[ aquarius records catalogue

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 551 through 600 of 3202.

Both Shadows of Light and Archive had been made available in the '80s as collections of Bauhaus' videos and live recordings; and now they've been compiled onto a single DVD for your viewing pleasure. Shadows of Light originally featured all of the videos Bauhaus made, including the particularly grotesque chiaroscuro of "Mask" as well as four live tunes recored in stark black & white at the Old Vic in London. Archive fills in the remainder of the live material shot at that Old Vic show, albeit framed by a curious vignette of a Victorian gentleman being pursued by a couple of no-good thugs. Nonetheless, Peter Murphy stands out as a vampish hybrid of David Bowie and Iggy Pop during these outstanding live versions of "The Passion Of Lovers," "Dark Entries," and "Stigmata Martyr." Essential for anybody bit by the '80s revival bug.

Baumann & Koek, who they? Well, what if those two names were Schulze & Schnitzler, Rother & Dinger, or Moebius & Roedelius, would you be excited then? If so, check this out: Wolfgang Baumann & Ata Koek were a Bavarian kosmiche electronic duo, into Krafterk and Tangerine Dream, whose obscure 1979 album has just been rediscovered and reissued by krautrock experts Bureau B. Total 'Berlin School' swoosh and twinkle, with melancholic sweeps of synth, diaphanous drones, and helpings of propulsive rhythmic pitter-patter here and there, on tracks like "Gamabol" (which begins with mysterious voices swathed in radio static and Morse code bleeps, before building into spacey hypnotic whoosh, cyclic and repetitive). Some Eastern touches are present too, perhaps 'cause Koek was born in Istanbul. Yup, another unknown, long lost kraut gem a la the recently reviewed Clara Mondshine and Rudiger Lorenz discs - y'know, there are many bands today trying to sound like this sort of stuff, but you wonder if they should even bother when records like this are still out there to find?

MPEG stream: Yarabbim
MPEG stream: TD-Mem
MPEG stream: Gamabol

A total meltdown between Stephin Merritt's Future Bible Heroes and Momus' melodramatic baroque-pop. Heavy duty dance beats with pouty Brit boy and candy-coated girl vocals. For fans of Pulp too.

This week, we've got two recently released cds from Jussi of Circle's Ektro label. They couldn't be more different (though both are cool). One of 'em, Leviticus, is a reissue of a melodic '80s Swedish Christian heavy metal artifact. Then there's this, Baxter Stockman (not person, a band). Out of the present-day Finnish underground, Baxter Stockman are a trio making damaged (and damaging) artpunk that's harsh but regimented, a disciplined noiserock attack whose pounding rhythms and vicious guitar skree should cause a pleasant ringing in your ears, during and after. Ektro references Rapeman, Swans, and G.G. Allin in describing this. Dunno about the latter (we haven't seen or smelled 'em live) but the first two make sense; there's definitely something very Albini about this for sure, also ugly '80s downtown NYC pigfuckery, yeah. With relentless battery, ranting vokills, throbbing bass, cameo "junkelectronix", and monomaniacal riffs worthy of KK Null's Zeni Geva, this is quite a compelling, claustrophobic debut from a band that must rank amongst Helsinki's sickest (and not just 'cause they came up with the clever song title "Poltergeist Pussy").

MPEG stream: Punter
MPEG stream: Labour
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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Mostly known for his exotica work, Les Baxter did compose a few stirring horror scores. "Black Sunday" and "Baron Blood" (both from the early 60s) are blood-and-thunder compositions for dissonant chords of cymbals, timpani, and brass. According to the liner notes: "It scarred a generation."

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. "Whatever caused this, some said that during this particular passage they thought they saw Satan materialize - others were not sure just who the spiritual image was, but I feel I must warn those who might have a fear of the supernatural of the possibility of such an occurance" - Les Baxter, referring to the unexplained mysteries which were perported to occur when listening to his scores of "Cry of the Banshee". Truely scary stuff. Also featured on this disc are his score for "The Edgar Allan Poe Suite" and John Cacavas' "Horror Express."

You usually know that you are either an obsessive music addict or totally eccentric or hell both when Les Baxter records start making their way into your collection. And we are the first to admit that most of us fit in those categories, so yes, of course we love the king of exotica, Les Baxter. Most of you are familiar with Baxter but maybe you didn't know that he was the in house conductor and arranger for Captiol records in the 50's making hits for folks like Nat King Cole. Always searching for new instruments, bigger orchestras and sounds filled with exclamation points and a whole lot of flavor, Baxter became a perfect fit for motion pictures as he would go on to score over 120 films with his specialty being Roger Corman films and teenage exploitation flicks. The Fruit Of Dreams combines two of his late 50s and early 60's albums on which he travels to "exotic" places in the world and brings those sounds back to people's suburban living rooms. Something so totally charming about the naivety and dramatic flair of these recordings. With titles like "Hong Kong Cable Car" , "Harem Silks From Bombay", "The Feathered Serpent of the Aztecs" you know this is that great over the top exploitive stylistic travelogue that you can't help but get swept up by. Brilliant and twisted minds like George Kuchar, John Waters, Beck and Jello Biafra all count themselves as unabashed Les Baxter fans...and so do we.

MPEG stream: Hong Kong Cable Car
MPEG stream: Harem Silks From Bombay
MPEG stream: Pyramid Of The Sun

Previously unreleased. From an old tv show.

