MIRAH WITH THE BLACK CAT ORCHESTRA To All We Stretch The Open Arm (Yoyo) cd 14.98
Ahoy kids! We've got a Mirah double whammy! It's mighty clear she's been keeping herself knee-deep in music with not only this her collaborative albums with her Black Mountain Project partner Ginger Brooks Takahashi and here with the Black Cat Orchestra, but also her C'mon Miracle solo album (reviewed last list). This woman eats, sleeps, dreams and breathes music.
To All We Stretch The Open Arm is a particularly potent and moving collaboration in that as the folks at YoYo Records describe it "(the songs) were chosen, arranged, and performed... because these times call for such songs. These songs come from places and decades that have seen dissent, passion, and revolution... Simply, this is an album of what would have once been called protest songs."
It wonderfully displays her broad scope of style and delivery. Dramatic and dynamic yet very sensitive and down to earth, Mirah flits and flirts with haunting folk, jaunty old style musicals, and slinky cabaret -- singing in Spanish, Italian and English. For those familiar with her last few of releases, it's no surprise that she does so with ample impressive flair. Seattle's Black Cat Orchestra keep perfect step right along with her for the length of this album. This collection features their versions of songs originally by such artists as Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Kurt Weill, as well as her own song "Monument" from her fine last album Advisory Committee. When asked for a Mirah cd preference, we'd definitely lean more towards her most recent three (Advisory Committee, C'mon Miracle and this one), but we'd be hard-pressed to choose just one 'cause they're each quite special unto themselves. Nonetheless, Cup heartily sez "Recommended!"
MPEG Stream: "The Light"
MPEG Stream: "Bella Ciao"

MIRRA, HELEN Field Geometry (Explain) cd 13.98
For those who remember the Suck.com parody of the descriptions found on Aquarius Records' tags, Suck.com had rewritten our description of a Helen Mirra 10" to read "Lush, enigmatic, forgiving, like a less neurotic Cat Power." Actually that description aptly pegged that Helen Mirra record (which we didn't really like all that much) way better than we did originally. However, it doesn't really apply to Mirra's first CD "Field Geometry" - which is a minimalist Americana meditation sounding a lot like a super slowed down John Fahey backed by the constant rustle of a seamstress weaving. Spartanly beautiful and mysteriously evolving. Completely recommended.

MIRROR Cassia Fistula (Idea) 7" 6.50
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Both Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann of the the drone-improv outfit Mirror had been commissioned to remix elements from Brandon Walls' "Cassia Fistula" album. In spite of the fact that the source album was a dud, this limited edition 7" is quite good, with delicate feedback modulations and thick drones culled from analogue synthesis, ending up a bit more electronic than any of the Mirror albums. The packaging -- just a generic 7" sleeve -- leaves much to be desired though.

MIRROR Die Spiegelmanufaktur (Die Stadt) cd 24.00
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Previously released as a super limited edition picture disc, "Die Spiegelmanufaktur" has now been re-issued on CD!
This installment from the prolific Mirror catalogue finds Mirror's core protagonists Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heeman working with avant-rock darling Jim O'Rourke, who has kept himself busy by joining Sonic Youth. His presence will certainly bring this understated drone project to a bigger audience, and hopefully more attention to the reclusive, yet brilliant Chalk, whose solo work as well as his work with Organum, Ora, and Jonathan Coleclough remain all-time favorites here at Aquarius. The recordings found here were culled from a Mirror performance at the Lagerhaus in Bremen, Germany just a few months back in April 2002. The instrumentation appears to be organ, drone guitar, bowed metal, and some unidentified resonant clatter hovering at the event horizon much like the miniature sounds that Keith Rowe has produced for the recent AMM recordings. Through the glassine drone tricks that Chalk and Heeman have perfected in previous Mirror recordings, all of these sounds seamlessly meld into a tranquil piece of evocative ambience. Sporadically, a tremolo flutter emerges, probably indicative of some laptop trickery from O'Rourke. Do not fear, O'Rourke has left his Max / MSP patches turned off and thoughtfully ensured that his contribution was complementary to the Mirror sound. "Die Spiegelmanufaktur" is the least ominous Mirror recording, conjuring images of the colorful spectacle of calm sunrises, but fortunately, Mirror veer far from the artistic suicide of New Age drivel. This is another beautiful recording by Mirror.
MPEG Stream: "Die Spiegelmanufaktur 1"
MPEG Stream: "Die Spiegelmanufaktur 3"

