[ aquarius records — Rock Pop ]

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Showing results 5301 through 5350 of 19388.

Do you like early Einsturzende Neubauten (Kollaps, Strategies Against Architecture)? Yeah? Great; then you don't want to miss Kalte Sterne, the new collection of Einsturzende Neubauten's early 7"s, surrounded by many previously unreleased recordings. Most of these were impossible to find the first time around, and represent the beginning of the brilliant German group's (literally) metallic, Dadaist anti-music. Thirteen tracks of scraping atonal genius by the group arguably most responsible for connecting the ideas of 20th century avant-garde composers and '-isms' with the underground art-rock audience. Kalte Sterne reveals a dub sense not readily apparent on the first full length albums, as well as surprisingly well formed looks at their trademark post-Faust, homemade musique concrete. Early Einsturzende Neubauten is iconclastic, ubiquitous and absolutely unique. If you've ever wished for more early-style Einsturzende Neubauten, before they mellowed considerably and became more like 'regular music', here it is. Kalte Sterne is 'noise' in the truest and best sense, for every adventurous ear.

MPEG stream: Kalte Sterne
MPEG stream: Tan-Ze-Dub

Kollaps. The first album from Einsturzende Neubauten, released back in 1981, found the band as a trio with the wild-throated frontman Blixa Bargeld buttressed by the anarcho-rhythmicists N.U. Unruh and F.M. Einheit. The band photo of Neubauten on Kollaps is quite telling, as a it parodies Pink Floyd's grand collection of instruments that emblazoned the back cover of Ummagumma. Instead of the marching band sized collection of drums and mallets, there's an assortment of hammers, pipes, a couple of drills, a cheap looking synth, an ax (yeah, there is a guitar, but there's also an ax!), and sheet metal twisted in the shape of drumheads. These are the instruments that Neubauten uses in the hyper-primitive, industrial-punk tracks found on Kollaps. Neubauten's amplified junkyard was a clearly a bold statement of DIY primitivism, this trio was not without their structural prowess, crafting anthemic blasts out of their rhythmic churns, bristling with sparkplug noise and rabid distortion. "Tanz Debil" is curiously catchy in its amplified shopping cart bashing which Unruh & Einheit hammer out to accompany the demon-then-zombie vocal delivery from Blixa Bargeld. The title track is a 8 minute monochord mantra, and the band actually pulls off an instrumental cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime." Very rough around the edges, but there is a serious-minded, infernal poetry of pain, anger, and rage focused through these scrap metal arrangements. It's great to have this in stock, as Kollaps is a tremendous record.

MPEG stream: Tanz Debil
MPEG stream: Kollaps
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It appears that as Einsturzende Neubauten near a quarter century of existence, they've set aside their cognac glasses and smoking jackets for the time being -- a good thing! Of course, that's not to say that they've returned to their early 80's groundbreaking visceral fury (see: Drawing Of Patient O.T. and Halber Mensch). No, sadly this is not the case. Like its predecessor, 2000's Silence Is Sexy, Perpetuum Mobile's focus is on subdued refinement and somber reflection with often quite beautiful percussive results. There is an overriding sense of heavy fatigue and mournfulness that resonates throughout the album, however, a particular low point of this despairing tone is Blixa Bargeld's tedious, uninspired chant in the fourth track "Selbstportrait Mit Kater" of "Life on other planets is difficult... so difficult". Had to hit the 'skip' button after his first few rounds.

MPEG stream: Ich Gehe Jetzt
MPEG stream: Selbstportrait Mit Kater

After Marc Chung and FM Einheit left Einsturzende Neubauten, Blixa ended up getting fat...and boring.

The differences between the Einsturzende Neubauten of the '80s and the Einsturzende Neubauten of the '90s are like night and day. The band's early days were spent mucking around junkyards and cold warehouses which proved to be the perfect setting for their spectacular investigations into 'the abject' through the physical abrasion of metal percussion, discordant guitars, and the pained yelp of Blixa Bargeld. These were the days of their best material, as found on such masterpieces of industrialized angst as Drawings of OT and Halber Menche. Much had been made about the fall of the Berlin Wall and Neubauten's aesthetic shift. Political allusions aside, it's quite clear that the Neubauten that produced Tabula Rasa had undergone a profound shift from their early days of blood, grit, and steel. Donning the finest Italian suits and moving with a theatrical swagger, Neubauten merely threatens to physically confront you with rhythmic intensity or the powers of horror. They've actually managed to stretch out their fading career with this strategy. If only we could all be that lucky. When they do launch into a big jackhammer rhythm as found on Tabula Rasa's "Headcleaner," their creaking joints and tired sinews don't really have it in them anymore. This reissue features a bonus disc with all of the material from the Interim and Malediction singles which came out around the same time as Tabula Rasa.

