SEA AND CAKE One Bedroom (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
For their sixth full length, those Sea & Cakes are venturing even deeper into the groovy electronic chillroom and away from their former sunkissed and breezy acoustic path. Super spacious and dreamy, but with considerably more euro jetset flair. Fluid organ tones, wispy string sounds, jazzy shuffling beats. Sam Prekop's voice is still as mellow and as effortless as ever, but this time there's the added eleganza vocal depth of the Navin brothers from the Aluminum Group -- certainly no slouches themselves in the charm'n'croon department. They're joined by Archer Prewitt and Prekop's subtle guitar interplay and the solid-as-ever rhythm section of bassist Erik Claridge and John McEntire on drums. Oh yes, and to top it all off, they do a cover of Bowie's "Sound And Vision". A blissful beauty!
RealAudio clip: "Four Corners"
RealAudio clip: "Le Baron"

SEA AND CAKE Sea And Cake (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98

SEA AND CAKE The Biz (Thrill Jockey) cd 13.98
Third album by this charming band made up of folks from the Coctails, Tortoise, and other Chicago outfits. John McEntire plays a most desirable and sought-after analog synth, the EML Electrocomp 101, also heard used to stunning effect by Cul De Sac.

SEA AND CAKE The Biz (Thrill Jockey) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Third album by this charming band made up of folks from the Coctails, Tortoise, and other Chicago outfits. John McEntire plays a most desirable and sought-after analog synth, the EML Electrocomp 101, also heard used to stunning effect by Cul De Sac.

SEA AND CAKE Two Gentlemen (Thrill Jockey) cd 7.98
3 interesting remixes (created and "titled" by Bundy K. Brown, Designer, and Jimmy O'Rourke) and 2 brand new songs.

SEA AND CAKE Two Gentlemen (Thrill Jockey) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
3 interesting remixes (created and "titled" by Bundy K. Brown, Designer, and Jimmy O'Rourke) and 2 brand new songs.

SEA AND CAKE, THE Everybody (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
It's been four long years since the last Sea And Cake full length, and it sounds like Sam and the boys might've drank a couple of Red Bulls to get the juices flowing before laying down these tracks. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly, Everybody surprised all of us with its unexpected burst of energy. It's downright lively by Sea And Cake standards, and the change is a welcome one. Early on there were many around here who swooned to the sounds of Sea And Cake. What wasn't to love? Archer Prewitt, Sam Prekop and John McEntire? Sold! But over the years the band's sound mellowed out more and more and more, until it resembled the most vanilla easy listening '70s AM radio fodder. And we'll admit somewhere along the way we drifted apart, but this new album has drawn us back into this Chicago band's aural embrace and then some. Fear not dear fans near and far tho', it's not a jarring shift. All of the key Sea And Cake treasured elements -- gently grooving guitar and bass melodies, kickass drumming, and adorably dulcet vocals -- remain still completely intact. Wonderful.
MPEG Stream: "Too Strong"
MPEG Stream: "Left On"
MPEG Stream: "Up On Crutches"

SEA AND CAKE, THE Everybody (Thrill Jockey) lp 13.98
It's been four long years since the last Sea And Cake full length, and it sounds like Sam and the boys might've drank a couple of Red Bulls to get the juices flowing before laying down these tracks. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but honestly, Everybody surprised all of us with its unexpected burst of energy. It's downright lively by Sea And Cake standards, and the change is a welcome one. Early on there were many around here who swooned to the sounds of Sea And Cake. What wasn't to love? Archer Prewitt, Sam Prekop and John McEntire? Sold! But over the years the band's sound mellowed out more and more and more, until it resembled the most vanilla easy listening '70s AM radio fodder. And we'll admit somewhere along the way we drifted apart, but this new album has drawn us back into this Chicago band's aural embrace and then some. Fear not dear fans near and far tho', it's not a jarring shift. All of the key Sea And Cake treasured elements -- gently grooving guitar and bass melodies, kickass drumming, and adorably dulcet vocals -- remain still completely intact. Wonderful.
MPEG Stream: "Too Strong"
MPEG Stream: "Left On"
MPEG Stream: "Up On Crutches"

SEA AND CAKE, THE Oui (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
After a three year hiatus, a somewhat lackluster fourth outing from beloved Chicago outfit who craft an original, quiet, airy sound somewhere between "cocktail lounge" and Style Council pop. Light, dreamy strings and horns. The ever-present vibes and some positively dewy vocals. At times it veers toward Steely Dan territory, which can be a good thing -- see Sea and Cake member Archer Prewitt's truly wonderful "In the Sun" -- but in "Oui" ends up more generic style than substance. A pleasant if slightly doleful effort. If you like the Sea and Cake already (and judging by sales, you probably do), you'll probably like this too, but if you're new to them, AQ's advice is to start with their great self-titled first album, which we always carry.

SEA AND CAKE, THE Oui (Thrill Jockey) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a three year hiatus, a somewhat lackluster fourth outing from beloved Chicago outfit who craft an original, quiet, airy sound somewhere between "cocktail lounge" and Style Council pop. Light, dreamy strings and horns. The ever-present vibes and some positively dewy vocals. At times it veers toward Steely Dan territory, which can be a good thing -- see Sea and Cake member Archer Prewitt's truly wonderful "In the Sun" -- but in "Oui" ends up more generic style than substance. A pleasant if slightly doleful effort. If you like the Sea and Cake already (and judging by sales, you probably do), you'll probably like this too, but if you're new to them, AQ's advice is to start with their great self-titled first album, which we always carry.

