V/A The Rubble Collection Vol. 1-10 (Fallout) 10 cd box 96.00

V/A The Rubble Collection Vol. 11-20 (Fallout) 10 cd box 96.00
It might seem silly to list the second of two 10cd boxsets before we list the first, but we to be honest, both are equally awesome, and there's really no specific chronology. And odds are, most folks who buy this one, either already have the other one, or are gonna want that one too. If you're the latter, and do want both, go ahead and order this one, and we can order you the first one, we're hoping to have more in the next week or so.
Anyway, most record nerds and certainly most garage / beat freaks are no doubt well aware of the Rubble series of lps collecting all manner of garage, psych and pop rarities on killer comps, each filled with all time favorites and tons of should have been classics. Super grungy garage stomp, sunshiney pop, groovy psychedelic jangle, shimmery hippy grooves, fuzzy flower child folk, tripped out acid psych, druggy dream pop, fuzzy proto metal, Beach Boys-ish surf rock and every possible stop in between. Just a list of some of the hundred plus bands should have most music obsessives drooling: The Accent, Fairy Tale, The Californians, Ice, Cherry Smash, Felius Andromeda, The Attack, Turquoise, Bulldog Breed, Virgin Sleep, Human Instinct, The Timebox, Outer Limits, Tintern Abbey, East Of Eden, Ozworld, Buzz, Blue Bous, Southern Sounds, Force Five, The French Revolution, The Peep Show, Espirit De Corps, Our Plastic Dream, Nirvana, Ghost, Groove, Sub, Science Poption, Strawberry Children, Curiosity Shoppe, Noah's Ark, The Zipps, The Pretty Things, Tuesday's Children, Jackpots, Wonderland, Wallace Collection, Jason Crest, The Sound Barrier, House Of Lords, St. Valentines Day Massacre, Mint, Carriage Company, Dreams, Chasers, Remo Four, Sea-Ders, Fox, The Oscar Bicycle, Gentle Influence, The Lion Tamers, Wild Silk, Spice, The Afex, Philamore Lincoln, Andwella's Dream, Argosy, Time Machine, Oct'Opus, Dee & Quotum, The Still Life, Doomsday Machine, Infantes Junilate, Pregnant Insomnia, Fruit Machine, Lions Of Judah, Cymbaline, Together, Protobello Explosion, The Fourmyula, Icarus, The Moving Finger, Cinnamon Quill, Blossom Toes, Soft Machine, Bump Of Chicken, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Pandemonium, Adjeef The Poet, Apple and more more more!!!
Besides having some of the most awesome band names ever, these are some of the most amazing tracks you'll ever hear. It's like the greatest pop psych fuzz surf garage hippy folk proto-metal mixtape EVER!!!
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES. Each disc in it's own sleeve, a huge booklet with liner notes, housed in a super nice acid drenched full color box, each one machine numbered.
Way recommended!

V/A The Sexual Life Of The Savages (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.
This is the second Brazilian post-punk compilation we've gotten in the last couple of weeks. The first one that arrived was the electrifying Nao Wave - 1982-1988 released by Man Recordings. This one's from those fine folks at Soul Jazz who've built a solid reputation for releasing music of many sorts (reggae, funk, soul, and post-punk) from many distant locales -- all with one particular thing in common, an addictive, propulsive groove. They've certainly tapped into a wild geyser with this release, although it's not quite as out-there and off-the-hook as the tough-act-to-follow Nao Wave. Most of the eighteen songs are much more typical of the angular sounds you'd imagine when you think of British post-punk (Wire, Gang Of Four, etc). Some artists from Nao Wave reappear here, they are Akira S Et As Garotas Que Erraram, Chance, As Mercenarios, and Fellini, but fortunately only two song are redundant ("Sobre As Pernas" and "Samba De Morro" by the first two artists respectively).
MPEG Stream: MUZAK "Ilha Urbana"
MPEG Stream: CABINE C "Tao Perto"

V/A The Sexual Life Of The Savages: Underground Post-Punk From Sao Paulo, Brasil (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
This is the second Brazilian post-punk compilation we've gotten in the last couple of weeks. The first one that arrived was the electrifying Nao Wave - 1982-1988 released by Man Recordings. This one's from those fine folks at Soul Jazz who've built a solid reputation for releasing music of many sorts (reggae, funk, soul, and post-punk) from many distant locales -- all with one particular thing in common, an addictive, propulsive groove. They've certainly tapped into a wild geyser with this release, although it's not quite as out-there and off-the-hook as the tough-act-to-follow Nao Wave. Most of the eighteen songs are much more typical of the angular sounds you'd imagine when you think of British post-punk (Wire, Gang Of Four, etc). Some artists from Nao Wave reappear here, they are Akira S Et As Garotas Que Erraram, Chance, As Mercenarios, and Fellini, but fortunately only two song are redundant ("Sobre As Pernas" and "Samba De Morro" by the first two artists respectively).
MPEG Stream: MUZAK "Ilha Urbana"
MPEG Stream: CABINE C "Tao Perto"

V/A The Sound Of Siam (Soundway) cd 16.98
So we've actually already had quite a few amazing compilations of '60s and '70s popular music from Thailand, including a whole bunch of discs from the infallible Sublime Frequencies label (Thai Pop Spectacular, Siamese Soul, Molam: Thai Country Groove, Shadow Music Of Thailand, etc., etc.), and also the Subliminal Sounds label's Thai Beat A-Go-Go series, but we were still super excited when we heard about the upcoming release of this new comp of vintage Thai tunes, 'cause it's been put together by Soundway, the UK-based label that also seemingly can do no wrong when it comes to international crate diggin'. Soundway is responsible for all those Nigeria Special comps, and the Ghana Soundz ones too, among other fine collections and reissues, most focused on music from Africa or Latin America. This is their first venture into Southeast Asia, as far as we know, and boy did they do the job well! A more lively, colorful comp could hardly be imagined. The compilers, who have spent hours and days on the ground in Thailand searching out vintage vinyl, know their stuff (their DJ night, "Bangkok Paradise", must be a blast).
Nineteen tracks, 66 minutes of music, ranging from yearning love songs to super groovy funk, all of it quite undeniably 'exotic' to our ears, so that even with Western psych and pop influences, incorporating surprise rock riffs, synths, and brass sections, it's most definitely music from Thailand, utilizing Thai folk traditions, sung in the Thai language, though some of it also reminds us of Bollywood stuff (which makes sense), or possibly the Ethiopiques series as well (a less likely connection there). We recognize a few of the artists' names from those other abovementioned comps, though they seem aware of what's been comped already and we're assured that most of the tracks here have never been released outside of Thailand before.
The subtitle doesn't say "leftfield" for nothing, this probably isn't the most typical mainstream Thai pop from the period, more like the hippest and freakiest, though often from quite popular artists, many revered to this day. Soundway treat us to some wonderfully eccentric picks, gems like Waipod Phetsuphan's "Ding Ding Dong", a song inspired by a dumb 1971 Italian sex comedy about prehistoric cavemen (and cavewomen) that was inexplicably a hit film in Thailand. And the spaced out lounge-jazz of The Viking Combo band's "Pleng Yuk Owakard" must be mentioned. Mindblowing. Walking bass, spooked out electric organ, maniacal vocals, loud shuddery chords, sudden percussion, woah it's a weird one, almost disturbing. Whichever DJ/collector first dug that one up must have been stoked. So much good stuff here, our point is, the treasures of vintage Thai pop are plentiful enough to require this comp, those that came before, and hopefully many more to come. You gotta be thankful when you think about it, without the efforts of labels like Sublime Frequencies, and Soundway, etc., we'd be missing out on so much incredible music that we now listen to on a daily basis, whether it be from Thailand or Nigeria or wherever.
This comes in a digipack with a thick 24 page booklet that boasts plenty of full-color graphics (lots of vintage record sleeves and labels, plus pics of some of the artists, and a couple shots of the interior of a vinyl shop in Bangkok) and extensive liner notes. There's a lengthy essay discussing the development of, and distinctions between, such popular musical forms as luk thung, luk krung, and molam, with the impact of Western sounds such as surf rock and Santana also being discussed. Then each track gets its own detailed explanatory note as well, often giving some insight into the sometimes peculiar lyrical content the songs. (Also one mentions that Ethiopian groove-master Mulatu Astatke once spent time in Thailand, and has been quoted as having found some of the sounds of Thai music quite similar to those of his own country, so it's not just us.) Super thorough and informative, much as we expect from Soundway. Yay!
MPEG Stream: ONUMA SINGSIRI "Mae Kha Som Tam"
MPEG Stream: THE PETCH PHIN THONG BAND "Soul Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: CHAWEEWAN DUMNERN "Sao Lam Plearn"
MPEG Stream: THE VIKING COMBO BAND "Pleng Yuk Owakard"

