BARN OWL AND THE INFINITE STRINGS ENSEMBLE The Headlands (Important) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Barn Owl are no stranger to the drone. In fact, this Bay Area duo's sound is all about the drone, a deep, brooding, moody, twangy Earth-ish cinematic devotional doomdriftDRONE that we can't get enough of. But on this recent collaboration, the band explore another side of the drone, one less dark, and one more in keeping with the traditions of modern minimal dronemusic, teaming up with The Infinite String Ensemble (consisting of a fellow named The Norman Conquest on acoustic guitar, vocals, and Moog; Theresa Wong on cello; and Ellen Fullman, on the long string instrument), Barn Owl ditching their smokey twang flecked shimmer, and instead laying down lush layers of complimentary long form drones and extended tones.
For those who are unfamiliar with Ellen Fullman, she created the 'Long Stringed Instrument', which is exactly what it sounds like, although the name does not and all prepare you for the power of actually seeing it and hearing it. Essentially, she stretches long strings across large resonant spaces, the strings sometimes 50 feet or longer, and the players proceed to scrape, and bow and vibrate the strings, creating incredible sounds. And how perfect for Barn Owl to join in and add their own drone two cents.
The result is pretty fantastic, but again, well removed from the Barn Owl most folks are used to. In fact it almost would have made more sense to bill this as an Infinite String Ensemble, with special guests Barn Owl. Either way, the players here create four loooooong tracks of shimmery sun dappled dronemusic, long streaks of metallic buzz, lush and layered, lots of shifting textures and subtle overtones, all wrapped in softly burnished reverb, space-y and kosmische and hypnotic and heady, like Taj Mahal Travelers jamming with Organum, the tracks slipping from hushed and minimal, glimmering and crystalline, to smoldering and softly cacophonous, from dreamy hazy drift, to ritualistic ur-drone. Gorgeous.
And obviously absolutely recommended for all the drone fanatics out there, which we're guessing is a whole lot of you.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES. Cover art by Root Strata's Jefre Cantu-Ledesma.

BASSHATERS Harsh Lovers Sick Zoo (Yik Yak) cassette 5.00

BASSHATERS Harsh Lovers Sick Zoo (Yik Yak) cassette 5.00

BAUER, MATT Nandina (self-released) cd 9.98
San Francisco has quite the impressive (and ever-growing) grassroots folk / country / blues music community, both past and present. Jolie Holland, Sean Hayes, Dieselhed, Virgil Shaw, Crooked Jades, Waycross, Court & Spark... the list goes on and on. Of course, there's always room for one (or two or three) more, isn't there? Well, over the last few weeks, a few folks have been comin' in asking for a gent known as Matt Bauer (not to be confused with Skullflower / Total / Sunroof! / Youngsbower's Matthew Bower, mind you!). Apparently Mr. Bauer had a new self-released cd out, but after much sleuthing about we were unable to track the elusive fellow down... that is, until last week! Yes, we're pleased to report that he's surfaced, and kindly brought in some of his cds himself. And it was worth the wait. Nandina is a fine album of earthy, comforting, melancholic folk songs with warm and weathered male vocals.
MPEG Stream: "Window Hill"
MPEG Stream: "Cold Valley Rain"

BEACH, MICHAEL Mountains + Valleys (Spectacular Commodity / Twin Lakes) cassette 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest from this SF by way of Australia (by way of SF again) singer/songwriter, and first with a newly formed band featuring members of Comets On Fire and the Castanets. The sound is all over the map, drifting from crunchy post punk, to woozy psychedelic drift, to countrified rust belt songsmithery, and several other stops in between.
Opener "Straight Spines" starts things off with a blast of low slung bass heavy post punk, definitely reminiscent of the Wipers, with a killer weird constantly shifting tempo, slowing down, then speeding right back up again, in a way the deftly makes that tempo shift an integral part of the song. Hooky and a little bit heavy, driving and catchy like crazy, and that tempo shift just kills us every time, so unexpected, but so cool.
Then there's "There Is No Edge Of The World To Run To", which sounds like some lost Uncle Tupelo outtake, Beach's vocals rough and warmly ragged, over some simple twang and strum, darkly emotive and intense, and when the drums come in, the song becomes a cool sort of droney countrified slowcore. There's also the drifty twangy shimmer of the title track, and the warm jangly balladic closer, "So Said The Bird", which broods and soars, underpinned by whirring organs, the deep crooned vox wreathed in the dusty twang of the guitars, and a blurred reverby patina. Beach peppers the record with brief experimental interludes as well, which range from noisy psychedelic freakouts to woozy late night drones. Gorgeous stuff for sure.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES and already sold out and out of print. So these are the last ones we'll be able to get.
MPEG Stream: "Straight Spines"
MPEG Stream: "There Is No Edge Of The World To Run To"
MPEG Stream: "So Said The Bird"

BEAK Autoselfreplicationalism (Insignificant) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco band maybe comparable to Jesus Lizard -with saxophones- i.e. twisted rock in free jazz mode. Pretty good.

BEAKS PLINTH Kai Kohola Leo (Gigante Sound) cd-r 6.98
Jared Blum is back with a new alter ego - Beaks Plinth! In case you didn't guess from the title, it is a Hawaiian themed project. That said, don't be expecting warm sandy beaches, luscious fruity concoctions and gently swaying palm trees. Nope, instead imagine yourself in the depths of a not-so-dormant island volcano, molten lava creeping forth and sizzling in the heady ocean mist!
It's like a tropical fever dream in which the shadows of giant tiki figures loom and ominous giant birds of prey menace and peck at you from above. It's a bit murky and mysterious with sounds smeared into dank cavernous echoes. In fact, we might suggest that the dozen foreboding soundscapes on Kai Kohola Leo meld quite nicely in between aQ faves Nurse With Wound's Salt Marie Celeste and Coelacanth's Glass Sponge. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Voices Of The Lagoon"
MPEG Stream: "The Stringer Bells"
MPEG Stream: "Wind Speak "