SEA HAGS s/t (Rock Candy) cd 17.98
With a lot of stuff on the AQ list, to us at least, the music often transcends its genre. And part of the fun of reviewing a record like that, is getting people who don't normally listen to that kind of music to check it out, and maybe even dig it. You know, some metal record that's so fucked up and damaged that it might appeal to folks into noise music or experimental music. Or some pop band that's so heavy and intense, that even metalheads might dig it.
Well, with this, the long long long overdue reissue of the first and only record from San Francisco's very own Sea Hags, we're not even gonna bother. This isn't fucked up or noisy or experimental. It's heavy, groovy, glammy hard rock that totally kicks ass. And if you don't dig stuff like Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses, Hanoi Rocks and the like, then odds are you aren't gonna dig this. But if you do (and if you don't what the hell's wrong with you?!), and somehow you missed out on the greatest hard rock band to ever come out of SF, then for fuck's sake, pick this up NOW.
Hailed back in the day as the next Guns N' Roses, and described by their manager thusly: "There's only so far you can go with three junkies and one alcoholicŠ", the Sea Hags were Bay Area rock heroes, who would hang out with Courtney Love, have Metallica's Kirk Hammett play lead on one of their tracks, almost get a song on the Sid And Nancy soundtrack after a tip from Love (who was fronting Faith No More at the time!), record with Mike Clink who produced Appetite For Destruction, kick their drummer out while recording, have the band nearly break up on tour after being busted for drugs, and (sadly) have one member die at age 26 of an heroin overdose a year after the band breaks up, but more importantly than all of that, record one of the best hard rock records of the nineties, and one of the greatest hard rock tracks EVER in the form of "Half The Way Valley".
Just listen to the sound samples and you'll be sold. Filthy and dangerous, groovy and bluesy, glammy and heavy, and so crazy catchy, a pinch of the Stones, a bit of the Yardbirds, lots of Aerosmith, plenty of GN'R , all mixed up with their own unique take on sixties pop and seventies hard rock. Kick ass riffing, pounding drumming, boozy world weary vocals, and hooks galore.
Not sure what else to say. Amongst the hard rockers around these parts, the reissue of the Sea Hags record was a HUGE deal. So much so, that had it not happened, Andee and Allan might have considered it for their fledgling eighties metal reissue label!
Needless to say, this is essential listening for hard rockers. One of our favorite discs from the nineties. Finally reissued, and damn if it don't sound as kick ass as ever!
As with all the Rock Candy reissues, the packaging and presentation are amazing. If only ALL reissues were this well done. Bonus tracks, tons of photos, extensive liner notes, interviews with bandleader Ron Yocom, as well as track by track notes and a band history.
MPEG Stream: "Half The Way Valley"
MPEG Stream: "Doghouse"

SEA MONSTER You May Unfasten Your Seatbelts (Rosewood Union) cd 13.98
From the dynamics of Mogwai to the freefloating chemical-psychedelia of Spacemen 3's late-period organ pieces, Sea Monster presents the highlights of space-rock over the past decade.

SEABEAR The Ghost That Carried Us Away (Morr Music) cd 16.98
If your dream musical date would be with Postal Service and Pernice Brothers, well, the sweet sounds of Seabear come pretty darn close. Shufflin', soft and breezy pop tunes with shy boy lead vocals and angelic girly backing ones. Sure to please devotees of the Morr Music label, and anyone else whose ears need a snuggle!
MPEG Stream: "Good Morning Scarecrow"
MPEG Stream: "Libraries"

SEAM Are You Driving Me Crazy? (Touch & Go) cd 12.98
SooYoung Park pens some of the most gorgeous quiet/loud songs of heartache and heartbreak. And this the third album from Chicago's Seam is no exception. Soaring, droning guitars blanket you as Mr. Park takes aim at your heart.

SEAM Are You Driving Me Crazy? (Touch & Go) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SEAM Sukiyaki (Ajax) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wherein the Chicago indie rock stalwarts cover two of the most unlikely songs: "Heroes" and "Sukiyaki" (Taste of Honey, remember?)

SEAM The Pace is Glacial (Touch & Go) cd 13.98
Chicago's kings of indie rock have been doing this so long they can only further refine the genre. Slow buildups and melodic layers, murmured vocals, very pleasant.

SEAM The Pace is Glacial (Touch & Go) lp 8.98
Chicago's kings of indie rock have been doing this so long they can only further refine the genre. Slow buildups and melodic layers, murmured vocals, very pleasant.

SEAN NA NA Dance 'Til Your Baby Is A Man (Troubleman Unlimited) cd 10.98
This is the first full length from Sean Tillman, who you may remember from his sort of popular old band Calvin Crime. His solo stuff as Sean Na Na is a complete about face from Calvin Crime's arty punkiness. This is coy, clever Built To Spillian pop. He was on that split cd with Mary Lou Lord a few months back, and blew her away (granted no mean feat). Imagine a younger, more playful, whinier Built to Spill (the Dug Martsch comparisons are unavoidable, high reedy voiced, lonely, whiney boy rock (�Elisabeth)). Really cool.

SEARCH PARTY, THE Montgomery Chapel (Merry-Go-Round Records / Beatball Music) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fans of psychedelic sixties rock n' roll might be a little concerned about what they're getting when a peek at the album cover shows that two of the band members are men wearing clerical collars. Priests who rock? And these are no long-haired Jesus Freaks, either. The four men and one woman in this band look pretty straight. But, have no fear, their music is plenty far-out. This self-released 1968 album is the sole recorded legacy of The Search Party, a Christian folk-psych combo masterminded by the Reverend Nicholas Freund of Mount Saint Paul College in Waukesha, Wisconsin, but recorded at the San Francisco Theological Seminary's Montgomery Chapel (hence the title). They were definitely hip to the sixties West Coast vibe, with female vocals that remind us a bit of both Grace Slick and Linda Perhacs. Much of this is quite ethereal and haunting, full of organ drone-tones and dreamy, downer atmosphere. The album's centerpiece, the nine-minute "So Many Things Have Got Me Down" could be a lost acid-krautrock jam. The New Creation, the other lost 60s Christian rock reissue we reviewed here recently, have nothing on this! While The Search Party are at their best on the slower, moodier numbers, the more uptempo songs, though, go to some amazing extremes with over-the-top vocals and searing fuzz guitar (as in "You And I" which stands in stark contrast to the gentle, sombre sounds of much of the rest of the album). This Korean-import cd reissue comes packaged in one of those minature gatefold LP style sleeves, with lyrics and liner notes, which include the statement that "this album...is a demonstration of these five people's concern for you." Now how often do bands today say things like that? Bless' em.

