Here's the debut full length from these local long hairies, whom quite possibly you've headbanged to already, live and in person -- most recently we saw 'em opening for The Sword at Slim's. Those from outside the Bay Area might know 'em from their previous ep release on Level Plane, or from their inclusion on Kemado's Invaders comp celebrating up-n-coming heavy psych and metal bands. Moreso even than The Sword, these guys were fully representin' the metal side of that roster. Furthermore, the Saviours' style of metal, make that METAL, definitely has one foot in the gutter, one fist in the gold... in other words, a big old school '80s influence. But this ain't no Motley Crue party rock. It's extremely HEAVY with kinda punk, shouty singing, which makes sense since they guys come out of the East Bay hardcore scene (though one of 'em also plays bass with smartass stoner rawk gods Drunk Horse). Works well for us. Plenty of fierce, chugging riffage, endlessly galloping, the band a mighty metal steed indeed. Imagine the heavy likes of High On Fire, Floor, or 16, but way more METALLIC(A). Or indie retro-metallers Early Man, with all their NWOBHM and Bay Area thrash influences, getting truly mean and ugly and throwing down big time. And we should mention: awesome drummer!
Oakland's more metal than thou (but still sorta punk) Saviours are back to the attack with this new album, their fourth, another wicked rager like 2009's Accelerated Living, once more produced by Trans Am's Phil Manley, and again on the Kemado label. Hesher, hipster, whatever, this is METAL and your soon to be bangin' head will be proof of that. So, poseur patrol, but down your pitchforks (and Pitchfork readers, time to switch to stronger stuff than PBR).
This time 'round, rather than ripping right into it, Saviours actually start things off slow and low, in something of a stoner/sludge mode, with the lumbering, 7+ minute "The Eye Obscene". Electric Wizard fans might want to break out their bongs for this one. But, while the album surely stays sludgey, the sonics thick, pretty soon Saviours are chuggin' along more aggro, metallic, thrashed out avenues, eventually channelling the classic likes of Judas Priest and Motorhead with the souped up rocka rolla of "Crete'n" and "God's End" ferinstance.
Once again it's the glorious, galloping guitars that rule the record (though that drummer of theirs deserves a hand too), the quasi-melodic vocals however hopelessly hollerin' away without nearly as much effort put in, it would seem. But the guitars, damn they're whipping out the shredding solos and sweet harmonies aplenty. If you dug Accelerated Living as much as we did, you'll be into Death's Procession too, it's cut from the same (denim) cloth but with extra doom-trudge heaviosity added in. Fans of High On Fire, The Sword, Early Man, and Bible Of The Devil, this is for you (though, as much as we like Saviours, we don't understand why Bible Of The Devil aren't at least as popular!).
FYI, the vinyl version came and went, hopefully we'll get more soon...
Local boys Saviours are kind of SF's answer to The Sword from Texas and Early Man from New York. The New Wave Of American Indie Ironic Hipster Metal, y'know? They're on the same label as The Sword, home also to the heavy psych likes of Dungen and Danava. Yet while an argument can be made that The Sword and Early Man are indeed indie ironic hipster metal at best (which doesn't stop 'em from rockin', we should note!), a loud listen to Saviours new full-length Into Abbadon ought to convince the most diehard metaller that these dudes are in fact fully, no foolin, METAL. If the cover art (by Joe "Motorhead" Petagno) didn't already. Nothin' ironic about it. Not that such arguments matter much anyway, what's important is, does this album rule or not? Our call: yea, and verily, it doth rule.
The sinuous guitar harmonies in the first track "Raging Embers" remind us a lot of the late great epic doomsters Solstice, whilst track two, the title track, gallops out of the gate like a mixture of The Fucking Champs and High On Fire... And on it rages, a showcase of sheer metal mastery. No ballads. No death metal monotony, or black metal makeup. No trendy emo bullshit. Just pure pedal to the metal, metal.
The riffage is righteous, the guitars shred, it's old school '80s to the max but HEAVY as heck. The only element that keeps this from attaining total true metal acclaim from the 'heads here at AQ are the punkish vocals, hoarse and shouty and not-so-melodic. Your mileage may vary, lots of folks like that style. But anyway the vocals are more than made up for by the guitars, which provide plenty of melody amidst the aggression, and atmosphere too. As well as, like we said, shred. Tasty solos abound, including guest six string tickling from Tim Lehi of Draugar and Isiah Mitchell of Earthless!
In truth, we're a little surprised by how much we dig this album (and Crucifire too, before it). Maybe because they're local we had been taking Saviours for granted, or feeling a little bit of an unwarranted NWOAIIHM backlash. Also we've seen them live many a time (they have a knack for opening for a lot of touring metal bands we want to see) but didn't really fall under their spell until hearing 'em at home, when all their true metallic grandeur could really sink in, without the distractions of shitty sound systems or somebody spilling beer on us. Songwriting nuances are revealed on record that were were perhaps numb to in person. At the end of the day, we're pretty into Into Abbadon.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Tony Molina from pop heroes the Ovens returns again, with yet another new band. And that hardcore obsession that popped up in the Ovens all the time, whether it was shout outs to obscure NYHC bands on stage or weird straight edge covers, an obsession that first truly became flesh in his hardcore combo Caged Animal, surfaces once again in the form of Scalped, yet another HC outfit, and another one featuring Molina and at least one other Oven. There's no secret poppiness or any of that bullshit, this is some seriously pummeling, punishing old school style metallic hardcore, and metallic it is, with fierce fucking riffs, bellowed throat shredding vox, four songs in less than 6 minutes, a furious onslaught that will no doubt get that pit spinning. Ovens fans seem to be an obsessive bunch, snapping up Caged Animal singles along with Ovens singles, so odds are, you Ovens nerds might want one of these too, but really, this one is strictly for the hardcore kids. And yeah, probably super limited to boot!
The second cosmic synth-drone-rock missive from Scantily Clad, a duo of instrumental improvisers split between Northern and Southern California. We loved their first cd-r, an amalgam of lo-fi synth styles from soft lullabies to abrasive noise that showed a lot of promise. Well, that promise is made good on their follow-up, a richer, more focused, and self-assured outing than before. The sonic intensity is beefed up, the songs more composed, the instrumentation more varied, the dreaminess heightened ( especially on tracks like Vanilla, Baby"), and the nosier parts (like what sounds like chipmunks speaking in tongues on "Deep Witch") are even weirder. But it all fits together very well as a fully-realized piece of heavy instrumental spaciness. Even the packaging is cooler, with their clipart collages of mandalas and symbolic animals housed in a sturdy transparent plastic case. Fans of groups like Emeralds and Carlton Melton will find lots to dig here!
Scantily Clad is the curious moniker of this duo of bedroom space-rock improvisors from Paso Robles, CA. Creating cosmic percolating synthscapes that venture from electronica lullabies ("Bedroom Giggles") to Yellow Swans-ish drone abrasion ("Stoned, Street Goblins") to epic post-rock swells ("Promegranate") and tribal abstractions ("Bone-Colored Moon"). Bathed in a lo-fi glowing fuzz, the warm sound of the vintage analog synths immerse us in its dreamy drifting wake, a sound we can live in forever in its multiple mutating forms. Though short, the six tracks over 25 minutes definitely leave us wanting more and we hope to see what this group does next. Packaged in handmade bronze or silver sleeves with black and white photocopied artwork. Not sure how limited these are, but with all things homemade and self-released, don't wait too long!
