NIGHT CONTROL Life Control (Kill Shaman) cd 12.98
The origin myth of Night Control is almost as fascinating as their music, it was explained in great detail in our review of the first Night Control record from a while back, but in a nutshell, Night Control was at one time called Crystal Shards, and that band released a whole mess of super limited cd-r's, all amazing and tripped out and weirdly poppy, but before we could get our hands on any of those cd-r's, the band resurfaced with a new name, Night Control, and a new record, Death Control, which cherry picked all the best songs from those impossible to find cd-r's and voila, and all time aQ favorite, twisted, fractured outsider lo-fi pop, that managed to infuse hook filled classic sounding pop music, with all manner of rhythmic aberrations and sonic inconsistencies, transforming NC's music into something truly original and transcendent.
So here we have what could be considered to be the first proper NEW Night Control record, and thankfully, all of the weirdness is fully intact, and the songwriting has seemingly grown by leaps and bounds, without sacrificing a bit of fuckedupness. So, just like Death Control was, it's gotta be a Record Of The Week! Night Control's sound is still firmly positioned amongst the current crop of warped lysergic lo-fi popsters: Ariel Pink, Gary War, John Maus, Ty Segall, Wavves, Blank Dogs, Kurt Vile, etc., but there's just something about Night Control, that makes this music different. And special. Not better necessarily, although in some ways it definitely is, but just special, the songs are ramshackly, but fully formed, catchy as all get out, but laced with all manner of clatter, and squealing feedback, the vocals are generally buried, so sometimes the melody is more suggested than anything, but somehow all the woozy warped parts fall (im)perfectly into place, and yet again, Night Control has created a songsuite, that is at once warm and familiar, but also alien and abstract.
There's no denying the fact that these songs are tighter, and more rocking, and it definitely sounds more like a real band, than a bedroom project, the opener "CS" is heartbreakingly good, warm and woozy and lush, drum machine, loping piano driven melody, big rich guitars, and a main vocal line that is so dreamy and melancholic and definitely harkens back to classic sixties pop a la The Zombies, but the record immediately changes gears, and "There's A Chance" begins as a stumbling chaotic lurching kitchen sink pop workout, very New Zealand sounding actually, the drums are distorted and tangled, the vocals are processed and all wrapped up with streaks of high end and feedback, all under a blown out haze, making the song's poppiness all the more subtle. "Take Apart" is super rocking, with actual burly guitar riffing, pounding drums, even some squirrely almost-leads, but it's interspersed with some wheezing atonal organ, some detuned guitar squiggle, some surprisingly active rubbery basslines, and the whole thing is wrapped in a cloud of hiss and crumbling distortion. It's like a Joe Meek track gone haywire.
And so it goes, the whole record veers from perfect pop to deconstructed lo-fi pop flecked weirdness, drums get blown out, vocals slip way up in the mix in a reverbed Lou Reed like sung spoken croon, guitars warble, chords jangle, rhythms are flipped backwards, fragments of songs are looped and layered, some tracks skip and skitter, you can hear someone push the stop button on the tape player, the 'ka-chunk' becoming part of the song, vocals pile on top of one another creating big lush, dense harmonies, long stretches of barely there sound drift and shimmer, like a pop song muted and melted into shimmery sonic strings, new wave collides with new age, classic rock stumbles into power pop, drum machine driven skitter explodes into druggy garage rock, hazy riffs coalesce into crystalline space rock, and on and on and on. The final track might just be the most beautiful, a nearly 8 minute stretch of processed guitars, all delicately intertwined, looped and layered, melodies and overtones surfacing and then fading into the background, notes pulse and throb, creating sort-of-rhythms, a little pop ambience, a little abstract Appalachia, warm and lush, the perfect rainy day dreamdrift, and a fitting way to finish off this perfectly imperfect record. One of our new favorites for sure.
MPEG Stream: "CS"
MPEG Stream: "There's A Chance"
MPEG Stream: "Take Apart"
MPEG Stream: "Guitar"

NECRO DEATHMORT This Beat Is Necrotronic (Distraction) cd 11.98
This record seemed like it was custom made for aQ. They're called Necro Deathmort, the record is called This Beat Is Necrotronic, they've been described as SUNNO))) meets Squarepusher, it's heavy, it's skittery, it's dark, it's like a metal dubstep record, or a grim electronic laced doomdrone record, some of the tracks are stuttery and rhythmic, others are grim and ominous and intense, all of them are heavy, the sound veers from spaced out and downtuned, to skeletal and psychedelic, to thick and caustic, to big beated and bassy.
Thanks to aQ customer Mark for introducing us to these guys, we've been listening to it nonstop since we got it in. It's definitely a tough one to pin down, a little all over the map, but no matter what's going on, the various sounds and vibes and moods are definitely connected, joined by a thick grim black thread.
"Spilth (Spill Your Filth)" starts things off with a lumbering electro jam, all squiggles and squelches, glitches and buzzes, but underpinned by some serious speaker destroying bass, fuzzed out and thick and rumbling and very very prickly, like the heaviest dubstep bassline you've ever heard, cranked even higher. "Hurt Me I'm Bored" is where the band get serious, spreading out a serious chunk of smoldering electronic flecked doom, haunting and propulsive, the drums simple and stripped down, the main riff minor key and a little bit woozy, all around the main groove, clouds of static and hiss swirl and spark, the low end again thick as hell, the guitars gradually growing more and more metallic until, the track is full on doooooooom, but still peppered with little squiggles of distorted leads and various shards of electronic detritus.
"I Can See Through Time" is all washed out whir and hushed shimmer, looped and chopped sounds smoothed into a droney almost pop ambience, which quickly gives way to "Return To Planet Atlas", a sort of trip hopped slowcore jam, all big beats, and thick gnarled woofer shredding low-end, surrounded on all sides by streaks of high end, and all manner of swirling effects. The beats are definitely reminiscent of Scorn, even Bomb The Bass (remember them?), but a bit amped up and a lot heavier: "Necro Effigy" is another strange beat driven groove, with strange voices, croaking frogs, fractured glitched out crunch, and stuttery stop start beats, "Broadcast" is a dreamy interlude, sampled voices, looped bass notes and distant drone-y rumbles, dreamy and ethereal, which leads right into "I Fought The Law And The Law Won" which sounds like Portishead, all smoke-y and late night, or maybe a more beaty Bohren, creepy crawly, mysterious and weirdly pretty, "Technicolour Minstrel Show" begins with a SUNNO)))-y wall of crumbling blackened sound, only to give way to a whirring soft focus dreamscape, while "Origami Werewolf" is a dark loping jam, all throbbing beats, sheets of blown out guitar, keening feedback, and some serious industrial riffage, and finally, the record closes with the nearly 13 minute "Ultimate Testament", a gorgeous super minimal slowcore crawl, the beats skeletal and spaced out, the guitar raw and distorted, thick and noxious, but the melodies epic and majestic, it sounds like it might build to classic post rock crescendo, but instead, everything drops out except for the drums, and the last few minutes are a strange minimal beatscape, booming, pounding, crashing, but with tons of space, the beats echoing into the blackness before winking out, only to be replaced by another beat, until there's nothing left.
This shit is amazing, so dark and heavy and unlikely. Gorgeously packaged too, in a super swank fold out six panel sleeve, adorned with some garish woodcut style illustrations, and be sure and check out their Myspace page as well, tons of other music that didn't make it onto the cd, including a killer reinterpretation of an old Nirvana song, that gets all Necro'd. So Rad. And just for the record, January is in no way too soon to start picking records for your best of 2010 list... just so you know...
MPEG Stream: "Hurt Me I'm Bored"
MPEG Stream: "Spilth (Spill Your Filth)"
MPEG Stream: "I Fought The Law And The Law Won"
MPEG Stream: "Technicolour Minstrel Show"
MPEG Stream: "Origami Werewolf"

WHOURKR Concrete (Crucial Blast) cd 11.98
We first discovered French electro-grind-metal-psych-whatthefuck duo Whourkr a year or two back when we got their debut record, Naat, which totally blew us away, it sounded like a malfunctioning metal record and a freaked out techno record, all scrambled up together, tangled up and spit out, a skittering, skipping, looped, grinding chunk of electronic metal weirdness. The vocals would howl, but then get processed and looped and would become something else altogether, the drums and guitars were so gnarled and stretched and twisted up, that the band could explode into flurries of rapidfire mathematical grind, way faster and more complex and convoluted than any human could possible play. It was a total headfuck. Like the fastest freakiest grind, made even faster and freakier, but with a little techno thrown in for good measure. Remember the Drum>MachineGun compilation, of insane drum machine driven grind? Whourkr makes that stuff sound so so tame in comparison.
We tried and tried to track down copies for the store, but never had any luck, and then we heard that Crucial Blast would be releasing the NEW Whourkr, so we waited and waited, and now it's finally here, and it's totally different than the first one (or at least how we remember the first one), way poppier and more melodic, like the band are now actually composing songs instead of throwing all the sounds in a blender to see what comes out (not that we don't dig that too!), it's way poppier, catchier, but still totally and utterly freaked out and glitchy and fucked up beyond belief.
Chugging guitars and shrieked vox are chopped and spliced into a hyperspeed deathmetal Melt Banana, all the sounds constantly shifting, the tempo changing, the rhythms colliding and hiccuping, occasionally coalescing into full on grooves, other times splintering into bursts of electronic freakouts, and there are serious hooks happening too, it doesn't seem possible that music like this could be listenable, let alone catchy, but it is. Big time. We'll be the first to admit, that the other Whourkr record was difficult listening, brutal and to many ears annoying, and yeah, the same might be said for Concrete as well, but the band are so much better now, in terms of composition and songwriting, that once you're immersed in their fucked up and freaked out soundworld, it becomes surprisingly easy to acclimate to the rapidly and constantly shifting sounds and rhythms, in order to enjoy the songs themselves. Plus the vocals seem to play a much larger role, not just howls and shrieks, there are plenty of clean vox, soaring almost operatic, low AND high, wrapped around frenzied riffing, wound up into spiralling psychedelic freakouts, or like the instruments, chopped into crazed stutterscapes.
Take the track "Santo", with its deep crooned vox and acoustic guitars, sounding almost like Circle, the electronic effects very subtle at first, before the track lurches into full on doom, the voices and guitars just slightly glitched, eventually giving way to gorgeous delicate piano, only to be obliterated by the next track "Skovsnails", a little burst of drums, and a crazy clipped main riff, it almost sounds like some insane DJ remixing Orthrelm, the song stutters and lurches and hiccups, totally frenetic and relentless. The record dips its toes into all sorts of weird sounds, loping moody electronic downtempo, albeit a little fractured, head spinning hyper grind, shot through with unlikely pop hooks, glitched out death metal, soaring slow building post rocky drama, and more Melt Banana-esque grind pop, but nothing here sounds thrown together, or hodge podge, this is a baffling collection of sounds, but one that is meticulously composed, performed and recorded, and for those in the market for something truly demented, insane, extreme and heavy, not to mention out-there, and pretty much entirely unlike anything you've ever heard before, be next to impossibly to top Whourkr. Definite contender for metal record of the year, even though calling it a metal record is selling it WAY short. Regardless, absolutely recommended.
And, for a limited time (next couple of weeks, until February 2nd 2010), we'll be selling this for a special $2 discount off the regular price, which would normally be $13.98.
MPEG Stream: "Mindgerb"
MPEG Stream: "Antzcrowzing"
MPEG Stream: "Bore Injektion"
MPEG Stream: "Santo"
MPEG Stream: "Fatrubber"

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ANDUIN Abandoned In Sleep (SMPG Limited) lp + cd 16.98
Full length number two from Jonathan Lee, a member of big time aQ faves Souvenir's Young America, and the man behind Anduin, after two killer collaborations, one with Svarte Greiner (that track is included here!), the other with Jasper TX, which should definitely give you an idea of the sort of sound to expect from Anduin.
Dark and dreamy and dolorous, Anduin creates warm swirling rhythmic ambience, dark drones, and haunting soundscapes. Abandoned In Sleep includes many contributors either via sample contribution or live collaboration, Jasper TX again, Gareth Davis, Stephen Vitiello, Xela and a handful of others, but there's no doubt that Lee is the sonic alchemist here, taking sounds and samples, live performances, and pre-recorded works, and molding them into darkly gorgeous soundworks. Field recordings drift in and out of soft clouds of hushed shimmer, thick slabs of deep rumble are laid atop strange percussive pulses, warm whirring low end drifts beneath subtle horns, minimal rhythms skitter around slowly collapsing buzzscapes, long slow tones stretch out into disembodied harmonies, all bathed in a lush golden chordal wash, the harmonica makes an appearance, and helps turn a track into something distinctly Morricone-esque, huge subterranean drones are laced with the sound of footsteps, and creaking doors, distant machinery, and finally, horns moan and bleat in a field of delicate drones and muted rhythmic pulses.
The vinyl includes a cd, that features all the songs on the lp proper as well as three extra tracks, including the live collaboration with Svarte Greiner, all deep blackened shimmer, soft swells of feedback, dark rumbling pulsations, bleak and austere, laced with shards of high end melody, and softly grinding whirs.
Apparently, Abandoned In Sleep took the better part of a year to create, and listening to it now we can safely say it was well worth it!
MPEG Stream: "The Equal Of God"
MPEG Stream: "Content Of A Black Box"
MPEG Stream: "Into Abandon"

BASILLICA Rotting Desert Queen And The Black Isolator Radar Strip (Blackest Rainbow) cd-r 10.98
Latest solo outing from one member of space-doom outronauts Bong, and like the Bong mothership, Basillica traffic in a murky, druggy, blackness, but where Bong is definitely rocking and have a sort of sitar-ed Hawkwind going, Basillica are way more free form and abstract, a sort of oozing lysergic black ambience, here a single track that sprawls like some thick slowly swirling cloud of rumbles and whirs, of muted melodies and cavernous chordal washes, at moments it sounds almost like a gamelan at 1rpm, a warped underwater warble, the melodies like strange shadow beasts struggling in vain to extricate themselves from the black sonic tarpit that is the core of Rotting Desert Queen And The Black Isolator Radar Strip.
And for a murky druggy bit of abstract ambience, there's definitely a lot going on here, wah guitars are effected until they barely resemble guitars at all, vibrating strings create ripples in the slowly pulsing sea of sound, occasionally shards of high end, or fragments of melodies break through, almost like a stray beam of sunlight, creating even more shadows, and causing the surrounding sounds to slowly swarm and swallow the sunlight whole.
Muddy and washed out, haunting and subterranean sounding, these sounds are also strangely soothing, as if you were floating in some underwater tributary, just below the surface, the water heated by the molten rock beneath, the black tide carrying you through all manner of caverns, the sound and light reflecting off the constantly undulating surface of the cavern walls, and then filtering through the swirling currents, becoming warped and warbly before finally settling in your fluid filled ears. Cool cool cool. Not to mention dark and heavy and druggily dreamy.
MPEG Stream: "Rotting Desert Queen And The Black Isolator Radar Strip (excerpt)"

BASINSKI, WILLIAM Vivian & Ondine (2062) cd 14.98
By now, if you're a regular reader of the aQ list, you no doubt know all about William Basinski, and the Disintegration Loops that introduced us to his music. And if you're anything like us, you were immediately smitten by his gorgeous slowly decaying dronescapes. The power of a simple loop, played over and over, in various states of decay, hearing the sounds literally crumble before your very ears, like getting a glimpse inside music, behind the notes, within the chords, observing the magnetic particles as they drop like flakes of soot after a fire, music transformed into inert object, and the glorious sound of that transition, from light to dark, life to death, sound to silence.
Basinski's music is rife with meaning, representational for sure, but can easily be appreciated from a purely sonic standpoint, the sounds, his loops, are blurred and indistinct and so lovely, washed out, hazy, sepia toned, they sound like they were snatched from another time, lifted from an audial scrapbook, the sounds curled up at the edges, lightly blackened, the images contained within smeared and unclear, beneath a patina of age, the chemicals reacting over time, changing the color, the texture, the emotion even, of each of those sounds.
Vivian & Ondine is a more recent work, but sounds like it could have come from the same treasure trove that produced the Disintegration Loops, dreamlike and otherworldly, hushed, intimate, and so beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Vivian & Ondine (excerpt)"

BETA CLOUD Lunar Monograph (Laughing Bride Media) cd 10.98
Latest disc of blissed out soft focus dronemusic from this longtime aQ fave. After past collaborations with Lull (which is available again and featured elsewhere on this week's list) as well as Aidan Baker, Lunar Monograph is the first disc we've head from BC on his own, and it's definitely a divine bit of ethereal and ephemeral drift.
Field recordings are deftly woven into soft swirling shimmering tones, guitars are spidery and delicate, spinning crystalline webs of hushed melody, the opening track is a gorgeous bleary eared whisper, which segues smoothly into the second track, a sprawling 22 minute stretch of delicate piano, wreathed in swirling clouds of muted glitch and streaks of static and hiss, like listening to a solo piano performance, on a hilltop in the dead of night during a rainstorm.
The record does get intense briefly, on the surprisingly rocking psych dirge blowout of "Marsh Of Epidemics", with its keening chiming guitars, fuzzy blown out buzz and pounding drumbeat, the whole thing propulsive and intense, but also washed out and otherworldly sounding, but the record quickly shifts back into something much more tranquil and contemplative, another 20+ minute slow motion soundscape, this one much less distinct in terms of instrumentation, instead a swirling, looped, processed bit of layered dronemusic, lots of high tones laid upon what sounds like angelic voices way off in the distance, and a softly undulating low end, very choral and cinematic sounding, like a much more mellow Sunroof!, laced with hints of Arvo Part.
The record finally finishes with some gorgeous prismatic pop ambience, whirring and indistinct, a slight industrial undercurrent, but for the most part, pealing tones, and barely there melodies, drifting weightlessly through a field of minimal effects, and slow shifting whirs, as well as some mysterious field recordings, that make the end of the record feel like you've just come out of a trance, and found yourself back in the real world, which is not all that far off the mark. So nice.
MPEG Stream: "Marsh Of Sleep"
MPEG Stream: "Sea Of Rains"

BIANCHI, MAURIZIO / M. B. Das Platinzeitalter (Weird Forest) 2lp 22.00
The mission has been terminated, once again. Without giving any reasons, Maurizio Bianchi has given up producing music. Of course, this is not the first time that Bianchi had ceased operations, as he famously disappeared from sight around 1984 after a frenzy of releases beginning around 1978. Those albums, in particular Symphony For A Genocide and The Plain Truth, as well as William Bennett's antics on two early MB records released on Come Organisation, secured his status as a heavy weight of Industrial Culture alongside Throbbing Gristle, Nurse With Wound, Ramleh, and Whitehouse; and the demonstrative cessation only served to buttress his mythology. But by the late '90s, Bianchi began recording once again, gradually returning to the frenzied pace he set during his earlier peak of activity. Unfortunately, the new work has not always been up to snuff, as he didn't seem to turn down any collaborative offer and didn't seem too interested in the finer points of editing his content. BUT, there have been some real gems amidst the chaff.
Hence, we announce Das Platinzeitalter. A quintessential Bianchi construction, this album meditates upon the minutiae of crumbling systems, returning to a common theme of Bianchi's classic period -- the cancerous body faced with a slow demise through ancillary pathogens. His sounds are blackened ambiences culled from stacked grey-smear loops and elongated ashen drones, some of which have been purported to originate from Jozef Van Wissem's lute recordings, although you'll be hard pressed to find anything lute-like in these shadowing sounds. Ominous. Grim. Foreboding. Oppressive. Neurotic. These are all apt descriptions to Bianchi's best work; and those all apply here, but with the strange twist that this ambience is somewhat contemplative, as if Bianchi's death-obsessed soundtrack is more of an enveloping invitation instead of a scream of horror.
This 2lp was originally released as a cd on Van Wissem's Incunabula a couple years back, and now appears on vinyl courtesy of Weird Forest in a modest edition of 500 copies.

BLAKROC s/t (Blakroc) cd 14.98
People have been after this record for ages, we have to admit though we were a bit skeptical, not cuz we don't dig the Black Keys, but just cuz it seemed like a recipe for disaster, two white dudes, blues rockers to boot, as a back up band for a bunch of killer rappers. But hell, we're happy to admit when we were wrong, we have been convinced, this stuff is pretty bad ass, the Black Keys laying down super stripped down beats and grooves, which isn't all that different really than a DJ just sort of playing those same grooves maybe, but it's cool to hear a live band rocking behind these rappers, and wow, what a stellar bunch, the first track features Ol' Dirty Bastard ferchrissakes!! Teamed up with Ludacris to boot! Mos Def, Pharoahe Monch, RZA, Raekwon, Noe, Jim Jones, Q-Tip, as well as a soul singer named Nicole Wray.
The Wu-Tang tracks rule, RZA and Raekwon don't disappoint, ODB kills, pretty much everyone delivers some seriously killer flows, and the Black Keys are definitely up to the task, and actually, if you didn't know better, and just heard one of these jams on the radio, you'd probably never know...
MPEG Stream: "On The Vista (Feat. Mos Def)"
MPEG Stream: "Dollaz & Sense (Feat. RZA + Pharoahe Monch)"
MPEG Stream: "Stay Off The Fuckin' Flowers"

BONNIE PRINCE BILLY Beware /Chijimi (Drag City) 10" 21.00
When the last proper Bonnie Prince Billy album, Beware, came out, Drag City released a very limited 10" version that contained a set of bonus songs not on the album. That 10" also came with a download of the whole Beware album and featured the exact same cover artwork as the album itself only in 10" form. And Drag City for some weird reason pretended that there was no vinyl in the sleeve, which made no sense. Confusing, kind of. But gone in a flash they were. Recently, though, one of our distributors discovered a very small stash of these, so Bonnie Prince Billy fans you have one final chance to snag these four songs that will not be released on cd or in digital format, and are not available anywhere but here. As prolific as Mr. Oldham is, he still has yet to put out a bad record and these four songs are really as strong as anything that was on Beware. So like we said it's probably a very small window, but if you missed it the first time around you can try to snag one now! And if you need to be reminded of what we had to say about Beware when we reviewed the record proper:
Seems like everywhere you look these days you're bombarded with praise and press for Will Oldham. From The New York Times to Wire Magazine it's been hard to escape images of ol' Bonnie Prince Billy, but truth be told, he is one fine songwriter who deserves much of the praise and accolades coming his way. While not all of his recent outings have totally blown us away, we're very much digging the rich and sometimes dark country sounds on Beware. The instrumentation is a bit more nuanced and compelling than on his previous effort Lie Down In The Light. It kind of made perfect sense that a customer who was in the store the first time we played this asked what Lee Hazlewood record this was, and were surprised and happy to find out that it was actually Will Oldham. With appearances on the big screen, a recent artist in residency in the Marin Headlands over the Golden Gate Bridge from here, and this new set of songs, Oldham has been one busy bee and we think well worthy of all that adoration and praise.
MPEG Stream: "You Can't Hurt Me Now"
MPEG Stream: "I Don't Belong To Anyone"
MPEG Stream: "Beware Your Only Friend"

BUZZOV-EN Violence From The Vault (Relapse) cd ep 11.98
Not sure why we never reviewed anything by these pot fueled purveyors of crusty sludge, could be that all of their records predated the list, but we have shown much love to post Buzzov-en stoner sludge combo Weedeater, the thing is, everything we love about Weedeater, existed in Buzzov-en, even more. Heavier, sludgier, stonier, crustier, filthier, these five songs were recorded right before the band disbanded in the mid nineties, and the band are on fire, lurching, churning, downtuned heaviness, KILLER riffs, caveman drum pound, vocals buried WAY down in the mix, from pounding dirge, the thrashing chaotic crunch, the band just sound relentless and fucking ultra intense here, could be that it was close to the end, could be the fact that the whole band was falling apart to problems with drugs, whatever it is, this stuff sounds fierce and violent and raw and on the edge. The sound is weirdly murky and muddy, blown out, but not super hot sounding, more blurred and buzzy, but it suits the mood big time.
There are of course goofy samples before most of the songs, which seems par for the stoner sludge course, and there's the totally demented drugged out 16 minute "Nod" which does in fact sound like the whole band nodding off mid song, captured on tape, a stumbling, abstract soundscape of guitar buzz, and weird voices, swirling effects, deconstructed riffage, total psychedelic sonic headfuck, which rules, but it's the other 4 songs that put most of Buzzov-en's contemporaries, past and present, to shame. These tracks may have been recorded 15 years ago, but they still sound incredible, and anyone into the current crop of drug metal heavies, who somehow missed out on these guys back in the day, well, now is the time to make things right. The liner notes mention a possible new Buzzov-en record in 2010 as well, we can only hope...
MPEG Stream: "Mainline"
MPEG Stream: "Paintake"

CAMPFIRES s/t (Mexican Summer) 7" 4.98
You think folks would get tired of all the lo-fi trippy home-brewed psychedelic pop that seems to show no sign of letting up, but with bands like Campfires creating 7"s like this, can't see that happening anytime soon. This one man band from Chicago, takes the fuzzy Beach Boys psych bliss of the Elephant Six label and crams it through the cracked aesthetic of the current crop of lysergic pop deconstructionists, resulting in three short sharp jams that manage to be lush and ebullient, but also fuzzy and filthy and raw, rich with hooks and killer riffs, a sound warm and blown out, "She Was Down" could be the lo-fi pop jam of the year, with its ultra distorted drums, buried lilting vocals, crunchy main riff, and a hook that will stay lodged in your head for ages. "Stormy Late Fall" sounds like Big Star and Redd Kross recorded onto a Dictaphone, woozy, warped, and so catchy, with some seriously unforgettable melodies, and some bad ass guitar wrangling.
The closer is a little more stripped down, brittle and crunchy, but continues on in the same vein, with sweetly melancholic melodies wrapped around shambling drums and warbly guitar jangle.
Barely more than 5 minutes, but in this case it's definitely quality over quantity, can't wait for the 'full length', even if it ends up being less than 20 minutes long...
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, every one hand numbered, includes a code so you can download the mp3 versions for your iPod...

