ROYAL BATHS Litanies (Woodsist) cd 13.98
Litanies is the debut from SF garage gloom poppers Royal Baths, who have crafted a gorgeously hazy and murky bit of rhythmic hypnopop, equally indebted to the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, and of course the current crop of retro reverb junkies that have been spilling from garages all over the Bay Area.
Gauzy and druggy, looped and mesmerizing, the drums simple and motorik, a distinctly Mo Tucker like pound, the sound reverby and cavernous, as if they recorded in an old cistern, the vocals a lazy melodic drawl, but often supported by gorgeous Beach Boys like harmonies, and the guitars, chiming and jangly one minute, howling and distorted the next, slipping from muted chug, to buzzing drone, to grinding crunch, often in the same song. All of that wrapped around crazy hooks, irresistible melodies, and some seriously kick ass songs.
"After Death" is definitely a contender for song of the year, spidery echo drenched guitars hover over a primitive rhythmic thud, the vocals sweetly melancholic, gorgeous boy/girl harmonies, plenty of sixties pop vocal "Bop Bob Baaaa"s, some cool strangely angular riffage, an explosive bridge that crunches and pounds, the whole thing so deliriously druggy and impossibly catchy. And that's only one of a clutch of killer jams, "Nikki Don't" is the Velvets by way of the Beach Boys, a murky low slung slither, but infused with plenty of unlikely sunshininess. "Needle And Thread" is total Loop / Spacemen 3 style buzzdrone murk pop, washed out and woozily dreamlike, with warbly basslines and some seriously fierce fuzz guitar. "Sitting In My Room" is like Wooden Ship on tranquilizers, hypnotic and psychedelic, but so gloriously wasted sounding.
Easily one of our new favorite records, and new favorite bands, druggy droney garagerock krautpop, like a SF garage rock mix tape (Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, the Mantles, Sic Alps) that's been chopped and screwed, the Fuzztones via the Velvets, the Beach Boys filtered through plenty of Loop, Spacemen 3 covering the Lyres, however you slice it, this totally rules!
MPEG Stream: "After Death"
MPEG Stream: "Nikki Don't"
MPEG Stream: "Needle And Thread"

ROYAL BATHS Litanies (Woodsist) lp 14.98
Litanies is the debut from SF garage gloom poppers Royal Baths, who have crafted a gorgeously hazy and murky bit of rhythmic hypnopop, equally indebted to the Velvet Underground, Spacemen 3, and of course the current crop of retro reverb junkies that have been spilling from garages all over the Bay Area.
Gauzy and druggy, looped and mesmerizing, the drums simple and motorik, a distinctly Mo Tucker like pound, the sound reverby and cavernous, as if they recorded in an old cistern, the vocals a lazy melodic drawl, but often supported by gorgeous Beach Boys like harmonies, and the guitars, chiming and jangly one minute, howling and distorted the next, slipping from muted chug, to buzzing drone, to grinding crunch, often in the same song. All of that wrapped around crazy hooks, irresistible melodies, and some seriously kick ass songs.
"After Death" is definitely a contender for song of the year, spidery echo drenched guitars hover over a primitive rhythmic thud, the vocals sweetly melancholic, gorgeous boy/girl harmonies, plenty of sixties pop vocal "Bop Bob Baaaa"s, some cool strangely angular riffage, an explosive bridge that crunches and pounds, the whole thing so deliriously druggy and impossibly catchy. And that's only one of a clutch of killer jams, "Nikki Don't" is the Velvets by way of the Beach Boys, a murky low slung slither, but infused with plenty of unlikely sunshininess. "Needle And Thread" is total Loop / Spacemen 3 style buzzdrone murk pop, washed out and woozily dreamlike, with warbly basslines and some seriously fierce fuzz guitar. "Sitting In My Room" is like Wooden Ship on tranquilizers, hypnotic and psychedelic, but so gloriously wasted sounding.
Easily one of our new favorite records, and new favorite bands, druggy droney garagerock krautpop, like a SF garage rock mix tape (Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, the Mantles, Sic Alps) that's been chopped and screwed, the Fuzztones via the Velvets, the Beach Boys filtered through plenty of Loop, Spacemen 3 covering the Lyres, however you slice it, this totally rules!
MPEG Stream: "After Death"
MPEG Stream: "Nikki Don't"
MPEG Stream: "Needle And Thread"

ROYAL THUNDER s/t (Relapse) cd 8.98
Yet another band to add to the current crop of boys club crashing, ass kicking female fronted, hard rock / heavy metal bands (alongside The Devils Blood, Jex Thoth, Loon, Cauchemar, Christian Mistress, Wooden Stake, Blood Ceremony), this one hailing from Atlanta, not so much a metal band as a hard rock power trio, with a lead vocalist with a serious set of pipes on her, no screeching, or buried in the mix warbling, Miny Parsonz dominates, her vocals sexy and sultry and witchy and powerful and dramatic, super distinctive, a little rough and raspy, but perfectly suited to the groups, swaggery, groovy, hard rock, almost Southern rock sounding at times, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, probably more than Sabbath honestly, the songs slow building and smoldering, the guitar smokey and spidery, the drums, subtle and laid back, the band creating lush dark mysterious twang flecked drifts, Parsonz' vocals slithering over the top, deep and throaty, the riffs getting more and more distorted, the drums crashing in, and suddenly it, the heaviest seventies hard rock jam you never heard, the hooks perfect, the vocals, so BAD ASS. There's a serious slowcore thing going on here too, like Loon, reminding us of aQ faces True Widow, that slithery moody minimal crawl, plus there's a definite eighties metal vibe happening too, mostly in the vocal melodies, that had us thinking of Lita Ford and Doro Pesch, which is not a bad thing at all, in fact, it adds a whole other dimension that other current female vocalists lack, and the fact that these guys (and gal) are obviously more about writing songs, that just SOUNDING heavy, means the more you listen to these jams, the more they stick. When we first heard this, we thought it was pretty cool, but now we can't stop listening, and damn if "Sleeping Witch" isn't the hard rock jam of the year. A new favorite for sure. And if you dig any of the above mentioned bands, this might be one of the best of the bunch. We've got cds, and colored vinyl, take your pick!
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Witch"
MPEG Stream: "Mouth Of Fire"

