SHATNER, WILLIAM The Transformed Man (Varese Sarabande/BMG) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally (legally) reissued.

SHATNER, WILLIAM The Transformed Man (Geffen) cd 10.98
Who doesn't love the smooth thespian vocal stylings of William Shatner? The Transformed Man is an album he recorded while still filling the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek and is now reissued for modern audiences to enjoy in utter bewilderment. For further description, I defer to original notes from the producer: "The idea of grouping the numbers together in pairs is to unfold multiple perspectives of the same subject, like the two sides of a coin, tension and resolution. For example, in 'King Henry The Fifth' (track one), the intense speech inciting the soldiers to battle is contrasted with the quiet and poignant aftermath of war in 'Elegy For The Brave' The other pairs follow a similar design. Track 2: confident self-assurance‹total psychopathic subservience; Track 3: a desire for death‹the joy of living; Track 4: fresh young love‹insensitivity; Track 5: utter dejection‹super elation; Track 6: stands alone because of its contrasting three-movement form: earthly unreality-transitional awareness-contact with divinity." Um ok. I can't tell if these guys completely obliterated their minds with drugs or never ever ever did any at all. The cd booklet features Shatner's amazing diatribe about the recording of this album as well as several telling head shots from his time as Captain Kirk. A novelty item perhaps, but a total must-have all the same.
MPEG Stream: "King Henry The Fifth / Elegy For The Brave"
MPEG Stream: "Theme From Cyrano / Mr. Tamborine Man"

SHAW, MATTHEW Ghosts In The Concrete (Burning Buildings) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SHAW, VIRGIL Quad Cities (Boxkite) cd 11.98
When we were roommates a few years ago, Virgil used to come home dead tired from carpentering and construction all the whole day. There'd be paint on his jeans and crumbs of chalky sheetrock in his hair. He'd pop a beer, sit in our kitchen lit by only a bare bulb, and he'd play guitar, yowling in his crackly heart-tugging voice. Most of the time he was working out new Dieselhed songs -- he's an integral member of the San Francisco-via-Eureka band, who you should all know by now are one of my favorite bands in the world and it's simply criminal that they haven't been able to quit their day jobs yet cos they RULE. Anyway, I would never say it to his face but I think Virgil's pretty grade-A brilliant, and have always loved the rickety, stark 'kitchen versions' of Virgil's songs, and I hoped he'd record them. Wishes do come true. So lovely! Some of Virgil's lyrics: He had a big mouth of crooked teeth Like china leaning by the sink So clean they were almost blue So blue they were almost see through. She has a jacket she hangs outside Smoke sticks to the fake hide So fake you can almost see through So see through you wouldn't know what to do.

SHAW, VIRGIL Still Falling (Future Farmer) cd 13.98
Ex-Dieselhed frontman and perennial Aquarius favorite Virgil Shaw returns at last with a new collection of songs. Virgil's songwriting is at the top of its form; painting vivid pictures, recollecting grainy memories, faded epics and otherwise expressing the most heart rending lyrics he's ever written. The melodic hooks are so kindly and accessible without deepening into sappiness -- a difficult feat to pull off but with Virg it seems effortless. In terms of musical accompaniment, Still Falling is perhaps the most lush and varied in its arrangements with horns, organs, pianos, oodles of percussion and even -- for a couple seconds between two tracks -- the remnants of the dixieland jazz band from the recycled tape that they used to record the album on. Along with regular Shaw cohorts Danny Heifetz and Atom Ellis (also ex-Dieselhed), Virgil is joined by a cadre of musicians including American Music Club's Mark Eitzel (who sings vocals on a couple tracks), percussionist Willie Winant and regular salts Marc Capelle (playing just about every keyboard invented to within an inch of its life), Jeff Palmer, Matt Hall and more. Eight new originals, a Terry Allen cover ("Wilderness of This World") and a version of Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home".
Those who've been long time fans of Dieselhed are acutely aware of the limitations that the recording studio had in capturing the Dieselhed everyone knew and loved as a fantastic live band. The same, fortunately, does not apply to what Virgil has been doing since Dieselhed decided to call it quits. In fact, if anything, this newest album from Shaw and his back up band The Killer Views is closer to capturing the spirit of what Dieselhed was -- at least during their ballads -- than ever before. This is probably due in part to the presence of the above mentioned Dieselhed alumni. So nice!
RealAudio clip: "The Drawing"
RealAudio clip: "Clock On the Wall"
RealAudio clip: "Still Falling"

SHE & HIM Volume One (Merge) cd 14.98
Yeah, you've no doubt already heard all the hype about this new duo: She & Him aka Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. A knee-jerk reaction would be to dismiss this as another actress-turned-songstress hipster move, but we'd be so dumb to do so in this case! Besides the folks at Merge Records have a pretty darn solid track record for releasing awesome artists and for having the best music-lovin' intentions. Y'all know we adore Mr. Ward's music something fierce! And where Deschanel's concerned we can only speak about her acting for which she ain't no slouch. As it happens, she's got a decent set of pipes and graceful songwriting pen too -- nothing fancy or particularly distinct, simply soft, sweet and pleasant. The two definitely make a good pairing -- if not a grammatically sound one! The could easily take up duo-residency at the Grand Ol' Opry and the Brill Building. Volme One features ten country tinged pop Deschanel originals as well as three covers recalling bygone era (Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me", The Beatles' "I Should Have KNown Better", and the traditional number "Swing Low Sweet Chariot").
MPEG Stream: "Sentimental Heart "
MPEG Stream: "This Is Not A Test"

