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 LORD BALTIMORE Kingdom Come (Universal) lp 16.98
In the annals of the "early heavy", the Sir Lord Baltimore (from Brooklyn) is up there with the likes of Dust, Bang, and yes Blue Cheer. Too bad their two albums have been pretty much out of print for ages, the last official cd reissue, a two-fer, was back in the early '90s. But, proto-metal fans rejoice, 'cause now both SLB records are back in action, individually, on vinyl! 1970's Kingdom Come and the self-titled 1971 sequel, both of 'em essential slabs of heavy hard rockin' from this seminal band in heavy metal history.
The debut, with the spooky trippy "ghost ship" painting on the cover, alone justifies SLB's cult status. Very few bands in 1970 were this heavy (though, it must be said, Black Sabbath were on an other level entirely). Aside from the primly pretty, baroque ballad "Lake Isle Of Innersfree", this whole record is pretty much a frenzied fuzz blaster par excellance. And when we say fuzz, we mean FUZZ! Just check out the title track, a majestic six and half minutes mixing tripped out lyrics with savage bursts of ultra distorted guitar. There's definitely a sixties vibe to the proceedings; you can imagine bikers totally digging it. And it's as energetic as the proto-punk coming out of Detroit at the time, too.
The follow-up album is a little fancier, more diverse, and dramatic, the band expanded from a trio to a quartet, with extra instrumentation (acoustic guitar, organ). There's a 10+ minute prog epic called "Man From Manhattan" (which still gets heavy!), but also ragin' rockers like "Woman Tamer". And you get to hear SLB kicking out the jams in concert on the live track "Where Are We Going".
What's not to love about this band? They're a Sir, they're a Lord, they even have a singing drummer! So if you haven't yet been flattened by SLB's fuzz, time to add these to your collection, especially if said collection already includes the likes of High Tide, Tiger B. Smith, Highway Robbery, Leaf Hound, Toad, etc.
MPEG Stream: "Kingdom Come"
MPEG Stream: "Master Heartache"

SIR LORD BALTIMORE s/t (Universal) lp 16.98
In the annals of the "early heavy", the Sir Lord Baltimore (from Brooklyn) is up there with the likes of Dust, Bang, and yes Blue Cheer. Too bad their two albums have been pretty much out of print for ages, the last official cd reissue, a two-fer, was back in the early '90s. But, proto-metal fans rejoice, 'cause now both SLB records are back in action, individually, on vinyl! 1970's Kingdom Come and the self-titled 1971 sequel, both of 'em essential slabs of heavy hard rockin' from this seminal band in heavy metal history.
The debut, with the spooky trippy "ghost ship" painting on the cover, alone justifies SLB's cult status. Very few bands in 1970 were this heavy (though, it must be said, Black Sabbath were on an other level entirely). Aside from the primly pretty, baroque ballad "Lake Isle Of Innersfree", this whole record is pretty much a frenzied fuzz blaster par excellance. And when we say fuzz, we mean FUZZ! Just check out the title track, a majestic six and half minutes mixing tripped out lyrics with savage bursts of ultra distorted guitar. There's definitely a sixties vibe to the proceedings; you can imagine bikers totally digging it. And it's as energetic as the proto-punk coming out of Detroit at the time, too.
The follow-up album is a little fancier, more diverse, and dramatic, the band expanded from a trio to a quartet, with extra instrumentation (acoustic guitar, organ). There's a 10+ minute prog epic called "Man From Manhattan" (which still gets heavy!), but also ragin' rockers like "Woman Tamer". And you get to hear SLB kicking out the jams in concert on the live track "Where Are We Going".
What's not to love about this band? They're a Sir, they're a Lord, they even have a singing drummer! So if you haven't yet been flattened by SLB's fuzz, time to add these to your collection, especially if said collection already includes the likes of High Tide, Tiger B. Smith, Highway Robbery, Leaf Hound, Toad, etc.
MPEG Stream: "Woman Tamer"
MPEG Stream: "Caesar LXXI"

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"

