SHRED, DJ TED Mix Tape #2 (Upper Playground) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In the burgeoning new field of hip-hop-destroys-rock-music mixes, as typified by DJs Z-Trip and Jester, local DJ Ted Shred breaks out with a second totally weird and hilarious cd. He'll throw on The Stanley Bros vs DJ Rectangle, Armenian music on top of Method Man, Q-Tip vs Blue Oyster Cult, Dr. Dre vs Bad Brains, Busta Rhymes vs Dio. Yes, it's as gimmicky as Jester and Z-Trip, but it is also kickass and ballsy. Ted Shred's own twist on the formula is that he is constantly shifting the speed of the records. Whether he's a really bad beatmatcher trying lamely to sync up his mixes, or if he's a brilliant prankster who loves changing speeds, melodies, and pitches to surreal effect, we're not sure -- and you'll certainly find yourself befuddled as well, but also looking forward to the next track! And, his phone number is on the disc, so you can ask him yourself... or get him to spin at your next party.
By the way we've got a few more copies of his debut cd too; this is the one that made into Art Forum and Tower Pulse magazine tops of the year 2001 lists!
RealAudio clip: "DJ Rectangle beats vs. The Stanley Brothers"
RealAudio clip: "Dr. Dre vs. Bad Brains"
RealAudio clip: "Aremnia vs. Bubba Sparx and Method Man"

SHRED, DJ TED Mix Tape Vol 3 (Sicmats) cd-r 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The notorious DJ Ted Shred is back. SF's own local master of messed-up mash-up returns with a third volume (a cd-r this time) of his mix tape madness. Ted, if you haven't heard him, is an anything-goes DJ who likes to play hip hop not just next to but right on top of some classic rock...kinda like some of the stuff DJ Z-Trip does. But Ted's even more reckless, less concerned with careful beat-matching than with fitting square pegs into round holes for laffs...and he's got NO concern for 'musical correctness'. So, I guess this is a novelty record, but so much fun. Some examples: CCR vs. Da Beat Minerz, Don Henley vs. Puff Daddy, Whitesnake (and Toto!) vs. Nas, Johnny Cash vs. Arrested Development, Cory Hart vs. Run-DMC, Scorpions vs. Missy Elliott... and on and on. He also has a big collection of old children's records that get much play. You'll also hear the Lord Of The Rings theme, the Oompa Loompas, Dave Chappelle, Conan The Barbarian, and Def Leppard... Ted gets props for doing this stuff with live skillz rather that on a computer, like most of the 'mash-ups' that are all the rage these days. And he puts some thought into the segues, like answering Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" (vs. Mos Def) with the Allman Brothers' "Rambling Man" (vs. Mix Master Mike). Good fun!
MPEG Stream: "Volume 10 vs. Peter Shilling (Major Tom)"
MPEG Stream: "Nancy Sinatra vs. Mos Def"

SHRIMP BOAT Something Grand (Aum Fidelity) 4cd 39.00
For many a year Chicago has churned out some of the most polished, impressive musical artists. Shrimp Boat's membership boasted many of them back when they were mere... uh, brine shrimp? Sam Prekop and Eric Claridge went on to form the Sea And Cake, while Brad Wood went on to produce Liz Phair's Exile In Guyville, as well as loads of Chicago bands. Shrimp Boat's sound is a childlike haphazard amalgam of folk, jazz and pop (among other things!). Percussion is tapped out in rustic, ramshackle fashion. Vocals are often hillbilly-ish yelps and yowls singing spur of the moment storytelling lyrics. Wheezing woozy saxophones stop in for neighborly visits. Really, this gets stranger and more dislocated, but also more cohesive, as it progresses. There are definitely hints of the smooth suave sound that would eventually become the Sea And Cake, and it seems like musically adventurous Sea And Cake fans will definitely want to check this out. For a limited time, this three cd set is actually a FOUR cd set with a whole extra disc of bonus unreleased rarities. Beautifully packaged with a huge book of liner notes and photos.
MPEG Stream: "Rocks Are Oil"
MPEG Stream: "Born In A Sour"
MPEG Stream: "Bumble Bees"

SHRIMP BOAT Speckly (Aum Fidelity) cd 14.98
If you're a Shrimpboat neophyte who found their recent Something Grand boxset (three cds packed with an immense amount of previously unreleased material) simply too massive and unwielding to digest or conversely if you're a fan who just yearns to revisit their more familiar old songs, this is the cd you want/need! It's the reissue of this highly influential Chicago band's debut album from back in 1989. Hurrah! Often seeming inspired by the quirksome likes of Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers (check out "Greenhouse") and clearly a precursor to the yelpy ramshackle pop sounds of bands such as Modest Mouse (check out "Seven Crows") as well as the breezy jazz-inflected postrock sounds of band member Sam Prekop's later endeavors (both solo and in Sea & Cake).
MPEG Stream: "Seven Crows"
MPEG Stream: "Greenhouse"

SHRINE Distorted Legends Pt. 1 (Drone) 7" 9.98
Another surprisingly noisy missive in the latest salve of 7"s from the always impressive Drone Records. This one comes from a one man outfit called Shrine, and as with all Drone discs is gorgeously packaged in a full color sleeve, pressed on thick black vinyl, with a printed cardstock insert printed with metallic ink, and as with the others, first edition, LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!
The record begins all glimmering and glistening, a slowburn of keening feedback and grinding metallic shimmer, the sounds thick and corrosive an caustic, fuzzy, blurred and distorted, with what sounds like filed recordings underneath, dark and dense but still quite lovely. The flipside is the big surprise though, a creepy soundtracky drift, deep pulsing bass notes, and fuzzy Goblin like synths, all ominous and mysterious, plenty of whirring ambience beneath, but over the top those sweeping epic minor key melodies and those haunted house synth swells keep the mood foreboding and a little bit frightening. The track gets more and more intense and distorted as it goes, but never loses its grim chill.

