SHIFLET, MIKE The City Is All In Your Head (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another mysterious collection of droning wonder from Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, this time from off-duty electrician Mike Shiflet whose 5 pieces on The City Is All In Your Head are excerts from a 12 hour performance which accompanied a sonic sculpture installation. Drone is the order of the day here, and these five tracks are all gorgeously rendered explorations of the vast and varied ambient drone spectrum. From warm fuzzy, warbly organ drones that sound like a surprisingly sonorous vaccuum cleaner rife with shimmering overtones, to a caustic dental drill, to hollow mouthed reverb grinding thrum all pulsing and throbbing, to a crystalline outerspace drone - a static upper register cluster of sound with shifting fuzzy soinc shhhh's underneath and huge fist-to-the-side-of-an-empty-dumpster percussion. All gathered reverentially around the record's centerpiece, a thirty minute slab of massive earth shaking low end rumble, so nice! SUPER LIMITED AS ALWAYS!! NOT SURE WE'LL BE ABLE TO GET MORE WHEN THESE ARE GONE!
MPEG Stream: "Loose Blown Seeds"
MPEG Stream: "The Old Black"

SHIFTS 8 Lines (ERS / Staalplaat) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Shifts is the work of Frans de Waard (Goem, Beequeen, and the proprietor of Staalplaat). "8 Lines" features two lengthy buzzing ambient soundscapes constructed mostly through the bouncing / doubling of tracks on an 8 track. One piece is a glistening drone of soft guitar wash, and the other is an eerie manipulation of the perenially avoided 60 cycle hum.

SHIGGAR FRAGGAR Battle Beats, Breaks, Loops, and Shit (Hip Hop Slam) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Culled from the Shiggerfraggar radio show records that've been lovingly reissued by Billy Jam on disc, this is a prime breaks record for all you turntablist DJs. Speaking of which, has everyone heard about the cool turntable festival happening in LA November 2002? Looks incredible! Everyone from Kid Koala to Philip Jeck. http://http://www.turnament.com/index2.html

SHIGGAR FRAGGAR SHOW Vol.4 (One Eyed Slug Entertainment) dvd-r 23.00
DJ Disk brought this in the other day, a dvd (or dvd-r, we're pretty sure, it's blue on the playing side, whatever that means) version of this video document of the infamous Invisible Skratch Picklz, originally released on VHS ten years ago. Disk, Q-bert, Flare, Shortkut, and the devilish brown-bag masked Shiggar Fraggar himself skritch-skritch-scratch the hell out of a bunch of vinyl on an array of turntables, in a crazed DJ jam session. It's pretty amazing to see them do this live, even today. Indeed, it's what Time Magazine (TIME MAGAZINE!) called "the greatest turntable scratch show ever created". Frenzied fun showcasing mad skillz. For live visuals of classic "Turntablist Orchestrated Music" with a wacky sense of humor, look no further!

SHILO, J. P. As Happy As Sad Is Blue (Smells Like) cd 13.98
One of the joys of working at record stores and doing college radio shows is how much access you end up getting to amazing records that otherwise you might not ever get to come across. And the cool thing about both radio and record stores, is that you're then in a position to share that music with everyone! One such record was by an Australian band called The Hungry Ghosts who released one full length album in 1999 called Alone, Alone. One of those records whose beauty strikes you on first listen and continues to move you a hundred listens down the line. Hungry Ghosts utilized an approach similar to their Australian cohorts, The Dirty Three, yet somehow managed to make their sound maybe even more gorgeous and heartbreaking. I (Irwin) remember playing it for the first time back when I had a show on KSPC in southern California and instantly falling in love. Sadly they seemed to disappear after that record. No trace of them anywhere. I even tried writing them and never heard back. Turns out I wasn't the only one who couldn't find them. John Brooks who was a founding member of the group is said to have entered a black hole of sorts. Later to be found at the Tara institute, a Tibetan Buddhist meditation center in Melbourne. It's there that he went back to his surname of Shilo and with a four-track donated by a fellow resident he began to record music often by candlelight and the results are this absolutely stunning record. You can feel the solitude, the still, the searching and the moments of transcendence. Musical sketches that evoke such a moody elegance. Kind of like if Do Make Say Think and the GYBE camp were forced to trade in all their outbursts and grandiose climaxes and instead go deep within to find the essence of their sound. Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth knew he had to put this out when he finally got the tapes from Shilo and we're so happy he did. Every time we play this in the store someone comes up to see what it is and usually leaves with a copy for themselves. A timeless and totally beautiful record!
MPEG Stream: "Wait"
MPEG Stream: "The Drowning Horse"
MPEG Stream: "La Sirena"

