OXFORD COLLAPSE Remember The Night Parties (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
Here's the third album (their debut on Sub Pop) from breezy Brooklyn popsters Oxford Collapse, an indie rock band who unflinchingly replicate the sounds of beloved bands such as Modest Mouse and Pinback. While we can assure fans of those two bands that they'll probably find many ear pleasers comin' from this trio, we can also say the same to the lovers of Arcade Fire, Hidden Cameras, Ok Go and Architecture In Helsinki. The album's totally wistfully feel-good. Even if you didn't have summertime sweetie, these songs will make you feel like you did.
MPEG Stream: "Lady Lawyers"
MPEG Stream: "Forgot To Write"

OZKENT, MUSTAFA Genclik Ile Elele (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 14.98
B-Music's "Anatolian Invasion" continues. We reviewed the Selda album a few weeks ago, now it's time for the one with the monkey on the cover, the incredibly groovy 1973 instrumental album from this super-obscure Turkish artist Mustafa Ozkent and his "orkestrasi". We're told (and we believe it) that this is one REALLY obscure album, definitely a find for any digger and a welcome reissue from the discerning heads at Finders Keepers/B-music. It's simply jazzy, sazzy, dancefloor fodder here folks, nothing but a party y'all. Fuzz guitar and Turkish trad. folk grooves like we like, but done all badass as if the JBs, "funky drummer" included, were ushered into the studio with a bunch of Turkish musicians, each teaching the other some new tricks. '70s funk, Istanbul-style! Totally full of beats and breaks that pioneering hip hop DJs woulda been all over, had hip hop originated in the on the banks of the Bosphorus rather than in the Bronx... The acid organ spasms and rhythmic workouts found here are still fresh and fun today. We know a lot of you dig the Turkish psych reissues we've been freaking on, this one should definitely appeal to those who liked the '70s cop show car chase sounding numbers found on the Edip Akbayram reish. Ten tracks, 30 minutes, and your body WILL be moving long before you need to hit "play" again to start it over.
MPEG Stream: "Burcak"
MPEG Stream: "Silifke"

OZKENT, MUSTAFA Genclik Ile Elele (Finders Keepers) lp 28.00
NOW ON VINYL!!
B-Music's "Anatolian Invasion" continues. We reviewed the Selda album a few weeks ago, now it's time for the one with the monkey on the cover, the incredibly groovy 1973 instrumental album from this super-obscure Turkish artist Mustafa Ozkent and his "orkestrasi". We're told (and we believe it) that this is one REALLY obscure album, definitely a find for any digger and a welcome reissue from the discerning heads at Finders Keepers/B-music. It's simply jazzy, sazzy, dancefloor fodder here folks, nothing but a party y'all. Fuzz guitar and Turkish trad. folk grooves like we like, but done all badass as if the JBs, "funky drummer" included, were ushered into the studio with a bunch of Turkish musicians, each teaching the other some new tricks. '70s funk, Istanbul-style! Totally full of beats and breaks that pioneering hip hop DJs woulda been all over, had hip hop originated in the on the banks of the Bosphorus rather than in the Bronx... The acid organ spasms and rhythmic workouts found here are still fresh and fun today. We know a lot of you dig the Turkish psych reissues we've been freaking on, this one should definitely appeal to those who liked the '70s cop show car chase sounding numbers found on the Edip Akbayram reish. Ten tracks, 30 minutes, and your body WILL be moving long before you need to hit "play" again to start it over.
MPEG Stream: "Burcak"
MPEG Stream: "Silifke"

P.G. SIX Music From The Sherman Box Series & Other Works (Amish) cd 14.98
Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites by Tower Recordings member P.G. Six (aka Pat Gulber), released in 2001, is definitely one of our very favorite albums from amongst the current crop of acid-folk revivalists, melding trad folksiness with 4-track DIY experimentation, something like the Incredible String Band checking into the Neutral Milk Hotel! And P.G.'s 2004 follow-up, The Well of Memory, was pretty great too. So that now the Amish label has brought out another P.G. Six album has us all excited. But wait, there's no singing? And no guitar?
Yet, what we're hearing is quite lovely, late-night string shimmer... dark and delicate... just something rather more abstract (and instrumental) than what we expected. Turns out that Music From The Sherman Box Series is all -harp- music, seven tracks for various sorts of harps and effects. For instance: "#2 For Prepared Wire Strung Harp With Tremolo Pedal", "#5 For Two Bray Harps", etc. We're told P.G. recorded these to accompany an exhibition of paintings and collages (made from Nat Sherman cigarette boxes, hence the title) by artist Christine Krol, on display in a Jersey City gallery for a month last year. P.G.'s mellifluous, electronically processed strummings and pluckings of these droning, buzzing harps must have sounded wonderful as a sonic installation, looped in the gallery space, but are surely just as nice heard on this disc. We're reminded of Steven R. Smith's work as Hala Strana, and also the unfolding atmospheres of James Blackshaw's steel string improvisations. Which means, quite recommended! And it still sounds like P.G., too -- in fact Kerry, not knowing what was playing on the stereo here, correctly guessed that this was the new P.G. Six just 'cause she recalled a particularly harp-y part from Parlor Tricks, and made the connection.
As a bonus, this disc concludes with two extra tracks. From P.G. Six's long out of print 1995 debut solo 7" there's the twelve-minute, hauntingly droney and drifting "The Book Of Rayguns For 6 Electric Guitars". And then there's also "Cartographies For Piano And Electronics", a stark piece in an avant-garde, 20th Century classical style. Both fit nicely with the seven harp explorations, which themselves bring some 20th century compositional (minimalist) adventurousness to folkier-feeling music.
MPEG Stream: "#3 For Bray Harp"
MPEG Stream: "#4 For Two Wire-Strung Harps"