SEAWHORES Forest (Essay Recordings) cd 14.98
Seawhores appears to be the work of a cast of thousands -- well there's like ten people credited as "writers and contributors" anyway. We're not sure who or what is at the core of this project, but we can tell you that Brian Chippendale (of Lightning Bolt) and Dale Crover (of the Melvins) both appear, amongst others, including ex-members of the Cows, on this album. And Seawhores definitely do display an affinity with the sort of noise-rock of those bands, particularily the mix of heaviosity and musical fuckery normally (abnormally?) practiced by the Melvins, and their former AmRep brethren as well. It's mostly instrumental with the notable exception of the (ironic we're pretty sure) hard rock radio friendly vocals that make/break the track "College Walls". They've gotta be ironic as we do sense a definite wiseassitude about this band, again in keeping with their Melvins meets Wolf Eyes noisedrone attack, a demented mix that incorporates rhythmic drum machine damage, gobs of distortion, soundtracky ambience, and more... For instance, the track "Sweaty Men, Attack" destroys the memory of its mock-country opening with pummelling industrial rock spazzcore. Elsewhere, you'll be treated to the extended eleven minute hissing howling horror soundscape of "Village Curse". All six tracks on this mysterious cd are intriguing. Very recommended to fans of Melvins, Mike Patton, Lightning Bolt, and suchlike gonzo avant-rock entertainment!!
MPEG Stream: "Sweaty Men, Attack"
MPEG Stream: "May Your Hands Wither"

SEAWORTHY The Ride (Jetset) cd 15.98
Hurrah! This is the first solo album from the very talented Josh McKay of Macha. Have to say though that if you were expecting for this to sound all Macha-y, try again. You certainly won't be disappointed though. The rich craftsmanship that he's applied to his band's music is in full bloom in Seaworthy. Shadowy, brooding and hypnotic. Expansive graceful sweeps from thunderous to mere whisper. Sinking deep into hallucinatory grooves, the music glows with the added presence of Japanese vocalist Haco (of After Dinner) and the Japanese trio Hoahio.
RealAudio clip: "The Day"
RealAudio clip: "The Ride Pt. 1"

SEBADOH Bubble & Scrape (Sub Pop) cd 12.98

SEBADOH III (Domino) 2cd 14.98
Lots of claims could be made for best indie rock record ever. Pavement's Slanted And Enchanted is an obvious choice. But there are tons of other contenders, records by Dinosaur Jr., Galaxie 500, Seam, Archers Of Loaf, the Pixies, the Breeders, Unrest, Slint, Yo La Tengo, Superchunk...
But what about Sebadoh? Originally Lou Barlow's bedroom side project while he was playing bass in Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh went from soft 4-track sad boy ruminations to full on rambunctious indie rock without losing Barlow's tender hearted, mopey moodiness. This record, III, is where they really clicked. To be totally honest, the first two are our absolute favorites (c'mon, somebody reissue The Freed Weed!!!) but until those are available again, we'll just have to cast our lot with III. Not entirely fair to compare them though. The first two Sebadoh records were just Lou, in his bedroom, singing and strumming, a ramshackle collection of sweet sad songs and freaked out tape experiments, where as by the time of III, Sebadoh was a real rock band, with not just two other band members, but two other songwriters, Eric Gaffney and Jason Lowenstein. Giving Sebadoh a distinctly schizophrenic sound, veering from introspective to noisy and annoying depending on whose song it was. Years before Conor Oberst ascended to the weepy, slouchy indie throne, Sebadoh's Lou Barlow was already the king of the lo-fi tearjerker. He ruled the roost of unabashed romantics in his rumpled threadbare cardigan, spectacles and tousled mop of hair. However, as III proved beyond a doubt, Sebadoh wasn't confined to lovey-dovey bedroom balladry, nope they could tear shit up a-plenty providing both cathartic heartbaring sadsack sweetness and blistering noise rawk for indie kids near and far.
The copious liner notes are a bit confusing though. As far as we were concerned, Sebadoh WAS Lou Barlow, who was later joined by Eric and Jason. But the liner notes, especially Gaffney's, paint a quite different picture. Gaffney goes on and on about how it was basically his band and his songs. But a quick listen to the record (and a look at each member's subsequent sonic track record) reveals the truth, that Lou was still the quiet mastermind. Eric has some killer tracks for sure, and Jason's songs are wild and chaotic (this was before he would grow into a songwriter to rival Lou on later Sebadoh discs) but almost without exception the perfect pop gems here are penned by Lou. Just check out the opener "The Freed Pig", hard to imagine a more perfect indie rock song. Jangly and catchy, a little ramshackle, a teensy bit melancholy, but exuberant and hopeful. With a killer crunchy chorus.
III is peppered with sweet soft acoustic numbers that sound like they were plucked from old Sebadoh cassettes. Each one sad and lovely, perfect mix tape material way back in 1991 (Yeesh, has it really been fifteen years?!), the prototype for EVERY home recorded bedroom record since. Jason contributes some Minutemen sounding instrumental jams ("Sickles & Hammers"), some slow motion druggy stoner jams ("Smoke A Bowl"), a killer twangy acoustic hoedown ("Black Haired Girl") and most of the really esoteric tunes. Eric offers up some lilting minor key jangle ("Violet Execution"), some super fuzzed out jangly tribal psych rock ("Limb By Limb") and the super lengthy bizarre drugged out psych jam "As The World Dies The Eyes Of God Grow Bigger". Between all of these musical flights of fancy, Lou gives us perfect pop song after perfect pop song, whether it's in the form of a whispered mumbly song fragment, or a glorious rocked out jangly jam. Somehow these disparate elements mesh perfectly into a totally rollicking chaotic indie rock masterpiece. A reissue of III on its own would definitely merit record of the week status, but there's a whole extra disc of singles and outtakes that make this absolutely essential.
First up on the extras disc is "Gimme Indie Rock" a tongue in cheek slam on their more popular indie contemporaries, which inadvertently became a hit and somehow sounded like, but better than, all the bands it was poking fun at (check out the very Dinosaur-like leads!) Speaks volumes that a tossed off fuck around track can be this good. Next up is quite possibly the best Sebadoh song ever "Ride The Darker Wave" a loping groove, with a totally catchy guitar part and an instantly unforgettable melody. Heavy and sludgy but perfectly poppy. The rest of the disc is jam packed with outtakes and alternate versions, a whole bunch of Gaffney tracks, as good as anything on the record proper, as well as a few other Lou gems. Also, tacked on at the very end is "Showtape '91" a 12 minute experimental tape piece, the band used to play at shows before they came on stage. It features the band reading various reviews (positive and negative), repeating the various mispronunciations of the band name, all amidst a cacophonous soundscape of tape manipulation and guitar grind. Very annoying but very very funny.
As befits a classic record like III, the packaging and reissue extras are amazing. Besides the wealth of extra and unreleased tracks, there are extensive liner notes from all three band members, tons of photos, and the whole thing is housed in a snazzy slipcase with the band name and album title embossed in metallic gold ink. We feel like we're 21 again!!!
MPEG Stream: "The Freed Pig"
MPEG Stream: "Sickles And Hammers"
MPEG Stream: "Total Peace"
MPEG Stream: "Scars, Four Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "Truly Great Thing"
MPEG Stream: "Gimme Indie Rock"
MPEG Stream: "Ride The Darker Wave"

