CHARLATAN Triangles (Digitalis) lp 19.98

CHARLEBOIS, ROBERT Avec Louise Forestier (Unidisc Music ) cd 14.98
These Unidisc Music reissues aren't necessarily new, but they are new to us here at AQ, and we've found them to be quite intriguing and enjoyable listens. On this 1968 album it's clear that Robert Charlebois' collaborative work with Louise Forestier were just as high on dramatics (and at times as loopy) as her solo albums... if not more so. The chemistry between Quebecois artists Charlebois and Forestier is not unlike two old friends getting together to bend a musical elbow over a glass of wine (or two or three). Heck, on songs such as "C.P.R. Blues" and "Egg Generation" they get downright unhinged -- lively frolics that verge on the mad or chaotic. You also get a duet version of the song "California" which appears as a solo-sung number on Forestier's Avec Enzymes album. Great!
MPEG Stream: "C.P.R. Blues"
MPEG Stream: "Egg Generation"

CHARLES ATLAS Felt Cover (Static Caravan) cd 16.98
Local guy Charles Wyatt along with Matt Greenberg returns with a second Charles Atlas full length, this time released on the dependable Static Caravan label. Looped haunting guitar, lulling stereo-separated pulses, softly-uttered melodies, plus some minor-key atmospherics that're very "post-rock" in their wistfulness. A very quiet album where not a lot happens but that's how it was meant to be, I think -- just right for falling asleep to.
RealAudio clip: "Valdivia"

CHARLES ATLAS Social Studies: An Introduction To Charles Atlas (Howells Transmitter) cd-r 6.98
Only available here at aQ! Even if you're already well-acquainted with Charles Atlas (the band, not the bodybuilder!), you won't want to miss this 'introduction'. It's an absolutely lovely summer-melting-into-fall sort of album. Breezy but not lightweight, drifting melodic tendrils of horn, piano and organ are accented by chiming vibes. Despite the gentle chill of melancholia, the whole proceeding is warmed by lots of reverb and warbled by lots of tremolo. Sure to appeal to fans of Sea & Cake and High Llamas!
MPEG Stream: "Antiphon"
MPEG Stream: "The Snow Before Us"

CHARLES ATLAS Worsted Night (Ochre) cd 16.98
A fine new album from local darlings Charles Atlas, on UK's Ochre label who've released music by similarly dreamy outfits Windy & Carl, Fuxa, Magnetophone, Kawabata Makoto, A.M.P., etc. This is organic instrumental blissout music -- warm and human -- consisting mainly of heartbreakingly pretty arpeggiated piano and guitar chords whose gentle notes articulate themselves separately yet are moodily sustained for many seconds, a sonic tactic we've also heard wielded by Boards of Canada, but Charles Atlas is more sad and emotional. Reminds me of Sonna, Pan American, David Kilgour, and Tarentel, although Charles Atlas sets itself apart using gorgeous flourishes on warbly musical saw, quiet tinklings, female oohs and ahhs, cool trumpet, hollow ticktock clicks (a la Young Marble Giants). The chords are minor key and tension-filled yet still pastoral and hushed -- a very pleasant combination that prevents the album from becoming boring or sickly sweet. Very restrained, mature and introspective. Had enough of Boards of Canada? Give Charles Atlas' fresh take a try. Beautiful.
RealAudio clip: "Sun with Teeth"
RealAudio clip: "Antiphon"

CHARLES BRONSON Complete Discocrappy (625) 2cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Two cds of off kilter, screaming fastcore. This collection is everything ever recorded by these crazy kids from Dekalb Illinois. Cd one contains 96 songs, in chronological order, from their stumbling retarded hardcore roots, to their emergence as the reigning kings of absolutely pummeling powerviolence. Disc two is all unreleased stuff, including a really long movie, that contains 30 second blasts of CB live intercut with scenes from actual Charles Bronson movies. With truly comprehensive and completely illegible packaging. Absolutely amazing. Essential for fans of Crossed Out, Man Is The Bastard, Drop Dead, etc.

CHARLIE & ESDOR s/t (Mellotronen) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally got enough of these to list. It's something you're gonna DEFINITELY want to have if you're into the whole '60s/'70s Swedish psychedelic scene, Sweden's "krautrock" bands if you will. Y'know, if you like Parson Sound, Trad Gras Och Stenar, International Harvester, Arbete Och Fritid, Algarnas Tradgard, Kebnekajse, and all the other often interrelated outfits that we've been lucky enough to find reissued on cd in recent years. You can add this to that list, a brilliant collection of loping, rollicking, freaky hippie jams from the drums/sitar and guitar duo of Edmund "Charlie" Franzen and Esdor Jensen, and friends. They got their start together in 1969, and performed at the first of the free festivals in the summer of 1970 that are now an part of Swedish counterculture hippie history. They definitely must have fit right in that time and place, judging by this cd's awesome mixture of Eastern-inspired raga rock, Swedish folk troubadour music, Dylanesque ballads, and HEAVY guitar power trio acid rock.
These tracks, recorded in 1970 and '71, have languished in obscurity, mostly unreleased for the past 30-some-odd years, several of them originally meant for an abandoned album release back in the day. A few, like "Wolfs Mouth Song" (here given its original title of "Fuck The Cops"!) were released on vinyl as singles and so forth. But you were probably never gonna run across one of those rarities... so it's great to have this all on cd! And Mellotronen has presented this in a nice digipack. Isn't that a great cover shot, of Charlie's back as he beats his drum kit at one of those hippie festivals?? It would good for a Levi's ad (you can see the tag on his jeans) if they were that hip. The 32 page booklet provides plenty of photos, a history of the band, and detailed track-by-track commentary on these recordings. There's also a discography complete with full-color reproductions of album covers and single sleeves. Very very nicely done.
MPEG Stream: "Da Klagar Mina Grannar"
MPEG Stream: "Fuck The Cops"

CHARM (OST) (5 Rue Christine) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Soundtrack to the long awaited feature film by Sadie Shaw (infamous SF/Olympia underground filmmaker extraordinaire, responsible for numerous music videos and photography, mostly for the Kill Rock Stars label, guitarist in SF outfit The Lies) and Sarah Reed (also of The Lies). Features (mostly) exclusive tracks by Aisler's Set, Deerhoof, Thrones, The Need, The Lies, Concentrick, Replikants, Sarah Lund (Unwound) and Aaron Beam plus wonderful scoring by Tim Green and many more! What's most interesting about this soundtrack is most of the better-known bands' contributions are quite unindicative of their "normal" output (specifically Thrones, Replikants, Deerhoof and the exclusive Aislers Set track), but they fit the overall tone of the film and are quite beautiful on their own. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that these artists had the film in mind when composing their contributions to Charm. Quite nice!

CHARMING HOSTESS Eat (Vaccination) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Amazing triple female harmonies laid over rapid fire fake ethnic music. For fans of Uz Jsme Doma, Sun City Girls...and Idiot Flesh, which this band basically is entirely members of (but better).

