TUMA, SCOTT Hard Again (Truckstop) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Finally managed to get some of these back in stock. A former aQ Record Of The Week, still seemingly out of print, but got a bunch direct from the man himself! Still, not sure how many he has to spare though, so get 'em while you can...
You know how you can go on at length about this and that, but when you prepare to talk about that one thing you totally love, you find yourself completely tongue tied. I, Andee, kind of feel like that about this record. The minute we put this on, I knew this was it. One of my favorite records of the year, easy. Maybe one of my favorite records period.
Scott Tuma is probably not a household name to most of you, except those of you, who like me, were obsessed with Souled American, since that's where he spent most of the eighties, helping create those molasses slow, rickety bluegrass song-skeletons that we here at AQ love so much. And his time spent in Souled American shows here, on his first 'solo' record. But unlike the stoned and unsteady lurch of SA, 'Hard Again' is all crystalline shimmer, with Tuma's guitar, guiding us unsteadily through soundscapes of tape hiss and skittering snares, moaning chords and weeping melodies.
Take a little John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke's Bad Timing, Souled American, maybe some spacey Brian Eno, play it back on a ancient tape machine, and listen to these understated and completely gorgeous guitarscapes, warbling notes, shimmering harmonics and tape hiss and ambient noise all over. Some of the tracks take the Souled American sound and stretch it to its breaking point. Notes versus space, and the space always wins. But the space is never complete, each note rings out, reverberating into the next, creating a delicate latticework of notes and overtones. On one of the tracks a drummer chimes in, but takes a completely new direction with his kit, sounding as if pebbles and sand were being scattered on the snare, with rattles and sizzles scattered between the notes of the lush guitar. Probably the closest 'Hard Again' gets to an actual song is song 5. Wintery and glistening, with carnival melodies played unsteadily and gently, evoking late afternoon strolls through abandoned carnival midways, light blanket of snow on the ground, while the entire scene is hazy seen through the veil of snowflakes filling the sky. This record is just one long lush walk through a cloudy landscape of foggy daydreams and wistful memories. Similar to the way Philip Jeck takes turntables and crafts old fashioned film strip flashbacks of days gone by, Tuma, takes the guitar, and paints vivid images, faded by the passing of time, the snow on the ground, the water in the basement and the rays of the sun, and evidence by clicks and whirrs and hum, which only add another layer to this already rich document.
So so beautiful.
MPEG Stream: "Beautiful Dreamer"
MPEG Stream: "Your N Baby"
MPEG Stream: "Drums Midway"

TUMA, SCOTT Not For Nobody (Digitalis) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first time we heard Scott Tuma play guitar, was with skeletal slowcore country legends Souled American. His washed out dreamlike atmospheric guitar parts helped define their sound, but more importantly, introduced Tuma as a truly idiosyncratic guitar player, with a haunting and mysteriously unique sound. Tuma's music was like an acoustic version of Tim Hecker or Fennesz, but whereas those guys use electronics and computers and effects to transform their guitars into blurred dronescapes, Tuma's approach is much more organic, unfurling skeletal guitar lines, a slowed down Appalachia deftly woven into a sprawl of slow motion, washed out, sepia toned countrified ambience. Tuma's two proper solo records, Hard Again and The River 1 2 3 4, are both HUGE all time aQ favorites, so we were pretty excited to hear about a brand new release, especially since we've been waiting patiently for almost 5 years!
Not For Nobody begins quite strangely, a super spare, lo-fi recording of barely there guitar, stretched out beneath reverb drenched childlike vocals, cooing and purring, a bit like a countrified Bjork, the sibilance stretched out into glistening shimmers, the melody, mournful and dreamy, bits of tinkling chimes, and muted ambient clatter, the whole thing sun dappled and soft focus, so strange and haunting, but so lovely and sublime.
The next track finds us on much more familiar ground, a loose tangle of steel string guitar, sounding like it could have come off one of the later Souled American records, but sans vocals, the melodies lyrical and lilting, couched in a thick layered backdrop of warm whir, sprinkled with tinkling bells and chimes, laced with bits of piano, somehow sparse and skeletal, but impossibly lush. Which is sort of Tuma's specialty, turning minimalism into maximalism, but without losing any of the former's hushed urgency or whispered intimacy.
The whole record is quite varied, but each track manages to sound like it couldn't be anywhere else, every one seamlessly leading into the next, a song suite, an album of cohesive musical pieces, not just a collection of songs. The third track, "Eloper", introduces what sounds like horns, for a haunting funereal march, a woozy fanfare that seems to slowly spread out, a simple pulse like rhythm beneath hazy streaks and deliberate minor key strum. The next track begins as a jaunty upper register steel string lullaby, giving way, part way through, to a languorous late afternoon sun dappled sprawl, slightly atonal, gorgeous and bleary eared. "New Joy" buries the guitar in a haze of whirring buzz and warm swirls of lush chords and muted feedback, very liturgical sounding, a dark ambient drift through some ancient crumbling cathedral, while "Rakes" begins as a simple stripped down halfspeed Appalachian hoedown, before transforming into a sea of sawing strings, of layered buzz and extended steel string drones.
The record finishes the way it began, with that ghostly childlike voice, the bits of spare guitar, the massive clouds of delay and reverb, that voice a wraith hovering above the web of subtle minor key guitar, the floorboards creaking, motes of dust tinkling like chimes in a soft evening breeze, creepy, sorrowful, and so completely gorgeous.
Tuma conjures a timeless magical mystery with his guitar. He plays the mysterious traveler, a wandering audio alchemist, turning notes and chords into gold, or rather, golden streaks of dusty memory and soft golden glimpses of some hidden and blurred otherworld. His are sounds to get lost in, to wrap around yourself like some cloak spun from gold thread, to hide under with a flashlight like a child, creating worlds of light and shadow, a sound at once mystical and enigmatic, warm and familiar, and truly truly sublime.
ATTENTION!! The first 100 copies come packaged in a gold on black, cardstock gatefold sleeve, housed in a special oversized handscreened 7" style outersleeve, black ink on metallic gold paper, each one hand numbered. We managed to get nearly 3/4 of that first 100, but the way things have been going these will probably not last long, so once we run out, you'll get the normal, slightly cheaper version (the innersleeve white on brown instead of gold and black, and without the oversized hand numbered outer sleeve).
MPEG Stream: "Nobody (River Of Tin)"
MPEG Stream: "Fishen"
MPEG Stream: "Eloper"
MPEG Stream: "Tiktaalik"

TUMA, SCOTT Not For Nobody (Digitalis) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first time we heard Scott Tuma play guitar, was with skeletal slowcore country legends Souled American. His washed out dreamlike atmospheric guitar parts helped define their sound, but more importantly, introduced Tuma as a truly idiosyncratic guitar player, with a haunting and mysteriously unique sound. Tuma's music was like an acoustic version of Tim Hecker or Fennesz, but whereas those guys use electronics and computers and effects to transform their guitars into blurred dronescapes, Tuma's approach is much more organic, unfurling skeletal guitar lines, a slowed down Appalachia deftly woven into a sprawl of slow motion, washed out, sepia toned countrified ambience. Tuma's two proper solo records, Hard Again and The River 1 2 3 4, are both HUGE all time aQ favorites, so we were pretty excited to hear about a brand new release, especially since we've been waiting patiently for almost 5 years!
Not For Nobody begins quite strangely, a super spare, lo-fi recording of barely there guitar, stretched out beneath reverb drenched childlike vocals, cooing and purring, a bit like a countrified Bjork, the sibilance stretched out into glistening shimmers, the melody, mournful and dreamy, bits of tinkling chimes, and muted ambient clatter, the whole thing sun dappled and soft focus, so strange and haunting, but so lovely and sublime.
The next track finds us on much more familiar ground, a loose tangle of steel string guitar, sounding like it could have come off one of the later Souled American records, but sans vocals, the melodies lyrical and lilting, couched in a thick layered backdrop of warm whir, sprinkled with tinkling bells and chimes, laced with bits of piano, somehow sparse and skeletal, but impossibly lush. Which is sort of Tuma's specialty, turning minimalism into maximalism, but without losing any of the former's hushed urgency or whispered intimacy.
The whole record is quite varied, but each track manages to sound like it couldn't be anywhere else, every one seamlessly leading into the next, a song suite, an album of cohesive musical pieces, not just a collection of songs. The third track, "Eloper", introduces what sounds like horns, for a haunting funereal march, a woozy fanfare that seems to slowly spread out, a simple pulse like rhythm beneath hazy streaks and deliberate minor key strum. The next track begins as a jaunty upper register steel string lullaby, giving way, part way through, to a languorous late afternoon sun dappled sprawl, slightly atonal, gorgeous and bleary eared. "New Joy" buries the guitar in a haze of whirring buzz and warm swirls of lush chords and muted feedback, very liturgical sounding, a dark ambient drift through some ancient crumbling cathedral, while "Rakes" begins as a simple stripped down halfspeed Appalachian hoedown, before transforming into a sea of sawing strings, of layered buzz and extended steel string drones.
The record finishes the way it began, with that ghostly childlike voice, the bits of spare guitar, the massive clouds of delay and reverb, that voice a wraith hovering above the web of subtle minor key guitar, the floorboards creaking, motes of dust tinkling like chimes in a soft evening breeze, creepy, sorrowful, and so completely gorgeous.
Tuma conjures a timeless magical mystery with his guitar. He plays the mysterious traveler, a wandering audio alchemist, turning notes and chords into gold, or rather, golden streaks of dusty memory and soft golden glimpses of some hidden and blurred otherworld. His are sounds to get lost in, to wrap around yourself like some cloak spun from gold thread, to hide under with a flashlight like a child, creating worlds of light and shadow, a sound at once mystical and enigmatic, warm and familiar, and truly truly sublime.
Packaged in a swank cardstock, hand screened gatefold sleeve.
MPEG Stream: "Nobody (River Of Tin)"
MPEG Stream: "Fishen"
MPEG Stream: "Eloper"
MPEG Stream: "Tiktaalik"