SISTER IODINE Flame Desastre (Editions Mego) cd 17.98
Can you handle some noize? The French trio Sister Iodine have apparently been around in the underground for some years now. Jim here recalls that their early stuff was more akin to no-wave, angular rock music (and was quite curious about them having a disc out on Mego). The rest of us here hadn't heard 'em before... but really dig this, which is definitely much more in the noiserock vein of, say, Wolf Eyes, than DNA-ish no-wave. Yep, noiserock a la Wolf Eyes, Shit & Shine, Cadaver In Drag, Hair Police, heck even Hijokaidan. Total distortion overload, the very first track coming off like an exploding minefield of noise, shit blowing up all around. But at the same time, it's not JUST noise, there's enough rhythmic structure to qualify this as rock music, made with guitar, drums, Korg PS3010 synth, and little regard for common standards of musical practice, like, say, melody, or even, really, riffs. Instead these 12 "songs" are all about interesting varieties of throb and rumble, flangey FX and feedback. Further keeping us entranced are the ponderously heavy drum hits, making things almost Khanate-like in parts, run through some sort of monster Merzbowian filter, as on the slumping slomping sizzling trudge of "Terminal Pain".
It's all instrumental (or at least, we can't HEAR any human vocals amidst everything else) but the song titles perhaps give some sense of Sister Iodine's mood: "Lava Junkie", "Black Trauma Delice", "Napalmee", "You Burned", etc. are all in keeping with their general sonic demeanor. Yeah, kind of a negative vibe, yet paradoxically gleeful as the cathartic impact of noisemaking with such abandon takes effect as well. This is the type of noise rock action we find most satisfying, and it even works at low volumes, as gritty textural drone, but turn it up (if you dare) to be fully cleansed in the controlled crinkum-crankum chaos of their howling rocket launching saucer landing skree!
This album was originally released a while ago on vinyl (limited and long gone presumably), and is now reissued on cd with 2 bonus tracks by Editions Mego, in nice, slightly oversized folder packaging like they like to do. Limited to 500 copies, and quite recommended.
MPEG Stream: "You / Lacerate"
MPEG Stream: "Terminal Pain"
MPEG Stream: "You Doped"

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 A Good Year For Hardness (Anchor Brain) lp 14.98
2009 has been quite a year for noise rock legends Six Finger Satellite. First, long lost recordings from 2001 surfaced as the album Half Control. Now, a few months later, the recently reformed band has returned with its first new studio record, and goddamn it's good to have them back. Sad to say though, but the general response (EXCLUDING this one, of course) seems to be overwhelmingly lukewarm, and even all out negative in some cases. Even around here, the first thing people mention is how this doesn't sound like the Six Finger Satellite of old. Perhaps there is some truth to that claim (though why should it necessarily matter?), but repeated listens really dispel it. It's just that current 6FS is a little less focused on experimental noisiness and more into full on rocking, something they've always done well. It's funny how A Good Year For Hardness is pretty damn bluesy. Maybe some folks just don't dig it, but the big 6FS fans around these parts are definitely pleased. After all, it's not like this shit sounds like typical white boy blues rock that you hear at the county fair. Far from it. This is coked out mutant blues being beamed in from outer space. Mean, depraved blues made by guys who are old enough to step into this territory without embarrassment or any desire to be seen as cool in the eyes of today's indie rockers, who they probably don't even acknowledge. This band has always been ridiculously tight, and the new lineup is no exception. The songs exude a grooving, almost classic rock vibe with warm bass, cool backbeats, and muscular riffage. But then there is singer J. Ryan's trademark vocals, all pissed off and pretty scary, every once in a while punctuated by crazy distorted James Brown-styled screams. And yes, the synths are there, they are just used a bit more sparingly, but to awesome effect. Rarely is the band "quirky" here, but every once in a while, the synths just make everything really weird and almost funny if they weren't within such disturbing songs. A lot of the songs venture into dark, brooding psychedelic territory, almost like some jagged post-punk Doors (some may disagree with this, but whatever). This is probably best demonstrated on closing number "Rise," driven by a warm bass throb and a steady beat with occasional bursts of heavily vibratoed guitar chords. Throughout it, the creepy synths pop up here and there as the barely controlled intensity of non-sceaming J. Ryan scares you just a little more. Awesome.
So far this sonuvabitch is available as an lp only, but the turntable deprived can rejoice over the inclusion of a free download card.

