GROWING Color Wheel (Megablade) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It must be hard to find a sound, especially one that is based in drone and drift, and continue to constantly push the limits of that sound without drifting too far away from the elements which define your essence. Growing have managed to do just that, moving gracefully from drone drenched space rock to minimal rumble and whir, to wherever it is they are now, some musical netherworld, equal parts subtle shifting shimmer, grinding distorted dirge, and sparkling barely there ambience. No higher compliment can be paid than "how the hell do we describe these amazing sounds?!" And really, it seems that any cursory description could not possibly do justice to the amazing sonic world Growing have created.
On Color Wheel, the drift and rumble and shimmer of the past few releases is still present, but stretched out even further, in even stranger directions, some, on first listen sound almost 'wrong', like the almost cheesy panpipe sounds of "Cumulusless", but within seconds some internal logic reveals those sounds to be sort of kind of perfect, in their own skewed way, and then they begin to blur and become a gorgeously murky melodic drift. Other songs are stretched even more dramatically, songs and parts are peppered with strange production techniques and unusually distorted glitches, jagged edits and completely unlikely sequencing. The opening track "Fancy Period" begins as a cool ambient whir, high end melodies swirling and drfiting ever skyward, before the drone sort of buckles, and those high end meldoies become distinct peals, each fluttering weightless above a shuffling fuzzy stuttering rhythm, almost like a skipping Sunroof! cd. Track two, "Friendly Confines", is actually the most 'unfriendly' of the bunch, the core of the track a huge swath of downtuned distorted sludge guitar, tinkling melodies buried in the murk and mire, a shifting wall of rooooaaaarrr, like a slow motion mudslide, before the melodies are freed, the dirge drifts off and all that is left is a series of very Fripp / Eno guitar figures, repetetive and sweetly hypnotic. The record's closing track "Green Pasture" mines similar territory, a blissy barely there drone, peppered with stacatto bursts of blown out vacuum cleaner metal guitar, a super dynamic seesaw, between burbling dreaminess and massive SUNNO)))-like dirge. Quite possibley the coolest Growing track yet...
MPEG Stream: "Fancy Period"
MPEG Stream: "Green Pasture"
MPEG Stream: "Peace Offering"

GROWING Disconfirm / Horizon (The Social Registry) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two brief experimental soundscapes from these AQ faves. No space rock or krautrock or any kind of rock actually here, this is mostly ambient drift, and strange sonic experimentalism, and the end result manages to sound quite strange and quite strangely pretty.
The A side resembles an ambient noise version of The Smith's "How Soon Is Now?" with a stuttering churning reverbed guitar riff, looped into a hypnotic rhythm, slowly transforming into a machinelike landscape, while over the top tumble playful fluttery FX drenched melodies and streaks and swooshes of feedback and metallic hum. The flipside is a series of haunting little sonic events, muted rhythmic thumps, gurgling underwater melodies, little high end squiggles, all very textural and murky, like some tiny alien machine crawling its way slowly up through the depths...

GROWING Dry Drunk On Woman / Residual Effects Of Inertia II (Nail In The Coffin) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Low level drones drenched in feedback and synth tones from the Olympia, WA duo known as Growing. Like a lo-fi Popol Vuh or midrange Earth, but with a dreamier edge via ambiguous vocalizations.

GROWING Dry Drunk On Woman b/w Residual Effects of Inertia II (Nail In the Coffin / Mega Blade) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GROWING His Return (Megablade) cd 13.98
Growing may be a rock band, but they're the sort of rock band that seems to just set the music in motion, letting it blossom and build, only intervening when necessary, allowing bass and guitar and vocals to interact organically, creating dense soundscapes, equal parts shimmery space rock, reverb drenched slow core, and dark rumbling drone. Three lengthy tracks, almost thirty minutes of space-y drone-y bliss. The first track is made up of warm snarls of distorted guitar, woven into huge expanses of thick ambient swirl, beneath majestic swaths of keening melody and subtle shuffling rattlesnake percussion. A strangely otherworldly tribal space drone, almost folky at times, with the melodies sounding like some alien bagpipe, but always lush and dense and druggy. Track two, "Freedom Towards Death" is the shortest and most song-like, with dreamy deadpan vocals buried beneath a chaotic smear of multi-tracked guitars and layer after layer of throbbing sludge and space-y swoosh. Sounds a bit like a good old fashioned pop song dipped in some Hawkwind and sprinkled with some Sunroof! The final track is a massive fifteen minute epic of slow growing, pulsing guitars, so incredibly thick and dense it sort of resonates right through your ears, through your whole body and into your soul. The kind of song we wish would go on forever. Like floating in the clouds, or drifting underwater, or sinking slowly through a million mile thick slab of billowy guitars. The track ends (sadly) amazingly with the sound becoming more and more blown out and distorted, until the guitar starts to fall apart, becoming cracked and crumbly until it sort of sputters out in a brief flicker of static and crackle. WOW.
MPEG Stream: "In The Shadow Of The Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Freedom Towards Death"

GROWING His Return (Megablade) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl!
Growing may be a rock band, but they're the sort of rock band that seems to just set the music in motion, letting it blossom and build, only intervening when necessary, allowing bass and guitar and vocals to interact organically, creating dense soundscapes, equal parts shimmery space rock, reverb drenched slow core, and dark rumbling drone. Three lengthy tracks, almost thirty minutes of space-y drone-y bliss. The first track is made up of warm snarls of distorted guitar, woven into huge expanses of thick ambient swirl, beneath majestic swaths of keening melody and subtle shuffling rattlesnake percussion. A strangely otherworldly tribal space drone, almost folky at times, with the melodies sounding like some alien bagpipe, but always lush and dense and druggy. Track two, "Freedom Towards Death" is the shortest and most song-like, with dreamy deadpan vocals buried beneath a chaotic smear of multi-tracked guitars and layer after layer of throbbing sludge and space-y swoosh. Sounds a bit like a good old fashioned pop song dipped in some Hawkwind and sprinkled with some Sunroof! The final track is a massive fifteen minute epic of slow growing, pulsing guitars, so incredibly thick and dense it sort of resonates right through your ears, through your whole body and into your soul. The kind of song we wish would go on forever. Like floating in the clouds, or drifting underwater, or sinking slowly through a million mile thick slab of billowy guitars. The track ends (sadly) amazingly with the sound becoming more and more blown out and distorted, until the guitar starts to fall apart, becoming cracked and crumbly until it sort of sputters out in a brief flicker of static and crackle. WOW.
MPEG Stream: "In The Shadow Of The Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Freedom Towards Death"

