GIRLS Broken Dreams Club (True Panther) 12" 10.98
For all the hype and publicity that has surrounded Girls, its easy to lose sight that why so many, including us have fallen so hard for these guys (Girls?), is that they write such earnest, endearing and moving songs that have a kind of pure emotional honesty that just doesn't come along in music that often.
We first heard a couple of these songs over a year ago when Girls performed very stripped down versions for the first time on Irwin's radio show Sleeves On Hearts on KUSF. And what makes Christopher Owens such an amazing songwriter is that his songs can be delivered totally bare bones or fleshed out with full production and both ways they still hit to the core. These new songs introduce a delightful twang and bittersweet elegance to the already wide scope of sonic terrain that Girls cover within their songs. Tracks like "Oh So Protective One" and "Broken Dreams Club" have a melancholic southwest charm that makes us think of some of our favorite Giant Sand records, or if Calexico teamed up with Elvis Costello in his prime. With beautiful horn arrangements, and a very talented cast of players, including one of our favorite and most unsung talents of San Francisco, Ara Anderson backing them up, this record finds Girls growing in such exciting ways.
There is still the exuberance and wide eyed wonder that made listening to their debut such a thrilling experience, but there is a depth and truth inside each of these songs that is just further proof that Girls are no of-the-moment fad, but instead a wildly talented band who will make beautiful and moving music for a long time to come! (And although this is an "ep", it's actually about 30 minutes long, longer than some Captured Tracks "full-lengths", haha.)
MPEG Stream: "Oh So Protective One"
MPEG Stream: "Alright"
MPEG Stream: "Broken Dreams Club"

GIRLS Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther) cd 14.98
It sounds funny to say, but Girls really are a perfect all-American pop band! Not all-American in some cliche, red, white and blue way, but instead their songs and spirit really do capture the landscape, spirit and emotions that all of us share on a daily basis. They unleash their songs, heart fully on sleeve, oozing with guts and bravado that you never doubt, even for a moment. It's hard to talk about or describe what it means to be the real thing, but Christopher Owen's songwriting and delivery is the real thing. His songs are honest, sad, funny, bratty, brave, vulnerable and sincere. When you listen to this new album by Girls you can tell this is music being made not just as hobby or for fun, but that this is what gets him to keep on moving and living every day. So much music being made right now is so too concerned with sounding cool, or hinting at all the right references, but Girls make no apologies for just wanting to be one of the greatest pop/rock bands on the planet.
While there are those wonderful tender and slow moments on the album that Girls deliver so well, this for sure finds them at their most epic and rocking. We hear their love of so much great classic rock come out during different moments in these songs, whether it's a Fleetwood Mac like melody, mid '70s Pink Floyd sprawling guitar complete with back-up gospel vocals, some Deep Purplish lyrics, or Big Star power pop phrasing, all interwoven into their already unmistakable sound. Some of us had never made the connection before, but there are times when Christopher's vocals recall another amazing songwriter with a heavy and beautiful heart, Elliott Smith. When the songs are slower and more stripped down, they can stop you in your tracks, goosebumps all over, as sentiments of extreme yearning sizzle to the surface. Yet alongside the heartache there is an undercurrent of self-endurance and triumph that rings through these songs. Once again, Girls brings us to glory!
While they last, the lp version (not the cd, sorry) we have comes with a bonus flexi-disc!!
MPEG Stream: "Honey Bunny"
MPEG Stream: "Just A Song"
MPEG Stream: "Die"

GIRLS Father, Son, Holy Ghost (True Panther) lp 21.00
It sounds funny to say, but Girls really are a perfect all-American pop band! Not all-American in some cliche, red, white and blue way, but instead their songs and spirit really do capture the landscape, spirit and emotions that all of us share on a daily basis. They unleash their songs, heart fully on sleeve, oozing with guts and bravado that you never doubt, even for a moment. It's hard to talk about or describe what it means to be the real thing, but Christopher Owen's songwriting and delivery is the real thing. His songs are honest, sad, funny, bratty, brave, vulnerable and sincere. When you listen to this new album by Girls you can tell this is music being made not just as hobby or for fun, but that this is what gets him to keep on moving and living every day. So much music being made right now is so too concerned with sounding cool, or hinting at all the right references, but Girls make no apologies for just wanting to be one of the greatest pop/rock bands on the planet.
While there are those wonderful tender and slow moments on the album that Girls deliver so well, this for sure finds them at their most epic and rocking. We hear their love of so much great classic rock come out during different moments in these songs, whether it's a Fleetwood Mac like melody, mid '70s Pink Floyd sprawling guitar complete with back-up gospel vocals, some Deep Purplish lyrics, or Big Star power pop phrasing, all interwoven into their already unmistakable sound. Some of us had never made the connection before, but there are times when Christopher's vocals recall another amazing songwriter with a heavy and beautiful heart, Elliott Smith. When the songs are slower and more stripped down, they can stop you in your tracks, goosebumps all over, as sentiments of extreme yearning sizzle to the surface. Yet alongside the heartache there is an undercurrent of self-endurance and triumph that rings through these songs. Once again, Girls brings us to glory!
MPEG Stream: "Honey Bunny"
MPEG Stream: "Just A Song"
MPEG Stream: "Die"

GIRLS Hellhole Ratrace (True Panther / Fantast Trashcan) 10" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Super limited edition 10" from Girls featuring their epic track "Hellhole Ratrace" a song that has proven to be the perfect gateway drug, as most folks first taste of the deliciously romantic pop that the guys in Girls create. If you haven't heard this song yet then by all means make sure you grab this as it really is one of the most heartfelt and achingly bittersweet songs in a very long time. The kind of song that gives you butterflies and goosebumps every time you hear it. The 'b' side is a song called "Solitude" that is not on the full length. Only 500 of these were pressed so act now or you know....
MPEG Stream: "Hellhole Ratrace"

GIRLS Laura / Oh Boy (True Panther) 7" 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of things we love most about local boys Girls, is their celebration and appreciation of THE SONG, and specifically THE SINGLE. They first caught our attention with the life affirming single Hellhole Ratrace, and after the release of their amazing full length here's another killer single, with a brand new song as the B-side. This time out "Laura" from the album gets singled out, which is great cuz we already loved that song, so it was the B-side we were anxious to hear and "Oh Boy" is one of the dreamiest, warm and warbly Girls songs yet! Like My Bloody Valentine doing a '60s heartache girl group broken hearted lament.
It continues to blow our mind that every time we hear a new song from Girls it makes us fall in love with them all over again. It's just a few days away from Valentines Day when Girls will be playing here and we can't think of a better band to celebrate hearts on sleeves and broken hearts that still beat brightly than an evening with Girls.
While usually we wouldn't say a pressing of one thousand 7"s is all that limited, with the massive popularity of these Girls in the last year odds are these are sure to disappear pretty quick.

