FAD GADGET The Best Of..... (Mute) 2cd 19.98
With Adult., The Faint, and Fisherspooner actively reclaiming the dark theatricality of '80s electro-pop, an anthology of Fad Gadget's work couldn't have had better timing. That said, it is quite difficult to comfortably classify Fad Gadget amongst the new wave legions including OMD, Human League, and Depeche Mode, as Frank Tovey (who was pretty much the sole proprietor of Fad Gadget) applied his pop sensibility towards a carnivalesque absurdity and a well versed understanding of historical Surrealism (Hugo Ball in particular). Most exemplary of this confluence of ideas and movements is Fad Gadget's purposefully heavy-handed mockery of jaded punks on "Collapsing New People" which featured Einsturzende Neubauten adding their industrial clamor to the Soft Cell-like, anthemic electro-pop. Driving home the point of the import of this track, this compliation features *three* versions of that song, along with a bunch of singles and b-sides. Disc one is the greatest hits portion of the program with tracks like "Insecticide" as a brutal piece of SPK-ish electronica butted right up against the synthetic cabaret of "Fireside Favourite." The second disc has a bunch of rarities and extraneous remixes, but isn't terribly neccessary. Definitely worthwhile for disc one...
RealAudio clip: "Collapsing New People"
RealAudio clip: "Insecticide"
RealAudio clip: "Lady Shave"

FAHEY, JOHN & CUL DE SAC The Epiphany of Glenn Jones (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
Boston psych/folk/space rockers Cul de Sac covered a Fahey tune on their first album, Ecim, and here they finally get to collaborate with their hero, an ordeal (so say the liner notes) but with quite excellent results as expected.

FAINT, THE (blank-wave arcade) (Saddle Creek) cd 15.98
Check out these stylin' Brit-inflected synth-wavers from Nebraska! The Faint make music that's coolly sparse and punchy with synth sounds straight outta the '80s. And they throw in a well-placed hook or herky-jerk when they see fit. Makes me think of a young, pouty, punky Pulp. Quite good, yes.
RealAudio clip: "Sex Is Personal"

FAINT, THE Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek) cd 13.98
Holy Duran Duran! I Am VSS-bender! What if Ladytron were all guys and into Talk Talk instead of drawing 'inspiration' from Kraftwerk? Yes folks, it's kinda like that. Song-oriented new wave that sounds like the '80s actually happened! Vocoded vocals, disco beats, sequenced bass lines. The Faint are from Omaha, Nebraska, are quite good, and their suburban midwest influences should take them quite a ways -- that is, they're not too challenging for most AQ customers, but 'different' enough to be interesting for 'most' people... there's some very good music on 'Danse Macabre' (cheesy title though). Songs to make you dance. "Your Retro Career Melted" has a damn catchy chorus. Well worth checkin' out. Daft Punk/Orgy fans, if they only knew.
RealAudio clip: "Agenda Suicide"
RealAudio clip: "Your Retro Career Melted"

FAINT, THE Danse Macabre Remixes (Astralwerks) cd 16.98
Remixes can be pretty darn hit-or-miss. Among other things, they can breathe life into lackluster songs, or obscure the originals way far beyond any recognition, or fuse two sonic worlds into something new, magical and completely faithful to both artists. Not quite sure yet where these Danse Macabre remixes fall. On the first few listens, I was struck with the sense that most of the remix artists here seem to have very little affinity to the band - diluting the punch and catchiness of these Nebraskans' songs into just so-so, slick house and techno tracks. I mean, the original Danse Macabre songs are entirely capable of packing a dancefloor on their own, thank you very much! Participants includes Paul Oakenfold, Junior Sanchez, Ursula 1000, Tommie Sunshine, and Photek.

FAINT, THE Fasciinatiion (Blank.Wav) cd 12.98
Rad! If you're already a fan of this Omaha, NE band, you're gonna love this! And if you're an older (i.e., pre-Danse Macabre) fan you're probably going to love it even more 'cause it's juiced up with some earlier Faint elements (like some infectious hooks and saucy lyrics) that the band more or less ditched on their last album, Wet From Birth. That album had the band going in a more balls-out rock direction, and their live shows followed suit. Fasciination finds them getting back to the synthesizers and electronics - super textured, thick and gnarly! -- and perhaps increasingly so. They seem to have devoted much more attention to sculpting the sound design, but not at the expense of the aggressive energy and the songs themselves. Although their access to recording production resources has no doubt increased with their popularity, they haven't been blinded by the bright lights or technology. Nothing's too glossy and no one seems to be sitting on any laurels, they still sound like The Faint. As we've said before this band too often gets unjustly lumped in with the legions of dumbshit vacuous dance punk bands, but c'mon, it's usually just a new-wave prejudiced knee-jerk reaction to the synth sounds and arpeggiated basslines (something which the band no longer seems to rely on anyways!). If you dismissed them long ago, you just might want to give Fasciination a spin because while they're quite capable and willing to whip a dance party into a frenzy, The Faint have always had far more going on in both craft and intent. Released on their own label Blank.Wav.
MPEG Stream: "Get Seduced"
MPEG Stream: "Machine In The Ghost"

FAINT, THE Media (Saddle Creek) cd 14.98
Check out the early sounds of Nebraska's new wavers' The Faint. This is their first album which was released back in '98.

