RYE COALITION Heesawdhuhkaet (Gern Blandsten) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Long awaited full-length of crazy, noisy, quiet, mathy, spazzy...dare I say...emo.

RYE COALITION Jersey Girls (Tiger Style) cd ep 12.98
This is high energy 70's, ironic, arena rock, heavily influenced by Kiss, Grandfunk Railroad, MC5, Cheap Trick and especially AC/DC. They have toured with The Fucking Champs and Drunk Horse, which is so appropriete given the tight muscianship, crazy riffin', silly irony, and love of all things 70's rock. Some songs vary from the formentioned style sounding remarkably like the Jesus Lizard, which I didn't like nearly as much, but all in all an energetic and tight lil' record.
RealAudio clip: "Communication Breakdance"
RealAudio clip: "Snow Job"

RYE COALITION On Top (Tiger Style) cd 15.98
It's good to see/hear that Rye Coalition continue to succeed where the seemingly likeminded And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have recently fallen flat. That is, this NY outfit maintain a consistent level of intensity in their aggressive angry boy rockin'. And they do so increasingly well with solid, heavy drumming, sneering guitar riffing and oh yes, a few "mama"s and "yeah yeah"s thrown in for good measure. Produced by Steve Albini.
RealAudio clip: "Stairway To The Free Bird On The Way..."

RYE/KARP (Troubleman Unlimited) split cd 12.98
This cd contains the Rye debut 7", the Karp/Rye split 12" and an entire live radio performance by Karp.

RYKARDA PARASOL / MISTER LOVELESS split (Round Music) 7" 5.00

RYKARDA PARASOL / MISTER LOVELESS split (Round Music) 7" 5.00

S.T.R.E.E.T.S. Invaders From Gnars (Riot Style) cd 13.98
You gotta love this band. First off, best band name EVER. Really. Except for the fact that it could get 'em confused with the British rapper The Streets, this band's acronymic moniker S.T.R.E.E.T.S., which stands for Skateboarding Totally Rules, Everything Else Totally Sucks, can't really be beat as a band name. The album title is pretty good too, as is the skeletal skater carvin' in the prog parody cover art complete with faux Roger Dean logo. Or at least that's what we think, and we don't even skate! Too bad they broke up (members went on to Bison B.C., Pink Mountaintops, and Children, the latter of whom were possibly named after one of the songs here). But at least this, their third and final album, originally released in 2005, is again available, now reissued in a digipack with 5 bonus tracks! Keep the dream alive!!
The disc starts off with a skit, yes about aliens invading from the Planet Gnars... there's pretty piano, sci-fi warfare sound FX, and a portentous voice-over... before the face-melting retro-trash skatecore riffage of track two "Keep The Dream Alive" kicks in and the band goes off. Spiralling guitar frenzies, chugga chugga riffs, throat ripped vocals, gang shouts, pick squeals, adrenalized hook in mouth songwriting stylez. We're hearing many parts Megadeth, Iron Maiden too (the wooahh-ooaha-ooohs!" of "Peace On Earth" ferinstance, and some galloping action elsewhere), some D.R.I. crossover of course, Suicidal too, a touch of Motorhead, and maybe even we're catching a hint of Heart's "Barracuda" in here someplace. Sweet. But whoops, then when you've got 'em pegged as whirlwind skankin' skate party thrash metal, they'll do somethin' like suddenly slow it down and get all moody and post rock there for a minute, like right in that very first song in fact. So S.T.R.E.E.T.S. has some twists, obviously a sense of humor ("Armageddon Wasted" is a song title here... geddit?), and most importantly, they totally rip. Simply bad ass and infectiously grin-inducing, surprisingly melodic mosh fodder.
The ironic thing is that the S.T.R.E.E.T.S. motto that forms their name is proven to be untrue, by the band themselves. Cause they couldn't possibly be skating and playing this music at the same time, and this disc definitely falls into the Rules, as opposed to Sucks category. Basically there's NOTHING that's not ruling about this. They're even Canadian (from Vancouver). It'd be stupid not to have this in your collection, since you're gonna wanna be spinning it all the time, and looking at that cool skeleton on the cover. Equally recommended to fans of 3 Inches Of Blood, and Annihilation Time...
MPEG Stream: "Keep The Dream Alive"
MPEG Stream: "Living Future"
MPEG Stream: "Blackout"

S.T.S. Systeme Solaire (GT ) cd 17.98
We know that Magma mainman/genius Christian Vander is back on the scene with a new, updated version of that classic monster prog rock band of the seventies. And he's been doing quite well (as the lucky few who saw Magma perform at '99 SF Progfest know) at maintaining Magma's formidable reputation as France's amazing prog-rock answer to both John Coltrane and Richard Wagner. But what of his '70s Magma bandmates, who aren't involved with the current line-up? Here's a disc that shows what bassist extraordinaire Jannick Top (best known for his proto-Ruins composition "De Futura" on Magma's 1976 album "Udu Wudu") has been up to lately. STS is his trio with sax player Eric Seva and drummer Claude Salmieri, and "System Solaire" is a live concert recording from '97, for which they were joined by guest guitarist Thibault Abrial. The nine planetarily-aligned tracks are both moody and energetic, dark jazz fusion with heavy Magma touches (Top and the drummer lock into some unmistakably Magmoid grooves), and the guitar adds a definite psych-rock element. The booklet features a photo of bald-headed Top looking very metal indeed in shades and leather.

S.Y.P.H. s/t (Captain Trip) cd 14.98
S.Y.P.H. was a German punk quartet who originally released this album in 1980 and sound as if late 70s Gang of Four / Mekons were covering Malaria's angular and certainly Teutonic new wave.

