AVI BUFFALO s/t (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
All it takes really is one song. Sometimes that's the key to understanding a record, to loving a band. A record can seem just sort of okay, but then that one song can work its magic and make all the other songs make more sense, and then suddenly it's not just that one song anymore. That's happened with lots of our favorite records, and is exactly what happened with this, the debut from Avi Buffalo, a group of young Southern Californians, whose sounds is a little bit Built To Spill, a little bit Elephant 6, a little bit Shins, you know what we're talking about, jangly and hooky, indie pop, but smart indie pop. The sort of stuff we do dig, but also the sort of stuff that is EVERYwhere.
So while we found this record pleasant enough, it wasn't until "What's In It For?" that everything clicked, a pretty much perfect slice of wistful jangle pop, with sly sad boy emo lyrics, spidery melodies, simple major chord jangle, the about to crack vocals, and the chorus, and absolute killer, with some super cute and charming background harmonies, that seem to get looser and looser as the song progresses, plus how can you not love a young songwriter who compares his crush's lips to two little pieces of bacon?! So after playing that song about a million times, we started letting the whole record play, and all the other songs blossomed into other songs begging to be played a million times, and who are we to argue? Sunshiney and summery, melodic and subtly catchy, songs like "Summer Cum" with its weirdly sing songy verse and heart wrenchingly twee chorus, or "Five Little Sluts", with its chiming guitars and strange serpentine vocal melodies, that manage to be catchy as heck, even though they're so unlikely. Which is sort of the story with the whole record, unlikely, off kilter, but so catchy and heartfelt and awesome. Definitely a new pop fave.
MPEG Stream: "What's In It For?"
MPEG Stream: "Truth Sets In"
MPEG Stream: "Coaxed"
MPEG Stream: "Five Little Sluts"

AVI BUFFALO s/t (Sub Pop) lp 14.98
All it takes really is one song. Sometimes that's the key to understanding a record, to loving a band. A record can seem just sort of okay, but then that one song can work its magic and make all the other songs make more sense, and then suddenly it's not just that one song anymore. That's happened with lots of our favorite records, and is exactly what happened with this, the debut from Avi Buffalo, a group of young Southern Californians, whose sounds is a little bit Built To Spill, a little bit Elephant 6, a little bit Shins, you know what we're talking about, jangly and hooky, indie pop, but smart indie pop. The sort of stuff we do dig, but also the sort of stuff that is EVERYwhere.
So while we found this record pleasant enough, it wasn't until "What's In It For?" that everything clicked, a pretty much perfect slice of wistful jangle pop, with sly sad boy emo lyrics, spidery melodies, simple major chord jangle, the about to crack vocals, and the chorus, and absolute killer, with some super cute and charming background harmonies, that seem to get looser and looser as the song progresses, plus how can you not love a young songwriter who compares his crush's lips to two little pieces of bacon?! So after playing that song about a million times, we started letting the whole record play, and all the other songs blossomed into other songs begging to be played a million times, and who are we to argue? Sunshiney and summery, melodic and subtly catchy, songs like "Summer Cum" with its weirdly sing songy verse and heart wrenchingly twee chorus, or "Five Little Sluts", with its chiming guitars and strange serpentine vocal melodies, that manage to be catchy as heck, even though they're so unlikely. Which is sort of the story with the whole record, unlikely, off kilter, but so catchy and heartfelt and awesome. Definitely a new pop fave.
MPEG Stream: "What's In It For?"
MPEG Stream: "Truth Sets In"
MPEG Stream: "Coaxed"
MPEG Stream: "Five Little Sluts"

AVIAN BONES Only On The Surface (Chaos Of The Stars) cd 5.98
A few lists back we hailed the return of the Mausoleums, our coworker Andrew's band which had lain dormant for far too long, and who in that time seemed to have morphed into a completely different beast, trading in the schizophrenic black metal weirdness for something much more droned out and psychedelic. And apparently that sonic shift also inspired the formation of a new band, this one called Avian Bones, which traffics in a similarly murky psychedelic krautdrone sound, taking obvious inspiration from Spacemen 3, Loop and other purveyors of druggy hypnorock, the emphasis in AB seeming to be much more on propulsion, the rhythm mixed way higher and giving these songs some extra heft, and some propulsive momentum. And the murk being such that it often seems to blur the riffs and other instrumentation into clouds of shimmering sound, more of a textural backdrop for the rhythm and the fore, the sounds shifting melodically, but drifting dreamily into oblivion.
After a brief lovely reverbed guitar intro, AB launch right into a long droned out stretch of dronerock bliss, the shifting sounds subtle enough that it almost feels looped, the song trancelike and fantastically relentless. "Going Somewhere Else" is another slab of similarly murky mesmer, the drums a bit busier this time, a bit loose limbed which gives the track a more organic feel, as if it could derail at any point.
It's not until "Only You Will Know" that the songs shifts dramatically, the drums machinelike and skittery, the droned out noise of the first few tracks dialed way back, leaving the sound more low slung and slithery, but gradually building to another spacey psychedelic sprawl, and once it reaches that point, the song locks tight, and we're once again carried away by the endless riffing and motorik rhythm. "Anoxia" offers up a false start, before lurching into a strangely spidery abstract bit of psychswirl drift, the guitars spare, the drums simple and skeletal, the guitars over the course of the track's 8 plus minutes, growing more melodic, but not necessarily louder, the track remaining spares and spare, but building in intensity, which is a nice effect, and leads right into the caustic crunch of the closer, a heady chunk of Loop meets Jesus And Mary Chain, with most of the JAMC shoegaze noise pop blurred into Loop-ed expanses of soaring melodies, and swirling distorted murk, and again, the song locks into a lumbering groove, and proceeds to churn away, with the clouds of guitar overhead swirling and constantly shifting, a seriously blissed out drone-psych coda.
And like the Mausoleums record, this one too is cassette only, the low fidelity and tape hiss only serving to enhance AB's marvelous murk. And we'd be surprised if the psych rock obsessives who freak out over every Carlton Melton / White Hills / Wooden Shjips release, finally started getting hip to the newly (re)launched Mausoleums / Avian Bones sonic axis...

