[ 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 2301 through 2350 of 2775.

Wandering the streets of San Francisco in 1963, radio "comedians" Mal Sharpe & Jim Coyle presented themselves with an aura of research based authority as they carried out their ludicrous pranks on the unsuspecting public. Dressed rather conservatively in double breasted suits and armed with a tape recorder, they confronted people on the street with such proposals as "For the sake of scientific investigation, can we drill a hole in your head to document the sound of your unconscious thoughts?" or "Please join our cult of three-ism, in which you will join us in a collective agreement and disavow any personal individuality." Coyle & Sharpe's charisma and genuine interest to engage their audience has resulted in a confrontational humor that has rarely been matched. If you have the Coyle and Sharpe cd that was released a few years back on Henry Rollins' label ("On The Loose") you know how funny this disc will be, and don't worry, this one features entirely different but equally insane material. Brilliant, hilarious genius! They far pre-dated the now-commonplace man-on-the-street / guerrilla interviewers. Today's reality TV can't hold a candle to these guys. Just think, this was long long long before passers-by were prepared for what was in store for them! They're the O.G.!

Hallelujah!!! All of you folks already well-versed in the much-more-than-comedy duo of Jim Coyle and Mal Sharpe, you know this is the one you've been waiting for! If you've not yet gotten your introductory dose of their genius antics, this is a perfect place to commence your schooling. For a brief spell in the early '60s -- waaay back before everyone and his mother became acclimatized to guerrilla 'man on the street' style pranks -- these two sharp dressed gents were wreaking havoc in and around SF, blindsiding pedestrians along Market Street. Their unflinchingly methodical mischief was an effortless razor sharp blend of social criticism, surrealism and utter hilarity. Often their verbal interrogation would take on somewhat sinister and/or downright subversive undertones. Indeed, theirs was a much more refined and thought provoking mind-boggle than the recent parade of heavy on the obnoxious, gross out factor peeps such as the Jerky Boys or Jackass crew. Sure much of Coyle and Sharpe's antics may seem tame by today's standards, but simply put, their perfect balance of lightning quick wit and stoic straight-facedness has seldom been matched, let alone bested. Released on the Sharpeworld label run by Mal Sharpe's daughter Jennifer, this fantastic four disc set comes pretty much straight from the horse's mouth... well, at least one of the two horses' mouths. Sadly Jim Coyle passed away in 1993, but in the years since his passing his cohort Mal Sharpe and their legions of diehard fans (including one Henry Rollins) have kept the Coyle & Sharpe magic alive. Sharpe compiled the proceedings here which include a Best of '63 collection recorded off the radio on New Year's Eve '63, a reissue of Coyle & Sharpe On The Loose (originally released in 1995 on Rollins' 213 label), a third cd of recently unearthed raw recording odds'n'ends with their earliest known recording from '61 plus 'Coyle & Sharpe Get Arrested' (yes, really!), and finally a dvd of the pair's 1965 pilot TV show The Imposters (the socialite dinner party and employee evaluation segments are particular viewing treats). This is truly a case of that old truism "they don't make 'em like they used to"! These 2 Men Are Imposters is a genuine treasure trove. Highly recommended!!

MPEG stream: Record Your Stomach
MPEG stream: Daring But Dead
MPEG stream: 114 Noises

Limited stock on this Hooker Vision imprint, from the newly minted project Coyote Image Classic - which is the husband / wife pairing of Grant and Rachel Evans - the former better known as Nova Scotia Arms, and the latter as Motion Sickness Of Time Travel. Four tracks spread over two cassettes (one 21 minutes, the other 14) of mostly acoustically sourced songs on piano and guitar whose languid, late-night atmospheres really taps into the beautifully forest-dwelling spirits of the Jewelled Antler sound we championed back in the day, complete with self-destructing tape warbling that sounds like our crappy machine eating the tape, but such sounds are the residues from THEIR crappy tape machine. Within these sounds, it's easy to hear Roy Montgomery's downer tones amidst the cascades of delay on the B side of this set. As good as both of these two are using synths and electronics, they might be better with this set-up. Hopefully, this will be a project they'll continue and in greater quantities! Already sold out at the source. Last copies ever.

MPEG stream: Untitled

On their second album on K Records, Jonn and Lisa polish up their patty-cake pop tunes just a bit. Still very gentle and sweet. Not always in tune or in time, but that's not the ultimate point of lo-fi pop now, is it?

Debut cd from the rough-around-the-edges, super-earnest pop pair Crabs. Very lo-fi, but the crushworthy sweet/tart sentiments manage to peek through the often less than proficient playing.

In which the sweet lo-fi pop duo of Jonn and Lisa welcome Sarah Dougher into the Crabs fold. The addition of keyboards makes this all the more lovely. This is their fourth full length.

The third album of lo-fi pop confection treats from the Oregon two-piece known as Crabs. Jonn Lunsford (brother of Bret of Beat Happening) and Lisa Jackson play well off each other with a warm familiarity like two close school pals.

SF's Crack:WAR strike back with two new tracks of electro street hustle with slovenly vocalisations. No, they didn't tour Africa, but their fans sure act like animals at their live shows. Wild.