MIRROR Die Spiegelmanufaktur (Die Stadt) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This installment from the prolific Mirror catalogue finds Mirror's core protagonists Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heeman working with the avant-rock darling Jim O'Rourke, who has kept himself busy by joining Sonic Youth. His presence will certainly bring this understated drone project to a bigger audience, and hopefully more attention to the reclusive, yet brilliant Chalk, whose solo work as well as his work with Organum, Ora, and Jonathan Coleclough remain all-time favorites here at Aquarius. The recordings found here were culled from a Mirror performance at the Lagerhaus in Bremen, Germany just a few months back in April 2002. The instrumentation appears to be organ, drone guitar, bowed metal, and some unidentified resonant clatter hovering at the event horizon much like the miniature sounds that Keith Rowe has produced for the recent AMM recordings. Through the glassine drone tricks that Chalk and Heeman have perfected in previous Mirror recordings, all of these sounds seamlessly meld into a tranquil piece of evocative ambience. Sporadically, a tremolo flutter emerges, probably indicative of some laptop trickery from O'Rourke. Do not fear, O'Rourke has left his Max / MSP patches turned off and thoughtfully ensured that his contribution was complementary to the Mirror sound. "Die Spiegelmanufaktur" is the least ominous Mirror recording, conjuring images of the colorful spectacle of calm sunrises, but fortunately, Mirror veer far from the artistic suicide of New Age drivel. This is another beautiful recording by Mirror.
While in a few months a slightly different mix of this performance will be published on CD, "Die Spiegelmanufaktur" is now available as a picture disc feature Chalk's artwork and is strictly limited to 400 copies!
RealAudio clip: "Die Spiegelmanufaktur (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Die Spiegelmanufaktur (excerpt 2)"

MIRROR Eye of the Storm (Streamline) cd 14.98
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Of all of the Mirror records that have come out over the past three or four years, "Eye Of The Storm" has so far been the cream of the crop for the impressionistic drone duo of Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann. Originally released as an incredibly limited and incredibly expensive lp (even by Mirror standards) complete with an individually printed etching smeared with watercolors, "Eye Of The Storm" has thankfully been reissued on CD by Heemann's Streamline label, although with much more economical packaging. The sounds on this album immediately manifest a sublime sense of calm and tranquility, underpinned by subtly unnerving, haunting evocations that keep this album far from the realm of New Age drivel. Environmental sounds of wind, surf, and maybe even distant highways comprise the bulk of the source material, although Chalk and Heemann have multi-tracked and down-pitched these elements as to blur all of the edges and muffle the references. The duo couples these environmental passages with a quiet and slow chorus of bells, gongs, and singing bowls which flutter and quiver with an elegantly restrainted use of electronics. Perhaps because of the source material in question, "Eye Of The Storm" sparks a physicality of meteorological phenomenon, especially the cold & humid foggy air of a sleepy coastal town, yet it is eerily unwelcoming. Absolutely one of my (Jim's) favorite records of all time.
RealAudio clip: "Eye of the Storm"

MIRROR Front Row Centre (Die Stadt) lp 17.98
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The breathtakingly beautiful collaborations between Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann as Mirror have resulted in three superb deep listening / tonal drift records in a little under a year, with "Eye of The Storm" for Streamline, "Ringstones" for Some Fine Legacy, and this for Die Stadt. While their production techniques revolve around blurring the sonic edges of arcane source material (highway field recordings, bowed metals, and tape machine backmasking), Mirror allows more of the source material to speak on its own with extended notes from orchestral warm-ups. They have layered hazy passages for lengthy french horns, warm strings, and a handful of their own mysterious drones within a slow building composition. If you've fallen for Chalk's work in the past, this album will certainly impress you also. Stunning work.

MIRROR I Paint For Love Of Color (Idea) lp 22.00
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In November 2000, Mirror travelled to the US for a handful of shows in Austin, Chicago, and maybe a few other places in between (unfortunately not San Francisco). While cd-r bootlegs of those shows have been circulating, "I Paint For Love Of Color" is the second official documentation of that US tour, the first being the "Island" 2LP on Die Stadt. Mirror, of course, is the dronological outfit featuring Andrew Chalk, Christoph Heemann, and Andreas Martin, and has been releasing their work in a steady stream of very limited, vinyl only pressings. "I Paint For Love Of Color" was recorded in Ceremony Hall in Austin, and finds the trio creating another beautiful drift of guilded guitar drones that slide from delicate, elemental tones into eerie field recordings of distant alien screeches and thickly reverberated clamor. In contrast to the other Mirror albums, this is a bit more noisy, but doesn't stray too far from that amazing Mirror sound. Limited to only 800 copies, which will probably be gone before you blink.

MIRROR Islands (Die Stadt) 2lp 17.98
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With a pressing of 1000 copies, Mirror's "Islands" may stay in print a little bit longer than all of the previous outings from this magnificent drone ensemble. Beginning as a duo of hermetic Andrew Chalk and part-time Nurse With Wound collaborator Christoph Heemann, Mirror has officially expanded into a trio with the addition of Andreas Martin -- Heemann's former partner in the cinematically Dadaist collage outfit HNAS. While all of the Chalk / Heemann outings as Mirror are totally breathtaking, the first outing for this Mirror trio was the shakey "Nightwalkers" album, which was dominated by perfunctorily isolationist washes of e-bowed guitars.
"Islands" finds Mirror returning to the guitar with much more successful results. Sprawling across four sides of translucent blue vinyl, "Islands" seemlessly melts both studio sessions and live recordings from a series of recent shows in Austin, Texas. Like all of Mirror's albums, "Islands" appears as a fragment of a much larger composition which extends well beyond the temporal constraints of any given media. Complex ever shifting drones and mercurial tonalities belie the instrumentation being solely guitars, as field recordings of rainstorms and shadowy metallic striations emerge within Mirror's thick ambient wash. Of course, it's recommended. But don't expect this to last, despite the larger pressing.

