MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE We Shall All Be Healed (4AD) cd 13.98
Another beautiful, deeply moving album from longtime AQ faves Mountain Goats! Sounds like it was a pretty intense recording session -- Mr. John Darnielle along with Franklin Bruno (piano and organ), Peter Hughes (bass), Nora Danielson (violins), Christopher McGuire (drums) holed up in the studio for just ten days! -- resulting in sixteen completed songs, thirteen of which make up We Shall All Be Healed. Whew! By the way, has anyone else noticed that Mr. Darnielle's singing voice is sounding more and more like that of Daniel Bejar (of Destroyer and New Pornographers)? It used to seem the other way around, but perhaps it's simply the works of two kindred spirits drawing closer (although we've heard that Mr. Bejar has taken Destroyer in a radically different direction with his forthcoming album). There's certainly an affinity between the two fellows' songwriting -- poetic, earnest, and at once both starkly observative and richly imaginative. There's so many fine moments on this album, many of which glow even brighter with the pianowork of his Extra Glenns' partner in crime Mr. Bruno. Check out "Home Again Garden Grove" and "The Young Thousands". Seems like Mountain Goats have found a well-suited middle ground between his beloved bare bones early recordings and those that make up their more recent higher-fi 4AD releases. Wonderful! Produced by John Vanderslice (who also has a dandy new album out now!). Very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Young Thousands"
MPEG Stream: "Home Again Garden Grove"

MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE We Shall All Be Healed (4AD) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another beautiful, deeply moving album from longtime AQ faves Mountain Goats! Sounds like it was a pretty intense recording session -- Mr. John Darnielle along with Franklin Bruno (piano and organ), Peter Hughes (bass), Nora Danielson (violins), Christopher McGuire (drums) holed up in the studio for just ten days! -- resulting in sixteen completed songs, thirteen of which make up We Shall All Be Healed. Whew! By the way, has anyone else noticed that Mr. Darnielle's singing voice is sounding more and more like that of Daniel Bejar (of Destroyer and New Pornographers)? It used to seem the other way around, but perhaps it's simply the works of two kindred spirits drawing closer (although we've heard that Mr. Bejar has taken Destroyer in a radically different direction with his forthcoming album). There's certainly an affinity between the two fellows' songwriting -- poetic, earnest, and at once both starkly observative and richly imaginative. There's so many fine moments on this album, many of which glow even brighter with the pianowork of his Extra Glenns' partner in crime Mr. Bruno. Check out "Home Again Garden Grove" and "The Young Thousands". Seems like Mountain Goats have found a well-suited middle ground between his beloved bare bones early recordings and those that make up their more recent higher-fi 4AD releases. Wonderful! Produced by John Vanderslice (who also has a dandy new album out now!). Very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Young Thousands"
MPEG Stream: "Home Again Garden Grove"

MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE Zopilote Machine (3 Beads of Sweat) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aloha Mountain Goats fans! Some of your oldest and dearest faves have finally been reissued on cd and lp!
Perhaps most notable is the re-release of 1994's Zopilote Machine. It holds particular historical significance in that it marked John Darnielle's first step into the realm of the LP. Yep, up until Zopilote Machine his Mountain Goats music was only available on cassette and 7" singles. Generous and prolific soul that he is, he took full advantage of the 'long' in long-player, packing it with a whopping nineteen of his trademark homespun, storytellin' songs. These intimate lo-fi bedroom-style recordings stand in stark contrast to his recent studio works -- super casual, somewhat muffled and murky with just him singing his heart out and furious strumming his acoustic guitar -- but regardless of how high or low tech he goes, Darnielle never fails to hit your heart's bullseye. Wonderfully genuine and genuinely wonderful.
MPEG Stream: "The Black Ice Cream Song"
MPEG Stream: "Going To Georgia"

MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE Zopilote Machine (3 Beads of Sweat) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Aloha Mountain Goats fans! Some of your oldest and dearest faves have finally been reissued on cd and lp!
Perhaps most notable is the re-release of 1994's Zopilote Machine. It holds particular historical significance in that it marked John Darnielle's first step into the realm of the LP. Yep, up until Zopilote Machine his Mountain Goats music was only available on cassette and 7" singles. Generous and prolific soul that he is, he took full advantage of the 'long' in long-player, packing it with a whopping nineteen of his trademark homespun, storytellin' songs. These intimate lo-fi bedroom-style recordings stand in stark contrast to his recent studio works -- super casual, somewhat muffled and murky with just him singing his heart out and furious strumming his acoustic guitar -- but regardless of how high or low tech he goes, Darnielle never fails to hit your heart's bullseye. Wonderfully genuine and genuinely wonderful.
MPEG Stream: "The Black Ice Cream Song"
MPEG Stream: "Going To Georgia"

MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE & JOHN VANDERSLICE Moon Colony Bloodbath (self-released) 12" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Managed to get a handful more of these from the Mountain Goats, good chance these will be the last copies we see, so act fast!!!
Another super limited vinyl only Mountain Goats record, this one a collaboration concept record with SF power popper John Vanderslice. The Mountain Goats (aka John Darnielle) and Vanderslice toured together earlier this year, and took the opportunity to make a record together, but not just any record, a CONCEPT record. And not just any concept record, no, this one tells the story of organ harvesting colonies on the moon, and the employees of said colonies, who spend their non work time living in luxurious seclusion throughout America. Wow.
The record itself isn't like a typical rock opera, it's loosely related to the concept, so it plays just fine simply as a gorgeous pop record, and a gorgeous pop record it is. Lush and well produced, with lots of instruments, guitars and organs and cellos and harmonicas and even handclaps (we know, not actually an instrument)! Darnielle and Vanderslice trade off songs, each writes and sings his own, but both contribute to all of them. Plus the record was produced by Chris Stamey, of pop legends the dB's, he also plays on a bunch of the songs.
Darnielle's instantly recognizable, slightly nasal croon plays nicely with Vanderslice's more traditional power pop vocals, lots of lovely harmonies, woven into the gorgeous instrumentation, plenty of hooks, catchy melodies, moody and melancholy mostly, but with moments of joyous exuberance, fans of both the Mountain Goats and Vanderslice should dig this a lot. We definitely do.
This is super limited, and not a lot of places are selling it. We got a bunch direct from the band, and these are most likely all we'll be able to get. Pressed on good old heavy black wax, and housed in thick full color sleeves. While they last, VERY recommended.