GIRLS Lawrence (True Panther) 7" 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
With Valentine's Day just a couple weeks away, this fancy one-sided heart shaped single from Girls will be the perfect way to tell that special someone you dig them a lot, or more appropriately in the spirit of Girls, you should get it for yourself and lament the love that you have lost or you wish for but can never have.
"Lawrence" is dedicated to Lawrence Hayard, the frontman of Felt, and what an awesome dedication and tribute it is as this song has the same kind of languid and hazy daydream glow of so many of our favorite Felt songs. It's not a cover, but instead a way for Christopher Owens to show his gratitude and love to someone who has played such a big influence on his music making.
Quite possibly the most beautiful Girls song to date. We've been spinning this heart over and over since we got it in, and don't expect to stop any time soon...

GIRLS Lust For Life / Life In San Francisco (True Panther) 7" 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When we gushed about how much we love the Girls debut full length last list, we talked about how much of a San Francisco record it was. Paying homage and being influenced by this great city we are lucky enough to live in. So it's more then fitting that this new single that features the great lead off track "Lust For Life" from the full length, offers a non-album track on the B side called "Life In San Francisco". The song really does perfectly demonstrate how much this city has shaped and informed the wonderful and romantic vision Girls create with their music. One of those songs that sounds as good whether it's crisp and sunny out or for those wet gray days we know are on the horizon. Never sure how long singles stay in print these days so best to grab one of these before you say oh how I wish I had......

GIRLS AGAINST BOYS You Can't Fight What You Can't See (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
I'd really hoped that GVSB's return to the rock arena after such a long absence would kick some serious ass with their crunchy, sinewy guitars and trademark sultry rasp vocals. Instead, what we get is something that sounds sort of like lead vocalist Scott McCloud doin' his best Mark E. Smith impression. Weird! In the mid-'90s, they unleashed Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby and Cruise Yourself, their first two releases on Touch & Go. A pair of hot, angstful and sexy full lengths. Since then they've gone through their fair share of major label entanglements and a few less than stellar albums (on which they sounded like slick, hollow GVSB replicas), but now that they've found a new label home on Jade Tree, is this a fresh start? Not quite. Although this is definitely much better than their last effort Freak-o-nica, it still pales in comparison to the aforementioned albums.
RealAudio clip: "Tweaker"

GIRLS AT DAWN Call The Doctor (Norton) cd 14.98
We were psyched by the debut ep of Girls At Dawn released on Captured Tracks nearly a year ago and are thus now doubly psyched to finally see their full length debut. Surely, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you must have noticed that there's a huge girl group revival thing going on, a lot of it spurred on by the great Captured Tracks label: Grass Widow, Wet Dog, and Aias to name but a few. But Girls At Dawn have carved out their own special niche. Where bands like the Dum Dum Girls mine the sixties Phil Spector / Shangri-las / Ronnettes sound and groups like Wet Dog and Grass Widow channel late seventies post-punk bands The Slits and The Raincoats, The Girls At Dawn have been exploring the eighties/sixties paisley underground sound of bands like The Pandoras, Strawberry Switchblade and The Bangles, as well as one of our favorite bands from back in the day, Fuzzbox. Girls At Dawn manage to apply a coat of strawberry-scented psych gloss to their lo-fi DIY ethos with punchy short songs (the longest track is 2:36) and sweet pop charm.
MPEG Stream: "Come Here To Die"
MPEG Stream: "Evil One"

GIRLS AT DAWN Call The Doctor (Norton) lp 14.98
We were psyched by the debut ep of Girls At Dawn released on Captured Tracks nearly a year ago and are thus now doubly psyched to finally see their full length debut. Surely, unless you've been hiding under a rock, you must have noticed that there's a huge girl group revival thing going on, a lot of it spurred on by the great Captured Tracks label: Grass Widow, Wet Dog, and Aias to name but a few. But Girls At Dawn have carved out their own special niche. Where bands like the Dum Dum Girls mine the sixties Phil Spector / Shangri-las / Ronnettes sound and groups like Wet Dog and Grass Widow channel late seventies post-punk bands The Slits and The Raincoats, The Girls At Dawn have been exploring the eighties/sixties paisley underground sound of bands like The Pandoras, Strawberry Switchblade and The Bangles, as well as one of our favorite bands from back in the day, Fuzzbox. Girls At Dawn manage to apply a coat of strawberry-scented psych gloss to their lo-fi DIY ethos with punchy short songs (the longest track is 2:36) and sweet pop charm.
MPEG Stream: "Come Here To Die"
MPEG Stream: "Evil One"

GIRLS AT DAWN, THE s/t (Captured Tracks) 12" 13.98
As we all make our 2009 favorite lists, we started thinking about what label released the most rad music and Captured Tracks would be pretty hard to beat with their amazing onslaught of killer releases this year, from folks like Blank Dogs, Brilliant Colors, Roman Soldiers, Dum Dum Girls, Gary War, Grass Widow, Woods, Thee Oh Sees, The Mayfair Set... God damn! They put out more amazing records in one year then many labels do in a decade! So it's so fitting that in the final days of 2009 we get one more slab of wax from Captured Tracks that we can't seem to stop listening to.
The Girls At Dawn for sure fit into the Captured Tracks aesthetic and would sound right at home on a bill with any of the above mentioned bands, yet they totally have their own unique charm that has made us so smitten with them. The way they infuse a haunting girl group element into their raw garage pop is totally hitting the spot. Makes us think of Grass Widow teaming up with The Sandwitches or a more lo-fi Slumber Party, or maybe Slant 6 / Quixotic doing Phil Spector and Thee Headoatees covers. In other words this is fucking great!

