MICROPHONES It Was Hot And We Stayed In The Water (K) cd 13.98
The Microphones are a warm & fuzzy but oddly avant pop band on K. It's as if the band stays up really late at their parents' house, eating lots of sugar & drinking lots of caffeinated soda, listening to Stereolab, This Heat, and early Pavement records, and quietly try to record their own synthesis into a 4-track without waking mom & dad. Inside the tape compression universe of the 4-track, The Microphones beef up their quiet melodic strum with overloaded effects and distortion. Quirky, oogly fun.

MICROPHONES Mount Eerie (K) cd 14.98
As self-deprecating and painfully shy as Phil Elvrum can be when performing live, his latest release as The Microphones is a monstrously hyperbolic album of artfulness that pushes K Records as close as they will ever come to The Red Krayola or Gastr Del Sol. "Mount Eerie" is an indulgent studio driven album, which may have begun as a psychedelic epic on par with Olivia Tremor Control's "Dusk At Cubist Castle," but has been shattered into a variety of half-completed song fragments which unexpectedly jump, twist, and turn in any number of directions including dense crescendos or lunch-box rock recreations of childrens songs. Elvrum is obviously a very gifted abstractionist of indie-rock strum but is often too elusive in where he wants to take these songs. Despite how vague and convoluted the narratives of "Mount Eerie" are, Elvrum succeeds in directing the album's mood with layers of monochromatic chanting, deep trombones, and huge crashing timpani that give this album a ponderous weight. Mope rock meets art rock.
RealAudio clip: "Universe"

MICROPHONES Song Islands (K) cd 14.98

MICROPHONES Tests (Elsinor) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Art damaged singer/songwriter psychedelia and knob twiddling that succeeds where the Olivia Tremor Control has recently faltered. Produced by Steve Fisk at Dub Narcotic and released by the Elsinor label, home of Death Cab For Cutie.

MICROPHONES Window (Yo Yo Recordings) cd 14.98
For the third album from the Microphones, "Window" is full of reverb soaked Olympia lunchbox / art rock with a low-key naive take on the Elephant 6 sound. For fans of Beat Happening.

MICROPHONES, THE Live In Japan (K) cd 13.98
This live album starts out promising enough, presenting selected recordings from three scaled down, intimate Microphones' shows (in comparison to his last few cds which have been considerably more grand productions), but swiftly descends into awkward, near-cringe territory. Granted he's playing all new songs which often seem unfamiliar even to him, but without the trippy glorious lo-fi indie pop orchestrations of his recent recordings to compliment and contrast his frail, emotive vocals in the live setting, mainman Phil Elvrum ends up fully exposed. You might recognize the deeeeep voice that pops in to help out as that of Calvin Johnson, but that's only on a few occasions. There's that fine line where deeply heartfelt, unrestrained singing meets off-key yowling-at-the-moon warbling... and that line gets crossed a few times on Live In Japan. Also for some reason "Silent Night" and "These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things" make their lyrically revised way into his live repertoire. Why?! We guess it's a case of 'you had to be there' which in this case was Kyoto, Nagoya, and Tokyo. Only for diehard Microphones fans. All others seek out The Glow Pt. 2 for a much better slice of Microphones music.
MPEG Stream: "Thanksgiving"
MPEG Stream: "Silent Night"

MIDDLETON, MALCOLM 5: 14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine (Chemikal Underground) cd 16.98
Malcolm Middleton, the multi-instrumentalist chap from those Scottish melancholics known as Arab Strap, steps up to the microphone. So as we might expect this does sound a great deal like A.S. if perhaps a bit more earthy, straight-outta-the-pub folky acoustic-y. 16 drained pints... er, I mean songs of depression, broken relationships and self deprecation. A slew of "woe is me, woe is you" lyrics ensues. Moods swing from rambunctious and rowdy to sullen and brooding. One of the totally pint-raising singalongs is "The King Of Bring":
I'm only happy when I'm sad
My good times are all bad
The best years have all left me
Alone with you.
Aaaah, heavy sigh... but somehow Middleton succeeds in not making 5:14 Fluoxytine a complete despair-fest. Along with the words of utter bleakness comes achingly pretty compositions both barebones like in "Cold Winter" as well as more fleshed out with subtle details like the misty-eyed strings, hushed female backing vocals and delicate chimes of "Best In Me". So good! Cup (who has a soft spot for Scottish mope-pop) has been playing this every single day since she got the advance copy. Fans of Badly Drawn Boy might also wanna check out ol' Malcolm too. This domestic release includes four bonus songs as well as a short film by Martin Smith.
MPEG Stream: "Best In Me"
MPEG Stream: "Cold Winter"

