Y Pseudo Youth...Human Cesspool (Sound Pollution) cd 10.98
Y's "Pseudo Youth...Human Cesspool" is a collection of hypersonic start/stop thrash heaviosity from this German outfit. Contains their "Ali Bomaye" lp, a couple of singles, and a few unreleased tracks, all now on cd for the first time.

YABBY YOU Dub It To The Top (Blood & Fire) cd 16.98
Another fine collection from Blood & Fire. 'Dub It To the Top' contains not only the entire 1977 Yabby You LP 'Yabby You Meets Michael Prophet: Vocal & Dub' plus 7 b-side dubs from singles he released between 1976 and 1979. All but one track (recorded at Perry's Black Ark Studio) were recorded at the fabulous Channel 1 studio and all were mixed at King Tubby's studio by Tubby himself or Prince Jammy. Stellar performances from all aside, the production quality is excellent to boot: if the tracks haven't come directly from the master tapes, they might as well have with the nice remastering job that's been done here.
RealAudio clip: "Zambia"
RealAudio clip: "Turn Me Loose Dub"

YABBY YOU Jesus Dread 1972-1977 (Blood & Fire) 2cd 24.00

YABBY YOU Rally Dub (Select Cuts) 10" 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Limited edition 10" from the second volume of Select Cuts From Blood & Fire. Features a dub mix by Lee Perry on one side (not included on the album) and, apparently, an alternate remix by Apollo 440 of the track that was featured on the album -- though if there's any difference other than a small time difference between Apollo 440's two remixes it's got me stumped cuz they both sound the same to me G.

YACHT I Believe In You. Your Magic Is Real (Marriage Records) cd 16.98
Don't ask why, but we've decided to review this record like we're making a stay together/breakup laundry list of plusses and minuses (or deltas if you're optimistic).
Minuses:
1. At times annoying, particularly "We're Always Waiting" which combines a "sugar pie honey bunch" style organ line with the words "we want all that stuff, all that stuff that costs too much" sung in the style of "Lady Humps" by the Blackeyed Peas, ugh.
2. Not much lyrical depth (at all).
3. Singing often comes off more like talking with a constant inflection.
4.
Plusses:
1. Some songs could satisfy our electro laptop-pop craving.
2. At times playful.
3. A little bit ambitious.
4.
It's a dead heat! We left you some room to listen to the sound samples and fill in the blanks. *sidenote: after writing this review, we noticed pitchfork wrote an article describing Jona Bechtolt's decision to quit his former duo The Blow and do Yacht full time. Looks like we're not the only ones who've been making laundry lists lately! Thank you Pitchfork for keeping us up to date on all the latest z-list celebrity gossip!
MPEG Stream: "So Post All 'Em"
MPEG Stream: "It's All The Same Price"

YAHOWA 13 Penetration (Tee Pee) lp 14.98
Now Tee Pee has reissued this domestically on LP, just a wee bit after the cd reissue on Cold Sweat that we already listed... here's what we said before about this all-time AQ fave:
Cool. A truly cult band begins to get its due. If you read our list or are otherwise hip to out-there '70s communal psych rock then you already know all about the amazing Ya Ho Wa 13, house band of Father Yod's Source Family, uh, commune. It was just a few months ago that we hosted a book signing with Isis and Electricity Aquarian and other original members of the Source Family, in conjunction with which the reunited Ya Ho Wa 13 played a show here in San Francisco. Wow. That was something.
So, what with the book (The Source: The Untold Story Of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 And The Source Family) and associated publicity, now the Cold Sweat label has done a domestic digipack cd reissue of what might be the best of the Ya Ho Wa's many albums.
Here's more or less what we said about this big AQ fave when we listed the previously available UK import cd edition a few years ago:
Whoah, man. A seriously trippy, dark and clangorous document here from the (very literally) cult group of early '70s rockers called Ya Ho Wha 13. Of all the many albums that the legendary Father Yod and his band of freaky communal-living hippies made back in the day (most but not all of 'em compiled into the massive Aquarius-beloved 13-disc God And Hair box set that came out in Japan some years back), it's always been THIS one that we at AQ (and pretty much every other reputable source too) have heralded as the absolute heaviest and best of the bunch. An essential item for anyone into far-out freeform '70s psych weirdness. And it's got an unbeatable title, eh? Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony. How can we not dig that? So we're quite stoked to have it reissued by itself on cd for those who haven't got and/or aren't ready for the box set. The four tracks here (including one entitled simply "Ya Ho Wha 13") venture from droneing spacey effects laden soundscapes with eerie Eastern-sounding vocal wailing to full-tilt throbbing, percussive tribal lift-off frenzies complete with stabs of heavy guitar distortion. Throw in some whistling to add an off-kilter spaghetti western soundtrack vibe and you've got Penetration. A damaged, dense, intense, quasi-religious psychedelic California-krautrock experience. Even the mellowest parts are still pretty edgy. This 1974 recording is definitely to be considered a cosmic precursor to everything from the drum circle discs of the Boredoms to the improv rock of Reynols to the neo-hippy clank of the No Neck Blues Band. Amazing. And totally utterly AQ-recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Yod He Vau He"
MPEG Stream: "Journey Through An Elemental Kingdom"

YAHOWA 13 Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony (Cold Sweat) cd 15.98
Cool. A truly cult band begins to get its due. If you read our list or are otherwise hip to out-there '70s communal psych rock then you already know all about the amazing Ya Ho Wa 13, house band of Father Yod's Source Family, uh, commune. It was just a few months ago that we hosted a book signing with Isis and Electricity Aquarian and other original members of the Source Family, in conjunction with which the reunited Ya Ho Wa 13 played a show here in San Francisco. Wow. That was something.
So, what with the book (The Source: The Untold Story Of Father Yod, Ya Ho Wa 13 And The Source Family) and associated publicity, now the Cold Sweat label has done a domestic digipack cd reissue of what might be the best of the Ya Ho Wa's many albums. A domestic vinyl release is soon to follow on the Tee Pee label as well.
Here's more or less what we said about this big AQ fave when we listed the previously available UK import cd edition a few years ago:
Whoah, man. A seriously trippy, dark and clangorous document here from the (very literally) cult group of early '70s rockers called Ya Ho Wha 13. Of all the many albums that the legendary Father Yod and his band of freaky communal-living hippies made back in the day (most but not all of 'em compiled into the massive Aquarius-beloved 13-disc God And Hair box set that came out in Japan some years back), it's always been THIS one that we at AQ (and pretty much every other reputable source too) have heralded as the absolute heaviest and best of the bunch. An essential item for anyone into far-out freeform '70s psych weirdness. And it's got an unbeatable title, eh? Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony. How can we not dig that? So we're quite stoked to have it reissued by itself on cd for those who haven't got and/or aren't ready for the box set. The four tracks here (including one entitled simply "Ya Ho Wha 13") venture from droneing spacey effects laden soundscapes with eerie Eastern-sounding vocal wailing to full-tilt throbbing, percussive tribal lift-off frenzies complete with stabs of heavy guitar distortion. Throw in some whistling to add an off-kilter spaghetti western soundtrack vibe and you've got Penetration. A damaged, dense, intense, quasi-religious psychedelic California-krautrock experience. Even the mellowest parts are still pretty edgy. This 1974 recording is definitely to be considered a cosmic precursor to everything from the drum circle discs of the Boredoms to the improv rock of Reynols to the neo-hippy clank of the No Neck Blues Band. Amazing. And totally utterly AQ-recommended!!
MPEG Stream: "Yod He Vau He"
MPEG Stream: "Journey Through An Elemental Kingdom"

