CAMPFIRES s/t (Mexican Summer) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
You think folks would get tired of all the lo-fi trippy home-brewed psychedelic pop that seems to show no sign of letting up, but with bands like Campfires creating 7"s like this, can't see that happening anytime soon. This one man band from Chicago, takes the fuzzy Beach Boys psych bliss of the Elephant Six label and crams it through the cracked aesthetic of the current crop of lysergic pop deconstructionists, resulting in three short sharp jams that manage to be lush and ebullient, but also fuzzy and filthy and raw, rich with hooks and killer riffs, a sound warm and blown out, "She Was Down" could be the lo-fi pop jam of the year, with its ultra distorted drums, buried lilting vocals, crunchy main riff, and a hook that will stay lodged in your head for ages. "Stormy Late Fall" sounds like Big Star and Redd Kross recorded onto a Dictaphone, woozy, warped, and so catchy, with some seriously unforgettable melodies, and some bad ass guitar wrangling.
The closer is a little more stripped down, brittle and crunchy, but continues on in the same vein, with sweetly melancholic melodies wrapped around shambling drums and warbly guitar jangle.
Barely more than 5 minutes, but in this case it's definitely quality over quantity, can't wait for the 'full length', even if it ends up being less than 20 minutes long...
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, every one hand numbered, includes a code so you can download the mp3 versions for your iPod...

CAN Can Box (Mute) 2cd+video+book 59.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Can box set actually managed to come out on its intended release date! 2 cds of live & unreleased performances from 1972 - 1977 (culled and remastered from audience tapes with recordings of "Dizzy Dizzy", "Vernal Equinox", "Yoo Doo Right", "Spoon", and "Cascade Waltz" as well as spontaneous improvisations given the titles "Jynx", "Fizz", "Colchester Finale", and "Kata Kong"), an opulent 500 page book of interviews, reviews, histories, and photos (with full text in English, German, and French!), and a two-hour video (including a rather artful documentary compiled by Rudi Dolezal & Hannes Rossacher and the concert footage of the Can-Free-Concert from 1972). Nits can be picked, but all in all this box is completely essential to any true Can fan(atic).

CAN CAN DVD (Spoon) 2dvd + 1cd 56.00
Fans of Krautrock listen up! The Can DVD is upon us. Now, if you already have the Can Box released a few years back, with the Can Video, you've got a portion of what's on here, but of course in a less high-tech, analog format. The Can DVD is actually two dvds, between them featuring the amazing 51 minute Can-Free-Concert film (circa Ege Bamyasi, 1972) and the 86 minute Can Documentary that were found on the Can Video. But it's also got a short Can tribute film (1 minute) by Brian Eno, biographies of Can members, a discography, and a brand new 81-minute Can documentary entitled Can Notes. There's also some stuff you can do with your PC which we haven't checked out, and MORE. A lot of it seems to focus on what the Can guys are up to these days, which is interesting but when you view the discography you'll be reminded that all their best albums were prior to 1974, so...
Plus, there's a third disc, a cd, compiling audio from Can solo projects: Michael Karoli & Sofortontakt!, Irmin Schmidt & Kumo, Jaki Liebezeit with Drums Off Chaos and Burnt Friedman, and Holger Czukay & U-She -- much of it live from a 1999 tour, with a few tracks taken from previously released albums. And there's more new music on dvd number 1, which includes five 5.1 surround sound remixes of old Can songs. You even get documentary footage about "The Making Of The 5.1 Remixes"! So, they certainly did stuff a lot into this package. Dedicated Can fans will eat it all up, casual Can fans might not care -- but either way, if you haven't seen the Can-Free-Concert, it's worth it for that alone! And not 'cause there's a juggler, but because of the freakin' music. Wow.

CAN Delay (Spoon / Mute) cd 16.98
By this point a history lesson on Can is probably not needed as their importance to the last 25 years of underground and not so underground music and their incredible musical legacy has been quite well documented. And we're pretty excited about the recent renewed interest in Can resulting in the remastering and re-releasing of much of their back catalog. The aptly titled Delay was recorded in the late '60s with Malcom Mooney on vocals. This is a way more stripped down, raw, proto-punk Can then maybe most folks are used to. Recorded around the same time as White Light/White Heat this shares the same blistering spirit that The Velvet Underground were exploring across the sea. We've no doubt mentioned Can as a huge influence on so many AQ favorites: Circle, No Neck Blues Band, Nurse With Wound, Throbbing Gristle, Radiohead, Tortoise, on and on and on.... but listening to Delay you begin to think that Can may just out-rock them all. A year or so before The Stooges would hit the scene, Can were already displaying such raw emotion and all out rock exuberance, that the world couldn't help but be awed (if they'd heard it). Delay once again demonstrates that no matter what kind of sounds Can were working with they always managed to find the emotional core, and let it seep into every bit of music they made.
MPEG Stream: "Uphill"
MPEG Stream: "Butterfly"

CAN Ege Bamyasi (Spoon/Mute) cd 12.98
These two essential krautrock classics from Can (Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi) have been reissued yet again, nothin' different except they're a little cheaper, always a good thing. Though, whatever you'd pay for 'em (even if they were twice this price!) would be money well spent, these are so good.
Here's our review: Ege Bamyasi! Can's fourth album features their second and most fantastical vocalist, Damo Suzuki. Ege is one of our faves from Can, especially of Allan's, though we think he just envies Suzuki's amazing hair! Let us just say that if you don't own this already, what are you waiting for?? The reissues contain extra liner notes and candid photos that some earlier cd editions lacked. But unless you're totally obsessed with the band and are certain of your ability to appreciate the remastering note-for-note, there's not too much else about these reissues that would require buying 'em again. If you've happy with your older copies, you'd probably do well to just keep them and sleep soundly at night.
But if you don't have a copy of this record at all... well let's say once more, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? Can's Ege Bamyasi is absolutely brilliant. Can of course were one of the most important 'krautrock' bands, along with Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Faust and a few others. With Japanese singer Damo Suzuki at the mic on this he sings some of their best songs, like "Sing Swan Song" and "Vitamin C" and "I'm So Green". Actually EVERY song on here is wonderful. Languid and laidback, yet rhythmically insistent. Mellow and gorgeous and deep. Right on. Fans already know how good this is, everybody else should trust us and pick up one of these, you won't be sorry!
MPEG Stream: "Sing Swan Song"
MPEG Stream: "Vitamin C"

CAN Ege Bamyasi (Spoon) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Oooh. Nice new vinyl reissues of several classic Can albums have just been released. Their fourth LP "Ege Bamyasi" was originally released in 1972 and is Allan's favorite Can album ever (although, it IS hard to choose). Can of course were one of the most important 'krautrock' bands, along with Amon Duul II, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Faust and a few others. "Ege Bamyasi" has Japanese singer Damo Suzuki at the mic, and on this he sings some of their best songs, like "Sing Swan Song" and "Vitamin C" and "I'm So Green". Actually EVERY song on here is wonderful. Languid and laidback, yet rhythmically insistent. Mellow and gorgeous and deep. Right on.
Enough. You know the score. Fans already know how good this is, everybody else should trust us and pick up one of these reissued LPs or the cd versions that we also have in stock, you won't be sorry!

