[ aquarius records — Rock Pop ]

IMPORTANT (Please read to avoid confusion): Some items below may be tagged with a bold, red, all-caps OUT OF PRINT/UNAVAILABLE notice. This does NOT mean that all other items not so tagged are, in fact, in stock — or for that matter, in print and available, though there's a good chance they are. Some folks get confused on this point, and we can see why, so please read this for further clarification and other important before-you-order information. Unlike some mailorder websites, we don't have an electronic inventory system linked to our site, so you can't be sure of what we actually have or don't have in stock at any given moment without asking us — please email our mailorder department for availability status — or better yet, just go ahead and place your order using our shopping cart function and we'll get back to you with the status of each item. If you have general non-mailorder questions, email the store.

Showing results 9401 through 9450 of 19388.

The first album from Italy's Larsen was shrouded in mystery, literally they would have had us believe, as it (Rever) came accompanied by the unlikely story that it was recorded with the band concealed behind a screen, producer Michael Gira never actually ever laying eyes on the bandmembers, as they played in concealment and he twiddled the knobs in the studio on his side of the screen. Probably not a true story, but a good one! This new disc comes with a (somewhat) more plausible narrative: apparently Larsen, in preparing for their next record, decided to improvise, just as an exercise, around a bunch of their favorite melodies from tracks by British glitchtronica masters Autechre. In doing so, they eventually came up with their own material, tracks that weren't literally "covers" or in any way direct interpretations of Autechre songs, but were nonetheless heavily influenced and inspired by Autechre's songwriting -- again, in terms of melodies, not the glitchy science of the Autechre duo's stuttering beats. But along with Autechre, their label also cites Einsturzende Neubauten, Six Organs of Admittance, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Gira's Swans as possible influences, and those references seem equally likely to our ears, especially since Larsen's ritualistic, repetitive post-rock doesn't sound remotely like Autechre. Well wait a sec...it does...remotely. By casting such gentle "Autechre-ish" melodies in the context of such completely different instrumentation (guitar, drums, bass, harmonium, xylophone, accordion, keyboards, cello, violin...) and arrangement, Larsen's Play highlights just how melodic Autechre are, something perhaps obscured by the skittering electronic component of their own music. Autechre issues aside, Larsen sure do still sound mysterious. And Play perhaps surpasses what we thought was a pretty brilliant debut (an AQ record of the week, almost exactly three years ago). As with Rever, Play is a largely instrumental, slowly unfolding, mesmerizing, multi-part epic of both tranquility and power, anchored in hypnotic drum-grooves and bathed in delicate instrumental textures. However inspired, it's Larsen that has done the hard work here of constructing such a moody monument.

MPEG stream: C
MPEG stream: E

The story of how this record came to be is almost impossible to believe, yet Michael Gira (Angels of Light / Swans) seems like a reliable enough source that it could in fact be true. Beginning sometime last year, Gira started receiving a series of arcane The one qualm with the album is on how the record ends. It has been a longstanding belief of mine that Sonic Youth's "Daydream Nation" should have ended with the graceful haze of "Hyperstation" and done away with the unnecessary exclamation of "Eliminator, Jr." Similarly, Larsen ends "Rever" badly, as a beautifully repetitive groove simply cuts out, making you wonder if California is returning to the days of rolling blackouts. If only every record had one thing wrong with it instead of eighty-eleven problems, and in spite of that one misgiving, this is one of the best records we have heard in quite a while.

RealAudio clip: Akin
RealAudio clip: Finger Number 6
RealAudio clip: Impro 2
RealAudio clip: Maya
RealAudio clip: Radial

Larsen is an enigmatic post-rock ensemble who have been responsible for some interesting conceptual projects all of which have been immaculately executed. For their highly acclaimed album Rever, the ensemble hired Michael Gira (Swans, Angels of Light) as the producer, but never allowed him to actually see the band as they played behind a curtain. Larsen followed this album with a breathtaking record reconstructing the melodic phrasing of Autechre through their own repetitive patterns for guitar, bass, vibraphone, accordion, and drums. Seies doesn't enjoy any of the conceptual agendas of the previous record; or rather if there are any concepts to the record, Larsen has shrouded them from their audience. The hymnal post-rock hypnosis from the previous records is certainly present, conjuring a spaghetti western swagger heard in the more bad-ass Morricone soundtracks. In these looping dirges, Larsen also call to mind the desolate soundtracks composed by Calla and some of the late period work of Swans; this is especially true for the tracks in which former Swans singer Jarboe appears! There's guest appearances a plenty on Seies as Current 93's cellist Julia Kent appears on some early tracks, and the dark ambient overlord Lustmord conjures his own black clouds on some of the later cuts.

MPEG stream: The Snow
MPEG stream: Mother
MPEG stream: Marzia

The Italian darkly-bent post-rock ensemble Larsen gathered a handful of equally darkly clad eccentrics to join them in a live tribute to the work of the Czech vanguard artist Karel Teige, who had been noted for introducing the works of the major Surrealists to Prague in the early 1920s. One of Teige's projects was Abeceda (which translates as alphabet from the Czech), the multi-media collaboration with the poet Vitezslav Nezval that sought a poetic abstraction between cabaret and typography. It was this project in particular that had piqued the interest of Larsen. Being not all that familiar with the original work, it's hard to say how well Larsen's homage reflects the original, or if this follows in the footsteps of their Autechre covers album, which alchemized the IDM melodies of Autechre into their own interlocked port-rock hypnosis. But in many ways, Abeceda is often dominated by the presence of their most well-known guest, David Tibet of Current 93. When his inimitable voice joins the languid melodies and swelling crescendos of instrumental arpeggiations, it's hard not to consider this a Current 93 album especially given the unique phrasing and metaphors about sin, relational collapse, and death that are so common to Tibet's themes in Current 93. In addition to Tibet, Larsen have also invited Johann Johannsson, Julia Kent, and Baby Dee onto the stage to add their instrumental panache to the beautifully rendered mix.

