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More way out Magic Band avant-blues psych jams here, including the 19+ minute "Tarotplane" and the 15+ minute "Mirror Man". This album was recorded in '67, not long after Beefheart's debut Safe As Millk, and was finally released as Mirror Man in '71, but this version is remastered, resequenced, with quite a few previously unreleased tracks added on.
Includes liner notes detailing these recordings' complicated history.
Though we've seen a fair amount of Beefheart rarities being released on CD in the last several years, not much of the Magic Band's live material has turned up yet. Much of this is due to licensing restraints, I'm sure, as none of the sets were ever legitimately recorded in the first place. That anyone even had the foresight to record the Captain and crew all the way back in 1972 is pretty impressive. This collection contains 18 tracks culled from 7 different shows, all in the U.K., dating as far back as '72 on up to 1980. Those concerned about fidelity should take note however that these tracks, even the more recent, were recorded with the most primitive of equipment and no amount of mastering could fix it. For those who could give a flying fuck about fidelity and are more interested in some live and raw renditions of their favorite Beefheart tunes, this would be a handsome addition to their collection as the various lineups (there are five different throughout) are all in top form on every track. Also included is a ten page booklet containing one man's well written personal account of Captain Beefheart's impact on him and the U.K., plus information on the individual tracks and the band's different line ups.
What can we say? Ozit has put together a collection of Beefheart odds and sods spanning the 1960's and 1970's. As can be expected, the fidelity of the recordings ain't the best, but for Beefheart fans yearning for new material there really is less and less that hasn't already been compiled elsewhere at this point. And while much, if not all, of the songs here will be familiar to everyone with a fair sized collection of Captain Beefheart studio recordings, the arrangements here are often completely different and as such are an interest to those curious about the creative process that went into shaping them into their final form on LP. If all of this seems like apologist mutterings, we can't convincingly argue otherwise. But note that all the tracks here, to the best of our knowledge, haven't been released on CD until now, save for one or two tracks (can't speak for all the myriad bootleg LP collections of Beefheart rarities that have been released lo these many years).
Talk of a legitimate release of the tracks on this disc has been going around for so long I all but gave up hoping it would ever be released. And then, suddenly, it's here. The bulk of the tracks on "Dust Sucker" are recordings that were intended to be
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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Third album circa '77 from these psychedelic prog stoner heavies... Different singer, pretty much for completists though.
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While Captain Beyond's 1972 debut was all about proggy proto-metal riffery, the group's quite different but equally classic 1973 follow-up, Sufficiently Breathless, is much less hard-edged, much more Malibu-mellow. Smoother, and spaced out. Indeed you could call it space rock, what with song titles/subjects like "Drifting In Space", "Starglow Energy" and "Distant Sun". It's a definitely trippy album, to match the very bizarre cover painting. But there's some riffage here all right too, with a bunch of the tracks, even including "Drifting In Space", having a rollicking, groovy energy to 'em. "Evil Men" kinda reminds us of Blue Oyster Cult, and also it - and a lot of the record - has a jazzy feel, with Latin percussion, a la Santana.
Our favorite track is probably the majestic and uplifting "Starglow Energy", a somewhat Floydian, New Agey hippie hypnotic bliss out. It's been a long time (since 1973, perhaps!) that an artist could do a song with a title like "Starglow Energy" and sound so sincere about it. Nope, they don't make 'em like this anymore.
So, compared to Captain Beyond's debut, the super stoned and sorta Santana-styled Sufficently Breathless isn't so much astral proto-metal, than, uh, maybe what we could call yacht-psych (?), but we still love it!
This isn't really a new cd, just an old favorite that we thought we'd list for the first time 'cause the name sometimes comes up in our reviews of present day heavy psych/stoner rock bands: LA's legendary Captain Beyond. This cd reissues their classic 1972
Captain Fatass, who have been playing around town for some time now, finally recorded and released a full length album so that now there's no need to wait for their upcoming shows to listen to them. Musically they draw a lot from the musical well of SF's rock
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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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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Listening to Captured Alive! in a musical sense is nearly impossible. That is of course if you haven't actually witnessed for yourself the incredible live performance of Captured By Robots. Luckily for all, the performance that took place right here at San Francisco's Bottom Of The Hill is not only found on the cd, but you may witness it for yourself in digital video form on the accompanying dvd. Probably the most entertaining and elaborate one-man-band ever.