MIDDLETON, MALCOLM A Brighter Beat (Full Time Hobby) cd 15.98
Gawd, how I love the bitter, sourpuss music of Malcolm Middleton. Why is his beleaguered Scottish grumpiness so damn endearing? Well, for one thing the man's a genius at penning a pop hook even when it's laden with the weight of the whisky'd world. His ol' band Arab Strap may be no more, but fortunately he's still makin' music on his own. This is his third blearily great solo album. Sweetening the proceedings is the presence of female vocalist Jenny Reeve (also of The Reindeer Section) who pretties up Middleton's scruffy loner pad... uhh, we mean music with some creamy pastels and brighter lighting. Still nothing can outshine the overcast woolen greys of Middleton's hopelessly romantic and just plain hopeless universe. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Fight Like The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Death Love Depression Love Death"

MIDDLETON, MALCOLM Sleight Of Heart (Full Time Hobby) cd 10.98
A new album from our favorite (favourite!) Scottish sadsack. We lovingly compare his music to an abandoned puppy in the rain... lapping up the last drops from empty pint glasses outside the neighborhood (neighbourhood!) pub. The all-acoustic songs on Sleight Of Heart, a mix of originals and covers (including a great, unflinching slow creeping rendition of Madonna's "Stay"!), sound more off the cuff and barebones than those on his last album 2007's A Brighter Beat. His haggard voice is once again joined by the dulcet pipes of Jenny Reeve as well as Mogwai's Barry Burns on piano and The Delgados' Paul Savage on drums. Five years down the line Middleton's first solo album 5: 14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine still continues to slay Cup, but each of his subsequent full lengths have plenty of woeful weepers to delight any craving for that unmistakable Scottish melancholia. Go on, slip into this bummer goodness!
MPEG Stream: "Follow Robin Down"
MPEG Stream: "Stay"

MIDLAKE Trials Of Van Occupanther (Bella Union) cd 14.98
Midlake have garnered some pretty notable classic rock comparisons ranging from the Alan Parsons Project to Neil Young. Some reviewers have been quick to compare the group's opening track "Roscoe" to Fleetwood Mac. We agree that Lindsey Buckingham would approve of the delicate acoustic guitar picking (reminiscent of "Silver Springs") on "Bandits" and the crunchy guitar solo (ala "Go Your Own Way") on "Head Home," and Christine McVie wouldn't sneeze at the subtle electric piano lines that blend nicely into the rhythm section, yet contribute heavily to each song. However, we think the band's opener "Roscoe" is more comparable to Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper." After about ten seconds you begin to expect the cowbell to come in. Soon enough Tim Smith begins singing in a melancholy tone comparable to early Thom Yorke or Mark Kozelek and the cowbell seems miles away as you are swept up in the beauty of The Trials of Van Occupanther.
MPEG Stream: "Roscoe"
MPEG Stream: "Head Home"

MIDNIGHT Complete and Total F@#cking Midnight (Outlaw) cd 10.98

MPEG Stream: "All Hail Hell"
MPEG Stream: "Hot Graves"
MPEG Stream: "Endless Slut"

MIDNIGHT CIRCUS, THE Richard, Rodney, Rastus, Raoul, Roderick, Randy, Rupert (Hyped2Death) cd 11.98
Hooky -and- haphazard, and nicely lo-fi, yes it's another batch of early '80s UK DIY goodness, rescued from oblivion by Hyped To Death's Messthetics series! Leicester's Midnight Circus, who considered The Instant Automatons (reviewed last list) their mentors in the whole DIY cassette culture art punk thing, appeared on one collectable vinyl comp (Angst In My Pants) as well as on many many self-released cassette-albums with titles like Pre-Natal Counseling, The Bland Craze, Galvanizing The Dead, and Do Modern Atoms Wear Fashionable Clothes.
As per general Messthetics standards, they weren't terribly musically accomplished, but they -were- creative and fueled by much post-adolescent angst... Perhaps the Arctic Monkeys would have wound up like The Midnight Circus if they grew up 30 years earlier. Expect their Gang-Of-Four-ish guitars to be accompanied by beer can percussion (or crudely amplified metronome, or at best a cheap drum machine), that sort of thing, which of course we totally dig.
This is a "best of" of sorts, compiling tracks from that comp, their cassettes, and previously unreleased recordings as well circa 1980-83 and it includes scads of liner notes and cool black-and-white graphics in the 10-page cd booklet, as you should expect from these very thorough, labor-of-love Hyped To Death productions.
MPEG Stream: "Leather & Lace"
MPEG Stream: "Pre-Natal Counseling"