Oslo meets the Bay Area in this cross-continental collaboration, first brought to our attention by bay area drummer extraordinaire Jacob Heule, who also tears it up in both Basshaters and Ettrick, two bands particularly known for their explosive live shows and improvisational finesse. The Bay / Oslo Mirror Trio chronicles an exceptionally fierce meeting of 3 Norwegian improvisers (Guro Skumsnes Moe, Havard Skaset, and Kyrre Laastad) and 3 Bay Area improvisers (Jacob Heule, Ava Mendoza and Tony Dryer). Don't be fooled by the "trio" tag, really this is a 6 person collaboration that covers all kinds of sonic territory. The disc opens with low electronic rumbles, metallic drones and shimmering percussion that chime and corrode into demonic clatter and wailing distortion. The instrumentation becomes less mysterious as the album unfolds, spastic drum fills flutter beneath walls of guitar feedback and head-splitting noise, sizzling electronics burn holes in amps and glimpses of double bass peer through the mix. While we definitely love the moments of chaotic bombastic whirl, we can also hear the group's careful attention to space and detail as moments of quiet restraint offer shelter from the storm. So nice! An impressive showcase of modern improv, we can't get enough!

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If we didn't know better, we'd think that Australia and New Zealand were both made up of nothing but experimental musicians and dudes who run cd-r labels. How else to explain the seemingly endless supply of weird and wonderful music coming to us from those two places. Here's another new name to add to the rapidly expanding roster of enigmatic soundmakers from down under, Blarke Bayer. Sharing a label with US noisemakers Yellow Swans and Aussie powerviolence outfit Agents Of Abhorrence, Bayer aligns himself more with the processed guitar soundscape school of folks like Fennesz, Ambarchi, and the like. Gauzy strips of sound, layered into drifting waves of gentle feedback, warm fuzzy swells of muted guitar growl, distant keening melodic fragments, occasionally disrupted by cavernous resonant rumbles or tiny glitchy squalls, but for the most part, The End Of You is one long languorous sea of tranquility, a washed out dream world of layered guitar warmth and shimmery ambience. Quite beautiful. LIMITED TO 200 COPIES! Packaged in a cool mini 3" printed gatefold sleeve.

MPEG stream: The End Of You

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Even better than their Earthbeat album that we recently ballyhooed about, here also is the debut album from Be Forest! Several of us here discovered this album a while back, forking over substantial sums of cash for the privilege of getting ahold of this Italian shoegazing goth quartet; but we've solved the distribution riddle, and now can happily offer this album to you, O beloved aQuarius customer! Be Forest hails from the coastal village of Pesaro, whose cultural sleepiness seems only trumped by the substantial number of retired folk who live there. Such is the well-worn recipe for rock, punk, metal, goth, noise, aktionism, and whatever else might strike your fancy: take a bunch of bored teenagers with grandiose ideas / immaculate taste and give them instruments... interesting things should happen. Be Forest is the only band we've heard from what's been dubbed the 'Pesaro-scene', but on the strength of their albums, we're curious to hear what else might be happening alongside these Italian miserablists. In the aptly named album Cold, you'll hear the ghosts of The Cure, Slowdive, Modern English, The Chameleons UK, and pretty much any of the bands that would have inspired half of the Captured Tracks roster; but Be Forest pen songs and create an atmosphere that is WAY better. No drum machines to be found here; Be Forest's Erica Terenzi lays an impressive backbeat on every track, augmented by those gated-reverb tricks that Martin Hannett developed with Joy Divsion that are still being used today as necessary spaciousness and ethereal ghostliness within the goth songbook. Terenzi and Costanza Delle Rose share the vocal duties in Be Forest, with their darkly seductive inflections seemingly indistinguishable. Songs like "Dust" and "Thrill" sparkle with brightly ringing tones over tribal percussive patterns foreshadowing Be Forest's second album Earthbeat; but it's the gloom 'n' doom pop of "Screaming Prayer", "Buck & Crow", and especially the magnificent "Florence" that are the highlights here. The latter track follows the Robert Smith / Simon Gallup goth-pop formula of big thrumming basslines and majestic pop-hook crescendos that could have slipped easily on to Disintegration or Pornography. One of those albums that has been stuck in the stereo here at aQuarius, and for very good reason!

They say a lot of things, whoever they might be. They've said that the '60s are back. They've said that '70s are back. They've LONG said that the '80s were back (beginning in 1992 or so); and now, they say that the '90s are back. Whatever. A good sound and a good tune are universal, and timeless, and Be Forest harken back to the best parts of the 4AD / Creation sound from the late '80s / early '90s, doing so with great songwriting, and not just the beautiful patina of that sound. This Italian band has studied their history quite well, picking up many of the songwriting tropes of the era they so adore. It's easy to hear in Be Forest all the things that Budgie did right in terms of creating that rollicking, ritualistic backbeat for Siouxsie & The Banshees. There's plenty of the bright sparkling guitar lines that harken back to what Johnny Marr brought to the Smiths as well as the spiralling melodies that could spin out of the shoegazing miserablism of Slowdive and Ride. And yes, all of these things in and of themselves are worthy of investigating. How many times have we jumped up and down for the dreamy gloom pop of any given Slumberland / Captured Tracks band (e.g. Heavenly Beat, Girls Names, Violins, Diiv, etc.)? But in Earthbeat, Be Forest has added to the equations, some impossibly memorable tunes, which is really at the core of what makes this band so great, lead by the chanteuse Costanza Delle Rose, who helps push the group's sound slighty more toward a more modest version of the swoonsome torch songs of Beach House. Great stuff!

