Released on Uwe "Atom Heart" Schmidt's Rather Interesting label, The Stereonerds are an Australian duo -- one guy programs, one guys sings -- making good ol' electro rather straightforwardly (vocoder, rubbery beats), which is interesting given that Rather Interesting releases are usually genre-fucking entities (Atom + Tea Time, Senor Coconut, Roger Tubesound, etc). It's jittery yet smooth.
Two of the tracks contain samples from Atom's Harddisk Rock 12". Also contains a cover of Joe Meek's "I Hear a New World" that gets them points for having great taste but then, oops, well, we're gonna have to wipe those points on account of the cold Teutonic pokerfaced vocals and a total erasing of the original melody. Still, a good listen, dare you to stay in your seat...
MPEG Download: "F.U.N.K. (Is What You Don't Play)" [/audio/stereonerdsfunk.mp3]
Dug up a little handful of these too, a long out of print collaboration between field recordist and noisemaker Joel Stern and avant guitarist Anthony Guerra, whose collabs are always fantastic, epic expanses of mysterious soundscapery, the field recordings a perfect backdrop for the duo's sonic explorations, the chitter and glitch of electronics, twisted bits of warped FX, draped over the proceedings like a gauzy malfunctioning electronic blanket, while the strings buzz and keen, unfurling streaks of feedback, as well as lush swells, warm chordal whirs, and layered stretches of high end harmony, much of the electronic interference sounds almost like some abstract percussion, the sound often spare and ethereal, but slipping easily into an almost pop ambient sounding soft focus drift, albeit still wreathed in bits of squelch and crackle and hiss.
Released on Antony Milton's Pseudo Arcana label and LONG out of print, these are the last copies EVER...
This is bizarre in every sense of the word. Naturestrip is a label that has dedicated itself to propagating all sorts of composition through field recording, with sound artists like Tarab and Loren Chasse crafting impeccable scores directly from the earth, and rural psychedelic practitioners like Leighton Craig and Eugene Carchesio crafting skeletal song against an environmental backdrop. Australian filmmaker and sound artist Joel Stern has taken his field recording tactics into an unusual place of thickly collaged signifiers with hints of song, rummagings for texture, and straight recordings from out the in the field. It sort of comes across as a ramshackle radio play, as if some genius lunatic outfit like the Starving Weirdos were given permission to fuck around in the INA-GRM studios. Stern offers up some improv clamor in the woods with sticks, twigs, and bird chorus playing equal part in the noise with squeaking horns, concertina strum and squabbling noises. He's also found scraping upon styrofoam, and steel springs for an unnerving background of skincrawling textures that counterpoint tension-loaded pops of long wire manipulation and the occasional heavenly ring of chimed bells. Feral dogs bark and howl in the rain while Stern overlays a simple melody line from a thumb piano coaxed into harmony with a distant chanting of unknown origin. He's at his best when an unsettled musicality seeps through the field recordings; and perhaps he saves his best for last, with the plaintive strum across the guitar and harmonica set against a distant wailing of children becoming a tragic end to this Fellini-esque album. Remarkable to say the least.
On the day that Joel Stern and Michael Northam recorded all of the material for Wormwood, Northam had just arrived in London weary from his ongoing globetrotting travels; and Stern was preparing to head back to his native Australia after living in London for three years. Anxiety and fatigue play themselves out with these reconstituted improvistions, or what Northam likes to call an 'intuitive assemblage.' Northam retains his masterful sensibility for dronescapes that move between complex harmonics and psychoacoustic atonalities coaxed from a variety of discarded objects; on the other hand, Stern presents himself as an upstart student of Keith Rowe, channelling a multitude of clicks, scrapes, crunches, and clatters from his tool box full of discarded objects. On Wormwood, glassine drones, infernal whistlings, and distant machinations crafted perhaps from close-looped feedback systems settle in the background while a variety of textural scrabblings and electrically charged particles struggle to rupture the pristine minimalism of the Stern / Northam dronings. A very nice piece of improvised electro-acoustics.
Wow! This is probably the best thing we've heard on Kill Rock Stars in AGES. With totally spazzed out guitar playing and impassioned vocals, Marnie Stern has grabbed us by the throats and refuses to let us go. It makes perfect sense that Zach Hill drums on this record as Stern's herky jerky rhythms and relentless spirit share a similar aesthetic and approach to Hill's band Hella and folks like Lightning Bolt and Orthrelm. In fact Marnie Stern has hit the scene almost like a female counterpart to Mick Barr, with the same kind of manic and infectious guitar playing delivered with her unique vision and fist in the air vocals. Kind of like if Erase Errata or the latest Paradise Island e.p. we loved so much were even louder, faster and way more chaotic, or if Mary Timony were kidnapped by Load records. This album does what all the great Kill Rock Stars records of the past did so well, it makes you feel so alive and so young in spirit as your get to watch and hear someone so passionately realize their vision. Highly recommended!
We were immediate fans of Marnie Stern's debut from last year so we were excited to finally get our hands on her follow up which kicks ass just as much as her great debut. Let's get this out of the way, someone at one of those powerhouse video game companies needs to get Marnie Stern on Guitar Hero immediately! We can't think of many axemasters who shred so hard and with as much wild exuberance and technical proficiency as she does. Such a rad spazzed out sound she has carved out for herself. Kind of like if Eddie Van Halen in his prime was moonlighting with no wavers and noisemakers and Chrissie Hynde was on the mic after loading up on helium and amphetamines. Somehow Marnie Stern has all that crazy and manic talent in her hands, fingers and lungs! With Hella's Zach Hill once again pounding the skins and twisting the knobs, they've managed to crank out another high fueled adrenaline pumping blast of songs that sometimes sound like nursery rhymes interpreted by some dream collaboration of Erase Errata and Lightning Bolt. Did we mention how much this shreds?!!!
Now available on vinyl!
