BANHART, DEVENDRA Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL) lp 17.98
Now available on vinyl!
Well, the folk may be less present, but the freak is still going strong as ever. And why shouldn't he be when he's the charmed breather of life into this strange Topanga Canyon cocktail party. No, Neil Young couldn't make it, neither could Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, or any of the usual suspects you might expect from ground zero of the west coast singer-songwriter renaissance in the seventies. Instead Devendra and cohorts with their ever-changing band names (Hairy Fairy, Navajo Gospel, White Rainbow Moccassin Woman, and lately The Spiritual Boner) have imported some remarkably far-flung musical touch-stones. From Vegas Elvis to Caetano Veloso to J.J. Cale. Throw in a little Byrds with a pinch of Led Zeppelin, add some Lover's Rock, some Post-Tropicalia, a bit of gender-bending, a taste of gospel and even a hint of Al Jolson mixed with Allan Sherman. It's a pretty daring concoction that, with a couple of notable exceptions (The treacley gospel choir of "Saved" and the cringe-inducing doo-wop of "Shabop Shalom"), works rather brilliantly. It's definitely a stretching-out record with Devendra bravely exploring more theatrical musical niches that would terrify most artists, and while at moments it can border on cheese, for the most part it's got some of the best songwriting, band performances and production that he's committed to wax (or plastic) so far. Recommended! The vinyl also comes with a code for a free download, but alas no bonus material.
MPEG Stream: "Seahorse"
MPEG Stream: "Tonada Yanomaninista"
MPEG Stream: "Carmencita"
MPEG Stream: "The Other Woman"

BANHART, DEVENDRA The Black Babies (UK) (Young God) cd ep 9.98
We've been told that amidst the piles of four-track recordings that Devendra Banhart has made, there are over 100 songs yet to be released. All of the tracks from the critically acclaimed debut album "Oh Me Oh My..." (even NPR has been raving about it!) came from that wealth of material. Thus, it's somewhat disappointing that the "The Black Babies (UK)" ep -- so-called 'cause it was originally intended just for release in England -- only features 6 previously unheard offerings of his wonderfully bizarre folk songs and 2 tracks from the aforementioned "Oh Me Oh My..." album. Nonetheless, "The Black Babies" is a very welcome addition. Devendra's voice continues to belie his gender with a straining vibrato that sounds more like a crazed Billie Holiday, or more accurately like the '60s Village folk maven Karen Dalton. Overdubbing just his voice and his elliptical fingerpicking of an acoustic guitar through borrowed four-tracks, Devendra's songs work through their ability to communicate the extremes of emotion with so little to work with. It also doesn't hurt his cause that all of his material is swathed in the audio cobwebs of tape hiss, residual ambience, and purposefully unkempt production. In light of such lo-fi indie-rock offerings as The Mountain Goats and Sebadoh, none of this is new; although Devendra's subject matter seems far more magical and outlandish than the rumpled tragicomedies of those acts. While the highlights of "Oh Me Oh My..." were the bloodcurdling songs of pain and abjection, "The Black Babies (UK)" features more of his sort-of love songs, albeit, quite atypical love songs, in which Devendra pines for places like Maine, South Carolina, or Spain. This is some of the finest in magic realism.
MPEG Stream: "Surgery I Stole"
MPEG Stream: "Onward The Indian"

BANHART, DEVENDRA What Will We Be? (Warner Bros.) cd 17.98
By this point people seem to have really strong feelings one way or another about Devendra Banhart, ourselves included. We've been big fans of him from his first ultra personal other worldly creations and then as he transitioned his approach into a more fleshed out sound, and we really do appreciate the twists and turns his music has taken over the years and his willingness to play with different sounds and approaches, even when not entirely successful. Perhaps especially then!
Because the thing about Banhart's music is that for every slight slip up or overly feel-good goofy song that might make it on a record (and there are a couple here) there are so many intense and heartfelt, emotional and flat out incredible songs that help balance his uniquely skewed musical vision.
Despite all the hype and hoopla that's surrounded Banhart over the years, the truth is he might just be one of the best songwriters of the last decade. What Will We Be? fits very nicely alongside his recent outings Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain, with some all out rocking and even glam moments ("16th Street & Valencia Roxy Music", "Rats") as well as a handful of tropical excursions, but it's the more slow and dreamy songs that really remind us why we love this guy so much. What Will We Be? is a record that requires multiple listens, as there are golden tracks throughout, which only really seep through after multiple plays. The cd comes with a beautiful booklet with the lyrics to each songs along with Banhart's wonderful drawings.
MPEG Stream: "Brindo"
MPEG Stream: "Baby"
MPEG Stream: "16th & Valencia, Roxy Music"
MPEG Stream: "Last Song For B"

BANHART, DEVENDRA What Will We Be? (Warner Bros.) 2lp 33.00
NOW ON VINYL!!!
By this point people seem to have really strong feelings one way or another about Devendra Banhart, ourselves included. We've been big fans of him from his first ultra personal other worldly creations and then as he transitioned his approach into a more fleshed out sound, and we really do appreciate the twists and turns his music has taken over the years and his willingness to play with different sounds and approaches, even when not entirely successful. Perhaps especially then!
Because the thing about Banhart's music is that for every slight slip up or overly feel-good goofy song that might make it on a record (and there are a couple here) there are so many intense and heartfelt, emotional and flat out incredible songs that help balance his uniquely skewed musical vision.
Despite all the hype and hoopla that's surrounded Banhart over the years, the truth is he might just be one of the best songwriters of the last decade. What Will We Be? fits very nicely alongside his recent outings Cripple Crow and Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Mountain, with some all out rocking and even glam moments ("16th Street & Valencia Roxy Music", "Rats") as well as a handful of tropical excursions, but it's the more slow and dreamy songs that really remind us why we love this guy so much. What Will We Be? is a record that requires multiple listens, as there are golden tracks throughout, which only really seep through after multiple plays. The vinyl version comes with two extra songs not on the cd!
MPEG Stream: "Brindo"
MPEG Stream: "Baby"
MPEG Stream: "16th & Valencia, Roxy Music"
MPEG Stream: "Last Song For B"

BANHART, DEVENDRA / JANA HUNTER split (Troubleman Unlimited) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Only available on vinyl! This split LP with Jana Hunter features Devendra Banhart's first recordings without the spiritual guidance of Michael Gira since those very first home-recordings which comprised the Oh Me Oh My... album and the Black Babies UK ep, but Banhart's time with Gira certainly left an indelible mark on the former. Therefore it may or may not be surprising to find that unlike many of his earlier recordings on which Banhart struck a chord as a solitary untethered voice, his more recent material has embraced group choruses. In fact the final song on his side of this record seems to possess a unhinged giddiness along the lines of the Beach Boys' loopy sing-a-long rendition of the "Vegetables" tune on Smiley Smile. Banhart's no longer such a lone wolf, finding many kindred spirits in his travels -- such as Ms Jana Hunter with whom he shares this record. And perhaps it can be said that this sense of gathering is parallelled by the ever-increasing popularization of the avant-folk genre as a whole. Hunter and Banhart's music make for a great pairing of heart-baring, barebones compositions. At time her off-kilter voice is strikingly similar to his, creating an almost seamless transition from 'Side J.H." to "Side D.B.". Five songs apiece, and sure to please.

