ABOVE THE ORANGE TREES / CHRISTIAN KIEFER The Inexplicable Falling (Mudita) cd 9.98
A split cd between Christian Kiefer and Jeff Pitcher's project Above the Orange Trees. Both musicians add to the canon of super sad singer songwriters: Jeff Pitcher's completely heartbroken songs are lushly melodic and quietly epic, bringing to mind Joel Phelps (ex-Silkworm) and Talk Talk; while Christian Kiefer's tracks are even more anguished than Pitcher's (if that's even possible), similar to the stillness of Low, the warm earthiness of Mark Kozelek, and the macabre twang of Songs:Ohia and Will Oldham/Palace. The artists also each contribute a cover of one of the others songs. Depressing in a good way.
RealAudio clip: ABOVE THE ORANGE TREES "Erendira"
RealAudio clip: CHRISTIAN KIEFER "With Fishes"

ABRAXASAXAPHONIC Smooth Jazz Vagina (NGWTT) cd 12.98
Arrington de Dionyso of Olympia, WA's Old Time Relijiun goes all freakout, solo saxophone skronk over smooth jazz radio. Hot.

ABSU Abzu (Candlelight) cd 14.98
Welcome once again to the esoteric, eccentric, and extreme world of Absu! If bands can be said to conjure unique "worlds", AQ faves Absu certainly do. Insane and arcane as we have said. The veteran Texan black metal trio returned from a long hiatus with their excellent self-titled comeback in 2009, to which this new, almost-self-titled album (we love that it's called Abzu!) is the follow-up. Again, original founding member and resident drum demon Lord Proscriptor McGovern and his current chaotic cohorts have crafted a lesson in magickal thrashing, full of awe inspiring hyperspeed battery, dog whistle shrieks, rasping kokills, and headspinning shred, that puts all other bands to shame when it comes to "staying in character" and maintaining their mythos & mystique. We mean, these guys aren't just tight musically but conceptually as well, as they say in the digipack's liner notes: "NOTE: ABSU arrogantly executes mythological occult metal... still." Indeed they do, and they have reason to be arrogant.
This new Absu opus opens with the ripping "Earth Ripper" and doesn't ever let up, apart from some stop/start and sudden dives into quieter acoustic/melodic breaks, like the lovely ending to "Circles Of The Oath", or several of the sections that make up the 14+ minute long suite "Song For EA" that closes the album with epick side-long prog grandeur. Prog? Heck yeah, note that not one but two members of the three-man Absu horde are credited with playing Mellotron, that most '70s proggy of all instruments (the most '80s prog would be the Chapman Stick, but we digress). However, no one will confuse Abzu for the new Opeth, this album rages, part Slayer, part King Diamond, part Immortal circa Blizzard Beasts, part graduate thesis in ancient Sumerian occult philosophy...
MPEG Stream: "Earth Ripper"
MPEG Stream: "Circles Of The Oath"
MPEG Stream: "Ontologically, It Became Time & Space"

ABSU Abzu (Candlelight) 2lp 29.00
NOW ON VINYL!! Folks been waitin' for this... 180 gram, colored vinyl, gatefold....
Welcome once again to the esoteric, eccentric, and extreme world of Absu! If bands can be said to conjure unique "worlds", AQ faves Absu certainly do. Insane and arcane as we have said. The veteran Texan black metal trio returned from a long hiatus with their excellent self-titled comeback in 2009, to which this new, almost-self-titled album (we love that it's called Abzu!) is the follow-up. Again, original founding member and resident drum demon Lord Proscriptor McGovern and his current chaotic cohorts have crafted a lesson in magickal thrashing, full of awe inspiring hyperspeed battery, dog whistle shrieks, rasping kokills, and headspinning shred, that puts all other bands to shame when it comes to "staying in character" and maintaining their mythos & mystique. We mean, these guys aren't just tight musically but conceptually as well, as they say in the digipack's liner notes: "NOTE: ABSU arrogantly executes mythological occult metal... still." Indeed they do, and they have reason to be arrogant.
This new Absu opus opens with the ripping "Earth Ripper" and doesn't ever let up, apart from some stop/start and sudden dives into quieter acoustic/melodic breaks, like the lovely ending to "Circles Of The Oath", or several of the sections that make up the 14+ minute long suite "Song For EA" that closes the album with epick side-long prog grandeur. Prog? Heck yeah, note that not one but two members of the three-man Absu horde are credited with playing Mellotron, that most '70s proggy of all instruments (the most '80s prog would be the Chapman Stick, but we digress). However, no one will confuse Abzu for the new Opeth, this album rages, part Slayer, part King Diamond, part Immortal circa Blizzard Beasts, part graduate thesis in ancient Sumerian occult philosophy...
MPEG Stream: "Earth Ripper"
MPEG Stream: "Circles Of The Oath"
MPEG Stream: "Ontologically, It Became Time & Space"

AC (ANIMAL COLLECTIVE) W/ VASHTI BUNYAN Prospect Hummer (Fat Cat) cd ep 11.98
Why those Animal Collective folks have chosen to go by just their initials A and C is beyond us. Don't they realize they're running the risk of being confused with our own Alison C. or Andee C., A.C. Newman or worse yet Anal Cunt!? Ah, but none of those peeps would be collaborating with Ms Bunyan... or would they? Hmmm. Anyhoo, ponderings aside, these four songs are hushed psych-folk jewels with clusters of group-sing gatherings, acoustic guitar, and harp. Sooo lovely. Fans of any/all involved will not be disappointed. The only thing unfortunate here is that sadly in this day and age the first thing that popped to our mind when we saw this ep's title was those horrendous enormo-vehicles. Not exactly the mental picture you want in your head when you're listening to Animal Collective and/or Vashti Bunyan... noooo!
MPEG Stream: "It's You"
MPEG Stream: "Prospect Hummer"

AC/DC Back In Black (remastered) (Epic) cd 17.98

AC/DC Family Jewels (Epic Music Video) 2dvd 21.00
Funny that a band can get so over-rated they become supremely under-rated. It could be that one of the best rock bands of all time has maintained their overall showmanship, but without the illustrious and crazed Bon Scott on lead vocals, their pure fire got lost in the huge rock-band-production of the '80s and '90s. Lightshows and media blitzes (not to mention excessive usage of their music for major league sporting events) seemed to dilute their early naked raw energy. Though, these days they certainly still do have raucous energy to spare, just ask anyone who's seen them in recent years. However, the young ravenous intensity of the band in the mid-to-late '70s is, in comparison, incredibly impressive to witness. Thankfully, several choice moments from that time in the band's career is presented on this Family Jewels (ahem) double dvd.
Disc one (20 songs from 1975-1980) features priceless footage of early performances and some incredibly scrappy but amazing music videos. Of the live shows, one that stands out is the footage from their notoriously impressive performance at University of Essex on a UK television series called Rock Goes To College.
In the music video for "Jailbreak" (which has become a staple on VH1 Classic), you see the band (with Angus shockingly in only something that looks to be a paper thin pajama set), freezing their asses off, "playing" the song with instruments up on some windy hill somewhere, "escaping from jail" and dodging some home-made explosives. The look of the film, quick cuts matched by the song's memorable sound quality make for one of the best music videos of all time. I get chills everytime I watch it.
In clip after clip, the surprisingly unpredictable and witty showman Scott keeps you thoroughly entertained. Keep an eye out for bagpipe-playin' Bon and schoolgirl Bon alongside schoolboy Angus! Speaking of which, the playfully rambunctious chemistry between the two is great, adding a totally distinct personality to their on-stage energy that's sadly missed in the later Johnson-era performances. To boot, it's pretty cool too to watch the evolution of Angus' student uniform.
Disc two (20 more tracks, 1980-1993) draws from the Brian Johnson years (AC/DC's singer after Bon's untimely death), and so one of the unexpected things that this double cd set inadvertenty offers is the opportunity for the Scott versus Johnson debate teams to re-ignite their rallying charges (just as the Iron Maiden Early Years double-dvd did for the Dickinson and DiAnno supporters). Which side are you on? So far, we're siding with Bon...all except for Allan who votes for Brian. You can take it up with him.