V/A The Sound the Hare Heard (KRS) cd 14.98
While often known mostly for being one of the birthplaces of the riot grrrl movement and home to challenging smart post punk art-rock bands, Slim Moon's Kill Rock Star label has always had a soft spot for the delicacy of a good singer-songwriter. Releasing records by the likes of Elliott Smith and Mary Lou Lord in the early days of the label, Moon showed he wasn't afraid to show his fondness for the sensitive song done right. This compilation is an extension of that love as Moon got 21 songs by some very well known and some unknown singer songwriters. With well known folks like Sufjan Stevens, Laura Veirs, Nedelle, Wooden Wand, Colin Meloy (Decemberists) alongside up and comers like Simone White, Lauren Hoffman, Essie Jain, etc. Quite nice.
MPEG Stream: DEVIN DAVIS "When The Angels Lift Our Eyelids in The Morning"
MPEG Stream: ESSIE JAIN "Why"

V/A The T.A.M.I. Show (Shout Factory) dvd 21.00
Whoo-hoo! Awesome to have this on dvd at long last, in a nice, complete "collector's edition" with various bonus features. One of the most exciting rock/R&B audio-visual documents ever, The Teenage Awards Music International Show live concert film was originally screened in theaters in 1964, and has never been on dvd before.
It features James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, Jan and Dean, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Supremes, Lesley Gore, and more... including, in footage cut from most previous versions of this film, the Beach Boys. Watch Mick Jagger trying to cop James Brown's moves, watch James Brown do stuff that Mick could never do in a million years, watch garage band The Barbarians bash out their mop topped pop backed by a drummer with a hook for a hand, it's all here... an all time classic, now you can take in the whole thing rather than just watching individual clips on YouTube!
Restored and remastered. Bonus features include director's commentary, the original trailer with commentary from John Landis, and radio spots.

V/A The Teenbeat Sampler 2002 (TeenBeat) cd 5.98
Another yearbook of sorts from Mark Robinson's label. Reliably lo-priced compilation featuring many familiar TeenBeat faces: Air Miami, Flin Flon, Juliet Swango, The Pacific Ocean, True Love Always, Phil Krauth, Aden, Versus, Jonny Cohen, and the man himself.
RealAudio clip: TRUE LOVE ALWAYS "Waves"
RealAudio clip: BLUE AGAIN "Blue Again"

V/A The Total Groovy (Drag City) 4cd 34.00
Here's one of those Good News, Bad News reviews. The good news is this 4cd box set is really fantastic, the bad news is that it's out of print and we only have 3 copies to sell. It actually came out over a year ago, but somehow we utterly missed out on it then, whoops! Too bad 'cause we probably would have made it Record(s) Of The Week! Sticking to the good news side of things, once we did finally find out out about it, despite it being already out of print, we fortunately were able to acquire a small handful of copies from Drag City, who as luck would have it had just received a few back in a return from a European distro. So, THREE of you out there are in luck. But might not know why, yet. What's the deal with the Total Groovy? Well, a while back, we reviewed what was then a vinyl-only Drag City reissue of an album called Strange Men In Sheds With Spanners, which appears as one of the discs in this box set. That lp of previously unreleased material came from the archives of Pete Shelley's own Groovy label, the Buzzcocks' singer's DIY outlet for the krautrock inspired, avant-garde experimentation of himself and his friends, and the other three discs in this box are reissues of Groovy's first three original lp releases, all from 1980.
So, first off, here's more or less what we said about Strange Men In Sheds With Spanners back in 2011:
Best band name ever? Definitely a contender. Never really thought that Pete Shelley of famed UK punks The Buzzcocks had anything like this in him, but this album is pretty damn good - almost living up to the ridiculous moniker! Strange Men In Sheds With Spanners was Shelley's oddball synth-wave project that began even before the Buzzcocks broke up in 1981. Back then, he took up the habit of inviting any number of unidentified 'guests' over to his studio to jam with anything and everything in the place; and these Strange Men In Sheds With Spanners recordings came from the many tapes that he made by these means circa 1980-1984. Who those guests in Shelley's studio might have been is anybody's guess. Ours? Maybe Eric Random, maybe Francis Cookson (who co-founded Groovy with Shelley), maybe Sally Timms from The Mekons. Regardless, the resultant recordings are an electronic-heavy art-punk with plenty of weirdo synth meanderings, Keith Levene sounding guitar splinterings, dub-inflected basslines, and scatterbrained effects. None of the punk-pop hooks of the Buzzcocks are found here, even when guitars, bass, and drums enter the picture; it's pretty much all about the studio as instrument with lots of effects swarming about the drum machine rhythms and bare-bones post-punk grooves. One could think of The Storm Bugs, Crawling Chaos, The Psyclones, or Jeff & Jane Hudson.
Then there's the other three, equally confusional discs also found here: the oscillator insanity of Shelley's solo lp Sky Yen, 41+ minutes of delightful knob-twiddling distorted drone actually recorded in 1974; some shambling drone-rock and dadaistic vocals shenanigans from a soundtrack by Sally Smmit And Her Musicians (aka Sally Timms, Pete Shelley, and others); and a record with four untitled tracks of lo-fi industrial improvised (?) rock from a unit called Free Agents. All stuff for which the terms 'weird and wonderful' were doubtless invented! Each disc comes in its own cardboard sleeve reproducing the original album art, the Free Agents one complete with miniaturized insert advertising the Groovy catalog, and tip-on cover. Also inside this eye-catching, Op Art adorned box is a booklet containing an interview Drag City did with Shelley all about everything Groovy, talking about other related projects like The Tiller Boys, revealing various influences (Eno, Can, Ralph Records), etc.
Totally great for anyone into the oddest of Messthetics tracks, NWW list stuff, or even the Boredoms' Super Roots series. Again, kicking ourselves for idiotically overlooking this when we could have gotten more, argh. So now it's first come, first served (and since we have so few, if you're mailordering this, it's always a good idea to pick an alternate as well). Good luck though - sorry to provide such a big review of something we probably won't be able to sell you!
MPEG Stream: PETE SHELLEY "Sky Yen Part 1"
MPEG Stream: SALLY SMMIT "Soundtrack To The Film Hangahar Part 1"
MPEG Stream: FREE AGENTS "Untitled 2"
MPEG Stream: STRANGE MEN IN SHEDS WITH SPANNERS "track 3"

V/A The Trip Created By Snow Patrol (Fiction) 2cd 28.00
Hold yer horses folks, be forewarned this is NOT a new Snow Patrol album. It's actually two cds filled with an assortment of songs that Mr. Gary Lightbody wants you to hear. Of course most folks would go, "Who the hell is Gary Lightbody?! And why should we care?!", and rightly so. Hence this disc has been credited to Snow Patrol. Yup, he's that Scottish band's mainman who also fancies himself a dj. Now do you care?! And are you as skeptical as we are about the actual song choices? Some are way too obvious (yeah, TV On The Radio's "Staring At The Sun" is a great song, but...), while others seem to just be trying to score hip points (Deerhoof's "Milking"?!). Also included are some other familiar faces: Four Tet, Mum, The Shins, Nina Nastasia, Fiery Furnaces, CocoRosie, Low & Spring Heel Jack, Secret Machines, Joy Zipper, Rilo Kiley and Bill Withers. Other less familiar ones (at least to us) are Sir Drew, Husky Rescue, Feist, The Duke Spirit, Harco Pront, Smith N Hack and Hot Chip. In case you hadn't deduced yet, The Trip is essentially a series of mix comps as selected by different artists. Past editions have been compiled by Saint Etienne, Dirty Vegas, Tom Middleton and Tim Love Lee. Hpmh, wouldn't you rather get a mix cd made with loving care from someone you know and whose taste you trust? (uh, if you do know Mr. Lightbody and/or do trust his taste, then never you mind! But then again if that is the case you're probably not gonna be paying $28.00 for it, right?) Mind you, something your friend's mix cd might be missing is the almost omnipresent thumpin' dancebeat on the first disc (it's conspicuously absent on the second disc), but there're also a few awkward crossfades too. Oops, maybe we should've mentioned that sooner! Check out the audio clips and judge for yourself. 32 tracks in total.
MPEG Stream: THE KNIFE / FOUR TET "Heartbeats - Rex The Dog Remix / Everything Is Alright"
MPEG Stream: FIERY FURNACES / DEERHOOF "Bow Wow / Milking"

V/A The Unaccompanied Voice (Secretly Canadian) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's a nice idea -- gather a couple dozen of yer favorite recording artists and ask them to submit a capella pieces. Too bad so many of them put so little thought into it. The best tracks include those by Danielson Family (who do a sweet indie rock song in doo wop multi-part style), Low (whose music is so stripped down that going a capella isn't at all a stretch for them), Swans collaborator Jarboe (creepy layered voices), and Jandek (simply for the ridiculousness of his entry -- which just goes "Om"). Other artists making appearances: Grifters, David Grubbs, Elliot Sharp, Songs:Ohia, Modest Mouse, Damien Jurado, Sharon Tuopper of God is My Copilot, Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters, Pedro the Lion, etc.

