SANHEDOLIN Manjoicchi Wa Muko (PSF) cd 21.00
Sanhedolin is the new name for the project that brought together two of the most exciting artists in the Tokyo underground prog-psych scene, AQ faves progcore duo Ruins and dark psych shaman Keiji Haino!! They did a cd on PSF under the name Knead three years ago (and also an LP on the French Fractal label). Now they've teamed up again, but because the Ruins have a new bass player, they've changed the name of this unit to Sanhedolin (though, the Ruins didn't change their name, so go figure). Anyway, this what you get when guitarist/vocalist Haino has the hyper-excitable rhythm section that is the Ruins backing him up. Incendiary improv action! Heavy-duty guitar/bass/drums interplay. And... flute?
Yep, oddly enough (but much to our approval) this album opens up with the lovely sound of the flute! Haino is not credited with playing flute on the sleeve, but it's got to be him. It's not until a track or so later that Haino unleashes his trademark searing electric guitar devastation. He also screams out some very anguished vocals, more soul-wrenching than those from any black metal throat. Haino's presence is key here (and like we said in our review of the Knead cd, although you can hear both the Ruins and Haino doing their respective, distinctive "things", the combination maybe makes it more of Haino's album than the Ruins -- it's like a really fierce Fushitsusha recording with an uncowed, caffinated rhythm section). And really, we like this better than a lot of other Ruins improv projects 'cause it's not just about the spazz-out bass/drums, the iron first of Haino's guitar playing is so STRONG that it keeps the Ruins in line, it's more purposeful I guess. Fans of either and/or both Ruins or Haino though should like this. And by the the way, new Ruins bass player Mitsuru Nasuno is just as nimble as any who've played with Ruins drummer/mastermind Yoshida Tatsuya before, as he'd better be!
MPEG Stream: "track 3"
MPEG Stream: "track 7"

SANHEDRIN s/t (Breathing Bass) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Scorched earth skronk from some of the best in the business... that'd be the Japanese underground improv psych power trio super group Sanhedrin, who consist of monster guitarist Keiji Haino of Fushitsusha, monster drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of Ruins, and monster bassist Mitsuru Nasuno of Altered States. Before this, they had a cd on PSF under the name Sanhedolin, and before that, there was a unit called Knead (Haino + Ruins) but basically it's the same thing. Freeform freakout distortodelic action. Really heavy-duty stuff, fans of Haino know what to expect, if you've been waiting a while to really hear him crank it on the axe again, this is the thing to get! There's eight tracks, about 66 minutes filled with feedback and fuzz, recorded live to multitrack in 2007 at two separate performances. A combustible chaos of roiling drums, seesawing rhythms, angular wandering bass grooves, and, above all, thick wooly slabs of ultra-distorted guitar. Chaotic vocal babble (Haino? Yoshida?) intrudes only occasionally, and amidst all the mayhem there are some relatively serene (but heavy) stretches of black metal-ish amplifier drone bzzzz... Pretty killer! We can't imagine hearing any band of noise rocking whippersnappers doing this sort of thing any better.
We don't normally quote from label blurbs, but can't resist this grammatically confused sentence: "Is equal to of the whole body which passion gushes from." Dunno exactly what that means, but y'know, it's probably true! The disc is some kind of limited edition, originally tour-only merch sold at shows in Japan. It's packaged in a glossy black cardstock tri-fold sleeve + obi, adorned with some odd, colorful collage artwork - a typewriter, a dragon, telephones, fish, a frog, a tuba, a Gibson SG guitar, an eyeball with squid-like tentacles...
MPEG Stream: "Yokuaukototowa Iwasenai"
MPEG Stream: "Kitani Naritagaru Gate Reverb"
MPEG Stream: "Saa Mannakada Donnakanji Part-2"

SANJA Musen / Izu (PSF) cd 22.00
Sanja is an underground Japanese improv supergroup of sorts: Kan Mikami on vocals and guitar, Toshi Ishizuka on drums and percussion, and Masayoshi Urabe on alto saxophone, harmonica, bass blockfloten (?), accordion, piccolo and chains. Yes, chains, you can hear 'em. And we've gotta say: woah, not the most relaxing sounds we've ever heard! For non-Japanese speakers, even more difficult, because you won't be able to decipher the vocals of Kan Mikami, whose dramatic delivery comes across as a bit Muppet-like here to us Westerners. And Urabe's saxophone shrieks don't help matters. Nope, not always an easy listen. But that's not what they're going for, or what you're here for either, right? You're looking for some stark, intense improv a bit out of the ordinary. Well here you go. Free jazz for the wide-open spaces, avant-garde Japanese hobos camped around a fire trading hard knock life stories via vocals, drums, and sax. Even when relatively quiet, it's roiling.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 3"