BANJO OR FREAKOUT s/t (RBR) cd 15.98
We weren't the only ones to choose to freakout (hee hee) when we first heard this band's prior vinyl only release. We sold a ton of those and it seemed lots of you also became bigtime fans of BoF's ability to bring new life to a '90s indie rock sensibility. BoF combine an atmospheric approach to recording with songs that showcase different sides to their aesthetic, from moody bittersweet pop nuggets, to daydream anthems, to classic indie rock slacker vibrations. We dig how they remind us of some of the '90s more unsung indie rock greats like 764-Hero and Red Stars Theory, as well as tapping into the warmth and immediacy of modern day bands like Grizzly Bear and The Dodos. If you're feeling burnt out after so many lo-fi, warbled garage pop records, this lush and full sounding indie pop will be seriously refreshing and will no doubt be just what you were hankering for...
MPEG Stream: "Dear Me"
MPEG Stream: "105"
RealAudio clip: "Fully Enjoy"

BANJO OR FREAKOUT s/t (RBR) lp 16.98
We weren't the only ones to choose to freakout (hee hee) when we first heard this band's prior vinyl only release. We sold a ton of those and it seemed lots of you also became bigtime fans of BoF's ability to bring new life to a '90s indie rock sensibility. BoF combine an atmospheric approach to recording with songs that showcase different sides to their aesthetic, from moody bittersweet pop nuggets, to daydream anthems, to classic indie rock slacker vibrations. We dig how they remind us of some of the '90s more unsung indie rock greats like 764-Hero and Red Stars Theory, as well as tapping into the warmth and immediacy of modern day bands like Grizzly Bear and The Dodos. If you're feeling burnt out after so many lo-fi, warbled garage pop records, this lush and full sounding indie pop will be seriously refreshing and will no doubt be just what you were hankering for...
MPEG Stream: "Dear Me"
MPEG Stream: "105"
RealAudio clip: "Fully Enjoy"

BANJO OR FREAKOUT Upside Down (Half Machine Records) lp 10.98
The funny thing about Banjo Or Freakout, is you'll find neither on their records. Okay, well maybe a -little- freakout. But mostly, BoFO traffic in some seriously buzzy, warm and warbly fuzz drenched indie folk noise pop, acoustic guitars, vocal harmonies, some almost programmed sounding drums, total power pop hooks, think Neutral Milk Hotel, the Comas, Apples In Stereo, but filtered through the new breed of pop deconstructionists like Ducktails, Thee Oh Sees and the like.
The A side is all jangle and buzz and croon and will totally hit the spot and fill that Neutral Milk Hotel shaped hole in your heart, the B side though is totally blown out, absolute woozy shoegazy bliss, everything looped and hypnotic and buried under a haze of guitars and buzzy effects. And then there's the trippy rhythmic closer, equal parts Avarus style tribal clatter and drum circle kraut jam and Animal Collective outsider pop bliss. This record rules. Need to hear more bad!!

BANNISTER, BOB Dives & Lazarus (Twisted Village) cd 13.98
Here's an album of (sometimes radical) interpretations of traditional British and American folk songs, all done by Bob Bannister of Tono Bungay. Melancholy stuff beloved by fans of Shirley Collins and the like ("The Murder Of Maria Marten", "George Collins", "The Unquiet Grave", and others). His production and arrangements are both evocative and inventive, mixing the original words and melodies with violin drone, tape manipulation, electronics, and even distorted guitar feedback. The weak spot is Bannister's singing, he's just not a great singer -- but the feeling is there, and his music captures the mood perfectly. Amps For Christ meets John Fahey meets Slap Happy Humphrey meets the Harry Smith Anthology of American Folk Music? Er, something like that, if that means anything to you... Or, if you've heard the P.G. Six album we raved about on list #112, you'll have an idea of where this is coming from (no, it's not as good as P.G. Six, but shares a similar sound-approach, and is well worth checking out if you liked that album).
RealAudio clip: "Murder Of Maria Marten"
RealAudio clip: "A Miniature Rainbow"
RealAudio clip: "Dark Hollow"

BANYAN (Cyber Octave) cd 14.98
Former Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins jams with Mike Watt (Minutemen), Nels Cline (Nels Cline Trio, Geraldine Fibbers), and a mysterious keyboardist, in an attempt to conjure the spirits of both Miles Davis and Igor Stravinsky (as the liner notes somewhat pretentiously imply). Now of course I'm thinking that Utah punk band Iceburn has already done that, but Nels is a wonderful guitarist and AQ has to pretty much recommend everything he's involved in. Basically this is a mostly instrumental, improv-funk romp. Recorded by the Dust Brothers by the way.

BAR KOKHBA Lucifer (Tzadik) cd 16.98

BARBARA A Blessing From The Angel Of Death (Heart & Crossbone) cd 12.98
Since we're reviewing the brand new record from Israel's Barbara, we figured we would get a handful of their first record, so all of you who missed out on this killer disc the first time around could have anther chance...
How could we resist? A band called Barbara. From Israel. On the cover, the name Barbara is written in ornate olde English, with the middle 'b' extending into a huge crucifix. The record is called A Blessing From The Angel Of Death! Song titles include "Heart Of Thorns", "Concrete Heaven", "Morbidity" and "Hotdog" (?). We knew before we even heard it that this was AQ through and through. Thankfully, the music was just as good as we had hoped. Noisy and raw, Blessing... was recorded live in Tel Aviv in 1999, and sounds like it. Overblown and a bit lo-fi, with super saturated vocals and crumbing guitar distortion, this is wild and chaotic and furiously intense. Imagine a black metal Hella, or the Ruins playing Darkthrone in a concrete bunker, or an even more damaged sounding Lightning Bolt. Just bass and drums, a super tight, uber distorted sludge-metal rhythmic chaos engine, spitting out relentless metallic mayhem, wild unpredictably spastic drumming, huge throbbing mud bass, and howled and shrieked vocals. Occasionally, the band stretches out into ambient post rock, doomy Khanate-isms, all syncopated bursts of musical bile, melodies hidden amidst prickly pounding riffage. And as with lots of live recordings, it's totally disconcerting to hear the barely there smattering of applause in the black hole vacuum of silence between each song. This is the sort of monstrous brutality that you imagine being played atop Valhalla, across a valley of cowering minions, bowed in reverent worship. Or at least in the corner of a sweaty, writhing, jam packed little club!
MPEG Stream: "Pest Control"
MPEG Stream: "Skinny"

BARBARA Peger (Heart & Crossbone) cd 11.98
Finally! A brand new record from Israel's Barbara. A band we fell in love with before we even heard them. Why? Well, they're called Barbara to start with, they're from Israel, Barbara is written in olde English with the first 'b' extending into a crucifix, and they're a bass and drums duo. We were completely sold before we even discovered how amazing they sounded. But with all that going for them, if they didn't rule, we would have seriously lost faith in the universe.
The sound on Peger is not all that far removed from their 1999 debut A Blessing From The Angel Of Death, the biggest difference being that where the first disc was a live record, this is recorded in a studio, so it sounds heavier, noisier and more intense. A sloppy, ultra loose doomy prog jam of the highest order. It's like a confusional mix of Godheadsilo, Hella, Burmese, Lightning Bolt and the Ruins, but dipped in molten metal and rolled around in filthy gritty grimy dooooom. The guitars buzz and moan, chugging and grinding, weaving elaborate layered fuzzscapes and jagged melodies, a seriously sludgy downtuned blast of sonic chaos, feedback and amp buzz everywhere, shrieked vocals and blown out rumbles... but it's the drums holding it all together, a relentless ultra complex pound, drums splattered everywhere and cymbals crashing all over the place, like someone was firing a machine gun into a room stuffed with old drum kits. But this isn't just noise rock, the songs are weirdly catchy, underneath all the throb and pummel, thrash and grind, lurk some killer hooks and some super memorable riffs. And interspersed throughout the record are washed out extended drones, long stretches of buzzing fuzzed out guitar, and rumbling low end, punctuated by occasional bursts of aggro drum crush. Some super abstract ambient doom, that always seems to collapse back into another blast of stumbling low end punishment. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Schnell"
MPEG Stream: "The Philosopher Under Pressure"
MPEG Stream: "Pray To Black"
MPEG Stream: "The Feedbacker"

BARDO POND Archive 24 (aRCHIVE) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An awesome live recording from these psych rock astral travelers, this lengthy two track performance recorded live in the living room of a house somewhere in Philadelphia finds the Pond at their driftiest and dreamiest. The opening track is a 34 minute psychbliss epic, guitars swirl and shimmer, drifting lazily across a gauzy sun dappled sonic sky, violins float by occasionally as do snatches of fluttering flute, the background dense with chimes and distant bells, muted melodies and slow undulating waves of guitar groan and ambient rumble, colored here and there by some scrape and hiss, as well as voices and sounds from the partygoers seated around the band. It's a sloooooow build and when it finally does reach it's peak, it's not a blow out as much as a heavy drone. Totally mesmerizing and tranceworthy! The second track, clocking in at a much more brief 12 minutes or so, is an even more mellow affair, simple drifting acoustic guitar, hand drums, flutes and ethereal female vocals, while in the background, thick billowing clouds of distorted psychedelic guitar pulse and swell, like some mysterious sonic Northern lights. So nice. Hard to imagine these sounds emanating from a house in some suburb, unless that house suddenly became unmoored and began drifting through alternate universes, or through some unexplored corner of the galaxy. So perfect!
LIMITED TO 600 COPIES!! Two different covers, each one super striking, no need to ask for a specific cover, they'll be pulled at random, and you'll be pleased as punch either way!
MPEG Stream: "Amur"
MPEG Stream: "Walkingclouds"

