HALA STRANA Heave The Gambrel Roof (Music Fellowship) lp 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Pretty much every Hala Strana release has been a unanimous AQ favorite, most finding their way on to many of our year end top ten lists, and this new one looks to follow suit. Hala Strana is the work of Steven R. Smith, who many of you might recognize as a member of AQ faves Thuja as well as from a handful of solo records that have been heaped with praise on this here very list. Hala Strana is a vehicle for Smith to explore, cover, rework and reinterpret Eastern European folk music. Each record contains a handful of cover songs, some straight, some completely reinvented, and originals informed by Smith's love of that musical tradition.
The originals on Heave The Gambrel Roof are dark and drone-y, plenty of steel string buzz, all stretched out into moody psychedelic free folk drone drift divinity. Subtle melodies, simple strumming, over lush backdrops of shimmery ambience, woven together from all manner of traditional and homemade instruments. A dark moody Appalachia with an Eastern sensibility, folky for sure, but with a definite raga component. One in particular, "Marl", introduces drums and sounds almost like country rock, albeit with a decidedly lo-fi production and a distinctively un-poppy vibe, but it's propulsive with mandolin and acoustic guitars, simple shuffling drumming, moaning distant ambience, it's maybe the most out of place song on the record, but it's a testament to Smith's skill that somehow it fits just fine amidst all the drone and buzz and drift.
The covers here, of which there are a handful, Smith makes his own, gorgeous bits of traditional strummy folk become mesmerizing and hypnotic, figures and melodies looped and repeated, sympathetic notes allowed to buzz and wash into one another. A few of the covers sound pretty straight, with just a tiny bit more buzz or drone, but a few are completely transformed, becoming extended atmospheric dreamscapes, like on "Wedding Of The Blind" which sounds like seventies Japanese psych drone ensemble Taj Mahal Travellers jamming with Jack Rose. Absolutely gorgeous.
[sorry the following info is for historical purposes only, these $30 wooden editions are all gone: While they last, we have the super limited deluxe version that comes wrapped in black felt, packaged alongside a thick piece of LP sized wood, with the cover art and the liner notes silkscreened directly onto the wood (and it smells amazing too, fresh wood, all foresty and outdoorsy). LIMITED TO 250 COPIES!! Each one is hand numbered with the number hand carved / branded into the wood! Once these are gone, we will have the less expensive regular vinyl version, which is probably a good thing as we imagine these will go pretty damn quick.]
MPEG Stream: "Returning"
MPEG Stream: "Motra Dhe Vellai"
MPEG Stream: "Marl"

HALA STRANA Karst e.p. (Jewelled Antler Library) 3" cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The fourth in the Jewelled Antler Library series of 3" cd-r releases comes from Thuja's Steven R. Smith, who has taken up the Hala Strana moniker for his Eastern European-folk music inspired meditations. "Karst" continues down the path of his previous Jewelled Antler production "Kohl" (which is slated for a reissue on 12" by Emperor Jones) with a more ramshackle production for his dense acoustic arrangements for guitar and scratchy violin, which often hints at Eastern European timbres but as played by Nikki Sudden. In fact two of Smith's tracks are versions of traditional Polish and Romanian folk songs. Often beginning with a clutter of loose sounds, Smith coaxes his orchestrations into melancholic melodies and has smothered everything with an unusual patina of crunchy vinyl static, giving the 18 minutes a distinctly antiquated feel. A great entry in a great series.
MPEG Stream: "Sztajer"
MPEG Stream: "Cantecul Miresei"

HALA STRANA s/t (Emperor Jones) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, here's a Hala Strana cd that we won't (or shouldn't) run out of, unlike the super-limited Jewelled Antler double cd-r release we reviewed last list. But hurry up n' buy it anyway, 'cause it's also a good one! As splendid as the double, if less sprawling.
Hala Strana, for those just tuning in, is the Eastern European inspired psych-folk-drone project of the prolific and talented Steven R. Smith (Thuja, Mirza, his own self). SRS wrote all but two of the 13 tunes on here (there's a trad. Moravian and trad. Transylvanian credit for those two) and plays ALL the myriad instruments, from guitar to harmonium to cello to drums to accordion to melodica to glockenspiel... With the magic of overdubbing, he's a one man orchestra. But we wish this was a band, just 'cause we'd *love* to hear this music live!
Though only two of the tracks are actually based on traditional Eastern European folk, they all share that spirit, the "Transylvanian trance" lure mentioned in the review of that other Hala Strana. Some of the songs have an epic vibe that comes across like a Balkan Godspeed You Black Emperor!, others are more intimate, with melodic hooks that make 'em sound a bit like instrumental Decemberists tracks -- maybe that's the accordion making us think that. Very recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Stria"
MPEG Stream: "The Strictness of Beauty"

HALA STRANA These Villages (Soft Abuse) cd 13.98
Every time we get in a new album from Steven R. Smith's Hala Strana it's as if we've been magically, mystically transported to one of the Olde World vistas with which he always adorns his cd covers (this one comes from the Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493). He's an Eastern European influenced, drone-folk one-man-band, crafting gorgeous, mesmerizing, sometimes melancholic instrumental compositions in his home studio, incorporating sundry ethnic instruments and tapes and field recordings, in a manner quite in keeping with that of his Jewelled Antler brethren (instrument-builder Smith is an alumnus of Thuja, you might know). Only three of the songs here are authentic traditional tunes (from Latvia, Hungary, and the Caucasus), but all the rest of them also seem to derive from an ancient, far-off land of Smith's imaginings...organic, rustic, autumnal...music for meandering along a trickling stream, lazing in a meadow, peering at distant crags through a morning mist, or drinking in a ruined old tavern at night. Harmonium drones and gently plucked strings and wheezing accordion and keening hurdy gurdy (and more) are all woven by Smith into the medieval tapestry of Hala Strana's music. Ah, we love it. These Villages is Hala Strana's fourth release -- we can't say it's the best yet, only because the others were also so superlative too. Quite recommended.
MPEG Stream: "October"
MPEG Stream: "Nepdal Tarogaton"

HALA STRANA White Sleep (Soft Abuse) 7" lathe cut 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Three songs from Steven R. Smith and his Hala Strana, ultra limited lathe cut, hand numbered, only 60 copies pressed. We got FIVE.

