P.G. SIX Music From The Sherman Box Series & Other Works (Amish) cd 14.98
Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites by Tower Recordings member P.G. Six (aka Pat Gulber), released in 2001, is definitely one of our very favorite albums from amongst the current crop of acid-folk revivalists, melding trad folksiness with 4-track DIY experimentation, something like the Incredible String Band checking into the Neutral Milk Hotel! And P.G.'s 2004 follow-up, The Well of Memory, was pretty great too. So that now the Amish label has brought out another P.G. Six album has us all excited. But wait, there's no singing? And no guitar?
Yet, what we're hearing is quite lovely, late-night string shimmer... dark and delicate... just something rather more abstract (and instrumental) than what we expected. Turns out that Music From The Sherman Box Series is all -harp- music, seven tracks for various sorts of harps and effects. For instance: "#2 For Prepared Wire Strung Harp With Tremolo Pedal", "#5 For Two Bray Harps", etc. We're told P.G. recorded these to accompany an exhibition of paintings and collages (made from Nat Sherman cigarette boxes, hence the title) by artist Christine Krol, on display in a Jersey City gallery for a month last year. P.G.'s mellifluous, electronically processed strummings and pluckings of these droning, buzzing harps must have sounded wonderful as a sonic installation, looped in the gallery space, but are surely just as nice heard on this disc. We're reminded of Steven R. Smith's work as Hala Strana, and also the unfolding atmospheres of James Blackshaw's steel string improvisations. Which means, quite recommended! And it still sounds like P.G., too -- in fact Kerry, not knowing what was playing on the stereo here, correctly guessed that this was the new P.G. Six just 'cause she recalled a particularly harp-y part from Parlor Tricks, and made the connection.
As a bonus, this disc concludes with two extra tracks. From P.G. Six's long out of print 1995 debut solo 7" there's the twelve-minute, hauntingly droney and drifting "The Book Of Rayguns For 6 Electric Guitars". And then there's also "Cartographies For Piano And Electronics", a stark piece in an avant-garde, 20th Century classical style. Both fit nicely with the seven harp explorations, which themselves bring some 20th century compositional (minimalist) adventurousness to folkier-feeling music.
MPEG Stream: "#3 For Bray Harp"
MPEG Stream: "#4 For Two Wire-Strung Harps"

P.G. SIX Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (Amish) cd 14.98
Anyone into the magical vibe of late '60s/early '70s British psych folk must get this, the absolutely lovely solo debut from multi-instrumentalist and Tower Recordings founding member Pat Gubler. Together with percussionist/producer Tim Barnes, he's taken a few years to put together this album, one that combines an old-timey Brit-folk influence (there's even an Anne Briggs cover on here, she being a UK folksinger active in the early '70s) with rural American roots music and more contemporary bedroom 4-track indie-rock experimentation. It's a beautiful, melancholic, timeless slice of avant-indie-folk-psych that has garnered (and deserves) comparisons to the work of the Incredible String Band, Nick Drake, John Fahey, even Neutral Milk Hotel...and of course Tower Recordings. Really nice!! (It's Allan's new favorite disc.) On the same label that last brought us the equally timeless (but '70s inspired) krautrock of Metabolismus.
RealAudio clip: "The Divine Invasion"
RealAudio clip: "The fallen leaves that jewel the ground"
RealAudio clip: "When I Was A Young Man"
RealAudio clip: "The Shepherd"

P.G. SIX Slightly Sorry (Drag City) cd 14.98
We didn't get to reviewing this right away even though we've been big fans of P.G. Six in the past (especially his debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites, an all-time fave here) maybe just 'cause the painting of the pink Cadillac on the cover made us a little wary. Someone should be "Slightly Sorry" for that artwork! But rest assured, the music on P.G.'s Slightly Sorry is again the mellow, melodic, timeless folk-indie-pop we expect from him, the influence of his '60s/'70s British folk scene inspirations still strong (the likes of Nick Drake, Fairport, Pentangle, Incredible String Band), with a Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson element added on two of the tracks by the guest female vocals provided by his Tower Recordings bandmate Helen Rush. But we also hear some Neil Young and Byrds too for sure, 'specially on the more "band" sounding cuts, though it's the hushed and intimate tracks with just P.G.'s acoustic guitar and his calm, plain voice that thrill us the most.
This album is definitely representin' the more polished side of the P.G. Six sound, and should please those who really loved Well Of Memory, as it's not so much about the rustic 4-track DIY experimentation of his Parlor Tricks disc, let alone the harp string dronology of last year's Music From The Sherman Box Series cd.
MPEG Stream: "The Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Lily Of The West"

P.G. SIX Slightly Sorry (Drag City) lp 14.98
We didn't get to reviewing this right away even though we've been big fans of P.G. Six in the past (especially his debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites, an all-time fave here) maybe just 'cause the painting of the pink Cadillac on the cover made us a little wary. Someone should be "Slightly Sorry" for that artwork! But rest assured, the music on P.G.'s Slightly Sorry is again the mellow, melodic, timeless folk-indie-pop we expect from him, the influence of his '60s/'70s British folk scene inspirations still strong (the likes of Nick Drake, Fairport, Pentangle, Incredible String Band), with a Sandy Denny/Linda Thompson element added on two of the tracks by the guest female vocals provided by his Tower Recordings bandmate Helen Rush. But we also hear some Neil Young and Byrds too for sure, 'specially on the more "band" sounding cuts, though it's the hushed and intimate tracks with just P.G.'s acoustic guitar and his calm, plain voice that thrill us the most.
This album is definitely representin' the more polished side of the P.G. Six sound, and should please those who really loved Well Of Memory, as it's not so much about the rustic 4-track DIY experimentation of his Parlor Tricks disc, let alone the harp string dronology of last year's Music From The Sherman Box Series cd.
MPEG Stream: "The Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Lily Of The West"