CIRCLE Soundcheck (Ektro) lp 23.00
Circle are getting to be like a Finnish hypnorock version of the Grateful Dead, a comparison which would no doubt thrill Circle mainman Jussi Lehtisalo, who is very upfront about his obsession with the Dead. In so much as between albums, Circle, like the Dead, crank out killer live record after killer liver record, often with some of the same songs, always including a few live staples, familiar enough to hit the spot, but different enough that a Circle fan could be forgiven for needing them ALL!
This vinyl-only latest from these fantastic Finns, is indeed yet another live set, and not only features a super striking crystal skull cover, but also finds the band bolstered by some extra axe power in the form of members of fellow NWOFHM combo Pharaoh Overlord. Recorded last year, in Finland, Soundcheck, as the label puts it, "offers the most contemporary document possible of a Circle soundcheck / concert experience". Indeed!
The Aside offers two new tracks, beginning with the brief "Kukkakaalia Kapteenit!", a wispy swirl of shimmery synths, laid back tribal drumming and some dramatic, emotional crooning, very cinematic sounding, almost like it could be some lost 4AD single, dreamy and ethereal, giving way to the way more rocking and intense "Tuhatsata", which takes up most of the side, a slow burning, blackened bit of Finnish krautrock, super epic, with dueling vocals, crooning versus grunted and growled, fusiony keys, still more tribal drumming, spidery guitars, the track pulsing and pounding, building to multiple crescendos, frenzied freakouts that always lip right back into more looped mesmer.
The flipside features two instantly recognizable live set staples, first up, "Virsi", dramatically progtastic, with that super soaring epic intro, all dynamic shifts and huge bursts of instrumental crunch, with vocals howling and wailing almost operatically, before lurching into some rad atonal krauty, fusiony, jazzy, hypno groove skitter. The second track, another Circle classic, and live staple, "Nopeuskuningas", explodes right out of the gate, with its chugging almost surfy, ZZ Top-ish boogie riff, locked in groove, the whole thing stretched out over the remainder of the side, the band solid, and hypnotic, and intense, and rocking and tight as fuck. Their showstopper for sure, and it clearly did the job at this show as well.
Heavy vinyl, super swank skull jacket, and most definitely LIMITED.

CIRCLE Tulikoira (Reissue) (Ektro) cd 14.98
This 2005 Circle album, out of print for a bit, is now newly reissued on cd, this time its jewel case wrapped in a spiffy slipcase, featuring some cool new artwork (and a "no posers" symbol)!
NWOFHM. That's what it says on the inside of the cd booklet, in big bold letters. NWOFHM? WTF? If you don't get the joke, explaining it won't help, but here goes: New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal. Our Finnish friends Circle are apparently referencing the famed NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal) that took the rock world by storm circa 1979, giving us Saxon, Angel Witch, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, Venom, Samson, and many many many more. What's that got to do with the Can and Neu! pulsed space/prog/post-rock normally practiced by Circle?? Well Circle fans know that these guys have indeed established their very own trademark "circular" sound (repetitive, rhythmic, looping, hypnotic rock) that, whirlpool-like, pulls in all sorts of influences, from the aforementioned Krautrock forefathers to jazz and dub and lo-fi drone improv and, yes, metal. When you get a new Circle album, you kinda both know what to expect *and* never know what to expect. Well we'll tell you about Circle's latest studio effort, Tulikoria. In part, it's Circle donning the leather and spikes (metaphorically, perhaps, though they threatened to do so for real live on stage at their show in San Francisco that was happening the night we originally posted this review). Circle's love of metal, specifically the true, traditional heavy metal of the '80s, has borne fruit before, on several of the songs from their amazing Sunrise album released in 2002. So, the heavy metal component present on Tulikoira is precedented in the Circle discog. But, like Sunrise, this isn't just Circle "doing metal". It's a lot of other things besides! Nobody will confuse it for an "actual" metal album. But heavy metal is definitely, proudly an element here, amongst others. And graphically, too, it's an inspiration, as you'll see from Circle's new fangled, tough-looking symmetrical logo, which even incorporates a lightning bolt!
There's four tracks here, starting with "Rautakaarme", an atmospheric seven-minute cut featuring monkish chant, eerie drone, and energetic bursts of rock action. Second track "Tulilintu" is *entirely* active and energetic, really bringing in the headbanging, fist-pumping metal, complete with guitar leads and soaring screams in the manner of Rob Halford. Seriously. The lyrics are in Finnish (presumably) so we don't know how tongue-in-cheek-or-not they are. Track three, "Berserk", is kinda weird, another atmospheric exercise with some lines in English like "I'm a scorpion" and "I'm a crocodile" spoken over rather spooky, bass-heavy grooves. A lot of tension in this one. Could almost be a noirish film soundtrack from the '70s, but with additional "circular" electric guitar riffing. Then the final track "Puutiikeri" arrives, pretty much taking over the album since it's an epic 24 minute affair, beginning and ending with authentic heavy metal riffing, but journeying far and wide in-between. Creaky improv splatter, lush keyboards, gently whispering vocals, spacey electronic effects, chugging, pulsating rhythms (of course!), and even some quasi-techno beats (!) are stirred into this weird mix. Ranging in mood from calm tranquility to flat out rockin', this is a real trip, as is all of Tulikoira. If you've been following Circle's output in recent years, and rolling with all their eccentricities, from Sunrise to Guillotine to Forest to Empire, you'll be happy to add Tulikoria to your collection too!
MPEG Stream: "Rautakaarme"
MPEG Stream: "Tulilintu"
MPEG Stream: "Berserk"

COHRAN, PHIL AND THE ARTISTIC HERITAGE ENSEMBLE The Spanish Suite (Katalyst) cd 12.98
We love Philip Cohran, and while he doesn't get the same level of attention and widespread adoration as folks like Pharaoh Sanders, Rashan Roland Kirk, or Alice Coltrane, there is no doubt his music belongs in that special elite class of spiritual jazz geniuses, as his records are filled with such deep vibrations and such endless creativity.
In the past we have gushed over the reissues of his albums On The Beach and The Malcolm X Memorial, two records that truly transcend stiff and narrow definitions of genre, as we've seen many jazz-shy folks get swept away by those amazing sounds!
The Spanish Suite was never released before, so this is the first time most folks have gotten to hear it, a long form piece composed and created in the late '60s by Cohran and his collective of amazing Chicago musicians, many of whom have super impressive musical resumes, from Sun Ra to the great early incarnation of Earth Wind & Fire. The Spanish Suite demonstrates an effortless infusion of Latin elements into deep African grooves of forward thinking jazz, executed with total perfection. A little like Miles Davis' masterpiece Sketches Of Spain stretched out and taken to some outer dimension. Patience is a virtue with this piece as it starts out nice and somewhat traditional sounding for the first little while until it morphs into some contemplative and expansive spiritual jazz exploration, the sort of thing that Cohran has definitely mastered. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "The Spanish Suite (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "The Spanish Suite (excerpt 2)"
MPEG Stream: "The Spanish Suite (excerpt 3)"

DEEP JEW Ugliest Man / Dog Blood (Jugular Forest / Troniks) lp 12.98
Deep Jew was one of those good bands with a horrible name; and had they been born a decade earlier, these LA noiseniks would have counted amongst the numerous crustpunks touring alongside Man Is The Bastard or maybe even Corrupted throughout the '90s. Yet, as it stands, Deep Jew released a couple of things including a split single for Not Not Fun and this LP (of which we managed to dig up a few copies!) before calling it quits in 2008. But no matter how you look at it, Deep Jew's slow-motion, dirge-punk, power-violence is a force not to be taken lightly. Even if they do have a questionable name.
Five cuts of post-MITB brutalist sludge and murkscaping distortion grace the A side of Ugliest Man / Dog Blood with howling vocals, caveman bashing drum kit abuse, low-slung bass buried way way down deep, and thick guitar / amplifier pedal noise which might have something in the way of Swans-like riff if all of that distortion hadn't crumbled everything into filthy noise. The flip is a monstrous side-long car-crash captured at quarter-speed with chugging, stumbling dirgecore rhythms that lurch amidst a lock-stepped bass throb all of which tugs and / or pushes against relentlessly overblown amplifier punishment and blister-popped feedback. Silkscreened covers and limited to something like 400 copies.

EARTH AND FIRE s/t (Esoteric) cd 23.00
Not to be confused with Earth, WIND and Fire! Female fronted Dutch prog-psych circa 1970 here folks, and it's a cult classic. This was originally issued, and likewise reissued, several times with different cover art. The various covers we've seen all look nice, but this design, the spooky psychedelic postery tree roots one, is our favorite, so we're glad the Esoteric label elected to go with it for this nice, remastered reish. Cover aside, though, what we care about is the music, and this self-titled album, the band's debut, is a favorite, probably their best in our book. They got a lot proggier later on (nothing wrong with that!), more symphonic, but this album had a pop buzz to it that can't be denied, the songs here mostly on the shorter side. The groovy "Love Quiver" is the longest at a respectably proggy 7:35, but the others are in the 3-4 minute range of radio-friendly singles, which ALL these songs are catchy enough to have been. It's Earth and Fire's most (stonery) "rock" record too, with enough heavy fuzz riffing, acid guitar soloing, and dramatic majesty to interest some of you proto-metal types. The first track is called "Wild And Exciting" and that describes this record, exciting especially for fans of the Jefferson Airplane, Curved Air, Savage Rose, Shocking Blue... and we'd suggest that those into current bands Blood Ceremony and The Devil's Blood ought to check this out too! But, ignoring the female vocals aspect of this for a sec, we'd also liken 'em a bit to Captain Beyond (when they really get to riffin') and Iron Butterfly (there's some organ)... also, though, the Mamas And The Papas (the female vocals again, and classic '60s-ness) ... It's just one great song after another, moody -and- rockin', and that applies to the two bonus tracks here too, singles B-sides "Hazy Paradise" and "Mechanical Lover", the former of which you may recall was covered by Japanese psychsters Ghost on their Hypnotic Underworld album a few years back! Can we offer more of a recommendation than that?!
MPEG Stream: "Wild And Exciting"
MPEG Stream: "Ruby Is The One"
MPEG Stream: "Seasons"

ENDLESS ENDLESS ENDLESS Black Talisman (self released) cd-r + talisman 10.98
Debut release from this East Coast duo, who weave a dense swirl of softly rhythmic ambience, druggy dronemusic and abstract psychedelic space drift, utilizing a strange assemblage of instruments. Along with guitars, vocals and pedals, they also utilize a Gameboy, the result is not that far removed from the sounds of folks like Expo 70, Gnod, Sounding The Deep, Pulse Emitter and the like, but these guys describe their sound as "triumphant post-noise and stretched out bummer-wave", which translates to washed out expanses of skittery programmed rhythms, warm shimmery guitars, muted loops and subtle glitchery, everything raw and lo-fi but still lush and expansive, there are vocals, but they tend to be blurred into soft swirls of layered hum and whir, the sound is dreamlike and mediative, but not mellow, instead it's minimally propulsive and blissed out, sometimes slipping into full on Autechre-like skitter, but even then, the rhythms are set amidst dense layers of drone, disembodied melodies, hushed ethereal ambience, or tripped out soft noise. Cool, mysterious and definitely psychedelic, this is the perfect headphone drift soundtrack, or sounds for a rainy day lost wander, or music to help you achieve the next level, to leave your body and attain enlightenment, or to just put on and chill out.
SUPER LIMITED RUN, 53 tapes and 47 cd-r's, we only got the cd-r's, and each one comes bundled with a bad ass lazer etched black triangular talisman, that according to the band, will "bring you infinite power", and that Andee has been wearing since we first got these in!! (proof is here: http://twitpic.com/ya15g, http://twitpic.com/ya1cu)
MPEG Stream: "I Remember"
MPEG Stream: "Distortions"
MPEG Stream: "A Way"

EXPO 70 Galaxy Of Mysticism (Reverb Worship) cd-r 9.98
Another gloriously spaced out missive from one of our favorite purveyors of space-kraut-drone, Expo 70, aka Justin Wright, with occasional help from a small cadre of fellow sonic explorers. This one disappeared in no time, sold out in a flash, limited to 100 copies maybe. The label agreed to whip up another batch just for us, but once these are gone, you're out of luck, so grab one while you can, cuz it's another good'un. Then again, we've yet to experience a bad one from Wright.
Three tracks, three movements, each an extended part of Expo's Galaxy Of Mysticism, the parts named Altar Of Mystic Rites, Entrance To The Outer Circle, and Central Sphere Of The Mystical Galaxy, which should give you an idea of what sort of druggy, spacey, heart of the sun shit we're talking about here. Spiralling strands of guitar reach out into the warm whirling blackness, looped effects pulse and throb, the sound crystalline and delicate, but subtly ominous as well, hypnotic, mesmerizing, and dreamily psychedelic.
The second movement amps up the energy a little, a thick wash of whirring organ is the foundation, for high end squiggles and spidery melodies, the sound growing thicker and thicker, the underlying drone getting more and more dense, finally giving way to the closing movement, a swirling cloud of chordal swells, and layered shimmer, all held together by the simple pound of a drum machine, the track quickly growing more freaked out and psychedelic, lysergic leads stretching out amidst streaks of glitched out and swooping space FX, the guitars finally loosed and offering up heaving walls of crumbling doomic distortion. Heavy and spacey and divine.
Seriously transcendent spaced out kraut psych... and INSANELY LIMITED, these are the last copies ever, cool hand screened splatter sleeves with pasted on logo, and mini printed insert.
MPEG Stream: "Part I - Altar Of Mystic Rites"
MPEG Stream: "Part III - Central Sphere Of The Mystical Galaxy"

FEELIES Crazy Rhythms (Bar None) cd 14.98
We somehow missed out on the Feelies back in the day, but after years and years of hearing them namechecked we were pretty psyched to finally hear them, and we ended up liking them way more than we imagined. Heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground, and in turn, heavily influencing R.E.M., the feeling infused their post punk / indie rock / new wave, with as the title of their debut suggested, crazy rhythms, the drums tribal and super busy, while the guitars wove lush shimmery layered soundscapes behind the bands frantic, frenetic punkish pop. We actually hear a lot of Television in their sound as well, especially in the guitars.
Crazy Rhythms was the Feelies debut and would remain their defining record, opener "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness" seems to capture the jittery vibe of the band both in sound and in title, with the extra percussion (all four members played percussion), the lush tangly guitars, the subtle hooks, the whole record follows suit, with the vocals often spoken/sung, a la Velvet Underground or Jonathan Richman, and the closing song and title track seals the deal, all rubbery bass, skittery drums, loads of space, wrapped around almost twangy jangle and strum, the sound practically surfy, before the big anthemic outro. So good. Kicking ourselves for missing out, but heck, better late than never!
MPEG Stream: "The Boy With Perpetual Nervousness"
MPEG Stream: "Fa Ce La"
MPEG Stream: "Crazy Rhythms"

FEELIES Good Earth (Bar None) cd 14.98
We somehow missed out on the Feelies back in the day, but after years and years of hearing them namechecked we were pretty psyched to finally hear them, and we ended up liking them way more than we imagined. Heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground, and in turn, heavily influencing R.E.M., the feeling infused their post punk / indie rock / new wave, with as the title of their debut suggested, crazy rhythms, the drums tribal and super busy, while the guitars wove lush shimmery layered soundscapes behind the bands frantic, frenetic punkish pop. We actually hear a lot of Television in their sound as well, especially in the guitars.
Good Earth was the followup to the perhaps-impossible-to-top Crazy Rhythms, and the band made it no easier on themselves by altering their sound quite a bit, exploring more abstract sound structures, ditching the typical verse chorus verse arrangements, mellowing out a bit, slowing down, the only remnants of their more frantic sound being "The Last Roundup", with its flurry of fast picked notes and tumble of drum rolls to match, and the propulsive "Two Rooms", but for the most part the rest of the record is way dreamier, laid back, strummier and at times almost Grateful Dead sounding, but within these new song structures the band continued to explore and do amazing, and definitely un-pop things, strange guitar parts, lots of textural layered ambience, harmonies, all in all a pretty nice balance to the more intense debut. And while they did go on to make two more records, the first two remained the ones most folks considered their finest moments. And we'd have to agree.
MPEG Stream: "On The Roof"
MPEG Stream: "The High Road"
MPEG Stream: "The Last Roundup"

FREDRIK Na Na Ni (Kora) cd 11.98
Been meaning to stock and review the delightful debut album from this Swedish duo (who've recently expanded to a sextet) for quite some time! We've been snugly enveloped in its whimsical beauty ever since it was recommended to us by a kind aQ mailorder customer a number of months ago. Finally it's here! Fredrik is indeed the name of one of these fellows. You'll hear his lulling voice, guitar, piano and horns. Lindefelt is the other, and he entwines a glistening array of strings and shuffling, twinkling electronics. There are also some uncredited angelic female backing vocals that are the absolute whipped cream and cherry topping on this glorious musical confection. Together, they've made one of Cup's favorite albums of 2009... yeah, even though it was released in late 2008! Hey, you discover things when you discover them, right? From note one, you'll be swept off your feet! Filled with an air of wide-eyed innocence, hazy atmospheres, and daydreamy reflective moods, it's the perfect album for taking your little row boat out on the sun dappled lake for the day, setting it adrift, and leaving the oars at rest. A balance of songs and scapes, each track is its own mesmerizing folk-tinged journey. The title of the seventh number "Angora Sleepwalking" really captures the essence of this album. You may find Na Na Ni to be in some ways akin to the dream pop of Kings Of Convenience or The Notwist, but a bit more electronic than the former and somewhat more airy and pastoral than the latter. Or perhaps they're the long lost music box and wind-up toy festooned brethren of the Elephant Six collective, but with a bit more European flair and a bit less psychedelics? To boot, folks who dig Arcade Fire's lush emotiveness or Weakerthans' earnest sensitivities may also find Fredrik's vocals particularly appealing. That said, hopefully those references don't lead you astray because they definitely weave their own beautifully crafted enchanted magic... and it all sounds mighty good to us. Oh yes, very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Alina's Place"
MPEG Stream: "Ninkon Loops"
MPEG Stream: "11 Years"

FREDRIK Na Na Ni (Kora) lp 14.98
Been meaning to stock and review the delightful debut album from this Swedish duo (who've recently expanded to a sextet) for quite some time! We've been snugly enveloped in its whimsical beauty ever since it was recommended to us by a kind aQ mailorder customer a number of months ago. Finally it's here! Fredrik is indeed the name of one of these fellows. You'll hear his lulling voice, guitar, piano and horns. Lindefelt is the other, and he entwines a glistening array of strings and shuffling, twinkling electronics. There are also some uncredited angelic female backing vocals that are the absolute whipped cream and cherry topping on this glorious musical confection. Together, they've made one of Cup's favorite albums of 2009... yeah, even though it was released in late 2008! Hey, you discover things when you discover them, right? From note one, you'll be swept off your feet! Filled with an air of wide-eyed innocence, hazy atmospheres, and daydreamy reflective moods, it's the perfect album for taking your little row boat out on the sun dappled lake for the day, setting it adrift, and leaving the oars at rest. A balance of songs and scapes, each track is its own mesmerizing folk-tinged journey. The title of the seventh number "Angora Sleepwalking" really captures the essence of this album. You may find Na Na Ni to be in some ways akin to the dream pop of Kings Of Convenience or The Notwist, but a bit more electronic than the former and somewhat more airy and pastoral than the latter. Or perhaps they're the long lost music box and wind-up toy festooned brethren of the Elephant Six collective, but with a bit more European flair and a bit less psychedelics? To boot, folks who dig Arcade Fire's lush emotiveness or Weakerthans' earnest sensitivities may also find Fredrik's vocals particularly appealing. That said, hopefully those references don't lead you astray because they definitely weave their own beautifully crafted enchanted magic... and it all sounds mighty good to us. Oh yes, very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Alina's Place"
MPEG Stream: "Ninkon Loops"
MPEG Stream: "11 Years"

GARGAUD, GUILLAUME Here (Kvist Records) cd 12.98
At this point, the idea of "improvised guitar and electronics" (what it says here) elicits a bit of a ho-hum reaction from us. Heard it before, we think. Do we need more of that noise? But, in the case of French guitarist Guillaume Gargaud, it's still pretty worthwhile of an idea. We hadn't heard him previously (despite his having a recent recording on AQ fave label Utech, somehow we missed that one!). But we're glad we checked out his new disc, released on the same label that previously brought us the cosmic New Age electronics of J.D. Emmanuel (via archival release Solid Dawn: Electronic Works 1979-1982).
Portions of this are certainly dreamily deep space sounding enough to fit in with that. The nine tracks here in fact range from truly intense, dramatic drone, like the ominous opening cut "Seve Brute" (which reminds us of Darsombra or an "isolationist" Expo 70) to purely acoustic, post-Takoma wanderings more akin to James Blackshaw or Steffen Basho-Junghans ("Aedeiinae"). Though there's heavy moments, many of the tracks are ultimately gentle, vaguely glitchy, sometimes soothingly rhythmic, mostly drifting... all quite nice. Turns out there's still lots of good & not TOO abstract results possible with ye olde improvised guitar and electronics, why did we doubt it?
MPEG Stream: "Seve Brute"
MPEG Stream: "Traces Du Temps"
MPEG Stream: "Tache De Suie"