BARDO POND Batholith (Three Lobed) lp + cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If we had to pick our favorite modern psych rock band, it might be tough. There are so many groups who have mastered the fine art of druggy soundscapes, tripped out space rock, and in-the-red avantpsych drone jams. But if push comes to shove, most of us would probably pick Bardo Pond.
Release after release, every single one of their records manages to push all our musical buttons, be it droney krautrockishness, damaged freaked out noise rock, trippy stoned drift, fluttering psych folk, heavy riffrock, or all of the above! These guys have mastered their craft, but remain unafraid to just wing it, jamming wildly, almost always resulting in something truly transcendent.
Batholith, while ostensibly an actual album, is in fact, a collection of some of Bardo's favorite songs that for whatever reason have never been released until now. Some live tracks, Peel sessions, and the opener "A Tune", that the band began their legendary Terrastock II set with, a laid back stoned groove, all warm washed out guitars and shuffling drums, until over the top, in swoop the Gibbons brothers, to tear it up, unfurling fiery sun baked leads over the top, wrapped around the vocals, a buried murmur, ghostly and gauzy, the whole track a glorious acid drenched, fuzzy buzzy drone-y jam.
In fact most of Batholith sounds like that, super hazy, lazy, drawn out, sprawling riffs, dreamy and definitely WAY druggy.
But that all changes about halfway through.
"Splint" begins as a post rocky meander, barely any guitars, just little trills and flourishes here and there, amidst a cloud of bass thrum and shuffling drums, which rev up about half way through into a dense churning wall of sound, crumbling and massive, before drifting back to the track's opening drift. "Slip Away" is total nineties shoegaze, somewhere between the Swirlies and Swervedriver, the vocals ethereal and dreamlike, the drums a driving pound, but guitars EVERYWHERE, thick and fuzzed out, layers upon layers, one guitar soaring above the rest, skywriting buzzing minor key melodies over the top, sometimes exploding into wahwah drenched squalls, other times just adding to the overall buzz.
The final track, the longest at 10 minutes, is all Eastern raga, with some steel string buzz that sounds a bit like a sitar, a loping sea sick main riff, a hypnotic pulse like drum beat, and again the guitars take over, snarling and growling and glowing, a super intense tangle of downtuned buzz, draped over the steady motorik jam beneath, until the band launch into space, and unload an incredibly fierce and furious space rock outro, the drums dense and complex, the bass thick and fuzzy, the guitars all wound up in a glorious psychdrone battle to the death.
Incredibly deluxe packaging. Heavy heavy gatefold. The record pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Included with the lp is a cd of the same music. LIMITED TO 1049 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "A Tune"
MPEG Stream: "Push Your Head"

BARDO POND Bufo Alvarius (Drunken Fish) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BARDO POND Bufo Alvarius (Fire) cd 15.98
One of our favorite records from this Philly drone / drug / psych ensemble, available again on lp, this time with a bonus track, and a cd version bundled with the lp...
Bufo Alvarius, originally released in 1995, was Bardo Pond's first, and some (us for example) might argue, still their best, completely tripped out, hazy sonic sedatives administered in the form of blown out space psych bliss, the guitars not so much riffing as expelling thick undulating sheets of warped fuzz, the drums, loose and propulsive, driving the songs, but not rigidily, the flute fluttering throughout, like melodic flecks floating in a swirling sonic sea of bongwater, the band do occasionally come together, and briefly sound like a super loose spaced out slowed down Stooges, but even then they stumble and meander, lurch and lumber, staggering druggily through clouds of spectrascopic sonic splutter, eventually exploding into full on effects drenched meltdown, managing to sound heavy and dense and trippy, but still totally dreamy and mesmerizing.
A few tracks get all jangly, and the band sound like Pavement covering Spacemen 3, while extremely high, the female vocals are doused in reverb and echo and delay, and they drift ghostlike through woozy whirling fields of tangled psychedelic guitar freakout, the whole band seemingly on the verge of total collapse, this record a document of a group teetering gloriously on the edge. When the band rock, they rock hard, and sound a bit like Loop, albeit a whole lot more loose, that same sort of psychedelic hypno-drug-rock, but in the hands of Bardo Pond, those moments never last, instead, what could be a driving super heavy rocker, tends again, to crumble, and collapse, into a stumbling druggy psych dirge of swirling sweet crooned female vox, pounding off kilter drumming, a tangled knot of corruscated guitar buzz, everything wrapped in a thick cloak of grimy, gritty fuzzed out whirr. It really doesn't get heavier, or trippier or more psychedelic than this. Take the nearly half hour track "Amen", a single track, but essentially an entire bonus record, a fantastically OUT ambient sprawl of impressionistic psychguitar, bleary free noise, and druggy dreamlike ambience, the sort of blown out abstraction most current bands couldn't pull off if their lives depended on it.
This recent reissue tacks on a bonus track, the groovy woozy jangly "Fixed", that begins all strummy and soft focus, before the drums kick in hard, the vocals serene and sweet, backed up by a wall of churning psychedelia, softy strummed clean guitar, and of course haunting spectral flute. So good.
Way recommended, easily one of our all time favorite modern psych records, and to all those folks into the new breed of psychedelic space rock: White Hills, the Heads, Gnod, Eternal Tapestry, Heavy Winged... You NEED this!
MPEG Stream: "Adhesive"
MPEG Stream: "Back Porch"
MPEG Stream: "On A Side Street"

BARDO POND Bufo Alvarius (Drunken Fish) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BARDO POND Bufo Alvarius (Fire) lp+cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of our favorite records from this Philly drone / drug / psych ensemble, available again on lp, this time with a bonus track, and a cd version bundled with the lp...
Bufo Alvarius, originally released in 1995, was Bardo Pond's first, and some (us for example) might argue, still their best, completely tripped out, hazy sonic sedatives administered in the form of blown out space psych bliss, the guitars not so much riffing as expelling thick undulating sheets of warped fuzz, the drums, loose and propulsive, driving the songs, but not rigidily, the flute fluttering throughout, like melodic flecks floating in a swirling sonic sea of bongwater, the band do occasionally come together, and briefly sound like a super loose spaced out slowed down Stooges, but even then they stumble and meander, lurch and lumber, staggering druggily through clouds of spectrascopic sonic splutter, eventually exploding into full on effects drenched meltdown, managing to sound heavy and dense and trippy, but still totally dreamy and mesmerizing.
A few tracks get all jangly, and the band sound like Pavement covering Spacemen 3, while extremely high, the female vocals are doused in reverb and echo and delay, and they drift ghostlike through woozy whirling fields of tangled psychedelic guitar freakout, the whole band seemingly on the verge of total collapse, this record a document of a group teetering gloriously on the edge. When the band rock, they rock hard, and sound a bit like Loop, albeit a whole lot more loose, that same sort of psychedelic hypno-drug-rock, but in the hands of Bardo Pond, those moments never last, instead, what could be a driving super heavy rocker, tends again, to crumble, and collapse, into a stumbling druggy psych dirge of swirling sweet crooned female vox, pounding off kilter drumming, a tangled knot of corruscated guitar buzz, everything wrapped in a thick cloak of grimy, gritty fuzzed out whirr. It really doesn't get heavier, or trippier or more psychedelic than this. Take the nearly half hour track "Amen", a single track, but essentially an entire bonus record, a fantastically OUT ambient sprawl of impressionistic psychguitar, bleary free noise, and druggy dreamlike ambience, the sort of blown out abstraction most current bands couldn't pull off if their lives depended on it.
This recent reissue tacks on a bonus track, the groovy woozy jangly "Fixed", that begins all strummy and soft focus, before the drums kick in hard, the vocals serene and sweet, backed up by a wall of churning psychedelia, softy strummed clean guitar, and of course haunting spectral flute. So good.
Way recommended, easily one of our all time favorite modern psych records, and to all those folks into the new breed of psychedelic space rock: White Hills, the Heads, Gnod, Eternal Tapestry, Heavy Winged... You NEED this!
MPEG Stream: "Adhesive"
MPEG Stream: "Back Porch"
MPEG Stream: "On A Side Street"