ACCORDION CRIMES Songs To Drive Wives Away (Cash Cow Production) lp 14.98
On the last list, we reviewed a new record from Minneapolis noise rockers Buildings, and we could barely keep em in stock. Folks went a little crazy for their brand of churning AmRep style nineties informed math/post/noise rock heaviness. So we figured we'd review something else on the same label, another band that also seems like they could have been plucked right out of the midnineties. Accordion Crimes are from Denver, but sound like they could/should be from Chicago, the Jesus Lizard vibe is huge with these guys too, but so is Shellac. In fact, where buildings were murky and muddy and thick and blown out, Accordion Crimes' music has a bit more space, it's a bit less pigfuck, and more sort of rhythmic and post rocky. The guitars sharp and jagged, the vocals yelped and crooned, even spoken on some tracks, which definitely makes these guys a dead ringer for that glorious bygone era. And yeah, if you're like us, you sort of miss that sound, and those bands, and these guys channel that stuff brilliantly.
The sound throughout is dense, and hypnotic, the bass low slung and sinewy, the drums tight and controlled, the whole sound lurching and lumbering, totally tranced out, and mesmeric, there's the occasional pretty part, but it seems like those are just to build tension, until the band can uncoil and strike. There's even some cello too, adding some lush drama to the pretty parts. We have to admit, we're pretty biased when it comes to stuff like this, but holy shit are we loving it. Along with that Buildings record, and really pretty much everything we've heard on Cash Cow. So yeah, if you need your nineties fix, or just want something heavy and hooky, noisy and catchy, then this will definitely hit the spot.
Includes a download code too!
MPEG Stream: "Extractor"
MPEG Stream: "Tilt-A-Wheel"
MPEG Stream: "Stray"

ACCUSED, THE The Archive Tapes 1981-1986 (Unrest) 2lp 17.98

ACEPHALIX Aporia (Prank) cd 11.98
Ever since their self titled 7", reviewed last year, we've been dying for a full length from these SF heavies, their sound an insanely punishing, ultra downtuned metallic crust punk, that's just about the most metal thing to come out on Prank, but Acephalix still manage to straddle that line between metal and punk, they're probably more a punk rock band than a metal band we think, but then that line is already so blurred with bands like Anti Cimex, the Cro-Mags, Motorhead, Nausea, Celtic Frost, Sacrilege, all of whom most definitely inform Acephalix's sound. And what a sound, the guitars crunchy and corrosive, the drums crushing, the bass thick and dense, and the vocals, holy shit, howling, hellish and guttural, doesn't seem like anybody, should be able to conjure up that sort of demonic bellow, anybody human at least which is exactly what makes it so intense.
Plus the band lace their chugging metallic crust with killer harmonized style classic metal leads, and even when they're not unleashing full on leads, the songs are laced with streaks of feedback, bursts of tangled melody, spidery and all interwoven into the roiling crusty blackness below. The tracks veer from frenzied black thrash to lumbering doom to full on D-beat crush, the sound just so fucking heavy and dense and yeah, sometimes weirdly melodic, some of these songs get lodged in your head for sure, which is not something you'd expect at all from this sort of grim metallic filth. These guys just might give Burmese a run for their money as our favorite heavy locals, which is saying a whole hell of a lot.
The packaging on both the vinyl and cd are pretty sweet, but the cd version includes one extra track, a gloriously grim, chugging crusty creep... just so you know...
MPEG Stream: "Immanent"
MPEG Stream: "Rectal Grave"
MPEG Stream: "Ascetix"
MPEG Stream: "Past/Present"
MPEG Stream: "Only The Dying"

ACEPHALIX Aporia (Prank) lp 10.98
Ever since their self titled 7", reviewed last year, we've been dying for a full length from these SF heavies, their sound an insanely punishing, ultra downtuned metallic crust punk, that's just about the most metal thing to come out on Prank, but Acephalix still manage to straddle that line between metal and punk, they're probably more a punk rock band than a metal band we think, but then that line is already so blurred with bands like Anti Cimex, the Cro-Mags, Motorhead, Nausea, Celtic Frost, Sacrilege, all of whom most definitely inform Acephalix's sound. And what a sound, the guitars crunchy and corrosive, the drums crushing, the bass thick and dense, and the vocals, holy shit, howling, hellish and guttural, doesn't seem like anybody, should be able to conjure up that sort of demonic bellow, anybody human at least which is exactly what makes it so intense.
Plus the band lace their chugging metallic crust with killer harmonized style classic metal leads, and even when they're not unleashing full on leads, the songs are laced with streaks of feedback, bursts of tangled melody, spidery and all interwoven into the roiling crusty blackness below. The tracks veer from frenzied black thrash to lumbering doom to full on D-beat crush, the sound just so fucking heavy and dense and yeah, sometimes weirdly melodic, some of these songs get lodged in your head for sure, which is not something you'd expect at all from this sort of grim metallic filth. These guys just might give Burmese a run for their money as our favorite heavy locals, which is saying a whole hell of a lot.
The packaging on both the vinyl and cd are pretty sweet, but the cd version includes one extra track, a gloriously grim, chugging crusty creep... just so you know...
MPEG Stream: "Immanent"
MPEG Stream: "Rectal Grave"
MPEG Stream: "Ascetix"
MPEG Stream: "Past/Present"
MPEG Stream: "Only The Dying"

ACEPHALIX s/t (Prank) 7" 4.50
Debut release from this Bay Area horde, fucking killer, grinding, pummeling old school downtuned metallic crust, equal parts Celtic Frost, Anti Cimex, Cro-Mags and any other of the classic crushers.
Thick, super distorted ultra heavy guitars, pounding drums, and some of the sickest, gnarled bellowed vocals we've ever heard. The riffs destroy, there are even GUITAR SOLOS, which shred, the songs are mostly midtempo, weirdly groove here and there, even some awesome Iron Maiden style harmonized guitars, and always crazy catchy and heavy as fuck. We find ourselves listening to this over and over and over. Can't wait for the full length.
Super swank packaging, silver metallic foil printed on thick black and white sleeves, pressed on nice thick vinyl, and includes a printed insert.

ACID BATH Paegan Terrorism Tactics (Rotten) cd 14.98
Man, does this record rule! Not entirely sure how we all managed to miss this one when it came out a few years back. It was actually (re)discovered on the recommendation of a not-so-entirely-trustworthy source. Go figure! But now that we know, so must you...Imagine the sheer brutality of Eyehategod, the bluesy grind of fellow bayou residents Soilent Green, the stoned Sabbathy swing of Trouble, and the melodic flair of late era Corrosion of Conformity or Alice In Chains, all forced onto one cd. Sound confusing? It is. But somehow, it gels perfectly, striking a pefect balance between catchy and heavy. This has become an absolute favorite of Andee, Allan, Elisabeth, and a handful of customers who have seen the light. Interesting non-music related facts: amazing cover art by Dr. Jack Kevorkian, one band member dead, one in jail...HIGHLY recommended!

