HOLE Pretty On The Inside (Plain) lp 16.98

HOLLAND Love Fluxus (Teen Beat) cd 14.98
From Unrest to The Rondelles to Plus/Minus, Mark Robinson's TeenBeat label has long been a reliable source for indie pop treats, and here's another one! Holland is just one fella Mr. Trevor Kampmann, but this veteran TeenBeat producer and engineer sure does work up a delightful racket all by himself! His short'n'sweet driving pop tunes run the gamut from propulsive rock numbers to blanket-y organ dreamies. Fans of Quasi and Pinback, lend Holland your ear. We're quite certain you won't be disappointed!
MPEG Stream: "French Grass"
MPEG Stream: "Armies Sit Calm, Army's Sitcom"

HOLLAND, JOLIE Catalpa (Anti) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Hush now... You'll greatly regret it if you miss the gentle folk stylings of Ms Jolie Holland. Her debut album is a down home treasure. Each song is ever so earthy with rough-hewn acoustic guitar, fiddle, bells and percussion providing the spartan backdrop for her distinct, softly lilting voice. Her music truly seems from another time sounding as if it were whispering out of a rickety victrola -- haunting memories of lonesome porchswings at dusk and dirt roads leading off into the dark. At once, it's both achingly intimate and immediate. The dozen songs are peppered with waltzes and borrowed Syd Barrett lyrics (in her song "The Littlest Birds" taken from "Jug Band Blues"). Lovely!
MPEG Stream: "All The Morning Birds"
MPEG Stream: "The Littlest Birds"

HOLLAND, JOLIE The Living & The Dead (Anti) cd 16.98
Ms Jolie Holland has never been a shy wallflower, but we've never heard her sound as gutsy and world-weary womanly as on this, her fourth full length! Whereas her first two albums (Catalpa and Escondida) were hushed timeless jewels set in wistful earthy rural landscapes and perhaps intended to be listened to in small intimate gatherings, her last album Springtime Can Kill You brought more of the city folk and country rock into the fold, and The Living & The Dead continues forth. Stellar guests include M. Ward and Marc Ribot! Her sparkling performance here might be likened to a coming together of Cat Power, Lucinda Williams and Lisa Germano. Fans of those fine artists, definitely check this out! As well, on songs like "The Future" she almost sounds like a female Conor Oberst... not a bad thing in our books! Highlights: "Palmyra" and "Fox In The Hole" and the giddy album closer "Enjoy Yourself".
MPEG Stream: "Palmyra"
MPEG Stream: "Fox In Its Hole"

HOLLAND, JOLIE & THE GRAND CHANDELIERS Pint of Blood (Anti) cd 15.98

HOLLAND, JOLIE & THE GRAND CHANDELIERS Pint of Blood (Anti) lp 17.98

HOLLIES, THE Greatest Hits (Epic) cd 12.98
Perfect paisley pop from these British Invaders, whose gorgeous harmony vocals and expert songsmithery garnered 'em many a hit from the mid sixties through the early seventies, including "Bus Stop", "Carrie-Anne", "King Midas In Reverse", and ten others found here. This is one of those "Best Value" budget cds that you should probably already have, but if not here it is again, now remastered and with an extra, bonus hit ("The Air That I Breathe"). If you haven't really listened to The Hollies before, you're in for a treat! And, you too can wonder at why the foreboding, minor key song "Bus Stop" has supposedly happy lyrics about meeting a girl and getting married!
RealAudio clip: "Look Through Any Window"
RealAudio clip: "Bus Stop"

HOLLIS, MARK s/t (Polydor) cd 11.98
While most folks thought that the final Talk Talk album, Laughing Stock was perhaps the ultimate understatement from a band that went from bright euro-pop sensations to clandestine and worried experimental minimalists, former Talk Talk frontman Mark Hollis' solo album (and perhaps final statement?) has taken that tendency even further. Severely recorded at hushed volumes, the songs were born out of months of improvisation with jazz and chamber orchestra musicians and then excrutiatingly labored over into discreet compositions. Every lyric coming from Hollis's milky voice feels almost too painful to rise above a murmur, but exude a powerful complexity that is not freely offered. This is a very tender and moving record that begs for close listening. Like Laughing Stock, it continues to amaze upon repeated listens to those who have the disposition to absorb its bracing sparity. It's not a light album by any means, but its emotional weight is secretive and uncompromising, begging us to focus on the subtle beauty of the rich muted atmospherics that barely cover deeper wounds. A rainy day record if there ever was one!
MPEG Stream: "The Colour Of Spring"
MPEG Stream: "Watershed"

HOLLIS, MARK s/t (Ba Da Bing) lp 15.98
Along with Laughing Stock, the final Talk Talk album from 1991, Ba Da Bing has also reissued on vinyl this breathless 1998 solo album from Talk Talk frontman, Mark Hollis. While most folks thought that Laughing Stock was perhaps the ultimate understatement from a band that went from bright Euro-pop sensations to clandestine and worried experimental minimalists, Mark Hollis' solo album (and perhaps final statement?) has taken that tendency even further. Severely recorded at hushed volumes, the songs were born out of months of improvisation with jazz and chamber orchestra musicians and then excruciatingly labored over and crafted into discreet compositions. Every lyric coming from Hollis's milky voice feels almost too painful to rise above a murmur, but exudes a powerful complexity that is not freely offered. This is a very tender and moving record that begs for close listening. Like Laughing Stock, it continues to amaze upon repeated listens to those who have the disposition to absorb its bracing spareness. It's not a light album by any means, but its emotional weight is secretive and uncompromising, begging us to focus on the subtle beauty of the rich muted atmospherics that barely cover deeper wounds. A rainy day record if there ever was one!
MPEG Stream: "The Colour Of Spring"
MPEG Stream: "Watershed"

HOLLMER, LARS Vandelmassa (Krax) cd 21.00

HOLLOW MIRRORS s/t (self-released) lp 12.98
We have to say, anything that we could mistake for Pink Floyd one moment, and Freedom Hawk the next, is pretty darn cool. And thus, this is! The vinyl-only debut release from a local San Francisco groop whose hypnotic, propulsive neo-kraut rhythms are wedded with muscular rock riffery in a kind of stoner rock meets retro prog blend that should appeal big time to folks into the likes of Wooden Shjips, Moon Duo, White Hills, Lumerians, 3 Leafs, and Circle.
The guitars sprawl psychedelically, the drums (played by the former drummer of trance-inducing Bay Area black metal legends Weakling, also ex-Saros) lock into endless grooves, and upon occasion cleanly-sung melodic vocals soar up and over those mesmeric beats and churning, chiming guitars... There's also heck of analog synths put to traditional good use here, especially on the album's big finale, the nearly quarter hour "Fading Twilight", an epic track, both gorgeous and powerful, that you could play alongside your favorite, most spaced-out, pot-perfumed '70s album sides for sure. Hollow Mirrors really display their authentic love for real old school prog (a la Atomic Rooster, Eloy, Far East Family Band, ELP, Steve Hillage, and anything Roger Dean ever painted an album cover for, probably) on that one! And elsewhere too, although overall Hollow Mirrors are a modern, original band, not a retro exercise to the extent of say, an outfit like Astra or BigElf (cool as they are).
If we had to make any (hopefully constructive) criticism at all about these killer spacegothkrautstonerjams from Hollow Mirrors, well, maybe we'd like to hear a bit more dirt and grit in the production next time, it's almost a bit too clean, and could possibly be heavier too, considering the metallic pedigree of some of the folks involved (like the aforementioned drummer!). But that's not really a criticism, just an observation. They can do their thing their way and we're happy to hear it. 'Tis fine stuff we think a lot of you will like. A lot.
MPEG Stream: "Red Hot Rat"
MPEG Stream: "In A Convex Labyrinth"
MPEG Stream: "Fading Twilight"