FAINT, THE Mote (Gold Standard Laboratories) 12" 9.98
Grab this up before it's gone! The Faint take on Sonic Youth's "Mote" for this one-off GSL release (their usual label is Saddle Creek) and they do so in supreme synth-rock style. They busted this track out for their encore at their recent show here in SF. These lanky Omaha new wavers are positively driving the kids wild. Triggering the dance mechanism in all. This vinyl-only release also includes two remixes by The Lack and Psyrendust as well as a track entitled "Dust" with fellow Nebraskans Bright Eyes.

FAINT, THE Wet From Birth (Saddle Creek) cd 13.98
The long-awaited, highly anticipated follow-up to the ultra rad Danse Macabre album has arrived, saddled with the burden of high expectations (it also comes with perhaps the worst title and cover art). Unfortunately and unjustly lumped in with the vapid electro-clash crowd (they were actually head and shoulders above the dance-punk fashionista pack -- showing some brain behind the style sheen), The Faint's new album has already been receiving the post-trend backlash. A number of us here at AQ dug D.M. quite a lot and wanted to resist that post-trend trend, hoping for an onwards and upwards progression from that album. We'd heard rumblings about intriguing changes in direction, new focuses, etc. However much to our chagrin, the first song struck us like an uninspired rehash of something that didn't even make the cut last time, but with the addition of more high-tech bells and whistles (E.L.O.-esque string flourishes, a wider range of vocal processing, etc). Their former insanely infectious hooks are nowhere to be found. Disappointed, we found ourselves asking, did they too succumb to the vacuous hipster hype machine? Well, not entirely... although it does seem that when they were making this album they were at least partially conscious of the newfound demands of appealing to the more mainstream kids. There are many songs that are clearly going to be instant crowd pleasers, but they're also among the band's most superficial work with lots of simplistic 'short-hand for new wave' accessories. That said Wet From Birth has some of The Faint's most ballsy 'rock' sounding songs in years (check out the big distorted nu metal-ish guitars in "Dropkick The Punks"). As well, vocalist Todd Baechle has clearly been working on his delivery, expanding his dynamic range so as to not have to rely on studio applied effects to provide depth, personas, etc. Simply put, he's no longer enslaved to the vocoder. The space between the highs and lows of this album are considerable (for instance, the abovementioned "Dropkick..." is revved-up and exciting, while the album's single "Disappear" is downright aggravating), but we suppose that's to be expected from a band poised to make the jump to the next level of commercial success while at the same time still trying to eke out some artistic progress. Nonetheless, we'd still recommend revisiting Danse Macabre or their earlier Blank Wave Arcade.
MPEG Stream: "I Disappear"
MPEG Stream: "Dropkick The Punks"

FAINT, THE Wet From Birth (Saddle Creek) lp 13.98
The long-awaited, highly anticipated follow-up to the ultra rad Danse Macabre album has arrived, saddled with the burden of high expectations (it also comes with perhaps the worst title and cover art). Unfortunately and unjustly lumped in with the vapid electro-clash crowd (they were actually head and shoulders above the dance-punk fashionista pack -- showing some brain behind the style sheen), The Faint's new album has already been receiving the post-trend backlash. A number of us here at AQ dug D.M. quite a lot and wanted to resist that post-trend trend, hoping for an onwards and upwards progression from that album. We'd heard rumblings about intriguing changes in direction, new focuses, etc. However much to our chagrin, the first song struck us like an uninspired rehash of something that didn't even make the cut last time, but with the addition of more high-tech bells and whistles (E.L.O.-esque string flourishes, a wider range of vocal processing, etc). Their former insanely infectious hooks are nowhere to be found. Disappointed, we found ourselves asking, did they too succumb to the vacuous hipster hype machine? Well, not entirely... although it does seem that when they were making this album they were at least partially conscious of the newfound demands of appealing to the more mainstream kids. There are many songs that are clearly going to be instant crowd pleasers, but they're also among the band's most superficial work with lots of simplistic 'short-hand for new wave' accessories. That said Wet From Birth has some of The Faint's most ballsy 'rock' sounding songs in years (check out the big distorted nu metal-ish guitars in "Dropkick The Punks"). As well, vocalist Todd Baechle has clearly been working on his delivery, expanding his dynamic range so as to not have to rely on studio applied effects to provide depth, personas, etc. Simply put, he's no longer enslaved to the vocoder. The space between the highs and lows of this album are considerable (for instance, the abovementioned "Dropkick..." is revved-up and exciting, while the album's single "Disappear" is downright aggravating), but we suppose that's to be expected from a band poised to make the jump to the next level of commercial success while at the same time still trying to eke out some artistic progress. Nonetheless, we'd still recommend revisiting Danse Macabre or their earlier Blank Wave Arcade.
MPEG Stream: "I Disappear"
MPEG Stream: "Dropkick The Punks"

FAIR, JAD & WILLETT, JASON Twister (Dark Beloved Cloud) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Angular art rock, very lo-fi. This is an extremely limited edition of 100 clear vinyl lps hand cut in New Zealand, and we've got the West Coast exclusive.

