HASH JAR TEMPO Under Glass (Drunken Fish) cd 13.98
It has been a well documented means of working... getting stoned to make music, that is. Hash Jar Tempo (the collaborative effort between Bardo Pond and Roy Montgomery) implemented the method on their first album to terrible improv/jam results. Under Glass, fortunately, DOES work as they mapped out simple structures before firing up the bong. Sad melodies glide repetitively under glassy walls of feedback. Dude.

HASH JAR TEMPO Well Oiled (Drunken Fish) cd 13.98
Roy Montgomery and Bardo Pond!

HASKELL, JIMMY AND HIS ORCHESTRA Count Down! (EM Records) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We listed this a while back, but then discovered that it's now been officially re-released in a much more deluxe version by one of our new favorite labels, Japanese reissue label EM records (who also did the Moolah and the Symphony Of The Birds discs we reviewed recently). This is an absolute all time space-age bachelor pad music kitschy classic for sure. Count Down! -- originally released in 1959 -- is a rock and roll visit to outerspace. Take your standard 1950's boogie woogie, throw a ton of echo, reverb, theremin and other strange sounds at it and you have Jimmie Haskell. Pre-dating Joe Meek's I Hear A New World by just one year, it's hard to believe the two didn't have a late night brainstorming session together. The two share a similar production aesthetic -- double speed vocals, extreme EQ-ing & compression -- and an off-kilter melodic sensibility. Wacky and wonderful!
As with all EM releases, very nicely done with lots of liner notes (unfortunately almost all in Japanese, though) as well as photos, the original artwork, repros of both the front and back covers and loads more!
MPEG Stream: "Weightless Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Rockin' In the Orbit"
MPEG Stream: "We Get Messages"

HASSLES You've Got Me Hummin (Razor & Tie) cd 15.98
'60s pop-psych reissue of the two albums by these Long Island teenagers best known for having budding songwriting genius Billy Joel in their ranks! Not as over the top as Billy's subsequent proto-metal project Atilla, this still has some of his wild keyboard playing and plenty of charming, trippy tunes.

HATAKEYAMA, CHIHEI Minima Moralia (Kranky) cd 14.98
Japanese laptop jockey Chihei Hatakeyama has flattened the source material of guitar and vibraphone into the tasteful ambient construction found on Minima Moralia, dreamy drones dotted with fizzing digital pixelations. There's none of the attack and rhythm that might pinpoint Hatakeyama's source material; instead he produces warm, dreamy drifts of ringing tones and velvety buzzings that locate the album in the realm of Eno's ambience (in terms of composition) and Kompakt's beloved Pop Ambient series (in terms of warmth via use of analogue / digital dialoguing). Very pleasant listening.
MPEG Stream: "Bonfire On The Field"
MPEG Stream: "Starlight Reflecting On The Surface Of The River"

HATEFUL ABANDON Move (Todestrieb) cd 14.98
Record number two from this hateful harsh suicidal black metal band turned dark gothy gloom wave outfit, and the band continue to shed the black vestiges of their past incarnation, moving ever toward a more purely darkwave pop sound, and like on their debut, Famine (Or Into The Bellies Of Worms), the sound here is all warm muted buzz, propulsive drum pound, low slung slithery basslines, all woven into a droned out darkly psychedelic chunk of sweet sonic miserablism, the vocals this time a bit more strident in places, and powerful, making this sound more like Killing Joke than anything. Although the deep dramatic croon from the first record remains, and seems to be again channeling Andrew Eldridge from Sisters Of Mercy. There are also long droned out tones, that sound like horns, but could be guitars or synths, the effect is the same, adding a sort of mournful funeral quality, which is balanced by the chiming melodies, and the almost Cure-like songcraft, although it's more like Cure filtered through Circle, as the tracks have a looped krautrock like mesmer to them, hypnotic and trancelike.
Some of the tracks are peppered with weird squelchy synths and electronics, adding a weird spaciness to the proceedings, but for the most part, the sound here is a dark, driving minimal gloom pop, with the guitars occasionally slipping into an almost metallic chug, but tending more toward the angular crunch of echo drenched jangle, there are samples too, but really with music like this, it's all abut the bass and drums, that sort of Joy Division foundation that's in full effect here, and is dark and driving and dreamily depressive, mournful and melancholic, Hateful Abandon like the darker grittier version of Nuit Noire gloom pop offshoot Soror Dolorosa, and really anyone who dug that (did anyone not?) will love this too!
Released on the always kick ass UK label Todestrieb.
MPEG Stream: "The Way It Ends"
MPEG Stream: "Human Clockwork"
MPEG Stream: "The Lost"

HATER The 2nd (Burn Burn Burn) cd 11.98

HATEWAVE s/t (tUMULt) cd 11.98
The latest in killing technology from our very own Andee's tUMULt label! This is the first (and last) release from Chicago's metal mercenaries Hatewave. Completely crushing math/speed/avant/noise/metal/grind.
Hatewave's musical bloodbath is equal parts death metal, free jazz, grindcore, no-wave and pure noise. Furiously brutal, two guitar and drums (no bass!) attack, whirling riffs, bursts of white noise, calculus-style time changes, frantic blast beats, and a barely-under-the-surface free-jazz obsession all coalesce into some of the most insane, lightning speed, technical black metal/grind bombast ever. Featuring ex-Chicago / current SF scene fixture and metal/jazz obsessive, drummer Weasel Walter (Flying Luttenbachers, Lake of Dracula, To Live and Shave in L.A.). Originally this was a limited LP-only release -- this cd version adds 3 bonus tracks from their 1997 demo! The LP (and at the time, soon to be released cd) was banned by some squeamish distributors for its somewhat gory cover art and controversial lyrics, all of which are still present in their throat hacked, head smashed, blood soaked glory!
MPEG Stream: "Desire To Kill"
MPEG Stream: "Slit the Catholic Throat"
MPEG Stream: "Bleed for Me"

HATEWAVE s/t (Up Jumps The Devil) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
First release from this Chicago powerhouse. Ten songs of insane math/speed/avant/noise/metal/grind. Whirling riffs collide with obtuse time changes, shrieking howls are obliterated by careening blast beats, ultra precise rhythms disintegrate into waves of entropic dissonance. Featuring Chicago scene fixture Weasel Walter on the drums (Lake of Dracula, Flying Luttenbachers, etc.). Overtly disturbing gore photos and a non gory but equally disturbing band photo complete the very "underground metal" packaging scheme of this cult vinyl-only release.

