GET UP KIDS Live At Granada (Vagrant) cd 15.98

GET UP KIDS Red Letter Day & Woodson (Doghouse) cd 13.98

GET UP KIDS Something To Write Home About (Vagrant) cd 13.98
Probably one of the best emo-pop records ever! So kick ass and catchy, lyrically heartbreaking, dreamily hummable, completely rocking. Total driving across country, favorite mix tape, bouncing around all sweaty in the pit, pining for your far away love, everything-emo-should-be record!

GET UP KIDS / COALESCE (Second Nature) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now back in stock...Two bona fide indie sensations happen to be from Kansas City -- the grindpop stars Get Up Kids and grindcore stalwarts Coalesce. See them rock with two new songs.

GET UP KIDS, THE Eudora (Vagrant) cd 14.98
The current darlings of emo pop/punk scene have released this collection of odds 'n' out-of-print ends for anyone who hasn't been collecting since day one. Those of us addicted to melodic pop with punk energy and lots of sentimental boy feelings (just imagine 'em hunched up over a piano, wincing with the weight of the world) will already be familiar with Get Up Kids, the band that arguably does it the best (at least right now). Included are a bunch of covers, some of which are due to Get Up Kids constantly being invited to contribute tracks to various tribute albums: The Pixies, Motley Crue, The Cure, Bowie, New Order, Replacements, Coalesce, and Metroschifter. The remaining nine original tracks are culled from split 7"s, alternate takes, both their Sub Pop Singles Club songs, and the like. Accessible and fun.
RealAudio clip: "On With the Show"
RealAudio clip: "Burned Bridges"
RealAudio clip: "Close to Me"

GET UP KIDS, THE On A Wire (Vagrant) cd 14.98
The first thing you notice is that this record does -not- rock. Not at all. So already you're a little disappointed, because after all, the Get Up Kids did rock. The second thing you notice is how 'indie rock' this record sounds. And I mean like R.E.M-eighties-college-radio-indie-rock. And most of us kind of got tired of that sound years ago. Still with me? Good. 'Cause even after all that, this record manages to be really really good. But not at first. At first we were all sort of horrified. What happened. This is so...mellow. But the more I listen to it, the more I find these songs stuck in my head ALL the time. A whole different scenario than The Get Up Kids' last record, which was instantly catchy, so catchy in fact that we all played it incessantly until we were darn near sick of it. But this record didn't stick until listen #10 or #11. And by that time it was too late. This will definitely lose them some fans, I imagine. But maybe what we hear as 'indie rock' (the negative connotation) is just a band growing out of their underground rock ghetto. Or maybe they just suck now. But if you're like us and LOVED the last record, odds are you'll end up loving this one too.
RealAudio clip: "Overdue"
RealAudio clip: "Stay Gone"
RealAudio clip: "Fall From Grace"
RealAudio clip: "High As The Moon"

GET UP KIDS, THE On A Wire (Vagrant) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first thing you notice is that this record does -not- rock. Not at all. So already you're a little disappointed, because after all, the Get Up Kids did rock. The second thing you notice is how 'indie rock' this record sounds. And I mean like R.E.M-eighties-college-radio-indie-rock. And most of us kind of got tired of that sound years ago. Still with me? Good. 'Cause even after all that, this record manages to be really really good. But not at first. At first we were all sort of horrified. What happened. This is so...mellow. But the more I listen to it, the more I find these songs stuck in my head ALL the time. A whole different scenario than The Get Up Kids' last record, which was instantly catchy, so catchy in fact that we all played it incessantly until we were darn near sick of it. But this record didn't stick until listen #10 or #11. And by that time it was too late. This will definitely lose them some fans I imgaine. But maybe what we hear as 'indie rock' (the negative connotation) is just a band growing out of their underground rock ghetto. Or maybe they just suck now. But if you're like us and LOVED the last record, odds are you'll end up loving this one too.

GHOST Guru in the Echo (Now Sound) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japan's premier psych-folk outfit produces another amazing domestic 7". One song is from 1989; the other is from 1994, another version of a piece from the first record; said new recording sounds utterly fresh and rich and features a blazing, screeching guitar solo from White Heaven's Michio Kurihara.

GHOST Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) cd 14.98
Hallelujah! Ghost are back! Since Drag City's simultaneous release of their Snuff Box Immanence and Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet albums back in 1999, we hadn't heard hide nor hair of Japan's wonderful acid-folksters Ghost (unless you count their liason with Damon & Naomi). Indeed we'd begun to wonder what was up with Masaki Batoh, Michio Kurihara and crew -- we missed them! And in those four or five years, it seemed that fans of '70s inspired Japanese psychedelic music had switched their allegiance to the much more prolific Acid Mothers Temple camp led by Kawabata Makoto who emerged in the meantime. But we Ghost fans know that, as good as AMT can be, in the realm of cosmic communal Japanese hippy rock, there is no comparison. Ghost rule that particular hypnotic underworld. Depth, beauty, originality -- on all those counts they have it over AMT. Unlike the excessive pastiche of AMT, there's nothing tongue in cheek about Ghost. And as for quality control, well, you do the math.
So, needless to say, we were supremely excited to get this brand new Ghost album! The sun was sure 'tangging' the day this showed up. Word was that this might be Ghost's best album yet, and while we each have our favorites (mine's Lama Rabi Rabi, with their self-titled debut in close competition) this was immediately revealed as a contender. In short, it's freakin' great. Ghost explore some heavier, rockier, more prog-tastic directions in some of these songs, yet let their incomparable delicate psych-folk flow as well. Stirring guitar/drums workouts coexist with Batoh's fragile vocals and trembling sunshine melodies. And Terrascopic trainspotters will be interested to know that Ghost interpret songs by both Syd Barrett and the obscure '70s Dutch prog-rock act Earth & Fire, and make them completely their own. The album takes its name from the four-part, 25-minute suite that opens this disc, which ventures from lovely, hazy jazz-inflected jams to bombastic, utterly prog-rock flourishes complete with grandiose choirs. That alone is worth having waited four or five years for!
MPEG Stream: "Piper"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 2: Escaped And Lost Down In Medina"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 3: Aramaic Barbarous Dawn"