FAIRFIELD PARLOUR From Home To Home (Repertoire) cd 21.00
If you have been digging the recent Kaleidoscope (UK) reissues, then here is another treat: This re-issue of Fairfield Parlour's debut album on the Vertigo label, From Home to Home. The story behind this album and band name have never been fully made clear, as Kaleidoscope and Fairfield Parlour were the same band. Perhaps tired of being confused with the American band Kaleidoscope, who were better known; or sensing that the candy-coated psychedelia they had been dabbling in for two albums was waning fast, Kaleidoscope decided to adopt the new band moniker, Fairfield Parlour, and change their look from colorful twee paisley folksters to Old Tyme country-psych balladeers. So what is the music like? Well, while there is definitely a more haunting, lushly orchestrated sound evoking a darkly antique and mystical psych-pop vibe full of harpsichord, mellotrons, flutes and 12-string guitars, and the songwriting is more serious, it's not too far from a type of sound Kaleidoscope would have naturally progressed toward had they kept the same name. Lots of bands of the era from the Kinks to the Byrds had similar stylistic evolutions from psych pop to roots rock, but perhaps the band (or the label) felt that audiences somehow wouldn't make the transition. We can't help but think the confusion over the name change only made things worse for the band (they disbanded the following year after making one more album which was never released), it's a shame too because this album is really really great! This re-issue features the original album plus eight bonus tracks of singles demos, and alternate tracks. For fans of Euphoria, The Byrds, the Incredible String band and Muswell Hillbillies-era Kinks.
MPEG Stream: "In My Box"
MPEG Stream: "Soldier of the Flesh"

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Liege & Lief (Island) cd 17.98

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Liege and Lief (4 Men With Beards) lp 17.98

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Unhalfbricking (Water) cd 15.98
The first four Fairport Convention albums are canon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embrace of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both.
Unhalfbricking? What the hell does that mean? Perhaps the title was alluding to the transitional shedding of American rock elements that had featured more prominently on their first two records and laying the foundation towards redefining a traditional British sound. Sure there are still Dylan covers, in fact three of them, but the exiting of Ian Matthews brought in another Fairport stalwart, fiddler Dave Swarbrick which tipped the balance musically towards classic British folk. And what's more British than this cover? We think that's Sandy Denny's parents. So awesome! Of course, strong songwriting doesn't hurt, and Sandy Denny contributes her most famous song, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" and the equally haunting "Autopsy". But the finest moment of the album (and prescient of their future sound) goes to the eleven minute take on the traditional tune, "A Sailor's Life". Rumor has it, that they recorded this song in a single take because Denny, suffering from a cold, didn't think she could sing it more than once (though she wouldn't stop smoking). It's definitely the band at their peak and one of the finest recordings they made. Unfortunately, as we mentioned in the "What We Did On Our Holidays" review, the band was cursed and this was the last record for teenage drummer, Martin Lamble, who died in a freak accident involving the band's van. This cemented their future foray towards traditional material as the band refused to play live any of the music that they previously recorded with Lamble. But it's the air of that legendary rock curse (which would also tragically claim Sandy Denny, eight years later) that gives the early music of Fairport Convention it's mysteriously bewitching and dark edge. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Autopsy"
MPEG Stream: "A Sailor's Life"
MPEG Stream: "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"

FAIRPORT CONVENTION Unhalfbricking (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
Newly reissued on vinyl!
The first four Fairport Convention albums are canon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embrace of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both.
Unhalfbricking? What the hell does that mean? Perhaps the title was alluding to the transitional shedding of American rock elements that had featured more prominently on their first two records and laying the foundation towards redefining a traditional British sound. Sure there are still Dylan covers, in fact three of them, but the exiting of Ian Matthews brought in another Fairport stalwart, fiddler Dave Swarbrick which tipped the balance musically towards classic British folk. And what's more British than this cover? We think that's Sandy Denny's parents. So awesome! Of course, strong songwriting doesn't hurt, and Sandy Denny contributes her most famous song, "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" and the equally haunting "Autopsy". But the finest moment of the album (and prescient of their future sound) goes to the eleven minute take on the traditional tune, "A Sailor's Life". Rumor has it, that they recorded this song in a single take because Denny, suffering from a cold, didn't think she could sing it more than once (though she wouldn't stop smoking). It's definitely the band at their peak and one of the finest recordings they made. Unfortunately, as we mentioned in the "What We Did On Our Holidays" review, the band was cursed and this was the last record for teenage drummer, Martin Lamble, who died in a freak accident involving the band's van. This cemented their future foray towards traditional material as the band refused to play live any of the music that they previously recorded with Lamble. But it's the air of that legendary rock curse (which would also tragically claim Sandy Denny, eight years later) that gives the early music of Fairport Convention it's mysteriously bewitching and dark edge. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Autopsy"
MPEG Stream: "A Sailor's Life"
MPEG Stream: "Who Knows Where The Time Goes"