Now on vinyl! Remixed and remastered! Here's what we said about the cd version: "Silent Fantasy" is the dementedly catchy full length debut from SF's Crack:WAR. Like the baddest girls in the schoolyard, frontwomen Le Kim & L'Erin accost listeners with spoken-sung lyrics that often go off the rails from sassy into the realm of the surreal and sordidly bizarre. Meanwhile, King Riff and Obscuratron put together distorted disco deconstructions that the right combination of substances would probably render wildly danceable. The sounds may not be too vastly removed from the legions of electro clones, but those looking for a soundtrack to lolling about trendy clubs and shopping for designer handbags will definitely be disappointed. This is San Francisco, not New York, and noise reigns supreme. You want cutting edge fashion? Crack:WAR give you over the top renditions of clowns, sailors, and bloody, masked anti-heroes. You asked for benignly "shocking," "sexy" lyrics and dirty-girl posing? Crack:WAR will give you illicit sex in caves with mutilated body parts, but you're gonna have to pay. Unlikely to be a hit at electro clubs in Williamsburg, and I mean that in purely complimentary terms.

Cool cool. A super-limited 7" release from San Francisco's psychedelelectro dirge party band, Crack: We Are Rock. Three hundred and thirty three of these were put out, as part of a 7" series from 333 Recordings.

Electronic art-noise soundclash representing SF and Ann Arbor. San Francisco's Crack:WAR, fresh off their tour of Japan, pump out three dark electro tracks -- Liquid Sky meets Throbbing Gristle. Ann Arbor rock deconstrucivists Wolf Eyes churn out a sidelong

On album #2, Crack W.A.R. have tempered their bad girl electro-sass wild side in favor of a more brooding, dankly industrial sound. Still very energetic tempo-wise, but somewhat less in-your-face in the vocal department. The haphazard cut'n'paste fashion of their Silent Fantasy album and rambunctious live shows were what stirred a fun, messy, funky ruckus in the local hipster scene last year. On Cosmic Mind Flight, they seem to have opted for less noise and spectacle and shifted their priorities to honing their songs and sound. As a result, it does sound 'better' but you might find it a bit lacking in the C:W.A.R. bizarro personality that drenched their debut.

MPEG stream: Wedlock
MPEG stream: Baby Devil

"Silent Fantasy" is the dementedly catchy full length debut from Crack:WAR. Like the baddest girls in the schoolyard, frontwomen Le Kim & L'Erin accost listeners with spoken-sung lyrics that often go off the rails from sassy into the realm of the surreal and sordidly bizarre. Meanwhile, King Riff and Obscuratron put together distorted disco deconstructions that the right combination of substances would probably render wildly danceable. The sounds may not be too vastly removed from the legions of electro clones, but those looking for a soundtrack to lolling about trendy clubs and shopping for designer handbags will definitely be disappointed. This is San Francisco, not New York, and noise reigns supreme. You want cutting edge fashion? Crack:WAR give you over the top renditions of clowns, sailors, and bloody, masked anti-heroes. You asked for benignly "shocking," "sexy" lyrics and dirty-girl posing? Crack:WAR will give you illicit sex in caves with mutilated body parts, but you're gonna have to pay. Unlikely to be a hit at electro clubs in Williamsburg, and I mean that in purely complimentary terms. Added bonus: seizure-inducing live videos to play on your computer!

RealAudio clip: Animal Trap
RealAudio clip: Hooker Leg

We have VERY few of these, as in maybe 5 copies, but we figured there were at least 5 weirdo aQuarius customers out there who would flip their lids for this (sadly, probably WAY more than 5, but at least there's talk of a less limited version down the line), cuz really, even conceptually, this has aQ written all over it. A lavishly handmade package, two tapes in a little gatefold sleeve, with a miniature booklet inside the gatefold, all held together with a Japanese style obi. The artwork itself is sorta curious, there is what appears to be a bike tread, and what is most definitely a cyclist, and yep, Cracked Vessel is in fact something we've never encountered before, BICYCLE BLACK METAL. To be fair, listening to this, you might not immediately pick up on the bicycle connection, but knowing it's there, only makes it that much cooler. And weirder. And by the same token, if you had no idea there was a bicycle theme, the music itself is fucking furious and frenzied, a wild, chaotic, blast of punky blackness, whirling and wild, lurching from impossibly frantic blasts to punky pound, the arrangements intricate and downright proggy, feedback everywhere, the drumming insane, the songs super short, but crazy catchy crammed with parts and time signatures, killer riffs, all blown out heaviness, the sort of buzzing black rawness that would put most non bicycle black metal to shame. Grab one of these before they're gone, and for all but the five of you who actually nab one of these, keep your fingers crossed that they repress it in a much less limited run...