SEBADOH Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock (Sub Pop) cd 10.98

SEBADOH The Freed Man (Domino) cd 14.98
As much as we all love Sebadoh, most of their records predate the aQuarius list, so other than the recent reissue of III, and this one right here, we have never been able to truly sing the praises of one of our favorite indie rock bands of all time. They were one of the few bands who took indie rock and did whatever the fuck they wanted to with it. Bakesale, Bubble And Scrape, Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock, Sebadoh Vs. Helmet, all over the map, but all distinctly Sebadoh. Much of it had to do with the genius popsmithery of Lou Barlow, ground zero for lonely sadboy bedroom folk. A one man lo-fi revolution. But much of it had to do with his choice in collaborators. Specifically, Eric Gaffney, Lou's perfect foil, personally, musically, in every way. Where Lou was introverted and shy, Eric was outspoken and spastic. Where Lou penned soft whispery ballads, Gaffney's songs were disjointed angular folk, or blasts of off kilter acoustic weirdness, together, the two forged the perfect balance between romantic longing and snotty punk rock rebellion. Never was this more evident than on their very first record, The Freed Man. 
Back in the nineties, there was a disc called the Freed Weed (you might remember in our review of III, we pleaded for someone to re-release it) which was the cd version of a record called Weed Forestin', a record written and recorded entirely by Lou, jam packed with classic pop, including a handful of tracks that would be reworked later and turned into classic electric Sebadoh numbers. Well, to fill out the cd, they tacked on a handful of tracks from The Freed Man...
The Freed Weed was our introduction to what would become the whole bedroom folk movement. We didn't know what the hell it was, other than it was like nothing we had ever heard, sad and intense, funny and fucked up, super personal and intimate, with bursts of total what the fuck weirdness scattered throughout and some of the prettiest songs we had ever heard. And we were not looking  for soft folky sadness, we wanted heaviness and noisiness, but these songs were just too good to not fall in love with... We played the shit out of the Weed Forestin' side, the prettier Lou songs.
but later, when we had played it to death, we dug deeper into the more difficult songs from the Freed Man, and discovered a whole new world of deliriously damaged fractured folk...
So here we have the Freed Man in its entirety. With tons of extra songs, alternate versions, all culled from the original recordings... and it's just as amazing, as far out, as sweetly sorrowful as we remember. 
The Freed Man was the 'first' actual Sebadoh release, originally released in 1989, and in the early days, sold for 99 cents in local record stores. It was split pretty evenly between Lou's soft bedroom folk, and Eric's damaged whatthefuck lo-fi freakouts  and raggedy strum and croon, with tons of random shit mixed in, radio soundbites, old records, primitive tape recorder experiments, all sorts of weird found sounds scattered throughout.
The sound now is quite familiar, every kid with an old beat up guitar and a 4 track has taken a stab at the whole lone bedroom troubadour thing, but at the time, this was seriously mindblowing, murky hiss drenched acoustic guitar, gorgeously melancholy, with Lou's sadboy vocals, and lilting melodies, heartfelt, yet slightly tweaked lyrics, bursts of staticky chaos, cool weird tape loops... and the thing is, even after a million imitators, this STILL sounds special and fresh, and yeah, mind blowing. So much so that it's hard to pick out particular songs, the whole thing is so perfectly realized, it's almost like some insane lo-fi, bedroom folk DJ mix, the songs all flow into each other, stumbling over one another, woven together with random sound effects or manipulated tapes... Single songs don't get stuck in your head as much as whole suites, chunks of distinctly different songs that are so inexorably linked, they almost sound like multi part mini epics.
Some of our favorite tracks though: the all time classic emo indie boy anthem "Soulmate", with the legendary line "I'll probably have to have sex with a lot of girls before my soulmate reveals herself to me..." and a chorus to die for, Gaffney doing his best Barlow on "Level Anything", still sad and folky, but with way more buzz and off kilter melody, the super distorted hiss drenched beauty that is Barlow's "Close Enough", Lou's "True Hardcore"  with the spoken intro "this is a complete rip off of every other song i've ever done" which launches into a song that is anything but hardcore, instead a gorgeous slab of lush heavily strummed sadboy folk with a KILLER hook / chorus, "Wrists" another gorgeous off kilter folk dirge from Eric, minor key and rife with lush guitars and killer melodies, "Bolder" which hints at the pop genius that Barlow would blossom into, it's easy to imagine this track fully electrified and super rocking on some later Sebadoh record, "Jealous Evil", yet another classic Barlow track, moody and miserable, with brooding guitars, and subtle but moving melodies, and some gorgeous vocal melodies, same with "Pig" slow burning and melancholy, "Punch In The Nose", and an old track with Lou's sister accompanying him on trumpet, and the record finishes off with a Doc Watson cover that ends up sounding like the Frogs which is a very good thing. It's a mess and a jumble, but it's just so goddamn immediate and personal, weird and wonderful. Eric's songs sound like Lou's only doused in acid and pot and slightly -more- out of tune but they are the perfect balance for Lou's earnestness...
The Freed Man is in no way perfect, there are plenty of tracks that are noisy or fucked up and here and there plain embarrassing, but those only add to the record's charm, and tend to never last more than a minute. There's the super noisy cover of "Yellow Submarine" and the super embarrassing "Lou Rap" complete with goofy childhood recordings, both of which we used to skip, but now, are too much a part of the whole to not enjoy as part of the bigger Sebadoh picture. 
There are of course tons of extras, some awesome rarities, redone tracks from the Freed Weed, unreleased songs, tracks from the amazing and long out of print Magic Ribbons 7" boxset and a handful of splits and singles, includes liner notes by both Eric and Lou, each offering their own take on the early years of the band, with lots of artwork from the original cassette and the Freed Weed cd.
Like the recent reissue of Sebadoh III, The Freed Man is gorgeously packaged, with a huge booklet, tons of art, all housed in a swank slipcase, with the original cover reproduced, but with all the text in metallic silver...
MPEG Stream: "Healthy Sick"
MPEG Stream: "Soulmate"
MPEG Stream: "True Hardcore"
MPEG Stream: "Jealous Evil"
MPEG Stream: "Pig"