FAIRPORT CONVENTION What We Did On Our Holidays (Water) cd 15.98
The first four Fairport Convention albums are canon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embracement of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both.
What We Did On Our Holidays is our definite favorite. If there were one classic British folk-rock record we could recommend, it would be this one, mainly because it's so unclassic sounding. Here is the band at their most adventurous and unsettled, moving into different territory with each song. Mixing covers of American songwriters Joni Mitchell and Dylan with a wide array of original numbers and spirited takes on traditional material, we're taken through a trip of lively blues stomps, eastern mysticism, ghostly ballads and the best pairing of male and female vocal harmonies from Ian Matthews and Sandy Denny. Fairport Convention had the blessing of being made up of many other talented songwriters and musicians as well, including Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble, Simon Nicol, and Ashley Hutchings, but they were forever cursed by never having the same line-up twice on any of their records. While replacing former co-lead singer Judy Dyble (Giles, Giles and Fripp, Trader Horne) with Sandy Denny definitely upped their musical profile, this was sadly the last record for Ian Matthews. He went on to found Matthew's Southern Comfort and then later pursue his own solo work, but it just wasn't on the same par as his work on the first two Fairport albums. This is arguably the best line-up they had which makes for our highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: "Book Song"
MPEG Stream: "Tales In Hard Time"
MPEG Stream: "She Moves Through The Fair"

FAIRPORT CONVENTION What We Did On Our Holidays (4 Men With Beards) lp 16.98
Newly reissued on vinyl!!.
The first four Fairport Convention albums are canon, no doubt about it. But while many may disagree with the inclusion of the first album, the one before Sandy Denny joined, and their full on embracement of traditional folk material on the fourth, Leige and Lief, pretty much all Fairport fans can agree that their second album, What We Did On Our Holidays, and third, Unhalfbricking are their very best. Thankfully Water has reissued both.
What We Did On Our Holidays is our definite favorite. If there were one classic British folk-rock record we could recommend, it would be this one, mainly because it's so unclassic sounding. Here is the band at their most adventurous and unsettled, moving into different territory with each song. Mixing covers of American songwriters Joni Mitchell and Dylan with a wide array of original numbers and spirited takes on traditional material, we're taken through a trip of lively blues stomps, eastern mysticism, ghostly ballads and the best pairing of male and female vocal harmonies from Ian Matthews and Sandy Denny. Fairport Convention had the blessing of being made up of many other talented songwriters and musicians as well, including Richard Thompson, Martin Lamble, Simon Nicol, and Ashley Hutchings, but they were forever cursed by never having the same line-up twice on any of their records. While replacing former co-lead singer Judy Dyble (Giles, Giles and Fripp, Trader Horne) with Sandy Denny definitely upped their musical profile, this was sadly the last record for Ian Matthews. He went on to found Matthew's Southern Comfort and then later pursue his own solo work, but it just wasn't on the same par as his work on the first two Fairport albums. This is arguably the best line-up they had which makes for our highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: "Book Song"
MPEG Stream: "Tales In Hard Time"
MPEG Stream: "She Moves Through The Fair"

FAITH / VOID split (Dischord) lp 12.98

FAITHFULL, MARIANNE Before The Poison (Anti) cd 16.98
Like Ali G's German fashion maven, Bruno, says, "Marianne Faithfull gets a... Wattschhupp." And actually, much to the credit of her co-writers this round (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Damon Albarn, and Jon Brion) these songs are good. Real good. Faithfull weaves her vocals around each song's style and rhythm. With Harvey, the tracks are punkish and throbbing or slow and moody. With Cave, melodramatic and artfully tragic. With Albarn, big and britpoppy. Brion's nursery-lullaby, "City of Quartz", closes the album with a scattering of kinder-esque instruments, faux-glockenspiel, toy piano, etc. Indeed. Faithfull and company offer a grand performance of the highest caliber! Mmmyes... Bravo.
MPEG Stream: "My Friends Have"
MPEG Stream: "There Is A Ghost"

FAITHFULL, MARIANNE Come My Way (Lilith ) cd 16.98
Where the long, amazing and intense road that is Mariane Faithfull's music career began. This is her debut (actually one of two simultaneous debuts) she released in 1965. This was the darker companion to the more cheerful pop of her self titled release of that same year. The record gives a sneak peak at the darker side of Faithfull, that would unravel in the decades to come. She takes on many folk standards and with her immaculate voice and charismatic touch and makes them very much her own. Relevant as ever, as these days you can hear her influence all over the recent great underground folk scene through the voices and stylings of folks like Marissa Nadler and Josephine Foster amongst many. With her own great release last year Before the Poison it's really nice to get a listen back to her roots and marvel at the trajectory of an amazing artist's career. The record ends perfectly with "Sister Morphine" which she penned with one time lover Mick and his cohort Keith, which predated their rendition on Sticky Fingers. When you can love what someone made in 1965 as much as you love what they came out with in 2005 you know you are dealing with someone so totally special. While those boys Mick and Keith, we haven't cared about them for decades.
MPEG Stream: "Lonesome Traveller"
MPEG Stream: "Sister Morphine"

