BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL Chi Vampires (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd 16.98
The thing with Campbell Kneale's Birchville Cat Motel, is everything he puts out is great. Really. There are very few bands we can say that about. And even fewer who have such a ridiculously extensive catalog of releases. So what is it that makes one record worthy of Record of the Week status? Well, to be quite honest, almost any of the BCM records -could- be a record of the week, but every once in a while, BCM offer up something -really- special. And as much as we totally love all things Birchville and love to immerse ourselves in their (actually, his) blissed out ambient drone ragas, we can't help but love the fact that lately, BCM mainman (only man?) Campbell Kneale has developed a thing for metal, even proudly wearing a Darkthrone T on his recent US tour. Better late than never we say. The first evidence of this new found metallic leaning, was the launching of a new label (Kneale owns and operates the Celebrate Psi Phenomenon label) called Battlecruiser, a series of limited 3" cd-r's chronicling a weird sect of underground metal, mostly made by NZ noise / drone guys who had also caught the metal bug (two new Battlecruiser releases get reviewed elsewhere on this list). One of the first Battlecruiser releases was by an outfit called Black Boned Angel, which just so happened to BE Campbell Kneale, and was a massive pummelling sludgy black hole of SUNN-like dirge metal. Recently re-released on cd and reviewed again on the AQ list, everyone here could not get enough of Kneale's weird drifting almost ambient take on blackened metal. Fans of Earth and SUNN and all that sort of slow motion doom definitely found a new band to love. Little did we expect that Kneale's metal would leak on over into his main project, but it has, and we couldn't be happier. The first three tracks on Chi Vampires are classic BCM, gorgeous ambient prog, like a blissed-out take on Goblin's creepiest horror film interludes, with slowly drifting swaths of thick warm sonic swirl, sun dappled and dreamily indistinct, but also slightly ominous. Completely epic and the sort of music that either rocks you to sleep, or puts you in a trance, sending you on a trip through your inner senses, dizzying and mesmerizing. Those tracks alone could have had us pushing for a BCM record of the week, at last. But then the final track "Chi Vampires" hits, and it hits hard. Huge guitar riffs, not processed guitar drones, but ACTUAL RIFFS, bulldoze and crush all in their path, massive and intense, ultra low, and ultra heavy, with haunting heavily reverbed chanting offering the only counterpoint. This is like SUNNO))), but sped up to say 18 or 19 rpm, and with actual melodies, and the chanting, so creepy, like a drone metal ritual being performed at the bottom of a massive cavern, riffs filling the room with thick low end, making it hard to breathe, hard to see, the chanting distracting you only enough to maybe worry about escaping with your life, making it to the surface without being sucked into the blackness. The riffs eventually drift off, as the mysterious makers of these sounds trudge slowly back to the center of the earth, chanting as they go, the reverb of the cave turning the chants into indistinct vocal blurs, until they too fade into blackness, and you're left dazed, unable to move, staring into the void. So intense and haunting and heavy and utterly amazing!
MPEG Stream: "Blonde Moth Burial"
MPEG Stream: "Chi Campires"

UNREST Imperial f.f.r.r. (TeenBeat) cd 11.98
Ahhhh, Unrest. There was a time when Unrest were IT. They could do no wrong. Mark Robinson (Unrest / Teenbeat Records mainman) was king of the indie scene. And listening to this record there is no doubt in our minds as to why. While the records before Imperial were sloppy and chaotic (in a good way!) and sort of punk rock, they were also dark and dreamy and sweetly melancholy, all hinting at some doleful sensitive underside, lurking like a shy boy, beneath Unrest's spikey exterior. So along comes Imperial (originally released in 1992), and it was sort of like that shy boy finally got up the guts to talk to that girl he had been longing for all year, and while she still ignored him, something about reaching that point made him realize he didn't need loud noisy punk rock, or smashing chaos, he could just be himself, and the sound of being himself, finally unveiled on Imperial, managed to suddenly illuminate the pop treasure map Unrest had been following since day one. All that sweet sweet pop was now the focal point, the foundation, no longer hiding bashfully behind the crash and clang. Gone were the willful snottiness, the distorted guitars, the ramshcakle drumming and in their place, a languid, lustrous jangle pop shimmer, bathed in reverb, and laced with dreamy soulful crooning, lilting guitar melodies, and sweet sweet hooks, with the ultimate mixtape lyrics. "I Do Believe You Are Blushing". I mean, c'mon!! How sweetly romantic is that?! I for one must fess up to at least several tracks on Imperial making their way on to many a mix tape.
And while a few tracks do 'rock' ("Suki" has to be one of the best rocking pop songs EVER!), it's in that sort of liquidly propulsive Neu! meets Beat Happening sort of way, a droney jangle with repetitive guitars and shuffling rhythms, mesmerizing but a little bouncy too. However, on Imperial, it's all about the blissed out shimmer pop, lazy electric guitars, and distant throbbing bass floating delicately atop a slowly unfurling popscape, simple and absolutely beautiful, with Mark Robinson's gorgeous hearfelt croon as well as the occasional delicate angelic female vocal. So so so so beautiful!
This re-issue also tacks on 8 bonus tracks that while not included on the original, definitely sound like they could have just been placed anywhere throughout the record proper and would have seemed right at home. A massive 13 minute reworking of the title track, stretched out into a druggy, dreamy ambient janglescape, swoonsome and sweet, slowly shifting from a tripped out acapella blur to endless instrumental bliss-out. A trip hoppy version of "Isabel" that sounds just as good as the original, a couple ambient experiments that add more mystery to Imperial's moodiness, the dirgey , pretty slowcore crawl "Wednesday And Proud" and a few others. Inexplicably, they left off the infamous Unrest classic "Yes She Is My Skinhead Girl" which was only on a 7" and was once included as a bonus track on the import version of this. But that's hardly a complaint when faced with such a stunning slice of pop perfection. Listen to the sound samples and you will understand just what we mean.
MPEG Stream: "Imperial"
MPEG Stream: "I Do Believe You Are Blushing"
MPEG Stream: "Suki"

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AUDIOPAIN The Traumatizer (Vendlus) cd 14.98
A lot of the metal we trumpet here at at AQ HQ is of the weird, droney, dirgey, arty, trancey variety. Stuff that, intentionally or not, could be considered avant-garde. But we like metal that's just plain metal too, metal that's meant for headbanging not headscratching. And so it is that Sweden's Audiopain (a dumb name, yes, but it's just a name) has become the current hit for AQ's metalhorde (if Andee and Allan can be considered a horde). The first thing we noticed about this release (before we even had listened to it) is that they make up for the unimaginative band name by doing something downright creative with the packaging -- the cd booklet has been sliced horizontally in thirds and then cleverly folded into an assemblage unlike anything we've seen before in a cd. So, we were curious as to what this would sound like. How 'bout some fierce, energetic, razor-blade-rifftastic thrash? With raspy screams, nasty guitars, thick bass and blasting drums, Audiopain's The Traumatizer is totally andrenalized and 'izing. It's like '80s German thrash-meisters Destruction with more of a creepy atmosphere. That means we're also reminded of current Swedish thrashers Defleshed (but *with* guitar soloing). That means: freakin' good! And how can you not like a severe, dark, violent metal band that whose thanks list includes a "cosmic toodeloo", a "grand bag of hip hurra" and "a subliminal penguin" to various friends and family? Maybe these guys are kinda weird and arty, come to think of it. But whatever tendencies they have in that direction won't get in the way of your demin-n-leather clad pleasure center enjoying some hooky, headbanging, thrashing-mad METAL. Not overly long at six songs/34 minutes, a la Reign In Blood, but I found myself happily hitting repeat on these traumatizing tunes, over and over again.
MPEG Stream: "Believer"
MPEG Stream: "The Traumatizer"

BORIS WITH MERZBOW 04092001 (Inoxia) lp 38.00
Will it never end? We sure hope not. Release after release from quite possibly our favorite Japanese stoner doom sludge outfit Boris and they just keep coming. As should probably be expected by now, this one is vinyl only, and VERY VERY LIMITED. But unlike the recent Akuma No Uta picture disc reissue (now out of print, so DON'T ORDER it please) this is indeed a new release. Boris and Merzbow have met once before on the compact disc field of battle, the result was the very drone-y Megatone, but this meeting takes place only on vinyl, and the results are much more rocking. In a nutshell, this sounds like Boris's penultimate stoner rock record Heavy Rocks, run through the Japa-noisy hands of Merzbow, resulting in fuzzed out garage rock riffery with plenty of guitar psych freakout, furiously pounding drums, rumblling throbbing bass lines, and some weirdly wrong speed vocals, all splattered with occasional bursts of jagged analog buzz, super distorted whitenoise skree, and sheets of shrieking squeals. Totally heavy and fuzzy but also completely damaged and noisy. What more could you ask for? Packaged in a super swank, heavy duty black and silver metallic sleeve. Really gorgeous. And as always be warned. This lp is limited to 500 copies. We got almost 20 percent of the pressing, but they won't last, and when they're gone they are GONE.

