BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Fans Only (Matador) dvd 15.98
Massive collection of videos, live performances, interviews, outtakes, TV appearances and a full length documentary. Over two hours of goodies. Haven't watched the whole thing, but from what we've seen it's pretty great, set up nicely, and some of the footage is truly breathtaking, fuzzy and dream like, while the behind the scenes stuff is pretty fun and funny. As the title makes clear, fans will definitely need this!

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (Matador) cd 14.98
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant was Belle & Sebastian's fourth album. Although this album from 2000 is still filled with their early trademark fey Scottish songsmithery that so frequently is compared to Nick Drake and Donovan, it proved to be a leaping off or transitional point for the band as they pushed open the garden gate to venture beyond the twee boundaries into grander scale productions. The results are heartmeltingly splendid, but not without a wonderfully wry bit of biting humor here and there.
MPEG Stream: "I Fought In A War"
MPEG Stream: "Beyond The Sunrise"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant (Matador) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hey all of you Belle And Sebastian luvvin' audiophiles, today's a hip-hip-hooray day!
Those Scottish darlings' first four albums have received the super duper vinyl reissue treatment. Yes, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, The Boy With The Arab Strap, If You're Feeling Sinister, and Tigermilk have been repressed (or pressed for the first time in the U.S. in the case of the latter two) on 180 gram vinyl! Plus, each one includes a free full album MP3 download.
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant was Belle & Sebastian's fourth album. Although this album from 2000 is still filled with their early trademark fey Scottish songsmithery that so frequently is compared to Nick Drake and Donovan, it proved to be a leaping off or transitional point for the band as they pushed open the garden gate to venture beyond the twee boundaries into grander scale productions. The results are heartmeltingly splendid, but not without a wonderfully wry bit of biting humor here and there.
MPEG Stream: "I Fought In A War"
MPEG Stream: "Beyond The Sunrise"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN I'm Waking Up To Us (Matador) cd ep 5.98
A li'l cd ep for all you Belle & Sebastian fans out there. Three songs in all. As you'll be happy and not at all surprised to discover, their folksy, honeyed, bittersweet romance brand of Scottish pop is in full bloom. With a puppy dog record sleeve to match the soft'n'cuddly tunes.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN I'm Waking Up To Us (Matador) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A li'l 12" EP for all you Belle & Sebastian fans out there. Three songs in all. As you'll be happy and not at all surprised to discover, their folksy, honeyed, bittersweet romance brand of Scottish pop is in full bloom. With a puppy dog record sleeve to match the soft'n'cuddly tunes.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN If You're Feeling Sinister (Matador) cd 10.98
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
If You're Feeling Sinister was Belle & Sebastian's second album and was first released back in 1997. It continued in the same ultra soft folk pop vein as its predecessor Tigermilk. So mellow and twee it could almost be a suitable soundtrack to a child's storybook if it weren't for the occasional darker lyrical twists. The musical equivalent of an Edward Gorey bedtime story. Adorable and precocious. Over the years, this is the album that invariably got recommended most to folks seeking "the best early B&S album"... that is, until their formerly very hard to find debut Tigermilk got rereleased. Now we have to say it's sort of a toss up as to which is "better". Aww heck, get 'em both, you probably won't be disappointed!
MPEG Stream: "The Stars Of Track And Field"
MPEG Stream: "The Fox In The Snow"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN If You're Feeling Sinister (Matador) lp 15.98
Hey all of you Belle And Sebastian luvvin' audiophiles, today's a hip-hip-hooray day!
Those Scottish darlings' first four albums have received the super duper vinyl reissue treatment. Yes, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, The Boy With The Arab Strap, If You're Feeling Sinister, and Tigermilk have been repressed (or pressed for the first time in the U.S. in the case of the latter two) on 180 gram vinyl!
If You're Feeling Sinister was Belle & Sebastian's second album and was first released back in 1997. It continued in the same ultra soft folk pop vein as its predecessor Tigermilk. So mellow and twee it could almost be a suitable soundtrack to a child's storybook if it weren't for the occasional darker lyrical twists. The musical equivalent of an Edward Gorey bedtime story. Adorable and precocious. Over the years, this is the album that invariably got recommended most to folks seeking "the best early B&S album"... that is, until their formerly very hard to find debut Tigermilk got rereleased. Now we have to say it's sort of a toss up as to which is "better". Aww heck, get 'em both, you probably won't be disappointed!
MPEG Stream: "The Stars Of Track And Field"
MPEG Stream: "The Fox In The Snow"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Jonathan David (Matador / Jeepster) cd ep 5.98
Three new tracks from these delicately fey, ever-popular Scottish types: "Johnathan David", "Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It", and "The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner".

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Jonathan David (Matador / Jeepster) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Three new tracks from these delicately fey, ever-popular Scottish types: "Johnathan David", "Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It", and "The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner".