MOUNTAIN GOATS, THE & KAKI KING Black Pear Tree (self-released) 12" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another awesome, and limited self released lp from Mountain Goats HQ, another collaboration in fact. We listed Moon Colony Bloodbath a while back (and again elsewhere on this list, got a few more copies in!), which found the MGs' John Darnielle teaming up with pop songsmith John Vanderslice, Black Pear Tree pairs Darnielle with folk rocker Kaki King, who we have to admit we had heard very little from before this, but based on her contributions here, we definitely need to hear more.
An ep, but each song here is surprisingly lush and expansive, long long gone are the days of lo-fi boombox recordings, the opening track alone is one of the most beautifully produced songs we've heard from Darnielle, who plays piano, while King vocalizes in a childlike croon, the sound so hushed and the production so intimate you can hear the pedals of the piano being depressed, while all around strange electronics and effects swirl and skitter, but in a way that doesn't at all take away from the song, but instead merely adds texture and mystery.
The rest of the record is a bit More Mountain Goats sounding, Darnielle handling the lion's share of the vocals, but here and there the two harmonize, and King's voice is a nice match for Darnielle's, and then there's some of the guitar playing, King's we presume (since she IS credited with 'greater guitars', where as Darnielle is credited with 'lesser guitars'), dense tangles of minor key rapid fire fingerpicking that smoothly slips into languid drift, or more MG-like heavy strum. And Darnielle demonstrates over and over his always evolving and improving vocals, even slipping into a gorgeous falsetto on one track. And of course the songs are gorgeous, dark, and moody, and subtly catchy, the lyrics simple and intimate, a really lovely record.
We got a whole bunch of these direct from Darnielle, he's heading out on tour, so when we run out of these, it may take a while for us to get more (if we even CAN get more), so as always, best to grab one while you can. Pressed on thick vinyl, and housed in a simple, pretty, printed sleeve.

MOUNTAIN HOME s/t (Language Of Stone) cd 14.98
We meant to list this awhile back, but at the time it seemed we had so many Espers related projects on the list, between Meg Baird's solo record, the Fern Knight record, the last Bonnie Prince Billy ep, and the Valerie Project, that listing the debut release on Espers' new record label, Language of Stone, then might have been unfair to the band Mountain Home. Comprised of Joshua Blatchley and Kristin Sherer, the music of Mountain Home fits into the same narcotic acid folk niche of current bands like Espers, Bright Black Morning Light, and Marissa Nadler, yet leaning on the traditional British folk side of things. They even cover "Nottamun Town". Not the biggest surprise coming from the Espers' camp, but a nice release all the same.
MPEG Stream: "The Sparrow"
MPEG Stream: "Comes, The Winter"

MOUNTAIN MAN Sun Dog (Underwater Peoples) 10" 14.98
For some reason, the name Mountain Man had us imagining some sort of big guy bearded heaviness, a la Tad, big crushing riffs, pounding drums, bellowed vox, but this Mountain Man is actually three ladies, and the sound, is anything but burly and heavy, instead it's lovely and heartfelt, a gorgeous dreamlike Appalachia, a sunshiney country folk. The instrumentation is super minimal, usually just acoustic guitar, cuz it's all about the vocals, which are incredible, lush and lustrous, and emotional, the harmonies incredible, powerful and devotional, evoking classic old time country, Sacred Harp music, the Carter Family, the recordings of Alan Lomax, if it wasn't for the incredible and crystalline production, these songs could be from anywhere, and anytime, the sound most definitely timeless, less a basement show in 2010, and more a rickety porch in rural Alabama in 1950. But somehow equally both.
Totally stunning, and not at all what we were expecting from the kick ass Underwater Peoples label, who in the past have brought us records by Ducktails, Julian Lynch, Real Estate and others...
Pressed on swirled marbled turquoise/blue vinyl!

MOUNTAINEER When The Air Is Bright (Type) cd 15.98
Sigh. This is such the ideal album for drifting along in a rowboat on an ultra calm lake or floating along in a giant hot air balloon across a cloudless blue sky. Even if you don't find yourself in either of those scenarios, German combo Mountaineer may help you find your own sweet and peaceful place.
Their third album When The Air Is Bright is a little folksy, a little bossanova-y. So very nice! Frontman Henning Wandhoff's vocals are low, mellow and smooth. and they're complimented beautifully by Anna Bertermann's backing vocals. The central instrumentation of gently picked and strummed acoustic and electric guitars and understated percussion is occasionally embellished by delicate horn, organ, harmonica and xylophone. This fits perfectly on the Type label alongside rostermates Ryan Teague, Khonnor, Julian Neto and Helios. It'll also fit perfectly in your music library alongside pastel hued day dreamers Jose Gonzalez, Kings Of Convenience and Juana Molina.
MPEG Stream: "A Line For Every Letter"
MPEG Stream: "You Pay No Mind"

