[ aquarius records — Rock Pop ]

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Showing results 12451 through 12500 of 19388.

A delightful local surprise from the Bay Area's ridiculously-talented pool of avant electronicists, Pepito is Jose and Ana, augmented with the production and musicianly talents of Brian (of AQ-staff-and-customer fave Brian & Chris). Pepito play a

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Hmmmm... A punk rock opera? Sort of sounds like one, though we're pretty sure it's not intentional. On Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label.

Where would indie rock be today if the Rachels and Rodan had never existed. The kids would probably still be listening to the Dead Milkmen. Which to me doesn't seem like such a bad thing, but I digress. Per Mission is Jason Noble of the Rachels doing his ambient electronica thing. Spoken word snippets whirring ambient noise, simple stuttering drum loops, smooth fuzzed out spacy trip hop. A little bland and mediocre, and a bit too hippy dippy with all the 'spiritual' spoken word stuff and the website all about how he fed his baby -- nobody would care probably if this didn't 'feature a member of the Rachels'.

France's freaky Futura label originally released this on LP in '71. It's jazz fusiony stuff, kinda "Zeuhl" (saxophonist Yochk'o Seffer, the leader of the group, soon went on to join Magma and then formed Zeuhl group Zao). Perception features his sax and clarinet blowing backed by busy drums and bass and electric piano action. Over the four lengthy tracks here, they'll quiet down for a moody respite, then go off on a noodley prog-groove that quickly explodes into full-on free jazz improv clatter, and then quiet down again for some melancholy, melodic sax soloing, and then back to the energetic ensemble interplay, and so on... Perception are definitely more jazz than rock, and a lot more together and musical than some of the other, even freakier Futura releases. Fans of Magma's jazzier side should definitely investigate.

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

SORRY. 5-cd box set documenting the first 5 albums, 1 hour of previously unreleased live performances, 70 minutes of rarities, and all the single releases.

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

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Finally reissued from 1977, Pere Ubu's debut full length. Essential stuff, and still sounds unbelievably great, vital, and groundbreaking 21 years later.

Since emerging along with the Dead Boys from Rocket From The Tombs, Pere Ubu have continued to survive through numerous breakups, reformations and incarnations, including frontman David Thomas' solo efforts. With recent efforts by other seminal art-punk bands (*ahem* Wire) lacking the creativity and vision of the early releases which brought them acclaim (in the underground, at least), it's more than reassuring that this newest Pere Ubu album is quietly great. Musically, 'St Arkansas' bears little resemblance to the sharp dissonant punk of Modern Dance but thankfully avoids the pop of their later eighties efforts. Gone is Thomas' hyper-manic yelping, and in its place a much more sinister growl. We find here an Ubu of dark, slow burn intensity. St. Arkansas is so infused with creepiness that comparisons to Tom Waits seem unavoidable. It makes sense: there's a thread of lowlife drifterdom, a mysterious desperation, a desire to break free through the transcendence of the open road -- and the radio, as outlined mantra-like in the heavyweight final track. Worth your attention.

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Finally reissued from 1977, Pere Ubu's debut full length. Essential stuff, and still sounds unbelievably great, vital, and groundbreaking 21 years later.

Welsh psych from 1981!

