[ aquarius records — Country Folk Blues No Depression ]

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Phil Lee is a long haired, beret-wearin' geezer who plays guitar and harmonica. Folky backwoods twang. Backed up by three members of Wilco, and also assisted on the album by Alison Moorer and Gillian Welch. On roots-music label Shanachie.

RealAudio clip: Faces in the Window

Like we mentioned last list, we have been going Sixteen Horsepower CRAZY, with a recent archival 16HP release, two Woven Hand records (the apocalyptic, biblical side project of 16HP singer David Eugene Edwards) as well as last list's Lilium record, the side project of 16HP bassist Pascal Humbert, a dark and harrowing, instrumental, swamp folk epic, that if you haven't picked up yet, you should, 'cause it's as good as the Woven Hand records, and is mighty tough to get, so we can't be sure how long we'll have them or if we run out, how long it will take to get more. This time around, we are lucky to have tracked down record number two from Lilium, which is brand spanking new and is a slight departure from the growling, rumbling, creepy sinister-folk of their previous record. Fear not, there's still plenty of atmosphere, rickety campfire strum, and moody darkness, it's just much smoother and it's a bit more traditionally pretty. Humbert has recruited his 16HP bandmate Jean-Yves Tola for this record making this essentially 2/3 Sixteen Horsepower, so to a certain degree you have a rough idea of what this sounds like. The big change is the vocals. Or should I say the vocalists. That's right vocalists. Unlike their instrumental debut, which was sort of more 'sound' than 'song', they really flex their songwriting muscles on Short Stories and craft some gorgeously dark and melancholy pop songs, sung beautifully, and swathed in that dark hazy atmosphere we know and love so well. Maybe the nicest surprise is vocalist Kal Calhoone, a dead ringer for Cat Power's Chan Marshall, but with a little PJ Harvey swagger thrown in. And PJ Harvey is kind of an apt comparison for some of these tunes, smoldering and moody, emotional and urgent, with Calhoone's husky whisper weaving tales of sorrow and despair. 16HP's David Eugene Edwards sings on one song and since that basically makes it Sixteen Horsepower, it might just be the strongest cut on the record, as good as anything they've ever recorded as a proper band. The rest of the record follows the same brambly path, with lush, and dreamy, slightly doomy tableaus, fingerpicked guitars, shuffling percussion, wheezing accordions, rumbling cellos, organs, slippery slide guitar, raspy, drawled vocals, and heavily reverbed pianos, totally mesmerising and sweetly melodic. Very reminsicent of Black Heart Procession, Calexico, Low and American Music Club. Highly recommended as was the last Lililium. Features guests from Morphine, Deus, and the Czars.

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We sure have been under the spell of all things Sixteen Horsepower lately. Especially the amazing Woven Hand records, the solo project of 16HP frontman David Eugene Edwards. But don't think for a minute that Edwards is solely responsible for the creepy, dark, backwoods ambience of 16HP and WH! To prove that point, we've finally tracked down the first release from Lilium, otherwise known as Pascal Humbert, bass player for Sixteen Horsepower. Although this has been out for a while, we were only now able to get enough copies to list, direct from Germany, hence the import price. But it's worth every penny. All you folks who went mad for the Woven Hand will be equally enamored of this delicate and gauzy, spare and mournful cinematic swampscape, equal parts deconstructed country, skeletal folk and shimmering, ominous drone. The opening track is a rickety, bluegrass crawl, sounding like the dueling banjos from Deliverance, slowed down, caked in mud and leaves, and broadcast on a warbly victrola from the bottom of a well. The rest of the record follows suit, wallowing in darkness and shadow ranging from rumbling, reverberent drones woven from slowly shifting layers of oscillating tones and warm chordal washes, to shuffling, reverb drenched, Calexico-ish desert rock twang, to fuzzed out, keyboard drenched, hypno-minimalism, to almost-indie/post rock instrumental workouts, to dangerously forboding Sixteen Horsepower-ish Southern swampfolk. The whole record is swathed in a warm, dense ambience of melancholic mystery, grim gloom and eerie unease. Anyone who bought the Woven Hand records NEEDS this for sure. And folks who love the likes of Sixteen Horsepower, Calexico, Souled American, Scott Tuma, Court And Spark, Califone, Giant Sand, Black Heart Procession, or even Morphine, will find this bleak and beautiful twang, and these deep and doleful drones, will hit the spot perfectly.

