20 MINUTE LOOP s/t cd 9.98
If you were to combine the energy and raw emotion of P.J. Harvey or Ani Difranco, the pacing and melodic swoops of the Throwing Muses, and the boy/girl vocals of the late P.E.E., you just might find 20 Minute Loop in your ears. If this sounds pleasing, you should definitely check out the debut album from this Bay Area group.

20 MINUTE LOOP Yawn + House = Explosion (Fortune) cd 13.98
20 Minute Loop have made absolute leaps and bounds since their sophomore release back in 2001... heck, that album, Decline of Day, was already pretty damn good! For one thing they've polished their boy / girl vocals to an utter golden honeyed glow and lushed up the whole 20ML picture. Just check out the second song "Cora May"! A terrific pop tune! Indeed, this album does much to define their own sound from those who've influenced the band which in the past were much more apparent -- namely Throwing Muses and Breeders. Really, Yawn + House = Explosion should garner the band total 'college radio darling' status! Yay!
MPEG Stream: "Cora May"
MPEG Stream: "5 AM To 9 AM"

200 YEARS s/t (Drag City) cd 14.98
Here we have, well let's call it a "couple project", combining the talents of Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and Elisa Ambrogio (Magic Markers). What's that gonna sound like, you may wonder? Well it's a lot more on the gentle folky Six Organs side of things, that is, not at all noisy like MM can be. Acoustic guitars all the way. So, kinda like a mellow Six Organs, but with female vocals. A lot's gonna depend on how you feel about Ambrogio's singing. Her voice is perfectly fine, and intimately recorded, with a weariness to her delivery, and a bit of girlish affectation, not necessarily like what we remember from Magik Markers, though they did get more tuneful on 2007's Boss at least. And her singing is the prime focus here, with the pleasant guitars more of an accompaniment.
Let's just say this is very "coffee house" sounding. Nice music and all, if perhaps not the most interesting or out-there Six Organs related thing we've ever heard. But give the sound samples a listen, maybe you'll be in the mood for the languid strum and sweet singing here, if you're a Six Organs fan or otherwise.
MPEG Stream: "Wild White"
MPEG Stream: "West Hartford"
MPEG Stream: "Bees"

200 YEARS s/t (Drag City) lp 17.98
Here we have, well let's call it a "couple project", combining the talents of Ben Chasny (Six Organs Of Admittance) and Elisa Ambrogio (Magic Markers). What's that gonna sound like, you may wonder? Well it's a lot more on the gentle folky Six Organs side of things, that is, not at all noisy like MM can be. Acoustic guitars all the way. So, kinda like a mellow Six Organs, but with female vocals. A lot's gonna depend on how you feel about Ambrogio's singing. Her voice is perfectly fine, and intimately recorded, with a weariness to her delivery, and a bit of girlish affectation, not necessarily like what we remember from Magik Markers, though they did get more tuneful on 2007's Boss at least. And her singing is the prime focus here, with the pleasant guitars more of an accompaniment.
Let's just say this is very "coffee house" sounding. Nice music and all, if perhaps not the most interesting or out-there Six Organs related thing we've ever heard. But give the sound samples a listen, maybe you'll be in the mood for the languid strum and sweet singing here, if you're a Six Organs fan or otherwise.
MPEG Stream: " Wild White"
MPEG Stream: "West Hartford"
MPEG Stream: "Bees"

23 SKIDOO Coup / The Gospel Comes To New Guinea (Ronin) 12" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The seminal experimental funk outfit 23 Skidoo has finally re-released their mid-'80s single "Coup." Not long ago the Chemical Brothers sampled the funky rhythm on "Coup", but avoided giving 23 Skidoo any money by re-programming the rhythm digitally, which somehow exempted them from having to actually license the sample. Lame! (Obviously, I'm biased as I can't stand the Chemical Brothers *and* have never felt that 23 Skidoo received due credit for having created some of the most adventurous albums to come out of the '80s.)
23 Skidoo's music lies somewhere between the sonic experimentation found in the primitive electronics of early Industrial Culture (especially Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, and early Current 93) and the spartan New York funk of Liquid Liquid and ESG. 23 Skidoo themselves said it best when they defined their sound as "Urban Gamelan" (using this term to title one of their albums).
On this 12", the a-side "Coup" actually falls a little flat in relation to their preceding work, as the angular slap bass lines and punchy rhythmic stabs are far too obvious for 23 Skidoo's bizarre production. However, "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea" finds the group at their finest with a simple dark bass line driving through complex percussion and a haunted trumpet floating in the distance. This puts contemporary postrock/electronica darlings like Fridge and Four Tet to shame! DJs, please pick this up.

23 SKIDOO Seven Songs (Ronin) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
You may be familiar with hyperbole like "this is one of my favorite records" popping up throughout the our reviews and you may wonder if that declaration really means anything. Obviously, there are many of us who write this list with lots of opinions as to what "the best record ever" truly is. Yet, I (Jim) have tried to steer clear of hyperbole (well, most of the time), partially because my personal tastes have been known to change over time, but more importantly because nobody has made a record that is better than The Conet Project! Nevertheless, I am breaking my own self-imposed rule in stating that 23 Skidoo's "Seven Songs" is one of my favorite records ever. I feel confident in such an assessment since this record (which I first picked up seven or eight years ago) still kicks my ass almost a decade later!
While electronica darlings like Andrew Weatherall, The Chemical Brothers, and Gilles Peterson all proclaim "Coup" as the pinnacle of 23 Skidoo's catalogue, I boldly mutter "Hogwash! 'Seven Songs' is easily 23 Skidoo's best work!" 23 Skidoo recorded this album during a three day period in 1981 with production by "Tony, Terry, and David" (aka Genesis P-Orridge, Peter Christopherson, and Ken Thomas). With those three behind the mixing board, 23 Skidoo obviously enjoys a similiar spirit of sonic experimentation as invoked by the founders of Industrial Culture. Yet, 23 Skidoo also employs the death-disco of PiL, A Certain Ratio, and Gang of Four, often played on homemade junkyard instruments built to replicate Indonesian gamelan. This bizarre hybridization of styles has few if any parallels, but 23 Skidoo's eclecticism and experimentation are never so alien as to not also be funky, melodic, and infectiously catchy.
Just as Windy places Os Mutantes near the top of her musical pantheon, Andee proudly proclaims his infatuation with Hanoi Rocks, and Allan drools over all things Magma, I say that if you're at all like me, you won't be disappointed by 23 Skidoo's "Seven Songs"!
RealAudio clip: "IY"
RealAudio clip: "Porno Bass"
RealAudio clip: "Vegas el Bandito"

23 SKIDOO The Culling Is Coming (LTM) cd 17.98
Dating back to 1983, The Culling Is Coming was originally released on the L.A.Y.L.A.H. label, which also released some of the strongest work from Current 93, Coil, Laibach, and The Hafler Trio. This 23 Skidoo album stands as a notable detour from their martial rhythms fused with agitated, post-punk funk which found them lumped in with the likes of The Pop Group, Cabaret Voltaire, and Hula. One of those albums clearly based on the vinyl medium, The Culling Is Coming was split between two 23 minute sides featuring sprawling abstractions that were alternately meditative and aggressive. The first of which featured 23 Skidoo members / brothers Alex & Johnny Turnbull performing on the gamelan at the Dartington Music College, and then taking the results back into the studio to be put into a more coherent composition. While they cite the instrumentation as being Balinese, the first passage of this piece is clearly Javanese in nature with interlocking bells, kendangs, and gongs repeating a simple decending melody whilst the rhythmic structure varies in speed. Given the instrumentation, Balinese references do become evident later on; but at the same time also speak of Harry Partch's handmade percussive compositions. Over 23 minutes, this track gradually devolves into a dreamy collage of quietly resonating gongs. The second piece is a live recording at the WOMAD festival in 1982, which found Current 93's David Tibet making a guest appearance on the Tibetan trumpet. Defying the crowd who were expecting the disfigured funk found on Seven Songs, 23 Skidoo improvised around multiple tape loops, metallic percussion, and slabs of dissonant noise. The Culling Is Coming did enjoy a CD release over a decade ago, but LTM's re-issue features an equally long and confrontational track which was taken from the backing tapes that 23 Skidoo used during their 1982 tour with Cabaret Voltaire. Not for the faint of heart.
MPEG Stream: "G-2 Contemplation"
MPEG Stream: "Invocation"
MPEG Stream: "Move Back - Bite Harder"

