GRANDADDY Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla (Devil In The Woods) 12" 14.98
It's been a while since Grandaddy's last full length, the excellent Sumday from 2003. Since then we've only heard a brief peep from the fellas in the form of a split 7" with The Polyphonic Spree. Well, the wait for more of their warm, lush pop experimentations is over. Although Excerpts From the Diary Of Todd Zilla is considered an EP, it's a hefty one with a total of eight songs. It's a bit of a mixed bag o' Grandaddy tunes. Among them are some of the band's best work to date ("Cinderland" -- imagine a more folksy pop incarnation of Flaming Lips or Mercury Rev) as well as a downright jarring number (the raucous "Florida"). That said, the highs by far outweigh the lows. With the exception of that sixth song, Jason Lytle and co. have offered up a pleasing follow-up to Sumday. Vinyl only for now, we're still waiting on a cd version...

GRANDADDY Just Like The Fambly Cat (V2) cd 16.98
Listening to Grandaddy's latest album Just Like The Fambly Cat is so damn bittersweet 'cause it's also apparently their final one and they've done it up in grand style. It's an album that envelops all within earshot -- fans and newcomers alike! -- in a giant bearhug, respectfully and admirably wrapping up their recorded career. Apart from all that, it's simply a truly fine work of fuzzy pop magic. You get nuggets of all the different facets of this band. An expansive atmospheric trip dissolves into a hazy melancholic slow number which melts into bubblegummy boyish indie rock perkiness. A wildly raucous kick-in-the-pants bumps right up next to the sweetest, shimmeriest of dream pop. So darn good! Talk about grand finale, final curtain, last call, closing time, swan song... Grandaddy you will be missed, but the effects of this aural embrace (not to mention the rest of your recorded library) will long be cherished. Yes, very recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Guide Down Denied"
MPEG Stream: "Campershell Dreams"

GRANDADDY Signal To Snow Ratio (V2) cd 4.50
If you miss the Pavement of old, Grandaddy might just do the trick. But don't think they're just a well chosen assortment of Pavementisms. Amazingly catchy pop songs, absurdly-not-absurd/wry lyrics, electronics, vocoders, and all kinds of crazy beautiful sounds. Mix in a little Dinosaur jr./ Crazy Horse jamming and some Sparklehorse distorto-twang heartbreak and you'll understand why this Modesto band is so great. Highly recommended.

GRANDADDY Sumday (V2) cd 14.98
First things first, let it be known that this is a total driving-with-the-top-down-in-the-summer kind of album. So go find yourselves a convertible!
One dozen super sunkissed pop songs reminding us of the Radar Brothers, Flaming Lips, Trackstar, John Lennon, and even the Alan "Eye In The Sky" Parsons Project. Especially the Alan Parsons Project.
Totally timeless melodies that sound readymade for FM radio, settled all snug right between the Eagles and Steve Miller, Alan Parsons and Bread. Grandaddy sound like they could be Pavement's country cousins, exploring the indie rock big city for the first time all wide eyed and full of wonder. Pavement's jaded irony and uber-cool hipness, replaced by earnest melodies and genuine catchiness, as well as a simple and heartfelt lyrical bent. Muffled guitars and mumbly almost-falsetto vocals mark out the verses until the choruses comes crashing down with hooks everywhere, big guitars and subtly bleeping/blooping synths. Vocal harmonies, unexpected melodies and a super lush, warm production just seal the deal. One of the nicest pop records this year!
MPEG Stream: "Now It's On"
MPEG Stream: "Lost On Yer Merry Way"

GRANDADDY The Sophtware Slump (V2) cd 14.98
Album number two finds Modesto's
Grandaddy stretching out and sprawling on the porch, sipping lemonade and lazily strumming a guitar, and absentmindedly twiddling knobs on an old synthesizer.
Grandaddy have taken an unexpected turn, almost entirely forgoing the 'rock' in favor of lazy hazy menadering pop scapes sprinkled with all sorts of electronic tweet and beep and buzz.
Taking plenty of cues from Radiohead (who Allan insists they are trying to sound like) and the Beta Band, as well as the ubiquitous Pavement (having always been cursed with the 'Pavement clone' tag), Grandaddy have crafted an exceptionally lush and catchy pop record. Fusing elements of Elephant 6's sixties psych, the Flaming Lips' surrealist pop, and Sparklehorse's whispery twang into a totally catchy and pretty original indie pop record.

GRANDADDY Under The Western Freeway (V2) cd 14.98

GRANDADDY / POLYPHONIC SPREE Rugged and Splintered Entertainment Center / The March (Birdman) 7" 5.98
Much to everyone's delight these two beloved groups have decided to share a lil' split record. Due to the brevity of the format, if you've not heard either band yet this might not be the best place to start... really, you deserve more than just a single tune each! Don't tarry a moment longer, scoop up a full length -- The Beginning Stages of The Polyphonic Spree and any one of Grandaddy's many fine albums, then proceed to this treat. Two exclusive songs - the 24-member 'Spree's is a characteristically uplifting la-la-la sunbeam of a song, and Grandaddy bring forth a suitably laidback trippy folkish pop singalong. Hurrah!

GRANDPABOY Dead Man Shake (Fat Possum) cd 14.98
Paul Westerberg has churned out another basement-recorded straightforward country blues rock album under his cranky, despairing alter ego Grandpaboy (fyi: the first was called Mono and came as a secret bonus disc in Westerberg's Stereo album). Of the fourteen songs that make up Dead Man Shake, the ten originals which jump from rawkin' boot stompers to slow cryin' in your beer tales and back again fare much better than the four covers which seemed to have been kicked out on a ragged drunken whim. He tackles John Prine's "Souvenirs", Jimmy Reed's "Take Out Some Insurance", Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", and Anthony Newley's "What Kind Of Fool Am I". The latter two in particular might cause your ears some degree of discomfort. On the other hand, higher notes are hit on songs such as "Vampires And Failures". Fans of Westerberg will surely want to check this out, others might wanna sidestep this gritty, umkempt affair for the time being in favor of other more uh, stable Westerberg releases.
MPEG Stream: "Vampires And Failures"
MPEG Stream: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"

GRANFALOON BUS Exploded View (Boxkite) cd 11.98
From SF's criminally underrecognized Granfaloon Bus comes a stunning new album, full of slide guitar, lush guitar, epic backup singing, and super earnest male vocals that spin out incandescently gorgeous lyrics like "It orbits within the glare as time stands still in there the suspense grows / Bend one till it becomes all others, drink the carousel in circles, till vendors mine from riversides x-mas bells slagged from hell's boom years." Doleful and solemn with a lot of twanged-out prettiness, and more than a bit like Giant Sand and the Court & Spark. With guests Danny Heifetz (Mr. Bungle), William Winant, Ted Ellison (Fuck?), Carrie Bradley (100 Watt Smile), etc. Very nice.
RealAudio clip: "The Bender"

GRANFALOON BUS Good Funeral Weather (Trocadero) cd 10.98
Brand new album from local favorites.