ROYAL THUNDER s/t (Relapse) lp 14.98
Yet another band to add to the current crop of boys club crashing, ass kicking female fronted, hard rock / heavy metal bands (alongside The Devils Blood, Jex Thoth, Loon, Cauchemar, Christian Mistress, Wooden Stake, Blood Ceremony), this one hailing from Atlanta, not so much a metal band as a hard rock power trio, with a lead vocalist with a serious set of pipes on her, no screeching, or buried in the mix warbling, Miny Parsonz dominates, her vocals sexy and sultry and witchy and powerful and dramatic, super distinctive, a little rough and raspy, but perfectly suited to the groups, swaggery, groovy, hard rock, almost Southern rock sounding at times, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, probably more than Sabbath honestly, the songs slow building and smoldering, the guitar smokey and spidery, the drums, subtle and laid back, the band creating lush dark mysterious twang flecked drifts, Parsonz' vocals slithering over the top, deep and throaty, the riffs getting more and more distorted, the drums crashing in, and suddenly it, the heaviest seventies hard rock jam you never heard, the hooks perfect, the vocals, so BAD ASS. There's a serious slowcore thing going on here too, like Loon, reminding us of aQ faces True Widow, that slithery moody minimal crawl, plus there's a definite eighties metal vibe happening too, mostly in the vocal melodies, that had us thinking of Lita Ford and Doro Pesch, which is not a bad thing at all, in fact, it adds a whole other dimension that other current female vocalists lack, and the fact that these guys (and gal) are obviously more about writing songs, that just SOUNDING heavy, means the more you listen to these jams, the more they stick. When we first heard this, we thought it was pretty cool, but now we can't stop listening, and damn if "Sleeping Witch" isn't the hard rock jam of the year. A new favorite for sure. And if you dig any of the above mentioned bands, this might be one of the best of the bunch. We've got cds, and colored vinyl, take your pick!
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Witch"
MPEG Stream: "Mouth Of Fire"

ROYAL TRUX 3-Song EP (Drag City) cd 8.98

ROYAL TRUX Cats And Dogs (Drag City) lp 17.98

ROYAL TRUX Cats And Dogs (Drag City) lp 17.98

ROYAL TRUX Hand of Glory (Drag City) cd 14.98
For all you Royal Trux fans, here is a thirteen year old recording of what was going to be their second record on Drag City. Neil and Jennifer decided to ditch this and came up instead with their classic/finest moment: Twin Infinitives. Here's what you missed. Noisy, crazy, and completely fucked up.
RealAudio clip: "Electric Boxing Show"
RealAudio clip: "Four Kings"

ROYAL TRUX Hand of Glory (Drag City) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For all you Royal Trux fans, here is a thirteen year old recording of what was going to be their second record on Drag City. Neil and Jennifer decided to ditch this and came up instead with their classic/finest moment: Twin Infinitives. Here's what you missed. Noisy, crazy, and completely fucked up.

ROYAL TRUX Radio Video (Drag City) cdep 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

ROYAL TRUX s/t (Drag City) lp 16.98

ROYAL TRUX Singles, Live, Unreleased (Drag City) 3lp 34.00

ROYAL TRUX Twin Infinites (Drag City) cd 14.98

ROYAL TRUX Twin Infinitives (Drag City) 2lp 21.00

ROYKSOPP The Understanding (Astralwerks) cd 17.98
Here's the sophomore release from this Norwegian duo! Whereas their debut Melody A.M. was a relatively downtempo groovy affair, this one immediately comes across as much more pumped and primed for the dancefloor -- but we should add, not at all jarringly so. One dozen ultra sleek Euro-dance productions that mirror all the good looking folks posing with their cocktails. Want some?
MPEG Stream: "49 Percent"
MPEG Stream: "Only This Moment"

RROPE We Are You There (Deathbomb Arc) 3lp 42.00
Folks who lived in San Francisco in the nineties may remember the band rRope, but odds are probably no one anywhere else does. A fairly obscure, but super awesome band who was part of a seriously ruling scene. Bakamono, Nitre Pit (pre-Deerhoof), Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Caroliner, Henry's Dress, A Minor Forest, Fibulator, Lowercase, Trackstar, Hickey, so many great shows happening all the time, touring bands, loads of cool clubs and weird places to play, and so many bands that seemed destined for bigger and better things. One of which was most definitely rRope, a quartet who built their own amps and fused jagged Sonic Youth like noisiness to blissed out My Bloody Valentine like shoegaze, their songs a barrage of intricate tangled progged out post punk rhythms wrapped around chiming jangly melodies and dense chaotic drumming. Crazy catchy hooks doused in wild squalls of noise rock freakouts, glitched out experimental ambience coalesce into loping post rock mesmer. And some truly unique expressive vocals, that added a whole 'nother art rock dimension to the proceedings. The band never shied away from weird sonic experimentation either, whether it was twang flecked Tortoise-y grooves or free form avant rock meander, Jon Wayne styled garbled cowpunk or woozy math rock weirdness, often in the same song (check out "Pocket Song"), noisy blissed out drone-punk or spaced out desert-y drift, their entire sound would change from record to record, even from song to song, but there was definitely a distinctive, if ineffable something that held it all together, but just barely. One of those amazing bands that sounded impossibly tight and constantly on the verge of collapse at the same time.
This sprawling triple lp collects everything the band ever recorded, including albums, 7"s, demos, and live tracks, specifically a set from 1998, right before the band broke up, opening for Sonic Youth at the Fillmore, a performance that reportedly has SY inviting them to tour the US, a tour that would sadly never happen, as the band would hang it up not long afterwards.
A totally mind blowing nostalgia trip for those of who were there, and an insanely exciting discovery for everyone else who wasn'tÉ
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!
MPEG Stream: "Step Right Up"
MPEG Stream: "Mercury"
MPEG Stream: "Ok Nic"
MPEG Stream: "Jingle Jangle"
MPEG Stream: "Pocket Song"

