HOLY KISS, THE Back To Colma (Release the Bats) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a new smoky, swaggerin' single from The Holy Kiss. Very much in the grand tradition of Birthday Party, Gun Club and Nick Cave, lead singer Matty Rue Morgue once again sings of love, death and despair in his leer and sneer delivery. Dawn Hillis' guitars are extra sinewy and slinking this time out, and all the while Nick Ott pounds out his steady primal rock beat. This Bay Area trio just gets better with each release!

HOLY KISS, THE Rising (GSL) 2x7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A double 7" record set from this SF trio! The Holy Kiss continue to mine the crushed velvet lined catacombs of such angst-laden artists as Nick Cave, Gun Club, and Birthday Party, however unlike their debut 8-song cdep 'The Sacred Heart Of Eddy and Jones' on which they seemed somewhat caught emulating their idols, it seems they've got their own genuine fire and passion happening these days. Four songs: "Black, Etc.", "The Holy Kiss Revival", "Sister Temptation" and "Motel Room Cabaret" (the third appeared previously on the Sound Of San Francisco compilation). Lyric sheet included.

HOLY KISS, THE s/t (Hungry Eye Records) cd 9.98
This cd features 7"s and compilation contributions as well as two unreleased songs from this SF trio!

HOLY KISS, THE Shot Love On A Back Line (Release The Bats) cd 11.98
After a string of 7"s and eps which commenced back in 2003, The Holy Kiss come swaggering up to the bar with their first full length. Shot Love On The Back Line finds the SF band sounding at once far looser, fuller and tighter than ever. It's a volatile gathering of cheap red wine, vampire novellas and Birthday Party records... maybe a few by The Scientists and Pleasure Forever for good measure. No, The Holy Kiss aren't in pursuit of originality, but they do what they do increasingly well with each subsequent release. Matty Rue Morgue, Nick Ott (plus new members Alli Pheteplace and Panther MacDonald, who don't play on this recording) break the intoxicated tension halfway through the album with their rendition of Erik Satie's "Gymnopedies: III. Lent". Afterwards, they then slip right back into their blood red, bluesy funeral procession.
MPEG Stream: "Love Left Me"
MPEG Stream: "A Dancehall Goodbye"

HOLY KISS, THE The Gunslinger EP (self-released) cd-r 5.98
Having recently disbanded after their European farewell tour, the Holy Kiss have reached from beyond the grave to throttle us one last time with this four song ep, limited to a scant 50 copies! As on their recent Under Noon Of Night album, the Holy Kiss channel the spirits of druggy, blues based post-punk greats like the Birthday Party, the Gun Club, and the Cramps, with enough post-millenial insanity coloring the songs to better suit the kids of today. Singer Matty Rue Morgue's unhinged vocal delivery and the overall group dynamic make it clear that the Holy Kiss called it a day at the top of their game, as this darkly aggressive four song ep is full of reckless abandon and a bleary-eyed but cocksure swagger. Super trebly, reverb drenched guitars wrap themselves around wandering Birthday Party styled basslines, as the drums thump frantically (courtesy of our very own Nick) like a heart getting ready to explode. It's as if these deranged songs are alive, like feral children covered in grime and moving about the shadows, waiting to pounce on and sink their teeth into the shoulders of an unsuspecting populace. It may be true that parting is such sweet sorrow, but at least we have this delightfully insane last affront by the Holy Kiss to accompany us in all future moments of mental instability. R.I.P.
MPEG Stream: "Down So Low"
MPEG Stream: "Go Head N Count Em"

HOLY KISS, THE The Sacred Heart Of Eddy and Jones (Blood Of The Young) cd ep 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local dark scary prettiness and sneering trashiness. Truthfully, this San Francisco trio's debut cdep (named not after two people as you might assume, but after a street intersection) sounds completely like early Birthday Party and Nick Cave, which is not entirely a bad thing although that shadowy, angstful path has already been feverishly tread bare by innumerable young bands. The raw, unadorned basic rock line-up - vocals, guitar, bass and drums - is fleshed out well with some organ and piano. The latter is most notable on the final song, a short somber piano interlude that sounds like they're moving more in the dramatic direction of former San Franciscans now Portlanders Pleasure Forever. This is also not a bad thing, but hopefully future recordings will meld all of those influences that they wear so prominently into something distinctive and much more of their own. Eight songs in all.
MPEG Stream: "The Exquisite Corpse Of One Mr. Lucius McBride "
MPEG Stream: "Maritime Rag"

HOLY KISS, THE Under Noon Of Night (Hungry Eye) lp + cd 12.98
Proudly following in the tradition of druggy punk blooz derelicts like the Birthday Party and the Gun Club, San Francisco's the Holy Kiss (featuring the tallest aQ staffer and all around good guy Nick Ott pounding the skins) is sure to satisfy your demented lust for bluesy, gothic tinged post-punk on their third album, which is also sadly their swansong. Bittersweet indeed, as the sounds within come off like the work of a quartet of sooty-faced Victorian street urchins, frantic and generally teetering on the edge of total madness, with enough restraint to make you feel nice and nervous before completely losing yourself to some sort of absinthe-induced mental breakdown where you gleefully tear your hair out, rip off all your scabs, and burn down the orphanage where you grew up. Under Noon Of Night possesses a sexy swagger that makes you want to dance wildly AND writhe around in your own cold sweat. The band's darkly sardonic humor and lyrical approach will definitely appeal to fans of groups like Jonathan Fire*Eater and Pleasure Forever, with singer Matty Rue Morgue spitting out deranged tales of love, lust, and death over a frenzied hurricane of shakers, bluesy guitar squall and basslines that would make Tracey Pew proud if he weren't, you know, dead. There are even two delightfully melancholy piano ballads. Things flow at a steady pace, with a wry, underlying wit and general sense of red-eyed insomnia keeping it all together. There's also a bit of swampy apocalyptic folk in the mix, adding to the end of the world / end of the night vibe, and making them the perfect band to open for Woven Hand, which these guys (and gal) did recently.
Limited to 500 copies, this vinyl platter comes housed in a cool hand silkscreened cover and also conveniently includes a cd for the non-turntable inclined. So choose your format, throw on a pot of coffee, break out the whiskey, kick up your boots, turn down the lights, and let yourself get lost under noon of night...
MPEG Stream: "Under Noon Of Night"
MPEG Stream: "Sick N Tired"
MPEG Stream: "Black Diamonds"