CAN Future Days (Remastered) (Spoon) cd 12.98
This is Krautrock at its absolute dreamiest. Next to Ege Bamyasi, this is one of our most favorite Can albums. A regulation-size track, "Moonshake" is surrounded by three long ones to create a lush, lifting journey. Suzuki's vocals just merely whisper in and out of the scene as the percussion and organ work itself into a transfixed polyrhythmic atmosphere and becomes balanced again through use of some contant and pulsating bass. "Moonshake" is a Can-brand pop track, barely truly "pop-ish" but as much in that vein as they ever reached. Then the album ends in pure elegance and glory. We're still hard pressed to see a huge difference in these remasterings vs. their cd predecessors, but happy they're here and sooooo available, the classic Krautrock albums that they are.
MPEG Stream: "Future Days"
MPEG Stream: "Moonshake"

CAN Landed (Remastered) (Spoon) cd 16.98

CAN Live (1971 - 1977) (Mute / Spoon) 2cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2 cds of live & unreleased performances from 1972 - 1977 (culled and remastered from audience tapes with recordings of "Dizzy Dizzy", "Vernal Equinox", "Yoo Doo Right", "Spoon", and "Cascade Waltz" as well as spontaneous improvisations given the titles "Jynx", "Fizz", "Colchester Finale", and "Kata Kong"). This double cd was the musical chapter of the Can Box (which also featured a video and book, currently out of print).

CAN Monster Movie (Spoon / Mute) cd 15.98
1969 debut from "The Can" (as it says on the cover) with Malcolm Mooney singing. Culminates in the 20 minute-plus "Yoo Doo Right".

CAN Monster Movie (Spoon) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Oooh. Nice new vinyl reissues of several classic Can albums have just been released. "Monster Movie" was the 1969 debut LP from The Can, that band of kraut-rockin', Stockhausen-studyin', JB's-lovin, beat-poetry-recitin' hippy freaks. This album features the unique vocals of black American singer Malcolm Mooney, and establishes Can's signature style of relentless rhythmic psychedelia with songs such as the 20-minute"Yoo Doo Right". Along with the Velvets and the Stooges, Can were one of the most 'advanced' groups of the era, and certainly one of the best Krautrock bands. We needn't say more, 'cause most probably if you're at all interested in this new vinyl version, you already are familar with the album (which we also stock on cd, of course) anyway. But if you've yet to explore the world of Can, you could do a lot worse than starting here.

CAN Monster Movie (remastered) (Mute / Spoon) cd 16.98
Monster Movie! Can's first album and the first in a series of re-mastered re-issues features their original vocalist, Malcolm Mooney. Let us just say that if you don't own this already, here's a good chance to buy, not only this reissue, but a whole bunch of the best early Can on cd. The reissues contain extra liner notes and candid photos. But unless you're totally obsessed with the band and are certain of your ability to appreciate the remastering note-for-note, there's not too much else about these that's too terribly special. If you've happy with your older copies, you'd probably do well to just keep them and sleep soundly at night knowing that by not buying these reissues, you're not missing too much. If however, you'd like to spread some holiday cheer, here's what we said about this when the vinyl was reissued some time ago: Monster Movie was the 1969 debut LP from The Can, that band of kraut-rockin', Stockhausen-studyin', JB's-lovin, beat-poetry-recitin' hippy freaks. This album features the unique vocals of black American singer Malcolm Mooney, and establishes Can's signature style of relentless rhythmic psychedelia with songs such as the 20-minute"Yoo Doo Right". Along with the Velvets and the Stooges, Can were one of the most 'advanced' groups of the era, and certainly one of the best Krautrock bands. If you've yet to explore the world of Can, you could do a lot worse than starting here.
MPEG Stream: "Mary, Mary So Contrary"
MPEG Stream: "Outside My Door"

CAN Prehistoric Future (Tago Mago) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Vinyl-only reissue of the "Prehistoric Future" cassette, documenting krautrock legends Can in their early days, June 1968 to be precise. Live ("spontaneously composed") stuff from their laboratory at Schloss Norvenich, taped edited and mastered by Holger Czukay. Mono. Sounds like a practice jam to us, very loose and stoned. But of course it's wonderful stuff for Can fans! It says something on the cover about it being "the very first session" but we don't know what that really means...

CAN Radio Waves (Sonic Platten) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not-to-be-missed rarities from these krautrock masters, beginning with 1972's 35-minute live jam "Up The Bakerloo" (Damo on vocals)--we once had a Can BBC Sessions cd that featured this (under the fuller title "Up The Bakerloo Line With Anne") but the rest of the disc consisted of later (circa '74) BBC recordings of lesser interest. Not so w/ this disc, which follows "Bakerloo" with a great version of "Paperhouse" from the 1971 German Beat Club TV broadcast, another live track from 1970, and an alternate version of "Little Star of Bethlehem" from the Delay 1968 album--PLUS the non-album B-sides of Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi-era singles ("Turtles Have Short Legs" and "Shikaku Maru Ten", both of course great).

CAN Sacrilege (Mute) 2cd 15.98
Why mess with a good thing? Seminal krautrockers Can are downright inspiring, apparently, and short of adding four-on-floor-beats to make an insta-dance track, you be hardpressed to ruin a Can song. 15 classic tracks are remixed by the likes of Brian Eno, Sonic Youth, The Orb, A Guy Called Gerald, Pete Shelley, U.N.K.L.E., Bruce Gilbert and others. Some drum'n'bass, some weirdo techno noodling, and more than a few quite interesting interpretations. Double cd for the price of one.

CAN Soon Over Babaluma (Spoon) cd 16.98

CAN Soundtracks (remastered) (Mute / Spoon) cd 13.98
Soundtracks! Can's first album to feature Damo Suzuki on vocals. These are tracks from various indie films scored by them in 1970. Features the 14 minute, psych guitar-heavy "Mother Sky" and the beautiful Malcolm Mooney-sung jazz-lounge piece "She Brings The Rain", both all-time favorites of most Can fans. Let us just say that if you don't own this already, here's a good chance to buy, not only this reissue, but a whole bunch of the best early Can on cd. The reissues contain extra liner notes and candid photos. But unless you're totally obsessed with the band and are certain of your ability to appreciate the remastering note-for-note, there's not too much else about these that's too terribly special. If you've happy with your older copies, you'd probably do well to just keep them and sleep soundly at night knowing that by not buying these reissues, you're not missing too much. If however, you'd like to spread some holiday cheer, here's your chance to sprinkle the Can collection amongst those you love.
MPEG Stream: "Don't Turn The Light On, Leave Me Alone"
MPEG Stream: "Soul Desert"

