[ aquarius records — Rock Pop ]

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

Showing results 4601 through 4650 of 19388.

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Chinese punk split!

Oooooooh aren't you a saucy one?! Trashy garage rawk fans, we know you're happy to see this come 'round the bend. The always scantily clad Demolition Doll Rods will rev yer Detroit psychobilly engines with this live dvd of the trio letting themselves go in Madrid last year! Whoa nelly, the front cover tells it all! Check out that package. Ahem, the only thing missing from the photo is all the sweat the gang pumps out while they're stompin' shoutin' and workin' it on out!

Got your g-string all oiled up? It's time to whoop some butt with this mega-trashy scantily-clad trio! This is their third full length containing one dozen very live, in-the-raw recordings... and that's just as they should be heard (and preferably seen). They're one of the funn(i)est garage rawk spectacles to witness live. Danny Doll Rod, Margaret Doll Rod and Thumpurr Doll Rod let loose with the hootin' and a-hollerin' amid a tangle of electric guitar chords while Thumpurr tries almost in vain to keep it all together with her primitive beat. Always a rockin' hoot!

MPEG stream: Get It On
MPEG stream: Big Rock Candy Mountain

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SORRY. RevolverUSA say: "A cheeks spread and smiles wide fireballing blast of hubba-hubba Detroit lewd & crude as the Demo D-R's spank another red hot link of pure rock'n'roll flesh mongering and wagged-in-your-face garage punk scuzz upon today's young hot & bothered set. 12 tracks of T&A fueled lust and raw da-doo-ron-ron fire. LP is Gatefolded for lust. Raunch with me."

"Sexy" psychobilly.

Canadian garage rock freeks Demon's Claws are another one of those bands that we had never paid much attention to, not sure why, but we're sure kicking ourselves now, cuz this latest record is a seriously bad ass concoction of crazed, maniacal, swaggery sixties styled fuzz drenched garage pop bliss. The music is stripped down and minimal, sometimes brooding and dark, other times raucous and rocking, the guitars tangled and jangly, crunchy and fuzzy, the drums solid and simple, while in the background spaced out effects and electronics occasionally swirl and shimmer subtly, but over the whole thing, frontman Jeff Clarke does his best Mick Jagger, or his best Iggy Pop, or more like some sort of impossible hybrid of the two, his vocals snarly and slithery, sinewy and yet still melodic, a classic sounding croon, over some killer and impossibly hooky garage pop, that manages to sound modern enough for the kids, but most definitely remains beholden to the classics. And damn if opener "Fed From Her Hand" is not the jam of the year so far, the main riff all low slung and sinister, the vocals wrapped in reverb, those electronics burbling just below the surface, and a sound, and a main hook / chorus, that sound like they were transported straight out of the sixties. So awesome! A new favorite for sure!

MPEG stream: Fed From Her Hand
MPEG stream: Last Time At The Pool
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This double cd set looks like one of those sensitive singer-songwriter affairs that I admit I'm sort of a sucker for... that is, when it's well done. Unfortunately, Dempsey isn't well done. (Let's say it's medium rare.) I mean, all the elements are there to make this "the soundtrack album of the summer" (as a press clipping proclaims) -- tastefully programmed breakbeats and subtle samples mixed with guitar balladry, moody cello, smoky trumpet, and a Mick-Jagger-three-times-removed kind of lazy wannabe drawl -- and for all I know the folks in the UK are digging into this stuff (like it's filet mignon, heh.) Even the sleeve art is as predictable as the music, a closeup of an acoustic guitar, photos of desert landscapes, the sea, lightning -- stuff you see "on the road". But come on, the melodies aren't nearly as assured or memorable as they need to be in order for that sensitive singer-songwriter stance to ring true. The lyrics are amateurish (and I find the voice incredibly annoying). The entire thing feels a little bit manufactured, but maybe that's cos I've never been impressed with Brit powerhouse obvious-genre-mixing impresario Trevor Jackson, who co-wrote and produced "Sunset," the second disc here. Kieran Hebden of AQ-faves Fridge co-wrote and produced the first disc, called "Sunrise". The members of Fridge make up the band Dempsey. Oops, let's not forget the "main guy" Geoff Mcintyre. Mediocre.