P.G. SIX The Well of Memory (Amish) cd 14.98
P.G. Six is Pat Gubler from Tower Recordings and friends, and his 2001 debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites was a stand-out DIY psych-folk album from that -- or any -- year. Melancholic, beautiful indie-folk music by someone whose battered 4-track seemed possessed by the spirit of '60s Brit-folk like the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention. So this new one was eagerly anticipated by quite a few of us and our friends, yourself perhaps included. Verdict: maybe it's not quite as magical as his first one...but then that's often the way it goes. Parlour Tricks we knew would be hard to beat. And this IS super nice. But just a little more polished sounding. The production is less Neutral Milk Hotel than before I guess you could say, more 'pro' (maybe he got a fancier 4-track, or went digital?)... But that's not much of a complaint when the results are this heavenly. The Well Of Memory is a fine, understated album, and can only add to what we someday may call the legend of P.G. Six. It's still full of both his old-timey acoustic folk stylings and electric guitar droning; a pleasant plethora of sad, slow psychedelic songs (and one incongrous rock number). Pat's tired, lilting vocals fit in equally well with trad. folk melodies and backwards guitar effects.
MPEG Stream: "Come In/The Winter It Is Past"
MPEG Stream: "Considering The Lateness Of The Hour"
MPEG Stream: "Old Man On The Mountain"

P.G. SIX Well Of Memory (Perhaps Transparent) lp 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now on vinyl! P.G. Six is Pat Gubler from Tower Recordings and friends, and his 2001 debut album Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites was a stand-out DIY psych-folk album from that -- or any -- year. Melancholic, beautiful indie-folk music by someone whose battered 4-track seemed possessed by the spirit of '60s Brit-folk like the Incredible String Band and Fairport Convention. So this new one was eagerly anticipated by quite a few of us and our friends, yourself perhaps included. Verdict: maybe it's not quite as magical as his first one...but then that's often the way it goes. Parlour Tricks we knew would be hard to beat. And this IS super nice. But just a little more polished sounding. The production is less Neutral Milk Hotel than before I guess you could say, more 'pro' (maybe he got a fancier 4-track, or went digital?)... But that's not much of a complaint when the results are this heavenly. The Well Of Memory is a fine, understated album, and can only add to what we someday may call the legend of P.G. Six. It's still full of both his old-timey acoustic folk stylings and electric guitar droning; a pleasant plethora of sad, slow psychedelic songs (and one incongrous rock number). Pat's tired, lilting vocals fit in equally well with trad. folk melodies and backwards guitar effects.
MPEG Stream: "Come In/The Winter It Is Past"
MPEG Stream: "Considering The Lateness Of The Hour"
MPEG Stream: "Old Man On The Mountain"

P.O.N. (Creative Man Disc) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Members of Ground Zero play breakneck, heavy jazzpunkfusion a là Naked City.

P:ANO Brigadoon (Mint) cd 14.98
Following their warm and wonderful chamber pop album The Den, P:ano shift gears into slightly more varied moods and an occasional peppier pace with Brigadoon. They kick things off in bright Beach Boys-y pop fashion for the first two tunes. Then, with its shining female vocals, the third song comes marching in sounding like it could be a Claudia Gonson-sung Magnetic Fields song. Nice! For the fourth "He Will Come Beck To Me" [sic] they hush things down a bit into their more familiar sounding slower lushness, but then it's right back into 'Fields-esque territory with synths and programmed beats. Plus we noted that much like Stephin Merritt, they'll (consciously or not) occasionally nab a melodic or lyrical phrase from an old tune and encorporate it into their own song. For example in the album's deliciously glorious tenth song "Pure Evil", the familiar lyric "break it to them gently when you tell them that I won't be coming home again" pops up. Hmmm, perhaps it's a sly fellow-Canuck nod to Burton Cummings (of '70s Canadian classic rockers The Guess Who) who originally wrote and performed the song "Break It To Them Gently" back in 1978? As well, they lyrically reference other songs by title -- slipping in mention of old classics like "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Ten Cents A Dance", and "I Could've Danced All Night" among others. They certainly apply all shades of the pop spectrum to their music, at times bringing to mind Danielson Family, Quasi, Rufus Wainwright (particularly the final song "The True Light") and a few of those Elephant Six Collective bands such as Of Montreal, Dressy Bessy, and The Minders. In a sense, the members of this band sing and play like learned music students who graduated at the top of their class, and this is their season finale stage performance. If you think of it that way, the broad selection of styles and references seems not at all surprising. The one tune that sticks out oddly is the very highschool musical sounding fourteenth song "Sweet Sweets". While P:ano certainly draw from stage-y theatrical influences (you might recognize the album title as also being the name of the old Lerner & Loewe musical), this single song comes across as a sorta wonky contrast to the more elegantly performances on the rest of the album. Ah, but there's 21 (!) other lovely, uplifting songs on the album that more than make up for it!
MPEG Stream: "Pure Evil"
MPEG Stream: "The True Light"

P:ANO The Den (Zum) cd 11.98
Warm up your chilly spring eves (at least here in SF!) with this cozy album. Vancouver's P:ano craft unassuming, pretty-pretty, lush chamber pop. This is the follow-up to their 2002 debut When It's Dark and It's Summer. It's definitely more confident and composed than its hushed, slightly shamblin' predecessor. Each song's melodies are carried mainly on... yes, piano! with some great horn and swirling string accompaniments and the gentlest of percussion. Lilting laidback male and female vocals melt sweetly like marshmallows in your hot chocolate drawing fitting comparisons to Scottish dreamies The Delgados. Recommended.
MPEG Stream: "L.D."
MPEG Stream: "The Worst Thing Ever You Could Do"