V/A The Way Out Sound: Back Catalog of Singles (The Way Out Sound) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is an awesome collection of early and way out of print 7"s from San Diego's The Way Out Sound label. A glance at the artists is all it will take to convince you how essential this really is. All exclusive tracks from: Merzbow, Muslimgauze, Skullflower, Truman's Water, Pure, The Silver Wizard, and Holland Skin Tunnel. Essential.

V/A The World Ends: Afro Rock & Psychedelia In 1970's Nigeria (Soundway) 2cd 25.00
This one's pretty much an "add to cart" no-brainer; the subtitle says it all, "Afro Rock & Psychedelia In 1970s Nigeria". And it's on the wonderful Soundway label, who've brought us such prior treats as Nigeria Rock Special, Nigeria Disco Funk Special, and Ghana Soundz. Really, do you need to know more? There's 32 killer cuts spread across the two cds here, from almost as many bands, exuberant electric guitar wielding garage acts most of 'em, and funky too, super funky. Anyone eager for a sequel to that Nigeria Rock Special in particular, start freaking out now! Some of the names here are familiar from that comp or other reissues, but we don't think there's any overlap songwise. Others are way more obscure to our ears. So you get Ofege, Ofo The Black Company, The Mebusas, The Hygrades, Colomach, and The Action 13, alongside, among others, P.R.O. (People Rock Outfit), Chuck Barrister & The Voices Of Darkness, The Thermometers, The Comrades, The Ceejebs, The Funkees, The Hykkers, Bongos Ikwue, The Lawrence Amavi Group, The Ify Jerry Krusade, Sonny Okosuns & Paperback Limited, Cicada, The Identicals, and even a band called The Semi Colon! The Semi Colon's song is pretty badass, by the way, with Moog-y "Blow Your Head" style synth and wicka-wicka chicken scratch guitar, shades of The JB's for sure, James Brown's backup band probably a big influence on a LOT of these groups, along with psych rock from the West as well, especially various Frisco ballroom jammers. While there's variety, there's definitely a Nigerian scene "sound" of the era on display here, and that scene must have been a pretty competitive one, these bands are HOT. While there's some lovely, mellowed-out moments (like PRO's laidback ballad of "Blacky Joe"), mostly this collection consists of uptempo, dancefloor filling groovers, full of percolating percussion, wild wah-wah, and soulful vocal exhortations. A few have horns, there's a lot of funky electric organ, and in all cases, the rhythms are, not surprisingly, first and foremost the focus, driving these songs into your heart, mind, and soul via the involuntary head nodding, foot tapping, get up and get down reaction your body will have to 'em...
The compilation takes its name from The Black Mirror's "The World Ends", found on disc two. Meanwhile, "Soundway" by Wrinkars Experience, from disc one, could be the theme song for the label! Kinda akin to a Nigerian "Nuggets", this is indeed yet another awesome Soundway comp, one of our faves from them so far and that's saying a lot. Can't argue with two discs this funky and fuzzed, though! Comes nicely packaged with a 44 page booklet featuring a plenitude of liner notes and vintage photos. Totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: TONY GREY SUPER 7 "Yem Efe"
MPEG Stream: CICADA "Oli Nkwu"
MPEG Stream: THE LIJADU SISTERS "Life's Gone Down Low"
MPEG Stream: THE COMRADES "Bullwalk"

V/A The World Of Krautrock (XYZ) 2cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bargain price import double cd sampler of some pretty cool, cosmic 70's German rock. You get two hours worth of the likes of Popol Vuh, Guru Guru, Birth Control, Witthuser & Westrupp, Holderlin and many more (obscure) bands. It's got a way cheesy cover, but it's also great deal.

V/A Theatre of Sound (Kickin' Music) cd 14.98
Self-described as "spacedoutpostindiefutureoutrock". Yes quite, as it features Ui, Fuxa, Transient Waves, Flying Saucer Attack, Flowchart, Kreidler and others. The K-Tel of Space/Post-Rock.

V/A Theppabutr Productions: The Man Behind The Molam Sound 1972-75 (Light In The Attic) 2lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Record Store Day alert! Here's a 2013 RSD release that we thankfully managed to get enough copies of to list...
Please don't ask us to pronounce Theppabutr, but do ask us why this is so awesome - though the best answer is: just listen to it!
International vinyl diggers, seeking out vintage grooves in far flung parts of the world, have made Molam music from Thailand into something that's now definitely a 'thing' in our world music section - we've had some other great Molam collections on the Sublime Freqencies label, for instance, so of course it's exciting to hear from 'The Man Behind The Molam Sound', Theppabutr Satirodchompu, responsible for the production work on the 17 tracks collected here from a variety of Molam artists. It's Molam of the modern variety (modern circa 1972-1975 that is, in this case), a form of electrified vocal music from Northeast Thailand that combines traditional folk melodies and ethnic instrumentation with electric guitars and electronic keyboards. Great stuff, all of it, lively and rhythmic, emotive and ear-wormy. Even though we don't understand a word, it's still immediately captivating. We love the keening singers and warbly organs, groovy beats and exotic vibes. If you haven't yet given Molam and closely related genre Luk Thung a try, this would be a great place to start. Seventies Molam like this is mighty fine stuff, up there with those 'Ethiopiques' recordings and certain Jamaican reggae of the same vintage, though we'd imagine the vocal stylings here might work for some folks and not so much for others.
This limited vinyl version is a Record Store Day 2013 release - there is also a (presumably less-limited) non-RSD compact disc edition too, that we'll be stocking and will list next time, but we wanted to get this RSD vinyl listed now before they were gone! Especially since the double vinyl includes two bonus tracks not found on the cd version - as well as a 12"x14" poster, and download card for mp3s of all the tracks. Gatefold sleeve in faux woodgrain wrapper, liner notes, foldout poster inside.
MPEG Stream: BANYEN RAKKAEN "Siang Toey Jak Jai"
MPEG Stream: YUPIN KANFUNG "Sao Isan Lam Khaen"
MPEG Stream: SAKSIAM PETCHCHOMPU "Saksiam Dearn Glon"
MPEG Stream: SABAIPARE BUASOD "Kor Hai Rak Jing"

V/A This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul (Razor & Tie) cd 17.98