Hard to believe, but this is indeed a RAP record from one of the drummers of BURMESE! But Burmese fans aren't necessarily Schaffer's demographic, as there are no hellish howls, or gut ripping low end, of head crushing percussive onslaught, just some bumping bass, casio-ish drum beats, and a whine-y white boy flow. But it's the lyrics that keep the Burmese flame burning. Metal, Satan, mayhem, rock and roll and assorted other punk rock debauchery spit in a sing songy, un-funky flow. Fans of Steven Schultz's I Forgot To Get A Rap Name record should definitely check this out!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Besides drumming for grind gods Spazz (as well as loads of other grind / fastcore band that found themselves in need of a kick ass drummer) and being one of the nicest guys ever, Mr. Max Ward somehow found time to go to school, run a record label (the awesome 625!) and front this band of well read uber-nerds! Scholastic Deth wasn't just a name for these punks, it was a way of life. All four members are or were or are about to be in grad school and don't hesitate to tackle serious subject matter in their lyrics and in between song banter. But it's not preachy or Fugazi-like. These guys are funny and dorky and engaging as well as being smart! And as you might then imagine, the HUGE book of liner notes is an awesome read, with the stories and anecdotes behind each song often stretching significantly farther than the three of four lines of lyrics. In fact, the record will be long over by the time you plow through the emminently readable liner notes. The Deth spit out brief, blinding explosions of pummelling punk rock fury, 50 tracks in 43 minutes of buzzing lightning fast riffing, chaotic, confusional drumming and Max's earnest shouted vocals. While there -are- metallic moments, this is more punk than metal, more grind than thrash, but heavy and noisy and fun as fuck. Also includes a video collection of various live performances playable on your computer. The whole package is nicely designed like punk rock Cliff's notes too!
San Francisco guitarist Schott (Junk Genius, T.J. Kirk, etc.) with his first solo record, released by John Zorn's Tzadik label as part of their "Radical Jewish Culture" series. Features Trevor Dunn of Mr. Bungle by the way.
This Schultz classic has been redone, rerecorded (!) and repackaged for those of you that missed out the first time. Here's what we had to say about it:
You may have seen Steven Schultz reading and eating donuts in the front row of the Mayhem show. Or you may remember him in pigtails and pajamas eating prunes in the pit at the Hammers Of Misfortune show. Or you may remember his hilarious and amazing lo-fi Naked City-ish 'History Of Vats' cd from a few years back. Or you may not know him at all. This cd marks SS's first recorded foray into the world of rap music, and boy, it's something. Musically notable for the fact that the instruments are all real (all played by the multitalented Steve), and dramatically notable for the fact that the skits are all acted out by Steven's friends. And then there's the rapping. White and whiney as you may have expected, but lyrically, well, no one could have expected anyone to take on the persona of a rapping pirate ('Call Me Pinkbeard'), a rapping whale ('Fuck A Harpoon'), a rapping goth ('I Got Bigger Hair Than Robert Smith'), or a rapping eskimo ('Maniac With An Igloo'). Then there's Steve's attack on rap-metal ('Rap-Metal Is Funny')... Yes, it's incredibly dumb, but undeniably fucked and funny. Self-produced cd-r with color cover (art by Steve) and oh-so-essential lyric sheet. Maybe not the next Eminem, but perhaps the next MC Paul Barman?
One of our fave new Bay Area indie labels Dynamophone close out 2007 with a fresh batch of aural treats. They are four installments in their limited edition 3" cd-r ep Parcel series by the likes of Science Teacher, Lullaby League, Curium and Sleep Robot. Chances are if you've been paying attention to our recent aQ lists you're probably already as enchanted with this label's richly atmospheric hazily dreamy roster as we are, and will welcome these four into your music collection. This one features three new ultra pretty (and non-academic!) numbers from The Science Teacher.
Don't delay though! Each release comes in a diminutive square cardboard box festooned with a full color cover art sticker, and is limited to 100 each. We only have a couple handfuls. Once they're gone, they're gone!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Take a healthy dose of the Brit rock swagger of Pulp, some Canadian earnest buoyancy a la Hot Hot Heat and a bit of the New York rawk slouch of The Strokes, mix well. Then give'r all a blast of Bay Area sun-kissed breeziness and you might find yourself cuttin' a rug with Scissors For Lefty. Unlike many of their contemporaries whose dance rock tunes are simply one dimensional repetitions of a so-so melodic line that rely heavily on the button-pushing 4/4 thump to do all the work for 'em, Scissors For Lefty's equally dancefloor worthy tracks are full-fledged songs that actually go somewhere, following charmingly witty story arcs. If they ever remake the movie Valley Girl, the album's ninth song "Got Your Moments" should be first in line to appear on the soundtrack! Fun!
We dug this album the first time it crossed our path in 2004. Now it's been reissued by those fine folks at Three Ring Records, and in the process it's acquired a delightful new song (a cover of +/-'s "Yo Yo Yo") and a mastering treatment!
Here's what we said about it last year: Hurray! SF indie pop craftin' Scrabbel (formerly a duo now the solo project of Dan Lee with some help from his musical pals) didn't keep us waiting for their second full length (the way they did for their first... just kiddin'!). Ever so gentle and contemplative, the album's much less spritely and more melancholic than its predecessor. Some of their song titles suggest an ending of things ("Last Train", "Out Of Time" and their cover of The Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset"), and the music itself gradually makes it way into your heart with a well-placed wistful ache or two. Dan's vocals are at times quite reminiscent of Death Cab's Ben Gibbard, and when combined with his friend Natalie's, the overall sound is like what we'd imagine comin' from Yo La Tengo's younger cousins. They start things off with the very Big Star-y harmonious "Sena Song". Other songs seem tossed together in a carefree, meandering fashion, but it's definitely not disorganized nor messy. There's a subtle order to their loosely woven gauzy pop arrangements of acoustic guitars, strings and organs. This is particularly the case on their soaring Beatles-esque finale "Riot Series". Their songs alternately take you for a dreamy stroll beneath the shade of weeping willow trees or reach out sweetly like a tentative hand to hold. Recommended!
We've been waitin' so long for these folks' to bring copies of this in. They dropped off a copy for us to check out many months ago, to which we swiftly said "yes, please!". At last it's here and just in time for summer, and y'know what? That's the perfect season for Scrabbel's debut! These two pals of the Aislers Set (actually Dan Lee is the new keyboardist for the 'Set, while Becky Baron can also be found behind the drumkit for the band #Poundsign#) fit well alongside A.S., exuding a youthful sing-song air that also made me think of a less hyper, acoustic Apples In Stereo - perhaps in part due to their girl/boy buttercream icing vocals and strummy guitars. However, they do throw their own tasty twists and shimmies in there: a mellow loungey organ melody, a lo-fi drum machine beat, an assortment of kitschy samples and various other noisemakers (horns and kazoos!). Delightful.
A couple years after making its rounds of the indie film fest circuits (heck, we've had the soundtrack for ages!), Jon Moritsugu's latest film Scumrock is finally available on dvd!!!
As we mentioned in the cd's review, the film revolves around the tangled struggles of indie filmmakers and indie bands. It features many AQ-familiar faces including a pre-TV On The Radio Kyp Malone in one of the lead roles, Moritsugu's partner in crime and awesome illustrator Amy Davis, I Am Spoonbender's Dustin Donaldson as the bad-ass Church, fellow filmmakers Craig Baldwin and Danny Plotnick, J-Church's Lance Hahn and our own Cup as eager film students, and let's not forget Windy's ol' Trans Am! Oh, and there's James Duval (aka Donnie Darko's Frank aka the freaky bunny) too. Plus music by Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, J-Church, and Moritsugu and Davis' band Toni-Ann. Have we missed anyone?
Unflinchingly dedicated to keepin' it raw 'n' real, this renegade indie filmmaker keeps on keepin' on and critics and kids continue to shower him the accolades. Scumrock received some very high honors and hip cred including 'Best Feature' at both the Chicago and New York Underground Film Festivals and one of the Village Voice film critics' pick of 2003. Be forewarned though if you're an image- and/or audio-phile seeking crystal clarity, the glare'n'grit laden Scum Rock might not be for you. Possessing an appreciation for all of the different qualities and kinds of film and video, Moritsugu doesn't look at one as better than another. No, he view the image 'quality' variances as simply a personality trait of each format. He just as much celebrates the overblown, hazy images caught on Hi-8 as the razor crispness of HD. He'll shoot in whatever format suits his current creative vision and the project's budget. Degraded images and distorted sound are all part of Moritsugu's wild underground film playground. In turn, dizzying, disorienting, giddy, awkward, and sincere.