MIRROR Nightwalkers (Robot) cd 15.98
Back in 2003, Streamline reissued the first Mirror record Eye Of The Storm on cd; and now Robot has seen fit to reissue another early Mirror record Nightwalkers. Originally released back in 2000, Nightwalkers found Mirror's core duo of Christoph Heemann and Andrew Chalk working with Andreas Martin, who had previously collaborated with Heemann in producing the crushed-velvet prog / ambience of Mimir. Martin's presence on this album definitely changes Mirror's awe-inspiring dronescapes built from manipulated field recordings and sustained tonalities; first of all there are clusters of drum machine rhythms which interrupt the tranquil beauty of the signature Chalk / Heeman minimalism, and elsewhere, Martin brings a wholly unmysterious e-bow guitar sound to Mirror as well. This has never been our favorite Mirror record, but even the weakest Mirror record is still pretty darn good in the greater scheme of things.
MPEG Stream: "Nightwalkers 2"
MPEG Stream: "Nightwalkers 4"

MIRROR Nightwalkers (Robot Records) lp 17.98
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Mirror, the collaborative effort between Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann, has already produced four albums this year of gorgeous drone mystery. Here the duo has been joined by Andreas Martin (who with Heemann made up the dada collage outfit HNAS in the '80s). I was never a big fan of HNAS, so even the collaboration of someone as awe-inspiring as Chalk with Heemann made me nervous. While all of Mirror's preceding albums are some of the best drone records to pass through Aquarius, "Nightwalkers" is not as exciting as one would hope. Perhaps we should blame the new kid in Mirror, as Andreas Martin brought a wholly unmysterious eBow guitar sound and intrusive drum machine clatter to the otherwise alien dronology of the group. Certainly for Andrew Chalk completists (like Jim) only.

MIRROR Ringstones (Some Fine Legacy) lp 16.98
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Mirror is the collaborative work of Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann (whose production talent has recently been employed by Nurse With Wound). Through the gradual introduction of delicate hazy drones which provide little external references, Mirror's audio alchemy is apt to delude the listener about the length of these two beautiful and hypnotic recordings. We had thought that this might be the more affordable version of the first Mirror album (which ran around $55.00 due to the individually printed etchings as on the artwork), but it's an entirely new album. As with each Andrew Chalk release that has presented itself to us, this is highly recommended!

MIRROR Solaris (Idea) cd 16.98
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Finally! The first CD release from Mirror, the AQ-favorite duo of Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann (nope, no Jim O'Rourke or Andreas Martin on this album) whose previous recordings had been all been vinyl only releases! As was hinted in their last album "Die Spiegelmanufaktur," Mirror express themselves on "Solaris" less through the quest for the drone supreme of unidentifiable tonal fluctuations and more through the delicate interplay of slowly evolving improvisations sounding not unlike recent AMM swimming in the murk of drainage-ditch reverberation. Similarly, the instrumentation has shifted more towards the free-improv territory, centered around prepared piano and clarinet with plenty of drone processing. Neither instrument come across as being typically employed, as the woodwind emits breathy rushes of sound at times and at others haunted bleats resonating like Tibetan thigh-bone horns that had been so prevalent with the early Current 93 and Lustmord recordings. Slightly more conventional in its use, the prepared piano comes across as delicate plucks of the piano's strings and muffled clusters of notes hovering throughout the spatial plane. Nicely done.
RealAudio clip: "Solaris (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Solaris (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "Solaris (excerpt 3)"

MIRROR Still Valley (Die Stadt) cd 24.00
Earlier this year, Christoph Heeman and Andrew Chalk parted ways, effectively ending the steady stream of objet d'arts / impressionist soundscapes the two produced as Mirror. Still Valley is one of the final Mirror documents, which found Heeman and Chalk working with occasional member Jim O'Rourke. It was orginally released on vinyl earlier in 2005, but like all of the Mirror LPs, Still Valley quickly went out of print and is probably fetching very high prices on eBay. Now that it has received a proper CD reissue, Still Valley features a lengthy bonus track to make it well worth the investment for those who got the LP to also get the CD. In comparing Still Valley to recent post-Mirror output by Andrew Chalk, it appears that Still Valley is more closely aligned to his aesthetic than of those by either Heeman or O'Rourke. As on his breathtaking Sumac collaboration with Jonathan Coleclough and the flawless The River That Flows Into The Sand, Chalk's whispered minimalism exhibits the ability to stop time; and Mirror does just that in this aural mirage of tonefloat shimmer, delicate whistlings, and reverse-engineered drones. Limited to 1000 copies, which may translate to this sticking around for a little bit longer; but that does not change the fact that Still Valley is absolutely gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Still Valley 1"
MPEG Stream: "Still Valley 2"

MIRROR Still Valley (Die Stadt) lp 27.00
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Except in unabashedly biased reviews from this store, Christoph Heeman continues to get the bulk of the credit for the successes of Mirror; but again, we must reiterate that Mirror is a collaboration with Andrew Chalk. His sustained bowing drones have previously been heard in his work with Jonathan Coleclough on Sumac, some of the more tranquil compositions by Organum, and a few hard-to-find solo albums; and his aesthetic of a whispered minimalism that has the ability to stop time is front and center on Still Valley, even though occasional Mirror-man Jim O'Rourke contributes to this LP only release. There's actually very little to talk about, as backwards masked drones (from what may be long-stringed instruments, bowed cymbals, or even just guitars) linger along the horizon like a mirage, flickering with a formless consistency. Absolutely gorgeous.

