THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Brand new composition from accordionist and experimental composer Pauline Oliveros. Featuring David Grubbs on harmonium, Tony Conrad on electric violin, and a handful of guests on cello, electric cello, low frequency oscillator and of course Pauline on accordion, electronics and vocals. Together they create long, droning soundscapes similar in texture to the works of Organum. And if you're already a fan of Oliveros or Conrad, you'll be mighty pleased with this album. Lovely drone.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
This recording documents the pinnacle of the collaborations between vangarde accordionist Oliveros (called the 'godmother of ambient' in the presskit) and electronic magician David Gamper. Layers of crystalline drones and gossamer structures emerge from the modified accordion of Oliveros and Gamper's tense electronic vibrations for a mesmerizing listen.
Drone-fanciers alert! Pauline Oliveros (legendary Mills College-based electronic music pioneer, subterranean accordion-drone virtuoso) meets up with the electronic talents of one Andrew Deutsch for this lovely, organic drone-fest. The duo's accordion, modified television, bells, etc. make music to match the evocative song titles: "Water Birds", "Summer Bugs," "Candle Ice," and others. A nicely done package, each one with different found paper scraps inserted behind the jewel case tray (old letters, maps of England, watercolors). Over seventy minutes.
After too long in 'out of print' limbo, a few ol' Olivia Tremor Control favorites are now coming back into print on their own label. First 1996's top pop masterpiece Dusk At Cubist Castle was re-issued (we re-reviewed it just a few lists back) and now here's the OTC's stellar follow-up to that album, Black Foliage from 1999. It continued their crafty concoction of psychedelia -- an unashamed pastiche of Beach Boys vocal harmonies, Sgt. Pepper's baroque excess, and the mid-70's surreal pop of Brian Eno. Of the two albums, Dusk is perhaps the better, as the Olivias' propensity for indulging in "ambient" weirdness comes closer to overindulgence here. But being just "almost as good" as Dusk At Cubist Castle is still pretty darn good! Quite a few people agree, as apparently 40,000 (!) copies were sold of the original version, but if you don't already have one of those 40,000, lucky for you here it is again at last, so too you can experience and enjoy the way the Olivias were able to create ten or twelve near perfect pop songs and then dose 'em with lysergic clusters of experimental tinkering. Still fresh.
While not as instantly memorable or chock full of timeless pop classics as their debut, Dusk At Cubist Castle, the Olivia Tremor Control's second and final record, originally released in 1999, has now been reissued by the fine folks at Chunklet as a super deluxe double lp with LOADS of extra bonus (mp3) material, and listening to this record again more than a decade after its release, we're quickly realizing that being only "almost as good" as Dusk, still means it's about a million times better than most other records.
Olivia Tremor Control were one of many bands who were a part of the Elephant Six collective, which also included Neutral Milk Hotel, Apples In Stereo and a whole bunch of others. Elephant Six bands were notable for two things, a sonic nod to the sixties and classic psychedelia, all wound up in a sound that was equal part modern indie jangle and old school tripped out psych, and a penchant for experimentation, and of all the E6 bands, the Olivia Tremor Control seemed to have an experimental streak a mile wide, peppering even their perfect-est poppiest numbers with all manner of freakout and strange instrumentation. And while the band focused more on the 'pop' on their classic debut Dusk, relegating the trippy weirdness mostly to intros and brief interludes, we had previously mentioned (in our original review way back when) that on Black Foliage, the "ambient" weirdness came closer to overindulgence, but again, with fresh ears, and a little time since our last listen, that overindulgence doesn't really sound all that overindulgent anymore, in fact, it positions Black Foliage, as rife with Beach Boys vocal harmonies, Sgt. Pepper's baroque excess, and mid-'70s Eno-esque surreal pop as it's predecessor, as way better than we remember it, that weirdness almost making it a more interesting, and certainly more tripped out, record, a seriously crafty concoction of psychedelia - the Olivias able to create near perfect pop songs and then dose 'em with lysergic clusters of experimental tinkering. A sound that still sounds impossibly fresh today.
Needless to say, if you have a thing for jangly psychedelic pop, like Dusk, this too will be right up your alley, and if you're already a fan, you might want to grab one of these quick before they're gone, cuz they've been remastered and include TONS of extra stuff via mp3 download. The records come housed in an eye popping, full color, heavy duty Stoughton sleeve, with a printed insert, and a download coupon, which not only includes downloads of the record itself, but also OVER AN HOUR of bonus material, including a track that was left off the original record due to time considerations, a handful of B-sides, some unreleased audio experiments, unreleased live sessions, a Velvet Underground cover from a VU tribute released in 2000, a live set on NPR, an unreleased track with special guest Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum and more! Wow!
Be warned though, we have a bunch of these, but our suppliers are sold out, so these may be the last copies we're able to get.
Huzzah! This absolutely wonderful album is now, at long last, back in print. If you've already got one, well, let this be a reminder to go listen to it again if you haven't in a while, it's still as lovely and poppy and psychedelic and well-crafted as it was when first released in 1996 and became an instant AQ favorite. If you don't have it, and especially if you haven't heard it, be thankful that it's available again!! The OTC's masterpiece, Music From The Unrealized Film Script Dusk At Cubist Castle (to give it its full title), is just about as perfect a slice of home recorded, neo-psychedelic pop as you can find. Beach Boys inspired harmonies. Lysergic Sgt. Pepperisms galore. Great, glorious songs. Unlike some of their other, experimental or ambient efforts, here the Olivias didn't obscure their songwriting smarts with unnecessary weirdness. Sure there's surreal interludes (and surreal lyrics) but the pop remains paramount. Next to the output of Neutral Milk Hotel (with which really few things can compare), certainly a classic in the Elephant 6 discography.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY. NEW EDITION IN STOCK NOW THOUGH!
This is one of the very best pop albums of 1996. Psychedelic and sweet, everyone here at AQ loves this. If you've never heard the Olivias before, start here.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Finally! A new Olivia Tremor Control release! Three tracks: one is a bubblegum psychedelic pop gem chock full of lovely Beach Boys inspired harmonies that flow in and out of their hurdy gurdy and violin generated ambience, one an experimental droney piece, and one live version of a song from their first album. The title track is a precursor to the forthcoming album Black Foliage Animation (not out until January) while the additional tracks will only appear on this single.