GIRLS AT OUR BEST Pleasure (Cherry Red) cd 16.98
We might have missed out on this reissue from earlier this year had it not been for Mick from Rubber O Cement commenting in the store that recent Slumberland darlings Liechtenstein sounded a lot like Girls At Our Best. Given how much we were smitten by the Liechtenstein and their seductive twee punk melodies, we gave the Girls a shot; and damn if Mick didn't totally nail it. Girls At Our Best are a little more jagged at times (sort of like a brighter version of Scream period Siouxsie & The Banshees in terms of the arrangements) and enjoy some nifty production tricks of vocal multi-tracking to give Jo Evans all sorts of call and response choruses of her lightly melodic then intensely present vocals.
Girls At Our Best was shortlived from the get-go, as the band had already broken up once using the moniker The Butterflies, but took up an offer for half-price sessions at a studio in their hometown of Leeds to record. They recorded four singles, a couple of which ended up on Rough Trade before the tiny indie Happy Birthday offered them a deal to release their first LP Pleasure in 1981. Like any self-respecting punk band of the day, they managed a BBC session though Richard Skinner and not John Peel. All of these aforementioned singles, that LP, and the BBC session fit snugly on this cd compendium of their work. By the time, Girls At Our Best had jumped from the economical single to the full album, they were tinkering around with some whimsical vaudevillian tropes, sarcastic sugar-punk excess, and anthemic vocal acrobatics. And as ramshackledly silly some of these track sound, they were much better on the punchy, dance-punk numbers like "Warm Girls" and "Go For Gold."
MPEG Stream: "Getting Nowhere Fast"
MPEG Stream: "Warm Girls"
MPEG Stream: "Go For Gold"

GIRLS NAMES Dead To Me (Slumberland) cd 12.98
We first heard these Irish garage rockers on a split with SF outfit Brilliant Colors, their sound reminding us of big time aQ faves Crystal Stilts, their brand of jangly garage rock similarly haunting, and listening to their full length, we definitely still hear shades of CS, we're imagining it has much to do with the vocals, a deep reverbed croon, that even here reminds us of groups like Celibate Rifles, the Lime Spiders and the Scientists, but the difference is that the Crystal Stilts' SOUND was also similarly gloomy and dour, a sort of garagey jangle pop via brooding post punk, but Girls Names traffic in something much more jangly and poppy, melodic and a little twee, their sound more in line with groups like Black Tambourine, the Pastels, the Shop Assistants, Creation Records and that classic C86 pop sound. And yeah, the deep male vocals do change the feel, in some cases making Girls Names sound like a bit like Felt, and again, sometimes positioning them closer to Crystal Stilts. And while a few of the tracks here do find the band exploring darker sonic territory, with brooding reverby guitars and gloomy minor key melancholia, for the most part, they focus more on dreamy pop jangle, a hazy, super melodic, catchy and sixties garage style pop, but that, when wedded to the deep crooned vocals, the occasional gloomy overtones and some subtly haunting moodiness, make Girls Names something special for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Lawrence"
MPEG Stream: "I Could Die"
MPEG Stream: "When You Cry"

GIRLS NAMES Dead To Me (Slumberland) lp 14.98
We first heard these Irish garage rockers on a split with SF outfit Brilliant Colors, their sound reminding us of big time aQ faves Crystal Stilts, their brand of jangly garage rock similarly haunting, and listening to their full length, we definitely still hear shades of CS, we're imagining it has much to do with the vocals, a deep reverbed croon, that even here reminds us of groups like Celibate Rifles, the Lime Spiders and the Scientists, but the difference is that the Crystal Stilts' SOUND was also similarly gloomy and dour, a sort of garagey jangle pop via brooding post punk, but Girls Names traffic in something much more jangly and poppy, melodic and a little twee, their sound more in line with groups like Black Tambourine, the Pastels, the Shop Assistants, Creation Records and that classic C86 pop sound. And yeah, the deep male vocals do change the feel, in some cases making Girls Names sound like a bit like Felt, and again, sometimes positioning them closer to Crystal Stilts. And while a few of the tracks here do find the band exploring darker sonic territory, with brooding reverby guitars and gloomy minor key melancholia, for the most part, they focus more on dreamy pop jangle, a hazy, super melodic, catchy and sixties garage style pop, but that, when wedded to the deep crooned vocals, the occasional gloomy overtones and some subtly haunting moodiness, make Girls Names something special for sure.
MPEG Stream: "Lawrence"
MPEG Stream: "I Could Die"
MPEG Stream: "When You Cry"

GIRLS NAMES / BRILLIANT COLORS I Lose / You Win (Slumberland / Tough Love) 7" 4.98
Oh wow, this is one of those amazing split 7"s that makes you stop listening to the piles of records you've been meaning to get to, as once you put this one all you wanna do is listen to each side over and over again. This is the first we've heard of Girls Names, who apparently will have their debut full length out early next year and if "I Lose" is any indication it's gonna be a record that'll demand some serious attention. We haven't been quite this smitten with the sounds of a new rock band since we first got floored by Crystal Stilts a few years back. In fact they have a very similar sound to Crystal Stilts, nice warm reverb rushing through their hollow and haunting garage rock.
We were already big fans of San Francisco's Brilliant Colors so it comes as no surprise that their song on the split is another gem of early '80s inspired post-punk/dream-pop garage bliss. Even though we have so much other stuff to listen to right now, we just can't stop flippin' this and playin' it nonstop!

GIRLS NAMES / WEIRD DREAMS split (Slumberland) 7" 4.98
Brand new song from aQ beloved Irish garage poppers Girls Names, teamed up on this split with new to us Weird Dreams. Girls Names unfurls some fuzzy eighties beholden twee pop, laced with new wave synths, and driven by deep, breathy, dramatic vocals. A soaring chorus laced with weird slightly industrial percussion and a woozy psychedelic shimmer, transforms the song into something way weirder (and cooler) that your run of the mill retro pop.
Weird Dreams look back with their sound too, but in their case, back to the sixties for a smokey, sultry torch song style pop ballad, slithery basslines, crooned vox, everything fuzzy and late night ballady, spidery melodies weaving a darkly psychedelic spell, fans of the New Lines and Still Corners will definitely dig.
Pressed on clear purple vinyl!!

GIRTH Living In Truth (Hector Stentor) cd 9.98
FINALLY BACK IN STOCK!
Wow! This is one for all of you always seeking out the ultimate mathy heaviness. Girth are a guitar and drums duo from up Seattle way, and they dish out some seriously deranged, detailed, devastating instrumental mayhem here. There's a dozen songs on this 42 minute debut and they're all hella herky and jerky and heavy. Did we just say Hella? Well that'd be one comparison, along with Bozart and Breadwinner, though Girth are way more of a metal-riffed monster that those bands, something of which we totally approve. Girth's spazzy string-strangulation and amazing octopoidal drumming is balanced by their crushing low-end chunk and high-tension rocka rolla, and there's even some nice, calming interludes of post-rockish near melody. It's sorta like Crom-Tech or Orthrelm, but just a bit less maddening, more musical. At times this could be the Melvins, playing Black Flag's Process Of Weeding Out while on a caffine binge, throwing in some Entombed or Eyehategod riffs while they're at it. Or the Fucking Champs and Slayer as possessor demons doing battle for control of the same host body. The most important point is, that as hectic and heavy as this can be, it manages to be super listenable as well, something that we don't always get from the math core crowd. We like it. A lot. An impressive debut for sure, packaged with some suitably beautifully chaotic yet precise Stephen O'Malley designed graphics.
MPEG Stream: "Defaced By Her Unconscious"
MPEG Stream: "Discreet Rendezvous"
MPEG Stream: "Monopolizing The Pleasure Dome"