RTX Transmaniacon (Drag City) cd 14.98
Following her former Royal Trux partner Neil Hagerty's solo path, Jennifer Herrema has fired up the scuzz-rock engines with her new band RTX. Transmaniacon (named after the Blue Oyster Cult song?) is filled with Herrema's distinct ultra distorted, raunchy bad girl goodness. A bit poppier that the Trux were, and it's all pretty rad until she gets her hands on Cher's autotune vocal processor for the sixth song "PB+J". Ugh! Truly the album's low point. Fortunately the novelty of that piece of recording gear has worn off by the next song, and we're back to the RTX slurred rawk party. That is until the very cool and Interpol-y second to last song "Is Red" with her new bandmate Nadav Eisenmann taking over vocal duties, and the final song, the totally fucked-up "Resurrect" that only gets more and more fucked up as it nears its end.
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Gator"
MPEG Stream: "Is Red"

RTX Transmaniacon (Drag City) lp 13.98
Following her former Royal Trux partner Neil Hagerty's solo path, Jennifer Herrema has fired up the scuzz-rock engines with her new band RTX. Transmaniacon (named after the Blue Oyster Cult song?) is filled with Herrema's distinct ultra distorted, raunchy bad girl goodness. A bit poppier that the Trux were, and it's all pretty rad until she gets her hands on Cher's autotune vocal processor for the sixth song "PB+J". Ugh! Truly the album's low point. Fortunately the novelty of that piece of recording gear has worn off by the next song, and we're back to the RTX slurred rawk party. That is until the very cool and Interpol-y second to last song "Is Red" with her new bandmate Nadav Eisenmann taking over vocal duties, and the final song, the totally fucked-up "Resurrect" that only gets more and more fucked up as it nears its end.
MPEG Stream: "Heavy Gator"
MPEG Stream: "Is Red"

RTX Western Xterminator (Drag City) cd 14.98
YES! The follow up to the RTX's totally sick first record, Transmaniacon!!!! This record is the next step in RTX's path to hair metal scuzzy party excellence. The opening track, "Western Exterminator" which is a sort of dusty old Mexican cantina acoustic number, with sweet backwards guitar shreds and flute solos... might be a little unexpected, but by the second track we know what's up. The good time Shreddy Van Halen "Balls To Pass" harkens back to the debut. Filled to the brim with hot lixxxx and killer song writing. Jennifer Herrema's voice is sounding as fucked up as ever, adding a really cool noisy element to all the songs. The lyrics are also perfect. In the third track, "Black Bananas" she sings something about being the Garbage Collector...!!! Fuck yeah. Basically, if you like the first one, and also if you like the Accelerator side of Royal Trux, you're gonna love this record. Its a little bit more metal, especially on the track "Wo-Wo Din"...weird heavy. Uhhh, don't know what else to say...the whole record is killer and we're probably gonna be partying and BBQing to it all summer...poppy, heavy, party, noisy, kinda weird, and PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Balls To Pass"
MPEG Stream: "Wo-Wo Din"

RUBBER O CEMENT High Speed Electronic Cardboard (Toyo / Lincaster) cd + comic 5.98
Following their compilation release with Pink & Brown, The Lowdown and Lozenge (also on Toyo), SF's cardboard and tin foil superheroes Rubber O Cement are back with twenty-three more tracks of comical lo-fi power electronic action. Rumors (which are true, by the way) of a Caroliner member's involvement have been denied, yet the aesthetics in sound as well as artwork prove otherwise. Comes in an oversized screenprinted cardboard package, each with its own random superhero comic enclosed.
RealAudio clip: "Raman Effect On Nucleon Electroscope"

RUBBLE The Farewell Drugs (Latino Bugger Veil) lp 14.98
We'd been hearing about these guys for a while, the new group featuring legendary Butthole Surfers drummer King Coffey, a band that apparently formed nearly a decade ago, yet Farewell Drugs is the first recorded evidence, and still all we can say is it was totally worth the wait. Just listen to the first two minutes of album opener "Cigarette Rabbit", and you'll be transported to some drug addled psychedelic sonic otherworld, or maybe just back to the eighties, to some grim, filthy dive bar in bumfuck Texas filled with flashing lights and cloud of noxious smoke, where you're immediately ensorcelled by that oh so recognizable drumming, cuz holy shit does Rubble sound a lot like vintage Buttholes, King Coffey's drumming, dirgey and tribal, and woozily propulsive, pounding its way through dense clouds of detuned guitar fug, and a grimy fog of dying-batteries FX boxes, all manner of voices and vocals dipped in effects and reverb and sent careening into the blackened swirl of rhythmic churn and blurred drugrock chaos. But Rubble is not at all a Buttholes revival, although these guys pull off that psychedelic murk like no one has ever since. There's plenty more going on, like the noise rock dirge of "It's So Easy" (we were secretly hoping it was a Guns N' Roses cover, and which is in fact a Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies cover!), driven by thick, viscous riffing, caveman drum pound and some heavily effected lysergic vox, the whole thing a sort of psych sludge dirge on the verge of total collapse. Then there's "Waiting To die" (which we were also hoping was maybe a Townes Van Zandt cover), which shrugs off much of the murk and muddiness of the first few tracks for some seriously kick ass Stooges-y swagger, with cool raspy vox, chugging riffage, some tangled psychedelic leads, and a downright catchy sing along chorus. But then it's right back into it, with "Tom Of Midland", the guitar (or is it bass), fuzzy and buzzy and practically oozing, those Buttholes drums pounding mesmerizingly, the song gradually growing more and more chaotic and noisy and finally disappearing in a wild squall of tangled psychguitar.
But hold onto your hats for "Old Dominion", a bass driven slow burn shuffle, all woozy and washed out and then what the heck is that? Fucking kalimba! A thumb piano plucking out a dreamy melody over the group's druggy slow groove dirge, sorta like some Texas sludge Konono No.1, weird at first, but then suddenly you end up wishing there was kalimba on ALL the tracks. The sound shifts back to murky and crusty, until "On The Road South" that sounds impossibly like classic Hawkwind, and we're not talking freaked out space jam Hawkwind, although there's plenty of that too, we're talking catchy pop song Hawkwind, Rubble totally killing it with another hook filled psych pop heavy rock stomp that any other band would make their whole sound, but part of the joy here is you can sort of tell, it's sort of tossed off and effortless, and just maybe they don't realize (or even care) how good it is.
There's one more stretch of heavy spaced out psych pound before things get weird (or weirder!), with a closing one two punch that just seal the deal. "Southside Ashes" is all dirge-y drum pound, whirling guitardrone ambience and FIDDLE!! (courtesy of Ralph White from the Bad Livers, who also plays kalimba!), a dark brooding almost Godspeed like slow build, that leads right into record closer "Grey At Grace", which is a sprawling buzzing tripped out violin laced raga (!), all muted percussion and long layered tones, layered swirling psychedelic shimmer, hauntingly and meditative, a gorgeous chunk of minimal krautdrone mesmer that is probably the most surprising ending we never could have envisioned for this twisted slab of Texas drug rock psych.
Record Of The Week easy, record of the year contender for sure as well!
Cool, creepy see-through skull / health film-strip visible brain artwork, includes a download coupon as well!
MPEG Stream: "Cigarette Rabbit"
MPEG Stream: "It's So Easy"
MPEG Stream: "Waiting To Die"
MPEG Stream: "Tom Of Midland"