Within a few seconds, eagle eared aQ-ers will most likely recognize that struggling vocal warble, that earnest about to crack falsetto, which just happens to belong to Daniel DiMaggio, frontman of those aQ faves, punky ramshackle noise poppers Home Blitz. But Car Commercials is a whole different ball of wax, instead of the frantic frenetic bounce of Home Blitz, in Car Commercials, DiMaggio and his CC partner Dave Sutton, weave something much more intimate and personal, way more twisted and bizarre, some seriously damaged outsider bedroom folk, think Jandek, Daniel Johnston, that sort of thing, detuned guitars, sporadic percussive flourishes, strange atonal chords, tangled not quite melodic melodies, the vocals, sung spoken, whispered, yelped, it almost sounds like a Sebadoh record that was left in the sun, all warped and melted and lysergic and fucking bizarre. Guitar thrum drifts through clouds of reverb, the vocals sounding like they were recorded through busted headphones, guitar chords ring out and seem to crumble to pieces, this is some seriously whatthefuck home recorded weirdness.
The flipside cranks up the volume a bit, but everything else remains appropriately twisted and detuned and damaged, just more psychedelic and chaotic and noisy, the junkyard percussion more intense. The record finishes off with the two part "Bag Saga", maybe the most musical of the bunch, part one, a haunting moody, dirge, all distorted acoustic guitar, and wheezing keyboard, the second part, all spidery and abstract, building to an electrified sonic catharsis, all buzz and thump and croon, before crumbling to a halt.
Definitely not easy listening, harking back to the early days of DIY tape trading, where you could send away for something sight unheard, and get back a home dubbed tape that could very well blow your mind, or your speakers, or both. We dig this a lot, but then we like a lot of weird demented shit. So reservedly recommended, folks after pretty melodies and dreamy pop and pretty harmonies, steer clear, but if you're in the market for some serious home brewed 4-track cracked bedroom folk damage, then this might be for you...
LIMITED TO 300 COPIES, includes a free download...
Carsick Cars was the first band we'd heard from this new crop of Chinese indie rock and noise pop bands, and we were initially intrigued cuz of the band name, but then ended up digging both their other records quite a bit. We'd been dying to hear this new one after getting a little tease/taste via their recent split 7" with Flavor Crystals. Their song on that 7" found the band sounding better than ever, super polished, and crazy catchy. We posited in our review of that 7", that part of the new sound might be due to the fact that it was recorded with Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom, from Spacemen 3, and Hamish Kilgour of NZ pop legends the Clean. And it might just because we know that, but we're hearing a sound that definitely sounds like it's right between the druggy hypno-rock of Spacemen 3 and the fuzzy, NZ jangle of the Clean. Regardless, 3 is a stunner, from the very first track, a very nineties indie rock influenced instrumental groover that actually also reminds us a bit of Pell Mell, sort of driving and hypnotic and a little bit krautrocky. But it's on the second track, "15 Minutes Older", that the band get super poppy, and that Flying Nun / New Zealand influence really shines through. In fact, if you told us this was actually some long lost Flying Nun rarity, we would have totally bought it. Keening vocals, dreamy melodies, fuzzy, buzzy guitars, plenty of jangle, hooks galore, but with a bit of Sonic Youth style noisiness woven into the sound, it's infectious and pretty goddamn great. As is the whole record really, every song here a jangle pop gem, some sung in English, some not, some sort of proggy and mathy, others straight ahead pop, but all of them hooky and heavenly, and easily the best CsC record yet!
We have both the lp and the cd, apparently, they're both slightly different, different mixes, some songs are in English on one format, not on the others, we haven't really done a side by side A/B comparison, but we're guessing unless you're crazy anal or a super collector, you'll likely be happy whichever one you pick, if it matters, this review is of the vinyl version, which includes a download code as well!
Got this super limited tour cd-r from one of our favorite Chinese indie rock outfits Carsick Cars who were just here on tour. This 5 song disc collects a handful of singles tracks and alternate versions, including two of our recent favorite CSC jams, one being a version of maybe the best track from the recent 3 album, which found the group getting super poppy, and heavily influenced by that classic Flying Nun sound (due in no small part to the fact that New Zealand indie legend Hamish Kilgour helped record that record), along with the group's track from the recently reviewed split with Flavor Crystals, a jam that we described as being super bubbly, poppy and sunshiney, all fuzzy guitars, fuzzy melodies, an effervescent blast of power pop, crunchy and jangly in equal measure.
The opening track too, sounds straight out of eighties NZ, albeit with a little bit of modern sheen, but got Flying Nun nerds who miss that sound, holy cow, the fact that it's NZ by way of China only makes it that much more confusionally cool! "Shelter" is more stripped down, a dark jangly brooder, while "She Will Wait" adds some drum machine, and pushes the sound into a slightly shoegazier noise poppier direction, that definitely suits them.
A great introduction to the band for sure, and essential if like us, you're turning into a Carsick Cars completist. SUPER LIMITED cd-r, once we run out, will have to get more from China, so act fast or be prepared to be patient...