BEAKS PLINTH Organo Saturado (Gigante Sound) cd-r 6.98
Who hasn't been moved by the churning, blanketing, droning, tickling, swooning sounds of an organ? A staple in retro garage pop outfits, tiki lounges, churches and skating rinks, under capable fingers it can be one of the most expressive and versatile instruments around. Jared Blum (the man behind the Beaks Plinth moniker) shares the love, exhuming an assortment of wildly varied vintage records featuring said instrument. On Organo Saturado (inspired by Juan Torres' Organo Melodica Volume 11), he's Frankenstein'd them into something very very different from their origin. One step in the process was adjusting the RPM speed of many of the pieces waaay down to a snail's pace. It is as if the vinyl itself has been melted into some molasses or clay-like substance, but with some texturous grit embedded in the mounds, courtesy of the old record vinyl's inherent scritchy crackles. Sounds are stretched, smeared and layered almost beyond the point of recognition. What once might have been a sprightly ice skating accompaniment or a solemn chord sequence rattling the stained glass panes of a cathedral has been dragged into the murky dyspeptic depths of Beaks Plinth's lair. As always, otherworldly atmospheres are stirred up to wonderful effect, shuffling unpredictably between the haunting, the rubbery, and the strange.
MPEG Stream: "Hey La"
MPEG Stream: "Mystic Morning"

BEDTIME STORY Dream Therapy (self-released) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BEE MASK Elegy For Beach Friday (Spectrum Spools / Editions Mego) cd 16.98
NOW ON CD!!!
Here stands the monumental sonic anthology, culled from the numerous cassettes and cd-rs that Chris Madak has released over the past decade or so, under the moniker Bee Mask. Like Emeralds and Oneohtrix Point Never, Madak is single-minded in his retrogarde aesthetic for synthesized compositions based on a vintage 1970s' cosmology. But where many of the '70s synth revivalists have coyingly adopted a full-fledged new age aesthetic through effervescent prettiness and soft-focus ambient swirl, Bee Mask offers up his own dysptopic take on psychedelic electronics through a crucible of cracked circuits, tape splutter, infernal field recordings, and a hell of a lot of sustained synth drones oscillating into crescendos of dissonant thumming. The zoner tracks on Elegy For Beach Friday (and there are a number of them) never sit in the background seeking a sublimated hypnosis, rather Madak zooms in on the placid pools of sound to unveil intense percolations and swarming vibrations. There's a scientific rigor to his pieces that finds Bee Mask orbiting around the dense, alienating electronics from Matt Shoemaker, Rick Reed, and Bernard Parmigiani. But, Madak is also one to tease with the subtle swelling melodies that harken to the more emotive works from Omit and Emeralds. If his work shares anything with the retro electronic tapestries that are the forgotten soundtracks for a summer sunset, Madak would rather blind the audience with the intensity of the sun, complete with blisters on the skin and technological mishaps from sunspots. Brilliant!
MPEG Stream: "Deducted From Your Share In Paradise"
MPEG Stream: "Askion Kataskion Lix Tetrax Damnameneus Aision"
MPEG Stream: "Stop The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Scarlet Thread, Golden Cord"

BELIEVER The Magic Sequence (Land And Sea) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Believer is the new musical project of Danny Paul Grody and Trevor Montgomery (both from Tarentel and The Drift as well as various other side projects and solo outfits including Lazarus, and Moholy-Nagy). For their debut release put out by Land And Sea, who brought us the Coconut 7" from a couple of lists ago, the duo recorded three expansive synth-based compositions that are beautifully minimal and impressionistic. Using loops, sweeping bell tones and guitar washes, the three tracks encompass a kind of melodic formlessness, beginning with a pattern and then slowly letting it dissolve into something much airier, all the while still maintaining a sense of gravity and musical purpose. A fine debut that makes us look forward to whatever comes next. Super limited to 50 copies in handsewn paper covers (that you have to rip or cut open to get to the disc!). Highly Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Nocturnal Sea"
MPEG Stream: "Carrier Wave"

BELLY BUTTON/RUINS/MOLECULES/ALBOTH/MUG (Pandemonium) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
R: Hyper kinetic bass/drums prog.
M: Bay Area jazz prog.
A: Swiss Young Gods style arty bombast.
BB: Noisey post rock.
M: Jazzy art brut funk rock.

BENSON, JOHN / GEORGE CHEN / BRIAN MILLER s/t (self-released) cd-r 4.98

BERMUDA TRIANGLE SERVICE High Swan Dive (self-released) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At times Bermuda Triangle Service's vocalist Cynthia Wigginton sounds a lot like Carolyn Mark, Kelly Hogan, Virginia Dare and Paula Frazer. Fans of those lovely ladies just might take a shine to this new combo. They make slow candlelit country with lots of graceful fiddle playin'. Very pretty. For their debut, they've enlisted the kind assistance of Josh Housh (Catalpa Boys and Our Lady Of The Highway). An engaging debut!
MPEG Stream: "Kukui Lei"
MPEG Stream: "Pokerhuntus Was Her Name"