ACID EATER Black Fuzz On Wheels (Time Bomb) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When we think about it, we really should have made Acid Eater's debut, the awesomely titled Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D., a Record Of The Week, the most overdriven slab of in-the-red noise drenched hyperdistorted drug fueled punked out garage rock EVER. That is, until now.
So we can right that wrong, by bestowing the honor on record number two, the equally bad assedly (and aptly) titled Black Fuzz On Wheels, another amp destroying psychedelic garage punk blowout, fronted by none other than Yamazaki Maso, aka MASONNA, on vocals and sound effects, and ably backed up by a classic garage rock lineup, fuzz guitar, organ, bass keyboard, drums and chorus, okay, well, maybe not totally classic, but then this is not your classic garage rock. Imagine fuzzed out sixties garage rock, but with a fucked up freaked out Merzbow production, the guitars so distorted the riffs seem to be on the verge of totally falling to pieces, the drums, a blown out pound, the vocals, a sneering yowl, also doused in effects, all held in place by thick whirring Farfisa, everything rollicking and rocking, loose and wild, heavy and psychedelic, and all wrapped up in a bristly, incendiary sheen of white hot buzz and skree.
Thankfully these guys (and gal) have the fuzzed out garage pop songs to back up this sort of speaker shredding sonic onslaught, not to mention a little clutch of kick ass covers, songs by Crime, The Miracle Workers, and a band we'd never heard of before called The Tidal Wave, but whose composition here actually sounds like a sped up "TV Eye" by The Stooges! Weirdest of all, there's a cover of one of the tracks from those Schulmadchen Report soundtracks, y'know, music from saucy '60s German 'documentaries' about school girls making it with older men! Crazy, but it suits them, that cover is a cool surfy instrumental jam, with a bad ass main riff, and a cool breakdown with just drums and distorted hiss. The Miracle Workers cover is awesome too, maybe the noisiest of the bunch, and such a great song ("Love Has No Time"), the vocals especially effected, so snarly and snotty, as well as a tripped out psychedelic ambient effects drenched outro, all motorik pulses and swirling space age bleeps and bloops.
But if you didn't know, you'd probably just figure those covers were originals too, every song on here sounds like some classic sixties garage jam, dipped in a vat of liquid LSD, set afire and sent careening from your speakers. We can only imagine how mind blowing Acid Eater must be live.
Total psychnoise surfpunk distorto garage pop bliss. With super sexy naked lady motorcycle cover art to boot!!
MPEG Stream: "Yes, Motion"
MPEG Stream: "Oh Baby's No"
MPEG Stream: "Follow Me"
MPEG Stream: "Searching For Love"

ACID EATER Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. (Time Bomb) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Not to be confused with the Christine 23 Onna record of the same name (although both are fronted by Japanoise legend Masonna), this Acid Eater is a blown out blast of ultradistorto organ drenched spaced out primitive garage rock stomp. We got a little taste of Acid Eater on the Demonic Freak Scene compilation we reviewed last year, and have been hankering for more ever since.
Imagine the heaviest, most fuzzed out garage rock you've ever heard, now take that and run it through a handful of distortion pedals, a bank of Acid Mothers worthy FX, blast it through a wall of busted old Vox amps, wrap the whole thing in feedback and reverb, and suddenly you're in some alien alternate future where the world is populated exclusively by Japanese noiserock beatniks, who are constantly blasting fuzzed out walls of overblown sixties sounds from their low flying spacecraft...
Imagine if Merzbow remixed your favorite Fuzztones record, or the Stooges released records on PSF and were augmented by some insane drug addled organist with WAY too many amps. Serpentine blues rock riffs, all tangled up with thick warbling organs, the vocals a snarling distorted howl, buried in the mix, and all dubbed out, the drums a crumbling, percussive pound, somehow as in the red as the rest of the instruments, every cymbal crash swallowing up all the other sounds, but it's the riffs, and the organ, and Masonna's wild eyed vocalizing that keep this blacklight space garage party going. Not to mention the killer hooks... Virulent Fuzz Punk A.C.I.D. perfectly captures how intense and freaked out it must be to experience this sound live, super distorted, feedback everywhere, the instruments in your face, the speakers threatening to blow, sweat, blood, spit, a swirling chaotic musical melee, heavy, distorted, fuzzy and funky, wild and woolly, spaced out and gloriously gloriously noisy.
MPEG Stream: "EYE"
MPEG Stream: "Nothing Can Bring Me Down "
MPEG Stream: "A.C.I.D."

ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. Dark Side Of The Black Moon: What Planet Are We On? (Important) cd 14.98
Just like the phases of the moon, and the cycle of the seasons, and the rising and setting of the sun, we can always count on the regular appearance of another rad release from Japanese psychedelic freaks Acid Mothers Temple. And for all we know, maybe they too are an integral part of the rhythm of nature, and we begin to wonder, if they DIDN'T have a new disc of cosmic jams out every month or so, would the universe come to an end? Well no worries, that's not gonna happen. Based on current trends, the flow of krautrock inspired music from bearded guitar guru Kawabata Makoto & Co. seems unlikely to abate, at least not in our lifetimes, and possibly not before the sun itself goes supernova.
So, as destined, here's the Dark Side Of The Black Moon, billed as a sequel of sorts to the remarkably SUNNO)))-y, super heavy fan fave Recurring Dream & Apocalypse Of Darkness, released on Important last year. Although, we thought that the intervening Important release of Glorify Astrological Martyrdom qualified as that already. (Hmm, all three feature cover art by Seldon Hunt, maybe it's a trilogy of sorts?). In any event, this one is pretty extreme too, always intense though not doomdrone heavy, as it's less about riffs than it is about sheer wailing psych guitar abandon, swirls of electronic FX, manic dervish rhythms, possessed vocal chant, and other contributing factors towards total disorienting delirium, this album's apparent purpose.
The 13+ minute "Space Labyrinth or Eclipse On Friday" eases the listener into it... if you can call explosions of distortion and spooky wordless vocals "ease". Loads of gtr feedback n' skree are included as well. Next track "Astro Kama Sutra: Take Me To The Outer Limits" then if anything ups the ante, though this disc does have its mellowed-out moments of space-babble - as on the quietly meandering "Blessing Of The Load Galaxy", track 3. That's followed by the chaotic groove of "Space A Go Go"... and then we get to the title track, 17 minutes long, each of those minutes building in feverish intensity. Whew!
If you want more, well, get the deluxe gatefold double lp vinyl edition instead of the cd, 'cause it adds two bonus cuts, "Universe In Witch's Blue" and "Intergalactic Space Trackin'"!
MPEG Stream: "Astro Kama Sutra: Take Me To The Outer Limits"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Side of the Black Moon"

ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. Dark Side Of The Black Moon: What Planet Are We On? (Important) 2lp 26.00
Just like the phases of the moon, and the cycle of the seasons, and the rising and setting of the sun, we can always count on the regular appearance of another rad release from Japanese psychedelic freaks Acid Mothers Temple. And for all we know, maybe they too are an integral part of the rhythm of nature, and we begin to wonder, if they DIDN'T have a new disc of cosmic jams out every month or so, would the universe come to an end? Well no worries, that's not gonna happen. Based on current trends, the flow of krautrock inspired music from bearded guitar guru Kawabata Makoto & Co. seems unlikely to abate, at least not in our lifetimes, and possibly not before the sun itself goes supernova.
So, as destined, here's the Dark Side Of The Black Moon, billed as a sequel of sorts to the remarkably SUNNO)))-y, super heavy fan fave Recurring Dream & Apocalypse Of Darkness, released on Important last year. Although, we thought that the intervening Important release of Glorify Astrological Martyrdom qualified as that already. (Hmm, all three feature cover art by Seldon Hunt, maybe it's a trilogy of sorts?). In any event, this one is pretty extreme too, always intense though not doomdrone heavy, as it's less about riffs than it is about sheer wailing psych guitar abandon, swirls of electronic FX, manic dervish rhythms, possessed vocal chant, and other contributing factors towards total disorienting delirium, this album's apparent purpose.
The 13+ minute "Space Labyrinth or Eclipse On Friday" eases the listener into it... if you can call explosions of distortion and spooky wordless vocals "ease". Loads of gtr feedback n' skree are included as well. Next track "Astro Kama Sutra: Take Me To The Outer Limits" then if anything ups the ante, though this disc does have its mellowed-out moments of space-babble - as on the quietly meandering "Blessing Of The Load Galaxy", track 3. That's followed by the chaotic groove of "Space A Go Go"... and then we get to the title track, 17 minutes long, each of those minutes building in feverish intensity. Whew!
If you want more, well, get the deluxe gatefold double lp vinyl edition instead of the cd, 'cause it adds two bonus cuts, "Universe In Witch's Blue" and "Intergalactic Space Trackin'"!
MPEG Stream: "Astro Kama Sutra: Take Me To The Outer Limits"
MPEG Stream: "Dark Side of the Black Moon"

ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE / STEARICA Sterica Invade Acid Mothers Temple (Homeopathic) cd 17.98

ACID MOTHERS GURU GURU Psychedelic Navigator (Important) cd 14.98
Recently we listed a cd by Diza Star & The Pink Ladies Blues, the French/Japanese psych band formerly known as Acid Mothers Temple & The Pink Ladies Blues, entitled Featuring Mani Neumeier. That particular personage being the drummer from '70s krautrock legends Guru Guru. Well, the REAL Acid Mothers Temple couldn't let their Pink Ladies pals & doppelgangers get away with scooping 'em on jamming with Mr. Guru Guru himself. So here's AMT's Makoto Kawabata (guitar) and Atsushi Tsuyama (bass) teamed up in a cream-dream power trio with ol' Mani. Together they unleash a whole hour of long, lumbering, loud, out-there psychedelic rock, five tracks total, mostly improvised live but winding up with a wild version of the Guru Guru classic "Bo Diddley". We bet Kawabata and Tsuyama were grinning stupidly for weeks afterwards.
MPEG Stream: "Stonerrock Socks"
MPEG Stream: "Bo Diddley"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARADISE UFO / ESCAPADE A Thousand Shades of Grey (Funfundvierzig) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
As if they didn't already have enough releases of their own, now Makoto Kawabata's Acid Mothers Temple have begun popping up on split releases with other bands -- recently with Kinski, and now with NY's Escapade. This should do wonders for Escapade's profile within the wider indie-rock community as they're a band definitely stuck in a geeky space/prog rock ghetto that most AMT fans probably don't venture into. A place where bands have names like... 'Escapade'! But Escapade are definitely better than their name. They occupy two lengthy tracks here, bookending an even longer, single contribution from everyone's favorite Japanese hippy freaks (well, second favorite maybe now that Ghost is back...) entitled "European Sun". It's a 28 minute drone-out doozy featuring electric sitar, violin, bamboo flute, voice and electronics. Minimalist repetition with ethnic and sci-fi synth frills. Meanwhile, Escapade's two tracks are slow-building spacerock synthfeasts, that fans of AMT, Kinski, Subarachnoid Space, Circle, and the like oughta dig.
MPEG Stream: ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE "European Sun"
MPEG Stream: ESCAPADE "Transformation 2"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. 41st Century Splendid Man Returns (Essence) cd 21.00
It's taken 6 years, but finally, one of our favorite Acid Mothers Temple records is available again, with fancy new artwork and lots of extra music!
Originally released as the first (and only) installment in tUMULt's aborted picture disc series, 41st Century Splendid Man still ranks as one of AMT's finest moments as far as we're concerned. This stuff comes from WAY before these Japanese avant-hippy heroes began pumping out a brand new release every few weeks. When this psychbomb dropped, these guys were still cloaked in mystery, some fucked up weirdo psychrock commune whose sound was as mysterious and indescribable as whatever strange corner of the universe these guys and gals called home.
The sound is epic and tripped out and druggy, blown out and blissfully psychedelic, AMT at their absolute prime, and one of the tracks features special guest star Tatsuya Yoshida of the Ruins! The original was three extended tracks (35 + minutes) of ultra divine transcendental psych-drone. "41st Century Splendid Man" has to be the most beautiful track AMT have ever recorded. Uncharacteristically tranquil and captivatingly beautiful. Droning, shimmering chimes coalesce into some sort of cosmic Ur-drone, punctuated by simple caveman thuds and epic swooshes, resulting in a grand and gorgeous ambience! The other two tracks from the original 12", "Genesis Of Humanity" and "Dalai Gama", are almost like a single track separated into two movements. The first sees AMT back on more familiar ground, with swooping synths and freak out guitar. A stumbling kosmic krautrock, with motorik rhythms and free guitar, amidst a swampy wash of rumbling low end and squealing synths. The track erupts into bubbling atonal out-rock exploration splattered with mad scientist synthesisers as the whole thing slowly mutates into 'cosmic slop' of the nth degree, becoming gradually free-er and free-er. The second 'movement' is all slithery free jazz with bubbling cauldrons of synth sputter, wild keyboards and Can-like rhythms until the whole thing gets all dreamy, eventually blissing out completely.
For this cd reissue, from Brazilian label Essence, there are two extra tracks tacked on that perfectly compliment the three originals. The cd opener, "Ruck Zuck", is an unhinged Hawkwind style heart of the sun, black hole freaked out space jam, a motorik krautrock groove, buried in FX and clouds of shimmer and skree, strange squealing vocals, streaks of feedback and dense swaths of whir and bloop and bleep.
The disc closes with the bizarrely titled "Hell Eskimo Or Polyhedral Mu", a 14 plus minute abstract ambient epic, that twists and contorts, slithers and creeps, beginning as a full on brain melting drug jam eventually transforming into a blissy jazzy post rocky slither that floats hypnotically through glistening clouds of glimmer and shimmer and sparkle, a super nova dappled interstellar drift that sounds a bit like a more damaged psychedelic Necks. Fuck yeah.
Super gorgeous deluxe packaging, a full color Stoughton style paste on gatefold, with the original cover art subtly altered on the cover (sorry, no naked ladies) and some awesome psychedelic liner notes on the inside. And just to avoid any collector confusion, the notes mention the original 41st AMT being a 10", but as mentioned above it was in fact a picture disc 12"! This cd reissue, while not nearly as limited as the 12", is still limited, this time to only 1000 COPIES!
WAY WAY WAY recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "41st Century Splendid Man"
MPEG Stream: "Hell Eskimo Or Polyhedral Mu"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO U.F.O. In C (Eclipse) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The heavily lauded, AQ fave, psychedelic hippie Japanese collective led by Makoto Kawabata now graces us with two excellent side-long pieces on this LP-only release. The first is a well-executed version of Terry Riley's famous conceptual composition "In C", wherein the musicians are instructed to play a series of 53 repetitive sections over and over as long as they wish (the 53 patterns are conveniently printed here on the back cover). Almost all the renditions of In C that I've heard are light, meditative, and chaotic yet pleasant (due to everything being in the friendly key of C), and this version is no exception -- except that light and meditative are relative terms, and for an Acid Mothers Temple track to be relatively light and meditative still means it's going to be heavier, more chaotic and psychedelic and guitarfilled than any other rendition of In C. Really nice, and the cleverly titled flipside jam "In E" will be familiar to those who've seen them live. Heavy and wonderful.
That said, we have a bone to pick with the packaging of this album. If you're going to fetishize a band (and let's face it Acid Mothers Temple is the fetish band of the moment), then for heavens sake do the packaging right! It's not bad looking, just shoddily constructed. Eclipse pressed the album on impressively weighty vinyl, and it boasts commendably pretty artwork, but unfortunately the gatefold cover is printed on glossy yet flimsy cardstock that doesn't fold right, will not lay flat, and is already coming apart at the seams. Furthermore, there's only one LP but two empty compartments in the sleeve, making for an inevitable small disappointment when said empty sleeve doesn't even have an insert or anything. Sigh. Of course, it would have cost more to do the packaging better, but for the $17 we have to charge for this you think Eclipse could have afforded it! Oh well, maybe they didn't know that it was going to turn out so poorly. And packaging aside, this *is* a great AMT album.