MPEG stream: Bitten By The Hand Of Winter
MPEG stream: The Atmosphere Is A Glass Ceiling

Elsewhere on this list you'll find the repress of the double cassette from this bicycle black metal outfit (yeah, you read that right), now combined onto one tape and at a nicer price, but we also got the new tape, and like the first, you wouldn't necessarily know that Cracked Vessel was all about bikes, but believe us, it is, which for us, only makes it that much cooler/weird, but if bicycles aren't grim and trve enough for you, just pretend their singing about Satan and you'll be just fine, cuz sonically, these guys kick up a seriously ruling black metal din, with blown out fast picked insectoid riffing, furious blast beats, harsh shrieking vokills, and all that good stuff, but they also temper the buzz and blast, with plenty of melody, hints of shoegaze, some post rock, math rock too, with the five songs here cycling (get it?) through multiple permutations, from frenzied ferocity, to loping moodiness, from punked out crush to almost Deafheaven-like tripped out black buzziness, not to mention some weird angular bits that remind us of classic screamo, and some lumbering downer dirges that sounds like classic post punk, all of those seemingly disparate elements all tangled up into a fantastically gnarled collection of fucked up experimental heaviness that manages to be brutal and catchy, pretty buzzy and black, but also strangely poppy, not sure why these guys aren't more well known, we can't imagine that'll be the case much longer. Fans of the various strains of modern black metal, would do well to check these guys out. And hell, as long as you're buying this one, you might as well by the first one too, they both RULE.

Newest entry in the Radical Jewish Culture series released on John Zorn's imprint Tzadik. Based in Poland, this band is supposedly quite avant garde... but I'm not sure what's so "radical" about them. This is somber, melodic, minor-key instrumental Jewish traditional music played out on accordion, violin, clarinet, and double bass; and will most likely appeal to fans of Masada

RealAudio clip: Klezmer Rhapsody

This movie's theme song by DMX is so catchy and tough and mean. I (Sadie) would buy this cd for that song alone, that is if you haven't seen the commercial so many times you're sick to death of it. The second song on the cd is by Eminem, who I swear I try to give the benefit of the doubt more than anyone else, In fact, I'm even kinda obsessed with him, but Christ. This song sounds like a parody of himself: totally flat, monotonous and still women hating (issues much, Em?). So booooring. "Go to sleep bitch die mother fucker die why are you still alive, die you nameless bitch". Ha ha, so funny...I guess. And sadly the rest goes kinda goes down hill from there. Relitively dull and nondescript hip hop. But maybe worth it for that DMX track!

RealAudio clip: Gon' Give It To Ya
RealAudio clip: Go To Sleep

The UK's notorious black metal superstars take their Gothic metal fantasies to the major label level with this new release, a quickie album preceding their debut disc for new label Sony! While not as fully-realized as their last full-length (the

RealAudio clip: Suicide and Other Comforts

Dani & Co.'s Countess Bathory concept album! Again, amazing theatrical black metal from the UK's kings of the genre. Not as good as "Dusk And Her Embrace" production-wise, but bloody good otherwise. Includes (while supplies last) a limited edition bonus disc of remixes and covers, including Venom's "Black Metal" (which sounds kinda stupid with keyboards!) and a great version of the classic Maiden tune "Hallowed Be Thy Name".

It's hard to know what to say about a band whose sound stays pretty consistent throughout its relatively lengthy career. On the one hand, it's sad when a band makes the same record over and over again. But one could argue that if one was great then 5 or 6 would be even greater! I think most of us fall somewhere in between. We want bands to explore and expand, but we don't want their sound to change so dramatically that all the stuff we loved about them in the first place is changed or gone. With Cradle Of Filth, and maybe black metal in general, there's only so far you can go and so many ways you can experiment. This may just be the best Cradle Of Filth record since their career defining Dusk And Her Embrace album. Not because this record is a whole new sound, and not because it's that familiar sound we already love. but because CoF have mastered two elements that in the past have wholly determined the hit/miss ratio of their albums. The first is the production. CoF have been cursed with a thin, and thus entirely unheavy production in the past. And while it is maybe understandable, trying to fit all those guitars, drums, keyboards, double kicks, female background vocals, dreamy atmospheres, and of course vocalist/black metal pinup Danni Filth's dog whistle shrieks and guttural growls, that still didn't keep some old records from sounding like they were recorded on an 8-track and mastered with tin cans and twine. This is definitely the heaviest CoF record in a long time; the guitars are thick and brutal, the drums are pummelling and the vocals are settled just right in the mix. Things are still marred by that wimpy keyboard sound, but I think that's more an aesthetic issue than one of recording/production. The other element that makes Damnation one of Cradle Of Filth's best is the SONGS. THE GODDAMNED RIFFS! In the past, CoF have occasionally lapsed into sound over song, sonics over substance. Where it all sounded great, but...were there any actual songs?! This time around the riffs are wickedly catchy and the songs follow suit. Complicated enough to withstand repeated listens, but hooky enough to leave you humming the riffs days later. Cradle Of Filth are still silly and over the top and dramatic and goofy, that's their schtick. But the fact that the songs are so weird and convoluted and actually pretty fucking heavy, makes the goofy vampire/creatures of the night/goth nightmare side of their band a welcome relief from the glut of TRUE blazing fast, monochromatic, grim, primitive and humorless black metal. Think of it as some sort of black metal opera, Immortal meets Devil Doll, and it all makes some sick sort of sense. MPEG Download: "Hurt And Virtue" [/audio/cradleoffilthhurt.mp3] MPEG Stream: "Hurt And Virtue" [/audio/cradleoffilthhurt.m3u]