SANKT OTTEN Morgen Wieder Lustig (Hidden Shoal) cd-r 11.98
After a way too long break, Hidden Shoal return to aQuarius, with two new gems, both from long time aQ faves, the first is the latest from SF dreamdronedrifter Wes Willenbring, reviewed elsewhere on this list, and this right here, the latest from German outfit Sankt Otten, who we originally described as a mix between Bohren And Der Club Of Gore and Portishead (they're often described in the press as the German Portishead), and really Bohren and Portishead, can't do much better than that. But we were excited to hear how these guys might have changed over the last couple years, and in fact, their sound has shifted quite a bit.
At least in the beginning, the murk and the muted minimalism has been replaced by something much more washed out and ethereal, glimmering and dreamlike, the opening track is a weightless swath of gauzy chordal shimmer that leads directly into a deep throbbing bass synth, we were prepared for a descent into darkness, but weirdly, the sound shifts toward something more epic, a chiming gamelan like melody, over warm soaring synths, skittery drums, a sort of laid back droney downtempo shuffle, but laced with a weirdly major key melody.
It's around track three, where the group slip into some serious downtempo trip hop territory, a gorgeous hazy trawl through greyed electronics and blackened ambience, more laid back skitter, thick throbbing bass, and all sorts of sweeping swirling melody, dark and epic and mysterious. But SA continue to defy the German Portishead pigeonhole, by cranking up the tempo, veering into a sort of krautrock by way of Four Tet one minute, whirling Pop Ambience the next, synthy sprawling blissed out prismatic new age the next, over the course of the record slipping back and forth between these various sounds, sometimes melding several at once, a gorgeous, moody sonic journey, from haunting atmospheric darkness, to sun dappled rhythmic mesmer, to spaced out psychedelic synth, to eighties sounding new wave to hushed dreamlike ambience, to creepy slowcore crawl. Awesome stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Ein Himmel Voller Galgen"
MPEG Stream: "Mutter, Jazz Und Der Heilige Geist"
MPEG Stream: "Mit Popcorn Und Champagner"

SANKT OTTEN Wir koennen Ja Freunde Bleiben (Hidden Shoal) cd-r 11.98
Before we get into the story behind this disc, let us just start by saying, that not only is this one of our new favorite records, a gorgeous slithery, smokey cross between Bohren And Der Club Of Gore and Portishead, but that it took a whole lot of work to get it into the store and available for sale...
So this has actually happened to us a few times, which either speaks to our naivete, or as we prefer to think a dogged belief in the record album as object, to be held, listened to and loved, and an inability to understand any thoughts to the contrary. Australia's Hidden Shoal Records got in touch with us and was hoping we would check out some of their bands, we did, and got all excited about carrying them at AQ. Until, after we emailed and tried to order some, we were regretfully informed that Hidden Shoal was in fact a digital only label, no lps, no cds, no cassettes, just MP3's. Too bad we thought, as far as we were concerned, though of course we know there are those perfectly happy to download some MP3's. But over the course of many months, and lots of emails back and forth, the label admitted to being interested in actually pressing up cds. We of course encouraged them, because we wanted all our customers to be able to buy and hear this music, but also, because, there's something about the object, the cd or the lp or the 7", the liner notes, looking through the booklet while listening to the music, the feel, even the smell. And sure, it IS all about the music, but that other stuff is part of it too, no matter how much iTunes wants us to think otherwise. Obviously most of you don't need to be told that, otherwise you'd probably not be reading this.
Well, the upshot is, two of our favorite recordings on Hidden Shoal are now finally available on cd, well, cd-r actually. But they are professionally pressed, with full color artwork, printed artwork on the disc, and heck, we'll take cd-r's over MP3s any day. And lots of you seem to prefer cd-r's anyway...
This disc is the latest from German combo Sankt Otten, often considered to be the Portishead of Germany, and sonically, that's not all that far off the mark. Although when we first heard it, we heard a lot of Bohren as well, late period Talk Talk, and maybe a little Tricky and Massive Attack. It all adds up exactly how you might imagine. Slow burning instrumentals, humid and sultry, Morricone-ish guitars drifting in a sea of rumble and shimmer, the bass a slithery serpent of sound, smooth and sexy sometimes, distorted and fuzz drenched at others.
But as with music like this, it's all about two things, the drums, and the atmosphere. And the drums here are perfect. And heck, so is the ambience. The rhythms almost always begin a jazzy skitter, the cymbals sizzling, the snare brushed, occasionally lurching into a more propulsive funk flecked rhythm. A dark lugubrious pulse, dangerous and dimly lit. The drums demarcate a darkened path through back alleys and smoky clubs, everything cloaked in a thick, ominous ambience. Dense sonic swells wrapped around sparse arrangements and moody minor key melodies. More of a jazz vibe than any of the above mentioned bands... but the jazziness oozes into all sorts of gorgeous variations, with the various chunks of dreamy doomy shuffle separated by stretches of Circle like hypnorock or looped Necks style static jazz, or the haunting Sigur Ros like vocals on "Fallen Und Fangen (Johannes Der Laeufer)" draped over soaring super dramatic strings, or even the album closer, "Maerchenwald", which almost sounds like it could be on Kompakt, a grey hued shoegazey drift, with sweeping synths rainy day piano, and a strange techno pulse buried in the mix. Some tracks sound so much like Portishead, they could be lost B-sides or instrumental outtakes, but Sankt Otten manage to imbue even those tracks too with their own stamp, be it an unlikely melody, some Western twang, some strange distorted bass line, spidery atonal synth or an unexpected abstract breakdown. Or as is the case on "Zum Schweigen Verdammt" its flurries of cinematic strings, and super distorted percussive crashes.
It's all just so intensely moody and melancholy, jazzy and dramatic, and so so gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Fremdenzimmer"
MPEG Stream: "Happiness (Woanders Als Hier)"
MPEG Stream: "Zum Schweigen Verdammt"
MPEG Stream: "Hoehenrausch"

