CURRITUCK CO. Sleepwalks In The Garden Of The Dead Room (Track & Field) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

CURSE OF THE BIRTHMARK Alibi / Call Yer Lawyer (333 Recordings) 7" 5.98
Cool. A super-limited 7" release from San Francisco's no-wave noise militants, Curse Of The Birthmark. Three hundred and thirty three of these were put out, as part of a 7" series from 333 Recordings. Features Weasel Walter from Flying Luttenbachers on keys.

CURSED II (Goodfellow Records) cd 14.98

CURSIVE Art Is Hard (Saddle Creek) cd ep 4.98
Still holding down the emo wing of the Saddle Creek label is Cursive, and here is their new two song ep. Their inclusion of strings and horns with their basic punk rock assembly of guitar, bass and drums adds a wonderful dimension to Cursive. We caught a glimpse of this expanded instrumentation on their last release which was a split cd with Japan's Eastern Youth. It really works well! Increasing the dramatics of their already heavily emotive and dynamic music. An exciting peek at what's to come on their new full length due out soon.
RealAudio clip: "Art Is Hard"

CURSIVE Burst and Bloom (Saddle Creek) cd ep 11.98
It simply doesn't get much more emo than this. Capital E! M! O!

CURSIVE Happy Hollow (Saddle Creek) cd 13.98
Cursive come tearing out of the gate with the tumultuous opening number "Opening The Hymnal / Babies". They follow it with the vibrant, fiery "Dorothy At Forty", and we thought to ourselves, "Geez, this is great! If they keep going the way they're going, holy shit, this is gonna be a doozy!" And they do and it is! They've always crafted their music with more drama and dynamics than most of their emo contemporaries, but while they've certainly retained their very emo core, this is Cursive at perhaps their most varied and their least aggressive (tho' there's still an occasional gritty moment here and there). Happy Hollow is both more angular'n'skronky (yes, there are saxophones and trumpets!) and more Brit-poppy than previous Cursive releases. So it's not surprising that as a result they kinda end up sounding less like the Cursive of old, drawing comparisons to a number of other faves of AQ with whom you're probably already familiar. For instance, "So-So Gigolo" drives with a very Queens Of The Stone Age-y propulsion. "Bad Science" sounds like a latter day Cure song. The abovementioned second song and "Rise Up! Rise Up!" bring to mind the feverishness of Doug Martsch's pre-Built To Spill band Treepeople. Pretty darn great!
MPEG Stream: "Dorothy At Forty"
MPEG Stream: "cursivesosogigolo.mp3"

CURSIVE The Difference Between Houses And Homes: Lost Songs And Loose Ends 1995-2001 (Saddle Creek) cd 13.98
Hmmm, maybe the difference between houses and homes is that someone cares enough to do the housekeeping... which is what emo-punk band Cursive have done with six years worth of their recorded output. Out of print singles? Previously unreleased tracks? You bet! Cursive and their label Saddle Creek want you to have them all, right now on this Cursive collection! The cd starts and ends with their two unavailable-until-now songs "Dispenser" and "I Thought There'd Be More Than This". Sandwiched in between are ten tunes drawn from four of their 7"s -- The Disruption (1996), Sucker & Dry (1997), The Icebreaker (1998), and Makoto Split Series (2001).
All in all, the selections serve as a solid overview of the band's evolution from precarious abrasive angst boys to slightly more reined-in moody lads. Includes a 24 page booklet in which you'll find a story written by Tim Kasher and illustrated by Yuriko Yoshino (of Cursive pals Japanese punk rock band Eastern Youth).
MPEG Stream: "Dispenser"
MPEG Stream: "I Thought There'd Be More Than This"

CURSIVE The Recluse (Saddle Creek) cd ep 5.98
In just three songs, this ep shows off a few different shades of Cursive. You may recall the title track from their last album 2003's The Ugly Organ -- very reminiscent of Built To Spill and Modest Mouse. The second song "Once" is angst filled and churning and the third "Adapt" is a slow swooning number with handwringing strings.
MPEG Stream: "Once"

CURSIVE The Ugly Organ (Saddle Creek) cd 13.98
The title is a definite sign of what to expect from Cursive's new album. There's organs a-plenty, but whether they're specifically "ugly" is up for debate. There's also angstful emo a-plenty too as only Cursive can do. Particularly with their most recent releases, they've been adding more and more dimensions to the straight-up emo punk rock guitar sound. Andee and Cup both loved the Art Is Hard ep that preceded The Ugly Organ, and this full length sure doesn't disappoint either. Once again, the big Cursive picture has been fleshed out with some cello, layers of vocals and the aforementioned organs. It's quite wonderful and dramatic, really - at once, emotionally charged, well composed, quirkily detailed and yes, very rocking too.
RealAudio clip: "The Recluse"

