ARAB STRAP Love Detective (Chemikal Underground) cd 8.98
After a handful of painfully limited edition 12"s which never really got any distribution in the States, Arab Strap has released this single with a fortunately much larger pressing. While the title track is one of Arab Strap's more idiosyncratically upbeat songs (with a funky Ninja Tune-esque trip hop / pseduo jazz groove), the other two tracks are more quintessentially Arab Strap -- dark, epic dramas that sound like the more dymanic moments of Mogwai and allow for Aidan Moffat to mutter his morose tales of heartbreak and alcoholism. It's good.
RealAudio clip: "Love Detective"

ARAB STRAP Mad For Sadness (Go Beat) cd 26.00
For a live recording this is a pretty damn good one... A superb recording quality of a great performance from these Scottish pessimists. Most of the songs come from Philophobia plus some new tracks that follow the Arab Strap aesthetic of simple acoustic songs, crappy drum machine, occasional Mogwai-style explosive guitars, and those mopey lyrics of too many pints and sexual frustration.

ARAB STRAP Mad For Sadness (Go Beat) lp 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For a live recording this is a pretty damn good one... A superb recording quality of a great performance from these Scottish pessimists. Most of the songs come from Philophobia plus some new tracks that follow the Arab Strap aesthetic of simple acoustic songs, crappy drum machine, occasional Mogwai-style explosive guitars, and those mopey lyrics of too many pints and sexual frustration.

ARAB STRAP Monday At the Hug & Pint (Matador) cd 13.98
Arab Strap return with another record of lurid relationship confessionals. Tales of love and fucking gone wrong are given a musical backing that mixes up warm strings and outdated drum machine dance beats, languorous guitar downer pop and funky bass. As always, tragic and ugly, a made-to-order soundtrack for bad sex, worse breakups and the corner pub where you drown your sorrows afterwards. It's all singing this time from Aidan (half of the Strap), but I kinda miss the spoken confessions of nastiness, betrayal and sorrow, all breathy gruffness barely covering the underlying heartbreak on previous records (but then I have a personal fondness for spoken vocals). Arab Strap's strength is getting away with hyper-personal, depressing sentiments without sounding totally self-indulgent or whiny (maybe it has something to do with their singer being a burly, drunken Scot and not some fey, barely post-pubescent midwestern college boy? or is it due to the honesty in singing about fucking other people over as often as gettting fucked over?) That strength is thoroughly apparent on "Monday At The Hug & Pint," a wrenching experience even if it's not as deliciously dirty as my personal fave Strap album "Philophobia."
MPEG Stream: "Act Of War"
MPEG Stream: "Serenade"
MPEG Stream: "Shy Retirer"

ARAB STRAP Monday At the Hug & Pint (Matador) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Arab Strap return with another record of lurid relationship confessionals. Tales of love and fucking gone wrong are given a musical backing that mixes up warm strings and outdated drum machine dance beats, languorous guitar downer pop and funky bass. As always, tragic and ugly, a made-to-order soundtrack for bad sex, worse breakups and the corner pub where you drown your sorrows afterwards. It's all singing this time from Aidan (half of the Strap), but I kinda miss the spoken confessions of nastiness, betrayal and sorrow, all breathy gruffness barely covering the underlying heartbreak on previous records (but then I have a personal fondness for spoken vocals). Arab Strap's strength is getting away with hyper-personal, depressing sentiments without sounding totally self-indulgent or whiny (maybe it has something to do with their singer being a burly, drunken Scot and not some fey, barely post-pubescent midwestern college boy? or is it due to the honesty in singing about fucking other people over as often as gettting fucked over?) That strength is thoroughly apparent on "Monday At The Hug & Pint," a wrenching experience even if it's not as deliciously dirty as my personal fave Strap album "Philophobia."

ARAB STRAP Philophobia (Matador) cd 14.98
Scottish duo whose melancholy murmurings remind us of Tindersticks more than anything else.

ARAB STRAP Philophobia (Matador) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Scottish duo whose melancholy murmurings remind us of Tindersticks more than anything else.

ARAB STRAP Ten Years Of Tears (Chemikal Underground) cd 15.98
Nooooo, say it isn't so! Ten Years Of Tears -- a collection of Arab Strap odds'n'ends -- marks the close of Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton's tavern of awesome melancholic vitriolic folk (the band played their final shows in late 2006). These Scots always shined brightest when they were sounding their most liquor-blurred, beleaguered and foul tempered singing about fucked up relationships, tawdry sexual liaisons, and assorted other daily downers atop programmed beat driven folksiness. Theirs was (and is) the perfect music to play when you wanna be dancing and be all bummed out at the same time. This fan-pleasing cd compiles alternate versions, remixes, live recordings and B-sides rounded out by a few album tracks. Keep an ear out for their rousing cover of Bonnie Tyler's "It's A Heartache".
MPEG Stream: "The Shy Retirer"
MPEG Stream: "Blood (Live '04)"
MPEG Stream: "It's A Heartache"

ARAB STRAP The Last Romance (Transdreamer) cd 14.98
What's been concocted in the Arab Strap brewery since their last album Monday At the Hug & Pint back in 2003? Something big. To mark their tenth year of existence, they've opted to pour their sixth album into a sleekly produced affair with surprisingly fleshed out full band arrangements (horns, strings, the whole kit'n'kaboodle). As a result, it's mighty big on rock, lush and slightly shoegazerly, and their trademark endless-night-at-the-pub melancholia really benefits from this new turn of events. Never fear, Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffett are as bleary-eyed, sneering and ill-tempered as ever, but their sourness has never sounded so sweet. Their battered romantic hearts have muscled over their whiskeyed vitriolic spirits this time. Some songs here are downright beautiful. Check out "Don't Ask Me To Dance" and the album's official closer "There Is No Ending". You just wanna give 'em a hug. Psst, a secret bonus: we just noticed that there's an additional two songs at the end ("El Paso Song" and "Go Back To The Sea") that aren't mentioned in the track listing on the back of the cd!
MPEG Stream: "Stink"
MPEG Stream: "(If There's) No Hope For Us "
MPEG Stream: "Don't Ask Me To Dance"

ARAB STRAP The Red Thread (Matador) cd 13.98
Arab Strap's fourth album finds the Scottish duo returning to Chemikal Underground / Matador after an ill-conceived stint with Go! Beat, who were pushing the purveyors of miserablism to produce the big hits like Portishead. It's not really clear what Go! Beat was thinking, as Arab Strap have always told gritty tales of discontent from shit jobs and materialist escapism through alcohol. With a curt "fuck you," Arab Strap returned to their first label and continues down their path of self-loathing and self-medication.
The title of this album refers to an ancient eastern theology which posits that an invisible red thread links soulmates. Yet within Arab Strap's semi-autobiographical tales, the quest for the soulmate has been marred by the regrets of casual sex and the physical misery of one too many hangovers. As on previous albums, Aidan Moffat's half spoken / half sung confessionals reveal little guilt (and more pleasure) from alcoholic misadventures. Musically, this is just as spartan as before, with crappy drum machines given fantastic production and simple minor-chord guitar melodies. Instead of putting those 'Parental Advisory' stickers on this album, there should be stickers advising not to drink when listening to Arab Strap's albums.
RealAudio clip: "Haunt Me"
RealAudio clip: "Love Detective"
RealAudio clip: "Turbulence"

ARAB STRAP The Red Thread (Matador) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Arab Strap's fourth album finds the Scottish duo returning to Chemikal Underground / Matador after an ill-conceived stint with Go! Beat, who were pushing the purveyors of miserablism to produce the big hits like Portishead. It's not really clear what Go! Beat was thinking, as Arab Strap have always told gritty tales of discontent from shit jobs and materialist escapism through alcohol. With a curt "fuck you," Arab Strap returned to their first label and continues down their path of self-loathing and self-medication.
The title of this album refers to an ancient eastern theology which posits that an invisible red thread links soulmates. Yet within Arab Strap's semi-autobiographical tales, the quest for the soulmate has been marred by the regrets of casual sex and the physical misery of one too many hangovers. As on previous albums, Aidan Moffat's half spoken / half sung confessionals reveal little guilt (and more pleasure) from alcoholic misadventures. Musically, this is just as spartan as before, with crappy drum machines given fantastic production and simple minor-chord guitar melodies. Instead of putting those 'Parental Advisory' stickers on this album, there should be stickers advising not to drink when listening to Arab Strap's albums.

