IMAHORI TSUNEO YOSHIDA TATSUYA Dots (Doubtmusic) cd 16.98
Japan's Ruins are/were a bass and drums prog-spazz duo lead by octopoidal drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. Ruins have been longtime faves 'round here for their manic precision and complex catchiness, kind of a cross between Melt-Banana and Magma, played by a two-piece. Hopefully, you know all about Ruins already. And if you're a fan, then you're reading the right review!
Goddamn, if you thought that Ruins were crazy... believe it or not, Yoshida's latest duo project has upped the ante quite a bit. Teaming with guitarist Imahori Tsueno, and further augmented by computer processing, this takes Yoshida's brand of frenzied prog palpitations into hyperdrive. Considering what we know Yoshida can do live with no overdubs (and even all by himself) it's positively dangerous to allow him and his collaborator to crank up the craziness with technology. Yet the Doubtmusic label has allowed them to do it, twice -- this is their second disc. As you may recall, we already raved about the first one, Territory, last year. This one is equally awesome, if you're at all inclined towards this sort of technical musical mania. It will leave you breathless, staring at your stereo, jaw on floor. There's 17 tracks, ranging from one minute four seconds to eight minutes fifty seconds. All of 'em action packed, constructed through a partially improvised creative process that incorporates malfunctioning video game sounds one nano second, virtuoso jazz fusion licks the next... kecak-like vocal parts, blasting rhythms, heavy guitar rippage. And there's also artificial speed manipulations, pitch shifting, and jump-cut electronic edits -- yeah just when you thought it couldn't get any more dense or intense, it's like they flip a switch and suddenly achieve superhuman levels of prog rock performance (beyond even what the Ruins are known for!).
It's not all speedy spasmodicism, as they also delve into some momentary moody, much calmer atmospherics... always ready to turn a corner into utter ADD insanity, however. While still always retaining a knack for ear-catching riffage, as per the Ruins at their best. And this IS the most Ruins-y thing we've heard in a while!! Of course. Boy this makes us happy.
MPEG Stream: "Quantum"
MPEG Stream: "Expiry"
MPEG Stream: "Gene"

IMBROCO Are You My Lionkiller? (Deep Elm) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Loud... quiet... loud. Aah yes, a style of indie rock that will never never go away. And Imbroco perform it with vigor and ample emoting. A 6-song ep that would make any Get Up Kids or old Superchunk fan bob their head with glee.

IMITATION ELECTRIC PIANO Blow It Up Blow It Down Kick It 'Til It Bleeds (Drag City) cd 14.98
While known most for being the bass player in Stereolab, Simon Johns carries some other plates as well. Including his band Imitation Electric Piano, who follow up their debut full length from a few years back with an album that's quite different then that instrumental affair. This time out he recruited the breezy English folk vocal stylings of Mary Hampton. With her sweet summertime-flowers in her hair delivery it ends up sounding like how you would imagine Stereolab doing Pentangle covers might sound like. Bright and peppy as it rolls in green grass on a shimmering sunny afternoon.
MPEG Stream: "Leave Her Johnny"
MPEG Stream: "Tension"

IMITATION ELECTRIC PIANO s/t (Drag City) cd 10.98
Innocuous instrumental playfulness courtesy of Simon Johns who has released material as Clearspot on Stereolab's label Duophonic (and who is currently the 'Lab's bassist). Sounds exactly as you'd think it would -- bubbly and harmless. Fans of Broadcast may like this, but it's not nearly as good.

IMITATION ELECTRIC PIANO Trinity Neon (Drag City) cd 14.98
... is the band led by Mr. Simon Johns. His musical resume boast the fact that he played bass on Stereolab's Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night album, and there are definite shades of the 'Lab here as well as Aluminum Group and the Sea & Cake. This is some delightfully pretty, smooth post rock with light, jazzy moments that sound strongly influenced by composer Kryzstof Komeda (known for among other things, his film soundtracks to Roman Polanski's Cul De Sac, Rosemary's Baby, Knife In The Water). Strolling along at a spritely step, the oft-arpeggiated organ, harpsichord and yes, electric piano melodies and gentle pulses cycle over and over as muted horns and the odd strum from an electric guitar step in every now and then to break the repetition. Steady goes the rhythm section with rounded bass lines and light hi-hat taps while soothing vocals very akin to Sam Prekop of the aforementioned Sea & Cake pop in for a visit every so often.
MPEG Stream: "King's Evil"
MPEG Stream: "It Sounds Like A Party"

