OHARU/GUAPO (Pandemonium) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
G: Proggy post rock.
O: Dazzling Killmen style precision math metal.

OHGR SunnyPsyOp (Spitfire) cd 16.98
Although the opening track "HiLO" seems to start things out in a similar fashion, as a whole SunnyPsyOp is definitely not as Numanesque and pop-oriented as Ohgr's previous album Welt. So if you were craving more of the same, unfortunately you'll just have to keep spinning the former 'cause this takes a somewhat different path. However, it's not completely off the map of Ohgr. If you're seeking more of a bridge between Skinny Puppy (the project that Ohgr is best know for, where he recorded as Nivek Ogre) and the abovementioned album - something somewhat more somber and abstract, more skin-crawling and mind-bending - this might be for you. Whereas Welt might've made you want to get up and move about, SunnyPsyOp might make you want to settle down into brood mode with a sturdy set of headphones. Shades of Nivek Ogre's Skinny Puppy roots surface here - perhaps as a result of the recent reunion of said group (that's right, we can expect a new album from Cevin Key, Ogre and co. very shortly! - listen... are those celebratory cheers coming up from the catacombs?). Of course it sounds great. Much like his SP bandmate, sonic craftsman / mad genius Key, Ogre's gained another well-suited, producer / multi-instrumentalist in Mark Walk (Pigface, Ruby). He skillfully fills your ears with rich synthesizer textures, sharply puncturing beats and intricate details and captures Ogre's deeply emotive and affected voice in fine form. With cover art by Camille Rose Garcia. Includes a video for the track "Majik".
MPEG Stream: "HiLO"
MPEG Stream: "Chemtale"

OHGR Welt (Spitfire) cd 16.98
Throughout the '80's/90's, Vancouver surrealists Skinny Puppy were a group ahead of their time. Laced with film dialogue samples (one of the first and best, if you ask me) and seething emotion, their highly visceral and visual music seemed to reverberate from the future much like that of Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, and Cabaret Voltaire before them. Much more experimental and sonically out-there than Ministry and bands they were eventually lumped in with, SP undeniably cut a deep and indelible mark in the pages of music history - in the years since, countless bands have shamelessly plundered their trunk of aural pleasures (Trent Reznor,etc) and macabre visuals (Marilyn Manson,etc). When they disbanded following the death of member Dwayne Goettel in 1995, multi-instrumentalist Cevin Key paused but a moment before immersing himself in a rash of other projects - Tear Garden and Download to name but two - and launching his own studio and label in LA. Frontman Nivek Ogre, on the other hand (with the exception of his 1998 collaborative effort with Martin Atkins entitled Rx), seemed to simply vanish into the shadows. until now. This album was completed and ready for release in the mid-late '90s under the moniker W.E.L.T., however the legal shackles of American Recordings kept it in limbo until Ogre's contract expired in 1999. Reworked, refreshed, and actually re-recorded, the album now finds its home on Spitfire Records, with the moniker changed to 'OHGR' and the album itself called 'WELT'. Heavy synth grooves and hooks reminiscent of early SP material ('Bites'), or even recent Gary Numan. with Ogre actually SINGING (as opposed to screeching under racks of effects), most of these songs are downright catchy synth-industro-pop(!) with a lot of current electronic music sounding more and more like old Skinny Puppy, this just might be Ogre's time. Surprisingly contemporary. Hey everyone (and especially all you kids that are going to the Ozz-fest this year): recommended listening!
RealAudio clip: "cracker"
RealAudio clip: "water"

OHKAMI NO JIKAN Mort Nuit (Fractal) cd 17.98
Dark feedback frenzies, primitive plodding drums crashing away, reverby Reynolsian vocals: this is some *intense* electric guitar heavy improv psych, a lot like Keiji Haino's Fushitsusha. It's the brainchild of Nanjo Asahito, who shares Haino's prediliction for wearing all-black clothing and sunglasses at all times (and for wrangling from his guitar loud clouds of post-Neil Young blackness). Never one of the most prolific of modern Japanese underground psychedelic bands, Nanjo's Ohkami No Jikan here present what's basically their debut album, though they've been around for quite some time, making only some rare compilation appearances previously. But, the members of the band, in particular leader Nanjo, keep busy in other projects -- in Nanjo's case, the legendary High Rise, Toho Sara, Musica Transonic, Mainliner, etc. Actually it doesn't say anywhere on here who's on this besides Nanjo, though unless he's overdubbing everthing he's got at least a drummer and another guitarist in the band. Three tracks (one of 'em over 30 minutes long) of timelost, slow-moving, heavy rock drone, brutally beautiful and moving. Of the three new Japanese releases on Fractal, this one *doesn't* necessarily feature Acid Mothers Temple's Kawabata Makoto (although maybe he is on here), but in comparison to the colorful krautrock worship of the AMT disc, or the hard driving proto-metal of the Musica Transonic one (which features both Nanjo and Kawabata), this is the deepest, most primal of the three.
RealAudio clip: "Israel"