CAN Tago Mago (Spoon/Mute) cd 12.98
These two essential krautrock classics from Can (Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi) have been reissued yet again, nothin' different except they're a little cheaper, always a good thing. Though, whatever you'd pay for 'em (even if they were twice this price!) would be money well spent, these are so good.
Tago Mago! Let us just say that if you don't own this already, what are you waiting for?? The reissues contain extra liner notes and candid photos that some earlier cd editions lacked. But unless you're totally obsessed with the band and are certain of your ability to appreciate the remastering note-for-note, there's not too much else about these reissues that would require buying 'em again. If you've happy with your older copies, you'd probably do well to just keep them and sleep soundly at night.
Furthermore, for those that don't have and haven't heard Tago Mago, here's what we said last time it was reissued:
1971's Tago Mago double album was Can's third full-length release, and their first with expatriate Japanese singer Damo Suzuki (whom they discovered busking on the street outside a club). It's truly a sprawling masterpiece of krautrock. Witness the weird noise/drone stuff on the 17 minute "Aumgn", or the totally hypnotic rhythmic psych groove of the equally side-long "Halleluwah". Again, we probably don't have to say much more, you already have this, right? But if Can's new to you, we'd recommend this (as well as Monster Movie and Ege Bamyasi and Soundtracks) as among their best efforts. PS: If you like Circle and you don't have this record, get it!!
MPEG Stream: "Mushroom"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Yeah"

CAN Tago Mago (Spoon) 2lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Oooh. Nice new vinyl reissues of several classic Can albums have just been released. 1971's "Tago Mago" double album was their third full-length release, and their first with expatriate Japanese singer Damo Suzuki (who they discovered busking on the street outside a club). It's truly a sprawling masterpiece of krautrock. Witness the weird noise/drone stuff on the 17 minute "Aumgn", or the totally hypnotic rhythmic psych groove of the equally side-long "Halleluwah". Again, we probably don't have to say much more, you already have this, right? But if Can's new to you, we'd recommend this (as well as "Monster Movie" and "Ege Bamyasi") as among their best efforts. And we have it on cd, too, of course.
PS If you like Circle and you don't have this record, get it!!

CAN Tago Mago (40th Anniversary Edition) (Spoon ) 2cd 19.98
Nice!! One of our favorite Can, nay krautrock, nay any-kind-of albums ever (that is if you don't ask Andee, who for some insane reason doesn't like Can at all), given a fancy 40th Anniversary reissue! What's so fancy about it you ask? Well, first the packaging, it's in a nice gatefold miniature lp style sleeve, with the original art of the German lp edition that came out back in 1971 (yay, 1971!). That's nestled inside a cardboard wallet-like folder which bears the cover from Tago Mago's UK release in 1972, a movie still of singer Damo and drummer Jaki on stage, in action, dramatically lit. For some reason they made big deal about this alternate cover being used on this reissue, it's cool to have it but we're happy the original art is also present and accounted for on that gatefold sleeve. Also inside the folder, a thick booklet with vintage photos and plenty o' detailed liner notes, including some by the guy from Primal Scream.
More importantly though, what makes this so special is that it includes a whole extra disc, a previously unreleased, 48 minute live performance from 1972! They do "Mushroom" and "Halleluwah" from Tago Mago, as well as "Spoon" from that year's equally amazing Ege Bamyasi, that song here stretched out to almost a half hour in length! Any true Can fan will want this just for the live disc, even though you probably already have one or more remastered versions of Tago Mago proper. But yeah, with the live set and the nice packaging, this is definitely worth getting, it's an upgrade all right.
For those of you who aren't big Can fans already, this would be a fine place to begin your love affair with this amazing band (c'mon, Andee!). Here's what we wrote about Tago Mago when it was last reissued:
1971's Tago Mago double album was Can's third full-length release, and their first with expatriate Japanese singer Damo Suzuki (whom they discovered busking on the street outside a club). It's truly a sprawling masterpiece of krautrock. Witness the weird noise/drone stuff on the 17 minute "Aumgn", or the totally hypnotic rhythmic psych groove of the equally side-long "Halleluwah". Again, we probably don't have to say much more, you already have this, right? But if Can's new to you, we'd recommend this (as well as Monster Movie and Ege Bamyasi and Soundtracks) as among their best efforts. PS: If you like Circle and you don't have this record, get it!!
MPEG Stream: "Mushroom"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Yeah"
MPEG Stream: "Spoon (Live 1972)"

CAN Unlimited Edition (Remastered) (Spoon) cd 16.98
Limited Edition (so-called 'cause originally they only made 15,000 of the LPs when it first came out in 1974) was an album of unreleased bits from Can's recording sessions up to just before Soon Over Babaluma. And now, these "sound polaroids" are remastered and rereleased for us to enjoy once again, in the expanded form of Unlimited Edition! Yay!
While other, maybe not-so-legit, Can out-take albums that have been released have sometimes bordered on the unlistenable in terms of recording/production quality, UE maintains the pristinely clear sound of their most notable releases like Ege Bamyasi and Future Days. We still don't know HOW engineers Holger Czukay (also Can's bassist) and Rene Tinner got their sound to be this good in the Can studio, but man, it is eternally impressive.
If you follow them as a band, UE seems much different than other albums. It does not lack direction in any way, though the songs seem to be an assemblage of either exercises in different styles of music making (i.e "Ethnic Forgery Series No. 36" -- a loose New Orleans-style jazz number, or "Cutaway" -- a tape-spliced collage piece) or intuitively crafted with more cerebral/artful emphasis in rhythm, synth layers, improv and space. There's much more of a stoney experimental intensity in many of these tracks, leaving those on our other favorite Can albums to sound like crazy catchy funk jams in comparison. The tracks compiled here are from '68 to '75.
We have to admit, that this album possibly above all others demonstrates their intuition and entropic ingenuity balanced by both an incredible sense of form in sound and impressive self-engineering.
Even Andee, who doesn't (gasp!) normally like Can, actually likes this one. But regardless, this is highly highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Doko E"
MPEG Stream: "Mother Upduff"

CAN'T s/t (Ultra Eczema) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As always, these Ultra Eczema lps are amazingly packaged, in gorgeously designed sleeves, pressed on nice thick vinyl, and limited to 400 copies, most of which are sold before we even realize they're out. So we only got a tiny handful of these (5-10 copies) so don't get your hopes up.
Soundartist / performer / designer Jessica Rylan gives us a super intimate disc of her peculiar brand of balladry. From vocal / piano duets, with extremely strained vocals and soft, lilting piano, to super abstract, ultradistorted solo vocal explorations, with her voice buried in muffled muted murk and stuttering squeaking electronics, with random bits of drum kit tossed in, to what sounds like some dark fuzzed out electronic dronegrind, a pulsing thick electronic industrial soundscape, to solo vocals, unadorned, swathed in natural reverb. Pretty weird, and alternatingly harsh and lovely.
Liner notes by Thurston Moore.