CURSIVE / EASTERN YOUTH 8 Teeth To Eat You (Better Looking) cd 11.98
An international punk rock mini-fest, this split release features four tunes each from Japanese trio Eastern Youth and Omaha, NE emo-punk boys Cursive. Consider this your preparation for their imminent U.S. tour together. Eastern Youth fares best when vocalist Hisashi Yoshino totally cuts loose - which in my opinion, he doesn't do hardly enough on these songs - 'cause when he's singing in a calmer fashion the songs tend to drag and stumble (although at times it sort of reminded me of Shudder To Think). I've noticed a prevalent and very distinct sound in the Japanese punk rock recordings I've heard to date (particularly noticeable in the guitar tone). The individual instruments/musicians sound isolated from one another. Clean and somewhat sterile, like the music production on Japanese tv variety shows. Made me think - sizeable budgets but lacking in a unified rockin' energy. Their live rage just fails to come across consistently in the recorded realm. As for Cursive, they've seldom let their fans down, and they're not gonna start now. Tim Kasher's raw, angstful voice is primed and ready as they kick out four new songs of angular punk rock aggression made even more moody by the relatively recent, highly complementary addition of cello to their standard guitar/bass/drums lineup.
RealAudio clip: "Excerpts From Various Notes Strewn Around The Bedroom Of April Connolly Feb. 24, 1997"
RealAudio clip: "Muyohnosuke"
RealAudio clip: "Bura Bura Bushi"

CURSOR MINER Explosive Piece of Mind (Lo Recordings) cd 15.98
This album from Cursor Miner (aka Robert Tubb) is a darn sonic rollercoaster ride. A super fun and eclectic album, it starts out with an ominous 40 second digital roar, then proceeds into a Beck-ish slouchy, loping fashion which mutates into more stuttery electronics and bumpity-bump programmed beats like Hrvatski or Kid 606. All chopped up, chunky and playful with a definite pop heart, it blends together acoustic guitars, rubbery blumps and bleeps, samples and processed vocals. Cool.
RealAudio clip: "Never Been Seen"
RealAudio clip: "U Want To Want"
RealAudio clip: "Battery Powered Joy"

CURTAINS, THE Alphabet Series N (Tomlab) 7" 6.98
In case the title didn't already give it away, this is part of the German label TomLab's special 7" single series dedicated to the alphabet! It all began with Mark Robinson and the letter 'A' back in July 2004. Now it's mid-2006 and they've reached the letter 'N', but don't punish yourself if you've missed a few (if not or all) of 'em thus far. Each edition has only been pressed in a super fleeting run of 500. Geez, you can barely catch a glimpse of them. 'M' by Max Tundra and 'L' by Les Georges Leningrad (which came out in May and March of this year respectively) are already long gone. Sooooo, while it lasts we have 'N' which features two tunes by SF art-popsters The Curtains (aka Deerhoof's Chris Cohen). Snooze and lose...

CURTAINS, THE Calamity (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98
Asthmatic Kitty, the label that brought us a bunch of early Sufjan Stevens releases as well as two dream-folk albums by the Castanets, has released another likemindedly quirky lovely cd by The Curtains starring Mr. Chris Cohen formerly of Deerhoof. Not at all surprisingly, the mildly tweaked elements of his old band definitely make their way into the pastel pop weave of The Curtains, but the overall sound is more straightforward fluttery retro '60s psych-pop with very heavy Beach Boys and Beatles influences. It's all super sweet and wistful with female vocals courtesy of Nedelle Torrisi (also of SF duo Nedelle And Thom). Half-Handed Cloud's John Ringhofer also lends (more than half) a musical hand. Cohen has the kind of irresistible boyish wonder and charm that few possess. It's almost like he exists in a Michel Gondry film, so many wonderful colors, state of the bedroom invention and endless wonder. There's nothing but puffy clouds floating in a bright blue sky when this one's playin'!
MPEG Stream: "Green Water"
MPEG Stream: "Calamity"

CURTAINS, THE Fast Talks (Thin Wrist) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A beautifully rendered document of the early stages of this San Francisco trio. A posthumous release of sorts, considering the radical personnel changes since the recording of "Fast Talks". But alas, we can now enjoy the magic of what once was. Comparisons to Beefheart's Magic Band, The Shaggs or the reserved expansiveness of guitarists like Derek Bailey, Taku Sugimoto or Fred Frith certainly come to mind, though those likenesses are only fragments of the larger landscape. The duelling guitars of Chris Cohen and Trevor Shimizu weave into one another, not colliding or stepping on each others toes, but crafting a web in which the stumbling percussive rolls of drummer Jamie Peterson (ex-Saint Andre) are able to grasp onto. Peterson's unique style recalls the Magic Band's John "Drumbo" French, though with more reservation and a playful discretion. In fact most of the songs on "Fast Talks" are refreshing in their sheer simplicity and sense of discovery. You might be inclined to say "naive" upon first listen, as remnants of "outsider" artists such as The Shaggs can be traced through their arrangements, though these pieces are extremely well conceived, complex and strongly informed by restraint and the spaces in between. Several moments throughout the record even contain qualities which recall another SF avant-rock outfit -- Deerhoof -- whose guitarist John Dieterich, coincidentally, takes production controls here. Vinyl only, and gorgeously packaged as per the Thin Wrist standard of excellence.
RealAudio clip: "22nds"
RealAudio clip: "Athletes In The Stars"
RealAudio clip: "Dim Weeks"
RealAudio clip: "Slippers"