P:ANO When It's Dark And It's Summer (Hive-Fi / Zum Media) cd 11.98
Shh! It's the debut P:ano album, and it's a quiet one! This Vancouver, BC-based group led by Nick Krgovich are hushed and somber, but not depressing at all, with muffled piano, sad drums foregrounded, non-cloying cello, and earnestly tooted horns. The dusty, reminiscing tone is quite similar to the Nashville collective Lambchop, and it also recalls the first, stellar Archer Prewitt (Coctails) album. The delicate, mostly male vocals totally remind me of Alan Sparhawk -- and that's not the only Low comparison that's appropriate with this very Low-inspired outfit, although P:ano is a little more sing song-y than Low is, a little lighter -- bittersweet instead of spooky, if you know what I mean. A trifle shambolic and about to fall apart, in a good way. A pleasant debut.
RealAudio clip: "All of November, Most of October"
RealAudio clip: "The Country Scene"

PAAVOHARJU Laulu Laakson Kukista (Fonal) cd 17.98
Many of us can still remember the exact moment three summers ago that the Finnish group Paavoharju entered our lives. Their debut album Yha Hamaraa seemed to have come out of nowhere and soon became one of those records that we turned to again and again for an enveloping aural escape. So needless to say we've been anxiously anticipating this follow-up, and we're thrilled to say it's finally here. And in a day and age where quality control has been thrown out the window, it's actually pretty refreshing to find that there are still some folks out there with the patience and commitment to take their time in crafting their art, ensuring that it will live on in our ears and hearts for years and years to come. Paavoharju have done just that with their follow-up to Yha Hamaraa. With the subtly familiar yet fresh sounding Laulu Laakson Kukista, they have somehow raised the bar even higher, with a record that truly inhabits its own world. A place that is filled with flashbacks to a romantic and tragic old world, an oceanic daydream and a wide aerial view of lush green open fields where down below a secret magical world exists. It's actually quite tricky to try to describe the sound of this record as almost every song offers another view of their deliciously unique soundworld. Listening to Laulu Laakson Kukista is sort of like watching a Guy Maddin film, as the songs and sounds on the album feel as if they are at times in classic grainy black & white and other times in the most stunning and vibrant technicolor. There are songs that you could actually kind of maybe dance to ("Kevatrumpu"), songs that should be the theme of the Olympics the next time it's in Finland ("Uskallan"), and songs that conjure images of lost fairytales, musical radio plays, epic voyages, fantastical moments and interrupted daydreams.
It's actually so damn rare these days for a group to truly have its own sound but you just can't really compare Paavoharju to almost anyone else around. It might have been subconscious but after listening to this record several times we started hanging out a lot with David Bowie's album Low. As the otherworldly second side of that album brings us to a similar space as Laulu. We also imagine Kate Bush, Bjork, Robert Wyatt, Edith Piaf and Kurt Weill at the twilight of their careers, transported into the middle of nowhere in Northeast Europe, and dosed with some magic mushrooms before entering the forest to record a record together.
It's been a long while since a new recording has captured our imagination and allowed us to get as lost in its vision as this one has. Once again Paavoharju have created a collection of magical sounds that will continue to keep us warmly embraced and mesmerized with each subsequent listen!
PS: The vinyl came and went and we're waiting for more...
MPEG Stream: "Sumuvirsi"
MPEG Stream: "Kevätrumpu"
MPEG Stream: "Kirkonväki"

PAAVOHARJU Uskallan (Type) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We love so much music coming out of Finland these days. Last year Paavoharju's debut Yha Hamaraa on Fonal Records charmed us silly. If you haven't heard it yet, by golly you'd better get with the program! So we were mighty excited to hear that the group has returned with a 2-song vinyl 7", allowing us another fleeting glimpse into their unique gloriously hazy dream world. Side A features an enchanting blurry folk number with male vocals, while Side B has a delicate, contemplative instrumental. It seems almost cruel to release this group's music in such a short format, for their music is so immersive it's utterly addictive. More please.

PAAVOHARJU Yha Hamaraa (Fonal) cd 17.98
Oh how we adore the Finnish label Fonal Records -- home to the likes of Kemialliset Ystavat, Islaja, Kiila and Es. And now, won't you please kindly welcome the newest addition to the Fonal roster, Paavoharju! We can say that that welcoming 'em is not such a difficult thing to do 'cause they sure do make some wonderful music! In fact, Cup (and Jim for that matter) has listened to it almost every day since its arrival. It's true!
Note: We don't want to deny anyone the pristine 'first listen' magic that we experienced. We can attest that it was a sheer delight packed with many surprises, and our fondness has only grown with each listen. So if you want your introductory spin to be 'pure', please be forewarned that this review contains what some might call spoilers... that means stop reading now!
In many ways Paavoharju can be likened to fellow enchanting Finnish artists Lau Nau and Fonal labelmates Islaja, but their finely detailed yet loosely strung music is considerably more melted and collaged and electronic. Listening to Yha Hamaraa is almost like eavesdropping on a dream... or having someone else's heartbreaking memories come back to hazily haunt you. Sounds, voices and melodies drift in and out of focus, occasionally overlapping and seeping into one another. Sometimes it seems like you're listening to a rickety old radio with the dial set between stations so that the sounds somehow magically fit together. Odd faintly familiar elements make their presence felt such as in the ninth song where the male vocal melody brought to mind a twisted folk (and of course very Finnish) version of "Stairway To Heaven". The swooping, trebly female vocals find their own special place between Indian film music singers and the Southeast Asian voices that surface on the similarly (un)structured Sublime Frequencies travelogue field recording compilations. And reference must be made to Bjork as well! Now after having read this far in our review, you might find the very first track with its swell of distorted static-y noise to be somewhat unexpected, disorienting even, but we encourage you to go with it (and with us). Allow the wash of sounds to transport you into Paavoharju's intoxicating world. Completely and utterly breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Aamunuringon Tuntuinen"
MPEG Stream: "Vitivalkoinen"
MPEG Stream: "Kuljin Kauas"