GHOST Hypnotic Underworld (Drag City) 2lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hallelujah! Ghost are back! Since Drag City's simultaneous release of their Snuff Box Immanence and Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet albums back in 1999, we hadn't heard hide nor hair of Japan's wonderful acid-folksters Ghost (unless you count their liason with Damon & Naomi). Indeed we'd begun to wonder what was up with Masaki Batoh, Michio Kurihara and crew -- we missed them! And in those four or five years, it seemed that fans of '70s inspired Japanese psychedelic music had switched their allegiance to the much more prolific Acid Mothers Temple camp led by Kawabata Makoto who emerged in the meantime. But we Ghost fans know that, as good as AMT can be, in the realm of cosmic communal Japanese hippy rock, there is no comparison. Ghost rule that particular hypnotic underworld. Depth, beauty, originality -- on all those counts they have it over AMT. Unlike the excessive pastiche of AMT, there's nothing tongue in cheek about Ghost. And as for quality control, well, you do the math.
So, needless to say, we were supremely excited to get this brand new Ghost album! The sun was sure 'tangging' the day this showed up. Word was that this might be Ghost's best album yet, and while we each have our favorites (mine's Lama Rabi Rabi, with their self-titled debut in close competition) this was immediately revealed as a contender. In short, it's freakin' great. Ghost explore some heavier, rockier, more prog-tastic directions in some of these songs, yet let their incomparable delicate psych-folk flow as well. Stirring guitar/drums workouts coexist with Batoh's fragile vocals and trembling sunshine melodies. And Terrascopic trainspotters will be interested to know that Ghost interpret songs by both Syd Barrett and the obscure '70s Dutch prog-rock act Earth & Fire, and make them completely their own. The album takes its name from the four-part, 25-minute suite that opens this disc, which ventures from lovely, hazy jazz-inflected jams to bombastic, utterly prog-rock flourishes complete with grandiose choirs. That alone is worth having waited four or five years for!
MPEG Stream: "Piper"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 2: Escaped And Lost Down In Medina"
MPEG Stream: "HU pt. 3: Aramaic Barbarous Dawn"

GHOST Lama Rabi Rabi (Drag City) cd 14.98
Gatefold vinyl or cd, the domestic full-length debut for the psychedelic sounds of Japan's answer to Can. "Who Found A Lost Rose In The Warship?"

GHOST Lama Rabi Rabi (Drag City) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Gatefold vinyl or cd, the domestic full-length debut for the psychedelic sounds of Japan's answer to Can. "Who Found A Lost Rose In The Warship?"

GHOST Metamorphosis (Drag City) cd + dvd 17.98
Ghost and Drag City bring us this cd + dvd set, a quite fine, fan-o-centric release that will definitely excite the many folks devoted to these modern masters of Japanese psych! Indeed, one customer of ours, Brent from Chattanooga, already chimed in with a review (to save us some time and trouble he says), which goes something like this: "OK, first things first, for all of you Ghost freaks out there, there's no reason you will need to even read this review. Just order it now, cause it's great, it's songs that're not on anything else you've got, and it's, well, it's Ghost. One hour of folked-up improv music, from their early days, say late 80's. Plus not to mention the two hour DVD that spans they're entire career. But, if this is not enough, well read on. For all you fiends of the Finnish psych bands like Avarus and the rest, then this disc will please. Very krauty, droney, out there stuff that sounds like it was recorded in some dark forest in a remote part of Japan. Tribal, chants, moans, it's all here. Even the Jewelled Antler fans will love this stuff..." And that's pretty much our take on it too. (Thanks, Brent!)
We'll expand a bit on his review by saying that although at first glance the music cd is perhaps overshadowed by the novelty of the DVD that's got two hours of rare live video footage (of a band that not all that many people over here in the States have had the opportunity to see, after all), we think that it's the cd that's what you'll keep coming back to, after you've several viewings of the DVD of course. The cd is certainly not a *new* Ghost album or anything -- and is about as far from the professionally progged-out compositions of Ghost's well-liked, most recent album Hypnotic Underworld as you can get. These "Unreleased Ghost Tracks From the 1980s" see Ghost in sorta Sunburned Hand of The Man or NNCK territory (or the Finnish/Jewelled Antler realm as suggested by Brent), doing improvised fractured folk (a la first album outtake "Cow's Green Cosmic") and noisy free-jazz freak-outs (as on the half-hour minute track "Children Of The Earth"). Even without the dvd disc, we'd be recommending this, it's right up the AQ alley.
Meanwhile, the DVD assembles home video style footage of Ghost performances from the early days (all the way back to a solo Masaki Batoh protest "concert" in front of the Chinese embassy in Tokyo, back in 1984!!) up through 2004. The more recent footage (along with the menu graphics and box cover) reveal just how dangerously slick Ghost have gotten, while the earlier stuff has a charming amateur edge to it. In either case, a treat for Ghost fans -- though we wonder if a band that makes such otherworldly music (and is named Ghost, after all) risks losing some of their mystery by being documented visually like this... But fans can't really complain! Comes packaged with a booket containing notes and credits for everything you'll see and hear here.
MPEG Stream: "Hakkyou Dojin (1989 live)"
MPEG Stream: "Improvisation (1987 live)"