There's hype, and then there's HYPE. And we can't really remember a band as hyped as Perfect Pussy. Most folks had heard all about them, read all about them, knew way more than they had any right to before hearing a single lick of music. The risk with that sort of hype, is that the actual music could never ever live up to the expectation, and how PP stacks up is really pretty subjective. Assuming for one second, PP wasn't a ubiquitous news item on Pitchfork every day for the last year, hearing Say Yes To Love is kinda revelatory, the sort of record that could easily knock you on your ass. One thing we can say, is it's weird that a record this noisy and abrasive and UNcommercial is getting so much popular approval, but all we can say to that is hell yeah! So yeah, but what the hell does it sound like? Well imagine classic Riot Grrl, nineties noise rock, all wound up in wild squalls of psychedelic shoegaze, with frantic bleated vocals that are a dead ringer for Melt-Banana, and you'd be getting close. The opening one-two punch of "Driver" and "Bells" might as well be one song, four minutes of keening high end ferocity, and in fact high end is where PP spend much of their time, would be surprised to discover there was no bass player, cuz really, it's all sharp and jagged, slashing noiseguitar, crunchy jangle, it's not until the third track "Big Stars" that things slow down, but even then, it remains fierce and feral, a little more aligned with that classic nineties era, but wreathed in feedback and noise, and the end of the track tapering off into some tripped out psychedelic drift. But hold up, some bass pops up on the beginning of "Work", before being quickly swallowed whole by a cloud of swirling guitar skree, and then weirdly, midway through, are those synths, somehow, the song becomes all cosmic and celestial, just for a minute, before stumbling back into more jagged noise pop / noise punk pound. This is the sort of record, that squares will claim sounds like 'noise', and really they're not far off, this is some seriously noisy stuff, so much so, that on the shitty stereos this stuff was meant to be listened to on, it's really impossible to differentiate nuance, in the store it sounds almost like a Merzbow remix of Melt-Banana (not a bad thing mind you), but strap on some headphones, or blast it through a killer sound system at deafening volume, and PP's master sonic craft reveals itself for sure. Our favorite moment might be right at the end, with the two minute blast of "Advance Upon The Real", which fills up it's remaining 3+ minutes with a barely audible bit of strange industrial ambience, buried melodies, blurred shimmers, the perfect intro to the weirdo experimental closer "VII" which IS noise, vocals drifting through fields of grinding distorted crunch, blooping synth melodies hovering amidst sheets of caustic gristle, rhythmic and blown out, a weirdly beautiful bit of extreme noise punk, and the perfect way to finish things off. The cd comes in a cool glittery slipcase, with ultra minimal artwork, and while we did have the lp (back in soon, hopefully), it's not the oft remarked upon menstrual blood infused vinyl. Sorry.

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The psychedelic folk fans here at Aquarius are overjoyed that this brilliant obscurity is at last back in print -- and in an expanded, vastly improved cd edition no less. Originally released in 1970, Linda Perhac's "Parallelograms" is a lost gem of lovely, delicate folk-psych songs in line with Joni Mitchell or Heart's folkier moments, gone waaay underground and mystic. For a long long time, although collectors held the record in great esteem, no-one knew anything about Ms. Perhacs at all. When the Wild Places label first reissued the album on cd some years ago they had to do it from a mint vinyl copy of the record. Since then, they've miraculously managed to track down Linda and got their hands on reel to reels dubbed from the original masters, along with a passel of bonus tracks -- half a dozen of 'em. Whoo-hoo! Along with that good stuff, some mysteries were answered. It turns out that, for instance, the popularly held belief that Perhacs was from Hawaii was incorrect. But she lived in the Pacific Northwest and California, so that's not too far off, really... They also confirmed that this was indeed her only recording. But if you're only going to make one record, having it be as good as "Parallelograms" is a neat trick. Her gossamer vocals encounter tripped-out electronic effects and gentle folk-rock backing, transporting the listener to a place not usually or easily reached in this day and age. There's a track or two that gets strangely coffee-house beatnik on us, and sound a bit dated, but most of this is truely ethereal hippie folk-psych beauty unparallelled. Really nice, and recommended.

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As artistically immersive in music as his father Anthony Perkins was in film, singer/songwriter Elvis Perkins sings beautiful folk pop songs that are blistered gently by electric guitar. Very reminiscent of The Kinks, Rufus Wainwright, Jeff Buckley, Ron Sexsmith, and Elvis Costello. Absolutely dreamy and achingly heartfelt. Recommended.

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Joe Pernice teeters frightfully close to easy listening territory on his band's latest studio album. The recent trend of finely crafted '70s soft rock revivalism (y'know, stuff influenced by the likes of Bread and Raspberries) seems to have bitten Mr. Pernice's songwriting pen. There's even some weirdly affected eighties new wave-isms ala Tears For Fears or Echo And The Bunnymen (hinted at by some past cover song choices maybe?). When you compare this to older 'classic' Pernice Brothers, the hooks just aren't as immediate and plentiful, their former boyish heartsick sentiments replaced by a more 'grown-up' air. These new songs slip easily alongside the likes of likeminded veteran breezy pop artists such as Archer Prewitt and Sam Prekop. We've yet to determine if it really makes for a lovelier Pernice Brothers though... after absolutely love-love-lovin' them album after album, this one might take some getting used to. In the meantime if you're craving some more familiar Pernice-y sights and sounds, you might wanna check out their brand new Nobody's Listening Nobody's Watching live cd/dvd combo!