V/A This Comp Kills Fascists Volume 2 (Relapse) cd 14.98
Another lovingly compiled (by Scott Hull of Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Pig Destroyer no less!) sonically hateful selection of extreme heaviness, grind metal, powerviolence, hardcore, punk rock, and pretty much everything in between, buzzing and blasting and brutal as fuck. A handful of bands we already loved, and a whole bunch we'd never heard of before, it's kinda like the metal mix tape you wish your mean metal older brother would make you.
So let's start with the we know and love. California crew Lack Of Interest spit out 7 tracks in about 4 minutes, blazing blasting punk rock, Noisear spit out insane bursts of frenzied grind, impossibly fast, super dense and twisted and complex, Drugs Of Faith do their dirgey punkish death metal, sludgey and sloppy and chaotic, the mighty Crom offer up "Hags" the longest track on the comp, a grinding, thrashing slab of whatthefuck heaviness, slipping from punkish blast to churning doomy chug, the vocals shrieking and grunting and howling, it even gets sort of pretty for a moment, but only a moment, fuck we love these guys, Ohio pigfuckers Apartment 213 spit out some serious powerviolence, a Neanderthal sonic pummeling, grunted vox, even slipping in a little groove at one point, but mostly just beating your ears bloody with their closed fist crush, Despise you kick down 50 seconds of churning, blasting grind, 2 songs blow by in a blink, but they cram some serious sonic punishment into less than a minute, Voetsek are the only female fronted outfit in this boys club, and they lay it down with some super technical grind metal, and some seriously ball melting vox....
Then there's the bands we're hearing for the first time here: Hummingbird Of Death, Marion Barry, Owen Hart, Septic Surge, Population Reduction, Superbad, Three Faces Of Eve, Idiots Parade, Triac and more, our faves being Hummingbird Of Death, not just for having the best band name ever, but for their chaotic, frenzied on the verge of collapse powerviolence freakouts, Owen Hart's metallic grinding thrash, infused with plenty of classic old school metal riffage, Septic Surge who get their drummachinegun on, a dizzying hybrid of twisted electronic glitchery and caveman heaviness... We could go on and on, a head spinning selection of audial brutality, crushing heaviness, blasting brutality, an overwhelming 74 tracks, all jammed into 78 minutes, by 19 bands, for anyone who likes it fast and heavy. Comes with a massive booklet, all old school punk rock style with each band getting a page for lyrics and photos and contact info. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: LACK OF INTEREST "There Is No Tomorrow"
MPEG Stream: OWEN HART "My Grandma's Fucking A Tranny From Alaska"
MPEG Stream: NOISEAR "Atrophy Of The Mind"
MPEG Stream: HUMMINGBIRD OF DEATH "You Are Not Going To Heaven"
MPEG Stream: MARION BARRY "Nuclear Bio-Chimp Assault"
MPEG Stream: CROM "Hags"
MPEG Stream: APARTMENT 213 "Standoff"
MPEG Stream: SEPTIC SURGE "Budmonster"

V/A This Is Happening Without Your Permission (Teardrops) lp 14.98

V/A This Is Tech-Pop: 21st Century Electro & New Wave (Ministry of Sound Music) cd 18.98
This Ministry Of Sound compilation strikes me as the equivalent of one of those K-Tel ultra-super-mega-smash-hit-only-on-tv-extravaganza compilations, but minus the K-Tel bargain pricetag. Take the very first track for instance, Fischerspooner's "Emerge" or the 17th, Ladytron's "Playgirl". 'Nuf said, I think. But in case you wanna know what's between those two over-exposed cuts, there's also Console's "14 Zero Zero", "Candy Girl" by Soviet, Felix Da Housecat's "Happy Hour" and Golden Boy with Miss Kittin doin' "Rippin Kittin". 20 tracks total. Don't get me wrong they're all hot hits, but this is a pretty pricey mix-tape, dontcha think?

V/A Those Shocking, Shaking Days (Now-Again) cd 21.00
Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on...
Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia.
And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo.
The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines.
So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy.
Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex.
Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!!
Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: AKA "Do What You Like"
MPEG Stream: IVO'S GROUP "That Shocking Shaking Day"
MPEG Stream: KOES PLUS "Mobil Tua"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM OF RHAPSODIA "Freedom"

V/A Those Shocking, Shaking Days (Now-Again) 3lp 27.00
Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on...
Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia.
And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo.
The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines.
So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy.
Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex.
Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!!
Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.
MPEG Stream: AKA "Do What You Like"
MPEG Stream: IVO'S GROUP "That Shocking Shaking Day"
MPEG Stream: KOES PLUS "Mobil Tua"
MPEG Stream: FREEDOM OF RHAPSODIA "Freedom"

V/A Thrasher Skate Rock Vol 12: Eat the Flag (Volcom) cd 14.98
LEVIATHAN ALERT!!! EXCLUSIVE UNRELEASED LEVIATHAN TRACK ALERT!!! LEVIATHAN COVERING BLACK FLAG ALERT!!! What the fuck? It's true though. More on that in a second. We all dig skating (although most of us are not to good at it), and love to watch crazy skaters around town, often fucking themselves up in the process. Who doesn't? But typically skate rock has often been, well, not really that interesting. Okay, so maybe most skate rock sucks. But this Thrasher Skate Rock disc has a lot going for it, not the least of which is an unreleased Leviathan track, "The Third Blind Wound"! Most Leviathan obsessives will most definitely find this one track enough reason to pick this up, but there's some other killer stuff on here too. Exclusive tracks from a bunch of other bands including locals Hightower, and the always kick ass S.T.R.E.E.T.S. (an acronym for 'skating totally rules, everything else totally sucks') as well as some killer DVD footage including a documentary about skating in the 80's and 90's and a live performance from Norway's Turbonegro.
This is one of those dualdisc thingies, that won't play on some stereos so be warned!
MPEG Stream: LEVIATHAN "The Third Blind Wound"
MPEG Stream: S.T.R.E.E.T.S. "Stop The Violence"

V/A Through The Wilderness: A Tribute to Madonna (Manimal Vinyl) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ariel Pink dropped by the store the other day to sell us some tour merch and he had a handful of these Madonna tribute cds for sale. Looking at the line-up (which also includes Lavender Diamond, Giant Drag, Jeremy Jay and a host of other LA pop underground bands some of which we've heard of, others we haven't), we have to say our curiosity got the better of us and we bought a few. Tribute cds are always a mixed affair, especially when it's dedicated to a pop star bigger in concept than in musicality. But while most bands diverge from the straight ahead cover, this is not exactly the Cicconne Youth-style take we were hoping for. Still if you love the Material Girl, and you are into bands like Jonathan Wilson, Golden Animals, Winter Flowers, Mountain Party, The Tyde, Alexandra Hope, The Chapin Sisters, The Bubonic Plague, Apollo Heights, The Prayers, Lion of Panjshir and the other above mentioned folks, all wading and whirling through Madonna's many wonders and blunders, then there is lots of fun here to enjoy.
MPEG Stream: JEREMY JAY "Into The Groove"
MPEG Stream: ARIEL PINK "Everybody"

V/A Time Machine: A Vertigo Retrospective (Vertigo ) 3cd 38.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK!
Listing this, at last. We know a lot of you have been enjoying DJ Andy Votel's Vertigo label mix cd that we made Record Of the Week last summer. Advertised in the booklet for that cd was this triple disc box set, compiling 41 full (unmixed) tracks from the Vertigo vaults. So here it is. If you liked that Vertigo Mixed disc but you're not ready yet to hunt down the collectable original LPs (or cd reissues, which aren't always available either) by all those bands, this 3cd set is just the ticket to get to hear more. Some of these tracks were included in Votel's mix (but here you get the entire song!), and some not.
Of course, with a vast, three and a half hour collection like this, a review is superflous for the curious. First off, though, if you don't know: Britain's Vertigo label, in its early '70s heyday (characterized by the "swirl" logo), specialized in both heavy psych and jazz-rock, often finding bands that blended the two into progged-out grooves that Votel likes to call "hairy funk". Not every Vertigo "swirl" album was incredible, but there's enough gems amidst the many, many tracks released by the label circa 1969-1973 to make putting together a fairly bountiful compilation like this pretty easy on the compliers.
Vertigo's most famous signing was Black Sabbath. Perhaps unnecessarily, there's two Sabbath tracks included here. Being the best band ever (sez Allan anyway) you should already have 'em. But chances are you don't already have tracks by a lot of the other bands found here, ranging from the fairly well-known to the totally obscure: Gentle Giant, Gracious!, Affinity, May Blitz, Juicy Lucy, Jade Warrior, Dr. Z, Tudor Lodge, Warhorse, Freedom, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Beggars Opera, Nucleus, Atlantis, Ramases, Colosseum, Aphrodite's Child, Ben, Cressida, Patto, Clear Blue Sky, Gravy Train, Uriah Heep, Mick Ronson's Ronno, and more. A diverse array ranging from folky flutes to hard rock riffage to jazzy romps (sometimes all in the same song). All these cuts are contained on three cds in cardboard sleeves, housed inside the box alongside a 48 page booklet with a page or paragraph on each band, and an introductory essay about Vertigo's history. The whole package is a Vertigo primer, if you will. Definitely a good sampler to help direct your further exploration of the Vertigo (and early '70s psych/prog/jazzrock) legacy, or maybe just enough for your needs in that direction...
MPEG Stream: AFFINITY "Three Sisters"
MPEG Stream: RONNO "Powers Of Darkness"
MPEG Stream: WARHORSE "Mouthpiece"