AVROCAR Cinematography (Earworm) cd 16.98
Birmingham's Avrocar slowly collapse into well-worn couches as the vallium starts to kick in, allowing thick sublime washes of electronics with mumbled pop structures to envelop them. A sort of drug appreciation outfit in that Spaceman 3 kind of way, Avocar's space-rock electronics recall some of the best and most sublime parts of the Michigan spacerock scene (Windy & Carl, Auburn Lull, etc.).

AVSKUM Re-Crucified By The System (HQCovers) cd 11.98

AVULSION Prince of a Thousand Enemies (Impatience or Indifference) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Eight brand new tracks of pummelling blasting grind from these Buffalo thrashers (not actual thrashers of buffalos, but thrashers -from- Buffalo). Insane blast beats with a dual vocal attack (one bark, and one growl, the growl being maybe one of the best cookie monster vocalists we've heard!). On cool local label Impatience Or Indifference!

AWESOME COLOR Electric Aborigines (Ecstatic Peace) cd 11.98

AWESOME COLOR Flying (Hat Energy) 7" 5.98

AWESOME COLOR Flying (Hat Energy) 7" 5.98

AWKWARD STAGE, THE Heaven Is For Easy Girls (Mint) cd 16.98
Getting a bit caught up with our friends to the north at Mint Records... We've just gotten in a few new and new-to-us titles on this fine Vancouver indie label (this one as well as some by Neko Case's early band Maow, Buttless Chaps, The Pack A.D. and Immaculate Machine)!
This pop gem is from a couple of years back, but still sounds fresh as a daisy! Psst, we also just got their more recent album Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights (it's not reviewed yet, so if you'd like to order it just ask!).
From the garden that bloomed those New Pornographers, Destroyer, Zumpano... Awww, you know the pop city we're talking about -- Vancouver! Here's a fresh new addition to us, but the faces aren't necessarily unfamiliar having played with and been buddies with the bands mentioned above among many other aQ fave Canadians. The Awkward Stage's debut album will surely geek the ears of soft-hearted, smart-lyric'd pop fans. No surprises it's on Mint Records (Canuck home to the NPs, Neko Case, Ms Mark, Duotang, I Am Spoonbender, The Organ, and many others). As we've come to know and love about Canadian indie popsters, these folks are terrific songsmiths, unabashedly earnest and romantic, but not without a sharply witty barb or a, yes awkwardly, dorky self-deprecating line here and there. Guitars have plenty of jangle and crunch. There's nice variations in rhythm, tempo, and percussion choices. And Shane Nelken's smooth sensitive guy lead vocals are sweetly charming and complimented well by The Choir Practice's Coco Culbertson's backing vocals on songs like . Co-produced by New Pornographer Kurt Dahle. If you dig The NPs, The 1900s or Peter Bjorn And John, we recommend you give this a spin!
MPEG Stream: "The Morons Are Winning"
MPEG Stream: "Sad Girl Radio"

AWKWARD STAGE, THE Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights (Mint) cd 16.98
A terrific sophomore release from The Awkward Stage has made its way down the West Coast to our eager ears. What is it in that Vancouver water that sprouts such dandy melodic sensibilities? On Slimming Mirrors, Flattering Lights, the dulcet drowsy voiced Shane Nelkin and company may initially come across as unassuming, and at times, yes, maybe slightly awkward, but in the most charmingly distinctly Canadian way. Then they wheel out their (also distinctly Canadian) guitar pop chops, and watch ears start pricking up and toes start tapping. Hot on their heels come a graceful tickling of the ivories and some buoyant bright horns (that gave us the nostalgic warm fuzzies for Zumpano), and well, away we goooo! The Awkward Stage casually nestle catchy hooks into both smooth and crunchy settings with delightful results. We're guessing they were raised on '60s pop and '70s soft rock (a la Raspberries, Sweet, Bread, Chicago, etc), and nurtured in the neighborhood of fellow Vancouverites The New Pornographers, the abovementioned Zumpano, and Immaculate Machine. Heck, Nelkin played with both A.C. Newman and Jason Zumpano's Sparrow for a spell. We also think this may tickle your fancy if you dig Hidden Cameras, Arcade Fire, Sloan and Interpol too. When this has been played in the store pop loving folks have asked, "Ooh, what's this?" and often take one home with them!
MPEG Stream: "Anime Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "Skeletal Blonde"
MPEG Stream: "Hey Modern School Girl"

AXA HOUR OF DARA BLEU Clones Of Eros (Fire Museum) cd 13.98

AXELROD, DAVID Earth Rot (Ascension) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
David Axelrod, whose resume includes a stint as Cannonball Adderley's producer as well as some time in the Electric Prunes, "Earth Rot" is a paisley clad polemic from the '70s on the pending destruction of the earth as a result of enviromental abuse. Excessively decorated with lots of orchestral flares and bass guitar noodle, this is pretty much a psychedelic choral number that mimics "Hair" in melodrama albeit with a different ideological bent.

AXELROD, DAVID Seriously Deep (Dusty Groove America) cd 14.98
Another often overlooked ambitious album in the amazing career of producer/arranger/musical mastermind David Axelrod. Unlike the orchestrated and conceptual records he made earlier in his career, this 1975 album is all about the totally deep and funky jazz. Very much an album of its time, this is some over the top fusion jazz-funk action that definitely has its moments but can get very very wanky. That said, there are plenty of moments that you could imagine J Dilla sampling, or snippets that would fit so perfectly on the Beastie Boys record Pauls Boutique. Kind of like a 70's cop show meets porno soundtrack vibe. If you don't have any David Axelrod in your music collection (which you should remedy post haste!) this isn't necessarily the place to start. Try, Songs Of Innocence or the great collection The Edge: David Axelrod At Capitol Records 1966-1970, as those really capture the true genius and innovation of Axelrod. But for those who want to dig deeper into his sound or just have a sweet soft spot for this era in all its funky weirdness then we say why not go seriously deep?
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "1000 Rads"