SHE & HIM Volume One (Merge) lp 16.98
Also now on vinyl... Yeah, you've no doubt already heard all the hype about this new duo: She & Him aka Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward. A knee-jerk reaction would be to dismiss this as another actress-turned-songstress hipster move, but we'd be so dumb to do so in this case! Besides the folks at Merge Records have a pretty darn solid track record for releasing awesome artists and for having the best music-lovin' intentions. Y'all know we adore Mr. Ward's music something fierce! And where Deschanel's concerned we can only speak about her acting for which she ain't no slouch. As it happens, she's got a decent set of pipes and graceful songwriting pen too -- nothing fancy or particularly distinct, simply soft, sweet and pleasant. The two definitely make a good pairing -- if not a grammatically sound one! The could easily take up duo-residency at the Grand Ol' Opry and the Brill Building. Volme One features ten country tinged pop Deschanel originals as well as three covers recalling bygone era (Smokey Robinson's "You Really Got A Hold On Me", The Beatles' "I Should Have KNown Better", and the traditional number "Swing Low Sweet Chariot").
MPEG Stream: "Sentimental Heart "
MPEG Stream: "This Is Not A Test"

SHE MOB Cancel the Wedding (self-released) cd 9.98
A very cool local trio making a joyous feminine racket a la The Raincoats. Recommended.

SHE MOB Not In My World (self-released) cd 9.98
Here's the latest album from AQ friend Alan Korn's band She Mob. Not In My World is filled with intelligent punky pop that gives hearty nods to its cerebral post-punk and quirky art rock ancestors such as The Slits, The Raincoats, Au Pairs, Delta 5, Talking Heads and The Residents. Crafty, topical and engaging. Features cover art by Matt Waldron aka Irr.App.(Ext.).

SHE WANTS REVENGE s/t (Geffen) cd 11.98
If you've been hooked into myspace.com, either the name She Wants Revenge will seem painfully passe to you by now or you might be riding the wave of anticipation to hold in your hands an actual cd of this band's up-until-now-only-digitally-available-online music. A brief synopsis for those of you to whom this all seems like Greek... She Wants Revenge is an LA duo who (along with another internet buzz-band, the UK's Arctic Monkeys) have been all the rage on the abovementioned phenomenal hipster/hype-machine community (but now Rupert Murdoch-owned) website for months. All that said, what does it sound like? Well, it's pretty much summed up with the phrase: She Wants Revenge totally 'out-Joy Divisions' Interpol. They've got a song titled "Tear You Apart"... ok. They've formulated their sound to drive into utter ecstacy the aural taste buds of everyone who likes that dour yet danceable sound, but with a few distinctions. Really, the aural resemblance is nothing short of shocking, but unlike Joy Division's tone of bleaker than bleak self-loathing and Interpol's romanticization of it, the two male djs-turned-band-members instead define and fetishize SWR's dour angular new wave dance punk with imagery of girls in panties with butcher knives. Your cup of tea?
MPEG Stream: "Tear You Apart"
MPEG Stream: "These Things"

SHE WANTS REVENGE This Is Forever (Geffen) cd 12.98

SHE-SATELLITES Poison Lips (Geist) cd 21.00
She-Satellites is the pseudonym for Atari Teenage Riot's noise programmer Nic Endo, whose second solo album (the first being Nic Endo's 'White Heat' on Digital Hardcore) reflects a more adventurous approach to noise and beats than her contributions in Atari Teenage Riot. The interplay between the digitized tones has an antiquated feel of the electronic music composers of the 60s (sounding very much like Arne Nordheim or Vladimir Ussachevsky) and accompanies a start-n-stop array of crunchy breakbeats. 'At its frequent best, 'Poison Lips' restores frissons of pleasure to noise zones, where punishment beatings had become the rule.' - Biba Kopf / The Wire

SHE-SATELLITES Poison Lips (Geist) lp 15.98
She-Satellites is the pseudonym for Atari Teenage Riot's noise programmer Nic Endo, whose second solo album (the first being Nic Endo's 'White Heat' on Digital Hardcore) reflects a more adventurous approach to noise and beats than her contributions in Atari Teenage Riot. The interplay between the digitized tones has an antiquated feel of the electronic music composers of the 60s (sounding very much like Arne Nordheim or Vladimir Ussachevsky) and accompanies a start-n-stop array of crunchy breakbeats. 'At its frequent best, 'Poison Lips' restores frissons of pleasure to noise zones, where punishment beatings had become the rule.' - Biba Kopf / The Wire

SHEA, DAVID Classical Works (Tzadik) cd 15.98
An intersection of the classical sounds of the Ictus Ensemble with Shea's ever-changing approach to sampling techniques.

SHEA, DAVID The Book Of Scenes (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98

SHEA, DAVID Tryptich (Quatermass) cd 15.98
Three newly arranged/performed pieces by sampling/turntable artist David Shea. Each focuses on the relationship between orchestrated live performance and the sampler as an instrument in its own right. "Sita's Walk of Fire" is based on the Ramayana cycle; "Satyricon 2000" is based on the Latin novel of the same name (a great read, by the way!; and "One Ride Pony" was composed for a short film by Alex Vermeulen. Each piece is appropriately dynamic and dramatic.
RealAudio clip: "Sita's Walk Of Fire"
RealAudio clip: "One Ride Pony"