MPEG stream: Airwaves
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On the last list we raved about Jolie Holland's debut album Catalpa, but well before she recorded Catalpa, she did time as a sidekick/auxilliary member of Canadian bluegras folk outfit the Be Good Tanyas, providing fiddle, guitar, vocals, arranging and songwriting (her song "The Littlest Birds" appeared on Blue Horse before it showed up on Catalpa!) Folks who dug Holland's solo record will find so much to love here. A lush blend of guitar, mandolin, banjo, electric violin and double bass. Traditional bluegrass infused with modern songsmithery and utterly enchanting vocals weaving strange harmonies, at once classic and traditional but at the same time ghostly and otherworldly, making these songs sound like they were pulled from the ether, from some abstract time in the past. Lilting and forlorn, melancholy and dreamily perfect.

MPEG stream: Rain And Snow
MPEG stream: The Littlest Birds
MPEG stream: Broken Telephone

Following their fine Blue Horse debut album, the Be Good Tanyas' second full length offers a well selected mix of traditional numbers, originals and covers. On Chinatown the group, perhaps most notable for the very early membership of Ms Jolie Holland (whose since pursued a solo path), prove they've got nothing to prove. While many folks seem hell-bent on comparing the two, each glows warmly luminous in its own right (or shall we say light?). That's not to say that fans of one won't find much to love in the other, but this ain't no competition, is it? Embrace 'em all as their music embraces you! Effortlessly conjures visions of old tyme potbelly stoves, porchswings, corncob pipes and pitchers of lemonade.

MPEG stream: Waiting Around To Die
MPEG stream: It's Not Happening

Oh how we adore those Be Good Tanyas! Their first two albums Chinatown and Blue Horse hold solid places in our hearts (well, at least Andee and Cup's). Both albums came out ages ago, leaving us craving more for years! Primarily known stateside for far too long as Jolie Holland's former band, with the aptly titled Hello Love the Canadian country folk trio gracefully glide out of Holland's shadow and into their own rustic autumnal spotlight. That said, Holland does make a brief vocal appearance on the eighth track, their cover of Mississippi John Hurt's "Nobody Cares For Me". They also do wonderful versions of "A Thousand Tiny Pieces", a song by SF's dear Sean Hayes and "For The Turnstiles" by Neil Young. They're definite album highlights. Not so sure about their cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" tho' which you'll find hidden at the end of the album. Oops, sorry to blow the surprise, but maybe they should've kept it hidden?! An aside: Kinda burns our biscuits that an artist signed to Nettwerk Records (i.e, an international and pretty much 'major' label who could buy them the moon tenfold) is getting Canadian government funding grants while unsigned, empty pocketed independent candidates go empty handed. Geez, that just doesn't sit right. But regardless, a super pretty twangy delight.

MPEG stream: Human Thing
MPEG stream: For The Turnstiles
MPEG stream: A Thousand Tiny Pieces

According to No Colours, the strangely named Be Persecuted are in fact the first Chinese black metal band. Not sure how one determines if a band is in fact the first from a country, especially one as big as China, but Be Persecuted are certainly the first Chinese black metal band -we've- ever heard, and I.I. is really pretty fantastic. Strange song titles like "Painful Assemble" and "Be Resented For Livelihood" barely hint at the strange mournful melancholia inside. Beginning with a very Eastern style synth intro, the band launch into some blasting buzzing super grim classic sounding black metal. But then the keyboards surface, and for the rest of the record seem to always be lurking in the background giving the sound a very creepy sorrowful vibe. And the distortion. Not sure what these guys use for distortion pedals, but holy shit, it's some of the harshest and thickest fuzzy hiss we've heard in ages. Like Darkthrone and Burzum if they ran their guitars through a thousand hair dryers set on high. The best tracks are the more midtempo numbers, where the band totally excel in finding their own Burzumic path, like on the 13 minute "Wilderness", a slow loping buzz drenched midtempo plod, as depressive and doomy as any BM we've heard. But the track that seals the deal is "Some How", which is the only song here actually sung in Chinese, and that begins with a lovely lilting acoustic guitar, gently fingerpicking a melancholy melody, before the distortion and drums kick in, but the song doesn't really change, it's the same lilting lope, just wreathed in a dense field of crackling buzzing distortion. It's almost like some slow core rock ballad but dipped in a boiling cauldron of Burzum! Pretty weird for sure, but so fucking cool. The record winds down with a reprise of the intro, only this time the notes are dirty and distorted, grinding and buzzing through the same melody but with a completely different result... Awesome!

MPEG stream: Suicide Forest
MPEG stream: Painful Assemble
MPEG stream: Be Resented For Livelihood

Are you sad that the Yeah Yeah Yeah's seem to have gone all '80s pop? Still looking for that blistering loud, fast and fun rock sound with some strong commanding female vocals at its helm? Then Be Your Own Pet have got your fix for sure. Creating quite a buzz in the last couple years with their full throttle rock sound planted firmly in punk rock as well as in the garage. This definitely had us thinking a bit of the glory of The Gits, a young PJ Harvey doing Stooges covers, and yeah, the urgency of the YYY's on their first ep and full length. They've won the heart of Thurston Moore whose Ecstatic Peace has been putting out their records and this is one of those rare instances where the hype seems to make sense as this is some great rockin' fun.