CURTAINS, THE Flybys (Thin Wrist) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fresh from their split cd and tour with Japanese pop-psych shamblers Maher Shalal Hash Baz, The Curtains release their first full-length cd. On it, this Bay Area trio of synthesizers, guitars and drums make a precarious heap of quirksome dissonance... and it's really no wonder since its members are Chris Cohen, Andrew Maxwell, and Greg Saunier. These gents also make sounds with such groups as Deerhoof, Natural Dreamers and Open City. On Flybys, melodies are introduced and seemingly take root, only to have the notes scatter like a disturbed anthill. A tangles of plucked guitar strings. Woozy synthesized heaves. A tumbling snare drum. The three are joined on a number of tracks by their former Curtains comrades Jaime Peterson (electronics) and Trevor Shimizu (synthesizer and guitar). As the album progresses the tracks seem to teasingly approach a slightly more traditional song structure, but you'll find with The Curtains you're seldom on completely stable ground. 22 tracks in all with the longest one clocking in at 3 minutes and the shortest at sixteen seconds (most are around one to two minutes)!
MPEG Stream: "Partners"
MPEG Stream: "It's The Bunklords"

CURTAINS, THE Flybys (Thin Wrist) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl! Fresh from their split cd and tour with Japanese pop-psych shamblers Maher Shalal Hash Baz, The Curtains release their first full-length cd. On it, this Bay Area trio of synthesizers, guitars and drums make a precarious heap of quirksome dissonance... and it's really no wonder since its members are Chris Cohen, Andrew Maxwell, and Greg Saunier. These gents also make sounds with such groups as Deerhoof, Natural Dreamers and Open City. On Flybys, melodies are introduced and seemingly take root, only to have the notes scatter like a disturbed anthill. A tangles of plucked guitar strings. Woozy synthesized heaves. A tumbling snare drum. The three are joined on a number of tracks by their former Curtains comrades Jaime Peterson (electronics) and Trevor Shimizu (synthesizer and guitar). As the album progresses the tracks seem to teasingly approach a slightly more traditional song structure, but you'll find with The Curtains you're seldom on completely stable ground. 22 tracks in all with the longest one clocking in at 3 minutes and the shortest at sixteen seconds (most are around one to two minutes)!
MPEG Stream: "Partners"
MPEG Stream: "It's The Bunklords"

CURTAINS, THE Vehicles of Travel (Frenetic) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sometimes bedazzled, certainly bemused and maybe befuddled, that's where curious local art-rockers The Curtains keep the listener, one never knowing from track to track where the album is likely to lead. And there's a whole lotta tracks on here, like 23 of 'em! All share the The Curtains charming style of quirky, indie-rock confusion, that can be proggily grandiose one moment, innocent and simple the next. Faux-naive? Beefheart-complex? It's all good. The Curtains make their own rules, and we love 'em for it.
MPEG Stream: "April Galleons"
MPEG Stream: "Medallion Arrangement"

CUSTER, BETH Dona Luz 30 Besos (City of Tribes) cd 13.98
Possibly the most polished and "full" sounding album (of the several we carry) from San Francisco's beloved Beth Custer, the restless innovator who, whether as a solo artist or in her prolific past as part of Club Foot Orchestra and other intrepid musical outfits, is always testing her musical boundaries. On Dona Luz 30 Besos, Custer indulges her love for Cuban music and other Latino influences, including a cover of a Manu Chao song ("Lagrimas de Oro"). She's got a full band and her vocal prowess is lovely.
RealAudio clip: "In the Broken Fields Where I Lie"

CUSTER, BETH & THE JOE GOODE PERFORMANCE GROUP The Maverick Strain & Other Stories (Beth Custer) cd 13.98
Treasured local composer Beth Custer has self-released another collection of her clarinet-led music. Along with the clarinets Ms Custer also wields the piano and the keyboard sampler, and she sings. The Tin Hat Trio and the Club Foot Quintet (both groups also local gems) make appearances, as do several other folks. This is wide-open music with no attitude and plenty of originality. Silences and single-instrument passages that are evocative as much for what they don't say as for what they do. Gritty noir tangos that wouldn't be out of place in a Jim Jarmusch film. The (very occasional) vocal parts don't do much for me but I'm sure they were entirely appropriate in the context of the dance pieces these tracks were originally composed for: What the Body Knows, Take/Place, Undertaking Harry, and The Maverick Strain, all performed by the Joe Goode Performance Group. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Hamlet"
RealAudio clip: "Tango"
RealAudio clip: "Tribal Duets"

CUSTOM DRUMMER Meets DJ Monster (Bad Vugum) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

CUT COPY In Ghost Colours (Modular) cd 11.98
Justice, Digitalism, Crystal Castles. The list of contemporary indie-electro goes on on and on. And it's all at least slightly retro: disco, French house, video games, or whatever. But what we have to high five Australia's Cut Copy for is attempting to revive the orchestrated power-pop sounds of bands like Electric Light Orchestra! Take that, throw in a drum machine, maybe a few heavy post-production filters, and that's where they're at. Above and beyond anything else, and unlike some of their contemporaries, these guys seem to understand that they're essentially making pop music. Whereas projects like Justice sometimes rely too heavily on form rather than content, Cut Copy has their eyes on the songwriting prize. Much like British producer Richard X, they have a healthy and addictive affection for the '80s. Severed Heads, Tears for Fears, even maybe a little Roxette. Yeah! Don't come expecting a challenging musical experiment, or something as conceptual and cohesive. But if you can handle great pop tracks, just give in and let your feet do the dancing. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Out There on the Ice"
MPEG Stream: "Far Away"

