TOTH, JAMES JACKSON Waiting In Vain (Ryko) cd 14.98

TOTIMOSHI Ladron (Volcom) cd 13.98

TOUCH COMMITTEE s/t (self-released) cd 5.98

TOUCH COMMITTEE Winter Beard (20 Sided) lp 10.98

TOUCHABLE SOUND: A COLLECTION OF 7-INCH RECORDS FROM THE USA (Soundscreen Design) book 36.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Album art books are a dime a dozen, but we have to admit, we love them ALL. From big books of classic Blue Note album covers, to weird collections of fucked up and freaky thrift store finds, old punk rock classics, even to imaginary record covers like Mingering Mike or the recent fake records covers book by Eye from the Boredoms. But this book. This one is really about the best one we've seen, and one that is absolutely essential for anyone whose spent the last 10, 20, even 30 years buying records. Sure some of the records collected here are obscure, but most of these are records you probably owned. Or still own. In fact, if we didn't know better, we'd think someone snuck into our house and made a book out of all our old singles. Which is why this is so cool. Lots of these are records we've been listening to for the last couple decades, some are singles we loved and lost, others are ones we always wished we had. But the focus is most definitely on the indie/punk underground. All the usual suspects, Simple Machines, AmRep, Teenbeat, Independent Project, Sub Pop... And the bands, from Deerhoof to Caroliner, Unrest to Floor, Stereolab to The Melvins, Modest Mouse to The Halo Benders, Bratmobile to Heroin, Indian Summer to Mohinder, The Orchid to Black Dice, The Olivia Tremor Control to Polvo, Hood to Tar, Prisonshake to Joan Of Arc, Shellac to Los Crudos, Lync to Jessamine, Supergrass to Sunny Day Real Estate, Slayer to Fugazi...
All the singles gorgeously photographed, spread out to really focus on the packaging, inside and out, with lots of information, about who put it out, and how they were made. So cool.
And as if that weren't enough, the book is peppered with random different sized inserted pages with different liner notes, reflections, reproductions of various inserts (like an old Sub Pop Singles Club sign up), there's a Q+A with Sam McPheeters (Born Against, Men's Recovery Project, Vermiform Records), contributions from Mike Simonetti (Troubleman) Henry Owings (Chunklet), Kristin Thompson (Simple Machines), Tom Hazelmyer (Amphetamine Reptile), Justin Pearson (The Locust) and loads more. The book is divided into region, with notes on each, a whole section for boxsets, and a whole section on Bay Area weirdos Caroliner, who deserve it what with their over the top handmade releases.
This is such a cool book. Definitely as a snapshot of the last few decades and a reminder of the importance the 7" single had on underground music, but it's also a testimonial to that classic and punkest of all formats, and the enduring power of the DIY aesthetic, of punk rock and indie rock, the look, the sound, and the spirit behind the music we love and love to listen to.
Absolutely essential for any and every music nerd you know. From the same folks who did the Higgs and Eye artbooks we've been reviewing these last few weeks.

TOUCHED BY A JANITOR New Rule To Self (Feudal Enterprise) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

TOUCHTON, STEVE & EVAN BACKER 03142009 b/w 04182009 (Two Thousand Tapes) cassette 5.98
A blast of improvised guitar and drum action, featuring a member of KIT and XBXRX...

TOUGH ALLIANCE, THE A New Chance (Modular ) cd 10.98
It's fun to look back at reviews we've written and see how we feel about them after some time has passed and we've spent more time with the record in question, records that we sometimes had to write about way too soon after first hearing. While we gave the latest outing by Australia's Cut Copy a favorable review we didn't gush and really rave about it as much as we might now. It's a record that became and still is one of our big pop addictions of the year. We've lost count of how many times we've listened to that record and it's looking like label mates The Tough Alliance are on their way to achieving that same state of pure dance pop bliss. Hailing from Sweden, where they've always known a thing or two about producing pleasing pop perfection, this is a record that channels eighties sounds from the Happy Mondays to OMD to The Human League. Breezy and infectious equal parts Manchester scene, indie pop, nu-rave, electro-pop and hi-energy, it's a whole album that sounds a little like some of our favorite songs stretched out into a whole record, like the Vaselines cover of Divine's "You Think You're A Man" or Death Cab For Cutie's most infectious song ever "Soul Meets Body". A New Chance doesn't reinvent the wheel but it sure makes us jump and spin and swirl in pure bliss and you can't ask for much more than that in a pop album. So fun and and so good!
MPEG Stream: "Neo Violence"
MPEG Stream: "Miami"
MPEG Stream: "Something Special"

TOUGHGUY FANTASY / ARCTIC BOYZ Thank Gods Its Friday / Louisianna Purchase (Frenetic) 2cd 14.98
Three boyz. Two bands. Two albums.
Toughguy Fantasy is an aural onslaught of noise insanity. Barely keeping up with itself, it's sorta in the vein of Lightning Bolt but with more musical toys and much more disfunction, making for an intangible attack from all angles.
Arctic Boyz is the slightly quieter sibling. Still chaotic for the most part, imagine Hella without "songs" with much clattering feedback. Starts off with a slightly middle-eastern flavor, and ramps up into a scratchy non-sensical maelstrom.
Features members of Hella, Chrime in Choir, The Appreciation and Holy Smokes: Zach, Carson and Justin.
MPEG Stream: TOUGHGUY FANTASY "Thank Gods It's Friday"
MPEG Stream: ARCTIC BOYZ "Quanah"

