SUDDEN OAK Banquet Years (Stunned) cassette 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Been hearing lots about Portland's Stunned records, and we're happy to finally have one of their beautifully packaged tapes for your listening/viewing pleasure. This one comes from San Francisco's own sax and guitar duo Sudden Oak. Matt Erickson, who also rips it up solo under the name Radiant Husk, sends soaring sax tones up through the atmosphere while John Ward's guitar feedback freak-outs lay bubbling below. Together the duo travel through strange noise-jazz lands, up and over urban creep zones that move and flow into fluid rhythms and fucked up loops. Picture an old Pharaoh Sanders tape echoing through a blown out amp in a water tank, so weird and so rad. Limited to an edition of 111, each with pro-printed j-cards plus insert, these are already sold out at the source, so act fast if you want one of these beauties.

SUDDEN, NIKKI The Truth Doesn't Matter (Secretly Canadian) cd 14.98

SUEDE A New Morning (Sony) cd 19.98
I must admit more than a passing fondness for the bombastic, sexy drama of Brit poppers Suede. Their first few albums had a tendency to bring out the glamorous, hip-shaking bisexual diva in the shyest bowl-cutted indie popster. Of course, Brit pop hasn't been fashionable in years; all the mods have gone rocker, the British press delights in ripping apart their one-time darlings, and popscene overflows with khakis and baseball caps. Still, Suede chug on. They will probably never make another great album like "Suede" or "Dog Man Star," having lost an essential guitarist some time ago and a drug habit (with the accompanying dreary worldview) more recently, but "A New Morning" is nevertheless a very pleasant listen, and way better than their last album "Head Music." Producer-to-the-stars Stephen Street is at the helm, and while some of the more deliciously risque lyrics have been abandoned, the theatricality and overboard glam are here in full effect, and whenever Brett Anderson hiccups into a falsetto wail, it still has the power to make the boys and girls swoon. And ah yes- load this cd into your computer, and you'll have access online to alternate takes of every single cut on "A New Morning," just in case you really wanted to delve into Suede's, um, process.
RealAudio clip: "Untitled Morning"
RealAudio clip: "Beautiful Loser"

SUGAR Copper Blue / Beaster (Merge) 2lp 26.00
We all have guilty pleasures, stuff we LOVE to listen to more than anything, but stuff that maybe doesn't get bragged about as much as that grim black metal or obscure indie rock band, we've tried to be pretty open about our guilty pleasures (heck we even made a No Doubt singles comp our Record Of The Week once upon a time), with the hopes that people will realize there ARE NO guilty pleasures, or at least, there's nothing to be guilty about, especially when it comes to some music you love, if it moves you, or you just enjoy listening to it, that's good enough. However, we've discovered a new sort of guilty pleasure, maybe a guilty displeasure, the sort of stuff music nerds harass each other about endlessly, in this case, that displeasure entails not stuff you DO like, but the stuff you DON'T. Bands that by all rights you should love, but for whatever reason you just don't. My (Andee) well known dislike of Can gets lots of mileage around aQ, and for the longest time, I also harbored a general dislike of late great Midwestern punks Husker Du. It took much hassling and many different mixtapes foisted on me, but eventually I came to my senses and decided that I did indeed dig Husker Du.
But Sugar always seemed to pose the same problem. Bob Mould's post Husker Du band seemed right up my alley, sort of THEE ultimate noise pop band. Not sure if it was one of those knee jerk responses to the band that everyone likes, but I always just assumed Sugar wouldn't be my cup of tea, and thus, barring a few glancing listens here and there, managed to make it this far without ever hearing them.
Which brings us to these two reissues, which compiles all three of the group's releases on two double discs, and here's where the silver lining of missing out on something everyone else already knew about. Getting to discover and dig things for the very first time. And digging these Sugar reissues I most certainly am! It's a sort of musical discovery that happens less and less in this era of music everywhere and iTunes and downloads, and the fact that it's a group from an era of music when I was discovering new bands and sounds left and right, and it's a sound I loved and STILL love only makes it that much better. So that's another thing hopefully folks can learn from us putting our weird music nerderies out there for the world to see, you should always be open to having your mind changed, cuz the worse thing that happens is you suddenly have more music to love.
So yeah, you're all right, Sugar are pretty great, and while they still sound distinctly nineties, these records have weathered well for sure. Big crunchy guitars, crazy catchy choruses, a sound that's really not that far removed from Husker Du's Warehouse record, pretty much every song on Copper Blue, Sugar's 1992 debut, is a heavy hook filled killer, we could go song by song, but odds are most of you already know all about Sugar, the album tracks here fleshed out with a handful of B sides (available as a download with the lp version), as well as the following year's Beaster EP, which is really more of the same, although to these ears, it alternatingly sounds more shoegazy and/or more punk rock, but it fits pretty much perfectly alongside Copper Blue for sure. The cd version also includes a DVD featuring a live show from 1992.
I still don't like Can though.
MPEG Stream: "The Act We Act"
MPEG Stream: "A Good Idea"
MPEG Stream: "Changes"

SUGAR Copper Blue / Beaster (Merge) 2cd+dvd 17.98
We all have guilty pleasures, stuff we LOVE to listen to more than anything, but stuff that maybe doesn't get bragged about as much as that grim black metal or obscure indie rock band, we've tried to be pretty open about our guilty pleasures (heck we even made a No Doubt singles comp our Record Of The Week once upon a time), with the hopes that people will realize there ARE NO guilty pleasures, or at least, there's nothing to be guilty about, especially when it comes to some music you love, if it moves you, or you just enjoy listening to it, that's good enough. However, we've discovered a new sort of guilty pleasure, maybe a guilty displeasure, the sort of stuff music nerds harass each other about endlessly, in this case, that displeasure entails not stuff you DO like, but the stuff you DON'T. Bands that by all rights you should love, but for whatever reason you just don't. My (Andee) well known dislike of Can gets lots of mileage around aQ, and for the longest time, I also harbored a general dislike of late great Midwestern punks Husker Du. It took much hassling and many different mixtapes foisted on me, but eventually I came to my senses and decided that I did indeed dig Husker Du.
But Sugar always seemed to pose the same problem. Bob Mould's post Husker Du band seemed right up my alley, sort of THEE ultimate noise pop band. Not sure if it was one of those knee jerk responses to the band that everyone likes, but I always just assumed Sugar wouldn't be my cup of tea, and thus, barring a few glancing listens here and there, managed to make it this far without ever hearing them.
Which brings us to these two reissues, which compiles all three of the group's releases on two double discs, and here's where the silver lining of missing out on something everyone else already knew about. Getting to discover and dig things for the very first time. And digging these Sugar reissues I most certainly am! It's a sort of musical discovery that happens less and less in this era of music everywhere and iTunes and downloads, and the fact that it's a group from an era of music when I was discovering new bands and sounds left and right, and it's a sound I loved and STILL love only makes it that much better. So that's another thing hopefully folks can learn from us putting our weird music nerderies out there for the world to see, you should always be open to having your mind changed, cuz the worse thing that happens is you suddenly have more music to love.
So yeah, you're all right, Sugar are pretty great, and while they still sound distinctly nineties, these records have weathered well for sure. Big crunchy guitars, crazy catchy choruses, a sound that's really not that far removed from Husker Du's Warehouse record, pretty much every song on Copper Blue, Sugar's 1992 debut, is a heavy hook filled killer, we could go song by song, but odds are most of you already know all about Sugar, the album tracks here fleshed out with a handful of B sides (available as a download with the lp version), as well as the following year's Beaster EP, which is really more of the same, although to these ears, it alternatingly sounds more shoegazy and/or more punk rock, but it fits pretty much perfectly alongside Copper Blue for sure. The cd version also includes a DVD featuring a live show from 1992.
I still don't like Can though.
MPEG Stream: "The Act We Act"
MPEG Stream: "A Good Idea"
MPEG Stream: "Changes"