CANCER CONSPIRACY s/t (SoGoodMusic) cd 9.98

CANCER CONSPIRACY, THE The Audio Medium (Big Wheel Recreation) cd 14.98
Didn't care too much for CC's first record. A little too much jazzy-instrumental-Tortoisey-post-rock-wankery. But this new record is something else entirely. Well, not entirely. There are still elements of jazz and post rock, and it -is- instrumental, but it gets way more metal and prog and space-y and experimental. And the songwriting is so much more focused. Intense and emotional. Even the playing seems better. Cancer Conspiracy fall somewhere between Don Caballero, recent Cave In and maybe Pink Floyd, but with moments of blissed out space rock, crushing metal, noodly meandering post rock, gorgeous piano driven melodies, and some complex Voi Vod-ish parts. Really intense and really great. It's always exciting when a band takes a lifeless genre and completely turns it inside out and makes it their own. Fans of AQ fave Feuhler, Don Cab, Cave In may have found themselves a new favorite band!
RealAudio clip: "...To Sleep"
RealAudio clip: "Broken Heartbeats Gathered And Rebroadcast"

CANDY CLAWS Hidden Lands (Two Syllable) cd 12.98
We first discovered Colorado drone bliss pop-gaze duo Candy Claws via their last record, In The Dream Of Sea Life, a gorgeous collection of sounds and songs composed and recorded to sound as if they were in fact at the bottom of the ocean, warped and woozy, dark and aquatic, but for this new record, Hidden Lands brings the sounds of CC to the surface, lets them breathe, sprawl and blossom. Apparently based on a book called The Secret Life Of The Forest, these songs are meant to evoke all manner of 'secret lands', the worlds inside living creatures, the Earth millions of years before humans, all of the things that have gone on and still go on that we don't yet understand or can't yet observe. Pretty heavy, but fear not, the music is light in comparison, a washed out psychedelic dream pop, a little orchestral, a lot Elephant 6, chiming guitars, buried angelic voices, simple percussion, lush synths and singing strings, a sort of power pop blurred into something much more ambient and ethereal, there are hints of Neutral Milk Hotel, Beach Boys, Jellyfish, but in keeping with the science angle, it's like CC took scrapings from those bands and grew Hidden Lands in a petri dish, only to then plant the resulting lifeforms in the garden outside, in the shade of big oak trees, at the foot of some snow capped mountains, and then recorded the various growths, a hazy, slowly expanding sun dappled shimmer drenched fragmented pop. In some ways, the underwater element of the last record still feels present, it's like listening to jangly indie pop, broadcast through a hydrophone, the vibrations traveling through the water, and arriving at our ears, bent and twisted and beautifully warped. A little carnivalesque, a little psychedelic, a little shoegazey, this is some sort of otherworldly impressionistic pop, there may be hooks, and verses and choruses, but they're blurred and smeared and muted and mixed, the song structures seems to have come unglued at a fundamental level, allowing this dreampop to become even dreamier. So fantastic. And totally recommended for anyone into woozy, hazy, droney, dreamy blisspop.
MPEG Stream: "In The Deep Time"
MPEG Stream: "Warm Forest Floor"
MPEG Stream: "A Strange Land Discovered"

CANDY CLAWS Hidden Lands (Two Syllable) lp 17.98
NOW ON VINYL!!
We first discovered Colorado drone bliss pop-gaze duo Candy Claws via their last record, In The Dream Of Sea Life, a gorgeous collection of sounds and songs composed and recorded to sound as if they were in fact at the bottom of the ocean, warped and woozy, dark and aquatic, but for this new record, Hidden Lands brings the sounds of CC to the surface, lets them breathe, sprawl and blossom. Apparently based on a book called The Secret Life Of The Forest, these songs are meant to evoke all manner of 'secret lands', the worlds inside living creatures, the Earth millions of years before humans, all of the things that have gone on and still go on that we don't yet understand or can't yet observe. Pretty heavy, but fear not, the music is light in comparison, a washed out psychedelic dream pop, a little orchestral, a lot Elephant 6, chiming guitars, buried angelic voices, simple percussion, lush synths and singing strings, a sort of power pop blurred into something much more ambient and ethereal, there are hints of Neutral Milk Hotel, Beach Boys, Jellyfish, but in keeping with the science angle, it's like CC took scrapings from those bands and grew Hidden Lands in a petri dish, only to then plant the resulting lifeforms in the garden outside, in the shade of big oak trees, at the foot of some snow capped mountains, and then recorded the various growths, a hazy, slowly expanding sun dappled shimmer drenched fragmented pop. In some ways, the underwater element of the last record still feels present, it's like listening to jangly indie pop, broadcast through a hydrophone, the vibrations traveling through the water, and arriving at our ears, bent and twisted and beautifully warped. A little carnivalesque, a little psychedelic, a little shoegazey, this is some sort of otherworldly impressionistic pop, there may be hooks, and verses and choruses, but they're blurred and smeared and muted and mixed, the song structures seems to have come unglued at a fundamental level, allowing this dreampop to become even dreamier. So fantastic. And totally recommended for anyone into woozy, hazy, droney, dreamy blisspop.
MPEG Stream: "In The Deep Time"
MPEG Stream: "Warm Forest Floor"
MPEG Stream: "A Strange Land Discovered"

CANIS DIRUS A Somber Wind From A Distant Shore (Moribund) cd 9.98
Canis Dirus is a black metal duo from the appropriately frosty land of... Minnesota? Well, it certainly makes sense if anyone has spent winter in the Midwest, they will no doubt be aware of how oppressive and life denying that shit can be. And when you consider that Canis Dirus is comprised of the heads of the God Is Myth and Ars Magna labels, you can safely bet that this is some grim, brutal, and seriously cult stuff. The album begins with "Choking And Drowning", a surprisingly gentle piece of slightly ominous acoustic beauty that goes against what you might expect from such a song title. Next up is the title track, and at this point we're in full winter mode, as the band rides forward on hypnotic midtempo Burzum-styled rhythm. The vocals are a hysterical shriek, the guitars are like a fuzzy blanket of concentrated evil, and the drums (machines?) keep things going deeper and deeper into the woods. "Joyless And The Self Fulfilling Prophecy" is an awesome piece of murky black metal that moves slowly but surely, stopping for a cool ambient middle part, before heading back into the dirgey midtempo beat. The cool, slightly phased guitars almost sound like Alice In Chains for a second, but before long, sour, pukey sounding leads come in, giving the song a very disconcerting feeling. The vocals pretty much sound like a witch being tortured and serve as the perfect foil to the spacious instrumentation. The album closes with "In Deep Waters", a piece that utilizes negative space and some field recordings, that bookends the album perfectly. Really cool stuff, not that you would expect anything less considering the band's pedigree.
MPEG Stream: "A Somber Wind From A Distant Shore"
MPEG Stream: "Garden Of Death"
MPEG Stream: "Joyless And The Self Fulfilling Prophecy"

CANNABIS INDIA SWF Session 1973 (Long Hair) cd 27.00
Holy shit! Some of the heaviest, most bad ass organ driven kraut-prog you will ever hear. Seriously, the four tracks that make up the bulk of this release, totally destroy. They're complex and heavy, epic and melodic, and totally rocking. Anyone who digs ELP or the New Trolls or most of the Italian prog we're always raving about, will flip for these guys too.
It's hard to believe a record this amazing never got released, but these tracks are indeed culled from some radio sessions that remained unreleased, until now.
Bandleader / organist Oliver Petry started playing organ after hearing Keith Emerson and it shows, his group is total ELP worship, but somehow, they manage to push it even further, upping the speed and intensity, like a supercharged ELP in their prime. Hell, they even do a 12 minute progged out version of Beethoven's 9th symphony, which needless to say also rules. Just listen to the sound samples. If within a matter of seconds you're not flipping out and hammering the add to cart button, you might as well just consider your prog cred REVOKED.
This reissue tacks on two tracks by post Cannabis India outfit Universe, which definitely has the same vibe, but the organ takes more of a supporting role, with the buzzing bass driving the first track, and the second track adding vocals, resulting in some classic seventies pop prog. But fear not, even with the organ dialed back, it's still pretty prog-tastic.
MPEG Stream: "Hand Of The King"
MPEG Stream: "Revolver"

CANNANES (Ajax) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
New album from Australians.