GRANFALOON BUS Necks & Backs (Purple Turtle) cd 11.98

GRANICUS s/t (White Stallion Records) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A sterling '70s US hard rock/proto-metal obscurity, Granicus from Cleveland, Ohio (one of their song titles) sounded not unlike an American Led Zeppelin on this, their sole album dating from 1973. While not quite as well known as some other '70s proto-metal heroes like Bang, Captain Beyond and Leaf Hound, these guys were definitely capable of delivering the goods. At their best, quite powerful, we'd even say, kick-ass. There are of course some mellower moments, as often found on even the most seemingly metallic albums from those acid rock daze... but Granicus makes its mark with the beefier stuff, helped out immensely by wailing vocals that are expressive and impressive, more than a match for the band's bombastic heavy guitar action. We get the idea they were sorta radical, political hippie hardrockers, a midwestern band aligned with the MC5 tradition...
This cd reissue is a Spanish import, with 3 unreleased bonus tracks from a radio session, limited to only 500 copies. Packaged in a mini-LP style gatefold sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "You're In America"
MPEG Stream: "When You're Moving"

GRASS WIDOW Internal Logic (HLR) cd 14.98
Yay, the latest from these local faves is now also available in the handy compact disc format, as well as on vinyl! Here's what we said a few months back when the lp dropped:
The Grass Widow gals are fast becoming one of the best bands in San Francisco. Their tight, three-part vocal harmonies layered on top of angular guitar-driven melodies cannot be beat. It's like Dig Me out era Sleater-Kinney mixed with a healthy dose of the Mamas and the Papas. Internal Logic is the first full-length released on Grass Widow's own HLR label. Over the course of a few eps, 7"s and a full-length, they've really honed their sound into something all their own, however. There isn't a power trio out there right now who can do what Grass Widow does. They really use all of the various layers at their disposal to the fullest advantage possible, mixing up Raven's sometimes jagged guitar lines with Lillian's drums that sometimes play straight surf-rock beats and sometimes bounce around all over the kit. Hannah's mid-range bass tones never dip too low in frequency, sounding for the most part straight off an early Joy Division record. It's all about the interplay, one vocal harmony leading into another, slightly more discordant one. These ladies have been playing together for a while now and it's quite evident in the way each instrument compliments the other, skillfully showing technical prowess without one ever dominating the overall sound. The entire record clocks in at a little under half an hour, a short and sweet slab of aluminum that really could have been two or three songs longer, especially since two of the songs ("Milo Minute" and "Disappearing Industries") were previously released on 7"s. We're not complaining by any means, though, because this record is great from start to finish. Grass Widow is one of those bands, no matter how many records they release, you just want more! If for some reason you have been living under a rock and have never heard of Grass Widow, fans of The Shop Assistants, Erase Errata, Thee Oh Sees, The Mallard, The Soft Moon, you need this!
MPEG Stream: "Goldilocks Zone"
MPEG Stream: "Milo Minute"
MPEG Stream: "Disappearance Industries"

GRASS WIDOW Internal Logic (HLR) lp 14.98
The Grass Widow gals are fast becoming one of the best bands in San Francisco. Their tight, three-part vocal harmonies layered on top of angular guitar-driven melodies cannot be beat. It's like Dig Me out era Sleater-Kinney mixed with a healthy dose of the Mamas and the Papas. Internal Logic is the first full-length released on Grass Widow's own HLR label. Over the course of a few eps, 7"s and a full-length, they've really honed their sound into something all their own, however. There isn't a power trio out there right now who can do what Grass Widow does. They really use all of the various layers at their disposal to the fullest advantage possible, mixing up Raven's sometimes jagged guitar lines with Lillian's drums that sometimes play straight surf-rock beats and sometimes bounce around all over the kit. Hannah's mid-range bass tones never dip too low in frequency, sounding for the most part straight off an early Joy Division record. It's all about the interplay, one vocal harmony leading into another, slightly more discordant one. These ladies have been playing together for a while now and it's quite evident in the way each instrument compliments the other, skillfully showing technical prowess without one ever dominating the overall sound. The entire record clocks in at a little under half an hour, a short and sweet slab of vinyl that really could have been two or three songs longer, especially since two of the songs ("Milo Minute" and "Disappearing Industries") on the A side were previously released on 7"s. We're not complaining by any means, though, because this record is great from start to finish. Grass Widow is one of those bands, no matter how many records they release, you just want more! If for some reason you have been living under a rock and have never heard of Grass Widow, fans of The Shop Assistants, Erase Errata, Thee Oh Sees, The Mallard, The Soft Moon, you need this!
MPEG Stream: "Goldilocks Zone"
MPEG Stream: "Milo Minute"
MPEG Stream: "Disappearance Industries"

GRASS WIDOW Milo Minute (HLR) 7" 5.98
Oh damn! This brand new 7" from Grass Widow finds these ladies really hitting their stride. Released on their brand new imprint HLR, it features a great new jam called "Milo Minute" which further shows how they excel at crafting pop songs that incorporate post-punk, '60s girl groups and '90s riot grrl elements with such satisfying results. The B-side has two awesome covers, "Time Keeps Time" by Neo Boys, and "Mannequin" by Wire. They do those in a style that makes us think of a slightly heavier Aislers Set. Which is of course AWESOME!
One of our favorite 7"s of the year so far!