SUGAR File Under: Easy Listening (Merge) 2cd 15.98
We all have guilty pleasures, stuff we LOVE to listen to more than anything, but stuff that maybe doesn't get bragged about as much as that grim black metal or obscure indie rock band, we've tried to be pretty open about our guilty pleasures (heck we even made a No Doubt singles comp our Record Of The Week once upon a time), with the hopes that people will realize there ARE NO guilty pleasures, or at least, there's nothing to be guilty about, especially when it comes to some music you love, if it moves you, or you just enjoy listening to it, that's good enough. However, we've discovered a new sort of guilty pleasure, maybe a guilty displeasure, the sort of stuff music nerds harass each other about endlessly, in this case, that displeasure entails not stuff you DO like, but the stuff you DON'T. Bands that by all rights you should love, but for whatever reason you just don't. My (Andee) well known dislike of Can gets lots of mileage around aQ, and for the longest time, I also harbored a general dislike of late great Midwestern punks Husker Du. It took much hassling and many different mixtapes foisted on me, but eventually I came to my senses and decided that I did indeed dig Husker Du.
But Sugar always seemed to pose the same problem. Bob Mould's post Husker Du band seemed right up my alley, sort of THEE ultimate noise pop band. Not sure if it was one of those knee jerk responses to the band that everyone likes, but I always just assumed Sugar wouldn't be my cup of tea, and thus, barring a few glancing listens here and there, managed to make it this far without ever hearing them.
Which brings us to these two reissues, which compiles all three of the group's releases on two double discs, and here's where the silver lining of missing out on something everyone else already knew about. Getting to discover and dig things for the very first time. And digging these Sugar reissues I most certainly am! It's a sort of musical discovery that happens less and less in this era of music everywhere and iTunes and downloads, and the fact that it's a group from an era of music when I was discovering new bands and sounds left and right, and it's a sound I loved and STILL love only makes it that much better. So that's another thing hopefully folks can learn from us putting our weird music nerderies out there for the world to see, you should always be open to having your mind changed, cuz the worse thing that happens is you suddenly have more music to love.
So yeah, you're all right, Sugar are pretty great, and while they still sound distinctly nineties, these records have weathered well for sure. Big crunchy guitars, crazy catchy choruses, a sound that's really not that far removed from Husker Du's Warehouse record.
1994's File Under Easy Listening was the band's swansong, and it too is a monster of kick ass noise pop record, hooks galore, some killer drumming, and a seriously hefty production that makes File sound even better than Copper Blue, but most importantly, some amazing songs, File is beefed up with a bunch of B sides and a whole live show (Available as a download in the lp version), both sets contain tons of photos and extensive liner notes, and yeah, I know I'm twenty years late, but this is getting some serious non-stop play. So for those of you who somehow missed out on Sugar, like some (one?) of us, absolutely and retroactively recommended.
I still don't like Can though.
MPEG Stream: "Gift"
MPEG Stream: "Company Book"
MPEG Stream: "Your Favorite Thing"

SUGAR File Under: Easy Listening (Merge) lp 17.98
We all have guilty pleasures, stuff we LOVE to listen to more than anything, but stuff that maybe doesn't get bragged about as much as that grim black metal or obscure indie rock band, we've tried to be pretty open about our guilty pleasures (heck we even made a No Doubt singles comp our Record Of The Week once upon a time), with the hopes that people will realize there ARE NO guilty pleasures, or at least, there's nothing to be guilty about, especially when it comes to some music you love, if it moves you, or you just enjoy listening to it, that's good enough. However, we've discovered a new sort of guilty pleasure, maybe a guilty displeasure, the sort of stuff music nerds harass each other about endlessly, in this case, that displeasure entails not stuff you DO like, but the stuff you DON'T. Bands that by all rights you should love, but for whatever reason you just don't. My (Andee) well known dislike of Can gets lots of mileage around aQ, and for the longest time, I also harbored a general dislike of late great Midwestern punks Husker Du. It took much hassling and many different mixtapes foisted on me, but eventually I came to my senses and decided that I did indeed dig Husker Du.
But Sugar always seemed to pose the same problem. Bob Mould's post Husker Du band seemed right up my alley, sort of THEE ultimate noise pop band. Not sure if it was one of those knee jerk responses to the band that everyone likes, but I always just assumed Sugar wouldn't be my cup of tea, and thus, barring a few glancing listens here and there, managed to make it this far without ever hearing them.
Which brings us to these two reissues, which compiles all three of the group's releases on two double discs, and here's where the silver lining of missing out on something everyone else already knew about. Getting to discover and dig things for the very first time. And digging these Sugar reissues I most certainly am! It's a sort of musical discovery that happens less and less in this era of music everywhere and iTunes and downloads, and the fact that it's a group from an era of music when I was discovering new bands and sounds left and right, and it's a sound I loved and STILL love only makes it that much better. So that's another thing hopefully folks can learn from us putting our weird music nerderies out there for the world to see, you should always be open to having your mind changed, cuz the worse thing that happens is you suddenly have more music to love.
So yeah, you're all right, Sugar are pretty great, and while they still sound distinctly nineties, these records have weathered well for sure. Big crunchy guitars, crazy catchy choruses, a sound that's really not that far removed from Husker Du's Warehouse record.
1994's File Under Easy Listening was the band's swansong, and it too is a monster of kick ass noise pop record, hooks galore, some killer drumming, and a seriously hefty production that makes File sound even better than Copper Blue, but most importantly, some amazing songs, File is beefed up with a bunch of B sides and a whole live show (Available as a download in the lp version), both sets contain tons of photos and extensive liner notes, and yeah, I know I'm twenty years late, but this is getting some serious non-stop play. So for those of you who somehow missed out on Sugar, like some (one?) of us, absolutely and retroactively recommended.
I still don't like Can though.
MPEG Stream: "Gift"
MPEG Stream: "Company Book"
MPEG Stream: "Your Favorite Thing"

SUGARCUBES The Great Crossover Potential (Elektra) cd 15.98
13 songs from the Icelandic band "that redefined modern rock" (that's what the sticker says) and spawned the career of Bjork.

SUGARPLANT Happy (World Domination) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally took Eric of Giant Robot's advice and listened to this toothsome collection of their first 2 EPs. Excellent! This Japanese boy/girl duo cross My Bloody Valentine with Galaxie 500 into a thick sweet mixture, and add dreamy girl vocals. Every time we play this in store, someone asks "Wow, who is this!". Richly melodic. Very appealing on even the first listen, especially if all the new "drone" music is too spaced out for you.

SUICIDE American Supreme (Mute) cd 15.98
When you listen to the audio clip we've put up for you, you're going to think we made a mistake & mixed up some totally different disc with American Supreme. It *is*, however, the new Suicide, but it sounds nothing like the old, amazing Suicide many of us know and love (ah, "Cheree"), and not only that, but if you had to predict what Suicide would sound like 25+ years after their heyday (not that they were ever that popular, mind you), what you hear on that soundclip is the *last* thing you'd imagine. Turntablist scratching, funky bass, bwang bwang bwang guitar, annoyingly echoey vocals, keyboards that'd be more at home on a Parliament Funkadelic record. I kid you not! I guess these guys should be applauded for, um, updating their sound -- namely, Alan Vega's doped-out vocals with the 'echo' effect turned to 11, and Martin Rev's worrisomely hip, um, programming on the keyboards. Oh man. On the other hand, a lot of people are falling for it, so... all I can say is: listen to this album before you buy it!
RealAudio clip: "A Life in New Fragments"

SUICIDE Half Alive (ROIR) cd 14.98
A collection of some of the earliest recording by this seminal electro-punk duo of Alan Vega and Martin Rev. Dark, tense and seething. A stark, mad frenzy. Originally released back in 1981 on cassette only, but now released on cd with three bonus tracks.

SUICIDE s/t (Mute) 2cd 15.98
Disc one is their first, classic album, and the limited edition disc two features two live shows (CBGB's '77 and "23 Minutes Over Brussels").
MPEG Stream: "Ghost Rider"
MPEG Stream: "Rocket USA"

SUICIDE s/t (Red Star) lp 14.98

SUICIDE Second Album + First Rehearsal Tapes (Mute) 2cd 16.98

SUICIDE Zero Hour (Red Star) cd 14.98
Suicide live, NYC & Berlin 1978!