BARDO POND Cypher Documents I (Three Lobed Recordings) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What we have here is not exactly a new album from Philly's deeply stoned-sounding sonic spacefarers Bardo Pond, though it sort of is... This is part one of a planned series that will gather up the loose ends of BP's prolific recording career: tracks from singles, comps, etc. All BP-heads should be pleased! Cypher Documents I collects seven tracks that were previously only ever released as temporarily-available, mp3-of-the-month downloads on the band's website, except for one of 'em ("Living Testament") that also made it onto a Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine comp. And, the epic 31-minute "From The Sky" that appears here was only a five minute long edit in its original mp3 form. All these tracks date from the period between their 1999 Set and Setting album and 2001's Dilate. The disc begins with the slide-riffing, moaning, heavy-duty psych-out action of "Living Testament" and takes it from there, sometimes getting even heavier (the ominous "Slag"), sometimes quieter (the hushed "Nomad"), always sounding MEGA-STONED. The disc ends with the aforementioned "From The Sky" epic, preceeded by the nearly-as-epic 13-minute "Black Turban". Bardo Pond fans need this, also probably you want this if you're into the likes of Acid Mothers Temple, Kinski, Doktor Kettu, and the like (which means you're likely a Bardo Pond fan anyway, what are we saying?). Even though it's not a "real" album it's already one of our faves from this band.
MPEG Stream: "Living Testament"
MPEG Stream: "Slag"

BARDO POND Dilate (Matador) cd 14.98
A marked improvement from their last release -- the disappointing blues jam "Set & Setting" -- Bardo Pond's "Dilate" mopes through its thick psychedelic haze of washed out guitar and slow 'n' simple rhythms that aren't exactly memorable, but can't be forgotten after taking a really big hit on that multi-chambered water bong. The first couple of tracks have all of the slow-burning dark psych-rock intensity of recent Mogwai, and later on the buzzing guitars sound a lot like the Dirty Three. Isobel still sings way too much, sounding like Kim Gordon's recent drunken nonsense. But whether it's art rock or stoned wanking, it sounds pretty good (and I'm not even high!)
RealAudio clip: "Two Planes"

BARDO POND Dilate (Matador) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A marked improvement from their last release -- the disappointing blues jam "Set & Setting" -- Bardo Pond's "Dilate" mopes through its thick psychedelic haze of washed out guitar and slow 'n' simple rhythms that aren't exactly memorable, but can't be forgotten after taking a really big hit on that multi-chambered water bong. The first couple of tracks have all of the slow-burning dark psyche-rock intensity of recent Mogwai, and later on the buzzing guitars sound a lot like the Dirty Three. Isobel still sings way too much, sounding like Kim Gordon's recent drunken nonsense. But whether it's art rock or stoned wanking, it sounds pretty good (and I'm not even high!)

BARDO POND Gazing At Shilla (Important) lp 17.98
No one does stoned and blissed out deep-in-the-forest jams better than Bardo Pond. For over fifteen years now this Philly outfit have been kicking out some of the most gorgeous organic spaced out rock EVER. Bardo Pond have so many different sides to their sound, from more song based tracks, to full on psychedelia, to dirgey space rock, and of course there's the sprawling tripped out and totally dreamy epic jams.
Gazing At Shilla finds the Pond in the latter mode, which is just fine as we can't get enough of that sound, when the band somehow bring earth and sky together in gloriously cataclysmic ways, allowing us to get so totally and fantastically lost in their sound. Recorded between 2003-2006, each side is a single, fantastic, sprawling twenty minute instrumental. "Eight - Thousanders" finds the band soaring and floating and gliding with such ease and fluidity. While "Kali" gets a little buzzier and darker, gritty space-y sonics transmitted from another dimension. Imagine if Roy Montgomery and Sonic Youth joined forces, or those special moments when Kawabata Makoto and his Acid Mothers Temple set their trajectory for cosmic spheres unknown. Ultimately though, it sounds like Bardo Pond (albeit only one of their many sides), a band who continue to grow, evolve and rule!
This the first of a new four part Bardo Pond related series of limited edition vinyl only releases on Important, we also just got the others in, one each by Bardo side projects Alasehir, Alumbrados, and Moon Phantoms - the latter a collaboration with Japan's Suishu No Fune!

BARDO POND Lapsed (Matador) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wonderful new album.

BARDO POND Lapsed (Matador) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wonderful new album.

BARDO POND On the Ellipse (ATP Recordings) cd 14.98
Time to get high. Philly psych-jam outfit Bardo Pond seems to be best appreciated with some THC intake. Or maybe not, we wouldn't know, that's just what we've been told. But certainly, for those of us who don't smoke that stuff, they're one of those bands that could be used as an aural substitute for such illicit substances. Either way, this is definitely stoner rock, of the heavy-lidded, droney, downer variety. Compared to their recent Matador label albums (Set And Setting, Dilate), this new one for ATP seems somewhat heavier and sludgier -- it's one that could be appreciated by those into the likes of Dead Meadow, Sleep or even Electric Wizard. Yet it's still downy soft, too, with folky, acoustic songs living among (or within) the massive electric-psych-guitar wash ones. Delicate female vocals from flautist Isobel drift o'er the mellowed out, doped up distortion. It's as airy as it is hairy. Loping, slumbrous, gentle, melancholic, blissful, hazy... What Sleep was to Black Sabbath's "Lord Of This World", much of this is to Sabbath's "Solitude". Bardo fans of course will like, and even if you haven't been that into Bardo Pond before, we'd say this is defintely one to check out. Maybe their best in a while. Real nice. Play loud.
MPEG Stream: "Night Of Frogs"
MPEG Stream: "Walking Clouds"

BARDO POND On the Ellipse (ATP Recordings) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Perfect, now available on vinyl!
Time to get high. Philly psych-jam outfit Bardo Pond seems to be best appreciated with some THC intake. Or maybe not, we wouldn't know, that's just what we've been told. But certainly, for those of us who don't smoke that stuff, they're one of those bands that could be used as an aural substitute for such illicit substances. Either way, this is definitely stoner rock, of the heavy-lidded, droney, downer variety. Compared to their recent Matador label albums (Set And Setting, Dilate), this new one for ATP seems somewhat heavier and sludgier -- it's one that could be appreciated by those into the likes of Dead Meadow, Sleep or even Electric Wizard. Yet it's still downy soft, too, with folky, acoustic songs living among (or within) the massive electric-psych-guitar wash ones. Delicate female vocals from flautist Isobel drift o'er the mellowed out, doped up distortion. It's as airy as it is hairy. Loping, slumbrous, gentle, melancholic, blissful, hazy... What Sleep was to Black Sabbath's "Lord Of This World", much of this is to Sabbath's "Solitude". Bardo fans of course will like, and even if you haven't been that into Bardo Pond before, we'd say this is defintely one to check out. Maybe their best in a while. Real nice. Play loud.
MPEG Stream: "Night Of Frogs"
MPEG Stream: "Walking Clouds"

BARDO POND Peri (Three Lobed) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Peri is a companion of sorts to the earlier Bardo Pond release Batholith, which itself was a compilation of rare and unreleased tracks. The wealth of material compiled for Batholith resulted in this, a second volume of rarities, culled from the last almost 15 years. It includes some old fan favorites, and we have to say this is the sort of Bardo Pond we love, so sludgey and murky and psychedelic and raw, the band seriously HEAVY, their psychedelia dark and drone-y and intense, the guitars thick and gnarled, the vocals ghostlike and buried in the mix, lots of fluttering flutes, thick squalls of wild guitar freakout, the drums a pounding thud. Just check out the opener "Karwan", a slithery sprawling sludgey groove, the guitars thick and cloudy, the drums more of a slow motion tribal pulse than a rhythm, the main riff loping and woozy and druggy, the vocals laid back and weary, the whole thing sounding like it's being broadcast through a haze of pot smoke.
"The Path" is short and more delicate, the vocals and flutes way up front, but fiery guitars buzz just below the surface, the vibe almost folky, which perfectly segues into "Libation" a way more laid back space jam, the drums skittery and spare, the guitars spidery and crystalline, the vocals again buried in the mix, and a wicked psych blowout outro.
"Chicken Gun" was a live staple from the nineties, and features a bad ass main riff, lots of wah wah, thick distorted guitars, cool chanteuse like vocals, strange atonal flute freakouts, and a sound that just gets heavier and heavier and more dense as the track progresses. Finally, the record closes with "Silver Pavillion", another classic Bardo oldie, tripped out and dreamy and druggy, more krautrocky than anything, the guitars unfurling soft shimmery buzz, but again with an explosive climax, wild intense drumming, and some intense tangled psych guitar dueling. Total space rock / drone rock / krautrock nirvana.
Weirdly, the vinyl is limited to 1640 copies, while the cd-only version is limited to a mere 350 copies, so those will most likely be gone before the lps. But heck, you might as well buy the lp, since not only does it ALSO come with a cd anyway, it comes in a gorgeous ultra heavy, super swank and super deluxe gatefold jacket!
MPEG Stream: "Karwan"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Pavilion"

