V/A The Brit Box: UK Indie, Shoegaze, And Brit-Pop Gems Of The Last Millennium (Rhino) 4cd box 65.00
Wow! Wow! Wow! This is for sure gonna be at the top of quite a few wish lists this holiday season!
The title is a bit of an overstatement. "Of The Last Millenium"?! Not quite, how 'bout "Of The Last Decade And A Half Of The Last Millenium"? Uh huh, that's more accurate. Anyways, nitpicking aside, this box set contains four cds packed with 78 songs total plus a big 80-page booklet! So many old favorite UK bands -- many of which had shamefully slipped through the cracks in our memory until now!
Disc One features The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, Felt, Shop Assistants, Mighty Lemon Drops, The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Spacemen 3, The Primitives, The Wonder Stuff, The Sone Roses, The Charlatans UK, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Inspiral Carpets, The Trash Can Sinatras, The La's, and The Sundays.
Disc Two has Ride, Pale Saints, My Bloody Valentine, Lush, The Telescopes, Chapterhouse, Catherine Wheel, Bleach, Curve, Five Thirty, Moose, The Family Cat, The Dylans, Thousand Yard Stare, Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Birdland, Manic Street Preachers, and Teenage Fanclub.
Disc Three includes Suede, Swervedriver, Eugenius, Superstar, New Order, James, Nick Heyward, The Boo Radleys, Saint Etienne, Stereolab, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, These Animal Men, Mega City Four, Echobelly, Gene, Menswear, Supergrass, Cast, and Elastica.
Disc Four closes out the box with Dodgy, Ash, Sleeper, Marion, Kula Shaker, Ocean Colour Scene, Babybird, The Bluetones, Super Furry Animals, The Divine Comedy, Cornershop, Silver Sun (YAY!!!), Spiritualized, Mansun, Hurricane #1, The Verve, Rialto, Catatonia, Placebo, and Gay Dad!
Plus for those of you (and us!) who are geeks for special packaging gimmicks, the 6"x12" box comes tricked out with a little light that illuminates not only the telephone booth sign on the outside front of the box, but also a mini stadium stage inside. Yes, batteries are included!

V/A The BYG Deal (B-Music / Finders Keepers) cd 15.98
For a lot of us, buying comps and reissues and stuff put out by Finders Keepers / B-Music is pretty much a no-brainer. These folks know their stuff. They can DJ for us anytime! So mentioning that The BYG Deal is the latest from 'em might be all we need to say, though dropping some names like Brigitte Fontaine, Jean-Claude Vannier, Daevid Allen & Gong, Giorgio Gomelsky, Robert Wyatt, Vangelis, Ame Son, and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago couldn't hurt. Or perhaps a name like Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band - never heard of 'em before, no, but they've gotta be good, right!!? (And they are, their track "Floating" anyway being a blissful bit of la-la-la space psych ceremony).
What we have here is a collection of tracks released by France's BYG, a post '68 radical rock/jazz label that flourished 'til about 1974. We'd heard of 'em before mainly in conjunction with the famed BYG/Actuel series of African-American jazz releases, stuff by the Art Ensemble, Don Cherry, Sunny Murray, etc. But this disc demonstrates that BYG (which according to one graphic here stands for Beautiful Young Generation, though elsewhere we're told it's the initials of the three label owners) was as much about psychedelic pop rock and groovy "hairy funk" as it was about avant-garde free jazz... an awesome blend in our opinion, and blend they do, some of these tracks really hard to classify. Maybe it's the "Total Space Music" of which they speak. In any case, whatever discotheque played this stuff must have been REALLY hip and happenin'.
The music here is almost all super groovy, but often quite quirky too (take Gong's circusy nursery rhyme freakout "Hip Hypnotise You" for instance!), these various tracks loaded with flute, orgasmic female vocals, heavy psych guitar, and equally heavy prog organ (running wild alongside frenetically shuffling drums on Vangelis' "Stuffed Tomato", for example, among many standout spots here). From chanteuse Valerie Lagrange's ye-ye grooves to the poppy psychedelic stomp of Coeur Magique to Banana Moon's Beefheartian crunt, this is pretty far out and awesome.
Here's the complete lineup of artists appearing here: Alice (2 tracks), Francois Wertheimer, Brigitte Fontaine and Areski, Gong (3 tracks), Alan Jack, Couer Magique (2 tracks), Valerie Lagrange, Jacques Barsamian, Alpha Beta, Ame Son (2 tracks), Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Freedom, Vangelis, Paul Semana, Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band, Banana Moon, Joachim and Rolf Kuhn. Yep, the disc is crammed, 22 tracks, almost 80 minutes, and the thick cd booklet is equally full up with full color graphics and extensive liner notes, it's amazing the compilers could dig up so much info on this stuff, considering how obscure a lot of this is, but that's their biz!
There's a few tracks you could have run across elsewhere on other reissues, but most of 'em you haven't, that's for damn sure. For instance, the awesomely named track "Astral Abuse" from the rare 7" by Alpha Beta, a one-off Vangelis project. And there's plenty more from other collector's-only, never before on cd sources.
If you liked other B-music compilations like Andy Votel's Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, this ought to be right up your alley. Likewise if you enjoyed the two Pop Made In France comps we've listed, this is a bit like those (some of the same artists appear, in fact) but way weirder. And of course any fan of Jean-Pierre Massiera's strange productions is gonna find this of interest as well... in fact there's personnel connections to his Visitors project, and connections also to the likes of Magma and Aphrodite's Child for that matter.
Another keeper from Finders Keepers that's for sure, thankfully available domestically, complete with slipcover!
MPEG Stream: BRIGITTE FONTAINE AND ARESKI "Ca Va Faire Un Hit"
MPEG Stream: ALAN JACK CIVILIZATION "Ny Change Rien"
MPEG Stream: INTER-GROUPIE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC ELASTIC BAND "Floating"
MPEG Stream: JOACHIM AND ROLF KUHN "Bloody Rockers"

V/A The BYG Deal (B-Music / Finders Keepers) 2lp 27.00
NOW ON (IMPORT) VINYL!
For a lot of us, buying comps and reissues and stuff put out by Finders Keepers / B-Music is pretty much a no-brainer. These folks know their stuff. They can DJ for us anytime! So mentioning that The BYG Deal is the latest from 'em might be all we need to say, though dropping some names like Brigitte Fontaine, Jean-Claude Vannier, Daevid Allen & Gong, Giorgio Gomelsky, Robert Wyatt, Vangelis, Ame Son, and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago couldn't hurt. Or perhaps a name like Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band - never heard of 'em before, no, but they've gotta be good, right!!? (And they are, their track "Floating" anyway being a blissful bit of la-la-la space psych ceremony).
What we have here is a collection of tracks released by France's BYG, a post '68 radical rock/jazz label that flourished 'til about 1974. We'd heard of 'em before mainly in conjunction with the famed BYG/Actuel series of African-American jazz releases, stuff by the Art Ensemble, Don Cherry, Sunny Murray, etc. But this disc demonstrates that BYG (which according to one graphic here stands for Beautiful Young Generation, though elsewhere we're told it's the initials of the three label owners) was as much about psychedelic pop rock and groovy "hairy funk" as it was about avant-garde free jazz... an awesome blend in our opinion, and blend they do, some of these tracks really hard to classify. Maybe it's the "Total Space Music" of which they speak. In any case, whatever discotheque played this stuff must have been REALLY hip and happenin'.
The music here is almost all super groovy, but often quite quirky too (take Gong's circusy nursery rhyme freakout "Hip Hypnotise You" for instance!), these various tracks loaded with flute, orgasmic female vocals, heavy psych guitar, and equally heavy prog organ (running wild alongside frenetically shuffling drums on Vangelis' "Stuffed Tomato", for example, among many standout spots here). From chanteuse Valerie Lagrange's ye-ye grooves to the poppy psychedelic stomp of Coeur Magique to Banana Moon's Beefheartian crunt, this is pretty far out and awesome.
Here's the complete lineup of artists appearing here: Alice (2 tracks), Francois Wertheimer, Brigitte Fontaine and Areski, Gong (3 tracks), Alan Jack, Couer Magique (2 tracks), Valerie Lagrange, Jacques Barsamian, Alpha Beta, Ame Son (2 tracks), Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Freedom, Vangelis, Paul Semana, Inter-Groupie Psychotherapeutic Elastic Band, Banana Moon, Joachim and Rolf Kuhn. Yep, the disc is crammed, 22 tracks, almost 80 minutes, and the thick cd booklet is equally full up with full color graphics and extensive liner notes, it's amazing the compilers could dig up so much info on this stuff, considering how obscure a lot of this is, but that's their biz!
There's a few tracks you could have run across elsewhere on other reissues, but most of 'em you haven't, that's for damn sure. For instance, the awesomely named track "Astral Abuse" from the rare 7" by Alpha Beta, a one-off Vangelis project. And there's plenty more from other collector's-only, never before on cd sources.
If you liked other B-music compilations like Andy Votel's Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word, this ought to be right up your alley. Likewise if you enjoyed the two Pop Made In France comps we've listed, this is a bit like those (some of the same artists appear, in fact) but way weirder. And of course any fan of Jean-Pierre Massiera's strange productions is gonna find this of interest as well... in fact there's personnel connections to his Visitors project, and connections also to the likes of Magma and Aphrodite's Child for that matter.
Another keeper from Finders Keepers that's for sure!
MPEG Stream: BRIGITTE FONTAINE AND ARESKI "Ca Va Faire Un Hit"
MPEG Stream: ALAN JACK CIVILIZATION "Ny Change Rien"
MPEG Stream: INTER-GROUPIE PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC ELASTIC BAND "Floating"
MPEG Stream: JOACHIM AND ROLF KUHN "Bloody Rockers"

V/A The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Nosferatu (Elegaurd) 2cd 18.98
It used to be jazz combos and chamber ensembles who would try making new, original music to accompany screenings of classic films from the silent era. Now, the new generation of electronic "clicks n' cuts" artists are getting into the act on this double cd. Folks from the Beta Bodega collective and the Schematic stable put their bleeps and glitches to appropriately skin-crawling use: Needle & Io doing disc one's score for "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", Needle, Jeswa, and Otto von Schirach providing disc two's "Nosferatu" soundtrack. Eerie ambience, evoking thoughts of creaking doors and worse -- their music, drawn from live performance, matches the dark, scary mood of those films very well, although perhaps sounding a bit too futuristic considering the black and white source material...