ARAB STRAP The Shy Retirer E.P. (Matador) cd ep 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Arab Strap's application of their unmistakable hungover dourness to a couple of '80s hard rock megahits -- the ever-brooding Scots cover AC/DC's trademark "You Shook Me All Night Long" and Van Hagar's chart-topper "Why Can't This Be Love?" -- proves to be a somewhat trying experience for the listener. However set those two songs aside, and you're left with three others which fare considerably better. Plus, of course no EP these days can be without an obligatory remix, and The Shy Retirer is no exception... voila, Dirty Hospital contributed a remix of the title track.
MPEG Stream: "The Shy Retirer (radio edit)"
MPEG Stream: "Why Can't This Be Love?"

ARAB STRAP The Week Never Starts Around Here (Matador) cd 13.98
The domestic release of the first album from this amazing Scottish duo. Not nearly as morose or cohesive of an album as Philophobia, The Week Never Starts Around Here displays a remarkable sense of humor in between all of the references to alcohol and sex. Think either Lou Barlow, Tindersticks, or Nick Cave on a drinking binge of your favorite hard liquor.

ARAB STRAP Turbulence (Mixes) (Chemikal Underground) cd ep 8.98
Remixes of Scottish duo Arab Strap's first single off of their newest "The Red Thread" album by Bis, Jason Famous and... Arab Strap. Three pleasant, if not particularly challenging tracks for diehard AS completists (AS newcomers should definitely check out their earlier albums prior to this). The first two versions vary very little from the original. Bis bring their light dance-iness to the fore by ever so slightly pumping up and shifting the programmed beats. The result? Somewhat of an undermining of the traditional Arab Strap moody melancholia. Continuing on, even after repeated listens, I could not detect much if any difference in the Arab Strap reworking of themselves. And what about Jason Famous? Well, his remix is by far the most interesting and altered of the three. Taking the song away from its linear tale of woe into a deep mainly instrumental groove with Aidan Moffett's bleak, bummer vocals reduced to affected snippets.
RealAudio clip: "Bis Remix"

ARAB STRAP Turbulence (Mixes) (Chemikal Underground) 12" 8.98
Remixes of Scottish duo Arab Strap's first single off of their newest "The Red Thread" album by Bis, Jason Famous and... Arab Strap. Three pleasant, if not particularly challenging tracks for diehard AS completists (AS newcomers should definitely check out their earlier albums prior to this). The first two versions vary very little from the original. Bis bring their light dance-iness to the fore by ever so slightly pumping up and shifting the programmed beats. The result? Somewhat of an undermining of the traditional Arab Strap moody melancholia. Continuing on, even after repeated listens, I could not detect much if any difference in the Arab Strap reworking of themselves. And what about Jason Famous? Well, his remix is by far the most interesting and altered of the three. Taking the song away from its linear tale of woe into a deep mainly instrumental groove with Aidan Moffett's bleak, bummer vocals reduced to affected snippets.

ARARAT Musica De La Resistencia (MeteorCity) cd 11.98
Weird and wonderful one here, folks. And it's for folky folks, though it's got a HEAVY pedigree. A lot of you are fans, like us, of South American stoner rock cosmonauts Los Natas, so you'll sort of (but not really) know what to expect here, Ararat being Los Natas guitarist Sergio Chotsourian's solo side project, and it is psychedelic like the most darkly psychedelic of Los Natas' output, coming closest perhaps to the proggy spaciness of Los Natas' two Toba-Trance discs for Circle's Ektro label, but is even more abstract and stripped down, not actually rock at all, often all-acoustic, "New Weird Argentina" maybe we'd call it! Ararat could be some kind of haunted, campfire krautrock, more like a field recording than the finished product of a studio session (even if the studio is called Death, which is where this was in fact recorded).
It starts off with "Gitanoss", an quietly epic almost 14 minutes of moody late-night strum, ambient hum, echoes, drifting melody, hazy organ drone, ritual percussion, backwards effects... quite a trip, as is this whole disc, Chotsourian climbing his personal Holy Mountain here (Mount Ararat!), it seems, this album a musical sketchbook of his ascent, of sorts.
Track two turns out to be a reprise of "Dos Horses", the album-ender of most recent Los Natas disc, Nuevo Orden De La Libertad, this alternate version not that far removed from the acoustic guitar/piano interplay of the original (Chotsourian just must be very proud of this particular composition, and it is quite nice). Next, there's the spooky "El Carrusel", all billowing fuzz and tinkling bell, like Stephen Wray Lobdell's Davis Redford Triad doing the soundtrack for a John Carpenter film!
While that one got heavy, the next is not, the pretty "Little Grissy" being under a minute of guitar and guitar only, Chotsourian giving a delicate demonstration of his chops for the Takoma crowd, leading into the hushed and melodic "Ganar-Perder", which to us sounds like Ghost's Masaki Batoh reinterpreting "Planet Caravan" or something (it too is a version of a song from Nuevo Orden De La Libertad, but in this case much altered, extended and acoustic). That's followed by the delicate Spanish guitar and atmospheric creaky crackle of the nearly 12 minute long "Magia Negra", one that Sir Richard Bishop fans should enjoy.
Only finale "Castro" is a "real" rock song, sounding like a band (Los Natas, or even Circle), with proper drums, and amps fully cranked, with vocals that Circle's Mika Ratto might think were his own, and even this one stays freaky and uncommitted, 'til it ends with the clatter of abandoned drumsticks, electricity flickering, Chotsourian and his mysterious band wandering away into the desert night.
We always say Boris fans should check out Los Natas. And Boris fans should check this out too, but we think Ararat is also for folks into Six Organs Of Admittance, James Blackshaw, Jozef Van Wissem, Feathers, Steven R. Smith and other Jewelled Antler stuff, all that whole post-Fahey psychfolk scene, with the astral Argentinean/Amerindian/Armenian/Appalachian vibes here flowing as ominous, minimalist mesmer, intimate and entrancing...
MPEG Stream: "Gitanoss"
MPEG Stream: "El Carrusel"
MPEG Stream: "Ganar-Perder"

ARBETE OCH FRITID s/t (Music Network) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK! As if to keep Charlie & Esdor company (see elsewhere on the list)...here's our review of this from when we first listed it:
International Harvester, Algarnas Tradgard, Trad Gras Och Stenar, Kebnekajse. If those names mean anything to you then you're probably like us -- a big fan of Sweden's answer to krautrock, the Svenska psych-prog-folk bands of the seventies. There's been a veritable smorgasbord of cd reissues of awesome if obscure classic LPs by these and other '70s Swedish outfits over the past couple of years, and now comes this, a cd version of the third (we think, but maybe it's the fourth?) album by this legendary group, Arbete & Fritid, from 1973. Like Harvester and Kebnekajse especially, you'll hear plenty of traditional Scandinavian traditional folk music mixed up with a kinda Velvet Underground rock style in A&F. They've been described as sounding like the "Third Ear Band meets Terry Riley" and that's pretty accurate, especially on the last track here, a 20 minute drone-jam called "Ostpusten-Vastpusten" that's probably worth the eighteen bucks this costs alone. That's actually a bonus cut, taken from the Arbete & Fritid side of a 1972 split LP with some other band we've yet to hear. While that's the highlight, the rest of this disc is mighty fine too, the only problem perhaps being how their diverse interest in folk, politics, repetitive minimalism, and experimental jazz doesn't always lead to them maintaining a consistent vibe. During one song you'll be transported to the a cold farmhouse in the Swedish wilderness filled with rustic hippies sawing on violins, but then on the next you're in a basement radical jazz club pondering urban issues after a streetfight with the Man. In a way though that's kinda cool. Tea party waltzes and heavy fuzz jams, they're all here. Had we heard A&F before those other bands mentioned above, it's quite likely that they'd be the measure by which we'd judge the rest, as apparently they were a seminal influence on the scene -- in fact, members of the Parson Sound/Trad Gras Och Stenar axis later joined A&F after this particular album. Hopefully then this is only the first of a slew of A&F reissues! [Hasn't happened yet...we've only seen one other reissue and it wasn't as good.]
MPEG Stream: "Ganglat Efter Lejsme Per Larsson, Malung"
MPEG Stream: "Petrokemi Det Kan Man Inte Bada I"

