METROPOLITAN Side Effects (Crank Automotive) cd 7.98

METROSCHIFTER / SHIPPING NEWS (Initial) split cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Post rock team up...the Shipping News half is live. Unusual packaging note: it's in a jewel case, but the "booklet" is actually a piece of metal, very nice.

MEW And The Glass Handed Kites (Columbia) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Circuitry Of The Wolf"
MPEG Stream: "Chinaberry Tree"
MPEG Stream: "Why Are You Looking Grave"

MEW No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away (Columbia) cd 13.98
We've been meaning to review this for a while, the latest from Mew, another band who have gotten short shrift on the aQ list, which is a shame, cuz we dig em a lot, they're pretty hard to describe though, poppy and a little bit commercial, but also way proggy, strangely twisted, catchy, but in an oblique, WAY left of center way, gnarled guitars, skittery rhythms, gorgeous vocals... thankfully, our customer Derek was able to get a better handle on Mew than we've been able to, so take it away Derek:
The title of Mew's latest record's makes it seem a tad bit pretentious and a bit too "precious." The record is both, but still immensely enjoyable.Ê(Their last album, And the Glass Handed Kites, was great too - even more rocking, and with loads of low end!)ÊThe sound is a little like late '80s Rush filtered through the Flaming Lips and played by Care Bears in a room made of sheet metal. The Mew guys (from Copenhagen) have come out and said they're a "pop" band, but their notion of what bubblegum pop should be is intricate, proggy, far out and a little spacey -loosed from many of the traditional tropes of pop music. In an alternate universe, they'd be teen idols with hordes of screaming fans andÊrespected 'artists' simultaneously. (Apparently, there is such an alternate universe, and it's called "Scandinavia", where they're hugely popular - sort of like that odd intervalÊof pop history here when the members of Yes were showing up on fluorescent Trapper Keepers.)
Outwardly uncool but accomplishedÊandÊsomewhat unhinged and really pretty fantastic -Êdig the first track, which is actually two different songs played forward and in reverse!!!

MEW No More Stories Are Told Today I'm Sorry They Washed Away No More Stories The World Is Grey I'm Tired Let's Wash Away (Columbia) 2lp 23.00
We've been meaning to review this for a while, the latest from Mew, another band who have gotten short shrift on the aQ list, which is a shame, cuz we dig em a lot, they're pretty hard to describe though, poppy and a little bit commercial, but also way proggy, strangely twisted, catchy, but in an oblique, WAY left of center way, gnarled guitars, skittery rhythms, gorgeous vocals... thankfully, our customer Derek was able to get a better handle on Mew than we've been able to, so take it away Derek:
The title of Mew's latest record's makes it seem a tad bit pretentious and a bit too "precious." The record is both, but still immensely enjoyable.Ê(Their last album, And the Glass Handed Kites, was great too - even more rocking, and with loads of low end!)ÊThe sound is a little like late '80s Rush filtered through the Flaming Lips and played by Care Bears in a room made of sheet metal. The Mew guys (from Copenhagen) have come out and said they're a "pop" band, but their notion of what bubblegum pop should be is intricate, proggy, far out and a little spacey -loosed from many of the traditional tropes of pop music. In an alternate universe, they'd be teen idols with hordes of screaming fans andÊrespected 'artists' simultaneously. (Apparently, there is such an alternate universe, and it's called "Scandinavia", where they're hugely popular - sort of like that odd intervalÊof pop history here when the members of Yes were showing up on fluorescent Trapper Keepers.)
Outwardly uncool but accomplishedÊandÊsomewhat unhinged and really pretty fantastic -Êdig the first track, which is actually two different songs played forward and in reverse!!!

