FERRARO, JAMES Citrac (Arbor) 2lp 16.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
More warped otherworldly sound collage murky warble from one half of the late great Skaters. And like everything else we've heard from Ferraro post-Skaters, the sounds on Citrac, a two lp collection of mostly previously released material (but most so limited you probably never heard 'em anyway), are a blurred jumble of fantastically twisted time machine lo-fi anti-pop. Ferraro along with his ex-bandmate have been credited with spearheading the so called 'hypnogogic pop' movement, but pop seems to have very little to do with this. Pop CULTURE maybe. Visually, the jacket and inner sleeve are adorned with all manner of eighties cheesiness, which thankfully isn't necessarily reflected in the music. Instead, Ferraro takes his arsenal of music making devices, busted effects and falling apart 4-track, as well as a handful of samples from cop shows and after school specials and late night made for TV movies, and goes about, snipping and pasting and looping and smearing those various sounds into some totally tripped out krautdrone, psych-synth, buzz-loop weirdness.
All of the sounds here are murky and muddy and sound like they were recorded on an old VHS tape and then duped over and over and over and over. The percussion is clattery but buried in the mix, tons of reverb and delay, much of the first disc sounds like a John Carpenter soundtrack spinning lazily on a fucked up turntable while someone holds their thumb down on the vinyl, causing the record to slip and slow down, the whole thing peppered with strange howled vocals (or what sound like vocals). The end of side two features a sonic event that seems to pop up all over these two records, an awesome lurching synth-psych loop, that could have gone on FOREVER, but ends way too soon. Also, as far as we can tell, the first record is meant to play at 45, it definitely sounds like Ferraro at 45, but it sounds really cool at 33 too, even more industrial and woozy and washed out.
The second disc though, sounds like 33 is the correct speed, 45 makes it a bit manic, but still pretty intense and psychedelic, but at 33, it's way more aggressive than the first record, more industrial too, like a doom metal Wolf Eyes or something, albeit way more fucked up and fractured, loads of low end, metallic percussion, and some sick inhuman barks wreathed in effects, at 33 it's creepy, at 45 it becomes some sped up soundtrack video game alien techno. Weirdly twisted and almost proggy. Rad stuff for sure.
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES!!

FERRARO, JAMES Clear (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
It's been a while since we've listed anything Skaters related, and not for lack of action on their part, they have an avalanche of new cd-r's, that we'll try to get to eventually, but for now, let's tackle this, the latest lp from half of the Skaters, James Ferraro. Pretty sure this is an lp reissue of some out of print tapes or something, but it hardly matters, cuz wherever it came from it's pretty damn cool. The sticker calls the sounds within "tropical drones". But if we had to describe it, NEW AGE seems way more accurate. And we don't meant that in a bad way at all. We love new age, as long as it's like this, gorgeous blissed out crystalline shimmer, long slow moving tones, delicate melodies, everything glistening and glimmering, reflective and prismatic and hypnotic, but then about halfway through the song shifts and things get freaky, in come the muted crunchy eighties sounding guitars and the muffled buried rhythms, the original tones get a little fuzzier as the song evolves into an imaginary eighties new wave cop show theme song. Which is awesome.
The flipside definitely sounds tropical, with squiggly fake flute melodies, the chirp of dolphin calls buried in the ooze and warble of the shimmery underwater warble, the sound gorgeously warped and washed out, trippy and almost otherworldly, it's a bit like the sound you hear when you wake up on the couch in the middle of the night, all groggy and half asleep and you left the TV on and some bizarre nature program or softcore porn is playing, but all you can hear is the sound, and then you suddenly open your eyes and all you can see are clouds and pyramids and your living room seems to have sunken into the deep blue, it sort of sounds like that. Awesome.
Comes with a download card too, so you can get your self another digital chunk of underwater tropical new age-y bliss.

FERRARO, JAMES Discovery (Holy Mountain) lp 14.98
Don't be confused, it may look the same, but in fact, it's the second of two lp reissues from James Ferraro, one half of floor core legends the Skaters. We reviewed his Clear lp on our last list, this time it's Discovery, almost the exact same cover, the alien pyramids floating in some strange sea, only the name of the record is different (and don't trust the sticker, on about half of the lps we got the stickers were all switched up), although really it barely matters, as the sounds on Discovery, sound very much like the ones on Clear, which make sense as they are archival recordings from about the same time period.
Two side long jams, exploring that alien new age only those Skaters guys seem capable of, this one sounds like two parts of the same jam, equal parts new age swoosh, staticky old AM radio and alien soap opera theme music, all blurred and smeared into a weirdly organic warped and warbly drift. Bleary and blown out, glistening and glimmery, a buried krautrock groove, that seems to fade out and return at random, all imbued with a cool psychedelic eighties B-movie Goblin vibe.
The flipside is more of the same, only a bit more rocking, more feedback and distortion, but just barely, the guitars a tad more noodly and spidery, but all the sounds still washed out and sun dappled and hypnotic. Like Clear before it, Discovery is a fantastic chunk of blissed out Baywatch new age, and here's hoping Holy Mountain keeps digging up and reissuing these tripped out artifacts.
Comes with a download card too, so you can get iPod-able versions of these tracks as well!!

