TERMINAL USA A Film by Jon Moritsugu (At An Angle) dvd 14.98
Indie cult flick fans, here's something to celebrate! It's the dvd release of Jon Moritsugu's wild'n'weird underground classic Terminal USA! Yep, his 1993 twisted, gritty ode to a most unconventional Asian American family has finally followed the slow but steady dvd birthings of his more recent films Scum Rock, Fame Whore, and Mod Fuck Explosion. What's possibly most bizarre about the film itself is that its creation was actually commissioned by PBS (yes, that meant a serious production budget for the usually shoestring Moritsugu!), was broadcast across the land in 1994-1995, and was screened at film fests around the globe. That and the film itself might not seem all that strange by today's standards, but need we say, it was a whole different world in the early '90s. This probably caused convulsions and conniptions in many unexpecting viewers. Totally raw, gnarly, and punk-as-fuck on PBS! Yow, keep your eyes peeled for appearances by Neil Hamburger and a bleach blonde haired Moritsugu! This dvd features the original cut as well as Moritsugu's director's cut which includes 14 additional minutes.

TERMINALS, THE Little Things (Last Visible Dog) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We've always loved the Terminals, one of the originators of the NZ sound that once was the specialty around aQuarius. Their early nineties albums were so fantastic, moody and dramatic, epic and dark, lo-fi, but sprawling and expansive. It's been a while since we revisited these guys, and this, their 3rd album, from 1995 just got reissued so we've been immersing ourselves once again, and holy shit does this stuff still sound fantastic. Wild buzzing distorted guitars, thick synths, dense driving drumming, but it's the vocals that seal the deal. We had sort of forgotten how over the top and dramatic they were. Like a punk rock, lo fi, rougher rawer Antony maybe? It's a wonder, without it, the music is swirling and chaotic, a sort of dark gothic pop, intense and emotional, slipping from woozy laid back drift to frenetic almost psychedelic freakout, but then mix in those vocals, and we're talking some nineties noise rock cabaret, some Antony, a little Michael Gira, a bit of Nick Cave, some hints of Paul Banks from Interpol, heck, listening to this again, we realize a whole bunch of new bands who have been mining the goth pop and new wave past owe a LOT to these guys, even if they don't realize it. Driving, moody, intense, infusing their more straightforward dour pop with the noise rock of their NZ brethren, creating a charged hybrid that smolders intensely, even at it's most minimal and mysterious, but which becomes evident when the band lets loose and explodes into freaked out blasts of grinding guitar and splattery drum chaos, only to reel it right back in and slip back into some brooding jangle or lurching clanging doom pop dirge.
Includes two bonus tracks and liner notes from aQ customer and pal Jon Dale!
MPEG Stream: "Coasts Of The Shrunken"
MPEG Stream: "Mekong Delta Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Medication"

TERRESTRIAL TONES Blasted (Psych-O-Path) lp 14.98

TERRESTRIAL TONES Dead Drunk (Paw Tracks) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Car Fumes"
MPEG Stream: "The Sailor"

TERRESTRIAL TONES Oboroed / Circus Lives (UUAR) cd 14.98

TERRORISTS Forces 1977-1982 (ROIR) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Formed in NYC in 1977, the Terrorists were a punk infused reggae/ska band that predated the UK Two Tone movement by two years. Regularly playing such clubs as CBGBs, Max's Kansas City the Terrorists quickly became the darlings of NME and Melody Maker. The recordings here, which feature guest appearances from both Roland Alphonso and Lee Perry, sound a bit dated but may interest those enthusiasts of the early NYC punk scene and Two Tone as well.
RealAudio clip: "Hail The Day"
RealAudio clip: "Guerrilla Priest"

TERRORIZER Issue #101 magazine 3.95
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Here's our kind of summertime readin': the July/August issue of the venerable British 'extreme' metal periodical Terrorizer. It's got Andee and Allan all in a tizzy 'cause it's "The PROG Issue"! That's right, a special issue devoted to the legacy of the much maligned (but beloved 'round here) '70s genre of progressive rock, as it manifests itself in the context of today's extreme metal scene. So there's features on bands like Opeth, Arcturus, Cave In, and Emperor, as well as the more traditional prog of Rush and Dream Theatre. Plus a history of the genre, a bunch of top tens of 70's prog (best and worst), etc. Terrorizer's revisionist take on prog notes that even punk mascot Johnny Rotten was a fan of Van Der Graaf Generator and Can. Non-prog content includes stories on The Great Deceiver, Mastodon (who ARE kinda prog), Soulfly, and Vader, along with the usual news and reviews. Prog on!

TERRORS Inequipoise (Monorail Trespassing) cassette 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
A tremendous cassette only release from the Terrors, an unknown project presumably based out of Los Angeles who offers up some totally desolate, bedroom recordings for cheap synths, guitar, voice, and -- because it's on Monorail Trespassing - snippets of noise. The first track has this creepy, nocturnal repeating motif of minor key melody that is trying to be a Rhodes keyboard but is probably something much more disposable, but that melody could be something easily found on a Labradford album or even a Bohren and Der Club of Gore track, but run through William Basinski's tape machinations. Ghostly splashes of droning guitar ebb and flow around that melodic passage, furthering the darkened gloom which settles around the track. This alone is worth the price of admission! The next track and a few fragmented moments on the other side feature vocals from the Terrors. It's a painfully lonely voice singing into a crappy microphone, which accentuates the melancholy vocal melody wrapped with plenty of tape hiss and an occasional downer strum on an acoustic guitar. These songs appear as a cross between Devendra and Grouper, as these roughly hewn takes on whatever was at hand with the pure emotion coming through the songs, cast in a hue that is profoundly depressed for the Terrors. The last track on this cassette ends with a arcing wash of white noise, that almost sounds like Terrors set up his recording under the flight path of LAX, just to get the rush of a plane taking off to conclude this track. It's a C-30 tape, and limited to 125 copies. Really great!