SANSO-XTRO Fountain Fountain Joyous Mountain (Digitalis) cd 15.98
She's been on the scene for a few years now, but this is the first we've heard of the intimate and fragile dreamlike sounds of Sanso-Xtro, aka Australian multi-intrumentalist Melissa Agagte, who uses analog synths and electronics to create a fantasy soundtrack for a wander through a mystical forest, a sound that makes us think of folks like Islaja and Paavarhaju, or what it might sound like if Natural Snow Buildings teamed up with Colleen. It's never too precious for its own good, and in fact there's a mesmerizing haunting quality to this album that wraps you in its arms from start to finish. Like a warped music box floating on an empty lake, this is intimate and engaging music at its best!
MPEG Stream: "Fountain Fountain"
MPEG Stream: "The Origin Of Birds"
MPEG Stream: "Wood Owl Wings A Rush Rush"

SANSO-XTRO Fountain Fountain Joyous Mountain (Digitalis) lp 19.98
She's been on the scene for a few years now, but this is the first we've heard of the intimate and fragile dreamlike sounds of Sanso-Xtro, aka Australian multi-intrumentalist Melissa Agagte, who uses analog synths and electronics to create a fantasy soundtrack for a wander through a mystical forest, a sound that makes us think of folks like Islaja and Paavarhaju, or what it might sound like if Natural Snow Buildings teamed up with Colleen. It's never too precious for its own good, and in fact there's a mesmerizing haunting quality to this album that wraps you in its arms from start to finish. Like a warped music box floating on an empty lake, this is intimate and engaging music at its best!
MPEG Stream: "Fountain Fountain"
MPEG Stream: "The Origin Of Birds"
MPEG Stream: "Wood Owl Wings A Rush Rush"

SANTA MARIA s/t (Slottet) cd 15.98
Just what we've been hankering for, some perfectly breezy and colorful pop done just right. And lucky for us Santa Maria has got a perfect batch of the good stuff for us to enjoy. Leave it to the Swedes to make some of the most infectious and smart pop we've heard in ages. Best known as the guitarist in The Concretes, Maria Eriksson, aka Santa Maria steps into the spotlight with fantastic results. Joined throughout the record by some of Sweden's best and brightest, including members of Sagor & Swing, Tape, and Laakso, this is the kind of pop music we never ever ever get tired of. Equal parts peppy and bittersweet. Proving once again that pop doesn't have to be dumb or simple to be catchy and infectious. While her former Concretes bandmate, vocalist Victoria Bergsman stole the show with her contributions to the latest Peter Bjorn & John album, we're pretty sure that Maria Eriksson deserves the ears of all those who appreciate smart pop as well. With a sound similar to the great Concretes debut, Peter Bjorn & John, Camera Obscura, and The Aislers Set, this is one of the best pop records we've heard so far this year!
MPEG Stream: "Dogs"
MPEG Stream: "Face Blank"
MPEG Stream: "Icestorm"

SANTA POD s/t (Ash International R.I.P.) cd 15.98
'Get ready for drag-racing MAYHEM... Mayhem... mayhem... ummm do we really have to keep badgering them like this?' - Smithers OK, do not dismiss this as just a field recording of drag races (even though that is what it is). While the blasts of drag racing noise tear bi-aurally across this CD of field recordings from the Santa Pod Raceway in Podington, England on the site of an old American airbase, it is the constant ridiculous banter of the announcer whose barely audible / poorly-transmitted-through-a-crappy-speaker rants have captured the essence of the drag-racing. Certainly in the tradition of the 'Sounds of North American Frogs', 'The Conet Project', 'The Ghost Orchid', and 'One of One', this is brilliant.