CHARMING HOSTESS Punch (ReR) cd 14.98

CHARMING HOSTESS Sarajevo Blues (Tzadik) cd 16.98
For those familiar with the SF group Charming Hostess, this follow-up to 2001's Trilectic album is an eagerly anticipated, more than welcome sight (or should we say sound?). For those unfamiliar, this is a wonderful way to acquaint yourself with Charming Hostess' vibrant trio of fiery female vocalists Jewlia Eisenberg, Marika Hughes and Cynthia Taylor. Richly infused with Balkan, Jewish and Sufi elements, their music is at once captivatingly complex, electrifyingly bold and nothing short of acrobatic. You might also know these ladies for their membership in the equally avant SF bands Idiot Flesh and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum -- some of whose members also contributed to this album.
MPEG Stream: "What Will You Remember?"
MPEG Stream: "Death Is A Job"

CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED Cold Winds On Timeless Days (Metal Blade) cd 14.98
Record number two from this metal supergroup, and like the first one, besides being heavy and hooky and epic, once again reminds us how much we wish more metal bands had actual real singers, capable of actually and really singing, and then of course there are the shredding leads, which are sorely lacking in most metal these days as well. The sounds here are pretty classic metal, but with a hint of modern power metal a la Blind Guardian and Lost Horizon, which makes sense when you check out the band members' pedigrees: Tim "Ripper" Owens" (Judas Priest, Iced Earth, Yngwie Malmsteen), Richard Christy (Death, Iced Earth), Steve DiGiorgio (Death, Autopsy, Control Denied, Testament, Obituary), Jason Suecof (Capharnaum, Crotchduster).
Most metal folks probably know Richard Christy as a radio personality on Howard Stern's show, but he's still a killer drummer, and all these guys shred, and this record is just a primo slab of classic heavy metal. It's not blackened, or FX drenched, or warped or twisted, but it is technical, a little proggy, heavy as fuck, thrashy, and hooky as hell, and if you're a fan of the classics, Maiden, Dio, Priest, etc., and have been lamenting the state of modern metal, this record is a total timewarp to the days of classic heavy metal, and like the first one, we find ourselves listening to very little else.
MPEG Stream: "Timeless Days"
MPEG Stream: "Ashes Falling Upon Us"
MPEG Stream: "Zerospan"

CHASMS Bad Evolution (Sleep Genius) 12" 7.98
This local San Francisco duo of heavy shoegaze witchery had us smitten with a way too limited tape awhile back, that we described as the fuzziest and loudest side of My Bloody Valentine, the haziest, most washed out and dreamy side of Bardo Pond, and the white noise of Flying Saucer Attack all somehow coming together. Sadly that tape quickly went of print and left us wanting more.
And now with this new single on new local upstart label Sleep Genius, run by our pal Brad from Tied To The Branches, we have just a little more, but it's so good!! Heavy and slow crushing swells of guitar churn and dark dream pop bliss, a heady mixture of early A.R. Kane's violent swooning feedbackdrift and Slowdive's gothic melancholia. The B side, a remix of the A side by Brad, stretches out the original into a witch house-y excursion of sustained hollowed out keys and slow motion creep. Featuring Marc Manning on keyboards, all we can say is: MORE, MORE, MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Bad Evolution"
MPEG Stream: "Bad Evolution (Remix)"

CHASMS When It Comes (Dream) cassette 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Imagine the fuzziest and loudest side of My Bloody Valentine, the haziest, most washed out and dreamy side of Bardo Pond, and the white noise of Flying Saucer Attack coming together and you start to get an idea of the amazing terrain that San Francisco's Chasms wander so perfectly on their debut offering.
We've been smitten with these two ladies from the first time we saw them perform, at what may have been their first or second show ever opening for Royal Baths. Every time we've seen them since then they only get better and better, and this cassette finds them in seriously fine form. Raw and primitive drum machines back their shredding and trance inducing guitars, and then the vocals, which are captured perfectly in the mix, bring it all together for a listening experience that makes us sway and nod and close our eyes as we get lost in the clouds of their foggy sonic daydreams.
The cassette is brimming with such a perfect full and alive sound, we can't help but think of everything from Bowery Electric to Nadja to Grouper.
We could go on and on about how much we love this duo, but we have the FINAL 6 COPIES of the tape left and once they're gone it's out of print, so chances are by the time you finish reading this review this cassette will already have disappeared into the ether.
MPEG Stream: "When It Comes"
MPEG Stream: "Heavenly Blue"

CHATHAM, RHYS An Angel Moves Too Fast To See (Table Of The Elements) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Always unpredictable and often a little bit frustrating, Table Of The Elements have decided to re-release 2 of the 3 discs from the now out of print Rhys Chatham An Angel Moves Too Fast To See box set (the third disc to follow later?), with no mention on either of these two new discs that they are indeed the same discs contained in the box. So if you already own the Chatham box, you already have this stuff, but if you somehow missed the box, you absolutely need this!
A gorgeously packaged and lovingly assembled disc chronicling one of the most important works of guitar experimentalist and early drone pioneer / minimalist Rhys Chatham, a man whose career seemed to always have been overshadowed by fellow New Yorker / guitarist Glenn Branca, who may have borrowed his multiple guitar idea from Chatham anyway.
The interesting thing, to us at least, is how accessible most of Chatham's pieces are. Sure, he's a minimalist composer, an artist, an avant garde pioneer, but when you get right down to brass tacks, much of his music sounds a lot like Stereolab or Neu! Filtered through Television and downtown Manhattan and with some more challenging arrangements, but very post rock nonetheless. Endless crescendos and repetitive intros build and build, until the band often launches into propulsive krautrock jams. Simple, repetitive and totally hypnotic. Echoes of AQ faves Circle and Salvatore as well as Faust and Can. Even though the pieces are for multiple guitars as well as sometimes horns and drums, it's hard to hear anything other than some really nice, spacey jams. Occasionally the dense horn jams remind us of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" slowed down and played through the sound system at CBGB.
This disc, the 5 part title track, starts off with a dense brassy drone that sounds a bit like Niblock composing for an army of trumpets or a little bit like later records by Dutch metallers Gore. That jam quickly slips into a sleepy krautrock groove before drifting off. The second movement is a blissed out brass drone beneath a dynamic mathrock workout, stacatto bursts demarcating a wide open expense of reverberent whir. The third movement is straight up Stereolab / Neu!, a loping post rock rhythm, a dreamy sunshiney melody, all propulsive and hypnotic. Next up is a much more dissonant slab of twentieth century angularity, an amorphous cloud of swirling notes and thick washes of orchestra-tuning-up clatter and cacophony. The final movement sounds like Circle or Salvatore or Tortoise or Zombi, but with strange synthy swooshes, like bits of Chariots Of Fire or something. Driving and almost rocking, totally mesmerizing and head nodding.
While this stuff is obviously of interest to folks into modern minimalism ala Maclise, Cale, Coleclough and other masters of the mighty drone, Chatham's more rock stuff, like An Angel Moves Too Fast To See, will definitely appeal to the more adventurous post/pop rockers into the above mentioned outfits (Tortoise, Stereolab, Circle, Salvatore) as well as folks into all things krautrock/free rock/space rock.
MPEG Stream: "An Angel Moves Too Fast To See - Prelude"
MPEG Stream: "An Angel Moves Too Fast To See - Allegro"

CHATHAM, RHYS Die Donnergotter (Table Of The Elements) cd 16.98
Always unpredictable and often a little bit frustrating, Table Of The Elements have decided to re-release 2 of the 3 discs from the now out of print Rhys Chatham An Angel Moves Too Fast To See box set (the third disc to follow later?), with no mention on either of these two new discs that they are indeed the same discs contained in the box. So if you already own the Chatham box, you already have this stuff, but if you somehow missed the box, you absolutely need this!
A gorgeously packaged and lovingly assembled disc chronicling one of the most important works of guitar experimentalist and early drone pioneer / minimalist Rhys Chatham, a man whose career seemed to always have been overshadowed by fellow New Yorker / guitarist Glenn Branca, who may have borrowed his multiple guitar idea from Chatham anyway.
The interesting thing, to us at least, is how accessible most of Chatham's pieces are. Sure, he's a minimalist composer, an artist, an avant garde pioneer, but when you get right down to brass tacks, much of his music sounds a lot like Stereolab or Neu! Filtered through Television and downtown Manhattan and with some more challenging arrangements, but very post rock nonetheless. Endless crescendos and repetetive intros build and build, until the band often launches into propulsive krautrock jams. Simple, repetitive and totally hypnotic. Echoes of AQ faves Circle and Salvatore as well as Faust and Can. Even though the pieces are for multiple guitars as well as sometimes horns and drums, it's hard to hear anything other than some really nice, spacey jams.
This disc begins with the slow building epic title track, all keening guitars and droning sustain, peppered with splashes of jazzy percussion and extra layers of chordal warmth, but like most of Chatham's pieces, it eventually kicks into a groovy post rock / krautrock jam, driving drums, soaring melodies, all with a blissed out fuzzy sheen. Definite shades of Stereolab and Circle on this one. "Waterloo #2" is the track that reminds us of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" slowed down and played through the sound system at CBGB. Martial drumming and dense horn figures float above. Up next is the scuzzy garage stomp of "Drastic Classicism", nods to Faust and Can but with plenty of distorted guitar scuzz and atonal fuzz rock jangle. The minimalism here is in the relentless repeated main riff, building to a blissed out jam, similar to the way black metal riffs at their most buzzy fuzz out into epic dronescapes. But Chatham's take is more like some sort of Stooges/Brainbombs drone. Cool. "Guitar Trio" is another spacious post rock jam, guitars hover and float, chords and notes ring out and drift into and around each other, supported by a simple solid rhythm. Finally, things finish off with Chatham's infamous "Massacre On MacDougal Street", a nearly twenty minute long, horn / percussion freak out, with honking skronking horns moaning and screeching and warbling, weaving dense stretches of marching band repetition and long slow stretches of moaning and groaning drones, all above BIG percussion, booming toms, miltary snares, chaotic drum fills and spurts of complex tribalism. The perfect soundtrack for some insane sixties psychedelic horror film. Full of tension and minor key atonalism. Intense!
While this stuff is obviousl of interest to folks into modern minimalism ala Maclise, Cale, Coleclough and other masters of the mighty drone, Chatham's more rock stuff, like An Angel Moves Too Fast To See, will definitely appeal to the more adventurous post/pop rockers into the above mentioned outfits (Tortoise, Stereolab, Circle, Salvatore) as well as folks into all things krautrock/free rock/space rock.
MPEG Stream: "Die Donnergotter"
MPEG Stream: "Waterloo, No. 2"