V/A Time To Go - The Southern Psychedelic Moment: 1981-86 (Flying Nun) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another awesome archival compilation from the recently reactivated Flying Nun label, this one curated by The Dead C's Bruce Russell, who takes great pains in the liner notes to explain that this is in no way a greatest hits, or a collection of obscurities, but instead paint a picture of the New Zealand scene at a time when much was changing, socially and politically, and of course musically, with the NZ pop sound being twisted and tweaked with groups looking to bring back the psychedelia of the sixties, if not specifically in sound, most definitely in spirit. The results sonically point more to the post punk groups of the time, Joy Division, Wire, the Velvet Underground, etc, with many of the tracks here darker and gloomier and noisier, which of course we dig big time. Lots of familiar names here, the Pin Group, The Clean, The Gordons, Tall Dwarfs, The Chills, Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos (one of our favorite NZ groups EVER!), but again some lesser know, but equally kick ass outfits: The Puddle, The Rip, 25 Cents, The Shallows, and loads more.
For all its darkness and psychedelia though, fans of the NZ sound won't be disappointed, but unlike the predominantly jangle pop sound of the other recent Flying Nun comp, the also ruling Tally-Ho double cd, Time To Go definitely focuses on a darker energy, just check out The Clean's "In The Back", the band ditching their penchant for perfect pop for a gloriously abstract psych guitar swirl, there's still jangle in there for sure, but it's wreathed in buzz and spidery tendrils of melody, obscured by clouds of fuzzed out shimmer and smeared soft noise. Then there's the Pin Group's darky dolorous "Jim", a brooding chunk of gloom pop dirgery, that the current crop of Brooklyn punks would kill to have recorded. Deep moody vox, minimal minor guitar thrum, murky rhythms, all hauntingly sinister and dreamily depressive. Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos offer up "Rain", which is also dark and murky, a sort of low fidelity slab of bedroom strum and croon, intimate and hushed, melancholic and moody, which then splinters into some bizarre psychedelia with the addition of haunting female vox and some squiggly synths. The Gordons get all Sonic Youth-y with some downcast atonal guitar heavy noise rock, that's still weirdly melodic and propulsive, and sounds fresh enough that it could be some Captured Tracks / Sacred Bones band from today. We could go on and on, track by track, but all you need to know is this stuff kills. Even fans who have many of these records will find this a kick ass NZ/Flying Nun mixtape, and for those who may have missed this stuff first time around, odds are you're gonna find it shockingly revelatory. And anyone who bought that Tally-Ho compilation, you're definitely gonna want this one too!
Includes a big booklet, with cool pix and extensive liner notes from Bruce Russell, detailing the scene, the bands, the label, and what was going on in NZ at the time, and how all that stuff (social, economic, political) affected the music.
Vinyl version forthcoming, btw.
MPEG Stream: THE PIN GROUP "Jim"
MPEG Stream: THE GORDONS "I Just Can't Stop"
MPEG Stream: TALL DWARFS "Clover (album version)"
MPEG Stream: THE SHALLOWS "Trial By Separation"
MPEG Stream: WRECK SMALL SPEAKERS ON EXPENSIVE STEREOS "Rain"

V/A Time To Go - The Southern Psychedelic Moment: 1981-86 (Flying Nun) 2lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yet another awesome archival compilation from the recently reactivated Flying Nun label, this one curated by The Dead C's Bruce Russell, who takes great pains in the liner notes to explain that this is in no way a greatest hits, or a collection of obscurities, but instead paint a picture of the New Zealand scene at a time when much was changing, socially and politically, and of course musically, with the NZ pop sound being twisted and tweaked with groups looking to bring back the psychedelia of the sixties, if not specifically in sound, most definitely in spirit. The results sonically point more to the post punk groups of the time, Joy Division, Wire, the Velvet Underground, etc, with many of the tracks here darker and gloomier and noisier, which of course we dig big time. Lots of familiar names here, the Pin Group, The Clean, The Gordons, Tall Dwarfs, The Chills, Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos (one of our favorite NZ groups EVER!), but again some lesser know, but equally kick ass outfits: The Puddle, The Rip, 25 Cents, The Shallows, and loads more.
For all its darkness and psychedelia though, fans of the NZ sound won't be disappointed, but unlike the predominantly jangle pop sound of the other recent Flying Nun comp, the also ruling Tally-Ho double cd, Time To Go definitely focuses on a darker energy, just check out The Clean's "In The Back", the band ditching their penchant for perfect pop for a gloriously abstract psych guitar swirl, there's still jangle in there for sure, but it's wreathed in buzz and spidery tendrils of melody, obscured by clouds of fuzzed out shimmer and smeared soft noise. Then there's the Pin Group's darky dolorous "Jim", a brooding chunk of gloom pop dirgery, that the current crop of Brooklyn punks would kill to have recorded. Deep moody vox, minimal minor guitar thrum, murky rhythms, all hauntingly sinister and dreamily depressive. Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos offer up "Rain", which is also dark and murky, a sort of low fidelity slab of bedroom strum and croon, intimate and hushed, melancholic and moody, which then splinters into some bizarre psychedelia with the addition of haunting female vox and some squiggly synths. The Gordons get all Sonic Youth-y with some downcast atonal guitar heavy noise rock, that's still weirdly melodic and propulsive, and sounds fresh enough that it could be some Captured Tracks / Sacred Bones band from today. We could go on and on, track by track, but all you need to know is this stuff kills. Even fans who have many of these records will find this a kick ass NZ/Flying Nun mixtape, and for those who may have missed this stuff first time around, odds are you're gonna find it shockingly revelatory. And anyone who bought that Tally-Ho compilation, you're definitely gonna want this one too!
Includes a big booklet, with cool pix and extensive liner notes from Bruce Russell, detailing the scene, the bands, the label, and what was going on in NZ at the time, and how all that stuff (social, economic, political) affected the music.
MPEG Stream: THE PIN GROUP "Jim"
MPEG Stream: THE GORDONS "I Just Can't Stop"
MPEG Stream: TALL DWARFS "Clover (album version)"
MPEG Stream: THE SHALLOWS "Trial By Separation"
MPEG Stream: WRECK SMALL SPEAKERS ON EXPENSIVE STEREOS "Rain"

V/A Tired of Standing Still (Highpoint Lowlife) 2cd 13.98
The first release on the Highpoint Lowlife label comes in the form of a compilation chronicling the current state of the San Francisco 'scene' and beyond. Lots of familiar names here, but even more unfamiliar ones (might be due to the fact that the comp. is filled out by 'solo' contributions from almost every member of Tarentel as well as other familiar artists under unfamiliar aliases - for instance Jon Leidecker aka Wobbly appears under the moniker Brindle Spork). Two whole discs featuring the slow core of the Jim Yoshii Pile Up, the post rock of Replicator and Caesura, the damaged sort-of-rock of Boxleitner, the dark minimalism of Sappington as well as tunes by Brian and Chris, Xiu Xiu, Broker/Dealer, The Stratford 4 and a bunch more.

V/A Titan: It's All Pop! (Numero Group) 2cd 26.00
Numero group return with yet another amazing reissue, gorgeously packaged, meticulously researched, It's All Pop is the second collection of power pop from the label, the first being the genius Yellow Pills, a collection of essential groups, lost gems, and classic tracks. This one is a bit more specific, and insanely obscure, as seems to be Numero's way, focusing this time on the short lived and almost completely unknown power pop label Titan, headquartered in Kansas City, existing only briefly from 1978-1981, and having only released a handful of records. But you know what they say about quality versus quantity.
Anyway, the groups on Titan's roster are who's who of unknowns, a few maybe recognizable to only the most obsessive power pop fanatics: Boys, Secrets* (yep, the asterisk is part of their name), Gems, Scott McCarl, Bobby Sky, Millionaire At Midnight, Gary Charlson, Arlis!, JP McLain, and this is normally where we'd say "and loads more", but there really isn't any more. That's it, the whole roster, a handful of tracks from each, and if you love that Yellow Pills comp, then needless to say, this will probably hit the spot too. Obvious references are the Shoes, the Rasberries, Badfinger, E.L.O., Big Star, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Nazz, you know what we're talking about. Simple and stripped down, jangly guitars, vocal harmonies, and hooks galore. The sound varies a bit, some of the tracks are a bit glammy, some are total straight Beatles-esque pop, a few have a more classic vibe, others are a bit more hard rocking, but however the sound is twisted or tweaked, the heart and core of these songs is super catchy, super rocking ultra catchy total old school power pop bliss.
Killer packaging of course, deluxe slip cover, two digipaks, a massive book, with extensive liner notes, loads of rare flyers and photos, and a note from label co-founder Mark Prellberg.
MPEG Stream: THE SECRETS "It's Your Heart Tonight"
MPEG Stream: BOYS "Please Change Your Mind"
MPEG Stream: GARY CHARLSON "Real Life Saver"
MPEG Stream: MILLIONAIRE AT MIDNIGHT "Coit Tower"
MPEG Stream: THE GEMS "Save Your Money"