FAITHFULL, MARIANNE Easy Come Easy Go (Decca) cd 16.98
Besides being such a cultural icon, Marianne Faithful has some pretty amazing music in her back catalog. Her last album, 2005's Before The Poison was one of the most potent and emotionally stunning records of her career. It's an album some of us still listen to a lot, her voice with all its life experience shines through with so much truth, pain, and beauty. Her latest record, Easy Come Easy Go finds her tackling twelve cover songs and while we do think there should be a moratorium on covers albums, heck Marianne Faithful can do whatever she wants, and has made a career of turning other people's songs into her own.
If you are a musician and got a call that Marianne Faithful wanted to cover your song you would likely be pretty thrilled and honored, so we can't even imagine what folks like the Espers or the Decemberists thought when they got word that Marianne was going to cover their songs (those covers are two of the big standout tracks on this record!). Along the same lines, getting the call to be a part of Marianne's back up band would be pretty much mind blowing as well, so it's no surprise that the musicians on this album are some of the biggest heavy hitters around: Jim White (Dirty Three, Smog, Cat Power, etc.) on drums. Marc Ribot on guitar, Greg Cohen on bass and the list goes on and on. She also called upon some pretty recognizable voices to join her on some of the tracks like Antony, Cat Power, Rufus Wainwright, Jarvis Cocker and Nick Cave!
But make no mistake, this record is still totally all about Marianne Faithful and the way her weathered but brilliant voice is able to truly wrap itself around your ears. Whether tackling tracks by Dolly Parton, Brian Eno, Merle Haggard, Smokey Robinson, Morrissey or Judee Sill, she brings such emotional weight and such a volatile punch to these songs. Produced by Hal Willner, whom she last worked with on Strange Weather, you can feel his influence a bit too much on a few of the tracks, which go for a more old timey/cabaret feel, but luckily there are only a few of those, the rest of the album is much more driving, powerful and present sounding.
While The Rolling Stones may have ushered her into the spotlight all those decades ago, it's clear that as time has gone on Marianne Faithful sounds a million times more relevant and full of integrity than the Stones do now. A true living legend!
MPEG Stream: "The Crane Wife 3"
MPEG Stream: "Hold On Hold On"
MPEG Stream: "Ooh Baby Baby"

FAITHFULL, MARIANNE Kissin Time (Virgin) cd 22.00
Having just got back from tour with my band, during which I read Marianne Faithfull's autobiography, I have to say this release is timely. I feel like I know her. I could tell you about all of her sexual exploits, and all the drugs she did, the rock stars she hung around. Sadly that's all anyone ever cares to speak of in regard to Miss Faithfull. Why? Well... probably because it's a lot more exciting than her music. This is her first record in 3 years. Beck, Jarvis Cocker (of Pulp), Dave Stewart (of the Eurythmics) as well as Blur all help her out on this one - 'though not nearly enough. After reading the book I didn't like her at all. I got tired of her bragging and dull stories, and after listening to this cd (twice) I was equally unimpressed. Bad techno with horrible droning vocals and embarrassing lyrics. The music really embodies how I feel about her; substanceless, dull, show-offy crap. Unbearable.
RealAudio clip: "Sex With Strangers"
RealAudio clip: "Wherever I Go"

FAKEYOUROWNDEATH s/t (self-released) cd ep 3.00
New San Francisco band featuring ex-members of Elephone. While they're still in their infancy as a band they have recorded a debut ep, almost like a demo, just to get their music out in the world. And from the sounds of these four songs they're off to a pretty good start. Driving guitar fueled rockers that remind us a bit of folks like Interpol, The Editors and even Afghan Whigs. Will be cool to see what the future holds for them. And super cool that this ep so cheap.
MPEG Stream: "Mouth To Speak"
MPEG Stream: "Few Plus One"