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We've loved Joe Pernice ever since the Scud Mountain Boys, his classic alt-country Sub Pop outfit, the songs sad and wistful, the arrangements lush, and the voice, it was always about the voice, delicate and fragile and so emotional, after Scud Mountain Boys called it quits, Pernice went on to craft similarly evocative and moving country / pop in various guises, Big Tobacco, Chappaquiddick Skyline, and finally as the Pernice Brothers. But whatever name he used, and whatever sound he was exploring, whether it was soft pop, mournful country, or whatever, the sound and the voice were always recognizable. We complained a little about the last Pernice Brothers, we still dug it, but were worried that Pernice's obsession with soft rock (Bread, the Raspberries, etc.) was dulling his songwriting pen, the hooks less hooky, the sound less sparkly and sharp. But on Goodbye, Killer, it sounds like nothing ever changed. This record would fit anywhere in Pernice's career, and that's not a bad thing at all, jangly, smart pop, flecked with country-ish twang, lush arrangements, big time hooks, and that voice, sounding as powerful as ever, but without losing any of its fragility. Right out of the gate, we're utterly smitten, "Bechamel" opens with a perfectly lilting vocal melody over strummed acoustic guitar, and straight into not only a killer chorus, but a bridge that's just as memorable. "Jacqueline Susann" gets a little bit more rocking, reminding us a bit of Ted Leo of all people, but there's a certain sort of melody that only Pernice seems to be capable off, every band has had certain sonic shadings, the sort of thing, that no matter who was playing it, that chord progression, or the way the vocals interact with the music around it, total Joe Pernice, and this record is overflowing with that classic Pernice sound. Those first two songs are definitely a killer one two punch, and we find ourselves playing those over and over, but the whole record plays out fantastically as a whole, the sort of bittersweet perfect pop that there's just not enough of these days.

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Hurrah, a new Pernice Brothers album never fails to brighten your day! While the very uncharacteristic '70s soft rock and '80s new wave leanings on their last studio album Discover A Lovelier You did cause a little bit of mild puzzlement around here last year, the band fortunately have fallen back in step with their old sweet, heartmelting selves for Live A Little. Mainman Joe Pernice steeps pretty much each and every one of his songs here with wonderful pop goodness. The generous serving of reverb on his tender vocals mean that each and every word is going to give your ears a big warm hug. Irresistible.

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

SORRY. Features Joe Pernice of Scud Mountain Boys and his brother Bob, also Stephen Desaulniers on bass. It sounds just like a Scud record, and that's a very good thing.

If the name Pernice Brothers brings a tear of joy to your eye, we're telling you everything's gonna be alright... once you get your hands on Nobody's Watching Nobody's Listening, that is! For those of you who've yet to bask in the glow of Joe Pernice and Co.'s fabulous pop glory in the live setting, we s'pose this might be the next best thing. Not only do you get a live album packed with twelve of their finest songs, but you also get a dvd featuring a tour diary and two of their music videos complete with storyboards. The live album begins all rambunctious with lots of speedy, loud, rockin' guitars and gets progressively more somber. Our only complaint would be that the vocals are a bit low in the mix. Who doesn't want to hear more of Pernice's sweet, engagingly heartsick singing? Having just read his fictional ode to The Smiths' Meat Is Murder album in the 33 1/3 book series, we were particularly aware of his appreciation for (obsession with?) that band and their lead singer, and it does make itself apparent on occasion here. Shades of Morrissey's melodramatic mope surface in Pernice's lyrics and in his vocal delivery. Not a bad thing by any means. Everybody watch! Everybody listen!

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Joe Pernice, the main force behind Massachusetts' Scud Mountain Boys, has formed a new band with his brother. This is very much like Scud Mountain Boys' music, albeit without the lovely slide guitar BUT with the addition of lush strings. For fans of Bread, Jimmy Webb, Beach Boys. Perfect, clean, rich music.

