MILK CHOPPER The Secret Life of Numbers cd 9.98
Super sunshine indie pop in a very Beulah meets Pavement-esque fashion... It's San Francisco's Milk Chopper! Breezy boyish harmonies abound with a subtle bit of twang and snippets of sound samples shuffled in here and there. Quite a pleasing pop debut.
RealAudio clip: "Rubber Balls"

MILK CULT Project M-13 (0 To 1) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow -- one of the rare AQ Unanimous Staff Favorites. Ex-members of ye olde local band Steelpole Bathtub have put together this AMAZING Milk Cult record. Sounding nothing like Steelpole whatsoever, this is an experimental melange of dance, rock, and lounge music that's so f***ing accessible and so kickass serious fun that we sell a copy almost every time we play this in the store. It features everything from throaty French singers to earth-trembling bass to random noises and disco, plus lovely wailing guitar soloes, exotica, bird calls, you name it. The recipients of a French arts grant, Milk Cult spent a month recording "traditional Corsican singers; Buddhist chanters; Algerian folk improvisors; French folkies; industrial noisicians; rockers; jazzbos; hip hop artists; spoken word artists; electronics experimenters; a thirty-piece African orchestra; a Conch player; all of whom played along with backing tracks prepared by Milk Cult but never with each other..." The entire thing is put together so well it is seamless, and we predict you will love it. Highest recommendations for a record that really shouldn't be overlooked.

MILK FROM CHELTENHAM Triptych of Poisoners (Alga Marghen) cd 17.98

MILKWOOD TAPESTRY s/t (Gear Fab) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Debut album from 1969 sees itself reissued on disc. This NYC-based duo were popular for their tender ballads played out on classical and acoustic guitar and cello, with the added flourishes of maracas and harpsichord, and appropriately fey vocals. Will not only appeal to fans of the Incredible String Band, but also fans of Belle and Sebastian. An essential purchase only for those of you intrepid scholars of psychedelic esoterica.
RealAudio clip: "Wonderous Fairy Tale"
RealAudio clip: "Signs of the Invisible Chalk"

MILLENNIUM, THE Magic Time: The Millennium / Ballroom Recordings (Sundazed) cd 38.00
Here's an apparently much sought-after rarity now reissued (thanks again to the fine folks at Sundazed), that we have to confess we'd never heard of until now. But that's one of the great things about reissues, isn't it? And as reissues go, this one's a doozy: three discs of sugary, sunshiney psychedelic pop dating from 1965-1968, produced by the interrelated studio groups The Millennium, The Ballroom, Sagittarius, Summer's Children, and others (all creations of, among others, songwriter/producer Curt Boettcher, a man whose work we're told Brian Wilson was stunned by). Demos, singles, instrumentals, unreleased alternate takes, plus the full albums (Ballroom's "s/t" and The Millennium's "Begin") from these guys: it's all here. And it's all pretty great -- magical, even. Often dreamy. Well, sometimes goofy too (unfortunately reminding us of that "Drugsachusetts" Kroft Super Show parody sketch from Mr. Show!). Ok, if you're not in the mood, it'll make you vomit, but if song titles like "Dancing Dandelion", "Sunshine Today", "Milk And Honey", and "Karmic Dream Sequence" make you smile, then you'll want to have this for those special moments when today's Elephant 6 output just doesn't cut it. (And by that we mean to suggest that if you're a fan of Olivia Tremor Control or Apples in Stereo, you'll find so much to love here -- the music is as sweet as the Olivias but with a really good grit to it too.)
62 tracks total, that's almost 3 hours of material, all direct from the original analog tapes in Columbia's vaults. This massive reissue package, which includes extensive liner notes and many photos as well as those three compact discs of geniune genius '60s "Soft Pop" music, was assembled with the active cooperation of the original musicians.
RealAudio clip: THE BALLROOM "Love's Fatal Way"
RealAudio clip: THE MILLENNIUM "To Claudia On Thursday"
RealAudio clip: THE BALLROOM "Magic Time"

MILLER, ANDY 33 1/3 Series: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (Continuum) book 9.95
Finally got a new batch of these amazing books, tailor made for us music geeks. Super in depth examinations of some of our favorite records! The cool thing is that they're not just the same old rehashed stories about the bands or artists, and who they slept with and where they grew up (although we like those too!), instead they're about the creation of those specific albums. The writers go really deep into every facet of the creation. The writing is often quite dense and so informative. Like a Mojo article expanded a hundred fold! We wanted to give each one an in depth review, but they are all so good and they keep coming fast and furious so we figured we oughta just list em. Basically, if you love the record, you're definitely gonna want the book! Also got the Joe Pernice Meat Is Murder book back in stock as well as Andrew Hulktrans's book about Love's masterpiece Forever Changes. And if you're anything like the music geeks here, you're gonna want all of em! Future volumes include My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, Radiohead's OK Computer, Jethro Tull's Aqualung.