GOLDEN RETRIEVER s/t (Root Strata) cd-r 9.98
We won't go into too much detail with this as it's limited to a mere 100 copies and odds are will be sold out or nearly so by the time you're reading this.
Golden Retriever is the duo of Matt Carlson, from Bonus, who we've raved about in the past, along with multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Sielaff, the two use synthesizer and bass clarinet to evoke images of some dystopian future, or the streets of some dying city, the synths buzz and rumble, whir and thrum, the clarinet soars and sings lyrically, subtly intertwined with the synth buzz, the two occasionally falling together perfectly, creating a thick swath of ominous sound. The clarinet flutter and flits, occasionally slipping into some abstract jazziness, other times offering counterpoint for the synths' low end melodic buzz, or unfurling long long Niblockian tones, which is when GR sound the best, when the synth and clarinet are locked into longform stretches of near static sound, tense and intense, minimal and mysterious.
Gorgeous packaging, elaborately folded vellum sleeve, with the full color disc visible from within, and a small printed insert. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES.
MPEG Stream: "False Start"
MPEG Stream: "Canonic Horizon"

GRODY, DANNY PAUL Fountain (Root Strata) cd 12.98
First proper solo record from this core member of SF post rockers Tarentel, as well as the mastermind behind another post rock combo we dig, the even dreamier The Drift.
Fountain is simply fantastic, a subtle and varied affair, that dips into various sounds and moods, with acoustic and electric guitars as the main instrumentation, although the guitars are augmented by melodica, keyboard, bow, voice, and of course, rain.
The sounds here are delicate and crystalline, lush and warm, dreamy and sun dappled, deftly fingerpicked abstract Appalachia, gives way to melancholic folk, chamber music drifts into thick layered dronemusic, hushed one second, exuberant and joyful the next, a gorgeous, ever shifting songsuite, that definitely harkens back to classic seventies folk music, but is infused with the more abstract home brewed abstract bedroom dronemusic of today, as well as nods to the post rock that informs so much of the music Grody plays.
Totally blissful and dreamy, from the hushed opener, simply strummed guitars, and slow shifting overtones, to the spare finger picked beauty of "Well Wisher", that gradually blossoms into a sunshiney bit of glimmery instrumental dream pop, to the pop ambient haze of "Covered Mirrors", to the sprawling "Eve", a gorgeous folk flecked steel string work out, interrupted part way by a gorgeous cloud of lush shimmering whir, to the dark, muted, blurred guitarscape that makes up the record's closer "Finding Time", notes suspended in space, tones drawn out into extended humming soft focus drones, little melodic fragments chiming in the distance, all moving glacially through a sepia toned haze. So so lovely.
MPEG Stream: "Dawn"
MPEG Stream: "Four Years"
MPEG Stream: "Route 1"
MPEG Stream: "Hungry / Haunted"

GRONG GRONG To Hell 'N' Back (Memorandum / Abberant) cd+dvd 19.98
We are SO PSYCHED that this has finally been reissued. Back in the eighties there was an amazing punk/noise rock scene happening in Australia, Lubricated Goat, King Snake Roost, the Kryptonics and of course Grong Grong, and it seems like the Memorandum label has been started up with the sole purpose of rescuing those classic sounds from obscurity. There is a double disc Lubricated Goat reissue coming soon, which will most likely be a Record Of The Week, the catchy Kryptonics record is reviewed elsewhere on this week's list, we've emailed the label asking them to please please please reissue the King Snake Roost records, which brings us to Grong Grong, Australia's answer to Killdozer, or maybe Flipper. Originally released on Alternative Tentacles, the record is fleshed out here with a ton of bonus tracks, live tracks, and even a dvd with amazing archival footage of the band! But you say, why should we care?
Grong Grong was born on a whim, named for a small Australian town, that one of the members just happened to be passing through, when he got home, he decided he had to start a band, and it had to be called Grong Grong. And apparently the simple approach of asking folks "Do you want to be in a band called Grong Grong?" was enough, and soon, Grong Grong were playing shows and making records. Or at least a record, and what a record, filthy, grimey, noisy, raw, primitive, pounding, chaotic, punk as fuck, a little post punk, a little new wave, crunchy angular guitars, throbbing low slung bass, wild drumming, and big bellowed vocals drenched in reverb, the band locking into a single riff, and working it and pounding away, the guitar spiraling off into weird little tangles while the bass and drums stayed locked into their groove, and the vocals swooped all over the place, the delay sending the grunts and growls careening from speaker to speaker. Not sure how these guys ended up on AT (well, Jello was a big fan), seems like they might have been just as at home on AmRep, where most of the other bands from this scene ended up.
Hardly matters, this is some awesome classic Aussie weirdo noise punk, and it sounds as good as it ever did, and listening to this now, it's shocking how many young bands are aping these guys big time, whether they realized it or not. Swampy, bluesy, woozy, psychedelic, lurching, lumbering, sloppy and loose, but so goddamn good, and those vocals, totally pushing all those same Killdozer buttons, but these guys were way more minimal, all about mood and texture and vibe, not parts, not verses and choruses, they sort of just launched into a song and kept going until it ground to a halt, or the band collapsed into a heap only to stumble into the next track, which is evidenced by the bonus DVD which features tons of old recordings, even their very first show, and even back then they were a serious force to be reckoned with. Seems like we already have a contender for reissue of the year and it's only January, only possibility of it getting knocked out of the running, is if those Lubricated Goat or King Snake Roost reissues materialize, and more than likely all three will rank in the top ten, but for now, this is THEE shit.
MPEG Stream: "Grong Grong"
MPEG Stream: "Angels & Demons"
MPEG Stream: "Club Grotesque"
MPEG Stream: "Black Hell"

HALLOWED BUTCHERY Funeral Rites For The Living (Vendetta) cd 14.98
With a name like Hallowed Butchery, we had a good idea of what was in store. Then we saw the cover art, not necessarily metal looking if you weren't expecting such, and the touching dedication of Funeral Rites For The Living to HB overlord Ryan Fairfield's wife and daughter. That seemed to soften up our expectations. Then we actually listened to Hallowed Butchery. And, um, yeah, this is some filthy as fuck, abject, miserable, doom-laden metal, blackened for sure but not "black metal" per se, and however you want to define it, just plain VILE! The sounds are so insanely heavy that it's like things are going to be pulled into a black hole where they will remain swirling about in perpetual negativity. The vocals are a harsh, guttural gurgle, scary and forceful but buried in the mix as another layer of sound, sometimes sounding a bit like a guy getting ready to puke up his innards. At the same time, there are many moments on here that are just plain beautiful, especially when Fairfield strums out some dolorous tunes on his acoustic guitar. The sadness on display is no doubt genuine, and the lyrics follow a path of hopelessness and despair. Reading them alongside the aforementioned dedication, as well as the heartfelt thank you list, makes it clear that Fairfield is someone with a realistic view on the woes of this world, which is always a cool thing in a scene where everyone is trying to put on some phony air of being "evil". Fuck that. This stuff also has a pronounced industrial vibe, offering a sonic beatdown that will surely appeal to fans of groups like Gnaw Their Tongues, Human Quena Orchestra, and Nekrasov. The super dense, crushing doomscapes conjure up some post-industrial meltdown, and the electronic ambience gives things a very disconcerting feeling, sometimes sounding a bit like some of Current 93's more recent work actually. Then, after getting your ass handed to you on a platter, Fairfield brings things down a notch with a GORGEOUS cover of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush," so SO awesome, not to mention pretty much completely unexpected. Things are pretty straightforward, at least until it becomes the first doom metal Neil Young cover that we know of. Suppose we shouldn't be surprised at this point, but one man projects like this always get us; how could one dude be responsible for such a thick slab of concentrated negativity? Dunno, but this is definitely hitting the spot.
MPEG Stream: "A Wake For The Human Race"
MPEG Stream: "Pantheon Enthroned"
MPEG Stream: "Great North Woods"
MPEG Stream: "After The Gold Rush"

HALLOWED BUTCHERY Funeral Rites For The Living (Vendetta) lp 24.00
With a name like Hallowed Butchery, we had a good idea of what was in store. Then we saw the cover art, not necessarily metal looking if you weren't expecting such, and the touching dedication of Funeral Rites For The Living to HB overlord Ryan Fairfield's wife and daughter. That seemed to soften up our expectations. Then we actually listened to Hallowed Butchery. And, um, yeah, this is some filthy as fuck, abject, miserable, doom-laden metal, blackened for sure but not "black metal" per se, and however you want to define it, just plain VILE! The sounds are so insanely heavy that it's like things are going to be pulled into a black hole where they will remain swirling about in perpetual negativity. The vocals are a harsh, guttural gurgle, scary and forceful but buried in the mix as another layer of sound, sometimes sounding a bit like a guy getting ready to puke up his innards. At the same time, there are many moments on here that are just plain beautiful, especially when Fairfield strums out some dolorous tunes on his acoustic guitar. The sadness on display is no doubt genuine, and the lyrics follow a path of hopelessness and despair. Reading them alongside the aforementioned dedication, as well as the heartfelt thank you list, makes it clear that Fairfield is someone with a realistic view on the woes of this world, which is always a cool thing in a scene where everyone is trying to put on some phony air of being "evil". Fuck that. This stuff also has a pronounced industrial vibe, offering a sonic beatdown that will surely appeal to fans of groups like Gnaw Their Tongues, Human Quena Orchestra, and Nekrasov. The super dense, crushing doomscapes conjure up some post-industrial meltdown, and the electronic ambience gives things a very disconcerting feeling, sometimes sounding a bit like some of Current 93's more recent work actually. Then, after getting your ass handed to you on a platter, Fairfield brings things down a notch with a GORGEOUS cover of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush," so SO awesome, not to mention pretty much completely unexpected. Things are pretty straightforward, at least until it becomes the first doom metal Neil Young cover that we know of. Suppose we shouldn't be surprised at this point, but one man projects like this always get us; how could one dude be responsible for such a thick slab of concentrated negativity? Dunno, but this is definitely hitting the spot.
MPEG Stream: "A Wake For The Human Race"
MPEG Stream: "Pantheon Enthroned"
MPEG Stream: "Great North Woods"
MPEG Stream: "After The Gold Rush"

HANGING GARDEN How Will You Live Your Life Today? (Self Mutilation Services) cd 9.98
This just might be the prettiest depressive black metal record you'll ever hear. Featuring Morbid from Happy Days on drums, this trio unfurls gorgeously melancholy soft focus landscapes of crystalline guitar chime, warm washed out distortion, simple skeletal drumming, everything super melodic and dreamy, the sound gauzy and blurred, the vocals the only thing that really make this truly black metal, without them, How Will You Live Your Life Today? would sound more like some shoegazey indie pop record, all shimmery and minor key, minimal and utterly poppy, loping, meandering, jangly softly buzzing doom pop, but the vocals, hysterically shrieking one second, growling raspily the next, definitely add some pathos to the prettiness, which is definitely the point. The band sing about love, and heartbreak, misery and abandonment, loneliness and breakups, and the music perfectly captures that feeling, the sort of hopefulness lurking behind every heartbreak, the sadness inherent in giving your heart away, thus the music is pretty and sweet and poppy, while the vocals are tortured and anguished. It's a strange combination, but after a few listens, it's hard to imagine the music without the vocals, the sweet without the sour, the light without the dark.
Should definitely appeal to folks who dig stuff like Lifelover, Toil, Hypothermia, and others who dare to infuse their black metal with jangle and hooks and heart.
MPEG Stream: "Only In My Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Under The Hanging Vines"
MPEG Stream: "Somewhere In My Heart"

HEADS, THE Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive (Invada / Rocket Records) 2lp 28.00
NOW AVAILABLE AS A SWANK DOUBLE LP!!! Doubtless somewhat limited, took us a while to get any...
What we said when we reviewed the now AWOL cd version back in 2008: Hailing from Bristol, England, the ultra-powerful power quartet (formerly a trio) known so appropriately as The Heads are here to freak you out again. We've been waiting for, like, three years for a new full-length album from these guys, who are just about our favorite heavy-psych-stoner-garage-rawk band currently existing in this blessed world. Under The Stress Of A Headlong Dive is finally here and we are NOT disappointed. Totally chuffed is more like it.
This, their seventh album, contains 19 new tracks, some of them weird under-a-minute droning FX interludes, others fuzz-fueled manic marathons lasting upwards of a quarter hour. Oh god the fuzz! This is some heavy, heavily distorted wailing swirling insanity indeed. Comets On Fire can't even compare. You have to go to Japan, maybe, and stick your head right next to the amps of a band like High Rise or Mainliner to approximate The Heads' in-the-red, pedals-to-the-metal, flyin' high, inner eye stare down acid energy sound. But we also have to imagine that they think of themselves as a pop band of sorts. The Fall would be one reference (the vocals do remind us of Mark E. Smith). And the Stooges were a pop band too, let's remember, and along with Hawkwind must be one of The Heads biggest sources of inspiration. But The Heads ain't a retro act, this is future/now rock action we're glad to be around to witness (on disc, that is, never seen 'em live but would love to!!).
Punkishly menacing and kind of metallic (with bongos, though!), or spacey and mantric, this never lets up and never gets dull. Over the course of 72 minutes they always seem to have a new trick up their sleeves, or a new pedal to step on... all heads should agree that The Heads have outdone themselves with this one!!
MPEG Stream: "Earth / Sun"
MPEG Stream: ""Pass, The Void""
MPEG Stream: "Return Of The Bemmie"

HERMAN'S ROCKET (JEAN-PIERRE MASSIERA) Space Woman (Mucho Gusto) lp 21.00
Wow, when we reviewed those two J.P. Massiera Psychoses compilations, a couple of years back, we somehow assumed that this eccentric French producer recorded so prolifically under so many monikers that many of the groups (especially the space disco ones) were probably just single releases and not complete full length albums. Well, the Mucho Gusto label has proven us wrong once again, by reissuing the full length albums of both Venus Gang and Herman's Rocket, two of the zaniest freakout space disco-funk outfits that Massiera ever created. Commissioned in 1977 and 1978 by an Italian producer to jump on the European Space Disco craze, Massiera teamed up with his half-brother, Bernard Torelli and the singers Mickey and Joyce to create these two amazing groups. Amazing also in the sense that while he used what is basically a cookie-cutter disco template (he blatantly borrows lots from American funk and disco - but really who didn't? And at least he borrows well!), he managed to create such a crazy, unique sound with lots of Moogs, strange vocal effects and lots of spacey noises and sounds. Considered too crazy at the time for marketable appeal (check out the great covers!), both records have gained a cult following over the years and sound so good right now especially with all the modern throwbacks of Italo-disco trying to sound like this, these two groups are by far way freakier and so worth your time. We're curious if all of Massiera's disco incarnations released full length albums, and if we'll be soon gifted with reissues of The Human Egg, Sex Convention and The Starlights too. Here's hoping!
Both albums were only reissued on vinyl, not on cd, but do come with mp3 download cards!
MPEG Stream: "Space Woman"

HOME BLITZ O.ut O.f P.hase (Richie) lp 16.98
This recent aQ Record Of the Week, now available on vinyl!!!
Another out of left field record that just knocked our blocks off. Not sure what we were expecting, something super noisy and fucked up actually, but what we got was some totally irresistible sloppy chaotic garage power pop, that actually sort of ends up sounding a bit like noise rock guys unleashing their inner power pop demons. Before we go any further though, listen to the first sound sample, "Two Steps", we'll wait...
Man that song destroys, some of you have probably already added this to your cart, heck, that's what we would have done, there's no resisting that one, easily THE pop jam of the year, we've literally listened to that song about 50 times in the last week, so much that it wasn't until a couple days ago that we finally listened to that whole record, which thankfully revealed a whole 'nother bunch of killer pop chaos, not to mention some even more chaotic off kilter noisiness.
Let's talk about that song first, it's definitely the best song on the record, and we would gladly pay $14 for a one sided single with JUST that song, it's pretty much the most perfect pop song we've heard in forever, with wild almost cracking vocals, some incredible riffing, including a weird slippery almost slide part that gives us chills every time, sloppy drumming, and a killer tempo shift part way through that's just fucking perfect. And the hook, that song has been stuck in our head non stop since the first time we heard it.
But after you get it out of your system and listen to it 20 or 20 or 50 times, the rest of the record will reveal itself as a pretty much non stop kick ass punky power pop gem, like some eighties pop record transported through time. but on the way it got all tangled up in the slipstream with some random noise and garage rock records and emerged like, well, THIS.
"Other Side Of The Street" is a short sharp ultra distorted pop jam, with a punky frame but laced with all sorts of amazing hooky guitar melodies, "Route 18" (after the 3 minutes of near silence that is "Live Outside") is total bubblegum FM radio pop, but all twisted up and tweaked, and just like the other tracks, it's the extra guitar that turns it into something super special, adding some super rad melodic filigree. It's hard to not hear some Guided By Voices and other purveyors of lo-fi pop, but this isn't traditionally lo-fi, it doesn't sound muddy and 4-tracky and much as it just sound ramshackle and haphazard, and if there are hints of those other lo-fi rockers, these guys definitely make it their own, plus there's the weird extra noisy parts which manage to fit perfectly, not disrupting the flow at all, rather highlighting the subtle noisiness in the poppiest tracks, while hiding some serious poppery within the various layers of crunch and howl, the angular no-wave opener "Nest Of Vipers", with its sampled broken glass, fucked-with tape speed, mumbled vocals, super blown out drumming, and dreamy hushed detuned piano backward outro, "A Different Touch" is super in-the-red, the drums so distorted they sound like bursts of radio static, the guitars practically melting, but the whole thing wrapped around some killer hooks, with amazing guitar melodies, an impossibly noise drenched murk-pop blow out, and that's basically the magic of Home Blitz, the practically perfect pop is infused with noise and on the verge of total implosion, while the fucked up noise jams are infused with pop, threatening to shed the noise completely and explode into another burst of wild eyed power pop. If these guys went in a real studio and spent a fortune, it's almost possible to imagine them getting huge, but smooth out the rough edges and it just wouldn't be the same band.
Absolutely killer noisepop, and yet another record to add to our year end faves list...
MPEG Stream: "Two Steps"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Talk To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Other Side Of The Street"
MPEG Stream: "Is Anybody There?"

JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER Ballads Of The Revolution (Fire) cd 15.98
Your first impulse might be to assume that the title of JOMF's new record, Ballads Of The Revolution, was not meant to be taken literally, but in some weird way, these six tracks are indeed balladic, albeit in a distinctly Jackie-O style, opening with a traditional, and following that with a Lucky Dragons cover, before getting to the originals, but right out of the gate, the sound is drifty and dreamy, slide guitars slippery over warm reverbed twang, deep crooned vocals, brushed drums, all hazy and rainy afternoon sounding. The Lucky Dragons cover is all skittery percussion and muted bleated horns, as well as the soft honeyed vocals of Honey Owens aka Valet, now seemingly a full time Motherfucker. The song gets gradually more and more dense and clattery, eventually morphing into something distinctly noisy and chaotic and not at all ballad-like.
The four originals also veer away from ballad territory, but not entirely, the vocals in the first original are quite prominent, soaring in a cloud of soft reverb, over an almost krautlike groove, wrapped in a Spacemen 3 like haze, the following track, is all mumbled vox over spacey FX, and drum machine skitter, total druggy trip out drift, before another spacekraut jam that finds the band getting a little Hawkwindy, the vocals again heavily effected, drifting through space, while the band lock into a serious psychrock fuzz guitar groove, before finally finishing off with another sort-of-ballad, Appalachian guitar, simple lilting vocals, lovely female background vox, fuzzy minimal leads, very much like some lost seventies acid folk jam, gorgeous stuff.
MPEG Stream: "The Valley Of Fire"
MPEG Stream: "The Grave"

JONES, REV. JOHNNY L. HURRICANE Jesus Christ From A to Z (Parlortone) lp 16.98
We've been loving us some hell-fire Gospel tunes lately, thanks especially to Tompkins Square's Fire in My Bones triple cd threat and of course the granddaddy of all Gospel collections, Dust to Digital's Goodbye Babylon box set. So we're extra excited about this release coming from Parlortone, the vinyl arm of Dust to Digital. While this is not a Gospel Music recording per se, the figure at this center of this recording, The Rev. Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones was a popular Gospel singer in the sixties and seventies, but he was even more well-known for his sermons, and since 1960 has recorded many of them on reel-to-reel and cassette tape. He still preaches in Atlanta to this day at the age of 73! So this record is a collection of some of his best sermons including the 13 minute title track, Jesus Christ from A-Z which he preaches in alphabetical verse. But what makes these sermons stand out is the sounds of the choir and his congregation responding with Amens, whooops, shouts, and Hallelujahs. Even if you are not religiously inclined, just the field recording quality of the sounds makes it amazingly worthwhile.

KHI DARAG s/t (Zorastor) cd ep 10.98
Awesome new group from the Bay Area who channel international psych of years past to create some totally engaging and undeniably fun sounds. We're lucky to have so many amazing bands and musicians in San Francisco and we're even luckier that many of them are customers of ours. So it's always cool to see what lots of our favorite music makers in town are listening to and checking out when they swing by the store. And not that we've been spying but every time Max Balaoin (one of the master minds of Khi Darag) has come into the store over the last couple years it was hard not to notice how fast he'd make a beeline to the '70s Turkish Psychedelia section, as well as always seemingly after left of center sounds from across the globe circa late '60s and '70s.
With a band that features folks from groups like Rube Wadell, Rupa & The April Fishes, Charming Hostess, Lord Loves A Working Man and even the SF Mime Troupe, these extremely talented musicians have taken those international psych sounds from years past and brought in their own elements of surf rock, klezmer, and soundtracks to create music that is pretty impossible not to move to.
Much like Dengue Fever they use their influences from the past with total respect and love and it comes out in the sounds that they create. They also have a bit of a suspenseful undertone to their aesthetic which makes us think this is exactly the kind of band Mike Patton or John Zorn would want playing at their wedding with a dancefloor of weirdos having the time of their life. So fun!
MPEG Stream: "Mastom Mastom"
MPEG Stream: "Nostalgia"
MPEG Stream: "The Silk Road"

KRIG I HUDIK s/t (Feral Ward) 7" 4.98
There are three types of folks who will want one of these. Fans of the Brainbombs, which makes sense, considering the fact that Krig I Hudik includes two of Brainbombs amongst their ranks. Or fans of classic Finnish punk, as in anyone who bought that rad Finnish Punk boxset we listed a while back, or anyone super into bands like Totalitar (who coincidentally also count some Brainbombs as members), and of course, the folks who are both. Which we would guess is a lot of you.
Krig I Hudak jam 10 tracks onto this 7", a head caving, ear splitting barrage of snarling, crusty, pounding, thrashing, late seventies / early eighties style Finnish punk rock, blown out and heavy, practice space drums buried in a haze of crunchy riffs and bellowed vocals (even some strange chant-like backup vox now and again), super hooky and anthemic, raw and intense and totally kick ass, from midtempo grind, to frenzied chaotic thrashing, the majority of these tracks are in fact covers of super obscure punk rock bands from back in the day, who hail from the same hometown as Krig I Hudik, although two are originals, but you might not ever know it.
Folks looking for purely misanthropic dirgey sludge, a la the Brainbombs, might be a bit disappointed, but for the rest of you, in the market for some bad ass blasting punk rock, and filthy furious Finnish crush, this shit is unbeatable.
Super swank sleeves, printed inserts with lyrics, LIMITED TO 500 copies, seemingly already out of print at the label!