FERRARO, JAMES K2-Chameleon Ballet (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 17.98

FERRARO, JAMES Last American Hero (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 21.00
More 'hypnogogic pop' from ex-Skaters soundscaper James Ferraro, whose latest album remains rooted in the off kilter whatthefuck (heavy on the lost late night eighties vibe), visually, with a bizarre Best Buy / pick up truck / parking lot / alien robot / Fox Sports graphic collaged cover art, and a lyric sheet / manifesto packed with references to Judge Judy, Costco, Beverly Hills, energy drinks, lost highways, tongue rings, gladiators, batteries, 'no fear', etc, as well as sonically, continuing to mine a fantastically bastardized John Carpenter soundtrack / late night cable sort of warped dronepop melodicism.
The A side here is definitely and immediately recognizable as Ferraro, but unlike past jams which occasionally tended toward the dense and layered, this sidelong track is stripped way down and laid way back, a simple pulsing rhythm, skeletal and minimal, laid out under a glimmery smear of sun dappled synth, over which, still more synths add haunting melodies, would around warm guitar figures, all hazy and washed out and lysergic, the loops warped but subtly so, woven into the perfect fusion of new age shimmer, and retro futurist kosmiche drift, and hell it still sounds like it could have been lifted straight from some lost Argento or Carpenter flick, which is in no way a bad thing.
The flipside is another warbly dreamjam, new age-y and soft focus, gentle tangles of melody tumble frame by frame over a motorik synth pulse, wreathed in hiss, and glistening streaks of reverb and delay, notes ring out, chiming, synths soar and sing, total sun dappled free energy divine sonic bliss for sure. Halfway through, the track shifts gears, and suddenly it's a full on raga, with warped sitar buzz, loping tarpit synth basslines, and lots and lots of space, a sound like looking at the sun, through some glowing alien crystalline structure, reflective and prismatic, with strange bursts of organ warble, swirling clouds of barely there tape hiss, all blurred and smeared into a meditative drift, that gradually gains momentum, transforming into a weirdly propulsive, but still totally laid back new age groove, peppered with cool/weird drop outs, and skipping samples, which only add to the track's mysterious home brewed charm.
Another gorgeous inner space excursion from Ferraro, comes with a download code, and is most likely very limited.

FERRARO, JAMES Multitopia (Olde English Spelling Bee) lp 17.98

FERRER, IBRAHIM Bue0na Vista Social Club Presents (Nonesuch) cd 17.98
You may have already heard Ibrahim Ferrer on the spectacular second track off the Buena Vista Social Club record, his high, light voice soaring over the expert Cuban instrumentalists backing him up. How lucky are we to have an entire album of Ferrer's lovely voice?

FERRER, IBRAHIM CON CHEPIN Y SU ORQUESTA ORIENTAL Mi Oriente (Tumbao) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a recording of Buena Vista Social Club fave Ibrahim Ferrer in his salad days, singing with Electo "Chepin" Rossell's orchestra. Recorded in Havana, mostly in 1960 & 1961, this lineup of Chepin's orchestra also features: Pastor Manzano on trumpet; Remberto Ibarra on alto sax; Emerido Ferrera on percussion; Loreto Vistel, Epifanio and Faustino on trumpets; Luis Castell on piano; J. Guerra on tenor & baritone sax; Enrique Acosta on tenor sax, Ismilbo Correa on tumbao; Chepin on violin; and along with Ferrer on vocals there's Carlos Quintana and Isidro Correa.

FERRIO, GIANNI Big Guns (Easy Tempo) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Soundtrack to the italian film directed by Tony Arzenta is super-spy-alious and breaks down to sexy-ville. For fans of other easy tempo releases and the Vampyros Lesbos.

FERRIS, D.X. 33 1/3 Series: Reign In blood (Continuum) book 10.95
We've only read the first half so far, but c'mon, it's Reign In Blood, one of the greatest thrash metal records ever. And music obsessives, you should already be reading this series, up close and intimate looks at not bands, but your favorite records, interviews with the bands, the fans, and all sorts of awesome behind the scenes drama!
Anyway, Reign In Blood is still an amazing record two decades later, and metal bands are still finding influence there, some WAY more than others.
This volume digs deep into maybe the most influential 29 minutes of metal EVER. Interviews with the bands, the producers, the engineers, the roadies, and most interestingly, the fans, a who's who of rock luminaries including: Tori Amos, Phil Anselmo, Page Hamilton of Helmet, Danzig, Jack Endino, Larry from Pelican, Angela from Arch Enemy, Kurt from Converge, Charlie from Anthrax, Sean from White Zombie, Matt from High On Fire, Gene Hoglan, rapper Ill Bill, Nergal from Behemoth, Buzz from the Melvins, Ripper Owens, Devin Townsend, Kat VonD, all the dudes from Mastodon, and tons more.
So far a super fun read, most of the series is, we've probably read about half of 'em, but as soon as we finish this review, first thing we do when we get home is to finish reading about REIGN IN BLOOD!

FESTIVAL OF DEAD DEER The Many Faces Of Mental Illness (Three.One.G) cd 13.98
Loud, disjointed and full of youthful rage and angst. This is raw, noisy, twisted music constantly on the verge of combustion. On the super cool San Diego-based record label run by The Locust's Justin Pearson.

FETISH 69 Dysfunctions and Drones (Trost) 2cd 26.00
Fetish 69. The name says everything, right? Well, perhaps not on this double CD of remixes and collaborations. With a name as bad as Fetish 69 (implying some horrid diva-house disaster or worse a My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult sex-horror-shock industrial parody), it's quite a relief to discover the deep dub electronics of Austria's Fetish 69 sound almost exactly like Scorn -- right down to the big rolling basslines, isolationist atmospheres, and slinky trip hop beats. On this double CD, the first chapter ("Dysfunctions") is comprised of the more beat oriented material (with contributions / remix work from James Plotkin, Spectre, Scorn's Mick Harris, Toxic Lounge, etc.) The second CD ("Drones") isn't so much drones (like Hazard or Andrew Chalk) as it is sort of downtempo noir sound not unlike Barry Adamson, with Tribes of Neurot, Fritz Ostyermayer, and Krupica contributing. Pita adds the most notable and intriguing exception to the set with a digitally obliterated remix of the original, that really has nothing to do with what Fetish 69 sounds like (or what they used to sound like, 'cause when we first encountered this band back in the early '90s they were a metallic/industrial noise-rock outfit responsible for a few fairly heavy and now deleted cds on the Nuclear Blast label, so it was quite a surprise to find them still active, and with such friends).