BERNSTEIN, DAVID W. (EDITOR) San Francisco Tape Music Center: 1960s Counterculture And The Avant-Garde (UC Press) book+dvd 26.00
We apologize to tape music buffs near and far, but we shamefully snoozed on reviewing this awesome book about this music movement's seminal Bay Area based hub back in June of this year when it was first published. We thought that now would be a good time (what with the holiday gift-giving season just around the corner as well as the chillier stay-inside-with-a-good-book autumn and winter months) to give it a good ol' shout out! Better late than never, right?
Those already well acquainted will need no further explanation, but for those unfamiliar, in a nutshell, the San Francisco Tape Music Center was a vital cultural and educational meeting ground of adventurous pioneers in audio arts and science. The sonic explorations of composers Morton Subotnick (who performed an in-store presentation here a few years back), Steve Reich, Ramon Sender, Don Buchla, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley among others produced some of the most stunning and influential avant-garde sounds of the period in an utterly unassuming locale right here in SF. This creatively tangled web of tape-loop and tape-delay, analog synthesizers and various other electronic tentacles came into fruition back in the early '60s. These days, having been schooled by the wonderful reissued works of numerous seemingly like-minded audio renegade technicians of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (Daphne Oram, Delia Derbyshire, John Baker to name a few), we still can't help but conjure images of the electronic music artists of that decade donning lab coats with pocket protectors and bespectacled consternated gazes, but this 344-page book reveals just as much the kaleidoscopic opening of minds induced by sound (and in some cases substances). In fact, for those of you who were captivated by the revelatory glimpse of the LA counterculture in the '60s courtesy of the recent Source Family book (The Source: The Untold Story Of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa And The Source Family), this serves to some degree as a Bay Area counterpart (albeit perhaps somewhat less Hollywood tabloid scandalous). It's the first ever first-person retrospective of the SFTMC. Many a fond memory and occasionally a hair-raising tale were unearthed for this tome. Our current favorites include one involving wild escapades to keep the center afloat on a less than shoestring budget as well as a desperate search across a floor/sea of tape edit detritus to find an errant single note snippet using a dismantled reel-to-reel playback head!
An inspiring, fascinating and often entertaining document of interviews with and essays by all the key figures and more. This 322-page softcover tome is also packed with color and black & white photos, diagrams, drawings, and a comprehensive chronology. But wait, there's still more! A dvd is tucked away in the back which features video documentation from the 2004 Wow & Flutter: The San Francisco Tape Music Center, 1961-Now festival / reunion of sorts that took place in Troy, NY.
Highly recommended!

BEULAH Emma Blowgun's Last Stand (Elastic) cdep 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aussie import cdep of new material by this beloved San Francisco indie-pop band. Lush, instantly catchy Elephant 6 style pop confidently executed ala the Apples or Olivia Tremor Control. Four songs.

BEULAH When Your Heartstrings Break (Sugar Free/Elephant Six) cd 14.98

The only local band to boast Elephant Six credentials, this is pure pop, much lighter and sweeter than the Elf Power record mentioned above, with similar Beatles / Beach Boys / Kinks influences throughout. Very very catchy.

BEULAH Yoko (Velocette) cd 14.98
The fourth full length from local darlings Beulah might just be their best album. Miles Korosky's songwriting is more remarkably mature than ever, with unpredictable chord changes and smart arrangements that convey intense emotion but executed with careful precision. This is perfect pop with a rocker edge and clearly delivered lyrics. Embellishing the usual indierock instrumentation, pedal steel, baritone and tenor saxophones all add a welcome dose of very pretty minor key sincerity. So much to like here, especially for fans of the Elephant6 bands.
MPEG Stream: "Landslide Baby"
MPEG Stream: "Me and Jesus Don't Talk Anymore"

BEULAH / CHARLES NORRIS A Good Band Is Easy To Kill (Further Down Films) dvd 14.98
If your favorite band is SF popsters Beulah and you're still nursing your heartbreak as a result of their breakup, here's a posthumous audio and video treat to brighten your day. This dvd features a documentary of the band on the road back in 2003 touring the U.S. and Canada in support of their final album Yoko, as well as a heap of bonus material (live footage of the band performing seventeen complete songs, deleted scenes, etc). One thing that this dvd reminded us about is that they (well, particularly lead singer Miles Kurosky) sure do swear a fuck of a fucking lot. You might wanna keep it away from the eyes and ears of grannies and children.

BIAFRA, JELLO WITH THE MELVINS Never Breathe What You Can't See (Alternative Tentacles) cd 16.98
In the same way that the Melvins' last collaboration (Melvins + Lustmord) was more a Melvins than Lustmord sounding affair, this team-up with former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra sounds more like Jello's record...but it's punk rock, not spoken word, don'tcha worry. As his back-up band, the Melvins rock out righteously, and of course there's nothing like unstable times to stoke the flames of the irrepressible, razor-tongued Jello Biafra. He's sure got plenty of material to work with these days. This actually nears the Biafra fury of old DK days. As usual, plenty of easy targets get clobbered (fer instance, the anti-SUV song "Yuppie Cadillac", perhaps a sequel of sorts to the DK's "Winnebago Warriors") and it's a lot of fun -- as long as you're not a Jello-hater. Anyone with a soft spot for the DKs ought to enjoy this though! Maybe less so for Melvins fans (who were better served with that Lustmord collab disc) but the punkier among you will like both the Melvins-penned cuts and the slightly goofier-sounding Biafra written tunes. Definitely the best Biafra in a while, that's for sure. And in the vast Melvins canon, not nearly as difficult or wacky as, say, Crybaby or Prick!
MPEG Stream: "Plethysmograph"
MPEG Stream: "Yuppie Cadillac"

BIAFRA, JELLO WITH THE MELVINS Never Breathe What You Can't See (Alternative Tentacles) lp 10.98
In the same way that the Melvins' last collaboration (Melvins + Lustmord) was more a Melvins than Lustmord sounding affair, this team-up with former Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra sounds more like Jello's record...but it's punk rock, not spoken word, don'tcha worry. As his back-up band, the Melvins rock out righteously, and of course there's nothing like unstable times to stoke the flames of the irrepressible, razor-tongued Jello Biafra. He's sure got plenty of material to work with these days. This actually nears the Biafra fury of old DK days. As usual, plenty of easy targets get clobbered (fer instance, the anti-SUV song "Yuppie Cadillac", perhaps a sequel of sorts to the DK's "Winnebago Warriors") and it's a lot of fun -- as long as you're not a Jello-hater. Anyone with a soft spot for the DKs ought to enjoy this though! Maybe less so for Melvins fans (who were better served with that Lustmord collab disc) but the punkier among you will like both the Melvins-penned cuts and the slightly goofier-sounding Biafra written tunes. Definitely the best Biafra in a while, that's for sure. And in the vast Melvins canon, not nearly as difficult or wacky as, say, Crybaby or Prick!
MPEG Stream: "Plethysmograph"
MPEG Stream: "Yuppie Cadillac"