HOLY MCGRAIL Collecting Earthquakes (Head Heritage) cd 14.98
After a long long time, finally BACK IN STOCK! What we said when we originally listed this back in 2005:
Here's great disc that we got clued into thanks to heavy druid dude Julian Cope's Head Heritage website (and label, that put this out). The UK's Holy McGrail (perhaps a silly name, but the guy behind this project is named Chris McGrail) is definitely one for any AQ customer who digs heaviness, droniness, and krautrockiness. That's a lot of you, eh? Well then, how 'bout three looong tracks ("Lady Holle" running to 23:45, "'Quake Appeal" at 28:51, and "Ur-cow" just 19:59) of pagan drone rock, one with buried-by-bass Amon Duul meets th' Stooges drumming and the rest totally beat-less cosmic guitar and synth-scapes, guest-starring the likes of Doggen (Brain Donor), Julian Cope himself and SUNNO)))'s Stephen O'Malley?? From the freaking lovely purple cracked earth mountain cover art to the dense drones within, this is utterly right-on. Turn it up and let it rumble. Damn beautiful. If you like SUNNO))), Growing, Earth, etc. you should check this out. Now we're looking forward to Holy McGrail's upcoming plunderphonic tribute to Iggy & the Stooges, something called the Raw Power Suite! [Which unfortunately turned out to never be available in quantities we could list.]
And now, especially with the popularity of related / likeminded acts Urthona and Slomo (the aptly named Earth-like duo also featuring McGrail), we figure there's folks who might be interested who hadn't seen this before!
MPEG Stream: "Lady Holle (Holle Of Horcum)"

HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS Bound to Lose (Badbird) dvd 17.98

HOLY SHIT Rough And Tumble (Porous) 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 have been craving some Holy Shit so bad for so long! The last time we got a record from these guys it was the mind blowing 2006 album Stranded At Two Harbours, a brilliant washed out pop record that predated the onslaught of lo-fi pop that's exploded in the last few years. The band is Matt Fishbeck and Ariel Pink, and together they are able to create music that rings with a stronger emotional quality then many of Ariel's other great projects. Fishbeck really has such a great understanding of songcraft, and Ariel brings his innovative and recognizable sun baked aura to these two warm and woozy songs. The B-side "Priest Fucks Nun In The No-No" might even steal the show, a long and hypnotizing instrumental that we could hear go on for infinity. But the A-side "Rough And Tumble" ain't no slouch either, total understated gem of a warbly pop nugget. A pretty damn perfect 7", now maybe just maybe, could there be a new full length on the horizon!?

HOLY SHIT Stranded At Two Harbors (UUAR) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
HOLY SHIT! we can't get enough of this record...or overcome the urge to say HOLY SHIT every few seconds while talking about this new great collaboration between our favorite art-damaged pop songwriter Ariel Pink and his unlikely partner in musical crime, Matt Fishbeck formerly of the shiny happy LA power-pop band The Push Kings. But don't worry Ariel Pink hasn't gotten all normal and boring on us...in fact in lots of ways this is his most captivating and compelling release yet! With a fuzzy folk lo-fi sound that reminds us of the glory days of the great New Zealand label Flying Nun or like some amazing amalgamation of Daniel Johnston and Roky Erikson playing Orange Juice covers. This is what we wish AM radio really sounded like, fuzzy and warped, demented and all twisted up like some poprock funhouse mirror, while underneath it all lurk perfect and precious. Totally catchy pop hooks and great timeless sounding songs. Fishbeck actually tackles most of the vocal duties here, although you'd be forgiven for thinking it was indeed Mr. Pink, and his voice sounds so perfect amidst the dabs of tape hiss, staticky cracklings and WAY off-kilter production. But deep down inside we know, it's Ariel Pink's cracked pop sensibilities that really mold and create the overall sound, warm and lucid, dreamy and trippy, an album that unfolds revealing a deliriously damaged dreamland and takes you on a pop trip that's weird enough to get lost in but cool and catchy enough that you want to stay lost FOREVER. HOLY SHIT we're in love with this record!
Packaged in a cool shiny metallic gold and silver digipak. With a cute photo inside of the bandmates smooching out in a grassy field. Awww...
MPEG Stream: "Maus Is Missing"
MPEG Stream: "Written All Over Your Face"
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Gamblers"

HOLY SONS Criminal's Return (Important) cd 14.98
Drummer about town Emil Amos (Om, Grails) is back with Criminal's Return, his second Holy Sons full length of '09 (by our count at least; apparently there are something like 5 other full lengths out there). As was the case with that last album, Drifter's Sympathy, some folks familiar with Emil's other groups may be a little surprised when hearing this stuff, but not in a bad way at all. It's just that you may find yourself expecting skull crushing stoner jams, or maybe some lush, brooding post-rock. Well, you get neither, as Holy Sons, more than anything, showcases Emil's songwriting and his skill at instruments other than the skins (he plays everything here, and damn well we might add). The overall sound is mellow but tense, pretty dark at times, and totally awesome. The vocals are a hushed drawl, and the impressive instrumentation has definite nods to folk, jazz, and psychedelia. Maybe even the blues, probably, and the songs that feature old analog drum machines give things a touch of classic bedroom indie rock. Not sure how much of this stuff is home recorded, as there is a nice intimate feeling, but the interesting production techniques definitely bring things to the next level. This is perfect music for hanging out alone, walking through the woods under headphones (also alone), and just getting lost in your own mind. Kind of like the hooded figure on the back lounging with a giant green geometric orb in front of massive rock forms and expansive irrigation ditches (is that what they are?). That said, it's not too "weird", and at times it gives off the vibe of some dusty lost classic or obscure private press lp that you might stumble across if lost classics were still easy enough to stumble across. The songs are dramatic and flow perfectly, though we're still trying to piece together the narrative. Whatever that may be, Criminal's Return is another winner, and even better than Drifter's Sympathy as far as we see it. The best thing here is that Emil has arrived at a sound that is clearly his own. The strength of these songs should be apparent to anyone who hears this. Really awesome stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Arranged Release"
MPEG Stream: "Fermenting Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Cruel + Unusual"