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE PINK LADIES BLUES The Soul Of A Mountain Wolf (Fractal) cd 16.98
Before you go, geez ANOTHER Acid Mothers Temple album alreddy?? remember that this AMT isn't that AMT. Acid Mothers Temple & The Pink Ladies Blues is a totally different band, in fact, one of the members of this trio isn't even Japanese, he's the French guy who runs Fractal. But that doesn't stop him (or them) from sounding like they should all be wearing big Makoto Kawabata beards! Their music's definitely THAT hairy. This second album of theirs, The Soul Of A Mountain Wolf, is all about heavy and droning riffage. It's like "Rumble" on LSD. All-instrumental, nothin' but far-out guitar wailin' action, supported by pounding drums and bass. Any AMT fan, of any AMT, is gonna be pleased. One thing though, this isn't that long of a cd. "Sandoza Death Blues" from their debut was almost as long as this whole disc, which is just under 20 minutes total. Hmmm. But it's good stuff, if blown-out, acid-fried bluesy psych geetar stomp is your thing!! Ain't it??
MPEG Stream: "The Soul Of A Mountain Wolf: Anger"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE / CIRCLE split (Verdura) 7" 4.95
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Split single from two AQ faves that by now, if you're a reader of this list you are quite familiar with. You get a burst of fuzzed out, spaced out extraterrestrial Japanese mayhem from AMT ("The Tombstone Phantom Drifter") and a blast of droning, hypnotic krautrock-inspired Finnish ur-rock from Circle ("Riemukaari"). Only a few in stock.

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE AND THE COSMIC INFERNO Ominous From The Cosmic Inferno (Essence) cd 21.00
BACK IN STOCK!
*Acid Mothers Temple alert* *Acid Mothers Temple alert* *Acid Mothers Temple alert*
Heck, Acid Mothers Temple overload! Essence Music of Brazil has brought us not one but TWO Acid Mothers Temple discs this week: the expanded reissue of 41st Century Splendid Man originally released as a picture disc on Andee's tUMULt label, and also this brand new album. Well AMT fans are always ready for more product, aren't they? Better be! 'Cause the cosmic vibes of which Makoto Kawabata and friends are but the earthly vessels for are not waiting for you to pay off those student loans or get that raise... No, they mean to be heard NOW and probably again next week, even if their devotees need to start selling their plasma to keep up with AMT's releases. If you have to choose between paying the rent and picking up another AMT cd like this one, we're confident you'll make the right choice. And if it makes you feel any better, this IS a pretty great AMT album! Great song titles too, and we're not being sarcastic: "Na Na Hey Hey From The Cosmic Inferno", "Nipples In The Dream Woods", and "Golem Rock" are but three of 'em. These Japanese neo-kraut psychedelic voyagers offer up the jams to go with such titles, that's for sure. If AMT's Electric Heavyland is one of your faves, this ought to be right up your acid rock alley.
The disc opens with the wild, wah-wahed guitar excess of "Ecstasy In Hell" and really never lets up, pounding on through the nearly 19-minute "Nipples...", spacey fx in full effect. A darkly droned-out detour is however taken on the next 17 minute track, "Omen Amen", kind of a ceremonial-sounding, folky trance ritual, followed for the next 13 minutes by the riff-repetition of "Dark Side Of The Apocalypse", sounding something like a hypothetical Hawkwind / Les Rallizes Denudes summit. That brings us to "Golem Rock", a garagey number that cranks up the FUZZ big time. And then "Na Na Hey Hey..." provides a surprisingly quiet, spaced-out, and sorta silly coda to the whole thing, with electronically effected voices chanting you know what...
And this gets extra bonus points for the awesome packaging, the miniature LP-styled gatefold sleeve opening up to reveal a rad pop-up book style gimmick inside!
MPEG Stream: "Ecstasy In Hell"
MPEG Stream: "Golem Rock"

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE AND THE COSMIC INFERNO / WHITE HILLS Sonic Attack (Psychedelic Warlords) (Trensmat) 7" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Wow. We sold out of these in a heartbeat. We did everything we could to get more, and lo and behold, we did actually discover two places that had them, but when they showed up, every single copy had a little gouge in the cover. So we tried to get replacements, but apparently, a huge chunk of the pressing had that little dent in the sleeve, so... since this is WAY out of print from the label, as well as pretty much every distro we order from, we figured that we might as well list these since, barring that little imperfection, these are pretty much perfect, the vinyl is mint, it's just that dang little gouge. So here you go, we have about 40 of these, and these are most definitely the LAST COPIES EVER. Be aware that the covers do have that slight imperfection / little gouge on the back, but this record RULES, both tracks from both bands are amazing, so if you can handle that little thing on the back of the sleeve, suck it up and dig into these two slabs of psychedelic space rock bliss!
Where to even start... HAWKWIND. The mighty lords of drugged out space rock, without whom, most of the bands we love might not even exist. These four Hawkwind records: Doremi Fasol Latido, Hall Of The Mountain Grill, In Search Of Space, and Space Ritual, are pretty much all anyone needs to know about space rock. Or whatever it is that Hawkwind do, long sprawling jams, extended psychedelic workouts, heavy and trippy, totally drugged out and divine, while at the same time, surprisingly catchy. But yeah, aQ folks probably already know how much we love Hawkwind.
So if we were to pick six bands to cover classic Hawkwind tunes, we might not have picked these six, but then again, we very well might have: Mudhoney, Mugstar, Acid Mothers Tempo And The Cosmic Inferno, White Hills, Kinski, Bardo Pond. Holy hell! If this were just a comp with those bands, we'd be all over it, but the fact that they're covering Hawkwind seems like it was made just for the aQ faithful, and who knows, maybe it was. Spread out over three 7"s, we almost didn't list these separately, but as a set, 'cause to our minds, who the heck would only want one or two of these? But you never know, so for those of you who didn't already freak out and toss all three into your cart, here's a brief bit about each specific 7":
Volume 2, "Psychedelic Warlords", features Acid Mothers Temple, who are an obvious choice to pay homage to a band who was doing the AMT thing 30 years ago, and in true AMT fashion, Kawabata and company go for it, covering "Brainstorm" although it's difficult to tell, as it's buried under sheets of wild freaked out psych guitar and blown out space rock effects EVERYWHERE. It really doesn't sound all that different from any number of other AMT jams, but that's basically because every AMT jam is a tribute to Hawkwind, isn't it?
AMT are matched up with NYC's White Hills, who ditch much of their usual spaceiness for something a bit harder, tackling "Be Yourself" with crunchy chugging guitars, pounding drums, wild tangles of distortion drenched leads over the top, the band not so much covering the original, as transforming it into an endless psychedelic hard rock loop, the band churning and grinding out a steady stream of psychedelia over that endless main riff, before drifting off into a cloud of glittering soft psych shimmer.
The packaging is brilliant, perfectly tripped out psychedelic acid flashback, naked lady, geometric design, cribbed from the original Hawkwind artwork (or at the very least, an incredible simulation), the sleeves are printed complete with shelf wear and corner creases (so don't complain, they're meant to look like they've been on your shelf for decades), each one SUPER LIMITED!

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SWR Stones, Women & Records (Magaibutsu) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's an ***Acid Mothers Temple alert*** and also a ***Ruins alert*** with this one. Japanese underground music devotees, look alive! The clumsily-named Acid Mothers Temple SWR unit is a power trio consisting of drummer Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins, etc.), guitarist Makoto Kawabata (AMT, etc.), and bassist Atsushi Tsuyama (AMT, etc.). They've released one album under this moniker previously (and several together under other names -- this is the same lineup as Seikazoku). And as before, this time around they've created a crazed, semi-improvised rock tribute to three of their favorite things: Stones, Women, and Records (SWR)!! The cheesecake cover photo sorta says it all. Who else would pose a woman in a bikini on a rock holding a record?
Anyway, there's 18 confusional tracks here ranging from spastic jazz noodlings to country-pop parodies to plenty of out-n-out freek-rock, all of it played with hella chops and tongues, we think, planted firmly in cheek (which doesn't stop them from accomplishing all sorts of insane vocals). They jump from one musical idea to the next without warning, somehow managing to cram outbursts of heaviness, interludes of genuine beauty, Black Sabbath quotes, and even kazoos all onto this same perverse prog platter! The song titles are incomprehensible in-jokes ("Very Very Very Jazz - deer cries with 'KAGYEEYO' in the breeding season", "Fairy music of foolish sushi bar - country singer NARENA BAYSTAR", "Ahla Hassanbeck Lamborghini rock"...????) and these guys are as silly as they are psychedelic, but AMTSWR don't mess around at messing around, even the most humorless avant-listener (of a psych bent) should walk away impressed at this music. Think Acid Mothers Temple meets old Omoide Hatoba and Boredoms... Yeah. "Forever stones, Forever women, Forever records"!
MPEG Stream: "Uzumgayu - Just George Benson"
MPEG Stream: "Beyer"