TERRY MALTS Killing Time (Slumberland) cd 10.98
Finally! The debut full length from these Bay Area punks, after two kick ass singles, and we have to say the full length definitely fulfills the promise of those 7"s, the sound is essentially the same, if anything even more kick ass, big crunchy, fuzzy guitars, pounding drums, super melodic basslines way up in the mix, that totally drive the songs, and the super distinctive vocals, which had some of us thinking of the Smoking Popes, that sort of Morrissey style croon over buzzsaw punk pop. We mentioned the Undertones and the Buzzcocks in our review of the last seven inch, and it's hard not to hear that here as well, but listening to these tracks as an album, the sound really blossoms, and somehow the sound seems way more pop than punk with every listen, the songs just impossibly catchy, hooks galore, and unlike most records, that tend toward being front loaded, Killing Time, seems to just get better and better, catchier and catchier, with some of these tracks sounding like classic pop songs from years past, albeit with crunchier guitars, fuzzier bass and pounding-er drumming, occasionally wreathed in feedback too, even some cool boy/girl vocal interplay, and that's sort of what makes Terry Malts so good, that undeniable punk energy, but wedded to some of THEE best songs we've heard in ages. Haven't found ourselves listening to a record this much nonstop since the Veronica Falls record...
MPEG Stream: "Something About You"
MPEG Stream: "Not Far From It"
MPEG Stream: "Tumble Down"
MPEG Stream: "No Sir, I'm Not A Christian"

TERRY MALTS Killing Time (Slumberland) lp 14.98
Finally! The debut full length from these Bay Area punks, after two kick ass singles, and we have to say the full length definitely fulfills the promise of those 7"s, the sound is essentially the same, if anything even more kick ass, big crunchy, fuzzy guitars, pounding drums, super melodic basslines way up in the mix, that totally drive the songs, and the super distinctive vocals, which had some of us thinking of the Smoking Popes, that sort of Morrissey style croon over buzzsaw punk pop. We mentioned the Undertones and the Buzzcocks in our review of the last seven inch, and it's hard not to hear that here as well, but listening to these tracks as an album, the sound really blossoms, and somehow the sound seems way more pop than punk with every listen, the songs just impossibly catchy, hooks galore, and unlike most records, that tend toward being front loaded, Killing Time, seems to just get better and better, catchier and catchier, with some of these tracks sounding like classic pop songs from years past, albeit with crunchier guitars, fuzzier bass and pounding-er drumming, occasionally wreathed in feedback too, even some cool boy/girl vocal interplay, and that's sort of what makes Terry Malts so good, that undeniable punk energy, but wedded to some of THEE best songs we've heard in ages. Haven't found ourselves listening to a record this much nonstop since the Veronica Falls record...
MPEG Stream: "Something About You"
MPEG Stream: "Not Far From It"
MPEG Stream: "Tumble Down"
MPEG Stream: "No Sir, I'm Not A Christian"

TERRY MALTS Living With The Human Race (Windian) 7" 6.98
Latest from these Bay Area punks, and like the Barreracudas 7" reviewed elsewhere on this week's list, originally available as part of a subscription series, but now available individually. And like the Killing Time full length we dug so much, the A side is another gloriously distorted punk pop blowout, the sound super raw this time around, the guitar blown out and crumbling, the vocals, even more dramatic, again reminding us of the late great Smoking Popes, a Smiths like croon, over churning pounding fuzzpunk poppiness. The flipside finds the band taking on "over 21" by legendary SF jangle poppers, Henry's Dress, and gives it fantastic fuzzed out makeover.

TERRY MALTS Something About You (Slumberland) 7" 4.98
Bet you never thought you'd see Charles Manson on a Slumberland record. At least he's been made up with some blue eye shadow and some pink lipstick, and the record is pressed on pink vinyl. It's record number two from SF punk pop combo Terry Malts, who definitely find inspiration from classic punk combos like the Undertones and the Buzzcocks, but who make that sound their own, cranking up the echo and the reverb, adding some seriously muscly drumming, anchoring some fuzzed out guitar buzz and some thick low slung basslines, all shot through with little melodies, the band doing a fine job of balancing pop dreaminess with fierce punkiness. The A side would be a hit for sure if punk rock had 'hits', while the B side takes their sound and makes it even more distorted and murky, wreathing everything in swirls of feedback, finishing things off with a crazy catchy short sharp blast of pro-atheist punkiness.

TERRY MALTS / DEAD ANGLE Shit Split (Log Lady) 7" 7.98
Brand new split 7" from East Bay pop punks Terry Malts, whose two songs here are just as good as anything on their recent full length, two new blasts of fuzzy poppy punkiness, all crunchy fuzzy guitars, woozy basslines, hooks galore, some rad guitar freakouts and of course those vocals that continues to remind us of Morrissey, or maybe more accurately Morrisey-worshipping punks the Smoking Popes. Both tracks here kill, although the second might be our fave, the vocals taking on a distinctly echo drenched eighties vibe that perfectly suits TM's punky garage pop.
Terry Malts share the split with a group called Dead Angle, who we'd never heard before, but who remind us a bit of Veronica Falls, which is a very good thing. Fuzzed guitar jangle, dreamy female vox, a bit lo-fi, with some seriously dirgey breakdowns rife with feedback, and of course hooks a plenty. The second track is all wiry riffs and kinetic rhythms, sounding more post punk than garage pop, but both tracks have us definitely wanting to hear more!