Not sure what it is about the current underground rock scene in China, but it seems like it's heavily influenced by the US, which is maybe not a huge surprise, but also, more specifically, nineties college/indie rock. Check out some of the Chinese outfits we've reviewed recently: P.K.14, Skip Skip Ben Ben, Streets Kill Strange Animals, Boyz & Girl, all amazing, and all heavily indebted to the Pixies, Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, you get the picture. Jangly, crunchy, fuzzy, noisy, poppy, shoegazey, all stuff we, and presumably, lots of you love, so if you've been missing THAT sound, might be time to dig into some of the amazing Chinese noise pop / indie rock that's blowing up over there these days. Last list we reviewed the self titled debut from the awesomely names Car-Sick Cars, and like that record, this follow up, is a fantastic celebration of all the stuff we loved about nineties indie rock, chiming minor key guitars, shimmery atmospheres, laid back drawled sad boy vox, brooding slow build verses and crunchy, noisy choruses, lots of textures and tension, even the prettiest most straight ahead jams here flecked with all manner of experimental studio weirdness and squalls of psychedelic crunch. But unlike that record, which seemed to be brimming with youthful exuberance, this record is a lot more laid back, a bit more contemplative, a little brooding, with most of the tracks settling in a sort of Sonic Youth / Velvets sort of trance out, the guitars looped and layered, the rhythms motorik, stripped down and propulsive, the songs wreathed in woozy textures, the vocals buried in the mix, the songs sprawling, tranced out and hypnotic, and really really good.
As we've mentioned in the past few lists, we've been getting more and more sounds from the Chinese underground, so many that it's been difficult to listen to them all, let alone get them reviewed. White+, Boyz & Girl, Dear Eloise, P.K.14, Duck Fight Goose, Snapline, Skip Skip Ben Ben, Streets Kill Strange Animals, just to name a few. The one we were most excited to review was this outfit, based partly on their name, as well as the crazy cartoon alien lazer gun 4-eyed fish cover art. It was only recently we were actually able to get enough to list. And while we may have been expecting something way weirder, we ended up digging their sound, which like much of this new wave of Chinese bands, owes much to the nineties US indie/college rock underground. Carsick Cars take classic fuzzy jangle pop and angular noise rock and fuse it into something hooky, catchy, dark and difficult, with boy / girl vocals, crunchy guitar, plenty of noise, tribal drumming, wild flurries of piano, the result falling somewhere between Sonic Youth and Pavement and Sebadoh and Polvo? They definitely sound like the kind of band that would have been on labels like Matador, Homestead, even Touch And Go back in the day. The songs tend toward fuzzed out noise pop / indie rock crunch for the most part, but there's a lot of weirdness going on, and plenty of more abstract experimental noisiness, with the two sides of the band's sound bleeding into each other throughout!
Killer new split 7" featuring one of our favorite Chinese indie rock outfits, Carsick Cars, teamed up with a Minneapolis psych rock band we'd heard of, but hadn't actually heard until now. The Carsick Cars side is super bubbly, poppy, and sunshiney, fuzzy guitars, fizzy melodies, effervescent almost power pop, crunchy and jangly in equal measure, maybe the best sounding jam we've heard from these guys, which makes sense as it's an outtake from the sessions for their newest record 3 (which we'll review on the next list, and it's great! And we DO have them in stock, cd and vinyl, both kinda different too!), produced by NZ legend Hamish Kilgour and Pete Kember, aka Sonic Boom. It's kind of hard to figure out why this was an OUTTAKE, cuz it's a scorcher, and the Hamish Kilgour connection makes a lot of sonic sense, cuz this totally sound like it could be some lost Flying Nun rarity, which is high praise indeed!
The Flavor Crystals side is a bit more downcast, moody and broody, with gothy guitar shimmer over a lowslung bassline and motorik drumming, the vocals a reverby whispery croon, Moon Duo fans will definitely flip. Soon the surrounding sounds build, pulsing and pulsating, adding a dark sonic swirl to the proceedings, as the song proper follows suit, growing more dense and driving, heavy and hypnotic, before launching into some serious spaced out psych for the last few minutes, that will definitely hit the spot for fans of White Hills, The Heads, Moon Duo, etc. Definitely need to hear more from these guys.
Gorgeously packaged, super eye popping, over the top cartoon art sleeves, each with a different, equally eye popping postcard inside, and pressed on dark red vinyl! Oh, and probably pretty limited as well!