SULLIVAN, JIM U.F.O. (Light In The Attic) cd 15.98
We listed the vinyl version of this a little while back, and now finally we have enough of the cds in stock too, to list.
It's always pretty amazing when reissue labels continue to set high standards with rediscovered music. Especially when you think the well has surely gone dry, that they must have to heap loads of praise and hyperbole on a record that no one has heard of to get folks to buy it, only to have it not be as good as one hoped. That's what we were expecting going in to this 1969 private press Jim Sullivan record, when the label was describing it as a cross between Fred Neil and David Axelrod, two of our favorite musicians. While the description is somewhat apt, we couldn't help in our excitement over what we were hearing to come up with better comparisons like the Memphis swamp-folk of Tim Rose, the string-driven downer folk-blues of Tim Hardin or the lysergic folk-pop of Hoyt Axton (especially his debut, My Griffin is Gone). Needless to say, we are loving this record!
U.F.O. is a unique hybrid of Southern-fried world-weary folk with classic top-notch LA studio production sheen. Backed by the legendary Wrecking Crew, Sullivan's earthy but wide-eyed existentialism is cradled in stunning atmospheric orchestral arrangements that give deeper scope to the song's melancholic luster. Why this wasn't a major studio release at the time is a mystery because it sure sounds like one. But mysteries seem to have dogged Jim Sullivan throughout his life, as he strangely disappeared in 1975 in the New Mexico desert. His belongings abandoned, his motel room untouched.
Light in the Attic has done an incredible job of piecing together Sullivan's backstory and disappearance, but with no definitive resolution except for the legacy of one of the best lost folk records we've heard in a long while. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Plain As Your Eyes Can See"
MPEG Stream: "Rosey"
MPEG Stream: "Johnny"

SULLIVAN, JIM U.F.O. (Light In The Attic) lp 21.00
It's always pretty amazing when reissue labels continue to set high standards with rediscovered music. Especially when you think the well has surely gone dry, that they must have to heap loads of praise and hyperbole on a record that no one has heard of to get folks to buy it, only to have it not be as good as one hoped. That's what we were expecting going in to this 1969 private press Jim Sullivan record, when the label was describing it as a cross between Fred Neil and David Axelrod, two of our favorite musicians. While the description is somewhat apt, we couldn't help in our excitement over what we were hearing to come up with better comparisons like the Memphis swamp-folk of Tim Rose, the string-driven downer folk-blues of Tim Hardin or the lysergic folk-pop of Hoyt Axton (especially his debut, My Griffin is Gone). Needless to say, we are loving this record!
U.F.O. is a unique hybrid of Southern-fried world-weary folk with classic top-notch LA studio production sheen. Backed by the legendary Wrecking Crew, Sullivan's earthy but wide-eyed existentialism is cradled in stunning atmospheric orchestral arrangements that give deeper scope to the song's melancholic luster. Why this wasn't a major studio release at the time is a mystery because it sure sounds like one. But mysteries seem to have dogged Jim Sullivan throughout his life, as he strangely disappeared in 1975 in the New Mexico desert. His belongings abandoned, his motel room untouched.
Light in the Attic has done an incredible job of piecing together Sullivan's backstory and disappearance, but with no definitive resolution except for the legacy of one of the best lost folk records we've heard in a long while. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Plain As Your Eyes Can See"
MPEG Stream: "Rosey"
MPEG Stream: "Johnny"

SULTAN, MARK Hold On / I Hear A New World (Sub Pop) 7" 5.98

SULTANS Ghost Ship (Swami/Sympathy for the Record Industry) cd 12.98
Led by John Reis, of so many San Diego bands (namely, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, and more recently Back Off Cupids and Hot Snakes). Very rawk. For punks who find his other bands too arty! This is incredibly raw and fresh, completely unpretentious gasguzzling powermad rock'n'roll. And you have to admire their balls in making an album that cost absolutely nothing to record: used tape, used DAT, busted 8-track cut down to a 6-track. Really.

SUMAC, YMA Miracles (The Omni Recording Corporation) cd 17.98
Wow, did you know that the debut record by purported Peruvian princess Yma Sumac (1922-2008), was the biggest selling release of 1950? This isn't that album, Voice Of The Xtabay, though, rather it's her 1971 (yes, once again, 1971 blows the mind) rock-oriented comeback attempt, Miracles, this remastered reissue being the first time officially on cd for this rare record, which didn't stay in print very long originally, due to legal differences between Sumac and her label. So not so many folks heard this one, but now they can, if they dare!
While one could perhaps imagine something even more far-out from Sumac in '71, her fabled five octave range offering tantalizing possibilities for Yoko Ono or Brainticket style freakouts, this is definitely NOT your father's lounge music, either! Before titling it Miracles, they almost called it Jungle Rock, and it was definitely an attempt to introduce Yma Sumac to a new generation of fans. In this effort to be hip and happening, the inventive orchestration and contemporary rock band backing (fuzz guitars, swirling organ) come close to being as wild as her voice.
Interestingly, this album found the "Queen Of Exotica" once again teamed up with the "King" - Les Baxter, her collaborator on Voice Of The Xtabay! He was brought in to compose and conduct, and is responsible for writing all the tracks here but one (a cover of popular Peruvian folk number "El Condor Pasa").
These songs, with titles like "Medicine Man", "Flame Tree", "Azure Sands", "Zebra", and "Magenta Mountain", certainly showcase Sumac's remarkable voice - soaring altissimo, deep growling, startling squeaking, everything in between - as accompanied by swinging, fuzzed out psych rock grooves and otherworldly arrangements. Downright "lysergic" as some would have it. Others might call the combination corny... some of this sounds like the most unhinged nightclub act ever.
Leadoff track "Remember" sets the pace, Sumac's band ready to rumble, guitars crashing in like maybe she's gonna start singing "Jumping Jack Flash" but her vocals are all wordless whoops and warble (like a human Thermin) and ludicrous, Muppet-like grumble. Crazy stuff. This even reminds us a bit of the sort of Third World garage psych now being comped on such recent collections as Thai? Dai! and The Sound Of Siam, an interesting synchronicity. Who was unintentionally inspiring who?
It's hard to know what Yma Sumac purists will think about this over the top, modish Incan instro-hipster act. (Are there Yma Sumac purists?) This album's certainly a strange one, all right, utter extreme eccentric exotica. Exotic for the "jungle" themes, and all the more exotic now for its dated psychsploitation angle.
Brought to us by one of our favorite reissue labels, Australia's Omni Recording Corporation, who make sure provide extensive, fascinating liner notes (touching on this album's kinship with other albums of "psychedelic opportunism" of the era like Muddy Waters' Electric Mud, Bo Diddley's Black Gladiator, and Chubby Checker's New Revelation) in the colorfully illustrated cd booklet. Also, three previously unreleased bonus tracks have been added to the disc!
MPEG Stream: "Remember"
MPEG Stream: "Medicine Man"
MPEG Stream: "Savage Rock"

SUMMER CATS Songs For Tuesdays (Slumberland) cd 10.98
Where were you in '92? If you were anything like some of us you were getting swept off your feet by the amazingly infectious sound of a new breed of indie pop bands who were pumping out catchy gems that were as just as hook laden as they were raw and energetic and feisty.
Summer Cats are a brand new band who just so happen to be channeling that same golden age of indie pop, with some pretty sizzling results! Featuring both female and male vocals, and songs with no wasted space, Songs For Tuesdays is an album that reminds us why we fell in love with bands like Superchunk, Velocity Girl, and Tsunami back in the day. They even manage to capture the full on pop side of The Breeders on some of these songs. Summer Cats are able to tap into that same kind of of wide eyed exuberant songcraft, whipping out the kind of summer (duh!) jams that are meant to be blasted LOUD on neverending summer days. Slumberland continues to be the label to trust when it comes to smart and satisfying pop done so right.
MPEG Stream: "Let's Go"
MPEG Stream: "Super"
MPEG Stream: "Waking Up"

SUMMER CATS Songs For Tuesdays (Slumberland) lp 9.98
Where were you in '92? If you were anything like some of us you were getting swept off your feet by the amazingly infectious sound of a new breed of indie pop bands who were pumping out catchy gems that were as just as hook laden as they were raw and energetic and feisty.
Summer Cats are a brand new band who just so happen to be channeling that same golden age of indie pop, with some pretty sizzling results! Featuring both female and male vocals, and songs with no wasted space, Songs For Tuesdays is an album that reminds us why we fell in love with bands like Superchunk, Velocity Girl, and Tsunami back in the day. They even manage to capture the full on pop side of The Breeders on some of these songs. Summer Cats are able to tap into that same kind of of wide eyed exuberant songcraft, whipping out the kind of summer (duh!) jams that are meant to be blasted LOUD on neverending summer days. Slumberland continues to be the label to trust when it comes to smart and satisfying pop done so right.
MPEG Stream: "Let's Go"
MPEG Stream: "Super"
MPEG Stream: "Waking Up"