MPEG stream: Hurt And Virtue
MPEG stream: An Enemy Led The Tempest

We love black metal. Longtime readers of the aQ list are no doubt well aware of that fact. And as much as we dig the true and the grim and the kvlt, we have no fantastical notions of our own "Trueness". We love all sorts of black metal, ridiculous over the top orchestral bombastic black metal, avant pop laced BM, totally twisted weirdo BM, all manner of blacknoize, AND we love Cradle Of Filth. We have for nearly two decades. One of our first black metal records was 1994's The Principle Of Evil Made Flesh, which even today, still sounds incredible. And yeah, like Dimmu Borgir, CoF are one of the few bands who managed the shift to mainstream metal act, finding their way into Hot Topics and onto teenage bedroom walls worldwide. But that's not a reason to hate them. Well for some folks it probably is, but for us, we dig their ridiculous bombast, their over the top symphonic arrangements, their vampiric babe imagery, the soaring synths, the faux strings, Dani Filth's bizarre vocalizing, slipping from guttural growl to inhuman screech, and besides all that stuff, there's some seriously shredding black metal happening. Sure, not all their records have been good, the last few have been a bit disappointing, and few have been as good as their classic Dusk... And Her Embrace, which along with their debut we would still rank with our all time favorites. The problem with the not-so-good CoF record was that they just weren't heavy enough, everything else was firmly in place, but the strings and the dramatic female vocals, and the orchestras and all that stuff, relegated the riffs and the blasts and the buzz to supporting roles. But damn if this new one isn't a return to form, their heaviest in ages. And it's easy to see why this appeals to goths and teens and the like, this is an epic and dramatic tale, it's like a black metal musical version of True Blood, or more accurately some historical tale of witches and warlocks, the whole thing rife with death and life, and love and tragedy and vampires and murder and mayhem, but it's the music that matters, and it sounds pretty bad ass to us, the riffing furious and frantic and so heavy, the drumming blasting and pounding, the vocals distinctively unlike most black metal vokills, then the synths and pianos, that would be enough, but then mix in some haunting dramatic interludes, the cinematic ambience, the haunting female voices, the symphonic stabs, and you've got what is essentially another awesome Cradle Of Filth record. And yeah, the true grim hordes can look down their corpse painted noses at us, but we love this shit. And for anyone who bought the ridiculous new one from Dimmu Borgir that we listed last time, well, this is the perfect companion! While they last, we have the deluxe version with a bonus cd and four extra tracks!

MPEG stream: The Cult Of Venus Aversa
MPEG stream: One Foul Step From The Abyss
MPEG stream: The Nun With The Astral Habit

NOW ON VINYL, AGAIN! "Litanies of damnation, death, and the darkly erotic" from Britain's biggest (and best?) black metal act, the notorious Cradle of Filth. Andee was already a fan of their previous discs, but this is the one that convinced Allan that CoF were pretty darn great. Totally over the top, storming black metal mixed with Hammer Horror theatrics. It's fast, complex, and brutal. Definitely extreme despite their "sell-out" reputation. The CoF disc to get, to start with, we all agree.

We've had this for a while but neglected to list it, a fate that this ferocious little ep does not deserve. Previously available as an import digipak, now in a domestic jewel case version with one track different from the original (swapping the import's techno-remix for a brand new, non-techno song, a good deal really). Featuring possibly CoF's best song title ever ("Of Dark Blood And Fucking"), a ditty that happens to also be their best song since the days of "Dusk & Her Embrace". Despite all the hype and the lineup changes, this ep is proof that Dani Filth and his corpsepainted crew are still quite capable of drawing blood.

Everyone's favorite (or most hated) over-the-top British black metal act stalls for time before their upcoming major label studio album debut with this double disc import containing (disc 1) a live performance from April 2001, and (disc 2) a bunch of remixes, souncheck recordings, and demo tracks. Cd-rom video is also included (the "director's cut" promo vid for their Sisters of Mercy cover "No Time To Cry"). The material in their live set ranges from early classics like "The Forest Whispers My Name" to the more melodic, Maidenesqe stuff from their last proper studio full-length, "Midian". Definitely one for fans only -- who else is gonna want the CoF screensaver included? But now, after an ep, a best-of, and this live/odds n' ends release, Dani & co. ought to bring forth their actual new album!

RealAudio clip: Dusk And Her Embrace - Live

We all love Cradle Of Filth, even if they're the band to hate. As black metal posers, sellouts, whatever. Bottom line is, their records are amazing, totally complex, epic concept records, with ultra fucked song structures, amazing playing and maybe the sickest vocals ever. It doesn't hurt that they have the whole evil goth/bondage vampire look going on as well as their line of pornographic merchandise, videos and super sci-fi metal album covers. Unclear why they aren't as big as Marilyn Manson or Slipknot. I'm sure they will be eventually. But for now, there's this double cd collection of album and compilation tracks. For the CoF virgin, this would be a great place to start. You get tracks from all the records as well as an Iron Maiden cover, a Sodom cover, a Slayer cover and lots more. Definitely a great introduction to the band. If you are already a convert, odds are you have most of this stuff already. But for you completists, there are 3 unreleased tracks (but be warned, it's one Sabbat cover, one orchestral track, and one techno track, check em out below!).