MPEG stream: Bunk Trunk Skunk
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We've been enjoying quite a nice run of summer fever here in SF. Lots of outdoor adventures, picnics in the park, trips to the beach, fresh fruit to eat, naps with the windows open. So we thought while we've been indulging in all of summer's glory we would take the time to actually list one of our all time favorite Beach Boys records, even though its not a new reissue or anything. In fact it's two albums on one cd. While of course Pet Sounds always gets lauded as the Beach Boys' masterpiece, we think that Friends might be a contender for one of their greatest records as well. Every single track on Friends is pure pop perfection! You can hear the next several decades of smart pop music foreshadowed in the songs on Friends. "Busy Doin' Nothin" is like the sweet and quirky song Beck is still trying to make, "Little Bird" sounds like one of Yo La Tengo's most bittersweet numbers and the amazing instrumental "Diamond Head" with its reverb and ocean wave sounds provides the sonic blueprint for one of our favorite records of the last year, Panda Bear's Person Pitch. Not one clunker in the batch, Friends is truly one of the greatest pop records of all time! While it would be worth it just for Friends, this two-for-one cd also contains 20/20, the Beach Boys' last album of the '60s. It's got a couple misses but wow are there some amazing musical moments to be found. You can definitely hear some bits and pieces that would end up as part of the soon-to-come masterpiece Smile, as well as some of the best songs Dennis Wilson wrote and sang for the band. It's also the album that features an uncredited (for obvious reasons) contribution from Charles Manson. He and Dennis Wilson had become friends before the Tate / LaBianca killings and as a gift he gave Dennis a song "Never Learn Not To Love" which was simply credited to Dennis after the Mason murders went down. The collection also includes 5 bonus tracks and really nice track by track commentaries in the liner notes. The perfect music to make this an endless summer (as is, umm, well, probably the BB's Endless Summer too). If you don't have these Beach Boys albums we can't recommend these enough. Pop perfection!

MPEG stream: Friends
MPEG stream: Diamond Head
MPEG stream: I Went To Sleep
MPEG stream: Never Learn Not To Love

Yes, the elusive (but not as elusive as Smile, the legendary unreleased/unfinished Brian Wilson masterpiece that this was released in the stead of) Smiley Smile album most notably contains the summertime anthem "Good Vibrations", but it's actually the second song entitled "Vegetables" that's worth the price of admission alone. An absurd ode to their absolute veggie love featuring some sonic embellishment - read: chewing - from none other than Paul McCartney. Add "She's Goin' Bald" to the equation and is there any question what mad pop scientists the Beach Boys were? We've never understood the fuss over Smile, what they actually released here was GREAT. Now, throw in another whole album, namely Wild Honey, plus six bonus tracks and woo-hooo... you need this!

While the recently resurrected Beach Boys masterpiece, Smile!, was conceived by Brian Wilson as "a Teenage Symphony to God", we always thought that description better described Wilson's first major master stroke, Pet Sounds, an incomparable combination of heartfelt bittersweet emotion and complex pop orchestration. Classic songs like "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)", "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" and of course, "God Only Knows" were the first real deliveries of promise set up by game-changer early hits like "In My Room", and "Warmth of The Sun" that showed the band could forge deeper into complicated emotional territory than its goodtimes-beach-fun persona would suggest. Even the two instrumentals, "Let's Go Away for Awhile" and the title track are some of the best rainy day soundtrack material imaginable. An absolutely perfect record, nice to have it back in stock on vinyl!

The newly released, highly anticipated Smile Sessions are finally here and it's been an occasion for all sorts of debate and nerd-ery among us. First off, some of us have been obsessed with the record for years, having acquired various bootlegs, the recent Brian Wilson re-do, as well as tracing the seeds of the Smile sessions throughout the trajectory of the later Beach Boys records (which are some of our favorites). While our bootleg versions always had the main song cycle separated from the various shorter interludes and segues that connected them, the Brian Wilson re-do saw the potential of what could have been, yet it still felt like a cover version of what was supposed to be the real thing. Now what the Smile Sessions tries to do, and for the most part succeeds in doing, is taking the blueprint Wilson made with the re-do and marrying the songs and interludes into a solid dazzling whole. The flow of what is understood as the proper album has never sounded better with the rich harmonic vocals, symphonic arrangements and beautifully antiquarian lyricism provided by Van Dyke Parks combined in elaborately layered arrays of epiphanal pop orchestration. It also adds a disc and a half of bonus material, session segments, and stereo mixes of various tracks and interludes left off the main album, which is where the debate among us begins. Scott appreciates the bonus material but really wishes (and this goes for most reissues with bonus material) that they isolated the whole of the album to one disc, so that you really get a sense of the proper album's completion. Starting multiple alternate versions of "Heroes and Villains" (whose lyrical motif is repeated in various forms throughout the record) shortly after "Good Vibrations" ends, mimics the sensation we imagine Brian Wilson probably felt in realizing he couldn't finish the project because it kept endlessly replaying in his head. Andee thinks that the bonus material is the real gold here and just wants to get the elaborate 5 cd/2lp/2x7" version just to geek out on endless takes of "Good Vibrations" and all the rehearsals and studio chatter (and he also thinks that Scott should just learn how to use the stop button on his cd player.). Allan doesn't understand the "lost record" appeal of it all. "What was wrong with Smiley Smile?" Oh, Allan. We're sure plenty of folks will be having their own geeky debates. For instance, why isn't "Cool, Cool Water" included in the main song cycle like it was in the bootlegs, and in Brian Wilson's version (renamed and rewritten as "Blue Hawaii")? Instead it's relegated to the bonus material. But really that's all music geek piffle to be argued and discussed in some other forum. For the most part, the main album is put together quite faithfully to Wilson's vision and it sounds amazing!. We're used to the sometimes slightly abrupt transitions that have long become a part of the record's charm and the result is still quite incredible and kaleidoscopic. No matter our particular desires of how we would try to put this together, it's still quite a remarkable feat. We still wonder if Wilson finished and released this as it was meant to be in 1967, would we still care so much about it? That's for another debate. Still for those obsessed as we are or even for the newly curious this comes Highly Recommended!!!!! The two cd version comes housed in a box with a 36 page booklet, liner notes by Brian Wilson, a 15" x 20" poster and a button! While the 5cd+2lp+2x7" box comes housed in a 3D version of Frank Holmes illustrated storefront cover. 4 and a half discs of bonus material including a disc each of the "Heroes and Villains" and "Good Vibrations sessions alone. The 2lps have the album proper as well as a side of extra bonus material and two 7"s with the 2 parts of "Heroes and Villains" on one and "Vege-Tables" / "Surf's Up" on the other. Plus a 60 page case bound book, liner notes by Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston and a 24" x 36" poster. Wow!!!