V/A The Celluloid Years: 12"es And More... (Collision / Groove Attack) 2cd 17.98
We know lots of you probably had that early years of Hip-Hop torch reignited by the recent Soul Jazz Big Apple Rappin' comp. If you're anything like us you totally loved the feel good sounds on that collection but still wanted more from that era, but maybe with a bit of a weirder edge. Which makes this two disc collection of the Celluloid label's early hip-hop roster so appealing. Celluloid was the label founded by a former co-owner of BYG, a label known and adored by most avant/free-jazz lovers. With Bill Laswell on board as one of their talent scouts they built a roster of hip-hop artists with feet and beats crossing all lines and genres. Futura 2000 hooking up with The Clash. John Lydon alongside Afrika Bambaataa. Nods to early graffiti culture, some raps in French, and beats that will make you wanna bust out your old breakdancing moves.
MPEG Stream: FUTURE 2000 W/ THE CLASH "Escapades Of Futura 2000"
RealAudio clip: FAB FIVE FREDDY "Change The Beat"
MPEG Stream: D.ST "Crazy Cuts"

V/A The Classical Indian Collection: 26 of the Most Relaxing Indian Songs (Outcaste) 2cd 16.98

V/A The Cosmic Forces Of Mu (Planet Mu) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two discs, 26 tracks of all new and exclusive tracks from the Planet Mu roster: Hrvatski (record forthcoming, we hope), Jega, Capitol K, Luke Vibert, Hellfish, Producer, Phthalocyanine, Electric Company, Venetian Snares, Speedranch, Leafcutter John, Joseph Nothing, Mike Paradinas (as Kid Spatula, Tusken Raiders and Rude Ass Tinker) and so many more! A great collection of cutting-edge electronic music from around the globe!
RealAudio clip: HRVATSKI "Lullaby"
RealAudio clip: VENETIAN SNARES "Defluxion"

V/A The Danque!! (Afrodisiac) cd 12.98

V/A The DFA Remixes: Chapter One (Astralwerks) cd 16.98
Remix anthologies are almost always varied affairs. While one may like the re-mixer, one may not always like the artist being remixed or vice versa. Here the DFA Team offer up their takes on ten cuts from artists who exist outside of the DFA family, with predictably mixed results. The best cuts are from the artists whose sound already has an affinity to the DFA style of production (Metro Area, Radio 4), and the remixes of Chemical Brothers, Soulwax and Gorillaz offer some nice surprises. But even re-mixers sent from GOD can't ever make the Blues Explosion sound good, so why bother? All in all, this is a decent compilation that would have been better if there was more to sink our teeth into, but what is here is a nice appetizer that keeps us hungry for a more up-to-date main course. Hopefully we'll find that in Vol. II.
MPEG Stream: RADIO 4 "Dance to the Underground"
MPEG Stream: GORILLAZ "Dare"
MPEG Stream: METRO AREA "Orange Alert"

V/A The DFA Remixes: Chapter One (Astralwerks) lp 19.98
Remix anthologies are almost always varied affairs. While one may like the re-mixer, one may not always like the artist being remixed or vice versa. Here the DFA Team offer up their takes on ten cuts from artists who exist outside of the DFA family, with predictably mixed results. The best cuts are from the artists whose sound already has an affinity to the DFA style of production (Metro Area, Radio 4), and the remixes of Chemical Brothers, Soulwax and Gorillaz offer some nice surprises. But even re-mixers sent from GOD can't ever make the Blues Explosion sound good, so why bother? All in all, this is a decent compilation that would have been better if there was more to sink our teeth into, but what is here is a nice appetizer that keeps us hungry for a more up-to-date main course. Hopefully we'll find that in Vol. II.
MPEG Stream: RADIO 4 "Dance to the Underground"
MPEG Stream: GORILLAZ "Dare"
MPEG Stream: METRO AREA "Orange Alert"

V/A The DFA Remixes: Chapter Two (Astralwerks) cd 15.98
The second edition of DFA remixes improves upon the first by delving into less obvious rhythm and dance territories. Increasing the atmospheres rather than cowbell-driven propulsion, DFA's reworking of Goldfrapp, UNKLE, Tiga, N.E.R.D. and Nine Inch Nails, among others are often more expansive and symphonic, at times extending passages and compositions to almost 14 minutes in length. This is an excellent dose of dance tunes for the mind as well as the body. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: HOT CHIP "Colours"
MPEG Stream: NINE INCH NAILS "The Hand That Feeds"
MPEG Stream: GOLDFRAPP "Slide In"

V/A The DFA Remixes: Chapter Two (Astralwerks) lp 14.98
The second edition of DFA remixes improves upon the first by delving into less obvious rhythm and dance territories. Increasing the atmospheres rather than cowbell-driven propulsion, DFA's reworking of Goldfrapp, UNKLE, Tiga, N.E.R.D. and Nine Inch Nails, among others are often more expansive and symphonic, at times extending passages and compositions to almost 14 minutes in length. This is an excellent dose of dance tuneage for the mind as well as the body. Awesome!
MPEG Stream: HOT CHIP "Colours"
MPEG Stream: NINE INCH NAILS "The Hand That Feeds"
MPEG Stream: GOLDFRAPP "Slide In"

V/A The Electric Asylum Asylum Volume 3 (Past & Present) cd 17.98
Those crazies at Past & Present are gonna have to add a whole new wing to their Electric Asylum, we're up to volume 3! More late '60s, early '70s "Rare British Acid Freakrock" from 20 obscure acts, these are they: Renegade, Primitive Man, Sensations, Puzzle, Barracuda, Grumbleweeds, Boneshaker, Barron Knights, Dynasty, M.A.S.K., Shakane, Wheels, Spode, 1984, Greg Robbins, Things Fall Apart, Roger Ruskin Spear, Don Crown, Zebedee, and Amazon Trust. Never heard of most of 'em before, probably won't hear of 'em again, but we're enjoying the one-off treats (some fun bubblegum, some grooving glam, some trippy prog pop) found here, now. And we'll be humming along with some of these for a while. One we did know was Primitive Man, whose outrageous "Animal Love" appeared on another cool comp, Neurotic Reactions, a few years back.
Another worth the price of admission highlight has to be "Little Girl" by a band called 1984, a remarkably jaunty number, upbeat and energetic and so very catchy, the bright and bouncy qualities of which contrast with the lyrics, the singer smugly telling off some girl who wronged him. And somehow also this song is replete with heavy psych guitar. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Likewise with the rest of the stuff on the disc, really! On the other hand, there's the super gruff voice used on the maniacal "Drop Out" by one Roger Ruskin Spear, that was probably a novelty back in the era it was recorded, though unwittingly a precursor to the likes of Killdozer!
The pseudo-occultic, proto-proto-metal percentage is down somewhat compared to the previous 2 volumes, but this still rocks, and the delightful kitsch quotient hasn't changed at all. Fuzzy, goofy, good times.
Like the other Electric Asylums, the cd booklet contains info on each track, as much as the compiler (who calls himself "Psychomania", so you know where his head's at) could dig up anyway, which actually often enough is more than you thought you'd ever want to know. Nicely done, with plenty of colorful original sleeve/label graphics illustrating the thick booklet.
MPEG Stream: 1984 "Little Girl"
MPEG Stream: GREG ROBBINS "Virginia Creeper"
MPEG Stream: THINGS FALL APART "Bye Bye My Rose"

V/A The Electric Asylum Asylum: Volume 4 (Past & Present) cd 17.98
The folks at P&P know they've got a good thing going with this Electric Asylum series; appropriately monikered compiler The Psychomaniac keeps coming up with winners. In the grand tradition, here's Volume 4, and it's a relatively hard 'n heavy one, subtitled "Rock Hard British Freakrock", as if they knew that Vol. 3, fun as it was, didn't entirely deliver the dunt rock we crave. Well Vol. 4, as befits that unintentional Sabbath reference, is a lot more tough, less bubblegummy... and that even includes the band on here called Bubbles! (Whose badass glammy proto-punk strut "Zap n' Cat" reminds us of Ronno or maybe even Hard Stuff). Oh yeah, this Electric Asylum is again populated with some goofy names, most of whom we'd never heard of before. Here's the full line up: Hector, Slowload, Rog and Pip, Wolfrilla, Incredible Hog, Smoke, Spunky Spider, Ning, Quiet World, Henry Turtle, Bear Brothers, Hard Horse, Mustard, Tuesday, Godson, Bubbles, Sunshine Kid, Clutch, Jackal, and Sundance. 20 tracks in all, mostly taken from one-off, 45 rpm single only releases from flash in the pan bands we're lucky to get to hear at all, most never made an album and did just one or two 7"s... Actually, the only bands we really knew was Incredible Hog (whose entire album is great), and Wolfrilla (a fave from Vol. 2).
Coming from circa 1970-75, a lot of this can be summed up as a bit Sabbath, a bit Slade, platform boots in each camp. Though, each individual band often seems to emulate other, specific, better known acts. Like, Godson sound kinda the Rolling Stones, Hard Horse are a lot like Nazareth, and Incredible Hog come closest to Led Zep... while Ning's "Machine" is somehow part Steppenwolf, part Gary Glitter. And then there's Smoke's "That's What I Want", which is almost like The Kinks' "All Day And All Of The Night" re-written with a "Sweet Leaf" fixation.
While we're not all that surprised that nobody here really ever "made it", that doesn't mean their attempts to do so are without merit! Not if you like lotsa fuzz 'n distortion, acid guitar soloing, and grunting wailing vox! Get yer fix of obscure '70s proto-metal groovy rockin' pop here.
The booklet contains the usual detailed-as-they-can-be trainspotting liner notes on each and every track (from which we learn useful minutiae such as that Sundance featured original Judas Priest drummer Alan Moore, ferinstance) plus full color sleeve/label graphics and vintage b&w photos... too bad about the crap cover art though.
If they can keep digging up records like these, we'll keep digging these comps! After this, we halfway expect P&P to jump ahead a few years to the late '70s / early '80s and bring us the killer NWOBHM rarities comp we know ol' Psychomaniac has got in him too...
MPEG Stream: HECTOR "Lady"
MPEG Stream: ROG AND PIP "Warlord"
MPEG Stream: SMOKE "That's What I Want"
MPEG Stream: SUNDANCE "Eagles"

V/A The Electric Asylum Volume 2: Rare British Acid Freakrock (Past & Present) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's back to the Electric Asylum for more of their specialized shock (and schlock?) treatment! A follow up to the excellent first volume, compiling more "bubblegum Black Sabbath" (our term) songs, a lot of 'em one-off singles, examples of obscure psychedelic-pop-prog from England, circa 1969-1974. We knew this one would be good just from the tracklist. Not that we'd heard of most of the bands, they just had cool names, evocative of the sort of eccentric, druggy, creepy-kitsch we loved about volume one: Wolfrilla! Humbug! Iron Cross! Lost Dog! Cats Eyes! Buster Jangles Flying Mattress! (Ok, so maybe that last one's not cool, but it's funny.) The bands we HAD heard of include Steamhammer, whose recently reissued album Speech is an AQ fave. And there's not one, but another two cuts by the female-fronted (Janis-ish) J.C. Heavy who appeared on the first Electric Asylum. Choc's here again too. Furthermore this includes the excellent Wishbone Ash-alike "Falling" by Iron Maiden - not THE Iron Maiden, but an earlier band of the same name, who also appeared with this same track on the proto-metal comp Downer Rock Genocide we listed last year.
There's 20 tracks here, lots of fuzzed out "freakrock" to pick favorites from. Humbug's track "Ebeneezer" (natch) is a good heavy groover. J.C. Heavy's "Mr. Deal" is all about their "pusher man". Steamhammer's "Windmill" is super flute-y, with a bit of a Doors vibe too. Gentry's "Attempted Contact" is a fine one for freaky swirling organ and occult seance themes. We could go on... but you'll find your own wilted flower power faves amongst the many charming efforts of hippie-glam "heaviness" committed to this asylum, bands who thought themselves possible alternate universe versions of the likes of Cream, Iron Butterfly, The Who, Steppenwolf, and/or the aforementioned Black Sabbath...
The illustrated cd booklet includes, extensive notes on each band/track, except for the most mysterious ones, often explaining the whys and wherefores of how each group of hopefuls never quite "made it" in the end, though some individuals from among these promising and/or peculiar acts went on to success in other outfits.
MPEG Stream: CATS EYES "The Wizard"
MPEG Stream: THE MONTANAS "Doctor Nero"
MPEG Stream: WOLFRILLA "Song For Jimmi"
MPEG Stream: IRON CROSS "All Of The Time"

