[ aquarius records catalogue

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Showing results 451 through 500 of 1150.

Our favorite psychedelic apocalyptic tribal metalcore band fights the bootleggers with this offical live recording, circa their Times Of Grace album. Most tracks are drawn from that fine album, with some earlier stuff represented as well, including "Locust Star", the hit from Through Silver In Blood. Great sound, great live band, it's a no-brainer for dedicated Neurosis fanatics.

MPEG stream: The Doorway

Reissue of this all-time-classic by the Bay Area's (and America's!) number one most popular underground metal outfit. Tribal punk/metal with chamber-prog rock leanings? Super heavy and full of atmosphere. I, Allan, personally think that if you're going to own just one Neurosis album, this is it.

The back catalog reissue campaign continues from Oakland's favorite sons, the mighty Neurosis, whose Sovereign was an ep originally released in 2000, chronologically and thus sonically sitting right between Times Of Grace and A Sun That Never Sets. Four sprawling, slow building tracks of post doom heaviness, of sinister smoldering metallic post rock, an epic chunk of psychedelic, metallic, atmospheric Neurosis-music ('cause by this point, and perhaps well before, their heavy, percussive tribal crust-prog had become too distinctive and unique to be compared to much else). Produced by Steve Albini, the usual pound and crush, the spidery melodies, and hushed gruff vocals, not to mention the squalls of downtuned chug and feral howl, and those mesmerizing tribal rhythms, are again augmented by various guests (including of course members of Amber Asylum) adding violin, tuba, trombone, cello, etc. What else to say about these guys, their sound, dark, droning, and hypnotic, and a sound that continues to be emulated by essentially every heavy band around. This new version of Sovereign, besides offering up all new artwork and a swank slipcover, also tacks on a bonus track "Misgiven", a dark experimental noise drenched dirge that almost sound more like Neurosis offshoot Tribes Of Neurot more than the band proper, thick sinewy basslines, pounding slo-mo rhythms, all wreathed in swirling clouds of electronics, hiss and whir and shimmer, spacey and psychedelic, fractured and noisy, especially near the end, when the bass drops out, leaving just a strange tripped out, dubbed out electronic noise flecked drum pound.

MPEG stream: Prayer
MPEG stream: An Offering

Another great Neurosis opus! They've pretty much perfected the combination of massive drone-metal devastation and quietly drifting, melodic gloom. Heavy guitars, roaring voices and industrial-ized drumming give way to desperate melancholic balladry, sung-spoke in a weary, careworn male voice that's a dead ringer for that of Mark Lanegan. As with their recent collaboration with Jarboe of the Swans, or their previous full-length A Sun That Never Sets, you get both dark and light here...really a twilight I guess. Dusk-infused art from a powerful yet mature band. Neurosis fans may find this to be one of their best yet, and anyone not already a Neurosis fan ought to lend an ear (to this record for sure, not to mention all their other excellent releases).

MPEG stream: Burn
MPEG stream: A Season In The Sky

"Locust Star" IS a great song.

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

SORRY. Local heroes Neurosis (the biggest underground "metal" band in the country?) return with a new digital slab of heaviness, dark and grinding like Slayer on 33. Yet they incorporate elements of their Tribes of Neurot alter-ego, lending Times of Grace a much more melodic sound, with swashes of delicate ambience. Compared to their last record, Through Silver In Blood, this is superior, making for a much better follow-up to their great Enemy Of The Sun lp. Tribal metal psychedelia, uniquely Neurosis. Recommended. Oh, we should add that to expand this listening experience, you might also want to accompany Times Of Grace with Grace, the companion album by the Neurosis' ambient experimental alter ego, Tribes Of Neurot. They're intended to be played simultaneously!

Scary Swans 'chanteuse' Jarboe has been getting into the collaborative thing of late, doing a tour and live DVD with Italian post-rockers Larsen, and now getting together with the Bay Area's very own Neurosis, the reigning kings of underground art metal. Jarboe's idiosyncratic but compelling vocals -- a whisper, a pant, a drawl -- get dynamic backing from the Neurosis horde. Their sinister tribal drone-psych heaviness is a churning, seething thing, a perfect backdrop for Jarboe's dramatic lyrics and vocal style, which can range from rather lovely and melodic to total throat abuse. Rather than being a metal juggernaut, Neurosis here sound more akin to their Tribes of Neurot alter-ego, a spacey industrial darkness capable of spells of delicate beauty that seem always about to crumble or explode. Especially effective is the 11 minute apocalyptic country-folk dirge that closes the album. But all ten tracks are powerful, psychological. Definitely a downer listen that should appeal to fans of both sides in this collaboration.

MPEG stream: Within
MPEG stream: Seizure

Hooray. Long awaited re-re-press of a rare, stunning early single from Neutral Milk Hotel. Not throwaways at all, the songs here are lovely and should tide you over until a proper new Neutral Milk album. "Everything Is" is a happy, ridiculously catchy tune

RealAudio clip: Everything Is
RealAudio clip: Tuesday Moon

Three cheers for Jeff Mangum and the rest of the Elephant6 music & art collective that participated on this, Neutral Milk Hotel's second glorious album. That's right, Mangum's pulled it off TWICE. There's still the rough buzz and sweetly chiming chords of his first album, but this record features more interesting instrumentation (musical saw, flugelhorn, accordion, organ, trumpet) along with stretched out parts where said instrumentation can really have a go at it. It's an absolutely perfect, instantly likeable, deeply affecting album from the man who arguably brought singing back to indie rock.