V/A Titan: It's All Pop! (Numero Group) 4lp+Book 49.00
This killer collection of lost pop classics now available on vinyl, as a SUPER deluxe quadruple lp boxset, the records pressed on colored vinyl, and accompanied by a massive 12"x12" booklet, and to top it off, TEN bonus tracks that weren't included on the cd version! Here's what we had to say about this collection when we first reviewed it on cd way back in 2008...
Numero group return with yet another amazing reissue, gorgeously packaged, meticulously researched, It's All Pop is the second collection of power pop from the label, the first being the genius Yellow Pills, a collection of essential groups, lost gems, and classic tracks. This one is a bit more specific, and insanely obscure, as seems to be Numero's way, focusing this time on the short lived and almost completely unknown power pop label Titan, headquartered in Kansas City, existing only briefly from 1978-1981, and having only released a handful of records. But you know what they say about quality versus quantity.
Anyway, the groups on Titan's roster are who's who of unknowns, a few maybe recognizable to only the most obsessive power pop fanatics: Boys, Secrets* (yep, the asterisk is part of their name), Gems, Scott McCarl, Bobby Sky, Millionaire At Midnight, Gary Charlson, Arlis!, JP McLain, and this is normally where we'd say "and loads more", but there really isn't any more. That's it, the whole roster, a handful of tracks from each, and if you love that Yellow Pills comp, then needless to say, this will probably hit the spot too. Obvious references are the Shoes, the Raspberries, Badfinger, E.L.O., Big Star, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Nazz, you know what we're talking about. Simple and stripped down, jangly guitars, vocal harmonies, and hooks galore. The sound varies a bit, some of the tracks are a bit glammy, some are total straight Beatles-esque pop, a few have a more classic vibe, others are a bit more hard rocking, but however the sound is twisted or tweaked, the heart and core of these songs is super catchy, super rocking ultra catchy total old school power pop bliss.
Killer packaging of course, deluxe hardcover book like slip cover, full color lp sleeves, a massive book, with extensive liner notes, loads of rare flyers and photos, and a note from label co-founder Mark Prellberg.
MPEG Stream: THE SECRETS "It's Your Heart Tonight"
MPEG Stream: BOYS "Please Change Your Mind"
MPEG Stream: GARY CHARLSON "Real Life Saver"
MPEG Stream: MILLIONAIRE AT MIDNIGHT "Coit Tower"
MPEG Stream: THE GEMS "Save Your Money"

V/A Todo Muere 3 (Sacred Bones) lp 17.98
And yet ANOTHER special super limited Record Store Day release, we have a handful left, but like all the rest of the RSD goodies on this week's list, once they're gone, they're almost assuredly gone for good! The Todo Muere series is now a sort of RSD tradition, as this is year three, and this volume three of this series of Sacred Bones samplers, and as always, it's another pretty awesome collection of rarities and exclusives from a bunch of aQ faves. This time around, things kick off with The Men, who once again display their new, poppier sound, but here that sound gets cranked up a bit, and is on the noisier side, a sort of mix between the OLD and the NEW Men. Moon Duo do their thing, a hazy, druggy, tranced out, motorik groover, that's fantastically mesmerizing, and could easily have stretched out way past its 4:42. Oh and the lyrics are in German! A track from the recent Follakzoid gets a remix courtesy of Psychic Ills, who essentially transform the original into a sort-of Psychic Ills track, all tranced out Spacemen 3 worship, backwards guitars, swirling shimmer, and minimal motorik pulsations. A pretty effective reimagining for sure. The A side finishes up with Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem joined by the Entrance Band's Guy Blakeslee, for a haunting murder ballad like folk dirge, all haunting melodies and thick reverby ambience.
The B side starts off with Zola Jesus covering Rhianna's "Diamonds", and it's really not that different than the original, a bit gothier and gloomier, and a little bit tweakier and more electronic in its second half, but it definitely makes us think Zola Jesus could make the leap to the really big time anytime she wanted to! Next up, The Holy Drug Couple covers Serge Gainsbourg, and it's a good match, the new version a bit hazier and druggier and dreamier, but still retaining the energy and vibe of the original. Wymond Miles offers up some dark haunting gloom pop balladry, all twang flecked and haunting. And finally, Case Studies finishes things off with a gorgeous bit of strummy harmonica flecked lo-fi folk.
As always, great stuff, from lots of cool groups. And as mentioned above SUPER LIMITED, these are probably the last copies we'll see. Includes a download coupon too!
MPEG Stream: MOON DUO "Ich Werde Sehen"
MPEG Stream: ZOLA JESUS "Diamonds"
MPEG Stream: THE MEN "B Minor"
MPEG Stream: FOLLAKZOID "9 (Psychic Ills Remix)"

V/A Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Vagrant) cd 14.98
Not sure if this counts as a guilty pleasure, but it probably should. Anyone with a Playstation or an X-Box probably has all of these songs stuck permanently in their heads, unavoidable after hours and hours of grinding your way through Tony Hawk's American Wasteland we imagine. But fuck it, this comp is killer, some of our all time punk rock favorites covered by a bunch of the current crop of emo / metalcore heart throbs. And while the originals are pretty much perfect, it's kind of cool to hear some of these songs revamped and reworked, most of them more well produced and some of them a whole lot heavier. Emanuel does a killer version of the Stooges' "Search And Destroy", dangerously close to the original but with a thick layer of sludgy grit on top. Saves The Day tackle the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer", and for an ultra-wimpy emo band they manage some serious ass kickery. The Bled do a note perfect version of the Bad Brains' "House Of Suffering" and the Hot Snakes channel Government Issue with a sloppy noisy version of "Time To Escape." There's From Autumn To Ashes' killer metalized version of Fear's "Let's Have A War" and we can't forget Fall Out Boy and their AWESOME version of the Gorilla Biscuits' "Start Today". Other bands include Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Thursday, Thrice and the Dropkick Murphys covering tracks by Suicidal Tendencies, Descendents, Misfits, Adolescents, T.S.O.L., Buzzcocks, Fear and of course Black Flag.
MPEG Stream: HOT SNAKES "Time To Escape (Government Issue)"
MPEG Stream: FALL OUT BOY "Start Today (Gorilla Biscuits)"
MPEG Stream: FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES "Let's Have A War (Fear)"

V/A Topography of Indefinite Impressions (Autopia ) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While presented as a compilation, this is more of a collective in which each of the projects are various combinations of a rotating core of likeminded San Franicisco musicians. In the end, "Topography of Indefinite Impressions" enjoys a lush aesthetic link between the pastoral space-rock of Mirza, Stephen R. Smith, and Thuja with the alchemic dronolgy of id battery, L. Chasse, and Music For Tunnels (which happens to be the experimental / electronica pseudonym for Tim Green of The Champs). Limited to something like 300 copies and well worth it! And note, the obscure title is meant to poke fun at such titles, not to be understood...

V/A Toshiba Express (Toshiba) cd 26.00
A great compilation of '70s Japanese psychedelic folk, loungey crooning, organ freakouts, wah wah guitars, and melodramatic pop from a variety of names you've probably never heard of, except perhaps for The Jacks, The Mops, and Cosmos Factory. No? Anyway, this is a collection of singles released by Japan's Toshiba label back when I, at least, was a little kid. Similar in spirit to the equally good "Love Peace And Poetry" comp of Latin American psychedelic music that we were always raving about.