FEU THERESE Ca Va Cogner (Constellation) cd 15.98
The second full length from Feu Therese, the Montreal group captained by Jonathan Parent (former guitarist for Fly Pan Am), continues along the dark mysterious path they explored on their 2006 self-titled debut, but it's not without stretches of levity. In fact, the album opens with an unexpected jaunty guitar and synth line and a charming gent singing in French. Far more melodically inclined than its predecessor and far less bleakly brooding, Ca Va Cogner draws much inspiration from classic kraut, prog and space rock with some tracks being quite reminiscent of vintage works by Richard Pinhas, Kraftwerk and Cluster. Layers of synthesizers and electric guitars sweep across the steady, pulse-like drum beats and occasional male utterances and croonings. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "Visage Sous Nylon"
MPEG Stream: "La Nuit Est Une Femme"

FEU THERESE s/t (Constellation) cd 14.98
Yet another somber (mostly) instrumental ensemble from the Godspeed You Black Emperor collective! This new group's sound is distinguished by layers of rich tremoloed guitar, organ drones and jazz inflected horns. Their closest kin in that Montreal music community is easily the heady improv jam driven Fly Pan Am, and their sonic resemblance is no coincidence. Feu Therese is the project of FPA guitarist Jonathan Parant, and as with most every branch of the mighty GYBE tree, folks from the other groups join in. Their self titled debut is a brooding dedication to Luc Ferrari. Five stormy disparate tracks ranging from six to twelve minutes.
MPEG Stream: "Ferrari En Feu"
MPEG Stream: "Tu N'Avais Qu'Une Oreille"

FEUD, THE Versus yr Unuiverse (Rosewood Union) cd 13.98
Tripped out, jazzy post rock from New York City: super varied and intersting; from droning Kraftwerkian electronica work outs to full bore free jazz freakouts to dirgey Slint rock instrumentals. On Rosewood Union, a British label that has become the new home for really cool and fucked up underground 'post rock.'

FEUHLER s/t (Ostinato Schallplatten/Dephine Knormal) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The relative ease with which this German band outshines the post-rock-fanboy holy-grail trio Don Caballero (keeping in mind that we really like Don Cab), makes one wish that the general indie rock audience at large was harder to please. Then perhaps more bands would try to expand on the Don Cab sound instead of incessantly aping it, and more records would sound as jaw droppingly brilliant as this one. In place of Damon Che's non stop avalanche of 'Moby Dick'isms and DonCab's metal-in-post-rock's-clothing is a complex sonic tapestry of hypnotic drones and cyclical riffs. Feuhler take the droning single note repetition of Tony Conrad, the scraping stones of Loren Chasse, the heavy prog of Voivod, the dynamics of Slint, and the slowly evolving Reich-ish rock of Circle, and fashion a music at once emotive and heavy, intellectual and kick ass.

FEVER Too Bad But True (DHR) cd 12.98
Andee's favourite hip hop record of 1998, which originally came out on Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore label in Germany, has been released here in the States at domestic prices!
After a year of disappointment from big name hip hoppers (RZA, Method Man), DHR surprises us all with what may be the weirdest and best hip hop record of the year. Deep, dark, and disturbingly distorted. Murky, monotone, and menacing. Sort of like Sensational and Alec Empire having a fist fight in a dark alley!

FEVER Too Bad But True (DHR) lp 11.98
Andee's favourite hip hop record of 1998, which originally came out on Alec Empire's Digital Hardcore label in Germany, has been released here in the States at domestic prices!
After a year of disappointment from big name hip hoppers (RZA, Method Man), DHR surprises us all with what may be the weirdest and best hip hop record of the year. Deep, dark, and disturbingly distorted. Murky, monotone, and menacing. Sort of like Sensational and Alec Empire having a fist fight in a dark alley!

FEVER RAY s/t (Mute) cd 14.98
Fever Ray is the solo project for one Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as half of the Swedish oddball electro-pop duo The Knife. Her voice, with all of the helium-tinged falsettos and pitch-shifted growlings, had always been one the most compelling aspects of The Knife. In that schizophrenia of multi-tracked voices and personalities, she sang duets with herself, adopting masculine roles in the downpitched vocals and her naturally pixie voice taking the feminine perspective, which she often affects in unnatural ways through harmonic phaseshifts and chorus effects. With the bouncing lurch of The Knife's rhythms, her tales took on seductively nightmarish proportions, with a grotesque witchiness and atypical Goth blackness which had much more Wolfgang Press to it than Siouxsie. So for her solo project, her voice with its inscrutable yet pansexual personalities finds itself even more central to the music.
This is certainly due to the more downbeat electronic arrangements that she produces on her debut album, which is wholly devoid of those awkward yet sleek big beat techno numbers which punctured The Knife's Silent Shout. Musically, she creates a plastic exoticism, which relates to no particular indigenous music but instead has been filtered from Martin Denny through Chris & Cosey to arrive here with fake bird sounds, canned congo drums and faux marimba vibes flitting amidst sweeps of digital synthesis and softened drum machine beats. It may be more low-key than The Knife, but Karin's still an oddly brilliant tweaker. There had been some rumors (you know, from the Internet) which raised questions as to if The Knife would be 'breaking up.' If that were indeed rooted in fact, Fever Ray should stand as a pretty great phoenix rising from those ashes.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle Walks"
MPEG Stream: "Now's The Only Time I Know"