MGMT Congratulations (Columbia) cd 16.98
For as much hype, attention and press these guys get we have to admit not many of us at the store even heard their debut. We caught a song here and there and we could tell it was fun catchy stuff but we weren't quite sure what all the fuss was about. With their new album we decided to dig in a bit and damn are we glad we did. Because at the end of the day, and all the fashion spreads, magazine covers, teenage adornment, blog hype, it all doesn't matter if the music doesn't hold up. And with Congratulations, MGMT have shown they are a band that can back up their good looks and youthful energy with totally awesome music!
While much had been made about how 'weird' this album was supposed to be compared to their debut, it might be 'weird' for people who are only used to top 40 music, but to us it sounds like delicious breezy psych pop. So awesome how they tap into a really cool Elephant Six vibe, reminding us of some of our favorite records from Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, and Apples In Stereo. The album truly is just that, an album. From start to finish they have created a work that flows with such ease and isn't about standout singles, but instead really is about the entire experience of listening to the record from start to finish. With Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) enlisted to produce the record they knew where to go for just the right touch, a distinctly psychedelic feel that references more of The Beatles psych tendencies than lots of the modern psych peddlers. We also think a lot about one of favorite underrated bands of the past, Beachwood Sparks, as the sounds on Congratulations remind us a lot of some of our favorite BS jams. There is something so genuine sounding and less forced then we somehow were expecting in this record. If we would have received this as some random band's cd-r, we would all be freaking out about what an amazing pop discovery we just made. So just because they are on a huge label and get tons of hype and press, don't write this record off, it deserves your ears because it's really fucking good!
The first batch of the cds comes with a scratch off cover, a weird coin and a 32 page booklet. The first pressing of the lps also comes with a scratch off cover, and is pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
MPEG Stream: "It's Working"
MPEG Stream: "I Found A Whistle"
MPEG Stream: "Flash Delirium"

MGMT Congratulations (Columbia) 2lp 27.00
For as much hype, attention and press these guys get we have to admit not many of us at the store even heard their debut. We caught a song here and there and we could tell it was fun catchy stuff but we weren't quite sure what all the fuss was about. With their new album we decided to dig in a bit and damn are we glad we did. Because at the end of the day, and all the fashion spreads, magazine covers, teenage adornment, blog hype, it all doesn't matter if the music doesn't hold up. And with Congratulations, MGMT have shown they are a band that can back up their good looks and youthful energy with totally awesome music!
While much had been made about how 'weird' this album was supposed to be compared to their debut, it might be 'weird' for people who are only used to top 40 music, but to us it sounds like delicious breezy psych pop. So awesome how they tap into a really cool Elephant Six vibe, reminding us of some of our favorite records from Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, and Apples In Stereo. The album truly is just that, an album. From start to finish they have created a work that flows with such ease and isn't about standout singles, but instead really is about the entire experience of listening to the record from start to finish. With Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3) enlisted to produce the record they knew where to go for just the right touch, a distinctly psychedelic feel that references more of The Beatles psych tendencies than lots of the modern psych peddlers. We also think a lot about one of favorite underrated bands of the past, Beachwood Sparks, as the sounds on Congratulations remind us a lot of some of our favorite BS jams. There is something so genuine sounding and less forced then we somehow were expecting in this record. If we would have received this as some random band's cd-r, we would all be freaking out about what an amazing pop discovery we just made. So just because they are on a huge label and get tons of hype and press, don't write this record off, it deserves your ears because it's really fucking good!
The first batch of the cds comes with a scratch off cover, a weird coin and a 32 page booklet. The first pressing of the lps also comes with a scratch off cover, and is pressed on 180 gram vinyl.
MPEG Stream: "It's Working"
MPEG Stream: "I Found A Whistle"
MPEG Stream: "Flash Delirium"

MGMT Oracular Spectacular (Columbia) cd 13.98

MGR Nova Lux (Neurot) cd 14.98
Okay, we blew it. We did. We let this MGR record slip right under our radar. And we regret it. We do. As we've said before, the only thing better than discovering some new record that totally kicks your ass, is discovering some record you ignored or missed for some reason, only to have your ass kicked retroactively. Such is the case with MGR. And to prove just how sorry we are, not only are we listing this disc (a few months late) but we also got a super limited cd-r direct from the band reviewed elsewhere on this list.
Not sure why we didn't give this a listen when it first came out, our defense, as flimsy as it may seem, is that we thought MGR was the abbreviation for manager, so we just sort of figured, that was kind of a dumb name so why bother. MGR actually stands for Mustard Gas And Roses and is the work of one M. Gallagher from postrock metal heavyweights Isis, and is actually quite amazing.
Imagine Isis with all the bombast stripped away, all traces of metal removed, leaving only sinewy minor key guitars to drift over vast expanses of droning shimmer, skeletal but incredibly lush. Dark, moody, melancholy soundscapes, the background a warm swirl of sound, guitars drifting in the fuzzy haze above, unfurling gorgeously melancholic melodies, while all around huge swaths of sound shimmer and shift. There's some lap steel, but it's just another gauzy layer of sound, there are beats here and there, but those already minimal rhythms are processed into indistinct throbs and minimal shuffles and buried way down in the murk, making those tracks sound like some sort of post rock Gas. So good.
MPEG Stream: "I"
MPEG Stream: "II"