23 SKIDOO The Gospel Comes To New Guinea (Ronin) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
23 Skidoo's agenda throughout the early to mid '80s took a number of drastic turns, which are clearly manifest in "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea," a collection of rarities, compilation tracks, and singles dating back to that time period. The band presented throughout that time as a musical aggregate of rough-hewn disco, punk aggression, ghostly dub schizophonia, and a unique ethnomusicology of Afro-funk and Javanese gamelan. Their musical productions were tempered not only by a leftist radicalism against the '80s Tory politics, but also by a desire to destabilize the orientalist traditions of Victorian England which liberally appropriated from any number of former British colonies. As World Music entered the general consciousness as a smiley-happy repackaging of indigenous populations as noble savages making romantic music, 23 Skidoo plunged much deeper and darker into the realms of the sublime with their death disco grooves thickened by eerie backing tapes, dynamic percussion, and spidery guitars.
That said, their very first single "Ethics" (which is the finale to this compilation) shows the vast distances they travelled in order to get to their masterpiece, the "Seven Songs" album. It's a pleasant late '70s punk tune, obviously influenced by Buzzcocks, Fast Records productions, and "Boys Don't Cry" era Cure. But in less than a year, 23 Skidoo had ventured though skittering, dub influenced punked-disco found on the "Last Days" single to get to the ominous track "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea," built on a undulating menace from a relentless bassline that simply alternates between two notes, alongside haunting trumpet bleatings and a taut percussive groove worthy of comparisons to Fela Kuti or Tony Allen. The "Tearing Up The Plans" EP from 1982 is also included in its entirety, paralleling the sound on "The Gospel" with even greater emphasis on anxiety and dis-ease.
1984 proved to be a big turning point for 23 Skidoo as they released the "Coup" single, a track that found them firmly engaging a friendly funk that mirrored the '80s productions of Adrian Sherwood. It's funky, it's dumb, it was their biggest hit. After this, 23 Skidoo faltered pretty severely into a well polished drum machine 'n' sample sound that doesn't even come close to the brilliance of their earlier work. Fortunately, this compilation only has a couple of these mid-'80s disasters, and has enough fantastic tracks to warrant the price of admission, even if you have to skip a couple of the duds in the middle.
RealAudio clip: "The Gospel Comes To New Guinea"
RealAudio clip: "Gregouka"

23 SKIDOO Urban Gamelan (Ronin) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Originally released on LP back in 1984 on Illuminated Records, and only seeing a few seconds of shelf life as a cd re-issue in the early '90s, "Urban Gamelan" is the aptly named third album from 23 Skidoo, back again on cd! This British trio developed one of the most unique sounds to evolve from the UK's Industrial Culture -- which was self-consciously aware of its actions as critiques of control and power within Thatcherite society. Unlike Psychic TV and Coil who offered an aesthetic of extroverted abjection and vile transgressions (often to amazing results, mind you), 23 Skidoo embraced something like a bunker mentality, by preparing themselves with both body and mind for the possibility of a future attack, but more likely in defense of their own personal agendas. The group -- Fritz Catlin, Alex Turnbull, and Johnny Turnbull -- studied various martial arts along with the then little heard sounds of Indonesian gamelan. Unable to get a hold of a true gamelan (except for a Kendang), 23 Skidoo built their own out of scrap metal, kitchen wares, and water jugs. Their personal discipline from their martial arts training made for an easy transition in terms of mastering the fluid, yet complex rhythms that made for an excellent junkyard replication of true Indonesian gamelan.
"Urban Gamelan" finds 23 Skidoo addressing two distinct aesthetics, the first being their post-apocalyptic funk (which had been previously mapped out on their first album "Seven Songs") and the second emphatically pronouncing their faux-gamelan sound. The album in fact begins with a remix / reworking of their hit single "Coup," which has had the infamy of getting ripped off by the Chemical Brothers. Driven by counterpoints of bass and distant bursts of haunted trumpets, the first half of the album recalls some of Pop Group's dub fuckery, with an inclination for a more natural funk. 23 Skidoo then drops all of the electric instruments for an exhibition of their complete gamelan repetoire. If you ever thought that Einsturzende Neubauten or Test Dept. needed to get their groove on, then you definitely need to check out 23 Skidoo. The 23 Skidoo reissues may be some of the most important to come out this year. It will be well worth your while to check these out!!!
RealAudio clip: "F.U.G.I."
RealAudio clip: "Jalan Jalan"
RealAudio clip: "Language Dub"
RealAudio clip: "Urban Gamelan 1"

24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (SOUNDTRACK) (London) cd 26.00
This is the companion disc to the film "24 Hour Party People" which is a narrative telling of the Factory Records saga and the Manchester sound, and which premiered at Cannes. Most of you are probably already familiar with the signature sound of the era (and if you aren't then this is a nice sampler to jumpstart with), so we'll skip the basics to ask the questions we're all thinking: "Who the heck is going to play Ian Curtis? Is there going to be a Mark E. Smith impersonator?"
With 17 classic tracks from Happy Mondays, Joy Division, New Order, 808 State, Durutti Column, Buzzcocks, and more. Besides the tried and true (which have all been released before, but still sound amazing!), there's also one new song by New Order (it's the first soundclip below) and a ill-advised Moby mix of a live version of Joy Division's "New Dawn Fades" played by New Order, the Chili Peppers' John Frusciante and Smashing Munchkins' Billy Corgan. Pages and pages of liner notes written by Factory co-founder / Hacienda club co-owner Tony Wilson himself.
The website for the film is pretty interesting, lots of interviews and articles exclusive to the site: http://217.204.45.80/main.php.
RealAudio clip: NEW ORDER "Here To Stay"
RealAudio clip: JOY DIVISION "Love Will Tear Us Apart Again"
RealAudio clip: DURUTTI COLUMN "Otis"

27 Songs From The Edge Of The Wing (Release) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Delicate post-rockisms falling much closer to the Louisville sound (especially For Carnation) than the Chicago fusion sound. Comes in a gorgeous letter-pressed sleeve.

28TH DAY The Complete Recordings (Innerstate) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The '80s and a good portion of the '90s were, for a lot of people, all about indie rock. And 28th Day were right there laying down some of the most bright and lively tracks of the mid '80s, alongside other pioneers like REM and the Replacements, Beat Happening and the Rain Parade. Comprised of the effervescent Barbara Manning on bass, Cole Marquis (Snowmen) on guitar, and present day DIW label / magazine impressario Mike Cloward, 28th Day hailed from Chico, CA and this album contains all of their recordings plus 4 previously unreleased live tracks and 3 previously unreleased demos. Fans of Barbara Manning will find this amped-up, electrified indie rock a welcome addition to the sweeter, purer material found on her later recordings. Furious guitar strumming, a hint of paisley underground psychedelia... some have compared their sound to the British folk rockers Trees.
MPEG Stream: "Pages Turn"
MPEG Stream: "25 Pills"

2ND GEN Flicknives cd 14.98

2UP Teenage Mondo Trash (Ache) cd 14.98

3 HUR-EL Hurel Arsivi (World Psychedelia Ltd.) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The early nineties saw the big Krautrock revival, while more recently we've seen waves of interest in Swedish psychedelic folk reissues and Latin American garage rock of the sixties. But maybe now the next big old thing is '60s-'70s Middle Eastern psychedelic pop music. Really, soon we're gonna have to dedicate a bin here in the store for all the great (and popular) reissues that have been coming out lately, from the "Turkish Delights" and "Hava Narghile" compilations to albums by The Devil's Anvil and John Berberian's Rock East Ensemble, and most recently Erkin Koray's "Elektronik Turkuler".
Now, here's another one for that bin! It's apparently the second album from the three Hur-el brothers (Feridun, Onur, and Haldun), recorded between 1970 and 1975. A rare LP indeed, the original Diskotur pressing worth $1000+ today we're told. Dunno about that, but it's definitely worth eighteen bucks if you're into the undeniably kick-ass combination of traditional Turkish folk styles with the rock n' roll licks of the West. Middle Easternized rollicking pop rock with acid fuzz guitar and electric piano, plus Eastern ethnic percussion and stringed instruments, and emotive vocals in Turkish. Yup, 3 Hur-el play music that's been called "ethno-psychedelic" and "the heavy hashish sound"...real nice. One of the tracks here also appeared on the "Love Peace & Poetry: Asian Psychedelia" compilation. They also have a track on that "Hava Narghile" comp, but that was from an early single, not this album.
MPEG Stream: "Canim Kurban"
MPEG Stream: "Omur Biter Yol Bitmez"