ARBOURETUM Rites Of Uncovering (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98
It's not surprising that Rites Of Uncovering sounds like Palace on overdrive, as Arbouretum's mastermind, David Huemann, is a veteran sessions musician for both of the Oldham brothers as well as Cass McCombs. In fact, Paul Oldham takes on production duties through this sort-of concept record based on the writings of Paul Bowles. But avoiding conventional song-structures for a more organic evolving approach of shambling tribal blues and rustic folk motifs plays to Heumann's strengths as a big picture songwriter steering clear of the first person confessional stance of Will Oldham's narratives. If you wish those Bonnie Prince Billy records had a more epic musical bite to them, then Arbourteum might just fill your prescription.
MPEG Stream: "Signposts and Instruments"
MPEG Stream: "Pale Rider Blues"

ARC Arkhangelsk (Epidemie) cd 15.98
We almost managed to do a list with only ONE Aidan Baker record, but found a stash of these hidden away in the closet and have actually been meaning to list them for a while now. Only have a handful, so these might be the last copies we see for a while.
Arc just so happens to be the the drone / free jazz / krautrock improv trio Baker heads up, the three members employing guitar, flute, percussion, electronics and multiple drumkits to produce the peculiar brand of avant amorphous outsider krautdrone that made their first disc, The Circle Is Not Round, such a hit around here.
Four sixteen and seventeen minute tracks, the first a glistening glimmering long form metallic shimmer, laced with rainfall like percussion, skittery snares, long stretches of glitched out electronics, muted barely there rhythms. The second starts off like a less jazzy Necks, lots of space, softly strummed guitars, strange scattered percussion, soft swarms of electronic FX, backwards swoops, processed cymbal sizzle, subtly ominous and haunting, eventually the drums explode and the pound out a reverb drenched rhythm, while the guitars grow thicker and slightly more propulsive, eventually blissing out and fading out completely. The final two tracks are quite similar, beginning as deep soft shimmers and building in intensity until they become these reverb heavy tribal free jams, thick with droned out shimmers, and layers of fuzzy gauzy ambience, sort of like the Swans meets the Necks, or a blissed out Einsterzende.
Not the sort of stuff we're used to from Baker, but definitely cool, and certainly a bit more challenging than much of his more soothing blissed out drone / dirge output. If you dug the other one, you'll for sure dig this, and if you're looking for something a bit abstract, a bit jazzy, a bit krauty and a bit drone-y, then this could well fit the bill.
Packaged in a striking sepia tone 6 panel digipack style sleeve, and again, we have very few copies, so when we sell out, please be patient while we try to get more.
MPEG Stream: "Relicary"
MPEG Stream: "The Valley Of Dry Bones"

ARC The Circle Is Not Round (A Silent Place) cd 15.98
The Canadian avant-drone guitarist Aidan Baker has been popping up quite a bit at Aquarius in recent months. While he has been quite active in producing numerous drone-based releases, we first took serious notice of his work thanks to the atmospheric doom of his project Nadja. He also turned up on an exceptional 4-way split alongside John Duncan, Z'ev, and Fear Falls Burning. Arc is another project from Baker, finding him working alongside a couple of percussionists in this pastorally psychedelic, improv ensemble. The Circle Is Not Round began as a series of live recordings that Baker blurs into a concoction that lays somewhere in between the spiralling melancholy of a non-aggressive Troum and the '70s prog-ambience of Popul Vuh. Baker's impressionist guitar drones are at the center of these recordings; and while the original live sessions probably slanted more towards the hippie and less the psychedelic end of the spectrum, Baker abstracts all of his sounds with enough backwards masking, tapeloops, and shimmering delay patterns to transform the improv noodling into slow burning dissonant crescendos, earthen throbs, and kosmiche soundscapes with more than a few references to Fennesz, Growing, and even Kompakt's Pop Ambient sound, if you can imagine a guitarist doing his best impersonation of that very digitally constructed ambience.
MPEG Stream: "Desire Is Suffering"
MPEG Stream: "Prajna"

ARCADE FIRE Cold Wind / Brazil (Merge) 7" 3.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
These Canadians (and their American record label) sure know how to keep their fans satiated over the summer months. They not only reissued the band's debut EP recently, but have also popped out this lil' 7" single. Two songs: one original and one cover of an oft-covered beloved oldie from 1939! Sure to please their ever-growing legions of fans... particularly the ones with record players, although there's been a few turntableless, A.F. completist folks who 'needed' it too. On clear vinyl and packaged in a super pretty vellum sleeve.

ARCADE FIRE Funeral (Merge) cd 14.98
Hey, check out this new Canadian band's elegant swagger and dandy bombast. If the number of recent in-store queries about them is any indication, many other folks seem to be doing likewise and diggin' what they hear! The lead-off track with its thumpin' dance beat and swooning male vocals (be forewarned, they occasionally cross the line into overwrought moan'n'wail) is totally reminiscent of Pulp's "Disco 3000". At once, it's both steeped in despair and drenched with fun. However, the next song jumps over to more aggressive, post-punk territory a la P.I.L. meets Interpol (particularly in the vocals, although A.F.'s singer has a peculiar warbly voice all his own which received a chilly reception from some folks around these parts). By the fourth song, a galloping very Modest Mouse-y tune, you sorta get the sense that this group has a multitude of personalities. That said, the one track that seems to encapsulate Arcade Fire's scope comes at the mid-point of the album. "Crown Of Love" is a soaring grande orchestral hand-wringer that suddenly bursts into discoland for its finish (again very Jarvis Cocker/Pulp-ish). But then again, the following song is totally in the swirling Flaming Lips vein (complete with very Coyne-esque singing), and the female-sung closing number comes across as very very Bjork-influenced. So what do all of these elder artists have in common which is also at the core of these young'uns' impressive sound? A complete unabashed flair for drama, untethered emotive vibrato-laced vocals and no fear of a thumpin' beat to get the blood pumpin'. This band can raise the roof and sink into a quagmyre of gloom as they see fit. Sure to tickle the fancy of many fans of those aforementioned bands.
MPEG Stream: "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)"
MPEG Stream: "Crown Of Love "