MIRROR Viking Burial for a French Car (Plinkity Plonk) cd 19.98
It may seem like a curious title for Mirror, who are best known for simple if anthropomorphic allusions in their titles rather than something more fitting for the Icelandic absurdists Stilluppsteypa; yet one cannot forget that Mirror's Christoph Heemann began his musical career in the Nurse With Wound obsessed ensemble Hirsche Nicht Aufs Sofa, which translates as Moose Without A Sofa. That is not to say that Viking Burial for a French Car recalls the surrealistic meandering of HNAS, rather it sounds much like all of the other Mirror recordings -- tranquil, somber, and hypnotic dronescapes that hover like a wintery fog. With the inclusion of a few Scotsmen (David Keenan, Alex Neilson, and Gavin Laird) alongside Andrew Chalk and Heemann, the Mirror sound is altered a little bit. At first, Mirror unveils a sonorous tone of what could be a thousand car horns bleating into a canyon. This undulating mass of sound gradually gives way a post-AMM / Organum clamour of drum kit improv tumbling and textural growling, before dissolving back to the introductory funereal timbers that drift onward to oblivion.
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 01"
MPEG Stream: "Excerpt 02"

MIRROR Visiting Star (Three Poplars) lp 39.00
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During the last year, Mirror has quietly released 6 albums - several of them incredibly limited art editions, wrapped in etchings, hand drawings, or monoprints. "Visiting Star" is one of those art editions (hence the price) with a lengthy strip of delicate paper hand patinaed with coppers, blues, and silvers and then wrapped around a standard black album cover. The color choice is one that matches the overall tonal quality that Mirror has been mastering during their brief but incredibly prolific career. Once simply the duo of AQ-favorite Andrew Chalk and recent Nurse With Wound collaborator Christoph Heemann, Mirror has recently expanded its membership to include Andreas Martin (who worked with Heemann in the '80s dadaist collage ensemble H.N.A.S.). While the first document of the new Mirror lineup faltered a bit, Mirror has returned to form with 'Visiting Star' -- mostly by recognizing that what Mirror does best is allow for Chalk's aesthetic of reflective metallic tones to float through space with all of their sublime glory intact. Here, Mirror's working process reveals itself a bit more, as eBowed guitars drift lazily alongside gently bowed gongs and bells. Absolute beauty.

MIRRORS Hands In My Pockets (Overground) cd 15.98
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Rare tracks from this band of punk rock new wave misfits. Active for about three years in the about-to-be-obscenely-fertile Cleveland punk rock scene, the Mirrors formed in 1972 and were broken up by 1975, just as Cleveland was poised to unleash a barrage of snotty punky new wave mayhem on an unsuspecting public in the form of the Dead Boys, Rocket From The Tombs, The Electric Eels, the Pagans, Pere Ubu and more!
Think early punk rock mixed with a little Velvet Underground. Thirteen unreleased tracks and two exclusive tracks!
RealAudio clip: "Cheap and Vulgar"
RealAudio clip: "Muckraker"

MIRZA Anadromous (Darla) cd 14.98

MIRZA Iron Compass Flux (Darla) cd 11.98
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MIRZA Last Clouds (Ba Da Bing!) cd 13.98
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It's strange how often instead of a proper album, a band's posthumous live/odd-n-ends release often ends up being my favorite (sez Allan), like A Minor Forest's "So, Were They In Some Sort of Fight", This Heat's "Made Available", Devo's "Hardcore Devo Vol. 1", half the stuff Faust ever released, and now Mirza's "Last Clouds" cd.
"Last Clouds" collects a bunch of early and unreleased material from the now-defunct San Francisco space-rock / drone-core ensemble Mirza (which was Glenn Donaldson, Brian Lucas, Steven R. Smith, and Mark Williams). Specifically, the disc includes the four tracks from Mirza's debut 12" inch (orginally released by Autopia in 1996) and seven previously unreleased tracks recorded from 1995-98 -- live improvisations from shows and rehearsals we think.
Glenn (who remains very active in the post-Mirza outfit Thuja, as well as other projects like The Knit Separates, Blithe Sons, Skygreen Leopards, etc.) describes these recordings as sounding like early Skullflower. And it's true that there's a psychedelic density of sound shared by both Mirza and Skullflower, but Mirza was prone to meander where Skullflower's structured moments were much more brutal and unrelenting than these sensitive boys could ever be -- although some of these tracks come mighty close! On these disc, Mirza plays around with various drugged-out psych-rock riffs that get incrementally heavier throughout each track, rhythmically emulating the best Krautrock grooves that doubtless occupied a lot of their listening. Inspired stuff, in all senses. This material will definitely come as a bit of a surprise to those who know Mirza from their more "ambient, bliss-out" styled stuff on the Darla label! Also fans of Thuja's gorgeous drone-jams, or Steven R. Smith's lovely solo releases, may be astonished at how noisy, loud, heavy and rocked-out some of this is, but we're sure they can dig it. More proof that Mirza and their whole extended musical family were/are something for us here in San Francisco to be quite proud of, in the realm of worldclass psychedelic drone improv rock. And look out for the brilliant new Thuja album "Ghost Plants" coming in January on the Emperor Jones label for further confirmation of this fact.
RealAudio clip: "West"
RealAudio clip: "Acts/Volcano of Birds"
RealAudio clip: "Nostalgia"