AXELROD, DAVID The Edge: David Axelrod At Capitol Records 1966-1970 (Capitol) cd 16.98
So good! Axelrod founded the "black music" division of Capitol records in the '60s. During his reign at Capitol he produced amazing records by Cannonball Adderley, Lou Rawls and David McCallum. He also pretty much created the two weirdest Electric Prunes albums. What has been hardest to track down are three of his own records during that era: Songs of Experience, Songs Of Innocence, and Earth Rot. On these, Axelrod put together an orchestra of sound complete with strings, hammond organ and a super rich backbeat that's been sampled and worshiped by the likes of DJ Shadow, Madlib and Dr Dre. This collection compiles tracks from those three albums as well as a few choice cuts he produced for other artists at Captiol circa '66-'70. His sound is one that laid the foundation for the explosion in fusion which would happen in the '70s. Miles Davis always gave props to Axelrod and one could argue that he was very responsible for helping lay the foundation for a work like Bitches Brew to be born. Taking the richness of soul, the freedom of jazz, elements of classical composition and hints of rock and psych-pop Axelrod is one of the few guys who can get away with wearing sunglasses inside 'cause he was just that cool!
MPEG Stream: "Song Of Innocence"
MPEG Stream: "The Fly"

AXEMEN Nutcracker Suite (Negative Guest List) 7" 12.98

AXEMEN Peter Wang Pud (Flying Nun) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Furious '80s garage punk from Australia on the fabulous Flying Nun label.

AXEMEN Three Virgins (Siltbreeze) lp 17.98
Originally released in the eighties on legendary New Zealand label Flying Nun, the Axemen's Three Virgins remained mostly unheard by all but the most extreme of NZ underground obsessives, sort of makes sense that it would end up on Siltbreeze, whose pop roster should give you an idea of what to expect from these Axemen: Strapping Fieldhands, Guided By Voices, Sebadoh, Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments, to those references you could also add the Velvets, Beefheart, and even more appropriately, to these ears at least, would be seminal East Coast outsider label Shimmy Disc. The Axemen traffic in a fractured, stumbling, keening, detuned lo-fi pop, the guitars atonal, occasionally buzzy and crunchy, otherwise spidery and jangly, the songs laced with plink plonk piano, whistling, the drums strangely produced, usually buried in the mix, spidery guitar leads wrapped around warped and warbly melodies, and the vocals, seriously out there, this is a pop record after all, so it's the vocals that really drive things, the various voices seem less concerned with being in tune, and more with energy and exuberance, they're high, whiny, plaintive, sorta sad boy, but delivered with gusto, howled in places, crooned in others, the harmonies slightly off, defiantly tuneless in places, adding another bit of whatthefuck to the already cracked vibe, which is augmented further by some awesomely tripped out weirdness, that sounds in places like a more tuneful (just barely) Dead C, or some primitive tape experiment, or some warped boom box DJ collage or even like some sort of lysergic sixties psych folk, all of the various elements constantly shifting, and mutating, and getting all tangled up with each other, the sound poppy one second, droney and dirgey the next, fuzzy and psychedelic one second, detuned and demented the next, but always confusional and off kilter, a pretty brilliantly baffling slice of primo eighties NZ underground sound for sure.
Pressed on nice thick vinyl, housed in an eye popping gatefold jacker, and LIMITED TO 600 COPIES!! Includes a download coupon.
MPEG Stream: "The Dream"
MPEG Stream: "Something (The Wives of the President's Men)"
MPEG Stream: "Grudge Hill"
MPEG Stream: "Artie Shepp's Place"
MPEG Stream: "The Yeasty Mayor"

AXOLOTL Archons?/Archons! (Jyrk Collective) cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While I was listening to this the first time, I found myself literally singing along, making up words, something like "I love noise rock, I surely do" kind of facetiously, but as this record played on, I realized I actually still do. And this here slab of noise rock in particular. Dug the recent Axolotl cd and this cd-r is just as good. A swirling mess of drones and clatter and deconstructed melodies and propulsive almost rhythms and weird snatches of sonic detritus, all muddled up into a totally listenable, surprisingly catchy, really fucking good burst of avant/free/folk/noise/rock!
MPEG Stream: "Emme Ya"
MPEG Stream: "Sinthome"

AXOLOTL Memory Theatre (Important) cd 14.98
Long overdue collection of out of print material from SF based free noise sound sculptor Axolotl. Collecting tracks from the Jyrk cd-r Oranur, the Spirit Of Orr cd-r Object Phantom and the more recent Gypsy Sphinx 12" Chemical Theater.
As much as we pretty much love everything Axolotl has done, and as much as we're psyched to have some of the older stuff on a real cd, this disc is worth it alone for the two tracks from the Chemical Theater 12", the first record where we noticed a distinct stylistic shift in Axolotl's sound. Here's what we had to say about those tracks:
"We had to keep checking to see what we were listening to. Some of the elements are certainly similar, but it's way dreamier and laid back, muted and murky, subtly propulsive, it actually sounds quite a bit like Oval or Gas! Which is a VERY good thing. Slow shifting underwater drift, a looped hypnotic dream world, rich waves of warm sound, a totally gorgeous abstract minimal ambience."
Sounds pretty great huh? Well, it is. And the two tracks from Chemical Theater are nearly twenty minutes long! Basically half of the 12". Including the 11+ minute glorious dreamy drone "Illiaster".
But the funny thing is, revisiting the older tracks, they are just as good somehow, sounding way more fuzzy and blown out and beautiful than we remember. And we definitely remember digging them, a lot, but they sound SO great... Thick washes of murky gritty grime, drones that twist and rumble and give way to fragmented bits of melody. Soft focus stretches of pixelated ambience, guitar strums that come apart, the notes drifting in all different directions, each note enveloped in its own little swath of buzz or fuzz, simple percussion, damaged rhythms, all wrapped in a dense fog of glowing guitar growl and fuzzed out feedback...
So recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Chemical Theater"
MPEG Stream: "Oranur"
MPEG Stream: "Lake Garden"

