WALKER, ERIK IAN / MARIT BROOK-KOTHLOW I Have Never Told You (Bottomfeeder) cd 11.98
I Have Never Told You is comprised of twenty tracks of haunting, contemplative compositions from the fine songwriting quill of one Mr. Erik Ian Walker. Together they form a somberly dramatic soundscape of constantly changing atmospheres. Walker's piano, hammond organ and vintage synthesizers (a Buchla and an Oberheim Matrix-12) entwine with a variety of guest musicians' strings, horns and woodwinds. Brief surfacings of Marit Brook-Kothlow's soulful forlorn vocals, occasional rhythmic outbursts and fleeting glimpses of ambient sounds like the whistling of a tea kettle or the percussive rattle of an old radiator punctuate the proceedings. A particularly stirring stretch comes in the tenth track "Castle Canyon" in which over the course of a few minutes a mere whisper of sound slowly builds, swelling to an absolute roar. Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "Castle Canyon"
MPEG Stream: "Far From Here"

WATER BORDERS Akko ep (Hungry For Power) 12" 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Featuring members of now defunct SF outfit New Thrill Parade, and loosely affiliated with the now seemingly hyped to death 'witch house' movement (due mostly to their cd-r on witch house flagship label Disaro), Water Borders have evolved into one of the strangest and most fascinating bands in the bay area. On their last record they sounded a bit like Coil, but on this 4 song ep, they sound, well, like pretty much nobody else.
The title track is a thick miasma of glimmering high end, lush synth swells, looped percussion, haunting 'witchy' ambience, and deep crooned vocals, and a sound that grows more caustic and corrosive as it goes, the vocals following suit, getting more manic and maniacal, the sound suffocatingly intense and explosively freaked out. "Rome" features Glasser guesting, a creepy post industrial dronescape laced with fuzzy synths and crumbling melodies, Glasser's ethereal vocals locked in a doom-ed duet with those creepy bellowed WB vox, a gorgeously twisted electro-doom-cabaret ballad, melodic but also mesmerizingly damaged. That same track gets remixed and blossoms into something simultaneously more washed out and psychedelic, and more driving and propulsive, whirring loops, repetitive melodies, a low slung dubstep beat, some thick fuzzed out bass, some weirdo processed vox, all very spacey and groovy, sounding like a jam that some enterprising DJ might use to confuse the fuck out of a dancefloor.
And finally, the title track gets remixed by Petals, which just so happens to be former aQer Cameron, and whose mostly unheard recordings rule, it's only a matter of time before some big label catches on and so does the rest of the world, but for now, revel in this grim, freaked out, darkly psychedelic reworking, all low end thrum and pulse, some feral grunts and growls, everything gauzy and blurred and even more haunting that the original, a black ambient electro gloom creep, that builds to a thick industrial pound the whole thing held together by a fragmented melodic loop, that will stick in your head like crazy.
SO recommended. We definitely need to hear more Water Borders, and heck, more Petals while we're at it...
MPEG Stream: "Akko"
MPEG Stream: "Rome Ft. Glasser (Nero's Day At Disneyland Rmx)"
MPEG Stream: "Akko (Petals Rmx)"

WATER BORDERS Drippings (Skrot Up) cassette 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another chunk of electro goth, witch pop, gloom-soul weirdness from this SF duo, who, while originally linked to the witch house scene, seem dead set on blazing their own confusional sonic path, and it does just keep getting better and better.
Drippings is a songsuite of what to these ears sounds like minimal miserable electronic death ballads, or like a more lo-fi, creepy and drug addled How To Dress Well. The same sort of soulful vibe, but WB's 'soul music' is something altogether more grim and evil, mottled and murky, the music here stripped down and skeletal, the vocals verring from DJ Screw style sizurped drawl, to an almost Nick Cave sounding deep and dramatic croon. All laid over a strange framework of super spare electronic dub, crumbling bits of distorted melody, bits of metallic buzz and deep rumble, the occasional swirl of synthy shimmer, gauzy stretches of sci-fi kosmische ambience, wheezing drones, sometimes coalescing into a clattery detuned warped cabaret, other times spacing out into glimmering expanses of crystalline haze, and still other times, stumbling into strange Middle Eastern sounding grooves, that sound almost like Muslimgauze crossed with the Butthole Surfers, but still laced with those creepy ominous bellowed vox. Seriously twisted, dementedly genius, fantastically totally fucked up and thus WAY recommended.
SUPER LIMITED! We might not be able to get more when we run out, so act fast.
MPEG Stream: "Side A (excerpt)"
MPEG Stream: "Side B (excerpt)"

WATER BORDERS s/t (Disaro) 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.
Local duo Water Borders makes their debut with this 6 song ep, and anyone with a sweet spot for electro-goth weirdness will find plenty of reasons to rejoice. These guys earned their stripes in the enigmatic New Thrill Parade, whose status at this time is uncertain. Whatever the case, this stuff is right up our alley and sure to appeal to anyone digging the current revival of all things gothy, and yet Water Borders' take on things seems much more effortless and not concerned with racking up scene points. The songs seem to swirl within the self-contained atmosphere, with spooky keyboards and simple but incessant throbbing rhythms forming a nice cocoon for the dramatic and crazed vocals. Some of this stuff reminds us of Coil, while other numbers bring to mind a more, cough, "organic" version of Six Finger Satellite circa Machine Cuisine with more of an emphasis on actually singing. The sounds are both noisy and surprisingly majestic, and we are definitely digging the demented dance floor vibe on songs like "Even In The Dark". Limited to 100 copies, so don't snooze on it. A nice surprise, we can't wait to hear what these guys whip up next!
MPEG Stream: "Even In The Dark"
MPEG Stream: "Yawning While Laughing"
MPEG Stream: "Instincts Stink"

WAX IDOLS All Too Human b/w William Says (Hozac Records) 7" 5.98
Brand new 7" from one the Blasted Canyons (that would be Heather, once a Bare Wire as well), their Castle Face debut was our Record Of The Week on last week's list, and weirdly enough, they're also on the quintuple flexidisc-book that is one of THIS week's Records Of The Week, needless to say we have mad love for Heather and all of her various projects, including now this one, Wax Idols, a solo project (although there was a proper live band briefly), and Wax Idols' sonic apple doesn't fall far from the Bare Wires / Blasted Canyons tree, which is just fine with us. The sound here is a little more sixties girl group though, a fuzzed out retro garage rock, but not as sunshiney and jangly as lots of those groups, more muscley, a little dark, and a little new wave-y, crunchy guitars, powerful echo drenched vox, snarly and sassy, over pounding drums and laced with glistening Cure like melodies. And hooks galore. Oh and that sixties girl group thing, we're not talking poodle skirts and sweaters, no we're talking leather jackets, ripped jeans and switchblades, in fact, it sorta sounds like the kind of band Pinky and Leather Tuscadero would start if they time travelled to the present day.
The B side gets even murkier and more new wave, the sound washed out and distorted, more plodding and dour and darkly gloomy. Really great. Definitely psyched to hear more...

WAX IDOLS No Future (HoZac) cd 12.98
Finally, a full length record from Heather Fedewa, aka one woman psychedelic jangle pop new wave garage rock combo Wax Idols, which seems to have been expanded to what essentially amounts to a full band for this full length. Fedewa is a member of aQ beloved recent Record Of The Week honorees Blasted Canyons, and she was a former Bare Wire as well of one of the punx in Hunx & His Punx, so with a pedigree like that it didn't really take a genius to figure out that we'd dig Wax Idols, and dig it we do, the first single we reviewed a while back was a big hit around here, with a fuzzed out garage rock girl group sound that didn't stray too far from the sound of her old band The Bare Wires, which was just fine with us, although as we mentioned in that review, the sound tended to be a bit darker, with more crunch, more murk, a definitely gloom pop vibe, although we have to say, none of that is present on the opening track here, which is fuzzy and crunchy and jangly, with plenty of tough girl swagger, reminding us a bit of the Runaways, especially with Fedewa's snarled echo drenched yelp on the chorus, although the rest of the song is pretty fuzzy and dreampoppy. "Hitman" too, could almost be Best Coast, or the Dum Dum Girls, raw and urgent, fuzzy and crunchy, with chiming guitar melodies over the fuzzy riffage, but then something strange happens, the chord progression of the chorus has this weird turn right at the end that's a little bit sour, and makes the hook have just a little bit of edge, which is probably a good description of this whole record, fuzzy, jangly, a little new wavey, but with just a little bit more bite than other sonically similar bands. In fact, if there was a girl group battle of the bands, that was in fact an actual battle, all of those other bands would get their asses KICKED. Just check out "Dilno", super rocking, blown out and fuzzy, distorted, rollicking and rocking, with some weird vox and a super dynamic stuttery chorus.
As the record progresses, the songs seem to get a bit more moody, the sound stretching out into gloom pop territory, which totally suits the songs, and balances the more sunshiney numbers nicely. And then the record finishes off with maybe the poppiest jam here, all echo drenched vocals, warm shimmery strum, and sweetly melancholy minor key melodies, but even there, the song has plenty of dynamics, the multiple guitars weaving a lush almost shoegazey haze over the second half, but not enough to obscure Wax Idols' fuzz pop perfection.
Fans of Bare Wires, Blasted Canyons, Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Girls At Dawn, Grass Widow, etc. this just might be your new favorite record.
MPEG Stream: "Dead Like You"
MPEG Stream: "Hitman"
MPEG Stream: "Gold Sneakers"