HALF FILM East of Monument (Buzz) cd 11.98
Local trio whose sweetly mournful, thickly atmospheric tunes will appeal to fans of Red House Painters and Radar Bros.

HALF FILM The Road To The Crater (Devil In The Woods) cd 14.98
Long overdue second full length from these San Francisco mope rockers. Dark and intense and delicate and absolutely beautiful. Think Low, Labradford, Codeine, Radar Bros. etc...

HALF JAPANESE Bone Head (Alternative Tentacles) cd 10.98
21 songs performed by Jad Fair and crew. Includes "Movin' On Up".

HALF JAPANESE Hello (Alternative Tentacles) cd 13.98
This may be only the second Half Japanese album to find a home on the Alternative Tentacles label, but it's one in such a long line of HJ/Jad Fair projects (upwards of 30!)... don't even think of shaking a stick at 'em. At any rate over twenty years after the very first clattering cacaphony was heard coming out of the Fair family's basement, HJ has definitely gotten more composed and melodic, but the primitive charm and child-like vision are still very much intact. Y'know, it's nice to hear Jad hasn't lost his penchant for singing about vampires. In past incarnations such d.i.y. music luminaries as Moe Tucker and Don Fleming have played on the HJ team, and this time around the line-up is Jason Willett, Gilles-V. Rieder, John Sluggett.

HALF MAKESHIFT Aphotic Leech (Utech) cd 14.98
As much as we love downtuned sludge and the whole dronedoomdirge static guitar buzz thing, and we do, believe us, we do, we love it even more when bands take that sound and warp it into something completely new. Such is the case with Aphotic Leech, a 35 minute single track from the duo known as Half Makeshift. Well, not sure if it's a duo as one guy is credited with piano, guitar, organ, glitch work and manipulation, while the other guy apparently "unknowningly provided all [the] percussion". Strange...
As is this disc. It begins with a sudden flurry of glitchy static that quickly gives way to dark dolorous piano, picking out a mournful, funereal melody, the notes drifting over simple chiming percussion, while beneath hover stretched out marimba melodies and a low distant thunderous rumbling. This dour march is occasionally enveloped in dense clouds of crumbling distortion and thick swaths of damaged electronics, always returning to it's spacious dark lilt. It's all very dynamic as well, with dark clusters of notes punching through the shimmery moodiness every once in a while, always retreating to a glacial drift. The notes on the piano gradually change form, wreathed in glitch, turned inside out, flipped backwards, often just subtly altered to flicker like some old projector, eventually erupting in a thick, grinding low end drone, the notes completely obscured, wrapped in thick swaths of crackle and glitch, the whole thing threatening to split apart, like watching the sky blacken and crumble above you, not long after the piano is swallowed up by a thick molten flow of black downtuned guitar drone, and you may think SUNNO))) is heavy? But this is more than heavy, caustic and black, a dense sludge so thick it barely makes it out of the speakers, but this low-end assault is peppered with strange production glitches, malfunctioning electronics, the notes, the sounds, all damaged and decaying, as if they might fall to the ground and break into a million pieces, but as long as they retain their shape, they are capable of crushing everything in their path.
Eventually the piano returns, but the notes are chopped into strange skipping rhythms, the rumbling, guitar crumble relegated to a swirling black backdrop, and finally, after one brief blast of black hole guitar grime, the track reverts to it's blissed out black ramble, culminating in a dark stuttering piano fade out....
Absolutely essential for the drone-doom-death-dirge inclined, fans of all things SUNNO))), Nadja, Fear Falls Burning, Trollmann, Boris, Marzuraan... Packaged in a super striking fold over sleeve, with a black on gold jellyfish on one side, and a truly revolting, but gorgeous penis-head-mask thing on the other, an amazing photograph by Max Aguilera-Hellweg, who was also responsible for the amazing photos on the sleeve of Fantomas' Delerium Cordia.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Aphotic Leech (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Aphotic Leech (excerpt 2)"

HALF MAKESHIFT Final (Small Doses) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We mention elsewhere on this list, about the strange viral spread of underground bands via cd-r labels. One super hyped release is all it takes, suddenly more releases begin popping up on all the other usual cd-r labels. Thankfully this usually happens to bands who deserve it, and who we can't get enough of, so more releases in that instance is definitely good news.
Such is the case with Half Makeshift, who actually started out with some proper full length cd releases, before they began dabbling in limited cd-r releases. We've listed two of their discs so far, both fantastic, dark and heavy, dense and thick, ominous and intense. Much heavier and more aggressive than your typical cd-r floorcore fare.
And 'they' is actually a 'he', he being Nathan Michael, who takes sounds low and slow, and assembles them into strangely propulsive downtuned dirges, hovering sonically somewhere between the glacial sludge of SUNNO))) and the muted minimal shimmer of folks like Aidan Baker or Jonathan Coleclough.
On Final, Michael explores a bit of both. The opener is a fierce plodding lurch, slowed way down to an almost crawl, the beats are big and effected, but they are buried in the mix, and pitched down, above the beats, guitars grind woozily and swirl weightlessly, it almost sounds like a Nadja 45 spinning at 33, or Jesu slowed way dooooooooown. A blissed out post industrial shoegazey doom, more pretty than heavy, but still shot through with bits of sharp riffage and thick crunch, but by the end, the track has transformed into a muted minor key drift, soft and serene. The second track takes the end of the first and stretches it out into a whole track of whispered whir and warm chordal swells.
The third track of four begins with piano, processed and spun backwards, a dreamily dizzy bit of swell and swoop, that continues throughout the whole track, at one point passing through thick black clouds of low end rumble, before emerging on the other side spare and sparse and hovering in an austere wide open space.
The final track, the title track, appropriately called "Final", is another piano driven jam, more moody and murky, a funereal dirge, a somber musical death march, the sounds changing timbre and tone subtly, the various notes wrapped in effects and slipped back into the melodies, gorgeously forlorn and sweetly sinister.
Like all Small Doses discs, incredible packaging, two different colored and textured paper rectangles, glued together and then folded to create a super striking two tone layered sleeve, printed with gorgeous austere photos, each copy hand numbered. LIMITED TO 151 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "The First And Second Passing"
MPEG Stream: "Final"

