First cd release from this new-ish label specializing in that sort of woozy lo-fi pop sound that seems to be sweeping the nation, aQ included. Anyone into Blank Dogs, John Maus, Ariel Pink, Ducktails, Zola Jesus, Gary War, as well as other garage-y pop rockers like Oh Sees, the Intelligence, Ganglians, etc., will find that this awesome, bargain priced comp will probably hit the spot big time.
A few names we know, Ducktails, Julian Lynch, but a WHOLE bunch we don't (ahem, Frat Dad), but everything here taps into that same sort of DIY, broken 4-track, warped and twisted pop aesthetic that drives the above mentioned fave.
Frat Dad for instance, besides having the WORST band name, and the WORST song title ("Brosef") comes up with some cool reverby garage pop that would sound right at home between your Ty Segall record and your Oh Sees record. Pill Wonder are cool too, their songs sounding like Guided By Voices covering Beach Boys, all squiggly feed back and blown out bass wrapped around skittery drums and jangly guitars, and buried sort of lush harmonies. Real Estate are more songy, employing som reverb and delay, but for the most part relying less on texture and production, offering up two really nice twangy jams, one sort of rocking, one laid back and sort of Morricone-esque. Julian Lynch, a sometime collaborator with many aQ pop faves, has recently surfaced as an artist in his own right, and his tracks here are cool too, the Ducktails-ish calypso tropical pop of "Banana Jam Pt. 1" and the fuzzy loping indie dirge of "Droplet On A Hot Stone", with its distorted vocals and stumbling drums, wheezing synths, and murky ambience. It's all pretty good. Especially for all you who have been digging this particular sound lately, which we know is a LOT of you. Also included here are jams by Broken Trees, Liam The Younger, Andrew Cedermark, Family Portrait, Dana Jewell and Sad City.
A steal at $5!
The 2009 Summer installment of the Underwater Peoples label sampler was a big hit around here, super cheap, with tons of bands we dug, and a bunch more we had never heard, but end up digging as well. So hear we are a few months later and it's time for the second installment, for Winter 2010, and once again, lots of faves: Julian Lynch, Ducktails, Real Estate, some new discoveries like Pill Wonder (whose full length is reviewed elsewhere on this list), and the embarrassingly named Frat Dad, as well as a whole mess of new names, some of which will join the above on frequent play.
Much like Captured Tracks and Sacred Bones, Underwater Peoples have a sound, and a somewhat solid stable of regulars, so you sort of know what you're getting into, twisted, lo-fi pop, sometimes heavy on the tropical vibe, definitely a distinct surf vibe (or more specifically, some Beach Boys worship), some electronics, some jangly guitars, plenty of fuzz, lots and lots of reverb and delay and echo, but at the core of all these jams is pop, pure and simple, in all sorts of permutations.
Julian Lynch offers up some hazy electronic tinged groove pop, almost like a way more twisted and low fidelity Postal Service, with even dreamier vocals. Pill Wonder sound a bit like Fleet Foxes if they were less folk, and more tweaked pop, complete with lush harmonies and some fake synth strings. Ducktails do their drug addled broken 4-track, island tropical calypso dream pop thing, and it sounds as good as ever. Real Estate go all acoustic, and manage to whip up something pretty lovely and lush. Frat Dad unleash a super distorted chunk of blown out jangle pop. New names this time around that we're digging, Fluffy Lumber, with their warped eighties new wave synth pop, Big Trouble who sound a bit like Jesu or Nadja, if those guys recorded in their bedroom on an old tape deck, and Liam The Younger who kick up a seriously rad nineties sounding chunk of heavy shoegazey indie rock. But there's plenty more. So dig in. The price is definitely right, and odds are at least some (maybe even most) of these jams will end up on a future mix tape or on nonstop repeat play in your headphones...
FYI: This cd is subtitled "A DJ Mix Of Indie Rock And Hip Hop That's All Whirlwind Heat And Flash. By Matt Loomis And Aye Jay. Hosted By Fred Armisen Of SNL". Whoa, heat and flash... and Fred?! Who can resist that combo? If you're one of the few who require more cajoling, we can tell you that this mix disc comes from those folks who brought you the Indie Rock Connect The Dots Book as well as the Gangsta Rap Coloring Book. Here's a rundown of the artists whose material Loomis encorporated into his mash-ups. match-ups and scratch-ups: Steve Albini, Elliott Smith, Charizma, Peanut Butter Wolf, The Roots, Violent Femmes, Jeru The Damaja, Jay-Z, David Cross, Sonic Youth, Dead Prez, Pavement, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Newcleus, The Rapture, Christopher Walken, !!!, Sir Mix A Lot, Har Mar Superstar, Beat Happening, Modest Mouse, DJ Shadow, Flaming Lips, Fog and MF Doom. As you can see music worlds collide in this mix -- the indie hipsters and the hiphopsters. Many of the combos here may be more cause for head scratchin' than vinyl scratchin'! Seven tracks plus a not so "hidden" track for only six buckeroos. Nice.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Volume 2 features The Nazgul, Temple, Golem, Cozmic Corridors.
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Volume 3 features Golem, Galactic Explorers, The Nazgul, Baal, Chronos.
Proto metal fiends, come get your fix! This new collection of "20 Heavy Nuggets From The Golden Age Of Hard Psych" is definitely in the tradition of other cool comps like White Lace And Strange, Downer Rock Genocide, The Electric Asylum, A Visit To The Spaceship Factory, Psychedelic Minds, etc. Just check out the lineup, names we know (and love) include the likes of Highway Robbery, Bang, Sir Lord Baltimore, Granicus, Power Of Zeus, Haystacks Balboa, Yesterday's Children, Tin House, SRC, and The Litter. Heavy hitters, all of 'em. Now you might already have some of these cuts, if you really are a hard psych / proto metal fiend, but you surely don't have 'em all. And even though we were familiar with a bunch of these bands, there's plenty more here we'd never had the pleasure of hearing before, and these obscurities fit right in with such illustrious company. Most of these tracks are taken from LPs, not singles, usually the band's one and only album, many of which have never been properly reissued or even if they have been, aren't in print anymore anyway.
So what we've got here is a deep survey of vintage late '60s, early '70s North American hard rock action, (proto) metallic, garagey, and psychedelic, chock full of crunching riffs, wild wailing guitars, and rough n' tough vocals. It's all pretty darn heavy for the era, if not quite to the extreme reached across the pond by heavy metal progenitors Black Sabbath (though Bang comes quite close - and hey look there's a song titled "Wrought Iron Man" by a band called Steeplechase). This comp includes the the most fuzzed out and stompin' version of frat rock chestnut "Gimme Some Lovin'" you've ever heard (by Euclid, from their album Heavy Machinery). Of course, fuzz is in copious supply all across this disc, erupting perhaps most savagely on the classic "Kingdom Come" by Sir Lord Baltimore, a majestic six and a half minute epic mixing tripped out lyrics with bursts of ultra distorted guitar. Being one of the tracks, like a few others here, that'd we'd have chosen ourselves for an all time ultimate proto metal mix.
FYI, the other bands on this disc we haven't mentioned yet are: Liquid Smoke, The Finchley Boys, Damnation Of Adam Blessing, Dragonfly, Jamul, Third Power, Head Over Heels, and Landslide. Among all 20, it's hard to pick faves, some are heavier, some are weirder/proggier, some are blusier, some are groovier, some are more melodic, you'll have to decide for yourself. But this is definitely a pretty badass acid rock comp! And thankfully the cd booklet includes informative commentary on each band/track.
