[ aquarius records catalogue

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

Showing results 601 through 650 of 1919.

Excellent dancehall mix of Dawn Penn's sorrowful "No, No, No (You Don't Love Me)" featuring a beefier beat and interjections from U-"Wake The Town And Tell The People"-Roy.

You've heard this before: "lost, unreleased '60s psych gem discovered and finally released after 30-some years!" Many cds have made that claim...and, well, most of 'em simply demonstrate *why* the record wasn't released back when (and furthermore, why it shouldn't get released now, either). However, although skepticism is warranted, once in a while a genuine gem IS unearthed. Penny Arkade's 1967-1968 recordings, we're happy to say, fall into that glad catagory. While not as mind-blowing as, say, the Public Nuisance release two years ago, it's definitely gonna be a treat for fans of '60s California psych-pop. The Penny Arkade apparently were a popular act on LA's Sunset Strip, they were hip and cool, but while big in the LA scene -- and having "Talented Monkee" Michael Nesmith as their producer -- never ever actually "made it". And none of the music they recorded was ever released under their own name until now (more on that later). The liner notes (penned with detail and verve by Ugly Things editor Mike Stax) give the mundane reasons, but listening to their music you'll still wonder... These guys indeed sound kinda like the Monkees, with some Byrds and Buffalo Springfield in 'em too, and their material ranges from folky, countryish pop to kaleidoscopic psych (like the 12 minute title track) with some moments of bliss for you fuzz fanatics. (To make a non-'60s comparison, we'd have to say that some of this reminds us a bit of Olivia Tremor Control.) Now, here's the weird part: ever hear of an obscure acid-casualty hippy singer-songwriter from the early '70s named Maitreya Kali? He issued two privately-pressed LPs, Apache and Inca, both of which were reissued a while back on cd, and interested many collectors of things psych...well Mr. Kali is actually Craig Smith, one of the singers and songwriters in the Penny Arkade, who dropped out of the band to travel the world and, presumably, do lot of drugs. Apparently quite a few of the (really good) tracks on those Apache and Inca albums were really Penny Arkade recordings. One of those songs, the wonderful "Country Girl", was compliled on a comp called Yee-Haw! The Other Side of Country which we reviewed a few years back, and when I first heard this Penny Arkade disc I was like, hey, I know that song. Turns out Glen Campbell also covered it at one point, but what we were familiar with was the original, by way of Maitreya Kali. So if you were ever intrigued by Maitreya Kali, you need to check out this, the real deal (with better sound). Kudos to Sundazed for another fine release! Keep diggin', guys!

MPEG stream: Country Girl
MPEG stream: Love Rain

Penny-Ante is an amazing new literary / art journal with contributions from artists, writers and a ton of musicians, mostly from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland area. The contributors alone should get loyal AQ customers foaming at the mouth, with art and/or text from Devendra Banhart, My Morning Jacket, Josephine Foster, Xiu Xiu, Marissa Nadler, Tarantula AD, Ariel Pink), Don Bolles (from the Germs), 7 Year Rabbit Cycle, Leslie Q, Daedelus, the Double, Residual Echoes, Hawnay Troof, the Six Parts Seven, the American Analog Set, Aids Wolf, Idaho Falls, XBXRX and that's -just some of the musicians. Tons more writers and artists, a huge 300 page journal style soft cover book, with tons of amazing art, short stories, poetry, lyrics, postcards, drawings, photographs, lyrics, interviews, prose, illustrations, and probably some other stuff we didn't notice. But we just got it and it's huge and jam packed with all kinds of stuff. First in a series, we're not even halfway through the first issue and we're already chomping at the bit for the next one.

'Tis the season for blown out and supercharged lo-fi burners and we can't say we mind one bit. Band after band, this eruption of buzzy stumbly hook filled garage-y pop is pretty impossible not to love. Pens are a great addition to the current crop of noise-poppers like Wavves, Dum Dum Girls, Vivian Girls, etc. Luckily they defiantly have their own take on that sound, as the record opens with what sounds like thumb piano before erupting into a full on garage pop anthem. Pens are a London trio who infuse wonderfully swirling psychedelic moments into their Shaggs like crash and burn approach to way-in-the-red and dizzyingly fucked up pop. There is something so spirited and punk rock about their sound and approach, imagine your favorite riot grrrrl band on Woodsist! Bikini Kill mixed with Wavves? You get the idea, a hectic, urgent and way damn pleasing musical ruckus!

MPEG stream: Horsies
MPEG stream: Fuckufuckinfuck
MPEG stream: High In The Cinema

Legendary doomsters Pentagram have followed a bizarre and convoluted "career-path" to say the least. Though they've been around for at least 30 years (!) they've put out more stuff in the last four years than they did in their first decade, we're pretty sure, including both new albums and archival releases. The Pentagram cult grows. So here's another entry in their catalog, something from the vaults that's really for the true fans, being a 1978 live show from a club called The Keg in DC. So don't expect perfect sound -- yet it's not as bad as you might think either. The vocals are mixed a little low, but that's better than the opposite extreme that you often get from soundboard recordings. What's particularily interesting is that this comes from a period of Pentagram's history when they had boasted two guitarists, long since gone from the band, though you will hear the drumming of a young (18 year old) Joe Hasselvander, who probably never thought that he and singer Bobby Liebling would still be Pentagram in 2003! Tracks include Penta-classics like "20 Buck Spin" and "Review Your Choices". Diehard Pentagram heads will be familar with all these songs, but these versions are definitely different in parts. Plus, the live energy is quite exciting (making up for whatever this lacks in sonic fidelity). Tacked on at the end are the singles tracks recorded by this lineup, studio cuts of "When The Screams Come" and "Living In A Rams Head" different from the ones found on either First Days Here (their 1972-76 collection) or their later albums. All in all, nicely done: hardcore 'ram fans won't be disappointed.