We listed a cd version of this WAY back in 2000, but Chunklet has stepped up to deliver a super swank, newly remastered, & first time on vinyl, version of this classic slab of psychedelic pop from our beloved Olivia Tremor Control. Recorded live at the John Peel studios in the UK, when the band was on tour in 1997, some of our favorite songs get reworked here, sounding surprisingly polished and high fidelity considering the album versions were recorded relatively lo-fi, and thus, here, opener "I'm Not Feeling Human" is a glorious slab of Kinks meets the Beach Boys, via nineties indie rock pure pop bliss, lilting, playful, quirky, catchy, swirling FX, whirring organs, fuzzed out crunchy guitars, fantastic vocal harmonies, all jangly and glimmering and so goddamn good. The rest of the A side is made up of a song suite of tracks culled mostly from the Olivia's classic Dusk At Cubist Castle record, as well as the equally ruling "Giant Day" 7". The sound is supercharged, noisier than the records proper, the psychedelic freakouts, more freaky, but still consistently dreamy and fuzzy and jangly. The flipside is another song 'suite, which is essentially a OTC greatest hits part two, the second suite tending a bit more toward the washed out, an dreamily tranquil, but still balanced out with plenty of fuzzy psych pop crunch. There are also a couple unreleased gems tucked away in the two song suites as well!
Pressed at 45rpm, and housed in a heavy Stoughton style tip on jacket, includes a download code as well!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A semi-legit (well, the band is selling it on their website) bootleg of the Olivia Tremor Control's supreme psych-pop, recorded for a '97 Peel Session, mostly culled from the classic "Dusk At Cubist Castle" album, as well as two unreleased tracks and cuts from the fab "The Giant Day" 7". OTC/Elephant Six fans, commence drooling! We're pretty sure this is limited and we're unlikely to get any more when they run out, so, as we like to say, buy now or cry later...
20 track collection of OTC rarities, bumming out collector scum but making the rest of us very happy. You'll find several of the finest examples of GOOD psychedelic pop from the acclaimed 'Elephant 6' collective on this here disc. Included is the truly stunning, impossibly rare 6-song "California Demise" single (which contains 2 or 3 of their hands down best songs ever), the excellent "Giant Day" single, the track from the Apples in Stereo/OTC split single, songs from various Kindercore and Ptolemaic Terrascope comps, and one previously unreleased track. Rumor has it the Olivias just broke up, so at least this 'last' release is one of their best.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Raucous stuff from members of Six Finger Satellite and Thee Hydrogen Terrors.
We were never all that impressed by past Olneyville records. This Rhode Island group features ex-members of Six Finger Satellite and trafficked in repetitive minimal post-rock/funk and always kind of fell flat for us. But on this most recent disc things just really seem to click and we're offered up a thick slab of lo-fi post (f)(p)unk jams, instrumental and droning, repetitive and hypnotic. Think a Lightning Bolt 78 played at 16rpm or a smacked out James Brown jamming with the Starfuckers or better yet ESP weirdos Cromagnon trying to cover This Heat. Check it out.
Ahhh, a sound so immediately familiar and homey, like�a warm summer breeze, rustling leaves and big billowy white clouds in a vibrant blue sky, a sound we hadn't realized just how much we had been missing until that voice, and those melodies washed over us again...
The Salvation Blues is the�first record in what seems like forever from�original Jayhawks vocalist Mark Olson, and while the Jayhawks did continue on without him, and while we still dug those records, it was just never quite the same. There was just something so magical about the interplay between Olson's voice and that of his partner in the Jayhawks Gary Louris.
And post Jayhawks, Olson went on to play in the�Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers with his�wife Victoria Williams, which took the twang and jangle of the Jayhawks in a slightly different direction, and made it even more rustic and countrified, laid back and dreamy...
But here we have a sort of return to the glorious old Jayhawks days, especially considering the fact that Louris joins Olson here, contributing harmony vocals, which immediately gives the sound of�The Salvation Blues a distinctly Jayhawks vibe. And we're loving it. Not as rocking as the Jayhawks, not as mellow and country as the Creekdippers, but the perfect mix of the two, the focus on Olson's gorgeous voice, weathered and weary, but still so rich and expressive, the music, subtle but super hooky... a gorgeous blend of the�Beatles, the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, a dreamy timeless twangy country pop. Jayhawks fans will be in heaven for sure.
Packaged in a miniature hardcover book, complete with dust jacket, book of lyrics and photos, and a digipak style cd case affixed to the inside. So fancy and lovely. And SUPER LIMITED, eventually to be released in regular packaging, but for now we have the swank book version.
After selfreleasing no less than three near-perfect albums as The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, the trio of Mark Olson, Victoria Williams, and Mike "Razz" Russell bestow a fourth offering on the world, via respected roots label Hightone. This is more of the sublime sunbaked modern country/folk/rock material made famous by Victoria during her solo career and by Mark when he led the legendary Minneapolis alt.country group Jayhawks. Just lovely, slightly twangy songs that contain the most heartbreaking chord changes you ever heard. Also augmented with dobro, juice harp, mandolin, dulcimer, and more. Warm, lulling, perfect open air prettiness. We also carry the trio's first three albums.
From a label whose catalog includes the reissues of Os Mutantes' first three albums and the Monks early demos, an album like Bjorn Olsson's "Instrumental Music" might well have been some lost psychedelic classic. When in reality, this is a contemporary recording from the former guitarist of the Swedish punk band Union Carbide Productions and current member of Spain. "Instrumental Music" is a beautiful recording for shimmering, pulsing sixties' organs, spelling out simple filmic signatures, like the spaced-out/stoner synths of Spaceman 3 attempting to achieve Morricone's grandiosity with Pink Floyd's "Umma Gumma" in their narcoticized short term memory. Definitely inspired by Bo Hansson's great "Lord Of The Rings" album as well. Recommended!
"UPA" is the second solo album from Swedish multi-instrumentalist Bjorn Olsson (formerly of Stoogesy punks Union Carbide Productions, now a member of hip retro-popsters The Soundtrack Of Our Lives). While we're not all quite as taken with this as we were by his solo debut "Instrumentalmusik" (Jim *loved* that album), this is still quite nice. There's less of Bjorn's Bo Hansson worship, more input of varied influences -- from calypso (w/ steel drums and electronics) on the bouncy opening cut to smooth n' mellow '70s grooves to atmospheric droney, folky psychedelia that, like his first album, is very reminiscent of that Italian master of spaghetti western soundtracks, Ennio Morricone. A lot of this is really pretty stuff, mostly lush and lovely, melodic and moody, though our favorite track might be the last, the darker and heavier "Tema I" with doomy distorted guitar and martial drumming, at over seven minutes a powerful finale indeed.
Actually, it's the finale twice, as all the songs on here appear two times, with tracks 10-18 being alternate, rawer (?) versions of 1-9, though no explanation is given for that. Still, it's nice to hear 'em again...
