[ aquarius records catalogue

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Showing results 2601 through 2650 of 4057.

Another amazing release from VHF (who also brought us the Record Of The Week by Alexander Turnquist), and another fantastic disc of modern minimalism / 21st century classical, this one from the duo of Jesse Sparhawk and Eric Carbonara, who play the 38-string lever harp and the 22-string upright Chaturangui guitar respectively, hence the sixty strings of the title. Carbonara was trained by none other than Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya, so there is definitely an Indian vibe to the proceedings, a dreamlike Raga feel, but Sparhawk also plays in psych folk outfit Fern Knight, so there is a bit of that sort of buzzy dreamy dronepsych going on as well. Two long tracks, sprawling and spacious, the two instruments weaving lush webs of melody, those melodies constantly shifting and intertwining, like the dreamiest and new agiest krautrock, warm and tranquil, deeply mediative and mesmerizing, the harp melodies often leaping to the fore, while the guitar buzzes sitar like beneath. The second track is a bit more folky, the guitar urgently strummed, while the harp offers some melodic counterpoint, the overall sound very dark and percussive, eventually settling down into something a bit dronier and driftier, which is when a snare drum enters the mix, seemingly replacing what would normally be tabla, and playing tabla like rhythms, shuffling and skittery, the effect is quite fantastic, not so much propulsive as textural, the guitar melodies beginning to sound almost flamenco, as the harp takes on the supporting role, unfurling a gorgeously repetitive loopscape, which the guitar soon mirrors, until the two are engaged in an impossibly tangled dance, before the song finishes in a folky flourish. So incredible. The sort of record we want never to end...

MPEG stream: A Patient Promise
MPEG stream: The Entwined Twin

"The Robotic Girl Next Door" is certainly an apt title for this playful IDM album from the Canadian knob twiddler Spark. Saturating chipper 8-bit melodies with reverb and tone-bending tricks, Spark offers an upbeat revision of the standard IDM melancholia as a means of generating romantic odes. In a lot of ways, the end result sounds like Boards of Canada at 45rpm. MPEG Download: "Devine Nursery Rhyme" [/audio/sparkdevinenursery.mp3]

MPEG stream: Devine Nursery Rhyme

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

SORRY. Three new songs from the amazing Mr. Linkous ("Waiting For Nothing," "Happy Place," & "My Yoke Is Heavy"), plus three live versions of songs off the first two albums.

This 2006 gem and longtime aQ fave gets the deluxe vinyl reissue treatment. R.I.P Mark Linkous. Here's our review from way back then... Hard to believe it's been five years since we last heard from Mark Linkous and Sparklehorse. It seems like every record has involved some sort of struggle or personal tragedy. Linkous has had a seriously rough life, an accident that almost killed him, and which left him crippled for life, struggles with anxiety and depression, but the result of all that anguish is one of the most incredible bodies of work in modern music. Sparklehorse is sort of like the country rock Flaming Lips. Starting life out as a super scrappy rock band, and then discovering the joys of the studio, learning to use the studio like another instrument, creating an incredibly expansive sound palette, and eventually creating a unique world of unbelievably lush sounds, like a modern day Brian Wilson. And this record is no different. It's rich and dense and lush and sweet, the vocals, a plaintive heartstring pulling croon, guitars strum and shimmer, melodies drift, harmonies float and glisten, everything woven together into gorgeously perfect twang flecked pop. The vocals are multi tracked, doused in effects, swathed in reverb, guitar parts are simple and spare, the record is dotted with bits of strange digital glitch, or fuzzy record crackle. Some tracks are crystal clear, simple and straight forward, others are dense and dizzying, with strange edits, and extreme stereo panning, there are a few super fuzzed out rockers, but for the most part Dreamt For Light Years is a record of sun dappled divinity and sweetly melancholy drift. A gloriously and dreamily psychedelic excursion into the heart of darkness. So lovely.

MPEG stream: Don't Take My Sunshine Away
MPEG stream: Getting It Wrong
MPEG stream: It's Not So Hard

Hard to believe it's been five years since we last heard from Mark Linkous and Sparklehorse. It seems like every record has involved some sort of struggle or personal tragedy. Linkous has had a seriously rough life, an accident that almost killed him, and which left him crippled for life, struggles with anxiety and depression, but the result of all that anguish is one of the most incredible bodies of work in modern music. Sparklehorse is sort of like the country rock Flaming Lips. Starting life out as a super scrappy rock band, and then discovering the joys of the studio, learning to use the studio like another instrument, creating an incredibly expansive sound palette, and eventually creating a unique world of unbelievably lush sounds, like a modern day Brian Wilson. And this record is no different. It's rich and dense and lush and sweet, the vocals, a plaintive heartstring pulling croon, guitars strum and shimmer, melodies drift, harmonies float and glisten, everything woven together into gorgeously perfect twang flecked pop. The vocals are multi tracked, doused in effects, swathed in reverb, guitar parts are simple and spare, the record is dotted with bits of strange digital glitch, or fuzzy record crackle. Some tracks are crystal clear, simple and straight forward, others are dense and dizzying, with strange edits, and extreme stereo panning, there are a few super fuzzed out rockers, but for the most part Dreamt For Light Years is a record of sun dappled divinity and sweetly melancholy drift. A gloriously and dreamily psychedelic excursion into the heart of darkness. So lovely.

