IMPALED NAZERENE Latex Cult (Osmose) cd 16.98
They call what this Finnish band plays "cybermetal" but there're no technobeats to be found, and the lyrics fixate on S/M more than sci-fi. Perverted super super fast Black Metal thrash. Satanic sex metal, quite extreme, yet somehow good-natured. Some dainty songtitles: "Motorpenis," "Goat War," "66.6 S. Of Foreplay," "I Eat Pussy For Breakfast."

IMPALER Rise Of The Mutants (The Root Of All Evil) cd 14.98

IMPERATOR Evolution of a Man (By Any Means Music) cd 13.98
Imperator is a Los Angeles (via New York) underground hip hop specialist and freestyle lyricist blending East and West Coast styles of abstract often jazzy hip hop. Tons of guests appear from members of Jurassic Five, Freestyle Fellowship, Cipher 7, and Project Blowed.

IMPERFECT MASTERS No One Knows Why (Students Of Decay) cd-r 7.98
Another in our ongoing campaign to get caught up on reviewing cd-r's that somehow slipped through the cracks, and have ended up no getting reviewed until now! And as usual, these are WAY out of print, the equivalent of a warehouse find, we have about 10 copies of this one, never to have more.
A while back. Robert Horton was releasing a record a week it seemed like, threatening to out Aidan Baker, Aidan Baker himself. This disc is from back then, and was one of the discs we never managed to get through, being so busy reviewing all of the others. Anyway, it's a pretty great slab of abstract folky strum and haunting jazzy horns. The Imperfect Masters finds Horton teaming up with Dan Plonsey, and the two, create some sort of alien jazz folk. Horton's guitar is brittle and high end, lots of slippery slide and squalls of buzz and scrape, Plonsey's horn is wild and unhinged, hooting and skronking over the top. It threatens to be too much, when they shift gears and lock into a killer muted forest groove, all plucked strings, and pulsing bass, still slightly unhinged, but more haunting and hypnotic.
The rest of the disc is tripped out and droney, the horns taking a backseat to buzzing guitars and sporadic percussion. The disc finishes with a 22 minute epic, a slow build, guitars and horns, some bass and other noisemakers, slowly building layer upon layer, to a frenzied free jazz climax, then winding down for the tracks final 5 minutes or so, locking into a droning almost bagpipe like dirge jam. Cool stuff.
And again, this is almost 2 years old, so once the 8 or so copies we have are gone, we will not be able to get more.
MPEG Stream: "Phantom Of The Lunch Cart"
MPEG Stream: "The Old Revolutionaries Of Bughouse Square"

IMPERIAL CRYSTALLINE ENTOMBMENT s/t (I.C.E.) cd 7.98

IMPERIAL TEEN On (Merge) cd 14.98
Imperial Teen are back from their major label excursion and now grace Merge Records with this cd filled with poppy, catchy songs, some with Clinic-like danciness. This is their best record by far. The melodies and harmonies get stuck in my head and are deceivingly sweet, being that some of the lyrics are biting and harsh. It's good, they should be proud, I'm happy they are on Merge. It's a good fit.
RealAudio clip: "Sugar"
RealAudio clip: "Million Dollar Man"

IMPERIAL TEEN The Hair, The TV, The Baby, & The Band (Merge) cd 14.98
Imperial Teen are back with what might be their brightest, bubblegum-iest album ever! All the familiar faces are back in the fold -- Roddy Bottum, Lynn Truell, Jone Stebbins and Will Schwartz! You probably know that the latter has been keeping busy during the band's five year hiatus with his fun-fun-fun dance party Hey Willpower! He might've been workin' it on out on the dancefloor, but he's not gonna get much rest with the equally energetic Imperial Teen. Packed with crunchy electric guitars, boy/girl vocals, snappy drumming and hooks galore, this is some jubilant, ultra carefree pop! It begs for an endless supply of exclamation marks!!!!! Go on, whatever age you are, take a gleeful sock-footed bound around your living room! And like any kind power pop band should, Imperial Teen give you a sweet slower closing number for you to cool off to! For fans of Redd Kross, Tralala, The Go! Team, and The Rondelles.
MPEG Stream: "Everything"
MPEG Stream: "21st Century"