AXOLOTL s/t (Psych-o-path) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
First record from this mysterious troupe, and it's a good one. We heard a little from them on that recent Space Is No Place compilation, but Axolotl is the sort of band that requires a whole record to truly unwind and explore and get us to where we want to go. This is classic, minimal, creepy out-rock music, but minus most of the rock. Damaged drones constructed from warbling synths and moaning ambient flutter, garbled melodies of chopped up voices, excited strings and all sorts of minimally percussive scrabble. There are drones but this is most definitely NOT a drone record, it's far too unsettling and dynamic. The drones are just one of the many elements of Axolotl's otherworldly miasma of sonic muddle and seemingly random sound. Occasionally a machine like rrrroooaaarr emerges from the murk, but manages to remain somehow pleasingly but not at all obviously melodic (a la the Dead C) like an anvil dipped in tar and wrapped in feathers.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 3"

AXXESS Novels For The Moons (Medical) lp 19.98
We've been meaning to list more releases on Medical Records, one of the coolest reissue labels going these days. The label describes themselves as "Purveyors of classic synth, cosmic disco, wave (cold/new), and future music", and in the past have brought us killer reissues from Der Plan, Deutsche Wertarbeit, and Alexander Robotnick, with tons more we've yet to review (but hopefully will soon!). But we can't think of a better way to start our Medical Records review campaign than this amazing record, 1983's Novels For The Moon, by the awesomely named Axxess, aka French multimedia artist Patrick Mimran, a record whose genesis is nearly as interesting as the record itself. But before we get to that, just know that ANYone into the current crop of psych-space-synth retro-futurists, a la Zombi, Majeure, Umberto, Gatekeeper, Dylan Ettinger, Nightsatan, Blizaro, Xander Harris, Roll The Dice and all the rest, should grab one of these right now!
So, the story goes, that Mimran was working as a top executive at Lamborghini Motors (the exotic sports car / race car company), when he made this record, and originally released it on, believe it or not, Lamborghini's own record label (which had us wondering what other Lamborghini Records releases might be lurking out there?!). His music was heavily influenced by the German krautrock of the time (Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk, etc.), and he even commissioned a German engineer to build him a custom synthesizer, a much more complex version of one that the same engineer had earlier designed for Tangerine Dream! And in a further connection to Tangerine Dream, Novels For The Moons was recorded with help from TD member Christopher Franke (who was also in Agitation Free). Needless to say, sonically, this Axxess album has much in common with Tangerine Dream, but also with the creepy synth soundtracks of Goblin and John Carpenter, the sounds on the record ranging from pulsing space disco, to haunting ominous synth soundtrackery, to blissed out kosmische new age, often all of those combined.
On first listen, you'll be shocked at how much the current crop of synth wranglers sound like Axxess, an artist probably most of them have never heard, but who no doubt will be immediately obsessed with, how could they not be? The tracks mesmerizing and hypnotic, sequenced melodies, pulsing rhythms, the Kraftwerk vibe HUGE in places, thick swaths of kosmische drift, swirls of new agey shimmer, much of this sounds like mysterious B-movie soundtracks, chase scenes, credit sequences, others sound like background music from some seriously tripped out seventies nature program, all of it sounds druggy and cosmic, soaring and epic and impossibly catchy, driving and pulsating, pulsing and mesmerizing, beyond the classic synth sounds, there's plenty of other craziness going on as well, strange processed vocals, intense stereo panning, even wild monkey screeches on one track, but it's all somehow woven into the whole, which most definitely works as an album proper, but whose sound slip seamlessly from dark and ominous, to playful and goofy, to intense and driving, krautrocky and blissed out one minute, groovy and darkly psychedelic the next. So totally recommended.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES! Each one hand numbered. Pressed on 180 gram yellow vinyl, housed in a reproduction of the original jacket, with a 12"x12" printed insert with liner notes including pictures of the synth used to make the record, a history of the record and its creation, and an interview with Patrick Mimran!
MPEG Stream: "Griffin's Disaster"
MPEG Stream: "Twilight Ride"
MPEG Stream: "Xylobones"
MPEG Stream: "Sad Blue Sand I"
MPEG Stream: "Owls"

AYERS, NIGEL / JOHN EVERALL / MICK HARRIS Mesmeric Enabling Device (Soleilmoon) cd 14.98
Outside the morphological sounds of Nocturnal Emissions, Nigel Ayers has embarked on a few collaborative projects - one with Robin Storey and Randy Grief, and this one with Mick Harris (Scorn, Lull, Painkiller), and John Everall (Sentrax Records). Collectively, the trio delves into the deepest pits of the dark ambient, pioneered by the likes of Lustmord. Sublime.

AZURE RAY November (Saddle Creek) cd ep 11.98
In general I can't really handle female vocalists of the overly-breathy school of emotiveness. You know, the kind of voice that's become such a mainstream-adult-radio staple -- the Jewel / Fiona Apple axis. Their whispered voices are breaking oh so emotionally as if they're gonna cry all over the $800 Roberto Cavalli jeans their stylist told them to wear. Harrumph. And yet, while the ladies of Azure Ray do wield overly breathy voices, they don't milk it dry; they're not manipulating nor overdoing it. They simply have natural, lush voices suited to softly singing *this close* to the mic. Same thing with the cello which is usually terribly predictable in indie rock, but here it's wielded so genuinely. Azure Ray might have some superficial qualities in common with the aforementioned studio puppets, but listen close and you'll see they're the real thing.
This very pleasant, quiet half-hour EP from the Georgia-based duo has become a favorite of Windy's. The title track "November" is so astonishingly pretty that I was struck the same way as when I first heard Mazzy Star -- by how instantly accessible and melodic it is. In fact its chorus positively reminds us of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All".
The delicately plucked acoustic guitars are embellished with piano, steel drums, and nice, subtle stereo separation effects. Features a Townes Van Zandt cover. Together with their producer Andy Lemasters (of Now It's Overhead, another AQ-fave), Azure Ray have also toured as Bright Eyes' band.
RealAudio clip: "November"
RealAudio clip: "For the Sake of the Song"

AZUSA PLANE Cheltenham (10") Ochre 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The two Jasons of Azusa Plane make more of their rainy day droning psychedelia for twin guitars. Limited edition.