MGR Nova Lux (Viva Hate) lp 17.98
Finally available on vinyl. Full color jackets and full color printed inner sleeves. Pressed on nice thick vinyl. And a handful of the copies we got are on clear/blue/grey splatter vinyl, so you just might get lucky. Here's our review of the cd from a few months back:
Okay, we blew it. We did. We let this MGR record slip right under our radar. And we regret it. We do. As we've said before, the only thing better than discovering some new record that totally kicks your ass, is discovering some record you ignored or missed for some reason, only to have your ass kicked retroactively. Such is the case with MGR. And to prove just how sorry we are, not only are we listing this disc (a few months late) but we also got a super limited cd-r direct from the band reviewed elsewhere on this list.
Not sure why we didn't give this a listen when it first came out, our defense, as flimsy as it may seem, is that we thought MGR was the abbreviation for manager, so we just sort of figured, that was kind of a dumb name so why bother. MGR actually stands for Mustard Gas And Roses and is the work of one M. Gallagher from postrock metal heavyweights Isis, and is actually quite amazing.
Imagine Isis with all the bombast stripped away, all traces of metal removed, leaving only sinewy minor key guitars to drift over vast expanses of droning shimmer, skeletal but incredibly lush. Dark, moody, melancholy soundscapes, the background a warm swirl of sound, guitars drifting in the fuzzy haze above, unfurling gorgeously melancholic melodies, while all around huge swaths of sound shimmer and shift. There's some lap steel, but it's just another gauzy layer of sound, there are beats here and there, but those already minimal rhythms are processed into indistinct throbs and minimal shuffles and buried way down in the murk, making those tracks sound like some sort of post rock Gas. So good.
MPEG Stream: "I"
MPEG Stream: "II"

MI AMI Ark Of The Covenant (Lovers Rock) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Over the last couple years Mi Ami have become a serious and sweaty inspiration for the music scene here in San Francisco. Whether it's playing and hosting all night dance parties in living rooms, or DJ'ing African jams and cosmic disco in dark rooms with reckless abandon, the three guys in Mi Ami have shown that they have a deep and vast appreciation for music of all styles and variations. This is a band whose record collections are as likely to have vinyl from DNA and JFA as they would M.I.A. and MDC. But thankfully, they are one of the few bands who makes music as cool and exciting as the records in their collections. It's been so hard to actually get a hold of any of their recordings until now, unless you were lucky enough to snag one of their previous slabs of vinyl at one of their high energy body moving live shows. Chances are that this will likely be most folks' first chance to get a hold of Mi Ami on record, and this 12" is a really great introduction to what they're all about. And what they're all about is all over the map, from dub to disco, no wave to post-punk. Yet somehow they find a way to meld all those sounds into something distinctly their own. While members of the band were previously in Black Eyes and even did some time in The Rapture, Mi Ami is truly a beast of its own vision. "Ark Of The Covenant" finds them firing at full throttle with no-wave aspirations and heavy grooves to keep the blasts hitting so right. The B-side which is "The Ark (Version)" finds them dubbing out with such spacious delight, the energy and vibrancy reminds us a lot of how we felt when Tussle first hit the scene. We can't wait to see what the future holds for Mi Ami as they continue to pull from such rich and varied influences from the past while feeling so committed to the present.

MI AMI Echonoecho (Quarterstick Records) 12" 5.98
Yeay! We are so excited that SF's own Mi Ami were recently snapped up by Quarterstick and as we type this are on the road touring the States! It's just a matter of time before these guys start becoming loved all across the map for their high energy approach to genre bending, percussive, heavy and sweat inducing colorful rhythms. Echonoecho is the first song on what will be their new full length Watersports and once again they get to let shine their love of the 12" format. Side A finds the song in its full almost nine minutes of glory. High pitched vocals come blasting right out of the gate along with frenzied instrumentation for a totally epic and catchy track that sounds like some kind of joyous meeting of Nation Of Ulysses, The Rapture and Liquid Liquid. And we have to say that Mi Ami shine so brightly with the 'Version' sides of their singles. Dubbed out for maximum slow burn perfection. We can't wait for the full length, but we hope they keep cranking out 12"s as well cause they are one of the few groups around today who really know how to make the most of this special format.
MPEG Stream: "Echononecho"