HATFIELD, JULIANA Made In China (Ye Olde Records) cd 15.98
Both in her band the Blake Babies and as a solo artist, Juliana Hatfield's always had a bit of raunch in her girlishness, but on her latest full length she takes on a considerably harder, grittier rock sound with a few bluesy moments. Made In China offers up heavy chunks of electric guitars, noodly solos, distorted vocal effects. Nonetheless she still sounds like a perennial petulant teen.
MPEG Stream: "New Waif"
MPEG Stream: "Going Blonde"

HATTIFATTENERS Rabbit Rabbit (Dark Beloved Cloud) cd 13.98

HAUNTED GRAFFITI (ARIEL PINK) Can't Hear My Eyes b/w Evolution's A Lie (Mexican Summer / Kemado) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What a great way to end the year, two new songs from one of our favorite and most enigmatic songwriters of the present day, Ariel Pink. Now backed with a full band including members of Lilys and Beachwood Sparks.
While Ariel Pink is most often thought of for his lo-fi recordings and his on-the-verge-of-total-disaster live performances, the truth is that besides all his eccentricities and beyond all the hiss and mystique, Ariel Pink crafts some of the most endearing, catchy and brilliantly crafted songs EVER. Some folks try so hard to seem weird and unique, but with AP, his originality and singular musical vision is totally for real and ALL his own. He definitely fits perfectly in the great legacy of outsider pop luminaries having truly carved out his own place in the landscape of the underground music scene.
The last few times we've seen him live we've been blown away, by the music of course, but also by all the crazy ideas and weird sonic invention he manages to somehow cram into his songs and now finally we get to hear a couple of new tracks he's been performing live, recorded and damn do they sound great! The A side is one of the most smooth sounding AP jams yet, the band really works wonders creating some gorgeous alternate universe FM radio soft rock, complete with a totally tasteful sax solo (!) which would usually have us cringing but somehow it manages to totally work. And the B side is much more raw, dirgey and haunting. We keep listening to both songs over and over, and probably will until the new full length arrives, oh, and this 7" is way limited, only 500 copies, so it'll be gone all too soon and you know what that means....

HAUSCHILDT, STEVE Tragedy & Geometry (Kranky) cd 14.98
Both Mark McGuire and John "Blue Randa" Elliott maintain quite a public profile outside their work in the kosmische synth-guitar trio Emeralds, but the third member of that outift, Steve Hauschildt, has remained relatively quiet. We had a super limited cd-r of his solo work on Gneiss Things which came and went in a just a few days, but beyond that, nothing outside Emeralds. Tragedy & Geometry is Hauschildt's first full album beyond a small and unavailable selection of cassettes, and it's found a suitable home on Kranky. If McGuire and Elliott have embarked on parallel trajectories for effervescent, impressionist ambience through guitar and synth respectively, Hauschildt's own vision is that of the machinist - ratcheting the electronic percolations that he brings to Emeralds within very precise grids and architectural blocks for his electronics to operate. Oneohtrix Point Never is also obsessed with the mathematical poetics of electronic music; but where OPN always skews his retrogarde flares through lost time, Russian mistranslation or sci-fi replication, Hauschildt adopts a tightly controlled rigor in his engineered electronica. Nowhere is that more true than on "Batteries May Drain", with its clockwork drum machine ticking at autobahn speeds amidst rasping motorik electronics and comet dusted synth melodies, in line with Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis. Elsewhere, hints of Emeralds' signature bittersweet atmospheres seep through the pulsing arpeggiations and synthesizer swoosh, aligned on tracks such as the "Overnight Venusian" which alludes to Aphex Twin's heralded Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. Quite fine!
MPEG Stream: "Batteries May Drain"
MPEG Stream: "Music For A Moire Pattern"
MPEG Stream: "Overnight Venusian"

HAUSCHILDT, STEVE Tragedy & Geometry (Kranky) 2lp 17.98
Both Mark McGuire and John "Blue Randa" Elliott maintain quite a public profile outside their work in the kosmische synth-guitar trio Emeralds, but the third member of that outift, Steve Hauschildt, has remained relatively quiet. We had a super limited cd-r of his solo work on Gneiss Things which came and went in a just a few days, but beyond that, nothing outside Emeralds. Tragedy & Geometry is Hauschildt's first full album beyond a small and unavailable selection of cassettes, and it's found a suitable home on Kranky. If McGuire and Elliott have embarked on parallel trajectories for effervescent, impressionist ambience through guitar and synth respectively, Hauschildt's own vision is that of the machinist - ratcheting the electronic percolations that he brings to Emeralds within very precise grids and architectural blocks for his electronics to operate. Oneohtrix Point Never is also obsessed with the mathematical poetics of electronic music; but where OPN always skews his retrogarde flares through lost time, Russian mistranslation or sci-fi replication, Hauschildt adopts a tightly controlled rigor in his engineered electronica. Nowhere is that more true than on "Batteries May Drain", with its clockwork drum machine ticking at autobahn speeds amidst rasping motorik electronics and comet dusted synth melodies, in line with Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis. Elsewhere, hints of Emeralds' signature bittersweet atmospheres seep through the pulsing arpeggiations and synthesizer swoosh, aligned on tracks such as the "Overnight Venusian" which alludes to Aphex Twin's heralded Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. Quite fine!
MPEG Stream: "Batteries May Drain"
MPEG Stream: "Music For A Moire Pattern"
MPEG Stream: "Overnight Venusian"

