This is the kind of kid's music compilation that is as much (or more) for the adults, who are really buying it for themselves, though your little one will like it too - we tested it out on Allan's 18 month old Josie, and she started happily dancing immediately, probably finding it a nice respite from the sort of weird sounds her dad usually subjects her too. With tracks from a bunch of classic artists (Van Dyke Parks, Carole King, Harry Nilsson, Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, Donovan, Vashti Bunyan, and more), it's a diverse and entirely delightful selection of material, not all of it originally intended for children. There's lots of gentle folk, some freaky funk (The Pointer Sisters doing a counting song from a 1977 episode of Sesame Street!), and sentimental soft pop - heck, the last track here is none other than "Rainbow Connection", and that sweet song, sung by Kermit the Frog, is the perfect capstone to this neat-o collection, which also comes with a specially illustrated story booklet, all about some critters in the woods who find a mysterious object (this record).
Btw, Third Man also put out a kid's portable turntable, the Third Man Mini Record Player that's sorta supposed to go with the vinyl of this, we have one in stock if you're interested in the complete package!
Subtitle: Indonesian Hard, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock And Funk: 1970-1978. Maybe that's all the review this needs, it worked for us, but we'll go on...
Damn. Now THIS is what all comps/reissues should be like. Just the physical thing itself, both cd and lp formats, makes us go wow. And then there's the music, amazing stuff by bands we've NEVER ever heard of before, for the most part.... international psych-rock grooviness from the '70s, Indonesian division. Twenty tracks, all killer no filler for damn sure. So, to start with the elaborate, you're-getting-your-money's-worth packaging, packed with content: exhaustive liner notes, vintage photos, colorful album cover graphics, in a 64 page book in the cd version (and it really thick enough to be called a BOOK, not a booklet) or a 16 page (but lp-sized of course) booklet with the massive 3lp set. Both are solid, hefty items indeed. The cd itself comes in a sturdy cardboard mini-lp style sleeve, tucked tightly along with the book inside a wraparound slipcover. The vinyl, in a triple gatefold sleeve about a half inch thick. Impressive presentation, topping even that of another recent anthology of non-Western psych/funk stuff we made a Record Of The Week as well not long ago, the Sa-Re-Ga collection. What that was to India this is to Indonesia.
And Indonesia is definitely full of hidden treasures for us Westerners into exotic "hairy funk" and heavy rock sounds of the past. We knew about a few bands on here, that we'd had reissues by before, the Ariesta Birawa Group, Shark Move, Koes Plus, but that's it - all of those are awesome though, so the fact that we'd never heard of the other 16 acts on here (there's 20 tracks, but one band appears twice) just made us more excited to hear this: Rollies, Super Kid, Freedom Of Rhapsodia, Murry, The Brims, Black Brothers, Ivo's Group, Golden Wing, The Gang Of Harry Roesli, Benny Soebardja and Lizard, Aka, Panbers, Rhythm Kings, Rasela, Terenchem, and Duo Kribo.
The music of these groups ranges from heavy progressive bombast to hippie trippiness to out-and-out groovy dancefloor filling fodder, often all at once, and then some. Eastern-tinged (no surprise) psychedelic Sgt. Pepperisms and stomping acid funk are blended in the very first selection here, "Haai", by a band called Panbers, who once opened for the Bee Gees in Djakarta. Off to a good start! A tough act to follow (we imagine the Bee Gees thought so too), but track two's The Brims manage to hold their own with "Anti Gandja", a song apparently with a message of "just say no", though it sure sounds a lot like they said hell yeah. Then the third cut, "Bad News" by Rollies, suddenly introduces a healthy dose of James Brown worship, the others were funky but this one is straight up FUNK. After that, we're treated to one of the highlights from the Shark Move album, one of the few tracks here we knew, the fuzz-heavy shambolic riff-tumble with prog-classical soloing of "Evil War". Up next, the stoned lope of Golden Wing's love song "Hear Me" is a bit more primitive, akin to Japan's Speed Glue & Shinki, or Juan De La Cruz from the Philippines.
So, that's just the first five tracks, so far they're all smokin', and guess what? It just gets better and better believe it or not. Turn it up, play it loud! We can't go into detail about EVERY track, though they all deserve mention, from the spacey soul of Super Kid to the greasy groove of The Gang Of Harry Roselli, but we should at least let you know that the Koes Plus cut is NOT from the cd of theirs you may already have that Sublime Frequencies put out, it's taken from a latter record, 1976's ln Hard Beat 2, and it's a rad one, with a nice la la la vocal chorus echoed by some much more maniacal LALALA screaming, crazy.
Oh, and we know why they put two tracks from AKA on here, how could they chose between the badass hard rock of "Do What You Like" with its headspining psychedelic breakdowns, and the same group's seriously funky, James Brown inspired "Shake Me", which begins with call-and-response chant, the band saying "No" to grass, morphine, and LSD, but "YEAH" to sex.
Ok, we'll leave it to you get this and experience all the fuzzy, funky riffery here for yourself. Familiar in its '70s vibe - ferinstance Benny Soebardja (ex-Shark Move) and Lizard's "Candlelight" is so '70s, classic radio rock, maybe the Indonesian answer to the Steve Miller Band? - yet fresh, definitely from somewhere and somewhen else!!
Kudos to compiler Jason "Moss" Connoy for tracking down all these gems, and to everyone else involved with putting this package together, doing the research, writing, and graphic documentation... obviously an immense job but well done and well worth it. So, if you've been enjoying Sa-Re-Ga, Thai! Dai!, Sound Of Siam, Psych-Funk 101, The World Ends, or any other disc of crate-digging discoveries from around the world we've recommended lately, this one is definitely for you too! Highest recommendation.
LEVIATHAN ALERT!!! EXCLUSIVE UNRELEASED LEVIATHAN TRACK ALERT!!! LEVIATHAN COVERING BLACK FLAG ALERT!!! What the fuck? It's true though. More on that in a second. We all dig skating (although most of us are not to good at it), and love to watch crazy skaters around town, often fucking themselves up in the process. Who doesn't? But typically skate rock has often been, well, not really that interesting. Okay, so maybe most skate rock sucks. But this Thrasher Skate Rock disc has a lot going for it, not the least of which is an unreleased Leviathan track, "The Third Blind Wound"! Most Leviathan obsessives will most definitely find this one track enough reason to pick this up, but there's some other killer stuff on here too. Exclusive tracks from a bunch of other bands including locals Hightower, and the always kick ass S.T.R.E.E.T.S. (an acronym for 'skating totally rules, everything else totally sucks') as well as some killer DVD footage including a documentary about skating in the 80's and 90's and a live performance from Norway's Turbonegro.
This is one of those dualdisc thingies, that won't play on some stereos so be warned!