HOLMES, DAVID Bow Down To The Exit Sign (1500 Records) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bombastic UK glam rock disguised as electronica funk with guest appearances from Jon Spencer, Bobby Gillespie, and Martina Toppley-Bird (whose duets with Tricky were featured on all his early records). Not as bad as UNKLE's "Psyence Fiction," but a similar idea of throwing every coked-up idea at a sampler (the result of glorifiying DJs as artists and then forcing them to make records--what else are they going to do but get a zillion guest to come in and actually make the music?).

HOLMES, DAVID Come Get It I Got It (13 Amp) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two things I could never quite get into: funk/soul compilations, and David Holmes. As far as the compilations, they always seemed either too familiar, or too "Whoo, let's dance and get funky". Ugh. Especially when there's so much seriously intense and dark funk and soul floating around. And as for Holmes, he always seemed on the right track, his 'film' music always just barely missed the mark, falling too much in the 'chill-out music for the Kruder and Dorfmeister set' when you could somehow tell he was capable of so much more. So imagine my surprise when one record proves me wrong on both counts. Holmes has picked out some ridiculously obscure soul gems, but more importantly, these tunes are amazing: dark and sultry and so catchy. Once in a while, he masterfully mixes beats and atmospheres into some of the soul jams turning them into modern, bumping, top-down, cruising classics. The interludes here are performed by Homes in his 'classic soul' guise as The Free Association. Occasionally these interludes kind of break the flow, with 'LSD' clips and stuttery samples and that sort of thing, but even more often, he manages to emulate the tunes found elsewhere, coming up with some dirty grimy neo-soul. Plus, this features what has to be the most amazing and intense flute tune ever, taking Roland Kirk's speaking/screaming/hyperventilating flute solos about as far out as you can. Been listening to this non stop!
RealAudio clip: HAROLD ALEXANDER "Mama Soul"
RealAudio clip: SIXTO RODRIGUEZ "Sugarman"
RealAudio clip: REX GARVIN AND THE MIGHTY CRAVERS "Strange Happenings"
RealAudio clip: HODGES, JAMES, SMITH AND CRAWFORD "Nobody"

HOLMES, JAKE The Above Ground Sound (Radioactive) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

HOLOGRAMS s/t (Captured Tracks) cd 14.98
We were pretty into the debut 7" from Swedish post punks the Holograms, but sadly, we were never able to get enough to list, but the A side from that single is included here on their debut full length, and displays exactly what we dig about these guys, the sound raw and urgent and stripped down, pulsing synths and jagged angular guitars, over powerful drums and a throaty yowl, all driven by thick sinewy basslines, and all woven into a crazy catchy chunk of punky pop that leans way more toward the pop than the punk. But as much as we love(d) that track, there are plenty of other gems here vying for that top spot, just check out opener "Monolith", with its creepy slow build intro, all plucked bass and staticky buzz, which transforms into a doomy dirgey creepy, the vocals WAY up in the mix, an echo drenched croon that sounds a lot like Robert Smith of the Cure, but a bit more punkish and feral, and then finally the track explodes into a driving punkish blowout that sounds a bit like Interpol via Iceage via the Undertones, gloomy and gothy, but driving and punky, the drums surprisingly high in the mix, giving the Holograms some serious heft, and the occasional bit of synth giving it a new wave vibe as well. "Chasing My Mind" is CRAZY catchy and poppy, a 'single' if there ever was one, but then keep digging and there's the herky jerky agit-pop of "Apostate" or the driving bass heavy jangle pop of "Stress", or the stripped down dirgey groove of "Fever", we could go on, but pretty much all the tracks here kill, a seriously sweet collection of hooky poppy post-punk that is gloomy enough for the punks, but jangly enough for the pop kids, and pretty much perfect for everyone else in between.
MPEG Stream: "Monolith"
MPEG Stream: "ABC City"
MPEG Stream: "Chasing My Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Fever"

HOLOGRAMS s/t (Captured Tracks) lp 17.98
We were pretty into the debut 7" from Swedish post punks the Holograms, but sadly, we were never able to get enough to list, but the A side from that single is included here on their debut full length, and displays exactly what we dig about these guys, the sound raw and urgent and stripped down, pulsing synths and jagged angular guitars, over powerful drums and a throaty yowl, all driven by thick sinewy basslines, and all woven into a crazy catchy chunk of punky pop that leans way more toward the pop than the punk. But as much as we love(d) that track, there are plenty of other gems here vying for that top spot, just check out opener "Monolith", with its creepy slow build intro, all plucked bass and staticky buzz, which transforms into a doomy dirgey creepy, the vocals WAY up in the mix, an echo drenched croon that sounds a lot like Robert Smith of the Cure, but a bit more punkish and feral, and then finally the track explodes into a driving punkish blowout that sounds a bit like Interpol via Iceage via the Undertones, gloomy and gothy, but driving and punky, the drums surprisingly high in the mix, giving the Holograms some serious heft, and the occasional bit of synth giving it a new wave vibe as well. "Chasing My Mind" is CRAZY catchy and poppy, a 'single' if there ever was one, but then keep digging and there's the herky jerky agit-pop of "Apostate" or the driving bass heavy jangle pop of "Stress", or the stripped down dirgey groove of "Fever", we could go on, but pretty much all the tracks here kill, a seriously sweet collection of hooky poppy post-punk that is gloomy enough for the punks, but jangly enough for the pop kids, and pretty much perfect for everyone else in between.
MPEG Stream: "Monolith"
MPEG Stream: "ABC City"
MPEG Stream: "Chasing My Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Fever"

HOLOPAW Oh, Glory. Oh, Wilderness (Bakery Outlet) cd 16.98

HOLOPAW s/t (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
Straightforward, brittle country folk from Gainesville, FL warmed and embellished by some slinking slide guitar, cello, trumpet, piano, some sweet backing vocals, and mainman John Orth's earnest lead vocals. Quite reminiscent of Uncle Tupelo. You might've also heard him on the recent album Sharpen Your Teeth from indie super group Ugly Casanova along with members of Black Heart Procession, Modest Mouse, Califone and Red Red Meat. Actually RRM's Brian Deck and MM's Isaac Brock both make a number of appearances on this debut album -- and a solid one it is!
RealAudio clip: "Pony Apprehension"
RealAudio clip: "Cinders"