TUMA, SCOTT Not For Nobody (Immune) lp 16.98
This out-of-print cd release from 2008, originally on Digitalis, and a former AQ Record Of The Week, now reissued by Immune on VINYL!!!
The first time we heard Scott Tuma play guitar, was with skeletal slowcore country legends Souled American. His washed out dreamlike atmospheric guitar parts helped define their sound, but more importantly, introduced Tuma as a truly idiosyncratic guitar player, with a haunting and mysteriously unique sound. Tuma's music was like an acoustic version of Tim Hecker or Fennesz, but whereas those guys use electronics and computers and effects to transform their guitars into blurred dronescapes, Tuma's approach is much more organic, unfurling skeletal guitar lines, a slowed down Appalachia deftly woven into a sprawl of slow motion, washed out, sepia toned countrified ambience. Tuma's two proper solo records, Hard Again and The River 1 2 3 4, are both HUGE all time aQ favorites, so we were pretty excited to hear about a brand new release, especially since we've been waiting patiently for almost 5 years!
Not For Nobody begins quite strangely, a super spare, lo-fi recording of barely there guitar, stretched out beneath reverb drenched childlike vocals, cooing and purring, a bit like a countrified Bjork, the sibilance stretched out into glistening shimmers, the melody, mournful and dreamy, bits of tinkling chimes, and muted ambient clatter, the whole thing sun dappled and soft focus, so strange and haunting, but so lovely and sublime.
The next track finds us on much more familiar ground, a loose tangle of steel string guitar, sounding like it could have come off one of the later Souled American records, but sans vocals, the melodies lyrical and lilting, couched in a thick layered backdrop of warm whir, sprinkled with tinkling bells and chimes, laced with bits of piano, somehow sparse and skeletal, but impossibly lush. Which is sort of Tuma's specialty, turning minimalism into maximalism, but without losing any of the former's hushed urgency or whispered intimacy.
The whole record is quite varied, but each track manages to sound like it couldn't be anywhere else, every one seamlessly leading into the next, a song suite, an album of cohesive musical pieces, not just a collection of songs. The third track, "Eloper", introduces what sounds like horns, for a haunting funereal march, a woozy fanfare that seems to slowly spread out, a simple pulse like rhythm beneath hazy streaks and deliberate minor key strum. The next track begins as a jaunty upper register steel string lullaby, giving way, part way through, to a languorous late afternoon sun dappled sprawl, slightly atonal, gorgeous and bleary eared. "New Joy" buries the guitar in a haze of whirring buzz and warm swirls of lush chords and muted feedback, very liturgical sounding, a dark ambient drift through some ancient crumbling cathedral, while "Rakes" begins as a simple stripped down halfspeed Appalachian hoedown, before transforming into a sea of sawing strings, of layered buzz and extended steel string drones.
The record finishes the way it began, with that ghostly childlike voice, the bits of spare guitar, the massive clouds of delay and reverb, that voice a wraith hovering above the web of subtle minor key guitar, the floorboards creaking, motes of dust tinkling like chimes in a soft evening breeze, creepy, sorrowful, and so completely gorgeous.
Tuma conjures a timeless magical mystery with his guitar. He plays the mysterious traveler, a wandering audio alchemist, turning notes and chords into gold, or rather, golden streaks of dusty memory and soft golden glimpses of some hidden and blurred otherworld. His are sounds to get lost in, to wrap around yourself like some cloak spun from gold thread, to hide under with a flashlight like a child, creating worlds of light and shadow, a sound at once mystical and enigmatic, warm and familiar, and truly truly sublime.
MPEG Stream: "Nobody (River Of Tin)"
MPEG Stream: "Fishen"
MPEG Stream: "Eloper"
MPEG Stream: "Tiktaalik"

TUMA, SCOTT Not For Nobody (Immune) cassette 8.98
This out-of-print cd release from 2008, originally on Digitalis, and a former AQ Record Of The Week, recently reissued on vinyl, and yes NOW AVAILABLE ON CASSETTE!!
The first time we heard Scott Tuma play guitar, was with skeletal slowcore country legends Souled American. His washed out dreamlike atmospheric guitar parts helped define their sound, but more importantly, introduced Tuma as a truly idiosyncratic guitar player, with a haunting and mysteriously unique sound. Tuma's music was like an acoustic version of Tim Hecker or Fennesz, but whereas those guys use electronics and computers and effects to transform their guitars into blurred dronescapes, Tuma's approach is much more organic, unfurling skeletal guitar lines, a slowed down Appalachia deftly woven into a sprawl of slow motion, washed out, sepia toned countrified ambience. Tuma's two proper solo records, Hard Again and The River 1 2 3 4, are both HUGE all time aQ favorites, so we were pretty excited to hear about a brand new release, especially since we've been waiting patiently for almost 5 years!
Not For Nobody begins quite strangely, a super spare, lo-fi recording of barely there guitar, stretched out beneath reverb drenched childlike vocals, cooing and purring, a bit like a countrified Bjork, the sibilance stretched out into glistening shimmers, the melody, mournful and dreamy, bits of tinkling chimes, and muted ambient clatter, the whole thing sun dappled and soft focus, so strange and haunting, but so lovely and sublime.
The next track finds us on much more familiar ground, a loose tangle of steel string guitar, sounding like it could have come off one of the later Souled American records, but sans vocals, the melodies lyrical and lilting, couched in a thick layered backdrop of warm whir, sprinkled with tinkling bells and chimes, laced with bits of piano, somehow sparse and skeletal, but impossibly lush. Which is sort of Tuma's specialty, turning minimalism into maximalism, but without losing any of the former's hushed urgency or whispered intimacy.
The whole record is quite varied, but each track manages to sound like it couldn't be anywhere else, every one seamlessly leading into the next, a song suite, an album of cohesive musical pieces, not just a collection of songs. The third track, "Eloper", introduces what sounds like horns, for a haunting funereal march, a woozy fanfare that seems to slowly spread out, a simple pulse like rhythm beneath hazy streaks and deliberate minor key strum. The next track begins as a jaunty upper register steel string lullaby, giving way, part way through, to a languorous late afternoon sun dappled sprawl, slightly atonal, gorgeous and bleary eared. "New Joy" buries the guitar in a haze of whirring buzz and warm swirls of lush chords and muted feedback, very liturgical sounding, a dark ambient drift through some ancient crumbling cathedral, while "Rakes" begins as a simple stripped down halfspeed Appalachian hoedown, before transforming into a sea of sawing strings, of layered buzz and extended steel string drones.
The record finishes the way it began, with that ghostly childlike voice, the bits of spare guitar, the massive clouds of delay and reverb, that voice a wraith hovering above the web of subtle minor key guitar, the floorboards creaking, motes of dust tinkling like chimes in a soft evening breeze, creepy, sorrowful, and so completely gorgeous.
Tuma conjures a timeless magical mystery with his guitar. He plays the mysterious traveler, a wandering audio alchemist, turning notes and chords into gold, or rather, golden streaks of dusty memory and soft golden glimpses of some hidden and blurred otherworld. His are sounds to get lost in, to wrap around yourself like some cloak spun from gold thread, to hide under with a flashlight like a child, creating worlds of light and shadow, a sound at once mystical and enigmatic, warm and familiar, and truly truly sublime.
MPEG Stream: "Nobody (River Of Tin)"
MPEG Stream: "Fishen"
MPEG Stream: "Eloper"
MPEG Stream: "Tiktaalik"