ACID WITCH Midnight Mass b/w To Magic, Sex And Gore ( Hells Headbangers) 7" 10.98
Hell's Headbangers printed these up with two different covers, one for each of the two songs on it, so on some "Midnight Mass" is the the A side, with correspondingly blasphemous cover art, and on others "To Magic, Sex and Gore" is the A side, also adorned with appropriate artwork, that would never pass the Comics Code that's for sure.
Both songs are gonna be pure manna for fans of Acid Witch, whose brand of psychedelic stoner doom death metal we hope you all already know about and worship with cackling glee. If not, you should check this out and also Stoned, their recent full-length for Hell's Headbangers. Or be turned into a newt.
Translucent (blood) red vinyl with black splatter. Limited edition, natch. The cover you get will be random, btw.

ACROSS TUNDRAS Sage (Neurot) cd 14.98
Southern psychedelic post-metal heavies Across Tundras are another one of those bands, that for whatever reason we've neglected on the aQ list, even though some aQ-ers have been big fans for a while. This trio's latest, Sage, is another riffy, mathy, psychedelic sprawl, a bit like a less sludgey Neurosis, the same sort of instrumental heft, and moody epic heaviness, but spread out into something a bit more spacious, the postrock outweighing the metal, but only just barely, the songs slipping smoothly from downtuned bombast to spidery lope, from hazy psychedelic drift to almost Southern rock sounding stomp. The label references Neil Young and Johnny Cash, and we definitely hear some Crazy Horse going on, even weirdly enough some Raging Slab, even some Skynrd or Outlaws, as the record unfolds, the songs definitely reveal themselves to be some sort of metallized modern variant of classic Southern Rock, and it's a pretty bad ass mix, unlike most metal, where it's about the tone and the riffs and the distortion, Sage is definitely as much about the songs, melding hooks and killer choruses, actual singing, with stretches of soaring epic crunch, as well as moody minimal drift.
Many of the tracks don't get heavy at all, or at least conventionally heavy, instead, brooding and dark, dense and layered, sounding more like True Widow or the most recent Young Widows, that same sort of creeping post rock slowcore, while in places, the sound even drifts into Woven Hand style apocalyptic folk, all muted percussion, urgently strummed acoustic guitars, twang and jangle, even some boy / girl harmonies. Not to downplay the heaviness entirely, cuz plenty of this record IS heavy, big riffs, pounding drums, slow building metallic crescendos, shades of Neurosis (Crossed with Godspeed), sludge via Morricone, doom via Barn Owl, but all woven into their own distinctive sound, one that should most definitely appeal to any of the above mentioned outfits, as well as anyone into, sprawling psychedelic heaviness of any stripe.
MPEG Stream: "In The Name Of River Grand"
MPEG Stream: "Hijo De Desierto"
MPEG Stream: "Buried Arrows"

ACRYLICS Lives And Treasure (Hot Sand / Friendly Fire) cd 13.98
Yet another new band looks back to the eighties, this East Coast boy / girl duo is all about THAT decade, but unlike the hordes of lo-fi weirdos whose take on that sound is warped and woozy and fractured and fucked up, Acrylics seem to be approaching that same sound with their heart in hand, or on sleeve, with a genuine reverence for the synth pop that so defined our growing up. Like a less shoegazey M83, these two take teen angst and teenage growing pains, and translate them into mixtape (not cd) worthy retro dream pop. Opener "Counting Sheep" is moody and wistful, the boy girl vocals perfectly balancing the swoonsome synths and the handclap percussion, it's almost like a eighties prom slow dance slow jam. And while the rest of the rest of the record evokes the same mood and vibe, the more propulsive tracks conjure up walking hand in hand home from school, or driving with the top down for a weekend trip to the city, the sound and songs here are strangely romantic, much like their labelmates Violens, but not nearly as avant or edgy, instead conjuring up pure retro pop dreaminess.
"The Window" is a sweet bit of bedroom folkiness, with subtly soaring strings, and some sweet boy/girl harmonies, "Sparrow Song" glistens and sparkles like the soundtrack to every movie montage ever made, "Nightwatch" is some old school jangle pop, and "Tortoise Shell Shades" is like the Raveonettes with some of the buzz and fuzz peeled back, while "It's Cool Here" is a warm intimate strummy bit of acoustic slowcore folk, and "Asian Pear" is another bit of brooding romantic strum heavy electro fuzz popÉ
It's easy to imagine this being way too earnest for the lo-fi lysergic eighties obsessives, but if M83 and the Raveonettes and that sort of classic retro /electro pop is your thing, you will no doubt dig Acrylics.
MPEG Stream: "Counting Sheep"
MPEG Stream: "Molly's Vertigo"
MPEG Stream: "The Window"

ACTION ACTION Don't Cut Your Fabric To This Year's Fashion (Victory) cd 13.98
A curious title since so many elements of this album remind us of other things that are riding a cresting wave of popularity. Depeche Mode sounding keyboards meets The Faint's vocal stylings meets an onslaught of angular dark wave guitar riffs. Its production quality is quite polished, and apparently they used a Univox Super Fuzz pedal that The Who's Pete Townsend owned and used on the recording of Live At Leeds. I don't really think that's a selling point for the record, but if you're into the dark wave scene that's been going on lately, you'll dig this for sure.
MPEG Stream: "This Year's Fashion"
MPEG Stream: "Drug Like"

ADAM ELK Labello (Dep't of Ways & Means) cd 11.98
Solo album from Mommyhead's frontman Elk.

ADAMS, RYAN 29 (Lost Highway) cd 15.98
This fella can't be stopped, can he? When does Ryan Adams sleep? When does he eat? Crikey! This album's title could very well reflect the number of releases the man has put out... well, not quite! Yeesh, he's no Jandek nor Bob Pollard, but you get the picture. Released in very early January 2006, it almost marked Adams' third album in one calendar year (and actually if you're goin' by mere number of months, it is his third in eight!). That said, as has been somewhat problematic with Adams' musical output in the past, there's always the sticky issue of quantity over quality. As such, 29 is definitely the weakest of his past three albums. Geez, and he was doin' so well... the first of the trio, the excellent Cold Roses double cd, truly resurrected our long waning appreciation of Ryan Adams. Things were sounding... er, rosy (groan!). Next was the more country rockin' Jacksonville City Nights, which wasn't nearly as solid as Cold Roses, but was quite good nonetheless. Now we reach 29, and frankly it's pretty darn lackluster. There's a few sparks here and there but overall it comes across as tired and uninspired. As the first track begins we find Mr. Adams playin' the blues, but that dour mood doesn't linger too long. The rest is rooted in the old country folk earthiness and seems almost like leftover tracks from the recording sessions for his last album. Really, the best thing about this album is the cover art -- a drawing of the Grim Reaper approaching a gate. Too bad it was wasted on such a disappointing album. A damn shame!
MPEG Stream: "Twenty Nine"
MPEG Stream: "Nightbirds"