Wow! This is probably the best thing we've heard on Kill Rock Stars in AGES. With totally spazzed out guitar playing and impassioned vocals, Marnie Stern has grabbed us by the throats and refuses to let us go. It makes perfect sense that Zach Hill drums on this record as Stern's herky jerky rhythms and relentless spirit share a similar aesthetic and approach to Hill's band Hella and folks like Lightning Bolt and Orthrelm. In fact Marnie Stern has hit the scene almost like a female counterpart to Mick Barr, with the same kind of manic and infectious guitar playing delivered with her unique vision and fist in the air vocals. Kind of like if Erase Errata or the latest Paradise Island e.p. we loved so much were even louder, faster and way more chaotic, or if Mary Timony were kidnapped by Load records. This album does what all the great Kill Rock Stars records of the past did so well, it makes you feel so alive and so young in spirit as your get to watch and hear someone so passionately realize their vision. Highly recommended!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Arguably the definitive recording by the man who has been called the Welsh Dylan, Meic Stevens' 1970 debut Outlander has been finally reissued in an affordable format (after getting the deluxe but super expensive Rhino Handmade treatment a couple years back). Panned upon its release as a Dylan / Syd Barrett / Donovan derivative, it has since gained an earnest following among purveyors of obscure acid folk and psych-folk releases (as well as fans of retro-Welsh grooves like Super Furry Animals) for its inventive use of sitars, tablas, and flutes. Full of idyllic and romantic allusions to fogotten lands of yore, Stevens puts a more raga spin on his arrangements than Dylan ever would have, which definitely sets this apart from mere style-copping. Another essential necessity for any psych-folk collector!! So good.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
We've barely been able to... ahem... digest Sufjan Stevens' recently reissued Enjoy Your Rabbit Chinese zodiac themed electronic album, and poof! Another one of his early creations resurfaces, revealing yet another facet of Stevens' impressive scope. From album to album he's continued to follow his creative muse 'round the bends (well, maybe they've been more like hairpin curves!). This man sure keeps ya guessing. This is the album that started the ball rolling, and quite a fine debut it is! Prolific from the get-go, Stevens packed his first album with nineteen songs (plus this reissue includes two bonus songs!). Originally released back in 1999, A Sun Came! has received in-store comments likening it to a woodland gathering of assorted Elephant 6 folksy popsters with Simon & Garfunkel and Ween invited over too. Light, whimsical and folksy with whispery vocals atop sitar, oboe, toy flutes, guitars and assorted other noisemakers. Actually it seems like the Ween-ish side of things takes over for a couple of songs about two thirds of the way through the album. The tellltale signs? Quirky, helium-huffed high vocals. But if that's not your cup of tea, fear not, 'cause it's promptly whisked away back into prettier, soft acoustic psych-tinged numbers. Hurrah for Sufjan!
While the world is definitely poised for a Sufjan backlash (what with all the effusive praise and overexposure), truth be told he is one damn fine songwriter and not many people would be able to have a record of leftovers as satisfying as their record proper. This is in fact leftovers and outtakes from the recording of his last album, Illinois. And well, if you liked what you heard there, here's even more pop goodness, a super satisfying second serving. More lush arrangements, catchy melodies, and smart delivery. But we don't really need to say too much to help sell Sufjan these days, the music speaks for itself. When we first got this in and put it on we sold three of them in about a minute. With nearly 80 minutes worth of outtakes this had the potential to be ALL filler and not enough killer but it turns out that even his cast offs are chock full of pop perfection. We wish everyone's left overs tasted this good!
We had sort of given up on Sufjan Stevens. Longtime readers of the aQ list will remember us gushing over the first two 'state' records (Greetings From Michigan and Come On Feel The Illinoise) in the proposed 50 record series (we're still waiting), and we dug plenty of his subsequent efforts, but for whatever reason, we just stopped paying attention, and didn't bother reviewing the last few. But with this latest, we're thinking we might have to revisit all the ones we missed, cuz Carrie & Lowell is breathtaking. Hushed and intimate, mostly vocals and nylon stringed guitar, the songs simple and heartfelt, an obvious rumination on love and loss, life and death, at first blush, it's hard not to hear Elliott Smith or Iron & Wine, the heartbreaking melancholy of the former, and the whispery loveliness of the latter. Stevens' voice is gorgeous as well, a delicate croon, that slips easily into aching falsettos, the lyrics poignant, and the songs rife with subtle but impossible memorable hooks, everything wreathed in a soft focus patina of reverb, hazy and faded, wistful and dreamlike. Not sure what else to say, other than this might be the prettiest record you will hear all year.
Amid the flurry of enthusiastic cheers for his two releases Greetings From Michigan and Seven Swans, we've now got multi-instrumentalist (and Danielson Famile tour member) Sufjan Stevens' second album Enjoy Your Rabbit from 2001. It stands altogether distinct from that which came before and after. Twelve of the tracks are inspired by the animals of the Chinese Zodiac (monkey, rat, ox, boar, tiger, snake sheep, rooster, dragon, rabbit, dog and horse). They're bookended by two other tracks "Year Of The Asthmatic Cat" and "Year Of Our Lord". Although it sounds nothing like his dreamy acoustic folk pop -- its instrumentation is crafted from an array of delicate electronic sounds -- Enjoy Your Rabbit possesses a grand earthy magic all its own. A wonderfully perplexing and sparkling album. Recommended.
This AQ fave now on vinyl! And the fourth side features five bonus outtakes not on the original cd version! What we said about the cd version: We sold a bunch of these in the store before anyone really knew what it was, mostly to folks who were from Michigan, as it's an entire suite of songs about Michigan. Thanks to our pal Barbara Duffield who turned us on to this (she's from Michigan too!). But trust us, there's plenty to love here, even if you're not from Michigan (although if you are, stop reading here and just buy it. It's great. There's even a map inside so you can follow along and know which song goes with which place). Sufjan Stevens is a new discovery for us, and maybe for you too, but judging from how great this record is, he probably won't stay unknown for long. Dark and dreamy, sad and lonely, drifting and soulful, shimmery and sun dappled, gently strummed acoustic guitars, dark muted horns and lots of banjo, along with Stevens' delicate crackle of a voice, sounding not unlike a more depressed Archer Prewitt, with occasional female background vocals on a handful of the tracks making for wonderful harmonies! This record is chock full of warm and warbly, melancholic melodies, pastoral folk-pop soundscapes, and some of the best songwriting we've heard in a while. Fans of Palace, Songs:Ohia, Arab Strap, Sixteen Horsepower, Woven Hand, the Decemberists and that sort of mopey melancholia will love this! This just might be the best twangy indie-folk-pop record since Iron And Wine!
We sold a bunch of these in the store before anyone really knew what it was, mostly to folks who were from Michigan, as it's an entire suite of songs about Michigan. Thanks to our pal Barbara Duffield who turned us on to this (she's from Michigan too!). But trust us, there's plenty to love here, even if you're not from Michigan (although if you are, stop reading here and just buy it. It's great. There's even a map inside so you can follow along and know which song goes with which place). Sufjan Stevens is a new discovery for us, and maybe for you too, but judging from how great this record is, he probably won't stay unknown for long. Dark and dreamy, sad and lonely, drifting and soulful, shimmery and sun dappled, gently strummed acoustic guitars, dark muted horns and lots of banjo, along with Stevens' delicate crackle of a voice, sounding not unlike a more depressed Archer Prewitt, with occasional female background vocals on a handful of the tracks making for wonderful harmonies! This record is chock full of warm and warbly, melancholic melodies, pastoral folk-pop soundscapes, and some of the best songwriting we've heard in a while. Fans of Palace, Songs:Ohia, Arab Strap, Sixteen Horsepower, Woven Hand, the Decemberists and that sort of mopey melancholia will love this! This just might be the best twangy indie-folk-pop record since Iron And Wine!