IMMACULATE MACHINE Fables (Mint) cd 16.98
No sophomore slump for this terrific band of Canucks with genuine familial ties to The New Pornographers. Lead singer and keyboardist Kathryn Calder has certainly honed her craft touring and recording with her Uncle Carl's band. She's certainly come into her own since her band's debut Ones And Zeros only a couple of years ago. As a whole unit Immaculate Machine have advanced in leaps and bounds, bursting with confidence and a healthy dose of spunkiness. Where it is perhaps most noticeable is in the vocal department. Calder sings ever so sweet'n'strong, while Brooke Gallupe's voice has developed into a remarkably deep and smoothly expressive charmer that at times draws comparisons to Jarvis Cocker (as opposed to the drollness of Stephin Merritt on the last album). On Fables, they've tempered the brooding with the bright-eyed, the perky with the pensive. It's at once punchy and slouchy, sorta like a female-fronted Strokes. A great summer in the city album!
MPEG Stream: "Jarhand"
MPEG Stream: "Roman Statues"

IMMACULATE MACHINE High On Jackson Hill (Mint Records) cd 14.98
Since their beginnings, Immaculate Machine have been most known as the band starring Kathryn Calder, the sweet-voiced niece and fellow New Pornographers bandmate of Mr. Carl Newman. But these days singer/guitarist Brooke Gallupe has stepped into center stage and is shining brightly! He is clearly more firmly in the driver's seat on the band's most recent recordings. High On Jackson Hill finds them channelling equal parts New Pornographers (on songs such as "Thank Me Later") and T. Rex (on songs such as "He's A Biter") with ample nods to '70s West coast classic rock too. That said, don't miss the starkly contrasting lovely "You Destroyer", a low-key, folksy Calder-sung song that glows with its own luminous sweetness. A well-crafted treat!
Psst, we've also just gotten in a few other new and new-to-us titles on this fine Vancouver indie label by The Awkward Stage, Buttless Chaps, The Pack A.D. and Neko Case's early band Maow!
MPEG Stream: "Thank Me Later"
RealAudio clip: "You Destroyer"
MPEG Stream: "He's A Biter"

IMMACULATE MACHINE Ones and Zeros (Mint) cd 13.98
This young Canadian band has been tagged with the selling point that lead vocalist Kathryn Calder is the long-lost niece of New Pornographers' Carl Newman, and that she sings and tours with that band -- a wise move on her uncle's part 'cause she's mighty talented. A great way to get a lot of attention from Canadian pop-loving folks, that's for sure! That said, Immaculate Machine's music sounds nothing like those dear NPs and stands on its own merits. Indeed, the Victoria, BC trio have set the bar high on their first outting and they've done so with such solid songwriting and an ease and composure that so many bands' many times their age haven't been able to grasp. Their fully fleshed out arrangements bring together the hard'n'crunchy and soft'n'pretty. Although the core of their sound is indisputably pop, it's a pop of a different flavour. More feverish and punchy. The first song has a retro feel that brings to mind their labelmates The Organ. In fact in keeping with the family theme here, imagine them as a peppier cousin of said band. On the other hand the male lead vocals on the fourth song "Phone No." are a deadringer for Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields. Overall, their sound recalls the early edgy energy of '70s/'80s British bands such as XTC and Gang Of Four, but not the trademark sounds of either of those bands which have been plundered and regurgitated to death recently by many other young bands. A remarkably robust debut!
MPEG Stream: "Two Places"
MPEG Stream: "Phone No. "

IMMENSE Death To The Gremlins (Fat Cat) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fat Cat's successes with their series of electronica split 12"s hasn't necessarily translated in their forays into avant-rock. This Immense 7" is quite a bit better than their other avant-rock release: the a-side is a steady building piece of rock hypnosis sort of like a sax solo fronting Stereolab's "Emperor Tomato Catchup", the b-side is a sad yet beautiful guitar and piano composition sort of like the Texas melancholia by 26 (or later 37).

IMMORTAL Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism (Osmose) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on vinyl for a limited time! Packaged in a gorgeous gatefold sleeve, with new photos and design. We never listed the cd before (it came out before we did reviews, let alone black metal reviews) but fans should know it, and that's who'll be interested in Immortal vinyl anyway. This was their very first album from '92, so probably their rawest, but still all about the winter wonderland that Immortal devoted their career to mythologizing.

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

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.

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)"

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/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.

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 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"

INCREDIBLE FORCE OF JUNIOR Blue Cheer (Up) 7" 3.50
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Up Records strikes again with another syringe of essential pop that goes straight to the old adrenal glands. Third single from the Seattle trio that brought you the amazing Greatest Thing 7". Think Nothing Painted Blue, Tullycraft, Raincoats. The B-side ("Driving in your car") wins on this one. --Cory Brown.

INCREDIBLE FORCE OF JUNIOR Let the World fall Apart (Up) cd 13.98
Energetic pop you can sink teeth into, a là local favorites Pee. Extra-high quality.