RealAudio clip: Dusk And Her Embrace
RealAudio clip: For Those Who Died (Return To The Sabbat Mix)
RealAudio clip: Carmilla's Masque
RealAudio clip: Dance Macabre

The UK's most popular black metal export strikes again. Such songs as "Cthulhu Dawn", "Lord Abortion", and "Creatures That Kissed In Cold Mirrors" maintain CoF's sexy Hammer Horror vibe, and although "Midian" has much better production than their last album "Cruelty & The Beast" (thankfully!), Dani Filth and the lads still haven't sold out for the Marilyn Manson big bucks that they must be tempted by... I mean, "true black metallers" will claim that CoF were sell outs from the beginning, but at least they haven't changed. This record, along with the improved production, only differs from past efforts by the inclusion of even more melodic, Iron Maiden style guitar parts, not a bad thing at all. Otherwise, the Gothic keyboards, female backing vox, Dani's unholy repertoire of low and high screams, and the blasting drums are intact and 100 percent Filthy (i.e. completely over the top).

RealAudio clip: Cthulhu Dawn

Here's one of our all-time favorite black metal bands, and even we are guilty of ignoring them a bit now that they're HUGE rather than being a raw, cult, underground one-man-band operation like a lot of the stuff we've been trumpeting lately. But that's not fair. Cradle of Filth, though some purer-than-thou types see 'em as sell-outs, are pretty much just as 'extreme' as they ever were, and in terms of songwriting have really only gotten better. And they're one of the reasons that we're even black metal fans in the first place -- CoF were the first 'modern' black metal band that Andee, for one, ever heard and got into (along with Satyricon)...and then one thing lead to another. Not everyone's cup of absinthe, but you can't deny their brew's potency. So, we really should have reviewed this new album the week it came out, but better late than never. Of course, we also know that if you're already into CoF, all you need to know is that this latest album is simply another great CoF opus -- gothically bent, vicious and heavy. Its perfumed and perverse atmosphere of baroque excess lacks not for Dani Filth's trademark screech and snarl (more snarl than screech this time), and some sweet female vox too (a Nymphette, of course, and doubtless corseted), ornate Hammer horror keyboards, blasting drums, and a good deal of very 'heavy metal' guitar riffage. More and more the Filthies have been taking after classic metal mentors like Iron Maiden and Metallica, with some very trad sounding melodies and harmonies cropping up amidst their occult-sexual black metal blasphemizing. Fans needn't know much more, you ought to be happy with this. On the other hand, if you haven't yet been, um, rocked by this Cradle, well, this would be a very accessible starting point (although we certainly must also recommend our absolute fave, Dusk And Her Embrace). And for those of you who once were CoF fans but turned your backs on 'em as they got more popular and more tuneful and better produced...well never mind about Nymphetamine then, I guess. But you're missing out on some damn good metal music!

MPEG stream: Nemesis
MPEG stream: Medusa And Hemlock

This is the cd you must buy if you are at all interested in Norwegian dark metal (even though they're not Norwegian). Melodic. Heavy. Fast. Beautiful. The current kings of black metal, just amazing.

MPEG stream: Dirge Inferno
MPEG stream: The Byronic Man
MPEG stream: I Am The Thorn

Writing a guest review here two years ago, Wrest of Leviathan called Craft's previous album Terror Propaganda a "lesson in the grimmest of expession". We just got this new, third (and final? maybe not) Craft disc in stock so we haven't checked with Wrest yet to see what he thinks of it, but subjecting it to our own finely black metal attuned ears, we say, YEAH! Fuck The Universe is another bog-blast of genius from one of the best bands in the Swedish black metal underground. For the black at heart, grim pleasures abound in Craft's negative metal mixture of misanthropic spittle, dismal drone and headbanging hooks, the band bulldozering through the uncaring cosmos with the feeling being mutual. Or worse. There's something very rock and roll gone wrong about this, slowed down thrash executed with a sneer of competence, nodding to the gods Darkthrone and Mayhem with a "don't worry, we've got it covered" sort of look (and sound). Recommended. Plus, this domestic version is released on the undeniably hip label Southern Lord, whose doom roots have of late seemingly been overtaken by the love of black metal, and they love the good stuff, we're on the same page there!

MPEG stream: Earth A Raging Blaze
MPEG stream: Demonspeed

This bit of black metal wisdom comes courtesy of AQ pal Wrest from the mighty Leviathan: As things change and weaken in the ranks of older "black metal" bands, a hellish shriek sounds from the Swedish underground. Unlike their fellow countrymen, Mardukee and Dork Fun-eral, Craft have developed a formula for taking the sound of '90s era B.M. and breathing new life into its whithered black lungs. Terror Propaganda, Craft's second effort, is a lesson in the grimmest of expession. "False Orders Begone" rides a riff that matchs the genius of old Celtic Frost while "616" is a thrashy, dark intrumental voyage. These 8 hymns may seem to some like mere Darkthrone worship, but upon closer listening, this hard to find gem shines far brighter than most new Scandanavian B.M. coming out these days. May Craft rot in glory.

MPEG stream: Ablaze
MPEG stream: The Silence Thereafter

Blazing fast primitve Swedish black metal in the style of Darkthrone, old Ulver, or Immortal. Blurry buzzsaw guitars, pounding blasting drums and raspy growling screams. Pure and evil and totally cult.

Finally! The return of Swedish black metal horde Craft, six years after their crushing Fuck The Universe record, purported to be their last at the time, but it was well worth the wait, and we're happy to report very little has changed in whatever negative grim underworld these guys call home, in fact, if anything, Void sound even more misanthropically miserable, the sound seriously cranked, a killer production that doesn't take away from the sound's raw immediacy or caustic filth at all, just makes it that much more powerful. As always, these guys weave dizzying blackened riffs into plodding doomic trudges, creating a strange dichotomous sound that find the guitars riffing furiously, while the rest of the band lumbers ominously, their debt to Mayhem and Darkthrone more than paid, as they take the classic sound of vintage Scandinavian blackness and make it all their own, peppering their dirgey miserablism with cool little melodic trills, processed backwards guitars, weird effects, all employed judiciously, and subtly, letting the core black buzz and demonic pound speak for itself, the vocals even more harsh than before, and so blown out and high in the mix that occasionally you can almost hear the needles in the studio peg, but for all the lumbering midtempo dirgery, it's not just all doomy blackness, and while the band rarely go full bore frenzied blast, they do crank up the tempo here and there, although they do tend to slip right back into some gnarled and churning dirge before too long. There's also plenty of classic metal mixed into their black buzz too, which makes these songs surprisingly catchy, but again, without at all sacrificing the band's grizzled hellish blackness.

MPEG stream: Serpent Soul
MPEG stream: Come Resonance Of Doom
MPEG stream: The Ground Surrenders

Another blast of reverby eighties style pop from these Southern California retropoppers, this one even more beholden to the golden age of MTV than the last one. The last single we referenced modern weirdo pop outfits like Ariel Pink, Greatest Hits, Blank Dogs and the like, and while that comparison still perhaps applies, the sounds here is WAY less weird, and way more, well eighties. In fact, it's kinda uncanny how much these two tracks sounds genuinely 15+ years old. From the sound, to the song, to the vocals, the instrumentation, the production, total shimmery eighties MTV style jangle pop, it's easy to imagine seeing a video from these guys between, say the Thompson Twins and Icicle Works. Spidery melodies, bouncy basslines, electronic percussion, tinkling Cure like melodies, synths and keyboards, and some very broody Smiths like sad boy vox, and of course some female back up vocals on the choruses, the second side slips more into a sort of almost gothy eighties electro pop, but holy heck, this single is some sort of fantastic sonic time machine, and while we've doubted the sincerity of this next generation romanticizing what many of us consider to be an embarrassing decade, we have to say, these songs sound pretty darn good, and definitely had us pining for the (good?) old days of big hair, over the top videos, crazy clothes, dayglo, MTV and of course the super catchy jangly electro gloom pop that went with all that stuff...

Record number two from these eighties style new wave indie pop revivalists and another fantastic batch of pretty much perfect new wave pop songs, and all we could think was 'these guys are not fucking around'. Every record not only sounding more polished and more catchy, but sounding more like it actually comes from the eighties. There's no outsider weirdness, not tongue in cheek, this is pure eighties pop and it totally hits the spot. Sounding in places a bit like M83, due in no small part to the glistening glossy production, but also this new batch of songs are pretty fantastic, the guitars chiming and glistening, the programmed beats more intricate and driving, the vocals still appropriately wistful sad boy and slouchy, but this times there's also stings (or synth strings) that add a dark gravitas, and an emotional heft, making these tracks play out like songs that you totally would have put in a mixtape as a teenager back in the day. There's also a bit of a shoegaze vibe going on (hence the M83 comparison), with the guitars and synths whipped up into thick soaring swells, all held together by some awesome gloom pop basslines, especially on "Burst" which is especially bass heavy, with a wildly soaring post chorus bridge and a super hooky melody. Probably by now you know if this is your cup of tea, but if you dig this new wave of eighties, well, new wave, few do it as good as these guys. And stick around for the title track, a darkly dramatic closer, all fuzzed out and dreamily droney, moody and brooding, with cool percussion, some vibes, spidery guitar, subtle piano, and some gorgeous vox, all woven into the dreamiest track of the bunch.

MPEG stream: Still Left With Me
MPEG stream: Warmth

After two killer singles, finally the full length from Stockton's Craft Spells, another batch of eighties worshipping new wave indie pop, and actually since all the songs from those singles, if you dug those, you'll definitely have a good idea of what you're getting into. Besides embodying that whole Captured Tracks / Sacred Bones sound, a little gloomy, a little gothy, a little new wave, Craft Spells are serious popsmiths, who probably didn't actually grow up in the eighties, although these songs sure sound like it. Not as warped and lysergic as many of their new wave gloom pop brethren, who often have us feeling like those groups must be taking the piss, "how crazy were the eighties?!" Instead, these songs are just really GOOD, hooky, jangly, bubbly chunks of classic new wave electro pop. We described one of their singles as sounding a little like a warped Style Council 45 playing at 33, and while that might be overstating the 'weirdness', Style Council is not a bad reference point at all, neither is Simple Minds, or Thompson Twins, or Culture Club, or The Smiths, or Icicle Works, or The Cure, or Echo And The Bunnymen, we could go on, but those are the bands, and the sound, that Craft Spells seem to have captured so perfectly. Barring the more modern production, and some subtle strangeness, many of these songs could be actual long lost eighties jams, the minor key guitar jangle, the mopey sad boy vox, the bloopy synth melodies, the mood and the vibe and the hooks. And while it's definitely NOT super weird, it's just strange enough that it will probably still hit the spot for fans of Greatest Hits, Gary War, Julian Lynch, Solar Bears, Night Control, Beach Fossils, Hanoi Janes, Dignan Porch, Minks, Soft Moon, Wild Nothing and all the rest. A new retro new wave jangle pop favorite for sure!

MPEG stream: For The Ages
MPEG stream: Scandanavian Crush
MPEG stream: The Fog Rose High
MPEG stream: Party Talk

Another fantastic new record from Stockton dream poppers Craft Spells, who have pretty much entirely distanced themselves the weirdo pop scene that spawned them (Ariel Pink, Blank Dogs, Greatest Hits, etc.). And while they made a brief stop around record number two at a sound that harkened back to Eighties MTV new wave pop, this new one finds them fully embracing a new (to them) sound, one that's simple, melodic, heartfelt, dreamily fuzzy, a little bit wistful, sun dappled and so lovely. There are still hints of their earlier sound, little new wavy bits here and there, some subtle weirdness, but for the most part this is classic sounding baroque pop, that looks back to the classics, the Kinks, the Zombies, early Bee Gees, with strings and synths, even some vibes (maybe xylophone?), lush, luxurious arrangements, plenty of jangle and strum, some subtle electronics, a softly psychedelic production. Fans of modern day recently reviewed retro poppers like the New Lines and Still Corners, as well as groups from the recent (and not so) past like Stereolab, the High Llamas, Witch Hazel and Cardinal, this definitely falls right in there sonically. Hazy vocals, laid back steel string strum, lush vocal croon, harmonies, impossibly catchy hooks, woozy baselines, lots of shimmer and glimmer, hints of Elephant Six for sure, a little paisley pop too, but with a definite power/psych pop bent. So good. And generally we'd be bummed for a band to ditch all the stuff that made them weird, but Craft Spells work so much better as a proper pop band, and this is easily the best thing we've heard from them yet.

MPEG stream: Nausea
MPEG stream: Komorebi
MPEG stream: Changing Faces

Straight out of Stockton, California (the birth place of Pavement btw), via the always reliable Captured Tracks comes this latest blast of jangly new wave flecked reverb drenched indie pop from Craft Spells, whose sound, while not owing that much to the slacker pop of Pavement, does fit perfectly with the recent explosion of new wave eighties influenced retro garage pop. Craft Spells situates themselves somewhere right between Ariel Pink, Greatest Hits and Blank Dogs. Shimmery washed out glistening guitars, over softly propulsive drum machine rhythms, deep moody vocals, lots of layered background oooooh's and aaaaah's, the whole thing wrapped up in a gauzy hazy swirl. The B-side throws in some handclaps, whirring organs, changes things up a bit with a more minor key vibe, and some falsetto vocals, the result sounding almost like a warped Style Council 45 playing at 33. Woozy and washed out, jangly and new wavey, catchy and druggy, some twisted pop that will hit the spot for fans of the usual suspects: Gary War, Julian Lynch, Solar Bears, Night Control, Beach Fossils, Hanoi Janes, Dignan Porch, Minks, Soft Moon, Wild Nothing, etc...