Moritsugu fans, we've been alerted that next in line for dvd-ification will be Fame Whore! ----* ----* 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. 3/4 HAD BEEN ELIMINATED "A Year Of The Aural Gauge Operation" (Hapna) cd 16.98 ACID BATH "Demos: 1993-1996" (Rotten) cd 14.98 AFRICAN BROTHERS / KING TUBBY "The African Brothers Meet King Tubby In Dub" (Nature Sounds) cd 14.98 ALPHANE MOON / OUR GLASSIE AZOTH "Experimenting With An Amen / The Magician's Heavenly Chaos" (Oggum) cd 15.98 ANOREXIA NERVOSA "The September E.P." (Listenable) cd ep 13.98 ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS "You Are My Sister" (Secretly Canadian) cd ep 5.98 AOKI TAKAMASA + TUJIKO NORIKO "28" (Fat Cat) cd 15.98 ARCTURUS "Sideshow Symphonies" (Season Of Mist) cd 16.98 BAUHAUS "Shadow of Light / Archive" (Beggars Banquet) dvd 15.98 BIBLE OF THE DEVIL "Brutality - Majesty - Eternity" (Scarey Records) cd 11.98 BIGG JUS "Poor People's Day" (Mush) cd 14.98 BJORK "Medula Videos" (Elektra) dvd 15.98 BORBETOMAGUS "Barbed Wire Maggots" (Agaric) cd 15.98 BRIGHT "Bells Break Their Towers" (Strange Attractors Audio House) cd BRUMIT, JON "Vendetta Retreat: Motion Picture Soundtrack" (Edgetone Records) cd 10.98 BURZUM "Draugen - Rarities" (Back On Black) cd 19.98 CASSETTEBOY "Dead Horse" (Barry's Bootlegs) cd 17.98 CAVE-IN "Perfect Pitch Black" (Hydra Head) cd 11.98 CHARTIER, RICHARD "Re'Post'Postfabricated" (DSP) 2cd 18.98 CHIODOS "All's Well That Ends Well" (Equal Vision) cd 13.98 CLARK, TODD TAMANEND "Nova Psychedelia (1975-1985)" (Anopheles) 2cd 21.00 CROWPATH "Son Of Sulphur" (Willowtip) cd 14.98 DARK FOG "Cosmic Tone" (Original Sound Recordings) cd 10.98 DARKNESS, THE "One Way Ticket To Hell" (Atlantic) cd 17.98 DEADBOY & THE ELEPHANTMEN "We Are Night Sky" (Fat Possum) cd 14.98 DEATH FROM ABOVE 1979 "Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides" (Vice) cd 14.98 DJ/RUPTURE, SISTER NANCY, & KID 606 "Little More Oil" (Soul Jazz) 12" 10.98 DOCKSTADER, TOD "Aerial #2" (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98 DRIVER, TOBY "In the L..L..Library Loft" (Tzadik) cd 15.98 F/I "Blanga" (Lexicon Devil) cd 16.98 FIRE ENGINES "Codex Teenage Premonition" (Domino) cd 14.98 FORREST, JASON "Shamelessly Exciting" (Sonig) cd 14.98 FRIPP, ROBERT "Love Cannot Bear: Soundscapes - Live In The USA" (Discipline Global Mobile) cd 15.98 GUIDED BY VOICES "Suitcase 2" (Fading Captain Series) 4cd boxset 45.00 GUIDED BY VOICES "The Electrifying Conclusion" (Plexifilm) dvd 24.00 HAEMOTH "Kontamination" (Southern Lord) cd 11.98 HARVESTMAN "Lashing The Rye" (Neurot) cd 14.98 HASEGAWA-SHIZUO "Gene Packs" (PSF) cd 22.00 HICKS, BILL "Sane Man" (Rykodisc) dvd 16.98 HIDDEN HAND "Devoid Of Color" (Southern Lord) cd 14.98 ILDJARN "Ildjarn is Dead" (Northern Heritage) 2cd 25.00 IMMORTAL "Sons Of Northern Darkness - Deluxe Edition" (Nuclear Blast) cd + dvd 16.98 JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER "Flags Of The Sacred Harp" (All Tomorrow's Parties) cd 15.98 JANE "Coconuts" (Psych-o-path) cd 14.98 JAPANTHER "Yer Living Grave" (Menlo Park) cd 10.98 JOAO, KARE "2" (Jester) cd 15.98 KANE, JONATHAN "February" (Table Of The Elements) cd/lp 14.98/14.98 KELLY, R. "Trapped In The Closet" (Zomba) dvd 21.00 KILL THE CLIENT "Escalation Of Hostility" (Willowtip) cd 14.98 KING, CAST "Saw Mill Man" (Locust) cd 14.98 KORAY, ERKIN "s/t" (Istanbul Plak) cd 19.98 KUBISCH, CHRISTINA "Armonica" (Semishigure) cd 17.98 LUBELSKI, SAMARA "Spectacular Of Passages" (Social Registry) cd 14.98 LUMSK "Troll" (Tabu) cd 16.98 MAGNETOPHONE "The Man Who Ate The Man" (4AD) cd 13.98 MASS, THE "Perfect Picture" (Crucial Blast) cd 13.98 MAXIMUM JOY "Unlimited (1979-1983)" (Crippled Dick Hot Wax) cd 16.98 MOONDOG "The Viking of Sixth Avenue" (Honest Jon's) cd/2lp 26.00/27.00 MORRICONE, ENNIO "Crime And Dissonance" (Ipecac) 2cd 16.98 MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "The Cosmological Eye Trilogy" (Last Visible Dog) 3cd 16.98 MY DAD IS DEAD "A Divided House" (Unhinged) cd 11.98 MYTHOLOGICAL COLD TOWERS "The Vanished Pantheon" (Firedoom) cd 14.98 NINE HORSES "Snow Borne Sorrow" (Samadhisound) cd 17.98 NMS "Imperial Letters Of Protection" (Big Dada) cd 14.98 NURSE WITH WOUND "Shipwreck Radio Volume Two" (ICR) 2cd 25.00 ORCUSTUS "Wrathrash b/w Grin Of Deceit" (Southern Lord) 7" 3.98 OZZBORN, ONRY "In Between" (Camobear) cd 13.98 REID, STEVE "Spirit Walk" (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00 RIOT "Narita" (Rock Candy) cd 17.98 ROOT "Madness Of The Graves" (Redblack Productions) cd 14.98 SAWS "s/t" (InTone) cd 14.98 SCHMICKLER, MARCUS / JOHN TILBURY "Variety" (A-Musik) cd 17.98 SHALABI EFFECT "Unfortunately" (Alien8) cd 14.98 SHEA, DAVID "The Book Of Scenes" (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98 SONDHEIM, ALAN / RITUAL ALL 770 "The Songs" (Fire Museum) cd 13.98 SONGS OF GREEN PHEASANT "s/t" (Fat Cat) cd 15.98 SONIC YOUTH WITH TIM BARNES "Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui" (SYR) cd 13.98 SORCERY "Stunt Rock (OST)" (Akarma) cd 15.98 SPUNK "En Aldeles Forferdelig Sykdom" (Rune Grammofon) cd 16.98 STEVENS, MICK "The Englishman / The River" (Shadoks) 2cd 18.98 STRAWBERRY PATH "When The Raven Has Come To The Earth" (Radioactive) cd 17.98 STRIBORG "Black Desolate Winter / Depressive Hibernation" (Asgard) cd 13.98 SUSUMU YOKOTA & ROTHKO "Distant Sounds Of Summer" (Lo Recordings) cd 14.98 SWORD "Lord By Fire" (We Are The Label) cd 10.98 T2 "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" (Akarma) lp 23.00 TAAKE "Nattestid...." (Wounded Love) cd 14.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI "Action Direct" (Beta-lactam Ring) cd 33.00 THRALLDOM "The Seven Heads Of The Lion-Serpent" (Deathstrike) 7" 6.98 TIMEOUT DRAWER, THE "Nowonmai" (Consumer Research and Development) TRAVIS, MERLE "Strictly Guitar" (Sundazed) cd 13.98 TSUNODA, TOSHIYA "Ridge of Undulation" (Hapna) cd 15.98 V/A "Die Grosse Untergangsshow : Festival Genialer Dilletanten" (Vinyl On Demand) cd+dvd/cd+dvd+2lp 60.00/94.00 V/A "For A Decade Of Sin: 11 Years Of Bloodshot Records" (Bloodshot) 2cd 16.98 V/A "Looking For Europe" (Auerbach Tontrager) 4cd 29.00 V/A "More Arctic Hysteria / Son Of Arctic Hysteria - The Later Years Of Early Finnish Avant-Garde" (Love Records) cd 25.00 V/A "Never The Same: Leave-Taking From The British Folk Revival 1970-1977" (Honest Jons) cd 26.00 V/A "Studio One Women" (Soul Jazz) cd/2lp 21.00/24.00 V/A "The Environmental Sounds Of Crawford, Texas" (Koch) cd 10.98 V/A "This Bird Has Flown: A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul" (Razor & Tie) cd 17.98 VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR "The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other" (Virgin / EMI) cd 16.98 VELVET CACOON "Northsuite" (Full Moon Productions) cd 12.98 VENOM "MMV" (Castle) cd 56.00 WATCHMAKER "Erased From The Memory Of Man" (Willowtip) cd 12.98 WEST, SPEEDY "Guitar Spectacular" (Sundazed) cd 13.98 WHIP "Atheist Lovesongs To God" (Resonant) cd 17.98 WOLF EYES & PRURIENT "The Warriors" (Hospital Productions) cd 14.98 WRAY, LINK "Law Of The Jungle! The Swan Demos '64" (Sundazed) cd 14.98 YOUNG PEOPLE "Five Sunsets In Four Days" (Too Pure) cd ep 5.98 YURA YURA TEIKOKU "na.ma.shi.bi.re.na.ma.me.ma.i" (Mesh-Key) cd 11.98 ZORN, JOHN "Mysterium" (Tzadik) cd 15.98 ZU "Way of the Animal Powers" (Xeng) cd 15.98 ZU / MATS GUSTAFSSON "How To Raise An Ox" (Atavistic) cd 14.98 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER
Where Are You is the first we've heard from local outfit Sea Knight, but it's a stunner, dreamy, and strummy, and psychedelic, moody and melancholic, the traditional guitar/bass/drums augmented by violin, which gives the sound a sweeping, epic and emotional vibe, not to mention the powerful vocals. All it takes is about two minutes of opener "Chasm", and you'll be sold, equal parts Pixies / Breeders pop smarts, and shoegaze-y Mazzy Star haze, simple steel string strum, chiming melody, a spidery guitar, the vocals dreamy and ethereal, the sound laid back and soft focus, slow building to something much more epic, maybe like a girl pop Godspeed if that makes any sense. It's definitely indie pop, but with a lush sonic palette, and a propensity for epicry that definitely makes Sea Knight something special. And is often the case, it took about 10 listens of the first track before we were able to dig any deeper. Which is always a good sign. The rest of the record holds up just as well, a perfect mix of folky strum, a little twang, classic old school indie rock, heavy on the nineties, with plenty of noisiness and unexpected mathiness mixed in, check out the sweetly melodic "Concrete", which blossoms into something much noise poppier, or the heavy droned out modern rock-ish "Crows Came And Spoke Of New Beginnings", with its smoldering buzzguitars, and haunting soaring vocals, again the Godspeed as indie pop band definitely comes into play, and apparently, as a live proposition, these songs all get a lot heavier and noiser, which is something we definitely wanna hear!
Now available on vinyl!
Berkeley based guitarist, Sean Smith, doesn't shake off the Fahey discipleship of his debut too easily on this sophomore effort, no matter how hard he tries. Yet still he brings a darker and more spontaneous impulse to his playing, allowing roughly exposed and muted fret tones to surface, showing he is not all about polish and that 's a welcome departure. More improvised than composed, Smith's cerebral guitar weaving is less bucolic sunshine this time around, taking us on a night time sojourn through a folkish nether world of threaded string picking and somber harmonic tonalities.
Of all the post-Mr. Bungle bands featuring its members, the instrumental Secret Chiefs 3 are carrying the torch for what I most enjoyed about Bungle -- their intense love for all kinds of music, and the irrepressible, joyful schizophrenia that results. Like
Secret Chiefs'd like to be as weird and esoteric as the SCGs, and try really hard in the purposefully obtuse liner notes, but let's face it, as great as the Secret Chiefs are, they don't possess the singular sound, feeling and mystery of the Sun City Girls -- instead they're successfully mixing up all those world music influences, Bungle, and the Boredoms.
The band is primarily Mr Bungle alumni Trey Spruance & drummer Danny Heifetz, and along with frequent Sonic Youth collaborator / percussionist William Winant, brilliant violinist Eyvind Kang (a frequent SCGs collaborator, hey) is all over this record. The instrumentation is as wide-ranging as to include dumbek, zils, contrabass, sax, electric sitar, organ, and something called a santur.
A quite satisfying, surprisingly consistent, well-executed album!
The Book Of Horizons is another sonic tome scribed by these occult chieftans, destined for the same library as outre literary works like the Principia Discordia and the sanity-blasting Necronomicon of the Mad Arab Abdul Alhazred. (This just goes in the audio section of said library.) To the uninitiated, we should explain that Secret Chiefs 3 is the arcane alter ego of Mr. Bungle's Trey Spruance and others from the same axis of absurdity. Almost all instrumental, imagine some sort of technically insane Middle Eastern surf music, a collision between the Sun City Girls and Fantomas, or a John Zorn-scored soundtrack to some desert epic. Italian horror film music, black metal, and even turntables all enter the mix. In the liner notes, Trey finds it necessary to state: "What you hear is music, not samples"! As always, impressive and inscrutable, even if the mood is occasionally broken by the more incongrous elements. Fans can spend their time listening to this, also attempting to decipher the meaning of the SC3's cryptic Kabbalistic computer graphics and song titles. A five star sequel to the band's previous opus Book M.
A few weeks back, we were lucky enough to see the mighty Goblin playing live in SF. And of course, they were incredible, goofy and personable, the music mesmerizing, often accompanied by clips from the classic Argento films their songs originally accompanied (Susperia, Profondo Rosso, etc.). But the biggest surprise of the night, for some of us at least, were opening act Secret Chiefs 3, who were mind blowing. Playing a set that seemed perfectly designed for a Goblin opening slot, they were a whirling sonic dervish of genre hopping intensity, kicking out a killer Morricone cover, not to mention, maybe the best version of John Carpenter's "Halloween" we'd ever heard (a version of which is included here!). In between, their originals were dense, and intense, furious and exotic, equal parts classic Klezmer, modern film music, old soundtracks and of course a little math metal. To be honest, were were always a little put off by the Secret Chiefs, due in no small part to their Mr. Bungle roots. And yeah, we know Mr. Bungle seem to inspire slavish devotion, even all these years later, they were often a bit too purposefully goofy, the Zappa vibe often overwhelming for some of us. And the Secret Chiefs stuff we'd heard was cool, and definitely didn't display the same sort of willful wackiness, but thanks to this recent performance, we're newly obsessed, just in time for a new record, which is fantastic, and for fans of past records, essentially offers up more of the same, sweeping, soundtracky epic-ness, brooding exotica, modern avant jazz, plenty of klezmer influences, and all manner of Eastern musics, too, not to mention some metallic crunch, and for a few folks, their trip may still be a bit too over the top, the record not so much like an album proper, but a Naked City style collection of band member musical obsessions. With one track straight up horn laden cinematic majesty, the next like some long lost Beach Boys studio outtake, the next sounding weirdly like Jellyfish, the next like the score to some seventies Italian art flick, the next like some synth laden slab of modern krautrock. There's even a cover of our favorite Jacques Brel track (most famously covered by Scott Walker)... And all of it incredible, with some of THEE best playing you'll ever hear. And for all our past reservations, we've come around, and have been spinning this constantly, as well as the old records, that sound as good as ever through fresh ears. WAY recommended.