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Solem, folkish "spirituals" from a band about which we know just a few things: they're from Balitmore and include members of the very-different-sounding Oxes, and they spent some time last year on tour opening for Will Oldham, who was apparently taken by Long Live Death's "incantory" aspects. Their music is melancholic and stately, not quite of our world, though clearly with an indie-rock pedigree. A short little album (just over 25 minutes) of some power and grace. And, along with voices, cello, gongs, flute, bells, and violin there's musical saw on it, which is always a plus!

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This Dodo Bird is charming from the very first song! The other four gentle folk pop tunes with their effusive acoustic guitar and soft-spoken male vocals are pretty darn lovely too. The gent behind all of them is Meric Long, a singer/songwriter from right here in SF (fyi: he's recently performed under the moniker Dodo Bird). This is his impressive debut ep, and it's super confident and composed. Very much in the easygoing, engaging tradition of Simon And Garfunkel, Astrud Gilberto, and definitely recommended for fans of Iron & Wine, Kings Of Convenience and Elliott Smith. Can't wait for more!

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3rd Record of Majestic Pop Folk from former Tower Recordings member.

How's this for a feather in yer bluegrass straw hat? This Bay Area band recently played with the legendary bluegrass combo The Dillards just down the street from us at the intimate lil' Amnesia bar. A rollicking good time! Their high spirited Live At The Delta Of Venus will surely knock the crusted mud off yer cowhide. It's a boot stompin' jamboree of homegrown true country and bluegrass music which was recorded live at the Delta Of Venus Cafe & Pub in Davis, CA. The sixteen tracks are nicely balanced between instrumentals and singalongs, fresh originals and solid renditions of old traditionals. They sure do give those stringed instruments a workout -- snappin', pluckin' and bowin' the fiddle, banjo, mandolin, acoustic guitar, standup bass ever so vigorously! Includes a temporary tattoo so that you can show your love... at least until you next bath.

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Jeffrey Manson is a new indie folk troubadour from right here in SF. This lo-fi home recorded album is filled with rootsy, rough hewn tunes which seems very much inspired by the earnest heart baring voice of Jeff Mangum. Best listened to in the great outdoors, far from the roar of the city. Dozing In The Abandoned Gunnery was released on the new indie label Recolote Music whose roster already includes a number of other likeminded homespun Bay Area artists such as Chinatown Bakeries, Ryan Stively & His Poison Band, and Port O'Brien. They release mostly limited run cdrs in lovingly handmade packaging.

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We previously heard from San Diego indie rural-psychsters Maquiladora on the Acid Mothers Temple n' friends 3cd compilation Do Whatever You Want a while back. Now here's a Japanese import cd featuring them jamming with the Acid Mothers Temple's number one guru, guitarist Kawabata Makoto (and also ex-AMTer Cotton Casino). Over these two discs is sprawlingly spread a lot of lovely, drifting, droning, gentle, largely instrumental cosmic bliss with a slight desert-sunset, country-psych feel (hints of Maquiladora's rootsy roots come through with some plantive home-on-the-range harmonica that appears alongside the less rustic instrumentation of analog synth, glissando guitar, Hammond organ, piano, vibraphone, etc.). Maybe it's due to Makoto's usual magic, but this is surely good enough that now we'll definitely have to check out Maquiladora's own couple of previous records! Real nice, mellow, moody.

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A suitably witty 1" button with black text that reads "Ask me about Carolyn Mark!" on beige background. (And if you have to ask, you probably won't be buying one of these.)