MPEG stream: Don't Take My Sunshine Away
MPEG stream: Getting It Wrong
MPEG stream: It's Not So Hard

Originally released in 1998, and now available on vinyl again (and still available on cd), Good Morning Spider was record number 2 from the late Mark Linkous and band, following their debut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot. The interesting thing about GMS, is that it was a huge stylistic and sonic shift for the band, much more somber and introspective that its predecessor, in part, most assume, because just before the recording of GMS, Linkous overdosed in a London hotel room, collapsed and was clinically dead for several minutes, he also spent the next few months in a wheelchair after a surgery that threatened to keep him in that chair forever. But if that particular black cloud did indeed have a silver lining, it's the absolutely inspired, ultra personal, intimate and heart wrenching beauty that is Good Morning Spider. While the record still strikes a precarious balance between rambunctious rocking and more darkly balladic introspection, the scales seem to be tipping toward delicate crystalline beauty, dark, hushed, whispery, haunting and so lovely. But even the more rocking numbers are infused with some serious pathos, and of course plenty of melancholy and heartbreak. The whole record is a marvel, gorgeously and idiosyncratically produced, lots of crackle, and buzz, and processed vocals, effected instrumentation, strings, lush twang flecked indie rock one second, dreamy about-to-collapse balladry the next, fragmented perfect pop the next. The record begins with the brief blast of "Pig", is a serious chunk of incendiary crunch, but so rife with impossibly hooky melodies, and some super dramatic layered vocals, not to mention plenty of twisted sounds and atmosphere. And then it's all dialed WAY down, "Painbirds" is a lilting bit of sweetly sorrowful shuffling slowcore, "Saint Mary" is a hushed bit of slo-mo Appalachian pop, Linkous' fragile vox drifting over a simple strum, but it is so much more than the sum of its parts. "Sick Of Goodbyes" is another more rocking track, but that rocking squall is brief, as the record shifts back into slow sorrowful drift. One of our favorite tracks has to be "Chaos Of The Galaxy / Happy Man", which begins as a whirling FX flecked bit of organ warble, mysterious voices, ethereal and dreamlike, a brief intro to what sounds like bad radio reception, the song "Happy Man" struggling to be heard through the static and hiss, even cutting out completely at points, until finally kicking in, and it's such a perfect pop song, with an incredible hook, and some super intense vocals, and killer guitar playing, and then once again, the record slips back into darkness, and for the remainder of the record, slips seamlessly between angstful distorted jangly crunch and shimmery drifty introspection. So good. Anyone who loves stuff like Vic Chestnut, Lambchop, Neutral Milk Hotel, Palace/Will Oldham/Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Songs:Ohia and the like, who somehow missed out on Good Morning Spider, here's another chance... Includes a digital download card!

MPEG stream: Pig
MPEG stream: Painbirds
MPEG stream: Sick Of Goodbyes

Finally on lp! Here's what we said about the cd: Hooray! AQ all-time fave Mark Linkous returns at last with a brand new Sparklehorse album and we are happy to report that he, once again, does not disappoint. Mr. Linkous has that innate ability to write incredibly infectious pop songs with teeth -- never slipping into preciousness or saccharine artificiality -- and a multi-instrumental playfulness that harkens Tom Waits' works from the mid eighties. It should come as no surprise then that both Tom Waits and his wife Kathleen Brennan collaborate on one track. They are also the only other names to appear as songwriting credits on the album. Also contributing to this album are Cardigans vocalist Nina Persson (singing backup on a few tracks), PJ Harvey (playing some guitar and singing lovely harmony vocals) and Harvey's bassist John Parish drops some bass licks along with throwing his weight around as a producer on a couple tracks. For those of you who aren't familiar with Sparklehorse, Linkous' aesthetic weaves delicate, about-to-crack vocals, gently strummed guitars, and all sorts of bizarre studio trickery (a wonderful amalgamation of lo-fi home recording and ultra-lush top dollar multi-track wizardry) to make his records SOUND so great. But it's the songs that make the biggest impression. Whether it's a super distorted rollicking rocker, a barely-there ghost of a melody, or a heart wrenching country ballad, every song, at its core, is a perfect, perfect pop song. Catchy as hell, but not immediately -- more a sort of insidious, slowly spreading, like a virus beautiful, but beautifully miserable as well. And the lyrics too are practically perfect. Simple but astonishing in their depth. Clever and brutally soulful, without being melodramatic or overwrought.

Hooray! AQ all-time fave Mark Linkous returns at last with a brand new Sparklehorse album and we are happy to report that he, once again, does not disappoint. Mr. Linkous has that innate ability to write incredibly infectious pop songs with teeth -- never For those of you who aren't familiar with Sparklehorse, Linkous' aesthetic weaves delicate, about-to-crack vocals, gently strummed guitars, and all sorts of bizarre studio trickery (a wonderful amalgamation of lo-fi home recording and ultra-lush top dollar multi-track wizardry) to make his records SOUND so great. But it's the songs that make the biggest impression. Whether it's a super distorted rollicking rocker, a barely-there ghost of a melody, or a heart wrenching country ballad, every song, at its core, is a perfect, perfect pop song. Catchy as hell, but not immediately -- more a sort of insidious, slowly spreading, like a virus beautiful, but beautifully miserable as well. And the lyrics too are practically perfect. Simple but astonishing in their depth. Clever and brutally soulful, without being melodramatic or overwrought.