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Lazy Line Painter Jane (Matador) 3cd 15.98
No, that's not a typo. We, um, lucky Americans can now get all three previously import-only 1997 cdeps from these Scottish wimp-pop phenoms for the low, low, low price of $15.98! "Lazy Line Painter Jane," "Dog On Wheels," and "3..6..9 Seconds of Light", twelve tracks total. Even though they could have all fit on one disc, Matador decided to leave them as three individual jewel-cased cds packaged together in a cardboard slip cover.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Legal Man (Matador) cd 5.98
Three exclusive tracks not on their new album: Legal Man, Judy Is A Dick Slap (extended version), and Winter Wooskie.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Push Barman To Open Old Wounds (Matador) 3lp 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Why be all cluttered and downright messy when you can be all neat and consolidated? Well, with the assistance of Matador Records, Belle And Sebastian are tidying things up a bit. This B&S collection gathers up all of the band's EPs that were previously released between 1997 and 2001 on Jeepster Records in the U.K. Although Matador released three of them as a box set back in 2000, the rest have been incredibly difficult to track down. Look no further, twenty five Scottish sweet folksy pop treats all in one place (or two). Wheeeeeeeeeee! B&S super fans take note: Push Barman has been released as a regular ol' double CD, a limited edition deluxe double CD and a limited edition triple LP! We've opted to carry the latter two special versions (but of course, if you prefer the plain jane version we'll certainly order a copy especially for you). Mind you if you choose to get this release without actually getting rid of the redundancies, that just means more stuff! Ack, one step forward...
MPEG Stream: "Put The Book Back On The Shelf"
MPEG Stream: "This Is Just A Modern Rock Song"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Push Barman To Open Old Wounds (deluxe version) (Matador) 2cd 17.98
Why be all cluttered and downright messy when you can be all neat and consolidated? Well, with the assistance of Matador Records, Belle And Sebastian are tidying things up a bit. This B&S collection gathers up all of the band's EPs that were previously released between 1997 and 2001 on Jeepster Records in the U.K. Although Matador released three of them as a box set back in 2000, the rest have been incredibly difficult to track down. Look no further, twenty five Scottish sweet folksy pop treats all in one place (or two). Wheeeeeeeeeee! B&S super fans take note: Push Barman has been released as a regular ol' double CD, a limited edition deluxe double CD and a limited edition triple LP! We've opted to carry the latter two special versions (but of course, if you prefer the plain jane version we'll certainly order a copy especially for you). Mind you if you choose to get this release without actually getting rid of the redundancies, that just means more stuff! Ack, one step forward...
MPEG Stream: "Put The Book Back On The Shelf"
MPEG Stream: "This Is Just A Modern Rock Song"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Storytelling (OST) (Matador) cd 9.98
If you've been following the adventures here at AQ for some time now, you probably already know that there are definitely strong pro- and anti-B&S folks here, but it should be noted that our Jim (who usually sides with the latter team) has said this is perhaps the only B&S album he can take. Cup (who hasn't seen the movie, but does like B&S) thinks the music's lovely (especially the title track), but the dialogue samples are somewhat intrusive. All of that said...
Hopping aboard the film music train (along with the recent likes of Badly Drawn Boy's About A Boy and Stephin Merritt's Eban & Charley), Belle & Sebastian combine their trademark lush folk with dialogue snippets from Todd Solondz's film Storytelling. Unlike BDB's soundtrack which can almost be taken on its own as his second full length, B&S's film music is more distinctly a soundtrack like that of Mr. Merritt. At times this sounds like a '70s Afterschool Special score (in a good way), or the Bugaloos (particularly on "Scooby Driver") or like a Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoon with its Vince Guaraldi-esque piano moments. Upliftingly sweet and lovely compositions with strings that soar and plink, guitars that jingle jangle, and shakers that keep perfect chika-chika-chika time. Oh yes, and of course gracing the six new B&S vocal songs are those familiar velvety soft voices of Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell (who, fans will undoubtedly be crushed to hear, makes her final B&S appearance on this release).
RealAudio clip: "Fiction"
RealAudio clip: "Storytelling"
RealAudio clip: "Wandering Alone"
RealAudio clip: "Scooby Driver"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Storytelling (OST) (Matador) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If you've been following the adventures here at AQ for some time now, you probably already know that there are definitely strong pro- and anti-B&S folks here, but it should be noted that our Jim (who usually sides with the latter team) has said this is perhaps the only B&S album he can take. Cup (who hasn't seen the movie, but does like B&S) thinks the music's lovely (especially the title track), but the dialogue samples are somewhat intrusive. All of that said...
Hopping aboard the film music train (along with the recent likes of Badly Drawn Boy's About A Boy and Stephin Merritt's Eban & Charley), Belle And Sebastian combine their trademark lush folk with dialogue snippits from Todd Solondz's film Storytelling. Unlike BDB's soundtrack which can almost be taken on its own as his second full length, B&S's film music is more distinctly a soundtrack like that of Mr. Merritt. At times this sounds like a '70s Afterschool Special score (in a good way), or the Bugaloos (particularly on "Scooby Driver") or like a Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoon with its Vince Guaraldi-esque piano moments. Upliftingly sweet and lovely compositions with strings that soar and plink, guitars that jingle jangle, and shakers that keep perfect chika-chika-chika time. Oh yes, and of course gracing the six new B&S vocal songs are those familiar velvety soft voices of Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell (who, fans will undoubtedly be crushed to hear, makes her final B&S appearance on this release).
RealAudio clip: "Fiction"
RealAudio clip: "Storytelling"
RealAudio clip: "Wandering Alone"
RealAudio clip: "Scooby Driver"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The BBC Sessions (Matador) 2cd 15.98
For many of us the classic era of Belle & Sebastian is when Isobel Campbell was still in the band and they made truly classic and timeless albums like Tigermilk, If You're Feeling Sinister, The Boy With The Arab Strap, and so many great ep's too.
Dedicated to the memory of John Peel, this collection of BBC recordings originally recorded between the years 1996-2001 is packed with tons of their instantly recognizable heart melting classics, as well as four previously unreleased tracks, that fit perfectly amongst all of the super smart and heartfelt songs Belle & Sebastian have crafted over the years. Stuart Murdoch's voice sounds so amazingly effortless and seductive throughout and we still get tingles when Isobel Campbell makes her way to the mic. The first batch of these come with a bonus disc featuring a live show recorded in Belfast in 2001 and include endearing covers of "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "The Boys Are Back In Town." B&S have inspired way too many wannabe lisp-having over-sensitive pop peddlers but that's not their fault, and no matter how many bands try, none of them will be able to match the true ease, breeze and nostalgia that Belle & Sebastian are able to evoke with their beautiful sounds.
MPEG Stream: "I Could Be Dreaming"
MPEG Stream: "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique"
MPEG Stream: "Dirty Dream (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Legal Man [Live]"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The BBC Sessions (Matador) 2lp 26.00
For many of us the classic era of Belle & Sebastian is when Isobel Campbell was still in the band and they made truly classic and timeless albums like Tigermilk, If You're Feeling Sinister, The Boy With The Arab Strap, and so many great ep's too.
Dedicated to the memory of John Peel, this collection of BBC recordings originally recorded between the years 1996-2001 is packed with tons of their instantly recognizable heart melting classics, as well as four previously unreleased tracks, that fit perfectly amongst all of the super smart and heartfelt songs Belle & Sebastian have crafted over the years. Stuart Murdoch's voice sounds so amazingly effortless and seductive throughout and we still get tingles when Isobel Campbell makes her way to the mic. The first batch of these come with a bonus disc featuring a live show recorded in Belfast in 2001 and include endearing covers of "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "The Boys Are Back In Town." B&S have inspired way too many wannabe lisp-having over-sensitive pop peddlers but that's not their fault, and no matter how many bands try, none of them will be able to match the true ease, breeze and nostalgia that Belle & Sebastian are able to evoke with their beautiful sounds.
MPEG Stream: "I Could Be Dreaming"
MPEG Stream: "(My Girl's Got) Miraculous Technique"
MPEG Stream: "Dirty Dream (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "Legal Man [Live]"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador) cd 10.98
Well-informed customer tells us that an arab strap is a sexual aid for horses that helps their penises to point in the correct direction. Customer also tells us that the particular B&S song with this title is making fun of (the band) Arab Strap's lead singer who is forever whining about his failed relationships. And the lyric does in fact read, "the boy WITH the arab strap". Make of this what you will. Bestseller in the lispy pop department.
MPEG Stream: "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep The Clock Around"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador) cd 10.98
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
The Boy With The Arab Strap was B&S's third album and was first released back in 1998. A well-informed customer once explained to us that an arab strap is a sexual aid for horses that helps their penises to point in the correct direction. Oh my! The very same customer also told us that the particular B&S song with this title is making fun of (the band) Arab Strap's lead singer who is forever whining about his failed relationships. And the lyric does in fact read, "the boy WITH the arab strap". Make of this what you will. Bestseller in the lispy twee soft folksy pop department. Be forewarned, this band's music might trigger an irresistible urge to snuggle in even the most cold-hearted of beings.
MPEG Stream: "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep The Clock Around"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Well-informed customer tells us that an arab strap is a sexual aid for horses that helps their penises to point in the correct direction. Customer also tells us that the particular B&S song with this title is making fun of (the band) Arab Strap's lead singer who is forever whining about his failed relationships. And the lyric does in fact read, "the boy WITH the arab strap". Make of this what you will. Bestseller in the lispy pop department.
MPEG Stream: "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep The Clock Around"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Boy With The Arab Strap (Matador) lp 16.98
Hey all of you Belle And Sebastian luvvin' audiophiles, today's a hip-hip-hooray day!
Those Scottish darlings' first four albums have received the super duper vinyl reissue treatment. Yes, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, The Boy With The Arab Strap, If You're Feeling Sinister, and Tigermilk have been repressed (or pressed for the first time in the U.S. in the case of the latter two) on 180 gram vinyl!