Joe Pernice, formerly of the Scud Mountain Boys, and Big Tobacco, and now the Pernice Brothers is turning out to be one of the most important singer songwriters of our time. It sounds like hyperbole, but Joe Pernice has managed to find a sound all his own,

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With bandleader credits under the monikers Scud Mountain Boys, Big Tobacco, and Chappaquiddick Skyline, perennial AQ-favorite Joe Pernice offers his third as the Pernice Brothers. Yes, this is the most polished and radio-ready of all his records, but that doesn't mean it is watered down at all. Moving away from his country rock explorations with the Scuds, the Pernice Brothers explore the world of pop, albeit very melancholy, achingly bittersweet, emotion-drenched, sincere singer-songwriter pop. His near 'n dear influence remains the same as ever -- Bread. Wonderful Bread, who share with Pernice a love for delicately, carefully, quietly sung vocal melodies and sympathetic instrumentation -- warmly strummed guitars (at times reminiscent of The Smiths even!). Pernice's music has gotten me thru more than one broken heart... Now if you haven't heard Pernice before we'd recommend you start with Scud Mtn Boys' Massachusetts or the Big Tobacco album, but if you're already a fan we certainly recommend Yours Mine and Ours. MPEG Download: "How" [/audio/pernicehow.mp3] MPEG Stream: "How" [/audio/pernicehow.m3u]

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Much like the Young Accuser 7" reviewed a couple lists back, It Feels So Good When I Stop is another Joe Pernice release related to his forthcoming novel. The Young Accuser 7" was a not-imaginary record, by the imaginary band in Pernice's novel, channeling a more rocking vibe than we're used to from him, but on It Feels So Good When I Stop, Pernice takes on a bunch of covers, forming what is essentially a soundtrack to his novel. Some of the tracks seem to be actually mentioned in the story (based on the handful of readings interspersed between the songs here), while others seem to just be songs that informed its writing or heck, that Pernice just digs. Del Shannon, Sebadoh, Tom T. Hall, Allan Sherman, Todd Rundgren, Plush, Dream Syndicate, Sammy Johns and of course The Young Accuser. Pernice manages to make all the covers here sound like his own, his voice wispy and delicate, the instrumentation minimal, the song choice ideal for his style, Del Shannon's "Found A Little Baby" is one of the highlights, joined by the rest of the Pernice Brothers, if it wasn't a cover, we'd be proclaiming it one of the best Pernice / Pernice brothers tracks ever. The Sebadoh cover manages to make the original sound even slower and sadder. The instrumental version of one of the Young Accuser jams from the Sub Pop 7" is also pretty great (with the Pernice Brothers again), and Todd Rundgren's "Hello, It's Me" seems like it was written for Pernice, stripped down and gorgeously vulnerable. Not sure if this has us wanting to read the novel necessarily, but it sure has us hankering for another Pernice Brothers record. Or how about a Scud Mountain Boys reunion! Regardless, a beautiful collection of songs for sure.

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A book of poetry and prose from Joe Pernice who you know as the leader of Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquidick Skyline, and the Pernice Brothers. Joe's a writer and a poet and we were able to get hold of a precious few copies of his debut book, a slim "Christ sweating bloody bullets in the trellised garden. A sesame seed wedged in his teeth the least of his problems, and already the apostles sleep beneath a dream-coat of stars. "As if the whole world depends on it, the scent of camel stirs on the back of a breeze. Christ lights up a Camel, his face ghostly in match light. The horizon flickers with the distant bonfires of campers, thrill seekers, and execution buffs. The desert is one gigantic party, the biggest of the season, complete with commemorative mugs, crucifigurines, the works. All around, dueling sitars bang out popular tunes under the ivory moon. Buckets of drunken laughter and throes of multitudes copulating in the dunes. "Christ rubs his aching temples, wonders if he's just pissing against a fierce tide. He'll be glad when all the hoopla's died down. It's been a frustrating couple of years, to say the least. He could use some real R and R: A secluded tropical island where they wait on you hand and foot... shelled quahogs drenched in lemon butter... mile high cocktails with names impossible to spell."