V/A The Electric Asylum Volume 5: Rare British Freakrock (Past & Present ) cd 17.98
So, all good things must come to an end. Volume 5 of The Electric Asylum series is reputed to be the last, turning the lunatics loose. Uh-oh. For your next dose of musical electro-shock therapy you'll have to look elsewhere (maybe P&P's new series, curated as many if not all of these were by "The Psychomaniac", Psych Bites?).
Perhaps this is the last 'cause there seems to be a bit of bottom of the barrel scraping going on. A cover of "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin"? Really? Though, really, everything here has its charms, especially if you're in the mood for some obscure '70s glam. And there are a few quite solid surprises. We'd described earlier outings in this series as specializing in "Bubblegum Black Sabbath" bands. Well, ok, nothing was ever all that Black Sabbathy, but there was a kitschy occult vibe to some of the selections early on, certainly some heavy fuzz as well. Freakrock indeed. But this one definitely leans towards the Bubblegum, goofy more than freaky, which is fun too of course, but maybe not what we were hoping for after the relatively hard rock action of the previous volume, number 4.
As with all Electric Asylum entries, again with more silly names: Colonel Bagshot, Biggles, Squeek, Whistle, Mustard, Baby, Boston Boppers, Dunno... among others. 20 tracks in all by 19 artists. That's on account of them including both sides of the sole '74 single by singer Tracey Dean, a studio project produced by Giorgio Moroder, so that's pretty cool. Definitely one of the standouts here due to the catchy combo of Dean's weird wavery voice (kinda like the guy from Family) and the odd electronics of the production. Another neat one is Iron Horse covering "The Obeah Man", a voodoo-psych number originally by the amazing Exuma. And getting fully glam, the Jets' "Yeah!" is aptly named. So, Vol. 5 not the best in the series, mind you, the most hit and miss, but still not without some glammy, grin inducing gems and jams.
Includes excruciatingly detailed notes on each track in the thick cd booklet, with full color sleeve and label graphics reproduced. Nice. Too bad the cover art is another crappy CG job, dunno why they don't realize that doesn't jibe with the '70s aesthetic of what's been dug up here.
MPEG Stream: TRACEY DEAN "Boy On The Ball"
MPEG Stream: JETS "Yeah!"
MPEG Stream: MUSTARD "Good Time Comin"

V/A The Electric Asylum: Rare British Acid Freakrock Volume 1 (Past & Present) cd 17.98
We've been lucky lately with all the cool comps of reissued fuzzed out vintage rock that have been coming our way, particularly including quite a few from the Psychic Circle label, discs like A Visit To The Spaceship Factory, Cosmarama and White Lace And Strange. Folks (like us) into late '60s/early '70s intersection of psych-pop, prog, and proto-metal have been very very happy with those. This one's not on Psychic Circle, but might as well be. It immediately piqued our attention with its subtitle, "Rare British Acid Freakrock". We weren't disappointed. This is freakrock indeed, from the wild synth soloing on Asylum's "Suzy's Back" to the demented drama of Monsoon's awesomely overwrought "Night Of The Fly". And as for rare, well we'd only heard of two of these acts before, Atomic Rooster and Steel Mill (whose "Get On The Line" is heavy, hairy funk by way of the Beatles, in the vocal dep't). Meanwhile the obscure likes of J.C. Heavy, Legs, Iron Horse, Galahad, Choc, Grumbleweeds, Satisfaction, Mighty 'Em, Puzzle, Renegade, and all the other none-hit wonders here are welcome discoveries. And this is only volume one, bring on volume two!
At its heaviest, The Electric Asylum offers up we might term "Bubblegum Black Sabbath". Doomy and druggy, but also poppy and groovy. Lumbering fuzz riffs and soaring female backing vocals abound (you'll find both on Rainbow Family's "Travellin' Lady"). Elsewhere, there's some kitschy horns, badass drum breaks, and lots of wah wah guitar... More than a few of these tracks, like Iron Horse's "Magic Love" and Galahad's "Rocket Summer", would have fit in nicely on Psychic Circle's recent Blitzing The Ballroom collection of glam rock rave ups, being hard rockers with handclaps and "hey!"s. There's 20 tracks total, a colorful cornucopia of catchy craziness that we're definitely digging.
MPEG Stream: ASYLUM "Suzy's Back"
MPEG Stream: RAINBOW FAMILY "Travellin' Lady"
MPEG Stream: J.C. HEAVY "Is This Really Me"
MPEG Stream: STEEL MILL "Get On The Line"

V/A The End Of The Fear Of God (Tochnit Aleph) cd 17.98

V/A The End of Utopia (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98
DJ Spooky, DJ Wally, DJ Grazzhoppa and DJ Low.

V/A The Executioner's Last Songs Volumes 2 & 3 (Bloodshot) 2cd 14.98
Bloodshot Records hits you with a double whammy of their anti-death penalty compilation Executioner's Last Songs... Volumes Two and Three! Most of the usual Bloodshot roundup appear here in a variety of combinations -- Sally Timms & Edith Frost, Alejandro Escovedo & Jon Langford with Dave Alvin, Kelly Hogan, Jon Rauhouse, Rico Bell, the Meat Purveyors, but perhaps one of the most expressive and enjoyable of these twenty seven songs is the one by gravelly snarlin' Lu Edmonds called "Gulag Blues". Well worth checking out! Also appearing are American Music Club's Mark Eitzel, Jesus Lizard's David Yow, Old 97s' Rhett Miller, Spinanes' Rebecca Gates, Califone's Tim Rutili and many more! One question though: how many times are we gonna hear "Long Black Veil" covered?
MPEG Stream: EDMONDS, LU WITH JOHN RICE "Gulag Blues"
MPEG Stream: RAUHOUSE, JON "Pardon This Coffin"

V/A The Found Tapes: A Compilation Of Minimal Wave From North America '81-'87 (Minimal Wave) lp 25.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Found Tapes is the second compilation published by Minimal Wave, the NYC label dedicated to reclaiming the hidden treasures from '80s of synth punk, new wave electronic experiments, and well... minimal wave. The first compilation of European rarities is currently out of print; but, Minimal Wave's collection from North America is available for the time being. The Found Tapes opens with a punchy synth punk number from Futurisk who hailed from Florida, claiming to be the first electro-punk band from the South. Ohama (from Alberta, Canada) are next, taking plenty of cues from Severed Heads. Iron Curtain were from Southern California, specializing on dark hypnotic grooves, ghostly vocals, and tumbling drum machine patterns. Deo Toy was a bedroom electronics project between the husband and wife team of Bill and Diana Owens, with very little information beyond this concisely rendered synth pop number. Mark Lane's "Who's Really Listening" had achieved some critical success in the early '80s, and it's easy to see why given the prescient similarities to Model 500's "No Ufo" as well as Gary Newman at his best. Dark, sinister monophunk is what the Philly ensemble Crash Course In Science offer for their "Flying Turns" track. Supposedly, they had recorded a single for Rough Trade, but that can't be confirmed. Dark Day is one of the uncelebrated triumphs of the post No Wave scene, as this was the project from R.L. Crutchfield formerly of DNA. Simple yet terminally bleak synth melodies and his clinically detached vocals were the basis for Dark Day, and made a huge impact some 20 years later on the Chromatics who covered his early single "Hands In The Dark." Dark Day present "Danger / Dancer" for "The Found Tapes" compilation with equal aplomb. Craig Sibley's another mystery man from the '80s, but did offer a charmingly dark synth number that's not too far from Ministry's loved and hated album With Sympathy. Tara Cross's "Tempus Fugit" from the album of the same name is a brilliantly primitive electro-funk that parallels the darkened sounds of Pink Industry or early Chris & Cosey. And finally, we have Experimental Products who had enjoyed a reissue campaign thanks to Vinyl On Demand. They qualified themselves as a garage band who picked up analog synths instead of guitars, although their cover of Brian Eno's "Another Green World" is sublimely not a garage punk track. Rather, an elegant redux closing out an excellent compilation!

V/A The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned (Light In The Attic) cd 13.98
A lot of the makers of today's sweet indie-pop and a lot of the crate-digging DJs and producers of contemporary hip hop both seem to share an appreciation for the late '60s familial singing groop known as the Free Design, if this compilation is anything to go by -- featuring as it does the likes of Madlib, Super Furry Animals, Caribou, Styrofoam, Peanut Butter Wolf, Mellow, and many others (including members of Mars Volta and Belle & Sebastian) all giving props to these soft pop cult faves. A sweet tooth for this sort of stuff is universal, I guess. The Free Design's beautiful harmonies, lush orchestration, and dayglo lyrical content have lead us to describe 'em before as being like "The Carpenters on ecstasy, or a less cynical Stereolab unplugged." And guess what? One track on this tribute indeed features Stereolab teamed up with The High Llamas.
Bringing together all the tracks from the three-part series of vinyl 12" remix eps released earlier this year by Light In The Attic, some of the cuts here are remixes, others are re-interpretations (covers), and some are not quite classifiable hybrids. They say Redesigns, some might say plunderings. You'll hear snippets of actual Free Design tracks, as well as bits that we don't think have anything to do with the Free Design at all (like, why does track seven consist of a sample of dialogue from the zombies-on-motorcycles movie Psychomania??). It's all over the place stylistically, from the rapping of Murs on the Danger Mouse's track to vocalist Sarah Shannon and Styrofoam's great pop-electronica version of "I Found Love" (our favorite Free Design song, by the way) to the scratch attack of Kid Koala to the psychedelia mined by Nobody...but through it all shines the sunshiney pop of the four members of the Dedrick family that made up the Free Design -- sometimes brightly, sometimes casting shadows.
MPEG Stream: STYROFOAM & SHARAH SHANNON "I Found Love"
MPEG Stream: KID KOALA & DYNOMITE D. "An Elegy"

V/A The Funky 16 Corners (Stones Throw) cd 14.98
Super rare funk cuts from the golden late '60s/early '70s era. 22 tracks, with notes on each in the booklet, from the obscure but funky likes of Kashmere Stage Band, Ernie and The Top Notes, The Highlighters, Carleen and the Groovers, Soul Vibrations, and eleven others. Plus there's a seven minute Cut Chemist mix medley as a bonus track.

V/A The Funky Precedent Vol. 2 (Matador) cd 14.98
The successful music-education-in-urban-schools benefit compilation "Funky Precedent" from a few years back has spawned a follow-up. Again it's focused on hiphop and turntablism, but Vol.2 specifically concentrates on Bay Area artists: Rasco, Live Human, Azeem, Zion I, Anticon, Planet Asia and more! Pretty cool of NYC label Matador to release this, even though it's to raise funds for schools in Cali (SF, Fremont and LA).