MPEG stream: Cabin Essence
MPEG stream: Surf's Up
MPEG stream: Child Is The Father of The Man
MPEG stream: The Elements: Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)
MPEG stream: Look (Song For Children)
MPEG stream: Smile Backing Vocals Montage
MPEG stream: Cool Cool Water (Version 2)

Finally, In Stock On Double Vinyl! The newly released, highly anticipated Smile Sessions are finally here and it's been an occasion for all sorts of debate and nerd-ery among us. First off, some of us have been obsessed with the record for years, having acquired various bootlegs, the recent Brian Wilson re-do, as well as tracing the seeds of the Smile sessions throughout the trajectory of the later Beach Boys records (which are some of our favorites). While our bootleg versions always had the main song cycle separated from the various shorter interludes and segues that connected them, the Brian Wilson re-do saw the potential of what could have been, yet it still felt like a cover version of what was supposed to be the real thing. Now what the Smile Sessions tries to do, and for the most part succeeds in doing, is taking the blueprint Wilson made with the re-do and marrying the songs and interludes into a solid dazzling whole. On the vinyl version, the flow of what is understood as the proper album has never sounded better with the rich harmonic vocals, symphonic arrangements and beautifully antiquarian lyricism provided by Van Dyke Parks combined in elaborately layered arrays of epiphanal pop orchestration over the first three sides. The last side is a handful of selected stereo mixes and session excerpts, a really small taste of bonus material compared to the whole extra cd of the 2cd version and the 4 extra cds of the deluxe box set. For the most part, the main album is put together quite faithfully to Wilson's vision and it sounds amazing!. We're used to the sometimes slightly abrupt transitions that have long become a part of the record's charm and the result is still quite incredible and kaleidoscopic. No matter our particular desires of how we would try to put this together (For instance, why isn't "Cool, Cool Water" included in the main song cycle like it was in the bootlegs, and in Brian Wilson's version, there renamed and rewritten as "Blue Hawaii"? Instead it's relegated to the bonus material on the cd versions!) , it's still quite a remarkable feat. We still wonder if Wilson finished and released this as it was meant to be in 1967, would we still care so much about it? Allan doesn't understand the "lost record" appeal of it all. "What was wrong with Smiley Smile?" Oh, Allan. We're sure plenty of folks will be having their own geeky debates. Still for those obsessed as we are or even for the newly curious, this comes Highly Recommended!!!!!

MPEG stream: Cabin Essence
MPEG stream: Surf's Up
MPEG stream: Child Is The Father of The Man
MPEG stream: The Elements: Fire (Mrs O'Leary's Cow)
MPEG stream: Look (Song For Children)

The best record ever? The Beach Boys' best record? Can't stand "The Sloop John B."? This is the way to make up your mind. Any more versions of "Pet Sounds" and you'd die.

If the true measure of a record, is the impression/perception of the 'first listen', this new record from jangle poppers Beach Fossils might be the most popular record in the store right now. Cuz every time we play it in the store, and we do mean EVERY time, someone buys a copy. Whether they knew the band or not! BF's infectious hook heavy wistful jangle is in full effect on Clash The Truth, but unlike past records, the sound here is definitely a bit darker, which most certainly suits them. Quickly scanning back over our reviews of past BF records, it's all "breezy", "sunny", "lazy, dazed & glazed", and all of those definitely still apply, but one comparison seems even more apt, which is where we compare their sound to Pavement covering The Smiths. Here, the songs are wistful and melancholy, all cloudy skied and fading afternoon light, when the songs rock, they almost sound new wavey, or even post rocky, like the soaring majesty of "Carless", keening soaring swirls of melody and frenetic drumming, all driven by Joy Division like basslines, and when they don't rock, they're wistful gems like "Sleep Apnea", all shuffling drums, chiming acoustic guitars, little flurries of effects heavy melody, and reverbed sad boy vox. Some songs unfurl dreamily, in the shadow of mournful strings, others are propulsive and a little bit garage-y, and others are straight up retro pop jangle, and still others are crunchy and fuzzy and almost shoegazey, a few even have a distinctly Interpol vibe (check out "Caustic Cross"), and a bunch definitely remind us of Unrest and that old Teenbeat sound, which is most definitely a very good thing. But without fail, all of the tracks here are lush and lovely, lilting and hook heavy, catchy and dreamy, and again pretty goddamn irresistible.