TUMA, SCOTT Peeper (Bathetic) cassette 6.50
AVAILABLE AGAIN! For a limited time, with slightly altered packaging...
We first discovered Scott Tuma when he was playing guitar for stoned Chicago slowcore country cosmonauts Souled American, his distinctive sound helping to shape SA's totally idiosyncratic music. And after Tuma parted ways with Souled American, he seemed to mark the event by jettisoning traditional songs completely, instead crafting a series of gorgeously gauzy country dronescapes, like an organic folk version of Tim Hecker, his lush landscapes, blurred and gauzy, washed out smears of impressionistic country music, evoking lost loves and bygone eras, his music utterly timeless and totally unlike anything we'd heard.
So every new Tuma releases is definitely worth celebrating, and Peeper is no different. A five song suite that captures everything we love about Tuma's music. The opener is a barely there stretch of gauzy sun dappled shimmer, which gives way to a stretch of slow motion Appalachia, the notes left to float weightless in wide open stretches of warm whirring ambience, a creaky, glacial bit of old timey drift, like a broadcast from some other time, playing through a busted old radio on a rickety old porch, the sunlight glimmering through the branches of the trees, the summer fading ever so slowly. Like on past records, Tuma is joined by members of Zelienople, and as the record progresses, the trio begin to unfurl fuzzy stretches of soft noise, of industrial creak, and layered grey drones, peppered with bits of percussion, clatter and whir, growing noisier and more propulsive, more like some murky psychedelic outfit, a haunting melody laced noise drenched creep, that's both caustic and lovely, eventually dissipating and leaving more hazy hushed dreaminess, what sounds like harmonium, piano, lazy and warm and languid and so sweetly beautiful.
The flipside of the tape, as far as we can tell, features a reinterpretation of Tuma's music, or maybe Tuma's sounds are sampled, or perhaps it's simply an homage, but the oddly named Brothers Pus (aka Johnny Kember & James Provencher), weave a thick sea of layered bass rumbles, of keening distant high end streaks, of tolling bells, a dark industrial dronescape, infused with bits of melody, that gradually fades out and gives way to something more folky, the industrial whir dialed back, while guitars pluck out melancholy melodies over the top, a dark droning country drift, that had we not known better, would have assumed it was Tuma himself.

TUMA, SCOTT The River 1 2 3 4 (Truckstop) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of two long out of print records from Scott Tuma back in stock! Technically still out of print, we're getting them direct from Tuma himself, so they might run out quick, so if you somehow missed out on this the first time around, don't blow it again...
This is record number two from AQ fave Scott Tuma and it's just as beautiful as last year's Hard Again album that we couldn't stop raving about. For those who don't know, Tuma spent the majority of his career as the guitar player for stoned country deconstructionists Souled American. And Tuma has continued to deconstruct that sound even further. Taking the glacial slow motion country of Souled American as a jumping off point, Tuma manages to remove most of the distinctly 'song' elements and focus more on sound, and the impression of that sound. Slow and dreamy, full of space and even more purposeless in terms of song structure than ever, but consequently more effective at creating moods, evocative and stunning, epic and totally timeless. The instrumentation is simple, acoustic guitars, banjos, harmonica, organ, with plenty of ambient clatter, instrument buzz, foot steps, chairs creaking, breathing and shuffling all add to the spare beauty. Wheezing chords underpin purposeful notes gently plucked and left to hang momentarily in the warm air, before drifting gently out of earshot. Melodies slowly reveal themselves from a smattering of notes introduced slowly and sporadically somehow knowing that they will all eventually fall snugly into place. Lush, slowly shifting drones with barely-there melodies suspended within like insects in amber. Warm blankets of sound, woven simply, but perfect in their simplicity. Completely mesmerizing and so soothing. Like Phill Niblock composing for Palace, or Godspeed backing up John Fahey, or Philip Jeck and a handful of country 78's. Simply amazing.
MPEG Stream: "The River 1"
MPEG Stream: "The River 2"

TUMA, SCOTT AND MIKE WEIS Taradiddle (Digitalis) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Scott Tuma is easily one of our favorite guitarists, from his stint creating warped and warbly underwater twangscapes in legendary downer country legends Souled American, to his gorgeous solo records of warm hazy Appalachia, so it's nice that Tuma seems to be back on track, after a seemingly long stretch of inactivity. The recent Not For Nobody, which was of course an aQ Record of The Week, and now this, a brand new collaboration with Zelienople's Mike Weis, which manages to take that Tuma sound we love and transform it into something new and different.
Weis is the drummer in Zelienople, and since Zelienople never had much cause for a proper drummer, Weis manages to be super creative behind the kit, or maybe more accurately, with an arsenal of cymbals and gongs and chimes, creating textures and layers more than rhythms. Which is precisely what he brings to this collaboration. Tuma is of course doing what he does best, weaving lush landscapes of sound, his guitar keening and moaning, drifting and twanging, sounding underwater one minute, weightless and spacey the next, those sounds are given a whole new context when paired with Weis's unique percussion. The drums here seem to consist mostly of a sort of soft cacophony, manic skitter, clouds of tinkling chimes, bowed cymbals, the deep tones of BIG cymbals or gongs, plenty of clatter and clang, but all sort of smeared into a living backdrop, reacting and interacting with Tuma's guitar, the result is often like a strange Souled American free jazz mashup, which might not sound good, but actually is, although elsewhere the results are a bit more subtle than that.
The guitars slip from hazy and underwater sounding, to gently shimmering, acoustic guitars unfurl woozy Appalachia, bits of twang, soft strums, all gently laid over a sea of skitter and thump, the deep shimmer of reverberating metals, the result is gorgeously murky and indistinct, less like two players playing off of each other, and more like two people contributing to the same sprawling sound. The first side plays out like the two getting acquainted, a delicate dance, their unique sounds quickly finding common ground and melting seamlessly into each other, culminating in a gorgeous track of hushed minimalism, introducing piano, Weis's percussion kept to a whispered thrum, everything wreathed in lush reverb and delay, so lovely.
The second side, features several longish tracks, where Tuma gets to try something a little more distorted and aggressive, the duo creating extended bouts of deep ominous dronemusic and thick caustic buzz, each player's contributions still distinct, at least with close listening, but step back, and the various parts take on surprising shapes, long stretches of heaving, droning, mesmerizingly meditative and surprisingly fluid drones, that manage to be warm and melodic as well as darkly mysterious.
Packaged in beautiful fold out silk screened sleeves, and LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!! ALREADY SOLD OUT!! THESE ARE THE ONLY COPIES WE'LL HAVE, EVER.

TUMBA FRANCESCA Afro-Cuban Music From The Roots (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
The first in what will be an ongoing series of Afro-Cuban collections commissioned by the always trustworthy Soul Jazz records. Tumba Francesca is a totally vibrant combination of African drums and French patois vocals. Tumba Francesca La Caridad de Oriente is a 140-year old tradition in Cuba. Beginning in the 19th century elaborate performances of this music would take place during Carnivale with everyone decked out in 18th century French ballroom costumes while playing African music. It's easy to understand why it's worth it to go to such great lengths to preserve this music and this culture, the sound is a timeless and exhuberant explosion of effervescent rhythms and amazing vocal chants and call & response singing that keeps your body moving and your mind soaring. Such a deep and powerful musical tradition can not be forgotten...
MPEG Stream: "Mapula Live"
MPEG Stream: "Ven Mi Morena (Tahona)"

TUMBA FRANCESCA Afro-Cuban Music From The Roots (Soul Jazz) lp 21.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The first in what will be an ongoing series of Afro-Cuban collections commissioned by the always trustworthy Soul Jazz records. Tumba Francesca is a totally vibrant combination of African drums and French patois vocals. Tumba Francesca La Caridad de Oriente is a 140-year old tradition in Cuba. Beginning in the 19th century elaborate performances of this music would take place during Carnivale with everyone decked out in 18th century French ballroom costumes while playing African music. It's easy to understand why it's worth it to go to such great lengths to preserve this music and this culture, the sound is a timeless and exhuberant explosion of effervescent rhythms and amazing vocal chants and call & response singing that keeps your body moving and your mind soaring. Such a deep and powerful musical tradition can not be forgotten...
MPEG Stream: "Mapula Live"
MPEG Stream: "Ven Mi Morena (Tahona)"

TUMMLER Queen to Bishop VI (Man's Ruin) cd 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Man's Ruin has dug up yet another band of young Kyuss emulators. As usual, pretty good for that crowded stoner rock genre. These guys are from Ohio or somewhere, but you can find these bands from Finland to the Philipines I'm pretty sure. Bongs away!