SIX FINGER SATELLITE A Good Year For Hardness (Anchor Brain) cd-r 12.98
NOW RELEASED AS A CD-R!! (Why not an actual cd, we don't know, weird.) This came out on vinyl last year, when we said...
2009 has been quite a year for noise rock legends Six Finger Satellite. First, long lost recordings from 2001 surfaced as the album Half Control. Now, a few months later, the recently reformed band has returned with its first new studio record, and goddamn it's good to have them back. Sad to say though, but the general response (EXCLUDING this one, of course) seems to be overwhelmingly lukewarm, and even all out negative in some cases. Even around here, the first thing people mention is how this doesn't sound like the Six Finger Satellite of old. Perhaps there is some truth to that claim (though why should it necessarily matter?), but repeated listens really dispel it. It's just that current 6FS is a little less focused on experimental noisiness and more into full on rocking, something they've always done well. It's funny how A Good Year For Hardness is pretty damn bluesy. Maybe some folks just don't dig it, but the big 6FS fans around these parts are definitely pleased. After all, it's not like this shit sounds like typical white boy blues rock that you hear at the county fair. Far from it. This is coked out mutant blues being beamed in from outer space. Mean, depraved blues made by guys who are old enough to step into this territory without embarrassment or any desire to be seen as cool in the eyes of today's indie rockers, who they probably don't even acknowledge. This band has always been ridiculously tight, and the new lineup is no exception. The songs exude a grooving, almost classic rock vibe with warm bass, cool backbeats, and muscular riffage. But then there is singer J. Ryan's trademark vocals, all pissed off and pretty scary, every once in a while punctuated by crazy distorted James Brown-styled screams. And yes, the synths are there, they are just used a bit more sparingly, but to awesome effect. Rarely is the band "quirky" here, but every once in a while, the synths just make everything really weird and almost funny if they weren't within such disturbing songs. A lot of the songs venture into dark, brooding psychedelic territory, almost like some jagged post-punk Doors (some may disagree with this, but whatever). This is probably best demonstrated on closing number "Rise," driven by a warm bass throb and a steady beat with occasional bursts of heavily vibratoed guitar chords. Throughout it, the creepy synths pop up here and there as the barely controlled intensity of non-sceaming J. Ryan scares you just a little more. Awesome.
MPEG Stream: "Hot Food"
MPEG Stream: "Rome From Home"
MPEG Stream: "Rise"