TOUKASEIBUNSHI Meta-Inorganicmatter Meta-Newlon (PSF) cd 22.00
Even if this wasn't some terminally obscure project out of Japan circa 1988 (we're guessing on the date and PSF isn't telling), we would still be freaking out over this mind blowing drone-plus-noise album. But as it stands, Toukaseibunshi is a project that's about as mysterious as they come, and that intrigues us all the more. Toukaseibunshi was the pseudonym for one Hironari Iwata, who used to run a cassette label in the late '80s called Angakok. Through that imprint he curated a compilation that featured HNAS, Asmus Tietchens, Merzbow, Conrad Schnitzler, SBOTHI, Human Flesh, and a bunch of other artists we're not all that familiar with. As Toukaseibunshi, Iwata fluctuates between all of these aesthetic poles, pulling a blistering (if more restrained) use of squalid noise from Merzbow, the sustained electronic clusters from Tietchens and Schnitzler, and an unsettled weirdness from HNAS. Yet the same time, Iwata's distorted drone pieces foreshadow the same types of digital overblown pieces from Fennesz or Belong some 20 years later.
The album begins with a sprawling twenty minute piece "Glace" whose arches of softened feedback take on the hue of a post-MBV glide guitar grafted onto a static field of electricity and billowing ambient swathes that sort of have a Stars Of The Lid vibe, but with a lot more teeth in the mix. Mesmerizingly beautiful stuff. The rest of the album is split between five other tracks of variable length but are considerably nastier than the opening number. Iwata's crunched tape loops, actionist metal bashing thrust into the background, and squawking electronics have the feeling of the sounds of a construction site being tossed around the high rises of Tokyo. The reverb dislocated the sound amidst the din of the city; and despite the turmoil, Iwata seems intent on making these industrialized sounds meditative. That doesn't imply a lack of noise, cuz these tracks got plenty of bloodcurdling white noise buzzing about.
This album has been released in PSF's Japanese Avant-Garde Cassette Reissue Series. So, we can only assume this came out on cassette sometime in the late '80s and early '90s when Iwata was active; however, there's no information whatsoever. It's great to have this available, even as it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
MPEG Stream: "Glace"
MPEG Stream: "Enthsiate"
MPEG Stream: "Glace 2"

TOUMAST Ishumar (Real World / Ryko) cd 16.98
We are huge fans of Tinariwen, that amazing ensemble out of the Saharan desert who so effortlessly integrate electric guitars into their West African hypnotic blues. So we were super excited to check out Toumast when we learned that its leader, Ag Keyna, was not only once a freedom fighter in North Africa but also spent time as a member of Tinariwen. It's no surprise that musically this shares a lot in common with Tinariwen, which is not a bad thing at all! From impassioned foot stompers to entrancing and spacious songs full of soul, the music of Toumast is rich with a survival spirit that one can hear and latch onto even when you don't understand the language.
Keyna was severely wounded by military fire in the early '90s, and was airlifted out of Africa to France for medical care. He began to channel his fighting spirit into music making with the aid of his niece who is a great percussionist, along with the amazing vocal styling of Aminatou Goumar. And thus Toumast was born.
The songs on Ishumar all catch such tasty grooves and make for a listen that is both immediately satisfying and constantly growing on us with each repeated listen. So good!
MPEG Stream: "Ikalane Walegh"
MPEG Stream: "Maraou Oran"

TOUMEI KAIDAN 2007.4.6 (Sun) At Alchemy Music Store (Alchemy) dvd-r 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

TOURE, ALI FARKA & TOUMANI DIABATE Ali And Toumani (World Circut / Nonesuch) cd 17.98
What a moving set of songs! Ali Farka Toure recorded this record shortly before he passed away, along with the immensely talented and soulful kora master Toumani Diabate. There is a mournful and graceful feeling to this record for sure, Ali Farka knew he was near the end of his life and these songs are filled with such patient, beautiful, and trance inducing sounds. Toure's classic guitar stylings touch on such tender and raw emotions while Diabate adds a warm bed of sound to flesh it all out, yet there is a stark and stripped down approach to these songs that really makes them that much more powerful. With such intricate, delicate and purposeful playing, along with Toure's emotional presence felt so strongly throughout the record, you are reminded what true blues really sounds like. Diabate has the special gift of being capable of making music that is totally therapuetic and healing and soothing, and that matched with Toure laying down his last songs to tape, makes this such a moving, entrancing and completely beautiful album. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Ruby"
MPEG Stream: "Sabu Yerkoy"
MPEG Stream: "Samba Geladio"

TOURE, SIDI & FRIENDS Sahel Folk (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
A gorgeous record of African folk music from this legendary Malian singer, documenting a series of collaborations between friends, recorded casually, field recording style, at a family member's house. Toure would meet with each friend, hang out, drink tea and choose a song the first day, then the next day, the two would record the song, giving themselves only two takes, in order to capture the energy and spontaneity of the moment. Originally, the producer intended to mix these songs with the sounds of the street and various interviews, to create a more historical document of the music, the time and the place, but once the recordings were finished, they decided the songs were too good to mess with.
And good is an understatement, the songs here are gorgeous, emotional, intimate, passionate, and quite simple, but so powerful, generally just two instruments and one or two voices, the instruments locked into looped cyclical melodies, super trancelike and hypnotic, while the vocals soar over the top. The opener is incredible, the two guitar wound into intricate harmonies and dizzying counterpoint, the vocals lush and soulful, and when the song shifts, and the guitars get even more tangled, and the second vocal comes in, it's so intense, we've listened to that first song about 20 times now.
The other collaborations are just as moving, the vocal interplay incredible, and the various permutations of dueling guitars fantastic, the sound shifting from traditional African folk, to desert blues, to something more American influenced, but all infused with Toure's spirit and style. Anyone who's been digging the various African releases on Sublime Frequencies, or any of the Tinariwen records, will definitely dig this too.
MPEG Stream: SIDI & DOURRA "Bon Koum"
MPEG Stream: SIDI & JIBA "Adema"
MPEG Stream: SIDI & YEHIYA "Djarii Ber"