SABBATH ASSEMBLY Restored To One (Ajna) cd 14.98
And here it is, now on compact disc as well as the vinyl we highlighted last time, saying thusly:
Got something here for fans of Jex Thoth, the No Neck Blues Band, AND weird religious cults... there's probably some overlap there, we imagine! The Ajna Offensive, best known for black metal releases by the likes of Deathspell Omega and Funeral Mist, and also that fancy Bobby Beausoleil box set not long ago, now bring us the Sabbath Assembly, singing "glorious songs of praise to Lucifer, Satan, Christ, and Jehovah". Huh? These are indeed REAL hymns, and all from one church. Some would say, cult. The explanation: ever heard of the Process Church Of The Final Judgment? This is their music, "reProcessed" by a contemporary psychedelic (super)group of underground musicians, including Jex Thoth of, um, Jex Thoth on vocals, David "Xtian" Nuss (NNCK, Angelblood, Under Satan's Sun), and Randall Dunn (Master Musicians Of Bukkake)! So you can expect this will be ominous and esoteric.
The subject of a recent Feral House book, the Process Church was a '70s phenomenon, of course, a kind of apocalyptic Jesus-freak cult with radical political dimensions. We're told they wore black cloaks (always cool) and had German shepherds (really?). We first heard of 'em years ago thanks to George Clinton's band Funkadelic, who for a while in the early '70s were, if not followers, at least supporters of the Process Church, who presumably had a chapter in Detroit. Several Funkadelic lps feature Process Church teachings (propaganda?) on the sleeves. The music of the Sabbath Assembly doesn't sound much like Funkadelic, though. Not quite that funky! Nor are they metal as you might assume from the label... it's actually often pretty, mellow stuff, presumably sounding close to what the Process Church folks themselves sounded like when singing the Lord's (or Lucifer's?) praises back in the day, these hymns very hippie sounding, churchy and folky, but also garagey, with twangy guitar and groovy organ, building into throbbing rhythmic psych workouts. It even gets a bit jazzy in spots ("The Power That Is Love"). Still, while this isn't heavy in the guitar dep't the way Jex Thoth's regular band is, it is definitely "heavy" in terms of subject matter. Jex is the perfect vocalist for this, her dramatic, devotional delivery at once both innocent and intense, sincere and sinister. Her exaltations and exhortations rise from a delicate whisper to commanding, demanding heights, sometimes unaccompanied, at others, with backing vocals reinforcing the message.
Be warned, this ain't Sunday school. When Jex asks "will you serve the will of God?", it seems like you had darn well better answer (yes!). Dunno if the Process Church is still around (haven't read the book yet) but if they are, there's a good chance this record might recruit some converts... And at least, it's certainly making us curious to read that book. Creepy, yes, and quite catchy too, we can understand why these folks were drawn to reinterpreting these songs. Though of course curious about what the original source material was (lyrics? vintage recordings?). Perhaps it says somewhere inside the lp packaging, we haven't checked for liner notes as yet. This was produced in association with Feral House, so it would seem the Sabbath Assembly had access to whatever inside archival info there was on the Process Church's musical activities.
As "religious" recordings go, this is what we dig! For fans of Jex of course, and Yahowah 13, Family Jams, Sounds Of Ascension, and other "cult" audio... recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Glory To The Gods In The Highest"
MPEG Stream: "Hymn Of Consecration"
MPEG Stream: "Judge Of Mankind"

SABBATH ASSEMBLY Restored To One (Ajna) lp 17.98
Got something here for fans of Jex Thoth, the No Neck Blues Band, AND weird religious cults... there's probably some overlap there, we imagine! The Ajna Offensive, best known for black metal releases by the likes of Deathspell Omega and Funeral Mist, and also that fancy Bobby Beausoleil box set not long ago, now bring us the Sabbath Assembly, singing "glorious songs of praise to Lucifer, Satan, Christ, and Jehovah". Huh? These are indeed REAL hymns, and all from one church. Some would say, cult. The explanation: ever heard of the Process Church Of The Final Judgment? This is their music, "reProcessed" by a contemporary psychedelic (super)group of underground musicians, including Jex Thoth of, um, Jex Thoth on vocals, David "Xtian" Nuss (NNCK, Angelblood, Under Satan's Sun), and Randall Dunn (Master Musicians Of Bukkake)! So you can expect this will be ominous and esoteric.
The subject of a recent Feral House book, the Process Church was a '70s phenomenon, of course, a kind of apocalyptic Jesus-freak cult with radical political dimensions. We're told they wore black cloaks (always cool) and had German shepherds (really?). We first heard of 'em years ago thanks to George Clinton's band Funkadelic, who for a while in the early '70s were, if not followers, at least supporters of the Process Church, who presumably had a chapter in Detroit. Several Funkadelic lps feature Process Church teachings (propaganda?) on the sleeves. The music of the Sabbath Assembly doesn't sound much like Funkadelic, though. Not quite that funky! Nor are they metal as you might assume from the label... it's actually often pretty, mellow stuff, presumably sounding close to what the Process Church folks themselves sounded like when singing the Lord's (or Lucifer's?) praises back in the day, these hymns very hippie sounding, churchy and folky, but also garagey, with twangy guitar and groovy organ, building into throbbing rhythmic psych workouts. It even gets a bit jazzy in spots ("The Power That Is Love"). Still, while this isn't heavy in the guitar dep't the way Jex Thoth's regular band is, it is definitely "heavy" in terms of subject matter. Jex is the perfect vocalist for this, her dramatic, devotional delivery at once both innocent and intense, sincere and sinister. Her exaltations and exhortations rise from a delicate whisper to commanding, demanding heights, sometimes unaccompanied, at others, with backing vocals reinforcing the message.
Be warned, this ain't Sunday school. When Jex asks "will you serve the will of God?", it seems like you had darn well better answer (yes!). Dunno if the Process Church is still around (haven't read the book yet) but if they are, there's a good chance this record might recruit some converts... And at least, it's certainly making us curious to read that book. Creepy, yes, and quite catchy too, we can understand why these folks were drawn to reinterpreting these songs. Though of course curious about what the original source material was (lyrics? vintage recordings?). Perhaps it says somewhere inside the lp packaging, we haven't checked for liner notes as yet. This was produced in association with Feral House, so it would seem the Sabbath Assembly had access to whatever inside archival info there was on the Process Church's musical activities.
As "religious" recordings go, this is what we dig! For fans of Jex of course, and Yahowah 13, Family Jams, Sounds Of Ascension, and other "cult" audio... recommended! 180 gram, gold-colored vinyl.
MPEG Stream: "Glory To The Gods In The Highest"
MPEG Stream: "Hymn Of Consecration"
MPEG Stream: "Judge Of Mankind"