P.G. SIX Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (Amish) cd 14.98
Anyone into the magical vibe of late '60s/early '70s British psych folk must get this, the absolutely lovely solo debut from multi-instrumentalist and Tower Recordings founding member Pat Gubler. Together with percussionist/producer Tim Barnes, he's taken a few years to put together this album, one that combines an old-timey Brit-folk influence (there's even an Anne Briggs cover on here, she being a UK folksinger active in the early '70s) with rural American roots music and more contemporary bedroom 4-track indie-rock experimentation. It's a beautiful, melancholic, timeless slice of avant-indie-folk-psych that has garnered (and deserves) comparisons to the work of the Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, John Fahey, even Neutral Milk Hotel...and of course Tower Recordings. Really nice!! (It's Allan's new favorite disc.) On the same label that last brought us the equally timeless (but '70s inspired) krautrock of Metabolismus.
RealAudio clip: "The Divine Invasion"
RealAudio clip: "The fallen leaves that jewel the ground"
RealAudio clip: "When I Was A Young Man"
RealAudio clip: "The Shepherd"

P.G. SIX Slightly Sorry (Drag City) cd 14.98
We didn't get to reviewing this right away even though we've been big fans of P.G. Six in the past (especially his debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites, an all-time fave here) maybe just 'cause the painting of the pink Cadillac on the cover made us a little wary. Someone should be "Slightly Sorry" for that artwork! But rest assured, the music on P.G.'s Slightly Sorry is again the mellow, melodic, timeless folk-indie-pop we expect from him, the influence of his '60s/'70s British folk scene inspirations still strong (the likes of Nick Drake, Fairport, Pentangle, Incredible String Band), with a Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson element added on two of the tracks by the guest female vocals provided by his Tower Recordings bandmate Helen Rush. But we also hear some Neil Young and Byrds too for sure, 'specially on the more "band" sounding cuts, though it's the hushed and intimate tracks with just P.G.'s acoustic guitar and his calm, plain voice that thrill us the most.
This album is definitely representin' the more polished side of the P.G. Six sound, and should please those who really loved Well Of Memory, as it's not so much about the rustic 4-track DIY experimentation of his Parlor Tricks disc, let alone the harp string dronology of last year's Music From The Sherman Box Series cd.
MPEG Stream: "The Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Lily Of The West"

P.G. SIX Slightly Sorry (Drag City) lp 14.98
We didn't get to reviewing this right away even though we've been big fans of P.G. Six in the past (especially his debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites, an all-time fave here) maybe just 'cause the painting of the pink Cadillac on the cover made us a little wary. Someone should be "Slightly Sorry" for that artwork! But rest assured, the music on P.G.'s Slightly Sorry is again the mellow, melodic, timeless folk-indie-pop we expect from him, the influence of his '60s/'70s British folk scene inspirations still strong (the likes of Nick Drake, Fairport, Pentangle, Incredible String Band), with a Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson element added on two of the tracks by the guest female vocals provided by his Tower Recordings bandmate Helen Rush. But we also hear some Neil Young and Byrds too for sure, 'specially on the more "band" sounding cuts, though it's the hushed and intimate tracks with just P.G.'s acoustic guitar and his calm, plain voice that thrill us the most.
This album is definitely representin' the more polished side of the P.G. Six sound, and should please those who really loved Well Of Memory, as it's not so much about the rustic 4-track DIY experimentation of his Parlor Tricks disc, let alone the harp string dronology of last year's Music From The Sherman Box Series cd.
MPEG Stream: "The Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Lily Of The West"

P.G. SIX The Well of Memory (Amish) cd 14.98
P.G. Six is Pat Gubler from Tower Recordings and friends, and his 2001 debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites was a stand-out DIY psych-folk album from that -- or any -- year. Melancholic, beautiful indie-folk music by someone whose battered 4-track seemed possessed by the spirit of '60s Brit-folk like the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention. So this new one was eagerly anticipated by quite a few of us and our friends, yourself perhaps included. Verdict: maybe it's not quite as magical as his first one...but then that's often the way it goes. Parlour Tricks we knew would be hard to beat. And this IS super nice. But just a little more polished sounding. The production is less Neutral Milk Hotel than before I guess you could say, more 'pro' (maybe he got a fancier 4-track, or went digital?)... But that's not much of a complaint when the results are this heavenly. The Well Of Memory is a fine, understated album, and can only add to what we someday may call the legend of P.G. Six. It's still full of both his old-timey acoustic folk stylings and electric guitar droning; a pleasant plethora of sad, slow psychedelic songs (and one incongrous rock number). Pat's tired, lilting vocals fit in equally well with trad. folk melodies and backwards guitar effects.
MPEG Stream: "Come In/The Winter It Is Past"
MPEG Stream: "Considering The Lateness Of The Hour"
MPEG Stream: "Old Man On The Mountain"