GIST, THE Embrace The Herd (Cherry Red) cd 17.98
Attention Young Marble Giants Fans!!
If you have worn out your copies of Colossal Youth from repeated listenings, and have always wanted to hear more from that group, this might just be the next best thing. Started as a side project by YMG main songwriter and guitarist, Stuart Moxham, The Gist's first single hit the shelves six weeks before YMG called it a day at the tail end of 1980. Taking time to stretch out from the rigid arrangement process of YMG, Moxham recorded the Gist's only album, Embrace The Herd, with a bit of help from his former bandmates, Alison Statton and Phil Moxham along with guest appearances by Epic Soundtracks, Viv Goldman and members of Essential Logic. Combining Eno-like fourth world instrumentals with an idiosyncratic approach to songwriting, Embrace The Herd is an engaging document of post-punk DIY creativity. Think a dancier and stranger YMG, yet not as loungey as Alison Statton's spin off group, Weekend. While perhaps not as seminal or as focused as Colossal Youth, The Gist sound remarkably refreshing and much less restrained. Plus it's nice to have some new-to-us sounds from this era to worm away in our ears. Includes four bonus tracks. Fans of Antenna, Marine Girls, The Slits, The Raincoats, and leftfield post-punk rhythms of all sorts will find lots to love here. So Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Love At First Site"
MPEG Stream: "Clean Bridges"
MPEG Stream: "Light Aircraft"

GIZMOS 1975-1977 Demos & Rehearsals (Gulcher) cd 13.98
Those of you who bought the last issue of the fantastic magazine (and AQ fave) Cimarron Weekend, will know all about the Gizmos (probably way too much). This is a collection of all the detritus (demos and such) from Indiana's legendary garage punk weirdos. Featuring rough versions of all their hits: 'Gimme Back My Foreskin', 'Human Garbage Disposal' and of course 'Pumpin' To Playboy'.

GLACIERS And The Sea Won The Battle (self-released) lp 14.98
The debut album from these Bay Area post rockers now repressed and available again, this time pressed on clear and blue swirled vinyl and limited to 220 copies. Here's what we had to say about And The Sea Won The Battle when we first reviewed it way back in 2010:
First proper full length (after a super limited cd-r), of gorgeously blissed out post rock from this Bay Area ensemble. Lush and textured, rhythmic and hypnotic, slow burning and sprawling, epic and super rocking, these guys take that nineties sound we love so much and make it their own, the songs smolder and pulse, before exploding into dense roiling Godspeed / Mogwai style blowouts. Meandering prettiness, gives way to loping mathy minimalism, chiming guitars, simple spare drumming, looped melodies, a slow build to near metallic crush, the bass throbbing, the guitars tangled up in psychedelic squalls, the drums muscled and propulsive. The sound moody and minor key, cinematic and soundtracky, brooding and intense, heavy and emotional and harrowing. If you dig stuff like Mogwai, Aereogramme, Mono, Pelican, Grails, Explosions In The Sky, Magyar Posse, Red Sparowes, Snowblood, that Temporary Residence instrumental rock sound, that heavy post POST rock, well, Glaciers does it as good if not better than most of your favorites. Not sure how these guys slipped under our radar, since they're from right here in the Bay Area, but it's time to right that wrong, RIGHT NOW.

GLANDS OF ETERNAL SECRETION Nosejob (Starlight Furniture Company) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Barbara Manning and Seymour Glass of Bananafish , plus Greg Freeman, various Thinking Fellers, Mayuko Hino, Conrad Capistran (legendary, humorous record buyer at InYourEar), World of Pooh, etc. Recordings of various birthday parties, live shows, kitchen appliances and backyards, spanning 1979 to 1994, are smoothed into an album that truly works as a seamless whole. Seymour has outdone himself this time. Highly recommended.

GLANDS OF ETERNAL SECRETION Nosejob (Starlight Furniture Company) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Barbara Manning and Seymour Glass of Bananafish , plus Greg Freeman, various Thinking Fellers, Mayuko Hino, Conrad Capistran (legendary, humorous record buyer at InYourEar), World of Pooh, etc. Recordings of various birthday parties, live shows, kitchen appliances and backyards, spanning 1979 to 1994, are smoothed into an album that truly works as a seamless whole. Seymour has outdone himself this time. Highly recommended.

GLANDS OF EXTERNAL SECRETION Reverse Atheism (Butte County Free Music Society) 2lp 27.00
Seymour Glass's Glands Of External Secretion comes from the weirdo surreal art-punk primordial goo that birthed the likes of the Sun City Girls, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Porest / Monopause, irr.app.(ext.), and Caroliner. The Glands loiter in the funhouse of culture, picking and choosing the most bizarre bits to appropriate into strange, nauseous collages and splattered songwriting, and as one could gather from the project's name, scatology is never far away. Reverse Atheism could hardly be called a treatise on anything, despite the multitude of religious, atheistic, and existential themes, as Glass hurls everything at his disposal against the wall with a hard splat and an oozing trail down to the floor. Everything gets treated with the same disregard and clownish pie-tossing attitude. Such was commonplace when Glass published the seminal magazine Bananafish, complete with nonsensical reviews that talked more about rhinoceros foot bacteria (for example) than the merits of some mediocre indie band.
Here on Reverse Atheism, there are reinterpretations of biblical tracts, old gospel hymns, and cult-spawn texts (from Elizabeth Clare Prophet and L. Ron Hubbard, no less) alongside punk-era tirades against God and religion - the latter include mutant covers of XTC's "Dear God," God's Gifts "No God," and The Birthday Party's "Mutiny In Heaven." Glass has long worked with the far more sensible singer-songwriter Barbara Manning, bringing her beautifully languid voice into the warbling, asynchronous, fucked-up loops of various plonks and deconstructed song. He's also employed help from Bruce Russell (Dead C), Alastair Galbraith, and Scott Simmons (Eat Skull) amongst lots of other guests and vagrants. In the calliope of tongue-in-cheek references, Glass uniformly slices apart everything - transcendence, salvation, the end of the world, conspiracy theories, mind control, Darwinism, and any pretty much everything in between. The result is more of a mess of entrails than anything cohesive; of course, that's the way Seymour Glass views the world. A compelling and convoluted album for sure.