IMPERIAL TEEN What Is Not to Love (Slash/London) cd 14.98

IMPERIUM s/t (Lyderhorn) 12" 18.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited edition. Black metal. Norway. Cult. Custom packaging. Stephen O'Malley from SUNNO))). That should be enough to have some of you in a froth. And rightfully so, as this is a super limited little slice of black metal history with custom packaging courtesy of Mr. O'Malley. Imperium were a Norwegian black metal band, who only ever recorded a single EP that has been unavailable until now. Featuring members of Emperor, Gehenna, Dismal Euphony and Theater Of Tragedy, Imperium spew a blackened brew of fast and raw, chaotic and buzzing, super grim and frosty black metal. Limited to 500 copies, never to be re-pressed (we only managed to get 20, not sure if we'll be able to get more) this is a one sided 12", music on one side, brown branches and bird silhouettes silkscreened on the other, packaged in a clear sleeve with a huge black bird and some spiky brambles silkscreened around the band's hard to read logo. The overall effect is quite stunning. And again VERY LIMITED.

IMPIOUS HAVOC At The Ruins Of The Holy Kingdom (Total Holocaust Records) cd 14.98

IMPIOUS HAVOC Monuments of Suffering (Total Holocaust Records) cd 14.98

IMPOSSIBLES, THE 4 Song Brick Bomb (Fueled by Ramen) cd ep 8.98
So if you were disappointed by the new Weezer, and thought maybe Weezer don't sound as much like Weezer as they used to, well, the Impossibles do. Starting life as a pop-ska-punk band, the Impossibles have mutated into a catchy heartfelt power pop band, and a really great one at that. Fans of Weezer, the Stereo or the Get Up Kids. Four song ep.

IMPOSTER ORCHESTRA Heliopause (Sahko) lp 11.98

IMPROMPTULONS Swamp Hobo (Diagnosis... Don't!) 3" cd-r 12.98
We found a handful of titles, maybe only 5 or 6 of each, from Aussie label DiagnosisŠ Don't! We've had these for ages, and odds are these are long gone as they were pretty limited to begin with, but for a few of you, here's your chance to grab one (or all) of these super limited 3" cd-r's.
The Impromptulons are an improvising (get it?) free noise collective from Brisbane, who use a confusional mix of instruments to create their sound, from found objects to actual percussion, lots of feedback, very rhythmic and ritualistic, one single extended jam, equal parts Avarus and the Dead C, very tribal, with plenty of click and glitch, rumble and thump, all wrapped in a swirling haze of tape hiss and distant bowed strings, not really noisy so much as much as hypnotic. Strings are plucked, drones shimmer, percussion clanks and clunks, and somehow the result is a gorgeous piece of rhythmic dronemusic.
Packaged in thick cardstock mini 3" sleeves, with a printed (band name, label info, liner notes) Japanese style obi. And again, we only have a VERY FEW of these....
MPEG Stream: "Swamp Hobo (excerpt 1)"
MPEG Stream: "Swamp Hobo (excerpt 2)"

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN 2002-2003 (Improvised Music From Japan) magazine + cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The entity that released the phenomenal and weighty 10-cd wooden box set known as "Improvised Music From Japan" (box, label, website) is now also a magazine. Printed in both English and Japanese, this squarebound, digest-sized debut issue runs to about 132 pages (with the Japanese text occupying the second half, or first if you read it back-to-front Japanese style). And, it comes with a cd compilation bound inside the front (or back) cover. Reviews, interviews and essays by and about the likes of Otomo Yoshihide, Seiichi Yamamoto, Ami Yoshida, Uchihashi Kzuhisa, Phew, Aki Onda, Taku Sugimoto, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, Utah Kawasaki, and many others make for fasinating reading if you're the sort of avant-garde music fan at all curious about the underground Japanese improvising scene. There's a review of, and translated excerpts from, a book called "The History Of Japanese Free Jazz" which us English-only types will find to be extremely tantalizing. Perhaps a full English translation of the book could be future project for the industrious Improvised Music From Japan folks? Info about such artists as Masayuki Takanyangi, the Taj Mahal Travellers, and Kaoru Abe is certainly hard to come by in the West, so it would be nice...
Meanwhile, on the compact disc, there's works by Toshimaru Nakamura, Haco, Yoshio Machida, Masahiko Okura and others. Creaking door ambience, silence, acoustic guitars, shortwave static crackle, field recordings, laptop computers, trombone drone... it's a really nice disc, proof of why this scene deserves such a journal.
RealAudio clip: HACO / VIEW MASTERS "Start Up + No Wave"
RealAudio clip: YOSHIO MACHIDA "MALHAR"

