SINNERJIZM Inject Them With Rabies (Black Top Fade) lp 9.98
From the dirty dirty dirty pun for a band name to the pornographic artwork on the vinyl (or the junkie grime on the CD), the Los Angeles instrumental glam-rock band Sinnerjizm is downright trashy; and that's the way they want it to be. A couple of the guys in Sinnerjizm also hail from the showboating '70s anthem rockers Jet Fuel, who've definitely got enough chops to venture into instrumental territory. Sinnerjizm sites Jesus Christ Super Star, Black Sabbath, Morricone, and the Butthole Surfers as their inspiration in making Inject Them With Rabies; and yeah, that's a pretty solid summation of their musical references. Obviously attuned to the folly of many an instrumental pop ensemble, Sinnerjizm is quick to make unexpected detours with some wah-wah porno funk here, a schmaltzy fun-in-the-sun groove there, and plenty of media samples which were rumored to be culled by Don Bolles of Germs / 45 Grave fame; but the band is best when transforming the 3 minute pop song into a kaleidoscopic marvel of sweet Hammond organ leads, immediately catchy Alice Cooper meets Link Wray riffs, and sweaty backbeats. Nicely done, boys.
MPEG Stream: "I Won't Remember Your Name"
MPEG Stream: "The Weeds Will Grow"

SINOIA CAVES The Enchanter Persuaded (Brah) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Dwarf Reaching The Arch Wonder"
MPEG Stream: "Naro Way"

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES Best Of (Geffen) 2cd 19.98
A self-explanatory collection that recounts the twenty year history of Steve Severin, Budgie and the ice queen herself, Siouxsie Sioux. All of the favorites are here, spanning from the incisive post-punk of tracks like "Arabian Knights" and "Happy House" to the glamorous Euro-club favorites like "Kiss Them For Me" (which I never realized was based on the breakbeat from Schooly D's "Saturday Night") and "Peek-A-Boo." Disc two will be of added interest to Siouxsie's collectors, as that disc featured a number of the hard-to-find extended mixes and remixes of their singles.

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES Kaleidoscope (Geffen) cd 11.98

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES Nocturne (Universal) dvd 29.00
Although the centerpiece of this new Siouxsie & The Banshees dvd is the composite live concert footage from two nights at the Royal Albert Hall back in 1983, arguably the best parts are in the extras. The band's self-produced 'tv show' with performances by The Banshees, The Creatures and The Glove is a delight -- particularly the individual Banshee's distinct segments in which Siouxsie, Budgie, Steve Severin and Robert Smith each recite a spoken word piece in his/her chosen setting -- and the Old Grey Whistle Test tv footage which show the band in top form doing "Melt!" and "Painted Bird". Oh and the main concert footage is pretty great too. A definite fan pleaser!

SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES The Scream (Geffen) cd 11.98

SIPPY CUPS, THE Electric Storyland! (Snacker Disc) cd 14.98
Yay Sippy Cups! What started out as a few local rockers doing Syd Barrett and Who covers for kids a few years back has evolved into a full-blown kids entertainment juggernaut complete with sold-out choreographed live shows (involving a juggler!) and a whole new album of original songs. Electric Storyland is for parents who want to wean their kids off Barney-type treacle and nudge them into something weirder -- but not too weird. The album's songs are catchy and fun and have playful hints of psychedelia -- from '60s-sounding pop songs with suggestive/innocent titles ("Little Puffer" and "Magic Toast") to songs that reference Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips ("I Am a Robot)". Buy it for your sister's kids -- chances are this is the only album you, your sister and her kids might find some common ground on!
MPEG Stream: "Magic Toast"
MPEG Stream: "I Am A Robot"

SIR HEDGEHOG s/t cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Get ready for some glorious seventies-worshipping heavy rock via the self-released debut cd from this oddly named Vancouver band. Not as overtly Sabbath-derived as fellow Canadian rockers Sheavy, but similarly excellent (and Sir Hedgehog's "Bitchlord" *does* sound like something from the Sabs), with a kick-ass vocalist somewhere up there in the Plant/Osbourne spectrum. They've got loads of supremely heavy riffs (more importantly, in the service of good songs) and are also capable of some fine spacey psychedelic detours. Better than most of the rest of today's "stoner rock" bands, for sure. Oh, *and* the album ends with an amazing hidden bonus track that combines covers of Blondie's "Call Me" and Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" (an idea Sir Hedgehog got from Chuck Eddy's book "Stairway to Hell"). They switch back and forth between the two seemingly separated-at-birth songs absolutely seamlessly -- brilliant.
RealAudio clip: " Magic Garden"
RealAudio clip: "Bitchlord"
RealAudio clip: "The Cleavage And The Clamp"

SIR HEDGEHOG s/t (Lunasound) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Swedish metal/rock label Lunasound (who recently brought us UK heavies Gorilla) have wisely picked up Canadian stoner rockers Sir Hedgehog, reissuing their previously-self-released, self-titled cd with new art and an extra track, titled "Monster".
Here's what we said about the original version, which still holds true: Get ready for some glorious seventies-worshipping heavy rock via the debut cd from this oddly named Vancouver band. Not as overtly Sabbath-derived as fellow Canadian rockers Sheavy, but similarly excellent (and Sir Hedgehog's "Bitchlord" *does* sound like something from the Sabs), with a kick-ass vocalist somewhere up there in the Plant/Osbourne spectrum. They've got loads of supremely heavy riffs (more importantly, in the service of good songs) and are also capable of some fine spacey psychedelic detours. Better than most of the rest of today's "stoner rock" bands, for sure. Oh, *and* the album ends with an amazing hidden bonus track that combines covers of Blondie's "Call Me" and Sabbath's "Children of the Grave" (an idea Sir Hedgehog got from Chuck Eddy's book "Stairway to Hell"). They switch back and forth between the two seemingly separated-at-birth songs absolutely seamlessly -- brilliant.
RealAudio clip: " Magic Garden"
RealAudio clip: "Bitchlord"
RealAudio clip: "Monster"
RealAudio clip: "The Cleavage And The Clamp"

SIR HENRY FIAT'S BASTARD Your Mom's A Fucking Mongo (Pandacide) 7" 3.98

SIR RICHARD BISHOP Salvador Kali (Revenant) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Sun City Girl Rick Bishop's debut solo release on John Fahey's wonderful Revenant label. Pretty tunes (about knighthood apparently) that sound very "old world," like quaint italian restaurant music played on guitar instead of mandolin.