MILLER, POLK This Old South Quartette (Tompkins Square) cd 15.98
Boy, this is a strange one. Not your standard old tyme fare, Polk Miller was a rare figure in the world of early American musical theater. Born in Virginia, and a Civil War veteran who fought for the South, he dropped a lucrative pharmaceutical and veterinarian medicine career (he created the first pet-care products for what would become Sargent) to follow his musical dream, leading a traveling all-black singing group, playing banjo and spinning song-stories about his plantation upbringing and singing songs that adopted the vernacular and celebrated the rural and musical traditions of pre-war black life. But a mixed-race group removed from the element of farce and without the use of black-face was a bold concept in the 1890's, garnering praise and derision from both Northern and Southern audiences. His highest praise came from Mark Twain, who suffered similarly divided criticisms for Huckleberry Finn. But the show and the group were very popular nonetheless lasting off and on for over 30 years, even after Miller died in 1913.
Culled from seven cylinder recordings made in 1909 and seven rare 78 rpm recordings made almost 20 years later in 1928, this disc this has some of the earliest recordings of whites and blacks playing together and some of the best examples of pre-war American gospel music. But the most interesting songs are the strange musical theater numbers such as "Laughing Song", that sounds like characters from a maniacal Disneyland ride and "Pussycat Rag" consisting of the quartette singing like, well, cats. Songs like, ah, "Watermelon Party" may cause some cringing, but let's face it, music rarely gets as unashamedly real as this!
MPEG Stream: "Laughing Song"
MPEG Stream: "Oysters and Wine at 2 AM"
MPEG Stream: "Pussycat Rag"

MILLER, RHETT The Believer (Verve) cd 15.98
Oh, Rhett Miller what're you doin' to us?! You, dear AQ reader, might recall that we had a gripe with his 2002 album's cover photo (a teen magazine worthy close-up shot of his peaches'n'cream face on a green background), and we didn't even bring up the appalling cover of his early solo offering Mythologies. Shudder. This time he's all dolled up and lounging in velvets. Doin' his best Rufus Wainwright impression. Weird, but unlike Wainwright who possesses an easy jaunty elegance, Miller looks posed and unnatural. Geeeez! Alright, that's enough harshing on Miller for one afternoon, but frankly it'd be less of an issue if any of his cover art or photos to date have suited their respective albums' music OR if his solo tunes kicked as much ass as those of his full band (Old 97s) do. Instead, his solo fare is much closer to that of loads of other folks. For instance the second tune could very well be a Goo Goo Dolls cast-off (which in itself isn't all that bad, is it?). Then the very next song "Meteor Shower" sounds like it could be a re-interpretation (or in less kind words, a knock-off) of David Bowie's song "Soul Love" from Ziggy Stardust. Later in the album "I Believe She's Lying" traces a melody and strummy guitar sound that Gin Blossoms put to better use on their song "Hey Jealousy". Not surprisingly, it all sound good -- really well played and produced -- but just comes across as faceless. That said, there's certainly enough heartstring-pulling here to guarantee that you'll be hearing some of these songs in teen movies this summer...
MPEG Stream: "Meteor Shower"
MPEG Stream: "The Believer"

MILLER, RHETT The Instigator (Elektra) cd 12.98
Solo record from the lead vocalist of alt. country rockers the Old 97's. And yet another chapter in the seemingly never ending saga of a band we love getting worse and worse. While the last Old 97's record still hinted at the band they once were, this is total middle of the road, singer songwriter, adult contemporary bland pop rock. Blechh.
RealAudio clip: "Our Love"

MILLIS, ROBERT Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums: Recordings From Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Anomalous) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It seems like field recordings from southeast Asia have become one of the most popular emergent genres here at Aquarius Records. And while we're not sure if just 'cause you took a trip and recorded stuff you should really get your name on record (like you're some sort of hoity-toity 'sound artist'), we still appreciate the efforts of such recordists as Loren Nerell, the Bishop brothers, and now Robert Millis. The truth is, ambient sound from some street in Thailand or Indonesia can be a lot more fascinating than yet another disc of computerized feedback or lowercase glitch! Never a substitute for going places yourself and using your ears (and other senses) but certainly a valid listening option at home. So no complaints, we'll continue to sing the praises of quality releases in the 'field recordings' genre like those on the Sublime Frequencies label. And certainly if you liked the recent Princess Nicotine disc on Sublime Freq, you'll probably also want to check out Leaf Music Drunks Distant Drums. Actually Millis (a member of American experimentalists Climax Golden Twins) had some involvement in the production of the Sublime Frequencies' dvd release Nat Pwe: Burma's Carnival Of Spirit Soul, and portions of this release were recorded on the same 'expedition'. Listening to this artfully edited distillation of the hours and hours of recordings that this disc represents, you'll be able to tell that Millis obviously spent a lot of time on the ground in SE Asia, ears alert for interesting sonics (musical and otherwise). It'll transport you into an environment that includes the following and more: "improvisation performed by an elephant mahout using only a leaf, ethereal temple orchestras, blind street musicians, insect choruses, stagecoach rides, singing cabbies, drunken spirit orchestras performing Leo Sayer songs..." Byram was especially taken with the track that sounds like a guy sobbing through a bullhorn! A great listen thats very well mixed, segueing nicely, and at a nice pace, from track to track.
MPEG Stream: "Blue Jeans Salesman, Thailand / Morning Sermon, Cambodia"
MPEG Stream: "Blind Street Singer, Thailand"
MPEG Stream: "Distant Drums, Cambodia"