CUTE LEPERS, THE Can't Stand Modern Music (Blackheart) cd 13.98
Not at all surprisingly this new band The Cute Lepers hail from garage pop rawk haven the Pacific Northwest. Why do we say that? Well, because they dish out super retro bubble power pop with all the genre's prerequisites - jangly electric guitar strumming, carefully picked out uncomplicated crunchy guitar solos, upbeat walkin' basslines, snappy drum beats, just as snappy handclaps, generous shakes of the tambourine, and girl group backing vocals. Remarkably faithful to both the original '60s and the late '80s revival sounds. It made us wanna dig out our old albums from Flop and Buzzcocks! They even use the appropriate fonts on the cover art! It's also maybe not at all surprising that this album has been released on Joan Jett's record label. In fact the first song sounds like some sort of bastard child of "Bad Reputation" and "Summertime Blues". Ultra snappy fun from start to finish!
MPEG Stream: "Terminal Boredom"
MPEG Stream: "Prove It"

CUTS, THE 2 Over 10 (Birdman) cd 13.98
It's kinda of ironic that what sounds to me like a fully authentic power pop record from the early '70s was actually made this year by young 'uns from Oakland! This is so pitch perfect Nuggets-y that even the purists amongst us will be impressed. The singer sound a li'l bit Tom Verlaine/Television, a li'l bit Ric Ocasek/Cars. The sweet poignancy of some of the tracks recalls "#1 Album"-era Big Star, when they rocked more than they wept. Recorded in Memphis with Greg Cartwright of the Oblivians. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "How Can I Get Through"
MPEG Stream: "Flip A Coin"

CUTS, THE From Here On Out (Birdman) cd 14.98
The third cd long-player to come from these local sharp-dressed rock and roll revivalists about town, The Cuts. Yay! Every time we've seen 'em play, they've been great -- but just a little bit different from the last time. At one gig they'll come across all Cars-y, keyboards to the fore. The next, it's guitar-heavy rawkin' with an early '70s Alice Cooper vibe. Ya never know quite what to expect, except that they're always impressive and a real authentic rock n' roll good time. Just like this album. We dug albums one and two, but number three might be the best yet. It's like some amazing power pop band from the early '70s that you somehow never heard of, whose album just got reissued and makes you go, wow, they just don't make 'em like they used to. But they do, and The Cuts are doin' it. From Here On Out sees them honing their craft (and they ARE careful craftsmen, with so much attention to songwritiing, arrangement, and performance), doing their influences proud, from '60s garage to west coast ballroom psych to new wave pop. There's out-and-out guitar rock action here as well as lovely, pretty pop moves too, with vocal harmonies and all. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Demons"
MPEG Stream: "Lemonade"

CUTS, THE From Here On Out (Birdman) lp 9.98
Now on vinyl, yes indeed!!
The third long-player to come from these local sharp-dressed rock and roll revivalists about town, The Cuts. Yay! Every time we've seen 'em play, they've been great -- but just a little bit different from the last time. At one gig they'll come across all Cars-y, keyboards to the fore. The next, it's guitar-heavy rawkin' with an early '70s Alice Cooper vibe. Ya never know quite what to expect, except that they're always impressive and a real authentic rock n' roll good time. Just like this album. We dug albums one and two, but number three might be the best yet. It's like some amazing power pop band from the early '70s that you somehow never heard of, whose album just got reissued and makes you go, wow, they just don't make 'em like they used to. But they do, and The Cuts are doin' it. From Here On Out sees them honing their craft (and they ARE careful craftsmen, with so much attention to songwritiing, arrangement, and performance), doing their influences proud, from '60s garage to west coast ballroom psych to new wave pop. There's out-and-out guitar rock action here as well as lovely, pretty pop moves too, with vocal harmonies and all. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Demons"
MPEG Stream: "Lemonade"

CUTS, THE s/t (Birdman) cd 13.98
Two Oakland bands on Birdman, here for your consideration. The Gris Gris just came out, The Cuts has been hanging out for a few months (and is a first time on cd reissue of their debut vinyl album anyway) but both get the thumbs up from the garage psych squad here at the store. Starting with The Cuts...well you can chalk another one up for the rock and roll revival. Yeah maybe the Stripes and the Strokes made the world safe for labels to release retro rockers like this, but that's fine 'cause a band like this shouldn't have to toil in obscurity anyway...plus we know our pal Dave who runs Birdman isn't about hopping on trends, he just puts out music he likes (which explains a few things). And The Cuts are the real deal too, with all kinda influences stirring in their pot...Zombies, Big Star, Television... A lot of you (and us) liked their 2nd album (first cd) 2 Over 10, which did the '70s power pop thing to perfection. Hearing this, first I thought hey weren't they supposed to be some sort of Cars-like proposition, with their keyboards and all?, but this sure harks back further than those New Romantic Waver whatevers, all the way back to the Electric Prunes!! Rockin' the joint with lotsa fuzz and great Nuggety songs/vox. Next up, The Gris Gris...
MPEG Stream: "Salt In My Wounds"
MPEG Stream: "Lovers Lane"