3 HUR-EL Hurel Arsivi (Guerssen) lp 26.00
Now available on vinyl!
The early nineties saw the big Krautrock revival, while more recently we've seen waves of interest in Swedish psychedelic folk reissues and Latin American garage rock of the sixties. But maybe now the next big old thing is '60s-'70s Middle Eastern psychedelic pop music. Really, soon we're gonna have to dedicate a bin here in the store for all the great (and popular) reissues that have been coming out lately, from the Turkish Delights and Hava Narghile"compilations to albums by The Devil's Anvil and John Berberian's Rock East Ensemble, and most recently Erkin Koray's Elektronik Turkuler.
Now, here's another one for that bin! It's apparently the second album from the three Hur-el brothers (Feridun, Onur, and Haldun), recorded between 1970 and 1975. A rare LP indeed, the original Diskotur pressing worth $1000+ today we're told. Dunno about that, but it's definitely worth eighteen bucks if you're into the undeniably kick-ass combination of traditional Turkish folk styles with the rock n' roll licks of the West. Middle Easternized rollicking pop rock with acid fuzz guitar and electric piano, plus Eastern ethnic percussion and stringed instruments, and emotive vocals in Turkish. Yup, 3 Hur-el play music that's been called "ethno-psychedelic" and "the heavy hashish sound"...real nice. One of the tracks here also appeared on the Love Peace & Poetry: Asian Psychedelia"compilation. They also have a track on that Hava Narghile comp, but that was from an early single, not this album.
MPEG Stream: "Canim Kurban"
MPEG Stream: "Omur Biter Yol Bitmez"

3 HUR-EL s/t (World Psychedelia Ltd) cd 17.98
Turkish psych fans! Here's another one for ya. We've already given the thumbs up to the wonderful Hurel Arsivi album from the Hur-el brothers. Now we've got a cd reissue of their first album, a self-titled longplayer from 1972. It's just as 'exotic' as Hurel Arsivi, but less overtly rock n' roll, being even more ethnic in flavor -- though it's very far from a purely traditional Turkish music recording! There's definitely Western '60s rock influences, but don't expect much in the way of heavy guitar fuzz-fests. Rather, you'll groove to a infectious rhythmic feast with melodious singing that's rooted in 'old school' Middle Eastern music but has a cool sixties pop-era vibe as well.
The sonorous vocals (all in Turkish) are highlighted, backed by every hipster's 'oriental' beat fantasy. 3 Hur-el are equally effective when playing uptempo dances, or much slower, moodier numbers, so the whole disc's a treat.
MPEG Stream: "Ve Olum"
MPEG Stream: "Lazoglu"

3 HUR-EL s/t (Guerssen) lp 26.00
NOW BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! Turkish psych fans! The first album from the Hur-el brothers, a self-titled longplayer from 1972. It's just as 'exotic' as Hurel Arsivi, but less overtly rock n' roll, being even more ethnic in flavor - though it's very far from a purely traditional Turkish music recording! There's definitely Western '60s rock influences, but don't expect much in the way of heavy guitar fuzz-fests. Rather, you'll groove to a infectious rhythmic feast with melodious singing that's rooted in 'old school' Middle Eastern music but has a cool sixties pop-era vibe as well.
The sonorous vocals (all in Turkish) are highlighted, backed by every hipster's 'oriental' beat fantasy. 3 Hur-el are equally effective when playing uptempo dances, or much slower, moodier numbers, so the whole disc's a treat.
MPEG Stream: "Ve Olum"
MPEG Stream: "Lazoglu"

3 INCHES OF BLOOD Fire Up The Blades (Roadrunner) cd 14.98
Right from the majestic, martial instrumental intro of "Through The Horned Gate" that begins this album, it's clear that the return of 3 Inches Of Blood is also the return of true, speedy, spikes n' leather metal in an updated '80s vein, hypercharged with aggressive modern metalcore technology. It's all about relentless shrieking, Maidenesque guitar frenzies, and song titles like "Night Marauders" and "Demon's Blade". Total galloping speed metal mayhem, and then some. It's like Judas Priest's Painkiller as performed by Converge!
Of course, 3 Inches Of Blood aren't the only band these days looking back to the glory days of the '80s for (ironic?) metal inspiration. But this Vancouver sextet is one of the best, most wholehearted, and surprisingly successful sales-wise (among North American bands anyway -- and this is way cooler than Dragonforce) and also have their own unique approach to this sound, which can be ascribed both to their hardcore heritage and to the presence of two vocalists (that's all they do!) in the band, doubling up on the mics, one a long-haired, raspy-but-melodic high-end falsetto specialist, the other short-haired one dealing in growlier throat abuse. And they kinda need two singers/screamers to compete with all the dual guitar fireworks going off around them.
Fire Up The Blades is a fine follow up to their breakthrough second album Advance and Vanquish, and is also already a definite headbanging AQ fave. We're into what seems to be an extra dose of, uh, rock n' roll riffage here -- there's some cowbell happenin' too. But it's still all pretty much rockin' at 150mph, pedal to the metal. This is one fierce, energetic album! For fans of everything from Accept to Children Of Bodom to Laaz Rockit to Darkest Hour to Lizzie Borden to Mastodon to Metal Church... gotta highlight this, as the FUN, fist-in-the-air quotient compared to some of the grim black metal we're always recommending is extremely high.
MPEG Stream: "The Great Hall Of Feasting"
MPEG Stream: "Trial Of Champions"

3 LEAFS Canal Smarts (self-released) lp 14.98
Latest from these San Francisco psychedelic space rockers, and yet another record that has us wondering what it is exactly that keeps these guys from being huge. Sure here at aQ, we sell TONS of 3 Leafs records, but they've yet to start getting the sort of broader attention bestowed on many of their spacey / psychedelic brethren. Carlton Melton, Wooden Shjips, White Hills, Burnt Hills, etc. If you're into ANY of those bands, or just into space rock and psych rock and have somehow managed to miss out on these guys, now's the time to remedy that. And Canal Smarts is as good a place to start as any. With the band expanded to a sextet, including Anthony from Ezeetiger, Tim Cohen of the Fresh & Onlys, and Chris Cones, Canal Smarts starts things off with a sidelong slowburn sprawl, that might be the best thing we've heard from these guys yet. A thick crunchy bassline is looped and sent drifting into the ether, the drums are super minimal, a skittery shuffle, the guitars aren't riffing or chugging, instead they're emitting clouds of vaporous drift, of crystalline shimmer, and blurred chordal whir, the whole thing laced with intercepted cell phone calls, of what sounds like whirring organs, the mix heavily panned so sounds seems to be drifting from speaker to speaker, there are vocals too, some ethereal and angelic, others reverbed and croony, and throughout, there seems to be a miasma of random sounds, voices, percussion, strange production, random FX, a heady blurred swirl of droned out psychedelia, that seems to us like one of those long form Miles Davis space-jazz mega jams reimagined via modern psychedelic drug rock. There also seems to be a bit of Necks going on, that same sort of super minimal looped jazziness, mesmerizing and hypnotic, repetitive and circular, the sidelong epic unfurling as a slowly building sonic smoldering, that spends its second half winding down, becoming more spare and sparse, the rhythms fragmenting, much of the effects heavy atmospheres dissipating, leaving something almost poppy, with some proper vocals, a sort of slow motion psych pop drift, that disappears into a cloud of tangled melody and gradually fading shimmer. And that's just the A side!
The flipside starts off with the oddly titled "Guacamole Window" (the band seem to have a thing for goofy titles), a surprisingly propulsive jam, urgent busy bassline over a skittery rhythmic shuffle forming the framework, while the rest of the band fill the rest of the space, with wildly looped samples, dense swirls of FX, clipped vox, plenty of industrial whir, more vocals, which give the song an almost old school post punk vibe, there are tangles of psyche guitar in there too, but so doused in effects they barely sound like guitars, spidery melodies underpin the proceedings, and near the song's end, the guitars grow more distorted and angular, the bass even buzzier and busier, the vocals sent careening back and forth, distorted and dubbed out, the song finishing off in a blaze of wild sonic chaos. And then finally, the comparatively low key title track finishes things off, with a slithery funky bassline, plenty of heavily effected percussion, and more vocals, another chunk of abstract psych pop, that seems to slowly coming apart, a dubbed out bit of psychedelic minimalism, that mixes classic melodies with fluttery dubbed out effects, guitars drift in and out, the whole thing delightfully druggy and dreamy, and the perfect spacey wind-down.
Yet another kick ass record from 3 Leafs, with apparently another one on the way any day now! We can't recommend these guys, or this record, highly enough, especially for all of you into spacey psych (and we know that's a LOT of you), and who knows, maybe this will be the record that finally pushes them to the next level. But heck, if not this one, maybe the next one, or the next one, or the next one...
LIMITED TO 250 COPIES, each one hand numbered!
MPEG Stream: "Apprentice Destroyer"
MPEG Stream: "Guacamole Window"