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND 5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion / The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter (Collector's Choice Music) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties / early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics.
Very sixties, very hippy -- they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. But then, as they say, there's more: their music encompasses traditional British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. -- an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like.
We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!
There's been a recent slew of ISB reissues, on the Collector's Choice label and Sepia Tone. We'll deal with the Collector's Choice discs this week: four double-cd sets in all, three featuring two albums apiece (twofers of "5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion / The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter", "Wee Tam / The Big Huge", and "Changing Horses / I Looked Up" respectively), as well as the previously unissued on cd "U" which takes up 2 discs all by itself.
We can't say Collector's Choice lives up to their name with all of these. Although "U" at least boasts liner notes authored by Richie Unterberger, the other two don't. On top of that, the label's graphic design sense leaves something to be desired...for one thing, it would be nice to have the actual album cover artwork presented as large as possible, not just on the front in two overlapping small squares. On the inside, the original *back* covers are reproduced much larger than the fronts are. Doesn't make sense. The previous Hannibal label reissues looked nicer, but at least these are in print!
Disc one, "5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion", dates from 1967 -- it's their second album, featuring only the core duo of Robin Williamson and Mike Heron -- and was the first solid fulfillment of their Brit folk + Middle Eastern + Indian raga equation, as they added the ouds an' sitars to their original Anglo-American folk interpretations with some wonderfully moody results. Their 1968 follow-up, "The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter", is one of the ISB's best-regarded efforts, taking the sound of "5000 Spirits" to more free-form extremes. Dolly Collins (sister of Shirley) helps out on this one.
RealAudio clip: "The Mad Hatter's Song (from 5000...)"
RealAudio clip: " Three Is a Green Crown (from The Hangman's...)"

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending (Wienerworld) dvd 24.00
Here is the DVD release of "Be Glad For The Song Has No Ending", the film about the Incredible String Band. Hugely influential (the Stones tried to sign them, they played Woodstock, Van Morrison covered them), the band played a psychedelic folk music that has its modern antecedents in groups like P.G. Six, Six Organs of Admittance, Damon and Naomi, etc. This DVD has lovely footage of them playing live, lots of closeups and interviews with Robin Williamson and Mike Heron. There's also an interview with the filmmaker Peter Neal, and the short film The Pirate and the Crystal Ball -- which the liner notes claim is a "hallucinatory death and rebirth ritual", but which is actually like a '60s version of getting your friends to go out into the woods and videotaping them cavorting and flitting amongst the trees. With handmaidens, fairies, and warriors even. You know the type.

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Changing Horses / I Looked Up (Collector's Choice) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties / early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics.
Very sixties, very hippy -- they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. But then, as they say, there's more: their music encompasses traditional British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. -- an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like.
We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!
There's been a recent slew of ISB reissues, on the Collector's Choice label and Sepia Tone. We'll deal with the Collector's Choice discs this week: four double-cd sets in all, three featuring two albums apiece (twofers of "5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion / The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter", "Wee Tam / The Big Huge", and "Changing Horses / I Looked Up" respectively), as well as the previously unissued on cd "U" which takes up 2 discs all by itself.
We can't say Collector's Choice lives up to their name with all of these. Although "U" at least boasts liner notes authored by Richie Unterberger, the other two don't. On top of that, the label's graphic design sense leaves something to be desired...for one thing, it would be nice to have the actual album cover artwork presented as large as possible, not just on the front in two overlapping small squares. On the inside, the original *back* covers are reproduced much larger than the fronts are. Doesn't make sense. The previous Hannibal label reissues looked nicer, but at least these are in print!
1969's "Changing Horses" sees the ISB stretch out with two of their longest compositions/jams to date, both songs around the quarter hour mark, along with a handful of shorter tracks. The exotic, barmy hippy folk of the sixteen minute album closer "Creation" should appeal to today's Terrastock psych-folk fans into Ghost and Six Organs of Admittance and the like! It also reminds us a bit of ISB's quirky contemporaries Twink and Tyranosaurus Rex, or even Comus and the Wicker Man soundtrack. Mystically over-the-top. This might not be an essential ISB album, but if you like this sort of thing you'll want it for that track alone. "I Looked Up" from 1970 is similarily a decent but not crucial ISB effort, meaning don't get it first, but do get it if you are or become a fan. From the trad country-folk stylings of opener "Black Jack Davy" to the many moods of the ten-minute plus folk-prog rocker "When You Find Out Who You Are", this visits all of the ISB's colorful bases...
RealAudio clip: "Creation (from Changing Horses)"
RealAudio clip: "Fair As You (from I Looked Up)"

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air (Sepia Tone) cd 13.98

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND s/t (Sepia Tone) cd 13.98