PAAVOHARJU Yha Hamaraa (Fonal) lp 21.00
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Oh how we adore the Finnish label Fonal Records -- home to the likes of Kemialliset Ystavat, Islaja, Kiila and Es. And now, won't you please kindly welcome the newest addition to the Fonal roster, Paavoharju! We can say that that welcoming 'em is not such a difficult thing to do 'cause they sure do make some wonderful music! In fact, Cup (and Jim for that matter) has listened to it almost every day since its arrival. It's true!
Note: We don't want to deny anyone the pristine 'first listen' magic that we experienced. We can attest that it was a sheer delight packed with many surprises, and our fondness has only grown with each listen. So if you want your introductory spin to be 'pure', please be forewarned that this review contains what some might call spoilers... that means stop reading now!
In many ways Paavoharju can be likened to fellow enchanting Finnish artists Lau Nau and Fonal labelmates Islaja, but their finely detailed yet loosely strung music is considerably more melted and collaged and electronic. Listening to Yha Hamaraa is almost like eavesdropping on a dream... or having someone else's heartbreaking memories come back to hazily haunt you. Sounds, voices and melodies drift in and out of focus, occasionally overlapping and seeping into one another. Sometimes it seems like you're listening to a rickety old radio with the dial set between stations so that the sounds somehow magically fit together. Odd faintly familiar elements make their presence felt such as in the ninth song where the male vocal melody brought to mind a twisted folk (and of course very Finnish) version of "Stairway To Heaven". The swooping, trebly female vocals find their own special place between Indian film music singers and the Southeast Asian voices that surface on the similarly (un)structured Sublime Frequencies travelogue field recording compilations. And reference must be made to Bjork as well! Now after having read this far in our review, you might find the very first track with its swell of distorted static-y noise to be somewhat unexpected, disorienting even, but we encourage you to go with it (and with us). Allow the wash of sounds to transport you into Paavoharju's intoxicating world. Completely and utterly breathtaking.
MPEG Stream: "Aamunuringon Tuntuinen"
MPEG Stream: "Vitivalkoinen"
MPEG Stream: "Kuljin Kauas"

PABLO, AUGUSTUS Dub, Reggae & Roots From The Melodica King (Ocho) cd 18.98
Excellent Augustus Pablo collection, 21 tracks in all, some collaborations with King Tubby and Lee Perry.

PABLO, AUGUSTUS Dubbing With The Don (Jamaican) cd 16.98
Collection of 15 previously unreleased dubs by melodica master Augustus Pablo and taken from sessions recorded in the 1970's. A few of the tracks here are alternate versions of dubs that Pablo did with King Tubby on the "Meets Rockers Uptown" album, but most of the tracks here are completely new and all of them were taken directly from the master tapes making this some clean, pristine dub.
RealAudio clip: "Wayout Rockers"

PABLO, AUGUSTUS East Of The River Nile (Shanachie) cd 16.98

PABLO, AUGUSTUS East Of The River Nile (Wallboomers) lp 17.98

PABLO, AUGUSTUS El Rocker's (Pressure Sounds) cd 17.98
17 tracks. Classic '70s "Rockers" cuts with that "Far East" reggae sound by this recently-departed melodica-wielding genius. Allan's not a huge reggae fan, but has been trying harder as of late to get into the good stuff, and Augustus Pablo gets his "ordinarily-wary-of-reggae-but-this-is-really-ok" seal of approval.

PABLO, AUGUSTUS In Fine Style (Pressure Sounds) cd 17.98
Nice collection of rare 7" and 12" mixes from melodica master Augustus Pablo, recorded between 1973 and 1979. It may concern some Pablo neophytes that most of the tracks here were issued as both 7" and 12" discomixes and even alternate versions of both, so that what you get is a great deal of rhythm repetition. Disregarding this redundancy in rhythm you still get 7 long tracks -- all rare and great -- and for what it's worth, if you can deal with that fact (such is life with Jamaican comps) the arrangements in each mix are completely different. Comes packaged with beautiful full color booklet which includes liner notes contextual to each rhythm family.
MPEG Stream: "Far East"
MPEG Stream: "Mountain View Dub (Version One)"

PABLO, AUGUSTUS Jah Inspiration (Recall) 2cd 16.98
Low priced double disc anthology of Augustus Pablo, apparently part of a series of anthologies of Jamaican artists being released by Recall. Each collection comes with a fair amount of biographical notes on the artist and generally make good starting points if you don't have anything already. 30 dub tracks by the melodica king grace this collection, the second disc almost completely dominated by King Tubby's productions but the set in general seems to span his career from the early seventies on through the nineties. There aren't any rareties on here and a good deal of later recordings so if you have plenty of Augustus Pablo's recordings you're better off passing this one up but not a bad place to start for the beginner.
RealAudio clip: "Magnificent Dub"
RealAudio clip: "Pablo In Black Ark"

PABLO, AUGUSTUS King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (Deluxe Edition) (Shanachie) cd 16.98

PABLO, AUGUSTUS Meets Lee Perry at the Black Ark (Rhino) cd 16.98

PABLO, AUGUSTUS This Is... (Above Rock) cd 14.98
Classic reggae album from 1974, now reissued with bonus tracks.