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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Compilation of performances from the annual Crossing Border festival held in Holland. Adventurous radio station VPRO booked a stage, and this cd culls some of the best sets, with: Chris Knox, Lambchop, Songs:Ohia, Calexico, Kramer, Joost Visser, etc.
Let me say this right from the start, this compilation is worth having solely for the second track. An addictively catchy number by The New Pornographers and Neko. Yes, that is Neko as in the fabulous 'Neko Case and Her Boyfriends', this time taking a pop turn singing with her buddies Carl Newman (Zumpano, Superconductor) and Daniel Bejar (Destroyer). Ah, but there's so much more here! This is actually a benefit cd (all proceeds go to A Loving Spoonful which is a Meals on Wheels type service for HIV/AIDS patients) of all Vancouver artists. And what a good sampling of a healthy and diverse music scene it is. Bouncy retro-pop in the shape of Vancouver Nights and Capozzi Park. Noisy, messiness by July 4th Toilet and Thee Goblins (starring Nardwuar the Human Serviette). Space and synth rock from Pipedream and Radio Berlin. 24 songs in all.
Originally released last year some time, and available exclusively from the Castle Face website, due to some strange arrangement with the label and/or the band, this killer comp of all our Castle Face faves covering the Velvet Underground & Nico record in its entirety, is FINALLY more widely available, and should really not need that much of a description considering the lineup: Thee Oh Sees, Ty Segall, Blasted Canyons, The Fresh & Onlys, The Mallard, Burnt Ones, Warm Soda, Kelly Stoltz and more! Plus we're guessing even this version is probably gonna disappear pretty quick. Fans of any and all those bands are definitely gonna want this and we can attest to the fact that even VU haters might find themselves digging this anyway.
Kelly Stoltz starts things off with his take on "Sunday Morning", which is lush and lovely and dreamily sun dappled, swirling synths drift beneath a slow stately rhythm, soaring strings and Stoltz's warm soft croon. Warm Soda, who are quick becoming our new Castle Face fave, crank up "I'm Waiting For The Man", into a cool, glammy lo-fi, jangle stomp. Ty Segall's "Femme Fatale", adds lots of feedback, and some Stoogesy swagger, noisy and chaotic and super rocking. Thee Oh Sees get seriously loose and free with "European Son", the whole thing a wild, loose, free-rock/free-jazz drift, all detuned guitars, fluttering flute, and wild splattery drumming. Blasted Canyons transform "Venus Furs" into an awesomely creepy sci-fi garage-synth dirge, while The Mallard add some tweaked guitar and woozy psych to their version of "There She Goes Again". Burnt Ones trip out Spacemen 3 style (which we know, is essentially also VU style), with their sprawling cover of "Heroin", and the Fresh & Only's turn "All Tomorrow's Parties" into what could essentially be a F+O original, adding thick swaths of swirling psychedelic synths shimmer. There's more, but by now you should definitely be sold.
Been listening to this non-stop since we got it. And selling 'em too, as soon as customers hear it (or even just hear about it, if they're like us). Wow. Now, you probably know that here at Aquarius we're partial to the prog. So, when we heard that a DJ mix of obscure tracks from the catalog of '70s UK label Vertigo, who specialized in prog, heavy psych, and weird-ass jazz rock was to be released, we were, well, psyched. And jazzed. And, uh, progged? Indeed. We were thinking that this could be something really great, as after all there were a lot of great records released on Vertigo (home of the famed "swirl" label). And great it IS, both in terms of the source material and the "60 course psychedelic smorgasbord" medley-like sound-collage approach taken to putting it together, which maximizes the amount of brilliant hooks and grooves that could be packed into one cd, while making for one dizzying, "swirl" worthy ride.
The story there is that DJ Andy Votel (who compiled the Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word disc we listed last time, among other things) was asked, in a dream-come-true moment, to put together a "best of Vertigo" collection. But since, in his own words, progressive rock tracks are "not short, they're EPIC" he was faced with a dilemma. How to fit more than just three or four songs on the cd?? His solution was to boil down his favorite Vertigo LPs to short excerpts, stitching together these many "vinyl snippets" into a 68 minute mega-mix. The overall effect is still very "prog" indeed, as it's definitely a prog move to jump around from one motif to the next, dynamically or schizophrenically changing things up in a short span of time. Yet it all flows well together, this could almost be one tour-de-force album from one AMAZING band!!
The credits list 38 songs by 29 artists, all from Votel's personal Vertigo vinyl collection -- Aphrodite's Child, Gracious, Colosseum, Affinity, Juicy Lucy, Uriah Heep, May Blitz, Warhorse, Gravy Train, Baker Gurvitz Army, Cressida, Patto, Flied Egg, Nucleus, Atlantis, Frumpy, Freedom, and many more, most of 'em hailing from the UK but also some from overseas, including Japan and Greece. Vertigo's best known signing has to be Black Sabbath, and while they don't appear in the credits I trust you'll hear something from 'em on here too, first thing (and later on as well, when Votel mixes the harp blowing from "The Wizard" into a May Blitz tune).
Thusly loaded with heaviness, groove, and Mellotrons, you get everthing from (old school) acid jazz to flutey prog to raw proto-metal -- all kinds of what gets called "hairy funk" here. Votel also makes use of interjections from what might be radio promo spots for Vertigo -- voices exclaiming "Vertigo! Vertigo!" and the like -- in order to smooth up his segues. In some ways, this might remind you a little bit of DJ Shadow's Entroducing, actually, not that these tracks have been fully edited into new compostions. But the love of dusty old prog grooves is the same.
Votel provides liner notes elaborating his enthusiasm for Vertigo (the label's role in his musical development, as a hip hop DJ with a fondness for prog) and his agonies over this project. Also you get a profile of Barry Winton, famed as the world's foremost Vertigo vinyl collector. And in addition, a portion of the cd booket is devoted to an appreciation of Keef, resident cover artist/graphic designer for Vertigo...which makes us think it would have been cool if they also presented a selection of covers here to look at, ah well.
Could be the best comp/DJ mix we've heard in ages. Boiling down an entire label to its essence over the span of one cd has got to be a tough task, and of course what Votel has selected is only a portion of the whole Vertigo story. But we can't nitpick with what he's done, this is a classy piece of work and deserving of kudos from all lovers of ye olde prog/psych. It might even convert some new lovers too! Recommended!!!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
Comps can be really hit or miss. Mostly miss usually. But one solution is just to make your comp bigger and bigger. More and more bands. Multiple cds. The even with a handful of misses, the hits will almost surely outweight the misses. One could be forgiven for assuming that Wantage employed this clever tactic with their massive double disc 21st release label compilation. But that would barely to begin to explain the presence of so many fucking hits. And even the misses are pretty good!