SUMMER CATS Your Timetable (Slumberland) 7" 5.50
We kind of think the Summer Cats have gotten a bit overlooked in the awesome rebirth of Slumberland records. We loved their peppy and additive full length and this new 7" is making us hope that more folks get turned on to their totally upbeat, immediate and yes, totally Summer soaked sounds, in the tradition of the glory days of sugary pop fueled indie rock like Superchunk, Velocity Girl, Rocketship, Tiger Trap, Heavenly, Henry's Dress, and Boyracer. And with all the disjointed and warped lo-fi sounds we've been bombarded with lately it sounds so damn cleansing and beyond refreshing to hear some seriously sunhsiney pop. Summercats understand that to play this kind of music it has to be all killer and no filler, and they totally get that. Both these songs immediately jump into their hooks and pop glory and leave no room for wasted space or lingering moments. It's immediate, way catchy and gloriously sunny.

SUMMER HYMNS A Celebratory Arm Gesture (Misra) cd 13.98
With the sunlit psych melodies of, say, the Olivia Tremor Control, and the hushed sweetly plaintive vocal delivery of Flaming Lips, Fuck, For Stars, or Grandaddy, plus a much smaller, more intimate right-there-in-front-of-you sound, Summer Hymns have made a pretty album. It's not the best of the current crop of bright eyed young Elephant 6 popsters, but it's pretty good nonetheless.
RealAudio clip: "Something's Going On"

SUMMER HYMNS Clemency (Misra) cd 14.98
As with their two previous full lengths, Athens' Summer Hymns have made a nice album that's certainly pleasant enough but not particularly memorable. Head songsmith Zach Gresham and drummer Philip Brown have taken their pretty psych pop sound, complete with Flaming Lips-y / Grandaddy-ish plaintive vocals, and with the addition of two new members named Matt (Dawson and Stoessel) have fleshed out their sound with a whole lot of mournful, twangin' pedal steel, as well as some banjo, mandolin and dobro. Been listening to a lot of Gram Parsons, I'll bet. The result is mellow and pretty but, well, nothing special. I'd recommend any Court and Spark record over this one.
MPEG Stream: "This Hip Hop"
MPEG Stream: "Be Anywhere"

SUMMER HYMNS Voice Brother and Sister (Misra) cd 14.98
Although the moniker "Elephant 6" does not appear anywhere on this disc, it might as well. Summer Hymns is from Athens, Georgia, like the Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel before them, and they're sporting the same ole pretty pop-psychedelic melodies and drawings and lyrics and what have you. It's unfortunate that they add nothing that's original to the mix, but fans of Elephant 6 stuff will still find much to like.

SUN I'll Be The Same (Staubgold) cd 15.98
The sun is warm, the sun lights the way, the sun brings life... what's in a name? Well, it's certainly no misnomer for this group. It'll Be The Same is the second album from Sun, not to be confused with SUNNO))), although these guys are also a duo (Oren Ambarchi and Chris Townsend) and half of 'em (Mr. Ambarchi) have collaborated with SUNNO))) in the past. This Sun isn't from Southern Lord, but from the southern hemisphere (Australia), and play purely pop music, slow and soft and hushed but nothing doomy or blackened at all... some gentle droniness certainly does creep in, experimental glitch techniques n' textures that are of course what we might expect from Oren Ambarchi, who after all is known for solo albums along those lines (in fact, there's a great new one by him, actually on Southern Lord, reviewed on this list too). There are layers of static and field recordings (Townsend's children's voices, perhaps?) that along with Oren and Chris's own voices and guitar strums are formed into six moodily relaxed, truly sun-dappled, electro-acoustic folky-pop songs... a calm, cryptically detailed setting for lovely, wistful vocals that remind us of the Skygreen Leopards' Glenn Donaldson and Richard Youngs.
We loved Sun's first self-titled album (and extra disc of experimental remixes) back in 2003, and are happy to finally hear this excellent follow-up!
MPEG Stream: "Mosquito"
MPEG Stream: "Help Yerself"

SUN I'll Be The Same (Important) lp 16.98
Also now on vinyl! Here's our review of the cd, highlighted last time: The sun is warm, the sun lights the way, the sun brings life... what's in a name? Well, it's certainly no misnomer for this group. It'll Be The Same is the second album from Sun, not to be confused with SUNNO))), although these guys are also a duo (Oren Ambarchi and Chris Townsend) and half of 'em (Mr. Ambarchi) have collaborated with SUNNO))) in the past. This Sun isn't from Southern Lord, but from the southern hemisphere (Australia), and play purely pop music, slow and soft and hushed but nothing doomy or blackened at all... some gentle droniness certainly does creep in, experimental glitch techniques n' textures that are of course what we might expect from Oren Ambarchi, who after all is known for solo albums along those lines (in fact, there's a great new one by him, actually on Southern Lord, reviewed on this list too). There are layers of static and field recordings (Townsend's children's voices, perhaps?) that along with Oren and Chris's own voices and guitar strums are formed into six moodily relaxed, truly sun-dappled, electro-acoustic folky-pop songs... a calm, cryptically detailed setting for lovely, wistful vocals that remind us of the Skygreen Leopards' Glenn Donaldson and Richard Youngs.
We loved Sun's first self-titled album (and extra disc of experimental remixes) back in 2003, and are happy to finally hear this excellent follow-up!
MPEG Stream: "Mosquito"
MPEG Stream: "Help Yerself"

SUN s/t (Staubgold) 2cd 16.98
Aussie guitar experimentalist Oren Ambarchi has been a prolific gent of late, mainly doing droney improv glitch stuff we've been diggin'. But we know there's other musical sides to his personality as well -- after all, we first encountered him playing in the loud n' noisy scatological Boredoms/Buttholes influenced band Phlegm back in the early '90s. So now here's another, new and different Ambarchi project, a duo by the name of Sun (not to be confused with the doomster duo Sunn) that pairs Ambarchi with one Chris Townend (described as an "Australian music figurehead" whatever that means). And it's not noise, or drone, or improv, or electronics -- it's full on indie-pop! Really nice too, with laid back drum beats, gentle vocals, and pretty guitar strum. They're called Sun (and there's some la la las sung) but they'll have you thinking of rainy days too with their lazy, wistful songs. It's got that 60s Beatles/Floyd filtered through 90s indie-pop thing, like a Elephant 6 band or the Aislers Set or something.
Originally released in 2001 in Australia only, Sun's debut has now been licensed by Staubgold for the rest of the planet. What's great is that they've also tacked on a 2nd bonus disc of remixes, featuring all the tracks from the album redone (or done in) by the likes of Pluramon, Hrvatski, Christoph Heeman, Rafael Toral, Pimmon, Mapstation, Tom Recchion and Norbert Moslang of Voice Crack! Quite an international lineup of experimental artists there, reinterpreting the music of Sun in ways closer to what you're used to hearing from Ambarchi. Droney and fucked up, these mixes add a lot to the package, making it not just real nice but really interesting as well. And what other pretty pop duo would get Voice Crack to do a remix?? I guess Ambarchi might just be angling to become the next Jim O'Rourke...
MPEG Stream: "Sleepin'"
MPEG Stream: "Reach For The Sky (Pluramon mix)"