GRASS WIDOW Past Time (Kill Rock Stars) cd 15.98
There was a time when just about anything on Kill Rock Stars was guaranteed to be totally fucking great. Oh that special era of the '90s and the early '00s, when KRS were putting out records by folks like Unwound, Sleater Kinney, Elliott Smith, Erase Errata, Biking Kill, Quixotic, The Gossip, etc. By being one the most visible outlets for rad female and queer artists it was a label that really tapped into the best and most soulful parts of punk rock's past. All the bands had their own sound and unique vision, running the gamut from intimate folk to angular post-punk and anthemic physical minded and super smart art-punk. Sadly over the last several years the label has scaled back quite a bit and not everything they release is as special as it once was. But Grass Widow really do sound right at home and tap into that golden era of the label with a sound and spirit that really represents the essence of what made so many of us so inspired by the Kill Rock Stars vision to begin with.
Grass Widow is one of those rare bands that you could tell had something super special about them from the get go. Our local college radio station KUSF got a handmade cd-r release from them before they had an official release out and it immediately became a big hit at the station. And then they released a 12" and lp on Make A Mess and Captured Tracks that we all went crazy for, and now with their debut for Kill Rock Stars they have put out their most fully realized set of songs yet. Past Time wastes no time jumping right into the punchy harmonies and vocal melodies that drive the record from start to finish. Carrying a Raincoats torch with such ease and undeniable conviction. We're also reminded of a slightly more twee version of Sleater Kinney. As well as their peers like Wet Dog, Effie Briest, and Brilliant Colors they are part of a new wave of post-punk bands with a spirit and sound that is so goddamn good right now. And while we love all the aforementioned bands, we might just be most in love with Grass Widow. For sure the best release to come out on Kill Rock Stars in a long time. So great!
MPEG Stream: "Shadow"
MPEG Stream: "Landscape"
MPEG Stream: "11 Of Diamonds"

GRASS WIDOW Past Time (Kill Rock Stars) lp 16.98
Now on Vinyl!
There was a time when just about anything on Kill Rock Stars was guaranteed to be totally fucking great. Oh that special era of the '90s and the early '00s, when KRS were putting out records by folks like Unwound, Sleater Kinney, Elliott Smith, Erase Errata, Biking Kill, Quixotic, The Gossip, etc. By being one the most visible outlets for rad female and queer artists it was a label that really tapped into the best and most soulful parts of punk rock's past. All the bands had their own sound and unique vision, running the gamut from intimate folk to angular post-punk and anthemic physical minded and super smart art-punk. Sadly over the last several years the label has scaled back quite a bit and not everything they release is as special as it once was. But Grass Widow really do sound right at home and tap into that golden era of the label with a sound and spirit that really represents the essence of what made so many of us so inspired by the Kill Rock Stars vision to begin with.
Grass Widow is one of those rare bands that you could tell had something super special about them from the get go. Our local college radio station KUSF got a handmade cd-r release from them before they had an official release out and it immediately became a big hit at the station. And then they released a 12" and lp on Make A Mess and Captured Tracks that we all went crazy for, and now with their debut for Kill Rock Stars they have put out their most fully realized set of songs yet. Past Time wastes no time jumping right into the punchy harmonies and vocal melodies that drive the record from start to finish. Carrying a Raincoats torch with such ease and undeniable conviction. We're also reminded of a slightly more twee version of Sleater Kinney. As well as their peers like Wet Dog, Effie Briest, and Brilliant Colors they are part of a new wave of post-punk bands with a spirit and sound that is so goddamn good right now. And while we love all the aforementioned bands, we might just be most in love with Grass Widow. For sure the best release to come out on Kill Rock Stars in a long time. So great!
MPEG Stream: "Shadow"
MPEG Stream: "Landscape"
MPEG Stream: "11 Of Diamonds"

GRASS WIDOW s/t (Captured Tracks) (Captured Tracks) 12" 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
That old adage about what happens when you assume, couldn't be more true than with how we had approached Grass Widow. We had seen their flyers and even some records of theirs over the last couple years, but we just kind of assumed they were another Nevada City inspired folk outfit and being a bit burnt on that scene we just didn't pay much attention. Well now we are the asses of that adage because that's not what Grass Widow is about at all! In fact Grass Widow create songs in a terrain that we can never seem to grow tired of. Coming out of the tradition of Young Marble Giants, Vaselines, Shop Assistants, Beat Happening, The Swirlies, etc. Their songs have a bare bones approach yet hit with such deep impact. They fit very nicely next to modern day kindred spirits like Brilliant Colors, Vivian Girls, The Splinters, etc. Yet there is something a bit more rustic, poetic and nuanced in their delivery. Not only is this 12" on constant rotation for us right now it also helped re-teach us that valuable lesson of never judging a band before you've actually heard them! So glad our preconceived ideas about this band were completely wrong as Grass Widow has fast becoming one of our favorite newer bands around, so good!

GRASS WIDOW s/t (Make A Mess) (Make A Mess) lp 12.98
Not to be confused with their s/t 12" on Captured Tracks, this is also self titled, but actually a full length record from this awesome Bay Area trio, who most definitely know how to whip up some seriously awesome art punk garage rock. A bit more raw and rocking than the 12" but still very much in the tradition of bands like the Shop Assistants, Young Marble Giants, Vaselines, Kleenex, The Fall, as well as fitting really nicely alongside current comrades like Thee Oh Sees, Brilliant Colors, Vivian Girls, etc. There's such a sense of urgency and immediate energy that comes pouring out in these songs as well as a timeless quality to their approach that will no doubt give their sound a lasting power. They even incorporate trumpet really nicely into a couple of the tracks, including a slow burner called "Time Could Bend" which demonstrates the kind of dynamics Grass Widow are really capable of. There is a haunting/beautiful quality to their vocal delivery as well which reminds us a bit of one of our favorite and most underrated bands from a decade ago, Quixotic. We're definitely gonna keep our eyes and ears glued to what these ladies do because every record so far has been amazing, and they definitely seem like they'll only keep getting better and better...