Sandro Perri was/is the man behind Toronto's always experimenting Polmo Polpo. Over the last few years he began playing under his own name and released a very limited cd-r of new interpretations of Polmo Polpo songs which are now seeing a proper release thanks to Constellation. Under his own name Perri has a much more delicate and seductive touch then displayed on Polmo Polpo recordings. While we liked a lot of the stuff on those discs, it really seems that in this incarnation, Perri's playing comes to life and feels so comfortable and never forced. Daydreaming washed out guitars that create such perfect melodies with understated vocals that never get in the way of the sparkling wave these songs create. We got a hint of this new direction earlier this year with the debut from Perri's killer new band, Glissandro 70.

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We might be a little biased, seeing as several aQ-ers (including the one writing this review) are from San Diego, and the fact pretty much all of us LOVE rock docs, but even if you're not from San Diego, this long in the works documentary captures an exciting time, in a city that was long believed to be the 'next Seattle'. And while that may have never come to pass, you no doubt are familiar with plenty of San Diego groups from that era: Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From The Crypt, The Locust, Heavy Vegetable, Three Mile Pilot, Clickatat Ikatowi and loads more. If that list has you freaking out a bit, this movie will blow your mind. Lots of incredible interviews with and/or performances by all those folks, as well as Truman's Water, Crash Worship, Physics, Antioch Arrow, No Knife, Heroin, Boilermaker, Unbroken, Fishwife, Tanner, the Rapture, Pitchfork, Creedle, Swing Kids, Sub Society, Neighborhood Watch, Funeral March, Inch, Amenity, and the list goes on. Oh and don't forget Blink-182, maybe the most popular band to come out of San Diego since Iron Butterfly (we had actually forgotten they were from SD!). There film covers the early hardcore scene in SD, which even having grown up there, we sort of missed out on, but definitely helps lay the groundwork for the sort of post punk that would follow. While much of the movie is super positive, folks remembering and reminiscing about the good old days, some of it's pretty heartbreaking too, 'cause like in any scene, there were folks who died way too young: R.I.P. Denver Lucas (Powerdresser), R.I.P. Terrin Durfey (Boilermaker), R.I.P. Stimy (Sub Society, Inch). Some of our favorite bits: the interviews with Ryan Foxe, the lead singer of Fishwife, who is basically like a real life Pee Wee Herman, but like a scarier, even more manic version; or the laid back interviews with the guys from Truman's Water, sitting in their kitchen with their dogs; the live stuff is nuts, and there are clips of pretty much all the great SD bands, including some seriously rare footage. And again, while being from San Diego, or at least growing up listening to this stuff, makes this movie totally essential, even if you're just into music documentaries, this is a super well made movie, about a special scene, and a special time, and the very special people who made some of the coolest, weirdest, most creative music ever. The DVD includes a TON of extras, over 4 hours worth, including interview outtakes and live footage, much of which features bands who didn't make it into the final cut, as well as a flyer gallery and an audio commentary track, with lots of the above mentioned rockers.

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

SORRY.

What starts off as an angular instrumental juggling act comprised of one part circus, one part surf, one part Talking Heads, and one part jazz, eventually becomes a much less interesting all parts punk pop. Perhaps they should have stuck with their much more promising and energetic original direction? At any rate, they're certainly not a long-winded bunch, taking care of business in