CANOE I Give You... Canoe! (Amazing Grease) cd 13.98
Deceptively haphazard, crafty indie rock is alive and well... and it's comin' at ya via this new band from Austin, TX called Canoe... and it's comin' by way of Amazing Grease Records, the label run by Scott Kannberg (formerly of Pavement -- arguably the kings of deceptively haphazard, crafty indie rock). Does that give you some inkling of what Canoe are up to? Listening to I Give You... Canoe! you get the vague sense that were you to witness them in the live setting, they'd be far more inebriated than you. Case in point, their song "Corndogs Are Our Friends"! A super trashy blown-out ode to deep fried weiners. Through the fuzzy haze of distortion, you catch a nifty keyboard hook here, a crunchy guitar riff there and some very GBV/Robert Pollard-ish vocals throughout. Loosely slung, devil-may-care, and fueled by many a six-pack.
MPEG Stream: "Panty Pile"
MPEG Stream: "Corndogs Are Our Friends"

CANT Dreams Come True (Terrible) cd 14.98
***Grizzly Bear Alert***
Cant, is the solo project of Chris Taylor from Grizzy Bear. We got our first earful of his solo sound on the debut 7" that came out a while back on his label Terrible records, which was a split featuring an unreleased Arthur Russell song. Besides being in one of the most popular indie rock bands around, Taylor has also been busy working magic in the studio, producing records for folks like Twin Shadow, Blood Orange, and Solange. His debut full length is a woozy and rich sounding set of sounds that embrace electronics in creating such a strong sensual and brooding overall vibe. For sure classic Grizzly Bear sounds are present throughout, but they are showcased in a much more hazy, late night, steamy setting. Taylor has this wonderful ability to always create such thick and viscous sounds in all of his recordings. Much like his hero Arthur Russell, Taylor has such a great ability at creating psychic and sonic intimacy as well.
MPEG Stream: "Too Late, Too Far"
MPEG Stream: "Believe"
MPEG Stream: "Answer"

CANT Dreams Come True (Terrible) lp 17.98
***Grizzly Bear Alert***
Cant, is the solo project of Chris Taylor from Grizzy Bear. We got our first earful of his solo sound on the debut 7" that came out a while back on his label Terrible records, which was a split featuring an unreleased Arthur Russell song. Besides being in one of the most popular indie rock bands around, Taylor has also been busy working magic in the studio, producing records for folks like Twin Shadow, Blood Orange, and Solange. His debut full length is a woozy and rich sounding set of sounds that embrace electronics in creating such a strong sensual and brooding overall vibe. For sure classic Grizzly Bear sounds are present throughout, but they are showcased in a much more hazy, late night, steamy setting. Taylor has this wonderful ability to always create such thick and viscous sounds in all of his recordings. Much like his hero Arthur Russell, Taylor has such a great ability at creating psychic and sonic intimacy as well.
MPEG Stream: "Too Late, Too Far"
MPEG Stream: "Believe"
MPEG Stream: "Answer"

CANT / ARTHUR RUSSELL Ghosts / Come To Life (Terrible) 7" 8.98
The debut release on what looks to be a new awesome label called Terrible run by Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear fame. This is the debut of Taylor's new solo project Cant and he pairs it up here with a previously unreleased Arthur Russell track!!! Makes so much sense as Taylor was one of the people responsible for putting together and producing last year's collection of songs displaying the more song based and folk/country side of Arthur Russell, Love Is Overtaking Me. And no doubt Russell's legacy has had a huge impact on the sound of Grizzly Bear over the years.
The Cant song is so good! Dare we say it, but it could definitely compete with all of the great songs on Grizzly Bear's super awesome Veckatimest, it doesn't stray too much from the Grizzly Bear sound but gets even more reverby and haunting and melodic.
The Arthur Russell track is quite sonically similar to the tracks on Love Is Overtaking Me, with its rustic twang, but it's infused with the more layered and textured aspects of Russell's sound which means shiver and chill inducing bliss. Needless to say this is a must have!

CANTERBURY FAIR s/t (Sundazed) cd 13.98
From Sundazed - the garage / psychedelic label that re-issued such notables as The West Coast Pop Experimental Group - comes Canterbury Fair: Renaissance faire-esque folk-psych from California circa 1969.

CANTILO, MIGUEL Y GRUPO Sur (Viaiero Inmovil Records) cd 15.98
While there ARE lots of amazing reissues of all sorts of old records -- psychedelic, rock, folk, jazz, reggae, metal, etc. -- coming out all the time (and hopefully you've read about a bunch of 'em here, we do our best to keep up), it's also become evident to us that the vast majority of reissued obscurities were, well, obscure for a reason, and it's hard to understand WHY someone would choose to reissue 'em. But then there's reissues like this one, that make us wonder, why hadn't we ever heard of this band before? Why weren't they HUGE? Well maybe Miguel Cantilo Y Grupo were famous in their native Argentina, they should have been, we certainly can't imagine that there were all that many bands of this quality releasing records in that country back then (this dates from 1975). At any rate, we're pretty excited to learn about 'em now thanks to this reissue. An eclectic psychedelic progressive rock album, with songs ranging from acoustic mellow melodicism to heavy hard rockin' bombast, this is something that we'd rank with a few other '70s reissues that have become big favorites 'round here -- if you loved the Eduardo Bort from Spain, or the more-recently reviewed Tarkus from Peru, you'll want this too for sure! It's got strong songs, a charming heavy-duty hippy vibe (check out the cover art), exotic appeal (all songs sung in Spanish, very emotively), and is definitely Classic Rock worthy (reminding us of Led Zep, Budgie, and even Aerosmith at their most mystical, magical a la "Kings and Queens"). Miguel's vocals are a bit Bolan-esque as well. But what puts it over the top for us is the killer blend of exquisite prettiness and sudden, frantic rock n' roll action, a lot looser and rawer than some other progressives of the era. Very dynamic and surprising. It's weird in all the right places. It's always neat to discover cool stuff like this out of the blue, proving that there definitely are unknown reissues worth taking a chance on... Nicely packaged in a slim colorful cardboard digipacky thing, with the cd itself in a sleeve with the lyrics printed on it.
MPEG Stream: "Algo Esta Por Suceder"
MPEG Stream: "Naturangel"