Another winner from the Denver/Athens (NMH, Olivia Tremor Control, Apples in Stereo) pop axis. 60's British Invasion pop a la Kinks meets lofi 4-trackery. Total Syd Barret vox, and incredible fuzz-drenched extended loopy beauty. Pop record of 1996, bar nothing. Stunning, stellar work from one of Denver's Elephant 6 posse and 1996 is their year. Jeff Mangum sings like Syd Barrett & Chris Knox, his lyrics bear repeated close reading, and just when you think it might turn sweet, a great big beautiful wall of noise hits you and you know that everything is going to be all right cos his instincts are so good. So far proving itself tasty to everyone we've played it for, no matter what their preferred flavor, this is the record Strapping Fieldhands should've and could've made after Discus, if only they'd kept it focused. Here're some of the lyrics to "Gardenhead/Leave Me Alone," which we rather pathetically found ourselves inspired to transcribe: > there are beads that wrap around yr knees that crackle into the dark > like a walk in the park, like the hole in yr head > like the feeling you get when you realize yr dead this time > we ride rollercoasters into the ocean > we feel no emotion as we spiral down to the world > and i guess it's worth yr time > cos there's some lives you live and some you leave behind > it gets hard to explain > the gardenhead knows my name > [dot.gif] leave me alone > for you know this isn't the first time > in fact this is twice in a row > that the angels have stepped thru our landslide > and filled up our garden with snow > and i don't wish the taste of yr insides > for i've called out yr name thru my phone > for the glory boys at yr bedside > will love you as long as you're something to love > [dot.gif] follow me through > the city of frost covered angels > i swear i have nothing to prove > i just wanna dance in yr tangles > to give me some reason to move > but to take on the world at all angles > requires a strength i can't use > so i'll meet you up high in yr anger > alone and it's moping and waiting for you > a love that is hoping and waiting for you

If we had to pick THEE most warped and bizarre and musically confusional motherfucker out there, we just might have to pick Nondor Nevai, sometime member of To Live And Shave In L.A., but with a pretty sizable catalog of completely fractured and fucked solo recordings, not to mention he plays in a duo with Mick Barr, which is like a free-metal freakout, which really has to be heard to be believed. As does this, the latest outing from NN, self described as "murderous freeblasting klassikill" performed on "an amplified organ so distorted and piercing it is painful", which is pretty much spot on, but there's way more going on. The provenance of discovering this record might put it in perspective. Someone sent us an amazing video, featuring Nondor Nevai, in a snowy clearing in the middle of a dark forest, next to a tree with a severed deer head tied to it, NN in black jeans and suspenders, shirtless, huge shaggy mop of hair, arms covered in blood, wildly headbanging as he lights an upside down plywood cross and chugs alcohol, and most importantly, getting all up in the camera, menacingly brandishing his iPhone! That phone clutched in his outstretched hand 'invisible orange' style. And the music, suitably warped, blasting buzzing weirdness, check it out for yourself: http://nandornevai.com/movies.html So when NN got in touch we ordered a bunch of this new record, a super limited (only 250 copies) 180 gram 12", housed in a super thick, gatefold sleeve, with a killer patch affixed to one side, featuring a strange image of some sort of demon hovering over the earth, glowing silver hands holding arrows crossed in front of this hooded visage, bearing the legends "Overshadower Kommand" and "Kolder Than Heaven". Once you finally make it past the eye popping art and the confusional text, you'll discover a sprawling collection of what can only be described as electro classical black prog doom whatthefuck. Buzzy super distorted melodies, twisted processed vokills, heavily panned so they stutter swinging wildly from speaker to speaker, the songs alternately plodding along menacingly, lumbering and lurching or occasionally slipping into ferocious blackened blasts. There's plenty of Goblin-y ambience here and there, but even those bits are wrapped around wild octopoidal drumming, the sound not really black metal, but definitely black, and occasionally metallic, instead it's like some twisted carnivalesque black prog, which to us sounds like a dream/nightmare combination of ELP, Vondur and Orthrelm, which needless to say, means this RULES. Baffling and brilliant, totally recommended for folks who like their heaviness as fucked up as possible, total outsider black prog bliss. LIMITED TO 250 COPIES!!!

It was a teasing single, that one-sided picture disc which showcased one hell of a darkwave track enriched by the sonorous baritone from Never Knows architect and principal Marc Kate. That voice and those synth-pop aspirations / devolutions run throughout the much anticipated debut album from this former aQ staffer as well. Ink does feature a different mix of the aforementioned single "Still Life" buttressed by a myriad of tracks rich with solemnly Numanoid downbeats, Violator-era miserablism, goth-dub grooviness, and a smattering of witchy / dark-eyed techno overtures. Two instrumental tracks bookend the album, leading with "Into" a dour track of sunken electro-clad breaks and closing with the black-clad, minimal-techno wash "Exeunt" with its thoughtful nods to Monolake and Regis. Between this, Kate takes a deep breath and exhales with a voice that we likened in the past to Dave Gahan; and yes, he still croons with an impassioned vibrato of equal portent. Along with the zombie-sect hymn of "Still Life," "Becoming" is one of the more dramatic numbers on the album with a slow build of maudlin half-melodies transforming into an urgent surge of basslines and drum programming to match Kate's quickened delivery. The skittering (dare we call them 'Amen'?) breaks of "Awake" brighten the overall mood towards the end of the album, making us wonder what the hell happened to Andrea Parker after she made a couple of particularly dark albums for Mo' Wax in the late '90s. We could research it, but we didn't; and in any case here we have an opulent gem of dark atmospheres, spilling from Ink.