HOLTER, JULIA Ekstasis (RVNG) 2lp 21.00

HOLTER, JULIA Tragedy (Leaving) cd 16.98

HOLTKAMP, KOEN Field Rituals (Type) cd 15.98
Here be the first full length album from Mountains-man Koen Holtkamp. You may recall we got in (and sold out) his contribution to the A Room Forever series of LPs commissioning artists to match a field recording on one side with a sympathetic composition on the other. Where his offering there was a dark-hued, ominous crescendo of crackled drone sourced from acoustic guitar, Field Rituals has its head in the clouds. Holtkamp begins the album with a lovely round of brightly rendered acoustic guitar finger picking with some tricked out ring modulation effects giving each of the tones a sun-flecked glow and funhouse mirror curvature. Sustained drones from loops of melodica and harmonica mutate into an ersatz harmonium with the soaring overtones and sweeping fluctuations of tonalities gently crashing into each other. The loops every once in a while coalesce into a rhythmic underbelly, but mostly they settle as a effervescent bubbling of overlapping delay patterns and softly shimmered ambience. On top of all of this, Holtkamp dapples everything with his shimmered guitar and occasional crackles of tactile objects (he mentions water, seeds, ice, and paper) as well as field recordings of giggly children romping in a playground. The effect is somewhere between the immaculate pieces from Keith Fullerton Whitman's recordings and the bright-eyed naturalist wonder of the Jewelled Antler camp. Really gorgeous stuff from the ever impressive Type label.
The vinyl version includes two bonus tracks not on the cd - remixes by Xela and Lichens.
MPEG Stream: "Bear Bell"
MPEG Stream: "You Mean The World To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Night Swimmer"

HOLTKAMP, KOEN Field Rituals (Type) lp 23.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here be the first full length album from Mountains-man Koen Holtkamp. We got in (and sold out) his contribution to the A Room Forever series of LPs commissioning artists to match a field recording on one side with a sympathetic composition on the other. Where his offering there was a dark-hued, ominous crescendo of crackled drone sourced from acoustic guitar, Field Rituals has its head in the clouds. Holtkamp begins the album with a lovely round of brightly rendered acoustic guitar finger picking with some trickedout ring modulation effects giving each of the tones a sun-flecked glow and funhouse mirror curvature. Sustained drones from loops of melodica and harmonica mutate into an ersatz harmonium with the soaring overtones and sweeping fluctations of tonalities gently crashing into eachother. The loops every once in a while coalesce into a rhythmic underbelly, but mostly they settle as a effervescent bubbling of overlapping delay patterns and softly shimmered ambience. On top of all of this, Holtkamp dapples everything with his shimmered guitar and occasional crackles of tactile objects (he mentions water, seeds, ice, and paper) as well as field recordings of giggly children romping in a playground. The effect is somewhere between the immaculate pieces from Keith Fullerton Whitman's recordings and the bright-eyed naturalist wonder of the Jewelled Antler camp. Really gorgeous stuff from the ever impressive Type label.
The vinyl version includes two bonus tracks not on the cd - remixes by Xela and Lichens.
MPEG Stream: "Bear Bell"
MPEG Stream: "You Mean The World To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Night Swimmer"

HOLTKAMP, KOEN Gravity/Bees (Thrill Jockey) lp 14.98
A brand new solo record from Mr. Holtkamp, who besides crafting lovely droning blissed out records on his own, also plays in long time aQ faves Mountains. On this latest record, Holtkamp set out to document his shift from digital to analog, combining both live performances, and studio recordings into a single whole. That whole being these two extended tracks.
The first, combining synths, electronics, harmonica, organ, acoustic guitar and a glass of ginger ale (!). The result is hazy and washed out and a little pop ambient, muted minimal bits of percussive thump and crackle, hover over streaks of warm liquid low end and shimmering static buzz, a sound that seems to fall right between new age-y krautdrone and Oval's skittering sonic experiments, mesmerizing and subtly psychedelic, the various elements shifting slowly, a forward momentum that borders on glacial, but deep listening reveals a symphony of subtle shifts and gradually mutated tones and overtones, the timbre changing as well, from brittle and hissy, to warm and lush, the whole thing fantastically dreamy.
The second track, "Loosely Based On Bees" is in fact loosely based on bees, a field recording of actual bees made on a friend's roof, the various studio elements tuned to a sympathetic frequency so the organic sounds and electronic sounds would blend somewhat seamlessly, the sound shifting so it's difficult to discern which parts exactly are the bees, and which are the bee-like sounds. Hardly matters thought, cuz the whole thing is a warm, softly smoldering bit of deep dronemusic, tranquil and peaceful and surprisingly melodic, the sound of the bees eventually recedes and becomes more textural, leaving analog synths to unfurl undulating layers, which seem to pulse and throb, before eventually blossoming into a full on distorted buzz drenched psychedelic blowout, blissy and shoegazey and almost heavy, but still remaining melodic and cyclical until finally settling down into a warm whirring outro. As always, gorgeous stuff from Holtkamp.
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, and packaged in a gorgeous letter pressed hand pasted sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "In The Absence Of Gravity Please Note The Position Of The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "Loosely Based On Bees"

HOLY CHILDHOOD Up With What I'm Down With (Gern Blandsten) cd 10.98
The Gern Blandsten label has quite the full stable of post-punk, emo-drenched boys. Most wave the retro Brit flag, but The Holy Childhood leans more towards the more rootsy side of things. Emotive howling dominate over the folky guitar melodies.

HOLY FUCK LP (Young Turks) cd 13.98
How 'bout some blown out loops of space kraut-iness pushed into overdrive? Yes please, and could you make it with some wonderfully thick stewed synthesizer flatulence pouring across the driving drums? Okay, why not? Better hope nothing gets in their way 'cause when their full throttle music juices up your speakers it'll vaporize anything in its path. Imagine Stereolab meets Man Or Astro-man? but produced by David Fridmann. Hell, yeah! It might even make us exclaim the band's name! The fifth track "They're Going To Take My Thumbs" unexpectedly slams on the breaks, but for good reason. It reveals a different facet of HF in its super brooding dubby tones that brings to mind Massive Attack and Twilight Circus. Oh and did we mention that there's a sloth on the cd artwork? That always wins bonus marks. Very cool! And very very recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Lovely Allen"
MPEG Stream: "Choppers"

HOLY FUCK LP (Young Turks) lp 13.98
NOW ON VINYL! (As it should be, with a title like that.)
How 'bout some blown out loops of space kraut-iness pushed into overdrive? Yes please, and could you make it with some wonderfully thick stewed synthesizer flatulence pouring across the driving drums? Okay, why not? Better hope nothing gets in their way 'cause when their full throttle music juices up your speakers it'll vaporize anything in its path. Imagine Stereolab meets Man Or Astro-man? but produced by David Fridmann. Hell, yeah! It might even make us exclaim the band's name! The fifth track "They're Going To Take My Thumbs" unexpectedly slams on the breaks, but for good reason. It reveals a different facet of HF in its super brooding dubby tones that brings to mind Massive Attack and Twilight Circus. Oh and did we mention that there's a sloth on the cd artwork? That always wins bonus marks. Very cool! And very very recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Lovely Allen"
MPEG Stream: "Choppers"

HOLY KISS, THE Back To Colma (Release the Bats) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's a new smoky, swaggerin' single from The Holy Kiss. Very much in the grand tradition of Birthday Party, Gun Club and Nick Cave, lead singer Matty Rue Morgue once again sings of love, death and despair in his leer and sneer delivery. Dawn Hillis' guitars are extra sinewy and slinking this time out, and all the while Nick Ott pounds out his steady primal rock beat. This Bay Area trio just gets better with each release!