HOLY SONS Decline Of The West (ABC Group) lp 8.98

HOLY SONS Drifter's Sympathy (Important) cd 14.98
Holy Sons is the solo endeavor of Emil Amos, best known for his drum work with Grails, and more recently, Om. While Drifter's Sympathy certainly contains elements of Amos' other groups, it is surprisingly its own strange beast, a unique blend of folky acoustic guitars, droning psychedelic noise, and modern programmed drum beats. Eerie samples fade in and out alongside what sounds like short wave radio static, and Amos' slow drawl, combined with the atmospheric home production (we're assuming, anyway) make this a difficult one to pin down, but the results are pretty stellar. The whole thing plays out quite cinematically, with heavy drones and decaying soundscapes of various textures scraping, pulsing, and buzzing about. While some of the songs seem almost folk based, everything becomes twisted and tangled within Holy Sons' world, with each element contributing equally to the potent brew that makes up Drifter's Sympathy. As confounding as it all is, the album flows quite naturally, even though the eight songs were recorded over a span of two years. Each track is like another part of a strange dream, a dream in which we are more than happy to get stuck.
MPEG Stream: "Drifter's Sympathy"
MPEG Stream: "Data Miner's Theme"
MPEG Stream: "More Mind Briars"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE Noctuary (Sacred Bones) cd 14.98
Once again, these two Chilean psych bands, Follakazoid and The Holydrug Couple, each sharing a member with the other, release their records at the same time, giving us a glimpse of two sides of a similar sonic personality. Elsewhere on the list you'll find the latest from psychedelic space-kraut combo Follakzoid, but here, we're reunited with cosmic, sun dappled dream psych duo The Holydrug Couple. Unlike the stretched out psych jams of Follakzoid, The Holydrug Couple traffic in a sound more overtly poppy, while still constructed from the same psychedelic building blocks, fuzzy guitars, propulsive motorik drumming, echo drenched vox, the song structures looped and hypnotic, THDC locking to endless grooves, and then playing those endless grooves at pop song length, the longest track here close to eight minutes, but most clocking in around 3 or 4. Fans of the Wooden Shjips, Spyrals, and other local SF psych combos will once again find much to love here, a sort of revved up Spacemen 3 vibe, but with plenty of jangle.
A quick listen to opener "Counting Sailboats" will tell you whether this is your sort of jam or not. Hazy, hypnotic, darkly groovy, infused with plenty of melody, and subtle hooks, psych pop minimalism that's hard to resist. And the rest of the record plays out similarly, mixing in swoonsome strings, acoustic guitars, organs, loads of FX, and weaving them into all sorts of different sonic shapes, from the fuzzy drift of "Sailor", a psych pop trifle, to the seventies sounding dreampsych soft rock groover "Follow Your Way" (which sounds a bit like a more psychedelic Bread), to the woozy, murky, druggy, longform drift of "Out Of Sight", that really could have been twice as long, even at eight minutes, to the echo drenched garage pop of "Red Moon", to the super warped, lysergic jangle of "Willoweed", to the seriously heavy garage psych of "Paisley", and on and on.
Definitely a sweet slab of psychedelic pop, for folks who dig the Shjips, Assemble Head, Sleepy Sun, Moon Duo and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Counting Sailboats"
MPEG Stream: "Willoweed"
MPEG Stream: "Paisley"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE Noctuary (Sacred Bones) lp 19.98
NOW HERE ON VINYL! Once again, these two Chilean psych bands, Follakazoid and the Holydrug Couple, each sharing a member with the other, release their records at the same time, giving us a glimpse of two sides of a similar sonic personality. Elsewhere on the list you'll find the latest from psychedelic space-kraut combo Follakzoid, but here, we're reunited with cosmic, sun dappled dream psych duo The Holydrug Couple. Unlike the stretched out psych jams of Follakzoid, the Holydrug Couple traffic in a sound more overtly poppy, while still constructed from the same psychedelic building blocks, fuzzy guitars, propulsive motorik drumming, echo drenched vox, the song structures looped and hypnotic, HDC locking to endless grooves, and then playing those endless grooves at pop song length, the longest track here close to eight minutes, but most clocking in around 3 or 4. Fans of the Wooden Shjips, Spyrals, and other local psych combos, will once again find much to love here, a sort of revved up Spacemen 3 vibe, but with plenty of jangle, lots of effects, a quick listen to opener "Counting Sailboats" will tell you whether this is your sort of jam or not. Hazy, hypnotic, darkly groovy, infused with plenty of melody, and subtle hooks, psych pop minimalism that's hard to resist. And the rest of the record plays out similarly, mixing in swoonsome strings, acoustic guitars, organs, loads of FX, and weaving them into all sorts of different sonic shapes, from the fuzzy drift of "Sailor", a psych pop trifle, to the seventies sounding dreampsych soft rock groover "Follow Your Way" (which sounds a bit like a more psychedelic Bread), to the woozy, murky, druggy, longform drift of "Out Of Sight", that really could have been twice as long, even at eight minutes, to the echo drenched garage pop of "Red Moon", to the super warped, lysergic jangle of "Willoweed", to the seriously heavy garage psych of "Paisley", and on and on.
Definitely a sweet slab of psychedelic pop, for folks who dig the Shjips, Assemble Head, Sleep Sun, Moon Duo and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Counting Sailboats"
MPEG Stream: "Willoweed"
MPEG Stream: "Paisley"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE The Ancient Land (Sacred Bones) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of two new modern Chilean psychedelic outfits on this week's list, both on Sacred Bones, and both sharing a member, The Holydrug couple is a duo who traffic in spaced out, hazy, druggy, cosmic jams, laid back and lysergic, a little bit stonery and sun baked, the sound lush and layered, a definite raga vibe, totally cosmic and pretty heavy, and definitely heady, minimal vocals, the crux of these tracks filled up with hypnotic, krautpsych JAMS, the drums solid and propulsive, the guitars swirling and swooping, soaring and wailing, plenty of effects, the whole of side A, a single extended jam that pulses and jangles, chimes and crunches, like Los Natas meets Pink Floyd maybe, gradually growing more and more spaced out mellow, before finally, slipping into a swirl of shimmery droned out ambience.
The B side is two shorter tracks, the first a crunchy chunk of garage-y groove, even more stonery than the flipside, all Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Earthless psych space jam bliss, the second half a total heart of the sun blowout. The second track (and the shortest of all three), is also the mellowest and dreamiest, all washed out jangle, melodic shimmer, shuffling drums and hazy sweetly sung vox, the perfect psychedelic wind down / chill out coda...
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Land"

HOME BLITZ A.T.K. (Mexican Summer) 7" 5.98
Latest short and sharp blast of snotty, punky power pop from these former Record Of The Week-ers, the A side is a doozy indeed, woozy and warped, total classic seventies style power pop, but cracked and fractured, the guitars melting and detuning, the vocals that unmistakably whiney croon, the band seemingly on the verge of total collapse, the song veering druggily from propulsive classic rock jangle to lysergic warble and back again, but rife with crazy hooks - albeit they're not always so obvious, but then that's sort of the magic of Home Blitz. The flipside is more of a Stones-y / Stooges-y / Velvets-y swaggery groove, loping and mesmerizing, with a cool weird second half, where the track gets wild and noisy, everything wreathed in a cloud of noise / static / hiss, and like the A side, buried classic rock hooks make this stick in your hand no matter how warped and damaged it sounds. As always, so good.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, each one hand numbered!

