GOOD FOR YOU Falling Out (Good Forks) cd 9.98
It seems San Francisco's Good for You aren't aiming to break any new ground with this debut album, but y'know often it's nice to tread a very familiar, well-trodden path. This hails from the catchy emo-land that'll never go out of style. All salute the early strains of Superchunk, Doug Martsch's pre-Built To Spill band the much more tense and angstful Treepeople, and the boy/girl harmonies of PEE and more recently The Anniversary.
RealAudio clip: "French Lies"

GORILLAZ Spacemonkeyz versus Gorillaz - Laika Come Home (Astralwerks) cd 16.98
This appears to be dub versions of tracks from the Gorillaz record. Said outfit, you will recall, is a project of AQ-pal Dan the Automator (Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) with main guests Damon Albarn (Blur), Miho Hatori etc. Bearing little resemblance to the original Gorillaz album, or indeed its other, first remix record spinoff, all vestiges of rock and hip hop are stripped away in order for the bass to get heavier, the vocals to get echo-ier, the pace to slow down. As dub, it's decent, if a trifle formulaic. Melodica, horns, organs, even a flute round out the sound. This is my favorite of the Gorillaz-related projects.
RealAudio clip: "19/2000 (Jungle Fresh)"
RealAudio clip: "Starshine (Dub 09)"

GOWNS Broken Bones (Latitudes) cd 14.98
Not too long ago, Gowns were at the forefront of SF's avant/noise-rock community, their live shows strung out between violent, explosive outbursts of earth shattering noise and intimate moments of quiet song craft. We loved the band's ability to seamlessly weave these two extremes into a beautifully violent sound that was difficult to classify but easy to get lost in. Catastrophically noisy, carefully composed, and effortlessly brutal, Broken Bones conveys the intimacy of a folk song with the delivery of a freight train.
Recorded after two full tours of the US and Italy, the band laid down these 5 tracks in the Southern Studios (in the dead of winter) to document the live set they had perfected on the road. The liner notes state these recordings reflect "a time when we were barely holding on by our fingernails", and certainly Broken Bones hovers on the cusp of uncertainty, each moment teetering between blissful resonance and utter destruction.
Heaven is by far our favorite track on the 19 minute ep, a song that became the highlight of every Gowns live set, and the recorded version captures everything we love about these guys. Quiet female vocals that fall somewhere between Kim Gordon and Nico, the silky voice recalling a drug laden evening before posing the question, "Is it white like heaven or dark like space?". Sporadic drumming, deep bass and spindly guitar gradually seep into the dreamy haze as the track slowly unfolds into a mind-melting, noise freak out.
Like all the Latitudes releases, limited, and distinctively packaged.
MPEG Stream: "Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Griefer"

GOWNS Broken Bones (Latitudes) lp 16.98
Not too long ago, Gowns were at the forefront of SF's avant/noise-rock community, their live shows strung out between violent, explosive outbursts of earth shattering noise and intimate moments of quiet song craft. We loved the band's ability to seamlessly weave these two extremes into a beautifully violent sound that was difficult to classify but easy to get lost in. Catastrophically noisy, carefully composed, and effortlessly brutal, Broken Bones conveys the intimacy of a folk song with the delivery of a freight train.
Recorded after two full tours of the US and Italy, the band laid down these 5 tracks in the Southern Studios (in the dead of winter) to document the live set they had perfected on the road. The liner notes state these recordings reflect "a time when we were barely holding on by our fingernails", and certainly Broken Bones hovers on the cusp of uncertainty, each moment teetering between blissful resonance and utter destruction.
Heaven is by far our favorite track on the 19 minute ep, a song that became the highlight of every Gowns live set, and the recorded version captures everything we love about these guys. Quiet female vocals that fall somewhere between Kim Gordon and Nico, the silky voice recalling a drug laden evening before posing the question, "Is it white like heaven or dark like space?". Sporadic drumming, deep bass and spindly guitar gradually seep into the dreamy haze as the track slowly unfolds into a mind-melting, noise freak out.
Like all the Latitudes releases, limited, and distinctively packaged.
MPEG Stream: "Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Griefer"

GRAND LAKE Nevermint (500 Records) cd 10.98
When the opening tune of Nevermint kicks off, we were immediately struck by its remarkable Pixies-ness. Clearly that venerable band's impact has been mighty on Grand Lake. It resurfaces often on this their debut album. That has its up side and its down side. You get a immediate sense of familiarity which might be a plus if you dig the Pixies. On the other hand, they run the risk of swift dismissal with folks who don't like those rock vets or soundalike bands in general. Funnily enough though, that particular song's title is "Concrete Blonde On Blonde"(!). So we were sort of expecting them to sound like... umm, Johnette Napolitano or Bob Dylan, but no. Fortunately it is actually on the numbers where Mr. Black and co.'s influence is less apparent that these Oaklanders (led by former Port O'Brien singer/bassist Caleb Nichols) really shine brightest, melting into some delightful hazy daydreamy indie pop with warm boy-girl vocal harmonies. Check out "Blue Hoodie". We're only half kidding when we say we'd prefer that they lay off the Pixiestix, heh heh, and dish out more of their own honey pop sweetness. Recommended if you like Caribou, Loney, Dear, and/or fellow Bay Area pop band The Papercuts who also have a terrific new album out now! They go together really well!
MPEG Stream: "Concrete Blonde On Blonde"
MPEG Stream: "Blue Hoodie"

GRANFALOON BUS Exploded View (Boxkite) cd 11.98
From SF's criminally underrecognized Granfaloon Bus comes a stunning new album, full of slide guitar, lush guitar, epic backup singing, and super earnest male vocals that spin out incandescently gorgeous lyrics like "It orbits within the glare as time stands still in there the suspense grows / Bend one till it becomes all others, drink the carousel in circles, till vendors mine from riversides x-mas bells slagged from hell's boom years." Doleful and solemn with a lot of twanged-out prettiness, and more than a bit like Giant Sand and the Court & Spark. With guests Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle), William Winant, Ted Ellison (Fuck?), Carrie Bradley (100 Watt Smile), etc. Very nice.
RealAudio clip: "The Bender"

GRANFALOON BUS Good Funeral Weather (Trocadero) cd 10.98
Brand new album from local favorites.

GRANFALOON BUS Necks & Backs (Purple Turtle) cd 11.98

GRASS WIDOW Milo Minute (HLR) 7" 5.98
Oh damn! This brand new 7" from Grass Widow finds these ladies really hitting their stride. Released on their brand new imprint HLR, it features a great new jam called "Milo Minute" which further shows how they excel at crafting pop songs that incorporate post-punk, '60s girl groups and '90s riot grrl elements with such satisfying results. The B-side has two awesome covers, "Time Keeps Time" by Neo Boys, and "Mannequin" by Wire. They do those in a style that makes us think of a slightly heavier Aislers Set. Which is of course AWESOME!
One of our favorite 7"s of the year so far!

GRASS WIDOW Past Time (Kill Rock Stars) cd 15.98
There was a time when just about anything on Kill Rock Stars was guaranteed to be totally fucking great. Oh that special era of the '90s and the early '00s, when KRS were putting out records by folks like Unwound, Sleater Kinney, Elliott Smith, Erase Errata, Biking Kill, Quixotic, The Gossip, etc. By being one the most visible outlets for rad female and queer artists it was a label that really tapped into the best and most soulful parts of punk rock's past. All the bands had their own sound and unique vision, running the gamut from intimate folk to angular post-punk and anthemic physical minded and super smart art-punk. Sadly over the last several years the label has scaled back quite a bit and not everything they release is as special as it once was. But Grass Widow really do sound right at home and tap into that golden era of the label with a sound and spirit that really represents the essence of what made so many of us so inspired by the Kill Rock Stars vision to begin with.
Grass Widow is one of those rare bands that you could tell had something super special about them from the get go. Our local college radio station KUSF got a handmade cd-r release from them before they had an official release out and it immediately became a big hit at the station. And then they released a 12" and lp on Make A Mess and Captured Tracks that we all went crazy for, and now with their debut for Kill Rock Stars they have put out their most fully realized set of songs yet. Past Time wastes no time jumping right into the punchy harmonies and vocal melodies that drive the record from start to finish. Carrying a Raincoats torch with such ease and undeniable conviction. We're also reminded of a slightly more twee version of Sleater Kinney. As well as their peers like Wet Dog, Effie Briest, and Brilliant Colors they are part of a new wave of post-punk bands with a spirit and sound that is so goddamn good right now. And while we love all the aforementioned bands, we might just be most in love with Grass Widow. For sure the best release to come out on Kill Rock Stars in a long time. So great!
MPEG Stream: "Shadow"
MPEG Stream: "Landscape"
MPEG Stream: "11 Of Diamonds"