MPEG stream: Abeceda 2
MPEG stream: Abeceda 5

Wow! To be able to make music that is both charming and soulful is a feat few can meet. This collective from Bogota, Columbia have done just that. Crafting really colorful minimalist pop that totally hits its mark. Eighteen short 4-track recorded songs that all feel like tiny treasures you want to keep in your pocket for good luck. Their ability to keep intact the most satisfying elements of primitive song writing while allowing themselves to explore all kinds of different sounds and styles. Think tropicalia meets The Residents meets Young Marble Giants meets a Smithsonian Folkways record of the future. Excellent!

MPEG stream: Malo
MPEG stream: Soy Feliz

A couple years ago we were swept off our feet by Jardin Interior, the debut full length by a collective of artists and musicians from Bogota, Columbia known as Las Malas Amistades. We've been hungry for more of their colorful DIY pop, which reminded many of us of some strange blend of Young Marble Giants and a great lost Smithsonian Folkways record. Their follow up does not disappoint one bit. While it's a little less eclectic and quirky than Jardin Interior it's still brimming with a unique charm that is all their own. This time the sounds had us thinking of early Devendra Banhart playing Congregation covers in a friend's bedroom. Channeling the best South American psych-pop of the past with a crafty and playful disposition and a great timeless quality, you could totally imagine this coming out in 1982 as easy as today, the sounds are classic and timeless. Unfortunately their current label the great Honest Jon's (home to everyone from Tony Allen to Moondog) has lost their U.S. distribution making this a pricey import affair, but luckily the great music and beautiful packaging complete with English translated lyrics make this one well worth splurging on!

MPEG stream: Dime Lo Que Suenas
MPEG stream: Desinfiado
MPEG stream: U

This isn't new or anything, but how the hell did we miss this?!? And more importantly, how could this not be the best band ever? Jimmy Flemion from the Frogs on guitar and vocals, Jimmy Chamberlin from the Smashing Pumpkins on drums, Kim Deal of the Pixies / the Breeders and last but not least, Skid Row's Sebastian Bach on lead vocals. Sounds like a mess, and it is. Kind of. But in a really good way. The Last Hard Men are all over the sonic map. From grungy metallic rock numbers, to percussive reworkings of show tunes ("I Enjoy Being A Girl"), to Alice Cooper covers ("School's Out"), to totally majestic, and totally great rock ballads, to Scorpions covers ("In Search Of The Peace Of Mind"), to retardedly simple Frogs-like singalongs, to weird band personality interviews, and everything in between. When we first heard this, we weren't exactly sure what to think, but the more we hear these songs, the more they seep into our brain at all hours of the day. Some awesomely atrocious cover art adds to the overall weirdness (and may account for us never having noticed it when it came out in 2001).

MPEG stream: Sleep
MPEG stream: Who Made You Do It
MPEG stream: The Most Powerful Man In The World
MPEG stream: If You Want To Rock, Go To The Quarry

You might recall The Last Of The Blacksmiths' fine self-titled debut back in 2006. Despite this Bay Area band's name, The Last Of The Blacksmiths prove they're in no danger of extinction. They've stood strong for over two years and now have a sophomore cdep under their belt. If you've a hankering for some slow creeping soulful Americana, Young Family Song is for you. The band's brooding bleary folk-rock melancholia will bring you down in the best possible way. Steeped in hard liquor and salty tears, these are songs of slurred speech and blurred vision that cast a heady spell that linger long after this short ep is over.

MPEG stream: Autumn Vacation
MPEG stream: Giving Up

From San Diego comes indie rock's next big thing, Last of the Juanitas. People have been talking about this band for ages. Talking about how amazing their shows are, their records are. And there's definitely something to talk about here. Noisey, sloppy, super heavy indie rock, somewhere between Don Caballero, June of 44, A Minor Forest, Shellac and The Fucking Champs. One of this new breed of indie rock bands that aren't afraid of their metal (but still too scared to just come right out and BE A FUCKING METAL BAND, but that you can discuss at length with Andee or Allan some other time).

People seem to get really worked up about this band, and it's kind of easy to see why. They're super heavy and noisy post rock with just enough metal to balance out the meandering noodly parts. Recorded loud and in your face, with drums all over the place, LOUD guitars and the vocals buried in the mix. Imagine Unwound, A Minor Forest, Bikini Kill and Shellac all mixed up with the results coming out sounding a little like the Oxes or Hella (or some other indie-metal combo) doing Le Tigre covers. Cool.

RealAudio clip: Of Course, Nowadays, They Call It Stalking
RealAudio clip: Make You Cry

Some records are worth it for just one track. Even if the rest of the record is amazing. It's that one moment of sonic perfection, that almost renders the rest of the songs, and all of the other music, an afterthought. Which is the case with this, the debut from The Last Shadow Puppets, a barely disguised homage to the orchestral pop of the legendary Scott Walker. Which is precisely why the opening track, "The Age Of The Understatement" is so irresistible. The strings, soaring and dramatic, the shuffling militaristic snares, the main hook, a swirling cinematic, almost Morricone-ish chunk of moody continental classic pop music. Fuck Amy Winehouse, these guys should be doing the theme to the new Bond movie. This is mysterious, stuff, evoking, cobblestone streets, tweed overcoat, wandering lonely villages hands in pockets, head down against the cold wind, everything steely grey, winter skies, brooding clouds, fleeting shadows, little corner cafes, a missed rendezvous. Even the video taps into that, a lonely ice skater, tanks trundling through some winter landscape, the natty band members looking all sixties and mod, in overcoats and turtlenecks, astride the tanks, amidst soldiers, neon, empty concert halls, long Soviet looking hallways, huge empty town squares. Which makes it even more surprising to find out that the Puppets are in fact, Arctic Monkeys lead singer Alex Turner, a guy from Simian Mobile Disco, the guy from Final Fantasy and a member of UK pop band the Rascals. It's not just that track either, the whole record is subtly over the top but perfect, dark, shimmery, chunky and rocking here and there, but more sort of brooding and mysterious, channeling the same sort of pomp and drama of classic Walker while giving it a slight modern tweak. The vocals are obvious, Turner's twang is so distinct, and he doesn't do much to disguise it, singing exactly how he would (and did) in the Arctic Monkeys, but it works, even in this new sonic landscape. And even with the opening track being that good, the rest of the record holds up pretty well, introducing horns, vibraphone, sizzling synths, and all sorts of subtle sonic mystery into their dark string laden pop. Some tracks are sunshine-y and jangley, but even then, they are infused with a certain amount of foreboding. The more rocking tracks are thick with buzzing synths, and propulsive drumming, but those too, never lose their cinematic moodiness. And the strings, arranged by Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, who would have thought he had it in him, it's really the defining sound of the record, they soar and shimmer, shooting out high end streaks here, unfurling moaning cello like drones there, swirling into little climactic frenzies or drifting into lush minor key backdrops. Every song is a like a little glimpse of some mysterious cold war spy movie, starring some dashing mystery man, rife with chase scenes, assassins, spies, murder, love, loss and betrayal, all set to The Last Shadow Puppets' pitch perfect chamber pop.