HOME BLITZ Frozen Track (Mexican Summer) 12" 15.98
We'd been trying to review this record for the past several weeks, but our distributors continued to sell out before we could get our hands on enough copies to list. Most avid readers of the aQ list know how much we love weirdo power poppers Home Blitz, not only did we make their O.ut O.f P.hase album a Record Of The Week, but we also had them play our very first showcase at South By Southwest. This new ep is essentially more of the same, another collection of Yellow Pills style power pop, rough around the edges, scrappy and kinetic, hook heavy, jangly and crunchy, the sound definitely defined by frontman Daniel DiMaggio's super distinctive vox, sort of drawly and a little bit precious, but perfectly suited to the groups jangle and strum, DiMaggio's vox sometimes paired with guitarist Theresa Smith's dreamy vocals, making for some divine harmonies. And the guitar parts (which we discussed at great length in that past ROTW review) are amazing, slippery and a bit proggy, somehow deftly integrated into the group's seemingly simple stripped down sound, the little guitar filigrees subtle, but so effective. There's some keyboard too, here and there, and a moment here and there when the band indulge their experimental bent, but those moments are typically bookended by some glorious jangle and crunch. Just check out the title track here, which is the title track for a reason. SO catchy, we've listened to it about ten times so far today. And really it only just barely edges out the rest of the tracks here in the catchiness department, the sound slipping easily from loping fuzzy pop, to caffeinated jangle, to buzzy garage crunch
The rest of the record pretty much follows suit, "Dark Summer" starts out all woozy and washed out and dreamy, before bursting into another frantic blast of power pop crunch, with some sweet harmonies and a killer chorus, while "Rolling With The Moody Girls", is swaggery and a little bit glammy, with super lo-fi Casio keyboard adding melody and texture, while the band pogos through some old school jangle pop. "Blind Nova" sounds a little like DiMaggio's other band Car Commercials, a much more difficult proposition, but catchy in its own way, and it's only two minutes, which leads directly into "Secret Wave", which is another slab of classic seventies style pop, such a dead ringer, right down to the production, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was plucked form some obscure power pop comp. Barring, of course, the weird blast of staticky noise that makes up the last few seconds...
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES. Each one hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Frozen Track"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Rolling With The Moody Girls"

HOME BLITZ O.ut O.f P.hase (Richie Records) cd 8.98
Another out of left field record that just knocked our blocks off. Not sure what we were expecting, something super noisy and fucked up actually, but what we got was some totally irresistible sloppy chaotic garage power pop, that actually sort of ends up sounding a bit like noise rock guys unleashing their inner power pop demons. Before we go any further though, listen to the first sound sample, "Two Steps", we'll wait...
Man that song destroys, some of you have probably already added this to your cart, heck, that's what we would have done, there's no resisting that one, easily THE pop jam of the year, we've literally listened to that song about 50 times in the last week, so much that it wasn't until a couple days ago that we finally listened to that whole record, which thankfully revealed a whole 'nother bunch of killer pop chaos, not to mention some even more chaotic off kilter noisiness.
Let's talk about that song first, it's definitely the best song on the record, and we would gladly pay $14 for a one sided single with JUST that song, it's pretty much the most perfect pop song we've heard in forever, with wild almost cracking vocals, some incredible riffing, including a weird slippery almost slide part that gives us chills every time, sloppy drumming, and a killer tempo shift part way through that's just fucking perfect. And the hook, that song has been stuck in our head non stop since the first time we heard it.
But after you get it out of your system and listen to it 20 or 20 or 50 times, the rest of the record will reveal itself as a pretty much non stop kick ass punky power pop gem, like some eighties pop record transported through time. but on the way it got all tangled up in the slipstream with some random noise and garage rock records and emerged like, well, THIS.
"Other Side Of The Street" is a short sharp ultra distorted pop jam, with a punky frame but laced with all sorts of amazing hooky guitar melodies, "Route 18" (after the 3 minutes of near silence that is "Live Outside") is total bubblegum FM radio pop, but all twisted up and tweaked, and just like the other tracks, it's the extra guitar that turns it into something super special, adding some super rad melodic filigree. It's hard to not hear some Guided By Voices and other purveyors of lo-fi pop, but this isn't traditionally lo-fi, it doesn't sound muddy and 4-tracky and much as it just sound ramshackle and haphazard, and if there are hints of those other lo-fi rockers, these guys definitely make it their own, plus there's the weird extra noisy parts which manage to fit perfectly, not disrupting the flow at all, rather highlighting the subtle noisiness in the poppiest tracks, while hiding some serious poppery within the various layers of crunch and howl, the angular no-wave opener "Nest Of Vipers", with its sampled broken glass, fucked-with tape speed, mumbled vocals, super blown out drumming, and dreamy hushed detuned piano backward outro, "A Different Touch" is super in-the-red, the drums so distorted they sound like bursts of radio static, the guitars practically melting, but the whole thing wrapped around some killer hooks, with amazing guitar melodies, an impossibly noise drenched murk-pop blow out, and that's basically the magic of Home Blitz, the practically perfect pop is infused with noise and on the verge of total implosion, while the fucked up noise jams are infused with pop, threatening to shed the noise completely and explode into another burst of wild eyed power pop. If these guys went in a real studio and spent a fortune, it's almost possible to imagine them getting huge, but smooth out the rough edges and it just wouldn't be the same band.
Absolutely killer noisepop, and yet another record to add to our year end faves list...
MPEG Stream: "Two Steps"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Talk To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Other Side Of The Street"
MPEG Stream: "Is Anybody There?"

HOME BLITZ O.ut O.f P.hase (Richie Records) lp 16.98
This recent aQ Record Of the Week, now available on vinyl!!!
Another out of left field record that just knocked our blocks off. Not sure what we were expecting, something super noisy and fucked up actually, but what we got was some totally irresistible sloppy chaotic garage power pop, that actually sort of ends up sounding a bit like noise rock guys unleashing their inner power pop demons. Before we go any further though, listen to the first sound sample, "Two Steps", we'll wait...
Man that song destroys, some of you have probably already added this to your cart, heck, that's what we would have done, there's no resisting that one, easily THE pop jam of the year, we've literally listened to that song about 50 times in the last week, so much that it wasn't until a couple days ago that we finally listened to that whole record, which thankfully revealed a whole 'nother bunch of killer pop chaos, not to mention some even more chaotic off kilter noisiness.
Let's talk about that song first, it's definitely the best song on the record, and we would gladly pay $14 for a one sided single with JUST that song, it's pretty much the most perfect pop song we've heard in forever, with wild almost cracking vocals, some incredible riffing, including a weird slippery almost slide part that gives us chills every time, sloppy drumming, and a killer tempo shift part way through that's just fucking perfect. And the hook, that song has been stuck in our head non stop since the first time we heard it.
But after you get it out of your system and listen to it 20 or 20 or 50 times, the rest of the record will reveal itself as a pretty much non stop kick ass punky power pop gem, like some eighties pop record transported through time. but on the way it got all tangled up in the slipstream with some random noise and garage rock records and emerged like, well, THIS.
"Other Side Of The Street" is a short sharp ultra distorted pop jam, with a punky frame but laced with all sorts of amazing hooky guitar melodies, "Route 18" (after the 3 minutes of near silence that is "Live Outside") is total bubblegum FM radio pop, but all twisted up and tweaked, and just like the other tracks, it's the extra guitar that turns it into something super special, adding some super rad melodic filigree. It's hard to not hear some Guided By Voices and other purveyors of lo-fi pop, but this isn't traditionally lo-fi, it doesn't sound muddy and 4-tracky and much as it just sound ramshackle and haphazard, and if there are hints of those other lo-fi rockers, these guys definitely make it their own, plus there's the weird extra noisy parts which manage to fit perfectly, not disrupting the flow at all, rather highlighting the subtle noisiness in the poppiest tracks, while hiding some serious poppery within the various layers of crunch and howl, the angular no-wave opener "Nest Of Vipers", with its sampled broken glass, fucked-with tape speed, mumbled vocals, super blown out drumming, and dreamy hushed detuned piano backward outro, "A Different Touch" is super in-the-red, the drums so distorted they sound like bursts of radio static, the guitars practically melting, but the whole thing wrapped around some killer hooks, with amazing guitar melodies, an impossibly noise drenched murk-pop blow out, and that's basically the magic of Home Blitz, the practically perfect pop is infused with noise and on the verge of total implosion, while the fucked up noise jams are infused with pop, threatening to shed the noise completely and explode into another burst of wild eyed power pop. If these guys went in a real studio and spent a fortune, it's almost possible to imagine them getting huge, but smooth out the rough edges and it just wouldn't be the same band.
Absolutely killer noisepop, and yet another record to add to our year end faves list...
MPEG Stream: "Two Steps"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Talk To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Other Side Of The Street"
MPEG Stream: "Is Anybody There?"