And by the way, who was the Chiefs' drummer at the Goblin show? The whole band was fantastic, but the drummer in particular was mindblowing, long hair flailing, clad in the Secret Chiefs white monk's robe, arms an octopoidal blur, adding some serious, near metallic heft to the set, and delivering what has to be one of the best performances we've seen in AGES...
Secret Synthi are a trio of lo-fi synth'n'guitar pop gals from San Francisco named after an ultra rare, ultra cool synthesizer from the '70s - the Synthi AKS which came contained in its own briefcase-like carrying case. You might recognize its brethren's distinct sounds from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop or the band Yes (who purchased one of the Synthi prototypes back in the day). Anyways gear talk aside, this trio's music is super light and playful. Honey pie girl gang vocals with ample amounts of sass. Kicky, primitive rhythms. A party of keyboards, organs, electric guitar, effects pedals and vintage synths (accompanying the Synthi are a Moog Prodigy, a Sequential Circuits Multi-Trak, the amazing stylophone and of course the ever-present Roland Juno-60). Actually, I was just thinkin' that a picture perfect live extravaganza would be them along with Le Tigre, fellow SF duo the Capricorns and boyish counterparts Postal Service. An engaging album with a lot of fun song titles too... "Alright Mitten Fight"!
MPEG Download: "Kitty Fang" [/audio/secretsyntikitty.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Kitty Fang" [/audio/secretsyntikitty.m3u]
Good time to love the damaged and super charged garage prowess of Ty Segall as he's got great songs just gushing forth with a whole slew of new releases, most of which are of course crazy limited. There's his split with Thee Oh Sees, two new 7"s of his own, a split 12" with Black Time and a brand new full length coming soon on Goner. We were slow on the draw on the last round of TS 7"s which are sadly already out of print, so we're happy we were able to grab some of these before they disappeared too.
"Cents" is one of Segall's best songs yet and it'll probably be on his forthcoming full length too. Packed with infectious raw and dirty guitar and those slightly distorted yet crisp vocals, all coming together to make your body do the herky jerky. The 'b' side has two great fast and furious pop nuggets that are as timeless and potent as perfectly crafted garage rock gets. The kid is on fire!
After having spent the last year kicking out the heavy psych jams with his power trio Fuzz, Ty Segall returns with a new solo single, which somehow manages to fuse the dirgey retro rock of Fuzz, with the glam pop of his last few solo records, the A side is a stunner, anchored by some thick fuzzed out bass churn, and eventually some fierce riffage, Segall tempers that urgent rock crunch with some ethereal steel string strum, and heavenly falsetto vox, for a gloriously catchy, and strangely heavy chunk of psychedelic glam pop that is as good as anything on the last full length, and definitely has us hankering for more. As does the B side, which dips back into the woozy, wasted glam-folk of Sleeper, with Segall channeling Marc Bolan and T-Rex into a lazy, acoustic groover, laid back, a little wasted, dreamy vocals over softly swaggery acoustic guitars, all sun dappled and dreamy. So good.
Album number four, from San Francisco's garage-pop mastermind Ty Segall. It wasn't that long ago when we talked about how much promise this young guy named Ty seemed to have, and now he's an internationally renowned force to be reckoned with, and this just happens to be his debut full length for Drag City. Segall has been climbing up the musical ladder the righteous way, not by hype or gimmicks, but by touring his ass off and releasing one great record after another.
Goodbye Bread, finds Ty continuing to really focus on being a songwriter who doesn't rely on feedback or distortion to create cool songs, but instead the skeletal core of these songs is where the real meat is stored. Many of these jams show a slower paced, more laid back and almost paisley psych-pop disposition. Sounding like a scrappy cross between Syd Barrett, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, and Roky Erikson, yet none of it feeling like a put on and all of it delivered with an understated ease. Not to worry, there are still wonderful moments of fuzz and distortion, maybe more than ever, but those moments accent the album instead of shape it.
Ty has found ways to stay raw and spirited without having to hide behind a simple means of recording and playing. He's more than proved his mettle as one of the most captivating and commanding songwriters around. And no matter if the songs are slow or fast (we love how the last ten seconds of "My Head Explodes" morphs into the guitar shredding intensity of an early '80s hardcore-punk song) they all stick in our heads like crazy. It's funny that this is the most sneering and agitated recording he has made. Taking advantage of a slower pace in songs to amplify the moments of tension and release. It sounds so corporate rock magazine of us to say, but this really does sound like an amazing combination of Kurt Cobain's aesthetic and introspection mixed with Jack White's musical prowess and garage rock roots appreciation. But damn, just because they were/are huge doesn't mean being compared to Nirvana and The White Stripes is a bad thing, in fact it's fucking rad! Once again, Ty hits the mark RIGHT ON.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
These two killer Ty Segall records now reissued on cassette! Here's our review of Horn The Unicorn, when we first reviewed the lp back in 2009:
Awesome odds and ends collection from mighty lo-fi garage rocker, Ty Segall. Horn The Unicorn includes his first cassette which forecasted the fucked up brilliance to come, as well as the recent and way out of print Skin 7" which we never managed to get. Also within the grooves of Horn The Unicorn, you'll find Segall's songs from a split cassette with Superstitions, as well as a few tracks that have never appeared anywhere else before.
By this point you probably already know that when it comes to impassioned, stripped to its core and way in the red garage rock it just doesn't get a whole lot better or more exciting then Ty Segall. It's pretty awesome to see how hard Segall is working, playing shows in town almost every week solo or in one of his bands, and busting out new songs at the same ferocious speed without sacrificing quality. You might recognize a few of these tracks even if you didn't get to hear them in their original incarnations the first time around, as some of them have been re-recorded and reworked on both of Segall's proper albums. We have to say though, that we kind of love how those songs sound here in their original even more raw form. While this collection gives folks a chance to grab so many songs that have gone out of print, there's no saying how long this vinyl collection will stay in print itself so better act fast to avoid losing out again.
And here's our review of Live In Aisle 5 from when we reviewed the lp in 2011:
At this point we really don't need to go on and on about why we love Ty Segall so much. If you go back to all the records we've reviewed you'll get a sense of how much his raw, impassioned garage rock really moves us. With the release of his first proper live album, we can reflect on how lucky we are being right here in SF and getting so many chances to see him play, so this record is a chance for everyone else to hear what they've been missing...
Whether its a house party, a small club, or an impromptu jam, whenever Segall plays live he lays it all on the line. Being able to perfectly mix his impeccable guitar playing alongside unhinged spirit and sparks of kinetic energy.
Recorded live in the summer of 2010 just down the street from aQ, at Amnesia, this is a perfect representation of the fierce power of the Ty Segall live experience. The set-list pulls from Ty's three previous albums as well as a brand new jam and a couple scuzzy covers of tracks by G.G. Allin and the Vibrators.
Just in time for summertime, it's two new jams from San Francisco's finest garage rock wunderkid, Ty Segall. Both of these tracks prove once again that Ty doesn't even need to be lo-fi or or in the red to sound super rad, cuz the fact is he can write seriously and undeniably damn good songs. Both of these tracks have a sun soaked and dusty quality that burns with such a nice slow sizzle. Hot on the heels of his record store day release of T. Rex covers, you can tell Ty's been basking in some '60s and '70s psych glory as of late. There are nice echoes of Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, and Moby Grape in these two tracks. Whether his songs are full throttle rockers or more mellow and spaced out like these two are, they always sound so damn good!
At this point we really don't need to go on and on about why we love Ty Segall so much. If you go back to all the records we've reviewed you'll get a sense of how much his raw, impassioned garage rock really moves us. With the release of his first proper live album, we can reflect on how lucky we are being right here in SF and getting so many chances to see him play, so this record is a chance for everyone else to hear what they've been missing...