SIRATORI, KENJI + PENDRO Terminal Machine (Hypermodern) cd-r 12.98
It's been a while since we've heard anything from the Fflint camp, our favorite source for brilliant, damaged outsider avant electronic weirdness. But this week we've got not one, but two missives from the mysterious world of Fflint Central. And while Terminal Machine is not technically -ON- Fflint, Pendro does just happen to be half of the mighty Fflint duo so it most definitely count. Here he's teamed up with Japanese writer / musician / sound artist Kenji Siratori, who we heard from recently on the mind blowing Hypergenome666 4cd set with Nordvargr and Beyond Sensory Experience.
And like on Hypergenome666, Siratori is a man of words, literally. His texts are dense and bizarre, strange and so fascinating. For Terminal Machine, Siratori sent recordings of himself reading some of his works and gave Pendro the go ahead to transform those words into abstract sound.
The opening track features Siratori's voice gradually twisted into strange shapes as more and more effects are added, becoming more brittle and metallic, until the words almost sound like the plucking and scraping of steel strings. Later, the words are chopped and reshaped into some lurching post-Autechre IDM skitter, a smear of distorted melody and chittering rhythm, elsewhere the text becomes some droning sci-fi soundscape of processed vocals and FX drenched drones, another track finds the vocals obliterated, the only traces left a skittering, squelchy, splattery soundscape of Fflinty buzz and crumble. The final track is a dark, drifting dronescape, distant metallic buzz, bursts of microscopic grit, bits of high end glimmer and little upper register trills, all drenched in a thick patina of murk and mumble. The human voice twisted and tangled up into some seriously inhuman sounds. Pretty amazing stuff.
Packaged in a slimline case with some seriously disturbing 'meat-y' artwork...
MPEG Stream: "One "
MPEG Stream: "Two"
MPEG Stream: "Three"

SIRONE Live (Atavistic) cd 14.98
Most well known to most as the leader of the Revolutionary Ensemble in the 70's, Sirone was also a sideman for such jazz legends as Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler, Archie Shepp, Charles Gayle, Ornette Coleman, Roswell Rudd, Clifford Thornton, Sonny Sharrock, Pharoah Sanders, Sun Ra and more. But he was way more than just a sideman, an amazing composer in his own right and a completely orignal and creative bass player. For this live set, recorded in 1991, Sirone teamed up with Dennis Charles on drums and Claude Lawrence on alto sax, and the results are sublime. The performance starts off with a long piece for solo flute. A dense squall of tweets and trills and twitters and flitterings, like strange and haunting bird calls. After that it's all about the bass, as Sirone stretches out and slides smoothly all over the fretboard with two tracks of almost nothing but bass (one track gets a smattering of free jazz rhythmic splatter), it's dark and deliriously languorous, warm and thick and totally dreamy. When the rest of the trio does join in, it's dense and focused and intense, with Sirone and Charles locked in tight but somehow still wild and loose and free, while Lawrence skips gingerly atop a squirming tangle of shuffling rhythms and throbbing pulsing low end. So good.
MPEG Stream: "Flute Song "
MPEG Stream: "Eyes Of The Wind"

SISARIO, BEN 33 1/3 Series: Doolittle (Continuum) book 9.95
Everybody loves the Pixies, and while a lot of us lean toward Surfer Rosa as our favorite, Doolittle is the one that pushed the Pixies squarely into the mainstream. And the cool thing is, they didn't have to change their sound one bit to do it. Read all about the adventures of Black Francis and his gang as they record a record that will go on to shape all of indie rock to come.

SISSY SPACEK s/t (Helicopter / Nu Form) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
John Wiese (Bastard Noise) and his pal Cory Ronnau deliver what is probably the world's first plunderphonic grindcore record. Although in this case all of the plundering is self inflicted and self directed as the two record their own two piece (guitar and drums) blasting grind record and attack it with a razor blade (actually probably a laptop, but whatever) and spit out a garbled, sputtering, stuttering no-wave masterpiece. Think Oval, if he only scratched Drop Dead and Crossed Out cds. Nice.
RealAudio clip: "Track one"

SISSY SPACEK Scissors (Helicopter) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Album number two from John (Bastard Noise) Wiese's cut 'n' paste, plundercore grind project Sissy Spacek. Short and sweet blasts of feedback and throat clearing kinda like Masonna crossed with the Locust. Like the spine says: "SISSISSPSSKSSISSRS".
RealAudio clip: "Cobra Heart"
RealAudio clip: "Hair Control"

SISTERS LOVE, THE Give Me Your Love (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Most rare groove fiends fell in love with The Sisters Love after hearing the 80's extended remix of their song "Give Me Your Love" which had disco aficionados like Larry Levan and Nicky Siano in seventh heaven. What's amazing is that the track was actually recorded in 1973, predating disco and demonstrating that if one dug a little deeper, one might discover that not only were The Sisters Love way ahead of their time but were also not merely a one hit wonder. Thankfully, as they have so many times in the past, Soul Jazz have come to the rescue putting together a totally stunning collection of the SL's deep hitting soul/funk recorded between 1969-1973. A vocal delivery with that perfect gospel influence that cuts right to the heart of the matter, and the sort of perfect production and orchestration that keeps the songs moving and practically begs to be sampled by the entire Stones Throw roster. Always such a pleasure to get a full helping of a group we only had heard in dribs and drabs before. After listening to this over and over we can safely say The Sisters Love have won a special place in our soul collection, alongside the likes of early Betty Wright, Ike & Tina and Candi Staton. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Give Me Your Love"
MPEG Stream: "Ha Ha Ha"
MPEG Stream: "Mr Fix-It Man"

SISTOL s/t (Phthalo) cd 12.98
This NON-cd-r release from the outsider electronica label Phthalo is the work of Vladislav Delay, recording here as Sistol. After his exemplary Chain Reaction releases, this Finnish technician tightens up his techno minimalism to terse glitchy noises within rigid beats, certainly for fans of Thomas Brinkmann.