OHM Live At The Crown (Last Visible Dog) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More spaced out free noise racket from the amazing Last Visible Dog. OHM are a New Zealand free rock outfit treading similar territory as the Dead C, but the sound is more sparse and spread out. Sputtering drums and droning guitars, warm feedback and dreamy peals of high end squeal. Warble guitars and shuffly jazzy drums, played in the middle of a huge empty hall while sharp bolts of guitar hum and amp buzz are deflected by gentle strumming and whispery melodies and multiplied into occasional walls of bzzzzzbrrrrrghhhhh. This single 40 minute track basically documents the entire existence of the band OHM. Gorgeous and spare. Campbell Kneale (Mr. Birchville Cat Motel) guests. Features a hilarious cover spoof of the Who's maximum R+B logo!
RealAudio clip: "Live At The Crown"

OHNE 1 (Ohne) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Full on noise attack from this international "supergroup" of sorts. Featuring ex-members of To Live And Shave In LA, Fear Of God, Sudden Infant and Schimpfluch-Gruppe (who, along with Runzlestirn & Gurgelstock, collaborated with noise giant Masonna a while back on the "Arschloch-onna" disc on Japan Overseas), the group utilizes the human voice as the main source of sound, employing a multitude of electronic manipulations guaranteed to destroy eardrums as well as irritate the fuck out of your neighbors. Totally retarded and highly recommended to fans of the above or those needing a fix for what was once the consistent output of the dearly missed RRRecords of Massachussets. On the newly established Ohne label, a subsidiary of the acclaimed Viennese power electronics tastemakers Mego.
RealAudio clip: "17"

OHR MUSIC Friction Burns (Captain Trip) cd 17.98
Captain Trip presents Ohr's retro 60's cosmic grooves with faux mellotron samples, stoned thud rock basslines, ample wah-wah guitar phasing, and hypno-rock structures. If Circle wore paisleys.

OIL 10 In/Out (Noise Museum) cd 16.98
While Noise Museum has predominantly been a bleak isolationist/noise label, Oil 10 may seem to be an anomalie to their catalogue with the black lung rhythms chugging along like Pan Sonic's 'complex rhythm generator'... for fans of Autechre or Matmos.

OIL TASTERS s/t (Lexicon Devil) cd 16.98

OJM Under The Thunder (Go Down Records) cd 23.00
Italian desert-style stoner rock, produced by Michael Davis from the MC5!

OK GO Oh No (Capitol) cd 17.98

OKAY High Road (Absolutely Kosher) cd 14.98
Now thanks to Okay's two new albums, you can choose to take the High Road AND the Low Road... Haha! Ahem, this is the new project of Mr. Marty Anderson (also of Dilute). Both albums are filled with bright slightly eccentric folk pop songs a la Donovan, or more recently Destroyer's Dan Bejar, Devendra Banhart or Frog Eyes' Casey Mercer. Vocally this also sounds a lot like a younger sibling of Marianne Faithfull or Nico (i.e, the gravelly warble of a lifelong smoker). The backdrops to Anderson's off-kilter vocals are breezily swaying, ultra pretty arrangements. So nice and gentle! If we had to choose one to start with, it'd really be a hard choice to make -- they're pretty evenly matched -- but we'd probably go with the High Road 'cause it might just be our imagination, but it seems to be just a little bit more lush and fully realized (particularly the third and fourth songs "Have" and "Compass").
MPEG Stream: "Have"
MPEG Stream: "Compass"

OKAY Low Road (Absolutely Kosher) cd 14.98
Now thanks to Okay's two new albums, you can choose to take the High Road AND the Low Road... Haha! Ahem, this is the new project of Mr. Marty Anderson (also of Dilute). Both albums are filled with bright slightly eccentric folk pop songs a la Donovan, or more recently Destroyer's Dan Bejar, Devendra Banhart or Frog Eyes' Casey Mercer. Vocally this also sounds a lot like a younger sibling of Marianne Faithfull or Nico (i.e, the gravelly warble of a lifelong smoker). The backdrops to Anderson's off-kilter vocals are breezily swaying, ultra pretty arrangements. So nice and gentle! If we had to choose one to start with, it'd really be a hard choice to make -- they're pretty evenly matched -- but we'd probably go with the High Road 'cause it might just be our imagination, but it seems to be just a little bit more lush and fully realized (particularly the third and fourth songs "Have" and "Compass").
MPEG Stream: "Bloody"
MPEG Stream: "Devil"