MPEG stream: Much Too Young To Know

Your Pentagram collection ain't complete if you don't have this! Here's the recent digipack reissue of the legendary DC-area doomsters' third album, originally released on Peaceville in 1994. It's kind of the "forgotten" Pentagram disc, coming a few years after their two '80s classics, but also quite a while before what might be termed the 21st century Pentagram renaissance, that's seen several new albums on Black Widow, a couple amazing archival releases on Relapse (First Daze Here and First Daze Here Too!!) and even a Pentagram cover band popping up here in San Francisco (the cleverly-named Parallelogram, featuring John Cobbett of Hammers of Misfortune). Yet, Be Forwarned is actually one of our favorite Pentagram albums, still featuring as it does the classic '80s line-up: Bobby Liebling (vocals), Victor Griffin (guitar) and Joe Hasselvander (drums), and Marty Swaney (bass). More importantly, it's got some great songs! Of course, there's a few Liebling compositions from way back in the '70s that those possessed of the First Daze Here comps might recognize (including the title track, a great version here of a track that Pentagram first put out on a single back in 1972), but also a bunch of tracks penned for this recording by Griffin and Hasselvander that surely are Pentagram classics by now too. Also, Bobby's at his Ozziest here, so if Sabbathy doom is your thing you can't miss this. And now that Peaceville's gone and done nice reissues of these Pentagram albums, we're wondering when the heck Metal Blade's gonna do the same with the Trouble catalog?!

MPEG stream: Ask No More
MPEG stream: Vampyre Love

These two crucial Pentagram discs were reissued earlier this year and we figured we'd better (at long last) get 'em reviewed for our site, what with the immense popularity of Swedish retro-doomsters Witchcraft (seriously, we sell a TON of Witchcraft records and that's how it should be) and also their friends/countrymen/doppelgangers Burning Saviours, both of whom utterly absolutely obviously *worship* Pentagram. Black Sabbath too of course, but it's Pentagram who provide them with more of a "cult" thrill and inspiration -- Witchcraft has recorded several Pentagram covers, and Burning Saviors are even named after a Pentagram song. Now, Pentagram's been around for a long time (almost as long as Sabbath) in various incarnations, and we've previously reviewed both collections of '70s era Pentagam material as well as their several recent albums. But the two records that really put 'em on the metal map were these, which date from the mid 1980s. Originally self-titled, Relentless was the band's debut full-length from 1985 (yep, about a full 15 years after they first formed!!) and 1987's Day Of Reckoning was their second. Both are classics of doom metal, up there with the other great '80s post-Sabbath doom LPs by Trouble, Candlemass, and Saint Vitus. On these albums vocalist Bobby Liebling is at the height of his powers (he sounds kinda like Ozzy, but something about his voice and delivery indicates that maybe he's got even more first-hand knowledge of the dark side, like he's one of the evil creatures that Ozzy would just warn you about!) and current Place Of Skulls guitarist Victor Griffin riffs with the best of 'em. Drummer Joe Hasselvander and bassist Martin Swaney round out this era's Pentagram line-up. Penta-classic tracks found here include "Death Row", "Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)" and "20 Buck Spin" (on Relentless) and "When The Screams Come", "Burning Savior" and "Madman" (on Day Of Reckoning), among others. Both discs are great, buy the pair! Reissued in digipacks, cd booklets replete with lyrics, photos, and brand new jive-talkin' liner notes by the still-kickin' Bobby L.

MPEG stream: When The Screams Come
MPEG stream: Wartime

Maryland-based doom metallers Pentagram are on some kinda roll, following up their recently released and quite awesome album "Sub-Basement" (see the review on AQ-list 128) with this collection of stuff they recorded almost 30 years ago! Yep, they've been "Starlady" ('76) -- why they didn't get signed on the strength of this potential single (a hit if I've ever heard one) I don't know. Or why KISS didn't buy the tune for their own use, that's perhaps even more of a mystery! (KISS's management was checking Pentagram out at the time, but no record deal resulted...) "Forever My Queen" ('73) -- powerful doom metal that shows them at their Sabbath-like best (although, hearing this collection, you'll realize that Pentagram were equally into, and the equals of, other heavy contemporaries like Captain Beyond, Dust, and Blue Cheer). "Last Days Here" ('74) -- it's like some Stones or "Raw Power"-era Stooges ballad, with Bobby doing his best Iggy impression. "Be Forwarned" ('72) -- Pentagram re-recorded this epic, the A-side of first ever 7", on their 1994 "Be Forwarned" album, and when I first heard that version I knew it had to be an old song, 'cause it had such an authentic heavy psych vibe to it. So it's great to finally hear the original (more or less, see below). "20 Buck Spin" ('73) -- again, the original version of a classic rockin' Pentagram track, covered recently by Pennsylvania doomsters Pale Divine. All the tracks sound pretty great production-wise (except for the relatively lo-fi live rehearsal recording of "Last Days Here"), putting the previous Pentagram '70s rarities collection "Human Hurricane" to shame. Of course, Bobby did re-master and clean up these tracks in 2001. He also took the opportunity to add some vocals and guitar to "Be Forwarned", for reasons probably known only to him. There's also a few other questionable edits or fades only a Pentagram collector would notice. But such modern-day meddling doesn't detract in any way from the might of the music on offer. It's great stuff, and simply amazing to hear it sounding so good. Pentagram fans have a high tolerance for poor sound (witness the pretty much unlistenable live bootleg LPs that have been released) but this time, you get to *hear* the music as well as own the disc! Recommended to Pentagram fans (obviously) and ANYONE who likes good heavy '70s rock and roll!