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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We first heard about the Cardiacs from our friend Jussi From Circle. He didn't really give us much to go on, just told us to find Cardiacs records. So when I (Andee) was in England last year I looked everywhere for Cardiacs records. No stores stocked them, no one had even heard of them. Rough Trade? Nope. Record And Video Exchange? Nope. So on a whim I went into Tower Records, and whhattayaknow, the Cardiacs had their own big ol' section. So I bought 4 of the 8 records they had in stock, without even knowing what they sounded like. The guy I was staying with was not at all impressed, telling me "Nobody likes the Cardiacs". But when I finally got down to listening to them, boy was I pleasantly surprised. Somehow not at all what I expected, but that only made me like it more. It's definitely pop, but it's not pop like you or I know it, it's freaked out, complex, super dynamic, totally catchy, weird vocals, drum machines, high pitched lead vocals, carnivalesque, bombastic kick ass sort-of-power-pop. It's really hard to describe. When I brought my copy to play for people in the store, every couple of minutes someone walked up wanting to buy whatever it was we were playing. So finally, we were able to get enough copies to list and let you all get your grubby litttle paws on this demented pop goodness. Think the Pixies meets the Sweet meets the Toy Dolls meets Uz Jsme Doma meets Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack meets XTC but more punk rock, and more prog, or something like that. With totally unlikely but irresistible melodies, squiggly guitars, circus organs, the occasional children's choir (?), drumming that is so stuttery and precise it sounds like it must be a drum machine, burbly spaced out ambient keyboards, completely fucked lyrics and amazing vocals and harmonies. It's like power-pop-prog-ska (like Uz Jsme Doma sounded ska) punk craziness. Goes from manic and intense to throbbing and dreamy at the drop of a dime. I think this band was 'big' for a while in the UK which is why my hipster friends scoffed, but to be honest I can't understand why they're not still big, or big here too. Just a little too weird, methinks.
'Guns' is my favorite record of the bunch. Just listen to the sound sample for the song 'There's Good Cud'. One of the most perfect pop songs I've ever heard. Weird and damaged but totally catchy and fun. Sort of like the whole record. And the sample after that 'Wind And Rains Is Cold' shows the softer (but no less weird) side of the Cardiacs. Lilting pop loveliness wrapped in a warped rock framework. This record totally rules.
It's been a while since we've heard from the Cardiacs, UK's mightiest, spazz-prog pop outfit ever. No fault of theirs, it just took some organizing to get another big batch of Cardiacs discs sent over. This one's not a new one but along with Guns (now sadly out of print) and Songs For Ships And Irons it's another of our favorites.
Our pal Jussi from Circle might just be the biggest Cardiacs fan in the world (just narrowly edging us out) having subjected Andee to hours and hours of listening and viewing when he was in Finland, prompting him to undertake a secret mission when he was in the UK next, to track down and purchase ALL of the Cardiacs records. That 'all' amounted to close to 20 different titles, so he settled for 5 or 6, and loved them all. As did everyone we played them for. So, since the band has NO distribution in the states, we contacted the band directly and convinced them to send us discs, and here we are. Andee now does own every single Cardiacs record and loves every one of 'em. We listed Guns and Songs For Ships And Irons, a year or two back, both going over like gangbusters, so we figured next time we sorted out a big Cardiacs order we'd get a bunch of Heaven Born And Ever Bright.
So here we are. This one starts off with an epic, lush Queen-like (the band, not the, er, Queen) fanfare. Martial drums, thick swaths of organ and a chorus of vocals all singing praise to the band's own label The Alphabet Business Concern and then it's down to business, the business of impossible convoluted lush mini-epics. But how to describe the sound? Well when we first heard the Cardiacs we thought Toy Dolls meets Uz Jsme Doma meets Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack meets XTC but more punk rock, and more prog. And that still pretty much hits it right on the head. Madly strummed guitars, manic drumming, a chorus of vocals, some high, some low, mainman Tim Smith handling the majority, but often sparring with one or more other vocalists, angular riffing and dense swirls of sound over bouncy rhythms, streaks of circusy keyboards, and maddeningly catchy hooks everywhere.
Totally over the top, super dramatic and wild, like every song is some demonic musical brought to life. Imagine some circle of hell, where demented musical theater freaks and prog obsessed metalheads and nerdy twee popsters are all forced to collaborate on 3 minute long musical plays for eternity. And it's been thousands of years, so everyone has gone good and mad, and this is their most recent batch. Fucking brilliant.