Now on double gatefold vinyl with extra treats!
Here's what we said about the cd...
Firstly, we should let you know that despite the peculiar album title's take on the Slade song there's absolutely nothing that we'd call 'noise' in any of these twenty-two songs (!), Illinoise or otherwise. This is Sufjan Stevens' second full length welcoming ode to a Midwestern state. Heck why not? His Greetings from Michigan album went over like gangbusters, and we've got a feeling this one will too. His folk-pop numbers of which this album is primarily comprised (fyi: he also crafts more abstract quirky electronic work) are so wistful and dreamy whether he's singing alone or has a sweet chorus joining in for a few bars. Actually when it's time for the group-sing, it's sorta like a more low-key Polyphonic Spree. Totally feel-good! Stevens' lilting compositions are highlighted by frolicking horns and swirling strings. This album balances his upbeat songs which can be downright jubilant with his more melancholic ones that might make you a bit misty-eyed... and that's even before you notice the songs' lyrical storylines and historical references about all thing Illinois. In fact, Illinoise will surely also appeal to fans of the lush pop sounds of more recent Belle & Sebastian or Kings Of Convenience. A super delight! Recommended.
Now what about the bonus stuff that we were referring to earlier? Well, please read on... You may or may not have heard that the likeness of a certain caped celebrity originally appeared on the cover to this release, and it turns out he (or his corporate sponsors) didn't want him to be there, so the 'problem' was removed from the subsequent cd pressings. Apparently the LP sleeves got printed up too with the offending figure, so on the first 5000 LP copies he has been concealed with a (cheekily removeable) sticker of some cheerful balloons. Oh yeah, and there's a tune "The Avalanche" which does not appear on the cd version!
Firstly, we should let you know that despite the peculiar album title's take on the Slade song there's absolutely nothing that we'd call 'noise' in any of these twenty-two songs (!), Illinoise or otherwise. This is Sufjan Stevens' second full length welcoming ode to a Midwestern state. Heck why not? His Greetings from Michigan album went over like gangbusters, and we've got a feeling this one will too. His folk-pop numbers of which this album is primarily comprised (fyi: he also crafts more abstract quirky electronic work) are so wistful and dreamy whether he's singing alone or has a sweet chorus joining in for a few bars. Actually when it's time for the group-sing, it's sorta like a more low-key Polyphonic Spree. Totally feel-good! Stevens' lilting compositions are highlighted by frolicking horns and swirling strings. This album balances his upbeat songs which can be downright jubilant with his more melancholic ones that might make you a bit misty-eyed... and that's even before you notice the songs' lyrical storylines and historical references about all thing Illinois. In fact, Illinoise will surely also appeal to fans of the lush pop sounds of more recent Belle & Sebastian or Kings Of Convenience. A super delight! Recommended.
Note: the likeness of a certain caped celebrity appears on the cover to this, and it turns out he (or his corporate sponsors) don't want him to be there, so this is going to be redone with new cover art sometime soon. Thus we're gonna run out of these pretty darn quick, and it may be out of stock for a wee while before they get repressed -- sorry!
Another gorgeously melancholy song cycle from our new favortie mopey-pop troubadour Sufjan Stevens. Like its predecessor, Greetings From Michigan, it's chock full of gently strummed acoustic guitars, lots of banjo, sweetly sorrowful melodies, Stevens' breathy earnest voice (sometimes accompanied by angelic female background vocals) and some truly beautiful songwriting. Dreamy and sweet, meandering and melodic. Not a concept record as far as we can tell (unlike the previous Michigan album, and his earlier signs of the Chinese zodiac album) but cohesive nonetheless. Epic but simple pastoral popscapes and whispery minor key laments. So wonderful. Fans of melancholy pop and dour indie jangle (Palace, Arab Strap, Songs:Ohia, Iron And Wine, Archer Prewitt) should already have Sufjan Stevens all over their mixtapes and in their iPods, but if for some strange reason they don't, now is the time, and this is the record.
The prince of theme albums delivers the goods in time for the holidays. Mr. Stevens follows up his Illinois and Michigan albums with this jaw-dropping five cd set of Christmas tunes. Clearly he not only knows his State facts, but also his Christmas tidings too. The five discs are titled Noel (2001), Hark! (2002), Ding! Dong! (2003), Joy (2005), and Peace (2006), and they add up to a bountiful mix of forty two traditional songs and Sufjan originals.
But he didn't stop at music! Along with the cds in this boxset, you get a heap of Sufjan penned stories and liner notes, lyric sheets, score charts, a music video and comic strip by Tom Eaton, an essay written by Rick Moody, a family portrait, and stickers too.
Even total Scrooges may find the spirit of this one difficult to resist!
After five long years, Sufjan Stevens returns with The Age Of Adz, an album packed with gloriously fuzzy, buzzy orchestrated pop originals. Swirling, sweeping, candy-colored instrumentations grounded by Stevens' sensitive dulcet vocals, the overall sound leaning a bit more towards his trippier, electrified side (often likened to Flaming Lips) than his folksy acoustic side (often akin to Iron & Wine). According to Asthmatic Kitty, the title is a reference to "the Apocalyptic art of Royal Robertson (1930 �1997), a black Louisiana-based sign-maker (and self-proclaimed prophet) who suffered from schizophrenia."
The record finds Sufjan at his most varied and ambitious. Mixing elements of electronica (there's even vocoder on a few tracks!) with the orchestral and tender pop that he has always had a way with. Seems like Sufjan's been listening to lots of Flaming Lips and maybe Black Moth Super Rainbow lately as this is much more epic and electronic in scope then any of his previous records, oh and he's not singing about a particular state anymore.
Sufjan Stevens fans, last we heard from the gent was his Songs For Christmas back in 2006, but he hasn't been sitting idly by. We've just received a double whammy of proof! Yup, you've got two reasons to rejoice... well, maybe three even if you're counting actual discs of aural and visual enjoyment. There's his collaboration with the Osso String Quartet titled Run Rabbit Run, as well as this mind-boggling dvd/cd set in homage and examination of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway! Huh? What's that?!? Yeah, you heard us correctly. All signs point to Mr. Stevens throwing us another curve ball, and indeed he has. Mind you, there was some prompting from The Brooklyn Academy of Music who commissioned him to create a film and music stage production about the BQE. Although the film does address some weighty sociopolitical implications (think: a sort of mini lo-fi Koyaanisqatsi), somewhere along the way the project itself mushroomed to incorporate hula-hoops, comic books and extraterrestrial superheroes. The dvd features the original film from (not of) the performance, and the cd features the impressive orchestral soundtrack. Plus, there's a hefty eye-popping 40-page insert booklet and a charming stereoscopic image reel too (y'all are gonna need to dust off your old Viewmasters for that one!). Expansive and ambitious, it's really quite overwhelming actually!