PABLO, PETEY Still Writing In My Diary: 2nd Entry (Jive) cd 16.98

PACCHU, FRICARA Stories Of The Old (Fonal) 7"+book 17.98
FINNISH MUSIC FREEKS HEADS UP!!! A brand new release from a name you may not recognize, but you definitely know some of the bands he spent time in: Avarus, Anaksimandros, Maniac's Dream...
Fricara Pacchu may have a pretty illustrious Finnish underground musical resume, but weirdly enough, he began his musical career as a rapper, though you'd be hard pressed to tell from this, his debut solo 7".
And while you can definitely hear some of the above mentioned bands in these three songs, the sound is something else entirely, much more jangly and poppy, three little chunks of druggy, dreamy psychedelic confection. The opening track has a bit of a Krautrocky groove, some Eastern sounding sitar-like buzz, and swirling clouds of trippy FX, but they're wrapped around some sunshine-y jangle, it's like Avarus playing Olivia Tremor Control. The second track is more lo-fi and druggy, a gorgeously plodding tripped out drift of woozy piano, still MORE effects, spidery guitars, all coated in morning dew and dappled with sunlight.
The flipside is a bit less poppy, a sort of noisy soft industrial, lots of smeared grind and clank, but piled atop lovely melodies and hazy ambience, and distant moaning guitars, and with a strange staticky rhythm holding it all together. It definitely reminds us of our favorite Finnish free folk, but also like the Storm Bugs or some lost recording you might hear on one of those deluxe Vinyl On Demand reissues. A gorgeous slab of damaged experimental psychpop jangle, we can hardly wait for a full length.
The packaging is extra special. Included with the full color sleeve is a thick eye popping book of Pacchu's artwork, 7" x 4", stapled but on thick matte paper, drawings, collages, photos, squiggles, snakes, motorcycles, garish colors, intricate patterns, negative images and more. Folks who dug the Glomp books of Finnish art will definitely dig this too, and the images in the booklet seem like what you might see if you closed your eyes and played the record. The perfect visual analogue for Pacchu's druggy trippy soundworld.
Funnily enough, both Allan and Andee independently reviewed this, each unaware that the other was also writing a review. Whoops. The above is Andee's, below is Allan's for comparison (turns out their duplication of effort was remarkably similar, which is as it should be we suppose!):
First off, that cover art makes this pretty hard to resist. A simple painting of a weird-looking furry cat sitting next to a daisy... with the artist's incongruously black-metal suggestive logo floating overhead. That this 3 track, 11 minute 7" is from Finland, and on the ever-reliable Fonal label, is also a good thing. Fricara Pacchu being a member of such illustrious underground Finnish outfits as Anaksimandros, Avarus, and Maniacs Dream is further reason to be interested. But the proof's really in the pudding, or in our business, the music, so let's take a listen....
First track "Bianca's Beachparty" is an uptempo, uplifting utterly psychedelic instrumental home-recorded techno-disco number that immediately makes us think BOREDOMS. Crunchy, burbling synths zig and zag over a steady, insistent rhythm. Magic. We're sold. The other two tracks, "Upsidedown Wind" and "Text-Message From Beyond", are equally cool, woozy instrumental space-outs, not quite so "techno" tho. And what's also pretty cool is the 42-page, full-color booklet of Pacchu's cartoon/comic/collage art that comes with this 7"! Lots of insane eyeball-joy to be had here. If you liked those Glomp books we've listed, you'll dig this. This 7" package is presumably limited, we have just a few and may or may not be able to get more...

PACIFIC RATE TEMPLE BAND / MONOPOLY CHILD STAR SEARCHERS Split (Pacific City) cassette 9.98
We only have a dozen or so of these, and it's unclear whether we can get more of these, so we won't bother going into too much detail. A split release, from the Skaters' Pacific City label, this one featuring new aQ faves the Monopoly Child Star Searchers on one side, the new to us Pacific Rate Temple Band, who we will assume is another Skaters side project.
The MCSS are in fine form as always, creating a sound so fantastically alien, we're still unable to pinpoint how much of it is played, how much is sampled, what instruments are used. Regardless, it's a gorgeously tripped out tribal dronejam. With way more guitar (?) this time around keening and waiting over that distinctive Monopoly murky tribal rhythm. The sound sometimes hiccup when the tape jogs, but it only adds to the weirdness. Warbly and dizzying and another recording towards convincing us we just might dig MCSS more than the Skaters!
Pacific Rate Temple Band have a similarly hazy sound, but the percussion is more distant or buried, instead the focus is on long drawn out high end tones, a sort of upper register skree, layered notes, overlapping tones, all shifting and beating subtly against each other, very primal and tribal, sun dappled and shimmering. It almost sounds like a high end remix of the other side, or if it were possible, the two sides played simultaneously would probably sound amazing.
Either way, this is some gorgeous stuff, and is of course limited, and again we only have a dozen, so be warned...

PACIONE, ADAM Sisyphus (Elevator Bath) cd 14.98
After a handful of amazing, and of course super limited cd-r's comes the debut real cd full length from Adam Pacione, a modern day practitioner of ambient alchemy, realized in the form of luxuriously understated dreamdrone music. Still limited (329 copies) of course, and still amazing, Pacione channels the spirit of Brian Eno, William Basinksi and other like minded explorers of musical inner space through lengthy drifts of super soft focus abstract sound. Each track is an impossibly spacious underwater world of murk and murmur, muted rumbles, smoothed out expanses of shimmering fuzz, gentle lilting smears of sound, all subtly looped into incredibly hypnotic barely shifting soundscapes.
Ultra minimal for sure, but so dense and layered that the songs and sounds seem to change shape and color with every listen. Smooth and darkly glistening, Pacione crafts a deep lush sound, while somehow managing to retain bits of lo-fi sonic grit that help add all sorts of unlikely texture and timbre to Pacione's otherwise ultra serene drift. A perfect dreamlike blend of dark glacial glide and warm glistening glimmer. Another absolutely essential disc of gorgeous late night drift.
Packaged in lovely screen printed, recycled paper jackets, with printed inner sleeves. And again LIMITED TO 329 COPIES!!! So not sure how long these will last.
MPEG Stream: "Joelma's Burning"
MPEG Stream: "An Evening's Pursuit"
MPEG Stream: "Groves, Springs & Hilltops"