P.G. SIX Well Of Memory (Perhaps Transparent) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl! P.G. Six is Pat Gubler from Tower Recordings and friends, and his 2001 debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites was a stand-out DIY psych-folk album from that -- or any -- year. Melancholic, beautiful indie-folk music by someone whose battered 4-track seemed possessed by the spirit of '60s Brit-folk like the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention. So this new one was eagerly anticipated by quite a few of us and our friends, yourself perhaps included. Verdict: maybe it's not quite as magical as his first one...but then that's often the way it goes. Parlour Tricks we knew would be hard to beat. And this IS super nice. But just a little more polished sounding. The production is less Neutral Milk Hotel than before I guess you could say, more 'pro' (maybe he got a fancier 4-track, or went digital?)... But that's not much of a complaint when the results are this heavenly. The Well Of Memory is a fine, understated album, and can only add to what we someday may call the legend of P.G. Six. It's still full of both his old-timey acoustic folk stylings and electric guitar droning; a pleasant plethora of sad, slow psychedelic songs (and one incongrous rock number). Pat's tired, lilting vocals fit in equally well with trad. folk melodies and backwards guitar effects.
MPEG Stream: "Come In/The Winter It Is Past"
MPEG Stream: "Considering The Lateness Of The Hour"
MPEG Stream: "Old Man On The Mountain"

P.O.N. (Creative Man Disc) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Members of Ground Zero play breakneck, heavy jazzpunkfusion a là Naked City.

P:ANO Brigadoon (Mint) cd 14.98
Following their warm and wonderful chamber pop album The Den, P:ano shift gears into slightly more varied moods and an occasional peppier pace with Brigadoon. They kick things off in bright Beach Boys-y pop fashion for the first two tunes. Then, with its shining female vocals, the third song comes marching in sounding like it could be a Claudia Gonson-sung Magnetic Fields song. Nice! For the fourth "He Will Come Beck To Me" [sic] they hush things down a bit into their more familiar sounding slower lushness, but then it's right back into 'Fields-esque territory with synths and programmed beats. Plus we noted that much like Stephin Merritt, they'll (consciously or not) occasionally nab a melodic or lyrical phrase from an old tune and encorporate it into their own song. For example in the album's deliciously glorious tenth song "Pure Evil", the familiar lyric "break it to them gently when you tell them that I won't be coming home again" pops up. Hmmm, perhaps it's a sly fellow-Canuck nod to Burton Cummings (of '70s Canadian classic rockers The Guess Who) who originally wrote and performed the song "Break It To Them Gently" back in 1978? As well, they lyrically reference other songs by title -- slipping in mention of old classics like "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Ten Cents A Dance", and "I Could've Danced All Night" among others. They certainly apply all shades of the pop spectrum to their music, at times bringing to mind Danielson Family, Quasi, Rufus Wainwright (particularly the final song "The True Light") and a few of those Elephant Six Collective bands such as Of Montreal, Dressy Bessy, and The Minders. In a sense, the members of this band sing and play like learned music students who graduated at the top of their class, and this is their season finale stage performance. If you think of it that way, the broad selection of styles and references seems not at all surprising. The one tune that sticks out oddly is the very highschool musical sounding fourteenth song "Sweet Sweets". While P:ano certainly draw from stage-y theatrical influences (you might recognize the album title as also being the name of the old Lerner & Loewe musical), this single song comes across as a sorta wonky contrast to the more elegantly performances on the rest of the album. Ah, but there's 21 (!) other lovely, uplifting songs on the album that more than make up for it!
MPEG Stream: "Pure Evil"
MPEG Stream: "The True Light"

P:ANO The Den (Zum) cd 11.98
Warm up your chilly spring eves (at least here in SF!) with this cozy album. Vancouver's P:ano craft unassuming, pretty-pretty, lush chamber pop. This is the follow-up to their 2002 debut When It's Dark and It's Summer. It's definitely more confident and composed than its hushed, slightly shamblin' predecessor. Each song's melodies are carried mainly on... yes, piano! with some great horn and swirling string accompaniments and the gentlest of percussion. Lilting laidback male and female vocals melt sweetly like marshmallows in your hot chocolate drawing fitting comparisons to Scottish dreamies The Delgados. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "L.D."
MPEG Stream: "The Worst Thing Ever You Could Do"

P:ANO When It's Dark And It's Summer (Hive-Fi / Zum Media) cd 11.98
Shh! It's the debut P:ano album, and it's a quiet one! This Vancouver, BC-based group led by Nick Krgovich are hushed and somber, but not depressing at all, with muffled piano, sad drums foregrounded, non-cloying cello, and earnestly tooted horns. The dusty, reminiscing tone is quite similar to the Nashville collective Lambchop, and it also recalls the first, stellar Archer Prewitt (Coctails) album. The delicate, mostly male vocals totally remind me of Alan Sparhawk -- and that's not the only Low comparison that's appropriate with this very Low-inspired outfit, although P:ano is a little more sing song-y than Low is, a little lighter -- bittersweet instead of spooky, if you know what I mean. A trifle shambolic and about to fall apart, in a good way. A pleasant debut.
RealAudio clip: "All of November, Most of October"
RealAudio clip: "The Country Scene"