SHIMMER KIDS UNDERPOP ASSOCIATION The Book of Mirrors (Parasol) cd 11.98
These laidback SF popsters make light, sweet-tart songs, and here's a six-song ep for your listening delight! A little backyard ramshackleness, a little swirly 'n' spacy psych-folkish, a little '60s beach blanket worthy with warm vocals, jangly guitars, some horns and hey, was that a recorder we just heard tooting away too? Actually they wouldn't be at all out of place in the warm, creative company of the Elephant 6 collective. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "The Last Joke In Town"
MPEG Stream: "Engines Of The Inner Circle"

SHINDIG Issue #7 (Nov-Dec 2008) magazine 9.98
This snazzy British psych/garage/folk/R&B/beat mag delivers another colorful issue. This time with Roky Erickson on the cover, back in the day with his 13 Floor Elevators, as part of a 15 page section devoted to the Texas psychedelic sixties scene (with articles on Bubble Puppy, Cold Sun, The Moving Sidewalks, and others)... plus, this issue also boasts features on the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Strawbs, exploito hippie era paperbacks, Jackie DeShannon, producer Mickie Most, and more. Including tons of reviews. 82 A4 sized pages.

SHINDIG July - August 2009, Vol. 2 Issue 11 magazine 8.98
UK '60s / '70s retro rock (garage, folk, psych, beat, soul...) magazine Shindig is back with another ish, this time Kippington Lodge and Brinsley Schwarz on the cover (not too familiar with them, perhaps? well then read up on 'em here). Also: Rodriguez, H.P. Lovecraft (the band, not the man), Sandy Salisbury of The Millennium, The Poets, articles on The Prisoner TV series and hippy lit, plus the usual ton o' reviews... and more. Including some stuff on new bands that are carrying on the spirit of the '60s...

SHINDIG! Issue #5 magazine 9.98

SHINDIG! Issue #6 (Sept-Oct 2008) magazine 9.98
We've been stocking this magazine for a little while now & thought we'd put it on our list this time so mailorder customers (or locals who didn't spot it already on the magazine rack here) could get a chance at it, if they're interested in the sixties-centric stuff that Shindig! specializes in. Published in the UK, this full-color bimonthly is kinda like Ugly Things done glossy like Mojo, covering "psych, garage, beat, powerpop, soul, folk...". They definitely dig into some obscurities of the era, but just not 30 pages deep they way they'd do in UT. This issue has Marc Bolan's folky, freaky Tyrannosaurus Rex on the cover. Inside, stuff about the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, The Move, The Youngbloods, Slade, and (yes!) AQ fave Aussie proto-metallers Buffalo, amongst others. Plus lots and lots of reviews and the other usual magazine things. And they reserve a smidgen of space for modern-day acts of the appropriately retro persuasion, too. 80+ A4 sized pages.

SHINDIG! March - April 2009, Vol. 2 Issue 9 magazine 9.98
Another issue of the UK's Shindig, kind of the slicker, skinnier British cousin to Ugly Things, delving into similar territory (but not quite to the same obscure extent). Vintage '60s and '70s garage rock, psychedelia, folk and soul stuff, plus sometimes contemporary bands with retro leanings. This issue's got The Pretty Things on the cover, plus pieces on Alice Cooper, Kevin Ayers, Tim Rose, The Count Five, Funkadelic, and more.

SHINDIG! May - June 2009, Issue 10 magazine 9.98
In this issue of this more-retro-than-Mojo mag from the UK... Gene Clark of the Byrds on the cover, along with features on country-folksters like Great Speckled Bird and The Dillards and a list of the '10 Country-Rock Albums You Need'... also a retrospective on Zigzag, the underground UK rock mag of the '60s/'70s, an interview with 'soft pop siren' Margo Guryan, and part one of a two-part feature on classic British exploitation films, among much else, including loads of reviews.

SHINGO2 Homo Caeruleus Cerinus (Revolg) 2lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Cool Japanese hiphop with unexpected twists and turns, so it will appeal to fans of DJ Shadow, Mo'Wax, and the Future Primitive series. Double LP, cd any day now.