SABBATH ASSEMBLY Ye Are Gods (Svart / Ajna) cd 13.98
Once more, it's time for Church. The Sabbath Assembly has reconvened to sing the songs of the idiosyncratic '70s hippie religious organization (some might say, "cult") known as the Process Church Of The Final Judgment. Not your everyday hymns here, folks! These are songs of praise to both Christ AND Satan. If you've heard Sabbath Assembly's 2010 debut Restored To One, which we highly recommended, you sort of know what to expect. Arcane Jesus/Satan Freak music reinterpreted by a psychedelic rock outfit helmed by David Nuss of the No Neck Blues Band. The results: lovely, atmospheric, sing-song catchy, sometimes soulful; slightly sinister, yet strangely uplifting (as it was meant to be).
Ye Are Gods is mostly gentle and folky, sometimes jazzy and trippy, and kinda Comus-y, with sudden dramatic eruptions and majestic excursions. We wouldn't call it at all metal, yet at certain times, this reminds us a bit of SF's own operatic prog-power metallers Hammers Of Misfortune - perhaps not surprising since one of Nuss's other bands is the very much Hammers-influenced Under Satan's Sun. And, aha, in fact, none other than former Hammers (and Wolves In The Throne Room) vocalist Jamie Myers turns out to be Sabbath Assembly's lead singer on this recording, having taken over the mic from their previous frontwoman/high priestess, Jex Thoth. While some might miss Jex, Myers' delicate, dulcet tones admirably fill the void. The full on gospel pop sound of "Exit" was a surprise, but she pulls it off!
Also new on board this time, Genesis P-Orridge. Her presence brings a Current 93 element to the proceedings, Genesis doing the David Tibet thing, providing portentous spoken sermonizing, credited in the role of "Sacrifist". Ye Are Gods also features performances by Imaad Wassif, Eyvind Kang, Kevin Rutmanis (ex-Cows/Melvins), and quite a few others eager to embrace the Process message (or at least, who find it intriguing?).
The deluxe digi-book cd packaging is quite handsome, and contains lyrics, original sheet music, Biblical quotations, and various other related texts. The similarly-fancy vinyl version also includes this material, in a lp-sized booklet. Nice. While most of us here aren't regular church-goers, you can believe we'll be spinning this a lot, and twice on Sundays...
MPEG Stream: "We Come From The One"
MPEG Stream: "Bless Our Lord And Master"
MPEG Stream: "The Love Of The Gods"

SABBATH ASSEMBLY Ye Are Gods (Svart / Ajna) lp 15.98
Once more, it's time for Church. The Sabbath Assembly has reconvened to sing the songs of the idiosyncratic '70s hippie religious organization (some might say, "cult") known as the Process Church Of The Final Judgment. Not your everyday hymns here, folks! These are songs of praise to both Christ AND Satan. If you've heard Sabbath Assembly's 2010 debut Restored To One, which we highly recommended, you sort of know what to expect. Arcane Jesus/Satan Freak music reinterpreted by a psychedelic rock outfit helmed by David Nuss of the No Neck Blues Band. The results: lovely, atmospheric, sing-song catchy, sometimes soulful; slightly sinister, yet strangely uplifting (as it was meant to be).
Ye Are Gods is mostly gentle and folky, sometimes jazzy and trippy, and kinda Comus-y, with sudden dramatic eruptions and majestic excursions. We wouldn't call it at all metal, yet at certain times, this reminds us a bit of SF's own operatic prog-power metallers Hammers Of Misfortune - perhaps not surprising since one of Nuss's other bands is the very much Hammers-influenced Under Satan's Sun. And, aha, in fact, none other than former Hammers (and Wolves In The Throne Room) vocalist Jamie Myers turns out to be Sabbath Assembly's lead singer on this recording, having taken over the mic from their previous frontwoman/high priestess, Jex Thoth. While some might miss Jex, Myers' delicate, dulcet tones admirably fill the void. The full on gospel pop sound of "Exit" was a surprise, but she pulls it off!
Also new on board this time, Genesis P-Orridge. Her presence brings a Current 93 element to the proceedings, Genesis doing the David Tibet thing, providing portentous spoken sermonizing, credited in the role of "Sacrifist". Ye Are Gods also features performances by Imaad Wassif, Eyvind Kang, Kevin Rutmanis (ex-Cows/Melvins), and quite a few others eager to embrace the Process message (or at least, who find it intriguing?).
The deluxe digi-book cd packaging is quite handsome, and contains lyrics, original sheet music, Biblical quotations, and various other related texts. The similarly-fancy vinyl version also includes this material, in a lp-sized booklet. Nice. While most of us here aren't regular church-goers, you can believe we'll be spinning this a lot, and twice on Sundays...
MPEG Stream: "We Come From The One"
MPEG Stream: "Bless Our Lord And Master"
MPEG Stream: "The Love Of The Gods"

SABERS Specter (Neurot) cd 14.98
Sabers? What's this? The picture on back is one of those band equipment in the studio photos that resemble a sculptural art gallery installation, all wires and mic stands and pedals and mixers and drums and amps. Interestin'... well, as you may know, the Neurot label has done us darn right of late, with several recent releases being AQ-list highlights (House Of Low Culture, Grails). Here's another one that also impressed the heck out of us, the debut from NYC's Sabers. They're a two-man band, one guy on guitar and effects and the other on percussion and effects. Not a little effects, a lot of effects. And a lot of amps -- it's a baritone guitar they use that goes through a multitude of bass and guitar amps. These two guys and their gear make glorious, miasmic music -- sparse, rhythmic and wholly instrumental abstractions that ought to appeal to both Starfuckers and Skullflower fans to use two relatively obscure references (sorry). Sabers' heavily droning yet quietly restrained soundscapes are also a bit like Neurosis stripped of most instruments, vocals, song structure, and aggression (but not menace). Artful, original, and extremely moody. Massive and mysterious. We like.
MPEG Stream: "Loess Kindchen"
MPEG Stream: "Golden Green"

SABIANS, THE Beauty For Ashes (The Music Cartel) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now this was a surprise. Two former members of Bay Area stoner sludge metal heroes Sleep (not the guy who's now in High On Fire) venture back into the rock n' roll arena with a new band called The Sabians that we have to admit we really hadn't heard many good things about (we'd been told they were terrible live). And, upon hearing this, their debut album, I can kinda understand the naysayers... Number 1, this sure *doesn't* sound like Sleep (it IS heavy, but very different -- High On Fire sounds MUCH more like Sleep for sure) and number 2, it's, well, weird. Just read the sticker on the album cover: "the Sabians' sound is a combination of punk, folk, metal, and chant." What? So we were a bit apprehensive ourselves. But, the truth is, this is kinda cool, and, yeah, weird! Stoner/Sleep fans will have to admit that even track one has its moments of Sabbathian rifferama but it also reminds us of The Pogues! (That's the folk bit.) As the album progesses, it remains dark and dynamic and different, with the sounds of acoustic strum, metal guitar, and even falling rain welded together into earnest, anthemic songs with polished production courtesy Alex Newport. Definitely the one thing you have to get used to is the vocals (a clearly-enunciating Michael Stipe? no, that's not it. A wimpier James Hetfield with a fake European accent?) but if you do, you might really like this. Really, one of the weirdest things about this band is how melodic they are! They actually kinda sound like a hypothetical catchy, radio-friendly Neurosis -- or an art-rock Metallica. But if Tool could get big (another band these guys remind us of) then maybe The Sabians will someday be heard on Live105 too. Anyway, kudos to these guys for trying to do something different and original, and more-or-less succeeding.
RealAudio clip: "Via Dolorosa"
RealAudio clip: "Downcast"