PADDED CELL Night Must Fall (DC Recordings) cd 22.00
Time for the noirishly groovy, '70s prog and funk infected, jazzily inflected debut full length from the UK's sinister, stylish Padded Cell. What time is that? About 2am maybe. Night must fall, indeed it must.
Those of you that picked up that excellent Milky Disco comp on Lo last year oughtta remember the track "Konkorde Lafayette", which also appears here in edited form. Padded Cell's contribution was a highlight of that comp, which also featured Studio, Sorcerer, Quiet Village and fellow DC artists The Emperor Machine, among others.
Almost entirely instrumental (there's only a couple of vocal cuts), generally dark and creepy and sometimes bleepy, Night Must Fall slow-burns through slinky, cinematic Goblinesque grooves that bring in some no-wave sax blat, and plenty of vintage analog synth zapp and bass brapp. Padded Cell certainly nods to Italo disco... and also the "disco not disco" NYC '80s downtown punk-funk scene - in fact Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid is this album's propulsive guest drummer! Imagine a spooky and suspenseful John Carpenter soundtrack gone dubby disco... Very cool, so cool in fact we had to import these directly from the label in England.
PS. we also got this on vinyl but unfortunately they all came with fairly badly bent corners...we'll try to get replacements but if you can't wait and want the wax, let us know...
MPEG Stream: "Savage Skulls"
MPEG Stream: "City Of Lies"
MPEG Stream: "Konkorde Lafayette (edit)"

PADDED CELL Night Must Fall (DC Recordings) 2lp 23.00
DC sent us new covers (the first batch were a bit bent) so now we can list the vinyl of this! Here's the highlight review we ran of the cd version last list:
Time for the noirishly groovy, '70s prog and funk infected, jazzily inflected debut full length from the UK's sinister, stylish Padded Cell. What time is that? About 2am maybe. Night must fall, indeed it must.
Those of you that picked up that excellent Milky Disco comp on Lo last year oughtta remember the track "Konkorde Lafayette", which also appears here in edited form. Padded Cell's contribution was a highlight of that comp, which also featured Studio, Sorcerer, Quiet Village and fellow DC artists The Emperor Machine, among others.
Almost entirely instrumental (there's only a couple of vocal cuts), generally dark and creepy and sometimes bleepy, Night Must Fall slow-burns through slinky, cinematic Goblinesque grooves that bring in some no-wave sax blat, and plenty of vintage analog synth zapp and bass brapp. Padded Cell certainly nods to Italo disco... and also the "disco not disco" NYC '80s downtown punk-funk scene - in fact Dennis Young of Liquid Liquid is this album's propulsive guest drummer! Imagine a spooky and suspenseful John Carpenter soundtrack gone dubby disco... Very cool, so cool in fact we had to import these directly from the label in England.
MPEG Stream: "Savage Skulls"
MPEG Stream: "City Of Lies"
MPEG Stream: "Konkorde Lafayette (edit)"

PADDEN, DANIEL The Isaac Storm (Ultra Eczema) lp 25.00
We managed to get a handful more of these goodies, and it's long out of print, so once this batch is gone, they are gone for good!
As much as we all dig Volcano The Bear, we've actually been loving VtB member Daniel Padden's One Ensemble project even more. While Volcano are more of a surreal dadaist experimental sound outfit, for the One Ensemble, Padden takes those same Dadaist tendencies but tempers them a bit, wrapping them around pretty pop or lilting folk and creating some truly alien sounding prettiness.
But on this ultra limited lp, Padden takes his One Ensemble and wanders back into some serious Volcano The Bear territory. Demented music box melodies drift amidst soaring strings, clinking clanking percussion, deep moaning cellos, bursts of staticky field recordings and manipulated field recordings, while over the top float haunting mysterious melodies. Sounds a bit like a more druggy demented Tom Waits.
Elsewhere, thick washes of fuzzed out ambient whir wrap themselves around damaged pitch shifted guitar warble, junk yard percussion marches through thick clouds of ominous drones, detuned acoustic guitars shimmer beneath heavily reverbed scrapes and squeaks and wheezing harmonica melodies. A totally mesmerizing, dizzying and damaged trawl through some surreal junk yard filled with broken musical instruments and ghost musicians, jamming in the middle of the night to an audience of beat up stuffed animals and rusted out appliances. So cool!
Packaged in a super spiffy crayon colored owl, coloring book collage cover.
LIMITED TO 400 COPIES!!

PADDEN, DANIEL The One Ensemble of (Catsup Plate) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Daniel Padden, of English improvisational psych-folksters Volcano the Bear, creates meandering, lovely music that has received comparisons to artists as accomplished as This Heat, Soft Machine, and Art Ensemble of Chicago. Distant and spooky to warm and languid, "The One Ensemble Of..." features subtle improv mixed with sparse, repetetive, melodic piano, and manges to make kazoos sound sad and beautiful. Instrumentation also includes violin, cello, saxophone, harmonium, ballaphon (like a Ghanian xylophone), and other "little instruments." A wistful, gorgeous and strange album.
RealAudio clip: "Sleep Between the Brows of All My Eyes"
RealAudio clip: "Chasm Dave"

PADDEN, DANIEL (THE ONE ENSEMBLE OF) The Owl Of Fives (Textile) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK! Finally managed to get more of these in. Not sure how long they'll be around or when we'll be able to get more! So don't snooze!
As much as we dig UK musical experimentalists Volcano The Bear and their disjointed sonic surrealism, VtB member Daniel Padden has always managed to take that sound of theirs even further, somewhere else entirely, to a place where his juxtapositions coalesce into a dark and highly personal, mostly instrumental melancholia. Meandering and thoughtful, like a twilight walk through a musical forest, just wandering, laying down on the ground when the mood strikes you, gazing at patches of sky through the dense canopy of leaves, feeling the wet earth soak through your clothes, shivering as small insects crawl all over you tickling your skin, squinting as you're blinded by a brilliant shaft of sunlight that breaks through the trees, then melts into the forest floor beneath while you're sprinkled with a fine mist as the wind looses the condensation from the branches. This not-so-precise effect is achieved with reverby pianos in vast expanses of space, slippery slide guitar, plinkety plonk keyboards, soaring minor key strings, Appalachian guitar picking over squirming beds of bombinating drones. Padden's dense buzzing ragas are all dreamy and melancholy and super intimate and personal sounding, but somehow at the same time are grandiose and epic, with occasional waltz-like marches, like chamber music for some outer space / otherworldly king and his court. Occasionally delicate and haunting, occasionally rambunctious and a little chaotic. But always totally beautiful and mesmerising and truly mysterious. Think somewhere between Eyvind Kang, the Sun City Girls, Kronos Quartet, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Jack Rose. All that and more is filtered through Padden's slightly skewed musical mind's eye.
MPEG Stream: "Farewell My Porcupine"
MPEG Stream: "Gong Farm"
MPEG Stream: "Singing Norway To Sleep"