RealAudio clip: Piano Fire
RealAudio clip: More Yellow Birds
RealAudio clip: Comfort Me
RealAudio clip: Morning Hollow

The record that started it all. 'It' in this case being our neverending, undying love for Mark Linkous and the desperately beautiful Sparklehorse. This is Sparklehorse's first album, finally available again on cd after being shamefully out of print for way too long. Certainly a must for anyone who's got both Good Morning Spider and It's A Wonderful Life, but also a great place to start for those who've yet to discover the wonderful musical realm of Mark Linkous. From the slow singing-right-in-your-ear intimate "Spirit Ditch" to the rockin' summer sing-a-long "Rainmaker" to the sort-of-hit "Someday I will Treat You Good", each tune that Linkous writes is a gem: lush ballads, twangy 'No Depression' pop and experimental musical miniatures. Though at times comparisons to Camper Van Beethoven sans art school pretensions are fitting, fans of Uncle Tupelo, Palace, Vic Chesnutt, Lambchop, Wisdom of Harry and great pop in general should all take heed and check out Sparklehorse. You won't be sorry.

RealAudio clip: Rainmaker
RealAudio clip: Cow
RealAudio clip: Sad & Beautiful World

It seems like such a perfect match up, such a great idea, it's a wonder it didn't happen sooner. The gauzy murky dream folk of Sparklehorse, and the fuzzy pixelated hazescapes of Christian Fennesz, just imagine how great they would sound together, and you'd be right. Sparklehorse records already sound like they were produced by Fennesz, so if anything, this collaboration just pushes the sound even further. Apparently it was Fennesz' idea to get together with Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse for an In The Fishtank session, a long running series that pairs likeminded musicians, gives them two days in a studio together and releases the result. And we have to say, as much as we love many of the Fishtank releases, this one might just be our favorite yet. And how could it not be, the whole session is a series of washed out melodies and barely there song fragments, of hushed dream pop, and spaced out chamber ambience, of drifting dronescapes and haunting cinematic shimmer. Because the two conjure up such similar sonics, it's hard really to pick out who's doing what here, but that's not the point, the two meld into one, creating a gorgeous organic whole, softened notes, distant melodies, lush layered mysteries, guitars unwind lazily, Linkous' vocals are plaintive and keening, always on the verge of cracking, made even more poignant as they are suspended in clouds of minor key blur, and squalls of softly pixelated sound. Throw some headphones on, and suddenly it's like looking at this fuzzy ambient pop through a microscope, the vocals are looped and chopped and layered and turned inside out, not audible on the stereo, but up close, a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. All of those bands who try to do that 'regular old pop made special by adding a little electronic glitch' need to bow down before these masters. Two days together and they're able to create something magical, that yes is a blend of folk and rock and electronics, but it's so much more, every facet is linked to every other, all of the elements are inexorably linked, seeping into the sounds around them, bleeding into each other, it's not just a pop song dipped in some computery glitch, the glitch here and the digital element is subtle and lush and as organic as any of the guitars or voices. A few of the tracks get noisy and thick and corrosive and almost explosive here and there, but even then, that crunch and buzz is underpinned by swirling melodies, and lush hushed drones. Such a beautiful beautiful record, hard to believe it was conjured up in only a matter of days. It makes us almost wish these two keep making music together, imagine what they could come up with given a week? A month? A year? Here's hoping...

MPEG stream: Music Box Of Snakes
MPEG stream: Goodnight Sweetheart
MPEG stream: If My Heart

Another out of left-field gem from Hooker Vision, who've really tapped into the deep underbelly of what The Wire had pegged as "New Weird America." Frank Baugh (aka Sparking Wide Pressure) carries on the tradition of outsider / asynchronous artists warping blues, rock, and folk sensibilities within his own drug-addled visions of narcoleptic collages and murkily psychedelic droning. Bauer hails from the satellite city of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he's crafted a number of DIY psyche-drone explorations that seem to have a psychic connection with those similar hallucinatory vibes from the Starving Weirdos or the self-subverting detours of Tarentel's latter day incarnations. Sensible basslines, humble electronic structures, and Byrds-like acoustic jangle form Baugh's foundations which blossom through dizzying, lo-fi layers of heavy, washed-out distortion, fucked-up megaphone vocals, and some unhinged knuckle dragging on the guitar that might warrant a Richard Youngs / Bill Orcutt comparison. What residues of Americana that reside in Baugh's work has been forgotten, then found, then lost again, only to be crumpled up in a pair of jeans and left to soak in the chemical properties from some pot shake tossed nearby. As with all the Hooker Vision tapes, this one is limited to 100 copies.