FEVER RAY s/t (Rabid Records) lp 17.98
Fever Ray is the solo project for one Karin Dreijer Andersson, better known as half of the Swedish oddball electro-pop duo The Knife. Her voice, with all of the helium-tinged falsettos and pitch-shifted growlings, had always been one the most compelling aspects of The Knife. In that schizophrenia of multi-tracked voices and personalities, she sang duets with herself, adopting masculine roles in the downpitched vocals and her naturally pixie voice taking the feminine perspective, which she often affects in unnatural ways through harmonic phaseshifts and chorus effects. With the bouncing lurch of The Knife's rhythms, her tales took on seductively nightmarish proportions, with a grotesque witchiness and atypical Goth blackness which had much more Wolfgang Press to it than Siouxsie. So for her solo project, her voice with its inscrutable yet pansexual personalities finds itself even more central to the music.
This is certainly due to the more downbeat electronic arrangements that she produces on her debut album, which is wholly devoid of those awkward yet sleek big beat techno numbers which punctured The Knife's Silent Shout. Musically, she creates a plastic exoticism, which relates to no particular indigenous music but instead has been filtered from Martin Denny through Chris & Cosey to arrive here with fake bird sounds, canned congo drums and faux marimba vibes flitting amidst sweeps of digital synthesis and softened drum machine beats. It may be more low-key than The Knife, but Karin's still an oddly brilliant tweaker. There had been some rumors (you know, from the Internet) which raised questions as to if The Knife would be 'breaking up.' If that were indeed rooted in fact, Fever Ray should stand as a pretty great phoenix rising from those ashes.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle Walks"
MPEG Stream: "Now's The Only Time I Know"

FEVERDREAMS Essaouira (Crucial Blast) cd-r 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Our friend Adam who runs the super cool Crucial Blast label, has, for over 6 years now, been quietly (and not so quietly) putting out some of the coolest shit around. From crusty Finnish metal to droning electronica to sparse folk to brutal power electronics. This new series of cd-r's, limited to 100 copies and nicely packaged in oversized DVD cases will only be available via Aquarius records (unless you get them directly from Crucial Blast). So don't blow it...
Feverdreams is dark and mysterious. A rumbling and shimmering miasma of soothing low end, staticky buzz, and occasional clatter and skree. Gorgeous slow building sound scapes with subtle non-repeating rhythms and with layers and layers of drone, whir, throb, and clang. This would be nightmare music if it wasn't so damn pretty.
RealAudio clip: "One "
RealAudio clip: "Two"
RealAudio clip: "Four"

FIELD MICE, THE For Keeps (LTM) cd 17.98
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991, the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice. This cd reissue contains For Keeps, their final album originally released in 1991, with all the tracks from the singles September's Not So Far Away and Missing the Moon. By the time For Keeps was released, the Field Mice had expanded to a five piece, and sounded like it, with big arrangements and lush production, extended drone-y jams and blissed out ambient jangle, definitely setting the stage for Belle And Sebastian and a legion of other twee pop outfits to come...
MPEG Stream: "Five Moments"
MPEG Stream: "Star Of David"

FIELD MICE, THE Skywriting (LTM) 2cd 23.00
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991, the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice.
Skywriting was the Field Mice's second album originally released in June 1990. This 2cd reissue includes that lp in its entirety as well as all the tracks from the EPs The Autumn Store and So Said Kay, two rare comp tracks and three unreleased tracks.
Skywriting found the Field Mice stretching out a bit occasionally displaying influences from the then burgeoning dance / ambient scene, with sequenced rhythms, samples, and almost funky rhythms, all mixed in and amongst more classic and timeless sweet pop songsmithery.
MPEG Stream: "Triangle"
MPEG Stream: "Canada"

FIELD MICE, THE Snowball (LTM) cd 17.98
We've been loving the sweet, lush and lilting sounds of the Trembling Blue Stars for ages now, but we had no idea until recently that TBS frontman Bobby Wratton was also responsible for the genius twee pop of the Field Mice. From 1989 to 1991,the Field Mice were the jewel in the legendary Sarah Records' pop crown, making three records and a handful of singles, of some of the most gorgeously effervescent indie jangle pop ever. Super twee and fey, dreamy and drifty, with crystalline fingerpicked guitar, moody melancholy melodies, over shuffling electronic beats, simple acoustic drumming, wandering basslines, otherworldly female vocals, loads of precious indie jangle and of course Wratton's reverb drenched, dreamy soft boy vocals. Even a cursory listen reveals that certain modern bands (Belle And Sebastian anyone?) owe everything they are to these long forgotten musical rodents. So obviously, fans of Belle and Sebastian, who aren't already hoarding secret stashes of long lost Sarah singles, will be in swirling soft pop heaven, but folks who like stuff like Felt, Durutti Column, the Smiths, Trembling Blue Stars (obviously), Unrest, Teenage Fanclub, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire and other similar sorts of quirky blissed out pop shimmer should most definitely check out the Field Mice.
Snowball was the Field Mice's debut album, originally released in 1989 as a 10" mini lp. This cd reissue also includes all the tracks from the first three singles as well as a rare compilation track. Snowball is maybe the weirdest of the bunch, with all that sweet jangle and shimmery pop glimmer, but structured around occasional drone-y almost krautrock like rhythms, brief glimpses of studio whirr and swoosh, and once in a while extended hypnotic bliss outs. At its root though, it's still simple and sweet, dreamy dreamy pop.
MPEG Stream: "Let's Kiss And Make Up"
MPEG Stream: "You're Kidding Aren't You?"

FIELD MUSIC s/t (Chrysalis) cd 14.98
Field Music are primarily Peter Brewis and Andrew Moore, but for their self-titled debut they're joined by string players Emma Fisk, Rachael Davis and Peter Richardson as well as sax player John Steele. You might've seen/heard the two lads before though. They're in a couple bands you might be more familiar with... Franz Ferdinand and Maximo Park. Who? Never heard of 'em. Hahahaha. Ahem, this project is far less punchy and rambunctious than either of their day jobs. The tunes are still very poppy, but in a much more gentle breezy fashion. Sort of a well-crafted cross between Sea And Cake, Pinback and Brian Wilson. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "If Only The Moon Were Up"
MPEG Stream: "Tell Me Keep Me"