CYANN & BEN Happy Like An Autumn Tree (Locust Music) cd 14.98
The last Cyann And Ben album, Spring, on Locust Music via French Label Gooom, had us all in a tizzy, with its dark and dreary, dreamy and gorgeous, Stereolab-ish psychedelic doom pop. Definitely one of our favorite records of recent memory. If anything, the new record takes all the sounds on the first record even further. It's darker, and dreamier, more melancholy and definitely more experimental. A sweetly sour, gorgously grand record of mini moperock epics. Mournful minor key piano spread sparsely over warbly organs and shimmering drones, loping rhythms and arpeggiated minor key guitar melodies, sweetly delicate acoustic guitars, backward riffs and random found snippets of dialogue, and occasional bursts of twentieth century atonal skronk all underscore both Cyann's and Ben's ethereal vocals. A darkpop masterpiece. Huge and overwhelmingly intense like Godspeed, lush and minimal like Sigur Ros. Imagine the fuzzed out, mesmerising Krautrock worship of Stereolab, but way more sinister and creepy and downright doomy, then mix in all sorts of electronic swoosh and swoon, as songs build into massive, unstoppable throbbing minor key dirges, channelling the freaked out space out tendencies of Hawkwind and Pink Floyd but filtered through a twee pop sensibility, before settling back into spare stretches of ambient tranquility. Lustrous and luminous, muted and mesmerising. So goddamn good it kills us.
MPEG Stream: "Circle"
MPEG Stream: "Gone To Waste"

CYANN & BEN Spring (Locust / Gooom) cd 14.98
Okay, I admit it, we were a little late discovering the French label Gooom, but c'mon, it wasn't just us was it? We do the best we can to be ahead of the curve. Sometimes we're playing catch up just like everybody else. Especially when it's a label like Gooom who seem to have NO distribution in the states. But when all is said and done, it's all about discovering great music, whether you had it before anyone else, or you were the last one on your block. So let's not focus on the past, instead let's look at the now! And rejoice in the arrival of another new Gooom release (the first being from recent AQ faves M83).
Recorded in 2002 in a country farmhouse in France, Cyann And Ben have crafted an amazing set of songs that straddle the line between wispy and ephemeral, dark and brooding, sweetly ambient, but at the same time almost rocking. Fans of Stereolab will love this, especially if they often wished Stereolab were more depressed and a little bit heavier. Because while Spring may be dreamy and shimmery, it also manages to be propulsive and intense, with some serious riffs and some aggressive bits that may not have you headbanging, but definitely will have you bobbing your head or rocking hypnotically back and forth to the gloriously gauzy, throbbing and pulsing downer rock waltzes. Staticky short wave whispers underpin lugubrious reverby guitar and throaty torchy female vocals (with the occasional male counterpoint), epic and sweeping, melancholy and loping, mysterious and gorgeously hummable. The sound is definitely very Stereolab, but less effervescent and krautrocky and more like some strange hybrid of indie rock jangle, somber slow-core, and poppy electronica.
Think Laetitia from Stereolab fronting Low, or Codeine covering Broadcast and you'll get a rough idea. Throw in some Godspeed and add lots and lots of tense minor key crescendos, that build into not quite roaring walls of instrumental throb, but always dissipating back into cloudy dreaminess. Byram and Allan both are hearing a lot of (good, old) Pink Floyd in the dreamy psychedelic drift of Cyann & Ben's vocals and music. On Locust (licensed from Gooom, who as previously mentioned don't have much in the way of distribution outside of France, but we're working on getting their other releases somehow, soon!) who have been releasing a lot of great stuff of late, including one of last list's Records Of The Week, the Espers cd, which sold so well it's out of stock at the moment, being re-pressed by the label! But if you liked the sweet male-female vocal psych of Espers, then you'll definitely like Cyann & Ben as well wethinks.
MPEG Stream: "Buick To The Moon"
MPEG Stream: "I Can't Pretend Anymore"
MPEG Stream: "Siren Song"

CYANN & BEN Sweet Beliefs (Ever) cd 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Parisian quartet Cyann & Ben continue their delicate steps through the shadows and glints of sunlight along dewy earthen paths. This music is transportive, shimmering with hushed guitar picking and whispery distant vocals; all embraced by blankets of drone. It's sort of the aural equivalent of being in a half-sleep state while gazing at the sky through draped layers of gauze. Visions shift and melt. It's at once intimate, grand and spacious. So dark yet so blissful. The album progresses at a slow creep, but as it does so, tensions mount with increasingly insistent electric guitar squalls. A stormy peak is reached at the seventh song "Let It Play" at which point all is stripped down to just voice and piano for the next song "Somewhere In The Light Of Time". If you dug Spring and Happy Like An Autumn Tree, this will delight you to no end. Fans of Low, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, what are you waiting for? Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "Words"
MPEG Stream: "Sunny Morning"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Beliefs"