RealAudio clip: Forever My Queen
RealAudio clip: Starlady

It's a time of joy, and a time of doom. That's because in the space of just the past month or two we've gotten not one but now two awesome, unearthed releases of previously lost early '70s underground heaviness from a bunch of longhaired DC-area Blue Cheer fans who, if they'd only managed to get a record deal back then, might have gotten huge and now be known as the American Black Sabbath. Well they really are the American Black Sabbath anyway, but not as many people know it. We're talking about the legendary original lineup of Pentagram, and their even more obscure evil twin Bedemon. Two lists back, we were freaking out over the long awaited release of that Bedemon album, upon which sometime Pentagram guitarist Randy Palmer's home recorded hymns of doom finally saw the light of day. We're still freaking out about it (just got more in, it's relisted this list), but now our frenzy is doubled. Yes, that amazing release wasn't enough, now here's First Daze Here Too, the follow-up to First Daze Here (natch) the AQ fave 2002 release that compiled a bunch of rare '70s era Pentagram recordings that were otherwise unavailable except perhaps with sub-par sound to rabid tape-traders. First Daze Here astounded us, being one of the best '70s heavy rock albums that never was we'd ever heard. Great songs, restored to sound better than fans has ever heard 'em. Incredibly, Relapse has now put together a solid -second- collection of unreleased vintage Penta-tracks from '72-'76. So many classics in their original form: "When The Screams Come", "Wheel Of Fortune", "Virgin Death", "Target", "Nightmare Gown", "Much Too Young To Know", an alternate version of "Be Forwarned", and more -- even their heavy take on the Stones' "Under My Thumb"! Sound quality varies, from tracks recorded for professional demo purposes to lower-fi rehearsal tapes, but fans will dig it all... though at 22 tracks total we'll admit that it's not all entirely the equal of the 100 percent killer first First Daze Here. This is more like 90 percent, yet it's not like we'd have wanted them to leave anything off. And in fact, we know that there's still more in the Pentagram vaults, so maybe we can look foward to a third volume someday... Relapse have pulled out all the stops with this one, which after all these years Pentagram definitely deserve. It's a double disc (though actually we think all of it could have fit on one stuffed to the gills 80 minute cd) handsomely packaged with a huge thick booklet full of prevously unseen, sepia-toned band photos and text by original Pentagram drummer and keeper of the flame Geof O'Keefe, including track-by-track commentary... there's also notes from other former members as well. Doom on!

MPEG stream: Wheel Of Fortune
MPEG stream: Virgin Death

Now on vinyl, with a bonus 7" (a replication of their debut single from 1972, under the moniker Macabre) of tracks that appear on the vinyl/cd as well, though. This double LP is super limited and we have just one copy!! So, we can't imagine that it won't have already been bought by some major fan of the band by the time you're done reading this description, but here goes anyway: Maryland-based doom metallers Pentagram are on some kinda roll, following up their awesome album "Sub-Basement" (see the review on AQ-list 128) with this collection of stuff they recorded almost 30 years ago! Yep, they've been around that long, although only vocalist/mastermind Bobby Liebling still remains from the lineup documented here, the *original* '70s Pentagram. Thus the subtitle: The Vintage Collection. Twelve tracks circa 1972-1976, mostly rare singles and unreleased demo tracks. Some of these songs were re-recorded for later Pentagram albums, but many haven't been (yet). Some of my favorite tracks from this album include: "Starlady" ('76) -- why they didn't get signed on the strength of this potential single (a hit if I've ever heard one) I don't know. Or why KISS didn't buy the tune for their own use, that's perhaps even more of a mystery! (KISS's management was checking Pentagram out at the time, but no record deal resulted...) "Forever My Queen" ('73) -- powerful doom metal that shows them at their Sabbath-like best (although, hearing this collection, you'll realize that Pentagram were equally into, and the equals of, other heavy contemporaries like Captain Beyond, Dust, and Blue Cheer). "Last Days Here" ('74) -- it's like some Stones or "Raw Power"-era Stooges ballad, with Bobby doing his best Iggy impression. "Be Forwarned" ('72) -- Pentagram re-recorded this epic, the A-side of first ever 7", on their 1994 "Be Forwarned" album, and when I first heard that version I knew it had to be an old song, 'cause it had such an authentic heavy psych vibe to it. So it's great to finally hear the original (more or less, see below). "20 Buck Spin" ('73) -- again, the original version of a classic rockin' Pentagram track, covered recently by Pennsylvania doomsters Pale Divine. All the tracks sound pretty great production-wise (except for the relatively lo-fi live rehearsal recording of "Last Days Here"), putting the previous Pentagram '70s rarities collection "Human Hurricane" to shame. Of course, Bobby did re-master and clean up these tracks in 2001. He also took the opportunity to add some vocals and guitar to "Be Forwarned", for reasons probably known only to him. There's also a few other questionable edits or fades only a Pentagram collector would notice. But such modern-day meddling doesn't detract in any way from the might of the music on offer. It's great stuff, and simply amazing to hear it sounding so good. Pentagram fans have a high tolerance for poor sound (witness the pretty much unlistenable live bootleg LPs that have been released) but this time, you get to *hear* the music as well as own it! Recommended to Pentagram fans (obviously) and ANYONE who likes good heavy '70s rock and roll! One of Relapse's best releases, ever.