HALF MAKESHIFT L'Anse Amort (20 Buck Spin) cd 13.98
Last year we raved about this oddly named, mysterious one-man-band's debut disc on Utech, entitled Aphotic Leech, saying stuff like "Absolutely essential for the drone-doom-death-dirge inclined, fans of all things SUNNO))), Nadja, Fear Falls Burning, Trollmann, Boris, Marzuraan". We've been letting Half Makeshift's second cd (four tracks this time, instead of one long one) sink in for a while now, and are convinced that it's just as amazing, even more spacious and atmospheric. Though maybe we should stress that while we think that the drone-doom-death-dirge inclined are likely to dig this, it ISN'T really all that heavy. More super moody and slow and atmospheric. It's not until like the end of the seventeen minute track 1 "The Whale's Heart", and again halfway through the 14 minutes of track 3, the title track, that some truly loud and heavy guitar destruction is heard. A lot of the rest of the time, this is way more restrained. The first track, for instance: Chiming tones and majestic chords, slow and gorgeous. Building slowly, ponderously, into a massive cloud of distorted rumble, joined by a broken, staccato rhythm track right, blast beat style, at the end that eventually glitches out as the song fades away, piano notes suspended amidst the silence hum reverie in silent reverie. Later on, you get gentle music box melodies combined with fuzzed guitar worthy of a black metal horde. And slo-mo doom, with seagulls and ocean samples, that's mesmeric but never all that heavy.
It's all the work of one guy, Nathan Michael, who is credited with piano, organ, strings, drone, machines, manipulation, glitch work. He hails from Maryland, a hotbed of old school doom, but Half Makeshift is closer to Nadja than Pentagram. Also way more post-rock! Sorta like Coh meets SUNNO))). Heck not too unlike KTL.
Mastered by James Plotkin, and packaged much like an aRCHIVE release, in an oversized rectangular 4 panel cardboard sleeve with four postcard-like arty photo inserts featuring super striking images of towers and piers and tunnels and back alleys...
MPEG Stream: "The Whale's Heart"
MPEG Stream: "Oblivion"

HALF MAKESHIFT Omen (Profound Lore Records) cd 13.98
We have yet to be disappointed by the restrained, doomic ambience that Half Makeshift (aka Nathan Michael) provides. More atmospheric than absolutely heavy (most of the time), Half Makeshift makes chilling chill out albums for the SUNNO))) scene. This new one is called Omen and it is indeed quite... ominous. It lets you get about 8 minutes into the first track before the crashing waves of distortion kick in. Even then, despite the volume, it still seems somehow hushed. And before the track is over, it retreats again into a melodic, melancholic realm of looping loveliness for guitar; spare and spacious and unhurried. Elsewhere on this album that pattern repeats itself, this moody work having a stretched-out set of dynamics like a somnolent post-rock band... it's quietly droning much of the time, adorned with plaintive piano and guitar, building a seductive sense of despair, that occasionally reaches level of cathartic release when Half Makeshift so subtly cranks it up and gets heavy. Loops and backwards effects and digital glitch figure into the mix throughout, but no vocals. Omen has a baleful prettiness to it that could appeal to fans of recent Earth, KTL, Fear Falls Burning, Nadja, Fun Years, and Oren Ambarchi amongst others.
And this time Half Makeshift makes its home on the Profound Lore label, who, not unlike the likes of Southern Lord, 20 Buck Spin, and often tUMULt, teeters on various edges of the metal/doom/drone/blackened/experimental zone, with releases from the likes of Alcest, Atavist, Nadja, Wold, and (reviewed last list) Krallice.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 2"

HALF VISCONTE s/t (Decimal Cinque) cd 8.98
Arizona's Half Visconte channel all the good things about indie/post rock (Drive Like Jehu, Rodan, Blonde Redhead, Sonic Youth) into something really great, especially considering the glut of 'post rock' bands. The first three songs are complex mathy workouts, along the same lines as Rodan, A Minor Forest and Sweep the Leg Johhny. But track four is where they really come into their own. A twenty minute epic combining post rock rhythms, hypnotic krautrock drones, ambient industrial soundscapes, and experimental click and clatter. If this strange musique concret/post-rock hybrid is where HV are headed, they will be unbeatable.

HALF-HANDED CLOUD Thy Is A Word + Feet Need Lamps (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98
Half-Handed Cloud is the one man spiritual band who also goes by the name John Ringhofer. In case you couldn't tell from the album's title, we'll let ya know that his are some unconventional Bible related songs drawing his subject matter from the Old Testament. This album was recorded in a church sanctuary and incorporates pianos, woodwinds, horns, cellos, guitars and yes, church organs and choirs.

HALFORD Resurrection (Metal-Is) cd 16.98
Billed as "the return of the Metal God" and I guess so, at least it's Rob's best record since "Painkiller", his last album as the voice of Judas Priest (not that this is anywhere as good as that over-the-top masterpiece!!). Nothing new here, just updated Priest-style rockin', but that's the idea, after his godawful NIN-inspired "Two" project and the mediocre Pantera-wanna-be Fight albums. Heavy, catchy, dumb metal with Halford's trademark pipes in full effect. He's trying hard to regain his former glory, complete with leather, shades, and motorcycle, but he needs your help. Not terrible.