TUMULT "I Hate Your Band" (tUMULt) poster 7.00
Some of you may remember the cool, originally WAY oversized and sadly now defunct black metal magazine Oaken Throne. Well in issue #2, the back cover featured a super cool tUMULt ad designed by the guys who design and publish Oaken Throne, featuring a cool woodcut and printed in silver metallic ink. Several folks commented on how the ad looked even cooler than the magazine's actual cover, so AQ pal Wes decided to help make it into a poster. And WOW! The posters are gorgeous. On thick black paper, printed in metallic silver ink, featuring the fallen angel woodcut, an upside down cross (of course), the heavier tUMULt bands, as well as the unofficial tUMULt motto "I Hate Your Band." These are really nice and really big, about 48 inches high by 18 inches wide, so they need to be shipped in a tube so you'll have to pay a separate extra shipping charge. Don't let the tiny scan fool you, these are truly great looking, and um, even suitable for framing!

TUMULT Button Set (tUMULt) 2 x buttons 1.00
Finally, now you can not only proclaim your love for Andee's record label and all the killer bands who have released records on tUMULt: Weakling, Leviathan, Iran, Hammers Of Misfortune, Harvey Milk, Bathtub Shitter, Souled American, but also your disdain for all other bands! Or maybe just ALL bands...
This two button set features one button with the ubiquitous tUMULt upside down cross logo, a logo so heavy it seems to have slid down the button, to settle near the bottom, the other featuring the ever popular "I hate your band" legend printed all by its lonesome. Perfect as a non verbal response to the age old query "So, what did you think of my band" or even "How did you like the cd I gave you". Just point, and problem solved! So c'mon, represent!!
Both buttons are extra big too, not tiny band button sized, but also not huge weird soccer mom button size either, just a little bit bigger than your typical 1" button (they're 1.5" just so you know), so they're small enough to decorate your favorite denim vest or trucker hat or tube top, but big enough to make the rest of your buttons cower in terror!

TUNDRA, MAX QY20 Songs (Domino) cd 8.98
Max Tundra (avid Art of Noise fan and proud member of the Warp Records roster) exclusively used the Yamaha QY20 (a tiny / tinny sequencer with a bunch of pre-programmed 8-bit 'Lego block' samples) in the composition of this short EP, hence the title. These four tracks are synthetic constructions that sound like Steve Reich's warm percussive arrpegiations fused with broken drum & bass breaks a la Phthalo and clunky 8-bit melodies. Whimsical stuff in both concept and execution.

TUNE-YARDS Who Kill (4AD) cd 14.98

TUNE-YARDS Who Kill (4AD) lp 14.98

TUNNELS Astral Collage (Abandon Ship) cd-r 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Portland has been a veritable hotbed of underground dronefolk, floorcore and free noise lately, even with the dissolution of the Yellow Swans, we're left with Valet, Dark Yoga, Tunnels and lots more. Tunnels, when we first discovered 'them', was in fact a one man band specializing in rumbling droning buzz, static black ambience, that eschewed melody and arrangement for texture and mood. And we loved it. But over the last few Tunnels releases, we watched as the sound has gradually developed from that minimal low end blur, to something much more varied and songlike, prettier and way more musical. We're tempted to think that Tunnels is no longer a one man band, as the sound now sounds like some foresty folk collective, feeling their way around lilting melodies, and fractured song structures. Regardless, it still sounds fantastic, just now it is more in line with stuff like Avarus, or No Neck, or Kemialliset.
The drone is still ever present, but now it's just a tiny part of a much more sprawling and expansive whole. The sound lo-fi and home recorded, but deep and dense and warm and lush. Guitars drift, distorted melodies surface here and there, percussion is erratic and playful, stumbling and not always specifically rhythmic, voices moan and croon, wreathed in effects that don't distort as much as they just soften and blur. Some tracks sound distinctly African, with a distinct Konono vibe, others remind us of Amps For Christ, haunting jaunty buzz drenched hoedowns, while still others are soft serene soundscapes, that shimmer dreamily, all the distortion and buzz allowed to remain, just way off in the distance. The sound of Tunnels now is much less specific, and certainly harder to define, but it's probably exactly what makes this disc so compelling, and keep us wanting to hear more and more.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!
MPEG Stream: "Magick Without Tears"
MPEG Stream: "Genesis Hall"

TUNNELS Cluster Of Rainbows For The Angel Who Announces The End Of Time (JK Tapes) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Latest from this one man Portland based psychedelic drone outfit, we blew through the last two cd-r releases (we've got three others in stock we've yet to review, check the in stock not yet reviewed section of this list if you want to buy any of those) and this is the latest, a super micro pressing of only 50 copies, so we won't bother to say too much, as from past experience we know there are WAY more psychdrone obsessives than we got copies of this disc.
Way more active than the first Tunnels cd we listed, and much more varied than the second, Cluster of Rainbows starts at a similar sonic starting point, a slow burning, near static wash of rumbling whirs and distant low end moan, a washed out expanse of shimmering drone, but now there are vocals, disembodied and drifting, chant-like, adding a sort of space rock vibe. The first half of this nearly hour long track is a series of variations on that initial spaced out cosmic drone, various timbres of buzz, layers of whirring sound, chiming harmonics and glistening bell-like tones, all woven into a constantly fluctuating sea of black ambience, the real surprise comes about 30 minutes in, when all of a sudden an acoustic guitar surfaces, gently strummed, delicately picked, a haunting little chunk of Appalachia draped over the smoldering low end, both building in intensity, before fading into a pulsing stream of crackling blackened low end, warm melodic swells, and finishing off with several minutes of near silence, and barely audible conversation.
Packaged in cool dvd style square plastic digipaks, with photocopied covers, and an insert, hand numbered.
LIMITED TO 50 COPIES!!! We got half the pressing, after that, these are gone for good.
MPEG Stream: "Cluster Of Rainbows For The Angel Who Announces The End Of Time (excerpt)"

TUNNELS In Between Dreams (Peasant Magik) cassette 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
It's been a while since we've had a proper full length from Tunnels, aka Nicholas Bindeman, who over the last few years has given us a whole mess of gorgeous, and sadly for the most part all out of print, cd-r's of deep shimmering drone music, abstract minimal freak folk, and everything in between. This latest tape finds Bindeman taking his sound even further into that more songy direction, and we're digging it big time. Fuzzy and psychedelic and woozy and groovy and druggy, mixing looped droning ambience with buzzy hypnotic Spacemen 3 style drug psych, even a bit of Wooden Shjips drug rock, each track seems to be built around a single riff, locked and looped, mesmerizing and tripped out, while all around, guitar leads tangle and super reverbed vocals croon WAY down in the mix, the vibe is sun baked and lysergic, surprisingly rocking too, acoustic guitars unfurl all folkily, before they begin to buzz and suddenly we're in Six Organs or Jack rose territory, a little buzz drenched Appalachia, but infused with plenty of ramshackle foresty tinkle and chime, and there's even some of the old school Tunnels dronemusic happening, but that too is all psychedelic and blown out, reminding us of newer sonic explorers like Expo 70. Needless to say, it's about time folks into all that new fangled modern psych, and abstract krautdrone got hip to Tunnels, this definitely pushes all the same buttons. Expo 70, White Hills, Wooden Shjips, Lamp Of The Universe, Heavy Winged, Sleepy Sun, all that sort of stuff, this is just as heavy and dreamy and trippy and psychedelic and awesome as any of that. Buy this now, and track down the rest of the Tunnels records if you can, this sort of shit can't stay under the radar for much longer.
Super fancy packaging, deluxe 6 panel full color fold out sleeve, with a printed vellum obi, each one hand numbered, LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!