TOURE, SIDI & FRIENDS Sahel Folk (Thrill Jockey) lp 15.98
Now in stock on vinyl too....
A gorgeous record of African folk music from this legendary Malian singer, documenting a series of collaborations between friends, recorded casually, field recording style, at a family member's house. Toure would meet with each friend, hang out, drink tea and choose a song the first day, then the next day, the two would record the song, giving themselves only two takes, in order to capture the energy and spontaneity of the moment. Originally, the producer intended to mix these songs with the sounds of the street and various interviews, to create a more historical document of the music, the time and the place, but once the recordings were finished, they decided the songs were too good to mess with.
And good is an understatement, the songs here are gorgeous, emotional, intimate, passionate, and quite simple, but so powerful, generally just two instruments and one or two voices, the instruments locked into looped cyclical melodies, super trancelike and hypnotic, while the vocals soar over the top. The opener is incredible, the two guitar wound into intricate harmonies and dizzying counterpoint, the vocals lush and soulful, and when the song shifts, and the guitars get even more tangled, and the second vocal comes in, it's so intense, we've listened to that first song about 20 times now.
The other collaborations are just as moving, the vocal interplay incredible, and the various permutations of dueling guitars fantastic, the sound shifting from traditional African folk, to desert blues, to something more American influenced, but all infused with Toure's spirit and style. Anyone who's been digging the various African releases on Sublime Frequencies, or any of the Tinariwen records, will definitely dig this too.
MPEG Stream: SIDI & DOURRA "Bon Koum"
MPEG Stream: SIDI & JIBA "Adema"
MPEG Stream: SIDI & YEHIYA "Djarii Ber"

TOURE, VIEUX FARKA Fondo (Six Degrees) cd 16.98
Vieux Farka Toure's music resonates with a strength, power and wisdom well beyond his years. While the shoes he's had to fill being the son of the late great Ali Farka Toure are quite enormous he's done so with an equally gifted ability to create songs that ring with a universal truth and strength that anyone can understand no matter what language you speak. We were instant believers in after hearing his debut a couple years ago and our appreciation of him grew when we saw him live opening for Tinariwen at the Palace Of Fine Arts shortly after that record came out. There was no doubt that this was a man filled with passion, remarkable guitar playing skills and a voice that is both peaceful and commanding of attention. Fondo is further proof that we will be hearing great music from Vieux for many years to come. While continuing the great tradition of Mali music that his dad helped bring to the ears of many across the globe, he is carrying on that legacy with a richness all his own.
MPEG Stream: "Fafa"
MPEG Stream: "Mali"
MPEG Stream: "Sarama"

TOURE, VIEUX FARKA Remixed: UFOs Over Bamako (Mobida) cd 14.98
Cheesy remixes, unfortunately.

TOWER OF DEATH (OST) (Tam) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Vinyl soundtrack reissue from a Bruce Lee movie we had never heard of. Must have been a later one, judging from the soundtrack; a cheesy mix of funky jazz fusion and 70's sitcom theme music, with lots of piano and slap bass. Makes us really want to see Tower of Death and see Bruce Lee trying to fight to this stuff!

TOWER RECORDINGS Folk Scene (Communion) cd 13.98
Previously available only as a limited-to-300-copies one-sided piece of vinyl, Tower Recordings' "Folk Scene" now sees an expanded (14 more tracks!) compact disc reissue. Avantgarde cosmic bedroom psychedelia as these New Yorkers do best. Longtime TR members Matt Valentine, Tim Barnes, Pat "P.G. Six" Gulber and others, are joined by folks from Hall of Fame and AQ-fave New Zealander Dean Roberts (Thela, White Winged Moth) for this Eastern-tinged free-floating dronefolk extravaganza. Although they have a knack for so-so song titles such as "The High Rate Of Ass Vibration" and "Vokalis - The Fauna Inverts Itself In The Sway Of The Equinox Tower" (oh wait, maybe that one IS cool), their music is *much* more inspired and beautiful. So, now you can stop crying if you failed to nab the LP when it was oh-so-briefly available!
Comparisons are being made to British psych-folk of decades past, a la the Incredible String Band and the pagan folk of the Wicker Man soundtrack, comparisons that work well for that wonderful P.G. Six album from earlier this year, but TR on "Folk Scene" is so much more wasted and kosmische, blurred and drugged, more like krautrockers Amon Duul than Fairport Convention!! So good! But of course, if you've got their previous cd on Siltbreeze, the wonderful "Furniture Music For Evening Shuttles", you already know that and are on your way down here to buy this...
RealAudio clip: "Winter Of Frozen Mornings"
RealAudio clip: "Atrocity Jukebox"
RealAudio clip: "Rock And Roll (As Fucked Up As You Think)"
RealAudio clip: "Towergate"

TOWER RECORDINGS Furniture Music For Evening Shuttles (Siltbreeze) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Beautiful homerecorded avant-folk-pop-psych from this crew of NYC apartment-dwellers. They even do a lovely Mutantes cover! Recommended.

TOWER RECORDINGS The Fraternity Of Moonwalkers (Audible Hiss) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Basement drone and experimentation for both morning and evening drug-ingestion. When TR gets into songs, it's comparable to early Smog.

TOWER RECORDINGS The Galaxies' Incredible Sensual Transmission Field of the... (Communion) cd 13.98
Fans of all things psych-folk, and space rock and everything in between get all in a lather when talking about Tower Recordings. Rightfully so. Few bands have managed to capture the lilting dreaminess of seventies British psych, the otherworldly bliss out of modern space rock, and the transcendental urdrone of skree and shimmer outfits like Vibracathedral Orchestra and Sunroof!. The Galaxies' Incredible... is the first proper Tower Recordings record in three years and much has changed. Thankfully, none of those changes have affected TR. They continue to plot their own meandering trajectory through their unique hazy sonic world, managing to outdo almost all of their contemporaries in the process. The first track is a massive mellow jam / drone, huge chordal washes build and build into a massive slowly shifting whir, while ephemeral female vocals and various instruments float lazily by, bobbing in the spacy ethereal current. The second track is more straight up folk, with keening falsetto vocals, fingerpicked nylon string guitar, but with all sorts of weird bits, clapping, keyboardy bleeps, throbbing low end pulses. The rest of the record sort of drifts back and forth, more often than not resting right in between, with sweeping drones and warm ambience washing over dreamy folk melodies and delicate instrumental filligree. Absolutely gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Empress Of I-91"
MPEG Stream: "Giggy Garbage Gods (777)"