BIG EAGLE Willow Creek (self-released) cd 9.98
The first thing that is immediately striking about Big Eagle's debut record is the outstanding musicianship. The twangy pedal-steel guitar floats like a dream and might bring salty tears to an eyeball or two; the subtle bass lines never overstep or outshine the lead melodies; the drums hold the songs' foundations with elegantly simple beats. And the vocals! Robyn Miller (formerly of The Peels) does what all the greatest country singers have done: write and sing beautiful songs about death, lust and hopelessness with a grace and dignity unavailable to most human beings. She not only channels Lucinda Williams, though: consciously or not, there's definitely some Chan Marshall and maybe a bit of Joanna Newsom thrown in.
Like Cat Power's album The Greatest, Willow Creek walks the fine line between indie rock and traditional roots music. Even in the titles of the songs, there's a strong dose of Americana: "Colorado," "Mississippi," "For Sale." "Broken Heart" mines the classic theme of heartbreak and has some excellent slow banjo work. "Colorado" is a short requiem, the pedal steel guiding you through the fragments of the best dream you ever had. "Mississippi" has a bit more humor, with some clever lyrical wordplay and a playful guitar solo that lasts almost the entire song. The last track, "Bill Robinson's Run," might be the best on the record. The guitar and the banjo spar back and forth, the Hammond organ screams, the breaks are catchy and clever. A truly outstanding record from start to finish. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Anywhere The Wind Blows"
MPEG Stream: "Broken Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Bill Robinson's Run"

BIG MEAT COMBO, THE Half Of The Last And Some Of The Rest (self-released) 2cd-r 14.98
Double (cd-r) disc from SF's favorite wild and wooly, rambunctious, foot stomping, bar fighting, beer drinking bluegrass outift, the Big Meat Combo, featuring Chewy Marzolo of Hammers Of Misfortune on BASS (not drums!! Wow!!). On drums is the legendary Ches Smith (from Secret Chiefs, etc...) These two discs collect some live shows and some random studio recordings, that perfectly capture the playful drunken abandon of these guys. Songs about drinking, and fucking, and fighting, Tourette's Syndrome, Guns, and so much more. Steel strings, thumping tubs, harmonica, and harmony vocals, all snarled up in a chair smashing guns in the sky, musical bar brawl. Includes some unlikely covers: theme from Dukes Of Hazzard, "Working In A Coal Mine", "Fat Bottomed Girls", the Jungle Book theme and more. Fans of Bloodshot country, Pine Valley Cosmonauts, Jon Wayne, Waco Brothers, Split Lip Rayfield and the like will definitely dig!


MPEG Stream: "Lowdown"
MPEG Stream: "Fat Bottomed Girls"
MPEG Stream: "If I Were King"

BIG SEARCH Mysticism Vs. Classicism (Grand Gallop) cd 9.98
Big Search is one man from L.A. His name is Mr. Matt Popieluch. While he is also in two other bands (Foreign Born and Ceramic Isles), he finds time to make music all by his lonesome too... with a little bass and drum assistance from his pal from The Papercuts, Mr. Jason Quever. Mysticism Vs. Classicism bears the fruits of his solo endeavors. These are his no frills 'studio in a garage' recordings from 2003/03 which are now seeing the light of day courtesy of young indie label Grand Gallop Music. Eight strummy, breezy and laidback folk pop numbers with vocals that are soft'n'sensitive with a subtle cabaret-ish flair that brings to mind both Rufus Wainwright and Robyn Hitchcock. Limited pressing of 300 copies packaged in hand-screened brown cardstock sleeves.
MPEG Stream: "Coastal Authority"
MPEG Stream: "I Long For You"

BIKNEVA Even Stars Burn Out On Their Own (Big John) cd 12.98
Jeepers, we've an abundance of Bikneva for you! Two equally lovely cds, their self-titled debut from 2002 and this, their second slightly more outerspace sounding full length. Ultra lush, atmospheric keyboard-laden music that occasionally drifts into easy listenin' lounge territory. Not in a bad (i.e, cheesy) way though! Not at all. I've also seen Bikneva listed online under 'ambient' and 'new age"' but I can't really say that either of those tags fit. Each smooooth, languid track soothes in its own moody way that's often very reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti's gorgeous work on the Twin Peaks soundtrack. You almost expect Julee Cruise to flutter in with her angelic vocals, but instead there's a gentlemanly chorus of ba-da-ba's in the track "I'm In I'm Walking". Very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Guncleaning"
MPEG Stream: "I'm In I'm Walking"

BIKNEVA s/t (Big John) cd 12.98
Jeepers, we've an abundance of Bikneva for you! Two equally lovely cds, their second full length called Even Stars Burn Out On Their Own and this, their self-titled debut from 2002. Ultra lush, atmospheric mostly keyboard-laden (organ and piano) music that occasionally drifts into easy listenin' lounge territory. Not in a bad (i.e, cheesy) way though! Not at all. I've also seen Bikneva listed online under 'ambient' and 'new age"' but I can't really say that either of those tags fit. Each smooooth, languid track soothes in its own moody way that's often very reminiscent of Angelo Badalamenti's gorgeous work on the Twin Peaks soundtrack. You almost expect Julee Cruise to flutter in with her angelic vocals, instead you get a gentlemanly chorus, some loudspeaker spoken word samples, maybe some gentle banjo and guitar as well as static-y crackles that sound like dust on your turntable needle. Very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Seed The Clouds"

BIRD BY SNOW Antlers And The Sun (Gnome Life Records) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Folky-psyche bliss featuring Spencer Doran (Cloaks)
and members of Whysp and Residual Echoes.
Records are hand screened on recycled sleaves
with clear red vinyl!

