[ aquarius records catalogue

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Showing results 301 through 350 of 1423.

This issue of Wax Poetics celebrates the 40th anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop! On the cover(s) (yes there's several, front and back in two versions) are Madlib, Kool Herc, Little Dragon, and Hiatus Kaiyote. Also in this 96 page, vibrantly colorful issue: Tackhead, Mac Miller, Average White Band, Shinaro Sakamoto, John Morales, Bruce Lee (yep), and recent AQ fave Rodion G.A.!

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SORRY. I love looking at color pictures of old LP covers. Doesn't even really matter if they're rad rare soul/funk/jazz gems. But if they are, so much the better. Wax Poetics magazine is definitely a good place to find articles illustrated with such cover pics. And lots of other cool photos too. And the reading is fine as well, if you're into old-school hip hop, '60s and '70s jazz-funk, today's hip underground producers, that sort of thing. This ish: Charles Wright, Afrika Bambaataa, "unknown funk hero" Rickey Calloway, Jimmy McGriff, DJ Nu-Mark, the art director from CTI Records, some folks involved in the making of the Wattstax movie, free jazz saxophonist John Klemmer...some we've heard of before, others we're glad to meet.

This young band from Olympia craft some fine chamber pop and they suit it up in suitably lovely'n'artful homespun packaging. The disc comes enclosed in a fabric bound fold-out case encased in a fabric pouch. Their music is very floral with the arrangements driven by piano leads and ultra pretty female vocals. Imagine the doe-eyed sweetness of The Sundays and Madder Rose crossed with the more womanly worldliness of Tori Amos. Emotions and drama build gradually over the course of the album's ten songs from the near-lullaby nature of "Never" to the climactic "Annabelleigh". Quite gorgeous.

MPEG stream: Never
MPEG stream: Annabelleigh

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Another vinyl reissue of a fantastic Bruce Lee movie, quite similar to the soundtrack for 'Fist of Fury'. Starts off with a moody epic, all swelling strings ala Morricone, but this time, the song is peppered with Bruce Lee's grunts and squeaks and howls. Pretty weird. And then the rest of the soundtrack is just entire scenes from the movie, dialogue, fights and everything. Totally great, and another must have for DJs.

A.C. Way has been a fixture in the Bay Area noise community for close to a decade now, performing constantly and within a number of ensembles (Maleficia, French Radio, Riqis, Carrion, NF Orchest, etc.), but his recorded solo output has been woefully under-represented. He's one to start furiously on projects only to shelve them either out of frustration with the process or if another opportunity might come along. However, the strength of Odo is such that Way should delve back into that repository of mangled tapes and extract more material like this. His means of production often involves a beat-to-shit turntable, a similarly beat-to-shit sampler, vocal growlings, and a noise-freak collection of pedals, resulting in a black noise miasma orbiting around MB, Lasse Marhaug, and Locrian. Odo is a comparatively brighter affair of harmonically interwoven tones and field recordings, but Way's menacing noise lurks throughout. The first of three pieces layers a set of harmonium-sounding drones whose linear stasis is upended by an arching churn of growling, low-end feedback, snapping into the second track of watery field recordings and subterranean drippings sutured to a chorus of mid-range sinetones. The final track engages an uneasy set of feedback tones made even more unsettled by a distant blackened cloud of rumbling distortion slowly joined by a metallic clamor and spectral blasts of wintery black noise. Think the more psychedelic noise of Ramleh, the transitional recordings by Emaciator from noise-to-drone, and most everything that comes out on Utech. Just 20 minutes long, but the price is certainly right!

MPEG stream: Odo 1
MPEG stream: Odo 2
MPEG stream: Odo 3

A disembodied scream becomes noise becomes drone becomes the sound of swarming bees. Such is the course laid out by the oft-performing / occasionally-recording East Bay noise technician A.C. Way on this mighty fine 3" cd-r. This man has performed in numerous projects over the years, bringing his battered turntable, abused sampler, and array of distortion pedals to such projects as Maleficia, French Radio (with MX-80's Bruce Anderson, no less), Carrion, Riqis, and probably a few others that have slipped our mind. All of those aforementioned elements work their way into the crosshatched structure of this 20 minute composition. Whatever Way is sourcing for the initial blast of noise is downright terrifying. As much as we'd like to give credence to the thought it's a reverberant scream captured inside the half-mile Baker-Barry Tunnel found in the Marin Headlands, it's probably a fortuitous abrasion manipulated from Way's turntable. As encrusted distortion and corroded noises begin to dismantle these unsettling sounds, a glowing tone also emerges as something of a shimmering, gilded beacon, that's as beautiful as the noises that preceded it are not. When the sound of the bees flutters through that ephemeral drone, Way hints at another wash of sonic horror but resolves those sounds as a vibrating massage of ecological white noise. Really nice work, and limited to 50 copies.

MPEG stream: Vorsg Gah (excerpt 1)
MPEG stream: Vorsg Gah (excerpt 2)

A new album from this popular local combo who play a full, polished brand of shadowy twang. Delving into the darker side of country music a la Cowboy Junkies and Trailer Bride with layers of sliding, spidery reverbed guitar and gritty organs. The melancholic female lead vocals bring to mind the subdued yet powerful delivery of Hope Sandoval or Carly Simon. They're backed by higher, more angelic vocals. Their decision to include a tripped out cover of Blondie's "Heart Of Glass" seems very strange and out of place. The over the top warbly wah-wah guitars and plodding rhythms totally distracts from the brooding, languid Waycross atmosphere they've so carefully crafted. Instead, it comes across as an alienating, druggy blues rock rendition. Seems like they should've made it either a hidden final track or preferably just reserved it for the live setting in which it's surely a crowd pleaser. That said, if you can program your cd player to skip track 9, you'll have a cohesive, pleasing listen.