WAX IDOLS No Future (HoZac) lp 14.98
Finally, a full length record from Heather Fedewa, aka one woman psychedelic jangle pop new wave garage rock combo Wax Idols, which seems to have been expanded to what essentially amounts to a full band for this full length. Fedewa is a member of aQ beloved recent Record Of The Week honorees Blasted Canyons, and she was a former Bare Wire as well of one of the punx in Hunx & His Punx, so with a pedigree like that it didn't really take a genius to figure out that we'd dig Wax Idols, and dig it we do, the first single we reviewed a while back was a big hit around here, with a fuzzed out garage rock girl group sound that didn't stray too far from the sound of her old band The Bare Wires, which was just fine with us, although as we mentioned in that review, the sound tended to be a bit darker, with more crunch, more murk, a definitely gloom pop vibe, although we have to say, none of that is present on the opening track here, which is fuzzy and crunchy and jangly, with plenty of tough girl swagger, reminding us a bit of the Runaways, especially with Fedewa's snarled echo drenched yelp on the chorus, although the rest of the song is pretty fuzzy and dreampoppy. "Hitman" too, could almost be Best Coast, or the Dum Dum Girls, raw and urgent, fuzzy and crunchy, with chiming guitar melodies over the fuzzy riffage, but then something strange happens, the chord progression of the chorus has this weird turn right at the end that's a little bit sour, and makes the hook have just a little bit of edge, which is probably a good description of this whole record, fuzzy, jangly, a little new wavey, but with just a little bit more bite than other sonically similar bands. In fact, if there was a girl group battle of the bands, that was in fact an actual battle, all of those other bands would get their asses KICKED. Just check out "Dilno", super rocking, blown out and fuzzy, distorted, rollicking and rocking, with some weird vox and a super dynamic stuttery chorus.
As the record progresses, the songs seem to get a bit more moody, the sound stretching out into gloom pop territory, which totally suits the songs, and balances the more sunshiney numbers nicely. And then the record finishes off with maybe the poppiest jam here, all echo drenched vocals, warm shimmery strum, and sweetly melancholy minor key melodies, but even there, the song has plenty of dynamics, the multiple guitars weaving a lush almost shoegazey haze over the second half, but not enough to obscure Wax Idols' fuzz pop perfection.
Fans of Bare Wires, Blasted Canyons, Thee Oh Sees, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Girls At Dawn, Grass Widow, etc. this just might be your new favorite record.
MPEG Stream: "Dead Like You"
MPEG Stream: "Hitman"
MPEG Stream: "Gold Sneakers"

WAY, A.C. Odo (Breaking Wheel) cd-r 4.50
swarming er of ensembles (Maleficia, French Radio, Riqis, Carrion, NF Orchest, etc.), but his recorded solo output has been woefully under-represented. He's one to start furiously on projects only to shelve them either out of frustration with the process or if another opportunity might come along. However, the strength of Odo is such that Way should delve back into that repository of mangled tapes and extract more material like this. His means of production often involves a beat-to-shit turntable, a similarly beat-to-shit sampler, vocal growlings, and a noise-freak collection of pedals, resulting in a black noise miasma orbiting around MB, Lasse Marhaug, and Locrian. Odo is a comparatively brighter affair of harmonically interwoven tones and field recordings, but Way's menacing noise lurks throughout. The first of three pieces layers a set of harmonium-sounding drones whose linear stasis is upended by an arching churn of growling, low-end feedback, snapping into the second track of watery field recordings and subterranean drippings sutured to a chorus of mid-range sinetones. The final track engages an uneasy set of feedback tones made even more unsettled by a distant blackened cloud of rumbling distortion slowly joined by a metallic clamor and spectral blasts of wintery black noise. Think the more psychedelic noise of Ramleh, the transitional recordings by Emaciator from noise-to-drone, and most everything that comes out on Utech. Just 20 minutes long, but the price is certainly right!
MPEG Stream: "Odo 1"
MPEG Stream: "Odo 2"
MPEG Stream: "Odo 3"

WAY, A.C. Vorsg Gah (Petit Mal Music) 3"cd 5.98
A disembodied scream becomes noise becomes drone becomes the sound of swarming bees. Such is the course laid out by the oft-performing / occasionally-recording East Bay noise technician A.C. Way on this mighty fine 3" cd-r. This man has performed in numerous projects over the years, bringing his battered turntable, abused sampler, and array of distortion pedals to such projects as Maleficia, French Radio (with MX-80's Bruce Anderson, no less), Carrion, Riqis, and probably a few others that have slipped our mind. All of those aforementioned elements work their way into the crosshatched structure of this 20 minute composition. Whatever Way is sourcing for the initial blast of noise is downright terrifying. As much as we'd like to give credence to the thought it's a reverberant scream captured inside the half-mile Baker-Barry Tunnel found in the Marin Headlands, it's probably a fortuitous abrasion manipulated from Way's turntable. As encrusted distortion and corroded noises begin to dismantle these unsettling sounds, a glowing tone also emerges as something of a shimmering, gilded beacon, that's as beautiful as the noises that preceded it are not. When the sound of the bees flutters through that ephemeral drone, Way hints at another wash of sonic horror but resolves those sounds as a vibrating massage of ecological white noise. Really nice work, and limited to 50 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Vorsg Gah (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Vorsg Gah (excerpt 2)"

WAYCROSS Aren't We The Lucky Ones (Waycross) cd 10.98
A new album from this popular local combo who play a full, polished brand of shadowy twang. Delving into the darker side of country music a la Cowboy Junkies and Trailer Bride with layers of sliding, spidery reverbed guitar and gritty organs. The melancholic female lead vocals bring to mind the subdued yet powerful delivery of Hope Sandoval or Carly Simon. They're backed by higher, more angelic vocals. Their decision to include a tripped out cover of Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" seems very strange and out of place. The over the top warbly wah-wah guitars and plodding rhythms totally distracts from the brooding, languid Waycross atmosphere they've so carefully crafted. Instead, it comes across as an alienating, druggy blues rock rendition. Seems like they should've made it either a hidden final track or preferably just reserved it for the live setting in which it's surely a crowd pleaser. That said, if you can program your cd player to skip track 9, you'll have a cohesive, pleasing listen.

RealAudio clip: "B-Sides"
RealAudio clip: "Wicked"
RealAudio clip: "Heart Of Glass"

WE ARE INVISIBLE s/t (self-released) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

WE BE THE ECHO Stanislaw Stories (Chuckbeat) cd 10.98
Post-rock gets a little metallic when We Be The Echo are around. Although their central sound is one of Chicago style mathy post-rock, the SF band does muscle its way outside of its boundaries from time to time. Whereas the music that falls under those two genre umbrellas is for the most part about precision, We Be The Echo play it loud and loose. Ultimately this serves to alternately benefit (high energy level) and hinder (somewhat muddled math parts) the impact of many songs on Stanislaw Stories. Nine propulsive instrumentals.
MPEG Stream: "Disco Fever Blister"
MPEG Stream: "Hymn & Hearse"

WEAKLING Dead As Dreams (tUMULt) cd 11.98
The posthumous debut from (and, thus, swansong of) San Francisco's most cult black metal act, Weakling. Despite their local, non-forested, non-wintry origins, Weakling was a band capable of destroying the best Scandinavia has to offer (as we witnessed upon two occasions, when Weakling had the honor of opening the San Francisco shows by Norwegians Mayhem and Enslaved, and proceeded to make both bands look like punk rockers in comparison! Weakling were so much more epic and intense). All this without any of the ignorant posturing or hackneyed corpsepaint of their peers.
Ghastly, anguished vocals and bloodchilling keyboards combine with dual trebly buzzsaw guitars and inhuman trance inducing drumming to create an atmosphere of utter grinding grimness. Weakling draws upon '90s black metal in the Norwegian tradition (especially the raw and primitive likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal) and then creates uniquely fucked song structures of epic length (20 minutes per, in some cases).
And, like the best music, Weakling also transcends genre. In some ways, "Dead as Dreams" possesses elements that can be considered akin to the avant garde, experimental creations of the Swans, Skullflower, Steve Reich, or even Yoko Ono. Imagine an extensive, utterly mesmerizing Hermann Nitsch piece, composed for black metal band.
It's a suffocating soundscape of riffing and drone. Subterranean satanic art rock that equals metal. Nihilistic, depressive and never ending.
Featuring Josh formerly of The (Fucking) Champs as well as drummer Lil' Sunshine from local death metallers Sangre Amado (R.I.P) and Saros. And of course, John Gossard of...well, John Gossard. (And The Gault / Asunder / Iron Vegan / Dispirit) Local black metal maniac/death rocker extraordinaire. Weakling is largely the result of his devotion to black metal dementia.
We are not engaging in baseless hyperbole when we say: this should be crowned black metal album of the year. Any year. EVERY YEAR! FOREVER!!!! Seriously. Essential.
MPEG Stream: "Cut Their Brains And Place Fire Therein"
MPEG Stream: "This Entire Fucking Battlefield"
MPEG Stream: "No One Can Be Called As A Man While He'll Die"

WEEKEND All-American / Youth Haunts (Mexican Summer) 10" 19.98
The smoking hot Mexican Summer label unleashes another new great band to the world, this one actually resides right here in San Francisco. Weekend blast out two songs on this 10" overflowing with a refreshing lo-fi rocking and shoegazey vibe. Kind of like a Woodsist band doing covers of Nowhere era Ride, or a less monochromatic Crystal Stilts letting loose on Unrest covers, or The Chills crossed with early My Bloody Valentine. They also remind us a bit of a more ramshackle and raw version of Desolation Wilderness who have also recently been creating great songs from a similar sonic perspective but with a bit more polish and fleshed out production. Weekend keeps things fuzzy and blown own and a bit raw which for sure works in their favor and also aligns them well with the likes of Wavves, Pearl Harbor, Grass Widow, etc.
Both songs on here are fucking great! But we wouldn't feel right if we didn't mention that it is only two songs (one of which will be on their forthcoming full length) which makes the $20 pricetag seem a bit, well, outrageous. Of course this is extremely limited and will be gone before the blink of an eye, and we really do love all the music Mexican Summer has been putting out but we do think the cost might be getting a little out of hand. That being said when it comes to the music in these grooves, we're totally sold!