CHATHAM, RHYS Guitar Trio Is My Life (Table Of The Elements) 3cd 28.00
Excessive minimalism?! For the thirty year anniversary of the release of Rhys Chatham's seminal musical manifesto, Guitar Trio, a piece that married avant minimalism to No Wave punk aesthetics, Chatham made a five stop tour (Brooklyn, Chicago, Buffalo, Toronto, and Montreal) recruiting a star studded cast of musicians at each location. Brooklyn featured members of Sonic Youth and Jonathan Kane; Chicago featured members of Tortoise; Montreal, members of God Speed! You Black Emperor, and so on. Table of The Elements has released this whopping three disc set documenting both parts of the piece at each locale. Those not familiar with "Guitar Trio", the piece is basically three or more guitarists (sometimes up to 14), a bass player and a drummer, playing the same chord (an Em7) roughly to the rhythm of "My Baby does the Hanky Panky" by Tommy James and the Shondells. Starting with one guitar player, the others join in and the piece soon builds into a wall of buzzing harmonic overtones. Part two repeats the structure but faster with more driving drums. It's an amazing piece no doubt, and important surely in the scheme of musical breakthroughs (i.e it's so simple, it's genius!). But despite the star power wielding the axes and sticks, and the microtonally subtle nuances of all those harmonic overtones, there is extremely little variation in listening to five versions of the same one chord piece. Making this triple cd set more of a souvenir document of an event than an essential listen.
MPEG Stream: "Guitar Trio Pt. 1 (Chicago)"
MPEG Stream: "Guitar Trio Pt. 2 (Brooklyn)"

CHAUVEAU, SYLVAIN Singular Forms (Sometimes Repeated) (Type) lp 19.98

CHAVEZ Better Days Will Haunt You (Matador) 2cd+dvd 15.98
To truly understand our love of this band we have to go WAY back. Before they even existed in fact, to a time where we were all loving a band called the Replacements. Not that we don't STILL love the Replacements. But back in the late eighties, the Replacements were everything we wanted in a rock band. Heavy, noisy, sloppy, drunk, wild and catchy as hell. But, then we discovered Soul Asylum, who had the same sort of raggedy rocking Midwestern charm, but who were a little more punk rock (having started out as a band called Loud Fast Rules after all) and with songs that were a little more fucked up. Sort of like a 'weirder' Replacements. But there was another step after that. One that probably only a handful of folks took. Sure we were loving Soul Asylum, but we were still longing for something a little heavier and weirder and more fucked up. Which was to be found in a little band called Skunk, who had a couple records on TwinTone near the end of the eighties, after which they disappeared without a trace.
Which is a damn shame. With all this indie rock crate digging going on lately, someone should definitely grab those two Skunk records and stick em on a single disc and reissue them RIGHT NOW! The Skunk song "(I'm Such A) Chump / (To Be The) Chump" is like the "Freebird" or "Stairway To Heaven" of indie rock. Super long, tons of parts, completely epic and packed with raging punk rock riffs, sweet indie jangle, Maiden-ish harmony guitar leads, and a super bad ass raspy vocal. But what does all this have to do with Chavez? Well, one third of the long lost Skunk eventually ended up in Chavez, and we can't help but hear some of what we loved so much in Skunk, in the much more modern and angular, but no less indie and jangly Chavez.
So here we have the ultimate, and as far as we know, absolutely comprehensive, Chavez collection, gathering up both the albums, Gone Glimmering and Ride The Fader, all the b-side tracks from every single, an unreleased studio track, two videos, and a tour documentary, TWO massive books with all the art from the albums, the singles and tons of extra liner notes and photos. We did list the two Chavez records a while back, two records we loved but that predated the AQ list, and even then we thought about making them records of the week, but they were nearly a decade old, so it seemed a little strange. But now with this deluxe double cd / dvd reissue set, the kind folks at Matador have presented us with the perfect opportunity to make -both- records record of the week AT ONCE! Which makes perfect sense really. Gone Glimmering and Ride The Fader are the perfect one-two punch. Two discs of thick angular guitars, strange start stop riffing, a sort of indie rock AC/DC. Catchy and heavy, but so subtle and jangly and pretty weird too. We love them both equally, so this set is a godsend. But let's dip into the reviews of the individual records for more on just how dang great these discs really are.
Gone Glimmering: Chavez were hardly unknown, or even underground -- this record was released on Matador after all -- but they were one of those bands that just seemed to sort of slip under everyone's radar, which is unfortunate (or perhaps for the best) as they could've easily been massively huge MTV stadium stars next to the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden. They had the heaviness and the catchiness that came to define grunge bands of the time, but Chavez's approach to song-writing was still idiosyncratic and immediately recognizable -- they have a way of just having the guitars and drums going, the guitars playing a simple ringing repetitive not-quite harmonic, building an eerie sort of drone until the bass finally cuts in, leveling buildings and setting the groove. This unique separation of instruments on tracks like "Break Up Your Band", "The Ghost By the Sea" and the minor-epic closer "Relaxed Fit" creates the perfect counter-point of tension for the eventual explosive cohesion when the four members coalesce into an insidiously catchy chorus. And then there's "Pentagram Ring" -- the best song Nirvana never wrote and one of the all-time catchiest jump-around-and-smash-your-bedroom-to-shit teenage angst anthems ever!
Ride The Fader: This 1996 album from Chavez is a decidedly mellower affair than the noise-drenched assault of their riveting debut Gone Glimmering. Ride the Fader is a logical and dare we say more mature follow-up, with better and almost heavier production than before. Now when we say it's mellower that's not meant to imply lazier or less intense, instead, the band has loosed some of its Nirvana-inspired grunge trappings and opted for a more patient and understated tone, mixing menace and melody not unlike a heavier Slint. Not to say that the quartet can't still kick out the super whacked-out feedback fuzz on such house-levelers as "Tight Around the Jaws" and the epic harmonic heaviness of "You Must Be Stopped", once again leaving their most massive riffage for the mighty album closer. But mostly these are elegantly pretty, finely crafted and astutely affecting songs that stand alongside other practitioners of 'slow rock', from a band interested in both the subtle hook and blown amps. If mixing Floor, Low, Slint and Nirvana makes sense to you, this record has everything you want.
So there you have it. Anyone who missed out on Chavez completely are in for a big ol' treat. And fans of the band will absolutely want this too, remastered sound, tons of liner notes, all the singles tracks in one place, videos, an unreleased song, plus you won't have to feel too bad about rebuying 'em as this double cd / dvd set is priced like a single cd!
MPEG Stream: "Break Up Your Band"
MPEG Stream: "Pentagram Ring"
MPEG Stream: "Unreal Is Here"
MPEG Stream: "You Must Be Stopped"