MOUNTAINS Centralia (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
Latest from this aQ beloved duo, made up of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, aka Mountains, and once again, they've crafted a supremely dreamlike songsuite, that finds them conjuring up billowing clouds of blurred synth drifts and soft focus drones, weaving all of their disparate sound sources, electronics, synths, cellos, organs and more into something that sounds surprisingly organic, a glimmering, glistening kosmische new age drift. All of Mountains' records are sort of ethereal and blissed out, but this one might be the most pastoral and meditative of the bunch. Mixing a sort of modern minimalism, with classic ragas and drones, Centralia finds the group crafting a sonic analogue to Stars Of The Lid in a way, with Mountains being the light to Stars' darkness. If we were to create a diurnal soundtrack, Mountains would handle sunrise, and would paint the sky and the landscape in warm, glowing colors, until dusk, where they would hand it off to Stars Of The Lid, who would fill the night sky with streaks of black and glimmering fields of starlight, before dawn rolled around again, and Mountains once again took over.
In fact, the sound of Mountains on Centralia is almost like dawn expanded to fill the whole day, and the whole record, a timelapse recording of this music unfurling and blossoming prismatically into a wide open stretch of softly undulating layers, of muted buzzing shimmers, laced with all manner of slow shifting textures and singing strings. A few of the tracks find the duo adding acoustic guitar to the mix, the vibe more psych folky, but still wreathed in swaths of gauze-y thrum. But it's the long tracks here, that truly let us get lost, epic expanses of hazy, blurred ambience, pixelated fuzz spread into a thin patina, all of the sounds glowing from within, on "Propeller", that sound is briefly infused with a dark tension, a sonic shadow that adds some dark and dreamy pathos, before fading into yet another glorious stretch of glistening, glimmering sun dappled shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Sand"
MPEG Stream: "Identical Ship"
MPEG Stream: "Circular C"

MOUNTAINS Centralia (Thrill Jockey) lp 21.00
Latest from this aQ beloved duo, made up of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, aka Mountains, and once again, they've crafted a supremely dreamlike songsuite, that finds them conjuring up billowing clouds of blurred synth drifts and soft focus drones, weaving all of their disparate sound sources, electronics, synths, cellos, organs and more into something that sounds surprisingly organic, a glimmering, glistening kosmische new age drift. All of Mountains' records are sort of ethereal and blissed out, but this one might be the most pastoral and meditative of the bunch. Mixing a sort of modern minimalism, with classic ragas and drones, Centralia finds the group crafting a sonic analogue to Stars Of The Lid in a way, with Mountains being the light to Stars' darkness. If we were to create a diurnal soundtrack, Mountains would handle sunrise, and would paint the sky and the landscape in warm, glowing colors, until dusk, where they would hand it off to Stars Of The Lid, who would fill the night sky with streaks of black and glimmering fields of starlight, before dawn rolled around again, and Mountains once again took over.
In fact, the sound of Mountains on Centralia is almost like dawn expanded to fill the whole day, and the whole record, a timelapse recording of this music unfurling and blossoming prismatically into a wide open stretch of softly undulating layers, of muted buzzing shimmers, laced with all manner of slow shifting textures and singing strings. A few of the tracks find the duo adding acoustic guitar to the mix, the vibe more psych folky, but still wreathed in swaths of gauze-y thrum. But it's the long tracks here, that truly let us get lost, epic expanses of hazy, blurred ambience, pixelated fuzz spread into a thin patina, all of the sounds glowing from within, on "Propeller", that sound is briefly infused with a dark tension, a sonic shadow that adds some dark and dreamy pathos, before fading into yet another glorious stretch of glistening, glimmering sun dappled shimmer.
MPEG Stream: "Sand"
MPEG Stream: "Identical Ship"
MPEG Stream: "Circular C"

MOUNTAINS Etching (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.
Earlier this year, Mountains released Choral, an album that is for sure to be on many of our yearend favorite lists. It found the duo truly coming into their own to create a multilayered shoegaze tinged dreamdrift masterpiece. This new lp finds the group in its best long form state of mind with one epic sprawl of daydream bliss-out spread across both sides of this 12". While Mountains have always had their head in the clouds, Etching finds them floating even further out, conjuring up a gorgeous hazy drift of shimmering and crystallized sounds that makes us want to float heavenward right beside them. While we were really impressed with Mountains' ability to craft 'proper' songs on Choral, it's also nice to see them let one of their songs, blossom and expand and unfurl into a long droning and atmospheric bed of sound, that finds them exploring the same sort of territory as folks like William Basinski and Philip Jeck. The mixture of field recordings and their own music is so seamless, creating a soundscape that seems lost in a faded memory. So lovely.
The record comes with a digital download as well in case you don't want to have to get up and flip sides, perhaps interrupting the perfect soundtrack to a late afternoon daydream.
MPEG Stream: "Etching"

MOUNTAINS Sewn (Apestaartje) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It took us a while to give this a listen as we didn't want the beauty of its pastoral green cover to let us down. Luckily when we finally gave this a listen we realized the sounds contained inside were just as rich and pretty. There is something so delicate and perfectly paced about this record. It unfolds at its own confident pace and when it ends you just kind of want to do it all over again. A duo from the east coast, Mountains so successfully merge acoustic instrumentation, electronics and field recordings to create a layered sound that is not only just totally beautiful but also feels as if there is something under it all that keeps you really interested and attached to every unfolding moment. With a tenderness that rivals Colleen and an aesthetic that reminds us of the shimmering beautiful side of Fennesz, "Sewn" is a record that totally rises above the pack of pastoral electronic tinged records we've seen come out in recent years (which is important, as the trend recently has to been drizzle a little electronic squiggle over generic pop or folk, suddenly transforming it into something AVANT!). To make this album Mountains traveled away from city life into upstate New York and recorded in remote areas of Connecticut, and in their travels they totally captured that feeling of water running through creeks, rain dropping on grass, and what it feels like to be away from it all, soaking up your surrounding and maybe even getting a few moments of total clarity. So nice!sd
MPEG Stream: "Sewn One"
MPEG Stream: "Below"

MOUSE ON MARS Cache Coeur Naif (Thrill Jockey/Too Pure) 12" 7.98
Laetitia and Mary from Stereolab join these German pop-electronica guys for 2 songs. There are 4 pieces total on this domestic release, 2 more than on the Too Pure import.