WEEKEND End Times (Slumberland) 7" 4.98
Brand new blast of shoegazey fuzz pop jangle from this SF outfit, the A side just a slightly abbreviated 'radio' edit of the track "End Times" from their Sports full length, and while we're happy to hear that song again and again and again, for fans it's the B-side that's the big attraction here, which finds Sports' opening jam, the 6+ minute "Coma Summer", a blast of summery jangley shoegaze pop bliss, here transformed into something much murkier and gloomier, the sounds washed out and echo drenched, lots of softly swirling effects, the drums almost krautrock sounding in their motorik simplicity, while the vocals seem to have been transformed into streaks of high end sound, blurred into the whirling washed out background, the sound distorted and lo-fi, sounding more like something you might find on an Ariel Pink / John Maus record, that same sort of alien FM radio broadcast, via fucked up 4 track, and while it definitely sounds NOTHING like anything else on Sports, as a brief blast of warped lysergic weirdo krautpop, it's pretty goddamn great.
Comes with a download coupon as well.
MPEG Stream: "Coma Summer (Speculator's Subconscious Mix)"

WEEKEND Red (Slumberland) cd ep 8.98
Brand new ep from these SF shoegaze / jangle poppers, and it's a doozy, taking up right where their aQ beloved Sports album left off, launching right into it with the hazy, dirgey, dreamy "Sweet Sixteen", with its slow pounding beat, low slung bassline, reverbed ethereal vocals, and thick grinding swaths of guitar, which are soon joined by lush chiming melodies, the sound epic and expansive, moody and brooding, we've found ourselves playing it over and over and over. Which means it took us a while to get to "Hazel", which is a bit more propulsive, and very eighties sounding, almost like their take on this whole retro new wave thing, but holy shit is it the sort of song that would be a massive hit in a perfect world, a killer hook surrounded buy weirdly effected guitars, crunchy riffs, all wed to a killer groove, thick fuzzy bass, the sound occasionally exploding into sweetly psychedelic squalls. The rest of this 5 song ep follows suit, dipping into druggy dark shoegaze crunch on "Your Own Nothing", the sound thick and dark and fuzzy, but still rife with melodies and another wicked hook, or bouncy retro fuzz pop on "The One You Want" that sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to a modern John Hughes style teenage classic, and finally, the oddly titled "Golfers", with its thick, downtuned dirgey riff, echoey vox, tribal drumming, and melancholy guitar melody, a dreamy chunk of minimal gloom pop, that might be this ep's real gem.
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Sixteen"
MPEG Stream: "Hazel"

WEEKEND Sports (Slumberland) cd 10.98
Finally! The full length debut from these SF jangle noisepoppers, and it's as good as their two song Mexican Summer 10" had us hoping it would be.
Fuzzy, jangly, shoegazey, reverby, a little new wavey, a little droney, super catchy and buzzy and dreamy, pretty much everything we want a new pop record to be.
The first song "Coma Summer" is a dizzying collision of sounds and styles, that displays everything we love about these guys. Jangly Unrest style guitars chime beneath distant crooned oooooh's, eventually buzzy crunchy guitar rock wraps itself around the original guitar, the bassline buzzy and Joy Division-y, the sound repetitive and trancey, then still MORE guitars come in, some seriously MBV worthy buzzsaw blur, over which vocals keen in the distance, then the vocals proper come in, all deep and dramatic and new wavey, accompanied by woozy washed out warped sounding melodies that seem to melt before our ears, and so it goes, shifting from loping brooding jangle to soaring bleary psychedelic bliss to fuzzy minimal new wave pound, and it's not just that it sounds amazing, but that the amazing sounds have been crafted into a killer song, hooky and hazy and damn near perfect.
The second song is more of the same, we heard "Youth Haunts" on that Mexican Summer 10" which we then described as something akin to "a Woodsist band doing covers of Nowhere era Ride, or a less monochromatic Crystal Stilts letting loose on Unrest covers, or The Chills crossed with early My Bloody Valentine" and that pretty much still totally applies, and not just to this track, but to the whole record. Lush yet lo-fi, broody and propulsive, but also noisy and blown out, sunshiney and poppy here and there, but just often, dark and melancholy, easily one of our new favorite records, from one of our new favorite local outfits.
MPEG Stream: "Coma Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Youth Haunts"
MPEG Stream: "Monday Morning"

WEEKEND Sports (Slumberland) lp 17.98
Finally! The full length debut from these SF jangle noisepoppers, and it's as good as their two song Mexican Summer 10" had us hoping it would be.
Fuzzy, jangly, shoegazey, reverby, a little new wavey, a little droney, super catchy and buzzy and dreamy, pretty much everything we want a new pop record to be.
The first song "Coma Summer" is a dizzying collision of sounds and styles, that displays everything we love about these guys. Jangly Unrest style guitars chime beneath distant crooned oooooh's, eventually buzzy crunchy guitar rock wraps itself around the original guitar, the bassline buzzy and Joy Division-y, the sound repetitive and trancey, then still MORE guitars come in, some seriously MBV worthy buzzsaw blur, over which vocals keen in the distance, then the vocals proper come in, all deep and dramatic and new wavey, accompanied by woozy washed out warped sounding melodies that seem to melt before our ears, and so it goes, shifting from loping brooding jangle to soaring bleary psychedelic bliss to fuzzy minimal new wave pound, and it's not just that it sounds amazing, but that the amazing sounds have been crafted into a killer song, hooky and hazy and damn near perfect.
The second song is more of the same, we heard "Youth Haunts" on that Mexican Summer 10" which we then described as something akin to "a Woodsist band doing covers of Nowhere era Ride, or a less monochromatic Crystal Stilts letting loose on Unrest covers, or The Chills crossed with early My Bloody Valentine" and that pretty much still totally applies, and not just to this track, but to the whole record. Lush yet lo-fi, broody and propulsive, but also noisy and blown out, sunshiney and poppy here and there, but just often, dark and melancholy, easily one of our new favorite records, from one of our new favorite local outfits.
MPEG Stream: "Coma Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Youth Haunts"
MPEG Stream: "Monday Morning"

WEISS, ALEX QUARTET Make Your Own Lightning (Chahatatadra Music) cd 10.98

WET ILLUSTRATED 1x1x1 (True Panther) lp 15.98
Debut full length from this awesome San Francisco band who are bringing a much needed shot of carefree energy and exuberance to the current crop of lo-fi and garage pop peddlers. We loved their 7" from last year which while being right at home in a stack of records by such likeminded folks as The Fresh & Only, Nodzz, and Woods, also had its own really cool unique energy. 1x1x1 proves that while these guys do have a lot in common with the new wave of indie pop greatness they also tap into the golden age of indie rock with melodies as bright as Superchunk and the charged rhythm of The Feelies. They also have this really cool ability to merge different elements into their overall sound. Somehow bridging the gap between the all out party raucousness of bands like Hunx & His Punx and Shannon & The Clams, while having an ease and breeze to their sound similar to Beach Fossils and Melted Toys. Snotty without being obnoxious, and so catchy without being saccharine. This is how we love our pop music to sound.

WET ILLUSTRATED Born Stoked / Flying (Corvette City) 7" 5.98
Rad slab of very limited wax from this awesome San Francisco duo who serve up some totally exciting raw and supercharged garage psych pop. Recorded by Tim Cohen from The Fresh & Only's, Wet Illustrated prove they belong right there alongside other awesome like minded bands from SF like Nodzz, Bare Wires, Ty Segall, and The Fresh & Onlys. You can feel the sun shining down, the wind blowing, kites flying free. This is music made for blasting while drinking your favorite beverage of choice and letting go of inhibitions as these are songs that just take a hold of your body and you can't help but smile uncontrollably while these infectious songs get stuck in your head. As well as having a classic garage pop sound there is this really cool early SST vibe in these songs as well, reminding us of the Meat Puppets, and "Born Stoked" has this rad guitar sound that's like a dubbed cassette version of Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation. Only 300 of these handsome 7"s were pressed so best to act fast on this one!