GRASS WIDOW Past Time (Kill Rock Stars) lp 16.98
Now on Vinyl!
There was a time when just about anything on Kill Rock Stars was guaranteed to be totally fucking great. Oh that special era of the '90s and the early '00s, when KRS were putting out records by folks like Unwound, Sleater Kinney, Elliott Smith, Erase Errata, Biking Kill, Quixotic, The Gossip, etc. By being one the most visible outlets for rad female and queer artists it was a label that really tapped into the best and most soulful parts of punk rock's past. All the bands had their own sound and unique vision, running the gamut from intimate folk to angular post-punk and anthemic physical minded and super smart art-punk. Sadly over the last several years the label has scaled back quite a bit and not everything they release is as special as it once was. But Grass Widow really do sound right at home and tap into that golden era of the label with a sound and spirit that really represents the essence of what made so many of us so inspired by the Kill Rock Stars vision to begin with.
Grass Widow is one of those rare bands that you could tell had something super special about them from the get go. Our local college radio station KUSF got a handmade cd-r release from them before they had an official release out and it immediately became a big hit at the station. And then they released a 12" and lp on Make A Mess and Captured Tracks that we all went crazy for, and now with their debut for Kill Rock Stars they have put out their most fully realized set of songs yet. Past Time wastes no time jumping right into the punchy harmonies and vocal melodies that drive the record from start to finish. Carrying a Raincoats torch with such ease and undeniable conviction. We're also reminded of a slightly more twee version of Sleater Kinney. As well as their peers like Wet Dog, Effie Briest, and Brilliant Colors they are part of a new wave of post-punk bands with a spirit and sound that is so goddamn good right now. And while we love all the aforementioned bands, we might just be most in love with Grass Widow. For sure the best release to come out on Kill Rock Stars in a long time. So great!
MPEG Stream: "Shadow"
MPEG Stream: "Landscape"
MPEG Stream: "11 Of Diamonds"

GRASS WIDOW s/t (Make A Mess) (Make A Mess) lp 12.98
Not to be confused with their s/t 12" on Captured Tracks, this is also self titled, but actually a full length record from this awesome Bay Area trio, who most definitely know how to whip up some seriously awesome art punk garage rock. A bit more raw and rocking than the 12" but still very much in the tradition of bands like the Shop Assistants, Young Marble Giants, Vaselines, Kleenex, The Fall, as well as fitting really nicely alongside current comrades like Thee Oh Sees, Brilliant Colors, Vivian Girls, etc. There's such a sense of urgency and immediate energy that comes pouring out in these songs as well as a timeless quality to their approach that will no doubt give their sound a lasting power. They even incorporate trumpet really nicely into a couple of the tracks, including a slow burner called "Time Could Bend" which demonstrates the kind of dynamics Grass Widow are really capable of. There is a haunting/beautiful quality to their vocal delivery as well which reminds us a bit of one of our favorite and most underrated bands from a decade ago, Quixotic. We're definitely gonna keep our eyes and ears glued to what these ladies do because every record so far has been amazing, and they definitely seem like they'll only keep getting better and better...

GRAVE BABIES Pleasure / Deathwish (Hardly Art) 7" 5.50
Brand new single from these Seattle goth poppers and it's a pretty fantastic slab of blown out minor key dour pop bliss. The A side is all dirgey and fuzzy, the sound super distorted and in-the-red, sounding like some sort of Cure / Jesus And Mary Chain hybrid, hazy dreamy vocals drifting over wistful minor key guitar melodies, and a murky distorted rhythm, there's a killer hook hidden in there too. But it's the B side we're a bit obsessed with, a dubby, druggy, tripped out, gothy doomy ballad, all super reverbed plink plonk piano, the vocals dramatic and crooning, the whole vibe dark and hazy and brooding, the sound remaining weirdly raw and lo-fi and blown out, which makes the record SOUND like those old faded photographs LOOK, washed out and dreamily blurry, at times it almost sounds like Interpol slowed way down and dirtied way up.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!

GRAVES BROTHERS DELUXE Gonna Happen To You (Unsafe At Any Speed) cd 9.98
Here is the second disc from local all stars The Graves Brothers Deluxe. made up of former members of Thin White Rope, Granfaloon Bus, Dingle and Lunchbox. An eclectic record with moods ranging from loungy and crooning to psychedelic-rockabilly to jazzy, quirky, and experimental. There is an instrumental, very soundtrack-like number, and some crazy Zappa or Mr. Bunglesqe moments. Impressive instrumentation done by talented musicians, but a bit too wacky and all over the place for my taste. I think fans of previous endeavours will like some of the songs but I doubt many will like all of them.
RealAudio clip: "Ashtray Heights"
RealAudio clip: "Electrical"

GRAVES BROTHERS DELUXE, THE Little Love Things (Munster) cd 14.98
Good solid indie rock with enormous energy from local group, featuring two guys from Thin White Rope, and members of Granfaloon Bus and Lunchbox. Fans of Thin White Rope, Giant Sand will enjoy this.
RealAudio clip: "Gypsies, Whores and Doctors"

GRAVY TRAIN All The Sweet Stuff (Cochon) cd 13.98
Yay! It's a new outing from one of the most wildest, sassiest & sauciest bands anywhere on the globe. Of course they live right here in the Bay Area doing us proud and carrying the torch for carefree, queer & proud, all-out fun in your face pop that draws just as much from bubblegum and girl-groups as it does garage rock, electro-pop and riot grrl. All The Sweet Stuff is by far their best album so far, with guests like Sugar & Gold on a few tracks and Hey Willpower adding his sexy voice to a Frenchified version of Deee-Lite's "Call Me." Filling that great American void of party-pop that folks abroad have been doing so well (CSS, Bonde De Role, Stereo Total). There is no one else we'd like to play our party than Gravy Train. They are like the bouncy offspring of the Cockettes & The B-52's. They make you wanna stay up late and see midnight movies, and have a slumber party, eat lots of candy, make crank calls, and play a scandalous round of spin the bottle. If the kids know what's good for them they'll all be jumping on the Gravy Train and so should anyone with a young heart and a taste for trashiness done so right!
MPEG Stream: "D.A.N.N.Y"
MPEG Stream: "Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Doin' Tonite?"
MPEG Stream: "Call Me In French"

GRAVY TRAIN All The Sweet Stuff (Cochon) lp 13.98
Yay! It's a new outing from one of the most wildest, sassiest & sauciest bands anywhere on the globe. Of course they live right here in the Bay Area doing us proud and carrying the torch for carefree, queer & proud, all-out fun in your face pop that draws just as much from bubblegum and girl-groups as it does garage rock, electro-pop and riot grrl. All The Sweet Stuff is by far their best album so far, with guests like Sugar & Gold on a few tracks and Hey Willpower adding his sexy voice to a Frenchified version of Deee-Lite's "Call Me." Filling that great American void of party-pop that folks abroad have been doing so well (CSS, Bonde De Role, Stereo Total). There is no one else we'd like to play our party than Gravy Train. They are like the bouncy offspring of the Cockettes & The B-52's. They make you wanna stay up late and see midnight movies, and have a slumber party, eat lots of candy, make crank calls, and play a scandalous round of spin the bottle. If the kids know what's good for them they'll all be jumping on the Gravy Train and so should anyone with a young heart and a taste for trashiness done so right!
MPEG Stream: "D.A.N.N.Y"
MPEG Stream: "Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Doin' Tonite?"
MPEG Stream: "Call Me In French"

GRAVY TRAIN Are You Wigglin? (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Am I wigglin!? You know I am! Gravy Train's second full-length release features thee summer punk-wave grit-pop jamm, "Darque Tan", as well as the, to put it lightly, sexually-leaning "Ghost Boobs" and "Pussy Sauce". This super-cute San Francisco foursome pick up where Fannypack's "Cameltoe" left off and take it to a whole new level of over-sexed summer fun! If you love sarcastic, sassy, ghoulishly artsy & lo-fi, electro hyper post-punk, you MUST get on the Gravy Train!!! Also for fans of Les Georges Leningrad, Veronica Lipgloss, good ol' Peaches, etc.
Note bene: this is NOT the same band as the proggy Gravy Train from Lancershire, England circa 1971. If you read through this review and listened to the sound samples and still questioned it, hmmm.... you get a big spanking.
MPEG Stream: "Darque Tan"
MPEG Stream: "Pussy Sauce"