OKKERVIL RIVER Black Sheep Boy (Jagjaguwar) cd 14.98
Hmmm, don't recall Okkervil River sounding quite like they do on a number of these new songs. Imagine an older Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) filling in as the frontman for slick alt-rock bands such as Counting Crows or Gin Blossoms. Maybe they're seeking a broader more mainstream audience? Dunno, just not sure it really works for them, at least not on Black Sheep Boy (fyi: the album is named after a Tim Hardin song which Okkervil River also chose to be the album's opening song, and a fine version it is!). Lead singer Will Sheff is known to be a empassioned, angstful vocalist, but the band's feverish performance on the more rockin' tunes still comes across a little forced. To boot, the mix seems off balance between the vocals and the too-loud bursts of electric guitar. You can get a sense of the dynamic that they were trying to capture, but again it's not quite 'there'. That said, the album's high point -- and also the point where things take a general shift for the better -- is the fifth song "Get Big" on which Sheff duets in beautiful world-weary fashion with Amy Annelle (of The Places). It's downright heartbreaking! After that the band mellows down and allows the melancholia to extinguish the rock flames in a flood of whiskey and tears. These slower, moodier numbers' arrangements are tastefully fleshed out with pump organ, mandolin, lap steel, wurlitzer, vibraphone, synthesizers, horns, strings, samples and field recordings. This is where Sheff (also the band's main songwriter) truly shines. Composing and performing songs of lush somber beauty are his forte. Indeed, since they insist on mixing their two very different personalities on each album, if you prefer one better that the other (as we do), it can make for a somewhat exasperatingly jarring listening experience. That said, the album's highlights are well worth the frustration.
MPEG Stream: "Get Big"
MPEG Stream: "So Come Back, I Am Waiting"

OKKERVIL RIVER Black Sheep Boy - Definitive Double-Disc Set) (Jagjaguwar) 2cd 14.98
Hmmmm, it might seem a bit strange to have a so-called "definitive" version of such a relatively young release, (heck, we weren't so sure of the original full length - see below) but after hearing this in its entirety, it doesn't seem odd at all. Y'see, Okkervil River's 2005 album was only one piece of their ambitious Black Sheep Boy concept puzzle. This double disc brings it all together -- the original album, the companion cdep Appendix, and the song "The Next Four Months" (previously available on their "For Real" single). Also included are videos for that song and an alternate version of "No Key, No Plan".
Here's what we said about the original 2005 version:
Hmmm, don't recall Okkervil River sounding quite like they do on a number of these new songs. Imagine an older Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes) filling in as the frontman for slick alt-rock bands such as Counting Crows or Gin Blossoms. Maybe they're seeking a broader more mainstream audience? Dunno, just not sure it really works for them, at least not on Black Sheep Boy (fyi: the album is named after a Tim Hardin song which Okkervil River also chose to be the album's opening song, and a fine version it is!). Lead singer Will Sheff is known to be a impassioned, angstful vocalist, but the band's feverish performance on the more rockin' tunes still comes across a little forced. To boot, the mix seems off balance between the vocals and the too-loud bursts of electric guitar. You can get a sense of the dynamic that they were trying to capture, but again it's not quite 'there'. That said, the album's high point -- and also the point where things take a general shift for the better -- is the fifth song "Get Big" on which Sheff duets in beautiful world-weary fashion with Amy Annelle (of The Places). It's downright heartbreaking! After that the band mellows down and allows the melancholia to extinguish the rock flames in a flood of whiskey and tears. These slower, moodier numbers' arrangements are tastefully fleshed out with pump organ, mandolin, lap steel, Wurlitzer, vibraphone, synthesizers, horns, strings, samples and field recordings. This is where Sheff (also the band's main songwriter) truly shines. Composing and performing songs of lush somber beauty are his forte. Indeed, since they insist on mixing their two very different personalities on each album, if you prefer one better that the other (as we do), it can make for a somewhat exasperatingly jarring listening experience. That said, the album's highlights are well worth the frustration.
MPEG Stream: "Get Big"
MPEG Stream: "So Come Back, I Am Waiting"

OKKERVIL RIVER Down the River of Golden Dreams (Jagjaguwar) cd 14.98
Hot on the heels of their split cd with the lovely Ms Julie Doiron, Okkervil River offer up their third full length. The title is Down The River Of Golden Dreams, but it just as well could be Down The Country Road To Downerville. This is the earthy music of despairing hearts and troubled minds. In-store play has drawn divergent vocal comparisons to Ray Davies and Jarvis Cocker, although it must be noted that neither of those two fine chanteurs would be tarnishing the tuning fork quite as much as Okkervil River do. I'm sure they're shooting for the I-can-barely contain-myself kind of expressiveness, but sometimes it drew winces. Still, when you're practically singing into the wrong end of a shotgun, who's gonna do multiple takes to get in key?
MPEG Stream: "It Ends With A Fall "
MPEG Stream: "Blanket And Crib"

OKKERVIL RIVER President's Dead (Jagjaguwar) 12" 9.98
It's perfectly understandable that those dear lads in Okkervil River would need to take a bit of a breather after their densely packed 2005 album Black Sheep Boy, but their silence didn't last too long. They hit the road for a spell and then swiftly released this limited edition vinyl 12" in the waning days of 2006. The title track might be familiar to some eagle-eared fans as it also appeared on an Australian tour only release, and has been performed live in concert by the band. The flipside is an equally dark, distressed song titled "The Room I'm Hiding In". Heartrending poetic twang.