PAAVOHARJU Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal) cd 17.98
Many of us can still remember the exact moment three summers ago that the Finnish group Paavoharju entered our lives. Their debut album Yha Hamaraa seemed to have come out of nowhere and soon became one of those records that we turned to again and again for an enveloping aural escape. So needless to say we've been anxiously anticipating this follow-up, and we're thrilled to say it's finally here. And in a day and age where quality control has been thrown out the window, it's actually pretty refreshing to find that there are still some folks out there with the patience and commitment to take their time in crafting their art, ensuring that it will live on in our ears and hearts for years and years to come. Paavoharju have done just that with their follow-up to Yha Hamaraa. With the subtly familiar yet fresh sounding Laulu Laakson Kukista, they have somehow raised the bar even higher, with a record that truly inhabits its own world. A place that is filled with flashbacks to a romantic and tragic old world, an oceanic daydream and a wide aerial view of lush green open fields where down below a secret magical world exists. It's actually quite tricky to try to describe the sound of this record as almost every song offers another view of their deliciously unique soundworld. Listening to Laulu Laakson Kukista is sort of like watching a Guy Maddin film, as the songs and sounds on the album feel as if they are at times in classic grainy black & white and other times in the most stunning and vibrant technicolor. There are songs that you could actually kind of maybe dance to ("Kevatrumpu"), songs that should be the theme of the Olympics the next time it's in Finland ("Uskallan"), and songs that conjure images of lost fairytales, musical radio plays, epic voyages, fantastical moments and interrupted daydreams.
It's actually so damn rare these days for a group to truly have its own sound but you just can't really compare Paavoharju to almost anyone else around. It might have been subconscious but after listening to this record several times we started hanging out a lot with David Bowie's album Low. As the otherworldly second side of that album brings us to a similar space as Laulu. We also imagine Kate Bush, Bjork, Robert Wyatt, Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill at the twilight of their careers, transported into the middle of nowhere in Northeast Europe, and dosed with some magic mushrooms before entering the forest to record a record together.
It's been a long while since a new recording has captured our imagination and allowed us to get as lost in its vision as this one has. Once again Paavoharju have created a collection of magical sounds that will continue to keep us warmly embraced and mesmerized with each subsequent listen!
PS: The vinyl came and went and we're waiting for more...
MPEG Stream: "Sumuvirsi"
MPEG Stream: "Kevätrumpu"
MPEG Stream: "Kirkonväki"

PAAVOHARJU Uskallan (Type) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We love so much music coming out of Finland these days. Last year Paavoharju's debut Yha Hamaraa on Fonal Records charmed us silly. If you haven't heard it yet, by golly you'd better get with the program! So we were mighty excited to hear that the group has returned with a 2-song vinyl 7", allowing us another fleeting glimpse into their unique gloriously hazy dream world. Side A features an enchanting blurry folk number with male vocals, while Side B has a delicate, contemplative instrumental. It seems almost cruel to release this group's music in such a short format, for their music is so immersive it's utterly addictive. More please.

PAAVOHARJU Yha Hamaraa (Fonal) cd 17.98
Oh how we adore the Finnish label Fonal Records -- home to the likes of Kemialliset Ystavat, Islaja, Kiila and Es. And now, won't you please kindly welcome the newest addition to the Fonal roster, Paavoharju! We can say that that welcoming 'em is not such a difficult thing to do 'cause they sure do make some wonderful music! In fact, Cup (and Jim for that matter) has listened to it almost every day since its arrival. It's true!
Note: We don't want to deny anyone the pristine 'first listen' magic that we experienced. We can attest that it was a sheer delight packed with many surprises, and our fondness has only grown with each listen. So if you want your introductory spin to be 'pure', please be forewarned that this review contains what some might call spoilers... that means stop reading now!
In many ways Paavoharju can be likened to fellow enchanting Finnish artists Lau Nau and Fonal labelmates Islaja, but their finely detailed yet loosely strung music is considerably more melted and collaged and electronic. Listening to Yha Hamaraa is almost like eavesdropping on a dream... or having someone else's heartbreaking memories come back to hazily haunt you. Sounds, voices and melodies drift in and out of focus, occasionally overlapping and seeping into one another. Sometimes it seems like you're listening to a rickety old radio with the dial set between stations so that the sounds somehow magically fit together. Odd faintly familiar elements make their presence felt such as in the ninth song where the male vocal melody brought to mind a twisted folk (and of course very Finnish) version of "Stairway To Heaven". The swooping, trebly female vocals find their own special place between Indian film music singers and the Southeast Asian voices that surface on the similarly (un)structured Sublime Frequencies travelogue field recording compilations. And reference must be made to Bjork as well! Now after having read this far in our review, you might find the very first track with its swell of distorted static-y noise to be somewhat unexpected, disorienting even, but we encourage you to go with it (and with us). Allow the wash of sounds to transport you into Paavoharju's intoxicating world. Completely and utterly breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Aamunuringon Tuntuinen"
MPEG Stream: "Vitivalkoinen"
MPEG Stream: "Kuljin Kauas"

PAAVOHARJU Yha Hamaraa (Fonal) lp 21.00
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Oh how we adore the Finnish label Fonal Records -- home to the likes of Kemialliset Ystavat, Islaja, Kiila and Es. And now, won't you please kindly welcome the newest addition to the Fonal roster, Paavoharju! We can say that that welcoming 'em is not such a difficult thing to do 'cause they sure do make some wonderful music! In fact, Cup (and Jim for that matter) has listened to it almost every day since its arrival. It's true!
Note: We don't want to deny anyone the pristine 'first listen' magic that we experienced. We can attest that it was a sheer delight packed with many surprises, and our fondness has only grown with each listen. So if you want your introductory spin to be 'pure', please be forewarned that this review contains what some might call spoilers... that means stop reading now!
In many ways Paavoharju can be likened to fellow enchanting Finnish artists Lau Nau and Fonal labelmates Islaja, but their finely detailed yet loosely strung music is considerably more melted and collaged and electronic. Listening to Yha Hamaraa is almost like eavesdropping on a dream... or having someone else's heartbreaking memories come back to hazily haunt you. Sounds, voices and melodies drift in and out of focus, occasionally overlapping and seeping into one another. Sometimes it seems like you're listening to a rickety old radio with the dial set between stations so that the sounds somehow magically fit together. Odd faintly familiar elements make their presence felt such as in the ninth song where the male vocal melody brought to mind a twisted folk (and of course very Finnish) version of "Stairway To Heaven". The swooping, trebly female vocals find their own special place between Indian film music singers and the Southeast Asian voices that surface on the similarly (un)structured Sublime Frequencies travelogue field recording compilations. And reference must be made to Bjork as well! Now after having read this far in our review, you might find the very first track with its swell of distorted static-y noise to be somewhat unexpected, disorienting even, but we encourage you to go with it (and with us). Allow the wash of sounds to transport you into Paavoharju's intoxicating world. Completely and utterly breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Aamunuringon Tuntuinen"
MPEG Stream: "Vitivalkoinen"
MPEG Stream: "Kuljin Kauas"