BIRD BY SNOW Common Wealth (Gnome Life) cd 11.98
Soft and mystical, Bird By Snow have been making dreamy folk pop with psych-ish elements for the past few years. Featuring former members of Whysp and Residual Echoes, their latest effort, Common Wealth, produced by Tim Green is their strongest to date, perfectly marrying strong songwriting with an elegant ambiance of needlepoint guitar work, spacious drumming and pretty female backing vocals. A perfect record to cozy up to a fire in the dark winter months. Fans of Vetiver, Hush Arbors, and Weird Weeds should check this out.
MPEG Stream: "Wobbly Legs"
MPEG Stream: "There Is A Marriage"

BIRD BY SNOW Common Wealth (Gnome Life) lp 15.98
Soft and mystical, Bird By Snow have been making dreamy folk pop with psych-ish elements for the past few years. Featuring former members of Whysp and Residual Echoes, their latest effort, Common Wealth, produced by Tim Green is their strongest to date, perfectly marrying strong songwriting with an elegant ambiance of needlepoint guitar work, spacious drumming and pretty female backing vocals. A perfect record to cozy up to a fire in the dark winter months. Fans of Vetiver, Hush Arbors, and Weird Weeds should check this out. LP is limited to 550 copies on white vinyl and comes with a 10" x 10" booklet of lyrics and artwork, and a coupon to download the record digitally.
MPEG Stream: "Wobbly Legs"
MPEG Stream: "There Is A Marriage"

BIRD BY SNOW Industrial Collapse (Gnome Life Records) 7" 4.98

BIRD BY SNOW Sky (Gnome Life Records) lp 12.98

BIRDMONSTER No Midnight (self-released) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Following up their bright punchy 3-song self-titled ep debut, Birdmonster deliver a full baker's dozen. With No Midnight, they do their best to keep the college rock fires burning -- meaning lots of crunchy, buzzing guitars and emotive male vocals churned out at a driving pace. Occasionally though they get into a bit more somber, sullen territory ("Balcony" and the title track for instance) than on their last release, but they also bring back a little rootsy rock into numbers such as "The Bar At The Back Of The Basement". Both are used to good effect. Note: one song from the debut ep makes a reappearance here ("All The Holes In The Walls").
MPEG Stream: "Skeleton Suit"
MPEG Stream: "No Midnight"

BIRDMONSTER s/t EP (self-released) cd ep 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's an all too brief introduction to this terrific new Bay Area band. These four boys churn out three fiery indie rock tunes with loads of energy, angst and passion. Birdmonster's music has frequently been compared to that of Modest Mouse, and we can definitely hear why (particularly in the vocal department), but they're actually far more rootsy and boot-stompin'. Probably pretty great live! Even from just this handful of songs, their finely tuned songcraft is more than apparent. A very promising debut.
MPEG Stream: "All The Holes In The Walls"

BIRDS & BATTERIES I'll Never Sleep Again (self-released) cd 12.98
Birds & Batteries kick off their debut album with a solid cover of Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold". It's a bit of an odd decision, but we guess it serves to illustrate an inspiration jumping off point for this SF band. Similar to that unpredictable Canadian singer/songwriter, B&B main man Mike Sempert has crafted a comfy blend of pop, traditional acoustic folk and country rock that is not without its share of gentle non-traditional twists. He seems to favor the latter a little more so here than on the previous Birds & Batteries cd-r release Nature Vs. Nature which interwove a rootsy singer/songwriter perspective with electronica and post rock elements. It's far more composed and cohesive. Nonetheless he keeps us on our toes, fleshing out and deepening some of the songs' timeless earthy folk atmospheres and melodies with occasional synth keyboard lines and textures. Sempert's songwriting is confident and engaging with lyrics drifting from the daydream-y contemplative to the yearningly melancholic. Highlights include the instrumental "Jungles (Oceans)" as well as "Star Clusters" and "Soft Surveillance".
MPEG Stream: "Jungles (Oceans)"
RealAudio clip: "Soft Surveillance"

BIRDS & BATTERIES Nature Vs. Nature (self-released) cd-r 8.98
Ah folks, proof that you shouldn't judge a book (or cd) by its cover! When Mike Sempert first dropped off a copy of this new cd-r release of his solo project Birds & Batteries its appearance (cover art, title, handmade sleeves, etc) initially struck us as perhaps a Jewelled Antler related or inspired release. Listening to it brought very different impressions. Blending together rootsy Americana, post-rock and electronica, the first song's stuttery programmed rhythms and hypnotic loops of arpeggiated melodies contrast well with Sempert's deep, melancholic vocals and guitar, bass and drums. Winding its way around the proceedings are some slippery stringy sounds that we guess is pedal steel or an e-bowed electric guitar or perhaps a synthesizer. He also enlists his friends to contribute saxophone, clarinet, female vocals (by Ms Heather Masse) and percussion in the form of a box of sugar! A very cool introduction to this recent SF transplant (from the far reaches of the Eastern Seaboard)!
MPEG Stream: "Summersalts"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Lullaby"