SANTOGOLD Creator / L.E.S. Artistes (Downtown) 12" 10.98
Wow, "Creator" is quickly becoming our favorite single of the year. Santogold has been getting lots of attention and winning high profile fans like Bjork, Spank Rock and Lily Allen. "Creator" for sure makes us think of her friend M.I.A. in both the vocal delivery and the splatter-of-color production by Switch (who worked on most of M.I.A.'s latest). The 'b' side finds Santogold in more of a new wave territory sounding kind of like Karen O singing lead on the first Cars album. While both the aQ faithful as well as her famous fans wait for her debut full length, we'll be laying the needle on "Creator" again and again and again.

SANTOGOLD s/t (Downtown) cd 14.98
Santogold's eponymous debut came with a tall stack of expectations that nearly any artist would have a hard time fulfilling. The number of industry glossies that tagged her the next MIA, or even went so far as to whisper the hallowed name of one Lady Sovereign, had everyone abuzz, ready to witness the next vital permutation of global hip hop whatever pitchfork is calling it these days. So, that said, the record didn't quite pack the punch some of us were hoping for. Or perhaps rather, it just wasn't what we expected, taking many more forays into what can only call a kind of mid-'90s slick indie-rock, that's probably best left for the occasional late-night YouTube session. Even so, Santogold should be credited for her efforts to break genre-constraints, and ultimately the record is stronger for it, if not a bit schizophrenic.
Over the last month most of us have uncovered a few new favorites, and certainly agree this record is no dog. Those in need of a handful of great summer jams from a fresh and promising voice working in the vein of the aforementioned trendsetters will certainly find what they are looking for. Of note, of course, is the fabulous lead single, "Creator," which features Santogold's more fierce vocal delivery, and a killer combination of hooks and rhythms. Also, another standout "Lights Out," shows Santogold making good in her efforts to reach toward new wave and even her punk past for a subtly inventive take on pop music. It's certainly a far cry from the global hip-hop/dancehall designation that "Creator" had her billed as, but even so its seriously infectious, and a few of the songs even sort of kick ass. If you've got a few holes to fill on a mix-tape or just feel like some P-O-P, do it.
MPEG Stream: "Creator"
MPEG Stream: "Lights Out"

SANTOMIERI, DEAN Boy Beneath the Sea (The Foundry) cd 12.98
Released on the local ambient label The Foundry, Dean Santomieri's "Boy Beneath The Sea" starts off pleasantly enough with slowly strummed Godspeed / Tarentel guitar riffs complemented by vaguely New Age-ish chimes and polished digital sheen. But Santomieri marrs the atmosphere with an extended monologue about "wonder, fear, guilt, impotence, love, anguish and freedom as uttered from the perspective of the boy in his new world as well as that of his parents and sister in their loss." Since the spoken word / ambient combination is one of my least favourite genres, I'll admit to turning this off rather quickly, never to return to it again.

SANTOS, RUSTY The Heavens (UUAR) cd 13.98
A close associate of Animal Collective and very well submerged in the New York new-avant art/music scene stratus, Rusty Santos envelopes us with minimal electronic singer-songwriter type lovelies on The Heavens, his third release. With considerable amounts of recorded-in-the-practice-space-room-sound here, Santos' musical creations are artful soundscapes that often give way to some lyrical urgency and are hard to pinpoint where it's all coming from per se. But somewhere in a big bowl of sound steeped with Syd Barrett, Brian Eno, Neil Young, Violent Femmes and OMD, we loudly slurp up The Heavens. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "This Direction"
MPEG Stream: "Alms"

SAPAT Mortise And Tenon (Siltbreeze) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Maat Fount"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Silver"

SAPERA Snake Charmers of North India (Bona-Fi) cd 14.98
Got some of this old favorite back in stock, thought we'd list it again in case you'd missed it. Previously we wrote: The image of a pungi player hypnotically swaying the end of his instrument in front of a cobra portrayed in Western books and films is a fairly accurate one" says this disc's notes, and while that may justify this one Western preconception, it does nothing to prepare for how weird and wonderful the music from snake charmers really is. The three different instruments used by snake charmers (the oboe-like pungi and the rhythmic instruments premtal and kanyeri) provide not so much of a sexy sway as one might think, but a herky-jerky set of bobbing rhythms and an odd stop-start style of reed playing. Andee has likened it to the hard disc editing of Oval, Pita, and Jim O'Rourke but played live! Perhaps the snakes are Mego fans... This is a pretty spectacular collection of mysterious and stirring sound. Highly recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Theka Talin"
MPEG Stream: "Melody From The Film Phagun"

SAPPINGTON s/t ep (self-released) cd 5.98
Four quietly dreamy numbers from this young San Francisco trio. Two voices slowly weave their way around the often-subdued guitar, sampled dialogue and twinkling space sounds. For fans of For Stars or Tarentel.