WHITE HILLS + WHITE PEE Wish You Weren't Here (self-released) cd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Even though it wasn't all that long ago that we were served with the serious space rock wallop of White Hills' most recent full length Glitter Glamour Atrocity, it was only a matter of moments before we were already jonesing for more. And while this is not a proper WH record per se, it is at least another heaping helping of that spaced out sound we can't get enough of.
Here, White Hills team up with SF noise outfit White Pee for a nearly 30 minute single track of space-y, druggy, krautdrone ambient noise. And it's a killer. Never heard of White Pee before, and because this disc is so abstract and sort of shapeless, it's hard to put a finger on what exactly they bring to the table, but these two groups together sound like one. The noise is relegated to brief bursts here and there, for the most part, this is gloriously tranquil blissed out dronescapes. Long expanses of slow flowing Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh synth sprawl, the FX are muted but wrap their shimmery tendrils around everything.
Here and there, the meditative shimmer is disrupted by dense gnarled squalls of gritty guitar growl, arranged into strange almost-rhythms, a stretched out lurching throb plodding along over long ominous streaks of sci fi synth. The synths got from ethereal and whispery, to throbbing and fuzzy, from dreamy and barely there, to pulsing and propulsive, almost like some disembodied Gary Numan rhythm track.
The second half of the disc is wide open and spare, shades of Tim Hecker and Machinefabriek and that sort of buzzy blurred soundscapes, guitars ebb and flow, keening high end melodies drift WAY off in the distance, dense washes of distorted guitar crumble bathe everything in grit and buzz, plaintive piano drifts in and out like some unearthly transmission, all hazy and indistinct, darkly dramatic and so lovely.
This is a SUPER limited edition, except for the copies the band kept, these are ONLY available from aQuarius. LIMITED TO 85 COPIES!! The first 50 in hand made wooden sleeves, the other 35 in jewel cases, but also hand made and each one unique. We got about 30 copies of the wooden sleeved version, and a handful of the jewel cased version. While supplies last, you'll get the wood ones, but once those are gone, you'll get the jewel case version. Needless to say these will be gone in a flash...
MPEG Stream: "Wish You Weren't Here (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Wish You Weren't Here (excerpt 2)"

WHITE HILLS / WHITE PEE Wish You Weren't Here (self-released) 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.
We reviewed the super limited wooden cover version of this disc on the last list and sold out immediately. So here's the even more limited jewel case version, still with hand made covers, only this time housed in, you guessed it, a jewel case. There were only 85 copies made in total, 50 of the wood ones, and 35 of the jewel case version. We're the only store in the world to carry these, and we have about 25 of the jewel case version in stock. Once these are gone, they are gone for good, so this is probably your last chance to pick this up...
Even though it wasn't all that long ago that we were served with the serious space rock wallop of White Hills' most recent full length Glitter Glamour Atrocity, it was only a matter of moments before we were already jonesing for more. And while this is not a proper WH record per se, it is at least another heaping helping of that spaced out sound we can't get enough of.
Here, White Hills team up with SF noise outfit White Pee for a nearly 30 minute single track of space-y, druggy, krautdrone ambient noise. And it's a killer. Never heard of White Pee before, and because this disc is so abstract and sort of shapeless, it's hard to put a finger on what exactly they bring to the table, but these two groups together sound like one. The noise is relegated to brief bursts here and there, for the most part, this is gloriously tranquil blissed out dronescapes. Long expanses of slow flowing Tangerine Dream and Popol Vuh synth sprawl, the FX are muted but wrap their shimmery tendrils around everything.
Here and there, the meditative shimmer is disrupted by dense gnarled squalls of gritty guitar growl, arranged into strange almost-rhythms, a stretched out lurching throb plodding along over long ominous streaks of sci fi synth. The synths got from ethereal and whispery, to throbbing and fuzzy, from dreamy and barely there, to pulsing and propulsive, almost like some disembodied Gary Numan rhythm track.
The second half of the disc is wide open and spare, shades of Tim Hecker and Machinefabriek and that sort of buzzy blurred soundscapes, guitars ebb and flow, keening high end melodies drift WAY off in the distance, dense washes of distorted guitar crumble bathe everything in grit and buzz, plaintive piano drifts in and out like some unearthly transmission, all hazy and indistinct, darkly dramatic and so lovely.
This is a SUPER limited edition, except for the copies the band kept, these are ONLY available from aQuarius. LIMITED TO 85 COPIES!! The first 50 in hand made wooden sleeves, the other 35 (these) in jewel cases, but also hand made and each one unique.
MPEG Stream: "Wish You Weren't Here (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Wish You Weren't Here (excerpt 2)"

WHITEHEAD, PETER Now This (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 accordions, 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 any full length on the label.
Peter Whitehead is my favorite artist on the label. This Mission-ite is British-born and a cool instrument-maker, who croons downer vocals over otherworldy stringed instruments just "off"-sounding enough to be delightfully puzzling. Piano, mandolin, zither, siren, "spike fiddle", lyre. Very cool layers of lush metallic sounds acts as climaxes to his Michael-Stipe-like haunting verses.
RealAudio clip: "More"

WHY BECAUSE, THE Musicshapes (self-released) cd 11.98
The ever-changing roster of the impressive ensemble known as The Why Because is graced with numerous music luminaries from around the Bay Area. The line-up for Music shapes, their third release, is a six member crew including folks from Anticon/Lex avant-hoppers Subtle and Themselves. The disc's five lengthy improvised tracks (recorded live back in 2004) explore the far reaches of jazz, postrock, psych/space rock and ambient experimentation. And they incorporate an even broader array of instruments with trumpet, saxophone and percussion taking prominence amid the Fender Rhodes, other keyboards, bass clarinet, guitar, bass and melodica. Music shapes commences with "Fenced Bird Takes Flight" a barren landscape of faintly blown horns and Spartan drumming. This gradually blossoms into a more fleshed out and sprawling journey with many mesmerizing and meditative stretches as well as more kinetic cyclical passages. Check out "Serpentine Tides" and "We Will Fight For The Things That We Love".
Note: This cd is dedicated to member Dax Pierson who was seriously injured in a tour van accident last year. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Dax Recovery Fund.
MPEG Stream: "Serpentine Tides"
MPEG Stream: "We Will Fight For The Things That We Love"

WHY? Oaklandazulasylum (Anticon) cd 14.98
We've loved pretty much everything on Anticon, the East Bay hip hop label that has been turning hip hop upside down with their arty, bizarre production and their whiny whiteboy emcees. And this new Why? record takes the production even farther out, so much so that this almost sounds like a quirky indie rock record rather than a hip hop record. But the vocals are really tough to take. I love the whiny, rapid fire delivery, the lyrical surrealism, but here, THAT, combined with the un-hip hop production, makes Why? sound a little too much like Atom And His Package or some other annoying joke band. And the thing is I LOVE Atom And His Package. But I'm sorry, Why? is just no Atom.
MPEG Stream: "Ferris Wheel"
MPEG Stream: "Cold Lunch"
MPEG Stream: "After School America"
MPEG Stream: "Our Neighbor's Daughter"

WHYSALL LANE s/t (Blackball) cd 13.98
First things first, if you want one damn terrific song with one catchy soaring chorus with some really pretty backing vocals and some rockin' heaviness to boot, "Time Machine" by Whysall Lane is where it's at. Hey, sometimes all you need is one song! You'll be singing along and/or humming it during the day in no time. However this Bay Area based band deliver much more on their self-titled debut! This is the current incarnation of former Versus vocalist Richard Balayut's longtime personal project. Up until recently the entity named after a street in Detroit, MI was either a solo endeavor or had an ever-changing supporting cast, but now along with the solid presence of Adam Pfahler (Blackball Records bossman and ex-Jawbreaker, J-Church) on drums and Mikel Delgado (ex-Wussom*Pow) on bass and vocals, his formerly stripped-down songs have been fleshed out into rockin' full band extravaganzas -- dark and smolderingly brooding and peppered with occasional slightly proggy or postrock-ish excursions and sweetly heartfelt sentiments. As we touched on above when Delgado chimes in with her back-up vocals, they really complement Balayut's deep world-weary delivery (also check out their song "Half Life" for more dreaminess!). Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Time Machine"
MPEG Stream: "Half Life"

WIDOWSPEAK s/t (Captured Tracks) cd 14.98
While we have been digging lots of weird and lo-fi pop that's come out in the last few years, there's been a shortage of the kind of dreamy and focused pure pop records that make us wanna swoon for days on end. Luckily that has changed with the debut full length from New York's Widowspeak. We were already pretty much sold when we first heard their 7" earlier in the summer, which featured one track from this record and a Chris Isaak cover(!), but we had no idea that this was going to be a band who would be responsible for maybe one of the best pop albums of the year, this their self-titled debut. From the opening moments of the records lead off track, "Puritan" to the album's closer, "Ghost Boy", it's a record we'll be listening to repeatedly for a long time to come.
Widowspeak take elements of Cat Power, Beach House, and Mazzy Star, but somehow put them together in a way that countless other bands, all of whom take those same points of inspiration, never seem able to reach. Waves of warmth, and an economical approach to songwriting come together to create songs that make us just want to sway and linger as we stare into the eyes of someone we love, sounds that conjur up the memory of the one that we wish was still by our side.
We also love how as bittersweet and love soaked the songs can be, there are still these awesome and surprising moments that totally rock out and show sound both urgent and passionate, again in a way that many others treading similar terrain are never able to quite capture either.
This is that rare record rife with musical moments that both give us goosebumps as well as inspiring much shimmying and shaking. We might just have ourselves a new favorite band!
MPEG Stream: "Puritan"
MPEG Stream: "Hard Times"
MPEG Stream: "Nightcrawlers"