TEST ICICLES For Screening Purposes Only (Domino) cd 14.98

MPEG Stream: "Your Biggest Mistake"
MPEG Stream: "Pull The Lever"
MPEG Stream: "Boa Vs. Python"

TETRAGON Nature (Lion Productions ) cd 14.98
Achtung! Here's another kool krautrock reissue brought to us by the Lion label, continuing their noble efforts in that area recently represented by reissues of Sergius Golowin, Guru Guru, and Emtidi. This is one that some of us here (well, Allan) had been looking forward to for a while - he'd been trying to find a copy of a previous, out of print, import only reissue of this album ever since hearing part of it on his own kraut/psych/prog radio show Klaus To The Edge (co-DJ Alison had played a track), so it's nice to have this new domestic reissue! The deal with Tetragon is that they performed a wonderfully proggy, mostly instrumental, technically accomplished style of krautrock, very much inspired by classical keyboards of British proto-prog act The Nice (Keith Emerson's band before ELP, dontcha know), as well as by Soft Machine, the electric jazz experiments of Miles Davis, and the heavier sort of psychedelic blues rock a la Cream.
Originally a teenage three-piece (keys/bass/drums) named Trikolon, formed in 1967, in 1971 they added a guitarist and thus became Tetragon. Their keyboard dominated sound (Hammond organ, clavinet, piano) now had distorted wah wah guitar to increase its heft and complexity. That same year saw the release of Tetragon's sole album on their own label Soma, in an edition of just 400 copies, housed in a lovely green cover to match the ecologically "green" nature theme of the title. It's a virtuoso performance, particularly considering each track was recorded in just a few takes, with no overdubs! While some krautrock music we dig is all about drugged out primitivism, this is the sort of thing that benefits from the players' tasteful musicianship. The first track, "Fugue" sorta sets the tone for this melodically moody, yet grooving, album. It's 16 minutes long, and based on a piece by J.S. Bach (though we don't think Bach ever envisioned an electronically-effected drum solo, or wild acid rock guitar soloing!). Elsewhere on the album, Tetragon also adapt some of Gershwin's music from West Side Story (via jazz drummer Buddy Rich's arrangement, apparently) on the 13+ minute "A Short Story". But not every track here is long - there's the mere 19 second bizarre electronic outburst of "Jokus" to balance things out.
This is another album to feed our fantasy of someday opening another store called "1971" that ONLY sells reissues of records originally released in 1971! Whaddya think? It could happen. Maybe we will change Aquarius to that format.
As we've come to expect from Lion, this reissue is quite nicely done, with lengthy, informative liner notes and photos in the cd booklet, plus on the disc itself a significant bonus track, the live 14+ minute mega-jam "Doors In Between" from '72.
MPEG Stream: "Irgendwas"
MPEG Stream: "Fugue"

TETRAGON Stretch (Garden Of Delights) cd 22.00
We highlighted the Lion Productions reissue of Nature, the (until now) sole album from way-cool, keyboard-heavy, progged-out krautrock obscurities Tetragon, just a few weeks ago, and now here's ANOTHER, entirely unreleased album from the same band unearthed by krautrock specialists Garden Of Delights! If anything, this one's even more badass. Recorded live in the studio towards the end of 1971 (just a few months after Nature came out), these five tracks here meant for release on LP at the time, but that never happened, the efforts of Tetragon's four very talented musicians never getting the exposure they deserved back in they day (heck even the album that they did manage to get released was done in a VERY small pressing). Well it was 1971, so record buyers were presumably a bit overwhelmed. Still, Nature and now Stretch are worthy of being part of the class of '71, a year we consider one of the best ever in the history of recorded music - particularly of the psych/prog/kraut variety.
Stretch is all-instrumental, the band members just goin' off, doin' their thing, which was virtuoso, jazz-fusion inflected prog influenced by Miles Davis, The Nice and ELP, various Canterbury bands... and especially here, British jazz-rock organist Brian Auger. There's lots of solo action, as well as much precision ensemble playing. With wild widdly Hammond organ jamming, acid rock fuzz guitar, a heavy backbeat, and tons of technical chops, this simply cooks.
Of the 5 tracks on Stretch, which, um, stretch over 43 minutes, Tetragon do two covers: "Listen Here" by Eddie Harris and "Dragon Song" by John McLaughlin. Though perhaps as far as Tetragon were concerned, they were Brian Auger covers, 'cause their hero had previously done both of these songs on albums of his own, and Tetragon were inspired by his arrangements. The Eddie Harris one in particular is super funky but fuzzed, a heavy groove with drum solo breakdown, well actually everybody gets a solo. Of the three originals, "Snowstorm" is actually smokin' hot, "The Light" a laidback wah'd out groove, and "Hovering Stones" the most proggy and changeable, ranging from frantic keyboard runs in lockstep with martial drumming to more blissed-out solo sections. If you liked that Supersister reissue we recently highlighted, we'd imagine you'd be into this too. Likewise of course if you dug the other, original Tetragon disc!
Garden Of Delights reissue cds are even more exhaustive than Lion's, this includes uber-detailed liner notes in both English and German, plus vintage photos, and even the cover art from every single recording that the members of Tetragon were ever later associated with, including jazz-rockers Passport and folksters Falkenstein.
MPEG Stream: "Snowstorm"
MPEG Stream: "Listen Here"