Whoohoo! Another Bjorn Olsson album, that always makes us happy here at Aquarius. So far the Swedish composer/multi-instrumentalist has yet to disappoint. This is his fourth album, the third in what seems to be a seafood-themed series, this one with a crab on the cover. Like his previous discs, this one begs the question: what would Bjorn Olsson do without spaghetti westerns? I don't know if we'll ever find out and that's ok. However, while the spaghetti western style whistling that was so prominent on his last album (one of the best whistling records EVER) is still present, it takes a back seat to Bjorn's guitar. This is his most guitar-centric disc to date, and it means that the melodies with which he's so marvellous seem here seem to possess a definite rock lineage. Certain tracks will seemingly contain echoes of some Beatles, Stones or Stooges song into which it seems Bjorn's guitar strum will soon coalesce, but instead his instrumentals always drift off into a looser, more droned-out zone. Yet the tunes seem so totally familiar, that's his knack. You think you kinda know these songs already, but can't quite place your finger on 'em. Brilliant, 'cause he obviously owes so much to certain other composers (Ennio Morricone!!) yet makes something that you can't really hear anywhere else than on a Bjorn Olsson album. Though, listening to this we can make tenuous connections to such disparate artists as the Sun City Girls (hints of their more garagey folk style), the desert instrumentals of Calexico, and the drone ragas of Henry Flynt. A lot of that has to do with the grimy, dusty quality of the recording. We suspect that Bjorn's tape recorder slowly falling apart, as each album he makes gets more and more lo fi -- which is a good thing! This one's got all kinds of hiss and hum and drop outs and grit that make his music all the more dream-like. Wonderful!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Sweden's Bjorn Olsson (a member of The Soundtrack Of Our Lives) returns with yet another album of nostalgic soundtrack-sounding stuff that'll have you asking yourself "where have I heard this before"? Of course, that may be because, when you get through the whole album, you'll have heard many of the songs twice! (Yep, for the same obscure reason he did so on his last album "UPA", ol' Bjorn put the same songs twice on one disc, though the second time around they're definitely different mixes at least.)
Anyway, after hearing these tracks a couple times (that is, after one spin of the disc, heh) we found ourselves -- store employees and customers alike -- fairly whistling along, mostly because Olsson's catchy melodies are quite irresistible, but also partly 'cuz several of the best tracks here indeed feature whistling as the melodic lead (think Morricone's "Giu La Testa"). Yep again, as with his previous two albums Bjorn continues to emulate Ennio Morricone, to the point where he's nearly out Heroded Herod. Along with his knack for melody -- super catchy and incredibly reminiscent of specific tunes that will rest on the tip of your tongue -- Olsson's arrangements are increasingly more brilliant to boot. Like a spaghetti western that takes place in a sunny, pastoral meadow or something. A very lovely album, that at first we thought might be a bit too "Hallmark card" pretty, but really really grew on us. Windy's new favorite album, and Byram likes it too!
[Note: this is the 2003 album from Bjorn that we used to designate as "lobster" before we learned it was supposed be crawfish, when the REAL lobster came out in 2005. Gaaah.]
Sweden's Bjorn Olsson (a member of The Soundtrack Of Our Lives) returns with yet another album of nostalgic soundtrack-sounding stuff that'll have you asking yourself "where have I heard this before"? Of course, that may be because, when you get through the whole album, you'll have heard many of the songs twice! (Yep, for the same obscure reason he did so on his last album "UPA", ol' Bjorn put the same songs twice on one disc, though the second time around they're definitely different mixes at least.)
Anyway, after hearing these tracks a couple times (that is, after one spin of the disc, heh) we found ourselves -- store employees and customers alike -- fairly whistling along, mostly because Olsson's catchy melodies are quite irresistible, but also partly 'cuz several of the best tracks here indeed feature whistling as the melodic lead (think Morricone's "Giu La Testa"). Yep again, as with his previous two albums Bjorn continues to emulate Ennio Morricone, to the point where he's nearly out Heroded Herod. Along with his knack for melody -- super catchy and incredibly reminiscent of specific tunes that will rest on the tip of your tongue -- Olsson's arrangements are increasingly more brilliant to boot. Like a spaghetti western that takes place in a sunny, pastoral meadow or something. A very lovely album, that at first we thought might be a bit too "Hallmark card" pretty, but really really grew on us. Windy's new favorite album, and Byram likes it too!
This Oly is one gal and she makes some lo-fi sweetie-tronica. A Hot Hooray is her debut release and despite its title, it's far from boisterous. It is light and perky though -- so maybe imagine a shy cheerleader's "Hooray!" That said, the third track "Intro Pieces, Parts, Puzzles - Swallow" with its wistful female vocals and slight abrasiveness brought to mind the recent stuff from Tujiko Noriko (Blurred In My Mirror) as well as Solex. Overall, methinks Oly would fit in very comfily on a show bill (or mixtape) with Casiotone For The Painfully Alone. Earnest, twee twinkliness composed in a bedroom setting amid a mountain of electronic keyboards.
A lot of OM related dub on this week's list, elsewhere you'll find a review of the latest dub single from OM mastermind (and former Sleep bass slinger) Al Cisneros, and here we've got a track from OM's most recent full length, Advaitic Songs, stretched way out, spread out over two sides of a 12", and then dubbed the fuck out! You'd have to be deaf to not here the dub influence in OM, even when they're engaged in churning metallic crush, their sound always had a dubbiness to it, lots of space, a definitely groove, but here, that sounds is allowed to flourish into something purely dub, but unlike Cisneros; singles, this dubbed out version of OM, seems to take less inspiration from classic Jamaican dub, and more from the eighties, On-U Sound style digi-dub, and it sounds great, in fact, once again, even though these are remixes, we find ourselves wishing there was a band who sounded exactly like this dubby doomy dreaminess.
The sound here is all looped programmed rhythms, vocals clipped, and chopped, doused in echo, and sent swirling into the ether, same with the snare cracks, each crack unleashing a sky full of sonic ripples, but the swoonsome darkly dramatic strings from the original remain, giving the sound a much more moody and mesmeric vibe, the B side adds some Tikiman like toasting (new OM member Robert Lowe? Cisneros himself?) while the track oozes and slithers, a downtempo groove that ends up reminding us of Muslimgauze and African Head Charge in equal measure. Fucking awesome. Here's hoping wither the whole record gets a dub makeover, OR, that the next OM record ends up being a pure, straight up dub record. Here's hoping!