GLASPER, IAN The Day The Country Died: A History Of Anarcho Punk 1980 - 1984 (Cherry Red) book 19.95
We only just started reading this but holy crap is it awesome. An in depth exploration of the UK anarcho punk scene. Which means, for those of you unclear on the concept, groups like Crass, Poison Girls, Flux Of Pink Indians, Rudimentary Peni, Icons Of Filth, Dirt, Subhumans, Conflict, Citizen Fish, Amebix, Chumbawamba (before they sold out!!), Zounds, The Mob, Kukl, Lack Of Knowledge, Disrupters, Flowers In The Dustbin, Antisect, Epileptics, Faction and more more more.
It's a little difficult for us to read this personally, as aQ pal Lance Hahn from J-Church was working on his own Anarcho-crust book when he passed away, but besides that, there's really no reason to not buy this, read up on all these amazing bands, and then buy all their records.
Covering the scene during the years 1980-1984, The Day The Country Died is packed with tons of photos, exclusive interviews, scene histories, discographies, we were 30 pages in when we got to Flux Of Pink Indians, maybe one of our favorite bands from that scene, and we had our Flux records out, reading and listening. And it's not just about the bands, and the records, it's the movement, the politics, pretty inspiring for sure.
Like we said, we only just started it, but we're digging this book BIG TIME, and apparently it's a companion to Glasper's other book, Burning Britain, so we'll probably have to track that one down too!

GLASS CANDY Beatbox (Italians Do It Better) cd 13.98
Johnny Jewel may not be a household name but his music has been on our stereo pretty much non stop for the last several month. The musical mind behind both Chromatics and Glass Candy, it's his sparkling touch that has helped make electronic pop sound exciting again. It's no mistake that Glass Candy had the leadoff track on the After Dark compilation that helped define one of the more exciting scenes to emerge in the last several years. Songs that make you want to dance in clouds as you get lost in that hazy intersection of new wave, spaced out disco and post-punk minimalism.
Much like Chromatics who underwent a very radical and rewarding shift in sound with their latest Night Drive, Jewel has brought that same aesthetic to Glass Candy with equally impressive results. Beatbox travels in such a nice way starting off with seriously sassy momentum on songs like "Beatific" that almost sounds like Lizzy Mercier Descloux covering a track from the first Madonna record and then the later part of the record travels in much moodier cosmic territory recalling French AQ faves Ruth with nods to the brilliant early production of Giorgio Moroder. Glass Candy rang in the new year with a performance here in SF on New Year's Eve and we can't think of much better company to party with. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Beatific"
MPEG Stream: "Candy Castle"

GLASS CANDY Beatbox (Italians Do It Better) lp+7" 14.98
NOW ON VINYL with a bonus 7" featuring two super hot unreleased tracks including the slow burner "The Gate" which is making us get up close and personal with Glass Candy all over again. Here's what we had to say about the full length when it first came out:
Johnny Jewel may not be a household name but his music has been on our stereo pretty much non stop for the last several month. The musical mind behind both Chromatics and Glass Candy, it's his sparkling touch that has helped make electronic pop sound exciting again. It's no mistake that Glass Candy had the leadoff track on the After Dark compilation that helped define one of the more exciting scenes to emerge in the last several years. Songs that make you want to dance in clouds as you get lost in that hazy intersection of new wave, spaced out disco and post-punk minimalism.
Much like Chromatics who underwent a very radical and rewarding shift in sound with their latest Night Drive, Jewel has brought that same aesthetic to Glass Candy with equally impressive results. Beatbox travels in such a nice way starting off with seriously sassy momentum on songs like "Beatific" that almost sounds like Lizzy Mercier Descloux covering a track from the first Madonna record and then the later part of the record travels in much moodier cosmic territory recalling French AQ faves Ruth with nods to the brilliant early production of Giorgio Moroder. Glass Candy rang in the new year with a performance here in SF on New Year's Eve and we can't think of much better company to party with. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Beatific"
MPEG Stream: "Candy Castle"

GLASS CANDY Bicicleta Emocional (Troubleman Unlimited) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Glass Candy follow up their Love Love Love album with this 2-song slice o' vinyl, and it's a hottie! The A-side hikes things up a notch with a great new GC original "Bicicleta Emocional" - perhaps one of their best songs to date even - and the B-side is a fiery cover of Roxy Music's "Re-Make / Re-Model".
Ida No whoops and howls affecting her best Debbie Harry "Heart Of Glass" sultriness. Meanwhile Johnny Jewel leans into his electric guitar showing some strategic restraint in the placement of his crunchy riffing. Ginger Peach keeps the propulsive beat and some unknown presence hammers away at a piano lending an added bristling tension to this Portland, OR group's already raw, minimal art-punk sound.
Note: this is the black vinyl Troubleman edition, not the special Spanish pressing which reportedly was pressed on pink vinyl and included a magnet and insert.

GLASS CANDY Deep Gems (Italians Do It Better) cd 13.98
While lots of B-side collections end up being mostly throwaway or forgettable tracks, we think we might be loving this collection of odds and ends from Glass Candy even MORE than their latest full length, Beat Box, which we already liked a lot. You can tell they must have been listening to lots of late-night cosmic disco and some great cold/synth-wave when they recorded these tracks as they really nail both of those sounds perfectly.
The combination of Johnny Jewell's great musical chops and Ida No's sizzling, sexy and detached vocal delivery is pretty much ideal. The sound of Deep Gems is pretty similar to Beat Box, even though these are all outtakes and B-sides, which makes it the perfect companion for folks already loving the album proper.
An unlikely contributor, Eyvind Kang, adds his violin and viola playing on a few tracks, but make no mistake this collection is all about slow burners and smoke filled late night dance floor grooves.
MPEG Stream: "Something Stirring In Space"
MPEG Stream: "Geto Boys"
MPEG Stream: "The Beat's Alive"

GLASS CANDY Demos - May 2004 (self-released) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hipster glam art punks from Portland, Glass Candy's Ida No (vocals) and Johnny Jewel (bass) never fail to stir things up. Now for a special limited time offer (i.e, this cd-r of brand new demos) they've upped the ante with the addition of a special guest... the illustrious Ms Jesse Eva (aka Jesse Trashed of The Vanishing) on saxophone. Because these are demos we could say that this is Glass Candy 'in the raw', but these six songs are not a whole lot rawer than their usual gritty, lo-fi releases! Ida swoons and squeals her vocals, Jesse's sax follows suit, while Johnny's bass makes friends with the drum machine. There's also glimpses of an increased almost ESG-ish funkiness. Definitely something to tide GC fans over 'til their new mini-lp comes out this fall, but get this while you can (i.e, NOW!) 'cause Jesse's movin' to Berlin really soon, and we're not sure when / if we'll be able to get more!
MPEG Stream: "Your Dream Lover's On Video"
MPEG Stream: "Nite Nurses"