MIDNIGHT MOVIES Lion The Girl (New Line) cd 14.98
Midnight Movies' latest full length Lion The Girl exudes an irresistible sexy confidence. Believe you me, it is your new favorite if you happen to be a sleek late night jetsetter. This is great driving, moody pop a la Metric or Electrelane. Y'know, the kind that's deeply influenced by the shadowy side of '80s new wave, a bit of post-punk tension and maybe some Stereolab too with their penchant for propulsive krautrock-y organ lines. The robust combination of Larry Schemel's guitars, Jason Hammons' synthesizers and new drummer Sandra Vu's drums pack quite the walloping backdrop for Gena Olivier's sultry vocals. Occasionally the L.A. band take a bit of a breather from their fevered pace for a gentler '60s girl group vocal style slow number ("Ribbons") or a druggy space rocker ("Lion Song"). We like! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Hideaway"
MPEG Stream: "Ribbons"

MIDNITE SNAKE s/t (Birdman) cd 13.98
Raw wah-wank garage psych rawk from a new Pittsburgh PA trio whose in-the-red motorpsycho stylings would make Makoto Kawabata blush. If they were Japanese, this would get filed next to Mainliner and High Rise. All instrumental, which means they don't have to come up with any lyrics to go with such songtitles as "Machinegun Cock" and "Nitro-Turbo-Overdrive"... they just have to play it like they mean it. And they do, bombing out some drunken guitar-bass-drums as if their practice space was on fire and they're trying to put it out with their amps. Don't listen if you don't like hangovers. The aptly named track "Acid Wash" drones things out for about twelve minutes at the end of the disc, without turning down the volume.
MPEG Stream: "Ambassadors Of Throttle (In The Sky We Will Ride)"
MPEG Stream: "Snakebite At Midnite"

MIDNITE SNAKE Shaving The Angel (Birdman) cd 14.98
Good grief, this is the second album AQ's reviewed by Pittsburgh's Midnite Snake and I've only just NOW gotten the terrible pun implicit in their band name. Snake, snack, geddit? Ugh, wish I hadn't! Oh well, let's not hold that pun against 'em, 'cause this is a damn fine disc of raw, in-the-red, motorpsycho, amp-fried garagey geetar heaviness in the tradition of bands like High Rise and The Heads. The cool/curious thing about Midnight Snake is that it's obvious that they're totally IN control of the out-of-control, if your know what we mean. It's weird in a way, for something that's supposed to sound so SCUZZY they're actually not that sloppy.
So, what are this fright-masked trio up to this time 'round? They kick things off by kicking out the jams on the nine-minute "Cruise Control", effects swirling and burbling, bass throbbing, fuzzzzzzzzz baking yr ears to a crisp. Track two, "Sacred Mist" is an even longer jam, moodier at the beginning before building up to the requisite freakout. And then, with track three "Bigfoot '69" they REALLY go off but check out the drumming, tight! It's got all the "get down" energy of something by the late great Lubricated Goat. They follow that up with the mellow "In The Grass", it's all quiet and pretty for over four minutes... what happened??? Smoking grass instead of popping pills we guess, but it's nice. Soon enough, with track five "Shaving The Angel" they're back to the frazzed, fuzzed, frantic sort of stomp-splatter that Midnite Snake fans want to hear from Midnite Snake. Feedback squeal squalls and all. And then, holy crap, the final track number six "Supermodified" is a doozy. Nearly 26 minutes! Mantric noisy space rock mayhem.
File with yr White Hills, Residual Echoes, Comets On Fire... and Japanese stuff like Mainliner, Musica Transonic and Acid Mothers Temple (this actually even LOOKS a helluva lot like an AMT album).
MPEG Stream: "Cruise Control"
MPEG Stream: "Bigfoot '69"

MIDWAY Fist Full Of Quarters (self-released) cd ep 4.98
Do you have a fist full of quarters? About five dollars worth? Do you like feisty '80s-style punk pop tunes? Well, you just might wanna head for this Midway! Their debut five song ep positively bursts with youthful vigor. As you may guess from the title, they're all about cute, no-frills fun. And we'd guess they're more into riding the rollercoasters and the bumper cars, than the Ferris wheel! Fun!
MPEG Stream: "Electricity"