HAUSCHILDT, STEVE (EMERALDS) Critique Of The Beautiful (Gneiss Things) cd-r 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A 'repress' of a cd-r that we never got the first time around. Mr. Hauschildt is one of the three members of Emeralds; but unlike John Elliott and Mark McGuire, he doesn't seem to be as prolific in terms of solo and side projects, with less than a half-dozen tape and cd-r releases to speak of (compared to mountains of material from those other two). With The Critique Of The Beautiful, Hauschildt doesn't stray too far from the Emeralds sound of kosmiche dronescaping through analog synths and pedals. The album is dying to be made into a piece of vinyl, with the first four pieces acting as one suite that would be nicely matched by the lengthy finale. One of those first four - "What One Does To Another" - has almost a brightened Tim Hecker feel with percolating melodic phases piled below a thickened mass of warmly buzzed distortion. This is followed by "Runway" lovely post-Cluster track of pastoral synthesis built from a rhythmic arpeggiation anchored by a spiralling set of sequential notes and tone-bent phrases. And that extended finale opens with an oscillating flange of church organ minimalism, settling upon a melancholy melody which slowly shifts between just a few minor key notes which gradually wanders into zoned-out passages of electronic bubbling and fizzed textures. Very beautiful, very moving stuff.
Limited stock on this, so don't be surprised when this one sells out.
MPEG Stream: "What One Does To Another"
MPEG Stream: "Runway"
MPEG Stream: "Critique Of The Beautiful"

HAUSCHKA & HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR Pan Tone (Sonic Pieces) cd 19.98
Time to get swept away by some deep dreamy Icelandic beauty, as our favorite experimental cellist Hildur Gudnadottir teams up with composer and pianist Hauschka for a stunning collaboration. We already deeply smitten with the meditative music Gudnadottir has made on her own as well as in collaboration with Angel, BJ Nilsen, Mum, et cetera. But we hadn't spent much time with the music of Hauschka, but this pairing definitely has us wanting to hear more of his stuff. Together they create music that sounds like a solemn soundtrack for ghost towns, abandoned buildings, and isolated existence.
With elements in sound, composition and an overall feeling that reminds us of some of our favorite works by Gavin Bryars, Charlamagne Palestine, Harold Budd, Sylvain Chauveau, and The Rachels, this is one of those records we love playing early on a crisp winter morning or as it turns dark on a Sunday night and it's time to clear our heads of the distractions of the world, and start taking deep breaths and immersing ourselves in thoughtful introspection. Utterly beautiful and stirring.
MPEG Stream: "#283"
MPEG Stream: "Cool Gray 1"
MPEG Stream: "#304"

HAVE A NICE LIFE Deathconsciousness (Enemies List) 2xcd-r + book 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Let's just get it right out in the open, first thing. This should have been record of the week. It's beautiful, weird as fuck, mysterious, it's two whole discs of far out sounds, it comes with a massive photocopied book, filled with lyrics and text from some mysterious professor, and they're called Have A Nice Life...
BUT, the band decided to not make any more copies, and let us have their last 40. It will probably be available as a download or something in the future, but for now, these are the last 40 physical copies available EVER. And the only way, as far as we know, to get the book as well.
So what's the deal with Have A Nice Life? People are always emailing us about the new wave of shoegaze bands, nu-gaze as some folks like to call it (the same ones who now have us using the term metalgaze), and someone recommended Have A Nice Life, telling us the band was some sort of doom, metal, black metal, gothic, new wave, shoe gaze outfit, so obviously we were pretty curious. So we emailed the band. No response. Emailed the label. No response. Then we just happened to be going through piles of records, and found this one just sitting on the desk, where it must have been for weeks, a cool creepy cover, a color painting of a man's arm, bleeding, the words "the plow that broke the plains" on a black field above it. And it was bundled with a book. Hmmm. With the word Deathconsciousness printed on the front. And wham. It clicked. Those guys had already sent us a copy, which had somehow slipped through the cracks. So we quickly threw it on, and it was everything we had expected, everything we had hoped for, and more. We finally got in touch with the band, who told us they were not going to make any more, but would make one final batch for us.
So here they are.
Two discs, jam packed with dark blissed out shoegazey, new wave-y, slightly metallic nearly perfect pop. The songs insanely varied, but impossible cohesive. Some sort of sprawling bliss rock opera. Each track, perfect on its own, but even more perfect as part of the bigger whole.
The first disc is the prettier and poppier of the two. The opening track is a creepy stretch of Goblin like synth ambience, peppered with simple minor key acoustic guitar, haunting and lovely, which quickly gives way to thick ropy basslines, and reverbed electronic drums, a definitely Joy Division vibe, swirls of thick guitar, gorgeous melodies and heartfelt vocals, it's dirgey and doomy and depressive, but so catchy and poppy. The next track is a big blown out pop epic, all effected vocal harmonies and washed out watercolor guitars, reminding us quite a bit of M83. The rest of the first disc slips easily from gloomy goth pop, to minimal drone, to shimmery shoegaze, often all at once. The disc finishes off with a gloomy dirge, all downtuned grindguitar and pointillist piano. Softly crooned vocals, and a surprisingly catchy melody.
Which perfect leads into the second, darker and heavier disc, which begins with a track the boasts probably the greatest song title EVER: "Waiting For Black Metal Records In The Mail". But don't be expecting any black metal, instead it's a killer slab of eighties style indie doom pop, jangly guitar, propulsive drumming, and killer vocals, all wound into an awesome blast of hooky retro gloom, very reminiscent of the Comsat Angels. Hot on the heels comes another awesomely named song: "Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000", but again the title gives no clue that the song is a lilting mostly acoustic jam, with more piano, sad vocals, minor key melodies, a super reverby eighties production, all set to that Casio keyboard preset metronome rhythm. But about half way through, the track shifts and becomes a pounding rocker, the guitars thick and distorted, the drums pounding, but then all around synths buzz, vocals croon, the heaviness transformed into something much more dreamy and blissy. "The Future" is an aggro, almost no wave workout, all jagged guitars and shouted vocals, and more of that thick throbbing bass, but just like the rest of the tracks, it gets totally twisted around, his time by the addition of fake strings, and yet another killer and totally irresistible hook.
"Earthmover" finishes things off, but instead of being some dirgey doom epic, it's another blissed out popscape, lots and lots of fuzz and buzz, glistening melodies, minimal rhythms, all buried beneath layers of woozy whir and sun dappled sparkle. Almost like a much prettier and poppier Nadja.
And the thing about this record and these songs, is that, they all manage to be outrageously catchy, but not obviously so, and while they straddle about a million different genres, they manage to weave them all seamlessly into each other, making Deathconsciousness feel less like a rock band's collection of songs, and more like one massive organic mass of blackened dronepop jangle-goth bliss. Which as far as we're concerned it actually is.
The packaging is amazing. A slimline dvd case, two cd-r's each hand spray painted, full color cover, super spare and striking, and then there's the book. A dvd sized 80 page book, filled with lyrics, liner notes, woodcuts, engravings, illustrations, and a massive amount of text on the soul, spirituality, death, sorcery, Medieval heresy and more, all supposedly penned by an East Coast professor and scholar.
So awesome!
MPEG Stream: "Waiting For Black Metal Records To Come In The Mail"
MPEG Stream: "Holy Fucking Shit: 40,000"
MPEG Stream: "Bloodhail"
MPEG Stream: "The Big Gloom"
MPEG Stream: "Hunter"