MPEG stream: Awake
MPEG stream: Becoming
MPEG stream: Still Life (Album Version)
MPEG stream: Exeunt

Still Life is the first physical offering from former aQ-staffer Marc Kate. For a couple years now, he has run the digital imprint Untitled & After, which branded itself as wanting to be the 4AD of techno when it grows up. Deep house, minimal techno, and a smattering of ambient tracks ripple through his understated, yet finely curated catalogue. But that's not what you're gonna get with Never Knows or at least with this one-sided single. Here, Kate supplies a grizzled, minimal wave cut driven by his crooning baritone, which is uncannily similar to Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode. It was never a secret (at least to us) that Marc's youth was shaped by the dark romance of new wave; but we never knew (sorry, pun intended) that he could sing it too! Musically, Kate takes after the more angular arrangements of John Foxx and Fad Gadget all grafted with an ominous synth noise scab picked off of the scraped knee from any number of the old kids who grew up in Sheffield circa 1979 (e.g. Clock DVA, Hula, Cabaret Voltaire, Human League, etc.). Hypnotic, seductive, gritty, and transgressively groovy. The track foreshadows a full album that is slated for the spring of 2014; and if this single is any indication, that album should be a fucking corker! The flipside to the album sports of silkscreen of a splattered image of Marc suffering the consequences of having a bucket of black paint dumped on his razor shorn head. Limited to a mere 250 copies, and comes with a download!

MPEG stream: Still Life

Super bizarre 7" match up, that will have weirdo music freeks flipping out. Two bands, with essentially nothing in common, each exploring extreme and opposite ends of the sonic spectrum, both completely ruling. And in one case, completely baffling. The A side is a band from Virginia called Never Presence Forever. Never heard of em? We hadn't either, but all it took was this brief 7" sampling to have us wanting to hear way more. We were sort of expecting some furious black metal, or damaged noise, but instead, NPF offer up some gorgeous creeping dark ambience, low rumbling strings, deep metallic reverberations, all mournful and melancholy, cinematic and haunting. The flipside is a whole other something. A band, or a guy, called Ungeromimizu, whose sound is a sort of lo-fi black metal Whitehouse, a square wave damaged synth blown out psychnoise screamo, that is so intense and noisy and freaked out, we weren't sure if we were loving it or hating it. But it only took a few second for us to go with love. Imagine full on white noise chaos, all hiss and squeal and speaker shredding skree, like Faxed Head with no bass and all the treble your stereo can('t) handle, super processed vocals Masonna style, squiggly FX addled synths, total ear punishing insanity. The second track is toned down, but only a little, a weird warbly techno synth pulse beneath howling black metal vox, and all sorts of squiggly high end streaks and squeals. Due to a pressing mistake, pressed not on black, or bloody red, or trippy swirled vinyl, but various shades of pink!

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

SORRY.

One of the more heartbreaking stories of the mid to late sixties Northern California music scene also contains a newly discovered trove of beautiful raga folk that has rarely been heard before now. The New Age were a trio of musicians, namely Susan Graubard (who also played in The Habibiyya, which we raved about a few lists back - on an apologetic side note, we're sorry we mistakenly thought she was a guy) on flutes, viola and tamboura and singer and guitarist Patrick Kilroy whose haunting three octave voice and love for indigenous musical forms and instrumentation, namely the Indian raga, gave the trio a majestic Eastern spiritual quality with an Appalachian folk edge (they had all studied under Ali Akbar Khan). Playing numerous shows, with many famous players of the time in Big Sur, Los Gatos, Berkeley, New York, San Francisco and even at the Human Be-In at Golden Gate Park, The New Age seemed destined to make a big impact on the West Coast folk scene. Yet, one album half-recorded with Elektra in New York (Light of Day) was never finished due to a falling out Kilroy had with the arranger. Even more tragically, these sessions they recorded with Warner Brothers (featuring Bruce Langhorne) were shelved when Kilroy suddenly took ill and died from Hodgkin's Disease at the end of 1967, before the album could be completed. Graubard, now a school teacher in Berkeley, saddened that The New Age never garnered even a footnote or mention in any written sixties musical history, held onto the tapes, in hopes of sometime releasing them. When Raymond Dumont of RD records heard lost tapes of Light of Day, he was pleasantly surprised to hear that more recordings existed and here we are. Great timing, too, that re-issues of The Habibiyya, Extradition, The Christ Tree, Malachi, Joakim Skogsberg along with The New Age are opening up a window into a little seen past where making music was as it should be, a human-spiritual-communal connection.