3 LEAFS Eat The Earth (self-released) cd-r 9.98
We've been waiting for this one for a while now. The infamous, and much talked about "mushroom record" from this SF improv psychedelic space rock collective. So called, because the entire thing was conceived, created, performed AND recorded while the entire band was under the influence of magic mushrooms.
Close to 40 minutes (edited down from much more than that, although it's unclear whether it was also edited in the same state), of gorgeous, tripped out, abstract psychedelia, sprawling swirls of kosmische drift, all blurred guitars, krautrock like pulses, streaks of druggy FX, throbbing propulsive bass, equal parts total spaced out ambience, and head nodding hypnotic motorik churn, the opening track "Fahren Bei Tag", starts off with nearly 5 minutes of hazy atmospheric exploration, before the drums finally kick in, and it's another minute or two before the band lock into a serious cosmic kraut groove, but when they do, it's exultant, the pulsing bass and stripped down drumming, surrounded by gorgeous peals of fragmented melody, thick corrosive swells of undulating high end, grinding chunks of feedback drenched chordal buzz, all winding down after about 13 minutes, leading directly into a bit of super melodic Neu! worship, with some washed out swirl and shimmer and a playful meditative main melody, this time the vibe much more new age-y and drifty, sun dappled and dreamy, the warm processed guitars conjuring up a lush layered bed of rapid pulses, over which synths whir and warble, and that main melody drifts on and on.
The title track, clocking in at 13+ minutes, is definitely the record's centerpiece, a dark brooding epic, haunting and otherworldly. The rhythm skeletal and spare, the wheezing keyboards hovering amidst rubbery basslines and glitch electronics, the vibe very gothic and gloomy, but shot through with bits of melody and light, it's a slow build, but not in the traditional sense, it doesn't get louder or heavier so much as subtly more intense, totally hypnotic and mesmerizing, the core sounds soon joined by bird calls and other field recordings, strange burbling liquids (bongs perhaps?), swooping streaks of electronics and processed effects, it sounds like it could have gone on for another 13 minutes (and probably did).
The final track, is another organ driven droner, dark and dense and deep, the drums more free and skittery, everything muted and washed out, the organs doing most of the melodic heavy lifting, and much of the textural as well, the bass thick and ropy, anchoring the whole thing, keeping it from drifting off into the stratosphere. Warm and whirring, dreamily druggy and so so good.
We tend to love everything 3 Leafs does, but this might just be their best. Although we can't vouch for how it sounds when listened to on mushrooms as well. Guess we'll leave that up to some of you out there.
Featuring members of the Fresh & Onlys, Tussle, Horn Of Dagoth, Amocoma, Citay and a bunch more. And most definitely recommended for fans of Expo 70, White Hills, the Heads, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, Bardo Pond, Eternal Tapestry, Sleepy Sun, Burnt Hills, Gnod and other practitioners of modern kraut / space / psych. And it's probably pretty dang limited too...
MPEG Stream: "Puppies On Parade"
MPEG Stream: "We Eat The Earth"

3 LEAFS En Super Forme (self-released) cd-r 6.98
We gave away a handful of these on Record Store Day, the most recent release from local SF psychedelic space rock minimalists 3 Leafs, and if you came by aQ on the Sunday after RSD, you might have caught them performing live in the shop (with a very special guest for part of the show, one year old Brix on the keyboard). But if you missed out on the free copies, and seeing 3 Leaves live, fear not, we now have copies for sale of En Super Forme, a live set recorded back in 2011 at Amnesia, right down the street from aQ. And while most 3 Leafs records are recorded live, and are thus essentially live records, much editing is involved before we get to lay our ears on it. So it's exciting to hear what these guys can manage in a live setting, no editing at ALL. And as you might not be surprised to discover, they sound much like they do on their records, if anything a bit more loose and loud. In this case definitely loud, cuz there was much talking going on in the crowd, and while the band started off quietly, the sound darkly rhythmic and peppered with field recordings, almost like an orchestra tuning up, it really only took a couple minutes for all the pieces to fall into place, the dubbed out bass, the busy skittery krautrock drumming, the thick billowing clouds of chordal shimmer, the Necks vibe we've mentioned in other reviews in full effect, spidery guitars, the sound exploding in little psychedelic squalls, while the rhythm section remains locked tight. About ten minutes in, the vocals (by Tim Cohen, also of The Fresh & Onlys, etc.) come in, a dark reverby croon, that here definitely have a bit of a Doors vibe, slipping into a falsetto before fading out.
The rest of the set unfurls similarly, the drums busy and tribal, gorgeous Eastern sounding guitar melodies drifting over sinewy basslines, and soft swirls of effects, the vocals giving the sound a definite pop vibe, but a sort of drifty psych pop vibe, in fact, the second track sounds a bit like a more blissed out Animal Collective in places, strangely enough, while the third track is very krautrocky, and very dubby too, a sort of krautdub, not funky necessarily, but certainly groovy. And finally, the band do their "Guacamole Window" from Canal Smarts, and it's the most propulsive of the bunch, reminding us at times of Tortoise, at times of This Heat, a sort of post punk psych jam, super rhythmic, and a killer closer. As always fantastic stuff. And thus highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "As Space As Impossible"
MPEG Stream: "Spirit Week"

3 LEAFS Inward Sun (self-released) cd-r 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If we didn't know better we might think this was some lost psychrock gem recently discovered, dug up and put on cd for the first time. With an infectious tribal groove running throughout and a seriously drugged out vibe these five jams definitely sound like they could be from some Amon Duul rehearsal recorded on a boombox in a dirty old German garage filled with dirt, mildew, mushrooms and lots of good weed. But truth be told these are actually new sounds from a local supergroup of sorts made up of members from Horn of Dagoth, Black Fiction, Tussle and Citay. The no frills cd-r packaging and raw recording are the perfect visual analog to 3 Leafs' primitive take on deep in the woods psychedelic rock.
MPEG Stream: "El Otro Lado del Cielo"
MPEG Stream: "Baile con Redman"

3 LEAFS Live At Cafe Du Nord (Triangle Tapes) cassette 8.98
Super limited live cassette from aQ beloved psychedelic space rock drifters 3 Leafs! And by super limited, we mean FIFTY COPIES. We did get a bunch, but needless to say, these won't last long, so you might want to grab one before they're gone.
Recorded in December of 2011, right here in SF at the Cafe Du Nord, this tape offers up the entirety of the night's proceedings, repeated on both sides, a beautifully brooding slow burn / slow build epic. Dark swirls of abstract FX, warm synth swirl, buried voices, all blurred into a soft psych haze, before the drums and bass kick in, transforming the sound into something much more krautrock, sorta like the Necks meets Faust, or Can, mesmerizing and tranced out, laced with little bits of guitar filigree, dubbed out vox (courtesy of the Fresh & Onlys' Tim Cohen), some very Eastern style melodies, and some seriously nimble bass playing, the band locked into sprawling rhythmic kraut-psych workouts that slip deftly from hushed and hypnotic, to dense and driving, all the while wreathing the proceedings in swirling clouds of druggy spaced out shimmer and soft focus celestial murk, as always, fantastic stuff, and as we warned above, LIMITED TO 50 COPIES! Each one hand numbered.