FALCON Die Wontcha (Liquid Flames) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Those of you into obscure '70s heavy rock - or cult '80s metal for that matter - ought to be interested in this new album from the power trio Falcon. It's their second record, following a self titled debut in 2004. That one featured a cover of Bang's "Redman", and also a cameo vocal performance by Bobby Liebling of Pentagram, on a song dedicated to the memory of Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott... and that should give you an idea of where Falcon is coming from, in terms of influences/atmosphere. Capturing the spirit of the '70s proto-metal that we dig so much here at AQ too. Bang! Pentagram! 'Lizzy! c'mon!! Some other obvious selling points in Falcon's favor has to do with who's who in the band. They've got Greg Lindstrom from '80s epic doomsters Cirith Ungol on bass and Darin McCloskey of stoner metal act Pale Divine on drums. The third, crucial part of the trio is vocalist/guitarist Perry Grayson, who used to play in a much more technical power metal band called Destiny's End but gave that up to concentrate on his true love (well, next to the weird pulp fiction of H.P. Lovecraft), full on '70s-sounding downer rock. He's one of those guys with the crazy record collection full of vintage vinyl proto-metal platters, trying to bring it all back to life a la Magnus from Witchcraft. And being a badass guitar player with heavy friends makes it look easy, with Falcon now on to their second album, this one, so let's tell y'all some more about it...
Die Wontcha - love the title, love the cover art, which we can only guess was probably lifted from an old issue of Weird Tales or something like that - features ten tracks of groovy, rockin', bellbottomed '70s heaviness worship. Nine are Falcon originals, the tenth a killer cover of "Leader" by Aussie proto-metallers Buffalo (you'll find the original on their 1972 album Dead Forever, the reissue of which is reviewed elsewhere on our site). Since Perry recently relocated from LA to Australia, it's even more appropriate they do a Buffalo song. And boy howdy does it fit in with their own material.
The disc starts off with Lindstrom's lament for Scottish Formula 1 race car driver Jimmy Clark, who died in a tragic crash back in '68. It's totally the sort of thing a band like this back in the '70s would have written... almost a modern-day folk song. Definitely very Thin Lizzyish, with Perry's slightly gruff, deep voiced vocals, melodic minor key guitar leads, and classic, loping, hummable riffage. For those more into fantasy subjects, a couple tracks later Falcon's got "The King Of Elfland's Daughter", inspired by a poem by Irish fantasist Lord Dunsany. It too has a lot of Lizzyish licks...
Everywhere, Falcon's fuzzed out guitar and fat riffs scream '70s, as do the lyrics, Perry dropping lines like "back in the days of yore/hippie to the core" and "hit the stage with heavy rockin' band/tour the world kickin' out the jams/turn the amps up loud/stun the crowd". Yep, that's rock n' roll like they used to do, and Falcon bring it. But maybe the best expression of Falcon's mission is found in the lyrics to the disc's final track, penned by Lindstrom, entitled "Show You All" - which is all about going to a big show by some currently popular so-called rock band and unavoidably thinking they could do much, much better, Perry singing: "I want to jump on stage/and show you how all to play". That's kinda cocky, but we're sure some of you will share Falcon's sentiments, folks we'd recommend this to who also enjoy such quality, ripping n' riffy bands with retro-rawk '70s influences as Witchcraft, Burning Saviours, Bible Of The Devil, Slough Feg, Danava, Drunk Horse, etc... Some tracks, like "No Future" also remind us of the mood created by Wino's old band The Obsessed.
By the way, although we never listed it before, we do have a just a few copies of Falcon's equally rad s/t album in stock as well, the one with the Bobby L. cameo. We figured since we were highlighting this, some folks might want to pick that one up too, so we got some from the band. They're a little cheaper, 'cause the copies we have of that are pro duped cd-rs, not actual cds, FYI. They still have the same cool metallic foil stamped covers of the original cd version, though. And *this* disc is indeed a real cd, not a cd-r.
MPEG Stream: "Jimmy Clark"
MPEG Stream: "Careless"

FALKNER, JASON Bliss Descending (Wreckchord) cd ep 10.98

FALKNER, JASON Can You Still Feel? (Elektra) cd 15.98
Perfect pop material from this ex-Jellyfish member. For fans of Zumpano, Zombies, Beatles.

FALL A Past Gone Mad: The Best Of The Fall 1990 - 2000 (Artful) cd 30.00
"A Past Gone Mad" attempts to encapsulate the most confusing period of The Fall's history, marked by NME's 'reporting' on the turbulence surrounding Mark E Smith's drunken behavior, all of the sacked drummers, and self-destructing live shows. As a good portion of The Fall records from the '90s have escaped our ears, this is a solid (if painfully expensive) compendium of one of the most uncompromising personalities ever.

FALL OF SAIGON s/t (Dark Entries) lp 14.98
Another gem from Dark Entries, here's the reissue of the debut ep from the Southern French trio Fall Of Saigon, which featured a young Pascal Comelade, who developed into quite the avant-garde composer in the late '80s continuing strong to this day. A notable collaboration of his was in the Bel Canto Orchestra with aQ favorite Pierre Bastien; but here with Fall Of Saigon, he's working with the chanteuse Florence Berthon and guitarist Thierry Den. Their Spartan songs strut, waltz, and seductively sway along to the steady metronome pulse of a cheap drum machine with plaintive organ and electronic melodies, a smattering of judiciously plucked guitar notes, and Florence's sedate vocals. The band cites both This Heat and The Velvet Underground as influence, with the former inspiring their name; but through their sound, they've earned more than a few comparisons to Young Marble Giants with a couple of tracks that look forward to the hypnotic organ-drum workouts of Fabulous Diamonds, and they certainly deserved every one of those comparisons, as these six songs really make the most of the tiniest of sounds without ever sounding effete or unfinished. Post-punk minimalism of this nature is deceptively hard to pull off, and Fall Of Saigon do it marvelously. This is a very loud cut at 45 rpm, mastered again as with all of the Dark Entries productions by George Horn; and it gets a big thumbs up!