MPEG stream: Party Talk

Here's yet another record that under different circumstances could have been and yeah probably should have been a Record Of The Week. But for one thing, it's crazy expensive, and for another, it's taken us months to get enough just to list, and highlight, let alone make it ROTW. So that said, be prepared when we sell out to patiently wait while we try to get more. But for now, dig it: Classical music by Ravel and Mussorgsky, recut, remixed, and recontextualized by techno legends Carl Craig and Moritz Von Oswald. The result? A gloriously plunderphonic soundscape that slips from shimmery soft focus drift, to a subtly chopped and screwed version of the original piece, to jumbled and blurred Oval-like digital collages, to skittery minimal house music, to dubbed out electronica, to groovy cinematic disco, to spaced out rhythmic ambience, well heck, needless to say, these guys basically pulled off the techno version of a kick ass Tim Hecker / Philip Jeck / Oval record. The liner notes go into great detail about the process and the idea and the recording, but as with most records, it's the sounds that matter most, and the sounds here are divine. And the whole record somehow works as a single multi movement-ed piece. Each one drifting into the next, the segues seamless, even if the tracks are dramatically different. The intro is a gorgeous hushed drone, laced with delicate melodies and soft breathless shimmers, almost new agey, a gorgeous ethereal drift that introduces the fanfare that will be the basis for the next few movements. And thus the first movement, a bit of dramatic fanfare, shuffling snares, stuttering horns, the arrangement is subtle, so on the surface it almost feels unaltered, but the notes seem to skitter, and overlap, creating a subtle yet dizzy march, until the second movement introduces the trill of still other horns, locked into a loop over the original, that in turn draped over the deep soft shimmer of the intro, a dense layered landscapes of sampled snares and horns, that grows more hypnotic and mesmerizing, until near the end, the first sign of added rhythms surfaces, a simple high hat pattern draped over that looped horn mesmer, building even more in the beginning of the third movement, before shifting gears completely part way through, the drums taking the lead, the Mussorgsky and the Ravel, relegated mere building blocks, samples transformed into wholly new shapes. The fourth movement follows suit, a gorgeous skittery, late night chunk of minimal Kompakt style techno, with plenty of synth buzz and dubby effects. There's a brief interlude beginning with some jagged rhythms, and ending with some swoonsome swirling synths, which is simply preparing us for the two loooong closers. The first, Movement 5, begins with a flurry of deep ominous horns, and dramatic strings, subtly looped into a never ending high end drone, the click in the loop a rhythmic pulse, pounded piano, all very ominous and sinister and epic, before giving way to something much more house-y and clubby, sounding a bit like a house music version of the James Bond theme, complete with those ominous horns, and plenty of sinister strings, which brings us to the final movement, quickly becoming our favorite, a woozy soundscape, all the various strings and horns muted and blurred into a slow shifting backdrop to simple stripped down percussion, distant drones, moaning strings, all hovering beneath the surface, an awesomely hypnotic main loop, and a groovy minimal rhythm, bells chiming in the distance, the backdrop gradually growing ever more ominous and atonal, but fading out completely. Leaving just the rhythm to play itself out. So so good. Occupies some strange nether region between minimal techno, processed soundscapery, classical, new age, avant dronemusic, plunderphonics, pushes all our buttons, and most likely yours too. Gorgeously packaged like an old Deutsche Grammophon classical record, deluxe booklet with lots of photos and liner notes, and again, these have been tough to get a hold of so please be patient if we run out.

MPEG stream: Intro
MPEG stream: Movement 1
MPEG stream: Movement 4
MPEG stream: Movement 5

MPEG stream: Car Crash Decisions
MPEG stream: Monkey Wrench
MPEG stream: Proposed Production

Hot damn! Finally more readily available and on dvd no less, this video documenting one of the most unhinged rock spectacles ever -- the legendary free Cramps concert for the patients at the State Mental Hospital back in 1978 -- has been circulating in increasingly poor quality vhs copies for ages! If you've seen it, you'll know what a cause for 'celebration' this is. If you've yet to see it, Cramps fan or not, you're in for a helluva blisterin', jaw-droppin' time in front of your television. No, the quality's still not all that great, but that only adds to the wild grittiness of the viewing experience. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy are in top down'n'dirty form. During the course of the performance, the lines between patient and band are swiftly blurred and eventually obliterated. This is as punk as it gets!

This double cd archival Cramps collection says right on it: for Cramps Fiends Only, and that's dang right. For one thing, in terms of recording quality, a lot of this sounds like ass. But hey, how good does your band's rehearsal tapes from 1976, or 1977 CBGB live tapes sound? That's what I thought. So if you're a fiend for the Cramps' brand of twisted punk rockabilly, you'll surely dig the contents of this crypt...the grimier and ghastlier the better, eh? 45 live/demo/practice cuts in all, spanning the years 1976-1988 but delving mainly into the band's early years. Disc two features two complete live sets, at Max's Kansas City '77 and CBGB '78. The cd booklet is a treat too, 28 pages cramm(p)ed with enlightening and exhaustive liner notes penned by Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, colorfully illustrated with tons of photos (ooh, Ivy), fliers, and other graphics -- including a picture of the Cramps in a newspaper ad for a NYC Channel 2 TV news Special Report on the "far-out, black leather world of the Punk Movement" being presented by a youthful John Tesh. Really well done. Fiends, get on it.

MPEG stream: I Was A Teenage Werewolf (rehearsal Oct. '76)
MPEG stream: Human Fly (live at CBGB '78)

Our experience with the mbira (the thumb piano) is pretty limited. As much as I'd like to go on and on about the history of the instrument and other essential mbira recordings, I just can't. But what I can tell you, is that this is one of the dreamiest, floatiest, head in the clouds records ever, and has been our main going to sleep record these last few weeks. And 'going to sleep music' is in no way a criticism. In fact, if anything, it's the opposite. I don't care what anyone tells you, few times in one's music listening day are as important or as sacred as the time before you fall asleep, when whatever music you put on soothes you and lulls you to sleep, and obviously some of those sounds you take with you into your dreams. Crandell's mbira is the perfect soundtrack to your dreams, as long as you dream of lush green glades, huge pools of crystal clear water, blue skies and slowly drifting clouds. Mbira Magic, while light and airy and very very dreamy and mellow, remains just on the right side of new age, with sweetly lyrical muted melodies that drift lazily into subtly complex patterns and drift apart into abstract soundscapes of soft plink plonk, rich with reverb and all warm and langorous. So so nice.

MPEG stream: Double Dose
MPEG stream: The Island

[ aquarius records catalogue — C ]