SUN s/t (Staubgold) 2lp 17.98
Vinyl now available! Aussie guitar experimentalist Oren Ambarchi has been a prolific gent of late, mainly doing droney improv glitch stuff we've been diggin'. But we know there's other musical sides to his personality as well -- after all, we first encountered him playing in the loud n' noisy scatological Boredoms/Buttholes influenced band Phlegm back in the early '90s. So now here's another, new and different Ambarchi project, a duo by the name of Sun (not to be confused with the doomster duo Sunn) that pairs Ambarchi with one Chris Townend (described as an "Australian music figurehead" whatever that means). And it's not noise, or drone, or improv, or electronics -- it's full on indie-pop! Really nice too, with laid back drum beats, gentle vocals, and pretty guitar strum. They're called Sun (and there's some la la las sung) but they'll have you thinking of rainy days too with their lazy, wistful songs. It's got that 60s Beatles/Floyd filtered through 90s indie-pop thing, like a Elephant 6 band or the Aislers Set or something.
Originally released in 2001 in Australia only, Sun's debut has now been licensed by Staubgold for the rest of the planet. What's great is that they've also tacked on an extra two sides of remixes, featuring all the tracks from the album redone (or done in) by the likes of Pluramon, Hrvatski, Christoph Heeman, Rafael Toral, Pimmon, Mapstation, Tom Recchion and Norbert Moslang of Voice Crack! Quite an international lineup of experimental artists there, reinterpreting the music of Sun in ways closer to what you're used to hearing from Ambarchi. Droney and fucked up, these mixes add a lot to the package, making it not just real nice but really interesting as well. And what other pretty pop duo would get Voice Crack to do a remix?? I guess Ambarchi might just be angling to become the next Jim O'Rourke...
MPEG Stream: "Sleepin'"
MPEG Stream: "Reach For The Sky (Pluramon mix)"

SUN ALSO RISES, THE s/t (Scenescof) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SUN ARAW Ancient Romans (Sun Ark Records) cd 14.98
For all the deserved attention and press the whole Los Angeles musical underground has been receiving in the last couple years, we still think that Sun Araw, aka Cameron Stallones, is perhaps the most unique musical visionary to come out of that scene. Beyond being so prolific, the quality of his proper records just gets increasingly better and better. On Patrol was one of our favorite albums of 2010, and with Ancient Romans, Sun Araw continues to move forward from that dubbed out blueprint and expand on what has become one of the most singular sounds of any new band of the last decade.
The moment the album starts, you immediately understand that you are at the beginning of a ceremony, some sort of stange sonic ritual, which requires the listener to open up to completely, wholly trusting in these sounds to carry you away. With dirty, hypnotic organs for the opening tones, setting the stage for the textured and layered dubbed out trip that will unfold over the next 80 minutes. More then almost any band we can think of, Sun Araw is a master of creating a unified vibe. The tracks on Ancient Romans just melt in and out of each other, you lose track of what song is playing, and instead just get lost deep in the fuzzed out grooves, and tripped out meditations. It's hard to explain when music feels this spiritual, it's just something you feel and trust. And with Sun Araw we get that feeling so intensely. It places you in some dusty, archaic temple that we could imagine was transported directly from Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain. Once inside the temple, you forget about the trivial details of the everyday, and instead leave your body and find yourself somewhere mystical, magical and totally transcendent. This is going to be a contender for record of the year!
MPEG Stream: "Lucretius"
MPEG Stream: "Fit For Caesar"
MPEG Stream: "Crete"

SUN ARAW Ancient Romans (Sun Ark Records) 2lp 21.00
AT LAST, REPRESSED ON VINYL!!!
For all the deserved attention and press the whole Los Angeles musical underground has been receiving in the last couple years, we still think that Sun Araw, aka Cameron Stallones, is perhaps the most unique musical visionary to come out of that scene. Beyond being so prolific, the quality of his proper records just gets increasingly better and better. On Patrol was one of our favorite albums of 2010, and with Ancient Romans, Sun Araw continues to move forward from that dubbed out blueprint and expand on what has become one of the most singular sounds of any new band of the last decade.
The moment the album starts, you immediately understand that you are at the beginning of a ceremony, some sort of stange sonic ritual, which requires the listener to open up to completely, wholly trusting in these sounds to carry you away. With dirty, hypnotic organs for the opening tones, setting the stage for the textured and layered dubbed out trip that will unfold over the next 80 minutes. More then almost any band we can think of, Sun Araw is a master of creating a unified vibe. The tracks on Ancient Romans just melt in and out of each other, you lose track of what song is playing, and instead just get lost deep in the fuzzed out grooves, and tripped out meditations. It's hard to explain when music feels this spiritual, it's just something you feel and trust. And with Sun Araw we get that feeling so intensely. It places you in some dusty, archaic temple that we could imagine was transported directly from Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain. Once inside the temple, you forget about the trivial details of the everyday, and instead leave your body and find yourself somewhere mystical, magical and totally transcendent. This is going to be a contender for record of the year! [And indeed, was!]
MPEG Stream: "Lucretius"
MPEG Stream: "Fit For Caesar"
MPEG Stream: "Crete"

SUN ARAW Beach Head (Sun Ark) lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A reissue of record number two from Sun Araw, aka Magic Lanterns guitarist Cameron Stallone, and much like the other SA releases, Beach Head is a fuzzy, druggy, washed out, effects heavy psychedelic krautdrone new age blow out. Four extended tracks of smoldering minimal drift, soft cacophonies of bells and chimes wrapped in streaks of feedback and swirls of spaced out FX, undulating tendrils of sitar buzz, warped calliope melodies, and muted almost folky twang, everything sun dappled and Technicolor ear candy.
"Thoughts Are Bells" is indeed a bell heavy intro, a slow building, dronescape of percussive swirl, smoothed out angular guitars, and a slow motion avalanche of effects and buried melodies. "Horse Steppin'" is all laid back tropicalia via Ariel Pink, and broadcast through loud speakers hung from palm trees on some deserted tropical island. Flirting with Ducktails style lo-fi tropical garage pop, but transforming it into a reverb drenched bit of slow dreampop, that almost sounds like Animal Collective being spun manually at about 10rpm, the guitars glisten, the drums are muted and barely there, the vocals are soaked in echo and delay, everything laid back and stretched out and washed out, hazy and lazy and bleary and deliriously dreamlike.
The rest of the record doesn't deviate too much from those first two tracks, "Beams" manages to fuse the two, the sort of raga drift of the first with the slowcore blurpop of the second, into a Spacemen 3 style druggy drone, replete with woozy basslines, ethereal guitar atmospherics, and all the other various elements, vocals, drums, buried in a glorious sonic murk, while "Bridal Filly", takes the same combination, but stretches it WAY out into something even still more indistinct, an almost Tim Hecker-ish landscape of blurred grit, and pixelated melody, softly pulsing melodies, weightless wordless vox, muted percussion, swaths of thick buzz, eventually coalescing around another lumbering bassline, into some total stoner zoner psych drone spacerock drift. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Thoughts Are Bells"
MPEG Stream: "Horse Steppin"

SUN ARAW Heavy Deeds (Not Not Fun) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Jeez, guitarist Cameron Stallones has been on a roll lately with his solo endeavor Sun Araw. His third lp on the hugely prolific Not Not Fun label, Heavy Deeds picks up where the Phynx left off, more slow grooving jammers that fall somewhere between psych soul and pop-hop. Wailing delayed-out guitar, tons of wah and tons of soul, catchy vocal passages call out over and over as a leisurely turning lumber plods on with a hypnotic groove. Kinda like listening to a Suicide song on half speed while starring at the sun on a warm beach in Florida, whip out the hula shirts and Robitussin, it's going to be a trippy afternoon. All five tracks are so densely layered with all kinds of organ flutters, ripping solos, mumbling vocals its easy to get lost in Sun Araw's psychotic world of ultra catchy, mind melting blues. There's no doubt this kid has loads of talent, and is super productive, and we have to say we really dig Sun Araw's ability to balance pop sensibility with over the top psychedelic melt-down. There's enough here to get a song or two stuck in your head, without the music being at all straight forward or simple, pretty rad. Oh and by the way, the cd version comes with a killer bonus track titled "Hey Mandala"!
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Deeds"
MPEG Stream: "Hustle And Bustle"