RealAudio clip: Forever My Queen
RealAudio clip: Starlady

Last Rites? Well yeah, most folks, if they had to bet, probably woulda predicted that wizened Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling would have been dead by now, of drug abuse if not old age. Certainly not living out a long overdue rock star dream of critical adulation, sold out shows, flashy clothes, and marriage to a shockingly young, stylish wife (with whom he just had a baby)! So the title is ironic, since the dude seems to have an unexpected new lease on life. Seriously, who woulda thunk it, that in the year 2011 (which still sounds like a futuristic date to us in it now, right?), ol' Bobby Liebling and his band Pentagram, who began way back in 1971, would still be going strong, stronger than ever in some ways? Bobby's even become a hipster fashion icon of sorts, too, thanks to his wife's blogging... Not only is there a new Pentagram album (this one) but Bobby's also been touring, something some of us never thought we'd see happen (and now that we have, will never forget). Pentagram made two appearances in SF in the past year or two, the first what we thought was once-in-a-lifetime chance to see this seminal doom metal band, which surpassed all expectations and RULED, and the second a bit of trainwreck, featuring a woefully unprepared lead guitarist and some godawful blues jams. Both times, though, Bobby was all showman, surprising everybody with his Mick Jagger moves, strutting his stuff in expensive boots and skinny designer jeans. The crotch-grabbing and pelvic thrusting was a bit disconcerting, though, considering that from the neck up, the man looks to be about 90 years old, an ancient, frizzy haired, goggle-eyed Muppet. But considering that so much of Pentagram's lyrics/imagery is horror-related, that kinda works for him (and for the groupies??). We don't even think he acted like that back in the day, we've seen live Pentagram footage from the '80s where he's just hanging on the microphone stand, not shimmying across the stage like it's the T.A.M.I. show, or rolling around on the ground a la Iggy Pop. So, what about this new album? Does it fulfill the promise of the first "comeback" show we saw, or fall down like the second? Well, glad to report it's indeed a worthy addition to the Pentagram discography! Bobby sounds pretty darn good here, belting it out with ghoulish gusto. And he's teamed up for the first time in years with guitarist Victor Griffin, who was Pentagram's riff master general on such classic albums as Relentless (1985), Day Of Reckoning (1987), and Be Forewarned (1994). Griffin wasn't yet back on board for the shows we saw here in SF, so that makes Last Rites even more of an exciting event. As usual with Pentagram's albums, this one's a mix of new material and old songs from the '70s that they never recorded for a proper album before. Thus true Penta-fans will, for instance, recognize "Walk In The Blue Light" from the First Daze Here demos compilation, and they even do a couple songs by Stone Bunny (Bobby's pre-Pentagram band circa 1970). All very cool to hear in these new versions. But newly written tracks form the bulk of the album, and (also as usual) they perfectly continue the vintage Pentagram sound, heavy, Sabbathy, psychedelic... how could they not with Liebling singing and Griffin on guitar? They also mix in some slightly more modern sounding dirgery on tracks like "8". The only song that we really feel a bit 'meh' about is "American Dream", on which, for some reason, Liebling relinquishes the mic to Griffin, who sorta sounds like his ex-Palace Of Skulls bandmate Wino. So it sticks out as a Place Of Skulls-ish number, especially considering that the rhythm section here is also from Place Of Skulls. And that song's overtly political lyrics are not very Pentagram-y as far as we're concerned. But otherwise, this is all pure Pentagram magic, better than 2004's Show 'Em How and almost up there with the last two Liebling did with ex-bandmate Joe Hasselvander, 1999's Review Your Choices and 2001's Sub-Basement. Penta-fans, and all classic doom lovers, rejoice!

MPEG stream: Treat Me Right
MPEG stream: Call The Man
MPEG stream: 8

MPEG stream: Sign Of The Wolf (Pentagram)
MPEG stream: 20 Buck Spin

'70s semi-survivors Pentagram, one of the only truly O.G. doom metal outfits still somewhat extant, their legend only growing in recent years, more people getting into them, hordes of Witchcraft fans prominent among 'em. When Review Your Choices first came out in 1999, Pentagram were not quite as "hip" a band as they are now. So lots of folks who missed out before should be happy it's been reissued, along with its 2001 follow-up Sub-Basement, together the one-two-punch of a (temporarily) revitalized, turn-of-the-century Pentagram. Both albums now come in styley digipacks, with 2 bonus tracks each. Here's our original review of Review Your Choices: The long-awaited new album from doom metal legend Bobby Liebling and his cult band Pentagram, one of the most ancient bands in the genre (not much younger than their lords Black Sabbath themselves). Indeed, about half of the tunes on this album were originally recorded as demo tracks back in the mid-'70s when Gene Simmons and KISS took an interest in the Pentagram boys and were trying, unsuccessfully, to get them signed to their Casablanca label. Both the old stuff (recently rerecorded of course) and the newly-written stuff on here resound with an authentic '70s/Sabbath vibe (right down to Bobby's vocals, which sound like Ozzy at his most demented and troglodytic!). Imagine taking records by the heavy likes of Saint Vitus, Trouble, and Blue Cheer and mixing them in a bowl with several boxes of Count Chocula (the cereal paid homage to in the booklet photo spread!) and a quart of way-past-its-expiration-date milk. That's the curdled, dark and soggy breakfast of champions served up by Pentagram on Review Your Choices. What a way to start your day, or perhaps to end it all. Not much more to say other than, a classic, full of Pentagram necessities old and new. The killer, slide-y main riff on "Megalania". The cheerful insanity of "Gilla?". The old, old utter classic "Forever My Queen".... all of it, really! The bonus tracks are alternative takes of album tracks, and their production or lack thereof is pretty raw, but then again the album proper has its own "gluey" production eccentricities... either way these tracks sound plenty doomy! Now, since the release of these two albums, Pentagram fans have been exposed to more of the band's original '70s recordings via the two First Daze Here comps that Relapse put out. If you have those, you'll certainly recognize many of the songs on Review Your Choices and Sub-Basement. But not only are these recordings of 'em quite worthy in their own right (some of these versions being our preferred ones for sure), these albums also contain plenty of circa-Y2K penned Pentagram material that's equally worthy.

MPEG stream: Living In A Ram's Head
MPEG stream: Review Your Choices

If any band is a survival story, this one is. Each new Pentagram release is a minor miracle, if only because the reports we hear about the health of Pentagram mainmain/vocalist Bobby Liebling are always rather dire, to say the least. Yet Bobby has managed to get it together again to do another album, once more plumbing the depths of Pentagram's back catalog to properly record a bunch of unreleased '70s era Penta-classics (a couple of which fans will know from the First Daze Here demos collection). He's also penned a few new ones, in collaboration with members of his new band. Yes, Show 'Em How marks a significant line-up change in the 'ram squad. Now composed of members of doom stalwarts Internal Void and Penance, Pentagram is a full band again! Both the old and the new material is heavy as heck, living up to the Pentagram name for sure. It's always great to hear Bobby sing, even at his most bizarre sounding (especially at his most bizarre sounding!). You get a dose of both Bobby-as-Ozzy, and Bobby as-nasally-gurgling-guy...as well as Bobby-as-Bobby. Despite how decrepit he looks in the booklet photos, on a good day he can still belt it out. If there's such a thing as survival of the doomiest then maybe we can count on more Pentagram records to come...