GHOST Opus Eponymous (Rise Above / Metal Blade) cd 14.98
There's been so much hype about this Swedish metal outfit, before we had ever heard a note, we had heard ABOUT them, seen amazing pictures of the band playing live, the vocalist with a face painted like a skull, dressed in robes like some demonic priest, the album cover, a creepy seventies oil painting of that same vocalist, hovering demon like over an old haunted looking church, their satanic lyrics, their epic heaviness, so we were prepared for something seriously demonic and devastating, black metal or at least black-ISH metal we were assuming, so when we finally heard it, we were lured in by the sound of a church organ, so far so good, haunting and mysterious, and then the first song kicks in, thick buzzing metallic bass, pounding drums, okay, so not black metal, but heavy, fuzzed out, a little psychedelic, and then the vocals, woah, sounding a lit like Voivod weirdly enough, soaring majestically over chugging churning, and them suddenly, so POPPY, the song shifting gears, slipping into something way more melodic, replete with oooh's and aaaah's and some strange liturgical sounding crooning, some cool seventies style organs too, so it may not be what we were expecting but we were loving it, so then the next song started, and wow, even less metal, more like classic rock, seventies psych, a surprise, but fuck it, still pretty damn killer, the guitars still plenty heavy, and then the chorus, holy shit, a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult, total hooky pop, and it was then that we realized we were totally hooked.
C'mon, chugging satanic metal meets dark psychedelic rock meets Blue Oyster Cult? How rad is that?! The Answer is VERY. The vocals occasionally sound a bit like King Diamond, the band slipping into some Mercyful Fate-isms here and there, but a way poppier, more psychedelic, less overtly metal version, the leads are awesome. And it's pretty cool to hear actual singing and real melodies and a sort of classic psych rock formula with these explicitly Satanic lyrics.
"Death Knell" gets a little doomy, and features the refrain "Six Six Six" amongst other evil ramblings, but the song is far from fierce and heavy, instead it's trippy and broody and mysterious and haunting, the vocals wreathed in reverb and draped over muted guitars, fuzzy organs, with some cool dynamic stop/starts, as well as some tolling bells and a few definite Sabbathisms. We were sort of hoping "Prime Mover" was a Zodiac Mindwarp cover, but instead it's a pretty stellar original, droned our layered high end guitars wrap around a chugging churning riff, the bassline buzzy and ominous, again, a super dynamic arrangement, maybe one of the heaviest jams on the record, a little mathy, the guitars thick and fierce, and then the vocals come in, and the sound shifts to something more melodic and moody, drifty and creepy and psychedelic.
So yeah, don't be misled by the hype, or the satanic imagery, this isn't black metal, or really strictly metal, but if the idea of some awesomely Satanic psychedelic seventies styled heaviness, a sort of more metallic and WAY more evil and over the top classic rock, sounds like your sort of thing (and why wouldn't it?), then you'll probably love this as much as we do.
Killer packaging too, the aforementioned cover art, a sweet slipcover, and of course lyrics, so you can sing along and perform your own little musical black masses at home.
MPEG Stream: "Con Clavi Con Dio"
MPEG Stream: "Ritual"
MPEG Stream: "Satan Prayer"

GHOST Opus Eponymous (Rise Above) lp 33.00
Now we've got the import vinyl of this hot occult item, hail Satan!
There's been so much hype about this Swedish metal outfit, before we had ever heard a note, we had heard ABOUT them, seen amazing pictures of the band playing live, the vocalist with a face painted like a skull, dressed in robes like some demonic priest, the album cover, a creepy seventies oil painting of that same vocalist, hovering demon like over an old haunted looking church, their satanic lyrics, their epic heaviness, so we were prepared for something seriously demonic and devastating, black metal or at least black-ISH metal we were assuming, so when we finally heard it, we were lured in by the sound of a church organ, so far so good, haunting and mysterious, and then the first song kicks in, thick buzzing metallic bass, pounding drums, okay, so not black metal, but heavy, fuzzed out, a little psychedelic, and then the vocals, woah, sounding a lit like Voivod weirdly enough, soaring majestically over chugging churning, and them suddenly, so POPPY, the song shifting gears, slipping into something way more melodic, replete with oooh's and aaaah's and some strange liturgical sounding crooning, some cool seventies style organs too, so it may not be what we were expecting but we were loving it, so then the next song started, and wow, even less metal, more like classic rock, seventies psych, a surprise, but fuck it, still pretty damn killer, the guitars still plenty heavy, and then the chorus, holy shit, a dead ringer for Blue Oyster Cult, total hooky pop, and it was then that we realized we were totally hooked.
C'mon, chugging satanic metal meets dark psychedelic rock meets Blue Oyster Cult? How rad is that?! The Answer is VERY. The vocals occasionally sound a bit like King Diamond, the band slipping into some Mercyful Fate-isms here and there, but a way poppier, more psychedelic, less overtly metal version, the leads are awesome. And it's pretty cool to hear actual singing and real melodies and a sort of classic psych rock formula with these explicitly Satanic lyrics.
"Death Knell" gets a little doomy, and features the refrain "Six Six Six" amongst other evil ramblings, but the song is far from fierce and heavy, instead it's trippy and broody and mysterious and haunting, the vocals wreathed in reverb and draped over muted guitars, fuzzy organs, with some cool dynamic stop/starts, as well as some tolling bells and a few definite Sabbathisms. We were sort of hoping "Prime Mover" was a Zodiac Mindwarp cover, but instead it's a pretty stellar original, droned our layered high end guitars wrap around a chugging churning riff, the bassline buzzy and ominous, again, a super dynamic arrangement, maybe one of the heaviest jams on the record, a little mathy, the guitars thick and fierce, and then the vocals come in, and the sound shifts to something more melodic and moody, drifty and creepy and psychedelic.
So yeah, don't be misled by the hype, or the satanic imagery, this isn't black metal, or really strictly metal, but if the idea of some awesomely Satanic psychedelic seventies styled heaviness, a sort of more metallic and WAY more evil and over the top classic rock, sounds like your sort of thing (and why wouldn't it?), then you'll probably love this as much as we do.
MPEG Stream: "Con Clavi Con Dio"
MPEG Stream: "Ritual"
MPEG Stream: "Satan Prayer"

GHOST s/t (Drag City) cd 14.98

GHOST Second Time Around (Drag City) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

GHOST Snuff Box Immanence (Drag City) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japan's Ghost bless us with not one, but two new albums of their psychedelic "heavy chamber folk" sounds! Of the two, "Snuff Box..." rocks a bit more, even indulging in a Rolling Stones cover. The beautifully silvery-packaged Tune In... is their album of protest songs. Folkier and longer than "Snuff Box..." and featuring a Pearls Before Swine cover. Lovely, haunting, melodic.

GHOST Snuff Box Immanence (Drag City) 2lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japan's Ghost bless us with not one, but two new albums of their psychedelic "heavy chamber folk" sounds! Of the two, "Snuff Box..." rocks a bit more, even indulging in a Rolling Stones cover. The beautifully silvery-packaged Tune In... is their album of protest songs. Folkier and longer than "Snuff Box..." and featuring a Pearls Before Swine cover. Lovely, haunting, melodic.

GHOST Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet (Drag City) cd 14.98
Japan's Ghost bless us with not one, but two new albums of their psychedelic "heavy chamber folk" sounds! Of the two, "Snuff Box..." rocks a bit more, even indulging in a Rolling Stones cover. The beautifully silvery-packaged Tune In... is their album of protest songs. Folkier and longer than "Snuff Box..." and featuring a Pearls Before Swine cover. Lovely, haunting, melodic.