We've known Wanatage label lord Josh for way over a decade now. He used to be a one man welcome wagon in Missoula Montana, offering up places to stay, friendly conversation, shows in his living room, and eventually a label to put out records for you. He is an amazing guy with amazing taste. Lots of chaotic, noisy, heavy weirdness just like we like. So this compilation celebrates 20 releases and includes all kinds of bands, loads of which never even had releases on Wantage. Definitely a man after our own heart. So what we have here is two discs running the gamut from fucked up stoner rock, metallic new wave, thrashy pop, dirge-y drones and every single sound in between. Lots of names we know: Japanther, Oneida, Drunk Horse, Fireballs Of Freedom, Oblio Joes (the band Andee's band A Minor Forest played with EVERY time they played in Missoula), Bloodhag, Federation X, Dub Narcotic, Stinking Lizaveta, Noxagt, The Fucking Champs and more. Lots of names we didn't know: Stars Of The Dogon, Ass End Offend, Sparkles, Wadsworth, Mico De Noche, Johnny X And The Groadies, The Planet The, Sasshole, Actual Technology and a whole bunch of Latvian (!) bands. Also a track from AQ pals Castro, and one from the Narrows, a band Andee just discovered, who he predicts will rule the world one day. Funny and insightful liner notes and a WAY low sticker price make this a must have!
Documenting the sound of Middle American hippie rockers heavying it up and heading to Middle Earth, singing songs about wizards, sorcerers, Sauron, and Satan, this is just so up our alley. Heck, there are several of us here, who by virtue of our particular, peculiar subcultural enthusiasms, were primed to flip out HARD over this. So if anything was ever meant to be a Record Of The Week, this sure was! Man, those nerds over at Numero have outdone themselves. It's not like Numero hasn't brought us some great compilations of long lost gems before - heck that's what they DO - they've got a well deserved rep for digging up truly obscure vintage soul music that's also totally top notch stuff. But as you've surmised, this ain't no soul. In the past, Numero have unearthed some wonderful rarities in other genres, from folky female singer-songwriters to Southern rock to power pop. But now, with this latest entry in their Wayfaring Strangers, er, WARfaring Strangers, series of comps, entitled Darkscorch Canticles, they've entered another dimension entirely, a dark and mystical hard rockin' realm of fuzzed-out, bellbottomed, pot-scented, proggy proto-metal basement jams!!
There are 16 tracks of fantastical garage rock from the depths of the '70s to be savored here, rescued from one-off, privately pressed 45 singles done by sub-sub-sub-Sabbath acts that seriously nobody has ever heard of before. That's kind of what's most amazing about this, that these tracks are so great, and yet also so unknown. We've talked to a few friends who consider themselves proto-metal experts, some of whom were rather incredulous about this, halfway suspecting it must somehow be a fake just cuz they didn't already know of ANY of these bands! By the way, we're convinced it's not a hoax - though if it were, that would actually be even more amazing - especially considering there's a densely-packed cd booklet / lp insert filled with vintage band photos, original 45 label graphics, and in-depth, highly detailed liner notes provided about each artist in tiny, tiny print (backgrounded by graph-paper dungeon drawings).
Last year Numero put out a vinyl-only archival collection of tracks by one of the bands found here, Chicago's Medusa, that we thought was pretty cool, and really should have reviewed but for some reason never did (we do still have a copy in stock, in all its black velvet glory!). At the time, Numero told us that release was a teaser for an entire compilation of obscure "D&D" rock of the same ilk that they planned to do, and they spoke the truth. Through the mastery of the dark arts, presumably, they somehow assembled this, digging up an outrageous assortment of over-the-top tunes from all these forgotten bands, whose names alone conjure vibes of myth and magic, sword and sorcery: Wrath, Triton Warrior, Stone Axe, Stonehenge, Dark Star, Stoned Mace, Hellstorm, Wizard, Arrogance, and more - including not just the aforementioned Medusa but also another band from Chicago called Gorgon Medusa. The earliest entry is from 1970, the latest from 1980, but they're all equally ancient-sounding. More like rickety sixties-ish heavy psych really, than anything metallic from the '80s or beyond, the stress here being on the "proto" side of the proto-metal tag. Stuff in the vein of Iron Butterfly and Bloodrock and Bubble Puppy and Captain Beyond.
You get low-budget occult organ prog epicry, and uber-distorted riff-rockin', and spaced out downer rock balladry, and badass boogie in Satan's service. We won't go track-by-track, though we're tempted, but a few of the standout faves for us include Wrath's "Warlord", especially due to the zombified vocals from someone who sounds like a brainwashed adolescent girl / cult victim (the guitarist's wife, apparently) intoning the scary lyrics about "living in lust as Satan must"; Inside's "Wizzard King", a blown-out, lo-fi rocker that asks the musical question: "Don't you wanna be a wizzard king, don't you wanna be free? / Don't you wanna be a wizzard king, don't you wanna be me?"; and Stone Axe's "Slave Of Fear", which sounds like Arthur Brown fronting a very early Black Sabbath or Blues Creation. But there's so much good stuff on here, enough to require a saving throw vs. acid rock or else become completely addicted, spinning this repeatedly.
The art and design deserve a mention as well. Both formats come in slipcased cover art consisting of newly-rendered stylized logos (embossed, in metallic ink!) for each band on the comp, like some artistically-inclined burnout teen doodling on a school binder. In terms of packaging, this really couldn't be any cooler - oh, wait, well, maybe it could - we should tell you, that if you wait a couple months, Numero will be selling (direct mailorder only, not in stores, grrrr!) a special edition of this consisting of the lp, the cd, AND a vaguely D&D-esque BOARDGAME, where the players take on the roles of these rock bands competing with each other in the fantastic realm of Darkscorch. Even if you never actually play the game we're pretty sure it will be an amazing artifact just to look at. It's gonna be, like, $100 though.
Ok, to wrap up: trying to explain why this comp is so rad is kind of like trying to explain the appeal of The Lord Of The Rings to someone who hasn't read it. Or D&D to someone who hasn't played. So just trust us, and we recommend trying those two things as well if you haven't!
One of three new cd reissues commemorating Warp Records' 20th anniversary, all culled from the super swank, and prohibitively expensive boxset the label released a while back. We reviewed the 'Unheard' disc recently, which featured a handful of rare tracks from some of our all time Warp faves, Broadcast, Boards Of Canada, Autechre, Plaid, Clark, Flying Lotus, Seefeel, and while this one isn't quite as essential, it is basically a hugely bad ass Warp mixtape.
Essentially a greatest hits, it's two discs, one chosen by the fans, and one chosen by Warp co-founder Steve Beckett. Most of these are tracks you know, there are definitely a handful of surprises, especially on Beckett's disc, but it definitely feels like a lovingly complied greatest hits, with the fans' disc continuing lots of hits, and Beckett's mixing hits with some obscurities. Both discs are great, and barring the overlap with records already in your collection, it's pretty essential listening. Want to introduce someone to electronic music, need an electronic music primer covering the last 2 decades, just need a killer mix for the car or a party, then this should do the trick. The first disc has Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker", Boards Of Canada's "Roygbiv", Squarepusher's "My Red Hot Car", Autchre's "Grants Graf, Luke Vibert's "I Love Acid", and a bunch more. And while the second disc contains some classics from Grizzly Bear, Broadcast, Squarepusher, Seefeel and others, it also includes less likely jams from Jamie Lidell, Mike Ink, Xeper (Black Dog Productions), Nightmares On Wax, and loads more. Needless to say, killer stuff.
One of three new cd reissues commemorating Warp Records' 20th anniversary, all culled from the super swank, and prohibitively expensive boxset the label released a while back. We reviewed the 'Unheard' disc recently, which featured a handful of rare tracks from some of our all time Warp faves, Broadcast, Boards Of Canada, Autechre, Plaid, Clark, Flying Lotus, Seefeel, and we review the 'Chosen' disc elsewhere on this week's list, featuring a two disc greatest hits compiled by both fans and the label, but this one is definitely the weirdest of the bunch. And maybe the most fun because of it...