HALIFAX PIER Put Your Gloves On And Wave ( Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 13.98
Second full length from Louisville / San Francisco-based band who conjure up the warm acoustic guitar / cello / violin dark gothic sound popularized by another Lousiville band Rachel's, then add murmured vocals to bring it down to earth. It's very emotional, wistful, and sad, and fans of Rachels will love it. One wishes it was a little less predictable (starting one track with a far-off train whistle... hmm, never heard that one before).
RealAudio clip: "That Old Grizzly Thing"

HALIFAX PIER s/t (Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 13.98
Capturing the essence of the Southern Gothic, Louisville-based Halifax Pier has written a beautiful album of epic indie-rock melancholia with all of the breath-taking instrumentation of Rachel's and a vocalist whose emotive drawl recalls Camper Van Beethoven's David Lowery. What ever happened to him?

HALL OF FAME s/t (Siltbreeze) cd 13.98
Dirty four-track recordings. Stoned post-Jandek acoustic guitar strum. Gritty layers of organ drones. That's been the default sound of the Siltbreeze label; and by and large, most things on Siltbreeze that take on this sound are pretty good at it. Hall of Fame is certainly one of these outfits, sounding a lot like the latest work from Charalambides or a poppier version of Tower Recordings. So it wouldn't be surprising to learn that Hall of Fame features members of Tower Recordings!

HALL, ARCH JR. Wild Guitar! (Norton Records) cd 14.98

HALL, TERRY & MUSHTAQ The Hour of Two Lights (Astralwerks) cd 17.98

HALLIWELL, GRAHAM / RHODRI DAVIES / STEVE RODEN / MARK WASTELL Recorded Delivery (Sound 323) cd 13.98
Graham Halliwell is one of the practitioners of what has been dubbed the New London Silence, a taxonomic distinction which may have more to do with geography than stylistic differences. Lowercase, microwave, and onkyo have been other adjectives applied to Halliwell's particular sensibility, in defining quiet compositions and improvisations within the avant-garde (e.g. Alvin Lucier, Morton Feldman, Phill Niblock, etc.). Regardless of what you want to call it, Halliwell has applied a reductionist methodology to his instrument of choice: the saxophone. On Recorded Delivery, Halliwell presents a series of duets with likeminded musicians, two of which could fit into the New London Silence school as well (being that they're also from London) and the other being the Los Angeles sound artist Steve Roden. The first track finds Halliwell with harpist Rhodi Davies; and the two generate a quiet soundfield that is deceptively dangerous as the intersection of their acoustic drones from sax feedback and ebowed harp can manifest headsplitting frequencies even at very low volumes due to the purity of those sounds. The second duet is between Halliwell and Steve Roden; and while Halliwell's input appears to be minimal (perhaps just giving Roden some quiet tones), Roden's manipulation of Halliwell's sound is spectacular. If you've ever had the opportunity to see Roden live (and in all likelihood, been blown away by his breathtakingly minimal / gorgeous sets), then you'll know what to expect. He's got two delay pedals through which he captures looping passages that build into a mass of hypnotic shimmer and mirrored sinewave drone that have an impressive melodic quality. The third and final contribution is between Halliwell and tam-tam player Mark Wastell, who together concoct a sparkling drone of metallic vibration and wave pattern. Beautifully done.
MPEG Stream: HALLIWELL / DAVIES "Beat"
MPEG Stream: HALLIWELL / RODEN "Resonantlighttones Revisited"
MPEG Stream: HALLIWELL / WASTELL "Vibra 3"

HALLOWEEN (OST) (Compass) cd 16.98

HALO Body Of Light (Relapse) cd 15.98
This is some serious grim and brutal business, this here new Halo record. So slow, and chaotic, and sludgy and crushing. With feedback spraying wildly from beneath the hyper-dense black hole riffs, tortured vocals, clawing their way up in the mix, fingers bleeding and bruised, a bass sound that is like puncturing your skull and filling it with concrete, and drums that sound like John Bonham trying to beat his way out of a tar pit. Think Godflesh, Swans, Skepticism, but then slow it down, drug it, down tune it, and get the fuck out of the way. This is doom metal played by crusty punks, industrial music played by Eyehategod, the Butthole Surfers covering Earth. The almost industrial precision of their first record has eroded just enough to let the band sort of sprawl, and throb, the sound is psychedelic, but not in the traditional sense, this is dark and druggy and hypnotic, and lulls you to sleep as much as it makes you want to overturn cop cars and set them on fire.
MPEG Stream: "Buried In Light"
MPEG Stream: "Meat"

HALO Guattari (From the West Flows Grey Ash and Pestilence) (Relapse) cd 14.98
Halo are easily one of the heaviest, creepiest, most intense bands we have heard in a long time. This Australian two piece (bass and drums, voice and electronics) spit out such a massive sound it's hard to get your head around. Lurching, pummelling, sludgy, slow-motion doom versus squealing, speaker shredding, super distorted power electronics. Think Godflesh and Neurosis and Earth and Whitehouse and Cop Shoot Cop, and Gore and Noisegate and the Melvins, with the treble turned to zero, the bass turned to ten, and about 1000 extra amps, turned on, buzzing and squealing and rumbling, as Halo channel all of this unbridled energy into huge molten riffs that stretch out into near ambient dirges. Static, hum and hiss swarm wildly in and out of the mix, and occasionally everything drops out until all that's left is blurry static ambience and stray rattles and rumbles, until the two-headed beast struggles free and lurches madly forward again. Fucking amazing.
RealAudio clip: "Rise"
RealAudio clip: "The Entwined"
RealAudio clip: "How Hollow"

HALO BENDERS Don't Tell Me Now (k) cd 13.98
Calvin of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. "Turn Me Up" sez Calvin, repeatedly, in complete deadpan monotone.