RealAudio clip: B-Sides
RealAudio clip: Wicked
RealAudio clip: Heart Of Glass

Those unintimidated by metal of the power, folk, or medieval variety, hail! Waylander are back yet again with another album of Irish folk metal, set to sharpen the listeners mental and metaphorical swords. Sometimes when we write these reviews it's hard to know what to say. It seems that there are metalheads who can vibe on flute and other folk instruments, and there are those that don't. Well, we believe that this record is one of those rare times a band can bridge the gap. While the harps and such blaze on, crunchy guitars and howling vocals keep things from ever getting too gimmicky. Basically, it stays heavy even with some unusual instrumentation, which can sometimes feel like it's softening the song. And with song titles like "Taker of Heads," or "To Dine In The Otherworld," these guys are on the path to pure metallic nirvana. Any true metalhead will easily find something to love about this record. Give it a listen, and we think you'll agree. Recommended!

MPEG stream: To Dine in the Otherworld
MPEG stream: Walk with Honour

Zappa-y hippie pop psych from Detroit, circa 1970.

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SORRY. Unlike We's full length, this 12" features far fewer jungle beats and much more layered, scratchy texturing. If someone told you it was Stockhausen, you'd be really impressed. The vinyl is probably the MOST BEAUTIFUL we have ever seen, even nicer than Stereolab's "Emperor..." import, which, you may recall, was gold glitter encased in clear vinyl. This 12" is composed of grey, blue, yellow, and purple concentric circles of varying widths, some perfectly centered and some off center. Truly a beautiful object.

We's first album "As Is" may still stand as the finest documentation of the Brooklyn Illbient sound. But their third album is pretty great too, an excellent electronica release in its own right and warrants complementary comparisons to AQ fave Amon Tobin. "Decentertainment" is filled with deep ambient headphone brain tuning stuff, stoned / downer hip hop beats and soulful vocal snippets complete with vintage vinyl scratchiness. Then a quick tempo change switches gear into bouncy drum & bass breaks surrounded by interesting samples and dubbed out melodies.

Their first record was such a breath of fresh air at the time. An original, consistently interesting, unpredictable and inspired approach to ambient and drum'n'bass. New Yorkers Olive, Lloop and Once11 have made a recording to equal their last. Their approach in this record is identical to their last (they even brought Eyvind Kang back in), lacking only uniqueness. But if you liked the first, you will certainly like this one.

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Hard to beat this disc if you like Beatlesy psych pop from back in the day! Very recommended to all Lennon/McCartney fans. A few years ago we used to stock cd reissues of the two albums released by this early '70s Peruvian outfit, a band who evolved from '60s psych act Laghonia and who obviously worshipped the Fab Four (and their solo efforts, especially, seeing as how they cover both "Band On The Run" and "Bluebird" by McCartney's Wings). It's a bummer that those two discs have been out of print for a while, but we're happy that the Repsychled label (Tarkus, Traffic Sound, etc.) has teamed up with another fave reissue label of ours, Lion, and put out this singles collection, basically a "best of" We All Together! Of the 13 cuts here, eight seem to be included on the band's two albums, leaving five we hadn't heard before. So even if you DO already have those cds you might want this, and if you don't, it's currently the best way to get acquainted with the magic of We All Together's sweet and sad pop psych music. Pepperisms abound, with studio experimentation and backwards guitar ("Soy Timido"), and as well there's some rousing rockers ("Sally"). The use of piercing ARP synth brings to mind that equally Beatlesy Malaysian band Truck whose reissue we reviewed recently... if you liked Surprise, Surprise you'll dig this for sure! Likewise if you like the Aerovons or Badfinger (also covered here). Not that the Beatles are their only influence...both Roy Orbison and Tchaikovsky are cited in the liner notes as songwriting inspirations! The liner notes by the way, are extensive, in English and Spanish, and the cd booklet also includes lots of vintage photos.

MPEG stream: Soy Timido
MPEG stream: Symbol Queen
MPEG stream: Everyday

We've previously reviewed a singles collection by these early '70s psych-popsters from Peru, but somehow never reviewed the reissues of either of their two records, despite 'em being longtime aQ faves. But, we just discovered that we could still get copies of their first, self-tltled album, on vinyl, so figured we'd do a little write-up. Basically, We All Together were responsible for some of the world's best ever Beatles/Paul McCartney worship, this side of Wings. In fact, they cover two post-Beatles McCartney tunes here, as well as a song by Beatles proteges Badfinger. But you'd think they'd written 'em, the way their originals are totally in the same style of dreamy pop balladry Peppered (ahem) with psychedelic studio effects. All ten tracks here on their 1972 debut are replete with sad piano melodies, sweet backing vocal harmonies, and oh yeah they bust out some fuzz guitar too on the likes of "Hey Revolution". Brilliant, affecting stuff, given some extra charm by virtue of being from Peru and not England or the USA. Super recommended, something we'll always love, up there with any Beatles-y thing from anyplace (Emitt Rhodes, Aerovons, Rainbow Ffolly, what have you). It you haven't heard 'em before, you're in for a treat.