MILLS, CHRIS Nobody's Favorite (Sugar Free) cd 9.98

MILS. Echotone (Gooom) cd 15.98

MILS. Le Grand Pic Mou (Gooom) cd 15.98

MILS. s/t (Gooom) cd 15.98
Ever since we discovered M83 and their gorgeous shimmery blissed out shoegazey electronic pop, we've been desparately trying to track down more stuff on Gooom, the French label that M83 (and Cyann & Ben as well) call home. While a lot of that stuff is already out of print, we did just manage to get a few titles in enough quantity to list. This is the debut album from Mils., another Gooom mainstay. Mils. weave an exotic soundscape of soundtracky electronica/jazz, sort of like David Holmes meets DJ Shadow, with fluttering flutes, shuffling skittery percussion, subtly funky bass, occasional electronic glitchery, and weird warbly sound effects here and there. Sounds like it could be the soundtrack to some bizarre seventies soft porn / cop show or something. Propulsive and hypnotic. Just funky enough for the headz to get into, but weird and dark enough for everybody else!
MPEG Stream: "0524"
MPEG Stream: "0351"

MILTNER, KRISTIN Grains (Praemedia) cd 11.98
Kristin Miltner is one of many very talented electronic musicians from the Bay Area who has gone through Mills College with a deft understanding of Max/MSP language and how to apply that understanding to a post-techno framework of electronica. While she has collaborated in a couple of other recorded projects, Grains stands as her solo debut, and it's quite a gem of twinkling glitch-based electronica and crunchy rhythmic skitter. Fragmenting tiny snippets of her own voice and splicing it all back together with all of the digital threads exposed, Miltner builds looping melodies that hold the same languid sensibility found on those beloved Colleen records, but with the additional pixel smear patina from the likes of Tim Hecker and Fennesz. Using these melodies as the building blocks to her pop-song length pieces, Miltner stacks these sounds with increasing density and jagged drum machines, all the while maintaining the basic tune of the melody. Grains emerges as a short and sweet reprisal of the classic Autechre use of melody with plenty of technological tricks up its sleeve to keep it charming, fresh, and unique. Very nicely done.
MPEG Stream: "Grains Need Water And Sunlight"
MPEG Stream: "Stunned Light"

MILTON, ANTONY 'Sirens' & 'And Where The Coloured Planes Are Rafts (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
So here's a new record from longtime AQ fave Antony Milton, who runs the kick ass cd-r label PseudoArcana. Not a new record entirely, actually originally released on cassette, then on cd-r and now on cd (our sincerest apologies to anyone who will be buying this for the THIRD time), this time re-re-released by Last Visible Dog who now seem to be the go to guys to have your already released cd-r's released once again! But hell, most of you probably missed out the first two times around (we sure did), so here's a chance to catch up and make it right! This isn't at all like the Antony Milton we've come to adore, which in no way is a bad thing. Milton has bestowed upon us record after record of sublime drones and experimental ambience, all of it pretty darn amazing. But this is a whole 'nother side of Mr. Milton, a more lo-fi, home recorded, bedroom folk side. And quite a nice side it is. Originally Recorded in 1997 and 1998 the two records that comprise this disc are intimate folk pop songs, lots of strummed guitar, simple percussion, and Milton's quavering almost-falsetto sadboy vocals. Drifting and delicate, simple and insistent, sweetly innocent but with haunting otherworldly filigree. Certainly in the tradition of New Zealand bedroom songsmiths Alastair Galbraith, Peter Jeffries, Roy Mongomery, but with definite shades of the US four-track underground (Sentridoh, Iran, Supreme Dicks, etc.). Towards the second half of the record, the freakout factor definitely picks up, with stretches of wild guitar and slabs of almost-noise, but at it's core this is still a ultra personal, super lovely slab of folky pop lovliness!
MPEG Stream: "Pulsing"
MPEG Stream: "And Where The Colored Planes Are Rafts"