MPEG stream: Die Interimsliebenden
MPEG stream: Headcleaner

Much will be made of the strategies that Einsturzende Neubauten used in making The Jewels. Frontman Blixa Bargeld devised a series of Tarot-like cards which represented the vast collection of materials which are at Neubauten's disposal - steel, tin, zinc, wood, plastic, glass, ceramics. The entire band would then draw cards, and the compositional process would begin. The tracks tend be a bit shorter than the typical Neubauten opus, and the songs follow the recent aesthetic shifts towards quieter, controlled orchestration for their unusual materials. On a few tracks, there are hints of their formerly infernal selves, glancing back to one of the last true masterpieces Funf Auf Der Nach Oben Offenen Richterskala. Originally released as a subscription only download through their website; now available with a 40 minute film as a Quicktime movie and large book with lyrics and Blixa's insight into the process.

MPEG stream: Robert Fuzzo
MPEG stream: Die Ebenen Werden Nicht Vermischt

A brilliant reissue from the seminal German industrial ensemble Einsturzende Neubauten. This album represented the first full realization of the Neubauten project, with F.M. Einheit and Marc Chung (both hailing from the underappreciated post-punk ensemble Abwarts) joining the trio of Blixa Bargeld, Alexander Hacke, and N.U. Unruh. The O.T. from the title of this record references Oswald Tschirtner, a resident of psychiatric hospital for artists, where the patient created these compulsive drawings out of the unkempt visions in his head. Such is the way the Neubauten seeks to employ sound on this record: cracked, naive, and dangerous. Found objects, stolen radio transmissions, repurposed machinery, and lots of metal bashing appear in this album, inspired as much by musique concrete juxtaposition as by punk fury. The desolate drone-centric piece "Armenia" and the propulsive "Vandium I-Ching" represent two of the extremes found on this ever-impressive album.

MPEG stream: Vanadium-I-Ching
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MPEG stream: Armenia
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It's Jewlia Eisenberg from the local Idiot-Flesh-related group Charming Hostess! Along with a few similarly angel-voiced men and women, Jewlia has constructed an album of intricate harmonies -- all of it a capella and just bell clear. Elements of Bulgarian

RealAudio clip: Meister of Kultur

Mark Eitzel presents two of his very distinct musical personalities on his latest solo outing (which goes by the odd, somewhat ill-fitting title Candy Ass) -- his trademark somber Americana sound of his full band American Music Club and his less familiar, but just as moody, Radiohead-ish atmospheric electronic tracks. Really, it's a bit boggling that he chose to combine the two when he could easily have released two separate totally cohesive solid albums. When played in the store, it had folks asking, "Is this still the Mark Eitzel?!" Each song unto itself is pretty darn gorgeous, but mixing 'em up like this only makes it difficult for the listener to immerse him/herself in either. Of course, maybe that's what Eitzel intended (i.e, to journey through various different 'places'), but his chosen running order just leads you in one direction only to leave you hangin'. Perhaps, you won't find this detail as distracting as we did.

MPEG stream: My Pet Rat St Michael
MPEG stream: A Loving Tribute To My City

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SORRY. New album from former singer of American Music Club who now lives in New York.

Long awaited new single from local troubadour of the downtrodden, Mark Eitzel. The title track is certainly Eitzel's most upbeat song EVER, with barely a hint of the abject depression that marked his solo work and long tenure with American Music Club. It

RealAudio clip: It Is Important Throughout Your Life to Proclaim Your Joy

Mon dieu! Do my ears deceive me? Alas, the worst is true: Mark Eitzel has made a covers album. That's right. The amazing Mark Eitzel, formerly of American Music Club, who were local but had cultishly loyal fans the world over, has made an album of songs I'm a huge AMC and Eitzel fan, but dang this record is dismal. Here's why: Eitzel's voice and lyrics -- which once had meaning and depth for AMC/Eitzel fans, which once came from his heart -- has been reduced to nothing but a 'style'. Weak loungejazz singing might work for Harry Connick Jr, but how dare anyone try to superficialize (is that a word?) Mark Eitzel. His voice hasn't got the range nor the appropriate bland sappiness to carry off the tunes they way they "should" be covered. He sounds really muted and only half-caring, as if he knows how wrong the whole idea was. The band is similarly hesitant (except on the Curtis Mayfield song where they funk it up tolerably well.) Mark's voice is far more suited to the angst-ridden catharsis AMC records trafficked in. Yes, I'm biased in favor of his older music but this... this isn't even his *new* material -- they're not his songs! (And yes, if the covers were truly well done I would totally applaud the project... but they are bad bad bad.) A sad thumbs-down for the many fans including myself who've been patiently waiting for new Eitzel songs.