AS OF MAY 2010, THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO US. SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AS OF MAY 2010, THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO US. SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
We first heard about the Cardiacs from our friend Jussi From Circle. He didn't really give us much to go on, just told us to find Cardiacs records. So when I (Andee) was in England last year I looked everywhere for Cardiacs records. No stores stocked them, no one had even heard of them. Rough Trade? Nope. Record And Video Exchange? Nope. So on a whim I went into Tower Records, and whhattayaknow, the Cardiacs had their own big ol' section. So I bought 4 of the 8 records they had in stock, without even knowing what they sounded like. The guy I was staying with was not at all impressed, telling me "Nobody likes the Cardiacs". But when I finally got down to listening to them, boy was I pleasantly surprised. Somehow not at all what I expected, but that only made me like it more. It's definitely pop, but it's not pop like you or I know it, it's freaked out, complex, super dynamic, totally catchy, weird vocals, drum machines, high pitched lead vocals, carnivalesque, bombastic kick ass sort-of-power-pop. It's really hard to describe. When I brought my copy to play for people in the store, every couple of minutes someone walked up wanting to buy whatever it was we were playing. So finally, we were able to get enough copies to list and let you all get your grubby litttle paws on this demented pop goodness. Think the Pixies meets the Sweet meets the Toy Dolls meets Uz Jsme Doma meets Queen meets the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack meets XTC but more punk rock, and more prog, or something like that. With totally unlikely but irresistible melodies, squiggly guitars, circus organs, the occasional children's choir (?), drumming that is so stuttery and precise it sounds like it must be a drum machine, burbly spaced out ambient keyboards, completely fucked lyrics and amazing vocals and harmonies. It's like power-pop-prog-ska (like Uz Jsme Doma sounded ska) punk craziness. Goes from manic and intense to throbbing and dreamy at the drop of a dime. I think this band was 'big' for a while in the UK which is why my hipster friends scoffed, but to be honest I can't understand why they're not still big, or big here too. Just a little too weird, methinks.
This is my second favorite Cardiacs record ONLY because two of my favorite Cardiacs' songs are on 'Guns' (see other review). But it's easily as good as 'Guns' with its frenetic pop, completely mad vocals and brain-melting arrangements. I mean just listen to the sound samples!! You might as well buy both of them because this band is the fucked up, off-kilter, totally difficult and damaged pop band you've been looking for your whole life. I kid you not.
AS OF MAY 2010, THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO US. SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AS OF MAY 2010, THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO US. SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
AS OF MAY 2010, THIS TITLE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO US. SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
When Yo La Tengo went to rock school in their video for "Sugarcube", they were instructed that their third album must follow the ELP Rule -- it must be double live! Well the Cardigans, in their recent matriculation into rock school, have followed a different rule for their third album -- the Radiohead Rule -- that if a band is in danger of being written off as a one-hit-wonder, they must make a third album of dark yet sugar-coated pop gems. Hence, OK Computer and now, for the Cardigans, Gran Turismo.
OK, it is unfair to compare this album to OK Computer, but the Cardigans have realized their best album of bittersweet pop songs. (Sadly, however, there are no Black Sabbath covers on this album.) An Aquarius pop fave.
These Swedish lads n' lass are back with a new album, but they're no longer the buzz band they were a few years ago. Symptomatic of their current lower profile in the hip-parade, this record was actually released overseas long ago, last year, but is only now getting US release. Some of us here had sought out the import -- and were disappointed, initially anyway. Long Gone Before Daylight is a more "adult", sad-sounding, and basically not-as-catchy Cardigans. More generic sounding too. And very different from the electronically-bolstered sound of their previous album Gran Turismo. Definitely less sleek dream pop than before. Grown up and without the candy coating. So, ok... if you're a big fan you probably should pick this up (even those of us who got the import did, as this comes with a bonus US only track AND a bonus DVD disc of videos and live tracks!). From experience, we know that it will probably grow on you even if you don't like it that much at first. Nina Persson's voice is, ultimately, hard to resist. So lovely. (Still it would be great if she'd sing an album all in Swedish, as the English-language lyrics here are sometimes hard to take, full of hokey rhymes and cliches!) And anyone not already into the Cardigans is advised to get Gran Turismo or First Band On The Moon instead, you can check this out later once/if you're hooked. But nobody here who bought this is selling theirs back...
Cardinal, the duo of Eric Matthews and Richard Davies (of legendary NZ outfit the Moles), only released one record, a self titled album that came out in 1994, and while commercially it didn't make that much of a splash, it become THEE modern orchestral pop record that pretty much set the bar, a collection of songs that owed as much to the classics as it did to the indie rock of the time, dark brooding pop gems driven by strings and horns and gorgeous unlikely vocal harmonies, "You've Lost Me There" from that record still ranks as one of the greatest pop songs ever. And while both Matthews and Davies continued to make records, and some good ones at that, none of those ever approached the sublime majesty of that one record. Which is maybe why the two have reconvened almost two decades later and revived their old partnership. For those of us who spent the nineties obsessed with that record (which is most of us at aQ), and heck, let's be honest, most of the 2000's as well, the prospect of a new Cardinal record had us quivering in anticipation.