CHAVEZ Gone Glimmering (Matador) cd 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
While traveling around the world last year, I had on my iPod a burned CD collection that my friend Michael made for me just before I left that included a song called, "Pentagram Ring." Because it was a cd-r comp, the iPod didn't register the name of the band, and it drove me crazy for months not knowing the name of one of the catchiest songs I'd heard in years, until I could finally get to an internet cafe and learn that the band was this here Chavez. Fast-forward to almost a year later when a used copy shows up in the store, peaking my interest and inciting what we here at Aquarius love more than anything- a good hour-long time-wasting music discussion, this time about all the forgetten great lesser-known bands of yester-year. This led, starting with last list's Codeine review, to us deciding to try to list old favorites that may have predtaed the AQ list and may not have gotten the attention we think they deserved.
Chavez were hardly unknown, or even underground -- this record was released on Matador after all -- but they were one of those bands that just seemed to sort of slip under everyone's radar, which is unfortunate (or perhaps for the best) as they could've easily been massively huge MTV stadium stars next to the likes of Nirvana and Soundgarden. They had the heaviness and the catchiness that came to define grunge bands of the time, but Chavez's approach to song-writing was still idiosyncratic and immediately recognizable -- they have a way of just having the guitars and drums going, the guitars playing a simple ringing repetitive not-quite harmonic, building an eerie sort of drone until the bass finally cuts in, leveling buildings and setting the groove. This unique separation of instruments on tracks like "Break Up Your Band", "The Ghost By the Sea" and the minor-epic closer "Relaxed Fit" creates the perfect counter-point of tension for the eventual explosive cohesion when the four members coalesce into an insidiously catchy chorus. And then there's "Pentagram Ring" -- the best song Nirvana never wrote and one of the all-time catchiest jump-around-and-smash-your-bedroom-to-shit teenage angst anthems ever. So if you were a fan then, and just need to replace your old beat-up LP, or a new fan in waiting, Chavez is definitely a band worth re-visiting, sounding just as fresh and vital now as ever.
MPEG Stream: "Break Up Your Band"
MPEG Stream: "Pentagram Ring"

CHAVEZ Ride The Fader (Matador) cd 8.98
This 1996 album from Chavez is a decidedly mellower affair than the noise-drenched assault of their riveting debut Gone Glimmering which we listed a couple issues back, in our continuing effort to revist some forgotten favorites. Ride the Fader is a logical and dare we say more mature follow-up, with better and almost heavier production than before. Now when we say it's mellower that's not meant to imply lazier or less intense, instead, the band has loosed some of its Nirvana-inspired grunge trappings and opted for a more patient and understated tone mixing menace and melody not unlike a heavier Slint. Not to say that the quartet can't still kick out the super whacked-out feedback fuzz on such house-levelers as "Tight Around the Jaws" and the epic harmonic heaviness of "You Must Be Stopped", once again leaving their most massive riffage for the mighty album closer. But mostly these are elegantly pretty, finely crafted and astutely affecting songs that stand alongside other practitioners of 'slow rock', from a band interested in both the subtle hook and blown amps. If mixing Floor, Low, Slint and Nirvana makes sense to you, this record has everything you want.
MPEG Stream: "Unreal Is Here"
MPEG Stream: "You Must Be Stopped"

CHEAP TRICK Dream Police (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

CHEAP TRICK Heaven Tonight (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

CHEAP TRICK In Color (Columbia) cd 5.00
**SALE **SALE* *SALE**

CHEAP TRICK Music For Hangovers (Cheap Trick Unlimited) cd 15.98
"The ultimate live album from the ultimate live band" it says, and that's not far from the truth. Taken from their recent "first three albums" concert tour, at shows in Chicago--thus guest spots from the likes of Billy Corgan. Long may they wave.

CHEATER SLICKS Don't Like You (In the Red) cd 13.98
Produced by Jon Spencer, who also sings one song.

CHEATER SLICKS Don't Like You (In the Red) lp 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Produced by Jon Spencer, who also sings one song.

CHEATER SLICKS Skidmarks (Crypt) cd 14.98
"A collection of oddities, rarities and vintage spew."

CHECK ENGINE s/t (Southern) cd 14.98

CHECKER, CHUBBY Chequered! (Sunbeam Records) cd 17.98
This unlikely freak-funk treasure from Chubby Checker has at long last been properly reissued, fully legit we're now told for the first time. You might recall it under the self-explanatory title Chubby Checker Goes Psychedelic, which is what it was called when we first listed an earlier edition some years back. Here's what we said about it then, which still applies:
When you think deep, soulful, psychedelic tinged rock the first name that probably does NOT come to mind is Chubby Checker. But guess what, he did in fact brew up a totally potent batch of funky psych rock burners that somehow slipped completely under the radar.
Apparently Chubby was living in Holland in 1971 when he hooked up with some eccentric and unknown hippie rockers who all seemed to be smoking some seriously good stuff and together they recorded this batch of seriously scorching tracks! Forget everything you know about Chubby Checker. This is not "The Twist", or the golden-oldies or a novelty comeback with the Fat Boys in the '80s. This is an impassioned psychedelic rock killer with deep grooves and a super emotional and intense vocal delivery from Chubby. Every time we play this in the store someone thinks it's some rare Hendrix track or an unreleased Arthur Lee gem or some amazing group like Black Merda finally being resurrected. In fact just about all of these songs could have appeared on any of the recent spate of psych reissue comps that we have fallen so in love with (Nuggets, Cherrystones), and actually we were given our first sneak peak into this secret world of Chubby Checker a few years back on the great collection Mr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2: Nightmares at Toby's Shop. We never thought we'd finally hear the whole disc, heck, we didn't even think there -was- a whole disc. Turns out there was, first presented to us as Chubby Checker Goes Psychedelic though it was originally released back in the day on some budget labels variously under the titles New Revelation and Chequered.
There are some seriously mind blowing songs here. Songs that aren't just cool cause it's neat and weird and interesting that they are actually being sung by Chubby Checker, but songs that stand on their own two feet and grab your and shake you and sound so damn good! What's also so cool about this recording is that 9 of the 11 songs were actually written by Chubby, so it's not like some hip producer just grabbed a bunch of great songs and slapped Chubby's name and voice on them. He shows such an amazing range, from scorching stingers ("Love Tunnel") to druggy cookers ("Stoned In The Bathroom", yeah!) to darkly solemn tales ("He Died"). What an absolute surprise of a record! We haven't been able to stop playing it since it arrived to AQ. We're completely addicted! And we think you will be too.
Includes liner notes explaining a bit more about how the heck this happened, and the cd has a bonus track!
MPEG Stream: "Love Tunnel"
MPEG Stream: "How Does It Feel"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Victoria"