YAHOWHA 13 God and Hair (Captain Trip) 13cd 140.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
For 13 discs you better get the complete recordings... and here on God and Hair that is what you get. [well, this was true until recently when The Operetta was released...but you do get plenty!] Led by the late, legendary Father Yod (who supposedly died in a hang-gliding accident in the late 70s... just like Icarus!) YaHoWha 13 "epitomize the insanity of highly-personalized psychedelic exploration via the fringes of rock music and its subsequent private documentation better than anything else produced by the human race to date." (a glorious if over the top description from the fine folk at Forced Exposure)... This collection ranges from the tribal acid pound with weird noises floating in and out of aural spaces alongside Yod's megalomaniacal vocal output (as on the unbelievable masterpieces "Penetration" and "I'm Gonna Take You Home") to the cult-guru sermons over simple acoustic guitar (which give the uncanny resemblance to Charles Manson's folk). Warning: it's VERY hippie. The huge 13" x 13" heavy duty box houses the 13 discs and a 50 page booklet (which is unfortunately only in Japanese). So fucking cool.
(If anyone out there has any more information about this band (in English) please direct us to it.)
Please Note: Due to the sheer cost of this thing, AQ will only have 1 or 2 in stock at any given time. We will certainly do our best to fill any orders that come in, but please be patient with us! And it's a limited edition, too, of course, so don't delay...

YAHOWHA 13 God And Hair (Captain Trip) 13cd 128.00
There are a handful of records that seem to truly define the unique (sometime ridiculous) aesthetic that we pride ourselves on here at Aquarius Records. The Conet Project is one, a four cd set of haunting mysterious shortwave transmissions of spy stations, hours and hours of numbers and music. Then there's the Thai Elephant Orchestra, a recording of gamelan playing elephants, or the Ghost Orchid, a recording of emanations from beyond the grave, but one release that is truly near and dear to our freaky musical hearts is the Yahowha box. Originally released on Captain Trip as a jumbo sized box with 13 cds in regular jewel cases with a huge LP sized booklet, with lots of amazing photos and loads of Japanese text, this massive collection has been re-issued in a gorgeous wooden box, sealed with gold cords and a wax seal, the jewel cases are gone and instead the discs are housed together in slim sleeves, and the all-in-Japanese-anyway booklet is gone now too (although we've yet to crack one of these open, so we suppose it might have been resized to fit in this much smaller box), but it's also cheaper and will now fit on your cd shelf. But why is this collection so essential and why should you absolutely drop everything and pick up one of these amazing boxes? Read on...
For 13 discs you better get the complete recordings... and here on God and Hair that is what you get. (Well, this was true until recently when The Operetta was released...but you do get plenty!)
Led by the late, legendary Father Yod (who supposedly died in a hang-gliding accident in the late 70s... just like Icarus!) YaHoWha 13 "epitomize the insanity of highly-personalized psychedelic exploration via the fringes of rock music and its subsequent private documentation better than anything else produced by the human race to date." (a glorious if over the top description from the fine folk at Forced Exposure)... This collection ranges from tribal acid pound to weird noisy float to dense aural freakouts, all accompanying Yod's megalomaniacal vocal output (as on the unbelievable masterpieces Penetration and I'm Gonna Take You Home). Then there's the other side of Yod and his minions, creepy cult-guru sermons over simple acoustic guitars (which give those tracks a vibe not unlike the recently reveiewed freak folk of Charles Manson's). Warning: this stuff is VERY hippie. But if you're anything like us that's maybe not so much of a warning as it is a promise!

YAHOWHA 13 I'm Gonna Take You Home (Swordfish) cd 18.98
What? You haven't yet bought the 13-cd Japanese import box set of Yahowah 13 reissues?? Eating and paying rent is more important to you than listening to some crazy hippies playing freaked out psych rock for hours and hours??? Huh.
Well now thanks to the Swordfish label, the less committed among you can still get in on some Yahowah 13 action. Dunno if they're gonna release each of the band/commune's albums individually or not, but at least they're started with a good 'un. Next to Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony (which we did also just get a vinyl-only reissue of, not cheap at $30!) this is one of the best from that box set. Father Yod and his eager crew of seemingly LSD happy hippy followers recorded and originally released this LP back in 1974. This tribe of "Aquarians" jam out some truly unhinged drug rock godhead music, crammed with stinging garagey guitar, groovy percussion, and exceedingly wacked out vocals (and whistling!). Yes it's dated, yes it's ridiculous, but as "outsider" acid rock goes its pretty great. There's a naive cheesiness to it that works only because the bizarre parts are so, what can we say, Reynolsian? On the cosmic/comic divide.
And the disturbingly quasi-erotic album cover will doubtless become one of the most, uh, remarkable in your collection. Licensed from the Source Foundation -- that means the Children of Yod are still out there!
MPEG Stream: "track 3"
MPEG Stream: "track 4"

YAHOWHA 13 Penetration, An Aquarian Symphony (Swordfish) cd 17.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Whoah, man. A seriously trippy, dark and clangorous document here from the (very literally) cult group of early '70s rockers called Ya Ho Wha 13. Of all the many albums that the legendary Father Yod and his band of freaky communal-living hippies made back in the day (most but not all of 'em compiled into the massive Aquarius-beloved 13-disc God And Hair box set that came out in Japan some years back), it's always been THIS one that we at AQ (and pretty much every other reputable source too) have heralded as the absolute heaviest and best of the bunch. An essential item for anyone into far-out freeform '70s psych weirdness. And it's got an unbeatable title, eh? Penetration, An Aquarian Symphony. How can we not dig that? So we're quite stoked that the UK's Swordfish label has reissued it on cd for those who haven't got and/or aren't ready for the box set (which may or may not still be available anyway, inquire if you're curious). The four tracks here (including one entitled simply "Ya Ho Wha 13") venture from droneing spacey effects laden soundscapes with eerie Eastern-sounding vocal wailing to full-tilt throbbing, percussive tribal lift-off frenzies complete with stabs of heavy guitar distortion. Throw in some whistling to add an off-kilter spaghetti western soundtrack vibe and you've got Penetration. A damaged, dense, intense, quasi-religious psychedelic California-krautrock experience. Even the mellowest parts are still pretty edgy. This 1974 recording is definitely to be considered a cosmic precursor to everything from the drum circle discs of the Boredoms to the improv rock of Reynols to the neo-hippy clank of the No Neck Blues Band. Amazing. Just what you need before checking out the new DVD documentary on the Ya Ho Wha family that we also just got in (to be reviewed next time around, with luck).
MPEG Stream: "Yod He Vau He"
MPEG Stream: "Journey Through An Elemental Kingdom"

YAHOWHA 13 Penetration: An Aquarian Symphony (Higher Key) lp 30.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Deluxe 180 gram vinyl reish of this assuredly rare-ass record, universally acclaimed as the best to emerge from Father Yod's commune. Quite pricey (sorry) so we'll assume anyone buying the lone copy we have is already a fan, and not bore you with further needless description.