SABOT Once Upon A Mind (Cesla) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bass and drums boy/girl duo who were popular in San Francisco before taking off to the Czech Republic. Urgent, angular stuff that's as weirdly hyper as the early Minutemen. Both punk and prog in a lo-fi fashion. We're lucky that their latest album made it all the way here! Comes in a cd-sized little fold out book with two pop up panels. We have only three copies in stock.
RealAudio clip: "Forever"
RealAudio clip: "Road Rage"

SABOT Somehow, I Don't Think So/Vice Versa (Broken Rekids) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whereas *this* drums/bass duo (male and female) relocated from San Francisco to Prague, for a much more prog sound than COA. Also, they are all instrumental. This is their second album, it's quite nice.

SACRIFICE POLES s/t (Robodog) cd 10.98
Side project of ALL the members of Cave In recorded during the off time of the sessions for their last record. No, it's not a return to their abandoned-in-favor-of-Radiohead-emulation metalcore roots, or even an extension of the "OK Computer" style art-rock found on their last brilliant album "Jupiter". Instead, Sacrifice Poles are all about post rock jamming. Repetitive, dreamy and directionless.

SACROS s/t (Shadoks Music) cd 17.98
Out of the same politically fervent Chilean psych scene that brought us Congregacion, Los Jaivas, and Embrujo, we get another amazing spiritual-minded psych-folk artifact, this lone album from Sacros. Creating songs inspired by the great gods of South America, such as Quetzalcoatl, The Plumed Serpent, god of the ancient Mayas, and Viracocha, Lord of Tiahuanaku in the Andes Mountains, Sacros were a short-lived group supported by the Divina Providence Church, who in exchange for practice space, commissioned the band to write and perform an electric mass. Unfortunately, their debut album was released one week after Augusto Pinochet and his right wing regime took over the country and called for the destruction of the state run music label along with all released recordings, thus very few copies of the original album survived. Recently featured on the Chilean installment of the Love, Peace, and Poetry compilations, Sacros' unique sound - gentle Byrds-ish country-rock mixed with the psychedelic tinges of Popul Vuh - is quite beautiful and highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Quetzacoatl"
MPEG Stream: "Cobre, Pobres, Viejos"
MPEG Stream: "Su Herencia"

SAD HORSE North Portland Music Series, Volume #2 (Mississippi) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**MISSISSIPPI RECORDS ALERT**
Just wanted to get the attention of the growing legion of Mississippi Records obsessives, as this week we have not one, not two, but THREE new releases from this PDX based all vinyl, mostly reissue label.
In addition to unearthing rad rarities and reissuing them on vinyl, or putting together perfect mixes of blues, gospel and African music and releasing those amazing mixes as proper lps, Mississippi also does their bit to support their local scene, with a series called appropriately enough the North Portland Series, this being volume 2! (And no we never got, nor can we get volume 1, so don't ask)
We know almost nothing about Sad Horse, other that what's to be found right here. And what that is, is 6 short sharp blasts of angular lo-fi punk rock stumble and garage-y pound and crunch. The drums simple and straight ahead, the guitar raw and fuzzy, wild shouted boy/girl vox, super energetic and fun.
Beyond the musical component, Mississippi Records fanatics might also want this for the sleeve, a strange hand made, origami style jacked, with an extra little booklet affixed to the front, which just so happens to be a no frills, super lo-fi, partial Mississippi Records catalog! C'mon, know you want one...

SADE Lovers Live (Sony) cd 16.98
Hefty 70-minute documentation of Sade's 2001 world tour. If you can get past the annoyingly extra-loud crowd enthusiasm, you'll find this is a nice collection. Sade's chilled out, smooth-as-silk vocal delivery is perfectly matched by the easy-listenin' trumpet / guitar / percussive backdrop. Warning: if you already know her studio recordings well, the live versions here might be a bit disconcerting since they are slightly sped-up.
RealAudio clip: "Somebody Already Broke My Heart"

SADIER, LAETITIA La Piscine (Wool Recordings) lp 16.98

SADIER, LAETITIA Silencio (Drag City) cd 14.98
Solo record number two from Stereolab frontwoman Laetitia Sadier, and like The Trip before it, Silencio finds Sadier's solo sound not that far removed from that of the Stereolab mothership, if anything, she trades in some of the cosmic krautrock worship for something a bit more sixties and French sounding, a dash of Tropicalia, plenty of shimmery guitar jangle, lush orchestrations, the vibe for the most part lush and languorous, all warm and woozy and washed out, with swoonsome strings, and simple shuffling rhythms, dramatic vocal harmonies harkening back to a different time, her voice so lovely, heavily accented, perfect for conjuring up a lost era, subtly psychedelic, all vibes and warm whirling organs, the record rife with subtle space age effects, and peppered with bursts of more rocking jangle, that sound like a mix of some lost Teen Beat band and aQ faves The New Lines, in fact, fans of the New Lines will find much to love here, as will anyone into classic lush timeless pop.
MPEG Stream: "The Rule of The Game"
MPEG Stream: "Silent Spot"
MPEG Stream: "Fragment Pour Le Future De L'Homme"

SADIER, LAETITIA Silencio (Drag City) lp 17.98
Solo record number two from Stereolab frontwoman Laetitia Sadier, and like The Trip before it, Silencio finds Sadier's solo sound not that far removed from that of the Stereolab mothership, if anything, she trades in some of the cosmic krautrock worship for something a bit more sixties and French sounding, a dash of Tropicalia, plenty of shimmery guitar jangle, lush orchestrations, the vibe for the most part lush and languorous, all warm and woozy and washed out, with swoonsome strings, and simple shuffling rhythms, dramatic vocal harmonies harkening back to a different time, her voice so lovely, heavily accented, perfect for conjuring up a lost era, subtly psychedelic, all vibes and warm whirling organs, the record rife with subtle space age effects, and peppered with bursts of more rocking jangle, that sound like a mix of some lost Teen Beat band and aQ faves The New Lines, in fact, fans of the New Lines will find much to love here, as will anyone into classic lush timeless pop.
MPEG Stream: "The Rule of The Game"
MPEG Stream: "Silent Spot"
MPEG Stream: "Fragment Pour Le Future De L'Homme"