ARCADE FIRE Funeral (Merge) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! Here's what we had to say about the cd a little while back:
Hey, check out this new Canadian band's elegant swagger and dandy bombast. If the number of recent in-store queries about them is any indication, many other folks seem to be doing likewise and diggin' what they hear! The lead-off track with its thumpin' dance beat and swooning male vocals (be forewarned, they occasionally cross the line into overwrought moan'n'wail) is totally reminiscent of Pulp's "Disco 3000". At once, it's both steeped in despair and drenched with fun. However, the next song jumps over to more aggressive, post-punk territory a la P.I.L. meets Interpol (particularly in the vocals, although A.F.'s singer has a peculiar warbly voice all his own which received a chilly reception from some folks around these parts). By the fourth song, a galloping very Modest Mouse-y tune, you sorta get the sense that this group has a multitude of personalities. That said, the one track that seems to encapsulate Arcade Fire's scope comes at the mid-point of the album. "Crown Of Love" is a soaring grande orchestral hand-wringer that suddenly bursts into discoland for its finish (again very Jarvis Cocker/Pulp-ish). But then again, the following song is totally in the swirling Flaming Lips vein (complete with very Coyne-esque singing), and the female-sung closing number comes across as very very Bjork-influenced. So what do all of these elder artists have in common which is also at the core of these young'uns' impressive sound? A complete unabashed flair for drama, untethered emotive vibrato-laced vocals and no fear of a thumpin' beat to get the blood pumpin'. This band can raise the roof and sink into a quagmyre of gloom as they see fit. Sure to tickle the fancy of many fans of those aforementioned bands.
MPEG Stream: "Neighbourhood #1 (Tunnels)"
MPEG Stream: "Crown Of Love "

ARCADE FIRE Intervention (Merge) 7" 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Arcade Fire fans, we're sure you're more than familiar with the song "Intervention" from the band's most recent full length. It's a dandy, right? But do you also recall another tune from the same album, the one with the awesome horn section (otherwise known as the Calexico brass)? Yeah, you know the one... "Ocean Of Noise" (which we consider the aural equivalent of a peanut butter cup)! It's definitely one of Neon Bible's highlights. Well, Calexico went and recorded their very own rendition of the song, and no surprise, it's a splendid, somber, shimmering wonder! So, for the latest Arcade Fire single, Merge Records wisely included Tucson's finest on the flip side. It is THE reason you need this (whether you dig Arcade Fire or Calexico, both or neither). So good!

ARCADE FIRE Keep The Car Running / Broken Window (Merge) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of Arcade Fire's most goodest tunes from their latest album Neon Bible is now available to all of you 7" record spinners! Yup, and it's accompanied by a vinyl only tune called "Broken Window" which completists surely won't want to miss!

ARCADE FIRE Neon Bible (Merge) 2lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW ON VINYL! 2004's Funeral made it clear that Arcade Fire aren't shy about dishin' the melodrama and bombast, and this time around they definitely make no bones about it. These decidedly unreserved Canucks are laying it on extra heavy. They've taken the goods from Funeral and juiced 'em up even more, delivering an unquestionable fan pleaser that maintains the infectious spark of their debut, but drapes it with more opulent finery. Musically this is most notable in the cathedral organ and choral departments. It may have you wondering if you're attending a wedding or a funeral! However, those musings are swiftly swept away by the soaring, big Chicago style horns in "Windowsill" and "No Cars Go" (another candidate for single material in our books!). We'd say the obvious choice for a first single on the album is the second tune "Keep The Car Running", but has anyone else noticed that it sounds as if it could break into John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band's "On The Dark Side" from that '80s flick Eddie And The Cruisers at any moment? In fact, Arcade Fire conjure numerous other touchstones of that decade -- the female vocals remarkably resemble Kim Wilde as the male ones do Bono, the somber opening pulse of the album closer "My Body Is A Cage" echoes Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight". But there sure as heck ain't nothin' wrong with a little bit of musical nostalgia, especially when it's all wrapped up oh so pretty, in thick sonic swaths of lush dramatic dreamery and plush poppiness.
MPEG Stream: "Keep The Car Running"
MPEG Stream: "No Cars Go"
MPEG Stream: "My Body Is A Cage"

ARCADE FIRE Neon Bible - Deluxe Edition (Merge) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
2004's Funeral made it clear that Arcade Fire aren't shy about dishin' the melodrama and bombast, and this time around they definitely make no bones about it. From the super deluxe boxed lenticular packaging to the eleven songs contained within, these decidedly unreserved Canucks are laying it on extra heavy. They've taken the goods from Funeral and juiced 'em up even more, delivering an unquestionable fan pleaser that maintains the infectious spark of their debut, but drapes it with more opulent finery. Musically this is most notable in the cathedral organ and choral departments. It may have you wondering if you're attending a wedding or a funeral! However, those musings are swiftly swept away by the soaring, big Chicago style horns in "Windowsill" and "No Cars Go" (another candidate for single material in our books!). We'd say the obvious choice for a first single on the album is the second tune "Keep The Car Running", but has anyone else noticed that it sounds as if it could break into John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band's "On The Dark Side" from that '80s flick Eddie And The Cruisers at any moment? In fact, Arcade Fire conjure numerous other touchstones of that decade -- the female vocals remarkably resemble Kim Wilde as the male ones do Bono, the somber opening pulse of the album closer "My Body Is A Cage" echoes Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight". But there sure as heck ain't nothin' wrong with a little bit of musical nostalgia, especially when it's all wrapped up oh so pretty, in thick sonic swaths of lush dramatic dreamery and plush poppiness.
MPEG Stream: "Keep The Car Running"
MPEG Stream: "No Cars Go"
MPEG Stream: "My Body Is A Cage"

ARCADE FIRE s/t (Merge) cd ep 10.98
Remastered and reissued for Arcade Fire fans who might've missed it the first time around, here's Arcade Fire's debut EP from 2003. From what we can tell, female vocalist Regine Chassagne seemed to have been suffering from some serious Bjork affectations (which she'd gotten over by the time they did Funeral). Likewise, Win Butler's then very-Coyne-ish vocals and the band's very-Flaming Lips-y overall productions. Nonetheless, if you've dug this band from the beginning, you'll surely find it nice to have the opportunity to hear these songs again in their freshly remastered state. If you're new to the band and are wondering what the big fuss is all about, definitely check out their Funeral album first.
MPEG Stream: "My Heart Is An Apple"
MPEG Stream: "Headlights Look Like Diamonds"

ARCADE FIRE The Suburbs (Merge) cd 15.98
We've heard tell that legions of Arcade Fire fans new and old have already been gobbling up this release whole, and it's easy to hear why. It's a fantastic follow-up to 2007's Neon Bible, and such an eagerly anticipated album that it probably doesn't even need any announcement!
Get behind the wheel of this ride through The Arcade Fire's Suburbs, and you'll find it starts out in relatively sedate fashion, gently warming up the musical engines with the lush baroque pop we all know and love, but it doesn't take the band long to rev things up 'til they're cruising at full speed with the top down! As always, these Canadians are a bit difficult to define, still drawing plenty of influence from familiar (and often oddly mainstream) pop elements of the '80s and '90s, and integrating them into their own presentation. It's a strangely cohesive coming together of varied sounds, personalities and inspirations that glints with shades of such eclectic, clever and dramatic forefathers as David Bowie, Pulp, Meatloaf, My Bloody Valentine, and Robyn Hitchcock. At times they're a bit brainy, at others more than a bit bombastic. Add some shoegazin', cabaret melodrama and art school chin scratching, and you might think you have a recipe for disaster. However, they seldom falter, always delivering epically arranged and gloriously produced songs to our ears. A few of them in particular stood out on our first few listens... "Suburban War" has gently swooping melodies that totally push the wistful sentimental buttons; "Modern Man" takes a few jaunty twists and subdued yearning tones that bring to mind their contemporaries Spoon (actually fans of that band might find themselves diggin' a lot more than just this one tune!); while the surprisingly almost punky edgy oomph of "Month Of May" will surely get you on your feet doing the same dance that Molly Ringwald does in Breakfast Club to Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone". Alrighty, are you with us?! (Not sure why the vinyl version has to be so pricey, it seems like a trend these days...)
MPEG Stream: "Modern Man"
MPEG Stream: "Month Of May"
MPEG Stream: "Deep Blue"