SHRINEBUILDER s/t (Neurot) cd 14.98
Most people cringe upon hearing the word "supergroup," and not without good reason: most supergroups fucking suck. Shrinebuilder, however, is a rare beast, an exception to the general rule, and it almost seems offensive to call them a supergroup. BUT... that's sort of what they are. Consisting of Scott Kelly (Neurosis), Al Cisneros (Om, Sleep), Dale Crover (the Melvins), and Wino (you should know him by now, but let's mention The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan and Saint Vitus!!), Shrinebuilder raised some pretty high hopes, and it seemed impossible that these four living legends would let us down. Thankfully, they haven't. In fact, Shrinebuilder's debut has far exceeded any expectations we had for a project which was pretty much destined to kick our asses in all kinds of different directions. You can detect each musician's individual style, sure, but more than anything, Shrinebuilder seems to follow a decidedly old school approach to heaviness - think Sabbath, Buffalo, that kind of thing - delivering five lengthy songs of groove laden metal heavy on the riffs (no surprise there), doomy bass, awesome to the point drumming, and plenty of spacey FX. There are moments where you have to remind yourself that you aren't listening to Sleep, especially when Al lays on the wah wah pedal, and parts of this album fulfill the fantasies of those who sometimes wish Om had a guitar player. Scott Kelly and Wino are one hell of a guitar team, and there are some amazing moments of fuzzy, sustained harmonies and plenty of chugging overdriven riffage. Crover's drumming is particularly impressive here, not that anyone needs to remind you that the guy slays. His playing here is less busy than it tends to be with the Melvins, and his steady pound suits these songs perfectly. The unmistakable vocal stylings of Wino, Scott, and Al all show up, but one of the band's greatest strengths is the fact that this sounds like the work not of some half assed side project, but of an actual band. So yeah, don't let the whole "supergroup" tag throw you off, as this is a potent brew of fully realized HEAVIOSITY.
MPEG Stream: "Solar Benediction"
MPEG Stream: "Pyramid Of The Moon"

SHUAI Combat Noise (Crucial Blast) 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.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
One man band Shuai makes his noisy lo-fi electronica from a weird mix DHR style digital hardcore breakbeats, throbbing old school synths, blipping bleeping IDM, throbbing hardcore techno and some all out noise. Fans of DHR and meaner/harder IDM stuff should definitely check this out.
RealAudio clip: "Free Form Distortion"
RealAudio clip: "Surrender"
RealAudio clip: "Obey, Conform, And Consume"

SHUB NIGGURATH Les Morts Vont Vite (Gazul / Musea) cd 21.00
Here's something we haven't had in a while, so it seemed worth highlighting again now that we've tracked down some more copies. It's the 1986 debut album (plus 2 bonus tracks) from an amazing French prog band with a shuddersome name, and sound. It combines the classical grandeur of their obvious influence Magma with looser, more experimental sounds. Very dark, heavy and ominous; creepy like Universe Zero. Spooky soprano female vocals give way to noise guitar freakouts and rhythmic passages that bring to mind This Heat. It's kind of mind-blowing, actually in keeping with the concepts of cosmic horror evoked by their H.P. Lovecraft-inspired band name (and if evoking Shub Niggurath weren't enough, there's also a song here called Yog Sothoth). Really, if you want something that sounds like Magma venturing into the realms of sanity-blasting horror, this is it. The first, nearly 17 minute track should have you knocking on the door of the nearest asylum, begging to be let in. Such ominous art rock. Definitely one of our all time fave "Zeuhl" albums outside of the actual Magma masterpieces themselves, indescribably infused with epic Magmoid drama, and that band's signature throbbing bass heavy rhythms.
MPEG Stream: "Yog Sothoth"
MPEG Stream: "Incipit Tragaedia"
MPEG Stream: "La Ballade De Lenore"

SHUDDER TO THINK Curses Spells Voodoo Mooses (Sammich / Dischord) cd 12.98
This review comes courtesy of former Outpunk label head, current A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. label mastermind, gay gangsta and AQ pal Matt Wobensmith!
First time ever on CD, after being out of print for over a decade! Before "emo" was a noun, it was an adjective used to describe the sensitive, post-hardcore stylings of artistic DC punkers, who weren't afraid to cry in public and dedicate songs to trees. Some say Rites of Spring's 1986 self-titled debut album (Dischord Records) is the holy grail of emo. However, this album may well be that genre's defining document. The operatic wailings of Craig Wedren's falsetto -- not unlike Pere Ubu's David Thomas -- were a peculiar contrast to the band's more aggressive punk leanings. Says Craig of this era: "I joined a 'hardcore' group, we did not like each other's sound, they banged, I screeched ... [it] came out sounding, a little like, Ozzy?" From a time when "US hardcore" was mired in socio-political aggression and macho posturing, STT were perhaps a reaction -- ironically from within the ranks of DC bands that were so influential to that movement in the first place. This is a beautiful and enthralling album, impossibly melancholic, with perplexing lyrics from someone who's "heart is filled with 'All May Rise' and 'X Ray Eyes'". Lots of people know Shudder to Think's bizarre, dramatic alt-rock material from subsequent recordings for Dischord and later, Epic, from which most of their fan base is likely drawn. But this record -- while technically inferior and unpolished from a production standpoint -- is still many fans' favorite STT release. Reissue includes four bonus tracks from their first 7" and one unreleased cut as well.
MPEG Stream: "A Vampire's Proposal"
MPEG Stream: "Abysmal Yellow Popcorn Wall"

SHUKAR Bear Tamer's Music (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98

SHUT-INS Sing Songs Of Pain And Joy (self-released) cd 14.98
You might find the title and cover art of this new Shut-Ins' album to be a bit deceiving... We sure did! They give nary a hint of the ol' style hoedown -- with a little luau ("Hawaiian Cowboy" and "Hapa Haole Hula Girl") and sock hop ("Just Because") thrown in for good measure -- contained within. Although the instrumentation (deep warm standup bass, frantic banjo pluckin', sparkling mandolin, slip-slidin' pedal steel) and overall tone is certainly traditional country, the Shut-Ins keep the barndoor wide open and inviting, ably hoppin' about from style to style as they so please, and they do so at such a fevered pace. They even cover Blondie's "Dreaming" in earnest twangin' fashion! Such fun! Just don't forget your gingham tablecloth, saddleshoes and grass skirt. Eighteen songs in all.
MPEG Stream: "Hapa Haole Hula Girl"
MPEG Stream: "Dreaming"

SHUTTLE 358 Frame (12K) cd 14.98

SHY CHILD Noise Won't Stop (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98

SI, CLARO Si, Claro Presents: A Series Of Serious Songs (The First In An Order Of Volumes.) (self-released) cd-r 5.98

SI, CLARO Static on the Station (Phonograph) 7" 4.98
Folks in SF probably remember Brian Girgus from stints behind the kit for AmRep noise rockers Lowercase and of course beloved SF popsters Track Star, but since then, Girgus has been doing something a little different. Well a LOT different than Lowercase, a little different from Trackstar.
The sound is still pop, but unlike Trackstar's jagged loud/soft noisepop, Si, Claro is more straight ahead, more simple and heartfelt. For a while now Girgus has been playing around town with nothing but an acoustic guitar, but for his first foray into a recording studio, he recruited a whole band, and even recorded one track in Sweden with Wyatt from Trackstar. The sound is quite reminiscent of nineties college rock, pure jangle indie rock. Though where Trackstar channeled Pavement, Girgus is less concerned with the noise and dynamics and snark of that side of indie rock, and instead focuses on simple solid songcraft. The two track are both straight ahead, verse chorus verse, acoustic they sounded a bit folky, but fleshed out with an actual band, they sound surprisingly lush, multiple guitars, strummed acoustic and sharper electric, some piano here and there, the drumming solid and swinging, and Girgus' vocals sweet and earnest, the lyrics are simple, sincere, the delivery plaintive, perfectly suited to the strum and jangle and shuffle that backs it up.
A sweetly solid chunk of modern indie jangle pop.