AZUSA PLANE The Highway's Jammed With Broken Heroes ((K-RAA-K)3) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a long hiatus since the last Azusa Plane album, Jason DiEmilio has reinvented himself as an angularly avant-guitarist with aspirations of making another David Grubbs album. "The Highway's Jammed With Broken Heroes" is the first release of Azusa Plane in this mode. The first of the two lengthy tracks on this album is a spartan affair of assorted errata: forced guitar plucks, various cable buzz pops, and lots of microphone bumping. It is so clumsy and spastic as to warrant FE's Jimmy Johnson to state that "this has such comedic aspirations that even Neil Hamburger will probably have to sit up and take notice." The other track also takes a clunky approach to a series of acoustic guitar loops, with various clatters and whirs topping everything off. The whole affair seems painfully forced, without much expression in the improvisation. Perhaps he should've stuck with the bliss rock.

AZUSA PLANE Tycho Magnetic Anomaly (Camera Obscura) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"All sounds on this cd originated from a Fender guitar" it says on the very Corpus Hermeticum-like folding paper sleeve. The Azusa Plane is a very pleasant space-drone type project out of Clifton Heights, PA.

Ã+ (CHECKSUM) 12345678 (Boskite) cd 10.98
Checksum is the collaboration between San Francisco leftfield indie mainstays Jeff Palmer (Granfaloon Bus, Sunny Day Real Estate) and Greg Freeman (Pell Mell, Virginia Dare, Lowdown Studios), taking spartan instrumentation not far from late period Talk Talk or the first Tortoise record to occasional lap top / dubby trickery.

B-52'S Funplex (Astralwerks) cd 14.98

B.B. BLUNDER Workers' Playtime (Long Hair) cd 23.00

B.G. Checkmate (Cash Money) cd 16.98
Latest from the Bling Bling guy, with Cash Money guests Juvenile, etc.

B.O.S. O-Land (Angelika Kohlermann) cd 16.98
An Austrian band (we think) playing what they (or their label) like to call "slo-mo-kraut-progck". Hmm? Well what this is, is downtempo, bass-heavy post-rock with half-buried whispery female vox, all kinda creepy and emotionally portentous. The drummer's rhythms are plodding, head-nodding. There's lots of electronics filling out the sound, with both grand, dark synth washes and glitchy details. It's a late night cinematic sound, very moody, but maybe not quite as gripping as the vocalist wants it to be. It gets more interesting when they get heavier and freak out a bit instrumentally, adding clarinet, trumpet, violin, etc. to the mix.
MPEG Stream: "Uv"
MPEG Stream: "My Friend"

BAADER BRAINS The Complete Unfinished Works Of The Young Tigers (Waking Records / Clean Plate / Empyre) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Baader Brains. This is one of those wonderful instances where the name kind of says it all: frenzied, powerful, pummeling hardcore punk mixed with the aesthetics and politics of extreme Marxist urban guerilla movements. It's by no means a novel combination, but it's incredibly rare for a band of this ilk to be so well done and for every one of its elements to have been given so much obvious consideration. Musically, The Complete Unfinished Works Of The Young Tigers takes the majority of its queues from Damaged-era Black Flag and the Gravity Records catalog, but manages to still sound vibrant, and totally current.ÊIt's muscular, angular, fractured and anthemic all at once and recalls everything that makes us excited about this particular brand of punk rock (post-hardcore, or whatever you want to call it).ÊThis should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the pedigree of Baader Brain's membership: Mike Kirsch and Jose Palafox (guitar and drums, respectively) have done time in some of the heaviest hitters of the West Coast US hardcore scene since the late '80s.ÊKirsch, in particular, is a revered figure in the Bay Area, having lent his talents on guitar, vocals and electronics to a long list of bands including Fuel, Torches To Rome, and Please Inform The Captain This Is A Hijack; while Palafox's drumming has been an integral part of Struggle, The Swing Kids, and Yaphet Kotto.ÊBoth also did time in the mighty Bread and Circuits, who sole LP is an underrated classic.Ê Suffice to say, if you have even a passing interest in the catalogs of Ebullition, The Mountain Collective, Level Plane, or Gravity Records, this is going to freak your beak.
Where Baader Brains becomes (as the youth say) some seriously next level shit, is with everything that surounds the music itself and their uncanny ability to balance the two without either one outshining the other.ÊThe group's devotion to the aesthetic of leftist paramilitary revolution is beyond impressive, while their command and use of its related tropes and references is encyclopedic.ÊThe packaging, album art, liner notes and samples that bridge most of the songs together manage to string together a bewildering series of shout outs (both blatant and subversive) to everything from the RAF to the Khmer Rouge to the PFLP to the Black Panthers and more (there's even some John Zerzan-style future primitivism thrown in there for good measure)!ÊIt's a flood of images, sounds and references that manages to capture the frenetic audio-visual overload of the band's live show, something that we here in the Bay Area are lucky enough to get to see on a semi-regular basis (picture ever-evolving uniforms of the Young Tigers, imposters posing as the actual band being run off the stage at gunpoint, tiger striped balloons falling from the ceiling, split screen video projections, and a seamless integration of live music and samples all crammed together in about 20 minutes of whip-tight performance).ÊBaader Brains' commitment to its rigorous aesthetic is so complete and so all-encompassing in its mix of different media, that it almost makes more sense to think of this LP as a small part of a much larger piece of ongoing performance art.Ê That said, this is a seriously ass-kicking record and those of you with no interest in the band's political leanings or no knowledge of the references will find nothing lacking in the record's musical content.
Unsurprisingly, The Complete Unfinished Works Of The Young Tigers comes lavishly packaged to the point that it took three separate labels to come up with enough resources to make it happen.Ê You get a full-colour jacket printed inside and out), an LP-sized obi, two separate inserts, and a fully printed inner sleeve.ÊIt's seriously over-the-top, it's limited to 1000 copies worldwide (300 of those are on swirled yellow and black vinyl and yes we have a handful of those, but will be doled out RANDOMLY!!!), and is selling out all over the place.ÊDon't sleep on this one - this is one of the most exciting hardcore records we've heard in a long time, and we can't recommend it highly enough!
MPEG Stream: "Year Zero"
MPEG Stream: "Boiling at the Gates"
MPEG Stream: "Be Seeing You at Camp Delta"