SHEARER, DYLAN Planted / Plans (Yik Yak) lp 14.98

SHEARER, HARRY Songs Pointed & Pointless (Courgette) cd 14.98
When we heard that there was a new music album by Harry Shearer, two words jumped eagerly into our heads: Derek Smalls! Then another two: Mark Shubb! Alright, of course we all know that Harry Shearer has done so much more amazing stuff than portraying those two unforgettable musical characters (in the metal mockumentary Spinal Tap and the country/folk mockumentary A Mighty Wind respectively). They're only two of the innumerable very different facets of this man's genius (actor, writer, voice of numerous Simpsons characters, radio host of the NPR program Le Show, the list goes on).
We have to admit tho', much as we love Shearer and his thought provoking and funnybone tickling work, this album ain't doin' it for us... but then again maybe he didn't make it for us. Maybe he's chosen not to preach to the converted as it were. On Songs Pointed & Pointless, Shearer has planted his social and political critiques in a musical style that for the most part appeals to a very conservative (taste-wise, not politically) audience. Sure his lyrics are loaded with his razor sharp insights, but the manner in which they're delivered can be a bit trite or downright cheesy. In that "Uh oh, Uncle Harry brought his guitar to the family dinner!" kind of way. You know what we mean!? So much so at times it's drawn audible cringes when played in the store. On second thought, we take that back. What are we thinking?! We'd kill to have Harry Shearer as our uncle! The thing is Shearer is such a master at assuming characters we can't tell if this is another role he's playing with tongue planted firmly in cheek. Regardless, if you have any mild-mannered, mild-tastebudded relatives whom you think need a little tutorial at the School Of Shearer, he's got his sharpened pencils at the ready. Give a listen for yourself!
MPEG Stream: "Addiction To Oil"
MPEG Stream: "Sugar Daddy"

SHEARING PINX / SILVER DAGGERS split (Arbor) 7" 4.50

SHEARWATER Rook (Matador) cd 12.98
Following their acclaimed 2007 concept album Palo Santo, Texas band Shearwater deliver another haunting, dramatic work. Whether its title refers to the bird or chess piece of the same name we aren't certain (it's probably the second because main man Jonathan Meiburg studies ornithology), but both are quite apropos. The ten songs are imbued with the airborne grace of the former and the formidable icy stone gravity of the latter. If you've yet to hear this band's music, imagining a more ominous Coldplay (whom the band has opened for in concert) is a good place to start. Their sound at once harkens back to '70s UK folk rock as well as perhaps early '90s Talk Talk and the late '90s epic loud-quiet postrock of Godspeed or Mogwai. The swooping high vocals of Meiburg conjuring comparisons to Nick Drake, Mark Kozelek or Ron Sexsmith. Fans of any/all of the above, definitely check this somber beauty out!
MPEG Stream: "Rooks"
MPEG Stream: "Home Life"

SHEAVY Celestial Hi-Fi (The Music Cartel) cd 14.98

RealAudio clip: "Firebird350"
RealAudio clip: "Synchronized"

SHEAVY Republic? (Candlelight / Rise Above) cd 14.98
Fifth album from these Sabbath worshipping Canucks. Their claim to fame is that their singer sounds EXACTLY like Ozzy. Ozzy at his most nasal perhaps, but definitely Ozzy. And they exploit that vocal similarity to the utmost, by writing the most Sabbathy songs they can (which they do quite well). And who's to blame 'em? And although the too-obvious Ozzyness of the vocalist might hold these guys back from being taken totally seriously on their own terms, this should be at least as popular as the equally awesome Early Man, who also have been known to sound a bit like Sabbath/Ozzy.
Not that this sounds quite like what you think it might. This is Sabbathy, but really uptempo Sabbath, rocking hard. Sheavy might be the only Sabbath-copyist band in existence to sound like they're specifically trying to emulate the Sabs circa Technical Ecstasy and Never Say Die, the final two albums of the original Ozzy era in the late '70s. So no "War Pigs" or "Iron Man" re-writes here. The slowest and doomiest they get is the instrumental, "Moments Of Silence", whereas the rest of this is pretty darn rockin'. Actually, maybe it's more just Ozzy than Sabbath that they're going for here, as they also sound a lot like Blizzard of Ozz (Ozzy's band when he went solo in the early '80s) -- even if Sheavy's guitarist never quite tries to scale the heights of Randy Rhodes. Though he's no slouch, either, and contributes plenty of crunch along with some sweet soloing. So for those of you partial to the rock (and Ozzy's pinched whine), Sheavy's Republic? would be a good one to crank. Produced by Billy Anderson, by the way, for the sludge-obsessives amongst you keeping score.
MPEG Stream: "The Rook"
MPEG Stream: "The Man Who Never Was"

SHEAVY Synchronized (The Music Cartel) cd 14.98
Break out the Molson, 'cause Canadian Black Sabbath doppelgangers Sheavy are back with another (stoner) rockin' disc. The Sabbath comparison arises mainly from singer Steve Hennessey's uncanny vocal resemblance to the nasal tones of Ozzy Osbourne. Although Mr. Hennessey probably won't have his own reality TV show (on Much Music?) in thirty years, he really does sound a heck of a lot like the bat-bitin' one, circa Ozzy's early '80s solo heyday. Sheavy utilizes this seemingly-familiar voice to lead the listener into melodic and heavy (as per their name) territory more rockin' than doomy -- their take on the Sabbath/'70s vibe is closer to Fu Manchu than Electric Wizard: wailing guitars, plentiful hooks, driving grooves, even some "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" style keyboards. Definitely one any Ozzy/Sabbath freak has to check out, but also a recommended album for all into good ol' old fashioned hard rock/metal! Retro like we like it, with lots of sci-fi and car culture references for max kitsch value. How come these guys weren't on that Fubar soundtrack? A glaring omisson indeed.
RealAudio clip: "Firebird350"
RealAudio clip: "Synchronized"

SHEAVY The Electric Sleep (The Music Cartel) cd 14.98
Your first reaction to his Canadian band will be: "I can't believe it's not Black Sabbath!" In a blind test, their singer could not be distinguished from Ozzy Osbourne by a panel of experts--it seems the only difference is that the guy in sHeavy hasn't bitten the head off any live animal (yet). That, and his band's got some better tunes for him to sing than what Ozzy's been up to lately. Normally, something that's this much of a copy would deserve scorn, but they're so damn good at it that you have to love it. This came out last year as an import, and now here's the domestic version, adding a (non-bogus) bonus track.