MPEG stream: Children
MPEG stream: It's A Sin To Go Way
MPEG stream: Hey Revolution

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Some fresh blood arrives at the dance party already in full swing with the likes of The Faint, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Bloc Party. Well, we can say one thing, they can play the style really well -- heck, as shown above, there's already been plenty of bands to prep the genre's template of thumpin' kickdrum, jangly rock guitar and affected angst boy vocals. That said, their lyrics are pretty darn painful, but maybe you can somehow turn a deaf ear to the actual words being sung and just enjoy the punchy, catchiness of With Love And Squalor.

MPEG stream: Nobody Move, Nobody Gets Hurt
MPEG stream: This Scene Is Dead

Post-rock gets a little metallic when We Be The Echo are around. Although their central sound is one of Chicago style mathy post-rock, the SF band does muscle its way outside of its boundaries from time to time. Whereas the music that falls under those two genre umbrellas is for the most part about precision, We Be The Echo play it loud and loose. Ultimately this serves to alternately benefit (high energy level) and hinder (somewhat muddled math parts) the impact of many songs on Stanislaw Stories. Nine propulsive instrumentals.

MPEG stream: Disco Fever Blister
MPEG stream: Hymn & Hearse

We quote from the right-on back cover blurb: "Rising from the crowded garage band underbelly of 1966 American suburbia, Florida's We The People prove to be an unbelievably dynamic aggregation; versatile in the true sense of the word. From punkish R&B screamers and eastern-toned proto-psych mini-masterpieces to soul and pure pop, this fivesome covered all of the bases with consistently amazing results."

Lodged somewhere between The Seeds garage aggression and The Kinks pop lyricism is Florida's greatest sixties "never-was" band, We The People. Supported by two strong in-house songwriters, We The People were almost too pop-savvy and musically accomplished to be called a garage band, but they could tear it up with the wildest proto-punk groups out there but also deliver smart and clever lyrics, killer pop hooks and dreamy psych vibes. The opening Morricone-ish guitar hook of "In the Past" (covered by The Chocolate Watch Band) is the clincher, along with the feedback rave-ups of "You Burn Me Up and Down" and "Too Much Noise" and the moody tremolo pensiveness of "(You Are) The Color Of Love" and "Alfred, What Kind of man Are You?". Unfortunately, they never received any wide national attention, despite being signed to RCA Victor, and after one key songwriter jumped ship, it pretty much sealed the band's fate. This anthology collects their best and most essential singles, a much needed pairing down from the completist 2cd set Sundazed issued a decade ago. While it has almost the same tracks as the early Collectables reissue, the tracklisting is greatly improved for better flow, making this feel like the album that was never made. Seriously, there's not a bum cut on here, and they're all original songs. Essential!

MPEG stream: Mirror Of Your Mind
MPEG stream: In The Past
MPEG stream: Alfred, What Kind of Man Are You?

A few years back, there seemed to be a glut of dour angular new wave combos, many of which we dug like crazy, band after band of sharply dressed, angular hair-ed rockers kicking out some of the hookiest jams in ages, Maximo Park, Franz Ferdinand, Frightened Rabbit, The Editors, Interpol and the like, and however much of a glut there may have been, we could never get enough. And We Were Promised Jetpacks, not only benefited from having a bad ass band name, but they also seemed to up the ante on guitar crunch, and heavy buzz, and they wedded that extra muscle to some killer songs, often ditching the whole short sharp new wave thing for brooding slow build post rock epics, all underpinned by a distinctly dark, low slung Joy Division gloomy undercurrent, it's like they read our minds and took Mogwai, Godspeed and Maximo Park and created some sort of Frankensteinian epic hook filled new wave band just for us, and then to top it off gave said band an awesome ridiculous name. Needless to say we were pretty psyched for this new one, and the opening track instantly convinced us that the wait was not in vain, a wild progged out epic post rock opening with tumbling drums and crashing chords, all woven into some dizzying stop start mathiness, then the riff comes in, and it's a killer, and then the band come in and sound crazy heavy, the song shifting to bass / drum verse, peppered with bursts of crunchy guitar jangle, there's even a crazy majestic epic post rock crescendo finishing off in a blaze of new wave buzz and pound. And while we're tempted to proclaim that the best track here, pretty much everyone we listen to becomes our favorite, at least until we move on to the next one, "Through The Dirt And The Gravel", is some seriously heavy noisepop, with some thick buzzing bass, and a hook to die for, and closer "Pear Tree" is dark and heavy and brooding, the perfect new wave slow build post rock hybrid, the sort of song that sans vocals would sound right at home on a Mogwai record, but as is just might be the perfect finish to a nearly perfect record. Fans of the above mentioned bands, as well as other sonically similar outfits like Kaiser Chiefs, Futureheads, Arctic Monkeys, Art Brut, Bloc Party and the like will go crazy for this. And if you've yet to hear these guys, this is the perfect place to start, just check out that first sound sample, odds are you'll be as smitten as we are.