HAVOHEJ Dethrone the Son of God (Hells Headbangers) cd 13.98

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A Darkness At Noon (Leaf) cd 14.98
... is noneother than Elephant 6 Collective member Jeremy Barnes (of Neutral Milk Hotel and Bablicon). We know very well the degree of creativity and craft that goes into all of the E6 family's musical endeavors, and Barnes' latest musical pursuits are no exception. This is his second release under this moniker, and it picks up right where his self-titled debut left off, traversing the great expanse of folk music from around the globe (of which he's done his fair share of exploring in the past year). However, whereas he made his first AHAAH album all by his lonesome, for this one he recruited a full band. Heck, we can see why! In typical E6 fashion, he's encorporated an overflowing mixed bag o' acoustic instruments (various horns, bagpipes, accordion, ouds, piano, harp and assorted percussion). Barnes invites seemingly divergent elements from distant plains to entwine on Darkness At Noon. Keep your ears peeled for moments influenced by klezmer, flamenco and mariachi as well as interludes seemingly inspired by Carl Stalling, Steve Reich, and the solo accordion work of Lars Hollmer (member of Swedish prog rock greats Samla Mammas Manna). Like musical ivy, they creep and wind their way in and around each other. Very much in a similar film soundtrack-y vein to Tin Hat Trio's most recent album, the gorgeous Book Of Silk. The lead-off track "Laughter In The Dark" is a fitting entrance point. The seven minute long, richly atmospheric piece gradually lures you away from the lights and roar of the city towards more fire-lit enchanted surroundings. Barnes allows his adventurous spirit to run free, and we're fortunate to have a front row seat on his musical caravan.
MPEG Stream: "Laughter In The Dark"
MPEG Stream: "A Black And White Rainbow"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A Deliverance (Leaf) lp 15.98
Also available on vinyl... Following up their glorious, but sadly very limited edition 78rpm 10" record Foni Tu Argile, A Hawk And A Hacksaw present their latest full length via more modern technological means. As always, the band remain deeply reverent and faithful to the traditional Eastern European gypsy folk styles that they hold near and dear. Their songs rush by at a frenzied pace. It's almost faster than your toe can tap, but the music does spur your limbs into action. We found ourselves moving a bit quicker around the store while it played. Even without our morning coffee fix! So if you've been trying to kick caffeine, maybe consider this a healthy substitute... no, seriously! Check out the wild piano action on "Kertesz" and the twisting horns on "Turkiye". Amazing musicianship! Stunning stuff! They do slow things down briefly for numbers such as the mesmerizing "Raggle Taggle" (though it ends with an unexpected lively clip!) and "I Am Not A Gambling Man", only to start back up again at an even more frantic tempo! If you've dug their previous recordings, this will surely please you a-plenty! Also recommended for fans of Beirut and Gogol Bordello!
MPEG Stream: "KertŽsz"
MPEG Stream: "Raggle Taggle"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A Delivrance (Leaf ) cd 14.98
Following up their glorious, but sadly very limited edition 78rpm 10" record Foni Tu Argile, A Hawk And A Hacksaw present their latest full length via more modern technological means. As always, the band remain deeply reverent and faithful to the traditional Eastern European gypsy folk styles that they hold near and dear. Their songs rush by at a frenzied pace. It's almost faster than your toe can tap, but the music does spur your limbs into action. We found ourselves moving a bit quicker around the store while it played. Even without our morning coffee fix! So if you've been trying to kick caffeine, maybe consider this a healthy substitute... no, seriously! Check out the wild piano action on "Kertesz" and the twisting horns on "Turkiye". Amazing musicianship! Stunning stuff! They do slow things down briefly for numbers such as the mesmerizing "Raggle Taggle" (though it ends with an unexpected lively clip!) and "I Am Not A Gambling Man", only to start back up again at an even more frantic tempo! If you've dug their previous recordings, this will surely please you a-plenty! Also recommended for fans of Beirut and Gogol Bordello!
MPEG Stream: "KertŽsz"
MPEG Stream: "Raggle Taggle"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A The Way The Wind Blows (Leaf) cd 14.98
Wow! If you loved this duo's last album Darkness At Noon and/or Beirut's Gulag Arkestar album and/or eastern European folk music in general, keep the love a-flowin' cause we think this might be your new fave! Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost (also of Beirut) clearly possess a deep respect, admiration and understanding of traditional Balkan, Bavarian and Turkish gypsy music. Together with guests Beirut's Zach Condon and old aQ faves Fanfare Ciocarlia, they've crafted a fantastic, faithful patchwork of the distinct regions' sounds. In fact, the latter were recorded in the tiny remote village of Zece Prajini, Romania. The air prickles with the intricate interwoven rhythms of sputtering brass, rattling percussion, reeling accordions and flourishing strings. Immensely vibrant and moving. Very very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "In The River"
MPEG Stream: "Oporto"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A The Way The Wind Blows (Leaf) lp 15.98
Wow! If you loved this duo's last album Darkness At Noon and/or Beirut's Gulag Arkestar album and/or eastern European folk music in general, keep the love a-flowin' cause we think this might be your new fave! Jeremy Barnes and Heather Trost (also of Beirut) clearly possess a deep respect, admiration and understanding of traditional Balkan, Bavarian and Turkish gypsy music. Together with guests Beirut's Zach Condon and old aQ faves Fanfare Ciocarlia, they've crafted a fantastic, faithful patchwork of the distinct regions' sounds. In fact, the latter were recorded in the tiny remote village of Zece Prajini, Romania. The air prickles with the intricate interwoven rhythms of sputtering brass, rattling percussion, reeling accordions and flourishing strings. Immensely vibrant and moving. Very very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "In The River"
MPEG Stream: "Oporto"

HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A & THE HUN HANGAR ENSEMBLE s/t (Leaf) cd+dvd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
No sense in messing with a sure thing! A Hawk And A Hacksaw's latest release delivers more of their wonderful authentic Balkan folk sounds, but this time we also get the added delight of visual accompaniments. The group's enthusiasm and deep reverence for the music's history and artistry remains true, lively, and vibrant. Sure to please their growing legions of fans and win them a few more in the process.
MPEG Stream: "Kiraly Sirat‡s"
MPEG Stream: "Romanian Hora And Bulgar"

HAWK, GERALD King Of The River Canoe (Abduction) cd 13.98
I believe that this is the first recording for Gerald Hawk, who managed to land this recording on the Sun City Girls' Abduction label. I have to say that this is more interesting than the recent series of monthly Sun City Girls releases, sounding much more like the solo recordings from either of the Bishop brothers. Simple off key acoustic guitar strum with a Jandekian vocal meandering that often has a ghostly double as an ominous whisper. Certainly for fans of No Neck Blues Band and the aforementioned Sun City Girls.

HAWKINS, SCREAMIN' JAY Cow Fingers & Mosquito Pie (Epic) cd 8.98

HAWKWIND Doremi Fasol Latido (EMI) cd 16.98
Back in stock, slightly higher price, still so worth it!!
I've been going Hawkwind crazy lately. I [Andee] pretty much missed out on Hawkwind completely the first time around. I was only 2 years old when this record came out. Later, I missed out again, having opted out of the whole high school, pot smoking, parking lot, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind thing as well. Third time's the charm though, and I am now immersing myself completely in HAWKWIND! And I'm not entirely surprised to find that some of my favorite bands have been borrowing heavily from Hawkwind (consciously or not) for years. This stuff is heavy and drone-y and hypnotic and endless. Like the Stooges or the MC5 stretched and stretched until they become these epic riffscapes of wah wah guitars and thrumming low end drone, all stretched loosely over an unwavering motorik beat. Monster Magnet, Circle, Salvatore, and basically every stoner metal band/psych rock ensemble I have ever heard owe it all to the 'wind, whether they know it or not. This is one of the best falling asleep records I have ever owned. And if did smoke pot, I bet you anything it would be perfect for that too. Features a youthful Lemmy Kilmister, pre-Motorhead.
This reissue contains the original album plus 5 bonus tracks!
MPEG Stream: "Brainstorm"
MPEG Stream: "Space Is Deep"

HAWKWIND Hall Of The Mountain Grill (EMI) cd 16.98
Back in stock, slightly higher price, still so worth it!!
I've been going Hawkwind crazy lately. I [Andee] pretty much missed out on Hawkwind completely the first time around. I was only 2 years old when this record came out. Later, I missed out again, having opted out of the whole high school, pot smoking, parking lot, Pink Floyd, Hawkwind thing as well. Third time's the charm though, and I am now immersing myself completely in HAWKWIND! And I'm not entirely surprised to find that some of my favorite bands have been borrowing heavily from Hawkwind (consciously or not) for years. This stuff is heavy and drone-y and hypnotic and endless. Like the Stooges or the MC5 stretched and stretched until they become these epic riffscapes of wah wah guitars and thrumming low end drone, all stretched loosely over an unwavering motorik beat. Monster Magnet, Circle, Salvatore, and basically every stoner metal band/psych rock ensemble I have ever heard owe it all to the 'wind, whether they know it or not. This is one of the best falling asleep records I have ever owned. And if did smoke pot, I bet you anything it would be perfect for that too. Features a youthful Lemmy Kilmister, pre-Motorhead.
This reissue contains the original album plus 5 bonus tracks!
MPEG Stream: "The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke)"
MPEG Stream: "Wind Of Change"