The Boy With The Arab Strap was B&S's third album and was first released back in 1998. A well-informed customer once explained to us that an arab strap is a sexual aid for horses that helps their penises to point in the correct direction. Oh my! The very same customer also told us that the particular B&S song with this title is making fun of (the band) Arab Strap's lead singer who is forever whining about his failed relationships. And the lyric does in fact read, "the boy WITH the arab strap". Make of this what you will. Bestseller in the lispy twee soft folksy pop department. Be forewarned, this band's music might trigger an irresistible urge to snuggle in even the most cold-hearted of beings.
MPEG Stream: "It Could Have Been A Brilliant Career"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep The Clock Around"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Life Pursuit (Matador) cd 14.98
Nothing we're going to say here is really gonna sway any of you diehard Belle And Sebastian fans now will it? Alright-y then! With the exception of our two Belle & Sebastian cheerleaders, we here at AQ have admittedly never really been big fans of this Scottish band's brand of pop. While we appreciate their wry braininess, their tweeness was always just too... uhh, twee. That all changed with their last album 2003's wonderful Dear Catastrophe Waitress. That album sure changed our tune, and endeared itself to even Andee! Oddly it seems two rival camps have formed -- one filled with folks who loved everything up to D.C.W. and one with folks who disliked everything up to D.C.W. So needless to say there's been more than a little anxious anticipation for their follow-up. Well, we are saddened to report that upon hearing The Life Pursuit, we (including one of our B&S supporters even!) have collectively shuddered a profound "uh oh". Unlike the effortless, carefree pop jubilance of Dear Catastophe Waitress, each of the baker's dozen songs gave us the impression that the band was in turn feeling tired, bored and forced -- from the flat female vocals of the opening track "Act Of The Apostle" to the usually bulletproof, but here very lackluster vocals of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Now, you could on the other hand interpret this different tone more complimentarily as "subdued" or "restrained", but the band also takes strange excursions into what resembles '70s funk, fusion and blues rock and a watered-down version of the New Pornographers (their labelmates with whom they will be touring shortly). At best, there's a couple of songs here that are a small step down from D.C.W., at worst there's stuff on here that sounds like music for those '70s fountain 'dancing waters' shows. Yikes. Yes, very harsh words, but expectations and standards were high, and ours is some pretty harsh disappointment. Unfortunately instead of converts, we're reverts... and this time not just for their tweeness but for other reasons. Which will you be? If you need us we'll be over here listening to our D.C.W. and/or Tigermilk albums.
MPEG Stream: "Act Of The Apostle"
MPEG Stream: "Another Sunny Day"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Life Pursuit (Matador) 2lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Nothing we're going to say here is really gonna sway any of you diehard Belle And Sebastian fans now will it? Alright-y then! With the exception of our two Belle & Sebastian cheerleaders, we here at AQ have admittedly never really been big fans of this Scottish band's brand of pop. While we appreciate their wry braininess, their tweeness was always just too... uhh, twee. That all changed with their last album 2003's wonderful Dear Catastrophe Waitress. That album sure changed our tune, and endeared itself to even Andee! Oddly it seems two rival camps have formed -- one filled with folks who loved everything up to D.C.W. and one with folks who disliked everything up to D.C.W. So needless to say there's been more than a little anxious anticipation for their follow-up. Well, we are saddened to report that upon hearing The Life Pursuit, we (including one of our B&S supporters even!) have collectively shuddered a profound "uh oh". Unlike the effortless, carefree pop jubilance of Dear Catastophe Waitress, each of the baker's dozen songs gave us the impression that the band was in turn feeling tired, bored and forced -- from the flat female vocals of the opening track "Act Of The Apostle" to the usually bulletproof, but here very lackluster vocals of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Now, you could on the other hand interpret this different tone more complimentarily as "subdued" or "restrained", but the band also takes strange excursions into what resembles '70s funk, fusion and blues rock and a watered-down version of the New Pornographers (their labelmates with whom they will be touring shortly). At best, there's a couple of songs here that are a small step down from D.C.W., at worst there's stuff on here that sounds like music for those '70s fountain 'dancing waters' shows. Yikes. Yes, very harsh words, but expectations and standards were high, and ours is some pretty harsh disappointment. Unfortunately instead of converts, we're reverts... and this time not just for their tweeness but for other reasons. Which will you be? If you need us we'll be over here listening to our D.C.W. and/or Tigermilk albums.
MPEG Stream: "Act Of The Apostle"
MPEG Stream: "Another Sunny Day"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN The Life Pursuit (Deluxe) (Matador) ltd. ed. cd + dvd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
WARNING!!! WE ONLY HAVE 12 COPIES OF THE DELUXE VERSION IN STOCK AND IT IS ALREADY OUT OF PRINT. IF YOU ORDER THIS DELUXE VERSION AND WE HAVE ALREADY RUN OUT, YOU WILL BE SENT THE STANDARD VERSION!!!
Nothing we're going to say here is really gonna sway any of you diehard Belle And Sebastian fans now will it? Alright-y then! With the exception of our two Belle & Sebastian cheerleaders, we here at AQ have admittedly never really been big fans of this Scottish band's brand of pop. While we appreciate their wry braininess, their tweeness was always just too... uhh, twee. That all changed with their last album 2003's wonderful Dear Catastrophe Waitress. That album sure changed our tune, and endeared itself to even Andee! Oddly it seems two rival camps have formed -- one filled with folks who loved everything up to D.C.W. and one with folks who disliked everything up to D.C.W. So needless to say there's been more than a little anxious anticipation for their follow-up. Well, we are saddened to report that upon hearing The Life Pursuit, we (including one of our B&S supporters even!) have collectively shuddered a profound "uh oh". Unlike the effortless, carefree pop jubilance of Dear Catastophe Waitress, each of the baker's dozen songs gave us the impression that the band was in turn feeling tired, bored and forced -- from the flat female vocals of the opening track "Act Of The Apostle" to the usually bulletproof, but here very lackluster vocals of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Now, you could on the other hand interpret this different tone more complimentarily as "subdued" or "restrained", but the band also takes strange excursions into what resembles '70s funk, fusion and blues rock and a watered-down version of the New Pornographers (their labelmates with whom they will be touring shortly). At best, there's a couple of songs here that are a small step down from D.C.W., at worst there's stuff on here that sounds like music for those '70s fountain 'dancing waters' shows. Yikes. Yes, very harsh words, but expectations and standards were high, and ours is some pretty harsh disappointment. Unfortunately instead of converts, we're reverts... and this time not just for their tweeness but for other reasons. Which will you be? If you need us we'll be over here listening to our D.C.W. and/or Tigermilk albums.
MPEG Stream: "Act Of The Apostle"
MPEG Stream: "Another Sunny Day"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN This Is Just A Modern Rock Song (Jeepster) cd 8.98
Whether or not we here at the store 'get it', many many folks have been digging the lispy vocals and sweet pop stylings of this Scottish group. Here they sound remarkably like Chelsea Girl-era Nico.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN This Is Just A Modern Rock Song (Jeepster) 12" 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whether or not we here at the store 'get it', many many folks have been digging the lispy vocals and sweet pop stylings of this Scottish group. Here they sound remarkably like Chelsea Girl-era Nico.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Tigermilk (Matador) cd 14.98
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts...
Oooooh yessss, Tigermilk is where the grand Belle And Sebastian adventure began. It was originally released back in 1996 by the band themselves on their label Electric Honey. What? You never saw / heard it back then? Well, it's no wonder 'cause only 1000 of 'em were ever pressed! It wasn't until its cd reissue in 1999 on Matador Records that B&S fans far and wide were able to gorge themselves on the deliciousness of Tigermilk. Extremely toothsome pop songs - almost too sweet for some folks - full of hooks and melodies and murmur-lisped vocals. This is it, the beginning of their delicate brand of folk-pop. Sigh, swoon and get all misty-eyed. What a treat!
MPEG Stream: "The State I Am In"
MPEG Stream: "You're Just A Baby"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Tigermilk (Matador) lp 14.98
Hey all of you Belle And Sebastian luvvin' audiophiles, please note that your Scottish darlings' first four albums have received the super duper vinyl reissue treatment. Yes, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant, The Boy With The Arab Strap, If You're Feeling Sinister, and Tigermilk have been repressed (or pressed for the first time in the U.S. in the case of the latter two) on 180 gram vinyl! We listed 'em all except for Tigermilk the other week, and now it's in stock as well too...
Oooooh yessss, Tigermilk is where the grand Belle And Sebastian adventure began. It was originally released back in 1996 by the band themselves on their label Electric Honey. What? You never saw / heard it back then? Well, it's no wonder 'cause only 1000 of 'em were ever pressed! It wasn't until its cd reissue in 1999 on Matador Records that B&S fans far and wide were able to gorge themselves on the deliciousness of Tigermilk. Extremely toothsome pop songs - almost too sweet for some folks - full of hooks and melodies and murmur-lisped vocals. This is it, the beginning of their delicate brand of folk-pop. Sigh, swoon and get all misty-eyed. What a treat!
MPEG Stream: "The State I Am In"
MPEG Stream: "You're Just A Baby"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Write About Love (Matador) cd 13.98
For some of us, Belle And Sebastian are one of the only bands that have been a constant in our lives for the last fifteen years. So listening to them always takes on extra weight as we immediately are flooded with so many memories when we hear their delicate and exquisitely constructed bittersweet pop songs. Seeing them live just a couple weeks ago we were reminded just how many life defining and moment-capturing songs they've created over the years with an ease and breeze that so many have tried to emulate but always seem to come up short. During that live set we got to hear several of the songs that are on Write About Love for the first time and it made us very excited for the album.
Like all Belle And Sebastian albums, it's hard to write about this new one without spending tons of time with it as they really are a band who make records for the long haul. As all their records have left a mark on us even if at first we didn't think we were as in love with it as the one before.
Write About Love is a nice mixture of the slower side of the band as well as a few totally sugary and catchy songs that we have been humming non stop since we got this in. The record does make us miss Isobel Campbell, as a couple of the female led tracks just aren't as special as when they were being sung by her. But we know that so many of these songs will become totally ingrained in helping cue so many future memories of romance, friendships, lazy rainy days, and sun soaked adventures. (FYI, vinyl being repressed, probably back in stock next week.)
MPEG Stream: "I Want The World To Stop"
MPEG Stream: "I Didn't See It Coming"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Not Living In The Real World"
MPEG Stream: "Write About Love"