RealAudio clip: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me
RealAudio clip: More, More, More

Mark Eitzel has long been an AQ-favorite, the local troubadour of the downtrodden whose work with American Music Club and thru three+ solo albums was so stellar that there was a time I would never ever miss one of his shows. Eitzel's newest solo album was completed mostly on his own using ProTools and a guitar in his living room. You wouldn't know it from the sound, though, as it is

RealAudio clip: The Boy with the Hammer
RealAudio clip: Proclaim Your Joy

Hot on the heels of the exciting news that American Music Club are re-forming for a long awaited live show (Aug 21 at Makeout), here comes this leftfield project from Mark Eitzel. He was invited to play a live show in Greece, and ended up making a whole album with traditional Greek musicians as backup band. That's right, you'll hear mandolin, bouzouki, and tzouras right there along with the simple string section of violin, viola, etc. And the best news is... it's good! So reserve that pre-judgement tendency (ahem, I had to) and just listen. It's quite good. It doesn't "rock", mind you -- it isn't supposed to. This is more Eitzel than AMC. The unusual instrumentation adds a layer of pathos and real urgency to Eitzel's already stirring, deeply poignant tales of depression. Song choices include two new pieces, and the remainder cover the gamut of Eitzel's career, with a healthy dose of older material such as "Western Sky", "Nightwatchman", "Last Harbor". A highlight is an almost sprightly version of that classic Eitzel downer "Take Courage". Recommended!

MPEG stream: Here They Roll Down
MPEG stream: Take Courage

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SORRY.

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

SORRY. What a breath of fresh air! As if a new Circle album wasn't enough (see "Prospekt" elsewhere on this list), there's also a new release from this Circle side-project. A side project staffed *entirely* by members of Circle, we might add. Hence, there's an unavoidable but definitely welcome similarity between the two bands. Ektroverde are kind of like Circle's alter-ego -- less intense (and yet, still really intense!), sometimes jazz, sometimes fucked up hi-NRG pop. The trademark Circle rhythmic hypnosis remains, but the sometimes austere riff-mongering and prog-rock precision is mostly superseded by a generally more playful and groovier approach, certainly nothing as heavy or "rockin'" as what's found on "Prospekt". Gorgeous, psychedelic instrumental explorations, even venturing into the realms of primitive techno electronics at points (Ektro-house?)... There's actually many moods to this record, some parts silly and some downright spooky. To get a sense of the album's range, please listen to all three soundclips. We are especially enamoured of the track "Gradient" with its baa-ing sheep (this must be heard to be believed!) and Pansonic-like pulsations, and equally in love with the following track of creepy drone-effects, more like an Organum piece. In fact, this disc at moments reminds us of everything from Goblin soundtracks (creepy keyboards) to Van Halen's "Jump" (well, that only briefly). Very highly recommended!!

RealAudio clip: Orange
RealAudio clip: Gradient
RealAudio clip: Therefore

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SORRY. A one-off projekt from the mastermind of Circle (J. Lehtisalo) and his casio, whose factory jazz-rhythm presets are played far faster than they were intended, forming a tinny techno structure for theramin, guitar, sax, and other weird noises.

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

SORRY. Loose "hypno-groove-prog-ambient- jazz" from Jussi Lehtisalo, leader of AQ favourites Circle. Jim emphasizes the jazz portion of that meta-genre description, in that the cyclical repetitions appear as spliced constructions of what could have been throw-away tracks from Squarepusher's attempts at aping '70s Miles Davis. But instead of sounding exactly like Miles Davis, Lehtisalo forces the sounds (which would prefer otherwise) into tight sequences of looping pulsations, resembling the clinical approach of sampling in techno.

Lazy hippie jazz jamming that noodles and percolates along. Ektroverde has always been the 'jazzy' cousin of AQ Finnish faves Circle, a side project consisting entirely or almost entirely of members of Circle, often operating in much the same mode of hypnotic repetition, but with definite jazzier leanings. Well, this new Ektroverde disc is jazzier, and funkier, than ever -- saxes, as well as synths, to the fore! You've gotta dig some jazz sax to get into this, which otherwise could be a spaced-out, effects-laden Acid Mothers Temple improv. There's also the question of the vocals, not formerly a significant element of Ektroverde's sound. The Can-like vocal mantras sometimes work, sometimes don't, while Mika Ratto's occasional cod-operatics can simply make this seem like a mellowed-out, jazzed-up version of recent Circle. At its best, like on the lengthy track three, this is darkly moody and mesmerizing, but at its worst it's indulgent and kinda cheesy. Maybe this is one of those "if it wasn't Circle (or close to) would I want one?" conundrums. I don't know the answer to that, but I did like it enough to buy one. And it does boast awesome photos of extreme Finnish weather phenomena, along with the URL for a Finnish storm-chasers website. Storm-chasing is maybe a good analogy for what Ektroverde are doing here, merely getting damp in a drizzle as the album opens, then eventually catching up to the big storm as the second half of the disc gets more stretched-out and heavy. Maybe there's a rainbow in it for you...