YAHOWHA 13 Re-Visiting Father and the Source Family (Swordfish) dvd 28.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
If you're at all like us, you're a fan of the Ya Ho Wha 13 records. big fans don't know much more than that the Yah Ho Wha 13 was a band that belonged to a '70s hippy religious commune (some would say, a "cult") known then as the Brotherhood Of The Source and now as the Source Family, that was based in California (and later, Hawaii), led by a fellow named Father Yod, who eventually perished in a hang-gliding accident. Pretty mysterious really. And if you're like us you're curious about the folks who made all that weird music. Well, now you can learn the rest of the story from this DVD documentary. And it's a long story -- about two and a half hours. Very entertaining though. In part 'cause the actual facts are so strange, in part 'cause the interviewees are really rather charming... and in part 'cause this was a student film project. The filmmaking isn't so much amateur or low budget as it is simply bizarre. It fits with the subject though!! The young filmmaker himself sometimes appears on-screen, hosting the proceedings. A lot of the time, he has the back of his head to the camera, superimposed Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style over whatever he's discussing. Weird. And he really tries to generate a "psychedelic" mood with the use of computer animations and the overlaying of multiple video images. It's a pretty darn trippy movie he's made. But once you're used to it, you'll be able to focus on what the former "Family" members are talking about in the interviews. You'll learn that Father Yod's real name was Jim Baker. And that supposedly he was an Olympic athlete and WWII hero. Well, that's what his former followers still think. Further viewing will reveal how Tarzan, salad dressing, Jodie Foster's dad, and the Egyptian pyramids, among many other things, all play parts in the story... And don't worry, in addition to the present-day interviews, this makes use of all sorts of vintage footage and photos, both "home movies" and what appears to be a local Los Angeles TV news feature on the Father Yod and his followers from back in the day.
In a lot of ways, this film is basically a case study in how to start and run a cult. In Jim Baker/Father Yod's case, the idea is to become an esoteric-wisdom-spouting father figure to a group of "lost" youths (it's helpful if there happens to be a whole hippie generation running around looking for spiritual enlightenment and belonging). And get them all working at your successful health-food restaurant, to make money to pay for Rolls Royces, mansions, and nice suits. And have amazing hair! (The sequence where one former Family member describes the colors and texture of Father Yod's hair is really intense!) For instance, would-be cult leaders probably are curious to know just how Father Yod wound up with so many attractive young "wives"? Well, he taught his flock that women were god-creatures, creative spirits who should be utterly liberated and free to choose their partners as they wished. If a man was chosen, he should accept the attentions of the woman gratefully, no matter what. Now, could Father Yod help it if many of the women in the Family chose him, leaving many of his male "children" without partners? No, he could not.
An interest in cults, gurus and sixties spirituality aside, despite the fact that the Ya Ho Wha 13's music (which you'll hear throughout the film) doesn't really get discussed much until about an hour and a half into the movie (and Djin Aquarian, the guitarist in the band, isn't talked to for some reason, though you can find a fascinating recent interview with him online here: http://www.nicepooperzine.com/interviews.html), this is still pretty much essential for any fan of Father Yod & Co.'s musical endeavors. We think you'll "hear" a lot more next time you spin one of their albums, after viewing this.

YAHOWHA 13 Sonic Portation (Prophase Music) cd 19.98
Time to don your white robes, brush out your white beards, and slip on your headbands. Yahowa has returned! Well, no, not Father Yod, who perished in a hang gliding accident 33 years ago, but the psychedelic rock band of mortals who survive him: the legendary Yahowa 13! Now the core tribal trio of Djinn Aquarian (guitar), Octavius Aquarian (drums), and Sunflower Aquarian (bass). And they definitely have kept the faith, white robes and headbands and all, biding their time up on Mount Shasta or at Rainbow Gatherings or maybe out in astral space, until the stars were right and the time had come for the music of the Yahowa 13 to again surge forth spreading the word of Yod. Who would have thunk it possible? That they'd be back, and so damn good too?
We wouldn't have believed it, either, but we saw 'em with our own eyes, when they hung out at Aquarius one afternoon not too long ago for a book signing, and then played a fantastic show (well, except for when Sky Saxon joined them on stage, but that's another story...) at the Cafe du Nord that same night. Wow. (There's a live LP document of that show, actually, entitled Feather Of Wisdom, that we haven't ever listed but do still have a few copies of in stock, act quick if you want one!).
Yep, Sonic Portation, their first studio album in over 30 years, is good. Better even than several of the original Yahowa discs in the totemic God And Hair box set! Seriously. The track record of bands from the distant past "getting the band back together" and doing something worthwhile is often dismal, with some pleasant exceptions (like Trad Gras Och Stenar, of whom this reminds us!). So that this is so good is a sweet blessing. A blessing consisting of hypnotically throbbing, head nodding, guitar-heavy psych rock in service to the power of Yod, his presence still felt. It begins with the longest of the six jams on the disc, "E Ah Oh Shin", pushing 12 minutes. The other songs are shorter, though we'd be happy if they'd gone on longer... the completely enthralling, choppily rhythmic chant of "Yod Hey Vau Hey", which we recall as a highlight of their live show, is here only a mere, uh, 4:20. Of course the whole album flows together in a spiritual and improvisatory trance-state anyway. The sorta Circle-ish rhythm section gets into a groove around which Djinn's guitar does various far out things. From shimmering blissfulness (he plays with a feather, sometimes) to heavy washes of distortion, Djinn's sound hints at everything from surf music to oldies garage rock n' roll to the Sun City Girls. The group's music is mostly instrumental, with some weird vocals chanting or growling in the background once in a while. But the instrumental interplay is key. The Higher Key.
We started off this review with the assumption that this would be for folks already hip to the whole Ya Ho Wa thing (as so many AQ customers are). But even if you -weren't- already a knowledgeable fan of this group's cult (in more than one way) output from the '70s, when they existed as the musical arm of The Source, an LA religious commune led by the charismatic, bearded guru known as Father Yod, we'd recommend this. Heck if this wasn't Yahowa 13, but some kids named Crystal Master Antjler or something, we'd still be all over it. As would Arthur magazine, and all the hippy hipsters of today. Make it a limited edition cd-r release, with handmade covers, and tell us it's some spaced out new band from of freaks from Finland or Japan, and we'd be convinced. Seriously (again). We always have said the original Ya Ho Wa stuff was the closest West Coast American psych came to the best krautrock, and again this is krautrock like Acid Mothers Temple is krautrock. Three decades later, their love and dedication shines through. Whatever you think of religious cultish hippyish stuff, it's kinda heartening that these guys are still so into it! And we're into it too. What a fantastic reunion. Most mystically recommended!!!
PS for those who want to learn more about Ya Ho Wa, we still have copies of the aforementioned book, The Source.... look up our review elsewhere on this site.
MPEG Stream: "Yod Hey Vau Hey"
MPEG Stream: "Raga Nova"