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Write About Love (Matador) lp 14.98
Now, after a quick repress, in stock on vinyl! For some of us, Belle And Sebastian are one of the only bands that have been a constant in our lives for the last fifteen years. So listening to them always takes on extra weight as we immediately are flooded with so many memories when we hear their delicate and exquisitely constructed bittersweet pop songs. Seeing them live just a couple weeks ago we were reminded just how many life defining and moment-capturing songs they've created over the years with an ease and breeze that so many have tried to emulate but always seem to come up short. During that live set we got to hear several of the songs that are on Write About Love for the first time and it made us very excited for the album.
Like all Belle And Sebastian albums its hard to write about this new one without spending tons of time with it as they really are a band who make records for the long haul. As all their records have left a mark on us even if at first we didn't think we were as in love with it as the one before.
Write About Love is a nice mixture of the slower side of the band as well as a few totally sugary and catchy songs that we have been humming non stop since we got this in. The record does make us miss Isobel Campbell, as a couple of the female led tracks just aren't as special as when they were being sung by her. But we know that so many of these songs will become totally ingrained in helping cue so many future memories of romance, friendships, lazy rainy days, and sun soaked adventures.
MPEG Stream: "I Want The World To Stop"
MPEG Stream: "I Didn't See It Coming"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Not Living In The Real World"
MPEG Stream: "Write About Love"