WIDOWSPEAK s/t (Captured Tracks) lp 16.98
While we have been digging lots of weird and lo-fi pop that's come out in the last few years, there's been a shortage of the kind of dreamy and focused pure pop records that make us wanna swoon for days on end. Luckily that has changed with the debut full length from New York's Widowspeak. We were already pretty much sold when we first heard their 7" earlier in the summer, which featured one track from this record and a Chris Isaak cover(!), but we had no idea that this was going to be a band who would be responsible for maybe one of the best pop albums of the year, this their self-titled debut. From the opening moments of the records lead off track, "Puritan" to the album's closer, "Ghost Boy", it's a record we'll be listening to repeatedly for a long time to come.
Widowspeak take elements of Cat Power, Beach House, and Mazzy Star, but somehow put them together in a way that countless other bands, all of whom take those same points of inspiration, never seem able to reach. Waves of warmth, and an economical approach to songwriting come together to create songs that make us just want to sway and linger as we stare into the eyes of someone we love, sounds that conjur up the memory of the one that we wish was still by our side.
We also love how as bittersweet and love soaked the songs can be, there are still these awesome and surprising moments that totally rock out and show sound both urgent and passionate, again in a way that many others treading similar terrain are never able to quite capture either.
This is that rare record rife with musical moments that both give us goosebumps as well as inspiring much shimmying and shaking. We might just have ourselves a new favorite band!
MPEG Stream: "Puritan"
MPEG Stream: "Hard Times"
MPEG Stream: "Nightcrawlers"

WIGGWAUM s/t (Freak Out) cd-r 10.98
These SF noiseniks kick up a serious skree, originally intended to be improvised soundtracks, for friends' films, these jams need no visual component to drag your brain from your head, via destroyed eardrums, and hurl it into the heart of the sun, jamming out while it sizzles and eventually melts into a puddle of grey goo.
Super abstract psychedelic space jams, removed from any of that pesky rocking, and instead allowed to just hover and swirl, and crash and howl, moan and creak, crumble and oooooooze. The guitars are tangled and atonal, the melodies angular and jagged, the drums don't so much propel as offer up spatters of rhythmic interference, swirling clouds of cymbal shimmer, flurries of rapid fire snare, all beneath a continuous avalanche of free-psych-noise. The vocals moan and mumble, organs spew in-the-red wheeze, lots of feedback everywhere, the sound sinister and alien, psych rock with all the rock removed, twisted and tripped out and definitely for those with a taste for sonic whatthefuck and difficult psychedelia.
Packaged in a bright pink fold over Xeroxed sleeve. And probably pretty dang limited (especially considering this was a bit of a warehouse find)...
MPEG Stream: "II"

WIGGWAUM / POOR SCHOOL s/t (Killer Tree) lp+cd-r 14.98

WILDILDLIFE Peas Feast (Crucial Blast) lp 11.98
This long out of print cd-r, from our formerly San Francisco, currently Seattle based noise rock psych pop homies, is available again, getting the deluxe reissue treatment from the always kick ass Crucial Blast. It's an almost exact reproduction of the cd-r packaging (only bigger, duh!), pressed on rad yellow and black streaked vinyl, and as if that weren't enough, it includes a download card, so you can not only download mp3s of Peas Feast in its entirety, but also 4 unreleased demo tracks, including a bad ass cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla"!
If you loved their debut full length Six, but somehow missed out on Peas Feast, here's your chance to right that very wrong. And here's what we had to say about Peas Feast first time around:
A new ep from San Francisco's Wildildlife serves as a more concise and slightly less abusive introduction to the band than the dense and unremitting Six. Whereas Six showcases the band's expansive capabilities, Peas Feast demonstrates a band equally willing to direct their songs more pointedly. Simply put, this is the sound of a bunch of stoned Hessians taunting Tatiana the tiger (R.I.P.)...
The opener, "White Eyelidz" starts with Chrome like distorted vocals that slowly give way to a groove that is simultaneously long-haired and atonal. The vocals are treated with such reverberance that they may have been recorded in God's icy womb. The guitar line swirls effortlessly while the band locks into circular Neu! like syncopations. The deep-sea diver finds his hidden treasure; a sludgy walk along the ocean floor. Darby Crash drops by for some tea; for the record he wants Darjeeling, fill his cup 5/4th's full.
"Violent", keeps it super slow and heavy. Picture My Bloody Valentine on 6.66 RPM. Harmonies shouldn't work but they do, possibly accidentally. Every sound feeds back grossly. Like a too full stomach. But the food's just so good, how're you gonna stop eating? Yet the song only gets slower and slower and now your burrito weighs seven pounds. Gentle Californian psych licks expedite the digestive process. Still, you're gonna shit blood.
If your crusty friend P-Nutty let his dog stick his head out of the window of a car he didn't have, "The Shining Son" is what it would sound like inside his doggie's brain. This is easily the catchiest song Wildildlife has ever written. Vocals wretch triumphantly, trying in vain to disgrace this gem of a pop song. Not gonna happen. The final track, "My Song", which had appeared earlier as an acoustic track on the bands self-titled EP, mixes an urgent sing-songy dementia with timpanic bass and drum blasts. This review has yet to mention the constant presence of the shrieking guitar, and this track is jammed with it, beginning to end. The epic track eventually melts away into a into a la la land that channels a desperation not heard since the coda of Leonard Cohen's "One of us Cannot be Wrong." It should also be said that the experience of seeing Wildildlife's live show can range from pseudo-intentional beer-on-amp pouring to psychosexual hypnosis to telekinetic skull-bashery. Buy this ep it is HIGH-ly recommended.
(Thanks to aQ pal Amitai for the original killer review of this!)
MPEG Stream: "Shining Son"
MPEG Stream: "My Song"

WILDILDLIFE Peas Feast (Chicas De Hoy) cd-r 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A new ep from San Francisco's Wildildlife serves as a more concise and slightly less abusive introduction to the band than the dense and unremitting Six, December's Crucial Blast full length release (see review on list #281). Whereas Six showcases the band's expansive capabilities, Peas Feast demonstrates a band equally willing to direct their songs more pointedly. Simply put, this is the sound of a bunch of stoned Hessians taunting Tatiana the tiger (R.I.P.)...
The opener, "White Eyelidz" starts with Chrome like distorted vocals that slowly give way to a groove that is simultaneously long-haired and atonal. The vocals are treated with such reverebarance that they may have been recorded in God's icy womb. The guitar line swirls effortlessly while the band locks into circular Neu! like syncopations. The deep-sea diver finds his hidden treasure; a sludgy walk along the ocean floor. Darby Crash drops by for some tea; for the record he wants Darjeeling, fill his cup 5/4th's full.
"Violent", keeps it super slow and heavy. Picture My Bloody Valentine on 6.66 RPM. Harmonies shouldn't work but they do, possibly accidentally. Every sound feeds back grossly. Like a too full stomach. But the food's just so good, how're you gonna stop eating? Yet the song only gets slower and slower and now your burrito weighs seven pounds. Gentle Californian psych licks expedite the digestive process. Still, you're gonna shit blood.
If your crusty friend P-Nutty let his dog stick his head out of the window of a car he didn't have, "The Shining Son" is what it would sound like inside his doggie's brain. This is easily the catchiest song Wildildlife has ever written. Vocals wretch triumphantly, trying in vain to disgrace this gem of a pop song. Not gonna happen. The final track, "My Song", which had appeared earlier as an acoustic track on the bands self-titled EP, mixes an urgent sing-songy dementia with timpanic bass and drum blasts. This review has yet to mention the constant presence of the shrieking guitar, and this track is jammed with it, beginning to end. The epic track eventually melts away into a into a lalaland that channels a desperation not heard since the coda of Leonard Cohen's "One of us Cannot be Wrong." It should also be said that the experience of seeing Wildildlife's live show can range from pseudo-intentional beer-on-amp pouring to psychosexual hypnosis to telekinetic skull-bashery. Buy this ep it is HIGH-ly recommended.
(Thanks to aQ pal Amitai for the killer review!)
MPEG Stream: "Shining Son"
MPEG Stream: "My Song"