YAHOWHA 13 The Operetta (Swordfish) cd 17.98
For those of you for whom a 13-cd box set ain't enough, here's a previously unreleased album now on cd by everyone's favorite freaky '70s communal acid-rock ensemble, the infamous Ya Ho Wha 13 lead by Ya Ho Wah aka Father Yod (long since deceased in a Hawaiian hang gliding accident, God rest his beard)! Recorded in a warehouse in Marin County just north of San Francisco in 1975, the cassette tape now found on this cd somehow survived for 30 years before recently being discovered and released (licensed from The Source Foundation) so that now you can hear Yod, Sunflower, Octavius, Pythias and Djin get down with some wild garagey psych-rock religion. It's taken us some time to absorb this, and review it... after all, it's not every day one listens to an "Operetta of Sun Water Air Earth and YOU!" as it says here.
Could the first track possibly be a prequel to "Anarchy In the UK"? Sounds kinda like it at first, all slowed-down and damaged, with some weird-ass vocals... This is some shambolic, spontaneous, lo-fi stuff indeed, that all of today's 'new weird' psychsters couldn't match no matter what sorta substances they stuff in their bongs. At its demented best, this record reminds us a bit of Michael Yonkers! The energy level wavers and wanders throughout this recording, but the group kicks out a fair amount of righteous raving mayhem amidst their more mellow jamming. And can we mention the wonderful whistling found in track six? Ya Ho Wha whistling. Sweet. It's all very loose and improvised, with a lotta detours and derailments, never all that 'together' even though who or what could be more 'together' than this cultish commune? Few deals are more real than this. Fans of Yod and his flock will happily accept this, and try to find a way to fit in into the God and Hair box as disc 14.
Features enthused liner notes by one who was there, Djin Yhw 64.
MPEG Stream: "track 1"
MPEG Stream: "track 4"

YAKUZA Samsara (Prosthetic) cd 14.98
A weird musical mix here from this brutal metalcore / post rock / uh, jazz fusion? band from Chicago. We were prepared for it, though, having previously liked and reviewed their debut album Way Of The Dead a couple years ago. In that review we said that only weirder metal band on the Century Media roster was Japanse black metal bizarros Sigh (both bands have moved on to new labels since then). Perhaps unsurprisingly, the saxophone player (yes, saxophone player) from Yakuza guested on the most recent Sigh album. And now Yakuza are back with a new full-length, just as heavy and arty as before. They remind us a bit of Iceburn (the vocals, the jazz influence) but heavier, more in the direction of Neurosis and Isis. Massive sonics throughout, with unexpected styles and instrumentation mixed in. The songs here blenderize tech grind mayhem, hardcore screaming, Alice In Chains style clean vocals, chamber music, and smooth jazz chops, and don't make as much a mess of it as you might expect... No, this works for us. If you're into the likes of Fantomas or Kayo Dot we'd imagine this might work for you too. Avant-cellist Fred Lonberg-holm shows up as a guest, as does one of the Mastodon dudes. That maybe tells you something right there.
MPEG Stream: "Cancer Of Industry"
MPEG Stream: "Exterminator"

YAKUZA Way Of The Dead (Century Media) cd 12.98
No, Yakuza aren't Japanese (but the way they blur genre lines is typical of quite a few Japanese underground acts). They're a Chicago-based metalcore band on giant metal label Century Media, but one that's weird enough to get reviewed in The Wire! Imagine Coalesce or Dillinger Escape Plan colliding with the Vandermark Five. Avant-jazz, post-rock, death metal, hardcore, etc. get blenderized here, thankfully without any of the tongue-in-cheek affectations of a Mike Patton or John Zorn project. Weighty grooves worthy of Neurosis find common cause with jazz saxophone soloing, the emotional vocals bleed into droning soundscapes and furious mosh pit frenzies both... Bands like Isis, Engine Kid, Hint and Guapo that also operate(d) at the fringes of metal and avant-rock come to mind. Along with Japan's Sigh, Yakuza are definitely one of the most extreme, inventive, unusual bands on Century Media. If you have any doubts about that, check out the eighth and final track on this disc, "01000011110011"! It's an ambient, electric, instrumental, psychedelic Miles Davis-ish jam that goes on for 43 minutes!! Pretty cool indeed.
RealAudio clip: "Miami Device"
RealAudio clip: "Chicago Typewriter"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Baptism (Tzadik) cd 16.98
Here's the second offering on John Zorn's Tzadik label from Japan's Seiichi Yamamoto, famed guitarist for the Boredoms and Omoide Hatoba. For some reason the blurb on this disc's obi strip says this is Yamamoto's first ever solo guitar recording, but if you've got his NOA 2 solo album on Alchemy you've already heard a disc of his unaccompanied six-string improvs. However, Baptism's obi is quite correct in referencing Derek Bailey and Fred Frith (and Joseph Spence too) in regard to the influences on Yamamoto's avant-garde electric and acoustic guitar playing here. Rather than freaking out on a stage with big amps and lots of effects like he used to do in Boredoms, what Yamamoto is doing here sounds like he's sitting in a chair, bent over his instrument, carefully coaxing from it his chosen notes and near-notes. It's pensive, sometimes quite pretty, and always a little abstract and unpredictable. While there's gotta be a lot of improvisation involved, certain of the tracks were probably written and rehearsed, and I think he works with some overdubs (or loops) to multitrack his playing on occasion. Overall, experimental but not abrasive. I wouldn't mind relaxing on the sofa with a cup of tea some afternoon while Yamamoto sketches out these lovely instrumentals.
MPEG Stream: "Humming"
MPEG Stream: "Step"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Crown of Fuzzy Groove (P-Vine) cd 22.00
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
After his two "NOA" albums of studio and live guitar noise improv for the Alchemy label, Seiichi Yamamoto (you know him as a key member of such bands as the Boredoms, Omoide Hatoba, and Rovo, of course!) now offers up a "proper" solo album of instrumental, electronic groove-based songs. Or shall we say "songs". Knowing Mr. Yamamoto, things aren't in any way normal. Already heading this direction with Rovo, Yamamoto has unleashed his inner Bill Laswell to craft an ambient, trancey album that's not noisy, but full of noises. Flanging effects and skittering percussion lead us into happy, mellow electro hippy jams, not unlike recent Boredoms (aka Voordoms) on E, all moonlight and flowers and smiling cartoon fish splashing translucent in the air. Maybe this melodic, organic, techno-ish music won't be to the liking of old Boredoms fans into their harder, spazzier stuff, but that's not Yamamoto's concern here. He's just getting his fuzzy groove on.
RealAudio clip: "Terminal Mind"
RealAudio clip: "Mantral"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI NOA (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Solo album from Omoide Hatoba/Boredoms guitarist.