CANINUS / HATEBEAK Wolfpig / Bird Seed Of Vengeance (Reptilian) 7" 4.50
Oh crap. It's here. It was indeed only a matter of time. A canine / avian metal meeting. Or something. On the one hand/paw/claw/side, there's Hatebeak, the grinding death metal juggernaut, fronted by lead vocalist Waldo, who just so happens to be a parrot! On the other, there's Caninus, a thuggy, metalic hardcore mosh pit bull of a band, fangs bared, leashes swinging, ummm, tails wagging. Yep, Caninus is fronted by tag team vocalists Budgie and Basil, both of whom happen to be pitbulls. If there was EVER a record made for AQ customers it's this one!!! Caninus is in full grind mode on this split, with spastic hyperspeed drum machines, buzzing lightning bolt guitars and Waldo's unmistakabe squawk. Caninus counters with some serious moshworthy metallic hardcore, bordering on death metal, with HUGE downtuned riffs, blasting drums, and a wicked array of snarls and growls and barks. And if there was ever any doubt, both bands ostensibly being joke bands, these guys are definitely true metalheads as the whole release is steeped in metal injokes. The Caninus cover art is Napalm Death's Scum album cover, except all of the people in the original are now dogs! The Hatebeak side is titled Bird Seeds Of Vengeance, named after the Nile album Black Seeds Of Vengeance, the cover depicting Hatebeak vocalist Waldo facing off against a bust of King Tut, the whole cover surrounded in Egyptian filligree. And then on the inside there is a photo of Waldo perched on what they purport to be the Spear Of Longinus, the actual spear that a Roman soldier used to stab Jesus in the side when he was on the cross! And then there's the Caninus lyrics, dense with metal / hardcore parody and written from the point of view of a dog (obviously)! Hatebeak declare "Avian Victory!" while Caninus proclaim "Go Vegan" as well as "Fuck You New York Post and New York Times" and in their thanks list give props to PETA, an animal shelter and even a pet supply store!! THE ANIMALS ARE NOW THE (METAL) MASTERS!!

CHEVREUIL Chateauvallon (Sick Room) cd 13.98
Maybe it's the Slint reunion (just ask Andee or Elliott about how awesome that show was!!) or those for-now-aborted Bastro releases we were waiting for, but we've been kinda been feeling the post-rock 'round here lately. So this disc by French instrumental post-rock outfit Chevreuil showed up at just the right time. They remind us of a comforting Don Caballero, a slightly scatterbrained Circle, or a more warm n' relaxed version of AQ faves Feuhler. And the use of synth brings in comparisons to local boys Crime In Choir too. First released in 2003 by the French label Ruminance (the same folks who brought us the last Cheval de Frise when it was an import), now slightly updated and released domestically by Sick Room, Chateauvallon consists of eleven instrumental post-rock jams that just do us right. We especially like how their hypnotic grooves and repetitive riffery are allowed some wobbly breathing room...they're far from sloppy but seem to get intentionally off-kilter and fucked-up sounding, like a dizzy Discipline (King Crimson), while paradoxically remaining tight as an Albini-recorded drum (which some of the drums on here are, in fact). Even math rock, sometimes 2 + 2 = 5 can work, it seems. These derailments and double-exposures that they work into their songs serve to increase the pleasurable tensions that are always a post-rock calling-card...as is the mixture of mellow and pretty with the sudden on-rush of the hard and metallic which Chevreuil also expertly employ herein.
So, if you've got a soft spot for the post-rock, or want to try some on for size, this is our latest fave in the field for sure!
MPEG Stream: "Turbofonte"
MPEG Stream: "Rocknrollgarnison"
MPEG Stream: "Forteressecourage"

DA SILVA, ANA The Lighthouse (Chicks On Speed) cd 15.98
Please please do not be deterred (as we almost were) by the fact that this was released on Chicks On Speed's label. Although we're admittedly not the biggest fans of those gals' music, we've gotta give them props for good taste. Besides this sounds absolutely nothing like C.O.S.!
Ana Da Silva was one of the original members of the seminal post-punk female band The Raincoats, and this is her first solo release. We're happy to report that although this is quite different and considerably more delicate music than that of her old band, some of those Raincoats angularities still linger. The subtly eccentric minimal folk pop of The Lighthouse comes across as sounding not unlike a wonderful hybrid of Bjork, Young Marble Giants and maybe even some early Residents too.
This truly solo effort (she wrote, performed and produced it all herself) is comprised of vocal songs (standouts include "Running In The Rain" and the title track) and a beautiful instrumental titled "Hospital Window" (a video is included for this song too!) -- all of which she crafted on both acoustic and electronic soundmakers that flicker and flutter like moth wings near candlelight. If you've taken a liking to the recent avant-folk scene (Joanna Newsom, Vetiver, Devendra Banhart and many of the Jewelled Antler Collective) and/or find the abovementioned artists tickling your fancy, do yourself a favor and grab this now! Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Running In The Rain"
MPEG Stream: "The Lighthouse"

EARTH Legacy Of Dissolution (No Quarter) cd 14.98
It's been an Earth kinda year so far, eh? Once considered a going-beyond-the-Melvins joke, notable mainly for the early involvement of one Kurt Cobain, Earth's status has grown and grown over the years. They've got to be much more popular now than when their first few Sub Pop albums came out in the early '90s. Back then, only a few folks -- that'd probably be me, you, and those guys who later formed SUNNO))) -- were into Earth, and understood the immense genius of their slo-motion, drone-heavy ambient doom riffage. Now, we sell more copies of Earth 2 every week than Aquarius probably sold the year it came out (well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but we do sell a heck of a lot of Earth 2, considering). And SUNNO))), Boris and all the rest of 'em owe a lot to Earth's Dylan Carlson and his various cohorts.
So far, 2004-2005 has seen the release of two new (though, live) Earth albums and a 7". And now this. You know you've made it when the remix album comes out! Handpicked by Carlson himself, the remixers here are an interesting lot: Mogwai, Russell Haswell, Jim O'Rourke, Autechre, Justin Broadrick, and surprise surprise SUNNO)))! Now, on one hand that's an exciting line-up, sure, while on the other, it'd might be even more interesting to hear those blokes remix something like Brittany Spears, right? For subversion's sake anyway. But they're all Earth fans, and Earth is fans of them, and we're pretty sure Earth fans are gonna like what they've done here. And even if you think that the presence of SUNNO))) is a little...redundant, or that Jim O'Rourke, cool as he is, need never trouble himself with yet another remix, overall no complaints! We like how Mogwai has introduced what sound like avant-classical violin into "Teeth Of Lions Rule The Divine", we found Russell Haswell's Merzbow-ization of the almost Champs-y "Tibetan Quaaludes" enjoyable, and SUNNO)))'s sixteen-minute "Rule The Divine (Mysteria Caelestis Mugivi)" sounds the most Earth-like of all these remixes, which might be to be expected, dontcha think?
Interestingly, no one remixed anything from the first Earth album Extra-Capsular Extraction, while two mixes are from the same Earth 2 track, and three of the remixers (Haswell, O'Rourke, and Broadrick) picked songs from the out of print Phase 3: Thrones And Dominions. Autechre went even further afield and chose a song from Earth's fourth and last (also out of print) studio album, Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons. Hmmm. While I would have liked to hear something from Extra-Capsular, perhaps the presence of all those Phase 3 derived tracks will convince Sub Pop to reissue that album!
Some of the remixes, like Haswell's, feature obvious fuckery, whereas others, like Broadrick's more trebley, buzzier "Harvey" almost need to be played back-to-back with the original to tell which is the remix and which is the real Earth. Though, that "Harvey" sounds like it could also easily be a track by Broadrick's awesome new Jesu project as well! All in all, SUNNO))) excepted, this is generally a bit less riffy and "doomy" than the Earth originals, concentrating instead on Earth's drone-washed trance elements. Almost makes sense that the cd booklet art looks kinda looks like a Pop Ambient cd! Now, it doesn't usually take much of a recommendation from us to convince AQ customers to buy anything Earth-related, but we did like this, a lot!
MPEG Stream: AUTECHRE "Coda Maestoso In F (flat) Minor"
MPEG Stream: JUSTIN BROADRICK "Harvey"