Two discs of Warp artists, covering songs by other Warp artists. Born Ruffians, with their Pixies post punk jangle, tackle Aphex Twin's "Milkman", Maximo Park cover, Vincent Gallo's "When" and make it their own, giving it a synth new wave makeover, Clark reimagines Milanese's "So Malleable", and it gets even more gnarled and spastic and HEAVY, Hudson Mohawke transforms Jimi Tenor's "Paint The Stars" into a glimmering drift of sparkly ephemeral shimmer, Mira Clalix covers Boards Of Canada and turns it into chamber music bliss, Jamie Lidell covers Grizzly Bear, Seefeel covers Maximo Park(!) and creates a glutchy chunk of blurred new wave, Gravenhurst covers Broadcast and more more more. Some of the tracks are just gussied up a little, some are recreated with alternate shadings, subtly shifted sound palletes, while others are totally and wholly transformed. Cool.
'60 British beat singles compiled by Bevis Frond's Nick Saloman. 20 Tracks by the likes of, uh, The Little Darlings, Freddie Ryder, The Toggery Five, The Boston Crabs, The Huskies, Danny King, and more.
Could it really be time to take a look at the influence of Joni Mitchell? We never would of thought it before, but then again reissue label Numero Group oftens make strange and surprising choices in their releases. After releasing 3 compilations in a series of eccentric soul from the DeepCity, Capsoul and Bandit labels they do a complete 180 and begin a new series called Wayfaring Strangers. This first one is dedicated to the immediate influence of Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon and the wave of femme folk it inspired throughout the early seventies. Here, they focus on 12 gems from obscure or little known female recording artists. A lot of customers who gave no second thought to immediately buying up all of the Eccentric Soul series, seem to be in a quagmire about this one, and not many people are taking the bait”yet.
While Joni haters will probably steer clear of this comp, for those of you on the fence let us assure you that the twelve rare cuts on this disc, culled from mostly private press releases, are not all Joni imitations. While Mitchell's influence is obvious, each artist brings their own unique and varied take to their songs (all originals with the exception of Ellen Shaw's cover of Marianne Faithful's "Sister Morphine"). The Numero Group does an outstanding job with the packaging as always, devoting a full 2 page spread to each artist with full color original album artwork and profiles on each artist. These records are crate digger's dreams, and the visuals and bios only serve to enhance the fragile homemade sincerity and beauty of some of these songs. Highlights include Shira Smalls "Eternal Life", a rumination on math and spirituality recorded at a Quaker boarding school, and Collie Ryan's "Cricket". Like the mighty Ladies of the Canyon itself, this CD may take repeated listening to work its charms. But there is no doubt in our minds that if you saw any one of these original records in a thrift store, bargain bin, or garage sale, you would whisk them away immediately, heart pounding as you brought them home and put them on, thanking your lucky stars that there is still magic in such simple things. Nice!
Another incredible installment in Numero Group's Wayfaring Strangers series, Lonesome Heroes is the male singer-songwriter counterpart to the series' first installment, Ladies of The Canyon. But instead of one artist serving as the thematic touchstone (Joni Mitchell and John Fahey were the key influences of the first two installments), there are several influences present, but the artists are unified by a moody tone of loneliness and introspection. You can hear traces of Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Gordon Lightfoot, Tim Hardin and Tom Rapp in this collection of private press wonder (one artist, Kieran White, the only singer from the UK and a member of Steamhammer, actually sounds a lot like Sam Beam from Iron and Wine!), but the songs that span the late sixties to the early eighties are neither love songs or protest songs. Nor do they connect in any real way to a folk music scene or its traditions. These 17 artists, mostly from America, were rambling individuals who more often than not wrote music for recording more than for performing, penning quiet songs about time spent and lost, regrets and joys, and nature as the mystical reminder of this ever present balance of life. The home studio has a big presence in the recordings casting a warm tape aura around the songs and making subtle studio effects (reverb, multi-tracking, panning) add interesting details to the compositions. It's not all just an acoustic guitar and a voice (though some of it is), but aural flourishes of flutes, pianos, and female backing vocals can also be heard throughout. Perfect for Sunday Morning listening! As usual, Numero Group do a great job with the packaging with an added booklet featuring photos of the original private press lps and mini-bios of all the artists here. Astonishing!
Peru's biggest Paul McCartney worshippers, We All Together, came out of a community of bands in Lima that shared the same love for dreamy Beatlesque pop. Eight of the bands are collected here: Monik, Cerro Verde, Laghonia, Smog, Illicit, FE 59 and others. Chronicling singles from the Mag label recorded between 1968-1974, the songs range from original compositions to covers of songs popularized by The Doors, Malo, and Lesley Gore. All quite nice.
Over the past decade countless bands and fans both privately and publicly have bestowed much love and respect on the deeply inspiring and influential band Low. Here's just a dozen who've put they admiration on record by recreating the band's 1994 debut full length, I Could Live In Hope. The less familiar faces definitely outnumber the familiar ones -- Daniel G. Harmann, Pale Horse And Rider, The Strugglers, A Northern Chorus, Kid Dakota, Misc/Ill Lit, The Winter Blanket, and Migala. The folks you might recognize here are Low's contemporaries Mark Kozelek, Jessica Bailiff, Idaho and His Name Is Alive (featuring Nanang Tatang aka former Low tourmates Elizabeth Mitchell and Dan Littleton of Ida). All of the renditions stick remarkably close to the hushed, slow and gentle originals with the contributions from Bailiff and His Name Is Alive standing out as a definite highlights. Not unlike a warm group hug.
All kinds of crazy versions of all kinds of crazy Melvins classics, by a line-up of mostly metalcore acts, presumably all artists who've been inspired by Buzz, Dale and Co. and for whom tangling with the heaviness of the Melvins is no huge stretch. Big names include Pig Destroyer (who've covered the Melvins before, here doing "Claude"), Isis and Agoraphobic Nosebleed (doing a brutal, nine minute version of "Boris" together! which reminds us, why isn't the band Boris on here?), High On Fire and Keelhaul (another team-up track, this one sounding like it was recorded live), Eyehategod, Mastodon, Strapping Young Lad, and others. But then there's also a handful we've never heard of before, and probably never will again. Everybody gets fully into the spirit of the thing, which is basically to attest that the Melvins, in a word, RULE. Of course, like most comps, it's a mixed bag. Not everything sounds great, but there are some gems. If you're a fan you'll want to check this out.
Bewarned, the first track, Mare's amazing improv-soul version of "Nightgoat" will have you wondering if you put the correct cd in your player. But if you skip ahead to hear the Dillinger Escape Plan doing "Honey Bucket" on track two you'll realize there's been no mistake. Of course, we like it best when tributes are done by bands who don't try to sound at all like the original -- though we can understand why so many of these metallic Melvins fan-bands on here are having a ball doing their best to sound just like 'em!
This comp gets bonus points for the Derek Hess artwork and the liner notes that basically say that tribute albums suck but the Melvins are the best band ever so what the heck, but it loses points for including no information about the partipating acts -- it'd be nice to have notes from each of them about their tracks. Well I guess we don't need Blessing The Hogs to tell us why they picked "Hog Leg".