HOLY KISS, THE Rising (GSL) 2x7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A double 7" record set from this SF trio! The Holy Kiss continue to mine the crushed velvet lined catacombs of such angst-laden artists as Nick Cave, Gun Club, and Birthday Party, however unlike their debut 8-song cdep 'The Sacred Heart Of Eddy and Jones' on which they seemed somewhat caught emulating their idols, it seems they've got their own genuine fire and passion happening these days. Four songs: "Black, Etc.", "The Holy Kiss Revival", "Sister Temptation" and "Motel Room Cabaret" (the third appeared previously on the Sound Of San Francisco compilation). Lyric sheet included.

HOLY KISS, THE s/t (Hungry Eye Records) cd 9.98
This cd features 7"s and compilation contributions as well as two unreleased songs from this SF trio!

HOLY KISS, THE Shot Love On A Back Line (Release The Bats) cd 11.98
After a string of 7"s and eps which commenced back in 2003, The Holy Kiss come swaggering up to the bar with their first full length. Shot Love On The Back Line finds the SF band sounding at once far looser, fuller and tighter than ever. It's a volatile gathering of cheap red wine, vampire novellas and Birthday Party records... maybe a few by The Scientists and Pleasure Forever for good measure. No, The Holy Kiss aren't in pursuit of originality, but they do what they do increasingly well with each subsequent release. Matty Rue Morgue, Nick Ott (plus new members Alli Pheteplace and Panther MacDonald, who don't play on this recording) break the intoxicated tension halfway through the album with their rendition of Erik Satie's "Gymnopedies: III. Lent". Afterwards, they then slip right back into their blood red, bluesy funeral procession.
MPEG Stream: "Love Left Me"
MPEG Stream: "A Dancehall Goodbye"

HOLY KISS, THE The Gunslinger EP (self-released) cd-r 5.98
Having recently disbanded after their European farewell tour, the Holy Kiss have reached from beyond the grave to throttle us one last time with this four song ep, limited to a scant 50 copies! As on their recent Under Noon Of Night album, the Holy Kiss channel the spirits of druggy, blues based post-punk greats like the Birthday Party, the Gun Club, and the Cramps, with enough post-millenial insanity coloring the songs to better suit the kids of today. Singer Matty Rue Morgue's unhinged vocal delivery and the overall group dynamic make it clear that the Holy Kiss called it a day at the top of their game, as this darkly aggressive four song ep is full of reckless abandon and a bleary-eyed but cocksure swagger. Super trebly, reverb drenched guitars wrap themselves around wandering Birthday Party styled basslines, as the drums thump frantically (courtesy of our very own Nick) like a heart getting ready to explode. It's as if these deranged songs are alive, like feral children covered in grime and moving about the shadows, waiting to pounce on and sink their teeth into the shoulders of an unsuspecting populace. It may be true that parting is such sweet sorrow, but at least we have this delightfully insane last affront by the Holy Kiss to accompany us in all future moments of mental instability. R.I.P.
MPEG Stream: "Down So Low"
MPEG Stream: "Go Head N Count Em"

HOLY KISS, THE The Sacred Heart Of Eddy and Jones (Blood Of The Young) cd ep 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local dark scary prettiness and sneering trashiness. Truthfully, this San Francisco trio's debut cdep (named not after two people as you might assume, but after a street intersection) sounds completely like early Birthday Party and Nick Cave, which is not entirely a bad thing although that shadowy, angstful path has already been feverishly tread bare by innumerable young bands. The raw, unadorned basic rock line-up - vocals, guitar, bass and drums - is fleshed out well with some organ and piano. The latter is most notable on the final song, a short somber piano interlude that sounds like they're moving more in the dramatic direction of former San Franciscans now Portlanders Pleasure Forever. This is also not a bad thing, but hopefully future recordings will meld all of those influences that they wear so prominently into something distinctive and much more of their own. Eight songs in all.
MPEG Stream: "The Exquisite Corpse Of One Mr. Lucius McBride "
MPEG Stream: "Maritime Rag"

HOLY KISS, THE Under Noon Of Night (Hungry Eye) lp + cd 12.98
Proudly following in the tradition of druggy punk blooz derelicts like the Birthday Party and the Gun Club, San Francisco's the Holy Kiss (featuring the tallest aQ staffer and all around good guy Nick Ott pounding the skins) is sure to satisfy your demented lust for bluesy, gothic tinged post-punk on their third album, which is also sadly their swansong. Bittersweet indeed, as the sounds within come off like the work of a quartet of sooty-faced Victorian street urchins, frantic and generally teetering on the edge of total madness, with enough restraint to make you feel nice and nervous before completely losing yourself to some sort of absinthe-induced mental breakdown where you gleefully tear your hair out, rip off all your scabs, and burn down the orphanage where you grew up. Under Noon Of Night possesses a sexy swagger that makes you want to dance wildly AND writhe around in your own cold sweat. The band's darkly sardonic humor and lyrical approach will definitely appeal to fans of groups like Jonathan Fire*Eater and Pleasure Forever, with singer Matty Rue Morgue spitting out deranged tales of love, lust, and death over a frenzied hurricane of shakers, bluesy guitar squall and basslines that would make Tracey Pew proud if he weren't, you know, dead. There are even two delightfully melancholy piano ballads. Things flow at a steady pace, with a wry, underlying wit and general sense of red-eyed insomnia keeping it all together. There's also a bit of swampy apocalyptic folk in the mix, adding to the end of the world / end of the night vibe, and making them the perfect band to open for Woven Hand, which these guys (and gal) did recently.
Limited to 500 copies, this vinyl platter comes housed in a cool hand silkscreened cover and also conveniently includes a cd for the non-turntable inclined. So choose your format, throw on a pot of coffee, break out the whiskey, kick up your boots, turn down the lights, and let yourself get lost under noon of night...
MPEG Stream: "Under Noon Of Night"
MPEG Stream: "Sick N Tired"
MPEG Stream: "Black Diamonds"