SHEDDING What God Doesn't Bless, You Won't Love; What You Don't Love, The Child Won't Know (Hometapes) cd 14.98
Any record that is an homage to Eric Dolphy and his (possibly imagined) interaction and fascination with birds is pretty much guaranteed to hit the spot.
But when said record is wrapped in some of the most striking cd artwork we've seen in ages, and is in fact a strange sort of jazz drone collage constructed from samples of Dolphy records, field recordings and some added percussion, well, it's almost like they came to us and asked us what sort of record we wanted to hear, and we told them "Let's see, drones for sure, some field recordings, and heck, why not include some Dolphy..."
The cover art is amazing. Like the illustrations for some childrens' book. A big eyed, horned, bat-bird-witch flying over a forest of angular trees, sitting in the clouds over a sea filled with ships manned by black headed rabbits with water pouring from their eyes, and spiriting away with a dry eyed black headed rabbit in his claws, while below, another rabbit fills a chalice with one eye, and the sea with the other. The artwork alone sets the bar pretty high. Dark and dreamy, playful but slightly ominous...
Thankfully, the music is also all of those things. And then some. The brief opening track is a tangle of bass clarinet, smeared into a deep expanse of low end shimmer, while above, melodies and melodic fragments drift and splinter. Very evocative of a cloudy day, wet streets and soft sheets of rain.
The second track introduces a simple motorik rhythm, that shuffles and skitters beneath a constant shifting drone woven from looped horns. Super hypnotic and dreamy. Almost like a stripped down, drone-y jazzy Pharaoh Overlord. As the drums peter out, the horns begin to bounce and dance, chirp and flutter, and suddenly the sky is clear and full of birds, or is it just Dolphy playing the sounds of birds?
The final track is an epic, clocking in at almost 20 minutes, Dolphy's horns surface here and there, but most of the track has them stretched and smoothed out into ultra minimal low end drifts, warm swells of muted melody, a totally mesmerizing abstract drift.
This is one of those records, that had we not known the story behind it, we probably wouldn't have necessarily made the Dolphy connection, or the bird connection for that matter, and actually the jazz element is subtle and quite minimal, but as a chunk of dreamy dark drone drift, it's really quite fantastic. And as far as we're concerned there can never be too much tribute paid to the late great Eric Dolphy!
MPEG Stream: "GB"
MPEG Stream: "W"

SHEDDING What God Doesn't Bless, You Won't Love; What You Don't Love, The Child Won't Know (Hometapes) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl, with slightly different artwork, and super deluxe packaging. You thought the cd looked amazing, holy crap, the lp version is a serious eyeful. So gorgeous! (and another example of how much better record sleeves look than tiny little cd booklets). Pressed on super thick milky clear vinyl, in a full color sleeve, includes three 8"x8" full color inserts with liner notes on the other side, all housed in a thick, stickered PVC plastic sleeve. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!! And it's not just the art that is mindblowing, the music inside is just as weird and wonderful. Here's what we had to say about the cd when we first reviewed it a little while back:
Any record that is an homage to Eric Dolphy and his (possibly imagined) interaction and fascination with birds is pretty much guaranteed to hit the spot.
But when said record is wrapped in some of the most striking cd artwork we've seen in ages, and is in fact a strange sort of jazz drone collage constructed from samples of Dolphy records, field recordings and some added percussion, well, it's almost like they came to us and asked us what sort of record we wanted to hear, and we told them "Let's see, drones for sure, some field recordings, and heck, why not include some Dolphy..."
The cover art is amazing. Like the illustrations for some childrens' book. A big eyed, horned, bat-bird-witch flying over a forest of angular trees, sitting in the clouds over a sea filled with ships manned by black headed rabbits with water pouring from their eyes, and spiriting away with a dry eyed black headed rabbit in his claws, while below, another rabbit fills a chalice with one eye, and the sea with the other. The artwork alone sets the bar pretty high. Dark and dreamy, playful but slightly ominous...
Thankfully, the music is also all of those things. And then some. The brief opening track is a tangle of bass clarinet, smeared into a deep expanse of low end shimmer, while above, melodies and melodic fragments drift and splinter. Very evocative of a cloudy day, wet streets and soft sheets of rain.
The second track introduces a simple motorik rhythm, that shuffles and skitters beneath a constant shifting drone woven from looped horns. Super hypnotic and dreamy. Almost like a stripped down, drone-y jazzy Pharaoh Overlord. As the drums peter out, the horns begin to bounce and dance, chirp and flutter, and suddenly the sky is clear and full of birds, or is it just Dolphy playing the sounds of birds?
The final track is an epic, clocking in at almost 20 minutes, Dolphy's horns surface here and there, but most of the track has them stretched and smoothed out into ultra minimal low end drifts, warm swells of muted melody, a totally mesmerizing abstract drift.
This is one of those records, that had we not known the story behind it, we probably wouldn't have necessarily made the Dolphy connection, or the bird connection for that matter, and actually the jazz element is subtle and quite minimal, but as a chunk of dreamy dark drone drift, it's really quite fantastic. And as far as we're concerned there can never be too much tribute paid to the late great Eric Dolphy!
MPEG Stream: "GB"
MPEG Stream: "W"