SADIER, LAETITIA Trip (Drag City) cd 14.98
As lead singer for Stereolab, Laetitia Sadier's voice is instantly recognizable, so suave and sensual, able to effortlessly create such colorful and swaying sensations, with just her voice. Along with Stereolab Sadier has also released gorgeous records with her side-project, Monade, and finally she goes at it solo with one of the most emotional and ethereal sets of songs she has ever created. While The Trip will immediately remind you of Stereolab, the difference is that it's not so much about the dynamic scope of sounds and colors that Stereolab swirl in and out of, but instead, The Trip, is much more languid, allowing Sadier's vocals to sway in a soft breeze while she sings about loss, memory, and grief, dark emotions, but the record was made after the suicide of her younger sister. What has always made Sadier's voice so special is the way that even when the subject is somber and sad she still can evoke a dreamlike aura around it that allows for sparks of hope and enlightened acceptance.
So sad to think of how much loss Sadier has had to suffer in the last few years, not only losing her younger sister, but the tragic death of her Stereolab comrade Mary Hansen. We could all learn a thing or two from Sadier's ability to remain so graceful and elegant after such painful loss and sadness and finding a way through her music to carry on and pay tribute to the legacy of people who have meant so much to her. A record we know we will be turning to even more when the days start to turn cold and we need warmth that we can count on.
MPEG Stream: "One Million Year Trip"
MPEG Stream: "Summertime"
MPEG Stream: "Ceci Est Le Coeur"

SADIER, LAETITIA Trip (Drag City) lp 17.98
As lead singer for Stereolab, Laetitia Sadier's voice is instantly recognizable, so suave and sensual, able to effortlessly create such colorful and swaying sensations, with just her voice. Along with Stereolab Sadier has also released gorgeous records with her side-project, Monade, and finally she goes at it solo with one of the most emotional and ethereal sets of songs she has ever created. While The Trip will immediately remind you of Stereolab, the difference is that it's not so much about the dynamic scope of sounds and colors that Stereolab swirl in and out of, but instead, The Trip, is much more languid, allowing Sadier's vocals to sway in a soft breeze while she sings about loss, memory, and grief, dark emotions, but the record was made after the suicide of her younger sister. What has always made Sadier's voice so special is the way that even when the subject is somber and sad she still can evoke a dreamlike aura around it that allows for sparks of hope and enlightened acceptance.
So sad to think of how much loss Sadier has had to suffer in the last few years, not only losing her younger sister, but the tragic death of her Stereolab comrade Mary Hansen. We could all learn a thing or two from Sadier's ability to remain so graceful and elegant after such painful loss and sadness and finding a way through her music to carry on and pay tribute to the legacy of people who have meant so much to her. A record we know we will be turning to even more when the days start to turn cold and we need warmth that we can count on.
MPEG Stream: "One Million Year Trip"
MPEG Stream: "Summertime"
MPEG Stream: "Ceci Est Le Coeur"

SADIES, THE Favourite Colours (Yep Roc) cd 14.98
After four solid albums (plus some great collaborations with Andre Williams and Jon Langford), we've grown accustomed to counting on The Sadies for their sorta chaotic blend of spaghetti western, surf guitar, country twang, psychobilly and murder balladry with equal nods to Ennio Morricone, Link Wray and Nick Cave. However, on their fifth album Favourite Colours (that spelling reveals their true Canadian-ness), the latter film score maestro's influence is much less pronounced, seemingly in favor of some new untrodden territory for the band. The fellows are lookin' a bit ragged around the edges. Well, at least half of them are... take a gander at the cover photo... who are those two mountain men?! Oh! But we must quickly emphasize that it in a good way! If anything the band is sounding more refreshed and composed than ever. Definitely not tired nor worn out... not at all! Their playing is as tight as ever, and it doesn't take long for them to make that clear. Just check out the hot guitar work on the lead-off track "Northumberland West". They're a band totally capable of playing it as loose and lanky as they please. The most noticeable change in the band's sound is the increased presence and range of the vocals -- from a Pink Floyd-ish contemplativeness on the second song "Translucent Sparrow" to the droll storyteller tone on "1000 Cities Falling" (akin to their Canadian forefather Gordon Lightfoot... "Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald", anyone?) to the retro 60s Yardbirds / Animals-ness of the excellent finale "Why Would Anybody Live Here?". Another welcome detour is the seventh song "The Iceberg" which is as the title suggests a somber, galacial instrumental. Gorgeous! As usual, this Sadies album is comprised of a veritable grabbag of styles and moods, however there's a newfound fluidity and focus to the proceedings. Recommended!
Oh and by the way, keep your eyes peeled in the coming year for The Sadies. They are tireless! The fellows have been busy working on new material with Neko Case. You might recall they were her backing band ('Her Boyfriends') for a spell and looks like they'll be rekindling their touring magic this fall.
MPEG Stream: "Translucent Sparrow"
MPEG Stream: "The Curdled Journey"

SADIES, THE In Concert Volume One (Yep Roc) 2cd 17.98
Not only are two of the band members brothers of a musical family (Dallas and Travis of the Good Family), but The Sadies as a whole are a formidable branch of a bigger musical family which includes the likes of Neko Case (whom they back up on her own live album The Tigers Have Spoken), Kelly Hogan, Blue Rodeo, Jon Langford, members of Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet and Rick White (of Eric's Trip, Elevator, etc.) not to mention many Bloodshot Records brethren. All of them along with Jon Spencer, Gary Louris (of Golden Smog and the Jayhawks), Steve Albini and a whole slew more got down to business on this live recording which took place over two nights at Lee's Palace in Toronto back in February. Whew! Whoa! As you might already be aware, the core Sadies all by their lonesome kick some serious wall to wall ass live each and every time. So entertaining. So lanky'n'loose and razor-sharp at the same time, effortlessly roaming from Morricone western soundtrack to frenetic surf guitar to murder balladry and back. Now with all the other folks in tow, hot damn, they very well cause a meltdown. 2 discs, 41 tracks, 110 minutes!
MPEG Stream: "Cheat"
MPEG Stream: "Dying Is Easy"

SADIES, THE New Season (Yep Roc) cd 15.98
Known to veer wildly from style to style, tempo to tempo, mood to mood, those lanky Canadian troubadours The Sadies keep things at a relatively dour faced, slow creep this time around.
Less sprawling too, notably absent on New Season are their trademark excursions into Hawaiian guitar, garage rawk and Morricone spaghetti western territories. Still they're as great as ever because these boys know just how to hit that perfect so-lonesome-you-could-cry pace'n'vibe time and time again. Awesome effortless musicianship, slightly tweaked and twisted takes on age old musical traditions injected with an ever affecting spookiness.
MPEG Stream: "What's Left Behind"
MPEG Stream: "A Simple Apparition"