TUNNELS On A Body Of Nothing But Radiance (self-released) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We got super into Portland one man drone outfit Tunnels a while back, and have tried to carry everything we could get our hands on, check out all the rave reviews on the aQ site, so we went ahead and ordered a bunch of copies of three new releases, all put out by the band, all hand made, the covers glued and taped, all fantastic and beautiful, dark and droney, mysterious and murky. But before we could review them and list them, we started selling them like crazy, in the store, and to eagle eyed mailorder customers who spied them on the in stock not yet reviewed list (always check there!), so much so that we were soon down to a number too few to review on the new arrivals list.
Unfortunately, now, all three of them are out of print, and we have the last remaining 8 or so copies of each. So fair warning, judging from how quick they went in the store, odds are these will be gone in a flash. And we can absolutely NOT get more once we run out, as they were limited to 50 or 70 or some crazy small amount.
And for those of you new to the sound of Tunnels, well, the name is your first clue, it's dark and mysterious, but shot through with a warm distant glow, part abstract ambience, part minimal drone, part drifty krautrock, dreamy and washed out and hypnotic, sometimes building into huge swells of low end, other times shimmering ghostlike. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. It's high time somebody released a proper record. But for now, these cd-r's will have to hold us over.
And again, out of print, last copies ever, act fast, and all that...
MPEG Stream: "1"

TUNNELS Radiant Bodies Of Scorched Light (Cut Hands) cd-r 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
More dreamy drones from Portland, Oregon. The second audio document from the man known simply as Tunnels, and the weird thing is, the music actually sort of sounds like tunnels... We have had a few other Tunnels cd-r's, we still have a few in stock, have a look at this week's instock not yet reviewed section, they're all great, but this is the latest, and we actually managed to get enough to actually review and list.
Unlike the self titled cd-r on Yarn Lazer (now out of print, so don't order), which seemed to be mostly low end rumble and minimal drone, Radiant Bodies begins with nothing but vocals, disembodied coos and purrs left suspended in haunting stretches of reverbed shimmer and glitchy percussive skitter. Sounds a bit like Yarn Lazer head honcho Honey Owens' Valet project. The second track continues on in a similar trajectory, billowy smears of melody, over a blurred dentist drill backdrop, a pretty gauze draped over a jagged landscape of hiss and grind. The next track is even more ephemeral, gorgeous spaced out krautrock synth drift a la Popol Vuh or Tangerine Dream, but even more blissed out. In fact very little of the record is low end rumble, instead it's all blown out space rock drift, long glimmering expanses of pulsing minimal sound, meditative and hypnotic and so beautiful.
Packaged in a mini dvd style plastic sleeve, with full color cover, and full color mini insert.
MPEG Stream: "Lumia"
MPEG Stream: "The Light That Was Never On Land Or On Sea"

TUNNELS s/t (Yarn Lazer) cd-r 7.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Another dreamy drone document from the burgeoning "Portland Psychedelic-Drone underground", this time from one of the Jackie O Motherfuckers, Nicholas Samuel Bindeman, who touches on lots of droney sounds we love: the spacey krautrock drift of Expo '70, the shimmering high end ur-drone of Sunroof!, the ultra minimal murmur of Coleclough and Chalk, the muted melodic smear of Fear Falls Burning, but give it all his own personal twist, rendering all of his influences in soft focus hues and indistinct blurs.
The opening track is all long slow slithery swells of gently pulsing ghost like shimmer, wrapped in a twinkling cloud of glistening FX sparkles and soft breathy whir, underneath it all, haunting minor key melodies drift and twist, almost entirely obscured by the foreground's static beauty. Track two is more thick and gritty, channeling some Stars Of The Lid, with deep mournful sonic drifts, minor key laments stretched into longform soundscapes, dense and lush, a burnished pulsing almost glowing super dramatic slow build.
Track three begins almost inaudibly with barely there subsonic vibrations, that gradually grow into sprawling black tendrils, over which glistening high end scrapes and creaks are blurred into wispy clouds of bowed metal and struck bells, metallic and delicate. Finally, the closer, a warm billowy barely moving swirl of deep, soft tones, delicate crepuscular curlicues, floating weightless in some clouded landscape, gauzy and dreamlike, a disembodied journey through some vaporous soundworld. So lovely.
Released on Yarnlazer, one of our new favorite labels, home of Acre, Ghosting, Bonecloud, Valet, Dark Yoga and more...
Packaged in cool hand screened sleeves, with photocopied insert.
LIMITED TO 100 COPIES!!!
MPEG Stream: "Veils"
MPEG Stream: "Channeling"

TUNNELS The Blackout (Thrill Jockey) lp 16.98
Thrill Jockey seem to be snapping up lots of underground faves, Barn Owl, Eternal Tapestry, Wooden Shjips, Sun Araw, and now Tunnels. We have to say we were a bit surprised, as Tunnels seemed WAY underground, but it makes sense as Tunnels, aka Nicholas Bindeman, is also a member of Eternal Tapestry (as well as a sometime member of Jackie-O Motherfucker). And we were also surprised when we threw this on, cuz the sound here is nothing like the Tunnels of old. All of the various cd-r's we'd reviewed in the past from Bindeman had been super minimal dronemusic, or occasionally tripped out dritfy psychedelia, but The Blackout threw us for a loop. Not sure if there's an element of bandwagoning going on, but the NEW Tunnels sound is strangely similar to the NOW sound, a sort of retro gloomy gothy electro wave, or cold wave, or synth wave, or whatever you want to call it. Apparently Tunnels' new sound began a while back, as a sort of primitive lo-fi Suicide live experiment, but eventually evolved into this, a sound we dig for sure, and one that seems like it would have been right at home on Sacred Bones or Captured Tracks. And to be fair, for all of its similarities to other modern retrowave outfits, Tunnels influences seem to go back further, the sound more machine like, more classic industrial. The label mentions Throbbing Gristle, and we definitely hear some of that, we also hear a little Gary Numan on opener "Crystal Arms", and a little Devo on "Volt 1979", but all via some lost eighties new wave. And really once our initial shock faded (we were expecting some dreamy psychedelic dronemusic after all), this record really began to grow on us, twisted and Teutonic, gloomy and gothy, and pretty dang catchy and poppy. And poppy is the key for us. For all the industrial crunch and old school electronic bleep and bloop, the icy sung/spoken vox, it's the low slung basslines and the crazy catchy hooks that go with them that transform this from some vanity experiment into a seriously killer chunk of retro industrial electro pop!
MPEG Stream: "Crystal Arms"
MPEG Stream: "Volt 1979"
MPEG Stream: "Deux"

TUNNELS Vexations (self-released) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We got super into Portland one man drone outfit Tunnels a while back, and have tried to carry everything we could get our hands on, check out all the rave reviews on the aQ site, so we went ahead and ordered a bunch of copies of three new releases, all put out by the band, all hand made, the covers glued and taped, all fantastic and beautiful, dark and droney, mysterious and murky. But before we could review them and list them, we started selling them like crazy, in the store, and to eagle eyed mailorder customers who spied them on the in stock not yet reviewed list (always check there!), so much so that we were soon down to a number too few to review on the new arrivals list.
Unfortunately, now, all three of them are out of print, and we have the last remaining 8 or so copies of each. So fair warning, judging from how quick they went in the store, odds are these will be gone in a flash. And we can absolutely NOT get more once we run out, as they were limited to 50 or 70 or some crazy small amount.
And for those of you new to the sound of Tunnels, well, the name is your first clue, it's dark and mysterious, but shot through with a warm distant glow, part abstract ambience, part minimal drone, part drifty krautrock, dreamy and washed out and hypnotic, sometimes building into huge swells of low end, other times shimmering ghostlike. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. It's high time somebody released a proper record. But for now, these cd-r's will have to hold us over.
And again, out of print, last copies ever, act fast, and all that...
MPEG Stream: "Vexations"