MPEG stream: The Age Of The Understatement
MPEG stream: Standing Next To Me
MPEG stream: Calm Like you

Why does Mr. Laswell anger me so? Well, while there is no question he is a very talented man, perhaps it is his shameless genre-bandwagon jumping and his insidious cashing in on other people's accomplishments that irks me. Yes, I think that's it.

A new combo on Jeff Mangum's label Orange Twin Recordings. Much like their likeminded predecessors from the Mangum-led Elephant 6 music collective (Olivia Tremor Control and their many offshoots), Late BP Helium won't be pigeonholed into any single genre category. They've a sound that's very hard to pin down, cavorting in the carnivalesque, the horn skronkin' funky, the psychedelic, the experimental and the playfully poppy. Sometimes reminiscent of Lloyd Cole, OTC, The Jam and/or a Rachel's-y chamber string ensemble even. Is that diverse enough for you? If you dig music that doesn't linger in one place for longer than one song, the flighty Late BP Helium might be just the band for you.

MPEG stream: Candy For Everyone
MPEG stream: Reminder To Self

Tantric no wave. If you can dig on the hypnotic and disturbing qualities of groups like Swans, or maybe a Godflesh with live drumming, you're getting close. Late Young isn't about one specific moment, the whole consumes itself. You've really got to enjoy the dark, suspended animation and become immersed within the dynamics of an aural onslaught. At the end, with a healthy session of reflection, you may feel closer to understanding, or coming to peace with what you've just experienced. It doesn't need any obvious, gimme hooks or sing-a-longs. It's more about creating an environment, teasing it up to it's maximum potential, then annihilating it. Picture Thom Wilson (who produced both TSOL and Christian Death) and New York no wave group Mars undergoing some animalistic transmogrification alongside His Hero Is Gone. Just fucking brutal, dark, repetitive, spiritual. This disc contains four tracks, each of which is an effects-soaked, fist full of mushroom nightmares. These particular recordings were born "out of sessions probing the helter skelter limits at the altar of guitar perversion, tom heavy foundation, and worship of holy reverb." It's also worth noting that this self-recorded and released collection contains one very attractive acetate insert. Late Young have also just obtained one brand new drummer, manifested here on Earth as Andrew of AQ's blackened, one-man favorite The Mausoleums. Let go, sit back, and be consumed.

MPEG stream: Suez Canal
MPEG stream: Monochrome

Lateduster are a pleasingly lowkey, soothing local combo, and guess what? We've got not one, but two cds by them in stock - this right here is their new five song ep. Neither release veers too far from their path of mellowness, if anything, these newer tracks are a bit more active and at times tread on more solid ground than those that came before. Five Easy Pieces shows Lateduster shifting gears somewhat, trading in the soft washes and sparse twang of their self-titled debut for a more sinewy electric guitar sound and a definite overall jazzy feel.

MPEG stream: Shaker/Flicker
MPEG stream: A Gallon Of Hope

One of two Lateduster cds that we have in stock right now! This is officially their full length debut, but it's actually a collection of two new songs and six remastered ones which were originally released on two previous eps. Are we making things more confusing than necessary? Let's make things a bit more straightforward then and say that this Bay Area trio have made some lovely pastoral soundscapes - soothing lengthy ones that allow you to sink in for a good five to ten minutes. They done so by skillfully blending together drifting waves of spartan lanky guitars, programmed beats, gently grooving bass, shuffling percussion, and electronic hiss and sputter - locking in with each other for a spell, then dispersing into the mist. Very nice!

MPEG stream: Leave It On
MPEG stream: Watermelancholy

Newest offering from the still odd pairing of David Hidalgo and Louie Perez from Los Lobos and hotshot producers Tchad Blake and Mitchell Froom that resulted in their breathtaking 1994 debut. Dose continues in the same vein, but sacrifices song for sound, eschewing the more 'pop' sensiblities of the first record, in favor of a dark, sound effect laden, oddly produced barrio soundscape.

Ahh, Finland. We've said that before. Now perhaps people in Finland think about California the way we think about Finland. But of course they'd be wrong. We don't have any analog to Moomins trolling about in our forests. Whereas our fantasies about that far-off land are quite accurate. At least, judging by the ongoing gurgle of cd-rs and tapes and cds and such flowing from their fertile "free-folk" underground, from Kemialliset Ystavat to Avarus to Kiila. And recordings like Lau Nau's Kuutarha just make our fantasies of Finland more and more vivid and otherworldly. Lau Nau is Laura Naukkarinen and a few friends. She's a very lovely singer, a member of Kiila, Paivansade, and Anaksimandros. Here her melodic Finnish-language vocals are set to droneily folkish backing, making for quitely distorted lullabies. Finnophiles will agree that this could also definitely be compared to Islaja, but perhaps rawer, more broken down and abstract. And to make a Finland-California comparison, well, this could basically be a Finnish version of Jewelled Antler's Franciscan Hobbies, with Laura Naukkarien's vocals. So very very nice. (Hmm, which came first? Jewelled Antler or the these Finnish forest folk folks? Doesn't matter, it's the zeitgeist we guess!) For some reason, we like to look at the list of instruments and non-instruments used on records like these, maybe you do to, so here goes: acoustic bass, bass recorder, five-stringed kantele, acoustic guitar, tenor recorder, violin, bamboo flute, colorful juice glasses, mortar, mandolin, witch laugh megaphone, baby's rattle, bike bells, banjo, cowbells, electric guitar, organ, willow whistle, tablas, percussion, cymbals, comb, beer cans, tamboura...