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Tricks Of The Senses (Hux) 2cd 30.00
This is a nice treat for fans of the freakiest of the sixties British acid-folk scene, Incredible String Band, as this two disc set covers rare and unreleased tracks from the band's golden era. Due to some amazing research and archival sleuthing, this compilation of tracks recorded between 1966 and 1972 unearths lost outtakes from various albums, alternate versions, live radio performances as well as an early rehearsal recording of a Leadbelly cover. Though all the tracks have merits on their own, the range of line-up changes and fidelities don't make for a completely consistent listen. But the highlights are pretty fantastic including "Secret Temple", a beautiful track sung by Licorice McKechnie that was only available as a BBC recording, a 13 minute live radio version of "Maya", complete with sitar(!), and a six minute multi-epic suite composed for a mime troupe performance ("Poetry Play #1"). Probably not the place to start for unfamiliar beginners, but for fans, there are jewels aplenty!
MPEG Stream: "The Iron Stone"
MPEG Stream: "The Head"
MPEG Stream: "Poetry Play #1"
MPEG Stream: "Secret Temple"

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND U (Collector's Choice Music) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties / early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics.
Very sixties, very hippy -- they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. But then, as they say, there's more: their music encompasses traditional British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. -- an electic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like.
We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!
There's been a recent slew of ISB reissues, on the Collector's Choice label and Sepia Tone. We'll deal with the Collector's Choice discs this week: four double-cd sets in all, three featuring two albums apiece (twofers of "5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion / The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter", "Wee Tam / The Big Huge", and "Changing Horses / I Looked Up" respectively), as well as the previously unissued on cd "U" which takes up 2 discs all by itself.
We can't say Collector's Choice lives up to their name with all of these. Although "U" at least boasts liner notes authored by Richie Unterberger, the other two don't. On top of that, the label's graphic design sense leaves something to be desired...for one thing, it would be nice to have the actual album cover artwork presented as large as possible, not just on the front in two overlapping small squares. On the inside, the original *back* covers are reproduced much larger than the fronts are. Doesn't make sense. The previous Hannibal label reissues looked nicer, but at least these are in print!
1970's sprawling "U", almost two hours long, was the ISB's soundtrack to a stage show -- a "surreal parable in song and dance" according to ISB's Robin Williamson -- that combined the String Band's musicians with the performance of underground dance/happening group Stone Monkey. Must have been pretty wild, based on this psychedelic music, and the photos crammed into the disc's tiny booklet. It's a bit much to get a handle on -- possibly why this is apparently one of the ISB's more obscure releases. But there's great songs on here, hitting all of the prime String Band motifs: the folk, the raga, the rock, the country... Essential for fans, and recommended to newcomers too, if unafraid of ISB overkill.
RealAudio clip: "El Wool Suite"
RealAudio clip: "Astral Plane Theme"

INCREDIBLE STRING BAND Wee Tam / The Big Huge (Collector's Choice) 2cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
England's Incredible String Band were a late sixties / early seventies outfit who blended folk rock, psychedelia, and Eastern ethnic musics.
Very sixties, very hippy -- they played at Woodstock, in fact. With their folky male and female vocals and expertise with a plethora of exotic stringed instruments, a shorthand description might be that ISB was kinda like Fairport Convention with sitars, and crazy costumes. But then, as they say, there's more: their music encompasses traditional British folk, Indian ragas, Dylan, blues, country, hoedowns, etc. -- an eclectic stew indeed. Sometimes ISB can come off as a little *too* varied: you might be digging some Eastern drone track and find an abrupt switch to, say, music-hall country a bit jarrring. But that just means there's plenty of different things on these discs to like.
We're always mentioning ISB in reviews of other folk-psych albums past and present, from Forest and Trees to P.G. Six and Tower Recordings, so it's nice to finally get these listed in our catalog...definitely if you're into that British folk-psych vibe you need to investigate this band if you haven't already!
There's been a recent slew of ISB reissues, on the Collector's Choice label and Sepia Tone. We'll deal with the Collector's Choice discs this week: four double-cd sets in all, three featuring two albums apiece (twofers of "5000 Spirits Or The Layers Of The Onion / The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter", "Wee Tam / The Big Huge", and "Changing Horses / I Looked Up" respectively), as well as the previously unissued on cd "U" which takes up 2 discs all by itself.
We can't say Collector's Choice lives up to their name with all of these. Although "U" at least boasts liner notes authored by Richie Unterberger, the other two don't. On top of that, the label's graphic design sense leaves something to be desired...for one thing, it would be nice to have the actual album cover artwork presented as large as possible, not just on the front in two overlapping small squares. On the inside, the original *back* covers are reproduced much larger than the fronts are. Doesn't make sense. The previous Hannibal label reissues looked nicer, but at least these are in print!
This two-fer 2cd is consistent with these albums' original UK release in 1968, as both "Wee Tam" and "The Big Huge" were issued together as a 2LP set. Again the ISB mix their Celtic and Appalachian folkie roots with "world" influences, and although this is quite mellow and gentle, they also brought in some electric amplification at this point. With female vocals n' whistles n' fiddles n' sitar etc. this is quite pretty stuff, great summer morning sitting in a sunny meadow music. Both records are ISB fan favorites, with gorgeous four-part vocal harmonies, whimsical but sometimes dark moods, and of course lots of Incredible String-ed instrument playing.
RealAudio clip: "The Yellow Snake (from Wee Tam)"
RealAudio clip: "Maya (from The Big Huge)"