RealAudio clip: Big Time
RealAudio clip: Hippydream

Anyone whose ever seen Cambodian pop combo Dengue Fever, knows that live is where they really shine. Their records are all fantastic, but somehow, those songs sound even better live, the vibe festive and celebratory, the band more loose, and the sound allowed to blossom, and in some cases explode. For those new to Dengue Fever, these Americans (featuring members of the late great Dieselhed) were obsessed with Cambodian music, and over the years were able to emulate that sound perfectly, even to the point of crafting originals that sounded EXACTLY like lost Cambodian pop singles from the sixties. One thing was missing, and that was a vocalist. And that vocal spot would end up being filled by real Cambodian royalty, a princess in fact, the irresistible Chhom Nimol, whose gorgeous voice pretty much sealed the deal and Dengue Fever was born. Cannibal Courtship is not a new record, but is in fact a live album, and as mentioned above, the sound, to these ears at least, is even better than their records proper, the guitars are fuzzier, the organs louder, the harmonies and arrangements still perfect, but just check out the title track, the verses smoldering and sexy, the chorus super loud, the guitars crashing, intense and epic. And then the band switch gears and go right into "Cement Slippers", an organ drenched surf rock jam, with English lyrics, and dueling boy/girl vocals, some wild horns, and yet more distorted guitars. Which gives way to "Uku" which is just classic sixties Cambodian pop that sounds like it was plucked right off a Sublime Frequencies compilation. This was a Record Store Day release, and it was pretty limited, so we're not sure how long these will be along. Also includes a download coupon!

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At last! Dengue Fever have deemed it time to grace us with the follow-up to their highly lauded and loved 2003 self-titled full length American (played) / Cambodian (sung) treasure. If you enjoy Southeast Asian pop and you've somehow missed this group live or on record, please don't let another day go by without treating yourself royally to the sounds of Dengue Fever! This (along with the Bay Area's own Neung Phak alias Mono Pause who offer a broader spectrum of Southeast Asia's pop music) is probably as close as you can get to the 'real' thing without flying to the other side of the globe. If you want a little rundown on the group's story, please see our glowing review of their first album which was written by our then-co-worker Byram who seriously knows his stuff. Happy to hear and report that the group have picked right up from where they left off in delightful ear-tingling fashion. Here, they've once again created a faithful and respectful recreation of the genre, but this time they've allowed more of their individual influences into the mix -- fleshing things out more, beefing up the rock elements a bit more (heftier saxophones and guitars), but they wisely leave plenty of the spotlight to Chhom Nimol's jaw-dropping vocals. If you need more convincing (yeah, like we really need to twist your arm on this one!), check out a couple of the album's highlights "One Thousand Tears Of A Tarantula" and "Sleepwalking Through The Mekong"! Intoxicating, irresistible and immensely recommended. A side note: Has anyone else noticed that the cover art bears a remarkable resemblance to those of the Sublime Frequencies Southeast Asian compilation series? Makes sense!

MPEG stream: One Thousand Tears Of A Tarantula
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Wow! Wow! Wow! What a treasure for any Dengue Fever fan!!! Sleepwalking Through The Mekong is a deliriously wonderful dvd+cd set featuring a fascinating documentary / travelogue film of their Cambodian tour (and homecoming for lead vocalist Chhom Nimol), lots of bonus footage, and an accompanying soundtrack compilation that's alternately dreamy and electrifying! Check out the full throttle rendition of familiar favorite "New Year's Eve"! Featuring performances by not only the stars of the show Dengue Fever, but also Cambodian master musicians Sinn Sisamouth, Ros Serey Southea, Khee Sokley, Meas Samoun, Kong Nai and Tep Mary. Need we say more? Absolutely breathtaking and essential!

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Yaaaaaaay! One of those releases that probably doesn't even need any introduction, its feverishly anticipated arrival is received by grabby hands and torrents of drool! The always deliriously fun and wildly captivating Dengue Fever is back with their third album! You simply can't help but get all giddy and dance-y when they unleash their unmistakable blend of good ol' American rock'n'roll with the pop sounds of Southeast Asia and beyond. Luminous lead singer Chhom Nimol slips effortlessly from slinkily sensual to playfully kittenish, and the fellas continue to kick ass with their awesome musicianship and artistry. Together they're electrifying, intoxicating, and drop-dead gorgeous! We could go on and on, but why? We're wasting valuable listening time! Recommended!