MPEG stream: Learning A Name

Hot on the heels of Sparks latest effort, the wonderful Hello Young Lovers (reviewed two lists ago), we get these reissues of the first two Sparks albums, 1971's self-titled debut and A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing from 1972. It's amazing to see the bookends of an topsy-turvy 35-year career and how full circle the sound has become. These records sound as unique as they must have 35 years ago, because of course they are new to us, having never heard any recording before 1973's proto-glam masterpiece Kimono My House. It's funny how after hearing these two records back-to-back, we've been hearing the Mael brothers sound in everything from the new Fiery Furnaces to Jennifer Gentle. Please don't make us decide which one is better because they are both so good! The second album from Sparks is just as delightfully non-conventional and non-commercial as its predecessor. This time, Thaddeus James Lowe handles the production and there is an even more emphasized glam feel in the rhythm section. The theatrics are also more amped up, most noticeably in their bizarre cover of "Do Re Mi" from the Sound of Music and the Sea-Chanty rock of "Beaver O'Lundy". "Whippings and Apologies" closes the album with an anthem on the par of Bowie's "Queen Bitch" and Queen's "Seven Seas of Rhye". Awesome!

MPEG stream: Girl From Germany
MPEG stream: Underground
MPEG stream: Whippings and Apologies

We were quite smitten with Sparks' latest album Hello Young Lovers which came out earlier this year. Their over-the-top grand weirdo-orchestral-pop is just so hard to resist. While many of us were hoping we would get to see them live, they haven't really toured the states in a while. But this ep will tide us over for a little while, with 3 live tracks from a rare concert in LA recorded around the time they appeared on the TV show The Gilmore Girls along with Sonic Youth. This ep also includes two non-live tracks: a different version of "(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country, and the album version of "Dick Around". The cd ends with a radio interview hosted by Steve Jones of Sex Pistols fame. Also included are two videos, one for "Dick Around", the other for "Perfume"!!!

MPEG stream: (Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country (alt lyrics)
MPEG stream: In The Future (live)

Wow! The Mael brothers have done it again. Who else, thirty-seven years into their career and 20+ records later, are making some of the most charged and vital music of their life? Pretty much no one except Sparks! Exotic Creatures comes hot on the heels of their summer residency in London where they spent the better part of a month playing EACH ONE of their records night after night in chronological order. The last night of those performances they unveiled this brand new record to the world and man how much we wish we could have been there. As Exotic Creatures Of The Deep deserves such a grand and staged presentation. But it's doing magical wonders through our speakers and headphones too. Very much in line with their last two great records, Hello Young Lovers and Lil' Beethoven, this album feels like it's part of a truly remarkable trilogy of bombastic, orchestral, grandiose pop done so right. If it's possible, this record seems even more flamboyant and fiery than past outings but in only the most glorious ways. It's also filled with some of the most beautiful pop melodies you will hear this year, songs with more twists and turns and surprises then most prog bands could dream of and an understanding of what crafting an album that works from start to finish is all about. What makes Sparks so special is that beyond the tongue in cheek word play, clever titles, and wry sense of humor, is something always so honest, intense and individual in their music and vision. Songs with the ability to be both so self-deprecating yet totally triumphant. We urge you to spend lots of time with this record on your headphones or blasting it alone in your house, as it's when you really spend deep quality one-on-one time with this record that it really takes a hold of your senses and enters your life in such a striking way. Even though the album begins with the angelic singing of the words "I don't care if you love me, just as long as you like me" we can't help but still be so in LOVE with Sparks!

MPEG stream: I Cant Believe You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song
MPEG stream: (She Got Me) Pregnant
MPEG stream: Lighten Up, Morrissey

Wow! 30+ years after their beginings Sparks have made one of the best records of their carreer! Brothers Ron & Russell Mael are sometimes known best for their totally amazing mustaches and their Queen-like approach to symphonic pop with totally quirky leanings. Truth be told they formed a year before Queen in 1970 and actually had Queen as openers for many shows in their early years. In their 36 year existence they've been all over the map, being under appreciated and ahead of their time with their ubber smart art-pop, then going for disco gold with Georgio Moroder in the late 70's, hitting the charts with The Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin in the early 80's and then...well then it seems like the world stopped noticing them. But they never really stopped and thats part of the beauty of Sparks. It's undeniable that what they do is so a part of them and all their quirky eccentristies might make some annoyed but they're so smart and too cool to even care. Their last release Lil' Beethoven was arguably one of their strongest in a decade but with Hello Young Lovers they've totally reignited their flame of totally infectious (we're talking infectious, like it will be in your head when you go to sleep when you wake up when you are on the bus when you are at work -- and this is something to worry about), totally ridiculous, totally over the top brilliant dorky super smart pop from men who remind us that men are still boys when all is said and done. From Devo to Nomeansno to current spazzy punkers you can feel the influence of Sparks in both sound and sentiment. Like a possesed house band in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory making their own brilliantly crazed multiple Bohemian Rhapsodys over and over and over for eternity. Underneath all the flamboyance and fireworks though you always get the sense that Sparks mean every single breath of it and that's what makes them so totally special. YEAH! NB. we have to say also, if you're a fan of Steven Schultz and his many projects, you will DEFINITELY love this...

MPEG stream: Dick Around
MPEG stream: Perfume
MPEG stream: Metaphor

MPEG stream: Over The Summer
MPEG stream: Forever Young

No.1 In Heaven was a match made in pop genius heaven! The matching of the super smart snappy pop chops of Sparks with the golden electronic touch of Giorgio Moroder at the prime of his magical production prowess, FANTASTICO!!! The year was 1979 and disco was at its zenith and lots of very non-disco folks were jumping on the bandwagon with pretty bland and lame results. But the collaboration of Moroder's spaced out and fantastical production with Sparks sharp wit and knack for ultracatchy melodies was such a perfect match! With Sparks still punching out fast paced pop and Moroder adding an element of electronic spacey wonder to the mix, this is simply one of the best records in the extensive Sparks catalog. 25 years after its release and folks like Hot Chip and Of Montreal are getting the kids all worked up with their brand of super fun and smart dancey pop that can find it's roots right here on No.1 In Heaven. While this is not a new reissue we never realized it had been issued on cd so we had to jump at the chance of sharing this long time favorite with as many new ears as possible!