SHINGO2 / TERRACOTTA TROUPE XGND My Nation (Moja Nacija) (Mary Joy) 12" 6.98
From our favorite hip hopper from Japan comes this new 12". Six tracks of one piece, My Nation, all flavored with reggae, due to the collaboration between Shingo and the Japanese dub duo Dry & Heavy. While the modern dub is light and bouncy on Dry & Heavy's side (which also contains a fun acapella track), Shingo and Terracotta Troupe's side is gloriously scratch-laden and very good, gleefully messing with JFK's "Ask not what you can do for your country..." speech. Wish we could make you a sample, but this is vinyl only.

SHINGO2/CAPITAL/DJ NOZAWA s/t (Homo Caeruleus Cerinus) 2cd 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Super good Japanese hip hop with unexpected twists and turns. Will appeal to fans of DJ Shadow, Mo'Wax, and the Future Primitive series. Comes in a beautiful book-like package. Recommended.

SHINING Grindstone (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
The previous Rune Grammofon album from Norwegian electronica/jazz outfit Shining (2005's In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster) we liked quite a bit -- and sold quite a few copies of as well. But we don't remember it being quite as hard and heavy as this new disc! Some of this is almost industrial-metal, seriously. Herky-jerky rhythms one moment, sheer droning heaviness the next, with moody male and female vox amidst the instrumental/electronic onslaught. This has a sinister circusiness that makes you think that Mike Patton (Fantomas/Faith No More/etc.) must somehow be involved, though of course he's not. Doubtless he'd like how spunky, brassy, swirly, and dark this is, and that Shining haven't lost their any of their intense cinematic Morricone-ish sensibility.
MPEG Stream: "In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster"
MPEG Stream: "Psalm"
MPEG Stream: "Fight Dusk With Dawn"

SHINING In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster + Grindstone (Rune Grammofon) 2lp 29.00
NOW ON VINYL! Not one but two albums by this weird sorta jazz electronica group on Rune G. Here's a review cobbled together from our write-ups of the cd versions of the relevant records...
In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster was the 2005 debut of Shining, from Norway (not to be confused with the black metal Shining from Sweden). What be they if not black metal? Hmm, let's listen...good grief, dunno the genre for this even...it's jazz we guess...of sorts. Powerful and freaky and technological. Lead by Jorgen Munkby (ex-Jaga Jazzist, as is the Shining's keyboardist) who plays (on here) everything from sax to accordion to church organ to guitar to mellotron to synths, and does drum programming too. But Shining is a five-piece band so as multi-instrumental as Jorgen is, he's doesn't have to do it all at once. And they leave the tubular bells to a guest musician. So, you get the idea that there's potentially a lot going on. The requiste Kim Hiorthoy cover art, which kinda looks like a blown-to-bits website, implies as much. The ten tracks here veer from booming bombast to melodic moodiness. Energetic ADD explosions of horns and percussion are calmed with weird wordless vocal parts, rhythmic frenzies give way to eerie grooves, and the players' jazz chops are chopped up. There's plenty of tension, and release, let's say! Just imagine some hotshot jazz guys gone on a dark, cinematic bender, unhealthily obsessed with Carl Stalling cartoon scores and arty prog rock and all possibilities of modern electronics. Your ears will feel fully exercised (and dare we say delighted) after a session with Shining. Very cool.
Then in 2007, Grindstone came out. Compared to the debut, it seemed quite a bit harder and heavier than we remember! Some of this is almost industrial-metal, seriously. Herky-jerky rhythms one moment, sheer droning heaviness the next, with moody male and female vox amidst the instrumental/electronic onslaught. This has a sinister circusiness that makes you think that Mike Patton (Fantomas/Faith No More/etc.) must somehow be involved, though of course he's not. Doubtless he'd like how spunky, brassy, swirly, and dark this is, and that Shining haven't lost their any of their intense cinematic Morricone-ish sensibility.
A handsome gatefold package, limited to 500 copies.
MPEG Stream: "Goretex Weather Report"
MPEG Stream: "Aleister Explains Everything"
MPEG Stream: "The Smoking Dog"
MPEG Stream: "In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster"
MPEG Stream: "Psalm"
MPEG Stream: "Fight Dusk With Dawn"

SHINING / FUNERAL DIRGE The Sinister Alliance (Old Temple) cd 14.98

SHINING II Libets Andhallplats (Selbstmord) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Ett Liv Utan Mening"
MPEG Stream: "Utfrysning"