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Is it just me or would more rock bands be better served by either a) becoming an instrumental band, or c) singing in another language other than English? Certainly part of this wish is born out of a desire to be spared the painfully bad lyrics often penned by would-be poets, but also because it's often so much nicer to hear singing for singing's sake, and to hear the wonderful inflections of vowels and consonants as they're treated through the mouth of a completely different vocal tradition. I always imagined that had Sonic Youth employed a Vietnamese singer they'd have been my favorite band -- at least for the first several years of their career. And I'm sure that one of the main reasons people, myself included, love the Cambodian Rocks compilation (and alternately why the mainstream public probably don't) is due to the vocals. Yeah, it's some great stripped down garage rock. But what puts that album over the top are the vocals. So it was pretty exciting to hear that a group had formed in honor of that venerable collection of Cambodian garage classics. While the instrumental backbone of Dengue Fever is truly an all-star cast of musicians, including Senon Williams of the Radar Brothers on bass, Zac Holtzman of Dieselhed on guitar, David Rallick of Beck on saxophone, Ethan Holtzman on farfisa and Paul Smith on drums, without their vocalist Chhom Nimol they'd really be a rocket without fuel. Nimol, the princess, is the real star of the show. Born and raised in Cambodia, Nimol was a pop star there before emigrating to Orange County several years ago. To give you an idea of her status back home, Nimol regularly performed for the king and queen of Cambodia. That's right, the king & queen! And now she's essentially slumming it with a bunch of indie rockers. But the pairing couldn't be better, and I highly recommend that the next time the group is even remotely near your town that you go see them play, because you won't regret it. Until that day comes, you'll get a very good consolation prize in Dengue Fever's new studio recording released on Trey Spruance's (Mr. Bungle) Web of Mimicry label. While the group began by simply covering the Cambodian Rocks album wholesale, their repertoire has grown to include several originals -- included here -- and a cover of Mulatu Astatke's "Yegelle Tezeta" (from Ethiopiques Volume 4), which blends quite nicely with the Cambodian pop material. And what the group may lack in the raw spontaneity of those original tapes, they make up in spades with full arrangements and sensuous fidelity. Nimol's beautiful voice comes out wonderfully prisitine so that you can hear every minute inflection, and it's a voice so beautiful you won't need to see her to fall instantly in love. Highly recommended!

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Fans of the amazing Cambodian Rocks compilations we've reviewed in the past are definitely gonna want this one too, a collection compiled by the members of the modern LA-based Cambodian pop band Dengue Fever (longtime AQ faves) of their favorite classic Cambodian rock and roll jams from the sixties and seventies, a golden renaissance age for art and music in Cambodia, directly preceding the reign of the Khmer Rouge, who took over the country in 1975 and attempted to wipe out any and all traces of modern society, and as the liner notes point out, much of the music survived, but most of the musicians did not. As with the Cambodian Rocks comps, the songs here are groovy and funky and fun, with shuffling rhythms, wild psychedelic guitar solos, warm wheezing organs, fuzzy surf guitars, and of course incredible vocals, the perfect mix of Western style rock and pop and Eastern style traditional folk music. Even though on the surface, the songs all seem sunshiney and playful, but there's definitely an element of pathos and drama, many of the songs are subtly maudlin and melancholy, there's even a song called "I Will Starve Myself To Death", but listening to it, with its jangle guitar and shuffly rhythm, you would never guess the grim title and perhaps lyrical content. There's also a killer cover of Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang", popularized by Cher, Nancy Sinatra and Terry Reid, and here it's gorgeously haunting, a waltzy bit of melodrama, with that immediately recognizable chorus, even in a different language. So good. We just can't get enough of this stuff, anyone who dug those Cambodian Rocks comps, or who loves the Sublime Frequencies collections, will no doubt go crazy for this too. There is definitely some overlap with this collection and the partially out of print Cambodian Rocks series, but there are definitely some tracks here we've never heard before (like "Bang Bang", or as it's titled here, "Snaeha"), and besides, the proceeds from the sale of this record will be donated to Cambodian Living Arts: www.cambodianlivingarts.org! So what are you waiting for??

