V/A Mutant Disco Volume 3: Garage Sale (Ze) cd 16.98

V/A My Girlfriend Was a Punk! lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The title and art give this record a kitschy, cheap look, which is unfortunate 'cuz it's actuallly really good. And whats with the title? My girlfriend... don't even get me started. The songs are stripped down and raw yet catchy. Perfect punk party music. A couple songs sound like direct covers with different lyrics. A totally fun record. Familiar punk riffs, but songs you've never heard.

V/A My Malady (Mental Monkey) cd 12.98
Managed to get a few more of these back in!
Compilations are all about the concept. Come up with a good concept, and a good compilation is sure to follow. So how can you go wrong with a bunch of noisy bands, rock and otherwise, penning odes to their favorite sicknesses?! You can't. And if you make sure the list of contributors includes lots of AQ favorites, like Bomb 20, the Bran Flakes, the Evolution Control Committee, V/VM, and Deerhoof and maybe throw in some tUMULt bands like Burmese, Iran, 7000 Dying Rats and Berkowitz Lake And Dahmer and you've got it made. Songs about Gonorrhea, Gingivitis, Tinnitus, Priapism, Arthritis, Rickets, Gangrene, Alzheimers and more with sounds ranging from full on noise attacks, to silly cut up collages, to crushing ultrathick drones, to digital glitch-crunch, to dreamy lullabies. Sickness has never sounded so good.
MPEG Stream: DEERHOOF "Weak In The Knees"
MPEG Stream: IRAN "A Little Girl In A Car"
MPEG Stream: BERKOWITZ LAKE AND DAHMER "Gangrene"

V/A My Mind Goes High (Warner Music UK) cd 21.00

V/A My Own Wolf: A New Approach To Ulver (Cold Dimensions) 2cd 6.66
We've given tribute albums a bit of stick in the past. After all, the things seem to be a dime a dozen, sometimes the result of genuine fannish enthusiasm but often just a commercially-motivated exploitative exercise. Yet, it's still hard not to be tempted by the concept, as long as the former rather than the latter motivation is in force. (In fact, our own Andee has plans for a tribute album of sorts on his tUMULt label: I'm Sorry And I Miss You, a black metal reimagining of Slint's Spiderland! So we can't bag on 'em all.) Hard to argue with a bunch of your favorite bands doing songs by another favorite, really. And those are obvious rules of what makes a good tribute: a worthy honoree (who has SONGS, not just a "sound"), and a roster of participants from whom you also want to hear. One good example, on this very list we highlight a highly enjoyable tribute to Syd Barrett that certainly obeyed all those rules.
The black metal realm has spawned a few tributes, the most worthwhile we can think of being the brilliant (and out of print) Darkthrone Holy Darkthrone. It certainly met those two basic tests of what would make a good tribute, featuring bands equally as famous and influential as Darkthrone themselves (which also made it that much more significant of a tribute, to see the likes of Emperor and Immortal bowing down to Darkthrone).
Likewise, in this case, Ulver is certainly a worthy subject. Early on, they were a true Norwegian black metal force to be reckoned with, whether in their acoustic folk mode or when doing their own tribute of sorts to Darkthrone, the brilliant Nattens Madrigal. Later, they morphed in many surprising ways, pretty much leaving the confines of black metal entirely but still somehow staying Ulver. In fact, if you put together an anthology of Ulver's "greatest hits" it would sound a bit like a various artists album itself, since their career has been so stylistically diverse, from grim black metal to experimental electronica... In some ways, it's cool to have this tribute just to provide a perspective on the wide range of Ulver's output. 'Cause one byproduct of a good tribute is to get you to go back and listen to the originals, maybe even giving some attention to songs you had previously overlooked. That said, we're also pleased to see that a chunk of the bands appearing on My Own Wolf chose to cover stuff from Nattens Madrigal...
The next question is, are the bands appearing here worthy? Well, we'll admit we haven't heard of rather many of them. It is a double cd, though, with a ton of tracks. And the ones we know, like Aidan Baker (Nadja) are all pretty interesting, kinda avant-garde metal bands that probably all really do look up to Ulver. Some play industrial-metal, others acoustic folk, everything in between and beyond, from trip-hop to psychedelia to dooooooooom, each finding at least one if not several aspects of Ulver's multifaceted career to worship, really. There's songs here from probably every Ulver release ever, including their demos! And these bands are from all over the place, a lot from Russia and France in particular, but also from Finland, Ukraine, Australia, Israel, Germany, Latvia, USA, Canada, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and Brazil!
Here's the lineup: Unfurl, Avathar, Mura Hachigu feat. Nokturnes, Smohalla, Asmodee, Selvmord, Sael, Otzephenevshiye, Wardaemonic, FB[Force], Karna, Fluoryne, Year Zero, Sinestesia, Pryapisme, Joey Hopkins Midget Factory, Aidan Baker, Panacea Enterpainment, project:a, Catapulus, Jaaportit, Wheel Of Knowledge, Zweizz, Bosque, Noises of Russia, and Ashtar.
While there's already one "official" tribute to Ulver of sorts (the remixes disc 1st Decade In The Machines) this one is perhaps more honest in its tributor-to-tributee relationships, i.e., no hipster cred required. It's certainly more "metal" but plenty of other things besides. Obviously, compared to some tributes, the lineup on My Own Wolf is drawn from far deeper underground. No A-list black metal acts here like on that Darkthrone tribute. But you have to imagine that any band interested in doing an Ulver cover is at the very least not an "ordinary" band. And, indeed, some of 'em here are pretty interesting, and we wouldn't have heard about 'em otherwise. You gotta hand it to Ulver: who else could inspire tribute from such a diverse selection of bands/genres?
MPEG Stream: MURA HACHIGU FEAT. NOKTURNES "Blinded By Blood"
MPEG Stream: OTZEPHENEVSHIYE "Wolf And Destiny (Forest Fire Version)"

V/A My Pal God Holiday Record 2 (My Pal God) cd 12.98
Volume 2 in My Pal God's irreverent salute to the holidays (coinciding with My Pal God Kingpin Jon's anual 24 hour Christmas radio show (he's jewish) where he plays only songs with references to God or Jesus). This time, participants include: Oxes, Rebecca Gates (the Spinanes), Drums and Tuba, Neutrino, Emperor Penguin and more.

V/A Mystic Males (Pet Records) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the same with-it collector-folks who brought us those Gentle Sounds For Gentle People '60s soft-rock comps not so long ago, comes this new compilation unearthing the tunes of 23 "tripped-out troubadours from 1965-1970". These so-called "Mystic Males" are long-haired, bearded (or at least mustachioed) mellow crooners, hailing from places like LA's Sunset Strip and New York's Greenwich Village. Professional and otherwise singer/songwriters getting into (for real or for, they might be hoping, the bucks) the Hippy vibe. Mostly, they sing about Girls. And Nature. And Love. And Girls. (At least five of the song titles here are simply girls' names.) Suiting such subject matter, these tracks tend towards gentle vocals, gentle vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and drifting folky melodies -- often times backed by lush orchestration and groovy beats. Some are twee, some are swingin'. Hadn't heard of any of these dudes before, except Dino Valente, but maybe you have -- here's a few, with song titles too: Chip Taylor "You Should Be From Monterey", Tommy Roe "Paisley Dreams", Teddy Neeley "Autumn Afternoon", Kenny O'Dell "Flower Girl", Thomas Hill "Glider Pilot", Bill & Howdy "Misty Morning Confrontation"... no, don't know 'em? Well those song titles ought to give you some idea of what they sound like, and also the liner notes give plenty of obscure details about each obscure track. And some of 'em are gems. We like these Mystic Males.
MPEG Stream: MICHAEL BLODGETT "Fire Engine Sky"
MPEG Stream: DICK DOMANE "Bad Dream"
MPEG Stream: VINCE DONOFRIO "Daisy"