GROWING Lateral (Social Registry) cd 9.98
Brooklyn-based ambient-drone duo Growing never fails to please the devoted. It could also easily be said that the duo has failed to truly diverge from their original starting point. Although, part of the charm of this sort of music is indulging in a process of creation that celebrates the difference and repetition within a given theme or concept; expanding or investigating a specific idea over a length of time. Thus, if you like Growing, you'll love this EP. All of the usual landmarks are here: a Nadja on opium meets some sort of Windy & Carl and Labradford hybrid, heavy filter manipulations, masked, aquatic tremolo and chorus leads, and full-on auto-pan attacks that completely embrace stereo dynamics. We've read that -- specifically within the ambient-drone scene -- Growing has been particularly reluctant to utilize computers, preferring to employ pedals and more organic looping techniques. Still, a quick listen to this release unearths enough digital-sounding distortion to make the listener wonder whether or not these two dronesters have finally caved in or not. Fans of long, drawn-out melodic landscapes or psychedelic explorations won't want to miss out on this one. Definitely recommended.
MPEG Stream: "First Contact"
MPEG Stream: "Lateral"

GROWING Lateral (Social Registry) lp 13.98
Brooklyn-based ambient-drone duo Growing never fails to please the devoted. It could also easily be said that the duo has failed to truly diverge from their original starting point. Although, part of the charm of this sort of music is indulging in a process of creation that celebrates the difference and repetition within a given theme or concept; expanding or investigating a specific idea over a length of time. Thus, if you like Growing, you'll love this EP. All of the usual landmarks are here: a Nadja on opium meets some sort of Windy & Carl and Labradford hybrid, heavy filter manipulations, masked, aquatic tremolo and chorus leads, and full-on auto-pan attacks that completely embrace stereo dynamics. We've read that -- specifically within the ambient-drone scene -- Growing has been particularly reluctant to utilize computers, preferring to employ pedals and more organic looping techniques. Still, a quick listen to this release unearths enough digital-sounding distortion to make the listener wonder whether or not these two dronesters have finally caved in or not. Fans of long, drawn-out melodic landscapes or psychedelic explorations won't want to miss out on this one. Definitely recommended.
MPEG Stream: "First Contact"
MPEG Stream: "Lateral"

GROWING Live (aRCHIVE) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We unfortunately only -just- found out about this record and were of course informed upon ordering it there were only a handful of copies left. Arghh. Well, we managed to get the last 25 copies, so be aware, that obviously, these will not last long!
A super limited live cd (NOT a cd-r as we previously believed) from AQ faves Growing, whose mix of glacial Earth like heaviness and delicate foresty drones we just can't get enough of. Recorded live in 2004 and mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, Phantomsmasher, etc.), this live disc is almost eighty minutes of alternating drift and pummel, sludgy slow motion dirges that crystallize into sparkling sonic fields of glisten and glimmer. Even when they're heavy, Growing manage to be delicate and ethereal. The first track is a massive twenty minute swirl of translucent shimmers and warm guitar glow. Fragile and hovering weightless in front of your speakers.
While Growing continually return to that near-ambient tranquility, the record is a series of meandering excursions into MASSIVE slow motion, melted-riff soundscapes, notes and chords unfurl impossibly slowly, as if someone had doubled the gravity and the sound waves were actually visible, drizzling lazily to the floor like molasses or honey, rich golden globs of thick distorted throb. Like Earth and Skullflower meshed into one buzzing blurry soundfield, all muted melody and crunchy riffage, a pulsing swirl of feedback and guitarral grrrr! The sound is phenomenal. Rich and lustrous and LOUD. You wouldn't be able to tell this was a live recording at all if it weren't for the smattering of applause between songs. Which also begs the question, what the hell is wrong with the world when a sound this amazing, and a set this gorgeous and crushingly heavy is being performed before what sounds to be about 20 people? Seriously, when the sound abruptly ends, you expect an overwhelming roar, thousands of voices and clapping hands and stomping feet, the only possible and proper reaction to the sounds that came before...
Packaged in a beautiful six panel folder, a kaleidoscope of leaves on a stark white background on the outside, a blur of overlapping semi-opaque spheres on the inside. Two different designs, both similar but slightly different.
And once again, VERY VERY LIMITED!!
MPEG Stream: "2"
MPEG Stream: "3"
MPEG Stream: "6"

GROWING The Sky's Run Into the Sea (Kranky) cd 14.98
Yay! The debut album from this Olympia trio may be one of the Kranky label's best in a long while. It's almost completely instrumental and melds gorgeous post-rock with ambient electronics and thick, satisfying drones. In the space of an hour, four lengthy tracks develop. Serene arpeggiated guitar notes give way to shimmering cymbals. Silence unfolds into emotive ambient atmospherics, which devolve into simply strummed acoustic guitar. Warbly electronics ebb and flow over the natural buzz and hum of insects on a warm summer night. Notes are held forever until they fade naturally, reminding us of Earth or SunnO))) only without the overt metal/doom element, just the heavy, weighty sombreness... and with Growing this gravity always evolves to an epic hope-imbued sort of flight toward a blissful horizon. The dynamics are carefully controlled yet effortless, and not at all "hard" to listen to. (In fact, one of the pieces uses the chord progression from "Norwegian Wood", odd choice but a welcome bit of familiarity amidst the drone.) A gorgeous, calming record. Highly recommended for fans of Windy & Carl, Earth, The Necks, Jonathan Coleclough, Sunroof, and even Boris. But even if you don't know those artists from Adam, you should give the soundclips a listen because the operative word here is "accessible" -- whether or not the genres Growing touches on are your cup of tea, they do it so well that this record may open your ears to stuff you've previously written off as too difficult. This is soooo pretty. Windy loves this. So does Allan.
MPEG Stream: "A Painting"
MPEG Stream: "Tepsije"