V/A Total Freakout Vol. 3 (Mucho Gusto) cd 15.98
This great comp disappeared quickly right after we first listed it back in December, but now at last it's been repressed and is back in stock again!
How can you argue with a comp of totally obscure, French and Belgian and French Canadian, late sixties / early seventies psychedelic rock? Especially when you most likely haven't heard of a single one of these artists, and the cover features people in bear suits IN space suits hanging out on the moon and the disc art features a band dressed up like psychedelic Indians and the songs are so completely whacked and weird? Well, you can't. Nor should you. Why deny yourself the drugged out damaged beauty contained herein? Eighteen tracks of completely out-there psych rock, rife with all sort of wild and wooly outerspace effects, funky horns, fuzzy lead guitars, hooks galore and sung mostly in French!
The opening track by P.B. + 3 1/2 is a funky soft porn soundtrack (well, sounds like it, the liner notes assure us it is not even though the artist did indeed to porn sountracks) slowly loping bassline and the melody played by a kazoo. Yep, a kazoo. Complete with summery feel-good background vocals and bizarre Perrey And Kingsley sound effects. Apparently P.B moved to L.A. and recorded music for Star Trek: The Next Generation! Track two is just as wacked with a total head nodding groove, the main riff played on a violin and booming Morricone choral style men's choir background vocals, swirling cinematic strings and a wailing Scott Walker-ish vocal, super dramatic and WAY over the top. The third track is a fuzzy, psychedelic girl-group-groove from Sixties French pop idol Stella, a totally guitar heavy workout, with a super Hendrixy 'scuse me.. type riff, kick ass horns and her throaty, over affected vocals, but totally catchy and wonderful. And the whole record continues in the same fashion, Just when you think it couldn't get weirder or cooler, it does. Big time! Partridge Family style Sixties summer pop, dipped in acid and left to fry in the sun, keyboard heavy ? And The Mysterians style repeating grooves dissembled and put together again like some psych rock Frankenstein and on and on and on...We get flooded with comps of 'lost classics', but this one definitely holds up as one of our favorites (and definitely one of the most bizarre). All the tracks were collected by some guy named Satan Belanger, a legendary underground musician and record collector in Quebec. Really funny liner notes too, in both French and English, though we could have used even more info. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: P.B + 3 1/2 "Gazou, Gazou"
MPEG Stream: CHRIS GALLBERT "Sing-Sing"
MPEG Stream: STELLA "L'idole Des Jaunes"

V/A Total Freakout Vol. 33 (Mucho Gusto) lp 21.00
The first Total Freakout comp from years ago (which was in fact purportedly the third, although we've never been able to find the first two, if they even exist) has become an all time AQ favorite. An amazing collection of totally obscure French, Belgian, and French Canadian late sixties/early seventies psychedelia. So many cuts from that record have been mainstays on every mix we've made and DJ sets we've played. It's where we first heard what has become an all-time favorite song of ours, "Ani Kuni" by Madeleine Chartrand.
We've been waiting for a long time to see if there would ever be a follow up to that classic comp and now finally there is! But before we go on and gush about how great it is, we should warn you that they only pressed 500 of these and it won't be coming out on cd or any digital format. So it's probably best just to get this asap, because who knows, by the time you finish reading this it could already be out of print!
We had great faith that the same folks who brought us that first collection wouldn't put out another one unless it could pack the same thrilling punch, and we have definitely been proven right. This time out we get fourteen tracks spanning 1967-1973 filled with one mind blowing slice of French/French-Canadian psych after another. Besides another track by Madeleine Chartrand, it's a completely different roster then the first collection which means we now have thirteen artists we never knew about before who are totally blowing our minds.
The music is a lot grittier, spacier, and more damaged then the ye-ye side of French pop, but it still maintains such amazing melodies and songs that totally intoxicate. One of our favorite collections of the year!

V/A Tracks & Fields (Kill Rock Stars) 2cd 15.98
Y'know you can count on the folks at Kill Rock Stars to offer up one or two jumbo action-packed compilations each year, and they've hit the ground running in 2004 (pun intended)! Tracks & Fields is the second installment in the label's compilation trilogy -- the first was 2002's Fields And Streams, the third will be Roads And Tracks due out in a couple more years. This double cd set features a whoppin' 41 fresh, previously unreleased songs from the old and the new, the well known and the lesser known, from many walks of life. The participants are (in running order - ha ha!): The Legend, Antietam, His Name Is Alive, Superchunk, Bro. Danielson, Dos, Gas Huffer, John Wilkes Booze, the Capricorns, Cynthia Dall, Lovers, Xiu Xiu, Gravy Train!!!! (their exclamation points, not ours), The Buff Medways, The Charades, The Wiretaps, Brooke, Young People, Jucifer, Total Sound Group Direct Action Committee, The King Cobra, Semiautomatic, Alaska! (again, their punctuation, not ours), Shoplifting, Biography Of Ferns, Radio Berlin, Measles Mumps Rubella, Slumber Party, Sleetmute Nightmute, Need New Body, Male Slut, The Paper Chase, Devendra Banhart, Laura Veirs, Thanksgiving, Nedelle, Sahara Hotnights, Sweet Heat, C Average, Dead Meadow, and The Decemberists. Whew!
MPEG Stream: BANHART, DEVENDRA "Poughkeepsi"
MPEG Stream: DECEMBERISTS "Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right"

V/A Tradi-Mods Vs. Rockers (Crammed Discs) 2cd 16.98
Not sure why we had reservations about this to begin with, maybe we love the sound of Konono and Congotronics so much and hold it to an almost holy height that we were afraid of its bastardization. Luckily those fears couldn't have been more unfounded, as all the artists on this compilation, hand picked by Crammed Discs to do interpretations of various Congotronics bands like Konono No. 1 and Kasai Allstars, all do such a magnificent job of respecting the roots of the tracks they create, totally capturing the spirit of the originals while adding their own distinct flavor and vision. The track listing reads like a who's who of awesome indie music of the last several years: Animal Collective, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Tussle, Glen Kotche, Sylvain Chauveau, Jolie Holland, Oneida, Shackleton, the Boredoms' Eye, etc.
Crammed did a really great job of curating this collection as the whole thing really flows perfectly from start to finish. Bringing you into the hypnotizing world of Congotronics through the eyes and ears of artists who have been deeply influenced by their incredible sounds.
MPEG Stream: DEERHOOF VS KASAI ALLSTARS "Travels Broaden The Mind"
MPEG Stream: EYE VS KONONO N¡1 "Konono Wa Wa Wa (Rework)"
MPEG Stream: TUSSLE VS KONONO N¡1 "Soft Crush"
MPEG Stream: OPTIMO VS KONONO N¡1 "Wumbanzanga (Rework)"

V/A Trainspotting (Capitol) cd 16.98
Soundtrack to the film. Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Blur, New Order, Lou Reed, Pulp, Elastica etc. All the hotties!

V/A Translation Music (Don Lee Records) cd 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cool compilation of local (and not so local) post rock / punk rock bands: Caesura. Fort Erie, Roots of Orchis and a bunch more. Packaged in a cool hand stamped sleeve.

V/A Transmissions From Sinai (Arthur) cd 13.98

V/A Trap Door (Dis-Joint) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest in the recent spate of killer international funk / soul / psych reissue collections. The trick here being that these tracks are SO obscure (and so densely mixed together), that the folks at Dis-Joint are counting on most folks not knowing ANY of these. SO much so that there is no track listing on the disc at all, and they are having a contest on their website, the first one who can name all the tracks will get a nice cash prize!!! We've got to admit it, we're stumped for the most part (although we did recognize part of one track, it's San Ul Lim from Korea!). But that doesn't mean we aren't loving all this fun and funky and bizarre music. A chaotic blend of sixties and seventies psych rock, funky soul, soulful psych, and funky rock from all over the world, Turkey, Korea, Italy, Israel, China, Spain and loads more. Any one who has been loving the Love Peace & Poetry comps, the Steam Kodok collection, the In-Kraut compilation or, especially, any of the Andy Votel mixes definitely NEED this. From groovy laid back porno movie / action adventure funk, with lots of bolero guitars, and sound effects, like a Morricone Western mixed with some Euro sleaze flick soundtrack, to fluttering folk with super distorted psych rock guitar and everything in between, with plenty of borrowed hooks from popular songs, fuzzy organs, lots of James Brown style yelping and whooping, squiggly little guitar licks, funky drumming, carnivalesque analog synthesizers, tons of breaks hip hop headz would kill for, a bunch of bizarre movie snippets pertaining to hippies, wiggly wavy spaced out ambient warble, jazzy horns, skronky and otherwise, wheezing harmonicas, tablas and sitars, wild Santana-like leads, cocktail pianos and tons and tons of very strange sound effects. A wickedly wild, mind blowing, head spinning party record if there ever was one!
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Three"
MPEG Stream: "Four"