V/A The Great Koonaklaster Speaks: A John Fahey Celebration (Table Of The Elements) cd 16.98
How many tribute albums can one man have? Ok, what we should be asking is how many good tribute albums can one man have? Ones that don't just have contemporary artists covering their favorite songs merely to add hip factor to an older artist, or ones that don't contain hip artists who are now dubiously rushing to be associated with someone who has had major cultural influence over a current scene. Thankfully, the folks at Table Of the Elements manage to avoid the tribute album pitfalls by selecting a range of artists from the current avant-garde not to perform covers but to create original compositions in the spirit of the Master's most peculiar, eccentric, far-flung and sometimes corn-ball humor. Of course from Table Of The Elements, who championed Fahey's later and most outre work, we are going to hear less of the Takoma-era acoustic guitar compositions (though Jack Rose and Sir Richard Bishop provide the stalwart gate-keeping role for that sound), and hear more of a dark yet celebratory experimentalism from the likes of New Zealand's Pumice, Lichens, R. Keenan Lawler, and No Neck Blues Band, who in the guise of country cousins, Coach Fingers manage to sample some of Fahey's voice (Don't be surprised if you think Jandek was invited to the party). Michael Hurley, Ben Vida, Badgerlore, Greg Malcolm and David Daniell also make some stellar appearances.
MPEG Stream: MICHAEL HURLEY "My Babe, My Babe"
MPEG Stream: LICHENS "Escapisms In A Comedic Forum"
MPEG Stream: PUMICE "Ceremonial Knives"

V/A The Harmonic Series - A Compilation Of Musical Works In Just Intonation (Important) cd 14.98
As the title truthfully advertises, this is a compilation of avant-garde compositions all incorporating Just Intonation in some way, shape, or form. While the liner notes go into great detail as to the specifics that define Just Intonation, the trademark sound of Just Intonation is the harmonized buzz that's found equally in Tony Conrad's abraded viola and the angelic choirs of Gregorian chants. Many 20th Century composers had incorporated such tunings as a stance against the Twelve-Tone tuning practice which had become the standard operating procedure for Western composition during the previous 200 years or so. We won't go too much into the musicological details, but we will say that this is a nice primer, featuring Pauline Oliveros, Michael Harrison, Ellen Fullman, Charles Curtis, Greg Davis, Zachary James Watkins, and others.
The highlights are found in Greg Davis' very nice Andrew Chalk impersonation through his network of low-end frequencies, Michael Harrison's extract of buzzing piano chords (which, it must be said, is an extract from his amazing Revelation album), and the bellowing horns which ground Zachary James Watkins' track. Curated by Duane Pitre.
MPEG Stream: GREG DAVIS "Star Primes (For James Tenney)"
MPEG Stream: PAULINE OLIVEROS "The Beauty Of Sorrow"
MPEG Stream: ZACHARY JAMES WATKINS "Country Western"

V/A The Hidden Tapes (Minimal Wave) cd 19.98
Lost Tapes, then Found Tapes, and now Hidden Tapes. As good as many of the reissues that Minimal Wave has released, it's their compilations that really shine. Here, those obscurant new wave / post punk obsessives offer a great collection of urgent synth blorp from all over the world and all dating from the early '80s. Very few of these tracks had much in the way of distribution or fanfare whatsoever, and that makes the discovery all the better. There's only a couple of the acts that we had any familiarity with, and we're probably not alone in that assessment. The opening number by SS-Say is one of the tracks we had heard, being featured on the cd reissue of the Pesteg Dreg album, as both bands were led by the Danish synth-mastermind Martin Hall. "Care" is a megawatt anthem of oversaturated synth lines and Euro-pop danceability that lusts after the New Order production of Blue Monday with more cocaine and dark theatricality tossed in for good measure. Every thing else on the compilation is considerably more understated in terms of production quality (and following the branding of 'minimal wave' all the more), with high caliber tracks offered on the Normal / Human League anxious bleep from the Yugoslavian project Oskarova Fobija and the insistent synth-chanting of Danton's Voice. The British duo Robert Lawrence and Mark Phillips take up a friendlier version of early SPK / Nocturnal Emissions monophunk sequencing with transistor radio vocals and speed-simulating circuitry. Things turn toward the ultra-minimal side with the bittersweet melodicism of The Fast Set and Reserve's proto-Italo disco number, sporting an icy vocal detachment that would make Johnny Jewel jealous. The cd features two bonus tracks not on the vinyl including Gary Allen's weird science sequencing and goofy lyricism that looks to Devo and Oingo Boingo. Another tip of the hat goes to Minimal Wave for this one!
MPEG Stream: SS-SAY "Care"
MPEG Stream: DANTON'S VOICE "I Hear The Bells"
MPEG Stream: ROBERT LAWRENCE + MARK PHILLIPS "Computer Bank"
MPEG Stream: RESERVE "Destination Pour L'Inconnu"

V/A The Hidden Tapes (Minimal Wave) lp 26.00
Now here on vinyl too, we know you want it!!
Lost Tapes, then Found Tapes, and now Hidden Tapes. As good as many of the reissues that Minimal Wave has released, it's their compilations that really shine. Here, those obscurant new wave / post punk obsessives offer a great collection of urgent synth blorp from all over the world and all dating from the early '80s. Very few of these tracks had much in the way of distribution or fanfare whatsoever, and that makes the discovery all the better. There's only a couple of the acts that we had any familiarity with, and we're probably not alone in that assessment. The opening number by SS-Say is one of the tracks we had heard, being featured on the CD reissue of the Pesteg Dreg album, as both bands were led by the Danish synth-mastermind Martin Hall. "Care" is a mega-watt anthem of oversaturated synth lines and euro-pop danceability that lusts after the New Order production of Blue Monday with more cocaine and dark theatricality tossed in for good measure. Every thing else on the compilation is considerably more understated in terms of production quality (and following the branding of 'minimal wave' all the more), with high caliber tracks offered on the Normal / Human League anxious bleep from the Yugoslavian project Oskarova Fobija and the insistent synth-chanting of Danton's Voice. The British duo Robert Lawrence and Mark Phillips take up a friendlier version of early SPK / Nocturnal Emissions monophunk sequencing with transitor radio vocals and speed-simulating circuitry. Things turn toward the ultra-minimal side with the bittersweet melodicism of The Fast Set and Reserve's proto-italo disco number, sporting an icy vocal detachment that would make Johnny Jewel jealous. The CD features two bonus tracks not on the vinyl including Gary Allen's weird science sequencing and goofy lyricism that looks to Devo and Oingo Boingo. Another tip of the hat goes to Minimal Wave for this one!
MPEG Stream: SS-SAY "Care"
MPEG Stream: DANTON'S VOICE "I Hear The Bells"
MPEG Stream: ROBERT LAWRENCE + MARK PHILLIPS "Computer Bank"
MPEG Stream: RESERVE "Destination Pour L'Inconnu"

V/A The History Of Indian Film Music (Times Square) 10 cd + book box 99.00
Rarely has something showed up in the store that so many of us have wanted so badly, so instantly. An incredible TEN DISC boxset, accompanied by a huge book, tracing the history of Bollywood music, from its beginnings in the 1930s, to the present. All its influences represented, from classical to rock and jazz, new age, disco, hip hop, featuring so many legendary Bollywood vocalists including Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Sonu Niigaam, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd. Rafi and tons more. 168 tracks total! We haven't actually opened one up yet, but odds are we're all gonna end up buying one, $99 for ten discs and a book, hard to beat, and judging from the tracklisting and the artists included, it's bound to be incredible, just figured we would get it up on the list/site sooner rather than later, and give aQ listers first crack at scoring one of these amazing collections!

V/A The Hudson Affair: Keith Hudson And Friends (Trojan) 2cd 21.00
With the fires just now settling over the fervor for the reissues "Flesh of My Skin, Blood of My Blood" and "Playing It Cool & Playing It Right" from Keith Hudson's final years, it's just about the perfect time for Trojan to release this 55 track retrospective of Hudson productions from his lengthy, successful and controversial career. Laid out chronologically and spanning the years 1969 to 1975, The Hudson Affair shows the broad resume of a brilliant producer. This is the man who gave both U Roy and Dennis Alcapone their big breaks. The man who snuck a Honda S90 motorcycle into a recording studio so that he could record it revving up for a track he cut with Big Youth (included here), who took as many musical cues from US funk and soul as he did from what his fellow Jamaican producers were doing. As varied as all his tracks are through his long career, there's a brooding, rootsy and intensely personal thread that runs throughout; from the oldest to the latest. One look no further than his "Satan Side Version (aka Kiss 14)" with Augustus Pablo to hear this. Paralleling Pablo's minor key melodica musings are some of the most brutal and crunchy organ poundings ever committed to tape. It sounds like someone trying to smash the keyboard. Definitely a must for all those who enjoyed the Basic Replay reissues from last year, and also for anyone else who may have been scared off by Hudson's voicings on those albums. Most of the tracks here are voiced by others including: Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson, Horace Andy, I Roy, Johnny Clarke, the afformentioned U Roy & Dennis Alcapone among others. Includes several pages of liner notes by Dave Hendley.
MPEG Stream: U ROY "Dynamic Fashion Way"
MPEG Stream: KEITH HUDSON "Darkest Night On A Wet Looking Road"

V/A The In-Kraut (Marina) cd 16.98
Subtitled: "Hip shaking grooves from Germany 1966-1974". Hence the "kraut" in the title -- nothing to do with the "krautrock" of Can/Faust/Amon Duul/etc., though. Nope, this very entertaining collection of twenty obscure cuts culled from rare soundtracks, singles, and library music sources is all about swingin' stuff for lounge pad hipsters, with a Teutonic twist. It starts off with the Marlene Dietrichish "From Here On It Got Rough" by Hildergard Knef, which could be a campy cabaret classic, and then ventures on into red light district funk, stoned jungle soul, and big band psychedelia, a lot of it performed by middle aged German jazz and pop musicans cashing in on the younger generation's trends. The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra even does a cool cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash", believe it or not (never thought I'd really enjoy hearing that particular song again so much). And there's definitely a spirit of the age, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor on display, from Kuno & The Marihuana Brass's "Marihuana Mantra" to Vivi Bach and Dietmar Schonherr's "Molotow Coctail Party". And (applause, please) the compilers have provided a cd booklet full of detailed notes on each track, full color cover pictures of the original records, and bad puns like the title ("kraut-pleasers").
MPEG Stream: HEIDI BRUHL "Berlin"
MPEG Stream: VIVI VACH & DIETMAR SCHONHERR "Molotow Coctail Party"

V/A The In-Kraut (Marina) 2lp 17.98
Now in stock on vinyl as well!
Subtitled: "Hip shaking grooves from Germany 1966-1974". Hence the "kraut" in the title -- nothing to do with the "krautrock" of Can/Faust/Amon Duul/etc., though. Nope, this very entertaining collection of twenty obscure cuts culled from rare soundtracks, singles, and library music sources is all about swingin' stuff for lounge pad hipsters, with a Teutonic twist. It starts off with the Marlene Dietrichish "From Here On It Got Rough" by Hildergard Knef, which could be a campy cabaret classic, and then ventures on into red light district funk, stoned jungle soul, and big band psychedelia, a lot of it performed by middle aged German jazz and pop musicans cashing in on the younger generation's trends. The Peter Thomas Sound Orchestra even does a cool cover of "Jumpin' Jack Flash", believe it or not (never thought I'd really enjoy hearing that particular song again so much). And there's definitely a spirit of the age, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor on display, from Kuno & The Marihuana Brass's "Marihuana Mantra" to Vivi Bach and Dietmar Schonherr's "Molotow Coctail Party".
MPEG Stream: HEIDI BRUHL "Berlin"
MPEG Stream: VIVI VACH & DIETMAR SCHONHERR "Molotow Coctail Party"