KRYPTONICS Rejectionville (Memorandum / Reverberation) 2cd 16.98
We're flipping out a little over this new Memorandum label, a reissue label dedicated to an era of Australian underground rock that we've been obsessed with for years, Lubricated Goat, King Snake Roost, Grong Grong (reviewed elsewhere on this week's list), the Hard-Ons, the Triffids, Radio Birdman, the list goes on.
We had never actually heard the Kryptonics before, but did know that members of the Kryptonics went on to play in Radio Birdman, the Hard-Ons, and most exciting for us, Lubricated Goat! But the sound of the Kryptonics was not nearly as noisy or punk, they were more a sort of garage pop combo, who listening to this now definitely remind us of the Hoodoo Gurus, or the Lime Spiders, albeit a bit more raw and rough around the edges. But holy crap could these guys write songs, a bunch of the tracks here are incredible and sound like could have been / should have been hits, in fact the whole first disc is pretty much super catchy, super rocking, kick ass punk pop through and through, so much so that a bunch of these sound like we MUST have heard them before. The second disc is mostly live and odds and ends, but live these guys definitely kicked ass, and there's an awesome cover of The Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet"!
Comes with a massive booklet, tons of liner notes, photos, flyers, etc. Anyone into garage rock of ANY stripe will definitely dig this stuff if they're not familiar with these guys already, and for anyone into the new breed of garage rockers, and noise poppers, check out the Kryptonics, even if it's just to realize that the NEW sound is not nearly so new after all...
MPEG Stream: "She's Got Germs"
MPEG Stream: "Dare"
MPEG Stream: "Telephone Line"
MPEG Stream: "Rejectionville"

LEECHES OF LORE s/t (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
MeteorCity have been KILLING lately, so many amazing releases, Freedom Hawk, Village Of Dead Roads, Egypt, Ararat, Flood, WhiteBuzz (reviewed elsewhere on this week's list) and now these guys, the weirdly named Leeches Of Lore, who just might be the weirdest Southern style stoner rock band EVER. And in fact, they're only barely stoner rock, hey're definitely heavy, and definitely rock. More metal in fact, but their sound is all over the place, especially Southern / classic rock. The record opens with a thrashing pounding metallic jam with full on old school Metallica style riffing, super high Ozzy-ish vocals, seriously fierce. As is the next track, although it gets a little bit stonery, with some bad ass stop start riffing, like a hyped up super charged Deep Purple or Thin Lizzy or something, but then all of sudden the band busts out with a stange acoustic interlude, all steel string guitar, and soulful twang flecked croon, only to slowly mutate into some sort of Southern rock, evntually building back to the original riffing that started the song.
And that seems to be where the band are coming from, they have a distinctly Western sounding almost country thing going on, and then a full on super heavy classic stoner rock side, and they're not at all shy abut flitting back and forth, or cramming the two sounds together. "Cenozoic Death Waltz" is almost entirely an old timey country waltz, but then the metal guitars come in, and it turns into something else, a sort of classic hard rock, and then those high vocals come in, and the band is full on heavy metal parking lot, crusing down the highway, drinking beer, heavy metal RAWK.
The mellower twangier parts can sound like Lynrd Skynrd, the Eagles, the Outlaws, but the band always end up transforming that sound into something way heavier and more metallic.
The title track is like their "Freebird" or "Green Grass And High Tides Forever", with its slow country build, chugging riffs giving way to a seriously dense bit of psychedelic heaviness, a little mathy, and a lot proggy, so good.
The whole record is basically a bad ass Southern rock, stoner metal hybrid, with plenty of little oddball bits mixed in, like the last two songs, the croony almost acapella "Western Skies" and the minute plus closer "Why, Toe-Bot?", a short sharp blast of metallic madness that sounds quite a bit like Nitro, and yeah, THAT Nitro.
Another killer from MeteorCity...
MPEG Stream: "Macrochelys Temminckii"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Raptor"
MPEG Stream: "Black Cognac"
MPEG Stream: "Leeches Of Lore"

LEGEND Anthology (Forged In Fire / Rockadrome) 2cd 14.98
Yay, back in print, this cult heavy metal reissue, reviewed here back in 2002!
Legend were an awesome, if obscure NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, pronounced n'wobim) band that never got a major label deal (in the liner notes, mention is made of the band watching helplessly as mediocre London bands got signed while bands like themselves from other parts of Britain are ignored - well, maybe they should have moved to London!! ever think of that, guys?). But, their lack of success really was a bit unfair, as a listen to this double cd, containing their entire output - two LPs, a 4 song ep, and a demo, spanning the years '81 through '83 - shows them to be a damn fine heavy metal act indeed! Heavy, catchy stuff with much frantic axe action and folky, somewhat Ozzy-ish vox. That, plus doomy, politically themed lyrics, various '70s sounding songwriting eccentricities (occasional acoustic guitars, folk melodies, lengthy instrumental riff-outs, some prog-pop moves on their second LP), and a charmingly lo-fi production make 'em come across kinda like Angel Witch meets Manilla Road. In other words, pretty cool and very cult. Twenty+ years on, they've lived up to their name!
And interestingly, in this day and age of black metal 'evilness', it's interesting to remember that metal is not necessarily PRO-war and violence (even if it's *about* war and violence). Indeed, along with bands like Megadeth, Nuclear Assault and Anthrax, Legend spoke out against the dangerous arms race and superpower militarism of the Cold War era. Now with today's worries about WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction), Legend demonstrate continued relevance. Heck, they even do a catchy little number entitled "Anthrax Attack".
And giving this another listen now, we're also struck by how much, despite its early '80s not early '70s vintage, some of this might appeal to fans of retro-proto-metallers Witchcraft...
MPEG Stream: "Torture"
MPEG Stream: "Hiroshima"
MPEG Stream: "Death In The Nursery"

LIGHT Worse Than Anyone Would Have Expected (self-released) cd-r 11.98
Third and final release from this depressive black doom duo, and it's a fitting epitaph to a short but brilliant streak. Three super limited cd-r's, less than 200 all told, each one overflowing with blackened misery and gorgeous harrowing sonic blackness, the first, titled A Million Dead Beneath The Ice, gave way to the second, titled Life Is Meaningless & Goes On Forever, which brings us to Worse Than Anyone Would Have Expected, which should give you a decent impression of the overall vibe and tone of Light's distinctly UN-light sound.
Three looooooong tracks, thick caustic layers of buzzing low end drone, sparsely strummed acoustic guitar, shrieked vocals way down in the mix, funereal, glacial, miserable, not even plodding as there seems to be no drums, or if they are there, they're practically inaudible. The melodies are lilting and melancholic, there's some piano, the rumbling buzzing backdrop seems to coalesce into some sort of melody, the whole thing lurching in slow motion, grim, and dense, and miserably and mournfully lovely. Totally hypnotic .
The second track offers up more of the same, another lovely black expanse of pointillist piano, harrowing screams, and slow swells of black buzz, before finally segueing into the epic closing track, a formula similar to the first two, but somehow even slower, more abject, more ambient, so slow and spaced out and minimal, that it nearly ceases being metal or doom and is transformed into some sort of black ambient slowcore, a haunting doomic creep, that to these ears is as pretty as it is grim and harsh.
LIMITED TO ONLY 50 COPIES. Gorgeous packaging, black on black, black disc, elaborately folded sleeve with a black on black printed obi, super fancy, and most likely gone before you know it...
MPEG Stream: "The City"
MPEG Stream: "Again"

LOPEZ, FRANCISCO Machines (Elevator Bath) 2cd 17.98
"Industrial Music for Industrial People," well that was a tagline that Monte Cazzazza used to 'brand' Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records, who intended the slogan to be an expression of going beyond the 'agricultural music' which came before. Some 30 years later, and the meaning of Industrial Music has gone through numerous permutations, some of which are quite reprehensible. Yet, that transition from the 'agricultural' into the 'industrial' ethos could be apt for this body of work from the self-proclaimed purveyor of 'absolute' music, Francisco Lopez. It's all machines, all the time for this 2cd set of recordings; and he's clearly building upon the techniques he had used during his seminal recordings of natural sounds such as La Selva or Wind. Yes, yes, yes, Lopez *has* used mechanical sounds throughout his body of work, so the Industrial Records metaphor might not be an exact fit. But it's close enough.
"Klokken" is the first piece on Machines, built out of recordings collected from large collections of clocks from the Netherlands. His piece is a bright collage that overlays the precise motors and machinations found within each of those machines. As these flywheels spin and gears click, the regularity of these repetitions is surprisingly uneven, perhaps as a metaphoric explanation as why time can be a relative construct with the machines pushing time forwards and backwards ever so slightly. Whether intentional or not, this piece has a considerable aesthetic similarity to Ligeti's Poeme
Symphonique, composed strictly through metronomes. It ends with 6 minutes of silence, just because that's the way Lopez is. "Fahstuhle" is more of a typical Lopez construction with the sources culled from various elevators in Germany, as the elliptical hisses and tension-based drones from the elevator cables emerge as the fundamental sound construction that Lopez punctuates with various resonant clangs and motorized ruptures. The source material to "Labs" should be somewhat self-evident, with resonant frequencies captured from large-scale institutional devices of unknown origin and pressurized aerations. Compositionally, this is again a signature Lopez piece, focussed upon the gradual acceleration and occultation of his sounds, with grandiose bursts of sustained energy. "Fabrikas" finds Lopez indulging in the fineries of chocolate and beer factories, all the while taking time to make some field recordings. At first, it seems like a reprise of the mechanical whirlings of the clock piece, but as he builds the layers with greater density, this piece grows into a huge mass of rasping buzz and accreted white noise. Excellent!
After so many years at the turn of the millennium of high caliber records, Lopez has been floundering recently. Machines is a welcome exception finding Lopez once again at the height of his game.
MPEG Stream: "Klokken"
MPEG Stream: "Fahstuhle"
MPEG Stream: "Labs"
MPEG Stream: "Fabrikas"

MIDORIKAWA, KEIKI Complete 'Grune Revolution' (Doubtmusic) 2cd 29.00
Attention Masayuki Takayanagi fans! Actually, attention all '70s Japanese free jazz fans!! Heck, attention everybody!!! (Well, everybody who likes crazy creative freeform improv skronkiness.)
Doubtmusic brings us this compact disc reissue of a 1976 album by Japanese improvising cellist/bassist Keiki Midorikawa playing with several heavy friends, nicely packaged of course, in a miniature LP style sleeve. Actually, it's more than a reissue, as this double cd edition has been expanded twofold to include previously unissued music. The original LP documented Midorikawa's duo with legendary guitarist Takayanagi on one side, and his duo with pianist Masahiko Sato on the other side, about 20 minutes each. But at the same concert, Midorikawa had also performed a duo with percussionist Mashaiko Togashi, the 40 minute recording of which appears here for the first time, as disc one of what's now a two disc set, which is why it's now considered "Complete". Additionally, it's been remastered, and includes both the liner notes from the original vinyl release as well as new liners penned by Taku Sugimoto. Perhaps they explain why all the titles are given in what appears to be German, we don't know though, we haven't read 'em yet.
Since we came to this primarily as Takayanagi fans, naturally we jumped right to disc two to hear his contribution to this set. The Midorikawa/Takayanagi duo, entitled "An die Prinzessin die aus dem Maulbeerbaum geboren wurde", is crammed with plinking and plonking, scrabble and scrape, silences and even some (vocal) screams, the busy fingers of both men rustling up some (mostly quiet) noise. It's the Derek Bailey-ish side of Takayanagi on display here. Following it on the same disc, Midorikawa's duo with Sato, "Der Todeskampf am Maderospatch" is rather more dramatic, sounding melodically lovely (jazzy) in parts, but also building to loud, rumbling crescendos. Quite satisfying for our free jazz cravings.
But actually, turning to disc one, we soon discovered that Midorikawa's lengthy duo with Togashi, "Dichorragia nesimachus", is probably our favorite piece here. It's both wonderfully moody, Midorikawa caressing his strings in "classical" mode, melodically droning away amidst beautiful bells and gentle shimmer, which gives way on the percussive side of the equation to more martial drum beats, a physical pounding that then elicits a sawing, shuddering response from Midorikawa's cello, both players coming together for rapidfire percussive skitter-scatter... of course, it's a long piece, and that only describes a portion of it. Nice to have it rescued from the vault!
MPEG Stream: "Dichorragia nesimachus"
MPEG Stream: "Der Todeskampf am Maderospatch"

NILSEN, BJ The Invisible City (Touch) cd 15.98
It could be a coin toss as to who's our favorite recording artist on Touch. Christian Fennesz, Phillip Jeck, and Chris Watson are all impeccable musicians working for the legendary label; but BJ Nilsen is the one artist who may be lurking beneath the radar a bit and has NEVER failed to deliver a great record. His work has always been focused on the drone, beginning back in his earlier sample heavy orchestrations as Morthound through Cold Meat Industries and onto his recordings as Hazard through the Touch imprint Ash International. Throughout his career, he's often tapped into the psychic and physical cold of his native Swedish landscape. That was definitely the case for his North album as Hazard and the three alcoholically bent records made in collaboration with Stilluppsteypa for Helen Scarsdale; and it's certainly true for The Invisible City.
A shimmering glow from an aggregate of rasping frequencies opens the album, sounding almost like a chorus of poorly grounded street lights offering their sustained, post-Ligeti plainsong to vacant streets on some cold wintery morning in Oslo. After some exploratory field recordings of bees and sympathetic atmospherics, Nilsen snaps into a frozen blur of softened distortion (e.g. Machinefabriek, Fennesz, and Lawrence English) laced with half-melodic phrases and shortwave transmissions echoing like distant ghosts on "Virtual Resistance." It's a signature move for Nilsen, and it's one that he's masterfully executed. Another great Nilsen strategy: his phased loops with theatrically brooding ambience and tactile field recordings, reappears on that same track which morphs into a shadowy post-apocalyptic smear somewhere between Deathprod and Barn Owl. Digital errata suspended in darkened rooms, barren windswept tones, and haunted field recordings dominate The Invisible City, which stands as another monumental achievement for BJ Nilsen.
MPEG Stream: "Gravity Station"
MPEG Stream: "Phase And Amplitude"
MPEG Stream: "Virtual Resistance"

OBSERVATORY, THE Dark Folke (self-released) 2lp 36.00
NOW ON VINYL, super deluxe gatefold sleeve, 12" x 12" booklet of beautiful artwork from Justin Bartlett, 180 gram vinyl, LIMITED TO 250 COPIES, each on hand numbered...
We should probably stop being surprised when we discover records we dig and groups we love are in fact made by or made up of long time aQuarius customers. It makes sense after all. People who are obsessed with cool weird music are often the same ones who make it. We should also probably stop marvelling about what a small world it is, similar to the above sentiment, it makes sense that people into the same sort of weird shit would gravitate toward each other.
So thus, it makes perfect sense, that The Observatory, who hail from Singapore, count at least one long time aQ mailorder customer as a member, and thus it should also make perfect sense, that The Observatory's eye popping, ultra deluxe silver inked gatefold packaging was designed by none other than Justin Bartlett, another aQ customer, and the man responsible for the first bad ass installment in our Artist Edition t-shirt series. So now that we're no longer surprised, and all finished marvelling, we can get to the music.
The Observatory are difficult to describe. Their sound is lush, and dark, and mysterious, woozy and softly psychedelic. The core traditional band instruments are augmented by what sounds like a whole mess of other random instruments. The songs sprawl, the seem to ooze and creep and drift. Mark Ribot like angular guitars are draped over a Bohren like dirge, sunshiney almost Beach Boys harmonies are woven into a slowly swirling synthscape, drums are minimal and spare, the songs shift into soft mysterious dreampop, with Theremins, steel string guitars, and hushed crooned vocals, more of those glorious harmonies, before drifting back into something more croonsome, until some crunchy guitars come in, and the song splinter into a dizzying grinding circus gone haywire sort of psychedelic freakout, finally slipping back into something much more tranquil and soft and poppy.
At their core, these guys (and gals) are definitely a pop band, but their tendencies definitely lean toward something much more avant and out. Jangly, shimmery, poppy, and folky for sure, in fact, this is most definitely 'dark folke', but it's informed by much more than just folk music. Dramatic strings sing and soar, ethereal female vocals drift over spidery strum and buzz, strange bits of shortwave interference, reverbed piano plinks, all draped over the band's lush dark folky almost chamber pop, so dreamy and divine.
And again, let's mention the packaging again, WOW, 12" x 12" booklet of lyrics and beautiful artwork from Justin Bartlett, gorgeously creepy pen and ink drawings, like some nightmarish children's book, perfectly suited to the haunting mysterious sound within.
MPEG Stream: "Omicron"
MPEG Stream: "A Shuffler In The Mud"
MPEG Stream: "Blood Rising"
MPEG Stream: "Ephemeron"

OS Twelve Truths (self released) lp 11.98
We know very little about these guys, where they're from, who they are, in fact, even the front cover / logo is so abstract it took us a while before we even figured out they were called OS, which makes this all the more appealing, a mysterious murky slab of blackened doomic filth, pounding and ominous and harsh and downtuned and hellish, these guys traffic in a sound not that far removed from the black doom of aQ faves like Amort, Monument Of Urns, and Light, but with a definite nod to classic crusty doom of the past, not to mention a sound that also seems informed by modern dronescapers and noisemakers like Gnaw Their Tongues, Pussygutt and the like.
Two epic sidelong tracks, the guitar unfurling huge slabs of rumbling grinding crunch, the drums a funereal plod, the vocals anguished and unhinged. The first side spends half its time plodding along doomily, fans of Monarch, Moss, and other monumental slowpokes will dig it big time, but gradually the sound gets more and more melodic, until the band shift gears completely, and spread out into a strangely pretty dirge, all clean guitars, over still pounding drums, and a backdrop of hellish wails and buzzing static drones, before finishing off in a tangle of slow motion mathiness.
The flipside starts off similarly, a massive sprawling creep, but laced with some gorgeous melodies, the guitars ringing out, the distortion crumbling, almost more slowcore than doom, but still heavy heavy heavy, the vocals even more harsh and demonic sounding than before, the track is epic, and lumbers monstrously, building to another strange crescendo, the sound growing warm and more dense and strangely melodic, without ever shedding any of its doom or sludge.
Fucking epic stuff, crushing droned out heaviness, that will definitely appeal to doomlords and dronelords alike, way recommended for anyone into Khanate, Wicked King Wicker, Habsyll, Thou, Fleshpress, Atavist, and of course Moss, Monarch and all the above mentioned heavies.
Killer packaging, super abstract skeletal / logo cover, folded over to make a partial back cover, printed insert, each one hand numbered, LIMITED TO 400.

PATTON, CHARLEY Moon Going Down - Electrically (Monk) lp 22.00
Anyone who has checked out the aQ lists within the last year will no doubt have noticed the flood of essential blues reissues that have come out on the Italian label Monk. We're sure everyone has their favorites, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone here who hasn't had their minds sufficiently blown by the Charley Patton releases in particular. While all four of the "Electrically Recorded" Patton lps were collected in an awesome and elaborate (and expensive!) boxset limited to 275 copies worldwide, we were waiting for a bit to get a hold of this final set of tunes, and now that wait is up. Moon Going Down collects four separate recording sessions, one from 1930 in Grafton, Wisconsin and three from New York in early 1934, making them the last songs recorded before Patton's death a few months later. It's strange listening to those final songs after familiarizing ourselves with everything that came before. It's sad to think what we are hearing on this lp is the end of the line for Charley Patton, but he sounds just as forceful and self-aware as always, and in death he would become recognized as one of the most legendary American musicians ever to walk the earth. Listening to these songs confirms why things turned out that way. This is it, the source, and if you are even casually interested in blues music, you should do yourself a favor and grab this right away.

PEARL HARBOR Something About The Chaparrals (Mexican Summer) lp 19.98
A flurry of releases from Mexican Summer, all limited, all gone before you know it, and all pretty dang good. Pearl Harbor offer up 4 songs of hazy, warbly girl pop, all crooned angelic vox and shimmery Cocteau Twins like guitars, dreamy and otherworldly, but plenty psychedelic and washed out, a bit reminiscent of a female Ariel Pink in some ways. Folks who dug Girls At Dawn, Dum Dum Girls, Grass Widow, Vivian Girls, will definitely feel right at home. But unlike a lot of those bands, PH channel a distinctly eighties vibe, the drums simple and machinelike, the guitars crystalline, and wreathed in soft effects, the melodies and harmonies reminding us of that era of MTV, synth pop, and new wave, with a slightly gothic tinge, woozy Joy Divisiony bass underpinning the chiming guitars, and glimmering tangled vocal lines, everything slightly blurred and indistinct, giving all the songs here a strange otherworldly feel, like you discovered some old broken radio that only picks up stations from 30 years ago, broadcasting lost synth pop from some alternate dimension. Trippy and psychedelic and really really cool.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered, each one with a download card too. Sorry tho that they're not so cheap, Mexican Summer just jacked up their prices...

PRINCE LASHA Insight (Dusty Groove) cd 13.98
Long overdue reissue of this lost jazz classic from Texas saxophonist Prince Lasha, who recorded with Dolphy, Sonny Simmons, Elvin Jones, and was a contemporary of Ornette Coleman. Recorded in the mid sixties, Insight is notable for its strange lineup:TWO bass players and a harpist (a la Dorothy Ashby), plus Lasha traded his sax for flute, and in fact played both the wooden flute and the plastic alto flute, and you know how we feel about flutes! Thee's also trumpet, trombone and piano of course, the sound lush and shimmery and skittery, and soulful, so fantastic, the harp especially adding a totally different vibe to the proceedings, the horns get all gloriously intertwined, the dueling basses makes the sound thick and more busy, the record is split pretty evenly between deep soulful jazz ballads and full on bop workouts. It's not super weird, or far out, or skronky or free, instead this is just perfectly played, classic sounding jazz, with a tinge of the out of the ordinary, the solos inspired, the arrangements divine, the playing fantastic, one of our favorite jazz reissues of the last few years along with the recent Record Of The Week, A Lifetime In Oriental Jazz by Lloyd Miller. And like that one, this too is VERY recommended.
Includes original liner notes as well as photos of the original labels and inside sleeves...
MPEG Stream: "Nuttin' Out Jones"
MPEG Stream: "Out Of Nowhere"
MPEG Stream: "Impressions Of Eric Dolphy"

PURE ECSTASY Easy (Light Lodge) 7" 8.98
Sorry if you missed the recent instore with Austin's Silver Pines and Pure Ecstasy, because both bands were really amazing! We were especially impressed with Pure Ecstacy, of whom we only heard their first 7" (recently repressed!), which was really a grower for us. Cool and curious at first, but the more we listened to it, the more hooked in we got to it's lo-fi and dreamy vibe. Live, they really brought it, their songs a bit more uptempo than the recordings, but still spacious and reverbed out, like a mix of Beach Boys retro harmonies with the more pop jangle meets Crazy Horse side of those Tokyo Flashbackish bands like Doodles, Miminokoto or even LSD-March. And what a full sound they get from such an economic set-up, just three guys: a singer/guitar player, and a rhythm section pulled from two members of Silver Pines. Their new 7" contains two brand new tracks: "Easy", a slow and heavy-lidded ballad and "Baby", a more uptempo garage-pop number, and like the first 7" contains almost a third track, a breezy and dreamy refrain that we could listen to for much longer than it lasts.
Woodsist, Captured Tracks, Sacred Bones and/or Mexican Summer, get on this band quick!