SIAMESE TEMPLE BALL Welcome to the Land of the Smile (self-released) cd 14.98
We recently received an lp simply called "Thai Record". Hmmm, very mysterious we thought, so we threw it on, and were instantly smitten. At the same time, it sounded sort of familiar... but how could that be, what were the odds that some random Thai recording would just so happen to be one we had heard or already owned. It finally clicked, this was no mysterious "Thai Record", this was an old AQ favorite, renamed and pressed on vinyl. Not to infer that it's not mysterious, it most certainly is, it just so happens to be a mystery we had faced before. The record, titled Siamese Temple Ball, was one we had reviewed years ago and was always a steady seller, and for good reason, it's an amazing album. The lp was gone as quick as it came, but it reminded us, that many of you probably missed out on the Siamese Temple Ball cd when we first listed it waaaaaay back, so now here's your chance. A brief discussion of this musical mystery from our original review:
Not much information comes with this disk at all, on the shrink wrap there's a faux pidgen English description claiming: "Flight comes to Thailand in the Year of the Rat. Siamese Temple Ball provide the lilting soundtrack for a chemical journey. Schoolgirls dance bashfully for the expectant throng. Life continues at a comparatively slow pace away from the rigours of fierce sun-light." Which is followed by the (label's) description: "In the tradition of Sun City Girls, Ya Ho Wha 13, The Spacious Mind, Taj Mahal Travellers, Mu, Word of Life, Group 1850, and Ghost, Siamese Temple Ball give maximum pleasure for thirsty brains." Quite a roster of comparisons, the most fitting of which is definitely the Sun City Girls. So while we assume that this record was recorded by a group of precocious, dilettante, ethnomusicologist hipsters, we like to suspend our disbelief and imagine this to be a genuine Folkways-style field recording, as the recording certainly has a genuine field recording presence - a single stereo microphone in a good location. The music itself is a catchy and mesmerizing steady pulse of various and sundry percussion instruments (metal, wood, skin), hollers, yelps, and rococo melodic lines spun out by tinny electric guitars, xylophones, flutes and Khan (mouth organ.) And yes, it's quite good.
MPEG Stream: "Track 1"
MPEG Stream: "Track 2"

SIAN ALICE GROUP 59.59 (The Social Registry) cd 14.98

SIBILANCE s/t cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Thanks to Brian Turner at the mighty WFMU for turning us onto this. Sibilance is a one man ambient-drone-prepared-guitar-musique-concrete project and involves an amazing array of instrumentation and techniques. The end result is a gorgeously hypnotic, ambient soundscape of whir and hum and rumble and clatter. So nice. Here's the list of instrumentation from the man himself:
"Prepared electric guitar (using electric toothbrushes), field recordings of metal objects being scraped alongside a building at night, field recording of a train, prepared electric guitar (capo at the 12th fret, strings being played behind capo), prepared electric guitar w/delay pedal (screwdriver wedged between strings, sound is screwdriver hitting guitar body), prepared electric guitar (screwdriver used as a slide), prepared acoustic steel string guitar (various objects wedged under strings, played like a hammer dulcimer), prepared electric guitar (sounds kind of train-like, screwdrivers wedged between strings), slowed down field recording of static on an AM radio, prepared piano (various objects strategically placed between certain strings), slowed down field recording of typing on a keyboard, slowed down prepared guitar (hammer dulcimer style), field recording of frogs at night and teenagers screaming from the back of a passing truck, standard acoustic steel string guitar, prepared electric guitar & cat (drumstick wedged under strings being snapped against guitar body, while bowing strings w/violin bow), slowed down recording of prepared acoustic guitar (played dulcimer style), normal speed recording of prepared acoustic guitar (dulcimer setup), even slower recordings of two prepared acoustic guitars (hammer dulcimer type setup on both), prepared electric guitar (played with violin bow and objects wedged under strings moved to change tension), prepared electric guitar & delay pedal (played using violin bow, sounds whale-like), prepared electric guitar (objects under strings moved to change tension while strumming), standard classical guitar & field recordings of birds, backwards odd improv with acoustic and classical guitars, field recording of very strong thunderstorm (complete with sirens), slowed down recording of prepared electric guitar (screwdriver wedged under strings, vibrating against guitar body), normal speed recording of prepared electric guitar (with screwdriver wedged under strings as before), standard electric guitar & backwards recording of prepared acoustic guitar (played with screwdriver serving as a kind of bow), prepared acoustic guitar (played hammer dulcimer style), prepared electric guitar (setup with a few screwdrivers wedged under alternating strings, vibrating all over the place), slowed down backwards recording of prepared electric guitar (using objects wedged under strings and played with violin bow)." Wow. But like we said, it's the music that counts, and the music is lovely and entrancing. Fans of the Dead C, Gate, Birchville Cat Motel and the like will dig this quite a bit.
MPEG Stream: "Sibilance"