SADIES, THE Precious Moments (Bloodshot) cd 14.98

SADIES, THE Stories Often Told (Yep Roc) cd 16.98
Another full length from those tireless, sharply suited gents, and who's complaining?! Whether they're in one of their loping or galloping moods, it just doesn't matter 'cause they smoke either way. The Sadies will hit you one way or another like a stampede of cattle or a stiletto knife in the back. Often labelled simply as a country or garage or surf band, this Canadian quartet is all of this and more. While they can definitely deliver the goods solidly in any of these departments alone, unlike many bands these days they don't just regurgitate a style. They incorporate aspects of one into another, making music that echoes of a different time, but sounds distinctly of the Sadies. Visions of the ol' west with its trusty steeds, dusty desert sunsets and ten gallon hats may come to mind but are swept away by images of scorned lovers, shifty speakeasy figures with smoking guns.
RealAudio clip: "Such A Little Word"
RealAudio clip: "Monkey & Cork"

SADIES, THE Tales Of The Rat Fink - Original Soundtrack (YepRoc) cd 13.98
Screeeeeeeech! That's the sound of this hot rod peelin' out of the lot. What a perfect match -- Torontonian psychobilly hepcats The Sadies doin' the soundtrack for the film documentary about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (perhaps better known as the man behind the bloodshot'n'buggy eyed rebel comic character Rat Fink)! Unlike their usual studio albums which careen across a vast and varied musical landscape, The Sadies for the most part takes a direct route to the surf, veerin' and huggin' a few curves in the process. Like lil' critters that dart out into headlights, their instrumental rabble-rousin' is flashed with a few dialogue snippits from the film. Super cool! What's that smell?! Burnt rubber, baby! They're smokin'!
MPEG Stream: "The Pyramid"
MPEG Stream: "The Double Wide"

SADIES, THE Tales Of The Rat Fink - Original Soundtrack (YepRoc) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Screeeeeeeech! That's the sound of this hot rod peelin' out of the lot. What a perfect match -- Torontonian psychobilly hepcats The Sadies doin' the soundtrack for the film documentary about Ed "Big Daddy" Roth (perhaps better known as the man behind the bloodshot'n'buggy eyed rebel comic character Rat Fink)! Unlike their usual studio albums which careen across a vast and varied musical landscape, The Sadies for the most part takes a direct route to the surf, veerin' and huggin' a few curves in the process. Like lil' critters that dart out into headlights, their instrumental rabble-rousin' is flashed with a few dialogue snippits from the film. Super cool! What's that smell?! Burnt rubber, baby! They're smokin'!
MPEG Stream: "The Pyramid"
MPEG Stream: "The Double Wide"

SAGAN Resting Pleasures (333) 7" 6.98
Heads up! Here comes another wave of limited edition 7"s from 333 Records! Each release in this series is pressed in an ultra small quantity of 333! The latest additions are this one by Sagan and one by Girl Talk. Plus: The first 100 of this Sagan single came with a little extra something -- a bonus 3"cdr! Don't fret too much if you do miss the first 100 though 'cause we've been assured that the track will be available online for download too. The ever mischievous and crafty trio of Jay Lesser, Blevin Blectum, Wobbly pour out the prickly tickles, thick bass thuddery, and druggy effected vocals for these two short heavily processed and distorted tracks. Always entertaining! We've only got a handful of these. Snoooze'n'loooze, kiddie!

SAGAS Between Worlds (Greenup Industries) lp 10.98
This was another one of those records that just showed up one day, and knocked us on our asses. And while all the descriptors pointed to something that would be right up our alley, spacey and psychedelic, krautrocky and kosmische, heavy and hazy, which all do definitely apply, the music manages to embody all those adjectives, while tangling them up into something all its own.
This one man band opens up the proceedings with some droned out psychedelic synths, sounding like Amps For Christ or Daniel Higgs, the sounds undulating and spiraling into little tangled melodic squalls, there are bells, and a deep crooned almost chantlike vocal, very hypnotic and almost new agey, those droning synths (or are they effected guitars?), get more and more wild as the song proceeds, a wild woolly freakout over that deep sonorous drone. Great stuff, and we would have been perfectly happy had the whole record sounded like that, but instead, the second song starts off all low slung slither and wah guitar, it's got 'boogie' in the title, and it shows, sort of. Loose and ramshackle, the guitars again blossom into soaring streaks of high end skree, the drums pound and stumble, the vocals wreathed in reverb, the sound insanely dubbed out, everything swallowed up in echo and send swirling into the ether before landing again and reengaging with the in-progress kraut-dub space rock freakout. This is the sort of shit Burnt Hills would conjure up if they wrote songs instead of endless jams, infusing sort-of-proper song structures with all the elements of an unhinged drug addled jam, and the results are pretty wild.
The rest of the record though is all over the place, feet firmly planted in psychedelia, and Appalachia, but exploring pretty much every disparate strain, from clattery, foresty free folk, sounding almost like No Neck Blues Band or Avarus, to back porch bluegrass Fahey-y style American primitivism, from strummy, synthy, noise drenched darkdrone balladry (maybe our favorite track, sounding like a muted Merzbow / Portishead slowburn mashup woven into some Appalachian psychedelic creep), to blown out, in-the-red, Japanese psych style White Heaven / Les Rallizes / Fushitsusha grinding guitar freakout, finally finishing off with another bout of melancholic minor key Appalachia.
Killer stuff, most definitely recommended for fans of modern psych, neo-Appalachia, psychedelic dronemusic and the weirder side of space/psych/drone rock.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES! Includes multiple inserts.
MPEG Stream: "The Hidden Variable"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Karma Boogie"

SAGE FRANCIS Human The Death Dance (Epitaph) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Civil Disobedience"
MPEG Stream: "Got Up This Morning"