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 Luminous Night (Drag City) cd 14.98
An abundance of Six Organs this week! Ben Chasny not only has this great new album out, but there's also a vinyl-only split 12" with Azul (aka his old pal L) on the Japanese psych label PSF we're reviewing too. The full-length record at hand, Luminous Night, is indeed a stunner, and more or less what we've come to expect from the reliable Mr. Chasny.
It opens with the orchestrated, slightly precious folk-prog of "Actaeon's Fall (Against The Hounds)", an all-instrumental intro to this delicate and dusty album, a track that's sad yet hopeful, with a Morricone-esque arrangement. The next song "Anesthesia" brings in Ben's hushed but strong singing, and that's how it goes here, folkish balladry (like ferinstance on "The Ballad Of Charley Harper", though there's plenty of drone n' distortion layered o'er that one, and elsewhere) interwoven with moody instrumentals, all of it with a Western Gothic meets Eastern Psych vibe. Next up, "Bar-Nasha" leans towards the Eastern side of the equation, a tapestry of fingerpicking, flute, and hand percussion, but Ben's vocals have all the melancholic solemnity of apocalyptic alt-country act Woven Hand, in fact, his deeper voiced singing here, as on this track, reminds us weirdly enough of someone from another Xtian band, vocalist Eric Wagner from classic doom metallers Trouble. (Who can be psychedelic sometimes, but not like this!).
Regarding the instrumentals, the longest track here, "The River Of Heaven", is a ritualistic ceremony like Japan's Ghost getting mopey, and "Cover Your Wounds With The Sky" is a lovely dense drone piece, sounding a lot like something from Steven R. Smith's latest record, Cities (yet to be reviewed by us, but really good, by the way).
We've mentioned almost all the tracks here, and rest assured that the others are quite nice too, making for a haunting Six Organs Of Admittance album that should satisfy his fans old and new. We figure most of you fall into the former camp, but anyone yet to experience this artist should give Luminous Night a listen and likely you'll become one of the latter.
MPEG Stream: "Bar-Nasha"
MPEG Stream: "The River Of Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "The Ballad Of Charley Harper"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE Luminous Night (Drag City) lp 15.98
An abundance of Six Organs this week! Ben Chasny not only has this great new album out, but there's also a vinyl-only split 12" with Azul (aka his old pal L) on the Japanese psych label PSF we're reviewing too. The full-length record at hand, Luminous Night, is indeed a stunner, and more or less what we've come to expect from the reliable Mr. Chasny.
It opens with the orchestrated, slightly precious folk-prog of "Actaeon's Fall (Against The Hounds)", an all-instrumental intro to this delicate and dusty album, a track that's sad yet hopeful, with a Morricone-esque arrangement. The next song "Anesthesia" brings in Ben's hushed but strong singing, and that's how it goes here, folkish balladry (like ferinstance on "The Ballad Of Charley Harper", though there's plenty of drone n' distortion layered o'er that one, and elsewhere) interwoven with moody instrumentals, all of it with a Western Gothic meets Eastern Psych vibe. Next up, "Bar-Nasha" leans towards the Eastern side of the equation, a tapestry of fingerpicking, flute, and hand percussion, but Ben's vocals have all the melancholic solemnity of apocalyptic alt-country act Woven Hand, in fact, his deeper voiced singing here, as on this track, reminds us weirdly enough of someone from another Xtian band, vocalist Eric Wagner from classic doom metallers Trouble. (Who can be psychedelic sometimes, but not like this!).
Regarding the instrumentals, the longest track here, "The River Of Heaven", is a ritualistic ceremony like Japan's Ghost getting mopey, and "Cover Your Wounds With The Sky" is a lovely dense drone piece, sounding a lot like something from Steven R. Smith's latest record, Cities (yet to be reviewed by us, but really good, by the way).
We've mentioned almost all the tracks here, and rest assured that the others are quite nice too, making for a haunting Six Organs Of Admittance album that should satisfy his fans old and new. We figure most of you fall into the former camp, but anyone yet to experience this artist should give Luminous Night a listen and likely you'll become one of the latter.
MPEG Stream: "Bar-Nasha"
MPEG Stream: "The River Of Heaven"
MPEG Stream: "The Ballad Of Charley Harper"

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 / AZUL split (PSF) lp 23.00
One of two new records this list from long time aQ fave Ben Chasny, aka Six Organs Of Admittance. This one is super limited, maybe the first vinyl release we've gotten on godhead Japanese label PSF, and features one super dense abstract sidelong jam from Six Organs on one side, and a whole batch of groovy shimmery soft psych folk grooves on the B-side from a Japanese group called Azul. For those of you, who like us, had never hear of Azul, it's the new project of Hiroyuki Usui, who long time aQ list readers might remember as one half of the August Born, an earlier collaboration with Chasny, as well as being the man behind legendary folk psych outfit L, whose Holy Letters album was a past aQ Record Of The Week!
So here they are, Chasny and Usui, together again, each doing their own thing on their own side of this lp. Chasny's jam is a weird one. A sprawling slow burning drone, all crunchy and warm and gristly, over which muted guitar scrabble scrapes and skitters, melodies surface here and there, but they're minimal and murky, the whole sound is distant and abstract, a droney almost-raga, shot through with little tangles of fragmented Appalachia, eventually growing into something much more epic and cinematic, with what sounds like strings, Eastern sounding melodies, before a heavy psych coda, chunky super distorted riffs, weary, haunting double tracked vocals, all over a sea of swirls and squiggles, finally giving way to a weird warped riffy outro. Really cool.
The Azul side is WAY more laid back. Groovy, woozy, super sixties sounding, psychedelic, but soft and hazy and a little stoned sounding, hits of that classic Summer Of Love sound, a little Santana, lots of hand drums, warm tinkling vibes, soulful vocals, lazy late afternoon vocals, breezy and a little blissy, a few of the tracks inject a little jazziness, some skronky horns, fluttery flutes, shimmering gongs, but for the most part, it's all steel string guitars, draped over sun dappled arrangements and wreathed in fuzzy clouds of soft focus psych.
Gorgeous packaging. Blue and yellow psychedelic drawings on the sleeve, bizarre characters and warped shapes, lots of texture and detail, wrapped in a printed vellum Japanese style obi. And as you might have guessed. EXTREMELY LIMITED.