BIRDTREE, THE Orchards and Caravans (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Birdtree is multi-instrumentalist Glenn Donaldson, whom you may know as one of the driving forces of Thuja/Blithe Sons/Franciscan Hobbies/Skygreen Leopards/The Knit Separates and myriad other manifestions of the magical, mystical Jewelled Antler "collective", those psychedelic/folk/drone/experimental/improvised San Franciscian sound lovers who keep bringing us cd-rs and sometimes real cds of their wondrous musical projects. This cd in fact was once a cd-r on the Jewelled Antler label (reviewed back on list #135), but at last now it's a *real* cd courtesy of the Last Visible Dog imprint, adorned with even more of the same stunning collage artwork as before. We sold a bunch of the original limited version, and hope to do as well with this, since many folks didn't get copies the first time around, and as we said then, this stuff is so good it needs to be heard! Donaldson's Birdtree features his expressive guitar melodies in pursuit of a pensive and melancholic atmosphere. Occasionally accompanied by fellow Mirza / Thuja member Steven R. Smith, Donaldson has created a mysterious, semi-improvised set of songs incorporating field recordings, indeterminant drones, majestic pastoral psychedelia with repetitive organ lines, bowed oud, bells, harmonium, spectral guitar riffs, and, crucially, Donaldson's distant, wistful vocals. The Birdtree is simply a gorgeous, haunting record, similar in ways to Village of Savoonga, Graeme Jefferies, Greg Weeks, and even some of the Harvester / Parson Sound recordings. And Richard Youngs, especially Richard Youngs in his folky, finger-picking, extended vocal bliss mode. It's really beautiful. While there was something nice and personal about the handmade aspect of the original cd-r, we're really glad it's back in print as a proper cd. One of our favorites from the Jewelled Antler stable, and that's saying a lot! Recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Red Midnight Raven"
RealAudio clip: "Animals Of The Summit"
RealAudio clip: "Everyone Of Us A New Leaf"
RealAudio clip: "Raven Returns / The Uppermost Forest"

BLACK COBRA Feather And Stone (At A Loss) cd 13.98
Two man heavy riff-machine Black Cobra return with another pummeling release on At A Loss. Picking up right where Bestial left off, Feather And Stone shreds from the start. Brutally punishing circular riffs, heavy as all hell doomy moments, throat ripping screams, and incredibly hard hitting and precise drums. The fact that this massive sound comes from two fellas is pretty damn amazing. The album has all kinds of peaks and valleys. Amidst the constant time signature shifting, and brain-burning riff heavitude, there are a couple of beautifully dark intros and outros thrown in, giving the album a very balanced feeling. But it's mostly just crushingly heavy and ripping. If you can imagine a heavier, much more misanthropic Karp, that's kind of what they remind us of. Feather And Stone is a must for anybody needing a little taste of thrashing triumphant, sometimes doomy and dark, sometimes fast and techy, but always heavy and punk as fuck ROCK music. It tastes good. This is also an enhanced disc, including some pretty righteous footage of the Cobra ripping at Roadburn! Proving these guys really are that HEAVY, even with just the power of two! For fans of Cavity, Karp, Floor, Torche, and things that kill shit!
MPEG Stream: "Five Daggers"
MPEG Stream: "Ascension"

BLACK FICTION Ghost Ride (Howell's Transmitter) cd 11.98
Joining our beloved Mission District neighbors Ray's Vast Basement and The Modular Set on SF label (and arts collective!) Howell's Transmitter are two fine new groups, Black Fiction and Michael Zapruder's Rain Of Frogs.
Ghost Ride is Black Fiction's second full length (their self-titled debut came out last year). These curious popsters do their fair share of exploring and incorporating bits and bites of countless musical styles. When the dust settles and all the pieces settle, the outcome follows a similar patchwork-y path as Beck, Animal Collective and/or Elephant Six Collective (Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo, et al). Indeed, they might insert a tabla rhythm and a slice of soul here or a shufflin' hip hop beat there, but their sweet melodies and twee boy vocals reveal an indie pop core. Overall the album takes a laidback loping pace, however while that may be the case most of the time, occasionally it's as if a bright sunbeam comes along and stirs them into a minor frenzy of frolicking. Check out the ninth tune "Something Else" for an example of such an outburst. A delight.
MPEG Stream: "Something Else"
MPEG Stream: "You Must Not Bury Someone"

BLACK FURIES Meanwhile Back In The States (Take Root) cd 7.98
Meanwhile, Back In The States... is the second release from The Black Furies, and it reveals a bit of a shift in direction. Tighter and punchier, their new sound borders on the cock rock party action of The Hives, The Hellacopters or even Turbonegro. Gooood times! So, the news that the band has recently signed to Gearhead Records makes total sense... much more so than if we'd heard the news following their last cd which was more of a straight forward punk rawk rally. They've sharpened their pop hooks, Turtle-waxed their guitars to a super gleam, and put a bit more imagination into their packaging to boot.
MPEG Stream: "Blacklist"
MPEG Stream: "No Money Down"

BLACK FURIES s/t (Take Root) cd 11.98
The Black Furies are a total no-frills band churning out straight-up beefy punk rawk. On this their debut album they come tearing outta the gates, seemingly ready to steamroll anyone and anything in their path. Their songs bring to mind the reckless energy of oldschoolers like the Stooges, D.O.A. and Black Flag or more recent brethren The Hellacopters and Turbonegro. Definitely the product of calloused fingers, bloodied knuckles and blistered vocal cords. Rad!
MPEG Stream: "Offer Resistance"
MPEG Stream: "Let It Rock"

BLACK HUMOR Love God - Love One Another (Superior Viaduct) lp 14.98
We had never heard of this eighties art punk / weirdo industrial SF outfit, but HOLY SHIT, this is some seriously fucked up psychedelic noise drenched punk weirdness/radness. Initially released in a run of 1000 lps, each one hand painted with thick gobs of paint and whatever the band members could find around the house (feathers, dirt, trash, flyers, etc.), it's now been reissued by a new local label Superior Viaduct, and what a record to announce your arrival, a creeping, dirgey, occasionally drum machine driven collection of noisy chaotic stumbling ferocity, with loping low slung basslines, jagged, crumbling guitars, a vocalist whose caterwaul is a dead ringer for Kurt Kobain at his most ravaged, his feral yowl tortured and anguished, everything tangled up into a head spinning barrage of post punk stomps, gloomy industrial lumbers, moody murky creeps, dizzying spoken word freakouts and tripped out collaged whatthefuck weirdness.
Just check out the opener, "Undancing In The Dirt", a lumbering creep, gloomy and harrowing, the guitars in a constant state of chaos, the drum machine and woozy bass locked tight beneath a death march pound, not to mention the weird break in the middle with the sound of tolling bells and what sounds like some sort of machinery, the rest of the record careens wildly between similarly woozy outsider industrial creeps and more frenetic artpunk mouth breathing thudrock, most definitely beholden to other local groups of the time like Flipper and Factrix, but also displaying hints of what was going on in Cleveland at the time (Electric Eels, the Pagans, etc.). And on top of that, peppered throughout are some seriously unhinged experiments, weird tape manipulation, free noise fuckery, chaotic clatter and dark droned out minimalism, culminating in "KILL THEM!!!" an almost Negativland worthy mash up of spoken word sloganeering, a serious message presented as some conservative / poseur button pushing, super intense and bizarre, funny and fucked up.
Love God - Love One Another is a seriously twisted slab of SF punk rock history, and easily one of our favorite reissues in recent memory!
Packaged with the original unused cover art, a super striking image of Ronald Reagan holding a cross in front of an American flag with swastikas where the stars normally are, the inside also adorned with a swastika made out of crutches. Comes with two inserts, including new liner notes, the original lp liner notes (explaining the charge imagery and the inspiration for each song), and the Maximum Rock N Roll review that first got them noticed, as well as offending some of the more sensitive punks, one of which has their angry letter reprinted here, along with the response from the original reviewer, in defense of said review.
MPEG Stream: "Undancing In The Dirt"
MPEG Stream: "I Should've Let Him DIE!!!"
MPEG Stream: "KILL THEM!!!"