SHINING IV The Eerie Cold (Avantgarde Music) cd 16.98

SHINING PATH Take You So Low So You Can Fly So High (Planaria) lp 14.98
Killer vinyl reissue of a long out of print cassette from the Shining Path, aka Ilya Monosov and Preston Swirnoff, brother of our very own Irwin.
Originally released on T.B.T.D and now long gone. Sort of taking off from where Shining Path's first Holy Mountain release left off, these guys take synths, vocals, organs, hurdy gurdy, drum machine and guitar and whip them into a blown out krautrock, wild noise space rock frenzy, some baffling mix of Can, Hawkwind, High Rise and Suicide, that sounds perfect together, a confusionally brilliant wild eyed blowout. Total WTF? free psych heaven! From the opening burst of blown out heart-of-the-sun psychrock meltdown, to a stretch of spacious drifting, mesmerizing motorik fuzzstomp, to the final chunk of weird drum machine driven, electronic krautdrone, these guys are absolutely melt minds and destroy speakers, and we can't get enough. The flipside is another burst of furious dubbed out druggy psych, this batch of tuneage recorded live in Brooklyn in 2006 with guests Little Howlin' Wolf and Peter Barry. Recommended of course.

SHINING PATH, THE Chocolate Gasoline (Holy Mountain) 12" 13.98
Latest release from Holy Mountain, a new 12" from The Shining Path, the duo of Ilya Monosov, and Preston Swirnoff. We've dug pretty much everything we've gotten our hands on so far, and this 12" is no different. Well, actually it is, sort of.
And no we don't mean it's different as in we don't dig it, but no, as in it sounds WAY different than other SP releases. Where as other records were overdriven dubbed out druggy psych rock, Chocolate Gasoline has a bit of, well, a sort of calypso vibe mixed into their usual psychedelic stew. It's really strange, sort of sleazy sounding, WAY tripped out, but we still love it.
Stripped down percussion, moaning reverbed guitar, blown out FX drenched leads, strange vocals, that almost sound like Jamaican style toasting, and that calypso vibe. It continues on through most of the record, occasionally interrupted by dubbed out rhythms, clouds of electronic glitch, all dizzy and druggy, it actually sounds a bit like this: imagine the house band in some dark dingy calypso bar, a bar you just stumbled into after being heavily dosed with LSD, everything spinning and twisting into freaky shapes, the band jamming in the corner, begins to lift off the ground, their sounds becoming colors, the bar fading until just you and the band are standing on some other planet, watching the Earth melt in the background while the band jams on, and the little rock you're on drifts closer and closer to the sun.
Packaged in an eye popping 12" style sleeve, all reds and blues and yellows, just begging for some 3-D glasses!

SHINING PATH, THE Live At Voltaire Commune (Trensmat) 7"+cd-r 10.98
Dicovered a little box of these in the back room... Thought they were all gone, they weren't apparently, but they will be soon!
The Shining Path is the psych rock alter ego minimalist experimental duo Ilya Monosov and Preston Swirnoff, and in the past we've raved about their blown out kraut flecked space rock. This new 7" captures the group live in 2005, two tracks from one of their very rare live performances.
The opener is a deep slow burning dirge, glistening and glowing, the sound of a planet slowly drifting into the orbit of a collapsing sun, guitars swirl and soar, grind and growl, effulgent and resplendent. This is drone rock rendered almost static, the riffs crawl, the bass throbs, the whole track creeps, or more appropriately, floats weightless, in a cloud of layered red hot psych guitar, spit out in thick glowing gouts, shot through with feedback, it's like High Rise covering Stars Of The Lid!
The second track is a bit more rocking, the drums and bass locked into a motorik groove, while the guitar, still super distorted and blown out, spits out riffs in sudden bursts, eventually coalescing into one constant stream of psychfuzz, pelted by fragments of super effected vocals, strange little squalls of FX, and then the bass gets all dubbed out, bouncing back and forth beneath the buzz and fuzz.
Like all Trensmat 7"s, the vinyl comes bundled with a bonus cd-r, this one featuring an extra live track, a heavy rocker, with some serious riffing and harmonica (!), as well as four live videos from various performances, nicely filmed, cool effects, tripped out lighting, and most importantly, more awesome music, with bleated sax, moaning horns, droney raga-like buzz, chanted vocals, creepy ambience, thick walls of guitars, rumbling throbbing bass, all woven into some seriously spaced out psychedelic dronerock.
Pressed on white vinyl and of course, VERY LIMITED!
MPEG Stream: "Live At The Voltaire Commune"
MPEG Stream: "Lonely Hearts"