GROWING The Sky's Run Into the Sea (Kranky) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay! The debut album from this Olympia trio may be one of the Kranky label's best in a long while. It's almost completely instrumental and melds gorgeous post-rock with ambient electronics and thick, satisfying drones. In the space of an hour, four lengthy tracks develop. Serene arpeggiated guitar notes give way to shimmering cymbals. Silence unfolds into emotive ambient atmospherics, which devolve into simply strummed acoustic guitar. Warbly electronics ebb and flow over the natural buzz and hum of insects on a warm summer night. Notes are held forever until they fade naturally, reminding us of Earth or SunnO))) only without the overt metal/doom element, just the heavy, weighty sombreness... and with Growing this gravity always evolves to an epic hope-imbued sort of flight toward a blissful horizon. The dynamics are carefully controlled yet effortless, and not at all "hard" to listen to. (In fact, one of the pieces uses the chord progression from "Norwegian Wood", odd choice but a welcome bit of familiarity amidst the drone.) A gorgeous, calming record. Highly recommended for fans of Windy & Carl, Earth, The Necks, Jonathan Coleclough, Sunroof, and even Boris. But even if you don't know those artists from Adam, you should give the soundclips a listen because the operative word here is "accessible" -- whether or not the genres Growing touches on are your cup of tea, they do it so well that this record may open your ears to stuff you've previously written off as too difficult. This is soooo pretty. Windy loves this. So does Allan.
MPEG Stream: "A Painting"
MPEG Stream: "Tepsije"

GROWING The Soul Of The Rainbow And the Harmony Of Light (Kranky) cd 14.98
Kranky's heaviest, Growing, return with their second album of sheer instrumental drone-bliss. This new Growing floats out on the same calm ocean as the debut, containing another four lengthy tracks of post-rock ambience that range from shimmery and gorgeous minimalist throb to dense buzzing drones that would make Burzum proud. Now a two-piece of guitars and bass (and we're pretty sure some cymbals are heard here too) revelling in electricity and feedback with delicate sensitivity, Growing's The Soul Of The Rainbow And the Harmony Of Light reminds us tremendously of Fripp and Eno's 1973 classic No Pussyfooting. But heavier -- it's like Fripp and Eno meet Earth. Or Tony Conrad playing with a stripped-down Kinski. Something part metal, part new age, wholly neither. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Anaheim II"
MPEG Stream: "Epochal Reminiscence"

GROWING The Soul Of The Rainbow And the Harmony Of Light (Kranky) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on (pricey, double, gatefold, limited!) vinyl!! We've got just a few...
Kranky's heaviest, Growing, return with their second album of sheer instrumental drone-bliss. This new Growing floats out on the same calm ocean as the debut, containing another four lengthy tracks of post-rock ambience that range from shimmery and gorgeous minimalist throb to dense buzzing drones that would make Burzum proud. Now a two-piece of guitars and bass (and we're pretty sure some cymbals are heard here too) revelling in electricity and feedback with delicate sensitivity, Growing's The Soul Of The Rainbow And the Harmony Of Light reminds us tremendously of Fripp and Eno's 1973 classic No Pussyfooting. But heavier -- it's like Fripp and Eno meet Earth. Or Tony Conrad playing with a stripped-down Kinski. Something part metal, part new age, wholly neither. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Anaheim II"
MPEG Stream: "Epochal Reminiscence"

GROWING Vision Swim (Troubleman Unlimited) cd 13.98
Growing were definitely an interesting band, right from the start, but back then they were trawling a lot of the same musical ground as loads of other bands, a blissed out blend of post rock, epic dramatic soundscapery and glitchy electronics, all blended into a seamless and dreamy whole. And even then, Growing definitely stood out, but it would be hard to have imagined them getting this strange sounding. And equally difficult to imagine them cultivating a sound this bizarre, while managing to make it just as dreamy and droney and gorgeous as ever. 
From the opening track, a simple repeated riff, a super processed effects soaked guitar part, repeated over and over, a strange subtle progression, backed up by a super simple bass drum pulse, and streaked with bits of backwards guitars and whirling shimmer, it's obvious that Growing are no longer content to just rock out and drift off, they are looking for weird sounds and figuring out how to make those weird sounds sound beautiful. 
The second track, 15 minutes plus, is thick with grinding low end guitars, chopped into staccato pulses, laced with almost techno sounding Nintendo melodies, and loads of hiss and ambient flutter. That's only the first few minutes, there are long stretches of fuzzy reverbed guitar, but even those parts are dotted with bursts of glitched electronic bbzzzzzt. Near the end, thick swaths of buzzing guitar pile up into gently swaying Teenage Filmstars-esque walls of sound. The next track, another long one, eschews all the effects, at  least the obvious ones, and instead lets an ocean of guitars swirl and shimmer, tangle and untangle, flip backwards and then forwards, a million melodies pulling apart and coming back together in different shapes, pretty, but definitely a lot to take in sonically. 
The last two tracks are brief, "Emseepee" is a churning pulsing damaged krautrock drone, with lots of electronic buzz, gnarled bits of synth and lots of damaged glitch, all over a relentless, almost new wave sounding Goblin bassline. Finally, the record winds down with "Lightfoot" a Tim Hecker-ish soundscape, of gently pulsing fuzz, indistinct melodies, fragments of songs allowed to drift on a constantly shifting sonic sea, before suddenly pulling apart into a dizzying squall of sound shards, hiccuping and stuttering and throbbing and eventually crumbling into what sounds like a skipping broken cd player. Whoa. 
Not nearly as soothing as past efforts, but that no longer seems to be what they're going for. The sounds are alien and difficult, the arrangements confusing and convoluted, but Growing manage to reign these problematic sounds into shapes that are both fascinating and strangely soothing. 
MPEG Stream: "On Anon"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Drive"