MPEG stream: La Dolce Vita
MPEG stream: Tryouts For The Human Race
MPEG stream: Beat The Clock

Sparks are experiencing a much deserved surge in respect and attention lately after thirty seven years of crafting some of the most innovative, arousing and irreverent pop music ever. Much of their back catalog is being reissued so expect to see lots of their titles reviewed here in the months to come. We've already expressed our profound love for their first couple outings and their amazing Giorgio Moroder produced No.1 In Heaven remains an all time AQ favorite, and their last few outings have thrilled us with their over the top indulgence and pure pop genius. Whomp That Sucker has always been one of their overlooked albums, their first record after parting ways with Giorgio Moroder, who gave the band a more dance/disco vibe on the two records that came before this one. This record found Sparks in full on new-wave overdrive reflecting the year it was recorded, 1981, yet like so much of their back catalog it really stands the test of time. Five different kinds of keyboards and synthesizers were used in making this record and the songs are filled with crazy catchy hooks and some of their most amusing lyrics with songs that sound like Devo channeling The Knack and 10cc. With the recent flood of newer bands looking to the '80s for inspiration in their hip shaking sassy pop (Hot Chip, Of Montreal, Cut Copy, Tough Alliance, etc.) it's pretty awesome to go back to 1981 and hear how it's really done. So fun and additive!

MPEG stream: Tips For Teens
MPEG stream: Upstairs
MPEG stream: Wacky Women

Hot on the heels of Sparks latest effort, the wonderful Hello Young Lovers (reviewed two lists ago), we get these reissues of the first two Sparks albums, 1971's self-titled debut and A Woofer in Tweeter's Clothing from 1972. It's amazing to see the bookends of an topsy-turvy 35-year career and how full circle the sound has become. These records sound as unique as they must have 35 years ago, because of course they are new to us, having never heard any recording before 1973's proto-glam masterpiece Kimono My House. It's funny how after hearing these two records back-to-back, we've been hearing the Mael brothers sound in everything from the new Fiery Furnaces to Jennifer Gentle. Please don't make us decide which one is better because they are both so good! Produced by Todd Rundgren (MeatLoaf, Badfinger and New York Dolls) for his Bearsville Record label imprint, this must be one of the strangest debut records of 1971. Apart from early Alice Cooper, we can't quite think of a record or band so out of left-field as this (check out Ron Mael on the cover looking like early Prince with a Hitler 'stache!). While the dominant sound coming out of LA at the time was either mellow singer-songwriters or country inflected roots rock, Sparks arrived on the scene with art-y bombast, campy falsetto vocals, and strange time changes straight out of musical theatre. Never quite fitting in the confines of glam, classic rock, or power pop, Sparks infectious blend of smart, satirical song-writing and vocal theatrics would take awhile to connect with mainstream audiences. However they definitely set the stage for the likes of Queen as well as, of course, almost all of New Wave!

MPEG stream: Wonder Girl
MPEG stream: Biology 2
MPEG stream: (No More) Mr. Nice Guys

Inoffensive classical guitar jazz in John Zorn's new series of background music for upscale dinner parties, in which the horrors of globalization are discussed without being aware of the irony that all of the guests are sporting clothes from The Gap.

RealAudio clip: Returning From The River
RealAudio clip: At The Rebbe's Table
RealAudio clip: Beautiful City

Second release from this mysterious Canadian solo artist who goes by the pseudonym Frankie Sparo. A couple of years ago he made the move east from Victoria, BC to Montreal, PQ and into the welcoming arms of the Constellation label. Now don't swiftly lump him

RealAudio clip: The Night We Stayed In

God Damn Their Various Side Projects!!! A new one by a Mr Frankie Sparo of Godspeed You Black Emperor. Mopey, slow over-saturated tunes. Sort of like Souled American, but without the elements that make Souled American charming.

The third release from Canadian singer/songwriter Frankie Sparo presents another collection of his weight-of-the-world-on-his-shoulders songs. Always seeming slightly unhinged and on the verge of emotional collapse, he sings each song as if clawing for his last shred of hope. His is a deeply anguished delivery - often to the point of crackly hoarse shouting or the most brittle whisper - which bear more than a passing resemblance to early Vic Chesnutt. On the songs featuring very spartan piano or guitar accompaniment, all is laid open with each word hanging in the air. However, this album marks some new developments in the realm of Mr. Sparo. One is the addition of an official second band member, N. Moss brings backing vocals and keyboards into the fold. Another is the full band (which surely includes a few GYBE friends) presence on a few songs contributing to a more expansive and dramatic, but no less intimate sound. Once again, recorded by Godspeed's Efrim.