MPEG stream: Wheel Of Fortune
MPEG stream: Elektra Glide

There's been a lot of activity lately from these semi-legendary lords of doom, surprising coming from a band that's been around for about thirty years and has dwindled down to only two members! But (thankfully for all fans of dark, doomy heavy metal)

RealAudio clip: Buzzsaw
RealAudio clip: Sub-Basement
RealAudio clip: Out Of Luck

While we're eagerly looking forward to the upcoming documentary movie, Last Days Here, about the last ditch whowouldathunkit rebound of doom legend, Bobby Liebling's drug-damaged life and career, there's also now this new live dvd of footage from his band Pentagram's recent tour to demonstrate that, yes indeed, the seemingly ancient frontman Bobby L and the 'Ram gang are BACK, miraculously in fine form, a bug-eyed Bobby strutting like the glammed-up, gramped-out Ozzy/Iggy hybid he (somewhat grotesquely, but amazingly) is. Featuring classic Pentagram trax like "Day Of Reckoning", "20 Buck Spin", "Sign Of The Wolf", "Relentless", "Forever My Queen", and the title track, amongst others. This was shot at the 2010 Maryland Deathfest, and crucially, features the return of guitarist Victor Griffin, the riffmaster on Pentagram's first 3 official albums, from which these songs are drawn. Also, on bass, Greg Turley (Place Of Skulls) and on drums, Gary Isom (Spirit Caravan). Nothing here by the way from the subsequently recorded Last Rites album that Metal Blade released in 2011, an excellent effort also featuring Griffin.

This is really not new at all, and we had been holding out for the cd import version for ages, but then realized we still had never gotten it in, and thus had never listed this record at all, even though we've had a stack of the Southern Lord vinyl edition sitting here all this time, and it is pretty awesome, so we just decided to list it anyway, import compact disc be damned, so here it is, better late than never, the debut from Pentemple, which for those of you who have somehow missed out on this, is essentially a SUNNO))) record, as it features the core duo of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson, frequent SUNNO))) collaborators Oren Ambarchi and Attila Csihar, with the addition of the mysterious Sin Nanna of mighty one man black metal horde Striborg! Needless to say, SUNNO))) fans will dig the shit out of this, two long 20+ minute tracks, each thick and slow and heavy and drone-y, the guitars not riffing so much as crawling like some black fog, and some seriously fucked up vox, feral mewling gives way to distant moaning, strange chanting tangled up with hellish shrieks and guttural growls, all draped over a constantly shifting blackened doomscape, it takes nearly seven minutes for the drums to kick in, but when they do, it changes the whole feel of the record, chaotic, abstract, very free, suddenly it sounds like free jazz SUNNO))), or SUNNO))) covering Coltrane or Ayler or something, whatever it is, it's really rad, a buzzing free form doom jazz that sprawls and oozes, splatter and hums, the two pieces are part of a bigger whole, by the second movement, it's all about the drums, now locked into a lurching stuttery rhythm, and the vocals, growing in intensity, the whole sound thickening and expanding, until the drums peter out, leaving 6 or 6 minutes of super thick, layered gristled and corrosive buzz, that manages to be super heavy but super hypnotic and dreamy at the same time before finishing off with a little melodic tangle at the end, still wreathed in hazy heaviness and a thick cloud of crumbling fuzz. Killer packaging too, with the front cover image of the crowned goat hoof black on black and embossed so you can feel the grimness...

MPEG stream: Pazuzu 1 (excerpt)
MPEG stream: Pazuzu 2 (excerpt)

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

SORRY.

1971 strikes again! Here's a new cd reish of this beautifully freaky album by a Japanese "Buddhist-psych" band called People, featuring guitarist Kimio Mizutani (who played with Love Live Life + 1, Hiro Yanagida, and others, and did a solo album called A Path Through Haze). There's monk-like chanting and resounding gongs, field recordings of birds and street sounds, and even, strangely enough, samples from soulful psych-funk producer David Axelrod's classic 1968 album Song Of Innocence. And of course heavy wah wah guitar action. The album is a real 'trip', much of it indeed very ceremonial-sounding, venturing from blissful grooves with tick-tock rhythms ("Shomyo Part 2") and placid, lovely droniness ("Prayer Part 1") to sheer pounding electric fuzz riffage laced with screams of orgasmic ecstasy ("Prayer Part 2"). The puzzling use of those lush, orchestral Axelrod samples on the first and last tracks just helps to make this somehow both very much of its time and also way ahead of it (since Axelrod is heavily sampled by folks today as well!). Quite recommended.

MPEG stream: Flower Strewing
MPEG stream: Prayer Part 2

People Like Us is the work of UK plunderphonician Vicki Bennett, whose previous albums mined the UK radio talkshows to construct brutally hilarious collages loaded with sexual innuendo and scatalogical humor. "A Fistful Of Knuckles" is her Americana record, taking the dredges of thrift store vinyl to their most surreal end. Way out on the open range of After School Special soundtracks and cowboy adventure records, Bennett had compiled a wacky album of twangy looped samples, lone harmonicas, decontextualized spoken words elements which make us Americans sound down right stupid, and a very very naughty version of "She'll Be Comin' Round The Mountain." People Like Us have been joined in the 'Happy Valley Ranch' by Mr. Wobbly, The Jet Black Hair People (Peter of Negativland / Wetgate / Monopause), M.C. Schmerz (aka Martin from Matmos), etc... All in all, this may very well be her best record.

A 'remix' album of plunderphonic/sonic dadaist People Like Us by a handful of experimentalists such as Negativland, Coil, Stock Hausen & Walkman, Mika Vainio, Dummy Run, Boyd Rice, Bruce Gilbert, Farmer's Manual, Death In June, Christoph Heemann (Nurse With Wound/H.N.A.S.), Rehberg & Bauer, and Sons of Silence. So this may be a stupid semantic argument...but is a remix album of somebody who pilfers everything anyway merely a compilation of tracks (to be catagorized with 'Various Artists') or is the conceptualization of culling these 'remixes' together fall under the catagory of being the intellectual property of the original artist (and thus is to be filed under the original artist's name)? Does it really matter?