ADAMS, RYAN Demolition (Lost Highway) cd 14.98
This new album from Ryan Adams compiles a baker's dozen of the demos from his Nashville, Hollywood and Stockholm recording sessions of the last couple of years. Nice to hear his music at this stage before every speck of immediacy and grit were swept away in the recording process (which seemed to be the downfall of his 2001 Gold album). Reportedly each song was recorded in one take without overdubs. That said, they do already sound very very polished, full and finished. Overall, he sounds much older and more weathered than on Gold or his fine debut Heartbreaker. Some of these songs completely resemble the catchy college rock of the Replacements - he *really* sounds like Paul Westerberg! - while others are more in the Americana vein of Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen. Actually those latter songs really reminded me of the Traveling Wilburys too which says a lot considering the caliber of artists on that group's roster. The standout track however is the final one, the solemnly moving "Jesus (Don't Touch My Baby)". So beautiful, it veered away from any of the other songs and reference points, and left me wishing the rest of the album were more along those lines.
RealAudio clip: "Starting To Hurt"
RealAudio clip: "Gimme A Sign"
RealAudio clip: "Jesus (Don't Touch My Baby)"

ADAMS, RYAN Easy Tiger (Lost Highway) cd 14.98
This cd was still in its shrinkwrap and yet it'd already gotten our hackles (and chuckles) up. Now nine albums under the bridge, we don't really need to go in depth about our love/hate feelings for Mr. Adams, do we? If you need to know the nitty gritty, go ahead and peruse our past reviews of his albums. Simply stated, we've long admired his songsmithery, but have questioned the motivations behind some of his creative and marketing decisions. Fickle? In the case of Easy Tiger, well, we could go on about the sci-fi font and the strategic use of spot color on the album cover by Adams' design team, to focus on his wristwatch, sporting the time 4:20, umm, yep, the only color on the cover... 4:20 DUDE!!! But... see for yourself. Targeting a new market perhaps? Aww, let us not waste any more energy grousing. The music, the music! Is this Adams' most consistent, wholly alt-country rock album since his solo debut Heartbreaker? Yes, it just might be! Back in 2000, that album's blend of well crafted roots and pop won many of our hearts, and while this album can't possibly erase the interim sore spots, it does possess a number of songs that have unearthed the lil' Adams' lovin' spot in our chests long buried. Now, we won't go into how some of us here have a violent aversion to people yelling "gee-taaar solo!" which Adams does on the fourth track "Halloweenhead" 'cause then he turns around and presents one of the sweetest sensitive songs on the album ("Oh My God, Whatever, Etc"). Pardon us if we're keeping a sidelong gaze on our sincerity meter. He still changes his country boy vocal delivery at the drop of a hat -- adopting some Neil Young-ish yearn/bleat inflections on the sing-along-with-the-guitar-melody number "Off Broadway" then switching to a deeper George Jones-esque intonation on "Pearls On A String". He does it all very well indeed, but it does leaving you wondering if he's multiple personality'd or is a well versed human mockingbird. Nonetheless, stick around for the closer, the sweetly introspective "I Taught Myself How To Grow Old".
MPEG Stream: "Halloweenhead"
MPEG Stream: "Off Broadway"

ADAMS, RYAN Gold (Lost Highway) 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
"Gold" is Whiskeytown vocalist Ryan Adams' second solo effort, and with each release both in solo and band mode, his songwriting's gotten progressively more and more accessible and radio-friendly, and much less rootsy. And quite honestly, much less appealing. Adams previous effort was a breathtaking Beatlesque rock record with just the right amount of twang. Unfortunately, this record pales in comparison and could just as easily be a Counting Crows record or some other middle of the road FM rock record. Features an American flag-emblazoned, very Tommy Hilfiger-esque cover photo. With bonus limited edition cd.

ADAMS, RYAN Heartbreaker (Bloodshot) cd 14.98
Solo record from singer of alt-country darlings Whiskeytown. Rambunctious and relaxed, more intimate, and a little less polished than his Whiskeytown stuff. The sound is a bit more Beatlesy pop than Hank Williams twang. Nice.
MPEG Stream: "My Winding Wheel"
MPEG Stream: "To Be The One"

ADAMS, RYAN Love Is Hell (Lost Highway) cd 14.98
A sticker on this cd proclaims: "The complete album as Ryan originally conceived it."
And we've gotta say is: "How fucking lame!!!"
If this was the way he "originally conceived it", he and/or his record company sure wasted everyone's time and money this past year releasing these songs on two separate EPs (Love Is Hell Pt. 1 and Pt.2). Oh, there's one non-EP song on here called "Anybody Wanna Take Me Home"? Big whoop! It's not like some great amount of time has passed (during which time those EPs went out of print, etc) or something else to warrant this. Shame on you Ryan Adams/Lost Highway! But if you never got the ep's, here are the reviews from when they came out:
Love Is Hell Pt. 1:
Ryan Adams has been a very busy, prolific man, and the fruits of his labor are two new full lengths (well, technically this is actually a lengthy 8-song ep). With both, he stretches out and takes another sizable step away from his Whiskeytown / alt-country rock past. Through the first few songs of each release, it seems they're quite drastically different from one another, however as they progress the two draw closer and closer. Released concurrently with the one titled and themed Llor N KcoR (yep, that's Rock N Roll backwards), the slower paced and more dramatic Love Is Hell Pt. 1 (part two coming next year, apparently) seems to be the album on which Ryan Adams decided to don Rufus Wainwright's somberly introspective brocade coat for a few numbers. The results are mixed, but of the two releases this one is definitely the stronger. Furthermore, it's leaps and bounds better than most of his recent efforts (which consistently fell short of the high caliber set by his debut Heartbreaker) revealing a much more mature, composed, heartbaring Adams. Amid the smoky, lush instrumentation he howls, croons and emotes much like Wainwright and on occasion like Thom Yorke ("Afraid Not Scared") or Bruce Springsteen ("This House Is Not For Sale") too. As the centerpiece of this release, he delivers a stirring cover of "Wonderwall". He successfully makes the song his own (and sets it apart from the other seven songs) by stripping away Oasis' melodramatic grandeur to bring the focus solely on his voice and picked guitar.
Love Is Hell Pt. 2:
Hot on the heels of his Llor N Kcor album and Love Is Hell Part 1 ep comes Part 2. We were expecting it in the new year, but it appears he (or his record label) just couldn't wait. Geez, if he continues at this pace his fans will have to set up a whole separate shelf for just his albums... not that they haven't already! Anyways, Part 2 is comprised of seven new lushly produced songs on which Adams' voice very unsettlingly resembles that of other vocalists -- for instance, we heard more than a little Glen Campbell and Elliott Smith. Weird! Perhaps he's trying to reach a wider audience by diversifying his vocal delivery since he's already done so with the different musical styles. Now don't get us wrong, we're not harshing on Adams for stretching out in different directions and trying new things. That in itself is great. Other artists venture out all the time, but when Adams does it, somehow it just seems calculated and less than sincere. Give 'er a listen and assess for yourself. That said, of his three newest releases, we still favor L.I.H. Pt.1.
MPEG Stream: "Political Scientist"
MPEG Stream: "Wonderwall"
MPEG Stream: "City Rain, City Streets"

ADAMS, RYAN & THE CARDINALS Cold Roses (Lost Highway) 2cd 15.98
If you're a regular AQer, you're probably more than a little familiar with our love/hate relationship with Ryan Adams' music. His albums have proven to be a source of much frustration around here. There'll be an absolutely fantastic song that you immediately fall in love with right alongside something unbelievably bland and generic. His latest release being a double cd had us wondering if he simply has difficulty editing himself. However, we were happy to find that this is perhaps his most consistent work in ages... and it's really not all that lengthy. The 18 songs could have fit on one cd, but Adams' choice to split it up harkens back to those '70s classic rock double albums from which he clearly draws much inspiration. The embossed gatefold sleeve and LP-looking disc art only add to this feel. Music-wise, for the most part, Adams keeps to the sorrowful country rock road, and this mid-tempo pace suits him well. Cold Roses reveals a more mature Adams who's not out to prove anything nor hop aboard any bandwagons. Oozing with confidence, not cockiness, and conveying a level of sincerity and expressiveness previously unheard from him since his Whiskeytown days. In fact, it seems he may have finally (re)discovered his own voice on this album. Although his music is still very much in the same stylistic vein as a number of his seniors, his vocal delivery this time sounds the least like those other folks (Westerberg, Springsteen, Petty). Perhaps all of this goodness is the result of his finding a new group of musicians for his backing band? It sure seems like they've clicked well, he actually co-wrote all of the songs with The Cardinals. Nothing like some new faces to recharge one's creative batteries, and even better when the end results are as good as this!
MPEG Stream: "Sweet Illusions"
MPEG Stream: "Let It Ride"