Ms Carolyn loves a good ol' singalong, her infectious hearty chuckle and storytelling frequently punctuate the proceedings. We've adored her strong sweet pipes alongside her pals Neko Case and Kelly Hogan (not to mention that her last album was called The Pros And Cons Of Collaboration), and now she's got a whole new album of duets! The songs run the gamut from the downright heartbreaking to the downright silly, from the totally staid standard country ("I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry") to the nuttily offbeat ("Rocket Piano Man" and "Slow Poke"). You can be sure that a kazoo will surface at some point or other. With the mightily talented, but criminally unsung Canadian troubadour Ford Pier, she tackles an unexpectedly retro-sounding swingy soul number "Done Something Wrong". It's definitely one of the album's highlights, of which there are plenty. The song's given extra punch from some groovin' bass and squealin' horns. Also joining her on the mic are a baker's dozen more cross-Canada co-horts, most notably Frog Eyes' Carey Mercer. It's always a grand ol' time when you're in the company of this Sicamous, British Columbia born lass.

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Neko Case's partner in Corn Sisters crime (and former Vinaigrette), Carolyn Mark dishes up her own debut solo effort. A concept album of sorts. While touring across Canada she decided to record one song in each of the cities that she stopped to perform in. As would be expected, recording quality is varied, but it doesn't take away from Carolyn's songs which are bursting with mirth and gusto. One very very funny woman.

Following up her lively and lovely Terrible Hostess sophomore album, Ms Mark offers up her third and most polished album to date. For those of you who've heard her alongside good pals Neko Case and Kelly Hogan, you very well know that she has no difficulty working with others. Indeed on their recent tour together, the trio of witty chanteuses charmed the pants off one and all in attendance. In both song and laughter, their voices go so well together. Actually if you were at one of their shows you just might've heard a song or two from this album. Pros And Cons reveals her broadest stylistic range yet -- honky tonk, ragtime, twangy balladry -- and as opposed to past recordings which had somewhat haphazard mood changes, she shifts much more smoothly from one to the another, and with no loss in the sparkling personality department. She clearly knows the benefits of collaborating with like-minded, talented folks. Ms Hogan lends her angelic backup vocals to the song "Jody And Sue" which along with the following double-whammy of nocturnal themed tunes "Bigger Bed" and "Slept All Afternoon" make for the high point of the album. The album closes with a beautiful stark voice and piano number "Hangover" that devolves into an intoxicated singalong and on into old style radio drama announcer credits. Splendid!

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I can assure you that the title is by no means auto-biographical. Ms Carolyn is the lovely hostess with the most-est. Talk about a party girl! She along with her room-mates Tolan and Garth surely whip everyone else up into the mirthful merriment. Each on his or her own possesses a down to earth ease at entertaining that's something to behold, and together? Well, let's just say "get ready for the good times." Some of the best storytelling stage banter around. Her second album makes leaps and bounds from where her rough'n'tumble debut Party Girl left off. For one thing it's all studio recorded as opposed to her more lo-fi, song-in-every-city-across-Canada-in-a-Honda adventure. Since that album, she's performed a whole bunch in an ever-expanding range of venues and continued to play in the Corn Sisters with her good pal Neko Case (who, by the way, wrote a song about her - "Karoline" - on The Virginian). A much more polished, sophisticated lady who can still whoop it up and whomp yer butt! Much like fellow Canadian k.d. lang (yeah I know, aren't all Canadian female country artists compared to her?), she's able to slip gracefully from down home hillbilly stomp to elegant torch balladry and back again with nary a false step. This is most apparent on a particular three song stretch on this album ("Dirty Little Secret" through "Catscan"). With its warm horns, piano recorded in an old church across the street from the studio, a male chorus, there's an ever-present old tyme feel, bringing to mind the stage of the Grand Old Opry with its dapper gents and bouffanted ladies. The duet vocal interplay on "Catscan" rings with a fond familiarity much like that of George Jones and Tammy Wynette or Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. Very nice!

RealAudio clip: Dirty Little Secret
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Ed Mattson's debut cd features eleven laidback, down-homey country folk numbers. Joining him in the playing and producing duties is fellow Bay Area based indie rootsy singer/songwriter Clay Hawkins. Many of the songs bring to mind a more barebones brethren of warm, weathered Americana bands such as Red House Painters or American Music Club. Released on the new SF label and music collective Visionguild.