RUBE WADDELL Bound For The Gates Of Hell (self-released) cd 11.98
Eccentric Bay Area band Rube Waddell have gone back and remastered their albums so now a whole new bunch of folks can dig these guys' fun and oddball approach to music making! The beloved local trio make great use of the usual rock instruments, but also include more oddball sound making devices such as sousa horn, jaw harp, mahogany and koa wood ukuleles, accordion, glass harmonica, marimba, autoharp, and much more. Rube Waddell's sound is a little bit acousticky punk, a little bit Tom Waitsian drunken carousing, a touch of twangy silliness, and a pinch of gravely blues rowdiness. An SF institution!
MPEG Stream: "Assoi"
MPEG Stream: "Nadie Va Al Cielo"

RUBE WADDELL Greatest Hits (self-released) cd 14.98
The madcap post-modern musical quartet from SF have returned! They bring with them their trademark bulging grab bag of homespun instruments and styles such as zydeco, vaudeville, exotica, swing jazz, Appalachian folk, swamp blues... the list is endless. Musically they're often quite reminiscent of the eccentric'n'eclectic Captain Beefheart, Ween and Frank Zappa. Vocally, they possess the disgruntled yet endearing gruffness commonly associated with the likes of Tom Waits. The big picture is usually quite loosey goosey in mood, razor-sharp irreverently witty lyric-wise, but always expertly and imaginatively performed. Really, who can resist a song about one of the Mission District's icons -- the late night saviour of three-sheets-to-the-wind growling bellies, the Tamale Lady!! Note: Greatest Hits is actually an album of all brand new songs, not a best of per se... 'though we guess time will tell if the album's title rings true. Nonetheless, always a wacky good time!
MPEG Stream: "Tamale Lady"
MPEG Stream: "Here's To You"

RUBE WADDELL Hobo Train (Vaccination) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Local darlings who had the balls to play their idiosyncratic brand of jump blues punk twang outside Leeds shoe store on Mission Street. Reissue of their first album with 6 extra tracks (two are previously unreleased!)

RUBE WADDELL Hobo Train (Vaccination) 12" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Rube Waddell's wonderful sound combines Captain Beefheart, later Tom Waits, and Doo Rag. These local boys're playing an instore here this coming Saturday at 4pm. Remember -- they're the band that regularly played outside Leeds shoe store on Mission Street cos there is an electrical outlet available and cos then they could say they played Live At Leeds! From the label that brought you that cool Residents tribute.

RUBE WADDELL Hobo Train (re-release) (self-released) cd 11.98

MPEG Stream: "Rube Yelp"
MPEG Stream: "Six Feet Down"

RUBE WADDELL Stink Bait (self-released) cd 11.98

RUBIES FEATURING FEIST I Feel Electric (Italians Do It Better) 12" 9.98
It doesn't get much more breezy and subtly seductive then this one sided 12" by Rubies, with their pal Feist lending her sultry voice to the cause. We've been really anxious to hear Rubies, fronted by Simone Rubi who we always loved in her old band Call & Response. Much like her Call & Response cohort Daniel Judd who is now making some of the smartest and most satisfying electronic music around as Sorcerer, Rubies seems to also have a nice dreamy dance vibe going on. A little more subdued and mellow then the rest of the Italians Do It Better camp, this still fits perfectly on this label that's been doing an amazing job of creating a new legion of disco inspired sounds for this generation. While we wish there was another track on the 'b' side, the almost nine minutes of "I Feel Electric" as remixed by TieDye has been hitting the spot for summertime dancin' with glasses overflowing with bubbly, and fresh strawberries in hand. So sweet and flowing.

RUBINHO E MAURO ASSUMPCAO Perfeitamente, Justamente Quando Cheguei (Discos Mariposa) cd 17.98
Discos Mariposa is quickly becoming one of our new favorite reissue labels alongside Japan's EM Records. Last list we told you about the Alceu Valenca & Geraldo Azevedo record we had fallen in love with and this time out there are two more that we can't seem to keep our ears off of. Paulo E Bagunca A Tropa Maldita (reviewed elsewhere on this list) and this record from Rubinho & Maura Assumpcao. Recorded in 1972 and until now a pretty impossible to find rarity, this Rio De Janeiro duo play totally seductive & dreamy bossa-samba-psychedelic pop. With a nod toward California dreamy west-coast introspection and that irresistible laid back sound that folks in Brazil always got so right. The cover picture of the two of them naked peeking out from within the branches of a tree in some enchanted forest gives you a pretty good indication of the sensual sounds contained within. You might remember their song from the Brazilian edition of the Love Peace & Poetry series, but unlike lots of rediscovered lost 'classics' with one or two good songs, this is an album that's perfect from start to finish.
MPEG Stream: "Sozinho Nao Estou"
MPEG Stream: "A Montanha"