CHECKER, CHUBBY Chequered! (Sunbeam Records) lp 24.00
This unlikely freak-funk treasure from Chubby Checker has at long last been properly reissued, fully legit we're now told for the first time. You might recall it under the self-explanatory title Chubby Checker Goes Psychedelic, which is what it was called when we first listed an earlier edition some years back. Here's what we said about it then, which still applies:
When you think deep, soulful, psychedelic tinged rock the first name that probably does NOT come to mind is Chubby Checker. But guess what, he did in fact brew up a totally potent batch of funky psych rock burners that somehow slipped completely under the radar.
Apparently Chubby was living in Holland in 1971 when he hooked up with some eccentric and unknown hippie rockers who all seemed to be smoking some seriously good stuff and together they recorded this batch of seriously scorching tracks! Forget everything you know about Chubby Checker. This is not "The Twist", or the golden-oldies or a novelty comeback with the Fat Boys in the '80s. This is an impassioned psychedelic rock killer with deep grooves and a super emotional and intense vocal delivery from Chubby. Every time we play this in the store someone thinks it's some rare Hendrix track or an unreleased Arthur Lee gem or some amazing group like Black Merda finally being resurrected. In fact just about all of these songs could have appeared on any of the recent spate of psych reissue comps that we have fallen so in love with (Nuggets, Cherrystones), and actually we were given our first sneak peak into this secret world of Chubby Checker a few years back on the great collection Mr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2: Nightmares at Toby's Shop. We never thought we'd finally hear the whole disc, heck, we didn't even think there -was- a whole disc. Turns out there was, first presented to us as Chubby Checker Goes Psychedelic though it was originally released back in the day on some budget labels variously under the titles New Revelation and Chequered.
There are some seriously mind blowing songs here. Songs that aren't just cool cause it's neat and weird and interesting that they are actually being sung by Chubby Checker, but songs that stand on their own two feet and grab your and shake you and sound so damn good! What's also so cool about this recording is that 9 of the 11 songs were actually written by Chubby, so it's not like some hip producer just grabbed a bunch of great songs and slapped Chubby's name and voice on them. He shows such an amazing range, from scorching stingers ("Love Tunnel") to druggy cookers ("Stoned In The Bathroom", yeah!) to darkly solemn tales ("He Died"). What an absolute surprise of a record! We haven't been able to stop playing it since it arrived to AQ. We're completely addicted! And we think you will be too.
Includes liner notes explaining a bit more about how the heck this happened, and the cd has a bonus track!
MPEG Stream: "Love Tunnel"
MPEG Stream: "How Does It Feel"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Victoria"

CHECKER, CHUBBY Goes Psychedelic (Underground Masters) cd 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When you think deep soulful psychedelic tinged rock the first name that probably does NOT come to mind is Chubby Checker. But guess what, he did in fact brew up a totally potent batch of psych rock burners that somehow slipped completely under the radar.
Apparently Chubby was living in Holland in 1971 when he hooked up with some eccentric and unknown hippie rockers who all seemed to be smoking some seriously good stuff and together they recorded this batch of seriously scorching tracks! Forget everything you know about Chubby Checker. This is not "The Twist", or the golden-oldies or a novelty come-back with the Fat Boys in the '80s. This is impassioned psychedelic rock killer with deep grooves and a super emotional and intense vocal delivery from Chubby. Every time we play this in the store someone thinks it's some rare Hendrix track or an unreleased Arthur Lee gem or some amazing group like Black Merda finally being resurrected. In fact just about all of these songs could have appeared on any of the recent spate of psych reissue comps that we have fallen so in love with (Nuggets, Cherrystones), and actually we were given our first sneak peak into this secret world of Chubby Checker a few years back on the great collection Mr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2: Nightmares at Toby's Shop. We never thought we'd finally hear the whole disc, heck, we didn't even think there -was- a whole disc. Turns out there was, now on cd as Goes Psychedelic though it was originally released on some budget labels variously under the titles New Revelation and Chequered.
There are some mind blowing songs here. Songs that aren't just cool cause it's neat and weird and interesting that they are actually being sung by Chubby Checker but songs that stand on their own two feet and grab your and shake you and sound so damn good! What's also so cool about this recording is that 9 of the 11 songs were actually written by Chubby, so it's not like some hip producer just grabbed a bunch of great songs and slapped his name and voice on them. He shows such an amazing range, from scorching stingers ("Love Tunnel") to druggy cookers ("Stoned In The Bathroom") to darkly solemn tales ("He Died"). What an absolute surprise of a record! We haven't been able to stop playing it since it arrived to AQ. We're completely addicted! And we think you will be too.
MPEG Stream: "Love Tunnel"
MPEG Stream: "How Does It Feel"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Victoria"

CHECKER, CHUBBY Goes Psychedelic (Mariola) lp 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Good thing too, since the cd reissue is now out of print. Our review of it follows...
When you think deep soulful psychedelic tinged rock the first name that probably does NOT come to mind is Chubby Checker. But guess what, he did in fact brew up a totally potent batch of psych rock burners that somehow slipped completely under the radar.
Apparently Chubby was living in Holland in 1971 when he hooked up with some eccentric and unknown hippie rockers who all seemed to be smoking some seriously good stuff and together they recorded this batch of seriously scorching tracks! Forget everything you know about Chubby Checker. This is not "The Twist", or the golden-oldies or a novelty comeback with the Fat Boys in the '80s. This is impassioned psychedelic rock killer with deep grooves and a super emotional and intense vocal delivery from Chubby. Every time we play this in the store someone thinks it's some rare Hendrix track or an unreleased Arthur Lee gem or some amazing group like Black Merda finally being resurrected. In fact just about all of these songs could have appeared on any of the recent spate of psych reissue comps that we have fallen so in love with (Nuggets, Cherrystones), and actually we were given our first sneak peak into this secret world of Chubby Checker a few years back on the great collection Mr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2: Nightmares at Toby's Shop. We never thought we'd finally hear the whole disc, heck, we didn't even think there -was- a whole disc. Turns out there was, now on cd as Goes Psychedelic though it was originally released on some budget labels variously under the titles New Revelation and Chequered.
There are some mind blowing songs here. Songs that aren't just cool cause it's neat and weird and interesting that they are actually being sung by Chubby Checker but songs that stand on their own two feet and grab your and shake you and sound so damn good! What's also so cool about this recording is that 9 of the 11 songs were actually written by Chubby, so it's not like some hip producer just grabbed a bunch of great songs and slapped his name and voice on them. He shows such an amazing range, from scorching stingers ("Love Tunnel") to druggy cookers ("Stoned In The Bathroom") to darkly solemn tales ("He Died"). What an absolute surprise of a record! We haven't been able to stop playing it since it arrived to AQ. We're completely addicted! And we think you will be too.
MPEG Stream: "Love Tunnel"
MPEG Stream: "How Does It Feel"
MPEG Stream: "Goodbye Victoria"

CHEESEBURGER s/t (Aerodrome Records) cd 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Definitely the most shocking, stupid, eye-catching, disturbing cover ever. Involving a crotch and a cheeseburger. Cocky rocky, high kickin' druken riffing big dumb RAWK for those of you who dig that sort of thing.

CHEF MENTEUR East Of The Sun & West Of The Moon (Backporch Revolution) 2lp 24.00
This is the first we've heard from this New Orleans psychedelic combo, even though this is their third record, but it's as good a place to start as any, cuz it's hard to imagine any of the other records competing with the sheer sonic scope of East Of The Sun & West Of The Moon, a sprawling double lp (which was supposedly trimmed down from a QUINTUPLE lp!!), literally years in the making, which finds the band touching on all sorts of different sounds, but all the various sonic strains held together by a thread of cosmic psychedelia that runs through the whole record. The opener, "Narconaut", should have space rock nerds losing their shit, totally druggy and drifty, the bass and drums locked tight into a loping groove, while the guitars fill the sky with wild tangles of FX heavy swirls and squiggles, clouds of swirling psychedelia, that drifts from heady and ethereal to churning and heavy. The record unwinds gradually, the second track, a smoldering bit of mathiness, rife with twang, and spidery minor key melodies, and laced with a bit of Appalachia, but building to a serious heavy crescendo before slipping into a brief bit of country, only to return to the mathiness of the opening few minutes. From there the band drift into weird woozy horn driven slowburn balladry, a washed out blues, wreathed in loads of echo and reverb, giving it a serious dub vibe, only to then slip into a brief bit of rhythmic churn, which quickly transitions into some drum driven, almost IDM sounding electronica, but that electronica is wedded to the band's brooding drifting psychedelia, there's even some sampled voices, which gives it a definite Boards Of Canada feel.
"Oxen Of The Sun" is one of the record's two centerpieces, an 11+ minute jam that flits from sound to sound, beginning as a dense chunk of buzzing space rock, driven by low slung bass and wheezing organs, it soon gives way to a sort of blurred countryish drone/drift, which in turn becomes a haunting elegy of organ drone, before exploding into some seriously heavy super distorted psychrock, that itself shifts from dense driving pound, to spaced out abstract shuffle and back again. "Ganymede" is the other one, clocking in at more than 19 minutes, this one less all over the map, a lush organ/synth/keyboard dronescape, softly roiling, spacious and kosmische, gradually building to the occasional Sunroof! like ur-drone, only to slip right back into something much more serene and pastoral. It's a fantastically heady chunk of droned out psych bliss for sure.
The rest of the record continues the group's sonic explorations, more heavy psych space outs, bits of droned out minimal guitarscapery, woozy, slide guitar laced twang flecked drifts, pocked with slow build to explosive psychedelic squalls, dark strummed folk that gives way to some seriously dense and druggy psychedelia, and a final bit of spare steel string guitar, a little coda, surprisingly spare, considering how dense and sprawling and ambitious the rest of the record is.
WAY recommended, and pretty much essential listening for all you psychedelic space phreaks out there, LIMITED TO 200 COPIES. Super elaborately packaged, in deluxe gatefold jackets, each one printed and hand numbered by the artist, the art a handmade woodblock print, includes a digital download.
MPEG Stream: "Narconaut"
MPEG Stream: "Il Obstrue Ma Vue De Venus"
MPEG Stream: "Oxen Of The Sun"
MPEG Stream: "The Long Stand (Part 2)"

CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING s/t (Matador) cd 14.98
In the interest of total transparency, the person writing this review was never that much of a Sonic Youth fan. They didn't freak out over Daydream Nation, their favorite SY record is Goo, although they also dig the debut ep, they're partial to Thurston Moore's vocals, and can barely stand Kim Gordon's, and the one time they saw Sonic Youth, like, they fell asleep. So this person had no expectations at all, and in fact, threw this on not even knowing it was Sonic Youth related, and dug it, A LOT. And while lots of folks here were hoping this new Thurston Moore band would sound like his recent solo outings, the weird thing is that it actually sounds like a great Sonic Youth record, according to the aQ SY experts, who also suggest that if the person writing this review likes this record so much, it might be worth their while to check out some old SY jams. Duly noted.
But on to the record at hand, Chelsea Light Moving is indeed Thurston Moore, here teamed up with John Moloney from Sunburned Hand Of The Man, longtime Moore collaborator Samara Lubelski and Keith Wood aka Hush Arbors, who manage to whip up a seriously Sonic Youthy squall, there's plenty of old school SST style stomp, brooding post punk jangle, opener "heavenmetal" almost sounds like Pavement by way of Sonic Youth, a broody bit of moody jangle, echo drenched vocals, rubbery basslines and shimmery guitar filigree. But it's on "Sleeping Where I Fall" where it gets really good, CLM doing their best Dinosaur Jr, from Moore's uncanny J Mascis like croon, to the wild fuzzed out guitars, the bridge is total classic Sonic Youth for sure, but when the song explodes into mega psych jam, it's like the second coming of You're Living All Over Me! And the rest of the record is nearly as good, "Alighted" a super distorted almost metallic creep, a drowsy dirge, with wild loose drumming, and some serious full on noise freakouts, or lip, which is crazy poppy, with some super fierce blown out guitar shreddery, not to mention more Pavement-y jangle. "Groovy & Linda" is another distorted dirge, this one constantly splintering into tripped out math rock breakdowns, or wild squalls of guitarnoise, while "Burroughs" is CLM doing their best eighties SST hardcore, but sans distortion, which gives it a weird, but really cool vibe, not to mention some more tangled psychedelic freakout. And so it goes, surprisingly almost all killer no filler, although there's one spoken word jam that we usually skip, but it depends on your tolerance for that sort of thing, cuz that track is bookended by the propulsive distorto singalong of "Empires Of Time" on one side, and the brooding slow build burner "Frank O'Hara Hit" on the other.
So yeah, according to the SY fans around here, this might be a better Sonic Youth record than the last few proper SY releases, and for those of you who generally give SY a pass, this is definitely worth checking out. It might be the gateway to some old SY classics, who knows. If not, it's a still a new favorite around here...
MPEG Stream: "heavenmetal"
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Where I Fall"
MPEG Stream: "Alighted"
MPEG Stream: "Empires Of Time"
MPEG Stream: "Frank O'Hara Hit"

CHELSEA LIGHT MOVING s/t (Matador) lp 19.98
In the interest of total transparency, the person writing this review was never that much of a Sonic Youth fan. They didn't freak out over Daydream Nation, their favorite SY record is Goo, although they also dig the debut ep, they're partial to Thurston Moore's vocals, and can barely stand Kim Gordon's, and the one time they saw Sonic Youth, like, they fell asleep. So this person had no expectations at all, and in fact, threw this on not even knowing it was Sonic Youth related, and dug it, A LOT. And while lots of folks here were hoping this new Thurston Moore band would sound like his recent solo outings, the weird thing is that it actually sounds like a great Sonic Youth record, according to the aQ SY experts, who also suggest that if the person writing this review likes this record so much, it might be worth their while to check out some old SY jams. Duly noted.
But on to the record at hand, Chelsea Light Moving is indeed Thurston Moore, here teamed up with John Moloney from Sunburned Hand Of The Man, longtime Moore collaborator Samara Lubelski and Keith Wood aka Hush Arbors, who manage to whip up a seriously Sonic Youthy squall, there's plenty of old school SST style stomp, brooding post punk jangle, opener "heavenmetal" almost sounds like Pavement by way of Sonic Youth, a broody bit of moody jangle, echo drenched vocals, rubbery basslines and shimmery guitar filigree. But it's on "Sleeping Where I Fall" where it gets really good, CLM doing their best Dinosaur Jr, from Moore's uncanny J Mascis like croon, to the wild fuzzed out guitars, the bridge is total classic Sonic Youth for sure, but when the song explodes into mega psych jam, it's like the second coming of You're Living All Over Me! And the rest of the record is nearly as good, "Alighted" a super distorted almost metallic creep, a drowsy dirge, with wild loose drumming, and some serious full on noise freakouts, or lip, which is crazy poppy, with some super fierce blown out guitar shreddery, not to mention more Pavement-y jangle. "Groovy & Linda" is another distorted dirge, this one constantly splintering into tripped out math rock breakdowns, or wild squalls of guitarnoise, while "Burroughs" is CLM doing their best eighties SST hardcore, but sans distortion, which gives it a weird, but really cool vibe, not to mention some more tangled psychedelic freakout. And so it goes, surprisingly almost all killer no filler, although there's one spoken word jam that we usually skip, but it depends on your tolerance for that sort of thing, cuz that track is bookended by the propulsive distorto singalong of "Empires Of Time" on one side, and the brooding slow build burner "Frank O'Hara Hit" on the other.
So yeah, according to the SY fans around here, this might be a better Sonic Youth record than the last few proper SY releases, and for those of you who generally give SY a pass, this is definitely worth checking out. It might be the gateway to some old SY classics, who knows. If not, it's a still a new favorite around here...
MPEG Stream: "heavenmetal"
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Where I Fall"
MPEG Stream: "Alighted"
MPEG Stream: "Empires Of Time"
MPEG Stream: "Frank O'Hara Hit"

CHEN SANTA MARIA s/t (GSSD) cd 11.98
George Chen is responsible for so many cool things in the Bay Area. Whether it's helping keep the all-ages scene alive with Club Sandwich, injecting life into zine culture, championing all sorts of weird and unusual music, etc. So it's kind of easy to forget that the man is also quite an awesome music maker himself, for proof just check out records he's been on in bands like 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Common Eider King Eider, Voltz, etc.
Teamed up with Steve Santa Maria the two have put together quite a potent concoction of damaged, haunting and often gorgeous textural sounds that rank right up there with folks like Taiga Remians, Simon Wickham-Smith and Birchville Cat Motel. Collapsing electronics, fractured guitar, seamless samples and primitive drum machines all come together to create sounds that would make the perfect soundtrack to a mysterious and brooding post-apocalyptic experimental film. These are sounds of machines on their last legs, creeping and crawling through fields of grit and grime and buzz and glitch trying to survive. Their affiliation with the East Bay noise scene can be heard on some of the more squelching and stuttering moments here, but they also have a more subtle side to their sound that is more dreamy and drifting keeping things drifting and spacey and oh so hypnotic!
MPEG Stream: "Tic Taxed"
MPEG Stream: "Insides Out"