Whether its a house party, a small club, or an impromptu jam, whenever Segall plays live he lays it all on the line. Being able to perfectly mix his impeccable guitar playing alongside unhinged spirit and sparks of kinetic energy.
Recorded live this past summer just down the street from aQ, at Amnesia, this is a perfect representation of the fierce power of the Ty Segall live experience. The set-list pulls from Ty's three albums as well as a brand new jam and a couple scuzzy covers of tracks by G.G. Allin and the Vibrators.
Limited to 1,000 copies, best to jump on this before its too late.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Even though we reviewed a lot of em, we had no idea Segall had been cranking out singles at such a crazy clip, nearly 20 tracks from 2007-2010, and that's not even counting the full lengths. And if you're a faithful reader of the aQ list, you probably already know we're a huge fan of Segall's fuzzed out jangle and crunchy garage rock stomp, and it's kind of great to have em all gathered up in one place, especially considering that we somehow missed a whole bunch of these.
Just check out the opening salvo, "Where We Go", 90 seconds of fuzzy, murky jangle and pound, all murky and fuzzy, with some weird percussion and some reverby sing along vox... then there's "It", which is also pretty far out, super lo-fi, and way dynamic, with a strange stop start arrangement, and a KILLER chorus. And then "Sweets" which is of a classic garage groover, but if those three songs don't knock your socks off, well, there must be something wrong with you.
We could go track by track, but pretty much everything here kills, some highlights include "Caesar", which, starts out all strummy and jangly, with some seriously fuzzy bass, the vocals a reverbed croon, shifting into a falsetto here and there, at one point getting all tangled up in effects in a twisted distorted psychedelic freakout. There's even a super rocking PIANO SOLO! But all that stuff is just icing, on what is a killer hook, and a crazy catchy jam. And the B side from that 7", "Bullet Proof Nothing", which is a Simply Saucer cover, is a little more grimy and buzzy than "Caesar", sounding almost like the Stooges "Search And Destroy" slowed down to a garagey dirge, but again, Segall wraps that jangle and crunch around a hook most bands would kill for. There's also Segall's cover of Thee Oh Sees' "Maria Stacks", a song which might just be Andee's favorite Oh Sees jam, not just cuz it's hooky and catchy, but it also immortalizes AQ pal and amazing artist/zine-maker Maria Forde. Ty finds a way to make the song a bit more lo-fi and fucked up sounding while still holding on to the great melody that makes the original stick like it does. We also dig "Cents", which still ranks as one of our favorite Segall jams ever, but there's also "Booksmarts", which we had never heard before, but is definitely now also in the running for best Segall jam, in fact, the more we listen to this, the more contenders there seem to be. Lots of the A sides from various singles did end up on the full lengths, but some of these versions are pretty dramatically different. Segall also does a pretty killer version of the Gories' "I Think I've Had It", with some chiming jangly guitars, lo-fi drum pound, and some crazily distorted vox.
In addition to the singles, there are also a handful of demo tracks, which are gloriously low fidelity, the yelped reverbed vox super reminiscent of Thee Oh Sees, which makes sense as Segall and Thee Oh Sees have shared numerous stages and records, and all except one have never popped up anywhere before, and even in their raw form, sound as good as anything else here.
Obviously if you dig Thee Oh Sees and Mikal Cronin and Bare Wires and the rest of that Bay Area garage rock crew, you probably already own most of Segall's records proper, and need this too (trust us), but if you somehow don't, this is as good a place to start as any!
NB. This is specially priced at $12.98 instead of the normal $13.98 for the next few weeks only!
We here at aQ hQ are kind of spoiled for great local music right now. It's no secret that San Francisco's been producing tons of great garage rock over the last few years and Mr. Segall's been one of the leading lights in that movement since the get-go. He's one of the most prolific too, with Sleeper being his third full length in just over a year. Ty is a man who truly never tires (or should we say Tyres? sorry!). And though he seems to split his time between SF and LA we still like to think we can claim him as our own! Compared to the reckless garage freak out of last year's Twins and other earlier recordings, Sleeper finds Segall at his most restrained - and dare we say at his most Bolan-esque! Sleeper is a gorgeous lo-fi dose of otherworldly glam-folk, immediately recalling T. Rex's mellower moments and even those late '60s records where they still went by Tyrannosaurus Rex (complete with the occasional bongo accompaniment!). But what makes this record work so perfectly is how none of the rough edges have been sanded away - it's glittery but gritty too. These sound predominantly like raw home recordings, mostly revolving around a single acoustic guitar and a bit of percussion. The vocals are what really make the album - fragile and warbly, but also ethereal and hypnotic. Like we said, Marc Bolan is a clear point of reference, especially in the way Segall manages to make his songs sound both totally personal and strangely distant at the same time. But there's also a bit of Perry Farrell there, especially on some of Sleeper's twangier more mystical segments, which definitely invoke the same drifting sun-bleached desert imagery of Jane's Addiction's mellower moments. There's a twinge of nostalgic melancholy to some of the songs as well, but it's subtle and never comes across as heavy handed. Mostly it's just one of those records that you want to wrap yourself up in - turn it on, close your eyes, and see what strange places it takes you to. It's a slow burn of an album, but before you realize it it's consumed your stereo entirely!
Ty Segall's Goodbye Bread record has been in constant rotation since it came out, so we were super psyched for this brand new single, but we were totally unprepared for what at first blush sounds like some crazy heavy noisy freakout, the title track opening with SUPER distorted guitar, all crunchy and in the red, which proved to be just a false start, but then the main riff comes in, and it too is totally heavy and sludgey, and we were convinced it was playing at the wrong speed, but no, this is just a dense slab of psychedelic garage pop heaviness, all murky and dirgey and almost doomy sounding, distorted echoey vox over that churning blown out riffage as well as some rad psychedelic guitar. The second track also has a bit of a false start, and while a bit more traditionally psychedelic and garage poppy, it too is petty noisy and distorted, lots of feedback, still a killer pop song, like the first one, just slathered in noisy distortion, and it sort of suits him.
The flipside is way more groovy and sixties garage rock sounding, fuzzy and poppy with a killer chorus that definitely reminds us of the recent Mikal Cronin Record Of The Week. This is definitely our new favorite single, and might even trump Goodbye Bread in terms of our favorite Ty Segall release. WAY recommended.
Two song teaser for the forthcoming full length, the A side already has us freaking out, a killer slab of glammy, proggy, garage pop, that might just be the best thing we've heard from Segall yet. A cool female vocal intro explodes into some seriously fuzzed out glam rock garage stomp, no lo-fi production here, it sounds incredible, massive and lush, and totally heavy, the boy/girl harmonies on the chorus KILL, the vibe swaggery and seriously glammed out, with some blasts of wild psychedelic shredding. The flipside is a bit more subdued, but also quite glammy, with a total Bowie vibe going on, hooky and heavy, fuzzy and jangly, further proof that the new full length is gonna be a mind blower!
When we reviewed the teaser 7" released a few weeks back to whet appetites for this, Ty Segall's new full length, we described the jam "The Hill" thusly: "a killer slab of glammy, proggy, garage pop, that might just be the best thing we've heard from Segall yet. A cool female vocal intro explodes into some seriously fuzzed out glam rock garage stomp, no lo-fi production here, it sounds incredible, massive and lush, and totally heavy, the boy/girl harmonies on the chorus KILL, the vibe swaggery and seriously glammed out, with some blasts of wild psychedelic shredding." And while that single and that sound is not really all that far removed with Segall's sound in general, the glamminess is cranked big time here, as is the hookiness. Just check out album opener "Thank God For Sinners", the perfect mash up of classic Beatles style melody and swaggery, slithery T-Rex fuzzed out groove. Which leads right into "You're The Doctor", adding some seriously driving psychedelic garage rock stomp, a wild blast of heady heavy psych rock that will have Oh Sees freeks losing their shit.