SUN ARAW Heavy Deeds (Not Not Fun) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Back in print...for how long we don't know!
Jeez, guitarist Cameron Stallones has been on a roll lately with his solo endeavor Sun Araw. His third lp on the hugely prolific Not Not Fun label, Heavy Deeds picks up where the Phynx left off, more slow grooving jammers that fall somewhere between psych soul and pop-hop. Wailing delayed-out guitar, tons of wah and tons of soul, catchy vocal passages call out over and over as a leisurely turning lumber plods on with a hypnotic groove. Kinda like listening to a Suicide song on half speed while starring at the sun on a warm beach in Florida, whip out the hula shirts and Robitussin, it's going to be a trippy afternoon. All five tracks are so densely layered with all kinds of organ flutters, ripping solos, mumbling vocals its easy to get lost in Sun Araw's psychotic world of ultra catchy, mind melting blues. There's no doubt this kid has loads of talent, and is super productive, and we have to say we really dig Sun Araw's ability to balance pop sensibility with over the top psychedelic melt-down. There's enough here to get a song or two stuck in your head, without the music being at all straight forward or simple, pretty rad. Oh and by the way, the cd version comes with a killer bonus track titled "Hey Mandala"!
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Deeds"
MPEG Stream: "Hustle And Bustle"

SUN ARAW Houston Abstros (Monofonus Press) 7" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Brand new chunk of hazy, druggy, dubbed out psychedelic groove from Sun Araw, aka Cameron Stallones, and it's a doozy, still dipping heavily into reggae and dub for inspiration, with wah wah guitar, woozy groovy bass, and now with what sounds like African high life style vocals, all draped over a wavery droning synth, which adds a weird bit of tension, the sound a dizzying hybrid, but one that kind of works, the guitars grow more active, getting crunchier, adding texture and melody to the proceedings, but all still wedded to that main groove, which pulses and undulates seductively the whole time. If you dug the last few SA records, this jam will be right up your alley. The weird thing here is the B side, which finds Stallones covering Teenage Fanclub, and utterly transforming it into some strange tropical dubbed out power pop jam, all gauzy and shimmery, laced with bird sounds, all sorts of FX squiggles, still underpinned by that droning synth tone, but there's real riffing, and real singing, but tenuously wrapped around all the murky swirl and dubby drift underneath, but again it kind of works. If you weren't familiar with the original, you might not even realize it's a cover, but if you are, you might just like this version too.
MPEG Stream: "Bump Up"
MPEG Stream: "December"

SUN ARAW Inner Treaty (Sun Araw) cd 14.98
Cameron Stallones is back from his pilgrimage to Jamaica, where he made that FRKWYS album with The Congos, and now offers up a new Sun Araw album on his own Sun Ark imprint, full of damaged grooves and new twisted strain of avant dub weirdness, fragmented and spaced out, stumbling and super loose, the guitars spidery and echoey, the rhythms skittery and a bit abstract, the vocals doused in effects and WAY up in the mix, the whole thing sounds like it's melting, gradually decaying, peppered with blasts of fuzzy synth, swaths of swirly organ, percussion that sounds like clinking bottles, shuffling processed glitches. The tracks stutter and hiccup, never locking into a groove, so much as drifting and slipping from sound to sound, a series of swells, often fading out to near silence, before slipping back into it, some folks here thought it sounded kinda like Blues Control making a reggae album, while someone builds furniture next door (!), but some of us definitely got a serious Fastest vibe, total fractured outsider whatthefuck weirdo reggae action that will definitely have lots of folks scratching their heads and wondering what the hell is happening here. Although plenty of other folks will flip for Stallones' new, more damaged incarnation. Listen to the sound samples, and you'll know pretty much right away, which side you'll find yourself on.
Meandering and gloriously unfocused, The Inner Treaty definitely lacks some of the catchiness and groove of past Sun Araw releases, but for what it lacks in those areas, it makes up for in confusional weirdness, lacing its sundappled WTF dub with James Ferraro weirdo-wave retro VHS wooziness, and Ariel Pink / John Maus style avant drama-pop, and tangles it all up into something totally bizarre, something in fact that is so fucked up, it's like a musical car crash, we don't necessarily WANT to keep listening really, but somehow can't seem to stop ourselves. Very reservedly recommended, and even then, only for folks who like their music a bit baffling. Which come to think of it, is probably a whole lot of you.
MPEG Stream: "Out Of Town"
MPEG Stream: "Grip"
MPEG Stream: "Like Wine"

SUN ARAW Inner Treaty (Sun Araw) 2lp 17.98
Now here to list on vinyl too!
Cameron Stallones is back from his pilgrimage to Jamaica, where he made that FRKWYS album with The Congos, and now offers up a new Sun Araw album on his own Sun Ark imprint, full of damaged grooves and new twisted strain of avant dub weirdness, fragmented and spaced out, stumbling and super loose, the guitars spidery and echoey, the rhythms skittery and a bit abstract, the vocals doused in effects and WAY up in the mix, the whole thing sounds like it's melting, gradually decaying, peppered with blasts of fuzzy synth, swaths of swirly organ, percussion that sounds like clinking bottles, shuffling processed glitches. The tracks stutter and hiccup, never locking into a groove, so much as drifting and slipping from sound to sound, a series of swells, often fading out to near silence, before slipping back into it, some folks here thought it sounded kinda like Blues Control making a reggae album, while someone builds furniture next door (!), but some of us definitely got a serious Fastest vibe, total fractured outsider whatthefuck weirdo reggae action that will definitely have lots of folks scratching their heads and wondering what the hell is happening here. Although plenty of other folks will flip for Stallones' new, more damaged incarnation. Listen to the sound samples, and you'll know pretty much right away, which side you'll find yourself on.
Meandering and gloriously unfocused, The Inner Treaty definitely lacks some of the catchiness and groove of past Sun Araw releases, but for what it lacks in those areas, it makes up for in confusional weirdness, lacing its sundappled WTF dub with James Ferraro weirdo-wave retro VHS wooziness, and Ariel Pink / John Maus style avant drama-pop, and tangles it all up into something totally bizarre, something in fact that is so fucked up, it's like a musical car crash, we don't necessarily WANT to keep listening really, but somehow can't seem to stop ourselves. Very reservedly recommended, and even then, only for folks who like their music a bit baffling. Which come to think of it, is probably a whole lot of you.
MPEG Stream: "Out Of Town"
MPEG Stream: "Grip"
MPEG Stream: "Like Wine"

SUN ARAW Off Duty (Woodsist) lp 14.98
As if the music of lysergic, lo-fi drugdub one man band Sun Araw wasn't flipped out and damaged enough, on this latest joint, those already tweaked and twisted sounds get even more far out, the vibe WAY druggier and spacier, a 26 minute blast of crumbling wah-guitar laced psychdub comedown in the form of three skull caving soul freeing innerspace excursions.
"Last Chants" begins with a dense swirling cloud of white noise and damaged effects, shot through with barely there melodies, and loose detuned riffage, as the noise gradually fades out, it reveals the strange slow motion cough syrup psychfunk dub drawl lurking underneath, woozy wah guitar, echo drenched Sly Stone vox, streaked with shards of high end shimmer, distorted fuzzy crunch, all hazy and blurry as if run through a series of bongs, all roped to a loping lugubrious barely there rhythm.
"Midnight Locker" is way more dubby, fragmented rhythms, and strange vocal oooh's, drift in a sea of swirling whirring low end thrum, woozy bass slithers throughout, cowbells surface here and there, little bits of wah, spidery tendrils of psychedelic guitar, the buzz and blur eventually recede leaving just a strange assemblage of percussion and guitar, all over a distant rumbling shimmer, but mostly it's spare and spacious and still seriously drugged out.
And finally, "Deep Temple" starts out almost like a proper dub jam, but within seconds, that woozy groove is wreathed in gorgeously blown out prismatic sheets of shimmery sound, an impossibly shoegazey dub drone bliss out of the highest order, twisted and looped, and as the track progresses more and more heavy and psychedelic.
The cd version tacks on an additional 18 minutes, 2008's Boat Trip ep, which is a bit more lo-fi and a bit more minimal, long stretches of low slung bass rumble, thick swaths of shimmering drones, crumbling distorted heaviness, reverbed vox, loping and hypnotic, still dubby, but not nearly as blown out and explosive, a sort of meditative dreamy druggy coda. So cool...
MPEG Stream: "Last Chants"
MPEG Stream: "Midnight Locker"
MPEG Stream: "In The Trees"