PADDEN, DANIEL (THE ONE ENSEMBLE OF) The Owl Of Fives (Textile) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As much as we dig UK musical experimentalists Volcano The Bear and their disjointed sonic surrealism, VtB member Daniel Padden has always managed to take that sound of theirs even further, somewhere else entirely, to a place where his juxtapositions coalesce into a dark and highly personal, mostly instrumental melancholia. Meandering and thoughtful, like a twilight walk through a musical forest, just wandering, laying down on the ground when the mood strikes you, gazing at patches of sky through the dense canopy of leaves, feeling the wet earth soak through your clothes, shivering as small insects crawl all over you tickling your skin, squinting as you're blinded by a brilliant shaft of sunlight that breaks through the trees, then melts into the forest floor beneath while you're sprinkled with a fine mist as the wind looses the condensation from the branches. This not-so-precise effect is achieved with reverby pianos in vast expanses of space, slippery slide guitar, plinkety plonk keyboards, soaring minor key strings, Appalachian guitar picking over squirming beds of bombinating drones. Padden's dense buzzing ragas are all dreamy and melancholy and super intimate and personal sounding, but somehow at the same time are grandiose and epic, with occasional waltz-like marches, like chamber music for some outer space / otherworldly king and his court. Occasionally delicate and haunting, occasionally rambunctious and a little chaotic. But always totally beautiful and mesmerising and truly mysterious. Think somewhere between Eyvind Kang, the Sun City Girls, Kronos Quartet, Godspeed You Black Emperor, and Jack Rose. All that and more is filtered through Padden's slightly skewed musical mind's eye.
MPEG Stream: "Farewell My Porcupine"
MPEG Stream: "Gong Farm"
MPEG Stream: "Singing Norway To Sleep"

PAGANS Pink Album ... Plus! (Crypt) cd 14.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 2 unreleased songs and two demos, one exclusive to the lp. The cd includes 3 unreleased tracks (as opposed to 4 on the vinyl) and tons of live stuff from 1979-1983 including tracks from their final tour and recordings. Also includes studio demos where the Pagans take on a handful of covers: Alice Cooper's 'Eighteen', Pere Ubu's 'Final Solution', Velvet UNderground's 'There She Goes Again'. Also contains a video! Nice.
RealAudio clip: "I'm Eighteen"
RealAudio clip: "Multiple Personalities"
RealAudio clip: "Nowhere To Run"

PAGANS Pink Album ... Plus! (Crypt) lp 10.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 2 unreleased songs and two demos, one exclusive to the lp. The cd includes 3 unreleased tracks (as opposed to 4 on the vinyl) and tons of live stuff from 1979-1983 including tracks from their final tour and recordings. Also includes studio demos where the Pagans take on a handful of covers: Alice Cooper's 'Eighteen', Pere Ubu's 'Final Solution', Velvet Underground's 'There She Goes Again'. Also contains a video! Nice.

PAGANS Shit Street (Crypt) cd 14.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 3 unreleased tracks and 2 super rare tracks from 1979 including the studio demo of 'She's A Cadaver' which is only on the lp. The cd includes 4 extra studio tracks (as opposed to 5 on the vinyl) PLUS tons of live stuff, including 2 tracks featuring Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero from the Dead Boys.

PAGANS Shit Street (Crypt) lp 10.98
From Cleveland, the land of Pere Ubu and The Electric Eels, comes the Pagans, totally essential, completely awesome late seventies scuzzed out punk rock. Noisy and sloppy and snotty and totally catchy. The lp includes 3 unreleased tracks and 2 super rare tracks from 1979 including the studio demo of 'She's A Cadaver' which is only on the lp. The cd includes 4 extra studio tracks (as opposed to 5 on the vinyl) PLUS tons of live stuff, including 2 tracks featuring Cheetah Chrome and Jimmy Zero from the Dead Boys.

PAGE FRANCE Hello, Dear Wind (Suicide Squeeze) cd 14.98
Twee folkster Michael Nau has such an endearingly bleaty voice sort of a cross between Daniel Johnston and John Lennon (especially on songs like "Bush"). But his voice also has a cool scratchy raspy Paul Westerberg quality, that adds even more emotion, like he's always about to break into a top-of-his-lungs croon, or like his voice is always just on the verge of cracking.
The songs are simple, but surprisingly lush, rife with impossibly memorable hooks, and lots of little melodic flourishes and subtle instrumental embellishments. Musically Page France is like a latecomer to the Elephant Six set with a SERIOUS Neutral Milk Hotel influence, from the guitar / vocal interplay, to the clever turns of phrase, even down to the not so veiled religious subtext. Lots of songs about Jesus and love and salvation, although not always obviously so. This could almost be some early Jeff Mangum project, recorded right before his voice changed. It has the same wide eyed innocence, the strange surreal psychedelia and the eclectic kitchen sink instrumentation as NMH, there's horns, super simple shuffling percussion, chimes, vibes and Nau also finds his perfect female counterpoint in the childlike croon of Whitney McGraw. So catchy and dreamy. Neutral Milk Hotel fans do NOT want to miss out on this...
MPEG Stream: "Chariot"
MPEG Stream: "Jesus"
MPEG Stream: "Elephant"
MPEG Stream: "Bush"