MPEG stream: Paholaispiirtaja
MPEG stream: Kaski

MPEG stream: Heartbeat
MPEG stream: What's The Rush
MPEG stream: Peace Of Mine

We were given a heads up about El Guincho months ago by a customer who was in the store while we were playing Panda Bear. He asked us if we knew El Guincho, when we said no, he told how we had to hear it and it would blow us away and how he was like the Spanish version of Panda Bear. So now several months later El Guincho is finally seeing his record released in North America on XL, and we have to say once again, that sometimes our customers are often way more hip and in the know then we are, because this is proving to be a total store favorite! There is a huge Panda Bear influence at play but with a much more full on party sensation. And a distinct lo-fi Manu Chao vibe as well. This isn't headphone music, this is a record meant to come blasting out of speakers. We hear such a wide range of influences, especially the surging sonic sensations heard in Congotronics, all riled up for full pleasure. If Panda Bear ever got to be captain of a party cruise we're pretty sure this is what it would sound like to be on that ship. Sign us up!

MPEG stream: Antillas
MPEG stream: Kalise
MPEG stream: Prez Lagarto

Summer in San Francisco is a funny thing. It doesn't really happen, most of July and even August is chilly, grey, and windy. We know we have no room to really complain about the weather here, but it can get you down. Luckily we do usually get this small blast of Indian Summer that hits late in September and we all run to the park, the beach, a lake, anywhere to soak it all up as much as we can, as we know it will be gone before we know it. So in these times of packing in as much summer as we can in just a handful of days we really need and relish when an end of the summer jam shows up just in time to blast as we play in the sunshine. El Guincho has given us the perfect bright, bouncy and colorful soundtrack that's beyond perfect for tapping into the carefree vibe of running through waves and playing in sand, the fleeting summer state of mind that is already on its way out. Picking up perfectly where his 2008 debut left off, and even upping he quality of songcraft and irresistibility. While El Guincho is from Spain, his music really sounds like someone so in touch with so many great sounds being made across the globe. It's a universal kind of super smart and catchy dance minded pop, filled with so many cascading melodies, catchy rhythms and such impeccable taste. One of those perfect records that seamlessly mixes synths, samples, and live instruments along with warm and welcoming vocals to create songs that are made for letting down your guard and soaking up some much needed joy and sunshine. So damn good!

MPEG stream: Bombay
MPEG stream: FM Tan Sexy
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Been sensing a little buzz lately about this band from the U.K. You might've spotted these four women recently when they toured the U.S. with fellow Brits Broadcast. Having seen their performance here in S.F. and now, having heard this their second full length, we'd say they're much stronger on record. Live, they came across rather stiff and unprepared. On The Power Out, they reveal intriguing and adventurous ideas a-plenty -- mostly rooted in brooding propulsive rock laced with organ, piano and even a saxophone on one of the later songs. On occasion however, they lack the chops to truly lock it all together. The unpolished, loose quality of both the recordings and the performances may be appealing to some, but overall it makes for an uneven album. When they do hit the mark though Electrelane can really shine. For an example of this you need look (or listen) no further than the album's third song. A bit of a black sheep among the rest of the more straightforward guitar-driven songs it's a film soundtrack-y choral number called "The Valleys". Glorious! We'd wish for more of a similar ilk, but only one other (the eighth song "This Deed") comes close. One reason for this is the presence of additional vocals that accompany those of lead singer/multi-instrumentalist Verity Susman. They really flesh out the two songs, making them more expansive, more enveloping and a stark contrast to the rest. Actually the prominent and varied vocal presence on The Power Out is a marked change from its predecessor, the mostly instrumental, more krautrock influenced Rock It To The Moon. So, with this increased focus on the vocals what's the in-store response been like? Well, it's run both hot and cold ranging from those who dug Susman's voice quite a bit to those who thought it was grating and a bit sour. She definitely tackles a number of different vocal deliveries that range from gutsy grrrl hollerin' to a low Chrissie Hynde-ish throatiness to droll Pastels-ish sing-song not to mention some odd non-verbal bird-call sounds (check out "On Parade"). Definitely seems to be a matter of taste.

MPEG stream: The Valleys
MPEG stream: On Parade

The Pretty Things, in a money making ploy used the alias Electric Banana. They recorded soundtrack pieces for the DeWolfe Music Library, who would store them away for whenever that hip swinging London sound was called for in a film. They appeared in some late '60s/early '70s soft porn titles and horror flicks like Michael Armstrong's The Haunted House Of Horror. These 15 tracks were recorded when The Pretty Things were at their best so the songs are totally great groovy british psychedelia.