SHINING PATH, THE s/t (Holy Mountain) lp+cd 15.98
Wow! Holy Mountain hits the bullseye once again. This time out it's with the rock incarnation of Monosov Swirnoff, who first showed us the Shining Path on the second volume of their vinyl only series of lps on Eclipse. This is some seriously blown out and ecstatic raw and relentless rock that is equally influenced by the amazing early punk scene in Australia (think Primitive Calculators) as it is the menacing hypnotic qualities of Suicide, the blasting moments of Can and the psych guitar overload of Japan's High Rise. We love how the Shining Path offer us a taste of what can happen when punks get psychedelic. This isn't just '70s psychrock rehash/worship, instead there is a really cool urgency and momentum that's often lacking in modern day psych excursions. The Shining Path is kind of like the sweat and guts of early punk rock under the influence of Les Rallizes Denudes. While Monosov and Swirnoff reside on opposite sides of the country and thus are rarely able to perform live they did manage a short tour last summer with outsider genius Little Howlin Wolf, those lucky enough to catch them in the East got a total treat. Here's hoping that The Shining Path are able to play some shows around here as we would love to hear and feel these radiating scorchers in the flesh, but until that happens this record is gonna be blasting through our speakers nonstop!
The LP comes with a cd as well, so you get the best of both worlds for the same price...
MPEG Stream: "The Day When He Himself Shall Wipe Away My Tears"
MPEG Stream: "Moroccan Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Hadliku Ner"

SHINING PATH, THE Take You So Low So You Can Fly So High (T.B.T.D.) cassette 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Brand new super limited cassette release from this droned out space rocking duo made up of Ilya Monosov, and Preston Swirnoff, who just happens to be the brother of our very own Irwin! Sort of taking off from where their Holy Mountain release left off, these guys take synths, vocals, organs, hurdy gurdy, drum machine and guitar and whip them into a blown out krautrock, wild noise space rock frenzy, some baffling mix of Can, Hawkwind, High Rise and Suicide, that sounds perfect together, a confusionally brilliant wild eyed blowout. Total WTF? free psych heaven! From the opening burst of blown out heart-of-the-sun psychrock meltdown, to a stretch of spacious drifting, mesmerizing motorik fuzzstomp, to the final chunk of weird drum machine driven, electronic krautdrone, these guys are absolutely melt minds and destroy speakers, and we can't get enough. 
Packaged in gorgeous fold over, card stock envelope like sleeves, hand painted, with pasted on gull color tripped out artwork, on red cassette tapes, with full color picnic blanket colored inserts. LIMITED TO ONLY 100 COPIES, each hand numbered...

SHINING V Halmstad (Niklas Angaende Niklas) (Osmose Production) cd 13.98

SHINING, THE In The Kingdom Of Kitsch You Will Be A Monster (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
Ah Rune Grammofon, what have you for us today? Another enticing digipacked cd of course, this one from a band called Shining, from Norway (but not to be confused with the black metal Shining from Sweden). What be they if not black metal? Hmm, let's listen...good grief, dunno the genre for this even...it's jazz we guess...of sorts. Powerful and freaky and technological. Lead by Jorgen Munkby (ex-Jaga Jazzist, as is the Shining's keyboardist) who plays (on here) everything from sax to accordion to church organ to guitar to mellotron to synths, and does drum programming too. But Shining is a five-piece band so as multi-instrumental as Jorgen is, he's doesn't have to do it all at once. And they leave the tubular bells to a guest musician. So, you get the idea that there's potentially a lot going on. The requiste Kim Hiorthoy cover art, which kinda looks like a blown-to-bits website, implies as much. The ten tracks here veer from booming bombast to melodic moodiness. Energetic ADD explosions of horns and percussion are calmed with weird wordless vocal parts, rhythmic frenzies give way to eerie grooves, and the players' jazz chops are chopped up. There's plenty of tension, and release, let's say! Just imagine some hotshot jazz guys gone on a dark, cinematic bender, unhealthily obsessed with Carl Stalling cartoon scores and arty prog rock and all possibilities of modern electronics. Your ears will feel fully exercised (and dare we say delighted) after a session with Shining. Very cool.
MPEG Stream: "Goretex Weather Report"
MPEG Stream: "Aleister Explains Everything"
MPEG Stream: "The Smoking Dog"