MIGHTY FLASHLIGHT s/t (Jade Tree) cd 12.98
Mike Fellows (of the monumentally important and awesome band Rites of Spring) has had a helping hand in records by Royal Trux, the Silver Jews, Will Oldham, and even Smog. Now he's finally struck out on his own. But don't expect any ass kicking emo. This is a way more subdued and personal affair. Utilising acoustic guitar, piano, electronics, drum machine, and the ubiquitous PowerBook, Fellows has produced an intimate and completely captivating album with obtuse yet engaging lyrics and subtle but pervasive melodies. Imagine Royal-Trux-electronica or Smog-techno or Palace-Brothers-remixed or drum-machine-folk-soundscapes or something, but it's so much more than that. Dark and folky and dreamy and pretty fucking great. This record would have fit perfectly on the Drag City roster (rumor is they turned it down), instead of emo mainstay Jade Tree (but I suppose that was unavoidable what with the Rites Of Spring past). So those of you in the market for some folky twang or twangy strum who wouldn't mind mixing it up a little, should totally check this out. Look out for the Mighty Flashlight on tour soon with what the band hints may be a unlikely collection of accompanying musicians.
RealAudio clip: "Vehicular Dome"
RealAudio clip: "Go, on. Die. It's easy"
RealAudio clip: "Several Water Cannons"

MIJ Yodeling Astrologer (ESP-Disk) cd 14.98
Just when we thought all the weird dusty corners of strange and magical sounds had been uncovered from the vast archives of the ESP label, something new to us, shiny and unbelievably wonderful gets unearthed. MIJ is the strangely cryptic moniker of Jim Holberg, (or on second thought not so strange as we just realized, it's his name spelled backwards!) who was discovered in Washington Square Park on a hot summer day in 1969 yodeling and playing guitar by ESP label head Bernard Stoller. But this wasn't any country western or Swiss Alps yodeling, this was some freaked out high-keening spacey Martian kind of yodeling. The kind that cuts through time and space and penetrates your subconscious. Blown away by his street performance, Stoller invited Holberg into the studio the next day to record a full length album and in just three hours with an array of echo effects and a patient and agreeable engineer, the Yodeling Astrologer was born. Apparently Holberg had explained to Stoller that after being injured in an auto-accident that had fractured his skull and impaired his hearing, his perceptions became altered and he began to do things musically that he couldn't comprehend but they somehow worked, and indeed they do. With both voice and guitar reverbed to the nth degree, this is some Donovan meet Dreamies meets Curt Boetchner of The Millenium psych-folk magic. So awesome and beautiful, weird and dreamy, with well-written songs and just enough freaky yodeling that won't scare off the folks who might be put off by the concept of, well, freaky yodeling. We've been playing this nearly everyday, it's so good. So Highly Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Two Stars"
MPEG Stream: "Grok (Martian Love Call)"
MPEG Stream: "Never Be Free"

MIKA MIKO 666: E.P. + 7" + Rare (PPM) cd 13.98

MIKA MIKO C.Y.S.L.A.B.F. (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
These five new no-wave / garage punk gals from L.A. kick and howl and raise quite a fevered ruckus while copping feels of Toni Basil's "Mickey" and The Knack's "My Sharona" (check out the fourth track "Jogging Song"!). Also brought to mind '90s lo-fi punk pop grrrls Frumpies, Bratmobile and Bikini Kill, not to mention their foremothers The Slits and X-Ray Spex.
MPEG Stream: "Jogging Song (He's Your Mr. Right)"
MPEG Stream: "Tighty Liberace"

MILE END LADIES STRING AUXILIARY, THE From Cells of Roughest Air (Bangor) cd 14.98
What do you get when three ladies from groups like Godspeed You Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion come together to form a "string auxiliary"? One intense and beautiful album, that's what! With cello, viola and violin employed with full force, this is a record that maintains a compelling tension from start to finish. Almost what you would imagine Rhys Chatham, Glenn Branca or Steve Reich would come up with if they were to use a string ensemble to score a lost Hitchcock film. Suspense filled sounds played with a piercing perfection. Kind of like a more forceful version of the Rachels' with the same elegant touch but a punchier disposition. This is totally recommended! Came out a while back (last year) but we only just mangaged to get some more in, it's a Canadian import. Not sure when/if we'll be able to get more when we run out...
MPEG Stream: "Sequences of a Warm Front"
MPEG Stream: "Thunderheads and Radar"

MILEMARKER Anaesthetic (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
Chapel Hill, NC post-hardcore, synth rockers Milemarker sound as though they really want to rage but fall short on firepower. For instance, the angstful, aggressive male and female voices seem to be grasping for the Atari Teenage Riot umph that's just out of their reach. Nevertheless when they step back a bit, details like piano lines and driving rhythms shine through. This actually brought to mind Computer Cougar (especially the male vocals), The VSS or more recently The Faint.