But as with every Segall record, the sound veers all over the place, slipping easily from sound to sound, vibe to vibe, and speaking of vibes, The Beatles vibe is huge throughout, but is deftly applied to Segall's already hook heavy sound, "Inside Your Heart" adds some brooding minor key melody as well as a killer catchy main guitar part, not to mention a wild squall of psychedelic freakout and a woozy, warped drag of an ending that makes it sound like the tape is slowly melting. "Would You Be My Love" is a dead ringer for classic Redd Kross, a supercharged sixties pop, while "Ghost" is a fuzz drenched, but still darkly melodic, almost metallic dirge, rife with gorgeous vocal harmonies, and a wicked main hook.
And so it goes. The rest of the record brimming with classic fuzzy pop and psychedelic garage gems, groovy and jangly one second, blown out and chaotic the next, but every track here stone cold killer. And while we do feel kinda foolish, going on and on about each successive Segall record as being the best yet, and our new favorite (and even making this one Record Of The Week only a few lists after Segall's Slaughterhouse record received the same honors), that's exactly what happens every time. And Segall really does just keep getting better and better, not just the songs, but the arrangements, the production, the vocals, everything. Have a look at past reviews on the aQ site, and you'll see just how much we love past records of his, which should tell you something when we once again, proclaim this the best one yet!
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.
NOW ON CASSETTE!!
Here's our review from when we first listed the lp and cd versions way back in 2009:
We've been in love with the raw passionate sounds of Ty Segall ever since we first heard him, his sound channeling the best of garage punk's past while sounding so immediate and charismatic and heartfelt, with a distinctive style all his own.
Lemons is his newest full length and it once again proves that we're going to be hearing great music from TS for so many years to come. One of those rare examples of someone who has both technical talent (a shredder on the guitar, perhaps that's why he's recently been recruited as a member of Sic Alps!), but he also understands that less can be so much more than, well... more! Stripping away the fat and keeping only the notes and sounds that matter, stripped down and urgent, lean and mean. While Lemons does contain the fast and blasting way blown out sound that he's become known for, we're also happy to hear a few slower songs that demonstrate he can really write strong and irresistible songs that get jammed in your head. Lots of Lemons has us imagining raw demos of Nirvana jamming out covers of the Sonics and tracks from the first Redd Kross record. Whether soaked in psychedelic fuzzed out acid garage rock or bursting with infectious melody and surf rock undertones, all the disparate elements on Lemons come together for such a potent result. Much like his buddies Thee Oh Sees, Segall's massive output of totally great songs of late proves that the he is still totally on fire!
Good time to love the damaged and super charged garage prowess of Ty Segall as he's got great songs just gushing forth with a whole slew of new releases, most of which are of course crazy limited. There's his split with Thee Oh Sees, two new 7"s of his own, a split 12" with Black Time and a brand new full length coming soon on Goner. We were slow on the draw on the last round of TS 7"s which are sadly already out of print, so we're happy we were able to grab some of these before they disappeared too.
"Universal Momma" finds Ty exploring a more slowed down and drugged out vibe with a Roky Erikson sound heavy in its grooves and the title isn't just some rock talk, his mama Cherrie Segal actually co-wrote the song with him. The flip side "86'd" is also a bit more on the midtempo side proving Segall's far from a one trick pony, instead he's a seriously immediate and satisfying garage rock songwriter and is one of the folks helping the current scene sound so vibrant and alive. Limited to 500 of which we only have a handful.
One of our favorite tracks from recent Record Of The Week, Twins, from local garage pop kingpin Ty Segall, and listening to this track, we forgot to mention how much the main riff sounds like classic Nirvana! Which is most definitely a good thing, but Segall transforms it into something even poppier. In our review of Twins, we describe it as being a dead ringer for classic Redd Kross, which is also sorta true, a supercharged sort of sixties pop. The flipside, exclusive to this single is another slab of sixties pop, but much more stripped down and acoustic, some dreamy hippy psych pop, all dreamy harmony vocals, steel string strum, and even some whistling at the end. Not hard to imagine this song distorted and supercharged, and fitting perfectly on Twins, but in it's acoustic form, it's pretty much the perfect B side, and well worth the price of the 7"!
Holy shit this record totally floors us! We're not the most easily moved and impressed when it comes to most garage rock that we hear these days so a record really has to be packed with explosive energy and endless hooks to win us over, but oh my lord Ty Segall makes us want to be locked in a small and sweaty garage while he belts out his one man band jams and makes us jump and sweat and lose ourselves like only true rock n' roll has the power to do. We knew that Ty was something special ever since we heard his homemade and way out of print cassette Horn The Unicorn and saw him play in countless charming and kick ass bands (Traditional Fools, Epsilons, Party Fowl, etc.) all before even being 21 years old.
There is a difference between being retro and making music that is timeless and Ty Segall's full length debut falls perfectly in the latter category. This could have been recorded in '81, '91 or today and it would still hold up and blow us away. All the songs are around two minutes, no wasted space allowed, total urgency filled with punk spirit and pop songwriting chops that set him head and shoulders above so much of the current garage flock. We bet labels like Swami or In The Red wish they had put out this record and it makes such perfect sense that it's being released on Jon Dwyer's label as there is a similar spirit to the energetic and frantic sounds he created in The Coachwhips and the crafty songwriting and right on lo-fi production he employs with The Ohsees. Drenched in reverb and full of such a vibrant punch we hear hints of everything from Hasil Adkins to The Rip Offs and Thee Headcoatees but most of all we hear the emergence of one of the most exciting new voices in modern day, sweat soaked, soul filled rock n roll!
No doubt about it, Ty Segall is really one of our favorite garage rockers around. We're lucky enough to get to see him play all the time and the incredible sweat and energy of his live shows manages to seep its way into his recordings as pretty much every slab of wax he's released has delivered way raw fucked up garage rock at its absolute best!
Teamed up with his pal Mikal Cronin, the two take things to even more of a blasted and fractured state of garage mayhem with Reverse Shark Attack, tons of moments that remind us of the amazing thrashing garage pop scorch of the great Japanese band Acid Eater or some dream universe where Syd Barrett got to jam out Brainbombs covers. In fact they do an amazing cover of the Barrett era Pink Floyd gem "Take Up The Stethoscope And Walk" - it was so rad when we played this in the store for the first time and an enthusiastic customer screamed out "Who is doing some serious fucking justice to the spirit of Syd Barrett right now!?" and we totally understand where that impassioned and immediate reaction comes from! Segall continues to tap into the kind of music making that truly grabs a hold of your body to give you a totally enthralling pure and raw physical experience. We had heard an awesome 7" these two did together earlier in the year that sadly we weren't able to get our hands on, and it seems that Cronin really encourages Segall to go more into the outer limits of sound than on his own and we have to say we really love it! And we pretty much love any and all of what Ty does whether it's the amazing pop hooks he's capable of creating in his great songs on his proper solo albums or when he totally just goes way free and enters a total garage freak-out state that goes way beyond fuzz, like the tracks on Reverse Shark Attack. So rad!
Sort of seemed inevitable that these guys would get together, two local lo-fi garage pop masters, both of whom have gotten much love from aQ, and both of whom have surprisingly similar styles, collaborating on a set of songs, that ultimately manage to sound like they could have been proper records from either. No distinct separation between tracks, no huge stylistic shifts, instead, a meeting of the minds that manages to be both impossibly hooky and fuzzy and catchy, but also as weird and twisted as anything either of them have done on their own. Lots of kick ass axework, wild psychedelic leads and dense squalls of tangled freakout, over all manner of jangle and crunch, the vocals doused in reverb and appropriately washed out and yelpy, the drums simple and spare, the songs slipping easily from druggy psychedelic jangle pop to crunchy noisy garage punk raveups, to full on skiffle-y sixties psych-pop to twisted echo drenched garage rock dirges and some head spinningly experimental garage rock space jams, like "Scissor People", which might be THEE jam here, beginning with a little bit of birdsong, before launching into some jangly crunch, another blast of garage-y poppiness, until things go totally crazy about halfway through, the song suddenly a patchwork of alternate takes and different productions, as if multiple versions of the song were playing simultaneously, and someone began to flip between the various channels, the sounds dramatically different, even the tempos, and then coming out of it into a sort of motorik psych-kraut groove, wreathed in killer leads, and thick swaths of guitarnoise, it's the sort of jam most bands would have stretched out for ages, but these guys cram into a succinct 3:31.