RealAudio clip: City As It Might Have Been
RealAudio clip: Hospitalville

Jason Zumpano (of the great but sadly defunct Canadian band... Zumpano) offers up his second Sparrow full length. Sure folks can't help but draw comparisons to his old bandmates' current mighty pop bands (New Pornographers and A.C. Newman), and yeah, there's the tell-tale Vancouver pianos, strings, horns and bright vocal harmonies, but Sparrow has a retro pop charm all its own. Sleepy-eyed, boyish and sweet.

MPEG stream: The Early Years
MPEG stream: Late Last Night

Instrumental dream-drift from China. Emotive chiming guitar melodies in beautiful flowery arrangements. Stunning!

MPEG stream: South
MPEG stream: The Man Who Watches Scenery

For months and months we kept on hearing rumblings about a new Zumpano album being "in the works" and "almost done", but what with Carl Newman so deeply ensconced in New Pornographer land... alas, it seems it just never got finished. Not ones to sit on their hands, the rest of AQ's favorite Z-band picked up and pursued other various projects. The band's namesake and drummer Jason Zumpano sat right down and penned a slew of his own songs - some solely piano compositions, some full band grand pop numbers. This is his album of the latter, and not unsurprisingly, what a delight it is! He more than ably handles all songwriting, vocal and keyboard duties, and is joined by his former Zumpano colleague Mike Ledwidge - on guitar as well as Scott Morgan (Loscil) on drums. Just as the case was with Mr. Newman and the NPs, expectations were high. It's pretty impossible not to draw comparisons to their former band. Fortunately so far it's all been in the most positive light, and Sparrow is no exception. Many songs here shine with the same stellar pop sensibilities as well as some other stylish details - standing solidly on their own merits. Take the second song "One Eye Closed" for instance, a spritely, dandy example driven just as much by a catchy chorus as by a piano line very reminiscent of ABBA's "Waterloo" of all things! Other songs draw nods to XTC and Squeeze too. Those are some big classic pop footsteps to follow, and yes, Jason Zumpano and co. more than hold their own, thank you!

MPEG stream: One Eye Closed
MPEG stream: Don't Stand On Me

A few years back, we flipped the fuck out when we discovered one of our favorite records from the nineties, heck, one of our favorite records EVER, was getting reissued. It was a record we were so obsessed with, we had actually been considering trying to reissue it ourselves. That record was 1994's Discus, by the mighty Strapping Fieldhands, and for those of you who have yet to experience the sheer genius of the Fieldhands, you need to right that wrong. Trust us. While all their records were amazing, Discus remains their classic, a bizarre concoction of bedroom recorded indie rock, mixed with a sort of British style skiffle, all tangled up into a constantly shifting collection of perfect pop, obtuse avant sound collage, ramshackle jangle. In a way, they were like a more cerebral (but equally drunken) Guided By Voices, but WAY more twisted and noisy and at times totally WTF? But for all that fucked up noisiness and bizarre psychedelia, they were absolute masters of the pop song, albeit in an utterly, and gloriously bastardized form. Okay, so what are we getting at, this is not a review of Discus. But what it IS, is a review of a brand new band called Sparrow Steeple, boasting most of the same members, and sonically not that far removed from the Fieldhands mothership. We had no idea this band even existed until the band showed up at aQ and dropped off two of their albums (we do have limited copies of the other one, if you want one (and you DO), just ask), and just knowing it was Fieldhands related, we were prepared to be blown away, and it did not disappoint. Super lo-fi, warmly and warped, but so impossibly masterfully poppy. Opener "Hamlet Egg Sandwich" sounds like GBV mixed with the Frogs, a lilting, stumbling gem, moody and heartfelt and fantastically twisted. Which quite honestly could describe most of the songs here. There's fluttery flute, loose, ramshackle drumming, strummed acoustic guitars, "Domino Mary" is total lysergic folk, it sounds like some seventies UK acid folk filtered through some avant indie baroque pop weirdness, while "Daydream Criminal", almost sounds like Texas outsider rock heroes Complete - dirgey, knuckle dragging, plenty of wah guitar, sounding like it was recorded in an airplane hangar, with the occasional guitar squalls overloading the tape, and transforming the sound into a weird pop-noise drone. The rest of the disc unwinds woozily, "Mantis", "Scared Of Joe Care" and "The Likkie Song" each a lysergic fragment of freaky folk, again, the Frogs vibe is huge, and we don't make that comparison lightly. Until finally, SS finish off with "Tuscany", a warbly psych jam, that sounds like the sounds, the intruments, the notes, the vocals, everything, are all gradually melting into some prismatic pool of viscous psychedelic sound. Goddamn, this is so good. Anyone who misses the days of the Fieldhands, the Frogs, Sentridoh, the Supreme Dicks and all that fucked up freakiness, this is for you.

MPEG stream: Domino Mary
MPEG stream: Daydream Criminal

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

SORRY.

MPEG stream: Across Canyons / Canons
MPEG stream: Father Death / Mother Nature

Sparta (aka the non-'fro ex-members of At The Drive In) offer up their second full length. Whereas their former bandmates Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodrigues have taken their band The Mars Volta into more prog/art rock territory, Sparta have chosen to stay in emo mode, tempering the ATDI punk angst and aggression into a more radio/MTV-friendly, near-anthemic sound. We noted though that oddly enough the lead vocals are often very similar to ex-ATDI singer Bixler as well as Fugazi's Ian MacKaye. Catchy, intelligent and creative, Porcelain is a solid follow-up to the equally well-received Wiretap Scars.