MPEG stream: Dance Around The Sun
MPEG stream: Bhairavi
MPEG stream: All Around (Adagio)

A slow and pretty addition to the roster of this rapidly growing emo label (home to among others the awesome Get Up Kids and The Anniversary). Gentle guitars plucked and strummed and every so often rocked up a bit. The sensitive guy singer may appear familiar, as the tearjerking vocals are from the vocalist for the Get Up Kids / Reggie & The Full Effect. Check out tracks 3 and 7 for two particularly fine tunes.

I spent a few moments (too many actually) pondering who the New Amsterdam's singer sounds like. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then - p o o f ! - I remembered, "it IS the guy from Get Up Kids!" Anyway, two words for ya... "Emo Unplugged"! Get Up Kids

RealAudio clip: Forever Leaving

MPEG stream: Wears So Thin
MPEG stream: Your Red Hand
MPEG stream: Watch The World Cave In

Those New Amsterdams have returned with Story Like A Scar, an album packed to the gills with guitar driven energetic pop. Many of the songs reminded us of lots of other like-minded sensitive boy pop bands such as Sloan, Posies, Weezer, Matthew Sweet or their elders Cheap Trick, Big Star, Byrds, Beatles, but the one band that they perhaps most resemble is Chicago trio Material Issue. Remember them? They had that awesome album International Pop Overthrow back in 1991. Well, there's plenty of similarities between the super bright songwriting skills and vocal delivery of Matthew Pryor of New Amsterdams (also of Get Up Kids) and Material Issue's frontman Jim Ellison. Ten infectious, endearing and crushworthy tunes that'll surely find their way onto plenty of indie kids' mixtapes (or should we say iPods?) this summer.

MPEG stream: The Death Of Us
MPEG stream: Intelligent Design

New Band is a group spearheaded by Dean Drummond, custodian of Harry Partch's collection of unique micro-tonal instruments. The group's mission includes both performing the works of Harry Partch (which can only be played on Partch's own instruments for the

RealAudio clip: The Rose
RealAudio clip: Congressional Record

These Chicago kids rock with a frantic urgency positively bursting with confidence and energy. Both live and now on record, they keep up a smokin' pace with chunky crunch guitars, snappy drumming, feisty boy/girl vocals, and reeling Farfisa organ. As this album begins the sounds seem reminiscent of '90s Olympia, WA perky buzzin' garage pop, but as it progresses things get increasingly darker, heavier and more aggressive. A few of the songs sound alarmingly like recent AQ faves, SF to NY transplants Boyskout ("Last Wave" and "Robotobor"). As well, comparisons have been made to bands such as Sleater-Kinney, Throwing Muses or Pixies, however New Black certainly have their own thing goin' on, and a few of their own tricks up their sleeves. An impressive debut!

MPEG stream: Put It To Bed
MPEG stream: Last Wave

Who or what is New Buffalo? Why, it's a one woman band from Melbourne, Australia, Sally Seltmann (with some assistance from her husband Darren Seltmann of the Avalanches!). Her debut album The Last Beautiful Day is the first non-Canadian release on the Canadian label Arts + Crafts (home to fine bands such as Broken Social Scene and Valley Of The Giants), and it's pretty darn great. Achingly lovely and slightly woozy, you can easily imagine any one of these ten songs being included in a David Lynch film. Her vocals are reminiscent of the alternately earnest lilting sing-song and dreamily contemplative singing style and slightly off-kilter poetics of Canada's best-kept secret Ms Jane Siberry. Hmm, perhaps that's what drew the Arts & Crafts folks to the sounds of New Buffalo (consciously or not)? Notable guests include Beth Orton (whose voice blends perfectly with Seltmann's on the seventh song "Inside") and Dirty Three's Jim White (who drums on three songs). Recommended!

MPEG stream: Time To Go To Sleep
MPEG stream: Inside
MPEG stream: While You're Away

The duo of Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards) and Ben Chasny (Six Organs). Very Tyranosaurus Rex, Big Star sounding. Like it's the two of them, sitting around, strumming and singing. Nice. Pretty good.

Charged guitar driven rock from this SF outfit who can be found rocking around town at places like El Rio and The Eagle. We've been smitten with their take on unpretentious post-punk inspired by prime-time Talking Heads that has reminded us a bit of the first Interpol record or a more in the garage and gutsy version of Bloc Party. A really nice debut and we'll be paying close attention to what the future holds for The New Centuries.

MPEG stream: Sharp Darts
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What would happen if the Shaggs had found god before recording their seminal LP? We've found the answer and it is The New Creation. Recorded in 1970, a year after the Shaggs' "Philosphy of the World" was released, one wonders if the group may have been inspired by the Shaggs D.I.Y. attitude. Hailing from Vancouver, B.C. The New Creation were the most unlikely blend of Christian evangelism with a flower-power hippy outlook which propelled their unique vision through an extremely off-kilter musical vehicle pieced together with leftover body parts: the Velvet Underground taped to the side of the Shaggs chassis with a rebuilt Pat Boone engine under the hood. Ramshackle and tentative, but so earnest and heartfelt and surprisingly catchy. And the lyrics aren't as positive as the music and the presentation might lead you to believe, focusing more on damnation, and fire and brimstone and b Biblical tales of God's might and power. The biggest surprise is the opening track 'Countdown To Revolution', an epic, acid fried, unstructured freak out with strange effects, 'trippy' reverb, and all manner of TESTIFYIN'!! Creepy but cool! From the same folks who brought us the amazing Teen Dance Music From China And Malaysia compilation.