MPEG stream: Circles And Squares
MPEG stream: Medicine
MPEG stream: Through The Dirt And The Gravel

Another killer brooding angular guitar-ed dour-ish hook filled modern new wave record from Scotland, this time from the awesomely monickered We Were Promised Jetpacks, whose sound will no doubt by now be familiar to fans of outfits like Maximo Park, Frightened Rabbit, Franz Ferdinand, Interpol and the like, and while WWPJ don't necessarily revolutionize -that- sound, they do know their way around a pop song, managing to wind taut chiming guitars, muscle-y drumming, buzzy synths, and yowled emotional vocals into slow burning epics, rife with crunchy guitars, epic post rock swells, some bursts of almost metallic heft, and plenty of low slung bass heavy grooves. The first song alone was enough, we were sold within seconds, a woozy muted dark riff, looped beneath a weary croon, building and building for nearly half the song, the guitars growing ever more insistent, tinkling chimes joining the nearly percussionless jam, before the track finally explodes into a massive Mogwai-ish blowout. And so it goes. Crunchy guitars, anthemic choruses, a gloomy Joy Divisiony rhythm section, hooks like crazy, some songs hushed and intimate, but others wrapped in huge gauzy streaks of Godspeed / Mogwai / Sigur Ros epic post rock haze (and one of the songs even has a Conet Project sample!). Heavy and hooky, dark and jangly and a new favorite for sure.

MPEG stream: It's Thunder And It's Lightning
MPEG stream: Ships With Holes Will Sink
MPEG stream: Roll Up Your Sleeves

Mick Harris is no longer Scorn, he is the Weakener--but Scorn fans won't mind 'cause Mick is still making his trademark kind of scary bass-heavy electronica that WordSound makes a good new home for.

Causing quite a stir with our neighbours to the north, it's the Weakerthans featuring former Propagandhi member John K. Samson. Don't be expecting any fiery political punk though, this is coming from quite a different direction. However, let it be known the attention and accolades are very deserved - often-brittle vocals convey poetic narratives from and about a depressed region around Winnipeg, Manitoba (a central province of Canada). Samson is a fantastic lyricist, nailing the most achingly personal sentiments and weighty political commentaries. Desolate, intimate and filled with heartache. From the first strains of "Everything Must Go!" to the final chord of "Slips And Tangles", this is some damn fine, melancholic, hook-laden emo pop. An all-time Cup fave, 'Left and Leaving' is their second full length and it stands head and shoulders above the rest... of their own releases and any other emo band's for that matter. Very very recommended.

Record number two from John Samson and his not-so-merry band of bittersweet pop punk minstrels. Samson cut his teeth in political punkers Propagandhi, but left to follow his own particularly personal pop path of minor key jangle, dreamy melody, not-overtly-catchy hooks (but hooks nonetheless) and lyrics that you could never imagine fitting comfortably in a pop song. But they do. Sort of. Like poems by Pynchon or Vollman set to music. Hyper literate but still personal and affecting. Samson's vocals are reminiscent of Robynn Hitchcock, as is his wordplay and penchant for meandering tales of love and loss, while the sound is like a punkier popppier version of recent AQ faves, the Decemberists. A dense and tangly first listen, but as you dig deeper, it grows and grows and starts to feel like a record you just can't live without.

MPEG stream: (Manifest)
MPEG stream: The Reasons
MPEG stream: Reconstruction Site

On a regular basis, Andee and Cup armwrestle over which is the best Weakerthans album. Her heart has a special velvet rope spot for their second one, Left And Leaving. Their subsequent releases (including this one) are very good, no question. Yet they just pale in comparison to the greatness of one of her all-time favorites. Almost every one of its songs nails you right in the heart with their crushworthy emotive boy vocals, big guitars, irresistible hooks and near-anthemic refrains. John K. Samson's bookish yet immensely heartfelt lyrics appeal to all ages -- imagined highschool sweetheart scrawlings on looseleaf, latenight brutal and sweet bedroom ruminations, non-heavyhanded social/political commentaries, brainy academia -- and they never fail to trigger a yearning ache in the chest and pit of the stomach. On the other hand, Andee opts for Reconstruction Site. It's a little more power poppy he thinks, but heck, as both Cup and Andee can agree, they're both pretty dang awesome. Now four years later, their fourth full length enters the ring (fyi: it's not actually a reunion, they never broke up!), and it's aiming for our hearts right from the get go! Without a doubt, Reunion Tour is far more immediately engaging than Reconstruction Site, and is almost as endearing as Left And Leaving. In fact, it fits in comfortably and warmly familiar right between those two albums. Samson's voice is sounding its strongest, most self assured, and the rest of the band is right there with him. If we had our way, this band's songs would be on every highschool movie soundtrack and every bestfriend/sweetheart mixtape. Go on, shyly shuffle your feet, slouch your shoulders in a wellworn vintage cardigan sweater, and bob your head along to these fine tunes!