SEBADOH The Sebadoh (Sub Pop / Sire) cd 15.98

SEBADOH The Sebadoh (Sub Pop / Sire) lp 9.98

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Book M (Mimicry) cd 13.98
Of all the post-Mr. Bungle bands featuring its members, the instrumental Secret Chiefs 3 are carrying the torch for what I most enjoyed about Bungle -- their intense love for all kinds of music, and the irrepressible, joyful schizophrenia that results. Like Bungle, who would play carnivalesque songs with ska breaks and heavy metal bridges, Secret Chiefs are similarly manic, inspired and skilled. The Secret Chiefs mainly operate in the realm of "ethnographic forgery" (a la the Sun City Girls and Can), drawing inspiration from Middle Eastern and Indian music (especially Bollywood soundtracks -- they "cover" several Indian film themes here), and the last song is even a cover from one of the Ethiopiques records. They know "il Maestro" Ennio Morricone's soundtrack work so well that spinning out an Italian folk waltz or minor key lament is simply second nature to them. And their occasional use of techno beats, is matched by an obvious love for metal as well, making for some "heavy" moments on this disc. Even the (happily non-annoying) drum'n'bass lasts mere seconds and injects just enough adrenalin into the proceedings.
Secret Chiefs'd like to be as weird and esoteric as the SCGs, and try really hard in the purposefully obtuse liner notes, but let's face it, as great as the Secret Chiefs are, they don't possess the singular sound, feeling and mystery of the Sun City Girls -- instead they're successfully mixing up all those world music influences, Bungle, and the Boredoms.
The band is primarily Mr Bungle alumni Trey Spruance & drummer Danny Heifetz, and along with frequent Sonic Youth collaborator / percussionist William Winant, brilliant violinist Eyvind Kang (a frequent SCGs collaborator, hey) is all over this record. The instrumentation is as wide-ranging as to include dumbek, zils, contrabass, sax, electric sitar, organ, and something called a santur.
A quite satisfying, surprisingly consistent, well-executed album!
RealAudio clip: "Combat for the Angel"
RealAudio clip: "Horsemen of the Invisible"
RealAudio clip: "Safina"
RealAudio clip: "Siege Perilous"

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Book Of Horizons (Mimicry) cd 13.98
The Book Of Horizons is another sonic tome scribed by these occult chieftans, destined for the same library as outre literary works like the Principia Discordia and the sanity-blasting Necronomicon of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. (This just goes in the audio section of said library.) To the uninitiated, we should explain that Secret Chiefs 3 is the arcane alter ego of Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance and others from the same axis of absurdity. Almost all instrumental, imagine some sort of technically insane Middle Eastern surf music, a collision between the Sun City Girls and Fantomas, or a John Zorn-scored soundtrack to some desert epic. Italian horror film music, black metal, and even turntables all enter the mix. In the liner notes, Trey finds it necessary to state: "What you hear is music, not samples"! As always, impressive and inscrutable, even if the mood is occasionally broken by the more incongrous elements. Fans can spend their time listening to this, also attempting to decipher the meaning of the SC3's cryptic Kabbalistic computer graphics and song titles. A five star sequel to the band's previous opus Book M.
MPEG Stream: "The 4 (Great Ishraqi Sun)"
MPEG Stream: "Exterminating Angel"

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Eyes Of Flesh, Eyes Of Flame (Mimicry) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mr. Bungle Fan Alert!! Here's a live recording of this brilliant Bungle side-project, released on guitarist Trey Spruance's new label (and only available via mailorder from their Web of Mimicry website, except that we, being fans of all things Bungle, have it too). Recorded at Slim's, San Francisco by Billy Anderson. Also of note: this features the violin of Eyvind Kang, and a song by Ananda Shankar. Packaged in a cardboard sleeve as part of Web of Mimicry's "nice price" effort I guess.