We heart Bo Anders Persson! What a hero. Still going strong well into (and beyond?) his sixties, leading a band that's been around in one form or another more or less SINCE the sixties - we're talking about the those joyful psychedelic heavies, legendary Swedish "krautrockers", the timeless Trad Gras Och Stenar, and the group's prior incarnations as International Harvester, Harvester, and Parson Sound. The amazing archival release of Parson Sound's Terry Riley inspired drone-psych, circa 1967-'68, was until now the earliest music we'd heard from Bo Anders. But what was he up to even before that? We know that as a guitar player, he was hugely influenced by seeing Jimi Hendrix. But this new disc of his earliest, previously unreleased recordings, brought to us by the same label that did the Parson Sound set, shows a different side to Persson, being a portrait of the artist as a young academic composer. Persson has tape machines in hand, not an electric guitar. It's some wonderfully droney, avant garde 20th century classical music, from before Persson heard Hendrix and got into more rock-oriented music making. The experimental nature of these compositions however is in keeping with the adventurous direction of Parson Sound, et.al., later on. These pieces, recorded when Persson was a student at the Royal Academy Of Music In Stockholm, from 1965 to '67, constitute a mixture of eerie drones, minimalist electronic loopscapes, and, at times, what we might describe as beatnik sci-fi exotica. There's a female singer on much of this who provides wordless, abstract vocal acrobatics (she's good - this type of singing requires a lot of control), her delicate cries variously accompanied by fluttering flute and unidentified electro-acoustic noises, jazzbo hand percussion and equally jazzical contrabass, as well as the ever-present shivering electronic atmospheres. It's all very out-there, but still quite listenable, even as it sometimes gets darker and more dramatic, almost claustrophobic in its subtle intensity. We kept being reminded of some of the music from the original Star Trek TV series soundtrack! Also, Luigi Nono and Luciano Berio, composers like that. We're no experts, but this sounds pretty good to us, and we'd guess Persson could have continued on with a highbrow career as an arty musique concrete composer, if radical hippie communal psych sounds hadn't become his thing. Our favorite track may be the last, the disc's longest at over 24 minutes - a rhythmic abstract dronescape constructed from a short sampled bit of speech, that as it's looped and layered becomes more blurred and burbling, turning into a mesmeric mumbled murmur. Nice! Dronophiles will want this for that track, "Proteinimperialism", alone. Includes a booklet, with vintage photos & graphics and extensive liner notes (in the form of an essay entitled "The Utopian Dreams of Bo Anders Persson") Note: there's a much more expensive double-lp vinyl version of this as well, currently on backorder, but we will be able to get more eventually if you're interested, let us know!

MPEG stream: Invention II
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In a relatively short period of time, Ty Segall has developed a totally recognizable style of super blown out garage punk that we just can't seem to get enough of. And a lot of you must feel the same, cuz the records keep pouring out and selling like crazy. So it was quite fitting that when we first played this in the store a customer immediately asked "So what Ty Segall project is this?" and he was right on, because even though the Perverts are even more in-the-red and fucked up and punk sounding than Segall's other records, it still has his immediately noticeable rad guitar playing and wild vocals all over it. We dig how Segall is following in the tradition of old school punk and the early days of vintage garage rock where folks would put out singles almost every month, and have a billion different side-projects. Lucky for us everything he's been doing is sounding so great so we say, go ahead and keep on being the hardest working man in blown out garage rock!

Martin Hall appears to be the figure who defined the Danish New Wave scene, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that any of the projects he worked in found much traction outside of Denmark. Ballet Mecanique was one such project, And Then Again was another; of course, there were a couple of solo outings too. Pesteg Dred was a very short-lived project, as the trio that revolved around Hall got together in 1981 with electronics wrangler Per Hendrichsen and vocalist Inge Shannon. During one weekend, the three landed in a studio and banged out an album but didn't have the ability to pay the bill. So the tapes sat until Hall could negotiate something with the owners of the studio. A cassette of the material surfaced as a bonus with an art magazine in 1985, but otherwise, the recordings languished while all three members went onto other projects. We've never heard of any of Hall's other projects; but if any were half as good as Pesteg Dred, they'd be worth the price of admission. The dark storm of post-punk had certainly come to Denmark, with Hall admitting an early infatuation with Cabaret Voltaire and A Certain Ratio (well, he did name one his later projects And Then Again after an A Certain Ratio tune); but The Pop Group and The Ex must have made a big impact as well. The band is essentially a mutant rhythm section of rumbling, discordant funk basslines and unschooled percussive fills that showcase way more fury than skill, with a series of weirdly skittered electronics flushed between the rhythms with murky modular sweeps, distorted drones, and delay-rippled bloop. Inge's vocals are a cold monotone bellow that aren't too far from Bettina Koster of Malaria, making a perfect fit for the darkly, cacophonous agit-punk of Pesteg Dred. The lengthy "Light, More Light" is very much in the vein of the best A Certain Ratio, with breakneck post-disco rhythm, neck-strangling basslines, jittery guitars, and even some atonal blurts from a trumpet. Death disco? You bet! Dark Entries scores yet again with a really great re-discovery on Pested Dred.