MPEG stream: Countdown To Revolution!
MPEG stream: Songs To Sing
MPEG stream: Sodom And Gomorrah

Sometimes the timing of certain 'lost classic' reissues is too perfect, giving us a glimpse of the seeds of sounds to come, a prequel to certain musical trends that are gaining so much momentum in the here and now. Such is the case with this great, lost, lonesome psych classic from the Pacific Northwest, which was originally released in 1970. We're not sure if he's heard it or not, as this has been a really tough one to track down until recently, but man do we hear plenty of Kurt Vile in these old recording! With a fuzzy and faded vibe, The New Dawn crafted breezy yet dirgy pop songs that sound like some awesome combination of Lee Hazlewood, The Sonics, Roy Orbison, George Brigman, The Byrds, and the Velvet Underground. We can't get enough of the warm organ, haunting vocals, hypnotic percussion, just all the right sonic elements that really do evoke some desolate street at night, wet from a recent downpour and the flickering reflection of the moon on the shimmery black of the slick asphalt. So mesmerizing and intoxicating, we're beyond stoked this album is getting its beyond deserved moment! Besides the obvious influence on Kurt Vile we could see so many other current AQ favorites being super into these sounds...Beach House, Silver Pines, Broadcast, Thee Oh Sees (circa Sucks Blood), The Beets, The Soundcarriers, Gary War, Sic Alps, as well as folks from the '80s and '90s that we love like Rain Parade, The Telescopes, Beachwood Sparks, Dream Syndicate, etc. Forty years after it was originally released There's A New Dawn is still completely captivating!

MPEG stream: (There's A) New Dawn
MPEG stream: Hear Me Cryin'
MPEG stream: We Need Each Other

Listening to New Idea Society's debut album sorta makes you feel like you've discovered a long lost early/mid '90s mix tape. This band really seems to have multiple personalities... and lots of them! The good thing tho' is that they're all really pleasing to the ear -- primarily centred on warm fuzzy cardigan indie strum-pop, and often with sing-a-long gang vocals. Come to think of it, N.I.S. might make a fine leafy twig on the folk-pop oriented branch of the remarkably varied Elephant 6 Collective musical tree (sorta like Olivia Tremor Control sans the trippy psychedelia). Whereas the first and third songs are graced by some sleepyhead sedated female vocals, tiny ballerina piano tinkling and thoughtful melodic progressions that bring to mind Ms Eleanor Friedberger and her band Fiery Furnaces, the second song, the hushed, brittle "Will/Won't" could be easily mistaken for an Elliott Smith outtake. Then there's the fifth song "The Waiting" that, with it's off-kilter bent-guitar melodies, is really reminiscent of Pavement. Further on in the album the band takes a brief dreamy turn into shoegazer territory with the shimmery, appropriately titled song "Swimming In The Rain". Really, they do it all very well! Now you might be thinkin' that New Idea Society seems like something of an odd presence on Magic Bullet Records (a label more known as the home of numerous harder-hitting metal and hardcore bands such as Old Man Gloom, Forensics and Cave In). However, it all makes much more sense when you find out the lil' tidbit of info we've left for last, and that is... one of the fellows behind this project is noneother than Cave In's multi-faceted Stephen Brodsky!

MPEG stream: Will/Won't
MPEG stream: The Aching Bells

Here's another new one from the ever-reliable stoner rock label MeteorCity. This interesting, oddly named Swedish outfit is a HEAVY juggernaut indeed, but also nuanced, combining chugging guitar crush with graceful twin harmonies, and switching up from shouty aggro vox to more tuneful, croon-ful melodic singing. According to the Encyclopedia Metallum, The New Keepers Of The Water Towers' typical lyrical themes pertain to "Dwelling Beasts" - whatever that means. Perhaps those beasts are the quarry of "The Calydonian Hunt". There's certainly something mythic and fabled about their songtitles ("Mankind's Fall", "Arise, The Serpent", "The Sword In The Stone"...) and the music follows suit, their surging Swedish sludge being both bombastic and more complex than you might expect. Primal prog perhaps? Mystic metal? Certainly recommended to fans of such folks as High On Fire, Mastodon, Grand Magus, The Sword, and others of that equally heavy and probably bearded ilk.

MPEG stream: Abyssal Lord
MPEG stream: The Calydonian Hunt
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Third album (their first since '95, about time!) of jazz/klezmer/improv by these popular stalwarts of the "New Jewish Music" scene, featuring Ben Goldberg on clarinet, Kenny Wollesen on drums and Dan Seamans on bass.