We have to admit, that on first listen, mostly heard in the shop in little chunks, didn't fully sell us, but once we strapped on some headphones, this collab definitely revealed itself as being something sort of next level, and blossomed into a pretty fantastic(al) psychedelic garage pop trip out that we've had on pretty heavy rotation ever since.
Wish we had more of these, apparently it's out of print already (until they repress, c'mon) and we only have a couple...
It's been raining Ty Segall the last few weeks with a slew of rad vinyl offerings that have flown out the door. This new split LP with Black Time finds Ty at his most raw and rocking! Seven brand new songs including a smoking cover of The Dwarves "Be A Caveman" from back in their total garage punk days. Black Time were new to our ears and they definitely prove that London can get raw and fuzzy with the best of them, as their way lo-fi and in-the-red sound make them a perfect match for Segall. Maybe a bit more punk in sound and aesthetic then TS while still totally tapping into the more damaged and distorted side of primitive garage punk. Such a good time to be a fan of raw and impassioned garage rock cause folks like Ty and Black Time are totally coming correct.
The LAMC series of 7"s features tons of our favorite bands (Fuzz, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees), delivering an exclusive track on the A side, while the B side features one of THAT band's favorite new artists. A pretty cool concept for sure and we're reviewing 3 of our favorites in the series.
Number 7 features a killer A side from Ty Segall, who lays down a super funky drum track, swaddles it in organ, then some super distorted percussion, bongos maybe, a wild rhythmic freak out, that gets more and more wild and distorted as it goes, bursts of psych-squall noisiness, ultra distorted leads, all somehow wound up into a dense slab of cinematic psychedelic groovery!!
Segall's choice for unknown up and comer on the B side was totally unknown to us, still don't know much about them/him, other than they have a super goofy band name, and that they kick out some serious jams, a psychedelic garage rock din that is very reminiscent of Thee Oh Sees, scrappy and rambunctious, soaring harmony vocals, plenty of ooooh's and aaaah's, wound around gristly, rumblingly distorted crunch, even some almost metallic riffing and harmonized guitars, some chugging heaviness, and some crazy catchy poppiness, not to mention some weird high vox. Oh Sees fans will flip for these guys for sure. The bandname is definitely not doing them any favors, but odds are, if you can get past that, these guys could be a garage rock next big thing. You heard it here first!
And as you probably figured out already, EXTREMELY limited!!!!
Rumor was that this was gonna be Segall's 'metal' record. The title did nothing to dissuade that notion, 'Slaughterhouse', and the garish black and white howling monster/medusa artwork definitely seemed to support that theory as well. And while we remained skeptical, album opener "Death" (good metal title btw) briefly gave us pause, with its wild opening, a churning squall of super distorted guitars and squealing feedback, but soon the record proper kicks in and all is well, fear not, Ty Segall has not gone metal (as much as we think that would be amazing!) however, this is most definitely his heaviest record yet. His first recording with his live band, which of course includes longtime collaborator Mikal Cronin, find the sound cranked to eleven, the guitars blown out and distorted, the riffs heavy and crunchy, the songs are still garage pop, but with some serious heft, the vocals occasionally slipping into raspy howls, the guitars exploding into full on shredding leads, the group sounding all Stooges-y, raw and feral and seriously fierce. And it totally suits them. And even the tracks that are all jangly and poppy, are weirdly produced, with the guitars crumbling and in the red, beautiful harmony vocals, all oooh's and aaah's laid over grinding near metallic riffs, pounding drums, this is most definitely the first Segall record we'd describe as 'headbangable', but the key here, is that the songs are still impossibly catchy, just check out "I Bought My Eyes", which is so catchy we were convinced it was a cover, sounding like some sixties or seventies classic rock jam supercharged and dirtied up. The title track is a 90 second blast of churning garage punk riffage, with glass gargling vox, before they slip right into "The Tongue", with its Oh Sees-like opener, and sixties jangle rock verse, only to explode into some full on psychedelic noise freakout.
Beyond the sonic shift though, these are definitely some of the best songs we've heard from Segall, the heaviness and dirge-y rockingness only making them that much more intense, and in addition to the originals, Cronin contributes one track, another 90 second blast of super blown out Stooges-y swagger, that as you might imagine is shot through with some irresistible poppiness, and there's a couple of covers, they manage to transform Fred Neil's "The Bag I'm In", into a super dynamic tangle of low slung bass, and dense walls of psychnoise crunch, pounding garage rock pummel doused in wild guitars and sheets of blown out psychedelic guitar, and the take Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy" and rough it up a bit, adding some guitar crunch, and messing with the lyrics, before stumbling to chaotic premature halt. And let's not neglect to mention the 10 minute closer "Fuzz War", which sounds like it could be some lost Fushitsusha basement tape, or some lost seventies private press underground psych jam, a sprawling landscape of drone and buzz, noxious clouds of grinding guitars, super abstract drum splatter, the sound slipping from dark and droney to wildly chaotic, to a weird almost industrial clatter, and finally to a sort of freejazz drum heavy noiserock coda. So cool. And as you might have surmised, definitely one of our favorite Segall records yet!
That's Bay Area avant-garde icon Michael Gendreau working with a semi-anonymous Seitz who's asked to keep things hush-hush about his/her full identity. This collaboration is one that stems from Gendreau's long-standing use of the turntable as musical instrument. Back in the late '80s, Gendreau (in his project Crawling With Tarts) was composing turntable operas of surface noise and snippets of recontextualized sounds from the records themselves, very much akin to those Christian Marclay recordings from the same time period. By the turn of the millennium, Gendreau had honed his craft as an acoustician (scientifically analyzing the impact of environmental / industrial sound on a particular architectural / workplace system), and he applied those tools to composition, amplifying the tiniest of frequencies from a turntable motor, or the squeaks from a loose belt, or the haptic rumble from the needle scraping against inner label on the record itself. The clarity he was able to reproduce was such that these commonplace sounds became foreign and at times malignant. Here on the Seitz Versus Gendreau record, the turntable is is one of the sources, along with a distorted toy piano whose melodies come into the mix with atonal chops on the opener "Chorus After Rains." The two launch into a gnarled New Blockaders grunt of acoustic scapings and scabrous noise on the following track "Things Lost That Will Never Be Found", that dissolves into a crumbling low-frequency drone. The 18 minute "Trains Will Not Stop" enjoys an apt subtitle "Grand Surface Noise Opera Nr. 9" with a gradual unfurling of crackle and hiss joined by deep subharmonic hums that thrum ominously outside the relative calm of the surface noise / campfire mimesis. A great piece of sound art that lands on the more obtuse sonic sides of Philip Jeck, Janek Schaefer, and the aforementioned Christian Marclay. Limited to a stupidly low number of just 90 copies.
Here's a lilting fuzzy pop debut from the young SF band who go by the moniker Send For Help. Despite their name, none is really needed here. They're doin' just dandy on their own. The foursome's crunch 'n' jangle guitars and soft emotive male vocals suggest that they're drawing ample influences from the likes of Pinback, Modest Mouse Built To Spill and Sonic Youth. Fits right in with the recent No Midnight album from another Bay Area band Birdmonster. Indie rock lives on right here in SF!
A six-song debut EP from this SF trio. Gently swaying postrock that bring to mind the fine college rock bands from the '90s like Seam, Ida and Versus. Swells of quiet/loud/quiet electric guitars, hushed vocals and washy cymbals build atop the solid bass and drums. Very pretty and wistful.