SIC ALPS A Long Way Around To A Shortcut (Animal Disguise) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've long been extolling the kick ass retro distorto pop virtues of SF's own Sic Alps. A series of awesome lps, 7"s, cassettes, all way too limited and gone in a flash.
Well the dudes at Animal Disguise have got your back, compiling almost all of those out of print goodies, here's a list: the Description Of The Harbor 12", the Strawberry Guillotine 7", the Semi-Streets 7", the Teenage Alps cassette, the Soft Tour In Rough Form 12", a track from the Hip Hop Shop Sweepers comp and one unreleased song. Whew! That's 26 tracks, in less than an hour, a joyous chunk of noisy, distortion drenched noisepop, lilting, falsetto vocals, detuned guitars, plink plonk piano, everything soaked in reverb and delay, gloriously ramshackle and DIY.
The disc opens with a Strapping Fieldhands cover (definitely one of Sic Alps' sonic forefathers) that begins all pretty and minor key and evolves into a super abstract field of high end ambience, random percussive clatter and feedback. From that point on, the disc offers up short and sharp track after track, acoustic guitars, woodblocks, maracas, shakers, simple drums, more piano, sing songy Lou Reed-ish vocals, super tinny electric guitar, blown out distortion, awesome druggy fuzz, woozy grooves, buzzy distorted old school garage rock, acid fried psych pop, and lots and lots of NOISE. It's no coincidence that Sic Alps shared members with other noisepop locals like Iran and the Coachwhips. Fans of those bands will definitely dig this stuff too.
Messy, chaotic, wild and wooly, rocking and weird, stripped down and distorted, fuzzy and noisy, what more could you want?
MPEG Stream: "Description Of The Harbor (Strapping Field Hands)"
MPEG Stream: "Strawberry Guillotine"
MPEG Stream: "And What Came Next"
MPEG Stream: "Arthur Machen"

SIC ALPS A Long Way Around To A Shortcut (Drag City) lp 21.00
Now available on VINYL!!! Which is especially good, as the cd is out of print and no longer available, so grab one of these while you can...
All the better, since it's been out of print in the cd format for a while. Here's what we said about it when we did have the cd:
We've long been extolling the kick ass retro distorto pop virtues of SF's own Sic Alps. A series of awesome lps, 7"s, cassettes, all way too limited and gone in a flash.
Well, A Long Way Around To A Shortcut compiles almost all of those out of print goodies, here's a list: the Description Of The Harbor 12", the Strawberry Guillotine 7", the Semi-Streets 7", the Teenage Alps cassette, the Soft Tour In Rough Form 12", a track from the Hip Hop Shop Sweepers comp and one unreleased song. Whew! That's 26 tracks, in less than an hour, a joyous chunk of noisy, distortion drenched noisepop, lilting, falsetto vocals, detuned guitars, plink plonk piano, everything soaked in reverb and delay, gloriously ramshackle and DIY. And on vinyl now too no less!!
The disc opens with a Strapping Fieldhands cover (definitely one of Sic Alps' sonic forefathers) that begins all pretty and minor key and evolves into a super abstract field of high end ambience, random percussive clatter and feedback. From that point on, the disc offers up short and sharp track after track, acoustic guitars, woodblocks, maracas, shakers, simple drums, more piano, sing songy Lou Reed-ish vocals, super tinny electric guitar, blown out distortion, awesome druggy fuzz, woozy grooves, buzzy distorted old school garage rock, acid fried psych pop, and lots and lots of NOISE. It's no coincidence that Sic Alps shared members with other noisepop locals like Iran and the Coachwhips. Fans of those bands will definitely dig this stuff too.
Messy, chaotic, wild and wooly, rocking and weird, stripped down and distorted, fuzzy and noisy, what more could you want?
MPEG Stream: "Description Of The Harbor (Strapping Field Hands)"
MPEG Stream: "Strawberry Guillotine"
MPEG Stream: "And What Came Next"
MPEG Stream: "Arthur Machen"

SIC ALPS Fool's Mag (Folding) cassette 5.98
Another little chunk of fractured noise pop from local popkid Sic Alps aka Mike Donovan. This is not super new, but odds are most folks never got their hands on it, as the label (Donovan, actually) sort of stopped making them for a while. So after a bit of nudging and cajoling, Fool's Mag is finally available again... for the first time, sort of. An ep length collection of that fuzzy washed out pop we've grown to love, and that only Sic Alps seems to kick out. Folks who dig stuff like Iran and Oh Sees, who haven't heard Sic Alps should really give it a chance, as they traffic in the same sort of hook filled noise drenched poppiness.
Short and sharp, warm muted distorted guitars, simple Pavement-y drumming, whiney sad boy vox, that occasionally slip into a strained falsetto, awesome buzzy sort-of-leads, lush harmonies, all buried in hiss and murk, the sound WAY lo-fi, but somehow the pop still shines through, hooks galore, melodies that will stick in your head like crazy, some of the best Sic Alps songs so far.
Not sure how long we'll have these, we did get a bunch, but you never know...

SIC ALPS L. Mansion / Superlungs My Supergirl (Slumberland) 7" 4.50
Sic Alps just keep getting better and better. This new jam "L. Mansion" is definitely one of our favorites so far. Cool and stripped down, acoustic guitar and shuffling drums, a killer vocal line, lots of 'woooooo's, a rad reverbed piano 'solo', sounds like an acoustic version of some classic post punk / new wave jam from the eighties. The flipside is a cover, of Donovan's "Superlungs My Supergirl". We were pretty much convinced that Terry Reid's version was UNTOUCHABLE, and while Sic Alps' take on this classic doesn't quite measure up, it's still plenty bad ass, and they definitely give it their own flavor, super distorted lo-fi guitars, big booming drums, pounded piano, softly crooned vocals, some wild psych leads, plenty of feedback, and all wrapped in an awesomely buzzy wall of sound production.

SIC ALPS Pleasures And Treasures (Animal Disguise Recordings) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What manner of warble is this? Why, it's AQ pal Mike Donovan's local cave pop unit, Sic Alps, in what looks to be their debut full length that (thankfully!) for once is not uber-limited. Featuring members of Erase Errata and The Hospitals, Sic Alps brand of noise pop is akin to listening to a beat up Troggs 45 while robotripping. Subterranean beats, murky vocals, echo-y sheets of feedback and dirty shimmer mask the sublimest of pop songs, leaving us to suspect if the Coachwhips were played on 16 rpm, they might sound a lot like this. Love it!!
MPEG Stream: "Semi-Streets"
MPEG Stream: "Reconnectionland"

SIC ALPS Pleasures And Treasures (Animal Disguise Recordings) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
What manner of warble is this? Why, it's AQ pal Mike Donovan's local cave pop unit, Sic Alps, in what looks to be their debut full length that (thankfully!) for once is not uber-limited. Featuring members of Erase Errata and The Hospitals, Sic Alps brand of noise pop is akin to listening to a beat up Troggs 45 while robotripping. Subterranean beats, murky vocals, echo-y sheets of feedback and dirty shimmer mask the sublimest of pop songs, leaving us to suspect if the Coachwhips were played on 16 rpm, they might sound a lot like this. Love it!!
MPEG Stream: "Semi-Streets"
MPEG Stream: "Reconnectionland"

SIC ALPS s/t (Folding) cassette 2.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a short cassette released by AQ pal Mike Donovan (Big Techno Werewolves, Nam, Sounds Of The Barbary Coast, The Ropers, Dial Records) of his current band Sic Alps whome you might recall from their split 7" with California Lightening (featuring members of Erase Errata)! As with most releases by the very DIY San Francisco fella Mr. Donovan, there is only going to be a very small homespun run of these made, so needless to say, don't snoooooze!
Pssst... we also have a small number of some other Folding cassette releases, all with hand made covers -- a short one from Death Sentence: Panda plus a compilation he compiled with artist Chris Johanson called SSSSSOSS2 and ones by Dark Yellow Swans (aka Yellow Swans) and NVH with Six Organs Of Admittance's Ben Chasny. Dust off yer cassette deck!