Pretty badass compilation, featuring the leading lights from the Woodsist label stable, who also seem to represent more broadly the current state of underground music, as it seems most of these folks have released lots stuff on loads of other labels, the new band m.o. seemingly being to release as much as humanly possible, but like we've said before, fuck it, if it works, and it sounds good, why the hell not? And it's still sounding pretty goddamn good to these ears. This lp / cassette sampler, manages to pretty much perfectly lay out the Woodsist formula (which is what a label sampler is supposed to do anyway right?), variations on Summery jangle, woozy lo-fi production, reverb and delay, pretty sunshine-y sixties style pop rendered all warped and dreamily off kilter. The names will no doubt be familiar to most folks by now: Woods, Skygreen Leopards, The Fresh And Onlys, Ducktails, Art Museums, Moon Duo, The Mantles, White Fence and more, as will the sounds, from sun dappled hippified Byrds style folk pop to reverb drenched doo wop-y dream pop to lysergic organ driven hypno garage groove, to Velvets-y repetitive rocking psychedelia, to ethereal ephemeral blissed out drift, to old school punkish power pop to hushed and lush Appalachian guitarscapery, the biggest surprise and quite possibly our favorite track being Moon Duo's contribution, a super stripped down, spare and spacious, minimal, almost dubby bit of space kraut mesmer, which makes sense as it's a cover of a reggae jam by Errol Dunkley. In fact, a couple other bands try their hands at covers, Skygreen Leopards do The Cure and City Center tackle the Grateful Dead!
Reissued international hardcore punk comp from the punk bible... features Terveet Kadet, Crucifucks, Rattus, Raw Power, The Stalin, and many many more. Classic stuff.
One of the most kick ass comps we've heard in a while! And there's been some good ones lately, of Nigerian '70s disco funk and French '80s electro punk, among others. But how can you beat funked up, progged out psych rock from Communist Hungary?? This comp resoundingly answers that question: you can't.
While this disc's title might be in poor taste this comp's curators exhibit EXCELLENT taste in groovy Hungarian psych/prog rarities from the sixties and seventies!!! Which is as you might expect, since these are the djs/diggers also responsible for such top notch sets as Welsh Rare Beat, Vertigo Mixed, and Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word. If you like those, you'll like this. (And, like us, will be eagerly anticipating volume 2, to be titled Hung Over, of course).
A couple of the bands here we know, only really 'cause of another B-Music related release, the disc by swingin' Hungarian sex symbol Sarolta Zalatnay, which featured her work with bands such as Locomotiv GT and Skorpios, both of which appear here along with a track by Zalatnay. In fact, the Hungarian scene was highly intertwined, as diagrammed by the handy "Well Hung Family Tree" that compiler Andy Votel has provided in the cd booklet... a cd booklet that by the way is super thick, packed with all the detailed liner notes from the knowledgeable Votel you could desire, color photos of the artists, album and singles covers, and a forward by none other than "Cini" herself, Sarolta Zalatnay! All the tracks are licensed from the source, Hungaroton Records, the whole thing sounds and looks great, it's an obvious labor of love. And what's not to love, 'cause all 20 tracks here are awesome. Tons of FUZZ guitar, swirling organ jamming, flutes going off, crazy instrumental breaks, wailing vocals, dancefloor filling beats galore. High energy stuff, man. Makes it seem like living under the heel of the Soviet boot of oppression wasn't all bad, at least these folks found the freedom of getting funky and freaky...
So, here's who's on here: Anna Adamis & Gabor Presser (the latter of whom has a big presence in many of these groups), Omega Redstar, Omega (2 cuts), Metro, Hungaria, Kati Kovacs (who sounds like Janis Joplin fronting Hard Stuff!), Katie Kovacs and Gemini, Corvina, Neoton, Tamas Somlo & Omega, Meteor & Demjen Ferenc, Illes (2 cuts from them too), Sarolta Zalatnay, Locomotiv GT, Nemenyi Bela and Atlantis, Piramis, Skorpio, and Bergendy.
From the fuzzy Bo Diddley shake of Omega Redstar, to the badass organ excess of Locomotiv GT, to the frantic funky synth sizzle of Illes (a band whom we recall from Prog Is Not A Four Letter Word as well)... well it's hard to pick highlights, they're all mega. Maybe Omega (sans Redstar) gets the nod for their epic 8 minute groover "Kergeskeziu Favagok", a full 3 minutes of which at least is occupied by a killer drum solo laced with field recordings of bird twitter! They also contribute a fuzzed out stomper a little later in the disc.
Ah, but it's all so good, Well Hung bringing together an amazing Eastern European melange of hard edged acid rock funk freakbeat that's part Chains And Black Exhaust, part wah wah '70s cop show kitsch, part Iron Curtain exotica... fun times in other words! Recommended.
Compilations of long-lost '60s and '70s psych/pop/rock gems dug up from the far corners of the world by dedicated crate-digging record collectors are always considered a good thing here at AQ. We can just point to the Hava Narghile, Cambodian Rocks, Love Peace & Poetry and Thai Beat comps for some easy examples. But while we've been stoked on all sorts of stuff from Turkey, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, and elsewhere, there's always room for more, and for new unexplored territories to freak out about. For instance, what about Welsh psych/prog/folk??? Aha, that's what Welsh Rare Beat is devoted to, as you've already surmised. The 25 tracks here, all of 'em pretty fantastic, were selected from the vaults of the home-grown Welsh indie record label Sain, which could easily be (as this comp argues) the coolest record label you've never heard of before. As the liner notes put it: "You like prog-rock with blueprint trip-hop beats? So did Sain. You like ethereal girl groups with mystical acid folk overtones? So did Sain. You like psychedelic rock operas based on druidism and witchcraft? So did Sain..." And they're not kidding. Psyche-Celtic hoe-downs, dreamy folk singing, Cymru pride protest rock, and incredible grooves abound. These songs are all sung in Welsh (a pleasing tongue we trust you'll find), and due to the language barrier (and doubtless related cultural/political issues) these artists are pretty much unknown outside their own land, despite being just as good as a lot of better known folks from elsewhere in the UK. Really, looking at the names here, we'd only ever heard of Meic Stevens before. Never Bran, Heather Jones, Endaf Emlyn, Y Tebot Piws, or Yr Atgyfodiad, let alone Y Dyniadon Ynfyd Hirfelyn Tesog! But that's what's so great about discs like this, getting turned on to the denizens of a whole new realm of record-collector fantasy. The cd booklet helps mightily in that department, featuring a great deal of text -- there's very detailed track-by-track info plus a lengthy essay that treats this music scene in a political/historical context. VERY thorough indeed. And it even includes an annotated map of Wales. This really well put-together labor of love was compiled by Andy Votel (so recently responsible for the fab Vertigo Mixed comp), Dom Thomas, and Gruff Rhys of the Super Furry Animals who of course hail from Wales, and is released on the same label, Finders Keepers, that also brought us those equally obscure and awesome Jean Claude Vannier and Yamasuki discs.