ADAMS, RYAN & THE CARDINALS Follow The Light (Lost Highway) cd ep 5.98
Can't get enough of Ryan Adams? Well, he definitely makes sure that you never have to wait too long for something new! It's like clockwork. Sometimes this can be a bit problematic when a release seems rushed out and uninspired... and some have indeed seemed so. Still, his last few releases have been surprisingly consistent, and consistently good. The only gripe we've had recently is with his major label style generic artwork. Anyhoo, four months after his Easy Tiger album, here is his new seven song ep which include two new songs (the title track and "My Love For You Is Real"), the song "Blue Hotel" which was written by Adams and originally recorded by Willie Nelson for his own most recent album, a cover of Alice In Chains' "Down In A Hole", new versions of "Dear John and "This Is It" as well as one other song "If I Am A Stranger". The latter five were recorded live in the studio. A solid country rock fan pleaser.
MPEG Stream: "Blue Hotel"
MPEG Stream: "Down In A Hole"

ADAMS, RYAN AND THE CARDINALS Cardinology (Lost Highway) cd 14.98
Why mess with a good thing, right? Well, Ryan Adams' not known to be one to follow that advice, but it seems like he has with his latest full length. He's kept on track with his great backing band The Cardinals. Sounding totally at ease, they really seem to ground him with their exceptionally sound foundation. Although throughout his contrivance-riddled past we've been forced to be somewhat suspicious of the sincerity when he dons his 'sensitive guy' persona. Here, the haunting melancholia and sweet sentiments of some of the quieter songs such as "Cobwebs" and "Evergreen" ring true. Also, unlike his former tendencies to churn out album after album with nary a breath in between, he and the band took their time with Cardinology (*gasp* almost a year!). The album itself take its time too, unwinding at a laidback reflective pace. A hushed fine follow-up to the Americana goodness that was his Follow The Light cdep.
MPEG Stream: "Cobwebs"
MPEG Stream: "Evergreen"

ADAMS, RYAN AND THE CARDINALS Cardinology (Lost Highway) lp 17.98
Why mess with a good thing, right? Well, Ryan Adams' not known to be one to follow that advice, but it seems like he has with his latest full length. He's kept on track with his great backing band The Cardinals. Sounding totally at ease, they really seem to ground him with their exceptionally sound foundation. Although throughout his contrivance-riddled past we've been forced to be somewhat suspicious of the sincerity when he dons his 'sensitive guy' persona. Here, the haunting melancholia and sweet sentiments of some of the quieter songs such as "Cobwebs" and "Evergreen" ring true. Also, unlike his former tendencies to churn out album after album with nary a breath in between, he and the band took their time with Cardinology (*gasp* almost a year!). The album itself take its time too, unwinding at a laidback reflective pace. A hushed fine follow-up to the Americana goodness that was his Follow The Light cdep.
MPEG Stream: "Cobwebs"
MPEG Stream: "Evergreen"

ADAMS, RYAN AND THE CARDINALS Jacksonville City Nights (Lost Highway) cd 14.98
Seems like Mr. Flights-of-fancy, Ryan Adams is stickin' with a good thing. The ridiculously prolific singer/songwriter hooked up with The Cardinals for his last album Cold Roses, and it turned out to be a winning combination! Perhaps his most 'old country' sounding album to date, and a dandy one at that.
MPEG Stream: "A Kiss Before I Go"
MPEG Stream: "Dear John"

ADAMSON, BARRY As Above So Below (Mute) cd 15.98
Adamson's previous records have intentionally been film scores for films that never existed, blueprints for him to explore the issues in his life, not the least of which is his biracial ethnicity. In his fifth solo album, the former bassist for the Bad Seeds and Magazine unveils his most song-oriented album. The trademark apocalyptic noir swing and murky production are present but with a sinister application of Leonard Cohen-style vocals. There's a point in the middle of the album (Here I Stand) where all of the ghosts and demons are scared up to intense peaks of aural chaos... and it sounds so good!

ADAMSON, BARRY Moss Side Story (Mute) cd 15.98
Mute U.K. has finally seen fit to reissue this: hallelujah! This is his first soundtrack (of 4, 3 of which are for films that don't exist). Brilliant album from one of my favorite musicians in the whole world. The cd version adds 3 songs unavailable elsewhere, including the truly essential theme from the Sinatra-as-junkie film The Man With The Golden Arm. "In a black & white world, murder adds a touch of colour." Get this album first!

ADAMSON, BARRY Moss Side Story (Mute) lp 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Mute U.K. Has finally seen fit to reissue this: hallelujah! This is his first soundtrack (of 4, 3 of which are for films that don't exist). Brilliant album from one of my favorite musicians in the whole world. The cd version adds 3 songs unavailable elsewhere, including the truly essential theme from the Sinatra-as-junkie film The Man With The Golden Arm. "In a black & white world, murder adds a touch of colour." Get this album first!

ADAMSON, BARRY Stranger On The Sofa (Central Control International) cd 14.98
While we have in the past been fans of Adamson's soundtrack without a movie vibe, (most notably, the all time classic Moss Side Story) this more song-oriented and vocal heavy affair feels a bit late in the lounge. It still gives off a soundtrack sort of feel, but with synth-stabs, slap bass, as well as strange narrative elements from Anne Chancellor, which creates a soundtrack that seems to be from an eighties B-movie now shown only on the Spanish channel late at night. Perhaps its because Adamson plays all the instruments himself, which is a commendable feat in itself, but we wish that all that effort made for a more rewarding listen.
MPEG Stream: "The Long Way Back Again"
MPEG Stream: "Deja Morte"

ADAMSON, BARRY The King of Nothing Hill (Mute) cd 16.98
A huge Barry Adamson fan, I still maintain that he hasn't surpassed his first two albums, but nonetheless The King of Nothing Hill, his eighth proper album, is worth a listen or two. It's just that ex-Bad Seeds Adamson's musical trajectory (which involves the scoring of non-existent -- and on two occasions *existent* -- films) has evolved from the delicate, shiveringly evocative art noir scores Moss Side Story and Soul Murder to... well... these slightly more bombastic productions more suited to blockbuster status. I mean, the James Bond franchise should just give him a go already. He'd do a fine job. Anyway, here we've got smoky atmospheres laced with groovy vibes (RIP Lionel Hampton btw!) and Adamson's lounge singer / circus barker croon. Hovering helicopter noises punctuate the tension. At its worst it's like the soundtrack to Rocky XVII or something, but on the other hand at its best he'll pop out with, for example, a *gorgeous* song with pretty Chicago-style trumpet on it ("That Fool was Me"), definitely the album's highlight. Occasional samples include those borrowed from Ike Turner, Archie Shepp / John Coltrane, and Bob James, and Cypress Hill.
RealAudio clip: "Black Amour"
RealAudio clip: "That Fool was Me"
RealAudio clip: "Second Stain"

ADAMSON, BARRY The Murky World of... (Mute) cd 15.98
A "best of" collection from Barry Adamson's five solo albums outside of his work from the Bad Seeds and Magazine... filmic scores of very dark and moody jazz, rumble-ass basslines, brassy outbursts, and post-punk pop.

ADD N TO (X) Avant Hard (Mute) cd 15.98
Veering from the sci-fi bleakness of their last effort On The Wires Of Our Nerves, Add N To (X) have modernized the Moog exotica of the '60s with this propulsive collection of epic analog fuckery... Ignore the record-label hype that this is some sort of Stockhausen meets Motorhead experimental hard rock record (what were they thinking, it's not).