MPEG stream: Jos Mimulla Olis
MPEG stream: Kuula

Lau Nau's Nukuu walks an incredibly fine line between the expansive forms and consistent density and texture of drone music, while also hiding within that density many structural shifts more akin to folk music. Watching her music vibrate between these two poles is the main attraction on this record, but remarkably, she finds an incredible amount of detail and freedom to explore between them. The songs often anchor in centrifugal clusters of tone and texture, looping and feasting on themselves, while occasionally a lyrical vocal passage, or a particularly noteworthy electronic or acoustic phrase will emerge to a more singular position in the mix. Other songs however, are less roiling and give the listener the opportunity to bask in the delicacy and winsome precision in Lau's voice, sometimes creaky and childlike, other times whispered and ghostly. Lau's decisions regarding the modalities and textures of her instrumentation, as well as the cadences of her lyrics, sung in Suomi, all reflect Finland's liminal position between the influences of Europe and Asia. That said, given her lo-fi recording approach at times, she can sound eerily similar to some of the '78s we've been graced with in the past year from Dust-to-Digital's Victrola Favorites and Black Mirror collections. The obvious comparisons to Islaja and Kuupuu, her collaborators in Hertta Lussu Assa, yields Lau a more innocent, gentle, and dare we say motherly distinction, as opposed to the bewitching dark humor of the other two. Without indulging her biography too much, it is worth noting Lau gave birth to a son in the interim since her last album. Apparently much of the record was written while her child was sleeping, and so too it is titled, "sleeps." Naturally it follows that there are a few lullabies in the mix, but there is also a keen sense of independence, as though these songs are about digesting much more than motherhood, a feet in itself. Like another Scandinavian luminary on this list, El Perro Del Mar, Lau butts up against an almost hymnal like intimacy at times, though her work is naturally more feral, and less controlled and crystalline. Fans of all things Finnish will obviously be pleased, but those who've enjoyed Natural Snow Buildings, acts from the Dronevolk compilation, and even Valet will also find themselves gently coaxed into a similar but challenging musical terrain. All told, atmospheric and entrancing, subtle and intelligent, composed and vulnerable, Nukuu comes highly recommended.

MPEG stream: Lue Kartalta
MPEG stream: Painovoimaa, Valoa

So our beloved Finnish singer, Lau Nau (also of Kiila, Paivansade, the Anaksimandros, Avarus, Maailma, and the trio Hertta Lussu Assa - basically most of Finland's underground foresty free folk scene), has moved far away from the drone prevalent on her previous releases, and drifted off into a more spare psych-folk scape. These songs really breathe. Lau's cool and airy vocals fall gently on the mostly piano, jouhikko (a traditional Finnish lyre), and drum arrangements like snow - all the while singing about darkness and death like she's Emily Dickinson. Of particular note is "Run, My Horsey, Run", which has a Gypsy folk influence. Lau's known for her eccentric and vast instrumentation, and this release is no disappointment in that regard. "Conqueror's Song" includes Lau's own beat-boxing (yeah, you read that right), and "Paperthin" credits someone on "seagulls". We're not sure how you play a seagull, but we enjoyed their appearance on this wistful, gloomy, and very pretty release!

MPEG stream: Valloittajan Laulu (Conqueror's Song)
MPEG stream: Juokse Sina Humma (Run, My Horsey, Run)
MPEG stream: Kuoleman Tappajan Kuolema

They say (i.e, the band's own reference points): Radiohead, Tindersticks and Nick Drake. We thought: Talk Talk and Chris Isaak. What seems to be the common ground with all of these artists we've singled out is that regardless of genre and instrumentation each has crafted their own deeply emotive and richly evocative music. So what does this say about Laughingstock? Well, that they do indeed have a knack for making sleek dramatic songs. Multi-layered lilting, oft-melancholic male vocals, distant textural sounds (a rainstick perhaps?), atmospheric droning strings, languid chapman stick, acoustic and programmed percussion all come together to make for some ambitious, lushly intricate slightly mysterious songs.

MPEG stream: Fast (Strange Euphoria)
MPEG stream: Slow On Fast

Another mysterious transmission from some haunted forest deep in the wilds of Finland (featuring special guest, AQ fave Lau Nau). And it's everything we've come to love about our deep listening wanders through the deep dark woods. An abstract stroll through a barely there sound world, nothing but creaks and shuffles, breathing, footsteps, instrument buzz, electronic hum and random clatter. Eventually a wheezing horn makes it presence known, and is soon joined by chiming bells and muted percussion. Slowly, the sounds grow and build in volume and intensity, eventually coalescing into a massive Sunroof! like skree, replete with flurries of bells and percussion, swirling swooshing FX like wild stormy winds and mumbled distant drums. And that's just side 1. Side 2 skips around a bit from caveman freejazz with spazzy hand drums, muted percussion, grunted vocals and jazzy skronk, to an ambient symphony of creaking and keening high end very reminiscent of John Cale, to a weird buzzing raga like Eastern groove with the only discernible rhythm to be found, a droney stumbling stagger. Very cool. Pressed on thick vinyl and packaged in a full color sleeve with killer yarn monster cover art!