SAGE, M. The Receivers Peaking (Moon Glyph) cassette 4.98
The latest mysterious musical missive from now local label Moon Glyph comes in the form of this gorgeous bit of collaged ambience from M. Sage, who sound hovers in the shadows between the Caretaker, Philip Jeck and Tim Hecker, a woozy loopscape of random radio snippets, of treated instruments and muted moody melodies, processed guitars drift wraith like over haunting field recordings, wreathed in hazy swirls of static, the various sounds all blurred into soft focus impressionistic drifts, that just seem to fade in and out, like the flickering of an old filmstrip, or the world viewed through the dusty old window of a beat up car, driving through empty towns and long abandoned neighborhoods. Sound become distorted, gristly and crunchy, shards of caustic buzz surface here and there, but are quickly smeared into another layer of sweetly swirling sound. And when proper instruments do surface, they give the sound a haunted otherworldly twang, or a glistening prismatic cosmic shimmer. The sound constantly shifting from sun dappled dreamlike glimmer, to murky, faded drifts, softly churning dronescapes, all slowed down sounds and softly keening melodies, warm whirs and hushed crackle, to darkly cinematic mesmer, the crackle almost becoming a physical presence, the dreamy lilting thrum beneath almost wholly obscure by this glorious patina of crunch and crackle, turning sound into something impossible tactile, a blissed out sprawl of heavenly soft noise. So utterly, and hauntingly gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Radio Slope (For Whitcomb)"
MPEG Stream: "Campaign Cycles / Harrowing Straits"
MPEG Stream: "The Apocraphyl Atlases"

SAGITTARIUS Present Tense (Sundazed) cd 12.98

SAGITTARIUS The Blue Marble (Sundazed) lp 21.00

SAGOR & SWING Allt Hanger Samman (Hapna) cd 16.98
Sweden's Sagor & Swing are an instrumental drums and Hammond organ duo. HAMMOND ORGAN! We know some of you are crazy for the Hammond organ. We are too. And Hammond-freaks or not, this is a lovely, lovely record. Super melodic and dreamy, calm and mesmerizing. Eric Malmberg (organ) and Ulf Moeller (drums) take much inspiration from dark and sleepy Swedish forests, we're told, but we're sure the music of legendary Swedish '60s Hammond/drums duo Hansson & Karlsson is also a big influence! Malmberg actually plays a Hammond that Bo Hansson used on his beloved 1970 Sagan Om Ringen (Lord Of The Rings) album! Not only that, but he writes a comic strip published in a Swedish newspaper called -- get this -- Hansson & Karlsson In Outer Space. The duo's H&K obsession serves them well, without them becoming mere copyists at all. Some tracks are lively and spirited, with stick-in-your-head folk-derived hooks a la fellow Swede Bjorn Olsson (himself a sort of Bo Hansson protege), while others are more like slightly sinister Dario Argento/Goblinesque lullabies, that combine music box melodies with one-note ambient minimalism a bit like that one Aphex Twin-esque track on Burzum's Filosofem. Just a bit. Some Kraftwerk rhythms are hinted at as well, and Magyar Posse's cinematic epics too. This is definitely a universal AQ-staff fave, and we think you'll love it too. Apparently it's S&S fourth album, so we'll have to track down their other two asap!
MPEG Stream: "Grottmusik"
MPEG Stream: "Lovverk"
MPEG Stream: "Det Sista Aventyret"

SAGOR & SWING Melodier och Faglar (Hapna) cd 16.98
Second album from the fab Swedish drums and Hammond organ duo, preceeding Allt Hanger Samman which was such a hit around here. And this is just as nice!

SAGOR & SWING Orgelfarger (Hapna) cd 16.98
The first, totally wonderful album from this Swedish organ/drums duo. Along with their other releases, solid AQ fave material.

SAGOR & SWING Orgelplaneten (Hapna) cd 16.98
The AQ-fave instrumental electric organ and drums duo Sagor & Swing return! These Swedes' previous disc Allt Hanger Samman was a big hit here, especially among those of us (like Byram and Allan) for whom the dulcet tones of the Hammond organ are a siren song. This new disc, Orgelplaneten (not to be confused with their 2nd album Orgelfarger), is actually a bit different from Sagor & Swing's earlier recordings. The line up of course is still the same -- Eric Malmberg on organ and Ulf Moeller on drums -- but the mesmeric mellow folky aspect of their sound is played down (though not gone entirely), and their more uptempo rockin' side is played up. This album is jazzier, punchier, louder. It seems that they've left the dreamy Swedish forests and headed for the bright lights of the big city. It's a playful, brassy, swinging affair that reminds us a bit of Finnish Casio-hipsters Aavikko. And it still reminds us, even more than before in fact, of '60s Hammond n' drums combo Hansson & Karlsson, whom we already knew were Sagor & Swing's biggest inspiration. This is very Hansson & Karlsson indeed! Total retro-cool. So, while other Sagor & Swing cds might be a good soundtrack for an intimate dinner, this one's meant for a real party. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Idiom"
MPEG Stream: "Aventyr I Alperna"

SAHARA HOT NIGHTS C'mon Let's Pretend (Jetset) cd 13.98

SAHARA HOT NIGHTS Jennie Bomb (Jetset) cd 13.98
These girls kick so much ass. Four 20 year old Swedish girls kicking out the motherfucking jams like a more metal Runaways. They've been playing together since before they were teens, touring like crazy in Sweden and releasing two full length records. This is their first available in the U.S. and the timing is perfect what with the Hives/Vines/garage rock mania. Sahara Hot Nights spit out punky garage-y rock and roll, equal parts Kiss, the Helicopters and the Runaways. They sound a little like the harder, meaner sister of the Donnas. Heck, with the boyish garage rockin' good times boiling over on both sides of the Atlantic, it's high time we finally heard from the gals!
RealAudio clip: "Alright Alright"
RealAudio clip: "Keep Up The Speed"

SAI, SATYA & MAITREYA KALI Apache Inca (Shadoks Music) 2cd 19.98

SAICOS, LOS ÁDemolicion! The Complete Recordings (Munster) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We can't deny we've been quite smitten with so many bands in the last couple years who have blasted onto the scene playing inspired, raw, wild and blown out garage rock. But it may take going back to Peru to the years 1964-1966 to find the most riveting and TRUE origins of garage proto-punk, done to perfection. The first time we ever heard Los Saicos we couldn't believe our ears, this was the kind of garage sound we had always imagined in our mind. Gritty, spirited, and filled with charm and soul. And some pretty gnarly vocals for the time. It's not overstating the case to say they make other '60s dirty garage peddlers like The Sonics or The Monks seem kind of tame. This is the kind of blood, guts and charisma that helped create bands latter on like The Cramps, The Mono Men, The Coachwhips, and Davilla 666. With a primitive surf undertone, and an undeniable tough and cool sensibility they really do have a sound so many bands in the decades to follow tried (and continue to try) to emulate. Los Saicos are like the Peruvian version of a gang of bad kids from a Luis Bunuel film, forming a band and creating electric energy together amongst the harsh realities of the streets they roam.
We're so so so thankful Munster has given Los Saicos the proper reissue and long overdue respect they so deserve. If you like rock n roll in any form, you NEED THIS!
MPEG Stream: "Demolici—n"
MPEG Stream: "Te amo"
MPEG Stream: "Come On (Ven aqu’)"