MISERY INDEX Dissent (Anarchos) cd 8.98
Get ready extreme metal fans -- the most punk rock band in death metal return again with perhaps their single best recording yet. I've been an enormous fan of these Baltimore-area death/grinders since most of the band's members initially splintered off from Dying Fetus and its more narrow death-metal trappings. Misery Index retains the intensity of death metal, but further incorporate more focused song structures from a hardcore punk perspective. Don't be misled -- they're still a million times more technical than most, but they have the most anarchist-friendly smash-the-state lyrical agenda this side of a Crass compilation. Misery Index stand alone in their ability to achieve the rare combination of totally brutal heaviness contained within the context of distinct, catchy memorable and unique songs -- a sadly rare anomaly in metal these days. And the drumming! The Herculean drum abilities of the inimitable Kevin Talley have been mentioned in these pages before, but it bares repeating, if only because Talley has been absent from the last couple recording sessions. Well, he's back again, and just a few seconds of his playing will send prospective metal drummers back to the rehearsal studio, tail between legs and head bowed in shame. Overall, an intensely powerful five-song ep and a very welcome return to form. Stay with the band Kevin!
MPEG Stream: "Dissent II. Exception to the Ruled"
MPEG Stream: "Dissent III. The Imperial Ambition"

MISERY INDEX Retaliate (Nuclear Blast) cd 12.98
Speaking in terms of aural metaphor, prepare to be brutally beaten about the head and neck by this new release from the no-holds-barred death/grind outfit known as Misery Index, a band that AQ's metalheads already were fans of -- thanks to their split cd with Commit Suicide -- and having been formed by 3 ex-members of the mighty Dying Fetus, including master metal drummer Kevin Talley, who was replaced by a drum student of his before this record!). 'Retaliate' storms along with super political (A customer of ours called them the Crass of death metal), seriously pissed-off, society-slagging, strength through hate music-making. With their shouted vocals, brutal guitars, and grindgod drumming, Misery Index can't be taken lightly.
MPEG Stream: "Retaliate"

MISERY INDEX / BATHTUB SHITTER split (Emetic) 7" 4.98
What the world needs now is... more BATHTUB SHITTER!!! And what the world needs, our shit obsessed grindmetal pals from the East are here to provide. Two brand new blasts of grinding freaked out, spazzy and shrieking grind metal, occupying some impossible musical space between Brutal Truth, the Boredoms, Cannibal Corpse, skate thrash and eighties hardcore. So weird and so fucking awesome!!! We kind of want to figure out a way to fly the guys in Bathtub Shitter to the US so they could be the AQ house band, blasting and bleating dissonant serenades to our customers 24 hours a day. Okay, maybe not, but we still love 'em!
The 'Shitter are teamed up here with Maryland's own grindmetal destruction crew Misery Index, who unleash one track of downtuned grinding nirvana as well as a blown out blast that is a Napalm Death cover.
Comes packaged in a super swank gatefold 7" sleeve, with BS's side a haunting airbrushed watercolor batwinged, horn headed child demon flipping us the ubiquitous peace sign hand gesture (although his hands sport huge demonic talons!). Cool!

MISERY SIGNALS Of Malice and The Magnum Heart (Ferret) cd 14.98

MISFITS Static Age (Caroline) cd 16.98
These spooky punks earliest recordings, for the first time available outside of the coffin box set!

MISS BLISS Warm Sounds From A Cold Town (Meltdown) cd 10.98
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MISS HIGH HEEL Split Wax Cylinder, Inscribed: The Beast 661 (B Sides) cd 13.98
Noisy "no-wave" shenanigans from the "combined talents" of Tom Smith (To Live & Shave in L.A.), Marlon Magas (Lake of Dracula, Couch), AZ (Scissor Girls), Mike Green (Peach of Immortality), and all of the Flying Luttenbachers. Can you stand it?