V/A N.Y. No Wave (Ze Records) cd 16.98
Let's face it. The seminal 1978 No New York compilation is never going to get reissued. Period. While all of the No New York tracks from Teenage Jesus & Jerks, Mars, and James Chance songs did get reissued on those band's respective anthologies, the lost No New York tracks are from Arto Lindsay's DNA. As those were some of the best tracks that Lindsay ever recorded, it's no wonder that people are still clamoring for the album. The iconic status of that album is found not only in its immense collectibility, but its status as the definitive statement about No Wave as a caustic antagonism of structural norms that pushed way beyond what punk was promoting. Yep, there's long been an interest in No Wave, always looking back to the No New York compilation as the canonical statement of No Wave. However, in recent years, a few compilations have been published and marketed themselves as being historical documents of the No Wave community. The first of which was the Soul Jazz compilation New York Noise; and now there is this compilation entitled N.Y. No Wave. There are immediate and obvious differences between the recent historical offerings and the original No New York compilation that raise some interesting questions. Taking a traditionalist point of view, these newer comps with their less confrontational / more groove oriented selections fail to hold up to the standards set by the No New York comp; and thus are fraudulent in their claims of being No Wave. This is a certainly a harsh verdict as all of the compilations have a lot of amazing selections, even if they don't really sound anything like Mars or Teenage Jesus. That said, could it be possible that No New York, as flawless as those individual selections are, encapsulated the most extreme elements from a much broader movement that resists easy definitions? Like the New York Noise compilation, N.Y. No Wave makes a pretty good argument for the broader definition including the eccentric disco diva Lizzy Mercier Descloux and Lydia Lunch in her Queen of Siam piano lounge mode alongside the more obvious No Wave artists such as Mars, Teenage Jesus, and Suicide. As a nice bonus, there some pretty obscure Arto Lindsay tracks recorded in the duo Arto / Neto.
MPEG Stream: LYDIA LUNCH "Lady Scarface"
MPEG Stream: SUICIDE "Mister Ray"
MPEG Stream: JAMES WHITE & THE BLACKS "Almost Black"

V/A Naked In The Afternoon (Summersteps) cd 12.98
"Naked In The Afternoon" is a collection of Jandek covers and tries to keep true to the Jandek aesthetic with lo-fi recordings, pseudo-improvisational warbles, and a purposeful dysfunctionality. Not to mention the faux-Jandek packaging. Each of the artists reinterprets their tracks within the vast Jandek back catalogue that spans two decades and more than two dozen records. The artists that succeed in translating the Jandek sound are the ones who already have established a well-defined songwriting ability that has been fractured into resembling Jandek. However, for every brilliant track by Low, Retsin, and Kid Icarus, there's some questionable 'avant garde' splutter from Gary Young, Monster Island, and The Storkettes who all smugly believe that they can be the next Mayo Thompson. A noble if flawed effort.

V/A Nao Wave (Man Recordings) cd 16.98
If this new compilation of post punk music from Brazil circa 1982 through 1988 is any indication, American and British post-punkers have got nothing on the Brazilian post-punkers in the eccentricities department. Some of the live wire tracks on Nao Wave are downright bizarre, and we love it! A hefty portion of it is pretty incomparable, but if we were to suggest a couple of reference points... the fourth song by Akira S & As Garotas Que Erraram brings to mind Talking Heads, while the ninth by Ira! is sorta Fishbone-y ska. But really, it can't be that easily nor narrowly pinned down. Maybe the current crop of new new wavers, nowavers and electroclashers can start drawing their retro '80s inspirations from these Brazilian sources? That'd be something to hear! Totally twisted and rad! However, if you're seeking some more, uhh, normal (?) post-punk from Brazil, we should let you know that there's another compilation that just came out on Soul Jazz that might tickle your fancy (we haven't had a chance to review it yet). Heck, check 'em both out!
MPEG Stream: AGENTSS "Agentss"
MPEG Stream: AKIRA S & AS GAROTAS QUE ERRARAM "Sobre As Pernas"
MPEG Stream: IRA! "La Fora Pode Ate Morrer"

V/A Nart Nibbles (Kitchen Motors / OMI ) 2cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Icelandic art / music organization Kitchen Motors presents their third compilation of recordings from their series of monthly events. Apparat Organ Quartet opens the compilation with a faux-'70s horror music score much like the mellower, incidental music of Italian creepsters Goblin. The Big Band Brutal (favorites from the earlier Kitchen Motors compilation Motorlab #2) contradicts the implications of their name with an eerie composition for sonar bleeps and isolationist e-bowed guitar. Hilmar Jensson (a much acclaimed, but little heard multi-instrumentalist) teams up with Petur Halldrumsson for a jazzed-out, wacky take on Silver Apples style psychedelic electronic squiggles and driving drums music.
Disc two opens with "Helvitis Symphony no. 1 for 13 electric guitars" -- kind of like an Icelandic version of a Glenn Branca symphony, based around the basic tonality of the guitar's E chord. Instead of this small army chugging away at a E-chord (like Branca does), this ensemble featuring Jon Por Birgisson (the cello-bowin' guitarist from Sigur Ros), the aforementioned Hilmar Jensson and 11 other Icelandic guitarists, gradually introduces each guitar beginning at first with lilting drones that intensify into simple melodies and dramatic crescendos. As you probably know, we're not big fans of Sigur Ros, BUT if Sigur Ros were an instrumental outfit, then perhaps they would sound like this and we'd probably love 'em. Jensson returns for the compilation's finale, in collaboration with electronica outfits Biogen and Plastik, for a fresh take on the Raster-Noton style of digital click and sine-wave hum, with nicely done Biosphere-like digital ambience.
Another great compilation of adventurous music from the finest that Iceland has to offer!
RealAudio clip: BIRGISSON, JENSSON, HALLGRIMSSON, ETC. "Helvitis Symphony no. 1 for 13 Electric Guitars"
RealAudio clip: PETUR JENSSONHALLGR AND HILMAR JENSSON "Soren Kirkegaard dropateljari"
RealAudio clip: APPARAT ORGAN QUARTET "Nafnlaust uppklapp"

V/A Necessary Effect: Screamers Songs Interpreted (Xeroid / Extravertigo) 2cd 17.98
A long-in-the-works tribute to this short-lived, greatly deified, synthesizer-driven, no guitars, seminal punk band from Seattle / Los Angeles (whew!). Sad to say this was kind of a disappointment. Considering just how influential this group was/is and how wildly rabid their ever-growing following is, hopes were high, but unlike the fast and fierce originals, these covers are rather unelectrifying. Much as they try, they simply can't do the songs of the intense, volatile Tomata Du Plenty and company justice. Some of them are even downright bad, but you do get 29 tracks to choose from, so.... There are a couple of notable spots too though (for the guest participants): Spooky Pie with the Screamers' Paul Roessler and a thick and sludgey Rubber O Cement with Karla LaVey. There are double versions of certain songs: "The Beat Goes On", "I'm Going Steady With Twiggy", "I Wanna Hurt" and "Eva Braun". Actually, rumors had been buzzing around of a collaboration between I Am Spoonbender and Jello Biafra (unquestionably the Screamers' biggest fan) on a fiery cover of the latter song, but it's not present here. S'pose we'll just have to wait for that one to emerge elsewhere. This compilation was released by the two labels who also gave us the Screamers "In A Better World" double cd which was action-packed with live recordings and demos.
RealAudio clip: RUBBER O CEMENT W/ KARLA LAVEY "I Wanna Hurt"
RealAudio clip: SPOOKY PIE W/ PAUL ROESSLER "Go Guy"
RealAudio clip: TEEN CTHULHU "Violent World "