MI AMI Steal Your Face (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
There aren't too many bands you can say sound "unlike anything else". San Francisco's own Mi Ami is one of those rare groups. For the past few years they have been setting SF, and more recently a good deal of the rest of the world, on fire with their spastic blend of skronky rhythmic awesomeness. Things are constantly moving, and the band's secret weapon is no doubt drummer Damon Palermo, who pulls double duty in cosmic explorers Jonas Reinhardt (whose Powers Of Audition record we recently listed). Of course, the other two members, guitarist/shrieker Daniel Martin-McCormick and bassist Jacob Long (both former members of legendary Dischord band Black Eyes), are just as essential in contributing to the sonic maelstrom that makes up Mi Ami's sound. Warmly distorted guitars howl and slash relentlessly, while the grooving basslines hold the foundation as the drums carry the songs all over the place without letting up. And then there are Martin-McCormick's feral screams, practically an instrument on their own. They manage to sound totally fun but with a firebeathing delivery that will also make you stop to think about songs like "Native Americans (Born In The U.S.A.)". The band has been expertly building up its sound over the past few releases, and they possess a keen production sense which makes Steal Your Face their strongest effort yet. The sound is frantic and ridiculously fun most of the time, but they also know how to slow things down, like on the mellow yet tense groove of "Dreamers", which rides slow and steady in a haze of dubbed out, feedback laced atmospheres. There is a constant sense of adventure here, and in never limited themselves Mi Ami have arrived at a seriously unique sound, one where amazing whirlwind rhythms and quirky electronics merge perfectly with a punk aesthetic. Ten years ago, this would have been a pretty difficult combination to imagine, but this is 2010 and Mi Ami own this sound. Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Harmonics (Genius Of Love)"
MPEG Stream: "Latin Lover"
MPEG Stream: "Native Americans (Born In The U.S.A.)"

MI AMI Steal Your Face (Thrill Jockey) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There aren't too many bands you can say sound "unlike anything else". San Francisco's own Mi Ami is one of those rare groups. For the past few years they have been setting SF, and more recently a good deal of the rest of the world, on fire with their spastic blend of skronky rhythmic awesomeness. Things are constantly moving, and the band's secret weapon is no doubt drummer Damon Palermo, who pulls double duty in cosmic explorers Jonas Reinhardt (whose Powers Of Audition record we recently listed). Of course, the other two members, guitarist/shrieker Daniel Martin-McCormick and bassist Jacob Long (both former members of legendary Dischord band Black Eyes), are just as essential in contributing to the sonic maelstrom that makes up Mi Ami's sound. Warmly distorted guitars howl and slash relentlessly, while the grooving basslines hold the foundation as the drums carry the songs all over the place without letting up. And then there are Martin-McCormick's feral screams, practically an instrument on their own. They manage to sound totally fun but with a firebeathing delivery that will also make you stop to think about songs like "Native Americans (Born In The U.S.A.)". The band has been expertly building up its sound over the past few releases, and they possess a keen production sense which makes Steal Your Face their strongest effort yet. The sound is frantic and ridiculously fun most of the time, but they also know how to slow things down, like on the mellow yet tense groove of "Dreamers", which rides slow and steady in a haze of dubbed out, feedback laced atmospheres. There is a constant sense of adventure here, and in never limited themselves Mi Ami have arrived at a seriously unique sound, one where amazing whirlwind rhythms and quirky electronics merge perfectly with a punk aesthetic. Ten years ago, this would have been a pretty difficult combination to imagine, but this is 2010 and Mi Ami own this sound. Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Harmonics (Genius Of Love)"
MPEG Stream: "Latin Lover"
MPEG Stream: "Native Americans (Born In The U.S.A.)"

MI AMI Towers Fall (Hoss) 12" 16.98
Hoss is a newish label that are working with eclectic minded bands (Excepter, Lichens, WZT Hearts, Ecstatic Sunshine, Jason Forest, etc.) for limited edition vinyl releases where the artists are encouraged to really push and expand a side of their musical DNA in a way that they haven't before. So it makes perfect sense that they reeled in San Francisco's Mi Ami to launch their new "techno" series, which allows Mi Ami the opportunity to fully indulge in their love of techno and craft some serious dance floor burners. We hope Mi Ami keep exploring this side as they really understand how to weave an array of dance/electronic influences into such a fresh and eclectic sound. This is not the screamy/punky side of Mi Ami, instead Towers Fall finds the boys crafting a truly unique slice of electronica that somehow fuses the Berlin school, Chicago and Detroit house and even dubstep, without sounding stale, retro or rehashed. Each side of this 12" is about 10 minutes long, giving the tracks space to breathe and sprawl so nicely. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Towers Fall"
MPEG Stream: "Towers Fall (Cassette Mix)"