HOLY MCGRAIL Collecting Earthquakes (Head Heritage) cd 14.98
After a long long time, finally BACK IN STOCK! What we said when we originally listed this back in 2005:
Here's great disc that we got clued into thanks to heavy druid dude Julian Cope's Head Heritage website (and label, that put this out). The UK's Holy McGrail (perhaps a silly name, but the guy behind this project is named Chris McGrail) is definitely one for any AQ customer who digs heaviness, droniness, and krautrockiness. That's a lot of you, eh? Well then, how 'bout three looong tracks ("Lady Holle" running to 23:45, "'Quake Appeal" at 28:51, and "Ur-cow" just 19:59) of pagan drone rock, one with buried-by-bass Amon Duul meets th' Stooges drumming and the rest totally beat-less cosmic guitar and synth-scapes, guest-starring the likes of Doggen (Brain Donor), Julian Cope himself and SUNNO)))'s Stephen O'Malley?? From the freaking lovely purple cracked earth mountain cover art to the dense drones within, this is utterly right-on. Turn it up and let it rumble. Damn beautiful. If you like SUNNO))), Growing, Earth, etc. you should check this out. Now we're looking forward to Holy McGrail's upcoming plunderphonic tribute to Iggy & the Stooges, something called the Raw Power Suite! [Which unfortunately turned out to never be available in quantities we could list.]
And now, especially with the popularity of related / likeminded acts Urthona and Slomo (the aptly named Earth-like duo also featuring McGrail), we figure there's folks who might be interested who hadn't seen this before!
MPEG Stream: "Lady Holle (Holle Of Horcum)"

HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS Bound to Lose (Badbird) dvd 17.98

HOLY SHIT Rough And Tumble (Porous) 7" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We have been craving some Holy Shit so bad for so long! The last time we got a record from these guys it was the mind blowing 2006 album Stranded At Two Harbours, a brilliant washed out pop record that predated the onslaught of lo-fi pop that's exploded in the last few years. The band is Matt Fishbeck and Ariel Pink, and together they are able to create music that rings with a stronger emotional quality then many of Ariel's other great projects. Fishbeck really has such a great understanding of songcraft, and Ariel brings his innovative and recognizable sun baked aura to these two warm and woozy songs. The B-side "Priest Fucks Nun In The No-No" might even steal the show, a long and hypnotizing instrumental that we could hear go on for infinity. But the A-side "Rough And Tumble" ain't no slouch either, total understated gem of a warbly pop nugget. A pretty damn perfect 7", now maybe just maybe, could there be a new full length on the horizon!?

HOLY SHIT Stranded At Two Harbors (UUAR) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
HOLY SHIT! we can't get enough of this record...or overcome the urge to say HOLY SHIT every few seconds while talking about this new great collaboration between our favorite art-damaged pop songwriter Ariel Pink and his unlikely partner in musical crime, Matt Fishbeck formerly of the shiny happy LA power-pop band The Push Kings. But don't worry Ariel Pink hasn't gotten all normal and boring on us...in fact in lots of ways this is his most captivating and compelling release yet! With a fuzzy folk lo-fi sound that reminds us of the glory days of the great New Zealand label Flying Nun or like some amazing amalgamation of Daniel Johnston and Roky Erikson playing Orange Juice covers. This is what we wish AM radio really sounded like, fuzzy and warped, demented and all twisted up like some poprock funhouse mirror, while underneath it all lurk perfect and precious. Totally catchy pop hooks and great timeless sounding songs. Fishbeck actually tackles most of the vocal duties here, although you'd be forgiven for thinking it was indeed Mr. Pink, and his voice sounds so perfect amidst the dabs of tape hiss, staticky cracklings and WAY off-kilter production. But deep down inside we know, it's Ariel Pink's cracked pop sensibilities that really mold and create the overall sound, warm and lucid, dreamy and trippy, an album that unfolds revealing a deliriously damaged dreamland and takes you on a pop trip that's weird enough to get lost in but cool and catchy enough that you want to stay lost FOREVER. HOLY SHIT we're in love with this record!
Packaged in a cool shiny metallic gold and silver digipak. With a cute photo inside of the bandmates smooching out in a grassy field. Awww...
MPEG Stream: "Maus Is Missing"
MPEG Stream: "Written All Over Your Face"
MPEG Stream: "Tokyo Gamblers"

HOLY SONS Criminal's Return (Important) cd 14.98
Drummer about town Emil Amos (Om, Grails) is back with Criminal's Return, his second Holy Sons full length of '09 (by our count at least; apparently there are something like 5 other full lengths out there). As was the case with that last album, Drifter's Sympathy, some folks familiar with Emil's other groups may be a little surprised when hearing this stuff, but not in a bad way at all. It's just that you may find yourself expecting skull crushing stoner jams, or maybe some lush, brooding post-rock. Well, you get neither, as Holy Sons, more than anything, showcases Emil's songwriting and his skill at instruments other than the skins (he plays everything here, and damn well we might add). The overall sound is mellow but tense, pretty dark at times, and totally awesome. The vocals are a hushed drawl, and the impressive instrumentation has definite nods to folk, jazz, and psychedelia. Maybe even the blues, probably, and the songs that feature old analog drum machines give things a touch of classic bedroom indie rock. Not sure how much of this stuff is home recorded, as there is a nice intimate feeling, but the interesting production techniques definitely bring things to the next level. This is perfect music for hanging out alone, walking through the woods under headphones (also alone), and just getting lost in your own mind. Kind of like the hooded figure on the back lounging with a giant green geometric orb in front of massive rock forms and expansive irrigation ditches (is that what they are?). That said, it's not too "weird", and at times it gives off the vibe of some dusty lost classic or obscure private press lp that you might stumble across if lost classics were still easy enough to stumble across. The songs are dramatic and flow perfectly, though we're still trying to piece together the narrative. Whatever that may be, Criminal's Return is another winner, and even better than Drifter's Sympathy as far as we see it. The best thing here is that Emil has arrived at a sound that is clearly his own. The strength of these songs should be apparent to anyone who hears this. Really awesome stuff.
MPEG Stream: "Arranged Release"
MPEG Stream: "Fermenting Mind"
MPEG Stream: "Cruel + Unusual"