Ariel Pink dropped by the store the other day to sell us some tour merch and he had a handful of these Madonna tribute cds for sale. Looking at the line-up (which also includes Lavender Diamond, Giant Drag, Jeremy Jay and a host of other LA pop underground bands some of which we've heard of, others we haven't), we have to say our curiosity got the better of us and we bought a few. Tribute cds are always a mixed affair, especially when it's dedicated to a pop star bigger in concept than in musicality. But while most bands diverge from the straight ahead cover, this is not exactly the Cicconne Youth-style take we were hoping for. Still if you love the Material Girl, and you are into bands like Jonathan Wilson, Golden Animals, Winter Flowers, Mountain Party, The Tyde, Alexandra Hope, The Chapin Sisters, The Bubonic Plague, Apollo Heights, The Prayers, Lion of Panjshir and the other above mentioned folks, all wading and whirling through Madonna's many wonders and blunders, then there is lots of fun here to enjoy.
Listing this, at last. We know a lot of you have been enjoying DJ Andy Votel's Vertigo label mix cd that we made Record Of the Week last summer. Advertised in the booklet for that cd was this triple disc box set, compiling 41 full (unmixed) tracks from the Vertigo vaults. So here it is. If you liked that Vertigo Mixed disc but you're not ready yet to hunt down the collectable original LPs (or cd reissues, which aren't always available either) by all those bands, this 3cd set is just the ticket to get to hear more. Some of these tracks were included in Votel's mix (but here you get the entire song!), and some not.
Of course, with a vast, three and a half hour collection like this, a review is superflous for the curious. First off, though, if you don't know: Britain's Vertigo label, in its early '70s heyday (characterized by the "swirl" logo), specialized in both heavy psych and jazz-rock, often finding bands that blended the two into progged-out grooves that Votel likes to call "hairy funk". Not every Vertigo "swirl" album was incredible, but there's enough gems amidst the many, many tracks released by the label circa 1969-1973 to make putting together a fairly bountiful compilation like this pretty easy on the compliers.
Vertigo's most famous signing was Black Sabbath. Perhaps unnecessarily, there's two Sabbath tracks included here. Being the best band ever (sez Allan anyway) you should already have 'em. But chances are you don't already have tracks by a lot of the other bands found here, ranging from the fairly well-known to the totally obscure: Gentle Giant, Gracious!, Affinity, May Blitz, Juicy Lucy, Jade Warrior, Dr. Z, Tudor Lodge, Warhorse, Freedom, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Beggars Opera, Nucleus, Atlantis, Ramases, Colosseum, Aphrodite's Child, Ben, Cressida, Patto, Clear Blue Sky, Gravy Train, Uriah Heep, Mick Ronson's Ronno, and more. A diverse array ranging from folky flutes to hard rock riffage to jazzy romps (sometimes all in the same song). All these cuts are contained on three cds in cardboard sleeves, housed inside the box alongside a 48 page booklet with a page or paragraph on each band, and an introductory essay about Vertigo's history. The whole package is a Vertigo primer, if you will. Definitely a good sampler to help direct your further exploration of the Vertigo (and early '70s psych/prog/jazzrock) legacy, or maybe just enough for your needs in that direction...
Yet another awesome archival compilation from the recently reactivated Flying Nun label, this one curated by The Dead C's Bruce Russell, who takes great pains in the liner notes to explain that this is in no way a greatest hits, or a collection of obscurities, but instead paint a picture of the New Zealand scene at a time when much was changing, socially and politically, and of course musically, with the NZ pop sound being twisted and tweaked with groups looking to bring back the psychedelia of the sixties, if not specifically in sound, most definitely in spirit. The results sonically point more to the post punk groups of the time, Joy Division, Wire, the Velvet Underground, etc, with many of the tracks here darker and gloomier and noisier, which of course we dig big time. Lots of familiar names here, the Pin Group, The Clean, The Gordons, Tall Dwarfs, The Chills, Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos (one of our favorite NZ groups EVER!), but again some lesser know, but equally kick ass outfits: The Puddle, The Rip, 25 Cents, The Shallows, and loads more.
For all its darkness and psychedelia though, fans of the NZ sound won't be disappointed, but unlike the predominantly jangle pop sound of the other recent Flying Nun comp, the also ruling Tally-Ho double cd, Time To Go definitely focuses on a darker energy, just check out The Clean's "In The Back", the band ditching their penchant for perfect pop for a gloriously abstract psych guitar swirl, there's still jangle in there for sure, but it's wreathed in buzz and spidery tendrils of melody, obscured by clouds of fuzzed out shimmer and smeared soft noise. Then there's the Pin Group's darky dolorous "Jim", a brooding chunk of gloom pop dirgery, that the current crop of Brooklyn punks would kill to have recorded. Deep moody vox, minimal minor guitar thrum, murky rhythms, all hauntingly sinister and dreamily depressive. Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos offer up "Rain", which is also dark and murky, a sort of low fidelity slab of bedroom strum and croon, intimate and hushed, melancholic and moody, which then splinters into some bizarre psychedelia with the addition of haunting female vox and some squiggly synths. The Gordons get all Sonic Youth-y with some downcast atonal guitar heavy noise rock, that's still weirdly melodic and propulsive, and sounds fresh enough that it could be some Captured Tracks / Sacred Bones band from today. We could go on and on, track by track, but all you need to know is this stuff kills. Even fans who have many of these records will find this a kick ass NZ/Flying Nun mixtape, and for those who may have missed this stuff first time around, odds are you're gonna find it shockingly revelatory. And anyone who bought that Tally-Ho compilation, you're definitely gonna want this one too!
Includes a big booklet, with cool pix and extensive liner notes from Bruce Russell, detailing the scene, the bands, the label, and what was going on in NZ at the time, and how all that stuff (social, economic, political) affected the music.
Vinyl version forthcoming, btw.
A compilation chronicling the current state of the San Francisco 'scene'. Lots of familiar names here, but even more unfamiliar ones (might be due to the fact that the comp is filled out by 'solo' contributions from almost every member of Tarentel as well as
Numero group return with yet another amazing reissue, gorgeously packaged, meticulously researched, It's All Pop is the second collection of power pop from the label, the first being the genius Yellow Pills, a collection of essential groups, lost gems, and classic tracks. This one is a bit more specific, and insanely obscure, as seems to be Numero's way, focusing this time on the short lived and almost completely unknown power pop label Titan, headquartered in Kansas City, existing only briefly from 1978-1981, and having only released a handful of records. But you know what they say about quality versus quantity.