SAILORS WITH WAX WINGS s/t (Angel Oven) cd 13.98
Not one, but TWO brand new records, brand new BANDS in fact, from the man behind avant black metal weirdos Pyramids, Sailors With Wax Wings and White Moth, both heavy and weird in their own way, and both featuring incredible ensemble casts, not so much guests and collaborators. In some ways it does both of these records/groups a bit of a disservice to lump them together, as most reviewers (including this one) do, but it's sort of unavoidable, for as different as these two records may sound, there are quite a few similarities conceptually and even sonically.
For those unfamiliar with Pyramids, we've been pretty smitten with these guys ever since we first heard their double disc debut on Hydra Head, a dizzying sonic concoction that infused black metal blasts with washed out shoegaze glimmer, swirling dreamy ambience, blurred slowcore drift, actually it might be more accurate to describe Pyramids as some sort of blissed out shoegaze slowcore outfit that flecked their dreamy sound with bits of black metal buzz, but either way, the sound these guys cooked up was heady and psychedelic and pushed our buttons BIG TIME. Everything we could want in a weird heavy band seemed to be all smeared into this gorgeously indistinct entity called Pyramids. And the interesting thing about that debut, is that it already sort of foreshadowed the genesis of these two new projects, by including a discs of remixes/reworkings featuring Swans drummer Ted Parsons, Toby Driver of Kay Dot, Colin Marston of Behold the Arctopus, James Plotkin of OLD and Khanate, Justin Broadrick of Jesu / Godflesh and French industrial black metal crushers Blut Aus Nord. And the recent 5 cassette box seemed to be another sign pointing at Pyramids' mainman R Loren's restlessness, and need to keep creating and collaborating, featuring hours and hours of interpretations and reimaginings. Which brings us to Loren's latest projects, a simultaneous release of two different record, by two different groups, each sonically disparate, yet inexorably linked, Sailors With Wax Wings, whose sound is like a more abstracted shoegazey Pyramids, and White Moth, whose sound has been described by Loren as "digital hardcore", but also infuses its drill and bass and industrial crunch with plenty of Pyramidal blissed out black metalisms (including vocals from John Gossard of Weakling and Asunder!).
Sailors With Wax Wings, is the one that will most immediately appeal to fans of Pyramids, or fans of blissy avant black metal and experimental heaviness, and as mentioned above, White Moth is Loren with a pretty incredible collection of collaborators, which we might as well just list: Ted Parsons (Swans, Prong), Colin Marston (Krallice, BeholdÉThe Arctopus), Aidan Baker (Nadja), Simon Scott (Slowdive), Dominick Fernow (Ash Pool, Vegas Martyrs, Prurient, Cold Cave), cellist Hildur Gudnadottir Vern Rumsey of Unwound (!), Aaron Stainthorpe (My Dying Bride), Jonas Renkse (Katatonia) Marissa Nadler, James Blackshaw, and the cover art should look familiar too, courtesy of David Tibet (Current 93). Phew! If there was ever the potential for too-many-cooks, but somehow, Loren and crew pull it off, crafting a slow burning world of soaring dreamlike buzz, thick black shimmer, epic explosive energy and brooding mystery, right away, with "Soft Gardens Near The Sun, Keep Your Distant Beauty", we're transported to some otherworld, where sound is light, and gorgeous chords come cascading from on high like some sonic waterfall, thick swaths of sound whirling and swirling, peppered with delicate piano melodies and powerful drumming, shoegazey for sure, but also intense and urgent and emotional, which is spotlighted even more on the second track "There Came A Drooping Maid With Violets", with the introduction of sorrowful crooned clean male / female vocals, buried in the mix, nestled amidst warm glimmering guitars and lumbering drum plod, like a more crystalline and dreamily doomy Nadja or a softer more spare My Bloody Valentine. Which is the sound that seeps into all the other tracks, like a continuous song suite, a single multi part epic, slipping smoothly from barely there hushed drift, to blackened sheets of soaring high end, to minimal whispery creep, to bleary pop ambient shimmer, to hazy, utterly lush sweet fuzz flecked dream pop, a song like "There Was One Who Sought A New Road" should have fans of groups like Beach House in a tizzy, with its delicate gauzy atmosphere and warm languid melodies. In fact, the more we listen, the more the black metal elements seem to recede, sure there's buzzing and fast picking, and maybe even some blasting beats, but here. those elements are reimagined as parts of some otherworldly abstract blurscape, wreathed in whir and crackle and buried under billows of layered drones, soft swaths of angelic drift, everything rendered in slow motion, slightly out of focus, a lush atmospheric expanse of blackened slowcore dreampop bliss. So gorgeous!
MPEG Stream: "Soft Gardens Near The Sun, Keep Your Distant Beauty"
MPEG Stream: "There Came A Drooping Maid With Violets"
MPEG Stream: "There Was One Who Sought A New Road"
MPEG Stream: "Strange That I Should Have Grown So Suddenly Blind"

SAINT ANDRE s/t cd 9.98
Man, does this record remind me of Scrawl.
And I feel like no one in the band is probably that into Scrawl, but it's definitely a good reference point for St. Andre's sound. Kind of a weird mix of that classic 80's Homestead Records sound, meandering Polvo-ish detuned guitars, noisy walls of guitar (ala Sonic Youth) and soaring female vocals that start as a smooth croon and occasionally leap out in a fit of Sleater Kinney yelps. Melodies and scraggly guitar lines battle pounding drums and bursts of noise, and occasionally dissipate into dreamy droning post rock. This may be their last recording, as they are all going their seperate ways (one to watch making school!).

SAINT ETIENNE Finisterre (Mantra Recordings) cd 16.98
Whoa! Is this the new Saint Etienne? Sounds like they've become even more deeply ensconced in slick clubland than I remember. Granted they've always been sleek, polished, danceable pop, but on Finisterre they often seem aligned with the much more accessible glossy likes of Kylie Minogue or Garbage (the band) than ever before. The ultra prettiness simply seems to be less present and less distinctly their own. The focus continues to be shifted away from Saint Etienne's trademark - Sarah Cracknell's dreamy satin voice - in favor of bigger thumpin' beats, dialogue samples and *gasp* a rapper bustin' out rhymes. Is it just me or does anyone else find this somewhat strange?! Mind you, their seventh full length is not without its blossoming, lush flutes'n'strings moments. They just surface more sporadically, making for a less smooth'n'swooning experience than their past efforts, and more of a fun, groovy affair.
RealAudio clip: "Amateur"
RealAudio clip: "Soft Like Me"