V/A The In-Kraut Vol. II (Marina) cd 16.98
The In-Kraut, the delightful sassy compilation of German '60s jazzy lounge pop music that we got almost exactly one year ago today got played like crazy around here! What a treat! And while its follow-up The In-Kraut Vol. II seems a bit more subdued in mood, it looks likes it too is gonna keep our toes a-tapping for a long long while. As we mentioned in the review of the first volume, despite the "Kraut" in the title, you should definitely not expect anything remotely resembling "Krautrock". You will not find anything by Can, Kraftwerk nor Faust, but you will find ultra shimmy shakin' tracks by the likes of Hazy Osterwald Jet Set, Charly Antolini's Power Dozen, The Inner Space (wait, that band actually IS Can, before they called themselves Can!), Joy & The Hit Kids and many more! Oh yes, and the swingin'est, big-band version of Deep Purple's "Black Night" we've ever heard!! Hot stuff!
MPEG Stream: BLADIN, CHRISTER "Wildkatze"
MPEG Stream: STRASSER, HUGO "Black Night"
MPEG Stream: HAZY OSTERWALD JET SET "Swinging London"

V/A The In-Kraut Vol. II (Marina) 2lp 17.98
The In-Kraut, the delightful sassy compilation of German '60s jazzy lounge pop music that we got almost exactly one year ago today got played like crazy around here! What a treat! And while its follow-up The In-Kraut Vol. II seems a bit more subdued in mood, it looks likes it too is gonna keep our toes a-tapping for a long long while. As we mentioned in the review of the first volume, despite the "Kraut" in the title, you should definitely not expect anything remotely resembling "Krautrock". You will not find anything by Can, Kraftwerk nor Faust, but you will find ultra shimmy shakin' tracks by the likes of Hazy Osterwald Jet Set, Charly Antolini's Power Dozen, The Inner Space (wait, that band actually IS Can, before they called themselves Can!), Joy & The Hit Kids and many more! Oh yes, and the swingin'est, big-band version of Deep Purple's "Black Night" we've ever heard!! Hot stuff!
MPEG Stream: BLADIN, CHRISTER "Wildkatze"
MPEG Stream: STRASSER, HUGO "Black Night"
MPEG Stream: HAZY OSTERWALD JET SET "Swinging London"

V/A The Internalization Of Massy (Massy Recordings) cd 14.98
Yay, skweee!
The vinyl 7" single may be the preferred format for the damaged DIY Scandinavian electro funk music called skweee that we love so much here at AQ, or at least, we've certainly seen a lot of 7" skweee releases come through here recently. But actually, when we're listening to skweee, we don't want to stop (to get up and flip the record, y'know). So a compact disc mix is much more OUR preferred skweee format. And that's what we have here. In the tradition of other skweee cd comps like The Museum Of Future Sound (vols. 1 & 2) and Skweee Tooth, comes The Internalization Of Massy, a mix on the Helsinki label Massy, put together by skweee artist Spartan Lover. He's on here, along with some others we know (the great Randy Barracuda among 'em, with an effervescent cut called "Sex People") and many more we don't. 14 tracks, 12 artists, 49 minutes. Glitchin' and poppin', slippin' and slidin', there's a wide range of skweee happenin' here. To mention just some of it specifically, well... The mellow woozy zink-zonk of "Bjhbj Nkknkn Kl" by Coco Bryce is quite pleasant and vaguely suggestive of some sort of mechanical accordion music. Boston's Stickem drops some haunted bass on "Hoi Poloi". Compiler Spartan Lover contributes an edit of "Silk Smooth Skin" that's got a nice layer of distortion on it, a real fuzzy sheen. Motem's track "Unexact" has some quasi rap vocals, generally a rarity in the mostly instrumental world of skweee. Hybakusha turns in a nicely disjointed groove called "The Number Of The Glitch". Whereas both Mother North and Beatbully go a more shimmery disco-friendly route, we could almost imagine their tracks coming from Italians Do It Better, or on one of those Milky Disco comps. Much darker and creepier is Jyrkka Pajulasskso's "Twisted Bar Game". And even more messed up (but still groovy) is the flutter-stutter and frog-like croak of V.C.'s "Jello On Springs", which appears to be a Mesak remix. And that's not all. So, if you like skweee, or think you might like skweee, this disc is quite recommended.
We've noticed that most skweee releases tend towards minimal art/packaging, and this is no exception, the disc coming in a cardboard sleeve with a simple but nice graphic of waves... and a shark fin?
MPEG Stream: MISK "Mantis Shrimp"
MPEG Stream: RANDY BARRACUDA "Sex People"
MPEG Stream: SPARTAN LOVER "Silk Smooth Skin (Editor's Cut)"

V/A The Jewelled Antler Library (Porter) 4cd box 61.00
Oh wow. It's here, though not for long. You may have seen it announced on our blog or elsewhere, and really should have preordered one... we've already sold most of the copies we got (which was a lot, as many as we could afford, really). But at the moment we still have, like, a dozen. And possibly will be able to restock a few again next week, though we don't know that for sure. The label only pressed 1000 copies, and we know they're going fast. So perhaps listing it here is just for posterity's sake.
So, what's all the excitement about you ask? If you're a fan of San Francisco's acclaimed Jewelled Antler collective of psychedelic/drone/improv/nature folks you should know, some years back (2003), they decided to release a series of 3" cd-r eps, once a month or so, with entries from JA regulars like Thuja, likeminded folks such as Dead Raven Choir and Antony Milton, and also odd, one-off quirky projects like Loren Chasse's frog-sounds disc dubbed Green Laughter. The idea was to release stuff that stood alone in twenty-minute doses and didn't need to be padded out to full-cd length. These cute lil' 3"s proved quite popular here at AQ, and of course are now long, long out of print like all Jewelled Antler cd-rs. Apparently a set will put you back about $100-120 on eBay nowadays, or until recently anyway... Well there'd been talk for some years now of these wonderful eps getting reissued on cd, in a box set or something, and lo it has finally come to pass thanks to the enthusiasm (and deep pockets) of Porter Records.
The Jewelled Antler Library box contains 4 discs in cardboard sleeves, Books One to Four, comprising all 12 original entries in the approximately-monthly 3" cd-r ep series plus some extra bonus material! 59 tracks, four hours and forty minutes in all. It breaks down like this... Book One: Loren Chasse/Tomes/The Ivytree/Hala Strana, Book Two: Dead Raven Choir/The Famous Boating Party/Uton, Book Three: Claypipe/The Muons/Thuja, Book Four: Fursaxa/Kemialliset Ystavat/The Ways Of God To Man. And interspersed between each of the thirteen volumes are twelve "Footpath" tracks of brand new field recordings by Loren Chasse, up-close-and-personal documents of rain and wind and other evocative textural cracklings and rustlings from the natural environment. The box also contains individual, full-color cards with the cover art and credits from each ep.
We reviewed all of them when they originally came out (or almost all of 'em, not sure what happened to the last few). Waste not, want not, so what follows is a conglomeration of our reviews of each library installment, slightly edited for clarity and to eliminate redundancies. Note how several of the entries in the series may have been the very first time we'd heard from a particular artist, such as Finland's Uton for instance, now well known to us and AQ customers...
Volume 1: Frogs!!! Can AQ-customers resist frog recordings? We think not. Certainly we can't. Green Laughter is primarily frog field recordings made and edited by Loren Chasse (Thuja, Id Battery, Of, Blithe Sons, etc.). It's twenty minutes of the call of the wild (featuring frogs, cicadas, and perhaps birds), starting off as a fairly straight documentary and then blending into a computer-processed drone-wash constructed by Chasse from his original recordings. It's like wandering in a dense creature-inhabited forest back East somewhere in the summertime, your ears overwhelmed by the natural sounds, you getting dizzy and almost passing out, the ribbitting and chirping and buzzing and tweeting taking over your mind. But it eventually dissolves back into a blissful background ambience. Real nice. And many of the sounds on here that sound insect-like or electronic Loren assures us are in fact frogs. It's nature's electronic music, the sound of a laptop computer overwhelmed by heat and long grasses and the green laughter. Just the thing for when I (Allan) get homesick for Pennsylvania.
Volume 2 is the debut recording from a group called Tomes, who are, as it turns out, basically Jewelled Antler flagship group Thuja (Rob Reger, Loren Chasse, Glenn Donaldson, absent Steven R. Smith), letting themselves get a little bit louder and noisier than they usually do in Thuja, harking back a bit to precursor band Mirza in fact. Probably the main reason this wasn't put out as a Thuja release is because Tomes' title and artwork are in fact the Jewelled Antler collective's knowing nod to a black metal aesthetic (which has fascinated Glenn particularly of late). But while intended as a tribute of sorts to black metal, the psychedelic drone music found here only holds subtle echoes of dark Nordic woodlands and burning churches. The twenty minutes of abstract heavy improv of The Dreadful Gift is darn good stuff regardless of the tangential conceptual framework. With noisy phantoms clanking chains, groaning drones, tell-tale heartbeats and and distorted freeform guitar feedback, this does achieve a dark n' dirgey but beautiful atmosphere. Too beautiful perhaps to leave the black metal hordes quaking in their corpsepaint, it still could be a Jewelled Antler Halloween soundtrack of sorts - I wonder why didn't they wait 'til the October Library installment for this? Definitely recommended.
Volume 3 comes from The Ivytree, a solo project of one of the Jewelled Antler's chief protagonists, Glenn Donaldson (who can also be found in Thuja, The Blithe Sons, Knit Separates, The Birdtree, etc). Donaldson has publicly announced an affinity for creating different monikers to accompany the innumerable variations of his musical productions, so The Ivytree may be just one in a number of upcoming 'tree' projects from Donaldson. Certainly this 18 minute ep has a lot in common with his previous 'tree disc, The Birdtree album, which garnered high praise from us. Centered around a plaintive, elliptical finger-picking guitar technique which renders every note full of melancholia, The Sun Is The Lamp weaves in and out of harmonium drones, field recordings of birds, and Donaldson's evocative vocals. As strong as the best Richard Youngs projects that might be the closest comparison we can make, this is another fantastic recording from Jewelled Antler!
Volume 4 is by Thuja's Steven R. Smith, who has taken up the Hala Strana moniker for his Eastern European-folk music inspired meditations. Karst continues down the path of his previous Jewelled Antler production Kohl, with a more ramshackle production for his dense acoustic arrangements for guitar and scratchy violin, which often hints at Eastern European timbres but as played by Nikki Sudden. In fact two of Smith's tracks are versions of traditional Polish and Romanian folk songs. Often beginning with a clutter of loose sounds, Smith coaxes his orchestrations into melancholic melodies and has smothered everything with an unusual patina of crunchy vinyl static, giving these 18 minutes a distinctly antiquated feel. A great entry in a great series...
Volume 5 is by Dead Raven Choir, the Texas-by-way-of-Poland based folk/improv one man project that the Jewelled Antler powers-that-be seem to be totally in love with of late - this was their 3rd DRC release of 2003! As with his previous Jewelled Antler cd-rs, DRC here conjures up some eccentric vocal theatrics and sparse, haunted acoustic guitar playing, like some sort of Eastern European Jandek. And his black metal obsession with wolves continues in the title here as well. Scarily beautiful, with atmospheric piano and unknown other sounds providing a hissing soundscape for his vocal, all three tracks here featuring macabre poetry by Paul Verlaine.
Volume 6 is something a bit different, yet familiar too to Jewelled Antler aficionados. It features the Blithe Sons (Glenn Donaldson and Loren Chasse, both also of Thuja and much else besides) joined by Eleanor Harwood on vocals. This trio's music is totally inspired by '70s art rock ensemble Slapp Happy, it's actually an intentional tribute of sorts. Eleanor is the heart of this, and we must say that for an untrained vocalist in an improvised setting, she's very impressive! Singing lyrics taken from a book of Kenneth Patchen poetry that was near to hand, "The Famous Boating Party", she totally inhabits the Dagmar Krause role, her vocals all wonderfully warbly and birdlike and lovely. She reminds us of Bjork at times too, no bad thing! Backing her up/leading her on, Glenn strums melodically on his 6 & 12 string guitars and adds comforting keyboard coloration, while Loren's "percussion & noises" both provide a steady beat and contribute the usual detailed, natural Jewelled Antler ambiance. It's very hazy and folky and fairytale like, a summer's afternoon encapsulated in a magical music box. Maybe not to everyone's taste (Slapp Happy certainly isn't either) but for some this will be a highlight in the Library series.
Volume 7 is also from outside the immediate ranks of Thuja and company. Although they've had a couple of cd-r releases popping up from tiny labels around the globe, this was our introduction to Uton. This anonymous, acoustic-noise-drone band hails from Finland, although they seem far more at home within the New Zealand community of Birchville Cat Motel, Anthony Milton, and Handful of Dust. Zwuiji is a bit more grating than most entries in the Jewelled Antler Library series, which typically opiate themselves with hazy improvised psychedelia and obtuse folk renderings. Rather Uton revels in mistreating their electric gear in order to fill up the audio spectrum with buzzing drones that swarm out of their amplifiers like angry wasps. Scratchy violins and atonally shifting wind instruments hover behind these gritty walls of vibrating feedback which comes across more as a misaligned engine block rattling all of those tones inside your head than as a typical trick with a couple of effects boxes. Certainly the fans of cd-r labels Celebrate Psi Phenomenon or PseudoArcana will like this.
Volume 8 hails from New Zealand's Claypipe. It seems Jewelled Antler have found some kindred souls Down Under, no not Gandalf and Frodo but in this case Antony Milton (who runs a cd-r label himself, Pseudoarcana) and Clayton Noone (C.J.A., Armpit) who together are known as Claypipe. Repetition and drone and field recording grit coexist with lovely acoustic guitar - it's real nice. With wistful, earnest vocals, some distorted and layered, this is neither indie-pop nor environmental ambient, but a hybrid that totally fits with Jewelled Antler 'groups' like the Blithe Sons and Child Readers, while possessing that special New Zealand magic we all adore. Seven tracks, 20 minutes, and you're left wishing it were longer.
Volume 9 is a disc from SF's Muons, not a Jewelled Antler band per se, but in those guys' orbit. There's five songs here, just under twenty minutes of fragile, psychedelic folk recorded live, where they really shine. Inspired by traditional British folk music, but made soooo minimal and spacey that they've been called the "Bernhard Gunter of space-folk", the Muons make forlorn lullabys for adults. For this performance, the Muons were just the duo of Greg Bianchini and Rickey Reneau. Greg, who has played with Jewelled Antler acts Franciscan Hobbies, Thuja and Blithe Sons, is an gifted instrument maker, and on this recording plays a home-built 14-string electric lute as well as sings. Rickey plays an electric dulcimer, probably also built by Greg. Greg's languid strumming and melancholic vocals seem to drift out of the smoke and mist of another era, and could be from a lost UK psych-folk comp, although this is so slow and sad and desolate that no hippy could have made it - they'd be too bummed out. We're also reminded of some Galaxie 500, or old NZ stuff like the Chills. Certainly this is a bit different than much else in the Library series - it's got to be the most 'composed' set of songs found on any of these 3" discs. But we think JA fans will like it, a lot. It has a 'flowers in the rain' vibe that's just lovely. And the loveliness extends to the paintings Greg did for the 3" cover. Very nice.
Volume 10 is from Thuja. With the series getting close to the end, it's about time for these guys to finally make an appearance (unless you count the almost-Thuja entry by black metal inspired alter ego Tomes). 20 or so minutes, 2 tracks. Again, the Thujans (Loren Chasse, Rob Reger, Steven R. Smith, and Glenn Donaldson) make some of the most beautiful and mysterious abstract instrumental improv we've heard. All we're told is that Fable was "recorded at night in the Garden of Kains, August 30, 2003". There could have been weird old hippies sitting in, or magical woodland beasts (of the past), or academic dronologists gone a bit strange on natural pharmacueticals...but probably it was just Thuja, and their music is conjuring these imaginary visitors not the other way around.
All those above reviews from our archives get us up to book/disc four, volumes 11, 12, and the previously unheard by us quasi-volume 13 in the Library series. We'll briefly describe 'em here (as if you needed us to...):
Volume 11 is from Fursaxa, and consists of one haunting track, "Harbinger of Spring". Nearly 18 minutes of wordless vocal drone, tumbling tribal drums, and other mysterious atmospheres. Good music for the next time you're trapped inside a Wicker Man.
Volume 12 comes from Finnish freaky forest folks Kemialliset Ystavat, who always seemed like Jewelled Antler soulmates. Five tracks here of their moody, magical improvs. Primitive, krauty jams we love.
And then the "bonus" Volume 13 is by Jewelled Antler act Ways Of God To Man (Christine Boepple, Kerry McLaughlin, Loren Chasse and Glenn Donaldson). It was originally released in a very limited edition on a NZ cd-r label in 2004. Despite featuring 2 former AQ employees, we never even got any... Three tracks ("Nothing", "Everything", and "Anything") of dark psychedelic throb and abstract, distorted melodic murk, over 28 minutes total. It sounds to us like Jewelled Antler's tribute to Ya Ho Wa 13! Even if you already have the other 12 volumes of the library on the original 3"s cd-rs, and getting them again on the more durable medium of actual compact disc isn't a compelling enough reason to buy this box, we'd imagine that getting to hear the Ways Of God To Man could sweeten the deal considerably.
All right, considering we KNOW we're gonna run out of these right away, this review is quite long enough! Just one more paragraph to go...
Need we say, pretty darn recommended. But do we have any complaints? Well, musically, not really, of course some volumes will appeal more that others but that's the deal, and you can't get 'em individually anymore anyway. Also, just in terms of physical production, any ambitious, unique project like this is bound to have a few flaws. Will the metallic foil debossing of the Jewelled Antler logo on the box top IS quite handsome, the box itself is a bit of a disappointment. It just a bit flimsier than we were expecting ("heavy chip board stock" it's not), apparently due to the difficulty of debossing on heavier cardboard. Also it's bigger than it needs to be, leaving empty space inside for the cds and cards to rattle around. Had each one been stuffed (in true Jewelled Antler style) with twigs and moss and suchlike, that would have solved the problem, unfortunately that probably proved to be impractical, but you could do it yourself once you get this! There's also just a couple of proofing errors we noticed, nothing serious (Hala Strana got left off the back of the box, alas) but it's still too bad. However, the overall presentation is still pretty nice and of course it's the music that matters. So, that said, we can only reiterate: pretty darn recommended!
MPEG Stream: TOMES "The Dreadful Gift, Part 1"
MPEG Stream: THE IVYTREE "White Sun"
MPEG Stream: HALA STRANA "Karst"
MPEG Stream: WAYS OF GOD TO MAN "Nothing"