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN 2004 (Improvised Music From Japan) magazine + 2cd 32.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Oh Lordy, it's here. Weren't you just asking us about when the next issue of Improvised Music From Japan was going to arrive? All 200 pages (half in English, half in Japanese) of it, plus two compliation cds. Do any of these names interest or excite you: Kazue Sawai, Aki Onda, Kazuo Imai, Tetuzi Akiyama, Uchihashi Kazuhisa, Sachiko M, Taku Sugimoto, Haco? Then this is for you, and you probably *were* asking us about it... All those folks and more appear in these pages, along with a bunch of tantalizing reviews. And there's a special section from Otomo Yoshihide all about making connections with the Korean free jazz scene, in which he interviews saxophonist Kang Tae Hwan. So, if Japanese free jazz / 'onkyo' / improv electronics etc. is your thing, here you go, plenty of good readin'. Not to mention listenin', as the two discs are crammed with all sorts of interesting and diverse performances from many of the artists mentioned above. We were particularily chuffed to check out the "improvised extreme optical core unit" Optrum who provide five noisy tracks on disc two.
MPEG Stream: OPTRUM "New Motorhead Banging & DC/DC"
MPEG Stream: MI YEON "untitled"

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN 2005 (Improvised Music From Japan) book+ 2cd 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The wait is over -- now that it's 2006, the 2005 edition of Improvised Music From Japan is here! It's an indispensable journal to those of you, like us, who are confirmed musical Japanophiles and/or into the extremes of improvised sound activity. This time around, IMJ consists of a beautifully designed 128 page digest-sized book accompanied by two cds tucked under its front and back covers. The print portion of this is devoted entirely to write-ups about new albums from 2004 and 2005, over 350 of them (of which 21 are Merzbow releases!). Some are full articles all about a particular artist, others are briefer descriptions or impressions of the music, sometimes written by the artist in question (so we won't call these "reviews" in the consumer-guide sense, though this could be used that way). As always, the text is presented in both Japanese and English, along with thumbnail album cover pics. Besides all the Merzbow, there's plenty of names you might know here, and plenty more you probably don't. And you also find some non-Japanese artists in here as well (David Grubbs, Bastard Noise, Carl Stone, etc.) included because they've been released on a Japanese label or have collaborated with Japanese musicians.
Perusing this, you're gonna start making a list of releases you hadn't heard of before to try and hunt down -- we certainly did. One revelation was that Omoide Hatoba released a new album in 2004, we hadn't known that!! Gosh. Gotta get a hold of that somehow.
Meanwhile, the cds, like the magazine, feature both relatively well-known improvisers and (to us) newcomers. Among the 21 tracks spread across these two cds, you'll find pieces by familiar names like Toshiya Tsunoda, Merzbow and Kiyoshi Mizutani. But also you'll be introduced to the likes of VOIMA, sim and Tetsuya Umeda (whose track "Error Piano", featuring Yasuhisa Mizutani improvising on the piano whilst Umeda "loiters" nearby, with a portable radio, is indicative in its peculiarity and spontaneity of the variety of music to be heard on these discs and read about in the pages of the magazine). Out-jazz, mimimal electronics, brutal noise, all of the above and everything in between, that's the IMJ aestheticŠa good match for many curious AQ customers wethinks.

IMPROVISED MUSIC FROM JAPAN EXTRA 2003 (Improvised Music From Japan) mag + 2cd 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second issue (sort of, they call it "Extra") of this print and audio journal devoted to the underground Japanese electro-acoustic improvisation scene. Definitely THE place to go to get enlightened about what's happening on that front. In both English and Japanese, this thick 128 page magazine features interviews with Ami Yoshida, Shoji Hano, and numerous others we're less familiar with, quite a few of 'em from a young generation of musicians here dubbed "Improv's New Waves". There's also a ton of reviews of intriguing cd releases that you'll probably only find out about here (and never see in a shop outside of Japan), and of course there's the magazine's audio portion: this time around, two discs full of cuts by artists from that "New Waves" scene, everything from jazz trumpet to turntables to death metal drums n' laptop. There's couple bonus cuts as well, including one from, um, old wave improvisor Shoji Hano.

IN AETERNUM The Pestilent Plague (Necropolis) cd 13.98
Swedish blackened death metal. Heavy and speedy.

IN BATTLE Soul Metamorphosis (Imperial Dawn) cd 14.98

IN BETWEEN NOISE Humming Endlessly In The Hush (New Plastic Music) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Some of the most imaginative and accessible experimental sounds around at the momement" says The Wire magazine of this solo project from American visual artist Steve Roden, which involves a plethora of acoustic and electronic instruments and sound sources, mixed together in an interesting ambient brew.

IN CAMERA s/t (Some Fine Legacy) lp 27.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Nope, this is not the old 4AD band featuring a member that later went onto the Wolfgang Press. Rather, this In Camera is a collaborative project between Christoph Heemann and Timo van Luijk (Noise Maker's Fifes, Af Ursin), marking the first recordings that Heemann has made since the dissolution of Mirror. Not surprising, In Camera exhibits plenty of similarities to Mirror and a couple of interesting detours. These recordings are available only on vinyl, like the bulk of the Mirror catalogue; and Heemann and van Lujik conjure a beautifully dark atmosphere, full of murk and mystery. However, the two also push to the foreground a constant stream of sonic details which Mirror might have blurred into a miasma of abstraction. The use of the piano is the most obvious element, with a subdued monotony tickled from the keys broken by occasional heavy fists on the lower registers. Similarly, In Camera also crackle a range of elemental objects, which curiously enough give the impression of sounding like Andrew Chalk's old project Ora. Regardless, this marks an exceptional recording and hopefully the beginning of another fruitful collaborative project for Christoph Heemann.

IN EXTREMO Sunder Ohne Zugel (Metal Blade) cd 17.98
Aquarius' favorite German volk metallers (think Rammstein at a Rennaissance faire) return with their third domestic release. They seem a bit less medieval, more metal than we remember -- or so it seems, until the bagpipes kick in after a few minutes. And some of their catchy and quite heavy songs are still sung in Latin! Totally rockin', and kinda industrial despite their pre-industrial trappings.
The multimedia (cd-rom) portion of this disc includes bio, discography, and video clips. There are interviews and live footage, as well as an MTV-style music video for their song "Vollmond", which has a modern-day goth/vampire concept featuring a leggy, toothy model and crossbow-wielding vampire hunters in a black car!
RealAudio clip: "Wind"
RealAudio clip: "Omnia Sol Temperat"

IN EXTREMO Verehrt Und Angespien (Metal Blade) cd 16.98
Germany's In Extremo strikes again, bringing their unique medieval fire-breathing, costume-wearing, bagpipe-wielding folk-metal into our racks (and maybe your home), like a crazed cross between Rammstein, Comus, and Accept. Whoops, I may have just insured that no one will ever buy this record...but it's really pretty great, as was their debut. Electric guitar riffs borrowed from Sabbath meet flutes and lutes and Latin lyrics declaimed in a peculiar Popeye voice. And then they do a Sisters of Mercy cover to make it all even more ridiculous!

IN EXTREMO Weckt Die Toten! (Metal Blade) cd 15.98
In our continuing tradition of bringing you the weirdest metal around, we now present to you: In Extremo! Nobody describes a band better than their press release: "Menacing and enraged, the band performs dressed in historically correct costumes from the middle ages. Dancing and wildly carousing, presenting their songs, you can imagine how our ancestors must have celebrated. Bagpipers tread madly back and forth across the stage in front of head-banging guitarists. Wildly manic tribal drum rhythms enhance the happenings." Essentially, In Extremo are an above average power metal band (ala Blind Guardian or Hammerfall) fronted by bagpipers and a vocalist that sounds like either Popeye or a Tuvan throat singer. Pretty excellent actually.

IN FLAMES Clayman (Nuclear Blast) cd 15.98
Gothenburg's finest return. Swedish melodic Maiden-inspired death metal to the max.

IN FLAMES Come Clarity (Ferret Music) cd 13.98

IN FLAMES Soundtrack to Your Escape (Nuclear Blast) cd 14.98

IN FLAMES Used & Abused: In Live We Trust (Nuclear Blast) 2dvd 17.98

IN FLUX Cryptic Oak (Jryk) cd-r 7.98
Ultra limited (already out of print) blast of bizarrely beautiful outsider noise, a la Skaters, Dead C, Yellow Swans and all that groovy shit! Only 100 copies and we got about 5...

IN OUT The Viscera Versa Story (Loveletter) cd 10.98
A collection of demos and live tracks of super lo-fi recordings from the stateside equivalent of the Fall. Recommended.

IN OUT, THE Cosmosis (Dark Beloved CLoud) lp 6.98
A working definition of self-reflexivity, the in Out asks the question "What is the in Out all about," when the answer is quite clear... The best Fall record that was never released... Right down to imitating Mark E. Smith's Damo Suzuki, the in Out out-Fall The Fall. Brilliant.

IN SLAUGHTER NATIVES Resurrection: the Return of a King (Cold Meat Industry) cd 21.00

IN THE COUNTRY This Was The Pace Of My Heartbeat (Rune Grammofon) cd 15.98

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (SOUNDTRACK) (Higher Octave) cd 17.98
Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love was one of the best films of 2001. At least that's the thought round here! Starring Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as starcrossed lovers married to others and too proper to consummate their relationship, it's a wonderful movie. And let's just pause for a moment to recall how fucking gorgeous Maggie is in her Chinese dresses. When I saw the film, the people in the theater audibly gasped everytime she entered a scene with a new outfit.
Anyway, Wong wanted the soundtrack to reflect the era during which the film is set -- the mid-'60s. Thus we have a few Latin-tinged Nat King Cole numbers plus some extra special, ever so charming Chinese pop songs of the day. Rounding out the album is a lot of moody sad violin soundtrack stuff from Michael Galasso, and a single composition by Umebayashi Shigeru which is the main theme of the film. It's mostly achingly sad violin and it's simply gorgeous. The entire record evokes the film -- a success, no throwaway material. Recommended!
RealAudio clip: UMEBAYASHI SHIGERU "Yumeji's Theme"
RealAudio clip: DENG BAI YING "Shuan Shuan Yang"
RealAudio clip: ZHANG YUN XIAN & LI HONG "Shuang Ma Hui"
RealAudio clip: NAT KING COLE "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas"

IN THY FLESH Lechery Maledictions And Greiveing Adjures To The Concerns Of Flesh (Nykta) cd 13.98

IN/HUMANITY Violent Resignation: The Great American Teenaage Suicide Rebellion (Prank) cd 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is one of my all time favorite grindcore bands. They combined unbelievably kick ass grinding fastcore with the kind of sense of humour you wish all bands had. This is a posthumous collection of everything they did, including the brilliant 'Nutty Antichrist' lp (that featured a demonic Jerry Lewis on the cover). Pummeling and punsishing, fast and brutal, and funny as fuck. Awesome.

INABA, SHUJI The Rapture Of Being Destroyed Is The Flipside Of The Misery Of Destruction (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
With a previous cdr on Last Visible Dog (and a cd on PSF some years before that), Shuji Inaba is a Japanese avant-folk singer and guitarist who hasn't reached the same level of documentation as peers like Kan Mikami and Kazuki Tomokawa. No 13 cd box set for Shuji yet! And some might find the prospect of such a box set quite frightening -- a single disc of his raw acoustic guitar playing and whisper-scream vocalizations will be more than enough for a lot of folks. Others will find Inaba's Rapture Of Being Destroyed to be a harrowing yet compelling listen. With some tracks filled with stark outbursts from silence and others more 'song' like, this is a great record recommended for those who already dig the likes of Dead Raven Choir and the aforementioned Kan Mikami. This Last Visible Dog cd release comes with Inaba's poetic lyrics translated into English by Alan Cummings, always a nice touch although the emotion of the man's singing and playing requires no translation. And to quibble: we suggest that perhaps the word 'flipside' in the title might have been better rendered as 'inverse'... 'flipside' just seems too slangy for stuff this deep and intense.
MPEG Stream: "Modern Terrorism"
MPEG Stream: "Uranium235"

INABA, SHUJI Yoenzanga (Last Visible Dog) cd 12.98
Live acoustic recording of intense, dismal outsider folk from rural Western Japanese singer/songwriter Shuji Inaba. Yoenzanga was previously one of LVD's cd-r releases, back when they were a cd-r label only, and is now blessed with an actual cd edition. You also may recognize Inaba's name as he has had a disc released by Japan's PSF label a few years back. And indeed his raw, emotive balladry is comparable to the politically driven psych folk of fellow PSFers Kan Mikami and Kazuki Tomokawa, whom we love.
Alan Cummings provides English translations of Inaba's lyrics in the liner notes, which is a plus, though really (as with Mikami and Tomokawa too) there's plenty just to FEEL in Inaba's harrowing voice and the haunting, sometimes violent, way he plays his guitar that goes beyond language.
MPEG Stream: "Fate And Fortune"
MPEG Stream: "My Apple"

INADA, KOZO a[ ] (Staalplaat) cd 12.98
With the hallucinatory translucent packaging (that is even more so with the bright red 20' to 2000 style disc enclosed) and the engraved cases, Kozo Inada has certainly done his job making his debut cd look really kick-ass. Musically, this follows the increasingly commonplace tropes of the digital glitch aesthetic with multiple tracks of phasing pure tone bleeps and artificial chirps. See also Noto or Ryoji Ikeda.

INCA ORE A Knit of My Own Fibers / When You Are Sleeping I Tell You Secrets (Jyrk) 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.
Another super limited cd-r from the Yellow Swans' Jyrk label, this time, a solo record from frequent YS collaborator Eva, who on her own can weave delicate drones with the best of em! Two lengthy tracks, thirty minutes of slow shifting, lazily drifting otherworldy shimmer, all constructed from Eva's voice run through effects and wrapped in gossamer layers of reverb and delay. Very reminiscent of the recent Lichens record on Kranky, where 90 Day Men's Rob Lowe created a whole record using mostly vocals, but Inca Ore is much more ghostly and feminine and ethereal. Comes in a nice hand painted sleeve. As with all Jyrk cd-r's it seems, SUPER LIMITED, already out of print, and we have the last 30. So again, act fast if you want one of these. Once they are gone they are gone for good.
MPEG Stream: "When You Are Sleeping I Tell You Secrets"

INCA ORE Birthday Of Bless You (Not Not Fun) lp 14.98
Latest from this one woman dreambliss outfit, and it's a soft focus washed out doozy. It seems like Grouper and Inca Ore are constantly competing to see who can craft the dreamiest slab of disembodied pop, of ghostlike ambient shimmer, and with every release from each of them, we find ourselves proclaiming a winner, until the next disc shows up, and there's a new winner, and on and on and on.
But really, we're the big winners in this made up competition, as we can't get enough from either. Both utilize vocals as their main sound source, but both have spread their wings, incorporating more and more instrumentation, creating sprawling expanses of gorgeous blurred ambience. And part of the magic is that the sounds are often smeared to the point that it's difficult to tell what is voice and what is instrument.
This latest Inca Ore record is maybe her most song based yet, and it totally suits her. She has always been adept and creating atmospheres and textures, but her knack for hiding catchy melodies and soft pop gems amidst all the drift and murk is really coming through. The opener here is absolutely heartbreaking perfection. Minor key and washed out, with a vocal line, that distorts perfectly, adding unexpected texture, a hidden hook that lodges in your head, the vocals drifting on the glistening minimal soundscape in the background, when the vocals fade out, leaving just the music, it's so utterly sad and funeral, but still fuzzy and dreamy.
She covers Merle Haggard and makes the song totally her own. We could go song by song and describe the record in detail, but where's the mystery in that. The first song, and the description above should be enough to suck you in. But once you're in, let yourself go and drift off into Inca Ore's haunting hallowed soundworld.
Beautiful full color covers, printed 12"x12" inserts, LIMITED TO 500 COPIES! (Well, actually, some of the copies we have, which we got directly from Ms. Inca Ore herself, are from an earlier, self-released pressing. Same record, slightly different cover art. The copy you get will be randomly chosen.)