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Despite the exclamatory title of their debut album, Mercury Dimes balance their fiddle-driven repertoire between peppery squaredance-ready tunes sure to get ya up kickin' a heel in the air, and more subdued numbers that are perhaps more appropriate for porchswing star-gazin' with your sweetie. This Bay Area combo's warm, homey, very traditional country sounds make for a nice companion to their fellow Bay Area folksters Amy & Karen's recent (also self-released and similarly cool screen-printed cardboard fold-out sleeve packaged) cd, or SF rootsy vets such as Crooked Jades (who have their own brand new album out now!) and Virginia Dare.

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Looking for some pretty, hushed, gentle, folksy acoustic pop? Well, the debut cd-r ep by SF's Messes just might hit the spot. Their six songs are very intimate and sensitive singer/songwriterly along the lines of Elliott Smith. The 19-minute cd-r is lovingly packaged in a sewn paper sleeve festooned with bird imagery.

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Solo record from the lead vocalist of alt. country rockers the Old 97's. And yet another chapter in the seemingly never ending saga of a band we love getting worse and worse. While the last Old 97's record still hinted at the band they once were, this is total middle of the road, singer songwriter, adult contemporary bland pop rock. Blechh.

RealAudio clip: Our Love

For those who remember the Suck.com parody of the descriptions found on Aquarius Records' tags, Suck.com had rewritten our description of a Helen Mirra 10" to read "Lush, enigmatic, forgiving, like a less neurotic Cat Power." Actually that description aptly pegged that Helen Mirra record (which we didn't really like all that much) way better than we did originally. However, it doesn't really apply to Mirra's first CD "Field Geometry" - which is a minimalist Americana meditation sounding a lot like a super slowed down John Fahey backed by the constant rustle of a seamstress weaving. Spartanly beautiful and mysteriously evolving. Completely recommended.

The description of sparse is the only connection between Molasses and Godspeed You Black Emperor, in spite of both bands sharing members. Slow-motion alt.country meanderings sort of like Songs:Ohia and Mazzy Star playing Tom Waits songs.

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

SORRY. No... it really can't be! But Yep, it gosh darn is. The Monkeywrench are back after a mule's age. Please don't ask me what a mule's age is. Just figure it's a pretty long time. you may better know The Monkeywrench as: Mudhoney's Mark Arm and Steve Turner, Gas Huffer guitarist Tom Price, Martin Bland, and the infamous Tim Kerr. Many moons ago, these fine fellows released an awesome bourbon and reverb-drenched fiery full-length on SubPop. Join them today in the ol' saloon as they perform "Sugarman" by Jesus Rodriguez and Hoyt Axton's "The Pusher" as only they know how. The latter features that familiar raspy howl courtesy of Mr. Arm. Sigh, very cool.

We were (and heck, still are) HUGE fans of avant abstract folk outfit The Tower Recordings. And we've tried desperately to keep up with Matt Valentine's post-TR output, but it's been tough as most of his recorded output has been relegated to ultra limited cd-r's and short run vinyl. So finally, we get a not so limited, and seriously hefty dose of Valentine's new psychedelic folk direction, with his long time musical partner Erika Elder and his new musical sidekicks the Bummer Road. Two discs, jam packed with dreamy druggy OUT THERE free folk psychedelia. Hints of Tower Recordings past do surface here and there, but the sounds on Mother Of Thousands are way more dense and dizzy. Slippery spacey squiggles float like motes of dust over a warm whirling landscape of mumbled atonal guitar, stuttering alternate tuning strum, super-processed electric guitar whir, wheezing harmonica, lilting falsetto vocals, washed out distorted whirls of crumbling amp buzz, a gorgeously laid back, blissed out afternoon sunlight back porch drug drenched slow motion moonlight abstract folk jam. The second disc takes all the same elements but weaves them into lengthy minimal buzz drenched ragas. Mysterious sounds swoop and swoon over slowly unfurling melodies, warm layers of harmonica and buzzing steel strings drift over a deconstructed free folk, with disembodied ghostlike voices, gurgling drones, reverb drenched female vocals, the final 20+ minute track is one slow burning meditation equal parts rumbling whir and gentle minor key strumming. Quite lovely. Valentine and his fellow folkies, Mo' Jiggs, Sparrow Wildchild, Nemo Bidstrup, Tim Barnes and Samara Lubelski take a few moments out to reimagine some killer covers, Mississippi John Hurt, Charley Patton and Reverend Gary Davis, but soon return to their mesmerizingly freeform drift and drone and croon. Packaged in a super deluxe, ultra thick gatefold, each cd in a woven Japanese style inner sleeve, the sleeve a mini lp style cd gatefold, with a metallic silver printed insert. LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES.