GROWING Vision Swim (Troubleman Unlimited) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Growing were definitely an interesting band, right from the start, but back then they were trawling a lot of the same musical ground as loads of other bands, a blissed out blend of post rock, epic dramatic soundscapery and glitchy electronics, all blended into a seamless and dreamy whole. And even then, Growing definitely stood out, but it would be hard to have imagined them getting this strange sounding. And equally difficult to imagine them cultivating a sound this bizarre, while managing to make it just as dreamy and droney and gorgeous as ever. 
From the opening track, a simple repeated riff, a super processed effects soaked guitar part, repeated over and over, a strange subtle progression, backed up by a super simple bass drum pulse, and streaked with bits of backwards guitars and whirling shimmer, it's obvious that Growing are no longer content to just rock out and drift off, they are looking for weird sounds and figuring out how to make those weird sounds sound beautiful. 
The second track, 15 minutes plus, is thick with grinding low end guitars, chopped into staccato pulses, laced with almost techno sounding Nintendo melodies, and loads of hiss and ambient flutter. That's only the first few minutes, there are long stretches of fuzzy reverbed guitar, but even those parts are dotted with bursts of glitched electronic bbzzzzzt. Near the end, thick swaths of buzzing guitar pile up into gently swaying Teenage Filmstars-esque walls of sound. The next track, another long one, eschews all the effects, at  least the obvious ones, and instead lets an ocean of guitars swirl and shimmer, tangle and untangle, flip backwards and then forwards, a million melodies pulling apart and coming back together in different shapes, pretty, but definitely a lot to take in sonically. 
The last two tracks are brief, "Emseepee" is a churning pulsing damaged krautrock drone, with lots of electronic buzz, gnarled bits of synth and lots of damaged glitch, all over a relentless, almost new wave sounding Goblin bassline. Finally, the record winds down with "Lightfoot" a Tim Hecker-ish soundscape, of gently pulsing fuzz, indistinct melodies, fragments of songs allowed to drift on a constantly shifting sonic sea, before suddenly pulling apart into a dizzying squall of sound shards, hiccuping and stuttering and throbbing and eventually crumbling into what sounds like a skipping broken cd player. Woah. 
Not nearly as soothing as past efforts, but that no longer seems to be what they're going for. The sounds are alien and difficult, the arrangements confusing and convoluted, but Growing manage to reign these problematic sounds into shapes that are both fascinating and strangely soothing.
The vinyl comes packaged in an amazing super elaborate diecut sleeve!
MPEG Stream: "On Anon"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Drive"

GROWING / MARK EVAN BURDEN split (Zum) cd ep 8.98
Split ep between Olympia, WA trio Growing and former Get Hustle member Mark Evan Burden with each contributing a 16 minute track. Growing's track "Firmament" begins as a bubbling analog synth warble, progressing to ever more dark and ominous waters, but stripped of the guitar and bass parts that made their full length works remind us of SUNNO))) or Earth. Burden's piece, "10724/02", is a striking contrast. His electronics accompanied piano improvisation ranges between the maniacal pounding minimalism of Charlemagne Palestine and the atmospheric soundscapes of Harold Budd (sans the nuage tendancies). Quite nice!
MPEG Stream: GROWING "Firmament"
MPEG Stream: MARK EVAN BURDEN "10/24/02"

GROWING / MARK EVAN BURDEN split (This Generation) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! A split ep between Olympia, WA trio Growing and former Get Hustle member Mark Evan Burden with each contributing a 16 minute track. Growing's track "Firmament" begins as a bubbling analog synth warble, progressing to ever more dark and ominous waters, but stripped of the guitar and bass parts that made their full length works remind us of SUNNO))) or Earth. Burden's piece, "10724/02", is a striking contrast. His electronics accompanied piano improvisation ranges between the maniacal pounding minimalism of Charlemagne Palestine and the atmospheric soundscapes of Harold Budd (sans the nuage tendancies). Quite nice!
MPEG Stream: GROWING "Firmament"
MPEG Stream: MARK EVAN BURDEN "10/24/02"

GRUBBS, DAVID A Guess At The Riddle (Drag City) cd 14.98
Have to admit, we approached this album with more than a little apprehension. We heard that Mr. Grubbs was switching gears, and it appears that at least for this album, David Grubbs has hung up his experimental jacket and donned his pop cardigan! Well, the first few songs won me over with their sunny jangly guitars and wistful vocals. If you dig Archer Prewitt, Robyn Hitchcock and older Sea & Cake (as I do) you might be charmed by some of this album. Aaah, what do we mean by "some of this album"? Well, by the seventh song "You'll Never Tame Me" something goes awry. Sorta like Grubbs the beat poet. Yikes. Fortunately things do get back on track for the songs that follow, but late in the album, it seems Grubbs can't resist sneakin' back into his avant-rock pocket for the end of "Hurricane Season" bringing it to a close with wailing layers of horns or strings or... well, we're not quite sure what's making the din. Then it proceeds into the final track called "Coda (Breathing)", a haunting soundscape. Instead of it being "A Guess At The Riddle", this is a puzzling jumble.
MPEG Stream: "A Cold Apple"
MPEG Stream: "Hurricane Season"

GRUBBS, DAVID Act Five, Scene One (Blue Chopsticks) cd 14.98
Oh my, I can't tell you how good this record is! I really can't believe how inventive that David Grubbs guy is! Have you seen those little computers that are the size of a notebook? Did you know they call those computers "laptops!" Did you know that you can take one of those so called "laptops" and plug an acoustic guitar into it, and it'll make all sorts of funny sounds? Nobody's done that before! I am so impressed! Did you know that with a "laptop" you can make your guitar talk just like Peter Frampton? Wow. That is so cool! Never in the history of the world has an album not only been perfectly executed as an aesthetic advancement of technology, but also has managed to solve all of the world's conflicts, end world hunger, and provide each person who listens to it with everlasting existential transcendence!
Sarcasm aside, Chunklet said it best: "The Bruce Hornsby of the avant-garde."
RealAudio clip: "Act Five, Scene One Track One"

GRUBBS, DAVID An Optimist Notes the Dusk (Drag City) cd 14.98
Whoops, when we first hit 'play' we almost mistook this new David Grubbs cd for Codeine. Ultra slooow, ultra stark and ultra emotive. By the third song however Grubbs' kicks it up a few notches into jangly emo pop territory (think: Versus or Weakerthans). Very wistful and contemplative. And by the sixth and final track "The Not So Distant", he's set us adrift on an almost twelve minute long minimal guitar drone and percussion soundscape. Yes, he's a man of many musical hats and he keeps a number of them (mostly those of earthy muted hues) in constant rotation on An Optimist Notes the Dusk.
MPEG Stream: "Gethsemani Night"
MPEG Stream: "Holy Fool Music"