GRAVY TRAIN Hello Doctor (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Local foul mouthed crazy party girls (and one boy) are here to kick out the jams at last. This is all about the 6th grade toilet talk but dirty only the way we grownups can be. Lo-fi and high pitched squealed vocals that will drive you nuts or delight you only the way good 'ol peurile fun can (depending on where you stand). Sonically a little like Bratmobile, but with this whole eighties party-rap angle that's pretty charming. Tough to call, fun and freaky or a total waste of fucking time. But if you like dirty, silly embarrassing songs about sex and hamburgers, this may just hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Titties Bounce"
MPEG Stream: "Burger Baby"

GRAYCEON s/t (Vendlus) cd 13.98
Sounding just a bit like a weird cross between slo-mo doom bringers Asunder and tunics-and-tights folk metallers Falconer, San Francisco's Grayceon are an uncategorizable combo who rock the majestic medieval metal riffs in a sort of chamber-prog / post-rock context, with a big part of their sound deriving from the droning classical cello stylings of Jackie Perez Gratz (who indeed also saws the cello strings for Asunder, and also plays in Amber Asylum). Pummelling drums and sometimes thrashy guitar round out the trio's lineup, with both clean male and female vocals in the mix, though Grayceon's approach could work just as well instrumentally. The caress of their loud-soft, soft-loud dynamics should find this appealing to both indie/post rockers and, say, fans of Hammers Of Misfortune and the Fucking Champs. Imagine Rachel's on a date with Apocalyptica, perhaps. This self-titled debut consists of four songs in 45 minutes -- the last and longest track clocks in at an epic, elegant 20 minutes, and, like the rest of the album, provides stately and somber moodiness alongside headbangingly metallic moments... it's mournful, technical, and we think pretty cool!
MPEG Stream: "Sounds Like Thunder"
MPEG Stream: "Into The Deep"

GRAYCEON This Grand Show (Vendlus) cd 14.98
San Francisco's own Grayceon follow up their self-titled 2007 debut with This Grand Show, a moody and majestic work that seamlessly merges gothy cello (yes, cello) dirges with more metallic riffage, resulting in a highly textured album, further augmented by the cleanly sung female/male vocals that bring to mind a sort of British folk/doom metal hybrid. Think Amber Asylum (of which cellist Jackie Perez Gratz is also a member) meets a less overtly crushing ASVA, with a bit of Pentangle thrown in. The complex, multifaceted songs take you on a dreamlike journey full of serpentine guitar riffs, plodding drumbeats and gloomy atmosphere. All the while, the cello keeps things nice and mournful, and just when you've serenely slipped into Grayceon's beautiful world of despair, the band effortlessly shows their METAL pedigree with hyperspeed blastbeats and an almost black metal heaviness. The result is hypnotic, beautiful, and intense. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Still The Desert"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep"

GREEN DAY Insomniac (DGC) cd 14.98

GREEN LAUGHTER s/t (Jewelled Antler) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Frogs!!! Can AQ-customers resist frog recordings? We think not. Certainly we can't. This cute lil' 3" cd is the first in a series dubbed the "Jewelled Antler Library" from our fave SF cd-r label of the same name. The idea being to release stuff that stands alone in twenty-minute doses and doesn't need to be padded out to full-cd length. There'll be entries from Jewelled Antler regulars like Thuja, likeminded folks such as Dead Raven Choir and Antony Milton, and also odd, one-off quirky projects like this one, for instance. Green Laughter is primarily frog field recordings made and edited by Loren Chasse (Thuja, Id Battery, Of, Blithe Sons, etc.). It's twenty minutes of the call of the wild (featuring frogs, cicadas, and perhaps birds), starting off as a fairly straight documentary and then blending into a computer-processed drone-wash constructed by Chasse from his original recordings. It's like wandering in a dense creature-inhabited forest back East somewhere in the summertime, your ears overwhelmed by the natural sounds, you getting dizzy and almost passing out, the ribbitting and chirping and buzzing and tweeting taking over your mind. But it eventually dissolves back into a blissful background ambience. Real nice. And many of the sounds on here that sound insect-like or electronic Loren assures us are in fact frogs. It's nature's electronic music, the sound of a laptop computer overwhelmed by heat and long grasses and the green laughter. Just the thing for when I (Allan) get homesick for Pennsylvania.
MPEG Stream: "Green Laughter"

GREENLIEF, PHILLIP / SCOTT AMENDOLA Collect My Thoughts (9Winds) cd 11.98

GREENLIGHT THE BOMBERS American Executive (Pencil Neck) cd 4.98
From the streets of SF comes this powerhouse of a rock outfit. Tighter than a squadron of B-52s in formation, Greenlight the Bombers deliver five tracks of seamless post-hardcore with angular guitar lines, loud-to-quiet dynamics and sinister basslines in the classic vein of bands like Drive Like Jehu, Quicksand, Fugazi and Shellac. Title track "American Executive" is a stand-out with a wickedly haunting vocal chant over menacing bass and drums that kicks into a solid heavy churn before dissipating into some sparse June of 44 type spaciness and then coming back with the rock in the end. Definitely one of the better new upcoming bands in this city, and do these guys have the coolest band name or what?
MPEG Stream: "Satchel"
MPEG Stream: "Perfect Cake"

GREY DATURAS / YELLOW SWANS s/t (JYRK) 2cd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As always, let's get this out of the way first. This is EXTREMELY LIMITED. Only 200 copies were made, and we took about a quarter of 'em. By the time you read this it will already be out of print, so as always, act fast if you want one of these!
You may remember a few lists back, we made the new record from The Grey Daturas, Dead In The Woods, our record of the week. And how could we not? We described their sound as: "blown out fuzzy psych rock. A blurry druggy mix of Hawkwind, the Dead C, Comets On Fire, Residual Echoes, Dead Meadow and Bardo Pond. From churning, throbbing fuzzdrug churn, with squealing feedback and choppy uneven riffing, to drifting dreamy stripped down post rock, all careening wildly between thick swaths of super overdriven psych fuzz, and drenched in crumbly distortion and all manner of wah!" Heck, that sounds so good, it makes us want to pull out Dead In The Woods and throw it on right now!! Well, the Daturas spent a couple months touring the US recently, and while they were in the Bay Area, they crashed with the guys in local free noise ensemble the Yellow Swans. And what do two bands do when they have a week to kill together? Record a record! Or in the case of these guys, record a super limited double cd-r! So what do you get when you mix the druggy free noise psych rock of the Daturas and the noisy clattery skree of the Yellow Swans? Well obviously noise is gonna play a big part of it. No real song structures to speak of, although occasionally a brooding bass line or a simple strummed riff will surface, this is mostly freaked out and free, ambient and abstract. Expansive swaths of guitar noise, amp buzz and electronic glitch and grit. Melodies drift and disintegrate while guitar and bass slowly unfurl all manner of rumble and drone. Definitely reminiscent of Skullflower, Sunroof!, Vibracathedral Orchestra, and all that sort of shimmery noisy goodness. Beautiful and droning and so so so good! Packaged in a super cool hand screened cardboard gatefold sleeve, with a creepy spike through the skull image screened on the front in metallic silver!
And in case you missed that bit at the beginning, SUPER SUPER LIMITED!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Two"

GRIS GRIS Live At The Creamery (Birdman) cd 14.98
It's impossible to predict which bands will get that big break and blow up and which bands will never get all the love and glory they deserve. It seems like the Gris Gris were always on the verge of their big break but for one reason or another it never seemed to happen, and we're not sure why. To our ears they were one of the most impressive and refreshing in the recent onslaught of psych revivalists. Fueled by a 13th Floor Elevators inspiration they cranked out songs with some serious fire and substance. In fact it's Greg Ashley's sophisticated songwriting chops that really set the Gris Gris head and shoulders above so many of the others, the bands who knew how to look the look and make all the right psychedelic signifier sounds and images but didn't really have the true songs to back it all up. Sadly they called it quits or at least decided to take a long hiatus a few months ago, but luckily their legend can live on through this great record, a live show recorded in Oakland this past spring. Fiery renditions of lots of our favorite Gris Gris tracks and further proof that this is a band that deserves more ears to hear just what made them so special.
MPEG Stream: "Everytime"
MPEG Stream: "Ecks Em Eye"
MPEG Stream: "Necessary Seperation"