BELLINI Snowing Sun (Monitor) cd 14.98
Bellini is a math-y post rock quartet featuring the insanely complex kickass drumming of the fearsome Damon Che (Don Caballero, Thee Speaking Canaries), shredding guitarist Ago from the Albini-favored Italian group Uzeda, throaty vocalist Giovanna also from Uzeda, plus a bass player not from a "name" band. Crisply recorded by Steve Albini, this super group's sound is all furious angsty aggression. The guitars and drums work together exactly the way you'd think they would given the personalities involved here -- it's Shellacky, Caballero-y, Uzeda-y angular epic stuff. Overlaying the whole thing (and I mean the whole thing) is Giovanna's impassioned narrative -- half sung half spoken, sorta Kim Gordon-style -- which sounds okay, I mean it gets in the way of what could otherwise be a nice instrumental record, but then lots of folks are gonna like her vocals. I'm not sayin' it's *bad.* Maybe just un-necessary.
RealAudio clip: "Rut Row"
RealAudio clip: "A Short Tale"

BELLMER DOLLS The Big Cats Will Throw Themselves Over (Hungry Eye) cd 10.98
With a band name that tips a referential (and we assume reverential) hat toward surrealist artist Hans Bellmer, an artist renowned for his haunting disembodied doll-centric creations of distorted body image perceptions, The Bellmer Dolls bring their own brand of musical dismembered remembrances or remembered dismemberments. Their turbulent songs contort and unravel with true late '70s /early '80s post-punk angst and aggression, but styled with a '00s blase couture flair. While their unhinged male vocals unquestionably echo those of early Nick Cave and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, overall the Bellmer Dolls follow most closely in the tumultuous path of more recent bands such as Pleasure Forever. The closest kinship perhaps is with that sadly now defunct SF band's criminally unsung guitarist Josh Hughes whose highly textured effected guitar atmospherics were capable of brewing up a blinding maelstrom all on their own. So needless to say, we think that's a good thing, but Bellmer Dolls aren't just sound-alikes. They cut their own shadowy, slightly sullied yet well-angled silhouettes. Very cool.
MPEG Stream: "The Diva"
MPEG Stream: "Every Angel Is A Terror"

BELLOWS Outside (Bellow Music) cd 12.98
Warm, loping pop filled with strummed and swirling guitars and gentle male vocals. Shades of late '80s / early '90s UK pop influence (a la The Smiths, Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, The La's). The emotively lilting vocals are particularly Morrissey-esque on songs like "The Only Way I Know" and "How Am I To Love You". Intelligent, bittersweet and very pretty.

BELLOWS s/t (self-released) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
They had us at DOOM BAND, NO STRINGS. Just drums, sax, and TUBA. That's IT. FUCKING tuba and sax, seriously, no guitar, no bass, just two horns and a drum kit, and these guys kick up a sound that dwarfs plenty of bands with axes to spare. Bellows is the perfect name for these guys, cuz the lungs on these guys must be like bellows, the horns moan and howl, the sax especially, the lead instrument, is wrapped in effects, and essential lays down some wailing, FX drenched, leads, that squeal and howl, the bands lock into killer lurching groove, the tuba, letting loose with an elephant roar low end, the sax just as often laying down a weird sheet of hiss or washed out drone, sometimes so effected it sounds like some fucked up synthesizer. And the drums, heavy and chaotic and mathy, the band locked into lurching lumbering dirges, post rocky workouts, and full on noise rock freakouts. It's a little like a marching band gone over to the darkside, some sinister assembly held in the deepest recesses of hell. The vocals are also bellowed, distorted and growled, venomous and malevolent, giving the sound a distinctly nineties East Coast noise rock Cop Shoot Cop sort of vibe. There's always a groove, but it's typically a woozy doomic one, the drums driving the sound big time, but those horns are just insane, some of the sounds they get out of 'em, on "Haunts" it's all drums and tuba, while the sax unfurls a creepy minor key melody, over and over, so hypnotic, before the track breaks down, and the low end is transformed into what sounds like a choir of throat singers, while the sax bleats and trills, and the drums just bludgeon.
There are moments, where the sound borders on jazzy, it's sort of unavoidable, but we're talking face melting Brotzmann style jazz, and that jazziness is inevitably all filtered through some crusty, creepy, blown out super distorted space doom filter, that makes these guys sound absolutely like no one else, and just as often as it gets jazzy, it gets something else, "Story Of A Giant" is all spaced out and almost waltzy, and there's no way you could tell the instrumentation, the sax unfurling shimmery psychedelic clouds of tangled melody, the tuba a thick bass throb, all wrapped in a druggy haze, and on the record closer, "Half-Life", the sax is super processed and becomes some fractured angular noisemaking machine, leading the group into an extended drone-out, all long tones, chanted vocals, swirling effects, total psych drone trip out, before finally slipping into a woozy jazzy outro, and finally a crushing chugging closing burst of ultra distorted crunch.
Fuck yeah. Came close to making this a fourth Record Of The Week!
MPEG Stream: "Haunt"
MPEG Stream: "Scratching The Wrong Itch"
MPEG Stream: "Story Of A Giant"

BELLOWS Way Down (Bellow Music) cd ep 7.98

BELLY BUTTON/RUINS/MOLECULES/ALBOTH/MUG (Pandemonium) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
R: Hyper kinetic bass/drums prog.
M: Bay Area jazz prog.
A: Swiss Young Gods style arty bombast.
BB: Noisey post rock.
M: Jazzy art brut funk rock.