MI AMI Watersports (Quarterstick) cd 14.98
It's been a pretty great several months for San Francisco's Mi Ami. They went from being a living room party band secret to getting signed to Quarterstick and touring the nation, with Europe coming up on their horizon this spring. With a few now-hard-to-get 12"s under their belt we were anxious to hear what shape their debut full length would take. Watersports (such a dirty album name, and we love the cover photo!) definitely brings the full voltage, power and energy of their live shows. While much is made about their incorporation of dub, disco and cosmic influences, listening to an entire Mi Ami full length we're very much reminded of their punk and post-hardcore roots, with ex-members of Dischord's Black Eyes making up 2/3 of the band and a spazzy and high pitched squealed vocal delivery that reminds us a lot of some of those great '90s post-hardcore bands like Native Nod, Nation Of Ulysses, Rye Coalition, Antioch Arrow, etc.
Sonically however there is much more at play in Mi Ami's bag of tricks and while the vocals may be a make it or break it scenario for some folks, you can't deny the energy, enthusiasm and visceral fury bursting out of their creative and lively songs.
MPEG Stream: "The Man In Your House"
MPEG Stream: "New Guitar"
MPEG Stream: "Freed From Sin"

MI AMI Watersports (Quarterstick) lp 14.98
It's been a pretty great several months for San Francisco's Mi Ami. They went from being a living room party band secret to getting signed to Quarterstick and touring the nation, with Europe coming up on their horizon this spring. With a few now-hard-to-get 12"s under their belt we were anxious to hear what shape their debut full length would take. Watersports (such a dirty album name, and we love the cover photo!) definitely brings the full voltage, power and energy of their live shows. While much is made about their incorporation of dub, disco and cosmic influences, listening to an entire Mi Ami full length we're very much reminded of their punk and post-hardcore roots, with ex-members of Dischord's Black Eyes making up 2/3 of the band and a spazzy and high pitched squealed vocal delivery that reminds us a lot of some of those great '90s post-hardcore bands like Native Nod, Nation Of Ulysses, Rye Coalition, Antioch Arrow, etc.
Sonically however there is much more at play in Mi Ami's bag of tricks and while the vocals may be a make it or break it scenario for some folks, you can't deny the energy, enthusiasm and visceral fury bursting out of their creative and lively songs.
MPEG Stream: "The Man In Your House"
MPEG Stream: "New Guitar"
MPEG Stream: "Freed From Sin"

MI AND L'AU s/t (Young God) cd 14.98
Mi was a model from Finland working in France when he met L'au. The two fell in love and started making music together. L'au has the kind of sweet delicate voice that hits you immediately when you hear it. Together they make delicate and gentle sounds perfect for those cold nights when all you want to do is lay inside and cuddle with someone you care about. Kind of like the more gentle side of Nico. Devendra Banhart wrote his song "Gentle Soul" for Mi, and after listening to this record you can tell this is the work of two very gentle and in love souls.
MPEG Stream: "Philosopher"
MPEG Stream: "Boxer"

MIA & JONAH Shine I (self-released) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES Manfauna (Latitudes 0:14) (Latitudes / Southern) cd 13.98
We haven't heard from these guys in a while, not since their Perils disc on Mimicry from a few years back. And now they're back, as part of the ever expanding Latitudes series. Featuring members of long time AQ faves Guapo, Miasma are equally as progtastic as Guapo, but where Guapo channel the hard and heavy side of classic prog, Miasma, are more dramatic, with a gipsy folk flair, an Eastern European vibe, jaunty, and playful, cinematic and a bit over the top. Like the soundtrack to some Edward Gorey cartoon come to life. Dark and dangerous, but wild and weirdly wonderful at the same time.
The opening track here begins with a moody gipsy folk hoedown, stings and horns, woven in an intricate dance, before the drums kick in and the song is transformed into epic and intense krautrocky prog. Warm wheezing keyboards, angular riffing, wild octopoidal drumming, intricate arrangements, super dramatic keyboards and strings
A bit of a Goblin vibe, the song builds and builds and builds, a frenzied musical pagan ritual, it's hard not to imagine the band in all black, flowing robes and witches hats, performing in front of some huge stone circle on the top of a massive hill. The second track is a creeping dark ambient sprawl, lurching "Boris The Spider" bassline over whispering winds, clouds of cymbal sizzle, deep cavernous rumbles, haunting organs, mysterious effects that drift from speaker to speakerÉ
The final track begins like a simple piano and violin chamber music piece, with a definite Eastern European flair, before about halfway through, when the drums and bass kick in, and we're back in the prog, the drums complex and intricate, the bass, lumbering and minor key, the piano more and more frenzied as if trying to keep up with the drums, finally all the parts coalescing into a massive moody riff, bordering on classic doom territory, before everything drops out once again leaving just the piano and strings, until the drums come back in, then finally the bass and the guitar, the climax, intense and dramatic, epic and majestic!
Comes packaged in a super intricate hand screened die cut fold over sleeve with a full color insert. The cover has a sticker affixed to the front and each copy is hand stamped and numbered. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide, 500 of which made it to the United States, we got about 25 copiesÉ
MPEG Stream: "Manticore"
MPEG Stream: "Taus"

MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES Perils (Web Of Mimicry) cd 14.98
Featuring two members of AQ-faves Guapo, this instrumental band from the UK plays a kind of dark, baroque chamber-prog that's seemingly trying to evoke the magick of Aleister Crowley and the drawings of Edward Gorey, and also sorta sounds like eerie Eastern European circus music or a sinister silent movie orchestra or something. Theirs is a refined sort of precise prog bombast that would be ok to play as background music at the right sort of dinner party (in a candlelit English manor house, perhaps, with some murders occuring before the night is through). The song titles ("The Mage", "Whitening: Foxes Templar", "Reddening: The Blood Of The Pelican", "Asmodius Arise", etc.) suggest that some sort of occult narrative is being played out. Fans of the likes of Univers Zero and Devil Doll should definitely investigate.
MPEG Stream: "Perilous Fathoms"
MPEG Stream: "The Pale Staircase"

MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES Perils (Rise Above) lp 28.00
Now available as a super swank, and of course super limited lp. Here's our review from when we listed he cd a while back:
Featuring two members of AQ-faves Guapo, this instrumental band from the UK plays a kind of dark, baroque chamber-prog that's seemingly trying to evoke the magick of Aleister Crowley and the drawings of Edward Gorey, and also sorta sounds like eerie Eastern European circus music or a sinister silent movie orchestra or something. Theirs is a refined sort of precise prog bombast that would be ok to play as background music at the right sort of dinner party (in a candlelit English manor house, perhaps, with some murders occurring before the night is through). The song titles ("The Mage", "Whitening: Foxes Templar", "Reddening: The Blood Of The Pelican", "Asmodius Arise", etc.) suggest that some sort of occult narrative is being played out. Fans of the likes of Univers Zero and Devil Doll should definitely investigate.
MPEG Stream: "Perilous Fathoms"
MPEG Stream: "The Pale Staircase"

MICE PARADE Mokoondi (Bubble Core) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MICE PARADE s/t (Fat Cat) cd 14.98
Oooooh, this is a keeper! Really folks, don't your ears need a hug every now and again? Mice Parade's seventh album fits the bill perfectly. Go on, immerse yourself in the dreamy swirl and sway of these nine songs. This time around head Mice Parader Adam Pierce moved away from the Big Apple into the woods of upstate New York, setting up house and studio near Bear Mountain Park. He was joined in the wilderness by Jay Israelson (of Lansing-Dreiden), Dylan Cristy (of The Dylan Group) and Doug Scharin (of Rex and June Of 44) for this gentle unwinding. Despite the remote recording locale, a few city lights do glint faintly in the distance. If you swoon to the sounds of Sea & Cake and Archer Prewitt, you should know that Mice Parade are slipping their way deeper and deeper into their increasingly downy, post-rock mellowness. Plus, lifting the album up even further with their angel winged vocals are guests Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier and Mum's Kristin Anna Valtysdottir. Oh my lovelies, 'tis such a glorious dew-dappled dream.
MPEG Stream: "Tales Of Las Negras"
MPEG Stream: "Double Dolphins On The Nickel"

MICE, THE For Almost Ever Scooter (Scat) cd 13.98
Cleveland may be better known in underground rock circles for bands like Rocket From The Tombs, The Electric Eels, the Mirrors, the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu, but there was a pretty serious pop scene going on in the mid-eighties, the most notable, and probably most notably unsung group being The Mice, fronted by pop tunesmith extraordinaire Bill Fox.
Rescued from obscurity by the kind folks at Scat, For Almost Ever Scooter is a serious slab of short sharp power pop anthems, infused with snotty punk rock, British Invasion melodies, and tons of jangle. Not to mention kick ass drumming, some amazing riffage, Fox's snarling soaring vocals, and needless to say, HOOKS galore. If you like bands like the Flamin' Groovies, the Undertones, the Buzzcocks, the Nerves, the Diodes, well, the Mice are just as great...
Scat is the home of all the best Guided By Voices records, which ALL borrow heavily from classic British influenced pop, so it makes sense that the Mice record would end up here too. In fact, one might be forgiven for thinking the Mice record was actually the work of some young kids in a modern retro pop band, channelling all of the above mentioned bands into a sound that's classic but surprisingly modern and fresh. GBV fans should definitely give this a listen. The Mice are everything we love about pop music, heavy and crunchy, soaring, distorted and dramatic, big guitars, lush harmonies, wild drumming, just listen to "Downtown", one of the greatest pop songs EVER, and you'll be hooked. And rest of the record is just as great.
MPEG Stream: "Downtown"
MPEG Stream: "Felicia"
MPEG Stream: "Rescue You Too"