SIC ALPS Semi Streets (Skulltones) 7" 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More limited edition noisy guitar dissonance from SF's Sic Alps. Four gnarled songs including the title track which also appears on their most recent full length Pleasures And Treasures.
Limited to 300 hand numbered copies.

SIC ALPS Strawberry Guillotine 7" (Woodsist) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fans of Sic Alps, your fave band is keeping their primal distorto-rock love flowin' with their latest 7"! Three new songs, the title track "Strawberry Guillotine" is a commentary on and a dedication to the Bay Area homeless. As with most Sic Alps releases we don't know for certain how long we'll have these in stock, so best to get 'em while you can (which is now)!

SIC ALPS The Soft Tour In Rough Form (Mt. St. Mtn.) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local noise pop murk merchants have pretty much inherited the grimey, grungey, blown out psych pop crown from the seemingly now defunct Iran. They have the same sort of Beatlesque pop sensibility and choose to bury it in all sorts of grit and hiss and crackle and feedback. Total blown out indie jangle, warped and warbled super affected vocals, lurching grooves, guitars drenched in crumbling distortion and swaddled in swirls of fuzzy shimmer, the drums a Neanderthal pound sounding like they were recorded in a cave, the vocals like Lennon heard through a cracked kaleidoscope. This is the NWOSFNP (New Wave of San Francisco Noise Pop), a wonderfully fractured, totally free and massively fucked up pop music. We love it!
Released and designed by the arts and music collective Mount Saint Mountain (who also released the Mall 12" reviewed a few lists back), packaged in a super cool three panel silkscreened chipboard sleeve, adorned with weird hand drawn bulls, and limited to 300 copies!

SIC ALPS U.S. EZ (Siltbreeze) cd 13.98
Now that Iran seem to be dead. And the Church Steps are gone. And the Coach Whips are no more. Well, it's up to Sic Alps to keep the SF noise pop freak flag flying!
It always seemed that sonically, these guys belonged on Siltbreeze, and lo and behold, it has come to pass. For those who are new to Sic Alps, imagine a fractured noise drenched lo-fi garage pop, rife with blown out drums, simple detuned guitars, lazy drawled vocals, tons of reverb and distortion, all tangled up into some seriously catchy pop. Guided By Voices, Strapping Fieldhands, Pavement, but with plenty of hazy sixties psych, a killer lo-fi Phil Spector-ish wall of sound production, and a bit of corrosive noise and fractured amp buzz a la the Dead C. 
U.S. EZ leans way more toward the pop than the noise, many of the songs, eschewing any sort of noise or distortion completely, offering up instead, a sort of shimmery sixties soft pop, all jangly guitars, and reverbed background vocals, but elsewhere the band rocks pretty hard, channeling classic nineties slacker indie rock, through modern noise rock, via some fuzzy retro garage, the result as we mentioned before, often ends up sounding like a Beach Boys or Hollies record on Siltbreeze. Which should be recommendation enough. Dwyer from the Oh Sees says it's worth it just for the track "Gelly Roll Gum Drop"!!
MPEG Stream: "Gelly Roll Gum Drop"
MPEG Stream: "Massive Place"
MPEG Stream: "Bric Jaz"

SIC ALPS United (Important Records) 7" 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ultra ultra limited one sided 7"s from local noisepop faves Sic Alps. Pressed on clear blue vinyl, packaged in a plain white sleeve with a black and white sticker and NO information, this just might be the poppiest Sic Alps yet. Beginning with revving engines and super distorted drums, the track soon launches into some sunny jangly reverb drenched pop, all clean jangly guitars, summery sing songy vocals, a super catchy melody, classic old school Phil Spector style lo-fi production, it's almost a shame it's only one song. Like a noise rock Archies, or the Beach Boys recording for Siltbreeze. Good stuff. And, it's a Throbbing Gristle cover fyi!

SIC ALPS US EZ (Siltbreeze) lp 14.98
Now On Vinyl!
Now that Iran seem to be dead. And the Church Steps are gone. And the Coach Whips are no more. Well, it's up to Sic Alps to keep the SF noise pop freak flag flying!
It always seemed that sonically, these guys belonged on Siltbreeze, and lo and behold, it has come to pass. For those who are new to Sic Alps, imagine a fractured noise drenched lo-fi garage pop, rife with blown out drums, simple detuned guitars, lazy drawled vocals, tons of reverb and distortion, all tangled up into some seriously catchy pop. Guided By Voices, Strapping Fieldhands, Pavement, but with plenty of hazy sixties psych, a killer lo-fi Phil Spector-ish wall of sound production, and a bit of corrosive noise and fractured amp buzz a la the Dead C. 
U.S. EZ leans way more toward the pop than the noise, many of the songs, eschewing any sort of noise or distortion completely, offering up instead, a sort of shimmery sixties soft pop, all jangly guitars, and reverbed background vocals, but elsewhere the band rocks pretty hard, channeling classic nineties slacker indie rock, through modern noise rock, via some fuzzy retro garage, the result as we mentioned before, often ends up sounding like a Beach Boys or Hollies record on Siltbreeze. Which should be recommendation enough. Dwyer from the Oh Sees says it's worth it just for the track "Gelly Roll Gum Drop"!!
MPEG Stream: "Gelly Roll Gum Drop"
MPEG Stream: "Massive Place"
MPEG Stream: "Bric Jaz"

SIC ALPS / CALIFORNIA LIGHTENING Four Virgins (City Records) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A super limited split single by two raw SF art-rock hotties! On special occasions half of Erase Errata (namely Jenny and Bianca) splinter off to form the dynamic duo California Lightening (no, not Lightning). And when Sic Alps convene they usually star Hospitals' Adam Stonehouse and Mike Donovan (of Big Techno Werewolves and Church Steps and a heap of other projects), but on this record the abovementioned Jenny (oh yeah, and she's also a member of Burmese!) and Flying Luttenbachers' Weasel Walter join in the S.A. fray too. The record sleeve features those participants, minus Mr. Walter, remaking the Lennon/Ono Two Virgins album cover photo. That in itself is an attention grabber, but then there's their music to keep you glued too. Sic Alps proclaim "I Am Grass" in their peculiar hazy, glazed-eye dissonant fashion and California Lightening offer up a churning menace in "Basement". Ultra limited pressing of 300 of which we've only got a handful, so either act now or whimper to yourself when they're all gone!