"Lassie House" and "Jumble Massive" were two vinyl-only limited edition releases on Soleilmoon by the whimsical plunderphonic artist People Like Us (aka Vicky Bennett). Much like the comedic moments of Negativland (without the social commentary), People Like Us slices up samples culled from British radio broadcasts (talk shows about gardening and dour radio dramas) and rearranges the cut-ups into bizarre dialogues broken up by silly Herb Alpert-esque horns. Quite wonderful stuff.

"Recyclopaedia Britannica" could be seen as a 'greatest hits' compilation for Vicky Bennett's People Like Us; however, she is not content to merely pick tracks from her comic cavalcade of plunderphonic recordings from the past decade. Rather, this album rewires, recontextualizes, and reconfigures various snippets that have previously made their way onto all of her records, and stands as something that's almost new. Thus, this makes for an excellent introduction to her work, but will certainly be enough to warm the hearts of her fans. The opening burst (ehm) of collaged farts on "Recyclopaedia" sets the stage for the scatalogical humor that runs rampant throughout all of Bennett's work. Sampling liberally from various thrift store finds, Bennett generates an arsenal of wacky loopings from yodeling Alpine polkas, high-lonesome moseys from Cowboys and Indians childrens' adventures, and Fellini-esque blasts of circus music. Splattered throughout these musical interludes, People Like Us rearrange garden variety narratives from radio dramas and talk radio into bumbling, sexualized farces (often punctuated by more farting). In these spoken word elements, Bennett often emphasizes the breathes, umms, ahhs, and slurred pauses from her unsuspecting victims to turn their speach into wickedly funny collages of broken stumblings. This work - like the profound art joke of Piero Manzoni's can of Artist's Shit - isn't merely toilet humor, nor is it smug irony, but an uncomfortable juxtaposition of audio perversion guided by an incredibly sharp intellect and deadly comic timing. Required listening for fans of Wobbly, Negativland, and John Oswald.

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In a career that has spanned almost a decade, People Like Us (aka Vicki Bennett) has specialized in reconfiguring the audio detritus of BBC talk radio, instructional recordings, Italian exotica, and country/western kitsch. Her rhythmically tinged audio collages rip apart the conventional perceptions of these sounds and expose them as sexually explicit or scatalogical punchlines to absurdist jokes. It's not uncommon for People Like Us to recontextualize a talk show guest gleefully rambling about gardening into a frenzied yet bumbling vocalization of sexual ecstacy. "Stifled Love" is a limited edition, vinyl only release that is her 'love record'. Yet, this is as much of an album about love as Wobbly's "Wild Why" is about hip hop. In other words, People Like Us deconstructs the archetypes of the love song in such a way as to extract a vibrant sense of slapstick humor without devolving into an self-reflexive ironic posture of smart-ass appropriation (i.e. the "Bootleg" phenomenon that was the craze in England during the summer of 2002). At first, Bennett mines the same territory heard in the "Wide Open Spaces" collaboration with Matmos and Wobbly, where clipped samples from various country-western tunes evolved into simple riffs of cowpoke swagger. Yet, jazz crooners and Hawaiian romantica also find their way into Bennett's variety show of plundered material. The highlight of the album is definitely another country reference, as Bennett chops up vocal samples of Dolly Parton and amasses them into a dramatic crescendo of Dolly's unmistakable drawl. Nicely done.

MPEG stream: Stifled Love
MPEG stream: Dolly Pardon

Newest recording from England's pluderphonic artist par excellance Vicki Bennett. This release finds Vicky entering more and more into the musical realm of Stock, Hausen & Walkman and entering it with style. Humorous and infectious samples that don't tire with increased listening like so many "funny" electronica releases. Highly recommended.

The latest entry in Touch's ongoing series of limited 7"s from People Like Us and Ergo Phizmiz is by far the biggest surprise of bunch so far, in that you'll find no deep drones or abstract minimalism or delicate soundscapery, instead, as it states plainly right there on the sleeve, we get "Two new rolls of woozy dream circus lovingly cooked by two bakers of antiquity. Recorded in the ice and snow, in clay ovens, by broken down carousels." Which is pretty much what it sounds like. Lilting sunshine-y melodies, circusy calliopes, gentle summery strum, and lushy boy girl vocal harmonies, all spun into some sweet pop confection. Sort of like Belle And Sebastian run through The Decemberists, and indeed all woozy and warbly, playful and pretty, old timey pop. But that's just the A side. The B side begins with a rhythm straight out of Perrey And Kingsley's songbook, but it's not long before the vocals come in, and again offer up a sing songy fractured doo wop duet, while the strange honk and skronk continues on beneath, along with some warm record crackle and some warped off kilter keyboards. Definitely a weird one, and will likely rub some of the more striaghtlaced minimalist Touch music fanatics the wrong way, but it's a pretty darn giddy chunk of high art gone low brow, which is mos definitely a good thing.

Record number two from this Oneida offshoot, two long form pieces, both heavily drum driven, spaced out, psychedelic and very very rhythmic, beholden for sure to the many minimalist greats that came before, not to mention heavily indebted to krautrock classics, but for everything these guys borrow from the past, they manage to infuse it with its own unique modern psychedelic energy. So much so that it's actually quite difficult to describe. The 40+ minute, two part "Border Waves" begins with a strange flurry of stuttering drumming, over heaving swells of whirring organ, and buried swirls of melody, it's not until about 4 minutes in that the sound shifts, the drumming shifts from snare to toms, and gets all tribal, the sound mesmerizing and hypnotic, folks who flipped for the Boredoms Boadrum performances (of which Kid from Onieda and POTN played a big part), will go nuts for this too, a similarly drums-as-portal-to-the-cosmos energy to the sound, that sound growing more and more chaotic, the swirling swooshing background sounds growing more and more active and noisy, but never losing that droned out psych-kraut mesmer. The second movement is almost like the sonic flipside, the background sound, the tripped out synths and drones moving to the fore, squelches and swooshes drifting over a bed of grinding crumbling blacknoise, a similarly stuttery drum rhythm, albeit way more stripped down, enters the fray, but fades way after not too long, letting the various other sounds shift and sway, a dark ambient spaced out psychedelic drift, underpinned by that ever present distorted low end rumble. The 30+ minute title track, might be the heaviest, darkest krautdrone jam yet, all rumbling whirring low end, pulsing synths and grinding buzzing thrum, laced with minimal spare drumming, a sense of propulsion infused into the sound, less rhythmic, but still weirdly motorik, the caustic crunch almost SUNNO))) like in its tarpit creep, but strap some headphones on and lose yourself in the undulating layers and the lush, blackened textures. Comes with a download card too!