HOLY SONS Decline Of The West (ABC Group) lp 8.98

HOLY SONS Drifter's Sympathy (Important) cd 14.98
Holy Sons is the solo endeavor of Emil Amos, best known for his drum work with Grails, and more recently, Om. While Drifter's Sympathy certainly contains elements of Amos' other groups, it is surprisingly its own strange beast, a unique blend of folky acoustic guitars, droning psychedelic noise, and modern programmed drum beats. Eerie samples fade in and out alongside what sounds like short wave radio static, and Amos' slow drawl, combined with the atmospheric home production (we're assuming, anyway) make this a difficult one to pin down, but the results are pretty stellar. The whole thing plays out quite cinematically, with heavy drones and decaying soundscapes of various textures scraping, pulsing, and buzzing about. While some of the songs seem almost folk based, everything becomes twisted and tangled within Holy Sons' world, with each element contributing equally to the potent brew that makes up Drifter's Sympathy. As confounding as it all is, the album flows quite naturally, even though the eight songs were recorded over a span of two years. Each track is like another part of a strange dream, a dream in which we are more than happy to get stuck.
MPEG Stream: "Drifter's Sympathy"
MPEG Stream: "Data Miner's Theme"
MPEG Stream: "More Mind Briars"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE Noctuary (Sacred Bones) cd 14.98
Once again, these two Chilean psych bands, Follakazoid and The Holydrug Couple, each sharing a member with the other, release their records at the same time, giving us a glimpse of two sides of a similar sonic personality. Elsewhere on the list you'll find the latest from psychedelic space-kraut combo Follakzoid, but here, we're reunited with cosmic, sun dappled dream psych duo The Holydrug Couple. Unlike the stretched out psych jams of Follakzoid, The Holydrug Couple traffic in a sound more overtly poppy, while still constructed from the same psychedelic building blocks, fuzzy guitars, propulsive motorik drumming, echo drenched vox, the song structures looped and hypnotic, THDC locking to endless grooves, and then playing those endless grooves at pop song length, the longest track here close to eight minutes, but most clocking in around 3 or 4. Fans of the Wooden Shjips, Spyrals, and other local SF psych combos will once again find much to love here, a sort of revved up Spacemen 3 vibe, but with plenty of jangle.
A quick listen to opener "Counting Sailboats" will tell you whether this is your sort of jam or not. Hazy, hypnotic, darkly groovy, infused with plenty of melody, and subtle hooks, psych pop minimalism that's hard to resist. And the rest of the record plays out similarly, mixing in swoonsome strings, acoustic guitars, organs, loads of FX, and weaving them into all sorts of different sonic shapes, from the fuzzy drift of "Sailor", a psych pop trifle, to the seventies sounding dreampsych soft rock groover "Follow Your Way" (which sounds a bit like a more psychedelic Bread), to the woozy, murky, druggy, longform drift of "Out Of Sight", that really could have been twice as long, even at eight minutes, to the echo drenched garage pop of "Red Moon", to the super warped, lysergic jangle of "Willoweed", to the seriously heavy garage psych of "Paisley", and on and on.
Definitely a sweet slab of psychedelic pop, for folks who dig the Shjips, Assemble Head, Sleepy Sun, Moon Duo and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Counting Sailboats"
MPEG Stream: "Willoweed"
MPEG Stream: "Paisley"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE Noctuary (Sacred Bones) lp 19.98
NOW HERE ON VINYL! Once again, these two Chilean psych bands, Follakazoid and the Holydrug Couple, each sharing a member with the other, release their records at the same time, giving us a glimpse of two sides of a similar sonic personality. Elsewhere on the list you'll find the latest from psychedelic space-kraut combo Follakzoid, but here, we're reunited with cosmic, sun dappled dream psych duo The Holydrug Couple. Unlike the stretched out psych jams of Follakzoid, the Holydrug Couple traffic in a sound more overtly poppy, while still constructed from the same psychedelic building blocks, fuzzy guitars, propulsive motorik drumming, echo drenched vox, the song structures looped and hypnotic, HDC locking to endless grooves, and then playing those endless grooves at pop song length, the longest track here close to eight minutes, but most clocking in around 3 or 4. Fans of the Wooden Shjips, Spyrals, and other local psych combos, will once again find much to love here, a sort of revved up Spacemen 3 vibe, but with plenty of jangle, lots of effects, a quick listen to opener "Counting Sailboats" will tell you whether this is your sort of jam or not. Hazy, hypnotic, darkly groovy, infused with plenty of melody, and subtle hooks, psych pop minimalism that's hard to resist. And the rest of the record plays out similarly, mixing in swoonsome strings, acoustic guitars, organs, loads of FX, and weaving them into all sorts of different sonic shapes, from the fuzzy drift of "Sailor", a psych pop trifle, to the seventies sounding dreampsych soft rock groover "Follow Your Way" (which sounds a bit like a more psychedelic Bread), to the woozy, murky, druggy, longform drift of "Out Of Sight", that really could have been twice as long, even at eight minutes, to the echo drenched garage pop of "Red Moon", to the super warped, lysergic jangle of "Willoweed", to the seriously heavy garage psych of "Paisley", and on and on.
Definitely a sweet slab of psychedelic pop, for folks who dig the Shjips, Assemble Head, Sleep Sun, Moon Duo and the like.
MPEG Stream: "Counting Sailboats"
MPEG Stream: "Willoweed"
MPEG Stream: "Paisley"

HOLYDRUG COUPLE, THE The Ancient Land (Sacred Bones) 12" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of two new modern Chilean psychedelic outfits on this week's list, both on Sacred Bones, and both sharing a member, The Holydrug couple is a duo who traffic in spaced out, hazy, druggy, cosmic jams, laid back and lysergic, a little bit stonery and sun baked, the sound lush and layered, a definite raga vibe, totally cosmic and pretty heavy, and definitely heady, minimal vocals, the crux of these tracks filled up with hypnotic, krautpsych JAMS, the drums solid and propulsive, the guitars swirling and swooping, soaring and wailing, plenty of effects, the whole of side A, a single extended jam that pulses and jangles, chimes and crunches, like Los Natas meets Pink Floyd maybe, gradually growing more and more spaced out mellow, before finally, slipping into a swirl of shimmery droned out ambience.
The B side is two shorter tracks, the first a crunchy chunk of garage-y groove, even more stonery than the flipside, all Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Kyuss, Earthless psych space jam bliss, the second half a total heart of the sun blowout. The second track (and the shortest of all three), is also the mellowest and dreamiest, all washed out jangle, melodic shimmer, shuffling drums and hazy sweetly sung vox, the perfect psychedelic wind down / chill out coda...
MPEG Stream: "Ancient Land"

HOME BLITZ A.T.K. (Mexican Summer) 7" 5.98
Latest short and sharp blast of snotty, punky power pop from these former Record Of The Week-ers, the A side is a doozy indeed, woozy and warped, total classic seventies style power pop, but cracked and fractured, the guitars melting and detuning, the vocals that unmistakably whiney croon, the band seemingly on the verge of total collapse, the song veering druggily from propulsive classic rock jangle to lysergic warble and back again, but rife with crazy hooks - albeit they're not always so obvious, but then that's sort of the magic of Home Blitz. The flipside is more of a Stones-y / Stooges-y / Velvets-y swaggery groove, loping and mesmerizing, with a cool weird second half, where the track gets wild and noisy, everything wreathed in a cloud of noise / static / hiss, and like the A side, buried classic rock hooks make this stick in your hand no matter how warped and damaged it sounds. As always, so good.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, each one hand numbered!