GHOST Tune In, Turn On, Free Tibet (Drag City) 2lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japan's Ghost bless us with not one, but two new albums of their psychedelic "heavy chamber folk" sounds! Of the two, "Snuff Box..." rocks a bit more, even indulging in a Rolling Stones cover. The beautifully silvery-packaged Tune In... is their album of protest songs. Folkier and longer than "Snuff Box..." and featuring a Pearls Before Swine cover. Lovely, haunting, melodic.

GHOST CLUB (Flying Nun) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Denise Roughan and David Mitchell of New Zealand's 3Ds.

GHOST ORCHIDS The King Is Dead (Princehouse 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.
Not only referencing a rare strain of flower, but also an AQ favorite collection of ghost voices, otherwise known as the Electronic Voice Phenomenon, the Ghost Orchids stand in direct contrast to the confrontational screamo-spazzcore of most of their San Francisco contemporaries, with their cold, detracted aesthetic of new wave electronics and goth theatricality. "The King Is Dead" is the Ghost Orchid's debut full length, having recorded the album at Seismic Seance studios. Much of the avant-pop plasticity which coats the Spoonbender aesthetic carries over into The Ghost Orchids' sound, although the Ghost Orchids have dropped all of the Factory label references of their "Architecture" EP in favor of the detached electro stares of contemporaries like Adult. but keeping truer to the '80s darkwave electronics of Clock DVA or Cassandra Complex with spartan, repetitive programming and hard EBM rhythms. Black eyeliner required.
MPEG Stream: "A New Bloodtype"
MPEG Stream: "Love Inversions"

GHOST TO FALCO Exotic Believers (Infinite Front) lp 11.98

GHOST TO FALCO Like This Forever (Below PDX) cd 12.98
Anyone remotely familiar with aQ knows we've long had a soft spot for earthy, psych-tinged music that weaves its way along beautiful shadowy paths through the dewy glimmers and murky sludge. Well, here's something new that fits the bill and has been pleasing many an ear around here! We actually put a call out to these Portland, OR folks back in October to send some of their music down the coast. A few months have passed and here we are finally with cds in hand, and we think it was worth the wait! Heck, in the short time we've had Like This Forever in stock, in-store play has already been stirring up many many queries with at least one purchased each time it's spun.
Stormy waves of electric guitar distortion and reedy woodwinds crash upon one another, then melt into clear smooth bell chimes. Horns and piano also enter the fray that ebbs and flows around mainman Eric Crespo's emotive vocals that have been compared to those of Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. As you listen you get a sense that Crespo and co. may have been raised on a balanced diet of Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac as well as Pavement and Slint. Yes, all the most nutritious and tastiest food groups! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Hopeless Or Not"
MPEG Stream: "The End"

GHOST TO FALCO Like This Forever (Below PDX) lp 12.98
Anyone remotely familiar with aQ knows we've long had a soft spot for earthy, psych-tinged music that weaves its way along beautiful shadowy paths through the dewy glimmers and murky sludge. Well, here's something new that fits the bill and has been pleasing many an ear around here! We actually put a call out to these Portland, OR folks back in October to send some of their music down the coast. A few months have passed and here we are finally with cds in hand, and we think it was worth the wait! Heck, in the short time we've had Like This Forever in stock, in-store play has already been stirring up many many queries with at least one purchased each time it's spun.
Stormy waves of electric guitar distortion and reedy woodwinds crash upon one another, then melt into clear smooth bell chimes. Horns and piano also enter the fray that ebbs and flows around mainman Eric Crespo's emotive vocals that have been compared to those of Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes. As you listen you get a sense that Crespo and co. may have been raised on a balanced diet of Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac as well as Pavement and Slint. Yes, all the most nutritious and tastiest food groups! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Hopeless Or Not"
MPEG Stream: "The End"

GHOSTIGITAL In Cod We Trust (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Fomer Sugarcubes singer Einar Bendiktsson does a Mark E. Smith over very wrong hip-hop techno electro. It's Sprocketsy, Eurotrashy and, hopefully, tongue in cheek. If that, then kinda funny!

GIANT SAND Blurry Blue Mountain (Fire) cd 16.98
Just in time for the chill in weather we are feeling right now, it's a new set of ultra warm and cozy tunes from the always dependable Howe Gelb. His latest Giant Sand outing is so hitting the spot on these wintry days, with songs perfect for sitting by the fire, drinking some bourbon, and swapping stories with close friends. The album sinks in right away with the kind of intimacy and southwest charm that Gelb is so masterful at evoking. Blurry Blue Mountain covers so much of the terrain that Giant Sand have explored in their long wonderful career. From the subtle and seductive to the all out twang filled rockers. Fans of Smog, Johnny Cash, and Townes Van Zandt will find so much to love here, and if for some reason Giant Sand has slipped under your radar over the years this is a great time to jump into their wonderful world of warm honest sound.
MPEG Stream: "Monk's Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Fields Of Green"
MPEG Stream: "Thin Line Man"

GIANT SAND Blurry Blue Mountain (Fire) lp 24.00
Just in time for the chill in weather we are feeling right now, it's a new set of ultra warm and cozy tunes from the always dependable Howe Gelb. His latest Giant Sand outing is so hitting the spot on these wintry days, with songs perfect for sitting by the fire, drinking some bourbon, and swapping stories with close friends. The album sinks in right away with the kind of intimacy and southwest charm that Gelb is so masterful at evoking. Blurry Blue Mountain covers so much of the terrain that Giant Sand have explored in their long wonderful career. From the subtle and seductive to the all out twang filled rockers. Fans of Smog, Johnny Cash, and Townes Van Zandt will find so much to love here, and if for some reason Giant Sand has slipped under your radar over the years this is a great time to jump into their wonderful world of warm honest sound.
MPEG Stream: "Monk's Mountain"
MPEG Stream: "Fields Of Green"
MPEG Stream: "Thin Line Man"

GIANT SAND Chore of Enchantment (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
Fifteen new songs from the pen of Howe Gelb (and one by the late Rainer Ptacek, to whom this album is dedicated) make up this, the newest full length from Giant Sand. Yet another band whom we've not heard from in quite a while. Oh certainly, there's been a veritable plethora of side projects and solo efforts from John Convertino, Joey Burns, and Mr. Gelb, but y'know it's just not the same. The fine tracks here were recorded in three cities - Tucson, Memphis and New York - with a giant list of guests, instruments and toys. Produced by Howe Gelb, Kevin Salem, Jim Dickinson, and John Parish.

