PAVEMENT Wowee Zowee! (Matador) cd 14.98

PAVEMENT Wowee Zowee: Sordid Sentinels (Matador) 2cd 15.98
Hey all y'all Pavement devotees! Better make some more room on your cd library shelf because your favorite band's discography continues to be reissued in deluxe fashion. Those beloved indie rockers' third full length (originally released back in '95) gets even lengthier with Matador Records' generous retrospective double disc treatment. Of course you get the original album proper, but the hits keep on coming with the addition of the b-sides from Wowee Zowee's singles, the Pacific Trim ep, a handful of compilation tracks, another handful of previously unreleased outtakes, a pair of live numbers recorded in the Netherlands, BBC and Radio Australia sessions. That all adds up to a gargantuan total of fifty tracks of Pavement. Say it with us, "Hot damn!" And lest we forget the thick 64 page tome that's included too. Wowee, indeed! An ultra fan pleaser!
MPEG Stream: "Best Friend's Arm"
MPEG Stream: "Dancing With The Elders"

PAVILLON 7B Dark Life (Minimal Wave) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PAWS Cokefloat! (Fatcat) cd 14.98
Ignore the embarrassing cover art and the too twee band name if you can, but definitely dig into Glaswegian trio Paws's unabashedly nineties style indie rock debut. A perfect hybrid of the all too obvious influences, mostly Superchunk, but a little Dinosaur Jr. too, heck if this record came out twenty years ago, heck, they might be indie rock elder statesmen themselves now, but these kids were barely even born then, but somehow they amassed a pretty kick ass record collection, one we would imagine included the aforementioned Dinosaur and Superchunk, Archers Of Loaf too, but we hear a lot of lesser knowns (which could just be us), but heck, if you're an old guy or gal like us, and remember loving Small (or Small 23), Further, Loomis, Throneberry, Clumsy, Tripping Daisy and all the myriad other fuzzy, jangly, indie rock bands that were the soundtracks to all our crushes and breakups and roadtrips, then Paws will push all your buttons. And these guys aren't doing anything new, in fact they're doing just the opposite, essentially channeling everything we loved about nineties indie/college rock, fuzzy guitars, soaring choruses, whiny sad boy vocals, lyrics mostly about girls and breakups and teenage things, but these guys do it so well, hooks galore, crazy catchy songs, strident and super rocking, with plenty of jangle too, it's a lot like the sound of modern retro indie rock outfits like Silversun Pickups (themselves dead ringers for Smashing Pumpkins), but played by kids, and it sounds like it, youthful and ramshackle, totally fun, the sort of sound that makes you almost unable to resist embracing your inner indie rocker, it'll take all your will power to not flail about, air guitaring and singing along. Maybe the best nineties style indie rock record, since, well, since the nineties!
MPEG Stream: "Catherine 1956"
MPEG Stream: "Jellyfish"
MPEG Stream: "Homecoming"
MPEG Stream: "Pony"
MPEG Stream: "Sore Tummy"

PAX s/t plus 7 Bonus Tracks (Walhalla) cd 21.00
Those of you who dig the '70s heavy rock proto-metal stuff like we do, need to check out this rad Peruvian band. This new cd reissue is better'n previous editions we've seen in terms of track inclusion, featuring as it does all of the eponymous 1970 Pax album plus, like it says, seven bonus tracks, including their cover of "Radar Love"! They also do "Smoke Of The Water" (sic), but hey back then that wasn't quite so tired.
Pax, featuring former members of Peruvian '60s beat combo Los Shains, were definitely one of the heaviest South American rock acts of their day (that we've heard, that is), easily competitive with American and British bands like Bang, Leafhound, and Sir Lord Baltimore. And they even have a bit of a groovy, Hendrix/Funkadelic (early Funkadelic) vibe as well. Yes indeed, Pax provide plenty of cowbell, wah-wah guitar, drug references, and all-right-now! rock n' roll attitude -- enough to make any fan of the aforementioned bands (not to mention the likes of Juan de la Cruz, Los Dug Dugs, and Modulo 1000) happy. They're not 100 percent heavy all the time -- few bands back then were -- but the lighter stuff is quite nice too and when they're heavy they're HEAVY, riffy with raw, in-your-face production and nicely rough-edged vocals, that you'll hear on such tracks as "A Storyless Junkie", "Deep Death", "Pig Pen Boogie", and "Firefly". Serious subjects, some of it (junkies, death) but they can be playful too, silly even, as on "Shake Your Ass". A '60 flowers and beads vibe comes through on the gentle, melodic likes of "Green Paper (Toilet)" and "For Cecilia" as well.
MPEG Stream: "A Storyless Junkie"
MPEG Stream: "Green Paper (Toilet)"

PAYNE, ADAM Organ (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Adam Payne of Residual Echoes fame returns with a truly solo album. It's one of those where your appreciation (or lack thereof) of his singing may make it or break it for you. To us, his vocals here kinda sound like an uninspired, more conventional Dave Thomas (Peru Ubu). And rather than the blown out heavy psych weirdness (with some '80s SST label art-punk stylings) that we were used to from Residual Echoes, this is mostly much more of a straight ahead indie rock/bar rock blend, unfortunately tending towards the latter half of that equation. Sorry, we just weren't into most of this, at least not compared to Payne's earlier work in the Echoes, who we do really really like.
Not that this doesn't have its moments. For instance, the eight and a half minute meandering track five, "Incidental Arrangement" is a lovely, sinewy psych guitar instrumental that does sound rather SST (and also reminds us of the Sun City Girls).
MPEG Stream: "The One After Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "In Hell"
MPEG Stream: "Incidental Arrangement"

PAYNE, ADAM Organ (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
Adam Payne of Residual Echoes fame returns with a truly solo album. It's one of those where your appreciation (or lack thereof) of his singing may make it or break it for you. To us, his vocals here kinda sound like an uninspired, more conventional Dave Thomas (Peru Ubu). And rather than the blown out heavy psych weirdness (with some '80s SST label art-punk stylings) that we were used to from Residual Echoes, this is mostly much more of a straight ahead indie rock/bar rock blend, unfortunately tending towards the latter half of that equation. Sorry, we just weren't into most of this, at least not compared to Payne's earlier work in the Echoes, who we do really really like.
Not that this doesn't have its moments. For instance, the eight and a half minute meandering track five, "Incidental Arrangement" is a lovely, sinewy psych guitar instrumental that does sound rather SST (and also reminds us of the Sun City Girls).
MPEG Stream: "The One After Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "In Hell"
MPEG Stream: "Incidental Arrangement"