Anyway, the groups on Titan's roster are who's who of unknowns, a few maybe recognizable to only the most obsessive power pop fanatics: Boys, Secrets* (yep, the asterisk is part of their name), Gems, Scott McCarl, Bobby Sky, Millionaire At Midnight, Gary Charlson, Arlis!, JP McLain, and this is normally where we'd say "and loads more", but there really isn't any more. That's it, the whole roster, a handful of tracks from each, and if you love that Yellow Pills comp, then needless to say, this will probably hit the spot too. Obvious references are the Shoes, the Rasberries, Badfinger, E.L.O., Big Star, Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Nazz, you know what we're talking about. Simple and stripped down, jangly guitars, vocal harmonies, and hooks galore. The sound varies a bit, some of the tracks are a bit glammy, some are total straight Beatles-esque pop, a few have a more classic vibe, others are a bit more hard rocking, but however the sound is twisted or tweaked, the heart and core of these songs is super catchy, super rocking ultra catchy total old school power pop bliss.
Killer packaging of course, deluxe slip cover, two digipaks, a massive book, with extensive liner notes, loads of rare flyers and photos, and a note from label co-founder Mark Prellberg.
We always love a good heavy psych/proto-metal mix, that's what you get here on this new comp, twenty tracks of fairly obscure heaviness circa 1968-1974 from the UK, USA, Holland, and elsewhere; as the subtitle says, "a lesson in devilish psychedelics", sure! Making it more of a lesson, they've thoughtfully provided some notes about each band/track in the full-color illustrated cd booklet. Now, what's interesting is that we used to get comps like this and everything was new to us, but now, we know a lot of this stuff, you might too, bands like Incredible Hog, The Way We Live, Armaggedon (the German one), Skid Row (the Irish one!), Rotomagus (with their punkiest tune, "Fightin' Cock"), Schizo (Richard Pinhas' pre-Heldon band, with 2 tracks from their rare 7", sounding like a spaced out Steppenwolf), and big aQ hits Jerusalem (represented here by their devastating "Primitive Man"). We've had full-length reissues from several of these acts, most recently the Francais Metal de Proto of Rotomagus. Great stuff, all of it, and so if you don't know 'em all, this would be a good introduction.
And then, there's actually, on the other hand, quite a few tracks here from band we DIDN'T already know, and thus are glad to hear. Seems that many of them were singles-only bands, so comps like this are one of the best ways to find out about 'em. Some names: The Hook (pretty dang wild and heavy for '68!), Sound Of Imker (both sides of their '69 single), Dickens, Spirit Of St. Louis, Bintangs, Henry Schifter, The Gallery, Inca Bullet Joe, Demian, Zendik, and Rapunzel. Some of those now we're gonna be on the lookout for more by - if there IS any more, 'cuz what's here might be all of it in some cases.
Definitely a expertly-curated dose of old school, fuzz-filled heaviness for folks who dug similar comps like Up All Night, White Lace & Strange, and Downer Rock Genocide. A good range of frantic garage, manic psych, & plodding prog, all proto-something, either metal or punk or both. And by the way, interesting to note that a good 40 percent of these tracks date specifically from 1971, once again THEE year for awesome rock music.
And yet ANOTHER special super limited Record Store Day release, we have a handful left, but like all the rest of the RSD goodies on this week's list, once they're gone, they're almost assuredly gone for good! The Todo Muere series is now a sort of RSD tradition, as this is year three, and this volume three of this series of Sacred Bones samplers, and as always, it's another pretty awesome collection of rarities and exclusives from a bunch of aQ faves. This time around, things kick off with The Men, who once again display their new, poppier sound, but here that sound gets cranked up a bit, and is on the noisier side, a sort of mix between the OLD and the NEW Men. Moon Duo do their thing, a hazy, druggy, tranced out, motorik groover, that's fantastically mesmerizing, and could easily have stretched out way past its 4:42. Oh and the lyrics are in German! A track from the recent Follakzoid gets a remix courtesy of Psychic Ills, who essentially transform the original into a sort-of Psychic Ills track, all tranced out Spacemen 3 worship, backwards guitars, swirling shimmer, and minimal motorik pulsations. A pretty effective reimagining for sure. The A side finishes up with Jim Jarmusch and Jozef Van Wissem joined by the Entrance Band's Guy Blakeslee, for a haunting murder ballad like folk dirge, all haunting melodies and thick reverby ambience.
The B side starts off with Zola Jesus covering Rhianna's "Diamonds", and it's really not that different than the original, a bit gothier and gloomier, and a little bit tweakier and more electronic in its second half, but it definitely makes us think Zola Jesus could make the leap to the really big time anytime she wanted to! Next up, The Holy Drug Couple covers Serge Gainsbourg, and it's a good match, the new version a bit hazier and druggier and dreamier, but still retaining the energy and vibe of the original. Wymond Miles offers up some dark haunting gloom pop balladry, all twang flecked and haunting. And finally, Case Studies finishes things off with a gorgeous bit of strummy harmonica flecked lo-fi folk.
As always, great stuff, from lots of cool groups. And as mentioned above SUPER LIMITED, these are probably the last copies we'll see. Includes a download coupon too!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A bit of a Record Store Day tradition at this point, it's the yearly Todo Muere lp, a sampler of sorts from the Sacred Bones label, featuring a handful of tracks, some exclusive, others from forthcoming releases. We managed to get enough so some of you mailorder folks can nab a copy too. And like every year, it's a pretty great listen, all over the sonic map, much like the label, starting off this time with Amen Dunes, from the forthcoming full length Love, a strummy psych folk drifter that's all hazy and dreamily druggy. There's also an outtake from the Zola Jesus record Versions, which found her teamed up with Foetus, aka Jim Thirwell, for some moody, drum machine driven string heavy goth. There's an outtake from David Lynch's The Big Dream, a creepy atmospheric sprawl of drum machines, and softly swirling atmospherics, all underpinning Lynch's ominous sung/spoken vocals.
This year's comp would be worth it just for recent Record Of The Weeker Marissa Nadler's gorgeous cover of Nick Cave's "The Kindness Of Strangers", delicate and haunting, and as good as anything on her most recent full length. Pharmakon deliver another exclusive track, a super trippy industrial-gloom cover of "Bang Bang", transforming the bombast of the original into a creepy, noise flecked torch song. Pop. 1280 kick out the jams on one of the comp's exclusive tracks, a pulsing synth driven garage-punk groover, all clanging jagged guitars, snarly vox, tripped out FX, and gloom-garage noise rock stomp. The spacey psychedelic drift of Follakzoid gets the remix treatment from someone called Oskreuz-Huidobro, and turns the original into a murky sprawl of softly pulsing minimal techno-psych mesmer, that sounds like Kompakt by way of Agitated. Nice! And finally, you get a teaser for the upcoming Lust For Youth full length, a shimmery, jangly, eighties style synth popper, that sounds weirdly upbeat after the mostly dour and downer vibe of the rest of the tracks.
Killer stuff as always. Only have a handful of these left, and once they're gone, they're likely gone for good! Includes a download code as well!
RECORD STORE DAY 2016 ITEM!