We fully expected to dig this new Om record. After all, we've been fans of the band since their debut
hit back in 2004. Since then, Al Cisneros' ultra heavy bass vibrations and one of a kind stoned vocal delivery have remained pretty constant, and the main changes in the course of Om's history have revolved around two very distinct yet quite different drummers; while original skinsman Chris Hakius carried Om into territory that might well be viewed as the next step in the saga he and Cisneros developed in Sleep, current drummer Emil Amos (also of Grails and Holy Sons) brought a new, less overtly heavy approach that seemed to suit Om just as perfectly, and things have taken on a more meditative quality since his arrival. Still, some people like to joke that Om's variations on a theme have deviated little since Variations On A Theme. With that, we humbly admit that the greatness of Om's latest record, 9 years into their existence, has pretty much knocked us on our asses and led some of us to conclude that it is the best thing we've heard from them yet.
While there will be no mistaking who this is, there are in fact some of the biggest surprises on an Om record so far. Perhaps the most notable of these surprises come in the form of Robert AA Lowe, he of the 90 Day Men and Lichens, who has become a full fledged member of Om since the completion of Advaitic Songs. Indeed, Om sound more invigorated (but not *too* invigorated, for obvious reasons we would imagine) and more willing to venture into new mysterious realms. Along with additional contributions from Amber Asylum alum Jackie Perez Gratz (cello) and Lorraine Rath (flute), Advaitic Songs is by far the most diverse of Om's albums, bringing to mind everything from the Taj Mahal Travellers to Alice Coltrane to hints of early Pink Floyd and all manner of dubbed out atmospheres, while never abandoning the formula we've all come to love. In other words, shit DOES get heavy and rifftastic, but not before the introduction of female chanted vocals (which sound at times like a significantly less crazed/terrifying Elizabeth Clare Prophet, and yes, we mean that in a good way) and tamboura that open the album on the majestic "Addis". This track really absorbs you into the sound of the album and billows out steadily, with the vibe carrying on into "State Of Non Return" until the band abruptly shifts into one of the heaviest, most stoned out jams of Om's existence. And to return to the subject of drumming, kudos to Amos for his completely amazing work on this track. All we could do was bob our heads and let out a hearty "fuck yeah". Fuck yeah for sure. Interestingly, the track is monolithically heavy but still adheres to some sense of discipline and restraint. Quite simply, not many people could pull this off with these results. "Gethsemane" begins with a super heavy tamboura drone before some clean sounding Middle Eastern influenced bass and strings merge with a heavily focused drum pound with nice use of the ride. When Al's vocals come in, it sounds, well, how do we say this? Like a better version of Om. It's just so great, familiar but also exotic and surprising. "Sinai" begins as another heavy drone and makes brilliant use of distorted field recordings of some religious ceremony (sorry to be so non-specific) before ultra crisp drumming and bubbling bass create a foundation for the cello and tamboura to hover above. It's another great one to get lost in. "Haqq al-Yaqin" brings the album to its conclusion, with the memorable cello work giving the song a distinct feel and some typically awesome Cisneros vocal work. Instead of building to some predictable moment of catharsis where things get all heavy and everyone rocks out all "passionately", the song retains its focus and rides out with some beautiful acoustic guitar work before fading with some cool tabla rhythms. Wow.
At this point it's fair to say that Om are masters of their craft, and their desire to explore new worlds is made completely clear here. No one can touch them. We were going to make this a Record Of The Week, but our suppliers didn't have quite as many of the cds as we wanted in stock this week, so we had to demote it to Highlight status instead. Still, we encourage everyone to snap this one up.
Second live record from this post-Sleep duo, this one a live recreation of their 2006 Conference Of The Birds album, recorded live in New York last year, giving most people their first earful of new drummer Emil Amos, courtesy of epic post rockers the Grails, replacing long time Om drummer Chris Hakius, who was also in Sleep with Om bassist and vocalist Al Cisneros.
The drum switch is pretty dramatic, where Hakius was a bruiser, who pounded his kit, Amos is much more refined and restrained, jazzier for sure, his parts busier and skittery than the Hakius' Conference originals.
"At Giza" is a low slow rumble, mantra like and haunting, doomy for sure, but more abstract than crushing, the bass rubbery and almost clean, unfurling slow motion grooves, the drums a stripped down shuffle, the vocals reverbed and clean and way up in the mix, everything hushed and hypnotic. It's not until nearly 3/4 of the way through that the distortion kicks in and the band let loose, and that Sleep pedigree becomes apparent. And while in some ways, Amos's drumming makes the sound less obviously 'heavy', it also pushed it in new, almost proggy directions, adding more complexity and counterpoint, and things get seriously frenzied and frenetic, with a distinctly Ruins-worthy coda.
The flip side, "Flight Of The Eagle", is not that far removed from the original, minus the slightly different drumming style, the sound is still plenty sludgy, droney, groovy, druggy, hypnotic and HEAVY.
Thick diecut jackets, the printed inside sleeve visible through the diecut, pressed on ultra heavy vinyl. And yeah, most definitely limited.
This killer slab of tranced out heaviness, now back print on vinyl, as a picture disc this time! Here's our review of Conference Of Birds when we first reviewed it waaaaaay back in 2006:
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
Their debut last year, Variations On A Theme, was heralded by many as the second coming of Sabbathy stoner/doom legends Sleep. No surprise, considering that Om consists of two thirds of Sleep, and pretty much sounds like two thirds of Sleep too. Same low-end bass (Al Cisneros), thundering drums (Chris Hakius), and druggy, chant-like vocals (Al again, stepping up to the mic). All that's missing is the guitar (Sleep guitarist Matt Pike is busy with High On Fire right now). We gave that album the thumbs up, won over by the psychedelic trance-like heaviness of their jams and their mantrically soothing yet (to us) unintentionally amusing singing, which made us giggle 'cause it just never let up, delivering endless deadpan lyrics of cosmic hippy nonsense in a zoned-out monotone. We don't want to say it was so bad it was good, 'cause it really wasn't bad, but there was some of that kind of bad/good alchemy going on. And we ended up lovin' it.
And of course, the resemblance to old faves Sleep helped too.
Now Al and Chris are back with the second Om opus. It's simultaneously a heckuva lot like their debut but even better somehow. Productionwise, yes. And also perhaps 'cause while the two-piece line-up on Variations sounded like Sleep without the guitar, and maybe (heck, definitely) would have been even better with a guitarist, now they've made that lack of guitar seem more the ways things should be, by getting more and more hushed and spacious and minimal here, thereby making it seem like just bass and drums is enough, not like something's missing. They've made a virtue out of a necessity, realizing that by really adopting a "less is more" aesthetic they'd be playing to their strength. And it works. Listen to it straight through (you'll want to... it's two tracks, about 33 minutes) and you'll find it quite floatational, even without chemical assistance. This riff-repetitive spaceout drone dirge drug is all you need. And Al's lyrics remain occultic, obtuse and slightly absurd, giving this the effect of a hypnosis tape meant to help build your vocabulary (along with heightening your consciousness). He uses such everyday words as "clesiast", "epison", "aurican", "tunnement", and "agurate". It's heavy rock that requires a heavy dictionary to decipher!