TETRAGON Stretch (Garden Of Delights) lp 34.00
Now available as a vinyl reissue too! What we said about GoD's cd edition a little whille back:
We highlighted the Lion Productions reissue of Nature, the (until now) sole album from way-cool, keyboard-heavy, progged-out krautrock obscurities Tetragon, just a few weeks ago, and now here's ANOTHER, entirely unreleased album from the same band, unearthed by krautrock specialists Garden Of Delights! If anything, this one's even more badass. Recorded live in the studio towards the end of 1971 (just a few months after Nature came out), these five tracks here meant for release on LP at the time, but that never happened, the efforts of Tetragon's four very talented musicians never getting the exposure they deserved back in they day (heck even the album that they did manage to get released was done in a VERY small pressing). Well it was 1971, so record buyers were presumably a bit overwhelmed. Still, Nature and now Stretch are worthy of being part of the class of '71, a year we consider one of the best ever in the history of recorded music - particularly of the psych/prog/kraut variety.
Stretch is all-instrumental, the band members just goin' off, doin' their thing, which was virtuoso, jazz-fusion inflected prog influenced by Miles Davis, The Nice and ELP, various Canterbury bands... and especially here, British jazz-rock organist Brian Auger. There's lots of solo action, as well as much precision ensemble playing. With wild widdly Hammond organ jamming, acid rock fuzz guitar, a heavy backbeat, and tons of technical chops, this simply cooks.
Of the 5 tracks on Stretch, which, um, stretch over 43 minutes, Tetragon do two covers: "Listen Here" by Eddie Harris and "Dragon Song" by John McLaughlin. Though perhaps as far as Tetragon were concerned, they were Brian Auger covers, 'cause their hero had previously done both of these songs on albums of his own, and Tetragon were inspired by his arrangements. The Eddie Harris one in particular is super funky but fuzzed, a heavy groove with drum solo breakdown, well actually everybody gets a solo. Of the three originals, "Snowstorm" is actually smokin' hot, "The Light" a laidback wah'd out groove, and "Hovering Stones" the most proggy and changeable, ranging from frantic keyboard runs in lockstep with martial drumming to more blissed-out solo sections. If you liked that Supersister reissue we recently highlighted, we'd imagine you'd be into this too. Likewise of course if you dug the other, original Tetragon disc!
MPEG Stream: "Snowstorm"
MPEG Stream: "Listen Here"

TETRAS Pareidolia (Flingco Sound System) 2lp 27.00
Jason Kahn has come a long way, now a respected sound artists and minimalist composer, it's still a little hard to believe he played in bands like the Leaving Trains, Trotsky Icepick and the Universal Congress Of, and normally, this is where we would say, but actually you can hear much of those past groups in his new sound, but actually you can't. Not at all. Kahn's new work is world's removed, and we've come to love that stuff nearly as much as we love(d) the late great Leaving Trains.
Which brings us to Tetras, a trio featuring Kahn, whose sound is a sprawling rhythmic abstraction that touches on everything from This Heat (especially This Heat!) to Aussie minimalist jazz combo the Necks, exploring the same sort of stretched out propulsive mesmer and textured dronescaping, each of the four side long tracks here a totally mesmerizing sprawl of layered buzz and deftly arranged melody, but with the rhythmic element really holding it all together. The songs, for as minimal and abstract as they are, not at all static, alive and full of energy, with a barely contained momentum, that makes the tracks seethe and thrum. The Necks vibe is huge, especially on the opener, which takes the cyclical slow build of that group and gives it a sort of avant / post industrial makeover, the drums a skittery shuffle, the bass loping and looping, all beneath layers of blurred organ chords, static wreathed melodies, and all manner of constantly shifting textures.
The other three tracks follow suit, subtly altering the equation, part two is much more droned out and noisy, the clouds of hiss and static ebbing and flowing, over a buried jazzy shuffle, the bass bowed unfurling long moaning tones, everything wreathed in an insectoid buzz, the result hazy and hypnotic. Part three opens up with a wall of crumbling chaotic white noise, a squall of warped blown out psychedelia, which gives way to some hushed shimmer, which is soon overtaken by some weirdly gorgeous feedback drenched melodies and distorted dynamics which soon explode into some awesomely blown out jazziness that reminds us of Laddio Bolocko or the Psychic Paramount, but so in-the-red, the tones blossom and expand transforming the sound into some strange heavy psychedelia. And finally, part four finishes things off with something a bit more dialed back, a scattering of tribal drum splutter, more bowed strings, and moaning melodies, this time under weird digitally processed guitar skree and crumbling distorted drones, eventually slipping into something slightly more straight forwardly jazzy, which also eventually morphs into a weirdly abstract but druggily dreamy electronic noise drenched jazziness.
Housed in a super thick, ultra deluxe, hand screened heavy cardboard jacket, and includes a download coupon as well.
MPEG Stream: "Pareidolia I"
MPEG Stream: "Pareidolia II"

TETSUO Ranshuo (Shit Jam Records) cd 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
From the same Japanese label that brought us Bathtub Shitter (still the best band name ever!) comes Tetsuo, a band that has way more in common with Corrupted or Boris than their bathtub shitting labelmates. Sludgy and repetitive, heavy and crushing with lots of solid state feedback a la Eyehategod and loads of midtempo wall of guitar pummel a la Neurosis. One epic twenty minute track that goes from slow motion sludge to furious almost-death-metal to crusty grind to stoner groove and back again. Fans of any of the above mentioned bands definitely need this.
MPEG Stream: "One"

THAEMLITZ, TERRE Die Roboterrubato (Mille Plateaux) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Kraftwerk songs "interpreted" on the piano, with extensive liner notes explaining Thaemlitz's approach. Quite beautiful, although the Kraftwerk component is not always immediately obvious. One of several now domestically-priced releases from the European electronica label of the moment, Mille Plateaux.