OKKERVIL RIVER The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar) cd 14.98
Now that Mr. Bright Eyes is all grown up, can we still describe another band's music as sounding like "an older Conor Oberst"? Well, we are and they do. The swagger of Okkervil River's latest album is also very reminiscent of Pulp and U2. That said, we stress that although it is a little odd that this Austin, TX band really does sound quite a bit like a few of their contemporaries, their music is pretty darn great in its own right. Will Sheff and Co. make fine rock'n'twang, and on this their follow-up to their monumental Black Sheep Boy album they've fortunately stepped back from the precipice of the mainstream modern rock slickness. There are a few departures from their tried and true too. On songs such as "You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man" they churn up the late night glam rock ghost of T. Rex.
MPEG Stream: "Savannah Smiles"
MPEG Stream: "You Can't Hold The Hand Of A Rock And Roll Man"

OKLAND, NILS Bris (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
Norwegian fiddler on Rune G, nice stuff as always.

OKLAND, NILS Straum (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
Another nice addition to the Rune Grammofon label, the music of Nils Okland is reminiscent of the soundtrack efforts of Carter Burwell (Fargo, etc.) Playing a hardanger fiddle, violin and accompanied by harmonium, piano, organ, trumpet and double bass plus occasonal vocals the music of Nils Okland sounds almost like an abstracted and drawn out Appalachian string band with Eastern European prog leanings.

OKROS ENSEMBLE I Left My Sweet Homeland (Rounder Select) cd 14.98
The Okros Ensemble is a group (violins, double bass and viola) dedicated to the preservation of Transylvanian folk music. "I Left My Sweet Homeland" features three important guest musicians in the world of Transylvanian folk music. Most important is violinist Aladar Csiszar, one of the single greatest living repositories of Hungarian, Gypsy, and Romanian folk musics. Also featured on this recording are Hungarian cymbalom player Kalman Balogh and Agnes Herczku, an up and coming vocalist. Definitely a must have for fans of Taraf De Haidouks.
RealAudio clip: "Csiszar Aladar Notai"
RealAudio clip: "Cigany Csingeralasok"

OKURA, MASAHIKO / UTAH KAWASAKI / TETUZI AKIYAMA bject (Hibari Music) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

OL' DIRTY BASTARD The Definitive Story (Atlantic) cd 17.98

OLAN, COLIN s/t (Listen) cd ep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This little 3" cd, a wonderfully crackling, hissing soundscape simply documenting the sound of ice melting, makes for a neat companion to another recent 3" cd we recommended, Jean-Francois Laporte's "Mantra" (a 20-minute drone piece derived from the sound of ice cooling and/or Zamboni machinery at a skating rink, you'll recall). To examine, in microscopic detail, rather the reverse of that process, recordist Collin Olan (sorry, we don't know much about him other than that he's someone with an idea and a couple of microphones) froze his waterproofed contact mics in a 10" x 10" block of ice, and submerged it in water, allowing us to listen in as the ice block slowly thaws and melts for over 17 minutes. This unprocessed recording turns out to be quite active and varied, full of sizzling, fat-frying kinds of sounds (to our ears, not unlike the atmospheric VLF radiation recordings of Stephen McGreevy) punctuated by some quite loud popping noises, ending with a stretch of near silence when the ice is, presumably, almost entirely melted away. That Olan utilized two microphones adds a lot of sonic interest to the proceedings, with different goings-on in each stereo speaker. Turn it up, and the 10" x 10" block becomes an immense glacier or berg that the listener is entombed within -- imagine yourself an unlucky prehistoric Ice Man frozen for millenia until freed and revived by modern science, like in that Timothy Hutton movie from the '80s! Certainly a sucessful experiment (we've known others with the same idea who've tried this, only to ruin their mics to little result), and quite a "carbonated" -sounding treat for the ear, especially for fans of the recordings of John Duncan, Loren Chasse, Marc Behrens, Stephen McGreevy -- and also of course for all our customers who we know are already into ice-themed 3" cds!
RealAudio clip: "untitled"

OLAUSSON, JAKOB Moonlight Farm (De Stijl) cd 13.98
Meandering hazy four-track psych-folk here from a Swedish sugar-beet farmer (so we're told) by the name of Jakob Olausson, whose deep voice and acoustic guitar wooze wends through these gently-hewn tracks like a wannabe Kiss The Anus Of The Black Cat (that's a weird thing to say), but as though he's bringing his songs along to the farmer's market to offer 'em up honestly along with his equally earthy, dirt-covered root vegetables, which is to say, that this is nice and muddy sounding.
MPEG Stream: "What Will Tomorrow Bring"
MPEG Stream: "Silhouette V"

OLD Down With The Nails (Peaceville) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Black Jewel Throne"
MPEG Stream: "Blood Skull"

OLD 97'S Alive & Wired (New West) 2cd 24.00
Those Old 97s have always kicked butt live -- ever on the verge of losing control of their musical pickup truck careening down those rural roads, narrowly missin' a chicken, clippin' a roadside mailbox, topplin' some jugs o' moonshine along the way (not that they nor we are condoning drinkin'n'drivin'!). And here's a great document of the band in all their unbound Texan glory! A whopping thirty songs! A rambunctious country rock delight! For fans of Uncle Tupelo, Bottle Rockets, the country moments of Mekons, and maybe even ol' Lynyrd Skynyrd too.
MPEG Stream: "Melt Show"
MPEG Stream: "The New Kid"