MPEG stream: Tournament Of Hearts
MPEG stream: Sun In An Empty Room

The posthumous debut from (and, thus, swansong of) San Francisco's most cult black metal act, Weakling. Despite their local, non-forested, non-wintry origins, Weakling was a band capable of destroying the best Scandinavia has to offer (as we witnessed upon two occasions, when Weakling had the honor of opening the San Francisco shows by Norwegians Mayhem and Enslaved, and proceeded to make both bands look like punk rockers in comparison! Weakling were so much more epic and intense). All this without any of the ignorant posturing or hackneyed corpsepaint of their peers. Ghastly, anguished vocals and bloodchilling keyboards combine with dual trebly buzzsaw guitars and inhuman trance inducing drumming to create an atmosphere of utter grinding grimness. Weakling draws upon '90s black metal in the Norwegian tradition (especially the raw and primitive likes of Darkthrone, Burzum and Immortal) and then creates uniquely fucked song structures of epic length (20 minutes per, in some cases). And, like the best music, Weakling also transcends genre. In some ways, "Dead as Dreams" possesses elements that can be considered akin to the avant garde, experimental creations of the Swans, Skullflower, Steve Reich, or even Yoko Ono. Imagine an extensive, utterly mesmerizing Hermann Nitsch piece, composed for black metal band. It's a suffocating soundscape of riffing and drone. Subterranean satanic art rock that equals metal. Nihilistic, depressive and never ending. Featuring Josh from The (Fucking) Champs as well as drummer Lil' Sunshine from local death metallers Sangre Amado. And of course, John Gossard of...well, John Gossard. (And The Gault / Asunder / Iron Vegan.) Local black metal maniac/death rocker extraordinaire. Weakling is largely the result of his devotion to black metal dementia. We are not engaging in baseless hyperbole when we say: this should be crowned black metal album of the year. Seriously. Essential.

MPEG stream: Cut Their Brains And Place Fire Therein
MPEG stream: This Entire Fucking Battlefield
MPEG stream: No One Can Be Called As A Man While He'll Die

We were initially intrigued by this Canadian black metal horde after discovering that they recorded their first few records in Bangladesh, of all places, before band leader Vetis Monarch returned to Canada, and the band went on to create this blackened monster, Drakonian Paradigm, which is interesting for several reasons. Besides the strange Bangladeshi angle, the fact that this was released on Ajna might have you imagining something much more buzzing and black, and while some buzz and black is definitely present, Weapon's sound is way more classic metal, a little thrash, a little death, a little NWOBHM, killer riffs, loads of melody, harmonized leads, the vocals are guttural and growly, and the band do offer up brief bursts of blast beats here and there, but just as often, the band will lock into some super melodic, but still super heavy chug fest, the drums locked in with the guitars, while over the top, leads soar and squeal, in fact guitar solos are everywhere, and they're awesome, adding all sorts of wild frenetic melody to the proceedings, and the vocals are just not grunts, there are weird chanted bits, strange almost falsetto parts, the vocals are often stereo panned super hard too, so they seem to swoop from speaker to speaker. But when the band do decide to get all black metal, they offer up some seriously intense blasting and buzzing, the riffs gnarled and frenzied, the drums chaotic and on the verge of collapse, which only adds to the classic metal feel, no triggers or sampled drum bullshit, these guys sound like a rock band rocking out, and rocking out hard, and even at its fiercest, the band will infuse some particularly grim segment with some serious minor key melody, or they'll slow things down and get all woozy and psychedelic, adding synths, underpinning the slow building crunch, sometimes they even ditch the metal all together and weave together some almost noise rock sounding heaviness, again held together by awesomely melodic guitar leads, and some unlikely harmonies, or they might slip into some fluttery, folky psychedelia, all dreamy and acoustic, but before too long, the sound transforms into something mower power metal or Iron Maiden than Darkthrone or Beherit. At first we were a bit thrown off by Drakonian Paradigms, maybe we were expecting something more Nightbringer-y, something more overtly black, perhaps based on the Ajna connection, but after a couple listens, we forgot all about that, and just dug this more and more, for what it is, not black, not thrash, not death, just METAL, and this is in fact, fast becoming one of our new favorite metal records.

MPEG stream: Weapon
MPEG stream: Cacophony! Black Sun Dragon's Tongue!
MPEG stream: Serpentine Ayat

Full length number three from this black metal horde (from Canada, via Bangladesh), whose black metal is more of a sort of blackened death/classic metal, and whose sound gets more and more polished with every release, not just production wise, but songwriting too, the opening track here pretty much lays it all out, beginning with a moody atmospheric intro, before some blackened riffing rolls in, midtempo tribal drumming, some almost death metal vokills, a loping tranced out churn, and then some chugging harmonics-laced crunch, before a totally classic metal guitar melody swoops in, a gloomy almost death rocky bassline, then the song splinters into a murky sprawl of pounding furious blackened death metal, slipping from roiling murk to soaring majesty and back again, progged out and intricate, with little Eastern flourishes here and there. As always, we're reminded of Absu, Melechesh, Bathory, old Morbid Angel, the sound simultaneously modern and totally retro, some of the tracks impossibly catchy (like the bridge on "Vanguard Of The Morning Star") sounding almost like some At The Gates part, which leads to a second bridge that's even still more epic and hook heavy, others are weirdly chuggy and churny, like the awesomely titled "Crepuscular Swamp, Unhinged Swine", which unfurls like some weird swaggery slo-mo death metal stomp, and still others, like "Disavowing Each In Aum" and "Shahehshah" are super layered, and ultra melodic, the group's downtuned death metal churn, wreathed in all sorts of near psychedelia, lush textures, and impossibly lovely melodies, which are all somehow deftly fused to Weapon's classic sounding DM, creating a twisted hybrid that manages to reinvigorate the tired tropes while pushing all our classic blackened death metal buttons!

