So many good releases on the Swedish label Hapna, it's hard to keep up! But we didn't want to overlook this one, 'cause Italian experimentalist Andrea Belfi is one half of the duo known as Crista Pfangen, whose Watch Me Getting Back The End, an album of (in our words) "fragmented yet melodic, experimental avant-indie pop", appeared earlier this year on Die Schachtel, and got a big thumbs up from us.
As a solo artist, Belfi delves here into a weird (but successful) conceptual minimalist electro-acoustic experiment based around something about making music from ordinary household sounds. Hmm... it's an interesting house Belfi must live in! It's a dwelling of gentle drones, glitchy mystery, and shimmering, skitteringly propulsive percussion (sounding at times not unlike that recent excellent Tarentel double cd). And the neighbors doing strange things upstairs, moving furniture and stuff. Field recordings, electronics, vague voices, and regular ol' instruments mesh into a lovely bit of work here. Definitely worth investigating especially if you're into the Italian scene populated by Belfi's pals like 3/4hadbeeneliminated, Stefano Pilia, Giuseppe Ielasi, etc.
Believer is the new musical project of Danny Paul Grody and Trevor Montgomery (both from Tarentel and The Drift as well as various other side projects and solo outfits including Lazarus, and Moholy-Nagy). For their debut release put out by Land And Sea, who brought us the Coconut 7" from a couple of lists ago, the duo recorded three expansive synth-based compositions that are beautifully minimal and impressionistic. Using loops, sweeping bell tones and guitar washes, the three tracks encompass a kind of melodic formlessness, beginning with a pattern and then slowly letting it dissolve into something much airier, all the while still maintaining a sense of gravity and musical purpose. A fine debut that makes us look forward to whatever comes next. Super limited to 50 copies in handsewn paper covers (that you have to rip or cut open to get to the disc!). Highly Recommended!
The Believer never lets us down. What a totally and completely amazing magazine. Music, politics, lifestyle, most mags can barely get a grasp on one of those, but somehow the Believer manages to wrap them all up together into a totally readable, smart and funny, gorgeously laid out package. This month it's "The Visual Issue" which comes with a DVD. Hard to explain what some of the articles are about in just a few words, so we'll just reprint what's on the cover: hacking old Nintendos, tattoo fiction, John Barth on old beginnings, the Malaysian new wave cinema, a lush art insert curated by Eric Fischl, milk addiction and the birth of modernity, life masks of the famous and the dead and loads more. Also in keeping with the theme, there is also a dvd that features films by or about: Spike Jonze, Selma Blair, Miranda July, David O, Russell, Patton Oswalt, Hovercrafts and more. Plus killer Charles Burns cover art!!!
Easily one of our favorite magazines, published by McSweeney's of course, super esoteric, funny, clever, well researched, beautifully written, always with cover art by Charles Burns(!), covering music, art, politics, culture and anything else that strikes their fancy. As much as we love and try to read every issue, we look forward to the special music issue every year the most, but this time maybe more than usual.
That's 'cause this time around, there's lots of black metal. First, an essay on American black metal from aQ pal and Pitchfork contributor Brandon Stosuy, maybe to eventually be expanded into a book. And then an oral history of US black metal featuring folks from Krieg, Inquisition, Vrolok, Cult Of Daath, Nachtmystium, Wrath Of The Weak, Brown Jenkins, Negative Plane, Velvet Cacoon, Averse Sefira and loads of others, as well as our very own Andee, whose answers are much longer, funnier, and less grim than his blackened brethren (heck he even admits to still loving the first Cradle Of Filth record!). Later on there's an epic and exhaustive piece on the mysterious and mercurial Souled American, their history, and their long in the works new album. As if that weren't already enough, there's three essays on jazz from author Haruki Murakumi, Rick Moody on spending two weeks at music camp, an interview with Alan Bishop (of Sublime Frequencies/Sun City Girls fame), an interview with Ian MacKaye, an interview with Irma Thomas, a defense of '70s progsters Gentle Giant, and an advice column featuring guidance from your favorite Canadian superstars: the Weakerthans, Final Fantasy, The New Pornographers, Hot Hot Heat, Barenaked Ladies, Tegan And Sara. Phew. But that's not all. This issue also comes with a cd, featuring tracks from Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Madlib, Gang Gang Dance, Aceyalone, Lucky Dragons and more. As well as the various musics from around the world that influenced their music. And finally a cool creepy diecut cover, with Irma Thomas' mouth cut out, her teeth printed on the cd, showing through the hole in the cover. Wow. We love the Believer.
Another awesome issue of our favorite new magazine. Politics, music, science, lifestyle. Brilliantly researched and written, with plenty of humor to boot. This month: 'Genetic Screening And Medical Narrative', 'Genre Is A Minimum Secutriy Prison: Lyric Essays And The Artistic Hunger For Reality', 'Fat Fiction - Why Are Obese Characters - From Falstaff To Ignatius Reilly - Painted In Such Broad Strokes?', 'Literary Nothingness And Kafka's Life', as well as interviews with Alice Quinn (poetry editor of the New Yorker), Harold Ramis (Ghostbusters!), Robyn Hitchcock, painter Ed Ruscha, as well as an article by Nick Hornby, a review of a 1949 Partisan Review, author Colin Macinnes, a Sarah Silverman (filling in for Amy Sedaris) advice column, the 2006 Beleiver Book Award and more more more!