Sufjan Stevens fans, last we heard from the gent was his Songs For Christmas back in 2006, but he hasn't been sitting idly by. We've just received a double whammy of proof! Yup, you've got two reasons to rejoice... well, maybe three even if you're counting actual discs of aural and visual enjoyment. There's his mind-boggling film and music dvd/cd set in homage of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, as well as this his latest cd Run Rabbit Run! You might recall his second album, 2001's Chinese Zodiac themed Enjoy Your Rabbit which stood in stark head-scratching contrast to his other musical output up to that point. It was filled with shimmery electronic instrumentals as opposed to mellow folksy acoustic balladeering. Well, he's taken the 'Rabbit into new territory again, transforming it into chamber compositions for New York string quartet Osso. They bear little resemblance to the originals, but they are all plucky stringed and gorgeous in their own way. We took a particular liking to "Year Of The Monkey" and "Year Of The Horse". How 'bout you? What's your sign, baby? Haha, wonder if we'll be hearing a dub or metal version in a few years!
Killer collection of Aussie jangle pop in the tradition of Flying Nun, from this new (to us at least) outfit, who totally sound like a band out of time, in fact, you'd definitely be forgiven for thinking this was some actual obscure NZ nugget from back in the day. All dreamily lo-fi, minimal and skeletal, softly psychedelic, noisy in places and with moments of layered lushness and lots of sweet vocal harmonies, not to mention some subtly hook heavy songs that will get lodged in your head like crazy. The sound here is the rare beast that's obviously home brewed, all intimate and bedroom, but with obvious aspirations of something much more epic and polished, and it's that weird mix, that transforms what in other less skilled hands might just be generic indie pop into something super special, each track a glistening gem, eighties post punk crunch softened into something fuzzier and more melodic, and definitely a new pop fave. There's a full length out there too, also well worth tracking down.
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES. Each one hand numbered.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
First things first, The Pop Group was a fucking incredible band. In their brief existance from 1979 to 1981, The Pop Group represented one of the most successful and most radical reinventions of punk through dub tricknology. After they dissolved, the politically acerbic sloganeer for the band, Mark Stewart, attempted to capture the immediacy, fury, and energy of his band through a number of collaborations... all of which were far more impressive in theory than in practice. With the rhythm section of the Sugarhill Gang, the resident On U Sound producer Adrian Sherwood and more recent production assistance from The Bug, surely anything, anyone would do with those folks would turn out great, right? Not exactly. Mark Stewart's solo tracks and cuts with The Maffia always exhibit a bit too much flash and not enough good songwriting and rhythms to warrant all of the cool production tricks and big names thrown into the mix. So, Kiss The Future -- a compilation spanning Mark Stewart's entire career -- features some absolutely kick-ass tracks (e.g. the three songs from The Pop Group) amidst a bunch of decent-to-pretty-good, electro-funk-dub tracks that try too hard (everything else). Obviously, Soul Jazz is trying to continue to cash in on the whole post-punk revival thing spawned by The Rapture, LCD Soundsystem, !!!, etc. Where Soul Jazz hit the mark on the A Certain Ratio reissues and the In The Beginning There Was Rhythm compilation, Kiss The Future falls just a bit short. This can mostly be recommended to those who were completely enthralled by The Pop Group's Y album and need to hear what else Mark Stewart has done. Everybody else should just jump straight to that aforementioned Pop Group album and revel in one thoroughly impressive piece of work.
Eighties Texas psychedelic noise punks Stick Men With Ray Guns never released a proper record, but here is a vinyl collection of their most crucial recordings - tracks that popped up on comps throughout the years and some live tracks too, that document the antagonistic, violent, transgressive and all too brief history of these far out freaks. Cut from the same cloth as the Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, Rusted Shut, Flipper and other Neanderthal noiseniks, the sound is mostly plodding and dirgey, driven by thick, sludgy throbbing bass and caveman drum pound, but laced with weird, almost metal guitar shred and driven by the weirdo vox of frontman Bobby Soxx, whose snotty snarl sounds like proto Alice Donut, and is constantly exploding into high pitched witchy shrieks. Some of the tracks get into total rockabilly territory (and weirdly, those are the ones that sound most like the Butthole Surfers), while the live tracks somehow sound even more caustic and damaged, like sludgy punk mixed with Throbbing Gristle industrial noise. Recommended vinyl documentation of the OTHER-legendary-drug-addled-shirtless-drunk-stumbling-rocking-LOUD-punk-as-fuck-Texas-combo (other than the Buttholes that is).
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Killer reissue of the collected recordings of the -OTHER- legendary-drug-addled-shirtless-drunk-stumbling-rocking-LOUD-punk-as-fuck-Texas-combo (other than the Buttholes that is). And while the Stickmen have a lot in common with the Butthole Surfers (see above) their sound tends towards the noisy rocky end of the spectrum, rather than the tripped out space jam the Surfers were so fond of.
And you may recognise the name as the Stickmen were one of the standout bands on the recently reissued Texas punk comp. Cottage Cheese From The Lips Of Death. Been listening to this like crazy. So great! Fans of the Butthole Surfers, Scratch Acid, punk rock and early Homestead records, should really check this out.
Skweeeeeeeeeee! We've got some more of that freaky funky Scandinavian (not always!) glitch hop electro 8-bit fun for y'all...
A few months back, after we listed "the first American skweee release" by Portland's Lazercrotch, we received an email from Boston-based producer Stickem politely letting us know that he was the first American skweee artist to put something out, actually. However, Stickem's debut ep was a digital download only so we couldn't have stocked it anyway. Now, however, he's got physical product that we've been able to bring in, a brand new 7" single.
A-side "This Thing Is On" is on indeed, slamming yet slinky low-slung groove, snapping and popping with electronic blip blap. An intermittent simple synth keyboard melody tickles the ear throughout. The B-side confirms Stickem's skweee cred, being a remix by Stockholm's Beem, who smoothes things out just a bit, like the original track's kicked back and taken a few tokes. Nice.
Stickem is definitely hooked up with his Scandinavian brethren, also being responsible for an entire skweee mix, featuring Beem, Claws Cousteau, Mrs. Qeada, Mesak, Randy Barracuda, and other skweee notables, that you can download free from http://skweee.com/let-skweeedom-ring.
Hobart, the capital of Tasmania. This picturesque hamlet is situated on the south end of that remote island, but there's not really a whole lot going on in town. Well, probably not much until recently - we are extremely curious about the Museum of Old and New Art that opened there up not too long ago, a real head-scratcher with its radically adventurous programming (seriously, lo-fi black metal weirdo Striborg is scheduled to perform there sometime this year, under the shadows of works by such figures as Chris Olffi, Anselm Keifer, and plenty of decay-oriented Australian artists... and yes, The Stickmen played the 'Dark Mofo' festival at MONA in 2013). So, the creative kids from Hobart back in the '80s and '90s were much more likely to flee to the much larger metropolises of Melbourne or Sydney over in mainland Australia. The Stickmen were the rare band from Hobart who persevered in their hometown long enough to develop into an amazing antipodean amalgam of Flying Nun / Xpressway NZ fuzz-pop, post-Birthday Party scum rock, and dour American math-rock, but probably not that many people ever heard about them. In fact, WE had never heard of them, until this album showed up in the shop; and yeah, they are pretty goddamn great.