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 ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / JOSEPH MATTSON Empty The Sun (Drag City) cd + book 15.00
Music for airports, music for sleeping, music for film...it's about time someone made music for reading! For his brand new novel Empty The Sun, writer Joseph Mattson called upon the talents of Ben Chasney (Six Organs Of Admittance) to create a musical accompaniment to his novel. What a fantastic idea, especially consideringChasney has shown over the years an ability to create mood and atmosphere with a subtlety and undeniable authenticity that rings with such undeniable truth.
Centered around Chasney's mesmerizing guitar playing as well as wonderful accompaniment by Steve Ruecker on pedal steel, rattlers and bowls, Empty The Sun really is the sound we would want playing as we lose ourselves in a good book. Similar in mood and disposition to the great soundtrack to Mister Lonely that J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls created last year, this is one of those records that flows with a pastoral bliss that could, and we find ourselves wishing WOULD, go on forever and ever. Mostly instrumental, there are a few tracks with really nice subdued vocals including some of the most warm and intoxicating vocals we've heard from Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers).
The music of Six Organs Of Admittance really does speak to the soul, so evocative and creative and original, yet still warm and familiar, a rare beast that is as much a fan favorite as an artist's artist, so it's no surprise that Mattson was compelled to bring Six Organs into his world of words, just as film makers like Cam Archer have turned to Six Organs for music in his films, and just about every painter or visual artist we know has copies of Six Organs records in their studio. The sounds Chasney creates seem to be the perfect accompaniment for creation and exploration. And what also makes Chasney's music so amazing is the way it evokes a feeling of comfort, and a gloriously soporific dazem even while you're just sitting on a bus watching your surroundings blur by...
We haven't had a chance to dive into the actual book yet but with a quick skim we're anxious to ring in the new year laying on the couch with Six Organs playing as we dive into what looks to be a compelling novel.
Gorgeously packaged as well, both the cd and lp, each with a slightly different sized novel, to fit the format...
MPEG Stream: "Two Blades"
MPEG Stream: "Goodnight Hal"
MPEG Stream: "Lord, I have Returned"

SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE / JOSEPH MATTSON Empty The Sun (Drag City) lp + book 17.98
Music for airports, music for sleeping, music for film...it's about time someone made music for reading! For his brand new novel Empty The Sun, writer Joseph Mattson called upon the talents of Ben Chasney (Six Organs Of Admittance) to create a musical accompaniment to his novel. What a fantastic idea, especially consideringChasney has shown over the years an ability to create mood and atmosphere with a subtlety and undeniable authenticity that rings with such undeniable truth.
Centered around Chasney's mesmerizing guitar playing as well as wonderful accompaniment by Steve Ruecker on pedal steel, rattlers and bowls, Empty The Sun really is the sound we would want playing as we lose ourselves in a good book. Similar in mood and disposition to the great soundtrack to Mister Lonely that J. Spaceman & Sun City Girls created last year, this is one of those records that flows with a pastoral bliss that could, and we find ourselves wishing WOULD, go on forever and ever. Mostly instrumental, there are a few tracks with really nice subdued vocals including some of the most warm and intoxicating vocals we've heard from Elisa Ambrogio (Magik Markers).
The music of Six Organs Of Admittance really does speak to the soul, so evocative and creative and original, yet still warm and familiar, a rare beast that is as much a fan favorite as an artist's artist, so it's no surprise that Mattson was compelled to bring Six Organs into his world of words, just as film makers like Cam Archer have turned to Six Organs for music in his films, and just about every painter or visual artist we know has copies of Six Organs records in their studio. The sounds Chasney creates seem to be the perfect accompaniment for creation and exploration. And what also makes Chasney's music so amazing is the way it evokes a feeling of comfort, and a gloriously soporific dazem even while you're just sitting on a bus watching your surroundings blur by...
We haven't had a chance to dive into the actual book yet but with a quick skim we're anxious to ring in the new year laying on the couch with Six Organs playing as we dive into what looks to be a compelling novel.
Gorgeously packaged as well, both the cd and lp, each with a slightly different sized novel, to fit the format...
MPEG Stream: "Two Blades"
MPEG Stream: "Goodnight Hal"
MPEG Stream: "Lord, I have Returned"

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.