MILGRAM Vierhundertfunzig Volt (Pandaemonium) cd 13.98
Another release from our new favorite French label, that last brought us the amazing new Hint album reviewed last time, as well as Guapo, Double Nelson (above), etc. More conventionally "post-rock" a la Don Cab, June of 44...Good stuff for fans of that style of loud, rhythmically challenging mathy stuff. Pandaemonium is almost single-handedly changing the unfairly prejudiced view that almost everyone holds of the French rock scene (Magma excepted of course).

MILIEU A Warm Wooden Hollow (Infraction) cd 15.98

MILK CHOPPER The Secret Life of Numbers cd 9.98
Super sunshine indie pop in a very Beulah meets Pavement-esque fashion... It's San Francisco's Milk Chopper! Breezy boyish harmonies abound with a subtle bit of twang and snippets of sound samples shuffled in here and there. Quite a pleasing pop debut.
RealAudio clip: "Rubber Balls"

MILK CULT Project M-13 (0 To 1) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow -- one of the rare AQ Unanimous Staff Favorites. Ex-members of ye olde local band Steelpole Bathtub have put together this AMAZING Milk Cult record. Sounding nothing like Steelpole whatsoever, this is an experimental melange of dance, rock, and lounge music that's so f***ing accessible and so kickass serious fun that we sell a copy almost every time we play this in the store. It features everything from throaty French singers to earth-trembling bass to random noises and disco, plus lovely wailing guitar soloes, exotica, bird calls, you name it. The recipients of a French arts grant, Milk Cult spent a month recording "traditional Corsican singers; Buddhist chanters; Algerian folk improvisors; French folkies; industrial noisicians; rockers; jazzbos; hip hop artists; spoken word artists; electronics experimenters; a thirty-piece African orchestra; a Conch player; all of whom played along with backing tracks prepared by Milk Cult but never with each other..." The entire thing is put together so well it is seamless, and we predict you will love it. Highest recommendations for a record that really shouldn't be overlooked.

MILKWOOD TAPESTRY s/t (Gear Fab) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Debut album from 1969 sees itself reissued on disc. This NYC-based duo were popular for their tender ballads played out on classical and acoustic guitar and cello, with the added flourishes of maracas and harpsichord, and appropriately fey vocals. Will not only appeal to fans of the Incredible String Band, but also fans of Belle and Sebastian. An essential purchase only for those of you intrepid scholars of psychedelic esoterica.
RealAudio clip: "Wonderous Fairy Tale"
RealAudio clip: "Signs of the Invisible Chalk"

MILLENNIUM, THE Magic Time: The Millennium / Ballroom Recordings (Sundazed) cd 38.00
Here's an apparently much sought-after rarity now reissued (thanks again to the fine folks at Sundazed), that we have to confess we'd never heard of until now. But that's one of the great things about reissues, isn't it? And as reissues go, this one's a doozy: three discs of sugary, sunshiney psychedelic pop dating from 1965-1968, produced by the interrelated studio groups The Millennium, The Ballroom, Sagittarius, Summer's Children, and others (all creations of, among others, songwriter/producer Curt Boettcher, a man whose work we're told Brian Wilson was stunned by). Demos, singles, instrumentals, unreleased alternate takes, plus the full albums (Ballroom's "s/t" and The Millennium's "Begin") from these guys: it's all here. And it's all pretty great -- magical, even. Often dreamy. Well, sometimes goofy too (unfortunately reminding us of that "Drugsachusetts" Kroft Super Show parody sketch from Mr. Show!). Ok, if you're not in the mood, it'll make you vomit, but if song titles like "Dancing Dandelion", "Sunshine Today", "Milk And Honey", and "Karmic Dream Sequence" make you smile, then you'll want to have this for those special moments when today's Elephant 6 output just doesn't cut it. (And by that we mean to suggest that if you're a fan of Olivia Tremor Control or Apples in Stereo, you'll find so much to love here -- the music is as sweet as the Olivias but with a really good grit to it too.)
62 tracks total, that's almost 3 hours of material, all direct from the original analog tapes in Columbia's vaults. This massive reissue package, which includes extensive liner notes and many photos as well as those three compact discs of geniune genius '60s "Soft Pop" music, was assembled with the active cooperation of the original musicians.
RealAudio clip: THE BALLROOM "Love's Fatal Way"
RealAudio clip: THE MILLENNIUM "To Claudia On Thursday"
RealAudio clip: THE BALLROOM "Magic Time"