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SORRY. We Offer You The Guru might be a folk record, in some other time, and some other world. Sure there are steel string guitars, harmonica, jews harp, even sruti box and electric dulcimer, and there is a melancholy strumminess, and dreamy twanginess to be sure, but Matt Valentine and Erika Elder (aka MV / EE) wrap their druggy spaced out folk in a dense cloud of thick reverb and smoky ambience, traditional folk melodies are stretched and twisted apart into creepy snippets and fuzzed out musical vignettes, the whole thing reminding us a little bit of the movie Gummo at times, very cinematic in a fucked up and back woods-y sort of way, damaged and not a little drug addled, but at the same time hauntingly beautiful. Elder's vocals are slurred and indistinct, intertwined with wheezing harmonicas and plinking plonking Jandek-ian guitars. Valentine's usual droney raga steel strings, aren't so droney here, instead they become lovingly lugubrious deconstructed strums and picked apart picking, textural and abstract, a rickety framework for the ghostly clouds of vocal / harmonica interplay drifting through these hazy shimmery soundscapes.

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Here's a reissue of My Morning Jacket's Chocolate And Ice 6-song cdep! When it was originally released back in 2002, we had this to say... Of the half dozen tracks, the standout is the unexpected 24-minute "Cobra". Although the rest of the songs do still retain My Morning Jacket's wonderful, shadowy, lonesome twang, this track is a refreshing change allowing the band to diverge from their usual path. With much less of a rootsy rock feel, it leans more heavily on a smoky blues guitar sound. From an almost funky groove, it dissolves into a lovely drone and returns to the more familiar somber country-folkish mood. Mainman Jim James subtly shifts his vocal delivery too, veering from his usual Neil Young-ish nasality to an almost Damo Suzuki (of Can) drowsy murmurred uttering. Quite effective. An added note, the items in the title made for a very cool textured cover image... although we'd bet someone was bummed that they spilled all that choco-syrup.

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Not only do the Grey Daturas kick up a serious noiserock ruckus, they also run their own cd-r label, the mysteriously titled Diagnosis... Don't! There are three new releases, and we managed to get a handful of each. This is a super limited tour only cd-r from the sweet voiced folk chanteuse Marissa Nadler and features not only a handful of live tracks featuring Nadler accompanied by organ, but also features unreleased 4 track recordings, as well as outtakes from her two brilliant full lengths, Ballads Of Living And Dying and The Saga Of Mayflower May. All the tracks here are gorgeous (of course), especially the live tracks, soft tangled steel string guitar and Nadler's dreamy vocals, all hovering above a thick soft wash of droning organ. The four track recordings are lovely too, extra lo-fi but thus super intimate, tape hiss and recording crackle making Nadler's already timeless music sound even more from some lost and mysterious past. Super limited, already out of print, we got a bunch but they won't last. Packaged in cool handmade sleeves, a little hole in the textured paper cover through which another layer of colored paper is visible. Includes a photocopied insert as well.