MPEG stream: Clash The Truth
MPEG stream: Generational Synthetic
MPEG stream: Sleep Apnea
MPEG stream: Careless
MPEG stream: Caustic Cross

A new short and sweet batch of dreamy breezy jangle pop from Beach Fossils, and like their self-titled debut, the sound here is warm and lush, sweet and swirly, laid back and jangly, the guitars liquid and prismatic, the vocals lazy and drawled, all wrapped around propulsive super melodic basslines and simple skeletal drum machines, and while the sound is somewhat familiar, seeing as Beach Fossils are swimming in a pretty crowded sonic pool these days, Beach Fossils manage to easily transcend, their sound somehow special and truly unique, the songs so catchy, so ethereal and magically melodic, boy / girl vocal harmonies drifting over softly surfy Beach Boys reverby guitars and tangled tendrils of melody, the production impossibly lush, the A side so perfectly poppy, but then the B side swooping in to maybe be our favorite of the two. So good, fans of all things reverby and jangly, blissy and poppy, will dig big time.

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Beach Fossils are proving their great debut was no fluke. This eight song follow up actually ups the ante on their songwriting and introduces a more breezy, warm and '80s influenced sound. With spring officially here (even though it doesn't feel like it), we know that summer is just around the corner and we can't think of a record we're going to be more excited to be blasting all season long. These are the kind of songs for those drives to the beach with the windows down and the breeze and the sunshine. Reminding us a bit of some of our favorite mid '80s underground pop bands like Eleven Pond, and For Against with hints of the more languid moments of '90s indie rock, tapping into the same sort of sonic energy as the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. We even start imagining Pavement doing covers of The Smiths. What A Pleasure is indeed such a pleasure to listen to, in the way that it's so instantly familiar sounding yet with a freshness and depth that make it so new and exciting, demonstrating once again that they really are one of the best pop bands around right now.

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Sometimes the stars just align so perfectly. The first time we got to hear Beach Fossils it was a breezy and sunny afternoon. The front door was wide open, the wind gently blowing through the trees outside, and the songs we were hearing couldn't have provided a more perfect soundtrack. Beach Fossils is a one man band, and there definitely seem to be legions of those these days. But damn, if folks can keep creating songs as good as these alone in their bedrooms, then we say who needs a full band! Beach Fossils stands out from so much of the recent lo-fi indie garage pop, being not so much about feedback and distortion and low fidelity. Instead, it's the amazing songs on the record that grab your attention. Lazy day, dazed & glazed pop gems that remind us of a wonderful sound situated perfectly betwixt Kurt Vile and Pavement. There is something so authentic and fresh sounding in Beach Fossils' music. It compels us to let go and immediately give in to the soft breezes that seem to accompany the soaring washed out melodies on display here. Major contender for pop record of the year perhaps, and without a doubt another PERFECT summer album!

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What more can we say at this point about these Baltimore blisspoppers that we haven't already? We've barely been able to keep this in stock since we first got it in, another gorgeous slab of hazy, shoegazey, washed out slowcore dream pop loveliness. Bittersweet melodies, lush layered textures, simple programmed beats, lots of buzz and drone and shimmer, all somehow woven into heady, softly psychedelic epics that smolder and drift dreamily, taking the same sort of retro dreaminess of M83, but casting it as something a bit more melancholy and downcast, the perfect soundtrack for rainy days, broken hearts, late night wanders through empty streets, missing you mix tapes, vocals drenched in echo and drifting astride soaring shimmering melodies, all underpinned by warm sonic swells, and everything wrapped up in lush swatch prismatic jangle and slow build sonic mesmer. In some ways, Beach House are like the overcast, cloudy and grey version of Best Coast's sunshiney pop bliss, some of the same sonic elements but again, in Beach House's world the light is more than balanced by the shadow, and for every moment of hopeful major key shimmer, there's a long stretch of wistful sonic heartbreak right around the corner. And stick around for the hidden track tucked away at the end of the record, a dreamily dour reverb drenched downer pop gem laced with some gorgeous slippery slide guitars. And peep the super swank cover art, a field of raised Braille-like GLOW IN THE DARK dots!

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On "Levitation", the opening track of Beach House's stellar new album Depression Cherry, it's difficult to not feel like you're doing just what the song title says: rising off the ground and peacefully floating into space. With every release, Beach House have reaffirmed themselves as one of our favorites, and with their fifth full-length, they most certainly have not broken this pattern. This beautiful shoegazey dream pop seems to pulse at the exactly the same rhythm of your heart as you drift off to sleep. The twinkling, subtly moving arrangement paired with Legrand's soft, sweet vocals recalls Yo La Tengo at their most tender, circa And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out. Standout track "PPP" finds Legrand crooning in such a way that you could imagine the song echoing from a transistor radio, while Alex Scally's guitar lends it a sparkling quality which can only be described as intergalactic. Another favorite, "Days of Candy", begins with a stunning choral arrangement countered by Legrand's whispery falsetto, and delicately builds in volume and intensity before drifting away and leaving us speechless. The rich warmth of this album is as lush as its delightfully soft red velvet packaging - a sensation we imagine will be incredibly familiar after the many, many repeat listens it will surely warrant. Depression Cherry, as with all of Beach House's music, is a place of shelter for your deepest, most personal moments; let this music bring you home.