MPEG stream: The First Witness Of Lucifer
MPEG stream: Crepuscular Swamp, Unhinged Swine
MPEG stream: Disavowing Each In Aum

Latest blast of classic/black/death metal from this Canadian-by-way-of-Bangladesh metal horde, and as much as we loved their debut, Drakonian Paradigms, From The Devil's Tomb is even better. Heavier, better riffs, better production, more epic and intense and intricate songwriting, and most importantly, at least to us, WAY weirder. Not as in twisted damaged weird, just way more creative and strange, riffs, arrangements, the whole thing. The first song along should make things perfectly clear, after some strange tinkling chimes and swirling backwards FX, the guitars come in, filthy and distorted, and then the song proper kicks in, and the guitars are huge, a lurching, lumbering doomy plod, laced with some strange little super distorted high end squalls, until finally, the frantic black riffing swoops in, and the band explode into a blast of murky, muddy, downtuned death metal churn, that SLAYS. The song plays out, flitting back and forth between classic metal riffage, complete with squiggly leads, doomy crush, and blackened blast. The second song is just as gloriously twisted, with a super dynamic mathy start/stop opening, that leads into a woozy post rocky drift, with gorgeous harmonized guitars, the sound moody and minor key, before again spitting out more DM fury. And that's basically what makes Weapon so interesting is how they infuse their blackened blasting and DM grind with classic melody, old school riffage, wah guitars, leads, Eastern melodies, sitar, organ, whatever the fuck they feel like tossing in, it all somehow works, and serves the greater good, that good being pure evil, evil attained via furious fucked up blackened heaviness. Probably our favorite track though would have to be the final jam, "Towards The Uncreated", which mixes some galloping blackness, with some surprisingly melodic midtempo post rockisms, not to mention some super emotional, melancholic leads, creating a strangely moody metallic bit of doom flecked mystery, bookended of course by blasts of gnarled black crush. Recommended for anyone who digs Absu, Bathory, Melechesh, Mayhem, Morbid Angel and the like, or any sort of blackened death metal / deathlike black metal.

MPEG stream: From The Devil's Tomb
MPEG stream: Vested in Surplice and Violet Stole
MPEG stream: Furor Divinus

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

SORRY. Truth in advertising? Well, not here. This is not a new Andrew Weatherall (of AQ faves Two Lone Swordsmen) album, but a compilation of his favorite tracks from the early 80s with the electro-club / death-disco hits by Dominatrix, 23 Skidoo, A Certain Ratio, 400 Blows, The Normal, Chris & Cosey, and more.

The awesomely (and super positively) titled Fuck Everybody, You Can Do Anything, is the third record from The Andrew Weathers Ensemble, a mostly improvised affair, masterminded by Andrew Weathers, but augmented by a constantly shifting cast of guest improvisers (including members of local dronefolk combo Common Eider, King Eider). Weathers and Co. offer up an extremely unlikely sonic hybrid, with a loose strain of modern minimalism as its core, but somehow incorporating both a spare, dusky modern Appalachia, as well as some warped avant R&B. And yeah, we know how ridiculous that sounds, but once you hear it, it makes all kinds of beautiful (non)sense. The bulk of Fuck Everybody is laid atop lush fields of smoldering drones, slow shifting layers of sound, over which Weathers drapes shimmery steel string buzz, a melancholic twang flecked folk, occasionally swathed in sweetly swoonsome strings. But it's the vocals that really make this unique, a raspy, soulful croon, but one that's been processed, and vocodered, and autotuned, and suddenly, it sounds like some warped slo-mo-soul jam, all wound around hazy streaks of psychedelic folk. Woodwinds drift in and out, as does the work of various guests, each supplying varying degrees of sonic filigree. Again, those elements are mostly ephemeral, wraithlike affectations that shimmer ghostlike around the core sound of softly pulsing chordal thrum, mysterious, muted percussion, those aforementioned subtle R&B-isms, sped up and slowed down vox, chopped and looped, and then, skeletal tendrils of steel string buzz and spare fingerpicked folk. That vintage blues folk feel, fused with the processed vox, not to mention a sky full of glimmering, crystalline FX, somehow manages to make two totally disparate sounds, sound like they absolutely belong together. And when multiple vocals intertwine, be they multiple vocalists or Weathers multi-tracked, they become a stunning group-style chorale, and the sound blossoms into what sounds like avant old timey standards or some alternate universe spirituals, a gorgeous, slow burning chamber folk, weaving psychedelic modern spaciness into more traditional folksong structures, and filtered through the cracked lens of modern minimalism. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!

MPEG stream: Live By Golden Rule: Go Orange Be Strong
MPEG stream: We Will Never See A Cloud Again

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

SORRY. Cool new/no wave inspired rock jams. Angular and infectious.

MPEG stream: Mouthpiece Hysteria
MPEG stream: Little Liar

With guests including Wendy from Wendy & Bonnie!

Contemporary British psych/folk singer Jane Weaver has never had a proper aQ review, though she has appeared on many of our reviews of various Finder's Keepers comps such as Bearded Ladies and Bird Songs, and she is part of the Pre-Cert label super group Neotantrik with husband Andy Votel and members of Demdike Stare. Her sixth full length, The Silver Globe, has finally got our undivided attention, largely because it's a wild departure from the pastoral folk-psychedelia of her previous solo efforts and embraces a heavier cinematic electronic kraut-rock sensibility akin to Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, The Sound Carriers, and Death and Vanilla. Named after the polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski's (Possession) incomplete sci-fi masterpiece from 1988, On The Silver Globe, whichin turn was based on a 1901 polish sci-fi novel (written by Zulawski's granduncle Jerzy Zulawski) about an ill-fated moon expedition. The epic drama of grand fantastical desire and ruinous failure that mars both the fictional narrative and the actual real-life circumstances surrounding the making of both the book and film seems to be a perfect foil for Weaver's emotive vocals that are both cool and dreamy but have the ability to drive us through the various peaks and valleys of atmospheric lows and electric transcendent highs. Beautiful!