THANK YOU Golden Worry (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98
Expectations are set pretty high when your band is compared to This Heat, Swell Maps and The Ex, but for Baltimore math rockers Thank You, the comparison is pretty apt.
Over the course of six songs and about 30 minutes, the band unfurl some seriously intricate and dense sonic workouts, forgoing traditional song structure, and instead trafficking in tension and release, repetition and texture, whipping up super repetitive cyclical jams, the guitars alternately jangly and crunchy, the vocals yelped and anthemic, the record opener sounding like a post punk no-wave take on Animal Collective, with long stretches of frantic drumming and swirling droned out guitar.
The rest of the record spreads out, dipping into blissed out tribal psychedelia, motorik minimal krautrock, angular jagged punkish crunch and manic super intense mathiness. Chiming guitars swell and soar over avalanche like rhythms, laced with playful flurries of tinkling melodies, occasionally getting super abstract and dubbed out, just as often slipping into something more gnarled and chaotic, but when the vocals come in, all high and harmonious, the transform whatever is going on into some unlikely psychedelic pop.
Crunchy indie rock explodes into something much more frenetic and frenzied, before slipping into a slithery buzz drenched bit of woozy swirl, only launch into some organ driven psychedelia, noisy and loose, and again the vocals grounding the sound, while the organs and drums do the best to drag everything heavenward, and finally, the record closes with maybe the poppiest of the bunch, the guitars and drums locked in a rollicking tumble beneath the soaring vox, again the Animal Collective comparisons are unavoidable, but those vocals coupled with a sound more angular and jagged and noisy, make this a sort of avant post punk psych pop, that should appeal to modern pop kids, as well as folks who lean more toward sounds with prefixes like post and kraut...
MPEG Stream: "1-2-3 Bad"
MPEG Stream: "Birth Reunion"
MPEG Stream: "Can't / Can"

THANK YOU Golden Worry (Thrill Jockey) lp 14.98
Expectations are set pretty high when your band is compared to This Heat, Swell Maps and The Ex, but for Baltimore math rockers Thank You, the comparison is pretty apt.
Over the course of six songs and about 30 minutes, the band unfurl some seriously intricate and dense sonic workouts, forgoing traditional song structure, and instead trafficking in tension and release, repetition and texture, whipping up super repetitive cyclical jams, the guitars alternately jangly and crunchy, the vocals yelped and anthemic, the record opener sounding like a post punk no-wave take on Animal Collective, with long stretches of frantic drumming and swirling droned out guitar.
The rest of the record spreads out, dipping into blissed out tribal psychedelia, motorik minimal krautrock, angular jagged punkish crunch and manic super intense mathiness. Chiming guitars swell and soar over avalanche like rhythms, laced with playful flurries of tinkling melodies, occasionally getting super abstract and dubbed out, just as often slipping into something more gnarled and chaotic, but when the vocals come in, all high and harmonious, the transform whatever is going on into some unlikely psychedelic pop.
Crunchy indie rock explodes into something much more frenetic and frenzied, before slipping into a slithery buzz drenched bit of woozy swirl, only launch into some organ driven psychedelia, noisy and loose, and again the vocals grounding the sound, while the organs and drums do the best to drag everything heavenward, and finally, the record closes with maybe the poppiest of the bunch, the guitars and drums locked in a rollicking tumble beneath the soaring vox, again the Animal Collective comparisons are unavoidable, but those vocals coupled with a sound more angular and jagged and noisy, make this a sort of avant post punk psych pop, that should appeal to modern pop kids, as well as folks who lean more toward sounds with prefixes like post and kraut...
MPEG Stream: "1-2-3 Bad"
MPEG Stream: "Birth Reunion"
MPEG Stream: "Can't / Can"

THE CARS s/t (Elektra) cd 12.98

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE QUEEN s/t (Virgin) cd 13.98
Damon Albarn has quietly emerged from the shadows of 90's MTV fame with Blur's hit (No. 2 Song) to become one of the more interesting musical figures in the more mainstream realms of modern rock. From his travels to Africa that resulted in the great Mali Music album, his collaborative efforts in The Gorillaz, and even the last Blur record, Think Tank which was pretty much a solo endeavor and contained some really smart and somewhat somber pop songs. He's also been running a great record label Honest Jons who have released some amazing records old and new from the likes of Moondog, Candi Staton, Tony Allen, Las Malas Amistades, etc. The Good The Bad & The Queen is his latest project and he's assembled quite the all-star cast including Clash bassist Paul Simonon and legendary drummer (of Fela Kuti fame), Tony Allen, with production duties handled by Danger Mouse. Together they've created a really nice album of subdued pop songs with layers of warmth and an expansive and moody disposition. At times it even made us think of a more polished version of Three Mile Pilot's Another Desert Another Sea, and this for sure should appeal to fans of Pinback and Radiohead. This keeps growing on us listen after listen, revealing something more each time. For sure one of our favorite major label records in quite a while.
MPEG Stream: "Kingdom Of Doom"
MPEG Stream: "Behind The Sun"