GRUBBS, DAVID An Optimist Notes the Dusk (Drag City) lp 15.98
Whoops, when we first hit 'play' we almost mistook this new David Grubbs cd for Codeine. Ultra slooow, ultra stark and ultra emotive. By the third song however Grubbs' kicks it up a few notches into jangly emo pop territory (think: Versus or Weakerthans). Very wistful and contemplative. And by the sixth and final track "The Not So Distant", he's set us adrift on an almost twelve minute long minimal guitar drone and percussion soundscape. Yes, he's a man of many musical hats and he keeps a number of them (mostly those of earthy muted hues) in constant rotation on An Optimist Notes the Dusk.
MPEG Stream: "Gethsemani Night"
MPEG Stream: "Holy Fool Music"

GRUBBS, DAVID Banana, Cabbage, Potato... (Table Of The Elements) cd 15.98
Three solo instrumental recordings by Gastr del Sol's David Grubbs. Piano and guitar, beautiful.

GRUBBS, DAVID Rickets & Scurvy (Drag City) cd 13.98
Maybe David Grubbs thinks that if he can release enough solo albums record stores will be forced to give him his very own bin card, thus increasing his credibility, thereby generating album sales. It's sort of the indie rock version of Casablanca records when they took to manufacturing 500,000 copies of initial record pressings so they could say they were "gold". I guess it works sometimes. If you tell someone that an album is a best seller they just might buy it. Likewise, I suppose if Mr Grubbs can get an extensive enough back catalog he can drag his ass out of the Bastro / Gastr Del Sol bins and acquire some street cred as a solo artist. If O'Rourke can do it, why can't he? And he almost gets it. Almost. At first 'Rickets & Scurvy' sounds like an attempt at emulating the Red House Painters, but what's that? It sounds like David is grasping at straws to find a melody. Maybe he's doing his best at producing obtuse melodic passages in an effort to come off as the intellectual post 20th century songwriter. I can almost see him in a coffee shop with a soul patch and horn rimmed glasses playing to quietly nodding fans. No, he'll have to cut the pretentious crap from his act before we can move him out of our Gastr Del Sol section. Rickets and scurvy are things to be avoided, so eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, get outside as much as possible and avoid David Grubbs. Although, to be fair (us be fair to David Grubbs? it might be too late now) we should mention that fans of Gastr's "Camofleur" or "Upgrade" might want to give this a chance despite our criticism, and as well, Matmos-spotters should note the presence of those San Francisco electronica loons on several tracks here.
RealAudio clip: "Transom"

GRUBBS, DAVID Rickets & Scurvy (Drag City) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Maybe David Grubbs thinks that if he can release enough solo albums record stores will be forced to give him his very own bin card, thus increasing his credibility, thereby generating album sales. It's sort of the indie rock version of Casablanca records when they took to manufacturing 500,000 copies of initial record pressings so they could say they were "gold". I guess it works sometimes. If you tell someone that an album is a best seller they just might buy it. Likewise, I suppose if Mr Grubbs can get an extensive enough back catalog he can drag his ass out of the Bastro / Gastr Del Sol bins and acquire some street cred as a solo artist. If O'Rourke can do it, why can't he? And he almost gets it. Almost. At first 'Rickets & Scurvy' sounds like an attempt at emulating the Red House Painters, but what's that? It sounds like David is grasping at straws to find a melody. Maybe he's doing his best at producing obtuse melodic passages in an effort to come off as the intellectual post 20th century songwriter. I can almost see him in a coffee shop with a soul patch and horn rimmed glasses playing to quietly nodding fans. No, he'll have to cut the pretentious crap from his act before we can move him out of our Gastr Del Sol section. Rickets and scurvy are things to be avoided, so eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, get outside as much as possible and avoid David Grubbs. Although, to be fair (us be fair to David Grubbs? it might be too late now) we should mention that fans of Gastr's "Camofleur" or "Upgrade" might want to give this a chance despite our criticism, and as well, Matmos-spotters should note the presence of those San Francisco electronica loons on several tracks here.

GRUBBS, DAVID The Coxcomb (Rectangle) lp 12.98
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Out of the thicket, Gastr del Sol's Grubbs makes another beautiful record. Side one is much like Banana, Cabbage, Potato, Lettuce with vocals. Sort of a play acted out to music: in fact, it's an adaption of Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel. Side two is a drone piece like a tame version of Jim O'Rourke influenced by Tony Conrad. Guests include Noel Akchote, Stephen Prina, and more. Purdy.

GRUBBS, DAVID The Coxcomb (Rectangle) picture disc lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Out of the thicket, Gastr del Sol's Grubbs makes another beautiful record. Side one is much like Banana, Cabbage, Potato, Lettuce with vocals. Sort of a play acted out to music: in fact, it's an adaption of Stephen Crane's The Blue Hotel. Side two is a drone piece like a tame version of Jim O'Rourke influenced by Tony Conrad. Guests include Noel Akchote, Stephen Prina, and more. Purdy.

GRUBBS, DAVID The Coxcomb / Avocado Orange (Blue Chopsticks) cd 10.98
The Coxcomb was first released as a pretty 12" picture disc on the French Rectangle label (we have a copy or two left). It's a nice, simmering, seventeen minute adaptation of a short story by Stephen Crane, in musical form. Drag City has decided to release The Coxcomb stateside, and have backed it with a previously unreleased full-band version of the previously-solo Grubbs piece Onion Orange (called Avocado Orange in its new form). With guests Noel Akchote, John McEntire (Tortoise) etc.
RealAudio clip: "The Coxcomb"

GRUBBS, DAVID The Spectrum Between (Drag City) cd 13.98
This album starts off trying to sound like Souled American, as Grubbs attempts to replicate their warbled instrumentation within the confines of his own overbearing intellectualism... Of course, he fails, and miserably. The album then continues as a funky version of the Red House Painters. I can only hope that such an image can hint at just how bad this album is, but that's really what it sounds like. The first of Grubbs' many problems is that he forgot that country and folk music (especially John Fahey's purposefully avantgarde bluegrass) is often the result of hard living and hard drinking. Irony has never been a valid reason to make a country or folk album, and it shouldn't start with this one.