RUBY HOWL Heaven Hides There Too (Out Of Round) cd 9.98

RUBY SUNS, THE Sea Lion (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
Before summer starts to fade away we wanted to make sure to list this colorful, breezy, and tastefully eclectic pop album from New Zealand's The Ruby Suns. Packed with songs that are perfect for those long drives on a summer night, they tap into that carefree classy spirit that bands like The Aislers Set used to capture so perfectly. There's also plenty of Beach Boys harmonic glory and hints of soft psychedelia that on many songs finds the 'Suns sounding like the super sweet and cuddly version of Panda Bear.
MPEG Stream: "Oh, Mojave"
MPEG Stream: "There Are Birds"

RUBY THROAT s/t (Sleep Like Wolves) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Swan And The Minotaur (Troubled Man)"
MPEG Stream: "Naked Ruby"
MPEG Stream: "Ventriloquist"

RUDIMENTARY PENI Archaic EP (Outer Himalayan Records) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
I had this friend in high school named Davey. He was one of my first weird 'punk' friends. He eventually got expelled for distributing a very funny anti-faculty newsletter, and eventually drifted off and disappeared. But one of the first things he did after we met was to was make me a tape, with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry on one side, and Rudimentary Peni on the other. At the time, I remember being a bit underwhelemed since at the time my taste was still definitely safely in the top 40. But eventually Rudimentary Peni would become a favorite (especially after discovering the manaically precise artwork of head Peni Nick Blinko that graced all of their album covers) and open me up to all sorts of metal and punk and crust. So here we are 20 years later, and Rudimentary Peni are still plugging away, as dark and crusty as ever, and maybe even a bit heavier to boot. This 12 track EP is a creepy, claustrophobic missive of fuzzy guitar, hypnotic and repetitive riffing, gloomy atmosphere, pounding rhythms, cryptic and ultra personal lyrics, and of course Blinko's immediately recognizable artwork. Always worth the several years wait between albums. Probably takes Blinko that long to just draw the covers!
MPEG Stream: "One And All"
MPEG Stream: "Suffer"
MPEG Stream: "In Crematorium Flame"

RUDIMENTARY PENI Death Church (Noise Not Music) lp 26.00
Easily one of our favorite post punk / death rock groups EVER. Tense and angular, angry and ominous, sinister and sinuous, dark and gothic, every song here a stone cold gloom punk classic, the bass thick and almost new wavey, the guitars jagged, fuzzy and distorted, raw riffage and driving drum pound, all in support of the twisted vocals of Nick Blinko, whose distinctive vocals are only rivaled by his even more distinctive artwork, which adorns the cover (and the cover of all their records), a dizzyingly meticulous black and white horrorscape, that perfectly captures the world of nightmarish, anxiety ridden terror that lurks within the grooves of Death Church, and presumably within Blinko's mind as well, which is probably what resulted in several stints in mental institutions.
Even all these years later, Rudimentary Peni sound so good, their music so relevant, and whether consciously or not, aped by far too many modern bands to count, powerful and personal, depressive and kicking-against-the-pricks pissed off, and catchy as fuck, this record has lost none of its twisted black energy in the nearly twenty years since it was first released.
MPEG Stream: "1/4 Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Blissful Myth"
MPEG Stream: "The Psycho Squat"
MPEG Stream: "Rotten To The Core"
MPEG Stream: "Pig In A Blanket"
MPEG Stream: "Alice Crucifies The Paedophiles"

RUDIMENTARY PENI No More Pain (Southern) cd ep 12.98
Let's just start by saying WE LOVE RUDIMENTARY PENI. Easily one of our favorite punk rock groups EVER. Murky and muddy and furious and freaked out. If you somehow don't already own Death Church or Cacophony, you must go try to track them down immediately. Those two records are as near flawless as something fucked up and punk rock and gloomy and demented can actually get without ceasing to be all those things.
Much has been written about Peni frontman Nick Blinko, who has spent most of his adult life in and out of asylums, and who is responsible for the band's super striking album covers, super intricate pen and ink drawings, which must take forever, and could only have been drawn by someone either truly inspired, truly demented or both. And somehow, those drawings perfectly and impossibly reflect the music on the inside. Where the drawings are incredibly detailed and complex to the point of mania, the music is stripped down and repetitive, often with just one or two parts, the vocals often just a few lines repeated over and over.
Listening to No More Pain, the first RP record in almost 4 years, we were struck by how much all of the super raw and stripped down primitive black metal sounds like Rudimentary Peni. Akitsa, Bone Awl, Ancestors, Ildjarn, plenty of D-beat stuff, slow it down to a more garagey punk rock pound and it's uncanny. In fact, the mind boggles at a black metal Peni, imagining these tracks sped up and blackened, wow.
Anyway, this is classic Peni, 10 songs, less than 20 minutes, simple, stomping riff heavy crusty punk, the drums pounding away, the riffs repetitive and mesmerizing, the vocals growled and howled and crooned, the lyrics mantra-like, the songs weirdly catchy too, almost poppy, but just 'off' enough to remain dark and mysterious and intense.
The only true weirdness is a very unexpected cover of Pachelbel's Canon, which to be honest, sounds pretty good, the guitars all warped and twisted, but it almost sounds too happy, but everything is slightly off enough, and just a little bit cracked that is manages to sound just a bit demented, which we can only suppose is the point.
MPEG Stream: "No More Pain"
MPEG Stream: "Eyes Of The Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Prayer For The Unborn"