GRIS GRIS Live At The Creamery (Birdman) lp 14.98
It's impossible to predict which bands will get that big break and blow up and which bands will never get all the love and glory they deserve. It seems like the Gris Gris were always on the verge of their big break but for one reason or another it never seemed to happen, and we're not sure why. To our ears they were one of the most impressive and refreshing in the recent onslaught of psych revivalists. Fueled by a 13th Floor Elevators inspiration they cranked out songs with some serious fire and substance. In fact it's Greg Ashley's sophisticated songwriting chops that really set the Gris Gris head and shoulders above so many of the others, the bands who knew how to look the look and make all the right psychedelic signifier sounds and images but didn't really have the true songs to back it all up. Sadly they called it quits or at least decided to take a long hiatus a few months ago, but luckily their legend can live on through this great record, a live show recorded in Oakland this past spring. Fiery renditions of lots of our favorite Gris Gris tracks and further proof that this is a band that deserves more ears to hear just what made them so special.
MPEG Stream: "Everytime"
MPEG Stream: "Ecks Em Eye"
MPEG Stream: "Necessary Seperation"

GRIS GRIS, THE For The Season (Birdman) cd 14.98
Talented Oakland guitarist/vocalist Greg Ashley's Gris Gris gang is back, with a fab sophomore album mostly recorded at a cabin in Texas belonging to Greg's parents. So it's not garage rock, it's cabin rock. Probably good that they were presumably far from any neighbors since this quite often one dang noisily feedback-filled and fuzzed-out freakfest that might have gotten the cops called -- and who knows what manner of illict substances fueled the recording sessions, with which Gris Gris wouldn't want to be busted? Maybe The Man would mellow out knowing that the noisy rave-ups co-exist on this record with plenty of catchy melody and jangly folk and relaxed droniness and other good stuff. Although "Ecks Em Eye" starts the album off with a free jazz warm-up with Funhouse saxophone, the Gris Gris' psychedelic trip soon passes through the overgrown, shadowy backyards of bands such as Pink Floyd and the early Stones ('specially on the fake raga of the title track). Ashley & Co's retro-sensibilities venture even further into total oldies territory on "Medication #4". More current artists that this sometimes reminds us of (or whose fans we think might also like this) include Mudhoney, Greg Weeks/Espers, Comets On Fire, and Devendra Banhart, a little. Definitely recommended to anyone into the psych scene today, and cabin rock of course. With songs with titles like "Big Engine Nazi Kid Daydream" and "Down With Jesus" these guys aren't ever gonna have hits, but in our little world they should!
MPEG Stream: "Ecks Em Eye"
MPEG Stream: "Big Engine Nazi Kid Daydream"

GRIS GRIS, THE For The Season (Birdman) lp 9.98
Talented Oakland guitarist / vocalist Greg Ashley's Gris Gris gang is back, with a fab sophomore album mostly recorded at a cabin in Texas belonging to Greg's parents. So it's not garage rock, it's cabin rock. Probably good that they were presumably far from any neighbors since this quite often one dang noisily feedback-filled and fuzzed-out freakfest that might have gotten the cops called -- and who knows what manner of illict substances fueled the recording sessions, with which Gris Gris wouldn't want to be busted? Maybe The Man would mellow out knowing that the noisy rave-ups co-exist on this record with plenty of catchy melody and jangly folk and relaxed droniness and other good stuff. Although "Ecks Em Eye" starts the album off with a free jazz warm-up with Funhouse saxophone, the Gris Gris' psychedelic trip soon passes through the overgrown, shadowy backyards of bands such as Pink Floyd and the early Stones ('specially on the fake raga of the title track). Ashley & Co's retro-sensibilities venture even further into total oldies territory on "Medication #4". More current artists that this sometimes reminds us of (or whose fans we think might also like this) include Mudhoney, Greg Weeks/Espers, Comets On Fire, and Devendra Banhart, a little. Definitely recommended to anyone into the psych scene today, and cabin rock of course. With songs with titles like "Big Engine Nazi Kid Daydream" and "Down With Jesus" these guys aren't ever gonna have hits, but in our little world they should!
MPEG Stream: "Ecks Em Eye"
MPEG Stream: "Big Engine Nazi Kid Daydream"

GRIS GRIS, THE s/t (Birdman) cd 13.98
It's the debut from this Oakland trio lead by guitarist/vocalist Greg Ashley, whose solo album last year Medicine Fuck Dream won kudos from many amongst our staff and customers...if you liked that, you'll surely like this. Very authentic '60s sounding stuff from a paisley garage a la the Yardbirds, Kinks, Stones, and Syd Barrett. Ashley's got a whispery voice well-suited to the new nuggets The Gris Gris deal out here, ranging from gentle jangle-pop to raucous feedback rockers and psycho-delic drone-outs. Along with The Cuts, two way-back aligned winners from Birdman n' Oakland!
MPEG Stream: "Raygun"
MPEG Stream: "Mary #38"

GRIS GRIS, THE s/t (Birdman) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now vinylized...the debut from this Oakland trio lead by guitarist/vocalist Greg Ashley, whose solo album last year Medicine Fuck Dream won kudos from many amongst our staff and customers...if you liked that, you'll surely like this. Very authentic '60s sounding stuff from a paisley garage a la the Yardbirds, Kinks, Stones, and Syd Barrett. Ashley's got a whispery voice well-suited to the new nuggets The Gris Gris deal out here, ranging from gentle jangle-pop to raucous feedback rockers and psycho-delic drone-outs.
MPEG Stream: "Raygun"
MPEG Stream: "Mary #38"

GRODY, DANNY PAUL In Search Of Light (Students Of Decay) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Such a gorgeous second solo effort from Danny Paul Grody (The Drift, Believer, Moholy-Nagy, Tarentel). Adding beautiful elements of harmonium, synthesizer, bows, and bells to his blissful guitar playing, Grody has made the perfect autumnal album. These instrumental tracks take you to a place where your mind and body start to gently sway, and the stress, sadness, and loss of being alive are both acknowledged while also allowing you to drift into a dreamier state of mind, recalling some of our favorite records by folks like William Eaton, James Blackshaw, Bruce Langhorne, Jozef Van Wissem, and Steffen Basho-Junghans.
While many other solo records by great guitar players can often feel as a show off session for how well trained they are, In Search Of Light is an album more invested in creating an actual mood and atmosphere then hitting you over the head with tricky playing or trying to sound exactly like John Fahey. In fact it's the patience and subtly of Grody's playing that always attracts us to his work and keeps us listening for the reward of repeated listens. So perfect for fall, this record makes us want to put on our favorite autumn sweater as we cuddle up near a fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and read a book of poems or just daydream the afternoon away. Highly recommended! Comes with a digital download so you can also dream the day away while in transit or at your computer...
MPEG Stream: "Hello From Everywhere"
MPEG Stream: "Orbits"
MPEG Stream: "Stars Gaze"

GUERRERO, TOMMY Soul Food Taqueria (Mo Wax) cd 14.98

GUERRILLA HI FI Echo Springs (Answer To Life) lp 11.98
New dub / jazz project brewed here in the Bay Area. Reggae backbone with jazz soloing on guitar, organ, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, flute and vibes. Features many local jazz heads including Gino Robair, Jeff Chan and even local turntablist DJ Zeph. Only available on LP at this time.