MILLER, RHETT The Believer (Verve) cd 15.98
Oh, Rhett Miller what're you doin' to us?! You, dear AQ reader, might recall that we had a gripe with his 2002 album's cover photo (a teen magazine worthy close-up shot of his peaches'n'cream face on a green background), and we didn't even bring up the appalling cover of his early solo offering Mythologies. Shudder. This time he's all dolled up and lounging in velvets. Doin' his best Rufus Wainwright impression. Weird, but unlike Wainwright who possesses an easy jaunty elegance, Miller looks posed and unnatural. Geeeez! Alright, that's enough harshing on Miller for one afternoon, but frankly it'd be less of an issue if any of his cover art or photos to date have suited their respective albums' music OR if his solo tunes kicked as much ass as those of his full band (Old 97s) do. Instead, his solo fare is much closer to that of loads of other folks. For instance the second tune could very well be a Goo Goo Dolls cast-off (which in itself isn't all that bad, is it?). Then the very next song "Meteor Shower" sounds like it could be a re-interpretation (or in less kind words, a knock-off) of David Bowie's song "Soul Love" from Ziggy Stardust. Later in the album "I Believe She's Lying" traces a melody and strummy guitar sound that Gin Blossoms put to better use on their song "Hey Jealousy". Not surprisingly, it all sound good -- really well played and produced -- but just comes across as faceless. That said, there's certainly enough heartstring-pulling here to guarantee that you'll be hearing some of these songs in teen movies this summer...
MPEG Stream: "Meteor Shower"
MPEG Stream: "The Believer"

MILLER, RHETT The Instigator (Elektra) cd 12.98
Solo record from the lead vocalist of alt. country rockers the Old 97's. And yet another chapter in the seemingly never ending saga of a band we love getting worse and worse. While the last Old 97's record still hinted at the band they once were, this is total middle of the road, singer songwriter, adult contemporary bland pop rock. Blechh.
RealAudio clip: "Our Love"

MILLS, CHRIS Nobody's Favorite (Sugar Free) cd 9.98

MIMIR Mimyriad (Streamline) cd 14.98

MIMIR s/t (Streamline) cd 14.98

MIN BUL s/t (Universal Norway) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's one I remember reading about in one of them rare-ass record collector books and thinking, wow, I'd like to hear that. A 1970 jazz-rock improv trio from Norway, featuring the young guitarist Terje Rypdal (later an ECM staple), balanced somewhere between psych-rock and Impulse-inspired energy jazz. Well at last it's been reissued on cd (first time ever legit reish we're told) and it is indeed damn good. Rypdal makes a good claim here to being Norway's answer to Sonny Sharrock or Ray Russell, and rips it up on some soprano sax as well as electric guitar. The six tracks here range from sheer freakout implosions to calmer, groovier stuff, with bassist Bjornar Andresen's Mingus-meets-Cream composition "Champagne of Course" being a monster highlight. Definitely a jazz record more than a rock one, but quite intense and heavy and experimental and sometimes beautiful too. And it's another NWW-list entry by the way. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "I Cried A Million Tears Last Night"
MPEG Stream: "Champagne Of Course"

MINDERS, THE Down In The Fall (Spin Art) cd 9.98
Wow. A quite wonderful surprise from The Minders, the two gal / one guy trio hailing from Portland, Oregon. 5 songs (plus 2 video tracks), each an individually perfect piece of classic British-Invasion-style pop a la the Kinks. Past affiliated with the underground pop collective Elephant 6 and having released one-off comp tracks and singles, and one full length, for a variety of labels, The Minders are obsessed with the past yet their music sounds totally fresh and unpretentious. From the Kinks-like opener "Young and With It" to the doleful piano-led "Time Machines", which sounds like the soundtrack to a 'twenties silent film, this is real honest to god beautifully written music you can sink your teeth into that doesn't copy the past so much as it is inspired by it. Recommended.
RealAudio clip: "Young and With It"

MINDERS, THE Golden Street (Spin Art) cd 16.98
Of all the pop bands that've been coming more and more to people's attention in the past few years, bands that specialize in reinterpreting the proudly pop roots planted by the Beatles, Kinks, Beach Boys, etc., Portland's The Minders are, in my humble opinion, head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Like the Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo, The Minders' version of toothy pop is so well-executed that what in lesser hands might get dismissed as retro pretentiousness instead seems really fresh. With female and male vocals, careful, exact instrumentation, and hooks galore, this particular Minders record reminds us of all the bands mentioned above, plus the Velvets, Big Star, and at times even T-Rex. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Hand on Heart"
RealAudio clip: "Right as Rain"

MINDERS, THE Hooray for Tuesday (Spin Art / Elephant6) cd 12.98
Sweet, strong pop very reminiscent of the Kinks and the Beatles on the wondrous Elephant 6 label, home of Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel.