CYANN & BEN Sweet Beliefs (Ever) cd 15.98
Whoops, we didn't mean to list the import version of this last week, we forgot that the domestic would be here so soon... sorry! Here's it is, same album but much cheaper.
Parisian quartet Cyann & Ben continue their delicate steps through the shadows and glints of sunlight along dewy earthen paths. This music is transportive, shimmering with hushed guitar picking and whispery distant vocals; all embraced by blankets of drone. It's sort of the aural equivalent of being in a half-sleep state while gazing at the sky through draped layers of gauze. Visions shift and melt. It's at once intimate, grand and spacious. So dark yet so blissful. The album progresses at a slow creep, but as it does so, tensions mount with increasingly insistent electric guitar squalls. A stormy peak is reached at the seventh song "Let It Play" at which point all is stripped down to just voice and piano for the next song "Somewhere In The Light Of Time". If you dug Spring and Happy Like An Autumn Tree, this will delight you to no end. Fans of Low, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Mogwai, what are you waiting for? Wonderful!
MPEG Stream: "Words"
MPEG Stream: "Sunny Morning"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Beliefs"

CYCLEFLY Generation Sap (Radioactive Records) cd 12.98
This disc has quickly become one of Andee and Allan's most played. After getting over the initial surprise of absolutely *loving* a super commercial MTV style heavy rock band, one can enjoy what is in our opinion a totally great record. Definitely hyper produced, too heavy to be totally mainstream "alternative", but too poppy to be a metal record, it just pushes all the right buttons. Sounding a bit like a more metallic Smashing Pumpkins, or a smoother, non-rap Rage Against the Machine, but with what sounds like GEDDY LEE FROM RUSH ON VOCALS!!. So great. Totally kick ass, totally catchy. It's a crying shame that these guys are major-label also-rans when they are as good or even better than the above mentioned bands. The sound, the look (hottie alt-hunk lead vocalist with dyed red hair and no shirt!) -- they should be huge. Must be the totally stupid album cover. Maybe a guilty pleasure, but a pleasure nonetheless.
RealAudio clip: "Violet High"
RealAudio clip: "Supergod"

CZARS, THE Before... But Longer (Bella Union) cd 11.98
Since their The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People album was so warmly received around these parts, we've scooped up a couple of earlier yet still quite recent releases. Glad to report that although this album in particular is laden with heavier more aggressive guitars the overall tone of the proceedings is just as splendid, lush and melancholic as T.U.P.V.T.B.P. The vocals are clearly the force behind the Czars music. The strong, warmly emotive performance of lead singer John Grant once again draws comparisons to John Denver and Mark Lanegan. An additional delight is the glorious male/female vocal interplay between Grant and guest vocalist Paula Frazer. Lovely!
MPEG Stream: "Zippermouth"
MPEG Stream: "Leavin' On Your Mind"

CZARS, THE The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People (Manifesto / Bella Union) cd 11.98
As far as we can tell, we're pretty darn sure there are no Russian emperors present in this Denver, CO band's roster, but if it's any concession, there are five very talented musical fellows. On this their second full length, there's definite shades of the kaleidoscopic yet richly earthy scope of Pink Floyd as well as the lilting rock grandeur of Radiohead. All of that said though, in-store play has also drawn a couple of customer comparisons to the lush mellowness of Calexico. The lovely gentle horns, reverbed atmospheric pedal steel and piano surely don't hurt matters in that department. Lead vocalist John Grant has one of those voices that's so warm, deep and velvety, there's no question he could break your heart simply by singing his grocery list. That's what Cup thinks anyways. On the other hand, Jim thinks he sounds like John Denver! Cup thinks the only things remotely John Denver-ish are Paula Frazer's vocal harmonies on "Lullaby 6000" (more on that song in a bit). Imagine equal parts Thom Yorke, Rufus Wainwright, and Roy Orbison. Aaaah, that's a voice that packs quite a wallop! The Czars generally keep things wonderfully gentle and laidback - getting more so as the album progresses and allowing the listener to gradually sink into its gorgeous melancholia. Lots of guests added their vocal and instrumental two bits worth (and more). For instance, Ms Frazer sings on three of the twelve songs. Please do yourself a huge favor and give the abovementioned song "Lullaby 6000" your full attention! Absolutely breathtaking! Also appearing: Ron Miles, Rick Benjamin (of Elephant 6 Collective galore), Glen Taylor, Elin Palmer, and oh yes, and did we mention... Simon Raymonde (of Cocteau Twins) and Giles Hall who also co-produced. Originally released in the UK on Raymonde's Bella Union label, and now finding it's home on Manifesto. Don't your ears need this album?
MPEG Stream: "Drug"
MPEG Stream: "Killjoy"
MPEG Stream: "Lullaby 6000"

CZARS, THE X Would Rather Listen To Y Than Suffer Through A Whole C of Z's (Bella Union) cd ep 7.98
Since their The Ugly People Vs The Beautiful People album was so warmly received around these parts, we've scooped up a couple of earlier yet still quite recent releases. This four-song ep has moments that are considerably more amped up and aggressive than both Before... But Longer, and T.U.P.V.T.B.P. with the addition of fuzzy synths and fiery guitars ("One Single Thing") to the usually lowkey twangy proceedings. Yet, the rich earthiness of John Grant's lilting voice and soothing piano shine through the wall of distortion. Hearing him break out of his characteristically solemn tone proves to make for a pretty great contrast.
MPEG Stream: "One Single Thing"