FALL OF TROY, THE Manipulator (Equal Vision) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Cut Down All The Trees And Name The Streets After Them"
MPEG Stream: "The Dark Trail"
MPEG Stream: "Quarter Past"

FALL OUT BOY Folie A Deux (Island) cd 15.98

FALL OUT BOY From Under The Cork Tree (Island) cd 15.98
This crazy gushing review was written LONG before these guys became so ubiquitious, and were still to a certain degree, slightly outside the mainstream, just sayin'...
The one thing we sometimes really miss after having worked in record stores for years, is that momentary thrill of walking into a store and discovering some band you love has a new record! Hardly ever happens anymore. It's our job to know what's coming out and when, so most of the time we know weeks or months before any record comes out. However, I (Andee) recently had that experience with this very record. That little adrenaline thrill that we were missing so much! If you're an avid reader of the AQ list you may have noticed my massive and gushing review of the last Fallout Boy record, and it's constant presence on my top 10 lists, since the last Fallout Boy record, Take This To Your Grave, holds the distinction of being my most listened to record for the last two years. Seriously, we're talking EVERY DAY. No matter what I was obsessing about that week, some black metal record, or some weird drone thing, I'd always go back to FB at some point. So you can imagine how geeked I was to discover they had a new record. The other surprising thing about this record, is that it debuted at number 9 on the Billboard chart. Holy crap! I can't remember the last time one of my favorite new records was on the Billboard chart AT ALL, let alone in the top 10! But hell, as we've said many times before, we definitely can't complain when songs and bands we like start infiltrating the mainstream. That said, this IS a pretty mainstream sounding record. Big indie emo metallic power pop. But the thing is it's great! Heavy and catchy and immediately memorable, but weird enough that it doesn't get old, even after listening to it multiple times every day, like I've been doing for the last two weeks! Even Jason, who works right across from me and who doesn't necessarily like this kind of stuff, has been forced to hear this record every day as well, and decided he dug it almost immediately. Which is definitely saying something. The first FB record was power-pop-punk in metal clothing. Huge chugging guitars wrapped around perfect pop hooks. Hardcore kids into metal but with hearts of pop and top notch songwriting, fun and funny and complex and practically perfect. This new one tones back the metal guitars just a bit, but makes up for it with much more varied songwriting and even catchier songs. Yep. I didn't think it was possible, but the songs on From Under The Cork Tree are indeed even better and catchier than the songs on Take This To Your Grave, which, had you asked me a few months ago I would have declared, in the voice of Ralph Wiggum, to be UN-POSSIBLE! Totally kick ass, melodically complicated heavy power pop, with complex parts, amazing hooks, weird lyrics and funny song titles ("Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued", "Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends", "I Slept With Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me"). It's always hard for me to describe a record I like this much. I just want to shake people and yell "Buy this record! Don't ask why! These songs are stuck in my head constantly! It's so good! I don't know why exactly, but I have to listen to this ALL the time! You will LOVE this record!" So, that's it I guess. Consider yourself shook!
MPEG Stream: "Our Lawyer Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn't Get Sued"
MPEG Stream: "I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me"
MPEG Stream: "Of All The Gin Joints In All The World"

FALL OUT BOY Infinity On High (Island) cd 16.98

MPEG Stream: "Thriller"
MPEG Stream: "The Take Over, The Break's Over"
MPEG Stream: "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race"

FALL, THE 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Golden Greats (Beggars Banquet) 2cd 14.98
Yeah, it's another Fall compilation, and let's get the bitching out of the way first. Probably about half of that Totally Wired compilation of The Fall's Rough Trade days is also found on 50,000 Fall Fans. Everybody is going to find something about this compilation (or The Fall in general) to complain about... but complaining *is* the art of The Fall. With The Fall, you get plenty of sarcasm, misanthropy, bile, animosity, and seething cynicism delivered without any inhibition thanks to a drunken buzz that ringleader Mark E. Smith has kept going for a good part of three decades. Nevertheless, this double disc set is as close as you can get to a "greatest hits" album from The Fall. It is a compendium of The Fall's more listenable facets, with a good number of the ramshackled post-punk crashes from the early Rough Trade albums through the self-indulgent bombast of the Beggars Banquet days in the mid-'80s through their recent work which occasionally flirts with the glories of their past work. If you don't own any Fall albums, this is the perfect place to start!
MPEG Stream: "C.R.E.E.P."
MPEG Stream: "Telephone Thing"

FALL, THE Are You Are Missing Winner (Cog Sinister) cd 21.00
Mark E. Smith sounds like a drunken Howard Cosell, as he continues down the sad path of self-parody. Unlike last year's exceptional "The Unutterable", this record confirms that, unless you're helplessly obsessed, you'll never need to buy a new Fall record.
RealAudio clip: "Kick the Can"
RealAudio clip: "The Acute"

FALL, THE Backdrop (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
Collection of rarities, rehearsals, live recordings and 7"s from The Fall's extensive archives. Some never before released stuff on this. Tracks here span from 1977 to 1989.

FALL, THE Dragnet (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
Reissue of this classic 1979 Fall album. Their second LP.