MILTON, ANTONY February 2001 (Pseudo Arcana) 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.
Pseudo Arcana head honcho starts this disc off with some real Raster-Noton style static clickery but manages to sound way more organic, with throbbing pulses of low end that abruptly cut out and become a dreamy, thrumming, humming wash of warm drones ans slowly shifting spaced-out swish and whir. The rest of the record runs the gamut from noise-y drone ala the Dead C, with bursts of harsh noise and looped samplesforming loping 'rhythms', to all out N O I S E, to dreamy subterranean dronescapes reminiscent of Birchville Cat Motel, to almost-pop buried under fuzz and hiss and distrorted to the point of being pop-no-more.
RealAudio clip: "Endocrine"
RealAudio clip: "Poster Rocket"

MILTON, ANTONY Near / Far (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We at AQ have long been fans of Campbell Kneale and his project Birchville Cat Motel who along with the Dead C, Omit, Gate and a handful of others have helped to define one of the richest free-rock-noise-drone scenes in the world. For years Kneale has been releasing cds, lps and cassettes (most of them quite limited) of noisy electronic soundscapes and gorgeous organic drones. So when we discovered Kneale also ran a label, we figured it was definitely worth checking out. And how right we were. Not only is all of the music on Celebrate Psi Phenomena amazing, but the packaging is perfectly and stunningly designed as well (quite nice considering this is a cd-r label. See our crappy cd-r packaging rants in the last three or four lists) with each cd in a plastic sleeve nestled between two sheets of old fashioned textured wallpaper, printed, and sealed with a gold star.
Four tracks of droning dreaminess. Track one is a stuttering, wheezing violin drone over absent mindedly strummed, downtuned guitars sounding like a doped up Roy Montgomery. The second track is an industrial landscape of machinery buzz and electronic hiss while crystalline guitar feedback soars above it all. Track three is keening upper register drone ala Vibracathedral Orchestra with rhythmically struck low notes stretched into a loose framework for freak-out guitar. The final track is a murky swirl of haunting, distant minor key swells underpinning static and buzz and malfunctioning electronics. Like Nurse With Wound scoring a Fulci or Bava film. Hauntingly mesmerising but rough and abrasive at the same time.
RealAudio clip: "Window Sill"

MILTON, ANTONY Siren Performance CDR: Enjoy Gallery 17-8-2000 (Pseudo Arcana) 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.
Siren Performance was devised as an installation using the sounds of air raid sirens and the various sonic harmonics and overtones that resulted from multiple / competeing sound sources. This disc contains a 15 minute recording of the source material for the installation as well as a performance featuring the air raid sirens, as well as Campbell Kneale on electronics, Antony Milton on sampler and broken violin, as well as a few other folks on bass, guitar and more electronics. The sound is stark and beautiful, mournfully wailing like ghosts and wind, slowly pitched up and down. The performance takes those sounds and turns them into a thick drone-y wash of sirens and vigorously bowed stringed instruments which takes the piece into Conrad / Cale / Maclise / Palestine territory.
RealAudio clip: "Siren Performance"

MILTON, ANTONY The End Of This Short Road (Deserted Village) cd 13.98
Another unearthed jem from our perrenially messy back room, a few copies of this gorgeous gem just surfaced, if you missed out last time, now you've got another chance...
Antony Milton is one busy man, not only does he run the amazing PseudoArcana label, but he also makes tons of music as A.M., Mrtyu, in the Stumps, the Nether Dawn and more. Did we also mention he's a postman?
The End Of This Short Road is the latest from this underground dynamo, and is most definitely the most song oriented. We know full well Milton is capable of weaving gorgeous expanses of droney bliss, as well as monstrous slabs of downtuned brutality, but who knew he had such a deft hand at delicate songsmithery, but he does, and pretty much every track on The End Of This Short Road is a gem. Fear not, the weird lo-fi warbles and buzzy drone drenched whirs are still present and accounted for, but they tend to be beneath bits of jangle and croon, instead of on their own (although that does happen here and there).
The quieter pretty songs sound a bit like a more lo-fi Sparklehorse, with a little Alastair Galbraith mixed in and maybe with Roy Montgomery on guitar. Soft whispery vocals over delicate melodies, all filtered through that distinctly NZ filter. While the more rocking songs, are super psychedelic, with aggressive strumming, lost of reverb and delay, intense little squalls of minor key jangle and crunch, that manage to be both noisy and pretty, intense but strangely sad and wistful. Recommended for soft hearted noisies and noisy hearted folkies...
MPEG Stream: "Day Of The World"
MPEG Stream: "The End Of This Short Road"
MPEG Stream: "Hops"