PEACEPIPE John Uzonyi's Peacepipe (Shadoks Music) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At their best, Peacepipe peel out great '60s California biker psych-guitar jams that sound like a cross between Blue Cheer and Quicksilver Messenger Service, full of wah wah action, distortion, and massive sustain. They also remind us a bit of Japan's White Heaven. Unfortunately, there are just a few let-down tracks, where they let hippie cliche and ill-fated dabblings in pop get the best of them. So it's not all killer. But, if you're in the mood, there's a lot of good stuff here that's totally worthwhile. Recorded in Hollywood, California circa 1969, this record is very dated, but very cool -- and heavy (a la Iron Butterfly, not Slayer!). Led by guitarist John Uzonyi, the Peacepipe trio (also known as The Human Equation) highlights John's vocals and wild guitar, but drummer Gary Tsuruda and keyboardist Rick Abts get their licks in as well. Chalk another one up for the Shadoks label, who have included three bonus tracks (two from their 1968 single) that weren't included on the Peacepipe LP (first issued by Rockadelic in '95) on this cd reissue.
RealAudio clip: "Sea Of Nightmares"
RealAudio clip: "A Biker's Tune"
RealAudio clip: "The Day The War Has Ended"

PEACHES Fatherfucker (XL Recordings) cd 14.98
Lookie, here's Peaches' second album. Can she top the the disturbingly rauchy raps of her debut The Teaches Of Peaches? Well, first off, we've gotta hand it to her for the album cover, if not the title. Byram prefers to call this Amish And Proud or perhaps The C. Everett Koop record. As for the musical content, well we don't think Peaches fans will be disappointed! As to what those of us here who aren't Peaches fans (she's had a polarizing effect on the Aquarius staff) think, well, as the lead off track goes (and goes and goes) Peaches "don't give a fuck". So if she's "the kind of bitch you want to get with" then go to it. Rockin' rawer than '80s beat-box grooves and rawer than Lil' Kim rhymes, Fatherfucker is maybe what Pink would sound like if she really was punk like she poses. And as if to prove how punk Peaches is, this features a duet with none other than Iggy Pop, on the track "Kick It", and elsewhere she puts "Rock 'n' Roll" on her set list. Simple but effective, this album doesn't slack on Peaches' provocative sexual/gender stance while always rockin' the parti like Gold Chains. So if you can hang with song titles like "Shake Yer Dix" then you're only $14.98 away from a good time. The cd also includes some video for computers, if you dare.
MPEG Stream: "I'm The Kinda"
MPEG Stream: "Kick It"

PEACHES Fatherfucker (XL Recordings) lp 13.98
Lookie, here's Peaches' second album. Can she top the the disturbingly rauchy raps of her debut The Teaches Of Peaches? Well, first off, we've gotta hand it to her for the album cover, if not the title. Byram prefers to call this Amish And Proud or perhaps The C. Everett Koop record. As for the musical content, well we don't think Peaches fans will be disappointed! As to what those of us here who aren't Peaches fans (she's had a polarizing effect on the Aquarius staff) think, well, as the lead off track goes (and goes and goes) Peaches "don't give a fuck". So if she's "the kind of bitch you want to get with" then go to it. Rockin' rawer than '80s beat-box grooves and rawer than Lil' Kim rhymes, Fatherfucker is maybe what Pink would sound like if she really was punk like she poses. And as if to prove how punk Peaches is, this features a duet with none other than Iggy Pop, on the track "Kick It", and elsewhere she puts "Rock 'n' Roll" on her set list. Simple but effective, this album doesn't slack on Peaches' provocative sexual/gender stance while always rockin' the parti like Gold Chains. So if you can hang with song titles like "Shake Yer Dix" then you're only $14.98 away from a good time. The cd also includes some video for computers, if you dare.

PEACHES I Feel Cream (XL) cd 12.98
Oh dirty, sassy, strong Miss Peaches is back with another clutch of sweaty and sexy dancefloor jams. By this point you probably know where you stand with Peaches and those of us already in love with her mischievous and intoxicating sounds are finding lots to delight us on I Feel Cream. While not hugely different than past releases, Cream does have a slightly shinier production (courtesy of Simian Mobile Disco and Digitalism) and there are a few tracks where Peaches sings full on and proves to have a pretty good singing voice. But fear not, she still gets down and dirty and keeps most of the rhythms and beats primitive and stripped down. It's a perfect blend of the new sleeker Peaches with the more raw dancefloor roots of her great debut Teaches Of Peaches from almost a decade ago. We would rather hear this blasting over the airwaves than Lady Ga Ga anytime! While AQ staffers have been pretty split over the years on Peaches (she does tend to create a love or hate response) those of us who love her sound and what she does, what she stands for, and the music she makes, are feeling pretty damn good about I Feel Cream.
MPEG Stream: "Serpentine"
MPEG Stream: "Mommy Complex"
MPEG Stream: "Lose You"

PEACHES I Feel Cream (XL) lp 16.98
Oh dirty, sassy, strong Miss Peaches is back with another clutch of sweaty and sexy dancefloor jams. By this point you probably know where you stand with Peaches and those of us already in love with her mischievous and intoxicating sounds are finding lots to delight us on I Feel Cream. While not hugely different than past releases, Cream does have a slightly shinier production (courtesy of Simian Mobile Disco and Digitalism) and there are a few tracks where Peaches sings full on and proves to have a pretty good singing voice. But fear not, she still gets down and dirty and keeps most of the rhythms and beats primitive and stripped down. It's a perfect blend of the new sleeker Peaches with the more raw dancefloor roots of her great debut Teaches Of Peaches from almost a decade ago. We would rather hear this blasting over the airwaves than Lady Ga Ga anytime! While AQ staffers have been pretty split over the years on Peaches (she does tend to create a love or hate response) those of us who love her sound and what she does, what she stands for, and the music she makes, are feeling pretty damn good about I Feel Cream.
MPEG Stream: "Serpentine"
MPEG Stream: "Mommy Complex"
MPEG Stream: "Lose You"

PEACHES Teaches of Peaches - Expanded (Kitty-Yo) 2cd 15.98
Expanded North American Edition. Includes an exclusive bonus disc with new tracks, remixes and enhanced videos!
Sure, Peaches is shallow ear candy, but we all need sugar sometimes. With songtitles like "Fuck the Pain Away" and "Lovertits," Peaches far surpasses Li'l Kim in raunchiness, and her cool vocal delivery is equal parts coked-out ice-queen, white girl trying out hip hop a la Debbie Harry, and fierce punk yowler on the level of PJ Harvey and Kathleen Hanna. The music is super simple freeze-dried disco / wannabe electro / digital hardcore complete with stark drum programming and disembodied armies of handclaps. The whole package is slightly tongue in cheek -- Peaches has got the Sandra Bernhard-style parody / pathetic reality thing down cold. Those who would spend their money on Chicks on Speed should really check this out instead. Peaches delivers.
RealAudio clip: "Fuck the Pain Away"
RealAudio clip: "Hot Rod"