RealAudio clip: Alexander
RealAudio clip: It'll Never Be Me

One of two new Sacred Bones releases on this week's list, and the first we've heard from the Electric Bunnies, although a quick check of the internet perhaps suggests that we're a bit out of the loop on this one. But no matter, we're digging these two new jams BIG time, starting off with a squall of feedback and some pounding psychedelic drum damage, the song blossoms into something much more moody and epic, with brooding deep vocals, and plenty of buzz. What sounded like a jam that could have exploded into some serious noise rock, instead sprawls into some fuzzy post punk cold wave crunch, gloomy and gothy, but wrapped in thick sheets of feedback, and swirling cloud of whir and skree, the rhythm motorik and relentless and hypnotic. The flip side offers up a whole different side of the band, with falsetto vox, Beach Boys harmonies, tumbling tribal drumming, a total "Don't you, forget about me..." eighties teen flick soundtrack vibe, but filtered through the current cracked sonics of the new wave of lo-fi warped garage pop. Awesome stuff, definitely has us hankering for more.

LA stoner/fuzz specialists EasyRider (or RidingEasy, seems they changed the name of the label, what did they get sued by Peter Fonda or something?) have been KILLING it lately, not just doing cassette versions of some awesome shit (Saint Vitus, Fuzz, Witchcraft, Windhand, etc.) but signing up some rad new bands too for vinyl & cd release - we recently reviewed great albums Salem's Pot and Sons Of Huns, this list we've got two more, by Monolord and Electric Citizen. This band, Electric Citizen, from Ohio, are yet another entry in the current upsurge (we won't say glut) of female-fronted, '70s styled retro-rockers - Jex Thoth, Blood Ceremony, Purson, Mount Salem, The Oath, Jess and The Ancient Ones, etc., etc. - and they already rank up amongst our faves. Heavy, rollicking riffage, check. Psychedelic vibes, check. High, wailing vocals (she's got pipes), check. And, in Electric Citizen's case, lots of heavy Hammond organ too, a la Deep Purple, but also conjuring the shades such lesser known '70s precursors as Bloodrock and The Power Of Zeus. Indeed, many of the songs here almost sound like they could have belonged on that Darkscorch Canticles comp of obscure '70s proto-metal we made Record Of The Week not long ago! Among their contemporaries, with the organ, Electric Citizen could be compared especially to Blood Ceremony, but EC tend to put the pedal to the metal a bit more, rippin' and rockin, not wandering in the witchy woods of prog and folk quite so much. So, we're digging this big time, the only thing we can really gripe about is that the band name is kinda whatever - really, there's already a lot of Electric Something bands, right, so if you're gonna do it too, you need to pick a decent Something. Electric Prunes, Electric Eels, Electric Wizard, Electric Frankenstein, those are some good ones. Electric Citizen, though, what's that about?

MPEG stream: Beggar's Need
MPEG stream: Savage
MPEG stream: Burning In Hell

Brad Laner (of Medicine) returns with another solo electronic effort, ambient computer collage art.

Brad Laner (of Medicine) turns his incendiary drone guitar towards electronica with nods to Aphex Twin and Mouse on Mars (or so all the label one sheets claim).

A split release between SF's boyish emo-popsters The Get-Go and Japan's considerably more fired up'n'crazed, crunchy guitar-slingin' Electric Eel Shock (not to be confused with Electric Eels). This is where the melodic meets the manic, the catchy meets the chaotic, the... you get the picture. I personally leaned more towards the Electric Eel Shock camp, but you might lean differently. The tracks are split evenly between the two bands -- five apiece -- for a total head-to-head match.

RealAudio clip: Rock'N'Roll Can Rescue The World
RealAudio clip: The Kids Who Took Forever

Totally something we should have expected that reissue specialists Superior Viaduct would get to sooner or later, 'cause it's very much up their, uh, viaduct, and yep here it is - a retrospective compilation from seminal raw weirdo almost-avant-garde punks the Electric Eels! Proto-punks, really, as the band started in '72, and broke up in '76, with all their releases being posthumous ones. We'll now repurpose a bunch of what we wrote about the band when a previous, now out of print anthology came out some years ago... The Electric Eels were the undisputed bad boy kings of Ohio punk, spitting out snarled three minute blasts of noisy, clumsy, snotty '70s punk rock, sounding like a retarded Black Flag, which is a *good* thing. Super distorted and super whiny, these Cleveland fuck-ups made fellow Ohioans Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys look and sound like choir boys. Magnets for trouble, the Eels attracted cops and fist fights and rowdy crowds like shit attracts flies, resulting in inter-band squabbles, drunken half sets, and mucho club destruction. The thing was, even though these guys could barely play, they wrote amazingly catchy songs and what they lacked in skill they made up for with attitude. Songs like "You're Full Of Shit" are relentless, hook filled pop gems, dipped in shit and sprinkled with garbage, that still somehow came out smelling like roses. The Electric Eels are what all punk rock should sound like - catchy, heavy, loud, funny and most importantly not pretentious. Completely essential, fucked up, PUNK ROCK. This vinyl-only Superior Viaduct collection, 13 tracks in all, contains such Eels essentials as "Agitated", "Cyclotron", "Sewercide", and "Jaguar Ride", and features liner notes by punk rock scholar Jon Savage. FYI, Superior Viaduct have also just reissued the Electric Eels' killer 2nd single, "Spin Age Blasters/Bunnies", available separately, we've got those too (the tracks from their first single are on this Die Electric Eels comp, btw).