It's not really a Record Store Day without a new volume in Sacred Bones' Todo Muere sampler series, which like in years past once again gathers up a killer collection of rarities and unreleased tracks from some of the label's best and brightest. We were never that into Blanck Mass, but their track starts things off with a bang, fusing a cool sort of retro Euro-disco with some psychedelic house music and a little John Carpenter style cinematic synthiness, and from there it's all over the map, from the Stooges-y stomp of Cheena to the weird drum machine driven psychedelic Casio-core exotica of The Holydrug Couple to the warped distorto drama-pop of Jenny Hval. Heck this is probably worth picking up for the two covers on it alone - Institute do a sloppy, stumbly, mush mouthed cover of the Doors' "Touch Me", and Marissa Nadler, who we already love love love, tackles Black Sabbath's "Solitude" and transforms it into a smoldering soft-psych torch song.
Like a lot of the stuff on this week's list, these are left over from Record Store Day, and thus are EXTREMELY LIMITED, which means they'll likely be gone super quick, and will then be gone for good. Includes a download code!
Not sure if this counts as a guilty pleasure, but it probably should. Anyone with a Playstation or an X-Box probably has all of these songs stuck permanently in their heads, unavoidable after hours and hours of grinding your way through Tony Hawk's American Wasteland we imagine. But fuck it, this comp is killer, some of our all time punk rock favorites covered by a bunch of the current crop of emo / metalcore heart throbs. And while the originals are pretty much perfect, it's kind of cool to hear some of these songs revamped and reworked, most of them more well produced and some of them a whole lot heavier. Emanuel does a killer version of the Stooges' "Search And Destroy", dangerously close to the original but with a thick layer of sludgy grit on top. Saves The Day tackle the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer", and for an ultra-wimpy emo band they manage some serious ass kickery. The Bled do a note perfect version of the Bad Brains' "House Of Suffering" and the Hot Snakes channel Government Issue with a sloppy noisy version of "Time To Escape." There's From Autumn To Ashes' killer metalized version of Fear's "Let's Have A War" and we can't forget Fall Out Boy and their AWESOME version of the Gorilla Biscuits' "Start Today". Other bands include Senses Fail, Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Thursday, Thrice and the Dropkick Murphys covering tracks by Suicidal Tendencies, Descendents, Misfits, Adolescents, T.S.O.L., Buzzcocks, Fear and of course Black Flag.
Sometimes guilty pleasures are the most pleasurable ones. Are we right? Take this comp for example, a collection of smooth-groovy, soft rock and disco tunes from the ''70s that the compilers consider "too slow" for the dancefloor (but perhaps just fine for the bedroom?). We were prepared to scoff, as "yacht-rock" is not usually our thing, but dang, these are some very earwormy, catchy tracks indeed, also full of a lot of kitschy charm, evoking nostalgia for the champagne, cocaine, shag carpet '70s! "Late 70s West Coast Yatchpop you can almost dance to" is their slogan, and that's pretty accurate. Some you could definitely slow-dance to. Mellow moody discotheque vibes galore!
Some of the songs here we were familiar with (like Chicago's "Saturday In The Park"), others not so much, but they all still sorta SOUNDED familiar, that's how good they are. Ferinstance, the very first track, "Get It Up For Love", by SoCal singer-songwriter Ned Dohney. Sounds like a hit to us, should have been anyway. (And if you like that one, Numero Group has just released a collection of Ned Dohney's dreamy discopop, called Separate Oceans, "Get It Up For Love" is on it too, and is one of his best.) So it's a mix of one-hit (?) wonders and better known names too. The Doobie Brothers are on here, and Fleetwood Mac, also the Jan Hammer Group, Rupert Holmes, Tony Joe White, and many more� no Steely Dan but some of the "unknowns" here come close.
It's possible that those of you of a certain age may dimly recall hearing some of the tracks here on the radio - or maybe you even had 'em on 45 - back when you were a kid. Do the bump once more to Robbie Dupree's "Steal Away", get down to the laidback funk of David Batteau's "Spaceship Earth", enjoy Micky Denne and Ken Gold's soulful "Let's Put Our Love Back Together", take some fashion tips from the lushly orchestrated "Deco Lady" by Rupert Holmes, sample the funky breaks on the Alessi Brothers "Do You Feel It?"... There's 19 tracks in all, packed with disco strings, groovy bass lines, fusiony guitar noodle, saccharine singing, sexy saxophone, and sappy, soaring synths. Some songs sad, some sunshiney; and all so very, very seventies. Take a chance, you might be surprised how much you'll dig this! It sure surprised us, but we're lovin' it. Ariel Pink fans at least ought to give it a go. Just turn the lights low, and turn this up, to a moderate volume.
Nicely packaged slipcased cd or double vinyl lp.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
While presented as a compilation, this is more of a collective in which each of the projects are various combinations of a rotating core of likeminded San Franicisco musicians. In the end, "Topography of Indefinite Impressions" enjoys a lush aesthetic link between the pastoral space-rock of Mirza, Stephen R. Smith, and Thuja with the alchemic dronolgy of id battery, L. Chasse, and Music For Tunnels (which happens to be the experimental / electronica pseudonym for Tim Green of The Champs). Limited to something like 300 copies and well worth it! And note, the obscure title is meant to poke fun at such titles, not to be understood...
A great compilation of '70s Japanese psychedelic folk, loungey crooning, organ freakouts, wah wah guitars, and melodramatic pop from a variety of names you've probably never heard of, except perhaps for The Jacks, The Mops, and Cosmos Factory. No? Anyway, this is a collection of singles released by Japan's Toshiba label back when I, at least, was a little kid. Similar in spirit to the equally good "Love Peace And Poetry" comp of Latin American psychedelic music that we were always raving about.
This great comp disappeared quickly right after we first listed it back in December, but now at last it's been repressed and is back in stock again!
How can you argue with a comp of totally obscure, French and Belgian and French Canadian, late sixties / early seventies psychedelic rock? Especially when you most likely haven't heard of a single one of these artists, and the cover features people in bear suits IN space suits hanging out on the moon and the disc art features a band dressed up like psychedelic Indians and the songs are so completely whacked and weird? Well, you can't. Nor should you. Why deny yourself the drugged out damaged beauty contained herein? Eighteen tracks of completely out-there psych rock, rife with all sort of wild and wooly outerspace effects, funky horns, fuzzy lead guitars, hooks galore and sung mostly in French!