SHEFFIELD, COLIN ANDREW Signatures (Invisible Birds) cd 38.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The veil of mediated sound hangs heavy upon the work of Colin Andrew Sheffield, a Texan born sound artist currently living in Seattle. His work is almost entirely based upon recontextualizing sounds from already released works, although unlike such plunderphonic artists like Christian Marclay, John Oswald, and Wobbly who allow for the samples to utter their origins, Sheffield obliterates almost all of the references into a field of static vibrations, densely compacted layerings, and hyper-stretched drones. Through his digital crucible, Sheffield extracts something almost completely different out of the sources that he puts into it.
In running the ever impressive Elevator Bath label, Sheffield has found an outlet for a handful of his recordings, mostly as small run editions with the one exception being his outstanding First Thus cd. Signatures was commissioned by the San Francisco based label Invisible Birds, as the debut in what hopes to be a great catalogue of sound art composition that's somehow related to bird sounds and their environment. Keeping true to his working methods, Sheffield's contribution to Invisible Birds reclaims sounds from other records amidst what Sheffield claims to be field recordings of water and birds. The results have been so heavily obfuscated through the process that it's hard to hear any twitter of birdsong. The thunderous low-end repetition on the last track is purported to be the flapping of a bird's wing, but it's hard to discern. All of this said, Sheffield's results are gorgeous. At first, the album has almost an ominous feel, as a shimmering, arctic hush is shot forth from the speakers with layer upon layer of sympathetic vibrations interweaving into a hypnotic, if cybernetic sound. It sounds sort of like the classic Chain Reaction artists like Porter Ricks or Hallucinator with all of the techno extracted, and only a cold, cold drone of digitality left behind. By the end of the album, Sheffield brightens things into a stunning crescendo of church organ-like chords suspended in time and space with glints of vinyl crackle hanging like sunflecked dust floating in air. Here, Sheffield gives the impression of William Basinski reclaiming a Ligetti choral piece. Very highly recommended.
INSANELY LIMITED. Already out of print. This is the super deluxe version which comes housed in a quite nice box, the disc wrapped in fabric, and includes a booklet and a bonus 3" cd-r!!
MPEG Stream: "Beneath The Waves"
MPEG Stream: "Surrender"
MPEG Stream: "Breath Of Day"

SHEFFIELD, COLIN ANDREW Signatures (Invisible Birds) cd 12.98
NOW AVAILABLE IN THE REGULAR EDITION!!!
The veil of mediated sound hangs heavy upon the work of Colin Andrew Sheffield, a Texan born sound artist currently living in Seattle. His work is almost entirely based upon recontextualizing sounds from already released works, although unlike such plunderphonic artists like Christian Marclay, John Oswald, and Wobbly who allow for the samples to utter their origins, Sheffield obliterates almost all of the references into a field of static vibrations, densely compacted layerings, and hyper-stretched drones. Through his digital crucible, Sheffield extracts something almost completely different out of the sources that he puts into it.
In running the ever impressive Elevator Bath label, Sheffield has found an outlet for a handful of his recordings, mostly as small run editions with the one exception being his outstanding First Thus cd. Signatures was commissioned by the San Francisco based label Invisible Birds, as the debut in what hopes to be a great catalogue of sound art composition that's somehow related to bird sounds and their environment. Keeping true to his working methods, Sheffield's contribution to Invisible Birds reclaims sounds from other records amidst what Sheffield claims to be field recordings of water and birds. The results have been so heavily obfuscated through the process that it's hard to hear any twitter of birdsong. The thunderous low-end repetition on the last track is purported to be the flapping of a bird's wing, but it's hard to discern. All of this said, Sheffield's results are gorgeous. At first, the album has almost an ominous feel, as a shimmering, arctic hush is shot forth from the speakers with layer upon layer of sympathetic vibrations interweaving into a hypnotic, if cybernetic sound. It sounds sort of like the classic Chain Reaction artists like Porter Ricks or Hallucinator with all of the techno extracted, and only a cold, cold drone of digitality left behind. By the end of the album, Sheffield brightens things into a stunning crescendo of church organ-like chords suspended in time and space with glints of vinyl crackle hanging like sunflecked dust floating in air. Here, Sheffield gives the impression of William Basinski reclaiming a Ligetti choral piece. Very highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Beneath The Waves"
MPEG Stream: "Surrender"
MPEG Stream: "Breath Of Day"

SHELLAC 1000 Hurts (Touch & Go) cd 14.98
New album from Steve Albini, et al. Almost sounds like an Olympia band doing Shellac. Much more melodic, with more singing and less testifying. Some really beautiful quiet parts and some amazing over distorted loud bits. People have been freaking out, saying this is the best thing Albini's ever done, although Rapeman and Big Black still hold that honor. Comes in a mini cardboard open reel style tape box.

SHELLAC 1000 Hurts (Touch & Go) lp 14.98
New album from Steve Albini, et al. Almost sounds like an Olympia band doing Shellac. Much more melodic, with more singing and less testifying. Some really beautiful quiet parts and some amazing over distorted loud bits. People have been freaking out, saying this is the best thing Albini's ever done, although Rapeman and Big Black still hold that honor. Comes in a 12" cardboard open reel style tape box, and the vinyl version includes a copy of the cd as well, so you vinyl lovers can have your cake and eat it too -- all for the same price as the cd alone!