PACCHU, FRICARA Stories Of The Old (Fonal) 7"+book 17.98
FINNISH MUSIC FREEKS HEADS UP!!! A brand new release from a name you may not recognize, but you definitely know some of the bands he spent time in: Avarus, Anaksimandros, Maniac's Dream...
Fricara Pacchu may have a pretty illustrious Finnish underground musical resume, but weirdly enough, he began his musical career as a rapper, though you'd be hard pressed to tell from this, his debut solo 7".
And while you can definitely hear some of the above mentioned bands in these three songs, the sound is something else entirely, much more jangly and poppy, three little chunks of druggy, dreamy psychedelic confection. The opening track has a bit of a Krautrocky groove, some Eastern sounding sitar-like buzz, and swirling clouds of trippy FX, but they're wrapped around some sunshine-y jangle, it's like Avarus playing Olivia Tremor Control. The second track is more lo-fi and druggy, a gorgeously plodding tripped out drift of woozy piano, still MORE effects, spidery guitars, all coated in morning dew and dappled with sunlight.
The flipside is a bit less poppy, a sort of noisy soft industrial, lots of smeared grind and clank, but piled atop lovely melodies and hazy ambience, and distant moaning guitars, and with a strange staticky rhythm holding it all together. It definitely reminds us of our favorite Finnish free folk, but also like the Storm Bugs or some lost recording you might hear on one of those deluxe Vinyl On Demand reissues. A gorgeous slab of damaged experimental psychpop jangle, we can hardly wait for a full length.
The packaging is extra special. Included with the full color sleeve is a thick eye popping book of Pacchu's artwork, 7" x 4", stapled but on thick matte paper, drawings, collages, photos, squiggles, snakes, motorcycles, garish colors, intricate patterns, negative images and more. Folks who dug the Glomp books of Finnish art will definitely dig this too, and the images in the booklet seem like what you might see if you closed your eyes and played the record. The perfect visual analogue for Pacchu's druggy trippy soundworld.
Funnily enough, both Allan and Andee independently reviewed this, each unaware that the other was also writing a review. Whoops. The above is Andee's, below is Allan's for comparison (turns out their duplication of effort was remarkably similar, which is as it should be we suppose!):
First off, that cover art makes this pretty hard to resist. A simple painting of a weird-looking furry cat sitting next to a daisy... with the artist's incongruously black-metal suggestive logo floating overhead. That this 3 track, 11 minute 7" is from Finland, and on the ever-reliable Fonal label, is also a good thing. Fricara Pacchu being a member of such illustrious underground Finnish outfits as Anaksimandros, Avarus, and Maniacs Dream is further reason to be interested. But the proof's really in the pudding, or in our business, the music, so let's take a listen....
First track "Bianca's Beachparty" is an uptempo, uplifting utterly psychedelic instrumental home-recorded techno-disco number that immediately makes us think BOREDOMS. Crunchy, burbling synths zig and zag over a steady, insistent rhythm. Magic. We're sold. The other two tracks, "Upsidedown Wind" and "Text-Message From Beyond", are equally cool, woozy instrumental space-outs, not quite so "techno" tho. And what's also pretty cool is the 42-page, full-color booklet of Pacchu's cartoon/comic/collage art that comes with this 7"! Lots of insane eyeball-joy to be had here. If you liked those Glomp books we've listed, you'll dig this. This 7" package is presumably limited, we have just a few and may or may not be able to get more...

PADDEN, DANIEL The One Ensemble of (Catsup Plate) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Daniel Padden, of English improvisational psych-folksters Volcano the Bear, creates meandering, lovely music that has received comparisons to artists as accomplished as This Heat, Soft Machine, and Art Ensemble of Chicago. Distant and spooky to warm and languid, "The One Ensemble Of..." features subtle improv mixed with sparse, repetetive, melodic piano, and manges to make kazoos sound sad and beautiful. Instrumentation also includes violin, cello, saxophone, harmonium, ballaphon (like a Ghanian xylophone), and other "little instruments." A wistful, gorgeous and strange album.
RealAudio clip: "Sleep Between the Brows of All My Eyes"
RealAudio clip: "Chasm Dave"