GIANT SAND Cover Magazine (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
On "Cover Magazine" the follow up to the wonderful "Chore Of Enchantment" from 2000 (and the beautiful recent reissue of OP8's "Slush"), Howe Gelb, he of the ever-severe countenance, takes a slightly different path and is joined by an illustrious gathering of musician friends as he presents his smouldering renditions of songs penned by the diverse likes of Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Goldfrapp, Roger Miller, X, Marty Robbins and... Sonny & Cher. On this grand occasion, the Giant Sand roster swells to epic proportions with guest contributions from PJ Harvey, Neko Case, Kevin Salem, Matt Ward, Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy), Kelly Hogan, as well as frequent collaborators Joey Burns and John Convertino (Calexico, OP8). And the outcome? As stylistically and instrument varied, eccentricity packed and finely crafted as only Giant Sand can be. Intense, strange and weighty at times, but not without an occasional spark of wit. Piano, horns, wind around a plethora of odd unidentifiable sounds and textures. Most of these tracks were recorded in Tucson, AZ, except the handful which took place in Brussels, Belgium and Oslo, Norway.
RealAudio clip: "Johnny Hit And Run Pauline"
RealAudio clip: "Human/Lovely Head"

GIANT SAND Cover Magazine (Thrill Jockey) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On "Cover Magazine" the follow up to the wonderful "Chore Of Enchantment" from 2000 (and the beautiful recent reissue of OP8's "Slush"), Howe Gelb, he of the ever-severe countenance, takes a slightly different path and is joined by an illustrious gathering of musician friends as he presents his smouldering renditions of songs penned by the diverse likes of Nick Cave, Black Sabbath, Johnny Cash, Goldfrapp, Roger Miller, X, Marty Robbins and... Sonny & Cher. On this grand occasion, the Giant Sand roster swells to epic proportions with guest contributions from PJ Harvey, Neko Case, Kevin Salem, Matt Ward, Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy), Kelly Hogan, as well as frequent collaborators Joey Burns and John Convertino (Calexico, OP8). And the outcome? As stylistically and instrument varied, eccentricity packed and finely crafted as only Giant Sand can be. Intense, strange and weighty at times, but not without an occasional spark of wit. Piano, horns, wind around a plethora of odd unidentifiable sounds and textures. Most of these tracks were recorded in Tucson, AZ, except the handful which took place in Brussels, Belgium and Oslo, Norway.

GIANT SAND Glum (Fire) cd 21.00
Giant Sand are probably most well know for featuring the rhythm section of John Convertino and Joey Burns, who left to form aQ beloved Calexico, and who would end up becoming WAY more popular than Giant Sand. But they are so much more than that, and so much of their music directly informed the sound of Calexico.
This reissue celebrates 25 years of Giant Sand, and is part of a comprehensive reissue of all the GS records. Glum, originally released back in 1994, was many folks first exposure to the band, which was a bit ironic considering it was their ELEVENTH album, but it was their first for a big label, and their first with a big budget, but none of that did anything to temper the group's experimental proclivities and difficult sonic tendencies, which is precisely why it might just be thee best. Sand mastermind Howe Gelb gathered up everyone who had ever played with them in the past and assembled what was essentially a Giant Sand big band. And the band set out to make Glum.
For those who have never heard Giant Sand before, as we mentioned before there's definitely a line that can be drawn from Calexico, the same sort of deserty shuffle, a dark countryish twang, but with Gelb's super distinctive drawl, and cool distorted guitar playing, like a warped Neil Young, blasts of gnarled psychedelia or bursts of squealing feedback erupting from the most tranquil of tracks. Just check out the title track, which is definitely one of our favorites, a dark twangy shuffle, Gelb crooning over muted minor key fingerpicking, and whirring organ, a sort of slowcore country, but then bam, the sharp crack of a snare, and some super distorted angular riffing, very Marc Ribot like in fact, which becomes a warm wash of chords, only to fade out again leaving that original dark shuffle.
"Yer Ropes" is more of a rocker, and could have bit a hit in some alternate universe, the sound lush and warm, the guitars thick and fuzzy, the drums muscly, and Gelb's voice sounding better than ever.
This whole record is just magical, and the family/big band vibe of Giant Sand is evident everywhere, from the sweet vocals of Victoria Williams, the oh so sweet "Bird Song", written and sung by Gelb's daughter, in a bid to prolong her bedtime, with Gelb adding some creepy chords, and the family pitching in on drums and bass, or the heartbreaking version of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", a gorgeous version sung by long time GS collaborator Pappy Allen, who passed away, soon after, featuring both his wife and daughter on backup vocals, and it's those sorts of songs, that most bands would leave off the record proper, that so defined Giant Sand's idiosyncratic approach to music making, one born of a seemingly pure love for, and joy in, creating, in singing and playing and performing, and that totally seeps into every note, every song, and every sound here.
The rest of the songs on Glum are just as great, the band getting heavy and distorted as often as hushed and melancholic, the songs peppered with strange sampled sounds, lush layers, whatever they could think of, all woven into something special and unique, their sound falling somewhere between Sparklehorse, Uncle Tupelo, Neil Young, Calexico and other similar country rockers, but there's something about Giant Sand that is utterly unlike any of the others. Which is probably why they never really got super popular. But then that's probably also exactly why we love them, and this record in particular, so much.
This reissue tacks on six extra songs, that sound like they could have come from the same sessions, and if that is indeed the case, it's kind of hard to figure out why they were left off, cuz they're pretty goddang great, beautiful and strange, like the band itself. Also included is new liner notes written by Gelb, about the making of the record, the songs, and what all was going on with GS way back in 1994.
MPEG Stream: "Glum"
MPEG Stream: "Yer Ropes"
MPEG Stream: "Happenstance"

GIANT SAND Is All Over... The Map (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
We've said it before and we'll say it again... Mr. Howe Gelb is an admirably freewheeling music maker. His newest album under his longstanding band moniker Giant Sand is another prime example of this. The title is the most a propo to date! He truly follows his every whim, revisiting older songs he's done in the past, and bringing many of his musical friends and relatives along for the ride. Unlike past works that had a tendency to frequently veer into somewhat puzzling/alienating territories, IAOTM is more cohesive, warm and engaging (the female backing vocals help a lot) while still maintaining his roaming unpredictability. The new Giant Sand band incarnation includes skilled craftsmen Anders Pedersen (on lapsteel, electric slide mandolin and guitar), Thoger T. Lund (on upright and electric bass), Peter Dombernowsky (on percussion and drums) and John Parish (on drums, mellotron and national guitar, and who also co-produced the album with Gelb). Plus this time you can look forward to a guest appearance by Vic Chesnutt! Gelb redoes "Crackling Water" from the Slush album by OP8 (his collaboration with John and Joey of Calexico with Lisa Germano on vocals - excellent!). The OP8 version is pretty damn fine and hard to beat, but his new one with Marie Frank on vocals comes pretty close. Hurrah for Howe!
MPEG Stream: "A Classico Reprise"
MPEG Stream: "NYC of Time"

GIANT SAND Is All Over... The Map (Thrill Jockey) lp 12.98
We've said it before and we'll say it again... Mr. Howe Gelb is an admirably freewheeling music maker. His newest album under his longstanding band moniker Giant Sand is another prime example of this. The title is the most a propo to date! He truly follows his every whim, revisiting older songs he's done in the past, and bringing many of his musical friends and relatives along for the ride. Unlike past works that had a tendency to frequently veer into somewhat puzzling/alienating territories, IAOTM is more cohesive, warm and engaging (the female backing vocals help a lot) while still maintaining his roaming unpredictability. The new Giant Sand band incarnation includes skilled craftsmen Anders Pedersen (on lapsteel, electric slide mandolin and guitar), Thoger T. Lund (on upright and electric bass), Peter Dombernowsky (on percussion and drums) and John Parish (on drums, mellotron and national guitar, and who also co-produced the album with Gelb). Plus this time you can look forward to a guest appearance by Vic Chesnutt! Gelb redoes "Crackling Water" from the Slush album by OP8 (his collaboration with John and Joey of Calexico with Lisa Germano on vocals - excellent!). The OP8 version is pretty damn fine and hard to beat, but his new one with Marie Frank on vocals comes pretty close. Hurrah for Howe!
MPEG Stream: "A Classico Reprise"
MPEG Stream: "NYC of Time"

GIANT SAND Provisions (Yep Roc) cd 14.98
It's been a few years, Mr. Gelb, we've sure missed you! Your new album is absolutely wonderful, and not just because you've got Neko Case, M. Ward and Isobel Campbell on board this time around... although that definitely sweetens the deal!
Each of the thirteen songs slowly unwinds in the dusk hour shadows with the ever enigmatic Gelb occasionally bringing to mind a southwest desert sun-baked Leonard Cohen. While he definitely pulls out a few classic Giant Sand twangy eccentric yarns (particularly late in the album - "Belly Full Of Fire" and "Saturated Beyond Repair"), overall Provisions seems to be his most mellow, straightforwardly melodic and song structured work to date. Even when he drifts off into the downright cryptic and bizarre, the raw emotion and poetry of his music somehow still speaks straight to the heart. Some of the album's best moments feature are the most bare bones with just voice and piano ("Spiral"). Wow. You might recall the short lived superb collaboration that took place many years ago between Gelb, Lisa Germano, and Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino. OP8 was its name, and Slush was the title of their amazing album. Of any of the albums that the individual artists have released since, this new Giant Sand full length comes the closest to capturing that magic (albeit with different parties involved).
And attention all you new Calexico fans picking up the latest album from those fellow Arizonans, time for a little history lesson! Burns and Convertino were members of Giant Sand prior to forming Calexico. If you haven't checked GS out yet, you are missing out! Some early GS albums may initially seem impenetrably strange and more of an acquired taste, but you don't wanna miss this album!
Most certainly highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Without A Word "
MPEG Stream: "Increment Of Love"
MPEG Stream: "Spiral"

GIARDINI DI MIRO s/t (Zum) cd 6.98
Italian post-rock on Zum. Very beautiful, exercising on the same treadmills as Slint, the Dirty Three, and more recently Mogwai and God Speed You Black Emperor.

GIBBONS, BETH & RUSTIN MAN Out Of Season (Sanctuary) cd 17.98
Now at last, Beth Gibbons' solo debut gets a domestic release (so it's a little cheaper) AND it's got some bonus stuff for you slowpokes/cheapskates who didn't get the import. Yeah, isn't life like that? Bonus tracks and video clips for those who wait... (Specifically, Lou Reed's "Candy Says" done live and a video for "Mysteries".) Anyway, it's a great record, here's what we said about the import:
Here it is, the highly anticipated album from the voice of Portishead - Ms Beth Gibbons! Much like such artists as Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen, Gibbons possesses a timeless, immensely affecting voice that exists outside of passing fancies and dated trends. Out Of Season dispells any question of that, presenting a very different -perhaps more accessible- backdrop than that of Portishead, but a no less dramatic and fitting one. The former embodies a mysterious, complex and haunting otherworldliness, the latter is much more familiar, folkish and earthbound. But who is Rustin Man with whom Ms Gibbon's is collaborating, you might ask? Why he is the alter ego of her friend Paul Webb (formerly of Talk Talk). And we should also note the presence throughout this album of her Portishead comrade Adrian Utley in both performance and production mode. A great line-up, indeed. Grand orchestral, big band and cabaret arrangements sit well beside more minimal instrumentations and Gibbons conveying her trademark deepest of despairs chameleons gracefully into the changing landscapes. This is apparent very early on with the expansive John Barry-esque lushness of "Tom The Model". Following that number is the sparsely beautiful "Show" with its assembly of cello, flute, double bass and piano, and a vocal performance that echoes the emotional brittleness of Chet Baker's "My Funny Valentine". While she still often stirs up those Shirley Bassey-esque inflections as she did in Portishead, in our opinion, she's at her best without them. Refined and elegant. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Tom The Model"
MPEG Stream: "Spider Monkey"

GIBBONS, BETH & RUSTIN MAN Out of Season (Go Beat) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally on LP!
Here it is, the highly anticipated album from the voice of Portishead - Ms Beth Gibbons! Much like such artists as Joni Mitchell or Leonard Cohen, Gibbons possesses a timeless, immensely affecting voice that exists outside of passing fancies and dated trends. Out Of Season dispells any question of that, presenting a very different -perhaps more accessible- backdrop than that of Portishead, but a no less dramatic and fitting one. The former embodies a mysterious, complex and haunting otherworldliness, the latter is much more familiar, folkish and earthbound. But who is Rustin Man with whom Ms Gibbon's is collaborating, you might ask? Why he is the alter ego of her friend Paul Webb (formerly of Talk Talk). And we should also note the presence throughout this album of her Portishead comrade Adrian Utley in both performance and production mode. A great line-up, indeed. Grand orchestral, big band and cabaret arrangements sit well beside more minimal instrumentations and Gibbons conveying her trademark deepest of despairs chameleons gracefully into the changing landscapes. This is apparent very early on with the expansive John Barry-esque lushness of "Tom The Model". Following that number is the sparsely beautiful "Show" with its assembly of cello, flute, double bass and piano, and a vocal performance that echoes the emotional brittleness of Chet Baker's "My Funny Valentine". While she still often stirs up those Shirley Bassey-esque inflections as she did in Portishead, in our opinion, she's at her best without them. Refined and elegant. Recommended.