Even with the endless barrage of reissues over the last decade, the music headz here at aQ are still so psyched when something shows up that none of us have heard, or even heard of, only to fall in love with it and wonder where the heck that record had been our whole life?! Such is the case with this awesome and endearing set of '70s outsider jams from the singularly monikered Laurice, who apparently went on to have a big career and even hit the top of the charts in Canada with some dance-pop and smooth-jazz. But this collection is pre-Canada Laurice, when he was still living in the UK in the '70s and creating seriously infectious proto-punk (and proto-disco!) with a keen pop sensibility and a sweet girl-group like vibe. It seems like you can draw a pretty direct line from many of the early releases on Lookout! to the music of Laurice, which is equal part rock crunch, pop hooks and punk energy. There's doubt Pansy Division would freak the fuck out hearing these songs, and really, if anybody was down with Laurice, it would probably be them! It's not difficult to imagine everyone from The Cramps to B-52's being influenced by these songs, if in fact they ever actually heard them. Turns out it wasn't just Jobriath who was out and proud in the 70's, cuz Laurice holds nothing back with songs like "He's My Guy" and several tracks like "Born To Serve", "Wild Sugar", and "Rock Hard" that directly reference gay S&M/leather culture. In fact, as much as we love Jobriath (which is a LOT), we find Laurice to be way more up our alley, with sound that at times is totally blown out, raw and fuzzy and would sound right at home right now on Burger records. Lots of modern groups like Shannon & The Clams, Wand, and Hunx & His Punx also seem sonically (and spiritually) aligned with Laurice, whose tracks do seem like blueprints for the warped garage-pop those groups specialize in. If John Waters were ever to curate a Nuggets-like compilation there's no doubt any and all of the songs here would feature prominently. We could just imagine Divine, in full force, with these songs blasting on the soundtrack. Lots and lots of fun. Plus, the poppy proto-punk of "I'm Gonna Smash Your Face In" and the like is pretty classic even without any campy / gay angle to it.

MPEG stream: When Christine Comes Around
MPEG stream: I'm Gonna Smash Your Face In
MPEG stream: That's Nice

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

SORRY. Guitar/casio mayhem from 2 British freaks.

So Lavender Diamond have finally released their much buzzed-about Matador debut, and anyone familiar with said buzz has probably heard the words, "precious" and "winsome" too many times to keep count. While those words do describe frontwoman Becky Stark's particular vocal charms, a gauzy theatrical mix of Linda Ronstadt, Julee Cruise and Margo Timmons from the Cowboy Junkies, they don't accurately quantify the listening experience of this particular record which is sunny and wide-eyed in a seventies soft rock way without becoming as cloying as one would expect from such superlatives. We enjoyed their first EP, and have been waiting for what seems forever for this to appear. While it's a perfectly solid record, it falls just shy of being great. The band thankfully grounds Stark's soaring vocal delivery, but we wish that with such wealth of musicianship from Jeff Rosenberg (Lumen, Young People etc.) Ron Rege Jr. (The Swirlies) and Steve Gregoropolis (W.A.C.O.), they were given more room to expand on their strengths. But this is understandably Stark's show, which initially began in Providence as an indie operetta and has been developing through acclaimed live performances up to this current incarnation. They've definitely carved a niche for themselves that has avoided the pitfalls of freak-folk to be a more pliant pastiche of seventies alt country folk pop. Quite lovely indeed.

MPEG stream: Like An Arrow
MPEG stream: When You Wake For Certain

Each time we hear that AQ pal Jeff Rosenberg has a new music project we secretly fantasize that it'll continue to push the 'out-there' dissonant envelope as many of his past ones have (the ever-expansive Tarentel, spazz-rock duo Pink & Brown, hypnotic art-folk trio Young People, and earthy instrumental duo Lumen to name a few), and shine the spotlight more on his considerable guitar talents. But even though each of his subsequent groups have definitely kept us on our toes, each one taking a new unpredictable Rosenberg direction, quite often the unassuming gent opts to humbly play the solid, no-frills support role. Such is the case with Lavender Diamond, a timorous folk pop combo who present themselves in Lawrence Welk-worthy attire, black suits and taffeta gowns, and in which Becky Stark's gentle'n'mild vocals take centerstage while Rosenberg, Steve Gregoropoulos and well known visual artist Ron Rege Jr back her up on guitar, piano and drums respectively. Maybe this is what all those jaded hipsters need these days... some wide-eyed, earnest songs of unabashed innocence. Sure seems so, 'cause folks have been gobbling this up like crazy already. You can even easily imagine the quartet doing a great cover of Coven's "One Tin Soldier" or perhaps something by The Carpenters! As for Jeff's guitar magic, alas, we'll just have to continue crossing our fingers that he'll unfurl it again someday. But for now we can happily soak in the sunny subdued country folk of The Cavalry Of Light.

MPEG stream: You Broke My Heart
MPEG stream: Please

Aaah, a Devendra Banhart sighting! While in Europe back in 2004, this neo-folk troubadour recorded with the band known as Queens Of Sheba. This lil' record features one of the resulting songs of that session -- "It's A Christmas Time Celebration". Yes, we are well aware that it is already the middle of January, but who are we to squelch a little belated holiday themed music? The flipside is the elegantly attired "Impossible Occurances" by LA's dream-folk combo Lavender Diamond. Artwork by Ron Rege. Limited pressing of 2500.