SHELLAC At Action Park (Touch & Go) cd 14.98

SHELLAC Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch And Go) cd 14.98
It's hard not to love Shellac. They are definitely one of the best sounding bands in the world. And they still manage to be as weird as all get out. Sonically, their recordings are so loud and live sounding. The players are unbelievably tight and efficient. The drums are like a machine, way up in the mix, driving the songs, so precise and perfect, but somehow still impossibly groovy. The arrangements are simple, but manage to be intense and convoluted and confusing at the same time. Albini is the absolute master of the jagged angular riff. Stripped down minimal math rock, no one does it better. 
So what's a band to do, instead of making another perfect sounding record? Well, howsabout making a not-so-perfect sounding record? Or more specifically making a -mostly- perfect sounding record, but making it so weird and fucked up that it's bound to drive some folks nuts? Which is exactly what they've done. 
The long in the works (6 or 7 years it seems like) Excellent Italian Greyhound definitely sounds like a Shellac record, and in that, we already love it. And it does sound perfect. Most of the songs are relentless and intense, the guitar a precisely tuned rrrrroooooar, veering from sharp shards to warm crunch, in fact, Steve Albini's guitar tone sounds warmer than ever, the bass a throbbing anchor, and the drums, holy shit, Todd Trainer is a mathrock drum cyborg alien master. And the songs! "Steady As She Goes" (we were secretly hoping it was a Raconteurs cover) is a post rock math rock post punk masterpiece. Tightly wound with a killer half time breakdown, and some relentlessly catchy riffing. The next track too, "Be Prepared", is about as good as stuff like this gets. A weird hook, a seasick rhythm, and amazing vocals. And that voice, the same tortured whine, which in the past was another minimal element in Shellac's minimalist sound, is now taking center stage, often wailing all by its lonesome.
And while we're on the subject of vocals, that's one way in which Albini and Co. seemingly decided to fuck with us. Albini's lyrics in Shellac were always a bit, um... mysterious, but here they're downright bizarre, and almost goofy. The opening track "The End Of Radio" has some slightly cheesy bits, some radio style sloganeering, sure there is a point, but it still sounds a little out of place. But leave it to Shellac to take those lyrics and couple them with the weirdest song on the record, musically, with Trainer and Albini seemingly playing two different songs, maybe not even listening to each other, but clicking every few measures, making it obvious that it was meant to be exactly that way. But the song that will probably be the most discussed (in this review as well) is the nine minute long "Genuine Lulabelle", most of which sees Albini crooning romantically a capella. Singing about partying and cum and other weirdness. But as if that wasn't strange enough, other voices enter the fray, the Moviefone guy (?), even Strongbad (?!?!), from Homestarrunner.com... At first we were convinced that Albini had lost it, but the more we hear it, the more it seems just weird enough that it manages to transform the song from annoying and goofy to damaged and demented. And there ain't nothing wrong with damaged and demented. 
The rest of the record is rife with little bits of weirdness, the false starts on "Be Prepared", the jangly surf rock TV theme intro to "Spoke", as well as the usual deconstructed melodies, and abstract rhythmic workouts, but it all fits, it just takes standing back and seeing the big picture, no matter how convoluted and confusing and un-right it seems on the surface. Trust them. They're Shellac. 
MPEG Stream: "The End Of Radio"
MPEG Stream: "Steady As She Goes"
MPEG Stream: "Genuine Lulabelle"

SHELLAC Excellent Italian Greyhound (Touch And Go) lp 14.98
It's hard not to love Shellac. They are definitely one of the best sounding bands in the world. And they still manage to be as weird as all get out. Sonically, their recordings are so loud and live sounding. The players are unbelievably tight and efficient. The drums are like a machine, way up in the mix, driving the songs, so precise and perfect, but somehow still impossibly groovy. The arrangements are simple, but manage to be intense and convoluted and confusing at the same time. Albini is the absolute master of the jagged angular riff. Stripped down minimal math rock, no one does it better. 
So what's a band to do, instead of making another perfect sounding record? Well, howsabout making a not-so-perfect sounding record? Or more specifically making a -mostly- perfect sounding record, but making it so weird and fucked up that it's bound to drive some folks nuts? Which is exactly what they've done. 
The long in the works (6 or 7 years it seems like) Excellent Italian Greyhound definitely sounds like a Shellac record, and in that, we already love it. And it does sound perfect. Most of the songs are relentless and intense, the guitar a precisely tuned rrrrroooooar, veering from sharp shards to warm crunch, in fact, Steve Albini's guitar tone sounds warmer than ever, the bass a throbbing anchor, and the drums, holy shit, Todd Trainer is a mathrock drum cyborg alien master. And the songs! "Steady As She Goes" (we were secretly hoping it was a Raconteurs cover) is a post rock math rock post punk masterpiece. Tightly wound with a killer half time breakdown, and some relentlessly catchy riffing. The next track too, "Be Prepared", is about as good as stuff like this gets. A weird hook, a seasick rhythm, and amazing vocals. And that voice, the same tortured whine, which in the past was another minimal element in Shellac's minimalist sound, is now taking center stage, often wailing all by its lonesome.
And while we're on the subject of vocals, that's one way in which Albini and Co. seemingly decided to fuck with us. Albini's lyrics in Shellac were always a bit, um... mysterious, but here they're downright bizarre, and almost goofy. The opening track "The End Of Radio" has some slightly cheesy bits, some radio style sloganeering, sure there is a point, but it still sounds a little out of place. But leave it to Shellac to take those lyrics and couple them with the weirdest song on the record, musically, with Trainer and Albini seemingly playing two different songs, maybe not even listening to each other, but clicking every few measures, making it obvious that it was meant to be exactly that way. But the song that will probably be the most discussed (in this review as well) is the nine minute long "Genuine Lulabelle", most of which sees Albini crooning romantically a capella. Singing about partying and cum and other weirdness. But as if that wasn't strange enough, other voices enter the fray, the Moviefone guy (?), even Strongbad (?!?!), from Homestarrunner.com... At first we were convinced that Albini had lost it, but the more we hear it, the more it seems just weird enough that it manages to transform the song from annoying and goofy to damaged and demented. And there ain't nothing wrong with damaged and demented. 
The rest of the record is rife with little bits of weirdness, the false starts on "Be Prepared", the jangly surf rock TV theme intro to "Spoke", as well as the usual deconstructed melodies, and abstract rhythmic workouts, but it all fits, it just takes standing back and seeing the big picture, no matter how convoluted and confusing and un-right it seems on the surface. Trust them. They're Shellac. 
MPEG Stream: "The End Of Radio"
MPEG Stream: "Steady As She Goes"
MPEG Stream: "Genuine Lulabelle"