GUILTY PARTY It Doesn't Hurt (Evil Eye) cd 13.98
The Guilty Party keep their music in the shadows of night, lacing it with a slight goth and cabaret edge. On this full length follow-up to their 2004 Five Songs debut ep, the Bay Area foursome's brooding drama is more defined and recalls that of early '90s Northeastern U.S. rock bands such as Come or Versus, or more recent likeminded Westcoasters such as Duchess or Whysall Lane. Woozy and intoxicated / intoxicating, their troubled torment ramps up sharply as the album progresses, not unlike a rapid unravelling of emotions and nerves. The spotlight is wisely centered on the powerful throaty vocals of Angelica Maze. The potency of her pipes totally hold its own next to the imposing swagger of the guitars and driving rhythm section. Together they pack quite a wallop. Check out the eighth track "Switch Away" in which the band injects a little Sonic Youth-y art/noise rock dissonance at the end. Very cool. Recorded and produced by SF rock maestro Doug Hilsinger (of the very like-minded but more rural Waycross and Enochestra, they of the 'Taking Tiger Mountain revisited' project) who's also been known to play a little drums and guitar with the band too.
MPEG Stream: "Switch Away"
MPEG Stream: "The Prom Song"

GUILTY PARTY, THE Five Songs (self-released) cd-r 6.98
Five Songs is the debut release of this Bay Area moody rock band. What you first notice when you put this EP on for a spin is the contrast between the low, druggy female voice and the high pitched slinking guitar. The vocals and guitars sit prominently atop a bed of slow-boil bass guitar and drums. Shadowy, smoldering and more than a little bit gothy. Mixed by Doug Hilsinger (Waycross, Enorchestra).
MPEG Stream: "View From A Closet"
MPEG Stream: "Hit You"

HALA STRANA Karst e.p. (Jewelled Antler Library) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The fourth in the Jewelled Antler Library series of 3" cd-r releases comes from Thuja's Steven R. Smith, who has taken up the Hala Strana moniker for his Eastern European-folk music inspired meditations. "Karst" continues down the path of his previous Jewelled Antler production "Kohl" (which is slated for a reissue on 12" by Emperor Jones) with a more ramshackle production for his dense acoustic arrangements for guitar and scratchy violin, which often hints at Eastern European timbres but as played by Nikki Sudden. In fact two of Smith's tracks are versions of traditional Polish and Romanian folk songs. Often beginning with a clutter of loose sounds, Smith coaxes his orchestrations into melancholic melodies and has smothered everything with an unusual patina of crunchy vinyl static, giving the 18 minutes a distinctly antiquated feel. A great entry in a great series.
MPEG Stream: "Sztajer"
MPEG Stream: "Cantecul Miresei"

HALF FILM East of Monument (Buzz) cd 11.98
Local trio whose sweetly mournful, thickly atmospheric tunes will appeal to fans of Red House Painters and Radar Bros.

HALF FILM The Road To The Crater (Devil In The Woods) cd 14.98
Long overdue second full length from these San Francisco mope rockers. Dark and intense and delicate and absolutely beautiful. Think Low, Labradford, Codeine, Radar Bros. etc...

HAMBLIN, MASON The Ballroom Is For Dances (Out Of Round) cd 11.98
The local label Out of Round has been laboring quietly in the background, not calling a lot of attention to itself yet turning out record after record that are consistently of similar mood -- due to the fact that they all play on each others recordings. The homegrown label's "sound", then, is one of a grimy circus atmosphere, like Fellini's La Strada if it was set in some dusty corner of an urban American metropolis. There are lots of slowed down polkas and depressed waltz time-signatures, dour vocals, sad accoridans, and dolefully plucked guitars. Great mood music for the Tom Waits fan in all of us who feels like Waits is just too hip for his own good these days.
Check out www.outofroundrecords.com -- we carry all of their releases. For a limited time only, get an out of Round Records label sampler free with purchase of this disc.