CHEN, ODESSA Ballad Of Paper Ships (self-released) cd 12.98
SF singer/songwriter Odessa Chen returns with her second album, a grander but no less intimate affair than her debut One Room Palace. This classically trained vocalist/cellist accompanies her lovely vocals with some self-taught delicately picked guitar and an impressive group of guest players -- Nels Cline (Wilco), Danny Grody (Tarentel, the Drift), and Devin Hoff (Xiu Xiu, Nels Cline, Good for Cows). The results are a sweet, serene sophomore album filled with a gentle elegance.
MPEG Stream: "Kill The Lights"
MPEG Stream: "The Ballad Of Paper Ships"

CHENAUX, ERIC Dull Lights (Constellation) cd 16.98
We raved recently about a Canadian group called the Reveries, an old time blues band who performed and recorded holding miniature speakers in their mouths, sending the signals from the various instruments into the speakers, so each player was able to shape and change the various sounds. Needless to say, it is a gorgeous and strange record indeed.
We also mentioned that the Reveries is fronted by one Mr. Eric Chenaux, guitar player for totally bad ass but highly underrated nineties math rock weirdos Phleg Camp. If we can ever track down the Phleg Camp record we'll for sure make a HUGE deal about it on the list, but for now if you ever see it ANYWHERE at ANY PRICE, pick it up. You won't be sorry.
Anyway, the Reveries record was released on Chenaux's label Rat-Drifting, and Chenaux plays in at least 75 percent of the bands on his label. It seems like he's singlehandedly fronting a serious experimental music movement that we're only now beginning to sample.
Chenaux released a solo record a year or two back, called Dull Lights that somehow slipped under our radar, but all of this Reveries and Phleg Camp talk got us thinking and reminded us about Dull Lights, so we figured it was high time to get it reviewed and on the list.
The sound on Dull Lights, is definitely sonically related to the sound of the Reveries, and in a roundabout way Phleg Camp too. In fact, all the post PC Chenaux recordings we've heard, have a distinct sonic thread running through them. Hard to know exactly how to describe it, the sound is a bit druggy, laid way back, the instruments woozy and warbly, the vocals drawled and lazy, everything sounds a little drunken and slowed down. In a good way. On Dull Lights, Chenaux fronts a trio, utilizing electric guitar, 12 string banjo, lap steel, harmonica, electric tenor banjo, a sampling keyboard, vocals and drums. The sound is almost country, but not quite, almost blues but not quite, a bit experimental too, it's easy to hear some Souled American, some Red Red Meat, Califone. There's a definite twang, and the vocals are dusty and cracked, but the more propulsive tracks sound like Harvey Milk without the distortion. Sort of epic and majestic, with the vocals wound tight around the guitar melodies, a simple martial drum pattern beneath it all. But the majority of the record falls much more on the twangy druggy sprawl side of the musical fence, which suits us just fine. Buzzing steel strings slip and shimmer, brushed snares offer up clouds of rattle and hum, the guitars bend and detune, wah wah pedals add shape and let the melodies dip and change speed, topped off by those vocals, plaintive and mournful, a soft croon, that slips from cracked rasp to velvety falsetto.
Mysterious, haunting, and strangely beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Skullsplitter"
MPEG Stream: "Worm And Gear"

CHERRY BLOSSOMS (AND JOSEPHINE FOSTER) s/t (self-released) cd-r 9.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Never heard of the Cherry Blossoms? Neither had we, but some quick digging around revealed that they are a damaged abstract free folk jugband from Tennessee, and that for this here disc, they were joined by none other than folk songstress Josephine Foster for a dizzying, tripped out experimental folk freeforall. Foster fans should be well prepared to not expect only gentle strumming, dreamy torch songs, and Appalachian fingerpicking, while some of that stuff is present, Foster spends as much time wading through dizzying folk flecked soundworlds that have way more in common with the No Neck Blues Band or Sunburned Hand Of The Man or Avarus. But even compared to those far out cats, some of this sounds pretty dang unhinged.
Thee opening track is a minimal chaotic swirl of random clatter, detuned guitar strum and scrape, and a dense cloud of tangled voices, a druggy psychedelic choir, voices all intertwined, crooning and cooing, careening back and forth, wild and confusional, eventually coalescing into a drug folk lament right at the end, before drifting into the next track, a wandering atonal folk jam, the guitar stumbling and detuned, jaw harp, more kitchen sink clatter, and those vocals again, not your typical harmonies, ghostly and mildly atonal, the main male vocal, a lazy drawl, wandering through a forest of feminine chanting and falsetto ooh's and ahh's. A lot of this sounds like genuine old timey music, that became corrupted as it was transmitted forward through time from the old days, everything coming through slightly twisted and tweaked, the vocals wavery and haunting, the guitars slightly out of tune, the drums more a splatter of percussion than actual rhythm, the whole record wavers druggily from dreamy damaged folk to abstract drone and strum, back and forth, often multiple times in the same song. On first listen, it's definitely strange and off putting, but a few songs in, we couldn't help but be carried off, lulled into a strange trance, by these mesmerizingly off kilter lullabies.
MPEG Stream: "Shimey Chuck Down"
MPEG Stream: "Shaker Tune"
MPEG Stream: "These Were Our Woods"

CHERRY FIVE s/t (Cinevox) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Fans of Italian prog rockers Goblin, listen up. This is a reissue of their very first album, recorded in 1974 under their original name Cherry Five, before they started their career as horror movie soundtrack specialists (Profondo Rosso, Suspiria, Zombi, etc.). It's symphonic keyboard prog rock with English vocals, so you have to be into wanky prog rather than just soundtracks to like this. There's suggestions of their later horror-fixation, though, with some spooky interludes and morbid song titles like "Country Grave-Yard" and "The Swan Is A Murderer". The five lengthy song-suites on here go from fairly sweet and melodic to jagged and intense at the drop of hat. Very grandiose, and of course instrumentally kick-ass. A worthy addition to the Goblin cd canon.
RealAudio clip: "Oliver"

CHERRY VALENCE Revival (Flapping Jet) 12" 9.98
These guys just get better and better and better. This six song ep is just a taste of what's to come. Their second full length is coming out on Estrus, soon, but not soon enough. When they started they were more R&B and garage and they were way better live than recorded. After constant touring and diligence and hard work they are amazing both live and recorded. Their current sound brings to mind Kiss or the MC5. Amazing dual guitar riffs, two drummers, rad maracas, two singers, just an army of kick ass amazingness. They are currently on tour with The Fucking Champs and Drunk Horse, which I would imagine would be the best show ever. You should hear this band. They are great.
RealAudio clip: "Out Of The Mind"

CHERRY VALENCE Riffin' (Estrus ) cd 14.98
This album comes directly after my glorifying / praising review of their 12" on Flapping Jet in list #140. I said this full length couldn't come fast enough and BAM! It's here. I feel the same as I did two weeks ago, if not more so. This recording is as tight and energetic as the 12". Vocals with that perfect amount of grit and soul, blazing electric guitars, and their full throttle double-barreled drum attack. It was recorded by the flawless Tim Green at Louder Studios here in SF. Rock'n'roll revivalists The Cherry Valence bringing the 70's right to your doorstep with rock riffage a la MC5, Stooges, and Kiss. Hot!
RealAudio clip: "Can't Get Enough"
RealAudio clip: "Riffin"
RealAudio clip: "World of Trouble"

CHERRY VALENCE s/t (Estrus) cd 14.98
From the garage rock headquarters known as Estrus Records comes this sweaty rock'n'roll combo. Playing it loose, trashy and fully amped up, The Cherry Valence bow down at the alter of Nuge... that's right, they rock a la Ted "Bowhunters World" Nugent. High-spirited boogie rock from Raleigh, NC. Just off tour with big fans The (Fucking) Champs and Drunkhorse.