The opening track by P.B. + 3 1/2 is a funky soft porn soundtrack (well, sounds like it, the liner notes assure us it is not even though the artist did indeed to porn sountracks) slowly loping bassline and the melody played by a kazoo. Yep, a kazoo. Complete with summery feel-good background vocals and bizarre Perrey And Kingsley sound effects. Apparently P.B moved to L.A. and recorded music for Star Trek: The Next Generation! Track two is just as wacked with a total head nodding groove, the main riff played on a violin and booming Morricone choral style men's choir background vocals, swirling cinematic strings and a wailing Scott Walker-ish vocal, super dramatic and WAY over the top. The third track is a fuzzy, psychedelic girl-group-groove from Sixties French pop idol Stella, a totally guitar heavy workout, with a super Hendrixy 'scuse me.. type riff, kick ass horns and her throaty, over affected vocals, but totally catchy and wonderful. And the whole record continues in the same fashion, Just when you think it couldn't get weirder or cooler, it does. Big time! Partridge Family style Sixties summer pop, dipped in acid and left to fry in the sun, keyboard heavy ? And The Mysterians style repeating grooves dissembled and put together again like some psych rock Frankenstein and on and on and on...We get flooded with comps of 'lost classics', but this one definitely holds up as one of our favorites (and definitely one of the most bizarre). All the tracks were collected by some guy named Satan Belanger, a legendary underground musician and record collector in Quebec. Really funny liner notes too, in both French and English, though we could have used even more info. Highly recommended!
The first Total Freakout comp from years ago (which was in fact purportedly the third, although we've never been able to find the first two, if they even exist) has become an all time AQ favorite. An amazing collection of totally obscure French, Belgian, and French Canadian late sixties/early seventies psychedelia. So many cuts from that record have been mainstays on every mix we've made and DJ sets we've played. It's where we first heard what has become an all-time favorite song of ours, "Ani Kuni" by Madeleine Chartrand.
We've been waiting for a long time to see if there would ever be a follow up to that classic comp and now finally there is! But before we go on and gush about how great it is, we should warn you that they only pressed 500 of these and it won't be coming out on cd or any digital format. So it's probably best just to get this asap, because who knows, by the time you finish reading this it could already be out of print!
We had great faith that the same folks who brought us that first collection wouldn't put out another one unless it could pack the same thrilling punch, and we have definitely been proven right. This time out we get fourteen tracks spanning 1967-1973 filled with one mind blowing slice of French/French-Canadian psych after another. Besides another track by Madeleine Chartrand, it's a completely different roster then the first collection which means we now have thirteen artists we never knew about before who are totally blowing our minds.
The music is a lot grittier, spacier, and more damaged then the ye-ye side of French pop, but it still maintains such amazing melodies and songs that totally intoxicate. One of our favorite collections of the year!
Y'know you can count on the folks at Kill Rock Stars to offer up one or two jumbo action-packed compilations each year, and they've hit the ground running in 2004 (pun intended)! Tracks & Fields is the second installment in the label's compilation trilogy -- the first was 2002's Fields And Streams, the third will be Roads And Tracks due out in a couple more years. This double cd set features a whoppin' 41 fresh, previously unreleased songs from the old and the new, the well known and the lesser known, from many walks of life. The participants are (in running order - ha ha!): The Legend, Antietam, His Name Is Alive, Superchunk, Bro. Danielson, Dos, Gas Huffer, John Wilkes Booze, the Capricorns, Cynthia Dall, Lovers, Xiu Xiu, Gravy Train!!!! (their exclamation points, not ours), The Buff Medways, The Charades, The Wiretaps, Brooke, Young People, Jucifer, Total Sound Group Direct Action Committee, The King Cobra, Semiautomatic, Alaska! (again, their punctuation, not ours), Shoplifting, Biography Of Ferns, Radio Berlin, Measles Mumps Rubella, Slumber Party, Sleetmute Nightmute, Need New Body, Male Slut, The Paper Chase, Devendra Banhart, Laura Veirs, Thanksgiving, Nedelle, Sahara Hotnights, Sweet Heat, C Average, Dead Meadow, and The Decemberists. Whew!
Not sure why we had reservations about this to begin with, maybe we love the sound of Konono and Congotronics so much and hold it to an almost holy height that we were afraid of its bastardization. Luckily those fears couldn't have been more unfounded, as all the artists on this compilation, hand picked by Crammed Discs to do interpretations of various Congotronics bands like Konono No. 1 and Kasai Allstars, all do such a magnificent job of respecting the roots of the tracks they create, totally capturing the spirit of the originals while adding their own distinct flavor and vision. The track listing reads like a who's who of awesome indie music of the last several years: Animal Collective, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Tussle, Glen Kotche, Sylvain Chauveau, Jolie Holland, Oneida, Shackleton, the Boredoms' Eye, etc.
Crammed did a really great job of curating this collection as the whole thing really flows perfectly from start to finish. Bringing you into the hypnotizing world of Congotronics through the eyes and ears of artists who have been deeply influenced by their incredible sounds.
Soundtrack to the film. Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Blur, New Order, Lou Reed, Pulp, Elastica etc. All the hotties!
Cool compilation of local (and not so local) post rock / punk rock bands: Caesura. Fort Erie, Roots of Orchis and a bunch more. Packaged in a cool hand stamped sleeve.
Latest in the recent spate of killer international funk / soul / psych reissue collections. The trick here being that these tracks are SO obscure (and so densely mixed together), that the folks at Dis-Joint are counting on most folks not knowing ANY of these. SO much so that there is no track listing on the disc at all, and they are having a contest on their website, the first one who can name all the tracks will get a nice cash prize!!! We've got to admit it, we're stumped for the most part (although we did recognize part of one track, it's San Ul Lim from Korea!). But that doesn't mean we aren't loving all this fun and funky and bizarre music. A chaotic blend of sixties and seventies psych rock, funky soul, soulful psych, and funky rock from all over the world, Turkey, Korea, Italy, Israel, China, Spain and loads more. Any one who has been loving the Love Peace & Poetry comps, the Steam Kodok collection, the In-Kraut compilation or, especially, any of the Andy Votel mixes definitely NEED this. From groovy laid back porno movie / action adventure funk, with lots of bolero guitars, and sound effects, like a Morricone Western mixed with some Euro sleaze flick soundtrack, to fluttering folk with super distorted psych rock guitar and everything in between, with plenty of borrowed hooks from popular songs, fuzzy organs, lots of James Brown style yelping and whooping, squiggly little guitar licks, funky drumming, carnivalesque analog synthesizers, tons of breaks hip hop headz would kill for, a bunch of bizarre movie snippets pertaining to hippies, wiggly wavy spaced out ambient warble, jazzy horns, skronky and otherwise, wheezing harmonicas, tablas and sitars, wild Santana-like leads, cocktail pianos and tons and tons of very strange sound effects. A wickedly wild, mind blowing, head spinning party record if there ever was one!