SAPPINGTON Summer (Dreams By Degrees) 10" 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local laidback rockers Sappington sure take their own sweet time. Their first cdep came out in late 2000 and we've not heard a recorded peep from them since. They do play out occasionally though which reassured us that they were still making music. To refresh your memory, this trio makes lovely, drowsy, starry sky tunes. In the time since that first release, it appears they've grown quite a bit. Their sound is much more confident, developed and detailed. The male and female vocals are much more robust and front and center than I recall. The latter are very reminiscent of Carly Simon or Rebecca Gates, and they're warmly effective in contrast to the fuzzy washes of electronics in their "Airtight" remix which closes the second side of the 10". So dreamy and mellow, this entry fits well in the Dreams By Degrees seasonal series which also includes fellow mellows Colophon (Jef from Tarentel), Loquat, and Coastal.

SAPTHURAN ...In Hatred (Wraith Productions) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "A Wolf And It's Prey"
MPEG Stream: "Through The Eyes Of The Vulture"

SAPTHURAN The Beast In The Cave (God Is Myth) 3" cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Probably most well known around these parts for sharing a split with SF black metal overlord Leviathan a while back, Sapthuran pretty much held their own, which in that sort of company is saying something for sure. Their most recent full length was pretty great as well, a gloriously buzzed out slab of Burzumic brutality, as blissed out and hypnotic as grim and fuzzy. And a logical choice to be a part of God Is Myth's ongoing series of 3" cd-r's paying tribute to the writer H.P. Lovecraft, who has probably had more of an affect on metal music than almost any other writer (minus J.R.R. Tolkien obviously).
This is volume four in the series. The first came courtesy of UK experimental black metal outfit Caina, the second from Appalachian heathen metal horde Harvist, the third from the strangely monickered LVTHN, pronounced Leviathan, but not to be confused with our own Leviathan and number four comes from this Kentuckian black horde.Ê
Three songs, a little under twenty minutes, thematically Lovecraftian, but sonically, much like the last Sapthuran full length. The guitars are a drone-y buzz, loping and looping, fuzzed out and hypnotic, very Burzumy for sure, the vocals a strangled demony growl, the drums a chaotic black blast, the whole thing swirled into a relentlessly mesmerizing, pounding black buzz that wraps it's spiky tendrils around you and pulls you into the bleak and black emptiness below.ÊÊ
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES. We only got 20 and it's already out of print from the label so once these are gone we will not be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: "Into The Mouth Of The Earth"
MPEG Stream: "The Watcher"

SAPTHURAN To The Edge Of Land (God Is Myth) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Being on a split record with another band can be rough. If the other band sucks, your band gets dragged right down with them. If the other band is great, they can make the listener completely forget that your half of the split even exists. So imagine being a black metal band, a pretty darn good black metal band, and doing a split with the current king of USBM Leviathan. You can't pass it up. It's fucking Leviathan man! But talk about pressure. But heck, it's gotta say something that Sapthuran shared a split with Leviathan a while back, and not only did we not ignore them, but we actually dug their half of the split quite a bit. So much so that when we learned they had a new full length, we got a bunch for the store.
Not nearly as weird as Leviathan, Sapthuran traffic in a more sort of trance like Burzumy buzz, single riffs are repeated and looped into a mesmerizing black metal hypnorock. Vocals howl and shriek, drums pound and blast, but it's all about the riffs, dense and fuzzy, a thick blanket of buzz laid over everything. Almost like a black metal Circle or Gore. Not a whole lot of parts, in fact, often just one or two, but the riffs are so good, and they are recorded so hot and blown out. It's like dipping your head in a furnace of black flames. Probably the weirdest thing about Sapthuran is all the acoustic guitars. It seems like almost half the record is not metal at all, instead a sort of lilting dark folk, fingerpicked minor key melodies, simple strumming, often placed in dark soundscapes of ambient drone, or distant black buzz, or crackling campfires, or the sound of howling wind, or burbling streams and chirping birds. Pastoral and tranquil, but still dark and ominous, the perfect sonic counterpoint to the hypnotic buzzing blackness surrounding that fragile serenity on all sides and perpetually threatening to swallow it whole.
MPEG Stream: "Three"
MPEG Stream: "Four"
MPEG Stream: "Six"

SARAH'S CHARITY Code Of Red Twin (Arbor) cd-r 6.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
We always assumed that Denmark's Sarah's Charity must include Matthew Bower of Skullflower, or Marcia Bassett of Hototogisu, or at least someone from Heavy Winged or Double Leopards or one of those sorts of bands. They have the same sort of slow burning heaviness going on, the washed out walls of psychedelic swirl, grinding guitars, keening streaks of high end. Another one of 'those sounds' we can't ever seem to get enough of.
Ends up SC are indeed from Denmark, and do not count any American or British noise rock ringers among their members, which is just as well, as these guys can totally hold their own, and then some, whipping up a seriously dense and deliriously blown out soundscape of buzz and blur and shimmer and rrrroooaaaaar. The other cd-r we had from SC was equally guitar heavy, but here, the sound seems significantly murkier and more muted, softer even (softer being relative of course), giving it a more dreamy drone-y sound which is no bad thing at all. But fear not, this is still fierce and prickly and caustic and HEAVY, just sort of pretty too.
We only have a handful of these, it was LIMITED TO 150 COPIES (each with a hand numbered insert), and they've been waiting for a while to get reviewed and listed, so pretty sure these are long gone and out of print at the source, but while they last, we got em here...
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"