SISTRENATUS Division One (Cold Spring) cd 15.98

SITAAR TAH Semimimimimin (aRCHIVE) cd 16.98
We first heard Sitaar Tah!, Tokyo's amazing 22-piece all-sitar "orchestra", a couple years back on another limited (and now out of print) aRCHIVE release, the sprawling, droning two cd set Animamima on which they collaborated with Japanese dark psych lord Keiji Haino! And we've been eager to hear more from 'em ever since. Now aRCHIVE presents a Semimimimimin, a 43-minute studio recording from the group. Sitars are GO!
So.... You like dense drone. You like exotic, Eastern raga-like stuff. You like psychedelic, pulsing, shimmering beauty. You like ghostly Phillip Jeck-like lo-fi surface hiss. Well what more need we say? You're gonna like this!
One long, trance-inducing track that weaves the sound so many massed sitars into complex patterns of rhythm and melody, modulating and building to more abstract and organic, swarm-of-insects levels... absolutely as soothingly nice as you could imagine.
Beautifully presented in the aRCHIVE tradition, in their usual oversized format, with art by SUNNO)))'s Stephen O'Malley, 4-color silkscreened cover, LIMITED TO 700 COPIES ONLY!
MPEG Stream: "Semimimimimin excerpt 1"
RealAudio clip: "Semimimimimin excerpt 2"

SIX EYE COLUMBIA A Million Six cd 9.98
Strong songwriting dominates this debut release from the local rock group Six Eye Columbia. In addition to guitar and vocals, bandleader / all-around nice guy Josh Pollock also wields the banjo, xylophone, piano, and assorted toys. An array of guests offer pedal steel, cello, sax, trumpet etc. The effects-laden vocal delivery is similar to Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard -- tinny, staticky as if thru a bullhorn. Doleful male harmonies bring to mind Mark Eitzel's solo work, as does the simmering tension and midtempo pace throughout. Forlorn and depressing in a good way.
RealAudio clip: "Traitor Hygiene"
RealAudio clip: "Uranium Doll I"
RealAudio clip: "Joni Mitchell Songs"

SIX EYE COLUMBIA Judy At Carnegie Hall (Roosevelt Franklin) cd 9.98
AQ pal Josh Pollock, musical man about town and accomplished stage actor (having performed in a play based on the life of Rodd Keith, where the audience turned in poems at the beginning of the performance, and Pollack then wrote songs to go with the poems live on stage, a la Keith's legendary song poems) returns with his second release from Six Eye Columbia, his rock outfit, mostly Pollock's doing but with some occasional helping hands. Very Guided By Voices-ish pop, melodic and melancholy with some lengthy prog flourishes (he does after all play with David Aellen in the new Gong) and even the occasional Coldplay-esque lilting vocals. A bit more mainstream and polished than the last 6EC, with a lot more production polish and studio as instrument tinkering.
MPEG Stream: "15, Like Diamonds"
MPEG Stream: "She's Crying Diamonds"

SIX FINGER SATELLITE Half Control (Load) cd 15.98
In the '90s, there were two bands on the Sub Pop roster that, to anyone looking for their grunge or indie fix, made absolutely zero sense. One of those bands was the mighty Earth, who in the past few years have thankfully been reevaluated and recognized as the pioneers they were and are. Then there was Six Finger Satellite, spoken of with godlike reverence by their small but rabid fanbase, but still unjustly neglected by the majority of the human population. The big question here: WHY?!?! Six Finger Satellite was one of the great nihilistic rock bands of the '90s, the strange and unholy union of the Stooges, the Birthday Party, and Kraftwerk that turned into something else entirely. Their sound was hateful, tense, and disturbingly druggy, but most of all, they fucking ROCKED. While the synthesizer at this point in indie history seemed relegated to making cute little bleeping noises, 6FS wielded their Moogs like weapons of mass chaos, releasing 4 ESSENTIAL full lengths and a slew of equally awesome eps and singles before vanishing. Their provocative themes included a sinister but smartass referencing of, shall we say, "recent" German history, primates, and a Kraftwerkian synthesis of man and machine tailored to better suit a bunch of guys from Rhode Island. Their history is long, confusing, and even tragic (original bassist Kurt Niemand died of a drug overdose), eventually culminating in the departure of guitarist John Maclean - along with the band's synth arsenal - and his transformation into electro-dance act the Juan Maclean. Though they apparently soldiered on after their final full length, Law Of Ruins, that was pretty much it for Six Finger Satellite...
UNTIL NOW!!!
While the band has reconvened on a few occasions and are currently active, Half Control actually dates back to 2001. Surprisingly, the band's unstoppable drummer Rick Pelletier switched to bass for the reformed 6FS (and now he's playing guitar!), while the rhythm section was reconstituted from members of fellow Rhode Island noise rockers Landed. The resultant sound emphasizes the group's more pissed off, punkish edge - try to imagine the four-headed bastard offspring of Black Flag and the Jesus Lizard beating the shit out of itself - while downplaying their more meditative (relatively speaking for this band, of course) electro-kraut influences. For this reason, the initial reaction of many aQ staffers was that Half Control doesn't really sound like the Six Finger Satellite we all knew - remember that part about John Maclean and the band's collection of vintage synthesizers? Closer inspection, however, reveals otherwise, at least to the nerds in possession of the band's entire discography. While synths were and continue to remain integral to the 6FS sound, many people tend to overlook how guitar-centric they always were. Slashing and densely hypnotic riffing, throbbing basslines, and ridiculously tight drumming were just as important as their quirky but ominous synthlines. Singer/Moogist J. Ryan's feral vocals are as mean-spirited and distorted as they always were and the band still throbs and pulsates like a merciless machine that refuses to shut down. 6FS's sound was frantic but controlled, often verging on complete chaos, yet they managed to keep things together in a way only they could. With that in mind, it's clear to see that things are really just as great as they always were. The reality is that little has changed, it's just pretty mindblowing to think that we are hearing new sounds from a band that sadly *seemed* to drop off the map.
It should go without saying for anyone familiar with this fantastic band, that Load Records (who released their obscure but awe inspiring Clone Theory ep waaaaay back), is a much better home for them. It's not coincidental that much of that label's lineup and a great deal of the current noise rock scene is heavily indebted to 6FS, and while some of today's indie rockers may have unknowingly tapped into what these guys were about in the form of other bands, Six Finger Satellite has yet to be surpassed in ferocity, dark humor, and overall rockingness. Longtime fans should find plenty of reasons to rejoice, while newbies will freak out and have to accept mp3 versions of their out of print Sub Pop albums. To the rest of the world: WAKE THE FUCK UP. Six Finger Satellite is immortal, and even if this is their final statement (we sure hope not), it's more than we could have ever hoped for.
MPEG Stream: "Thrown Out"
MPEG Stream: "Artificial Light"
MPEG Stream: "Bored Oracle"