TOWER RECORDINGS The Galaxies' Incredible Sensual Transmission Field of the... (Communion) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fans of all things psych-folk, and space rock and everything in between get all in a lather when talking about Tower Recordings. Rightfully so. Few bands have managed to capture the lilting dreaminess of seventies British psych, the otherworldly bliss out of modern space rock, and the transcendental urdrone of skree and shimmer outfits like Vibracathedral Orchestra and Sunroof!. The Galaxies' Incredible... is the first proper Tower Recordings record in three years and much has changed. Thankfully, none of those changes have affected TR. They continue to plot their own meandering trajectory through their unique hazy sonic world, managing to outdo almost all of their contemporaries in the process. The first track is a massive mellow jam / drone, huge chordal washes build and build into a massive slowly shifting whir, while ephemeral female vocals and various instruments float lazily by, bobbing in the spacy ethereal current. The second track is more straight up folk, with keening falsetto vocals, fingerpicked nylon string guitar, but with all sorts of weird bits, clapping, keyboardy bleeps, throbbing low end pulses. The rest of the record sort of drifts back and forth, more often than not resting right in between, with sweeping drones and warm ambience washing over dreamy folk melodies and delicate instrumental filligree. Absolutely gorgeous.
MPEG Stream: "Empress Of I-91"
MPEG Stream: "Giggy Garbage Gods (777)"

TOWERS OF LONDON Blood Sweat And Towers (TVT) cd 14.98
These guys have been the talk of the town lately. Folks can't tell if they're serious or a total pisstake, or if it even matters. The music is a wild raucous glammy punk rock, simple and catchy, snotty and repetitive, funny and rocking as all get out. Lots of sing along parts, lots of super simple guitar leads, the vocals delivered in a thick Cockney sneer with plenty of attitude. Their look is total eighties glam punk, skin tight trousers, ripped t-shirts, Doc Martens or Converse All Stars, leather jackets, sun glasses, and BIG teased glam rock hair. We're not sure what all the fuss is about. They look awesome. They sound awesome. What more do you need to know? Who cares if it's a joke? They're like some sloppy collision of the Sex Pistols, Hanoi Rocks, G.B.H., the Damned, the New York Dolls and Andrew W.K. which sounds pretty good to us. If you're a punk purist you'll probably immediately want to beat the shit out of these guys, but if you dig the Darkness, love the above mentioned bands, and are in the market for some big, fun, wild, dumb, air guitar worthy glampunk rock and roll, you can't really do much better than the Towers Of London.
MPEG Stream: "I'm A Rat"
MPEG Stream: "Air Guitar"
MPEG Stream: "Kill The Pop Scene"

TOWN AND COUNTRY 5 (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
On their follow-up to last year's lovely C'mon, Chicago soundscapists Town and Country drift into view with 5 (yes, it's their fifth full length). Stretching each song out langourously from the shortest, the 4:23 "Lifestyled" to the eleven minute long album closer "Shirtless", they allow the instruments (strings, woodwinds, percussion, a cornet, a glass of water) to resonate, ebb and flow naturally. Melodic and rhythmic elements take shape gradually, and give way to the spacious drones. An entrancing album with a beautiful, warm ambience. Nice!
MPEG Stream: "Aubergine"
MPEG Stream: "Nonstop Dancer"

TOWN AND COUNTRY C'mon (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
The third album from this Chicago quartet who lovingly weave together harmonium, piano, guitar, trumpet, and contrabass. While their previous album was also a serene, dreamy gathering, Town And Country's new one reveals a lessening of their gentle guitars and a swell in chimes, horns and strings. So very tranquil, imagine yourself drifting away in a limpid, blue green pool. Music to bathe to!
RealAudio clip: "Going To Kamakura"

TOWN AND COUNTRY It All Has To Do With It (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
This is a near-perfect album of stark, lonely instrumentals. Using a variety of chamber instruments -- including cello, piano, kalimba, organ, melodian and snare drum -- to gorgeous effect, these guys know how to pile on the cool sounds without oversaturating the songs' natural ambience. With barely a beat to play against, these four compositions just seem to flow together and fall apart with relative ease. And best of all, no signs of hated hack indie hipster jazz (always a danger from Chicago/Thrill Jockey acts).

TOWN AND COUNTRY Up Above (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
It seems like this ensemble never get the credit and attention that many of their peers in Chicago do. Hopefully that will change with "Up Above" their most fully realized and compelling album to date. The record finds them incorporating lots of eastern instrumentation like tambura, sitar, karkabas along with lots of hand percussion, glockenspiel, violin and countless other musical tools which they bring together to brew some front porch minimalism at its finest. It's like they found a way to channel the meditations of Terry Riley with like a more celestial Henry Flynt. While past releases have always been really nice but also somewhat predictable, we were so happy to hear that they've set their sights to a higher place and hit their target oh so nicely.
MPEG Stream: "Sun Trolley"
MPEG Stream: "Cloud Seeding"

TOY BIZARRE kdi dctb 039 (Ferns) 3" cd 9.98
Throughout the '90s, Cedric Peyronnet would boldy announce that none of his Toy Bizarre recordings were made with synthesizers or samplers, instead with field recordings and collage techniques as his twin media. It has been speculated that this notion comes from a punk attitude against France's institutional avant-garde which evolved out of the work of Pierre Schaefer and Pierre Henri; but at the same time, Peyronnet's recordings focus on the specificity of sound locations, and the technology of samplers and synthesizers didn't have the ability to reflect the unpredictability that Peyronnet witnessed in environmental sound. While Peyronnet doesn't mentioned his aversion to technology on this 3" from Ferns, he's retained the same adventurous sensibility for dynamic edits coupled with nocturnal, slippery ambience. From the jump-start opening of crackling twigs and grasses with an airplane's Doppler-effected engine roaring in the distance, Peyronnet's 20 minute composition dissolves into elegantly fluid timbres weaving out of tactile sounds from sand, grit, gravel, and other bits of detritus. Once all of the sounds have all settled into a drift of stasis, a quick jump to another set of textures and abrasions begins with a corresponding set of sympathetic drones. Fans of Loren Chasse's field recording work, Tarab, and Steve Roden should all take note of this exceptional release.
MPEG Stream: "kdi dctb 039"