TUNNELS What Happens To Us Is Pure (self-released) cd-r 8.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We got super into Portland one man drone outfit Tunnels a while back, and have tried to carry everything we could get our hands on, check out all the rave reviews on the aQ site, so we went ahead and ordered a bunch of copies of three new releases, all put out by the band, all hand made, the covers glued and taped, all fantastic and beautiful, dark and droney, mysterious and murky. But before we could review them and list them, we started selling them like crazy, in the store, and to eagle eyed mailorder customers who spied them on the in stock not yet reviewed list (always check there!), so much so that we were soon down to a number too few to review on the new arrivals list.
Unfortunately, now, all three of them are out of print, and we have the last remaining 8 or so copies of each. So fair warning, judging from how quick they went in the store, odds are these will be gone in a flash. And we can absolutely NOT get more once we run out, as they were limited to 50 or 70 or some crazy small amount.
And for those of you new to the sound of Tunnels, well, the name is your first clue, it's dark and mysterious, but shot through with a warm distant glow, part abstract ambience, part minimal drone, part drifty krautrock, dreamy and washed out and hypnotic, sometimes building into huge swells of low end, other times shimmering ghostlike. Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. It's high time somebody released a proper record. But for now, these cd-r's will have to hold us over.
And again, out of print, last copies ever, act fast, and all that...
MPEG Stream: "2"

TUNNG Good Arrows (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98

TUNNG Good Arrows (Thrill Jockey) lp 13.98

TUNNG Mothers Daughter And Other Songs (Ace Fu) cd 14.98
Released last year on Static Caravan in the UK, and only now re-issued stateside on cd by Ace Fu, we've been wanting to review this for a while, but only recently were we able to finally get enough to list.
Imagine if the Beta Band, instead of following in Beck's funky folk footsteps, were born of the current underground cd-r culture, their electronica tinged folk more a product of New Weird America and musical compatriots like Devendra Banhart than MTV ot the NME. Thus, Tunng. Rich and lush strummed acoustic guitars, gorgeous harmony vocals, droney and drifting, a crackling campfire intimacy, glitchy skittery beats, strange found sounds, hiccuping loops, skipping cds, an unlikely combination, but the result is totally amazing. Like a Boards Of Canada produced Vetiver record, or the Feathers Family recording for Warp, this is classic sounding seventies British folk, filtered through a damaged off kilter electronica kaleidoscope. Banjos collide with shuffling muted drum machines, soft tonal chimes drift over sweetly fingerpicked guitars, soft hushed vocals emote over a smattering of glitches and squelches, a gorgeous guitar figure will begin to skip, faster and faster, smearing into an ambient soundscape that underpins a whispery sadboy croon and delicate shimmering chimes. So totally lovely. This has been one of our most listened to records lately, check out the sound samples and you'll immediately understand why.
MPEG Stream: "Mother's Daughter"
MPEG Stream: "People Folk"
MPEG Stream: "Out The Window With The Window"

TUNNG Mothers Daughter And Other Songs (Static Caravan) lp 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Released last year on Static Caravan in the UK, and only now re-issued stateside on cd by Ace Fu, we've been wanting to review this for a while, but only recently were we able to finally get enough to list.
Imagine if the Beta Band, instead of following in Beck's funky folk footsteps, were born of the current underground cd-r culture, their electronica tinged folk more a product of New Weird America and musical compatriots like Devendra Banhart than MTV ot the NME. Thus, Tunng. Rich and lush strummed acoustic guitars, gorgeous harmony vocals, droney and drifting, a crackling campfire intimacy, glitchy skittery beats, strange found sounds, hiccuping loops, skipping cds, an unlikely combination, but the result is totally amazing. Like a Boards Of Canada produced Vetiver record, or the Feathers Family recording for Warp, this is classic sounding seventies British folk, filtered through a damaged off kilter electronica kaleidoscope. Banjos collide with shuffling muted drum machines, soft tonal chimes drift over sweetly fingerpicked guitars, soft hushed vocals emote over a smattering of glitches and squelches, a gorgeous guitar figure will begin to skip, faster and faster, smearing into an ambient soundscape that underpins a whispery sadboy croon and delicate shimmering chimes. So totally lovely. This has been one of our most listened to records lately, check out the sound samples and you'll immediately understand why.
MPEG Stream: "Mother's Daughter"
MPEG Stream: "People Folk"
MPEG Stream: "Out The Window With The Window"

TUOMI, JANNE Approaching (Ektro) cd 14.98
Another new release brought to us by Finland's Ektro, the label run by our pal Jussi of Circle. Ektro's releases are always graphically quite nice and musically quite adventurous and unpredictable, although Jussi's interest in prog and psych usually is evident. In this case, we have a percussion extravaganza from one Janne Tuomi (currently, a member of Circle and various underground Finnish improv ensembles). It's mostly percussion, anyway -- the list of instruments in the cd booklet reads thusly: "drumset, cymbals, percussion, tam-tams, opera gongs, changgo, pandiero, raagini-pro, pocket trumpet, voice". With these implements, and "no overdubs, no editing", Tuomi has created five instrumental pieces (not conventional songs, we mean), bridging free jazz and Finnish free-folk. Carefully constructed, rising and falling, with hazy drone and dramatic clatter, soothing bells and rattling sticks...not a noisy racket at all, but a personal sound-world quite listenable for something that falls into the 'solo percussion' category.
MPEG Stream: "Keskus"
MPEG Stream: "Contemplation"

TURBONEGRO Apocalypse Dudes (Burning Heart / Epitaph) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
This is the second half of legendary Norwegian pop-metal-sleaze merchants Turbonegro's denim and leather, head banging, fist pounding (pun indeed intended) one two reissue punch, the first half being their brilliant breakthrough full-length Ass Cobra. Apocalypse Dudes, recorded in '97 was the maybe-even-better follow-up. Like a Tom Of Finland drawing come to life, Turbonegro channel the spirit of Kiss and Judas Priest, mix in some Alice Cooper and stadium COCK rock, and top it all off with some big moustaches, assless chaps, tight denim pants, sailor outfits and wickedly funny songs: 'Rock Against Ass', 'Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker!', 'Rendezvous With Anus'. Fucking funny and brilliant and totally rocking! Genius! Includes some bonus video clips for your computer to boot.
MPEG Stream: "The Age Of Pamparius"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker"
MPEG Stream: "Rendeavous With Anus"

TURBONEGRO Apocalypse Dudes (Scandinavian Leather) cd 13.98
HELL YEAH #1! What a way to warm up our sporadically chilly autumn days and nights! Our weather might be changeable, but these reissues of five Turbonegro albums sure aren't. Predictability is not necessarily a bad thing when we're talking 'bout this band's rawk action. These Norwegians' music is something your can count on to be the soundtrack to leather clad bad girls and boys everywhere. Pure and simple, there's not a stinker in the bunch.
That said, some are a little better than others, take for instance this one. 1998's Apocalypse Dudes is definitely one of our faves (along with 1996's Ass Cobra). Not only does it have a couple of the most hilarious butt related song titles ("Rendezvous With Anus" and "Rock Against Ass"), but it's a veritable party inferno of Scandinavian awesomeness. It's that kind of dangerous party where stuff gets totally trashed and you wake up the next morning missing a tooth, and wearing a shiner, someone else's socks and a gnarly tattoo. We can't get enough of these legendary pop-metal-sleaze merchants' denim and leather, head banging and fist pounding (pun indeed intended).
Burning Heart and Epitaph reissued this album back in 2003, and here's what we said back then: Like a Tom Of Finland drawing come to life, Turbonegro channel the spirit of Kiss and Judas Priest, mix in some Alice Cooper and stadium COCK rock, and top it all off with some big moustaches, assless chaps, tight denim pants, sailor outfits and wickedly funny songs: 'Rock Against Ass', 'Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker!', 'Rendezvous With Anus'. Fucking funny and brilliant and totally rocking! Genius!
This reissue includes two bonus tracks: a single version of "Prince Of The Rodeo" and a cover of "Suffragette City"!
Psst, the other reissues we have are Ass Cobra, Darkness Forever: Between The Lines In Hamburg And Oslo, Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives, and Never Is Forever.
MPEG Stream: "Rock Against Ass"
MPEG Stream: "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker"