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Now reissued again on vinyl, this former AQ Record Of The Week from back in 2004. This time, instead of Eclipse, it's on Kemado's vinyl-only imprint Mexican Summer (which is named after a Nadler song?), and they've added a bonus 7" of unreleased songs. It's limited to 1000 copies. Here's what we said about it before: This is a dark and languorous trip through a sonic world of bleak skies, neverending sorrow, lost love, death and dying and all sorts of somber miserablism. The music itself is lush and rich, a warm rainy soundscape of muted finger picked guitars, augmented by occasional banjo, eukele, and autoharp, all lashed together into a modern melding of classic Appalachia, psych folk and classic songcraft. But it's Nadler's voice that is the most mesmerizing part of Ballads Of The Dying, rich, velvety and throaty, completely captivating, and surprisingly reminiscent of Neko Case, but instead of the country wildcat Case, here's she's a rainsoaked and bedraggled innocent, seemingly beaten down but emanating an inner strength, a hidden power, that comes through in her powerful voice. This is one of those records that seems pleasant enough on first listen, but as you dig deeper, the songs and stories unfold and you quickly find your self living and loving and crying and dying right along with Nadler and the characters she has populated her musical world with.

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To cry out "holy shit!" would probably be far too boorish and loud when speaking of this album, so instead we'll whisper an impassioned "my goodness!" Yes, this is another wonderful, deeply moving work from Ms Nadler! For those of you adored her last album Ballads Of The Dying even a fraction as much as we did (it was an AQ Record Of The Week back in December), you'll surely welcome this new one. As with its predecessor, The Saga Of Mayflower May is imbued with a sedate earthy beauty rooted in classic Appalachian folk songcraft. It's hard to believe this is a current release. It's strikingly so very out of step with the times in its earnest, clear tone seemingly untouched by modern hustle'n'bustle. In turn, Nadler's vocals bear a striking resemblance to those of Hope Sandoval, Neko Case and Vashti Bunyan. And much like those women, you can imagine her singing these songs aloud whether there's an audience present or not. The music flows from her -- singing just as much to and for herself. Although there is a palpable sorrowful weight to each of the songs, her performance still seems liltingly effortless like autumnal leaves drifting down from an elderly oak tree. From start to finish, this Saga is hauntingly gorgeous. The closing song "Horses And Their Kin" just might leave you in tears. Keep in mind, this is not the record to be playing while you're multi-taskin' and distracted. No, please do yourself and this album a well-deserved favor and set aside some quiet time (oh, at least about 35 minutes or so), and enjoy. Need we say more? Recommended!

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I spent a few moments (too many actually) pondering who the New Amsterdam's singer sounds like. I just couldn't put my finger on it. Then - p o o f ! - I remembered, "it IS the guy from Get Up Kids!" Anyway, two words for ya... "Emo Unplugged"! Get Up Kids

RealAudio clip: Forever Leaving

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SORRY. Jimmie Dale Gilmore on the cover, plus Beachwood Sparks, Neko Case, Chris Cacavas, Camper van Beethoven, etc.

Wings, Strings, Meridians is the latest release of audio and visual art by aQ fave Tara Jane O'Neil. The book is filled with her paintings, photographs and drawings. In the back of the compact 6" square softcover is a cd -- her tenth solo album! Open your (or someone dear's) eyes and ears to the wonders of TJO. The pages are filled with loose tangles of thin, rough black lines shaded in earthy hues blurred in spots as if by rain or tears. Sometimes stark, sometimes busy, the images are populated by furry and feathered critters, human figures and abstract forms. Likewise, her music is an impromptu comforter woven from thread bare dusky melodies. Pretty great!

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Those Old 97s have always kicked butt live -- ever on the verge of losing control of their musical pickup truck careening down those rural roads, narrowly missin' a chicken, clippin' a roadside mailbox, topplin' some jugs o' moonshine along the way (not that they nor we are condoning drinkin'n'drivin'!). And here's a great document of the band in all their unbound Texan glory! A whopping thirty songs! A rambunctious country rock delight! For fans of Uncle Tupelo, Bottle Rockets, the country moments of Mekons, and maybe even ol' Lynyrd Skynyrd too.