PURPLE RHINESTONE EAGLE / NORTHERN SWORDS / FORSORCERERS Fantasy Quest (Poison Apple) 7" 5.98
Ok, how can you go wrong with a record called Fantasy Quest, that features awesome, high school binder, D&D fantasy pencil art, with a dog headed warrior princess wielding a shield and a tiny mouse with a sword waving a pennant, some ghosts, a winged rabbit headed warrior, a creepy forest, a castle, even harder to resist when you realize it's a compilation of all female, mostly instrumental, fuzzy, psychedelic hard rocking, metal bands from the Northwest! FUCK YEAH!
First up is Purple Rhinestone Eagle, whose record we went nuts for a while back, and their track here is just as good as anything on the full length, pounding, groovy, garagey, a little stonery, a lot space-y, riffy, metallic psych rock with a pinch of NWOBHM, so so good!
Here they're teamed up with Northern Swords, whose track is a two parter, you gotta flip the disc to hear the whole thing, and it slays, like a more loose Fucking Champs, still tight and technical, with killer harmonized guitar leads, killer drumming, the second part is super aggro and WAY technical, and relentlessly rocking, both parts sound like they COULD, or SHOULD have lyrics about dragons and swords and sorcerers, you can almost hear the airbrushed seventies van, and leather pants, the fringed jackets and feathered hair, the big amps and smoke machines.
Finally, Forsorcerers (awesome name btw!) finish things off, kicking out the only jam with vocals, total hard rocking classic garage rock, like Thin Lizzy crossed with the Runaways, more awesomely tangled guitar harmonies, and bad ass female vox.
Not sure what's going on up North, but we definitely want more.
Pressed on super striking white / black / grey splatter vinyl, with a printed insert, and the aforementioned bad ass cover.

RADIAN Chimeric (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
We REALLY like Viennese instrumental glitch-groove trio Radian. This, Chimeric, is their first album in four whole years. And it's awesome. So it deserves a glowing review from us. We're having trouble writing it, though. The problem is, we made the mistake of going back and looking at what we wrote about their previous albums, and feel like we already said it best about 'em then, can't really top lines like these: "Y'know how in subatomic reality, seemingly solid objects aren't solid at all, but filled with empty space interspersed with electrons and protons and such? Radian's music is kind of like that, atomized, spacious, abuzz with crackling energy", and "There's a jazz/improv element as well, but rather than rock/jazz fusion this is more like fission, breaking down elements of both musics, and releasing volts of energy in the process."
See? Good stuff, eh? And those sentiments apply here as well. Though, it's not like this is just the same as Radian's earlier work. No, their computer-processed live improv post rock electro-acoustic sound (whew!) has definitely developed, Radian themselves considering Chimeric to be more "Free", though what they mean by that we have to guess, perhaps it's why this Radian record does seem rather more noisy, raw, chaotic, rocking, & heavy than ever before, though.
Which is much to our liking, as it brings 'em even closer to sounding like some bands to which we've compared 'em in the past, a "sliced-up Circle" and, especially, a "sci fi This Heat", that uniquely rhythmic British experimental prog-rock unit from the '70s, who are really one of our "touchstone" bands here at AQ that we're always referencing in reviews, always hoping to hear something new that reminds us of 'em (we're the same way about the likes of Comus, Goblin, Earth, Magma, Black Sabbath, and Circle too). Thus, one reason we dig this Radian album so much (and Radian's other efforts too) is 'cause we can hear a lot of This Heat goin' on here. This Heat gone electronically futuristic in some mad scientist's laboratory, that is... The fractured structures, jumbled rhythms, distorted guitar stabs, and rumbling textures found here are totally hitting the spot. We mentioned it's been 4 years since their last album, and it's about time. We NEED more music like this, thanks Radian!
MPEG Stream: "Git Cut Noise"
MPEG Stream: "Kinetakt"

RADIAN Chimeric (Thrill Jockey) lp 15.98
We REALLY like Viennese instrumental glitch-groove trio Radian. This, Chimeric, is their first album in four whole years. And it's awesome. So it deserves a glowing review from us. We're having trouble writing it, though. The problem is, we made the mistake of going back and looking at what we wrote about their previous albums, and feel like we already said it best about 'em then, can't really top lines like these: "Y'know how in subatomic reality, seemingly solid objects aren't solid at all, but filled with empty space interspersed with electrons and protons and such? Radian's music is kind of like that, atomized, spacious, abuzz with crackling energy", and "There's a jazz/improv element as well, but rather than rock/jazz fusion this is more like fission, breaking down elements of both musics, and releasing volts of energy in the process."
See? Good stuff, eh? And those sentiments apply here as well. Though, it's not like this is just the same as Radian's earlier work. No, their computer-processed live improv post rock electro-acoustic sound (whew!) has definitely developed, Radian themselves considering Chimeric to be more "Free", though what they mean by that we have to guess, perhaps it's why this Radian record does seem rather more noisy, raw, chaotic, rocking, & heavy than ever before, though.
Which is much to our liking, as it brings 'em even closer to sounding like some bands to which we've compared 'em in the past, a "sliced-up Circle" and, especially, a "sci fi This Heat", that uniquely rhythmic British experimental prog-rock unit from the '70s, who are really one of our "touchstone" bands here at AQ that we're always referencing in reviews, always hoping to hear something new that reminds us of 'em (we're the same way about the likes of Comus, Goblin, Earth, Magma, Black Sabbath, and Circle too). Thus, one reason we dig this Radian album so much (and Radian's other efforts too) is 'cause we can hear a lot of This Heat goin' on here. This Heat gone electronically futuristic in some mad scientist's laboratory, that is... The fractured structures, jumbled rhythms, distorted guitar stabs, and rumbling textures found here are totally hitting the spot. We mentioned it's been 4 years since their last album, and it's about time. We NEED more music like this, thanks Radian!
MPEG Stream: "Git Cut Noise"
MPEG Stream: "Kinetakt"

REV, MARTIN Stigmata (Blast First Petite) cd 17.98
Somehow this is nothing like what we expected, not sure what we actually expected but this definitely was not at all it. Rev has spent most of his musical life in the seminal group Suicide, creating the iconic musical backdrops for his partner Alan Vega, he's also released tons of solo records over the years, from pop to new wave, we've heard a handful of them, but none of them prepared us for this.
Stigmata is basically soundtrack music, all strings and synths and Rev's dreamy almost Antony like vocals, most of the tracks are short, and establish a musical theme, and then work around it, creating tension, establishing the mood, pizzicato string plucks, soaring stringed melodies, some ominous and haunting, others playful, and still others majestic and epic, all moody and dramatic, while Rev croons and coos, not singing so much as offering up almost falsetto sounding 'whooo's, it sounds strange, but in fact, it's pretty compelling, and moving, and intense. The music sounds classical, or operatic, while the vocals are weirdly distorted and way up in the mix, mostly wordless, as far as we can tell, almost like karaoke opera, which is a lot cooler than it sounds, check out the sound samples, not sure what it is, but we just can't seem to stop listening to this. Be cool to see what Rev could do with an actual score, seems like it might be pretty interesting...
MPEG Stream: "Laudamus"
MPEG Stream: "Te Deum"
MPEG Stream: "Jubilate"
MPEG Stream: "Dona Nobis Pacem"

SCHREI AUS STEIN Talus (Starlight Temple Society) cd-r 7.98
We've long been a fan of Encomiast, never tiring of his gorgeous drone explorations, so when we discovered that the man behind Encomiast also had a black metal band, it seemed like a no brainer, and indeed, the music of Schrei Aus Stein manages to fuse Encomiast's deep rumbling drone music, with a strangely washed out and hypnotic midtempo buzz drenched black metal, this is not blazing riffy thrashing black metal, no this is a murky sprawling blackened oozing blackness, the riffs super distorted to the point of almost becoming drones themselves, the vocals are buried in the mix, the drums are simple and skeletal, the buzz and black infused with haunting melodies, the songs heaving and lumbering, the overall sound very Burzumic, but also weirdly poppy and melodic, not glaringly so, but within the swirling black mass of sound, melodies creep out only to disappear again, a few of the tracks sound almost gothic, with a bit of a cold wave vibe, definitely some Joy Divisiony low end going on in the background.
Another song starts out all high end Sunroof! style ur-drone, only to splinter into a loping depressive black metal pound, while another is all slow building and doomy, a little post rocky, with soaring riffs and simple motorik drumming, and the final track is all slow motion SUNNO))) dirge, which quickly gives way to something much more melodic and pretty, a sort of shoegazey soft doom, that slowly builds to a wall of blurred noise, only to finally explode in a frenzy of blasting flute flecked proggy black metal tangle, eventually blissing out into yet more shoegazey dreaminess, before fading into streaks of effected flute.
Housed in a DVD case, with photocopied insert, and LIMITED TO 200 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Serac"
MPEG Stream: "Lenticulars"
MPEG Stream: "Crevasses"

SIMMONS, CARL Honeysuckle Tendrils (Sacred Bones) lp + 7" 26.00
Finally got this on vinyl, gorgeously packaged with a bonus 7" and a handful of homemade looking inserts (See the end of the review for more)...
We're huge fans of the Sacred Bones label. They're responsible for some of our favorite records lately, from space rock to cold wave to twisted garage pop. Gary War, Moon Duo, Blank Dogs, Zola Jesus, The Cultural Decay, 13th Chime, so we were definitely excited to check out this latest release, from a fella called Carl Simmons, and once again, SB has come up with something weird and cool and confounding.
Unlike the more gothic or cold wave or noisy leanings of much of the other stuff on the label, Simmons' record is a strange stripped down psychedelic folk missive, that sounds like it was broadcast from some other world, or other time.
Super spare and simple, mostly vocals and guitar, but fleshed out with layers of sound collage, and lots of effects. But unlike a lot of heavily effects laden music, Simmons manages to pile on the effects, without it becoming ABOUT the effects. Lots of reverb and multi tracking results in a strange reedy, almost helium sounding main voice, often laid over Simmons' more natural gruff croon, the result is definitely magical, and mysterious, gorgeous druggy loner bedroom folk for sure, but infused with plenty of spaced out shimmer, and muted lysergic energy. If you can imagine a freaky, psychedelic, lost freak folk artifact, equal parts Sentridoh, Peter Grudzien and Ween (mostly because of the processed helium vox), you might get a rough idea of what Honeysuckle Tendrils, but it's so much more than its influences or whatever references we can come up with. Recorded 10 years ago, and released in a micro edition of almost none, Honeysuckle Tendrils is definitely a lost gem, emotional, intimate, haunting, pretty and definitely a bit twisted.
The lp includes a bonus 7" with two alternate versions, and two songs exclusive to the vinyl version, the 7" comes in a wax sealed sleeve, and includes a special booklet, and this lp+7" vinyl version is limited to 400 copies...

SKELETAL SPECTRE Tomb Coven (Razorback) cd 10.98
Last year we raved (cackled?) about an album by the band Acid Witch, spooky-ooky doom released on the reliably gory death metal label Razorback. Since then, Razorback has put out several other fine releases of old school death metal, including one, Claws, featuring a former member of Acid Witch. Of course, we can't review everything, not even everything that we like. So haven't gotten to all those yet. But THIS new Razorback release we had to bring to your attention, 'cause it's a bit more in the freaky, psychedelically doomy style of Acid Witch. Furthermore, the band's from Sweden, and are quite capable practitioners of their country's traditional music: death metal! (The sort of stuff documented on that recent triple cd compilation "Swedish Death Metal" reviewed here not long ago.)
Skeletal Spectre mix classic Swedish DM buzzsaw guitar tones with rocked out riffage and weird, whining, grinding atmosphere, even some droning organ. Haunting melodies are intertwined with the background buzzings as, churning and chugging, they trudge at near-doom speeds on such creepy-crawl numbers as "Burial Ground" and "Eerie Bones", never taking it too slow though, and certainly speeding up to bash out the likes of "Wrath Of Corrupta" and "Amulet Of Impurity".
The vokills by bassist Behold The Pentagram (!) are wonderfully wretched, owing something not only to the Cookie Monster but also to the death grunts of Tom G. Warrior. Guitarist Sacrifice The Virgin (!!) and drummer Haunting The Beyond (!!!) are obviously familiar with the works of Hellhammer/Celtic Frost as well! Also, Entombed, Dismember, Autopsy, Coffins, Cathedral, Acid Witch... all could also be good RIYL's in regards to the retro DM/doom, ghoulish good times on offer here.
MPEG Stream: "Burial Ground"
MPEG Stream: "The Decapitress"

SOFT PACK, THE s/t (Kemado) 12" 15.98
For a while, there was a band called the Muslims, who were seriously hyped, before squeamishness about their obviously problematic moniker found the band changing their name to Soft Pack, only to have the kids cry 'sell out', but hell, one can only imagine trying to get on a plane with a bunch of flight cases filled with strange battery powered devices, all stenciled with the words 'The Muslims'. But hell, whatever they're called, it's easy to see what all the hubbub was about. These guys kick up a seriously excellent racket, somewhere between the lo-fi jangle of groups like Thee Oh Sees and the Fresh & Onlys, classic hooky Britpop and the more seriously post punk rock of the Hot Snakes, which is precisely how this 12" plays out. Opener "C'Mon" is equal parts frantic jangle and Strokes-y indie sunglasses jangle pop, while "Eat Gold" is a pounding and manic with on-the-verge-of-cracking vocals and a definite screamo vibe, and then there's "Answer To Yourself" which also has a Strokes vibe, a little like a way more rocking Hoodoo Gurus, surf guitars, and world weary vocals, garagey, with pounding muted verses and a soaring chorus, while the final track follows a similar sonic path, but adding a bit more grit and distortion. Really good stuff, it's easy to see why these guys were, and still are the talk of the town, it's not hard to imagine them on Matador, or opening for Interpol or on MTV. Which is not a bad thing at all. Especially considering we've been listening to this pretty much nonstop since we got it.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered, with a download code so you can cram these jams onto your computer.

SPOON Transference (Merge) cd 15.98
The return of Spoon always means another batch of subtly kick ass indie rock, and with Transference the same holds true. While lots has changed since the days of Girls Can Tell, still maybe our favorite Spoon record, not counting the early way more rocking ones like Telephono or Soft Effects, later Spoon records seem more like growers, the kind of records the blossom with repeated listens, which is definitely the case with Transference. Minus the obvious single, "Got Nuffin", which was already released on its own, none of the other tracks here leaps out and screams 'Single!' or 'Hit!', but that's the magic of Spoon, that most of the songs here, just like on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, will end up stuck in your head, and most definitely on repeat play after a handful of listens.
Record closer "Nobody Gets Me But You" is our current fave, stripped down and skeletal, with bloopy bass, and some cool little flurries of piano, and a lazily drawled main hook, but "Written In Reverse" with it's falsetto vocals and vampy piano is another contender, as is "I Saw The Light", which definitely harkens back to the rocking old days, with some crunchy guitar and moody vox, but hell, every listen we pick another one to obsess over. And while Spoon would have to do something seriously stellar to top Girls Can Tell, we're perfectly happy digging into Transference. Again and again...
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"
MPEG Stream: "Before Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Is Love Forever?"

SPOON Transference (Merge) lp 17.98
The return of Spoon always means another batch of subtly kick ass indie rock, and with Transference the same holds true. While lots has changed since the days of Girls Can Tell, still maybe our favorite Spoon record, not counting the early way more rocking ones like Telephono or Soft Effects, later Spoon records seem more like growers, the kind of records the blossom with repeated listens, which is definitely the case with Transference. Minus the obvious single, "Got Nuffin", which was already released on its own, none of the other tracks here leaps out and screams 'Single!' or 'Hit!', but that's the magic of Spoon, that most of the songs here, just like on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Gimme Fiction, will end up stuck in your head, and most definitely on repeat play after a handful of listens.
Record closer "Nobody Gets Me But You" is our current fave, stripped down and skeletal, with bloopy bass, and some cool little flurries of piano, and a lazily drawled main hook, but "Written In Reverse" with it's falsetto vocals and vampy piano is another contender, as is "I Saw The Light", which definitely harkens back to the rocking old days, with some crunchy guitar and moody vox, but hell, every listen we pick another one to obsess over. And while Spoon would have to do something seriously stellar to top Girls Can Tell, we're perfectly happy digging into Transference. Again and again...
MPEG Stream: "Got Nuffin"
MPEG Stream: "Before Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Is Love Forever?"

STRICKEN CITY Songs About People I Know (Kora) cd 11.98
If we take the album's title literally we'd say that Stricken City knows effervescently perky folks as well as despairing and dour ones. Perhaps a few more of the latter. While we have nothing against their more decidedly downcast numbers, we think the band should be spending more time with the former because they really shine brightest when they leap wholeheartedly into a buoyant rollicking pop romp. They most certainly do so on tunes such as "Small Things", "Five Metres Apart", "P.S." and the album's groovy second to last song "Pull The House Down" which reminded us a bit of Les Rita Mitsouko. Just try to prevent your head from bouncin' and your toe from tappin' along to these tunes. Trust us, it's pretty darn difficult! Lead singer Rebekah Raa's varied vocal delivery also draws easy comparisons to the gasping urgent swoop of Sugarcubes era Bjork as well as the girlish coo of The Sundays' Harriet Wheeler. Sweet and a bit coy, but not cloying. Stricken City's overall sound is imbued with a warm fuzzy affection for late '80s and early '90s indie pop a la Sugarcubes, Sundays, Bow Wow Wow, Velocity Girl, and Tsunami, but it just as cozily slips in nicely alongside current female forces such as Tegan And Sara and Metric. A terrific debut!
MPEG Stream: "Five Metres Apart"
MPEG Stream: "P.S."
MPEG Stream: "Pull The House Down"

STRICKEN CITY Songs About People I Know (Kora) lp 14.98
If we take the album's title literally we'd say that Stricken City knows effervescently perky folks as well as despairing and dour ones. Perhaps a few more of the latter. While we have nothing against their more decidedly downcast numbers, we think the band should be spending more time with the former because they really shine brightest when they leap wholeheartedly into a buoyant rollicking pop romp. They most certainly do so on tunes such as "Small Things", "Five Metres Apart", "P.S." and the album's groovy second to last song "Pull The House Down" which reminded us a bit of Les Rita Mitsouko. Just try to prevent your head from bouncin' and your toe from tappin' along to these tunes. Trust us, it's pretty darn difficult! Lead singer Rebekah Raa's varied vocal delivery also draws easy comparisons to the gasping urgent swoop of Sugarcubes era Bjork as well as the girlish coo of The Sundays' Harriet Wheeler. Sweet and a bit coy, but not cloying. Stricken City's overall sound is imbued with a warm fuzzy affection for late '80s and early '90s indie pop a la Sugarcubes, Sundays, Bow Wow Wow, Velocity Girl, and Tsunami, but it just as cozily slips in nicely alongside current female forces such as Tegan And Sara and Metric. A terrific debut!
MPEG Stream: "Five Metres Apart"
MPEG Stream: "P.S."
MPEG Stream: "Pull The House Down"

URTHONA AND THE ASTERISM Murmurations (Further) cd 13.98
Chuffed to get another gorgeous transmission from the pagan UK dronester known as Urthona! Previously we've enjoyed the heavy organic sounds of his J. Cope approved "shoegazing freeform rural-psych-noise-guitar-drone" via Urthona's I Refute It Thus cd on Head Heritage and Amid Devonia's Alps cd-r on Further. Now he's back, teamed up with a likeminded mysterious entity known as The Asterism, for a cd (not cd-r) on Further called Murmurations. There's two tracks here, "River Severn Bore" clocking in at 24 minutes 20 seconds and the title track, a mere 19 minutes 50 seconds... about what we'd expect, epics! Both pieces are titled after natural phenomena that even though admitting of scientific explanation, still may appear mystically significant even to modern day observers.
"River Severn Bore" refers to an unusually high wave that in ancient days inspired legends, "Murmurations" are what vast swirling swooping flocks of starlings are called, as they dance in the air, seemingly synchronized in their movements. Both titles make for excellent inspirations for the sonics here, Urthona and The Asterism's amped up guitars building buzzing drones massive enough to match such awesome spectacles, with their own field recordings captured on hikes in the English countryside mixed in perfectly, the electronic fuzz eventually morphing into a wash of rain/water sounds at the end of "River Severn Bore" ferinstance. That's the denser/darker of the two pieces, throbbing thickly, grinding drones licked with feedback, SUNNO))) and Boris fans should bow down... "Murmurations" is heavy too, but as befits its subject, displays more agile, active movement, sounding somehow exotic and raga-like, with delicate high-end shimmer from guitars and amps echoing the cries of birds from the field recordings that are also present in the mix, as is, we think, some gentle percussion... it falls somewhere between James Blackshaw and Bong, perhaps. Quite lovely -and- fuzzy.
Packaging is again a trifold "eco-wallet" affair, recycled cardstock, vegetable based inks, these fellows nature worship taken pretty seriously, in more than just the music...
MPEG Stream: "River Severn Bore"
MPEG Stream: "Murmurations"

V/A A Cleansing Ascension (Elevator Bath) cd 14.98
BACK IN STOCK!!!
They don't make compilations like they used to; but this one from Elevator Bath is certainly an exception to that rule. A good percentage of the currently released compilations tend towards collections of impossible to find rarities (at best) or (at worst) a random assortment of tracks which never quite made it onto proper albums, so why not lump them all together on some disposable compilation with the good tracks just ending up on the iPod anyway. But there was a day when labels took the job of curating compilations very seriously with the artists rising to the task as well. One can think back to the Perspectives And Distortion comp from Cherry Red back in 1981, or the eccentric electronics on The Elephant Table Music Album, or those weird comps on United Dairies, or even 4AD's Lonely Is An Eyesore. Dare it be said that A Cleansing Ascension might be one of the few modern comps that even comes close to those seminal compilations of post-punk atmospherics and obscure experimentation.
Elevator Bath was birthed in Texas, although relocated to Seattle in 2004; and this compilation marks the 10th anniversary of the label, which has quietly and consistently released an excellent body of deep drone construction, damaged plunderphonic collage, sound ecological research, and even a few things which are down right sublime. The heavy hitters on A Cleansing Ascension are LAFMS ring-leader Tom Recchion and the globe trotting field recordist Francisco Lopez (operating here in a more musique concrete guise), with plenty of Aquarius favorites as well: Keith Berry, Adam Pacione, Matt Shoemaker, and aQ's own Jim Haynes. Shoemaker opens the album with a synthetic soaking of midrange din and drone immaculated sculpted in a blur of mottled hiss. Pacione, Keith Berry, and label boss Colin Andrew Sheffield conjure the more lush moments of Eno's Music For Airports with remarkable flare for restraint through their smoke & mirrors. Haynes does his best Organum impersonation with a cranky motor rumbling beneath a hallowed gasp of refined long-form tones. Rick Reed moves from a Delia Derbyshire squiggle into a deep reverberant bellow. The vastly under-published Dale Lloyd generates a thick rumble dappled with bristled electronics and distant Andrew Chalk-ish half melodies. James Eck Rippie turns toward a clank and clamor of found objects scraping across the patina of vinyl surface noise and Phillip Jeck stabs at turntable manipulation. Tom Recchion's maudlin lullaby reconstitutes haunted melodies of ye olde carnival into a beguiling conclusion to the compilation.
While each track is quite solid, the album also flows very well, with somber drones dominating the palette of sound although similar themes and complimentary sounds seem to return after small detours towards the heavy, the oblique, and the desolate. Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: MATT SHOEMAKER "Waning Ataraxia"
MPEG Stream: JIM HAYNES "Like A Thief In The Night"
MPEG Stream: DALE LLOYD "Our Morphosis"
MPEG Stream: TOM RECCHION "Drift Tube"