MPEG stream: Snaeha
MPEG stream: Give Me One Kiss
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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. Another kick ass Record Store Day release! We ordered an extra handful of these so you out of towners could still get your hands on one of these, a new track from long time aQ faves, Southeast Asian poppers Dengue Fever, with another gorgeous smokey groove, all reverby surf guitars, slithery sexy bass, simple jazzy drums, some gorgeously jazzy almost Maricachi sounding horns, and of course the divine vocals of Chhom Nimol, who seals the deal, her delivery so sultry and effortless. If you haven't heard Dengue Fever, you are in for a treat! The flipside features Chicha Libre, another band of modern musicians channeling classic sounds of the past, this time the sound of Peruvian Chicha, and just like Dengue Fever, they are a dead ringer for the real thing, heck, they ARE the real thing, twangy guitars, warm warbly organs, gorgeous vocal harmonies, totally groovy and danceable, the sound warm and vintage, we would never guess that this was a new recording. Wow. These two groups just toured the US together, this 7" commemorates that trek, and was released just for Record Store Day, we have about 10 of these, it was LIMITED TO 1000 COPIES, pretty sure we won't be able to get more.

Long beloved on cassette here at the store, this has been issued on Jonathan Segel's label. With an idiosyncratic singer and Jonathan's fiddle, this reminds me of a more mature and less self-conscious U.S. Saucer.

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.

MPEG stream: Mid-Day-Merry-Go-Round
MPEG stream: The Blue Parrot
MPEG stream: The Lord, He Speak To Me

Those of you who flipped for Denver's recent insane and insanely packaged No One Is Coming To Help You deluxe screen printed lp (we have a few left!!) will most definitely want to miss out on this ULTRA limited triple 3" cd-r set of live and not live recordings. The first two discs were recorded while Denver and his 'Neck were on tour with the Dirty Three. The third disc is new studio stuff. For those of you unfamiliar with Nate Denver, imagine, every band you liked in high school, every comic book you have ever read, every fantasy movie you've ever seen featuring either dragons or wizards or both, some skateboards, a lot of heavy metal, death metal to be specific, some beautiful folk songs, spikes, elves, banjos, Nintendos and anything else you remember fondly on your convoluted path to where you are NOW, all chopped up and blended into an impossibly catchy, goofy, funny, pretty, heavy, folk metal ultraviolent goofball spazz rock mess. Denver is insanely adept at squashing all manner of unlikely sounds into a single performance, or even a single song, and make it sound perfect. Pretty songs are only pretty on the surface, but are actually subtly violent and evil and hateful and miserable, howling chaotic blasts of pummeling noise are somehow happy and joyful, filled with flowers and clouds and sunshine. Which goes a long way to explainging the charm of Nate Denver's Neck. This world where metal and folk, dragons and elves co-exist peacefully, is fun and funny, ironic but not intentionally, wild and ridiculous, but ultimately, heartfelt and insanely well crafted. Schizophrenic for sure, but in a gloriously satisfyingly demented sort of way! Packaged in a little paper bag sealed with a giant brad, containing as well three hand screened inserts on thick textured paper. Nice!

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We are very afraid of what lurks inside the mind of Nate Denver's head. Let alone his neck. Because if the music that comes out of Nate Denver's mouth, and Nate Denver's band is any indication, then that head is stuffed to overflowing with a dizzying swirl of brain melting, ear bleeding, gut busting, genre smashing, musically dense, dreamily bouncy goofball ultraviolence. And we love it! As always, Denver and his Neck veer wildly from howled distorted vocals over shimmering black drones, to fey, jaunty warbly folk, to faux bluegrass, to geeky indie jangle, to full on death metal and back again. Even at its prettiest and most melodic, there's always a chance that everything will erupt into a squall of screeched vocals or howling feedback. And even when things do stay pretty and gentle, the mood is secretly anything but, with sweet lyrics about death and hell and destruction and mayhem and torture and chaos and brutality. Woah. But holy fuck, the packaging! A one sided LP, silkscreened on the other to match the printed inner sleeve, making the label of the lp the mouth of a nude howling cartoon man. All wrapped in a thick cardboard sleeve, almost like a record mailer, with the liner notes and songtitles printed on the inside in big black scrawls with pink pictographs illustrating the songs, the outside, a garish image of a creepy white eyed naked hairy man, whose teeth and tongue fold into a flap (positioned not coincidentally right over his privates!) to keep the whole thing securely shut. So intense and super cool looking. Everyone who sees it utters something along the lines of "What the hell is that!!??" These were super limited so we were only able to get a dozen, and are not sure we can get more.