BELONG Colorloss Record (St. Ives) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Belong are just one of many new bands exploring the sound of decay. The sound of music within murk, the sound of pop, melted down and smeared into shapeless forms. For a while there it seemed like every band was lacing their delicate pop with bits of glitch and electronic shimmer. To the point where ANY band, no matter what they sounded like originally, were suddenly 'experimental' with nothing but a bit of crackle and bleep added to the mix. A similar thing has happened lately, another movement has taken hold, of bands burying their sounds under distorted drones, blistering feedback, bleary eyed shimmer, oceans of crackle, sounds pulled apart and layered into strange organic ambient blurs. We're not complaining though, we've long been proponents of distressed sound. The more distressed and heavy and fucked up and crackly and distorted the better. The problem lies in the fact that a movement usually entails everyone and their brother suddenly wanting to sound like whatever band or sound is 'happening' at the moment. SUNNO))) spawned a legion off doomdrone combos, and these movements are not all that different.
A band, be they pop or metal or whatever, can wrap everything in buzz and distortion and suddenly whatever genre they were can get hyphenated with the suffix GAZE, or alternately, a band can blur everything, slow it down, make it muddier and murkier and dronier, and voila, become a doomdronewhatever outfit.
But with all these things, it's not as easy as the truly amazing artists make it sound. And this becomes evident on almost first listen. Anyone can plug their guitar into a laptop, but no one can create gauzy gristly soundscapes like Fennesz. Anyone can tune way down and let their guitars ring out, let riffs crumble to pieces, but it takes more than that to make something a compelling listen.
From the very first listen to Belong's last full length, October Language, we knew these guys were special. They were one of those bands who had the sound down, but were using the sound to create glorious sonic worlds of their own invention. Not aping anyone else's sounds, merely absorbing elements, and transforming them into something new, and distinctly Belong. And the other thing about Belong, was they weren't just making beautiful noise, they were writing songs, that were infused with beautiful noises, sometimes obfuscated by them, but there was always a song, a melody, never just sound for sound's sake.
This new four song ep takes things even further, by being about someone else's songs. Reinventing, reimagining, reinterpreting the sounds of four different artists, and making them all sound like they could have come from nowhere else than this mysterious entity known as Belong.
The first might be the best of the bunch, and it's no coincidence that it's the most song-y. A Syd Barrett cover, via the somewhat more obscure Cleaners From Venus, "Late Night" in the hands of Belong becomes an epic sweeping cinematic warped record spinning underwater, on the surface of some alien moon, beneath the warm glow of twin suns. Soaring vocals, gorgeous melodies, all beneath a thick churning lush wall of crumbling, shimmering sound. Woozy and seasick, dizzying, dense and warm and absolutely gorgeous, it's almost like a more blurred and buzzed version of Oval, digital skipping replaced by indistinct slow motion riffage, everything gauzy and washed out. The other three tracks, covers of '60s psych pop songs by Tintern Abbey, Billy Nicholls and July, are even more ethereal, almost choral sounding, voices and streaks of sound drifting in a softly churning sea of hum and whir, and breathy blur. The final track a thick, viscous outro, the July original barely audible beneath a blown out swirl of creeping low end and free floating metallic flutter, somehow sounding heavy and intense, but laid back and soporific at the same time, eventually fading to a whispery hum. So good. Definitely one of our favorite groups exploring the world of distressed / decayed / deconstructed / dreamy / dronelike sound.
SUPER LIMITED! ONLY 300 COPIES!! Each one hand made by the group using recycled sleeves.
MPEG Stream: "Late Night"
MPEG Stream: "My Clown"

BELONG Common Era (Kranky) cd 14.98
There are certain sounds we can just never get enough of. Belong have always trafficked in one of those sounds, a blurred, bleary washed out droney, druggy drift, everything hazy and gauzy and pixelated, crumbling melodies, slow shifting textures, like old pop songs broadcast through broken transistor radios, or alien transmissions distorted by millions of miles of space and millions of years, every song some sort of dizzyingly smeared blown out, hushed and haunting dronescape, all thrum and shimmer, rumble and whir. It's a sound practiced by others for sure, but there is most definitely a pantheon, a royalty of sorts, and alongside Tim Hecker, Philip Jeck and few others, so too do sit Belong.
It's been maybe 5 years since their last proper full length, the gloriously abstract and distorted loveliness that was October Language, and since then, they've released a single 4 song ep, a record of covers, but of course utterly transformed, the very poppiness of the originals buried underneath layer upon layer of murk and grim and buzz and crunch, and again all stretched and blurred and smeared into these fantastical miniature epics, these avant pop flecked drones, warm and whirling and completely mesmerizing.
Looking back now, listening to Common Era, Belong's brand new full length, it's easy to say, that those covers were already hinting at a sonic shift, a move toward something more traditionally pop, a gradual approach to something more structured, more overtly pop, but the 'pop' of those songs is WAY removed from the pop found here, for Common Era has taken all that fantastic shoegaziness and shimmery ambience, and wrapped it around real and proper pop songs. Simple propulsive percussion, minimal guitar jangle, swaths of swirling keyboards, hushed breathy vox, everything reverbed and echoey and washed out, a sort of eighties style new wave minimal pop, but of course in the hands of Belong, it becomes something more ethereal, ghostly, ephemeral, druggy and dreamy.
Imagine My Bloody Valentine crossed with Tim Hecker crossed with Felt, maybe stir in some of Ariel Pink's idiosyncratic faux FM radio pop, and that's these perfect abstract, minimal chunks of lilting jangle, often buried in billowing clouds of warm swirling FX and softly distorted shimmer, but just as often, with much of the noisiness peeled back, leaving just some pure pop, and even then, it's muted and muddied, like it's being broadcast from some rift in time, a sort of blurred transmission from the past, pretty fantastic. Some of the tracks get downright spacey too, a sort of kraut flecked hypnorock, the takes the minimal repetitive psych of groups like Moon Duo or Wooden Shjips, and slathers on tons more echo and reverb, wreaths everything in blurred synth swirls, and fuzzy low end pulses, and lets the songs just sort of ooze and drift and hover, gradually becoming less and less pop, and more loose and abstract and woozy and washed out and dreamy. But ALL the tracks on Common Era never fully give up the pop. For all the droniness, and the minimal FX drenched soundscapery, this is essentially a gorgeous, albeit, strange and mysterious, pop record.
The funny thing is, since these guys are on Kranky, and their last few records were more minimal and droney and avant, this record will essentially be considered art, a sort of high brow minimalist pop music, or some sort of dronepop, and so, of course, all the folks who love everything Kranky, will no doubt dig this like crazy, as they should. But had this been a super limited cd-r, or been released on Not Not Fun or maybe Olde English Spelling Bee, this would be hailed as THEE lysergic lo-fi minimal bedroom pop jam of the year. WHICH IT IS. Too. In fact, Belong have managed to somehow make a record that's both a strange druggy lo-fi pop record, and a super abstract avant bit of poppy droney prettiness. And we LOVE it.
MPEG Stream: "Come See"
MPEG Stream: "Never Came Close"
MPEG Stream: "A Walk"