GLASS CANDY Feeling Without Touching (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
Awesome new 12" from one of our favorite seductive late night dance floor duos. What makes this 12" extra cool is that it's not just one song and throwaway unessential different versions of the same track, instead the record features two brand new new totally melt worthy tracks, the stand out and weirdest one being "Covered In Bugs" which is a demented paranoid sensual freak out, complete with some sexy screaming from Ida No, and a wonderfully stretched out and hypnotic instrumental ending that gets locked in a smoked out hazy trance. And that ending is kind of a preview for what comes next on the scene-stealing flipside of this 12". "Shine Like Gold & Diamonds" an instrumental track that really shows off how damn talented Johnny Jewel is, the track is like some amazing version of someone like Oneohtrix Point Never covering an instrumental passage from a classic Kraftwerk track. The next two tracks are also mostly instrumental versions of two of the songs from the first side, but totally given a different feel and sound. Beyond suave and seductive. At over 26 minutes of music, this is a total must have for Glass Candy fans, and even those who might not always love the the vocals, as the majority of this wax is about Johnny Jewel's ability to capture such a specific vibe and feeling with the beats and music he creates. So good!

GLASS CANDY Geto Boys (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
Brand new super sizzling 12" from everyone's favorite sultry and sassy nu-disco duo Glass Candy. With two songs from the cd-only Deep Gems collection, "Geto Boys" and "Animal Imagination", each getting a side of wax for not only the original version, but in true '80s 12" fashion, each song is given multiple reworkings. You get the vocal/drums version of Geto Boys as well as the instrumental. And there is the "Soft Boundaries" version of "Animal Imagination" as well as the instrumental. And those instrumentals really serve to further demonstrate to how damn well Johnny Jewel uses his synths to create such icy and infectious moods and melodies. Always a great thing to have more Glass Candy on wax!

GLASS CANDY Iko Iko (Troubleman) cd ep 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We have to admit that we sorta groaned when we saw that the hipper than hip Portland trio Glass Candy had gone and covered the already-covered-in-the-'80s hit "Iko Iko", but we gotta give 'em props for bringing something new to the song and making it their own. So, we say "cool!" Actually it sounds like they took a little more time and put a little more thought into all of these tracks than they have with most of their past recordings. Within the first few bars of their "Iko" it becomes evident that they're much less about making the immediate flash-pot spectacle this time around. They've also made a few shifts in overall musical direction, applying more funk influences and fewer no wave angularities. We might've also guessed this from the cover photo. Ida No has shed her electro-clash glam-shock stylings in favor of a more groomed, relatively au naturelle pose along the lines of '50s glamour girls, but surprisingly un-pin-up/cheesecake-y. A more grown-up Glass Candy seeking a potentially broader audience? Well, if you found their past appeal to have been their in-your-face sizzle and reckless fireworks, this new persona might take some getting used to. However, if taken on its own this EP is pretty darn fun. An added surprise: although the cd traycard lists only six tracks, you mysteriously get eight. Go figure!
MPEG Stream: "Iko "
MPEG Stream: "Sugar & Whitebread"

GLASS CANDY Iko Iko (Troubleman) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yup, you can now get your latest Glass Candy fix on vinyl! Here's what we said about the cd version: We have to admit that we sorta groaned when we saw that the hipper than hip Portland trio Glass Candy had gone and covered the already-covered-in-the-'80s hit "Iko Iko", but we gotta give 'em props for bringing something new to the song and making it their own. So, we say "cool!" Actually it sounds like they took a little more time and put a little more thought into all of these tracks than they have with most of their past recordings. Within the first few bars of their "Iko" it becomes evident that they're much less about making the immediate flash-pot spectacle this time around. They've also made a few shifts in overall musical direction, applying more funk influences and fewer no wave angularities. We might've also guessed this from the cover photo. Ida No has shed her electro-clash glam-shock stylings in favor of a more groomed, relatively au naturelle pose along the lines of '50s glamour girls, but surprisingly un-pin-up/cheesecake-y. A more grown-up Glass Candy seeking a potentially broader audience? Well, if you found their past appeal to have been their in-your-face sizzle and reckless fireworks, this new persona might take some getting used to. However, if taken on its own this EP is pretty darn fun.
MPEG Stream: "Iko "
MPEG Stream: "Sugar & Whitebread"

GLASS CANDY Life After Sundown (Troubleman ) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a special white label 12" of those Portland nu-no-waver hotties Glass Candy! It features three versions of the title track of their forthcoming album which should be quite a death disco treat if this one song is any indication. Along with the regular ol' album version you'll get them in acapella and instrumental mode -- the creation of which, we'd venture to say, took little to no artistic effort (just the energy it took the recording engineer to push a mute button!), but will provide all you DJs with ample additional material to extend your Glass Candy supa-sets! Limited pressing of 750.

GLASS CANDY Love Love Love (Troubleman Unlimited) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Glass Candy's debut full length sounds not unlike a severely chemically altered collision between the Missing Persons (y'know, the '80s new wave group from L.A. responsible for "Destination Unknown", "Mental Hopscotch" and "Walking In L.A." with squeaky-voiced, hottie chanteuse Dale Bozzio) and Altered Images (remember them? the '80s British pop band with squeaky-voiced, cutie chanteuse Clare Grogan who were responsible for "Happy Birthday" and "See Those Eyes"). However, the music that backs GC vocalist Ida No (who, for the record, has a voice much richer, if no less affected, than the aforementioned ladies) is nothing like that of either of those groups whatsoever. Glass Candy (formerly Glass Candy & the Shattered Theater) push a dark, stripped-down aesthetic of big guitar, streamlined, insistent, pounding drums, and stylized vocals bathed in delay, with the occasional addition of heavy, A Certain Ratio-esque basslines and synths. At their hair-raising best, Glass Candy remind me of an unholy combo of Christian Death ("Romeo's Distress," "Jesus, Where's the Sugar" -- when Christian Death was good, they were amazing, OK?) and the Stooges. Before it was goth, it was death rock, and before that it was just punks wearing a lot of eye make-up-- and Glass Candy embody that tough, raw rock n' roll energy mixed with sexy, theatrical glamour perfectly. It's a tough task to fully capture the insane energy of their live shows (which are well known to be trainwrecks of throbbing, writhing dramatics) on record, but I think "Love Love Love" is up to the challenge. An impressive and satisfying debut that situates Glass Candy near the top of a current group of bands (including fellow Portlanders Get Hustle and Baltimore's Love Life) referencing the darker side of post-punk. Includes an appropriately intense, wrenching cover of the Screamers' "I Wanna Hurt."
RealAudio clip: "Nite Nurses"
RealAudio clip: "I Wanna Hurt"