MIMAROGLU, ILHAN Agitation (Locust) cd 14.98

MIMEO / JOHN TILBURY The Hands of Caravaggio (Erstwhile) cd 14.98
MIMEO stands for Music In Movement Electronic Orchestra, a massive ensemble of European electronic musicians and improvisers that includes Keith Rowe, Phil Durrant, Kaffe Matthews, Jerome Noetinger, Gert-Jan Prins, Cor Fuhler, Thomas Lehn, Marcus Schmickler, Markus Wettstein, Christian Fennesz, Peter Rehberg, and Rafael Toral. Masterminded by Rowe who has worked for over 30 years in the seminal UK improv group AMM, MIMEO has been joined by fellow AMM member John Tilbury on piano. While there are plenty of interesting sounds that all of these artists have made on this album, "The Hands Of Caravaggio" lacks focus as a result of there being way too many cooks in the kitchen.
RealAudio clip: "Hands of Caravaggio 4"

MIMIC AND THE MODEL VOLUME 1 (Mimic and the Model) 12" 5.98
The first in a new series of minimalist electronica following the tropes of the Basic Channel aesthetic with minimal information, exquisite skeletal bleeps & blips that fade in and out of structural sequencing, and a high degree of anonymity (though we will tell you this is S.F. electronica wizard Kit Clayton). Very nice!

MIMINOKOTO 3 (Siwa) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Along with LSD-march's Shindara Jigoku, here's another slab of vinyl on Siwa from another excellent underground Japanese psych unit. Tokyo's Miminokoto (who, like LSD-march, have also released a cd on the Last Visible Dog label) present their appropriately titled third studio recording as a limited, vinyl-only edition boasting a nice hand-screened cover. Collectors will want this, but also anyone into garagey guitar psych... And we weren't aware of this before, but Miminokoto is somewhat of a Tokyo psych veteran supergroup, with a line-up that includes: Masami Kawaguchi (Broomdusters, LSD-march, Aihiyo), Koji Shimura (White Heaven, High Rise) and Takuya Nishimura (Che-Shizu)!

MIMINOKOTO Green Mansions (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Glory be! We've got not one but TWO new albums from Miminokoto, who you may already know as one of the new wave of Japanese psych trios (along with LSD-march and Up-Tight also) making the rounds of late. Miminokoto currently consist of singer/guitarist Masami Kawaguchi (LSD-march, Broomdusters, Aihiyo), drummer Koji Shimura (White Heaven, High Rise) and bassist Hiroaki Takeuchi. How does this particular unit stand apart from their peers? Well, although quite capable of building up into big, burning, fuzzed-out guitar clangor (and when they do, they get just as gnarly as the rest), they have a mellow side to 'em, one that's very melancholic and emotional, that they explore in perhaps greater depth and duration than those other bands tend to do. With weary vocals of which maybe even Jandek would be proud, Miminikoto can create a sense of sadness which makes Kawaguchi's howling guitar, when it kicks in, all that much more cathartic. They also aren't afraid of some poppy jangle too, so you're never sure what's around the corner. From track to track, one cut might be a punked out stormer, the next a gentle web of fragile notes.
Of these two new releases, one's an import studio recording, and the other's a domestically released live album (though this sort of stuff always seems live). There's five magnificently meandering and oft harrowing new tunes on the Alchemy disc Green Mansions, while the live disc on LVD, Orange Garage (named for the venue where these void-vibes were conjured), features new n' heavier versions of three previously recorded Miminokoto tracks plus three other totally new compositions, culminating in the 16+ minute "Kumononaka". Can't really pick between 'em, either or both should be of interest to any Japanese psych-scene follower...
MPEG Stream: "Echo"
MPEG Stream: "When"

MIMINOKOTO Live (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
Last Visible Dog brings us the first US release for this Tokyo-based trio, a self-described 'romantic psychedelic band'. Recorded live at Tokyo's Penguin House back in January of this year, this disc starts off with a raucous tangle-jangle of bright garagey guitars ("Tottemo"), followed by a melancholic pop dirge that then erupts into sky-scraping psych guitar overload ("Subeteha"). The rest of the set follows a similar pattern, juxtaposing the quiet and folky with the loud and shrill. You'll get a song that features mopey Japanese vocals over jazzily listless instrumental backing, that'll be followed by piece built around some severe, noisy guitar rockin' and crashing drums. Often one thing builds into the other, which is quite satisfying. Definitely a 'Tokyo Flashback' style band, for fans of Shizuka, Nagisa Ni Te, White Heaven, Kousokuya, all that sort of thing!
MPEG Stream: "Tottemo"
MPEG Stream: "Subeteha"