SARAH'S CHARITY On The Edge Of Black Sinus Desert (Heavy Blossom) cd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another new, mysterious missive from Heavy Blosssom, the cd-r label run by Marcia Bassett of the Double Leopards and Hototogisu and Matthew Bower of Skullflower, Hototogisu, Sunroof!, Total, etc. Did lots of digging but couldn't figure out a damn thing about this Sarah's Charity outfit. There are guitars. LOTS of 'em. And we're talking the sort of guitars that sound like they are playing themselves, lit on fire, squealing and squirming, snapping at you every time you reach toward the amp and try to turn it down. Sharp and prickly, thick coruscating walls of white hot, buzzing snarling guitars. This is definitely a 'noise' record. But it's also somehow a psychedelic guitar record. By the sound of it, this could be either Bassett or Bower, just sort of going apeshit with a guitar, and about a million watts of amplification and the biggest distortion pedal in the universe. After a few minutes the distinct guitar-ness of the sound begins to blur and distort and all sorts of strange melodies and alien textures begin to emerge. For being very LOUD, and very heavy, and quite harsh, it's also strangely soothing and droney. An amazing, massive acid fried psychedelic free noise outerspace freakout. Released on Hototogisu's Heavy Blossom label. As always, SUPER LIMITED. We only got a handful. Packaged in a hand painted fold over cardstock sleeve. Be careful though when you put this in your player. The cool hand painted disc seems to dry and flake, so before you throw this in, give it a good blow or brush, and then hang on...
MPEG Stream: "One"
MPEG Stream: "Two"

SARDONIS s/t (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
We're pretty skeptical of the two man band, a lot of the time we end up wishing a bass / drums duo just had a guitarist, or that a guitar / drums duo had some more low end. There are of course exceptions: godheadSilo, Om, Ruins, and you can now add Belgian duo Sardonis to the list. The latest blast of kick ass heaviness from MeteorCity, who are on the roll to end all rolls, recent releases from Freedom Hawk, Egypt, Leeches Of Lore, Whitebuzz, Village Of Dead Roads, Flood, Ararat, those guys are killing us! And we love it.
So Sardonis are a guitar and drums duo from Belgium, who traffic in epic, heaving, monstrous instrumental metal, equal parts classic stoner rock, old school doom and post rock/post metal or whatever you call it. Needless to say, you won't even notice the lack of bass here, the sound is MASSIVE, the low end crushing, and the riffs killer. We'll be the first to admit that instrumental rock can definitely get boring, often sounding like it's unfinished, where you're constantly expecting the vocals to kick in at any minute, but Sardonis solve that problem by crafting super catchy songs that are as much about texture and timbre and mood as they are about rhythm and riffery. Slipping from slow motion lurching crush, to wild frantic blasting, to woozy meandery drift, to full on Sabbathy dirge, this is some seriously heavy, seriously atmospheric shit, the chords not always predictable, the melodies veering of into strange directions, the band sometimes locking into totally mesmerizing trancelike jams, but just as often, exploding into bursts of in-the-red downtuned psychedelia.
It's hard to say exactly what it is about these guys, it's a little bit of everything, some sort of alchemy between the two, and their ability to conjure these songs, riffs, this tone, the overall sound, whatever it is, it fucking rules, and we find ourselves unable to stop listening. Which is always a good sign...
MPEG Stream: "Nero D'Avola"
MPEG Stream: "Skullcrusher AD"
MPEG Stream: "It Walks The Mountain"

SARGE The Glass Intact (Mud/Parasol) cd 12.98
Great hook-filled indie rock, tight and charming, with female harmonies... If you think indie rock is at a standstill, try this. For fans of Tiger Trap and Team Dresch.

SARGE The Glass Intact (Mud/Parasol) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Great hook-filled indie rock, tight and charming, with female harmonies... If you think indie rock is at a standstill, try this. For fans of Tiger Trap and Team Dresch.

SARGEIST Disciple Of The Heinous Path (Moribund) cd 13.98

SARGEIST Satanic Black Devotion (Moribund) cd 14.98

SARIN SMOKE s/t (Wholly Other) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
First release from this brand new duo, made up of one part Tom Carter (Charalambides) and one part Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans), gorgeously presented as a one sided clear vinyl lp, the other side featuring silkscreened artwork from Grouper's Liz Harris, housed in a thick clear vinyl sleeve.Ê
Both these guys bring out the best in the other, dense tangles of chiming metallic shimmer, drifting harmonics, whirring amp buzz, keening feedback, bits of scrape and shuffle, dotted with tiny squalls of burnt psych guitars, swooshing ambience and lots of drifting space.Ê
The sound is murky, but vibrant, notes and chords spread into a thick slow shifting fog of fragmented melodies and wavery bits of guitar grind. On the surface, this is raw and wild, untamed and even mildly abrasive, but these guys manage to deftly smooth it all out into something downright pretty, without losing any of the raw fire or visceral immediacy.Ê
As with most things like this, it's also super limited...