PEACHES The Teaches Of Peaches (XL / Kitty-Yo) lp 34.00
Reissued on hella expensive vinyl. What we said 'bout it some years ago, originally, and we doubt anyone's opinions have changed much over the years...
You are hereby forewarned that five AQ staffers totally hate this record, while two others like it a lot. AQ fistfight!
We'd heard a lot from various customers recently about this female rapper with a disc on German indie-electronica label Kitty-Yo, so we finally had to order some in, and it's proved to be very controversial indeed.
Here's what the thumbs-downers have to say:
Yuck! Someone take that groovebox away from her, and wash her pottymouth out with soap. This is... really stupid and bad. Sheer aural annoyance. I could go on, but don't want to waste the space. File under: Chicks On Speed (no, actually it's worse than that).
And here's the other side of the coin:
Sure, Peaches is shallow ear candy, but we all need sugar sometime. With songtitles like "Fuck the Pain Away" and "Lovertits," Peaches far surpasses Li'l Kim in raunchiness, and her cool vocal delivery is equal parts coked-out ice-queen, white girl trying out hip hop a la Debbie Harry, and fierce punk yowler on the level of PJ Harvey and Kathleen Hanna. The music is super simple freeze-dried disco / wannabe electro / digital hardcore complete with stark drum programming and disembodied armies of handclaps. The whole package is slightly tongue in cheek - Peaches has got the Sandra Bernhard-style parody / pathetic reality thing down cold. Those who would spend their money on Chicks on Speed should really check this out instead. Peaches delivers.

PEACHES / EFFIE BRIEST / ALAN VEGA Jonny / Universe / No Tomorrow (Blast First Petite) 10" 15.98
Another chapter in the Suicide related 10" series from Blast First Petite. This one features Peaches, Effie Briest, and Alan Vega. The cover of this 10" is the most shocking thing about the release with its illustration of an erect cock adorned with dragon tattoos and dripping with semen. You might think that Peaches would match this image with a dirty-dirty-dirty bit of electro, but her track is a more innocent than sultry cover of "Johnny" from Suicide's first album. Effie Briest takes up an odd track to cover, "Universe" from the little-known Why Be Blue album Suicide released in 1992. Their cover eschews electronics for an atmospheric post-punk dirge certainly worthy of the acclaim they received on their Sacred Bones lp. The Alan Vega track originally came from the 1990 album Deuce Avenue, with a narcoleptic arrangement of electronics and Vega's rockabilly, lip-curled vocals.

PEACOCK, ANNETTE I'm The One (Future Days Recordings / Light In The Attic) cd 15.98
Sweet! The 1972 solo debut from the one and only Annette Peacock has at last been properly reissued on both cd and vinyl. This has been unavailable for years and definitely deserves to be heard. Last year, we found out that Peacock had just done her own reissue on cd, but they were only available in prohibitively expensive, autographed editions, though we were quite tempted to order 'em anyway. Glad we waited, for this more affordable and widely available reish comes in both digipak cd and lavish vinyl. We've sold quite a few of these already, so we guess some peeps were waiting for it too.
How to describe this? It's jazzy, bluesy, avant pop music, an inside-outside hybrid, with acid rock and electronic experimentation alongside the likes of a cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender", rendered ultra moody and dramatic. Throughout, Peacock's vocals are expressive, edgy, extreme, and electronically effected (fed through a Moog synth, in fact), but also seductive and sensual. At her best here, she comes across like a free jazz version of Betty Davis (the funkstress ex-wife of Miles). It's also likely that fans of Yoko Ono will approve. Quite a debut, from a woman who had toured with Albert Ayler, hung out with Timothy Leary, and could count David Bowie and Diamanda Galas among her fans.
The epic title track ferinstance, starts off all skittery-skree freeform freaky, then, staying freaky, turns into a funked up torch song when the vocals come in. There's parts that sound like Sly & The Family Stone or Stevie Wonder grooves, other parts that sound like spaced-out Moog madnessÉ all in the same song! That's the opening track, too, and sets the tone for the entire album, which is full of groovy bits, sad piano ballads, and spooky electronic soundscapes, in various combinations. Some of the synth stuff is played by her (then?) husband Paul Bley, with whom Annette had made a few improvised synths/vocals albums around about the same time. The album also features Brazilian percussionist Arto Moreira.
This reissue is remastered, and comes complete with brand new liner notes and previously unpublished photos. Here's hoping this means there's also a reissue of Peacock's 1978 masterpiece X-Dreams not far behind.
The double lp version is limited to 1000 hand numbered copies and includes a poster, the cd comes in a digipak with thick booklet.
MPEG Stream: "I'm The One"
MPEG Stream: "Pony "
MPEG Stream: "Gesture Without Plot"

PEACOCK, ANNETTE I'm The One (Future Days Recordings / Light In The Attic) 2lp 33.00
Sweet! The 1972 solo debut from the one and only Annette Peacock has at last been properly reissued on both cd and vinyl. This has been unavailable for years and definitely deserves to be heard. Last year, we found out that Peacock had just done her own reissue on cd, but they were only available in prohibitively expensive, autographed editions, though we were quite tempted to order 'em anyway. Glad we waited, for this more affordable and widely available reish comes in both digipak cd and lavish vinyl. We've sold quite a few of these already, so we guess some peeps were waiting for it too.
How to describe this? It's jazzy, bluesy, avant pop music, an inside-outside hybrid, with acid rock and electronic experimentation alongside the likes of a cover of Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender", rendered ultra moody and dramatic. Throughout, Peacock's vocals are expressive, edgy, extreme, and electronically effected (fed through a Moog synth, in fact), but also seductive and sensual. At her best here, she comes across like a free jazz version of Betty Davis (the funkstress ex-wife of Miles). It's also likely that fans of Yoko Ono will approve. Quite a debut, from a woman who had toured with Albert Ayler, hung out with Timothy Leary, and could count David Bowie and Diamanda Galas among her fans.
The epic title track ferinstance, starts off all skittery-skree freeform freaky, then, staying freaky, turns into a funked up torch song when the vocals come in. There's parts that sound like Sly & The Family Stone or Stevie Wonder grooves, other parts that sound like spaced-out Moog madnessÉ all in the same song! That's the opening track, too, and sets the tone for the entire album, which is full of groovy bits, sad piano ballads, and spooky electronic soundscapes, in various combinations. Some of the synth stuff is played by her (then?) husband Paul Bley, with whom Annette had made a few improvised synths/vocals albums around about the same time. The album also features Brazilian percussionist Arto Moreira.
This reissue is remastered, and comes complete with brand new liner notes and previously unpublished photos. Here's hoping this means there's also a reissue of Peacock's 1978 masterpiece X-Dreams not far behind.
The double lp version is limited to 1000 hand numbered copies and includes a poster, the cd comes in a digipak with thick booklet.
MPEG Stream: "I'm The One"
MPEG Stream: "Pony "
MPEG Stream: "Gesture Without Plot"