SECRET CHIEFS 3 First Grand Constitution And Bylaws (Mimicry) cd 13.98
Finally a reissue of the Secret Chiefs (Mr Bungle side project sans Mike Patton) too-long-out-of-print first album! Like a screwy world music, surf band version of Naked City. Contains bonus tracks not on the original version.

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Huroayla: Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws (Amarillo) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Mr. Bungle guys, minus Mike Patton, are back with their second album as the Secret Chiefs 3. Guests include Eyvind Kang and Willie Winant. Weird stuff as you would expect, sorta like avant-garde surf music.

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Hurqalya: Second Grand Constitution And Bylaws (Mimicry) cd 13.98
And the long-awaited reissue of the second cd by members of Mr Bungle (no Mike Patton here, sorry.) Sort of a screwy world music, surf band version of Naked City. Contains bonus tracks not on the original version.

SECRET CHIEFS 3 Path Of Most Resistance (Mimicry) cd 13.98
Monumental. Majestic. Mystical. No, we aren't just launching hyperbole with reckless abandon. Those words really are the norm when describing this elusive, amorphous group. Secret Chiefs 3 are an entity whose works may be 'read' on many levels. The music may be enjoyed by those who adhere to the traditional pop/rock band book of rules... well, to some degree at least. Some may find it downright bizarre and impervious. Daunting, overwhelming even, each album is simply more than can possibly be comprehended in a couple of listens. Such is the case with their latest album Path Of Most Resistance. They refer to it as "an overview of the clandestine movements of this enigmatic group from the USA." In layman's terms it's a compilation of recordings from their four studio releases (Eyes Of Flesh, Eyes Of Flame, Second Grand Constitution And Bylaws, Book M, and Book Of Horizons) which also includes bonus tracks and videos. The eclectic elements of haunting exotica, fiery metal, frantic spaghetti westerns and other far-reaching international inspirations may ring engagingly familiar to the average listener, but master of ceremonies Trey Spruance's musical alchemy is detailed with the most intricately encrypted inscriptions that resonate with deeper, more timeless invocations. if you are an individual so inclined to delve beyond the shimmering surface in pursuit of secret teachings and esoteric knowledge you'll discover SC3 unfolds to reveal many hidden passages and levels of understanding. Interpret it how you will, we're sure each individual will draw radically differing perspectives -- a genuine case of 'what you bring to it will determine what you draw from it'. As with each SC3 album that's come before, the scope of Path Of Most Resistance is vast -- at once both easy and uneasy listening. Spruance is unquestionably one of today's great composers. His compositions are stunningly elaborate and performed with absolute mastery and conviction by his many illustrious collaborators (William Winant, Eyvind Kang, Jesse Quattro, Ches Smith, Tim Smolens, former Mr. Bungle-ists Bar McKinnon, Trevor Dunn and Danny Heifitz among others).
The bonus tracks (covers of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus", "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes And Villains") are strange to say the least. They come across as cracked'n'wonky, less than tight renditions in comparison to the precision, densely packed, composed madness that precedes them. Leaves you wondering if they are simply a chuckle or yet another clue to the SC3 puzzle... or both. Epic.
MPEG Stream: "Ship Of Fools (Stone Of Exile)"
MPEG Stream: "The Owl In Daylight"
MPEG Stream: "Heroes And Villains"

SECRET CHIEFS 3 / JOHN ZORN Xaphan: Book of Angels Volume 9 (Secret Chiefs 3 Plays Masada Book Two) (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Let's state right from the outset that Trey Spruance's musical entity known as Secret Chiefs 3 is simply impossible to nail down and describe. Words really do not do SC3 justice, especially in the case of their latest work -- sprawling in scope, intricate in detail and majestically presented -- but we will make a valiant attempt here. Indeed, adjectives such as magical, mysterious and mind-blowing do apply, however they barely scratch the surface. We'd say 'spectacular' but the folks at Tzadik already beat us to the punch by using it on the cd's obi blurb. On Xaphan they've joined forces with their comrade John Zorn, performing eleven passages from his epic work, Masada Book Two. The eleven players embrace, attack, caress and devour the compositions with an otherworldly zeal. They come together as a single inimitable force, at once seeming absolutely unhinged and utterly in control. The threads of the SC3 aural tapestries are always densely knotted and woven with ace musicianship and from a myriad of disparate styles and inspirations delving into spy thriller soundtracks, exotica, metal, surf, esoteric knowledge and so much more. So it is on Xaphan, and the formidable outcomes may seem impervious to some and electrifyingly listenable to others. Breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Sheburiel"
MPEG Stream: "Barakiel"

SECRET SQUARE (Elephant6) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
a.k.a. Hilarie of the Apples in Stereo.