INDIAN JEWELRY Fake and Cheap (dLTD) lp 17.98

INDIAN JEWELRY Free Gold (We Are Free) cd 13.98
While we missed their recent show here in San Francisco we kept hearing rave reviews and many of our most trusted customers felt similarly, so much so that we knew we had to hear the new record. We're very happy we listened because Free Gold grabbed a hold of us on the very first listen and we've been hooked hard ever since.
Falling somewhere between Spacemen 3 and Jesus & Mary Chain, Indian Jewelry totally hit the spot in creating sounds that are both shoegazy and dangerous sounding at the same time. If we do get to see them live in support of this record we would want it to be in a really sparse room with nothing but a shitty PA and a really intense strobe light. Free Gold is one of those records that no matter what your history with the band is, you can tell that this is a record that finds the band really hitting their stride. They tap into so many things we love but with their own slight tweak on things that makes it totally their own. Like Loop or Wooden Shjips with a dash of mascara or a more fucked up and DIY version of the latest Raveonettes record that we've been so into. And much like the two Psychic Ills records we love so much, this hits the spot big time, especially when you are looking for that up to no good, slightly drugged out and sexy late night soundtrack.
MPEG Stream: "Temporary Famine Ship"
MPEG Stream: "Overdrive"
MPEG Stream: "Everyday"

INDIAN JEWELRY We Are The Wild Beast (Tigerbeat 6) cd 13.98
While we have yet to review any Indian Jewelry records on the aQ list, most of us here are pretty big fans. Their Invasive Exotics record was an awesome chunk of tripped out droniness, that probably would have been a really good fit on the aQ list. We'll have to remedy that soon. But before they were Indian Jewelry, they were called NTX + Electric, and had a pretty dramatically different sound.
On We Are The Wild Beast, the soon to be Indian Jewelry sounded less like some wacked Texas free psych dronewave outfit, and more like some NYC no-wave skronk combo, complete with squawking saxophones, thick gristly synth, haunting new wave grooves, lots of electronic bleepery, but also some more modern sounds, some of the melodies sound like they could have been plucked from Interpol songs, there's definitely some garage-y stomp, some shoegazey droneouts, the core sound though is the simple clattery percussion, the huge thick slabs of buzzing synth, and the saxophone, which spends much of its time in the background, unfurling hypnotic snakecharmer grooves.
Buried amidst all this skronk and skree and buzz re some fantastic pop songs, and some killer hooks, but they're usually obscured by clouds of FX, or wrapped around spiky angular riffing. The opener is a killer, a modern sounding dancefloor killer, with it's sax refrain and the blown out synth buzz, a total new wave groove that would have the girljean set frugging madly. But then there's songs like "Looking At You", a dreamy krautpop jam, with that same sax refrain from the first song resurfacing, all under thick sheets of crumbling psych guitar. The nearly 14 minute "S-O-S-O-S" begins like some sort of Spacemen 3 bliss out, but soon transforms into some off kilter Unrest style jam, insistent guitar jangle, Beatles-y croon, and simple lo-fi pop hooks, all wrapped up in loads of distortion, and more amp frying FX.
It's really not that hard to hear a lot of later Indian Jewelry in the sound of NTX+Electric, but they have more of an old school electro / no-wave thing going on, which means fans of folks like Glass Candy and the like might also dig. Cool, weird, awesome stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Walk Through Fire"
MPEG Stream: "Empty Handed"
MPEG Stream: "Poison The Choir"