ELOPE The No Name Record (Parasol / Gravitation) cd 14.98
Here's an album from last year that we LOVED, and it turns out we're not the only ones who thought it was pretty special, 'cause our friends at Parasol decided to license it for release in the US. So now it'll be easier to keep in stock, and it's a buck cheaper than the previous import version was! So if you missed it before, here it is again...
And note that Elope hail from the same part of the world as the much hyped (and deservedly so) Dungen, and play music that similarily has got a decidedly retro bent. So if you've been impressed with Dungen, you might find Elope to be an equally wonderful addition to your cd collection. And maybe we should also mention another lauded band of Scandinavian '70s worshippers, heavy rockers Witchcraft...what is it with these Swedes and their mastery of the way-back machine??
Anyway, here's our Elope review again, from AQ list #190:
We get A LOT of records coming through here, as you might imagine, many of them great -- but very few that I (Allan) have listened to as many times upon acquisition as this one. I just can't stop spinning it. It's one of those special cases, the new purchase that actually achieves "heavy rotation" in my home. The Elope trio hail from Sweden and are on the same label, Gravitation, that's been bringing us those lovely Bjorn Olsson albums. They're a current, contemporary band but you'd be forgiven for thinking otherwise 'cause this record sure sounds like it was recorded no later than 1973, if it was yesterday. They've captured a long-ago, classic rock, heavily Beatles-influenced vibe, and written songs with pop brilliance to match. They're retro but not self-consciously, calculatedly so. I mean, the album cover suggests indie rock along the lines of Death Cab For Cutie or Modest Mouse or something like that, way more than it does what the band actually sounds like. Which is the Beatles, Neil Young (they cover his "Bad Fog Of Loneliness"), a little country-Stones, a little Pink Floyd, maybe the Pretty Things circa their Parachute LP, and some Wings (or more Beatles). More obscurely, I'd say a lot of this has the same magical effect on me as do the albums by early '70s Peruvian Paul McCartney worshippers We All Together. (Some of you might be familiar with those guys, we used to stock the reissues of their two albums when we could get 'em). Relaxed, super melodic, stick in your head songwriting. Another kinda obscure comparison would be to the quieter, acoustic side of heavy British '70s rockers Budgie (!) who also were devoted Paul McCartney fans I'm sure. And, additionally, this has a restrained-but-effective hard/psych rock side to it that also could relate to the riffing of Budgie (a lot of critics apparently say Cream, but I don't hear that as much). Like the guy from Budgie doing their more sensitive songs, the intimate, gentle vocals here have an air of wistful melancholy I always find hard to resist. Pretty, exquisitely crafted songs that are so very seventies but also evoke the current folky indie-pop of, say, Belle & Sebastian. I wasn't entirely surprised to find out that Elope apparently includes some member(s) of stoner rock band Lowrider. Indeed, Elope had a release (a split with a band called Backbiter) on the defunct Man's Ruin label some time ago, and have been called "possibly the mellowest stoner rock band ever", although they certainly are capable of rocking out, as on the track "Pride Approaching". They do it rarely but they do it well. But unlike a lot of 'stoner rock' bands, whatever inclinations they have towards psychedelic guitar jamming are balanced by the melodic/structural needs of the song at hand. So good. I know I'll keep spinning this for some time to come. Quite possibly top ten 2004 material as far as I'm concerned!
MPEG Stream: "Anyone"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Patchouli"

ELUVIUM Talk Amongst The Trees (Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 14.98
Ambient music can really suck. Yeah sure, -all- music can really suck, but ambient music has a not so stellar history. The likelihood of music being actively touted as 'ambient' actually being closer to 'new age' is greater than we'd like to believe. We here at AQ have been a bit spoiled, since our idea of ambient music includes most things drone, and lord knows there is no shortage of amazing drone music. So when a specifically 'ambient' record comes our way (especially one that vehemently defends itself against the perceived stigma of being labeled ambient) we are pretty skeptical. No need with Eluvium, who over the course of several albums have demonstrated (like a select few before them) time and time again that ambient music need not be wimpy or boring, and in fact can be dark and deep and emotionally charged. The music of Eluvium on Talk Amongst The Trees has as much in common with Philip Jeck or William Basinski as it does Brian Eno or Tangerine Dream. Maybe more so. Slow, fuzzy melodies, constructed from processed guitars and pianos and voices, are stretched into blurry soundscapes, lazily looped into slowly shifting snapshots of long forgotten pasts, brief glimpses of barely there memories, stories told in smears of tonal color, emotions expressed in rumbles and reverberations. Eluvium manage to create a strangely luminous center to each song, a pulsing heart, whose glow suffuses the thick sonic sprawl around it, making the hazy and murky depths of each song breathe with hope and glow with a subtle warmth. So nice. A perfect late night drifting off record. Fans of Stars Of The Lid, Jeck, Basinski, Labradford, Eno, and other ambient luminaries should now add Eluvium to that list. If you haven't already.
MPEG Stream: "New Animals From The Air"
MPEG Stream: "Show Us Our Homes"

GUENTNER, MARKUS 1981 (Kompakt) cd 15.98
We just can't get enough of this "pop ambient" stuff. This is exactly how the future will sound. And how the distant past must have sounded. And how right now would sound if we could just listen close enough. After a somewhat disappointing second album, Guentner returns to form with another gorgeous batch of crystalline ambient pop. A couple tracks are Kompakt gems of perfectly pulsing narcoticized dancefloor throb, but the majority are dreamy and whispery, drifting and abstract explorations into inner space. Crackly and fuzzy, warm and languid, everything with a dreamy sheen, slanted rays of the sun diffused into warm yellow clouds, every movement setting off a chain reaction, molecules bumping into one another, the sound of a trillion colliding molecules becoming a distant buzz that swells into warm waves of gentle whispers and barely there rhythms. Fish in the sea and birds in the sky move in perfect synchronicity, creating a simple insistent pulse, that suffuses every living creature, as we soon find that gradually we all begin to move in concert with this hidden heart beat. Rain drops ring like chimes as they hit the ground, each one a different size and color and note, like a million bells ringing at once, becoming a huge warm chord that just sort of spills over the horizon, spreading slowly until we're all floating weightless atop a slowly shifting sea of sound, letting ourselves blissfully sink to the bottom.
MPEG Stream: "Wanderung"
MPEG Stream: "Wenn Musik Der Liebe Nahrung Ist"

RESIDUAL ECHOES s/t (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98
If you ever thought Comets On Fire sounded chaotic and possibly drug-addled (which they do), and liked that and wanted even more chaos and drugs in the mix, then you've got to check out these seriously fucked Santa Cruz cousins of theirs, a band called Residual Echoes -- actually the brainchild, it seems, of one Adam Payne, recording mostly solo (though there's a live band now). His friends help out on the record -- Adam and Co. variously credited with "unseasoned drumming", "shirtless drumming", "manhands", "air", "flutophone", "shitty bass", "fuzz", "computer din", "broken alto" and other instruments (or not).
Blending krautrock, '80s SST style experimentation, and the wiggiest of the Japanese destructo-psych underground into one potent pot-brownie of a record, this is fucked up and will fuck you up too if you let it. First released in a limited vinyl edition, but this cd sounds better though. And you need all the help you can get.
Lotsa squawking squonk, but always with drive, goin' someplace good. Long songs, many moods, hard to grasp in it's entirety, entirely. We seriously dug it though. Again, it's easiest to describe this for/sell this to Comets fans -- just imagine Comets at their craziest and go from there. Heavy psych action with few if any boundaries and lots of arty energy. Oh yeah, remember that Leaf Yard cd-r? If so, that means you want this too.
FYI, it's a Record of the Month on Julian Cope's Head Heritage website at www.headheritage.co.uk (which we recommend you check out for the music reviews!), who also recently bestowed similar honors on another recent Holy Mountain release, Om's Variations On A Theme. And we know Holy Mountain ain't payin' payola to Mr. Cope... nor to us for that matter though we wouldn't be opposed...
MPEG Stream: "Slant"
MPEG Stream: "A STARDT 3 & 3 1/2"

STARS Set Yourself On Fire (Arts and Crafts) cd 16.98
Aaah, first things first! Please note: DO NOT confuse this band with Andee's '70s pop-metal faves Starz (reissues to be reviewed on the next list). This is a situation where one letter can denote such a difference! I mean, heck, you only need to hear the first few strains of Set Yourself On Fire to realize this is a whole 'nother monster... a nice big fuzzy one carrying a giant bouquet of flowers rather than a spandex'n'denim-clad, axe-wieldin' one!
If you like your pop music to be on the lush and pretty side but with a little bit of an edge to it, this new Stars album might be your new favorite... really! More often than not on their third full length, this Canadian band have captured that perfect balance of the bittersweet heartache, the chamber pop elegance, the infectious hook and the energetic punch. Their swirling orchestral arrangements and dreamy soft sensitive boy/girl vocals are fully entwined with the crunchy electric guitars, woozy keyboards and solid rhythm section. Now we're not trying to just lump all the smartie-pop Canadians together, but Stars do seem like the gentler, prettier cousin of the more obtuse and swaggering Arcade Fire (Young & Sexy and Metric also come to mind as like-minded Canucks). One marked detour is the tenth song "He Lied About Death" which -- with its effected spoken-sung male vocals, stuttery beats, swells of distortion and piano key strikes -- is oddly reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails' '90s hit "Closer". Nonetheless (that song included), we can say Set Yourself On Fire is comprised of a baker's dozen pop treasures that'll surely sweep fans of the Delgados, more recent Belle & Sebastian, and maybe Postal Service too right off their feet. Cup sez "HOORAY FOR STARS!"
MPEG Stream: "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Calendar Girl"