MOUSE ON MARS Cache Coeur Naif (Thrill Jockey / Too Pure) cdep 7.98
Laetitia and Mary from Stereolab join these German pop-electronica guys for 2 songs. There are 4 pieces total on this domestic release, 2 more than on the Too Pure import.

MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT The Violence Beneath (Translation Loss) cd 13.98
We've been digging these guys for a while now, one of those bands who take the downtuned metallic crunch of bands like Neurosis, and add all sorts of post and math rock to the mix, a combination that when done right, we pretty much can't get enough of. And the thing is, these guys do it about as good as anyone. This latest disc, a short-ish 4 song ep, just drives that point home. The opening title track has got it all, sick downtuned riffs, bellowed vocals, spidery basslines, incredible super buys drumming, a lurching lumbering weirdly melodic behemoth, with some awesome soaring breakdowns, with what sounds like organ buzzing away beneath it all. One immediately noticeable thing is the shift toward something much poppier. The mix of crushing heaviness and killer hooks and melodies, definitely reminds us of Torche, but unlike the overt poppiness of that band, these guys bury that pop under an avalanche of metal prog and math metal, that turns the pop into something else completely.
These tracks are all over the place, the second track starts out all folky, clean steel string guitar, crooned clean vocals, which gives away to some devastatingly heavy chug and howl, and the track constantly shifts, from soaring epic majesty, to tangled ultra prog stop start stutter, with chiming guitars, and more super complex drumming. "Restore" is about as doomy as they get, somehow channeling both Godspeed and Candlemass into a sort of post metal epic, still rife with pop and progisms, but super moody and mournful and HEAVY.
The whole record culminates in the final track, a cover, and an odd one at that, Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", which could have been a disaster, a tongue in cheek cock up spoiling a pretty perfect record. But instead, they OWN in, slowing it waaaay down, turning it into a super melodic doomy dirge, that almost sounds more like the Deftones, or Lifelover, or one of those bands unafraid to meld heartfelt pop with heaving heaviness, and it's good, so good that it has us digging a song we definitely could have gone forever without hearing again. It helps that the chorus is transformed into a churning blown out crush, and that the whole song is streaked with screaming howling high end guitar. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "The Violence Beneath"
MPEG Stream: "Buried Hopes"

MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT Time & Withering (Translation Loss) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mouth Of The Architect are another one of those bands that of which we just can't seem to get enough. The perfect blend of bludgeoning dirge metal and moody hypnotic postrock. Think Isis, Neurosis, Conifer, Tides, Pelican, that sort of thing. But Mouth Of The Architect manage to make their sludge metal / post rock sonics stand out from the pack by remaining much more melodic than heavy, and more epic than aggressive, with weirdly catchy riffs, simple blissed out rhythms, hooks that are hidden everywhere, and most noticably slippery sliding melodic leads, intertwining into mournful and languid tangles. The vocals are only occasional, and they're of the howled and anguished variety, but they somehow fit perfectly atop the churning melodic mood metal beneath. Four tracks, three topping ten minutes, of slow burning, slow building metallic beauty. Cinematic epics constructed from downtuned guitars, swirling effects, minor key melodies, intricate hard hitting drumming, and simple hypnotic post rock grooves, sometimes sounding almost like a dirge metal Godspeed You Black Emperor. So great!
MPEG Stream: "A Vivid Chaos"
MPEG Stream: "Soil To Stone"

MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT / KENOMA split (Translation Loss) cd 13.98
New release from one of our favorites of this new breed of sludgy metallic post rock, the strangely named Mouth Of The Architect. Their sound, unlike many of their sonic brethren leans much more toward the melodic as is evidenced here on the opening of "Sleepwalk Powder" a lilting, melancholy guitar line, hovering above warm swells of high end feedback, mournful and so so pretty. But don't be fooled, or lulled into thinking this is some sort of post rock dreampop record, oh no, moments later, the drums enter the fray, all tribal and chaotic, until finally the guitars drop. And drop HARD. Suddenly we're in churning, roiling sludge doom country, big riffs roll and rumble, vocals are howled and the whole band lurches like some rampaging behemoth. But beneath it all, remains the melody, the sweetness, the light. It's like Godspeed or Explosions In The Sky, being overtaken by Conifer or Minsk, a huge ugly growling monstrous sound barely concealing glistening harmonies and majestic melodies. A pretty killer combination. The second MOTA track follows a similar path, drawing out its post rock dreaminess nearly to the 10 minute mark before kicking out the jams, this time it's a lurching stumbling groove, minor key and massive.
Kenoma are up next, we'd heard of them but never actually heard them, but they do occupy a similar sonic space as their pals MOTA (and plus they indeed are, in the liner notes, there is an extremely heartfelt note about, the two bands being friends since childhood, and both having had a rough time lately, and how this release was very cathartic, bringing the two bands, these two sets of friends closer than ever before, pretty dang sweet actually). But again don't be distracted by the sweetness, where there is light there is most definitely also dark. Kenoma are more postrock than metal never really unfurling any sort of massive sludginess, rather stretching out in a heavy hypnotic groove, dense tangled guitar lines, killer propulsive drumming, minor key melodies and a big wall of thick rich headspinning sound. Reminiscent of the recently reviewed Shora record but with a bit of that post sludge vibe we can't get enough of. This almost sounds like a super charged Godspeed or a metal Tortoise. Epic and meandering, droney and hypnotic and so killer. Definitely a new band to keep our eyes on. And a perfect match for their pals in Mouth Of The Architect. Definitely recommended. Killer octopoidal artwork too!
MPEG Stream: MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT "Sleepwalk Powder"
MPEG Stream: KENOMA "The Nature Of Empire"