PADDEN, DANIEL (THE ONE ENSEMBLE OF) The Owl Of Fives (Textile) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK! Finally managed to get more of these in. Not sure how long they'll be around or when we'll be able to get more! So don't snooze!
As much as we dig UK musical experimentalists Volcano The Bear and their disjointed sonic surrealism, VtB member Daniel Padden has always managed to take that sound of theirs even further, somewhere else entirely, to a place where his juxtapositions coalesce into a dark and highly personal, mostly instrumental melancholia. Meandering and thoughtful, like a twilight walk through a musical forest, just wandering, laying down on the ground when the mood strikes you, gazing at patches of sky through the dense canopy of leaves, feeling the wet earth soak through your clothes, shivering as small insects crawl all over you tickling your skin, squinting as you're blinded by a brilliant shaft of sunlight that breaks through the trees, then melts into the forest floor beneath while you're sprinkled with a fine mist as the wind looses the condensation from the branches. This not-so-precise effect is achieved with reverby pianos in vast expanses of space, slippery slide guitar, plinkety plonk keyboards, soaring minor key strings, Appalachian guitar picking over squirming beds of bombinating drones. Padden's dense buzzing ragas are all dreamy and melancholy and super intimate and personal sounding, but somehow at the same time are grandiose and epic, with occasional waltz-like marches, like chamber music for some outer space / otherworldly king and his court. Occasionally delicate and haunting, occasionally rambunctious and a little chaotic. But always totally beautiful and mesmerising and truly mysterious. Think somewhere between Eyvind Kang, the Sun City Girls, Kronos Quartet, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Jack Rose. All that and more is filtered through Padden's slightly skewed musical mind's eye.
MPEG Stream: "Farewell My Porcupine"
MPEG Stream: "Gong Farm"
MPEG Stream: "Singing Norway To Sleep"

PADDEN, DANIEL (THE ONE ENSEMBLE OF) The Owl Of Fives (Textile) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As much as we dig UK musical experimentalists Volcano The Bear and their disjointed sonic surrealism, VtB member Daniel Padden has always managed to take that sound of theirs even further, somewhere else entirely, to a place where his juxtapositions coalesce into a dark and highly personal, mostly instrumental melancholia. Meandering and thoughtful, like a twilight walk through a musical forest, just wandering, laying down on the ground when the mood strikes you, gazing at patches of sky through the dense canopy of leaves, feeling the wet earth soak through your clothes, shivering as small insects crawl all over you tickling your skin, squinting as you're blinded by a brilliant shaft of sunlight that breaks through the trees, then melts into the forest floor beneath while you're sprinkled with a fine mist as the wind looses the condensation from the branches. This not-so-precise effect is achieved with reverby pianos in vast expanses of space, slippery slide guitar, plinkety plonk keyboards, soaring minor key strings, Appalachian guitar picking over squirming beds of bombinating drones. Padden's dense buzzing ragas are all dreamy and melancholy and super intimate and personal sounding, but somehow at the same time are grandiose and epic, with occasional waltz-like marches, like chamber music for some outer space / otherworldly king and his court. Occasionally delicate and haunting, occasionally rambunctious and a little chaotic. But always totally beautiful and mesmerising and truly mysterious. Think somewhere between Eyvind Kang, the Sun City Girls, Kronos Quartet, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Jack Rose. All that and more is filtered through Padden's slightly skewed musical mind's eye.
MPEG Stream: "Farewell My Porcupine"
MPEG Stream: "Gong Farm"
MPEG Stream: "Singing Norway To Sleep"

PAGANS Pink Album ... Plus! (Crypt) cd 14.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 2 unreleased songs and two demos, one exclusive to the lp. The cd includes 3 unreleased tracks (as opposed to 4 on the vinyl) and tons of live stuff from 1979-1983 including tracks from their final tour and recordings. Also includes studio demos where the Pagans take on a handful of covers: Alice Cooper's 'Eighteen', Pere Ubu's 'Final Solution', Velvet UNderground's 'There She Goes Again'. Also contains a video! Nice.
RealAudio clip: "I'm Eighteen"
RealAudio clip: "Multiple Personalities"
RealAudio clip: "Nowhere To Run"

PAGANS Pink Album ... Plus! (Crypt) lp 10.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 2 unreleased songs and two demos, one exclusive to the lp. The cd includes 3 unreleased tracks (as opposed to 4 on the vinyl) and tons of live stuff from 1979-1983 including tracks from their final tour and recordings. Also includes studio demos where the Pagans take on a handful of covers: Alice Cooper's 'Eighteen', Pere Ubu's 'Final Solution', Velvet Underground's 'There She Goes Again'. Also contains a video! Nice.

PAGANS Shit Street (Crypt) cd 14.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 3 unreleased tracks and 2 super rare tracks from 1979 including the studio demo of 'She's A Cadaver' which is only on the lp. The cd includes 4 extra studio tracks (as opposed to 5 on the vinyl) PLUS tons of live stuff, including 2 tracks featuring Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero from the Dead Boys.

PAGANS Shit Street (Crypt) lp 10.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 3 unreleased tracks and 2 super rare tracks from 1979 including the studio demo of 'She's A Cadaver' which is only on the lp. The cd includes 4 extra studio tracks (as opposed to 5 on the vinyl) PLUS tons of live stuff, including 2 tracks featuring Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero from the Dead Boys.

PAGE FRANCE Hello, Dear Wind (Suicide Squeeze) cd 14.98
Twee folkster Michael Nau has such an endearingly bleaty voice sort of a cross between Daniel Johnston and John Lennon (especially on songs like "Bush"). But his voice also has a cool scratchy raspy Paul Westerberg quality, that adds even more emotion, like he's always about to break into a top-of-his-lungs croon, or like his voice is always just on the verge of cracking.
The songs are simple, but surprisingly lush, rife with impossibly memorable hooks, and lots of little melodic flourishes and subtle instrumental embellishments. Musically Page France is like a latecomer to the Elephant Six set with a SERIOUS Neutral Milk Hotel influence, from the guitar / vocal interplay, to the clever turns of phrase, even down to the not so veiled religious subtext. Lots of songs about Jesus and love and salvation, although not always obviously so. This could almost be some early Jeff Mangum project, recorded right before his voice changed. It has the same wide eyed innocence, the strange surreal psychedelia and the eclectic kitchen sink instrumentation as NMH, there's horns, super simple shuffling percussion, chimes, vibes and Nau also finds his perfect female counterpoint in the childlike croon of Whitney McGraw. So catchy and dreamy. Neutral Milk Hotel fans do NOT want to miss out on this...
MPEG Stream: "Chariot"
MPEG Stream: "Jesus"
MPEG Stream: "Elephant"
MPEG Stream: "Bush"