V/A Tokyo Flashback 5 (PSF) cd 21.00
Wow...not only is is ABOUT TIME we got another installment in this series of Japanese underground psych music (vol. 4 came out, like, five years ago!) but it's also perfect timing what with all the current excitement going 'round about bands from that scene, from newer ones like LSD-march, Doodles, and Up-Tight to long-time favorites Ghost and Acid Mothers Temple. And on top of all that (and most importantly), this new "PSF Psychedelic Sampler" is KILLER. Good stuff start to finish. You get previously unreleased tracks from these Toyko flashbackers:
Aural Fit (a very heavy, doomy, dirgey track that fans of Boris and Earth will dig, cacophonic and dense), White Heaven (downer-rock Quicksilver psych from these stalwarts, featuring current Ghost guitarist Michio Kurihara -- it doesn't say when this live version of their gentle "Mandrax Town" was was recorded, did they get back together?), Kyoaku No Intention (a brief and noisy live "blues" from High Rise guitarist Munehiro Narita and free jazz drummer Shoji Hano), Kabe Mimi (mysterious hiss, whoosh, drone, very nice), Suishio No Fune (bleak folk duo, very lovely, eventually overcome by space-out distortion), D.J Keiji Haino (YES!!! that IS what it says -- more on this one below), Hisato Higuchi (placid and beautiful voice/guitar with electronic stutter), Tsuru No Ko (duo doing the Rallize-worship thing, a la Fushitsusha, Up-Tight or LSD-march, taking that role over from Haino here 'cause he's busy DJing we guess), Overhang Party (the sometimes heavy psychsters being very gentle and pretty here), and Marble Sheep (a good one from another long-running psych outfit, rocking out to wrap things up).
There's quite a few names new to us that we'll have to investigate further (gotta find the rumored Aural Fit album for you Boris freaks, wethink!) alongside old faves reminding us why they're faves. Which brings us back to that D.J Keiji Haino track...we'd been waiting for this! We'd heard that Haino, not content with just guitar and voice and wave-drum and hurdy-gurdy and drumming and whatever other instruments through which he's channelled his demons in the past, had added vinyl and turntables to his repertoire, and from the sound of this epic, 11+ minute, live-mixed, multi-mood sound collage lives up to our imaginings of what that would sound like! He's seemingly playing his own records (or is that him doing live percussion accompaniment??) and a variety of interesting ethnic vocal and 20th century classical albums, near as we can tell. Sure would love to have had a look through his DJ crate. There's no wicky-wicky-wap scratching or quick cuts, just endless layering and mixing... so good. Enough fannish froth tho. Even if Haino on the wheels of steel doesn't excite you like it excites some of us here, this comp still comes quite recommended. Maybe it took those great Night Gallery comps from Osaka's Alchemy Records to get PSF to answer back for the Tokyo scene, but in any event, fans of the Japanese psych/folk/free thing have a lot to be happy about here.
MPEG Stream: AURAL FIT "Behind 20, Beyond 20k"
MPEG Stream: SUISHO NO FUNE "Black Phantom"
MPEG Stream: D.J KEIJI HAINO "(Japanese title)"
MPEG Stream: HISATO HIGUCHI "Cluster Of Lights"

V/A Yellow Pills: Prefill (Numero Group) 2cd 29.00
Although we're currently havin' a nice warm, sunny spell here in SF this week, let's not fool ourselves... summer's still months away! But before we bemoan that fact, let's give ourselves a dose of Yellow Pills. It's a pair of cds potent enough to trigger their own summer spell or at least give the gloomy grey days a hearty kick in the pants. This is as 'feel good' as music can get! An over-the-top mix of bubblegum and power pop (with some glam rock thrown in there for good measure) circa '78-'82, deeply influenced by the Beach Boys, the Shoes, the Rasberries, the Beatles, E.L.O., Badfinger, the Nazz, Sweet and all of those other seminal practitioners of power pop. This is totally for you if you dig Redd Kross and Silver Sun (as Cup and Andee do) or if you just love your pop powerful, and your punk poppy. Released on that cool label Numero Group who recently gave us those two brilliant Eccentric Soul compilations. Liner notes by power pop afficianado Jordan Oakes who published the pop fanzine Yellow Pills where this comp got its name (he also chose the bands!!). A totally brilliant collection of perfect power pop, which is definitely saying something as no one here had heard of a single one of these bands!
MPEG Stream: LUXURY "Green Hearts"
MPEG Stream: TWEEDS "I Need That Record"
MPEG Stream: COLORS "All I Want"

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----* Two New Battlecruisers!! :
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MRTYU The Burning Ground (Battlecruiser) 3" cd-r 11.98
Finally, a new release from Campbell Kneale's (Birchville Cat Motel) 'metal' label Battlecruiser. This time from the cryptically named Mrtyu. And upon first listen, not all that metal. Not to say that it's not good, it is. Really good. It just sounds like it might have been just at home on Kneale's more drift / drone / freenoise oriented label Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. Sheets of shimmering feedback drift over crumbly rumbling super distorted guitar background noise. Very static and raga-like, quite reminiscent of Total or Skullflower. But then track two hits and we understand why this is a Battlecruiser release. A lo-fi doom dirge, with jagged brittle guitars, distorted vocals (not howls or shrieks, but like indie crooning, all 'distorted' up). A brief blast of Melvins-y sludge but with the high end pushed into the red. Almost like a indie pop song, but deconstructed and dipped in stoner sludge. Cool. And SUPER LIMITED. We only got 15 and will not be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

YOU SHOULD HAVE SLAIN ME s/t (Battlecruiser) 3" cd-r 11.98
What a great band name! Are they named after the Hammers Of Misfortune song? We're pretty darn sure they are. And it's a fairly appropriate name too for this new release from Campbell Kneale's (Birchville Cat Motel) 'metal' label Battlecruiser. Imagine the mightiest, heaviest intro riff from the best NWOBHM song you've ever heard. Okay then repeat. And repeat again. And again. Now play that riff for 15 minutes straight. YES!!! TOTAL STEVE REICH DRONE METAL MESMER! Okay, so at about 13 minutes, introduce a crazy drum machine fill, all spastic toms and double kick, now repeat that loop. Over and over and over. Making the whole thing even weirder and off kilter, and somehow strangely more hypnotic. SUPER LIMITED. We only got 15 and will not be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 1"
MPEG Stream: "excerpt 2"

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----* Selected New Arrivals :
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50 FOOT WAVE Golden Ocean (BMG) cd 14.98
Here's the second fiery release from Kristin Hersh's rawked-up band 50 Foot Wave. Whereas the first was a six song ep, this is a full length (however please note that three of the eleven songs were plucked from the ep, the album's lead-off track "Long Painting", "Dog Days", and the ep's highlight "Clara Bow"). When we played this in the store, someone mistook it for L7. Does that give you some idea of what this sounds like? No? Well, how 'bout Hersh's screamed lyric "Shut the fuck up!"? Geeezus! While we wholly support 'gettin' it out' through your music, we're not sure if this style of hissy fit rock really suits Hersh's voice, and well... sometimes her feverish caterwauling just sounds like she's bringing up her lunch or a lung. Uh oh. To boot, Golden Ocean could really have done without the guitar noodly wank-offs that punctuate almost every song. Yikes. 50 Foot Wave were actually more effective on the ep format -- a quick sharp sock in the jaw versus a lengthy ear-tiring onslaught. They should've stuck with the original 50 Foot Wave plan of releasing an ep every few months. Ah well, this review will probably do little to dissuade her loyal fans (and may disgruntle a few), but this album will probably also do little to win her any new ones.
MPEG Stream: "Bone China"
MPEG Stream: "Pneuma"

ALBATROSS NOTE The Dracula E.P. (Trillium Press) 9" 20.00
This is the musical project of artist Marcel Dzama, who you should know if you're at all clued into the hipster art world. His drawings are Henry Darger-esque and he seems to have a thing for vampires. This limited edition 9" ep is part of a larger project that involves a custom made miniature log cabin, a beaver pelt, 20 limited signed prints, and this here record. Well, if you'd prefer not to drop the $10,000 the deluxe version will set you back (really!), then just the record is the way to go. Colored vinyl, packaged in a full cover sleeve, with an original Dzama painting depicting a morose looking black and white vampire family perched amidst a full color collage. The music of Albatross Note is a ramshackle, home recorded, chaotic indie pop. Damaged blues collides with sweetly soulful melodies, plaintive folks songs stumble and struggle through a thicket of amp buzz and tape hiss. Weird and wild and pretty wonderful. And buying just the record you save $9,980!! But if anyone -is- actually interested, there are a few of those Dzama cabins left....
MPEG Stream: "Dracula"
MPEG Stream: "In The Morning"
MPEG Stream: "Last Winter"