V/A The Joe South Tribute Record (Jackpine Social Club) cd 14.98
Wondering who is Joe South? Some of us here were too. Born Joe Souter, he was the songwriter behind a remarkable number of those AM radio favorites about which you might've found yourself thinkin' "who wrote that?" Now are ya wondering which songs? Oh you know 'em alright! "Hush" (as recorded by Deep Purple), "Rose Garden" (as sung by Lynn Anderson, y'know "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a..."), "Down In The Boondocks" (as sung by Billy Joe Royal), "Games People Play" (as sung by the man himself) and the list goes on. Kelly Hogan, Kelley Stoltz, Persephone's Bees, Chris Von Sneidern, Chuck Prophet, Ron Silva & The New Believers, Jesse DeNatale, Tom Heyman, Stephanie Finch, Ted Roddy, Paul Cebar and Otis Clay have all paid their respects to South and the broad, indelible mark he made on American popular music of the '60s and '70s by performing their renditions of twelve of his songs (many of them very faithful to the original). Since a bunch of the songs were conveniently recorded in the same studio here in SF, folks ended up playing on each others' songs quite a bit. This lends a consistency as well as a warm family gathering feel to the compilation. Also joining in to play a few bars are Mark Greenberg (ex-Coctails) and Marc Capelle (American Music Club).
MPEG Stream: VON SNEIDERN, CHRIS "Hush"
MPEG Stream: PERSEPHONE'S BEES "Games People Play"

V/A The Little Band EP (PRS) 7" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A few months back we raved about the Primitive Calculators anthology which came out on Chapter Music. Thanks to that review, we were contacted by Denise Hilton who had been one of the electronic wizards in that seminal Australian synth punk and had some rare singles that she was willing to part with. I'm not sure why this is called "The Little Band" EP, as it doesn't say that anywhere on this super-rare 7," but supposedly that's the title. Anyway each of the four bands -- Too Fat To Fit Through The Door, Morpions, The Take, and Ronnie & The Rhythm Boys -- are side projects of the Primitive Calculators. whose synth-punk / no-wave axis of Suicide meets DNA is present in some, way, shape or form on all of the tracks. This is especially true on the Ronnie and The Rhythm Boys electrically shrill version of "Hey Joe," but The Take offers something a bit closer to Young Marble Giants with their delicately constructed number of perfect punk-pop. This is actually an original pressing from back in 1979 (with reconstructed covers since the originals succumbed to mold), and it's unlikely that we'll get any more copies.

V/A The Midnite Sound Of The Milky Way (Big Beat) cd 16.98
We reviewed the Dean Carter disc a few lists back, a killer collection of super twisted rockabilly and garage rock, ultra distorted, tons of weird effects, super rocking and far out, especially for the time. We sold a ton, and still can't seem to stop listening to it. In the liner notes, they kept mentioning a comp called The Midnite Sound Of The Milky Way, a collection of singles from the label that Dean Carter called home, and we figured if it was even half as weird as the Carter disc, we had to have it, and guess what, it totally is.
This one is not new either, a few years old in fact, but somehow we missed out both on the Carter, and the Milky Way, so we figured maybe some of you did too. More twisted garage rock, weirdo rockabilly, some proto-doom (really!) and some stuff that we're not exactly sure how to describe. One name keeps popping up all over this disc, with NINE tracks, and that's Kookie Cook, who just so happened to be a member of Dean Carter's band, and judging from these tracks, had much to do with that twisted sound. "Workin' Man" is a total classic, with a killer main riff, a bunch of whistling, some weirdly delivered sung spoken vocals, lots of "HEY!"s, some awesome drumming, and a screaming lead that lasts all of two seconds. Woah. "Don't Lie" is a slithery twisted swampy bit of blues, with frenzied howled vox, and some strange female back ups. "Revenge" is a total reverbed surf jam, with some more super strange vocals, frenzied and maniacal, all over some shimmery twang, and some seriously pounding drums. "Misery" and "I Feel Alright" are classic fifties sounding rockabilly blues jams, with bad ass guitar wrangling, all super distorted and tangled. "Ooby Dooby" is another fifties style groover, with lots of nonsense lyrics, and some really weird female back up vox, and finally, "Drums" begins with Cook shouting "Drums! Baby!" and then two minutes of wild drum freakout and occasional shouts. So good. We hope this guy has a lost album somewhere. Cook also contributes two tracks with his band the Satalites, one of which sounds a little like the Benny Hill theme mixed with surf rock, while the other is a weird slow jam, all wild manic laughing, and weird horns and 'whoop!'s in the background. And that's just Cook's tracks (which are more than enough reason to buy this), there's also the mysterious 12th Knight, whose "Death Row" is total fuzz drenched proto-doom, like Sabbath played on shitty little amps, so grim and weirdly heavy, and there's a bunch of other groups, The Cobras, Dave Marten, Four A While, George Jacks, Jack Johnson, The Grapes Of Wrath and Willie & The Travelaires, all of them cool, although not as weird or far out as Cook or as heavy and haunting as 12th Knight. Such a killer comp. Anyone who dug the Dean Carter, or just loves lost outsider gems from the sixties, this is definitely well worth checking out!
MPEG Stream: KOOKIE COOK "Workin' Man"
MPEG Stream: KOOKIE COOK "Space Race"
MPEG Stream: KOOKIE COOK "I Feel Alright"
MPEG Stream: KOOKIE COOK "Drums"