BARDO POND Peri (Three Lobed) lp + cd 25.00
Peri is a companion of sorts to the earlier Bardo Pond release Batholith, which itself was a compilation of rare and unreleased tracks. The wealth of material compiled for Batholith resulted in this, a second volume of rarities, culled from the last almost 15 years. It includes some old fan favorites, and we have to say this is the sort of Bardo Pond we love, so sludgey and murky and psychedelic and raw, the band seriously HEAVY, their psychedelia dark and drone-y and intense, the guitars thick and gnarled, the vocals ghostlike and buried in the mix, lots of fluttering flutes, thick squalls of wild guitar freakout, the drums a pounding thud. Just check out the opener "Karwan", a slithery sprawling sludgey groove, the guitars thick and cloudy, the drums more of a slow motion tribal pulse than a rhythm, the main riff loping and woozy and druggy, the vocals laid back and weary, the whole thing sounding like it's being broadcast through a haze of pot smoke.
"The Path" is short and more delicate, the vocals and flutes way up front, but fiery guitars buzz just below the surface, the vibe almost folky, which perfectly segues into "Libation" a way more laid back space jam, the drums skittery and spare, the guitars spidery and crystalline, the vocals again buried in the mix, and a wicked psych blowout outro.
"Chicken Gun" was a live staple from the nineties, and features a bad ass main riff, lots of wah wah, thick distorted guitars, cool chanteuse like vocals, strange atonal flute freakouts, and a sound that just gets heavier and heavier and more dense as the track progresses. Finally, the record closes with "Silver Pavillion", another classic Bardo oldie, tripped out and dreamy and druggy, more krautrocky than anything, the guitars unfurling soft shimmery buzz, but again with an explosive climax, wild intense drumming, and some intense tangled psych guitar dueling. Total space rock / drone rock / krautrock nirvana.
Weirdly, the vinyl is limited to 1640 copies, while the cd-only version is limited to a mere 350 copies, so those will most likely be gone before the lps. But heck, you might as well buy the lp, since not only does it ALSO come with a cd anyway, it comes in a gorgeous ultra heavy, super swank and super deluxe gatefold jacket!
MPEG Stream: "Karwan"
MPEG Stream: "Silver Pavilion"

BARDO POND s/t (Fire) cd 16.98
We've long been fans of Bardo Pond, but this new record definitely took a few listens to get into. The response everyone seemed to have was "this sounds really WAY out of tune", and it does, sort of. Right from the outset, the group unfurl some woozy warbly strummy twang flecked psych folk, the strings buzzing and tangling, the melodies, shifting and intertwining, the vocals sounding sort of out of sync with the music, the bassline warped and underwater sounding, the drums an abstract scatter of beats, but as that first song continues, the vocals sink into the mire, harmonica begins to wheeze, the sounds of birds (?) surface, and the guitars, gradually grow more and more intense, first smoldering, before gradually catching fire, and finally exploding, and then the band are KILLING it, a huge squall of swirling, super distorted, wild and loose and chaotic druggy droned out psych guitar freakout, the drums pounding, everything twisted and sprawling and lit from within like some sort of sonic supernova, revealing the group's true purpose, the vocals returning, now sounding perfect, multitracked and nestled within the coruscating sheets of crumbling distortion and pealing blown out leads. The sort of epic dreamlike drugged out jam you never want to end. And that's how the band introduce their latest full length, their self titled their eighth proper full length, nearly two decades into their career, and they still sound as loose and free and psychedelic and heavy as ever. If not more so.
The rest of the record follows suit, "Don't Know About You" launches into a thick crusty chunky bit of riffage, the vocals witchy and snarly, the perfect match for the group's super distorted groove, everything still wreathed in streaks of effects and guitarnoise, and like the track before it, blossoming into some seriously heady psychedelia, surprisingly melodic too, the guitar tone epic, thick and blown out, almost Kyuss-y, that same sort of fuzz and crunch, and the more we listen, the more this sounds like BP at their most songy, sure most of the record is spent unfurling epic space out mega jams, but they're wrapped around dirgey downer pop, some weird hybrid of the Stooges, the Velvets and Crazy Horse, but dosed and doused and let loose, to billow up in great clouds of heaviness, of swirling trippiness. "Sleeping" offers a little respite, all hazy acoustic guitars and warm fluttering flutes, some woozy, acid folk drift, but it's not long before the band launch into the 21 minute "Undone", a warbly slow build, backwards guitars and angelic vox, all over simple folk strum, the track gradually expanding, the drums not even entering the picture until more than halfway through, but when they do, and the guitars finally let loose, it's glorious, the vocals crooning beneath clouds of lightning bolt guitar, and jagged shards of effects drenched melody.
"Cracker Wrist" might be the heaviest of the bunch, but it starts out deceivingly dreamy, all layered drones and gauzy shimmer, but after a few minutes, the riffs come fast and furious, locked tight with the pounding drums, a mesmerizing bit of krauty drone rock heaviness, again the guitars going wild, and wrapping everything in tangles of melody and fragmented drug drenched shred. "The Stars Behind" is another ballady number, but it wouldn't be BP if it too wasn't eventually enveloped by ropy blasts of grinding guitars, and soaring sheets of blown out psych swirl, the record finally finishing off with the comparatively tame "Wayne's Tune", all warbly melodies, angular guitars, shuffling drums, no big build, no explosive catharsis, instead, just hazy and droney and dreamily druggy.
After some initial (and unfounded it seems) trepidation, this is turning out to be one of the best Bardo Pond records in ages. Killer, very metal, cover art too, all black and silver with some strange black shapes and a new spidery drippy BP metal style logo!
MPEG Stream: "Just Once"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Know About You"
MPEG Stream: "Undone"

BARDO POND s/t (Fire) 2lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL!! (In case you missed it on our Vinyl A-M inbetween list last week...)
We've long been fans of Bardo Pond, but this new record definitely took a few listens to get into. The response everyone seemed to have was "this sounds really WAY out of tune", and it does, sort of. Right from the outset, the group unfurl some woozy warbly strummy twang flecked psych folk, the strings buzzing and tangling, the melodies, shifting and intertwining, the vocals sounding sort of out of sync with the music, the bassline warped and underwater sounding, the drums an abstract scatter of beats, but as that first song continues, the vocals sink into the mire, harmonica begins to wheeze, the sounds of birds (?) surface, and the guitars, gradually grow more and more intense, first smoldering, before gradually catching fire, and finally exploding, and then the band are KILLING it, a huge squall of swirling, super distorted, wild and loose and chaotic druggy droned out psych guitar freakout, the drums pounding, everything twisted and sprawling and lit from within like some sort of sonic supernova, revealing the group's true purpose, the vocals returning, now sounding perfect, multitracked and nestled within the coruscating sheets of crumbling distortion and pealing blown out leads. The sort of epic dreamlike drugged out jam you never want to end. And that's how the band introduce their latest full length, their self titled their eighth proper full length, nearly two decades into their career, and they still sound as loose and free and psychedelic and heavy as ever. If not more so.
The rest of the record follows suit, "Don't Know About You" launches into a thick crusty chunky bit of riffage, the vocals witchy and snarly, the perfect match for the group's super distorted groove, everything still wreathed in streaks of effects and guitarnoise, and like the track before it, blossoming into some seriously heady psychedelia, surprisingly melodic too, the guitar tone epic, thick and blown out, almost Kyuss-y, that same sort of fuzz and crunch, and the more we listen, the more this sounds like BP at their most songy, sure most of the record is spent unfurling epic space out mega jams, but they're wrapped around dirgey downer pop, some weird hybrid of the Stooges, the Velvets and Crazy Horse, but dosed and doused and let loose, to billow up in great clouds of heaviness, of swirling trippiness. "Sleeping" offers a little respite, all hazy acoustic guitars and warm fluttering flutes, some woozy, acid folk drift, but it's not long before the band launch into the 21 minute "Undone", a warbly slow build, backwards guitars and angelic vox, all over simple folk strum, the track gradually expanding, the drums not even entering the picture until more than halfway through, but when they do, and the guitars finally let loose, it's glorious, the vocals crooning beneath clouds of lightning bolt guitar, and jagged shards of effects drenched melody.
"Cracker Wrist" might be the heaviest of the bunch, but it starts out deceivingly dreamy, all layered drones and gauzy shimmer, but after a few minutes, the riffs come fast and furious, locked tight with the pounding drums, a mesmerizing bit of krauty drone rock heaviness, again the guitars going wild, and wrapping everything in tangles of melody and fragmented drug drenched shred. "The Stars Behind" is another ballady number, but it wouldn't be BP if it too wasn't eventually enveloped by ropy blasts of grinding guitars, and soaring sheets of blown out psych swirl, the record finally finishing off with the comparatively tame "Wayne's Tune", all warbly melodies, angular guitars, shuffling drums, no big build, no explosive catharsis, instead, just hazy and droney and dreamily druggy.
After some initial (and unfounded it seems) trepidation, this is turning out to be one of the best Bardo Pond records in ages. Killer, very metal, cover art too, all black and silver with some strange black shapes and a new spidery drippy BP metal style logo!
MPEG Stream: "Just Once"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Know About You"
MPEG Stream: "Undone"