MINDERS, THE Hooray for Tuesday (Little Army/Elephant6) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sweet, strong pop very reminiscent of the Kinks and the Beatles on the wondrous Elephant 6 label, home of Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel.

MINDFLAYER Expedition To The Hairier Peaks (Corleone) cd 11.98
3rd album (right?) from this band of Rhode Island noise dance nutters... really great, like their others, and dig that D&D module referencing/punning title!!

MINDFLAYER It's Always 1999 (Load) cd 13.98
First an album on Bulb (last year's Take Your Skin Off), now an album on Load? Must be some trash-fi, heavy-duty freakishness... Indeed it is: it's Mindflayer, those squidheaded noisniks from Rhode Island who just wanna party! Party like it's you-know-when. The electro-noise-dance duo of Mr. Brinkmann (Mr. Brinkmann, natch) and Mr. Chippendale (Lightning Bolt) are back with another bunch of zappity zap zap for your overstimulated earholes, all pounding tin can drums, cheapass electronics, and distorted distortion distorting. Approach with caution, partygoers.
MPEG Stream: "Rgamnimals"
MPEG Stream: "5 Minutes Of Sporadic Beats"

MINDFLAYER Take Your Skin Off (Bulb) cd 14.98
Uh oh. A Bulb release. That usually equals aggravating, though sometimes inspired, silly arty noise stuff. And that's what this is. Rhode Island's Mindflayer is named after a particularily fearsome D&D monster -- which of course earns 'em points with Allan, as long as they live up to the name, which they do! Band members Time (drums, vocals) and Space (synth, backup vocals) are pseudonyms for folks better known, respectively, as Brian Chippendale (drummer extraordinaire for the amazing Lightning Bolt), and Mr. Brinkmann (of Forcefield and, uh, Mr. Brinkmann fame).
In Mindflayer these two don squid heads (at least on the cover) and get down to some feedback-filled, uber noisy dancefloor terrorism, asking the musical question, "Are You Fucked Up?" (track six). Pounding rhythmic battery, distorted electronics and vocals...it's like a malevolent, metallic Christine 23 Onna, or early Quintron maybe. Imagine listening in on a desperate, low fi 911 phone call from a defective synthesizer held hostage by drugged out industrial rock hippies...
Yep, yet another indulgent Bulb release, but a good one -- so watch out, earholes.
MPEG Stream: "Head Of State On A Plate"
MPEG Stream: "Drop Bass Not Bombs"

MINDFLAYER / DEEP JEW split (Not Not Fun) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MINERAL End Serenading (Crank!) cd 11.98
Emo! People have been waiting for this record for ages! Really intense but not really loud or rocking. A lot like Karate and Sunny Day Real Estate...

MINIMUM CHIPS Lady Grey (Baked Goods) cd 15.98
Soooo darn dreamy! Imagine a not so distant Australian cousin to Brits Stereolab and Broadcast, and you might find Minimum Chip fluttering into view. We've got a bit of a soft spot for this sort of krautrock inflected pop with all of its warm deep hypnotic synth bass lines, organ-y drones, shuffling drumbeats and feathery female vocals. The dozen songs on Lady Grey are sweetly sigh-inducing.
MPEG Stream: "Sleepy Pea"
MPEG Stream: "Lady Grey"

MINISTRY Animositisomina (Sanctuary) cd 17.98
The first Ministry album since 1999's disappointing Dark Side Of The Spoon is certainly cause for fans' celebration as it marks Al Jourgensen's return to prime form. Following years of albums that sounded like pallid imitations made by Ministry wannabes, Animositisomina sounds like the Ministry of old. Pummeling, aggressive, malevolent and huge. You may be asking (as many around here have already) why you'd want / need any more Ministry records if you already own the classics such as Land Of Rape And Honey and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste. Well, good question... but there are definitely plenty of fresh new ideas brewing in the Jourgensen camp and a kick-ass group of players to execute the mission including longtime bandmates Paul Barker, Louis Svitek, Skrew mainman Adam Grossman and drummer Rey Washam formerly of Scratch Acid who alone elevates and propels this album immensely. Ten tracks in all including a cover of Magazine's "The Light Pours Out Of Me".
RealAudio clip: "The Light Pours Out Of Me"
RealAudio clip: "Animosity"