V/A Trap Door (Dis-Joint) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest in the recent spate of killer international funk / soul / psych reissue collections. The trick here being that these tracks are SO obscure (and so densely mixed together), that the folks at Dis-Joint are counting on most folks not knowing ANY of these. SO much so that there is no track listing on the disc at all, and they are having a contest on their website, the first one who can name all the tracks will get a nice cash prize!!! We've got to admit it, we're stumped for the most part (although we did recognize part of one track, it's San Ul Lim from Korea!). But that doesn't mean we aren't loving all this fun and funky and bizarre music. A chaotic blend of sixties and seventies psych rock, funky soul, soulful psych, and funky rock from all over the world, Turkey, Korea, Italy, Israel, China, Spain and loads more. Any one who has been loving the Love Peace & Poetry comps, the Steam Kodok collection, the In-Kraut compilation or, especially, any of the Andy Votel mixes definitely NEED this. From groovy laid back porno movie / action adventure funk, with lots of bolero guitars, and sound effects, like a Morricone Western mixed with some Euro sleaze flick soundtrack, to fluttering folk with super distorted psych rock guitar and everything in between, with plenty of borrowed hooks from popular songs, fuzzy organs, lots of James Brown style yelping and whooping, squiggly little guitar licks, funky drumming, carnivalesque analog synthesizers, tons of breaks hip hop headz would kill for, a bunch of bizarre movie snippets pertaining to hippies, wiggly wavy spaced out ambient warble, jazzy horns, skronky and otherwise, wheezing harmonicas, tablas and sitars, wild Santana-like leads, cocktail pianos and tons and tons of very strange sound effects. A wickedly wild, mind blowing, head spinning party record if there ever was one!
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Three"
MPEG Stream: "Four"

V/A Trash Companion #01 (End Recordings & Palare) cd 16.98
This may seem to be a very confusing compilation if you haven't been privy to its theme/intent. For those unfamiliar, Trash is an infamous London nightclub and this cd documents the hip, eclectic acts who've performed there. The first six tracks, tagged "Part One - Live At Trash", are indeed live cuts by Gold Chains, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches, Moldy Peaches, Peaches and Stereo Total. The second six are titled "Part Two - Club Classics" - and they certainly are. This diverse gathering includes Duran Duran (an early one! "My Own Way"), Kylie Minogue, Nancy Sinatra, Felix Da Housecat, The Slits (doing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"!) and Huggy Bear. If the club Trash holds little significance for you, this may just seem like a glorified, home mix tape. For hipsters in the know, you probably already own all of these records.
RealAudio clip: PEACHES "Rockshow"
RealAudio clip: SLITS "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"

V/A Trash Companion #01 (End Recordings Ltd. ) 2lp 19.98
This may seem to be a very confusing compilation if you haven't been privy to its theme/intent. For those unfamiliar, Trash is an infamous London nightclub and this cd documents the hip, eclectic acts who've performed there. The first six tracks, tagged "Part One - Live At Trash", are indeed live cuts by Gold Chains, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches, Moldy Peaches, Peaches and Stereo Total. The second six are titled "Part Two - Club Classics" - and they certainly are. This diverse gathering includes Duran Duran (an early one! "My Own Way"), Kylie Minogue, Nancy Sinatra, Felix Da Housecat, The Slits (doing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"!) and Huggy Bear. If the club Trash holds little significance for you, this may just seem like a glorified, home mix tape. For hipsters in the know, you probably already own all of these records.

V/A Treble Revolution Volume 2 (Kindercore) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fab comp with an unavailable-elsewhere Olivia Tremor Control track that sounds like Tortoise on 45. If that weren't enough, other contributors include Servotron, Man...Or Astroman?, and Elf Power.

V/A Triad (Neurot) cd 12.98
Three way split from three of the newest rock bands on Neurosis' mighty Neurot label. Most folks should be well familiar with Red Sparrowes by now. And two more blissed out epics from those guys is ALWAYS a good thing. Both live, and both perfect examples of why the Red Sparrowes are so kick ass. Loping, minor key post rock that swirls and shimmers and builds into massive spacerock fuzz drenched wall-of-sound blowouts. Mogwai, Godspeed, Explosions, if that's how you like your rock and have yet to check out the Sparrowes this is as good a place as any to start.
Two tracks from the brilliantly named Made Out Of Babies, who kick out the jams, sort of Jesus Lizard style, but with their ace in the hole being vocalist Julie Christmas, who can croon all sultry but just as easily shriek and howl up a storm, PJ Harvey, Queen Adreena, a passionate and paint peeling caterwaul that perfectly complements MoB's lurching angular grooves.
Last up is Battle Of Mice, featuring one Red Sparrowe as well as Made Of Babies' Julie Christmas. Battle Of Mice are basically a cross between the two, the slow burning melodic build of the Sparrowes, the slithery sultriness of Made Out Of Babies, with occasional caustic blasts of furious vitriol, but mostly a groovy tribal drift, with Christmas whispering and speaksinging, lots of breathiness and squeaky Bjorkisms, giving their two songs here a really creepy blissed out vibe.
MPEG Stream: RED SPARROWES "Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes (Live)"
MPEG Stream: BATTLE OF MICE "Sleep & Dream"
MPEG Stream: MADE OUT OF BABIES "Proud To Drown"

V/A Triad (Neurot) 3 x 7" 14.98
Also available as a super limited triple 7"!!!
Three way split from three of the newest rock bands on Neurosis' mighty Neurot label. Most folks should be well familiar with Red Sparrowes by now. And two more blissed out epics from those guys is ALWAYS a good thing. Both live, and both perfect examples of why the Red Sparrowes are so kick ass. Loping, minor key post rock that swirls and shimmers and builds into massive spacerock fuzz drenched wall-of-sound blowouts. Mogwai, Godspeed, Explosions, if that's how you like your rock and have yet to check out the Sparrowes this is as good a place as any to start.
Two tracks from the brilliantly named Made Out Of Babies, who kick out the jams, sort of Jesus Lizard style, but with their ace in the hole being vocalist Julie Christmas, who can croon all sultry but just as easily shriek and howl up a storm, PJ Harvey, Queen Adreena, a passionate and paint peeling caterwaul that perfectly complements MoB's lurching angular grooves.
Last up is Battle Of Mice, featuring one Red Sparrowe as well as Made Of Babies' Julie Christmas. Battle Of Mice are basically a cross between the two, the slow burning melodic build of the Sparrowes, the slithery sultriness of Made Out Of Babies, with occasional caustic blasts of furious vitriol, but mostly a groovy tribal drift, with Christmas whispering and speaksinging, lots of breathiness and squeaky Bjorkisms, giving their two songs here a really creepy blissed out vibe.
MPEG Stream: RED SPARROWES "Alone And Unaware, The Landscape Was Transformed In Front Of Our Eyes (Live)"
MPEG Stream: BATTLE OF MICE "Sleep & Dream"
MPEG Stream: MADE OUT OF BABIES "Proud To Drown"

V/A Tribute to Spacemen 3 (Rocket Girl) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After influencing so many bands with their psychotropic guitar, moog, & sitar drones and heavy drug intake, it only seems fitting that Spacemen 3 gets a proper tribute album. Blissful stupor from Bowery Electric, Mogwai, Low, Arab Strap, Piano Magic, Bardo Pond, Frontier, Amp, Asteroid #4, Transient Waves, Flowchart, and Accelera Deck. Can't argue with that line-up! Rocket Girl (the label formerly known as ChŽ) brilliantly chose some cover artists that were willing to pierce through the layers and emerge triumphantly with the bare bones songs themselves, in all their melodic intensity. The chillingly quiet trio Low demonstrate this masterfully on "Lord Can You hear Me?", as do Mogwai and Piano Magic, the latter adding lo-fi drum'n'bass to the simple mix.

V/A Trighplane Terraforms No. 1 (Mental Telemetry Standards & Voids) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
First in a proposed series of limited edition "abstract folk compilations" from Missouri's Mental Telemetry label. This "Trighplane" (i.e. three-way) split between Magic Carpathians, the Six Organs of Admittance, and Vibracathedral Orchestra isn't a bad start! From Poland, California, and the UK respectively, these are all AQ-fave outfits, with perfect "Terra" credentials, Ptolemaic-style. The opening two tracks from the Magic Carpathians are kinda scary, with off-kilter strings and Anna Nacher's haunting voice. They do a song from their last album, "Ethnocore 3" but perhaps it's a different version. Then Six Organs takes over with a long, gently droning piece with an old-timey folk vibe. Last up is Neil Campbell & Co's Vibracathedral Orchestra, bowing away at their oven racks, electric guitars and whatnot for five tracks of satisfying improv drone clatter, perhaps the most abstract (if not most folky) stuff on here. Though it IS folk in the sense of homebrewed, primitive music-making, just how we like it. All of this in a nice letter-pressed package (designed by AQ pal Nemo who runs Time-Lag Records), limited to 1000 -- what are you waiting for?
RealAudio clip: SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE "Warm Earth, Which I've Been Told"
RealAudio clip: VIBRACATHEDRAL ORCHESTRA "Jubilee"