HAWKWIND In Search Of Space (EMI) cd 16.98
Back in stock, slightly higher price, still so worth it!!
If you need a little background on my [Andee's] current Hawkwind obsession see the review for "Doremi Fasol Latido" elsewhere on this list. Needless to say, these records are killing me. How did I mange to miss Hawkwind for all this time. All the stuff I love, stoner rock, metal, drone, drone rock (a la Circle, Salvatore) drug soaked alcohol drenced rock and roll...Hawkwind has got it in spades. Relentless fuzzed out riffs that seem to go on forever, with a rhythm section that locks into a groove and stays in it, steady to the end. This stuff doesn't just lull me to sleep, it blisses me out. I feel like I'm in a different state of mind as I sink deeper and deeper into these super rocking MC5-on-angeldust vibes. Space-y and drone-y and hypnotic and fucking magical. Fans of Circle and all that kind of hypnotic repetitive psych need to own this stuff (if you don't already)!
Originally released in 1971. This reissue contains the whole original album plus 3 bonus tracks.
MPEG Stream: "You Shouldn't Do That"
MPEG Stream: "You Know You're Only Dreaming"

HAWKWIND Leave No Star Unturned (Easy Action) cd 28.00

HAWKWIND Levitation (Atomhenge) 3cd 40.00

HAWKWIND P.X.R.5 (Atomhenge / Cherry Red) cd 23.00

HAWKWIND Quark, Strangeness, And Charm (Atomhenge / Cherry Red) 2cd 30.00

HAWKWIND Space Ritual (EMI) 2cd 33.00
Back in stock, slightly higher price, still so worth it!!
Two discs of sonic mayhem beamed from space through a hazy cloud of pot smoke. Hawkwind are seriously kicking my [Andee's] ass. This is a double live disc of Hawkwind at their best (that would be Lemmy-era). Taking the studio cuts and stretching them out, twisting them all out of shape and turning them into endless jams, looping and repetetive and hypnotic. Once the rhythm section locks into their motorik groove, the rest of the band just follows, through a swirling morass of drug addled psychedlia and into another plane altogether. Never has a band made me want to get high so much. [This from a guy who's completely straight-edge.] I already almost feel high just listening, when I'm all stretched out, eyes closed, stereo turned up as loud as it'll go, my whole body vibrating from the sound, my mind drifting off. Like a faster, meaner, hippier Spacemen 3 but with better drugs, or Loop or Godflesh or Circle or any band that tries to transport you through repetition and subtle shift. Simple riffs spread out into a warm landscape of fuzz and thrum, while flutes and saxophones and tweaked wah wah guitars ride wildly atop the mayhem. So so so so good. Hawkwind make music to take drugs to make music by better than almost anyone else. This reissue contains the original live double album plus 3 bonus tracks.
MPEG Stream: "Born To Go"
MPEG Stream: "Down Through The Night "

HAWKWIND Space Ritual Sundown V. 2 (Abstract Sounds) 2cd 14.98

HAWKWIND Space Ritual: Collectors Edition (EMI) 2cd 19.98
Two discs of sonic mayhem beamed from space through a hazy cloud of pot smoke. Hawkwind are seriously kicking my [Andee's] ass. This is a double live disc of Hawkwind at their best (that would be Lemmy-era). Taking the studio cuts and stretching them out, twisting them all out of shape and turning them into endless jams, looping and repetetive and hypnotic. Once the rhythm section locks into their motorik groove, the rest of the band just follows, through a swirling morass of drug addled psychedlia and into another plane altogether. Never has a band made me want to get high so much. [This from a guy who's completely straight-edge.] I already almost feel high just listening, when I'm all stretched out, eyes closed, stereo turned up as loud as it'll go, my whole body vibrating from the sound, my mind drifting off. Like a faster, meaner, hippier Spacemen 3 but with better drugs, or Loop or Godflesh or Circle or any band that tries to transport you through repetition and subtle shift. Simple riffs spread out into a warm landscape of fuzz and thrum, while flutes and saxophones and tweaked wah wah guitars ride wildly atop the mayhem. So so so so good. Hawkwind make music to take drugs to make music by better than almost anyone else.

HAWKWIND The Text Of Festival (East World) cd 12.98

HAWKWIND The Text Of Festival (Let Them Eat Vinyl) 2lp 23.00

HAWTHORNE, MAYER A Strange Arrangement (Stones Throw) cd 12.98
Mayer Hawthorne is the pseudonym for Ann Arbor native and multi-instrumentalist/DJ /producer, Andrew Cohen, who began recording as the retro-soul heavy Mayer Hawthorne as a sort of joke.
When Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf first heard it, he thought he was listening to reedits of some obscure late sixties soul singles, not realizing Cohen had laid down all the tracks himself. Cohen is definitely channeling the same retro soul vibe that the Daptone label is putting out, and listening to this, he's got all the right soul references down from The Dells, The Delfonics, The Stylistics and The Moments, with the benefit of great song writing hooks. His first single, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out", released on a red heart shaped 45 is probably the most groovy breakup song we've ever heard (It ironically get played a lot at weddings!). But our favorite track is the second single, "Maybe So, Maybe No", that shows that his hip blue-eyed soul persona is no mere shtick, but a viable modern soul force to be reckoned with.
MPEG Stream: "Maybe So, Maybe No"
MPEG Stream: "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"
MPEG Stream: "Green Eyed Love"