MPEG stream: Cyclotron
MPEG stream: Refrigerator

The Electric Eels were the undisputed bad boy kings of Ohio punk spitting out snarled three minute blasts of noisy, clumsy, snotty seventies punk rock sounding like a retarded Black Flag, which is a *good* thing. Super distorted and super whiny, these Cleveland fuck-ups made fellow Ohioans Pere Ubu and the Dead Boys look and sound like choir boys. Magnets for trouble, the Eels attracted So, now that we've established that you should probably buy this, which format to get? Well, the LP has six tracks different from or missing from the cd, and also sports extra liner notes and a different cover. At first we weren't sure how essential this was since there was another Eels collection released not too long ago, but eleven of the tracks on the cd are previously unreleased, and there are a few more unreleased/alternate versions on the double LP!

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

SORRY.

Why doncha sing along with us to the following (as sung to the tune of Doobie Brothers' "Jesus Is Just Alright")? Daniel is everywhere this year! Daniel is everywhere, uh huh! Daniel is everywhere, oh yeah! Daniel is everywherrrrrrrrrrrrrre! Now, don't you run away hollerin' "WTF!" if you haven't a clue what we're talking about. You should know that there's not only a big ol' documentary film on the man, but also a big ol' exhibit of his art that's making its way around the U.S and Europe. To boot, there is new music! Whoo hoo! The Electric Ghosts are indeed Daniel Johnston and his buddy (and bandmate in Hyperjinx Tricycle) Jack Medicine. This is a remarkably polished and produced album (and not just by Johnston standards and expectations). It actually sounds like a long-lost Young Fresh Fellows record. Nonetheless, listen a little closer and those Daniel-isms peek through. Y'know, his unmistakable combo of bare-hearted love-sick sentiments and untethered dream/nightmare storytellin'. So good! As has become the custom over the years, you just wanna hug each and every tune including their cover of Bowie's "Scary Monsters"! Produced by Kramer (of Bongwater and Shimmy Disc fame).

MPEG stream: Sweetheart (Frito Lay)
MPEG stream: Pain In My Heart

This is the first we're hearing from Electric Jellyfish, although mainman Michael Beach is responsible for a killer tape we reviewed a while back. We tried to catch EJ at South By Southwest, they played WFMU's showcase, sadly, we were at the aQ show across town, but word was they killed it. Which is not hard to imagine listening to this two track teaser, clanging crashing guitars, pounding tribal drumming, howled feral vox, thick sinewy basslines, swaggery and slithery, punky and low slung, very reminiscent of some of our favorite Aussie bands like Lubricated Goat, Kingsnakeroost, the Scientists, etc. A similar sort of swampy junkyard blooz, a little loose, a bit druggy, with the bass on the second track driving a sort of Birthday Party-ish dirge. Good stuff for sure. Super short, only two songs, six minutes, but will definitely leave you hankering for more. LIMITED TO 100 COPIES! Already sold out and out of print, so these are the very last copies.

MPEG stream: Trouble Coming Down
MPEG stream: Nothing

We are living in a post-Postal Service world. In the last several years we've been flooded with groups turning down their guitars and turning up their electronics, syrupy melodies, sensitive sentiments and catchy choruses. Unfortunately very few of these groups reach the bar set by the folks they are looking up to like the aftermentioned Postal Service, The Notwist and many of their Morr label-mates or on the non-electronic side of things, Pinback and Death Cab For Cutie. Unfortunately Electric President don't bring a whole lot new to the table and while they would sound fine in the background of a new episode of The O.C. we can't say this is going to win any awards for originality or songwriting talent. It's not bad it's just sorta pleasant. Definitely for those who like their electronic pop to be ultra feather-soft, pretty and with male vocals that bring to mind Stuart Little or the little frog Robin on Sesame Street... which come to think of it probably includes quite a few folks.