SIX FINGER SATELLITE Half Control (Load) lp 15.98
Now available on vinyl!
In the '90s, there were two bands on the Sub Pop roster that, to anyone looking for their grunge or indie fix, made absolutely zero sense. One of those bands was the mighty Earth, who in the past few years have thankfully been reevaluated and recognized as the pioneers they were and are. Then there was Six Finger Satellite, spoken of with godlike reverence by their small but rabid fanbase, but still unjustly neglected by the majority of the human population. The big question here: WHY?!?! Six Finger Satellite was one of the great nihilistic rock bands of the '90s, the strange and unholy union of the Stooges, the Birthday Party, and Kraftwerk that turned into something else entirely. Their sound was hateful, tense, and disturbingly druggy, but most of all, they fucking ROCKED. While the synthesizer at this point in indie history seemed relegated to making cute little bleeping noises, 6FS wielded their Moogs like weapons of mass chaos, releasing 4 ESSENTIAL full lengths and a slew of equally awesome eps and singles before vanishing. Their provocative themes included a sinister but smartass referencing of, shall we say, "recent" German history, primates, and a Kraftwerkian synthesis of man and machine tailored to better suit a bunch of guys from Rhode Island. Their history is long, confusing, and even tragic (original bassist Kurt Niemand died of a drug overdose), eventually culminating in the departure of guitarist John Maclean - along with the band's synth arsenal - and his transformation into electro-dance act the Juan Maclean. Though they apparently soldiered on after their final full length, Law Of Ruins, that was pretty much it for Six Finger Satellite...
UNTIL NOW!!!
While the band has reconvened on a few occasions and are currently active, Half Control actually dates back to 2001. Surprisingly, the band's unstoppable drummer Rick Pelletier switched to bass for the reformed 6FS (and now he's playing guitar!), while the rhythm section was reconstituted from members of fellow Rhode Island noise rockers Landed. The resultant sound emphasizes the group's more pissed off, punkish edge - try to imagine the four-headed bastard offspring of Black Flag and the Jesus Lizard beating the shit out of itself - while downplaying their more meditative (relatively speaking for this band, of course) electro-kraut influences. For this reason, the initial reaction of many aQ staffers was that Half Control doesn't really sound like the Six Finger Satellite we all knew - remember that part about John Maclean and the band's collection of vintage synthesizers? Closer inspection, however, reveals otherwise, at least to the nerds in possession of the band's entire discography. While synths were and continue to remain integral to the 6FS sound, many people tend to overlook how guitar-centric they always were. Slashing and densely hypnotic riffing, throbbing basslines, and ridiculously tight drumming were just as important as their quirky but ominous synthlines. Singer/Moogist J. Ryan's feral vocals are as mean-spirited and distorted as they always were and the band still throbs and pulsates like a merciless machine that refuses to shut down. 6FS's sound was frantic but controlled, often verging on complete chaos, yet they managed to keep things together in a way only they could. With that in mind, it's clear to see that things are really just as great as they always were. The reality is that little has changed, it's just pretty mindblowing to think that we are hearing new sounds from a band that sadly *seemed* to drop off the map.
It should go without saying for anyone familiar with this fantastic band, that Load Records (who released their obscure but awe inspiring Clone Theory ep waaaaay back), is a much better home for them. It's not coincidental that much of that label's lineup and a great deal of the current noise rock scene is heavily indebted to 6FS, and while some of today's indie rockers may have unknowingly tapped into what these guys were about in the form of other bands, Six Finger Satellite has yet to be surpassed in ferocity, dark humor, and overall rockingness. Longtime fans should find plenty of reasons to rejoice, while newbies will freak out and have to accept mp3 versions of their out of print Sub Pop albums. To the rest of the world: WAKE THE FUCK UP. Six Finger Satellite is immortal, and even if this is their final statement (we sure hope not), it's more than we could have ever hoped for.
MPEG Stream: "Thrown Out"
MPEG Stream: "Artificial Light"
MPEG Stream: "Bored Oracle"

SIX FINGER SATELLITE Law of Ruins (Sub Pop) cd 12.98
Rhode Island's not so favorite sons perfect their blend of Stooges sludge rock and moog powered space-out-kraut grooves. Internal debates have drawn blood over whether this is the best Six Finger Satellite record... regardless of the outcome, this is a great record and shouldn't be missed! Also comes in very attractive packaging (the vinyl is clear in a clear cover).

SIX FINGER SATELLITE Law of Ruins (Sub Pop) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Rhode Island's not so favorite sons perfect their blend of Stooges sludge rock and moog powered space-out-kraut grooves. Internal debates have drawn blood over whether this is the best Six Finger Satellite record... regardless of the outcome, this is a great record and shouldn't be missed! Also comes in very attractive packaging (the vinyl is clear in a clear cover).

SIX FINGER SATELLITE Massive Cocaine Seizure (Sub Pop) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For fans of Chrome and Kraftwerk.