INDIAN JEWELRY / FUTURE BLONDES split (Dull Knife) lp 14.98

INFIDEL? / CASTRO! Bioentropic Damage Fractal (Crucial Blast) 2cd 15.98
A few years back we were intrigued and amazed by a disc entitled Case Studies In Bioentropy, the debut from this very strange band. Experimental drone prog noise textural rock weirdness. We went on and on about how "strange" it was. Now Infidel?/Castro! are back, on the Crucial Blast label, with what might be an even stranger album. Maybe twice as strange in fact 'cause it's two discs instead of one! An overwhelming sprawl of chaotic geek-tech glitch abstraction, lovely melodic improvisations, and conceptual nerdy noisenik metal-riffed surreal insanity... is it serious? Is it science? Can't tell. The music is accompanied by equally hard-to-grok computer art and text. Song titles include "Temporarily Desolving Into Plasma During A Moment To One's Self" and "Bedsores (for G.W.B.)". Hmm. At least we know who G.W.B. is.
These two discs are certainly interesting, sometimes beautiful, and yes most definitely strange. Recommended to anyone who doesn't mind spinning from ambient drone to fractured prog to electronic mayhem -- like a collison of Fantomas and irr. app. (ext.), maybe. Or Isis, Merzbow, MBV, and Behold The Arctopus, perhaps. The latter of which features Colin Marston, also a member of Infidel?/Castro! by the way. So that might give you an idea...just an idea... of what this is all about. The real answer, we're still looking for. But in the meantime, we're enjoying this album!
MPEG Stream: "Damage Fractal Series 1: Dismantle"
MPEG Stream: "(in)voluntary emotional response"

INFINITE X'S, THE s/t (Chainsaw) cd 13.98
It should be noted that this group is entirely comprised of experienced and popular pop punk musicians like Jody Bleyle (Team Dresch, Hazel), Tamala Poljak (Longstocking, Automaticans), Whitney Skillkorn (Little Deaths, Fighter D) and Scotty Walsh (Automaticans). Their self-titled full length debut contains all the earmarks of a Jody Bleyle project: multi-part vocals including the uptempo, emotive lead vocal/slower pretty counter-melody, and ascending three-chord jangling guitar progressions. She's clearly the dominant force in the band, and as a result you can't help but hold The Infinite X's up to the high standards set by her kick-ass past endeavours, and realize it ultimately falls short. The three vocalists harmonize and back each other up with loud screaming which adds more of an edge to each song. I think Chainsaw is such a great label and I'm really supportive of what they do and what they believe in. Alas, this release struck me as totally 'been done', but if you're sick of your women-driven, political, sassy pop punk from the Northwest, here's something new-ish.
RealAudio clip: "Joanna"
RealAudio clip: "What I Believe In"

INK & DAGGER Philapsychosis (Revelation) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

INK & DAGGER The Fine Art Of Original Sin (Initial) cd 13.98
Vampiric emo-no-wave-techno-metal. Listen to them. The Philadelphian children of the night. What beautiful music they make. ...Take the weirdest keyboard black metal (Arcturus/Septic Flesh), the prog-post-punk & male vocals of Dischord band Circus Lupus, occasional Cradle of Filth style female vocals, and gothic corpsepaint (really) and add a little Autechre & you've got Ink & Dagger, more or less.

INK AND DAGGER s/t (Buddyhead) cd 14.98
Long, long awaited final release from this now sadly defunct Philadelphia band, who blazed their own musical trail combining emo punk rock, math-core, electronics, and no-wave...that unique formula, not to mention their kick-ass guitarist and of course their band-defining obsession with vampires, made Ink & Dagger a big AQ favorite. This self-titled album, released after many months delay, sees them incorporating more of a riffy '70s metal influence, while still retaining their moody, complex mix of weirdness. For fans of Circus Lupus, Ruin, Coalesce, Fugazi, and, let's face it, Led Zeppelin! In other words, recommended.
RealAudio clip: "The Lines Of Lies"
RealAudio clip: "Part Time Prophet"

INNER SPACE, THE Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah) cd 22.00
This is one of those records that we always thought we were just going to hear about, maybe hear a song or two on some compilation, but never actually get to hear in its entirety. So we're THRILLED to see this pre-CAN album, a soundtrack to a film that never came out (how come those are always the best?!), finally seeing the light of day. And what a tripped out, acid soaked, free-pop-jazz-rock odyssey it is!
Recorded in 1968 by a lineup that included Irmin Schmidt, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit who a year later would make their debut as Can with the release of Monster Movie, listening to these sounds one for sure can hear the seeds of what would become Can's distinctive krautrock sound, but this also displays a much more fried, disjointed and mind altering side to these way ahead of their time music makers. While mostly an instrumental affair that at times reminds us of the equally colorful and fucked up Jean Claude Vannier concept album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, there are a few tracks which have vocals courtesy of Irmin Schmidt, but the true show stopper is when Rosy Rosy, a film actress in Germany at the time, takes the mic for "Kamerasong", a track we imagine folks like Broadcast and Stereolab have played on repeat a billion times (like we have now!). While plenty of the songs here hint at the more song based Can records to come, lots of Agilok & Blubbo is much more about sprawling, scrappy, tripped out and fucked up delight, the kind of sounds modern day colorful noise makers like Kemialliset Ystavat and Sunburned Hand Of The Man would bow down to. What makes the record so enjoyable is how its paced, just when things have gotten way deconstructed and abstract they snap into more of a catchy, driving melody and then continue on in more bizarre directions and into outer dimensions. Warped, damaged and engaging in all the right ways!
MPEG Stream: "Es Zieht Herauf"
MPEG Stream: "Kamerasong"
MPEG Stream: "Michele Ist Da"