MPEG stream: Border Waves (Part 1)
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Could find very little about this loner / zoner, downer folk combo (one man band?), but it's just the sort of thing we dig, lovely, damaged, woozy and moody, a twisted troubadour, unfurling warped folk ballads and damaged drum machine driven murk-pop in equal measure. Take the opening one-two punch, the first, sounding like a more fucked up, mush mouthed, 4-track Nick Drake, all delicate steel string guitar beneath warped, warbly vocals, that sound like they're melting/decaying before your very ears, giving the otherwise pastoral sound a drowsy, druggy vibe, while the second track adds some primitive programmed rhythm, and a wheezing Casio keyboard, woven into an echo drenched balladic dirge, again with those fucked up, mumbled, FX heavy vox, draped over an otherwise lilting sprawl of spare, minimal slowcore drone-pop. The most amazing thing is that somehow the drum machine stumbles and stutters, which is very unlike programmed drums, but it gives the whole sound a fragile, fractured vibe. As the record progresses, it gets noiser and more chaotic, the sound more blown out and crunchy, the vocals distorted, the beats too, some tracks pocked with spacey electronic squiggles, and weird pitch shifted gurgled vox, others with loads of buzz and hum, static and hiss. The more experimental aspects of Tricephalic Head remind us of the late great NZ experimentalists Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos, those moments more than balanced by stretches of hushed folkiness, and weird sprawls of low fidelity kraut-psych, and flat out WTF psychedelic noise freakouts. Includes a download code.

MPEG stream: This Life Was In A Room
MPEG stream: The Trench
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MPEG stream: The Scene Of The Poet John Berryman's Suicide in 1972

People's Temple are another group whose debut record seemed to slip right past us, but record number two from these Michigan sixties style psychedelic garage poppers is definitely pretty great, groovy and swaggery, fuzzy and jangly, their sound definitely transplanted from the past, it's actually not that difficult to imagine this is some lost sixties artifact recently dug up and reissued, the sound stripped down and raw, super jammy, with plenty of spidery leads, some serious blooze jams, a few with harmonica even, lots of echo and reverb, the guitars slipping easily from urgent crunch to shimmery jangle, the vocals a snarly drawl, almost Scott Walker-y at times, but with some cool dreamy two part harmonies, the songs slipping from low slung brood, to soaring baroque pop, to fuzzed out dirge, to soaring FX heavy trip outs, to crunchy stripped down garage rock groovers, a serious grower, the sound instantly digable, but with every play, the songs seem to get catchier and catchier, and it's easier and easier to get lost in the People's Temple's sixties sonic time warp.

MPEG stream: More For The Masses
MPEG stream: Blinding City
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MPEG stream: The River (Donovan's Song)

Here's full length number three from this Michigan retro garage psych crew, and with every record these guys seem to travel further and further into the past, or more specifically, manage to sound even more like they're from 1965, or maybe some other musical universe, where time simply ground to a halt about 50 years ago. But we're not complaining, People's Temple and their musical time capsule offer up some seriously heady, psychedelic garage blooze, lots of fuzzed out reverb, extended spacey jams, wild drumming, swaggery Stones-y, Stooges-y crunch, tripped out retro rock jams, but mixed with plenty of unlikely sonic detours, some classic almost fifties sounding balladry, some seriously lovely Beach Boys-esque harmonies (check out "I Don't Mind (Prelude)"), some furious hard rock shreddery and even some twisted classic rockisms, but all of that stuff is woven seamlessly into what is essentially, a lost sixties hard psych classic, channeled via modern musical shamans, the sort of record that if you didn't know it was new, you'd be hard pressed to NOT think it was actually some sort of reissue. All that aside, the sound is killer, the songs are great, and we find ourselves wanting to listen to little else...

MPEG stream: Crimson Rose
MPEG stream: Smooth Moves
MPEG stream: Handsome Nick
MPEG stream: I Heard You Singing

With pretty much every previous record from these Michigan based, sixties worshipping, psych-surf garage rockers, it seemed like they were sonically moving back in time, their sound transforming from some worshipful Nuggets style retro-jangle, to a sound that ACTUALLY sounded like it was from back in the day. And while on this new one, much of that sound remains intact, for whatever reason, Weekends Time doesn't sound quite as much like some obscure sixties reissue. Instead, Peoples Temple now sound like a kick ass surfy, garage rock band, with plenty of Stooges-y swagger winding through their fuzzy, druggy jangle, a sound that wouldn't be at all out of place on the Castle Face label. It might be the production, the sound this time around is much more lush and warm, a bit more modern, there's even some power poppiness in the mix, or maybe it's the songs, heck, they do a couple Ariel Pink covers, but even those two cover versions, if you didn't know any better, could be PT originals, or even some obscure sixties psych obscurities the band dug up. All the songs here though, like on the other records, are fantastically fuzzy, sunshiney and jangly, hook heavy, surfy and groovy, a little bit druggy, and plenty psychedelic, and at times fuzzy and folky (check out the super sixties, fuzz-folk closer!), and once again demonstrate that these guys are one of the best bands around channeling that far out sixties psych psound...

MPEG stream: Ones Forgotten

Brand new single from this Michigan retro-psych crew, and like the recent full length, it's a druggy doozy, all hazy, wasted, sixties style jangle pop that doesn't even sound retro, as much as it sounds like some lost psych artifact, right down to the sound, vintage, sun faded and blurry, gorgeously warm, and crackly, and bleary and dreamily druggy, with just a little but of a dark tinged shadow to the proceedings, the A side all low slung and loping, a shuffling drum beat beneath trebly guitar shimmer, slithery bass lines and reverby vocals doused in reverb, some serious downer pop jangle grooviness. The B side adds some harmonica and some serious swagger, "Deadfall" almost snarly, acoustic guitars wrapped wound wild drumming, the vocals a bit venomous, the song dark and intense, but still jangly and fuzzed out, the record finishing off the the brief, flute flecked "Black Night", all campfire trippiness, bongos and acoustic guitars, the vocals drifting above a bed of processed flute flutter, heady and lovely, and way too brief!