BELONG Common Era (Kranky) lp 14.98
There are certain sounds we can just never get enough of. Belong have always trafficked in one of those sounds, a blurred, bleary washed out droney, druggy drift, everything hazy and gauzy and pixelated, crumbling melodies, slow shifting textures, like old pop songs broadcast through broken transistor radios, or alien transmissions distorted by millions of miles of space and millions of years, every song some sort of dizzyingly smeared blown out, hushed and haunting dronescape, all thrum and shimmer, rumble and whir. It's a sound practiced by others for sure, but there is most definitely a pantheon, a royalty of sorts, and alongside Tim Hecker, Philip Jeck and few others, so too do sit Belong.
It's been maybe 5 years since their last proper full length, the gloriously abstract and distorted loveliness that was October Language, and since then, they've released a single 4 song ep, a record of covers, but of course utterly transformed, the very poppiness of the originals buried underneath layer upon layer of murk and grim and buzz and crunch, and again all stretched and blurred and smeared into these fantastical miniature epics, these avant pop flecked drones, warm and whirling and completely mesmerizing.
Looking back now, listening to Common Era, Belong's brand new full length, it's easy to say, that those covers were already hinting at a sonic shift, a move toward something more traditionally pop, a gradual approach to something more structured, more overtly pop, but the 'pop' of those songs is WAY removed from the pop found here, for Common Era has taken all that fantastic shoegaziness and shimmery ambience, and wrapped it around real and proper pop songs. Simple propulsive percussion, minimal guitar jangle, swaths of swirling keyboards, hushed breathy vox, everything reverbed and echoey and washed out, a sort of eighties style new wave minimal pop, but of course in the hands of Belong, it becomes something more ethereal, ghostly, ephemeral, druggy and dreamy.
Imagine My Bloody Valentine crossed with Tim Hecker crossed with Felt, maybe stir in some of Ariel Pink's idiosyncratic faux FM radio pop, and that's these perfect abstract, minimal chunks of lilting jangle, often buried in billowing clouds of warm swirling FX and softly distorted shimmer, but just as often, with much of the noisiness peeled back, leaving just some pure pop, and even then, it's muted and muddied, like it's being broadcast from some rift in time, a sort of blurred transmission from the past, pretty fantastic. Some of the tracks get downright spacey too, a sort of kraut flecked hypnorock, the takes the minimal repetitive psych of groups like Moon Duo or Wooden Shjips, and slathers on tons more echo and reverb, wreaths everything in blurred synth swirls, and fuzzy low end pulses, and lets the songs just sort of ooze and drift and hover, gradually becoming less and less pop, and more loose and abstract and woozy and washed out and dreamy. But ALL the tracks on Common Era never fully give up the pop. For all the droniness, and the minimal FX drenched soundscapery, this is essentially a gorgeous, albeit, strange and mysterious, pop record.
The funny thing is, since these guys are on Kranky, and their last few records were more minimal and droney and avant, this record will essentially be considered art, a sort of high brow minimalist pop music, or some sort of dronepop, and so, of course, all the folks who love everything Kranky, will no doubt dig this like crazy, as they should. But had this been a super limited cd-r, or been released on Not Not Fun or maybe Olde English Spelling Bee, this would be hailed as THEE lysergic lo-fi minimal bedroom pop jam of the year. WHICH IT IS. Too. In fact, Belong have managed to somehow make a record that's both a strange druggy lo-fi pop record, and a super abstract avant bit of poppy droney prettiness. And we LOVE it.
MPEG Stream: "Come See"
MPEG Stream: "Never Came Close"
MPEG Stream: "A Walk"

BELONG October Language (Carpark) cd 16.98
Belong, belong (couldn't resist) in a world of washed out sound, faded memories and blistering layers of sound. Imagine the warm crackles of Endless Summer era Fennesz, a touch of Godspeed You Black Emperor aimed at monumental peaks and valleys, a Flying Saucer Attack eyes half closed eyes half open delivery with a My Bloody Valentine shimmering layer of sound thrown in for good measure. A duo from New Orleans, Belong do a really nice job of taking from their influences but also having their own unique take on the whole gauzy smeary ambient free noise sound. Their take being a thick heady blast of sound that doesn't at all lose any of its gauzy dreaminess. October Language is that great kind of record that can take on different lives when played soft vs. loud. It allows you to enjoy it quiet, as a textural layer that you can dream beneath or drift away on top of. Or you can blast Belong and they'll take you out of your dreams, and your head and into another state completely. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "I Never Lose. Never Really."
MPEG Stream: "October Language"

BELONG October Language (Geographic North) lp 14.98
Finally this blissed out dreamy drone-y aQ favorite is available on vinyl!!
Belong, belong (couldn't resist) in a world of washed out sound, faded memories and blistering layers of sound. Imagine the warm crackles of Endless Summer era Fennesz, a touch of Godspeed You Black Emperor aimed at monumental peaks and valleys, a Flying Saucer Attack eyes half closed eyes half open delivery with a My Bloody Valentine shimmering layer of sound thrown in for good measure. A duo from New Orleans, Belong do a really nice job of taking from their influences but also having their own unique take on the whole gauzy smeary ambient free noise sound. Their take being a thick heady blast of sound that doesn't at all lose any of its gauzy dreaminess. October Language is that great kind of record that can take on different lives when played soft vs. loud. It allows you to enjoy it quiet, as a textural layer that you can dream beneath or drift away on top of. Or you can blast Belong and they'll take you out of your dreams, and your head and into another state completely. So nice!
MPEG Stream: "I Never Lose. Never Really."
MPEG Stream: "October Language"