INCA ORE Brute Nature Versus Wild Magic (Weird Forest) lp 11.98
A new record (or sort of new, as the A side was originally on a super limited out of print cd-r released on the Yellow Swans' Jyrk label) from Inca Ore, aka Eva, a frequent collaborator with the Yellow Swans, and it's another gorgeously murky swirl of affected vocals, as vocals are the main sound source here, but not regular old singing, no, Eva takes her haunting sing song vocals and drenches them in reverb and echo and delay, letting them pile up and swirl aimlessly, a rich thick soundscape of melody atop melody, vocals moaning and keening, all smeared into a super primitive, yet somehow super lush expanse of creepy psychedelic dreaminess, drifting and shifting and nearly ambient at points, but just as often buried beneath a fuzzy layer of downtuned guitar grit, a thick morass of ghostly sounds and sludgy atmosphere. Like hearing some lost transmission from the other side, broadcast from another plane, through your crappy beat up old radio, wraithlike music, seeping like smoke through that tiny speaker, the original transmission muddied and hard to recognize, wrapped in fuzzy indistinctness and ectoplasmic detritus. Real nice. And limited to 450 copies!

INCA ORE + LEMON BEAR / STARVING WEIRDOS A Drawing With Shadows The Light Is Coming From The Sun (Jinx-Cosette / Atheists Are Gods) 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 weren't too taken with the most recent Inca Ore + Lemon Bear team up, it's too bad that one was the one released on 5RC and THIS one is a super limited cd-r instead of the other way around. The 5RC record was a bit of a cacophonous mess, lots of clang and clatter. It ended up sounding sort of bratty and obnoxious. But we're huge fans of Inca Ore, her two records before that one blew us away, and still get listened to all the time. SO we were ready to blame the mysteriously monickered Lemon Bear, but here we are with another Inca Ore n' Lemon Bear team up and it's gorgeous. A drifting spacious dreamworld of disembodied vocals, shimmering melodies, minimal percussion, all wrapped in clouds of spacey FX, fluttering flutes, warped and mangled strings, buzzing and creaking, voices drifting in and out, detuned guitars plucking out warbly melodies, the whole thing a very blissed out spaced out drift through a glistening diamond eyed dimension. Inca Ore's dreamy half hour perfectly segues into three new songs from AQ faves Starving Weirdos, who weave a haunting sonic travelogue through some ancient wilderness, a soundscape of distant insectoid buzz, whirring tectonic rumbles, glistening shimmering atmospheres, definitely their most eevocative recording yet. You can almost see the mountains in the distance, feel the warm breeze, feel the rocks and grass between your toes, hear the sounds of various animals and insects, almost like the soundtrack to a journey through the forest primeval. So murky and mysterious!
Packaged in hand painted sleeves, with printed inserts, and obviously, SUPER LIMITED!! This was a tour only release, we got a bunch direct from the bands but we're not sure how many are left or if we can even get more once we run out...
MPEG Stream: INCA ORE "OK, Now's The Time"
MPEG Stream: STARVING WEIRDOS "Nicotine Patch Dreams"

INCA ORE / ARGUMENTIX / TUNNELS / GHOST TO FALCO Post-Alarmist Dracula Safari (Oms-B Records) lp 12.98
Super limited lp sampling the current state of Portland underground sounds, with a couple well known outfits, and a couple brand new ones (at least to us), all former members of a long lost Portland band called Alarmist.
Up first is Inca Ore, who most folks are probably familiar with, and her tracks here are lovely as always, dark and contemplative, lo-fi bedroom folk, deep bell-like tones and whispered vocals, the whole thing super hushed with weird rubbery bass and of course tone of reverb and delay. The strange thing, is that in between these super quiet songs, are super raucous crowd noise, people shouting and howling and cheering, it's weirdly jarring.
Up next is Argumentix, and for most folks it will definitely be an acquired taste. Beginning with some strange a capella almost off key vocalizing over a backdrop of murky crumbling distant drones, which quickly gives way to some super lo-fi hip hop (!), lots of bleeps and bloops and strange, sort of goofy rapping. A little bit Magnetic Fields actually. The last few tracks are chunks of abstract noise, weird ambience, clicks and buzz drone, and another bunch of goofy crooning vocals. Argumentix might take a few more exposures to win us over completely.
The flip side begins with Ghost To Falco, who we had heard OF, but never heard. Beginning with some random banter, and then a poem, we weren't sure what to expect, but then the band slips into some dark mopey slowcore, a bit reminiscent of The For Carnation, spidery guitars sad mumbled vocals, muted percussion, shuffling drums, dark and moody and quite nice, before slipping into a more traditional sounding, but no less dark sort of indie folk.
Finally, long time aQ fave Tunnels returns, but instead of deep long drones, or abstract freaked out psychfolk, he offers up something else entirely, starting things off with a wild squall of blown out psychguitar, but then adds some seriously tweaked, strangled mewly vocals. Hot on the heels of that comes some skittery new wave moaned vocals, gloomy synths, robotic drum machine, before the sound shifts again and becomes a sort of unhinged cabaret super dramatic deep vocals, lots of percussive crunch, all very over the top, yet still gloomy and goth and dark.
Weird record. And all over the place even for a 4 way split. Almost plays like a recording of some strange stage production, with bands maybe trying stuff they might not normally, or more likely channeling the spirit of their old outfit Alarmist, who we have not heard, all a bit campy and very over the top in places, but balanced by the darker more somber bits.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES. Packaged in nice thick silk screened sleeves. Includes photocopied inserts with liner notes and track info.