That the Welsh well of groovy folk and psych rarities from the '60s and '70s hasn't run dry, is plentifully proven by this album. Finders Keepers presents a second volume of Welsh Rare Beat, again compiled by DJ Andy Votel and two of the guys from Super Furry Animals. Lots of w's and y's in the artist and track names here, there's tunes from the the likes of Galwad Y Mynydd (also the subject of a separate reissue on Finders Keepers), Y Gwenwyn, YNhw, Y Tebot Piws, Chwys, Meic Stevens, Bran, Sidan, Morus Elfryn, Heather Jones, Edward H. Dafis, AD 73, Bara Menyn, Hergest, and more. No, we haven't heard of most of 'em either -- and the ones we do know, we probably heard first on the original Welsh Rare Beat. And while we'd rate that volume a little higher, there's treats galore here, from rustic acid folk to glammy rock to disco prog! Even a kids TV show character takes a stab at rock n' roll. All with a unique Cymaru bent, often with glorious traditional melodies woven through, and gentle voices singing in the slightly phlegmy and certainly indecipherable (to us) Welsh tongue. Informative liner notes are provided, though, to clue us to who these artists were and what they were on about.
Twenty previously-unreleased songs from ALL your favorite Matador artists such as Pavement (doing "Killing Moon"), Jon Spencer Blues Atrocity, Silkworm, Yo La Tengo, Barbara Manning, Cat Power, Pizzicato 5, Bardo Pond, and GBV. CD version (only) comes with bonus disc with twenty tracks comprising someone's (very tasteful) idea of Matador's greatest hits. Priced to move!
Even if this wasn't a Battiato tribute, it'd have a lot to recommend it in the line-up department, featuring as it does songs by Circle, Acid Mothers Temple, Hrvatski, Cul De Sac, Volcano the Bear, Kinski, Los Natas, Oneida and others! In fact, since most people probably haven't ever heard of the Italian songwriter Franco Battiato, the formidable array of modern-day psychedelic and avant-garde artists found here is the probably the main selling point. But if you don't know Battiato (but do know all those acts) presumably you're wondering about him. Basically, in the early '70s at the outset of his career, the Sicilian-born Battiato made experimental psych/prog records that some would consider as way-out and wonderful as anything achieved by a lot of the krautrock bands, like Faust, who are so much better known over here. From sound collage to repetitive minimalism, his albums were crammed with weirdness but also quite pleasant and melodic. Later on he apparently got a lot more commerical sounding and his popularity increased, so much so that many Italians might not really be aware of his early experiments. Our friend Loren Chasse, a Battiato fan, tells of how when he was in Italy this past summer playing some solo shows, he asked several Italians he met about Battiato and to his surprise was told that no-one much liked him, he wasn't considered cool at all, to them he was just a cheesy '80s pop star. However, as if to prove that there are Italians who appreciate Battiato (at least, his early works) comes this comp, put together by an Italian label and featuring both Jennifer Gentle and Zu from Italy alongside the aforementioned international cast of fans. And it of course features only songs from his prime, '70s period, with two or three tracks covered from each of his first four classic albums: Fetus, Pollution, Sulle Corde Di Aries and Clic. Weird, hard-to-grok stuff, but mellow and pretty nonetheless, plenty of good material for each of the bands here to take off from and make their own (some even pick the same songs, which is kind of interesting). So, no need to already be a Battiato fan to enjoy this, though you might become one as a result...
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
A tasty pop collection. The menu features 31 entrees, such as Land of the Loops, Wrong, the Coctails, Low, Wham-O and other fine flavors.
For a while, back in the nineties, AQ was THE place to get your underground New Zealand rock fix. Maybe one of the only stores in the US consistently singing the praises and slinging discs by the Tall Dwarves, the Cakekitchen, the Terminals, Wreck Small Speakers On Expensive Stereos, The Dead C, Bailter Space, Nigel Bunn, David Kilgour, The Clean, King Loser, The Great Unwashed, The Bats, Roy Montgomery, The Chills... and actually come to think of it, AQ is still that place, it's just that the landscape of the NZ underground has changed a bit, folks like Birchville Cat Motel, Omit, Pumice, The Dead C (still!), Peter Wright, Antony Milton, Brothers Of The Occult Sisterhood, Armpit, Black Boned Angel, Dean Roberts, The Futurians and loads more are now the ones making waves all over the world. The names may be different, and the sounds too, but the current crop owe a huge debt to those that came before, and the sound and energy of those legendary NZ bands most definitely live on through this new blood.
Every time we'd get a new disc from one of those modern NZ outfits, some part of us would begin hankering to hear some of the old shit, but it's been practically impossible to track any of it down, Flying Nun, THE New Zealand label, was still around and releasing records, but seemed to only exist within the confines of NZ itself. But finally after months and months of emailing we managed to find someone who would and could sell us Flying Nun stuff. Our box of NZ goodies finally showed up and we were transported right back to that NZ indie rock heyday, we've been blasting the Chills and Bailter Space, Chris Knox and Toy Love, The Gordons and David Kilgour... but most exciting of all, we were able to get two compilations we'd been hearing about but had been unable to get until now. One is the 25th anniversary Flying Nun 4cd box set, super expensive, but well worth it, we'll try to list it some day, although we do have a few (at the time of writing this review) if you're interested, the other is Where In The World Is Wendy Broccoli, a completely kick ass and mind blowing collection of long out of print 7" singles, released between 1981 and 1996, when Flying Nun were releasing all sorts of crazy cool weirdness on vinyl...
Not sure who Wendy Broccoli is, judging from the liner notes, it seems like maybe she was a Flying Nun A+R person, but it hardly matters, the important thing is, this collection is a knockout. A great overview of the label and the scene, from indie pop jangle to murky grungy free rock and pretty much every stop in between. Like most scenes, there were a handful of key players, NZ was no different, lots of names you would probably recognize: Roy Montgomery, Peter Stapleton, Robert Scott, David Mitchell, Peter Jefferies, David Kilgour, Denise Roughan, Chris Knox, Shayne Carter, Chris Heazlewood and a handful of others, who beyond recording in their own bands and under their own names, would often pair up or group together for one off recordings, single albums or even just a 7" single, that sort of freedom, and the ability to record a track or two and see it actually released, resulted in one of the most vibrant and varied scenes EVER. And the proof is right here...
The mopey, slowcore jangle of Rik Starrr, the cinematic countrified twang of the Renderers, the bass heavy new wave-y gloom of Pin Group, the murky Spacemen 3 like jams of Sssf, the glimmering indie K Records style soft indie pop of The Magick Heads, the minor key melodic pop dirge of Queen Meanie Puss, the gothy dreamy downer murk of The Children's Hour (sounding quite a bit like Joy Division or Interpol), the tripped out space rock of Celia Mancini,� the fuzzed out female surf rock of 25 Cents (covering a Sonics classic), that unmistakable Chris Knox lo-fi perfect pop, and that's just a handful of the twenty tracks here.�
Definitely one of our favorite 'new' comps of the last little while (it actually came out in 2005), and it's done exactly what great compilations are meant to, acting not only as the perfect mix, but also getting us all riled up to hear some of our old NZ faves (most of which sound just as good today as they did back in the day!!). SO RECOMMENDED!
Damn. Bevis Frond fan or not, you've gotta be impressed with Bevis's Nick Saloman's new career as the curator of kick-ass comps for the Psychic Circle label. We've already highlighted one of 'em recently, the On The Brink collection of instrumental swingin' psych groovers. Also reviewed this list: the fine British popsike comp Fairytales Can Come True. But this one might just be our favorite so far, seeing as how we're all into the early proto-metal HEAVINESS thing. "Heavy Psych And Power Fuzz From The USA 68-72" is the mouth-watering subtitle here. Sounds right up our alley, and it is.