INNER SPACE, THE Agilok & Blubbo (Wah Wah) lp 30.00
NOW IN STOCK ON VINYL!
This is one of those records that we always thought we were just going to hear about and be teased by a song or two on a rare compilation but never actually get to hear all of. So it was with total excitement when we saw that this pre-CAN album recorded as a soundtrack to a film that never came out (how come those are always the best!) is finally seeing the light of day. And what a tripped out, acid soaked, free-pop-jazz-rock odyssey it is! Recorded in 1968 by a lineup that included Irmin Schmidt, Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit who a year later would make their debut as Can with the release of Monster Movie. Listening to these sounds one for sure can start to hear the seeds of what would become Krautrock legend, but this also shows a much more fried, disjointed and mind altering side to these way ahead of their time music makers. While mostly an instrumental affair that at times reminds us of the equally colorful and fucked up Jean Claude Vannier concept album L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, there are a few tracks which have vocals courtesy of Irmin Schmidt, but the true show stopper is when Rosy Rosy, a film actress in Germany at the time takes to the mic for "Kamerasong" a track we imagine folks like Broadcast and Stereolab have played on repeat a billion times (like we have!). While a few tracks like that do show and hint at the more melodic, song based side of Can that would emerge brightly on records like Ege Bamyasi and Tago Mago, lots of Agilok & Blubbo is much more about sprawling, scrappy, tripped out and fucked up delight that modern day colorful noise makers like Kemialliset Ystavat and Sunburned Hand Of The Man would drop their jaws in awe and take notes as they listened. What makes the record so enjoyable is how its paced, just when things have gotten way deconstructed and abstract they snap into more of a catchy, driving melody and then continue on in more bizarre and outer dimensions. Warped, damaged and engaging in all the right ways!
MPEG Stream: "Es Zieht Herauf"
MPEG Stream: "Kamerasong"
MPEG Stream: "Michele Ist Da"

INNOCENCE MISSION Small Planes: Lost And Found Songs 1996-2001 (What Are Records?) cd 16.98
The Innocence Mission have been around the block a few times - since 1982 actually in some shape or form. Problem is, so much time passes between each of their releases that their fans have often been left fretting that the band is no more. This collection presents them in all their wistful pop glory. And once again, the comparisons to The Sundays cannot be ignored, but perhaps imagine that this time Bjork has stepped in on vocals in a few spots. Eleven lilting, wintery songs.
RealAudio clip: "Today"

INSECT WARFARE Endless Execution Thru Violent Restitution (625 Thrashcore) cd 9.98

MPEG Stream: "Repulsed By Radiation"
MPEG Stream: "Bestial Destruction"
MPEG Stream: "Chainsaw Justice"
MPEG Stream: "Execution Mania"

INSTANT AUTOMATONS Another Wasted Sunday Afternoon (Hyped2Death) cd 13.98
UK DIY lo-fi avant-punk, with home-made synths and drum machine, utterly distorted guitar n' bass, and some rather clever, sardonic lyrics pertaining to both society at large and their friends in particular -- yup, it's another one from the Messthetics vaults, as it were (see our reviews of Messthetics Greatest Hits and Animals & Men on our last two lists). Lincolnshire's Instant Automatons got their start as a schoolboy band in 1974, with early influences like Hawkwind and Kraftwerk, and suitably futuristic "instruments" sourced from their school's physics lab! The punk rock revolution of '77 came along just as they left school and pretty soon they'd picked their "vaguely self-mocking" name (out of a hat) and started recording in earnest, becoming pioneers of the nascent cassette music scene -- they were one of the first to advertise that if you sent 'em a blank cassette, they'd dub their album onto it and send it back, free of charge... the pre-internet precursor to downloading it seems. They kept at it for a few years, and so here's a sort-of "best of", consisting of 26 tracks, some previously unreleased, others compiled from various rare cassette and vinyl releases circa 1978-1982, including such numbers as "Short Haired Man (In A Long Haired Town", "Violence", "New Muzak", and "Gillian Is Normal". Lots of wise-ass wisdom to be found in the words to these and other songs. The Instant Automatons surely liked to take the piss, which makes for an entertaining listen. For instance, the atonal, spaced-out track "Electronic Music", with lines like "electronic music is the curse of the working classes" and "electronic music makes you unfit" is still pretty amusing today.
MPEG Stream: "Worcester Ave"
MPEG Stream: "Armchair Politics"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Fake Surfers (In The Red) cd 13.98
To the list of lo-fi noise popping shit gazing garage rockers, Thee Ohsees, Mayyors, Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking, Blank Dogs, Wavves, and the like, you can now add the Intelligence. We've seen some live footage of these guys on YouTube, and they kick up a pretty crazy racket, but on record, they're much more subdued and trippy, crafting dark brooding echoey gloom pop, with muted drumming, soft focus jagged guitar crunch, woozy weary vocals, everything surrounded by a haze of delay and tape hiss and amp buzz, positioning these guys closer to groups like Ariel Pink, Holy Shit, and the like, but then when you think you have 'em pegged, they kick out a surfy, groovy hand clappy jam, that sounds surprisingly like "Walking On The Sun" by Smashmouth (we know, we know, but it's true!) although somehow in their hands it sounds WAY cooler. Crunchy guitars, distorted vox, big booming drums, clanging and chiming chords, warm whirring organ, it's also the closest the Intelligence get to sounding like Thee Ohsees weirdly enough. The rest of the record is a much more twisted lo-fi jangly proposition, with many of the songs sounding like creepy sixties garage rock (Fuzztones?) or skiffle-ly reverbed soft pop, but even then, the songs sound fragmented and twisted, with circusy keyboards adding a definite haunting vibe, and some really odd, but oddly catchy hooks. Acoustic guitars, rubbery basslines, trashy practice space drums, and weary deadpan vocals, all woven into some cool, laid back garage jangle, occasionally exploding into a bit of pounding crunch chug, but usually slipping back into something more washed out and groovy.
Not sure what it is, but we just can't stop listening to this. Which is pretty much the best recommendation we can give...
MPEG Stream: "South Bay Surfers"
MPEG Stream: "Tower"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Eat Skull"