And on first listen, opening track "Northern Soul" brings us right back. Lush and lovely, haunting and dreamily jangly, acoustic guitars, chiming major key chords, those strange harmonies that so defined that first record, and Cardinal in general are still present, whether it's weird little falsettos, or that deep throaty croon mixed way in the background, it's really what gives Cardinal it's otherworldly energy. But the music here, remains fantastically rich and evocative, the trumpet, the big strummed acoustic guitar, those vocals. And while a record as good as their debut was probably too much to hope for, the record still holds up pretty well. Replacing the timelessness of their debut with a slightly more modern sheen, and with a much broader sonic palette, expanding beyond symphonic pop, giving some proper indie rock a go here and there, but for the most part, this is a pretty great second chapter in Cardinal's two decades long two album career, and it's one of those records, that definitely blossoms with repeated listens, where the initial thrill of a new Cardinal record, no matter how it sounds, is eventually replaced with a a pure and honest appreciation for this disc of catchy, off kilter, symphonic pop. The fact that it sounds like Cardinal only makes it that much better. Like that first record, WAY recommended pop fans of all stripes, but especially folks who dig the timeless pop sounds of the Zombies, the Beach Boys, (Early) Bee Gees, and more modern practitioners like Neutral Milk Hotel and the Elephant 6 stable, Jellyfish, Belle And Sebastian, Sparklehorse and the like..
This is one of those perfect pop records that happens very rarely, one in a million, like a total eclipse, or an alignment of the planets, or some rare comet, flaring brightly but briefly and then fading away. A band that put everything it had into a single set of songs and then exhausted, sat back and let those songs float free. In the case of Cardinal, those songs immediately resonated deeply with pop obsessives all over the world, but then far too quickly disappeared, with the folding of their label and the seemingly immediate disbanding of the group after the original release of this record in 1994. But here we are, more than a decade later, and if anything, these songs sound better than ever, timeless and classic, and not at all dated. This is classic pop in the tradition of the Beatles, the Bee Gees, the Beach Boys, Van Dyke Parks, the Zombies, Phil Spector, but with a distinctly modern twist. Richard Davies, half of the Cardinal core, fronted the Australian pop band the Moles, and for Cardinal contributed the raw material, the songs and the melodies, while Eric Matthews was the arranger, taking these simple and perfect pop songs, and opening them up to reveal their hidden beauty, adding strings and pianos and vocal harmonies, shine and sheen, turning simple lovely pop into lush expansive pop masterpieces! Multiple vocals swirl and intertwine in unlikely harmonies, over horns and soaring strings, gently weeping guitars, moody piano chords, and simple shuffling drumbeats. An impossible, and impossibly perfect mix of classic sixties pop, lush easy listening, indie jangle and moody balladeering. Any one who likes any sort of pop music, will be immediately and unalterably smitten by this record. Fitting somewhere between the above mentioned bands and modern pop practitioners like Neutral Milk Hotel, Zumpano, Belle And Sebastian, the Pernice Brothers, Sparklehorse, Iron And Wine, Unrest, the Decemberists and the like, Cardinal fill our souls with pop music and we float dreamily heavenward, humming right along.
Includes extensive liner notes and ELEVEN bonus tracks including demos, b-sides, out-takes and the tracks form the first, long out of print ep!
Holy cow, this is a weird one. Rock fans may recognize the name Tony Carey, knowing that he was of course the keyboard player in Rainbow (playing alongside Ronnie James Dio and Richie Blackmore!), but then those same folks might find themselves wondering what the heck he's doing on Medical Records, who specializes in new wave / electro pop reissues. Well it seems that after Rainbow, Carey did indeed have a bunch of solo records that did quite well, but in the late seventies, he took up a residence in Germany, and began to work on mastering all sorts of instruments and studio gear, and writing a ton of songs, some of which would eventually end up on these records. Influenced by what he called "Euro-electronica", Carey's version of that sound is equal parts swirling kosmische synthscapes, Italo-disco, proto-techno, and yeah, a little eighties style electro pop.
This two lp collection gathers up two essential and long sought after Carey rarities, Explorer and Yellow Power, Explorer might be the more essential of the two, if just for the opening track "Enjaw J", which is such an amazing song, from its pulsing synth swirl open, a cascade of dizzying melodies, leads into a darkly dramatic groove, with a killer hook, surprisingly melancholic, the song stretching out, and letting the drum machine, and pulsating synths drive this electro-kraut workout, peppered part way through with a strange noisy swell and a splatter of abstract percussion. You'll find this one stuck in your head after one listen guaranteed. The rest of the record is pretty great too, but definitely leans more toward an eighties electro-pop. "Transit To Nowhere" almost sounds like an alternate version of the Sparks' "Cool Places", while "No.8" is a strange abstract slab of minimal electro-dub, and "Queen Of Scots" sounds a bit like A-Ha, a moody and dramatic, with a cool cascading main melody that again, like the opener is crazy catchy. There's definitely a cheesy element to these songs and sounds, but it's kind of what makes them so cool, that and realizing this guy once rocked out in Rainbow!