SECRET SYNTHI Katzchenkollision (Rink-E-Dink) cd 12.98
Secret Synthi are a trio of lo-fi synth'n'guitar pop gals from San Francisco named after an ultra rare, ultra cool synthesizer from the '70s - the Synthi AKS which came contained in its own briefcase-like carrying case. You might recognize its brethren's distinct sounds from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop or the band Yes (who purchased one of the Synthi prototypes back in the day). Anyways gear talk aside, this trio's music is super light and playful. Honey pie girl gang vocals with ample amounts of sass. Kicky, primitive rhythms. A party of keyboards, organs, electric guitar, effects pedals and vintage synths (accompanying the Synthi are a Moog Prodigy, a Sequential Circuits Multi-Trak, the amazing stylophone and of course the ever-present Roland Juno-60). Actually, I was just thinkin' that a picture perfect live extravaganza would be them along with Le Tigre, fellow SF duo the Capricorns and boyish counterparts Postal Service. An engaging album with a lot of fun song titles too... "Alright Mitten Fight"!
MPEG Stream: "Kitty Fang"
MPEG Stream: "Alright Mitten Fight"

SECRETS OF FAMILY HAPPINESS, THE s/t (self-released) cd 9.98

SECTION 25 Always Now (Les Temps Modernes) cd 16.98
Of all of the Factory Records gloom merchants, Section 25 has never really garnered much critical success, yet they won over enough allies (notably Joy Division's Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner) that they were able to last as a self-sustaining project well into the late-80s when they called it quits. Formed in Blackpool by brothers Larry and Vincent Cassidy in 1979, Section 25 was marked by skeletal instrumentation with various emotive patinas that began as post-punk grimness and steadily lightened to a glowing prototype of acid-house (complete with 303 percolations!). "Always Now" -- the group's debut recording released on Factory in 1981 -- falls under the latter camp of lead-colored, death-disco grooves propelled by a spry, if monochromatic rhythm section and jagged swatches of guitar drone. While many of the Factory bands (Crispy Ambulance, Names, Tunnelvision, The Wake, etc.) had been slagged as Joy Division clones, Section 25 admitted their allegiance to Public Image Limited's zenith, "Metal Box" (aka "Second Edition"), even though much of the material from their first EPs were recorded months before Lydon and crew went into the studio. The differences between PiL and SXXV (a nifty shorthand mentioned in their biography by James Nice) are of course noticeable; with Lydon still striving for Situationist revolt through great art and the Cassidy brothers attempting to emote the bleakness of Northern England by hollowing sound as a illusory shadow of music. In essence, Section 25's "Always Now" was an isolationist model for living. It was effective in its bleakness and brilliant in its poetry.
While the Soul Jazz compilation "In The Beginning, There Was Rhythm" offered a solid introduction into the groove-oriented punk of the late '70s / early '80s, its flaws were in its omissions. Fortunately, LTM has kept "Always Now" in print on CD (with tons of extra singles including the Ian Curtis-produced 'Girls Don't Count'), so history may in fact be kind to a band that deserved much better.
RealAudio clip: "Dirty Disco"
RealAudio clip: "Inside Out"
RealAudio clip: "Hit"
RealAudio clip: "New Horizon"
RealAudio clip: "Girls Don't Count"

SECTION 25 From The Hip (Les Temps Modernes) cd 16.98
To mention the terms "new wave" and "80s electro" these days will undoubtedly prompt images of Fischerspooner, Adult., The Faint, and other bands with a flashy sense of style, undercurrents of anxiety, and an effectively punishing use of roboto-rhythms. Yet, most of these bands have fixated upon a specific strain of retro-garde historicism, which has the unintended result of disregarding other variations of what "new wave" and "80s electro" meant back in the day. Contrary to the impression that the electronic aftermath of punk was always abrasive, intense, and angular, there were dozens of bands which softened their once bleak image (perhaps due to commercial pressure or shifting artistic temperament). One such band was Section 25, whose preceeding albums "Always Now" and "The Key of Dreams" had been spartan productions of death disco born out of urban blight. "From The Hip" -- the band's third album -- was a considerable departure towards more commercial waters with fluffy if slightly moody synth driven pop matched by proto-twee male / female vocals. It may have been the band's biggest commercial success but clearly wasn't as adventurous as their earlier records. Rather this is more on par the idea of "new wave" and "80s electro" that would draw comparisons to Human League, Thompson Twins, Bronski Beat, and Erasure.
RealAudio clip: "Reflection"
RealAudio clip: "Program For Light"
RealAudio clip: "Looking From A Hilltop (Restructure)"

SECTION 25 So Far (LTM) dvd 32.00

SECTION 25 The Key of Dreams (Les Temps Modernes) cd 17.98

SEE SAW Magnetophone (Simple Machines) cd 14.98
One man with a four-track and a crappy casio keyboard. Lush and lofi (sorry!) At the same time; reminiscent of early Sebadoh in a good way. Not to be confused with Bay Area band Sea Saw, who have obligingly changed their name to Swandive.

SEEDS The Seeds / A Web Of Sound (Edsel) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Everyone should own these two records. If you don't already have them you should get this new reissue of both on one cd. The fucking kings of garage. The Seeds are tough and menacing with sneering vocals and a rad style. They are one of the all time great US garage bands of the mid '60s.
RealAudio clip: "Pushin Too hard"
RealAudio clip: "Cant Seem to Make You Mine"

SEEFEEL (Ch-Vox) (Rephlex) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New six-track Seefeel.