GLASS CANDY Miss Broadway (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
Following in the wake of the sizzling comp After Dark, which has quickly become a unanimous AQ favorite, comes this 12" featuring one of the Glass Candy tracks from that vintage disco inspired compilation. In true disco spirit the 12" comes in a seductive diecut sleeve with the single on the 'A' side and the instrumental version on the flipside, along with another instrumental cut. Glass Candy have never sounded better, we love the shift in their sound. Glass Candy have always been perfect for late night dance floor listening but now their sensuality and sexuality seem to be shining through in such a sleek and irresistible fashion.
MPEG Stream: "Miss Broadway"

GLASS CANDY & THE SHATTERED THEATRE Metal Gods 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two post-post-punk songs (one of them a Screamers cover!) from this new young trio from Portland, OR. Very seething and tense a la Suicide. Dark propulsive music. Fans of the GSL label / art-punk scene should definitely check this out.

GLASS CANDY & THE SHATTERED THEATRE Smashed Candy (Vermin Scum) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Working the kind of style panache that would make Rudi Gernreich beam with pride, it's Glass Candy And The Shattered Theatre from Portland, OR.
With two well-received 7"s under their belt, Ida No, Johnny Jewel and Avalon Kalin offer up a very raw live one-sided 12" of six songs. Includes a highly unstable rendition of Josie Cotton's "Johnny Are You Queer?" as heard in the movie "Valley Girl". Recorded live at Kimo's right here in SF. Please note: the sound quality is pretty blown out, but it does captures the edgy propulsive freak-out that is Glass Candy. As can be expected from a live performance, this is much more flailing and rocked out of control than the dark seething tension of the "Brittle Women" and "Metal God" singles.

GLASSER Mirrorage/Lindstrom Remix (Matador) 12" 14.98
It's no secret that we fell head over heels for Glasser's album Ring from last year, and it's left all of us with an impatient thirst to hear more. This new 12" remixed by Hans-Peter Lindstrom takes us to a space-side disco where Glasser melds moodiness and danciness with such great results. Lindstrom seems to key into the Laurie Anderson side of Glasser as the sounds sort of echo the awesome vibe of Big Science, but given a major modern update. Can't wait for a whole new set of songs from Glasser, but until then we'll be jamming this non-stop!

GLASSER Ring (True Panther Sounds) cd 14.98
We missed out on Glasser's debut ep which came out last year and quickly went out of print. But everyone we knew who heard it kept telling us we had to check out Glasser, and with the release of her first full length we can now officially proclaim ourselves bigtime fans, as this is proving to be one of the most satisfying, colorful, swirling and flowing pop records of the year. Glasser reminds us a lot of a more sparkling, bright and rhythmic version of Zola Jesus or Islaja. There is a tinge of darkness in her string tones and electronics but there is also so much life and moving energy in her songs which gives the record such an amazing fluidity. Instead of just mimicking Kate Bush, Bjork and Laurie Anderson, she instead takes cues from different elements of their brilliance in helping to create a sound that is both hypnotic and inviting. While she may soon be tagged under the new 'it' genre of 'witch-house' there is something much more singular and organic happening in these songs that can't be written off as any sort of passing fad. This is a record that we think will definitely stand the test of time.
MPEG Stream: "Home"
MPEG Stream: "Treasure Of We"
MPEG Stream: "Apply"

GLASSER Ring (True Panther Sounds) lp 15.98
We missed out on Glasser's debut ep which came out last year and quickly went out of print. But everyone we knew who heard it kept telling us we had to check out Glasser, and with the release of her first full length we can now officially proclaim ourselves bigtime fans, as this is proving to be one of the most satisfying, colorful, swirling and flowing pop records of the year. Glasser reminds us a lot of a more sparkling, bright and rhythmic version of Zola Jesus or Islaja. There is a tinge of darkness in her string tones and electronics but there is also so much life and moving energy in her songs which gives the record such an amazing fluidity. Instead of just mimicking Kate Bush, Bjork and Laurie Anderson, she instead takes cues from different elements of their brilliance in helping to create a sound that is both hypnotic and inviting. While she may soon be tagged under the new 'it' genre of 'witch-house' there is something much more singular and organic happening in these songs that can't be written off as any sort of passing fad. This is a record that we think will definitely stand the test of time.
MPEG Stream: "Home"
MPEG Stream: "Treasure Of We"
MPEG Stream: "Apply"

GLAXO BABIES, THE Dreams Interrupted : The Bewilderbeat Years 1978-1980 (Cherry Red) cd 16.98

GLAZE, BRIAN Green Living (World Famous In SF) cd 11.98
Even though he resides right here in the Bay Area we knew very little about this Brian Glaze character when we first got in this new release of his, but oh damn is that about to change, as this is becoming one of those records that we can't seem to stop listening to. Channeling so many eras of warped pop delight, Brian Glaze has made a record that's as fun as it is smart, and as catchy as it is fulfilling. There is for sure a similar aesthetic and delivery to some of our favorite warped popsmiths like John Maus and Ariel Pink, but Green Living totally has its own thing going on. '50s pop colliding with psychedelic rock that's soaked in new wave electronics. We hear a bit of what The Gris Gris might sound like if they began to pull from more varied influences. Psychedelic disco pop? Deconstructed multigenerational pop genius? We're not sure exactly what to call it but we know that we LOVE IT!
MPEG Stream: "Leader of the Band"
MPEG Stream: "Bad News"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Ashes"

GLAZE, BRIAN Green Living (World Famous In SF) lp 11.98
Even though he resides right here in the Bay Area we knew very little about this Brian Glaze character when we first got in this new release of his, but oh damn is that about to change, as this is becoming one of those records that we can't seem to stop listening to. Channeling so many eras of warped pop delight, Brian Glaze has made a record that's as fun as it is smart, and as catchy as it is fulfilling. There is for sure a similar aesthetic and delivery to some of our favorite warped popsmiths like John Maus and Ariel Pink, but Green Living totally has its own thing going on. '50s pop colliding with psychedelic rock that's soaked in new wave electronics. We hear a bit of what The Gris Gris might sound like if they began to pull from more varied influences. Psychedelic disco pop? Deconstructed multigenerational pop genius? We're not sure exactly what to call it but we know that we LOVE IT!
MPEG Stream: "Leader of the Band"
MPEG Stream: "Bad News"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Ashes"