TOY BIZARRE kdi dctb 93 (Taalem) cd-r 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Toy Bizarre presents another collection of sound illustrations constructed entirely out of unprocessed field recordings. Twilight noises, maddeningly unidentifiable drones, and the musical minutiae of stolen moments of the world that surrounds us. Completely free of synthetic sounds and samplers, Toy Bizarre's soundscapes are certainly for fans of Id Battery.

TOY DOLLS Cheerio And Toodlepop! The Complete Singles (Castle) 2cd 21.00

TOY KILLERS The Unlistenable Years (ugEXPLODE) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For a record produced and assembled by Weasel Walter of the Flying Luttenbachers, and titled The Unlistenable Years, and documenting some lost never before heard No Wave recordings, this Toy Killers disc is in fact, surprisingly listenable. But listenability is for sure relative, as this is still some pretty out there and difficult listening.
The names Mark E. Miller and Charles K Noyes are probably unknown to all but the most obsessive No Wave / No New York fanatics, but Miller and Noyes were both percussionists, who began life in the seventies as a crazed noise duo, that would morph into a strange noise / punk / free jazz hybid often playing with more well known NY scene luminaries like John Zorn, Arto Lindsay, Elliott Sharp, Bill Laswell, Wayne Horvitz, all of whom appear on these recordings right here, culled from a trove of unreleased and until now virtually unheard studio and live recordings captured on tape in the early eighties.
A spastic, dubbed out anti-funk, collaged noise groove free jazz what the fuck that veers from groovy woozy Material like post-dub to maniacal frenetic Ruins like skronk, and various stops in between, Krautrock rhythms underpin buzzing new wave synths, bursts of drums-down-the-stairs rhythmic freakouts, garbled speaking in tongues vocals, blown out wah wah bass and exotic percussion, angular guitar scrape and wail, chopped up samples and junkyard clang and clatter. The songs skip wildly from fuzzy anti disco funk to super skeletal This Heat skitter to super distorted almost grindcore to abstract atonal pound to total no wave vocal / drum / horn damage, to minimal noise dub and on and on and on.
The record finishes off with nearly half an hour of improvisations, that offer up all manner of minimal drone and dirge and buzz and skronk, ambient drift and stumbling deconstructed jazz, wild percussive freakouts, haunting collaged soundscapes, some deep and creepy dronemusic, and a whole lot of noise.
Features liner notes by Weasel Walter, who put this record together, and Anton Fier, who was THERE, and got to see some of this shit GO DOWN!
MPEG Stream: "Sex Carp"
MPEG Stream: "24 Handkerchiefs For Roger Trilling"
MPEG Stream: "Smoky Raindrops"

TOY LOVE Live At The Gluepot 1980 (Goner) cd 14.98
For many folks, Kiwi (post) punk outfit Toy Love was their introduction to Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate, but for us, we were already in love with the twisted home brewed bedroom pop of the Tall Dwarfs, aka Knox and Bathgate, before we learned that there was something that came before. And for some reason, we were expecting some sort of proto-Tall Dwarfs, and in a way, that is what Toy Love were, albeit sonically a whole different kettle of snotty punk rock fish. The clever lyrics, and strange turns of phrase, the inventive arrangements, and rollicking rocking looseness, not to mention the hilarious between song banter, all had their genesis in Toy Love, but for all that would follow, Toy Love were indeed a punk band, described by the label as New Zealand's answer to Wire, which is really not that far off the mark. And while there is a double cd collection which captures virtually everything the band ever recorded (we can order it for you, just ask, you should! It's awesome!), live, the band were something else altogether. Hearing this now, it's hard to imagine a band this good, with songs this great, would hang it up, especially after only a couple years (they only existed for two years, 1979-1980). This live set was one of their final shows, and displays the band in fine form, the sound loud and pristine, the songs KILL, the band tight as fuck, wiry and angular, but at the same time loose and wild, the onstage back and forth between the bandmates the sort of thing that makes the whole audience feel like they're just hanging at the rehearsal space drinking beers watching their buddies' band practice. This is one of those live records that most definitely captured a special moment in time, and a special band at their prime.
And the songs, holy shit, how has the Toy Love catalog not been plundered by a million punk bands looking for covers infinitely better than their originals, in fact the opening salvo here is pretty much untouchable, "Fifteen", is all buzzing bassline, wild octopoidal drumming, jagged shards of guitar, swaggery, snarly vox, and a hook to kill for. "Unscrewed Up" is more of the same, slowing it down a bit and adding some slither, the guitars spidery and droney, the drums still the driving force, the vocals a raspy yowl, and another killer chorus, the vibe dark and a little Wipers-y, which leads right into "Amputee Song" which is pure pop dressed up in punk clothing, crazy catchy, super melodic, very reminscent of -that- NZ pop sound, but way more punk. And so it goes, for the whole of this epic set, relentless, and relentlessly great! The set rife with slow, dark brooders, and crazy catchy punky pop songs, but leaning mostly toward wild, gleefully chaotic pop flecked post punky crunch. An essential NZ underground music artifact for sure!
Includes a mini-foldout poster, with extensive liner notes and rare photos.
MPEG Stream: "Fifteen"
MPEG Stream: "Amputee Song"
MPEG Stream: "Toy Love Song"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Catch On Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Photographs Of Naked Ladies"