THE KINKS Kontroversy (Sanctuary) cd 15.98

THE MYSTERY MEAT Profiles (Normal) cd 15.98

THE YEAR PUNK BROKE (DGC) dvd 22.00

THEE HEADCOATS Elementary Headcoats (Damaged Goods) 2cd 19.98
Billy Childish has had quite a prolific career, and one that shows no signs of slowing. He is a writer and an artist, but perhaps he is most known for his music. Much of his musical output was written and recorded with his main band Thee Headcoats (although he also fronted such garage wonders as Thee Milkshakes). This is an impressive double disk collection of fifty (!) singles released by Thee Headcoats and friends between 1990 and 1999. Never bowing to trends or technology, the garage rockin' rawness of Billy, Johnny and Bruce's music continues to shine and inspire their fans and other bands. Comes with a very very thorough discography. All hail Thee Headcoats!

THEE HYDROGEN TERRORS Terror, Diplomacy & Public Relations (Load) cd 12.98
Your basic great rockin' record that merges garage rock with sampling collage. Already a staple of hipster jukeboxes nationwide.

THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT Gear Blues (Alive) cd 14.98
Japanese garage rawk in suits and shades. Pretty good, but not totally goin' crazy like you really want 'em to.

THEE MORE SHALLOWS A History Of Sport Fishing (Megalon) cd 11.98
Local duo that play a very very pleasant, quiet sort of midtempo indie rock, with lots of delicate details if you're patient enough to listen closely. They remind me a lot of another beloved local band -- Fuck -- not only because the groups share similarly whispered boy vocals, but also in the way the melancholy songs start off quietly and serenely, then build the tension as the songs progress, culminating in restrained yet intense explosions of emotion. They also recall the lyrical wistfulness of Lambchop, and the scratchy vocalising of Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. At 56 minutes the album is unnecessarily long; take off a third of it and the album would sound sweeter, more poignant in its brevity. Nonetheless a fine rainy day record for indierockers.
RealAudio clip: "The 8th ring of hell"
RealAudio clip: "the Ballad of Douglas Chin"

THEE MORE SHALLOWS Book Of Bad Breaks (Anticon) cd 14.98
Thee More Shallows have a new unexpected home on the usually hip hop-centric Bay Area label Anticon, but we shouldn't really be all that surprised now, should we? Heck, music genre boundaries have been dissolving left right and center over the past few years. The SF band's sound on their new full length is a little unexpected too. Since their last release 2006's Monkey Vs. Shark, the formerly more rootsy rock band's already broadening scope seems to have expanded in all directions with impressive results. Book Of Bad Breaks journeys through many moods -- alternately romping, rocking and reclining -- but always with a shadowed, subtle druggy headiness.
MPEG Stream: "Eagle Rock"
MPEG Stream: "Mo Deeper"

THEE MORE SHALLOWS Monkey Vs. Shark (Turn) cd ep 8.98
Not sure about the significance of this 7-song EP's title, but we are sure that Thee More Shallows can deliver the dreaminess. 'Tis all soft pop grandeur like a not so distant cousin of Mercury Rev and Flaming Lips. The third song "Phineas Bogg" is particularly gorgeous, whisking you off into the heavens. The EP includes a remix of their song "Freshman" by Odd Nosdam and Why? which takes them into the neighborhood of the Postal Service (the band not the, um... service). Ultra pretty!
MPEG Stream: "Phineas Bogg"
MPEG Stream: "Freshman Remix"

THEE MORE SHALLOWS More Deep Cuts (Monotreme) cd 12.98
On their new album More Deep Cuts, San Francisco's Thee More Shallows seem to have shed much of the folksy characteristics a la Fuck and Lambchop of their previous full length A History Of Sport Fishing (except on the final song "House Break" that echoes with an earthy ache akin to Sparklehorse), in favor of a more dynamic Radiohead-ish expansiveness. That's not to say this new release is a full departure for the group. No, not at all. It actually makes for an impressive progression with lots of slow building tension and emotiveness -- still encorporating their shuffling beats, droney bass notes, lonesome piano interludes, slinking string accents and hushed male vocals.
MPEG Stream: "Pre-present"
MPEG Stream: "House Break"

THEE MORE SHALLOWS More Deep Cuts (Turn) cd 11.98
More? Yes, please! This fine album has received a very welcome reissuing, offering this Bay Area band's fans and newcomers another opportunity to have their hearts melted. On More Deep Cuts, Thee More Shallows are seemingly inspired by the over-the-top trippy grandeur of bands such as Sparklehorse, Flaming Lips and Radiohead, but adeptly avoid falling prey to idol worship, crafting a dark, achingly beautiful world of their own. 'Nuff said!
MPEG Stream: "Post-Present"
MPEG Stream: "2am"

THEE SILVER MOUNTAIN REVERIES (AKA SILVER MT ZION) Pretty Little Lightning Paw (Constellation) lp 14.98
Once a tour-only piece of merch, now available in stores...like ours. Four new tracks (two about 5 minutes, two around 10) from this Montreal based, Godspeed You Black Emperor! related ensemble. From the intimate to the epic, some of this is garagey and "ghettoblastered" while other parts are ethereal and grandiose with violins sawing away, massed voices and birdcalls.
MPEG Stream: "Pretty Little Lightning Paw"

