fans of all things Finnish will obviously be pleased, but those who've enjoyed Natural Snow Buildings, acts from the Dronevolk compilation, and even Valet will also find themselves gently coaxed into a similar but challenging musical terrain. All told, atmospheric and entrancing, subtle and intelligent, composed and vulnerable, Nukuu comes highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Lue Kartalta"
MPEG Stream: "Painovoimaa, Valoa"