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The Old 97's Too Far To Care was one of our favorite records ever. When that came out in 1997 there was a good chance that no matter when you came into the store, it would be blasting on the stereo. And why the hell not?! It was a perfect rollicking rambunctious blast of super hooky, super catchy No Depression pop. Every song on that record was a classic. But much to our horror, the band plunged into vapid MTV fodder before our very eyes. Putting out a handful of totally lame, faceless records, including an awful solo record from 97's frontman Rhett Miller. We kept waiting, and hoping, that they would bounce back and kick our asses again. Well, after years of waiting, they finally have. Pretty much. Drag It Up while not quite as good as Too Far To Care, is a vast improvement and a darn good record. Catchy and twangy, with wry lyrics and some wicked playing. We knew they had it in them. Our only complaints this time around are the recycled melodies, lots of these songs sound remarkable like old Old 97's tunes (which is maybe why suddenly they sound so good) and the weirdly muddy production. That said though, this is still a pretty darn good record, if only they hadn't set the bar so high.

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Long awaited record from the country rockers that brought us the much loved Too Far To Care (yes, a year is a long wait for a follow-up to that great record, believe you me!). Perhaps not as immediate as Too Far, but still delightful, Fight Songs again shows the Old 97's making some of the best twang pop around!!

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

SORRY. Alt-country faves' first full-length, a sometimes hard-to-find release on an small indie label. Fans of their more recent albums should pick this up, as you'll be treated to some of the Old 97's best songs (including some re-recorded for later albums, along with others exclusive to this). If you saw them play on their last tour, a bunch of live faves are culled from this record, like "If My Heart Was A Car".

When this first came out way back in 1997, Andee and former aQ staffer Byram played this constantly, at least three times a day. Literally. It was and still is easily one of THEE best No Depression style records, and even now, 15 years later, it sounds as good as ever. With hook laden, lyrically shrewd song-writing, and serious kick ass rocking, the Old 97's are probably the only band of the No Depression movement to capture the intensity of early Uncle Tupelo without losing the earnestness or twang. The first song alone, "Timebomb," will get stuck in your head forever. And hearing it again after all these years, had us wishing the rest of the Old 97's records were this good. And it just doesn't let up, not a single dud in the bunch, "Big Brown Eyes" is another stone cold classic, not to mention the final track on the album proper, a singularly kick-ass number, features a duet with Exene from X, the sound an even balance between earnest twang flecked classic country balladry and wild rollicking punk infused country rock, with some of the catchiest songs EVER. This deluxe edition features fancy new packaging with extensive liner notes from Old 97's frontman Rhett Miller, but more importantly, a BUNCH of bonus tracks, including four outtakes from the Too Far To Care sessions, and a whole disc of previously unreleased demos, including a handful of never before heard songs!!

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When this came out in 1997 Andee and Byram played this at least three times a day. With hook laden, lyrically shrewd song-writing, the Old 97's are the only band of the "no depression" movement to capture the intensity of early Uncle Tupelo without losing the earnestness or twang. The first song alone, "Timebomb," will get stuck in your head forever. Plus, the final track on the album, a singularly kick-ass number, features a duet with Exene from X.

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.

Old favorites and out of print rare stuff from Palace/Will Oldham. Includes the infamous "Big Balls" AC/DC cover and FIVE NEW SONGS. Guest musicians include Mick Turner and Jim White from Dirty Three, David Grubbs, etc.

LOVELY album showcases Will's growing talents as a real songwriter.

If the Faheyesque fingerpicking that Jim O'Rourke brought to alt.country/indie rock were made even more sparse and given an almost Windham Hill/Michael Hedges/slightly-Renaissance-Faire quality, you'd have the Will Oldham (Palace) instrumental album. This is soundtrack music for a short film based on The Ode to Billy Joe.

Four new instrumentals from Mr. Will "Bonnie Prince Billy/Palace/Palace Songs/Palace Bros/Palace Music" Oldham. The liner notes tell a brief tale of a ship owner and some sailors, but offer little else in the way of recording information or description. Very mysterious. After trawling the internet oceans, we discovered that these four songs were composed as soundtrack pieces for a documentary film by Jason Massot about four modern merchant seamen. Little did we know that if we'd simply looked more closely at the disc and read the small print, we could have found all of this out sans computer. Ah the modern age! Such short attention spans! All the more reason to take some time to immerse yourself in Oldham's somber, contemplative songs. Slowly creeping acoustic guitar and bass navigations that we -- having not yet seen the film -- can say do indeed evoke the gentle rocking of an old ship and the endless rippling of the waves. The most affecting and foreboding of the four is the final "Emmanuel".