MPEG stream: Hiss The Villain
MPEG stream: Travel By Bloodline

Here we go, another seven inches of skweee from Lo Dubs subsidiary Losonofono, a label devoted to that very special Scandinavian electro subgenre we love so much. Previously they hit us with the "apocalyptic skweee" soundz of Sweden's Daniel Savio, now it's The Spartan Lover's turn to pump some squelching, sizzling skweee our way. Like Savio, this Finnish artist, his name a tribute of course to electro/hiphop legend The Egyptian Lover, is a key skweee producer, you've already heard him on the Museum Of Future Sound Vol.2, Skweee Tooth, and The Internalization Of Massy compilations amongst other appearances. Two trax here, both great, with lotsa fat funky low-end.

MPEG stream: Heat It Up
MPEG stream: Ms. New Booty

Collection number three of oldies but goodies from the bay area's own lovable masters of goofball powerviolence/fastcore. Funny and fast and heavy and ridiculous. And they're beginning to rival Tupac for number of posthumous releases. Which in this case is not a bad thing.

Second, posthumous collection of stuff by the Bay Area's fastcore/powerviolence goofball legends.

"Way beyond speed!! / Spazztic Blurr!!!! / There is no cure!! / For The Spazztic Blurr!! ... Let There Be Spazztic! -- Let there Be Blurr!" Holy hell. We never thought that Earache would reissue this out of print record on cd! This 1988 LP of absurdist metal has been long sought after by Allan, 'cause he just loves the Spazztic Blurr song found on that classic Earache label "Grind Crusher" compilation. That song ("He-Nota-Home-Me-Marco") is found here along with 13 other examples of their brilliantly (?) mindless, stream of consciousness, dadaistic thrash songwriting. Ok, normally Allan doesn't approve of overtly silly joke bands. But these guys totally take their jokes into a shaggy dog realm of utter nonsequiturship. Lyrics about Burger King, boardgames, the Flintstones, the alphabet, hardcore punks and rappers...yes it's childish. But it's also 1988. And then there's the way they include descriptions of what's going on musically at each point in a song on the lyric sheet (some examples: "Distorted Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Distorted Guitar, Acoustic Guitar...", "Total Speed Metal Ending", "Weird Effect", "Surf Part", "Isn't It Neat How This Songs Jumps Right In?"). They were probably a huge influence on John Zorn! Kinda like Dead Milkmen meets the Suicidal Tendencies, for fans of Ludichrist, Lawnmower Deth, S.O.D., 7000 Dying Rats, that sort of thing.

RealAudio clip: He-Nota-Home
RealAudio clip: Def Metal
RealAudio clip: Mexicalli

Shoulda known that Shadoks would get to this one eventually. We've had previous import reissues of this cult Latin American psych platter at other times in the past, but they never were easy to keep in stock for very long - now we can count on having it available for a while at least, we hope. Here's what we said about this before, if you missed it maybe six or seven years ago when we reviewed one of those earlier reissues: Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Colombian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968! Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as "Kris Kringle" on a previous lp reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been TOTALLY messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice... Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine. We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained - Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!

MPEG stream: Oda A La Gente Mediocre
MPEG stream: Historia De Un Loto Que Florecio En Otono

We've had this cult Latin American psych reissue on and off (mostly off) for a few years now, and so since we just managed to get this super deluxe oversized book edition, we figured we'd relist it, for those of you who might not have gotten a chance to hear it (or hear about it) yet. It's pricey, but the packaging is pretty over the top. And of course it's an amazing album. The cd comes housed in a 7" sized sleeve, full color and on thick card stock. Inside is affixed a 20 page full color booklet, filled with photos and drawings, and tons and tons of liner notes (all in Spanish unfortunately), and affixed to the inside front cover is a little crunched up chicklet, a replica of the supposed LSD bubble gum that was included in the original album!! Awesome. Here's what we said about this before: Whoa, this is a strange disc, a reissue of some primo Columbian psych acid-rock pop weirdness circa 1968. Totally trippy and weird, starting with the wonderfully freaky cover drawing of the band, with the music being even freakier. Probably inspired by Sgt. Pepper's and buttloads of drugs. The Speakers (also known as Kris Kringle on an LP reissue of this, for some reason) play nice Spanish-language pop/beat music that's been totally messed with, coming closer to Nurse With Wound than the Mutantes (although if you can imagine all the ridiculous moments of studio-fuckery on the Mutantes cds crammed into one disc, this would be it). Completely odd and delightful! And who can forget that track sung in the bizarre squeaky baby voice... Some additional interest might be stirred regarding this due to the fact that the band was recently profiled in issue 22 of Ugly Things magazine issue! We learned a few interesting things from that article, among them that The Speakers, at the time, were apparently quite popular in their home country. Who would have thunk? And, "En El Maravilloso Mundo De Ingeson" is explained -- Ingeson was the name of the studio where they were able to record for free at night, in return for putting Ingeson's name in the album title (The Speakers In The Marvelous World Of Ingeson)!