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Yet another awesome issue of our favorite new magazine. Politics, music, science, lifestyle. Brilliantly researched and written, with plenty of humor to boot. And as always killer cover art by one of our favorite artists Charles Burns! (Andee even has a Charles Burns tattoo!) This month:
'80s Teen Sex Comedies, REPO MAN: Reliving Alex Cox's punk-rock-sci-fi-action-comedy in an L.A. scavenget hunt, Queer Punk Taxidermy: Undercover In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, The Great Wrong Place: Los Angeles' Reputation For Filthy Sprawl Makes It The Ideal Place To Write About Nature as well as a cavalcade of cookbook-blurb puns and hyperbole, Amy Sedaris' advice column, this week taken care of by former Trenchmouth punk rocker, current Saturday Night Live superstar Fred Armisen, totally incompetent cartoons, Stuff I've Been Reading by Nick Hornby and more more more!
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With this latest issue of our favorite new magazine, The Believer, we're wondering, is it a music magazine? Or is it the hipster Harper's? Or is it somewhere in between? Regardless, it's a great read, and this one IS their music issue which is always amazing, and always sells out quick, so don't dawdle. Juana Molina is the cover star, rendered lounging in her bedroom listening to music, surrounded by posters of Elvis, Sinatra, and Stephen O'Malley (!) drawn by the brilliant Charles Burns. As always, the music issue comes with a cd, this time featuring Juana Molina, Neung Phak, Calexico, Six Organs Of Admittance, Destroyer, Feist, Marissa Nadler, Blood On The Wall, and ATTENTION SUNN 0))) NERDS, an exclusive Stephen O'Malley track!!! And a bunch more. Inside the magazine you'll find a bizarre analysis of Paul Anka's "My Way" incorporating Sinatra, Elvis, Sid Vicious and more, a piece about the Eurovision Song Contest (the most watched television show everywhere but in the US, and recently won by Finnish heavy metal monsters Lordi), Interpretations of various breakup duets: the Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York", the Human League's " Don't You Want Me?", the Jesus & Mary Chain's "Sometimes Always" and a handful of others, Nick Hornby's favorite recent reads, Hornby on Lurie and the Lounge Lizards and the best show he's ever seen, saxophonist David S. Ware, Douglas Wolk writes about an online musical phenomenon, a handful of book reviews, a conversation between the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne and Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard, Argentinean singer songwriter Juana Molina, a brief history of rock music, Southern rapper Bun B from UGK, this months advice column featuring NPR mainstay Sarah Vowell, a conversation between novelist Don DeLillo and rock critic Greil Marcus, and finally an interview with one half of the SUNNO))) drone metal duo, Stephen O'Malley.
As always the whole thing beautifully laid out and eminently readable!
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We just can't get enough of the Believer. If we had nothing to do but read, we'd fantasize about the Believer becoming a daily, but as it is, we're usually still digging the last issue when it's time for a new one. A dense, informative, smart and funny collection of fiction and interviews, art and humor, music and politics. This month: novelist Aniruddha Bahal, the most feared writer in India, Toni Schlesinger's novelistic real-estate writing (?), How writing about animals can help you enjoy irony-free sex, rats in literature, America's preeminent Jack London impersonator, an interview with Steven Soderbergh, Nick Hornby on books he's been reading, a handful of book reviews, graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi, a conversation with Oscar Villalon, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle, writer Jennifer Egan, and the return of Amy Sedaris' advice column, with special guest advisor Jerri Blank! And as always, killer cover art by Charles Burns.
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We get the distinct feeling that some of you are STILL not reading The Believer. Why the hell not? It's smart, funny, well researched, amazingly well written, nicely laid out, features on plenty of familiar favorites, as well as introductions to an incredible array of lesser knowns. Politics. Music. Literature. It's high brow, but not snooty, it's funny and irreverent, but not IRONIC. Ferchrissakes get it together and start digging into one of the best magazine out there. Did we mention cover art every issue from the godlike Charles Burns (don't believe us? Go buy a copy of Black Hole and then come talk to us)
This month: The Games Issue! First up, a massive article on Dungeons And Dragons! A monthly column from Nick Hornby about books he's read or bought. How many did he read this time? None. But he still manages THREE whole pages! A piece on war and how it figures into games, playtime and the like. Sara Crosby vs. Jonathan Franzen. Georges Perec on crossword puzzles! The incredible racist advertising puzzles of Sam Lloyd. A full color chart of the 2006 World Cup Meta-Headbutt. The masters of Oulipo described employing the linguistic restraints for which they are famous. Digital artist Mark Allen. Author Padgett Powell. A whole bunch of book reviews. Comedienne Wanda Sykes. Advice from the guys behind Wonder Showzen and a few other articles we can't quite figure out how to describe in just one sentence. QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST MAGAZINE THERE IS!