CHERRY, DON & LATIF KHAN Music / Sangam (Heavenly Sweetness) lp 25.00
We rave about jazz legend Don Cherry as often as we can. Every reissue has us all in a tizzy. In the past we made his mind blowing Orient an aQ record Of The Week. And in retrospect, we probably should have made the Blue Lake reissue a ROTW as well. Cherry was continually pushing the boundaries of jazz, exploring and helping shape free jazz, and incorporating all manner of world music into his ever changing and expanding sound.
This disc, recorded in 1978, found Cherry once again reimagining the sound of jazz, and challenging unadventurous jazz fans, by teaming up with legendary Indian percussionist Ustad Ahmed Latif Khan. Cherry had experimented with Indian music before on past recordings, but this was the first full on collaboration. Two sides, one featuring Cherry compositions, accompanied by Khan on tablas, the other side, Khan compositions, the tablas more of the driving force, the sound distinctly more Indian classical, with Cherry accompanying Khan.
The untitled opener finds Cherry and Khan covering Ornette Coleman, Cherry's former band leader. It's a dark brooding shuffle, all warm keyboard grooves, and the tablas, how they change everything, the skittery rhythms, but also the strange rubbery low end, the song eventually morphs into a Cherry original, and gets a bit proggy with wild trumpets and thick organs, the tablas still driving the whole thing. It's the next track where it gets really interesting though. A sprawling rhythmscape, the tablas doing double time, the rhythm, and a pulsing sort-of-bass line, Cherry delivering abstract almost scat like falsetto vocals, dark and drone-y and spaced out and minimal, peppered with occasional bursts of wild horn skronk, but for the most part, a swirling tripped out stretch of throbbing subtly psychedelic jazz minimalism. The final Cherry composed track is another gem, all glistening chimes and high end tones, flurries of piano, distant horns, whooshing effects, and of course the skitter of the tablas, more melodic almost that rhythmic on this track. Cherry also introduces some flute, which gives the track a sort of freak folk vibe, really!
Khan's side is distinctly less jazz. The tablas way up in the mix, his dexterous rhythms totally spellbinding, intricate, and again melodic, Cherry offering up strange bits of percussion, muted keyboards, very abstract and so cool. The final track, a sprawling 13 minute epic begins with just organ, drifting in space, until the tablas come in, and holy shit, even more intense and intricate, wreathed in a bit of reverb, and slipping from loping grooves to wild bursts of impossibly complex rhythmatism, the organ, a constant warm whir in the background, and the timbre of the keyboards, continues to infuse the track with a distinctly prog feel. Making this some sort of abstract classical Indian jazz prog? Whatever you want to call it, these are some gorgeously hypnotic and meditative sounds. So very recommended. Fans of the Necks might get into this too, similarly dark minimal vibe, especially the Khan tracks, and well worth checking out for the rest of you, even if jazz isn't normally your thing.
MPEG Stream: "One Dance"
MPEG Stream: "Air Mail"
MPEG Stream: "Sangam"

CHESNUTT, VIC At The Cut (Constellation) cd 16.98
The music of Vic Chesnutt has always been dark, and dour, and depressive, but there was a time where it was also sort of country, a bit twangy, when he used to have a fiddle player, and be backed up by members of Lambchop. Post twang, he explored a more pop sound, taking that folky bluesy foundation and expanding, and we definitely dug it. Lush and experimental and really pretty. But nothing prepared us for his shift to Constellation, which seemed to tap into his darker side, or darkEST side, his music immediately shifted and became even more harrowing, and emotionally exposed, and the music followed, enlisting members of various Constellation bands to help him flesh out this new sound, and it was most definitely good. Powerful and epic and moving.
At The Cut is Chesnutt's second record for Constellation, and continues to move in the same direction for the most part, beginning with the abject anthem "Coward" with its big distorted guitars, pounding percussion, and soaring strings, not to mention the lyrics. Heavy stuff for sure.
But At The Cut is not all fire and brimstone and damnation, there are some really pretty stripped down acoustic numbers, that remind us of the old days, a poppy jangly jam here and there, but for the most part, this is a distinctly dark and introspective record, with moments of bombast for sure, but just as many of inward reflection, and hushed sonic contemplation. Yet another beautiful missive from a truly tortured musical soul....
MPEG Stream: "Coward"
MPEG Stream: "When The Bottom Fell Out"
MPEG Stream: "We Hovered With Short Wings"

CHESNUTT, VIC At The Cut (Constellation) lp+cd 25.00
The music of Vic Chesnutt has always been dark, and dour, and depressive, but there was a time where it was also sort of country, a bit twangy, when he used to have a fiddle player, and be backed up by members of Lambchop. Post twang, he explored a more pop sound, taking that folky bluesy foundation and expanding, and we definitely dug it. Lush and experimental and really pretty. But nothing prepared us for his shift to Constellation, which seemed to tap into his darker side, or darkEST side, his music immediately shifted and became even more harrowing, and emotionally exposed, and the music followed, enlisting members of various Constellation bands to help him flesh out this new sound, and it was most definitely good. Powerful and epic and moving.
At The Cut is Chesnutt's second record for Constellation, and continues to move in the same direction for the most part, beginning with the abject anthem "Coward" with its big distorted guitars, pounding percussion, and soaring strings, not to mention the lyrics. Heavy stuff for sure.
But At The Cut is not all fire and brimstone and damnation, there are some really pretty stripped down acoustic numbers, that remind us of the old days, a poppy jangly jam here and there, but for the most part, this is a distinctly dark and introspective record, with moments of bombast for sure, but just as many of inward reflection, and hushed sonic contemplation. Yet another beautiful missive from a truly tortured musical soul....
MPEG Stream: "Coward"
MPEG Stream: "When The Bottom Fell Out"
MPEG Stream: "We Hovered With Short Wings"

CHESNUTT, VIC Drunk (New West) cd 16.98
The thing with ol' Vic is that each album has proven to be not only a crafty progression from that which came before, but also a solid work unto itself. Each one is sooo darn good in its own way! His third album is a perfect example. Drunk gets its hooks into ya right from the beginning. It kicks things off with the churning toss'n'turn guitar of "Sleeping Man" and shifts gears into a batch of songs that slowly weigh heavier and heavier on the heart. If anyone can articulate weary despair and emotional collapse, it's this man... but he does so with an occasional sharp-witted elbow in the ribs to counter the dull ache in your chest. Includes a heap of bonus songs, many of them live recordings with Chesnutt's spoken introductions (indexed separately from the songs so that you can skip them if you wish). An additional note: The cover art is different from the original release (a drawing of a strange jester figure as opposed to the photo of a shadowy brown sillhouette).
MPEG Stream: "Sleeping Man"
MPEG Stream: "Naw (bonus track)"

CHESNUTT, VIC Ghetto Bells (New West ) cd 15.98
After last year's Silverlake album and slew of old Chesnutt reissues, we've sure had our fave Vic on the mind around here, and been wishing for more. Well folks, whadyaknow?! Here's a brand new album, and it does not disappoint!
Some folks we know were a little disappointed by Silverlake, not sure why, maybe they were missing the more playful ramshackle Chesnutt of old, and while those folks might not necessarily find what they want here, they should be prepared (and excited) for yet another new direction from the musically restless Chesnutt. Even darker (if that's possible) and a lot more lush, Ghetto Bells is a swoonsome, melancholy dream world of droning soundscapes, twangy melancholia, and wistful countrified folk. Lyrically, less wryly clever secretly silly, and more serious and somber. The seemingly incongruous pairing of his gravelly voice atop the surprisingly elegant string arrangements brought to mind a few recordings of Leonard Cohen.
We might venture to say though that the final song on the album is by far the strangest, most out-there song Chesnutt has ever recorded. A delicate, sparse, moody soundscape of upright bass, vibes, chiming harmonics, with Chesnutt singing in a wavery falsetto. Weird but really quite beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Little Ceasar"
MPEG Stream: "Gnats"
MPEG Stream: "Virginia"