OLD 97'S Blame it on Gravity (New West) cd 15.98

OLD 97'S Drag It Up (New West) cd 16.98
The Old 97's Too Far To Care was one of our favorite records ever. When that came out in 1997 there was a good chance that no matter when you came into the store, it would be blasting on the stereo. And why the hell not?! It was a perfect rollicking rambunctious blast of super hooky, super catchy No Depression pop. Every song on that record was a classic. But much to our horror, the band plunged into vapid MTV fodder before our very eyes. Putting out a handful of totally lame, faceless records, including an awful solo record from 97's frontman Rhett Miller. We kept waiting, and hoping, that they would bounce back and kick our asses again. Well, after years of waiting, they finally have. Pretty much. Drag It Up while not quite as good as Too Far To Care, is a vast improvement and a darn good record. Catchy and twangy, with wry lyrics and some wicked playing. We knew they had it in them. Our only complaints this time around are the recycled melodies, lots of these songs sound remarkable like old Old 97's tunes (which is maybe why suddenly they sound so good) and the weirdly muddy production. That said though, this is still a pretty darn good record, if only they hadn't set the bar so high.
MPEG Stream: "Won't Be Home"
MPEG Stream: "Moonlight"

OLD 97'S Early Tracks (Bloodshot) cd 12.98
For those of you, like some of us, that were slightly disappointed with the Old 97's last release, here's something to whet those partched lips. Containing four tracks from two long out of print from 1995 & 1996, plus four never before released tracks. More catchy than "Hitchhike To Rhome," and less polished than "Too Far To Care," this album is sure to please.

OLD 97'S Fight Songs (Elektra) cd 12.98
Long awaited record from the country rockers that brought us the much loved Too Far To Care (yes, a year is a long wait for a follow-up to that great record, believe you me!). Perhaps not as immediate as Too Far, but still delightful, Fight Songs again shows the Old 97's making some of the best twang pop around!!

OLD 97'S Hitchhike To Rhome (Big Iron) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Alt-country faves' first full-length, a sometimes hard-to-find release on an small indie label. Fans of their more recent albums should pick this up, as you'll be treated to some of the Old 97's best songs (including some re-recorded for later albums, along with others exclusive to this). If you saw them play on their last tour, a bunch of live faves are culled from this record, like "If My Heart Was A Car".

OLD 97'S Satellite Rides (Elektra) 2cd 17.98
With baited breath, er, ears, we cracked open the new Old 97's. Would it live up to the brilliance of "Too Far To Care", or follow in the mediocrity of "Fight Songs"? Sadly, the verdict falls to the latter. No amount of re-attempts to listen to this album brings our opinion any higher as well. It seems as if the boys have just lost the ability to write smart and catchy songs, country pop or no country pop. As a further disappointment, they've included a bonus cd with one unreleased studio track and 5 live tracks recorded at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley in 1999 which absolutely suck. This is pretty surprising considering how great Old 97's are as a live band. Sigh... Oh well, maybe next time?

OLD 97'S Too Far Too Care (Elektra) cd 15.98
When this came out in 1997 Andee and Byram played this at least three times a day. With hook laden, lyrically shrewd song-writing, the Old 97's are the only band of the "no depression" movement to capture the intensity of early Uncle Tupelo without losing the earnestness or twang. The first song alone, "Timebomb," will get stuck in your head forever. Plus, the final track on the album, a singularly kick-ass number, features a duet with Exene from X.

OLD 97'S Wreck Your Life (Bloodshot) cd 12.98

OLD BOMBS Audios (Soft Abuse) cd 13.98
A beautifully chaotic, spastic slab of plunderphonia from our pal Chris' Soft Abuse label. Old Bombs are one of those bands that all live in different cities and therefore compose and collaborate through the mail. An ideal working method for a music so inherently fractured and schizophrenic. Chopped and reassembled, reappropriated and reimagined, this is a complicated rhythmic sound collage that hints at IDM, abstract sound art, wacked out noise rock and all stops in between. Stuttery rhythms are constructed from old radio clips and ambient backdrops are woven from found sounds and bursts of instrumental chatter. Glitched out electronics collide with random instrument buzz and tape drop out while melodies deftly weave between the wildly careening sounds, trying desperately not to be noticed. Fucked up and awesome. Equal parts Wolf Eyes, People Like Us, Autechre, Merzbow, Lesser but somehow nothing like any of them, Old Bombs make a truly damaged and beautiful noise.
MPEG Stream: "Audio 1"
MPEG Stream: "Audia 1"