MPEG stream: Oda A La Gente Mediocre
MPEG stream: Historia De Un Loto Que Florecio En Otono

Not to be confused with the ultra-trippy late-60's Latin American psychedelic rock group of the same name! These San Franciscans are a completely different band, but that's not to say you might not like these folks too. Those who've delighted in anything and everything graced with the wonderful presence of Ms Jolie Holland, and/or The Iron & The Albatross' Ara Anderson will surely wanna sit up and take note of this new cd. All of you more literary types too might wish to close your books for a spell and lend an ear to Yeats Is Great. In addition to those two Bay Area folksy luminaries, this is quite an impressive assembly of like-minded earthy artists joining together to sing, speak, strum, and otherswise celebrate the writings of Yeats.

MPEG stream: He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead
MPEG stream: To A Man Young And Old

Remember that special summer themed in-between list we sent out at the beginning of June? We ordered in copies of this album just to be on it (in lieu of a Van Halen record, since we'd never reviewed VH) and we even mentioned it in the list intro, but then somehow left it off the actual list, whoops!! But since we have it, and it's now officially summer, we figured we'd relist it on this list, definitely a recommended ol' fave from a band that may have flown under a lot of folks' radar. Here's what we wrote about this when we first listed it back in 2003... Wow, we were surprised and pleased to see the release of a new The(e) Speaking Canaries album! It's been quite a while since 1995's Songs For The Terrestrially Challenged, but they've still got it, in fact, this may be even better than we remembered 'em being. The Speaking Canaries, for those for whom 1995 is a blur, are a band from Pittsburgh featuring the talents of Don Caballero drummer Damon Che. Che plays drums on half the album, but the whole disc showcases his just-as-impressive ability with the electric guitar. His nimble, Eddie Van Halen styled guitar licks are distorted, yet cleanly chiming n' gorgeous. Yep, we said Eddie Van Halen. If you've never heard The Speaking Canaries before you're in for a surprise - Van Halen is an obvious, huge influence. And Damon even lets off some some jubilant David Lee Roth yelps. But, don't get the wrong idea, this is a melodic indie-pop record, not any sort of retro '80s hair metal throwback. The songs are somewhat complex and mathy (as you'd expect from a Don Cabber) but have pop hooks a la Foo Fighters. And these days, after after Trans Am and The Fucking Champs and so forth, the idea of heavy metal guitar heroes in an indie-rock context isn't so novel. It's just good music. Damon and company kick ass on this record, from the three-minute track one (with the excellent title "I Wear Glasses in the Most Brutal Sport Ever Invented") to the disc's hidden bonus track finale. Very recommended!

MPEG stream: Coffin Jitters
MPEG stream: Song On A Record You Can't Get

Spear is a Polish post-industrial / dark ambient ensemble who appears to have picked up where the nearly forgotten Cranioclast left off with their cryptographic adventures for linguistic puzzles and deep dronescapes. Amidst glowing ripples of prepared contrabass, tape reversed bells, time-stretched ambience, and fluidly sustaining reverberations, Sapphire Flower maps out a metaphoric narrative that delves into the weighty topic of the twilight between life and death, through the sporadic intervention of computer manipulated voices. The pace of the album is suitably slow and funereal, but never gets too heavy-handed or ghastly partly due to Spear's dedicated emphasis upon the construction of crystalline electro-acoustic droneworks. Thus, the music tells the majority of Sapphire Flower's story rather than the text itself. Certainly fans of Biosphere and the more subtle atmospheric work of Current 93 / Nurse With Wound would do well to check this out.

RealAudio clip: No Difference
RealAudio clip: N:O:T:H:I:N:K
RealAudio clip: Away

"Power Electronics, Industrial Noise, Experimental, Avantgarde, Ambient" reads the tagline to this 84 page zine published by the Finnish label Freak Animal, which focuses on just those genres. Special Interests offers a solid interview from J.G. Thirlwell / Foetus, plus insight through interviews with some less known stalwarts of the noise community (Das Synthetische Mischgeweve, Sektor 304, etc.). There's also a feature on the latest output from the HWN communities including The Rita, Alo Girl, Tourette, etc. Dominic Fernow / Prurient goes through his collection offering his pithy descriptions on a handful of obscure gems (e.g. Macronympha, Sickness, Ond, Death Squad, etc); and there's a slew of reviews to sink your teeth into, sometimes quite literally. Limited stock.

Oooh, inside this Special Pillow you'll find vocals and violins melting sweetly like paisley ice cream cones. Delightful! For close to a decade, Special Pillow have woven their swooning retro psych pop (and yet this is only their second album!). Let it be known however, they're by no means unwilling to amp it up, adding (just a little) garage crunch to their guitars and (just a little) snarl to their singing, and they'll do so at the drop of a hat. Such is the case with the third and fourth songs ("You Can Do It" and "Nothing Important"). If you dig the pretty, wide-eyed and mildly trippy side of '60s style pop psychedelia, cozy up to Special Pillow.

MPEG stream: You Can Do It (Just Don't Do It Wrong)
MPEG stream: Nothing Important

This is the fine debut album from this Chicago based trio. Some may find the slightly druggy drone'n'twang of Summer Above reminiscent of the velvety languidness of Mazzy Star or Cat Power, but with the distinction that lead singer Marie-Claire Balabanian's drowsily emotive voice flits and floats in a higher register than Hope Sandoval or Chan Marshall. Makes it less of a downer, and more of a sweet, 'drift off on a lazy day' kind of listen.

MPEG stream: Summer Above
MPEG stream: Chlorine Fields

[ aquarius records catalogue — S ]