SARIN SMOKE (PETE SWANSON / TOM CARTER) Smokescreen (Three Lobed ) lp+cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We listed the first release from Sarin Smoke a while back. It now seems to be back ordered or our of print or for some reason unavailable, we're working on getting more back in, but in the meantime, they've returned with yet another lp only slab of dreamy, blessed out guitar explorations. The 'they' in this case being Pete Swanson from the Yellow Swans and Tom Carter from Charalambides.
This is absolute nirvana for guitardrone fanatics. Huge glowing arcs of grinding distorted guitars, massive swells of whirring low end incandescence, whispered minor key creep, creaking buzzing shimmering ambience, tinkling melodies, throbbing humid riffing, spare and spacious, contemplative and meditative, but with occasional stretches of almost straight rock riffing, and once in a while bursts of fiery psychdrone radiance.
Limited to 652 copies. Pressed on super thick 180 gram vinyl. And while they last, the first 287 lps comes with a cd (not a cd-r, an actual cd) with the same music for listening and Ipod-ing ease!!! Packaged in super heavy letter pressed sleeves with original artwork from Liz Harris of Grouper.

SARKE Vorunah (Indie Recordings ) cd 21.00

SARMANTO, HEIKKI Moonflower (Porter Records) cd 16.98

SAROS Acrid Plains (Profound Lore) cd 13.98

SAROS Five Pointed Tongue (Hungry Eye) cd 13.98
Saros, featuring the (amazing, need we say?) drummer from the legendary Weakling, is one of San Francisco's up and coming heavy metal outfits, playing a blend of thrash, black and speed metal that takes no prisoners live (and now, on record). Saros are all about old school rippage mixed with weird black metal epic experimentation... On their debut full-length Five Pointed Tongue you get a fierce lesson in modern metal melding, the band both galloping and trudging (depending) through five fairly long tracks (43 minutes total) that mix up blackened rasps, clean vocal melodies, some acoustic guitar, prog-rock song structures, widdly solos, and plenty of traditional Bay Area 'banging. No matter the twists and turns, in one of Saros' songs you're never far from a blast of icy riffage. And quite a beating when it comes to the drums! Requisite obscure metal nerd reference: I wonder if these guys are at all familiar with French Canadian tech metallers Obliveon? I think they'd like them.
MPEG Stream: "F Sub Zero"
MPEG Stream: "Collapse Of The Tower"

SARTORI, ANDREA Il Tagliacode (Persona) cd 16.98

SARUMATAKEUITSUKO s/t (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Night Gallery 3 compilation alumni Sarumatakeuitsuko (whose name might translate into something in English like "Monkey Crotch Mushroom Mituko"?? no that can't be right... we hope not!) bring us their debut full-length for Osaka's Alchemy label. They were also just on Alchemy's recently reviewed Tribute To Jojo Hiroshige, and both comp appearances whetted our appetite for this cd.
An all-female psych rock trio (vocals & guitar/guitar/bass... no drums!), Sarumatakeuitsuko's album is often a haunting and beautiful thing, initally making quite effective use of eerie, lovely vocals and occasional stabs of guitar, eventually exploring chanting, fuzzed-out repetition, using slashing guitar chords percussively in lieu of drums. But it's not all downer drone-psych minimalism, as with track three "An An" the disc suddenly veers into sunny indie-pop jangle a la Maher Shalal Hash Baz or Nagisa Ni Te. Eventually things cloud over yet again, getting again all drifting and dreamy, especially on the disc's final 13 minute cut "Akai Butter", wherein emotive vocals and notes plucked out on one guitar are suspended over what builds into a droning bed of distortion...wandering, narcotic. Very nice indeed. Certainly something fans of Nagisa Ni Te, Angel 'In Heavy Syrup, Doodles, Eddie Marcon, etc. should hear!
MPEG Stream: "Solo"
MPEG Stream: "Meniere Girl"