SUN ARAW Off Duty / Boat Trip (Woodsist) cd 13.98
As if the music of lysergic, lo-fi drugdub one man band Sun Araw wasn't flipped out and damaged enough, on this latest joint, those already tweaked and twisted sounds get even more far out, the vibe WAY druggier and spacier, a 26 minute blast of crumbling wah-guitar laced psychdub comedown in the form of three skull caving soul freeing innerspace excursions.
"Last Chants" begins with a dense swirling cloud of white noise and damaged effects, shot through with barely there melodies, and loose detuned riffage, as the noise gradually fades out, it reveals the strange slow motion cough syrup psychfunk dub drawl lurking underneath, woozy wah guitar, echo drenched Sly Stone vox, streaked with shards of high end shimmer, distorted fuzzy crunch, all hazy and blurry as if run through a series of bongs, all roped to a loping lugubrious barely there rhythm.
"Midnight Locker" is way more dubby, fragmented rhythms, and strange vocal oooh's, drift in a sea of swirling whirring low end thrum, woozy bass slithers throughout, cowbells surface here and there, little bits of wah, spidery tendrils of psychedelic guitar, the buzz and blur eventually recede leaving just a strange assemblage of percussion and guitar, all over a distant rumbling shimmer, but mostly it's spare and spacious and still seriously drugged out.
And finally, "Deep Temple" starts out almost like a proper dub jam, but within seconds, that woozy groove is wreathed in gorgeously blown out prismatic sheets of shimmery sound, an impossibly shoegazey dub drone bliss out of the highest order, twisted and looped, and as the track progresses more and more heavy and psychedelic.
The cd version tacks on an additional 18 minutes, 2008's Boat Trip ep, which is a bit more lo-fi and a bit more minimal, long stretches of low slung bass rumble, thick swaths of shimmering drones, crumbling distorted heaviness, reverbed vox, loping and hypnotic, still dubby, but not nearly as blown out and explosive, a sort of meditative dreamy druggy coda. So cool...
MPEG Stream: "Last Chants"
MPEG Stream: "Midnight Locker"
MPEG Stream: "In The Trees"

SUN ARAW On Patrol (Not Not Fun) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest cloud of smoked out dub psych damage from this one man band, a massive sprawling album, every song bleeding into the next, one epic druggy abstract sonic trip. The Sun Araw sound keeps drifting further and further out, and in the process, approaching something that sounds a bit like reggae, but filtered through a cracked Not Not Fun filter, and a bank of busted amps and malfunctioning effects pedals. Oh and pot smoke. Lots and lots of pot smoke.
Woozy, warbly, prismatic, sun baked (and just plain baked), stripped down, dubbed out, inner space drift. Wah Wah guitars hover over skeletal rhythms, reverb and delay coats everything in earshot, disembodied chantlike vox are draped over SA's twisted mutant lo-fi dub. The record drifts into some warped murk, still peppered with plenty of upstroke reggae guitar jangle, but wrapped in wheezing keyboards and some super distorted fuzz bass.
The second record begins all ethereal and new age, some hushed glimmering ambient drift, near static, before launching into some dubby krautrock, muted and muddy and minimal, flurries of keyboard tangle spray notes at the relentless motorik pulse, still more abstract vox and lots of gorgeously spidery guitars, all tangled up into minor key melodies that seem to fade into the background, the whole record sort of hazy and ghostly, while somehow remaining krauty and dubby. The sidelong final side strips everything away, or piles it all on, blurring and smearing and winding everything into a dense layered drift, looped and hypnotic and psychedelic, that wouldn't sound out of place on a Monopoly Child Star Searchers record. Rad stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Ma Holo"
MPEG Stream: "The Stakeout"
MPEG Stream: "Deep Cover"

SUN ARAW On Patrol (Not Not Fun) 2lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest cloud of smoked out dub psych damage from this one man band, a massive sprawling double lp, every song bleeding into the next, one epic druggy abstract sonic trip. The Sun Araw sound keeps drifting further and further out, and in the process, approaching something that sounds a bit like reggae, but filtered through a cracked Not Not Fun filter, and a bank of busted amps and malfunctioning effects pedals. Oh and pot smoke. Lots and lots of pot smoke.
Woozy, warbly, prismatic, sun baked (and just plain baked), stripped down, dubbed out, inner space drift. Wah Wah guitars hover over skeletal rhythms, reverb and delay coats everything in earshot, disembodied chantlike vox are draped over SA's twisted mutant lo-fi dub. The record drifts into some warped murk, still peppered with plenty of upstroke reggae guitar jangle, but wrapped in wheezing keyboards and some super distorted fuzz bass.
The second record begins all ethereal and new age, some hushed glimmering ambient drift, near static, before launching into some dubby krautrock, muted and muddy and minimal, flurries of keyboard tangle spray notes at the relentless motorik pulse, still more abstract vox and lots of gorgeously spidery guitars, all tangled up into minor key melodies that seem to fade into the background, the whole record sort of hazy and ghostly, while somehow remaining krauty and dubby. The sidelong final side strips everything away, or piles it all on, blurring and smearing and winding everything into a dense layered drift, looped and hypnotic and psychedelic, that wouldn't sound out of place on a Monopoly Child Star Searchers record. Rad stuff. Thick vinyl, full color gatefold sleeve, and yeah, probably limited.

SUN ARAW Phynx (Not Not Fun) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Take the blown-out pop psych euphoria of Les Rallizes Denudes, throw in a dash of Parson Sound's hypnotic kraut feel, and you're getting close to honing in on the futuristic yet tribal psych jams effortlessly conjured up by Cameron Stallones, a member of Long Beach's Magic Lantern who goes it alone as Sun Araw. From the prolific folks at Not Not Fun, Phynx resounds with a heavy California daze, a drugged out, bluesy blend of face melting drones, fuzzed out guitar riffs, and repetitive clangy rhythms. Ritualistic and somehow modern, Sun Araw walks the line between pop and drone. Moments of the album are dense with catastrophic buzzing thickness, and other parts are more rockin' with a pretty defined heavy groovin' psych feel. All very guitar based, we're reminded of dudes like Ignatz, but less lo-fi and intimate, definitely more rhythmic and percussive. We're even sort of reminded of Brightblack's older stuff, heavy lethargic blues on Robitussin.
But Phynx is much more dense and perplexing. Layers of fuzz on top of layers of vocals on top of layers of drones...you get the idea. A seriously engaging album, there's tons of variety and small details to get all wrapped up in. And not to mention the sweet picture on the cover of some mysterious blindfolded figure in the dim hall of a library! Don't miss out on this California tribal psych gem!

SUN ARAW Sun Ark (Not Not Fun) 7" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two words we never thought we'd need these two words in a review of solo lysergic space psych outfit Sun Araw: Funky. And Reggae. But indeed this latest slab of effects drenched trip out, indeed requires both of those descriptors to do it justice.
The A side is all fuzzy bloopy bass, over a groovy loping rhythm, lots of wah guitar, drenched in effects, little squalls of psychedelic freakout here and there, super stripped down, synthy and spacey and yeah, a little bit funky. But in some weird way it totally works.
The flipside offers up, right out of the gate, some funky timbales, more wah guitars, he whole thing pretty blissed out and druggy for sure, with super tripped out stereo panning and warm wheezing organ, and a distinct and undeniable rocksteady vibe.
We're trying to remember if these tendencies were present in past Sun Araw outings, and we feel like they must have been, but it's not until now that they were allowed to blossom, seems strange, and it definitely sort of is, but we're digging it. Try to imagine the a totally drugged out, abstract, fuzzy, reverby, effects doused slightly funky, lo-fi reggae drone space jam, and this is probably it!