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Martin Hall appears to be the figure who defined the Danish New Wave scene, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of evidence that any of the projects he worked in found much traction outside of Denmark. Ballet Mecanique was one such project, And Then Again was another; of course, there were a couple of solo outings too. Both Pesteg Dred and SS-Say were very short-lived projects in the early '80s. Pesteg Dred was a trio that revolved around Hall in 1981 with electronics wrangler Per Hendrichsen and vocalist Inge Shannon. During one weekend, the three landed in a studio and banged out an album but didn't have the ability to pay the bill. So the tapes sat until Hall could negotiate something with the owners of the studio. A cassette of the material surfaced as a bonus with an art magazine in 1985, but otherwise, the recordings languished while all three members went onto other projects. The dark storm of post-punk had certainly come to Denmark, with Hall admitting an early infatuation with Cabaret Voltaire and A Certain Ratio (well, he did name one of his later projects And Then Again after an A Certain Ratio tune), but The Pop Group and The Ex must have made a big impact as well. The band is essentially a mutant rhythm section of rumbling, discordant funk basslines and unschooled percussive fills that showcase way more fury than skill, with a series of weirdly skittered electronics flushed between the rhythms with murky modular sweeps, distorted drones, and delay-rippled bloop. Inge's vocals are a cold monotone bellow that aren't too far from Bettina Koster of Malaria, making a perfect fit for the darkly, cacophonous agit-punk of Pesteg Dred. The lengthy "Light, More Light" is very much in the vein of the best A Certain Ratio, with breakneck post-disco rhythm, neck-strangling basslines, jittery guitars, and even some atonal blurts from a trumpet. SS-Say released only one single in 1985, and that material rounds out the cd. Here, Hall is working again with Inge Shannon, for a more baroque, anthemic number wrought with Siouxsie-esque operatics and wah-wah guitar scratching above the catwalk disco rhythms. With its cocaine strung synths, "Care" is definitely the gem amongst the SS-Say tracks, which showcase much more polish as a Studio 54 / Batcave hybrid than Pesteg Dred, but with just as much post-punk bombast. The Pesteg Dred material was reissued by Dark Entries on vinyl in 2010, and now it's available on cd for the first time with the SS-Say tracks that didn't appear on the lp reish.

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If you love the pop sounds of The Posies, the New Pornographers, Sloan and The Shins as we here at aQ surely do, well, we might all be needing to add a new band to our list o' tunesome faves. The band is Peter Bjorn And John, and yes, the three Swedish lads' names are indeed Peter (Moren), Bjorn (Yttling) and John (Eriksson). This is their second full length and it's pretty right on! Their vocals have that 'aw shucks' boyish kind of quality. Y'know, slightly bashful, slightly drowsy, slightly slouchy and totally endearing. In fact, they sorta reminded us of Crowded House and Badly Drawn Boy too. Check 'em out!

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This Swedish pop group's third release is finally available domestically and thank God for that as it topped many of our "best of" lists of 2006, By now you must have heard PB & J's infectious single with Victoria Bergsman from the Concretes, "Young Folks" with its catchy off-handed whistling and cute animated video that has been an internet sensation for the past few months. Well, the rest of the album does not disappoint in the least. This is some of the best pop music we've heard in a long time that sounds as fresh as when bands like Blur and Pulp first started garnering attention a decade ago. And they do it so effortlessly by scaling back the guitars in favor of more subtle, economic and hook-laden arrangements, and well-written songs about love and heartbreak that never sound clich�d. Taking turns on vocal and songwriting duties, the trio are at the top of their game, making Writer's Block a delightfully varied affair as it takes us on a twisted journey through the highs and lows of romance. At times the sound is effervescent as on "Let's Call It Off", at other times it's more brooding as heard on the downbeat synth-heavy "The Chills". This domestic release comes with a bonus second disc of some extra tracks, a couple of remixes and alternate versions of "Let's Call It Off" and "Young Folks", the latter played on sitar! Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!

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MPEG stream: Start To Melt

Easily the very best stuff that Peter Jefferies has done since he collaborated with his brother Graeme in This Kind of Punishment and Nocturnal Projections back in the early 80's. Dark, beautiful, tense instrumentals with guitar, piano, drums, and drones that recall Joy Division at their bleakest.