So if you liked the first OM, you'll love this. And if you weren't sure before, definitely check this one out. As with their first album, file with Sleep's Jerusalem, Electric Wizard's Supercoven, and UFOmammut's Godlike Snake.
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
Their debut last year, Variations On A Theme, was heralded by many as the second coming of Sabbathy stoner/doom legends Sleep. No surprise, considering that Om consists of two thirds of Sleep, and pretty much sounds like two thirds of Sleep too. Same low-end bass (Al Cisneros), thundering drums (Chris Hakius), and druggy, chant-like vocals (Al again, stepping up to the mic). All that's missing is the guitar (Sleep guitarist Matt Pike is busy with High On Fire right now). We gave that album the thumbs up, won over by the psychedelic trance-like heaviness of their jams and their mantrically soothing yet (to us) unintentionally amusing singing, which made us giggle 'cause it just never let up, delivering endless deadpan lyrics of cosmic hippy nonsense in a zoned-out monotone. We don't want to say it was so bad it was good, 'cause it really wasn't bad, but there was some of that kind of bad/good alchemy going on. And we ended up lovin' it.
And of course, the resemblance to old faves Sleep helped too.
Now Al and Chris are back with the second Om opus. It's simultaneously a heckuva lot like their debut but even better somehow. Productionwise, yes. And also perhaps 'cause while the two-piece line-up on Variations sounded like Sleep without the guitar, and maybe (heck, definitely) would have been even better with a guitarist, now they've made that lack of guitar seem more the ways things should be, by getting more and more hushed and spacious and mimimal here, thereby making it seem like just bass and drums is enough, not like something's missing. They've made a virtue out of a necessity, realizing that by really adopting a "less is more" aesthetic they'd be playing to their strength. And it works. Listen to it straight through (you'll want to... it's two tracks, about 33 minutes) and you'll find it quite floatational, even without chemical assistance. This riff-repetitive spaceout drone dirge drug is all you need. And Al's lyrics remain occultic, obtuse and slightly absurd, giving this the effect of a hypnosis tape meant to help build your vocabulary (along with heightening your conciousness). He uses such everyday words as "clesiast", "epison", "aurican", "tunnement", and "agurate". It's heavy rock that requires a heavy dictionary to decipher!
So if you liked the first OM, you'll love this. And if you weren't sure before, definitely check this one out. As with their first album, file with Sleep's Jerusalem, Electric Wizard's Supercoven, and UFOmammut's Godlike Snake.
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We just scored a handful of copies of the Japanese import edition of the most recent release from psych-drone-trance lords Om, which features a BONUS TRACK not on the domestic version, but which can be found on the ULTRA limited split Six Organs Of Admittance / Om 7" on Holy Mountain that comes out next week (7/11/06)!! Here's what we had to say about Conference Of The Birds first time around:
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
Their debut last year, Variations On A Theme, was heralded by many as the second coming of Sabbathy stoner/doom legends Sleep. No surprise, considering that Om consists of two thirds of Sleep, and pretty much sounds like two thirds of Sleep too. Same low-end bass (Al Cisneros), thundering drums (Chris Hakius), and druggy, chant-like vocals (Al again, stepping up to the mic). All that's missing is the guitar (Sleep guitarist Matt Pike is busy with High On Fire right now). We gave that album the thumbs up, won over by the psychedelic trance-like heaviness of their jams and their mantrically soothing yet (to us) unintentionally amusing singing, which made us giggle 'cause it just never let up, delivering endless deadpan lyrics of cosmic hippy nonsense in a zoned-out monotone. We don't want to say it was so bad it was good, 'cause it really wasn't bad, but there was some of that kind of bad/good alchemy going on. And we ended up lovin' it.
And of course, the resemblance to old faves Sleep helped too.
Now Al and Chris are back with the second Om opus. It's simultaneously a heckuva lot like their debut but even better somehow. Productionwise, yes. And also perhaps 'cause while the two-piece line-up on Variations sounded like Sleep without the guitar, and maybe (heck, definitely) would have been even better with a guitarist, now they've made that lack of guitar seem more the ways things should be, by getting more and more hushed and spacious and mimimal here, thereby making it seem like just bass and drums is enough, not like something's missing. They've made a virtue out of a necessity, realizing that by really adopting a "less is more" aesthetic they'd be playing to their strength. And it works. Listen to it straight through (you'll want to... it's two tracks, about 33 minutes) and you'll find it quite floatational, even without chemical assistance. This riff-repetitive spaceout drone dirge drug is all you need. And Al's lyrics remain occultic, obtuse and slightly absurd, giving this the effect of a hypnosis tape meant to help build your vocabulary (along with heightening your conciousness). He uses such everyday words as "clesiast", "epison", "aurican", "tunnement", and "agurate". It's heavy rock that requires a heavy dictionary to decipher!
So if you liked the first OM, you'll love this. And if you weren't sure before, definitely check this one out. As with their first album, file with Sleep's Jerusalem, Electric Wizard's Supercoven, and UFOmammut's Godlike Snake.
OM....OM... OM . . . O M . . . .
The second track from OM's recent Advaitic Songs gets the dub reworking, again by Alpha & Omega, who redid Addis for the first 12", and like that, this new one doesn't need to stretch to far to transform OM into straight up dub, since OM's sound is essentially a doomy dub to begin with. But here, that doom is shed in favor of some old school classic dub sounds. Upstroke guitars, simple grooving rhythms, bass for days, in fact, the bass, and the vocals are really the main thing thee new version retains, the bass driving everything, the sound warm and and hypnotic, a little mellow, but with just a hint of sonic shadow. The vocals translate perfectly, although they're a wee bit more cringeworthy stripped of the supporting sonic heft of the original. And like that first 12", if you weren't familiar with OM, you might not even know this was a remix/reworking, it sounds pretty genuinely old school dub. That said, not all OM fans will dig. A quick look online and seems like lots of folks didn't really get it, or like it, which is surprising considering how dubby in spirit at least OM's actual sound already is.
The B side amps up the dubbiness even more, dousing the vocals and rhythms in echo and delay, words and snare cracks careening into the ether, wreathed in warm swirls of melodica melody, everything dreamily druggy and delightfully hazy and washed out.