V/A Neonbeats (Klanggalerie) 2cd 25.00
Were there any New Wave and/or Post-Punk bands from Liechtenstein? If there were, there will surely be a comp documenting the scene soon enough, as plenty of choice tracks have been unearthed from throughout Europe and North America care of numerous compilations that have been released in recent years - The Minimal Wave Tapes, So Young But So Cold, BIPPP, Cold Waves + Minimal Electronics, New Deutsch, and pretty much everything through Vinyl-On-Demand. So, here's Klanggalerie's anthology of the Austrian scene throughout the early to mid '80s (plus some current acts who are striking a retrogarde pose), proving that there's plenty of music between the era of Falco and the era of Christian Fennesz.
Admittedly, very few of the artists on this comp have crossed our paths, making this quite an excellent discovery. Of those, we do know, there's the masterful proto-techno artist Monoton making an appearance as does the cold wave outfit Zyx. Perhaps the most surprising find is the first band from Peter Rehberg, who fronted a sludgey, pig-fuck band with the brilliant / terrible name of Peterlicker. Over two discs, Neonbeats touches on anything and everything that tangentially came in contact with new wave and post-punk, making the comp more of an cross-section of the entire underground scene, but the selection is pretty great in spite of the diverse genre hopping of all the bands.
Much of the work here draws inspiration from the NDW sound, with darkened electronics over cheap drum machines topped with heavily theatrical vocals. Zyx's low slung bassline and monotone vocals provide an appropriately sinister mood to their skeletal, stalking electronics, with similar tracks produced in equal aplomb by Molin & Jox and Red.Chamber. Plastix and Squishy Squid add punchy punk backbeats to stripped down 3-chord tunes laced with minimal electronics. A band with a name taken from a Neubauten / Fad Gadget single - Collapsing New People - offer a charmingly spunky Trio / Young Marble Giants inspired number that belies the origins of their name. You'll also find a few No New York / 99 Records references as well, with the muscular funk-punk sax leads from Pas Paravant. And yes, Peterlicker. Rehberg's band existed for less than six months in 1989, and it seems that he's re-started the band, which is pretty fucking brutal with a Swans inspired heavy guitar plod and growling vokills. Admittedly, this sticks out quite a bit from the rest of the comp, but it's a pretty awesome track!
MPEG Stream: ZYX "What Do You Live For"
MPEG Stream: PLASTIX "Konsumier Mich"
MPEG Stream: RED.CHAMBER "Grain"
MPEG Stream: ASSTART "Forced To Dance"
MPEG Stream: MONOTON "E-Song"

V/A Neurotic Reactions (Crazy Apple Boutique) cd 21.00
We're always amazed that there's so much great music made in the dim past (well, the '60s and '70s) that remains totally, utterly obscure, and ripe for reissue. The realm of rare pop-psych singles is certainly a good example, and here's yet another great compilation chock full of groovy gems from a international assortment of bands, twenty of 'em, that we've never ever ever ever heard of before (La Quinta Faccia? Carlos Bisso & Conexion 5? Les Problemes? Boneshaker? Procro Magnum? Hamilton Streetcar?). Thanks to the efforts and enthusiasms of today's crate-diggin' DJs (always on the lookout for some unknown tune to get the dancefloor movin') the flow of fab comps like this -- Cherrystone's Rocks, Nightmares at Toby's Shop, The Spanish Trip, Painting The Time, Psychedelic Minds -- is never ceasing, it seems. With bands from Argentina, USA, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and Australia, Neurotic Reactions is a geographically and stylistically diverse collection. There's sunny pop, freakbeat, sitar psych, garage fuzz, hippy funk, all sorts of bright and colorful good time grooves here! Sure, it's true that a lot of crap gets reissued too (cf. ninety percent of the Radioactive roster), but this collection is quality psyke pstuff. The cd booklet includes brief notes on each track/artist and better yet, full-color thumbnail repros of the 45 sleeves, yay!
MPEG Stream: THE DUKES "I'm An Unskilled Worker"
MPEG Stream: PRIMITIVE MAN "Animal Love"
MPEG Stream: SERGE FRANKLIN "Exister"

V/A Neurotic Reactions (Crazy Apple Boutique) lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now On Vinyl!
We're always amazed that there's so much great music made in the dim past (well, the '60s and '70s) that remains totally, utterly obscure, and ripe for reissue. The realm of rare pop-psych singles is certainly a good example, and here's yet another great compilation chock full of groovy gems from a international assortment of bands, twenty of 'em, that we've never ever ever ever heard of before (La Quinta Faccia? Carlos Bisso & Conexion 5? Les Problemes? Boneshaker? Procro Magnum? Hamilton Streetcar?). Thanks to the efforts and enthusiasms of today's crate-diggin' DJs (always on the lookout for some unknown tune to get the dancefloor movin') the flow of fab comps like this -- Cherrystone's Rocks, Nightmares at Toby's Shop, The Spanish Trip, Painting The Time, Psychedelic Minds -- is never ceasing, it seems. With bands from Argentina, USA, England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, and Australia, Neurotic Reactions is a geographically and stylistically diverse collection. There's sunny pop, freakbeat, sitar psych, garage fuzz, hippy funk, all sorts of bright and colorful good time grooves here! Sure, it's true that a lot of crap gets reissued too (cf. ninety percent of the Radioactive roster), but this collection is quality psyke pstuff. The cd booklet includes brief notes on each track/artist and better yet, full-color thumbnail repros of the 45 sleeves, yay!
MPEG Stream: THE DUKES "I'm An Unskilled Worker"
MPEG Stream: PRIMITIVE MAN "Animal Love"
MPEG Stream: SERGE FRANKLIN "Exister"

V/A New Beats From The Delta (Fat Possum/Epitaph) cd 16.98
A meeting of the generations in Oxford, Mississippi. Young hip hop mcs meet up with a bunch of badass old bluesmen on this comp, something only possible on the Fat Possum label. Featuring (of course) R.L. Burnside, and others.

V/A New Coat of Paint (Manifesto) cd 17.98
Another tribute to Tom Waits! ANd this one proves to be by far the stronger of the two cds that were released almost concurrently this year. The other collection was the less than spectacular 'Step Right up'. Some of the brazen artists contributing tracks to This compilation are the Knoxville Girls, Neko Case, Lydia Lunch and Nels CLine as well as the late Screamin' Jay Hawkins.

V/A New Sounds of the Old West Volume 3 (Loose) cd 17.98
Artists such as Grandaddy, The Handsome Family, Sparklehorse, Evan Dando and Mark Eitzel doing some covers of classic country tunes by the likes of Hank Williams and Kris Kristofferson, along with some old 'n dusty sounding originals.

V/A New Waves (Family Recordings) 2cd 30.00
Two discs filled with 55 post-punk new wave songs from the original 45's by the likes of The Cure, Billy Bragg, The Creatures, Sham 69, Elvis Costello, The Ruts, Joe Jackson, The Damned, The Tubes and lots more. If you still have all of these singles on vinyl you probably got yourself a nice little eBay cash cow on your hands. But if not this is a nice way to hear lots from the '77-'83 era of underground (at the time) rock which soon found it's way very much into the mainstream. Some of the best moments on this comp come from the artists who never really made their millions but left a legacy that still stands the test of time. Folks like Lene Lovich (Adult and Numbers should be paying her royalties) and we dare you to find any punk anthem more catchy and fist in the air effective then Sham 69's "If The Kids Are United." And of course some of the big names remind us why they became famous in the first place. Sometimes nostalgia can feel oh so good.
MPEG Stream: THE CREATURES "Right Now"
MPEG Stream: LENE LOVICH "Lucky Number"
MPEG Stream: SHAM 69 "If The Kids Are United"

V/A New York Noise (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
The Soul Jazz label just keeps the cool comps comin', this one being another archival '80s collection that just happens to be perfectly in tune with today's trends. The dance music meets punk/new wave genre that all those currently hip NYC (and SF) scenesters are mining. This is the original scene for that kind of stuff, downtown NYC circa 1978-1983. It was a world where slap bass could coexist with machine-gun drumming, angular grooves and angsty vocals. Some are more on the No Wave side of things (Mars, DNA) and others more funk (ESG, Liquid Liquid, Defunkt, Material). This disc's lineup also includes: Konk, The Dance, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Rahmelzee vs K. Rob (produced by Jean Michel Basquiat!), Bush Tetras, Glenn Branca, The Bloods, Arthur Russell's Dinosaur L, Theoretical Girls, and The Contortions. It's a good mix of total obscurities and can't-miss essentials, packaged with a 30 page booklet full of liner notes and photos. Before you buy another "Electroclash" record, why not spin back 20 years with this? Like those (now missing in action, unfortunately) "Disco Not Disco" comps, this will get you diggin' dancefloor stuff that you might not have otherwise, simply because of how these tracks have been contextualized here, with total boogie-down cuts abutting experiments in academic punk minimalism or deconstructed funk.
MPEG Stream: THE BLOODS "Button Up"
MPEG Stream: THEORETICAL GIRLS "You Got Me"
MPEG Stream: ESG "You Make No Sense"

V/A New York Noise (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Soul Jazz label just keeps the cool comps comin', this one being another archival '80s collection that just happens to be perfectly in tune with today's trends. The dance music meets punk/new wave genre that all those currently hip NYC (and SF) scenesters are mining. This is the original scene for that kind of stuff, downtown NYC circa 1978-1983. It was a world where slap bass could coexist with machine-gun drumming, angular grooves and angsty vocals. Some are more on the No Wave side of things (Mars, DNA) and others more funk (ESG, Liquid Liquid, Defunkt, Material). This disc's lineup also includes: Konk, The Dance, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Rahmelzee vs K. Rob (produced by Jean Michel Basquiat!), Bush Tetras, Glenn Branca, The Bloods, Arthur Russell's Dinosaur l, Theoretical Girls, and The Contortions. It's a good mix of total obscurities and can't-miss essentials, packaged with a 30 page booklet full of liner notes and photos. Before you buy another "Electroclash" record, why not spin back 20 years with this? Like those (now missing in action, unfortunately) "Disco Not Disco" comps, this will get you diggin' dancefloor stuff that you might not have otherwise, simply because of how these tracks have been contextualized here, with total boogie-down cuts abutting experiments in academic punk minimalism or deconstructed funk.

V/A New York Noise 2 (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
When Soul Jazz released the comp "New York Noise" a few years back it was not only an amazing collection of lost gems from NY circa '78-'82, it was also the perfect document showcasing the blueprints of sounds that were beginning to be echoed again all over the globe. Dance-Punk, electro-clash, no wave, dub infused funk..all sounds that were blossomed in the heyday of the NY Underground music scene, now were being mimicked everywhere you looked. With Volume 2 we weren't sure if they would be able to put together as cohesive and overall exciting package as they did with the first one, but low and behold they have. It starts off with pt.2 of "Ungawa" by the rhythmically chaotic all female outfit Pulsallama. Along the way we got hit so nice and hard by Rhys Chatham, the person who basically channeled his studies of minimalism with LaMonte Young into blissed out and blistering no wave. Y Pants demonstrate their everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to pre-riot grrrl glory. Red Transistor show off no-wave at its rough and tumbling best. Glorious Strangers provide the best funk/dub leaning track on the record with instrumentation that you could mistake for a new Tussle single. Jill Kroesen melds pop and skronk like they've always meant to be together. Sonic Youth reminds us of their glory days (and makes us feel old). Damn, this is making us wish we were back in NYC during this era...such vibrant and distinct energy!
MPEG Stream: PULSALLAMA "Ungawa Pt.2 (Pulsallama)"
MPEG Stream: RHYS CHATHAM "Drastic Classicism (Rhys Chatham)"
MPEG Stream: Y PANTS "Favorite Sweater (Y Pants)"

V/A New York Noise 2 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When Soul Jazz released the comp "New York Noise" a few years back it was not only an amazing collection of lost gems from NY circa '78-'82, it was also the perfect document showcasing the blueprints of sounds that were beginning to be echoed again all over the globe. Dance-Punk, electro-clash, no wave, dub infused funk..all sounds that were blossomed in the heyday of the NY Underground music scene, now were being mimicked everywhere you looked. With Volume 2 we weren't sure if they would be able to put together as cohesive and overall exciting package as they did with the first one, but low and behold they have. It starts off with pt.2 of "Ungawa" by the rhythmically chaotic all female outfit Pulsallama. Along the way we got hit so nice and hard by Rhys Chatham, the person who basically channeled his studies of minimalism with LaMonte Young into blissed out and blistering no wave. Y Pants demonstrate their everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to pre-riot grrrl glory. Red Transistor show off no-wave at its rough and tumbling best. Glorious Strangers provide the best funk/dub leaning track on the record with instrumentation that you could mistake for a new Tussle single. Jill Kroesen melds pop and skronk like they've always meant to be together. Sonic Youth reminds us of their glory days (and makes us feel old). Damn, this is making us wish we were back in NYC during this era...such vibrant and distinct energy!
MPEG Stream: PULSALLAMA "Ungawa Pt.2 (Pulsallama)"
MPEG Stream: RHYS CHATHAM "Drastic Classicism (Rhys Chatham)"
MPEG Stream: Y PANTS "Favorite Sweater (Y Pants)"

V/A New York Noise Vol.3 (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Frankly, we were very surprised that Soul Jazz was releasing a third volume in their New York Noise series. While the first volume was phenomenal and timely amongst the then current wave of new bands revitalizing the no wave disco sound of late seventies New York, the second volume, despite great moments, felt stretched out with lots of filler. So the real surprise is how good this third volume sounds! It's more thematically selected this time around by Stuart Argabright from Ike Yard with fewer bands represented mostly by two tracks each. Even though the focus here is on more electronic acts than previous volumes, there's kind of a Naked City retro-fifties noir feeling to the selection, whether it be from Ike Yard's own paranoid dub, the oppressive groove of Boris Policeband and Martin Rev from Suicide or the no wave rockabilly of James Blood Ulmer and Judy Nylon, whose blase cover of Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" sounds like an outtake from Lydia Lunch's Queen of Siam.
Killer tracks from UT, Dominatrix, Implog, Dark Day and Snatch round out the collection.
MPEG Stream: IMPLOG "She Creatures"
MPEG Stream: BORIS POLICEBAND "Tow Away"
MPEG Stream: DOMINATRIX "City That Never Sleeps"

V/A New York Noise Vol.3 (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Frankly, we were very surprised that Soul Jazz was releasing a third volume in their New York Noise series. While the first volume was phenomenal and timely amongst the then current wave of new bands revitalizing the no wave disco sound of late seventies New York, the second volume, despite great moments, felt stretched out with lots of filler. So the real surprise is how good this third volume sounds! It's more thematically selected this time around by Stuart Argabright from Ike Yard with fewer bands represented mostly by two tracks each. Even though the focus here is on more electronic acts than previous volumes, there's kind of a Naked City retro-fifties noir feeling to the selection, whether it be from Ike Yard's own paranoid dub, the oppressive groove of Boris Policeband and Martin Rev from Suicide or the no wave rockabilly of James Blood Ulmer and Judy Nylon, whose blase cover of Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" sounds like an outtake from Lydia Lunch's Queen of Siam.
Killer tracks from UT, Dominatrix, Implog, Dark Day and Snatch round out the collection.
MPEG Stream: IMPLOG "She Creatures"
MPEG Stream: BORIS POLICEBAND "Tow Away"
MPEG Stream: DOMINATRIX "City That Never Sleeps"

V/A Next Brel (DRG) cd 16.98
Someone (I think it was Andee actually) commented that hearing this compilation just made him wanna listen to Scott Walker. And well, you can see his point because although this is a tribute to Jacques Brel, it was American singer Walker who spread the gospel of this Belgian singing great to the masses (as translated from French to English by Mort Shuman and Eric Blau). Perhaps one of the coolest things about this particular tribute is that unlike most others that just assemble a group of flavor of the day (and usually less than appropriate) artists to cover the songs, this one is compiled from original recordings from different decades gone by, and hence conveys much more of a sense of (both the artists' and the audience's) on-going love for this man's music.
What this compilation also does unfortunately though is bring to light the occasional near-nursery rhyming and awkward translations that befell some of the songs. Really, you've gotta be one helluva ballsy (male or female) performer to pull off some of those lyrics! Lesser artists simply end up sounding foolish! Case in point, The Divine Comedy's flamboyant crooning of the phrase "stupid ass way" on "Jackie" is one of those latter occasions. Ahem, step aside sir, and hear how the pros do it... David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, Jimmie Rodgers, Nina Simone, Marc Almond (who actually did his own Brel tribute album complete with his own translations), the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, French chanteuse Barbara and of course, the aforementioned Walker. Three of these twelve songs are his renditions -- two of them suitably opening and closing the compilation.
MPEG Stream: BARBARA "Les Flamandes"
MPEG Stream: DIVINE COMEDY "Jackie"

V/A Nicky Siano's The Gallery (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Legendary '70s New York nightclub, The Gallery, sported equally as legendary DJ Nicky Siano once upon a time. A time when Bianca Jagger greeted all from its front door perched atop a white horse. A time when people partied without shame. You'd be strapped to see SUCH flagrant decadence these more-earnest days in post-9/11 NYC, but the soul and funk hits from Siano's stay at The Gallery transcend the all-out-blow-out-disco-era to remain some of the best ever recorded. Two tracks (one from The Supremes -- giving a glimpse into Diana Ross' future disco direction) are more straightup disco and still a little hard to take even 30 years later... HOWEVER, all the other soul and funk songs kick major flashy ass-shakin sparkling gold hot pants. Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: UNDISPUTED TRUTH "Big John Is My Name"
MPEG Stream: BAR-KAYS "Sang And Dance"

V/A Nicky Siano's The Gallery (Soul Jazz) 3lp 27.00
Available also on 3lp vinyl!! Legendary '70s New York nightclub, The Gallery, sported equally as legendary DJ Nicky Siano once upon a time. A time when Bianca Jagger greeted all from its front door perched atop a white horse. A time when people partied without shame. You'd be strapped to see SUCH flagrant decadence these more-earnest days in post-9/11 NYC, but the soul and funk hits from Siano's stay at The Gallery transcend the all-out-blow-out-disco-era to remain some of the best ever recorded. Two tracks (one from The Supremes -- giving a glimpse into Diana Ross' future disco direction) are more straightup disco and still a little hard to take even 30 years later... HOWEVER, all the other soul and funk songs kick major flashy ass-shakin sparkling gold hot pants. Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: UNDISPUTED TRUTH "Big John Is My Name"
MPEG Stream: SUPREMES "Yes We Can Can"

V/A Niger: Hunters Of The Dallol Mawri (Ocora) cd 22.00

MPEG Stream: "Chant Destine Au Maidawa"
MPEG Stream: "Chant Destine Au Dan Galadima"
MPEG Stream: "Chant Destine Au Tous Les Malhaba"

V/A Nigeria Rock Special: Psychedelic Afro-Rock & Fuzz Funk In 1970s Nigeria (Soundway) cd 16.98
It's appropriate that Nigeria Rock Special kicks things off with a supremely heavy slab of organ/bass/drum groove by Ofege called "Adieu," as this is the third and allegedly final installment in Sound Way's incredible Nigeria Special series. We were skeptical that this volume would be able to live up to the high standards set by the first two, but honestly this is probably the best of the three. No joke, it's so effing good that when we put it on in the store all of us just look at each other and kind of do that squinty head bobbing groove thing where you're kind of like, "holy crap how good is this? SO GOOD!" In fact this is one of those rare compilations that manages to transcend its genre and appeal to people who may not normally be into African music -- it's not every day that you see some of the serious blackened noisemongering customers digging stuff from the "international" section!
First thing, the title might be a little misleading... if you're coming to this expecting to hear stoned out proto-metal clomp or extended blues riffage, you might be a bit disappointed. While there are fuzzed out guitar explorations aplenty on this disc, the overall feel definitely leans more towards the funky side of things. If you're a fan of the Boscoe lp we reviewed a few lists back, or the Skull Snaps record, or even Black Merda (or anything from the now sadly out of print Chains and Black Exhaust compilation) you are going to LOVE this record: imagine blown out, psychedelic instrumental passages layered over heavy, heavy, heavy bass and drums with no shortage of traditional highlife and afrobeat flourishes and you're in the ballpark. In fact, with the exception of a few tracks (most notably, Question Mark's "Freaking Out," which, believe it or not, sounds kind of like Can covering something from the Nuggets box), the western influence is actually less present in this collection than it was in the last volume.
There are too many standouts to list them all, but we would be remiss not to mention that Mono Mono's "Kenimania" comes on like Fela tackling a Booker T jam; or that Ofo The Black Company's "Enario" is a simmering pot of mid-tempo funk and call and response vocals that holds up as a worthy successor to their mighty "Allah Wakbarr" (a song you might remember from two other essential compilations: Nigeria 70, and World Psychedelic Classics Vol. 3); or that the treble-kicking guitars of Colomach's "Cotocun Gba Gounke" create a mind-blowing hybrid of Middle-Eastern-tinged desert blues and Hendrix-ian pyrotechnics; or that Joe King Kologbo & His Black Sounds' "Another Man's Thing" is a frenetic polemic that switches gears from hyperactive shuffle to deep funk throb-n-stab in the blink of an eye!
Look, we know we've been pushing these Nigeria Special comps hard for the last few months but it's for good reason: the three volumes together form a meticulously curated, beautifully packaged collection of songs that spans two decades and demonstrates the intense creativity and musical diversity in post-revolution Nigeria. Taken by itself, Nigeria Rock Special is a gripping, exuberant, and infectious listen from start to finish and definitely comes with as high a recommendation as we can dish out!
MPEG Stream: THE ACTION 13 "More Bread To The People"
MPEG Stream: THE HYGRADES "In The Jungle (Instrumental)"
MPEG Stream: MONO MONO "Kenimania"
MPEG Stream: QUESTION MARK "Freaking Out"

V/A Night Watch, the (LTM) 2cd 17.98

V/A Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat, & Bossa Nova 1966-70 (Big Beat) cd 16.98
Along with Funky Frauleins and the French Sixties Girls compilations, how could we resist the allure of Nippon Girls, a swinging mod-tastic compilation of hip-swaying and frug-dancing femme-fronted big beat gems from sixties Japan? We couldn't, and you probably can't either. The cd came out a few years ago, but the vinyl version only just got released so we thought we should finally review this especially after the success of another Big Beat disc, Nippon Guitars, we reviewed a few lists ago. Feeling the influence of Western pop music in the sixties (including Bossa Nova from Brazil and Ye Ye from France), Japanese musicians capitalized on the new sound often by lifting popular songs wholesale and rewriting the lyrics. But the enthusiasm with which these sexy and soulful songs are performed and arranged make them pretty outstanding in their own right. Acid-y guitars, cinematic orchestral flourishes, and sharp and dynamic arrangements are just too infectious to be ignored, especially by beautiful women who look and sound this fantastically fierce. It's party time!
Note: the cd version contains the full 25 tracks while the lp version only covers the first 12 tracks from 1967-1969. We assume there will be a follow-up volume 2 vinyl comp with the other tracks.
MPEG Stream: JUN MAYUZUMI "Black Room"
MPEG Stream: NANA KINOMI & LEO BEATS "Suki Sa Suki Sa Suki Sa"
MPEG Stream: REIKO OHARA "Peacock Baby"

V/A Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat, & Bossa Nova 1967-69 (Big Beat) lp 25.00
Along with Funky Frauleins and the French Sixties Girls compilations, how could we resist the allure of Nippon Girls, a swinging mod-tastic compilation of hip-swaying and frug-dancing femme-fronted big beat gems from sixties Japan? We couldn't, and you probably can't either. The cd came out a few years ago, but the vinyl version only just got released so we thought we should finally review this especially after the success of another Big Beat disc, Nippon Guitars, we reviewed a few lists ago. Feeling the influence of Western pop music in the sixties (including Bossa Nova from Brazil and Ye Ye from France), Japanese musicians capitalized on the new sound often by lifting popular songs wholesale and rewriting the lyrics. But the enthusiasm with which these sexy and soulful songs are performed and arranged make them pretty outstanding in their own right. Acid-y guitars, cinematic orchestral flourishes, and sharp and dynamic arrangements are just too infectious to be ignored, especially by beautiful women who look and sound this fantastically fierce. It's party time!
Note: the cd version contains the full 25 tracks while the lp version only covers the first 12 tracks from 1967-1969. We assume there will be a follow-up volume 2 vinyl comp with the other tracks.
MPEG Stream: JUN MAYUZUMI "Black Room"
MPEG Stream: NANA KINOMI & LEO BEATS "Suki Sa Suki Sa Suki Sa"
MPEG Stream: REIKO OHARA "Peacock Baby"

V/A No New York (Lilith) cd 16.98
Almost 30 years ago, Brian Eno caught wind it em into the studio in order to document the messy dynamics of this short-lived community. The resulting compilation was the legendary No New York compilation. Depending on who you ask, these four bands on the No New York comp were the only bands to truly inherit the much ballyhooed No Wave throne, much to the chagrin of like-minded projects coming from other neighborhoods of New York City. For reasons that by now have long been forgotten, No New York has remained out of print for decades, thus attaining a mythological status not only for collectors but also for hundreds of art-rock bands who so badly wanted to wear the No Wave badge of honor.
Eno had deliberately engineered these recordings buried in grit and mud, hoping to reproduce the frenzy of the Velvet Underground; and even he admitted that these bands had made better sounding recordings for various other labels. Eno's strategies paid off in unifying each and every band through a anxious kineticism that each band would later take in different directions. Led by the spasmodic James Chance, the Contortions overdosed on James Brown's swagger in their sharp funk grooves bloodied by Chance's vocal phlegm and spittle. Teenage Jesus & The Jerks had a 16-year old Lydia Lunch at their helm, scraping air-raid sirens violently across her guitar and adding equally ear-splitting vocal shrieks on top of The Jerks' sweaty militant march. Mars may have been the most sonically adventurous of the four in their toxic psychosis that evolved from throbbing avant-punk riffage into narcoleptic improviation. For the No New York compilation, DNA was in their monstrous synth plod and guitar shard phase which sounds so intesne and so so good.
Shitty Japanese bootlegs of No New York have surfaced from time to time, sporting poor digital transfers of roughly handled vinyl, so it's nice to have this offically licensed Russian import which is quite nicely packaged and has much improved sound quality.
MPEG Stream: CONTORTIONS "Dish It Out"
MPEG Stream: TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS "Burning Rubber"
MPEG Stream: MARS "Helen Fordsdale"
MPEG Stream: DNA "Egomaniac's Kiss"

V/A No New York (Lilith) lp 25.00
Almost 30 years ago, Brian Eno caught wind of a bunch of nihilist musicians in New York's East Village, who were turning the punk revolution on its head in constructing a rock polyglot of mangled free-jazz, Theatre Artaud histrionics, sex-crime funk, and teeth-gnashing rage. Eno gathered together the four major projects from this scene -- The Contortions, DNA, Mars, and Teenage Jesus & The Jerks -- and brought them into the studio in order to document the messy dynamics of this short-lived community. The resulting compilation was the legendary No New York compilation. Depending on who you ask, these four bands on the No New York comp were the only bands to truly inherit the much ballyhooed No Wave throne, much to the chagrin of like-minded projects coming from other neighborhoods of New York City. For reasons that by now have long been forgotten, No New York has remained out of print for decades, thus attaining a mythological status not only for collectors but also for hundreds of art-rock bands who so badly wanted to wear the No Wave badge of honor.
Eno had deliberately engineered these recordings buried in grit and mud, hoping to reproduce the frenzy of the Velvet Underground; and even he admitted that these bands had made better sounding recordings for various other labels. Eno's strategies paid off in unifying each and every band through a anxious kineticism that each band would later take in different directions. Led by the spasmodic James Chance, the Contortions overdosed on James Brown's swagger in their sharp funk grooves bloodied by Chance's vocal phlegm and spittle. Teenage Jesus & The Jerks had a 16-year old Lydia Lunch at their helm, scraping air-raid sirens violently across her guitar and adding equally ear-splitting vocal shrieks on top of The Jerks' sweaty militant march. Mars may have been the most sonically adventurous of the four in their toxic psychosis that evolved from throbbing avant-punk riffage into narcoleptic improviation. For the No New York compilation, DNA was in their monstrous synth plod and guitar shard phase which sounds so intesne and so so good.
Shitty Japanese bootlegs of No New York have surfaced from time to time, sporting poor digital transfers of roughly handled vinyl, so it's nice to have this offically licensed Russian import which is quite nicely packaged and has much improved sound quality.
RealAudio clip: CONTORTIONS "Dish It Out"
RealAudio clip: TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS "Burning Rubber"
RealAudio clip: MARS "Helen Fordsdale"
RealAudio clip: DNA "Egomaniac's Kiss"

V/A Noah Found Grace: An Anthology Of Jamaican Gospel Music (Social Music) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

V/A Noise Is All In Your Head (Gold Soundz) cd 10.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Found a couple of these killer comps stashed in the closet. Figured there would probably be one or two noiseniks out there would flip for this. Just have a look at the groups/folks involved: Oren Ambarchi, Thurston Moore, Noxagt, Lass Marhaug, Volcano The Bear, Neil Campbell, Dylan Nyoukis, and a whole bunch more. House in a cool oversized cover. Pretty sure this is long out of print so these are definitely the last copies ever. And on sale to boot!

V/A North By North West (Korova) 3cd 38.00
This three CD boxset documents the post-punk scenes indigenous to Liverpool and Manchester from the 70s and '80s. Most of the tracks can be found kicking around (i.e. Buzzcocks, Smiths, The Fall, Joy Division, Magazine, A Certain Ratio, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, OMD, New Order, etc.), but there's enough rare tracks to make this collection an interesting listen (i.e. Yachts, Pink Industry, Lori & The Chameleons, etc.).

V/A Not Alone (Jnana / Durtro) 5cd 37.00
Talk of this compilation has been making the rounds for months, and now that it's here we can see why. We can also see why it took so dang long. But it was well worth it. The final product, the lineup, the songs, the packaging, the cause, WOW. The bands are a who's who of indie / avant / alternative rock / folk / electronica / experimental, all over the map. It's dangerously close to being SO eclectic that it's just a mess, but if you approach it as the worlds longest mixtape, made by your coolest friend with the best record collection it all starts to make some sort of skewed sense. But who cares? Look at this lineup:
Angles Of Light, Michael Yonkers, Antony And The Johnsons, Thighpaulsandra, Devendra Banhart, William Basinski, Bevis Frond, Teenage Fanclub, Sundial, Six Organs Of Admittance, Suishou No Fune, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Richard Buckner, Vashti Bunyan, Damon And Naomi, Shock Headed Peters, Isobel Campbell, Dolly Collins, Shirley Collins, Bill Fay, Marissa Nadler, Tom Recchion, Colin Potter, 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Linda Perhacs, Max Richter, Current 93, Jad Fair, Simon Finn, Edward Ka-Spel, Pearls Before Swine, Nurse With Wound, Jarboe, Charlemagne Palestine, Thurston Moore, Jim O'Rourke, Mirror, Matmos, Alex Nielson & Richard Youngs, Larsen, Faun Fables, James William Hindle, The Hafler Trio, Keiji Haino, Allen Ginsberg, Howie B, Ghost, irr.app.(ext)., Cyclobe, Fursaxa and more more more!
The liner notes make it impossible to tell just which tracks are exclusive or unreleased and which are album tracks, but again it hardly matters in this context. Like borrowing some cool kids Ipod and setting it on shuffle. And of course the most important part of all this, and the whole reason this compilation exists is that all proceeds go to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) to support their work in fighting HIV / AIDS in Africa.
Packaged in a cool slipcover box, with individually printed cd sleeves, a HUGE book with liner notes from Mark Logan who runs Jnana records as well as information about Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as track by track notes from each band.
MPEG Stream: IRR.APP.(EXT.) "Fly Away - And Then What?"
MPEG Stream: FURSAXA "In Lieu Of"
MPEG Stream: MATMOS "A Song For The Appeal"
MPEG Stream: DEVENDRA BANHART "A Sight To Behold"

V/A Not The Same Old Blues Crap (Fat Possum) cd 4.98
Let's not forget the blues. New buget-priced label sampler from badass blues champions Fat Possum (now distributed by big punkcorporation Epitaph and set to conquer the world). Features some wild and wooly tracks from R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough (R.I.P.), Hasil Adkins, T-Model Ford...i.e. lots of old fellers who'll put a boot up your backside. Plus some young 'uns, including Jon Spencer Blues Explosion side-project 20 Miles. So don't just get the blues and sit there depressed, get the blues, put this on, and break things! An excellent introduction to the many somewhat sensationalistic but genuinely non-crap artists on Fat Possum.

V/A Not The Spaces You Know, But Between Them (Three Lobed) 4lp box 80.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is another one of those compilations that seems custom made for aQuarius. And one that needs very little in the way of a description except for a list of the bands who contribute exclusive material to this sprawling quadruple lp celebration of Three Lobed's tenth anniversary. The packaging is out of this world, totally over the top, but before we get to that, let's give you that list, and odds are, some of you can stop there and add this gem to your cart and be done with it:
SUN CITY GIRLS
SONIC YOUTH
BARDO POND
COMETS ON FIRE
ETERNAL TAPESTRY
STEVE GUNN
MOUTHUS
D.CHARLES SPEER / WOODEN WAND
Not too shabby for sure!
Each band gets a whole side, and here's some more details on the contributions. The Sun City Girls tracks are live recordings from Emo's in Austin Texas from their final US show EVER. The Sonic Youth tracks were recorded over the space of 10 years, one in 2010, the other in 2000. The Comets On Fire side is a collage of various recordings made between 2006 and 2010. The Bardo Pond side is a 20 minute long exclusive track recorded in 2010. The Eternal Tapestry side is a reworking of an old track, slowed down, with lots of added organ! The Mouthus side features two new exclusive tracks recorded in 2010. The Steve Gunn side features a new recording, made earlier this year of a live staple, and finally, D. Charles Speer & The Helix and Wooden Wand share a side, the Speer tracks feature Dave Nuss from No Neck Blues Band. Phew. And that's just the music. This box is also a serious chunk of musical art.
The vinyl is all pressed on super thick 140 gram vinyl, and each lp is housed in a full color printed inner sleeve. There's a big folded insert with liner notes from Wire / Pitchfork scribe Marc Masters, there is also a download card for mp3s of all the music, and the whole thing is stashed in a gorgeous, heavy Stoughton lp box. It's definitely incredible, and well worth the price. It is HEAVY though, so if you order this, it will NOT count as a single item, whatever your shipping, whether it's just this box, or this box along with other stuff, it will ship by weight.
And besides all that, this thing is CRAZY limited. We got a whole bunch, but we're not sure how many are left, or how many we will be able to get (if any) once we run out, so best to grab one quick before they are gone for good.

V/A Nothing Comes Easy (Psychic Circle) cd 16.98

V/A Nothing Left To Lose: A Tribute To Kris Kristofferson (Incidental Music) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Let's face it, most tribute albums suck. I can count on one hand the number of tribute albums I have *loved*. (Well, actually on one finger, namely the Roky Erickson trib.) Now along comes this FANTASTIC collection of songs performed by a perfectly-chosen array of alt country musicmakers, all paying their respects to Kris Kristofferson with achingly gorgeous renditions of his songs. I'm hard pressed to even name highlight tracks, because *all* of them are lovely. The mood is consistently downer, the performances retain the flavor of the individual contributing bands, but let the brilliance of Kristofferson's songwriting show thru. And who doesn't love "Me and Bobby McGee", "Help Me Make it Thru the Night", and my personal fave "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down"? If you're not a Kristofferson fan (yet), get this anyway -- it serves as a wonderful intro to the perpetual outsider with the progressive politics who mopped floors at a Columbia's Nashville studios just so he could slip Johnny Cash tapes of his songs! (The liner notes go into his life story a bit -- quite fascinating -- he was involved in the Central American conflicts, visited the Sandanistas, is working to free Leonard Peltier, etc.)
Participants include Souled American, Calexico, Radar Brothers, Zmrzlina, Virgil Shaw (Dieselhed), Richard Buckner, Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Grandaddy, Deanna Varagone (Lambchop), Court and Spark, Califone, Handsome Family -- all artists already established as wonderful. Hear them pay tribute. Take it from me, the picky tribute listener -- this one is GREAT. It will make you love Kristofferson while also providing a stunning snapshot of the current alt.country scene. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: CALEXICO "Casey's Last Ride"
RealAudio clip: ZMRZLINA WITH MILK CHOPPER "Me & Bobby McGee"
RealAudio clip: DIANA DARBY "Jesus Was a Capricorn"
RealAudio clip: HANDSOME FAMILY "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"