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The Believer is always a good read, but you won't want to miss the 2005 Music issue. Plenty of good reading this time around as well: articles about Beck, the Danielson Famile, Carrie Brownstein of Sleater Kinney interviews Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a discussion between comedian Patton Oswalt and musician Aimee Mann, an interview with teenage rock combo Smoosh, an article about singing drummers and much much more. But you also get a cd jam packed with Aquarius faves, covering -other- Aquarius faves: the Decemberists cover Joanna Newsom, Spoon covers Yo La Tengo, the Constantines cover Elevator To Hell, the Espers cover Fursaxa, the Mountain Goats cover the Silver Jews, Coco Rosie cover Damien Jurado, The Shins cover Postal Service, San Serac cover Ida, Josephine Foster covers the Cherry Blossoms, Cynthia G. Mason covers Richard Buckner, and Jim Guthrie covers the Constantines. Wow!
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Latest issue of what is quickly becoming one of our favorite magazines (for all things political, musical and all the other stuff we like to read about). This time around: the eerie similarities between the '20's horror masterpiece Nosferatu and the Bush administration, Mamet examines three unlikely geneologies of bastard idioms, some popular 'meat writing', the story of John T. Smith's legendary biography and his quest for vengeance, interviews with Bob Mould, David Sedaris, Peter Fitzpatrick, Lorrie Moore, Nick Hornby reads Voltaire, how to build a golem and so much more!
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You might be more familiar with this label for their awesome string of reggae, soul, funk, disco and post-punk re-issues and compilations, but every now and again they'll toss into the mix a release by a current artist. This time it's the second full length from UK electro-funk artist Bell. Seven Types Of Six contains a dozen tweaked and bloopy electronic tracks with chopped up soul vocals, an unwavering 4/4 beat, and lots of analog synth, video game-y accents. Check out the very Playstation2 REZesque third track... it's almost like he just recorded himself playing the game (this is the same sneaking suspicion we had for one of the tracks on DJ Shadow's Private Press from a couple of years ago -- see that review for more clarification on the game). A kinetically fun and engaging release.
Anyone responsible for helping make such stunning sounds over the years with Stars Of The Lid definitely demands our undivided attention with any other related project or band. So when we heard that Brian McBride of Stars Of The Lid had a new band with Kenneth Gibson of Furry Things, we knew we needed to check it out. With a large ensemble backing them up, the two have crafted an immaculate orchestral pop record, that sounds nothing like any of their previous bands, but proving that McBride is a master of creating such beautiful and moving sounds no matter what shape or genre he is working with. Imagine the dreamiest version of The Byrds, the emotional impact of Elliott Smith, the most seductive elements of the Beach Boys, the shoegaze country vibes of Mojave 3, and you start to get an idea of the warm sounds that make up this beautiful debut.
Understated yet totally lush and full of soft sweeping melody. There doesn't seem to be a lot of press or hype surrounding this, but under the radar, Bell Gardens have crafted six of the most satisfying songs of the year!
Arcade Fire alert! Sonically the Canadian ensemble, who go by the name Bell Orchestre, distill together all of the disparate sounds of the highly lauded music collective lead by Godspeed You Black Emperor and Broken Social Scene, but it actually features members of, yes, Arcade Fire! At times richly and expansively atmospheric, at others things adhere to more traditional pop structures. Incorporating traditional and less traditional instrumentation (yes, lots of bells, brass, strings, metallic percussion, recordings of animals, a typewriter and other noisemakers), Recording A Tape The Colour Of The Sky is quite a wonderful encapsulation of the many fine sounds coming out of Canada these days (Montreal, in particular), sans vocals. Fevered violin bowing here, a roaming gypsy-ish interlude there, a driving beat here, a lonely french horn over there. And to endear it even more to our ears, the album all begins in a similarly wistful, foghorns in the distance fashion as recent AQ fave Yha Hamaraa by the Finnish band Paavoharju. Packaged in a cool die-cut cardboard sleeve.
NOW ON VINYL, the latest from these doom masters!!!
Lament ye doomsters!!! For a sorrowful judgment is cast down upon thee from the realms of mist strewn Seattle, courtesy of that mournful town's most downcast constituents: Bell Witch! It's hard to believe that this is only the second full length from a name that is now so synonymous with heart-rending funeral death doom - you'd think they were one of the genre's forefathers! But that's just a testament to how exquisitely Bell Witch nail this style, and for those so far left unpummeled by their weeping crushing presence, said style is as follows: Glacial, monumental riffing. Devastating walls of distortion give way to melodic slow-motion leads, oozing with regret and loss - the ghostly echo of deathgrowls and the mournful mantra of minimal monk-like singing in the vast cavernous distance. The drums erupt from a dull heartbeat thud into a light-swallowing wall of crash cymbals. And all of this misery & majesty accomplished with no instruments other than bass and drums. That's right, there is nary a guitar to be heard on this record, and it still manages to out-heavy even some of the doomiest contenders. It goes without saying, this is not the record you put on when you're getting dolled up for a night out. This is something to listen to in the darkness, mustering the courage to confront the darkest recesses of despair! An album to stand proudly despondent next to similarly tormented testaments by the likes of Asunder, Loss, Warning & Pallbearer, and at times even conjuring the same sparse bleak corners as slowcore legends Codeine. To put it bluntly: Slow, sad & oh so recommended.