MOUTHUS s/t (Psych-O-Path) cd 13.98

MOUTHUS Sister Vibration (Old Mouth) lp 16.98

MOUTHUS Slow Globes (Troubleman) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Storms"
MPEG Stream: "See Us Look"

MOUTHUS Slow Globes (Troubleman Unlimited) lp 11.98

MPEG Stream: "Storms"
MPEG Stream: "See Us Look"

MOVIETONE (first album) (Geographic) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
I had forgotten how beautiful this album was, often thinking that this paled under the spectrum of Movietone's narcoleptic masterpiece of listless Mediterranean moods in Day And Night -- their first album with its radioluminscent tremolo guitars dotting notes on top of a consummate post-VU strum. As fantastic as any of the Fursaxa records or any of Galaxie 500's songs.

MOVIETONE Blossom Filled Streets (Drag City) cd 14.98
Drowsey guitar and piano paired with languid vocals are the perfect soundtrackto end-of-summer garden lounging. This Bristol UK band's follow-up to their great "Day And Night" album is a much wispier affair, but certainly lovely.
RealAudio clip: "Hydra"

MOVIETONE Day And Night (Drag City) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Record of the week runner up! The second album from Movietone (which features Rachel from Flying Saucer Attack) conjures more cinematic references than musical ones...as it could stand in for a soundtrack to a Godard film that was bleached out by Mediterranean sun...a strange reference, but we have no other way of defining the languid acoustic guitars and washed out drones and lovely voice...an amazing record!

MOVIETONE Day And Night (Drag City) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Record of the week runner up! The second album from Movietone (which features Rachel from Flying Saucer Attack) conjures more cinematic references than musical ones...as it could stand in for a soundtrack to a Godard film that was bleached out by Mediterranean sun...a strange reference, but we have no other way of defining the languid acoustic guitars and washed out drones and lovely voice...an amazing record!

MOVIETONE Sun Drawing (Domino) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Rachel from Flying Saucer Attack. English import.

MOVIETONE The Sand And The Stars (Drag City) cd 14.98
Like their fellow Bristolians Crescent, Movietone have polished up their sound for their most recent recordings, dropping all of the rough edges, murky atmospheres, and evocative juxtapositions which dominated their earlier recordings. Thus, The Sand And The Stars is a far cry from the band's origins, as bassist Rachel Brook grounded the radioluminescent guitar wash of Flying Saucer Attack during their earliest recordings. While Movietone never really ever sounded like Flying Saucer Attack, their underappreciated debut album and their masterpiece Day and Night enveloped themselves in overcast production and drizzled plenty of lethargy and melancholia over their post-Galaxie 500 strum, that at least reflected similiar ideas as Flying Saucer Attack. Instead of the huge guitar feedback of FSA, Brook and vocalist / guitarist Kate Wright were searching for a preciousness in their music. Since the aforementioned Day and Night album, Movietone has moved away from the empathic nature of the soundscapes and towards the storytelling potential of songsmithery. The Sand And The Stars was intended to be a "jazz record being played across the bay," and well, that's sort of accurate. The languid, marine themes of that image are definitely present in these somber orchestrations, that could have been found on a Nico album tumbling in slow motion with any given Mediterranean jazz combo. Yet, the implications of distance are misleading, as this album is immaculately produced and gives the impression of a sort-of jazz album being played quietly and intimately in your living room. Pleasant to say the least.
MPEG Stream: "Let Night In"
MPEG Stream: "Ocean Songs"

MOVING SIDEWALKS, THE Flash (Akarma) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another one from Akarma's back catalog of classic and obscure LPs reissued on cd, now in a jewel case at a cheaper price than before. This is a reissue of a 1968 recording by Houston, Texas' premiere psych-rock band The Moving Sidewalks, which featured none other than Billy Gibbons (guitar & vocal) who later grew his beard really long and earned his fame in ZZ Top. Along with the 13th Floor Elevators, these guys were one of the major bands that put Texas on the '60s garage psych map. On Flash, they rocked the house with groovy organ jammin', Gibbon's Hendrixy guitar, a dose of the blues and some trippy hippiness.
This reissue also contains five bonus tracks taken from singles that The Moving Sidewalks also released, including their classic "99th Floor" and a cover of The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand."
MPEG Stream: "99th Floor"
MPEG Stream: "Eclipse"

MOVING UNITS Between Us And Them (Three One G) 12" 8.98
Here's a taste of these up and comers for you, sounding a lot like A Certain Ratio and Gang Of Four. I saw them in L.A. and everyone was loving it. They are dance-y and tight and the drummer hits really hard which helps with the danceability factor, but they are so obviously derivative of this certain sound that when you remove the dancefloor, it's hard to be impressed.