FIELD, THE From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt) cd 15.98
What's release without tension? What if there's no real release, just an ongoing tension? Like you are hovering over a brink of a precipice but somehow knowing you are not going to fall and die you really get into the powerful momentum of floating fixed in space between the universal expanse above and the bottomless nothing below. That is how The Field (aka Axel Wilner) fashions his tightly edited minimal trance compositions on his Kompakt debut, From Here We Go Sublime. Like the best Kompact releases, from The Pop Ambient series to Wolfgang Voigt's Gas albums, The Field make the most out of nothing much at all. But what incredible nothings! The evolving repetitions of finely honed razor-sharp edits off of bits of samples, such as the vowel sounds of words, belied by rudimentary drum programming only occasionally reveal their source, including a bit of Lionel Ritchie's "Hello" and The Flamingo's "I Only Have Eyes For You", more famously sampled by The Fugees. Dare we say it, This is sublime!
MPEG Stream: "Sun & Ice"
MPEG Stream: "Over The Ice"
MPEG Stream: "The Deal"

FIELD, THE From Here We Go Sublime (12") (Kompakt) 12" 11.98

FIELD, THE Sun & Ice (Kompakt) 12" 9.98

FIELD, THE Things Keep Falling Down (Kompakt) 12" 9.98

FIELD, THE Yesterday And Today (Anti / Kompakt) cd 15.98
The Field's 2007 album From Here We Go Sublime caught many people by surprise, and we were happy to find ourselves included in that crowd of Field supporters. This was a minimal techno record playing the part of a pop album, through sleights of hand that extracted the sappiest moments of the '80s without appearing the part of the ironist. In pixel-painted blurs of entrancing melodies and soothing ambient warmth, The Field offered nostalgia without having a damn Lionel Richie song stuck in your head. Yup, one of the more memorable samples from From Here We Go Sublime was a wistful guitar lead from Richie's "Hello." In a lot of ways, The Field reached a pinnacle for Kompakt's Pop Ambient strategies, easily surpassing perhaps the album that started it all: Gas' Pop.
Jump two years down the line and several trips around the world, The Field returns with a second album that shouldn't disappoint those who were held rapt by the debut. Yesterday and Today has much of the restrained crescendos of velvety hypnosis grafted onto the steel girds of German engineered techno. Yes, we do know that The Field's Axel Willner is from Sweden, but the heart and soul of the motorik pulse is firmly rooted in Germany. Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Basic Channel, and of course, Kompakt are the obvious references in the formal structures of The Field, with his source material being those misty-eyed remembrances of music's past. If there are specific samples to be recognized in Yesterday and Today, they are not overt and obvious; but the sentiment is still the same. Nice.
The vinyl version includes a cd of the album as well!
MPEG Stream: "Leave It"
MPEG Stream: "I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet"
MPEG Stream: "Yesterday & Today"

FIELD, THE Yesterday And Today (Anti / Kompakt) 2lp+cd 19.98
The Field's 2007 album From Here We Go Sublime caught many people by surprise, and we were happy to find ourselves included in that crowd of Field supporters. This was a minimal techno record playing the part of a pop album, through sleights of hand that extracted the sappiest moments of the '80s without appearing the part of the ironist. In pixel-painted blurs of entrancing melodies and soothing ambient warmth, The Field offered nostalgia without having a damn Lionel Richie song stuck in your head. Yup, one of the more memorable samples from From Here We Go Sublime was a wistful guitar lead from Richie's "Hello." In a lot of ways, The Field reached a pinnacle for Kompakt's Pop Ambient strategies, easily surpassing perhaps the album that started it all: Gas' Pop.
Jump two years down the line and several trips around the world, The Field returns with a second album that shouldn't disappoint those who were held rapt by the debut. Yesterday and Today has much of the restrained crescendos of velvety hypnosis grafted onto the steel girds of German engineered techno. Yes, we do know that The Field's Axel Willner is from Sweden, but the heart and soul of the motorik pulse is firmly rooted in Germany. Neu!, Kraftwerk, Cluster, Basic Channel, and of course, Kompakt are the obvious references in the formal structures of The Field, with his source material being those misty-eyed remembrances of music's past. If there are specific samples to be recognized in Yesterday and Today, they are not overt and obvious; but the sentiment is still the same. Nice.
The vinyl version includes a cd of the album as well!
MPEG Stream: "Leave It"
MPEG Stream: "I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet"
MPEG Stream: "Yesterday & Today"

FIELDS, IRVING TRIO Bagels And Bongos (Reboot Stereophonic) cd 16.98

FIELDS, LEE Problems (Soul Fire) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
God DAMN! Lee Fields has SOUL, ladies and gentlemen, and just in case a couple decades of watered down, completely non-visceral R&B has made you forget exactly what that means, let this record remind you. He's got the funk and the pride like James Brown, the smooove moves like Isaac Hayes, and he's here to spread the love and the grooves straight from the gut. And it feels sooo good! Mr. Fields has been making funk records since the seventies, many of which are highly sought-after collectables. Respected in the funk community, he earned the nickname "Little J.B." for good reason, but he's definitely got his own thang going on -- plus, when was the last relevant record from the godfather of soul? Uh huh, exactly. Enter Lee, who has been making kick ass heavy funk records with the Soul Providers and Sugarman Three as well as recording under his own name for the excellent nuveau rare groove label Soul Fire (kin to Daptone in the recent funk 45 resurgence). This will set fire to your behind, make sweet love to you, then give you advice on how to keep your woman. OK, the last part may be ill advised, but when Lee Fields brings it on with such sincerity it's hard not to believe in him.
RealAudio clip: "Problems"

FIEND 3: Caledonian Mystic (God Bless) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the third solo project from Brendan O'Hare of Mogwai, Teenage Fanclub, and the Telstar Ponies. Desperate space rock complete with drug-addled vocals, knob twiddling, and sparse guitar based structures.