BELONG Same Places (Slow Version) (Table Of The Elements) 12" 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There have been a whole bunch of killer installments in Table Of The Elements' recent guitar based series of one sided 12"s: Oren Ambarchi, Lee Ranaldo, Jon Mueller, but this is the one everyone seems to have been waiting for.
Especially considering what went on with the last belong 12". We sold out in a flash, got more and then sold out again, we couldn't keep that in stock. Well, we're happy to report that this latest is just as good if not better. Whereas the other 12" was all covers, the single looooong track here is an original and it's a doozy. A warm, washed out, dreamy, delicate, gauzy blurred woozy drift of pixilated sound. Jeck, Tim Hecker, Fennesz, all those guys have nothing on Belong. If anything, Belong take those sorts of sound and transform them into something more organic, more amorphous. "Same Places" sounds almost like actual people playing actual guitars, instead of something assembled on a computer. Layered and dense, the melodies obscured by thick swells of fuzzy whir, the fact that this is the "slow version" does explain how gorgeously glacial it sounds, and how many of the tones do sound like someone with their finger on the vinyl slowing the record player down to a crawl, but all that does is let the lowend sprawl, the melodies become even more abstract, pulled apart, and slowed down to the point where their constituent parts almost separate and drift away, almost. Instead, it's an underwater whirl, everything shimmery and indistinct, the sound as you sink deeper and deeper into the abyss, but instead of getting darker, the sounds begin to glow from within, bathing you in their unearthly light. So totally gorgeous.
Pressed on thick clear vinyl. One sided, the other side with a super bad ass etching by Savage Pencil, housed in a thick vinyl sleeve, and of course, as always LIMITED!

BELOW THE SEA The Loss Of Our Winter (Where Are My...) cd 14.98
From the land of Godspeed You Black Emperor (Quebec, Canada), and creating a very similar sonic landscape, are Below The Sea. Slow steps of sparse guitar twangs. Lonely long washes of strings. Dialogue drifting in and out. Solemn and ethereal.

BELPHEGOR Infernal Live Orgasm (Napalm) cd 14.98
Live record from this Austrian black/death metal band. Featuring butchered babies and distorted Last Suppers on their album covers, Belphegor have been spitting out their brand of satanic black metal for three albums now, and this cd collects some of the best tracks from those records. Sharing some elements with the mighty Marduk and their countrymen Abigor, Belphegor are raw and blurry buzzsaw black metal, mostly lightspeed tempos with furious drumming and a wash of minor key anguish. Live, black metal seems to not hold up so well, but this recording is quite good, with just enough separation between the instruments to keep it from becoming a big distorted mess, and a brutal and intense performance to boot.
RealAudio clip: "Purity Through Fire"
RealAudio clip: "Necrodaemon Terrorsathan"

BELPHEGOR Necrodaemon Terrorsathan (Last Episode) cd 15.98
Third demonic blast from this Austrian black metal band, and easily their best. Takes the primitive buzzsaw blur of their earlier records a step forward, with better production, better songs, better playing and even more pictures of naked demon ladies, candles, skulls and satanic altars. Grrrrreat!

BELPHEGOR Pestapokalypse VI (Nuclear Blast) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Belphegor - Hell's Ambassador"
MPEG Stream: "Seyn Todt In Schwartz"

BELREVE Ron (Slumberland) cd ep 5.98

BELZEBONG Sonic Scrapes & Weedy Grooves (Emetic) cd 11.98
Latest in a long line of dopesmoke driven, Sabbath worshipping, downtuned stoner sludge heavies, these guys hail from Poland, and take their drug rock cues from all the usual suspects: Sleep (of course), Eyehategod, Electric Wizard, etc. It's all instrumental, so it's all about the riffs, and the riffs here are pretty goddamn great, dense, blackened, skull caving, slabs of thick, ugly, crumbling, distorted buzz and crunch, riding atop some of the sickest bass rumble around, the drums a Neanderthal pound driving the lurching dopesick creep, the slithery stoner swing and lumbering doomic plod laced with spidery melodies, and brief blasts of psychedelic wah wah guitars and woozy FX, the tempos are occasionally cranked up to a serious stonery groove, the band sounding like some lost Meteor City band, but Belzebong seem to always eventually slip back into a more woozy, warped, glacial tarpit trudge. The lack of vocals is made up for with some strange tripped out samples, and the tracks sprawl and ooze and stretch way out, to the point that they definitely seem less HEAVY, and more sort of tripped out and wasted... Definitely not reinventing the bong, but hell, folks who love their shit hard and heavy, low slung, blown out and burnt, this will definitely hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Bong Thrower"
MPEG Stream: "Names Of The Devil"

BELZEBONG Sonic Scrapes & Weedy Grooves (Emetic) lp 19.98
Latest in a long line of dopesmoke driven, Sabbath worshipping, downtuned stoner sludge heavies, these guys hail from Poland, and take their drug rock cues from all the usual suspects: Sleep (of course), Eyehategod, Electric Wizard, etc. It's all instrumental, so it's all about the riffs, and the riffs here are pretty goddamn great, dense, blackened, skull caving, slabs of thick, ugly, crumbling, distorted buzz and crunch, riding atop some of the sickest bass rumble around, the drums a Neanderthal pound driving the lurching dopesick creep, the slithery stoner swing and lumbering doomic plod laced with spidery melodies, and brief blasts of psychedelic wah wah guitars and woozy FX, the tempos are occasionally cranked up to a serious stonery groove, the band sounding like some lost Meteor City band, but Belzebong seem to always eventually slip back into a more woozy, warped, glacial tarpit trudge. The lack of vocals is made up for with some strange tripped out samples, and the tracks sprawl and ooze and stretch way out, to the point that they definitely seem less HEAVY, and more sort of tripped out and wasted... Definitely not reinventing the bong, but hell, folks who love their shit hard and heavy, low slung, blown out and burnt, this will definitely hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Bong Thrower"
MPEG Stream: "Names Of The Devil"

BEMBEYA JAZZ NATIONAL The Syliphone Years (Sterns Africa) 2cd 24.00