PEACOCK, ANNETTE X-Dreams (Earmark) lp 24.00

PEAKING LIGHTS 936 (Not Not Fun) cd 13.98
We've dug pretty much everything we've heard from this Wisconsin husband and wife duo, the lp on Night People, the split with Wet Hair, those records found the group unfurling thick slabs of murky dronepop, twisted psychedelic dub, blurred hypnotic riff heavy space drone, psychedelic space boogie, all wound into a roiling sonic stew, seriously warped and druggy and occasionally blown out and noisy, but on this new record, they've ditched much of the heaviness, a lot of the noisiness, and toned down much of the murky psychedelia and instead crafted something much poppier and dreamier. The first track is a bit misleading with this in mind, as it's a lysergic bit of distorted dubbed out riffage, with some programmed beats, buried under chiming melodies and a heaving bass buzz, kaleidoscopic and hazy and with the potential to explode into something much heavier and noisier, but instead it gives way to "All The Sun That Shines" which sort of lives up to its title, a dubby reggae flecked bit of woozy skitter, programmed beats, swirling effects, loads of reverb and delay, and hazy ethereal female vox, some spidery Morricone-esque guitar twang, and an almost calypso groove are woven into the proceedings too, the result though is indeed hazy and sunshiney and gloriously washed out.
"Amazing And Wonderful" is up next, and while featuring a similarly murky Skaters-esque rhythm, it ditches the dubbiness, and sets a sort of abstract post punk into a much more dreampoppy realm, all tinkling chimes, descending melodies, multi tracked vox, all wrapped in a gauzy patina of swirling reverby whir. "Bird Of Paradise Dub Version" is another abstract swirl of druggy space pop, the 'dub version' aspect embodied by the delayed drums and the softly swirling clouds of blurred effects and heavy heavy echo. And so it goes, the rest of the record unwinds similarly, an ever shifting collection of murky, lo-fi programmed-beat driven dub pop, muddy, and murky and warbly, plenty of buzzing low end, shimmery effects, hushed dreamlike vox, a little bit of synthy new wave here and there, some stripped down low slung trip hop every once in a while, and even some fragmented off kilter synth pop strangeness, but overall, way less damaged then their past outings, and more akin to a group like Pigeons, that same sort of downtempo electronic pop, albeit with a much more murky, warped and experimental bent. Which as far as we're concerned translates into really really cool!
MPEG Stream: "Synthy"
MPEG Stream: "All The Sun That Shines"
MPEG Stream: "Birds Of Paradise Dub Version"

PEAKING LIGHTS 936 (Not Not Fun) lp 14.98
We've dug pretty much everything we've heard from this Wisconsin husband and wife duo, the lp on Night People, the split with Wet Hair, those records found the group unfurling thick slabs of murky dronepop, twisted psychedelic dub, blurred hypnotic riff heavy space drone, psychedelic space boogie, all wound into a roiling sonic stew, seriously warped and druggy and occasionally blown out and noisy, but on this new record, they've ditched much of the heaviness, a lot of the noisiness, and toned down much of the murky psychedelia and instead crafted something much poppier and dreamier. The first track is a bit misleading with this in mind, as it's a lysergic bit of distorted dubbed out riffage, with some programmed beats, buried under chiming melodies and a heaving bass buzz, kaleidoscopic and hazy and with the potential to explode into something much heavier and noisier, but instead it gives way to "All The Sun That Shines" which sort of lives up to its title, a dubby reggae flecked bit of woozy skitter, programmed beats, swirling effects, loads of reverb and delay, and hazy ethereal female vox, some spidery Morricone-esque guitar twang, and an almost calypso groove are woven into the proceedings too, the result though is indeed hazy and sunshiney and gloriously washed out.
"Amazing And Wonderful" is up next, and while featuring a similarly murky Skaters-esque rhythm, it ditches the dubbiness, and sets a sort of abstract post punk into a much more dreampoppy realm, all tinkling chimes, descending melodies, multi tracked vox, all wrapped in a gauzy patina of swirling reverby whir. "Bird Of Paradise Dub Version" is another abstract swirl of druggy space pop, the 'dub version' aspect embodied by the delayed drums and the softly swirling clouds of blurred effects and heavy heavy echo. And so it goes, the rest of the record unwinds similarly, an ever shifting collection of murky, lo-fi programmed-beat driven dub pop, muddy, and murky and warbly, plenty of buzzing low end, shimmery effects, hushed dreamlike vox, a little bit of synthy new wave here and there, some stripped down low slung trip hop every once in a while, and even some fragmented off kilter synth pop strangeness, but overall, way less damaged then their past outings, and more akin to a group like Pigeons, that same sort of downtempo electronic pop, albeit with a much more murky, warped and experimental bent. Which as far as we're concerned translates into really really cool!
MPEG Stream: "Synthy"
MPEG Stream: "All The Sun That Shines"
MPEG Stream: "Birds Of Paradise Dub Version"