FIERY FURNACES Bitter Tea (Fat Possum) cd 14.98
Yeah, that hits the spot! The Fiery Furnaces' tea may be bitter but it sounds mighty good to these ears. While their last, occasionally laborious release (Rehearsing The Choir, a collaborative effort with their grandmother) tossed a few folks off their wagon of devotees, this album will surely win them back and then some! Oddly enough it was originally meant to be a companion to its predecessor, but it has an altogether different tone and energy. It's more like a contrasting counterpart.
The brother and sister duo's strange stagey cabaret flair is in full bloom with lots of rambunctious mischief and intriguing instrumentation. Actually quite a few of the songs could easily be mistaken for something on the new Sparks album. Check out the second tune "I'm In No Mood". Is it just us or is Eleanor Friedlander's high delivery not a deadringer for Russell Mael's falsetto?
They've spent some time at play in the studio, running the recordings of the vocals and instruments backwards, noodling with synthesizers and such. Mind you the former does get a little tedious after a while -- they use that trippy application quite generously -- particularly on the lengthy seventh track "The Vietnamese Telephone Ministry" which ends up seeming much longer than its 5:44 minutes. Nevertheless for those who love the pair's devil-may-care attitude and pilfering of styles from all time periods and places, this album will definitely not disappoint!
MPEG Stream: "I'm In No Mood"
MPEG Stream: "I'm Waiting To Know You"

FIERY FURNACES Blueberryboat (Rough Trade) 2lp 16.98
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Delving deeper into the strange and the eccentric and in the process carving out their own lil' musical niche, The Fiery Furnaces' impressive sophomore album Blueberryboat is like one heck of a wild carnival ride - like a tilt-a-whirl, funhouse and rollercoaster all rolled into one. At times Eleanor Friedberger's vocals seem more oddly affected in a Kate Bush sort of way laced with a mix of campy glam Rocky Horror Picture Show, old tyme cabaret, and sing-song nursery rhyme stylings. The music is heady, sometimes plodding, sometimes careening and often quite surprising, occasionally blending a thick squidgy electronic backdrop with their more familiar acoustic and electric guitar-based instrumentation. A wonderfully woozy listening adventure!

FIERY FURNACES EP (Rough Trade) cd 10.98
Another great release from this truly dynamic duo! Following two awesome albums comes this collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks. Now for most other bands the phrase "b-sides and unreleased tracks" usually means "cast-offs and not-good-enoughs", but for the 'Furnaces it means nothing of the sort. Their consistent high standard carries through all of their releases including this one. With their broad palette of instruments and ideas they fly in the face of current trends. They thoroughly enchant, puzzle, and rock, adding a novel 'talky' electric guitar line, some beautiful waterfall piano melodies, or some bubbly blurbly synthesizer whenever the occasion calls for it. They shuttle through and blend styles with carefree glee -- barreling in one direction with full momentum and then turning completely on a dime. Eleanor Friedberger has one of the most expressive devil-may-care voices around, delivering her vocals with a knowing nod and a sly wink. Her brother Matthew is sure no slouch either. However perhaps the thing that sets them apart the most from a lot of bands these days is their lyrical content. Theirs is true 'story rock'. Each song unfurls a whimsicaln yarn or intriguing tale, but the subject matter is seldom fluffy, hell, it's frequently downright dark and twisted. Great stuff!
Oh and please note that although it's titled "EP", it's not all that short... it actually has ten songs!
MPEG Stream: "Single Again"
MPEG Stream: "Tropical-Iceland"

FIERY FURNACES EP (Rough Trade) lp 14.00
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Another great release from this truly dynamic duo! Following two awesome albums comes this collection of b-sides and unreleased tracks. Now for most other bands the phrase "b-sides and unreleased tracks" usually means "cast-offs and not-good-enoughs", but for the 'Furnaces it means nothing of the sort. Their consistent high standard carries through all of their releases including this one. With their broad palette of instruments and ideas they fly in the face of current trends. They thoroughly enchant, puzzle, and rock, adding a novel 'talky' electric guitar line, some beautiful waterfall piano melodies, or some bubbly blurbly synthesizer whenever the occasion calls for it. They shuttle through and blend styles with carefree glee - barreling in one direction with full momentum and then turning completely on a dime. Eleanor Friedberger has one of the most expressive devil-may-care voices around, delivering her vocals with a knowing nod and a sly wink. Her brother Matthew is sure no slouch either. However perhaps the thing that sets them apart the most from a lot of bands these days is their lyrical content. Theirs is true 'story rock'. Each song unfurls a whimsical yarn or intriguing tale, but the subject matter is seldom fluffy, hell, it's frequently downright dark and twisted. Great stuff!
Oh and please note that although it's titled "EP", it's not all that short... it actually has ten songs!

FIERY FURNACES Gallowsbird's Park (Rough Trade) lp 14.00
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we said when the cd was first released:
Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger, the brother and sister duo known as The Fiery Furnaces have certainly drawn lots of comparisons to the plethora of other boy/girl, brother/sister duos of late (White Stripes, The Kills, The Raveonettes to name just a few), but hang on a sec! Don't dismiss them as a bluesy, garagey raw rock copycat pair. 'Though there's definitely waves of low slung slouchy blues, garage and rock flowin' through their veins, there's also plenty more goin' on here. While The Fiery Furnaces are definitely not silly, they are full of whimsy, wit and carefree spirit. Gallowsbird's Park begins at a frantic pace of descending xylophone and piano lines while snarky guitars and thumpin' drums elbow their way through the fray. Eleanor's delivery has a distinct saucy devil-may-care tone to it. She seems to be having a blast kicking out each verse and chorus with such sass. This album is a rambunctious freewheeling jumble, however that's not to say it's by any means messy. What it is is a darn good time! Recommended.