MPEG stream: Good Morning Hypocryte
MPEG stream: Insomnia

It's funny that this record came out under the Electric Prunes moniker as the '60s psych band best known for their great hit "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night" aren't really anywhere to be found on this record. Instead this is the brainchild and work of legendary arranger & producer David Axelrod -- much like their better known Mass In F Minor, this being its Judiac follow-up. Clocking in at around 25 minutes, and utilizing some of the best Los Angeles players of the late '60s Release Of An Oath is a brilliant concoction of rich grooves, prog moments, acid rock and classical tropes. It's no surprise that to this day Axelrod's work is sampled left and right because his sense of melody and his kick ass breaks are so damn perfect!

MPEG stream: Kol Nidre
MPEG stream: General Confessional

Our pal Dave put this KILLER record out and we think he describes it the best: "In the winter of 1967, a psychedelic-garage-punk band from Woodland Hills, California, arrived in Europe for what would be their first and last tour of the continent. On the strength of their hit single 'I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night,' the band was welcomed with open arms by European rock fans as well as British rock royalty - they smoked out with Hendrix, partied with Brian Jones and Keith Moon, and hung out in the studio with the Beatles - but were also subjected to harassment and ridicule over the fact that their homeland was at war in Vietnam. Yep, good times, good times... Twenty days and six countries later it was all over. Luckily, on the last stop of the tour someone pushed the record button and this artifact is the result. "Stockholm '67 finds the Electric Prunes at the height of the powers. Some ninnies have griped that the 'Prunes were nothing more than a psychedelic one-hit wonder, and a studio project at best. This performance burns the criticism to the ground. Over-amplified and fuzzed to the max, the 'Prunes here are explosive, noisy and wild. This recording proves that the Electric Prunes deserve to be ranked alongside the very best bands of their era."

RealAudio clip: You never had it better
RealAudio clip: I had too much to dream (last night)

Following up their self-titled debut ep from last year, Electric Turn To Me deliver not a full length, but a second ep. Rising up from the ashes of AQ faves Laddio Bolocko, ETTM is the new band led by LB's Blake Fleming (drums) and Marcus Degrazia (organs, keyboards, saxophone, flute). Their mysterious German vocalist known only as Silke once again lends her tormented dramatic vocal stylings to each of the five red wine drenched songs. Last time around her singing received a rather icy AQ reception -- it does seem to be an acquired taste -- but on these newer songs she's honed her handwringing theatrics somewhat so that her vocals rather than being a distraction are more integrated in the band's scalding darkwave-postpunk sound. Both she and fourth member James Wilk provide the snaking guitars that flesh out the proceedings. Clouds Move So Fast is an unsettling, propulsive meeting at the fork in the road where the paths lead off to sinister carnival and intoxicating cabaret.

MPEG stream: Wrestle With Me Angel

Folks expecting Laddio Bolocko Mach 2 may find themselves quite confused (and disappointed) by this new group headed up by ex-Laddio guys Blake and Marcus. Things start off with what sounds like a high-speed dub version of a vintage Laddio riff, proggy and motorik. With swirling warbly organs, tight controlled rhythms and a definite electro/new wave vibe. But then there's the vocals, and the vocals (as often is the case) is what will make or break this band for you. German chanteuse Silke (who also plays guitar) adds a really strange vibe to the proceedings. The obvious comparison is Siouxsie Sioux, but her delivery is much more overwrought and cabaret. Almost campy. Definitely unique and interesting, but for me it sort of takes away from the music, which is too bad since Laddio Bollocko were responsible for some of the greatest post rock/post punk EVER.

MPEG stream: First Crimes
MPEG stream: Watch Out For The Witch

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

SORRY. NWOBHM single reissued, Kemado following their hearts on this one. Nice.

Musik Die Schwer Zu Twerk was initially described to us as a solo record from Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, which we were EXTREMELY excited about, cuz as followers of the Flaming Lips and longtime fans, even though frontman Wayne Coyne is himself some sort of twisted genius, we all know/knew it was Drozd that was the group's secret weapon, a musical polymath who could play pretty much anything, and live is always constantly flitting from drums to keyboards to guitar and back again. We even saw one amazing show where Drozd filmed himself playing drums in his living room. Just in shorts and a T-shirt, and even with a couple breaks to get up and get a drink, readjust the drums, etc. and then somehow, the band played to that projection perfectly in sync, even with the weird stops and asides, and it was fun and funny and sort of mind-blowing. So when we heard about Drozd's new band Electric Wurms, we were pretty psyched, and we still are, but it seems that the Wurms is in fact, essentially just another Flaming Lips record in all but name, Coyne's on board, as are a bunch of other folks, Coyne and Drozd and crew wrote the record, so while it might not have been the fucked up mind bending Drozd solo record some of us were hoping for, it is still pretty great, and essentially plays like a slightly weirder, proggier Lips record proper, which is most definitely not a bad thing. Tracks sprawl and drift, there are swaths of woozy vocodered vox over drifts of synthy shimmer, muted murky motorik rhythms, occasional squall of wild psychedelic freakout, a little bit of electronica woven throughout, with buried housey beats here and there, passages of jazzy skitter, bit bombastic drum pound, all wreathed in clouds of druggy atmosphere, heady and hypnotic, much of the record sort of blissed out, laid back and a little stoned sounding, but with the occasional moment of gloriously prismatic kosmiche, or wild tribal jamming that sounds a bit like aQ faves Goat, and some sound just like dreamy, soft focus, dreamily psychedelic Flaming Lips balladry. It's all pretty great, and Lips fans will dig it a bunch, easily as much as the last Lips record proper, but it does have us wondering just what it is that makes this an Electric Wurms record and not just a Flaming Lips record. But really, it hardly matters...