Seattle doom duo Bell Witch have been lauded for being one of the heaviest doom outfits around, their sound achingly crushingly despondent, made all the more remarkable for the fact that they're just a duo of bass and drums. On the one hand, that makes sense, all low end, the perfect ingredients for dismal dirgery for sure, but the weird thing is, the most appealing part of this new record, and easily the most special, is the parts that are most definitely NOT metal at all. Not even not doom, we mean not METAL. On this, their debut full-length, the band have crafted an incredible hybrid of plodding miserablist ultra doom, and classic, minor key, slowcore, it's like Codeine crossed with Esoteric, or something.
Admittedly, the band do conjure up a pretty devastating sound, the bass super distorted and downright guitar like, churning and blown out, the drums a monstrous plod, the tracks laced with aching minor key melodies (also played on the bass we presume), the vocals an inhuman demonic rasp, perfectly suited to the group's death march trudge, but then, suddenly, the buzz and distortion peels away, leaving just a spare minimal rhythm, and soft warm chords, drifting in long expanses of soft focus shimmer, softly loping, a minor key slo-mo lament, made even more perfect by the clean crooned vox, emotional and heartfelt, hell, we probably would have dug this record just as much sans the crushing doom, but the two parts together, make this pretty spectacular.
"Rows (Of Endless Waves)" explodes right out of the gate, as a churning slab of downtuned extreme heaviness, bellowed howls, pounding drums, laced with demonic shrieks, the bass buzzing and blackened, but then suddenly, the sound begins to grow more melodic, even still in the heavy part, and then like the opener, the heaviness is gradually shed, and the song is reborn as a super spare stretch of haunting, softly strummed slow motion sad pop, sounding quite a bit like Low in fact, slightly heavier perhaps, but not much, and here, the heaviness creeps back in gradually, but without the track following, instead it seems to wrap its shadowy sonics around the dark dolorous sadcore, making it just that much darker and dolorous.
Almost the entirety of "Longing (The River Of Ash)", is spent in slowcore mode, the heaviness relegated to lazily crashing chords, but it's the sort of dark doom pop gem that could easily find its way on to some indie kids breakup mixtape. In fact in many ways, this is the kind of record that could very well open the doors to darker and heavier sounds.
For a heavy doom record, it's remarkable how much of the record is spent sounding not that heavy, or perhaps more 'emotionally' heavy, than sonically heavy. We'd almost classify this as some sort of slowcore/sadcore record with elements of doom, than the other way around. However you approach it, it's definitely one of the darkest, saddest, and most beautiful doom records we've heard in ages. Or if you'd rather, one of the doomiest, heaviest slowcore records. WAY recommended.
"I never expected it to be, like, a big phenomenon." So sayeth Archie Bell about his 1968 mega-hit, "Tighten Up," a buoyant funk exercise that managed to accomplish the one thing that eluded James Brown: a #1 hit on the pop chart. "Tighten Up," the song, started out as a B-side but it found such favor with DJs that it caused Atlantic to move it to the A-side (backing it with "Tighten Up pt. 2") for a subsequent pressing. When the song pushed its way to the top position, Bell's label found themselves in the position of having to rush out a record for a group whose front man was currently stationed with the US Armed Forces in Germany. The result? A record that, despite the fact that Drell doesn't sing on a number of tracks, blends covers and originals into an appealing mix of upbeat funk, sweet soul ballads, and southern R&B. This is a breezy, uplifting collection of songs that sounds more like a well put together mix tape than it does like a cohesive record by a single band, and as far as we're concerned that's no knock against the Drells. In fact, this is a perfect record for kicking back on a lazy summer afternoon, so we highly recommend you pick it up and do just that!
Chris Bell was an original member of mighty pop legends Big Star, but quit the band after their debut, #1 Record failed to propel them to super stardom. For the next few years years, Bell struggled with depression while recording demo after demo. In 1977, Bell released the single "I Am The Cosmos", an amazing little slab of practically perfect pop, an absolutely beautiful gem, dense with wistful harmonies and glistening instrumentation, which ended up being a big enough hit that it drove Bell to form a band to begin work on a new album. But before that could happen, Bell died in a tragic car accident. I Am The Cosmos was a collection of all of his unreleased demos, but played like some lost classic album. As good as any of the Big Star records for sure. A dark and brooding, dreamy and glistening pop masterpiece, from beginning to end. Super varied, from crunchy melodic power pop to deep introspective ballads, but somehow all the parts fit perfectly. So goddamn good.
180 gram vinyl!
This Train is most definitely a solid record, one that serves as a compliment to film auteur David Lynch's recent solo effort, Crazy Clown Time. Cave-like reverb that echoes and deepens, surf-esque tremoloed guitars, simple drum loops and synth pads. Chrysta Bell, unknown to us until this record arrived, has a superb voice: pretty but not showy, thick but not overbearing. She's no Julee Cruise, though, and this record is not The Voice of Love. Missing are the unique songwriting skills of Angelo Badalamenti, his emotional depth and incredible sense of melody. Whereas Crazy Clown Time held its own (the humor, the strange meditational rant in the middle of the record), This Train feels a bit flat at times. Overall, it has a very soothing mood, the production and the tones, but it's not a very energetic or varied record. Halfway through, "Real Love" and "Bird of Flames" pick up the pace a bit and add some heavier sounds and distortion. The opening track "This Train" also stands out. Bell sings on every song, backed up by Lynch and Dean Hurley (Lynch's collaborator on Crazy Clown Time), and John Neff.
This long time aQ favorite, finally back in stock!
Another solo outing from a member of the mighty Lungfish, and another disc of looped repetitive transcendental mesmer. First Daniel Higgs, then Asa Osborne's Zomes, and now Nathan Bell, how these guys ever put together an actual ROCK band we'll never know, we'll blame it on the drummer for now, at least until he comes out with some insane raga drone solo record, then we just give up.
It makes sense though as Lungfish songs weren't like normal songs, they were like minimal loops writ large, expanded into hypnotic epics, the band locked into an incredible groove, while Higgs does his thing over the top. But it becomes more and more apparent, that all the various members of Lungfish had a thing for minimalism, for drones, ragas, for repetition, and thus we have Nathan Bell's @2640. Recorded in a massive crumbling old cathedral, plugged into a blown out amplifier, these four tracks, while played on the banjo, don't sound country, or bluegrass, or even remotely twangy, in fact they don't really sound like they were played on a banjo. The notes have a sharp attack and a quick decay, but the massive space helps them stay afloat a bit longer than normal, Bell's arrangements and compositions offering nods to Reich and Riley, the pieces nearly static, a simple melody wound up within the endless repetition. So simple and gorgeous and absolutely mesmerizing. If you dug the Higgs solo records and the Zomes, you pretty much need this too.
Limited cd-r, in a hand screened fold over cardstock sleeve with a printed insert. And of course, as always LIMITED!
Bella lead the charge of Vancouver's next generation of new new new wavers! Surprising how a trio of such dour faced kids can whip up such peppy synth pop. No doubt there reside a few Blondie, New Order, and Kim Wilde records (ahem, cds?!) in their music collections? We're not complaining though 'cause while these gals and guy are not winning any originality awards, they are winning our hearts with their youthful exuberance and infectious hooks. No One Will Know was recorded with the very complimentary help of John Collins of New Pornographers as well as Roddy Bottum and Will Schwartz of their genre elders Imperial Teen. In fact, many tunes here could easily be mistaken for those of a younger I.T. Super breezy and catchy, and oh so teen movie soundtrack ready!
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On one half of this little 4-song slice of Belle & Sebastian heaven, the band gets all charmingly '80s funky with lotsa ching-a-ling guitars, grooving synths, tight drumming ("Your Cover's Blown" and a remix version). The other two songs are of their more characteristic sunshiney pop -- the deliriously wonderful "Wrapped Up In Books" from their Dear Catastrophe Waitress album and "Your Secrets". Some AQ folks wince at the B&S toothsomeness, but Cup adores it... particularly their ability to bring together the wide-eyed sugar and the sharp-tongued wit. So if you share her sweet-tooth and/or dig B&S yourself, you'll prolly wanna scoop this up asap. Truly a fan's delight, the 'enhanced' disc is filled with other fun B&S stuff too -- namely a video and computer game!
Belle & Sebastian remixed??!! On paper that sounds like a potential recipe for disaster. And we have to be honest, when we first saw this 12" we were kind of hesitant to listen to it at all, but after really digging the Interpol remix 12" we decided to give it a spin. We're glad we did cause the Cold Cave remix of "I Didn't See It Coming" from the last Belle & Sebastian album, Write About Love, is one of the best remixes of the year. Cold Cave turns the twee indie pop song into a soft synth stunner. They don't try to make Belle & Sebastian all techno and dark (which we had feared) but instead give it a slight dancefloor push, reminding us a lot of the sound of Stephen Merrit's electro-pop project Future Bible Heroes. The other two remixes come from Richard X, and Tony Doogan, and there's also a brand new song called "Blue Eyes Of A Millionaire."
For a lot of folks, myself included, Belle and Sebastian always seemed a trifle too fey, too twee, too foofy and melodramatic, with their aloof beret-wearing, Pynchon-reading misunderstood hipster vibe and affected disaffectedness. And musically too, their sound was too 'lite', a little too wispy and bittersweet, even for those of us who love wussy pop. But this new record has us reconsidering all of that, and thinking maybe we ought to go back and re-assess our B&S position, mayb it was BS. Although it should be noted that part of our new found appreciation, stems from the fact that the new Belle And Sebastian are a whole different beast that the B&S of old. Okay, maybe not a WHOLE different beast, but you can tell from the opening track that something is very different. A bouncy, perfect power pop gem that sounds remarkably like AQ faves Silver Sun, or maybe the High Llamas, with a jaunty, bouncy rhythm, lush Beach Boys-esque harmonies, and hooks galore. The next few tracks manage to retain some of that power pop quirkiness while veering back towards more decidedly familiar B&S sonic territory. Eventually things do settle down, the mood gets a bit more somber and the sound becomes much more like the B&S of old, but that opening salvo's effects can still be felt all the way through the very last note.
Massive collection of videos, live performances, interviews, outtakes, TV appearances and a full length documentary. Over two hours of goodies. Haven't watched the whole thing, but from what we've seen it's pretty great, set up nicely, and some of the footage is truly breathtaking, fuzzy and dream like, while the behind the scenes stuff is pretty fun and funny. As the title makes clear, fans will definitely need this!
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant was Belle & Sebastian's fourth album. Although this album from 2000 is still filled with their early trademark fey Scottish songsmithery that so frequently is compared to Nick Drake and Donovan, it proved to be a leaping off or transitional point for the band as they pushed open the garden gate to venture beyond the twee boundaries into grander scale productions. The results are heartmeltingly splendid, but not without a wonderfully wry bit of biting humor here and there.
A li'l cd ep for all you Belle & Sebastian fans out there. Three songs in all. As you'll be happy and not at all surprised to discover, their folksy, honeyed, bittersweet romance brand of Scottish pop is in full bloom. With a puppy dog record sleeve to match the soft'n'cuddly tunes.
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
If You're Feeling Sinister was Belle & Sebastian's second album and was first released back in 1997. It continued in the same ultra soft folk pop vein as its predecessor Tigermilk. So mellow and twee it could almost be a suitable soundtrack to a child's storybook if it weren't for the occasional darker lyrical twists. The musical equivalent of an Edward Gorey bedtime story. Adorable and precocious. Over the years, this is the album that invariably got recommended most to folks seeking "the best early B&S album"... that is, until their formerly very hard to find debut Tigermilk got rereleased. Now we have to say it's sort of a toss up as to which is "better". Aww heck, get 'em both, you probably won't be disappointed!
Three new tracks from these delicately fey, ever-popular Scottish types: "Johnathan David", "Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It", and "The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner".
No, that's not a typo. We, um, lucky Americans can now get all three previously import-only 1997 cdeps from these Scottish wimp-pop phenoms for the low, low, low price of $15.98! "Lazy Line Painter Jane," "Dog On Wheels," and "3..6..9 Seconds of Light", twelve tracks total. Even though they could have all fit on one disc, Matador decided to leave them as three individual jewel-cased cds packaged together in a cardboard slip cover.
Three exclusive tracks not on their new album: Legal Man, Judy Is A Dick Slap (extended version), and Winter Wooskie.
Why be all cluttered and downright messy when you can be all neat and consolidated? Well, with the assistance of Matador Records, Belle And Sebastian are tidying things up a bit. This B&S collection gathers up all of the band's EPs that were previously released between 1997 and 2001 on Jeepster Records in the U.K. Although Matador released three of them as a box set back in 2000, the rest have been incredibly difficult to track down. Look no further, twenty five Scottish sweet folksy pop treats all in one place (or two). Wheeeeeeeeeee! B&S super fans take note: Push Barman has been released as a regular ol' double CD, a limited edition deluxe double CD and a limited edition triple LP! We've opted to carry the latter two special versions (but of course, if you prefer the plain jane version we'll certainly order a copy especially for you). Mind you if you choose to get this release without actually getting rid of the redundancies, that just means more stuff! Ack, one step forward...
Why be all cluttered and downright messy when you can be all neat and consolidated? Well, with the assistance of Matador Records, Belle And Sebastian are tidying things up a bit. This B&S collection gathers up all of the band's EPs that were previously released between 1997 and 2001 on Jeepster Records in the U.K. Although Matador released three of them as a box set back in 2000, the rest have been incredibly difficult to track down. Look no further, twenty five Scottish sweet folksy pop treats all in one place (or two). Wheeeeeeeeeee! B&S super fans take note: Push Barman has been released as a regular ol' double CD, a limited edition deluxe double CD and a limited edition triple LP! We've opted to carry the latter two special versions (but of course, if you prefer the plain jane version we'll certainly order a copy especially for you). Mind you if you choose to get this release without actually getting rid of the redundancies, that just means more stuff! Ack, one step forward...
If you've been following the adventures here at AQ for some time now, you probably already know that there are definitely strong pro- and anti-B&S folks here, but it should be noted that our Jim (who usually sides with the latter team) has said this is perhaps the only B&S album he can take. Cup (who hasn't seen the movie, but does like B&S) thinks the music's lovely (especially the title track), but the dialogue samples are somewhat intrusive. All of that said...
Hopping aboard the film music train (along with the recent likes of Badly Drawn Boy's About A Boy and Stephin Merritt's Eban & Charley), Belle & Sebastian combine their trademark lush folk with dialogue snippets from Todd Solondz's film Storytelling. Unlike BDB's soundtrack which can almost be taken on its own as his second full length, B&S's film music is more distinctly a soundtrack like that of Mr. Merritt. At times this sounds like a '70s Afterschool Special score (in a good way), or the Bugaloos (particularly on "Scooby Driver") or like a Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoon with its Vince Guaraldi-esque piano moments. Upliftingly sweet and lovely compositions with strings that soar and plink, guitars that jingle jangle, and shakers that keep perfect chika-chika-chika time. Oh yes, and of course gracing the six new B&S vocal songs are those familiar velvety soft voices of Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson and Isobel Campbell (who, fans will undoubtedly be crushed to hear, makes her final B&S appearance on this release).
For many of us the classic era of Belle & Sebastian is when Isobel Campbell was still in the band and they made truly classic and timeless albums like Tigermilk, If You're Feeling Sinister, The Boy With The Arab Strap, and so many great ep's too.
Dedicated to the memory of John Peel, this collection of BBC recordings originally recorded between the years 1996-2001 is packed with tons of their instantly recognizable heart melting classics, as well as four previously unreleased tracks, that fit perfectly amongst all of the super smart and heartfelt songs Belle & Sebastian have crafted over the years. Stuart Murdoch's voice sounds so amazingly effortless and seductive throughout and we still get tingles when Isobel Campbell makes her way to the mic. The first batch of these come with a bonus disc featuring a live show recorded in Belfast in 2001 and include endearing covers of "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "The Boys Are Back In Town." B&S have inspired way too many wannabe lisp-having over-sensitive pop peddlers but that's not their fault, and no matter how many bands try, none of them will be able to match the true ease, breeze and nostalgia that Belle & Sebastian are able to evoke with their beautiful sounds.
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts.
The Boy With The Arab Strap was B&S's third album and was first released back in 1998. A well-informed customer once explained to us that an arab strap is a sexual aid for horses that helps their penises to point in the correct direction. Oh my! The very same customer also told us that the particular B&S song with this title is making fun of (the band) Arab Strap's lead singer who is forever whining about his failed relationships. And the lyric does in fact read, "the boy WITH the arab strap". Make of this what you will. Bestseller in the lispy twee soft folksy pop department. Be forewarned, this band's music might trigger an irresistible urge to snuggle in even the most cold-hearted of beings.
Nothing we're going to say here is really gonna sway any of you diehard Belle And Sebastian fans now will it? Alright-y then! With the exception of our two Belle & Sebastian cheerleaders, we here at AQ have admittedly never really been big fans of this Scottish band's brand of pop. While we appreciate their wry braininess, their tweeness was always just too... uhh, twee. That all changed with their last album 2003's wonderful Dear Catastrophe Waitress. That album sure changed our tune, and endeared itself to even Andee! Oddly it seems two rival camps have formed -- one filled with folks who loved everything up to D.C.W. and one with folks who disliked everything up to D.C.W. So needless to say there's been more than a little anxious anticipation for their follow-up. Well, we are saddened to report that upon hearing The Life Pursuit, we (including one of our B&S supporters even!) have collectively shuddered a profound "uh oh". Unlike the effortless, carefree pop jubilance of Dear Catastophe Waitress, each of the baker's dozen songs gave us the impression that the band was in turn feeling tired, bored and forced -- from the flat female vocals of the opening track "Act Of The Apostle" to the usually bulletproof, but here very lackluster vocals of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Now, you could on the other hand interpret this different tone more complimentarily as "subdued" or "restrained", but the band also takes strange excursions into what resembles '70s funk, fusion and blues rock and a watered-down version of the New Pornographers (their labelmates with whom they will be touring shortly). At best, there's a couple of songs here that are a small step down from D.C.W., at worst there's stuff on here that sounds like music for those '70s fountain 'dancing waters' shows. Yikes. Yes, very harsh words, but expectations and standards were high, and ours is some pretty harsh disappointment. Unfortunately instead of converts, we're reverts... and this time not just for their tweeness but for other reasons. Which will you be? If you need us we'll be over here listening to our D.C.W. and/or Tigermilk albums.
WARNING!!! WE ONLY HAVE 12 COPIES OF THE DELUXE VERSION IN STOCK AND IT IS ALREADY OUT OF PRINT. IF YOU ORDER THIS DELUXE VERSION AND WE HAVE ALREADY RUN OUT, YOU WILL BE SENT THE STANDARD VERSION!!!
Nothing we're going to say here is really gonna sway any of you diehard Belle And Sebastian fans now will it? Alright-y then! With the exception of our two Belle & Sebastian cheerleaders, we here at AQ have admittedly never really been big fans of this Scottish band's brand of pop. While we appreciate their wry braininess, their tweeness was always just too... uhh, twee. That all changed with their last album 2003's wonderful Dear Catastrophe Waitress. That album sure changed our tune, and endeared itself to even Andee! Oddly it seems two rival camps have formed -- one filled with folks who loved everything up to D.C.W. and one with folks who disliked everything up to D.C.W. So needless to say there's been more than a little anxious anticipation for their follow-up. Well, we are saddened to report that upon hearing The Life Pursuit, we (including one of our B&S supporters even!) have collectively shuddered a profound "uh oh". Unlike the effortless, carefree pop jubilance of Dear Catastophe Waitress, each of the baker's dozen songs gave us the impression that the band was in turn feeling tired, bored and forced -- from the flat female vocals of the opening track "Act Of The Apostle" to the usually bulletproof, but here very lackluster vocals of frontman Stuart Murdoch. Now, you could on the other hand interpret this different tone more complimentarily as "subdued" or "restrained", but the band also takes strange excursions into what resembles '70s funk, fusion and blues rock and a watered-down version of the New Pornographers (their labelmates with whom they will be touring shortly). At best, there's a couple of songs here that are a small step down from D.C.W., at worst there's stuff on here that sounds like music for those '70s fountain 'dancing waters' shows. Yikes. Yes, very harsh words, but expectations and standards were high, and ours is some pretty harsh disappointment. Unfortunately instead of converts, we're reverts... and this time not just for their tweeness but for other reasons. Which will you be? If you need us we'll be over here listening to our D.C.W. and/or Tigermilk albums.