ALOG Miniatures (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98
"Raindrops streaking down the car window music", complete with a mechanical windshield-wipers sounding beat, music that possesses a feeling that is blurred and melancholy, pretty and abstract, just like the way lines of rain water coursing across window-glass through which one is lazily viewing a passing landscape can be... that's our assessment of this new disc from Norwegian electronic 'pop' duo Alog. Minatures is their third album for Rune Grammofon, and we must say it's quite nice indeed. It's a very organic sound Alog have, each piece a shimmering, droning, rhythmic steady-state with decorative sonic, melodic embellishments.
The Alog moniker comes from a combination of digitAL and anaLOG (we're told, seems likely) so it's no surprise that one track, or part of a track, here might sound like it could only come from the inside of a computer, while another part might be an ambient field recording from nature. And 'regular' instruments (guitar, cello, etc.) are also employed, to construct these Steve Reich-like, blissful (but sometime suspensefully tense) minimalist minatures. As per the title, which was apparently inspired by Turkish minature paintings, an artform that holds to certain strict rules, one of which apparently requires that they depict "only pure radiant coloured objects configured in mysterious patterns". Which is as good as any as a description of Alog's lovely music on this album (along with our visual rain-window notion).
PS. We'll try to get the recent Phonophani album Oak Or Rock reviewed soon, that's one-half of Alog and also on Rune G., and in stock too.
MPEG Stream: "Severe Punishment And Lasting Bliss"
MPEG Stream: "St. Paul Sessions II"

BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning (Troubleman Unlimited / Vothoc) cd 14.98
First lesson you learn from these guys: you don't mess around with something like nano-nucleonic cyborg summoning. Leave it to the pros. It's dangerous, but that's what they're paid to do. Paid handsomely, in fact, as this $14.98 cd turns out to be only 17 minutes and 38 seconds long. But again, start cutting costs and those nano-nuke cyborgs could just get loose and wreak havoc. But the only havoc being wreaked here is all by the Behold The Arctopus guys, whom it will be remembered last blew our prog-lovin' minds with the instrumental tech-metal tour-de-force of their Arctopocalypse Now...Warmageddon Later 3" cd. Now that they've graduated to the 5" cd format, you can only imagine how much more insane their music has gotten! These musical nerd-athletes will bring a gleeful smile to the face of anyone into the extremes of technical complexity practiced by, say, Meshuggah or Melt-Banana. Headspinning stuff, recommended to all who think that the Chapman Stick is the under-utilized lead instrument that most other metal bands are lacking, and that somebody should do something about it -- that somebody being Behold The Arctopus' Colin Martson (also of Infidel!/Castro?, who have a new double cd coming soon on Crucial Blast by the way). Those for whom straightforward, 4/4, less than triple digit bpm drumming is a problem will also happily approve of this.
So, again, sorry this is so relatively expensive for the length -- but for sure they do cram a fuck of a lot of music in those 1,058 seconds!!
MPEG Stream: "Exospacial Psionic Aura"
MPEG Stream: "Sensory Amusia"

BLACK MOUNTAIN s/t (Jagjaguwar) cd 14.98
Definitely buy this record. But whatever you do, for chrissakes, SKIP THE FIRST TRACK. At least for now. Both Allan and Andee had written this band off completely, having only made it about 2 minutes into the first song, which is sort of limp wristed, east village, white dude soul brother, Beck meets the Velvet Underground with saxophone bouncy call and response lite rock. Ugh. It makes morse sense in the context of the record. Sort of. First, skip to track two and prepare to be blown away. A totally stoned, seventies metal groove with flanged fuzz guitar, playing that sort of riff that you just can't help bob your head and rock out too. And then there's the vocals, sort of Queens Of The Stoneage rasp mixed with Palace style falsetto warble. The whole thing is perfect, like it's 1975, and you're high as a kite, sitting in the corner of a filthy Village squat, and the band playing is just blowing your fucking mind. Flares and frizzy long hair and probably even a smoke machine. Either that or the room is full of smoke already anyway. The next track is just as good. A funky boppy bass groove, that just sort of shimmies lazily for a few minutes, with minimal vocals ("uh huh....uh huh huh") and simple drumming, Until a truly Zeppelin worthy riff drops, with weird soulstyle vocals, male vs. female, hard to explain but they just sound perfect. And evoke that weird seventies burnout, White Panther metal vibe. Strangely, the rest of the record sort of drifts off in all directions, Bowie-ish glam rock, moody folky ballads, drum heavy Santana-ish psych rock, slow and moody prog rock, and almost Eagles-ish country, which is just about when that first track starts to make at least a little more sense. A little. Although we do find ourselves playing track 2 and 3 over and over and over, the whole record has really grown on us. Had this just been a 7" with those two tracks, it would have been the single of the year. SINGLE OF THE CENTURY! But as it is, it's just a big ol' beautifully druggy, slightly schizophrenic seventies style hard rock, rhythm and soul record that just happens to contain two of the heaviest grooves in recent memory!
MPEG Stream: "Don't Run Our Hearts Around"
MPEG Stream: "Druganaut"

BLOC PARTY Tulips (Dim Mak) cd single 5.98
Here's a new super-shortie CD from Bloc Party. It includes three renditions of their song "Tulips" -- the original version, a 'club version' remixed by Minotaur Shock and a video version. Gotta say I don't think I'd want to be at the club that plays the club version... it's a little too mopey melancholic... or maybe I just wasn't playing it loud enough and Lord knows our store stereo system doesn't pump out the boomin' bass of a nightclub, so who knows?! 'Though it could also be that the song sounds like Morrissey style lyricism over sped-up computer-krafted Brit pop. Hmmm, definitely more of an end-of-the-night wind-down song, and much less of the lively party atmosphere than we've come to expect from the Bloc kids. A new supposedly kick ass full length drops in a week or two!
MPEG Stream: "Tulips (Club Version)"

BOOM BIP Blue Eyed In The Red Room (Lex) cd 14.98
Boom Bip's third and best album to date. Hands down. Well, at least to me. Boom Bip (aka Bryan Hollan) seems to have learned from his explorations in hip-hop leaving a song-kraft that has transcended into a beautiful pop-bathed electronic wonderland. Synthy leads into songs. Composed and respected beats. Hints of analog instrumentation everywhere. It's great!
MPEG Stream: "Cimple"
MPEG Stream: "Do's And Don'ts"

CASIOTONE FOR THE PAINFULLY ALONE logo t-shirt (self-released) tshirt 11.98
Mr. C.F.T.P.A. himself Owen Ashworth just brought these new snazzy t-shirts in! Two color combos: navy blue with silver print of his hand-drawn logo, and baby blue with red print. Assorted sizes. Stock varies depending on whether Owen's in town or on the road, so please ask for size availability.

CUDAMANI The Seven-Tone Gamelan Orchestra From The Village Of Pengosekan, Bali (Vital Records) cd 14.98
Back in stock, just in time to coincide with a US tour!! Here's what we had to say about the disc the first time we had it:
This release is actually quite exciting in that Gamelan Cudamani represents yet another revolutionary step in the ever changing state of gamelan in Bali. Ironically, it is the very thing that makes this gamelan (and others like it that are being built throughout Bali) new and revolutionary is also the thing that is connecting Balinese gamelan with its past. What makes Cudamani so special is the addition of a mere two pitches to its scale. In truth, those pitches are not a new thing, but contemporary gamelan in Bali since the 1920s have been built with only five (some, a bit less common forms, with only 4.) When the Balinese court dissipated at the turn of the 20th century and many gamelan melted down into modern sets, the repertoire disappeared as well. Lost with those two pitches were the various pentatonic subsets that were capable of being played only on a gamelan with all 7 pitches. I guess you could look at it as if you took all the black keys off your piano, which would severely limit your choice of keys in which you could play. With the music of the Balinese court however, different modes had very different and very strong associations to particular moods. So while all seven tones are rarely used within any given section -- or even composition -- the addition of those two notes opens up the possibilities for playing a huge repertoire of music and creating vast new ones. While this new (re)development has brought the present in closer connection with the past, it has also enabled an unprecedented level of innovation. On the first two pieces of this disc -- both composed by one of Cudamani's founding members -- all seven tones are used, with melodies being immediately recast in other modes and even played on top of one another in a bizarre sort of harmony. Another track included on this collection is a recording of the seminal kebyar piece Teruna Jaya -- as if to bring things full circle once more -- performed as it had originally been performed, including rarely heard sections that are not oft performed anymore. If the instruments and repertoire of Cudamani isn't impressive enough, the family centered group that performs on it is equally so. Though a private organization, the Cudamani is decidedly non-commercial and performs primarily for temple ceremonies and religious festivals. In addition, the Cudamani provides education in performance and dance for youth and adults alike. Cudamani is actually comprised of several performance groups, including the original founding members, there's an all female ensemble and several children's ensembles. The history of the group and very detailed descriptions of the gamelan and the music are included on 15 pages of liner notes.
MPEG Stream: "Geregel"
MPEG Stream: "Legong Candra Kanta"

DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE The John Byrd E.P. (Barsuk) cd ep 7.98
So this it it we guess. Death Cab For Cutie's indie farewell. This here ep is their final release as a non-major label entity. Hard to believe how huge they've gotten, but it's not like they don't deserve it. Death Cab are easily one of the best indie pop bands around. This seven track ep is super dooper limited (in fact it's out of print already) and the label only made a bunch for their favorite stores, so we have 30 copies and that is it! The next Death Cab record you buy will be on Sony or something, and will probably be $17.98 and have a video in heavy rotation on MTV. So for now, just dig DCFC's spunky hooky emo pop, all a little rocked up since these tracks were all recorded live. Includes a cool tripped out, barely recognizable, almost Postal Service-y cover of Sebadoh's "Brand New Love". Cool cool cool!
MPEG Stream: "Brand New Love (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Photobooth (Live)"