Their eponymous debut album originally came out in 1998 as a mutant, garage punk blast of sharp guitar riffs, driving rhythms, cheap-ass transistor radio vocals, and weird sounds transmitted from a turntablist who spun drones and noises on his decks. The photo on the inner-sleeve is worth a thousand words with the microphone taped to a broom (complete with bristles) and suspended from the ceiling via a thick piece of rope for the guitarist to sing into (or not), while one of the band members fiddles with a mess of pedals and reaches up to backspin a record. The sound broadcast from such a Rube Goldberg contraption is brilliantly intense, somewhere between the Swell Maps avant-punk melodies, The Oh Sees' jubilant mania, and the scientific aggression of Pitchblende. Tracks (like the emphatic "No!" or the belligerent "Wired Wrong") accelerate from a Tracy Pew swagger up to wah-wah freakout guitar explosions that wouldn't be out of place in a Comets On Fire jam, albeit much more punk and violent. It was around this time in The Stickmen's career that they played at the Risdon Medium Security Prison; and you gotta wonder if the energy these guys could muster should have started a riot... if it didn't happen, why the fuck not? A great, great find! We're all totally stoked on this!!
Fancy tip-on sleeve with super high gloss printing in a pretty limited edition. Download code? You bet!
Holy shit! Record collector nerds and weird music obsessives might as well prepare to give up their first born or take out another mortgage on the ol' homestead, cuz this series of ultra limited 8" SQUARE lathe cuts is gonna break the bank, but it's so so so worth it. This is the first in a series that looks like it will include a who's who of noise rock / free rock / avant noise / free folk luminaries, including SO many all time AQ faves it makes our heads spin. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The first batch of these babies just showed up, three titles, each a custom hand cut, Peter King lathe cut, 8", and SQUARE!!! Packaged in gorgeous square and triangular die cut sleeves, super fancy textured paper, with a paste on front cover and a printed insert, each insert hand numbered, each release limited to 150 copies. Phew.
For those new to the lathe cut, it's a hand cut record, on polycarbonate not vinyl, they are more fragile than normal vinyl, and after repeated plays the sound quality can degrade a bit, but in our experience, in most cases it just makes them sound cooler. Peter King is THE MAN when it comes to super limited small run lathe cut releases, and pretty much every cool band you can think of has gone to him for some super rare or limited release or another.
So anyway, these are clear, they are 8"s across, shaped like a square and are insanely limited, and thus, pretty dang expensive! This is the third in the series and features Neil Campbell of AQ faves Vibracathedral Orchestra, along with his sonic partner in crime, the curiously monickered Sticky Foster, and the din these two stir up is not all that far removed from the VCO mothership. Side A is a glitchy soundscape, with garbled vocals, weird percussion, processed voices, thick whorls of murk and fuzz and hiss, bits of steel string buzz all above a dense tangle of chimes and tinkling percussion. The B side is a huge shimmering ur-drone, a fluttering wall of keening reeds and soaring feedback, all smeared into one glorious sky-reaching tumult, very reminiscent of VCO or Sunroof! So nice. ----* ----* Selected New Arrivals : ----*
Man do we love Russian black metal, Old Wainds, Nav, Ithdabquth Qliphoth, Meti Bhuvah, Blackdeath, Forest... A few years back we discovered this one man band and lost our shit, it definitely sounded Russian, but at the same time it sounded like none of those other bands, we were so blown away. That record, Vadrer, from 2007, became our unequivocal black metal record of the year. In the last three years, all we've heard from Stielas Storhett was a couple tracks on a three way split, that if anything just made us more anxious for a new full length, and while this is not it, it IS two new songs, two new long songs, two parts of a single longer song, and it RULES, if anything, Stielas Storhett have only gotten better since we last heard from them.
So what's the big deal? Haunting cinematic strings, soaring and dramatic, give way to dense, blasting, sorrowful black metal buzz, thick and gnarled and utterly frosty and epic, the main melody totally majestic, trancelike and mesmerizing, we could listen to 10 seconds of this on a loop FOREVER. Not sure what it is about it that makes it so special, but it's definitely magical, the usual black buzz blast is laced with woozy arpeggiated melodies, the vocals are appropriately harsh and hellish, but seem infused with extra pathos, super emotional and intense, and the song itself, the arrangement, loping, midtempo, depressive and melancholic, lurching and lumbering with a cool little stuttery chug, and a washed out seasick breakdown that sends the guitar into high end ur-drone skree, before slipping back, before it begins to slow down, the vocals getting more and more intense and hysterical, the guitar soaring, cool harmonics and melodies drifting above the now doomy crawl, finally fading out.
The second 'movement' begins with weird high end guitar filigree, and some mysterious voices speaking in Russian, and then the song lurches into action, a weary depressive plod, with more gorgeous soaring harmonies, almost like a way blacker Opeth or Katatonia, the song stays moody and moving until about 5 minutes in and the song bursts into full on blast mode, frenzied and frantic, quickly slipping back into a more melodic chug, with some amazing harmonized guitar leads, total classic metal, so epic, finishing off with more of the cinematic strings from the beginning.
Holy shit. This guy is amazing, this record is incredible, it may be only 17 minutes long, but it accomplishes more in that time than most other BM bands can pull off in a career. Let's just call it BLACK METAL EP OF THE YEAR!
Instead of leaving it for the end of the review like we usually do, we'll come right out and say it right at the beginning.
BLACK METAL RECORD OF THE YEAR.
Without a doubt, the debut release from Russian one man band Stielas Storhett, has stormed past all the other black hordes, and secured the number one spot on our best metal records of the year list. Even though technically it came out last year, we only just discovered it a few weeks ago, so as far as we're concerned this is IT. List rules be damned! And it seems very unlikely that any record will be able to top it.
What is it exactly, that makes Vandrer... so amazing then? At first, we thought it was one of those BM records AQ seems to love so much, you know, the sort of damaged and demented, stumbling and fucked up, weirdo outsider black metal. But the more we listened, the less 'weird' it sounded, and the more it seemed to transcend the usual descriptors. In many ways it is fucked up and demented, but instead of being blatantly weird or experimental, the weirdness was part and parcel of a super personal, carefully crafted sound. A blown out wintry buzz, furious and fuzzy, relentless and over the top, but infused with mournful melodies and strange sonic layers. Lots of killer guitar harmonies, but buried in seas of sizzling cymbals, in the red drums, and some of the most gloriously distorted guitars EVER.