BARDO POND Selections : Volumes I-IV (ATP Recordings) 2cd 19.98
Hard to believe Bardo Pond has been around for over 15 years, and even harder to believe that they continue to create slab after slab of gorgeous drug soaked psychedelia far better than their more well known and more prolific psychedelic brethren. The tracks on Selections were culled from a series of cd-r's recorded and released over the last 5 years or so, and sold only on tour, not proper records per se, but more snapshots of works in progress, songs in the early stages, random recordings from the practice space and all manner of sonic experiments. Which is maybe why this stuff sounds so visceral and intense. Druggy hippy blues guitar, lazy and languorous with shuffling simple percussion over slow flowing waves of buzzing distortion, thick layered drones and swirling psychedelic swoosh. Occasional melodies materialize as ethereal flute drifts by like smoke from a hookah. Bursts of chaotic and stumbling propulsive space-psych dissipate into haunting and slow building ambient post rock epics a la Mogwai or Godspeed, occasionally stretching out into simple and insistent reverb soaked Krautrock style jams. All these musical ideas and almost-songs nestle within thick washes of cascading feedback and sheets of dreamy wah guitar. We kind of wish they had decided to make this a quadruple cd instead of a double, as this collects only about half of the material on the original cd-rs, but even so, this is most definitely some of the most mind blowing, soul soothing psychedelic space rock you're likely to hear EVER.
MPEG Stream: "Sit Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "Cymbals"

BARDO POND Slab (Three Lobed Recordings) 10" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ten-inch vinyl-only release from these Philadelphia psychedelic rockers. Three songs: "Off The Prepice","Hit", and "The Deak". Limited and numbered, 500 made, silkscreened sleeves, very stoned.

BARDO POND Ticket Crystals (ATP Recordings) cd 15.98
Wow! Somehow Bardo Pond just keep getting better and better and with Ticket Crystals we're pretty dang sure they've made their best record yet! Everything we love about Bardo Pond all wrapped up in one surprisingly coherent album. Expansive guitars, dusty clouds of sonic whir, grungy outbursts, spaced out jams, metallic undertones, deep in the woods folk wanderings (yes, of course there's ultra warm flute on display!), and some mysterious pop sensibility to boot! Ticket Crystals is to Bardo Pond what Feathers was to Dead Meadow, the perfect culmination of years of songcraft and sonic experimentation resulting in both bands best records ever. Fans of Dead Meadow will indeed eat this up (some folks here think this record might even top all time AQ fave Feathers) as will long time BP fans. And any one into the whole blown out psych rock thing, a la Loop, Spacemen 3, Telescopes, etc, NEED THIS. How the heck you missed out on Bardo Pond in the first place we'll never know but c'mon, dig in!!
Ticket Crystals is the kind of record that you can get completely lost in, a wild dreamlike psychedelia that pulls you in deeper and deeper as it unravels. A slow burning spacerock equal parts drone and drift. A record that manages to be totally heavy, beautifully abstract, completely catchy and so so lovely all at the same time. SO RECOMMENDED!
MPEG Stream: "Destroying Angel"
MPEG Stream: "Isle"
MPEG Stream: "Moonshine"

BARDO POND + TOM CARTER 4/23/03 (Three Lobed Recordings) 2lp 28.00
Originally released in 2004 on cd and long out of print, this killer collaboration between Charalambides guitarist Tom Carter and Philly psychedelic space rockers Bardo Pond finally gets the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, which includes a bonus track not on the original cd version. And, as well, it now comes with a bonus cd containing a live set recorded just days after this record was recorded.
The sound here is about as epic and awesome as you might expect, but what you might not expect is there are no psychedelic freakouts, each sidelong track is not a slow build to a heavy super rocking climax, instead, Carter and Bardo Pond explore a sound much more dirgey and bluesy and droney, smoldering and darkly propulsive, the music organic and alive, constantly shifting, and definitely dynamic, but more meditative and hypnotic. The first track sets the mood the multiple guitars all piling on tangles and spidery melodies, deftly woven into something much more raga-like, droney and mesmerizing, a sort of slow burn late nigh jam session vibe which suits both parties perfectly.
The B side is even more murky and minimal, abstract and atmospheric, super spacey and dreamily psychedelic, lush layered drones shift and shimmer, the band drifting druggily through space, which leads right into side C, also muted and minimal, but this time laced with some awesome processed psych guitar filigree, little swoops and shards, all beneath hazy ethereal vocals (their first appearance) and fluttering flute, the sound here the most Bardo Pond-like of the bunch, with Carter sounding right at home (so much so that it's hard to tell which guitar player is which). The final side is the most hushed and laid back of the bunch, meditative and tranquil, a sort of drifty dark folk, skeletal and softly reverbed, the song just shimmers contemplatively, total late night, come down psych drone bliss for sure.
The packaging is gorgeous, fancy two color silkscreened heavy jackets, included is a download coupon, and the live cd in its own sleeve with its own cover. LIMITED TO 700 COPIES!!

BARDO POND / 500MG / DECHEMIA / TAKEDA Sublimation (Three Lobed Recordings) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is not a Bardo Pond record proper (although this disc does include one lengthy Bardo Pond track), but instead is a cd collecting some Bardo Pond related outings by various members and offshoots of this Philly psych rock combo, released as a special limited edition to celebrate the recent Terrastock 6 festival held in April in Rhode Island. Sublimation features all new music from Bardo Pond and Bardo satellites 500mg, Dechemia and Takeda.
We can't get enough of fuzzy soft focus druggy spacescapes and Bardo Pond as always deliver just that with the epic 17 minute long "Dual States", a slow burn, blissed out meander, shuffling rhythms, and all sorts of tangled effects-drenched guitars, a warm wash of tripped out loveliness. 500mg, who you might remember from a super limited 12" we carried a while back, is Michael Gibbons on guitars and effects, and explores a much more abstract world of sound, here it's a thick wall of crumbling distorted guitars, fuzzy intercepted radio broadcasts that drifts and breaks apart into soft tendrils of dreamy sunbaked guitar sparkle and warm warbly low end, a washed out shimmery swirl of Sonny Sharrock, Kyuss and Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain". Dechemia is Isobel Sollenberger and John Gibbons and their 4 minute track is a brief gypsy raga, shuffling percussion, simple Eastern guitars, and droning Tony Conrad like violins (played impressively by Sollenberger who usually handles the flute in BP!). So lovely. Finally, a twenty minute track from BP guitarist Clint Takeda, a massive, lumbering, rumbling slow burn, thick distorted guitar, spread out in a thick layer of barely shifting, resonating shimmer, peppered with brief stretches of soft melodic whisper, but for the most part a thick flow of throb and crunch, rumble and keen, mumbled vocals and murky riffs surface, but are quickly dismantled, and stretched out to become more layers, in Takeda's tarpit symphony. Awesome.
Limited to 500 copies, most of which were sold at Terrastock, but we managed to get a bunch for the store, although it's unlikely we'll be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: 500MG "Descent"
MPEG Stream: BARDO POND "Dual States (For HST)"