PEAKING LIGHTS Imaginary Falcons (Night People) 12" 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PEAKING LIGHTS Lucifer (Mexican Summer) cd 10.98
With their latest record, these long time faves, psychedelic psych-kraut space-dub husband and wife duo Peaking Lights, continue in their trajectory, away from the warped drugginess and abstract noisiness that defined their early records towards something WAY more blissed out and laid back, still druggy most certainly, but less 'bad trip' druggy and more woozily wasted on some lost sun dappled tropical isle under a warm deep blue summer sky.
Like their previous record 936, which was a HUGE hit around here, Lucifer gradually unfurls as a another heady sprawl of blissy dubby psychedelia that relies heavily on looped, cyclical rhythms, cascading layers, and bleary blurry loops. The opening intro is the perfect introduction, a soft cacophony of what sounds like murky muddy marimbas and steel drums and xylophones all tangled up into a glorious swirl. But "Beautiful Son" starts off the record proper, with doleful piano under a skyful of strange glitchy electronics, and reverby swirls and swoops, bloops and trills, all beneath some lush angelic female vox, the result sounding like a more tropical, dubby and abstract take on Stereolab, droney, pulsating and percolating, a little bit sci-fi, but the sort of seventies version of sci-fi, that retro futurism filtered through sixties dub pop.
"Live Love" lays down another backdrop of loops and cascading rhythms, this time driven by what sounds like a Casio on 'calypso' setting, reminding us a bit of James Ferraro, but with the 'dub' cranked, most notably, the woozy bassline, and the vocals dubbed into soft echo drenched swirls.
"Cosmic Tides" is the first full on dub, the duo offering up their own electro-dub version of the classics, the beat, heavily reverbed, the organ, the upstroke guitar, but this is Peaking Lights, not King Tubby, so soon, the song splinters into some dreamy space pop, and over the course of the song drifts dreamily between the two.
And so it goes for the record of the record, the sound veering from reggae like grooves, to warped lo-fi reverby slo-mo eighties pop-dub that sounds like Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" slowed way down, and finally a hazy ambient coda, all dreamlike piano wreathed in reverb, strange backwards swoops and squiggles, all smeared into a strange bit of haunting psychedelia, which had us hankering for more of that sort of thing along with all the dubby dreaminess next time around.
Cool La Dusseldorf homage cover art. LP is limited to 2000 copies and includes poster and a digital download!
MPEG Stream: "Moonrise"
MPEG Stream: "Live Love"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Tides"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Star"

PEAKING LIGHTS Lucifer (Mexican Summer) lp 17.98
With their latest record, these long time faves, psychedelic psych-kraut space-dub husband and wife duo Peaking Lights, continue in their trajectory, away from the warped drugginess and abstract noisiness that defined their early records towards something WAY more blissed out and laid back, still druggy most certainly, but less 'bad trip' druggy and more woozily wasted on some lost sun dappled tropical isle under a warm deep blue summer sky.
Like their previous record 936, which was a HUGE hit around here, Lucifer gradually unfurls as a another heady sprawl of blissy dubby psychedelia that relies heavily on looped, cyclical rhythms, cascading layers, and bleary blurry loops. The opening intro is the perfect introduction, a soft cacophony of what sounds like murky muddy marimbas and steel drums and xylophones all tangled up into a glorious swirl. But "Beautiful Son" starts off the record proper, with doleful piano under a skyful of strange glitchy electronics, and reverby swirls and swoops, bloops and trills, all beneath some lush angelic female vox, the result sounding like a more tropical, dubby and abstract take on Stereolab, droney, pulsating and percolating, a little bit sci-fi, but the sort of seventies version of sci-fi, that retro futurism filtered through sixties dub pop.
"Live Love" lays down another backdrop of loops and cascading rhythms, this time driven by what sounds like a Casio on 'calypso' setting, reminding us a bit of James Ferraro, but with the 'dub' cranked, most notably, the woozy bassline, and the vocals dubbed into soft echo drenched swirls.
"Cosmic Tides" is the first full on dub, the duo offering up their own electro-dub version of the classics, the beat, heavily reverbed, the organ, the upstroke guitar, but this is Peaking Lights, not King Tubby, so soon, the song splinters into some dreamy space pop, and over the course of the song drifts dreamily between the two.
And so it goes for the record of the record, the sound veering from reggae like grooves, to warped lo-fi reverby slo-mo eighties pop-dub that sounds like Bananarama's "Cruel Summer" slowed way down, and finally a hazy ambient coda, all dreamlike piano wreathed in reverb, strange backwards swoops and squiggles, all smeared into a strange bit of haunting psychedelia, which had us hankering for more of that sort of thing along with all the dubby dreaminess next time around.
Cool La Dusseldorf homage cover art. LP is limited to 2000 copies and includes poster and a digital download!
MPEG Stream: "Moonrise"
MPEG Stream: "Live Love"
MPEG Stream: "Cosmic Tides"
MPEG Stream: "Morning Star"

PEAKING LIGHTS Space Primitive (Night People) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We got a little taste of Peaking Lights on their split with Wet Hair, as part of the Not Not Fun Bored Fortress 7" series, and we loved their murky bass heavy drone pop and were definitely hankering for more. And here it is, in the shape of a one sided clear vinyl silkscreened 12", three new tracks of murky spaced out hypnotic riffage, sprawled out over a single side, these three tracks ooze and drift, a sort of disembodied abstract psychedelic space boogie, crumbling rock riffage draped over a morass of echo and reverb and crumbling distortion, the vocals high and keening and wrapped in reverb. The sound shifts a bit and becomes more rhythmic and hypnotic, swirly and softly buzzing, blissed out and droney, laced with shamen like vocalizing over tangled muddied riffing and some skeletal robotic percussion. The final track is the prettiest of the bunch, an epic slab of blown out hypno-drone psych buzz, another machine like rhythm, tinkling pianos, wheezing chords, all held together by undulating layers of fuzz, and all blurred into a fantastically hazy ritual of washed out dreamdronedrift.
The lp is pressed on clear vinyl, one side is silkscreened, the lp is packaged with a heavy paper insert, also silkscreened, green on green, all housed in a thick PVC plastic sleeve. And of course, limited...
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 1"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled 2"

PEARL HARBOR Something About The Chaparrals (Mexican Summer) lp 17.98
A flurry of releases from Mexican Summer, all limited, all gone before you know it, and all pretty dang good. Pearl Harbor offer up 4 songs of hazy, warbly girl pop, all crooned angelic vox and shimmery Cocteau Twins like guitars, dreamy and otherworldly, but plenty psychedelic and washed out, a bit reminiscent of a female Ariel Pink in some ways. Folks who dug Girls At Dawn, Dum Dum Girls, Grass Widow, Vivian Girls, will definitely feel right at home. But unlike a lot of those bands, PH channel a distinctly eighties vibe, the drums simple and machinelike, the guitars crystalline, and wreathed in soft effects, the melodies and harmonies reminding us of that era of MTV, synth pop, and new wave, with a slightly gothic tinge, woozy Joy Divisiony bass underpinning the chiming guitars, and glimmering tangled vocal lines, everything slightly blurred and indistinct, giving all the songs here a strange otherworldly feel, like you discovered some old broken radio that only picks up stations from 30 years ago, broadcasting lost synth pop from some alternate dimension. Trippy and psychedelic and really really cool.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered, each one with a download card too. Sorry tho that they're not so cheap, Mexican Summer just jacked up their prices...