This may seem to be a very confusing compilation if you haven't been privy to its theme/intent. For those unfamiliar, Trash is an infamous London nightclub and this cd documents the hip, eclectic acts who've performed there. The first six tracks, tagged "Part One - Live At Trash", are indeed live cuts by Gold Chains, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Peaches, Moldy Peaches, Peaches and Stereo Total. The second six are titled "Part Two - Club Classics" - and they certainly are. This diverse gathering includes Duran Duran (an early one! "My Own Way"), Kylie Minogue, Nancy Sinatra, Felix Da Housecat, The Slits (doing "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"!) and Huggy Bear. If the club Trash holds little significance for you, this may just seem like a glorified, home mix tape. For hipsters in the know, you probably already own all of these records.
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Fab comp with an unavailable-elsewhere Olivia Tremor Control track that sounds like Tortoise on 45. If that weren't enough, other contributors include Servotron, Man...Or Astroman?, and Elf Power.
Three way split from three of the newest rock bands on Neurosis' mighty Neurot label. Most folks should be well familiar with Red Sparrowes by now. And two more blissed out epics from those guys is ALWAYS a good thing. Both live, and both perfect examples of why the Red Sparrowes are so kick ass. Loping, minor key post rock that swirls and shimmers and builds into massive spacerock fuzz drenched wall-of-sound blowouts. Mogwai, Godspeed, Explosions, if that's how you like your rock and have yet to check out the Sparrowes this is as good a place as any to start.
Two tracks from the brilliantly named Made Out Of Babies, who kick out the jams, sort of Jesus Lizard style, but with their ace in the hole being vocalist Julie Christmas, who can croon all sultry but just as easily shriek and howl up a storm, PJ Harvey, Queen Adreena, a passionate and paint peeling caterwaul that perfectly complements MoB's lurching angular grooves.
Last up is Battle Of Mice, featuring one Red Sparrowe as well as Made Of Babies' Julie Christmas. Battle Of Mice are basically a cross between the two, the slow burning melodic build of the Sparrowes, the slithery sultriness of Made Out Of Babies, with occasional caustic blasts of furious vitriol, but mostly a groovy tribal drift, with Christmas whispering and speaksinging, lots of breathiness and squeaky Bjorkisms, giving their two songs here a really creepy blissed out vibe.
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After influencing so many bands with their psychotropic guitar, moog, & sitar drones and heavy drug intake, it only seems fitting that Spacemen 3 gets a proper tribute album. Blissful stupor from Bowery Electric, Mogwai, Low, Arab Strap, Piano Magic, Bardo Pond, Frontier, Amp, Asteroid #4, Transient Waves, Flowchart, and Accelera Deck. Can't argue with that line-up! Rocket Girl (the label formerly known as Ch�) brilliantly chose some cover artists that were willing to pierce through the layers and emerge triumphantly with the bare bones songs themselves, in all their melodic intensity. The chillingly quiet trio Low demonstrate this masterfully on "Lord Can You hear Me?", as do Mogwai and Piano Magic, the latter adding lo-fi drum'n'bass to the simple mix.
First in a proposed series of limited edition "abstract folk compilations" from Missouri's Mental Telemetry label. This "Trighplane" (i.e. three-way) split between Magic Carpathians, the Six Organs of Admittance, and Vibracathedral Orchestra isn't a bad start! From Poland, California, and the UK respectively, these are all AQ-fave outfits, with perfect "Terra" credentials, Ptolemaic-style. The opening two tracks from the Magic Carpathians are kinda scary, with off-kilter strings and Anna Nacher's haunting voice. They do a song from their last album, "Ethnocore 3" but perhaps it's a different version. Then Six Organs takes over with a long, gently droning piece with an old-timey folk vibe. Last up is Neil Campbell & Co's Vibracathedral Orchestra, bowing away at their oven racks, electric guitars and whatnot for five tracks of satisfying improv drone clatter, perhaps the most abstract (if not most folky) stuff on here. Though it IS folk in the sense of homebrewed, primitive music-making, just how we like it. All of this in a nice letter-pressed package (designed by AQ pal Nemo who runs Time-Lag Records), limited to 1000 -- what are you waiting for?
This comp is sort of an advertisement, a promotional item, which would normally turn us right off, but this disc killer, and it just so happens to be promoting a line of hand crafted 'caveman' effects, created by none other than Nelson from Man Is The Bastard, Sleestak and Geronimo. Wondering where those fucked up sounds were coming from? The damaged electronics on the Geronimo record? Well, most likely it was a Trogotronic device helping to create that racket. They look beautiful and sound even better. Check it out:
http://www.thumbprintpress.com/trogotronic.htm
So this here comp features a who's who of noise artists who apparently endorse Trogotronic. But you know what? Even if you had no clue what the hell Trogotronic was, this comp would still stomp your ass. Check out the lineup:
Geronimo, Unicorn, Sickness, Drunk On Blood, Mike Shiflet, Torso, Bastard Noise and more and more. The sleeve even lets you know which Trogotronic device was used in each specific track. We can't tell you how close we've come to blowing our paychecks on some of these noisemakers. But for now, we're happy to make do with this disc. First off, an unreleased Geronimo track, worth it right there. An awesomely creepy electronic krautrocky crawl, all crumbling and distorted, low end crunch beneath, squealing high end siren like skree. Sounds like an outtake from their full length, which it probably is, and which of course means it's awesome! Drunk On Blood, another Man Is The Bastard side project, offers up a symphony of electronic jackhammering, pounding and pulsing, almost musically, percussive and relentless, and weirdly listenable. The Sickness track is a heaving wall of analog fury, crumbling and crunchy, the Bastard Noise track is downright pretty, a sea of squelches and a distant beastlike howling, Torso unfurl some seriously creeped out hissy dronemusic, Unicorn offer up a weird symphony of shrieks and stumbling percussive clatter, Astrogenic Hallucinating spits out some fucked up, horror movie analog video game music, we could go on and on and on.
All the tracks here are pretty amazing, some textural and drone-y, others blown out and white hot, still others, rhythmic and abstract, at the very least, you'll probably listen to this like crazy and do some serious damage to your speakers, worst case though, you'll end up like us, freaking out and NEEDING some of these noisemakers for yourself, then you can do some REAL damage!
Beautifully packaged in a fold over, silkscreened sleeve.
In an attempt to come up with the perfect compilation (in the spirit of collections like No New York, Flex Your Head, Not So Quiet on the Western Front and the like), Mike Troubleman took four years to compile this appropriately titled "Mix Tape" of bands he's
Punky noisy label Troubleman records has put out many awesome records; this comp is a low-priced way to check out tracks from a bunch of their current, recent and here-very-soon releases. Features a ton of AQ and customer fave bands! Dig it: Erase Errata, Wolf Eyes, Glass Candy, Orthrelm, The Walkmen, Subtonix, Pixeltan, The Roger Sisters, Songs Of Zarathustra, Meta*Matics, The Flying Luttenbachers, The Panthers, ABC's, Numbers, Kepler, Red Monkey, The Lack, Touchdown, Milky Wimpshake and Pussycat Trash, plus an Erase Errata remix by Adult (from the upcoming Erase Errata remix album).