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

SORRY. We first heard the New Lines on a split 7" with Still Corners, who went on to put out a album on Sub Pop, which we also reviewed recently. But when we reviewed that split 7", we went absolutely apeshit for the New Lines track, and even now still listen to that jam all the time, and we wondered why it was Still Corners who ended up in Sub Pop, cuz as much as we dug Still Corners, it was these guys we were obsessing over. An obsession that shows no signs of letting up, especially now that we have a whole new full length. And like that track on the 7" the band are masters of retro pop, fuzzy analog synths, swirling organs, chiming melodies, lush harmony vocals, the production totally old fashioned but fantastically lush and expansive, we hear the Beach Boys, Stereolab, the Zombies, Elephant 6, the High Llamas, the Rollo Treadway (look it up on the aQ site, you won't be sorry), they manage to sound both like a modern throwback, and like an genuine article from some lost psychedelic sixties, the sounds lilting and lovely, a little bit druggy and dark, definitely psychedelic. The opener is some sweetly dreamy fuzz pop, and after a splatter of wild drumming, the second track is all surfy twang and Beach Boys harmonies, as is the next track, although that one is rife with swirling electronics and hazy reverby shimmer, if there was still a Duophonic label, these guys would be right at home. The band mix their fuzzy futuristic retro pop with strange little sonic interludes, be it electronic skitter, or mad scientist bleeps and bloops, or strange electronic / drum jams, but the cool thing is those incidental pieces, sort of bleed right into the songs proper, with even the prettiest jangliest track rife with all manner of mysterious buzz, and constantly shifting layers, it's hard to know what else to say about these guys, other than we're crazy into this record, and the track from that split 7" of course, and we're just wondering how long it takes the rest of the world to catch on. Check out the sound samples, we're imaging that will be all it takes. Fans of ANY of the above mentioned bands, and anyone into dreamy retro pop, and Pet Sounds / Smile worthy pop deconstruction/experimentation, these guys just might be your new favorite band. LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, each one hand numbered, includes a digital download as well. Already sold out at the label, so these may be the last copies we can get unless they repress. But while they last, all of the copies we got come with a special cd-r mix the band put together JUST for aQuarius, which features a killer mix of the band's favorite jams, including some seventies British folk, Tropicalia, Japanese psychedelia, dream pop, and more, including a handful of stuff we'd never heard! No info, no track list, just a fantastically varied hodgepodge of killer jams.

MPEG stream: The Convenience Of Numbers
MPEG stream: The Grim Smile Of The Five Towns
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Ever since we first heard The New Lines, on a split 7" with UK dreampoppers Still Corners, we were totally smitten. And have loved everything we've heard since. We could barely keep their All That We See And Seem lp on The Great Pop Supplement label in stock, and their Witches' Milk tape on Moon Glyph went out of print WAY too quickly. So here we are, full length number two, again on Moon Glyph, and like those other records, a heady slab of hypnotic retro pop, fuzzy, synthy, lilting melodies, wrapped around jangly guitars, and shuffling rhythms, there's definitely a Stereolab thing going on, not to mention another retro combo we hold near and dear, the High Llamas, the vocals of Hewson Chen, warm and velvety, the sort of croon you'd expect to hear in some Sarah Records band from the eighties. The band slip easily from warm, lush classic poppiness, to electronics flecked kraut-pop, to the sort of classic baroque pop of the Zombies or the early Bee Gees, flurries of synth swirl constantly drift over landscapes of soft streaked jangle, lilting, achingly melancholy, faux strings swoop and swoon, chordal swells that sound like harpsichords or xylophones swell dreamily, flutes flutter, chimes tinkle, everything hazy and woozily washed out, Fall In Line is the perfect rain swept, late night, empty street wandering, mix tape listening heart break/ache soundtrack, it's the sort of music we generally complain that they don't just make anymore, or if they do, it's rarely this stunning. Easily a contender for retro-pop record of the year. LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, includes a digital download!

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It's so sad that we haven't been able to keep a single release by this band of space age retro psych poppers in stock for than a matter of days. Both their debut lp, and their split 7" with Still Corners sold out in a flash, and we imagine a similar fate will befall this most recent cassette, yet another ultra limited record from Boston pop groop The New Lines, whose sound is a gorgeous, warm and fuzzy blur of Stereolab like krautpop, sixties bachelor pad grooves, Beach Boys harmonies, analog synths, whirling organs, and that sort of retro jangle pop we can't seem to get enough of, a la the Zombies, High Llamas, and the Elephant 6 Stable. These guys may be flying under the radar for now, but it can't last long, cuz anyone into THAT sound will be flipping out when they hear The New Lines. Perfect fuzzy, jangly pop, wreathed in reverb and echo, driven by super melodic basslines, underpinned by lush chordal swells, the vocals a deep and dramatic croon, all blurred into a gauzy swirl of dream pop shimmer, hooks and melodies drifting weightless through sun dappled glades of whirring organs and summery strum, everything infused with a weary melancholia that makes these sounds perfect both for summery afternoons, and bundled up wintery wanders. Grab one before they're gone, cuz this is LIMITED TO 150 COPIES, and it's already sold out and out of print. So these are the LAST COPIES EVER...