TURBONEGRO Ass Cobra (Burning Heart / Epitaph) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Desperately needed re-issue of one of the more amazing discs from Norway's kings of gay-sailor-leather-pants-moustache-rides-metallic-punk-rock-sleaze, 1996's "Ass Cobra". How can this band not be your favorite band?!?! They are everything Kiss should have been, and pretended to be (or not to be in terms of sexuality). Big and noisy and glammy and catchy and so fucking funny. C'mon...Ass Cobra? Best album title ever maybe? And how about these song titles: The Midnight Nambla, Denim Demon, I Got Erection, Hobbit Motherfuckers! But don't think for a minute they're some kind of joke band, although the jokes do flow freely. Turbonegro totally have the chops and they completely shred. Heavy metal meets poppy punk, all wrapped up in tight denim and sweaty, studded leather, and ready to rough you up and spank you silly.
Speaking of Ass Cobra, one of Cup's fondest (!?) live show spectacles was seeing Turbonegro at the old Chameleon bar here on Valencia Street back in '97. They pummelled the eyes and eardrums of all in attendance with their unique stage presence. The bizarre pinnacle of the eve came when we heard the crowd gasp (yes, it was audible above the din of the band). We looked up at the stage just in time to see the lead singer turn around, bare ass to the audience, with a bundle (not just one or two) of lit roman candles... er... in there. Jaw-dropping and absolutely unforgettable.
MPEG Stream: "The Midnight NAMBLA"
MPEG Stream: "Denim Demon"
MPEG Stream: "I Got Erection"

TURBONEGRO Ass Cobra (Scandinavian Leather) cd 13.98
HELL YEAH #2! What a way to warm up our sporadically chilly autumn days and nights! Our weather might be changeable, but these reissues of five Turbonegro albums sure aren't. Predictability is not necessarily a bad thing when we're talking 'bout this band's rawk action. These Norwegians' music is something your can count on to be the soundtrack to leather clad bad girls and boys everywhere. Pure and simple, there's not a stinker in the bunch.
That said, some are a little better than others, take for instance this one. 1996's Ass Cobra is definitely one of our faves (along with 1998's Apocalypse Dudes). We'll never shy away from balls out, nut bustin' Scandinavian fun nor will we turn down an opportunity to say "Ass Cobra"! With its wall of careening guitars and raging man vocals, Ass Cobra's wild rock is sure to knock a few sphincters loose! If your day's gone a bit crummy, Turbonegro will help cleanse the crap!
Burning Heart and Epitaph reissued this album back in 2003, and here's what we said back then:
Norway's kings of gay-sailor-leather-pants-moustache-rides-metallic-punk-rock-sleaze... How can this band not be your favorite band?!?! They are everything Kiss should have been, and pretended to be (or not to be in terms of sexuality). Big and noisy and glammy and catchy and so fucking funny. How about these song titles: "The Midnight Nambla", "Denim Demon", "I Got Erection", "Hobbit Motherfuckers"! But don't think for a minute they're some kind of joke band, although the jokes do flow freely. Turbonegro totally have the chops and they completely shred. Heavy metal meets poppy punk, all wrapped up in tight denim and sweaty, studded leather, and ready to rough you up and spank you silly.
Speaking of Ass Cobra, one of Cup's fondest (!?) live show spectacles was seeing Turbonegro at the old Chameleon bar here on Valencia Street back in '97. They pummelled the eyes and eardrums of all in attendance with their unique stage presence. The bizarre pinnacle of the eve came when we heard the crowd gasp (yes, it was audible above the din of the band). We looked up at the stage just in time to see the lead singer turn around, bare ass to the audience, with a bundle (not just one or two) of lit roman candles... er... in there. Jaw-dropping and absolutely unforgettable.
Psst, the other reissues we have are Apocalypse Dudes, Darkness Forever: Between The Lines In Hamburg And Oslo, Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives, and Never Is Forever.
MPEG Stream: "Deathtime"
MPEG Stream: "Hobbit Motherfuckers"

TURBONEGRO Darkness Forever (Bitzcore) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
In the eternal quest of the best stoner/cock rock lyric, Turbonegro's neanderthal lyricism may actually match that of Monster Magnet: "I gotta headache in my pants" vs. "it takes a fistful of medication just to keep it in my pants"... I don't know, you be the judge. Yet beyond their wordsmithery, Turbonegro's cock rock is cock rock made by men who love cock. The Scandinavian Village People of Hard Rock drive through heavy heavy heavy Sabbath riffs and stoner grooves that Man's Ruin would kill for, plus song titles like "Midnight NAMBLA", "Rendezvous With Anus", "I Got Erection", and "Sailor Man".

TURBONEGRO Darkness Forever: Between The Lines In Hamburg And Oslo (Scandinavian Leather) cd 13.98
Norway, home to so much damn fine music that we love love love... from the blissful pop lads in Kings Of Convenience to the bleak experimental dronings of Deathprod to the blackest metal of Enslaved, Immortal and Satyricon to the self-proclaimed deathpunk of Turbonegro.
Darkness Forever is one of the five new reissues from that mighty band. It's their live album from 1999. The other reissues we have are Apocalypse Dudes, Ass Cobra, Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives, Never Forever. While 1998's Apocalypse Dudes and 1996's Ass Cobra are definitely our faves, this one sure captures the band's trademark live lewd looseness.
Here's what we said the first time around: In the eternal quest of the best stoner/cock rock lyric, Turbonegro's Neanderthal lyricism may actually match that of Monster Magnet: "I gotta headache in my pants" vs. "it takes a fistful of medication just to keep it in my pants"... I don't know, you be the judge. Yet beyond their wordsmithery, Turbonegro's cock rock is cock rock made by men who love cock. The Scandinavian Village People of Hard Rock drive through heavy heavy heavy Sabbath riffs and stoner grooves that Man's Ruin would kill for.

MPEG Stream: "The Midnight Nambla"
MPEG Stream: "Are You Ready (For Some Darkness)"

TURBONEGRO Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives (Blitzcore) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
1992 album from the TRBNGR.

TURBONEGRO Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives (Scandinavian Leather) cd 13.98
Along with our two favorites, we've got a couple more Turbonegro reissues for you to get down with!
This one's their 1992 debut album. It shows these Norwegian death punk hellions in their infancy. So much looser and more grunge-y than what they would eventually become. 'Though it is their first album, it isn't where we'd recommend you start your Turbonegro schooling if you've never heard them before. Hop on their jet-fueled rawk(et) launch pad with Apocalypse Dudes or Ass Cobra first! This reissue includes four bonus tracks.
Psst, the other reissues we have are Ass Cobra, Apocalypse Dudes, Darkness Forever: Between The Lines In Hamburg And Oslo, and Never Is Forever.
MPEG Stream: "Librium Love"
MPEG Stream: "Vaya Con Satan"

TURBONEGRO Never Is Forever (Blitzcore) cd 13.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
1994 rock violence from this unique Norwegian band.

TURBONEGRO Never Is Forever (Scandinavian Leather) cd 13.98
More turbo! More negro! The reissues of this wild band's albums keep on coming! This is 1994's Never Is Forever. On the opening track they try to trick us with the sensitive guy ploy (heh heh, like any self-respecting badboys), but then they punch the rock button, and awaaay we go... Aaaiiieeeee! isn't it funny when a song by one band will stir fond familiar fuzzies in your heart for another band, but that's what happened with the third song on this Turbonegro album... it made us yearn for Rocket From The Crypt! Y'all know that our penchant for all things Norwegian and blistering yet catchy rock bands is pretty darn strong, and if you whip 'em all together with a twisted sense of humor like that, well, that pretty much seals the deal. If you're a Turbonegro neophyte, we'd recommmend checking out Apocalypse Dudes and Ass Cobra albums first. Then once you've been indoctrinated, head over this-a-way!
This reissue includes three bonus tracks (one alternate mix and two studio outtakes).
Psst, the other reissues we have are Ass Cobra, Apocalypse Dudes, Darkness Forever: Between The Lines In Hamburg And Oslo, and Hot Cars & Spent Contraceptives.
MPEG Stream: "Ubermensch"
MPEG Stream: "Hush, Earthling"

TURBONEGRO Party Animals (Burning Heart) cd / DVD 14.98
If you've been itchin' for a little Scandanavian action, this might be your time to splurge. Happy to see that their wardrobe's still the same, their fucked-up Village People macho-femme blend of fashion 'touchstones' including a corpse painted metal dude, leather daddy, sailor... and tons of lipgloss, but over the past few albums their sound has simmered down from an unpredictable raging cock-rock tirade terrorizing the neighborhood into a decidedly classic (still cock-) rock party. Now, we've got nothing against the good times -- if we had our choice of who we'd want spearheading the festivities it'd be these guys for sure! -- but we sure do miss the badass Turbonegro of old. Apart from the swear words (and copious amount of lip gloss), there's really not much else that's gonna offend your parents. Damn! Nevertheless, the dozen tracks (including "Intro: The Party Zone") more than prove that this band are fully entitled to their all-access pass to the album's title. Oh yeah, and if there was any lingering doubt about these guys' deep appreciation for pop music, consider it toast. They flew Redd Kross' Steve McDonald overseas to co-produce, no less! This domestic release comes with a bonus DVD, which seems to be a Hank Von Helvete, workout video, we kid you not. It doesn't even really seem like a joke, which is maybe what makes it so funny.
MPEG Stream: "If You See Kaye"
MPEG Stream: "Final Warning"