EDLER, HANS Elektron Kukeso (Boy Wonder) cd 23.00
FINALLY REPRESSED AND BACK IN STOCK!
This is definitely a weird one. And a record that no self respecting lover of strange music should be without! As soon as we were told about this record (thanks, Brian at WFMU) we suspected that this was most likely going to have to be an AQ Record Of The Week. And once we finally heard it, we knew for sure (record of the week on list #190, 6/18/04)!
Originally released in 1971, in a ridiculously limited edition on his own label, Hans Edler's Elektron Kukeso sounds to us like a lost electronic music classic, although when it first came out, it was apparently a baffling disappointment to most, since at that point Edler was known to the masses as a former teen idol, having fronted the popular Swedish '60s rock bands The Ghost Riders and We 4. And even though Edler didn't even remember this record when he was first contacted recently about reissuing it, he claims that this was the first computer programmed lp in history. Not so sure about that (what about Morton Subotnick's Silver Apples Of The Moon or Bruce Haack's Electric Lucifer?), but it IS definitely unique and way ahead of its time. A simultaneously lo-fi and high tech concoction of simple electronic melodies, pecked out on primitive synthesizers, hissing, rumbling and fluctuating in timbre and volume, creating creepy alien outerspace lullabies. Each track is a warm and fuzzy, throbbing analog swirl, an antiquated pop song vaporized into abstract clouds of white noise and pink noise, under 3 and 4 note melodies, occasionally dark and dense, but more often completely simple childlike chromatic scales, up and down, up and down, very haunting and hypnotic. But then there are the vocals. Vocals that turn an experimental electronic novelty record into a bizarre outsider pop classic. In a chant-like monotone, very liturgical sounding, and with a very limited range, Edler croons mournful minor key laments, urgent and dramatic like Jandek or Scott Walker. In fact this record sounds a bit like Brian Wilson producing a Jandek record using only one battered old analog synthesizer. Or Scott Walker backed up by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Very dreamy and psychedelic. Creepy and cool. It also reminds us a bit of old '80s New Zealand / Expressway stuff like Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos, the Terminals and the like. And whether they know it or not, Suicide and the Silver Apples apparently weren't the first (or the most original) to tread down the path of electronic pop weirdness. We're also fairly certain that Brian Eno must have heard this album once upon a time, since there are definite melodic and sonic similarities betwixt Edler and Eno. And hell, if Thurston Moore knows about this record (he offers a few superlatives on the obi) then Eno, always the musical hipster, must have this in his collection somewhere as well!
Deluxe digipak includes 7 unreleased bonus tracks, a poster, and a massive booklet with extensive liner notes and loads of photos (plenty that show Edler as a kinda creepy looking long haired mod rock and roller, in tight trousers and flowery shirts, posing in front of a bank of computer synth equipment in his space age sonic laboratory!)
MPEG Stream: "Vi Hor Ett Skrik"
MPEG Stream: "Leka Med Ord"
MPEG Stream: "Romantiken"

FILM SCHOOL Harmed (Full Frame) 7" 3.98
Film School's latest offering comes in the form of a 2-song 7" record. The A-side "Harmed" is a sneak preview of their forthcoming full length, and the B-side "The Longest Way" is exclusive to this release. They're a pair of very somber indie rock songs with male vocals that sound as if they're being sung by the sullen little brother of Pinback's Rob Crow... which suits us just fine!

HAINO, KEIJI Next, Let's Try Changing The Shape (Swordfish) cd 21.00
Ah-kay. Listed the verrrry expensive vinyl version last week, lamenting the fact that this highly recommended Keiji Haino solo opus wuz out of print on cd. Now, guess what? That LP has lived out it's limited-edition lifespan and is gone gone gone (well, we *might* have one copy left if you act fast). But of course Swordfish has gone and re-pressed the cd! So, we gotta re-list it for those of you who missed it, or were perhaps tempted by the vinyl, but are cd-centric (or slightly less willing to part with your cash). Here's the cd review from our list #186, once more:
I know this is gonna sound dorky, but I (Allan) sometimes feel blessed to be in the presence, even via recorded media, of Keiji Haino. Yeah I'm a pretty devout fan of the 51 year old Japanese psychedelic shaman-in-black. It's a shame that outside of the realm of indie/underground/Japanophile music geeks, Haino is not better known. As far as I'm concerned, he's a 20th (now 21st) century artistic genius deserving of recognition and reverence from the wider world's institutions of high culture. Why? Well as my roommate likes to put it, his shit's just so tight. He can make harrowing, dark, cosmic, soul-bearing music out of anything: his trusty guitar and feedback, a tambourine, his own voice... But even fans like me might have found his last solo release on PSF, the all-acoustic guitar workout Hikari Yami Uchitokeaishi Kono Hibiki, tough going. But THIS new disc is one I'd wholeheartedly recommend even to the uninitiated. According to the label it "sees him developing themes on from his last PSF release." I think by that they're not referring to Hikari Yami Uchitokeaishi Kono Hibiki but to his previous PSF disc, the 'grey album' Mazu Wa Iro O Nakuso Ka. That was an incredible, hypnotic document of Haino in a gentle, ghostly mood, recording at home presumably, accompanying himself via overdubs on a 4-track, quite unlike his more typical live, over-amped, no-overdubs method. Now on 'Next' Let's Try Changing The Shape, Haino again experiments with overdubbing. However his guitar sound on this tends towards the harsher electric tones of 'classic Haino' (solo and with his band Fushitsusha), much less 'jazzy' than on Mazu Wa... the grey is gone and he's back to the blackness. The six tracks found here all feature layers of electric guitar and vocal overdubs, a multitude of Keiji's playing together. To some this may sound chaotic and confused, but careful listening will reveal the ways in which Haino has carefully constructed these pieces. On the more guitar-heavy tracks his web of sound builds and builds in density, becoming a narcotic drone not unlike some Skullflower stuff, while other tracks are based more around Haino's vocal parts -- there's one I thought was gonna be all acapella until his guitar appeared a few minutes in -- raw and repetitious, almost Reynolisan. The album ends with a final descent into the abyss, a 26 minute trip that gets so seriously spooky that you suspect the overdubbing is Haino's way of not feeling so alone... Definitely Keiji Haino (and this album) is not for everybody, but it's worth finding out if he's for you because your life will be better for it, if you find his art speaks to you the way it does to me.
MPEG Stream: "Surely Here too There Is Something"
MPEG Stream: "A Secret"

HE 6 Go Go Sound '71 Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 (Beatball) cd 24.00
Recently, we reviewed Brazil's Modulo 1000... Before that, Thai Beat A Go Go volume 2. And the Lemmy-goes-to-India sounds of Sam Gopal. And the Juan dela Cruz Band from the Phillipines. And Turkish music galore. And all those incredible Cambodian Rocks comps. Et cetera, et cetera. Yup, we've had a lot of vintage heavy rock and psych reissues from all over the world now, but this is maybe the first time we've gotten our hands on something from Korea (and hopefully not the last -- we'd love to get Sanullim discs too, someday).
Recorded in, yay, 1971, pressed in a ridiculously limited (promotion only) quantity of 300 copies each, and subsequently all but forgotten, these two records by Korean psychedelic groovesters the HE 6 are some gems indeed! With the exception of the closing side-long seventeen minute cover of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (which faithfully does indeed include the obligatory drum solo as per the original version, along with what sounds like a police siren and also an added *flute* solo!) all the tracks on the two albums Go Go Sound '71 vol. 1 and Go Go Sound '71 vol. 2 included here are instrumental jams -- numbered themes with titles like "Theme 2. 4/4 for Guitar" and "Theme 3. Running Human". And even "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is mostly instrumental of course.
Listening to the other tracks on this disc it makes sense that they would choose Iron Butterfly's opus as the sole tune to cover. Like that tune, all of their originals are extended jams led by fuzzed-out electric guitar and Hammond organ. In addition, the aforementioned flute gets a workout too. (Yet another victory for the flute, so often mistakenly perceived as diminutive instrument! But the flute can certainly hold its own in this heavy, groovy, acid-rock band.) And it's crucial to mention that HE 6's rhythm section is darn tight! Indeed, this stuff's funky enough that we're sure they were probably just as much influenced by James Brown's band The JB's as they were by the likes of the Vanilla Fudge and Iron Butterfly. If not so obscure, we're sure this would have been plundered by DJs looking for the swank breaks... who knows, maybe hip hop producers in Korea have done so? So, very much recommended to all you folks into these sorta swinging '60s/'70s sounds -- especially if you dig the Cambodian Rocks and Thai Beat comps!
'Tis an expensive import, but the packaging helps justify the price: a gorgeous heavy-duty mini-LP styled gatefold sleeve, complete with a booklet featuring extensive liner notes (in English!) and photos, plus you even get two colorful HE 6 stickers! Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Theme 1. Introduction Music"
MPEG Stream: "Theme 5. The World of 6/6"

IMPERIUM s/t (Lyderhorn) 12" 14.98
Limited edition. Black metal. Norway. Cult. Custom packaging. Stephen O'Malley from Sunn 0))). That should be enough to have some of you in a froth. And rightfully so, as this is a super limited little slice of black metal history with custom packaging courtesy of Mr. O'Malley. Imperium were a Norwegian black metal band, who only ever recorded a single EP that has been unavailable until now. Featuring members of Emperor, Gehenna, Dismal Euphony and Theater Of Tragedy, Imperium spew a blackened brew of fast and raw, chaotic and buzzing, super grim and frosty black metal. Limited to 500 copies, never to be re-pressed (we only managed to get 20, not sure if we'll be able to get more) this is a one sided 12", music on one side, brown branches and bird silhouettes silkscreened on the other, packaged in a clear sleeve with a huge black bird and some spiky brambles silkscreened around the band's hard to read logo. The overall effect is quite stunning. And again VERY LIMITED.