GRUBBS, DAVID The Thicket (Drag City) cd 12.98
Solo outing from half of Gastr Del Sol, recording Fahey-like ditties and avant acoustic noodlings with help from Tony Conrad and John McEntire.

GRUBBS, DAVID The Thicket (Drag City) lp 7.98
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Solo outing from half of Gastr Del Sol, recording Fahey-like ditties and avant acoustic noodlings with help from Tony Conrad and John McEntire.

GRUBBS, DAVID Two Soundtracks For Angela Bulloch (Semishigure) cd 17.98

GRUBBS, DAVID WITH MATS GUSTAFSSON Apertura (Blue Chopsticks) cd 13.98
Until the best albums Grubbs made get reissued (Bastro's Diablo Guapo and Sing the Troubled Beast), we'll settle for this uber-academic duet of phasing drones for harmonium and saxophone.

GRUDZIEN, PETER The Unicorn (Subliminal Sounds) 2lp 39.00
Newly reissued on deluxe vinyl, only one album can be called the first psychedelic OUT-country record, and if it's not Peter Grudzien's The Unicorn, we can think of no other album in the universe that would accurately fit that description (well, ok The Legendary Stardust Cowboy would come close, but that's a different animal entirely). For the emphasis on "out" here refers to all connotations of that term: far out, outsider and gay. Handling all the recording, arranging and playing of the instruments over a period of 14 years from 1960-1974 , The Unicorn is a strange and beautiful metaphysical concept record of love and salvation. Featuring a vast array of characters including white trash hillbilly tricks, blue-eyed queens, monkey people and of course unicorns, Grudzien's off-kilter twang is augmented by slide guitar, banjo and otherworldly tape loops of ghostly choirs, backwards effects and warm reverb. An odd and lovely record! Comes with bonus LP "The Garden of Love" containing unreleased material made from the fifties to the seventies, making this worth the steep import price.
MPEG Stream: "Queen Of All the Blue-Eyed"
MPEG Stream: "Return Of The Unicorn"

GRUESOMES, THE Gruesomology 1985-89 (Sundazed) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aaah, '60s garage rock will never die, shimmy-stomp revivalist bands will keep on resuscitating the sock hop each decade. Back in the '80s, Montreal, Quebec spawned some of the best trashy garage surf combos, and perhaps none more notable nor more cool than The Gruesomes. They sported some of the best uniform mushroomy, bowl-cut 'dos this side of the Ramones, and were graced with one of the best snotty voices around courtesy of frontman / personality Bobby Beaton. Well, you know what? They got back together a couple of years ago! Yup, fully fueled, engines revved and ready to roll with an album called Cave In! And now, perhaps to celebrate their return -- or just 'cause what with the current garage revival these guys deserve some props -- Sundazed has released a kick-ass retrospective compiling selections from Beaton and co's previous three obscure albums Tyrants Of Teen Trash, Gruesomania and Hey! plus an assortment of EPs, comp tracks and -- the staple of any self-respecting retro rock band -- some stellar cover versions, including a track originally performed by "The Way-Outs" in a Flintstones cartoon! Raw, fuzzed out electric guitars, a primal drum beat, a steady walking bassline, vocals snarled and shouted, and a heck of a lot of fun. Truly a garage rawk treasure.
MPEG Stream: "Way Down Below"

GRUPA 220 Slike (Radioactive) cd 17.98
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GUALBERTO A la Vida, al Dolor (Fonomusic) cd 23.00

GUAPO Black Oni (Ipecac) cd 17.98
You know how much we like instrumental underground UK prog masters Guapo here, right? Andee even put out one of their albums (2001's Great Sage, Equal Of Heaven) on his label tUMULt. Subsequently they released the massive Five Suns opus on Cuneiform. And now, their new release Black Oni is unleashed by Mike Patton's Ipecac label. And they've been going from strength to strength.
Like Japan's Ruins, the Guapo trio take a lot of inspiration from '70s prog, in particular the "zeuhl" stylings of the amazing French band Magma. But where the Ruins generally concentrate the Magma sound into a hectic hyper-blast, Guapo tend to stretch things out, spreading their prog-frenzy across (in this case) a forty-three minute, five part epic composition, not unlike the five part, forty-six minute title suite of Five Suns... that's their specialty it seems. Crazed drumming and complex bass lines coexist with spaced-out keyboards (including '70s prog stalwart the Mellotron), making Black Oni a combination of energetic prog mayhem and droning electronic darkness. For fans of Yeti, Tarantula Hawk, Circle and even The Necks... and of course anyone already into Guapo will love this new one. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "3"
MPEG Stream: "5"

GUAPO Black Oni (Hlava) lp 36.00
Now available on vinyl! Super deluxe import, gorgeous sleeve, in a weird black plastic wrapping and a black sticker. VERY LIMITED so act fast.
Here's our review of Black Oni when it first came out:
You know how much we like instrumental underground UK prog masters Guapo here, right? Andee even put out one of their albums (2001's Great Sage, Equal Of Heaven) on his label tUMULt. Subsequently they released the massive Five Suns opus on Cuneiform. And now, their new release Black Oni is unleashed by Mike Patton's Ipecac label. And they've been going from strength to strength.
Like Japan's Ruins, the Guapo trio take a lot of inspiration from '70s prog, in particular the "zeuhl" stylings of the amazing French band Magma. But where the Ruins generally concentrate the Magma sound into a hectic hyper-blast, Guapo tend to stretch things out, spreading their prog-frenzy across (in this case) a forty-three minute, five part epic composition, not unlike the five part, forty-six minute title suite of Five Suns... that's their specialty it seems. Crazed drumming and complex bass lines coexist with spaced-out keyboards (including '70s prog stalwart the Mellotron), making Black Oni a combination of energetic prog mayhem and droning electronic darkness. For fans of Yeti, Tarantula Hawk, Circle and even The Necks... and of course anyone already into Guapo will love this new one. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "3"
MPEG Stream: "5"