GRASS WIDOW / NATURE Nature / Grass Widow (M'Lady's) 7" 5.98

GRAVE BABIES Crusher (Hardly Art) cd 12.98
Gothdammit, we love the Grave Babies! Their sound the perfect mix of noisy, super distorted jangle punk and garage-y gloom pop, every record better than the last. And as much as we loved their recent Gothdammit lp, this new one finds them taking that same sound, all blown out shoegaze crunch, and gloomy miserablist dream pop, and making it even better. Somehow noisier and more off kilter, but impossibly, even more catchy. The opening one two punch is tough to beat. "Over And Underground" sounds like the Wavves with a gothic makeover, and a ridiculously anthemic vibe, the vocals gloomy but belted out dramatically, hooks galore, but all wreathed in distorted murk and crumbling fuzz, Grave Babies at their poppiest for sure, the sort of thing you wouldn't be surprised hearing on Castle Face, in fact, it sorta sounds like the Fresh And Onlys, albeit, noisier and grimier and gloomier. The second track is even better, "Skulls" is a twisted, noise drenched downer pop dirge, with some seriously twisted guitar sounds, the whole thing ultra lo-fi and weirdly and psychedelically washed out, skittery drum machines, and more woozy cold wave-y vocals, and again, catchy as all get out!
And while we can't say it only gets better, it most definitely stays goddamn great, GB weaving a dark sonic spell that's equal parts eighties new wave, shimmery shoegaze pop, and angular distorto death rock, from the dreamy wistful fuzzed out balladic "Slaughter", to the Jesus And Mary Chain via Blank dogs jangle crunch of "Count Cuts", replete with some seriously dreamy harmony vox, to the warped Chrome-gone-garage-pop of "Breeding", with some super over the top emotional vox, not to mention more crumbling guitar crunch. With a different production, and some of the gloominess toned down, this would be some perfect jangly pop music, but as it is, it's a fantastic, and fantastically warped chunk of noisy shoegaze gloom pop, that we can't get enough of!
MPEG Stream: "Over And Under Ground"
MPEG Stream: "Skulls"
MPEG Stream: "Count Cuts"
MPEG Stream: "Breeding"
MPEG Stream: "Death March"

GRAVE BABIES Crusher (Hardly Art) lp 14.98
Gothdammit, we love the Grave Babies! Their sound the perfect mix of noisy, super distorted jangle punk and garage-y gloom pop, every record better than the last. And as much as we loved their recent Gothdammit lp, this new one finds them taking that same sound, all blown out shoegaze crunch, and gloomy miserablist dream pop, and making it even better. Somehow noisier and more off kilter, but impossibly, even more catchy. The opening one two punch is tough to beat. "Over And Underground" sounds like the Wavves with a gothic makeover, and a ridiculously anthemic vibe, the vocals gloomy but belted out dramatically, hooks galore, but all wreathed in distorted murk and crumbling fuzz, Grave Babies at their poppiest for sure, the sort of thing you wouldn't be surprised hearing on Castle Face, in fact, it sorta sounds like the Fresh And Onlys, albeit, noisier and grimier and gloomier. The second track is even better, "Skulls" is a twisted, noise drenched downer pop dirge, with some seriously twisted guitar sounds, the whole thing ultra lo-fi and weirdly and psychedelically washed out, skittery drum machines, and more woozy cold wave-y vocals, and again, catchy as all get out!
And while we can't say it only gets better, it most definitely stays goddamn great, GB weaving a dark sonic spell that's equal parts eighties new wave, shimmery shoegaze pop, and angular distorto death rock, from the dreamy wistful fuzzed out balladic "Slaughter", to the Jesus And Mary Chain via Blank dogs jangle crunch of "Count Cuts", replete with some seriously dreamy harmony vox, to the warped Chrome-gone-garage-pop of "Breeding", with some super over the top emotional vox, not to mention more crumbling guitar crunch. With a different production, and some of the gloominess toned down, this would be some perfect jangly pop music, but as it is, it's a fantastic, and fantastically warped chunk of noisy shoegaze gloom pop, that we can't get enough of!
MPEG Stream: "Over And Under Ground"
MPEG Stream: "Skulls"
MPEG Stream: "Count Cuts"
MPEG Stream: "Breeding"
MPEG Stream: "Death March"

GRAVE BABIES Deathface (Skrot Up) lp 14.98
Don't know much about these guys, but just now we LOVE 'em. Fuzzy gloomy reverby doom pop, all hazy and distorted and shoegazey, with Cure like guitars, Spacemen 3 like droned out space rock tendencies, Big Black like drum machines, warm, weird, multi tracked and reverb drenched vocals, the tracks separated by strange samples, the sound distorted and in-the-red, muted and washed out, but the songs, oh the songs, so haunting and catchy and a little bit gothic, a little new wave, a sort of electro fuzz punk, lilting melodies over those crunchy rhythms, hooks galore, slipping from pounding drum heavy crush to minimal stripped down krautrocky drift, a detached weary vibe, equal parts Blessure Grave, Cold Cave, Black Bug, the sort of thing that definitely would be right at home on Captured Tracks, but for all its similarities to other sounds and groups, Grave Babies definitely sound totally like their own thing, and the more we listen, the more this becomes a new favorite.
WAY recommended for anyone into the current wave(s) of downer pop / electro punk / neu goth / cold wave...
LIMITED TO 220 COPIES!! In a plain white sleeve with paste on front and back cover images.

GRAVE BABIES Gothdammit (Hardly Art) lp 13.98
Gothdammit might just be the best album title EVER. The latest from Seattle goth/gloom/doom weirdos Grave Babies, find them in fine form, opening up with the succinctly titled "Fuck Off", which begins as a long sprawl of washed out almost new agey synth drift, but when the drums finally kick in, they throw another curveball, the song blossoming into some seriously hooky eighties pop, that sounds a bit like a more warped and distorted version of "I Melt With You", it's not hard to imagine this as the theme to some John Hughes VHS knockoff, in fact, the record is super raw and lo-fi and makes it sound almost like it was recorded straight off an old TV while said imaginary movie was playing. And that eighties poppiness continues throughout, with "Morning Heir" sounding like some lost Cure B-side, the vocals a dead ringer for Robert Smith, and the song's inherent Cure-iness, gets a little bit supercharged and turned into a blast of shoegaze gloompop that is crazy catchy and pretty gothdamn irresistible. The rest of the track titles may point to something much more noisy and grim: "Nightmare", "Bloodstains", "Wasting", but the rest of the record is crammed with more hook heavy eighties style gloomy new wave pop, that sounds like it came straight off some alternate universe high school mixtape. Which is most definitely a very very good thing. How we love these guys more and more with every release! Includes a download code as well!
MPEG Stream: "Fuck Off"
MPEG Stream: "Mourning Heir"

GRAVE BABIES Pleasure / Deathwish (Hardly Art) 7" 5.50
Brand new single from these Seattle goth poppers and it's a pretty fantastic slab of blown out minor key dour pop bliss. The A side is all dirgey and fuzzy, the sound super distorted and in-the-red, sounding like some sort of Cure / Jesus And Mary Chain hybrid, hazy dreamy vocals drifting over wistful minor key guitar melodies, and a murky distorted rhythm, there's a killer hook hidden in there too. But it's the B side we're a bit obsessed with, a dubby, druggy, tripped out, gothy doomy ballad, all super reverbed plink plonk piano, the vocals dramatic and crooning, the whole vibe dark and hazy and brooding, the sound remaining weirdly raw and lo-fi and blown out, which makes the record SOUND like those old faded photographs LOOK, washed out and dreamily blurry, at times it almost sounds like Interpol slowed way down and dirtied way up.
LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!!