MPEG Download: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.mp3]
MPEG Stream: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.m3u]
Kill Rock Stars was so eloquent with the subtitle "A Kill Rock Stars Retrospective Sampler" that we needn't mention anything beyond the track listing: Sleater Kinney, Unwound, The Bangs, The Gossip, Holly Golightly, Cadallaca, Har Mar Superstar, Two Ton Boa, Jim Carroll, Kleenex, and many more!
We are all quite excited about the cd release of Turkish Delights comp (though Byram's a bit irked 'cause he bought the original vinyl and now is faced with a cd version that adds 11 extra tracks!). In total, there's 26 tracks here, dating from 1965 to 1971,
Along with the new cd version, we now have more copies of the "Turkish Delights" LP (which was so hard to get when it first came out that we only ever had a handful and were never able to list it). 15 tracks on this baby instead of the 26 on the cd, but what you lose in bonus cuts you gain in, uh, vinyl. And the art looks better, we think.
Three little words guaranteed to get us all excited: Turkish psych comp. That's all it takes. (A fourth word, used in the title here, "Freakout", doesn't hurt either.) Compilations like Turkish Delights, Hava Narghile, and the Turkish installment of Love Peace & Poetry have all been staples here at AQ, and have turned us on to so many amazing bands like Mogollar, Ersen, and 3 Hur-el. Our only worry with a new Turkish psych comp is that it will redundantly duplicate tracks we've already got, but fortunately that's not the case with this one, only a few of the 18 tracks here had we heard before, with some of the artists being completely new to us. And, also, awesome!
Focusing solely on selected rare 45 rpm 7" singles releases, dating from the late '60s to 1980, this comp is evidence that it was a groovy decade in Istanbul for sure. Funky -and- folky (yes, often at the same time), these tracks incorporate all the fuzz guitar, ethnic instrumentation, percolating percussion, exciting rhythms, and soulful vocals we've come to expect from the Turkish psych scene. It's a mesmerizing mix, there's a lot of highlights here, we can't really mention 'em all, but just to give you an idea, the first track, by Okay Temiz, sounds almost like it could come from that soundtrack by Rockford Kabine we made Record Of The Week recently, a sultry and "exotic" instrumental groove with some wild whoopin' elements that remind us of a Jean-Claude Vannier production. Then there's the cinematic strings and quasi doomy-riffing of Erkin Koray's dramatic "Sev Digim". And Alpay's "Seni Dilenyorum" is one we'd play for a friend wondering what all the vintage Turkish psych fuss is about. If they didn't dig that, we'd feel real sorry for them.
In addition to those, the line-up of artists here includes Kardaslar, Cem Karaka, Apaslar, Beyaz Kelebekler, Ajda Pekkan, Sevil & Ayla, Baris Manco, Rifat Oncel, Ersen, Onder Bali, and Arif Sag. And fortunately, the deluxe digipack includes a thick 40 page booklet, full of liner notes about 'em all, along with original 45 sleeve art. Nicely done, as comps/reissues go. And on top of that, most of the other Turkish psych collections we mentioned at the top of this review are now out of print, so this will become a go-to comp for us in one of our favorite genres.
We're always saying we just can't get enough of that vintage Middle Eastern psych music, hence a sequel to last year's great Turkish Freakout comp is quite freaking welcome! Here 'tis, 17 more tracks from rare Turkish records (mostly 7" singles) of the seventies, by some artists we'd heard of, and plenty of others we hadn't. As with volume one, there's definitely lots of great tunes here we hadn't come across before! The lineup includes: Baris Manco, Edip Akbayram, Cem Karaca + Mogollar, Afet Serenay, Kerem Guney, Gokben, Gulcan Opel, Sevil and Ayla, Kamuran Akkor, Ozel Turkbas, Perihan, Sakir Oner Gunham, Sirin, and Kenan. Lush and lively stuff all of it, like belly dancing music taken to psychedelic extremes.
Amongst these tracks, you'll hear lots of lovely female singers, moody men too, and the rhythms of stately folk dances infused with FUZZ, with orchestral strings, electric saz, synth, indeed wild Moog madness, flutes and whistling, wah wah guitar and funky drum breaks, stuff that's groovy and spacey and exotically poppy. The usual in other words.
There's a thick 36 page booklet stuffed inside this digipack, one reason it's so thick is they devote a whole page to a full color reproduction of the single sleeve or lp jacket from which each of these tracks is taken. On the facing page, some commentary from the anonymous compiler.
If you look through the booklet, you'll no doubt notice Afet Serenay. She has two cuts on here, both from her 1978 full-length lp Bir Of Ceksem. So that album cover is reproduced twice, and that's cool 'cause she's worth a second look for her fashion sense alone, posing on the cover of her record wearing a colorful rainbow striped wool sweater/dress and matching legwarmers. Wow. Also, one of Serenay's tracks, "Maden Dagi", you might recognize from the beloved Selda's somewhat different version of the same tune (they're folk songs after all) on her album Vurulduk Ey Halkim Unutma Bizi (aka Vol. 2). Likewise, the Edip Akbayram track here, "Mehmet Emmi" was also done by Selda.
Just like the first installment, worth freaking out over if you love Turkish psych - or any such international sounds - like we do. FYI, the gatefold double lp vinyl version we have now comes with a limited, bonus 7".
This box set commemorates Dischord's first 20 years as a label and is an amazing and lovingly put together artefact. Three cds, with one track from each band on the label (including one track from each band on the seminal "Flex Your Head" compilation). The third disc is all unreleased material and contains some very early video footage of The Untouchables, The Teen Idles, SOA, Faith, Void and Deadline. 73 songs in all (21 unreleased) and a 134 page book with full page bio for each band written by Ian MacKaye, Jeff Nelson and Henry Rollins. This label has been such an inspiration to so many labels, bands, stores, activists, individuals, whatever. Hard working and obviously still in love with music even after all these years. The box set is sequenced in chronological order which is kind of cool because you get a feel for the way the bands and the label progressed, and because it's such a family affair, being that all the bands were from D.C., there are people showing up in a several different bands, so it illustrates the individual changes and transformations as well. So nice.
The 50 bands are as follows:
Teen Idles, The Untouchables, State of Alert, Minor Threat , Void, Youth Brigade, Government Issue, Scream, Iron Cross, Red C, Deadline, Artificial Peace, Faith, Skewbald, Marginal Man, Gray Matter, Rites of Spring, Beefeater, The Snakes, Dag Nasty, Embrace, Soulside, Egg Hunt, One Last Wish, Fire Party, Ignition, Three, Shudder to Think, Happy Go Licky, Fugazi, Lungfish, Fidelity Jones, The Nation of Ulysses, Holy Rollers, Jawbox, Severin, The High-Back Chairs, Autoclave, Circus Lupus, Branch Manager, Slant 6, Hoover, Trusty, Smart Went Crazy, The Crownhate Ruin, The Warmers, The Make-Up, Bluetip, Faraquet, Q and Not U.