HOME BLITZ Frozen Track (Mexican Summer) 12" 15.98
We'd been trying to review this record for the past several weeks, but our distributors continued to sell out before we could get our hands on enough copies to list. Most avid readers of the aQ list know how much we love weirdo power poppers Home Blitz, not only did we make their O.ut O.f P.hase album a Record Of The Week, but we also had them play our very first showcase at South By Southwest. This new ep is essentially more of the same, another collection of Yellow Pills style power pop, rough around the edges, scrappy and kinetic, hook heavy, jangly and crunchy, the sound definitely defined by frontman Daniel DiMaggio's super distinctive vox, sort of drawly and a little bit precious, but perfectly suited to the groups jangle and strum, DiMaggio's vox sometimes paired with guitarist Theresa Smith's dreamy vocals, making for some divine harmonies. And the guitar parts (which we discussed at great length in that past ROTW review) are amazing, slippery and a bit proggy, somehow deftly integrated into the group's seemingly simple stripped down sound, the little guitar filigrees subtle, but so effective. There's some keyboard too, here and there, and a moment here and there when the band indulge their experimental bent, but those moments are typically bookended by some glorious jangle and crunch. Just check out the title track here, which is the title track for a reason. SO catchy, we've listened to it about ten times so far today. And really it only just barely edges out the rest of the tracks here in the catchiness department, the sound slipping easily from loping fuzzy pop, to caffeinated jangle, to buzzy garage crunch
The rest of the record pretty much follows suit, "Dark Summer" starts out all woozy and washed out and dreamy, before bursting into another frantic blast of power pop crunch, with some sweet harmonies and a killer chorus, while "Rolling With The Moody Girls", is swaggery and a little bit glammy, with super lo-fi Casio keyboard adding melody and texture, while the band pogos through some old school jangle pop. "Blind Nova" sounds a little like DiMaggio's other band Car Commercials, a much more difficult proposition, but catchy in its own way, and it's only two minutes, which leads directly into "Secret Wave", which is another slab of classic seventies style pop, such a dead ringer, right down to the production, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was plucked form some obscure power pop comp. Barring, of course, the weird blast of staticky noise that makes up the last few seconds...
LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES. Each one hand numbered.
MPEG Stream: "Frozen Track"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Summer"
MPEG Stream: "Rolling With The Moody Girls"

HOME BLITZ O.ut O.f P.hase (Richie Records) cd 8.98
Another out of left field record that just knocked our blocks off. Not sure what we were expecting, something super noisy and fucked up actually, but what we got was some totally irresistible sloppy chaotic garage power pop, that actually sort of ends up sounding a bit like noise rock guys unleashing their inner power pop demons. Before we go any further though, listen to the first sound sample, "Two Steps", we'll wait...
Man that song destroys, some of you have probably already added this to your cart, heck, that's what we would have done, there's no resisting that one, easily THE pop jam of the year, we've literally listened to that song about 50 times in the last week, so much that it wasn't until a couple days ago that we finally listened to that whole record, which thankfully revealed a whole 'nother bunch of killer pop chaos, not to mention some even more chaotic off kilter noisiness.
Let's talk about that song first, it's definitely the best song on the record, and we would gladly pay $14 for a one sided single with JUST that song, it's pretty much the most perfect pop song we've heard in forever, with wild almost cracking vocals, some incredible riffing, including a weird slippery almost slide part that gives us chills every time, sloppy drumming, and a killer tempo shift part way through that's just fucking perfect. And the hook, that song has been stuck in our head non stop since the first time we heard it.
But after you get it out of your system and listen to it 20 or 20 or 50 times, the rest of the record will reveal itself as a pretty much non stop kick ass punky power pop gem, like some eighties pop record transported through time. but on the way it got all tangled up in the slipstream with some random noise and garage rock records and emerged like, well, THIS.
"Other Side Of The Street" is a short sharp ultra distorted pop jam, with a punky frame but laced with all sorts of amazing hooky guitar melodies, "Route 18" (after the 3 minutes of near silence that is "Live Outside") is total bubblegum FM radio pop, but all twisted up and tweaked, and just like the other tracks, it's the extra guitar that turns it into something super special, adding some super rad melodic filigree. It's hard to not hear some Guided By Voices and other purveyors of lo-fi pop, but this isn't traditionally lo-fi, it doesn't sound muddy and 4-tracky and much as it just sound ramshackle and haphazard, and if there are hints of those other lo-fi rockers, these guys definitely make it their own, plus there's the weird extra noisy parts which manage to fit perfectly, not disrupting the flow at all, rather highlighting the subtle noisiness in the poppiest tracks, while hiding some serious poppery within the various layers of crunch and howl, the angular no-wave opener "Nest Of Vipers", with its sampled broken glass, fucked-with tape speed, mumbled vocals, super blown out drumming, and dreamy hushed detuned piano backward outro, "A Different Touch" is super in-the-red, the drums so distorted they sound like bursts of radio static, the guitars practically melting, but the whole thing wrapped around some killer hooks, with amazing guitar melodies, an impossibly noise drenched murk-pop blow out, and that's basically the magic of Home Blitz, the practically perfect pop is infused with noise and on the verge of total implosion, while the fucked up noise jams are infused with pop, threatening to shed the noise completely and explode into another burst of wild eyed power pop. If these guys went in a real studio and spent a fortune, it's almost possible to imagine them getting huge, but smooth out the rough edges and it just wouldn't be the same band.
Absolutely killer noisepop, and yet another record to add to our year end faves list...
MPEG Stream: "Two Steps"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Talk To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Other Side Of The Street"
MPEG Stream: "Is Anybody There?"

HOME BLITZ O.ut O.f P.hase (Richie Records) lp 16.98
This recent aQ Record Of the Week, now available on vinyl!!!
Another out of left field record that just knocked our blocks off. Not sure what we were expecting, something super noisy and fucked up actually, but what we got was some totally irresistible sloppy chaotic garage power pop, that actually sort of ends up sounding a bit like noise rock guys unleashing their inner power pop demons. Before we go any further though, listen to the first sound sample, "Two Steps", we'll wait...
Man that song destroys, some of you have probably already added this to your cart, heck, that's what we would have done, there's no resisting that one, easily THE pop jam of the year, we've literally listened to that song about 50 times in the last week, so much that it wasn't until a couple days ago that we finally listened to that whole record, which thankfully revealed a whole 'nother bunch of killer pop chaos, not to mention some even more chaotic off kilter noisiness.
Let's talk about that song first, it's definitely the best song on the record, and we would gladly pay $14 for a one sided single with JUST that song, it's pretty much the most perfect pop song we've heard in forever, with wild almost cracking vocals, some incredible riffing, including a weird slippery almost slide part that gives us chills every time, sloppy drumming, and a killer tempo shift part way through that's just fucking perfect. And the hook, that song has been stuck in our head non stop since the first time we heard it.
But after you get it out of your system and listen to it 20 or 20 or 50 times, the rest of the record will reveal itself as a pretty much non stop kick ass punky power pop gem, like some eighties pop record transported through time. but on the way it got all tangled up in the slipstream with some random noise and garage rock records and emerged like, well, THIS.
"Other Side Of The Street" is a short sharp ultra distorted pop jam, with a punky frame but laced with all sorts of amazing hooky guitar melodies, "Route 18" (after the 3 minutes of near silence that is "Live Outside") is total bubblegum FM radio pop, but all twisted up and tweaked, and just like the other tracks, it's the extra guitar that turns it into something super special, adding some super rad melodic filigree. It's hard to not hear some Guided By Voices and other purveyors of lo-fi pop, but this isn't traditionally lo-fi, it doesn't sound muddy and 4-tracky and much as it just sound ramshackle and haphazard, and if there are hints of those other lo-fi rockers, these guys definitely make it their own, plus there's the weird extra noisy parts which manage to fit perfectly, not disrupting the flow at all, rather highlighting the subtle noisiness in the poppiest tracks, while hiding some serious poppery within the various layers of crunch and howl, the angular no-wave opener "Nest Of Vipers", with its sampled broken glass, fucked-with tape speed, mumbled vocals, super blown out drumming, and dreamy hushed detuned piano backward outro, "A Different Touch" is super in-the-red, the drums so distorted they sound like bursts of radio static, the guitars practically melting, but the whole thing wrapped around some killer hooks, with amazing guitar melodies, an impossibly noise drenched murk-pop blow out, and that's basically the magic of Home Blitz, the practically perfect pop is infused with noise and on the verge of total implosion, while the fucked up noise jams are infused with pop, threatening to shed the noise completely and explode into another burst of wild eyed power pop. If these guys went in a real studio and spent a fortune, it's almost possible to imagine them getting huge, but smooth out the rough edges and it just wouldn't be the same band.
Absolutely killer noisepop, and yet another record to add to our year end faves list...
MPEG Stream: "Two Steps"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Talk To Me"
MPEG Stream: "Other Side Of The Street"
MPEG Stream: "Is Anybody There?"