MPEG stream: Mission Desire
MPEG stream: Electric Mountain
MPEG stream: Your Time in This Life is Just Temporary

We listed the original version of this several months ago, if you missed it then, though, you're in luck 'cause it has just been issued again in a special deluxe edition, with a whole bonus disc added on! And, somehow, it's cheaper!! That's right, this widely-acclaimed 2014 album now is expanded to include a 2nd full-length disc entitled The Amber Light. Here's what we said about The Silver Globe proper, the first time we listed it: Contemporary British psych/folk singer Jane Weaver has never had a proper aQ review, though she has appeared on many of our reviews of various Finder's Keepers comps such as Bearded Ladies and Bird Songs, and she is part of the Pre-Cert label super group Neotantrik with husband Andy Votel and members of Demdike Stare. Her sixth full length, The Silver Globe, has finally got our undivided attention, largely because it's a wild departure from the pastoral folk-psychedelia of her previous solo efforts and embraces a heavier cinematic electronic kraut-rock sensibility akin to Lorelle Meets The Obsolete, The Sound Carriers, and Death & Vanilla. Named after the polish filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski's (Possession) incomplete sci-fi masterpiece from 1988, On The Silver Globe, which in turn was based on a 1901 polish sci-fi novel (written by Zulawski's granduncle Jerzy Zulawski) about an ill-fated moon expedition. The epic drama of grand fantastical desire and ruinous failure that mars both the fictional narrative and the actual real-life circumstances surrounding the making of both the book and film seems to be a perfect foil for Weaver's emotive vocals that are both cool and dreamy but have the ability to drive us through the various peaks and valleys of atmospheric lows and electric transcendent highs. Beautiful! And then, regarding The Amber Light, well we just got it in, so the label's blurb on it will have to suffice: "The Amber Light carves a niche between new age motivational music, radiophonic folk, and snarling krautrock, echoing the kosmische stylings of The Silver Globe with the punk urgency of '80s domestic synthpop. The Amber Light's four original songs are accompanied by three exclusive instrumental themes (including a commissioned theme from an American vampire film), and three collaborative re-workings/duets based on tracks from The Silver Globe, with co-production from Tom Furse (The Horrors), Andy Votel, Suzanne Ciani, members of Demdike Stare, and original Silver Globe inhabitants Pete J. Phillipson and Martin King."

MPEG stream: Mission Desire
MPEG stream: Electric Mountain
MPEG stream: Your Time in This Life is Just Temporary

Ah, nepotism. And oh, to be the son or daughter of famous parents, guaranteeing you at least a shot, a movie, a record deal, whatever. So it's always nice when the offspring don't drop the ball and embarass themsleves and their folks. Such is the case

RealAudio clip: The Liar's Club
RealAudio clip: I Can't Believe You're Gone
RealAudio clip: All The Cocaine In The World

Early electronic compositions from Karlruhe native and Stockhausen pupil Reinhold Weber. 2 long pieces inflected with oscilating bloops and bleeps, sirens and a delayed German narration.

MPEG stream: Schopfung
MPEG stream: Musica Mundana 1969

We love music. But even so, it's not like we love everything. Here at the store, we've all got different tastes and enjoy different things to varying degrees. Regular readers will notice there are only a few unanimous picks, but pretty much everyone here loves Windy & Carl! This release veers into way different territory than might be expected, but will still please plenty of W&C's more adventurous fans. Before hearing the record, rumors were circulating about how harsh it supposedly was, and how it sounded nothing like what we'd expect. Well, after checking it out, that's true, and then again it's not. Many of the same sonic qualities are present: warm drones, whispy guitars, etc. But it's in the melodies where this really diverges from the norm. Whereas W&C typically go for major-key, pretty drones, this work has a truly sinister quality to it. To really engage with the music, you need to at least become acquainted with the general concept. On the surface, I Hate People sounds very unlike what we'd expect from the kindhearted dog-lover, musician, and Michigan record store owner we've come to know and love. So let's talk more about this specific release. Well, the cover sports her 1987 passport photo, which shows a very Siouxsie and the Banshees-esque, punk-meets-goth Windy. On the inside there is a short musing on Sirens, which can be summed up by one particular line: "at one point or another, we've all wanted an island." I Hate People is a record that openly paints human relationships as being a Self versus Other paradigm, and then juxtaposes that with the relationship between sailors and sirens. Windy hates people because people are the only thing that can truly hurt us. Okay, you get it. We don't want to get all pedantic. So what does it sound like? Sonically, the release definitely reflects a musical exploration of those ideas. At times more or less frustrated, but throughout it evokes a certain feeling of anxiousness and alienation, but never apathy. This record maybe be best suited for Windy & Carl fans who can stomach the idea of truly disturbing drones, or possibly even fans of leftfield, ambient black metal. Yeah. So if none of that scares you, dare to delve in! This is a great release, and we hope to see more solo work from both Windy AND Carl! Recommended!