FIERY FURNACES Rehearsing My Choir (Rough Trade) cd 12.98
Here's the latest album from the always slightly bizarre brother and sister duo Fiery Furnaces. The opener contains their familiar frantic piano playing that often brings to mind visions of the chase scenes in old Tom & Jerry cartoons. From there things launch off into something that resembles a peculiar radio play. Whereas in the past the pair's eccentricities surfaced in their obtusely poetic lyrics and Eleanor Friedlander's vocal performances, here they materialize in the broader array of weird sounds and the prominent vocal presence of the mysterious Ms Olga Sarantos. Curious as we are, we did a little sleuthing to try to figure out what the heck Eleanor and Matthew were goin' on about! What we discovered was that Rehearsing The Choir is even more of a family affair that usual. It's a collaboration with their grandmother Sarantos! Loosely based around her stories of living in Chicago, it's a lively, peppery collection.
MPEG Stream: "The Garfield El"
MPEG Stream: "Guns Under The Counter"

FIERY FURNACES Rehearsing My Choir (Rough Trade) lp 19.98
Also on vinyl! Here's the latest album from the always slightly bizarre brother and sister duo Fiery Furnaces. The opener contains their familiar frantic piano playing that often brings to mind visions of the chase scenes in old Tom & Jerry cartoons. From there things launch off into something that resembles a peculiar radio play. Whereas in the past the pair's eccentricities surfaced in their obtusely poetic lyrics and Eleanor Friedlander's vocal performances, here they materialize in the broader array of weird sounds and the prominent vocal presence of the mysterious Ms Olga Sarantos. Curious as we are, we did a little sleuthing to try to figure out what the heck Eleanor and Matthew were goin' on about! What we discovered was that Rehearsing The Choir is even more of a family affair that usual. It's a collaboration with their grandmother Sarantos! Loosely based around her stories of living in Chicago, it's a lively, peppery collection.
MPEG Stream: "The Garfield El"
MPEG Stream: "Guns Under The Counter"

FIERY FURNACES Remember (Thrill Jockey) 2cd 16.98
For those of you that somehow have missed seeing a Fiery Furnaces show or for those of you wishing to relive the magic... The band has defied The Foghat Principle (as immortalized in Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube" video which starred the fellas from Mr. Show... but we digress!) which proclaims that "your fourth album shall be DOUBLE LIVE!" Instead they held out a few albums longer, and made it their seventh. It's a good thing though, we think, because that means this hefty 51 track compilation features a bunch of songs from their most recent (and arguably their best) album Widow City. Psst, you might even recognize their touring bassist - Sebadoh's awesome Jason Loewenstein! Woo hoo! The band is as deliciously delirious, dark and strange in concert as they are on records, but with the added unpredictability of the live setting their songs of twisted folklore and fairytales seem to unravel at the seams and reweave into themselves and the adjoining tunes into something that's at once oddly familiar yet altogether different. The track names on the back of the digipak add to the disorientation - they're not the actual original song names, but a set of six equally perplexing chapter titles. A vast, wild 'n' wooly, suitably enigmatic listening experience.
MPEG Stream: "Chief Inspector Blancheflower (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "The Wayward Granddaughter (Live)"

FIERY FURNACES Remember (Thrill Jockey) 3lp 24.00
For those of you that somehow have missed seeing a Fiery Furnaces show or for those of you wishing to relive the magic... The band has defied The Foghat Principle (as immortalized in Yo La Tengo's "Sugarcube" video which starred the fellas from Mr. Show... but we digress!) which proclaims that "your fourth album shall be DOUBLE LIVE!" Instead they held out a few albums longer, and made it their seventh. It's a good thing though, we think, because that means this hefty 51 track compilation features a bunch of songs from their most recent (and arguably their best) album Widow City. Psst, you might even recognize their touring bassist - Sebadoh's awesome Jason Loewenstein! Woo hoo! The band is as deliciously delirious, dark and strange in concert as they are on records, but with the added unpredictability of the live setting their songs of twisted folklore and fairytales seem to unravel at the seams and reweave into themselves and the adjoining tunes into something that's at once oddly familiar yet altogether different. The track names on the back of the digipak add to the disorientation - they're not the actual original song names, but a set of six equally perplexing chapter titles. A vast, wild 'n' wooly, suitably enigmatic listening experience.
MPEG Stream: "Chief Inspector Blancheflower (Live)"
MPEG Stream: "The Wayward Granddaughter (Live)"

FIERY FURNACES Widow City (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
Fiery Furnaces music is peculiar to say the least. Their sources of inspiration always run the gamut in style, era, mood and tempo. And yet, they're truly one of a kind, their sound immediately recognizable, their albums always wilamodern day New York City. With all of their music's mischievous, wheezing organ quirks and theatrical harp-glossed flair, the Friedbergers aren't afraid to exert a little muscle now and again, thrusting in a funked-up groove, a disjointed drumbeat or distorted guitar when the need arises. This trip is nothing short of gregarious, a little bit itchy, and delightfully enchanting. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Clear Signal From Cairo"
MPEG Stream: "Japanese Slippers"

FIERY FURNACES Widow City (Thrill Jockey) lp 14.98
Fiery Furnaces music is peculiar to say the least. Their sources of inspiration always run the gamut in style, era, mood and tempo. And yet, they're truly one of a kind, their sound immediately recognizable, their albums always wild'n'woolly surprise filled aural adventures. When listening to Widow City it's easy to imagine that Edward Gorey's Gashly Crumb Tinies, The Brothers Grimm, Mary Tourtel's Rupert Bear and Enid Blyton's Noddy commandeered a rickety time-travellin' spaceship and crashed it into a thatch of poison ivy in modern day New York City. With all of their music's mischievous, wheezing organ quirks and theatrical harp-glossed flair, the Friedbergers aren't afraid to exert a little muscle now and again, thrusting in a funked-up groove, a disjointed drumbeat or distorted guitar when the need arises. This trip is nothing short of gregarious, a little bit itchy, and delightfully enchanting. Recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Clear Signal From Cairo"
MPEG Stream: "Japanese Slippers"

FIERY FURNACES, THE Blueberryboat (Rough Trade) cd 15.98
Delving deeper into the strange and the eccentric and in the process carving out their own lil' musical niche, The Fiery Furnaces' impressive sophomore album Blueberryboat is like one heck of a wild carnival ride - like a tilt-a-whirl, funhouse and rollercoaster all rolled into one. At times Eleanor Friedberger's vocals seem more oddly affected in a Kate Bush sort of way laced with a mix of campy glam Rocky Horror Picture Show, old tyme cabaret, and sing-song nursery rhyme stylings. The music is heady, sometimes plodding, sometimes careening and often quite surprising, occasionally blending a thick squidgy electronic backdrop with their more familiar acoustic and electric guitar-based instrumentation. A wonderfully woozy listening adventure!
MPEG Stream: "Straight Street"
MPEG Stream: "Chris Michaels"