The opener is a majestic epic, as sorrowful and melancholy as it is frosty and grim, with sweeping guitar melodies, and a loping, sort of stumbling rhythm, complete with long stretches of gorgeously bleak clean guitars over simple shuffling drumming. The second track counters with some of the most intense and furiously fuzzed out blackness ever set to tape. A killer riff that is immediately swallowed up by a swirling cloud of black buzz and chaotic drum damage. But even within this dense squall of mayhemic fury, lurk all sorts of haunting melodies and unlikely sounds, an army of ghostly shapes and sonic spectres, the musical version of wandering through bleak landscapes and fog enshrouded graveyards...
The rest of the record veers between those two sonic sides, the blown out buzz, and the lilting depressive moodiness, from the weird depressive Katatonia like dirge of the instrumental "Nymane" (instrumental that is, except for some strange buried-in-the-mix, moaning and heavy breathing) that reminds us of a super tense emotional scene from some Dario Argento film, to the closing number "Dieses Eis Wird Niemals Schmelzen", which begins like some SUNNO))) style downtuned guitar buzzscape, before the drums kick in and the guitar splinters into strange syncopated chugging, while over the top drifts a gorgeous creepy guitar melody, eventually coalescing into a midtempo Burzumic trawl through some miserable sonic world of lost souls and damned spirits, to the epic seasick lurch of "Stille Weisse Wildnis", with its swords being unsheathed sound (a la Satyricon), its strange Fripp-like guitar interlude, and its stumbling stop start arrangement, and all blackened points in between.
There are even a couple of covers, Darkthrone's "Unholy Black Metal", which is pretty true to the original but supercharged and doused with even more grim buzz than the original, and Burzum's "Erblicket Die Tochter Des Firmaments" which is an all time classic, but given Stielas Storhett's sonic makeover, insanely distorted and heavily affected vocals, and a million more layers of buzz, and a production that noises it up so much that minus the drums, it could be some killer Merzbow black metal track.
We went pretty crazy for Stielas Storhett's Vandrer... record, reviewed way back in 2007, unabashedly proclaiming it BLACK METAL RECORD OF THE YEAR. We recently revisited it, and fuck, it still destroys, so much so that it's hard to imagine it wouldn't be black metal of the record of the year no matter what year it came out and no matter what records it was up against. We've been hankering for more ever since. And finally, the Dark Lord has answered out prayers.
Two tracks, both unreleased, both completely amazing and like the full length before, pretty fucked up and freaky. The weirdness here though is more the strange almost major key melodies that swirl around the loping blackened dirge. The guitars are angular, buzzy, the drums pounding, the vocals more a sort of drawled howl, but here they're set amidst some strangely poppy and melodic guitar leads, the two parts mesh seamlessly. but still it's hard to wrap our ears around it. Like a Stielas Storhett pop jam, a Khold like groove, still black, but damn is it catchy and poppy. Later the track gets a little darker, and chuggier, but still the sound is strangely epic and majestic, and black hearts be damned, weirdly happy sounding. Which in itself is bizarre, but beyond that, it's a pretty stellar slab of melodic blackness.
The other Stielas track is more buzzy and frenetic, but still strangely major key, even some bad ass almost Iron Maiden sounding guitar harmonies. The track veers back and forth between more traditionally grim blasts, and as if SS mainman Damian T.G. is struggling sonically, a musical battle between good and evil, pop and metal, depression and misery, effusive positivity and happiness, who knows, maybe he got a girlfriend since last time we heard from SS. Either way, it's a strange development but, man do we like it. Been listening to these two tracks nonstop!
While two new tracks from Stielas Storhett is more than enough reason to pick this up, this three way split does actually feature two other Russian bands we had never heard before. Liholesie, whose sound is a sort of Pagan folk, percussive and dramatic and a bit Renn Faire sounding, but pretty intense and emotional nonetheless, and Mor, whose sound is a strange blend of melodic post rock, and abstract black metal, leaning more toward the former most of the time, we hear bits of Katatonia's epic doom pop. maybe a little Lifelover (although nowhere near as strange), heavy, super well produced, darkly dramatic, even at it's blastiest and buzziest, their sound is still rife with pop and gloom and a gloriously dark tension, although their final track manages to be pretty black metal indeed.
A truly weird comp, but a winner for sure, more Stielas Storhett obviously, and two more cool obscure Russian bands to quite possibly obsess over....
When we first heard London retro murk poppers Still Corners, it was on a split single with another retro pop combo called The New Lines, and we were so smitten by The New Lines song, that it even had us wondering why it was Still Corners who got signed to Sub Pop and not The New Lines. Well, if there was any doubt about whether Still Corners should be on Sub Pop, it was wiped away within seconds of putting on their debut full length. Like Portishead crossed with Ennio Morricone crossed with Stereolab crossed with The Caretaker, the sound is so washed out and careworn, organs warble and wheeze, the drums minimal and skeletal, the guitars chiming and jangly, the production muted and muddy, all supporting the breathy angelic vocals of singer Tessa Murray, whose childlike croon is ethereal and spectral, the result is some sort of out-of-time faded memory dream pop. Opener "Cuckoo" is a perfect example, about as dreamy and divine as pop music gets. Fans of the various Girls bands (Dum Dum, Vivian, etc.), who want something dreamier and darker and more late night sounding, this might be the ticket. "Circulars" definitely displays the bands Stereolab side, propulsive and a little bit krautrocky sounding, but as if broadcast from underwater, or through an old radio hooked up to the sixties. The distinctive organ sound and the washed out production is what really defines Still Corners' sound, there aren't even any proper vocals on "Circulars", instead just some buried oooh's and aaah's, woven into the softly undulating fabric of the song's gauzy shimmer. Elsewhere the band look to Mazzy Star for sure, even the Cocteau Twins, but their sound is firmly rooted in sixties girl group pop, but not in the way the current crop of garage rockers channel that sound, no Still Corners have made that sound their own, it's not just echo and reverb, the sound is thick, and organic, the vocals dreamlike and crystalline, the songs subtly hooky, as much about the sound as the song, and vice versa.
Our favorite track would have to be "I Wrote In Blood", which almost sounds like a female Chris Isaak, channeled through some sort of Southern gothic PJ Harvey, the guitars fuzzy and distorted, but still minimal and spare, chiming melodies draped over the chugging swampy blues that seams to be blurred and smeared into a sort of ethereal slither, and when the drums do finally kick in, it's immediately all soundtracky, haunting and mysterious and so darkly evocative. And just as we pick that as our favorite, another one begins vying for the honor, until we finally give in and proclaim the whole record as our favorite. Easily one of the prettiest, darkest, most mysteriously lovely retro pop, dream psych records we've heard in ages, and absolutely destined to top our year end list. At least until that New Lines full length comes out...