SHELLAC Terraform (Touch & Go) cd 14.98

SHELLEYDEVOTO Buzzkunst (Cooking Vinyl) cd 15.98
Two of the founding members of the seminal British punk-pop band the Buzzcocks have reconvened over twenty five years after their first band's inception. It's Pete Shelley (also known as the stoic figure behind the icy synth-pop alienation classic "Homosapien") and Howard Devoto (also of Magazine and Luxuria) as - surprise - ShelleyDevoto! And while I first expected this to be a cause for celebration, now I'm not so sure. 'Cause when I eagerly pressed 'play' what met my ears was something akin to the weak years of Ultravox or worse yet OMD with overwrought vocals and distracting electronic noodling. Sadly disappointing.
RealAudio clip: "Can You See Me Shining?"

SHENTON, ADRIAN The Measuring Of Moments (Quiet World) cd-r 13.98
We only got in a handful of this album by this English electronic artist, who has released The Measuring Of Moments (which may be his debut?) through Ian Holloway's cd-r imprint Quiet World. Holloway's own deep drone smear had so impressed us on his collaborative album with Darren Tate and Bailey Banks, and even more so on his A Lonely Place solo production, that we have been investigating his affiliated recordings; hence, we've got this album to review and list. Shenton is less inclined toward the all consuming drone evocation, and more about steering Eno's ambient strategies into territories with a bit more drama incorporating plenty of light and shadow into this particularly autumnal album. At his darkest and perhaps most compelling, Shenton works unsettled punctuations of ominous strings into his sustained tones, half formed melodies caught in reverb cascades, and clusters of electronic shimmer. He also revisits some Tubular Bell motifs around soft arppegiations of synthesized chiming, not only bringing Mike Oldfield into the mix but also some of John Carpenter's incidental scores and sound design. Limited to 50 copies!
MPEG Stream: "Expectations"
MPEG Stream: "Good Manners"
MPEG Stream: "Sky Gazing 2"

SHEPHERD The Coldest Day (Exile On Mainstream Records) cd 14.98
Here's the second album from these promising German doomsters, and it's a concept album perhaps, at least in regard to the track titles: "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday" -- there's a song for every day of the week. But the album has eight tracks, which means its has to wind up with the thirteen plus minutes of "Doomsday", the eighth day in Shepherd's apocalyptic week. Musically, this is mid-tempo, rocked-out stoner/doom fare in the vein of Goatsnake or Spirit Caravan. They're definitely into the latter -- indeed, they've brought in none other than the legendary Scott "Wino" Weinrich as a special guest, playing guitar on three of the tracks here and singing on one of 'em as well (demonstrating that Shepherd's usual vocalist doesn't do Wino as well as the man himself). The ultra-dirgey "Doomsday" boasts a special guest as well of interest to many AQ-customers: sax and Rhodes are contributed by a member of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore!
MPEG Stream: "Friday"
MPEG Stream: "Sunday"

SHEPHERD, DOUG Mass Amount Of Love (Plasticage) cd 10.98
We found ourselves showering Doug Shepherd's two new-to-us releases with much adoration even before finding out that he's stacked his decks over the years with terrific guest players from aQ faves Aislers Set and Calexico! Certain familiar traits of those two bands -- bittersweet pop inflections and a bit of rustic desert twang -- make their presence felt, but not obtrusively so. This Portland, OR gent's folk pop songcraft stands strong all on its own. His music runs the pop gamut from gentle and lulling to uptempo and peppery to breezy and janglin'. Aww, all the stuff we love.
Mass Amount Of Love is his 2001 debut full length that was actually recorded back in 1998 right here in SF by one Mr. Wyatt Cusick (of Aislers Set, Track Star and Still Flyin). Imperial Teen's Roddy Bottum and the whole Aislers Set gang contributed to this indie pop luv fest. So wide-eyed and charming, the album closes with a terrific cover of Opal's "A Falling Star".
Psst, the other release that we just got in stock from the man himself is a limited edition cd-r recorded at the famed Wavelab Studios in Tucson, AZ where the wonderful likes of Calexico, M. Ward, Giant Sand and Neko Case frequently work their aural magic. Both are mighty fine and very recommended for fans of all of the abovementioned folks.
MPEG Stream: "Postcard From Everett Ruess"
MPEG Stream: "Majesty And Bloat"

SHEPHERD, DOUG Wavelab Sessions Vol. 2 (Champion Of The New Plastic Age) cd-r 6.98
We found ourselves showering Doug Shepherd's two new-to-us releases with much adoration even before finding out that he's stacked his decks over the years with terrific guest players from aQ faves Calexico and Aislers Set! Certain familiar traits of those two bands -- rustic desert twang and bittersweet pop inflections -- can't help but make their presence felt, but not obtrusively so. This Portland, OR gent's folk pop songcraft stands strong all on its own. His music runs the pop gamut from gentle and lulling to upbeat and peppery to breezy and janglin'. Aww, all the stuff we love.
The ep's delights start right from the opening track "Liquid Gold" which is graced with pretty female backing vocals and some trumpet too (we're guessing it is Rachel Blumberg and Jacob Valenzuela respectively, the credits aren't specific). The following bright tune "Pure Cinema" kicks the tempo up considerably. Good stuff!
This limited edition cd-r's five songs are from a session recorded at the Tucson, AZ studio where the likes of Calexico, M. Ward, Giant Sand and Neko Case regularly lay down their awesome tracks. It's the second release in the studio's Wavelab Sessions series, and is limited to 200! Be quick like a jackalope!
MPEG Stream: "Liquid Gold"
MPEG Stream: "Pure Cinema"