MOVING UNITS Dangerous Dreams (Palm / Rx) cd 12.98

MOVING UNITS Hexes For Exes (Metropolis) cd 14.98
Is it just us or did you think the same thing?! Hmmm, the title of Moving Units' new album made us immediately think of the Kids In The Hall movie Brain Candy ("It's a PILL!... that gives WORMS!... to EX-GIRLFRIENDS!!"). Heh heh, anyhoo, these LA fellas continue to strut their stuff, and keep their sleek dance rock comin' with this their second full length. They're now on Metropolis Records (formerly on Palm Pictures), but they haven't jarred us with any other surprise changes, they're still very very indebted to the '80s. In fact, few bands have ever sounded quite so 'Duran Duran' circa Seven And The Ragged Tiger. Made us daydream of Simon LeBon singing atop the phat synth tracks of Daft Punk. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Sure to be packing the hip kids' dancefloors across the nation.
MPEG Stream: "Pink Thoughts"
MPEG Stream: "Crash 'N' Burn Victims"

MOVING UNITS s/t ep (Palm Pictures) cd ep 4.98
A four song introduction to the Moving Units from Los Angeles in preparation for their forthcoming full length. It would be admirable of me if I could write this entire review without drawing comparison to the obvious. Every review I read about these guys says they sound exactly like this one band whose around right now who sounds exactly like this other band who is no longer. So I don't see the good I would do in repeating that. I'm so jaded, weird and bitter about the resurgence of the 80's new wave punk sound, soooo I am not going to even go there. I'll simply say that this sounds like a band that grew up listening to this certain kind of music with quirky funky bass lines, hectic high guitar melodies and staccato, stop-start, dancy drums. I must say though, it is completely successful post-punk dance music. Smooth and fun with alternately sullen / angstful boy vocals. I'm so over this recent trend in music, but they are doing it well. And I'm sure they'll go relatively far if only on nostalgia points alone.
RealAudio clip: "Between Us and Them"
RealAudio clip: "X and Y"

MR. AIRPLANE MAN C'mon DJ (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 14.98

MR. AIRPLANE MAN Moanin' (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 13.98
Mr. Airplane Man are a Boston female duo playing Howling Wolf covers and songs with rad Bo Diddleyesqe back beats. Fucked up punk/ blues, reminiscent of the Gories, which coming from me (Sadie) is an enormous compliment. They formed in 1995, playing on the streets for rent using a battery powered amp and 5 gallon bucket for a drum. It's said that these two ladies' mutual love of Howlin' Wolf is what brought them together, his songs being where they got their band name and the name of this record. This is not fuzzed out chaotic garage like The Bad Times cd from the last list. It is old style Delta back woods blues but it's smooth in an amazing rockin' way. Recorded in Detroit by Jim Diamond (who is affiliated with other Detroit greats like the Dirtbombs and the White Stripes), and was mixed by Doug Easley and Greg "Oblivian" Cartwright. So recommended!
RealAudio clip: "Like That"
RealAudio clip: "Not Living At All"

MR. ALBERT SHOW s/t (Long Hair) cd 19.98

MR. ALBERT SHOW Warm Motor (Long Hair) cd 19.98

MR. BUNGLE California (Warner) cd 14.98
Certainly music doesn't get any more brilliant, epic, meticulous, and retarded than this. Really. Absolutely unbelievably genius musicianship, twisted imagination and craft. Always recommended!

MR. BUNGLE Disco Volante (Warner Bros) cd 13.98
A complex, chaotic and challenging record... so chock full of interesting sounds (bandoneon, old synths, hammond organ, "difficult" piano, double bass drum, etc) that I, at least, am kept fully entertained enough to listen closely the whole damn 72 minutes. An incredible tour de force! Featured guests include William Winant (Mills College teacher and famed percussionist) and Noe Valley's own Graham Connah on piano. Recommended.

MR. BUNGLE Mr. Bungle (Warner Bros) cd 10.98

MR. CALIFORNIA AND THE STATE POLICE Audio Hallucinations (Load) cd 13.98

MR. HAGEMAN Twin Smooth Snouts (Starlight Furniture Company) cd 14.98
a.k.a.. Brian of the Thinking Fellers.

MR. HAGEMAN Twin Smooth Snouts (Starlight Furniture Company) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
a.k.a. Brian of the Thinking Fellers.