SICK ANCHORS, THE s/t (Lost Dog) cd ep 11.98
Hello! A three-song import single from the side project group of famous Scottish postrockers Aidan Moffat (Arab Strap) and Stuart Braithwaite (Mogwai). It's really nice, albeit a bit of a novelty as all three songs are covers. There's a gorgeous downer version of #1 hit "Whole Again" by girl group Atomic Kitten, a version of The Fall's "Bill is Dead" that's tighter and better than the original, and a short but sinister rendition of the Mills Bros' "You Always Hurt the One You Love". There's incandescent guitar dripping with emotion, Moffat's whisper-growl of a voice, and a lovely sheen of depression throughout. Well done.
Is Sick Anchors slang for anything?
RealAudio clip: "Whole Again"

SICK THINGS The Sounds of Silence (Au Go Go) cd 10.98
Reissued documentation of guitarist Mick Turner's punk days, before the Dirty Three and Venom P. Stinger!

SICKOAKES Seawards (Type) cd 15.98
The beginning of Sickoakes' Seawards album may make you mildly seasick. The notes ringing out from the guitars list back and forth, bending and reverberating in a woozy fashion. This Swedish post-rock sextet augment the basic rock instrumentation of guitar, bass and drums with saxophones, trumpet and trombones. Their first album's seven tracks are big on haunting, soaring atmospheres with no vocals save for a smattering of dialogue samples. The standout is definitely "Oceans On Hold" with its brisk tempo (sorry no pun intended) driven forth by the slinky swift guitar picking and propulsive drumming. The number gradually slows to a thawing glacial glisten. Yes, fans of Godspeed and Mogwai, there's a new kid in town. A beautiful debut.
MPEG Stream: "Oceans On Hold"
MPEG Stream: "Wedding Rings & Bullets In The Same Golden Shrine (Part I)"

SIDDHI In The Wind (Akoustic Desease) cd-r 13.98
A few lists back, we got a great response to a disc we listed by Sicilian drone duo Comet III, their debut album Astral Voyager, a totally "kosmiche" trip in ye olde krautrock vein. One half of Comet III, their "space guitarist", has a new cd-r out recorded under the name Siddhi, released by the Italian micro-label Akoustic Desease, and we of course grabbed some asap (they're limited to just 115 numbered copies). So we have a few to share with you and then that's probably it!
Space guitarist indeed. This is way spacey, yet with a folky vibe. 5 songs, 45 psychedelic minutes. Drifting electronic drones, quiet and lovely. Rustling percussive rattle. Repetitive guitar ornament. Slow and stately. Mellow melancholic bliss. Forgive us the sentence fragments, it's just that we're trancing out within Siddhi's cosmic, elemental embrace...
As we said, super limited. Packaged in colorful, stiff cardboard sleeves.
MPEG Stream: "Spirals"
MPEG Stream: "Waters"

SIDEWINDER Colonized (Mille Plateaux) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Final, Techno Animal) and Kevin Martin (God, Ice, Techno Animal) get together again as The Sidewinder to mix up some heavy modern lo-fi electronica. On the always-interesting Mille Plateaux label.

SIEBENSUNDEN Teratologen (I Hate Records) cd 15.98

SIEGE Drop Dead (Deranged) cd 16.98
So many grind/metalcore/hardcore bands over the years owe more than a few pennies to Boston's hardcore/grind pioneers Siege. In fact, a lot of those bands owe them EVERYTHING!
Much like the length of their songs, their time as a band was brief, but in just two short years they laid waste to many with their intense sound and energy. Bands like Napalm Death and a whole slew of early Earache/Noiseville acts made pretty decent careers for themselves taking that Siege sound and running with it, some of them continuing to do it even now, in fucking 2007!
This cd collects all their compilation tracks as well as all the "official release" stuff, and while this ain't a very long player, Siege managed to get to the point REAL QUICK, without wasting much more than some picks, some guitar strings, a bunch of drumsticks and last but not least YOUR GODDAMN EARDRUMS! One of the greatest and heaviest punk (metal?) bands ever!
MPEG Stream: "Drop Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Walls"
MPEG Stream: "Sad But True"

SIEGE Drop Dead (Deep Six) lp 9.98
So many grind/metalcore/hardcore bands over the years owe more than a few pennies to Boston's hardcore/grind pioneers Siege. In fact, a lot of those bands owe them EVERYTHING!
Much like the length of their songs, their time as a band was brief, but in just two short years they laid waste to many with their intense sound and energy. Bands like Napalm Death and a whole slew of early Earache/Noiseville acts made pretty decent careers for themselves taking that Siege sound and running with it, some of them continuing to do it even now, in fucking 2007!
This CD collects all their compilation tracks as well as all the "official release" stuff, and while this ain't a very long player, Siege managed to get to the point REAL QUICK, without wasting much more than some picks, some guitar strings, a bunch of drumsticks and last but not least YOUR GODDAMN EARDRUMS! One of the greatest and heaviest punk (metal?) bands ever!
MPEG Stream: "Drop Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Walls"
MPEG Stream: "Sad But True"

SIEWERT, MARTIN Komfort 2000 (Charhizma) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Experimental quintet fronted by Martin Siewert and including former Naked City keyboard player Wayne Horowitz. Meditations on water dripping are conceived here as a continuous performance. Churning guitars blend into tinkering effects and improv drum sweeps with a surprisingly lovely effect.