SHEPHERDS Bush Babies (DNT) 7" 4.50

SHEPP, ARCHIE Attica Blues (Impulse) cd 12.98

SHEPP, ARCHIE Black Gipsy (America) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WOW. And do we mean WOW!! Fifteen classic free jazz records from the late sixties / early seventies, long out of print, finally getting the ULTRA deluxe reissue treatment. Incredibly limited, these will probably be out of print before you know it.
Comes in a gorgeous diecut fullcover three panel sleeve, with new artwork, as well as a huge booklet with the original album sleeve notes, new liner notes in french and english as well as a bunch of cool photos. So nice!

SHEPP, ARCHIE Blase (BYG / Get Back) lp 15.98
Reissued here on 180 gram vinyl in a beautiful gatefold sleeve. Originally released in 1969, Archie Shepp, Lester Bowie, and Malachi Favors (from the Art Ensemble of Chicago), Philly Joe Jones, Dave Burrell, and Jeanne Lee. So nice.

SHEPP, ARCHIE Blase/Live At The Pan-African Festival (Charly / BYG / Actuel) 2cd 21.00
BACK IN STOCK! We thought these Charly reissue cds were gone forever, but lo! here they are again. Dunno what's up, but get 'em while you can. So, here's another in that BYG/Actuel reissue series, documenting American avant-garde jazz giants in exile (in France and Algeria) circa '69. Two discs, two albums here with the great tenor saxophonist Archie Shepp leading ensembles featuring the likes of Lester Bowie, Malachi Favors, Philly Joe Jones, Sunny Murray, Alan Silva, and others. Several Algerian and Tuareg musicans make the scene as well (it's the Pan-African Festival after all). Bow down.

SHEPP, ARCHIE Live In San Francisco (Impulse) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SHEPP, ARCHIE Mama Too Tight (Impulse) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SHEPPARD, JENNY GRAF The Guitars Project: Iconic Distortions (BOXmedia) picture disc lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Picture disc, elderly ladies playing improv guitar -- that's what this is! But chopped and mixed enough so the source material is pretty much unrecognizable. Actually we'd almost have preferred to hear the original recordings of the ladies playing guitar!

SHERIFF Sail, Sail Away (Kning Disk) cd ep 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sheriff is the Swedish duo Magnus Granberg (vocals, piano, guitar) and Henrik Olsson (percussion), and this is their second release. They are not men of many words. Absolute barebones, intimate, slow and resonant. A piano's keys are struck, the notes allowed to linger languidly. After a few moments they're joined by a deep, very present male voice sing-speaking a handful of lyrics. Each word joins the notes in the air hanging like amber pendants. The following four tracks offer much the same but the piano is occasionally replaced or joined by low plucked guitar strings and strikes of percussion and bowls. An example of just how Spartan the proceedings are: the third song is titled "Stay, Stay" and that word repeated solemnly over and over again forms the better part of the song's lyrics. Brings to mind the most minimal moments of Slint. Hushed and meditative, Sail, Sail Away is an exercise in utter restraint. Super limited, and soon gone, as we only were able to get a handful...
MPEG Stream: "I Say"
MPEG Stream: "Stay, Stay"

SHERIFF LINDO AND THE HAMMER Ten Dubs That Shook The World (EM Records) cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another lost gem from the fine folks at EM records in Japan. How do they do it? We're having trouble even discerning a pattern other than the fact that pretty much everything they release totally rules! This disc is called Ten Dubs That Shook The World and we weren't actually sure it was even a dub record until we threw it on, but it is, and no surprise here, it absolutely rules! Just the fact that one of the tracks is called "Grossly Overweight Dub" pretty much guaranteed that this would be a winner. The interesting thing about Sherriff Lindo & The Hammer is that it is actually the work of Anthony Maher who just so happens to be a member of sound experimentalists the Loop Orchestra. Which makes a bit of sense, when you realize that the Loop Orchestra utilized only analog tape machines and spliced tape to produce their Jeck like dronescapes. Exactly the sort of musical mind and old school approach that would lead someone to be into folks like Lee Perry, King Tubby, Prince Jammy and the like. So when Maher wasn't meticulously plotting out collaged soundscapes with his loop buddies he was holed up in his home studio concocting a vast array of tripped out psychedelic dubs. We're huge proponents of effects, especially in dub, take that snare, hit the delay and let it repeat forever and ever and ever, better still, change the speed and pitch while it's going and create a stuttering wall of dizzying sound. The Bush Chemists are still the champions when it comes to pushing the limits of FX common sense in the quest for the ultimate dub, but Sheriff Lindo comes close. But this isn't gimmicky or anything, this is true dub, but just with an extra helping of delay, so snares stutter and hiccup, huge swaths of melody get buried in sonic murk before drifting higher and higher in the mix, dreamlike dubs floating in a psych swirl of careening rhythms and subtle simple melodies, so awesome. Definitely one of our new favorite dub records (well, new OLD records, as this came out on lp years ago, only 250 copies pressed, but youknow what we mean). Definitely worthy of a place alongside the Perry's and Jammy's and Tubby's in your collection for sure.
As with all EM releases, super deluxe liner notes, original album cover art, lots of photos, and this time liner notes in English too!!!
MPEG Stream: "Dub House Of Horrors"
MPEG Stream: "Grossly Overweight Dub"

SHERLEY, GLEN Live At Vacaville, CA (Bear Family) cd 17.98
Tragic Johnny Cash protege...