HALO BENDERS Don't Tell Me Now (k) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Calvin of Beat Happening and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill. "Turn Me Up" sez Calvin, repeatedly, in complete deadpan monotone.

HALOU Wholeness & Separation (Dynamophone) cd 12.98
Situated at the crossroads of downtempo and dream pop you'll find Halou. This veteran SF band's latest release, their first in six years, is alternately velvety plush, crystalline and ethereal. Washes of processed strings and stuttery rhythms form the dominant backdrop to Rebecca Coseboom's vocals. Very reminiscent of Portishead, but Coseboom's vocal delivery is higher and more cooingly girlish than that of Beth Gibbons. It keeps Wholeness & Separation's overall mood in lighter, more vaporous territory. That said, at the sixth track ("Stonefruit") they unexpectedly flex their modern rock muscles. It's to good effect, and very much along the lines of Elastica, Lush, Metric, Garbage. Then the trio gets back to their more familiar elegance.
Psst, this is another of the uncommonly sumptuous array of releases from the young music label Dynamophone. As we mentioned earlier in the review of labelmates Balustrade Ensemble, they've only been around since mid-2006, but already have a bountiful catalog with many more on the way. Particularly if you've been recently enjoying the aquatic drone releases on the Mystery Sea label, you might wish to check out the seemingly likeminded, but more melodically inclined Dynamophone artists. An absolute treasure trove of shimmering and dewy listening delights. Delve in immediately (also see: Balustrade Ensemble, Disinterested, Po, Pornopop, A Lily, Curium, and R/R Coseboom)!
MPEG Stream: "Tubefed"
MPEG Stream: "Stonefruit"

HALSTEAD, NEIL Sleeping On Roads (4AD) cd 14.98
Neil Halstead, perhaps best known as the singer/songwriter for Mojave 3 and Slowdive, has crafted a solo album of warm, fragile, wispy folk-pop that completely and totally resembles Nick Drake and Belle & Sebastian. So of course it's plenty pretty and pleasing. Sunny trumpet and guitar counter the melacholic words, and delicate piano, strings and chimes. Very nice.
RealAudio clip: "See You On Rooftops"

HAMBLIN, MASON The Ballroom Is For Dances (Out Of Round) cd 11.98
The local label Out of Round has been laboring quietly in the background, not calling a lot of attention to itself yet turning out record after record that are consistently of similar mood -- due to the fact that they all play on each others recordings. The homegrown label's "sound", then, is one of a grimy circus atmosphere, like Fellini's La Strada if it was set in some dusty corner of an urban American metropolis. There are lots of slowed down polkas and depressed waltz time-signatures, dour vocals, sad accoridans, and dolefully plucked guitars. Great mood music for the Tom Waits fan in all of us who feels like Waits is just too hip for his own good these days.
Check out www.outofroundrecords.com -- we carry all of their releases. For a limited time only, get an out of Round Records label sampler free with purchase of this disc.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Bartender, the Laugh's On Me!!!! (Planet Pimp) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The sleeve reads: "A souvenir recording recorded live at the Days Inn, Modesto, CA."

HAMBURGER, NEIL Great Moments At Di Presa's Pizza House (Drag City) cd 14.98
Album number five (or is it six?) from America's "funny" man. This time Neil frames the record in the form of a documentary, with Mr. Hamburger's stand up peppered in between testimonials from people about the 'legendary' Di Presa's Pizza House and Neil Hamburger's fabled career at the fictional restaurant. Guest appearances from the former owner of Di Presa's, its patrons, a health inspector, a food critic and more. Not necessarily funny (but when IS Neil Hamburger actually funny?) but very weird and packed with plenty of WTF moments.
MPEG Stream: "Great Moments At Dipresa's [excerpt 1]"
MPEG Stream: "Great Moments At Dipresa's [excerpt 2]"

HAMBURGER, NEIL Inside Neil Hamburger (Drag City) cd 9.98
America's (Australia's?) Funnyman is back with another painful session of not-too-funny standup "comedy". And that, of course, is the joke. Brilliant as usual.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Laugh Out Lord (Drag City) cd 14.98
What can I say? America's favorite worst comedian has released yet another album. It's been eight years since Neil Hamburger, a.k.a. Gregg Turkington, released his first 7" on Amarillo Records and with this release now has a roster of 6 full length albums and three 7" singles. This time round, along with the occasional 'audience' harassment routines, Mr. Hamburger even sings a couple of songs. Though many may feel that the 'joke' has gotten a bit old and that maybe Turkington should retire his zipper schtick, Drag City is sure that you'll enjoy yet another release of Neil Hamburger.
Here's what some Aquarius folk say about this new CD:
"Fucking horrible!" -Sadie
"Byram, is that it or did you just get fed up and take the CD off?" - Jim
Personally, I'd like to see Greg reissue some of that classic Bean Church material. Hey Gregg, when you gonna put out "Night of a Thousand R's" on CD?
RealAudio clip: "Seven Elevens"
RealAudio clip: "Drag City Records"

HAMBURGER, NEIL Left For Dead in Malaysia (Drag City) cd 12.98
While a good portion of Neil Hamburger's 'comedy' routines involve a rather Andy Kauffman-esque antagonism of the audience through the use of some of the most offensive and least funny jokes ever uttered, Mr. Hamburger does not have the fortune of having an audience who understands him much less cares, as he is performing for a Malaysian audience which does not speak any English and quietly waits for Mr. Hamburger to get off the stage in favor of their regularly scheduled karaoke.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Left For Dead in Malaysia (Drag City) lp 8.98
While a good portion of Neil Hamburger's 'comedy' routines involve a rather Andy Kauffman-esque antagonism of the audience through the use of some of the most offensive and least funny jokes ever uttered, Mr. Hamburger does not have the fortune of having an audience who understands him much less cares, as he is performing for a Malaysian audience which does not speak any English and quietly waits for Mr. Hamburger to get off the stage in favor of their regularly scheduled karaoke.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Pays Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Heh heh heh. Everyone's favorite sad sack comedian issued this single in "limited edition black IN MOURNING vinyl", and there's a bonus kleenex in case you feel like emoting.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Raw Hamburger (Drag City) cd 13.98
Neil's "blue" record. Hilarious. Offensive. Really stupid. We play it a lot here.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Raw Hamburger (Drag City) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Neil's "blue" record. Hilarious. Offensive. Really stupid. We play it a lot here.