GRAVENHURST Black Holes In The Sand (Warp) cd ep 9.98
Warp Records roams into back into earthen folk territory with Gravenhurst's six song follow-up to last year's full length, Flashlight Seasons. For those unfamiliar, Gravenhurst is the lone man Nick Talbot from Bristol, England with a little help from his friends such as Miriam Goldberg of Black Forest / Black Sea who slips to play guitar, cello and omnichord on this six song EP's lead-off and title track. Just over a half hour of lengthy, slow creeping murder ballad style numbers including a fine cover of Husker Du's "Diane". Beautiful!
MPEG Stream: "Black Holes In The Sand"
MPEG Stream: "Diane"

GRAVENHURST Flashlight Seasons (Warp) cd 11.98
Admittedly we're doing a little catching up here. After gettin' and diggin' Gravenhurst's most recent ep "Black Holes In The Sand" we went back and revisited his full length from last year. This time around it really struck a chord... and a good one at that! Sorta like Kings Of Convenience and/or Simon And Garfunkel on a serious country downer. Mainman Nick Talbot's willowy vocal harmonies are almost weep-inducing while the notes from a slide guitar descend like raindrop sliding off leaves as high pretty chimes pluck at your heart strings. Sigh! Do not miss "Bluebeard", the album's fourth and perhaps one of the Talbot's best songs. So good! And y'know what? He's got a new album right around the corner. Can't wait!
MPEG Stream: "Tunnels"
MPEG Stream: "Bluebeard"

GRAVES AND ORCHESTRA PITS s/t (Utech) cd 14.98
Surprising Utech release here, not (quite) so droney as they often are, but rather more rhythmic, and in fact downright prog-rocky. Graves And Orchestra Pits are a transcontinental two-piece, one guy (based in Stuttgart, Germany) on guitars, synths, and much else besides; the other guy (from Tokyo, Japan) on drums and electronics... Not sure how they got together, but they make a fine team, stirring up a lot of noise in a quirky, confusional, chamber-prog context. The beats are big and effected, going whap whap whap, amidst all sorts of interesting textures, some of this quite lovely really. Droned out blissful bits coexist with electronic glitch, gentle strings wrap 'round crashing cymbals, snatches of electronica intersect improv skitter... each track adding something new to the sonic stew. A compelling listen, these eight unique, instrumental mini-epics of full of fractured melody, odd noises, and disturbing drumming...
The duo format, and Japanese drummer, and overall kinetic energy, makes us think of the Ruins, but this, with its "Orchestra Pits" moniker, has an additional, avant-garde classical music gone wrong atmosphere to it, field recordings and found sounds juxtaposed with piano and glockenspiel... Plus, guests contribute violin, viola, vibes, flute, sax, etc. on a few of the tracks. So it's not exactly a stripped down sound, this is dense and chaotic and complex, though calm and sparse some of the time too, to catch you unawares.
Packaged in the usual slim, slightly oversized Utech style sleeve, and limited to just 300 copies!!
MPEG Stream: "Spill The Unicorn Blood"
MPEG Stream: "Moles"
RealAudio clip: "I Can See The Ape In You"

GRAVES BROTHERS DELUXE Gonna Happen To You (Unsafe At Any Speed) cd 9.98
Here is the second disc from local all stars The Graves Brothers Deluxe. made up of former members of Thin White Rope, Granfaloon Bus, Dingle and Lunchbox. An eclectic record with moods ranging from loungy and crooning to psychedelic-rockabilly to jazzy, quirky, and experimental. There is an instrumental, very soundtrack-like number, and some crazy Zappa or Mr. Bunglesqe moments. Impressive instrumentation done by talented musicians, but a bit too wacky and all over the place for my taste. I think fans of previous endeavours will like some of the songs but I doubt many will like all of them.
RealAudio clip: "Ashtray Heights"
RealAudio clip: "Electrical"

GRAVES BROTHERS DELUXE, THE Little Love Things (Munster) cd 14.98
Good solid indie rock with enormous energy from local group, featuring two guys from Thin White Rope, and members of Granfaloon Bus and Lunchbox. Fans of Thin White Rope, Giant Sand will enjoy this.
RealAudio clip: "Gypsies, Whores and Doctors"

GRAVEYARD Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast) cd 16.98
For a lot of young Swedes, it's apparently still 1973... what with bellbottomed bands like Witchcraft, Horisont, Noctum, Dead Man, and Graveyard, eh? Here's the latest from the latter, their second full-length, and yeah as the title suggests - and as everyone who heard their self-titled, stonery debut would expect - it's heavy '70 style blues rock, all right, rollin' and tumblin' with amped up urgency and authentic analog-recorded old school mojo.
As always, Graveyard remind us a bit of aforementioned fellow countrymen Witchcraft, with whom they share roots in the late '90s band Norrsken (when oh when will there be a reissue of that awesome band's obscure output we wonder?!). For that matter, both bands also share members with another outfit, Spiders, that we've reviewed some singles by recently. But Graveyard do their psychedelic blues thing their own way, with less of Witchcraft's admitted Pentagram influence for one thing. Instead, we're (again) hearing echoes of good ol' Monster Magnet. Maybe even Thee Hypnotics. And of course the '70s bands, that inspired those bands...
Graveyard's vocalist has a nice raspy edge to his voice when he wants, like when wailing away on opener "Ain't Fit To Live Here", one example of the many galloping rockers to be found on this disc... which also has its moody slow moments, take the lovely, lumbering 2nd track "No Good, Mr. Holden" with its backwards effects, for instance. Or the wide-open spaces, spaghetti western whistling atmospherics of "Longing", which sounds like a nod to Ennio Morricone, or maybe to Bjorn Olsson. Fans of another very '70s sounding Swedish band (and AQ-fave), Elope, should feel right at home with this more mellow side of Hisingen Blues.
Furthermore, while the amount of cowbell and whoo-whoo backing vocals found here could come across as cliched in lesser hands, Graveyard sound like they really mean it, these tracks possessing real emotional resonance alongside their retro radness.
From experience, we know they're a great live band, but this is the sort of record that would make you very much suspect that, anyway. Will we get to hear 'em kick out these jams in person sometime soon? Sure hope so!
MPEG Stream: "Ain't Fit To Live Here"
MPEG Stream: "Buying Truth (Tack & Forlat)"
MPEG Stream: "The Siren"