INCA ORE / GROUPER split (self-released) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Originally released as an insanely limited cassette, one that we sold out of in a matter of minutes, this gorgeous slab of gauzy sonic ephemera is finally available again, now on vinyl. Probably still limited, but at least most folks will actually get a chance to get one this time around.
As we mentioned in the original review, Inca Ore and Grouper are two of the few females currently kicking ass in the seriously dude oriented noise rock scene (Leslie Keffer and Valet are a couple others), and they approach their 'noise' with a distinctly different aesthetic, instead of walls of sound or sheets of distorted skree, the two focus on the sound of the human voice, their vocals cloaked in reverb and delay and echo, layering their blurred croons over swirling seas of smeared shimmery sound and delicate spidery guitars, wheezing organs and warm whirring buzz. Thankfully, together, the sound remains much the same, but blossoms a bit, two different, but complimentary voices, each with a knack for soft focus minor key melodies, each contributing their own particular style of washed out fractured folk, and the results are divine, fans of either band won't be disappointed, hushed and dreamlike soundscapes, dark, delicate cinematic ambience, gauzy and wispy, mysterious and haunting murky and muddy, a vast expanse of distant shimmery drones washing over abstract lo-fi song fragments and chunks of fragmented folks drifting in the abyss.

INCA ORE / GROUPER split (self-released) cassette 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We have very very very few of these so we won't go into too much detail. You probably already know just from the two artists if you need this or not. New work from two of the few women kicking ass in the mostly male 'noise rock' scene. Both huge AQ faves, both who utilize voice and effects, in addition to the usual string-ed instruments to weave dreamlike soundscapes and delicate cinematic ambience.
Both are in full effect here, each outfits offering up gauzy beauty and mysterious haunting murk, distant shimmery drones and abstract lo-fi song fragments. Gorgeous as always.
Printed insert in a gold paint splattered tape case. And as mentioned above, CRAZY limited and gone before you know it.

INCA ORE WITH LEMON BEAR'S ORCHESTRA The Birds In The Bushes (5RC) cd 14.98
Sometimes we just have nothing nice to say about a record. So instead we'll just quote this compelling blurb their label wrote, from the sticker on the front cover: "belief pacts, beatnik poetry, sandpipers and perfume, axed lungs, prison lullabies, pigmented moments, bonneted lambs, January storm fang. I'm listening illuminate with your attention."
Um, yeah, sure. Sounds more like a bunch of kids banging jars and howling obnoxiously to us...sorry!
MPEG Stream: "The Garden Of Awakening"
MPEG Stream: "Glossolalaia The Gift Of The Tongue"

INCANTATION Blasphemy (Necropolis) cd 12.98
Umpteenth album (first on Necropolis, though, after quite a few for Relapse) from these underground American death metal stalwarts. Incantation have always been one of Allan's (few) favorite death metal acts, because they understand that being heavy isn't always about unrelenting, monotonous blasting. Indeed, bands that play fast all the time often don't end up sounding very heavy at all. Incantation contrast their fast parts with slow, doomy parts too -- that really IS heavy. In addition, they're creative with their dissonant guitar riffs, reminding us just a bit of the avant-gardisms of another fave, Gorguts. Brutal, blasphemous (of course) stuff, with speedy, dense textures and awesomely dirgey breakdowns.
RealAudio clip: "The Fallen"

INCANTATION Decimate Christendom (Olympic) cd 14.98
Another from our favorite long-running doomy dirgey death-metal act Incantation.