V/A Warp20 (Chosen) (Warp) 2cd 22.00
One of three new cd reissues commemorating Warp Records' 20th anniversary, all culled from the super swank, and prohibitively expensive boxset the label released a while back. We reviewed the 'Unheard' disc recently, which featured a handful of rare tracks from some of our all time Warp faves, Broadcast, Boards Of Canada, Autechre, Plaid, Clark, Flying Lotus, Seefeel, and while this one isn't quite as essential, it is basically a hugely bad ass Warp mixtape.
Essentially a greatest hits, it's two discs, one chosen by the fans, and one chosen by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Most of these are tracks you know, there are definitely a handful of surprises, especially on Beckett's disc, but it definitely feels like a lovingly complied greatest hits, with the fans' disc continuing lots of hits, and Beckett's mixing hits with some obscurities. Both discs are great, and barring the overlap with records already in your collection, it's pretty essential listening. Want to introduce someone to electronic music, need an electronic music primer covering the last 2 decades, just need a killer mix for the car or a party, then this should do the trick. The first disc has Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker", Boards Of Canada's "Roygbiv", Squarepusher's "My Red Hot Car", Autchre's "Grants Graf, Luke Vibert's "I Love Acid", and a bunch more. And while the second disc contains some classics from Grizzly Bear, Broadcast, Squarepusher, Seefeel and others, it also includes less likely jams from Jamie Lidell, Mike Ink, Xeper (Black Dog Productions), Nightmares On Wax, and loads more. Needless to say, killer stuff.
MPEG Stream: APHEX TWIN "Windowlicker"
MPEG Stream: BOARDS OF CANADA "Roygbiv"
MPEG Stream: SQUAREPUSHER "My Red Hot Car"
MPEG Stream: AUTECHRE "Grantz Graf"

V/A Warp20 (Recreated) (Warp) 2cd 25.00
One of three new cd reissues commemorating Warp Records' 20th anniversary, all culled from the super swank, and prohibitively expensive boxset the label released a while back. We reviewed the 'Unheard' disc recently, which featured a handful of rare tracks from some of our all time Warp faves, Broadcast, Boards Of Canada, Autechre, Plaid, Clark, Flying Lotus, Seefeel, and we review the 'Chosen' disc elsewhere on this week's list, featuring a two disc greatest hits compiled by both fans and the label, but this one is definitely the weirdest of the bunch. And maybe the most fun because of it...
Two discs of Warp artists, covering songs by other Warp artists. Born Ruffians, with their Pixies post punk jangle, tackle Aphex Twin's "Milkman", Maximo Park cover, Vincent Gallo's "When" and make it their own, giving it a synth new wave makeover, Clark reimagines Milanese's "So Malleable", and it gets even more gnarled and spastic and HEAVY, Hudson Mohawke transforms Jimi Tenor's "Paint The Stars" into a glimmering drift of sparkly ephemeral shimmer, Mira Clalix covers Boards Of Canada and turns it into chamber music bliss, Jamie Lidell covers Grizzly Bear, Seefeel covers Maximo Park(!) and creates a glutchy chunk of blurred new wave, Gravenhurst covers Broadcast and more more more. Some of the tracks are just gussied up a little, some are recreated with alternate shadings, subtly shifted sound palletes, while others are totally and wholly transformed. Cool.
MPEG Stream: BORN RUFFIANS "Milkman / To Cure A Weakling Child (Aphex Twin)"
MPEG Stream: MAXIMO PARK "When (Vincent Gallo)"
MPEG Stream: CLARK "So Malleable (Milanese)"
MPEG Stream: SEEFEEL "Acrobat (Maximo Park)"

VENUS GANG (JEAN-PIERRE MASSIERA) Galactic Soul (Mucho Gusto) lp 21.00
Wow, when we reviewed those two J.P. Massiera Psychoses compilations, a couple of years back, we somehow assumed that this eccentric French producer recorded so prolifically under so many monikers that many of the groups (especially the space disco ones) were probably just single releases and not complete full length albums. Well, the Mucho Gusto label has proven us wrong once again, by reissuing the full length albums of both Venus Gang and Herman's Rocket, two of the zaniest freakout space disco-funk outfits that Massiera ever created. Commissioned in 1977 and 1978 by an Italian producer to jump on the European Space Disco craze, Massiera teamed up with his half-brother, Bernard Torelli and the singers Mickey and Joyce to create these two amazing groups. Amazing also in the sense that while he used what is basically a cookie-cutter disco template (he blatantly borrows lots from American funk and disco - but really who didn't? And at least he borrows well!), he managed to create such a crazy, unique sound with lots of Moogs, strange vocal effects and lots of spacey noises and sounds. Considered too crazy at the time for marketable appeal (check out the great covers!), both records have gained a cult following over the years and sound so good right now especially with all the modern throwbacks of Italo-disco trying to sound like this, these two groups are by far way freakier and so worth your time. We're curious if all of Massiera's disco incarnations released full length albums, and if we'll be soon gifted with reissues of The Human Egg, Sex Convention and The Starlights too. Here's hoping!
Both albums were only reissued on vinyl, not on cd, but do come with mp3 download cards!
MPEG Stream: "Space Inferno"

VERMILLION SANDS Miss My Gun (Sacred Bones) lp 14.98
Another awesome release from Sacred Bones, this one from an all girl Italian combo called Vermillion Sands, who mix post punk pound with indie jangle, crunchy guitars, propulsive drumming, angular melody, and sassy sultry vox, all wrapped around some killer super catchy songwriting, reminding us a bit of Brilliant Colors, who in turn fit right in the current crop of retro garage poppers like Grass Widow, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls and the like. But VS do make the sound their own, infusing their songs with plenty of classic girl group shimmer, and a sort of classic garage-y vibe a la Thee Headcoatees. Killer stuff for sure. Anyone into the above mentioned bands or any of the classic female pop combos like The Vaselines, Shop Assistants, Talulah Gosh, Black Tambourine, the Pastels, should definitely check this out.

VOM Primitive Arts (At War With False Noise) cd 14.98
Not to be confused with legendary Bay Area black metal horde Von, although Vom's sound does sonically link back to Sixx, the post Von, gothic deathrock combo we reviewed a while back. These grim Scots spew out a depressive, atmospheric, super distorted sort of gothic cold wave, the label suggests the sound falls somewhere between Scream-era Siouxsie And The Banshees, early X-Mal Deustchland and the first Killing Joke lp, which is definitely pretty right on, but for the aQ faithful, we might also throw out some recent list faves like Soror Dolorosa, the aforementioned Sixx, Ye Olde Maids, Second Decay, Factums, even Cold Cave, but imagine all those bands if they were way more heavy and harsh and hateful, raw and rough and intense, and you'd be getting closer to the sound of Vom.
Pounding pummeling drums, grinding crunchy guitars, throbbing rumbling bass, howled vocals buried in the mix, hooks all over the place, but somewhat obscured by the bands furious deathrock onslaught, this stuff is gloomy and heavy and catchy and harrowing, and so goddamn good. Anyone into the recent wave of cold wave revivalists or goth rock wannabes, who found themselves hankering for something way harder and heavier, these guys might just be your new favorite band.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "Turkish Delight"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Mavis"
MPEG Stream: "Cock Thoughts"

WELLS, SCOTT Day Songs (Root Strata) cd-r 9.98
Another ultra limited cd-r from Root Strata, only 100 copies, most of which are already gone, so we'll be brief, but grab one of these before they're gone, it's quite lovely.
A mere 20 minutes long, a series of hushed barely there ultra delicate guitarscapes, all drift and shimmer, breathless and minimal, a glacial swirl of muted tones, and subtle overtones, no attack, just decay, notes left to hang as they slowly fade out, only to have another hazy note laid over the top. Dreamy and ethereal and ephemeral, strap on some headphones to truly get lost in these blurred stretches of soft focus guitar, you'll most likely end up setting your player on repeat, laying back, and letting these sounds carry you away.
So gorgeous. As is the packaging, brown chipboard, sleeves with a hole cut out, each one displaying a water colored insert, every one unique, all done by hand, and LIMITED TO 100 COPIES...
MPEG Stream: "Untitled I"
MPEG Stream: "Untitled III"

WHITEBUZZ Book Of Whyte (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
Recently we remarked upon how the long-running stoner rock label Small Stone had been kicking our asses with some great releases of late (Obiat, Iota, etc.). Gotta say the same thing now about the MeteorCity label, another veteran stoner rock purveyor who in the '90s, were second only maybe to Man's Ruin as THE stoner rock label of the day. Well, it's 2010 and, despite a lowered profile, the re-activated MeteorCity has been killing it lately, maybe even moreso than in the good old days, with such recently highlighted here releases like Ararat, Village Of Dead Roads, Freedom Hawk, and Egypt... THIS list, we've got two more from 'em to rave about, Leeches Of Lore and WhiteBuzz!
WhiteBuzz hail from Germany and illustrate a controversial point. You might think that the sound a band is known for is THEIRS, they invented it, and anyone else that sounds similar are obviously influenced or are flat out copycatting. Well, yeah maybe that's sorta true. But you could also think of it this way: the SOUND exists already, band A just came along and "discovered" it, channelled it, made use of it. But rather than wait for band A to make another record 'cause you want to hear that sound again, what about if band B comes along and ALSO taps into that sound, and it speaks through them just as legitimately as it does through the "original" band? Nobody is copying anybody, both bands A and B are servants to that sound, it's just that chronologically speaking band A came first, band B later. Likewise, there could be bands C, D, E, etc., all "tuning in" to this pre-existing, eternal "SOUND". That's a theory anyway, and it makes more sense when the sound in question seems so darn cosmic. We might be making to big a point out of this, actually, 'cause while we were gonna say if band A = Om then band B = WhiteBuzz, we think you'll be able to tell 'em apart. For one thing, WhiteBuzz have a guitarist! But if you like the epic ritualistic psychedelic fuzzed out epics of Om, we're pretty sure you're gonna dig WhiteBuzz, complete with a similarly chant-like vocal style and lysergically spaced-out interludes amidst the blown out super heavy repetitive riffage on the 4 loooong tracks here (plus a fifth, shorter, unlisted bonus cut that sounds more like a tribute to the Melvins).
Has WhiteBuzz heard Om? Well, we'd bet they have, probably, yeah, but who know, could be the not-so-coincidental cosmic scenario outlined above too. Heck, these heavy invocations weren't invented by Om, or precursors Sleep, EITHER, exactly. They go back to Pink Floyd and Hawkwind and Black Sabbath... to Tibetan monks... to the first cultivators of cannabis... to pagan prehistory... You could probably hear sounds like this in temples on Mars or in ancient, imaginary Hyborea!
Basically, we're sure YOU'VE heard Om, anyway. And it's likely you like Om, too. If so, and you'd like some more Om-ishness RIGHT NOW, then check out WhiteBuzz. To be honest, original or not, we like 'em almost as much as Om themselves. The only thing that kinda bugs us about WhiteBuzz is, why do they spell white/whyte two different ways in band name and album title? But otherwise, we're quite happy with this release!
MPEG Stream: "The Return Of Phoenix"
MPEG Stream: "Antipocalypse"

WOODSMAN Collages (Mexican Summer) lp 21.00
We have to admit, we were initially intrigued by Woodsman because the label compared them to Andee's old band A Minor Forest, and while Woodsman do have a bit of a post/math rock thing going on, they still he much closer to the rest of the Mexican Summer stable, woozy, washed out, psychedelic, tripped out pop. That said, Woodsman do add some muscle to that sound, with seriously beefy guitars and some hard hitting drumming, but those elements are wrapped up in thick hazy swaths of reverb drenched shimmer, of warped wheezing synths, processed vox, if anything, the sound is more Animal Collective, or Gang Gang Dance, the guitars chime and ring out, almost like they were plucked from a Big Country jam, the drums are tribal and looped sounding at times, the band definitely have a propulsive, almost groovy thing going on, when they slowdown, it's all murky whirring slowcore, like a more druggy, abstract Tortoise (who the band also get compared to), especially on the nearly 20 minute closing track, a sprawling rhythmscape, skittery drums, chorus drenched guitars, loping bass, all wrapped in a soft focus swirl of muted FX and woozy melodies, building to a bit of a frenzied freakout, before slipping right back into slow spiraling stretch of lilting chiming blissed out drift.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each one hand numbered, comes with a download card as well...

WRAITHS Grey Emperor (At War With False Noise) cd 14.98
After records on Aurora Borealis and Paradigms, Scottish black drone alchemists Wraiths have found their way to At War With False Noise, yet another ideal home for their grim black noise. This time it takes the form of a single hour-long track, that drifts through an endlessly and ever shifting landscape of hushed bleak minimalism, strange otherworldly percussion, deep dronemusic and caustic black noise.
The Grey Emperor begins as a strangely looped glitchscape, a tribal rhythm over undulating stretches of distorted rumble, growing ever more ominous, the low end getting more and more jagged and buzzy, a black cloud of sound threatening to swallow the rest of the sounds whole, surrounded on all sides by a slow shifting layer of swirling blackened whir, shot through with streaks of muted feedback. The track pulses and undulates, slipping from caustic crunch to hushed throb, strange little rhythmic flurries careening below the surface, the textures constantly changing and shifting, like watching the surface of some grim black sea, barely able to discern the shadowy shapes underneath.
Eventually, the low end is pulled back, allowing layers of hiss and buzz to pile atop one another, just barely holding the feedback at bay, only to have the blackness begin to crumble, while black bells peal, thick shards of sound plummeting into the swirling blackness, the track building and building to chaotic frenzy, the sounds blown out and on the verge of utter collapse, weirdly melodic while impossibly dense and destructive, finally exploding in a supernova of Merzbowian grind and crunch, that manages to be strangely textural and musical, while on the surface appearing as a dying black sun.
Gorgeous oversized packaging, a gatefold sleeve, printed woodcut style design on textured paper, and held shut with a stamped wax seal. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "Grey Emperor (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Grey Emperor (excerpt 2)"

YAMAMOTO, TATSUHISA & MUNEOMI SENJU A Thousand Mountains (Doubtmusic) cd 19.98
To start with, we've always commended Japan's Doubtmusic label for the handsome packaging job that each one of their digipack cd releases invariably receives. This one, though, we'd probably be inclined to buy just 'cause of the especially cool cover art alone! Done by one Tomoo Gokita, the cover suggests an arched window in a brightly patterned wall, looking out on (a photo of) some majestic snow-capped alpine mountain (the Matterhorn, is it?). But in front of the "window", the corpse-painted visage of King Diamond pokes up unexpectedly, screaming at you... WITH, IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY, A MINIATURE HEAD IN HIS MOUTH. Quite confusionally cool, eh? But for what sort of music could this art be at all appropriate? Well, why not an electronics-augmented Japanese drums duo featuring someone who once played in the Boredoms/Vooredoms?! 'Cause that's what this is, with a vengeance.
Erstwhile Boredom Muneomi Senju (drums, percussion, electronics) teams up with Tasuhisa Yamamoto (drums, metals, percussion, gong, odaiko drums) for 7 tracks of mostly percussion-only soundscapery, from "primitive groove" to "wall of onkyo" in style, according to Doubtmusic's description, which also cites poly-rhythms and harmonic overtones as things you'll hear here, and we don't doubt it, these tracks are widely varied and always intriguing, certainly bizarre enough at times to merit the colorful, epic high weirdness of that awesome album cover art!
The likes of "Foggy In Aquarium" and "Coral Flirtation" feature calm, complex layers of percussive playing, free-jazzy but not really free, with lots of bells and chimes and liquid tricklings... tinklings and twinklings... lovely stuff! THEN, there's the erratic and effected thwap-and-snap of "Scattered Devils". Zany, zappy drum hits and other bits that sound sampled from some futuristic Carl Stalling cartoon score, cut-and-pasted with slaphappy abandon together with electronic textures, ultimately funking it up in fractured, spastic fashion that reminds us of another recent Doubtmusic release, Sim + Otomo's Monte Alto Estate. Perhaps 'cause this track was further remixed by guest producer Yuta Segawa, it's the most "computery" sounding cut on here, whereas the rest of this disc comes off as much more organic, without all that obvious digital tomfoolery (cool though we think it is). Organic, AND trancelike, such as with the ritualistic rainfall pitter patter percussion, swirling and circling, of "Correspon-dance", or the endless drum-roll and cymbal-shimmer of the 8 minute plus "Fricative Lights" - very Boredoms Super Rootsy, that one!
Now as we've always said, about the only "drum circle" we can stand is one that involves the Boredoms. But two drummers does not a drum circle make AND there's a Boredoms connection both sound- and personnel-wise here. So unless you HATE percussion, this is definitely an out-there experiment in rhythm(z) to check out. Speaking of drum circles, opener "Chronoscope Fatigue" and closer "Chronoscope Fatigue Variation" are the closest this duo come to that sort of thing here, and that's not that close, unless you're familiar with drum circles that make a practice of all falling down the stairs while they're jamming...
MPEG Stream: "Coral Flirtation"
MPEG Stream: "Scattered Devils"
MPEG Stream: "Fricative Lights"

YONKERS, MICHAEL & THE BLIND SHAKE Cold Town (Learning Curve Records) cd 12.98
Man, Michael Yonkers sure has been on a roll as of late. Just a few lists back we had both his collaboration with Plastic Crimewave Sound and a collection of early pre-Microminiature Love recordings with his band the Mumbles. Even after 40+ years of making music, Yonkers still sounds vital, focused, and, to a certain degree, out for blood. At the risk of sounding like a bunch of bastards, we gotta say, this is hardly the kind of music you would expect from a man in his 60s. Though to be fair, his music has never sounded like what you would expect from ANYBODY in a lot of cases. Yonkers has by no means mellowed with age; in fact, his current work is aggressive and in tune with the times and hardly some watered down attempt to cash in on his ever-growing legend. But where so many others would fail, Yonkers pulls through and shows us how and why he has been such a force to be reckoned with since the long delayed reissue of Microminiature Love brought him to the attention of adventurous music fans throughout the globe. At the same time, Cold Town effortlessly puts today's garage rock hopefuls in their place, waaaaaaaaay far behind a master like Yonkers. His music obviously falls into the "rock" category, but there has always been a degree of experimentation and a desire to step beyond what is to be expected. The songs on Cold Town are tuneful yet noisy, catchy but with just the right amount of punkish aggression, and Yonkers' voice sounds pretty much as great and idiosyncratic as it always has. It no doubt helps that he has such a shit-hot band backing him up in the form of previous Yonkers collaborators the Blind Shake, who whip up five Yonkers-free tunes of their own on the second half of the album. The band is tight and heavy with a little bit of skronkiness thrown in, sure to appeal of fans of Rocket From The Crypt and pretty much anything else related to John Reis (including, of course, Hot Snakes, the Sultans, Drive Like Jehu, etc...).
Another welcome surprise from a guy who we just can't get enough of.
MPEG Stream: "MICHAEL YONKERS & THE BLIND SHAKE - What Can I Do"
MPEG Stream: "MICHAEL YONKERS & THE BLIND SHAKE - Cold Town"
MPEG Stream: "THE BLIND SHAKE - Radon Detector"

YONKERS, MICHAEL & THE BLIND SHAKE Cold Town (Learning Curve Records) lp 15.98
Man, Michael Yonkers sure has been on a roll as of late. Just a few lists back we had both his collaboration with Plastic Crimewave Sound and a collection of early pre-Microminiature Love recordings with his band the Mumbles. Even after 40+ years of making music, Yonkers still sounds vital, focused, and, to a certain degree, out for blood. At the risk of sounding like a bunch of bastards, we gotta say, this is hardly the kind of music you would expect from a man in his 60s. Though to be fair, his music has never sounded like what you would expect from ANYBODY in a lot of cases. Yonkers has by no means mellowed with age; in fact, his current work is aggressive and in tune with the times and hardly some watered down attempt to cash in on his ever-growing legend. But where so many others would fail, Yonkers pulls through and shows us how and why he has been such a force to be reckoned with since the long delayed reissue of Microminiature Love brought him to the attention of adventurous music fans throughout the globe. At the same time, Cold Town effortlessly puts today's garage rock hopefuls in their place, waaaaaaaaay far behind a master like Yonkers. His music obviously falls into the "rock" category, but there has always been a degree of experimentation and a desire to step beyond what is to be expected. The songs on Cold Town are tuneful yet noisy, catchy but with just the right amount of punkish aggression, and Yonkers' voice sounds pretty much as great and idiosyncratic as it always has. It no doubt helps that he has such a shit-hot band backing him up in the form of previous Yonkers collaborators the Blind Shake, who whip up five Yonkers-free tunes of their own on the second half of the album. The band is tight and heavy with a little bit of skronkiness thrown in, sure to appeal of fans of Rocket From The Crypt and pretty much anything else related to John Reis (including, of course, Hot Snakes, the Sultans, Drive Like Jehu, etc...).
Another welcome surprise from a guy who we just can't get enough of.
MPEG Stream: "MICHAEL YONKERS & THE BLIND SHAKE - What Can I Do"
MPEG Stream: "MICHAEL YONKERS & THE BLIND SHAKE - Cold Town"
MPEG Stream: "THE BLIND SHAKE - Radon Detector"

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CASABLANCAS, JULIAN Phrazes For The Young (RCA) cd 14.98
Solo debut from Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, and there's no doubt this man knows his away around infectious melodies and he can most definitely kick out pop songs that can get stuck in your head FOREVER. While the last couple Strokes albums have been a bit hit and miss, there is no denying how great their debut was and despite all the hype that surrounded them it's a record that still stands on its own. We were excited to hear what Casablancas would do on HIS own, especially when we heard it was going to be more of an '80s pop, synthesizer driven affair. And man the good songs on here are sooooo great and catchy! But just like recent Strokes outings there are a few tracks that just fall a bit flat. "11th Dimension" is for sure one of the best and catchiest pop songs of '09, in fact it would have sounded right at home on the latest album from Phoenix. But yeah there are a couple bummer tracks, not full on clunkers but just songs that don't have the same brightness and color which keep this from being a start to finish thriller. But worth it for the several killers....
MPEG Stream: "11th Dimension"
MPEG Stream: "Out Of The Blue"
MPEG Stream: "River Of Brakelights"

CASE, NEKO & HER BOYFRIENDS Furnace Room Lullabys (Lance Rock Records) lp 19.98
Finally Available on Vinyl!
What we said when the cd came out: Here it is! The much anticipated follow-up to Neko Case's fabulous debut album of 1997 The Virginian. Have no fear, this ain't no faux-country a la Shania Twain or Dixie Chicks, No! Ms Case has some unbelievable true blue old-school country pipes and spirit (that have drawn many comparisons to kd lang and Loretta Lynn). Indeed, hers is a voice that can lift your heart and let it soar or wrap it in velvet aches... or pick you up by the seat of your pants and give it a swift kick. This time around she's got a band with a solid line-up backing her up; one with whom she's toured and written most of the songs on this album. Plus her usual lengthy list of guest players, among them Brian Connelly (formerly of Shadowy Men From A Shadowy Planet, a truly awesome guitarist in his own right but perhaps most noted for writing the theme to 'Kids In The Hall'), Carl Newman (guitarist/vocalist of Zumpano, Superconductor, and The New Pornographers) and her labelmates The Sadies and Kelly Hogan. Whereas on her first record half of the songs were loving cover versions of many of her old favorites and inspirations, this album is wonderfully all her own.
MPEG Stream: "Set Out Running"
MPEG Stream: "Bought & Sold"
MPEG Stream: "Mood To Burn Bridges"
MPEG Stream: "Furnace Room Lullaby"

CLIPSE Til The Casket Drops (Sony) cd 14.98
Not sure why we never listed the previous two Clipse records as they were definitely some of the best, most addictive and hard hitting hip-hop records to come out in the last decade. Combining the instantly gratifying production of modern day mainstream hip-hop while retaining an urgency and strength in vocal delivery that reminded us a lot of Rakim had his records been produced by The Neptunes. So we were way excited for 'Til The Casket Drops and while it's not terrible it just doesn't pack the same knockout punch that the previous records did. Somehow it feels a little more typical and mainstream, although there are for sure some totally fun and standout moments.
MPEG Stream: "Freedom"
MPEG Stream: "Counseling"

DECIBEL #64 February 2010 magazine 4.95
Another fine issue of this great metal read. On the cover, Megadeth, Slayer, and Testament! What is this, 1990?? Apparently these veteran thrashers are on tour together, again, Clash Of The Titans 2010 aka American Carnage! Cool.
Then there's also stuff on Enslaved (with their album Frost being inducted into the Decibel Hall Of Fame), Shining, Between The Buried And Me, Thou, Immolation, and much more, including the usual funny columns and reviews and the rest.

EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN 1/2 Mensch (Potomak) lp 16.98
A vinyl reissue of one of the best Einsturzende Neubauten recordings! Halber Mensch ('half man' in German) originally came out in 1985, at the height of the apex of punk self-immolation, pure German expressionism, and industrial theatricality. The infernal vocal chorale of the title track is about as intense as a vocal piece could ever be, without resorting to pure guttural howling. Here is it a searing repetition of an atonal plainsong, buttressed by the always unique snarl of frontman Blixa Bargeld. The repurposed metals from junkyards and constructions site which have become synonymous with Neubauten immediately appear afterwards on their anthemic single "Yu-Gung (Fuetter Mein Ego)," whose insistent rhythm works almost Gamelan-like as the principal melody to this amazing tune. It should also be pointed out that Pussy Galore, who were already heavily indebted to EN, covered this on their Sugar Shit Sharp ep! later As a grand climax to the album, Neubauten again returns to hellish imagery through the symphony of bowed metals on "Der Tod Ist Ein Dandy," where these cacophonic scrapes amass into a dramatic arc of acoustic noise that easily parallels those same constructions that David Jackman built through Organum. This is one of those seminal records that should always be in print, and one of those records that you should already have. But if not, you shouldn't pass this up!

EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN Zeichnungen Das Patienten O.T. (Drawings Of Patient O.T.) (Potomak) cd 16.98
A brilliant reissue from the seminal German industrial ensemble Einsturzende Neubauten. This album represented the first full realization of the Neubauten project, with F.M. Einheit and Marc Chung (both hailing from the underappreciated post-punk ensemble Abwarts) joining the trio of Blixa Bargeld, Alexander Hacke, and N.U. Unruh. The O.T. from the title of this record references Oswald Tschirtner, a resident of psychiatric hospital for artists, where the patient created these compulsive drawings out of the unkempt visions in his head. Such is the way the Neubauten seeks to employ sound on this record: cracked, naive, and dangerous. Found objects, stolen radio transmissions, repurposed machinery, and lots of metal bashing appear in this album, inspired as much by musique concrete juxtaposition as by punk fury. The desolate drone-centric piece "Armenia" and the propulsive "Vandium I-Ching" represent two of the extremes found on this ever-impressive album.
MPEG Stream: "Vanadium-I-Ching"
MPEG Stream: "Abfackeln!"
MPEG Stream: "Armenia"
MPEG Stream: "DNS Wasserturm"

EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN Zeichnungen Das Patienten O.T. (Drawings Of Patient O.T.) (Potomak) lp 16.98
A brilliant reissue from the seminal German industrial ensemble Einsturzende Neubauten. This album represented the first full realization of the Neubauten project, with F.M. Einheit and Marc Chung (both hailing from the underappreciated post-punk ensemble Abwarts) joining the trio of Blixa Bargeld, Alexander Hacke, and N.U. Unruh. The O.T. from the title of this record references Oswald Tschirtner, a resident of psychiatric hospital for artists, where the patient created these compulsive drawings out of the unkempt visions in his head. Such is the way the Neubauten seeks to employ sound on this record: cracked, naive, and dangerous. Found objects, stolen radio transmissions, repurposed machinery, and lots of metal bashing appear in this album, inspired as much by musique concrete juxtaposition as by punk fury. The desolate drone-centric piece "Armenia" and the propulsive "Vandium I-Ching" represent two of the extremes found on this ever-impressive album.
MPEG Stream: "Vanadium-I-Ching"
MPEG Stream: "Abfackeln!"
MPEG Stream: "Armenia"
MPEG Stream: "DNS Wasserturm"

LITTLE DRAGON Machine Dream (Peacefrog) lp 22.00
Now available on vinyl!
We have been hearing about Little Dragon for quite a while now as lots of folks around here had seen them live and been blown away and kept urging us to check out their stuff and to see what an amazing presence their Swedish-Japanese singer has. Unfortunately, most of LD's releases where hard-to-track-down imports up 'til now, but luckily with the release of this newest album Machine Dreams we get to hear why all our friends were so excited about Little Dragon.
Machine Dreams is completely refreshing, bright and colorful electro-pop that eschews all the detached and cold cliches that so many in the scene rely on, opting instead for elements of soul, house, downtempo, and an overall warmth and sincerity of sound that really makes LD stick out.
Imagine a more uptempo and cheery Fever Ray, or if Lali Puna stopped navel gazing and reached their hands and hearts to the sky, or if Matthew Herbert got to produce a record for Gwen Guthrie! We hear wonderful hints of LD's influences too, everything from Massive Attack to Pizzicato Five, yet they manage to really shine with their own identity, displaying a really great range, from uptempo catchy dancefloor moments to more drowsy, sultry bittwersweet slow burners. We are feeling this so much!
MPEG Stream: "A New"
MPEG Stream: "Swimming"
MPEG Stream: "Never Never"

LOPEZ, FRANCISCO Lopez Island (Elevator Bath) cd 16.98
BACK IN STOCK!!! Lopez Island is one of the many islands that dapple the Puget Sound of Washington state, located about 150 miles NW of Seattle. It seems an isolated environment that probably attracts a good deal of outdoorsy types in the summertime; yet for the field recordist / composer Francisco Lopez, he explored the island's soundscape during the winter of 1999-2000 when sleet, snow, wind, and rain perpetually fell upon the island. Lopez has always been a consummate phonographer, with his typical strategies being acousmatic in nature, whereby he would extract and filter particular sounds from his recordings and build monolithic slabs of grey sounds elegantly shifting from near silences to tumultuous crescendos. La Selva (and to a lesser extent Addy En Elpais De Las Frutas Y Los Chunches) remain the most highly regarded compositions through this strategy, with sounds becoming blurred into a miasma of turbulence, confusion, and intrigue. Here on Lopez Island, our man Lopez begins his composition with an extended passage of raw recordings, in particular there's the damp tactility of sleet sploshing amidst wet leaves and twigs. If anything, Lopez has set the stage for a very cold environment, followed by a brisk whistling of wind that Lopez slowly transforms into a thoroughly synthetic climax of sparkling drones and haunted siren songs that resemble the isolationism of BJ Nilsen, Stilluppsteypa, and the Hafler Trio much more than before. Since the release of his Live In San Francisco recording, we haven't been too keen on Francisco's output; but Lopez Island marks the inevitable return to excellence for Mr. Lopez.
MPEG Stream: "Lopez Island (extract 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Lopez Island (extract 2)"

LULL & BETA CLOUD Circadian Rhythm Disturbance (Laughing Bride Media) 3"cd-r 8.98
BACK IN STOCK! Managed to get a few more copies of this, probably the last ones ever, considering it was limited to only 100 or so copies. Most folks just need to see the name Lull and they'll be sold. Lull, aka Mick Harris, collaborates here with Beta Cloud, who a while back teamed up with Aidan Baker for a killer disc of dark buzzing dronemusic. But on Circadian Rhythm Disturbance, Harris and Beta Cloud team up for one 20 minute track of extreme dark ambience, loose barely there rhythms drift in and out occasionally, but this is all about the atmospheric low end, and it is LOW, a deep subterranean rumble that seems to swallow up all light, like the sound of some massive behemoth drifting slowly through the blackened deep, or some mysterious black shape drifting across the midnight sky, huge groaning drones and massive swells of rib cage rattling bass, smeared and blurred into a tidal sort of barely-rhythm, that subtly pulses and throbs, sucking the listener under, filling you ears with gorgeous soft black sound. 
MPEG Stream: "Circadian Rhythm Disturbance"

MCLEAN, BARTON AND PRISCILLA Electronic Landscapes (EM Records) cd 23.00
Back in print, back in stock!
More pioneering electronic music unearthed by Japan's EM Records (previous releases include discs by Barton Smith, David Rosenboom, and Noah Creshevsky). This time, it's Barton and Priscilla McLean. A husband and wife team, but no Sonny and Cher here!! This duo performed live as the "McLean Mix", and were responsible for a bunch of sought-after Folkways LPs in their time, including 1979's "Electro-Symphonic Landscapes" (all the tracks from which are found here). The cover of this cd is an adaptation of the cover of that LP, the artwork actually being the graphical score for Barton's "Song Of The Nahuatl" (it's interesting to note that while the McLeans worked together, they didn't collaborate compositionally it seems -- half the tracks here are by the Mr. and half by the Mrs.). The McLeans got their start together in electronic composition in academia, at the University of Indiana, South Bend, 'round about 1973, when the Music Department there brought in a huge EMS Synthi-100 synthesizer and Synthi-256 sequencer. Hours of tape-splicing creativity would ensue! That mega-synthesizer was later repossessed (!) so the McLeans turned to musique concrete techniques (bouncing steak knives on violin strings, metal bars on piano strings, that sort of thing) to source their sounds, combined with the output of what electronic equipment they were able to access. Much of this disc, tracks dating back to 1975, feature this sort of laborious processing of sound. And the results are fantastic! Reminds us a bit of the classic Forbidden Planet soundtrack by Louis and Bebe Barron, another husband and wife team who preceded the McLeans in the annals of electronic music... In addition to the vintage '70s stuff here, there's a couple tracks of some newer material from the digital age... which holds up quite well, actually! Keening drones, mysterious pulses, psychedelic bleepage -- yep, way better than Sonny n' Cher!
EM has graciously provided both English and Japanese liner notes, so the 22 page cd booklet makes good reading for anyone curious about the McLeans' musical methodology, as well as providing cool graphics and intriguing photos to ponder.
MPEG Stream: PRISCILLA MCLEAN "Voices Of The Invisible"
MPEG Stream: BARTON MCLEAN "Song Of The Nahuatl"

MOEBIUS Tonspuren (Bureau B) cd 17.98
Moebius's first solo album from 1983 is also one of our favorites of the post-Cluster universe. We first heard this when it was recently reissued on cd via the Japanese import label Captain Trip (along with Zero Set and Rastakraut Pasta), but it was much too expensive to list. Thankfully, the Bureau B label has come to the rescue and we're able to share this gem with you (they did vinyl, too, we listed a few weeks back).
Moebius has always been the more elusive and ornery of the Cluster duo. By 1983, Roedelius already had 5 solo albums under his belt, but Moebius always seemed to prefer working with groups or one-off projects, where he could entertain his curious sonic predilections against the grain of other performers. Surprisingly for his first actual solo release, he turns in an intriguing and engaging pop record. Not "Pop" in the commercial sense, but Tonspuren is surprisingly big on melodic but idiosyncratic precise miniatures with songs sounding like they were made by tiny but giddy machines.
Yet unlike Roedelius, Moebius allows no willful excursion or baroque tangent to intervene with the concise construction of his compositions, keeping them reduced to as essential compositions as possible, though much warmer and more fluid than, say, the compositions on Cluster's Curiosum (reviewed elsewhere on this list). Tellingly, this was made at the height of German New Wave, and one wonders how much of that may have played an influence. If you liked Cluster's Zuckerzeit, then check this out! Highly recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Contramio"
MPEG Stream: "Rattenwiesel"
MPEG Stream: "Sinister"

MOJO January 2010 magazine + cd 9.99
Part two of Mojo's celebration of the 30th anniversary of Pink Floyd's The Wall, with an interview about the movie version with director Sir Alan Parker and animator Gerald Scarfe, and (glued to the cover in a jewel case) a second disc of re-recordings, track-by-track, of The Wall by a bunch of cool folks including Diagonal, Peter Broderick, Crippled Black Phoenix, The Soundcarriers, and others.
Also this ish: A 15 page section about Mojo's Top 50 albums etc. of 2009 (#1 album = Animal Collective), cover star Dave Grohl, Tom Petty, Sting, SUNNO))), Brian May, news, reviews, charts, and plenty more. Always lots to read in any issue of Mojo!

MUDHONEY Superfuzz Bigmuff (Sub Pop) lp 12.98
One of our favorite seminal grunge jams now (again) on vinyl!!
This is another one of those records that is almost beyond reviewing. A record that if we found out someone we knew didn't own it, we would simply insist they buy it immediately. No questions asked. Of questions were asked, we would respond with something like "Because it's awesome!" or "It's one of the best collections of songs EVER" or more likely "JUST BUY IT! IT RULES!".
But since that doesn't work on everyone, we'll do our best to describe what is one of our favorite records EVER, and arguably the best Mudhoney release EVER. Partially because it's not a proper album, but rather a collection of single tracks. Pretty much every one a perfect chunk of slithery filthy grungy punk rock genius.
When we first discovered Mudhoney, it was because we were super obsessed with Green River, the band that vocalist/guitarist Mark Arm and guitarist Steve Turner called home before Mudhoney. Both quitting as that band leaned more and more toward glam rock and late eighties Sunset Strip rock. But to our ears, Mudhoney didn't sound all that different from Green River. Maybe a little punkier, definitely less bluesy, but from the second we first heard Mudhoney, we were in punk rock love.
A lot of it has to do with Arm's raspy croon, so raw and primal, but managing to be super melodic and versatile. He's a bit like a mop topped grunge rock Iggy Pop, wiry and writhing while spitting out insane punk rock bon mots, wailing away on his axe, bouncing maniacally around the stage. His voice is definitely the defining feature of Mudhoney, but that wouldn't mean shit if the songs weren't amazing, and they are. Punk as fuck, but way poppy, hooks galore, but all wound up in super tight riffs, wiry melodies and wild drumming, the band careening wildly one second, pounding away through some doomy dirge the next.
No amount of flowery description, no review, no matter how well written, can possibly compare to just hearing this stuff. We're so jealous of anyone who gets to hear "Touch Me I'm Sick" for the first time, or their cover of the Dicks' "Hate The Police", or the slithery "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More". When we first heard these songs, our minds were BLOWN. Literally, we had no idea what the heck we were hearing. Punk rock. Grunge. Pop. But it was more than that. The energy, the spirit, the groove, the vibe, and holy shit THE SONGS. So with all of that to chew on, I think we're finally at a stage where we can unleash the "JUST BUY IT. IT TOTALLY RULES!!"
We get a little bummed out on reissues sometimes, thinking we have to buy a record all over again, for maybe a few extra tracks, or a dvd, or whatever, but then you have to realize, stuff like this is not necessarily for fans who already have the record, but for folks who might have somehow missed out, many of whom were maybe not even alive, or still toddlers when it first came out. So for you folks, this is absolutely a must have. Whether you're a metalhead, an emo kid, a punk rocker. Mudhoney are one of the few bands whose appeal transcends genre, and rightfully so.
MPEG Stream: "Hate The Police"
MPEG Stream: "Touch Me I'm Sick"
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Young Thing Ain't Sweet No More"
MPEG Stream: "In 'N' Out Of Grace"

NECKLACING s/t (Accidie Records) cassette 6.98
Possibly named for an Incapacitants track from many moons ago, Necklacing is a collaborative project between the LA drone-plus-noise artists Matt Sullivan and William Hutson, the former working under the guise Earn and the latter as Rale. This is much more of a full-on noise project than what we've heard from either of them previously, as they're seeking the harness the power of various 'white noise generators.' It seems to us, that these generators include amplified tape hiss and shortwave radio static all blown out with overdriven gain and well-tempered distortion. No delicate introduction here, just a blast of a white noise that opens both tracks of this tape, and a plateau of noise is sustained throughout streaming into an thick low-end underbelly and topped with a very hectic stream of tactility. In their evenhanded application of the noise, Necklacing offer a perspective of clinical detachment, somewhat like the manifestations of tape noise on the brilliant, if long forgotten Reynols album Blank Tapes. The second side, which begins and ends just as the first, exhibits more from the shortwave, with rapid fire blips from utility signal transmissions bleeding through the agitated surface noise. Necklacing is an entirely different animal from the kaleidoscopic frenzy of Merzbow, the primal energy of Menche, and the psychological pressures of John Duncan. Very well done, and very limited. 100 copies altogether.

NURSE WITH WOUND Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine and An Umbrella (Jnana) cd 14.98
BACK IN PRINT!!! Nice digipak w/ original artwork.
Infamously receiving a rating of "?????" instead of the normal star system employed by Sounds Magazine in 1979, Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella was the first release, from what would eventually be a massive catalogue of sonic absurdity, from the mighty Nurse With Wound. Steven Stapleton began this album and the Nurse With Wound project during the serendipitous moment when engineer Nicky Rogers asked Stapleton, if he ever felt like making some noise on the weekend to come on over to the studio. He called up his friends John Fothergill and Heman Pathak with the frantic proposition: "I've got some studio time, go buy an instrument and let's see what happens!" The three brought over a cheap organ, an accordion, a guitar with a treble booster, a ring modulator (which Stapleton was somewhat saddened by), and as many "little noise making items" that Stapleton could carry (drills, handsanders, vacuums are some of the more obvious items), and they seem to have had access to the studio's in-house piano as well. After a mere 30 seconds of checking the levels and 'practice', Nurse With Wound began recording their first album. Random plucks, plinks, scrapes, and blurts from the NWW arsenal erupt with varying densities of reverb to create a surprisingly rich space for these improvisations. Making up for their lack of real musical training with years of collecting obscure music, Stapleton and company sat aloof amongst their mess, conjuring their own means of communication to some otherworldly plane. Obviously, Stapleton had enough sense to recognize that the power of studio editing, and didn't release this as a direct-to-tape improvisation. Chance Meeting could be positioned between Faust, Pierre Henry, AMM, and Sun Ra, but Stapleton's own unique view of how such a meeting would sound and his own application of Surrealist thought kept this album from being merely a meeting of minds.
MPEG Stream: "Two Mock Projections"
MPEG Stream: "The Six Buttons Of Sex Appeal"
MPEG Stream: "Blank Capsules Of Embroidered Cellophane"

OH SEES, THE The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In (Castle Face / In The Red) lp 11.98
Finally back in print on vinyl! Repressed on clear vinyl!
The Oh Sees have changed a lot since they were the OCS. Back then, Oh Sees frontman John Dwyer had his Coachwhips, a wild sweat soaked, garage stomp party, furious and frenzied, throbbing and in-the-red, so OCS was the outlet for Dwyer to explore the other sides of his multiple musical personality. The debut OCS record (released on tUMULt) was two discs, one of mostly solo acoustic guitar, a super intimate bedroom folk, all dusty and crackly, warm and super intimate, bits of damaged Casio, warbly old vinyl, damaged FX, lovingly crafted into some sort of heartfelt lo-fi sonic loveletter. The other disc was more noisy, super abstract, blown out blasts of free jazz weirdness, drones and rumbles, howling feedback, white noise, pink noise, and every color in between. OCS 2, 3 and 4 followed a similar pattern, a sort of lonely lo-fi homebrewed indie folk, off kilter and melancholy, wistful, damaged and dreamy.
But with the dissolution of the Coachwhips, came a name change for OCS, now The Ohsees, or sometimes The Oh Sees, a change in sound, and a transformation into a full band.
While not as freaked out and furious as the Coachwhips, the Oh Sees new record sounds more like the long lost CW's than any of Dwyer's records since. Garage-y jangle, shuffling drums, the vocals distorted, the songs simple and stripped down, but the big difference is that here Dwyer splits the vocals with bandmate Brigid Dawson, the result is truly endearing harmonies, with Dwyer often the wailing counterpoint to Dawson's sweet angelic croon. And songs that sometimes sound like alien versions of that classic Phil Spector girl group sound. But at its heart, the sound is still fuzzy and buzzy and skeletal, groovy and garage rocky, wouldn't be hard to imagine this disc on In The Red, or see these guys on tour with the Dirtbombs or the Country Teasers or the Husbands. (Bonus points for having a song about aQ pal and local artist extraordinaire Maria Forde!)
Weird too that it's out on Tomlab, it IS blissy and fuzzy and poppy, but not nearly as much as everything else on Tomlab, which is why it's only -through- Tomlab and is really on Dwyer's just launched Castle Face labelŠ
Big booklet, with lyrics, and kick ass eye popping artwork on the front and back!
MPEG Stream: "Block Of Ice"
MPEG Stream: "Visit Colonel"
MPEG Stream: "Maria Stacks"

TERRORIZER issue #191 magazine + cd 9.25
"Jump in the fire" with Skeletonwitch! That's who's on the cover here, making the big time it seems, ah we remember 'em when...
Also this issue, Converge, Canadian black metal, A Rammstein poster (oooh), Om, Finntroll, The Accused, Russian Circles, Gama Bomb, Weapon, Overkill, Portal, and tons more, all the usual reviews, news, ads for cool festivals they only have over there in Europe, etc.
Oh, and there's also a free sampler cd featuring cuts from Skitliv, The Meads Of Asphodel, Dark Age, Arsis, and more...