MR. PETER HAYDEN Born A Trip (Kauriala Society) cd 15.98
A few weeks back, we got an unsolicited email from someone called Mr. Peter Hayden. Not being someone we had ever heard of, we might have just deleted it, if it weren't for the subject line, which read: "Finnish music trying to impress you." Hmmm. Still skeptical, we opened the email, only to discover that Mr. Peter Hayden was not in fact a person, but a five piece psychedelic combo from Finland, who had recently got some serious love on Julian Cope's Head Heritage website. The email also ended with the line: "I know every word I write here is a waste of our time until You take an hour off and dive deep in to the worlds the album will take You." We were pretty much sold. After all, Finland. Check. Psychedelic. Check. Cope. Check.
And once we threw it one, we were not disappointed, in fact, we were wondering, being the weirdo Finnish music obsessives we are, and being super obsessed with all strains of psychedelic space rock heaviness, how the hell we had missed out on these guys? Well, better late than never, and really all it took was about a minute and we knew this probably had to be a Record Of The Week. Heavy, atmospheric, druggy, dynamic, psychedelic, pounding drums, soaring guitars, streaks of feedback, wailing melodies, long stretches of swirling spaciness between bursts of chugging heaviness, and that's only a couple minutes in, total trip out heavy head music for sure. A single seventy minute jam, that builds and builds and builds, from that first blast of psychedelic heaviness, chugging, and churning, the sound gradually grows less and less spares, more propulsive, more metallic, by about six minutes in, the song has transformed into a roiling sprawl of psychedelic doom, but sort of freeform, and a little bit jazzy, the guitars riffing, but also splintering into wild squalls of tangled melodies, and unfurling lush swirling textures, the sort of rare sonic beast that immediately entrances, first time we listened to this, we listened to the whole thing all the way through, totally mesmerized, and in a druggy, hypno-rock trance. And speaking of hypno-rock, just wait a few more minutes and the band locks into a seriously cyclical groove, seemingly channeling vintage Circle, but augmenting the minimal riffage of Circle with clouds of psychguitar shimmer, and what sounds like a phalanx of buzzing humming synths (maybe just more guitars), wild dense tangles of thick corrosive guitar buzz, chordal swells, all wrapped around a main riff that just chugs along all hypnotic and motorik.
The sound shifts constantly, without ever losing momentum, slipping at one point into a sort of doomy dirge, only to blossom into what might be the poppiest part of the record, all major key melody and soaring majesty, and then seconds later, to dial everything back, and unfurl a brooding stretch of ultra minimal meander, all super spare drumming, guitar buzzing like sitars off in the distance, the sound laced with fragmented riffs, strange FX, bits of squiggly melody, and all manner of slow shifting textures, woozy and washed out and dreamily druggy, all of this dreaminess eventually interrupted by some seriously metallic heft, a crushing drum heavy distorted riff churn, but still surrounded by a swirl of psychedelic shimmer, that somehow keeps it from being just heavy, and makes it both heavy, and blissfully psychedelic.
The heaviness seems to ooze and expand, the various guitars switching from riffing to spiraling soaring melodies, a lurching lumbering groove that as far as we're concerned continue to the end of the record, but Mr. Peter Hayden have other things in mind, slipping into some soaring near Godspeed like post rock epic-ness, not to mention a weirdly mathy almost metallic breakdown, and throughout, more stretches of hushed minimal drift, softly psychedelic, drowsily dreamy, a continual push/pull between blown out psych and space rock crush, and blissed out mesmer and shimmery lysergic ambience, but like any great record of its stripe, Born A Trip ends with a serious blast of psychedelic heaviness, sounding like Neurosis almost, epic and crushing, blown out and metallic, a heavy psych coda that eventually fades into a final stretch of droned out slo-mo minimalism. Wow. So great.
obviously so very recommended for fans of Carlton Melton, White Hills, 3 Leafs, Gnod, Sylvester Anfang, and other interstellar psychedelic space rock explorers, as well as all of you who dig motorik Circle style hypnorock, Finnish freakiness, and just trippy spacey heaviness in general. Definitely a Record Of The Week, but a serious contender for Record Of The YEAR as well...
MPEG Stream: "Born A Trip (Excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Born A Trip (Excerpt 2)"
MPEG Stream: "Born A Trip (Excerpt 3)"

MR. PUDDING Instant Pudding (Wiggley Tapes) cd 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MR. VELOCITY HOPKINS s/t (Insignificant / Bulb) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mr. Velocity Hopkins, a name familiar to fans of Couch (the one on the pleasantly obnoxious Bulb label). Six guys on drums, guitar, bass, and sax playing as many notes every 45 seconds as possible, resulting in a jazz-rock freakout assault similar to Zorn's Naked City or The Flying Luttenbachers (Weasel Walter of which appears here). A noisy racket, indeed, but with lots of oomph. Not produced or engineered, but sequenced, by Warn Defever.

MRS. MAGICIAN Strange Heaven (Swami) cd 13.98
Before we relay the weird way in which we fell in love with this record, let us just say right up front, this is our new favorite garage pop record, hands down!
So as you probably know, the increasing habit of listening to music on our computers has changed the way we listen to music so much. Lots of folks listen to everything on shuffle, others just play their favorite tracks, the idea of full, programmed albums is almost a thing of the past for some folks. And while in some ways those changes enhance the listening experience, in others, it definitely feels like something has been lost. But for whatever reason, at least in this one case, the quirkiness of said computer listening was the key to our obsession with Mrs. Magician.
We had been listening to this new record from the weirdly named Mrs. Magician, a garage rock combo who we had only really heard of cuz they were on tour with the Hot Snakes. And we definitely liked what we heard but were not yet totally blown away. Then for some weird reason, we accidentally sorted our music library by 'date added' and ended up listening to Strange Heaven IN REVERSE ORDER, from back to front, and holy shit, suddenly it all clicked, our socks were knocked totally off, and ever since, we can't stop listening to this (and yeah, we dig it in the proper order now too!).
Not sure if the record is just weirdly back loaded, or we just needed this little twist to unlock the magic of Mrs. Magician, but we're just grateful it happened. To help simulate our listening experience, the first two sound samples we've provided are of course the double shot (in reverse order) that sealed the deal, the sort of one-two punch you find yourself listening to over and over and over (just ask the other aQ-ers how many times Andee has played these two tracks over and over the last few weeks), and then once you can convince yourself to move on, the third and fourth sound samples, are the album's proper opening two tracks.
But c'mon, "Dead 80's" has to be the jam of the year, crunchy, jangly, fuzzy, with a chorus that KILLS, all dreamy oooooh's, some falsetto crooning, warbly organs, ramshackle riffing, and the sort of gleefully profane chorus you'll find yourself singing along too even after just one time through ("Oooooooh, Fuck the world, Oooooooh, Fuck the law, Ooooooooh, Fuck the kids!"). And if "Dead 80's" wasn't already THEE jam here, then "Hours Of The Night" sure as shit would be, a dead ringer for late great post grunge Nova Scotian pop group the Hardship Post, all post Nirvana strum, but with hooks galore, a shuffling rhythm, and snarky heart broken lyrics, not to mention plenty of reverby dreaminess, and so it goes, those two songs are the key, that unlock a whole record of crazy catchy garage pop bliss, that to be honest, is really all we want to listen to. Can't remember being as excited about a pop record since Jaill's That's How We Burn, which trust us, is huge praise indeed. Definite contender for record of the year, pop or otherwise.
MPEG Stream: "Dead 80's"
MPEG Stream: "Hours Of The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Nightlife"
MPEG Stream: "There Is No God"