MPEG stream: Untitled 1
MPEG stream: Untitled 2

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

SORRY.

All gathered up here on one cd, odds and ends from the Wedding Present vault including acoustic versions, live tracks, and covers of Tom Waits and Butterglory. Dave Gedge and co. even take on the theme from Cheers. Is this a good thing? We're not sure, but fans of Mr. Gedge's furry muppet voice and pop song polish will surely want to round out their WP collection.

This is indeed the first Wedding Present album in eight years! While it's not like David Gedge has been sitting on his hands all this time -- he's had his share of other irons in the fire, one of them being the glorious band Cinerama -- but to that we still say, "Holy smokes!" The first AQ customer to buy it had this to say, "Gloriously heartbreaking. Makes me want to drink expensive liquor & sleep around." And to that we say, "Oh my!" While we didn't have quite the same reaction, we can wholeheartedly confirm that all of you Wedding Present devotees have certainly been rewarded for your admirable patience. Mr. David Gedge delivers his trademark top-notch pop goods with Take Fountain. Somewhat darker and more subdued than the WP of old, but no less captivating -- he's definitely brought a great deal of the smooth elegance of his other group Cinerama into the mix, and it blends super well. Happy to hear that even after eight years, Wedding Present pop songs continue to snap, sparkle and soar in that unmistakable Gedge fashion. Recommended.

MPEG stream: Ringway To SeaTac
MPEG stream: Larry's

In case you're a Wedding Present completist who missed 'em when they were originally released as imports over the last coupla years OR in case you're a bit of a neat freak who wants everything in one tidy package, here's a cd/dvd set of U.K. singles (released on the band's own label Scopitones) and videos from 2004 and 2005. Eleven of the fourteen songs were previously unreleased in the U.S., and three of the six videos were previously unavailable anywhere!

MPEG stream: Bad Thing
MPEG stream: The Girl With The Curious Smile

Some of these tracks have been floating around on blogs for ages, it was only a matter of time before someone would gather them all up and release a killer compilation, shouldn't be too surprised it ended up being Omni! This Australian synth pioneer is probably best known for the bubbly synth pop classic "Love By Numbers", with its near literal lyrics, the verses simply AW reciting numbers from 1 to 100 (and then some, but it fades out around there), in a thick weirdly Teutonic accent, his count interrupted here and there by a dreamy girl pop chorus of "It Must Be Love", before it's right back to the counting, all over some terrific minimal wave electro pop. Originally released with the awesomely titled B-side "Boring Instrumental", which is a glorious little chunk of stripped down lilting electronic pop, not boring in the least. And then it gets really weird. Check out "Sex II", which lays down a groovy squelchy minor key electro groove, over which AW, and his female counterpart, recite what sounds like a strange not especially sexy, grocery list, from avocado, to rare beef finely sliced, aspirin, a kumquat, three floral toilet rolls, a pork sausage, a cantaloupe, a jar of Vaseline, chicken giblets, crumpets, mayonnaise (this one delivered in a near orgasmic croon, as is chopped liver, rump steak and Listerine!), the whole thing laced with little electronic squiggles, the boy / girl vocals delivering their various items extremely passionately/seriously, more so as the list continues, the track occasionally also augmented by breathless panting, all over a sort of chorus of thick soaring majestic synth swirl and some crunchy fuzz guitar. Might be the most replayed track here. But that's only the beginning, there's a twisted cover of the Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction" which is nearly unrecognizable, made all woozy and fuzzy and soft focus, there's the VERY Elvis-y electro-rockabilly of "Boom Boom Baby", which also predicts the sound of eighties big haired synth weirdos Sigue Sigue Sputnik, there's the woozily psychedelic "The Galvanized Garden Of Inner Peace", that also has a little rockabilly swagger to it, there's another version of "Sex II", instrumental this time, the music even more playfully exaggerated and the sounds super dubbed out, there's the dark bloopy, distorted guitar driven, electro slither of "Do-Do" replete with some weird deep vocals intoning "GET OFF THE FLOOR!!", everything reverbed and drenched in echo, there's "The Ballad Of A Metronome", which is classic eighties pop, but with some truly strange sung/spoken vocals, there's also the warped piano ballad "Radiation Injection", which is more goofy and playfully silly than the title might suggest, but with some snarly almost Suicide like vox tethered to the bleepy bloopy music. Pretty much every track here is a twisted gem, covering all of AW's outfits, from his solo single, to his stints fronting the Metronomes, Thealonian Music and Modern Jazz. He would later go on to record with Nina Hagen, he's actually STILL a live member of Einsturzende Neubauten, the liner notes, as with all Omni releases, are extensive, and detail AW's musical life, and of course there are lots of rare photos and reproductions of original record sleeves. But give a listen to the sound samples, we're guessing you'll be immediately hooked!

MPEG stream: Love By Numbers
MPEG stream: Boring Instrumental
MPEG stream: Sex II
MPEG stream: Boom Boom Baby
MPEG stream: Psychotic Reaction
MPEG stream: The Ballad Of A Metronome

The latest from the *(Asterik) label run by the Numero Group folks should perk up the ears of all those who have kept up with their great Eccentric Soul series. In fact one of the earliest releases in that series put the spotlight on the

[ aquarius records catalogue — W ]