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Beach House's debut from a couple years ago won a special place in our hearts, so ever since we've been very anxious for this follow-up. We can't think of anyone these days who is doing warm and fuzzy melancholic pop better than Beach House. Devotion flows perfectly from start to finish. It's the kind of record you want to play on repeat all day as you lay in bed with the one you love or lament the one you lost. These songs capture that gray soft line between longing and remembrance with a somber elegance that recalls Francoise Hardy's La Question and taps into the more subdued moments of Quixotic and White Magic. While many folks have taken a stab at Daniel Johnston songs in recent years, Beach House's version of "Some Things Last (A Long Time)" captures its devastating yet bittersweet heart. With hints of reverb, intoxicating vocal melodies and astute subtlety, Beach House has made an album that wraps you in a warm soft glow, as you bask in a golden breeze, totally hitting the spot and making every day feels like Sunday. So nice!

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Swoon....sigh....melt! That's all we want to do when we listen to the newest album by this Baltimore duo who we've been in love with since their debut ep from way back when. The follow up to their great full length Devotion, this is a record we and so many others have been highly anticipating and it's so nice to start the new year with an album that is already ruling our stereos and will no doubt end up on many of our year end favorite lists. Teen Dream is quite simply, exquisite and elegant. The golden warmth and soft waves of comfort and longing BH are able to express through their songs makes them truly one of the most special bands around. There is a timelessness and sense of authenticity that rings so true within their songs. This is the music you put on when you've had your heart broken or you just discovered new love or when you are laying in bed with that special someone and its time to just bliss out, lost in a daze without saying a word. Teen Dream is the soundtrack for thinking of a close friend who is in a far away place, it's a sonic refuge, when you need somewhere safe to drift and daydream all of your troubles away. We have a feeling that this record is about to get an avalanche of press and attention but it couldn't be more deserved. This is hands down one of the most majestic and moving records to come out in a very long time. Nothing feels forced, no songs are throwaways, start to finish Teen Dream sounds practically perfect, a classic that will no doubt remain a classic regardless of shifting sounds and tastes. As an added bonus Teen Dream also comes with a dvd, containing a video for every single song on the album created by different directors. We haven't even gotten around to watching it yet cuz for now all we want to do is listen to the album over and over again, letting ourselves get lost in the glistening images it evokes in our own subconscious. Breathtaking!

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"Come a little closer," Victoria Legrand croons on "All Your Yeahs", inviting us to lean in to Beach House's new (nearly surprise) release, Thank Your Lucky Stars. Trailing their last album by only a handful of weeks, really, it'd be easy to see Thank Your Lucky Stars as no more than a sequel to the highly-hyped, velvet-coated opus that was Depression Cherry. However, Thank Your Lucky Stars stands on its own. Its shoegazey guitar solos weave their way through warm synth melodies (notably on "One Thing") and Legrand's vocals shine through more clearly than on past releases. This album is a bit of a darker and heavier take on their style of twinkly, extra-terrestrial style of dream pop. The weight can be felt most on this album's twisted and tortured B-side tracks "Rough Song" and "Elegy to the Void". But, with the perfect amount of lo-fi fuzz and room to breathe between each song, we're given the time to appreciate how simply beautiful this album is. Every other Beach House release has felt like the soundtrack to a loving embrace. Thank Your Lucky Stars reaches out to us as honest reassurance on the nights where we feel alone remind us that, though we are each singular stars, we reside in a sky populated with billions of constellations. (Compact disc version forthcoming, but this was such a rush release they didn't get it done at the same time as the vinyl.)

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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY.

Wow! We haven't been this smitten with a debut release in quite a while. Didn't know much about this Baltimore duo but we do know, the second this record we laid ears on this the first time, we were immediately seduced by the glorious sounds within. Hazy, daydreaming pop with equal parts magic, mystery and dreamy darkness, all drenched in beautiful melodies and sincere sensuality. Kind of made us think of Broadcast taking a warm bubble bath with Coco Rosie. Lights out, candles burning, bubbles floating, reverb dripping. There is a timelessness in these songs that is so evocative, Warhol's factory, a summer twilight in Southern California in the '70s, an abandoned art studio in the UK. You can never quite put your finger on exactly where these songs are drawn from but in the end it's music truly unique and wonderful. A mysterious voice, a haunting presence and songs carry you off, eyes closed, to somewhere much more enchanting then wherever you really are. So nice!