MISS KITTIN I Com (EMI) cd 16.98
If there was one thing you could count on with Miss Kittin, it was that ample dose of Teutonic ironic levity in her electro-sass tracks. Well, sad to report, but her new album is sorely lacking in that department. Not to say that she doesn't try, but she just doesn't hit the saucy silly heights of her First Album with The Hacker. You might hear a few of her fans crying out "No fun!" but hang on a sec, the party isn't over! On the brighter side of things, she flexes her muscles a-plenty on the underlying tracks. As a result, I Com might initially disappoint in that it doesn't ooze as much obvious MK personality, however further listens prove that it does shine on other levels. Many tracks reveal an expanded scope ripe for repeat listens (and thus fortunately dodging dancefloor novelty status or worse yet that of a fading electroclasher). A highlight? The punchy brash girl-chant track "Meet Sue Be She"! Sure to win over plenty of Le Tigre fans.
MPEG Stream: "Soundtrack Of Now"
MPEG Stream: "Meet Sue Be She"

MISS KITTIN Professional Distortion (Novamute) cd single 9.98
Hey hot stuff! If her most recent I Com album wasn't enough Miss Kittin for ya, here's some more! It's kinda like a lil' Miss Kittin goodie bag. The party favors include four audio tracks and one video. The listenin' is plenty fun, especially the track called "Otto Von Schirach's Gods Magnetic Cereal Pamper". On the other hand, the watchin' is a lo-fi letdown. Be additionally forewarned: this disc crashed out computer repeatedly -- which is why there's no audio clips from it on our site.

MISS KITTIN & THE HACKER First Album (International Deejay Gigolo) cd 16.98
Joining the international ranks of the new wave / electro resurgence are Germany's Miss Kittin & The Hacker, alongside Fischerspooner, and Adult. The foul-mouthed Miss Kittin fronts this duo as the Teutonic ice diva complete with an omnisexual appetite driven by fame and cocaine -- or at least that's who she wants us to believe she is. At the opposite end of the spectrum is The Hacker, a wallflower technician who crafts a relentless electro minimalism of jet black grooves somewhere between the disco production of Giorgio Moroder and the jackbooted synthesis of Nitzer Ebb. Much like the grand jokes told in utter sincerity by Alec Empire and his Atari Teenage Riot, Miss Kittin & The Hacker succeed in realizing irony by constructing a larger-than-life facade that plays with the stereotypes of new wave - as a sterile and quite often vacuously stupid form of music easily dated from the '80s. Yes, Miss Kittin & The Hacker do make sterile, vacuous, and utterly stupid music; but they present it as an overblown hyperbole of theatrical nonchalance and slinky panache. There's no way you can take Miss Kittin seriously with her desires to be Frank Sinatra as she coldly beckons for her lover to "Suck my dick. Lick my ass. In limousines we have sex with my famous friends. So nice." So dumb and so good.
RealAudio clip: "Life On MTV"
RealAudio clip: "Frank Sinatra"
RealAudio clip: "Stripper"

MISS NELSON & BRUCE HAACK The Way-Out Record For Children (Dimension 5 / King) cd 26.00
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This is the fourth Dimension 5 record in which Bruce and Esther ask children to, rather than drop out, drop into the way out sounds within! While the artists' statement on the back of the original record expresses a philosophy of "love and reverse-psychedelics", vaguely implying an anti-drug stance, there is a very slim chance that if your child was listening to this in the late sixties they wouldn't be carrying the keys to the kingdom soon after. The Way-Out Record For Children is conceptually exemplary of its 1968 inception. Likewise, it is very much ahead of its time. Heads will dig the vibrantly colored tales of sun travels, rainbows and butterflies set to a sitar and synthesized drum mantra surfing the cosmos ("Mudra") as well as the close encounters with shape changing creatures from outer space ("The Saucer's Apprentice"). Prog fans, check out the lesson in odd time signatures ("Accents"). What we perceive as our sense of taste is miraculously transformed into sound ("Four Seasons"), as is our perception of physical motion ("Rubberbands"). If you're not ready to come home by the end of this record, maybe the looping, echoey refrain of "nothing to do" in the closing track will prompt you to take another trip far out! (See our recent review of Bruce Haack's The Electronic Record For Children for a more indepth discussion of Haack, D5, and these reissues).
MPEG Stream: "Mudra"
MPEG Stream: "Accents"
MPEG Stream: "Four Seasons"

MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Electrosox (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
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MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Soul Keeper (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
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MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Vinyl Hedz (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
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An excellent breakbeat LP for DJs needing good material to scratch, all compiled by one of our fave turntablists and Mission resident DJ Quest (Live Human) and DJ Too Fresh. Funny quotes about people 'scratching', awesome human beatbox stuff (some over the theme to the Pink Panther!), interesting and nonpredictable breakbeats. Recommended for DJs. Vinyl only, naturally.

MISSION OF BURMA A Gun To The Head (Rykodisc) cd 15.98
Hot on the heels of seminal post-punk band Mission Of Burma's triumphant return to the recorded realm ONoffON, comes this 'best of their Ace Of Hearts era' collection compiled by the band members themselves. If you're a little rusty on what that M.O.B. era was, please allow us to refresh your memory -- 1981's Signals, Calls & Marches, followed the next year by VS. and onward to The Horrible Truth About Burma in 1985. That's right, the good years! The sixteen tracks include two live recordings. Fans undoubtedly already have the aforementioned albums. Heck, their copies are probably worn thin, so they might find this appealing in a 'fave mixtape' sorta way. For the uninitiated, this is a great place to become acquainted with the greatness of M.O.B.
MPEG Stream: "Academy Fight Song"
MPEG Stream: "Peking Spring (Live version)"

MISSION OF BURMA Not A Photograph (MVD Visual) dvd 21.00
In the past couple months, we've gotten a pair of terrific dvds documenting two venerable bands' recent resurrections. They are 'Loud Quiet Loud: A Film About The Pixies' and this one 'Mission Of Burma: Not A Photograph'. It recounts the period leading up to and including the 2002 reunion of this immensely cerebral and creative seminal post-punk band from Boston. Includes early footage from the late '70s onwards. Powerful. Listen (and watch) and learn!