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI NOA 2 (Alchemy) cd 21.00
Probably one of the most out-of-the-ordinary releases from Alchemy (known for their consistent output of harsh, abrasive music) is this equally unusual turn from Osaka's Seiichi Yamamoto (guitarist for Boredoms as well as leader of numerous eclectic acts, most notably Omoide Hatoba). NOA 2, instrumentation-wise, is just Yamamoto on guitar -- untreated, and untextured (read: no overdubs), quite the polar opposite of his previous solo effort, NOA, which was full of texture, noise and dynamics. Not to say there are no dynamics here (or noise), as NOA 2 starts off as minimal abstraction a la Derek Bailey -- angular, nontraditional playing style with much restraint and control. The disc progresses through each track to reveal more of the Yamamoto we've become familiar with over the years: free "jazz" freakouts reminiscent of Sonny Sharrock or more accurately, the noise breaks heard on classic Boredoms records like Soul Discharge or Pop Tatari! Where Yamamoto's first NOA disc seemed like the result of much studio crafting, this one sounds more like an evening's improv session. At times sparse, at times speedy, definitely one for "out" guitar fans into the more abstract works of Bailey, Kevin Drumm, Masayuki Takayanagi, Brian Ruryk, that sort of thing.
RealAudio clip: "#12"

YAMAMOTO, SEIICHI Nu Frequency (Tzadik) cd 16.98
The fourth solo album from the undeniably talented and deniably normal Boredoms guitarist (also of Omoide Hatoba, Rovo, etc.). There's less "fuzzy groove" than his last album, more of the abstract textural noisescapes and improv guitarisms heard on his first two solo discs on Alchemy, though with a distinctly "cool" vibe, jazzier than those other records for sure. Definitely makes sense it's on Tzadik, it's as much downtown New York as downtown Osaka. It's a varied menu of avant-delicacies from glitchy gamelan-like tones (generated with guitar?) n' skittery percussion to jazz bass and high-pitched electronics, all sorts of stuff goin' on -- some of it quite pretty. Far from Boredoms insanity/energy however. A nice album, though it probably can (and will) be safely overlooked by those without already a shelf full of Boredoms/Zorn/Tzadik stuff, though you'll never know what you might be missing...
MPEG Stream: "Seed"

YAMASH'TA, STOMU Red Buddha (Spalax) cd 14.98

YAMASUKI SINGERS, THE Le Monde Fabuleux Des (Finders Keepers) cd 19.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Everytime we've played this delicious reissue in the store, people have eagerly inquired, "Oooh, what's this?!" If you dig music that gleefully jumps boundaries and melts together genres with whimsical abandon (but NOT in the current irony-sodden, just-fuckin'-around fashion) -- in this case, a cross-cultural funneling in on the sounds of French Ye Ye Girl pop, far-out Japanese psych and prog influences, some almost-Carpenters level sing-song-y glorious pop, and assorted other vintage Euro-funkiness -- well then, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki is for YOU!
Lovingly mastered from the original tapes by one of the original producers Monsieur Jean Kluger, this is the first time these recordings have been released on cd. Apparently there was originally one album and two singles released under the name The Yamasuki Singers on the French label Biram back in 1971. Needless to say, they've been next to impossible to find for years. If you're eager to get the skinny on Yamasuki, the project's lively history is printed in English in the liner notes, but there's also an added bonus on the back page of the booklet. If your French comprehension is any good, you can find out how to do the dance moves -- le salut, la joie, la peur, la grace, le combat, attaque (translation of this move's description: one assumes karate positions while shouting "caa ooh") and hara kiri!
By today's standards, you might find some of the 'oriental' (ahem, Asian) elements downright corny (the first song begins with a gong, and songs are introduced by a black-belt judo master!), but the sheer exuberance of the performances sweeps away any possibility of scowling criticisms. The sticker on the front proclaims "A fuzzed-out-educational-multi-cultural psych-rock-opera from 1971. Proto-psychedelic hip-hop with overweight drum beats and basslines!" Who's gonna argue with that?! Not us, we particularly appreciate the record label's use of the word "overweight". Yeah, we can hear what they're gettin' at -- the rhythm section is pretty thumpin' and hefty -- but it still made us giggle. Anyways, not to be super nit-picky but although this is indeed a conceptual album, after reading the liner notes we deduced that it's not so much a 'rock opera' per se, but more like a dance performance with lots of choral accompaniments. So who was behind all of this wonderful madness? Two French producer/composers, the aforementioned Kluger and Daniel Vangarde... and various children's choirs singing in Japanese. Ultra bizarre, campy, freaky and outrageous (again, even by today's standards!), we've got a sneaking suspicion that Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks probably saw/heard Yamasuki 'cause there sure are some striking resemblances with their own deliriously fantastic Kimono My House album that came out a few years later in 1974. You might find it sorta Zappa-ish too. Heck, it even spawned a dance move, "The Yamasuki"! Oh yeah, and if the fifth song "AIEAOA" sounds oddly familiar, you might recognize it as a song covered by Bananarama. Apparently the gals heard a version recorded by a band from Zaire (!), and loved it so much that they covered the cover "Aie A Mwana" and made it their first single!
Cup sez "Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Who's gonna argue with that, either?! Recommended, along with the other amazing reissue on the Finders Keepers label we reviewed last week, Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
MPEG Stream: "Okawa"
MPEG Stream: "Aieaoa"
MPEG Stream: "Abana Bakana"

YAMASUKI SINGERS, THE Le Monde Fabuleux Des (Finders Keepers) lp 27.00
Everytime we've played this delicious reissue in the store, people have eagerly inquired, "Oooh, what's this?!" If you dig music that gleefully jumps boundaries and melts together genres with whimsical abandon (but NOT in the current irony-sodden, just-fuckin'-around fashion) -- in this case, a cross-cultural funneling in on the sounds of French Ye Ye Girl pop, far-out Japanese psych and prog influences, some almost-Carpenters level sing-song-y glorious pop, and assorted other vintage Euro-funkiness -- well then, Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki is for YOU!
Lovingly mastered from the original tapes by one of the original producers Monsieur Jean Kluger, this is the first time these recordings have been released on cd. Apparently there was originally one album and two singles released under the name The Yamsuki Singers on the French label Biram back in 1971. Needless to say, they've been next to impossible to find for years. If you're eager to get the skinny on Yamasuki, the project's lively history is printed in English in the liner notes, but there's also an added bonus on the back page of the booklet. If your French comprehension is any good, you can find out how to do the dance moves -- le salut, la joie, la peur, la grace, le combat, attaque (translation of this move's description: one assumes karate positions while shouting "caa ooh") and hara kiri!
By today's standards, you might find some of the 'oriental' (ahem, Asian) elements downright corny (the first song begins with a gong, and songs are introduced by a black-belt judo master!), but the sheer exuberance of the performances sweeps away any possibility of scowling criticisms. The sticker on the front proclaims "A fuzzed-out-educational-multi-cultural psych-rock-opera from 1971. Proto-psychedelic hip-hop with overweight drum beats and basslines!" Who's gonna argue with that?! Not us, we particularly appreciate the record label's use of the word "overweight". Yeah, we can hear what they're gettin' at -- the rhythm section is pretty thumpin' and hefty -- but it still made us giggle. Anyways, not to be super nit-picky but although this is indeed a conceptual album, after reading the liner notes we deduced that it's not so much a 'rock opera' per se, but more like a dance performance with lots of choral accompaniments. So who was behind all of this wonderful madness? Two French producer/composers, the aforementioned Kluger and Daniel Vangarde... and various children's choirs singing in Japanese. Ultra bizarre, campy, freaky and outrageous (again, even by today's standards!), we've got a sneaking suspicion that Ron and Russell Mael of Sparks probably saw/heard Yamasuki 'cause there sure are some striking resemblances with their own deliriously fantastic Kimono My House album that came out a few years later in 1974. You might find it sorta Zappa-ish too. Heck, it even spawned a dance move, "The Yamasuki"! Oh yeah, and if the fifth song "AIEAOA" sounds oddly familiar, you might recognize it as a song covered by Bananarama. Apparently the gals heard a version recorded by a band from Zaire (!), and loved it so much that they covered the cover "Aie A Mwana" and made it their first single!
Cup sez "Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!" Who's gonna argue with that, either?! Recommended, along with the other amazing reissue on the Finders Keepers label we reviewed last week, Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches.
MPEG Stream: "Okawa"
MPEG Stream: "Aieaoa"
MPEG Stream: "Abana Bakana"