The other record, Yellow Power, is a sort of companion to Explorer, and shares much of the same sonic palette, but seems a it more thematically linked, to the somewhat problematic title, when you realize some of the song titles are "Peking Duck", "Radio Tokyo" and "Hai Samurai", that one complete with some weird processed vox singing "HAI!"
There are some of the same tracks on both records, it has been theorized that one was demos for the other, but the version are different enough the make it worth it. Yellow Power definitely features more vocals overall, whispers here and there, wailing operatic female vox in the background, and it's interesting to hear some of the instrumental tracks on Explorer with vocals. There seems to be more guitar too, and more studio fuckery, they're both weird, each one weird in a slightly different way. We're digging this a LOT, and we should say, that of all the Medical releases we've reviewed, this is the one our distributor excitedly insisted we get a bunch of cuz it's so weird, and so good, and we most definitely agree.
Super swank packaging, the records pressed on thick 160 gram colored vinyl, one record green, the other blue, housed in a super thick full color gatefold sleeve, limited to 100 copies, each one hand numbered. Includes a bonus insert with a retrospective and interview.
After numerous releases as Caribou (as well as his previous moniker Manitoba), mainman Dan Snaith has shifted gears from densely packed dreamy pop-tronica to densely packed upliftingly melodious songcraft. Quite a startling change, but a most pleasant one! We always welcome music that helps us stretch out the summertime good feelings a little longer into the autumn months. Caribou's latest album fits that bill perfectly. It sounds to us as if Snaith has been intently studying the works of The Beatles and Brian Wilson in his pursuit of pop bliss. Can't blame him! Who better to be a role model than those folks? Anyways, Andorra is a delirious trip that soars from swirling blown-out pop that also recalls Flaming Lips and Olivia Tremor Control to late '60s harp stroked, tambourine tapped party pop a la Free Design. Like an ice cream cone on a sunny day, as the album progresses it melts slowly, changing form into a pastel puddle of shoegazerness. Songs such as "She's The One" also spurred imaginings of Snaith as the male counterpart to Julee Cruise. Ooooh, so sweetly splendid.
Here's a glimpse of what's to come on Caribou's new full length set to be released on Merge Records next month! The Canadian one man band Caribou has always equally embraced indie pop and electronica in his music making. His latest ep marks a bit of a shift in the balance. Melody Day is the least electronica and most indie pop of any if his recordings to date. Still very soft and pretty, but this time Dan Snaith has opted for Flaming Lips meets Polyphonic Spree swirling luscious pop stylings. Particularly the latter with the title track's sweet, angelic group vocals that sound like a children's chorus. Oddly enough the next track, a remix of "Melody Day" by Four Tet, sounds more like Caribou! Easily fits in with the dreamy pop on Slumberland and Sarah Records as well as the abovementioned artists. Also includes the non-album track "Zoe".
It's been 4 years since Dan Snaith's last record under the Caribou moniker, though he took a detour to record a techno-oriented album under a new moniker Daphni in 2012. Here on Our Love, he returns to form melding the Arthur Russell-ish dance floor excursions from his last outing, Swim, with some of the hazy pop bliss of older efforts Andorra and Milk of Human Kindness, into a slow disco candyland of blissfully moving synthforms, low-key soulful vocals and ear-wormy edits. Our Love may be his most fully realized record, its nuanced sound more polished and less experimentally pulled together from various approaches than previous efforts, marked by a noticeable restraint that keeps the tracks lean, but never lacking. In fact, it's got plenty of dynamic shifting movement and bounce, while retaining a deep emotional core in the songwriting. Admittedly, it took us awhile to get into this, mainly because we weren't sure that its attention to surface detail would penetrate deeper. But once we did we haven't stopped playing it.
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The Torontonian artist Dan Snaith who now goes by the professional moniker Caribou used to prefer to be addressed by the name of a Canadian prairie province. Minor legal battles ensued with the elder musical artist Handsome Dick Manitoba claiming the name, and the rest is history. While Snaith was Manitoba, he released two terrific albums 2003's Up In Flames and 2001's Start Breaking My Heart which have now been reissued under his 'new' name, each with a bonus disc packed with extra material. Snaith has amassed quite an impressive body of work to date culminating in last year's very warmly received The Milk Of Human Kindness. Draws comparisons to fellow electronic popsters such as Jimmy Tamborello's select projects (Dntel, James Figurine, Postal Service) and the whole Morr Music roster (LaliPuna, Isan, Styrofoam), but incorporates a broader palette of more defined styles and influences. Swirling dreaminess occasionally drifting into jazzy and shoegazer territory. Always a pleasure!
Even dating back to the days when he was known as Manitoba, Dan Snaith's music has always been constantly evolving, changing and growing. He's never made the same record twice, and with the latest outing under his Caribou moniker he's probably made the most drastic stylistic change yet, and with the absolute greatest results!