CZUKAY, HOLGER Canaxis (Mute/ Spoon) cd 15.98

CZUKAY, HOLGER Canaxis (Revisited) cd 16.98
Nearly forty years old and still as stunning as ever, Holger Czukay's first solo effort, Canaxis, gets a fully re-mastered second reissue. Recorded in 1968, just months after the formation of CAN, Czukay, a former student of Stockhausen, teamed up with producer Rolf Dammers to put these two nearly twenty minute pieces together, comprised solely of taped material culled from shortwave radio broadcasts. Czukay employed one of the first uses of "sampling" by putting loops of Medieval Choral music, Japanese Koto, Australian Aboriginal chanting, bells and most notably recordings of two anonymous Vietnamese singers together and subtly shifting and manipulating their tape speeds. What could have been a mere music concrete exercise, would become an engagingly disorientating meditation on what Brian Eno and Jon Hassell would later term "Fourth World" possibilities, harmonizing the organic and the mechanical of ethnic and western musical idioms yet tempered through Czukay's humanistic and idiosyncratic approach to his far-flung material. That it was illegally recorded at Stockhausen's studio just adds to the mystery and pedigree of this amazing recording (supposedly Czukay and Dammers, frustrated with the limitations of their own tape machines, broke into the Master's studio and recorded Canaxis in one night!). Newly repackaged in a 3 panel digipak with liner notes and the artwork of the original private pressing, and beautifully re-mastered by Czukay and Andreas Torkler. It features two bonus tracks (different than the one from the 1995 first reissue) from the CAN Solo Edition concerts in 1999. Highly Recommended!!!
MPEG Stream: "Boat Woman Song"
MPEG Stream: "Cruise"

CZUKAY, HOLGER La Luna (Tone Casualties) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Holger Czukay (ex-Can, y'know) starts out "La Luna" on the right foot with Zoviet France-like dark ambient electronic loops, but to my ears missteps with the inclusion of new ageist female vocal incantations (from his wife, U-She) intended to draw from the power of the universe. Those who liked the long, ambient track at the end of his last solo album should check this out, however. And it's not deliberately wacky like some of his earlier solo work.

CZUKAY, HOLGER, VS. DR. WALKER Clash (Tone Casulaties) 2cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Can's Czukay teams up with Dr. Walker (of Air Liquide) for two discs of live-recorded (on tour in the USA and in Cologne) "techno" jamming. This is a little better than we thought it would be, but it's still pretty bad. Thick rhythmic throbbing, utilizing dictaphone, shortwave radio, samplers, and an 808.

D. W. HOLIDAY Technical Difficulties, Under The Influence... (Three Ring) cd 8.98
An impressive third album! The trio known as D. W. Holiday (yes, they're a band not an individual!) have been around since 1992. For well over a dozen years, they've been crafting their particular brew of darkly brooding spacey rock. Brings to mind a cross between the Flaming Lips, Pink Floyd and maybe Animal Collective too. A novel side note: there will soon (if not already) be two versions of this band -- one here in SF (the local roster currently includes former members of two other Bay Area bands, ex-Slow Poisoners drummer Chris and Ex-Bother bassist/guitarist Djuna) and one in Minneapolis -- with different lineups playing the same set of songs and everything. The reason? Band member Craig recently moved east, and simply didn't want to sever his longstanding musical ties.


MPEG Stream: "No Diving"
MPEG Stream: "TDUTI"

D.W. HOLIDAY Fish And Flying Creatures (Three Ring Records) cd 14.98
Back in 2004 D.W. Holiday released their third album Technical Difficulties, Under The Influence. At that time the core members Craig Clarke and Daniel Crowell made it known that they were going to become a two city musical entity with full bands performing under the same name in SF and Minneapolis. Now two years later they're ambitions carry on into the recorded realm with the gorgeous, shimmering, magical Fish And Flying Creatures. D.W. Holiday blossoms luminous like a deep sea jellyfish, bringing together sumptuous orchestral pop with slightly twee male vocals (a la Flaming Lips or Sparklehorse) and atmospheric shoegazerly guitar washes (like Spiritualized or Jesus And Mary Chain). So haunting and lovely! One thing though, while we're all for the insertion of incongruous elements, the odd IDM track that pops up halfway through the album seemed like a rather jarring interruption. Ah, but it is a minor bump in what is for the most part a languidly swirling shadowy affair.
MPEG Stream: "Every Beat Of Your Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Year Of The Dog"

DA SILVA, ANA The Lighthouse (Chicks On Speed) cd 15.98
Please please do not be deterred (as we almost were) by the fact that this was released on Chicks On Speed's label. Although we're admittedly not the biggest fans of those gals' music, we've gotta give them props for good taste. Besides this sounds absolutely nothing like C.O.S.!
Ana Da Silva was one of the original members of the seminal post-punk female band The Raincoats, and this is her first solo release. We're happy to report that although this is quite different and considerably more delicate music than that of her old band, some of those Raincoats angularities still linger. The subtly eccentric minimal folk pop of The Lighthouse comes across as sounding not unlike a wonderful hybrid of Bjork, Young Marble Giants and maybe even some early Residents too.
This truly solo effort (she wrote, performed and produced it all herself) is comprised of vocal songs (standouts include "Running In The Rain" and the title track) and a beautiful instrumental titled "Hospital Window" (a video is included for this song too!) -- all of which she crafted on both acoustic and electronic soundmakers that flicker and flutter like moth wings near candlelight. If you've taken a liking to the recent avant-folk scene (Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, Devendra Banhart and many of the Jewelled Antler Collective) and/or find the abovementioned artists tickling your fancy, do yourself a favor and grab this now! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Running In The Rain"
MPEG Stream: "The Lighthouse"