ARCADE FIRE The Suburbs (Merge) 2lp 30.00
We've heard tell that legions of Arcade Fire fans new and old have already been gobbling up this release whole, and it's easy to hear why. It's a fantastic follow-up to 2007's Neon Bible, and such an eagerly anticipated album that it probably doesn't even need any announcement!
Get behind the wheel of this ride through The Arcade Fire's Suburbs, and you'll find it starts out in relatively sedate fashion, gently warming up the musical engines with the lush baroque pop we all know and love, but it doesn't take the band long to rev things up 'til they're cruising at full speed with the top down! As always, these Canadians are a bit difficult to define, still drawing plenty of influence from familiar (and often oddly mainstream) pop elements of the '80s and '90s, and integrating them into their own presentation. It's a strangely cohesive coming together of varied sounds, personalities and inspirations that glints with shades of such eclectic, clever and dramatic forefathers as David Bowie, Pulp, Meatloaf, My Bloody Valentine, and Robyn Hitchcock. At times they're a bit brainy, at others more than a bit bombastic. Add some shoegazin', cabaret melodrama and art school chin scratching, and you might think you have a recipe for disaster. However, they seldom falter, always delivering epically arranged and gloriously produced songs to our ears. A few of them in particular stood out on our first few listens... "Suburban War" has gently swooping melodies that totally push the wistful sentimental buttons; "Modern Man" takes a few jaunty twists and subdued yearning tones that bring to mind their contemporaries Spoon (actually fans of that band might find themselves diggin' a lot more than just this one tune!); while the surprisingly almost punky edgy oomph of "Month Of May" will surely get you on your feet doing the same dance that Molly Ringwald does in Breakfast Club to Karla DeVito's "We Are Not Alone". Alrighty, are you with us?! (Not sure why the vinyl version has to be so pricey, it seems like a trend these days...)
MPEG Stream: "Modern Man"
MPEG Stream: "Month Of May"
MPEG Stream: "Deep Blue"

ARCADION s/t (DC Recordings) 12" 13.98

ARCADIUM Breathe Awhile (Akarma) cd 16.98

ARCANA Arc of the Testimony (Axiom) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Second installment of Arcana's all-star "futuristic energy music" as masterminded by Bill Laswell, featuring the drumming of the late Tony Williams. Also with Pharoah Sanders, Buckethead, Nicky Skopelitis, Graham Haynes, and Byard Lancaster.

ARCHERS OF LOAF All The Nations Airports (Merge) 2cd 14.98
The final two installments in the ongoing campaign to reissue all four records from aQ beloved noise pop heroes Archers Of Loaf. We've previously reviewed their masterpiece debut, Icky Mettle, a record NO indie rocker should be without, and more recently we covered record number two, Vee Vee, that while perpetually in the shadow of Icky Mettle, is nearly as good, and thus about as essential. And now it's time for the last two Archers records, 1996's All The Nations Airports and 1998's swansong White Trash Heroes. While we would never suggest that either of these is as good or as essential as Icky Mettle, or even Vee Vee, we will say, that they hold up pretty damn well alongside those first two.
Most bands mellow with age, but if anything, Archers kept getting weirder and weirder and more obtuse, the hooks less obvious, the songs more gnarled and complicated, the opening one-two punch on All The Nations of "Strangled By The Stereo Wire" and the title track, offer up two short sharp blasts of atonal jangle and wild mathy drumming, tripped out vox and all sorts of tangled and warped melodies, that the band somehow weave into something rocking AND catchy. All The Nations is definitely a grower, but after a few listens, it's pretty irresistible. For us "Scenic Pastures" is the hook that landed us, sounding like an Icky Mettle B-side, all woozy riffage and wiggly melody, jangly and crunchy in equal measure, and crazy catchy to boot, without losing an ounce of off kilter weirdness. The rest of the record is brimming with more classic Archers jams, every one a perfect example of that tweaked mathy take on Pavement-y noise pop that they absolutely made their own, and continues to sound unlike any other bands past or present.
This reissue takes on a handful of singles and B sides (including the awesome "Density"), as well as a whole mess of 4 track demos of all the tracks from the record, as well as a few that never made it past the demo stage, but sound pretty bad ass nonetheless (those are available as downloads with the lp version).
MPEG Stream: "Strangled By The Stereo Wire"
MPEG Stream: "All The Nation's Airports"
MPEG Stream: "Scenic Pastures"
MPEG Stream: "Worst Defense"

ARCHERS OF LOAF All The Nations Airports (Merge) lp 17.98
The final two installments in the ongoing campaign to reissue all four records from aQ beloved noise pop heroes Archers Of Loaf. We've previously reviewed their masterpiece debut, Icky Mettle, a record NO indie rocker should be without, and more recently we covered record number two, Vee Vee, that while perpetually in the shadow of Icky Mettle, is nearly as good, and thus about as essential. And now it's time for the last two Archers records, 1996's All The Nations Airports and 1998's swansong White Trash Heroes. While we would never suggest that either of these is as good or as essential as Icky Mettle, or even Vee Vee, we will say, that they hold up pretty damn well alongside those first two.
Most bands mellow with age, but if anything, Archers kept getting weirder and weirder and more obtuse, the hooks less obvious, the songs more gnarled and complicated, the opening one-two punch on All The Nations of "Strangled By The Stereo Wire" and the title track, offer up two short sharp blasts of atonal jangle and wild mathy drumming, tripped out vox and all sorts of tangled and warped melodies, that the band somehow weave into something rocking AND catchy. All The Nations is definitely a grower, but after a few listens, it's pretty irresistible. For us "Scenic Pastures" is the hook that landed us, sounding like an Icky Mettle B-side, all woozy riffage and wiggly melody, jangly and crunchy in equal measure, and crazy catchy to boot, without losing an ounce of off kilter weirdness. The rest of the record is brimming with more classic Archers jams, every one a perfect example of that tweaked mathy take on Pavement-y noise pop that they absolutely made their own, and continues to sound unlike any other bands past or present.
This reissue takes on a handful of singles and B sides (including the awesome "Density"), as well as a whole mess of 4 track demos of all the tracks from the record, as well as a few that never made it past the demo stage, but sound pretty bad ass nonetheless (those are available as downloads with the lp version).
MPEG Stream: "Strangled By The Stereo Wire"
MPEG Stream: "All The Nation's Airports"
MPEG Stream: "Scenic Pastures"
MPEG Stream: "Worst Defense"

ARCHERS OF LOAF Icky Mettle (Alias) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Must be something about summertime and the feeling of nostalgia and memories of our younger days that has had us going crazy over some of our favorite '90s indie rock records as of late. Recent lists prove this, as reissues of Sebadoh and Spoon classics received our record of the week honors. Truth be told Icky Mettle is just as qualified for that honor as well. There was a period during the '90s when we used to joke that if you looked up "indie rock" in the dictionary you would find a picture of Archers of Loaf's Icky Mettle. But really, we sort of weren't joking. All you had to do was listen to it and you instantly understood the full glory of indie rock and how totally heavy and wild and kick ass and catchy indie rock could be. Guitars are crunchy and jagged, ringing loud and true, vocals soaring, melodies you can't EVER get out of your head, and a passionate urgency that makes your heart race and your soul shiver. It's pretty serendipitous that this record just got reissued as it's been playing around here quite a bit, Irwin rediscovered it earlier this summer, it's been rocking Andee's iPod quite a bit lately, and it gets played in the store NON-STOP!!
There is not a dud on this album... it's almost like Archers of Loaf made us the most perfect indie rock mix tape ever, except it's their entire album! The track "Web In Front" might just be THE GREATEST INDIE ROCK SONG EVER. If it's not, it's definitely top five. It jangles, it totally rocks, the vocals are super intense but completely melodic, the arrangement is bizarre and the parts unlikely, but that only serves to make it that much more unique and unforgettable.
We can't count the times in the past that we've put songs from this record on mixes we've made for friends, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. It's got it all: the angst, the heartbreak, the longing, the anger, the catchy hooks, even the quintessential anthem about indie rockers. What a debut full length from a band a drift in a veritable sea of indie rock revolution, the next Seattle, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Helping to raise the bar for all their peers and proteges (Superchunk, Polvo, Pavement, etc.). This is not just some indie rock nostalgia trip, a longing for some unattainable indie rock heyday, this record has totally stood the test of time and still pretty much blows away any pop, rock or indie rock record you care to stack up against it. So utterly and completely and impossibly essential!!
MPEG Stream: "Web In Front"
MPEG Stream: "Might"
MPEG Stream: "Fat"
MPEG Stream: "Plumb Line"