SUN ARAW & M. GEDDES GENDRAS MEET THE CONGOS FRKWYS Vol. 9 (RVNG ) lp 24.00
FINALLY!! Repressed or something. Now we finally can list this great album, on vinyl!!
Some deep and heady devotional vibes from this unlikely dream collaboration of Sun Araw, M Geddes Gendras and Reggae legends, The Congos for the latest installment of the RVNG label's FRKWYS series. Reminding us of a more churning and lysergic exploration of Dadawah's long form Nyabinghi jams, Icon Give Thanks as this disc is called turns the standard dub-reggae expectations on their heads and instead offers a strange brew of soft swells, smoky psych drift and oceanic dub interludes, punctuated by the honeyed falsetto vocals of elder statesmen Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson. This release has garnered the most divisive stance of the FRKWYS series among us at aQ so far, with some of us considering it one of the better collaborations and for others a squandered opportunity smacking of colonialism. Granted, the sound design relies heavily on the Sun Araw side of the coin, but his approach is hardly "the white boy playing reggae" criticisms this release has occasionally garnered. The sound, for one, hovers hazily in the air like swirling smoke while the grounding bass is pushed back way in the mix instead of anchoring it rhythmically. Each member of the collaboration has come together on the premise of praise and invocation of thanks, making this project a more spiritual concern than just a good-times-get-high-let's-jam together record. By the end of it, we're in a completely different headspace altogether, in reverent clouds of the Divine.
MPEG Stream: "Happy Song"
MPEG Stream: "Sunshine"
MPEG Stream: "Thanks and Give Praise"

SUN ARAW & M. GEDDES GENDRAS MEET THE CONGOS FRKWYS Vol. 9 (RVNG ) cd + dvd 16.98
Some deep and heady devotional vibes from this unlikely dream collaboration of Sun Araw, M Geddes Gendras and reggae legends The Congos for the latest installment of the RVNG label's FRKWYS series. Reminding us of a more churning and lysergic exploration of Dadawah's long form Nyabinghi jams, Icon Give Thank as this disc in the series is titled, turns the standard dub-reggae expectations on their heads and instead offers a strange brew of soft swells, smoky psych drift and oceanic dub interludes, punctuated by the honeyed falsetto vocals of elder statesmen Cedric Myton and Roydel Johnson from Congos. This release has garnered the most divisive stance of the FRKWYS series among us at aQ so far, with some of us considering it one of the better collaborations and for others a squandered opportunity smacking of colonialism. Granted, the sound design relies heavily on the Sun Araw side of the coin, but his approach is hardly "the white boy playing reggae" criticisms this release has occasionally garnered. The sound, for one, hovers hazily in the air like swirling smoke while the grounding bass is pushed back way in the mix instead of anchoring it rhythmically. Each member of the collaboration has come together on the premise of praise and invocation of thanks, making this project a more spiritual concern than just a good-times-get-high-let's-jam together record. By the end of it, we're in a completely different headspace altogether, in reverent clouds of the Divine.
And along with the cd, you get an hour-long dvd disc, called Icon Eye, a travelogue/documentary all about the collaboration process.
MPEG Stream: "Happy Song"
MPEG Stream: "Sunshine"
MPEG Stream: "Thanks and Give Praise"

SUN CIRCLE Lessness (Arbor Infinity) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first discovered the raga drone duo Sun Circle via a cd-r sent to the store, direct from the band, and as mentioned in the review of that very cd-r, somehow the disc got lost, only to be discovered literally YEARS later, only for us to finally listen to it, and be totally blown away. The band was as adept at growling howling humming dronemusic as it was at ephemeral atmospheric ambience, crafting their own variations of classic ragas, filtered through an aesthetic as informed by modern music, noise rock and who knows what else, as it was Indian classical music and 20th century minimalism.
On their newest, Lessness, as the title suggests, the band do indeed work with less, each side of the double lp performed on single instrument, either drums, tamboura or gong, but in doing so, manage to transform the minimal instrumentation into something lush and expansive, rhythmic and hypnotic.
The first side is just drums, and is most definitely the most minimal of the bunch, maybe too minimal for some, with just a very simple spare rhythm, pounded out on a drum, maybe several, but the sound is spare, and simple, but listen close, and listen for the whole of the side, and the sounds grow ever more complex, on the surface the rhythm never wavers, but as you get sucked in, the sounds do seems to come alive, the overtones, the subtle shifts in timbre, constantly evolving, but so subtly, it might not be noticeable unless you're in it for the long haul and have those headphones strapped on tight. Total rhythmic raga bliss.
The second two sides are both produced with just tambouras, and the sound is incredible, thick and layered, gorgeously lush, an organic, and living sound, the subtle colors of the sound reflective and prismatic, constantly shifting, intense and mesmerizing and strangely meditative and psychedelic. On the second tamboura side, the sound becomes a bit more structured, but only a bit, buzzing steel strings, subtly rhythmic, locked into a looped groove, deep rumbles beneath a repeated fragmented melody, the most traditionally raga sounding of the bunch, and like the two sides before it, seemingly unchanging, as if it really was looped, but this is the sort of sound that rewards deep listening, and blossoms into a world of complex sound, just below the surface.
Especially on the final side, which is all gongs, and very much like the Karen Stackpole records on Dielectric, the sounds is deep and resonant and so sonorous, ringing out, layered here and there, but more often left to just hover in space, before fading away, only to have another tone take its place, no processing, just the glorious sound of vibrating metal, dark and mysterious, meditative and hypnotic. So gorgeous.
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES!

SUN CITY GIRLS 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda (Locust) 3lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sun City Girls fans rejoice, the vinyl reissue of their epic crowning acheivement "330,003 Crossdressers..." is upon us. Originally released in 1996 on double cd only, "Crossdressers" almost certainly surpassed "Torch of the Mystics" as the Sun City Girls' most highly regarded recording. The tracks contained herein capture the Girls at their most creepy, beautiful and just downright inspired. Whether it's the plodingly gloomy song "CCC" with its rumbling piano, ominous guitar line, howled chorus and rain, or the So.Cal-esque punk arrangements of traditional sounding East Asian songs like "Soi Cowboy" or the numerous free-jazz meets Javanese gamelan experiments (actually sounds much better than the capsulated description might suggest), the Girls are at the peak of their game on these tracks. Possibly the most remarkable moment of all is the faux-Indian fusion acid-psych jam between the Girls and long time collaborator violinist Eyvind Kang, in which Kang convincingly plays Indian style violin improvisations with gentle accompaniment from the Girls before building into one of the most impressive freak-out frenzies the band has ever commited to tape. On the CD edition the track, "Ghost Ghat Trespass", had been wedded to another live jam between SCG and Kang "Sussmeier", but the two are separated at the spine on the LP with the first taking up the end of side 5 and the latter the beginning of side 6. Methinks this is a better setup any how because after listening to "Ghost Ghat..." it's nice not to be thrown immediately into the skronk of "Sussmeier" so directly. Which brings me to the issue of track arrangement. Though all the tracks included on the CD are present here, they are not in the same order. Which isn't that much of a problem, certainly not for those who've never owned the cd and have yet to wear a groove into their head of the way things "ought to be." The set is beautifully packaged in a double gatefold cover (though it appears the front cover image darkened a bit in the process) and includes a couple extra photos that did not come in the original package including a nice photo of the trio which many may recognize from their interview in The Wire a ways back and another of one of them exotic nekkid lady dancers they like so much. A final note, on the inside reads "this is a limited edition vinyl only release." You know what that means.
RealAudio clip: "Soi Cowboy"
RealAudio clip: "Lies Up The Niger"
RealAudio clip: "Ghost Ghat Trespass (excerpt 1)"
RealAudio clip: "Ghost Ghat Trespass (excerpt 2)"
RealAudio clip: "CCC"

SUN CITY GIRLS 330,003 Crossdressers From Beyond The Rig Veda (Get Back) 3lp box 68.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
ONCE AGAIN IN PRINT ON VINYL... at a not so nice price, unfortunately, but exquisitely presented in a swank box with some fancy printed inner sleeves, an appropriate presentation for one of this band's crowning achievements.
Originally released in 1996 on double cd the later as a triple lp (both those versions now out of print), "Crossdressers" almost certainly comes damn close to the sheer genius of "Torch of the Mystics", the Sun City Girls' most highly regarded recording. The tracks contained herein capture the Girls at their most creepy, beautiful and just downright inspired. Whether it's the ploddingly gloomy song "CCC" with its rumbling piano, ominous guitar line, howled chorus and rain, or the SoCal-esque punk arrangements of traditional sounding East Asian songs like "Soi Cowboy", or the numerous free-jazz meets Javanese gamelan experiments, the Girls are at the peak of their game on these tracks. Possibly the most remarkable moment of all is the faux-Indian fusion acid-psych jam between the Girls and long time collaborator violinist Eyvind Kang, in which Kang convincingly plays Indian style violin improvisations with gentle accompaniment from the Girls before building into one of the most impressive freak-out frenzies the band has ever committed to tape.
So goddamn good. Grab one of these before it goes out of print AGAIN.