MICHAEL AND THE MUMBLES s/t (De Stijl) lp 14.98
If you're like us, then you probably first came across Michael Yonkers with the reissue of his 1968 outsider garage-punk classic Microminiature Love a few years ago. That record was a wildly forward looking piece of music that worked heavy studio experimentation into Yonkers' passionate and tense songs for a result unlike anything else. But where did this guy come from? Well, Minneapolis if you want to get all geographic. But Yonkers' musical roots, like many others from his era, were initially sewn from the fertile American garage rock scene of the mid '60s. Yonkers got his start all short haired and well dressed fronting the Mumbles, a simple and straightforward R&B combo, and these recordings from 1966 present a solid group taking cues from the Nuggets style fervor that was sweeping the nation. We're not quite sure that we detected any of the "dissonant undercurrents" the De Stijl website mentioned, maybe they're there... But this is not to slight this record at all, as Michael And The Mumbles whip up a cool set of rhythmic garage rock that is pretty much impossible to dislike. Yonkers' voice here is less frantic and emotional than on his solo discs, but it is also easy to get an idea of how he developed his own idiosyncratic approach to music making by stepping off the edge of a more traditional foundation. Perhaps it would be difficult to tell where things were going if you heard this stuff first, but this record is a delightful collection of tunes that laid the groundwork for one of the craziest and punkest things to come out of the late '60s American underground. Highly recommended, and to the non-turntable having types, this lp does come with a free download card.

MICROPHONES Glow Pt. 2 (K) cd 14.98
Phil Elvrum -- the ever so shy Microphones ringleader who has also appeared in Old Tyme Relijun and D+ -- will probably never be so bold as to express his songs with all of the heartwrenching, off-key scream of a great emo vocalist, although his songs ooze with the post-adolescent grand bummer that is so common in the emo. His quivering voice holds nothing more than a few muttered melodies and a handful of whispered lyrics, yet Elvrum has always delved into baroque, if lo-fi, production tricks to augment what began as the quietest of bedroom indie strumming. While he's nowhere near the songwriter as Jeff Mangum or Bill Smog, his downer indie-rock songs filled with ramshackle rock bursts, early-Stereolab Moog-o-riffic rhythms, liltingly paranoid piano lines, big-muff distortion blasts, and big band horn flourishes sure do make you feel as Neutral Milk and Smog can do.
All of the Microphones albums have a great sound, there is always that little critical voice that wishes he would bring to the production table a set of really great songs. Elvrum is way too talented to waste his production and arrangement abilities on being just an indie-dork. This is a pretty good record, but if he continues to improve his songwriting ability - let this be a prophecy - Elvrum will write the next "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea."
RealAudio clip: "The Glow Pt.2"
RealAudio clip: "Map"

MICROPHONES Glow Pt. 2 (K) 2lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Phil Elvrum -- the ever so shy Microphones ringleader who has also appeared in Old Tyme Relijun and D+ -- will probably never be so bold as to express his songs with all of the heartwrenching, off-key scream of a great emo vocalist, although his songs ooze with the post-adolescent grand bummer that is so common in the emo. His quivering voice holds nothing more than a few muttered melodies and a handful of whispered lyrics, yet Elvrum has always delved into baroque, if lo-fi, production tricks to augment what began as the quietest of bedroom indie strumming. While he's nowhere near the songwriter as Jeff Mangum or Bill Smog, his downer indie-rock songs filled with ramshackle rock bursts, early-Stereolab Moog-o-riffic rhythms, liltingly paranoid piano lines, big-muff distortion blasts, and big band horn flourishes sure do make you feel as Neutral Milk and Smog can do.
All of the Mircrophones albums have a great sound, there is always that little critical voice that wishes he would bring to the production table a set of really great songs. Elvrum is way too talented to waste his production and arrangement abilities on being just an indie-dork. This is a pretty good record, but if he continues to improve his songwriting ability - let this be a prophecy - Elvrum will write the next "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea."