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE 17th Street (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
Ripping heavy metal infused with ornate Queen-like pop smarts, in support of lyrical concerns that 99 percenters could rally around? Hmm, that could only be the new album from San Francisco's Hammers Of Misfortune! It's interesting to think, that 17th Street might be the very first record by these guys (and gals) that lots of people will be exposed to, on account of 'em now being on a "big" label, the venerable Metal Blade, who besides putting out this new record, also reissued Hammers entire back catalog last year. What will those newbies make of it, a bold, brash, bombastic, very very "musical", progged-out opus that's part power metal, part pop, part political commentary??
However, most folks reading this are probably already familiar with Hammers, perhaps possessors of the preceding four entries in their discography (or 5 or maybe even 6, actually, depending on how you count 2008's double album Fields/Church Of Broken Glass, as well as the archival release of their early material recorded under the name Unholy Cadaver). So this review is mostly directed those Hammers fans, AQ customers who have been following 'em over the years like we have, and are aware of all the various the lineup changes, and stylistic shifts (raspy black metal influences out, '70s Hammond organ driven prog in) that have become part of the Hammers saga. (If you are a newbie, we suggest you get The Bastard first, then check out their others.)
But, while 2001's The Bastard remains our favorite HoM release (heck, Andee here originally put it out on his label tUMULt, right?), we are definitely finding a lot to like about what Hammers have turned into ten years on. They remain a brilliant band, if an indulgent one - but then that's one of the perks of prog, isn't it?
As Hammers fans have come to expect, this is chock full of intricate, incredible guitarwork. Lots of vintage sounding Hammond organ in there as well, those ivories tinkled by a classically trained pianist, juxtaposed with technical thrash velocities. And soaring, quasi-operatic vocals of course, too... speaking of which, that's one of the most significant aspects to mention about this new album, that among the lineup changes since the last one, they have a new male vocalist who might finally fill the void left by the departure of Slough Feg's Mike Scalzi after 2006's The Locust Years. New frontman Joe Hutton is a more than capable singer, in fact he's quite good, and while he doesn't sound exactly like Scalzi, there's a quality to his voice that old fans who miss Scalzi in the band will appreciate.
He's not their new 2nd guitar player though, that'd be Leila Abdul-Rauf, formerly of blackened death metallers Saros, also of Vastum - who in addition to being a shredder who can hold her own playing those harmonies with Hammers founder John Cobbett, turns out to have a nice "clean" singing voice (she did the cookie monster thing in Saros!), filling the female 'diva' role now in Hammers - though these new songs, with Hutton up front, definitely place more emphasis on the male vocal part, a good thing we think. And he's certainly given some infectiously melodic material to wrap his pipes around, as it were.
We're probably notorious for finding buried 'poppiness' in all sorts of not very overtly poppy music, but don't think we'll get much argument here when we say that while Hammers have always been melodic, this is definitely their poppiest outing yet. To the point that we can almost imagine 'em being played on the radio, and could even kinda compare some of this to the likes of, uh, Journey, at times. Ferinstance, "The Grain", the album's first "single" (or at least, leaked YouTube track), is something that WILL definitely get stuck in your head, the chorus catchier than a really catchy thing, though it's over 7 minutes long, so forget the radio idea... Elsewhere on this album, Queen (and the many-layered guitars of Brian May) are a good comparison. You'll hear that on the heartwrenching piano ballad "Summer Tears", a moody one... Going beyond Queen, the sprightly likes of "The Day The City Died" gets almost into Sparks territory, even! Lest that not sound very "metal", don't worry, the frantic charge of "Romance Valley" amongst other stormers here should be enough to demonstrate that 17th Street is totally deserving of having the old school bloody axe Metal Blade logo emblazoned on its sleeve.
Conceptually (and being Hammers, you know there's concepts!), well, all their other albums came out during the heinous reign of George W. Bush. Now the class warfare is more the focus than the so-called War On Terror. And guess what? This is thus the first, and doubtless only, protest prog-metal album aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement (Occupy 17th Street!?). One of the songs, "Staring (The 31st Floor)", is about the collapse of Lehman Brothers, for gosh sake.
With the demise of Ludicra, Hammers are now lead guitarist and main songwriter John Cobbett's only going concern. And there was a lot of pressure on, but we think Cobbett & Co. rose to the occasion. Though it's hard to gauge what other folks will think of this, as no other bands really sound anything like Hammers do these days.
Available on both cd (digipack) or deluxe double gatefold vinyl, 180 gram, 45rpm for maximum fidelity!! The vinyl version features an extra 7 minute track, "Salt", right in the middle of the first side. And furthermore, the mastering job on the vinyl is said (by the band) to sound better, though we haven't yet made that determination ourselves.
MPEG Stream: "17th Street"
MPEG Stream: "The Grain"
MPEG Stream: "The Day The City Died"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE 17th Street (Metal Blade) 2lp 24.00
Ripping heavy metal infused with ornate Queen-like pop smarts, in support of lyrical concerns that 99 percenters could rally around? Hmm, that could only be the new album from San Francisco's Hammers Of Misfortune! It's interesting to think, that 17th Street might be the very first record by these guys (and gals) that lots of people will be exposed to, on account of 'em now being on a "big" label, the venerable Metal Blade, who besides putting out this new record, also reissued Hammers entire back catalog last year. What will those newbies make of it, a bold, brash, bombastic, very very "musical", progged-out opus that's part power metal, part pop, part political commentary??
However, most folks reading this are probably already familiar with Hammers, perhaps possessors of the preceding four entries in their discography (or 5 or maybe even 6, actually, depending on how you count 2008's double album Fields/Church Of Broken Glass, as well as the archival release of their early material recorded under the name Unholy Cadaver). So this review is mostly directed those Hammers fans, AQ customers who have been following 'em over the years like we have, and are aware of all the various the lineup changes, and stylistic shifts (raspy black metal influences out, '70s Hammond organ driven prog in) that have become part of the Hammers saga. (If you are a newbie, we suggest you get The Bastard first, then check out their others.)
But, while 2001's The Bastard remains our favorite HoM release (heck, Andee here originally put it out on his label tUMULt, right?), we are definitely finding a lot to like about what Hammers have turned into ten years on. They remain a brilliant band, if an indulgent one - but then that's one of the perks of prog, isn't it?
As Hammers fans have come to expect, this is chock full of intricate, incredible guitarwork. Lots of vintage sounding Hammond organ in there as well, those ivories tinkled by a classically trained pianist, juxtaposed with technical thrash velocities. And soaring, quasi-operatic vocals of course, too... speaking of which, that's one of the most significant aspects to mention about this new album, that among the lineup changes since the last one, they have a new male vocalist who might finally fill the void left by the departure of Slough Feg's Mike Scalzi after 2006's The Locust Years. New frontman Joe Hutton is a more than capable singer, in fact he's quite good, and while he doesn't sound exactly like Scalzi, there's a quality to his voice that old fans who miss Scalzi in the band will appreciate.
He's not their new 2nd guitar player though, that'd be Leila Abdul-Rauf, formerly of blackened death metallers Saros, also of Vastum - who in addition to being a shredder who can hold her own playing those harmonies with Hammers founder John Cobbett, turns out to have a nice "clean" singing voice (she did the cookie monster thing in Saros!), filling the female 'diva' role now in Hammers - though these new songs, with Hutton up front, definitely place more emphasis on the male vocal part, a good thing we think. And he's certainly given some infectiously melodic material to wrap his pipes around, as it were.
We're probably notorious for finding buried 'poppiness' in all sorts of not very overtly poppy music, but don't think we'll get much argument here when we say that while Hammers have always been melodic, this is definitely their poppiest outing yet. To the point that we can almost imagine 'em being played on the radio, and could even kinda compare some of this to the likes of, uh, Journey, at times. Ferinstance, "The Grain", the album's first "single" (or at least, leaked YouTube track), is something that WILL definitely get stuck in your head, the chorus catchier than a really catchy thing, though it's over 7 minutes long, so forget the radio idea... Elsewhere on this album, Queen (and the many-layered guitars of Brian May) are a good comparison. You'll hear that on the heartwrenching piano ballad "Summer Tears", a moody one... Going beyond Queen, the sprightly likes of "The Day The City Died" gets almost into Sparks territory, even! Lest that not sound very "metal", don't worry, the frantic charge of "Romance Valley" amongst other stormers here should be enough to demonstrate that 17th Street is totally deserving of having the old school bloody axe Metal Blade logo emblazoned on its sleeve.
Conceptually (and being Hammers, you know there's concepts!), well, all their other albums came out during the heinous reign of George W. Bush. Now the class warfare is more the focus than the so-called War On Terror. And guess what? This is thus the first, and doubtless only, protest prog-metal album aligned with the Occupy Wall Street movement (Occupy 17th Street!?). One of the songs, "Staring (The 31st Floor)", is about the collapse of Lehman Brothers, for gosh sake.
With the demise of Ludicra, Hammers are now lead guitarist and main songwriter John Cobbett's only going concern. And there was a lot of pressure on, but we think Cobbett & Co. rose to the occasion. Though it's hard to gauge what other folks will think of this, as no other bands really sound anything like Hammers do these days.
Available on both cd (digipack) or deluxe double gatefold vinyl, 180 gram, 45rpm for maximum fidelity!! The vinyl version features an extra 7 minute track, "Salt", right in the middle of the first side. And furthermore, the mastering job on the vinyl is said (by the band) to sound better, though we haven't yet made that determination ourselves.
MPEG Stream: "17th Street"
MPEG Stream: "The Grain"
MPEG Stream: "The Day The City Died"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE Fields / Church Of Broken Glass (Profound Lore) 2cd 14.98
With their move to big time mega metal label Metal Blade, local long running epic blackened progressive true metal outfit Hammers of Misfortune finally see their back catalog reissued via their new label, which in the case of Fields / Church Of Broken Glass is a bit odd, considering that the original is still available from the label that released it in the first place, Profound Lore, so like all the other Hammers reissues, this one is definitely worth revisiting, and buying if you missed out on it the first time around, but we figured it made more sense to re-list the Profound Lore version... so here's our review of Fields / Church Of Broken Glass from when we first listed it not that long ago...