We'd recommend spinning this at 33rpm though, if you want to get some of the doom back, at that speed, it's a dirgey doom-dub creep, the vocals a demonic bellow, the music tarpit thick, the rhythm a droney dubby dirge. Either way, cool stuff, fans of the first 12" will want this one too, and open minded OM fans, give this a try, cuz you know these days it seems like dub, more than metal is the sound that influences OM's sound, see also OM frontman Al Cisneros' dub solo singles for more proof of that!
Here it is, the first post-Chris Hakius Om studio record. And there sure has been a lot of whining. "How could Al Cisneros continue when half the group (Om being a duo) left?" "The new guy doesn't hit as hard," "It's on Drag City," blah blah blah. Fuck all that. If people cannot understand that music should be about progression and taking new risks, then they should stick to the old records and leave it at that. That said, there will be no mistaking this for anyone other than Om. The template hasn't changed drastically, but new drummer Emil Amos (who also pounds the skins for Grails and has a kick ass project of his own, Holy Sons) has certainly brought something new and fresh to the table. His drumming is more meditative, less pounding than Hakius' style and at times a little, ahem, "jazzy", and it honestly suits the direction Om had been heading in perfectly. And when the band does kick into its trademark fuzzed out monolithic jams, the changes come off as more dynamic and drastic. So, if you loved what Om has done before, chances are God Is Good will not disappoint.
The album kicks off with "Thebes," a 19 minute monster that begins life as a subdued sitar drone. The band jams it out for a while with clean bass and focused drumming, and of course, Al's amazing and totally out there stoner lyrics, before switching gears into the musical theme they have been exploring since, uh, Variations On A Theme. The best part is how it recalls the foundation from which Om was born while still showing the progression they have made since Amos' arrival. And it's fucking perfect. With Steve Albini once again at the recording console, you can safely bet that it sounds incredible, spacious yet controlled, with every nuance of Om's minimal but super amplified approach coming out nice and clear. Following an epic fadeout comes the second song, "Meditation Is The Practice Of Death", which is carried forward by a snaky, Middle Eastern styled bass groove as Amos provides some awesome drum work heavy on the cymbals and toms. The droniness just feels so great, with Al's monotone voice maintaining its steadiness over production that seems to show off a heavy dub influence. Probably weren't expecting that the first time you heard these guys, were you? But it actually makes total sense. Towards the end, there is a killer FLUTE solo, and its awesomeness should be enough to silence any of the non believers out there. This is still Om, but believe it or not, they are taking things into new realms, which is made even clearer on the next track, a two part song called "Cremation Ghat". Perhaps the fastest and busiest Om song to date, the song begins with a highly focused cyclical bass groove and percussion accented by hand claps playing out over a steady pound and a serpentine vocal chant. It's actually a bit reminiscent of Circle, but then Part II goes into a slow burning groove with the same sitar loop from "Thebes" entering the picture over more Middle Eastern inspired melodies. The album ends as it began, with the sitar loop urging you to press play once again. This is seriously great stuff.
So yeah, God Is Good is good, and we can only wonder where Om will venture after this. Luckily, it will probably still include 19 minute songs, thundering bass, hypnotic drumming, and totally stoned shamanic incantations, so really what's to complain about?
If you've ever heard OM live, well, you know what it's like to see them live. A piece of vinyl, no matter how weighty, can't really compete with that. But, if you'd like to experience OM's stoned live ceremony from the comfort of your own recliner, divan, or yoga mat - and there's a lot to be said for that - the simply titled Live lp on Outer Battery will do the trick.
Mean to emulate a '70s classic rock live boot, with raw sound (no overdubs, man) and a simple white sleeve with a pasted on, wraparound b&w cover photo of the band on stage, this document from one date on OM's 2013 European tour is a must for all OM-heads. It features four tracks - on Side A, "Sinai" and "Meditation Is The Practice Of Death"; Side B has "Cremations Ghat I" and "Bhima's Theme".
Featuring much echoing drum-thwack, zoned out chant, mesmerically heavy riffage, and a worshipful crowd of Belgians, it is very much like "you are there". While at the same time, OM can help you to "be here now".
On "Acapulco Gold" colored vinyl, LIMITED TO 800 COPIES.
People have been dying for this one. Two epic sidelong tracks, recorded live in the Holy Land, from one of the world's heaviest duos, thee mighty Om. And in fact, this lp is the final recording of the original duo, with drummer Chris Haikus, who has since left the band to be replaced by the drummer from the Grails.
And a fitting swansong it is, as these two tracks are monsters, one from Conference Of The Birds, one from Pilgrimage, and as you might expect, the sound is massive, the bass churning and throbbing, the drums relentless and pounding, the duo locking into trancelike grooves, hypnotic and mesmerizing, and of course so so so heavy. What else do you need to know. It's Om, two tracks, each taking up a whole side, pressed on super thick vinyl, in super deluxe sleeves, and of course EXTREMELY LIMITED, only 3100 copies made (each one numbered), we got 25 and there's a good chance we won't be able to get more. You have been warned.
The mighty return of the transcendental RIFF! The third Om record! By now the methods and purpose of their ultra heavy music of the spheres is clear. The music on this album, much like the first two, is stripped to its essence. Bass and drums churning out super hypnotic heaviness and repetitive chant-like vocals creating a cyclical whorl of trance-rock divinity.
With a lot of new releases from bands we love, change in sound and development of style is important, Om seem to operate with different principles than the average rock and roll outfit. The consistency of their sound lends itself to the eternal nature of the music, as if all three of their records are really just movements in some expansive, cosmic symphony. Within Om's canon, change is felt like the passing of time without the aid of a clock or calendar, existing in the infinite void. And what an ass kicking void it is! The riffs and rhythms on Pilgrimage are certainly just as good as those on either of their previous releases, which means amazingly heavy and heady slabs of stoned out ROCK!
The record starts off with the title track, which is an expansive slow burner. Mesmeric and spiritual, soft spoken vocals and a propulsive tom and tambourine beat. The riffs on this track, as well as the bulk of Om's material, have a certain eastern quality, like some strange Sabbath-raga meld, and they go on forever and ever, taking the listener on some sort of mystic celestial voyage. By track two, "Unitive Knowledge Of The Godhead", the fuzzed out bass distortion kicks in, and the sound gets HEAVY! This Sleep-like heavitude continues into the 11 plus minute "Bhima's Theme", by which point in the album the listener is more than likely completely transfixed, eyes a-glaze with the eternal riff burned into their brain. The last song on the album is "Pilgrimage (Reprise)", which makes for a very circular experience, like when listening to the album all the way through, time disintegrates and 32 minutes seems like a split second or a week or an eternity! Heavy, mannnn...