BLACK KALI MA You Ride the Pony (I'll Be the Bunny) (Alternative Tentacles) cd 11.98
Gary Floyd (Sister Double Happiness, The Dicks) revisits punk rock roots with this ragin' disc. Lynn Perko (Sister Double Happiness) guests on vocals.

BLACK PLASTICS, THE Black Heat Black Lightning Black Plastic (Wesome) cd 5.98
The debut from Bay Area indie rock foursome The Black Plastics reveals something of a split personality. The band jumps back and forth between two distinct styles -- ramshackle lilting jangly post-rock songs and much more angstful, harder edged numbers. The former brings to mind bands such as Modest Mouse or Built To Spill, whereas the latter is more akin to Unwound, Cursive or Doug Martsch's pre-B.T.S. band Treepeople. Perhaps there's two different members handling the songwriting duties? Can't really tell from the liner notes as all the songs are credited to the band as a whole. Nonetheless, they execute both styles with ease, making for quite an enjoyable listen. One thing we do know though is that this album was recorded by the more than capable folks at indie rock studio heaven Tiny Telephone Studios. Way to go!
MPEG Stream: "Golden Sink"
MPEG Stream: "Telesavaliscaster"

BLACK QUEEN The Anthropocalypse (Catastrophic Sound) cdep 7.98
The up and coming local metal/punk/experimental label Catastrophic Sound releases its second cd, following the debut by death metallers Sangre Amado. This one is a four-song ep by another local band, Black Queen, who have perfected a black metal influenced, somewhat weird and skronky assault. Choppy rhythmic complexity and a near-constantly deployed guitar squeal are the band's most obvious trademarks, but these four tracks range from raging death metal brutality complete with guttural vocal growling to some quieter, textural instrumental passages. "The Anthropocalypse" is heavy, varied and quite interesting. I've yet to see 'em play live but if this disc is any indication they must be pretty great on stage. On the other hand, I hope they spend their free time in the recording studio so we will someday have a full-length album to behold.

BLACK SWANS, THE Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You? (Delmore) cd 9.98
The answer to the title's question appears to be... The Black Swans! Although this band has been together since 1999, this is their debut album. Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You? contains some of the darkest, slowest and most brooding music this side of Tindersticks and the Dirty 3. In fact, lead singer Jerry DeCicca's deeeeep vocals are practically a deadringer for Tindersticks' Stuart Staples. Or perhaps a cross between that band and Antony & The Johnsons. Those in the most somber of moods (or for those wishing to be made so) or fans of either of the abovementioned groups might wanna take this cd for a late night stroll! Oh yeah, and did we mention that this band also features the talents of man of many musical hats Mr. Josh Housh (ex-Our Lady Of The Highway, Catalpa Boys, etc)?
MPEG Stream: "Song Without You "
MPEG Stream: "Rocks In My Shoes"

BLACKALICIOUS Blazing Arrow (MCA / Quannum) cd 14.98
Blackalicious, the duo of producer / musicmaker Chief Xcel along with lyricist Gift of Gab, here release their highly anticipated major label debut (anyone know why they didn't stay with Quannum?). Uplifting, substantial hip hop that's made catchy by Chief Xcel's obvious talent with beatmaking, distortion, and melody. Half of the tracks, however, feature guest vocalists, players or producers who all have their own signature styles that're more established than Blackalicious' style -- drowning the personality of the duo before we've even got a chance to appreciate / learn it. Most of the album sounds catchy and charmingly unpretentious, the music never too easy or boring. (There are a couple of bad slow jams on the record with the requisite predictable diva vocalists, but they're easily programmed out if you're so inclined.) And the album *really* finds its legs in the latter half, with four or five consecutive tracks that just kick butt.
With Gil Scott Heron, Cut Chemist, Zack de la Rocha, Saul Williams, Lyrics Born (of Latyrx), Rakaa and Babu (of Dilated Peoples), Jaguar Wright (vocalist last seen doing backup on Jay-Z Unplugged), Chali 2na of Jurassic5, Money Mark, Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto, and more.
RealAudio clip: "Blazing Arrow"
RealAudio clip: "Sky is Falling"
RealAudio clip: "Passion (feat Rakaa & Babu)"
RealAudio clip: "Release (feat Saul Williams and Lyrics Born)"