3 LEAFS Spaa (self-released) cd-r 6.98
We were a little bit blown away by the response we got to this Bay Area psychedelic space rock outfit's last record, the Canal Smarts lp, which we made our Record Of The Week on our last New Arrivals list. We couldn't keep it in stock, which is sort of the way we imagined it should be, especially considering considering that a portion of our review for that record was us lamenting the fact that these guys were not more well known, and didn't get the same sort of hype as other local psych-space combos like Carlton Melton and Wooden Shjips, not to mention groups like White Hills, Bardo Pond and the like. But for all the space-rocking 3 Leafs do, they seem to tend toward the blissed out, the meditative and abstract, for every stretch of propulsive krautrock like psychedelia, there's an even more sprawling segment of effects heavy drift, or looped jazzy mesmer, which bring us to Spaa, the soothing connotations no coincidence, as Spaa is in fact a single 45 minute jam, and one that spends most of its time in droned out raga mode, in fact, the band lock into a slow, haunting, darkly percussive groove from the onset, fading in gradually, as if this whole record was in fact cut from an even more epic and epically endless jam, the guitar buzz sitar-like (which is in fact not a guitar but an OUD!), the bass woozy and elastic, thick and fluid, the drumming subtle and minimal, more a pulse really than a beat, and once the drums / bass / guitar are locked in place, the track unfurls hypnotically, while all around that central groove, all manner of sounds and textures shift and shimmer and swirl, cascades of glimmering glitchery, whooshing wind like whirs, disembodied vocals wrapped in echo and delay, the sound definitely reminding us of Aussie jazz minimalists The Necks, which is never a bad thing. Unlike most space jams, Spaa is not a slow build, peppered with explosive crescendos, instead, it lurks and meanders, creeps and slithers, shuffles and shimmers, the vibe mesmerizing, the groove utterly hypnotic, and while there is the occasional passage of wild FX or fluttery flute, as well as occasional strange tangles of melody, the only real sonic shift comes with a few minutes left, the sound becoming weirdly warped and woozy, almost new agey sounding, with thick swirls of hazy synth and chordal whir, that give the sound a sort of Goblin / Zombi vibe, finishing off with a wild squall of buzzing, blurred psychswirl chaos, before cutting out abruptly, as if someone just reached over and pushed stop on the recorder, leaving us to imagine the band playing on and on and on and on...
MPEG Stream: "Spaa (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Spaa (excerpt 2)"

3 LEAFS Space Rock Tulip (self-released) lp 14.98
It's been a few years since we reviewed anything from these local spaced out psychrockers, and there have been at least a couple releases since Inward Sun, the last one we reviewed way back in 2007. Listening to Space Rock Tulip now, we're kicking ourselves big time. This stuff is awesome. Blissed out, effects flecked krauty space rock, heavy on the drift and shimmer and meander. Strings buzz, sounds swoop and stutter backwards, the drums are simple and motorik, synths whir, flutes flutter, the group slips from full on heart of the sun space jam, to Circle-esque hypnorock, to ethereal almost ambient groove, to Eastern style ur-drone to Santana sounding Latin tinged psychedelic rock to heavy tripped out metallic sounding stoner rock freakouts to full on trippy dubbiness, all woven into one extended and nearly seamless druggy outrock sprawl.
Anyone into The Heads, White Hills, Monster Magnet, Expo 70, White Hills, Burnt Hills, Titan, Gunslingers, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, or any of that kraut/space rock bliss, will definitely flip for these guys. Features a whole mess of local luminaries, who do or have done time in other bands like: the Fresh And Onlys, Tussle, Citay, Amocoma, Horn Of Dagoth, Black Fiction, Subarachnoid Space, Six Eye Columbia and more...
MPEG Stream: "No Control"
MPEG Stream: "Acorn"

3 LEAFS Titular Lines (self-released) cd-r 6.98
3 Leafs have slowly become not only one of our favorite psychedelic bands in San Francisco, but maybe even worldwide. We've dug everything they've released so far, but it was with their last release, Eat The Earth, that we really realized something really special was being created via their approach to improv based spaced out psych. With Titular Lines, we get further proof that this is a group truly invested in the essence of psychedelic music making. Too many of their counterparts seem very connected to one specific moment or era of psych rock, but what makes 3 Leafs stand above the crowd is how they really are true aficionados of such a wide spanning range of mind melting sounds.
The record starts off with a warm and woozy jam that sounds like some amazing lost outtake from a Miles Davis recording circa Live-Evil / Bitches Brew. As the record continues it shifts, twists and turns into hypnotic spells of sound that take us on a magical ride through a landscape of sonic wonder, rife with moments that recall Ennio Morricone, the Necks, Ash Ra Temple, Magma, Blues Control, Parson Sound, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Ariel Kalma, Eternal Tapestry, Sun Araw, the Organisation, White Hills, and others. We love how there is patience and an elegant pacing to the music of 3 Leafs. While others want to hit you over the head with just how 'psych' and 'weird' they are, 3 Leafs allow their tracks to slowly evolve with layer upon layer, allowing you to more deeply feel the evolved feeling of these sounds. This group definitely has the ability to sound shimmering and majestic as well as raw and haunting. So many other psych bands right now are getting all kinds of wide spread praise and acclaim, but we feel 3 Leafs deserves just as much attention as this is psych made with a deeper understanding and a long lasting impact.
MPEG Stream: "Titular Lines"
MPEG Stream: "Coriolis Wind"
MPEG Stream: "The International Section"
MPEG Stream: "Where Do You Live Again?"

3 LEAFS Would (self-released) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "A Hint Of Return"
MPEG Stream: "Delta Dance"

3 TOED SLOTH Jukebox Single #2 (Negative Guest List) 7" 12.98
Another new 7" on Negative Guest List, this one some early nineties thud rock from this Aussie outfit, who sound like they should have ended up on Siltbreeze, thick distorto bass, big caveman drums, two covers, the A side a Gary Glitter jam transformed from glam anthem into a knuckledragging dirge, gloomy and sludgey, with a sort of Sonic Youth-y vibe in some of the weird chords. The B side is a killer version of Pere Ubu's "Non Alignment Pact", with some loose drumming wound around some killer slippery guitar work, swaggery and slithery, crunchy and fuzzy and heavy, almost digging it more than the original.
Housed in fancy hand glittered covers!

3/4HADBEENELIMINATED A Year Of The Aural Gauge Operation (Hapna) cd 16.98
Oooh. Breathtaking stuff here for those who like their music to have a hazy, vague, mysterious aura, and to combine delicate indie-rock "pop" elements (moody vocals, slow-motion melody) with more experimental, fragmented structures and textures... It's the work of a four-piece outfit from Italy, who immerse their murky, mostly instrumental post-rock electro-acoustic playing in droney field recordings, blurring the boundaries, with tree frogs or crickets, and what sounds like hissing, escaping gasses, and other noises that require some imagination to describe playing an important role alongside more obvious instruments like guitars and drums and turntables. There's a definite Jewelled Antler feel, that sort of organic, wandering-in-the-woods, letting-our-ears-find-the-way songmaking process, but with more palpable tension, bringing in a bit of the percussive skitteriness of fellow Italians and Hapna labelmates Sinistri/Starfuckers. We can compare this with lots of other things we love: Radian meets Richard Youngs? Kemialliset Ysatvat teamed up with Tape? Blithe Sons, Larsen, Sigur Ros, Village Of Savoogna, Dean Roberts... we're reminded in ways of all of 'em.
A truly gorgeous album that has the potential to appeal to a lot of different tastes, finding the wonderfully, naturally imperfect intersection of song and improv and field recording drone. This being their second release (first for Hapna, who've released this in the Swedish label's usual nice slim-sleeve packaging), we're going to have to track down their previous one... just as soon as A Year Of The Aural Gauge Operation's sheer dreaminess lets go its hold on our thoughts.
MPEG Stream: "Widower"
MPEG Stream: "In Every Tree A Heartache"
MPEG Stream: "Wave Bye Bye To The King"
MPEG Stream: "Loop Recorder In The Patient With Heart Disease"

3/4HADBEENELIMINATED Oblivion (Die Schachtel) cd 17.98
With this, their fourth album, these previous AQ Record Of The Week honorees, the oddly named Italian group 3/4HadBeenEliminated, have again given us a precious glimpse into their sonic dreamworld, and we say YAY to that. Kinda wish we could stay there forever, this music has such an engaging embrace, part abstract soundscape, part gentle melodiousness, part drone, part indie-pop, definitely not too far removed from some Jewelled Antler output, with a little This Heat or Village Of Savoonga mixed in. Our idea of blissful "oblivion" indeed, these mysterious and experimental lullabies of hum, hiss, buzz.
Various instruments, field recordings, electronics, turntables, percussion, the human voice, all are utilized to create the four tracks on this tightly crafted 39 minute disc. The very first piece, the longest at 17 minutes, introduces all the ingredients... gentle vinyl crackles, looping along with shimmering swells of strings and synth. Occasional hits of a snare. Hints of piano melody, amidst equally restrained electronic glitch. Environmental noises, tape manipulations. Bringing this somehow into an avant pop orbit, there's layers of vague vocals, or even simply sometimes just the breathy suggestion of vocals, that in this sonic setting recall to us Richard Youngs and Robert Wyatt, with their ghostly fragility.
Definitely a wonderful reminder of why we've always loved this band so much, highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 3"