V/A The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits (Moll-Selekta) cd 17.98
Moll-Selekta brings us its second collection of Bunny Lee productions, this time a compilation of roots reggae tracks dating from 1973-79. The Mighty Striker Shoots At Hits is a solid group of songs that balances classic hits from big names such as Horace Andy and Delroy Wlson with more obscure cuts such as Hortense Ellis covering her brother Alton's smash, "I'm Still In Love." Depending on your inclinations, the fact that this disc focuses on shorter, 7" sides rather than extended DJ and dub cuts may or may not be to the record's benefit. The concision of the tracks is refreshing and highlights the strength of the vocal performances and songwriting, but unfortunately means that the engineering prowess of frequent collaborators like King Tubby are largely underrepresented. That said, we're of the opinion that the heartbreaking beauty of tracks like Cornell Campbell's soulful "Give Me Love" benefit from the unadorned presentation they receive here.
What this disc does best is document the early stages of the transition from ska and rocksteady to the more Rastafarian-oriented themes of the Roots movement that would come to define Jamaican music's most celebrated era. Likewise, the vocal performances on display in these cuts show Bunny Lee's unparalleled ability to coax beautifully emotional deliveries out of his singers that are at once simple, sweet and massively evocative. While the collection is hardly perfect (as with so many other reggae compilations, the liner notes and packaging leave a lot to be desired) and definitely not recommended for those interested mostly in dubby tape echo workouts, it still serves as a fantastic introduction to the production skills of one of the most important figures in Reggae's mid-'70s rennaissance. For fans of lover's style roots ballads, classic rockers and sweet Jamaican soul, there is more than enough here to make this a highly recommended purchase!
MPEG Stream: CORNELL CAMPBELL "Give Me Love"
MPEG Stream: HONEY BOY "Jamaica"
MPEG Stream: RONNIE DAVIS "I'm Just A Man"

V/A The Minimal Wave Tapes Volume 1 (Stones Throw / Minimal Wave) cd 14.98
Ooooh, so awesome! If you're familiar with Minimal Wave already, or if you're not, this is the thing to get.
The Minimal Wave label and website have been tremendous resources for discovering the hidden gems of synth punk, cold wave, Neue Deutsche Welle, and any of the darker strains of new wave that all blossomed throughout the early to mid '80s. While the label has released full album reissues (vinyl-only) from a number of forgotten men and women of the trade, the two comps that Minimal Wave has issued over the years - the Lost Tapes (documenting European artists) and the Found Tapes (culling from North America) - were absolutely stunning, without a dud amongst the many collected tracks. Unfortunately, those two comps were quite expensive and quite hard to come by. So when Minimal Wave and Stones Throw came together to release this comp, our initial reaction (and that of a few others walking in the shop) was that this compilation fused those Lost & Found Tapes together. Well, we were wrong as this highlights not only some of the best tracks from those compilations, but also the best tracks from the Minimal Wave reissue library, plus a few rare gems not readily available anywhere else.
The Belgian outfit Linear Movement (which later morphed into A Split Second) opens the compilation with a very cold dance number of disaffectedly cold Italo-disco rhythms and female vocals that would fit in with any given Johnny Jewel production for Italians Do It Better (e.g. Chromatics, Glass Candy, Desire, etc.). Crash Course In Science's "Flying Turns" re-emerged first on the Found Tapes and then on the totally awesome Vinyl On Demand anthology; and is an immediately catchy if darkly unique number of dot-dot-dash electro and spiky rhythms closer in spirit to the Units or Nervous Gender. Oppenheimer Analysis reprises a very Gary Numanoid track from their eponymous record which Minimal Wave reissued a while back. The Mark Lane track "Who's Really Listening" is another insistent proto-techno number of synthetic micro-blips driving handclap drum rhythms and Lane's Ultravox-ish vocals. Tara Cross was one of the few women tinkering around with electronics, and produced some beguiling arrhythmic structures with staccato synth punches and her drawn out vocal ambience. Turquoise Days may have been the only New Wave export of the Channel Islands, pulling out some jangling dissonance from their guitars to match the Modern English synth melodies. Minimal Wave reprises the Lost Tapes with a great track from Bene Gesserit, a project of bleakly alienated progressive electronics from Alain Neff who ran the Insane Music label. The Esplendor Geometrico track is curiously playful for a project that centered so much on dangerously mechanoid industrial grinding. Das Ding's "Reassurance Ritual" was designed for the dancefloor with a constant revolution of drum machine programming around tightly wound synth melody repetitions. Cryptic theatrics from the Martin Dupont ensemble appear on "Just Because" sounding a lot like a Fad Gadget B-side. And if the Deux track "Game & Performance" sounds familiar, it's because you've heard it on the BIPPP compilation which Ed Banger re-released a while back. The compilation is fleshed out with the best death disco groove that Das Kabinette ever mustered on their single "The Cabinet" which did come out on a Minimal Wave lp a while back.
Fantastic!!!!!
FYI there IS a vinyl version of this comp too, but of our various suppliers only one got copies, and they were shorted, so we only got a tiny tiny handful, not enough to list (by the time you read this, they'll probably be gone, but you can always ask). Hopefully though we'll get more somehow in the near future...
MPEG Stream: CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE "Flying Turns"
MPEG Stream: MARK LANE "Who's Really Listening"
MPEG Stream: DAS DING "Reassurance Ritual"
MPEG Stream: DAS KABINETTE "The Cabinet"

V/A The Minimal Wave Tapes Volume 1 (Stones Throw) 2lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Yay, also at last we have a bunch (well, maybe not for long) of this recent Record Of The Week on vinyl!!
Ooooh, so awesome! If you're familiar with Minimal Wave already, or if you're not, this is the thing to get.
The Minimal Wave label and website have been tremendous resources for discovering the hidden gems of synth punk, cold wave, Neue Deutsche Welle, and any of the darker strains of new wave that all blossomed throughout the early to mid '80s. While the label has released full album reissues (vinyl-only) from a number of forgotten men and women of the trade, the two comps that Minimal Wave has issued over the years - the Lost Tapes (documenting European artists) and the Found Tapes (culling from North America) - were absolutely stunning, without a dud amongst the many collected tracks. Unfortunately, those two comps were quite expensive and quite hard to come by. So when Minimal Wave and Stones Throw came together to release this comp, our initial reaction (and that of a few others walking in the shop) was that this compilation fused those Lost & Found Tapes together. Well, we were wrong as this highlights not only some of the best tracks from those compilations, but also the best tracks from the Minimal Wave reissue library, plus a few rare gems not readily available anywhere else.
The Belgian outfit Linear Movement (which later morphed into A Split Second) opens the compilation with a very cold dance number of disaffectedly cold Italo-disco rhythms and female vocals that would fit in with any given Johnny Jewel production for Italians Do It Better (e.g. Chromatics, Glass Candy, Desire, etc.). Crash Course In Science's "Flying Turns" re-emerged first on the Found Tapes and then on the totally awesome Vinyl On Demand anthology; and is an immediately catchy if darkly unique number of dot-dot-dash electro and spiky rhythms closer in spirit to the Units or Nervous Gender. Oppenheimer Analysis reprises a very Gary Numanoid track from their eponymous record which Minimal Wave reissued a while back. The Mark Lane track "Who's Really Listening" is another insistent proto-techno number of synthetic micro-blips driving handclap drum rhythms and Lane's Ultravox-ish vocals. Tara Cross was one of the few women tinkering around with electronics, and produced some beguiling arrhythmic structures with staccato synth punches and her drawn out vocal ambience. Turquoise Days may have been the only New Wave export of the Channel Islands, pulling out some jangling dissonance from their guitars to match the Modern English synth melodies. Minimal Wave reprises the Lost Tapes with a great track from Bene Gesserit, a project of bleakly alienated progressive electronics from Alain Neff who ran the Insane Music label. The Esplendor Geometrico track is curiously playful for a project that centered so much on dangerously mechanoid industrial grinding. Das Ding's "Reassurance Ritual" was designed for the dancefloor with a constant revolution of drum machine programming around tightly wound synth melody repetitions. Cryptic theatrics from the Martin Dupont ensemble appear on "Just Because" sounding a lot like a Fad Gadget B-side. And if the Deux track "Game & Performance" sounds familiar, it's because you've heard it on the BIPPP compilation which Ed Banger re-released a while back. The compilation is fleshed out with the best death disco groove that Das Kabinette ever mustered on their single "The Cabinet" which did come out on a Minimal Wave lp a while back.
Fantastic!!!!!
MPEG Stream: CRASH COURSE IN SCIENCE "Flying Turns"
MPEG Stream: MARK LANE "Who's Really Listening"
MPEG Stream: DAS DING "Reassurance Ritual"
MPEG Stream: DAS KABINETTE "The Cabinet"

V/A The Minimal Wave Tapes Volume Two (Stones Throw / Minimal Wave) cd 13.98
By now, the term 'minimal wave' has become synonymous with a particular thread of somewhat dystopian and certainly DIY electronic pop whose origins land somewhere between 1978 and 1984. Back then, all of this music was probably lumped under the new wave or post-punk or maybe even industrial category; but thanks to Veronica Vasicka's label, a new taxonomy has stuck, and more than a handful of archivist labels following suit, including the exceptionally well curated Dark Entries alongside Vasicka's Minimal Wave.
Here, we have the second co-release between Minimal Wave and Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw, collecting very rare tracks from very obscure 'minimal wave' acts mostly from that aforementioned time period. The only artist on this compilation with something of cultural cache would be Felix Kubin, whose contribution here is a cover of the jittery Germanic punk number "Japan Japan" by Abwarts, turning the frenzied pogo guitars and drums into Devo-esque electronic squeak and double-timed drum machination. Of course, Kubin adds his signature blankly-serious silliness to the reworking which dated back even to this track from 1985. Lesser known acts include Subject (with Belgian electronic maverick Alain Neffe providing the backing track to the impressively infectious guitar riff and motorik chug), Ruins (not to be confused with the Japanese group, this Italian act takes after the mid-'80s Factory Records dark discotheque productions a la Section 25) and Das Ding (a Dutch project of buzzing synth workouts who we only discovered through a full album reissued by Minimal Wave). Other total obscurities include the crooning melodrama of Class Info, the terse arpeggio of Hard Corps, and the contemporary production of Geneva Jacuzzi making a cheap electro-tango that harks back to the chimerical publications from 99 Records. It all makes for another fine piece of archival curation from Minimal Wave!
MPEG Stream: IN TRANCE 95 "Presidente"
MPEG Stream: SUBJECT "What Happened To You?"
MPEG Stream: RUINS "Fire"
MPEG Stream: FELIX KUBIN "Japan Japan"