Plastic Crimewave along with the ever so busy Arthur Magazine curated this great fest in Chicago which took place earlier this year. A fest with AQ faves all over it. And this comp of bands who performed at the fest is a nice consolation for those of us who couldn't be there. Festival or no, this is simply one badass compilation! With everyone from Mountains to Josephine Foster, Tony Conrad to Hototogisu, No Neck Blues Band to Jack Rose, you can tell this was a fest put together with great taste and a sense of how important varied sounds is to keep folks' attention. None of the bands sound exactly the same, but there is a definite stylistic thread that runs throughout. Maybe we'll make it to the next Two Million Tongues Fest...until then we'll be hanging out right here with this.
Things have been rather quiet from the U.S. Pop Life camp for quite some time, but Contact Records ringleader Yoko Sawai bursts back with two new compilations (complete with visuals). A huge U.S. pop music fan, she moved to New York from Osaka a couple of years ago, and has been tirelessly releasing cds of diverse indie music with the intent to introduce Japanese kids to the American bands she loves. Basically each release is themed geographic or stylistic - whatever catches her fancy. Initially they leaned towards soft'n'twee pop, but over the years they've gotten progressively more abrasive and angstful. Volume 15 is no exception! It contains a stellar cast of very now, blisterin' bands like the Liars (exclusive track), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Hella, Erase Errata, the Cherry Valence, and Enon (exclusive track). Please note: many tracks are previously (or soon to be) released in the U.S. however it's her hope that her comps will turn some Japanese kids onto the bands' albums from which these songs came. On this side of the Pacific however, they're the equivalent of a kickass comp tape from your friend Yoko.
Things have been rather quiet from the U.S. Pop Life camp for quite some time, but Contact Records ringleader Yoko Sawai bursts back with two new compilations (complete with visuals). A huge U.S. pop music fan, she moved to New York from Osaka a couple of years ago, and has been tirelessly releasing cds of diverse indie music with the intent to introduce Japanese kids to the American bands she loves. Basically each release is themed geographic or stylistic - whatever catches her fancy. Initially they leaned towards soft'n'twee pop, but over the years they've gotten progressively more abrasive and angstful. Oh, and don't be mislead by the titles! She does take quite a few liberties with band categorization. For example, this one, "Extension Of Electro" features few artists who fall under or near the genre "electro", but somehow Yoko's enthusiasm overrides any urge to be nitpicky. Volume 16 contains a dozen tracks including ones by Soviet, Yume Bitsu, Thievery Corporation, Andrew Duke and Ghost Orchids. Please note: many tracks are previously (or soon to be) released in the U.S. however it's her hope that her comps will turn some Japanese kids onto the bands' albums from which these songs came. On this side of the Pacific however, they're the equivalent of a nicely packaged comp tape from your friend Yoko.
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This disc is a Japanese import compilation with several familiar bands on it, including !!!, The Locust, OCS (local Tapas connoisseur, ex-Burmese fruitcake and current irritant for Pink & Brown John Dwyer), GoGoGo Airheart, Church Steps, Tristeza, Rumah Sakit, Out Hud, Tarentel and more. Most of the tracks are previously released, or forthcoming, with the exception of the Tarentel track and the Locust track (recorded live during their tour of Japan.)
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This time around Japanese music fanatic Yoko Sawai and her label Contact Records shine the spotlight brightly on the Chicago/Midwest U.S. indie world. Illuminated by its beam are 17 prime examples of the area's angstful, emo, post punk, and predominantly boy bands including Owls, Dianogah, Sweep The Leg Johnny, 90 Day Men, Toe, Vermont, Pele, Milemarker, A-Set and Atombombpocketknife.
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The very first volume of this wonderful pop series from Contact Records. A gal with a great love for American lo-fi pop, Yoko Sawai the sweetie pie behind this Osaka, Japan indie label, has gathered a more-than-lovely array of aural sweets. Highlights of these two dozen songs include the gorgeous, soaring gem Ninotchka's "I've Got Wings" (fyi, this cd is almost worth getting for this song alone! Previously available only on a 7" from Grimsey Records.), the super perky "Just Like Henry" by Dressy Bessy, and Of Montreal's fragile "It's Easy To Sleep When You're Dead". Also happily present: Aislers Set, Silver Scooter, and Kittycraft. Note: some of these tracks are previously released in the U.S.
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The second installation of this American pop series from Japan. Much more eclectic than volume one. Quite a few familiar faces: Macha, Beachwood Sparks, I Am Spoonbender, Bright Eyes, The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group, Elf Power, and The Music Tapes. And yes, we should let you know that a number of these tracks are previously released domestically.
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Usually Contact Records' boss Yoko Sawai can be found waving the pretty, sugar pop flag, but every once in a while she throws a bit of a twist into the works. Like rocking out front and center at a slew of heavy-duty The Locust / I Am Spoonbender / Convocation Of shows, or releasing this "experimental" music compilation in her U.S. Pop Life series. While the artists on this compilation are far from we would call experimental (no Maurizio Bianchis or Francisco Lopezs here), they definitely gently push the edges of Yoko's pop envelope. 16 tracks including Arab on Radar, The Faint, Swirlies, Lightning Bolt, Kilowatthours. Note: as with other U.S. Pop Life collections, some tracks have been previously released.
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Contact Records head mistress Yoko Sawai recently made the mighty move from Osaka to New York City, but has shown no sign of slowing in her quest to compile a slew of cool, eclectic pop pursuits from all over the globe. Some of her recent releases included a cd from Calvin, Don't Jump! as well as 7"s from I Am Spoonbender and Yuji Oniki. On this the fifth volume of her U.S. Pop Life series, she focuses on Athens, GA. The track listing reads like a who's who of the Elephant 6 / Kindercore world including The Sunshine Fix (lead by former Olivia Tremor Controller Bill Doss), Japancakes, Of Montreal, and I Am The World Trade Center. Twenty tracks in all, many previously released in the U.S.
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Volume 8 of the U.S. Pop Life Series throws the spotlight on bands from the northeastern states: Pennsylvania, New York, New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island to be exact. Decidedly less sweet than others in the series, this disc features songs from Rainer Maria, Lilys, Lenola, and Rebuilthangartheory. Please note: some tracks are previously released domestically.
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Finally, the next volume in the amazing Ultra Chicks series. More fabulous FRENCH girl groups doing cool and sexy Sixties pop. As usual, this is super limited, of dubious legality (definitely a bootleg) and totally recommended. Don't delay though, not sure how long we can keep these in stock!