PAGE FRANCE AND THE FAMILY TELEPHONE s/t (Suicide Squeeze) cd 14.98
Page France And The Family Telephone returns with another generous serving of twinkly twee pop! We liked his last album 2006's Hello Dear Wind very very much, so we welcome this new one with open arms. And it doesn't disappoint! Mainman Michael Nau's like a more child's view cousin of Destroyer or a prepubescent Flaming Lips. His toothsome storybook tales, singsong-y vocals and chiming melodies could easily have tumbled out of Mr. Rogers' Land Of Make Believe. Cute as a button!
MPEG Stream: "Wet Dog Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Violin And Dancing Bear"

PAGE FRANCE AND THE FAMILY TELEPHONE s/t (Suicide Squeeze) lp 14.98
Page France And The Family Telephone returns with another generous serving of twinkly twee pop! We liked his last album 2006's Hello Dear Wind very very much, so we welcome this new one with open arms. And it doesn't disappoint! Mainman Michael Nau's like a more child's view cousin of Destroyer or a prepubescent Flaming Lips. His toothsome storybook tales, singsong-y vocals and chiming melodies could easily have tumbled out of Mr. Rogers' Land Of Make Believe. Cute as a button!
MPEG Stream: "Wet Dog Afternoon"
MPEG Stream: "Mr. Violin And Dancing Bear"

PAIK Corridors (Beyonder) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For those of you who dug their recent Satin Black release, here's Paik's sophomore full length from 2001 on which they harnessed their crashing post-rock waves of guitars and cymbals into something considerably more moody and space-y than its predecessor, the very My Bloody Valentine-esque Hugo Strange. Corridors aligns them more with bands such as Mogwai (who they themselves were an aural amalgam of MBV and Slint).
MPEG Stream: "Spacer (2001)"
MPEG Stream: "The Longest Day"

PAIK Hugo Strange (Beyonder) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For those of you who dug their recent Satin Black release, here's Paik's debut album from 1998. Hugo Strange reveals that the band's beginnings were very much rooted in shoegazer territory. Upon reaching the center of the album you'll find the band applying some very noticeable My Bloody Valentine-isms -- lots of woozy, warped record guitar style effects. They stick in this hazy reverb and distortion drenched atmosphere for a few songs then take a turn into the land of post-rock fueled by a healthy dose of insistently down-strummed guitars.
MPEG Stream: "Waiting Patiently"
MPEG Stream: "E. Grim "

PAIK Monster Of The Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 14.98
This instrumental space rock trio from Michigan has been smoking heaping bowlfuls of the same stuff Hawkwind used to burn up and is thus churning out some serious space rock with mighty results. Spacious and sweeping, chugging with propulsive groove, but without the quiet-loud dynamics of post-rock bands like Mogwai, nor the shoe-gazing drone burners of bands like Growing and Belong. More like a 120 mph road-trip through Death Valley at sunset and the acid just kicked in.
MPEG Stream: "SnakeFace"
MPEG Stream: "October"

PAIK Monster Of The Absolute (Strange Attractors Audio House) lp 14.98
Now on vinyl!
This instrumental space rock trio from Michigan has been smoking heaping bowlfuls of the same stuff Hawkwind used to burn up and is thus churning out some serious space rock with mighty results. Spacious and sweeping, chugging with propulsive groove, but without the quiet-loud dynamics of post-rock bands like Mogwai, nor the shoe-gazing drone burners of bands like Growing and Belong. More like a 120 mph road-trip through Death Valley at sunset and the acid just kicked in.
MPEG Stream: "SnakeFace"
MPEG Stream: "October"

PAIK Satin Black (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd 13.98
On their newest 'full length' (although the cd only has five tracks, they're all nice and looooooong), Paik once again unfurl the darker, heavier and more ominous side of shoegazerin'. This Michigan-based space rock band pour on layer after layer of guitar washes which along with the thundering drums and crashing cymbals build to a hypnotic roar. An occasional melodic element will seep out from the dense creeping haze. Trippy, atmospheric and very much for fans of Bardo Pond, Kinski, Growing, Landing and Mogwai.
MPEG Stream: "Jayne Field"
MPEG Stream: "Dirt For Driver"

PAIK The Orson Fader (Clairecords) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

PAIK, NAM JUNE Works 1958-1979 (Sub Rosa) cd 16.98
Five compositions by video artist Nam June Paik. Long before he became famous for his work in the visual arts, Paik had travelled to both Japan and later to Germany (along side Karlheinz Stockhausen at the Westdeutsche Rundfunk's Studio For Electronic Music) to study composition. This cd is the first time these works have been released outside of extremely limited cassette and lp issues and date from as early as 1959 to as late as 1979. The tracks themselves are as varied as one might expect from such an extended period. The first piece "Prepared Piano For Merce Cunningham" (1977) is a solemn 28 minute improvisation on a detuned piano. This piece was originally released in an edited form but is presented here as it was recorded, in its entirety. Three of the pieces were unearthed in Paik's apartment in 1999 while searching through uncataloged films and videos. "Hommage A John Cage" (1959), "Simple" (1961), and "Etude For Pianoforte" (1960) are tape experiments using crude splicings of recorded music, Paik screaming, various recorded noises, all sped up, slowed down, scrambled and otherwise mutilated. "Duett" (1979) is a 25 minute improvised collaboration between Paik on piano and Takis on metal sculpture. Paik drifts between various baroque and classical themes before settling into a slow dirge while humming mournfully as Takis intermittently strikes on large chunks of metal. The piece has a beautifully melancholic yet absurd quality that approaches self-mockery but somehow remains sincere.
RealAudio clip: "Hommage A John Cage"
RealAudio clip: "Duett"

PAIN TEENS s/t (Charnel Music) cd 12.98
First time on cd for this, the very first (1988) and long out of print album by Austin's Painteens. Even then, this industrial/experimental rock outfit (featuring the core duo of vocalist Bliss Blood and guitarist Scott Ayers) were no slackers at noisemaking. Painteens is a brutalist hybrid of Rhythm & Noise with Coil, cooked up in a Texas psychedelic punk laboratory. This cd also includes additional material from their fantastic early cassette releases.