One of two new, ultra limited, extravagantly packaged releases from the always amazing Equation Records. Elsewhere on this week's list you'll find a new one from Irr.App.(Ext.), a lp+7" tribute to Organum and David Jackman, and then there's this one, the most recent release from an oddball French duo who some of you might remember as a remixer on Nurse With Wound's Two Shaves And A Shine Remix Project. Others might even remember their last record on Equation, a twisted mix of psychedelic folk, spaced out lysergic cabaret, and ambient dronemusic, which definitely situates itself not that far from the NWW axis, occasionally also displaying more of a dramatic cabaret / balladry vibe. This new one is limited to only 100 copies, and we got 10, so won't go into too much detail since these will likely be gone pretty quick. But if you've yet to be exposed to the warped musical soundworld of Pepe Wismeer, please step right up. This time around, the soaring, moody chamber pop that was only a part of the group's sound as expanded into something lush and majestic, reminding us of Antony And The Johnsons, Peter Hammill, Scott Walker, the vocals dramatic and passionate, alternating whispering and belting it out, the music is lush and lovely, soaring strings over tranquil folkiness, everything flecked with mysterious sounds and strange effects, swirling percussion drifts atop, hushed expanses of dark psychedelic shimmer, swaths of synths buzz through clouds of insectoid electronics, everything dialed back and muted, the vibe more stately and melancholic, almost like torchsongs, given a subtly experimental tweak. The tracks themselves are super short, but al woven into a single expansive songsuite, that's brooding and moody and darkly dreamy, and quite lovely, the weirdness and experimental elements just adding texture to the already deep, lush landscape of delicate pianos, hushed vox, swirling strings, and hazy, softly psychedelic ambience. So gorgeous. And like all Equation releases, they've pulled out all the stops. the record is in a plain black sleeve, with pasted on full color artwork, inside a printed postcard, the lp sleeve numbered AND a bonus cd-r of extra home-recorded material! Again, LIMITED TO 100 COPIES, we got ten, and will NOT be able to get more.

Not a person, but a duo from France, Pepe Wismeer create an incredible concoction of otherworldly cabaret, psychedelic chamber folk and mysterious minimal ambience, creating a soundworld that seems to situate itself somewhere between Nurse With Wound, Antony And The Johnsons and Natural Snow Buildings. Pianos and strings swirl and soar, while operatic female vocals drift over the top, the sound is stirring and dramatic, soundtracky and cinematic, occasionally those sounds fade into the background allowing the aforementioned folk to surface, the duo crooning warmly over this very unlikely assemblage of sounds, seems like it would be too much, but it's perfect, like a doom folk NWW whipping up this, moving tales of lost loves, the dark meandering minimal soundscaping augmented by bells, chimes, samples ouds and sitars, creaking and moaning, random animal sounds, it's like a musical interpretation of Alice In Wonderland, surreal and fantastical, occasionally dark and ominous, always warm and weird and mysterious, lapsing now and again into some serious chaotic noisiness, but always returning to the group's glorious core brood and drift, shimmer and soar. So wonderfully and mysteriously lovely. LIMITED TO JUST 100 COPIES!! Each one is numbered, on the sleeve AND the lp, includes an 8 page booklet, and is housed in a gorgeous paste on jacket.

A delightful local surprise from the Bay Area's ridiculously-talented pool of avant electronicists, Pepito is Jose and Ana, augmented with the production and musicianly talents of Brian (of AQ-staff-and-customer fave Brian & Chris). Pepito play a

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Hmmmm... A punk rock opera? Sort of sounds like one, though we're pretty sure it's not intentional. On Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label.

Where would indie rock be today if the Rachels and Rodan had never existed. The kids would probably still be listening to the Dead Milkmen. Which to me doesn't seem like such a bad thing, but I digress. Per Mission is Jason Noble of the Rachels doing his ambient electronica thing. Spoken word snippets whirring ambient noise, simple stuttering drum loops, smooth fuzzed out spacy trip hop. A little bland and mediocre, and a bit too hippy dippy with all the 'spiritual' spoken word stuff and the website all about how he fed his baby -- nobody would care probably if this didn't 'feature a member of the Rachels'.

Wow, this is totally hitting the spot! Much like disco, it's just as important to look at who produced a hip-hop record as it is to see who the actual artist is, as the producer's trademark sound and amazing beats will be all over the record. The latest outing from Percee P was produced by the one and only Madlib so when we saw an instrumental version of the record was available on vinyl we were super excited. While we still need to get our ears on the non-instrumental version of this eagerly anticipated outing by Percee P, Madlib's production and tasty touch is doing us so well on its own. If you like your hip-hop with madly creative samples and driving beats then it really doesn't get much better then this. Madlib's production here is as good as it gets making this a must have for DJ's, J Dilla fans and anyone who loves cream of the crop hip-hop.

France's freaky Futura label originally released this on LP in '71. It's jazz fusiony stuff, kinda "Zeuhl" (saxophonist Yochk'o Seffer, the leader of the group, soon went on to join Magma and then formed Zeuhl group Zao). Perception features his sax and clarinet blowing backed by busy drums and bass and electric piano action. Over the four lengthy tracks here, they'll quiet down for a moody respite, then go off on a noodley prog-groove that quickly explodes into full-on free jazz improv clatter, and then quiet down again for some melancholy, melodic sax soloing, and then back to the energetic ensemble interplay, and so on... Perception are definitely more jazz than rock, and a lot more together and musical than some of the other, even freakier Futura releases. Fans of Magma's jazzier side should definitely investigate.

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

SORRY. 5-cd box set documenting the first 5 albums, 1 hour of previously unreleased live performances, 70 minutes of rarities, and all the single releases.

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

SORRY.

[ aquarius records catalogue — P ]