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Compathia (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Ben Chasny: hot guy. Bedroom eyes and a bottle of beer. What's up with the cover?? Well, apparently Ben's sick of people thinking he's some sort of sexless mystical elf, so he chose to pose for pictures on a rumpled bed complete with prone girlfriend (or groupie?). But even without the usual murky, evocative artwork of ghostly treelines this new, fourth album from Ben's Six Organs of Admittance is again a lovely piece of psych-folk-pop. Hippie jams updated for the kids today, taking cues from both Bolan and Basho. Gently drifting or discretely chugging, the majority of this record is devoted to mellow song-craft of exqusite beauty. So when the heavy psych guitar blow-out of the last track "Only The Sun Knows" (featuring Ethan Miller of Comets On Fire, who also plays the sitar elsewhere on the album) kicks in, your only warning will be this review! Recommended, from start to finish a really nice record.
MPEG Stream: "Close To The Sky"
MPEG Stream: "Wind In My Palm"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Dark Noontide (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
The excellent split LP that Six Organs Of Admittance recently did with Charlambides really whet our appetite for this disc, the third full-length album from Ben Chasny (Six Organs, on record at least, is pretty much just him). Actually, we've been eager for another Six Organs disc since Ben's last cd, "Dust & Chimes", brightened our world (in its melancholy way) back in 2000. Hunched over his 4-track up in the wilds of McKinleyville, California, Ben has outdone himself with the eight tracks on offer here. The album begins with a beautifully sung psych-folk song, soon delves into dark, sad drone pieces, early '70s krautrock-inspired tabla-and-feedback jams (you wouldn't think it's just one guy and a 4-track, but rather a stoned group of freaks really feeling the kosmiche vibe together), some gorgeous solo acoustic guitar in a Fahey mode, and more of his dreamy late-night acid-folk songwriting. Six Organs is definitely among the best of the currently-burgeoning "Terrastock Nation", and we'd certainly rank Mr. Chasny with similarily-inspired and inspiring contemporaries like Greg Weeks, Richard Youngs, P.G. Six, Masaki Batoh, Amps For Christ, Joshua Burkett, and Kawabata Makoto. So very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "This Hand"
MPEG Stream: "On Returning Home"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Dark Noontide (Holy Mountain) 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 on VINYL. Whoo-hoo! Here's what we said when we reviewed the cd version of this fine Six Orgs alb:
The excellent split LP that Six Organs Of Admittance recently did with Charlambides really whet our appetite for this disc, the third full-length album from Ben Chasny (Six Organs, on record at least, is pretty much just him). Actually, we've been eager for another Six Organs disc since Ben's last cd, "Dust & Chimes", brightened our world (in its melancholy way) back in 2000. Hunched over his 4-track up in the wilds of McKinleyville, California, Ben has outdone himself with the eight tracks on offer here. The album begins with a beautifully sung psych-folk song, soon delves into dark, sad drone pieces, early '70s krautrock-inspired tabla-and-feedback jams (you wouldn't think it's just one guy and a 4-track, but rather a stoned group of freaks really feeling the kosmiche vibe together), some gorgeous solo acoustic guitar in a Fahey mode, and more of his dreamy late-night acid-folk songwriting. Six Organs is definitely among the best of the currently-burgeoning "Terrastock Nation", and we'd certainly rank Mr. Chasny with similarily-inspired and inspiring contemporaries like Greg Weeks, Richard Youngs, P.G. Six, Masaki Batoh, Amps For Christ, Joshua Burkett, and Kawabata Makoto. So very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "This Hand"
MPEG Stream: "On Returning Home"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Dust & Chimes (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Eureka, California based young'un Ben Chasny was the hands down big hit at this year's Terrastock IV festival of peace, love and psychedelic drugs, held in Seattle (where, by the way, we were excited to visit the Experience Music Project museum -- $20, and worth every penny!). At the festival, Ben's airy yet dark psychedelia was augmented with the talents of other bandmates specially put together for the occasion, but on "Dust & Chimes", his first album just now reissued on cd for the first time, he's working mostly alone. Concocting lush laments from acoustic guitar, chimes, and subtle distortion effects, Six Organs of Admittance bespeak a love for psych-folk not of the fey British variety, but more akin to the ethereal otherworldliness of Japan's Ghost. Fahey fans will also find much to appreciate. Every sound is carefully placed and joyfully played -- and this attention to detail came across live in spades, where the youthful energy of this band reminded me of the Olivia Tremor Control, giving it their all. On record, this energy is rather more dark and mysterious than any Olivias comparison would suggest. Very nice.
RealAudio clip: "Black Needle Rhymes"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE For Octavio Paz (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
This came out as a fancy limited vinyl edition some months back, but those are long gone and now all Six Organs lovers who missed 'em can thank their lucky stars (and Holy Mtn) that the same splendidifidous folk-psych guitar gems found on that elpee are now available on ceedee. What we said before still applies, except it's just one, longer side now:
Two sides of instrumental transcendence from AQ fave, Ben Chasny's Six Organs Of Admittance. Recorded late at night, on a four track, these songs exude late nights, twinkling stars, crackling fires, rustling woods, broken hearts and burnished spirit. Side one is a series of soft and sweetly finger picked nylon string guitar pieces with the occasional haunting ethereal vocal and shimmering, tinkling bells. Side two is a side long steel string rumination, mellow and melancholy, minor key and meditative. Psychedelic folk stripped to its essence. So gorgeous.
Quite recommended to all under the spell of Mr. Chasny, or who would like to be. Lookin' forward to his new album due later this year on Drag City...
MPEG Stream: "They Fixed The Broken Windmill Today"
MPEG Stream: "The Acceptance Of Absolute Negation"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE For Octavio Paz (Time-Lag) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two sides of instrumental transcendence from AQ faves Six Organs Of Admittance. Recorded late at night, on a four track, these songs exude late nights, twinkling stars, crackling fires, rustling woods, broken hearts and burnished spirit. Side one is a series of soft and sweetly finger picked nylon string guitar pieces with the occasional haunting ethereal vocal and shimmering, tinkling bells. Side two is a side long steel string rumination, mellow and melancholy, minor key and meditative. Psychedelic folk stripped to it's essence. So gorgeous. THICK 180 gram vinyl, in a gorgeous letter pressed sleeve, with a letter pressed insert and numbered (limited to 500).

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Nightly Trembling (Time-Lag) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another gorgeous and limited 12" from Six Organs Of Admittance. The material on this 12" was originally released in 1999 as a limited lathe cut 12", only thirty copies were made and each was personally sent to it's owner. Finally reissued, Nightly Trembling is possibly the best seventies psych folk record not actually made in the seventies. Big praise, but wait until you hear this! The Wicker Man, Comus, Incredible String Band, all filtered through Ben Chasny's Six Organs. Acoustic guitar, Chasney's creepy growl, throbbing shimmering pagan ambience, angelic and haunting choir-like vocals all set in extended raga-like song structures. So good. On HEAVY 180 gram vinyl. In a letter pressed sleeve with insert and numbered (limited to 500).

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE RTZ (Drag City) cd 16.98
Here at aQ we get the pleasure of watching bands grow and change over the years. Sure, some bands head off the deep end never to be heard from again, but others mature and grow into something even beyond what we could've ever imagined. Ben Chasny is the perfect example of the latter. After releasing well over a dozen albums, we've watched Chasny evolve into one of the most prominent music makers of our time. Don't get us wrong, there are plenty of other super talented and super awesome downer psych folk yogis, BUT none even come close to matching the mind bending artistry that Chasny has perfected.
We cant even tell you how many people have come into the shop only to proclaim, "What?! A new Six Organs record!?! I'll take it!" And this isn't even exactly a new record, although this material is new to most of us, as Drag City has reissued a bunch of older, more obscure and hard to find Six Organs tracks.
While "Punish the Chasm with Wings" is the only completely unheard track on RTZ, the rest of these songs are taken from various cd splits, limited pressed cdrs, compilations and a 12" split with Charlambidies, highly anticipated early work straight from the dusty vaults of Mr. Chasny. Named after a button on his beloved four-track recorder, RTZ is an acronym for Return to Zero, a highly appropriate title for an album that revisits the early beginnings of his prolific career.
In some ways, RTZ is more of the same gorgeous woodsy, somber guitar work from Chasny, but what makes RTZ one of our favorite Six Organs records is the sheer epicness of every track. Beautifully composed with close attention to detail, the majority of the songs span well over the ten minute mark, most almost reaching 20 minutes! Every track carries the weight of an entire album, each taking the listener on a different path through the overgrown reaches of some forested wonderland. Hypnotic guitar pluckings hovering over vocal mantras that shapeshift into quiet soundscapes, rhythmic tambourine and flute passages sway with the hanging branches as plumes of smoke rise magnificently into the air. Chasny's guitar playing is completely spot on, sincere and dimly lit, we can just picture him with eyes closed, hunched over in the corner of some candlelit run-down cabin, channeling the words and songs of spirits lost in the woods. Complete with a cool lookin' black metal-esque Six Organs logo on the cover, RTZ is a must have, especially for fans of anything Six Organs (or anything remotely similar for that matter)!!
MPEG Stream: "Warm Earth, Which I've Been Told"
MPEG Stream: "Punish The Chasms With Wings"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE RTZ (Drag City) 3lp 22.00
Here at aQ we get the pleasure of watching bands grow and change over the years. Sure, some bands head off the deep end never to be heard from again, but others mature and grow into something even beyond what we could've ever imagined. Ben Chasny is the perfect example of the latter. After releasing well over a dozen albums, we've watched Chasny evolve into one of the most prominent music makers of our time. Don't get us wrong, there are plenty of other super talented and super awesome downer psych folk yogis, BUT none even come close to matching the mind bending artistry that Chasny has perfected.
We cant even tell you how many people have come into the shop only to proclaim, "What?! A new Six Organs record!?! I'll take it!" And this isn't even exactly a new record, although this material is new to most of us, as Drag City has reissued a bunch of older, more obscure and hard to find Six Organs tracks.
While "Punish the Chasm with Wings" is the only completely unheard track on RTZ, the rest of these songs are taken from various cd splits, limited pressed cdrs, compilations and a 12" split with Charlambidies, highly anticipated early work straight from the dusty vaults of Mr. Chasny. Named after a button on his beloved four-track recorder, RTZ is an acronym for Return to Zero, a highly appropriate title for an album that revisits the early beginnings of his prolific career.
In some ways, RTZ is more of the same gorgeous woodsy, somber guitar work from Chasny, but what makes RTZ one of our favorite Six Organs records is the sheer epicness of every track. Beautifully composed with close attention to detail, the majority of the songs span well over the ten minute mark, most almost reaching 20 minutes! Every track carries the weight of an entire album, each taking the listener on a different path through the overgrown reaches of some forested wonderland. Hypnotic guitar pluckings hovering over vocal mantras that shapeshift into quiet soundscapes, rhythmic tambourine and flute passages sway with the hanging branches as plumes of smoke rise magnificently into the air. Chasny's guitar playing is completely spot on, sincere and dimly lit, we can just picture him with eyes closed, hunched over in the corner of some candlelit run-down cabin, channeling the words and songs of spirits lost in the woods. Complete with a cool lookin' black metal-esque Six Organs logo on the cover, RTZ is a must have, especially for fans of anything Six Organs (or anything remotely similar for that matter)!!
MPEG Stream: "Warm Earth, Which I've Been Told"
MPEG Stream: "Punish The Chasms With Wings"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE s/t (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
Several years ago, while listening to excellent Bay Area college radio station KFJC, a particular track of hypnotic, droning psych caught my ear -- buzzing, repetitive acoustic guitar and organ and a mysterious voice intoning "prayer for the su-unnnn..." over and over, all building into a loose, dirgey trance. Gorgeous. Further listening revealed the mysterious voice as belonging to Ben Chasny, aka Six Organs of Admittance. Soon thereafter, my ever thoughtful roommates returned from a John Fahey show, at which Six Organs had been the opener, bearing an LP on which I was excited to find the track I loved. A bit of time passed, and lamentably, so did John Fahey; Six Organs has gone on to make two great albums as well as lending a considerable hand to Comets On Fire on their awesome "Field Recordings from the Sun." This here is a long-awaited cd reissue of that first Six Organs LP, with the addition of 2 tracks from a limited 8" lathe-cut disc. While Chasny seems to be getting better and better, as evidenced by his best and most recent record "Dark Noontide," the darkly psychedelic 4-track ramblings on this disc find his signature sound fully in place-- an immediately recognizable way of attacking an acoustic guitar into a state of humming, reverbrating submission, that resonant baritone, and detours into percussive experimentation, all ritualistic and, I'll say it again, thoroughly hypnotic. So Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Sum of All Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "Invitation to the SR for Supper"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE School Of The Flower (Drag City) cd 14.98
AQ-fave underground psych-folk troubadour Ben Chasny hits the "big time" with this Drag City debut. Ok, Drag City's not a major label but it's a popular indie. If this was the '70s, he'd have been flown out to a rented mansion in LA by the label, where he'd have spent months recording in drug-fuelled debauchery. It being just boring old now, we're sure that didn't happen. Despite that, Ben still steps up and delivers with this new Six Organs opus of his. Not that he's ever disappointed, but this could be one of his best. And it is in fact his first ever actual studio-recorded release. The Basho/Fahey guitar pickin', the pagan folk, the cosmic mystic vibes... all shining through. And with School Of The Flower he reveals his obsession with the music of one Gary Higgins, an obscure '70s singer-songwriter who did a now much-talked-of-in-certain-circles LP entitled Red Hash. Until someone tracks him down (according to the liner notes, Drag City is trying), the closest you'll probably get to hearing it is the cover of his "Thicker Than A Smokey" that appears here!
FYI: the music on track five ("Home") is basically the bass line for Rod Stewart's "Ooh La La" played on acoustic guitar!
MPEG Stream: "Eighth Cognition/All You've Left"
MPEG Stream: "Procession Of Cherry Blossom Spirits"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE School Of The Flower (Drag City) lp 14.98
AQ-fave underground psych-folk troubadour Ben Chasny hits the "big time" with this Drag City debut. Ok, Drag City's not a major label but it's a popular indie. If this was the '70s, he'd have been flown out to a rented mansion in LA by the label, where he'd have spent months recording in drug-fuelled debauchery. It being just boring old now, we're sure that didn't happen. Despite that, Ben still steps up and delivers with this new Six Organs opus of his. Not that he's ever disappointed, but this could be one of his best. And it is in fact his first ever actual studio-recorded release. The Basho/Fahey guitar pickin', the pagan folk, the cosmic mystic vibes... all shining through. And with School Of The Flower he reveals his obsession with the music of one Gary Higgins, an obscure '70s singer-songwriter who did a now much-talked-of-in-certain-circles LP entitled Red Hash. Until someone tracks him down (according to the liner notes, Drag City is trying), the closest you'll probably get to hearing it is the cover of his "Thicker Than A Smokey" that appears here!
FYI: the music on track five ("Home") is basically the bass line for Rod Stewart's "Ooh La La" played on acoustic guitar!
MPEG Stream: "Eighth Cognition/All You've Left"
MPEG Stream: "Procession Of Cherry Blossom Spirits"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Shelter From The Ash (Drag City) cd 14.98
The first two tracks on Shelter From The Ash pretty much illustrate the two complementary sides to Mr. Six Organs Ben Chasny's usual modus operandi. The first cut, "Alone With The Alone", is droning and dense, building into tripped out, fairly fierce electric guitar solo, while the second, "Strangled Road", is a much mellower, subdued folk-ish number, with hushed vocals and lonely guitar strum... Together, you've got a recipe for the morose, bleak beauty that this album cooks up, with songs sung about war, loss and survival amidst yearning instrumentals, including one dedicated to the Sun City Girls.
Shelter From The Ash is record number ten (at least!) from Six Organs of Admittance and it's another winner, much like its predecessors in having a basis in Chasny's facility with Faheyesque steel-string fingerpicking while heading off into the wilder reaches of heavy psych, and almost country-rockish moodiness. He's helped out here by members of Comets On Fire and Magick Markers, though it's the rough hewn, intimate hum and buzz of just Ben and his guitar that works the most magic for us.
MPEG Stream: "Coming To Get You"
MPEG Stream: "Alone With The Alone"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Shelter From The Ash (Drag City) lp 15.98
The first two tracks on Shelter From The Ash pretty much illustrate the two complementary sides to Mr. Six Organs Ben Chasny's usual modus operandi. The first cut, "Alone With The Alone", is droning and dense, building into tripped out, fairly fierce electric guitar solo, while the second, "Strangled Road", is a much mellower, subdued folk-ish number, with hushed vocals and lonely guitar strum... Together, you've got a recipe for the morose, bleak beauty that this album cooks up, with songs sung about war, loss and survival amidst yearning instrumentals, including one dedicated to the Sun City Girls.
Shelter From The Ash is record number ten (at least!) from Six Organs of Admittance and it's another winner, much like its predecessors in having a basis in Chasny's facility with Faheyesque steel-string fingerpicking while heading off into the wilder reaches of heavy psych, and almost country-rockish moodiness. He's helped out here by members of Comets On Fire and Magick Markers, though it's the rough hewn, intimate hum and buzz of just Ben and his guitar that works the most magic for us.
MPEG Stream: "Coming To Get You"
MPEG Stream: "Alone With The Alone"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE The Manifestation (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98
What once was an one-sided, etched vinyl 12" ep (released in 1999 on BaDaBing) has been transformated into a one-sided (as they all are) cd reissued by Strange Attractors Audio House. And although Six Organs fans who missed the original vinyl would be greatful enough to get The Manifestation on cd with no extras, the Six Organs' Ben Chasny has been kind enough to provide TWICE as much music on this cd reissue, via a track entitled "The Six Stations" which features none other than Current 93's David Tibet intoning lyrics on a good portion of the piece. And whatever you think of the mystical mumjo jumbo this music is couched in, it's more of that excellent Six Organs acid-folk acoustic guitar for which Mr. Chasny is rightly lauded. Some record crackle is added to the mix, and while it doesn't really succeed in making this sound like an authentic scratchy old 78 it's still nice. Kinda like Jeck meets Fahey...meets C93. Meanwhile the original Manifestation could be a twilit pagan hippy jam from ages past.
MPEG Stream: "The Manifestation"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE The Sun Awakens (Drag City) cd 14.98
It's such a nice day out and we'd really rather just sit in the sun and listen to this disc than review it, so why don't we just say: another great Six Organs album! and leave it at that, ok? Not ok? You want more from us than that? Well it IS another great album from this Ben Chasny fellow, whom for us is definitely tops among all the current crop of psychedelic guitar-pickin' folkies. Whether he's lending his weary voice to some lovely acoustic pop balladry, or blissing out on the fretboard in Fahey/Basho rustic raga mode, or harking to the spaghetti western soundtrack sound of Bjorn Olsson, or channeling krautrock spirits for a heavy duty distorted electric guitar jam, Chasny -- with a little help from his friends -- shines on this album. Maybe his best yet! Gorgeous, moody, yes indeed.
Of course, sitting in the sun listening to this might not be the idea. The Sun Awakens this is called, but it's more likely that the music on here will generate grey clouds to blot out the sun, casting shadows from some other time and place of pagan worship. Particularly when you get to the droning darkness of the mysterious, moaning, album-closing "River Of Transfiguration", an extended 24 minute ceremony of a song featuring the bass playing of Al Cisneros of Om and Sleep fame. Oh yeah. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Black Wall"
MPEG Stream: "The Desert Is A Circle"
MPEG Stream: "River Of Transfiguration"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE The Sun Awakens (Drag City) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's such a nice day out and we'd really rather just sit in the sun and listen to this disc than review it, so why don't we just say: another great Six Organs album! and leave it at that, ok? Not ok? You want more from us than that? Well it IS another great album from this Ben Chasny fellow, whom for us is definitely tops among all the current crop of psychedelic guitar-pickin' folkies. Whether he's lending his weary voice to some lovely acoustic pop balladry, or blissing out on the fretboard in Fahey/Basho rustic raga mode, or harking to the spaghetti western soundtrack sound of Bjorn Olsson, or channeling krautrock spirits for a heavy duty distorted electric guitar jam, Chasny -- with a little help from his friends -- shines on this album. Maybe his best yet! Gorgeous, moody, yes indeed.
Of course, sitting in the sun listening to this might not be the idea. The Sun Awakens this is called, but it's more likely that the music on here will generate grey clouds to blot out the sun, casting shadows from some other time and place of pagan worship. Particularly when you get to the droning darkness of the mysterious, moaning, album-closing "River Of Transfiguration", an extended 24 minute ceremony of a song featuring the bass playing of Al Cisneros of Om and Sleep fame. Oh yeah. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Black Wall"
MPEG Stream: "The Desert Is A Circle"
MPEG Stream: "River Of Transfiguration"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / CHARALAMBIDES Songs From the Entopic Garden Volume Two (Time-Lag) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The second in this limited edition vinyl series dedicated to the works of cosmic krautrockers Popul Vuh offers the hypno-drone psychedelia both of Northern California's wonderful Six Organs Of Admittance and the stalwart Texan ensemble Charlamabides. Again, Time-Lag has beautifully wrapped the heavy vinyl in an IPR-styled package, letterpressed and silkscreened on heavy brown cardstock. Six Organs of Admittance find themselves sonically in the company of the No Neck Blues Band, Matthew Bower's many Rural Electrification Progams (Sunroof!, Skullflower, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Total, etc.), the Jewelled Antler boys (Thuja, Blithe Sons, Sky Green Leopards), and Jackie-O Motherfucker. Perhaps closer to Thuja than the rest, Six Organs of Admittance work elements of cacophony (wooden block percussion, bells, flutes, and lots of Amon Duul acoustic guitar strum) into beautifully hazy acoustic drones rather than painterly free-jazz clusters which sometimes fracture No Neck Blues Band albums.
Charalambides -- now whittled down to the duo of Tom and Christina Carter -- create a similarly swirling sound, but from the mournful chords of intertwining guitar and bass reverberations. Both pieces are some of the best work from either of these two artists. As we say, limited, and we only have a few. We also still have just a few of the equally excellent first volume in the "Songs From The Entopic Garden" series, the Drona Parva / Ultrasound split LP (reviewed on list #128).

SIX PARTS SEVEN ...In Lines and Patterns (Donut Friends) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bellingham via Ohio twangy post rock slowcore. Beautiful and hypnotic. Recommended.

SIX WAYS TO AVOID THE EVIL EYE s/t (Onetree) lp 14.98
Awesome slab of instrumental outer space ur-drone raga folk from a sometime collaborator of The Sun City Girls, Dredd Foole and others. Slide guitar, tabla, sitar, violin, organ, frame drums, metal bowls and a whole mess of other instrument we've never heard of deftly smoothed into a some sort of sprawling tribal drone ritual, think Sunburned Hand meets Muslimgauze meets Angus Maclise meets Jack Rose, but with more Hawkwindy swirl, and druggy din. Simple hypnotic rhythms beneath abstract Eastern percussion, lots of buzz and drift and shimmer, wrapped in thick sheets of reverb and fuzzy FX. Gorgeous stuff. Fans of any of the above mentioned bands, as well as any of the new weird America or modern freak folk will flip for this.
Super limited vinyl reissue of a way out of print cd-r. Green and black hand screened sleeves and printed insert.

SIXES Submissions (Jyrk) 3" cd-r 7.98
LAST COPIES!!! Back in stock. Out of print now, so this will be it...
This mysterious East Bay noisemaker known simple as Sixes makes his Jyrk debut with this dense little 3" disc. For being so small, it definitely packs a serious wallop. Ultra massive low end drones, huge reverberating continent shifting tectonic rumbles, crushing, pulsing black fuzz. An incredibly dense black hole of sound. Impossible to say what the sound source is, it sounds like someone took a bunch of analog synths, about a hundred guitars, the same number of wildly malfunctioning amps, and dropped them in a tar pit. Churning gut rumbling brutality laced with jagged streaks of clipped and stuttering high end, everything burnt to a crumbling black, like watching some massive black tower, slowly crumble to pieces, the sound absolutely deafening, a physical presence that threatens to not only blow out your ear drums, but blow a gaping hole clean through your chest, take your head off, incinerate you and leave a tiny pile of smoldering cinders. The sound eventually settles down to a low level rumble, still crumbling and super distorted, before beginning a slow build, thickening, getting more distorted, the high end streaks spreading and brightening, eclipsing the low end pummel, until the two sounds, the earthquake low and shooting star high, are all tangled up, an ancient battle in sound, the two eventually becoming indistinguishable, all that's left, a huge snarling grey cloud of fuzz and grit and grind that threatens to blot out all other sound before quickly fading to black. Phew.
Packaged in swanky silver metallic on black sleeve, housed in a mini 3" jewel case.
LIMITED TO 200 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"

SIXTEEN (16) HORSEPOWER 16HP (Smooch) dvd 21.00
Sixteen Horsepower are the masters of apocalyptic swamp folk, a dark and dolorous bluegrass infused with fire and brimstone, tales of Biblical damnation, and spiritual salvation, set to fiddle and accordion, banjo and mandolin, lit by a cresent moon and the dying embers of a campfire, delivered with the vitriol fury of a rivivalist preacher trying desperately to save our souls. Sixteen Horsepower (along with 16HP frontman David Eugene Edwards' side project Woven Hand) have been responsible for some of our favorite records of the last few years. The above description should tell you enough to know that these guys push all our buttons. So we were pretty excited to get this double DVD. The first, is a series of interviews, one a super arty, black and white, with the band by the railroad, among creepy mannequins, beautifully edited and gorgeously shot. The second is a standard sit down interview. The third is interviews with the various band members tracing the timeline of the band. All very interesting, especially to hear Edwards speak so unabashedly about his faith and growing up in the church. All evident in the music of 16HP but still sort of cool to hear explained in greater detail. Disc two is all the videos and some live footage. The videos, if you haven't already seen them, are perfect visual representations of the band's take on the dusty road to damnation, lots of grainy shots of desert, and leafless trees, plenty of high contrast black and white. The highlight being the 16HP video directed by the none other than the Brothers Quay, with animated white and black chalk in some alien battle between light and dark, good and evil, as a backdrop to the band performing!! Never having seent he band, the live footage was amazing. And they are just as intense live as you might imagine. And finally on disc 2 is a European behind the scenes documentary following the band around on tour, lots of backstage footage, travelling, soundchecks, and all that kind of stuff. Intimate and really interesting. This whole collection is a welcome glimpse into the minds and music of one of our favorite bands, which is especially exciting since in the past 16HP have been less than gregarious and hardly forthcoming in terms of interviews and such.

SIXTEEN (16) HORSEPOWER Folklore (Jetset) cd 16.98
Imagine the desolate and dreary stretches of highway leading from wherever you are to nowhere. Imagine the perilous climb from the bowels of hell, in search of redemption. Imagine the violence and hardship of life in the bayou or the unsettled West at the turn of the century. Imagine that mysterious drifter, lurking around town, exuding a magnetic pull, dangerous but irrestistible. Imagine tragedy, forgiveness, the world as a wasteland, the world as hell, the world as nowhere. The music of Sixteen Horsepower is all that and more. Dark and mysterious, heartbreaking and ominous, hopeful and tragic, timeless and unforgiving. Southern gothic dirges, shivering dark waltzes, and creeping midnight melodies. Vocalist David Eugene Edwards has a startling voice, trembling and plaintive, but at the same time ferocious and strong. Backed by a shuffling funereal ensemble of banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar and brushed, minimal drumming, the effect is claustrophobic, suffocating, but with just the faintest glimmer of hope and happiness on the horizon. Some may be troubled (as I am) by Sixteen Horsepower's overt Christianity, but thankfully the lyrics are more subtle and spiritual than preachy, focusing on the human condition, hope, despair, love, hate, misery and joy. Four originals, four traditionals and two covers, 'Alone And Forsaken' by Hank Williams and 'Single Girl' by the Carter Family. This is record number six from these Colorado transplants (via L.A.) and I'm not entirely sure why we haven't listed them, since they're all stunning. If you're interested, inquire cause we should be able to get any of them. The closest comparison I can come up with is Nick Cave, but 16HP are an entirely different beast, jettisoning the drama, bombast and pagaentry that has plagued Cave in his later years, and instead stripping everything down and adding extra layers of murk and must, fog and frost. A gorgeous and cautionary Biblical tale told by wandering minstrels, as they slowly make their way toward salvation. So totally essential.
RealAudio clip: "Hutterite Mile"
RealAudio clip: "Outlaw Song"
RealAudio clip: "Blessed Persistence"
RealAudio clip: "Alone And Forsaken"