MRS. MAGICIAN Strange Heaven (Swami) lp 13.98
Before we relay the weird way in which we fell in love with this record, let us just say right up front, this is our new favorite garage pop record, hands down!
So as you probably know, the increasing habit of listening to music on our computers has changed the way we listen to music so much. Lots of folks listen to everything on shuffle, others just play their favorite tracks, the idea of full, programmed albums is almost a thing of the past for some folks. And while in some ways those changes enhance the listening experience, in others, it definitely feels like something has been lost. But for whatever reason, at least in this one case, the quirkiness of said computer listening was the key to our obsession with Mrs. Magician.
We had been listening to this new record from the weirdly named Mrs. Magician, a garage rock combo who we had only really heard of cuz they were on tour with the Hot Snakes. And we definitely liked what we heard but were not yet totally blown away. Then for some weird reason, we accidentally sorted our music library by 'date added' and ended up listening to Strange Heaven IN REVERSE ORDER, from back to front, and holy shit, suddenly it all clicked, our socks were knocked totally off, and ever since, we can't stop listening to this (and yeah, we dig it in the proper order now too!).
Not sure if the record is just weirdly back loaded, or we just needed this little twist to unlock the magic of Mrs. Magician, but we're just grateful it happened. To help simulate our listening experience, the first two sound samples we've provided are of course the double shot (in reverse order) that sealed the deal, the sort of one-two punch you find yourself listening to over and over and over (just ask the other aQ-ers how many times Andee has played these two tracks over and over the last few weeks), and then once you can convince yourself to move on, the third and fourth sound samples, are the album's proper opening two tracks.
But c'mon, "Dead 80's" has to be the jam of the year, crunchy, jangly, fuzzy, with a chorus that KILLS, all dreamy oooooh's, some falsetto crooning, warbly organs, ramshackle riffing, and the sort of gleefully profane chorus you'll find yourself singing along too even after just one time through ("Oooooooh, Fuck the world, Oooooooh, Fuck the law, Ooooooooh, Fuck the kids!"). And if "Dead 80's" wasn't already THEE jam here, then "Hours Of The Night" sure as shit would be, a dead ringer for late great post grunge Nova Scotian pop group the Hardship Post, all post Nirvana strum, but with hooks galore, a shuffling rhythm, and snarky heart broken lyrics, not to mention plenty of reverby dreaminess, and so it goes, those two songs are the key, that unlock a whole record of crazy catchy garage pop bliss, that to be honest, is really all we want to listen to. Can't remember being as excited about a pop record since Jaill's That's How We Burn, which trust us, is huge praise indeed. Definite contender for record of the year, pop or otherwise.
MPEG Stream: "Dead 80's"
MPEG Stream: "Hours Of The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Nightlife"
MPEG Stream: "There Is No God"

MRTYU Ritual Terra Continuii (Tipped Bowler Tapes) cassette 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mrtyu is Antony Milton's musical Mr. Hyde, allowing him to weave blackened musickal rituals, and strange downtuned noise drenched dronedoom when he's not creating gorgeous soundscapes, crafting jangly pop, or keeping the underground alive with his PseudoArcana label. Ritual Terra Continuii is not as doomy as some of the other Mrtyu releases, but it's still plenty dark and scary. Disembodied vocals drift amidst slithering low end riffing, bells and chimes drift on thick swells of squealing feedback, everything a glorious murky lo-fi crawl. Dripping with distortion, a lurching lope through some damaged wasteland of sound. Crumbling walls of guitar buzz, bent strings, minor key melodies, simple music box percussion, and that voice, like Whitehouse being broadcast through a tin can and twine, barely audible through the sheets of gloom and mire. So good.
Killer blood splattered hand painted tape in a cryptic black and white sleeve, with a black and white insert, and a folded up short story printed on super nice textured paper. LIMITED TO 120 COPIES!!!

MS. JOHN SODA No P. Or D. (Morr Music) cd 16.98
Coming from the cross-pollinating community of Bavarian post-rock and electronica hybrids, Ms. John Soda is actually a duo comprised of Micha Acher (of Tied & Tickled Trio, Village of Savoonga, and the Notwist, often times working with his brother Markus) and Stephanie Boehm. Both worked together six or seven years back as Couch, a data-pop / post-rock ensemble with not a thing in common with the Michigan scum-rock band by the same name. Their reunion as Ms. John Soda for their first album "No P. Or D." doesn't stray far from the Morr label template of bittersweet ambient-pop; so we give a word of caution to fans of Village of Savoonga's angular darkness, which you won't find in any Morr productions. Boehm's simple if slightly detached vocals wistfully float through each song not unlike those of Laetetia Sadier on early Stereolab albums like "Peng." Barring their Neu! references, those early Stereolab albums make for an adequate parallel to Ms. John Soda in their mutual applications of retro fetishism, effortless indie-pop grooviness through jangliness, and an unassuming intelligence (which Stereolab has lost as of late). It's almost as good as the Notwist's "Neon Golden," which has grown to be one of the sleeper gems of 2002! Certainly worth checking out.
RealAudio clip: "Misco"
RealAudio clip: "Unsleeping"