Possibly one of the most distinctive things about Pilgrimage is the recording itself. This album sounds fucking great! We mean, for a band that just consists of bass guitar and drums, you could not pick a better engineer than Mr. Steve Albini, whose forte has always been the rhythm section, and he completely nailed the sound! It's warm and cavernous, and completely swallows the listener whole.
So, if you are in tune with the amaranthine vibes of Om's two previous records, you will most certainly appreciate this one as a continuation on the path towards the essence of musical anima mundi!
RIFF TO ETERNITY!
Have you been missing Sleep? No, not your forty winks, we mean the mighty stoner metal behemoth that was San Francisco's Sabbath n' sweet leaf worshippers Sleep. The endlessly repetitive riffs, the swinging molasses sludge jams, the massive, mantric starscapes of drugged-out space rock drone and dirge? Yeah, we've been missing Sleep too. They broke up after their magnum opus, the one-hour/one-song album Jerusalem (aka Dopesmoker), members eventally resurfacing in The Sabians and High On Fire. And now Om, the closest thing to the Jerusalem of olde! So if High On Fire's loud and speedy Motorheaded heaviness hasn't quite been giving you that same Sleepy feeling, then here's -another- post-Sleep outfit that might just do the trick.
First get rid of the guitars ('cause this is just Sleep's rhythm section, bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius). All they really need is a drum kit, a bass guitar and about 10,000 watts of amplification. Then set the controls for the heart of the sun, and ride all the way there seemingly on a single churning, hypnotic mesmerizing riff, stretched over three long tracks. A super distorted, fuzzed out magic carpet ride into oblivion. The main difference between Sleep and Om (besides the lack of guitar) are the vocals by Al Cisneros. Lots of vocals. And not screaming or growly, we're talking clean, chanting, trance-like vocals, WAY up in the mix. Well, they do sound a bit like the singing in Sleep, just way more prominent. It may be the single thing that keeps folks from getting into Om. But the vocals definitely grow on you, and the laconic sort of slurry sing song-y delivery just further enhances Om's druggy mesmerism. Al's stiffly delivered, endless nasal incantations are in fact now being imitated by the staffers here at Aquarius in our everyday conversations. They definitely give the whole thing a definite Hawkwind / Pink Floyd vibe, which is a VERY good thing. This is most definitely not 'metal', although metalheads will probably dig it. Electric Wizard fans especially! This is relentlessly riff heavy, ultra repetitive, simple, spaced out, hippy drug rock of the highest order. Musically it almost sounds like a Lightning Bolt record played at 16rpm, that effortless bass / drum interplay slowed down to a loping lumber, a slow motion slither, a creepy crawl. Head nodding music for head bangers. A swirling, fuzzy, spacy, mesmerizing, drone rock trip! No wonder ol' Julian Cope wrote it up as a record of the month on his great Head Heritage website...
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
NOW ON CLEAR VINYL! When the first pressing of vinyl sold out, Holy Mountain decided to repress on clear wax. Nice. Here's our review of the music, which remains available on cd too:
Have you been missing Sleep? No, not your forty winks, we mean the mighty stoner metal behemoth that was San Jose's Sabbath n' sweet leaf worshippers Sleep. The endlessly repetitive riffs, the swinging molasses sludge jams, the massive, mantric starscapes of drugged-out space rock drone and dirge? Yeah, we've been missing Sleep too. They broke up after their magnum opus, the one-hour/one-song album Jerusalem (aka Dopesmoker), members eventally resurfacing in The Sabians and High On Fire. And now Om, the closest thing to the Jerusalem of olde! So if High On Fire's loud and speedy Motorheaded heaviness hasn't quite been giving you that same Sleepy feeling, then here's -another- post-Sleep outfit that might just do the trick.
First get rid of the guitars ('cause this is just Sleep's rhythm section, bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius). All they really need is a drum kit, a bass guitar and about 10,000 watts of amplification. Then set the controls for the heart of the sun, and ride all the way there seemingly on a single churning, hypnotic mesmerizing riff, stretched over three long tracks. A super distorted, fuzzed out magic carpet ride into oblivion. The main difference between Sleep and Om (besides the lack of guitar) are the vocals by Al Cisneros. Lots of vocals. And not screaming or growly, we're talking clean, chanting, trance-like vocals, WAY up in the mix. Well, they do sound a bit like the singing in Sleep, just way more prominent. It may be the single thing that keeps folks from getting into Om. But the vocals definitely grow on you, and the laconic sort of slurry sing song-y delivery just further enhances Om's druggy mesmerism. Al's stiffly delivered, endless nasal incantations are in fact now being imitated by the staffers here at Aquarius in our everyday conversations. They definitely give the whole thing a definite Hawkwind / Pink Floyd vibe, which is a VERY good thing. This is most definitely not 'metal', although metalheads will probably dig it. Electric Wizard fans especially! This is relentlessly riff heavy, ultra repetitive, simple, spaced out, hippy drug rock of the highest order. Musically it almost sounds like a Lightning Bolt record played at 16rpm, that effortless bass / drum interplay slowed down to a loping lumber, a slow motion slither, a creepy crawl. Head nodding music for head bangers. A swirling, fuzzy, spacy, mesmerizing, drone rock trip! No wonder ol' Julian Cope wrote it up as a record of the month on his great Head Heritage website...
Previously only on 10" vinyl via Neurot, now finally available to compact disc users! David Tibet is an obsessive man, amassing a huge collection of books, records, paintings, and ephemera from his favorite artists, religious leaders, and cultural icons; and he often incorporates bits and pieces from that collection into the apocalyptic hymns of his band Current 93. A couple years ago, Tibet found himself awestruck by Om's first album Variations On A Theme and approached the stoned-metal mesmerists about working together. Through their correspondence, Om's bassist Al Cisneros found himself a contributor to the Current 93 opus Black Ships Ate The Sky, and then the two projects decided to produce this split release. What you get from Om is exactly what you would expect: heavy-as-fuck bass lines, lumbering drum propulsion, and tranced-out vocal incantations very much along the psychedelic vein of Sabbath and the druggy side of Hawkwind. Normally Tibet outsources the guitar work on his Current 93 records to the likes of Ben Chasny, Michael Cashmore, or Tony Wakeford, but here he's picked up the guitar, the bass, and a ton of distortion to match what Om does on the other side. He proves that he too can muster a heavy doom-drone riff laced with caustic waves of distortion and feedback. Of course, his revelatory vocals emerge from the cyclical riffs as does a caterwaul of droning bagpipes.