GIBBONS, BILLY / BONNIE PRINCE BILLY & MATT SWEENY split (Drag City) 7" 6.50
Not sure where the idea came from for this match up: Billy Gibbons of legendary boogie rock gods ZZ Top, and Bonnie Prince Billy, formerly of Palace Brothers. Was it the two Billy's thing? Could be. But then there's also the fact that both are covering Fleetwood Mac! Seemed kind of silly, and like a total novelty, but goddamn if both tracks here aren't pretty great.
Gibbons tackles an older Peter Green 'Mac track, back from when they were a proper blues band, and thus it suits him perfectly, a dirge-y swampy blues, driven by a simple rhythmic stomp, Gibbons' badass raspy vox, all slithery blooze stomp, and it sorta kills! BPB takes on a Stevie Nicks track, and it ends up sounding like it could have been a BPB original, all stripped down and mostly acoustic, gorgeous vocal harmonies, all building to a lush final few minutes, helps that it was already a beautiful song to begin with.

GIBSON, DAUGHN All Hell (White Denim) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We really weren't too sure what to expect from this, the former drummer from Pennsylvania heavies Pearls & Brass gone country, which is nothing new really, plenty of rockers we dig have made solo records that were essentially country records, and it's not all that surprising that some dark introspective twang might lurk beneath much of the music we love. But what is new, is that this is not a 'dude with a guitar' country record, instead, it's more like 'a dude with a laptop, a drum machine and a sampler' country record! The twang here is often just implied, with the music a murky, swirling, layered loopscape of softly stuttering samples, but there's plenty of slippery lap steel, acoustic guitar and piano, all wreathed in electronic halos, drifting through lush expanses of softly reverbed electro-shimmer, the songs tethered to loping looped rhythms and shuffling programmed beats, the sounds washed out and shimmery, reminding us more of Magnetic Fields, Gibson's deep dramatic croon not all that far removed from Stephen Merritt's, in fact opener, "Bad Guys" definitely sounds like a countrified Magnetic Fields. "In The Beginning" adds some soulful vox, and Gibson ends up sounding more like Antony or Arthur Russell, and a looped vocal sample acts as background vox, a method used throughout the record, like on "Tiffany Lou" with what might just be a Jolie Holland vocal sample gets slowed down and looped, hip hop style into a murky chopped and screwed chorus.
Gibson often gets compared to James Blake, his approach to country similar to the Blake's take on soul music, but we might also mention Dirty Beaches' Elvis worshipping electro-rockabilly, which seems a much more apt reference, as Gibson's vocals definitely hew closer to the King a lot of the time, especially on tracks like "Lookin' Back on '99", which sounds like Elvis crooning along to a modernized version of some eighties TV theme, all hiss drenched chase scene propulsion, tense and cinematic. We also hear the influence of folks like John Maus and Ariel Pink, Gibson's sonic innovation similarly idiosyncratic, check out the title track, which closes the record which initially sounds like Portishead via Barry Adamson, but when the vocals come in becomes something more like James Ferraro collaborating with Ariel Pink on a theme for the next James Bond movie! Strange, dark, haunting stuff, a woozy, dreamily druggy late night electro-twang gem. Most definitely recommended for fans of Scott Walker, Arthur Russell, Magnetic Fields, James Blake, Dirty Beaches, Ariel Pink, & John Maus.
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Tiffany Lou"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Guys"
MPEG Stream: "All Hell"
MPEG Stream: "In The Beginning"

GIBSON, DAUGHN Lite Me Up (Dull Knife) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've been trying to review/list the recent full length from Daughn Gibson for a while now, but our suppliers are constantly out, which is not surprising, cuz the rest of the world must be as smitten as we are by Gibson's weird electro-country, traveling a similar sonic path as Dirty Beaches, but where DB reinvents Elvis style rockabilly electronically, Gibson does the same with country ballads, looping voices and soul snippets and creating dark haunting electronic country soul ballads, driven by Gibson's deep cowboy vocals. The weirdest part is that he was actually the drummer for heavy rockers Pearl And Brass, which makes electro-country side even more of a surprise. But until we can get copies of the full length, this new 7" will have to tide you over, the A side draping Daughn's deep snarly vox over swirling looped strings, and subtly sampled soul snippets, all infused with a dark country twang, it's not until the end that the song really reveals itself as a strange electronic studio concoction, with layered looped background vocals coming to the fore. The B side is a dark sultry country ballad, again super subtly looped and sampled, only close listening reveals the strangely disparate elements, otherwise it plays like some long lost honky tonky jukebox ballad. Nice!

GIBSON, LAURA If You Come To Greet Me (Hush) cd 15.98
What a pleasant surprise. It's not at all rare to get a new record from a gentle folky singer songwriter these days, but what is rare is when one creates music this immediately pleasing and soft on the ears. With a fragile and intimate vibe, this album has the same kind of charm that made us fall in love with Jolie Holland when we first heard her. With labelmates Norfolk & Western on board as her backing band, Gibson and Co. utilize saw, vibraphones, mandolin and banjo, creating the perfect sonic moments. Gibson's enticing voice makes us think of an even dreamier Karen Dalton or a more rustic Hanne Hukkelberg. While Hush is best known as the Portland label that first put out Decemberists records, this gem by Laura Gibson is the new jewel in their crown we think!!
MPEG Stream: "This Is Not The End"
MPEG Stream: "Country, Country"