MIMINOKOTO Orange Garage (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
Glory be! We've got not one but TWO new albums from Miminokoto, who you may already know as one of the new wave of Japanese psych trios (along with LSD-march and Up-Tight also) making the rounds of late. Miminokoto currently consist of singer/guitarist Masami Kawaguchi (LSD-march, Broomdusters, Aihiyo), drummer Koji Shimura (White Heaven, High Rise) and bassist Hiroaki Takeuchi. How does this particular unit stand apart from their peers? Well, although quite capable of building up into big, burning, fuzzed-out guitar clangor (and when they do, they get just as gnarly as the rest), they have a mellow side to 'em, one that's very melancholic and emotional, that they explore in perhaps greater depth and duration than those other bands tend to do. With weary vocals of which maybe even Jandek would be proud, Miminikoto can create a sense of sadness which makes Kawaguchi's howling guitar, when it kicks in, all that much more cathartic. They also aren't afraid of some poppy jangle too, so you're never sure what's around the corner. From track to track, one cut might be a punked out stormer, the next a gentle web of fragile notes.
Of these two new releases, one's an import studio recording, and the other's a domestically released live album (though this sort of stuff always seems live). There's five magnificently meandering and oft harrowing new tunes on the Alchemy disc Green Mansions, while the live disc on LVD, Orange Garage (named for the venue where these void-vibes were conjured), features new n' heavier versions of three previously recorded Miminokoto tracks plus three other totally new compositions, culminating in the 16+ minute "Kumononaka". Can't really pick between 'em, either or both should be of interest to any Japanese psych-scene follower...
MPEG Stream: "Tokedasu"
MPEG Stream: "Dokonimon ver. 2"

MIN BUL s/t (Universal Norway) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's one I remember reading about in one of them rare-ass record collector books and thinking, wow, I'd like to hear that. A 1970 jazz-rock improv trio from Norway, featuring the young guitarist Terje Rypdal (later an ECM staple), balanced somewhere between psych-rock and Impulse-inspired energy jazz. Well at last it's been reissued on cd (first time ever legit reish we're told) and it is indeed damn good. Rypdal makes a good claim here to being Norway's answer to Sonny Sharrock or Ray Russell, and rips it up on some soprano sax as well as electric guitar. The six tracks here range from sheer freakout implosions to calmer, groovier stuff, with bassist Bjornar Andresen's Mingus-meets-Cream composition "Champagne of Course" being a monster highlight. Definitely a jazz record more than a rock one, but quite intense and heavy and experimental and sometimes beautiful too. And it's another NWW-list entry by the way. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "I Cried A Million Tears Last Night"
MPEG Stream: "Champagne Of Course"

MIN XIAO-FEN Spring, River, Flower, Moon, Night (Asphodel) cd 12.98
Traditional Chinese music played on the pipa by virtuoso Xiao-Fen, nicely recorded by AQ-customer Carl Stone. Intricate, beautiful, even DJ Spooky couldn't improve upon this.

MINDERS, THE Down In The Fall (Spin Art) cd 9.98
Wow. A quite wonderful surprise from The Minders, the two gal / one guy trio hailing from Portland, Oregon. 5 songs (plus 2 video tracks), each an individually perfect piece of classic British-Invasion-style pop a la the Kinks. Past affiliated with the underground pop collective Elephant 6 and having released one-off comp tracks and singles, and one full length, for a variety of labels, The Minders are obsessed with the past yet their music sounds totally fresh and unpretentious. From the Kinks-like opener "Young and With It" to the doleful piano-led "Time Machines", which sounds like the soundtrack to a 'twenties silent film, this is real honest to god beautifully written music you can sink your teeth into that doesn't copy the past so much as it is inspired by it. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Young and With It"

MINDERS, THE Golden Street (Spin Art) cd 16.98
Of all the pop bands that've been coming more and more to people's attention in the past few years, bands that specialize in reinterpreting the proudly pop roots planted by the Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys, etc., Portland's The Minders are, in my humble opinion, head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Like the Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo, The Minders' version of toothy pop is so well-executed that what in lesser hands might get dismissed as retro pretentiousness instead seems really fresh. With female and male vocals, careful, exact instrumentation, and hooks galore, this particular Minders record reminds us of all the bands mentioned above, plus the Velvets, Big Star, and at times even T-Rex. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Hand on Heart"
RealAudio clip: "Right as Rain"

MINDERS, THE Hooray for Tuesday (Spin Art / Elephant6) cd 12.98
Sweet, strong pop very reminiscent of the Kinks and the Beatles on the wondrous Elephant 6 label, home of Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel.

MINDERS, THE Hooray for Tuesday (Little Army/Elephant6) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sweet, strong pop very reminiscent of the Kinks and the Beatles on the wondrous Elephant 6 label, home of Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel.

MINDFLAYER Expedition To The Hairier Peaks (Corleone) cd 11.98
3rd album (right?) from this band of Rhode Island noise dance nutters... really great, like their others, and dig that D&D module referencing/punning title!!