THEGALVINWILHELMMILLERQUARTET s/t (Impatience Or Indifference) cd 5.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**
Found two (2) of these hidden in a box in the back of the store, haven't listed 'em since 2003, great album, grab one if you can, first come first served, sale price...
AQ pal Drucifer (and the guy who runs Dielectric Records, who released those amazing 12" a while back: Sote, Karen Stackpole, etc...) had been threatening to play this record for us for a while, and he's got pretty darn good taste so we were looking forward to finally checking it out. We always just sort of assumed from the title and from talking to Drucifer that it was going to be some sort of jazz, but boy were we surprised when we threw this on. The quartet in question is actually a trio, and while the music these three play does have certain qualities one might find in jazz, this is GRINDMETAL through and through. Five tracks of furious, chaotic, brutal and pummeling hyper complex metallic grind a la Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Pig Destoyer, Discordance Axis and the like. But unlike most grinders, TGWMQ stretch their songs way out (none of the songs is shorter than 3 minutes, most significantly more), allowing them to explore and develop and stretch out a bit. The final track is nine minutes long ferchrissakes, with lots of splattery free noise, rumbling ambient passages, found sounds and ethereal female vocals, almost-groovy riff rock parts, and buzzing droning weirdness. But don't be frightened off by all that, 'cause the core of this record is dense and grinding, ultra complicated, dizzyingly agile, and crushingly savage heaviness. So good. All you folks who freak out over Agoraphobic Nosebleed and their similarly sonic minded ilk definitely need this!
MPEG Stream: "Idiot Savant"
MPEG Stream: "Great Faith, Great Doubt, Great Effort"

THEODORE AND HAMBLIN The Scientific Contrast (Moteer) cd 15.98
Quietly gently Theodore And Hamblin's debut album creeps out of our speakers and tiptoe into our ears. Their name might recall Hollywood musical maestros Rodgers And Hammerstein or Las Vegas magic men Ziegfied And Roy (at least to us it did!), but this pair's electronics based music is far more low key and intimate than either of those duos' works. Rain droplet chimes ring out amid the deeper tones that undulate and flutter. Rounded 4/4 beats pulse softly as if they're being broadcast through many layers of blankets. Yes, this is music best suited for nestlin'.
MPEG Stream: "Lacie"
MPEG Stream: "Termul"

THEOLOGIAN The Chasms Of My Heart (Crucial Blast) cd 13.98
The second of two releases this year from black ambient alchemist Theologian, the other, Finding Comfort In Overwhelming Negativity, released on Handmade Birds and reviewed here recently, and now this one, The Chasms Of My Heart, released on Crucial Blast. Like Finding Comfort (and The Further I Get before that), Chasms is another stunning collection of grim, industrial wastescapes, all bleak drones and industrial percussive crunch, although Chasms does start out on a remarkably 'musical' note, opener "Abandon All Hope" weds actual singing to tense layered keening tones, and churning machinelike rhythms, the vocals mantra like, wreathed in static and crackle, drift atop a dense droned out thrum, driven by that relentless rhythm, eventually the vocals and drums drop out, leaving some seriously serene sonic shimmer and softly sweeping cinematic ambience.
The second track makes up for the melody in the first, unleashing a heaving onslaught of power electronics and blacknoise skree, which eventually blurs, and is melted down into a thick morass of crumbling low end that gradually becomes a hushed blackened drift.
But it does seem that melody will be a recurring theme on Chasms, as "My Body Is Made Of Ash, I Live As Ash" begins as a series of thick thick distorted synth swells, which rapidly blossom into something much more melodic, soaring and cinematic, like M83 via the Swans, but even slower and meaner, and then the beats come in, and you can add Muslimgauze to the mix. Weird combo, but it works, hypnotic and tranced out, until the hammer falls, and the song explodes into full on face melting noise, but if you listen close, within that caustic cloud of noise, the rhythm continues to churn, vocals wail, and melodies drift and shimmer, it's the sort of hard noise, that softens a bit the more you listen, and seems to transform before your ears into something weirdly, and impossibly catchy. The rest of the record reveals more of Theologian's bleeding black sonic heart, the stuttering, almost 'danceable' "We Can't All Be Victims", the processed vocal driven blackened power electronics skitter of "I Don't Exist", the blown out noisebliss of "Bed Of Maggots, the almost house music-y pulsating noisescape title track, and finally, the sprawling 13 minute, haunting, grinding cinematic ambient noisescape closer.
Comes packaged in a super striking, full color, oversized dvd style, six panel digipak.
MPEG Stream: "Abandon All Hope"
MPEG Stream: "Starvation Is A Legitimate Weapon Of War"
MPEG Stream: "My Body Is Made Of Ash... I Live As Ash"
MPEG Stream: "The Chasms Of My Heart"

THEORETICAL GIRLS 1978-1981 (Acute) cd 14.98
Theoretical Girls (Jeffrey Lohn, Wharton Tiers, Margaret Dewys & Glenn Branca), fixtures of the New York no-wave scene, only released one single back in the day. The tunes Branca penned can be found on his 1977-79 Static/Theoretical Girls compilation; Jeffery Lohn's contributions are collected on this new 19 track disc. Lohn wanted to combine punk rock with avant-garde classical composition. Less sharply jagged and jarring than Branca's compositions, these very lo-fi recordings have a definite element of straight-up, Dead Boys-style, dirty, stripped-down RAWK. Some tracks bring on the full on noise destruction, while others display a punk anthemic-ness almost on the level of Wire's first album. One of the most striking things on first hearing this disc is the blatancy with which Theoretical Girls provided a blueprint for Sonic Youth, especially in the spoken vs. sung vocal interplay; Lohn's voice is even a bit reminiscent of Thurston Moore's (or is it the other way around?). The degree of classical rigor isn't exactly clear, if it's even really there at all, but what does shine through is some immensely influential, kick-ass New York noise rock. Keyword: Raw.
RealAudio clip: "Lovin in the Red"
RealAudio clip: "Computer Dating"
RealAudio clip: "Theoretical Girls (Studio Version)"