HOME BLITZ Perpetual Night (Almost Ready) 7" 8.98
Not only did we make the last Home Blitz our Record Of The Week, we also had them play our showcase a few months back at SXSW, and despite showing up super late, and having to cram an abbreviated set into 20 minutes, they kicked serious ass, super crunchy and jangly and hooky and frantic and just completely killer.
This single is the first new music since their O.ut O.f P.hase full length, and both tracks sound like they could have been outtakes from the same sessions. "Perpetual Night" is another chunk of HB's noise rock / power pop jangle and crunch, guitars are as jagged as they are jangly, the drums are super lo-fi practice space pounding, there's some piano this time around, and then those whiney, snotty irresistible vocals, all wrapped around a super catchy noise pop blowout. But it's the B side that steals the show, "Murder In My Heart" sounds like it could have been snatched off some best of the eighties power pop comp, albeit a tad more ragged and off kilter, but just total classic eighties style power pop jangle, hooks galore, some cool squiggly leads, weird vocal harmonies, but all somehow tangled up into some seriously perfect pop.

HOME BLITZ s/t (Gulcher) cd 11.98
We'd been meaning to review this for a while. After HB's unanimous fave and aQ Record Of The Week, O.ut O.f P.hase, and a kick ass, and way too short set at our South By Southwest showcase this year, we know we needed more more more. This comp collects all the early out of print material from these short sharp snotty noise poppers, their first two 7"s, a split cassette, a super limited 12", not to mention a couple unreleased track, and while this stuff is WAY more raw and lo-fi, it's easy to hear the ramshackle perfect pop juggernaut these guys would be come. And considering how noisy and unhinged and loose and on the verge of collapse these guys were on their newest record, you can imagine what a looser more fucked up version of THAT might sound like.
All the stuff we love about Home Blitz is already firmly in place, sharp angular riffage, jangly guitars, wild drumming, killer hooks and classic melodies, and that voice, an about to crack warbly yelp, that occasionally slips into a falsetto, the recording definitely low fidelity, but super bright and weirdly lush at the same time. And the songs, like total classic power pop / punk pop, but more homebrewed, most 1-2 minutes, rollicking and wild and super rocking, slipping from total chaotic freeforall, to crunchy jangle, to lo-fi bedroom pop, to faux arena rock out, to blasting garage punk, to woozy druggy Velvetsy drone rock, and back to full on blistering trash pop again, sounding like a band that would sound right at home on Siltbreeze, but with many of the songs sounding like they could have been plucked right off one of those lost pop comps like Yellow Pills.
There are a few tracks where the band gets more far out, "Bored" is a reverb drenched dirge, clouds of cymbal sizzle float over muted trashcan percussion, big clanging guitar chords, howled vox, or the 9+ minute "Yard", which almost sounds like some sort of Dead C ballad, all splattery percussion, detuned guitar, swaths of crumbling distortion and static, a stumbling chunk of free rock that gives way to a weird piano driven vamp, that sounds almost like Elton John via Sentridoh or something, eventually crumbling into some sort of abstract field recording driven noise rock workout. But then it's back to more loose unhinged noisy power pop bliss, including a killer glammy Slade cover! We love these guys!
MPEG Stream: "Apocalyptic Grades 2005 A.D."
MPEG Stream: "A.C. SS"
MPEG Stream: "Stupid Street"
MPEG Stream: "Right Cut Even"

HOMOSEXUALS, THE Astral Glamour (Hyped To Death) 3cd 29.00
It was only about 6 months ago, that the Homosexuals first and only proper lp was re-released on cd. Now half a year later comes the ultimate Homosexuals collection, 81 songs, over three hours, spanning the Homosexuals' whole existence from 1977-1983, and including that first album in its entirety as well as almost everything they've ever recorded. Wow. This triple cd set collects their singles, the EP, the legendary cassette, the LP, all the stuff they released under pseudonyms, as well as lost vocal parts to songs that until now were thought to be instrumental. Here's what we wrote about the Homosexuals the first time around:
On first listen, it's hard to believe that this is the legendary punk artifact that music geeks everywhere speak of in hushed, reverent tones. Not because it's not good, it is. It's great in fact. It's just not all that...weird...or avant garde, really. Recorded in 1978, this stuff sounds like it should've been at the top of the charts. And it probably would have been too were it not for their purposefully provocative monicker. And it seems that this, along with the Homosexuals' willful obscurity is what turned what is essentially an amazingly catchy pop punk band into collector snob fodder. But ultimately that is neither here nor there, we're just glad this got reissued because the Homosexuals rule! Sonically well in line with their contemporaries, the Buzzocks, the Damned, the Undertones, the Adicts, the Jam and the like, the Homosexuals opted to infuse their bouncy angular punkish pop, with bizarre surreal lyrics, occasional creative production techiniques, some retarded sounding harmonica and wickedly sharp guitar riffing making them stand out, and perhaps causing them to remain on the fringe. But beyond that, the Homosexuals were simply a great band writing great songs, songs that were charged and intense, due in no small part to band tension, and with a wild vocalist with a voice part Feargal Sharkey, part Howard Devoto and part Olga from the Toy Dolls. Don't be intimidated by the hype/legend/collectability of the Homosexuals, or you might just miss out on a really amazing band.
MPEG Stream: "Technique Street"
MPEG Stream: "Vociferous Slam"
MPEG Stream: "Neutron Lover"