MINDFLAYER It's Always 1999 (Load) cd 13.98
First an album on Bulb (last year's Take Your Skin Off), now an album on Load? Must be some trash-fi, heavy-duty freakishness... Indeed it is: it's Mindflayer, those squidheaded noisniks from Rhode Island who just wanna party! Party like it's you-know-when. The electro-noise-dance duo of Mr. Brinkmann (Mr. Brinkmann, natch) and Mr. Chippendale (Lightning Bolt) are back with another bunch of zappity zap zap for your overstimulated earholes, all pounding tin can drums, cheapass electronics, and distorted distortion distorting. Approach with caution, partygoers.
MPEG Stream: "Rgamnimals"
MPEG Stream: "5 Minutes Of Sporadic Beats"

MINDFLAYER Take Your Skin Off (Bulb) cd 14.98
Uh oh. A Bulb release. That usually equals aggravating, though sometimes inspired, silly arty noise stuff. And that's what this is. Rhode Island's Mindflayer is named after a particularily fearsome D&D monster -- which of course earns 'em points with Allan, as long as they live up to the name, which they do! Band members Time (drums, vocals) and Space (synth, backup vocals) are pseudonyms for folks better known, respectively, as Brian Chippendale (drummer extraordinaire for the amazing Lightning Bolt), and Mr. Brinkmann (of Forcefield and, uh, Mr. Brinkmann fame).
In Mindflayer these two don squid heads (at least on the cover) and get down to some feedback-filled, uber noisy dancefloor terrorism, asking the musical question, "Are You Fucked Up?" (track six). Pounding rhythmic battery, distorted electronics and vocals...it's like a malevolent, metallic Christine 23 Onna, or early Quintron maybe. Imagine listening in on a desperate, low fi 911 phone call from a defective synthesizer held hostage by drugged out industrial rock hippies...
Yep, yet another indulgent Bulb release, but a good one -- so watch out, earholes.
MPEG Stream: "Head Of State On A Plate"
MPEG Stream: "Drop Bass Not Bombs"

MINEKAWA, TAKAKO Cloudy Cloud Calculator (March) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sweet lo-fi electro pop for casio from this Japanese woman who put on one hell of a good instore here at Aquarius!

MINEKAWA, TAKAKO Fun 9 (Emperor Norton) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Following up her recent "Ximer" remix disc, Japanese electronic-pop songstress Minekawa presents a "fun" new full-length.

MINEKAWA, TAKAKO Maxion (Emperor Norton) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
With every new record casiopop auteur Takako Minekawa gets miles better, her sampling and arranging techniques more sophisticated and varied. She's so clever to balance her sweetness with smarts! As this 7-song cd begins we wonder if Takako has hijacked "Peter Gunn", but soon we are soothed by the return to the light, dreamy electronic pop she is more known for. Still in full possession of sweet-sweet, breathy child vocals, playful samples and pretty melodies, she adds doses of solemnity and darkness to make for possibly her best record yet. With a guest sitar appearance by Keigo Oyamada (aka Cornelius).
RealAudio clip: "Brioche"
RealAudio clip: "Picnic at Loose Rock"

MINEKAWA, TAKAKO Recubed EP (Emperor Norton) cdep 9.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While Takako has been described as the female Cornelius, her sound is much more simple, clean, and not nearly as sample-reliant. However, this stellar EP finds her getting the remix treatment from Buffalo Daughter (who manage to make that ubiquitous Liquid Liquid sample sound fresh again), Land of the Loops, Trans Am, Pulsars, Portastatic (Mac of Superchunk), and Sukia. Takako's sweet voice holds the whole thing together beautifully. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

MINERAL End Serenading (Crank!) cd 11.98
Emo! People have been waiting for this record for ages! Really intense but not really loud or rocking. A lot like Karate and Sunny Day Real Estate...

MING Hands Red With The Blood Of Her Enemies (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) 2cd-r 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ming (aka Campbell Kneale, aka Birchville Cat Motel, aka Celebrate Psi Phenomenon head honcho) has slowly been drifting into more metallic sound worlds with his last few releases, as BCM but also as the distinctly more metal Black Boned Angel, but with Ming, Kneale seems to be channelling a more divine scree, the upper register droning skree-scapes pioneered by the likes of Albert Ayler and Sun Ra, and more recently paid homage to by folks like Sunroof!, Total, Vibracathedral Orchestra and the like. Two discs, seven tracks, two hours of keening wailing drones, scraping and bleating, at times harsh and chaotic, with lots of feedback and clatter, and at others, shimmering and crystalline with warm whirling sonic ripples. Found sounds, field recordings, sounds that resemble but probably aren't actually throat singing, chanting, horns, squealing guitars, all captured on a crappy hand held recorder, for maximum grit and and a gorgeously blow out quality. Epic and transcendental, and in its own way quite brutal and beautiful. As with all things Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, this is VERY VERY LIMITED!!!
MPEG Stream: "Sunkissed Leaf Shriek"
MPEG Stream: "I Fought The Lord (And The Lord Won)"