SHINJIKU THIEF Matte Black (Dorobo) cd 16.98

SHINJUKU THIEF Devolution (Dorobo) cd 14.98

SHINJUKU THIEF The Witch Haven (Dorobo) cd 14.98
While most of the imaginary filmscores follow Barry Adamson's approach: psychologically involved, noirish atmospheres with plenty of spy thriller references, Darrin Verhagen takes the imaginary filmscore to the realm of medieval epics for wizards, ghouls, and dragons. These dark post-classical compositions (which are entirely sampler based, rather than orchestrated) are reminiscent of the Cold Meat Industries aesthetic of bombastic Wagnerian elements and dark Industrial references to In Slaughter Natives. This marks the final installment to the Witch Trilogy after "The Witch Hammer" and "The Witch Hunter".
RealAudio clip: "Witches' Ladder"
RealAudio clip: "Spores Of Death"

SHINS, THE Chutes Too Narrow (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
Oh so very full of sunshine and bounce. Whereas their debut album presented The Shins in a very Beach Boys-y light, their new full length bears more than a passing resemblance to New Pornographer Carl Newman's former band Zumpano whose two albums were released on the very same label. At times, it's almost eerily so. What with the success of the New Pornographers, any hopes of a new Zumpano album have been dashed. Well folks, sounds like SubPop's found a band who're itchin' to slip their feet into those sizable shiny Z-band's shoes. That's not to say The Shins have become complete Zumpano facsimiles, but the resemblance is more than noticeable on songs like the thoughtful, keyboard and strings driven "Saint Simon", the ultra-exuberant "Turn A Square" and the album's first single "So Say I". That said, The Shins also draw comparisons to sensitive British songsmith The Jazz Butcher (check out the second song "Mines Not A High Horse"). What does this all mean? Geez... that The Shins have a firm grasp on the art of joyful vocal harmonies and elaborate pop orchestrations, but falter in the originality department? Granted the aforementioned artists were by no means groundbreaking, but they made their sounds their own and were just sooo good! Nonetheless, these ten intelligent, lush and very retro-pop tunes filled with falsetto male vocals, elaborate harmonies, jangly guitars, and strong piano melodies make for a pretty great end-of-summer album.
MPEG Stream: "Kissing The Lipless"
MPEG Stream: "Saint Simon"

SHINS, THE Chutes Too Narrow (Sub Pop) lp 12.98
Oh so very full of sunshine and bounce. Whereas their debut album presented The Shins in a very Beach Boys-y light, their new full length bears more than a passing resemblance to New Pornographer Carl Newman's former band Zumpano whose two albums were released on the very same label. At times, it's almost eerily so. What with the success of the New Pornographers, any hopes of a new Zumpano album have been dashed. Well folks, sounds like SubPop's found a band who're itchin' to slip their feet into those sizable shiny Z-band's shoes. That's not to say The Shins have become complete Zumpano facsimiles, but the resemblance is more than noticeable on songs like the thoughtful, keyboard and strings driven "Saint Simon", the ultra-exuberant "Turn A Square" and the album's first single "So Say I". That said, The Shins also draw comparisons to sensitive British songsmith The Jazz Butcher (check out the second song "Mines Not A High Horse"). What does this all mean? Geez... that The Shins have a firm grasp on the art of joyful vocal harmonies and elaborate pop orchestrations, but falter in the originality department? Granted the aforementioned artists were by no means groundbreaking, but they made their sounds their own and were just sooo good! Nonetheless, these ten intelligent, lush and very retro-pop tunes filled with falsetto male vocals, elaborate harmonies, jangly guitars, and strong piano melodies make for a pretty great end-of-summer album.
MPEG Stream: "Kissing The Lipless"
MPEG Stream: "Saint Simon"

SHINS, THE Fighting In A Sack (Sub Pop) cd ep 4.98
Tour only cd ep from AQ faves the Shins, who are the masters of shiny and sweet, jangly complex pop. This ep features "Fighting In A Sack", one of the best tracks from their recent Chutes Too Narrow album, as well as the video for "So Says I", that record's first single. Also included are two bonus tracks, a T-Rex cover, and a live version of "New Slang" on which the Shins are joined by Iron And Wine!!
MPEG Stream: "Baby Boomerang "
MPEG Stream: "New Slang"