SASQUATCH / SARANTIS split (Senseless) 12" 12.98

SATAN Court In The Act (Roadrunner / Metal Mind) cd 17.98

SATAN'S ALMIGHTY PENIS Pulsing Feral Spire (Pagan Flames Productions) cd 9.98

SATAN'S HOST Burning The Born Again (Moribund) cd 14.98

SATAN'S HOST By The Hands Of The Devil (Moribund) cd 14.98
For whatever reason, we never really paid too much attention to Satan's Host, in the fine tradition of book cover judging, we sort of assumed they would be just another generic boring Satanic black metal band, and apparently they were at some point, and it makes sense, the band name, the cheesy (but cool) cover art, they're on Moribund, but this is maybe their 8th record or something, so we checked it out, and wow, not boring black metal, instead some strange sort of Satanic blackened power metal, led by the powerful soaring clean vocals of their original vocalist Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin, he also of the mighty Jag Panzer, and it's a pretty potent combination for sure, total epic TRUE metal vocals, nestled in some crushing, melodic, heavy as hell hybrid of classic metal and buzzing blackness, pretty tough to resist, especially if you love black metal, but tire of the raspy shrieks, or love metal, but find true metal and power metal a little to wimpy, well, then, this is for you.
And to top it off, they do an amazing/ridiculous/dumb/brilliant cover of the Beatles' "Norwegian Wood", appropriately metallized (and damn it sounds good all buzzy and blasty), but even better, they rewrote the lyrics, so now it's about burning churches, "Norwegian Wood", get it?! Anyway, some seriously melodic blackened satanic power metal heaviness that the metalheads around here have been digging like crazy, and thus comes way recommended it you're of a similar stripe...
MPEG Stream: "By The Hands Of The Devil"
MPEG Stream: "Shades Of The Unlight"
MPEG Stream: "Norwegian Wood"

SATAN'S RATS What A Bunch Of Rodents (Overground) cd 15.98
Wow! Classic UK punk from 1977, and how! Satan's Rats came out of Evesham, Worcester, and among their claims to fame -- playing some of the earliest punk festivals -- they opened for the Sex Pistols and were so well received the audience demanded and encore (no small feat for a band playing for finnicky young punks waiting to see the genre's defining act.) This anthology, compiled by founding member / guitarist Steve Eagles includes everything the band ever recorded: six songs off their three singles and 14 demo tracks recorded between 1977 and 1979. The final four demo tracks are true gems, primitively recorded in a basement studio which had decayed so far by the time they were preserved in the digital realm they were riddled with drop outs. Damn, if there's nothing greater than those anomalies of analog recording indelibly archived in the digital world! I don't know why, but I always love hearing that. As far as the music of the Rats goes, it's just plain good old fashioned punk rock n' roll. Both the music and vocals sound a bit like Generation X, but maybe with the stick pulled out of Billy Idols ass a bit, or maybe a little like The Buzzcocks but pitched an octave or so down. On the six demos (never before released?) the band was working on in 1979 before vocalist Paul Rencher split the group (Steve Eagles went on to form The Photos aftwerwards) you can hear the Rats working towards extended rock jams -- like Ulster rockers Stiff Little Fingers -- with guitarist Eagles spreading his wings (pun maybe intended) and showing his guitar prowess. Includes repros of the original 7" sleeves, publicity photos of the group and a brief bio of all the important moments of the group's career penned by Eagles. Oh, and they do an irreverent cover of "Lady Is A Tramp"! What more can we say? Highly fucking recommended and shit!
MPEG Stream: "In My Love For You"
MPEG Stream: "Year of the Rats"
MPEG Stream: "Buzz Boys"

SATAN'S SIGNS OF WAR s/t (Werewolf) cd 15.98

SATANIC WARMASTER ...Of The Night (No Colours) cd 16.98

SATANIC WARMASTER Carelian Satanist Madness (No Colours) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "The Vampiric Tyrant"
MPEG Stream: "Carelian Satanist Madness"

SATANIZE Demonic Conquest In Jerusalem (Cocainacopia) cassette 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SATELLITE CIRCLE Way Beyond The Portal Of The Bone White Rubber Sun cd ep 7.98
Huge groovy Swedish stoner sludge. Warm fuzzy guitars, crashing drums and soaring vocals. On UK label Rage of Achilles.

SATIE, ERIC Socrate: Symphonic Drama (Cherry Red) cd 17.98

SATIE, ERIK Francis Poulenc Plays The Piano Music Of Satie And Poulenc (El / Cherry Red) cd 16.98
How many reviews have you read where the influence of folks like Brian Eno, John Cage and Frank Zappa are mentioned? Lots! But it's not as often that we get to talk about someone else who had a deep influence on those very same icons. But one need look no further then the tender and melancholic piano playing of Erik Satie to find the roots and foundation for some of the most important music of the last century. This is one of the better Satie cd's to come out in recent years as the playing of Francis Poulenc is impeccable. The second half of the disc finds him playing his own compositions, and while Poulenc's pieces are beautiful in their own right, considering that it's pretty tough to follow up all of those amazing Satie pieces. Some of the prettiest, most delicate and touching pieces of music ever written. This is the sound of piano taken to higher level of majestic beauty.
MPEG Stream: "Idylle"
MPEG Stream: "Espana"
MPEG Stream: "Meditation"

SATIE, ERIK Vexations (LTM) cd 17.98

SATIE, ERIK (STEPHANE GINSBURGH) 42 Vexations (Sub Rosa) cd 16.98