Uh, wow! And WTF!? That's what we thought as soon as we got a good look at these, the other day when Tyler from Ajna dropped 'em off at the store. Is this for real? This late 2011 release from the Ajna affiliated, vinyl-only cult metal reissue label Unseen Forces seems tailor made to be of immense aQuarius interest. First off, we, and many of you, are pretty into the whole Father Yod / Ya Ho Wa 13 / Source Family communal '70s psych rock thing. Pretty much everybody here at aQ owns one of those Japanese 13cd God & Hair box sets of Ya Ho Wa recordings, and we just this week hosted an instore event promoting the Source Family documentary currently screening in the SF Film Festival. Also, several of us at aQ (and again, many of you) are keen on obscure '80s old school metal, the more outrageous and over the top, the better. And somehow, unbelievably but awesomely, THE LAW brings those two obsessions together!! You see, the guys in The Law were members of Source Family, followers of Father Yod. Bassist Peter Tobin and singer/lead guitarist Troy Duke at least, had played and recorded with Ya Ho Wa 13. But by the early '80s, they were transitioning from being long haired hippies to being long haired heshers! Gotta change with the times, man. Having formed a garage (more like barn, cuz they lived on a cattle ranch) band, The Law (= Love And Wisdom), in 1979, they decided to make the big step of moving from Hawaii (where the Source Family had been based since the late '70s, and Father Yod had sadly perished in his fatal hang gliding accident) back to LA, now a hotbed of heavy metal activity in the year of 1983! But they brought their interest in esoteric, psychedelic spirituality along with them, into the realm of the heavier-than-thou, glammed-up, Decline Of Western Civilization Part II, Sunset Strip scene, where they rubbed shoulders with the likes of Motley Crue. Theirs was sleazy hard rock with a mystic message, though, all right!! Though that unusual backstory (and the picture of the band on the back of the lp, all done up in macho tight leather and studded belts) would probably have been enough to convince us to buy this, it was listening to the songs on this lp that made us decide, heck, all that AND they totally rule, in the hot rockin' department? Ok, Record Of The Week time. These ten songs include hit single in an alternate universe "Chill The Wine", theme song "Here Comes The Law", and several with either "Baby" or "Love" in their titles, like the dirgey (mostly) ballad "Baby I'm A Mystery", the lyrics to which include the advice: "Sweet child of the fire, the only way to go is higher, higher, higher...". These songs feature plodding riffage, wailing psych guitar solos, commanding vox, low budget sound FX, and (we're just guessing here) an exploding drummer a la Spinal Tap. Unseen Forces' ringleader Dennis Dread sez this slab of "vintage volcanic rock" is for fans of "The Rods, Oz, Blue Cheer, and Buffalo"... sure! And we'd say Dwarr, Cirth Ungol, and Iron Butterfly, too! There's paradoxically party-hardy outsidery-ness to this, The Law bringing in '60s influences (they do "Wild Thing"), astral influences, whatever, so that while it's not quite Ya Ho Wa 13 in spandex, it's sure not your usual corporate Sunset Strip LA '80s hair metal. The power trio's sole, independently released, lp came out in 1983, and failed to become a commercial success despite (or because of) its eccentric charms, but it did eventually become a collectable rarity. This reissue probably will too! Remastered and reissued with the cooperation of The Law's original members, also with help from Source Family historian Isis Aquarian. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl and lovingly packaged. Includes liner notes and lyrics insert. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES!! And the label is almost out of 'em, so these may well be the last copies we'll be able to procure. But we still had to make it Record Of The Week, nonetheless. How could we not? None escape The Law!!

MPEG stream: Chill The Wine

The latest from psych/space rock label Rocket, comes from this mysterious Italian duo, who recorded their record in an old house in the countryside outside of Sicily. That's not necessarily the location where you'd expect a group to gather to conjure up some psychedelic space rock, but then Lay Llamas deliver a sound that's a bit removed from their psychedelic brethren, infusing the usual motorik pulses, and slow build smolder with twang flecked Morricone-isms, and drifting cinematic ambience, just check out the first track, which lays down a krautrock churn, beneath bongos, and electronic feedback, and winds it all around some almost Western sounding melodies, as if this was the soundtrack for a Sergio Leone Western set in space, in the future, which is actually a pretty good shorthand description of this whole record. The vocals add a different vibe, somewhere between Hawkwind, Suicide and the Residents, maybe Devo too, the second track "We Are You" has a hazy, spacey new wave vibe to it, still anchored by a krauty pulse, but definitely more poppy and synthy. But fear not, these guys can space rock with the best of them, "The Lay Llamas" is fuzzy, and spaced out, lysergic and darkly groovy, but they add their own twist, weird layers of rumbling machine-vocals, pulsing synth fuzz, giving it the feel of some chase scene movie music, reimagined as some sort of druggy underground space rock music video. And so it goes, the band drifting easily from the tranquil drowsy haze of "Desert Of Lost Souls", with it's swooping backwards FX and wasted campfire filigree, to the murky almost Goat-like groovery of "Archaic Revival", which is a sprawling, chugging, churning, chant laced bunkurfunk workout, to the psych-funk space get-down of "Something Wrong", to the lazy, soporific Spacemen 3 channeling closer "Voices Call". WAY recommended for fans of hazy, druggy, psychedelic grooviness, motorik kraut-fuzz twang and FX-drenched space-funk mesmer.

MPEG stream: Ancient People Of The Stars
MPEG stream: We Are You
MPEG stream: The Lay Llamas

This is the second solo album of lilting autumnal folk from Trevor Montgomery (formerly of Tarentel). His soft, ragged vocals and gently fingerpicked acoustic guitar are smoothed and warmed by glistening piano and strings. With each subsequent song the heavy heartedness grows and grows. The cycle of aching woe is emphasized by the endless feeling recurrence of certain melodic motifs that surface throughout the album lending it a very hypnotic vibe (although some might interpret this more as repetition or even redundancy?). Note: As an added bonus there's a whole second cd titled Demos For The Backwards America, but y'know what? The differences seem really pretty slight between the demos and 'finished' tracks. Heck the the disc artwork is very very similar too (making it very easy to confuse one with the other). So this almost seems like a cd that comes with a duplicate disc.