TOY LOVE Live At The Gluepot 1980 (Goner) 2lp 23.00
For many folks, Kiwi (post) punk outfit Toy Love was their introduction to Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate, but for us, we were already in love with the twisted home brewed bedroom pop of the Tall Dwarfs, aka Knox and Bathgate, before we learned that there was something that came before. And for some reason, we were expecting some sort of proto-Tall Dwarfs, and in a way, that is what Toy Love were, albeit sonically a whole different kettle of snotty punk rock fish. The clever lyrics, and strange turns of phrase, the inventive arrangements, and rollicking rocking looseness, not to mention the hilarious between song banter, all had their genesis in Toy Love, but for all that would follow, Toy Love were indeed a punk band, described by the label as New Zealand's answer to Wire, which is really not that far off the mark. And while there is a double cd collection which captures virtually everything the band ever recorded (we can order it for you, just ask, you should! It's awesome!), live, the band were something else altogether. Hearing this now, it's hard to imagine a band this good, with songs this great, would hang it up, especially after only a couple years (they only existed for two years, 1979-1980). This live set was one of their final shows, and displays the band in fine form, the sound loud and pristine, the songs KILL, the band tight as fuck, wiry and angular, but at the same time loose and wild, the onstage back and forth between the bandmates the sort of thing that makes the whole audience feel like they're just hanging at the rehearsal space drinking beers watching their buddies' band practice. This is one of those live records that most definitely captured a special moment in time, and a special band at their prime.
And the songs, holy shit, how has the Toy Love catalog not been plundered by a million punk bands looking for covers infinitely better than their originals, in fact the opening salvo here is pretty much untouchable, "Fifteen", is all buzzing bassline, wild octopoidal drumming, jagged shards of guitar, swaggery, snarly vox, and a hook to kill for. "Unscrewed Up" is more of the same, slowing it down a bit and adding some slither, the guitars spidery and droney, the drums still the driving force, the vocals a raspy yowl, and another killer chorus, the vibe dark and a little Wipers-y, which leads right into "Amputee Song" which is pure pop dressed up in punk clothing, crazy catchy, super melodic, very reminscent of -that- NZ pop sound, but way more punk. And so it goes, for the whole of this epic set, relentless, and relentlessly great! The set rife with slow, dark brooders, and crazy catchy punky pop songs, but leaning mostly toward wild, gleefully chaotic pop flecked post punky crunch. An essential NZ underground music artifact for sure!
Includes a mini-foldout poster, with extensive liner notes and rare photos.
MPEG Stream: "Fifteen"
MPEG Stream: "Amputee Song"
MPEG Stream: "Toy Love Song"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Catch On Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Photographs Of Naked Ladies"

TOYAMA, TAKEO hello88 (Japan Overseas) cd 14.98
It appears to always be springtime in the world of Japanese musician Takeo Toyama, who makes mellow and melodic mostly-instrumental tunes (using piano, samples, electronics, trumpet, la la las, guitar strum, etc.). Jazz-inflected soft pop for fans of High Llamas and Stereolab, looking for something a little looser and more abstract. Nobukazu Takemura also. New on the always eclectic and interesting Japan Overseas label (who last brought us the PyschoBaba cds). Did we mention that most of the tracks are called Hello-something? ("Hello Porno", "Hello Bricks", "Hello Birds"...cute.)
RealAudio clip: "Hello Nancy"

TOYCHESTRA AND FRED FRITH What Leave Behind (S.K.) cd 11.98
Ok. First of all, this is a concerto for electric guitar and toy orchestra. TOY ORCHESTRA!! Six women and an array of children's toys and noisemaking devices intended for varying age groups. Fred Frith, as you may or may not know, is a well-known improvisational guitarist, who, over the years has worked with the likes of John Zorn and others. If anyone could play with a toy orchestra and do it right, it'd be Frith. The highly disciplined result is at the very least interesting and novel, and at most quiet emotionally evocative!
MPEG Stream: "The Dub"
MPEG Stream: "Fellini"

TOYEN Did You Bring Me On National TV To Tell Me This? (Black Bean & Placenta) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This has the Casio-tinged sweetness of Takako Minekawa with a Mouse on Mars sense of playful melodicism. (Not that we're saying Toyen are quite on the level of MoM or Takako, of course.) From the eclectic Blackbean and Placenta record label. All tracks programmed in Music 2000 on a Sony Playstation.

TOYOZUMI, SABU & EXIAS-J Son's Scapegoat (Siwa) cd 14.98

TRACHIOTOMY, MC W/ Love from Tahiti (Bulb) cd 14.98
The man they call MC Trachiotomy is a cohort of mad sonic scientist/organist Mr. Quintron from New Orleans. Certainly not to be confused with their ladyfriend and puppet wrangler Miss Pussycat! Such a mysterious, eccentric trio they make. You might've spotted them on Quintron's recent Drum Buddy tour. What is a Drum Buddy? Well, it's another Mr. Quintron invention, an amazing light beam triggered spinning instrument contraption thing that spews crazy drum beats and sounds, and it makes an appearance on this cd too! Anyways, back to the business at hand, "W/ Love From Tahiti" is Trachiotomy on his own, and yes, it was indeed recorded in Tahiti. You might find this cd in the hip hop section of many record shops, but we're not so sure if that's really the right place for him to be. His often incoherent mumbling sort of sounds like a cross between Tom Waits and Bill Cosby. This "rapping" is plopped over a jumble of shuffling beats (many I'm sure are courtesy of the aforementioned DB) and assorted samples. Quite haphazard and homespun, distorted and a bit murky. The sizeable sample of Steve Martin as Navin Johnson in the movie The Jerk on the track called "Valentine" (I think that's the title, but I can't really tell for sure 'cause the liner notes are in messy chicken scratch) perked up my ears, but that might be because it sticks out amid the tracks as a *somewhat* coherent voice. Note: there is a warning in the liner notes that states "this is 'THE' baby makin' music. NNUUUUUTTHIN' BUT SSLLOOOOWW JJJAAAAAAAAMMMMZZZZZ!" Hmmm, dunno 'bout that! But whether or not that's completely true, we do recommend proceeding with caution. Maybe it's just me, but I found this to be some pretty weird, swampy and a bit dirty stuff - especially the track called "Along Th' Coast" that's driven (ha ha! bad pun intended) by a play-by-play pitstop commentary of the changing of a Maserati's tires. Something's might be better experienced live and in the flesh. You might say "Yikes!" or you might say "Yum!"
RealAudio clip: "Along Th' Coast"
RealAudio clip: "Drop Th' Kids Off At The Pool"
RealAudio clip: "Valentine"