3/4HADBEENELIMINATED The Religious Experience (Soleilmoon) lp 33.00

3/4HADBEENELIMINATED Theology (Soleilmoon) cd 24.00
Italian avant outfit 3/4hadbeeneliminated offer up a new cd... it's a little pricey but that's 'cause they splurged on the packaging. We'll talk about that in a second, but first the music. If you've heard their previous work, like the Hapna release A Year Of The Aural Gauge Operation (an AQ Record Of The Week in 2005), you'll know to expect fractured and mysterious soundscapes, a densely textured drone-zone constructed from field recordings, record crackle, improvised acoustic instruments, radio static, fragments of piano melody, electronic treatments, whispered Italian voices, turntable scratchings, reel-to-reel tape manipulation, synthesizer sinewaves, scattered percussion, and more. That's a zone we LOVE to visit. There's two long tracks, lots to explore, all manner of curious creakings and cracklings, shifting rhythms and rumblings abounding within 3/4hadbeeneliminated's carefully crafted and/or improvised music. At times quiet and meditative, at others noisier and distorted, but always (to our ears) utterly gorgeous and compelling. Aligns quite nicely with the likes of the Jewelled Antler collective, the Finnish forest foraging of Kemialliset Ystavat, and of course others in the experimental underground Italian scene of which the members of 3/4hadbeeneliminated are a part.
As for the packaging, start with a plain cardboard box, a little over six inches square and one inch deep. Open it up and you'll find a slightly smaller hinged wooden box, each one hand-painted with wax paper decoration. Open that up and there's the cd, in a colorful fabric sleeve, with a paper insert listing the track titles (revealing each one to be a suite of sorts btw). Certainly nicer than the standard jewel case... though one slight drawback is that the cd itself is likely to be coated with a layer of dust from the wooden box, so you'll have to gently wipe it clean or you might find it skipping and glitching out (which would fit in with some of their musical methodology, actually). Indeed, this rustic, elaborate cottage industry packaging is certainly reflective of the rough-hewn, intricate mystery of their music, which deserves such unique treatment.
By the way, there's also an even more expensive new vinyl-only limited edition LP by these folks, a totally different album using these recordings as a basis for recomposition, called The Religious Experience, simultaneously released on Soleilmoon. We just a have a couple in stock right now but hopefully can get more and give it a review sometime soon, although simply we can say it's a nice companion to this...
MPEG Stream: "I Am Daughter"
MPEG Stream: "The Cradle"

31 KNOTS It Was High Time To Escape (54 40 Or Fight) cd 14.98
The new, 2nd album from this Portland (OR) trio sure has gotten under Allan's skin (in a good way). Is that because of the incessant, complex bass lines? The strident yet often lovely vocals? The classically-influenced details? The band's infectious prog-pop chutzpah? All that and more. Yes indeedy, 31 Knots play indie-pop with healthy helpings of prog. That's right, prog -- as in Yes for instance. The press we've seen on this plays up the Yes comparisons, and we'd have to agree, though there's much else going on as well as "Fragile" and "Close To The Edge" worship. Inspiration is drawn from the '80s as well as the '70s, as this possesses a New Wavish pop/punk energy that makes some of this sound like, say, Hot Hot Heat meets Yes. Other names to drop in a review of 31Knots might include: Circus Lupus, Convocation of, King Crimson (their "funkier" side), The Police, Modest Mouse, Party of Helicopters, and Gang Of Four. Maybe. What we're sure of is that 31 Knots are mathy yet catchy, way more compelling and poppy than most post and/or math rock outfits you can imagine. Their sinewy, elegant songwriting is backed up by impressive, precise playing, but, like the best proggers in the '70s, they don't let their obvious instrumental prowess get in the way of writing really good songs, ones with melodic content and emotional depth. There are *lots* of good songs on here -- it was hard to pick the two to make sound samples from! As mentioned above, this is their second album (introducing a new drummer, the guy from Dilute & Natural Dreamers). Somehow we missed their first album but we'll rectify that error asap!
MPEG Stream: "No Sound"
MPEG Stream: "That Which Has No Name"

31 KNOTS Polemics (Polyvinyl) cd ep 8.98
Yay, four more (five if you count the atmospherically stutterin' intro) tracks of the sinuous, powerful post-punk poppy progginess that Portland's 31 Knots has always wowed us with! They still sound like some weird, choppy blend of Yes and Fugazi (to use the usual shorthand), and their arty experimentation and sheer sonic bombast hasn't lost any of its punch or pleasurableness. And oooh, it's one of those cool lookin' 3" cds, with the extra clear plastic rim 'round the outside to give it the regular cd 5" diameter total. You'll understand what we're talking about when you see it.
This came out at the tail end of 2006, so we're hoping that they're pretty much ready to unleash the new full-length for which this has whet our appetites!
MPEG Stream: "Sedition's Wish"

31 KNOTS Talk Like Blood (Polyvinyl) cd 13.98
Quickly following up their fine The Curse Of The Longest Day ep with this excellent new full-length, Portland, Oregon's 31 Knots are satisfying all our abundant cravings for pop-smart, sonically rich indie rock gone prog. Prog as in Yes, to whom these guys have often been compared. And that's a good thing (if you aren't sure that's the case, you really should check out Fragile or Close To The Edge, to mention just two of the great Yes albums of the early '70s). As with such ye olde prog, the 31 Knots guys are top knotch instrumentalists... and no slouches at singing and writing songs either. Their Yessisms are more like hints of Yes (both their complexity and melodicism) informing and subverting songs that a less ambitious band might have crafted into more typical examples of the current "new wave" of white belted indie dance rock. And along with the pull of prog, this material is also shaped by the push of (arty) punk rock aggression as well. Fugazi, Yes, and I dunno, Elvis Costello might make strange bedfellows but 31 Knots make it seem like such a pajama party would be a good idea. Talk Like Blood's ten tracks bombastically blend heartfelt vocals, rubbery basslines, precise drumming, classical piano, electronic glitchscapes and lots more besides, always making moody and powerful and undeniably poppy music.
MPEG Stream: "Hearsay"
MPEG Stream: "Chain Reaction"

31 KNOTS The Curse Of The Longest Day (Polyvinyl) cd ep 8.98
Polyvinyl offers up a 21 minute ep from new signings 31 Knots of Portland, OR. We were already fans of these guys after getting hip to them via their second album It Was High Time To Escape a couple of years ago. They haven't messed much with their prog-infused, hooky indie-pop formula with these new songs (thankfully!). Marked by the strong, emotive, confident voice of guitarist Joe Haege (not to mention his accomplished guitar playing and effective deployment on piano as well) and the powerful, precise rhythm section of Jay Pellicci on drums and Jay Winebrenner on bass, these four songs (and one shorter instrumental interlude of sampled strings/electronic loops/glitchy noises) are big and bold when they need to be, complex and textured too. Melody lines swoop about within song structures that are well fitted with stops and starts and sudden dynamic changes, that should appeal to fans of everybody from OK Computer era Radiohead to Deerhoof (whose Greg Saunier helped mix and master this ep) to Blonde Redhead to Shudder To Think to The Mars Volta -- though the well-written, compelling compositions of 31 Knots are, for our money, a better application of prog to indie rock than the sometimes overcooked brand practised by the latter. Our only complaint here is that it's just an ep! But there's a new full-length on the horizon, so that's cool.
MPEG Stream: "Welcome To Stop"
MPEG Stream: "The Corpse And The Carcass"

31 KNOTS The Days And Nights Of Everything Anywhere (Polyvinyl) cd 14.98
We've always been impressed by the audacious emo-prog of this Portland, Oregon outfit. A mashup of mathy chops and melodramatic, melodic pop, 31 Knots' latest is a worthy addition to their discography, building on their distinctive sound with what seems like at least one unpredictable new twist per track, writing exhilarating songs that variously incorporate piano, horns, and well-placed electronic glitch... Fans know they need this, noobs should start here or with 2005's Talk Like Blood (or, if you're on a budget, one of the band's several excellent eps). In a perfect world, these guys would be as big as the Mars Volta!
MPEG Stream: "Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Savage Boutique"

31 KNOTS The Days And Nights Of Everything Anywhere (Polyvinyl) lp 14.98
We've always been impressed by the audacious emo-prog of this Portland, Oregon outfit. A mashup of mathy chops and melodramatic, melodic pop, 31 Knots' latest is a worthy addition to their discography, building on their distinctive sound with what seems like at least one unpredictable new twist per track, writing exhilarating songs that variously incorporate piano, horns, and well-placed electronic glitch... Fans know they need this, noobs should start here or with 2005's Talk Like Blood (or, if you're on a budget, one of the band's several excellent eps). In a perfect world, these guys would be as big as the Mars Volta!
MPEG Stream: "Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "Savage Boutique"

31 KNOTS Trump Harm (Polyvinyl) cd 12.98
Portland's 31 Knots are one of those bands that just keeps plugging away, making amazing albums, to the great pleasure of their loyal fans of course, but we wonder why they don't in the course of things also, you know, get BIG. More fans, more pleasure. They should, or would, be huge if rock n' roll was a meritocracy (which it obviously isn't). This is their sixth full-length release, since their debut about a decade ago, and once again it's a enjoyable example of their trademark "Fugazi-meet-Yes", indie rock gone no wave prog sound. Hmm, maybe that explains why they aren't BIG... that's too weird of a formula. But then again, Radiohead, Muse, Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, they're popular, so folks who like the likes of them, should check out 31 Knots for something maybe knottier (though in no way naughtier, they're not that sort of band). Out of the 31 Knots discography, Trump Harm is as good as any (though maybe the cover art isn't), it's assuredly poppy, yet complex and bombastic, offering up ten new tracks that satisfy all our 31 Knots expectations, of earworminess and angularity, mathiness and melody, electricity and emotion. It's thinking (and feeling) man's pop music, that kicks ass too, with arty post-punkish power and precision. If just one person reading this review who has never heard 31 Knots before, decides to check 'em out and becomes a fan, we'll be happy. 100 people, that'd be even better!
MPEG Stream: "Onanist's Vacation"
MPEG Stream: "Candles On Open Water"
MPEG Stream: "Get Gone"

31 KNOTS Trump Harm (Polyvinyl) lp 15.98
Portland's 31 Knots are one of those bands that just keeps plugging away, making amazing albums, to the great pleasure of their loyal fans of course, but we wonder why they don't in the course of things also, you know, get BIG. More fans, more pleasure. They should, or would, be huge if rock n' roll was a meritocracy (which it obviously isn't). This is their sixth full-length release, since their debut about a decade ago, and once again it's a enjoyable example of their trademark "Fugazi-meet-Yes", indie rock gone no wave prog sound. Hmm, maybe that explains why they aren't BIG... that's too weird of a formula. But then again, Radiohead, Muse, Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria, they're popular, so folks who like the likes of them, should check out 31 Knots for something maybe knottier (though in no way naughtier, they're not that sort of band). Out of the 31 Knots discography, Trump Harm is as good as any (though maybe the cover art isn't), it's assuredly poppy, yet complex and bombastic, offering up ten new tracks that satisfy all our 31 Knots expectations, of earworminess and angularity, mathiness and melody, electricity and emotion. It's thinking (and feeling) man's pop music, that kicks ass too, with arty post-punkish power and precision. If just one person reading this review who has never heard 31 Knots before, decides to check 'em out and becomes a fan, we'll be happy. 100 people, that'd be even better!
MPEG Stream: "Onanist's Vacation"
MPEG Stream: "Candles On Open Water"
MPEG Stream: "Get Gone"

31 KNOTS Worried Well (Polyvinyl) cd 14.98
Ooohh. After four full lengths and a handful of eps, this Portland-based indie-pop-prog act has pretty much proven themselves a sure bet, for intelligent, complex, catchy music that's equally, seemingly effortlessly at ease with today's electronic glitch, '70s prog inspired bombast, and quirky post-punk groove. This latest, Worried Well does not break that streak. No worries, if you love the 31 Knots thing, like we do. Plenty of nervous piano, lush arrangements, noisy guitars, mathy drums, theatrical vocals, all the works in other words. True, some might find 31 Knots a bit too much, too pretentious or peculiar or puzzling or poncy or something. Personally, though, whatever 31 Knots is too much of, we want more. But maybe this one works better if you're already into their other albums as well. If you do, dive right in. And besides, you've gotta love an album where in one song ("Compass Commands") what sounds like a chorus of little girls yells "Kill or be killed!" in response to the singer's schoolteacher-ish question "Who can tell me the universal rule of thumb?".
MPEG Stream: "Certificate"
MPEG Stream: "Compass Commands"

31 KNOTS Worried Well (Polyvinyl) lp 14.98
Ooohh. After four full lengths and a handful of eps, this Portland-based indie-pop-prog act has pretty much proven themselves a sure bet, for intelligent, complex, catchy music that's equally, seemingly effortlessly at ease with today's electronic glitch, '70s prog inspired bombast, and quirky post-punk groove. This latest, Worried Well does not break that streak. No worries, if you love the 31 Knots thing, like we do. Plenty of nervous piano, lush arrangements, noisy guitars, mathy drums, theatrical vocals, all the works in other words. True, some might find 31 Knots a bit too much, too pretentious or peculiar or puzzling or poncy or something. Personally, though, whatever 31 Knots is too much of, we want more. But maybe this one works better if you're already into their other albums as well. If you do, dive right in. And besides, you've gotta love an album where in one song ("Compass Commands") what sounds like a chorus of little girls yells "Kill or be killed!" in response to the singer's schoolteacher-ish question "Who can tell me the universal rule of thumb?".
MPEG Stream: "Certificate"
MPEG Stream: "Compass Commands"

324 Rebelgrind (HG Fact) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest and definitely greatest from these old school Japanese grind thrashers. Noisy, heavy, brutal, punishing, and weirdly catchy.

33.3 Plays Music (Aesthetics) cd 14.98
This is post rock. Nothing more, nothing less. Instrumental? Of course. Sure it's lovely, but we've heard it all before. And just because you play quiet music, doesn't mean it can't be imbued with some sort of intensity and fire, some sort of desperate need to share the sounds you're creating. The problem here is a lack of passion. The lack of any sort of joy to be playing music. It's sexless and emotionless and hollow sounding. Sure it's well played and technically proficient and compositionally interesting, but I think the title sums it up nicely, they're just playing music.

39 CLOCKS Pain It Dark (Bureau B) cd 17.98
We first heard about 39 Clocks (or "The" 39 Clocks according to the cover here) a few months back with the release of their career spanning collection Zoned, and we were surprised to come across a group that managed to embody so many elements of what we love about various styles of music while still managing to sound unique and delightfully out of time. The German duo's most notable characteristic was their pre-1966 take on hard driving beat music, delivered through a punkish art school filter on a couple tabs of acid. They managed to be catchy but nihilistic, familiar yet obscure, and we still stand by our assertion of them sounding like "Modern Lovers on Quaaludes with the guy from Faust singing," the liner notes here accurately describe them as "the natural successors to the Velvet Underground (minus Nico), ? And The Mysterions, and Suicide." Can't argue there.
Pain It Dark is the group's debut album, released back in 1981. From a historical perspective, it makes sense for this to have been reissued, but to those who purchased Zoned, be warned that eight of Pain It Dark's 12 songs were featured on that collection. For those of you hesitated for some reason or other, however, Pain It Dark might be the way to go, as the general flow and overall feel of the album help to paint a stronger picture than some of the more rambling songs featured on Zoned.
The album begins with "Shake The Hippie," an upbeat number with the band's trademark lazy German guy vocals. The next song, "DNS," is where things really take off, featuring a sleazy sax lead and a super rhythmic combination of real drums and drum machines. It's druggy in its own way, and its aggressive attack definitely makes this one of the stand out songs on the album. The Velvet Underground influence is also made pretty clear on "78 Soldier Dead," which alternates between a self-penned riff and the one from "Sweet Jane". "Stupid Art" sounds a bit like the Fun House-era Stooges, especially with its use of saxophone, while the band's warped pop sense is further illustrated on the awesomely titled "Radical Student Mob In Satin Boots" with a slashing little keyboard melody and percussion that could very easily not work in less skilled hands.
While we are slightly confused by the timing of this reissue with Zoned, Pain It Dark is a good place to start for the uninitiated, and hopefully marks the beginning of an extensive reissue campaign for this mysterious German duo.
MPEG Stream: "DNS"
MPEG Stream: "Stupid Art"
MPEG Stream: "Radical Student Mob In Satin Boots"