CANTRELL, LAURA Humming By The Flowered Vine (Matador) cd 14.98
To tell ya the truth, Laura Cantrell could be singing the table of contents of a lawnmower manual, and still enchant the pants off of her listeners. Her newest album (and first on Matador Records) picks right up from where 2002's When The Roses Bloom Again left off. Her voice ringing as clear as a crystal dinner bell and as sweet as a bumbleberry pie at the state fair, and she's accompanied by a superb cast of players including those fellows from Calexico. Along with her original numbers she sings beautiful versions of an early previously unreleased Lucinda Williams' song "Letters", "Wishful Singing" a song originally sung by Skeeter Davis and penned by Wynn Stewart, and the old traditional murder ballad "Poor Ellen Smith". Actually if you like another lovely old tyme country style chanteuse who has great taste in cover material, namely Ms Kelly Hogan (or vice versa), this might be your new summer love.
MPEG Stream: "Letters"
MPEG Stream: "Wishful Thinking"

CANTRELL, LAURA Humming By The Flowered Vine (Matador) lp 11.98
To tell ya the truth, Laura Cantrell could be singing the table of contents of a lawnmower manual, and still enchant the pants off of her listeners. Her newest album (and first on Matador Records) picks right up from where 2002's When The Roses Bloom Again left off. Her voice ringing as clear as a crystal dinner bell and as sweet as a bumbleberry pie at the state fair, and she's accompanied by a superb cast of players including those fellows from Calexico. Along with her original numbers she sings beautiful versions of an early previously unreleased Lucinda Williams' song "Letters", "Wishful Singing" a song originally sung by Skeeter Davis and penned by Wynn Stewart, and the old traditional murder ballad "Poor Ellen Smith". Actually if you like another lovely old tyme country style chanteuse who has great taste in cover material, namely Ms Kelly Hogan (or vice versa), this might be your new summer love.
MPEG Stream: "Letters"
MPEG Stream: "Wishful Thinking"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE Bloodsteam Sermon (Arbor Infinity) cassette 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Only got a little handful of these. 150 copies total, already out of print and we have less than 10. Latest bit of ultra minimal bliss out dronemusic from Cantu, he of Tarentel, the Alps and the mighty Root Strata label. On Bloodstream Sermon, Cantu creates softly billowing stretches of lush shimmer, using only a Roland Juno 60 synth, a pure wave oscillator and a handful of electronics, each of the two tracks gorgeous and hazy and warm, soft swells of dreamlike sound, constantly shifting tones and overtones, utterly tranquil and hypnotic, the first side much more dense and layered, a thick undulating sprawl of deeeeeep tones. While the second side/track is more abstract, a bit more whir and glitch, ambient and almost industrial sounding. A blurred symphony of muted machine-like buzz and rumble, peppered with little glimmers of glitch, all wrapped in a gauzy patina of washed out thrum. So lovely.