First, there was The Bastard. The ultimate over the top power metal/black metal rock opera, as far as we're concerned. Ok, so Andee here at AQ put it out on his tUMULt label... but that simply proves that he/we really like it (not that that's WHY we like it). Still Hammers' best, we think. But their follow up The August Engine was pretty killer too. And the same with their third album Locust Years, which we hailed as the first ever fantasy metal album that was also a contemporary political allegory (about Bush and the Iraq War). With that record, Hammers settled with regal grace into a new phase, with the significant addition of '70s styled Hammond organ, taking their prog leanings to ever proggier heights, the raspy black metal aspects of their sound discarded long ago. And this new release from the acclaimed San Francisco metallers is definitely a continuation of that, despite some major lineup changes in the Hammers camp since Locust Years came out in 2006.
Of course, mainman guitarist John Cobbett (Ludicra, ex-Slough Feg) is still the with the band. Also drummer Chewy Marzolo, and keyboardist Sigrid Sheie. But now there's a new set of singers. Hammers, as you may know, have always flaunted operatic/theatrical, male and female vocals, intertwining in their compositions. There's been a few different female singers (who also played bass) over the years, but the clean male vocals until now had been handled solely by Mike Scalzi of Slough Feg, who has a distinctive voice to say the least. Taking over the female role is Jesse Quattro, a trained singer who definitely holds her own in the tradition of Hammers' female vocalists. You won't notice much difference there, though she may well be the best they've had. She doesn't play bass, however, so they've got Ron Nichols in to handle that task. More difficult, perhaps, for Hammers, was replacing Scalzi, who left to concentrate entirely on Slough Feg. Patrick Goodwin (of Dirty Power and Pansy Division) stepped up into Scalzi's shoes and while his voice is definitely different, not having the weird presence or booming depth Scalzi's, he's a capable melodic singer, yearning and emotive, and maybe his less idiosyncratic style fits better with Hammers' current direction. Long time fans will definitely notice a difference, though, and some will roll with it, some won't. Certainly the Hammers of The Bastard aren't the Hammers here.
So, now Hammers Of Misfortune obviously have a lot to prove on this new album - or, actually, albums. That's right, as if to really rise to the occasion and make a statement, they've released a double album, or what they'd have us believe is two separate albums, Fields and Church Of Broken Glass, packaged together. Each one gets its own cover art, you flip the gatefold digipack over to see each one, in the style of an old Ace Double paperback (the cover shown here is that of Fields). Though we were a bit bemused to discover that since the seven cuts on Fields clock in at just over 37 minutes, and the five songs on CoBG total about 35, it actually would have been possible to fit 'em both on a single disc! At least Profound Lore isn't making you pay any extra for this two-cd concept. And, since HoM's music can be so exhaustively epic, full of complex arrangements and keyboard busy-ness and cryptic lyrics, it's actually easier on the listener to have two shorter cds to digest than one exceedingly lengthy one, really!
As well, each disc has its own theme, a rural/urban dichotomy between Fields and Church Of Broken Glass. The best example of the latter being the moody 10 minute epic "Butchertown", painting this very city's streets in sinister fairytale shades. (Urban decay, blight and fright being territory previously explored by Cobbett's black metal outfit Ludicra, as well.) If we know Cobbett, there's probably a clever narrative or allegory at play here, encompassing both discs, leading from song to song and one disc to the next, but Hammers lyrics are poetically vague enough that we haven't puzzled it all out yet exactly. You could look at their recent interview on the Pitchfork website for more insight if you wish. We again get a political vibe from some of this, and do have the idea that Fields starts off about the plight of peasant farmers in Afghanistan, beginning with the three-part, 16-minute suite of "Agriculture", "Fields", and "Motorcade". See what you make of these lines, from the latter: "Escorting friendlies, a walk in the park/Unlock the cages as soon as it's dark/Motorcade motorcade easy to mark/Send in the snipers to swim with the sharks/Breadline is burning, the headcount's a joke/Soon they'll be feasting on mirrors and smoke/Motorcade motorcade horses to show/Fish in a barrel and ducks in a row". Hmm. And Hammers manages to turn that into singalong catchiness!
Fortunately, even with the ambitious scale of this latest project, and all the new members in the band, fans will find that Hammers hasn't changed too much, still full of blazing guitar solos and stop on a dime dynamics, memorable riffs and melodies and exquisite harmonies, musical theater moments and multilayered vocals - all the over the top-ness we love about 'em. Perhaps though the progginess has gotten even proggier, more flowery... We're reminded of Kansas, actually! Well, Kansas mixed with Megadeth, maybe. With a healthy helping of that rollicking, Deep Purplish Hammond organ first introduced on previous opus the Locust Years, as we said. And if you're into 'em for the female vocals, you won't be disappointed at all.
So, what should be Hammers' sales slogan for this album - New and Improved? Well, no, we can't quite go there, what with our feelings about the The Bastard. Well, how about Two For The Price Of One! Sure. And how about Thinking Man's (and Woman's) Metal? Definitely. But we get the idea that slogans and soundbites and all those mass media manipulative aspects of modern commercial culture are exactly what Hammers Of Misfortune stands against, so we'll just leave it with, well worth checking out.
MPEG Stream: "Agriculture"
MPEG Stream: "Rats Assembly"
MPEG Stream: "Butchertown"
MPEG Stream: "Train"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The August Engine (Cruz Del Sur) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT, GET THE METAL BLADE VERSION INSTEAD!
Ready for some harmonies and heaviness? Pure, prog-tastic METAL for the long, dark winter? We know you are, 'cause it's been a long while. But now, it's here. The Hammers come down for the second time with this long-awaited new album, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and already out-of-print, for now) debut The Bastard released on our own Andee's tUMUlt label back in 2001. Whereas The Bastard was a full-on rock opera, The August Engine only *sounds* like a rock opera, it isn't actually one. There's no narrative, unifying concept to the songs this time, which puts HoM's eclectic metal mixture in danger of losing focus, being too unpredictably psychedelic and epic for their own good. Wait, what are we saying? That's no problem! As diverse as their songwriting and sonic palette can be, everything here sounds like Hammers and nothing else (well, except Slough Feg), which can only be the mark of a brilliant band.
Bursting out of the gates with an adrenalized instrumental opener that thrashes like Megadeth while remaining as gloriously 'classical' and over the top as anything on The Bastard, we can't say The August Engine never lets up. It does, but only in the sense that some decidedly unusual, and sometimes mellow avenues are explored. But for every non-metallic moment of sweet singing and pleasant acoustic guitars, you get plenty of shredding electric ones, with pounding drums, dramatic male and female vocals on a grand scale, and headbanging riffage. Advanced metal mastery here folks. Pretentious? Indulgent? Arrogant? No, simply mighty. The 10-out-of-10 review this album has already garnered from veteran metal scribe Martin Popoff likened them to a psychedelic version of the best of Iron Maiden, who are we to argue?
Hammers still consist of John and Mike from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, plus drummer Chewy. On this recording, Janis Tanaka plays bass and sings like an angel, though when you go see Hammers live now, they have a new lineup including not only a foxy new bassist/singer but another female vocalist who plays Hammond organ as well!
The vinyl (on tUMULt) has different cover artwork than, but the same tracks as, the compact disc version, released in a black-and-silver digipak edition by upstart Italian metal label Cruz Del Sur. Both sport cool Voivod-ish liner art by mastermind John Cobbett himself. Of course, recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The August Engine pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "A Room And A Riddle"
MPEG Stream: "Insect"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The August Engine (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
With their move to big time mega metal label Metal Blade, local long running epic blackened progressive true metal outfit Hammers of Misfortune finally see their back catalog reissued via their new label, including of course, their second album, The August Engine, originally released on Italian label Cruz Del Sur. Here's what we had to say about the August Engine when we first reviewed it...
Ready for some harmonies and heaviness? Pure, prog-tastic METAL for the long, dark winter? We know you are, 'cause it's been a long while. But now, it's here. The Hammers come down for the second time with this long-awaited new album, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and already out-of-print, for now) debut The Bastard released on our own Andee's tUMUlt label back in 2001. Whereas The Bastard was a full-on rock opera, The August Engine only *sounds* like a rock opera, it isn't actually one. There's no narrative, unifying concept to the songs this time, which puts HoM's eclectic metal mixture in danger of losing focus, being too unpredictably psychedelic and epic for their own good. Wait, what are we saying? That's no problem! As diverse as their songwriting and sonic palette can be, everything here sounds like Hammers and nothing else (well, except Slough Feg), which can only be the mark of a brilliant band.
Bursting out of the gates with an adrenalized instrumental opener that thrashes like Megadeth while remaining as gloriously 'classical' and over the top as anything on The Bastard, we can't say The August Engine never lets up. It does, but only in the sense that some decidedly unusual, and sometimes mellow avenues are explored. But for every non-metallic moment of sweet singing and pleasant acoustic guitars, you get plenty of shredding electric ones, with pounding drums, dramatic male and female vocals on a grand scale, and headbanging riffage. Advanced metal mastery here folks. Pretentious? Indulgent? Arrogant? No, simply mighty. The 10-out-of-10 review this album has already garnered from veteran metal scribe Martin Popoff likened them to a psychedelic version of the best of Iron Maiden, who are we to argue?
Hammers still consist of John and Mike from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, plus drummer Chewy. On this recording, Janis Tanaka plays bass and sings like an angel, though when you go see Hammers live now, they have a new lineup including not only a foxy new bassist/singer but another female vocalist who plays Hammond organ as well!
The jacket sports cool Voivod-ish line art by mastermind John Cobbett himself. Of course, recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The August Engine pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "A Room And A Riddle"
MPEG Stream: "Insect"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The August Engine (tUMULt) lp 12.98
Ready for some harmonies and heaviness? Pure, prog-tastic METAL for the long, dark winter? We know you are, 'cause it's been a long while. But now, it's here. The Hammers come down for the second time with this long-awaited new album, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and already out-of-print, for now) debut The Bastard released on our own Andee's tUMUlt label back in 2001. Whereas The Bastard was a full-on rock opera, The August Engine only *sounds* like a rock opera, it isn't actually one. There's no narrative, unifying concept to the songs this time, which puts HoM's eclectic metal mixture in danger of losing focus, being too unpredictably psychedelic and epic for their own good. Wait, what are we saying? That's no problem! As diverse as their songwriting and sonic palette can be, everything here sounds like Hammers and nothing else (well, except Slough Feg), which can only be the mark of a brilliant band.