BABIES, THE s/t (Shrimper) cd 13.98
This one shouldn't need much of a description. The debut full length from this new group featuring Kevin Morby from psychedelic stoner folk garage poppers Woods, and Cassie Ramone from girl garage group the Vivian Girls, and it sounds just like you'd expect/imagine/hope. A perfect mix of the two. Fuzzy, jangly, ramshackle boy/girl lo-fi garage rock / indie pop, big crunchy guitars, simple pounding drumming, droned out repetitive melodies, and some seriously killer hooks. A little bit Velvets, a little Ramones/Misfits (in that sort of hooky poppy punkness), some stonery psychedelia, lots of bouncy and poppy pep, plenty of echo and reverb, the songs slipping from wild and punky and loose and loud, to more dark and layered and less raucous, to hazy and sun dappled and folky. And of course the dueling boy/girl vox and the occasional harmonies which result only seal the deal.
Fans of both Woods and Vivian Girls will of course dig, but so will anyone into Thee Oh Sees, The Dum Dum Girls, Royal Baths, the Mantles, Brilliant Colors, Male Bonding, Parting Gifts, Home Blitz, the Vaselines, Vermillion Sands, Grass Widow and the rest of the current crop of garage-y jangle poppers...
MPEG Stream: "Run Me Over"
MPEG Stream: "Sunset"
MPEG Stream: "All Things Cme To Pass"

BABIES, THE s/t (Shrimper) lp 14.98
NOW ON VINYL!
This one shouldn't need much of a description. The debut full length from this new group featuring Kevin Morby from psychedelic stoner folk garage poppers Woods, and Cassie Ramone from girl garage group the Vivian Girls, and it sounds just like you'd expect/imagine/hope. A perfect mix of the two. Fuzzy, jangly, ramshackle boy/girl lo-fi garage rock / indie pop, big crunchy guitars, simple pounding drumming, droned out repetitive melodies, and some seriously killer hooks. A little bit Velvets, a little Ramones/Misfits (in that sort of hooky poppy punkness), some stonery psychedelia, lots of bouncy and poppy pep, plenty of echo and reverb, the songs slipping from wild and punky and loose and loud, to more dark and layered and less raucous, to hazy and sun dappled and folky. And of course the dueling boy/girl vox and the occasional harmonies which result only seal the deal.
Fans of both Woods and Vivian Girls will of course dig, but so will anyone into Thee Oh Sees, The Dum Dum Girls, Royal Baths, the Mantles, Brilliant Colors, Male Bonding, Parting Gifts, Home Blitz, the Vaselines, Vermillion Sands, Grass Widow and the rest of the current crop of garage-y jangle poppers...
MPEG Stream: "Run Me Over"
MPEG Stream: "Sunset"
MPEG Stream: "All Things Cme To Pass"

BABLICON In A Different City (Misra) cd 13.98
Somewhere between free jazz reeds, Savage Republic-ish percussion and Spaceheads-like electronics manipulation...this Chicago trio are a better bet than, say, the new Isotope 217. Of course that's not saying much. BUT, if you're interested in this simply because it boasts a member of Neutral Milk Hotel (not Jeff), be wary. Very wary.

BABLICON The Orange Tapered Moon (Misra) cd 13.98

BABY CARROT Play Every Day (Some Guy Down The Street) cd 9.98
High quality downer pop from local darlings Baby Carrot, who've been toiling away for several years now, and just may have made their best record yet. Play Every Day contains thoughtful indie-rocking on the order of Rex, Codeine, Karate, or Pavement. Inching towards epic and always dolefully melodic.
RealAudio clip: "Chinese Food + Donut"
RealAudio clip: "Forgot to Read"

BABY GRANDMOTHERS s/t (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This '60s Swedish psych trio is pretty obscure -- they only ever officially released one record, a 7" single that came out in Finland only -- but they haven't been forgotten 'cause the guys in this band eventually went on to play with such bigger, better-known acts as Mecki Mark Men and Kebnekajse. If you picked up that Psychedelic Phinland compilation we highlighted last list, you've heard "Being Is More Than Life" the B-side of their 7", it appears here too along with the A-side "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name" and several previously unreleased live recordings from the era (1967-'68), for a full hour of music in all.
The Baby Grandmothers really liked to jam, they had a thrice-weekly (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays!) residency at the short-lived psychedelic Stockholm club FILIPS, where much of the live material found here was recorded -- there's a reproduction of a flier in the cd booklet advertising them appearing at FILIPS with AQ faves Parson Sound (oh for a time machine!). So if you dig mostly-instrumental electric guitar oriented psych improv, dosed with plenty of feedback and fuzz, there's plenty here to turn you on, from stoned moody meanderings to freaked out solo spasms. It's all rather raw and energetically alive.
The lengthy liner notes in the photo-illustrated 15-page cd booklet tell the whole Baby Grandmothers story, from their origins in a R&B combo called the T-Boones to gigs opening for Jimi Hendrix to their transformation into the Mark II line-up of the prog-psych act Mecki Mark Men and beyond.
FYI: the Encyclopedia Of Swedish Progressive Music also reviewed this list comes with a bonus cd containing another half-hour of unreleased live Baby Grandmothers recordings from FILIPS, different material than what's on this disc.
MPEG Stream: "Saint George's Dragon"
MPEG Stream: "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name"

BABY GRANDMOTHERS s/t (Subliminal Sounds) 2lp 34.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL.... and limited to 500 copies.
This '60s Swedish psych trio is pretty obscure -- they only ever officially released one record, a 7" single that came out in Finland only -- but they haven't been forgotten 'cause the guys in this band eventually went on to play with such bigger, better-known acts as Mecki Mark Men and Kebnekajse. If you picked up that Psychedelic Phinland compilation we highlighted a while back, you've heard "Being Is More Than Life" the B-side of their 7", it appears here too along with the A-side "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name" and several previously unreleased live recordings from the era (1967-'68), for a full hour of music in all.
The Baby Grandmothers really liked to jam, they had a thrice-weekly (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays!) residency at the short-lived psychedelic Stockholm club FILIPS, where much of the live material found here was recorded -- there's a reproduction of a flier in the cd booklet advertising them appearing at FILIPS with AQ faves Parson Sound (oh for a time machine!). So if you dig mostly-instrumental electric guitar oriented psych improv, dosed with plenty of feedback and fuzz, there's plenty here to turn you on, from stoned moody meanderings to freaked out solo spasms. It's all rather raw and energetically alive. Gets played a lot in the store and we always are like, what's this? it's great.
MPEG Stream: "Saint George's Dragon"
MPEG Stream: "Somebody Keeps Calling My Name"