Saloman must have a heckuva record collection. Taking a look at this disc's track list, we only recognized a few of the twenty bands/songs: Thunder & Roses, The Power Of Zeus, Banchee, Road, Fields... that's about it. And we figured if the unknown others were half as good as we knew those to be, we were in for a treat. Well such is the case, for the most part!! Saloman has dug up some beauts, plenty of ultra-rare, fuzzed-out examples of greasy garage muscle, freaky hairy funk, and Purple Hazey proto-metal riff rockin' from all over the US of A that are making our day in a big way. It starts off strong (and stays that way) with the wailing acid rock guitar and equally wailing vocals of "Penetration" by Detroit outfit Third Power. Next up, this comp takes its name from the contribution by Philly's Thunder & Roses, a very Cream-y track that was later covered by Nirvana (whose punked-out version was a worthy tribute). We also hear from Detroit's The Power Of Zeus, with their stone classic "It Couldn't Be Me" that hiphop headz might recognize as having been sampled on an Obie Trice track. LA's Road, featuring former Hendrix bassist Noel Redding, sound very Captain Beyond on their "Spaceship Earth". And then there's the Zeppish "Steel Dog Man" by a Boston outfit saddled with the unfortunate name Brother Fox And The Tar Baby (can't see 'em hitting the stadiums with that handle). In fact, names might be what held a bunch of these bands back, like The Lemonade Charade and The Yellow Payges, ferinstance. Hardly indicative of the long haired biker badassitude and Hendrix/Steppenwolf/Yardbirds worship found here in abundance. This comp also proves that said badassitude can coexist with some groovy horns on occasion, no problem.
For the record, here's the names of the other bands appearing here that we don't have room to discuss individually: The Hook, Blue Mountain Eagle, Genesis, The Illinois Speed Press, Eden's Children, T.I.M.E., Underbeat, The Uniques, and The Fort Mudge Memorial Dump! And yes, the cd booklet includes notes from NS on each track. Oh and for those heavy psych devotees keeping up / keeping score, you might want to know, is this as good as that excellent Psychedelic Minds Vol. 1 comp from last year on World In Sound? Yes, yes indeed.
The UK's Shock label, run by cranky aesthete Stefan Jaworzyn (an ex-member of both Whitehouse and Skullflower), was once our go-to source for top notch and occasionally transcendent underground noise/improv/freakery, back in the '90s. So we're stoked that a few of Shock's crucial compact discs from the era have just been re-released (though we rather suspect that these are NOT new pressings - more likely, Stefan found some boxes under his bed!), including two albums by his band Ascension, and two great compilations - the Deep Funnels Of Entry collection of Twisted Village weirdness, and this one, the oddly titled White Trash Motherfuckers. This classic comp of "psychotic sounds" (as it says on the back cover), with its Savage Pencil cover drawing of a crazed, repulsive-looking Edgar Winter, has been a longtime fave of several of us here since it first came out in 1993. There are comps, and then there are comps, this is one that stands up on its own as more than a 'sampler', with all the tracks exclusive to this release as far as we know.
It begins with three tracks of improv skree from an early version of Ascension (sans Stefan), including one titled "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" (bonus points if you remember what that refers to). That's followed by the blown out industrial noise rock ugliness of a mysterious unit called Beautiful Penis, who only ever appeared on this disc as far as we can tell. Fans of abject Swans/Godflesh style clank n' plod n' feedback will want this for their three tracks alone. (Anyone who can tell us more about Beautiful Penis, like if they had other recordings, please get in touch.) Next up, four transmissions from bizarre plunderphonic noisniks Cosmonauts Hail Satan. Very, very '90s sounding of course, with samples of Southern preachers and such, accompanied by isolationist drones and industrial rhythms. We loved stuff like this back then, and kind of miss it now.
Getting back to improv skree territory, the next four tracks are from Derv, the solo project of Ascension drummer Tony Irving. There's drumming in Derv, but also a lot of fuzzed out electric guitar, played percussively. Gorgeously splintery distorted stuff, that fans of Keiji Haino and Rudolph Grey ought to dig. Allan here was so taken by these tracks, back in the day, that he wrote to Irving and interviewed him for a 'zine he was doing at the time. They're still friends on Facebook (hi Tony!).
Already this is well worth the price of admission, but there's still two bands left... three tracks from The MikePostMortem, another clanking industrial noise unit with lots of loops and feedback (and again one that we've only encountered here), and then the finale comes in the form of one long track (11:35) by scumrock purveyors Splintered, a punishing noisy rhythmic attack that's the most 'metallic' thing on here, kind of in the vein of Skullflower, Godflesh, Terminal Cheesecake and the like. Good stuff, listening to all this now makes us want to dig into our collections to spend the rest of the night feasting on early '90s noiserock nastiness, stuff on not just Shock but also labels like Pathological, PDCD, Fourth Dimension, Noiseville, etc.
Psychic Circle is rapidly becoming our favorite compilations label for '60s psych (and related genres). Can't go too wrong with any of the discs we've stocked so far -- On The Brink, White Lace And Strange, A Visit To The Space Ship Factory, Fairytales Can Come True -- and this one's a winner too. Compiled by Nick Saloman of Bevis Frond fame, a bloke whose record collection is probably more impressive than yours (certainly beats any of us!) as far as '60s rarities goes, there's 20 "nuggets" here from almost no one we'd ever heard of before. The theme this time is American (and Canadian) sixties garage bands and that covers a broad scope of song stylin's -- flowery psych to folky pop to frat house stompers -- so it's a varied comp as regards the music, but not in terms of quality, which is uniformly right on. We'd say what really ties all this together, is that when you hear these tracks, you'll wonder why you'd never heard 'em before, 'cause many should be minor classics. And we guess they are, forgotten classics we can thank Mr. Saloman for turning us all on to. And you really probably have never heard them, 'cause when Saloman sez they're "previously uncomped" we're pretty sure he knows what he's talking about. Our favorite among these would have to be the stark drama of Simon T. Stokes' "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction" but that's not the only gem to be found here, from The Love Society's fairly heavy version of "Tobacco Road" to Kinetic Energy's moody "Margaret Ann" to the groovy "Cloud 76" by Peck's Bad Boys, among selections from other artists including: Randy Johnson, The Love Society, The Liberty Bells, The Great Train Robbery, The Will-O-Bees, The Yankee Dollar, The Lords Of T.O.N.K., Merrell Fankhauser & HMS Bounty, The 13th Precinct, The Countdown Five, The British Walkers, The Moanin' Glories, Cast Of Thousands, Kin Vassy, The Good Feeling, and The Blue Things.
Oh and of course, the cd booklet is full of text, graphics, and photos to help these tracks to be a little bit less obscure than they otherwise would...
One disc old Swedish bands (like Charlie and Esdor), one disc new (like Dungen). Cool!!