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE Love Is A Stream (Type) cd 15.98
Before we blather on like we so often do, it seemed like it might be good to just toss out a first impression of Love Is A Stream, the fantastic new record from Root Strata label Head Honcho Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, his first for the type label. And heck, that first impression might be all you need:
Lovesliescrushing meets Flying Saucer Attack.
There. Hard to argue with that. Warped warbly, blurred shoegazey drift, long stretches of incendiary psychedelic guitar drone, streaks of soft noise, buried melodies, ethereal vocals, lush layered textures, dense and explosive, expansive and dreamily hazy, and in its own way, gorgeously heavy.
A new side of Cantu-Ledesma for sure, whose past records seemed to hover in a much more tranquil serene otherworld, unfurling hushed landscapes of whispery minimalism, of delicate crystalline shimmer, and of barely there soft focus ambient drift. Love Is A Stream is anything but, a fiery, fierce, yet ultimately lush and washed out series of bold shoegaze dreamnoise experiments, not so much pop songs swathed in distortion and effects, as carefully crafted sonic impressions, a series of gorgeous miniature epics, each a brief expanse of prismatic hypnogogic psychedelia, every one a unique a roiling concoction of fuzzpopbliss and murky melodic churn. On the surface, the record plays out like a series of textures, from warm whirling hum, to crumbling blown out white noise blur, to grinding muted pulse and throb, to gauzy bleary haze, to thick billowy low end rumble, to superdistorted effects-drenched synthnoise, and yeah, you're reading right, this is in fact a noisy record, but it's an artfully crafted, carefully sculpted noise. A thick, billowing, warm and gloriously enveloping melodic noise, like sinking into a swirling sea of burnished muted crush, a nearly overwhelming avalanche of whirling swirling crumbling throb and thrum, beneath it all lurk delicate melodies, tendrils of minor key guitar, ghostly voices, whirring synths, they rise to the surface here and there, but for the most part exist as shadowy impressions, infusing the noisy textures with a melodic core, a warm glowing sonic heart, which is what transforms these heaving slabs of shoegazey heaviness into something divine, and divinely dreamy.
There are brief moments, where the surface noise, and the distortion, and the walls of effects peel back, and we get to peek behind the curtain, which reveals the lush minimal underpinnings of the songs, a brief melodic smear here, a hushed little fragment of guitar there, but a glimpse is all we get, and really all we want, because it's how those bits of minimal songcraft interact with the intense sonic effulgence that is truly the magic that Cantu-Ledesma wields in conjuring up the sounds here. And like all magic, the joy is not in how it was done, but it how it makes us feel.
The lp version comes with a bonus cd, a collaboration with Type label mainman Xela, who took source material provided by Cantu-Ledesma, and fashioned his own bit of ambient dronemusic. Nearly 50 minutes of haunting drift, after a short burst of caustic super distorted crunch, Xela settles into a slow burning sprawl of washed out chordal shimmer, deep rumbling thrum and lush streaks of shoegazey buzz, a few moments as dense and psychedelic as the record proper, but for the most part, more of a chill out wind down coda, the perfect addendum to an already practically perfect record. Really quite lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Stained Glass Body"
MPEG Stream: "Loving Love"
MPEG Stream: "Mirrors Death"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE Love Is A Stream (Type) lp+cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before we blather on like we so often do, it seemed like it might be good to just toss out a first impression of Love Is A Stream, the fantastic new record from Root Strata label Head Honcho Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, his first for the Type label. And heck, that first impression might be all you need:
Lovesliescrushing meets Flying Saucer Attack.
There. Hard to argue with that. Warped warbly, blurred shoegazey drift, long stretches of incendiary psychedelic guitar drone, streaks of soft noise, buried melodies, ethereal vocals, lush layered textures, dense and explosive, expansive and dreamily hazy, and in its own way, gorgeously heavy.
A new side of Cantu-Ledesma for sure, whose past records seemed to hover in a much more tranquil serene otherworld, unfurling hushed landscapes of whispery minimalism, of delicate crystalline shimmer, and of barely there soft focus ambient drift. Love Is A Stream is anything but, a fiery, fierce, yet ultimately lush and washed out series of bold shoegaze dreamnoise experiments, not so much pop songs swathed in distortion and effects, as carefully crafted sonic impressions, a series of gorgeous miniature epics, each a brief expanse of prismatic hypnogogic psychedelia, every one a unique a roiling concoction of fuzzpopbliss and murky melodic churn. On the surface, the record plays out like a series of textures, from warm whirling hum, to crumbling blown out white noise blur, to grinding muted pulse and throb, to gauzy bleary haze, to thick billowy low end rumble, to superdistorted effects-drenched synthnoise, and yeah, you're reading right, this is in fact a noisy record, but it's an artfully crafted, carefully sculpted noise. A thick, billowing, warm and gloriously enveloping melodic noise, like sinking into a swirling sea of burnished muted crush, a nearly overwhelming avalanche of whirling swirling crumbling throb and thrum, beneath it all lurk delicate melodies, tendrils of minor key guitar, ghostly voices, whirring synths, they rise to the surface here and there, but for the most part exist as shadowy impressions, infusing the noisy textures with a melodic core, a warm glowing sonic heart, which is what transforms these heaving slabs of shoegazey heaviness into something divine, and divinely dreamy.
There are brief moments, where the surface noise, and the distortion, and the walls of effects peel back, and we get to peek behind the curtain, which reveals the lush minimal underpinnings of the songs, a brief melodic smear here, a hushed little fragment of guitar there, but a glimpse is all we get, and really all we want, because it's how those bits of minimal songcraft interact with the intense sonic effulgence that is truly the magic that Cantu-Ledesma wields in conjuring up the sounds here. And like all magic, the joy is not in how it was done, but it how it makes us feel.
The lp version comes with a bonus cd, a collaboration with Type label mainman Xela, who took source material provided by Cantu-Ledesma, and fashioned his own bit of ambient dronemusic. Nearly 50 minutes of haunting drift, after a short burst of caustic super distorted crunch, Xela settles into a slow burning sprawl of washed out chordal shimmer, deep rumbling thrum and lush streaks of shoegazey buzz, a few moments as dense and psychedelic as the record proper, but for the most part, more of a chill out wind down coda, the perfect addendum to an already practically perfect record. Really quite lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Stained Glass Body"
MPEG Stream: "Body Within Body"
MPEG Stream: "River Like Spine"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE Phantom Harp (Root Strata) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A brand new, brief and lovely missive from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, frontman of Tarentel, member of The Alps, The Holy See, Two Suns, head honcho of the Root Strata label and a pretty handy drone alchemist on his own, this little 3" is no different.
Utilizing a borrowed autoharp and a handful of electronics, Phantom Harp is all glistening glimmering solar flares, shimmering sunlight filtered through green fields sparkling with dewdrops, a gorgeous soft focus glacial drift, an otherworldly, slowed down Appalachia, the chords slowly drifting apart, notes carried skyward like leaves on a summer breeze, sleep, bleary eyed dreaminess, which all gives way to a washed out, lugubrious lowercase smear of fluttering drones, and creeping moonlit fog, hushed and dreamy, an oceanic seascape of twinkling muted melody and near static shimmer. All arranged into a single twenty minute track, multiple movements woven into an epic organic constantly evolving sonic dreamscape. Gorgeous.
Packaged in a beautiful black on black fold over thick paper sleeve, inside a 3" cd in a tiny plastic jacket, and a printed insert.
LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "The Phantom Harp (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "The Phantom Harp (excerpt 2)"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE Shining Skull Breath (Students Of Decay) lp 16.98
This ultra limited, and long out of print cd-r from 2007, finally available again, now as a super swank (and still quite limited) lp...
Another gorgeous sonic transmission from right here in the Bay Area, from AQ fave Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, the man behind Tarentel, and the Root Strata label. Those familiar with Cantu-Ledesma's music know that he usually speakers in hushed whispers, breathy and breathless, soft sonic shimmers allowed to drift like billowy clouds into your ears. But here, C-L is no longer whispering, instead he's breathing fire, his guitar a newly minted incendiary device. A sonic flame thrower, each track a layered assemblage of thick peals of sound, glowing tongues of distorted flame. A sonic assault more similar to Total or Sunroof! Than C-L's usual output. Makes sense that the first song is dedicated to Pete Swanson of the Yellow Swans (who also mastered it).
But all of this talk of fire and flame shouldn't scare you off, there is still plenty of delicate beauty to be had, it's just wrapped in thick sheets of sonic napalm, the guitar effulgent and glowing white hot, the chords washed out and the distortion crumbling. Melodies are jagged and dripping with hissy buzz, each track a glacial guitarscape turning your speakers to ash.
There are a few tracks, almost half of the 8 here, that drift in a soporific haze, and hew closer to C-L's usual aesthetic, but here, they sound less like individual pieces, and more like interludes, brief moments of tranquility, a chance to catch your breath, let your ears heal, allow time for your speakers to re-solidify, before launching the next buzzing crumbling divinely distorted salvo of gorgeous blown out guitar bliss.
Fans of stuff like Nadja, the Yellow Swans, Tim Hecker, the Angelic Process, Fear Falls Burning, will be quite pleased with Cantu-Ledesma's visit to the sonic dark side.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, comes with a digital download coupon as well...
MPEG Stream: "Distant Star (For Pete Swanson)"
MPEG Stream: "Shining Skull Breath"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE The Garden Of Forking Paths (Spekk) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a couple of super limited cd-r's and tapes, a release or two as Colophon, and a bunch as records as a member of the Alps and Tarentel, The Garden Of Forking Paths is Cantu-Ledesma's first proper full length, and it's a doozy. A subtle and immersive sound that belies the huge array of instruments used. Electric guitars, acoustic guitars, gong, sruti box, harmonium, singing bowl, cassette, microcassette, reel to reel tape machine, electronics, sound booster and ride cymbal, with help on one track with percussion, tapes and electronics. Somehow, all of those bits and baubles are melted down into a gorgeously lush, yet minimal series of slow crawls, deep rich drones, each adorned with subtle variations and bits of sonic color.
The multitude of tape machines used in the creation of this record gives the proceedings a raw, fuzzy analog vibe that definitely hits our Jeck-Hecker-Basinski spot. Fuzzy and indistinct, thick smeared sonic drifts, that occasionally glow with some sort of diffused inner light, but for the most part, slither darkly through the shadowy corners of your speakers. Here and there, some of the sound will spill from your speakers like black ink, shiny and shimmery, staining you ears with a mysterious darkness. The final track is the only track where you can hear the guitar, a mumbling buzzy melody buried way down in the mix, creeping through a moonlit landscape of shimmering warble and distant barely-there hum. A gorgeously murky minimal world of slow moving tape, vibrating metal, creaking buzz, whirling whispers and abstract dreamy drift.
Packaged in a cool, sleek oversized digipak style folder.
MPEG Stream: "Aberration Of Starlight"
MPEG Stream: "Bay Of Pearls"
MPEG Stream: "Feast Of Pentecost"