HOME BLITZ Perpetual Night (Almost Ready) 7" 8.98
Not only did we make the last Home Blitz our Record Of The Week, we also had them play our showcase a few months back at SXSW, and despite showing up super late, and having to cram an abbreviated set into 20 minutes, they kicked serious ass, super crunchy and jangly and hooky and frantic and just completely killer.
This single is the first new music since their O.ut O.f P.hase full length, and both tracks sound like they could have been outtakes from the same sessions. "Perpetual Night" is another chunk of HB's noise rock / power pop jangle and crunch, guitars are as jagged as they are jangly, the drums are super lo-fi practice space pounding, there's some piano this time around, and then those whiney, snotty irresistible vocals, all wrapped around a super catchy noise pop blowout. But it's the B side that steals the show, "Murder In My Heart" sounds like it could have been snatched off some best of the eighties power pop comp, albeit a tad more ragged and off kilter, but just total classic eighties style power pop jangle, hooks galore, some cool squiggly leads, weird vocal harmonies, but all somehow tangled up into some seriously perfect pop.

HOME BLITZ s/t (Gulcher) cd 11.98
We'd been meaning to review this for a while. After HB's unanimous fave and aQ Record Of The Week, O.ut O.f P.hase, and a kick ass, and way too short set at our South By Southwest showcase this year, we know we needed more more more. This comp collects all the early out of print material from these short sharp snotty noise poppers, their first two 7"s, a split cassette, a super limited 12", not to mention a couple unreleased track, and while this stuff is WAY more raw and lo-fi, it's easy to hear the ramshackle perfect pop juggernaut these guys would be come. And considering how noisy and unhinged and loose and on the verge of collapse these guys were on their newest record, you can imagine what a looser more fucked up version of THAT might sound like.
All the stuff we love about Home Blitz is already firmly in place, sharp angular riffage, jangly guitars, wild drumming, killer hooks and classic melodies, and that voice, an about to crack warbly yelp, that occasionally slips into a falsetto, the recording definitely low fidelity, but super bright and weirdly lush at the same time. And the songs, like total classic power pop / punk pop, but more homebrewed, most 1-2 minutes, rollicking and wild and super rocking, slipping from total chaotic freeforall, to crunchy jangle, to lo-fi bedroom pop, to faux arena rock out, to blasting garage punk, to woozy druggy Velvetsy drone rock, and back to full on blistering trash pop again, sounding like a band that would sound right at home on Siltbreeze, but with many of the songs sounding like they could have been plucked right off one of those lost pop comps like Yellow Pills.
There are a few tracks where the band gets more far out, "Bored" is a reverb drenched dirge, clouds of cymbal sizzle float over muted trashcan percussion, big clanging guitar chords, howled vox, or the 9+ minute "Yard", which almost sounds like some sort of Dead C ballad, all splattery percussion, detuned guitar, swaths of crumbling distortion and static, a stumbling chunk of free rock that gives way to a weird piano driven vamp, that sounds almost like Elton John via Sentridoh or something, eventually crumbling into some sort of abstract field recording driven noise rock workout. But then it's back to more loose unhinged noisy power pop bliss, including a killer glammy Slade cover! We love these guys!
MPEG Stream: "Apocalyptic Grades 2005 A.D."
MPEG Stream: "A.C. SS"
MPEG Stream: "Stupid Street"
MPEG Stream: "Right Cut Even"

HOMOSEXUALS, THE Astral Glamour (Hyped To Death) 3cd 29.00
It was only about 6 months ago, that the Homosexuals first and only proper lp was re-released on cd. Now half a year later comes the ultimate Homosexuals collection, 81 songs, over three hours, spanning the Homosexuals' whole existence from 1977-1983, and including that first album in its entirety as well as almost everything they've ever recorded. Wow. This triple cd set collects their singles, the EP, the legendary cassette, the LP, all the stuff they released under pseudonyms, as well as lost vocal parts to songs that until now were thought to be instrumental. Here's what we wrote about the Homosexuals the first time around:
On first listen, it's hard to believe that this is the legendary punk artifact that music geeks everywhere speak of in hushed, reverent tones. Not because it's not good, it is. It's great in fact. It's just not all that...weird...or avant garde, really. Recorded in 1978, this stuff sounds like it should've been at the top of the charts. And it probably would have been too were it not for their purposefully provocative monicker. And it seems that this, along with the Homosexuals' willful obscurity is what turned what is essentially an amazingly catchy pop punk band into collector snob fodder. But ultimately that is neither here nor there, we're just glad this got reissued because the Homosexuals rule! Sonically well in line with their contemporaries, the Buzzocks, the Damned, the Undertones, the Adicts, the Jam and the like, the Homosexuals opted to infuse their bouncy angular punkish pop, with bizarre surreal lyrics, occasional creative production techiniques, some retarded sounding harmonica and wickedly sharp guitar riffing making them stand out, and perhaps causing them to remain on the fringe. But beyond that, the Homosexuals were simply a great band writing great songs, songs that were charged and intense, due in no small part to band tension, and with a wild vocalist with a voice part Feargal Sharkey, part Howard Devoto and part Olga from the Toy Dolls. Don't be intimidated by the hype/legend/collectability of the Homosexuals, or you might just miss out on a really amazing band.
MPEG Stream: "Technique Street"
MPEG Stream: "Vociferous Slam"
MPEG Stream: "Neutron Lover"