BACHDENKEL Lemmings (Ork) cd 17.98
Several cool things about this newly reissued album, originally released in 1973 (recorded in 1970). First, it's called Lemmings. Who doesn't have a soft spot for those doomed little critters? And then there's the cover art, a black and white drawing depicting a flood of rather spooky looking lemmings, under a starry night sky, with an owl hovering ominously above... But most importantly, the music! The music on Lemmings makes it a bit of a cult classic in the annals of British prog rock. Darkly melancholic, super melodic and gentle, yet quite powerful too, as the guitarist occasionally lets loose with some really tasty, acid psych soloing... the warm vocals are another strong suit, both feeding into emotional epics, songs of alienation (as Lemmings is subtitled) and Eastern-influenced hippie philosophy.
Bachdenkel began as a Birmingham UK psych pop outfit called The U NO Who. They then changed their name to the much more you-don't-know-who Bachdenkel, and finding little success in England, hove off to France where they could really indulge themselves in going fully prog, though they never lost their knack for the '60s psych pop side of things, reminding us sometimes of AQ faves Kaleidoscope, with the heavier edge of a T2 or NSU.
Maybe 'cause they were based in France, and did their own unique untrendy thing, focussing on songs more than flash, they remained fairly obscure, but this album (the first of two, the second of which, Stalingrad, we've yet to hear) is nonetheless worthy of consideration as a prog masterpiece, up there with the much better known likes of early King Crimson.
Reissued by Ork, a division of Cherry Red, this disc is has been remastered by original producer Karel Beer, and features 3 bonus tracks including an unreleased single from 1969. Also, the cd booklet is stuffed with liner notes and photos detailing the whole Bachdenkel story.
MPEG Stream: "Translation"
MPEG Stream: "An Appointment With The Master"
MPEG Stream: "The Settlement Song"

BACHELORETTE Do The Circuit (Drag City) 7" 5.98
Bachelorette is responsible for one of our favorite new albums, My Electric Family has been in constant rotation here for months now. It's proven to be on of those rare records that only gets better and sinks in deeper with repeated listens.
So two brand new tracks from this New Zealand songstress was bound to make us (and you) way happy, especially since they are such great songs and not just some random throwaway jams. The A-side "Do The Circuit" kind of sums up all that we love about Bachelorette, such great use of electronics, the swaying, sexy and hypnotic vocals and swirling melodies, all making for one of those perfect play over and over again 7" songs. The B-side "I Want To Be Your Girlfriend" is fueled by a rad primitive sounding drum machine, crunchy guitars and really awesome lyrics about Bachelorette wanting to be someone's, you guessed it, girlfriend. It has this awesome bubblegum new wave vibe that sounds a bit like Bjork covering Gary Numan!

BACHELORETTE End Of Things (Drag City) lp 13.98
One of our favorite albums of 2009 came from the New Zealand songstress, Bachelorette. Her record My Electric Family was on constant rotation winning us over so big with it's dreamy mix of smart songwriting and a creative mix of electronics and lush instrumentation. It wasn't until we reviewed that record that we learned there was actually more Bachelorette floating around out there. We had missed the boat on her earlier outings, 2005's The End Of Things and 2006's Isolation Loops never made it onto our radar, due in part to the fact that they didn't have much/any US distribution. Luckily Drag City has just reissued both those great records on vinyl so we have two new delicious and dreamy pop records to keep us warm with this winter.
Both albums flow with such a soft, seductive touch with that weightless energy and aura of light psychedelia that reminds us of early outings by Broadcast and Saint Etienne.
We love both of the albums so can't really recommend one over the other, they both are so great!

BACHELORETTE Isolation Loops (Drag City) lp 17.98
One of our favorite albums of 2009 came from the New Zealand songstress, Bachelorette. Her record My Electric Family was on constant rotation winning us over so big with it's dreamy mix of smart songwriting and a creative mix of electronics and lush instrumentation. It wasn't until we reviewed that record that we learned there was actually more Bachelorette floating around out there. We had missed the boat on her earlier outings, 2005's The End Of Things and 2006's Isolation Loops never made it onto our radar, due in part to the fact that they didn't have much/any US distribution. Luckily Drag City has just reissued both those great records on vinyl so we have two new delicious and dreamy pop records to keep us warm with this winter.
Both albums flow with such a soft, seductive touch with that weightless energy and aura of light psychedelia that reminds us of early outings by Broadcast and Saint Etienne.
We love both of the albums so can't really recommend one over the other, they both are so great!

BACHELORETTE My Electric Family (Drag City) cd 14.98
We somehow missed the boat on the first two Bachelorette albums but now that the band has landed on Drag City, all the folks who slept on Bachelorette will finally get a chance to experience the utterly charming musical magic of this multitalented New Zealand songstress.
Bachelorette employ a keen pop sensibility as well as a fresh use of electronics, all the while finding inspiration in distinctly left-field musics, creating songs that are so totally engaging and memorable. You can definitely here bits of Broadcast, Bjork, and Goldfrapp, but Bachelorette rises is so much more than her inspiration, easily soaring over the mostly underwhelming hordes aiming for the same sound. The strength of Bachelorette is how she absorbs all sorts of disparate sounds and ideas ('60s psych-pop, Delia Derbshyre-esque electronics, girl groups, and we can't help but think that her song "Mindwarp" might be a tip of a hat to Patrick Cowley's classic hi-nrgy classic of the same name) and deftly weaving them together into so many different musical landscapes, which makes the whole album totally coherent, songs that flow with an ease and assured seduction that has us under her spell. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The National Grid"
MPEG Stream: "Mindwarp"
MPEG Stream: "Long Time Gone"