GRAVEYARD Hisingen Blues (Nuclear Blast) lp 26.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Now available on import, limited vinyl!
For a lot of young Swedes, it's apparently still 1973... what with bellbottomed bands like Witchcraft, Horisont, Noctum, Dead Man, and Graveyard, eh? Here's the latest from the latter, their second full-length, and yeah as the title suggests - and as everyone who heard their self-titled, stonery debut would expect - it's heavy '70 style blues rock, all right, rollin' and tumblin' with amped up urgency and authentic analog-recorded old school mojo.
As always, Graveyard remind us a bit of aforementioned fellow countrymen Witchcraft, with whom they share roots in the late '90s band Norrsken (when oh when will there be a reissue of that awesome band's obscure output we wonder?!). For that matter, both bands also share members with another outfit, Spiders, that we've reviewed some singles by recently. But Graveyard do their psychedelic blues thing their own way, with less of Witchcraft's admitted Pentagram influence for one thing. Instead, we're (again) hearing echoes of good ol' Monster Magnet. Maybe even Thee Hypnotics. And of course the '70s bands, that inspired those bands...
Graveyard's vocalist has a nice raspy edge to his voice when he wants, like when wailing away on opener "Ain't Fit To Live Here", one example of the many galloping rockers to be found on this disc... which also has its moody slow moments, take the lovely, lumbering 2nd track "No Good, Mr. Holden" with its backwards effects, for instance. Or the wide-open spaces, spaghetti western whistling atmospherics of "Longing", which sounds like a nod to Ennio Morricone, or maybe to Bjorn Olsson. Fans of another very '70s sounding Swedish band (and AQ-fave), Elope, should feel right at home with this more mellow side of Hisingen Blues.
Furthermore, while the amount of cowbell and whoo-whoo backing vocals found here could come across as cliched in lesser hands, Graveyard sound like they really mean it, these tracks possessing real emotional resonance alongside their retro radness.
From experience, we know they're a great live band, but this is the sort of record that would make you very much suspect that, anyway. Will we get to hear 'em kick out these jams in person sometime soon? Sure hope so!
MPEG Stream: "Ain't Fit To Live Here"
MPEG Stream: "Buying Truth (Tack & Forlat)"
MPEG Stream: "The Siren"

GRAVEYARDS Cinders (Sergent Massacre) lp 24.00
Another killer warehouse find, dug up a little handful of these, probably the last copies we'll ever see...
Yet more tripped out psychedelic noisescaping from this Wolf Eyes offshoot, featuring John Olson and crew, who offer up a gorgeously creepy, harrowing abject free jazz dronescape, that pairs skronk with rumble, shimmer with crunch, the result a haunting sprawl of cinematic dronemusick that sounds like the score for some lost Euro thriller. Moaning clouds of metallic thrum, plenty of clang and thump, creaks and scrapes, but muted and minimal, sinewave tones drift way off in the distance, squalls of gnarled electronics, weird fragmented melodies, sorrowful, bursts of percussive freakout, bits of skronk, tangled rubbery basslines, tinkling chimes, fluttery woodwinds, whirring wheezing buzz, deep resonant gongs, all woven and blurred into a surprisingly subdued jazzdronescape, cinematic and hushed, the sound of flickering firelight, of cloud choked skies and dim dank abandoned buildings. A sound that manages to be super spare and abstract, but really tight, improvised for sure, but these sounds mesh perfectly into something that sounds almost composed, a brooding sonic desolate gloom, a sort of doom jazz, or some sort of post industrial free jazz dronemusic, whatever it is we're digging it big time.
Beautiful cover art to boot!

GRAVITAR 10 Years Of Tears (Special Edition Box) Version 1 (Enterruption) box 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Just in time for Enterruption's big San Francisco 3 day music festival 'Sight Sounds Liberties' featuring Gravitar's first West Coast performance in 6 years, cones the ultimate Gravitar document. Split into two different versions, each with different material (a little bit fustrating since all the REAL Gravitar fans will have to buy both!) But the price is right at 23.00 for a cool hand screened cardboard box, a cd, 12"s, cd-r's flyers, posters and more! Version 1 (limited to 50) is Gravitar with a focus on side projects. The contents: The 'Freedom Is Another Word For Never Getting Paid' cd which we described on a past list: "Instrumental ferocity from this Michigan-based trio of feedbacking guitar, wild drums, and heavily processed brass that sound like a full on army of horns dumped underwater, struggling chaotically and desperately to get to the surface. Intense.", the Gravitar/Universal Indians split 12", the Persona 'Omnithrope' 12" (Eric's other band), a three-way cd-r featuring a disc from each Gravitar member's other band: Gaffle (Mike), Magnetic Lucifer (Geoff), Persona (Eric), Gravitar 'History Of (revised)' cd-r, an awesome document of Gravitar's past, the mysterious Gravity and Tar cd-r, plus posters and flyers and more!!!

GRAVITAR 10 Years Of Tears (Special Edition Box) Version 2 (Enterruption) box 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Just in time for Enterruption's big San Francisco 3 day music festival 'Sight Sounds Liberties' featuring Gravitar's first West Coast performance in 6 years, cones the ultimate Gravitar document. Split into two different versions, each with different material (a little bit fustrating since all the REAL Gravitar fans will have to buy both!) But the price is right at 23.00 for a cool hand screened cardboard box, a cd, 12"s, cd-r's flyers, posters and more! Version 2 (limited to 25) focuses more on Gravitar past and present. The contents: The 'Freedom Is Another Word For Never Getting Paid' cd which we described on a past list: "Instrumental ferocity from this Michigan-based trio of feedbacking guitar, wild drums, and heavily processed brass that sound like a full on army of horns dumped underwater, struggling chaotically and desperately to get to the surface. Intense.", the Gravitar/Universal Indians split 12", a triple cd-r featurin a disc from each Gravitar member's other band: Gaffle (Mike), Magnetic Lucifer (Geoff), Persona (Eric), Gravitar 'History Of (revised)' cd-r, an awesome document of Gravitar's past, a searing live cd-r 'Live 1999-2000', a blisteringly intense rehearsal cd-r from 1997 plus flyers posters and more!!!

GRAVITAR & NICODEMUS It's An Idiot's Life (Insignificant) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Michigan weirdos unite!