MISSION OF BURMA ONoffON (Matador) cd 14.98
Wow, has it really been over two decades since this band's last studio album? Yes, 'tis true! And it's been almost half a decade since their albums received their very welcome reissues, and two years since their reunion tour. Seminal, cerebral post-punks Mission Of Burma have returned to the recorded domain, putting many newer bands to shame and sounding as fresh and dynamic as when they themselves were in their youth. Much like the recent return of fellow veteran greats Killing Joke, fueled by much fierce, dissonant energy, M.O.B. rise again to do battle after a lengthy absence. Fortunately they haven't done what many other reunited bands make the mistake of doing -- that is, attempt to modernize their sound or keep up with the young pups. Clearly none of that was needed. From the very first song on ONoffON, M.O.B. come tearing out of the gates, and only gets better as the album progresses. Heavy, churning and expressive, the guitars chop and sear, the bass rumbles and boils, the drums propel and punctuate with expert precision. Indeed, the last few songs are arguably the album's best -- also a bit reminiscent of the angular art-punk of NoMeansNo or Wire. Note: The vinyl version contains a bonus song, a cover of The Dils' "Class War"!
MPEG Stream: "Fever Moon"
MPEG Stream: "Absent Mind"

MISSION OF BURMA ONoffON (Matador) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow, has it really been over two decades since this band's last studio album? Yes, 'tis true! And it's been almost half a decade since their albums received their very welcome reissues, and two years since their reunion tour. Seminal, cerebral post-punks Mission Of Burma have returned to the recorded domain, putting many newer bands to shame and sounding as fresh and dynamic as when they themselves were in their youth. Much like the recent return of fellow veteran greats Killing Joke, fueled by much fierce, dissonant energy, M.O.B. rise again to do battle after a lengthy absence. Fortunately they haven't done what many other reunited bands make the mistake of doing -- that is, attempt to modernize their sound or keep up with the young pups. Clearly none of that was needed. From the very first song on ONoffON, M.O.B. come tearing out of the gates -- heavy, churning and expressive -- and only gets better as the album progresses. Indeed, the last few songs are arguably the album's best. Note: The vinyl version contains a bonus song, a cover of The Dils' "Class War"!
MPEG Stream: "Fever Moon"
MPEG Stream: "Absent Mind"

MISSION OF BURMA Signals, Calls, and Marches (Ryko) cd 12.98
Remastered, reissued, and with bonuses.

MISSION OF BURMA The Horrible Truth About Burma (Ryko) cd 15.98
Remastered, reissued, and with bonuses.

MISSION OF BURMA The Obliterati (Matador) cd 13.98
Once post-punk legends Mission Of Burma got their engines all revved back up and running at full throttle (with 2004's potent studio album ONoffON) after about two decades of silence, there was nothing that was gonna shut 'em down. These guys are determined to keep churning out their unmistakable kick ass rock. The Obliterati definitely keeps up the fevered propulsive energy of its predecessor and perhaps ups the ante even further -- The album reconfirms these Bostonians' vitality and once again lays many of their younger counterparts to waste. This is music with heft and wisdom, both lyrically and musically. Seldom is raging so articulate. Listen, learn and love 'em.
MPEG Stream: "Man In Decline"
MPEG Stream: "The Mute Speaks Out"

MISSION OF BURMA The Obliterati (Matador) lp 16.98
Once post-punk legends Mission Of Burma got their engines all revved back up and running at full throttle (with 2004's potent studio album ONoffON) after about two decades of silence, there was nothing that was gonna shut 'em down. These guys are determined to keep churning out their unmistakable kick ass rock. The Obliterati definitely keeps up the fevered propulsive energy of its predecessor and perhaps ups the ante even further -- The album reconfirms these Bostonians' vitality and once again lays many of their younger counterparts to waste. This is music with heft and wisdom, both lyrically and musically. Seldom is raging so articulate. Listen, learn and love 'em.
MPEG Stream: "Man In Decline"
MPEG Stream: "The Mute Speaks Out"

MISSION OF BURMA Vs. (Ryko) cd 15.98
Remastered, reissued, and with bonuses.

MISSISSIPPI SHEIKS Stop And Listen (Yazoo) cd 16.98
Guitarist Walter Vinson and Fiddler Lonnie Chatmon were the Mississippi Sheiks, probably one of the most popular and influential country blues acts out of Mississippi in the 1930's. They drew their influences from a variety of rural styles, forming their own unique sound. Vinson's "Sitting On Top Of The World" is one of the most widely copied country blues standards. Excellent.

