TURBONEGRO Sexual Harassment (Scandinavian Leather) cd 14.98

TURBONEGRO Sexual Harassment (Scandinavian Leather / Volcom) lp 21.00

TURBONEGRO The Movie (Blitzcore) dvd 22.00

TURBONEGRO The Reserection (MVD) dvd 17.98

TURID I Retur (Silence) cd 17.98
Guys (girls?) here's your fantasy '70s Swedish hippy folksinging girlfriend! The I Retur cd collects the best, we presume, of Turid Lundqvist's three elpees: Vittras Visor from 1971, Bilder from '73, and 1975's Tredje Dagen. Singing mostly in Swedish, sometimes in English, her sweet, high voice graces 21 tracks in total here, which feature a variety of instrumental backing from acoustic guitar, mandolin, tabla, contrabass, trumpet, and more, played by Turid and fellow musicians who I think were members of the psych-rock-folk band Kebnekajse, with whom she also sang. But it's really her voice that's the drawing card here, infusing these dreamy compositions with the beauty of birdsong. There's no freaky electronics like on that Linda Perhacs record, or super old-timey stuff like Shirley Collins. Just straight up singer-songwriter folk music with that mystical '70s vibe.
Have you perchance seen the quite excellent Swedish film Together, the one from a few years back that was set in a '70s commune? Well there's a lot of great music on the soundtrack, and in one scene the characters listen to a Turid LP. We've got friends who've been looking for her stuff ever since! Also on the soundtrack was some International Harvester (same band as Trad Gras Och Stenar), and a while ago I asked one of the Trad Gras Och Stenar guys if he'd seen the film and what he thought of it. He said he liked it, but said that for him those days were (even) more experimental and radical, that the film didn't capture all the "dangerous and dark things going on" at the time. Certainly there's not much dangerous and dark (though sometimes extremely emotional) about Turid's beautiful music! It's the flowers and sunshine of the era you'll hear here.
MPEG Stream: "Song"
MPEG Stream: "Vargen"

TURING MACHINE A New Machine for Living (Jade Tree) cd 11.98
Vocals? Who needs 'em? Not Turing Machine. This exceptional instrumental mathrock band with members of Pitchblende and Vineland gives nods to Shellac, Phil Manley (Trans Am, Golden) and Unwound. A big store favorite. Don't miss it.

TURING MACHINE What Is The Meaning Of What (Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 14.98
If you go way back in the aQuarius list archive, you'll find us raving about Turing Machine years and years ago, and while that was before our reviews got to be so long, it didn't take a huge review to explain that they were one of our favorite instrumental post rock bands. We compared them to Polvo and Drive Like Jehu, Pitchblende, Shellac, Unwound, their sound was mathy and propulsive, driving and complex, a modern day kraut / prog combo that made it all seem effortless, from darkly hypnotic minimal grooves, to wildly dense almost metallic heaviness. Much of their magic was the incredible drumming of Jerry Fuchs, who tragically passed away a few years ago.
This album, recorded prior to Fuch's death, is the first Turing Machine release since their Zwei record in 2004, that long hiatus in no small part due to Fuchs' extracurricular drumming activity, which included a whole bunch of dance outfits, !!!, the Juan Maclean, LCD Soundsystem, even Massive Attack, and all that dance music drumming definitely had a huge effect on Turing Machine, who were no longer just a nineties style math/post rock outfit, but instead had become something much more. Fear not though, there's plenty of awesomely motorik post rock jamming, it's just that a lot of the time, there are also pulsing synths, or electronics. But just check out album opener, "Yeah, C'mon", which starts out like some strangely percolating new wave jam, the drums almost disco-y, the driving synths, but as the guitars come in, and coalesce into riffs, the song begins to take on rock form, until finally, exploding into some seriously fierce and driving post rock, wrapped in wild guitar squiggles and all sorts of random electronics, and the drumming, fucking KICK ASS.
"Lazy Afternoon Of The Jaguar" is equal parts laid back dance groove and motorik krautfunk, the guitars looped in woozy psychedelic swirls around the super tight bass/drums foundation. "Slave To The Algorithm" is total electro kraut-funk, Fuchs doing his best robo-beat accompanied by all manner of pulsing synths and weirdly processed guitars. The title track sounds like "Legs" by ZZ Top, stripped down and given a cosmic psychedelic space rock makeover, the synths again in full effect, but the drums locked tight, and the guitars loose and spidery and wildly psychedelic. "If It's Gone (It's On)" adds vocals to the mix, and lays down a serious slab of crunchy, fuzzy, guitar driven post-punk electro-funk, and record closer "Bovina 2/23/08" finds the band in full on heart of the sun mode, effortlessly channeling the sort of FX drenched space rock psychedelic freakout that should most definitely endear them to fans of White Hills, the Heads and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Yeah, C'mon"
MPEG Stream: "What Is The Meaning Of What"
MPEG Stream: "Bovina 2/23/08"

TURING MACHINE What Is The Meaning Of What (Temporary Residence Ltd.) lp 22.00
Also available on vinyl...
If you go way back in the aQuarius list archive, you'll find us raving about Turing Machine years and years ago, and while that was before our reviews got to be so long, it didn't take a huge review to explain that they were one of our favorite instrumental post rock bands. We compared them to Polvo and Drive Like Jehu, Pitchblende, Shellac, Unwound, their sound was mathy and propulsive, driving and complex, a modern day kraut / prog combo that made it all seem effortless, from darkly hypnotic minimal grooves, to wildly dense almost metallic heaviness. Much of their magic was the incredible drumming of Jerry Fuchs, who tragically passed away a few years ago.
This album, recorded prior to Fuch's death, is the first Turing Machine release since their Zwei record in 2004, that long hiatus in no small part due to Fuchs' extracurricular drumming activity, which included a whole bunch of dance outfits, !!!, the Juan Maclean, LCD Soundsystem, even Massive Attack, and all that dance music drumming definitely had a huge effect on Turing Machine, who were no longer just a nineties style math/post rock outfit, but instead had become something much more. Fear not though, there's plenty of awesomely motorik post rock jamming, it's just that a lot of the time, there are also pulsing synths, or electronics. But just check out album opener, "Yeah, C'mon", which starts out like some strangely percolating new wave jam, the drums almost disco-y, the driving synths, but as the guitars come in, and coalesce into riffs, the song begins to take on rock form, until finally, exploding into some seriously fierce and driving post rock, wrapped in wild guitar squiggles and all sorts of random electronics, and the drumming, fucking KICK ASS.
"Lazy Afternoon Of The Jaguar" is equal parts laid back dance groove and motorik krautfunk, the guitars looped in woozy psychedelic swirls around the super tight bass/drums foundation. "Slave To The Algorithm" is total electro kraut-funk, Fuchs doing his best robo-beat accompanied by all manner of pulsing synths and weirdly processed guitars. The title track sounds like "Legs" by ZZ Top, stripped down and given a cosmic psychedelic space rock makeover, the synths again in full effect, but the drums locked tight, and the guitars loose and spidery and wildly psychedelic. "If It's Gone (It's On)" adds vocals to the mix, and lays down a serious slab of crunchy, fuzzy, guitar driven post-punk electro-funk, and record closer "Bovina 2/23/08" finds the band in full on heart of the sun mode, effortlessly channeling the sort of FX drenched space rock psychedelic freakout that should most definitely endear them to fans of White Hills, the Heads and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Yeah, C'mon"
MPEG Stream: "What Is The Meaning Of What"
MPEG Stream: "Bovina 2/23/08"

TURING MACHINE Zwei (French Kiss) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The return of one of our favorite instrumental post rock bands! Made up of ex-members of Pitchblende and Vineland you can pretty much guess what this is all about. But you might not guess just how goddamn great this band is. Super rhythmically complex and surprisingly catchy, and darn proggy to boot. Turing Machine take simple catchy riffs and melodic motifs and then twist them all up and turn them into totally fascinating, but completely convoluted musical journeys, full of surprising melodic detours and propulsive hypnotic rhythmic workouts. Like a modern day, super kick ass krautrock band. Fans of Polvo, Drive Like Jehu, Pitchblende and all things post and prog and rock should definitely check these guys out!
MPEG Stream: "Bleach It Black"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Mind If I Don't"

TURN ME ON DEAD MAN God Bless The Electric Freak (self-released) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Electric freaks, indeed! New Bay Area trio Turn Me On Dead Man sure do crank out the searing, overdriven, space rawk on this, their debut album. Things really kick in by the sixth song "Apocalypse Rock". Heavy and tripped-out! The band's played plenty around town since they got together in 2003, and this album successfully captures their gritty live energy. Word has it that since the release of this record, they've fleshed out their lineup and sound with a fourth member on keyboards. Rad!
MPEG Stream: "Apocalypse Rock"
MPEG Stream: "Beatles George"

TURN ME ON DEAD MAN God Bless The Electric Freak (self-released) lp 14.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL. PINK IN FACT!!!
Electric freaks, indeed! New Bay Area trio Turn Me On Dead Man sure do crank out the searing, overdriven, space rawk on this, their debut album. Things really kick in by the sixth song "Apocalypse Rock". Heavy and tripped-out! The band's played plenty around town since they got together in 2003, and this album successfully captures their gritty live energy. Word has it that since the release of this record, they've fleshed out their lineup and sound with a fourth member on keyboards. Rad!
MPEG Stream: "Apocalypse Rock"
MPEG Stream: "Beatles George"

TURN ME ON DEAD MAN Technicolourmother (Galaxy Groove) cd 11.98
These Bay Area guys have followed up their 2003 debut, God Bless The Electric Freak, with another wigged-out heavy ass-kicker. They were plenty beefy last time around when they were a three piece, and now Technicolourmother launches their recorded existence as an even beefier quartet. Ready to get yer speakers drenched with equal parts stoner rock, metallic pop and space rock?
MPEG Stream: "67 Dreams"
MPEG Stream: "Wonder Mint"

TURN ON (Drag City) cd 8.98
Bubbling synth wankery from Tim Gane and Andy Ramsay of Stereolab plus Sean O'Hagan of High Llamas (& Laetitia sings on one song).

TURN ON (Drag City) lp 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bubbling synth wankery from Tim Gane and Andy Ramsay of Stereolab plus Sean O'Hagan of High Llamas (& Laetitia sings on one song).

TURNER, IKE & TINA Live, Raw, & Funky (Great American Music) cd 14.98

TURNER, MICK Marlan Rosa (Drag City) cd 13.98
Quiet and soundtrackish instrumentals with painterly guitars, wheezing organ distortion, and chillingly unconventional harmonica. From the guitarist of the Dirty Three, who may turn out to be the Ry Cooder of indie-rock. More beautiful than his first album; fans of Dirty Three will not be disappointed.

TURNER, MICK Moth (Drag City) cd 14.98
Without the melodic center provided by Warren Ellis or the nuanced drumming of Jim White in Dirty Three, guitarist Mick Turner explores gentle textures, weaving in and out of structured song form. On his third solo album, accents from piano or harmonica pop up here and there, but the primary tool is the guitar, building a sense of place through layering and very subtle reverberation and manipulation. Icy spaciousness gives way to airy warmth as "Moth" soothes with its quietly gorgeous tones.
RealAudio clip: "Moth Part 8"
RealAudio clip: "Moth Part 1"

TURNER, MICK Tren Phantasma (Drag City) cd 13.98
Mick is the guitarist from Australia's brilliant instrumental trio the Dirty Three, and this cd sounds exactly as you'd think it would: lovely, meditative, layered strumming which lacks the intense bombast of D3 but has just as much emotional depth, if you listen closely.

TURNER, MICK Tren Phantasma (Drag City) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mick is the guitarist from Australia's brilliant instrumental trio the Dirty Three, and this cd sounds exactly as you'd think it would: lovely, meditative, layered strumming which lacks the intense bombast of D3 but has just as much emotional depth, if you listen closely.

TURNER, MICK / TREN BROTHERS Blue Trees (Drag City) cd 14.98
We have always loved The Dirty Three, and Dirty Three guitarist Mick Turner has another little outfit we love just as much, The Tren Brothers. Problem was it was always pretty hard to get a hold of Tren Brothers records as they were usually only released as limited edition 7"s, But it was well worth the effort as the Tren Brothers' songs are just as gorgeous and breathtaking. Luckily Turner and Jim White (the amazing drummer for both outfits) have decided to make a proper full length together and we're so glad they did! Take the melancholy of Dirty Three, subtract the violins, add some more pastoral elements and thus you have the gorgeous world of Mick Turner / Tren Brothers. Turner music has always been so intense and emotional. And the music here transports us everytime we hear it. Blue Trees is such the perfect weekend record, pretty enough to keep you reminiscing and filled with enough longing and sadness to remind you how much you don't want Monday to come. Beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Angel Number One"
MPEG Stream: "The Beach That Leads To Your Shore"

TURNER, STEVE & HIS BAD IDEAS New Wave Punk Asshole (Funhouse) cd 14.98
You've loved him for years in Mudhoney and Monkeywrench (among numerous other extracurricular musical jaunts). Heck, where Seattle grunge crushes were concerned, you could keep your Mark Arm 'cuz this fellow was totally the prize in Mudhoney, although in Monkeywrench Tom Price gave him a run for the money... but we digress. Now doncha just love him all by his lonesome? We sure do! Actually dandy guitarist Steve Turner has been goin' solo sans trumpeting fanfare for a few years now. Despite the album's title, his sound is neither new wave (there's not a synth in sight!) nor punk (tho' he's prolly got a pretty big punk heart inside), and we wouldn't think of him as an asshole neither. So, we assume the name is not self-referential. Instead New Wave Punk Asshole is for the most part retro bluesy rawk that drifts occasionally into countrified terrain. IF comparisons are to be drawn, we'd say that vocally on this album he sounds quite a bit like Mike Peters of The Alarm... which is a good thing in our opinion. Oh yeah, and as far as his chosen backing band moniker goes, we looked real hard and couldn't find a real stinker lurkin' anywhere.
MPEG Stream: "Sex Date Saturday Night"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Paula"

TURNQUIST, ALEXANDER Like Sunburned Snowflakes (VHF) 12" 13.98
Unlike the last few Alexander Turnquist records (As The Twilight Crane Dreams In Color, Hallway Of Mirrors) this new one eschews much of the sonic lushness in favor of something much more simple, but no less lovely. While those first two found Turnquist weaving expansive sonic landscapes of piano, violin, glockenspiel, vibraphone and more, all around his lovely 12 string guitar, the combination pushing the sound further from a drone folk minimalism into something more akin to a hybrid of classic Appalachia and a more modern chamber pop, strings sweeping over looped guitar figures, pointillist piano over rich, slow shifting backgrounds of thrum and shimmer, lots of counterpoint, lots of harmonies and overtones, and slow builds. All quite lovely.
Which is not to say that this new (or newish, it came out a few months ago) one isn't, it most definitely is, it just strips away the extra instrumentation, and allows Turnquist to explore the possibilities of the guitar itself, the colors he's able to coax from it, the various overtones, and while on the surface it might seem to be Turnquist's take on a Fahey or Kottke style record, it has more in common with those other records of his, as if even on just a guitar, he's composing for an ensemble, just here he's forced to figure out how to fill out the sound on his own. And fill it out he does, notes chime, and figures loop and cycle, the air is filled with the ringing of steel string buzz, and the chiming of crystalline harmonics, rhythmic and textural, some tracks smooth and lush and tranquil, others assembled from buzz, and strange jumbles of notes, the chords and notes' decay as important to the sound as the notes and chords themselves, lots of space, the vibe minimal for sure, but the playing most definitely maximal, often unfurling flurries of notes, even making the guitar sound like a gamelan at one point, and like the guitar equivalent to a prepared piano throughout, the sound shifting from pulsing and hypnotic to more free and abstract and back again. So gorgeous. A fantastic modern guitar soli record, but with Turnquist's own more modern, and yet somehow still seemingly timeless spin. WAY recommended. Like everything else he's done!
Pressed on blue and white swirl vinyl, and meant to spin at 45, but as you might imagine, at 33 it's a bit darker, and murkier! Either way, beautiful!!

TURZI A (Kemado) cd 14.98
Here's some exceptionally tense n' rhythmic post/prog/psych rock from France, loaded with spacey synths in the tradition of their '70s forefathers Heldon, these thirteen tracks seething with skittering pulsations, distorted drone crescendos, and whispery vocal incantations. The dramatic, nervous mantras of Turzi are like a noirish version of the Circle/Salvatore neo-krautrock thing, or like a suspense film soundtrack scored by Suicide. For some reason, this album's called A and every track starts with that letter: "Animal Signal", "Are You Thinking About Jesus?", "Afghanistan", "Amadeus", "Axis Of Good", etc. All right. But we kinda wish they'd done the lyrics in French, rather than English... or maybe remained totally instrumental. Not because there's anything terrible about their English singing/lyrics, but just 'cause the instrumental aspects of this band -- the percussive propulsiveness, the electronic textures -- are quite powerful, compared to the French-accented vocals...
Turzi actually would appear to be one individual, Romain Turzi, credited with "synthesized guitars, vocals, keys & drones". But he's got a band helping him out, called Reich IV. The four members of Reich IV all sport slightly goofy stage names: Sky Over, Judah Warsky, Arthur Rambo, and our favorite, Hard Rock Gunther. For more weird names, turn to the "virtual" bonus disc -- this comes with a coupon for the free download of an mp3 compilation of Turzi's faves from the current underground French psych scene, none of whom we'd ever heard of before: Aqua Nebula Oscillator, Kill For Total Peace, Mogadishow, Juan Trip, Butch McCoy, and nine more...cool stuff too!
MPEG Stream: "Afghanistan"
MPEG Stream: "Acid Taste"
MPEG Stream: "Attila Blues"

TUSSLE Cream Cuts (Smalltown Supersound) cd 16.98
Tussle is an appropriate name for a group that has had as many line-up changes as it has records. With the addition of Tomo Yasuda (The Boy Explodes, Hey Willpower, Coconut) on bass stepping in for the departing Alexis Georgopoulos (Arp, The Alps), who in turned filled in on bass duties for the previously departing Andy Cabic (Vetiver), it looks like we're finally seeing a group beginning to gel. While their overall sound philosophy remains intact from album to album (highly percussive bass-driven disco rock), Cream Cuts shows the keyboard and synth tracks taking more of a lead role than on previous albums where before they mainly served as atmosphere. While still very bass and rhythm heavy, it has less of the post-punk disco references of Liquid Liquid and ESG and more of a trippier cosmic vibe of cinematic flourishes, spacier textures and idiosyncratic nuances that are a welcome development to this much loved local outfit. One small beef we must call out though is the tedious inclusion of what sounds like the band setting up in the middle of the record. Save it for the live shows, guys!
MPEG Stream: "Night Of The Hunter"
MPEG Stream: "Rainbow Claw"

TUSSLE Disco D'oro 2 (Rong Music) 12" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Tussle's disco dub track "Disco D'oro" gets a couple more remixes on this 12", a round two of sorts for this single. The first one was great. The original track and then two remixes by Ben Cook and DJ Spun. But now, ok, I think I'm gonna need a redbull over here. Side A is a deep-dish techno disco beat blanket by Berlin's MUNK, while Ben Cook's Side B parties in the art-rock dance-dub circuit. Friends and fans of Tussle's other work, as well as DFA and LCD Soundsystem, will have something to keep on in the zone of their all-out discotrash dance attack with DD2. Will there be a 3?, 4?, 7?! This party may never die.

TUSSLE Don't Stop (Troubleman Unlimited) cd ep 14.98
Local boys Tussle strike again with Don't Stop, an ep that brings us two new tracks along with the dub version of "Eye Contact" (found on the cd of this only) from their previous, debut 12" of that title, and remixes of said two new tracks, one by Mr. Drew Daniel of Matmos/Soft Pink Truth. You can hear here why folks are making such a fuss over Tussle -- their instrumental post-punk-funk jamming is so then it's now, so out it's in. Referencing krautrock, '80s NYC new wave disco, and Jamaican dub, amongst other hella retro, hella cool soundz, they just kick ass and make you wanna invite 'em to play your next freak party. Hopefully there's a full-length on the horizon, cuz these eps always leave us wanting more.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Stop"
MPEG Stream: "Windmill (Soft Pink Truth Disco Hijack)"

TUSSLE Don't Stop (Troubleman Unlimited) 12" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local boys Tussle strike again with Don't Stop, an ep that brings us two new tracks along with the dub version of "Eye Contact" (found on the cd of this only) from their previous, debut 12" of that title, and remixes of said two new tracks, one by Mr. Drew Daniel of Matmos/Soft Pink Truth. You can hear here why folks are making such a fuss over Tussle -- their instrumental post-punk-funk jamming is so then it's now, so out it's in. Referencing krautrock, '80s NYC new wave disco, and Jamaican dub, amongst other hella retro, hella cool soundz, they just kick ass and make you wanna invite 'em to play your next freak party. Hopefully there's a full-length on the horizon, cuz these eps always leave us wanting more.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Stop"
MPEG Stream: "Windmill (Soft Pink Truth Disco Hijack)"

TUSSLE Eye Contact (Troubleman Unlimited) 12" 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local, retro-aggro-post-punk-funk ensemble Tussle have been wowing audiences here in SF for a couple of years now, their music a catchy instrumental brew that recalls such early '80s sonic compatriots Liquid Liquid, A Certain Ratio, ESG, and modern practitioners such as Outhud, !!!, etc. Led by clattery organic percussion -- handclaps, skittery cymbals, assorted metallic stuff over a stripped down traditional kit -- and a cheerful rubbery bass, the sound is augmented with occasional guitar and effects embellishments. It's a hip, ramshackle groove that if executed more precisely would be too cold -- thankfully this is organic, warm, lowkey and non-attitudinally approachable, know what I mean? Dubbed out remix on the b-side, which hints at further sonic explorations to come -- their full length set for this winter contains krautrocky workouts and more out sounds.
GORGEOUS cover art by local artist Chris Johanson, honestly one of the nicest pieces I've seen by him.
MPEG Stream: "Version"

TUSSLE Here It Comes! + Lockgrooves! (Troubleman) 12" 5.98
For six bucks, this is a great little nugget of Tussle! Moreso a sweet morsel for the discodubby DJ, this 12" is a good start for those still caught unawares by the perma-lockgroove styles from this San Francisco fourpiece; nom: Tussle. Actually, if you're gonna buy one thing, it best be the Kling Klang (their full-length debut that came out late last year). Still, Here It Comes! + Lockgrooves! has the tiltle track, a punky electro-noise workout that totally kills and two alternate versions, one a DSP / Banghra freakout, and the other a super laid back Neu-ish groove.

TUSSLE Kling Klang (Troubleman Unlimited) cd 14.98
At loooooong looooooooooong last!!!! The debut album from this San Francisco 4-piece! They've taunted you with ep, singles, splits, short coastal-US or European tours and finally a solid album's worth of grooviedubbydance beats. Think Liquid Liquid, ESG meets found (now seemingly archaic) electronic machinery. Two drummers, one technically traditional, the second a junkyard kit trash-beat man machine, elegantly powerhouse percussion. A snaking bass-line guides you all around and straight on up through catchy electronic samples all the while creating a perfect balance of sonic kineticism. Kling Klang is just Krauty enough in its pairing down of essential sounds and repetitive percussive treatments to ensure it as a classic recording. Despite many songs recorded by two different engineers and a few recorded in their basement practice space, the production is as smooth as can be -- in fact, it sounds fucking great!!! Long Live Tussle!!
MPEG Stream: "Night Food"
MPEG Stream: "Moon Tempo"

TUSSLE Kling Klang (Troubleman Unlimited) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At loooooong looooooooooong last!!!! The debut album from this San Francisco 4-piece! They've taunted you with ep, singles, splits, short coastal-US or European tours and finally a solid album's worth of grooviedubbydance beats. Think Liquid Liquid, ESG meets found (now seemingly archaic) electronic machinery. Two drummers, one technically traditional, the second a junkyard kit trash-beat man machine, elegantly powerhouse percussion. A snaking bass-line guides you all around and straight on up through catchy electronic samples all the while creating a perfect balance of sonic kineticism. Kling Klang is just Krauty enough in its pairing down of essential sounds and repetitive percussive treatments to ensure it as a classic recording. Despite many songs recorded by two different engineers and a few recorded in their basement practice space, the production is as smooth as can be -- in fact, it sounds fucking great!!! Long Live Tussle!!
MPEG Stream: "Night Food"
MPEG Stream: "Moon Tempo"

TUSSLE Telescope Mind (Smalltown Supersound) cd 16.98
Tussle have always been the musical version of the party you wish existed and would go on forever and ever. The one where everyone is having fun and has great taste in tunes. Sadly for some reason that sort of party is a real rarity. Most parties are filled with people screaming and -trying- to have a good time but not really doing anything fun or interesting. And the rooms filled with folks with "good taste" can get pretty dang stuffy, weighed down and boring.
Rare is the party packed with people who want to go wild, but want to do it to the best tunes imaginable, who realize how amazing and important it is to move your body and have a good time. Luckily for our ears Tussle are that rare band, whose music is the perfect soundtrack to THAT kind of party. Great taste and fun spirit wrapped in one. With Telescope Mind they have once again come up with the perfect formula. The one where Can is jamming with Liquid Liquid and ESG is in the living room unfurling with beats your body can't deny. Crafted with much care, Tussle have truly created an album that works from beginning to end. A perfect balance of experimentation and percussion fueled ecstasy. Since the recording of this album the band has gone through some major lineup changes, with co-founding member Alexis Georgopoulos leaving the band and super talented SF scene fixture Tomo joining the group. We're excited to hear what Alexis cooks up in the future as his writing and aesthetic were a huge part of this record and Tussle's sound in general, as well as where the new lineup of Tussle will travel. Until then we'll just follow the instructions in the liner notes and enjoy Telescope Mind at MAXIMUM VOLUME because this is an album that will be moving our bodies and pleasing our ears for a long time to come!
MPEG Stream: "Warning"
MPEG Stream: "Elephants"
MPEG Stream: "Pow!"

TUSSLE Tempest (Smalltown Supersound) cd 17.98

TUSSLE Warning EP (Smalltown Supersound) cd ep 14.98
It's been about a year since Tussle's great sophomore release, Telescope Mind, and now they've put together an ep of remixes from that disc, calling on the capable hands of folks like Optimo, Dennis Young (Liquid Liquid), Kango & Torkill and their friends Hot Chip (who they hit the road with for a jaunt across the east coast last summer). We are still really anxious to hear what the new incarnation of Tussle will end up sounding like (as there has been some major line up shifts since the original recording of the songs getting the remix treatment here). But until then this will sit nicely next to the other forward thinking kraut-meets-dance-floor offerings in this current chapter of Tussle ever evolving sound.
MPEG Stream: "Flicker 33.3 (Hot Chip Remix)"
MPEG Stream: "Warning (Kango & Torkill Mix)"

TUSSLE You Can't Hide Your Love Forever Vol. 2 (Geographic North) 7" 9.98
The second in a series of limited 7"s (the other two are from Tarentel and A Sunny Day In Glasgow) features local SF rhythm jammers, Tussle. The A-side track, "Animal Cop" begins as a lackadaisical dance rhythm with some fuzzy bass before breaking down into percussive clatter and switching gears into what sounds like a seventies cop theme, albeit one buried in fuzzy reverb. While the B-side, "Room 191", is a heavy slow dub with distorted synth crashes put through a wobbly syrupy filter that almost sounds like a Screw backing track.
Our only complaint is that it's too short! We could have easily listened to 5 minutes of that!

TUUSANUUSKAT Naaksaa Naa Kyyneleet (Fonal) cd 17.98
This new band on Fonal with all the double-u's in their name is of course Finnish, and in fact is something of a super-duo: Fonal boss Sami Sanpakkila (Es) and recent Wire magazine cover star Jan Anderzen (Tomutonttu, Kemialliset Ystavat) are the two collaborators here (at last!). The name they've chosen is apparently a play on the humorous Finnish phrase "tuusan nuuskana", which means something like "total shambles" in English. Ok, well, but while the abstract, intermittent, fractured soundz & rhythms heard here could lend themselves to that description, Sami & Jan are actually exercising a fair amount of control, and the tracks here, while not your usual sort of "songs" are most definitely music, not noise. Instrumental, full of sweet sweet drones and distortion, shining shimmer... we think most fans of both Es and Tomutonttu and other Finnish/Fonal acts on the more abstract edges of soundmaking will appreciate this quite a bit!!
The five long tracks find this project getting out of the usual "Finnish forest folk" thing we associate with Kemialliset and instead seem much more sci-fi and electronic, synth zips and zaps transmitted from a mad scientist's laboratory. Some of the sounds remind us of sferics, that spooky VLF radio noise phenomenon of the Earth's magnetosphere we used to sell whole cds of (Stephen P. McGreevy's Electric Engima and Auroral Chorus II, wish they were still in print). Somehow those sorts of sounds - however produced - are woven into a detailed, textured sound world that's at once both pleasant (really) and intriguing. Finnish forest science lab fans won't be surprised.
And, the usual obi-strip with which Fonal packages their cds is cleverly been utilized here to enhance the cover art with a simple form of animation. Designed by Shogun Kunitoki's Jari Suominen, it's a clear acetate strip printed with narrow stripes, that interacts with the cover art to create a pretty cool optical illusion of motion (a flickering, spinning pinwheel) when you slide the obi across the cover. Neat! (We haven't opened the lp, but assume it must also contain a similar insert.)
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 5"

TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science (DGC / Interscope) cd 15.98
Dear Science is album number three for TV On The Radio, and it's already been hailed far and wide as a triumph of art-rock adventurousness striving for pop perfection. That said, we're finding this album more hedging toward a Bloc Party meets Radiohead with Peter Gabriel singing (yes, frontman Tunde Adebimpe still sounds a hell of a lot like mid '80s Peter Gabriel). There's plenty of soulful horns, post-Velvets jangle-drone guitars, and whimsically rickety electronics amidst these atypical tunes. This isn't a bad thing at all, but we have to say that Dear Science lacks the epochal hits that defined TV On The Radio. There's nothing like "Staring at the Sun" or "Wolf Like Me," seeking more a slowburn arc of an album instead of the urgency dotting their first two records.
MPEG Stream: "DLZ"
MPEG Stream: "Dancing Choose"
MPEG Stream: "Halfway Home"

TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science (DGC / Interscope) lp 14.98
Dear Science is album number three for TV On The Radio, and it's already been hailed far and wide as a triumph of art-rock adventurousness striving for pop perfection. That said, we're finding this album more hedging toward a Bloc Party meets Radiohead with Peter Gabriel singing (yes, frontman Tunde Adebimpe still sounds a hell of a lot like mid '80s Peter Gabriel). There's plenty of soulful horns, post-Velvets jangle-drone guitars, and whimsically rickety electronics amidst these atypical tunes. This isn't a bad thing at all, but we have to say that Dear Science lacks the epochal hits that defined TV On The Radio. There's nothing like "Staring at the Sun" or "Wolf Like Me," seeking more a slowburn arc of an album instead of the urgency dotting their first two records.
MPEG Stream: "DLZ"
MPEG Stream: "Dancing Choose"
MPEG Stream: "Halfway Home"

TV ON THE RADIO Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
Excellent! TV On The Radio's sophomore release (and debut full length!) is a passionate, captivating, artful work, with languid bass grooves and simmering guitars. Atmospheric tensions take shape, gradually build, deepen and close in. The album's second song "Staring At The Sun" is quite something to behold -- a brooding stunner. The vocalist reminds us of Peter Gabriel so much sometimes that it is unnerving. But in a good way. Kind of like classic Genesis filtered through the depressive brood of modern slowcore mope rock. But with lots of studio sheen and ambient fuckery. Dark and delirious, dreamy and moody and oh so good!
MPEG Stream: "Staring At The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "King Eternal"

TV ON THE RADIO New Health Rock (Touch & Go) cd ep 3.98
Here's a triple scoop (or in the case of the 7" edition, a double scoop) of music from these Brooklyn art-rock brooders. A smooth progression from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, the title track and "The Wrong Way" (the lead-off track from their album) offer an increased sense of urgency and gravity with groovingly insistent jitterbug-y rhythmic waves and multi-layered vocals ranging from a low, throaty spoken-sung delivery to an untethered falsetto Peter Gabriel-esque yelp. The third cd-only song is a slow, somber cover of Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Modern Romance" that's injected with an emotional depth absent in the YYY original. TVOTR's music is challenging, deeply infectious atmospheric rock that levels all of its contemporaries'. Totally great!
MPEG Stream: "New Health Rock"
MPEG Stream: "The Wrong Way"

TV ON THE RADIO New Health Rock (Touch & Go) 7" 3.98
Here's a double scoop of music from these Brooklyn art-rock brooders. A smooth progression from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, the title track and "The Wrong Way" (the lead-off track from their album) offer an increased sense of urgency and gravity with groovingly insistent jitterbug-y rhythmic waves and multi-layered vocals ranging from a low, throaty spoken-sung delivery to an untethered falsetto Peter Gabriel-esque yelp. TVOTR's music is challenging, deeply infectious atmospheric rock that levels all of its contemporaries'. Totally great!
MPEG Stream: "New Health Rock"
MPEG Stream: "The Wrong Way"

TV ON THE RADIO Nine Types of Light (Interscope) cd 21.00

TV ON THE RADIO Nine Types of Light (Deluxe Album) (Interscope) lp 21.00

TV ON THE RADIO Return To Cookie Mountain (Interscope) cd 13.98
Oooh, buzz, buzz, buzz! Here's an album that barely needs announcement! People have been chatting up a storm about it for months. Didn't hurt that the ridiculously anticipated Return To Cookie Mountain came out overseas well in advance of the domestic release. That said, unlike most other grossly hyped to excess bands, TV On The Radio is fully deserving of both the hipster hysteria and the critical acclaim lauded upon them. Those who've waited patiently will be rewarded not only with this exceptional album, but also with a handful of bonus tracks ("Things You Can Do", "Snakes And Martyrs" and "Hours (El-P Remix)")!
On this NY band's sophomore full length, some key aspects pick right up where Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes left off, while there are also some marked differences and new developments. There's certainly no shortage of heady mood, steamy atmosphere and dark tension, but Return To Cookie Mountain is far more lively and kinetic and less brooding than the fellows' debut. Take the peppery fifth song for instance with its infectious rhythm that recalls Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" and sultry sinewy guitars. "Wolf Like Me" is a standout TVOTR single if we ever heard one (it was actually the lead-off track on a pre-release album sequence). Another highlight is the deeeep saxophone-laced ninth track "Blues From Down Here". Soulful goodness! Overall, there's more layers of (yes, still very Peter Gabriel-esque) expressively throaty and fasletto vocals, more melodic elements, more energy, more depth, more MORE -- making for a most compelling and immersive listen! Adding the almost extraneous cherry on top are guests who include David Bowie, Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino and Katrina Ford of Celebration.
MPEG Stream: "Wolf Like Me"
MPEG Stream: "Blues From Down Here"

TV ON THE RADIO Young Liars (Touch & Go) cd 10.98
Windy's other new favorite record this week is this EP from TV On The Radio, who online searches reveal as being the new band from onetime AQ-regular Kip -- one of the nicest guys around, plus you could see his afro coming from way down Valencia, like at 19th. Seems he's been keeping himself plenty busy since departing SF for the east coast (you can also find him starring in Jon Moritsugu's latest film Scum Rock). Simply put, TV on the Radio sound like an indie version of Peter Gabriel. At least that's what Andee thinks (as do all the intrigued folks who're coming up to the counter to ask which Gabriel album we're playing). However, not being super familiar with Gabriel beyond that Sledgehammer song, I'd have to liken the Brooklyn band's sound to the early pop albums from Brian Eno -- think Taking Tiger Mountain and you have some idea of the brilliance of this dark pop, intelligent arrangements, impassioned treated vocals, insidious clackety percussion. It's a fantastic combination that I'm having trouble describing. A very satisfying listen from a band that sounds so directed and mature. Guests on the record include Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Four songs, plus a hidden fifth track -- an a capella rendering of the Pixies' "Mr. Grieves" complete with oohs, aahs and sunshine harmonies.
MPEG Stream: "Staring at the Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Young Liars"

TV-RESISTORI Intiaanidisko (Fonal) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Welcome to the happy-go-lucky side of Fonal records!! A shiny pop-rock gem of a band from Turku, Finland, TV-Resistori play electronic toy pop with wide-eyed wit and unadulterated exuberance. Could be likened to a younger and rougher Stereolab, a Finnish Stereo Total, or a happier Cyann & Ben. Also for fans of '90s Shibuya-Kei bands, snowsuited indie pop, and wonderfully silly synths. Intiaanidisko is warm and scratchy as a brand new scarf. Charmingly dorky. Enthusiastically recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Pong A Long"
MPEG Stream: "Centrumi"

TV-RESISTORI Serkut Rakastaa Paremmin (Fonal) cd 17.98
The shiny happy side of Finland's Fonal roster. If we didn't know better we would probably believe it if someone said that they were from Japan or France because they kick out that totally bubbly, playful and addictive flavor of pop that totally brings to mind the best moments of Cibo Matto, Pizzicato Five, Stereo Total (yeah we know they are from Germany but you get what we're saying), Buffalo Daughter, etc. This time out we also hear some nice fuzzy USA influence with some Beach Boys moments and an overall feel that reminds us a lot of Mates Of State. What's so great about TV-Resistori is how they keep their sound so warm, punchy and catchy without resorting to all out quirkiness or kitsch. Too many bands trying to pull of this style suffer at the hand of over the top and glossy production that in the end kind of erases all the charm that might be within the songs. TV-Resistori do it right and keep their sound rich and dense with an analog warmth and a tender touch on the control boards which so nicely compliments their songs, and makes for one of the better pop albums of the year.
MPEG Stream: "Odotan viimeistŠ hidasta"
MPEG Stream: "Viimeinen hidas"

TV-RESISTORI Serkut Rakastaa Paremmin (Fonal) lp 19.98
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! The shiny happy side of Finland's Fonal roster. If we didn't know better we would probably believe it if someone said that they were from Japan or France because they kick out that totally bubbly, playful and addictive flavor of pop that totally brings to mind the best moments of Cibo Matto, Pizzicato Five, Stereo Total (yeah we know they are from Germany but you get what we're saying), Buffalo Daughter, etc. This time out we also hear some nice fuzzy USA influence with some Beach Boys moments and an overall feel that reminds us a lot of Mates Of State. What's so great about TV-Resistori is how they keep their sound so warm, punchy and catchy without resorting to all out quirkiness or kitsch. Too many bands trying to pull of this style suffer at the hand of over the top and glossy production that in the end kind of erases all the charm that might be within the songs. TV-Resistori do it right and keep their sound rich and dense with an analog warmth and a tender touch on the control boards which so nicely compliments their songs, and makes for one of the better pop albums of the year.
MPEG Stream: "Odotan viimeistŠ hidasta"
MPEG Stream: "Viimeinen hidas"

TWEAK BIRD s/t (Volcom) cd 12.98
The first thing you notice about the new record from psychsludgepop duo Tweak Bird, if you're us at last, and you're seriously obsessed with seventies Japanese psychedelia, is that the cover art is obviously an homage to Flower Travellin' Band's Anywhere record, the two members of Tweak Bird, shirtless, on a motorcycle, tooling down the highway with open fields in the background. Musically, though, these guys have way more in common with Torche or Floor than FTB, their sound a spaced out psychedelic proggy fuzzy buzzy stoner pop, thick baritone guitar riffs, big pounding drums, crazy catchy hooks, and some seriously dreamy vox, not quite falsetto, but soaring and clear, there are lush harmonies, and surprising melodies, and of course some 'ooooh ooooh's here and there, all draped over some seriously thick sludgey riffs, the band slipping from chuggy fuzzy pop, to pounding howling almost metallic crunch, there's sax too, and flute, and some synths, the more we listen the more proggy it sounds, Daniel Higgs like vocalizing wrapped around jazzy sax, all draped over shimmery keyboards and motorik drumming, only to blossom into something that sounds a little like Magma or the Ruins, albeit a stoner pop indie rock version, but it's killer. Elsewhere, flute flutters over some buzzy riff heavy groove, and those floaty ethereal surprisingly high boy vox, a sort of tripped out stoner metal prog fuzz folk pop, or something. And those doses of weirdness are balanced out by the blasts of full on buzzing metallic distorto pop, and heavy downtuned chug, the riffs slipping from jangly and minimal to super distorted and blown out, the band somehow creating an impossibly catchy sound with some seriously disparate elements. So goddamn good. We'd be seriously surprised if the rest of the world didn't finally catchy on, and like Torche, make these guys the underground stoner pop indie sludge super stars they should so obviously be. AWESOME!
MPEG Stream: "The Future"
MPEG Stream: "Lights In Lines"
MPEG Stream: "A Sun / Ahh Ahh"
MPEG Stream: "Distant Airways"

TWEAK BIRD s/t (Volcom) lp 14.98
The first thing you notice about the new record from psychsludgepop duo Tweak Bird, if you're us at last, and you're seriously obsessed with seventies Japanese psychedelia, is that the cover art is obviously an homage to Flower Travellin' Band's Anywhere record, the two members of Tweak Bird, shirtless, on a motorcycle, tooling down the highway with open fields in the background. Musically, though, these guys have way more in common with Torche or Floor than FTB, their sound a spaced out psychedelic proggy fuzzy buzzy stoner pop, thick baritone guitar riffs, big pounding drums, crazy catchy hooks, and some seriously dreamy vox, not quite falsetto, but soaring and clear, there are lush harmonies, and surprising melodies, and of course some 'ooooh ooooh's here and there, all draped over some seriously thick sludgey riffs, the band slipping from chuggy fuzzy pop, to pounding howling almost metallic crunch, there's sax too, and flute, and some synths, the more we listen the more proggy it sounds, Daniel Higgs like vocalizing wrapped around jazzy sax, all draped over shimmery keyboards and motorik drumming, only to blossom into something that sounds a little like Magma or the Ruins, albeit a stoner pop indie rock version, but it's killer. Elsewhere, flute flutters over some buzzy riff heavy groove, and those floaty ethereal surprisingly high boy vox, a sort of tripped out stoner metal prog fuzz folk pop, or something. And those doses of weirdness are balanced out by the blasts of full on buzzing metallic distorto pop, and heavy downtuned chug, the riffs slipping from jangly and minimal to super distorted and blown out, the band somehow creating an impossibly catchy sound with some seriously disparate elements. So goddamn good. We'd be seriously surprised if the rest of the world didn't finally catchy on, and like Torche, make these guys the underground stoner pop indie sludge super stars they should so obviously be. AWESOME!
MPEG Stream: "The Future"
MPEG Stream: "Lights In Lines"
MPEG Stream: "A Sun / Ahh Ahh"
MPEG Stream: "Distant Airways"