JONES, SHARON AND THE DAP-KINGS Naturally (Daptone) cd 16.98
Hooooly Dap-Kings. Join Jones and her Dap-Kings on the righteous road to a Funky Soul Revival, child! If you love James Brown's JB's as much as I do, you'll be smitten with Sharon Jones, her Dap-Kings and their latest full-length, Naturally. Staccato guitar lines, horns, vibes, thee tightest drumming all smathered with honey sweet n' funky soul vocals. Jones' lead vocals are like a hot, golden afternoon in the Bronx. A breeze of African rhythms opens up a song or two to a whole new realm of beauty that Soul proper wouldn't necessarily touch. It's pretty remarkable that the production suggest to nearly all first-time listeners that Naturally was recorded in 1960s Georgia. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "How Do I Let A Good Man Down?"
MPEG Stream: "Natural Born Lover"

KAISER CHIEFS Employment (Unviersal) cd 10.98
Okay folks, let's just state what has become increasingly obvious... if you're over the age of twenty seven, you're probably not hearing a lot of new music these days that doesn't sound like [fill in the blank]. So we've sorta gotta accept that 'good music' is gonna be that which is probably somewhat lacking in the originality department but done exceptionally well. Case in point, Kaiser Chiefs. Expect that name to be shoved down your throat in the next few months beyond Franz Ferdinand proportions. Yeah, just like F.F. they're on a major label and hence have the big bucks and suits makin' sure you know who they are, but also just like F.F. they've got the chops and hooks to back up the hype... and yes, what they do is very much like F.F., Killers, Futureheads, Maximo Park, et al -- y-know, late 80s/early 90s-inspired catchy-as-fuck choruses, woozy synth keyboards, sinewy guitars, punchy drumming, hammered piano keys, cocky lead vocals and falsetto na-na-na-na backing vocals -- but with more of the lanky bombast of Pulp, more of the sneering bite of The Clash (especially on the first single "I Predict A Riot" and the fourth song "Na Na Na Na Naa"... yes, it's really called that!) and yeah even a bit of Adam & The Ants too (check out the tenth song "Time Honoured Tradition")! I'm sure some folks will be trying to turn up their noses at this, but it's pretty hard to resist. Aw heck, kids who were born the year that this kind of music first became popular will probably think Employment is groundbreaking, but for those of us...uhhh, older folks, it's gonna simply be a gosh dang dandy summertime album! So get a jump on it.
MPEG Stream: "I Predict A Riot"
MPEG Stream: "Time Honoured Tradition"

KID KOALA Live From The Short Attention Span Audio Theater Tour (Ninja Tune) cd ep + dvd 13.98
Not one, but three DJ's spinning together live. And not just any DJ's but AQ faves Kid Koala and DJ Jester along with P-Love. 16 minutes of scratching and juggling as the trio scores a live soundtrack to animated short by Monkmus. Included on this disc from their set are "Stompin' At Le Savoi", "Page 275" (from the comic book), the always enjoyable "Drunk Trumpet", "Skanky Panky" and "Page 298". Recorded at Lock 17 in London in November of 2003. Also included is a DVD of video shot of Kid Koala performing live in concert.
MPEG Stream: "Stompin' At Le Savoi"
MPEG Stream: "Skanky Panky"

KILLS, THE No Wow (Rough Trade) cd 11.98
For their second album, The Kills have taken a more urgent, aggressive stance with most notably Alison Mosshart sounding even more like Ms Polly Jean Harvey (circa Rid Of Me) than she did before and more than the lady herself does these days. And when Jamie Hince sings along they're a total deadringer for Boss Hog... that is if PJ gave Christina the boot. Ultra gritty, tense and sultry.
MPEG Stream: "Dead Road 7"
MPEG Stream: "The Good Ones"

LOONS Sounds Of The Earth (Oreade Music) cd 12.98
Loons! Andee was immediately like, automatic Record Of The Week! Allan had to be the voice of reason. But let's talk about the voice of the loon...
We've always been of the mind that no matter how amazing some music sounds, nature has most likely produced sounds that are just as cool. Whether it's the gentle droning rumble of winds, or the clatter of stones, or the bizarre polyphony of a frog filled swamp, or the jagged sound of melting / cracking ice. It's all completely and utterly music to our ears. We get the same thrill from a bunch of frogs that we get from a bunch of guitars. Beautiful sounds are beautiful sounds. So after reviewing records of the sounds of caves, the sounds of frogs, purring kittens, barking sled dogs, insects in stored foodstuffs, recordings of the Earth's magnetic fields, melting ice, the bioelectrical impulses of plants, crackling woodfires, chirping dolphins, the songs of forest blackbirds and more, we come to the Loon. Yes, the loon, with it's strange whippoorwill like call, a bizarre resonant trill, one that is instantly recognizable, but that at the same time is completely alien sounding. This is pretty much a straight field recording. Random birds, and insects, and the occasional sound of water, but the occasional call of the loon is what is most distinct. This is a gorgeous, lazy, sun dappled slice of creek life, makes us want to hang up the ol' hammock, stick the fishing pole in the dirt and just doze the afternoon away. Or for those of you too grim or evil for lazy afternoons in the hammock by a stream, and have two cd players at your disposal, this record would sound just perfect mixed with some funereal doom like Skepticism, adding just the right amount of foresty flavor!
MPEG Stream: "Loons"

LOVE VIGILANTE Technically I'm Wrong (Three Ring Records) 7" 3.98
From the young Bay Area label whose roster continues to grow with such richly atmospheric mood rock combos as D.W. Holiday, Soltero and The Bother, comes this new quartet. Your introduction to Love Vigilante is a brief one. This record containing two of their drowsy indie pop tunes "Technically I'm Wrong" and "Days Of Auld Lang Syne (A Slacker's Ballad)".

LOW California (Rough Trade) 7" 4.98
Sub Pop continues their string of cd-singles and EPs drawing from their artists' recent releases... er... well, sorta. Although Low is on Sub Pop here in the U.S., across the pond their Great Destroyer album was released on Rough Trade, and that's who put this single out. And actually the cd-single is much more of a European format anyways, isn't it? So is Rough Trade following Sub Pop's lead or vice versa? Ah, what am I babbling on about?! Just need to let you know that this Low disc contains the album version of "California", an alternate, very stripped-down gorgeous version of (the already gorgeous song) "Cue The Strings" and a video for their song "Death Of A Salesman" (not on the 7" version of course).
Although it's not really all that indicative of the band's body of work as a whole, for those of you who've yet to acquaint yourselves with the wonders of Low this is a nice little samplin' to start you off.
MPEG Stream: "Cue The Strings (Alternate Version)"

LOW California (Rough Trade) cd single 4.98
Sub Pop continues their string of cd-singles and EPs drawing from their artists' recent releases... er... well, sorta. Although Low is on Sub Pop here in the U.S., across the pond their Great Destroyer album was released on Rough Trade, and that's who put this single out. And actually the cd-single is much more of a European format anyways, isn't it? So is Rough Trade following Sub Pop's lead or vice versa? Ah, what am I babbling on about?! Just need to let you know that this Low disc contains the album version of "California", an alternate, very stripped-down gorgeous version of (the already gorgeous song) "Cue The Strings" and a video for their song "Death Of A Salesman" (not on the 7" version of course).
Although it's not really all that indicative of the band's body of work as a whole, for those of you who've yet to acquaint yourselves with the wonders of Low this is a nice little samplin' to start you off.
MPEG Stream: "Cue The Strings (Alternate Version)"