Psychedelic Swedish obscurity n' awesomeness from the late '60s and early-to-mid '70s, yeah!! 18 rare tracks from 18 long-forgotten (but oh-so-good) bands are compiled on this, the third volume in a series that has yet to peak. Basically if you like fuzz groovers and wild freakbeat rockers, you've come to the right place. Likewise, from bluesy stomp to folky harmonies, vol. III has it covered. Melancholic psych-pop too -- check out the underground 1969 sounds of "Love Love Love" by a band appropriately named Drugs! Some of the '70s tracks verge on proto-metal, especially Bjorn Famne's "Vampire" (1975) which the liner notes rightly suggest sound like "the missing link between Led Zeppelin and the Jesus And Mary Chain", and Zane's garage-punk Sabbathy "Step Aside" (1976). Others tend towards manic progginess (the Ga Runt Show's big production "Bara Skrot" from '67 for instance). And all are pretty great! Here's the full list of bands, besides the ones mentioned above, for what it's worth: Scorpion, Uppat Vaggarna, Match, Red White & Blues, Fruit, Candle, Harambee, East-West, New Creation, Atlantic Ocean, The Junk's And the Angels, After Life, and Contact.
With interesting liner notes on each track, and cool, old-school collage-style psychedelic graphics incorporating original 45 sleeve artwork, we can only applaud the packaging job that the Dolores label has done on this comp (and previous volumes). Likewise we applaud the selection of music, it's like having an insane Swedish '60s record collector DJ'ing his most valued, mind-blowing, impossible-to-find psych treasures for you for a full hour...which is basically what this is, actually!
Great title, great comp! 21 tracks from 18 Swedish (and some invading British) '60s garage/beat/psych acts you've probably never heard of before, but who all pretty much ruled... Volume I of this (a double disc set featuring both '60s bands and their modern day emulators) was so expensive we never listed it, but Volume II is maybe cheap enough for us to stock a few...even though it really ain't cheap. Then again, try trying to track down the original 7" vinyl versions of all this tuneage! Anyway, this is one of those rare comps without a duff track really, for those into those '60s sounds. If you've got a Nuggets box set ('specially the second, internationally-oriented one) then you are a likely candidate to enjoy this. Bands include: Cheers, The Stringtones, Evil Eyes, Kings, Mascots, Iveys (not the pre-Badfinger Iveys), Vat 66, Les Fleurs, The Best, Bella And Me, The Mixers, Attractions, 14, Darling, Zoom, Ackes, Members Blues Band, and the Flying Dutchmen. Groovily graphically presented, with liner notes by expert Stefan Kery of the Subliminal Sounds label, whose own retro garage band in the '80s -- The Stomachmouths -- were certainly influenced by the some of the bands found here. If this sells, maybe we'll see about getting Vol. I back in stock... Warning for iPod'ers, cd burners and filesharers: this cd is supposedly equipped with some kind of sucky copy control technology thanks to the corporate powers that be at Virgin Sweden. That better mean all these bands are getting paid for this, eh?!
Two NYC labels - Minimal Wave and Wierd Records - have been at the forefront in energizing a resurgence in minimally sculpted synth pop that harkens back to the late '70s and early '80s of synthpunk, darkwave, and industrial sensibilities. Where Minimal Wave's focus has been on digging up the lost gems from that seminal time period, Wierd actively supports those working in the field today, with a weekly club in New York and with well-curated albums including recent releases from Xeno & Oaklander and Led Er Est. Back in 2006, Wierd released a massive 3lp set, showcasing some of the best and brightest who had passed through their doors. That first set was a magnificent find, filled with misanthropes in black leather making dirge-crusted ambience, grinding dark-disco anthems, and sexy goth electronics sporting uncanny melodies. Unfortunately that set is currently out of print, although we're hoping to secure some copies anyway.
This, the second set, was completed at the end of 2008 and took a slightly different approach than the first, as the curatorial direction was clearly to dovetail Wierd's tastemaking aesthetic of coldwave synth pop with the perpetually moving US underground of noise-induced powerdroning. In many ways, what Wierd was doing in this compilation parallels what Carlos Giffoni has been doing with his No Fun Festivals, but from the other end of the spectrum.
So what you get here is a beautifully packaged collection that brackets a darkly propulsive synth-pop number with an abrasive noise-drone piece, with the linking factor being that all of the sounds have been made on analogue synths. Xeno & Oaklander, Martial Canterel, Three To Forgotten, Tobias Bernstrup, and Epee Du Bois belong to the former camp; and Demons (featuring Nate Young of Wolf Eyes fame), Envenomist, Cadaver In Drag, and even the aforementioned Mr. Giffoni represent the latter. Sleep Museum, Charlie Draheim, and Wave Tank seem to be the artists that do their part to marry the two, especially Draheim's piercing synth Leather Nun-ish anti-tune "Guts On The Dancefloor." Oh yeah, all the tracks here are exclusive to the compilation. Great. Great. Great.
Gonna just quote the press-sheet here: "Off Records and the two creators of Hedwig and the Angry Inch rounded up an ... all-star cast including Yoko Ono with Yo La Tengo, Sleater-Kinney with Fred Schneider, Jonathan Richman, Robyn Hitchcock, Rufus Wainwright, The Breeders and many others, to participate in a Hedwig-themed charity album for the Harvey Milk School in NYC."
Subtitled "Dread Meets Punk Rocker Downtown" this is a brilliant collection of dubbed out and reggaefied punk and new wave b-sides circa '77-'81, demonstrating the Jamaican dub influence on the youth culture of music and rebellion in England and elsewhere, back in the day. The underground dancefloor avantgardists of today can cop these styles, but this is the real deal, with tracks from well-known acts like The Pop Group, Killing Joke, The Slits, PIL, The Clash, Grace Jones and Stiff Little Fingers, plus some more obscure bands as well, like Red Beat, 4 Be 2, and Basement 5. Some cuts are actual echoey dubs, others are more about the Jamaican influence, and the dub concept of studio as instrument. All are pretty cool.
The Ruts' "Jah War" starts things off in deceptively ordinary fashion, pretty much straight up reggae (not a dub), though it does succesfully demonstrate this comp's thesis regarding the influence of reggae on punk (with The Ruts eventually becoming Ruts DC, subject of an anthology on Select Cuts we recommended a while back)... That's followed by Mikey Dread's dub version of The Clash's "Bank Robber" which of course sounds pretty much like The Clash, but dubbier. It's with track three, "Wild Dub" from Generation X, purportedly the first punk dub ever cut, that the punk-dub collision starts to get really interesting. And if Billy Idol's old band's dub attempt is cool, you can only imagine what more some of the more out-there groups came up with. For instance, dig the bizarre sounds of The Slits, whose disjointed dub of "Typical Girls" comes off like Italian 'rock concrete' deconstructionists Starfuckers by way of Jamaica, all cut-up and sparse and loopy. Definitely a highlight. Meanwhile, you've got The Pop Group setting an example for current acts like Out Hud/!!! to emulate, 4 Be 2's weird Irish hoedown skank, the throbbing "Turn To Red" by Killing Joke (from a super-rare 9" record), and Grace Jones' 1980 Chrissie Hynde penned dance classic "Private Life" with bass and drums from Sly & Robbie. And more... Former Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten is a ubiquitous presence, in addition to PIL's quintessential "Death Disco", there's a bunch of other John Lydon productions on here, including a great track from Vivien Goldman ("Private Armies") dubbed up by Lydon and Adrian Sherwood. Goldman, former singer with the Flying Lizards and reggae writer for the punk weekly Sounds, contributes the disc's liner notes, with an enthusiastic, informed, she-was-there-then-and-cares-deeply-about-it-now perspective. So, totally, recommended -- everyone who loved those great Disco Not Disco and/or In The Beginning There Was Rhythm compilations will want to check this out for sure!