HAWTHORNE, MAYER How Do You Do (Universal Republic) cd 13.98
One of the most intoxicating male voices we've heard in so long belongs to Mayer Hawthorne. On How Do You Do, he makes the leap from the indie Stones Throw to the big time, now finding a home on Universal, but luckily his soulful music is not compromised one bit. In fact when we first heard Mayer Hawthorne a couple years ago we had a feeling he could get HUGE. Looks like maybe we were right.
His blue eyed soul shines nice and bright on this new outing and shows off both his ability to create such a seductive mood, while also his super strong song writing chops. Equally influenced by amazing singers like Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson as well as sweet sounding west coast pop like The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits and The Louvin Spoonful, there's just no denying he creates make-out jams that sound so damn good, and thus he's amassed a pretty awesome list of bigtime fans which include Dam-Funk, Peanut Butter Wolf, and even Snoop Dogg who appears on "Can't Stop", a totally killer track on How Do You Do. Speaking of amazing guests, legendary psych-funk guitar god Dennis Coffey plays on two tracks as well.
The only thing we don't love about this record is the album cover and the marketing campaign that Universal has launched in support of it. We understand that they want to make him a huge star, but truthfully Hawthorne is so much more talented then what major labels like to push as the next big thing.
He is not just a pretty face and voice, he wrote and produced every track on the album, and his sense of arrangements and pop structure are so spot on. But like we we were always told, you can't judge books or records by their covers, cause what's inside is what really counts, and the songs on How Do You Do are pure proof.
MPEG Stream: "A Long Time"
MPEG Stream: "Can't Stop ( Feat. Snoop Dogg)"
MPEG Stream: "Stick Around"

HAWTHORNE, MAYER How Do You Do (Universal Republic) lp 17.98
One of the most intoxicating male voices we've heard in so long belongs to Mayer Hawthorne. On How Do You Do, he makes the leap from the indie Stones Throw to the big time, now finding a home on Universal, but luckily his soulful music is not compromised one bit. In fact when we first heard Mayer Hawthorne a couple years ago we had a feeling he could get HUGE. Looks like maybe we were right.
His blue eyed soul shines nice and bright on this new outing and shows off both his ability to create such a seductive mood, while also his super strong song writing chops. Equally influenced by amazing singers like Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Otis Redding, Smokey Robinson as well as sweet sounding west coast pop like The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Herman's Hermits and The Louvin Spoonful, there's just no denying he creates make-out jams that sound so damn good, and thus he's amassed a pretty awesome list of bigtime fans which include Dam-Funk, Peanut Butter Wolf, and even Snoop Dogg who appears on "Can't Stop", a totally killer track on How Do You Do. Speaking of amazing guests, legendary psych-funk guitar god Dennis Coffey plays on two tracks as well.
The only thing we don't love about this record is the album cover and the marketing campaign that Universal has launched in support of it. We understand that they want to make him a huge star, but truthfully Hawthorne is so much more talented then what major labels like to push as the next big thing.
He is not just a pretty face and voice, he wrote and produced every track on the album, and his sense of arrangements and pop structure are so spot on. But like we we were always told, you can't judge books or records by their covers, cause what's inside is what really counts, and the songs on How Do You Do are pure proof.
MPEG Stream: "A Long Time"
MPEG Stream: "Can't Stop ( Feat. Snoop Dogg)"
MPEG Stream: "Stick Around"

HAYAINO DAISUKI Invincible Gate Mind Of The Infernal Fire Hell... Or Did You Mean Hawaii Daisuke? (Hydra Head) cd ep 13.98
The easiest way to describe Hayaino Daisuki is like this: they're the band we always wished existed. Imagine classic eighties metal but about 100 times as fast and furious, or maybe a blasting grind version of power metal, or Iron Maiden crossed with Discordance Axis. That last one being particularly appropriate, seeing as Hayaino Daisuki is the new band of former DA screamer Jon Chang, even though the band do everything in their power to disguise who is in fact in the band, the first record purported to be a bunch of teenage metal girls, this one has a huge booklet with comics and interviews and lyrics, but very little actually band info.
But it hardly matters, once you lay ears on this stuff, you'll be totally and utterly obsessed, it may be only 12 minutes, but if you play it ten times in a row it's 120 minutes, and we DARE you to try to just listen to this once. Music this heavy and fast and furious and brutal should not be this catchy. The riffs are incredible, the drumming insane, the vocals of course are untouchable, and the wild leads and constant shredding harmonies is what pushes this over the top. What more do you need to know than 'Iron Maiden meets Discordance Axis'? Absolutely nothing. But if you're looking for something that totally shred and slays, is crazy catchy, you'd be hard pressed to find something more perfect than this. It's either the most melodic and hook filled shredding grind record ever, or the most blasting brutal grinding power metal record ever. Either way, this totally destroys, and is quickly becoming our favorite 12 minutes of music this year. Now 24 minutes. Now 36 minutes. Now 48 minutes...
MPEG Stream: "Ghosts Of Purgatory"
MPEG Stream: "Blood"

HAYRIDE AND HARVEY MILK F*#k You Guys (Superfluous Umlaut) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2006 was most definitely the year of Harvey Milk. A year most of us had been waiting for forever! A live DVD, a double disc reissue of Courtesy And Good Will Toward Men, a brand new fucking album!! Some tours, a bunch of live shows. We've basically been in downtuned sludge rock Nirvana. And as if that weren't enough, now we've got a brand new 7" from the boys, a split with Hayride, a band they shared another split with way back in 1992.
The Harvey Milk track is an oldie, recorded at home way back sometime in the early nineties, a riffy mathy dirgey masterpiece. Very lo-fi, with the vocals buried WAY down in the mix, but it's a killer, roiling and churning, a slow motion groove, like the Melvins covering ZZ Top at 16 rpm. Essential if you're a HM nerd, and if you're not, what the hell is wrong with you?!?
Hayride, we assume are also from Athens, and unlike Harvey Milk, they sound like it. Sort of jangly and mathy, what you might imagine R.E.M. would sound like if they had recorded for Touch And Go. Some June Of '44, even some Interpol with the deep dramatic vocals. But with plenty of jangle and math rock riffage.
But no matter how cool Hayride are, the 'Milk is the reason to pick this up.
Super limited, already out of print it seems. We were one of the only stores to get copies, and while we did get a bunch, they won't last...