OLD DIRTY BASTARD The Trials And Tribulations Of Russell Jones (D3) cd 17.98
God, I love Ol' Dirty Bastard. Remember on that awards show, where he was so messed up he nearly walked into a fountain of flames? Or remember that other awards show where ODB ran on stage and started rambling incoherently about the Wu-Tang while some poor shlub was trying to thank their mother or father or God or something. And remember recently when ODB was wanted by the cops? Breaking and entering or assault or something. Well, while 'on the lam' (seriously) Ol' Dirty found time to record a brand new album that is only just now seeing the light of day (whereas ODB is not -- since he is still currently incarcerated). And it's pretty great. Everything we've come to expect, wacky falsetto choruses, soul singing back up singers, crazy production and ODB rapping all over it, all ridiculous rambling raps about sex, gangstas, money, and, well, sex. Lots of guests: Sunz Of Man, Mack 10, C-Murder, Too Short, E-40, and even Insane Clown Posse, who somehow manage to be kinda funny. Check it out!
RealAudio clip: "Caught Up"
RealAudio clip: "Dirty And Stinkin'"

OLD FOREST Into The Old Forest (Grimmlight) cd 14.98
One of Andee and Allan's favorite black metal records ever. So grim and buzzy, but so completely and utterly baffling and beautiful.

OLD FOREST Tales Of The Sussex Weald; Part 1: The Legend Of The Devil's Dyke (D.T.M. Productions) 3"cd-r 13.98
Back in stock!!! Last copies!!!
We never thought the day would come, but the return of Old Forest is nigh!!! The first release from these UK black metal anti-legends in 7 years! Their first record, Into The Old Forest is an all time aQ weirdo black metal fave. And their second unreleased record, None More Black, was meant to finally see the light of day via tUMULt, but instead, will be released by the original label later this year. And when the world hears that one, well, Old Forest just may rightfully reclaim their crown as masters of genius fucked up grimness for sure.
The real surprise though is the band surfacing from whatever dark hellish abyss they retreated to nearly a decade ago. With a new full length in the works, but also this three part ep collection, focusing on the myths and legends of the Sussex countryside from which these guys hail.
Sonically very little has changed. The sound is still murky and buzzy, the guitars thick and blurred, plenty of keyboards, pummeling drums. Lots of atmosphere, and haunting ambience, the vocals a demonic croak, the songs ranging from blasting and black, to creepy midtempo dirge. Haunting baritone monklike chants drift in and out, field recordings of crickets and birds, wind and rustling branches, the songs are packed with super memorable riffs, sing songy "woooo, ooooh" sort of call and response vocals, double kick blasting away, even during some of the more mellow bits, the songs lurch and pound woozily, peppered with incredibly catchy and unlikely little keyboard figures, the band occasionally launching into some furious blasting, but just as often slipping back into a fuzzy dirge or midtempo pound.
And everything, no matter how true or grim, is infused with the cracked black sensibilities of Old Forest, much like countrymen Meads Of Asphodel (who may have one times shared members with Old Forest), not taking it too seriously, but at the same time taking it all deathly seriously. Dark and buzzy, spaced out and psychedelic, heavy and black, but also slightly cracked and definitely warped. And this is only part oneŠ
LIMITED TO ONLY 222 COPIES. Each packaged in a mini 3" jewel case, with super striking red and black artwork, and liner notes and lyrics.
MPEG Stream: "Cocks Crowing At Poynings"
MPEG Stream: "Chanctonbury King"

OLD GRANDAD Hocus Corpus (Double Down) cd 12.98
Hocus Corpus really threw us for an unexpected loop! This sure ain't the Old Grandad of, errr, old! The most noticeable revamp of this veteran Bay Area metal band is in the vocals department. They're incorporating multiple styles that range from very Voivod-y to British goth to the good ol' death metally growl we expect from 'em. We think fans of this band will like this though.

OLD GRANDAD The Last Upper (MIA) cd 11.98

OLD HILLS Ragas (Common Oracles) cd-r 5.98
First release we've listed by Common Oracles, a one man electric guitar raga ensemble based in the US, but recorded in New Zealand. And the sound is definitely New Zealand, it's impossible not to hear some Dead C, although we hear just as much Skullflower and Sunroof, and maybe a little No Neck. Needless to say, this is some underground guitar nirvana. The opener is a 15 minute slow burn that begins all slippery and wiggly, fingers all over the fretboard, notes all tangled up in dense little squalls, but mysteriously imbued with plenty of melody, albeit, buried under swirls of psych guitar chaos, before eventually morphing into some upper register snake charmer Ur-drone. The second track is a total 180, with simple electronic rhythms and whooshing swooping analog synths, like a new wave lo-fi Tangerine Dream or something. Weird but pretty cool. But it's all about the nearly half hour final track, a detuned blues jam stretched into a mantra like rage, riffs, repeated over and over, the blues getting lost in thick streaks of guitar thrum, eventually smoothing out into a creeping glistening melodic shimmer, before exploding into a frenzied psychrock coda.
Packaged in hand made, painted and taped sleeves, constructed from old LP jackets, with Xeroxed artwork affixed to the front and a photocopied insert inside.
And of course, super limited...
MPEG Stream: "Raga For The Dislocation Of Valuable Objects Into A Black Hole"
MPEG Stream: "Jamaica 2028"