SIEWERT, MARTIN No Need To Be Lonesome (Mosz) cd 15.98
This actually came out a few months back but we've been waiting and waiting for more to show up in stock so we could review it...now they're here, so here goes: it's Austrian experimental guitarist Martin Siewert's new solo album, wherein he gets into more of an electronic pop thing than we've heard from him before. Has Siewert gone techno? Well there IS some poppy, techno-ish glitch blip stuff on here, and it's good -- but the two longest tracks (like, 14 minutes and 18 minutes) get into a droney, textural zone similar to the electro-acoustic improv work we've enjoyed by Siewert in the past. And one of these epics benefits from the live drumming of Tony Buck of AQ-faves The Necks! Also appearing on the album are prior Siewert collaborators Werner Dafeldecker, Patrick Pulsinger and Radian's Martin Brandlmayr (no slouch in the drumming dep't. either!).
MPEG Stream: "Just When We Thought It Was Safe"
MPEG Stream: "No Need To Be Lonesome"

SIEWERT, MARTIN & MARTIN BRANDLMAYR Too Beautiful To Burn (Erstwhile) cd 14.98
Experimental electro-acoustic improv label Erstwhile has put out a lot of great stuff, but this is perhaps their best release in a while! Too Beautiful To Burn documents the musical meeting of two Martins, guitarist Martin Siewert and drummer Martin Brandlmayr, both from Austria. Siewart we've heard before playing in groupings with the likes of Christian Fennesz, Werner Dafeldecker, Taku Sugimoto, Kevin Drumm, and Jim O'Rourke to name a few. Meanwhile, Brandlmayr we know as the drummer for the fantastic Viennese post-rock outfit Radian. Together, with Martin S. manipulating guitars, lap steel, electonics and synth and Martin B. playing drums, percussion and vibraphone, they've conjured a wonderful 5 track, 45 minute soundscape, ranging from Raster-Noton or Sachiko M style sine-wave tonalities to more vigorous abstract noise that at times even reminds us of the Dead C.
This is spacious, minimal, very beautiful stuff, with layers of gentle electronics, hiss and drone, and glitchy rhythms. Radian fans can perhaps imagine an ambient version of that band, more mellow and drifty. With the guitar as sound source, certainly fellow Austrian Fennesz would be another referent. The duo's live playing gives this a physicality so often absent from laptop computer music, so even though their sounds enter the hard-disc realm at some point, they retain a warm, human element. You can get a sense of how this originated in a live event with two musicans interacting. Extremely successful, and indeed, too beautiful to burn -- so buy it.
MPEG Stream: "Form "
MPEG Stream: "Is This Love?"

SIGH A Tribute to Venom (The End) lp+cd 22.00
Pretty much every black metal band in the world owes their very existence to Venom, hell, the very name of the genre comes from the title of a Venom album, and while the sound has changed over the last couple decades, the template is not all that different, buzzing guitars, galloping drums, Satanic lyrics. And sure, the sound has indeed spiraled out in every possible direction, from dirgey depressive buzz, to lightning speed blast, few have taken the sound further OUT than Japan's enigmatic Sigh, who throughout their nearly two decade existence, have incorporated Morricone style motifs, psychedelic rock, lounge-y jazz, over the top cabaret and lots of saxophone into their already twisted blackness.
So what to expect when Sigh decide to take on a set of songs by their black metal forefathers? Well, perhaps we might have expected something a LOT more demented than this, but hell, it's a bit refreshing to hear Sigh just sort of thrash and rock out without going totally haywire. With special guests Dan Lilker from Brutal Truth and Shane Embury of Napalm Death, Sigh have let their sexy saxophonist Dr. Mikannibal (who is really a doctor apparently) sit this one out (although she does sing a bit) so the band can spit out 7 kick ass blasts of old school pounding metal. Which is exactly what you get. These versions are not really all that far removed from the originals, heavy and intense and furious, but also wild and sloppy and a bit chaotic and loose, which when you think about it pretty much perfectly captures the peculiar essence of Venom. They picked a couple strange songs to cover too, the bluesy "Teacher's Pet" and the epic dramatic piano workout of "Mayhem With Mercy", but for the most part this is nothing but thrashing and buzzing old school black metal, heavy on the metal.
Weird only in that it's not that weird at all for Sigh, so folks expecting something fucked up and demented might be a bit disappointed, but most metalheads will be in heavy metal heaven, er, hell.
Released as an lp, packaged with a cd (not a cd-r) containing all the same songs!

SIGH Gallows Gallery (Baphomet Records) cd 11.98
Whoa! We were taken by surprise (in several ways) by the sudden appearance of a new album from Japanese black metal mavericks Sigh. We all loved the avant garde, psychedelic, stoner rock horror show of their 2001 disc Imaginary Sonicscape but we hadn't heard much about them since. Well, the press release for Gallows Gallery explains that this sixth Sigh opus was recorded last year but Century Media, previous label, refused to release it because it allegedly makes use of experimental, illegal "sonic weapon techniques" developed during World War II! Warning is given that this album could be hazardous to the listener's health -- in fact, supposedly one of the members of Sigh was hospitalized during the recording sessions due to the effects of this sonic weapon stuff. But... we're having a hard time believing all that! If you're expecting some sort of bowel-rupturing, flesh-decaying subsonic rumble you'll have to get a different cd (I'm sure we can find you something). Listening to this record is more likely to leave one puzzled rather than sickened.
Having heard it, our guess is that the REAL reason that Century Media dropped Sigh is that, even by Sigh's previous standards, this is just so darn eccentric, confusing, and (to us) amusing. We're thinking that if this "sonic weapon" stuff exists, it operates in the realm of psychological warfare, 'cause it does seem possible that this music could drive a person insane. IT certainly is! Kind of like the way a catchy jingle might drive you crazy. They've definitely upped the pop element of their sound here. That's right, POP. But not normal pop that could ever be, uh, popular. No this is weird...weird....weird. And it's still metal of course. Just not black metal really, more like European "power metal" with speedy drums and hooky choruses. But their voices are kind of chipmunky, and there's weird effects, psychedelic organ jamming, throat singing, sitars and saxophones... Yup, their genre-fuckery is still in full effect. This might sound like Dag Nasty punk one second, Iron Maiden metal the next, with a schmaltzy lounge-jazz interlude following that! And the James Bond theme gets hinted at as well. Totally the sort of thing that should be on Trey Spruance's Mimicry label, though it's on Baphomet instead.
Apparently whatever Japanese insane asylum wherein the guys in Sigh reside allows visitors, as this album features members of the Meads Of Asphodel (who are about the only band in the world that we'd say are all that similar to Sigh!), Necrophagia, The Red Chord, Yakuza, Dark Tranquility, Firewind, and Thine, helping out with the shredding guitar runs, dramatic narration, saxophone solos, and things like that. Someone else also contributes a trancey techno remix of one of the album's songs at the end of the disc, preceeded by the untitled electronic noises of track ten, which we suspect might be the "weaponized" one. So...be careful, especially since it's gonna require repeated exposure to ever figure this album out.
MPEG Stream: "Confession To Be Buried"
MPEG Stream: "Midnight Sun"

SIGH Hail Horror Hail (Cacophonous) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Want weird? Watch out for this Japanese black metal band that tries to combine New Wave of British Heavy Metal guitar licks with Schoenbergian classical chamber music--it's like Venom sitting in with Bernard Herrmann to score a horror flick. One guy in the band is credited with, among other things of course, playing the triangle! See the quote at end of this month's AQ-L for more info!