MPEG stream: I Could Only See Clouds
MPEG stream: Futuristic Hallucination
MPEG stream: The Bat

It should be stated that Sacramento's Electro Group has nothing in common with electro the genre - so look elsewhere for Miami jeep bass-bin rattlin' beats. Instead, this Electro Group hails from Sacramento and picks up where such contemporary US noise-pop / shoegazing bands as The Lilys and The Aisler's Set left off with their lovable reclamation of the early '90s Creation sound. While each track off of "A New Pacifica" -- their debut album -- is drenched in a thick early My Bloody Valentine distortion, it is primarily the rolling basslines which provide nearly all of the melodies for the Electro Group, thus keeping them sounding much heavier than your average shoegazing trio. Released on the Omnibus label, who was repsonsible for that fantastic Mates of State album, and, like that record, this isn't something you should pass up.

RealAudio clip: Biped
RealAudio clip: La Ballena

All right! We've been waiting for this, at long last a new album of mathy mania from our favorite Manitoban instru-metal nerds, who rip it up like an unholy hybrid of The Fucking Champs and Gorguts. So, we threw this on as soon as we got it in earlier this week, and as we were listening to it in the store, a dizzying display of complicated instrumental triple-guitar metal pyrotechnics, completely ridiculous stuff, Andee remarked to Matt that THIS must be what it sounds like inside Allan's head all the time. To which Allan says, "I wish!"... And Allan's wish is Electro Quarterstaff's command. All he (or anyone) has to do is strap on some headphones and hit "play", and your brain can start doing somersaults and backflips to the tricky tunes of these tech-metal masters! Yes, it's a fun ride. Somehow the Electro Quarterstaff boys make their music crazy technical and also utterly rock out at the same time. In fact, on some of the tracks here, we declare EQ may have invented the hitherto unknown subgenre of "technical boogie"!! The Willowtip label is of course known for uber-technical death grind, bands like Arsis, Capharnaum, Gorod, Necrophagist... serious, brutal stuff, though they do have their "humorous" side (remember, uh, Crotchduster?). Electro Quarterstaff certainly have a quizzical sense of humor, witness song titles like "Waltz Of The Swedish Meatballs" and "Unholy Gravy" (though others are less overtly absurd, to be sure). But that's not why we like 'em so much. Any band can come up with silly song titles, but NOT just any band can play like this, nosiree. Grin-inducing MUSICALLY 'cause it's so damn complex, yet catchy too. Reminds us a bit of An Albatross, but not so spastic and noisy, way more METAL, their hectic shred conversant with classical-sounding melody. In fact, first track "The Wolf Shall Inherit The Moon" is a disarmingly beautiful semi-acoustic piece, setting any unsuspecting listeners up for a shock when frantic next track "McNutty" erupts into their ear-space. Once again, they've named this after a famous Canadian (Gretzky was their debut). And once again, this cd is graced with really awesome artwork. This 2nd album was worth the five year wait, but we hope EQ don't go back into lengthy hibernation right away... what would be really rad would be to see 'em play live, how 'bout a West Coast tour, guys? We'd be in the front row for that, along with any fans of Scale The Summit, Suzikiton, Pegataur, The Champs, Gorguts, etc.

MPEG stream: Waltz Of The Swedish Meatballs
MPEG stream: Descent By Annihilation Operator
MPEG stream: Stroganoff

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

SORRY. Local musician Sharon Cheslow (also of Red Eye). Electrolettes is her guitar/tapes/drums project: infectiously charming punk meets beatbox goodness.

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

SORRY. Cassette from the talented Sharon Cheslow. The Electrolettes are a duo on guitar, drums and tape loops. Angular, fiery shards of tumbling guitar and impassioned voice together with a compelling sense of melody make up the Electrolettes' energizing sound. Soon to have a single out on Kill Rock Stars, but you can hear them first.