SHINS, THE Oh, Inverted World (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
Built To Spill... meet Peter Cetera. Just kidding, that's just what struck me within the first few bars of this album. Sunshine-y retro-pop tunes with very Beach Boys-esque soaring vocal harmonies. Incredibly bright, earnest and toothsome!
RealAudio clip: "Girl on the Wing"
RealAudio clip: "Know Your Onion"

SHINS, THE Oh, Inverted World (Sub Pop) lp 10.98
Built To Spill... meet Peter Cetera. Just kidding, that's just what struck me within the first few bars of this album. Sunshine-y retro-pop tunes with very Beach Boys-esque soaring vocal harmonies. Incredibly bright, earnest and toothsome!
RealAudio clip: "Girl on the Wing"
RealAudio clip: "Know Your Onion"

SHINS, THE Phantom Limb (Sub Pop) cd ep 3.98
It's been a few years since The Shins transformed from indie rock's little secret to international superstars thanks in big part to Zach Braff and the exposure that Garden State gave them. But every now and then a really good band gets the grand attention they deserve and it looks as if The Shins will continue to make solid and undeniably smart pop records seemingly unfazed by their recent burst in popularity. This is a 3 song teaser that will hold us over till their follow up to Chutes Too Narrow comes out soon after new years. It's got stocking stuffer written all over it!
MPEG Stream: "Phantom Limb"
MPEG Stream: "Split Needles (alt version)"

SHINS, THE So Says I (Sub Pop) cd single 4.98
For just being a lil' 3-song ep, So Say I offers quite a wide overview of what The Shins have been up to since their 2001 debut Oh Inverted World. The rollicking, retro, very Zumpano-esque title track is the first single off of their forthcoming album. Hopping in the back seat for this short ride along the beach are the considerably mellower, earthier "Mild Child" and an alternate live-in-the-basement version of the album's ninth song "Gone For Good".
MPEG Stream: "Mild Child"

SHINS, THE Wincing The Night Away (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
What do you do when one day, you're just another decent, sort of well known indie rock band who writes really great songs and then suddenly you become probably the most famous indie rock band around thanks to a big Hollywood movie and waves of big time hype. Well if you are The Shins you just keep writing totally great songs and remain the same great band that made us all fall in love with them in the first place. It's so nice to see how unfazed they seem to be after their huge rise in popularity. You get the feeling that Wincing The Night Away is the same record they would have made, had luck not been how it was and they still remained a somewhat obscure (by mainstream standards) indie rock band from New Mexico. The infectious breezy melodies are definitely still there. Smart pop that draws upon the richest of influences yet now sounds so singularly their own. Songs that seep into your head and have no plan of leaving anytime soon. Wincing The Night Away also finds them exploring a more moody side. The Shins are like that great friend who gets famous but still calls every time they are in town and you aren't jealous of their fame just super happy for them.
PS. The first batch of these come with an awesome 7" with a non-album track and the e.p. version of Split Needles, can't promise 'em forever but you'll get one with your purchase while they last...
MPEG Stream: "Australia"
MPEG Stream: "Black Wave"

SHINS, THE Wincing The Night Away (Sub Pop) lp 14.98
What do you do when one day, you're just another decent, sort of well known indie rock band who writes really great songs and then suddenly you become probably the most famous indie rock band around thanks to a big Hollywood movie and waves of big time hype. Well if you are The Shins you just keep writing totally great songs and remain the same great band that made us all fall in love with them in the first place. It's so nice to see how unfazed they seem to be after their huge rise in popularity. You get the feeling that Wincing The Night Away is the same record they would have made, had luck not been how it was and they still remained a somewhat obscure (by mainstream standards) indie rock band from New Mexico. The infectious breezy melodies are definitely still there. Smart pop that draws upon the richest of influences yet now sounds so singularly their own. Songs that seep into your head and have no plan of leaving anytime soon. Wincing The Night Away also finds them exploring a more moody side. The Shins are like that great friend who gets famous but still calls every time they are in town and you aren't jealous of their fame just super happy for them.
Hey! Vinyl Enthusiasts and iPod users, The Shins got your back as this LP comes with a coupon for a free download of the record.
PS. The first batch of these come with an awesome 7" with a non-album track and the e.p. version of Split Needles, can't promise 'em forever but you'll get one with your purchase while they last...
MPEG Stream: "Australia"
MPEG Stream: "Black Wave"