HAMBURGER, NEIL Sings Country Winners (Drag City) cd 14.98
A new album from 'funny man' Neil Hamburger. No, of course it's generally not very funny. Did you expect otherwise? That's why you love his sodden, nasally gawdawful self, right? And that's why you want/need a cd of him singing country tunes which are not as amazingly appallingly bad as we were expecting. Kinda makes this sort of disappointingly good even! And it's made even better by the fact that Mr. Hamburger is pals with some hot poop musicians who've helped him out (almost too much so!) on this full length! Winners? Yes, there actually are a few. Don't say we didn't warn you.
MPEG Stream: "Three Piece Chicken Dinner"
MPEG Stream: "Please Ask That Clown To Stop Crying"

HAMBURGER, NEIL The Show Must Go Off! (Kung Fu) dvd 14.98
I have to say that the whole Neil Hamburger 'thing' works a lot better when left to the imagination. While Mr. Hamburger in the flesh comes reasonably close to how you might picture him, it's impossible for him to be as cartoonishly pathetic, and brutally sad and rundown as I always imagined he would be. That said, this document is suitably depressing, and brutal and really funny, but funny in that trainwreck sort of way. Nicely shot, with lots of hilarious interviews of dog track patrons who could care less about Neil Hamburger. The one down side is the hipster filled audience, who of course, like you and me, find Hamburger's unbearable unfunniness pretty darn hilarious, but which kind of defeats the whole concept of there being REAL hecklers and dead silence after every joke. The jokes definitely still suck, that's the point after all, but that amazing Neil Hamburger aura of pathetic-and- depressing-bus-stop-nightclub-comic-playing-for-old-ladies-waiting-for-the-midtown-express-night after-night-drinking-himsef-into-a-stupor is sort of ruined by hooting and heckling indie rockers. Thankfully that problem can easily be corrected with the alternate audio tracks. You can choose from Stadium Applause, Mexican Guy or Japanese Girl! Really. Pretty funny actually. There are some DVD extras, the coolest being a mini-documentary about the dog track, the trainers and the various dogs.

HAMIJAMA Ancient Cities 2 (Beta Bodega) 12" 8.98
Hamijama is a collaboration between Jake Mandell and Safety Scissors. This single for Beta Bodega (a label with a propensity for presenting their electronica within rambling pseudo-intellectual drivel) runs between Kim Rapatti / Mono Junk style techno groove minimalism and mid-'90s AFX / Autechrist melodic angularities.

HAMMERFALL Renegade (Nuclear Blast) cd 15.98
The Swedish cheese-metallers who've led the recent worldwide "comeback" of so-called "power metal", come back themselves with a third album, this time with big-time '80s metal producer Michael Wagener (it was recorded in the USA for goshsakes!). Nothing new really, if you liked their other albums you'll like this, and if you didn't, you won't. One thumb up (Andee), one thumb down (Allan).