SIGH Hangman's Hymn (The End) cd 12.98
It's a panic attack of over the top black metal theatrics from this notoriously 'round the bend band from Japan! The frantic tempo barely ever lets up as Sigh cram as much in the way of grandiose keyboards, blazing fretwork, thundering drums, and pompous choirs as they can into every nutty nook and crazy cranny of this album. The rapid, rasping delivery of the liberetto is dizzying too... we say "liberetto" because this album is divided into three acts, and has a definite operatic feel to it. Black metal opera. At 200 mph. It's like they've been listening to a lot of Devil Doll and Cradle Of Filth back to back, on crack.
Starting off years and years ago as Japan's truest "Nordic" black metal act (with their first album set for release on Euronymous of Mayhem's record label, before his murder by Count Grishnack of Burzum), Sigh went on to establish a career of horror soundtrack-inspired genre-fuckery that had critics comparing 'em to John Zorn and the Boredoms as much as Burzum. After their brilliant mashup of stoner rock psych and black metal mayhem on 2001's Imaginary Sonicscape, this cult took things maybe a bit too far for some of their fans with the unexpected (even for them) chipmunk-voiced poppy power metal moves of that album's long-awaited follow-up in 2005, Gallows Gallery. WE were happily confused and amused, though. And now Sigh has sharpened their blades to shred even harder on this album, dispensing with the chipmunks and also with the occasional saxophone lounge jazz and techno detours that popped up on Gallows Gallery. Absurdly bombastic, mixing heavy metal heroics with Morricone melodies, the fierce, frenzied, fixated Hangman's Hymn is as ridiculous as anything they've done but also undeniably, insanely impressive and entertaining.
MPEG Stream: "Introitus / Kyrie"
MPEG Stream: "Inked In Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Me-Devil"

SIGH Imaginary Sonicscape (Century Media) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japan's best black metal band (along with Sabbat) are back with their first US domestic release, having just been signed by big metal label Century Media. We've always been fans of their fucked-up genre-mangling horror movie soundtrack metal, and this might be their best album yet! While Sigh are considered a black metal band, that has more to do with their history (you'll read in the Lords of Chaos book that their first album was supposed to be released on Euronymous' Deathlike Silence label, before he got stabbed to death) and love of Venom, than their actual sound, which manages to combine '80s heavy metal licks with everything from lounge-jazz to 20th century classical. At first listen, "Imaginary Sonicscape" might seem less crazed than some of their previous efforts, but that's just 'cause they've become masters at writing good metal songs whose weirdly juxtaposed components actually gel rather than jar (and also because the first track is one of the most conventionally accessible). You'll get totally into this as a heavy metal record, nodding your head to the riffs and so forth, and then suddenly "wake up" and wonder what the hell is going on with the sizzling '70s psychedelic synths and handclaps and disco breaks and pop hooks and classical piano solos, etc. Yet it flows so well, you'll still be nodding your head just the same. Imagine Venom, Ennio Morricone, Sleep, The Boredoms, Loudness, Boston, Goblin, and Satyricon (and their respective record collections as well) all rolled into one fat PCP-dusted joint. Hallucinogenic, catchy, absurd, fucking incredible.
RealAudio clip: "Ecstatic Transformation"
RealAudio clip: "Nietzschean Conspiracy"
RealAudio clip: "A Sunset Song"

SIGH Imaginary Sonicscape (The End) cd 13.98
Not only is this a welcome disc to have back in our shop, being our favorite album by this unique Japanese "black metal" band... but we (and you?) might have to buy it again 'cause this now features 2 bonus tracks and one "extended version" not on the original edition. Imaginary Sonicscape was Sigh's first domestic US release, originally on the Century Media label. It's the one with the Stephen O'Malley art/design. Now that they're signed to The End it's been re-released. When it first came out, we said we'd always been fans of their fucked-up genre-mangling horror movie soundtrack metal, and that this might be their best album yet! And while we like what they've done since, it's still our fave.
Though Sigh are considered a black metal band, that has more to do with their history (you'll read in the Lords of Chaos book that their first album was supposed to be released on Euronymous' Deathlike Silence label, before he got stabbed to death) and love of Venom (as evidenced by their recent Venom tribute album), than their actual sound, which manages to combine '80s heavy metal licks with everything from lounge-jazz to 20th century classical. At first listen, Imaginary Sonicscape might seem less crazed than some of their previous efforts, but that's just 'cause they've become masters at writing good metal songs whose weirdly juxtaposed components actually gel rather than jar (and also because the first track is one of the most conventionally accessible). You'll get totally into this as a heavy metal record, nodding your head to the riffs and so forth, and then suddenly "wake up" and wonder what the hell is going on with the sizzling '70s psychedelic synths and handclaps and disco breaks and pop hooks and classical piano solos, etc. Yet it flows so well, you'll still be nodding your head just the same. Imagine Venom, Ennio Morricone, Sleep, The Boredoms, Loudness, Boston, Goblin, and Satyricon (and their respective record collections as well) all rolled into one fat PCP-dusted joint. Hallucinogenic, catchy, absurd, fucking incredible.
The bonus tracks are worthy. One, "Voices" being a creepy/mellow 7-minute drift of processed voices, synth burps, and piano tinkling... the other "Born Condemned Criminal" (originally on the Japanese version of the album only) features a lot of snazzy organ jamming.
MPEG Stream: "Ecstatic Transformation"
MPEG Stream: "Nietzschean Conspiracy"
MPEG Stream: "A Sunset Song"

SIGH Scenario IV: Dread Dreams (Cacophonous) cd 17.98
Japan's strangest black metal band returns with another mind-boggling rock 'n roll horror flick soundtrack-styled disc that surpasses their previous efforts in the genre-bending department. As enamored of John Zorn as they are of Venom, this trio combine catchy metal licks with 20th century classical. At one point in their the song "Black Curse" the band lurches into a country western vamp that'll make you think you've wandered into a Jim O'Rourke record! Such curious shifts though are executed so smoothly though that this comes across much better than the sort of Satanic Mr. Bungle you might imagine. The "metal" pick of the month, next to Satyricon.