PEARL HARBOR Something About The Chaparrals (Record Store Day Version) (Mexican Summer) lp+cassette 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A flurry of releases from Mexican Summer, all limited, all gone before you know it, and all pretty dang good. Pearl Harbor offer up 4 songs of hazy, warbly girl pop, all crooned angelic vox and shimmery Cocteau Twins like guitars, dreamy and otherworldly, but plenty psychedelic and washed out, a bit reminiscent of a female Ariel Pink in some ways. Folks who dug Girls At Dawn, Dum Dum Girls, Grass Widow, Vivian Girls, will definitely feel right at home. But unlike a lot of those bands, PH channel a distinctly eighties vibe, the drums simple and machinelike, the guitars crystalline, and wreathed in soft effects, the melodies and harmonies reminding us of that era of MTV, synth pop, and new wave, with a slightly gothic tinge, woozy Joy Divisiony bass underpinning the chiming guitars, and glimmering tangled vocal lines, everything slightly blurred and indistinct, giving all the songs here a strange otherworldly feel, like you discovered some old broken radio that only picks up stations from 30 years ago, broadcasting lost synth pop from some alternate dimension. Trippy and psychedelic and really really cool.

PEARL JAM Riot Act (Sony) cd 17.98

PEARLS AND BRASS s/t (Doppelganger) cd 12.98
This one's for those of you who really dug The Indian Tower release by this Pennsylvanian power trio, reviewed here last list. That record was in fact their second album, after this self-titled debut from 2003, which was never widely distributed... it took the powerful indie rock hype machine called Drag City (just kidding) to clue us in to Pearls and Brass' existence. Digging the blend of '60s psychedelic blues rock worship and nimble mathiness that these guys dished out on their Drag City release (sometimes it's like a strange but unforced meeting of Cream or Cactus with Hella or The Fucking Champs, maybe) we went to see 'em play the other night, opening for The Champs as a matter of fact. Definitely impressive live, they ripped through a bunch of The Indian Tower and also did a song or two from this album, which they had with them for sale, so naturally we asked 'em to stop by the store on their way out of town the next day and sell us a few copies. The three guys pictured on the cover all have much longer hair now (and a bigger beard in the case of the drummer) and likewise The Indian Tower was definitely built on this album's foundation -- there's melodic acoustic moves, stoner blues, and plenty of kick ass hard rockin'. So if you enjoyed The Indian Tower you may well want one of these too! (Unless you're looking for the garagey Tim Green production job, as this one's a bit more conventionally polished, to match what's perhaps a slightly more typical "stoner rock" sound here, not quite as lost in time as The Indian Tower.)
MPEG Stream: "Highway Sermon"
MPEG Stream: "Stone Leaves"

PEARLS AND BRASS The Indian Tower (Drag City) cd 14.98
Pearls and Brass are a Nazareth, PA power trio, old schoolin' it for the rockers amongst ya. Apparently they've been doing this for, like, ten years now (this is their 2nd full-length) so it's not like they're jumping on some sort of stoner/garage bandwagon. Indeed, it sounds like they've been at it since 1969! This is definitely inspired by the likes of Cream, Mountain, GFR, um, maybe the original (Gary Moore) Skid Row, classic power trios like that from way back when. Which means if you dig current retro-rock combos like Dead Meadow or SF locals Parchman Farm and Genghis Khan, you need to add Pearls and Brass to that list.
Their songs are bouncy, riff happy numbers, stuffed with Iommi-ish solos, the guitar/bass/drums interplay rolling along a bumpy road, hinting also at the influence of more modern hyperkinetic postpunk/prog constructs like Hella. Mainly 'cause there's a lot of well practiced playing goin' on. But they keep a relaxed, stoner vibe happenin' in part 'cause of the lazy, laidback vocals that, well, sound to us a lot like Michael McDonald. Huh? It all works though. Truly, this rocks, choogles, boogies... all that good stuff... never letting up... well except that they also pull a page from Zep and get all folky and acoustic too on two cuts, though they end up sounding more like Devendra on those, really, also no bad thing. So we've gotta give this the thumbs up, we'd invite these dudes to play our backyard BBQ beerbash anytime (that is, if we had such events).
Also, a note for the irony-wary: at this point, is it even worth trying to parse the possibilities of ironic (or not) intent? I mean, this was recorded here in SF at Tim Green from The Fucking Champs Louder Studios, it's on hipster indie label Drag City, and the band presents themselves as backwoods, beer swilling burnouts. So you might wonder, are they? Whatever the case is, they're doing something right, the love of classic rock on all fronts here really can't be denied.
MPEG Stream: "No Stone"
MPEG Stream: "Pray For Sound"
MPEG Stream: "Away The Mirrors"

PEARLS AND BRASS The Indian Tower (Drag City) lp 14.98
Pearls and Brass are a Nazareth, PA power trio, old schoolin' it for the rockers amongst ya. Apparently they've been doing this for, like, ten years now (this is their 2nd full-length) so it's not like they're jumping on some sort of stoner/garage bandwagon. Indeed, it sounds like they've been at it since 1969! This is definitely inspired by the likes of Cream, Mountain, GFR, um, maybe the original (Gary Moore) Skid Row, classic power trios like that from way back when. Which means if you dig current retro-rock combos like Dead Meadow or SF locals Parchman Farm and Genghis Khan, you need to add Pearls and Brass to that list.
Their songs are bouncy, riff happy numbers, stuffed with Iommi-ish solos, the guitar/bass/drums interplay rolling along a bumpy road, hinting also at the influence of more modern hyperkinetic postpunk/prog constructs like Hella. Mainly 'cause there's a lot of well practiced playing goin' on. But they keep a relaxed, stoner vibe happenin' in part 'cause of the lazy, laidback vocals that, well, sound to us a lot like Michael McDonald. Huh? It all works though. Truly, this rocks, choogles, boogies... all that good stuff... never letting up... well except that they also pull a page from Zep and get all folky and acoustic too on two cuts, though they end up sounding more like Devendra on those, really, also no bad thing. So we've gotta give this the thumbs up, we'd invite these dudes to play our backyard BBQ beerbash anytime (that is, if we had such events).
Also, a note for the irony-wary: at this point, is it even worth trying to parse the possibilities of ironic (or not) intent? I mean, this was recorded here in SF at Tim Green from The Fucking Champs Louder Studios, it's on hipster indie label Drag City, and the band presents themselves as backwoods, beer swilling burnouts. So you might wonder, are they? Whatever the case is, they're doing something right, the love of classic rock on all fronts here really can't be denied.
MPEG Stream: "No Stone"
MPEG Stream: "Pray For Sound"
MPEG Stream: "Away The Mirrors"