ARCHERS OF LOAF Icky Mettle (Merge) 2cd 14.98
Last summer, we decided to review one of THEE greatest indie rock records of all time, Archers Of Loaf's Icky Mettle, for no reason other than we realized it was still available, and we had never reviewed it, so we did, and sold a bunch, and hopefully turned a bunch of people on to one of our favorite records, and here we are a year later, and whattayaknow? Icky Mettle finally gets the fancy reissue treatment it so much deserved, and in addition to offering us yet another chance to gush like crazy over this amazing record, they've tacked on a whole mess of bonus tracks, more on those in a second, first the record proper, Icky Mettle, as reviewed last summer:
Must be something about summertime and the feeling of nostalgia and memories of our younger days that has had us going crazy over some of our favorite '90s indie rock records as of late. Recent lists prove this, as reissues of Sebadoh and Spoon classics received our record of the week honors. Truth be told Icky Mettle is just as qualified for that honor as well. There was a period during the '90s when we used to joke that if you looked up "indie rock" in the dictionary you would find a picture of Archers of Loaf's Icky Mettle. But really, we sort of weren't joking. All you had to do was listen to it and you instantly understood the full glory of indie rock and how totally heavy and wild and kick ass and catchy indie rock could be. Guitars are crunchy and jagged, ringing loud and true, vocals soaring, melodies you can't EVER get out of your head, and a passionate urgency that makes your heart race and your soul shiver. It's been playing around here quite a bit, Irwin rediscovered it earlier this summer, it's been rocking Andee's iPod quite a bit lately (but really ALWAYS), and it gets played in the store NON-STOP!!
There is not a dud on this album... it's almost like Archers of Loaf made us the most perfect indie rock mix tape ever, except it's their entire album! The track "Web In Front" might just be THE GREATEST INDIE ROCK SONG EVER. If it's not, it's definitely top five. It jangles, it totally rocks, the vocals are super intense but completely melodic, the arrangement is bizarre and the parts unlikely, but that only serves to make it that much more unique and unforgettable.
We can't count the times in the past that we've put songs from this record on mixes we've made for friends, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. It's got it all: the angst, the heartbreak, the longing, the anger, the catchy hooks, even the quintessential anthem about indie rockers. What a debut full length from a band a drift in a veritable sea of indie rock revolution, the next Seattle, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Helping to raise the bar for all their peers and proteges (Superchunk, Polvo, Pavement, etc.). This is not just some indie rock nostalgia trip, a longing for some unattainable indie rock heyday, this record has totally stood the test of time and still pretty much blows away any pop, rock or indie rock record you care to stack up against it. So utterly and completely and impossibly essential!!
And as if the record itself wasn't enough, they've included a whole extra disc (on the vinyl the bonus material is downloadable), including their Vs Greatest Of All Time ep from 1994, all of the songs sounding like they most definitely could have been included on Icky Mettle proper, bombastic, hooky, heavy, jangly, catchy like crazy, and twisted in the way AoL's pop always was. In addition to that, there are four 7"s from 1992-1994 as well as one compilation track, all previously available on The Speed of Cattle singles comp, but now that's out of print, and those singles tracks KILL. In addition to a handful of B-sides that most definitely sound like A-sides, there are alternate versions of some of the tracks on Icky Mettle, and most importantly, the "Web In Front" single, whose B-sides might rank as some of our favorite Archers tracks ever, "Tatyana" is all brooding and minor key, an epic slow build that goes from smokey and slithery to pounding and jangly, and "Bathroom", a wild crashing punk rock workout, super distorted, riffy and chaotic, the band about as fierce as they get, vocals super distorted, guitars wild and tangly, the sound blown out and in the red, a brief 100 second blast of hooky punk rock, that manages to retain the Archers' hookiness, but in a way more punk setting, culminating in the stumbling finish, capturing the band crashing to a halt, as the singer asks "WHAT" still sorta singing, and the drummer responds with "I hit myself in the nose". So good.
Absolutely and totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Web In Front"
MPEG Stream: "Might"
MPEG Stream: "Fat"
MPEG Stream: "Plumb Line"

ARCHERS OF LOAF Icky Mettle (Merge) lp 17.98
Last summer, we decided to review one of THEE greatest indie rock records of all time, Archers Of Loaf's Icky Mettle, for no reason other than we realized it was still available, and we had never reviewed it, so we did, and sold a bunch, and hopefully turned a bunch of people on to one of our favorite records, and here we are a year later, and whattayaknow? Icky Mettle finally gets the fancy reissue treatment it so much deserved, and in addition to offering us yet another chance to gush like crazy over this amazing record, they've tacked on a whole mess of bonus tracks, more on those in a second, first the record proper, Icky Mettle, as reviewed last summer:
Must be something about summertime and the feeling of nostalgia and memories of our younger days that has had us going crazy over some of our favorite '90s indie rock records as of late. Recent lists prove this, as reissues of Sebadoh and Spoon classics received our record of the week honors. Truth be told Icky Mettle is just as qualified for that honor as well. There was a period during the '90s when we used to joke that if you looked up "indie rock" in the dictionary you would find a picture of Archers of Loaf's Icky Mettle. But really, we sort of weren't joking. All you had to do was listen to it and you instantly understood the full glory of indie rock and how totally heavy and wild and kick ass and catchy indie rock could be. Guitars are crunchy and jagged, ringing loud and true, vocals soaring, melodies you can't EVER get out of your head, and a passionate urgency that makes your heart race and your soul shiver. It's been playing around here quite a bit, Irwin rediscovered it earlier this summer, it's been rocking Andee's iPod quite a bit lately (but really ALWAYS), and it gets played in the store NON-STOP!!
There is not a dud on this album... it's almost like Archers of Loaf made us the most perfect indie rock mix tape ever, except it's their entire album! The track "Web In Front" might just be THE GREATEST INDIE ROCK SONG EVER. If it's not, it's definitely top five. It jangles, it totally rocks, the vocals are super intense but completely melodic, the arrangement is bizarre and the parts unlikely, but that only serves to make it that much more unique and unforgettable.
We can't count the times in the past that we've put songs from this record on mixes we've made for friends, crushes, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. It's got it all: the angst, the heartbreak, the longing, the anger, the catchy hooks, even the quintessential anthem about indie rockers. What a debut full length from a band a drift in a veritable sea of indie rock revolution, the next Seattle, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Helping to raise the bar for all their peers and proteges (Superchunk, Polvo, Pavement, etc.). This is not just some indie rock nostalgia trip, a longing for some unattainable indie rock heyday, this record has totally stood the test of time and still pretty much blows away any pop, rock or indie rock record you care to stack up against it. So utterly and completely and impossibly essential!!
And as if the record itself wasn't enough, they've included a whole extra disc (on the vinyl the bonus material is downloadable), including their Vs Greatest Of All Time ep from 1994, all of the songs sounding like they most definitely could have been included on Icky Mettle proper, bombastic, hooky, heavy, jangly, catchy like crazy, and twisted in the way AoL's pop always was. In addition to that, there are four 7"s from 1992-1994 as well as one compilation track, all previously available on The Speed of Cattle singles comp, but now that's out of print, and those singles tracks KILL. In addition to a handful of B-sides that most definitely sound like A-sides, there are alternate versions of some of the tracks on Icky Mettle, and most importantly, the "Web In Front" single, whose B-sides might rank as some of our favorite Archers tracks ever, "Tatyana" is all brooding and minor key, an epic slow build that goes from smokey and slithery to pounding and jangly, and "Bathroom", a wild crashing punk rock workout, super distorted, riffy and chaotic, the band about as fierce as they get, vocals super distorted, guitars wild and tangly, the sound blown out and in the red, a brief 100 second blast of hooky punk rock, that manages to retain the Archers' hookiness, but in a way more punk setting, culminating in the stumbling finish, capturing the band crashing to a halt, as the singer asks "WHAT" still sorta singing, and the drummer responds with "I hit myself in the nose". So good.
Absolutely and totally recommended.
MPEG Stream: "Web In Front"
MPEG Stream: "Might"
MPEG Stream: "Fat"
MPEG Stream: "Plumb Line"

ARCHERS OF LOAF The Speed of Cattle (Alias) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Compilation of various Peel Sessions and singles, plus one new song.