TURBONEGRO Retox (Cooking Vinyl) cd 14.98

TURBONEGRO Scandinavian Leather (Burning Heart / Epitaph) cd 14.98
These Norwegian bad boys are back, after a several year hiatus, with a new album (and a tour with Queens Of The Stone Age!). We love Turbonegro -- doesn't everyone? -- but we have heard some negative comments about this new album. And we have to agree to some degree, that "Scandinavian Leather" is just not nearly as dark as we've come to expect from these denim demons. Some of it could pass for MTV pop-punk until you pay attention to the deviant/innuendo-filled lyrics -- actually, maybe this *will* get on MTV, in which case it's wonderfully subversive. Now, Turbonegro's never been a metal band, but their Alice Cooper influence has led them down some darker alleys in the past than what you get here. But, dammit, it IS damn catchy and (of course) campy and also boasts excellent cover art from ex-Plastic Ono Band drummer Klaus Voormann... And what they really sound like is KISS. So, no complaints. And more power to 'em that they apparently got a Levi's sponsorship -- that denim cape the singer's wearing is sweet!
MPEG Stream: "Sell Your Body (To The Night)"

TURBONEGRO Sexual Harassment (Scandinavian Leather) cd 14.98

TURBONEGRO Sexual Harassment (Scandinavian Leather / Volcom) lp 21.00

TURBONEGRO The Movie (Blitzcore) dvd 22.00

TURBONEGRO The Reserection (MVD) dvd 17.98

TURDUS MERULA Herbarium (Le Crepuscule Du Soir) cd 11.98
This one is for all the folks who bought the Botanist 2cd on tUMULt, who have been hankering for another record of botany themed black metal. This one comes from the oddly monikered Turdus Merula (which is the taxonomic term for a kind of bird, the Common Blackbird), who are a Swedish one WOMAN black metal band, a rarity in black metal for sure, and what makes it even more rare is that this record is all about hallucinogenic and poisonous plants, which makes sense as the title, Herbarium, is of course, a collection of dried plants and flowers, and sonically, well, that's where the comparisons to Botanist end, although the opening track all old timey piano, wreathed in echo and washed out, is to these ears, quite evocative of some old botanist in his greenhouse, but that image soon fades about 2 minutes in when the guitars swoop in, a mournful downtuned buzz, depressive and dark, we were prepared for some plodding miserablism, when all of sudden, POW, the song explodes in a frenzy of super blown out in-the-red chug and churn and pound, the sound so heavy and loud and thick, the vocals a raspy wail buried beneath the furious sonic assault, the sound is pretty incredible, really powerful and thick, there's definitely a Burzum vibe, but TM's sound is so much more dense, and almost noisy, the riffing shifts occasionally to something more melancholy, but quickly returns to the black buzz crush.
The Burzum (and Xasthur to a degree) comparisons become a bit more noticeable as the record progresses, the second track is a pounding midtempo buzzscape, all minor key, with lush layered guitars, and moaning distant melodies, the guitar drenched in cool effects, that sound a little like the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now" but only in the way they pulse, creating a weird rhythmic effect, and as the record progresses, in some weird way it gets prettier and less heavy, with the second to last track, an epic nearly 14 minute sprawl sounding more like a sort of blackened buzz pop, with a bit of jangle and melody mixed into the swirly buzz, and that's not to mention the cool cinematic chamber music interlude about halfway through. The track before too is a droned out bit of mostly solo guitar, that only picks up drums about 4 minutes in, and continues on as a sort of moody downer pop dirge until finally the vocals surface, and the track becomes much more blackened, although without ever completely ditching the moodiness that came before. And after a final brief bit of blast and buzz, the record finishes off with another stretch of creepy, cinematic echo drenched, darkly distorted piano, a perfect finish, to a killer chunk of atmospheric depressive blackness that we've been digging way more than we expected to...
MPEG Stream: "Datura Stramonium"
MPEG Stream: "Conium Maculatum"

TURDUS MERULA Mentem Recipere (Le Crepuscule Du Soir) cd 13.98
Second record from this nature obsessed one woman black metal band from Sweden, whose last record, the flora focused Herbarium, paralleled another record we were freaking out about at the time, a double disc from one man, drums and dulcimer black metal weirdo Botanist (released on Andee's tUMULt label), the two 'groups' both with unique sounds, and both with a fixation on plantlife, nature, and man and womankind's perilous place in the the ever evolving ecosystem, one in which it seemed both groups were convinced plants would eventually, and perhaps rightfully take over.
While the first Turdus Merula record was most definitely beholden to Burzum and Xasthur and the like, it definitely infused a sound we already dug with all sorts of cool sonic weirdness, whether it was blown out drones, or weird almost poppy jangle, it all resulted in a record that managed to be both grim and black, but also plenty tripped out and damaged sounding. On Mentem Recipere, while some of the elements from the first record are still present, the vibe overall is much darker, more doomy and dismal, the atmospheres more bleak and harrowing, there's a dedication in the booklet, to a lost loved one, and it doesn't seem like it's reading to much into the sound here to realize it must have been influenced by that loss. Opening with a dark balladic creep, all reverbed piano and hushed ethereal vox, it's not until the second track that the metal kicks in, and even then it doesn't so much kick in as slowly ooze and drift, the guitars woozy and washed out, the melodies minor key, the vocals tortured, the buzz blurred into smears of black thrum, eventually the song does actually begin to blast and buzz, but even then, while the drums and vox intensify, the guitars seem to continue on all haunting and soft focus, which makes the sound less black, and more sort of grey, almost in a strange way, warm and soothing, tranced out and mesmeric. Which is pretty much how the whole record plays out. The sound shifting from doomic plod, to loping crush, to blasting blackness, but all the while, the sound, the mood, the vibe, remains haunting and melancholic, that's not to say that it's not heavy, or buzzy or black, it most definitely is. But it seems that the underlying emotion give the sound a mournful quality that makes it not only darkly personal, but also keeps it from sounding like every other black metal record out there, which it absolutely does not.
Fans of the first record will want this too, but anyone into gorgeous depressive buzz and heavy psychedelic blackness will definitely dig big time.
MPEG Stream: "Casus"
MPEG Stream: "Adventus"
MPEG Stream: "Cursus"

TURID I Retur (Silence) cd 17.98
Guys (girls?) here's your fantasy '70s Swedish hippy folksinging girlfriend! The I Retur cd collects the best, we presume, of Turid Lundqvist's three elpees: Vittras Visor from 1971, Bilder from '73, and 1975's Tredje Dagen. Singing mostly in Swedish, sometimes in English, her sweet, high voice graces 21 tracks in total here, which feature a variety of instrumental backing from acoustic guitar, mandolin, tabla, contrabass, trumpet, and more, played by Turid and fellow musicians who I think were members of the psych-rock-folk band Kebnekajse, with whom she also sang. But it's really her voice that's the drawing card here, infusing these dreamy compositions with the beauty of birdsong. There's no freaky electronics like on that Linda Perhacs record, or super old-timey stuff like Shirley Collins. Just straight up singer-songwriter folk music with that mystical '70s vibe.
Have you perchance seen the quite excellent Swedish film Together, the one from a few years back that was set in a '70s commune? Well there's a lot of great music on the soundtrack, and in one scene the characters listen to a Turid LP. We've got friends who've been looking for her stuff ever since! Also on the soundtrack was some International Harvester (same band as Trad Gras Och Stenar), and a while ago I asked one of the Trad Gras Och Stenar guys if he'd seen the film and what he thought of it. He said he liked it, but said that for him those days were (even) more experimental and radical, that the film didn't capture all the "dangerous and dark things going on" at the time. Certainly there's not much dangerous and dark (though sometimes extremely emotional) about Turid's beautiful music! It's the flowers and sunshine of the era you'll hear here.
MPEG Stream: "Song"
MPEG Stream: "Vargen"