Record number two from these dreamy UK psych pop drifters, who we discovered via a split single with aQ retro pop faves The New Lines, and like on their debut Creatures Of An Hour, Still Corners continue to weave a lush folky dreaminess. But unlike that debut, which seemed to channel Stereolab and Broadcast as well as the various Girls (Dum Dum, Vivian, etc), Strange Pleasures slows things down considerably, positioning itself less as a sort of retro kitschy kraut-psych, and more like some hazy, softly psychedelic slowcore, reminding us mostly of a space age Mazzy Star, if that was even a thing, but judging from Strange Pleasures it most definitely is, and a good thing at that. The gorgeous combination of lush futuristic ambience and warm swirling synths, with acoustic steel string strum, reverb drenched slideguitar, and of course those gorgeous vocals, is pretty tough to resist.
And when things do get weird and electronic, like on the second track "Beginning To Blue", it somehow manages to sound perfectly organic, and meshes perfectly with the rest of the record's gauzy folkiness, the weird stuttery start of "Beginning To Blue" flowing seamlessly into what sounds like a more ethereal, modernized Kate Bush, which is also most definitely a good thing. And that Kate Bush vibe surfaces throughout, in different measures. Strange Pleasures as much about songs this time around as sound, the songs darkly haunting, and beautifully brooding, but the sound too, soaring strings, lush textures, there's definitely some new wave and kosmische elements too, much of the record could pass for some lost 4AD rarity, so essentially, imagine some strange hybrid of Mazzy Star and Kate Bush, melded to woozy space age psychedelia and synth soaked dream pop, and it suddenly doesn't seem like such a -strange- pleasure after all...
NOW ON VINYL!
Who'd expect a big bunch of pasty Bay Area indie rockers to form a reggae group? You'd probably be a bit suspicious of their intent, wouldn't ya? But Still Flyin' are without an ounce of irony. There's simply no room for it when there's such a truckload of genuine enthusiasm for the music. Yes, it's quite a surprising turn of events, innit? They frolic on the bright sunny side of reggae with lots of buoyant melodies and exuberant vocals. This is fun, feel-good music with not a cloud in the sky. Their good time van seats over a dozen including frontman Sean Rawls, Brian Girgus (Trackstar, Lowercase), Yoshi Nakamoto (Aisler's Set) and it used to include Wyatt Cusick (Trackstar, Aisler's Set) too before he moved to the distant shores of Scandinavia.
Who'd expect a big bunch of pasty Bay Area indie rockers to form a reggae group? You'd probably be a bit suspicious of their intent, wouldn't ya? But Still Flyin' are without an ounce of irony. There's simply no room for it when there's such a truckload of genuine enthusiasm for the music. Yes, it's quite a surprising turn of events, innit? They frolic on the bright sunny side of reggae with lots of buoyant melodies and exuberant vocals. This is fun, feel-good music with not a cloud in the sky. Their good time van seats over a dozen including frontman Sean Rawls, Brian Girgus (Trackstar, Lowercase), Yoshi Nakamoto (Aisler's Set) and it used to include Wyatt Cusick (Trackstar, Aisler's Set) too before he moved to the distant shores of Scandinavia.
Still Flyin' are a bunch of cool kids from the Bay Area's indie rock'n'pop community and beyond (the ever changing and expanding line-up has included members of Track Star, Lowercase, Aislers Set, and Ladybug Transistor). Yup, they're a supergroup of sorts with a twist, they take a break from their respective general rocking and rolling, in favor of a whole different style of music -- some of the most feel-good reggae infused pop around. The outcome is absolutely unironic, positively jubilant and very well done. If you missed their debut album Time Wrinkles On last year, you've been missing out on the good times. This ep keeps the Still Flyin' party in full flight. Sure to buoy up your spirits and brighten up your day.
Who else here owns a crappy fuzzed out fourth generation video dub of every episode of The Ben Stiller Show? I know I'm not the only one. It's almost like watching a watercolor rendition of a comedy series. But now you can own the whole thing (a mere ten years after its demise) legit, with crisp image, on this two DVD set. With a cast of uber-comedians: Ben Stiller, Janeane Garafolo, Andy Dick and the other half of Mr. Show, a.k.a Bob Odenkirk, it's hard to believe that the Ben Stiller Show has remained unavailable all these years. Possibly its cult status was guaranteed by the cast's truly fucked up and obscure choice of parodies like the Lassie recreation which supplants the lovable dog with a haggard, non-sequitur spewing Charles Manson (played to the hilt by Odenkirk). Or Stiller's own reccurring celebrity roast skit in which he impersonates Robert Evans and tortures the likes of Casey Kasem, Herve Villechaize and others. Those already intimately familiar with the show will be glad to hear that, along with all the original episodes, there's a plethora of bonus material including: unaired sketches, an alternate version of the pilot episode, two early parodies from MTV's version of the show, a behind the scenes special and, of course, commentary (including a hidden "easter egg" of Bob and Ben doing commentary for Melrose Heights). This two disc set is region 1, NTSC. ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just cut and paste the info into the comments area on the order form, or just email mailorder@aquariusrecords.org. !!! (CHIK CHIK CHIK) / OUT HUD "Lab Remix Series Vol.2" (Gold Standard Laboratories) cd ep 6.98 ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARADISE UFO / ESCAPADE "A Thousand Shades of Grey" (Funfundvierzig) cd 16.98 ALLIEN, ELLEN "Remix Collection" (BPitch Control) cd 18.98 AMPS FOR CHRIST "The People At Large" (5RC) cd 14.98 BIRGE, JEAN-JACQUES / FRANCIS GORGE / SHIRAC "Defense De" (Mio) 2cd 30.00 CALLA "s/t" (Arena Rock) cd 12.98 CARTER, TOM / SCORCES "Beats For The Beast" (Free Porcupine Society) cd 14.98 CAVANAGH, JOHN "33 1/3 Series: The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn" (Continuum) book 9.95 CLINE, NELS / DEVIN SARNO "Buried On Bunker Hill" (Ground Fault) cd 11.98 COLECLOUGH, JONATHAN & COLIN POTTER "Bass Communion" (ICR) 2cd 24.00 CONNORS, LOREN & ALAN LICHT "In France" (FBWL) cd 19.98 CORNELIUS "Five Point One" (Matador) dvd + cd 14.98 CRAMPS "Live At Napa State Mental Hospital" (MVD) dvd 19.98 CRIME IN CHOIR "The Hoop" (Frenetic) cd 13.98 CURE, THE "Join The Dots: B-Sides And Rarities 1978>2001 The Fiction Years" (Fiction / Elektra / Rhino) 4cd 82.00 DMZ "s/t" (Sepia Tone) cd 12.98 EINSTURZENDE NEUBAUTEN "Perpetuum Mobile" (Mute) cd 16.98 EXUMA "s/t" (Repertoire) cd 15.98 FAHEY, JOHN "The Best Of Vol. 2: 1964-1983" (Takoma) cd 16.98 FLATLANDERS, THE "Wheels Of Fortune" (New West) cd 16.98 FLESH EATERS "No Questions Asked" (Atavistic) cd 14.98 FLIES INSIDE THE SUN "Burning Glass" (Metonymic) cd 15.98 FLYNT, HENRY & THE INSURRECTIONS "I Don't Wanna" (Locust Music) cd 14.98 FOG "Hummer" (Dinkytown) cd 12.98 FURSAXA "Mandrake" (Eclipse) lp 14.98 GERRARD, LISA / PATRICK CASSIDY "Immortal Memory" (4AD) cd 14.98 HAFLER TRIO "No More Twain, Of One Flesh: 11 Unequivocal Obsecrations" (Nextera) cd 17.98 HANCOCK, HERBIE "The Spook Who Sat By The Door" (UAR) lp 16.98 HANOI ROCKS "Twelve Shots On The Rocks" (Liquor And Poker Music) cd 15.98 HARKONEN "Dancing" (Initial) cd 10.98 HULTKRANS, ANDREW "33 1/3 Series: Forever Changes" (Continuum) book 9.95 HUMAN TELEVISION "Orange" (Soft Abuse) cd ep 6.98 IMAI, SAYAKA "Mahiru-no-yume" (Detector) cd 9.98 INGLIS, SAM "33 1/3 Series: Harvest" (Continuum) book 9.95 INTERFACE "Recordings Field, H" (Deep Listening) dvd 17.98 ISAN "Meet Next Life" (Morr Music) cd 16.98 JONES, NORAH "Feels Like Home" (EMI) cd 16.98 KERRIER DISTRICT "s/t" (Rephlex) 2lp 19.98 KING OF BLUEGRASS : THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JIMMY MARTIN (Straight Six Films) dvd 23.00 KINGDOM COME (ARTHUR BROWN'S) "Journey" (Sanctuary / Castle) cd 12.98 KINGDOM COME (ARTHUR BROWN'S) "s/t" (Sanctuary / Castle) cd 12.98 KINGDOM COME (ARTHUR BROWN) "Galactic Zoo Dossier" (Sanctuary / Castle) cd 12.98 KYLESA "No Ending / A 100 Degree Heat Index" (Prank) cd 6.98 LONELY SAMOANS, THE "Here Come..." (Rainbow Pig) cd 9.98 LOVE, COURTNEY "America's Sweetheart" (Virgin) cd 16.98 LUBELSKI, SAMARA "In The Valley" (C.O.M.) cd 14.98 LULL "Collected" (Manifold) cd 13.98 MANGESHKAR, LATA "The Queen of Bollywood; Bhajans and Raga-based Filmi" (Rough Guides) cd 14.98 MAZUREK, ROB "Sweet & Vicious Like Frankenstein" (Mego) cd 16.98 MILLER, ANDY "33 1/3 Series: The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" (Continuum) book 9.95 MORRISON, BILL "Decasia: The State Of Decay" (Plexifilm) cd 21.00 MR. AIRPLANE MAN "C'mon DJ" (Sympathy For The Record Industry) cd 14.98 MUSIC A.M. "A Heart & Two Stars" (Quatermass) cd 14.98 NEGATIVE REACTION / RAMESSES (psycheDOOMelic) cd 13.98 NOTWIST, THE "Different Cars And Trains" (Domino) cd ep 10.98 NUMBERS "In My Mind All The Time" (Tigerbeat 6) cd 13.98 ONEIDA "Secret Wars" (Jagjaguwar) cd 14.98 OOIOO "Kila Kila Kila" (Thrill Jockey) cd 15.98 PALAST, GREG "Weapons Of Mass Instruction Live" (Alternative Tentacles) cd 14.98 PIXEL "Display" (Raster.Post) cd 16.98 QBERT, DJ "DJ Qbert's Complete Do-It Yourself Volume 2: Skratch Sessions" (Thud Rumble) dvd 26.00 RAKU SUGIFATTI "Futatsu" (Improvised Music From Japan) cd 24.00 RUSSELL, ARTHUR "Calling Out Of Context" (Audika) cd 15.98 SAJIKI, TENJO "Den'Em Ni" (Swax) cd 38.00 SAJIKI, TENJO "Throw Away" cd 34.00 SALVATORE "Tempo" (Racing Junior) cd 14.98 SAVATH & SAVALAS "Apropa't" (Warp) cd 16.98 SIBILANCE "s/t" cd-r 9.98 SONIC FLOWER "Heavy Sonic & Flower Groove" (Leaf Hound) cd 13.98 SOUL POSITION "8 Million Stories" (Fatbeats) cd 16.98 STALK FORREST GROUP "St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings" (Rhino) cd 19.98 SUPERCHUNK "Crowding Up Your Visual Field" (Merge) dvd 16.98 SWARM OF THE LOTUS "When White Becomes Black" (At A Loss) cd 12.98 TANAKH "Dieu Deuil" (Alien 8) cd 14.98 TERMINAL LOVERS "Drama Pit And Loan" (Shifty) cd 10.98 TRAPIST "Ballroom" (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98 TROUBLE FUNK "Live / Early Singles" (2 13 61) cd 12.98 V/A "African Rap: Rappers, Rebels and Ragamuffins" (Rough Guides) cd 14.98 V/A "Philippines : Musique De Luth En Pays T'Boli" (Buda Records) cd 14.98 V/A "Zen TV" (Ninja Tune) dvd 22.00 WALKMEN, THE "Bows & Arrows" (Record Collection) cd 14.98 WEIRD WAR "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Bite 'Em" (Drag City) cd 14.98 XIU XIU "Fabulous Muscles" (5RC) cd 14.98 YOSHIDA, TATSUYA & SATOKO FUJII "Erans" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 YOSHIHIDE, OTOMO / PARK JE CHUN / MI YEON "Loose Community" (Improvised Music From Japan) cd 17.98 ZANES, WARREN "33 1/3 Series: Dusty In Memphis" (Continuum) book 9.95 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER Please place your order via our website. 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While The Stills' debut album Logic Will Break Your Heart fell in mighty chummy with the Echo & The Joy Division post-punk-loving likes of Interpol, The Rapture and Yeah Yeah Yeahs back in 2003, we all know that times and bands change swiftly these days. The band's new full length sounds much more like The Strokes but maybe more charming and... well, Canadian. Which you know we definitely dig! Brighter, poppier and far less brooding.
BONUS: With purchase of this cd you'll also receive a limited edition screenprinted poster!
Ultra minimal 55 minute live performance by this ever-weirder Icelandic band. From scraping metal to sub wind frequency tones, to clipped click/pop sounds, into slow sweeping drones. Jim approved.