V/A Nothing Left To Lose: A Tribute To Kris Kristofferson (Incidental Music) cd 13.98
Let's face it, most tribute albums suck. I can count on one hand the number of tribute albums I have *loved*. (Well, actually on one finger, namely the Roky Erickson trib.) Now along comes this FANTASTIC collection of songs performed by a perfectly-chosen array of alt country musicmakers, all paying their respects to Kris Kristofferson with achingly gorgeous renditions of his songs. I'm hard pressed to even name highlight tracks, because *all* of them are lovely. The mood is consistently downer, the performances retain the flavor of the individual contributing bands, but let the brilliance of Kristofferson's songwriting show thru. And who doesn't love "Me and Bobby McGee", "Help Me Make it Thru the Night", and my personal fave "Sunday Mornin' Coming Down"? If you're not a Kristofferson fan (yet), get this anyway -- it serves as a wonderful intro to the perpetual outsider with the progressive politics who mopped floors at a Columbia's Nashville studios just so he could slip Johnny Cash tapes of his songs! (The liner notes go into his life story a bit -- quite fascinating -- he was involved in the Central American conflicts, visited the Sandanistas, is working to free Leonard Peltier, etc.)
Participants include Souled American, Calexico, Radar Brothers, Zmrzlina, Virgil Shaw (Dieselhed), Richard Buckner, Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Grandaddy, Deanna Varagone (Lambchop), Court and Spark, Califone, Handsome Family -- all artists already established as wonderful. Hear them pay tribute. Take it from me, the picky tribute listener -- this one is GREAT. It will make you love Kristofferson while also providing a stunning snapshot of the current alt.country scene. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: CALEXICO "Casey's Last Ride"
RealAudio clip: ZMRZLINA WITH MILK CHOPPER "Me & Bobby McGee"
RealAudio clip: DIANA DARBY "Jesus Was a Capricorn"
RealAudio clip: HANDSOME FAMILY "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down"

V/A Notwave (Rong / DFA) cd 14.98
DFA Records thrives on the past. The debut track by label bossman James Murphy's band LCD Soundsystem, "Losing My Edge," humorously exposed his healthy record collection and grinningly unveiled current day, hipster cynicism. But one of the conundrums about DFA is that while their influences are timeless, much of their output simply isn't. This collaboration release with Rong reifies that sentiment. And while Notwave is certainly a catchy term, it isn't immediately obvious what it means, or what the common thread is that holds it together. Styles range from the Kraftwerk musique of Nonstop's "Hydration Explosion" to the New Romantic meets The Slits-ness of Striplight's "No Search No Entry," to the abstract, paranoid peyote-soul of former !!! members Free Blood to the Gwen Guthrie-style, b-side dub of Research. Everything is fine really, nothing is great. The Nonstop track is the only one that seems to standout. It's solid bedroom krautpop. Speaking of the past, Sal P of Liquid Liquid is present on a perfectly fine early '90s acid house-style Tussle remix, and James Chance & The Contortions live freakout/meltdown "King Heroin" shows up second to last. Then out of nowhere, we're right back in some mid-'80s electro-soul for one final track. DFA completists, desperate disco revivalists, or those looking for an extraterrestrial, extraneous house/dub cover of Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" may want this.
MPEG Stream: NONSTOP "Hydration Explosion"
MPEG Stream: JAMES CHANCE & THE CONTORTIONS "King Heroin"

V/A Notwave (Rong / DFA) 12" 8.98
Three song 12" culled from the cd of the same name, featuring three tracks:
Striplight "No Search For Entry (Tim Love Lee Dub), Tussle "Elephants Meandering (Sal Principato And Dennis Young Mix, and Welcome Stranger "Smoke Machine". The cd version is reviewed elsewhere, so check that review for more details.

V/A Nova Feedback (God Mountain) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Possibly the most non-sensical compilation ever, this Japanese import features tracks from Costes (French vulgar vaudeville), Gastr del Sol, several Japanese hardcore/funk/metal units (including Gaji, who sound very similar to Melt-Banana), and improv music by Ikue Mori and others. Truly a bizarre item.

V/A Now We Are Ten (Trunk) cd 11.98
Marking their 10 year anniversary as THE purveyor of quaint, vintage, obscure and unflinchingly British ear candy, Trunk Records has released a splendid compilation of the cream from *most* of their best releases from the past decade. Most is the key word here as three of their best releases, the awesome soundtracks to "The Wicker Man", "Psychomania", and the unreleased film music of "Dawn of The Dead" are not represented. But Trunk has always been a mixed bag label, and odd horror scores were only one facet of their obsession, the others being pastoral jazz, long forgotten children's songs, off-kilter ad jingles, library music, documentary film scores, and cosmically avant-garde electronic compositions. If you were curious about any of their past releases such as the Fuzzy Felt Folk compilation of obscure children's folk, or the Sven Libaek anthology of underwater documentary soundtracks, or the Michael Garrick Trio's lost cosmic jazz, or any of Basil Kirchan's sublimely eccentric compositions (all of the above are awesome BTW!) but wary to commit to a full album then this compilation might be a smoother introduction to Trunk's unusual tastes. What's even better is that 7 of the 22 tracks are previously unreleased with inclusions from Delia Derbyshire, Herbie Hancock, Douglas Wood and Paul Lewis. Please note that the sound samples are from the unreleased selections because many of the Trunk releases we had already thoroughly reviewed, so if you are curious about what Michael Garrick, Sven Libaek or the Fuzzy Felt Folk comp sounds like, check out the reviews and samples elsewhere on our site. They are all worth your time. Congrats Trunk!
PS includes the unlikely UK radio hit "The Ladies Bras" (all 36 seconds of it!).
MPEG Stream: DOUGLAS WOOD "Icicles"
MPEG Stream: PAUL LEWIS "Waiting For Nina"
MPEG Stream: BASIL KIRCHIN "Negatives"

V/A Nu Afrobeat Experience (Eko Star) cd 16.98

V/A Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969 (Rhino) 4cd 73.00
This brilliant cd box set lives up to Rhino's slogan "We collect records so you don't have to." Covering the nether regions of 1964-'69, Nuggets II is a virtually hitless, yet absolutely priceless, collection of mod, psychedelic, British R&B, freakbeat, twee-pop, and countless other momentary genres. We're talkin' another four discs of treasures from the underground, including all the usual extras: a massive 100-page book with new essays from Bomp editor Greg Shaw and Nuggets II producers Alec Palao and Gary Stewart, plus complete track info by Ugly Things editor Mike Stax, and a lorry-load of rare pix. If you already have the first Nuggets box set of American garage rock, you'll know what to expect (and if you don't have that, well, there's another suggested purchase for you)! This collection covers England mainly (with classics from The Creation, Tomorrow, The Action, The Pretty Things, and many more mostly lesser-knowns) but also hits on the Far East (including a track from Japan's fab The Mops!) and Latin America. There is another one in the works that will cover the rest of the world. If you are going to buy one box set this year this should be the one!
RealAudio clip: CREATION "Making Time"
RealAudio clip: JOHN'S CHILDREN "Desdemona"
RealAudio clip: MOPS "I'm Just A Mops"
RealAudio clip: THOR'S HAMMER "My Life"