WILDILDLIFE Six (Crucial Blast) cd 14.98
We dug the first ep from SF transplants Wildlife, who just so happened to feature our very own Matt in mailorder on guitar and vocals. A blown out tripped out heavy as fuck space rock psychedelic freakout of the highest order. Since then, not only have the band changed their name, to the much weirder and somehow more appropriate Wildildlife but also honed their sound into something somehow more blown out, more tripped out, heavier, weirder, but more importantly, WAY catchier. Hooks and melodies that most bands would kill for, but Wildildlife play it like it's no big thing, burying that stuff under avalanches of processed guitars, throbbing howling bass pedals, metallic Iron Maiden like riffing, insane chaotic drumming, and a fierce white hot wall of sound.
We were pretty much sold from the first track. Beginning with some simple Adam Ant drumming, tribal and pounding, before the glistening reverbed Big Country guitars come in, all swathed in delay and drifting over the tangled rhythmic chaos below. The guitars build into a serious chordal frenzy, and then a strange haunting, and very eighties sounding hook, and that's when the vocals come in. Distorted but melodic, a dangerously catchy hook, that somehow reminds us of Gaye Bykers On Acid. Druggy and tripped out, with a cool guitar/vocal "laÉ lalalalalaaaaaaa" refrain that sticks in your head FOREVER. Wildildlife are usually described as Butthole Surfers meets Black Sabbath, which while flattering, and maybe to a certain extent accurate, hardly do justice to Wildildlife's cracked pop flecked noise rock heaviness.
Yeah, they're heavy, but there's no massive doom riffing or downtuned metallic pummel, and they are definitely trippy, but not in the same way as the Buttholes.
Take the second track, beginning with a wicked tangle of distorted guitar, when the drums kick in, and the band locks into an angular almost new wave melody, and those vocals return, sort of raspy and crooned, echoed by either a high wavery guitar or a falsetto vocal, and they repeat, mantra like, mesmerizing and hypnotic, relentless and seriously tripped out. The drums a constant rhythmic lock beneath the strange poppiness of the vocals and the guitar, before the whole thing splinters into a Hawkwind free rock noise jam, all super effected vocals, total drum mayhem, and thick washes of crumbling guitars and throbbing buzzing bass, eventually petering out into a gorgeous metallic slowcore dirge, everything still wrapped in thick layers of reverb and delay, a gorgeous mournful doomic sonic deathmarch. While some may hear the Buttholes, we're hearing stuff like the God Bullies, the Cows, Lubricated Goat for sure and still plenty of Gaye Bykers, although all even more souped up and super charged.
The two halves of the record are separated by the longest track, the 18+ minute "Magic Jordan", which begins as a washed out post rock dirge, all shimmery strummed guitars, echoey Jim Morrison vocals, and a simple stripped down rhythm, Eventually, the band erupts into a massive roiling bout of slow heaviness, that sounds like a way more psychedelic Harvey Milk, with killer angular riffs surfacing amidst the endless black sonic swirl, eventually giving way to 10 minutes of tripped out free folkiness, all warped backwards guitars, abstract percussion, fluttering melodies, haunting disembodied vocals, all sorts of random creaks and chimes and whir and hiss. Which is quickly followed by what is easily the catchiest track on the record. The relatively brief seven minute long "Feed", with its abstract delayed guitar harmonic feedback intro, giving way to probably the most Buttholes sounding bit on the record, a tense and intense bit of furious drumming, and throbbing bass beneath little flurries of metallic guitar leads, doused in FX and sent swirling over the abyss, while the vocals croon from WAY down in the mix, finishing off with a cool thick chunk of melancholy riffage, massive low end throbs playing out a gorgeous melody beneath the squiggly guitar chaos above.
The disc finishes off with a massive sonic one two punch, two fourteen minute tracks, the first, a super abstract slow motion noise doom lurch, with anguished vocals, sung from the bottom of a well, the guitars and drums offering up jagged little stabs, before locking into a relentless Swans like crush, nearly suffocating the vocals, until the band again lock into an impossible blissed out drone, where the guitar and bass mesh into a nearly M83 sounding wash of fuzzed out psychdrone, before reverting to full on glacial plod until the end.
While the final track, begins with a thick bit of bassy buzz, weaving a hard to define slow motion melody, the buzzing rich and thick and rife with overtones, metallic, electric and lush all at once, eventually joined by a downtuned guitar mirroring that same slow motion melody, eventually joined by dramatic almost gothic vocals, the drums dropping in like brass knuckled fists to the sternum, the band again almost slipping into some intense Swans like doom, before the riffing slips away leaving nearly six minutes of soaring guitar noise, and cymbal sizzle, eventually building to a super dramatic major key coda, all soaring chords and falsetto crooning, like some sort of alien metallic "Star Spangled Banner" (again reminding us a bit of Harvey Milk), before drifting off into a meandering morning after guitar bass post rock fade out.
Way recommended. Noisy and heavy and poppy and psychedelic and fucked up and catchy in a way few bands can pull of. And the one time we caught them live, we were hanging in a hammock, above the stage, IN A BUS, getting rammed repeatedly by the headstock of the guitar as the two axemen dueled wildly in the outrageous confines of the space below. Barring that sort of intimate and surprisingly painful interaction with Wildildlife, this record will definitely serve as an ideal introduction to their damaged and druggy fucked up metallic noise rock space pop, at least until you too can be battered and bruised by these guys in the flesh!
Recorded by Aaron from Mammatus, released on the always awesome Crucial Blast, and in some seriously amazing packaging, a super fancy mini gatefold sleeve, thick and full color, with an intense bejeweled turquoise skull on the cover, a fucked up masked dirt faced hatchet flag duel photo inside, as well as a full color booklet with liner notes and a bunch more freaky blurry creepy masked wild(ild)life photos...
MPEG Stream: "Things Will Grow"
MPEG Stream: "Tungsten Steel / Epilogue"
MPEG Stream: "Magic Jordan"

WILLIAMSON A Few Things To Hear Before We All Blow Up (self-released) cd 8.98
On his first full length, Wade Williamson's squirrelly electronic bloops and chirps drift and bob along in the waves of his warm, lulling guitars. It's a solid dozen lovely instrumentals that would fit quite well alongside the bands on the Temporary Residence label. When taking the album's title into consideration, it's comforting to find that the "few things" Williamson has in mind for us are altogether soothing and dreamy. A shimmering, wistful debut.
MPEG Stream: "2%er"
MPEG Stream: "Raining At The Crescent House"

WINDOW TWINS I'm This Tall City (Broken Twilight) lp 14.98
Fresh & Onlys' Tim Cohen and Ray's Vast Basement's Jon Bernson have joined forces to become Window Twins! The results are a crazy kaleidoscope of ever-shuffling sounds and moods. If taken literally, we can attest that the twins in their name are definitely not identical, and the window in their name is probably of the bubbly textured glass most found in old office doors. You know the kind that obscures your vision, turning people and things into mysterious figures and abstract shapes? I'm This Tall City keeps the listener guessing. It's an off-kilter, loosely stitched patchwork of loping loops and impromptu songs immersed in hazy soundscapes that shift in and out of focus. Quite reminiscent of the shuffling folk pop shambolics of early Badly Drawn Boy and Elephant Six Collective. but a bit more darker hued and brooding.

WINDSURF Coastlines (Internasjonal) cd 17.98
Couldn't be a more perfect name for this bay area duo who craft such breezy cosmic delights. Samuel Grawe who also plays in Hatchback and Daniel Judd whose record as Sorcerer last year was one of our favorite electronic releases of '07 have created the perfect sounds for a beachside disco party at sunset. Released on a new label run by Prins Thomas, they inject such a refreshing and easy approach to creating cosmic flowing sounds that really do bring images of waves, sand and shimmering coastlines to mind.
There are a couple tracks with vocals that kind of make us think of the Sea & Cake collaborating with Lindstrom, but they are at their best when they let their warm orbiting sounds find that perfect wave to ride into infinity. While most of the current crop of neo-disco cosmic peddlers tend to project a more cold and late-night vibe we think much more about how rad it would be to get to hear Windsurf play in the afternoon as we sprawl out on the warm sand and let their mellow grooves carry us off in daydreams with such delight.
MPEG Stream: "Pocket Check"
MPEG Stream: "Future Warriors"
MPEG Stream: "Light As Daylight"

WINDSWEPT STARS, THE s/t (self-released) cd-r 5.98
A really nice debut from Izaak Schlossman, a young man from here in the bay area who makes music perfect for long roadtrips on the open road or an afternoon in your bedroom with the windows cracked while hot water boils in the kitchen for your morning tea. It starts of sounding like some lost Neutral Milk Hotel demo hidden in Jeff Mangum's attic for years and years. And then a more electro-acoustic sound comes into play making for a great meeting of worlds between indie-folk song writing and more expansive instrumental and atmospheric passages that hint at what it might sound like if Iron & Wine was way more lo-fi and joined forces with Fennesz. Or something. Its pastoral beauty and earnest delivery also reminds us a bit of folks like Mountains, Rickard Javerling, Grizzly Bear and Horseback. A very DIY affair, the cd-r is packaged in a beautiful hand sewn cover.
And we can definitely see this being one of those cd-r's that a few years from now you'll be bragging to your friends about, how you were digging this stuff well before he became a big name...
MPEG Stream: "Waiting For Snow"
MPEG Stream: "Hickory"

WISH RADIO Open (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.

WOBBLY Multiple Peady (Boniato) 12" 7.98
Multiple Peady features four remixes from two of the tracks from Wobbly's Playlist EP, which recontextualized the intrinsically idiotic marketing babel of the corporate music world into a cut 'n' paste collage of clunky electronic jigs and deconstructed vocal samples. For this 12", the remixing artists -- Sutekh, People Like Us, Blevin Blectum, and Wobbly himself -- drew from the damaged electronic rhythms of the EP and stayed clear of the media plunderphonia. Sutekh provides the most structured remix with a dance-floor friendly number of his inimitable goof-ball techno. Blevin Blechtum's jiggly remix smashes the original into tiny maniacal fragments and spiralling time-stretched events. For his own remix, Wobbly turns the damaged hip-hop found on Wild Why with all of the quick tempo changes and erratic jump cuts. People Like Us takes us back to the open range of mutated Americana, much like her collaboration with Wobbly and Matmos on Wide Open Spaces. Limited to 440 and pressed on translucent green vinyl.