If sometimes we get a bit overwhelmed, by how much music there is out there, or how many reviews we have to write, all it takes is one record, hell, even one song, to remind us of how lucky we are, and how much we still love music like crazy. Thankfully, those records are not as few and far between as you might think. And this time around, it just might be this one, the first we've heard from either of these bands, both specializing in a sort of retro pop that we love. Still Corners are apparently super hyped, having just signed a deal with Sub Pop, and as much as we dig their track here, it's the New Lines whose song has us freaking out, and wondering why Sub Pop didn't just sign them too while they were at it. Their track starts off all fuzzy analog synths, and swoonsome organs, and big booming Beach Boys percussion, everything wreathed in a warm layer of fuzzy reverb, a sound that to our ears sounds so genuinely vintage it's uncanny, the sound, the instrumentation, and we would have been just as happy if this intro stretched out and made up the whole song, but then the song proper does kick in, the bass thick and warm and and liquid, the drums propulsive and powerful, a sort of sixties Stereolab, darkly psychedelic, and then when the vocals come in, it's total Zombies classic pop heaven, definitely exploring similar territory as the High Llamas and aQ faves the Rollo Treadway, a hazy sixties psychedelic pop that manages to be catchy and a little trippy, but also super melodic and in its own way true to the era that inspired it, while taking that sound and subtly updating it for the now. We can't tell you how many times we've listened to this track, but many times every day would not be an exaggeration. And The New Lines' side of this split will be well worn out by the time we finally get our hands on their full length. We can hardly wait. But let's not sell the Still Corners short, their side of the split is pretty dang awesome too. A dreamy reverby waltz, ethereal female vox draped over spidery guitar melodies, and a simple shuffling rhythm, the sound is glimmering, glistening, chiming, the hushed verses giving way to a gorgeous, warm expansive chorus, all slippery slide guitar wrapped around an almost orchestral bombast, everything anchored by a warm wandering bassline. The song grows ever more lush, as pizzicato strings pluck out the melody, only to be replaced by soaring synths, the sound dense and layered and impossibly gossamer, it's easy to see why Sub Pop snatched them up, their full length is bound to be fantastic. A pretty perfect split for sure, the rare sort of split that not only has you listening to both sides over and over, but has you hankering like crazy for more from both groups. Probably pretty limited, so grab one before they're gone.

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New Miminokoto, same as the old Miminokoto? Kinda! And that's a good thing, if you're a fan of the Japanese psych underground and this particular manifestation of the "Tokyo Flashback" vibe, Miminokoto both new and old being one of those bands, like LSD-march, Up-Tight, and Suisho No Fune, in the glorious distortodelic tradition of '70s masters/mysteries Les Rallizes Denudes... Yet, it's not it's not the quite same, as the old Miminokoto, 'cause lead guitar wrangler and vocalist Masami Kawaguchi has left the band (forming his own "New Rock Syndicate"). To replace him, they recruited Suzuki Junzo, formerly of Overhang Party, a Tokyo psych scene vet who has no problem at all slipping into the role of New Miminokoto frontman, bringing his own dark aura to bear on guitar and vocals, alongside the bass of Nishimura Takuya and the drums of Shimura Koji (ex-White Heaven). Recorded last year, this release is also actually not all that "new", we've been wanting to list this for a while, just finally got enough of 'em in stock direct from Japan, and can now say: get it, it's great! Gorgeous stuff, when they get mellow, and gorgeous too when all amps are set on 10. There are indeed plenty of languidly paced mellow meanders, as well as fuzz-filled blow-outs, dense and devastating. And even at their loudest, Miminokoto manage to be quite mesmerically melodic, as they do during the more gentle shimmering sections of this set as well. The seven tracks here include two fantastic covers of songs by the late Kaneko Jutok of Kousokuya (another long time Tokyo psych institution, a la Fushitsusha). They utterly fit the Miminokoto vibe, of course. Another vibe we're getting here is that of Neil Young, maybe it's 'cause we've been listening to his heavy new one, Le Noise... there's probably a lot of people who'll pick up that new Neil (also reviewed this list, and recommended) who'll never ever hear, nor hear of, Miminokoto... but we bet they'd like this, as long as the language thing doesn't get in the way for 'em. Sure, you don't know what Suzuki is singing about (only one title is given in English, "Wrong Distance", which is kind of clever) but it doesn't matter. The emotion in his voice - not to mention the emotion cranking through the guitar amps - conveys enough! This has been a go-to late-night listen for us ever since it showed up...

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Some of the best local hip hop we've heard in a while. Kind of upbeat (which usually turns me off immediately) but with a real sinister vibe and what sounds like a full on band: sliding guitars, funky bass, live sounding drums and actual catchy rock-ish

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Get ready ... to do what?! To flee from this disappointing cd, that's what. Appallingly schlocky rhymes abound... "You're everything to me, the sweetest symphony" and "What I mean to say is you keep the wolves at bay" Oh dear. Oh dear dear dear!

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

SORRY. You know how every band today wants to sound like they're from 1983. Well this is what the best of 1983 really sounded like and it's a record that has stood the test of time with flying colors. In our humble opinion one of the best pop records of all time!

Considering the currently glut of upstart dance-oriented bands, this seems like a more than ripe time for the return of one of the genre's O.G.s who undoubtably inspired many of those youngsters, but sad to say it doesn't do much to ignite any fire in the hearts of their old fans. Really, you can barely tell this is an album by New Order, a band whose sound used to be absolutely unmistakable. No, Waiting For The Siren's Call is pretty darn faceless and much too long.