GRAVY TRAIN All The Sweet Stuff (Cochon) cd 13.98
Yay! It's a new outing from one of the most wildest, sassiest & sauciest bands anywhere on the globe. Of course they live right here in the Bay Area doing us proud and carrying the torch for carefree, queer & proud, all-out fun in your face pop that draws just as much from bubblegum and girl-groups as it does garage rock, electro-pop and riot grrl. All The Sweet Stuff is by far their best album so far, with guests like Sugar & Gold on a few tracks and Hey Willpower adding his sexy voice to a Frenchified version of Deee-Lite's "Call Me." Filling that great American void of party-pop that folks abroad have been doing so well (CSS, Bonde De Role, Stereo Total). There is no one else we'd like to play our party than Gravy Train. They are like the bouncy offspring of the Cockettes & The B-52's. They make you wanna stay up late and see midnight movies, and have a slumber party, eat lots of candy, make crank calls, and play a scandalous round of spin the bottle. If the kids know what's good for them they'll all be jumping on the Gravy Train and so should anyone with a young heart and a taste for trashiness done so right!
MPEG Stream: "D.A.N.N.Y"
MPEG Stream: "Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Doin' Tonite?"
MPEG Stream: "Call Me In French"

GRAVY TRAIN All The Sweet Stuff (Cochon) lp 13.98
Yay! It's a new outing from one of the most wildest, sassiest & sauciest bands anywhere on the globe. Of course they live right here in the Bay Area doing us proud and carrying the torch for carefree, queer & proud, all-out fun in your face pop that draws just as much from bubblegum and girl-groups as it does garage rock, electro-pop and riot grrl. All The Sweet Stuff is by far their best album so far, with guests like Sugar & Gold on a few tracks and Hey Willpower adding his sexy voice to a Frenchified version of Deee-Lite's "Call Me." Filling that great American void of party-pop that folks abroad have been doing so well (CSS, Bonde De Role, Stereo Total). There is no one else we'd like to play our party than Gravy Train. They are like the bouncy offspring of the Cockettes & The B-52's. They make you wanna stay up late and see midnight movies, and have a slumber party, eat lots of candy, make crank calls, and play a scandalous round of spin the bottle. If the kids know what's good for them they'll all be jumping on the Gravy Train and so should anyone with a young heart and a taste for trashiness done so right!
MPEG Stream: "D.A.N.N.Y"
MPEG Stream: "Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Wutcha Doin' Tonite?"
MPEG Stream: "Call Me In French"

GRAVY TRAIN Are You Wigglin? (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Am I wigglin!? You know I am! Gravy Train's second full-length release features thee summer punk-wave grit-pop jamm, "Darque Tan", as well as the, to put it lightly, sexually-leaning "Ghost Boobs" and "Pussy Sauce". This super-cute San Francisco foursome pick up where Fannypack's "Cameltoe" left off and take it to a whole new level of over-sexed summer fun! If you love sarcastic, sassy, ghoulishly artsy & lo-fi, electro hyper post-punk, you MUST get on the Gravy Train!!! Also for fans of Les Georges Leningrad, Veronica Lipgloss, good ol' Peaches, etc.
Note bene: this is NOT the same band as the proggy Gravy Train from Lancershire, England circa 1971. If you read through this review and listened to the sound samples and still questioned it, hmmm.... you get a big spanking.
MPEG Stream: "Darque Tan"
MPEG Stream: "Pussy Sauce"

GRAVY TRAIN Hello Doctor (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Local foul mouthed crazy party girls (and one boy) are here to kick out the jams at last. This is all about the 6th grade toilet talk but dirty only the way we grownups can be. Lo-fi and high pitched squealed vocals that will drive you nuts or delight you only the way good 'ol peurile fun can (depending on where you stand). Sonically a little like Bratmobile, but with this whole eighties party-rap angle that's pretty charming. Tough to call, fun and freaky or a total waste of fucking time. But if you like dirty, silly embarrassing songs about sex and hamburgers, this may just hit the spot.
MPEG Stream: "Titties Bounce"
MPEG Stream: "Burger Baby"

GRAVY TRAIN!!!! Menz ep (S.P.A.M.) cd ep 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Preteen sassy harlots comin' at you with sexy, foul JJ Fad-style lyrics, on top of fucked-up and ghetto sounding drum machine and keyboards. This dirty little threesome is from the Bay Area and are touring with Bratmobile.
RealAudio clip: "You made me Gay"
RealAudio clip: "Heart attack"

GRAY, DARIN St. Louis Shuffle (Family Vineyard) cd 14.98
Darin Gray presents his debut recording after years and years of working the Chicago noise-rock circuit (Dazzling Killmen, Brise Glace, You Fantastic, and Yona Kit, etc.). "St. Louis Shuffle" is a continuation away from those outfits of mutant hardcore muscularity towards improv noise splutter. Here, the central noise making means is through plugging and unplugging (guitars from amps, microphones from 4-tracks, etc.), resulting in an assortment of cracks, hums, scrapes, clicks, and pops disrupting a discordant din of gritty feedback. Unlike the electronica glitch aesthetic of Raster, Mego, Fennesz, etc. which purifies sounds, Gray's use of the glitch is a celebration of ugliness through dislocation.
RealAudio clip: "Get Rid Of This St. Louis!"
RealAudio clip: "Eugene B. Redmond"

GREAT AUNT IDA How They Fly (Northern Electric) cd 13.98
The lovely Vancouver singer/songwriter Ida Nilsen came through town while on tour opening for The Waterboys. Why? Well, story has it that she covered one of their songs on her last album, and band leader Mike Scott caught pleasant wind of it. He also invited her to help out with the recording of their new album.
Anyhoo, Ms Ida kindly dropped off a batch of her new full length How They Fly, and it's terrific! She's buddies with many Canadian aQ faves too, particularly from the Mint Records stable of artists. Everything is warm and comforting about Great Aunt Ida's music -- her singing, the well-placed entrance of horns, a nicely recorded piano, some understated electric guitar. We can see why Mr. Scott among others have taken a shine to her music. While it's rooted in country folk, there's also glimmers of '70s West Coast soft rock and '90s indie girl pop. So nice, she just might become our new Canadian darling!
MPEG Stream: "Company You Keep"
MPEG Stream: "We Say No"

GREAT DIVIDE, A s/t (Frenetic) cd 8.98

GREAT LAKES s/t (Kindercore) cd 13.98
With the teeny-tiny baroque logo on the back branding Great Lakes as a member of the Elephant 6 collective, The Great Lakes provide a smidgen of 60s psychedelia, an instantly forgettable pop hook or two, and the envy of wanting to be as good as Jeff Magnum (Neutral Milk Hotel), but not really coming close.