WOBBLY Regards (Alku) 3" cd-r ep 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For years now, Jon "Wobbly" Leidecker has skirted around the edges of the electronica community, collaborating with People Like Us and The Weatherman (that amazing voice in Negativland), and finding more than a few unreleased samples of his work popping up on Blectum from Blechdom albums. Yet, he's been somewhat bashful about putting out his own records. Mr. Leidecker has even derided this cute little 3" CDr as being "too pop" or "too straightforward." Don't be silly, Jon. Not only is "Regards" an amazingly complex album (that may be overly saturated with attention deficit disorder), but should be something that he's very proud of! Yes, Wobbly does have a pop sensibility, but one that is so incredibly distracted and decentered that once he revs up one of his warped electronica grooves -- which easily could find their way onto a Matmos album -- he quickly tosses that away searching for another quirky rhythm. Add his rhythmic proclivity to a never ending barrage of seasick loops, digitally fucked-up arty-music references (Residents, Guy Klucevsek, Andrews Sisters, and John Coltrane - only cuz he tells you in the liner notes, not that you can really discern them), and whimsical abstractions. One of the highlights to his sampledelic prowess is the big Kompakt techno groove which turns a Messiaen piano piece into an unlikely dance number. A very good record, but limited to 250!
RealAudio clip: "Islets of Langerhans"
RealAudio clip: "A Camel For Cidilla"
RealAudio clip: "Vingt Regards (no. 15)"

WOBBLY Wild Why (Tigerbeat6) cd 13.98
Aquarius favorite Wobbly's first release for Kid 606's Tigerbeat6 label and it's possibly his best yet! Taking source material solely from S.F. Bay Area radio broadcasts, Wild Why is the end result of over two years worth of work which began originally as a live set before being slowly and painstakenly honed and sharpened into a carefully rendered studio project. Those who were fortunate enough to catch Wobbly's instore here early this year got a sneak peak at some of the insane plunderphuckery already. Given the nature of the source material (Destiny's Child, Eminem, y'know the type), and the artist's intention that they remain completely recognizable it's logical to expect that this would be a party pleasing mix a la the Kid's "Action Packed Mentallist...", but such a conclusion would be wrong. Wild Why is like a condensed and expanded homage to John Oswald's seminal "Black" or "Brown". Wobbly twists and turns the cliched utterances of contemporary hip hop in upon themselves rendering even the most macho posturing utterly slapstick. And if that's not enough to show Wobbly's dedication to the art of plunderphonics, then one needs only to open up the accompanying booklet to reveal a transcript of the entire vocal contents of the CD. Take and excerpt of track #18 for instance: "come buy, yo play radishes part (bola bo) judgement day (uh huh) I, I, I, I, quit. hey yo, me. Now now, now, now, lust two two three, back, you know what I'm sayin', we about to give you need y'all, jack d with the key, bounce, die peeps..." etc. So you can even read along with the disc. We asked Jon how long it took him to transcribe all this, but he merely chuckled, sighed and changed the subject. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Track 13"
RealAudio clip: "Track 22"
RealAudio clip: "Track 24"

WOBBLY / PEOPLE LIKE US / MATMOS Wide Open Spaces (Tigerbeat6) cd 15.98
Not gonna spend a lot of time on this one, not because this isn't a good record; rather it's just that by the time you've finished reading about this record, it might already be gone. We have limited stock on this collaborative album of plunderphonia from People Like Us, Matmos, and Wobbly, and it's apparently already gone out of print, without any plan for future repressings. All in all "Wide Open Spaces" sounds an awful lot like People Like Us' previous album "Fistful of Knuckles," a cavalcade of bawdy jokes culled from Western storybook records, but that isn't to say that neither Matmos nor Wobbly can be heard. On the contrary, there's plenty of Maymos' twisted rhythms and Wobbly's mutant samples splattered throughout the album. Recorded live at the San Francisco Art Institute on October 5, 2002.
MPEG Stream: "Clawing Your Eyes Out Down To Your Throat"
MPEG Stream: "Cattle Call"

WOODEN CUPBOARD (Nature Tape Limb) cd-r 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

WOODEN SHJIPS Contact (Mexican Summer) 12" 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Miraculously, one of our suppliers found us a few of these, just a handful (7), we grabbed 'em all, act quick if you still need one!!
The first sighting on anything Wooden Shjips related is usually all it takes to induce mass hysteria around these parts. Apparently, you, our loyal customers, feel the same, because man, we have sold a fuckload of Shjips records. We just can't get enough, and these guys deliver without fail every time. And now, right after their amazing Dos record, comes yet another offering, a two song 12" single featuring a Serge Gainsbourg composition, originally written for and performed by Brigitte Bardot, and a new version of "I Hear The Vibrations", which first appeared on the group's insanely limited Vampire Blues tour 7".
It's doubtful that anyone expected Wooden Shjips to go all French pop on us here. They don't. Instead, "Contact" sounds like the Wooden Shjips we all know and love, with warm bass grooves holding the foundation over a cool, midtempo drum beat with a nice tambourine accent. Bursts of filtered fuzz and wah guitar bubble and whoosh about as the organ pulses rhythmically, and the vocals, sung in French, add the perfect amount of mystery to this hazy rocker.
As awesome as "Contact" is, it's the flipside that really has everyone here going crazy. Why? Because "I Hear The Vibrations" is simply one of the coolest Wooden Ships songs to date, that's why. The song somehow manages to be both mellow and cosmically heavy, not in a typical "heavy" way, just... huge. It's a lumbering behemoth of hazed out stoner majesty that would go on forever if we had our way. To anyone - "anyone" being pretty much the majority of the human race - who hasn't heard this one yet, you'll just have to trust us. It's fucking essential. The few of you who actually got a hold of the 7" will also find a reason to snap up this son-a-bitch, because the version presented here (the "E-Z Version" according to the credits) is definitely the way to go. To quote the Mexican Summer website, it is " slower, grander, heavier, and dreamier, and takes full advantage of the 12" format for better fidelity and a truly blissful listening experience." Yep, pretty much. It's everything that was great about the song to begin with, but MORE of it in every conceivable way. Sooooooooooo so awesome.
But, like most things of this nature, and like everything on Mexican Summer, this is super limited, with only a scant 550 copies to be distributed throughout the globe (though we're told there will be second, equally limited pressing done soon). It also comes with a download card, but really, the best way to listen to this is stoned in your room with the lights on low and the stereo cranked all the way, not on your iPod on a crowded bus. The record itself, pressed on asskicking white vinyl, comes housed in a cool disco sleeve that was printed on a variety of colors. We just hope everybody likes green.
Once again, we can't recommend this band highly enough. When you listen, you'll realize that Wooden Shjips have done all the thinking for you and given you exactly what you wanted. Did we mention this was limited? Ready. Set. GO!!!!

WOODEN SHJIPS Dance California / Clouds Over Earthquake (A Sick Thirst ) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Everybody went completely nuts for the Wooden Shjips 10" we reviewed a while back (ourselves included) so we were super psyched to get our hands on this brand new two track 7" single. Packaged very much like the 10", clear vinyl, no artwork, barely any info, no sleeve, just a clear plastic sleeve, these two tracks are also quite sonically similar to the 10" and has us jonesing for a full length.
Side one is a buzzy lo-fi garage groove, beneath bizarre super distorted insectoid guitar leads, buzzing WAY up in the mix and sounding almost like some primitive malfunctioning synth. But the whole time, beneath the alien buzz, the groove just hums along, like some extra baked Velvet Underground outtake.
Side two is way more laid back, some blown out sun baked riffage, a super lazy groove, like Loop played at 16rpm, decorated with warm hornlike melodies that eventually stretch out into some serious outerspace psych rock explorations. The vocals we loved so much on the 10: resurface here too, laconic, drawled sung/spoken and super affected, very Lou Reed sounding albeit buried way down in the mix and absolutely drenched in thick reverb and fuzzy delay.
Awesome!