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE Balaklava (Get Back) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE Jewels Were The Stars (Water) 4cd 54.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Okay, I admit it. I blew it. I totally missed the boat on Pearls Before Swine. Hey, it happens. Not sure whether it was the whole sixties political folksinger thing, or the excessive secret-hippy adoration, or what, but I'm here to aplogise profusely, and to try to convince anyone else, who like me managed to overlook such a remarkably powerful and totally gorgeous body of work, to definitely have another look. Two records on ESP should have been the first clue that Pearls Before Swine needed some closer scrutiny to truly understand and realise how dark and fucked up and beautiful this stuff really was. The two ESP records are still available, but this 4 cd box (release a couple years ago, and yes, blew it then too!) seems like the perfect way to get (back) into it. Collecting the four pre-ESP records (These Things Too, The Use Of Ashes, City Of Gold, and ...Beautiful Lives You Could Live In), Jewels Were The Stars is an expansive, darkly sinister massive chunk of perfect acid tinged, super political psychedelic folk. Tom Rapp's sweet rich vocals, and his ever present lisp, sun dappled acoustic guitars and soaring strings, with fuzzy acid fried leads, all super lush and impeccably produced. Imagine the Zombies, dosed on acid, sent off to Vietnam, shot up a bit, brought back and forced to play in deep dark minor keys, turning little sunshine-y pop songs into deeply personal, dark and introspective, damged-psyche folk songs. The sound may be all Zombies and Byrds, but the SOUND is so much more complicated and intense and personal and important. This stuff is so essential, especially now in light of the recent folk resurgence. So everybody into Davandra Banhart, Faun Fables, Joanna Newsom and all that stuff needs to check this out. Unless you already have, and you're just all sitting there whispering to each other "I told you so." Which is fine. I can take it.
Amazing package, gorgeous box, huge booklet with liner notes by Byron Coley, Damon Krukowski (of Galaxie 500 and Damon And Naomi) and Masaki Batoh (of Ghost), Mitch Myers, as well as an extensive list of the songs and who performs on each one. Wow!
MPEG Stream: "Footnote"
MPEG Stream: "Sail Away"
MPEG Stream: "Look Into Her Eyes"

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE s/t (Get Back) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Italian label Get Back is producing vinyl reissues of selected titles from the legendary ESP label. The Pearls Before Swine issues may be of special interest to those folks (like myself) who heard Tom Rapp for the first time back in April 1997 at the Terrastock Festival.

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings (ESP-Disk) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "Another Time"
MPEG Stream: "Playmate"
MPEG Stream: "Translucent Carriages"

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE The Wizard of Is (Water) 2cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MPEG Stream: "Where Is Love"
MPEG Stream: "Butterflies"
MPEG Stream: "Love, You Are Not Alone"

PEARSON, DANNY The Oblivion Seeker (Frozen) cd 11.98
Gentle lilting SF roots rock weighted by a heavyheartedness is what this full length by Mr. Danny Pearson is all about. Joining him on one tune "Be Here Now" is Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters/Sun Kil Moon), and you might say that The Oblivion Seeker is very much in the same vein as Kozelek, as well as American Music Club. In fact, Pearson covers the Mark Eitzel penned tune "Vulture And Hyena", and Sun Kil Moon/AMC's Tim Mooney recorded the album. See, it's all connected! Oh yes, and lest we forget, Mr. Pearson also plays bass in AMC! And yet, we may also mention how akin to the lush earthy prettiness of The Czars this is too -- particularly on the songs graced by warming strings, Hammond organ, and ghostly harmonium, but even more so on the two which feature some very soft velvety female backing vocals that offer some light in Pearson's world weary atmosphere. Indeed it's this pair of songs along with the Kozelek-accompanied number mentioned above that are the highlights of this album. Very nice!
MPEG Stream: "Be Here Now"
MPEG Stream: "You Drank Some Darkness And Have Become Visible"

PEDAL s/t (Staubgold) cd 17.98

PEDESTRIAN DEPOSIT Kithless (Arbor) lp 15.98
Spring of 2010, the stalwart San Francisco sound arts organization 23five hosted their annual Activating The Medium festival, commissioning a handful of experimentalists, noise technicians, and field recordists to present work based on the theme of Ice. While G*Park's allegorical plunge into an ice cave and Cheryl Leonard's dripping icicles with Antarctic recordings and bowed penguin bones were thoroughly compelling, Pedestrian Deposit's performance was terrifyingly amazing. PD has transformed itself over the past decade or so from a harsh noise project into one of the most accomplished electo-acoustic outfits of our time, bringing languid cello tones and buzzing harmonics to a well-versed pedal-driven electronic arsenal of rumbles, drones, and noisy grit. A duo of Shannon Kennedy (cello, electronics) and Jon Borges (noise, electronics), Pedestrian Deposit tours constantly through the noise underground; and that time on the road has served them well in terms of delivering the goods. For their 23five commission, their set began in a familiar mode to those who've witnessed Pedestrian Deposit before, Kennedy crafting hypnotic patterns through loops on her cello while Borges hinted at something far more ominous through tectonic rumblings of feedback and black noise. Upon the dissolution of this spellbinding movement balancing noise and grace, Kennedy set her cello down and climbed into a wash basin which was positioned at the front of the stage. The basin was filled with ice water which she poured over her head in slow repetitive fashion, while a microphone captured the sounds of her chattering teeth and frigid gasps as she began a process of self-induced hypothermia. For what seemed like an eternity, Borges did nothing, allowing the raw human gasps from his partner to be the only sound they presented. Eventually, a glacial semi-melodic drone worthy of a BJ Nilsen or a Deathprod recording slowly emerged beneath Kennedy's shivering for a superb coda to such an abject piece of electro-acoustic theater. Kithless features the whole performance as the A side, and even without the physical presence of Kennedy dumping ice water on her goose-pimply skin, the recording is a powerful document and certainly stands on its own. The B side "Under A Veil Of Living Light" is a worthy companion to the live document with Borges building a crunched, tactile noise crescendo out of pools of sonorous hum and rasping buzzed cello. A magnificent accomplishment!
MPEG Stream: "Drift Gently Down The Frigid Tides Of Sleep (extract 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Drift Gently Down The Frigid Tides Of Sleep (extract 2)"