FIERY FURNACES, THE Gallowsbird's Park (Rough Trade) cd 15.98
Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger, the brother and sister duo known as The Fiery Furnaces have certainly drawn lots of comparisons to the plethora of other boy/girl, brother/sister duos of late (White Stripes, The Kills, The Raveonettes to name just a few), but hang on a sec! Don't dismiss them as a bluesy, garagey raw rock copycat pair. 'Though there's definitely waves of low slung slouchy blues, garage and rock flowin' through their veins, there's also plenty more goin' on here. While The Fiery Furnaces are definitely not silly, they are full of whimsy, wit and carefree spirit. Gallowsbird's Park begins at a frantic pace of descending xylophone and piano lines while snarky guitars and thumpin' drums elbow their way through the fray. Eleanor's delivery has a distinct saucy devil-may-care tone to it. She seems to be having a blast kicking out each verse and chorus with such sass. This album is a rambunctious freewheeling jumble, however that's not to say it's by any means messy. What it is is a darn good time! Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "South Is Only A Home"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Dance Her Down"

FIERY FURNACES, THE I'm Going Away (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
Eleanor and Matthew Friedlander are back with their eighth full length, and they've got Sebadude Jason Lowenstein on board, both engineering and playing bass on the album. For some reason the band and/or the label chose to use a somewhat unfortunate point of reference in their press release which has cast a distracting pall across our listening experience. Normally the whimsically strange and elliptical music of Fiery Furnaces exist in a realm all its own, free from current trends and pop culture references. The irksome comment was an obtuse mention of the TV show Taxi and the movie Titanic. We quote "All rock music is a sort of dramatic music. And since the times are tough, it makes sense to have that "drama" be something more like a version of Taxi than something like a version of Titanic. We like Taxi better than Titanic anyway. So we hope that some of the songs on this record can be used as theme songs to folks' own personal versions of Taxi." WTF?! Well, at least it's been successful in getting us to talk about the release a few moment longer, although not necessarily about what is most important, the music itself! So how is this new FF anyways? Well, although it comes tearing out of the gate all rapid fire, a lot of the songs seem remarkably tame in delivery! For instance on "The End Is Near" Ms Eleanor verges on '70s Helen Reddy "Delta Dawn" territory. While there are fleeting moments of the delirious abandon that's been their trademark for years, many times it seems like they were reaching for unbridled soulfulness, but ended up sounding over-arching and awkwardly white. For a duo whose songs can take impossibly loop-de-loopy acrobatic flips or clever twists and still land 'em on their feet, this album occasionally suffers from two left feet. Don't want to totally heave-ho though. We all know FF albums are an acquired taste, but perhaps this one is a bit more so? Give 'er a listen and see what your taste buds tell you!
MPEG Stream: "Drive To Dallas"
MPEG Stream: "Cups And Punches"

FIERY FURNACES, THE I'm Going Away (Thrill Jockey) lp 17.98
Eleanor and Matthew Friedlander are back with their eighth full length, and they've got Sebadude Jason Lowenstein on board, both engineering and playing bass on the album. For some reason the band and/or the label chose to use a somewhat unfortunate point of reference in their press release which has cast a distracting pall across our listening experience. Normally the whimsically strange and elliptical music of Fiery Furnaces exist in a realm all its own, free from current trends and pop culture references. The irksome comment was an obtuse mention of the TV show Taxi and the movie Titanic. We quote "All rock music is a sort of dramatic music. And since the times are tough, it makes sense to have that "drama" be something more like a version of Taxi than something like a version of Titanic. We like Taxi better than Titanic anyway. So we hope that some of the songs on this record can be used as theme songs to folks' own personal versions of Taxi." WTF?! Well, at least it's been successful in getting us to talk about the release a few moment longer, although not necessarily about what is most important, the music itself! So how is this new FF anyways? Well, although it comes tearing out of the gate all rapid fire, a lot of the songs seem remarkably tame in delivery! For instance on "The End Is Near" Ms Eleanor verges on '70s Helen Reddy "Delta Dawn" territory. While there are fleeting moments of the delirious abandon that's been their trademark for years, many times it seems like they were reaching for unbridled soulfulness, but ended up sounding over-arching and awkwardly white. For a duo whose songs can take impossibly loop-de-loopy acrobatic flips or clever twists and still land 'em on their feet, this album occasionally suffers from two left feet. Don't want to totally heave-ho though. We all know FF albums are an acquired taste, but perhaps this one is a bit more so? Give 'er a listen and see what your taste buds tell you!
MPEG Stream: "Drive To Dallas"
MPEG Stream: "Cups And Punches"

FIFTH COLUMN, THE The Early Fifth Column: Indiscreet Music 1976-1980 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Possibly also subtitled "We'll Put It Out If The Boss Insists", which makes sense since the Fifth Column was the pre-Hijokaidan band of Alchemy chief Jojo Hiroshige (he wasn't the main member, just a participant). The Fifth Column (or Dai-Go-Retsu in Japanese) wasn't an all out noise assault like Hijokaidan, but rather an experimental musical collective dabbling in everything from electronics and tape loops to sax skronk to "improvised voice drama" to toy instrument improv...all sorts of dadaistic chaos! (One thing they seem really partial to is the use of chimpmunk/gremlin style pitch-shifted voices.) The results of their weird and wild experiments are documented on this cd anthology, which, unlike many Alchemy releases, boasts English-language liner notes giving detailed yet cryptic information about the band, in the form of an interview reprinted from a French 'zine called "Rock Art", circa 1984. We can only imagine that the Nurse With Wound folks were or would have been big fans of Dai-Go-Retsu. Historically interesting, to be sure, and entertaining too.
RealAudio clip: "By-Onnyk Solo"
RealAudio clip: "Here's A Camel"
RealAudio clip: "A Picnic At The Bottom Of A Frozen River"