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A while back we reviewed a super limited tape from this local axeman, who at the time had a backup band made up of members of local psych rock heavies Comets On Fire, and whose sound, on that tape at least, fell somewhere between the brooding post punk of the Wipers, and the rough, ragged twang flecked crunch of early Uncle Tupelo, most definitely a sweet combo. We've been sitting on a couple copies of this 7" for ages now, and only just recently got enough to list, and like the tape before it, these two tracks offer up more of Beach's distinctive twang flecked songsmithery. The A side is a stripped down bit of folky psychedelia, dark and moody and countrified, again reminding us of Uncle Tupelo, not hard to imagine the song blossoming into some sort of guitar heavy crunch, but instead, it's a gorgeously cyclical and dreamily mesmerizing. The flipside is a bit more droned out, with a softly churning electric guitar, backed up by minimal skeletal drumming, a series of slow brooding swells, Beach's vocals a bit more rough and ragged, the song mostly two parts, slipping back and forth, giving the track a definite hypnotic vibe, during the second half of the song the tempo gets cranked, the sound growing more and more frantic, ratcheting up the tension, with no release, a slow build all the way to the end. Cool!

First solo full length from this Bay Area (by way of Australia) guitarist / bandleader, after a 7" and a cassette, and for Golden Theft, Beach is once again joined by Utrillo Kushner (Comets On Fire, Colossal Yes) for another collection of brooding post punk and twang flecked, Neil Young / Uncle Tupelo beholden classic psychedelic rock. Like we said before, it's a pretty potent combo. Beach's vocals a weary ragged raspy, the songs simple and urgent, driving and propulsive, and peppered with all sorts of strange compositional weirdness. A few songs from the tape get revisited/reworked here, including some of our favorites, like "Straight Spines", which starts with a blast of low slung bass heavy post punk, definitely reminiscent of the Wipers, with a killer weird constantly shifting tempo, slowing down, then speeding right back up again, in a way the deftly makes that tempo shift an integral part of the song. Hooky and a little bit heavy, driving and catchy like crazy, and that tempo shift just kills us every time, so unexpected, but so cool. "There Is No Edge Of The World To Run To" also shows up again, and still sounds like some lost Uncle Tupelo outtake, the vocals rough and warmly ragged, over some simple twang and strum, darkly emotive and intense, and when the drums come in, the song becomes a cool sort of droney countrified slowcore. Of the new tracks, some faves include the swampy swagger of "Dirt", with its bass heavy churn, and cool almost falsetto vocal flutter, the driving droned out country rock of opener "The Exhilarating Rise", those ragged vocals again seemingly belonging to a much older man, the hushed psychedelic shimmer of "In A Field", and the blown out psychedelic guitar noise freakout of "Central / San Joaquin". The cd-r comes in a digipak, the lp is housed in a full color gatefold jacket, includes a poster, and a download code and is limited to 270 copies, each one hand numbered.

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Latest from this SF by way of Australia (by way of SF again) singer/songwriter, and first with a newly formed band featuring members of Comets On Fire and the Castanets. The sound is all over the map, drifting from crunchy post punk, to woozy psychedelic drift, to countrified rust belt songsmithery, and several other stops in between. Opener "Straight Spines" starts things off with a blast of low slung bass heavy post punk, definitely reminiscent of the Wipers, with a killer weird constantly shifting tempo, slowing down, then speeding right back up again, in a way the deftly makes that tempo shift an integral part of the song. Hooky and a little bit heavy, driving and catchy like crazy, and that tempo shift just kills us every time, so unexpected, but so cool. Then there's "There Is No Edge Of The World To Run To", which sounds like some lost Uncle Tupelo outtake, Beach's vocals rough and warmly ragged, over some simple twang and strum, darkly emotive and intense, and when the drums come in, the song becomes a cool sort of droney countrified slowcore. There's also the drifty twangy shimmer of the title track, and the warm jangly balladic closer, "So Said The Bird", which broods and soars, underpinned by whirring organs, the deep crooned vox wreathed in the dusty twang of the guitars, and a blurred reverby patina. Beach peppers the record with brief experimental interludes as well, which range from noisy psychedelic freakouts to woozy late night drones. Gorgeous stuff for sure. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES and already sold out and out of print. So these are the last ones we'll be able to get.

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Another winner from Mexican Summer (who seem to traffic primarily in winners anyway), hot on the heels of recent Record Of The Week, Ghost Blonde by No Joy, comes this, the debut recording from Beaches, who despite their summery moniker, kick up a seriously distorted and blown out shoegaze spacerock racket. Done just the way we like it. Massive guitars, huge hooky riffs, thick buzzing bass, pounding drums, the vocals barely there, buried in the mix, the songs mainly a single riff, locked tight, and repeated over and over, mesmerizing and cyclical and hypnotic, druggy and repetitive and totally psychedelic, occasionally slipping into some sort of chorus, and letting the vocals come to the fore, but even then they're panned strangely, coming from different speakers, still pretty low in the mix, only adding to the druggy psychedelic vibe. Equal parts washed out jangle, churning riff heavy crush, hazy spaced out psychedelia, there are hooks, but they're buried under all the murk and swirl and howl with the vocals, this is total headtrip heart of the sun, drone heavy, buzz drenched space rock, but infused with a heart of shoegaze pop, which is what makes this sound so good. Absolutely a new favorite, and WAY recommended for anyone into space rock, drone pop, shoegaze or anything heavy and hazy, druggy and dreamy. One complaint though: four songs, 45 rpm, $24?!?! C'mon, Mexican Summer, sure, the jackets are super thick and the vinyl is crazy heavy, but still seems sorta steep. Too bad it's so good, and we're actually thinking these 4 songs might just be worth $6 a pop. At least based on the fact that we've listened to them all about a million times already...

[ aquarius records catalogue — B ]