MINISTRY Early Trax (RykoDisc) cd 15.98
Probably for diehard, longtime Ministry fanatics only! Early Trax is the very-similarly packaged companion disc to Side Trax (which we reviewed in the last AQ List). This compilation of, yes, early '80s Ministry 12" faves features multiple mixes of "Every Day Is Halloween", "All Day", Nature Of Love", and "I'm Falling", plus individual versions of "He's Angry", "Move" and "Overkill". Definitely from their more gothy, less overtly politicized, dancing-in-the-batcave days than their later times of harder living, sharp-tongued nu-metal. Recent Ministry fans might find their young synth and drum machine sound a bit too foreign and fey for their fist-pumpin' aggro taste, but for those whose black pointy toed buckle boots still lurk in their closets' shadowy depths, it's pretty great to have these tracks available once more along with four previously unreleased.
MPEG Stream: "Every Day Is Halloween"
MPEG Stream: "He's Angry (Unreleased)"

MINISTRY Houses Of The Mole (Sanctuary) cd 17.98
Andee's been casting aspersions on the new Ministry for a while now and our pal and Andee's former housemate Josh "Josh Rock" Gottlieb has had just about enough:
As Andee has repeatedly asked me over the last couple of years "why would I possibly need another Ministry album?", it once again falls to yours truly to point out the fallacy of his nonsensical aversion and embark on what is most likely another futile attempt to pry the scales from his ears. This is the first album since 1988 without long time cohort Paul Barker, but the machine remains intact. If anything, it's now a nastier little beast. All the Ministry hallmarks are accounted for: blistering heaviness, technical perfection, and unfathomably catchy song structures. And, of course, the production is without peer, dense and multi-layered while retaining a sharpness akin to a freshly unwrapped scalpel moving through flesh. A good chunk of the cd finds Al Jourgensen and Co. in full throttle mode, basically hardcore with huge production values. But as with anything Uncle Al touches there's always something unexpected, off kilter and just a wee bit fucked wafting above and below the surface. Witness the slide guitar that drives the bruising "Worthless," the long, whiny chorus of "Wrong" colliding headlong with the fuzzed out gargle lurking in the verses or the dozens of samples that serve as the foundation for the insanity of "WTV." It's not all about speed though and when they decide to slow down the results are majestic. "World" is a rumbling mid-tempo march which re-envisions a peace march as Nuremberg rally whereas "Worm" sprawls its nine minute frame over a simple lumbering riff buoyed by a haunting harmonica melody, dueling choruses and murky atmosphere. So good. And to top it off, this is the most virulently anti-Bush album unleashed on the masses -- reading the lyric sheet certainly helps, given Jourgensen's penchant for heavily treated and distorted vocals. Gentility is in short order here, traded for raging diatribes and a plethora of samples of George W. himself making the case for his dismissal from office. Crushing, topical, essential.
MPEG Stream: "Worthless"
MPEG Stream: "WTV"

MINISTRY Rantology (Sanctuary) cd 16.98

MINISTRY Side Trax (Rykodisc) cd 15.98
We all loved Ministry at some point or another. Whether it was the deathlike disco of "Every Day Is Halloween", the pummelling metal/techno hybrid of The Land Of Rape And Honey and The Mind Is Terrible Thing To Taste, or the goofy White Zombie-ish "Jesus Built My Hotrod". But it was easy to miss some of Al Jougenson's finest moments as they didn't necessarily occur in Ministry. There were a handful of side projects that are as good as, if not better than the best Ministry. There was Pailhead, a slowly building powderkeg of emo aggression and soul shearing cascades of metal guitar and big beat pummel, featuring Fugazi's Ian Mackaye on vocals and folks from Naked Raygun. And wwho can forget 1000 Homo DJs, who reinvent Black Sabbath's "Supernaut" as a relentless, crushing industrial metal hybrid! This collection also includes tracks from PTP, a very early nineties sounding industrial pop, featuring Chris Connelly and Ogre from Skinny Puppy, and Acid Horse, which teamed up Ministry and Cabaret Voltaire for some gothy techno goofiness, complete with deep vocals and simple 4/4 rhythms and surfy guitar, sort of like Ministry with a Depeche Mode makeover. All cool stuff, but the 1000 Homo DJs and Pailhead tracks are all you really need. In fact, just throw on "Supernaut", crank your stereo, and find yourself in an alternate universe where Black Sabbath were not just metal demigods, but also dance floor destroyers!
MPEG Stream: PAILHEAD "I Will Refuse"
MPEG Stream: 1000 HOMO DJS "Supernaut"

MINNY POPS Secret Stories (LTM) cd 17.98