Peter, Bjorn & John have redeemed themselves bigtime with this new outing! Their last album Living Thing, really sounded flat to our ears and was such a letdown after the thrilling pop they delivered on their breakout album Writer's Block. Well with Gimme Some, these Swedes have returned to the top of their game and it looks like this is going to be a major contender for pop record of the summer and maybe even the year! Ultra catchy melodies and hooks that hit hard, exuberant and energetic, and best of all no filler in the mix, this is what a perfect pop record should sound like. It's a record that has so much zest and an effortless vibe, while also containing some surprisingly rocking moments, and that certain charm that makes the way they craft songs so damn addictive. Who else can incorporate cowbell into one of the best pop songs of the year like they do on "Second Chance"?! This is proving to be one of those pop records like the Pains Of Being Pure At Heart debut or Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. We can't wait to blast this all summer long and beyond!

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

SORRY. A documentary of the rise of the "Chicago Scene" featuring Steve Albini, The Jesus Lizard, Eleventh Dream Day, Red Red Meat, Die Warzau and lots more. Contains live footage.

Here's one of the 2 new releases from beloved experimental label Utech that we're listing this week, the other being by Suzuki Juzno. Now, before we heard this one, we expected it to be good, 'cause it's on Utech after all, but knowing it was by eclectic French composer Philippe Petite, we didn't know WHAT exactly to expect in terms of sounds - was it gonna be glitchy laptopped electronica? Noisy avant-rock? Droned out soundscapery? Something else? All of the above? Petit has done a lot of things over the years, running both the Pandemonium and Bip-Hop labels, most recently playing in dronesters Strings Of Consciousness... And this is perhaps the heaviest, harshest thing he's been involved with yet, and "all of the above" does just about cover it. The very first track, "Murmurs", is a collaboration with Justin Broadrick of Jesu/Godflesh/Final/etc. infamy, and that sets the super dark, distorted tone for the whole disc, which consists of 45 minutes of groaning, grinding, grainy, atmospheric instrumental industrial sludge spread over 5 tracks, made with guitars, organs, turntables, percussion, electronic processing, backwards effects, etc... In other words, delightful! That is, if your taste in abstract abrasiveness is at all like ours, partial to passages of subterranean rhythmic skitter mixed with moments of sheer Merzbowian intensity. The centerpiece of this "Symphonia" is the 16+ minute "Fear Has Fallen", with its martial drumming buried under a sinister miasmic muzz, but the whole disc is quite noisily satisfying throughout. The black clouds of the sleeve art are highly appropriate imagery. Highly recommended!!

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This SF songstress (aka Jessica Peter) continues to make the sweetest of pop music that never topples overboard into the sugar bowl. Her graceful, bubbly piano and lovely voice draws the immediate attention. She can belt it out, or coo in a crystal clarity, or murmur out the merest whispery breath of a vocal. Check out the aching "You Are Perfect". Indeed unlike the dreamy airiness of her previous recordings, here she treads on somewhat darker terrain especially on the sumptuous instrumental interlude "Dark Woods". If you dig other awesome, crafty female singer/songwriters like Mirah or Mary Timony, take note!

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MPEG stream: You Are This Perfect
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Petracovich's We Are Wyoming finds Ms Jessica Peters exploring some different avenues -- for one thing she's given her piano playing more of the spotlight -- but none that bring that fine state in the album title to our minds. This is much more other worldly or at least other timely, perhaps harking back to some old tyme saloon or cabaret... but mind you, not one filled with rowdy drunken louts, women of ill repute and much broken glass. No, this sounds almost as if she hopped aboard a time machine that transported her back so that she could sneak into the place long after closing time to sing and play their rickety old piano all by her lonesome. An accompaniment of glistening electronic textural clouds and shuffly stuttery rhythms magically takes shape out of thin air to swirl around her breathy vocals and warm piano. Much more airy and haunting than her debut Blue Cotton Skin (which leaned more heavily on electronics a la Beth Orton or Massive Attack), this dreamy sophomore release really shows Peter's coming into her own as a songwriter and finding her own voice. So darn lovely!

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