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The first song on this new record from longtime aQ faves the New Pornographers is SO good. It's easily their best song since their breakout hit "Letter To An Occupant", it instantly evokes the classic Brill Building of the title, the powerhouse hit factory from the sixties, and positions the Pornographers as real Brill Bruisers, whipping up a track like the title track here effortlessly, lush, bombastic, almost symphonic, hooky as hell, with amazing vocals, melodies, plenty of ooohhh's and aahhhh's, even some synths, it's just shy of 3 minutes, but it really is one of those songs most pop bands spend their whole lives striving toward. When we first discovered the New Pornographers, they were a revelation, born of one of our favorite pop bands ever, Zumpano (c'mon Sub Pop, time's ripe for a Zumpano reissue!!!), The NP's took Zumpano's orchestral bombast and polished it up a bit, adding Neko Case to the equation and striking gold. Over the years, the NPs made their way squarely into the mainstream, and while we have always been tempted to write them off as mom rock or dad rock or NPR rock, every time we dig into a new record, we're reminded that these guys and gals are kind of pop geniuses. And this new one drives that point home big time. If you can make it past the opener, which to be honest, took us about 20 plays, there's lots more pop goodness to be found. The sound instantly recognizable as the New Pornographers, but with plenty of modern tweaks, more synths, a lush production, but ultimately, just some fantastic sounds, expertly crafted, music, vocals, sound, it's all wound into gorgeously hook heavy ebullient pop music, that sounds totally timeless, making the title even more appropriate. And while to varying degrees we love all the tracks here, other super favorites include "War On The East Coast", which is a bit darker and synthier, but with one of the records best, and most bombastic hooks, then there's "Backstairs" which almost sounds like some old Zumpano B-side, or "Fantasy Fools" which might have been our favorite track here if it weren't for that opener, heck, just get over whatever guilty pleasure / "these guys are all over NPR" reservations you might have, and dig into what might be one of the best pop records of the year. You won't be sorry. And please write a letter to Sub Pop and let's get this Zumpano reissue campaign going!!

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These aQ fave Canadian pop champions continue their reign of pop awesomeness. Despite the title (if we assume it is self referential), this new New Pornographers' album doesn't really push any envelopes, it doesn't wear a chip on its shoulder, nor puff its chest out. With nothing to prove -- their audience already deliriously won over -- the band's fourth full length is simply solid (not simple, mind you!), but if it is status quo, then it's the best sounding status quo around! It doesn't challenge the listeners, it gives them a big hug! Really the only place where there have been any major changes is in the packaging department, and it's not for them better. While we've always felt that the band's visual aspects have fallen short of their kick-ass music, we weren't prepared for the latest cover art atrocity. Accented with splashes of purple and neon orange, it's a disturbing line drawing of NP keyboardist Blaine Thurier shirtless and flexing. Yikes. With band members settlin' down, starting families and such, it's understandable that it would be reflected in their music too. The initial breathless pop exuberance of their debut indie hit "Letter To An Occupant" has certainly been tempered into a swooning finely crafted and composed pop splendor with some of their most introspective and eloquent songs to date. These immensely talented folks have taken all the goodness from Mass Romantic, Electric Version and Twin Cinema and lovingly rolled it all together into something far grander and more lush than ever before. With the individual band members' songs and sounds skillfully integrated, but still retaining their unmistakable charms, Challengers is much less of a rollercoaster ride than any of their past recordings. It's quite possibly their most consistent album from start to finish. Check out the late-in-the-album vibrancy of "Mutiny, I Promise You" and the hushed sweetness of "Adventures In Solitude". All the key familiar faces -- Carl Newman, Dan Bejar and Neko Case -- make their entrances with their respective distinct flair. Y'know, the kind that'll surely receive wild welcoming applause in concert. This album keeps the lovin' good feelings flowing. To boot, they give their Vancouver buddies The Choir Practice a nod by covering their best tune "Failsafe" (the original can be found on that group's own self-titled debut album which came out a couple months ago). Yes, we can say once again, very recommended!

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The LONG anticipated return of the undisputed gods of pop in the new millennium. Yes, it's here! The newest from the New Pornographers and, needless to say, it does not disappoint. From the very get go with the title track we have almost a reprise of "Letter From An Occupant" with its knee twitching, hip shaking energy and bouncing keyboard line. Carl Newman, Neko Case, et al continue to demonstrate not only superior song writing abilities but a sense of effortless and unpretentious musicianship which is perhaps most evident in their continued brilliant harmony vocals (to say nothing of the interplay between Neko and Carl's lead vocal lines throughout the album). And what's that? No, it may sound like "Year of the Cat" man Al Stewart, but it's actually Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar, returning to the group as a "secret member" on 3 tracks. There's something about the way that the New Pornographers are able to consistently tap into the seventies and early eighties radio popcontinuum of ELO, Sparks, Cheap Trick, fatten up the harmonies, and then filter it all through a Rainer Maria style emo ethic -- and make it kick ass! And while admittedly this album might take a little longer for it to seep in than did Mass Romantic, it's worth the repeated listens cuz if this is bubblegum pop, it's the kind that gets more flavor the more you chew. And those of us who had 'issues' with the sound (not the songs) on the first album, finding it to be a little brittle with a bit of a brutal high end, will be quite pleased with the much warmer, dreamier sound. Pop record of the year wethinks.

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[ aquarius records catalogue — N ]