TRACK STAR Communication Breaks (Die Young Stay Pretty) cd 11.98
From Sub Pop's new sub-label comes a full length from SF's own Track Star, strumming furiously and angsting so much you'd think they were the Wedding Present or something.

TRACK STAR Communication Breaks (Die Young Stay Pretty) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From Sub Pop's new sub-label comes a full length from SF's own Track Star, strumming furiously and angsting so much you'd think they were the Wedding Present or something.

TRACK STAR Lion Destroyed The Whole World (Better Looking) cd 12.98
Wyatt Cusick is the skilled scribe of some of the sweetest, smartest tunes around!! And he's in two of the brightest pop bands around - the Aislers Set and Trackstar. Purveyors of all that is sensitive, peppy and charming, tempered with a balanced dose of fuzzy and jangly guitars. His fellow Track Star Matthew Troy is certainly no songwritin' slouch either. After so many years of making music together its clear their chemistry is capable of brewing up a melodious storm. Each fellow brings his distinct approach to the group, Wyatt all warm, soft and boyish, and Matthew a bit more feisty and gritty. The faster songs are driving power pop whereas the slower ones have a definite Belle And Sebastian-esque fragile lilt and sigh to them (such as on "Green To Gold" a song that also appeared on their late 2001 Omnibus Records 7"). This is made even more pronounced on the song titled "The End" by the added honey-sweet vocal grace of Alicia Vanden Heuvel (of the Aislers Set and Poundsign). This release also marks drummer Brian Girgus' (formerly of Lowercase) full length debut for the Trackstar team.
RealAudio clip: "Green To Gold"
RealAudio clip: "The One We Play"
RealAudio clip: "The End"

TRACK STAR Lion Destroyed The Whole World (Turn) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay! Track Star's new album is on vinyl too, on a different label from the cd release. Here's what we had to say about the cd version...
Wyatt Cusick is the skilled scribe of some of the sweetest, smartest tunes around!! And he's in two of the brightest pop bands around - the Aislers Set and Trackstar. Purveyors of all that is sensitive, peppy and charming, tempered with a balanced dose of fuzzy and jangly guitars. His fellow Track Star Matthew Troy is certainly no songwritin' slouch either. After so many years of making music together its clear their chemistry is capable of brewing up a melodious storm. Each fellow brings his distinct approach to the group, Wyatt all warm, soft and boyish, and Matthew a bit more feisty and gritty. The faster songs are driving power pop whereas the slower ones have a definite Belle And Sebastian-esque fragile lilt and sigh to them (such as on "Green To Gold" a song that also appeared on their late 2001 Omnibus Records 7"). This is made even more pronounced on the song titled "The End" by the added honey-sweet vocal grace of Alicia Vanden Heuvel (of the Aislers Set and Poundsign). This release also marks drummer Brian Girgus' (formerly of Lowercase) full length debut for the Track Star team.
RealAudio clip: "Green To Gold"
RealAudio clip: "The One We Play"
RealAudio clip: "The End"

TRACK STAR The Chord / Green To Gold (Omnibus) 7" 4.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wyatt Cusick is one damn fine pop songcraftsman (you may have also heard his skills at work in the wonderful Aislers Set). He, together with bandmates Matthew Troy and Brian Girgus (formerly of Lowercase) presents this lovely short'n'sweet two-song single.... maybe even too short! It seems the songs are over before they've barely begun. Consider this just a hint of their new material on the horizon which, rumor has it, they're currently finishing up in the studio. Yay! Yay! Now, you might think me completely nuts, but I think Side One's "The Chord" pulls a few melodic/vocal elements from that ol' tune "Locomotion", but in the hands of Track Star, it works. Side Two's graced with "Green To Gold", an intimate number that will definitely please any Belle & Sebastian fan. Splendid.

TRACTOR s/t (OZit Morpheus) cd 15.98
Tractor is the early '70s UK heavy-folk-rock duo of Jim Milne and Steve Clayton, who made two classic albums, one record under the name The Way We Live, and this one as Tractor, which was originally released in 1972 on John Peel's Dandelion label. Here it's reissued on cd as a '30th Anniversary Special Edition'. Probably the heavier of the two records, "Tractor" comes off like a combination of obscure UK folksters Tony, Caro & John (whose album reissue on Shadoks we recommended a few months ago) and heavy rock n' rollers Led Zeppelin or Budgie (or, to be obscure again, T2). Doomy fuzz guitars, conga drums, mystick lyrix, acoustic strum... This 'power duo' recorded in a bedroom studio but their sound is BIG. Anyone into either kick-ass '70s psychedelic guitar heroics or epic blissful folksy melancholia, or *both* especially, should investigate. There's one goofy blues number, but that's more than made up for by the epic, fierce "Little Girl In Yellow", a heavy rock classic if there ever was one.
Hisses and boos to the record label though, for crudding up this disc's front and back covers with little blurbs about the record (including the logos of the magazines from whence several of the blurbs were derived). What were they thinking? Save that stuff for a sticker on the shrink wrap! We're also not entirely sure that including two recordings (and photos) from the band's 2002 reunion as 'bonus' tracks was such a great idea, although the extra four demo tracks from Jim Milne, just acoustic guitar and voice, are quite nice, whenever they may be from (they don't tell us).
Unfortunately no '30th Anniversary Special Edition' of The Way We Live's "Candle For Judith" has come our way, but if it ever does we'll give you the heads up on that too.
MPEG Stream: "All Ends Up"
MPEG Stream: "The Watcher"