GUAPO Elixirs (Neurot) cd 14.98
Prog nutters? These guys are, definitely. And be prepared to go prog nuts yourself for this new release from AQ-faves Guapo. This British band is now on Neurosis' Neurot label, after releases for (among others) Mike Patton's Ipecac and our own Andee's tUMULt. We've been fans of 'em for a long time, obviously, and are in good company! This new one is everything we'd expect from Guapo: extended, mostly instrumental cinematic symphonics, dark and moody, played with the virtuosity and verve of their '70s prog rock ancestors. Heck, I (Allan) played a 15 minute track from this, "King Lindorm", on my prog / krautrock radio show last night, Klaus To The Edge (www.westaddradio.com/klaus), and it fit right in perfectly alongside the '70s likes of Cornucopia and Gnidrolog!! Droning strings. Eastern melodies. Bombastic battery. Elegant eeriness.
Yet at this point, Guapo have developed their own sound to a degree where you can't just tag them as a retro proposition. Creatively, they're bringing their old school prog rock inspirations into the 21st century, and have refined their approach to a point where they have as much in common with modern post rock soundscapers as they do with the eccentricities of hoary prog heroes Magma.
As always, the duo of Daniel O'Sullivan (Fender Rhodes, piano, bass, guitars, harmonium, modular synthesizers, autoharp, voice, electronics -- whew!) and David J. Smith (drumkit, percussion) are their own veritable prog rock orchestra, though they do have occasional help from guests, including vocalist Jarboe from the Swans on one song. That'd be "The Selenotrope", one of two tracks originally from Guapo's tour-only Twisted Stems cdep, both of which are included here, and which we previously described as sounding something like a horror movie soundtracks scored by The Necks. (To Guapo fans who happen to already have Twisted Stems, we say no worries, you'll still be getting well over 40 minutes of brand new music on Elixirs too.)
All this proggy goodness comes wrapped up in a snazzy black & white artwork, packaged in a jewelcase with cardstock slipcase.
MPEG Stream: "Jewelled Turtle"
MPEG Stream: "Arthur, Elise, and Frances"

GUAPO Five Suns (Cuneiform) cd 14.98
After a stunning release on our own Andee's tUMULt label a few years back, the UK's finest noise-skree-experimental rock duo, Guapo return as a trio (!) and with a brand new album that...[review pauses here while Andee wildly air drums along with Guapo's one man octopoidal percussionist Dave Smith, although I suppose it's not technically air drumming if Andee's in fact hitting Allan in lieu of actual drums, but we digress...]
While their last full length Great Sage, Equal Of Heaven was a frenetic Ruins-esque, bass and drums (and sometimes sax) workout, Five Suns takes the obvious instrumental prowess and prog potential present on the first record, and turns Guapo into the only modern prog combo that could possibly threaten Christian Vander's Magma throne. Hyperbole? Hardly. The centerpiece of Five Suns is the five part, 46 minute title track. So gorgeously grand, so compositionally daunting, so fucking good, words fail us. The addition of a full time keyboardist, as well as the introduction of guitars, has helped Guapo's skeletal prog jams flower into expansive instrumental epics. The record begins with a huge swell, a swirling squall of wild drumming and thick instrumental chaos, that glitches out as if the stereo is malfunctioning, before setting you down gently, ready to embark on a daunting but inspiring musical journey. Droning ambience and repetitive hypnotic rhythms give way to ultra complex, ultra precise riffery. Melodies are subtle but infectious, slowling unfolding over the course of ten, sometimes twenty minutes. Minor key thrum underpins careening hyper complex arrangements, tense and intense, hypnotic and just breathtaking in its scope. The Ruins is still a definite reference, but all sort of other influences inform Guapo's unique take on prog, the cyclical hypno-rock of Circle (and beyond that the rhythmic propulsive psych/drone of classic Krautrock), the blissed out skree of Skullflower and Sunroof! as well as post rock, free folk, metal and all sorts of other disparate sounds. All woven smoothly and uniquely into a cohesive whole. A fifty minute track, even in the best hands, can veer into overindulgence and pointless jammery, but every second of Five Suns is perfectly placed, and perfectly played -- but without losing its organic, free feel. The two extra tracks are separated from the vast "Five Suns" by a minute long track of silence to clear your aural palate, and prepare you for two shorter bursts of rhythmic, hypnotic, droning modern prog. Originally the Five Suns album was going to be just that, the 46 minute title track, and we were a little disappointed to learn that extra 'short' tracks were being added to make the record more, ahem, radio friendly. But now listening to it as a whole, it seems like it couldn't have been any other way. The two final tracks let us slowly unwind from the dizzying sonic journey that came before. This record is fucking massive. If there was any sort of justice in the world, Guapo would be spoken of in the hushed tones reserved for bands like Magma or King Crimson. As far as we're concerned, starting right now, they will be.
MPEG Stream: "Five Suns Pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "Five Suns Pt. 2"
MPEG Stream: "Five Suns Pt. 3"

GUAPO Great Sage, Equal Of Heaven (tUMULt /Pandemonium) cd 13.98
Wow! UK noise-skree-experimental rock duo Guapo really take their prog-rock obessions to the limit on this new album, a joint release between France's Pandemonium label (home to AQ-faves Hint as well) and our own Andee's tUMULt label. Guapo have always littered their heavy hardcore avant-pummel with prog-rock references, specifically of the "zeuhl" variety -- they even had a 7" single entitled "Guapo vs. Magma". And their previous release was a live improv collaboration with Japanese beyond-prog madmen the Ruins. Now, with "Great Sage...", Guapo have made an intense, over-the-top all-instrumental prog masterpiece for the 21st century. From the truly bizarre cover and interior paintings to the mindboggling and completely fucked song structures to the sax blowouts of ex-Honkie Caroline Krabel to the lengthy DRUM SOLO that pops up in "Zero For Conduct" to the album-closing 16 minute epic "El Topo" whose heavosity rivals that of AQ-faves Tarantula Hawk, this disc is a must for all adventurous rock listeners ready for something that tops the progressive freakouts of the 1970s. Especially if you like the Ruins (their heavier, less spastic stuff especially) or Ruins' Magmoid side-project Koenjihyyakei, you should check this out!!
RealAudio clip: "Five Cornered Square"
RealAudio clip: "Sakura"

GUAPO Hirohito (Pandemonium) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An amazing melange of noise, improv, electronics, prog, opera, samples, and turntables. A series of off kilter plunderphonic style noise operettas. Much less 'rock' and more weirdness than their other releases.