SEEFEEL Quique (Redux Edition) (Too Pure) 2cd 14.98
We made this reissue a Record Of The Week back on list 265... then Too Pure let it go out of print again! But now, wisely, they've just repressed it and we happily have it back in stock. If you missed it before, please read on to find out why picked it as a ROTW:
God, we love this record! We've never stopped loving it. In its fourteen years of existence, it's never sounded tired or dated. Can't say that for a whole lot of other electronica records. So we are really glad to see our good old friend back in print again with this super nice 2cd deluxe re-issue. If you missed this the first time around, then you are in for a real treat, and if you bought this the first time around, you may just need to buy it again to get the whole extra disc of unreleased tracks and alternate mixes. We have been playing this daily since we got it, and we're surprised how many folks have never heard of Seefeel or experienced their incredible ocean of sound.
So what is all the fuss about, you say?
Well, Seefeel at their peak were one of the main players that spawned the nineties electronica genre, at a time when there were only Dance and Rock sections in most music stores. Their sound was a delirious mash-up between the shoe-gazing swirl of My Bloody Valentine, the machinic rhythm programming of Autechre, the ambient chill of Aphex Twin and the driving pulse of Stereolab, with an early hint toward the looping repetitions of William Basinski. They bridged ambient techno and indie rock by foregoing rock music's verse and chorus structures in favor of beats and loops wrapped inside icy motorik rhythms, industrial whirs, blurbs of female vocals and dubby bass lines. Like the best work of minimal composers, Seefeel's long-form compositions create a warmly hypnotic form of static movement that refused to fit neatly into music for either dance floors or chill out lounges.
Quique was their head-turning debut following two EP releases featuring remixes by Aphex Twin. That connection surely gained them a bigger following, but Seefeel was always one of those bands that should have been bigger. Of course such a potent and influential debut would lead to many of their contemporaries, bands such as Bowery Electric, Labradford, Boards Of Canada and Flying Saucer Attack, to take Seefeel's initial explorations in sound further into Post-Rock, Trip Hop, IDM and Neo-Psych territories, leaving Seefeel at a bit of a loss for a follow-up. Signing to Warp, they delved further into a dark ambient direction in the vein of groups like Main, Ice and Scorn, that was just too stark for a wider audience to appreciate. They put out two more albums before splintering off into various side projects such as Scala, Disjecta and Sneakster.
The bonus disc contains six previously unreleased tracks, and three alternate mixes from a limited white label 12" and two ambient compilations. Out of the unreleased tracks, "Clique" sounds like it just barely missed the cut from the original album line-up while "Silent Pool" is a longer version of Quique's closing track "Signals". "My Super 20" and "Is It Now?" are long beat-less swims that are a warmer hint at their future direction and the two other unreleased tracks are versions of opening track "Climatic Phase #3, and "Time to Find Me" from their first EP. It might sound like at first listen that there is some repetition between the two discs, but it's really more in line with classic ambient music's infatuation with the Dub tradition of versioning, the adding or removing of various elements in a song to give it a totally different spin. Each version really does give a different feel even if the basic structures seem similar. Seriously, the second disc is just more of what you love already, and gives us a little more of the stuff we've been missing for ages.
Listening to Quique fourteen years later, it has lost none of its powerful splendor and warmly chilled charm. Add this to the list of favorite one record bands like My Bloody Valentine and Stone Roses. So Amazingly Awesome!!!! Reissue of the year so far and so totally recommended!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Climatic Phase #3"
MPEG Stream: "Plainsong"
MPEG Stream: "Filter Dub "
MPEG Stream: "Signals"

SEESSELBERG Synthetik 1 (Plate Lunch) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Obscure reissues like this really make our day. This disc brings to light German brothers Eckhart und Wolf-J.'s experiments in instrumental electronic music circa 1971-73, a la early Kraftwerk, Kluster, Conrad Schnitzler, and the Silver Apples... Short, freeky pieces done with home-built synths in some Dusseldorf basement. Give me weirdo D.I.Y. krautrock electronics like this over the output of today's laptop dorks any day!
MPEG Stream: "Overture - Jeder Ist Heutzutage Glucklich"
MPEG Stream: "Speedy Achmed"

SEKKUTSU JEAN s/t (Magaibutsu) cd 13.98
There's been an onslaught of Ruins-related releases on Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida's Magaibutsu label this week, folks!! Here's one from a brand-new band formation we'd never heard of before, Sekkutsu Jean, an improvising duo featuring Yoshida on drums, keyboard and vocals, and Sato Kenji on bass, cello, and voice. The results are most often SUPER distorted and heavy and fierce. Some of this reminds us a bit of some real old Ruins stuff, when they went for the ultra-dirty fuzz bass sound on such albums as Infect and Stonehenge. Total blurting bass bludgeon. Other parts are more "jazz", or even "classical" oriented, with droning sawing strings battling Yoshida's drum battery, or accompanying his keyboard lines. And then there's things that we can't even begin to classify, like track six, "Wihytcujmo", which is based around a drum machine beat and vicious cello bowing. Overall, this is some seriously mean stuff, without the strain of goofiness that oftentimes shows up in other Yoshida-related improv projects. There's 19 slices of killer improv weirdness here, with easy-to-remember titles like "Ghijuhnkkumn" and "Qyxoichdbihm" and "Bysjiahvoskkn"!! Over the course of all these tracks, there's a lot of creativity and intensity. Recommended.
And as with all of this new batch of Magaibutsu discs, this comes packaged in a handsome tri-fold full-color cardboard cd sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Ftohkmofhtt"
MPEG Stream: "Wihytcujmo"

SELDA s/t (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 14.98
Oh Selda! We are soooooooo in love with your voice! We first heard you on the amazing Love Peace and Poetry compilation of Turkish psychedelic music and ever since then, we just wanted more more more! Last year we got our Selda fix with a collection of vinyl transfers released by World Psychedelia, and now finally we get another full serving of Selda that we've so desperately been craving! No surprise that the fine folks with impeccable taste at B-Music/Finders Keepers are responsible for this amazing collection of Selda at her best! With a singular voice that demands and grabs your attention with such utter flare, seduction and style, Selda is truly a musical treasure who we're sure will win the ears and hearts of just about anyone who listens. Every song has a rich musical backdrop, perfectly cradling her lovely vocals, with a sound that has no easy genre lines to point to, but that so few have touched on with such perfection. It's psych-rock and glorious pop, it's folk and funk, it's fun and dramatic, its whatever it wants to be, and it's a collection of songs with absolutely no misses! There is a playfulness in the performances that totally imbue the songs with a rich full color fever that just can't be denied. While some reissues exist more for history's sake or for just a couple cool tracks, this is one of those records that requires repeated listening, and lord knows we have listened to this over and over and over. In some ways we even think of Selda like a Turkish version of Asha Bhosle, with that sort of amazing voice that turns everything it touches into musical magic.
Way beyond recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Ince Ince"
MPEG Stream: "Yaylalar"
MPEG Stream: "Karaoglan"