ARCHERS OF LOAF The Speed of Cattle (Alias) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Compilation of various Peel Sessions and singles, plus one new song.

ARCHERS OF LOAF Vee Vee (Merge) 2cd 14.98
How we love this band!! And sure, the also recently reissued Icky Mettle from 1993 might be the record by this North Carolina indie rockers that most folks hold near and dear, but we say the follow up, 1995's Vee Vee is just as good. What it may sacrifice in punk-pop urgency (which is not all that much really), and balls out debut record go-for-broke-ness, it makes up for with more well crafted songs (some of their best for sure), all without diluting the band's frenetic energy, or the strange gnarled angular riffing that defined their sound and made them instantly recognizable.
Just give a listen to "Harnessed In Slums", which was the 'hit', easily as good as anything on Icky Mettle, the sound super elastic and melty, the core jangle warped onto something woozy and super rocking and in its own way sorta psychedelic. And the next track too, "Nevermind The Enemy", with its super catchy opening riff, and backing up truck beeps, explodes into another killer slab of jangle and crunch, with guitar melodies that sound like the band's playing with slides, all slippery and sonically prismatic. Everything driven by some kick ass drumming, and singer Eric Bachmann's killer raspy vox. It's sorta hard to explain beyond the above just what it is that makes these guys so special, and their sound so unique, and how they managed to fit in with all their North Carolina brethren, while sounding nothing like any of those other bands. But here we are 17 years on, and we have to fight the urge to slip into grumpy old rock guy mode and proclaim that they just don't make bands like this anymore, but hell, why fight it, cuz they really don't. Folks who missed out on these guys the first time around, and who were maybe weaned on a less idiosyncratic indie rock will be blown away, and realize that music can be catchy and hooky, and still be freaky and fucked up and totally original.
The reissue tacks on a whole disc of bonus tracks, including a handful of different mixes, some killer lo-fi 4-track demos, not to mention some even more lo-fi boombox demos. Plus some unreleased tracks, some rare B sides (which are amazing!) and maybe coolest of all, an unreleased cover of John Coltrane's "Equinox", that the band make their own, to the point that the first time through, we just thought it was one of theirs!
MPEG Stream: "Harnessed In Slums"
MPEG Stream: "Step Into The Light"
MPEG Stream: "Nevermind The Enemy"
MPEG Stream: "Underachievers March And Fight Song"

ARCHERS OF LOAF Vee Vee (Merge) lp 17.98
THIS REISH ALSO NOW HERE ON VINYL!!
How we love this band!! And sure, the also recently reissued Icky Mettle from 1993 might be the record by this North Carolina indie rockers that most folks hold near and dear, but we say the follow up, 1995's Vee Vee is just as good. What it may sacrifice in punk-pop urgency (which is not all that much really), and balls out debut record go-for-broke-ness, it makes up for with more well crafted songs (some of their best for sure), all without diluting the band's frenetic energy, or the strange gnarled angular riffing that defined their sound and made them instantly recognizable.
Just give a listen to "Harnessed In Slums", which was the 'hit', easily as good as anything on Icky Mettle, the sound super elastic and melty, the core jangle warped onto something woozy and super rocking and in its own way sorta psychedelic. And the next track too, "Nevermind The Enemy", with its super catchy opening riff, and backing up truck beeps, explodes into another killer slab of jangle and crunch, with guitar melodies that sound like the band's playing with slides, all slippery and sonically prismatic. Everything driven by some kick ass drumming, and singer Eric Bachmann's killer raspy vox. It's sorta hard to explain beyond the above just what it is that makes these guys so special, and their sound so unique, and how they managed to fit in with all their North Carolina brethren, while sounding nothing like any of those other bands. But here we are 17 years on, and we have to fight the urge to slip into grumpy old rock guy mode and proclaim that they just don't make bands like this anymore, but hell, why fight it, cuz they really don't. Folks who missed out on these guys the first time around, and who were maybe weaned on a less idiosyncratic indie rock will be blown away, and realize that music can be catchy and hooky, and still be freaky and fucked up and totally original.
The reissue tacks on a whole disc of bonus tracks (available as a download with the lp version), including a handful of different mixes, some killer lo-fi 4-track demos, not to mention some even more lo-fi boombox demos. Plus some unreleased tracks, some rare B sides (which are amazing!) and maybe coolest of all, an unreleased cover of John Coltrane's "Equinox", that the band make their own, to the point that the first time through, we just thought it was one of theirs!
MPEG Stream: "Harnessed In Slums"
MPEG Stream: "Step Into The Light"
MPEG Stream: "Nevermind The Enemy"
MPEG Stream: "Underachievers March And Fight Song"

ARCHERS OF LOAF White Trash Heroes (Alias) cd 12.98
After a period of silence from Archers of Loaf (during which time it seems they listened exclusively to Radiohead and the Fall), White Trash Heroes is pretty solid pastiche of artful post punk (like Pavement) and the aforementioned Brits.

ARCHERS OF LOAF White Trash Heroes (Merge) 2cd 14.98
The final two installments in the ongoing campaign to reissue all four records from aQ beloved noise pop heroes Archers Of Loaf. We've previously reviewed their masterpiece debut, Icky Mettle, a record NO indie rocker should be without, and more recently we covered record number two, Vee Vee, that while perpetually in the shadow of Icky Mettle, is nearly as good, and thus about as essential. And now it's time for the last two Archers records, 1996's All The Nations Airports and 1998's swansong White Trash Heroes. While we would never suggest that either of these is as good or as essential as Icky Mettle, or even Vee Vee, we will say, that they hold up pretty damn well alongside those first two.
Most bands mellow with age, but if anything, Archers kept getting weirder and weirder and more obtuse, the hooks less obvious, the songs more gnarled and complicated, culminating in the bands final record, which was a seriously high note to go out on, opening with the instantly catchy, but weirdly brooding "Fashion Bleeds", with a wiry tension, and cool layered droned out chords, not to mention so weird effected guitar leads, sounding a bit like a way more warped and woozy Afghan Whigs weirdly enough. "Dead Red Eyes" is a gorgeous haunting ballad, Archers style, all swirly shimmer, and thick super distorted bass, and a weirdly stylized vocal, before the band get back to rocking with "I.N.S.", replete with funhouse mirror riffs, dense proggy drumming, and a tangled mathy arrangement, again sounding like not all that much had changed since icky Mettle. And of course the real final statement was the nearly 8 minute closer, the title track, epic and majestic, proggy and droney and hauntingly melodic, the perfect end to a nearly perfect four record streak.
The end of Archers was up there with the end of Polvo, for indie/post/math rock heartbreak, but the music lives on, and seriously sounds as ahead of its time now as it did nearly 15 years ago.
The reissue tacks on some awesome rarities, including a killer 1997 fan club single, which is seriously tripped out, as well as a bunch of 4 track demos, and a few unreleased B sides, including a wild and noisy, weirdly stop/start rambunctious rocker called "Whooh!" which is yet another track that pushes all our Icky Mettle buttons (those are all available as downloads with the vinyl version)!
MPEG Stream: "Fashion Bleeds"
MPEG Stream: "Dead Red Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "I.N.S."
MPEG Stream: "Whooh!"

ARCHERS OF LOAF White Trash Heroes (Alias) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After a period of silence from Archers of Loaf (during which time it seems they listened exclusively to Radiohead and the Fall), White Trash Heroes is pretty solid pastiche of artful post punk (like Pavement) and the aforementioned Brits.

ARCHERS OF LOAF White Trash Heroes (Merge) lp 14.98
The final two installments in the ongoing campaign to reissue all four records from aQ beloved noise pop heroes Archers Of Loaf. We've previously reviewed their masterpiece debut, Icky Mettle, a record NO indie rocker should be without, and more recently we covered record number two, Vee Vee, that while perpetually in the shadow of Icky Mettle, is nearly as good, and thus about as essential. And now it's time for the last two Archers records, 1996's All The Nations Airports and 1998's swansong White Trash Heroes. While we would never suggest that either of these is as good or as essential as Icky Mettle, or even Vee Vee, we will say, that they hold up pretty damn well alongside those first two.
Most bands mellow with age, but if anything, Archers kept getting weirder and weirder and more obtuse, the hooks less obvious, the songs more gnarled and complicated, culminating in the bands final record, which was a seriously high note to go out on, opening with the instantly catchy, but weirdly brooding "Fashion Bleeds", with a wiry tension, and cool layered droned out chords, not to mention so weird effected guitar leads, sounding a bit like a way more warped and woozy Afghan Whigs weirdly enough. "Dead Red Eyes" is a gorgeous haunting ballad, Archers style, all swirly shimmer, and thick super distorted bass, and a weirdly stylized vocal, before the band get back to rocking with "I.N.S.", replete with funhouse mirror riffs, dense proggy drumming, and a tangled mathy arrangement, again sounding like not all that much had changed since icky Mettle. And of course the real final statement was the nearly 8 minute closer, the title track, epic and majestic, proggy and droney and hauntingly melodic, the perfect end to a nearly perfect four record streak.
The end of Archers was up there with the end of Polvo, for indie/post/math rock heartbreak, but the music lives on, and seriously sounds as ahead of its time now as it did nearly 15 years ago.
The reissue tacks on some awesome rarities, including a killer 1997 fan club single, which is seriously tripped out, as well as a bunch of 4 track demos, and a few unreleased B sides, including a wild and noisy, weirdly stop/start rambunctious rocker called "Whooh!" which is yet another track that pushes all our Icky Mettle buttons (those are all available as downloads with the vinyl version)!
MPEG Stream: "Fashion Bleeds"
MPEG Stream: "Dead Red Eyes"
MPEG Stream: "I.N.S."
MPEG Stream: "Whooh!"

ARCHETTI, LUIGI Cubic Yellow (Captain Trip) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There are so many offshoots of the prog/psych realm that cross into other genres, whose listeners would probably really enjoy, but don't ever get the chance due to the inherent flaws of niche marketing. Luigi Archetti's "Cubic Yellow" is one of those... Known for his collaborations with Mani Neumeier (Guru Guru) in Tiere Der Nacht, Swiss avant-guitarist Archetti now presents this exceptional downtempo electronica album with Hoovering swells that sound like Dom & Roland played at 33 1/3 rpm instead of 45 along with skittering breakbeats not unlike a stripped down Amon Tobin. Fans of Biosphere or The Orb should definitely take note of this one!!!

ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT Coconut (Domino) cd 14.98
Though we've never gotten around to listing anything by this awesome UK trio, we were impressed with their two previous full lengths from years back, and we're definitely stoked to have this new release. Coconut comes 4 years after the band's last record, and the production courtesy of ex-DFA dude Tim Goldsworthy helps to bring their sound to new territories. Pinning down Archie Bronson Outfit's music is not the easiest thing in the world, but at the same time, there's nothing not to get here. The effects are immediate and the band doesn't fuck around with abstract experimentation, even though the songs themselves are quite adventurous. It seems like there were more British bands going for this kind of thing a few years ago, and maybe this is a better representation of what all those bands actually wanted to sound like. ABO do what they do well, better than most to be perfectly upfront. This causes us to wonder why they aren't a bigger deal here in the states, especially being on Domino and all. It seems like many reviews don't know what to make of it, and maybe ABO hasn't done themselves any favors by touring as support for bands whose audiences could probably care less for this kind of thing. But whatever, Coconut is a superb album. The band is bluesy and quite psychedelic at times, but thankfully without a trace of any hippie bullshit or rock dude posturing. Instead, they seem like garage punk circa 1965 (you know, right before things started getting really weird) played by stoned guys with beards in button up shirts, with a nod to the dance floor (hence Goldsworthy's presence), rhythmic psych propulsion in the vein of Cave (especially on opening track "Magnetic Warrior"), and some major post-punk influences as well (some of us were reminded of The Fall and the Talking Heads, both apt comparisons). Sometimes things get pretty frenzied, but they also know when to hold back and get into a groove, always a good thing. Everything is held in place by the singer's urgent yelp, and the songs flow together really well. Nothing seems forced, and the songs take you where you want to go with their catchiness and overall rocking approach. Throughout it all, the melodies just pour out. It's dark, it's sexy, it's mysterious. It's f'n Coconut, and we hope you dig it as much as we do.
MPEG Stream: "Magnetic Warrior"
MPEG Stream: "Wild Strawberries"
MPEG Stream: "Run Gospel Singer"

ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT Coconut (Domino) lp 22.00
Though we've never gotten around to listing anything by this awesome UK trio, we were impressed with their two previous full lengths from years back, and we're definitely stoked to have this new release. Coconut comes 4 years after the band's last record, and the production courtesy of ex-DFA dude Tim Goldsworthy helps to bring their sound to new territories. Pinning down Archie Bronson Outfit's music is not the easiest thing in the world, but at the same time, there's nothing not to get here. The effects are immediate and the band doesn't fuck around with abstract experimentation, even though the songs themselves are quite adventurous. It seems like there were more British bands going for this kind of thing a few years ago, and maybe this is a better representation of what all those bands actually wanted to sound like. ABO do what they do well, better than most to be perfectly upfront. This causes us to wonder why they aren't a bigger deal here in the states, especially being on Domino and all. It seems like many reviews don't know what to make of it, and maybe ABO hasn't done themselves any favors by touring as support for bands whose audiences could probably care less for this kind of thing. But whatever, Coconut is a superb album. The band is bluesy and quite psychedelic at times, but thankfully without a trace of any hippie bullshit or rock dude posturing. Instead, they seem like garage punk circa 1965 (you know, right before things started getting really weird) played by stoned guys with beards in button up shirts, with a nod to the dance floor (hence Goldsworthy's presence), rhythmic psych propulsion in the vein of Cave (especially on opening track "Magnetic Warrior"), and some major post-punk influences as well (some of us were reminded of The Fall and the Talking Heads, both apt comparisons). Sometimes things get pretty frenzied, but they also know when to hold back and get into a groove, always a good thing. Everything is held in place by the singer's urgent yelp, and the songs flow together really well. Nothing seems forced, and the songs take you where you want to go with their catchiness and overall rocking approach. Throughout it all, the melodies just pour out. It's dark, it's sexy, it's mysterious. It's f'n Coconut, and we hope you dig it as much as we do.
MPEG Stream: "Magnetic Warrior"
MPEG Stream: "Wild Strawberries"
MPEG Stream: "Run Gospel Singer"

ARCHIMEDES BADKAR Badrock For Barn I Alla Aldrar (South Side) cd 24.00