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

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

MICROPHONES Song Islands (K) cd 14.98

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

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

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

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

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

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

MIDDLETON, MALCOLM Waxing Gibbous (Full Time Hobby) cd 14.98
As the first few songs from Malcolm Middleton's latest album burst forth, you sorta get the feeling that he's thrown off the sadsack shackles of past dour hopelessness. The feverish tempo of many of these songs suggests that he might've come to the realization that too much time has been wasted mopin' around, and he's pulled up his socks and gotten a move on. The fantastic opening tune (and clear choice for the first single off the album) "Red Travellin' Socks" had us imagining what the world would be like if the New Pornographers had blossomed out of Scotland instead of Canada. 'Tis buoyant, beautifully produced pop with soaring female backing vocals that's as infectious as can be. Sure there's still the occasional song during which Middleton's spirits droop and his shoulders slump under the weight of the woes of his heart and soul as well as that of the rest of the world. Need proof? Give "Ballad Of Fuck All" a spin! Yeah, the title sez it all. He's never been one to mince words. As well there are a few endearingly dorky moments when the parts don't quite seem to fit - such as the introduction of programmed beats and/or a bleep-bloop synth line (as on "Zero") into the predominantly folksy acoustic setting. On the other hand, the same additions to songs such as "Box And Knife" work beautifully! Day in and day out, Middleton seldom disappoints! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Red Travellin' Socks"
MPEG Stream: "Box And Knife"

MIDLAKE The Courage Of Others (Bella Union) cd 13.98

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MIIKE SNOW s/t (Downtown) cd 14.98
We usually don't pay too much attention to mainstream music mags, especially when they're pushing something as the next big thing, so we're not sure how exactly we ended up hearing this record from Miike Snow, a Swedish trio, not a person, but apologies to whoever wrote the recommendation, and whatever magazine printed it, cuz this really is fantastic. Totally quirky, super lush pop, that if we had to summarize these guys in a nutshell, we'd probably describe them as Animal Collective meets Phoenix, maybe with a little TV On The Radio mixed in (especially in the almost Peter Gabriel sounding vox), although we have seen them described as Animal Collective meets A-Ha, which might be not that far off either.
But however you describe them, the sound is amazing. Super lush, glimmering almost orchestral pop, with gorgeous vocal harmonies, buzzy synths, minimal programmed rhythms, little flurries of electronics, swirling ambience, tinkling pianos, a glistening production, and incredible hooks, the first three tracks have this record so frontloaded the rest of the songs barely stand a chance, but somehow they do manage to hold their own, which is saying a lot, just give the three sound samples a listen and you'll know exactly what we mean.
We probably haven't dug a major label mainstream pop record this much since Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and you know how much we love(d) that one, so needless to say, for the pop kids this one comes highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Animal"
MPEG Stream: "Burial"
MPEG Stream: "Silvia"

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

MIJ Yodeling Astrologer (Jackpot) lp 19.98
Now available on vinyl!
Just when we thought all the weird dusty corners of strange and magical sounds had been uncovered from the vast archives of the ESP label, something new to us, shiny and unbelievably wonderful gets unearthed. MIJ is the strangely cryptic moniker of Jim Holberg, (or on second thought not so strange as we just realized, it's his name spelled backwards!) who was discovered in Washington Square Park on a hot summer day in 1969 yodeling and playing guitar by ESP label head Bernard Stoller. But this wasn't any country western or Swiss Alps yodeling, this was some freaked out high-keening spacey Martian kind of yodeling. The kind that cuts through time and space and penetrates your subconscious. Blown away by his street performance, Stoller invited Holberg into the studio the next day to record a full length album and in just three hours with an array of echo effects and a patient and agreeable engineer, the Yodeling Astrologer was born. Apparently Holberg had explained to Stoller that after being injured in an auto-accident that had fractured his skull and impaired his hearing, his perceptions became altered and he began to do things musically that he couldn't comprehend but they somehow worked, and indeed they do. With both voice and guitar reverbed to the Nth degree, this is some Donovan meet Dreamies meets Curt Boetchner of The Millenium psych-folk magic. So awesome and beautiful, weird and dreamy, with well-written songs and just enough freaky yodeling that won't scare off the folks who might be put off by the concept of, well, freaky yodeling. We've been playing this nearly everyday, it's so good. So Highly Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Two Stars"
MPEG Stream: "Grok (Martian Love Call)"
MPEG Stream: "Never Be Free"