MPEG stream: The Walking Sonnet
MPEG stream: This American Dream

Gorgeous album! Lazarus is Trevor Montgomery (ex-Tarentel), the lanky, gravel-voiced troubadour of sadness who has here laid down some of the most poignant and heartfelt vocal and acoustic guitar tracks ever. And the album would be lovely left at that, but then to make it even better, Trevor asked Marty Anderson from the amazing local group Dilute to embellish the music: the results are quietly stunning. Marty adds his own barely-there creaky treble vocals -- he sounds like a wrinkled crone following creepily on Montgomery's every step (in a good way) -- and tiny dots of electric guitar squiggles. A singer songwriter record with fascinating audible touches that make it both hauntingly bittersweet and yet refreshingly cleansing. Another winner from the Temporary Residence label. MPEG Download: "Poets the Liars" [/audio/lazaruspoets.mp3] MPEG Stream: "Poets the Liars" [/audio/lazaruspoets.m3u]

MPEG stream: Poets the Liars
MPEG stream: Ocean (Burn the Highways)

This is not new, but we never listed it before and we've always been fans of Trevor Montgomery's (Tarentel, The Drift, Believer) solo downer folk-blues project Lazarus, and seeing that he had a stash left of these, we jumped at the chance to share this beauty with you. Trickster from 2009 is the third album from Lazarus and it's just as beautiful and heart-wrenching as the previous ones. Like a folkier Nick Cave, Trevor's baritone gothic blues-tinged croon is more refined but no less weary. Backed by simple lyrical guitar, organ, bells and shimmering electro-acoustic tones, the well-written songs display a despairing majesty that show glimmers of hope and redemption. Limited to 300 copies on swirly smoke or blood colored vinyl, each cover uniquely hand-painted. Trevor has significantly less than 300 left so we don't know how long these will stick around. Highly Recommended!

MPEG stream: Lord I Know Because I Told You To Go Away
MPEG stream: Real Fun
MPEG stream: I Will Let You Live

Record number two from this Cave side project, and while the name Lazer Crystal certainly evokes thoughts of pretty much every Myspace band in the land, since those two words have been used in various combinations over and over and over, these guys in fact have most definitely forged their own unique sound, and have been doing so for a while now. Fans of Cave's tribal spaced out drone-y krautrock, should be prepared for something entirely different. This is most definitely dance music, but seeing as it's the work of Cave men (and by extension, members of Warhammer 48k), you can expect something a bit more twisted and home brewed than your typical dancefloor fodder. Right out of the gate, it sounds like (Daft) punk rock kids doing their own lo-fi sort of Justice dance rock, all stuttery synths, woozy spaced out melodramatic melodies, thick swaths of warm buzz, and some gothy dramatic crooning a la Human League or Depeche Mode. Propulsive and hypnotic, but also groovy, fun, funky and a wee bit goofy. The second track takes that goofiness a little further, twisting the sounds of the opening track into bleeping blooping malfunctioning glitchery, swirling effects, still more buzzy synths, letting the track get way more abstract and space-y and almost ambient at times. The flipside starts off with what sounds like some Nintendo 64 8-bit video game music, but fused into some primitive electro jam, still a distinct krautrocky undercurrent, and those croony Human League vocals all tangled up with the warm buzz, giving it an almost M83 vibe. The last track might be our favorite, definitely the darkest and the buzziest, ominous and sinister, but just a bit, still groovy and funky, and those vocals still crooning oddly throughout. Incredible packaging, we talk about things being 'handmade' all the time, but these sleeves are WAY handmade, all done by different artists, some are collages, others are painted, some are 3-D and very tactile, some are eye poppingly colorful, everyone totally different. Includes a full color insert as well. And as you might imagine, SUPER LIMITED, TO ONLY 300 COPIES.

First there was Warhammer 48K, then there was Cave, now there is Lazer Crystal. That's right those crazy noisemakers from Chicago have gone and got themselves a brand new band with a brand new sound. Fans of Cave and WH48K might be a bit thrown, but most likely only for a second, as the sound of Lazer Crystal was definitely hinted at in sounds of both those bands, especially Cave. It may look like a 12". And it is, but there's only one song on each side, with most of each side being the runout groove, but fear not, there's plenty of sound to be found! Super ghetto spray painted cover art, tiny scrawled photo copied insert, all leading us to drop the needle and get bowled over by LC's wild lo-fi electro krautrock jams. Think total eighties John Hughes soundtrack new wave, all tangled up with electronic Kraftwerk style Krautrock. Analog synths buzz over fuzzy grooves, machinelike beats pound and pulse while vocoder-ed vocals swoon and swoop all over the place. The flipside introduces some Bryan Ferry like crooning to the proceedings, the perfect compliment to the lurching synth drenched new wave krautrock what-the-fuck beneath. Groovy, danceable, weirdness that kicks a surprising amount of ass!!! Anyone into all those French new wave reissues we've been digging lately, or any of the more modern dance floor destroyers, will probably find the perfect place for this in their next DJ set.

All right! Chicago electro rockers Lazer Crystal return with MCMLXXX, the band's first album for indie tastemakers Thrill Jockey. We raved about their previous vinyl only outings, released in small batches on the HBSP - 2X label, and for those who maybe missed out, we should point out that Lazer Crystal features a member from aQ mega faves Cave, as well as two dudes from Mahjongg, a band we have for some reason never listed but dug nonetheless. Those connections, however, really only make sense after the fact, because Lazer Crystal's sound is probably more indebted to Giogio Moroder, Kraftwerk, and possibly labelmates Trans Am. The songs here are propelled forward by heavy drum machine beats with lots of cool robo-tom rolls and synthesizers galore. Vocals alternate between a sexy, icy croon and robot styled vocoders. This stuff just oozes out of the grooves, throbbing relentlessly throughout the entire album. And while it's sure to get asses moving on the dancefloor, there is also a cool, very ominous vibe on display here. The songs all have that great "running from something" sort of feel we all know and love, not unlike some of John Carpenter's soundtrack work. Super recommended, and while we have both cds and lps, we ain't gonna lie - the lps, with their totally ball tripping cut out artwork, certainly take the cake in the packaging department.