HOMOSEXUALS, THE The Homosexuals' CD (ReR Megacorp) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
On first listen, it's hard to believe that this is the legendary punk artifact that music geeks everywhere speak of in hushed, reverent tones. Not because it's not good, it is. It's great in fact. It's just not all that...weird...or avant garde, really. Recorded in 1978, this stuff sounds like it should've been at the top of the charts. And it probably would have been too were it not for their purposefully provocative monicker. And it seems that this, along with the Homosexuals' willful obscurity is what turned what is essentially an amazingly catchy pop punk band into collector snob fodder. But ultimately that is neither here nor there, we're just glad this got reissued because this record rules! Sonically well in line with their contemporaries, the Buzzocks, the Damned, the Undertones, the Adicts, the Jam and the like, the Homosexuals opted to infuse their bouncy angular punkish pop, with bizarre surreal lyrics, occasional creative production techiniques, some retarded sounding harmonica and wickedly sharp guitar riffing making them stand out, and perhaps causing them to remain on the fringe. But beyond that, the Homosexuals were simply a great band writing great songs, songs that were charged and intense, due in no small part to band tension, and with a wild vocalist with a voice part Feargal Sharkey, part Howard Devoto and part Olga from the Toy Dolls. Don't be intimidated by the hype/legend/collectability of the Homosexuals, or you might just miss out on a really amazing record.
Note to consumers: if you're a HUGE Homosexuals fans, be aware that in a few months (exact release date as yet uncertain) there will be a Homosexuals triple cd box set entitled Astral Glamour available, which should include ALL of the material found on this cd, plus plenty of other obscurities and unreleased stuff. However, most people will be perfectly happy with this disc alone, containing as it does all of the crucial Homosexuals tracks.
MPEG Stream: "Technique Street"
MPEG Stream: "Vociferous Slam"
MPEG Stream: "Neutron Lover"

HOMOSTUPIDS Strawberry Orange Peach Banana (Fashionable Idiot) lp 13.98
It's a little surprising that we haven't reviewed anything by these knuckle dragging noise rock punk thug weirdos, some of us are big fans, every one of their records, all twisted blasts of fractured, fucked up gnarled distorto stomp 'n crunch. Here's a list of bands, if you dig any or all of them, odds are you already love these guys too, or really seriously should: Harry Pussy, Rusted Shut, Violent Students, Liquorball, Drunkdriver, Twin Stumps, Breathilizor, Dead Meat, Billy Bao, Shit And Shine, White Mice... You get the drift, this is chaotic, noisy, punk as fuck, sub Stooges, garage noise chaos, loose and wild, and unhinged, seriously fractured and frantic, blown out lo-fi and sweat soaked, sludgey and crusty and grimy and filthy and fucking RULING.
Plus they're just bizarre, the record opens with what sounds like a long slow stroll to the studio, culminating in a quick piss, before the door opens, the guitars get louder, the band eventually stumbling into action, and what glorious, lumbering and lurching action it is, the bass thick and buzzy, the drums loose and wild, the guitars all Black Flaggy and the vocals, yelped, crooned, mumbled, multiple voices, not really harmonizing, just sort of all doing their own thing. But within all this messy chaotic rocking, these guys rip, the songs killer, the riffs bad ass, the Stooges vibe is huge, but filtered through thick clouds of bongsmoke and heaping helpings of bathtub meth, the sound shifting from warped midtempo creep, all atonal guitars and low slung bass to full bore rocking, in-the-red and on the verge of total collapse.
And the weirdness definitely extends well beyond the sound, check out the song titles, all inexplicably with some variation of 'man' in the title: "Beneath The Blackman", "Cannon Fodderman", "In The Basementman", "Nightman", "Noseman", "Sea Wolfman", etc. And what does any of that have to do with the fruit-y title: Strawberry Orange Peach Banana? Or the thrift store oil painting artwork? Who cares? All we know is we love everything about these twisted noise rock psychos, and this record is kicking our asses!
MPEG Stream: "Wildman"
MPEG Stream: "Starman"
MPEG Stream: "Nightman"

HONDA, YUKA Eucademix (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Eucademix is the second solo album from the more esoteric half of the sadly defunct, beloved US-based Japanese electronic pop duo Cibo Matto. Once again Ms Honda traverses a broad expanse of style and mood. However unlike her last solo experimental pop effort which was, for lack of a better word, more 'serious' (i.e, more experimental than pop) and on which there really wasn't a hint of her former band's sound (which some C.M. fans found to be somewhat alienating), on Eucademix she actually brings some of her playful, funky Cibo Matto side back into view. Just check out the first two engaging tracks "Humming Song" and "I Dream About You". From there she roams through cirrus and altocumulus cloudlike formations of atmosphere'n'rhythm-rich space jazz, groovy beats, psych guitars, pretty chamber strings, and more. Much lighter in mood and perhaps more palatable to a broader audience than her previous album Memories Are My Only Witness, Eucademix very well might be the most accessible release on Tzadik. Helping to keep her trippy flying carpet aloft are her pals Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Fantomas), Marc Ribot, Petra Haden (That Dog), Timo Ellis and... Miho Hatori her former C.M. partner! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Humming Song (Alone Together)"
MPEG Stream: "When The Monkey Kills"

HONDA, YUKA Memories Are My Only Witness (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda takes the solo path. It's clear her mind is fully stocked with sonic ideas and inspirations, and she certainly shows off her skills in bringing them to fruition. She's definitely expanding and exploring beyond the perky, funky boundaries of her former band. The individual parts of "Memories Are My Only Witness" are quite nice if taken on their own. You could even sink way deep into the catchy grooves and beats or the dreamy, swirling, rhythmic soundtracks of some of the tracks if, that is, they were long enough to allow you to do so. However, this is where the one thorn I hold with this album comes in. It has little to do with the pieces although I'd note that many are a bit brief. No, it's the getting from one to the next that I found problematic. Genre-jumping can be immensely moving and effective especially within the span of one song to the next, but on Honda's solo debut it unfortunately ends up sounding clunky and lacking in fluidity. If only she'd tightened the album's seams to reflect much more how the second track "Why Do We Distrust The Machines We Made?" gracefully flows, encapsulating a number of different styles, this would have been so much more captivating.
RealAudio clip: "Why Do We Distrust The Machines We Made?"
RealAudio clip: "Some Days I Stay In Bed For Hours"
RealAudio clip: "The Last One To Fall Asleep With"