V/A The Minimal Wave Tapes Volume Two (Stones Throw / Minimal Wave) lp 22.00
Also on vinyl!!
By now, the term 'minimal wave' has become synonymous with a particular thread of somewhat dystopian and certainly DIY electronic pop whose origins land somewhere between 1978 and 1984. Back then, all of this music was probably lumped under the new wave or post-punk or maybe even industrial category; but thanks to Veronica Vasicka's label, a new taxonomy has stuck, and more than a handful of archivist labels following suit, including the exceptionally well curated Dark Entries alongside Vasicka's Minimal Wave.
Here, we have the second co-release between Minimal Wave and Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw, collecting very rare tracks from very obscure 'minimal wave' acts mostly from that aforementioned time period. The only artist on this compilation with something of cultural cache would be Felix Kubin, whose contribution here is a cover of the jittery Germanic punk number "Japan Japan" by Abwarts, turning the frenzied pogo guitars and drums into Devo-esque electronic squeak and double-timed drum machination. Of course, Kubin adds his signature blankly-serious silliness to the reworking which dated back even to this track from 1985. Lesser known acts include Subject (with Belgian electronic maverick Alain Neffe providing the backing track to the impressively infectious guitar riff and motorik chug), Ruins (not to be confused with the Japanese group, this Italian act takes after the mid-'80s Factory Records dark discotheque productions a la Section 25) and Das Ding (a Dutch project of buzzing synth workouts who we only discovered through a full album reissued by Minimal Wave). Other total obscurities include the crooning melodrama of Class Info, the terse arpeggio of Hard Corps, and the contemporary production of Geneva Jacuzzi making a cheap electro-tango that harks back to the chimerical publications from 99 Records. It all makes for another fine piece of archival curation from Minimal Wave!
MPEG Stream: IN TRANCE 95 "Presidente"
MPEG Stream: SUBJECT "What Happened To You?"
MPEG Stream: RUINS "Fire"
MPEG Stream: FELIX KUBIN "Japan Japan"

V/A The Monks by The Goblins, Graves Brothers Deluxe & Kelly Stoltz (Discos Electro-Harmonix) 7" 5.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We got positively giddy when we saw that The Goblins were on this Monks tribute record, but we soon found out that they were not Thee Goblins from Vancouver - the jawdropping spectacle lead by Nardwuar The Human Serviette (interviewer extraordinaire and leader of The Evaporators who actually do an appropriately blistering, bizarre cover of The Monks' "Higgle-ly Piggle-ly"). Despite the liner notes (written by The Monks' Eddie Shaw!) describing these versions as bringing "30 year old music into the 21st century", they're really much more controlled, faithful renditions courtesy of The Goblins, The Cuckoos, The Graves Brothers and Kelley Stoltz.
Of course, the wonder of The Monks was their absolute raging fearlessness especially taking into consideration the time in which they existed... 1966! Five GIs stationed in Germany formed this strange strange band. They shaved the tops of their heads monk-style, worn long black robes, and thumped out the most amazing primal rock. Vocals were howled, yelped and ranted. Lyrics were filled with bile and dark wit. Everything was completely untethered, so truly punk, badass and one-of-a-kind! That said, it seems kinda odd to cover them - either attempting to recapture the songs' raw energy or to completely rework them - 'cause there was so much more to The Monks than the songs.

V/A The Night Gallery 2: 21st Century Psychedelic Underground (Alchemy) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
And we've also got the second of Alchemy's Night Gallery underground Japanese psych comps too, from earlier this year. Six bands this time (68 minutes, 11 tracks in all). Two of 'em have names only given in Japanese that we can't translate. The four with English names provided are She Brings The Rainbow (nice Can reference there), Magura Mozart, Subari, and Coa. Some contribute just one long track each (like the aptly-titled "Psych-Out" from Magura Mozart) others a few shorter cuts. The disc starts with a few tracks from one of the Japanese-name only bands, kinda Ghost-ly, or like Nagisa Ni te, all gentle and drifting and melancholy with female vocals. Then She Brings The Rainbow makes their contributions, way more shiny and uptempo, more female vocals but poppier I guess. Good stuff. That's followed by a long piece from Subari, a band consisting of Eddie and Bill (both girls, despite their names) from Coa plus one Keizo Suhara on vocals and guitar. It's a spacey one, quite nice. Eddie and Bill just the two of them then step up with another long track, the noisy, droney, heavy, dense clangor that is Coa's "Mirror To Mirror". That's tough to follow but the band known as Magura Mozart manage to do so with an epic of their own, starting off with ritualistic piano, percussion, and bells that gives way to pulsing drumming and waves of distorted guitar, coming closest on this comp to the Les Rallizes Denudes territory that LSD-march and Up-tight explored on the first Night Gallery (and on their own albums too of course). The last band on this collection is another whose name we don't know, and stick out as being almost more 'no-wave' than psych, very quirky and poppy and ramshackle and punky. So, the six bands here are sometimes a weird mix, but the highlights are many, and both volumes of the Night Gallery prove (if you weren't already aware) that there's a lot of interesting "psych" bands doin' their thing in Japan right now besides good ol' Acid Mothers Temple!
[After we first posted this review, our customer Alan Cummings was kind enough to provide us with the following additional info: "the two bands you don't have the names for on Night Gallery 2 are Eddie Marcon (the gentle and melancholy one -- again Eddie and Bill from Coa), and the no-wavey one is Oshiripenpenzu. The title of the Eddie Marcon track you have streamed is 'Ikuyonoshitaku'."]
MPEG Stream: (UNKNOWN) "(Japanese title)"
MPEG Stream: SHE BRINGS THE RAINBOW "(Japanese title)"
MPEG Stream: MAGURA MOZART "Psych-Out"

V/A The Night Gallery 3: 21st Century Psycho Out (Alchemy) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Japanese underground psych fans rejoice... The Night Gallery, which is kinda the Osaka-based Alchemy label's answer to PSF's Tokyo Flashback series, is already up to volume three! This installment brings us ten tracks from six new bands (new to us anyway!). One of 'em, DNJ, is actually female psych duo The Doodles augmented by a bass player and ubiquitous Alchemy boss/Hijokaidan guitarist Jojo Hiroshige (and their track "Moon Child" is a loud Doodles-like dirge of blurred beauty). But the others we have no prior clues about at all. There's two tracks from all-girl trio Sarumatake Mitsuku (woozy meandering space-psych that heavies up nicely a la Shizuka), two tracks of stoned folk from guitarist/vocalist Suzuki Junzo, a single cut of twang-and-drone from improv folkster Kei, one very mellow and melodic track by the trio Inisie, and then three Shaggsy songs from the two girls of Yoze. Simple blissful pleasures abound here. Those only into the darker side of the Japanese psych scene might not find everything here to be the best soundtrack for wearing sunglasses and all-black clothing (though there IS a fair amount of the dark, spacey stuff on here), but if you sometimes like an element of innocence and gentle pop in your psych (a la Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Nagisa Ni Te, and the like) then you'll be happy to make the acquaintance of several of these artists. Very very nice.
MPEG Stream: SARUMATKE MITSUKO "track 1"
MPEG Stream: DNJ "Moon Child"
MPEG Stream: KEI "Uysneh"
MPEG Stream: YOZE "track 9"

V/A The Night Gallery: 21st Century Psychedelic Underground (Alchemy) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Released last year, this first "Night Gallery" comp from Alchemy basically picks up where the PSF label left off with their classic Tokyo Flashback series (though I think these bands quite possibly from Osaka, where Alchemy is based, not Tokyo). But the "modern Japanese psychedelia" concept is the same. Freaked-out, heavy, spacey, drifting, dark, drugged...differing doses of each of those descriptors apply to each of the five bands found here, which include some names now much better known to us today than when this disc first came out. The line-up: LSD-march, Up-Tight, Miminokoto, Doodles and Chouzu. The first three of those have all had domestic US cd releases in recent months, and on this very list you'll also find both a great new disc featuring Doodles (a female duo) collaborating with Hijokaidan guitarist (and Alchemy label boss) Jojo Hiroshige and an awesome new Up-Tight full-length on Alchemy. So from lighter fare (the blissful Chouzu, for instance) to the heavier stuff (the disc ends with a punishing 13 minutes from Up-Tight) this ought to please most folks from most points on the psych geek/Japanophile spectrum. 66 minutes, 11 tracks total.
MPEG Stream: LSD-MARCH "track 1"
MPEG Stream: DOODLES "track 5"
MPEG Stream: CHOUZU "track 9"

V/A The Or Some Computer Music Series: Issue 1 (Or) cd 15.98
The first in a series from Or exploring the nature of computer music. With Aphex Twin (contributing an odd piece for computerized congas beating erratically), Beautyon (from Irdial Records), cd_slopper (aka Hecker), General Magic (Mego's Ramon Bauer maintaining the digital glitch), Kevin Drumm, Stephen Travis Pope, Trevor Wishart (doing a nihilist sound collage for the 21st century), Ubik, and Zbigniew Karkowski & Kasper Toeplitz.

V/A The Original Sound Of Cumbia: The History of Colombian Cumbia & Porro As Told By The Phonograph 1948-79 (Soundway) 2cd 25.00
It's tempting with records like this to just paraphrase the extensive liner notes, which in this case go into crazy details about, as the title suggests, the history of cumbia, and how that history has played out via the advent of the commercial phonograph, not to mention the introduction of new instruments, new genres, and the spread of the sound from its birthplace on the Caribbean coast to more central cities. Which would make sense, cuz to be honest, we knew very little about cumbia, at least in terms of its history and development, but at the same time, a quick Google search, and you'll have a wealth of different sources to learn more about cumbia and its history, and as interesting as that is (and it is, VERY), it's really for us all about the music, and the music here, two and a half hours of it, is so fantastic, and the idea that while sure, folks into Latin music and who already dig cumbia, will of course love this, it's the sort of comp that's perfect to expose this music to a whole new audience, one that might not have any experience with stuff like this at all, and who like us, might just be totally blown away by these sounds, energetic and passionate, melodic and moody, rhythmic and celebratory, the bands so tight, the musicians incredible, the songs very propulsive and percussion driven, the older tracks all about the accordion (more on that in the liner notes), with amazingly funky and soulful horn sections, melding cumbia to a fuller big band jazz sound, the songs groove and shimmy, pound and swing, the vocals too, so dramatic and emotional, all combined to create an incredible and expansive collection of music, which while at one time was a music mostly for the lower classes, eventually became a music for all the peoples of Columbia, and a point of great pride.
This collection was curated by Will Holland, who you may know as Quantic, whose awesome Addis To Axum: Music, Words & Arrangements Of Ethiopia record we reviewed way back in 2010, and who spent years in Columbia, learning the accordion, starting a band, and setting up a record studio, immersing himself in the culture to dig up the recorded history of Columbia and cumbia, via a treasure trove of rare 78's and 45's. We've been listening to this like crazy, and have found ourselves going a little cumbia crazy. Beautifully packaged, includes a massive 40 page booklet with tons of liner notes, and lots of amazing photos and images of old record sleeves.
MPEG Stream: GASTON (EL ISLENO) CON EL CONJUNTO DE JAIME SIMANCA "La Cumbia Esta Llamando"
MPEG Stream: CONJUNTO LOS RUMBEROS "Cumbia Del Puerto"
MPEG Stream: LUCHO PEREZ "Judith"
MPEG Stream: ALBERTO PACHECO Y SU CONJUNTO "Sembrando Cafe"
MPEG Stream: RAFAEL YEPES CRESPO CON SUS NEGROS DE LA REGION "Nubia En La Playa"
MPEG Stream: BALDOMERO URIELES CON EFRIAN BURGOS Y SU CONJUNTO "Amor Del Magdalena"