BARDO POND / BUCK PACO Bog / Pushed Out Into The Sun (split) (Black September Press) 12" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ultra limited, LP only, space-psych match up between Philadelphia's masters of druggy space rock and Detroit's psych sludge outfit Buck Paco. Bardo Pond are on fire here, heavy and huge and super intense, a blurry, dense, buzzy, drugged out, psych-space freakout. Super distorted and dizzyingly shambolic and so utterly divine. Spiky tendrils of squirming feedback, droning buzz guitar, simple motorik drumming, all slithering and convulsing, before about halfway through everything slows down to lurching acid drenched krautrockiness, pounding and pulsing, beneath tangled squalls of freak-psych guitars. Definitely one of the 'Pond's wildest and heaviest recordings.
We had never heard of Buck Paco before, but they manage to kick up quite a shitstorm. A murky and drone-y and relentless dirge, with an ultra distorted, repetitive rhythm beaneath churning rumbles and a creepy minor key guitar figure looped and repeated endlessly. The second half of Buck Paco's side (just noticed both bands start with BP, and they sound a bit similar, could Buck Paco actually BE Bardo Pond? Hmmm....) does away with the drums completely, or at the very least buries them way way back in the mix, adds a bit of sitar, and turns their drone-y sludge into some sort of free-guitar-psych / Appalachian folk hybrid, with strange distorted melodies over simple strums and mournful riffing, all smothered in layers of amp buzz, tape hiss and instrument hum. Pressed on 140 gram virgin vinyl, packaged in beautiful hand screened covers and limited to 600 copies!

BARDO POND / CARLTON MELTON split (Agitated) lp 15.98
BACK IN STOCK!!!
What we said last year on list 388 when we made this a Record Of The Week: One of two splits on this week's list from local psychedelic space rockers and aQ faves Carlton Melton, both amazingly appropriate team-ups. The other one is a super limited 7" with UK space rockers Mugstar [sorry, out of print now], and then there's this, a vinyl-only split with legendary Phillie psych rockers Bardo Pond, who prove to be the perfect match for Carlton Melton slow burning laid back psychedelic drift.
CM's side-long "Slow Growth" (a title by way of an early AQ Carlton Melton review by our very own Scott) definitely describes CM's sidelong jam here, easily one of their best, and most musically cohesive, finding sharp sonic focus even amidst the seemingly freeform drift, the track beginning as a soft hazy swirl, softly churning guitars over what sounds like whipping wind, the vibe tense and ominous and darkly dreamy, it takes a few minutes for the song proper to kick in, but when it does, the guitars immediately swoop in and distort, blossoming into massive crumbling swells, heaving and howling over delicate crystalline strum and simple propulsive motorik drumming. The drums eventually drop out, leaving the sound to slowly implode, growing muddier and murkier, stretched way out into muted drones, laced with shards of feedback and little fragmented melodies, all before another slow build, back into a seriously dense sonic squall, still muted and murky, but seriously black hole dense, a roiling cloud of blackened psych, which billows wildly until the drums gradually return, offering a rhythmic anchor and guiding the track to its final resting place.
Bardo Pond counter with one of the best tracks we've heard from them, the sound fierce and epic and lush and SO heavy, launching immediately into a gorgeous sprawl of free form psychedelia, clouds of swirling guitars, tangled melodies, the drums loose and free and awesomely wild, but still managing to somehow hold everything together, but just barely. The vibe is blissed out and druggy, it's the sort of jam, that could go on forever, and sort of does, and is somehow simultaneously static and hypnotic, but also impossibly active and constantly shifting, a swirl of melodies and textures, the guitars unleashing some seriously kick ass leads, filling the sky with sonic contrails and swirling chordal clouds, the flute shows up late, and flutters subtly beneath the ever intensifying guitar freakouts, the vocals come in even later, and then only briefly, but add the perfect sort of gauzy / ethereal vibe to the proceedings, the song seeming to just organically wind down, leaving us to imagine that somewhere else there's a version, that does in fact go on forever.
LIMITED TO 800 COPIES!!!

BARDO POND / PRE Keep Mother Split (Fire) 10" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BARDO POND / TOM CARTER 4/23/03 (3 Lobed) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

BARE WIRES Artificial Clouds (Tic Tac Totally) lp 14.98
First long player from Bare Wires, a band best known around these parts for being the OTHER band of the guy from Snake Flower 2, whose recent full length knocked us on our asses with it's wild hybrid of distorted garage rock and drone-y druggy FX drenched space rock. Bare Wires are a whole different beast, less heavy, less spacey, but way more poppy, and garage-y, and thankfully equally as catchy. Where SF2 reminded us of a garage rock Hawkwind or Monster Magnet, Bare Wires are all classic garage and power pop, but with just enough of that modern warp-age to keep it interesting.
Record opener "Artificial Clouds" pretty much sets the tone, and in the process, sets itself up as another contender for jam of the year, total tripped out effects wrapped around some seriously rocking lo-fi twisted garage noise pop, with some incredible guitar parts and a main hook to die for. A record full of tracks like this should have Thee Oh Sees, the Fresh & Onlys and the rest of that crowd sweating it big time. And that's exactly what this is, hooky, jangly, melodic, frenetic, catchy as fuck, a little spacey and druggy for sure, but way more heavy on the classic power pop and sixties garage jangle, which is just fine by us!

BARE WIRES Artificial Clouds (+) (Southpaw) cassette 4.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE! With TWO bonus tracks, not on the lp...
First long player from Bare Wires, a band best known around these parts for being the OTHER band of the guy from Snake Flower 2, whose recent full length knocked us on our asses with its wild hybrid of distorted garage rock and drone-y druggy FX drenched space rock. Bare Wires are a whole different beast, less heavy, less spacey, but way more poppy, and garage-y, and thankfully equally as catchy. Where SF2 reminded us of a garage rock Hawkwind or Monster Magnet, Bare Wires are all classic garage and power pop, but with just enough of that modern warp-age to keep it interesting.
Record opener "Artificial Clouds" pretty much sets the tone, and in the process, sets itself up as another contender for jam of the year, total tripped out effects wrapped around some seriously rocking lo-fi twisted garage noise pop, with some incredible guitar parts and a main hook to die for. A record full of tracks like this should have Thee Oh Sees, the Fresh & Onlys and the rest of that crowd sweating it big time. And that's exactly what this is, hooky, jangly, melodic, frenetic, catchy as fuck, a little spacey and druggy for sure, but way more heavy on the classic power pop and sixties garage jangle, which is just fine by us!

BARE WIRES Cheap Perfume (Southpaw) 10" 15.98
Latest blast of kick ass hook heavy garage pop from Mr. Matthew Melton and company, and it's another doozy, ditching the reverb and low fidelity that so many of their sonic brethren rely on, in favor of some KILLER songs, as well as a sound and production that sounds like it was transported here direct from the sixties. Opener "Don't Ever Change" was the A side of a single we were never able to get, and it's an impossible (and impossibly kick ass!) blend of glammy T.Rex stomp, fuzzy sixties pop and Beach Boys surf rock, all crunchy jangly guitars, lots of oooh's and aaah's, a hook to die for, and some super strange production with the second guitar swooping in from one channel, way louder than the rest of the mix, adding a strange bit of psychedelia to the proceedings. Once we got past that first track (after listening to it about a million times), the rest of the record unfolded similarly, Melton's knack for conjuring up classic pop unmatched these days, and the sound, we can't help but think we're listening to some lost collection of sixties Nuggets or something. As always, regardless of the sound, or the production, it's all about the songs, and BW are tough to beat when it comes to classic hooks, just check out the title track, fuzzy, jangly, a little bit surfy, a little bit rockabilly, bur pure pop at its core, and that coupled with the weird mix, the vocals panned hard right, the drums panned hard left, only makes it that much cooler and weirder. As the record progresses the sound gets a bit heavier, and the Who vibe that was all over past records resurfaces here big time (check out "Sweet Little Stranger), as does some Stoogesy swagger.
As always, killer stuff, and like with past records, we find ourselves not really wanting to listen to anything else!
MPEG Stream: "Don't Ever Change"
MPEG Stream: "Dirt Beach"
MPEG Stream: "Cheap Perfume"