PEDRO THE LION Control (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
College rock lives on. And David Bazan, Pedro The Lion's mainman has been at it for many a year now. Mopey boy vocals and fuzzy electric guitars that bring memories burbling back of the late '80s / early '90s college radio darlings like Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr. or Sebadoh or later '90s incarnations like Marcy Playground (remember their sorta-hit "Sex And Candy"?). Catchy and driving tunes, yes. The guitars also bring to mind Bob Mould's distinct, solid sound, but uh oh what's this? Sounds like he decided to update his sound with... the Cher vocal treatment. Groan. Y'know, I think I can still dig up my old "Green Mind", "Copper Blue" and "Birdbrain" albums. They're around here somewhere.
RealAudio clip: "Options"
RealAudio clip: "Rehearsal"

PEDRO THE LION Control (Jade Tree) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
College rock lives on. And David Bazan, Pedro The Lion's mainman has been at it for many a year now. Mopey boy vocals and fuzzy electric guitars that bring memories burbling back of the late '80s / early '90s college radio darlings like Buffalo Tom, Dinosaur Jr. or Sebadoh or later '90s incarnations like Marcy Playground (remember their sorta-hit "Sex And Candy"?). Catchy and driving tunes, yes. The guitars also bring to mind Bob Mould's distinct, solid sound, but uh oh what's this? Sounds like he decided to update his sound with... the Cher vocal treatment. Groan. Y'know, I think I can still dig up my old "Green Mind", "Copper Blue" and "Birdbrain" albums. They're around here somewhere.

PEDRO THE LION It's Hard To Find A Friend (Jade Tree) cd 13.98
This is a re-release of PTL's debut full length which was first released in 1998, shortly after the 'reformation' of Pedro The Lion, having started as a 5 piece, broken up, and then reformed as just David Bazan all by his lonesome. Lonesome is right. Wistful sad boy indie rock, with earnest lyrics and dreamily melancholy sentiments. Go on, revisit those sensitive, brooding indie pop days. Sweet melodies, a bit rough around the edges, and quietly following the same path of Sebadoh.

PEDRO THE LION The Only Reason I Feel Secure (Jade Tree) cd 10.98
Eight slow, dreamy indie rock numbers by singer/songwriter David Bazan. Yes that's right, Pedro The Lion is a one-man band (after starting as a 5 piece, disbanding, and continuing on as a 1 piece!). This is a re-issue of his 2nd release originally released in 1999. This EP also contains 3 extra tracks that originally comprised Pedro's first single. Perfect music for cardigan weather. Sigh.
RealAudio clip: "Big Trucks"
RealAudio clip: "Criticism as Inspiration"

PEE Miracle Research Center Staff (Honey Bear) 7" 2.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Four songs from local favorite "grindpop" band, featuring AQ-staff member Andee Connors, who plays with his usual violent accuracy. The cover is Deco-style and gorgeous.

PEE Now, More Charm & More Tender (March) cd 12.98
Full-length from one of San Francisco's best-loved but now defunct bands, Pee, the pop punk quartet who do the dueling-boy-girl vocal thing so well, and whose drummer you may have seen behind our counter. That's peripatetic Andee, full o' charm, good vibes, and impeccable taste. The vinyl is perfectly clear.

PEE Now, More Charm & More Tender (March) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Full-length from one of San Francisco's best-loved bands, Pee, the pop punk quartet who do the dueling-boy-girl vocal thing so well, and whose drummer you may have seen behind the counter. That's peripatetic Andee, full o' charm, good vibes, and impeccable taste. The vinyl is perfectly clear.

PEE The Roaring Mechanism (Absolutely Kosher) cd 11.98
Peversely educational epithet? Peculiar entertaining emissions? Particularily egregious error? Puritianical ecstatic episode? Painful enlarged egg? Our own coworker Andee's band has released its second album of fragmented pop. AQ-friend Doug Orleans puts it best when he likens it to all the bridges (not the choruses, not the verses, the BRIDGES) from all your favorite pop songs strung together into a seamless whole. Excellent!

PEE The Roaring Mechanism (Absolutely Kosher) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Peversely educational epithet? Peculiar entertaining emissions? Particularily egregious error? Puritianical ecstatic episode? Painful enlarged egg? Our own coworker Andee's band has released its second album of fragmented pop. AQ-friend Doug Orleans puts it best when he likens it to all the bridges (not the choruses, not the verses, the BRIDGES) from all your favorite pop songs strung together into a seamless whole. Excellent!

PEECHEES Do the Math (Kill Rock Stars) cd 13.98

PEECHEES Do the Math (Kill Rock Stars) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PEEESSEYE & TALIBAM! s/t (Invada) cd 12.98
We had been hearing about this collaboration for a while now, definitely excited but not sure what to expect from a meeting of the warped musical minds between weirdo outsider noise jazz terrorists Talibam! and just plain weirdos Peeesseye, who would prevail, jazz or noise? Would it be unlistenable? Would it be unlistenable in a GOOD WAY? Would it rock?
So while the answers are both, both, no, yes, yes, all you need to know is this is a serious chunk of psychedelic spaced out jazz flecked heaviness. It is on Invada after all, home to both the Heads and White Hills, so in that sense, this does sort of fit. The opening track is basically a super charged jazz kraut blow out, the guitars fuzzed out, the organ warbly and wild, everything wreathed in thick clouds of buzz and hiss, loads of effects, total post Hawkwind psych drone free jazz freakout, which shifts gears at some point and becomes even more of a krautrock jam, crunchy and distorted, with some weirdo vocals buried in the mix, eventually exploding into a frenzied freakout, before finishing off with a super distorted, in-the-red churning chugging space drone dirge finale. Phew.
The next track offers some recovery time, a gorgeous raga like buzzscape, minimal percussion, weird production, some abstract twang, but the core sound a thick shimmering layered dreamlike drone. Ten minutes of pure cosmic bliss.
But c'mon, that can't last long with these guys, "Everything for Everyone" is a crumbling, fractured noisefest, weirdly melodic, but chaotic and harsh, some slice and dice weirdness, fields of feedback, and more upper register drones, "A Grey Mountain of Shit" is full on freaked out psychedelic free jazz, with some incredible drumming, wild tangled guitaring, and a weirdo stumbling whatthefuck outro, all Tom Waits like growls, warped synths, and more wild unhinged drumming.
The record closes with the 17+ minute "Year of the Moral Orgy / Grit of the Ghost", which begins life as a sprawling bit of psychedelic dronefolk, a distant buzz, little curlicues of high end melody, random percussion, a smoldering minimally tense dronescape, which grows more and more chaotic and intense, the drone threatening to swallow the song whole, never fully exploding, instead, stumbling to a confusional halt, complete with garbled vox and a slowly collapsing universe of sound.
MPEG Stream: "You Tried (To Eat It)"
MPEG Stream: "New Vitality In The Biomass"