THEORY OF RUIN Outfit (Elastic) 7" 3.75
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Theory of Ruin is the new project from Alex of Fudge Tunnel, and here are three songs to give you a taste of where he's at these days. Bass heavy and staccatic, very much in the Shellac/Big Black vein (almost uncannily so).

THERIEAU, MIKE, BRIAN GLAZE AND GUESTS (V/A) Ace of Spades Series Volume 6 - February 2005 (E14) cd-r 4.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Ace Of Spades is a cd-r series of live recordings showcasing the intimate acoustic music of a variety of local indie artists. The series so far boasts consistently strong performances from all participants (well played and well recorded at Mama Buzz Cafe in Oakland).
The Volume 6 edition was recorded on February 20th, 2005 and features a few songs each from Mike Therieau, Brian Glaze, Paul Panamarenko, James Moore and Monique Lacour.
MPEG Stream: THERIEAU, MIKE "Tomorrow's Woman"
MPEG Stream: PANAMARENKO, PAUL "Don't Come Messin' Round"

THERMALS Fuckin A (Sub Pop) cd 13.98
We raved up and down about the Thermals last year with the release of their ass kicking, Strokes squashing jangle punk classic More Parts Per Million, a sweaty, sloppy, lo-fi kick in the nuts, equal parts Stooges, Strokes, Ramones, Guided By Voices and loads of snotty swagger. Now, they're back! With a supposedly cleaner production, which worried us a bit, but on first listen, it became clear that better production just meant differently shitty and sloppy. Which is a relief, 'cause the Thermals' brand of simple, catchy, snotty punk-pop sounds so much better all sweaty and covered in lint and crumbs and broken glass and whatever else was all over their practice space floor. And while the sound is still appropriately raw and in your face, some things -have- changed. There is definitely more of a pop to punk ratio this time around, with the band expanding beyond their 4 chord, 2 part song limit. Although for every lilting melody and sugary sweet hook, the Thermals stomp it to bits within minutes. Lots of folks here think that this is what the Mountain Goats would sound like all drugged up and punk rock supercharged, with the vocalist's nerdy whine, sung/spoken delivery and oblique wordy lyrics. Imagine the simple jangle pop of the Strokes, the skewed take on classic Beatlesque songwriting of Guided By Voices, the three chord stomp of the Ramones and add lots of packed basement, broken down van, DIY, punk rock snarl and you've got Fuckin A.
MPEG Stream: "Our Trip"
MPEG Stream: "Every Stitch"

THERMALS More Parts Per Million (Sub Pop) cd 14.98
Everybody who's been worshiping at the altar of the Strokes for the last year will be facing some serious theological choices with this, the debut from the Pacific Northwest's Thermals. A buzzing blast of white knuckle pop in punk rock's clothing. The Thermals sound like the Strokes cranked on crystal meth and recorded on a boom box in a sweaty smelly basement. The lazy jaded stoned jangle of the current crop of New York hipsters is rolled in dirt and piss and whiskey and handed a beat up old guitar. Thirteen songs, most barely reaching the two minute mark, of blasting fuzz and ramshackle rooooaaaaarrr with a whiny, snotty vocalist climbing all over your table and spilling drinks in your lap. Or think Guided By Voices if their drug of choice was speed instead of Pabst Blue Ribbon and their influences were the Stooges and the Feederz instead of the Beatles and 80's/90's college rock. So great!
RealAudio clip: "No Culture Icons"
RealAudio clip: "Goddamn The Light"
RealAudio clip: "It's Trivia"

THERMALS No Culture Icons (Sub Pop) cd ep 3.98
Four-song ep previous to their "More Parts Per Million" full-length that Andee loves so much.

THERMALS, THE Now We Can See (Kill Rock Stars) cd 14.98

THERMALS, THE Personal Life (Kill Rock Stars) cd 16.98

THERMALS, THE The Body, The Blood, The Machine (Sub Pop) cd 13.98

MPEG Stream: "Here's Your Future"
MPEG Stream: "I Might Need You To Kill"
MPEG Stream: "An Ear For Baby"

THERMALS, THE / THAO When I Died / With The Get Down Stay Down (Record Store Day) (Kill Rock Stars) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

THESE ARMS ARE SNAKES Easter (Jade Tree) cd 14.98
These Arms Are Snakes surprise us by going in a new, increasingly metallic direction. It spurred us to muse, "what happens when the guys leave their Mastodon and Big Black records out in the sun next to each other?" Not a bad thing, just quite different from what this post hardcore band used to sound like... at least to our memory. There's fewer convulsive fits and starts, and a steadier stream of aggressive rock intensity. Standouts are the ninth and tenth tracks, the winding "Lady North" (think Pleasure Forever colliding with Jesus Lizard!) and the Pink Floyd leaning "Perpetual Bris". Cool!
MPEG Stream: "Lady North"
MPEG Stream: "Perpetual Bris"