VAMPIRE WEEKEND Contra (XL) cd 13.98
Hype and Vampire Weekend seem to go hand in hand, and while we still don't totally see what all the fuss is about, we sit somewhere nicely in the middle opinion-wise about these unabashed prep-school popsters, as we aren't blown away by what they do but we don't think it's terrible either. This time out it seems as if the overwhelming influence of the Animal Collective has for sure touched the Vampire boys as this sounds a lot like a more commercial and smoothed out version of AC's signature sound. There are some really catchy standout moments here, especially "Cousins" which could have been on the last Dodos record, and we're not afraid to admit that we've listened to that song over and over and definitely find it to be pretty much undeniably one of the most joyful pop songs of the year. They still have their light afro-pop side that feels like a modern day version of Paul Simon or Peter Gabriel. Maybe not the most original or amazing band around but no doubt they are peppy, preppy, catchy and fun.
The first batch of these comes with an extra disc featuring three bonus tracks/remixes. And the lp includes a download of the whole record too...
MPEG Stream: "Cousins"
MPEG Stream: "Horchata"
MPEG Stream: "Run"

VAMPIRE WEEKEND Contra (XL) lp 14.98
Hype and Vampire Weekend seem to go hand in hand, and while we still don't totally see what all the fuss is about, we sit somewhere nicely in the middle opinion-wise about these unabashed prep-school popsters, as we aren't blown away by what they do but we don't think it's terrible either. This time out it seems as if the overwhelming influence of the Animal Collective has for sure touched the Vampire boys as this sounds a lot like a more commercial and smoothed out version of AC's signature sound. There are some really catchy standout moments here, especially "Cousins" which could have been on the last Dodos record, and we're not afraid to admit that we've listened to that song over and over and definitely find it to be pretty much undeniably one of the most joyful pop songs of the year. They still have their light afro-pop side that feels like a modern day version of Paul Simon or Peter Gabriel. Maybe not the most original or amazing band around but no doubt they are peppy, preppy, catchy and fun.
The first batch of these comes with an extra disc featuring three bonus tracks/remixes. And the lp includes a download of the whole record too...
MPEG Stream: "Cousins"
MPEG Stream: "Horchata"
MPEG Stream: "Run"

WAITS, TOM Glitter and Doom Live (Anti) 2cd 16.98
Because his live concerts are so few and far between (and usually in Europe or Talahassee or some such place), Glitter and Doom, the new live Tom Waits cd, is a blessing from the heavens above. The man himself still sounds amazing and imaginative, even after all these years; that gravelly voice digging deep and soaring into high falsetto, channeling Howlin' Wolf and cracking jokes. Old favorites like "falling Down" and "I'll Shoot the Moon" sound as fresh as ever, their arrangements and instrumentations altered slightly, while newer classics like "Get Behind the Mule" and "Make It Rain" are executed with more energy and finesse than on the original recordings. Though it would be nice to see Mr. Waits' extraordinary facial expressions while he sings, his voice and the incredible musicians he assembled paint such a picture in the mind's eye to make the lack of a visual element negligible.
The second disc contains 35 minutes of Mr. Waits at the piano telling stories and relating obscure facts to a live audience, usually about animals or etymology. It's like a stand-up comedy routine, only he's sitting down....
MPEG Stream: "Singapore"
MPEG Stream: "Lucinda"
MPEG Stream: "I'll Shoot the Moon"

WALKEN s/t (self-released) cd 9.98
Even though these dudes are a local band, few of us had heard of them. However, all it took was a brief glance at the back cover, revealing a song called "Beast Toker," and we were pretty much sold. We carried their last ep, a self-released cd-r, but that one is long gone, and now Walken take things to the next logical place with an actual cd, one that is sure to win them support from anyone digging fellow local sludgelords like Kowloon Walled City, Black Cobra, and pretty much all of the East Bay. The band stands along the border of punk and metal, with one foot on each side, but luckily things never seem like some self-conscious hybrid. Best of all, Walken shred things up in expert fashion with all kinds of cool pinch harmonics and uber metal elements while the songs chug along with catchy riffs, super tight drumming, and lots of cool gang vocals. At times, there seems to be a fairly pronounced NWOBHM vibe, but maybe that's just us (probably not though). Things often end up sounding like a more grooving Converge with vocals at times reminiscent of legendary Swedes Refused, or perhaps a more punked out Nachtmystium. Sound good? You bet it does. And if this album is any indication of this band's unholy talents, we can only imagine how much they must KILL it live. Another welcome release from San Francisco's ever fertile heavy underground. Fuck yeah.
MPEG Stream: "Watch It Burn"
MPEG Stream: "Thunder Paws"
MPEG Stream: "Beast Toker"

XENO & OAKLANDER Sentinelle (Wierd) lp 14.98
ALSO NOW HERE ON VINYL!!
Situated somewhere near Cold Cave, Zola Jesus, and Blank Dogs, Xeno & Oaklander offer another fantastic distillation of dark-eyed synth-pop from a previous decade. A duo comprised of Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride, Xeno & Oaklander eschew digital technologies in favor of analogue synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines, applying these instruments to the ghostly rhythmic electronics of minimal wave bands such as Absolute Body Control or Snowy Red. Less obtuse references would be early Human League, Xymox, and Depeche Mode; but no matter where you want to pin the influences, X&O are looking back to the European stylings of romantic electronica that dates somewhere between 1982 and 1986. Like Cold Cave, Xeno & Oaklander have made an appearance at the No Fun Festival in 2009, probably being one of the acts that some of the stalwart noiseniks must have hated because of their comparatively pretty songs.
There is something golden and polished to the mechanoid sequences and electrical rhythms on Sentinelle, which stands as the 'proper' debut album for Xeno & Oaklander after a cd-r micro-edition and some choice tracks on Wierd's [sic] first two collections of analogue electronic music. Throughout the album, sad electronic melodies are tightly bound around repetitive phrases and spry post-disco drum programming, with the vocals alternating between both McBride and Wendelbo (the latter singing in English and French). The album has the feel that it could be a stand in as a soundtrack to the silent film Metropolis, with its accompanying aesthetics of art-deco modernism tinged with noir shadows and gleaming bursts of reflected light. Despite the obvious allusions to the past, Xeno & Oaklander seem to have wedged themselves between all of their influences and mustered something that they can claim as their own. Very well done!
MPEG Stream: "4th Wall"
MPEG Stream: "Toho Picture"
MPEG Stream: "Rendez-Vous d'Or"

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----* Compilations :
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V/A Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82 Volume One (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
NOW ON VINYL! This is part one...
Another incredible collection from Soul Jazz, this one focusing on jazz from the sixties, seventies and early eighties and how that music, and the lives of the performers intersected with the civil rights movement.
As jazz developed and radicalized in the sixties, African American artists began to rebel against the stereotypical image and role of the jazz musician, reimagining their music, the sounds, looking to Africa for inspiration, turning their back in the mainstream, and approaching their music more as art than entertainment, resulting in some of the most revolutionary music made in America, and producing all manner of musical hybrids as well as all sorts of musical and cultural organizations. The booklet is super informative, and will most likely have you wanting to read and learn more. And the music here perfectly captures all the energy, confusion, turmoil, pain, suffering, anger, despair, sadness, hopefulness and joy of the era. Lots of familiar faces: Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Joe McPhee, Gato Barbieri, Philip Cohran, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Joe Henderson, but also tons of amazing groups we'd never heard before. And the sounds are all over the map, straight up post bop jazz, wild skronky free jazz, groovy Shaft style jazz funk jams, wah wah guitars, soulful vox, intense tribal drum workouts, smokey late night grooves, some spoken word, some jazz almost verging on dub, lots of African influences for sure, in the instrumentation, the chant like vocals, the arrangements, some amazing flute action, some seriously intense and unique sounds and songs, and we're now on the hunt for records by most of the artists we heard here for the first time, which is always the sign of a great compilation, and this is most certainly a great compilation.
MPEG Stream: OLIVER LAKE / NTU "Africa"
MPEG Stream: STEVE COLSON & THE UNITY TROUPE "Lateen"
MPEG Stream: JOE HENDERSON "Foregone Conclusion"
MPEG Stream: PHEEROAN AK LAFF "3 In 1"
MPEG Stream: RALPH THOMAS "Big Spliff"

V/A Freedom Rhythm & Sound: Revolutionary Jazz & The Civil Rights Movement 1963-82 Volume Two (Soul Jazz) 2lp 24.00
NOW ON VINYL! This is part two...
Another incredible collection from Soul Jazz, this one focusing on jazz from the sixties, seventies and early eighties and how that music, and the lives of the performers intersected with the civil rights movement.
As jazz developed and radicalized in the sixties, African American artists began to rebel against the stereotypical image and role of the jazz musician, reimagining their music, the sounds, looking to Africa for inspiration, turning their back in the mainstream, and approaching their music more as art than entertainment, resulting in some of the most revolutionary music made in America, and producing all manner of musical hybrids as well as all sorts of musical and cultural organizations. The booklet is super informative, and will most likely have you wanting to read and learn more. And the music here perfectly captures all the energy, confusion, turmoil, pain, suffering, anger, despair, sadness, hopefulness and joy of the era. Lots of familiar faces: Archie Shepp, Sun Ra, Joe McPhee, Gato Barbieri, Philip Cohran, Art Ensemble Of Chicago, Joe Henderson, but also tons of amazing groups we'd never heard before. And the sounds are all over the map, straight up post bop jazz, wild skronky free jazz, groovy Shaft style jazz funk jams, wah wah guitars, soulful vox, intense tribal drum workouts, smokey late night grooves, some spoken word, some jazz almost verging on dub, lots of African influences for sure, in the instrumentation, the chant like vocals, the arrangements, some amazing flute action, some seriously intense and unique sounds and songs, and we're now on the hunt for records by most of the artists we heard here for the first time, which is always the sign of a great compilation, and this is most certainly a great compilation.
MPEG Stream: OLIVER LAKE / NTU "Africa"
MPEG Stream: STEVE COLSON & THE UNITY TROUPE "Lateen"
MPEG Stream: JOE HENDERSON "Foregone Conclusion"
MPEG Stream: PHEEROAN AK LAFF "3 In 1"
MPEG Stream: RALPH THOMAS "Big Spliff"

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----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed :
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If you want to order one of these, just search for the item, then click on the buy button and it will be added to your cart!

ALTRES "Tripping The Dark Fantastic" (Multi-Purpose) 2cd-r 11.98
AMAZING, THE "Code II" (Mexican Summer) 10" 16.98
ANTI-POP CONSORTIUM "Fluorescent Black" (Big Dada) cd/2lp 15.98/23.00
BLACK BREATH "Razor To Oblivion" (Southern Lord) cd 12.98
BLACK OATH "s/t" (Subject To Suffering) cdep 9.98
CAPTAIN BEYOND "Captain Beyond & Sufficiently Breathless" (Raven) cd 22.00
CHIN CHIN "We Don't Wanna Be Prisoners" (Mississippi) 7" 6.50
CLAWS "Absorbed In The Nethervoid" (Razorback) cd 10.98
DADFAG "Scenic Abuse" (Broken Rekids) cd/lp 11.98/11.98
DENGUE FEVER (V/A) "Presents Electric Cambodia: 14 Rare Gems From Cambodia's Past" (Minky) cd 16.98
EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN "Kollaps" (Potomak) cd 16.98
FAY, BILL "Still Some Light" (Coptic Cat) 2cd 15.98
FESTERED "Flesh Perversion" (Razorback) cd 10.98
FINAL FANTASY "Heartland" (Domino) cd 14.98
FLAMIN GROOVIES "Flamingo" (Karma Sutra / Buddah) lp 16.98
FLAMIN GROOVIES "Teenage Head" (Karma Sutra / Buddah) lp 16.98
FOWLEY, KIM "Another Man's Gold: Lost Treasures From The Vaults 1959-69 Volume 2" (Norton) cd 14.98
FOWLEY, KIM "One Man's Garbage: Lost Treasures From The Vaults 1959-69 Volume 1" (Norton) cd 14.98
GLANDS OF EXTERNAL SECRETION "Meat Receiving" (Ultra Eczema) lp 27.00
GLITTER WIZARD "Black Lotus / Witches Limbo" (Sans Escape) 7" 6.50
HUDSON MOHAWKE "Butter" (Warp) cd 16.98
INCAPACITANTS "Lon Guy" (Harbinger) cd 14.98
LANDSCAPE "From The Tea-Rooms Of Mars .... To The Hell-Holes Of Uranus" (Cherry Red) cd 16.98
LED ER EST "Pool Gorm / Man And Tree" (Captured Tracks) 7" 6.98
LET THE NIGHT ROAR "s/t" (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
LINDSTROM & CHRISTABELLE "Real Life Is No Cool" (Feedelity / Smalltown Supersound) cd/lp 16.98/17.98
MAJOR STARS "Return To Form" (Drag City) cd/lp 14.98/15.98
MOEBIUS "Blotch" (Nepenthe) cd 14.98
NOTHING, CHARLIE "The Psychedelic Saxophone" (No Label) lp 17.98
NOWIK, WILLIAM "Pan Symphony In E Minor" (Guerssen) cd/lp 17.98/26.00
OH NO "Dr. No's Ethiopium" (Disruption Productions) cd 16.98
OH SEES, THEE "Quadrospazzed" (Castle Face) 12" 13.98
OK GO "Of The Blue Colour Of The Sky" (Capital) cd 12.98
ORCUTT, BILL "New Way to Pay Old Debts" (Palilalia Records) lp 10.98
PARSONS, DAVID "Jyoti" (Celestial Harmonies) cd 15.98
REYKJAVIK! "The Blood" (Kimi) cd 16.98
ROEDELIUS "Oftern Turen" (Nepenthe) cd 14.98
ROYHKA JA RATTO JA LEHTISALO "Hiekkarantaa" (Ektro) cd 14.98
SACRED STEEL "Carnage Victory" (Massacre) cd+dvd 17.98
SOFT PACK, THE "Grinding Halt" (Kemado) 7" 4.98
SOUNDS OF LIBERATION "s/t" (Porter Records) lp 14.98
SPARKS "Seduction Of Ingmar Bergman" (Lil' Beethoven) 2lp 34.00
STIVELY, RYAN AND HIS POISON BAND "Pulling For Gold" (self-released) cd-r
SUN ARAW "Sun Ark" (Not Not Fun) 7" 8.98
SUN RA AND HIS MYTH SCIENCE SOLAR ARKESTRA "The Antique Blacks" (Art Yard) cd 21.00
SWALLOW THE SUN "New Moon" (Spinefarm) cd 13.98
TANGERINE DREAM "Mysterious Semblance At The Strand Of Nightmares" (Lilith) lp 26.00
TRANS AM "What Day Is It Tonight : Live 1993-2007" (Thrill Jockey) 2lp 21.00
V/A "Anatolia Rocks: A Musical Trip Through Turkey 1968-83" (Wolrd Wide Productions) lp 25.00
V/A "D-Funk: Funk, Disco & Boogie Grooves From Germany 1972-2002" (Marina) cd 17.98
V/A "Electric Holyland" (Lysergic Sound) lp 21.00
V/A "Messthetics #107" (Hyped To Death) cd 14.98
V/A "Welcome To 1984" (Maximum Rock N Roll) lp 10.98
VHS HEAD "Video Club" (Skam) cd 9.98
VOIVOD "Infini" (Relapse) cd 14.98
WATCHTOWER "Energetic Disassembly" (Forged In Fire / Rockadrome) cd 13.98
WHILE HEAVEN WEPT "Vast Oceans Lachrymose" (Cruz Del Sur) cd 16.98
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM "Live At Roadburn 2008" (Roadburn) cd+dvd 19.98
WORM OUROBOROS "s/t" (Profound Lore) cd 13.98
WRIGHT, PETER "Bright Falling Star" (Release The Bats) lp

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Please place your order via our website.

[1] We will contact you to verify your order and let you know when it will be shipped. Please note that occasionally it may take a day or two for us to reply. We are not a faceless bunch of computers replying to your order -- we are human beings!

[2] If we are out of some of your items and we think we will get them within the same week, we can wait to ship. Or... If it's going to be more than a few days to complete your order, we will ship what we have and then will contact you as the remainders arrive.

[ note ] Due to the everchanging nature of the independent record business, we are not responsible for listed price changes (due to supplier price changes) and often cannot update our site fast enough to reflect these changes, but we will always try to let you know of any differences.


DOMESTIC SHIPPING :
--------------------------------

1-2 items    $5.00 USPS Priority Mail
3+ items    $7.50 UPS Ground

Further Explanation (Please Read!):
Within the USA, an order of 3 or more items will be shipped via UPS ground for a flat fee of $7.50. These packages are automatically insured and trackable.

However, if your package contains just 1 or 2 items, we will ship your order via USPS Priority Mail, and charge you $5.00 for shipping. These packages are NOT insured or trackable, sorry. So if you desire those safeguards, please request UPS delivery at the $7.50 rate. You must mention this in the comments field of our online order form.

Also, please note that UPS will not ship to PO Boxes. If you only have a PO Box, we can ship packages of 3+ items via US Postal Service at the $7.50 rate. Special shipping needs (e.g. UPS Next Day) are also do-able, just ask.

Another important note: box sets DON'T (usually) count as one item. Sorry. A box set will generally bump you up into the "three or more items" category. Y'know, they're big. Boxes.


INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING :
-------------------------------- For foreign customers we ship via US AIRMAIL ("First Class International"). Your price is based on the actual cost of shipping plus $1. You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package" category and see the price for "First Class International". 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound.)

We highly recommend insurance for your international package, but it is very expensive! You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package" category and see the price for "Priority Mail International". 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound. 1 lp is usually a little over 1.5 pounds.)


INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE :
-------------------------------- You are hereby forewarned that Aquarius is not responsible if your international package gets lost in the mail. Insurance is your only recourse if your records never show up. Since the terrible events of 9/11, mail service has been slow and undependable... and while we haven't experienced any *confirmed* permanently lost mail, insurance might provide some additional piece of mind in this time of upheaval. We strongly recommend it. But yes, it is very expensive. It's your choice. Again: Aquarius is not responsible for lost mail, so if you aren't willing to take a (slight but real) risk, please buy the insurance.

International insurance is very expensive! In fact often the insurance costs more than the value of your package, in which case it obviously does not make sense to insure it. You can check the US Postal Service international rate calculator: http://ircalc.usps.gov/. (Use the "Package" category and see the price for "Priority Mail International", which is the way insured packages are sent. 1-3 cds is usually 1 pound. 1 lp is usually a little over 1.5 pounds.)

For example: for a one-pound package worth $18 going to England, shipping without insurance is about $11.00. But with insurance, the shipping / insurance total is over $26.00!

It is your reponsibility to check the international rate calculator in order to determine whether or not you want international insurance. If you tell us you want international insurance, we will add it to your order no matter how much it costs!


PAYMENT :
-------------------------------- We accept the following credit cards: Visa, MC, Discover, and Amex. We will not charge your credit card until your order is ready to ship.

Money orders are accepted, but only in $USD. International customers please note that they must be international postal money orders purchased at a post office. Additional processing fees may apply. 

If you wish to pay by money order, you must confirm the order with us through email or phone BEFORE you send any payment. It's best to just use the secure order form on the website, and when checking out mark money order as your payment choice. We will then process your order and respond with all the crucial payment info.

We also accept payment by Paypal. If you opt for this payment method, we will send you a paypal total and payment instructions as soon as we've confirmed your order with you. Please do not send payment until you have received human contact from our mailorder department.

Unfortunately, we cannot take personal checks for mailorder, sorry!


QUESTION?
-------------------------------- Email the mailorder department: mailorder@aquariusrecords.org
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SOME SELECTED UPCOMING RELEASES

----} January 19th
Good For Cows "Audumla" cd on Mimcry
RJD2 "Colossus" cd
Sigh "Scenes From Hell" cd on The End
The Editors "In This Light & On This Evening" cd

----} January 26th
Beach House "Teen Dream" cd+dvd/2lp+dvd on Sub Pop
Magnetic Fields "Realism" cd
Four Tet "There Is Love In You" cd/lp on Domino
Cave In "Planets Of Old" ep on Hydra Head
Motor "Hyper Machine"cd
Fucked Up "Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009" cd on Matador
v/a "Minimal Wave Tapes 1" cd
Rimfrost "Veraldar Nagli" cd
Urgehal "Ikonoklast"

----} also in January
Harvey Milk "s/t" 1st unreleased album on Hydra Head
Citay "Dream Get Together" cd/lp on Dead Oceans
Infinite Body "Cave Out The Face Of My God" cd/lp

----} February 2nd
Skullflower "Strange Keys To Untune God's Firmament" 2cd on Neurot
U.S. Girls "Go Grey" lp on Siltbreeze
Vibracathedral Orchestra "Joka Baya" lp on VHF
Vibracathedral Orchestra "The Secret Base" lp on VHF
Vibracathedral Orchestra "Smoke Song" lp on VHF
Monolake "Silence" cd
A.R. & Machines "Die Grune Reise: Green Journey" cd+dvd reissue

----} also in February
White Hills "s/t" cd/lp on Thrill Jockey
Jack Rose "Luck In The Valley" cd on Thrill Jockey
Moon Duo "Escape" cd/lp on Woodsist
Wold "Work Together For Our Privacy" cd on Profound Lore
US Girls "Go Grey" lp on Siltbreeze
Xiu Xiu "Dear God I Hate Myself" cd on Kill Rock Stars
v/a "Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox" 2cd on Merge
Aidan Baker "Liminoid/Lifeforms" cd on Alien8
Blessure Grave "Judged By 12, Carried By 6" cd on Alien8
Quasi "American Gong" on Kill Rock Stars

----} also upcoming sooner or later or sooner or later or something
Bohemian Grove "Age Of Retrogression" cd on Hyperblasted
King Khan & BBQ Show "Invisible Girl" cd/lp on In The Red
Felix "You Are The One I Pick" cd on Kranky
Papercuts "Where Are The Waves" cd on Gnomonsong
The Roots "How I Got Over" cd
Max Richter "Memory House" cd
Celestiial "Where Life Springs Eternal" cd on Bindrune
Blood Of The Black Owl "A Banishing Ritual" cd on Bindrune
Crispy Ambulance "Plateau Phase" cd reissue on LTM
Ocean "Pantheon Of The Lesser" 2lp version on Important
Grumbling Fur (Guapo + Jussi from Circle) cd
Combat Astronomy "Earth Divided by Zero" cd
Anton Batagov "Passionate Desire To Be An Angel" cd on Long Arms Records
Japancakes "If I Could See Dallas"
Jazzfinger "The Sun's Golden Blood" cd on Beta-Lactam Ring
v/a "Noise Room" cd on Soniq
Country Teasers / Ezee Tiger split lp on Holy Mountain
Erase Errata TBA cd on Kill Rock Stars
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists TBA cd/lp on Touch And Go
Rodan TBA cd/lp on Quarterstick
Deftones "Eros" cd on Warner Bros.
Swell Maps "International Rescue" clear vinyl LP reissue on Alive
Loss "Despond" cd on Profound Lore
Trans Am "What Day Is Tonight" cd on Thrill Jockey
Boduf Songs "Strait Gait" cd/lp on Latitudes
M. Holterbach + Julia Eckhardt cd on Helen Scarsdale
AFCGT "s/t" lp on Sub Pop


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Jim Haynes
"Another Short History of Decay"
January 16 - February 27, 2010
    
Electric Works
130 8th Street
San Francisco, CA

Electric Works proudly welcomes Jim Haynes into the Project Room, presenting "Another Short History of Decay." Each image in the exhibition is a corroded photograph that begins its life as a silver gelatin print and acquires its bruised surface through a series of chemical reactions that embed stains into the surface of the print. At times, Haynes obliterates the photographic image through this process; and at others, he allows the imagery of those photographs to creep back through the network of residual markings.

Jim Haynes (b. 1972) lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recent solo exhibitions have been hosted by The Lab in San Francisco and Jack Straw Productions in Seattle. Haynes' work also includes composition and performance through which he has collaborated with Steven Stapleton, Loren Chasse, Keith Evans, and M.S. Waldron. His recordings have been published by The Helen Scarsdale Agency, Intransitive Recordings, Elevator Bath, and Seal Pool. He is the Vice President of 23five Incorporated, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and increased awareness of sound arts within the public arena.

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Lots of love from your devoted AQ staff

Andee Cup Jim AllanIrwinScottNickSallyJonandAndrew