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE & PAUL CLIPSON Corridors (Root Strata) dvd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second dvd collaboration from film maker Paul Clipson and Root Strata / Tarentel head honcho Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. Another gorgeous and sonically blissed out tag team, Clipson's films this time around, again on Super-8, shot entirely in NYC, impressionistic shots of cityscapes, rolling hills, the texture of water, sun dappled evening skies, many of the shots textural, extreme close ups, patterns as much as images and shapes, sunspots, shadows, reflections, very active, the world flying past out the window of a train, power lines and bridges slipping out of eyeshot, setting suns and colored clouds, so lovely and dreamy.
Cantu-Ledesma offers up the perfect soundtrack, music culled from the same sessions that produced the huge aQ fave Shining Skull Breath, so even folks who don't care about the dvd, will want this for the sounds, which are thick and dense, whirring dronescapes, textured and layered, slipping from minimal shimmer to buzzing roar and back again, very much active, the intensity and propulsion of the sounds perfectly matching the motion of the visuals, in some cases, seemingly slowing it down, the drone dragging the landscape flashing by into sudden focus before letting it go again.
Either of these elements would be fantastic on their own, we can only imagine seeing these films projected against the side of a building, or on a huge movie screen, and these sounds would kill broadcast through some massive PA, the thick roiling drones washing over us, filling our ears with grit and grime, but together they work even better, even just viewed on the tiny screen of our computer, sonically and visually evoking all sorts of deep feelings and lost memories, of places never visited, of better times, of lost loves and of a past that keeps slipping further and further away. So lovely.
Packaged in an folded up origami style vellum sleeve with a printed insert. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES! Already sold out at the label so these are the last copies EVER!

CANTU-LEDESMA, JEFRE & PAUL CLIPSON The Phantom Harp (Root Strata) dvd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In the age of YouTube and MySpace, the idea of the music video has changed dramatically since the days of MTV (or at least the days when MTV actually played videos). In the past, only bands on major labels could make a video, often hiring a real director and dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, plenty of bands have videos before they even have a record out. Super 8, digital video, Final Cut Pro, anyone can put together their own video and have it look as good if not better than the classic videos of old.
Old news maybe, but the thing is, most bands seems to use the video as simply a promotional tactic, or an excuse to fuck around and film it. Instead of, dare we say, ART. In the underground though, it's not at all uncommon for like minded musicians and filmmakers to join forces. In fact, with the advent of live performances featuring laptops and other sedimentary sound making devices (when is someone gonna make a laptop guitar, so left out laptoppers can windmill and leap about with the rest of the band?), often it's the accompanying films that are way more compelling. Often, a show is touted as some band performing "with films by so and so", but in fact, more often than not, it plays out more like seeing a film, that just so happens to feature live accompaniment by some band.
Few labels have really taken advantage of this new technology as much as Root Strata, who have quietly and steadily been releasing a series of super limited dvd-r's, each featuring new compositions by a small handful of artists, coupled with original films. The results have been pretty sublime, the films tending toward the abstract and impressionistic, the music following suit. When watching / listening to these, it's hard not to imagine laying on the floor, propped up on cushions, lights low, the film being projected on a huge blank wall, the band hunkered over their instruments in the corner, which makes sense as that's most likely how these films/sounds were conceived.Ê
So we have two new super limited dvd-r releases, one from Zelienople and one from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma and Paul Clipson, both limited to 100 copies, both already out of print, so these are the only copies we'll ever get.Ê
This is the third collaboration between filmmaker Paul Clipson and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, who also plays in Tarentel, and runs Root Strata with his partner Maxwell Croy.Ê
The Phantom Harp, as the title might lead you to believe, is in fact a reworking of the piece of the same name, originally released as a 3" cd-r and now out of print. Not only has the piece been reworked, but no it is accompanied by Clipson's gorgeous abstract images. The Phantom Harp is a super minimal sun dappled stretch of glimmering shimmering dreaminess, soft notes float like leaves in the summer sun, smears of high end wreath each note in glimmering sonic haloes, the pace is glacial, the melodies stretched out over minutes instead of seconds, a little ambient, a little new age, a little free drone, all deftly blurred into one smoldering sonic dreamscape. The visuals are super striking, and manage to fit perfectly with the sounds, all black and white, images of rain slicked streets, sun shining through the treetops, car headlights at night, images sometimes overexposed, blurred, superimposed, but mostly left to just play out, cityscapes, buildings, people rushing to and fro, light reflecting on water, shapes and textures, walls, grills, neon signs, restaurants, a soft, a dreamy faded super-8 travelogue. So nice.
Packaged in printed, folded papers sleeves, and again, LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES, and already out of print.

CANVAS SOLARIS Sublimation (Tribunal) cd 15.98
Whoah! Amazing instrumental aggro tech metal from Georgia.

CANYONS / TIGON / FOREIGN THEATERS Can't Have Nothin' Nice (Mayfly / Melotov / The Ghost Is Clear) lp 9.98
Got a handful of these three way split lps featuring some heavy rock outfits we hadn't heard before now, but are digging all three, pretty, ummÉ heavily. Four tracks from each, up first is Canyons who hail from Missouri, and who we had never heard before but who absolutely push all out mathmetalpunk buttons, reminding us a bit of local noise rockers Kowloon Walled City, but a bit more punky, their furious pound splintering into wild proggy mathiness as often as AmRep style head caving sonic swagger.
Tigon, who are from right here in the Bay Area, counter with their own brand of heaviness, much more murky and bass heavy, and way more wildly mathy, sounding almost like a super charged Nomeansno merged with a more lo-fi Unsane, furiously howled vox over the constantly shifting sonic churn below, occasionally slipping into something much more broody and stripped down, but those moments are balance by some seriously epic post rock infused metal majesty. The AmRep vibe is strong with these guys too. They also remind us a bit of Young Widows, which is most definitely not a bad thing.
And finally Foreign Theaters, who also hail from Missouri, round out the three way with their Melvins-y dirge rock, heavy hints of Black Flag, all woven into roiling brooding metallic punk, their songs much shorter, short sharp bursts of urgent heaviness, a noise drenched punk that occasionally slips into woozy slithery dirgery, but spends most of its time pounding and churning, the throat shredding vox wreathed in tangled droned out guitars that definitely make FT's punk more post punk and noise rock than punk proper, and we dig it!
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, pressed on recycled black vinyl, and housed in a full color sleeve with a printed insert and a download coupon.
MPEG Stream: CANYONS "I'm Worthy All The Time"
MPEG Stream: TIGON "Dreadnaught"
MPEG Stream: FOREIGN THEATERS "Yinz Playin' Piss Feet"

CAP'N JAZZ Analphabetapolothology (Jade Tree) 2cd 12.98
Posthumous release of material from the band that gave the world both Joan of Arc and The Promise Ring.

CAPITALIST CASUALTIES A Collection Of Out-Of-Print Singles, Split EP's And Compilation Tracks cd 10.98
Reissue of this long out of print singles collection from this Bay Area fastcore institution, originally released on the now defunct Slap A Ham label. A timeless batch of grinding, thrashing, buzzing powerviolent brutality.
MPEG Stream: "Bad Habits"
MPEG Stream: "Drug Culture"
MPEG Stream: "Second Guess"

CAPITALIST CASUALTIES Planned Community (Six Weeks) 6" 4.50
The latest musical assault from Bay Area political fast-core legends Capitalist Casualties. 3 songs and 6 inches of pounding, light speed grinding powerviolence. These guys just keep getting better and better.