YAMATAKA EYE & JOHN ZORN Naninani II (Tzadik) cd 16.98
To certain ears, to fans of fucked-up avant-garde noisy ridiculousness (like us), the names John Zorn and Yamataka Eye separately but especially together are magical ones. To be perfectly honest, I (Allan) would have to credit the two of them, via Zorn's seminal genre-gargling "jazz" group Naked City for which Eye vocalised, for helping me on the way towards first experiencing some of the really fundamental, now-long-time-fave artists of my personal musical pantheon...(Eye's band) the Boredoms, then the Ruins, and from thence the whole Japanese noise (and psych, and prog) scene... So this disc is for folks like me/you/us. The extreme sax of Zorn, the extreme vocals of Eye, the additional extreme musical imaginings of both of 'em, combined on one crazy disc, the follow-up to their previous Naninani album on Tzadik from about nine years ago...wow, has it been that long? The obi strip on this cd points out that Eye and Zorn have been occasional musical collaborators for about twenty years now, having first met in Japan in 1986! So yeah, good thing we weren't holding our breath for this one. But it had to happen. And it holds up with the first Naninani (though, there's no beating "Bad Hawkwind") and their psuedo-historical disc of cantorial-inspired singing Zohar as well. The tracks here are quite diverse -- the first sounds like hysterical foreign children trapped in some physics experiment, while others are textural/drone experiments or are more overtly sax/jazz oriented freekouts. But even in a blindfold test, after hearing a few tracks fans of the duo should have no trouble guessing who is (ir)responsible for this.
MPEG Stream: "Fuckxotica"
MPEG Stream: "Bar Time With Eno"

YAMATAKA, EYE Re...Remix? Remix Works By Yamataka Eye (Shock City) cd 36.00
Boredoms fans!! Bandleader Eye Yamataka, when not conducting the Boredoms themselves through thunderous drum-circle tranceouts, has a sideline in doing remixes for other artists, incorporating the same mega dosage of percussive craziness, throbbing rhythm, and swerve-y turntablist glitch that you'd find spilling forth from the most way-out Boredoms tracks. If you picked up Lindstrom's Contemporary Fix remix ep that we listed a couple weeks back you've heard a good example of Eye's handiwork. This Japan-only import disc brings together a dozen other of his best recent remix projects, the raw material coming from bands both known and unknown (to us). All of 'em -- except for Gong -- being Japanese bands we're pretty sure. Along with Gong, some of the names we do know: OOIOO, Wrench, DJ Pica Pica Pica (who IS Eye, right?), and Ken Ishii's Flare. And the names we don't: Walrus, Zeebra, Atami, Black Drop The Bomb, NXS, Boat, and one more we can't figure out (it's written in Japanese). Given the headspinning EYE extreme remix treatment, these artists' disparate tracks sound like they belong together on one disc for sure, he's put his surreal stamp on each of 'em big time. It's a colorful, energetic melange of tribal drumming, barnyard noises, faux ethnic exotica, techno beats, tape manipulations, guitar riffs, and heaps of psychedelic electronic effects.
MPEG Stream: DJ PICA PICA PICA "SPA"
MPEG Stream: GONG "Master Builder"

YAMATU Shurpu Asaru (Ultima Comparatio) cd 14.98

YANAGIDA, HIRO s/t (Skyf Zol) cd 15.98
Japanese seventies psych rock, wild and crazy, from... 1971. Cool! This is the first time we've encountered a reissue of this album, the follow-up to keyboardist Yanagida's well-regarded solo debut Milk Time. It features Kimo Mizutani (on some seriously *piercing* lead fuzz guitar!!) who was a member of legendary weird psych-prog acts Love Live Life +1 and Food Brain along with Yanagida. And also guesting on this album is Joey Smith of Speed, Glue & Shinki and Juan de la Cruz fame (his "doo wop" vocals on the pot-positive love song "My Dear Mary" are worth a chuckle).
This is really all over the place -- we're partial to the heavier instrumental numbers like "The Butcher" and "The Murder In The Midnight" but the gentler, poppier fare like "Always" and "Melancholy" or the flutey "The Skyscraper 42nd F" are enjoyable too. Overall this can be described as proggy, a bit bluesy, Hammond-grooving, and sorta wacky. And again we should mention that there's just a heckuva lot of that aforementioned high-end, ear-canal invading guitar tone from Mizutani. Sounds like a bug zapper, we're diggin' it! Oh, and based on the surface noise, we don't think this is a reissue from the master tapes...
MPEG Stream: "The Butcher"
MPEG Stream: "Fantasia"

YAOTL MICTLAN Guerreros De La Tierra De Los Muertos (American Line) cd 11.98
Yaotl Mictlan are a strange bunch. Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah (by way of Mexico), they play a stark and angular version of brutal buzzing black metal, and share a few members with hateful black horde Ibex Throne.
While the sound of Ibex Throne is more of a hyperspeed humanity-hating violence, the Yaotl Mictlan crew are a bit more diverse in getting their message across. They sing of the ways of the blood thirsty Mayans and the extinct world known as Aztlan and incorporate indigenous instruments from that period such as flutes, bones and drums giving the songs a sort of tribal feel. Even when the band is blasting away, they manage to find ways to mix melody into the din, while the vocalist roars along in Spanish, a painful howl telling telling the tales of a long lost civilization. Damn if it doesn't sound amazing, kind of like a Mexican version of Drudkh or something.
It's that good.
MPEG Stream: "Sexto Sol Aun Esta Naciendo"
MPEG Stream: "Sangre De Vida"
MPEG Stream: "Fuego Rebelde"

YARBROUGH, CAMILLE Iron Pot Cooker (Vanguard) cd 16.98
We're all pretty well acquainted with the genesis of rap in sixties and seventies in the socially conscious (nay, revolutionary) poetry of the Last Poets and Gil Scott Heron. Camille Yarbrough represents nascent hip-hop's femme-flip-side. Effortlessly phasing from poetry to song, Yarbrough's dynamic is matched by guitar player Cornell Dupree and accompanied by clarinet, and all kinds of percussion.

YASUNAO TONE Solo For Wounded CD (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Japanese experimentalist (who was involved with Fluxus way back when) shows how he can make a skipping cd into a thing of beauty, albeit a noisy one. A lot more jarring than Oval...