DACM Stereotypie (Asphodel) cd 13.98

DAFT PUNK Alive 2007 (Virgin) cd 17.98
It's been over 6 months since Daft Punk played in San Francisco but anyone who was there will never forget it. Daft Punk proved they are one of the greatest live experiences on the planet. From an immaculate trance inducing light show, to a futuristic pyramid shaped console that they were housed in and then of course the loud, supremely danceable songs that they blasted through the amphitheater as thousands of people grinning wildly, completely let themselves go, dancing with ecstasy and an adrenalized joy that we rarely ever get to experience. Alive 2007 captures that show (and that recent tour) perfectly. It's pretty much the same set they played here as they morph many of their songs into one new track which gives a new life to many of their already well known songs from their three albums.
We're sure that at least one Daft Punk record has found its way into your subconscious (Discovery will always be our favorite!) as they are a duo who have discovered an amazing way to be accessible to such a wide range of people (ravers, metal heads, hip-hop kids, gay club scene, indie rockers, ordinary joes, etc) yet create music with such charged and creative energy. They manage to bring elements of disco, prog, house, psychedelia, funk and rock to a level of ecstatic heights rarely reached in popular music. Long live Daft Punk!!!
MPEG Stream: "Burnin' / Too Long"
MPEG Stream: "Aerodynamic Beats / Forget About The World"
MPEG Stream: "Around The World / Harder Better Faster Stronger"

DAISY CHAIN, THE Straight Or Lame (Sundazed) cd 14.98

DAKOTA OAK Am Deister (Twisted Nerve) cd 16.98
From the same label that brought us Badly Drawn Boy, comes the UK's next big thing, Dakota Oak. Really pretty, kind of meandering folky / jazzy electronica, a bizarre mix of the Beta Band, Calexico, shimmery late night jazz, and Vince Guaraldi (of Peanuts theme fame). Sounds like it could be bad, but it's actually pretty cool.
RealAudio clip: "Da Wollen Wir Him"
RealAudio clip: "J Love Buses & Girls"

DALEK Abandoned Language (Ernest Jenning) 2lp 21.00
Tons of amazing hip-hop has come through here lately. We were all a-flutter over the most recent J. Dilla and El-P albums. And now we have the fourth album from Newark, NJ's Dalek. While not as mind blowing as either of those two, it's still a pretty cool disc. Minimalist rhythms follow the old-school bass/snare/bass-ba-bass/snare pattern and land Abandoned Language consistently somewhere between Tribe Called Quest and the Fugees in BPM's, but somehow the record fails to deliver the lyrical depth those groups thrived on. However, the aptly titled "Abandoned Language" is chock full of super interesting samples and strange scratching, at a speed perfect for contemplative head bobbing. This album definitely finds Dalek forging new sonic paths and we're curious to see where they'll lead next...
MPEG Stream: "Paragraphs Relentless"
MPEG Stream: "Stagnant Waters"

DALEK Absence (Ipecac) cd 17.98
It's been almost three years since we've had a full length release from Dalek, which is WAY too long. It's always refreshing to get some new hip hop in that doesn't follow the formulaic patterns that rigidly rule most hip hop releases. Absence is barely a hip hop album at all. Beginning with a 30 second a cappella from Dalek, we're quickly submerged into a wash of beautifully torrential guitar feedback drone and pounding almost metallic drums. From that point on Absence progresses as an album closer to My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, or early Seefeel than to most hip hop albums. Not only in that Absence is lushly layered with droning feedback, keyboard sweeps and grinding blasts of noise, but Dalek's voice tends to get submerged -- way down in the churning murky mix, making his voice just another strange sound swirling and swooping amidst the chaos, and making this record a truly fucked up sort-of-hip-hop record!
MPEG Stream: "Distorted Prose"
MPEG Stream: "Koner"

DALL, CYNTHIA Sound Restores Young Men (Drag City) cd 14.98

DALL, CYNTHIA Untitled (Drag City) cd 13.98
Relaxed and off-key in all the right ways, Untitled floats her beautiful airy voice over simple, repetitive piano, noisy guitar, and the occasional cello, violin, and viola. There's a stunning, sparse song sung in Russian, and the whole thing was engineered/produced by Jim O'Rourke & Tom Mallon. Bill Callahanof Smog makes a few appearances as well.

DALL, CYNTHIA Untitled (Drag City) lp 8.98
Relaxed and off-key in all the right ways, Untitled floats her beautiful airy voice over simple, repetitive piano, noisy guitar, and the occasional cello, violin, and viola. There's a stunning, sparse song sung in Russian, and the whole thing was engineered/produced by Jim O'Rourke & Tom Mallon. Bill Callahan of Smog makes a few appearances as well.