PAGE FRANCE AND THE FAMILY TELEPHONE s/t (Suicide Squeeze) cd 14.98
Page France And The Family Telephone returns with another generous serving of twinkly twee pop! We liked his last album 2006's Hello Dear Wind very very much, so we welcome this new one with open arms. And it doesn't disappoint! Mainman Michael Nau's like a more child's view cousin of Destroyer or a prepubescent Flaming Lips. His toothsome storybook tales, singsong-y vocals and chiming melodies could easily have tumbled out of Mr. Rogers' Land Of Make Believe. Cute as a button!
MPEG Stream: "Wet Dog Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Violin And Dancing Bear"

PAGE FRANCE AND THE FAMILY TELEPHONE s/t (Suicide Squeeze) lp 14.98
Page France And The Family Telephone returns with another generous serving of twinkly twee pop! We liked his last album 2006's Hello Dear Wind very very much, so we welcome this new one with open arms. And it doesn't disappoint! Mainman Michael Nau's like a more child's view cousin of Destroyer or a prepubescent Flaming Lips. His toothsome storybook tales, singsong-y vocals and chiming melodies could easily have tumbled out of Mr. Rogers' Land Of Make Believe. Cute as a button!
MPEG Stream: "Wet Dog Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Violin And Dancing Bear"

PAIK Corridors (Beyonder) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For those of you who dug their recent Satin Black release, here's Paik's sophomore full length from 2001 on which they harnessed their crashing post-rock waves of guitars and cymbals into something considerably more moody and space-y than its predecessor, the very My Bloody Valentine-esque Hugo Strange. Corridors aligns them more with bands such as Mogwai (who they themselves were an aural amalgam of MBV and Slint).
MPEG Stream: "Spacer (2001)"
MPEG Stream: "The Longest Day"

PAIK Hugo Strange (Beyonder) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For those of you who dug their recent Satin Black release, here's Paik's debut album from 1998. Hugo Strange reveals that the band's beginnings were very much rooted in shoegazer territory. Upon reaching the center of the album you'll find the band applying some very noticeable My Bloody Valentine-isms -- lots of woozy, warped record guitar style effects. They stick in this hazy reverb and distortion drenched atmosphere for a few songs then take a turn into the land of post-rock fueled by a healthy dose of insistently down-strummed guitars.
MPEG Stream: "Waiting Patiently"
MPEG Stream: "E. Grim "

PAIK Monster Of The Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 14.98
This instrumental space rock trio from Michigan has been smoking heaping bowlfuls of the same stuff Hawkwind used to burn up and is thus churning out some serious space rock with mighty results. Spacious and sweeping, chugging with propulsive groove, but without the quiet-loud dynamics of post-rock bands like Mogwai, nor the shoe-gazing drone burners of bands like Growing and Belong. More like a 120 mph road-trip through Death Valley at sunset and the acid just kicked in.
MPEG Stream: "SnakeFace"
MPEG Stream: "October"

PAIK Monster Of The Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) lp 14.98
Now on vinyl!
This instrumental space rock trio from Michigan has been smoking heaping bowlfuls of the same stuff Hawkwind used to burn up and is thus churning out some serious space rock with mighty results. Spacious and sweeping, chugging with propulsive groove, but without the quiet-loud dynamics of post-rock bands like Mogwai, nor the shoe-gazing drone burners of bands like Growing and Belong. More like a 120 mph road-trip through Death Valley at sunset and the acid just kicked in.
MPEG Stream: "SnakeFace"
MPEG Stream: "October"

PAIK Satin Black (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98
On their newest 'full length' (although the cd only has five tracks, they're all nice and looooooong), Paik once again unfurl the darker, heavier and more ominous side of shoegazerin'. This Michigan-based space rock band pour on layer after layer of guitar washes which along with the thundering drums and crashing cymbals build to a hypnotic roar. An occasional melodic element will seep out from the dense creeping haze. Trippy, atmospheric and very much for fans of Bardo Pond, Kinski, Growing, Landing and Mogwai.
MPEG Stream: "Jayne Field"
MPEG Stream: "Dirt For Driver"

PAIK The Orson Fader (Clairecords) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PAIN TEENS s/t (Charnel Music) cd 12.98
First time on cd for this, the very first (1988) and long out of print album by Austin's Painteens. Even then, this industrial/experimental rock outfit (featuring the core duo of vocalist Bliss Blood and guitarist Scott Ayers) were no slackers at noisemaking. Painteens is a brutalist hybrid of Rhythm & Noise with Coil, cooked up in a Texas psychedelic punk laboratory. This cd also includes additional material from their fantastic early cassette releases.

PAINE Zero to...666Paranormal (Kaari) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Finnish band Paine (which in their language means not Pain, but Pressure) features at least three ex-members of Circle...and you can tell. Like Circle, Paine construct tight, repetitive riffs and rhythms, mostly instrumental. Darker and scarier though, with bombastic grooves and distorted vocal snippets. It's a sort of mechanical brutality, like Circle gone Industrial. Paine march in endless, relentless circles in a sci-fi wasteland. Paine, pressure, pleasure. This six-song cd-r is actually a reissue (with 2 additional tracks and new, fancy oversized packaging -- a blue vellum envelope with acetate inserts) of a previous limited cd-r release. This one's limited too (there's 150 of 'em), we've only got what we've got -- 12 copies -- and that's it.
MPEG Stream: "Dioxidetunnel"
MPEG Stream: "Zero To..."