TRACTOR PULLING Ghost Hungerland / Dynamite Highway (Full Contact / Ektro) 7" 7.98
There's something very strange going on in Finland. Well, yeah, obviously. That's why we love Finnish music so much. But we mean even STRANGER. Or nowhere has it been stranger than in and around the Circle camp. But whatever it is, we like it. The stranger the better. As if it wasn't enough that Circle records proper continue to get weirder and weirder and more in keeping with their self perpetuated New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal (NWOFHM) movement, the band continually create other outlets for their seemingly endless outpouring of damaged musical genius. So first they offered us the murky chug of Circle side project Doktor Kettu. Then the blown out psychedelic stoner rock of Pharoah Overlord. But more recently, running a parallel course to Circle's gradual metallizing, things started getting, well, still even more metal. Culminating in records by Krypt Axeripper and Steel Mammoth, who took Circle's new Judas Priest worship as far as it could go, until now. Circle seem to enjoy taking on the guise of lost mysterious Finnish heavy metal bands, only -sort of- trying to pretend it wasn't in fact them...
And thus we have yet another mysterious Finnish metal band, from the eighties? Maybe? Maybe not? It's the strangely named Tractor Pulling. Whose debut 7" is also the first release on Ektro sublabel Full Contact. The cover art while not metal, is definitely bizarre. The Tractor Pulling logo is appropriately metal, the band members are called Electric Erko, Eeto Von Tomb and Brutalpo (who is credited with "Exploding tom-toms"), and so it will come as no surprise that Tractor Pulling are fully and unabashedly (though perhaps ironically) metal. Eighties style. Falling somewhere between Judas Priest, AC/DC and Accept. Killer super distorted riffs, bombastic drumming, and crazy multi tracked vocals, one low and growly, one eighties metal falsetto, singing in tandem until the inevitable call and response of the chorus "HIGH SPEED! LOW SPEED!" with, yep, you guessed it, the falsetto vocal for the first part, the low growly vocal for the second. The guitars are a bit tripped out, processed and harmonized, some soaring dual guitar action, little flurries of space rock FX, and some serious hooks. It's pretty dead on in its borrowing and stealing from the eighties metal canon, but there are bits and pieces that are too modern, and a little too psychedelic, to be one hundred percent convincing, but those things only serve to make this stuff even more wacked and AWESOME. Maybe too 'metal' for hypnorockers, but any one who dug any of Circle's more metal side projects will probably dig this too.

TRACY & THE PLASTICS Culture For Pigeon (Troubleman Unlimited) cd + dvd 14.98
Culture For Pigeon begins with Ms Tracy (aka Wynne Greenwood) at her most sing-song-y. Whereas in the past she's drawn comparisons to Kathleen Hanna and Hanna's electronic pop alter ego Julie Ruin, this time around comparisons may be drawn to a lo-fi Solex with a subdued PJ Harvey or fellow Olympia, WA starlet Mirah at the mic. It's definitely not as much of an all-out party as her 2001 debut full length Muscler's Guide to Videonics was. It's filled with tumbling programmed beats, slow moody organ-driven numbers and odd chuggy synth sounds that sometimes resemble someone pretending to play the trumpet (go on, listen to "Henrietta" and tell me it doesn't sound like that!). All in all though, this shouldn't disappoint her fans who know her live show is where it's at -- complete with video projected backing band Nikki and Cola (actually Greenwood in costume). Indeed in the past her live show has often stolen the thunder from her recorded work. However this release brings the two experiences closer together 'cause it includes a bonus DVD!
MPEG Stream: "Big Stereo"
MPEG Stream: "Henrietta"

TRACY AND THE PLASTICS Forever Sucks (Chainsaw) cd ep 8.98
Tracy + the Plastics is the low-fi electro-dance solo project of Wynne Greenwood, an Olympia, WA-based artist. She used to be in the video-band Meme America and now she has taken on the alter-ego of Tracy, and her own two sidekicks, Nikki Romanos and Cola. Live, Tracy performs while the other two accompany her as pre-programmed video-projections. Quite impressive with the split personality, schizo, tight, well-rehearsed performance art. Both recorded and live Tracy and The Plastics strongly draws comparison to Julie Ruin (another alter ego electronica/ dance band solo project) by both taking on the characteristics of Kathleen Hanna's voice and the mood of the casiotone, low-fi, drum machine madness.
This is her second release on Chainsaw Records and was recorded by Joe Preston (of the Thrones, the Need, and the Melvins), Donna Dresch, and Tracy herself.
RealAudio clip: "Best Of The 70's, 80's, and 90's"
RealAudio clip: "Dog"
RealAudio clip: "Hey Rubella"

TRACY AND THE PLASTICS Muscler's Guide to Videonics (Chainsaw) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Long awaited full length from Olympia, WA-based multimedia queen Wynne Greenwood, formerly of MeMeAmerica. Recorded by Joe Preston (Thrones), this cd compiles new material with songs previously heard on the cassette-only release put out last year by Heartcore. This is lo-fi new wave synth pop for the transfused. Carrie Brownstein (Sleater Kinney) makes an appearance on one track.

TRACY AND THE PLASTICS Muscler's Guide To Videonics and Remixes By 1774 (Chainsaw / Thin The Herd) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally available on vinyl, with two bonus remixes by 1774. Long awaited full length from Olympia, WA-based multimedia queen Wynne Greenwood, formerly of MeMeAmerica. Recorded by Joe Preston (Thrones), this LP compiles new material with songs previously heard on their previous cassette-only release on Heartcore. Lo-fi electro grooviness for fans of The Need. Carrie Brownstein (Sleater Kinney) makes an appearance on one track.