RUDIMENTARY PENI No More Pain (Southern) 12" 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Let's just start by saying WE LOVE RUDIMENTARY PENI. Easily one of our favorite punk rock groups EVER. Murky and muddy and furious and freaked out. If you somehow don't already own Death Church or Cacophony, you must go try to track them down immediately. Those two records are as near flawless as something fucked up and punk rock and gloomy and demented can actually get without ceasing to be all those things.
Much has been written about Peni frontman Nick Blinko, who has spent most of his adult life in and out of asylums, and who is responsible for the band's super striking album covers, super intricate pen and ink drawings, which must take forever, and could only have been drawn by someone either truly inspired, truly demented or both. And somehow, those drawings perfectly and impossibly reflect the music on the inside. Where the drawings are incredibly detailed and complex to the point of mania, the music is stripped down and repetitive, often with just one or two parts, the vocals often just a few lines repeated over and over.
Listening to No More Pain, the first RP record in almost 4 years, we were struck by how much all of the super raw and stripped down primitive black metal sounds like Rudimentary Peni. Akitsa, Bone Awl, Ancestors, Ildjarn, plenty of D-beat stuff, slow it down to a more garagey punk rock pound and it's uncanny. In fact, the mind boggles at a black metal Peni, imagining these tracks sped up and blackened, wow.
Anyway, this is classic Peni, 10 songs, less than 20 minutes, simple, stomping riff heavy crusty punk, the drums pounding away, the riffs repetitive and mesmerizing, the vocals growled and howled and crooned, the lyrics mantra-like, the songs weirdly catchy too, almost poppy, but just 'off' enough to remain dark and mysterious and intense.
The only true weirdness is a very unexpected cover of Pachelbel's Canon, which to be honest, sounds pretty good, the guitars all warped and twisted, but it almost sounds too happy, but everything is slightly off enough, and just a little bit cracked that is manages to sound just a bit demented, which we can only suppose is the point.
MPEG Stream: "No More Pain"
MPEG Stream: "Eyes Of The Dead"
MPEG Stream: "Prayer For The Unborn"

RUFUS ZUPHALL Phallobst (Long Hair) cd 21.00

RUFUS ZUPHALL Weiss Der... (Long Hair) cd 22.00

RUIN Songs Of Reverie And Ruin (Black Hole) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This came out about a year ago but chances are you never saw it--we only managed to get some recently. Ruin (not to be confused with Japan's Ruins, plural) were a Philadelphia hardcore band from the eighties, and this is basically their entire output, on one cd (from master tapes miraculously salvaged from a sidewalk sale!). Way ahead of their time, Ruin mixed the hc mosh parts up with psychedelic rock (they do an amazing cover of "White Rabbit") and eastern mysticism (they all were Buddhists). In addition to Jefferson Airplane, the disc also includes covers of the Rolling Stones, and a couple Leonard Cohen tunes, along with classic Ruin originals "Alter", "Proof", and many others. Highly recommended.

RUIN, JULIE s/t (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98
Kathleen Hanna, former member of now defunct Bikini Kill breaks out with her own solo album, wherein she makes all the music and vocals. New to her sound is an emphasis on loops and manufactured beats.

RUINS Hyderomastgroningem (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Relisting this in case you missed it on our mystery themed in-between list last week (we gave it a new, expanded write-up just for that).
"Japanese duo on John Zorn's domestic label." Good grief, is that ALL we wrote about this when we first listed it way back when (1995)?? Might as well say that the Beatles were "a British quartet on London-based label Parlophone". There's a lot more to the story.
First off, bass and drums two piece Ruins are/were probably our favorite crazy underground Japanese band, next to the Boredoms. Drummer/mastermind Tatsuya Yoshida is a musical genius, and if you've been paying attention to our site over the years you're read our raves about many, many of his various albums and projects, from Ruins to Koenjiyyakei to Korekyojinn to Zubi Zuva... etc., etc.
Hyderomastgroningem (that's a mouthful!) was the first Ruins disc to come out on Tzadik. It features bassist Ryuichi Masuda, who also played on their out of print classic Burning Stone (1992), and may in fact be the only Masuda-era Ruins disc still in print, as well as being the last one that he appeared on (Ruins has had several bassists over the years, all of them amazing, but Masuda was our fave).
There's 20 tracks here of the Ruins' complex, heavy, stripped down Magma-inspired prog madness, some continuing the catchiness of Burning Stone and earlier works, others getting more imrov-like and experimental and noisy... super distorted bass, faux-operatic (and nonsensical) vocals, Yoshida's usual octopoidal drumming, repetitive rhythmic bludgeon... it's all here, along with unique touches to this album, like a track where Masuda plays a radio, for instance.
MPEG Stream: "Pig Brag Crack"
MPEG Stream: "Gravestone"
MPEG Stream: "Memories Of Zworrisdeh"
MPEG Stream: "Del Fanci Kant"

RUINS Refusal Fossil: Special Edition (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
Back in print! And a "Special Edition" to boot, meaning Skin Graft have made some slight changes to the artwork and, more importantly, tacked on five previously unheard bonus tracks! That makes for 25 tracks in total of frantic riff-packed precision prog punk on this collection of unreleased studio (4 and 8 track recordings) and live material from one of Japan's most amazing bands, the heavy & hyper drum/bass duo led by Tatsuya Yoshida. Originally released in 1997, this disc featured four songs with former bassist Ryuichi Masuda, while the rest heralded the debut of then-new six-string bass man Sasaki Hisashi (since departed, from Ruins that is). The live tracks also have guests from Boredoms/Omoide Hatoba, Tipographica (a saxophonist, for maximum jazz-Ruins dementia) and other bands, jamming on some of the Ruins' "greatest hits", including such favorites as "Hyderomastgroningem", "Burning Stone", "Dhaskrive", "Del Fanci Kant," and "Infect" (that one particularly enhanced with some intense synth keyboard action). The studio material includes some songs originally written as far back as 1988 but never before recorded, all super killer stuff to say the least! We should mention the track "Still Life", a good portion of which almost sounds like something by Italy's Sinistri, it's so abrupt and sparse. Fittingly, the disc ends with their now notorious prog-rock medley, referencing dozens of obscure riffs -- from King Crimson, Yes, Gong, Goblin, Rush, ELP, Samla Mamas Manna, PFM, Caravan, Area, Magma (of course), and many more -- in a lightning-fast fury. Recommended for all Ruins fanatics of course, probably even if you already have the old version, thanks to the bonus tracks...
MPEG Stream: "Calnac"
MPEG Stream: "Hyderomastgroningem"

RUINS Vrresto (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
Attention Ruins fans! Attention fans of hyperkinetic bass and drums prog-rock insanity! (Them's one and the same, we're pretty sure.) Here's something for ya, which you may not have already and/or may need again. Previously only available as a French import (and Japanese edition in Japan), Chicago's Skin Graft label have now re-issued this 1998 Ruins album domestically, in a freshly remixed form. And there's two bonus tracks to boot!
Previously we called this "demented", and a "showcase" for their style of "utter-insane-complexicore". We'll stand by those hyperbolic statements today as well. Vrresto and its follow-up Pallaschtom saw the Ruins go to the edge and beyond of acrobatic/athletic musical extremity, undeniably impressive (though, it must be said that we found their scaling back of the spasticity on 2002's Tzomborgha album to be a welcome move). Vrresto was the first proper album recorded by the line-up of founding drummer/mastermind Tatsuya Yoshida and (at the time) new six-string bassist Hisashi Sasaki (who despite the onslaught of Yoshida's octopoid drumming can hardly be said to play second fiddle in the band). Cool to have this back in print, just in time for Ruin's 20th (!!!) anniversary.
MPEG Stream: "Ffenniko"
MPEG Stream: "Zumn-Vigo"

RUINS ALONE s/t (Skin Graft) cd 14.98
Fans of the Japanese underground progcore "Zeuhl" two-piece Ruins have been waiting... and waiting... it's been a while since the last Ruins album. Probably 'cause mastermind (and drummer) Tatsuya Yoshida, busy with a million other projects, has apparently never found a suitable replacement for the other half of the duo, bassist number four Sasaki Hisashi having left after 2002's Tzomborgha. But now, he's decided, he doesn't need another bassist. He doesn't need anyone. That's right, he can simply (or rather, complexly) play all the parts his own self!!! Now, we'd not have thought it possible if we hadn't seen him perform solo before, octopoidally attacking drum kit, bass pedals, keyboard, headset microphone, guitar, etc. But he's a maniac, and he can do it. Sure, presumably this studio recording utilized overdubs (it must have) but we wouldn't be at all surprised if he's able to do pretty much the same thing live, Thrones style, somehow.
So, here's the record. 23 tracks, about half of 'em brand new, utterly over the top compositions, the other half being "alone" versions of earlier Ruins tracks (including such old faves as "Grubandgo", "Cambodia", "Dharskrive", "Hyderomastgroningem", "Stonehenge", and "Sanctuary")... plus, as bonus tracks, two of the Ruins' now obligatory medleys - a "Prog Rock Medley" and "Hard Rock Medley", both gleefully ADD insane. Oh, and as another bonus, the surprisingly lovely & placid piano piece "Notturuno".
So, we're not sure if Ruins Alone is the way Ruins will be from now on, or if he's still just waiting for the right bass player to turn up, but for now anyway, if you want Ruins, this is it. And Yoshida (of course) pulls it off! Pretty freaking amazing. Y'know how Ruins already sounded like way more than just 2 people? Same goes here, dude's a one man multitude. While hyper-spastic as always (doing it all by himself sure doesn't slow him down!), Ruins Alone IS a wee bit different sounding than most previous Ruins, in that instead of heavy 5-string bass you get shredding, sizzling keyboards, and that's what makes the many tracks here that are renditions of past Ruins numbers especially interesting to hear for those familiar with the originals. The sound is still quite heavy and fuzzy but also uniquely synth-y, it's like some sort of crazy new wave, Nintendo version of the Ruins here, retro-futuristic in a remarkably "now" sounding way.
IF you're new to Ruins, you certainly could start with this, but we'd recommend checking out the proper duo recordings as well (Burning Stone, if you can find it!!). This as a taster, though, would help determine if you're crazy enough to become obsessed with this "band" or not. And longtime fans, YES you want this. More proof that Yoshida rules, even alone! Which we've known since his solo debut, Magaibutsu, back in 1991...
MPEG Stream: "Equesspaldho"
MPEG Stream: "Ixzelgriver"
MPEG Stream: "Sanctuary"
MPEG Stream: "Grubandgo"

RUINS ALONE s/t (Skin Graft) lp 14.98
Fans of the Japanese underground progcore "Zeuhl" two-piece Ruins have been waiting... and waiting... it's been a while since the last Ruins album. Probably 'cause mastermind (and drummer) Tatsuya Yoshida, busy with a million other projects, has apparently never found a suitable replacement for the other half of the duo, bassist number four Sasaki Hisashi having left after 2002's Tzomborgha. But now, he's decided, he doesn't need another bassist. He doesn't need anyone. That's right, he can simply (or rather, complexly) play all the parts his own self!!! Now, we'd not have thought it possible if we hadn't seen him perform solo before, octopoidally attacking drum kit, bass pedals, keyboard, headset microphone, guitar, etc. But he's a maniac, and he can do it. Sure, presumably this studio recording utilized overdubs (it must have) but we wouldn't be at all surprised if he's able to do pretty much the same thing live, Thrones style, somehow.
So, here's the record. 23 tracks, about half of 'em brand new, utterly over the top compositions, the other half being "alone" versions of earlier Ruins tracks (including such old faves as "Grubandgo", "Cambodia", "Dharskrive", "Hyderomastgroningem", "Stonehenge", and "Sanctuary")... plus, as bonus tracks, two of the Ruins' now obligatory medleys - a "Prog Rock Medley" and "Hard Rock Medley", both gleefully ADD insane. Oh, and as another bonus, the surprisingly lovely & placid piano piece "Notturuno".
So, we're not sure if Ruins Alone is the way Ruins will be from now on, or if he's still just waiting for the right bass player to turn up, but for now anyway, if you want Ruins, this is it. And Yoshida (of course) pulls it off! Pretty freaking amazing. Y'know how Ruins already sounded like way more than just 2 people? Same goes here, dude's a one man multitude. While hyper-spastic as always (doing it all by himself sure doesn't slow him down!), Ruins Alone IS a wee bit different sounding than most previous Ruins, in that instead of heavy 5-string bass you get shredding, sizzling keyboards, and that's what makes the many tracks here that are renditions of past Ruins numbers especially interesting to hear for those familiar with the originals. The sound is still quite heavy and fuzzy but also uniquely synth-y, it's like some sort of crazy new wave, Nintendo version of the Ruins here, retro-futuristic in a remarkably "now" sounding way.
IF you're new to Ruins, you certainly could start with this, but we'd recommend checking out the proper duo recordings as well (Burning Stone, if you can find it!!). This as a taster, though, would help determine if you're crazy enough to become obsessed with this "band" or not. And longtime fans, YES you want this. More proof that Yoshida rules, even alone! Which we've known since his solo debut, Magaibutsu, back in 1991...
MPEG Stream: "Equesspaldho"
MPEG Stream: "Ixzelgriver"
MPEG Stream: "Sanctuary"
MPEG Stream: "Grubandgo"

RUINZHATOVA Close To The RH Kiki (Tractor) cd 29.00
Ok, the first thing you need to know about this, if you haven't guessed already: it's indeed a brand new album spawned from the combined efforts of Japan's Ruins and Omoide Hatoba. These two equally insane outfits got together for a cd once before, about ten years ago, and now I guess they've determined that the world is ready for more of their merged musical mania. Bring it on we say! This installment of Ruinzhatova sees Tatsuya Yoshida and Hisashi Sasaki (of hyper-prog duo Ruins) teaming up with Seiichi Yamamoto and Atsushi Tsuyama (members of weirdo noise-pop-jazz combo Omoide Hatoba). Yamamoto you probably also know as the guitarist from the Boredoms, while Tsuyama is a member of Acid Mothers Temple, and collaborates with Yoshida in the highly conceptual and crazed Akaten duo. So, as you might well expect, this is some wacked-out, noisy, frenzied, chaotic (but doubtless totally tight and composed) stuff!! One hour of prog-spazz insanity. Don't attempt to listen to this if you already have a headache, that's for sure. Not that there aren't moments of pleasantly quiet quirkiness on here as well.
The second thing you need to know: these guys are definitely into overtly indulging their prog-rock obsessions here -- the cover photo (a cow in a field) seems to reference Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, and the album's very title is derived from the Yes LP Close To The Edge. And that brings us to one of the most amazing things on here, actually: this disc's finale is a completely reverential, kick-ass, 18 minute version of that Yes album's incredible title track. Really, they do it remarkably straight (that's what's really so thrilling, they pull off every little nuance from the vocals on down), especially considering that earlier in the album, they do some other covers, not nearly so respectfully. For instance, they cover both James Brown and King Crimson -- at the same time! That's right, on track five on you get "Sex Machine" in your right speaker and "Larks Tongues In Aspic Part II" in the left channel. Then there's the over-the-top, wild and wooly version of Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" that begins the album... The originals on here also veer wildly and crazily about, making full use of Yoshida's This Heat/Magma inspired drumming, Yamamoto's guitar squiggles, and Tsuyama's vocal histrionics, among the other talents of this always-over-the-top ensemble. Now, like the original Ruins-Hatoba get-together, this album is certainly not the equal of a 'proper' album by either band, but still, there's lots for Ruins/Omoide Hatoba/etc. fans to enjoy on here. And it's worth it for the "Close To The Edge" cover alone, really!
MPEG Stream: "Trans Europe Express"
MPEG Stream: "DNA"

RUINZHATOVA Live In Somewhere (Magaibutsu / Vivo) cd 13.98
Japanese underground music nerds (you know who you are) should start salivating right about now. Ruinzhatova aka Ruins-Hatoba, the melding of the formidable talents of two of the Tokyo avant-rock scene's most veteran and insane bands, the Ruins and Omoide Hatoba, is back with a (presumably) improvised live album that offers 110 percent of what's already a Japanese underground music nerd mindblowing potentiality. The Ruinzhatova trio -- drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins), bassist Atsushi Tsuyama (Omoide Hatoba, Akaten, Acid Mothers Temple) and guitarist Yamamoto Seiichi (Omoide Hatoba, Boredoms) are in raging good form here, playing live like their lives depended upon it yet of course sweating it not one wit. From the git-go, with the 11 minute, 12 second track "Everywhere", this album is a jazz-flecked, hard-rock-damaged maelstrom of geetar licks and percussive frenzies and vocal eccentricity. They pull out all the stops. Rather than the jokey hokeyness of some previous RH releases, this one is positively HEROIC, each player here simply going for it to the utmost of their undeniably amazing capabilities. From start to finish, an album of hyperkinetic exhilaration, with breathing room for such things as weird flute blowing and electronic fx... Each of the long (7-13 minute) tracks is varied and eventful and impressive!
Meanwhile, Pam says: Middle Eastern Muppet music. Sorta silly but interesting! You be the judge.
MPEG Stream: "Everywhere"
MPEG Stream: "Elsewhere"

RUINZHATOVA s/t (Magaibutsu) cd 14.98
Yup, that's right, Japan's Ruins and Omoide Hatoba (featuring Yamamoto of Boredoms) team up for this crazy cabaret act of demento prog rock insanity. New import version on Yoshida of Ruins' own label.

RUMAH SAKIT Obscured by Clowns ( Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 13.98
We thought they broke up but it appears our beloved mathrock quartet have reunited once again, playing shows, and releasing this fine second album of insanely gorgeous instrumentals. Shimmering with detail, on the dime stops and starts, with a hazy wash of wistful melody over it all. Really quite nice. Music to drive to.
Truly rad cover art again provided by Jeremiah Maddock.
RealAudio clip: "Go Horsey Go 'live'"

RUMAH SAKIT s/t (Temporary Residence Ltd.) cd 13.98
Their long awaited debut! Intense instrumental mathrock from this stellar local group featuring ex-Tarentel founding member/bassist Kenseth Thibideau. Rumah Sakit obviously owe a huge debt to Louisville's Rodan. With an arsenal of time changes, complex time signatures, and bizarre arrangements, the band wander briefly through pseudo-jazz/post-rock territory before getting right back on track with a handful of muscular mathrock riffs. And damn, if the first 30 seconds don't sound exactly like Primus' 'Frizzle Fry'. Rumah Sakit has a bit more sensitive boy jangle than say, Shellac or Don Caballero, but has much more of a bite than anything on Thrill Jockey (except A Minor Forest, duh).