GREAT NORTHWEST, THE The Widespread Reign Of The Great Northwest (The Kora Records) cd 14.98
The Great Northwest combine hazily effected guitar textures, clean acoustic pick'n'strum, chiming toy box melodies, and sleepy head vocals into one lush, lullingly lovely listen. So inviting, you can't resist melting into these warm, drowsy songs. Each one is drenched with dreamy atmosphere, but never drifts too far from its central pop song structure. Grand and expansive. Whimsical and intimate with a gentle plaintiveness. We sense that the band draws ample inspiration from the Beatles and Pink Floyd as well as the unmistakably '70s west coast soft rock. Thus, they fits in splendidly alongside bands such as Radar Brothers, Sparklehorse or their labelmates Fredrik. Speaking of which, this was released on The Kora Records who treated us to the sounds of Fredrik and Stricken City a few months back. With such a wonderful recent one-two punch, we figured we'd better pay closer attention to this fine label who also put out the Aidan Baker Scalpel cd and a couple of Gregor Samsa albums a few years back. What a terrific track record so far! So yeah, we're backtrackin' a little bit, but figure even though this came out in 2008, it's still new to us and perhaps to you as well. Very recommended!
MPEG Stream: "Chief John"
MPEG Stream: "Reverie"

GREAT PLAINS Length of Growth 1981-1989 (Old3C) 2cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
'80s punk-folk ala the Shimmy Disc canon, but from Columbus, Ohio. Come on, you remember: Great Plains were the ones who asked the eternal question "Why do punk rock boys go out with new wave girls?" And Great Plains guy Ron House went on to front The Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments. This double cd collection includes most of the songs from their Homestead and Shadowline releases in addition to a few some more hard-to-find songs. 'Bout time this stuff was reissued!

GREAT SOCIETY MIND DESTROYERS, THE Spirit Smoke (Slow Knife) lp 17.98
All it takes is about 30 seconds of the opening track, the awesomely titled "Temple Lurker", on this debut full length from Chicago psych rockers The Great Society Mind Destroyers, to realize these guys are serious psych freeks and are here to drag us into a drugged out sonic stupor of unparalleled proportions. Their initial squall of White Heaven like freak-out had us expecting a nonstop barrage of wild shred and drum chaos, but instead, the band settle into something much more trancey and hypnotic, thick undulating basslines, wah wah guitars, and dense busy drumming, all blurred into a thick cloud of propulsive psychedelic mesmer, the sort of motorik spaced out psych that should have fans of Wooden Shjips, Comets On Fire, and the like losing their shit. And while TGSMD share much with those groups, their sound is also much more poppy, definitely reminding us of Bardo Pond too in that sort hazy washed out dreaminess, but the band do have some freak-out in them, after lulling you into a dreamy drugged out state, they'll blast you with another blown out burst of psych-noise chaos, only to slip right back into the groove. And it's only the first track!
"Divinorum" offers up more of the same, but this time more rocking, reminding us of Loop, or a heavier Spacemen 3, the band locked tight, the drums a force to be reckoned with, somehow as psychedelic as the guitars, the groop getting lost in endless jams, we're talking White Hills, Monster Magnet, Hawkwind, Burnt Hills, Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound, 3 Leafs, The Heads, in a perfect world, these guys would be just as well know, as it is we can only imagine it's just a matter of time.
"Samsara Drag" is the shortest track here, and also maybe the poppiest, but even this brief blast of popsyke displays much of what makes these guys so good, soaring swirling guitars, shuffling propulsive drumming, those hazy dreamlike vox, the only difference is, the song never explodes into a heart of the sun psychedelic freak-out, but then, that's what the rest of the record is for. "Equation Of Time" is another short(ish) one, at nearly six minutes, and the band meld a woozy almost droney dirge, and a delicate washed out intro, to wicked gouts of wild distorted psych, evolving into a fierce blown out jam, that sounds like it could have gone on forever. "Now Riot!" finds the band doing what they do best, seemingly continuing on from the album opener, before slipping into "Mystic Warriors", which sounds remarkably like aQ faves Cave, which makes sense, as there is definitely a Cave / TGSMD connection, but where Cave take their sound, lock it in, and get lost in a sort of krautbliss, these guys add hazy vocals, wrap everything in dense wah guitar, let the sounds slowly ooze and spread, everything seeming the bleed and blur, the drums the main constant, pounding and anchoring and keeping everything else from just floating away.
And then finally, there's the nearly 10 minute closer "Higher Bodies", which starts out a slow abstract brooder, then gradually evolves into a field of distorted guitar skree, before finally blossoming into a gorgeous expanse of dreamy, gauzy psych pop, woozy and laid back, sun dappled and drug drenched, and while this might be THE JAM, drawn out and droney, the sort of set ender that depending on the crowd could extend into the wee hours, but the band gets to stretch out big time, the effects are everywhere, the vocals loose and dreamily chaotic, the song splintering midway through, into what sounds like a symphony of malfunctioning tape players, but the band plays on, that loping psychedelic groove, swaddled in a tripped out cloud of shimmer and glitch and that gloriously twisted tape manipulation, heady and hypnotic, and again, the sort of sound you never want to end.
Super sweet packaging, nice full color psychedelic matte jackets, with a printed lyric sheet / poster inside, and if you're lucky, mixed in with the black wax are a few copies on tripped out gold and red splatter wax! Don't ask for colored vinyl, it's random, just cross your fingers (or don't worry about it since black wax sounds better anyway!!)...
MPEG Stream: "Temple Lurker"
MPEG Stream: "Samsara Drag"
MPEG Stream: "Higher Bodies"

GREAT SPECKLED BIRD s/t (Collector's Choice) cd 13.98

GREAT TYRANT, THE Candy Canes (Dada Drumming) 7"+cd-r 4.50
It's been ages since we've heard from Yeti, the killer bombastic space/psych/prog rock band from Texas. The Great Tyrant features two of the fomer Yetis and if anything is even more bombastic, but in a bit of a new direction. Yeti definitely had some musical drama going on, a hint of Goblin, but this new band takes it WAY farther, into something weirder, more gothic and WAY more dramatic, crooned vocals, lots of piano, bells and chimes, but wrapped around some off kilter metal, a sort of blackened circusy metal, blast beats over swirling dizzying melodies, the sound weirdly new wave-y and a bit punky, with synths and twisted textures, a very dense tripped out slab of doomy blackend space pop? Or something. It's hard to describe so that must be a good thing, definitely want to hear more from these guys. The swirled colored vinyl 7" comes with a cd-r featuring 3 extra tracks and A MAGMA COVER!!!