FALL, THE Fall Heads Roll (Narnack) cd 14.98
Finally, the new Fall album! Here reviewed by David Katznelson, AQ pal, Birdman head honcho, and full-on Fall fan.
There is a definite Chicken and Egg thing going on here with this new digital slab of brilliance: who came first, The Fall or The Country Teasers? The Fall did, obviously (for those who got that wrong, go to the back of the class), while the Teasers have based an entire career on their shoulders. But the first track on Fall Heads Roll has a slow slow fucked up country bent engaging past Fall nuggets like Repetition with an added cough syrup quality that is very Teasers-esque. The rest of the album twists into a pure guitar-driven riff-tiffic sonic assault. Included in the set is a great high-anxiety cover of The Move's "I Can Hear The Grass Grow". And then there's the question of where the hell does Mark E still get the energy to kick out these jams? Surely, the drugs cannot have the same affect they did 30 years agoÉWHERE IS HIS DORIAN GRAY PAINTING HANGING, waiting to be stabbed to shreds?
Regardless of the answers, Heads Will Roll is one of the strongest Fall records to date, adding to a killer legacy that includes Dragnet, In A Hole, Live At The Witch Trials and of course the recently released The Complete Peel Sessions [reviewed by Dave elsewhere on this list]!
MPEG Stream: "Ride Away"
MPEG Stream: "I Can Hear The Grass Grow"

FALL, THE Fall In A Hole + (Cog Sinister) 2cd 14.98
"Fall In A Hole" is the live album recorded by a young Chris Knox during the band's 1982 New Zealand tour. That means this is vintage Fall, raw and amazing! Includes classic songs such as "Marquis Cha Cha," "The Man Whose Head Expanded" and "Prole Art Threat." The vinyl of this has long been hard to find-- originally 1,500 copies pressed on double vinyl, "Fall in a Hole" never got distributed in the UK because Mark E. "the Fall is me and your grandma on bongos" Smith freaked out that a picture of guitarist Marc Riley (who was booted out of the band right after the tour) was on the cover, leading to a claim that the album was an unauthorized bootleg. The cd version adds a few extra tracks. Warning: the original 4-track reel-to-reel recording definitely sounded, uh, live, and this cd is taken from a vinyl copy as opposed to the original tapes, which spells less-than-ideal fidelity. Still worth having for the snotty, brainy, punk as hell energy documented.

FALL, THE Grotesque (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
"Grotesque" is the 1980 album by the legendary Manchester art-punk band The Fall, who have always been and will always be fronted by Mark E. Smith. Of course, the snarling half-sung / half-cracked vocals of Mr. Smith are central to "Grotesque," swimming drunkenly in acerbic cynicism and alcoholic bitterness about the ugly state of affairs of English society. Behind Smith, the rest of the band (Craig Scanlon, Marc Riley, and the Hanley brothers) matches the intense vitriol of their vocalist's rantings, with a ramshackle collision of thuggish basslines, scratchy rockabilly guitars, and primitive yet effective percussive grooviness. Though coming out of the Fall's raw, shambolic earlier years, "Grotesque" contains a slight glimmer of the pop accessibility later realized in the Brix Smith years, which might endear this album even to those who are convinced that "This Nation's Saving Grace" and not, say, "Dragnet" is Mark E. & company's pinnacle acheivement.
RealAudio clip: "Pay Your Rates"
RealAudio clip: "New Face In Hell"
RealAudio clip: "The N.W.R.A."

FALL, THE Imperial Wax Solvent (Sanctuary) cd 12.98

FALL, THE It's the New Thing! (Castle / Sanctuary) cd 14.98

FALL, THE Live 1977 (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
Previously unreleased live set dating way back to 1977. No info on where it was recorded, but probably made somewhere near their home town of Manchester.

FALL, THE Live At The Knitting Factory - L.A. - 14 November 2001 (Hip Priest) cd 13.98

FALL, THE Liverpool 78 (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
As the title implies, this is a recording of The Fall made in Liverpool in 1978. That was easy. 12 tracks of a very oddly recorded set. Not exactly just lo-fi, because you can distinctly hear Mark E Smith's moaning on each track. And the bass is fairly loud just under him, but the guitars sound like their down the hall, just outside the bathroom door. And the drums? Well, sometimes you can hear them, sometimes you can't... At all. Pretty darn punk rock and historical.
RealAudio clip: "Two Steps Back"

FALL, THE Marshall Suite (Artful) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

FALL, THE Marshall Suite (Artful) lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

FALL, THE Reformation Post T.L.C. (Narnack) cd 14.98
We're sitting on the fence about this one. Fretting about which is worse -- the cd's album cover photo (which features Mr. Smith's latest crop of gawky teen bandmates... ok, that's sort of an exaggeration) or the music contained within! With his admirably (and maddeningly) willful, prolific music career closing in on three decades, does Mark E. Smith get some slack cut with regards to the follow-up to his great 2005 album Fall Heads Roll? That would follow the line of thinking that everyone's bound to have an occasional stinker in a body of work that immense.
Or on the other hand, does he finally get cut off because anyone with his esteemed track record and tough-love'd yet still rabid fans should have better judgment than to release an album this indigestible. Sure The Fall's musical confrontations are seldom a pretty sight, but... this is gawdawful... at least on sober ears. Maybe after we've dulled our senses with a few pints we'll see things differently. Either way, we're sure Mark E. Smith could care less 'bout what we think. File under 'for masochistically diehard fans only'.
MPEG Stream: "Fall Sound"
MPEG Stream: "Insult Song"

FALL, THE Reykjavik [Austusbaejarbio] (Cog Sinister) cd 15.98
This live recording, made in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1983, was voted the best "unofficial" live Fall recording by the Fall's fan club members. Now it's here for you, made official by Cog Sinister and remastered to boot.

FALL, THE The Complete Peel Sessions 1978-2004 (Sanctuary) 6cd 67.00