BARE WIRES Cheap Perfume (Southpaw) cd-r 11.98
Recently listed on 10" vinyl, NOW ALSO ON CD-R (not sure why it's not a proper cd, but alas, it's not...)
Latest blast of kick ass hook heavy garage pop from Mr. Matthew Melton and company, and it's another doozy, ditching the reverb and low fidelity that so many of their sonic brethren rely on, in favor of some KILLER songs, as well as a sound and production that sounds like it was transported here direct from the sixties. Opener "Don't Ever Change" was the A side of a single we were never able to get, and it's an impossible (and impossibly kick ass!) blend of glammy T.Rex stomp, fuzzy sixties pop and Beach Boys surf rock, all crunchy jangly guitars, lots of oooh's and aaah's, a hook to die for, and some super strange production with the second guitar swooping in from one channel, way louder than the rest of the mix, adding a strange bit of psychedelia to the proceedings. Once we got past that first track (after listening to it about a million times), the rest of the record unfolded similarly, Melton's knack for conjuring up classic pop unmatched these days, and the sound, we can't help but think we're listening to some lost collection of sixties Nuggets or something. As always, regardless of the sound, or the production, it's all about the songs, and BW are tough to beat when it comes to classic hooks, just check out the title track, fuzzy, jangly, a little bit surfy, a little bit rockabilly, bur pure pop at its core, and that coupled with the weird mix, the vocals panned hard right, the drums panned hard left, only makes it that much cooler and weirder. As the record progresses the sound gets a bit heavier, and the Who vibe that was all over past records resurfaces here big time (check out "Sweet Little Stranger), as does some Stoogesy swagger.
As always, killer stuff, and like with past records, we find ourselves not really wanting to listen to anything else!

BARE WIRES Let Down (Milk 'n' Hepes Records) 7" 5.98
We all went so totally crazy for Snake Flower 2, so we were psyched to discover that the dude from SF2 had another band, a more old school garage rock combo called Bare Wires, which as we might have expected, is just as kick ass. Imagine SF2 with less of a Hawkwind / Monster Magnet vibe, and more of a Lyres / Gories sort of sixties garage vibe. Jangly, lo-fi garage punk with lots of jangle guitars, reverbed snotty vox, simple stripped down rhythms, and best of all some super blown out, in-the-red psychedelic leads, so loud they nearly blot out the rest of the song.
The flipside is way more poppy, a sweet slice of classic AM radio power pop jangle, lo-fi, and sing songy, catchy as hell, still stripped down, but less distorted and more melodic. Folks into current garage rock revival weirdos like Thee Oh Sees and the Fresh & Onlys will definitely dig this, same overall sonic vibe, just way more fuzzed out and retro and genuinely garage-y.

BARE WIRES Seeking Love (Castle Face) cd 13.98
We love Matthew Melton, we love his Band Snake Flower 2, and we love these guys, Bare Wires. Melton is a master of pop songs, no matter how they're presented, whether as the druggy heavy Hawkwind / Monster Magnet space rock of Snake Flower 2, or the classic sixties garage jangle of Bare Wires, every song is perfectly crafted, melodic, catchy as fuck, super rocking. Even totally stripped down the songs get lodged in your head like crazy.
So here's the latest from Bare Wires, and Melton and Co.'s influences are even more obviously on display this time around, the Kinks, the Who, the Flamin' Groovies, classic seventies power pop, the Shoes, the Nerves, the Diodes, all bands we've referenced before with Melton, but considering how many modern retro garage rock outfits there are, it's a little fascinating that so many rely more on sound and production and attitude and vibe, than on songcraft, so when someone is approaching garage rock with impeccable songcraft, well, it doesn't take much to leave the rest of those bands in the dust, which these guys most certainly do.
On Seeking love, not only are the songs great, but the sound and the production seem totally vintage, if you played this for some garage rock collector and told them this was some lost 7" from some unknown group in the seventies, they would absolutely buy it. And the thing is, the sound suits the song. Sure, someone could have recorded these songs on a boombox, and run the whole thing through a million distortion boxes, and buried the vocals in reverb, and mastered it so all the levels were WAY in the red, and the legions of modern warped garage pop obsessive would be flipping their lids, but at the risk of sounding like your mother, why go to such lengths to disguise a fantastic song, and fuck all that noise, any on can spit out some generic by the numbers rock and roll, and fuck it up enough that it sounds twisted and far out and innovative, and probably people won't notice the lack of songs, but with a batch of songs this catchy, and groovy and jangly and goddamn great, well nothing to do but strap on the headphones and rock the fuck out!
MPEG Stream: "Seeking Love"
MPEG Stream: "Young Love"
MPEG Stream: "Romantic Girl"
MPEG Stream: "Family Heat"

BARE WIRES Seeking Love (Castle Face) lp 13.98
We love Matthew Melton, we love his Band Snake Flower 2, and we love these guys, Bare Wires. Melton is a master of pop songs, no matter how they're presented, whether as the druggy heavy Hawkwind / Monster Magnet space rock of Snake Flower 2, or the classic sixties garage jangle of Bare Wires, every song is perfectly crafted, melodic, catchy as fuck, super rocking. Even totally stripped down the songs get lodged in your head like crazy.
So here's the latest from Bare Wires, and Melton and Co.'s influences are even more obviously on display this time around, the Kinks, the Who, the Flamin' Groovies, classic seventies power pop, the Shoes, the Nerves, the Diodes, all bands we've referenced before with Melton, but considering how many modern retro garage rock outfits there are, it's a little fascinating that so many rely more on sound and production and attitude and vibe, than on songcraft, so when someone is approaching garage rock with impeccable songcraft, well, it doesn't take much to leave the rest of those bands in the dust, which these guys most certainly do.
On Seeking love, not only are the songs great, but the sound and the production seem totally vintage, if you played this for some garage rock collector and told them this was some lost 7" from some unknown group in the seventies, they would absolutely buy it. And the thing is, the sound suits the song. Sure, someone could have recorded these songs on a boombox, and run the whole thing through a million distortion boxes, and buried the vocals in reverb, and mastered it so all the levels were WAY in the red, and the legions of modern warped garage pop obsessive would be flipping their lids, but at the risk of sounding like your mother, why go to such lengths to disguise a fantastic song, and fuck all that noise, any on can spit out some generic by the numbers rock and roll, and fuck it up enough that it sounds twisted and far out and innovative, and probably people won't notice the lack of songs, but with a batch of songs this catchy, and groovy and jangly and goddamn great, well nothing to do but strap on the headphones and rock the fuck out!
MPEG Stream: "Seeking Love"
MPEG Stream: "Young Love"
MPEG Stream: "Romantic Girl"
MPEG Stream: "Family Heat"

BARE WIRES Young Love Keep Your Cool (Southpaw) 7" 6.98
Another blast of killer garage-y power pop from Oakland's Bare Wires, whose lp Artificial Clouds we raved about a while back (which was reissued on TAPE, and is reviewed elsewhere on this list) and which just so happens to be the work of the same guy behind Snake Flower 2, who were responsible for one of our favorite records of the last few years...
Anyway, these two short sharp bursts of jangle and twang are total sunshine-y old school power pop, sounding like they were transported straight from the early eighties, heck the late seventies, these two jams could just as easily have come off one of those Yellow Pills comps, Dwight Twilley Band, The Only Ones, the Nerves, The Flamin' Groovies, the Diodes, gone is much of the garagey grit and grime, although the sound is still rough around the edges, but both tracks here sound totally classic and vintage. Bouncy and hooky, jangly and catchy, killer guitar melodies, dreamy vocals, the B side is even poppier, with a distinctly sixties pop vibe, super stripped down, still jangly, revved up a bit it could be a lost Ramones Bside, but strip it even further down and it's some classic jukebox jam. So awesome. Surprised Bare Wires (and Snake Flower 2 for that matter), haven't yet been pegged as the next big thing. We can't imagine that time is very far off though...

BARK HAZE s/t (Important) lp 14.98

BARK HAZE, THE Total Joke Era (Important Records) cd 14.98
While you just blinked or checked your email or watched some clips on YouTube, Thurston Moore released another record! Just kidding, but really, Moore shows no signs of slowing down his prolific pace, but as long as he keeps coming up with records as pretty and stoned sounding as this, we're not even the slightest bit anxious for him to slow down. Teamed up with Andrew Macgregor of Gown, they use their guitars to create gorgeously languid, slow shifting sonic landscapes reminiscent of Loren Mazzacane Connors, Roy Montgomery or that great Tom Carter / Bardo Pond collaboration from a few years back. Two long tracks that slowly unfold, beautifully and delicately...
Fans of Sonic Youth's more wandering and sprawling guitar passages will find much to love here. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Total Joke Era One"
MPEG Stream: "Total Joke Era Two"