MISSUS BEASTLY s/t (Garden Of Delights) cd 21.00

MIST AND MAST s/t (self released) cd 12.98
Former member of two beloved bands Half Film and The Red Thread, Mr. Jason Lakis has a new project now called Mist And Mast. Their self-titled debut album is filled with such warm and wonderful pop sounds we just had to hit 'play' again the second it was finished. Mist And Mast definitely seem more straightforward pop than The Red Thread who had some '70s classic soft rock leanings. Once again though, Lakis' songcraft is very pleasing to the ears and would probably hit the spot for folks who dig Pernice Brothers, Pinback and the like! Yum.
MPEG Stream: "Turn Into The Turn"
MPEG Stream: "Campfire Went Out"

MISTIGO VARGGOTH DARKESTRA Key To The Gates Of Apocalypses (The End) cd 12.98
One of our all-time favorite weird black metal releases, up there with Burzum's "Filosofem" and Potentiam's "Balsyn" (with whom it shares some similarities).
Yes, that's plural Apocalpyses, how evil is that?! And only one key to those gates...anyway, this disc is perhaps Allan and Andee's favorite new black metal find. A one-man side project of Russian (!) Emperor-clones Nokturnal Mortum. While that band was merely ok, this project absolutely rules. One track only, an over-seventy minute long 'song' that begins with dark ambient rumblings, encounters growling wolves, delves into Burzum-like fuzz-trance, all that before erupting into truly epic black metal riffing...an hour later you'll be hiding under your bed trembling with fear (or perhaps slaking your thirst with blood and howling at the moon) but the song still isn't over! A very impressive piece of work. Triumphant evil!"
Since I wrote that, pagan folk metallers Nokturnal Mortum (who are actually Ukrainian, really, not Russian -- a distinction important to them, I'm sure!) have released some newer albums that we really liked, notably their latest, "NeChrist", which many of you bought and presumably enjoyed. Anyone that applies to MUST get this disc too if you don't already have it. Likewise for fans of other avantgarde black metal like Caacrinolas or the aforementioned Burzum and Potentiam... Let me (Allan) quote myself again, this time from the pages of, uh, Cool Beans magazine: "...this disc is amazing! Not just for the novelty of a seventy-minute 'song' that incorporates both ambient forest-rumble (I swear, you'll smell the breath of the wolf) and straight-up black metal riffarama, but for the sheer quality of the music alone! ... Perfect for staring out of a train window into a darkened, rainy and unknown landscape of a foreign land. Obviously, recommended!

MISTRESS II: The Chronovisor (Rage Of Achilles) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Drunken, Dirty, Dave, Misery, and Migg are back, stumbling out of the gutter and into the studio to record a follow-up to 2002's self-titled Mistress debut. England's answer to Cavity or Eyehategod (but way more wasted), Mistress make rock n' roll with much feedback and bad feelings. Some of these guys are involved with the amazing Anaal Nathrakh, and what that band is to polished black metal symphonics these guys are to good times stoner rock. In other words, they're not so much about cracking open a brew and smoking pot as they are about smoking crack and, uh, brooding. Well maybe that's not true, they're all smiles in the band photos. Musically, though, this is some mean-ass, serious stuff. On II: The Chronovisor, Mistress tear through eight tracks of ugly, raw, punkish sludge-metal with titles like "Rat Piss" and "Wanker Colony" before wrapping things up with an epic 13-minute ninth track, entitled "38". Their debut did the same thing, culminating in a lengthy doom opus as well. Clearly these boys don't want to mess with a winning formula!
MPEG Stream: "Hell Is Other People"
MPEG Stream: "No Memory"

MISTRESS s/t (Rage Of Achilles) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hailing from Birmingham, England, the five-piece sludgemetal annihilation squad called Mistress is miserable, drunken, and dirty, quite literally -- just take a look at this list of the band members names and what they're credited with --
Misery: notes
Drunken: noise
Dirty: bulldozerbassing
Dave Cunt: voice
Migg: total destruction of wooden coffins (and cymbals)
That tells you something right there, doesn't it? On their self-titled debut cd, this filthy fivesome crank out wretched distortion/fuzz laden doomgrind in the vein of Eyehategod and Iron Monkey, with some effective black metal touches here and there (keyboards used sparingly), as on the track "Rebecca". Which makes sense, since singer Dave is a member of awesome British black metal act Anaal Nathrakh that we love so much! Of course Mistress isn't nearly as intense as Anaal (what is?), and actually as doom sludge stuff goes they're also not on par with the likes of Khanate or Corrupted, quite. But they're still pretty good. They get all rock n' roll (kinda in the style of Floridian sludge-meisters Cavity) with midtempo Sabbath-dragged-through-the-mud cuts like "Goatboy" and "Necronaut". But Mistress are at their best when they take that brand of doominess to its utter extreme on the closing, twelve minute long psychedelic noise/feedback filled drone metal epic "Lord Worm". Good stuff, that.
RealAudio clip: "Necronaut"
RealAudio clip: "Rebecca"