YAT-KHA Aldyn Dashka (Yat-Kha) cd 15.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The press release for this described Yat-Kha as "Tuvan music -- with a punk rock twist", which doesn't quite get it right so, in an effort to clarify this remark they say elsewhere: "OK it's not the Sex Pistols kind of punk -- think Joy Division", which is even further from the mark. Why they felt the need to compare Yat-Kha with punk rock or Joy Division we're not certain, but it piqued our interest enough to order a few -- and even more copies once we'd heard it. To be sure, though their distributor Harmonia Mundi isn't the most accurate in describing them, the throat singing of Yat-Kha surely is a looong way from that Smithsonian-Folkways' 1987 release "Tuva: Voices from the Center of Asia", the one that got the whole world hot for Tuvan throat singing. The music of Yat-Kha is much more akin to blues based rock than either the Pistols or Joy Division, but that doesn't really cover it enough! Singer and band leader Albert Kuvezin has a deep, growling bass voice that would make the most accomplished death metal cookie monster vocalist blush. His voice is so impressive that Brian Eno, when judging at the Alma-Aty "Voices of Asia" festival in 1990, made up a prize on the spot for Kuvezin! (Eno would probably also be impressed by the positively Frippertronic sounding guitar solo that surfaces on this disc's "Khary Kyigy"!) Combining both traditional Tuvan instruments (fiddles, drums, banjo-like lute) and the Western flavor of electric guitar and bass, plus fancy recording studios and creative engineers, Yat-Kha produce some damn pretty songs that rock a fair amount as well... And they're on a US tour right now (no SF show, unfortunately), creating an improvised live soundtrack to a 1928 Soviet silent movie classic called "Storm Over Asia", filmed in their Tuvan homeland. Wish we could see/hear that! But, at least we've got this disc to enjoy, an instant and unusual throat-singing favorite.
RealAudio clip: "Oy Adym"
RealAudio clip: "Chorumal Bodum"
RealAudio clip: "Khary Kyigy"

YAT-KHA Tuva.rock (Yat-Kha) cd 28.00

YAT-KHA Yenisei-Punk (Global Music Centre) cd 15.98

YATHA SIDHRA A Meditation Mass (Brain) cd 21.00
Holy shit!!! This has to be our krautrock (re)discovery of the year. Definitely contender for krautrock reissue of the year!! We have been listening to this NONSTOP since it came in. We had heard OF Yatha Sidhra, a German group whose only record, A Meditation Mass, was released in 1974, but until now we had never actually heard it. Apparently the record was massive flop which is utterly shocking hearing this now. Everything we could want in a krautrock record, loooong tracks, simple tribal percussion, flute all over the place, simple effected guitar, crooned almost chantlike vocals, squalls of totally heavy super distorted freaked out psychedelia, wild drumming, tons of effects, as well as long stretches of tranquil drift and fluttery folky shimmer.
The opening movement of the Mass begins with all manner of rumbles and drones, before it slips into a lilting laid back groove, all soft guitar curlicues, spare percussion, warm languid bass, and flittering flute, the track drifts lazily, occasionally erupting into ultra brief psychedelic blowouts, the flute howling, a cacophony of frenzied drumming, only to settle right back into the mellow drift. The second movement is a little more active, the drums more propulsive, piano draped over deep dubby bass, and the flute fired up and swooping wildly, jazzy but still pretty krautrocky.
The third movement is probably our favorite, clocking in at 12 minutes, the song starts out by returning to the opening groove, loping bass, fluttery flute, spare guitar, the drums a bit more aggressive, some angular guitar solos, all wrapped up in tripped out FX, eventually the song shifts into a more upbeat shuffle, the drums getting wilder and more chaotic, the guitar going nuts, spitting out psych leads all over the place, until the band locks into a serious blowout, the guitar white hot, the drums freaking out, the bass swooping back and forth, everything doused in so many effects the whole track seems to crumple and crumble under the weight, flanger and phaser and echo have everything totally tripped out and druggy, the drums and flute engage in a wild battle, a free jazz krautrock psychedelic frenzy, before finally simmering down, and slipping into a super soft lazy lope, the flute floating over a deep bass and minimal drum workout, finishing off with another drum vs. flute freakout, everything again dripping with echo and delay, as of the whole band was slipping deeper and deeper, moving further and further away.
The final movement, revisits the opening, the band slip smoothly back into that original groove, the guitars way more effected, the drums a bit more tribal, the flute still drifting above it all, the whole band locked into a totally dreamy, blissed out krautdrone drift, with the instruments dropping out one by one, eventually leaving just the guitar, wreathed in effects to shimmer and finally fade out.
So freaking amazing. Boggles the mind that these guys, and this record aren't spoken of in hushed reverence and worshipped along with Can and Faust and all the other krautrock legends. Hopefully that will change with this reissue, and even if it doesn't, at least we know how mysterious and magical A Meditation Mass really is...
Packaged in a super spare digipak, with a big book of liner notes (in English and German) and a bunch of photos.
MPEG Stream: "Part 1"
MPEG Stream: "Part 3"

YATTERING Murder's Concept (Season of Mist) cd 14.98
Extreme death metal (very intense and dense) in the vein of masters Cryptopsy, from these European grunt-grind shredders. Violent art, released on a label from which we have come to expect such good things (as they have brought us Anata, ...And Oceans, the new Mayhem, etc.).

YAU, R.H.Y. The Hidden Tongue (Ground Fault) cd 11.98
With his early recording "The Hidden Tongue," San Francisco noise composer Randy Yau conceptualizes an alternate perspective on how the physicality of sound is to be perceived. Instead of assigning a value to sound such as "man-made" or "natural," Yau proposes that sound only has two states: existence and absence. The implications of Yau's hypothesis are interesting, yet set up a conceptual groundwork that's difficult to articulate as a piece of sound art. Yau stages these two states as a loud, violent, staccato noise fragments on one hand, and nearly empty passages on the other. With jarring noise bricolage splayed across his album in an almost random factor, the very quiet passages become that which is nerve-wracking as nervous precedents for the blasted screams of incendiary distortion. "The Hidden Tongue" does emerge as an expressive piece of noise manifestation, even if its conceptual agenda is tough to find with the music.

YAU, RANDY Coagulation: Selected Works 1996-2000 (Auscultare) cd 11.98
"I guess I had a lot of terrible relationships," snickers noise artist Randy Yau as an apology for the electric violence that explodes from this anthology of early works. Ah, yes, but so much great art has come from the pain of shitty break-ups and romance gone horribly wrong. Spanning his college days at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Coagulation features some of most explosive, nauseating, and abject sounds to pass through the Aquarius doors. Considering that Merzbow, Whitehouse, and Bastard Noise are frequently stocked items here, such hyperbole should not be taken lightly. Where Yau differs from his power violence / extreme noise contemporaries is in focus upon the body. His recent investigations into low frequencies vibrations within any given architectural environment engage a similar poetry, however, in a much more benevolent way. Coagulation is anything but benevolent, purposefully jumping from harsh noise to silence and back to hyper-distortion within just a few moments. These sounds hit you like a ton of bricks, letting up just enough to let you catch your breath, and then the assault immediately begins again. Yau's start 'n' stop technique immediately sets him apart from the neverending torrents of sound from many of his contemporaries.
A word of warning, do not plan on eating a meal during or after listening to Coagulation, as one track in particular the homage to Schimpfluch's Dave Philips entitled "Intermission" finds Yau purposefully vomiting over and over again. I think I turned green; but then again, has Merzbow ever done that? No fuckin' way.
MPEG Stream: "Intermission"
MPEG Stream: "I've Hurt You Today... I'll Do It Again"
MPEG Stream: "Scherzo 781003"

YBO2 Greatest Hits Volume 1 (SSE Communications) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before starting Ruins, Tatsuya Yoshida played in this unusual 80's avant-progrock band, along with K.K. Null of Zeni Geva, original Ruins bassist Hideki Kawamoto, and mainman (on bass, vocals, & keyboards) Kitamura Masashi. These two volumes collect the "greatest hits" from their many records--a bunch of weirdness, all dark, emotional, complex and heavy stuff, including an interpretation of a Paul Simon tune! Recommended to all fans of Ruins!