HONEY RIDE ME A GOAT Udders (Lexicon Devil) cd 14.98
On the same label that brought us the amazing avant grind of PIVIXKI on the last list, comes another stunning find, this one from UK avant/free/math rockers Honey Ride Me A Goat, who apparently have been around for a while now, although this is the first we've heard from them, but we are appropriately blown away.
You think with a name like Honey Ride Me A Goat, we would have been all over these guys, but hell, here we are now making up for lost time. Imagine some dizzying collision between old school SST style free jazz weirdness, stop on a dime NoMeansNo style mathiness, the tangled riffy jangle of nineties college rock, and super spazzy sonic tangles a la everything Mick Barr, and you'd probably be close to capturing the head spinning sonic weirdness these guys traffic in.
After a stretch of swirling abstract free jazz avant noise splatter, the band launch into the first track with something almost surfy, gnarled riffs, skittery rhythms, crunchy distorted guitars, all very looped and hypnotic before finishing off with another squall of chaotic crunch.
But it's the second track where we're totally and irreversibly smitten, a seriously progged out post metal, space metal math jam of epic proportions, think the Ruins and Orthrelm battling it out on stage, only to occasionally slip into some churning hypnotic almost krautrock grooves, with lots of woozy basslines, angular abstract guitar grind, and some of the most perplexing arrangements EVER. And so it goes, the band leaping dexterously from mesmerizing Necks-like avant jazz drone creep, to spastic math grind freakouts, to churning carnivalesque genre leapfrogging grooves, to blown out free jazz / avant grind, to sounds even more abstract and difficult to describe.
Needless to say, this stuff RULES, freaked out and frenetic, frantic and frenzied, fans of Orthrelm, Ocrilim, Ruins, NoMeansNo, Hella, Lightning Bolt, Upsilon Acrux, Flying Luttenbachers and all that sort of post prog / math / grind / avant weirdness will dig BIG TIME.
MPEG Stream: "Derek & Dot"
RealAudio clip: "I'm Not A Packhorse"
RealAudio clip: "Varicose Jibs"
RealAudio clip: "Ace Hazelnut"

HONEYWELL, PEGGY Faint Humms (Galaxia) cd 13.98
Here's a new full length from this folk pop songstress following her lovely debut Honey For Breakfast album from 2002. Her slightly weary lilt of a voice hints that she might be the long lost kid sister of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. She picks right up where she left off with this lengthier gathering of unadorned acoustic guitar, banjo and vocals. Hushed, sweet and intimate. Please note: If you've seen her play recently and bought a copy of the cd-r that she had for sale, this might be the cd version of that same material (this is according to a Honeywell-lovin' AQ customer who did that very thing).
MPEG Stream: "Peach And Yellow"
MPEG Stream: "Smile And Compliment"

HONEYWELL, PEGGY Honey For Dinner (Galaxia) cd 9.98
Ms. Honeywell possesses a lilting, lamenting voice quite akin to that of Trailer Bride's Melissa Swingle, with the added sultriness of Cat Power and the dark hum of Edith Frost's delivery. On her debut album, we have gentle porchswing songs with strummy guitar and plucky banjo very reminiscent of a youthful, twangy Throwing Muses or Shams. Ten li'l tracks in barely 21 minutes including a closing rendition of Elvis' "All Shook Up". Dave Pajo (Papa M) plays some slide guitar, banjo, and bass. The album is dedicated to local artist Margaret Kilgallen who passed away recently and her baby Asha.
RealAudio clip: "Darlin Man"
RealAudio clip: "Hug My Heart"

HONG KONG, THE Lights At Night (Turducken Recordings) cd 9.98
Zow! The new-new-wave synth-driven onslaught is definitely in full swing with one of the newest entries into the fray being The Hong Kong. Slowly smouldering, the thick synth lines wind themselves around the simple, uneffected guitar as the straight up drumming keeps things driving forward. Note: The Hong Kong are one of the many "The..." bands of the moment (ie, The Faint, The Vue, The Lapse, The Go, etc).

HONKIES Who Eats? (Megaphone) cd 11.98
This is the Honkies' difficult-to-find second album.

HOOD Cabled Linear Traction (Slumberland) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

HOOD Compilations 1995-2002 (Misplaced Music) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hood's recent albums have been exploring electronic production more, collaborationg with the likes of the Anticon collective on albums like "Cold House."
The stuff compiled on these two collections traces their evolution from earlier, low-fi indie experimentation and much more intimate, pocket-sized sound through to their more recent melancholy post-rock and "indie-tronica." All in all, very pretty in a non-straightforward, fucked up way.
MPEG Stream: "Finger In His Ear"
MPEG Stream: "Aube Remix"

HOOD Outside Closer (Domino) cd 14.98
Geez Hood, don't rush me! I'm barely done checkin' out (and thoroughly diggin') your newest EP when you drop a brand new album in my lap. Alright, I'll quit my whinging 'cause more Hood music is nothing to complain about. This album is really dreamy and delicious. That recent teaser EP hinted at more shoegazer leanings, but with regards to Outside Closer we say, "Nevermind shoegazer, this is a stargazer." On songs such as the third "Any Hopeful Thoughts Arrive" and seventh "Still Rain Fell", you can't help but be swept up, up, up and away. Everything -- from the wispy breathy vocals to the plucked acoustic guitar to the shuffling processed beats to the understated horns to the droning organ tones -- is interwoven into swirling total bliss. Gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Still Rain Fell"
MPEG Stream: "Winter 72"

HOOD Outside Closer (Domino) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Geez Hood, don't rush me! I'm barely done checkin' out (and thoroughly diggin') your newest EP when you drop a brand new album in my lap. Alright, I'll quit my whinging 'cause more Hood music is nothing to complain about. This album is really dreamy and delicious. That recent teaser EP hinted at more shoegazer leanings, but with regards to Outside Closer we say, "Nevermind shoegazer, this is a stargazer." On songs such as the third "Any Hopeful Thoughts Arrive" and seventh "Still Rain Fell", you can't help but be swept up, up, up and away. Everything -- from the wispy breathy vocals to the plucked acoustic guitar to the shuffling processed beats to the understated horns to the droning organ tones -- is interwoven into swirling total bliss. Gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Still Rain Fell"
MPEG Stream: "Winter 72"

HOOD Singles Compiled (Misplaced Music) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hood's recent albums have been exploring electronic production more, collaborationg with the likes of the Anticon collective on albums like "Cold House."
The stuff compiled on these two collections traces their evolution from earlier, low-fi indie experimentation and much more intimate, pocket-sized sound through to their more recent melancholy post-rock and "indie-tronica." Lots of kinda poppy stuff on the first disc and lots of previously unreleased tracks on the second disc of this one.
MPEG Stream: "Myself"
MPEG Stream: "England's Fine Fields"
MPEG Stream: "(The) Weight"

HOOD You Show No Emotion At All (Domino) cd ep 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Moody vocals, arpeggiated guitar, stumbling cut up percussion. Hood's newest EP is all of that and more (the more being a video of the title track that you can watch on your computer.) Post-rock done right, and light. The guitarwork reminds me of fellow postrockers Sonna, and the vocals are just depressing in the best way.
RealAudio clip: "Painting the Town Dead"

HOOD / THEMSELVES You Shins Break My Heart (Rocket Racer) 7" 7.98

HOODOO GURUS Stoneage Romeos - Deluxe Edition (Hoodoo Gurus Pty. Limited) cd 14.98
Hands down one of the greatest pop records EVER.
MPEG Stream: "Let's All Turn On"
MPEG Stream: "I Want You Back"
MPEG Stream: "Death Ship"