David Tibet is an obsessive man, amassing a huge collection of books, records, paintings, and ephemera from his favorite artists, religious leaders, and cultural icons; and he often incorporates bits and pieces from that collection into the apocalyptic hymns of his band Current 93. A couple years ago, Tibet found himself awestruck by Om's first album Variations On A Theme and approached the stoned-metal mesmerists about working together. Through their correspondence, Om's bassist Al Cisneros found himself a contributor to the Current 93 opus Black Ships Ate The Sky, and then the two projects decided to produce this split 10". What you get from Om is exactly what you would expect: heavy-as-fuck bass lines, lumbering drum propulsion, and tranced-out vocal incantations very much along the psychedelic vein of Sabbath and the druggy side of Hawkwind. Normally Tibet sources out the guitar work on his Current 93 records to the likes of Ben Chasny, Michael Cashmore, or Tony Wakeford, but here he's picked up the guitar, the bass, and a ton of distortion to match what Om does on the other side. He proves that he too can muster a heavy doom-drone riff laced with caustic waves of distortion and feedback. Of course, his revelatory vocals emerge from the cyclical riffs as does a caterwaul of droning bagpipes. There have been a couple of different pressings of this single; and what we have is the domestic, blue translucent vinyl version.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
FINALLY THE REPRESS IS HERE! These split singles went out of print in a flash soon after we first reviewed 'em on list 244. But more were promised, and now at last they're here, for now...
Most of you have already smashed the add to cart button to bits before even getting to reading the review, so we'll keep this brief. A monumental match up of modern psychedelic masters from the NorCal locale. On one side is the mighty post-Sleep behemoth known as Om, a bass and drums duo who churn out extended sludge mantras, and on this track it's no different. A super fuzzed out doomy plod and groove. When we first threw this one, we accidentally had it on 45 and it sounded pretty dang killer and super blown out and weird, until the vocals came in and went all doom chipmunk on us. But at 33 it was even slower and heavier and dirgier just the way it was meant to be. Note: the track on this 7" is the bonus track from the Japanese version of Conference Of The Birds that we listed recently, so a few of you may already have this song! On the other side we have Ben Chasny and his Six Organs Of Admittance, who seem to be upping their own personal dirge quotient in order to compete with the sheer heaviness of Om. There is still some lilting folk, but it's buried beneath wild squalls of psych guitar freakout that sounds VERY Japanese (High Rise, Mainliner, Fushitsusha).
Definitely essential.
If we were told that this disc was actually unearthed from the once-lost archive of a curmudgeonly pair of outsider artists who lived on some sodden island in the Puget Sound during the mid '70s, we could definitely be excused for believing it, and thus being completely wrong about the true identities of Vague Johnson & Thompson Omake. With every sound swaddled in tape hiss and occasionally thrown out of orbit by an unruly tape machine, the curious happenings on Headiferous Untacbulum could have easily come from that era of unkempt post-hippie / proto-Industrial expressionism (e.g. Taj Mahal Travellers, Nihilist Spasm Band, Nurse With Wound, etc.). These tracks are grimy psychedelic adventures of free-folk-drone-noise wanderings for homebuilt instruments which rumble and churn against a static field of modular synthesis. Elsewhere, long form drones from dissonantly bowed strings swell into huge clouds of radiant drones. Then, there are the hammered plucks across acoustic guitars with plenty of nods to Fahey and Basho that also emerge behind a pall of spring reverb, and stone-encrusted field recordings crashing through the mix with unexpected results. Top it all off is the hand-dyed envelope with a crusty smear of wax holding the package together. Wouldn't be surprised to see something from these two on Foxy Digitalis or Root Strata one of these days.
All that said, it turns out that Omake and Johnson are the work of contemporary Seattle based musicians Matt Shoemaker and Dave Knott, working through Shoemaker's arsenal of electronics and Knott's invented instruments recorded through a beat-up tape recorder. A really great piece of way-out there sound-field generation and free-folk splutter; and of course, it's super limited to about 40 copies.
Not sure how we stumbled across this. And it seems foolish to state once again, in a review of a house music record we have been digging BIG TIME, that we don't in fact really like house music, so fuck it, we found a couple tracks by Omar S on some aQ pal's website, and were immediately blown away, apparently he's a bit of a big deal in the world of house music, from Detroit (obviously), and while most Fabric comps feature proper DJ sets, for this one, it's all him spinning his OWN tracks, which is just fine with us, we've been listening to this nonstop since we first got it in.
Needless to say, this is a variant of that kind of house music we DO like, super stripped down, minimal, skeletal, very Kompakt for sure, mostly just beats, wrapped around barely there loops, abstract melodies, tons of space, all about the pulse, just listen to "Strider's World", that's the track that sucked us in. It begins all crunchy and big beated, before mellowing out a bit, and then... what? The main rhythm is some looped video game sound (from the game Strider? We checked, being the nerds that we are, and it didn't seem like it), how rad is that? Draped over a skittery rhythm and a repeating minor key melody, it's only 4+ minutes, but we would have been psyched for it to be twice that long. Heck, we would have been happy if the whole 72 minutes was just that song, but it hardly matters, the rest of the disc is pretty much just as rad, bloopy and skittery and hypnotic. Hard to imagine people dancing to this stuff, but for chilling out, it's perfect, all blissed out and late night sounding, dreamy and totally mesmerizing. There are a couple tracks that get a bit to 'diva', but just skip those and the rest of the disc is pretty much flawless, and definitely one of our new favorites, and once again, has us reassessing our seemingly barely applicable anymore generally negative stance on house music...
Like all Fabric comps, comes in a cool metal box, wrapped in a printed slipcover. NICE.
Reissued now for obvious reasons, this 1974 concert recording documents an example of the vital and exciting musical tradition that Afghanistan's former Taliban regime attempted to outlaw. The late Ustad Mohammad Omar was most certainly a virtuoso on the
We've all got our old favorite records that maybe we haven't heard in a while, but it only takes a few bars of the lead-off track to immediately bring it all back and make us wanna dust 'em off again... This was the case when AQ pal and Cup's fellow I Am Spoonbender bandmate Dustin� recently placed a special order for Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's 1983 album "Dazzle Ships"- �a seeming direct follow-up to Kraftwerk's 'Radioactivity'�- featuring shortwave radio broadcasts, chiming synth lines, speak-and-spells, and earnest, emotive vocals. Take tracks like the bouyant "Telegraph"- it's pure synth-pop goodness, combining an innocent exuberance with considerably more weighty, dark subject matter. An overlooked experimental electronic pop gem, this album is full of wonderful songs and sounds, courtesy of�core members Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey.�In a time when 'the '80s' are seemingly everywhere - and frequently in the most watered-down, cliche forms - it's nice to catch a few quality moments with a brilliant, good old friend. FYI: Jim thinks 'Organization' is way better, but this is definitely OMD's most exploratory moment.�
