PETER BJORN AND JOHN Falling Out (A Hidden Agenda) cd 14.98
If you love the pop sounds of The Posies, the New Pornographers, Sloan and The Shins as we here at aQ surely do, well, we might all be needing to add a new band to our list o' tunesome faves. The band is Peter Bjorn And John, and yes, the three Swedish lads' names are indeed Peter (Moren), Bjorn (Yttling) and John (Eriksson). This is their second full length and it's pretty right on! Their vocals have that 'aw shucks' boyish kind of quality. Y'know, slightly bashful, slightly drowsy, slightly slouchy and totally endearing. In fact, they sorta reminded us of Crowded House and Badly Drawn Boy too. Check 'em out!
MPEG Stream: "Far Away, By My Side"
MPEG Stream: "Big Black Coffin"

PETER BJORN AND JOHN Writer's Block (Almost Gold) cd 13.98
This Swedish pop group's third release is finally available domestically and thank God for that as it topped many of our "best of" lists of 2006, By now you must have heard PB & J's infectious single with Victoria Bergsman from the Concretes, "Young Folks" with its catchy off-handed whistling and cute animated video that has been an internet sensation for the past few months. Well, the rest of the album does not disappoint in the least. This is some of the best pop music we've heard in a long time that sounds as fresh as when bands like Blur and Pulp first started garnering attention a decade ago. And they do it so effortlessly by scaling back the guitars in favor of more subtle, economic and hook-laden arrangements, and well-written songs about love and heartbreak that never sound clichˇd.
Taking turns on vocal and songwriting duties, the trio are at the top of their game, making Writer's Block a delightfully varied affair as it takes us on a twisted journey through the highs and lows of romance. At times the sound is effervescent as on "Let's Call It Off", at other times it's more brooding as heard on the downbeat synth-heavy "The Chills". This domestic release comes with a bonus second disc of some extra tracks, a couple of remixes and alternate versions of "Let's Call It Off" and "Young Folks", the latter played on sitar! Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Young Folks"
MPEG Stream: "Start To Melt"

PETER JEFFERIES Substatic (Emperor Jones) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Easily the very best stuff that Peter Jefferies has done since he collaborated with his brother Graeme in This Kind of Punishment and Nocturnal Projections back in the early 80's. Dark, beautiful, tense instrumentals with guitar, piano, drums, and drones that recall Joy Division at their bleakest.

PETER JEFFERIES/JONO LONIE At Swim 2 Birds (Drunken Fish) cd 12.98

PETER, BJORN AND JOHN Gimme Some (Almost Gold / Startime Int'l) cd 13.98
Peter, Bjorn & John have redeemed themselves bigtime with this new outing! Their last album Living Thing, really sounded flat to our ears and was such a letdown after the thrilling pop they delivered on their breakout album Writer's Block. Well with Gimme Some, these Swedes have returned to the top of their game and it looks like this is going to be a major contender for pop record of the summer and maybe even the year! Ultra catchy melodies and hooks that hit hard, exuberant and energetic, and best of all no filler in the mix, this is what a perfect pop record should sound like. It's a record that has so much zest and an effortless vibe, while also containing some surprisingly rocking moments, and that certain charm that makes the way they craft songs so damn addictive. Who else can incorporate cowbell into one of the best pop songs of the year like they do on "Second Chance"?! This is proving to be one of those pop records like the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart debut or Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. We can't wait to blast this all summer long and beyond!
MPEG Stream: "Tomorrow Has To Wait"
MPEG Stream: "Second Chance"
MPEG Stream: "(Don't Let Them) Cool Off"

PETER, BJORN AND JOHN Gimme Some (Almost Gold / Startime Int'l) 2lp 24.00
Peter, Bjorn & John have redeemed themselves bigtime with this new outing! Their last album Living Thing, really sounded flat to our ears and was such a letdown after the thrilling pop they delivered on their breakout album Writer's Block. Well with Gimme Some, these Swedes have returned to the top of their game and it looks like this is going to be a major contender for pop record of the summer and maybe even the year! Ultra catchy melodies and hooks that hit hard, exuberant and energetic, and best of all no filler in the mix, this is what a perfect pop record should sound like. It's a record that has so much zest and an effortless vibe, while also containing some surprisingly rocking moments, and that certain charm that makes the way they craft songs so damn addictive. Who else can incorporate cowbell into one of the best pop songs of the year like they do on "Second Chance"?! This is proving to be one of those pop records like the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart debut or Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. We can't wait to blast this all summer long and beyond!
MPEG Stream: "Tomorrow Has To Wait"
MPEG Stream: "Second Chance"
MPEG Stream: "(Don't Let Them) Cool Off"

PETER, BJORN, & JOHN Living Thing (Star Time International) cd 15.98

MPEG Stream: "Nothing To Worry About"
MPEG Stream: "Living Thing"

PETER, BJORN, & JOHN Living Thing (Star Time International) lp 24.00

MPEG Stream: "Nothing To Worry About"
MPEG Stream: "Living Thing"

PETERSEN, SCOTT Out of the Loop (Headache) video 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A documentary of the rise of the "Chicago Scene" featuring Steve Albini, The Jesus Lizard, Eleventh Dream Day, Red Red Meat, Die Warzau and lots more. Contains live footage.

PETIT, PHILIPPE Una Symphonia Della Paura (Utech) cd 14.98
Here's one of the 2 new releases from beloved experimental label Utech that we're listing this week, the other being by Suzuki Juzno. Now, before we heard this one, we expected it to be good, 'cause it's on Utech after all, but knowing it was by eclectic French composer Philippe Petite, we didn't know WHAT exactly to expect in terms of sounds - was it gonna be glitchy laptopped electronica? Noisy avant-rock? Droned out soundscapery? Something else? All of the above? Petit has done a lot of things over the years, running both the Pandemonium and Bip-Hop labels, most recently playing in dronesters Strings Of Consciousness... And this is perhaps the heaviest, harshest thing he's been involved with yet, and "all of the above" does just about cover it.
The very first track, "Murmurs", is a collaboration with Justin Broadrick of Jesu/Godflesh/Final/etc. infamy, and that sets the super dark, distorted tone for the whole disc, which consists of 45 minutes of groaning, grinding, grainy, atmospheric instrumental industrial sludge spread over 5 tracks, made with guitars, organs, turntables, percussion, electronic processing, backwards effects, etc... In other words, delightful! That is, if your taste in abstract abrasiveness is at all like ours, partial to passages of subterranean rhythmic skitter mixed with moments of sheer Merzbowian intensity.
The centerpiece of this "Symphonia" is the 16+ minute "Fear Has Fallen", with its martial drumming buried under a sinister miasmic muzz, but the whole disc is quite noisily satisfying throughout. The black clouds of the sleeve art are highly appropriate imagery. Highly recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Murmurs"
MPEG Stream: "Fear Has Fallen"
MPEG Stream: "Diurnal Terror"

PETRACOVICH Crepusculo (Redbuttons Records) cd 12.98
This SF songstress (aka Jessica Peter) continues to make the sweetest of pop music that never topples overboard into the sugar bowl. Her graceful, bubbly piano and lovely voice draws the immediate attention. She can belt it out, or coo in a crystal clarity, or murmur out the merest whispery breath of a vocal. Check out the aching "You Are Perfect". Indeed unlike the dreamy airiness of her previous recordings, here she treads on somewhat darker terrain especially on the sumptuous instrumental interlude "Dark Woods". If you dig other awesome, crafty female singer/songwriters like Mirah or Mary Timony, take note!
MPEG Stream: "Miramar"
MPEG Stream: "You Are This Perfect"
MPEG Stream: "Sleep It Off / Lie Down"

PETRACOVICH We Are Wyoming (Red Button) cd 12.98
Petracovich's We Are Wyoming finds Ms Jessica Peters exploring some different avenues -- for one thing she's given her piano playing more of the spotlight -- but none that bring that fine state in the album title to our minds. This is much more other worldly or at least other timely, perhaps harking back to some old tyme saloon or cabaret... but mind you, not one filled with rowdy drunken louts, women of ill repute and much broken glass. No, this sounds almost as if she hopped aboard a time machine that transported her back so that she could sneak into the place long after closing time to sing and play their rickety old piano all by her lonesome. An accompaniment of glistening electronic textural clouds and shuffly stuttery rhythms magically takes shape out of thin air to swirl around her breathy vocals and warm piano. Much more airy and haunting than her debut Blue Cotton Skin (which leaned more heavily on electronics a la Beth Orton or Massive Attack), this dreamy sophomore release really shows Peter's coming into her own as a songwriter and finding her own voice. So darn lovely!
MPEG Stream: "Telephone"
MPEG Stream: "Paper Cup"

PETTERSON, TOBIAS & ULF HENNINGSSON The Encyclopedia Of Swedish Progressive Music 1967-1979 (Premium Publishing) book+cd 54.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ok, this item has a fairly self-explanatory title, eh? Also, here's the subtitle: "From Psychedelic Experiments To Political Propaganda". Interested? If so, then all that really remains for us to say is, yeah, you should seriously consider picking this up, it's really well done and a good value for the money. Physically, this is a gorgeous tome, and all signs point to it being quite accurate and thorough information-wise.
If you're at all like us you're aware that in recent years the spate of reissues from the Swedish psych / prog scene -- like for instance the whole amazing Parson Sound / International Harvester / Harvester / Trad Gras Och Stenar axis -- has been pretty thrilling. Having a guide to both the bands we've heard of and the many, many more that we haven't is pretty great. Also if you're like us you LOVE books full of pictures of record sleeves, wherever they're from and whatever they are. And this book's got tons of album covers, many of them psychedelically sensational, reproduced in full color!
Plus there's loads of factual info for those curious about the bands, or for record collector types trying to figure out what the original vinyl is worth. Each entry consists of info on the band's line-up, a descriptive paragraph discussing their music and history, as well as a detailed discography. Algarnas Tradgard, Arbete & Fritid, Aunt Sally, Charlie & Esdor, Bo Hansson, Kebnekajse, Life, November, Mikael Ramel, Pugh Rogefeldt, Samla Mammas Manna, Trettioariga Kriget, Turid... they're all here and of course plenty more we'd never heard of before.
In addition to this A-Z of bands, there's a band member index and label discographies as well, with that of the Silence label being the most impressive. And, there's also an introductory essay dealing with the political dimension shared by a lot of the music from the Swedish scene. Apparently, in Sweden there was a difference between "prog" with one g and "progg" with two g's, with the former referring as usual to progressive rock bands like ELP and Yes, latter being a distinctly Swedish concept of (not-necessarily virtuosic or complex) music that reflected the ideals of the left-wing Movement of the times.
All in all, very intriguing and tantalizing, leaving us to look at the those album covers and begin dreaming record collector dreams!
235 pages, hardback, 8 1/2" x 12". Full color EVERYWHERE, and lots of cool b&w photos too. A deluxe production indeed. And there's a bonus cd included as well, featuring the obscure jamming psych band Baby Grandmothers, with three previously unreleased live tracks from 1967 (different from the stuff on their archival Subliminal Sounds cd release also reviewed this list).
If only there was a book like this for EVERY cool musical scene past and present...
NB. mailorder customers, be aware that due to the size and weight of this book, it counts as more than one item for freight purposes -- so any order that includes this book will ship UPS at the 3+ items rate of $6.50 for shipping & handling.

PFFR United We Doth (Birdman) cd 12.98

PHAIR, LIZ Exile In Guyville (ATO) cd+dvd 15.98
We had almost forgotten how divisive this record was when it came out way back in 1993. But we were quickly reminded when this reissue dropped just by observing the reactions from some folks, especially women, which is ironic as Exile In Guyville was meant to be this vitriolic girl power bash on one of Phair's exes (dude from Urge Overkill apparently), but lots of the women we know were really put off by this record. Not sure if it was Phair herself, what she became, or just the whole concept, which could come across as a whinging bitterly about a breakup instead of a powerful kick ass fuck you to a shitty ex, but listening to this again just reminds us that Exile In Guyville is a pretty fucking awesome record. Dark jangly indie pop, with super intense, often harsh, sometimes hilarious lyrics, all wound up with dark melodies, powerful guitars, and KILLER hooks, and while Phair's voice is not necessarily super polished, it totally suits the material, raw, rough, but melodic and sweet, and with a definite edge, often straining for notes she can't reach, but instead of sounding wrong, it ends up sounding passionate and aggressive, sometimes dangerously sexy, other times wistful and sad. Supposedly a song by song reworking of the Rolling Stones Exile On Mainstreet, it's easy to get all hung up on the drama and the fallout, and the post Guyville shitty records Phair released, and the ALL the hype, but fuck all that, this record is awesome. As essential in terms of nineties college rock as the Lemonheads It's A Shame About Ray or a handful of other iconic releases.
Some standout tracks: the could-have-been-a-hit "Never Said with it's soaring chorus and big crunchy guitars, the swirling moody guitar/vocal workout of "Dance Of The Seven Veils" with it's swoonsome falsetto and the (apparently, at the time) shocking use of the word 'cunt' in the lyrics, and of course the most referenced Guyville track "Fuck And Run", and for good reason, a super stripped down jangle, with awesomely bitter lyrics and it's "fuck and run" refrain, the crunchy grinding guitar heavy "Johnny Sunshine", with its dueling vocals and almost choral second half, and maybe our favorite track "Stratford-On-Guy" a loping minor key groove with almost spoken vocals, but all woven around a killer minor key main melody.
What else can we say, we loved it back in the day, it sounds just as good now as it did then. The reissue tacks on three bonus tracks, not essential, but fans will certainly dig. Also included is a dvd featuring a documentary about the making of Guyville, as well as the reaction to the record featuring tons of (maybe not so) random folks including Dave Matthews, Ira Glass, Gerard Cosloy from Matador, Steve Albini and more, as well as Phair in conversation with the man who inspired the record! Interesting and fun, maybe a little self important, but ultimately, all the extra stuff is totally superfluous, as the record as it is, as it was, all on its own, is really all you need, and if you don't already have it, then you really do need it.
MPEG Stream: "Dance Of The Seven Veils"
MPEG Stream: "Never Said"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck And Run"
MPEG Stream: "Stratford-On-Guy"

PHAIR, LIZ s/t (Capitol) cd 16.98
Take every review that you've read about Avril Lavigne, replace the words "Avril Lavigne" with Liz Phair, and you'll have a perfectly good description of what this album is going for: an impressively produced, commercially viable modern-rock album, complete with insipid lyrics and baby-faced pouting. A bizarre turn of events for the songwriter who delivered an album as gleefully profane as "Exile In Guyville."
MPEG Stream: "Rock Me"

PHAIR, LIZ Somebody's Miracle (Capitol) cd 17.98
Okay folks, this new Liz Phair album is even more fuckin' weird than her last one was (in which she was all tarted up like Avril Lavigne's big sister). First things first dammit, please please please stop the overuse and abuse in recording studios of that 'autotune' vocal processor! From Cher to Bob Mould to Phair, the situation's gotten downright desparing. WTF! Her voice and songs are indistinguishable from those of Lindsayashleekelly Clarksonsimpsonlohan. We guess she's still vying to be the next scientifically formulated and slickly programmed pop starlet... which probably also explains the '70s soft focus style design (feminine hygiene? Judy Blume? soft core?) of the front cover. Ewww. Are you there God? It's just not Phair.
MPEG Stream: "Leap Of Innocence"
MPEG Stream: "Everything To Me"

PHAIR, LIZ Whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador/Capitol) cd 14.98
Liz's third album isn't nearly as sassy as her first but let's remind ourselves that there ain't nothing wrong with shopaholics growing up and making the record they always wanted to make and if that means it's smoothed out and radio ready and oh-so Lilith-Fair-y middle of the road, then so be it. Vinyl is 150 gram "audiophile quality".

PHAIR, LIZ Whitechocolatespaceegg (Matador/Capitol) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Liz's third album isn't nearly as sassy as her first but let's remind ourselves that there ain't nothing wrong with shopaholics growing up and making the record they always wanted to make and if that means it's smoothed out and radio ready and oh-so Lilith-Fair-y middle of the road, then so be it. Vinyl is 150 gram "audiophile quality".

PHANTOM FAMILY HALO, THE The Legend Of Black Six (Roller Rink Rampage) lp 14.98
The label describes The Phantom Family Halo as sounding like Alice Copper, Black Sabbath, Tangerine Dream and Marc Bolan, or Scott Walker fronting Roxy Music. Phew, it's hard not to think this might be the best record EVER given that description. And while this is pretty darn good, it's not quite all that.
The first thing we actually thought when we heard this was Black Mountain. The same sort of seventies hard rocking hippy groove thing going on. Drawled vocals, fuzzy guitars, lazy and laid back, stoned and wasted. But PFH add a healthy dose of spacey synths, drifting new wave ambience, and a bit of a glam swagger to their seventies groove.
It never gets all that HEAVY, and we hear very little Black Sabbath if any at all, but we DO in fact hear PLENTY of T-Rex and Roxy Music, dramatic crooning over swirling glammy grooves and shuffling in the pocket percussion. Definitely the perfect fix for your seventies glittery hard rock stoned groove addiction.
The weirdest thing about this group is definitely the membership/pedigree though. One member is also in a Venom style metal band called Dead Child along with Dave Pajo, as well as drumming for an outfit with a forthcoming Siltbreeze release. While another member was a touring member of the reunited Slint and just happens to be Brian McMahan's (of Slint) little brother.
Super limited. Hand silkscreened. Vinyl-only first edition.

PHANTOM LIMB + BISON s/t (Utech) cd-r 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
BACK IN STOCK! Probably last copies ever...
We first discovered Phantom Limb on the now out of print collaboration with Japanese guitarist Tetuzi Akiyama released on aRCHIVE a few months back. Phantom Limb aka one half of East Coast noisemakers PeeEssEye, brought to the table a cacophony of whirring organs and grinding guitars, a blown out expanse of buzzing drone and strange swirling guitar ambience.
For this disc, Phantom Limb have teamed up with Bison, who as far as we can tell plays contrabass clarinet, and between the two 'outfits' manage to creep and crawl through two half hour slabs of far out drift and roar. the first track see's and saw's back and forth between, blissful tranquility, minimal synthesizer buzz, warm chordal whir and huge grinding slabs of angular low end scrape and squeal, spending more time in the soft than the loud, but the loud bits are extra loud to make up for it.
The second track is one long drone, that works its way through various textures and timbres, it's here that you can really discern the presence of a clarinet, but just barely, this is no free jazz skronk fest, instead, it's a sort of Niblockish war of overtones, slabs of sound beating against one another as tones gradually shift and subtly interact. Dense and deep, layers continually being added and transformed, other layers constantly being peeled away revealing some other strange subtle sonic alchemy underneath. Nice.
Limited to 200, each disc hand numbered.
Packaged in a cool card stock sleeve with printed sticker with liner notes and artwork.
MPEG Stream: "Get Out! You Mental Horsepill!"
MPEG Stream: "Phantom Limb &, When Standing By Itself, Means And Bison"

PHANTOM LIMBS Displacement (Alternative Tentacles) cd 12.98
An endless tangle of arpeggiated wheezing organ spurts. Bristling guitar chords grapple with the keyboard mayhem. A primal thump on a skeletal drumkit. Testy male vocals (and some female ones too on the third song "Wrenches And Spoons") sneer, slur and spit out the lyrics. Much creeping, brooding and scowling ensue as the Phantom Limbs' second full length Displacement launches its festering ghoulish assault. Not quite as hyperly confrontational and spastic as their Applied Ignorance debut album, but definitely still draws a great deal of lifeblood from the seminal synth-punk band the Screamers. At one moment you're trapped inside a haunted funhouse long after closing time, the next you're lost deep in the dankest catacombs, and the next you're scrambling to keep step in their three-legged funereal march. Whether intentional or not, this is just in time for Halloween.
MPEG Stream: "Wrenches And Spoons"
MPEG Stream: "Turtle Doves"

PHANTOM LIMBS Random Hymns (Gold Standard Laboratories) cd ep 8.98
Do you hear that din? There's an evil circus brewing up a storm in the bat cave and its name is Phantom Limbs. Yup, they're back with a new EP on their totally appropriate new label home, Gold Standard Laboratories. Still spewin' the ultra convulso-vocals atop churning thick synth lines and a primal stompin' rhythm section. The Limbs' Random Hymns get even more chaotic on the fourth track. With its chopped up dialogue samples (including some from American Movie), gimp-style vocals and overall aggressive dissonance, "Jackalope Rising" takes the listener into what is perhaps the band's most fucked-up and bizarre territory to date. Pretty darn rad.
MPEG Stream: "Topanga Canyon Torture"
MPEG Stream: "Jackalope Rising"

PHANTOM LIMBS, THE Applied Ignorance (Alternative Tentacles) cd 13.98
A hellish new-wave circus. The Screamers meets the Butthole Surfers? No, it's not as good that would be, but Oakland's Phantom Limbs are pretty cool, with interesting and freakish vocals over carnival organ punk. Entertaining live too. With Jello Biafra's hero worship of the Screamers well-documented (his soon-to-be-released recent collaboration with I Am Spoonbender on the Screamers 'Eva Braun' will show this to be self-evident), you can see why he put this out on Alternative Tentacles. The cover art could be better, but 1982 in the best way.
RealAudio clip: "Piss on Them Lightly"
RealAudio clip: "Unhinged Face"

PHANTOM PAYN DAYS s/t (De Stiijl) lp 17.98
Phantom Payn Days was the mid-to-late '90s solo project of Juergen Gleue, who some of you might know as one half of Germany's mysterious electro punks 39 Clocks. Musically Phantom Payn Days shares a similar approach, with results that are perhaps a little more upbeat and less nihilistic, at least in the sound department. While the Clocks displayed an appropriately stripped down approach, things are even more so here, which of course makes sense, as it's just one guy who was already part of an expertly minimal project in the first place. Despite the demo like recording quality here - which is actually just as good and more effective than a lot of stuff that comes out today - Gleue's songwriting talents and his grasp of melody are what make things stand out. Dreamy keyboards, sparse percussion, and highly melodic droney guitars accompany Gleue's detached, accented vocals, which will be immediately recognizable to anyone who's heard 39 Clocks. The lack of information here adds to the weird, timeless quality and you certainly won't think "90s" when you hear this. Scuzzy but surprisingly melodic, hazy and ethereal, Phantom Payn Days is another winner from this dude we know next to nothing about.

PHANTOM SURFERS The Phantom Surfers and Dick Dale (Crown) cd 13.98
It may look like a collaboration, but is actually a tribute.

PHANTOM SURFERS The Phantom Surfers and Dick Dale (Crown) lp 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It may look like a collaboration, but is actually a tribute.

PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH Beard of Lightning (Off) cd 14.98
If only we all commanded the sort of indie rock power that Robert Pollard does. He wishes aloud for the chance to sing for eighties art-jazz-punk rockers Phantom Tollbooth and -Poof!- The band erase all the vocals from their definitive album Power Toy, and present it to Pollard, so he can sing and rewrite all the vocals and melodies. Now why you would feel compelled to do that to a record that you already loved, just the way it is, is a whole other question and I'm sure the answer involves the mighty EGO in some way. But I digress. Power Toy was an awesome record of murky, college art rock infused with some skronky jazzy bits and some punk rock aggression. They sort of hovered somewhere between the Homestead / Touch And Go Midwest punk rock scene (Husker Du, Killdozer, etc.) and the NY art rock world (Bongwater, King Missle, Shimmy Disc) and featured Dave Rick who did time in Yo La Tengo way back as well as guesting in lots of NY bands at the time. So what does Pollard bring to the table? Lots of familiar melodies, that scruffy, almost-fake-British accent he does so well, and a pretty interesting take on a record most people have probably never heard. Being that I love the orginal, it's harder for me to get into the Pollard-ized version, but for folks who haven't, or for folks who are GBV completists, this is just a really cool art/pop/punk/rock record and is just the next eclectic step in Pollard's unpredictable artistic path. And hopefully this will kick someone's ass to reissue the proper version of Power Toy. And in case anyone's listening, Andee would really like to play the drums on Bastro's 'Sing The Troubled Beast' and would really like to sing on The Frogs' 'It's Only Right And Natural'! Now we wait....
MPEG Stream: "Mascara Snakes"
MPEG Stream: "Atom Bomb Professor"

PHANTOMSMASHER s/t (Ipecac) cd 17.98
Perhaps you remember (and/or have in your cd collection) the Atomsmasher cd released by Hydra Head last year? Lead by avant/ambient guitarist James Plotkin (formerly of weird Earache metal band OLD), and featuring drum god Dave Witte (Human Remains/Discordance Axis/Melt Banana/etc.), with processed "AudioMulch" vocals from DJ Speedranch, Atomsmasher got a pretty enthusiastic recommendation from us at the time, as a unique blend of live (but inhumanly played) drums, avant-noise-sampling guitar, and computer-created chaos. Grindcore electronica?
Well, after a ridiculous legal wrangle with some uptight, clueless pop band that apparently had the rights to the name Atomsmasher (and absurdly accused this Atomsmasher of intentionally 'stealing' it), the Plotkin/Witte/Speedranch project changed their moniker to Phantomsmasher. (I think they should have just called themselves Atomsmashersmasher.) Now they've come out with a new cd, on Mike Patton's Ipecac label. At first listen we weren't sure, and thought maybe the original Atomsmasher cd was superior. This one seemed a bit too...post rock. Not quite like Tortoise or Gastr del Sol though, more metallic (but by no means actually metal) and aggro, kinda like Don Cab. Witte's drumming sounds more real, less computerized than before. There's still insane blasting parts, but also some more straight-ahead boom bap. And Plotkin's thick bass slabs get almost funky. From the get go (track one, "Bishop Hopping"), with Speedranch's weirdly child-like Mulched vocals, it reminded us of a Ruins or Hella record, but thrown in a blender on "high". Cool, but not nearly as out-and-out insanely intense as the noisefest of their first album, though still pretty nuts. But things get more interesting as the Phantomsmasher disc goes along. The chaos coalesces into something more like actual songs, not totally random rhythms and noise-eruptions. In its own, densely complex, distorted, and noisy way, it's kinda catchy! Definitely different from the debut, but they've chosen a worthwhile direction to explore.
RealAudio clip: "Bishop Hopping"
RealAudio clip: "Halibut Jones"
RealAudio clip: "Digit Dirt"

PHARAOH OVERLORD #1 (Ektro) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
At last, back in stock (although supplies are limited)! Here's our review of the debut Pharaoh Overlord album, from way back on list 113...
The other day a mail order customer called up and ordered Finnish post-rockers Circle's tUMULt release "Andexelt" (soon to be repressed BTW), and also "Ciudad de Brahman" by Argentinean stoner-rock outfit Natas. I immediately suggested that he also get a copy of this debut cd by Pharaoh Overlord, which, being the "stoner rock" project of Circle's Jussi Lehtisalo, is pretty much a perfect cross between the hypnotic riff-repetition and rhythmic pulse of Circle and the super heavy stoner vibe of Kyuss-worshippers Natas! Jussi describes this project (which also includes the guitarist from Bad Vugum band Sweetheart) as being "Hypno-improv-stoner-rock from Finland (file under Psychedelic)" and we'd have to agree, that's the honest truth. It's VERY psychedelic in the most head-noddinest of ways, really not that far removed from the heavier Circle output, but with more of a stoner sensibility that should definitely appeal to fans of Kyuss and the like. The jams on here also hark back to '70s greats like Pink Floyd and Ash Ra Tempel. It's all instrumental, all mesmerizing, totally great. Everytime we play it in the store people ask what it is, it's that good. Definitely if you're already a sucker for anything Circle (like us!) you'll want it, and stoner/space rock fans should also be very very happy with this disc. Oh, and yes, it's called Pharaoh Overlord, how cool is that?
MPEG Stream: "Landslide Non Stop"
MPEG Stream: "Mystery Shopper"

PHARAOH OVERLORD #3 (Riot Season) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whoo-hoo! Hypnotic as ever, here's the third studio album (and fourth disc overall counting the live Battle Of The Axehammer) from Circle's so-called (by us) "stoner rock" side-project. Well now we'd have to say that stoner rock tag is a bit inaccurate, an oversimplication. I mean, we were kinda hoping they'd always stay "heavy" but I think that they're not so much "the stoner rock version of Circle" now, than they are simply a stripped down, instrumental Circle with more psych guitar action. Very very krauty. This actually actually sounds a lot like Salvatore, as much as Circle, for that matter. Which is most definitely a good thing!
Stacked up alongside the rest of Pharaoh Overlord's albums, it's not so dark as II, not so fried and blown-out as Battle, and probably comes closest to #1. And it's definitely something stoners are still gonna dig, but while they do heavy it up riff-wise sometimes, the psych aspect is laid-back and mellow just as much. Can you imagine the vibe of that last Dead Meadow mixed with a Circle style rhythmic pulse? This is all about tracks like opener "Test Flight", a druggy ten minute psych-jam, or track three, an epic, but almost funkily tight number called "Laivius 17", that builds up over 13 minutes and 13 seconds, getting more and more psych-guitar-skronked until it snaps -- into track four, "Autobahn", nothing but a droning, distorted guitar-burn solo. It's ten minutes but I wouldn't mind it for a whole album! That then swivels into the tick-tock, low-key groove of "Octagon". Very Can, that one. And on it goes... If only Pharaoh Overlord/Circle could come up with a way to make their cds automatically repeat when they reach the end, that would utterly satisfy the Circle aesthetic. Of course, you, the listener, will probably want to hit play again, but that's assuming you're not too zoned out to move your arm.
MPEG Stream: "Test Flight"
MPEG Stream: "Laivaus 17"
MPEG Stream: "Autobahn"

PHARAOH OVERLORD #4 (Ektro) cd 14.98
BACK IN PRINT! And we're so happy! If you missed this, get it NOW.
Another one to file under "NWOFHM"! New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal. That's Pharaoh Overlord/Circle bassist Jussi's little joke. Only now it's gone waaaaay beyond joking. Or to another level of joke anyway. What we're saying, is that this fourth Pharaoh Overlord opus is a headbanger's delight, for real. Sure, Pharaoh Overlord were already supposed to be the "heavy" Circle side project, and they were, but not like this. This ain't mere 'stoner rock', this doesn't sound anything like Kyuss anymore. Instead, they've adopted chugging speed metal riffage that could be from an Accept album circa 1984, lashed it to their usual repetitive krautrocky rhythms, unleashed some very metal vocals, and gone entirely over to the dark side (which, by the way, is the title of one of our favorite tracks here, the album-ending 8+ minute instrumental epic that just drives a mean riff into your brain like the spiked fist thru the face of the skull in the cd booklet!!). They even snuck a little umlaut in over the 2nd 'o' in 'Overlord' on the spine of this cd.
Circle (and Pharaoh Overlord at this point have pretty much the exact same lineup as Circle, it's basically the same band) have dropped big hints about their love of metal before -- making references in their graphics and in their music, with many tracks on such albums as Sunrise and Tulikoira being pretty darn metal, as we've noted before -- but here they go whole hog. They sound less like a spacerock band who want to give a nod to metal with a riff here and there, than like a really weird actual metal band! It's rifftastic, hypnotic biker metal with a strange psychedelic side to it. And best of all -- it works! It's a high concept success (and as we mentioned, they've been seemingly high on this concept before, but never have been this tight with it). The unpredictable predictability of any Circle or Circle-related album, their basic kraut-inspired, "circular" formula, stands up to and indeed seems to embrace this metallic obsession. The tick-tock percussion and cyclical riffs just wind up tension, even as they entrance the listener, making this so very heavy and ominous in a way that maybe no other metal band would or could explore but they'd have to appreciate. AMAZING!!
Can Jussi and Co. get any more metal than this? Well soon we'll see when we get the upcoming Circle cdep Earthworm which features Bruce Duff from '80s alt-metal band Jesters Of Destiny on vocals! Supposed to be pretty darn heavy. Stay tuned.
MPEG Stream: "Now We Know"
MPEG Stream: "Demons In The Rising Sun"

PHARAOH OVERLORD #4 (Conspiracy) lp 29.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Our pals at Conspiracy Records, a label/distro based in Belgium, who in the past have brought us records by Boris, Jesu, Shora and more, turned 10 years old in 2006. A decade of amazing music. From a bedroom based punk rock label, to one of Europe's most important and influential labels and distros, all we can say is HURRAY! And HUZZAH! It's always so exciting, when a bunch of folks get together to spread the word about great music, great WEIRD music, and survive, even thrive. Such is the case with Conspiracy. And as if that weren't already enough, just knowing that some great people were selling some amazing music, those sweeties at Conspiracy have decided to share the love with us. And you.
To celebrate their 10th anniversary, they've decided to do a super limited subscription series, 12 records over 12 months, each limited to somewhere between 200-500 copies, ONLY available to series subscribers. EXCEPT, they've decided to let AQ have 20 copies of each, we're the only store with copies of these subscriber only lps, and for a brief moment, we can offer them to you, our loyal AQ customers. Needless to say we are thrilled, as the series lineup reads like a who's who of AQ faves, as well as including a handful of lesser knowns. All pressed on super thick vinyl, and packaged in killer hand screened original art sleeves. But be warned, we only got 20 of each, and we will run out fast and we will not be able to get more. When we do run out, there is a chance you can still get one from Conspiracy direct, but what that means is act fast and prepare to leave empty handed. This latest batch happens to be vinyl versions of stuff we've had on cd already, things by bands/artists that we LOVE and are stoked to have on vinyl now: Tim Hecker, Wolf Eyes/Grey Daturas, and this one, Pharaoh Overlord's #4!
Another one to file under "NWOFHM"! New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal. That's Pharaoh Overlord/Circle bassist Jussi's little joke. Only now it's gone waaaaay beyond joking. Or to another level of joke anyway. What we're saying, is that this fourth Pharaoh Overlord opus is a headbanger's delight, for real. Sure, Pharaoh Overlord were already supposed to be the "heavy" Circle side project, and they were, but not like this. This ain't mere 'stoner rock', this doesn't sound anything like Kyuss anymore. Instead, they've adopted chugging speed metal riffage that could be from an Accept album circa 1984, lashed it to their usual repetitive krautrocky rhythms, unleashed some very metal vocals, and gone entirely over to the dark side (which, by the way, is the title of one of our favorite tracks here, the album-ending 8+ minute instrumental epic that just drives a mean riff into your brain like the spiked fist thru the face of the skull on the record's cover!!). They even snuck a little umlaut in over the 2nd 'o' in 'Overlord' too!
Circle (and Pharaoh Overlord at this point have pretty much the exact same lineup as Circle, it's basically the same band) have dropped big hints about their love of metal before -- making references in their graphics and in their music, with many tracks on such albums as Sunrise and Tulikoira being pretty darn metal, as we've noted before -- but here they go whole hog. They sound less like a spacerock band who want to give a nod to metal with a riff here and there, than like a really weird actual metal band! It's rifftastic, hypnotic biker metal with a strange psychedelic side to it. And best of all -- it works! It's a high concept success (and as we mentioned, they've been seemingly high on this concept before, but never have been this tight with it). The unpredictable predictability of any Circle or Circle-related album, their basic kraut-inspired, "circular" formula, stands up to and indeed seems to embrace this metallic obsession. The tick-tock percussion and cyclical riffs just wind up tension, even as they entrance the listener, making this so very heavy and ominous in a way that maybe no other metal band would or could explore but they'd have to appreciate. AMAZING!!
MPEG Stream: "Now We Know"
MPEG Stream: "Demons In The Rising Sun"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Horn (Ektro) cd 15.98
Unexpected good news for all of you compact disc diehards, and also for any fan of Pharaoh Overlord (and/or their mothership act Circle, which this could just as easily be, sonically) who missed this completely when it first came out in late 2011 as a super limited, vinyl-only release. We quickly sold the few we had then, so chances are not everybody who wanted it got one, but it's now been reissued by the Ektro on cd, with, yes, a BONUS track!! As the sticker on the front says, "Full gig!", the vinyl version of this killer live recording having omitted for reasons of space one entire 7+ minute song, "Relic", which is now included here.
"Relic" and the other four (long!) tracks on Horn were recorded live at something called "Space Force 1, 2nd Flight" in Lahti, Finland in late 2010. All but one of 'em are exclusive-to-this-record PO compositions. The other one's a cover of "Revolution" by the great Spacemen 3. All are riffy, raucous, rhythmic noiserock, with some stray pretty piano plinking and enthusiastic crowd response whenever the band takes a between-song break.
Well, we probably don't need to say a whole lot more, but absolutely have to quote the blurb from the sticker on the cover of the original lp version. Pretty much sums it up: "Horn documents 'The Lord' in their rawest, nastiest live mood. Like an early Mudhoney jamming with Crazy Cavan and The Rhythm Rockers, or Sonic Youth tearing it up with Elakelaiset." Yeah, we totally agree! Even though we've never heard of Crazy Cavan and the Rhythm Rockers before (a '70s teddy boy rockabilly act from Wales, it turns out), nor novelty Finnish "humppa" band Elakelaiset, either. But the Mudhoney and Sonic Youth, we hear, yeah, loud and clear.
'Tis wild stuff, not exactly in PO's "New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal" style like their Out Of Darkness album that immediately preceded it, but definitely ROCK, closer to their later Lunar Jetman record, channelling Spacemen 3 (obviously, since they do the cover) and Funhouse-era Stooges. But noisier! It's blasting, throbbing, distortodelic overload, that WE might compare to a rabid combination of The Heads and Circle. Awww yeah!
MPEG Stream: "Solar Stomp"
MPEG Stream: "Sky"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Horn (Full Contact / Svart) lp 24.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The good news: at last, we finally got some copies of this recent vinyl-only PO album! The not-so-good-news: we only were able to get a few, not nearly as many as we'd wanted. And that's it, when they're gone they're gone. So, if you're a fan of Finland's Pharaoh Overlord (and/or their mothership act Circle, which this could just as easily be, sonically), act fast if you want one.
Some further info: the four (long!) tracks on Horn were recorded live at something called "Space Force 1, 2nd Flight" in Lahti, Finland in late 2010. Three out of the four are exclusive-to-this-record PO compositions: "Lalibela", "Solar Stomp", and "Sky". And then other one's a cover of "Revolution" by Spacemen 3. All are riffy, raucous, rhythmic noiserock, with some stray pretty piano plinking and enthusiastic crowd response whenever the band takes a between-song break. And the packaging is sumptuous, the thick gatefold sleeve bearing colorful artwork, band name stamped in golden foil... Limited to only 500 copies and as we said, we got all we're gonna be able to get, ever.
Well, we probably don't need to say a whole lot more, but absolutely have to quote the blurb on the sticker on the cover. Pretty much sums it up: "Horn documents 'The Lord' in their rawest, nastiest live mood. Like an early Mudhoney jamming with Crazy Cavan and The Rhythm Rockers, or Sonic Youth tearing it up with Elakelaiset." Yeah, we totally agree! Even though we've never heard of ('70s teddy boy rockabilly act from Wales, it turns out) Crazy Cavan and the Rhythm Rockers before, nor novelty Finnish "humppa" band Elakelaiset, neither. But the Mudhoney and Sonic Youth, we hear, yeah.
'Tis wild stuff, not exactly in PO's "New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal" style like their recent Out Of Darkness album, but definitely ROCK, channelling Spacemen 3 (obviously, since they do the cover) and Funhouse-era Stooges. But noisier! It's blasting, throbbing, distortodelic overload, that WE might compare to a rabid combination of The Heads and Circle. Awww yeah!
MPEG Stream: "Solar Stomp"
MPEG Stream: "Sky"

PHARAOH OVERLORD II (No Quarter) cd 15.98
Yay. Pharaoh Overlord is the all-instrumental so-called "stoner rock" side project of our favorite Finns, Circle. Now they're back, with the aptly titled "II", and a new line-up that's apparently all members of Circle. Interestingly, while Circle themselves went kinda metal with "Sunrise", Pharaoh Overlord seem to have have mellowed out. Well not quite, as track 4 amps up the riffs a bit. But you'd be hard pressed to call this "stoner rock" anymore. It's more like a really relaxed Circle, still "heavy" but in a way that has less to do with being loud than being low (a bit like them other AQ-faves Bohren and Der Club Of Gore). Repetitive trance-inducing space rock, all deep, rumbling, and spacious. A real nod-scene. Metronomyic drums, meandering guitars, six long tracks of minimal, mellow menace. Even darker and dubbier than their first album. Definitely dubbier. But still totally psychedelic. Goes well with the disc Argentine stoner rockers Los Natas recorded for Circle's label Ektro, "Toba-Trance". And Circle fans will of course be pleased -- we're reminded of Circle's "Paint It Black" cover... Lovingly packaged courtesy of No Quarter, a label also responsible for some excellent releases from the likes of Earth and Laddio Bollocko.
MPEG Stream: "August"
MPEG Stream: "Skyline"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Live In Suomi Finland (Vivo) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Bow down, people. Just bow down. If extended, repetitive, droned-out krauty stoner prog a la Circle is your thing, then this disc definitely for you, surprise surprise. Sheer hypnosis. Utterly mesmeric. Sounds sooooooooooooo gooooooooooood. It's hard to think of these guys as just a band, the music here seems produced by some organic force. It's a living thing really. A throbbing monster of an album.
Just like their sister band Circle, of which they're all members, Finnish psychsters Pharaoh Overlord have built a discography (they're up to six albums now, counting this one) that somehow maintains a core identity yet always does something different each time out. They started off with the stoner rock riff mantras of #1, then went to the mostly subdued noirishness of II, followed that with the live-and-raw Battle Of The Axehammer, then came back with the krautrockingly Circle-like diversions of #3, all before delving into the absurdly headbanging metallisms of #4 that even added vocals to their previously instrumental lineup. So, now what? What next? A second live album, this time called Live In Suomi Finland, recorded in Helsinki in May of 2006. On it the regular Pharaoh Overlord lineup of Jussi, Tomi and Janne is augmented by two more Finnish friends, and special guest Hans Joachim Irmler of legendary krautrockers Faust! His electric organ grind here adds an extra dose of distorted drone to the proceedings.
Of the two live PO discs this is definitely the best sounding. It's not as raw and blown-out as Battle Of The Axehammer, it's got better fidelity, but if anything it's even heavier!! Perhaps its the additional "remixing" credited to Irmler, whatever magic he worked in later in the Faust studio definitely makes this more than "just" a live album.
There's five tracks here, though it's a very continuously flowing disc... starting with the infectious riffery of "Black Horse" (which has appeared previously only in another live version on Battle Of The Axehammer), followed by two totally new tracks, "Tutankharmony" and "Zero Gravity" that relax the volume and mood a bit with a sense of smokey, improv mystery. Then they launch into "Skyline", the heaviest cut from II, before winding up / blowing out with a quarter-hour rendition #1's "Mangrove". An incredible 50+ minutes all told. Boy, we wish we'd been there! Too bad SF-Helsinki flights aren't quick or cheap...
MPEG Stream: "Mangrove"
MPEG Stream: "Zero Gravity"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Live In Suomi Finland (Klangbad) lp 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Awesome! Faust's label Klangbad now has put this out on vinyl, an Irmler-enhanced stellar live set from this Circle side-project, originally released on cd by Poland's Vivo label back in 2007, and long out of print in that format. Here's what we said then:
Bow down, people. Just bow down. If extended, repetitive, droned-out krauty stoner prog a la Circle is your thing, then this disc definitely for you, surprise surprise. Sheer hypnosis. Utterly mesmeric. Sounds sooooooooooooo gooooooooooood. It's hard to think of these guys as just a band, the music here seems produced by some organic force. It's a living thing really. A throbbing monster of an album.
Just like their sister band Circle, of which they're all members, Finnish psychsters Pharaoh Overlord have built a discography (they're up to six albums now, counting this one) that somehow maintains a core identity yet always does something different each time out. They started off with the stoner rock riff mantras of #1, then went to the mostly subdued noirishness of II, followed that with the live-and-raw Battle Of The Axehammer, then came back with the krautrockingly Circle-like diversions of #3, all before delving into the absurdly headbanging metallisms of #4 that even added vocals to their previously instrumental lineup. So, now what? What next? A second live album, this time called Live In Suomi Finland, recorded in Helsinki in May of 2006. On it the regular Pharaoh Overlord lineup of Jussi, Tomi and Janne is augmented by two more Finnish friends, and special guest Hans Joachim Irmler of legendary krautrockers Faust! His electric organ grind here adds an extra dose of distorted drone to the proceedings.
Of the two live PO discs this is definitely the best sounding. It's not as raw and blown-out as Battle Of The Axehammer, it's got better fidelity, but if anything it's even heavier!! Perhaps its the additional "remixing" credited to Irmler, whatever magic he worked in later in the Faust studio definitely makes this more than "just" a live album.
There's five tracks here, though it's a very continuously flowing disc... starting with the infectious riffery of "Black Horse" (which has appeared previously only in another live version on Battle Of The Axehammer), followed by two totally new tracks, "Tutankharmony" and "Zero Gravity" that relax the volume and mood a bit with a sense of smokey, improv mystery. Then they launch into "Skyline", the heaviest cut from II, before winding up / blowing out with a quarter-hour rendition #1's "Mangrove". An incredible 50+ minutes all told. Boy, we wish we'd been there! Too bad SF-Helsinki flights aren't quick or cheap...
Just so you know, the box these were mailed over here from Germany in was kinda flimsy, and the lp sleeves themselves aren't that thick, so please don't be too upset if a corner of the cover of the copy you get is just a little bit bent, though we think that's more due to the shrinkwrapping than from the trip in the mail...
MPEG Stream: "Mangrove"
MPEG Stream: "Zero Gravity"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Lunar Jetman (Ektro) cd 17.98
Now we've got a few copies of this great new PO opus on compact disc! Here's what we said about the already out of print vinyl version we reviewed a few months back:
Finland's Pharaoh Overlord return with this devastating double lp [er, fairly long cd]. Whilst we have many favorite Finns, these guys (and their mothership Circle) are among our very favoritest. Yours too probably, so we imagine these are gonna fly out of here fast.
This Circle sideproject is certainly VERY "circular" here, full of repetitive minimalist vibrations to the max, utter stoner neo-kraut hypnosis for sure, with a heavy metallic undercurrent and some freaky cosmic jazziness to it too. Of the couple most recent previous PO efforts, Lunar Jetman aligns more closely with the space/noise rock of live lp Horn, rather than the "song-ier" classic metal of Out Of Darkness, harking back also to the dark stoner soundscapes of some of their earlier albums as well; but as always, it is its own entity.
Lunar Jetman features six tracks, mostly quite long, sprawling over four album sides, for far more than an hour of slow burning, steady building, all-instrumental Overlord action. The album begins with the insistent gallop of the nearly 11 minute long "Rodent", which almost sounds like Maiden gone motorik! With extra spaceage shoegazey shwooshing and wooshing thrown in. It'll have you totally transfixed before it's even half over. The distortodelic kraut-iness continues amidst the metronymic percussive percolations of the even-lengthier track two, "Palmyra Cali"; then "Cardinal" is a much shorter, blissed out improv-sounding interlude.
That's followed by the 16+ minutes of "Black Horse", at long last a studio version of a composition earlier documented in briefer versions on both PO's 2004 live album The Battle Of The Axehammer, and then again on 2007's Live In Suomi. Here, it begins with much skitter and skree, before hammering into the happy heavy churning riffage we recognize. This one's definitely bound to be a fave of all the Wooden Shjips' fans out there.
Finally, Lunar Jetman delves deep into the dirge, with the two-part, nearly half-hour, massively moody "Cave Of Hair", a detailed, obsessively repetitive soundscape of ominous chuggery, building from quietly brooding near ambient creepy-crawl to metallic majesty...
Another awesome Overlord recording, in other words. And fyi, Lunar Jetman features Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler on keyboards, who has performed with PO previously, appearing on Live In Suomi - and who produced Circle's 2002 Klangbad release, Alotus. Not that PO nor Circle need Irmler to make 'em any krautrockier, they already had that covered!! But this IS plenty krautrocky.
MPEG Stream: "Rodent"
MPEG Stream: "Black Horse"
MPEG Stream: "Cave Of Hair Pt. 2"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Lunar Jetman (Sige) 2lp 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finland's Pharaoh Overlord return with this devastating double lp on Aaron Turner and Faith Coloccia's vinyl-only Sige label. Whilst we have many favorite Finns, these guys (and their mothership Circle) are among our very favoritest. Yours too probably, so we imagine these are gonna fly out of here fast.
This Circle sideproject is certainly VERY "circular" here, full of repetitive minimalist vibrations to the max, utter stoner neo-kraut hypnosis for sure, with a heavy metallic undercurrent and some freaky cosmic jazziness to it too. Of the couple most recent previous PO efforts, Lunar Jetman aligns more closely with the space/noise rock of live lp Horn, rather than the "song-ier" classic metal of Out Of Darkness, harking back also to the dark stoner soundscapes of some of their earlier albums as well; but as always, it is its own entity.
Lunar Jetman features six tracks, mostly quite long, sprawling over four album sides, for far more than an hour of slow burning, steady building, all-instrumental Overlord action. The album begins with the insistent gallop of the nearly 11 minute long "Rodent", which almost sounds like Maiden gone motorik! With extra spaceage shoegazey shwooshing and wooshing thrown in. It'll have you totally transfixed before it's even half over. The distortodelic kraut-iness continues amidst the metronymic percussive percolations of the even-lengthier track two, "Palmyra Cali"; then "Cardinal" is a much shorter, blissed out improv-sounding interlude.
That's followed by the 16+ minutes of "Black Horse", at long last a studio version of a composition earlier documented in briefer versions on both PO's 2004 live album The Battle Of The Axehammer, and then again on 2007's Live In Suomi. Here, it begins with much skitter and skree, before hammering into the happy heavy churning riffage we recognize. This one's definitely bound to be a fave of all the Wooden Shjips' fans out there.
Finally, Lunar Jetman delves deep into the dirge, with the two-part, nearly half-hour, massively moody "Cave Of Hair", a detailed, obsessively repetitive soundscape of ominous chuggery, building from quietly brooding near ambient creepy-crawl to metallic majesty...
Another awesome Overlord recording, in other words. And fyi, Lunar Jetman features Faust's Hans Joachim Irmler on keyboards, who has performed with PO previously, appearing on Live In Suomi - and who produced Circle's 2002 Klangbad release, Alotus. Not that PO nor Circle need Irmler to make 'em any krautrockier, they already had that covered!! But this IS plenty krautrocky.
Double lp fancy limited (530 copies) vinyl for now via Sige; cd version coming out on Ektro, still expected someday soon we hope...
MPEG Stream: "Rodent"
MPEG Stream: "Black Horse"
MPEG Stream: "Cave Of Hair Pt. 2"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Out Of Darkness (Ektro) cd 19.98
It's "NWOFHM" in overdrive overload this week, with not one but two new albums from key exemplars of that Circle side project "scene" up there in Finland. The new vinyl-only offering from Steel Mammoth called Radiation Funeral, you'll find reviewed elsewhere this list, and then there's this, Out Of Darkness, the new cd from Pharaoh Overlord. With fists in the air (and tongues possibly not in cheek?) these two releases have really upped the ante regarding the METAL part of the NWOFHM equation.
Quick recap for those out of the loop: Finnish space prog neo-Kraut band (and massive AQ faves) Circle like to dabble in the metal realms, on their own albums and also by means of various side projects, enough of which exist to populate a self-proclaimed, quasi-parodic New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal movement, NWOFHM for short. These bands usually use metal "signifiers" for their own twisted purposes, making music that's as much experimental and pop and prog as it is metal, but done up in leather and spikes basically for fun.
Circle offshoot Pharaoh Overlord was originally more of a stoner rock take on Circle's motorik mesmerism, dark and psychedelic and heavy. But not "metal". Then they did the album entitled #4, which was NWOFHM almost to the point of being "actual" metal (though still totally repetitive and hypnotic a la Circle of course). But #4's follow up, their previous disc to this, Siluurikaudella, was, while we liked it quite a bit, a definite departure, more of a freakout/improv thing, definitely not remotely metal (or NWOFHM).
So for anyone a bit confused by Siluurikaudella, you'll be happy to hear that Out Of Darkness returns PO to headbanging territory, and then some!! Definitely a metal album, and a rockin' one. Well, it starts off with a lovely acoustic guitar intro, "Eyes Of The Pharaoh", but starts rockin' about 43 seconds later, when the title track erupts, total classic metal riffage with Danzig meets Hetfield vocals courtesy of the singer from US stoner metal band Night Horse, who also appears on the disc's killer final track "I Am The Light". He's not the only guest, as Circle's big hero Bruce "Jesters Of Destiny" Duff and his bandmate Frank Meyer from LA sleaze rockers Angus Khan have cameos too, providing some guest vocals and lead guitar on a few of the cuts here as well.
The nearly ten minute "Devastator" demonstrates that Pharaoh Overlord haven't abandoned the "Circular" style of minimalist repetition, that track devastates indeed with its seeming endlessness (which is awesome). Somewhat poppier is the next track, the chugging "Doomsday Mourning", that's got some psychedelic Uriah Heepishness to it, laden with synths, psych soloing, and dramatic vocals. And that's more the norm, this album being really pretty darn catchy throughout, Pharaoh Overlord mixing their '80s metal obsessions with some Teutonic '70s proginess, and whatthefuckever else they desire. Our heads aren't just banging, they're spinning. Turns out they weren't kidding with the song title "We Came To Rock"! Ok, it gets a bit goofy on the two Bruce Duff sung tracks (especially "No Speed Limit") but that's entertaining too, however for the most part this is a REAL metal / hard rock album, or at least sounds that way, being strange rather than silly when it's not full on metal. For fans of Circle, Queen, krautrock, Thor, La Otracina, Blue Oyster Cult, Accept, Judas Priest, Metallica, Steel Mammoth, Destruction, Anvil, Alice Cooper, Lucifer's Friend, White Boy And The Average Rat Band, uh, and everything else that's awesome.
Oh, if this wasn't cool enough already, love the outer space neon lazer tiger cover artwork!!! Purrfect for the tight ripping soundz within. The cd booklet also contains an interesting quote from R. Buckminster Fuller. Didn't know he was a metalhead.
FYI, there's another new PO album too, vinyl-only effort called Horn, that we're hoping to get soon too. Haven't heard it yet, don't know where it falls on the NWOFHM spectrum...
MPEG Stream: "Out Of Darkness"
MPEG Stream: "Devastator"
MPEG Stream: "Doomsday Mourning"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Night"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Out Of Darkness (Svart / Full Contact) lp 22.00
Hahahaha! Now on lp, this great PO album. Here's what we said about the cd version when it came out a few months back, concurrently with Steel Mammoth's Radiation Funeral (funnily enough, this week there's also a NEW Steel Mammoth lp in stock as well, Nuclear Rebirth, reviewed nearby)...
It's "NWOFHM" in overdrive overload this week, with not one but two new albums from key exemplars of that Circle side project "scene" up there in Finland. The new vinyl-only offering from Steel Mammoth, and then this, Out Of Darkness, the new album from Pharaoh Overlord. With fists in the air (and tongues possibly not in cheek?) these two releases have really upped the ante regarding the METAL part of the NWOFHM equation.
Quick recap for those out of the loop: Finnish space prog neo-Kraut band (and massive AQ faves) Circle like to dabble in the metal realms, on their own albums and also by means of various side projects, enough of which exist to populate a self-proclaimed, quasi-parodic New Wave Of Finnish Heavy Metal movement, NWOFHM for short. These bands usually use metal "signifiers" for their own twisted purposes, making music that's as much experimental and pop and prog as it is metal, but done up in leather and spikes basically for fun.
Circle offshoot Pharaoh Overlord was originally more of a stoner rock take on Circle's motorik mesmerism, dark and psychedelic and heavy. But not "metal". Then they did the album entitled #4, which was NWOFHM almost to the point of being "actual" metal (though still totally repetitive and hypnotic a la Circle of course). But #4's follow up, their previous disc to this, Siluurikaudella, was, while we liked it quite a bit, a definite departure, more of a freakout/improv thing, definitely not remotely metal (or NWOFHM).
So for anyone a bit confused by Siluurikaudella, you'll be happy to hear that Out Of Darkness returns PO to headbanging territory, and then some!! Definitely a metal album, and a rockin' one. Well, it starts off with a lovely acoustic guitar intro, "Eyes Of The Pharaoh", but starts rockin' about 43 seconds later, when the title track erupts, total classic metal riffage with Danzig meets Hetfield vocals courtesy of the singer from US stoner metal band Night Horse, who also appears on the disc's killer final track "I Am The Light". He's not the only guest, as Circle's big hero Bruce "Jesters Of Destiny" Duff and his bandmate Frank Meyer from LA sleaze rockers Angus Khan have cameos too, providing some guest vocals and lead guitar on a few of the cuts here as well.
The nearly ten minute "Devastator" demonstrates that Pharaoh Overlord haven't abandoned the "Circular" style of minimalist repetition, that track devastates indeed with its seeming endlessness (which is awesome). Somewhat poppier is the next track, the chugging "Doomsday Mourning", that's got some psychedelic Uriah Heepishness to it, laden with synths, psych soloing, and dramatic vocals. And that's more the norm, this album being really pretty darn catchy throughout, Pharaoh Overlord mixing their '80s metal obsessions with some Teutonic '70s proginess, and whatthefuckever else they desire. Our heads aren't just banging, they're spinning. Turns out they weren't kidding with the song title "We Came To Rock"! Ok, it gets a bit goofy on the two Bruce Duff sung tracks (especially "No Speed Limit") but that's entertaining too, however for the most part this is a REAL metal / hard rock album, or at least sounds that way, being strange rather than silly when it's not full on metal. For fans of Circle, Queen, krautrock, Thor, La Otracina, Blue Oyster Cult, Accept, Judas Priest, Metallica, Steel Mammoth, Destruction, Anvil, Alice Cooper, Lucifer's Friend, White Boy And The Average Rat Band, uh, and everything else that's awesome.
Oh, if this wasn't cool enough already, love the outer space neon lazer tiger cover artwork!!! Purrfect for the tight ripping soundz within.
MPEG Stream: "Out Of Darkness"
MPEG Stream: "Devastator"
MPEG Stream: "Doomsday Mourning"
MPEG Stream: "I Am The Night"

PHARAOH OVERLORD Siluurikaudella (Ektro) cd 14.98
Our favorite Finnish hypnorock band Circle, and related offshoots, are always both doing the expected, AND the unexpected. Expected, in that in almost all cases, Circle hew to the repetitive, rhythmic, krautrock-inspired "circular" grooves from whence they get their name. Yet, while adhering to that basic concept, they've managed to put out umpteen dozen upon dozen albums that are all completely different... some spacey and pretty, some heavy and riffy, some with Gregorian style chant, some with operatic metallic vokills, and all brilliant (ask anybody, but especially us!). Pharaoh Overlord, one of the more popular and prolific Circle "side projects", with a lineup almost (exactly?) the same as Circle, has pretty much followed the same path. Originally, ostensibly a "stoner rock" version of Circle (which you can definitely hear on the live lp we recently listed), they got even more truly metal with their last album, #4, maybe the ultimate "NWOFHM" statement from the Circle camp.
That said, this new, 5th album from Pharaoh Overlord is way more unexpected than the expected, content-wise!! Totally different from #4 for sure. There's three long, instrumental tracks here, and each of them is quite different too. The disc begins with the 22:33 of "Vesitorni", a seemingly improvised piece that's extremely quiet, abstract, mysterious. Sudden skitter of the drums. Chiming glimmer of the guitars. Shimmering cymbals. Pulsation of the bass. It's almost "onkyo" in its sparse, low-key, quasi-jazz loveliness. Really nice, and really not at all remotely "NWOFHM".
Then, wham! Maybe we shouldn't even warn you. Track two, "Valujuhla" (12:47) erupts with a frenzy of loud, chaotic, freeform freaking-out. Here is where we wonder, is Siluurikaudella the record on which the PO/Circle guys go free jazz? Seems like it. And it kinda makes sense. Up until now, they've been famed for their motorik, locked-in, precise clockwork rhythms. With this, it's like those clockwork gears have come unsprung, gone completely haywire, and everyone's playing everything all at once, anarchy reigns! It had to happen, something had to give. But, then this track too quiets down, and we can tell Pharaoh Overlord still have it under control.
Following that, the eighteen minute "Piirros" takes over the final portion of the disc. It shares some similarities with the first track, staying mostly quiet and abstract. But it's definitely got more of a propulsive groove-shuffle going on underneath. And rather than abstract jazz... it reminds us of an abstract, creaky, cavernous blues. Super moody and dark and weird. Probably our favorite of the three.
So, PO definitely surprised us with this one. Took a short while to get our heads around. But now we're definitely digging it. And think that Circle, Doktor Kettu, Keiji Haino, Nels Cline, Tetuzi Akiyama, even Jandek fans will totally dig it too. Improvised, instrumental, eccentric! Oh yeah.
MPEG Stream: "Vesitorni"
MPEG Stream: "Valujuhla"
MPEG Stream: "Piirros"

PHARAOH OVERLORD The Battle Of The Axehammer (Live) (Last Visible Dog) cd 9.98
The Last Visible Dog label, who specialize in some of our favorite genres (improv drones, Finnish weirdness, Japanese free-psych, NZ noise) sadly seems to be winding things down, but we did just arrange to restock a whole bunch of their stuff to sell at a "nice price" (thanks Chris!), including a few old aQ faves that we got enough of to relist, though these are the very last copies we're gonna have, ever...
Here's what we said about this one, a PO essential, back in 2004:
The wonderfully named Pharaoh Overlord, as you hopefully know already, is the instrumental psychedelic "stoner rock" side project of Circle's Jussi Lehtisalo and friends. The repetitive pulse of Circle jacked into some amped up, blown out Kyuss-worthy riffage. Needless to say, awesome stuff.
Here comes these Finnish freaks' third album, and it's more like their spacey rockin' debut than the more experimental, mellow menace of Pharaoh Overlord II. It's a live album, with versions of two songs from their 1st album and one from their 2nd, plus two new compositions (also rendered live). And the nature of this music means that live may well be superior to studio, due to the element of psychedelic improv exploration at play and the energy being projected. And the speaker shredding "production" as well. Certainly in comparison to their first album, let alone the second, this is somewhat heavier and rawer, a real mantric beat-down from what could be a jackbooted, Iggy-less Stooges, jamming until the drugs run out. A rumbling, bashing, single-minded beast. Not unlike Skullflower's Exquisite Fucking Boredom. The live sound is gritty, super-sludgy, with a bit of that Doktor Kettu murk. Like one big throbbing distorto gland. A Julian Cope wet dream wethinks. Five tracks stretched out over almost one hour. They're marching towards oblivion and you'll be happy to fall in line. Hup hup. The applause from the live audience that ends each track is almost bizarre, not simply because it seems that such outbursts of positivity would have been preemptively silenced by the relentless negatory doom-throb of this music, but also because it doesn't even seem like there should be an audience at all. Pharaoh Overlord should be playing this music high on a mesa somewhere in a blasted desert, heard only by ugly, heavy-lidded lizards.
Nice title by the way. The Battle of the Axehammer??? Yeah! Great cover art too.
MPEG Stream: "Mystery Shopper"
MPEG Stream: "Black Horse"

PHELPS, JOEL R. Alita Aleta (Monkeyshot) 7" 3.99
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally another Joel Phelps release to tide us over until his next full length. Ex-Silkworm guitarist/vocalist/songwriter has got the most heartbreaking voice this side of Elliot Smith and Eitzel. Includes a gorgeous cover of Tom T. Hall's "Spokane Motel Blues". Can anyone recommend a good Tom T. Hall record for me to start with?

PHELPS, JOEL R. Warm Springs Night (El Recordo) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ex-Silkworm guitarist's haunting solo album drips with emotion. For fans of Mark Eitzel.

PHELPS, JOEL R. / DOWNER TRIO 3 (Pacifico) 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The third post-Silkworm album from AQ-favorite Joel R. Phelps is an introspective, heart-breaking record for fans of Elliot Smith or Rex, yes it is that good!

PHELPS, JOEL R. / DOWNER TRIO s/t (Pacifico) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Joel (ex of Silkworm) has the kind of voice that breaks your heart no matter what he's singing about. A new 5-song (with an unlisted sixth track!) ep of beautiful sad songs, including a bare bones piano-and-voice version of the Clash's "Guns of Brixton."

PHELPS, JOEL R. L. Black Bird (Pacifico) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This record marks a strange turn in the career of one Joel Phelps, seeing as we were all under the impression that he quit Silkworm because he was tired of 'rocking', but this record really rocks, sounding a lot like the old Silkworm records that didn't suck ('Libertine' & 'In the West'), replacing the delicate folk of the Downer Trio with a wailing blustery rock not heard from Joel (or Silkworm for that matter) for years.

PHELPS, JOEL R.H. / DOWNER TRIO 3 (My Pal God) lp 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For being maybe one of our favorite singer/songwriters EVER, Joel Phelps is definitely WAY underrepresented on the aQ site. Another instance of an artist whose recorded output either preceded the aQ list/website or was in the very early days of the new aQ, well before the long long reviews. Phelps was originally a member of long running indie rock outfit Silkworm, and as we've no doubt mentioned in Silkworm reviews, his departure definitely changed the dynamic of that group, and it was a long time before we could listen to them without missing Phelps too much to enjoy it. The upside of Phelps' departure was a series of solo records so stunningly sublime, in retrospect it was almost a relief to not have to review them. Phelps voice so distinctive, achingly emotional, the musical arrangements minimal, but simultaneously lush and expansive. Every single record Phelps released, on his own, or with the Downer Trio, was, and IS practically perfect. Most sadly long out of print, including this one, but the label that released this on vinyl found a stash so we grabbed a bunch and figured that plenty of folks may have missed out on this record, and on Phelps in general, which is a shame, cuz this stuff is so incredible.
Before we get to the review, let's just mention a list of artists and groups: Will Oldham, Songs:Ohia, American Music Club, Red House Painters, Herman Dune, Mt. Egypt, Mt. Eerie, Sparklehorse, Appendix Out, Smog, Souled American, Vic Chesnutt, Timesbold, we could go on, but anyone into ANY of those, will very likely love Joel Phelps, his music the same sort of super intimate, dark and emotional heartfelt sound that few are able to conjure up, and even amongst this esteemed company, Phelps is unique and distinctive. It's that voice. And his delivery. As we described in a review of another Phelps record: "there's something achingly gorgeous in the way he will s-t-r-e-t-c-h out a vowel until it twists upon itself painfully", his voice clear, and high, and powerful, slipping easily from moody croon, to emotional wail, and the songs here, and all of Phelps's songs in general, dark and delicate, haunting and mysterious. The opener here sets those vocals in a weirdly jazzy setting, upright bass, sweet sad horns, it's strange but it definitely works, although the next track is a tad more traditional, strummed acoustic guitar, woozy lapsteel, and Phelps plaintive wail. And so it goes. A very understated record, and sound, the drums, when there are any, shuffle sadly alongside the guitars, the bass a subtle anchor, the guitar, equally subtle filigree for Phelps' haunting lyrics and again, THAT voice. The vibe is definitely country, or folky, definitely a bit twangy, but set in a more timeless classic downer pop context, bittersweet ballads, that tug the heartstrings, but without being maudlin, instead, these are simply powerful, beautiful songs, from an incredible songwriter, one of our favorites for sure.
VERY LIMITED!!! Long out of print, these were a warehouse find, so we're not sure how many more we can get, if any, so grab one while you can. You won't be sorry.
MPEG Stream: "The Way Down"
MPEG Stream: "Rev Robert Irving"
MPEG Stream: "Hope's Hit"