MING The Kill (Battlecruiser / Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The black musical cloud continues to creep wraithlike across the land, with yet another release on the Battlecruiser label, the metal imprint of Campbell Kneale's (Birchville Cat Motel) Celebrate Psi Phenomenon label. A home for all sorts of metallic sound, not necessarily metal per se, but experimentalists indulging their deep down metallic longings. We reviewed Ming's Hands Red With The Blood Of Her Enemies double cd-r on the last list, a massive expanse of Sunroof! / Total like free rock skree, droning and whirring and shimmering in lengthy swaths of gorgeous ambience. At once soothing and smooth, jagged and harsh. Well, The Kill sounds like that record's evil twin, or that record in an alternate, perhaps more evil dimension. Th sonic descriptors could be the same, droning, whirring shimmering, but instead of sheets of rich tonal color, and warm rumbling drones, The Kill is twenty minutes of monochromatic, hissing and harshed out hellish noise. It sounds a bit like there are some howled vocals and perhaps even a melody, but it could just be our ears playing tricks on us. Because if that stuff is there, it is suffocating beneath an impenetrable slab of pink noise buzz, a swirling miasma of hateful hiss and shrieking static. The Kill is definitely a harsh noise record, or maybe an industrial drone record, the metal here being implied or rather conveyed through the dark and brutal aggressiveness. But who was expecting (or wanting) a 'normal' metal record from Battlecruiser anyway? SUPER LIMITED AS ALWAYS!! NOT SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET MORE WHEN THESE ARE GONE!
MPEG Stream: "The Kill"

MINGUS, CHARLES A Modern Jazz Symposium of Music & Poetry (Bethlehem) cd 11.98

MINGUS, CHARLES Black Saint And The Sinner Lady (Impulse) cd 16.98

MINGUS, CHARLES Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus (Impulse) cd 16.98

MINIERE, JEROME La Nuit (Lithium) 2cd 15.98
Beautiful and lush, late-night electro-pop / hip hop. Dark mumbled, whispery vocals, looped minor key piano, shuffling jazzy drums, stuttering samples. Like a mix of Massive Attack, MC Solaar and the occasional touch of Magnetic Fields. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Merveilleux Comme Ca"

MINIMUM CHIPS Lady Grey (Baked Goods) cd 15.98
Soooo darn dreamy! Imagine a not so distant Australian cousin to Brits Stereolab and Broadcast, and you might find Minimum Chip fluttering into view. We've got a bit of a soft spot for this sort of krautrock inflected pop with all of its warm deep hypnotic synth bass lines, organ-y drones, shuffling drumbeats and feathery female vocals. The dozen songs on Lady Grey are sweetly sigh-inducing.
MPEG Stream: "Sleepy Pea"
MPEG Stream: "Lady Grey"

MINISTRY Animositisomina (Sanctuary) cd 17.98
The first Ministry album since 1999's disappointing Dark Side Of The Spoon is certainly cause for fans' celebration as it marks Al Jourgensen's return to prime form. Following years of albums that sounded like pallid imitations made by Ministry wannabes, Animositisomina sounds like the Ministry of old. Pummeling, aggressive, malevolent and huge. You may be asking (as many around here have already) why you'd want / need any more Ministry records if you already own the classics such as Land Of Rape And Honey and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Well, good question... but there are definitely plenty of fresh new ideas brewing in the Jourgensen camp and a kick-ass group of players to execute the mission including longtime bandmates Paul Barker, Louis Svitek, Skrew mainman Adam Grossman and drummer Rey Washam formerly of Scratch Acid who alone elevates and propels this album immensely. Ten tracks in all including a cover of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me".
RealAudio clip: "The Light Pours Out Of Me"
RealAudio clip: "Animosity"

MINISTRY Early Trax (RykoDisc) cd 15.98
Probably for diehard, longtime Ministry fanatics only! Early Trax is the very-similarly packaged companion disc to Side Trax (which we reviewed in the last AQ List). This compilation of, yes, early '80s Ministry 12" faves features multiple mixes of "Every Day Is Halloween", "All Day", Nature Of Love", and "I'm Falling", plus individual versions of "He's Angry", "Move" and "Overkill". Definitely from their more gothy, less overtly politicized, dancing-in-the-batcave days than their later times of harder living, sharp-tongued nu-metal. Recent Ministry fans might find their young synth and drum machine sound a bit too foreign and fey for their fist-pumpin' aggro taste, but for those whose black pointy toed buckle boots still lurk in their closets' shadowy depths, it's pretty great to have these tracks available once more along with four previously unreleased.
MPEG Stream: "Every Day Is Halloween"
MPEG Stream: "He's Angry (Unreleased)"