OLD MAN GLOOM Christmas (Tortuga) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Best band ever?!?! How could they not be? Crushing dirge metal! Check. Drones drones drones! Check. And MONKEYS!!!! Double check. Holy crap! That should be enough right there for chrissakes! Well then, how about "Features members of Isis, Cave In and Converge"! Anyway, all of us here at AQ have been waiting anxiously for the return of the Simian Alien Defense League aka Old Man Gloom and their totally unique blend of pulverising downtuned heaviosity and as well as their surprisingly deft hand at minimal dronology. Two great tastes for sure. Did we mention their obsession with monkeys?
Totally epic and intense Neurosis like metallic sludge, occasional thrashing post-punk rock fury, all imbued with weirdly emotional minor key melodies, and always returning to some sort of dark and rumbling, dreamy and shimmering dronescape, before bursting into another spate of crushing metallic fury. On Christmas, OMG expand their musical palette even further with gorgeously hypnotic steel string guitars, even more bizarre found sounds, and a much richer, and way more dense sonic arsenal for constructing the extensive ambient passages. The biggest surprise is the track "Volcano", an almost Interpol style sort of post punk new wave workout that is dotted with bursts of gut wrenching guitars and crushing drums! The final track is the epic 16 minute "Christmas Eve, Parts I, II and III", an extended and expanded version of a track that was on their recent Christmas Eve 3" cd, a massive meandering acoustic folk dirge-drone, with epic majestic sonic swells underpinning strummed steel string guitars and half mumbled / half sung vocals, while all sorts of random sonic debris and swirling melodies drift in and out of the haze and occasional waves of slow motion distortion creep over the proceedings like a black fog. So fucking intense, and so so so good.
MPEG Stream: "Gift"
MPEG Stream: "Something For The Mrs."
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping With Snakes"

OLD MAN GLOOM Christmas (Magic Bullet / Tortuga) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!
Best band ever?!?! How could they not be? Crushing dirge metal! Check. Drones drones drones! Check. And MONKEYS!!!! Double check. Holy crap! That should be enough right there for chrissakes! Well then, how about "Features members of Isis, Cave In and Converge"! Anyway, all of us here at AQ have been waiting anxiously for the return of the Simian Alien Defense League aka Old Man Gloom and their totally unique blend of pulverising downtuned heaviosity and as well as their surprisingly deft hand at minimal dronology. Two great tastes for sure. Did we mention their obsession with monkeys?
Totally epic and intense Neurosis like metallic sludge, occasional thrashing post-punk rock fury, all imbued with weirdly emotional minor key melodies, and always returning to some sort of dark and rumbling, dreamy and shimmering dronescape, before bursting into another spate of crushing metallic fury. On Christmas, OMG expand their musical palette even further with gorgeously hypnotic steel string guitars, even more bizarre found sounds, and a much richer, and way more dense sonic arsenal for constructing the extensive ambient passages. The biggest surprise is the track "Volcano", an almost Interpol style sort of post punk new wave workout that is dotted with bursts of gut wrenching guitars and crushing drums! The final track is the epic 16 minute "Christmas Eve, Parts I, II and III", an extended and expanded version of a track that was on their recent Christmas Eve 3" cd, a massive meandering acoustic folk dirge-drone, with epic majestic sonic swells underpinning strummed steel string guitars and half mumbled / half sung vocals, while all sorts of random sonic debris and swirling melodies drift in and out of the haze and occasional waves of slow motion distortion creep over the proceedings like a black fog. So fucking intense, and so so so good.
MPEG Stream: "Gift"
MPEG Stream: "Something For The Mrs."
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping With Snakes"

OLD MAN GLOOM Christmas Eve I and II + 6 (Tortuga) 3"cd 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Our favorite primate-obsessed doom metal drone outfit finally return! Old Man Gloom are back with a three inch ep to hold us over until their next epic. The centerpiece is the two part "Christmas Eve". The first part is all dreamy drone-y acoustic guitar strum and mournful electric guitar melodies over an ominous rumble that becomes a thick sheet of amps-gone-wild before dissolving into misty ambience again. Part two starts off just like part one but is quickly transformed into a hyper distorted, black hole dirge, with earth crushing downtuned guitars and chanted vocals sounding not unlike Alice In Chains slowed down and run through a bank of distortion pedals (which is definitely a good thing). The rest of the tracks are random bits of OMG ephemera: a thirty second blast of shrieking downtuned metallic grind, two tracks entitled Masami's Music Box I and II, presumably Masami Akita aka Merzbow contributing two thirty second bursts of uncharacteristically sweet melody and ambient hum, and a bonus track, an Mr. Big cover that is so stupid that it's funny (sort of), but has such an amazing ending (why hasn't anyone done this before, but more importantly, how the fuck did they do it) that it would be unfair for us to deprive you of discovering it for yourself. Just don't complain to us when you finally hear it. There is nothing wrong. It's just the OMG Simian Alien Defense League fucking with your mind! Resistance is futile!
MPEG Stream: "Christmas Eve Pt. II"
MPEG Stream: "Skull Of Geronimo"
MPEG Stream: "Masami's Music Box 1"

OLD MAN GLOOM Meditation in B (Tortuga) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Awesome. Simply awesome. Subtitled "A Sound Wave Replication Dissertation On Alien Simian Technology in 13 Chapters", Old Man Gloom's album is a schizophonic album with ultra-heavy post-hardcore/grinding metal in the tradition of Cave-In or Cavity interspersed with deep dronological investigations that could have easily been an Organum or Jonathan Coleclough record. Hydrahead couldn't make this fit with the rest of their catalogue, but released it on their Tortuga subsidiary. Drones, metal, and monkeys... everything that Andee could ask for in an album.