GUAPO Magma (Pandemonium) 7" 5.50
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A sort of backhanded tribute to french avant-prog collective Magma, this 7" finds Guapo headed in a more experimental direction; lots of sampling and turntables and noise mixed with their usual heaviosity. Cool hand made covers.

GUAPO Twisted Stems (Aurora Borealis) cd ep 11.98
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BACK IN STOCK! LAST COPIES! We'll still never be able to understand why the whole world isn't gaga for Guapo. Without a doubt one of the best, weirdest, and most inventive modern prog outfits there is. Everyone who digs Magma should definitely have some cd shelf space set aside for Guapo. Record after record of dense, tangled, catchy spacey, far out post rock prog brilliance. A record on Andee's tUMULt label, a release on Mike Patton's Ipecac label, tours with Circle and various other underground bigwigs. What's it gonna take? Well at least we know AQ customers are hip to Guapo's unique musical world, and with that in mind we managed to get a bunch of these super limited tour EPs, from Aurora Borealis, the same folks who put out the Grails 12", the Moss cd, the Fungal Hex double picture disc, the Crebain picture disc and the Moss / Wolfmangler split cd. And this Guapo cd ep somehow manages to fit just perfectly. Or imperfectly. Especially considering how weird this ep is, even by Guapo's already weird standards. Gone is pretty much any trace of musical bombast, which is what pretty much defines prog. Instead, this two part epic is a gorgeously slow and moody crawl, a slithering jazzy shimmer, with shuffling drum skitter and melancholy piano, slippery underwater bass that's murky and smoky and dreamily ominous. The second track picks up where the first one left off, gradually adding more elements, a distant wah guitar, some strange metallic percussion, creepy zither like melodies, the whole thing growing ever so slightly busier musically and getting creepier by the second, with the bass building into the driving force, a thick propulsive throb under a swirl of haunted house like jazz shuffle. Sounds a bit like what we might imagine a horror movie soundtrack by the Necks might sound like. Cool!
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "The Heliotrope"

GUAPO WITH GUESTS RUINS & THE STOCK EXCHANGE Death Seed (Freeland Records) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The UK's purveyors of rock/improv spazzy heaviness known as Guapo (a guitar/drums duo) team up with some like minded friends, including the famed Japanese progfreaks Ruins, for some crazed jamming/spontaneous composition. Half the record features drummer Tatsuya Yoshida and bassist Hisashi Sasaki of Ruins, while the second half incorporates the double bass of John Edwards and the alto saxophone of Caroline Kraabel (ex-Honkies), who we hear has now joined Guapo full-time. The results are, as expected, on the noisy side. While "Death Seed" doesn't equal any Guapo or Ruins record proper, it's certainly a worthy investment for fans of these bands or similar noisecore sounds. Italian import.

GUAPO/OHARU (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.

GUDIBRALLAN T-Doja (Silence) cd 17.98

GUDNADOTTIR, HILDUR Without Sinking (Touch) cd 16.98
Hildur Gudnadottir has such a way with the cello, able to create such utterly moving music that is filled with nuance and texture but that is also so deeply emotional. Hailing from Iceland, Gudnadottir's resume includes collaborations and partnerships with the likes of Pan Sonic, Mum, Sigur Ros, Angel, BJ Nilsen, etc. It's so nice to get to hear her take center stage, carefully crafting a sound that is about as moody and beautiful as music really gets. Perfect for those eternal gray days we are faced with so often in San Francisco, this is a record we put on when we just want to get lost in the fog and haze. There is very nice and subtle processing throughout the album as well, and here and there Gudnadottir tries her hand at the zither with stunning results. Johann Johansson adds organ on a few tracks as well, and fans of HIS best work as well as music by folks like Sylvain Chauveau, Philip Glass, Michael Cashmore, Joan Jeanrenaud and Colleen should for sure check this out. Truly elegant and intensely resonant. And thus highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Erupting Light"
MPEG Stream: "Overcast"
MPEG Stream: "Into Warmer Air"

GUERRERO, TOMMY Year Of The Monkey (Galaxia) cd ep 10.98
Tommy Guerrero broadens his already broad musical scope further on Year Of The Monkey. It's much more 'full band' sounding than we recall on past Guerrero releases. While it still drifts back into more late night languid clubland themes, it actually seemed quite reminiscent of a lot of Chicago style post-rock. Jason mentioned that he'd seen Guerrero perform with Tortoise a whiles back, and after hearing these five tracks, that doesn't seem at all out of character. In fact, it makes perfect sense. If you've a craving for a little something that's moody and subtly groovy, this might be the ticket. Equally suited for an evening of well-mixed cocktails, a latenight drive along the coastline or a night in with a thick deep read.
MPEG Stream: "Knives Fighting Guns"
MPEG Stream: "By Fist And Fury"

GUERRERO, TOMMY From The Soil To The Soul (Quannum) cd 14.98
Following this album's dainty piano intro we were hit with a big "Whoa!!" Heavier, groovier, funkier... that's Mr. Tommy Guerrero on From The Soil To The Soul. Sounds like he's taking a looser yet more aggressive approach. Y'know, just letting it flow. Diggin' in with some falsetto vocals and hotshit bass and Hammond lines. Whereas his previous albums have been lighter, more playful fare, this is harder hitting, very hard funk influenced a la Isaac Hayes or theme songs for gritty cop shows on tv back in the '70s like S.W.A.T. As usual he covers all the bases though, softening things up a bit for "Just Ain't Me", but then he hits us with the surprisingly hard rockin' almost rap metal of "Let Me In Let Me Out". Mr. Guerrero's getting down to some serious business.
MPEG Stream: "The Under Dog"
MPEG Stream: "Salve"