Bursting out of the gates with an adrenalized instrumental opener that thrashes like Megadeth while remaining as gloriously 'classical' and over the top as anything on The Bastard, we can't say The August Engine never lets up. It does, but only in the sense that some decidedly unusual, and sometimes mellow avenues are explored. But for every non-metallic moment of sweet singing and pleasant acoustic guitars, you get plenty of shredding electric ones, with pounding drums, dramatic male and female vocals on a grand scale, and headbanging riffage. Advanced metal mastery here folks. Pretentious? Indulgent? Arrogant? No, simply mighty. The 10-out-of-10 review this album has already garnered from veteran metal scribe Martin Popoff likened them to a psychedelic version of the best of Iron Maiden, who are we to argue?
Hammers still consist of John and Mike from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, plus drummer Chewy. On this recording, Janis Tanaka plays bass and sings like an angel, though when you go see Hammers live now, they have a new lineup including not only a foxy new bassist/singer but another female vocalist who plays Hammond organ as well!
The vinyl (on tUMULt) has different cover artwork than, but the same tracks as, the compact disc version, released in a black-and-silver digipak edition by upstart Italian metal label Cruz Del Sur. Both sport cool Voivod-ish liner art by mastermind John Cobbett himself. Of course, recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The August Engine pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "A Room And A Riddle"
MPEG Stream: "Insect"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Bastard (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
With their move to big time mega metal label Metal Blade, local long running epic blackened progressive true metal outfit Hammers of Misfortune finally see their back catalog reissued via their new label, and of all the reissues, none was more anticipated than this, their amazing debut, The Bastard, originally released on our very own Andee's tUMULt label, but out of print for the last few years, The Bastard is easily one of the most original and totally genius metal records of the last decade (Terrorizer magazine even voted it one of the best 40 metal records of 2001!), here's our review of The Bastard when the tUMULt version was first released...
Our own Andee proves himself, and his tUMULt label, to be truly dedicated to the Heaviest of Metal with this new release! Following on from prior tUMULt metal-oriented releases (the grim and trancelike black metal genius of Weakling, the blackened grind of free-jazz fans Hatewave, the noisecore assault of Burmese...), the debut full-length album from San Francisco's Hammers of Misfortune takes the Metal to an entirely new level. It's a full-on metal opera, stirring everything into the cauldron, majestic male and female vocals, acoustic guitar breaks, Maidenesque harmonies, black metal vocal rasps, headbanging riffs and classical motifs. Next to seeing them live (where the leather-clad band, a mere four-piece, belts all this out and more), "The Bastard" is serious metal fun. Black, death, power, prog, epic: it seems like almost all styles of metal are represented in Hammers' songs, which flow non-stop from one to the next in a complex 3-act saga telling a crazy fantasy tale about a cursed bastard child raised by forest-spirits, who travels into the Underworld to find the Blood-Axe and slay his father, an evil tyrant, in the name of the Chaos Godess...or something like that. If you need help figuring it out, the 24-page booklet includes the "liberetto" as well as some excellent wood-cut style illustrations -- indeed the whole thing (a digipack) is a very handsome package.
Formerly known as Unholy Cadaver, Hammers of Misfortune is the demented brainchild of local metal master John Cobbett, who also played guitar in the cult SF "Celtic epic metal" outfit The Lord Weird Slough Feg. Mike from Slough Feg also sings on The Bastard, playing guitar and providing the "clean" male vox. And we must mention the contribution of Janis Tanaka (ex-Stone Fox) on bass and the excellent female vocals. "The Bastard" comes across like a mixture of Cradle of Filth and Blind Guardian, or Slough Feg and Opeth, or Satyricon and Mercyful Fate: it's that eclectic, that classic, that amazing.
MPEG Stream: "The Dragon Is Summoned"
MPEG Stream: "The Bastard Sapling"
MPEG Stream: "You Should Have Slain Me"
MPEG Stream: "Sacrifice / The End"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Locust Years (Cruz Del Sur) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT, GET THE METAL BLADE VERSION INSTEAD!
People have been waiting a long time for this, the third opus from SF's own Hammers Of Misfortune, one of the most ambitious, audacious, bodacious, bombastic, maybe even slightly ludicrous bands in the metal realm...and metal this is, through and through, even as it pushes the envelope right over the edge into, I don't know, musical theater... 2003's The August Engine was pretty amazing, as was (our favorite) their year 2000 debut, The Bastard (released by Andee's tUMULt label we should note). The Locust Years has a lot to live up to.
And live it up they do here. Just check out the band photos for evidence of that (funnier if you know these folks). There's a shocking formal portrait on the back cover, everybody dressed up in tuxedos and evening gowns, hair pulled back. And then inside the cd booklet, you see 'em letting their hair down in a glammy, rock n' roll fantasy shot. It's nice to see that they don't take themselves too seriously, that should keep people guessing about this band. Not so pretentious as some might think, joking but no joke.
Quick intro first for those just tuning in/turning on to this band: Hammers is a rock-operatic heavy metal juggernaut with harmonizing lead guitars, pounding Hammond organ (new!), and majestic male and female vocal lines. The band features members of The Lord Weird Slough Feg past and present, and mainman John Cobbett is busy too with his other band black metallers Ludicra (new ep elsewhere on this list) plus he's been playing with the likes of Amber Asylum and even Jarboe of late... As you might imagine from all of this, Hammers is an especially eclectic mix of '70s prog, '80s metal, black metal (without the black metal vocals), classical music, avant-chamber-rock, Mary Poppinsy musical showtuneage, Opethian loud/soft, fast/slow dynamics...
Basically, everything (and more) that already earned mucho plaudits for the Hammers' first two albums is present here: the sweeping melodic grandeur, metallic excitement, complex arrangements, virtuoso playing, intelligent lyrics, many moods, and attention to idiosyncratic detail -- which is evident from the packaging, with its Thomas Woodruff cover painting and aforementioned photography, to the music, for instance the track "War Anthem" that features a whole hired drum line arranged by Hammers drummer Chewy. Or it's actually Chewy multitracking his own one man drum line. Either way, it's pretty darn Tusk!!
And lyrically, while it's not a storytelling narrative like The Bastard, it's somewhat more of a cohesive "concept album" than was August Engine... the concept being, near as we can tell, a very allegorical, cryptic protest against the awful person and policies of our president, George W. Bush!! Or at least that's what we get from lyrics like "Death - death to the infidels / sons of our servants shall serve and serve us well / and gifted with endless war / flags and fanatics forevermore" (from "War Anthem") or, "If people wonder at the suffering you cause / and your massive avarice has left them at a loss / if by chance they notice your bloody, snapping jaws / the blood upon your claws / your shifty eyes and laws / the nauseating flaws in all you've said / trot out the dead" (from "Trot Out The Dead") -- no that's not Satan they're singing about, not exactly. We're pretty sure that makes The Locust Years the world's first POLITICAL epic fantasy prog power metal album!!
Recommended of course.
MPEG Stream: "The Locust Years"
MPEG Stream: "We Are The Widows"
MPEG Stream: "War Anthem"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Locust Years (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
With their move to big time mega metal label Metal Blade, local long running epic blackened progressive true metal outfit Hammers of Misfortune finally see their back catalog reissued via their new label, including of course, their third record, The Locust Years, which like The August Engine before it, was originally released on Italian label Cruz Del Sur. Here's our review from when we first got The Locust Years, a while back...
We've been waiting a long time for this, the third opus from SF's own Hammers Of Misfortune, one of the most ambitious, audacious, bodacious, bombastic, maybe even slightly ludicrous bands in the metal realm...and metal this is, through and through, even as it pushes the envelope right over the edge into, I don't know, musical theater... 2003's The August Engine was pretty amazing, as was (our favorite) their year 2001 debut, The Bastard (released by Andee's tUMULt label we should note). The Locust Years has a lot to live up to.
And live it up they do here. Just check out the band photos for evidence of that (funnier if you know these folks). There's a shocking formal portrait on the back cover, everybody dressed up in tuxedos and evening gowns, hair pulled back. And then inside the cd booklet, you see 'em letting their hair down in a glammy, rock n' roll fantasy shot. It's nice to see that they don't take themselves too seriously, that should keep people guessing about this band. Not so pretentious as some might think, joking but no joke.
Quick intro first for those just tuning in/turning on to this band: Hammers is a rock-operatic heavy metal juggernaut with harmonizing lead guitars, pounding Hammond organ (new!), and majestic male and female vocal lines. The band features members of The Lord Weird Slough Feg past and present, and mainman John Cobbett is busy too with his other band black metallers Ludicra plus he's been playing with the likes of Amber Asylum and even Jarboe of late... As you might imagine from all of this, Hammers is an especially eclectic mix of '70s prog, '80s metal, black metal (without the black metal vocals), classical music, avant-chamber-rock, Mary Poppinsy musical showtuneage, Opethian loud/soft, fast/slow dynamics...
Basically, everything (and more) that already earned mucho plaudits for the Hammers' first two albums is present here: the sweeping melodic grandeur, metallic excitement, complex arrangements, virtuoso playing, intelligent lyrics, many moods, and attention to idiosyncratic detail -- which is evident from the packaging, with its Thomas Woodruff cover painting and aforementioned photography, to the music, for instance the track "War Anthem" that features a whole hired drum line arranged by Hammers drummer Chewy. Or it's actually Chewy multitracking his own one man drum line. Either way, it's pretty darn Tusk!!
And lyrically, while it's not a storytelling narrative like The Bastard, it's somewhat more of a cohesive "concept album" than was August Engine... the concept being, near as we can tell, a very allegorical, cryptic protest against the awful person and policies of our president, George W. Bush!! Or at least that's what we get from lyrics like "Death - death to the infidels / sons of our servants shall serve and serve us well / and gifted with endless war / flags and fanatics forevermore" (from "War Anthem") or, "If people wonder at the suffering you cause / and your massive avarice has left them at a loss / if by chance they notice your bloody, snapping jaws / the blood upon your claws / your shifty eyes and laws / the nauseating flaws in all you've said / trot out the dead" (from "Trot Out The Dead") -- no that's not Satan they're singing about, not exactly. We're pretty sure that makes The Locust Years the world's first POLITICAL epic fantasy prog power metal album!!
Recommended of course.
MPEG Stream: "The Locust Years"
MPEG Stream: "We Are The Widows"
MPEG Stream: "War Anthem"