OLD MAN GLOOM Seminar II - The Holy Rites of Primitivism (Tortuga) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
With the "Use Your Illusion"-style simultaneous release of these two new discs on HydraHead sublabel Tortuga, Boston's Old Man Gloom have vaulted to the forefront of the so-called "noisecore" scene, at least in our estimation. We were already big fans of their under-hyped "Meditation in B" debut, and now we're confident that they'll be gaining the recognition they deserve. OMG have much in common with fellow avant-metalcore acts Neurosis, (old) Cave In, and Coalesce, but draw equally from the non-'core likes of Skullflower and Organum to achieve their dark, powerful, intelligent sound, which incorporates metal aggression, post-rock dynamics and dronological experimentation. And unlike with GnR's overblown excess, in the case of music like this, taking two discs for their "seminar" makes sense. "Seminar II"'s 16 tracks shift wonderfully from dronescape to hardcore pummel, at times even, like the last Coalesce disc, incorporating the sort of big riff that would even please stoner rockin' seventies revivalists. "Seminar III" is given over to just one long track, and also utterly lays waste to all. Their psychedelic, metallic attack captures the bludgeoning atmosphere of the best Godflesh recordings, while also recalling the esoteric likes of Gore, Engine Kid, and even our own Andee's new band Ticwar! Both discs are fucking essential (and are designed as a pair, with matching artwork, one matte, one glossy), so get both!
RealAudio clip: "Bells Dark Above Our Heads"
RealAudio clip: "Hot Salvation"
RealAudio clip: "Smoke Out Loud"

OLD MAN GLOOM Seminar III - Zozobra (Tortuga) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
With the "Use Your Illusion"-style simultaneous release of these two new discs on HydraHead sublabel Tortuga, Boston's Old Man Gloom have vaulted to the forefront of the so-called "noisecore" scene, at least in our estimation. We were already big fans of their under-hyped "Meditation in B" debut, and now we're confident that they'll be gaining the recognition they deserve. OMG have much in common with fellow avant-metalcore acts Neurosis, (old) Cave In, and Coalesce, but draw equally from the non-'core likes of Skullflower and Organum to achieve their dark, powerful, intelligent sound, which incorporates metal aggression, post-rock dynamics and dronological experimentation. And unlike with GnR's overblown excess, in the case of music like this, taking two discs for their "seminar" makes sense. "Seminar II"'s 16 tracks shift wonderfully from dronescape to hardcore pummel, at times even, like the last Coalesce disc, incorporating the sort of big riff that would even please stoner rockin' seventies revivalists. "Seminar III" is given over to just one long track, and also utterly lays waste to all. Their psychedelic, metallic attack captures the bludgeoning atmosphere of the best Godflesh recordings, while also recalling the esoteric likes of Gore, Engine Kid, and even our own Andee's new band Ticwar! Both discs are fucking essential (and are designed as a pair, with matching artwork, one matte, one glossy), so get both!

OLD MAN GLOOM Seminar III: Zozobra (Magic Bullet) lp 16.98
Now available on ultra deluxe vinyl with some spiffy new artwork but only for a little while cuz as always, these are SUPER LIMITED. Here's what we had to say about the cd:
With the "Use Your Illusion"-style simultaneous release of this here record (Seminar III) and it's critical sonic counterpart Seminar II, Boston's Old Man Gloom have vaulted to the forefront of the so-called "noisecore" scene, at least in our estimation. We were already big fans of their under-hyped "Meditation in B" debut, and now we're confident that they'll be gaining the recognition they deserve. OMG have much in common with fellow avant-metalcore acts Neurosis, (old) Cave In, and Coalesce, but draw equally from the non-'core likes of Skullflower and Organum to achieve their dark, powerful, intelligent sound, which incorporates metal aggression, post-rock dynamics and dronological experimentation. "Seminar III" is just one long track, and also utterly lays waste to all. Their psychedelic, metallic attack captures the bludgeoning atmosphere of the best Godflesh recordings, while also recalling the esoteric likes of Gore, Engine Kid, and even our own Andee's new band Ticwar! Fucking essential!

OLD MAN'S CHILD Revelation 666: The Curse of Damnation (Century Media) cd 15.98
Fourth album by evil-looking bald-headed Norwegian black metal dude Galder and his various creepy cohorts (no session musicians this time). Mid-tempo, keyboard-heavy melodic blackness in the standard vein. Pretty good, though, as all OMC releases have been, due to Galder's ability to come up with some excellent riffs.