MPEG stream: Emmanuel

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

SORRY. 4 songs, none of which appear on the Drag City full length. Recorded up in Santa Rosa with members of the Dirty 3 and Albini behind the board.

MPEG stream: The Rose Society
MPEG stream: Bicycle
MPEG stream: Turn Your Pretty Name Around

After selfreleasing no less than three near-perfect albums as The Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers, the trio of Mark Olson, Victoria Williams, and Mike "Razz" Russell bestow a fourth offering on the world, via respected roots label Hightone. This is more of the sublime sunbaked modern country/folk/rock material made famous by Victoria during her solo career and by Mark when he led the legendary Minneapolis alt.country group Jayhawks. Just lovely, slightly twangy songs that contain the most heartbreaking chord changes you ever heard. Also augmented with dobro, juice harp, mandolin, dulcimer, and more. Warm, lulling, perfect open air prettiness. We also carry the trio's first three albums.

RealAudio clip: Linda Lee

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

SORRY. SORRY. Even though I know it's sacrilege to suggest that there are records somehwere in the vicinity of being as good as Gram Parsons two solo records, I'm a'gonna go out on a limb and say that if you are a fan of Gram and Emmylou, you really oughta hear the Original Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers. Since 1997, Victoria Williams, Mark Olson (of the wonderful alt.country group Jayhawks), and Razz Russell have been living in Joshua Tree (scaring up Gram's ghost, no doubt) and selfreleasing their own music on their own label. Recording as the Harmony Ridge Creek Dippers, they've crafted a delicate, sunbaked country rock sound complete with perfectly-written songs (that tell stories, hey!), shuffling twang, and AMAZING harmonies (imagine the break-yr-heart chord changes Jayhawks were famous for, alongside Victoria's completely unique voice). The sound is augmented with "juice" harp, mandolin, and pedal steel, and guests include John Convertino of Calexico and some guy from the Black Crowes. The Creek Dippers actually sound a lot like you'd expect them to, which is a VERY good thing. We HIGHLY recommend ALL of the Creekdippers releases, especially for fans of Victoria Williams who've been wondering what she's been up to, and for fans of the Jayhawks (cos these are the first appearances of Mark Olson since leaving Jayhawks). The selftitled one came out first (1997), Pacific Coast Rambler is the second (1998), and Zola and the Tulip Tree is the new one. Each is 12.98 and we have all of them in stock.

No more Loftus, but there's still Orso and here's a new disc from the same Califone/Red Red Meat Chicago "banjocore" nexus...yay.

The meeting point between country rock/Americana and emo is this San Francisco 'Highway! Although they formed back in '96, and have garnered a loyal local following as a live band, this is their first full length. Our Lady Of The Highway quite often bears a striking resemblance both in voice and word to Mountain Goats' John Darnielle and the Weakerthans' John Samson (and come to think of it, the title's pretty similar to the latter's Left And Leaving album too, isn't it?). This is by no means a bad thing - that's some quality company to be in, two AQ faves who pour their heart and soul into every note! - but it truly is uncanny at times. Key ingredients are Dominic East's heartfelt songwriting and unrestrained, empassioned vocals, Andrew Gerhan's sunset-perfect acoustic guitar strummin', Joshua Housh's mournful languid bass fiddle, and the subtly dynamic drumming of David Clifford (a side note: he is neither the David Clifford who drums for Pleasure Forever nor the man of the same name who drums for Fish of Marillion!). An aching sense of loss and loneliness permeates each of the eleven songs, and it weighs heavier and heavier as the album progresses (even when they kick up the tempo a bit), perhaps peaking at the tenth called "Come Clean". It's such barebones melancholic loveliness laden with generous reverb, it sounds as if it were recorded in a cavernous vacant church or in a big ol' pub long after last call. Offering some glistening solace like the warming amber glow of a freshly poured pint. A fine debut!

MPEG stream: Beautiful
MPEG stream: Come Clean