Swim is a much more dance minded record then his last fine outing, Andorra, which was all about psych pop bliss. He's switched things up, using the same rich coloration that always marks his sound but bringing in new and different influences. This time out it sounds like he's been spending a great deal of time with many of the wonderful Arthur Russell releases, and with as we suspect Russell as his guide, has truly understood how to merge the worlds of avant pop and dance floor freedom. With an almost house-like sound done so totally right, he's made one of the most urgent, immediate and enjoyable records of the year. Think Arthur Russell reconstructed by Four Tet, Hot Chip, Junior Boys, and The Whitest Boy Alive and you start to get an idea of the overall sound of Swim. But what has always put Snaith ahead of the pack is that even though he tends to explore different sounds and styles, he always has a knack for writing great songs. It's never style over substance. What makes Caribou so awesome is that he's equally invested in his continual reinvention and explorations of different sounds as much as he is in crafting fucking great tunes. Record of the year contender for sure!
If you dug the recent Yeti ep from this Canadian fella (Dan Snaith formerly aka Manitoba), you might be cravin' more Caribou right about now. Well, whad'ya know? His new full length just came a-flutterin' in. Dreamy electronic indie pop with plenty of nature themes -- lots of buzzy, chirpy, insect-y sounds and song titles include "Bees", "Barnowl", "Lord Leopard", "Hello Hammerheads" "Pelican Narrows" and of course the "Yeti". Amid the wildlife, he also fits in a respectful nod to the great electronic music innovator Morton Subotnick on the album's second track "Subotnick". Overall, he creates a soft, smudgey pastel hued scene in which he dabbles with dreamy shoegazer and cyclical krautrock influences to good effect.
Another one in the 20 year anniversary of the Leaf label reissue series! Here's more or less what we said about Up In Flames some years ago...
The Torontonian musician Dan Snaith who now goes by the professional moniker Caribou used to prefer to be addressed by the name of a Canadian prairie province. Minor legal battles ensued with the elder musical artist Handsome Dick Manitoba claiming the name, and the rest is history. While Snaith was Manitoba, he released two terrific albums - 2003's Up In Flames and 2001's Start Breaking My Heart - which were eventually reissued under his 'new' name, each with extra material. Snaith has amassed quite an impressive body of work to since then, and fans of more recent outings like Our Love who missed this old fave should be happy to check it out.
Caribou here could easily draw comparisons to fellow electronic popsters such as Jimmy Tamborello's select projects (Dntel, James Figurine, Postal Service) and the whole Morr Music roster (Lali Puna, Isan, Styrofoam), but incorporates a broader palette of more defined styles and influences. Swirling dreaminess occasionally drifting into jazzy shoegazer territory. Always a pleasure!
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
SORRY.
The Torontonian artist Dan Snaith who now goes by the professional moniker Caribou used to prefer to be addressed by the name of a Canadian prairie province. Minor legal battles ensued with the elder musical artist Handsome Dick Manitoba claiming the name, and the rest is history. While Snaith was Manitoba, he released two terrific albums 2003's Up In Flames and 2001's Start Breaking My Heart which have now been reissued under his 'new' name, each with a bonus disc packed with extra material. Snaith has amassed quite an impressive body of work to date culminating in last year's very warmly received The Milk Of Human Kindness. Draws comparisons to fellow electronic popsters such as Jimmy Tamborello's select projects (Dntel, James Figurine, Postal Service) and the whole Morr Music roster (LaliPuna, Isan, Styrofoam), but incorporates a broader palette of more defined styles and influences. Swirling dreaminess occasionally drifting into jazzy shoegazer territory. Always a pleasure!
For a few releases this fellow (given name Dan Snaith) formerly went by the moniker Manitoba -- geography lesson: that's the Canadian province located between Saskatchewan and Ontario -- but he's recently switched over to the name of both a heavily antlered wilderness creature and a mountainous region in another province, British Columbia. Okay, now that classtime is over, let's move on to the music... this electronic-pop-trician has crafted a trio of tracks from playful but not excessively twee sounds that make you think he's been rummaging around in the toybox. But don't worry, none of the toys... oops, we mean sounds are gonna spring out and sock you in the nose. I mean, yeah, the live drums get a little rambunctious near the end of the title track as well as the third, but then it sinks back into his more typical mellowness with acoustic guitar plucking, and rounds from a lil' flute or recorder that's sorta like a mini ode to Wickerman. Furthermore, let it also be known that this has nothing to do with Amon Duul II's classic kraut-psych album of the same name. No, this is a much gentler beast. Dreamy, softly pulsing, gauzy and almost Christmas-y in its shimmery frosted chimey-ness! A promising prelude to his forthcoming album, The Milk Of Human Kindness (due out very very soon).