GIBSON, LAURA La Grande (Jealous Butcher) lp 17.98

GIDDY MOTORS Do Easy (Fat Cat) cd 13.98
Oops, dragged our asses a bit on this one! It came out back in August 2006. Ah well, better late than never. Funny thing is this South London band's second album *sounds* as if it was released much longer ago than that... oh , like maybe over a decade ago! Characterized by angular guitars, distempered male vocals and a boiling cauldron rhythm section, Giddy Motors' churning sound is a familiar one to those of us born before 1977ish. Authentically recalling the angst and aggression of their forefathers Jesus Lizard, Cows, Die Kreuzen and The Fall, Giddy Motors' Do Easy could easily be mistaken for a long lost, late '80s / early '90s release on Amphetamine Reptile or Touch & Go. Pissed, scarred and raw.
MPEG Stream: "Sick"
MPEG Stream: "Endgame"

GIDDY MOTORS Make It Pop (Fat Cat) cd 15.98
This is kinda like a lot of those tough, angular Touch & Go type bands from the late '80s, plus a bit of that oh-so-now dancey post-punk, and a heaping spoonful of the Pop Group via the Birthday Party as channelled through the Jesus Lizard, topped off with a big dose of extra testosterone. At first I thought I'd try to like it, being, as it is, similar to many of the skronky and confrontational bands I love, but then I was like, "nah."
RealAudio clip: "Magmanic"

GIFFONI, CARLOS / THE RITA Two On A Match (No Fun Productions) 2lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
By all accounts, this double LP of pure brutality finds the Canadian noise outfit The Rita remixing source sounds from Brooklyn noise king Carlos Giffoni and vice versa. In the press release for this album, The Rita's Sam McKinlay offers a cogent argument about the aesthetic differences which stem from The Rita's 'dirty' methods of overdriving sound through daisy-chains of pedals contrasted against Carlos Giffoni's pulsing synths which cruise beneath the turbulent noise surfaces. While there are some notable differences on both of these pieces of vinyl, they are secondary to the overwhelmingly harsh noise which persists throughout. This is all about the noise, and this noise is an abject, blackened sound which has the feeling of particulate soot from a very dirty coal power plant given to the force of a sandblaster used not on a brickwall, but your eardrums to penetrate as a viral agent. On occasion, thicker chunks enter this jet-powered stream of sound, smashing against each other like massive sheets of shattering glass. The first of the two LPs uses these sounds within a series of erratic compositions that gradually build to cut-the-power conclusions. The second LP unleashes the flood gates from beginning to end with very little variation to the punishment. In both cases, it's still all about the quality of that noise, as an extremely aggressive tool of harsh, ugly, vile blackness. Limited to 300 copies!

GIFTHORSE First Words (Piece Of Mind) cd 10.98
Doug Hilsinger is one talented fellow. On his own, he's remade the entire Brian Eno album Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) with Caroleen Beatty on vocals. Together they're two fifths of SF smoky twang combo Waycross. He's also played with numerous local and international artists. Plus he was previously in two other great Bay Area bands... namely Bomb and the creators of this here album, Gifthorse, a heavy prog/psych/metal band who rocked the bay area from 1991 through 1996, and perhaps as referenced in the title, this was their first full length. Absolutely tight and powerful instrumental hard rock! If you dig the Fucking Champs, why don't ya let their elder Bay Area brethren rip your head off too... in a good way!
MPEG Stream: "Onrush"
MPEG Stream: "Asphyxiofile"

GIL, GILBERTO Cerebro Eletronico (Philips Japan) cd 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WONDERUL! Japanese-only reissue of the third Gil album (also known as the self titled Gilberto Gil album), originally issued by Brazilian Polydor in 1969. Mutantes fans hungering for more should not skip this gem, and who knows how long it will be available to us so buy now or cry later.
"Every bit as in the zone as Gal's epochal '69 testament; musta been something in the Bahian water that year! The Brazilian military dictatorship of the time didn't know what the fuck to make of these records, but they knew they were plenty subversive & placed Gilberto & Caetano Veloso (don't sleep on his '69 White Album either, even though it's never been as hard to find as these two) under house arrest before exiling them for several years. Lanny, again, provides some of the most psychedelic guitarwork the world has ever known & studio wiz Rogerio Duprat outdoes himself on the almost-Dockstadteresque 'Objeto Semi-Identificado'. There's even a Mutantes cover ('2001' or 'Dois Mil e Uno') which out-freaks the original! ... This was Gil's third album, and second in the Tropicálist style. I've yet to hear a bad one from him..." -- Tropicalia expert Jason Witherspoon in the Forced Exposure catalog.)

GIL, GILBERTO Expresso 2222 (Water) cd 15.98
Originally released in 1972, Expresso 2222 was Gilberto Gil's first recording after his two year exile in London. The record opens with a truly riveting, playful, and festive flute and drum instrumental, that harkens to the ceremonial flute music of the Andes. Sadly, it's the last stylistic foray on the record into the spiritual heights of the high mountain tops, but for those uninitiated, let it be the delectable hors d'oeuvre that sends you on your hunt for more. Luckily what is to come is by far one of the greatest statements in popular Brazilian music of the '60s and '70s. When the second track rolls in, we're thrust back, deep into the midst of a more archetypical Tropicalia sound, though the movement itself was considered to be properly dead at that point. It is clear Gil is looking to Africa for inspiration more than classic American '60s rock and roll and pop, a hallmark of the Tropicalia movement. In all cases however, Gil continuously mines funky indigenous rhythms and melodies, and reinvigorates them with a contemporary urgency. Gil's vocal delivery is always vividly commanding, with plenty of flare and pomp alongside a general purity of form and intention. Gil's frantic guitar playing is a true feat to behold and always rich in craft. Anyone who hasn't spent a little time watching Gil shred in his prime on YouTube should do themselves a favor, it is a real pleasure, and frankly a gift. Gil's supporting cast is in fine form as well on this outing with Tutty Moreno providing crisp, inventive drumming and Lanny Gordin delivering a great chugging and supple bass performance. The production is not as wild or intensely psychedelic as Gil's most immediately previous records at that point in his career, generally emphasizing clarity and separation ahead of the sometimes schizophrenically boisterous psychedelia he also dabbled in. Perhaps the record's most luminous moment occurs on "Cada Macaco No Seu Galho," wherein Gil and sometime collaborator Caetano Veloso launch into a frenetic and roiling duet over one of the most gorgeously sturdy yet lyrical Latin guitar riffs ever recorded. Seriously, go there.
MPEG Stream: "Pipoca Moderna"
MPEG Stream: "Expresso 2222"
MPEG Stream: "Cada Macaco No Seu Galho"