INTELLIGENCE, THE Fake Surfers (In The Red) lp 10.98
To the list of lo-fi noise popping shit gazing garage rockers, Thee Ohsees, Mayyors, Psychedelic Horseshit, Times New Viking, Blank Dogs, Wavves, and the like, you can now add the Intelligence. We've seen some live footage of these guys on YouTube, and they kick up a pretty crazy racket, but on record, they're much more subdued and trippy, crafting dark brooding echoey gloom pop, with muted drumming, soft focus jagged guitar crunch, woozy weary vocals, everything surrounded by a haze of delay and tape hiss and amp buzz, positioning these guys closer to groups like Ariel Pink, Holy Shit, and the like, but then when you think you have 'em pegged, they kick out a surfy, groovy hand clappy jam, that sounds surprisingly like "Walking On The Sun" by Smashmouth (we know, we know, but it's true!) although somehow in their hands it sounds WAY cooler. Crunchy guitars, distorted vox, big booming drums, clanging and chiming chords, warm whirring organ, it's also the closest the Intelligence get to sounding like Thee Ohsees weirdly enough. The rest of the record is a much more twisted lo-fi jangly proposition, with many of the songs sounding like creepy sixties garage rock (Fuzztones?) or skiffle-ly reverbed soft pop, but even then, the songs sound fragmented and twisted, with circusy keyboards adding a definite haunting vibe, and some really odd, but oddly catchy hooks. Acoustic guitars, rubbery basslines, trashy practice space drums, and weary deadpan vocals, all woven into some cool, laid back garage jangle, occasionally exploding into a bit of pounding crunch chug, but usually slipping back into something more washed out and groovy.
Not sure what it is, but we just can't stop listening to this. Which is pretty much the best recommendation we can give...
MPEG Stream: "South Bay Surfers"
MPEG Stream: "Tower"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Eat Skull"

INTERNAL/EXTERNAL Featuring... (K) cd 12.98
Finally in! This is the all-star K Records/Olympia, WA scene collaboration/compilation. Is that enough 'slashes' for ya? A recording project co-ordinated by a gentleman by the name of Paul E. Schuster. These are all his songs which he asked his musical friends to augment and accessorize. Kinda like Stephin Merritt's project The 6ths, but maybe a bit more diverse in the ensuing interpretations and outcome. Calvin Johnson, Lois Maffeo, Kathleen Hanna, Slim Moon, Carrie Brownstein... they're all here.

INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT Nothing We Can Control (Overcoat) cd 14.98
International Airport is comprised of Glasgow indie-scene veterans Aggi of the Pastels (as soon as the vocals began, I knew it was her) and Tom Crosley of Drag City folk duo Appendix Out (Tom is also in Pastels). But, International Airport is much less singsong pop than Pastels. Softly floating pastoral goodness, mostly instrumentals but with a few vocal tracks. It will not blow you away (it's far too demure for that) but it may make your dreams sweet. With appearances by members of Incense and Belle and Sebastian. What a lovely world it would be if the masses looking for the new Sea and Cake album would turn their attention to International Airport.
RealAudio clip: "De Merging Van Bruin en Groen"