WOODEN SHJIPS Dos (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
FINALLY AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!!
Wooden Shjips are the kind of band that inspire rabid devotion, and not without good reason. They are, in their own distinct way, a perfect band, stripping psychedelia of all its unnecessary flourishes and focusing, REALLY focusing on the fundamental elements that make your favorite songs your favorite songs. No verses, no choruses, no frills, and no bullshit. Just an endless, hypnotic groove that allows the listener to tune out everything else and let the music take them where they need to be. This simplicity is also the band's greatest source of power. While other groups will work desperately to cultivate an image as a "psychedelic" band, Wooden Shjips bypass all that and instead let their music speak for itself. The results are always mesmerizing, not to mention somewhat strange and mysterious, the only logical outcome from four guys who must know exactly what they are doing and understand the importance of working together as a unit instead of showing off their individual musical chops, save the abundance of perfectly timed, ripping fuzz guitar solos. The songs on the band's self-titled debut and their collection of early singles are at once classic and modern, seeming as if they had existed forever and simply needed to be unlocked and revealed by the right musicians. In that respect, we should consider ourselves very lucky that Wooden Shjips exist NOW.
When news of a new Shjips record hit the streets, we aQuarians were foaming at the mouth wondering what might lie ahead. Then one day, without warning, Dos was here, the four disembodied heads on the cover staring forward like totem poles floating in silver space. While the first album featured a hazy image of the band sitting on a stairwell, their faces are the focal point here, almost as if Wooden Shjips are gradually revealing more to the mystery that is their existence. But what does it sound like? Well, hopefully our review can convince you of this album's absolute majesty... but since words could never properly explain how much this has struck some of us, you should probably check out the sound samples, and above all, trust us.
The album opens perfectly with "Motorbike", possibly the most joyous Wooden Shjips song to date. Swirling guitar chords and oscillating swooshes give one the feeling of traveling at high speeds through some glorious psychedelic vortex, throttling you about in the best way imaginable. It's the sort of song that makes you feel great to be alive, with catchy keyboard melodies recalling a more frantic version of the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" as the UNSTOPPABLE rhythm section lays down a steady rhythmic framework that doesn't let up for the next 38 minutes. Next up is "For So Long", maybe our favorite song on the record. Driven by a bass line that is both spooky and relentlessly catchy, sparse, percussive guitar and organ creep about, as singer Ripley's deep croon wavers in the atmosphere. The somewhat ambivalent vibe of this song makes it the ideal soundtrack to pretty much any moment in your day, whether strolling down the street without a care in the world OR walking home late at night in some paranoid daze. "Down By The Sea" utilizes an appropriate underwater effect on the organ as the bass and drums give you the impression of, well, walking down by the sea. About three minutes in, a classic Wooden Shjips guitar solo enters and eventually morphs into squalls of heavenly white noise. This wonderful psych excursion is followed by the more down tempo "Aquarian Time", featuring a cool tremeloed organ (or maybe it's a piano?) and a devastating fuzz guitar groove that locks in with the bass before another rad guitar solo takes you way up into the clouds. The closing number, "Fallin'", kicks off with a simple two note groove, accented by a reedy organ accompanying the bass and a glistening, cleanly strummed guitar while a simple snare hit keeps the percussive flow going, the work of a man who must surely be in a trance - seriously, how the hell does this guy play so steady for so long?!?! It puts you deep under the band's spell, and then, at the 4 minute mark, you are introduced to the CATCHIEST BASS LINE OF THE YEAR!!! It will stick in your head for ages. After 11 minutes, the song ends with an organ chord and amp hum, reminding you that, yes, Wooden Shjips are human beings and not just a psychedelic rock machine. It's like the band is stopping to breathe for a moment before the next adventure, which hopefully will come very soon. You are left wondering what just happened, and if you're like us, you'll immediately put Dos on for another spin (or, if you're like a certain AQ staffer, 9 or 10 more spins!).
The overall sound on Dos is more upfront and less murky than on past releases. This slightly higher fidelity suits Wooden Shjips splendidly, as these five songs are generally tighter and more snappingly rhythmic than anything they have produced before. Each instrument is represented perfectly in the mix, with nothing taking precedence. The nonstop propulsion of this group is undoubtedly the result of four people operating on another level of psychedelic comprehension, a level many other bands simply don't understand. At the same time, their music is highly enjoyable and not difficult to "get". We certainly get it...
To call Dos "essential" wouldn't be enough. We can tell you that this album exceeded any expectations we may have had. We can tell you how if anyone interrupts you while listening to this, you will be pretty pissed and will most likely ignore them and crank up the volume even more. We can tell you that it will remain one of our favorite records for 2009. But you probably just need to close your eyes and experience it for yourself.
MPEG Stream: "Motorbike"
MPEG Stream: "For So Long"

WOODEN SHJIPS Holiday Cassingle (self-released) cassette 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
San Francisco psych-lords Wooden Shjips have definitely got the Christmas spirit this year! They've recorded a gift-wrapped "cassingle" featuring their interpretations of two seasonal hits, "O Tannenbaum" and "Auld Lang Syne", 8+ minutes each, suitably psyched-up Wooden Shjips style!! How cool is that. Even cooler, ALL proceeds from our sale of each of these - the whole five bucks - go directly to the SF Food Bank as a donation, as per WS's request. And doesn't "cassingle" seem Christmas-y? 'Cause it sounds like "jingle", as in bells, y'know.
Of course, this tape is a limited edition release. Only 100 copies made, not all of which are for sale (the WS giving away the rest to friends and family as Xmas gifts, naturally). They let us have 35 copies, and needless to say, better act fast if you want to stuff somebody's stocking with one of these, 'cause they'll be gone faster than you can say "Kris Kringle". Or "cassingle". First come, first served, ONE per customer, regardless if you've been naughty or nice.

WOODEN SHJIPS Loose Lips / Starting To Dream (Sub Pop) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Collectors should be excited about this "warehouse find"! Our pal JW who runs the Holy Mountain label just discovered a stash of these long out of print Wooden Shjips Sub Pop singles, and sold 'em to us... the tracks latter appeared on WS's Volume 2 collection, but we figure there's folks who are obsessive WS collectors - or who just like 7"s - who would want these. We just a have a handful, and when they're gone, they're quite gone. And they're cheap, too!
Here's some of what we said about this single when we originally listed it in 2007:
We shouldn't have to say very much at all about this brand new 7" from beloved local dronerockers Wooden Shjips, considering how many of their recent full length we sold, same with the self released 7" and 10". It seems like we could just whisper the words "Wooden Shjips" into the internet and all of these records would suddenly just disappear, only to re-appear moments later on turntables around the world. Which, when you think about it, is basically what is about to happen right now.
"Woooooooodennnnnnnnssssshhhhhhhhjjjiiiiiipsssssssssss..."
The A side is classic Wooden Shjips, taking all of their influences and whipping them into a droney druggy blur. Whooshing distorted riffing, heavy on the phaser (so heavy at times, it sounds like maybe it's not just the guitar, like they ran the whole record through a phaser), some warped Stereolab style organs, simple krautrocky drumming, and those hypnotic Jim Morrison / Nick Drake deep crooning vocals. Think a super psychedelic Sabbath, or a heady mix of Flying Saucer Attack, Spacemen 3 and Loop. Cyclical and hypnotic, with a strange almost new wavey chord change / breakdown smack dab in the middle. It's a song that would shoot off way beyond the clouds if the rhythm section didn't keep things perfectly grounded like it does.
The flipside is way more poppy and less droney, a slow psychpop drift, with serpentine guitars, and a gradually increasing tempo, the guitar getting all tangled up with the whirring organ, the whole thing fuzzy and softly propulsive, but with a surprisingly garage-y vibe, reminding us of a more drugged out Sonics, or a more spaced out Fuzztones, especially in the main melody and the higher than usual vocals. It's by far one of the band's most beautiful songs, proving once again that a Wooden Shjips B side is nothing to be taken lightly. Both new tracks are pretty kick ass and fans will most definitely not be disappointed.
MPEG Stream: "Loose Lips"

WOODEN SHJIPS O Tannenbaum / Auld Lang Syne (Sick Thirst) 12" 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Originally released in 2008 as a super limited, gift wrapped cassette tape, given mostly to family and friends (although a handful were available at aQ), this fantastically wintry and washed out chunk of druggy sonic holiday cheer is now available as a super limited 12" (1000 copies, half on green vinyl, half on red)...
San Francisco psych-lords Wooden Shjips have definitely got the Christmas spirit! They've recorded their interpretations of two seasonal hits, "O Tannenbaum" and "Auld Lang Syne", each an 8+ minutes sprawl of druggy psychedelic krautdrone hypnorock bliss.
"O Tannenbaum" begins with jingling bells, an instantly recognizable bassline, and then they're off, a gorgeously hazy, propuslive spacekraut groove. The drums simple and stripped down and motorik, the the guitars gauzy and jangly, everything wreathed in the warm clouds of evershifting organ whir, the track slipping from hypnorock groove, to swirling spaciness and back again. The whole thing is laid back and dreamy, it's not until the last couple minutes that things get revved up, the guitars getting more distorted, the riffage more fuzzed out and gnarled, but before the band can totally let loose, the song dissapears in a squall of feedback, leaving just a field of tinkling bells.
The flipside finds the band welcoming in the new year with the holiday perrenial, "Auld Lang Syne" which begins with a trumpet playing that oh so distinctive melody, the horn seeming to melt and warp before our ears, until in swoops a seriously distorted kick ass main riff, and "Auld Lang Syne" becomes a fierce slab of organ driven spacepsych garagekraut, the guitars fuzzy and fierce, the drums locked tight, solid and motorik, the vocals surprisingly up in the mix, wreathed in tripped out FX, the bass fluid and thick, and the organ, the organ is EVERYWHERE, all over the place, swirling and whirling and swooping from speaker to speaker, fantastically dizzying and WAY psychedelic, almost all of the vestiges of the original washed away by the band's glorious echo drenched space-psych-fuzz crunch. Eventually the guitars join the organs, a wild tangled psychedelic squall, a totally blown out Hawkwind worthy outro, that ends way too soon.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES! 500 on green vinyl, 500 on red vinyl, the color you get will be RANDOM (so don't ask, and ONLY ONE PER CUSTOMER!!
MPEG Stream: "O Tannenbaum"