LUCAS, JEFFREY LUCK Hell Then Divine (Antebellum) cd 12.98
We've been waiting a while for this debut record from local boy Jeffrey Luck Lucas. An ironic name for the guy, as Lucas' songs are not those of luck or good fortune or smiling faces or bright sunny days. No, Lucas is a musical man after our own hearts, spinning morose, minor key tales of misery and loneliness, heartache and pain. Monochromatic musical snapshots of dingy hotel rooms, run down bars, boarded up stores, empty bus stations, blood in the sink, empty bottles by the bed. The dark swampy folk of Sixteen Horsepower, the lonely drunken storytelling of Tom Waits, but with a more distinctly classic country sound. Simply strummed acoustic guitars, mournful strings, sweetly singing lap steel and an arsenal of odd instruments that help give the record its haunting quality: water glasses, bowed cymbals, bowed guitar, vibraphone, optigon, function generator, guitarra quinta, toy piano, bamboo dulcimer, and more. All underscoring Lucas' raspy drawl, soaked in booze and dried out on the side of a lonely highway, warm and rough and beautifully weary. Guest vocalists include Wendy Allen from the Court And Spark and Janis Tanaka, formerly of Hammers Of Misfortune!
MPEG Stream: "Cascade"
MPEG Stream: "Sway To The Roll"

M83 Don't Save Us From The Flames (Gooom / Mute) cd ep 8.98
You probably already know if you like M83 by now. If you haven't heard them, go check out their brilliant debut Dead Cities RIGHT NOW. If you're already a fan of their fuzzed out My Bloody Valentine / Boards Of Canada dream pop bliss out then like us you can never get enough. This ep features "Don't Save Us From The Frames", probably the best track from their most recent album, Before The Dawn Heals Us -- a massively thick, multi layered psych pop confection with soaring harmony vocals and fuzzy synths all over the place. The reason to pick this up though (we'lll assume you already have the album) is the three unreleased tracks. "Until The Night Is Over" is a gorgeous eighties style ballad, with just enough fuzz and production fuckery to keep it interesting. Think Alan Parsons Project meets Air Supply meets the Flaming Lips. Then there are two remixes of "Don't Save Us...". The first is by Superpitcher, and he works some Kompakt magic, turning the original track into a stripped down, four on the floor, moody heroin house workout. The vocals soar unfettered over a simple pulsing rhythm and a relentlessly throbbing bassline. So good. Exactly how you dreamed a Gooom / Kompakt mashup should sound. The other remix is by Boom Bip, and is a shuffling, skittery IDM workout. A little like Autechre covering the Beach Boys. As always, so good!
MPEG Stream: "Don't Save Us From The Flames (Superpitcher)"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Save Us From The Flames (Boom Bip)"

MAKOTO, KAWABATA Inui 3 (VHF) cd 13.98
It's really wonderful of Kawabata Makoto (the high priest of Japan's Acid Mothers Temple y'know) to let us in to his private inner world of drone-bliss, via this release as well as previous discs like Inui 2, Infinite Love, and O Si Amos A Sighire A Essere Duas Umbras? and his collaboration with Richard Youngs, of which this here disc certainly reminds us.
Inui 3 consists of three long tracks (the last, over 45 minutes long), making psychedelic usage of bouzouki, sarangi, electric guitar, viola and ECS-101 (whatever that is -- we thought at first it was maybe an analog sequencer, but our expert in that area, Cup, had never heard of an ECS-101 -- anyone know?). The results are a lot of shimmering loveliness, with high end tones over droning drones. Really really nice.
So, if all you know him for is the 'motorpsycho' guitar splurge characteristic of AMT and Musica Transonic and the like, then you'll be surprised (pleasantly we think, this is nothing if not pleasant) by the beauty and restraint of these tracks. Of course, AMT followers by now are probably familiar with, and fans of, that mellower side to Kawabata's prolific output. In either case, here's a(nother) recommended dose!
MPEG Stream: "Sui"
MPEG Stream: "Ken"

MARS VOLTA, THE Francis the Mute b/w The Widow (Live) (GSL) 12" 6.98
Hark, all ye kids and collectors! The B-side of this 12" single is a live version of The Mars Volta's heartfelt power-prog ballad "The Widow" recorded at LA's Wiltern Theater on May 6th, 2004. The album version can be heard on their latest release, Frances The Mute (which happens to also be the title of the A-side of this record), but you probably already knew that.

MATTOID, THE eternifinity (Cleft) cd 10.98
If your pajama party guest list included Ween, Beck and Lou Reed, it might sound something like this. We have a sneakin' suspicion that lots of pot was involved in the creation of this music. It's a very very off-kilter blend of folk and rock. Things go off on weird tangents that seems very much the product of a mind, uhh, well-baked. If The Mattoid does not smoke the weed, we sincerely apologize, but you listen to these six songs (c'mon, one of the songs is called "Tinkli Vinkli"... wha'?!), and tell us you don't think the same thing!
MPEG Stream: "Joy"
MPEG Stream: "Tinkli Vinkli"

MIKAMI, KAN 19 Years 2 Months 16th Night (PSF) 2cd 42.00
This numbered, limited-edition double cd from PSF reissues the very first recorded performance by famed underground Japanese avant-folk singer and guitarist Kan Mikami, whom musical Japanophiles may know as a member of Vajra with Keiji Haino as well as for his extensive solo career. Recorded live at a radical Tokyo nightclub in 1970, this material was originally released on vinyl as a double LP in special fan-club edition of just 100 copies. Super rare today of course! And this new compact disc edition is limited to 777 copies, and is apparently already sold out at the label. We've only got a few, so act quick if you're a Mikami Kan fan. It's pretty great, and it's amazing that he's only 19 years old on here! The style of bleak, gripping angst-ridden folk songs showcased is what he's build his legend on, in a career that continues to this day (in fact, we just got a brand new Mikami recording in as well, entitled Bachi, that we'll try to get reviewed for next list). Perhaps this would be even more interesting if we understood Japanese (he doesn't sing in English, of course) but the emotions expressed need no translation. Unless you're made out of money, this is perhaps not the Mikami album we'd expect anybody to start with, but if you're already a fan you should consider splurging on this, it won't be long for this world. We can't resist quoting a bit of the our customer and PSF label translator Alan Cumming's blurb on this, as it really sets the scene:
"These are the very earliest recordings by surrealist folk legend Mikami, captured on tape in 1970 at the legendary Shibuya underground club and hangout, Station '70. The club used to host regular sessions by free-jazz heroes like Motoharu Yoshizawa and Kaoru Abe, while the cream of the city's avant-garde community rubbed shoulders with Japanese Red Army terrorists and Yukio Mishima's private army. Thrust into this ferment comes a nineteen year old police academy dropout from the far north of Japan, armed with nothing but his guitar and a satchel full of coruscating, carnal songs of anger, lust and hate."
MPEG Stream: "disc 1 track 2"
MPEG Stream: "disc 1 track 5"

MONADE A Few Steps More (Too Pure) cd 13.98
Previously a side project collaboration between Pram's Rosie Cuckston and Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier, Monade has blossomed into a full band fronted by the dulcet-toned Ms Sadier, and well... they reeeeeeally sound like her other band! Her legions of fans probably knew that this release was on its way eons ago, and therefore don't need us to tell them that it's finally arrived. For those less rabid, we'll let you know that this is the group's follow-up to their 2003 debut Socialisme ou Barbarie (The Bedroom Recordings), and as can be expected, it's a much more fleshed out and polished affair. Back-to-back listening of this and the recent reissue of Stereolab's 1992 debut Switched On makes for a dreamy, sunny afternoon double scoop! Sure to please Stereolab and Sadier lovers everywhere.
MPEG Stream: "La Salle Des Pas Perdus"
MPEG Stream: "Das Kind"

MORNING SPY The Silver Age (Keep) cd 9.98
If you recall Morning Spy's debut cd Subsequent Light from 2004, you may remember this SF band having something of a split personality (with each side defined mostly by boy versus girl vocals and folksy versus pop styles)... and they still do, although as we predicted, they're leaning more heavily to one side these days (psst, it's the boy-sung side). For those who're unfamiliar with this bright'n'breezy band, here's the lowdown: when the fella sings (on songs such as "Ask Us To Dance"), Morning Spy sound totally like a fine hybrid of Luna and Destroyer (albeit minus Dan Bejar's tweaked lyrics). When the gal sings it's a much more pastel-hued pop affair a la K Records' International Pop Underground circa 1992. A great sophomore release!
MPEG Stream: "Ask Us To Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Voices And Vigils"

MY CAT IS AN ALIEN Through The Reflex Of The Rain (Free Porcupine) cd 14.98
Another band that seems poised to challenge Acid Mothers Temple to a who-can-release-more-records duel. But much like AMT, Italy's My Cat Is An Alien have somehow managed to keep the quality control pretty high (minus the unforgivable series of limited $100 split lps, that were released on cd not soon after). On Through The Reflex Of The Rain, MCIAA drift even further into deep space psych, with a free drone workout that rivals Total or Sunroof!. Angular guitars over warbly organs, shimmering reverb drenched chords stretched into endless sheets of cosmic vibration, clouds of beeps and bloops drift dangerously close, swirls of tonal color are excited into such a state that the rest of the instruments seem to be drawn toward some distant point of maximum gravity. Blissful and droned out, but at the same time, charged with a ominously crackling energy. Packaged in a beautifully silkscreened blue and metallic gold cardboard sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Through The Reflex Of The Rain (excerpt)"

NEW IDEA SOCIETY You Are Awake Or Asleep