HOOKER Rock And Roll (Vintage / Rockadrome) cd 13.98
Here's our '70s proto-metal pick for this week's list. It's an archival release compiling the never-released album this Houston hard rock quartet put to tape in 1978, along with a bunch of bonus tracks from the same era, and holy heck it smokes!! It's aptly titled for sure.
If you're reading this on our website, you can see the thumbnail image of the front cover, with the band's name and album in the form of a young lady's 'tramp stamp' tattoo, but we wish we could show you this disc's back cover photo too. It pretty much says it all, four long haired musician dudes, in a cloud of fog-machine mist, striking an assortment of classic, exuberant rock n' roll poses. And one of the guitarists is brandishing a particularly cool, cruel & unusual instrument - the body of his guitar looks more like some strange four-bladed axe. Very metal. And Hooker definitely incorporate some metallic moves into their badass blend of high energy rippage and heavy Southern blues rock. It's practically like NWOBHM done Texas-style! Although, they have their melodic, sensitive side too, even throwing in a little balladry and Jesus-lovin' honky-tonk (though we don't know how that comports with the sexy and/or sexist nature of some of their other material). Also, we gotta mention one of the mellower tunes, "Beatle", is indeed about imagining being a Beatle, as in, one of the Beatles - a "what if?" scenario any rock n' roller must have considered at one point or another, right? We like the weirdness of that one quite a bit, but the main draw here are Hooker's guitars, the riffs and dueling leads and so forth, to which "Turn it up!!" can be the only proper reaction. Definitely for anyone who digs other obscure American '70s hard rock/early metal action, like previous Rockadrome/Vintage reissues we've recommended by Poobah, Cain, Hillary Blaze, etc.
There's 8 songs here originally recorded for Hooker's unreleased ('til now that is) album, plus 5 more bonus cuts circa '75-'79 or so, including their cover of "I Want Your Body", originally recorded by early '70s proto-metal outfit Tin House.
MPEG Stream: "I'm Lookin'"
MPEG Stream: "The Way You Love Me"
MPEG Stream: "Beatle"

HOOKER, D.R. The Truth (Subliminal Sounds) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

HOOKER, D.R. The Truth (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
Supposed psych rock classic... not all that.

HOOP DREAMS XCPR (Captured Tracks) 7" 6.98
Latest new band from Captured Tracks, not sure what the name is all about, or the cover photo of little kids playing basketball, cuz if there really is some sort of sports theme, we're not hearing it, what we are hearing is a pretty fantastic slab of gloomy angular new wave-y artpunk that doesn't sound all that far removed from groups like The Editors, the Killers, Maximo Park and the like. Thick driving Joy Division like basslines beneath chiming jangly guitars, everything reverby and shimmery, but still dark and moody, with deep dramatic vocals, the B side ups the murky gothy vibe, and sounds a bit more like the Cure or Fields Of The Nephilim, even a little Interpol-ish, lots more electronics, pulsing synths, more programmed sounding beats, with some really strange cool parts that seem to swoop and swerve and get all swoonsome, there are plenty of hooks tucked in there too. For sure will appeal to the usual CT crowd, but they do seem a bit more mainstream, or at least less reverby and lo-fi and retro, the sort of band that could probably make the leap from Captured Tracks to the more mainstream musical world their above mentioned sonic compatriots inhabit.
MPEG Stream: "XCPR"

HOOVERPHONIC The Magnificent Tree (Epic) cd 16.98
Much less unsettling and mournful than the brilliant Portishead. Much less jarringly antsy and aloof than Lamb. Much less interesting than both. Of whom are we talking? Hooverphonic. Comparisons can't help but be drawn. Affecting a very similar vocal style to the two women in the aforementioned groups, Hooverphonic are akin to a female-fronted Thievery Corporation. Oh and yes, as we're so clearly told by a sticker on the case, the song from the VW commercial is included as a bonus track.

HOPKINS, CLUTCHY Life Of Clutchy Hopkins (Mislead Children) cd 13.98
The rumors are flying. Well, at least on all the underground hip-hop blogs they are. Who is Clutchy Hopkins? Could he really be this Ted Kaczynski type hermit living in a cave somewhere out in the Mojave Desert but who perhaps sometime in the '80s recorded these recently discovered and amazing instrumental funk-jazz tracks? And then came out of hiding briefly to put a new record out on Ubiquity only to then disappear once more? Seems doubtful. Details are shady at best. No one has really seen him, except for some less than trustworthy sources. There are only some old photographs of him looking like some serious Moondog cave hippie, like if Gnarls Barkley was an actual person maybe. It's an interesting back story which adds an exciting twist to the origins of these killer tracks, but would they be less killer if the rumors going around were true that maybe this is in fact an alias band project for either Money Mark, Madlib, Cut Chemist, or DJ Shadow? (Our guess? Kid Loco. Seems like he's been in a cave for awhile.) It shouldn't matter, because this shit is good. And who wouldn't rather believe we live in a world where cave-dwelling hermits could make such awesome grooves. Originally released in 2005, it has 12 untitled tracks ranging from flute groovers, and spy chases to strange percussive interludes. We will review the Ubiquity release on a later list, as this one here we like a bit better and want to make it available to you before it, like Clutchy, disappears into the ether.
MPEG Stream: "3:02"
MPEG Stream: "2:07"
MPEG Stream: "3:24"

HOPKINS, CLUTCHY Life Of Clutchy Hopkins (Mislead Children) lp 14.98
The rumors are flying. Well, at least on all the underground hip-hop blogs they are. Who is Clutchy Hopkins? Could he really be this Ted Kaczynski type hermit living in a cave somewhere out in the Mojave Desert but who perhaps sometime in the '80s recorded these recently discovered and amazing instrumental funk-jazz tracks? And then came out of hiding briefly to put a new record out on Ubiquity only to then disappear once more? Seems doubtful. Details are shady at best. No one has really seen him, except for some less than trustworthy sources. There are only some old photographs of him looking like some serious Moondog cave hippie, like if Gnarls Barkley was an actual person maybe. It's an interesting back story which adds an exciting twist to the origins of these killer tracks, but would they be less killer if the rumors going around were true that maybe this is in fact an alias band project for either Money Mark, Madlib, Cut Chemist, or DJ Shadow? (Our guess? Kid Loco. Seems like he's been in a cave for awhile.) It shouldn't matter, because this shit is good. And who wouldn't rather believe we live in a world where cave-dwelling hermits could make such awesome grooves. Originally released in 2005, it has 12 untitled tracks ranging from flute groovers, and spy chases to strange percussive interludes. We will review the Ubiquity release on a later list, as this one here we like a bit better and want to make it available to you before it, like Clutchy, disappears into the ether.
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HOPKINS, J.C. Athens By Night (Stickshift) cd 12.98
Local all-around nice guy's WONDERFUL new album of impossibly lush pop songs that remind us of Chris Bell and Big Star, yes they're that good and that touching. With the added talents of Barbara Manning, Melanie Clarin, and Greg Freeman.

HOPKINS, J.C. Athens By Night (Stickshift) lp 10.98
Local all-around nice guy's WONDERFUL new album of impossibly lush pop songs that remind us of Chris Bell and Big Star, yes they're that good and that touching. With the added talents of Barbara Manning, Melanie Clarin, and Greg Freeman.