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The August Engine (Cruz Del Sur) cd 14.98
Ready for some harmonies and heaviness? Pure, prog-tastic METAL for the long, dark winter? We know you are, 'cause it's been a long while. But now, it's here. The Hammers come down for the second time with this long-awaited new album, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and already out-of-print, for now) debut The Bastard released on our own Andee's tUMUlt label back in 2001. Whereas The Bastard was a full-on rock opera, The August Engine only *sounds* like a rock opera, it isn't actually one. There's no narrative, unifying concept to the songs this time, which puts HoM's eclectic metal mixture in danger of losing focus, being too unpredictably psychedelic and epic for their own good. Wait, what are we saying? That's no problem! As diverse as their songwriting and sonic palette can be, everything here sounds like Hammers and nothing else (well, except Slough Feg), which can only be the mark of a brilliant band.
Bursting out of the gates with an adrenalized instrumental opener that thrashes like Megadeth while remaining as gloriously 'classical' and over the top as anything on The Bastard, we can't say The August Engine never lets up. It does, but only in the sense that some decidedly unusual, and sometimes mellow avenues are explored. But for every non-metallic moment of sweet singing and pleasant acoustic guitars, you get plenty of shredding electric ones, with pounding drums, dramatic male and female vocals on a grand scale, and headbanging riffage. Advanced metal mastery here folks. Pretentious? Indulgent? Arrogant? No, simply mighty. The 10-out-of-10 review this album has already garnered from veteran metal scribe Martin Popoff likened them to a psychedelic version of the best of Iron Maiden, who are we to argue?
Hammers still consist of John and Mike from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, plus drummer Chewy. On this recording, Janis Tanaka plays bass and sings like an angel, though when you go see Hammers live now, they have a new lineup including not only a foxy new bassist/singer but another female vocalist who plays Hammond organ as well!
The vinyl (on tUMULt) has different cover artwork than, but the same tracks as, the compact disc version, released in a black-and-silver digipak edition by upstart Italian metal label Cruz Del Sur. Both sport cool Voivod-ish liner art by mastermind John Cobbett himself. Of course, recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The August Engine pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "A Room And A Riddle"
MPEG Stream: "Insect"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The August Engine (tUMULt) lp 11.98
Ready for some harmonies and heaviness? Pure, prog-tastic METAL for the long, dark winter? We know you are, 'cause it's been a long while. But now, it's here. The Hammers come down for the second time with this long-awaited new album, the follow-up to their acclaimed (and already out-of-print, for now) debut The Bastard released on our own Andee's tUMUlt label back in 2001. Whereas The Bastard was a full-on rock opera, The August Engine only *sounds* like a rock opera, it isn't actually one. There's no narrative, unifying concept to the songs this time, which puts HoM's eclectic metal mixture in danger of losing focus, being too unpredictably psychedelic and epic for their own good. Wait, what are we saying? That's no problem! As diverse as their songwriting and sonic palette can be, everything here sounds like Hammers and nothing else (well, except Slough Feg), which can only be the mark of a brilliant band.
Bursting out of the gates with an adrenalized instrumental opener that thrashes like Megadeth while remaining as gloriously 'classical' and over the top as anything on The Bastard, we can't say The August Engine never lets up. It does, but only in the sense that some decidedly unusual, and sometimes mellow avenues are explored. But for every non-metallic moment of sweet singing and pleasant acoustic guitars, you get plenty of shredding electric ones, with pounding drums, dramatic male and female vocals on a grand scale, and headbanging riffage. Advanced metal mastery here folks. Pretentious? Indulgent? Arrogant? No, simply mighty. The 10-out-of-10 review this album has already garnered from veteran metal scribe Martin Popoff likened them to a psychedelic version of the best of Iron Maiden, who are we to argue?
Hammers still consist of John and Mike from The Lord Weird Slough Feg, plus drummer Chewy. On this recording, Janis Tanaka plays bass and sings like an angel, though when you go see Hammers live now, they have a new lineup including not only a foxy new bassist/singer but another female vocalist who plays Hammond organ as well!
The vinyl (on tUMULt) has different cover artwork than, but the same tracks as, the compact disc version, released in a black-and-silver digipak edition by upstart Italian metal label Cruz Del Sur. Both sport cool Voivod-ish liner art by mastermind John Cobbett himself. Of course, recommended.
MPEG Stream: "The August Engine pt. 1"
MPEG Stream: "A Room And A Riddle"
MPEG Stream: "Insect"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Bastard (tUMULt) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally re-pressed and available again! Here's what we had to say first time around:
Our own Andee proves himself, and his tUMULt label, to be truly dedicated to the Heaviest of Metal with this new release! Following on from prior tUMULt metal-oriented releases (the grim and trancelike black metal genius of Weakling, the blackened grind of free-jazz fans Hatewave, the noisecore assault of Burmese...), the debut full-length album from San Francisco's Hammers of Misfortune takes the Metal to an entirely new level. It's a full-on metal opera, stirring everything into the cauldron, majestic male and female vocals, acoustic guitar breaks, Maidenesque harmonies, black metal vocal rasps, headbanging riffs and classical motifs. Next to seeing them live (where the leather-clad band, a mere four-piece, belts all this out and more), "The Bastard" is serious metal fun. Black, death, power, prog, epic: it seems like almost all styles of metal are represented in Hammers' songs, which flow non-stop from one to the next in a complex 3-act saga telling a crazy fantasy tale about a cursed bastard child raised by forest-spirits, who travels into the Underworld to find the Blood-Axe and slay his father, an evil tyrant, in the name of the Chaos Godess...or something like that. If you need help figuring it out, the 24-page booklet includes the "liberetto" as well as some excellent wood-cut style illustrations -- indeed the whole thing (a digipack) is a very handsome package.
Formerly known as Unholy Cadaver, Hammers of Misfortune is the demented brainchild of local metal master John Cobbett, who also plays guitar in the cult SF "celtic epic metal" outfit The Lord Weird Slough Feg. Mike from Slough Feg is also in Hammers, playing guitar and providing the "clean" male vox. And we must mention the contribution of Janis Tanaka (ex-Stone Fox) on bass and the exellent female vocals. "The Bastard" comes across like a mixture of Cradle of Filth and Blind Guardian, or Slough Feg and Opeth, or Satyricon and Mercyful Fate: it's that eclectic, that classic, that amazing.
MPEG Stream: "The Dragon Is Summoned"
MPEG Stream: "The Bastard Sapling"
MPEG Stream: "You Should Have Slain Me"
MPEG Stream: "Sacrifice / The End"

HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE The Locust Years (Cruz Del Sur) cd 14.98
People have been waiting a long time for this, the third opus from SF's own Hammers Of Misfortune, one of the most ambitious, audacious, bodacious, bombastic, maybe even slightly ludicrous bands in the metal realm...and metal this is, through and through, even as it pushes the envelope right over the edge into, I don't know, musical theater... 2003's The August Engine was pretty amazing, as was (our favorite) their year 2000 debut, The Bastard (released by Andee's tUMULt label we should note). The Locust Years has a lot to live up to.
And live it up they do here. Just check out the band photos for evidence of that (funnier if you know these folks). There's a shocking formal portrait on the back cover, everybody dressed up in tuxedos and evening gowns, hair pulled back. And then inside the cd booklet, you see 'em letting their hair down in a glammy, rock n' roll fantasy shot. It's nice to see that they don't take themselves too seriously, that should keep people guessing about this band. Not so pretentious as some might think, joking but no joke.
Quick intro first for those just tuning in/turning on to this band: Hammers is a rock-operatic heavy metal juggernaut with harmonizing lead guitars, pounding Hammond organ (new!), and majestic male and female vocal lines. The band features members of The Lord Weird Slough Feg past and present, and mainman John Cobbett is busy too with his other band black metallers Ludicra (new ep elsewhere on this list) plus he's been playing with the likes of Amber Asylum and even Jarboe of late... As you might imagine from all of this, Hammers is an especially eclectic mix of '70s prog, '80s metal, black metal (without the black metal vocals), classical music, avant-chamber-rock, Mary Poppinsy musical showtuneage, Opethian loud/soft, fast/slow dynamics...
Basically, everything (and more) that already earned mucho plaudits for the Hammers' first two albums is present here: the sweeping melodic grandeur, metallic excitement, complex arrangements, virtuoso playing, intelligent lyrics, many moods, and attention to idiosyncratic detail -- which is evident from the packaging, with its Thomas Woodruff cover painting and aforementioned photography, to the music, for instance the track "War Anthem" that features a whole hired drum line arranged by Hammers drummer Chewy. Or it's actually Chewy multitracking his own one man drum line. Either way, it's pretty darn Tusk!!
And lyrically, while it's not a storytelling narrative like The Bastard, it's somewhat more of a cohesive "concept album" than was August Engine... the concept being, near as we can tell, a very allegorical, cryptic protest against the awful person and policies of our president, George W. Bush!! Or at least that's what we get from lyrics like "Death - death to the infidels / sons of our servants shall serve and serve us well / and gifted with endless war / flags and fanatics forevermore" (from "War Anthem") or, "If people wonder at the suffering you cause / and your massive avarice has left them at a loss / if by chance they notice your bloody, snapping jaws / the blood upon your claws / your shifty eyes and laws / the nauseating flaws in all you've said / trot out the dead" (from "Trot Out The Dead") -- no that's not Satan they're singing about, not exactly. We're pretty sure that makes The Locust Years the world's first POLITICAL epic fantasy prog power metal album!!
Recommended of course.
MPEG Stream: "The Locust Years"
MPEG Stream: "We Are The Widows"
MPEG Stream: "War Anthem"

HAMMOND JR., ALBERT Yours To Keep (New Line Records) cd 14.98
Now available domestically (this album was actually released last year in the U.K. of Rough Trade, and a single was released on iTunes in September)! Includes two bonus tracks (covers of Guided By Voices' Postal Blowfish" and Buddy Holly's "Well... All Right").
Takin' a break from your very recognizable, very popular band to do a solo album comes with its own list of baggage requirements. Sure it's pretty much a given that the album is going to be met with an automatic built-in adoring audience. Most of said band's fans are simply gonna scoop it up without any hesitation. However, if you wanna: 1.) keep the favor of said fans; 2.) win legions of your own admirers; and 3.) not be totally chastised by critics, you've kinda got to do something completely different without sounding completely alienating. Don't know if all that concerns Strokes' guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., but On Yours To Keep he is pretty much playin' safely by those rules. He's made a solid sweet'n'easy pop record filled with lots of his unmistakable jangleful guitars and an occasional horn. It sits in comfortably alongside recent albums by Money Mark and Sean Lennon. Most immediately evident are the pervading pop influences of Brian Wilson and the Beatles with a little Sound & Vision era Bowie and Uncle Tupelo-esque scruffy country rock rounding off Hammond's overall sound. For those looking for one, the sixth song "101" sounds the closest to Strokes territory, albeit gentler and prettier with better posture. Hammond's earnest, unshaven vocals are sort of a cross between Jeff Tweedy and Spoon's Britt Daniel. He's brought in a few ringers to ice the cake: the abovementioned Lennon as well as Ben Kweller, Fountains Of Wayne's Jody Porter, The Mooney Suzuki's Sammy Davis Jr., and his bandmates Julian Casablancas, Josh Lattanzi and Matt Romano.
MPEG Stream: "Cartoon Music For Superheroes"
MPEG Stream: "Well... All Right"

HAMMOND, JOHN Wicked Grin (Pointblank) cd 16.98
New album from white blues heavyweight John Hammond that consists solely of Tom Waits covers. If Tom Waits' own endorsement of Hammond as an artist -- "John has a blacksmith's strength and rhythm and the kind of soul and precision it takes to cut diamonds or to handle snakes" -- isn't enough for you, then maybe knowing that the album was produced by Mr. Waits himself would be persuasive. Featuring a backup band consisting of Charlie Musselwhite on harmonica, Larry Taylor on bass, Stephen Hodges playing percussion, Augie Meyers on accordion and piano, and even Tom sitting in on guitar and "plucked piano" here and there, the sound of Tom Waits' best known songs have a much more smoothed out and "bluesy" quality that may suit some more than the unique abrasive eccentricity of Waits' own voice and arrangements. Personally I prefer to listen to Tom Waits' own versions of his songs, but it's a good effort anyhow.
RealAudio clip: "16 Shells From A Thirty-Ought Six"
RealAudio clip: "Shore Leave"

HAMPSON, ROBERT & STEVEN HESS s/t (Crouton) cd ep 11.98
After Robert Hampson dissolved the blackened psychedelic ensemble Loop, he quickly returned with the hypnotic, riff-heavy, drone spaces of Main. The template from the first few albums by Main (Hydra-Calm and Motion Pool, both of which are criminally out of print) still resonates loudly through the work of Black Boned Angel, Nadja, Troum, and even tricked-out digital sculptors such as Christian Fennesz and Tim Hecker. Yet after those albums, Hampson plunged into the realms of thoroughly obtuse electro-acoustics, culminating in a oblique whirlpool of a collaboration with Janek Schaeffer called Comae. Many have pined for Hampson to pick up the guitar again as an instrument for chugging propulsion; and for those of you with such a nostalgia for Hampson's early work, the collaboration with Steven Hess may not entirely float your boat. That said, this eponymous collaboration does exhibit a much greater reliance upon a skeletal structure of chiming loops (perhaps the closet things that Hampson will come to the early Main guitar work) and Harry Bertoia-esque vibrations coddled into a web of overlapping patterns. Hess and Hampson push the brief 19 minute composition up to a dense kaleidoscope of ring modulated tonalities and paranoiac drones. Quite nice indeed.
MPEG Stream: "Track Two"
MPEG Stream: "Track Three"