SHIPP STRING TRIO, MATTHEW Expansion, Power, Release (Hat Hut) cd 16.98
Fucking gorgeous new album from pianist Shipp, who almost never disappoints. Moody, classical-inspired jazz that also makes use of the talents of Mat Maneri (violin) and uber-bassist William Parker. From lyrical and melancholy to nervous and energetic, this spans a range of emotions that would make it an appropriate (if avant) soundtrack to a Hitchcock film...
RealAudio clip: "Functional Form"

SHIPP, MATTHEW (MATTHEW SHIPP QUARTET) Flow of X (2.13.61) cd 14.98
Matt Shipp, piano; Mat Maneri, violin; William Parker, bass; Whit Dickey, drums. Beautiful, difficult.

SHIPP, MATTHEW Before the World (FMP) cd 17.98

SHIPP, MATTHEW New Orbit (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
A lovely new recording from celebrated jazz pianist Matthew Shipp and co. (his sidemen here being trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and of course bassist William Parker). It's part of a new jazz series from Thirsty Ear called "Blue Series" (curated by Shipp himself, actually).

SHIPP, MATTHEW Nu Bop (Thirsty Ear) cd 16.98
Here's another new one from the prolific, AQ-fave jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, another entry in Thirsty Ear's forward-looking, Shipp-curated "Blue Series".
The futuristic jazz found on "Nu Bop" is quite similar to David S. Ware's recent "Corridors & Parallels", which featured three of the players found here: Shipp, bassist extraordinare William Parker, and drummer Guillermo E. Brown. On "Nu Bop", Daniel Carter handles sax & flute, and someone named FLAM is responsible for synths and programming (leaving Shipp to his customary piano, instead of the keyboards he played on the Ware disc). This group has produced a unique, enjoyable mix of electronic beats and droney synth atmospheres, and up-tempo, uh, "nu-bop" jazziness. The album's sci-fi theme is reflected in the somewhat hokey track titles, like "Space Shipp", "X-Ray", "Rocket Shipp", and "ZX-1". As with other Blue Series offerings (like that great Spring Heel Jack "Masses" disc from last year), these hybrid jazz/electronica experiments are both good places for the jazz-curious modern music listener to begin exploring, and for the avant-jazz-centric to branch out. The future sound of jazz? We'll leave that for others to debate. We just hope that Shipp doesn't take it *too* far (no DJ remix disc please!!).
RealAudio clip: "Rocket Shipp"
RealAudio clip: "Nu Abstract"

SHIPP, MATTHEW One (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
Much like William Parker whose latest release we loved and listed last time, Matthew Shipp is a jazz great whose plethora of releases makes it easy to kind of lose track and maybe pay as much attention as we should (like William Parker). While his willingness to coloborate and stretch and blur lines of genre is admirable we have to admit that we are sort of partial to him on his own. Something about when it's just him and his piano that is so compelling. Of course he is a ridicously talented piano player but it's also the way in which he can create so much tension and mood with the keys that makes him so special. Not often lately that a solo piano record carries its weight and keeps things interesting enough to attract our interest but we're not surprised that Matthew Shipp's the one to deliver such a record.
MPEG Stream: "Patmos"
MPEG Stream: "The Encounter"

SHIPP, MATTHEW Symbol Systems (No More Records) cd 16.98

SHIPP, MATTHEW DUO W/ WILLIAM PARKER DNA (Thirsty Ear) cd 15.98
Two of the most important and reliable players of the now jazz, with a new piano-bass duo session.

SHIPP, MATTHEW DUO With Roscoe Mitchell (2.13.61) cd 15.98

SHIPP, MATTHEW QUARTET Pastoral Composure (Thirsty Ear) cd 14.98
Just now getting around to listing this relatively recent release (from a couple months back). Of all the currently hip and prolific jazzers out there, Mr. Shipp is probably our favorite. It's just hard to keep up with all his releases, but worth it not to miss 'em, 'cause he's a great pianist and someone who shows that the "difficult" and the "lovely" don't need to be mutually incompatable catagories. On this outing he's joined by Roy Campbell on trumpets, etc. as well as Gerald Cleaver on drums and (another hip, prolific jazz dude we have to like) William Parker on bass.

SHIPP, MATTHEW, "STRING" TRIO By the Law of Music (Hat Art) cd 18.98
The strings of Shipp's piano, William Parker's bass and Mat Maneri's violin. No drums. Challenging, sad, rewarding new music from these great improvisers.