BLACKDEATH / LEVIATHAN split (ISO666) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We were barely able to keep this in stock the first time around. And it went out of print in the blink of an eye. Some of the best material we'd heard from all time AQ black metal fave Leviathan, who teamed up on this disc with grim Russian buzz merchants Blackdeath. Pretty killer combo indeed. Well, for a limited time, this killer split is available again, in fancy new packaging. Now housed in an oversized A5 style digibook, with cool new artwork, the original cd booklet, stickers and a mini-poster. It's probably safe to assume that these won't last any longer than the original version did, so best be quick. Here's what we had to say about the music inside:
Hard to know what to say about Leviathan that we haven't said already. Quite possibly the most innovative outfit in black metal today. The man behind Leviathan, Wrest, has taken traditional black metal and turned it into something new and strange and completely out there, while somehow remaining totally grim and true to the black metal tradition. Here, he is teamed up with Russian black metal outfit Blackdeath, who specialize in extremely primitive buzzy and blurry black metal a la Burzum, Darkthrone and the like. The most remarkable thing about Blackdeath besides their simple droning fuzzed out riffs, and frosty atmosphere, is the vocals, a weird raspy warble, that slips from black metal shriek to weirdly anguished falsetto, reminding us a lot of SF BM legends Weakling. And the guitars are so thick and buzzy and blown out that you almost can't hear the drums, which lends the whole thing a super hypnotic drone quality that we LOVE. As if playing off of Blackdeath's primitive grimness, Leviathan hits right back with four tracks of his own full on grim buzz, but as with everything he does, no matter how true and grim the sound is, no matter how blasting the drums or buzzing the guitars are, there is always lots of stuff going on beneath the surface, or in the arrangements, not always easy to explain, just this intangible something that makes Leviathan's sound so unique and so much creepier and intense. Minor key melodies, weird stretches of industrial ambience, strangely affected vocals, haunting drones and bizarre soundscapes, all woven into the already twisted framework of Leviathan's uniquely hellish black metal. Fucking amazing!
MPEG Stream: BLACKDEATH "Der Absolute Bose"
MPEG Stream: LEVIATHAN "Derision"

BLACKDEATH / LEVIATHAN split (Niessedrion) picture disc 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While we're waiting to get restocked on the cd version of this killer split (in the next week or two!), which flew out of here after our last list, we managed to get 30 copies of the picture disc vinyl version. Unfortunately that's all we're ever gonna get, so as always, act fast!
Hard to know what to say about Leviathan that we haven't said already. Quite possibly the most innovative outfit in black metal today. The man behind Leviathan, Wrest, has taken traditional black metal and turned it into something new and strange and completely out there, while somehow remaining totally grim and true to the black metal tradition. Here, he is teamed up with Russian black metal group Blackdeath, who specialize in extremely primitive buzzy and blurry black metal a la Burzum, Darkthrone and the like. The most remarkable thing about Blackdeath besides their simple droning fuzzed out riffs, and frosty atmosphere, is the vocals, a weird raspy warble, that slips from black metal shriek to weirdly anguished falsetto, reminding us a lot of SF BM legends Weakling. And the guitars are so thick and buzzy and blown out that you almost can't hear the drums, which lends the whole thing a super hypnotic drone quality that we LOVE. As if playing off of Blackdeath's primitive grimness, Leviathan hits right back with four tracks of his own full on grim buzz, but as with everything he does, no matter how true and grim the sound is, no matter how blasting the drums or buzzing the guitars are, there is always lots of stuff going on beneath the surface, or in the arrangements, not always easy to explain, just this intangible something that makes Leviathan's sound so unique and so much creepier and intense. Minor key melodies, weird stretches of industrial ambience, strangely affected vocals, haunting drones and bizarre soundscapes, all woven into the already twisted framework of Leviathan's uniquely hellish black metal.
WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO GET 25 COPIES. ONCE THEY ARE GONE, THEY ARE GONE FOR GOOD!!!
MPEG Stream: BLACKDEATH "Der Absolute Bose"
MPEG Stream: LEVIATHAN "Derision"

BLACKS, THE Nom De Guerre (Tricycle Records) cd 9.98
This new SF trio whip out some down'n'dirty trash tunes with the rock'n'roll basics -- vocals, guitar, drums and tambourine. The vocals are delivered in a deliciously distressed, smeared sneer. Just imagine a female fronted piss'n'vinegar descendant of Jesus And Mary Chain, and you'll have some idea of where The Blacks are comin' from. We think they would fit great at a gig alongside fellow Bay Area hotties The Husbands and Von Iva.
MPEG Stream: "Raincoat"
MPEG Stream: "The Flame"

BLAKCPULLET GRIMOIRE Eating Whole Villages He Threw Up From The Bitter Taste Of Concrete (Thee Obscurantist) cd-r 11.98
Sure, spelling errors and grammatical mishaps may (and most likely do) pop up all the time on the aQ website; but we can be certain that we have correctly transcribed the name of Wayne Grim's art-prog project Blakcpullet Grimoire. Admittedly, this is one of the first projects that's come our way from Mr. Grim even though he's been very active in the Bay Area avant-garde scoring films, building installations, performing in countless guises, and appearing in this production or that. There are a ton of musical ideas splattered throughout Eating Whole Villages, beginning with a heavy, chugging guitar set against the old-school noise a dial-up modem generates, giving the album a Melvins / Mike Patton vibe from the get go. This is followed by a hissing track of noise and static aerations, muddling a delay saturated lecture from Buckminster Fuller captured on cassette. Then, you'll find electronic yawnings of bassbin rattling frequencies, bleeping glitches, and floorscraped noises barely coalescing upon their sparse structure countered by snippets from Kurt Schwitters' seminal sound poem Ursonate. These perpetual detours from track to track continue through the album, which really opens up after the rather claustrophobic beginning into some lovely stripped down acoustic guitar plucking and continues through an expanded passage of stereo-phased amplifier distortion ruptured with controlled attacks on a drum kit. Frippertronic styled guitar drones cascade out of the speakers later on as if they were from No Pussyfooting. Contemplative and enveloping, it's hard to imagine this as the same record, the end so far removed from the opening corroded heavy sounds. Confounding yes, but certainly rewarding!
MPEG Stream: "Overture (Repugnance)"
MPEG Stream: "Dancer Listening To Organ Music..."
MPEG Stream: "Tripartite"