HAYVANLAR ALEMI Guarana Superpower (Sublime Frequencies) cd 17.98
This amazing, previously vinyl only, Sublime Frequencies release, finally available on cd!!!
Ethiopiques meets Torch Of The Mystics? Cambodian pop meets Turkish psych rock? Freaked out surf rock meets Saharan guitar music? Howabout all of the above...?
The very first release on the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequency label from Istanbul-based instrumental psychedelic surf / space rock band Hayvanlar Alemi, their first proper album, and their first record readily available outside of Turkey.
The thing that makes this Hayvanlar Alemi record work in the context of Sublime Frequencies, is that it borrows from a super varied set of sounds, from all sorts of musics, each track here sounding like it could possibly be from some other SF release, twanged out desert psych, moody Eastern garage pop, fuzzy druggy almost krautrock style drift, a few of the tracks even sound like they could be some Sun City Girls Torch Of The Mystics B side! But somehow these guys make all those different sounds work, this whole record holds together perfectly and flows like a proper album, a super expansive and sonically rich collection of modern psychedelia, beholden to all the various musics that came before.
The sound on Guarana Superpower is definitely exotic, lush, with Eastern melodies, simple hypnotic percussion, long droning tones, looped motorik grooves, plenty of buzz, and jangle, and crunch, rhythms that veer from spare and skeletal to wild and splattery, songs drift from tranquil shimmer to meditative buzz to occasional blasts of full on chaotic freaked out in-the-red psychedelia, but even in the midst of those noisy squalls, the instrumentation is distinctly Eastern, the result some fantastical Eastern psychedelic noise rock. It's during those moments that the Torch Of The Mystics comparisons become even more apt. The record is of course rife with references to traditional Turkish folk music, Turkish classical music, sixties and seventies Turkish psych rock, as well as all the above mentioned NON Turkish sounds and influences, all filtered through a modern avant rock sensibility. There are a few tracks of surfy, bluesy garage rock stomp as well, but again, even those jams are infused with a vibe and energy that is way more Eastern than Western. So good. And such a perfect fit for Sublime Frequencies...
MPEG Stream: "Mega Lambada"
MPEG Stream: "Mavi Sepet"
MPEG Stream: "Karpuzkafa 777"
MPEG Stream: "Guve Diskosu"

HAYVANLAR ALEMI Guarana Superpower (Sublime Frequencies) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ethiopiques meets Torch Of The Mystics? Cambodian pop meets Turkish psych rock? Freaked out surf rock meets Saharan guitar music? Howabout all of the above...?
The very first release on the Sun City Girls' Sublime Frequency label from Istanbul-based instrumental psychedelic surf / space rock band Hayvanlar Alemi, their first vinyl lp, and their first record readily available outside of Turkey.
The thing that makes this Hayvanlar Alemi record work in the context of Sublime Frequencies, is that it borrows from a super varied set of sounds, from all sorts of musics, each track here sounding like it could possibly be from some other SF release, twanged out desert psych, moody Eastern garage pop, fuzzy druggy almost krautrock style drift, a few of the tracks even sound like they could be some Sun City Girls Torch Of The Mystics B side! But somehow these guys make all those different sounds work, this whole record holds together perfectly and flows like a proper album, a super expansive and sonically rich collection of modern psychedelia, beholden to all the various musics that came before.
The sound on Guarana Superpower is definitely exotic, lush, with Eastern melodies, simple hypnotic percussion, long droning tones, looped motorik grooves, plenty of buzz, and jangle, and crunch, rhythms that veer from spare and skeletal to wild and splattery, songs drift from tranquil shimmer to meditative buzz to occasional blasts of full on chaotic freaked out in-the-red psychedelia, but even in the midst of those noisy squalls, the instrumentation is distinctly Eastern, the result some fantastical Eastern psychedelic noise rock. It's during those moments that the Torch Of The Mystics comparisons become even more apt. The record is of course rife with references to traditional Turkish folk music, Turkish classical music, sixties and seventies Turkish psych rock, as well as all the above mentioned NON Turkish sounds and influences, all filtered through a modern avant rock sensibility. There are a few tracks of surfy, bluesy garage rock stomp as well, but again, even those jams are infused with a vibe and energy that is way more Eastern than Western. So good. And such a perfect fit for Sublime Frequencies...
As always, this is a super limited one time vinyl pressing, nice thick vinyl, housed in a heavy old school style tip-on jacket.

HAYWARD, CHARLES Double Agent(s), Live In Japan Volume 2 (Locus Solus) cd 20.00
Live duets from ex-This Heat member Hayward with Keiji Haino, Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), Otomo Yoshihide and Peter Brotzman.

HAYWARD, CHARLES Near + Far, Live In Japan Volume 3 (Locus Solus) cd 20.00
Charles Hayward of This Heat performing live in Japan. Accompanied on several tracks here by Jin Harada, Makoto Nomura, Otomo Yoshihide, Akira Toyonaga, Kazuhisa Uchihashi & Tatsuya Yoshida.

HAYWARD, CHARLES / NUS / DAVID SHEA Bari, Italy - October 1996 (Sub Rosa) cd 16.98

HAYWARD, RICK s/t (Sunbeam) cd 16.98

HAZARD, GRANT Genus Euphony (QPM) cd 14.98
Some of you may know Grant Hazard from Oakland-based band The Very Hush Hush, whom we have carried records from in the past. For his first solo effort, Hazard gives us an instrumental cd of icy cool but beautifully melodic ambience. Comprised mostly of minimalist solo piano inflected with spacious textures and droning loops, Hazard's classically-trained musicianship serves him well in recalling the dulcet tones of impressionist composers such as Debussy and Satie, the modern day minimalism of Brin Eno and William Basinski, and touches of the dark-natured cinematic temperaments of Bohren & der Club of Gore. Limited to 500 copies. An excellent debut!
MPEG Stream: "Marionette"
MPEG Stream: "Trepanning"
MPEG Stream: "Shards"