39 CLOCKS Subnarcotic (Bureau B) cd 17.98
Yet another chapter in the 39 Clocks saga, Subnarcotic being the band's second album, originally released in 1982, and now reissued. The German duo appears to be operating at full blast here, with the liner notes in fact quoting our own review of the band's career spanning anthology Zoned, wherein we postulated 1982 as perhaps the "boys' most fertile drug period"!
The greatest thing about 39 Clocks is how blissfully - or maybe nihilistically - out of touch they are with the 1980s, and if this band had formed at any point within the last five years, they would be ruling the garage punk scene, no question. An innate understanding of rhythm is one of their greatest strengths, informing pretty much everything you hear from the slashing guitars to the buzzing organs to the heavily accented German vocals. They sound equally at home with a drum machine or a real drummer, and the shambolic approach to songcraft seems to draw as much from their krautrock predecessors as it does from the Velvet Underground, the Godz, and the harder side of the Nuggets spectrum. They know how to launch into a sleazy groove and gussy it up with dark psychedelic flourishes while rarely being anything other than really fucking catchy. Plus, they look like a couple of badasses, dark shades and Beatle Boots, rail thin with messy hair and pseudonyms indebted to LSD. The live bonus track of the song "Past Tense Hope & Instant Fears On 42nd Street" gives a perfect idea of their animalistic power onstage. Subnarcotic is another tantalizing glimpse into the world of this strange and amazing band, and we're already jonesing to hear more!
MPEG Stream: "Heat Of Violence"
MPEG Stream: "Dom (Electricity Elects The Rain)"
MPEG Stream: "Psychotic Louie Louie"

39 CLOCKS Zoned (De Stijl) cd 13.98
Well, this is certainly a strange one, in the best of ways. It probably goes without saying that most of you have never heard of 39 Clocks. We sure hadn't. But one day a promo copy of Zoned showed up and pretty much knocked us on our asses. Who was this strange band that sounded like the Modern Lovers on Quaaludes with the guy from Faust singing? It wasn't until we received the actual album that we figured we could go about piecing together a loose history of this obscure German duo...but the liner notes, not to mention a dearth of information online (the gist of it all is that they seemed to stir shit up), do little except make it abundantly clear that these weirdos will remain a mystery. Without any external details to worry about, we can instead focus on what matters most: the music, natch!
We're sure plenty of you remember the killer Onna 7" Holy Mountain reissued a few months ago. Well, if Onna were a couple of German dudes who set their sights on reinterpreting '60s proto-punk with an unhealthy amount of dissonant NOISE and a smart ass sense of humor, they might have sounded a bit like 39 Clocks. The band pumps out catchy songs based on simple riffs and wraps them in ungodly noise, the results sounding like they were recorded in some grimey, post-industrial slaughterhouse. Like Onna, 39 Clocks appear as a total anomaly during the 1980s, and these selected recordings, represented chronologically backwards from 1987-1980, are a delightfully confusing, slightly disturbing example of psychedelia's true legacy during a time when many bands were participating in a rather unfortunate psych revival based on superficial and idealized evaluations of the 1960s - you know, just like today. 39 Clocks, instead, were damaged, druggy, and fully willing to emphasize repetitive, droning grooves that submerge themselves deep within your sick brain. Time is kept with primitive drum machines (and occasionally real drums) and, not surprisingly, the rhythmic flow is heavily indebted to many of their Krautrock predecessors. At various other points, the band conjures everyone from Suicide to the Velvet Underground to Syd Barrett's solo work. But when the smoke clears, 39 Clocks are very much their own fucked up band.
The flow of this anthology is surprisingly fluid, the unifying thread being 39 Clocks' skewed approach to music making. On "My Tears Will Drown The World", the first and possibly most "normal" song on the album, acoustic guitars accompany deadpan vocals with sustained guitar drones, as brilliantly sampled orchestral movements and percussion provided by the sounds of soldiers marching send things into another dimension. The demented "78 Soldier Dead" thrashes about drunkenly before unexpectedly switching into the riff to "Sweet Jane". They even offer a totally warped cover of "Twist & Shout", all detached and super German, somehow finding the ability to take all the sweat and emotion out of a frantic crowd pleaser, making it almost clinical. The song begins to sound like it is coming to life with an overblown guitar playing the main melody before everything is overtaken by earsplitting feedback. Elsewhere we find extensive use of trashy guitars in the vein of Pussy Galore, some wailing harmonicas, and hilarious but acidic lyrics conveying a nihilistic interpretation of recent world history (probably that whole being from Germany thing...) The songs represented from 1982 seem to indicate the boys' most fertile drug period, as the mostly 7+ minute songs bring to mind shambolic '60s punks the Godz, meaning a heavy emphasis on noise and atonality which may or may not be as intellectual as some people make it out to be, but kills nonetheless.
Wrapping up this review makes it clear how difficult it is trying to accurately describe a band like 39 Clocks. We realize how often we used the word "noise" in this review, and even comparisons to other bands can't really evaluate the unique vibe of this album. It certainly won't be for everyone, but we know their are enough adventurous aQ customers who will totally love this expansive collection of bizarre rockers. In fact, your assessment of whether or not this is for you could be based on how you respond to lyrics like "I'm the best of all genetic chimps". We dig.
MPEG Stream: "My Tears Will Drown The World"
MPEG Stream: "Dom (Electricity Elects The Rain)"
MPEG Stream: "39 Explosion Heats"

3DS Dust (Flying Nun) cdep 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

3DS, THE We Bury The Living - Early Recordings 1989-90 (Flying Nun) cd 13.98
Any indie rocker worth their salt already knows, and most likely loves, noisy NZ jangle poppers the 3Ds, their sound unknowingly a template for much of what was to follow in their wake. This collection was compiled by the Dead C's Bruce Russell, whose first label Xpressway was briefly home to the 3Ds, and while for most folks the 3Ds were always considered a Flying Nun band, many of the tracks here were recorded for Xpressway. Included are remastered versions of the band's first two eps (Fish Tails and Swarthy Songs For Swabs) as well as a whole mess of unreleased demo and comp tracks.
For those who've never heard the 3Ds, you might be shocked by their sound, considering how many bands we know and love seem to have borrowed quite a bit from them, Pavement to Superchunk, indie rock as we know it definitely owes a huge debt, plus the usual croon and jangle is augmented by distinctly dour Wipers-ish miserablism not to mention some swaths of good old NZ noise. Have a listen to the first few tracks and odds are you'll be smitten, or if you're already a fan, it'll remind you just why you (and we) loved these guys so much in the first place.
"Meluzina Man", the version from the Xpressway Pile Up compilation, is as close to perfect as this stuff gets, hushed and dreamily jangly, with sweet boy/girl harmonies, slithery Joy Division basslines, thick buzzy guitars, a hushed haunting first half gives way to an explosive second half, noisy and distorted, wildly psychedelic, dark and droney, the crooned vocals transformed into a passionate howl. The perfect mix of jangle and buzz, of brooding darkness and sweet melodicism. Up next is "First Church", from the first ep, and finds the band fierce and rocking, the guitar super fuzzy and distorted, the drums pounding, all over a roiling backdrop of swirling sounds and mysterious voices, the vibe snarly and swaggery, a little bit sludgey and dirgey, and those vocals, a little reminiscent of Gordon Gano from Violent Femmes, the perfect balance to the churning low slung buzz, propulsive and hypnotic, almost like some indie rock band channeling Hawkwind. And then there's the equally awesome "Evocation Of W.C. Fields", the demo version a super lo-fi version of what is essentially some perfect NZ pop, quirky, a little bit new wavey, with driving basslines and killer fuzzjangle guitar. Later on there's a proper studio version, which is different, more lush and heavy and a little bit shoegazey, but that demo version, there's something special about it. Hell there's something special about all these tracks. We've been playing this like crazy, and going through a little bit of a 3Ds revival. So great!
Includes a massive booklet with extensive liner notes by Brice Russell, all about the early years of the band!
MPEG Stream: "Meluzina Man"
MPEG Stream: "First Church"
MPEG Stream: "Evil Kid"
MPEG Stream: "Ritual Tragick"