YBO2 Greatest Hits Volume 2 (SSE Communications) cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Before starting Ruins, Tatsuya Yoshida played in this unusual 80's avant-progrock band, along with K.K. Null of Zeni Geva, original Ruins bassist Hideki Kawamoto, and mainman (on bass, vocals, & keyboards) Kitamura Masashi. These two volumes collect the "greatest hits" from their many records--a bunch of weirdness, all dark, emotional, complex and heavy stuff, including an interpretation of a Paul Simon tune! Recommended to all fans of Ruins!

YCOSAHATERON La Nuit (Baphomet) cd 14.98

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Fever To Tell (Interscope) cd 15.98
After a couple of insanely hyped singles which altogether clocked in at about 18 minutes total, New York's garage-punk trio The Yeah Yeah Yeahs have mustered enough material to warrant their debut, full-length album "Fever To Tell." As expected the car-crash of thuggish rockabilly licks and punky-disco grooves guided by vocalist Karen O's snarling sexuality and blackened humor are present and sound an awful lot like a female fronted Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, or perhaps more appropriately Boss Hog when they were good. However, there's only about 15 minutes worth of sneering rock 'n' roll on the album; and the remainder of the album comes as a huge, but certainly not unwelcome surprise, as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs round out the album with a handful of slower, darker, and sentimental ballads. These later tracks are not unlike the recent works of PJ Harvey, transforming raucous punked-up energy into emotive songsmithery; however, they may not be exactly what fans of the previous EPs would expect. Hey, don't be discouraged though, "Fever To Tell" still has those 15 minutes of possessed blues to match those previous EPs.
MPEG Stream: "Date With The Night"
MPEG Stream: "Maps"

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Is Is (Interscope) cd ep 5.98
Is Is is the follow-up to Yeah Yeah Yeahs' startlingly different Show Your Bones album. If you happen to think that it in turn sounds starkly different from that album, and more like the hot'n'bothered YYYs of old, well... good ears, my friend! These songs were actually written back in 2004 while the band was on tour in support of their Fever To Tell album. Four of the five were previously available on the Tell Me What Rockers To Swallow dvd (the exception is the track "Isis"). That explains things a bit, doesn't it? On this ep the trio sounds downright wild, loose and furious... a lot of what we thought was sorely missing from SYB. Karen O rocks and rages at the top of her lungs. You almost expect a fist to burst through your speakers. On those few moments when she calms down a little (on the song "Down Boy"), her voice glints with her more familiar, and very Siouxsie-esque throaty inflections. Guitarist Nick Zinner and drummer Brian Chase are right there with her throwing a bunch of their own rawk punches left, right and center. Raw art-punky good.
MPEG Stream: "Rocker To Swallow"
MPEG Stream: "Isis"

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Machine (Touch & Go) cd ep 5.98
Three songs, seven minutes. Yeah Yeah Yeah's aren't messin' around. The hot-shit New Yorkers pack every minute full of gritty, high energy, lo-fi, post-glam rockn'fuckn'roll. Singer Karen O seemed to bely a little vulnerability in between shrieks on their debut e.p., but here she exudes confidence. YYY's would be an ideal band to see in someone's packed living room; too bad their lightning fast rise to fame deprives us of that experience! This single is another teaser before the release of their debut full length, expected soon-ish.
RealAudio clip: "Machine "
RealAudio clip: "Graveyard"

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Machine (Touch & Go) 10" 6.98
Three songs, seven minutes. Yeah Yeah Yeah's aren't messin' around. The hot-shit New Yorkers pack every minute full of gritty, high energy, lo-fi, post-glam rockn'fuckn'roll. Singer Karen O seemed to bely a little vulnerability in between shrieks on their debut e.p., but here she exudes confidence. YYY's would be an ideal band to see in someone's packed living room; too bad their lightning fast rise to fame deprives us of that experience! This single is another teaser before the release of their debut full length, expected soon-ish.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS s/t (Touch & Go) cd ep 10.98
The self released five-track ep by up and coming Brooklyn trio is now available on Touch and Go in both vinyl and cd formats. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are going to give the comparatively more famous White Stripes a run for their money. When she's not absolutely screaming, Karen O, the girl lead singer, wails with a strong gravelly voice and that trembly warble the Riot Grrl vocalists / Kim Gordon also make use of. The drums are admirably stripped down and freshly unpredictable, often leaving out downbeats to interesting effect, and the guitar is angular and sharp. Very similar appeal as White Stripes, so give it a listen. Yum.
RealAudio clip: "Bang"
RealAudio clip: "Our Time"

YEAH YEAH YEAHS s/t (Touch & Go) 12" 10.98
The self released five-track ep by up and coming Brooklyn trio is now available on Touch and Go in both vinyl and cd formats. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are going to give the comparatively more famous White Stripes a run for their money. When she's not absolutely screaming, Karen O, the girl lead singer, wails with a strong gravelly voice and that trembly warble the Riot Grrl vocalists / Kim Gordon also make use of. The drums are admirably stripped down and freshly unpredictable, often leaving out downbeats to interesting effect, and the guitar is angular and sharp. Very similar appeal as White Stripes, so give it a listen. Yum.

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Show Your Bones (Interscope) cd 15.98
A kinder gentler YYY's can be found on their follow up to Fever To Tell, the record which made them international superstars. We are not averse to bands softening their sound as long as they are also finding new more subtle, interesting and pleasing ways to express themselves. The moment Show Your Bones begins it becomes clear that this is a shinier glossier more pop affair. There are a few moments of the more rocking YYY's scattered throughout the disc but this is much more about their full on pop leanings. The first song (and many others on this album) sounds remarkably like it came from Tegan & Sara's latest album So Jealous. Indeed these catchy girl-sung tunes might lure some fans over from those sisters' camp. Her vocals also recall those appealing '80s female singers such as Debbie Harry, Dale Bozzio, Siouxsie and Martha Davis of The Motels. Perhaps Karen O and co. are targeting the teenage girl population? Not sure, but these are certainly some toned down and tidily groomed YYYs who've made themselves totally presentable for the masses. Really, these tunes are absolutely ripe for some John Hughes movie soundtrack!
MPEG Stream: "Gold Lion"
MPEG Stream: "Mysteries"