BACHELORETTE My Electric Family (Drag City) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl!
We somehow missed the boat on the first two Bachelorette albums but now that the band has landed on Drag City, all the folks who slept on Bachelorette will finally get a chance to experience the utterly charming musical magic of this multitalented New Zealand songstress.
Bachelorette employ a keen pop sensibility as well as a fresh use of electronics, all the while finding inspiration in distinctly left-field musics, creating songs that are so totally engaging and memorable. You can definitely here bits of Broadcast, Bjork, and Goldfrapp, but Bachelorette rises is so much more than her inspiration, easily soaring over the mostly underwhelming hordes aiming for the same sound. The strength of Bachelorette is how she absorbs all sorts of disparate sounds and ideas ('60s psych-pop, Delia Derbshyre-esque electronics, girl groups, and we can't help but think that her song "Mindwarp" might be a tip of a hat to Patrick Cowley's classic hi-nrgy classic of the same name) and deftly weaving them together into so many different musical landscapes, which makes the whole album totally coherent, songs that flow with an ease and assured seduction that has us under her spell. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The National Grid"
MPEG Stream: "Mindwarp"
MPEG Stream: "Long Time Gone"

BACHELORETTE s/t (Drag City) cd 14.98
Aw, we needed some new sounds to swoon over and thankfully New Zealand's Bachelorette has a brand new album that's had us swaying and daydreaming since the moment it arrived. We were huge fans of her last album, My Electric Family, and also we got to see her open for El Perro Del Mar a year or so back, and that only furthered our appreciation of her wonderful musical magic. Her voice melts so perfectly above the warm and woozy instrumentation, a sound with such flowing ease and floral elegance. Songs that sound like modern day hymns or fables, both so intimate and inviting. We hear hints of Bjork's Vespertine mixed with Broadcast and Mirah. It's a record that makes us want to wear all white and frolic in a lush garden filled with bright red strawberries, shining yellow lemons, and the greenest grass that hugs the earth as far as the eye can see. How's that for swooning? Bachelorette has crafted another immaculate and smart pop record that will have us swooning for a long time to come.
MPEG Stream: "Grow Old With Me"
MPEG Stream: "Digital Brain"
MPEG Stream: "The Light Seekers"

BACHELORETTE s/t (Drag City) lp 17.98
Aw, we needed some new sounds to swoon over and thankfully New Zealand's Bachelorette has a brand new album that's had us swaying and daydreaming since the moment it arrived. We were huge fans of her last album, My Electric Family, and also we got to see her open for El Perro Del Mar a year or so back, and that only furthered our appreciation of her wonderful musical magic. Her voice melts so perfectly above the warm and woozy instrumentation, a sound with such flowing ease and floral elegance. Songs that sound like modern day hymns or fables, both so intimate and inviting. We hear hints of Bjork's Vespertine mixed with Broadcast and Mirah. It's a record that makes us want to wear all white and frolic in a lush garden filled with bright red strawberries, shining yellow lemons, and the greenest grass that hugs the earth as far as the eye can see. How's that for swooning? Bachelorette has crafted another immaculate and smart pop record that will have us swooning for a long time to come.
MPEG Stream: "Grow Old With Me"
MPEG Stream: "Digital Brain"
MPEG Stream: "The Light Seekers"

BACHI DA PIETRA Non Io (Die Schachtel) cd 17.98
Dunno why, but we're suckers for sinister mumbling in Italian, accompanied by glitchy droning music... which brings us to this, another cd in Die Schachtel's "Zeit" series, which means original, interestin' Italian experimentalism in a nice embossed digipack, a la previous releases like A and Christa Pfangen. This time, it's a disc from a duo known as Bachi Da Pietra ("The Worms Of Stone" or something like that), who delve deep into what could be considered a form of avant-blues... no please don't run away, we really like this! The slow and sad "blues" here are so blown apart that it's more about a mood than anything that ol' Robert Johnson would recognize, though dealings with the Devil seem possible in both cases.
Bachi Da Pietra's music is damaged, dark, droning, doleful, doomed... almost like a depressed Italian Jandek playing in the style of Earth's Hex album...? Or Radian gone "wooden guitar"? Other comparisons could be made to Sinistri, and Larsen.
An ominous moodiness pervades, stark tension increasing, as insistent beats and acoustic guitar strum are deconstructed to accompany the whispery, lonely-sounding vocals (sung in Italian, with English translations provided in the cd booklet). The percussion and guitar playing both sometimes sound like splintering sticks, and you can practically hear the smoke curling up from the singer's inevitable cigarette.
MPEG Stream: "Casa Di Legno"
MPEG Stream: "Altri Guasti"
MPEG Stream: "Fisica Elementare"

BACHMANN, ERIC To The Races (Foreign Leisure) cd 13.98
Now, finally in stock on cd!
First things first, the sticker on the front of this cd says "debut solo record from Crooked Fingers' Eric Bachmann". Uhhh, we thought Crooked Fingers *was* Eric Bachmann's solo persona. What's up with that?! Now we've gotta say that everyone's got their own hang-ups, and for us with regards to Mr. Bachmann, they've been two-fold. We can't shake the stunning vocal resemblance between Bachmann and Neil Diamond (when we hear Bachmann we hear Diamond... not a bad thing, mind you!), and we can't help but yearn for his Archers Of Loaf days. Yeah we know, gotta let it go. This fine album does much to dismantle one if not both of those distractions though (pssst... with regards to the latter, we were pleased to report last list that Archers Of Loaf's Icky Mettle album just got reissued! yay!). Whether his music goes under the moniker Crooked Fingers or Eric Bachmann, it consistently steeps your ears with an overriding sense of weathered weariness and resignation. And yet on To The Races, his voice has acquired a surprising lightness (almost boyishness) to it not present on his previous recordings. His songs no longer seem slumped on a bar stool, but have taken to the outdoors with a broader scope and scale. There are actual glimmers of hope in these songs. That certainly seems to be the central distinction between Bachmann as Crooked Fingers and Bachmann as the official solo Eric Bachmann.
MPEG Stream: "Man O War "
MPEG Stream: "So Long Savannah"