MPEG stream: Lipp Service
MPEG stream: Love Rhombus
MPEG stream: Bad Indian

The space-age sounds of Lazer Sword make us here at aQuarius recOrds feel like we are living in the kind of future where everyone has mohawks and wears plastic dresses and there is no light but flashing neon-colored spotlights. But, hey, we've been waiting for this record for what seems like years now, so we ARE living in the future, albeit one (slightly) less Blade Runner-esque. You'd never know that, though from the cover of Lazer Sword's self-titled debut, which looks like something out of Tron, or maybe Voltron (!). Former aQ employee Antaeus Roy and collaborator Bryant Rutledge have given us a record filled with beats and synths that don't so much throwback to as reinvent the '80s by chopping the hell out of them and reassembling the parts. On the surface somewhat akin to Flying Lotus or Zomby (the one with the "y", not the proggier one with the "i"), Lazer Sword's sampling is a bit more frenetic, though, and leans toward hip-hop rather than dub. After opening the record with three mostly instrumental tracks, Lazer Sword brings in a bit of help from Turf Talk on "I'm Gone." The strange rhythm samples provide a perfect background for the catchy pitch-shifted hook: "Pass me that control / I'm in a fucking zone / I'm on my spaceship / I'm outta here I'm gone!" Just when you think the track is going to stay hot the whole way through, Lazer Sword takes it down a notch and drops the drums, leaving you floating in space for a minute and a half. The four or so tracks where Lazer Sword bring in outside guests (including Myka 9) to do vocals stand out, but not as much as you'd think because of the way LS incorporates sampled vocals into the layers of sound. This is a record that definitely requires either a dancefloor, a blunt, or quite possibly both.

MPEG stream: Surf News
MPEG stream: I'm Gone Ft. Turf Talk
MPEG stream: 4Loco

Lazyboy is the work of MX-80's Bruce Anderson and Dale Sophiea, with the former providing spidery guitar melodies and cascades of sinewy drone and the latter a vertiginous wash of cloak-n-dagger electronics. The two have also worked in a live soundtrack project called Grale, which is closer to MX-80 as a reference informing where these two are coming from. Sophiea's sound design meanders from an industrial dub introduction that recalls some of the earlier engineering that Kevin Martin did as Techno Animal, Ice, and God, with all of those digital effect-laden abstractions of samples and guitars smeared into slithering tones and drones cast amidst thunderously plodding electronic rhythms. As these heavier electronic beats subside, the two slide into the dreamtime space neighboring O Yuki Conjugate's ritualized ambience of temple bells and clattering wooden rhythms. Toward the end of the 20 minute piece, Anderson's shimmering guitars pulls back the curtains on Sophiea's production prowess with shifting beds of grumbling distortion grounding his radioluminescent melodies. Limited and numbered to 70 copies!

MPEG stream: Unasked (excerpt)

Last year, DFA producer and LCD Soundsystem mastermind James Murphy released 45:33 as part of an iTunes exclusive "workout" series for Nike, which is probably the best thing he's ever done -- and probably one of the most lucrative. However, this release is the post-Nike, post-licensing version, and is lacking the original artwork. Which was? A total rip-off/homage to Manuel Gottsching's E2-E4 cover, which was so obvious that he decided to sue. But we digress. This review is about a Nike workout song, and how as completely shitty as a 45 minute disco-punk take on Jazzercise sounds like it might be, this record rules. Why? Well, rather than catering to the dancefloor -- as has been the case with less-than-exciting tracks like "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House," "Movement," or "North American Scum" - Murphy was given a medium through which he could indulge himself in any and every fantasy that could possibly fit within the LCD oeuvre. The result is a record that ranges from cheesy (but awesome) Chicago House piano escapades to New Wave synth hooks to full-on Arthur Russell freakouts to Brian Eno bliss. Murphy has always worn his influences on his sleeves, but 45:33 shows him blending them all in such a seamless fashion that the differences between those influences begin to dissolve. If you've heard "Someone Great" -- off the group's newer album Sound of Silver -- then you've heard one of the four or so movements that comprise this record. If you haven't heard it, just skip it and start here. This is a great producer at his best, and will undoubtedly be remembered as such. Edge of Sanity gave death metal its 40+ minute epic song, Ricardo Villalobos did a 37 minute techo single, La Monte Young has recordings that last for a day, doom metal has about 5 million hour long records under its belt. Isn't it time that disco had a go? The CD version features three extra tracks. Each one features a more psyched-out, freakier James Murphy than is typical, and makes a great release even better. Honestly, it's a shame that these aren't on the vinyl version because they rock! Fans of No Wave, Dub, Minimal Techno and Acid beware, this could dominate your disc changer. Totally recommended.

MPEG stream: 45:33 - Sample 1
MPEG stream: 45:33 - Sample 2

More dance-floor jams in the way of remixes from their 45:33 record,

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

SORRY.

Now available on vinyl. Newest one from James Murphy finds him going back and forth between dancefloor burners and less electronic more rock sounding numbers. Lots of people are freaking out about this one. Somehow it's not moving us too much. Sorry.

MPEG stream: Dance Yrself Clean
MPEG stream: All I Want
MPEG stream: Pow Pow

Hey, got your copy yet?! LCDS raise the roof a few more storeys on their self-titled debut double disc, but it's not all cowbells and arpeggiated basslines. For example, on the insistent fourth track "Movement", James Murphy does his best Mark E. Smith impersonation, then immediately shifts gears into a slower, prettier swoon mood for "Never As Tired As When I Wake Up". Throughout the album, the group revisits these two detours from their usual rump-bumpin' and visit a few others too. The seventh track is totally "Warm Leatherette". Hmmm, maybe the question is: Is it a rip-off or an homage? And ditto for the closing song of the first disc "Great Release" which takes on a *very* Brian Eno wistful pop feel. Sorta makes you think that LCDS might be the clubland incarnation of a cabaret singer who can ape any other singer's delivery or maybe a bar band who can recreate any other band's sound... really a skill unto itself, innit? Aaah shit, why are we gettin' all serious with such criticism 'n' skepticism and shit when there's a paaarty goin' on?! Just look at that glistening disco ball on the cover, man. This release includes all of their previously released singles to boot. Yup, that means you get both versions of their track "Yeah" with its lyrics that go something like "Yeah yeah yeah yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah yeah yeahyeah yeahyeahyeah".

MPEG stream: Movement
MPEG stream: Great Release