Whether or not we here at the store 'get it', many many folks have been digging the lispy vocals and sweet pop stylings of this Scottish group. Here they sound remarkably like Chelsea Girl-era Nico.
We figured that since all the B&S records were getting the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment, we might as well re-list the cds as well as they have long been big sellers around these parts...
Oooooh yessss, Tigermilk is where the grand Belle And Sebastian adventure began. It was originally released back in 1996 by the band themselves on their label Electric Honey. What? You never saw / heard it back then? Well, it's no wonder 'cause only 1000 of 'em were ever pressed! It wasn't until its cd reissue in 1999 on Matador Records that B&S fans far and wide were able to gorge themselves on the deliciousness of Tigermilk. Extremely toothsome pop songs - almost too sweet for some folks - full of hooks and melodies and murmur-lisped vocals. This is it, the beginning of their delicate brand of folk-pop. Sigh, swoon and get all misty-eyed. What a treat!
For some of us, Belle And Sebastian are one of the only bands that have been a constant in our lives for the last fifteen years. So listening to them always takes on extra weight as we immediately are flooded with so many memories when we hear their delicate and exquisitely constructed bittersweet pop songs. Seeing them live just a couple weeks ago we were reminded just how many life defining and moment-capturing songs they've created over the years with an ease and breeze that so many have tried to emulate but always seem to come up short. During that live set we got to hear several of the songs that are on Write About Love for the first time and it made us very excited for the album.
Like all Belle And Sebastian albums, it's hard to write about this new one without spending tons of time with it as they really are a band who make records for the long haul. As all their records have left a mark on us even if at first we didn't think we were as in love with it as the one before.
Write About Love is a nice mixture of the slower side of the band as well as a few totally sugary and catchy songs that we have been humming non stop since we got this in. The record does make us miss Isobel Campbell, as a couple of the female led tracks just aren't as special as when they were being sung by her. But we know that so many of these songs will become totally ingrained in helping cue so many future memories of romance, friendships, lazy rainy days, and sun soaked adventures. (FYI, vinyl being repressed, probably back in stock next week.)
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Another amazing synth obscurity rescued by the Sanity Muffin label, this one is a strange theatrical composition out of early '80s Italy from this little known female (we think!) analog-synth duo, whose soundtrack to a play titled "CronoCosmo" is an utterly strange mix of romantic Baroque fugues and electro-acoustic avant soundscapes. The mixing of earthly and cosmic themes suggested by the play's title, allows a heady combination of haunting classicism with alien-like passages of spacious and sometimes piercing bloop-bleepery. A mesmerizing sonic portal akin to being in multiple headspaces simultaneously. In other words, a very curious listen! Made more curious by the fact that we couldn't find any mention of the duo (nor any sound samples) beyond the Sanity Muffin website. Hmmm....
Limited to 100 copies.
Bellini is a math-y post rock quartet featuring the insanely complex kickass drumming of the fearsome Damon Che (Don Caballero, Thee Speaking Canaries), shredding guitarist Ago from the Albini-favored Italian group Uzeda, throaty vocalist Giovanna also from Uzeda, plus a bass player not from a "name" band. Crisply recorded by Steve Albini, this super group's sound is all furious angsty aggression. The guitars and drums work together exactly the way you'd think they would given the personalities involved here -- it's Shellacky, Caballero-y, Uzeda-y angular epic stuff. Overlaying the whole thing (and I mean the whole thing) is Giovanna's impassioned narrative -- half sung half spoken, sorta Kim Gordon-style -- which sounds okay, I mean it gets in the way of what could otherwise be a nice instrumental record, but then lots of folks are gonna like her vocals. I'm not sayin' it's *bad.* Maybe just un-necessary.
With a band name that tips a referential (and we assume reverential) hat toward surrealist artist Hans Bellmer, an artist renowned for his haunting disembodied doll-centric creations of distorted body image perceptions, The Bellmer Dolls bring their own brand of musical dismembered remembrances or remembered dismemberments. Their turbulent songs contort and unravel with true late '70s /early '80s post-punk angst and aggression, but styled with a '00s blase couture flair. While their unhinged male vocals unquestionably echo those of early Nick Cave and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, overall the Bellmer Dolls follow most closely in the tumultuous path of more recent bands such as Pleasure Forever. The closest kinship perhaps is with that sadly now defunct SF band's criminally unsung guitarist Josh Hughes whose highly textured effected guitar atmospherics were capable of brewing up a blinding maelstrom all on their own. So needless to say, we think that's a good thing, but Bellmer Dolls aren't just sound-alikes. They cut their own shadowy, slightly sullied yet well-angled silhouettes. Very cool.
Warm, loping pop filled with strummed and swirling guitars and gentle male vocals. Shades of late '80s / early '90s UK pop influence (a la The Smiths, Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, The La's). The emotively lilting vocals are particularly Morrissey-esque on songs like "The Only Way I Know" and "How Am I To Love You". Intelligent, bittersweet and very pretty.