PAISLEYS, THE Cosmic Mind At Play (Sundazed) cd 15.98

PAJO 1968 (Drag City) cd 14.98
This man can do (and has done) many many different things musically (Slint, Tortoise, M, Aerial M, Papa M, Early Man, Dead Child and Zwan as well as guesting with Matmos, Anomoanon, Bonnie Prince Billy, Peggy Honeywell to name just a few!). David Christian Pajo's fine self-titled album last year was his most straightforward, traditionally song structured work to date, and Pajo's 1968 follows suit. It's an intimate album of hushed, subtle gestures. He's set his soothingly smooth voice front and center. A wise decision, it draws you in close, an invitation into his trademark wistful, pastoral picked guitar landscape. Very lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Foolish King"
MPEG Stream: "Walk Through The Dark"

PAJO, DAVID CHRISTIAN s/t (Drag City) cd 14.98
Aerial M, Papa M., M and now David Christian Pajo (or if you go by the front cover even, simply 'Pajo')... Hmmm, it's a fact! Mr. Pajo by any other name still sounds as sweet. But we've just gotta ask, what's with all these artists who refuse to stick to one moniker? Will Oldham and Jason Molina are two other culprits. We'd understand it if each of their aliases' albums was drastically different from the next, but more often than not, it isn't. Such is the case with this solo self-titled album from the former member of Slint, Tortoise and Zwan, it really doesn't stray too far from where Pajo's roamed before. However, that said, there are a few notable new twists on his old self (or should we say 'selves'?), an unexpected turn into the breathily sung, achingly sensitive acoustic folk-pop domain of such artists as the late Elliott Smith or even the Moody Blues. Affecting note progressions, moving vocal performances and understated percussion are brought together with fine results. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Oh No No"
MPEG Stream: "Baby Please Come Home"

PALACE (WILL OLDHAM) Arise Therefore (Drag City) cd 14.98
Palace release features some of the prettiest songs Will Oldham has ever written, as well some of his oddest lyrics (and this is one of the tame ones):

to see in me a promise of what i could give
and i to see in her a reason to live
which was past just a symbol of woman and luck
that i would never be lacking for something to fuck

PALACE (WILL OLDHAM) Arise Therefore (Drag City) lp 11.98
Palace release features some of the prettiest songs Will Oldham has ever written, as well some of his oddest lyrics (and this is one of the tame ones):

to see in me a promise of what i could give
and i to see in her a reason to live
which was past just a symbol of woman and luck
that i would never be lacking for something to fuck

PALACE BROTHERS There Is No One What Will Take Care Of You (Drag City) cd 14.98

PALACE BROTHERS There Is No One What Will Take Care Of You (Drag City) lp 9.98

PALACE MUSIC Little Blue Eyes (Drag City) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2 songs from 1993.

PALACE MUSIC Lost Blues & Others (Drag City) cd 14.98

PALACE MUSIC Lost Blues & Others (Drag City) 2lp 14.98

PALACE MUSIC Viva Last Blues (Drag City) cd 14.98

PALANCE, JACK s/t (Water) cd 15.98
Yes, this is a Jack Palance album. You know, that scary Ripley's Believe It Or Not guy. Plus he was in some movies and stuff. Of course, you know him, you love him. Back in 1969, someone at Warner Bros. though it would be a good idea for Jack to make a record. Maybe 'cause he'd been in some westerns, or maybe 'cause he dug Lee Hazlewood and Johnny Cash, or maybe 'cause the country-rock thing lends itself well to a semi-spoken word delivery when you can't really sing all that well, Jack grew a moustache, went to Nashville and, with the help of some studio pros, cut this album. Now it's been reissued on cd with a big ol' booklet of liner notes and everything. And it is pretty entertaining, totally orchestrated, with backing singers and so on, Jack Palance recognizable as himself, playing upon his sinister, tough guy screen persona with ballads like "Meanest Guy That Ever Lived" (that one he wrote himself, in fact). Now we wish somebody would reissue the Telly Savalas LP!
MPEG Stream: "Meanest Guy That Ever Lived"

PALE HOARSE The Gospels (self-released) cd-r 11.98
Not to be confused with the heavy sludge doom of Pale Horse, local San Francisco duo of Kyle Ranson and Kimberly Pierce channel apocalyptic doom through a completely different sensibility. Using mainly just spare acoustic guitar, tambourine, and beautiful two-part vocal harmonies, The Gospels is a sermon of haunting southern gothic songs filled with death, despair and hard-living. Their sound reminds us at times like early Palace brothers, or a way stripped down Brightblack (before they added the Morning Light to their name), occasionally conjuring up dusty images in our minds of small town buskers singing for their supper and salvation. Thankfully, Pale Hoarse do not play up the vintage Americana card too heavy-handedly, instead using spare arrangements to tread on dark but universal themes. Perfect for Sunday Mornings coming down from the sins of the previous night and you just can't make it to church. Housed in a silk-screened paper bag with hand sewn leather envelope for the cd and insert with lyrics and drawings. So Beautiful and VERY LIMITED!
MPEG Stream: "Sarah"
MPEG Stream: "Darkness Has Overtaken Me"
MPEG Stream: "Pale Horse"

PALMER, CLIVE Banjoland (Sunbeam Records) cd 16.98