GLISSANDRO 70 s/t (Constellation) cd 16.98
When you think of the Constellation label, warm bouncy and sunny aren't usually words that come to mind. Home to the whole Godspeed You Black Emperor family the label is most usually associated with monumental post rock with some dark flair. Glissandro 70 is a much welcome blast of washed out sunshine for the label. Incorporating blissed out melodies, tasteful lo-fi nods to world rhythms, and an overall cohesive laid back approach that quietly sucks you in. There is something about this record that sounds so totally refreshing. We listed the reissue of Brian Eno and David Byrne's My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts elsewhere on this list as well and this can be added as a great example of a future generation getting so right the seeds planted by that influential recording. There's also an avant pop sensibility that will totally hit the spot for fans of Animal Collective's recent outings as well as Broken Social Scene at their most abstract. The sun has finally reappeared here in SF and this has been the perfect record to hang out with while we soak in the rays.
MPEG Stream: "Something"
MPEG Stream: "End West"

GLITTER PALS Unleash The Compassion (Lovepump United) cd 8.98
What do two guys from Genghis Tron do when they're not spewing metallic electronic grind pop whatthefuck? Well, they sort of do the same thing they always do. Sort of. But they do mix things up a bit by upping the pop ante, toning down the grind, and thus these Pals have come up with a NINE MINUTE burst of bubbly glistening, sludgy dirge pop that hits the spot in a similar way to the recent sludge pop of Torche. But this isn't sludgy or poppy as much as it's freaked out a furious, a poppier take on that sort of Locust / Horse The Band synthgrind. The thing that sets Glitter Pals apart for us, is a really demented use of clean harmony vocals, a moaning chanting weirdness, that Allan thought sounded like the sample from LL Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out". Weird and heavy and catchy and totally fucked. And you know from us that means HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
MPEG Stream: "Thunder Tights"
MPEG Stream: "Unleash The Compassion"

GLITTER WIZARD Hunting Gatherers (Captcha) lp 22.00
We thumbed up the spacey synthy glitter-glam garage retro not-really-metal of this SF band's Siltbreeze 7" a while back, but then somehow skipped over reviewing their subsequent full-length, and are even a little behind the times in getting to this new elope of theirs too, but that's ok 'cause the Glitter Wiz guys are also behind the times, or maybe way out futuristically in front, way out anyway, again using '60s and '70s rock inspirations like Deep Purple, Hawkwind, The Doors, Bloodrock, Black Widow, and Iron Butterfly to help formulate their super groovy, more wizardly-than-thou sound, one that's got lotsa synth, jamming electric organ, some flute and sax. Along with catchy riffs and amusing lyrics, often gleefully unserious ("I don't worship the Devil, the Devil worships me"). Our kind of entertainment!
There's one little hushed-folky-trippy-acoustic number, "Sunlit Wolves", but otherwise most of the trax are swaggering rockers, such as "Wizard Wagon" (about the singer's van, it would seem) which definitely has hit potential, in our world anyway. "Motorider" reminds us of both The Stooges and Steppenwolf, and when they get heavier on the 7+ minute "Space" it sorta sounds like an agitated Om with keyboards. Album-closer "Big Sur" also has that Om/Sleep vibe, due to the chant-like vox and slomo swinging plod. It's another long one, the longest here at close to 9 minutes, and so about half way through stops plodding and starts ripping and rollicking, reminding us more of early early Sabbath, like back when Sabbath covered Crow's "Evil Woman" on their first single. That said, though, mostly Glitter Wizard doesn't even seem all that heavy or metal or even proto-metal. They're retro-proto-proto-metal maybe? Definitely G. Wiz love their '60s sounds but do their own cool new thing with that, rather than going for some kind of Nuggets redux. For fans of Blood Ceremony (minus the female vox and much of the metal) and Danava and Mammatus when they do get heavy-ish.
Vinyl-only, goddamit. Maybe someday they'll realize that compact discs are more glittery and magical.
MPEG Stream: "Worship The Devil"
MPEG Stream: "Wizard Wagon"
MPEG Stream: "Big Sur"

GLITTER WIZARD 0 Black Lotus / Witches Limbo (Sans Escape) 7" 6.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Heard about this on Tom Lax's Siltblog, which is funny 'cause this band is from right here in our backyard, and are also not exactly shitgaze or whatever other noisy underground rock aesthetic we thought Siltbreeze was all about. Lax mentioned classic heavy psych/metal peeps for the ages like Deep Purple, Hawkwind, and Monster Magnet in his review and yep, all present and accounted for (if inebriated and high as fuck, no surprise) in GW's sound, to some extent. Super stoner retro rockin' here, well with retro sounds but not sounding like any actual old band that's for sure, A-side "Black Lotus" starts off all full of gobblin' space synth soundz, then begins pounding down the riffs like Sleep or something a bit later on, while on the flip, "Witch's Limbo", they keep on rockin', no not like Dokken but more like Danava (w/ all them synths) and Priestess and other current bands creating the past anew. Interestingly, the other tracks we've heard from 'em, on their MySpace, are way more overtly garagey punky, in a ? and the Mysterians, Lyres, mebbe even Stooges style, but here it seems they're heavy metalling it (the magazine and the music) a bit more. So, two cool tunes, and now we're put on notice to go see these glittering wizzes next time they play, we're especially curious to see if they get all glammed up live to go with their name. (AQ staffer Jon has seen 'em and sez they do!)

GLOVE, THE Blue Sunshine (Rhino) 2cd 25.00
Some musical pairings just make perfect sense. Case in point, Siouxsie And The Banshees' Steve Severin and The Cure's Robert Smith. Originally released in 1983, The Glove is getting the same reissue treatment as the early Cure albums which means there is an extra disc which in this case is where the magic is hidden. On the original release there were label/legality issues which kept Smith's voice from appearing on all except two tracks so a last minute singer was needed which ended up being Jeanette Landray, who was the girlfriend of The Banshees drummer Budgie. While her vocals kind of work, it's always been the kind of record that you always pictured with Smith's vintage vocals throughout. And this reissue makes that dream come true as the bonus disc is filled with demo versions on which Smith sings those very song making this reissue even more essential. Robert Smith in 1983 singing with Severin from The Banshees playing, what more could you want?
MPEG Stream: "Like An Animal (Vocal Demo)"
MPEG Stream: "A Blues In Drag (Alt Vocal Demo)"
MPEG Stream: "Sex Eye Make Up"

GLUCIFER Tender Is The Savage (Sub Pop) 2cd 12.98
Swedish shit-kickin' gasoline-fueled rock action, a la slightly-better known peers The Hellacopters. Biff Malibu (yep, they all have dumb pseudonyms) does his singing in a kinda Danzig kinda way, but the music is more like Motor City 70's proto-punk via grunge city. Bonus disc with video and some other songs.