Total Shutdown bass player/vocalist Nate Denver (who also does time as lead vocalist in Dig That Body Up, It's Alive) heads out on his own and heads in a decidedly less skronky (but no less strange) direction. Ostensibly a 'folk' record, there are elements of Think Robert Johnson, Sebadoh, Ween, Anton Maiden, the Folkways Box, Total Shutdown, Elliott Smith, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Bongwater, They Might Be Giants, Will Oldham and Slayer and you might get an idea of what's going on in Nate Denver's head. Or you might not. Real nice.

RealAudio clip: Blood Guzzler
RealAudio clip: Raining Blood
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We love Nate Denver. Not only is he just about the nicest guy we've ever met, he's also utterly batshit crazy, musically at least, the stuff he comes up with is totally baffling and brilliant, often goofy and puerile, but always hilarious and impossibly catchy, or punishingly heavy. He was the frontman in the short lived weirdo metal band Dig That Body Up It's Alive (which also featured John Dwyer from Thee Oh Sees), and he played with SF noise punks Total Shutdown, he's done hip hop, folk, he's obsessed with metal, and he's a paramedic. He's also a writer, and has published at least one book, which was hilarious and touching in equal measure. So here we have the latest musical missive from Nate Denver and his musical Neck, and it's a doozy. We figured the elaborately photoshopped cover art was a put on, it looks like an old taped up and beat up thrift store lp of Swan Lake, the ballet music, but it says Nate Denver in the same font, and Rock is Hell too, it's gorgeous, but like we said, we figured it was a goof, we flipped it over, and there's the story of Swan Lake, told in Denver's bizarre and ridiculous style, so we still weren't really sure what the music would be like. And then whattayaknow? It's Denver, and an acoustic guitar, singing the story of Swan Lake, a single repeated chord progression for the whole of the side, with Denver's delicate croon, spinning the tale of Swan Lake. And weirdly it's a fantastic listen, mesmerizing, and crazy catchy, we couldn't stop, and even now we have little turns of phrase and bits of melody sticking in our head, but after all it is Nate Denver, so when it comes time for the ultimate battle between the protagonist and Boris Smith his archenemy, Boris' lines are delivered by a full on death metal band, grinding guitars, blasting drums and guttural gurgled vox, Denver easily flitting between the two, and we won't tell you how it ends, but you can probably figure it out. The flipside, as far as we can tell, contains the ACTUAL ballet music from Swan Lake, presumably the music that was on the original record that came with the original cover, and it's of course beautiful, and bombastic, and bears pretty much no relation to Denver's version of the events. So totally recommended, as is pretty much everything Denver plays or writes. Comes with an insert featuring some Nate Denver artwork, and is pressed on orange vinyl and is LIMITED TO 300 COPIES!!!

***Grizzly Bear Alert!!!*** Department Of Eagles has been going at it even before Daniel Rossen's voice would become so recognizable via his work in Grizzly Bear. In fact he started Department of Eagles before he even joined Grizzly Bear, and when you listen to DOE records you really do see the special ingredients that he brought to GB and which really helped bring that band to the next level on their last two records, Yellow House and Veckatimest. There is something so woozy, warm and haunting about his vocal delivery and songwriting. This is a collection of unreleased songs & sketches from 2003-2006 and shows both the very moody as well as catchy and poppy sides to Department Of Eagles. Stripped down to their core, these are songs that you could imagine augmented by a full orchestra, but what makes them cool is that they stand so strong on their own, with Rossen handling guitars, bass, banjo, drums, piano and cello all on his own, while his partner in crime Fred Nicolaus adds additional guitar and takes care of the drums. It might be a little while until there's a new Grizzly Bear album, but this collection will tide us over in the meantime. A must have for Grizzly Bear fans! NOTE: The lp also comes with a cd version of the record.

MPEG stream: While We're Young
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Grizzly Bear fans will immediately recognize the vocal stylings and elegant moodiness of Daniel Rossen who is one half of Department Of Eagles and who has been a major presence in Grizzly Bear for the last several years, joining the band in 2004 and helping make Yellow House their best record yet. Along with his Department Of Eagles bandmate Fred Nicolaus, the duo have released several records that somehow slipped between the cracks but luckily with the widespread popularity of Grizzly Bear and their recent signing to 4AD this will be their most widely heard releases yet. And it's a good thing too, because this is such a moving record. With arrangements that sound like a more somber adaptation of Van Dyke Parks signature style or what it might sound like if Sufjan Stevens covered the more bittersweet side of Vetiver or Wings. And with most of his Grizzly Bear bandmates on board, there's no denying that In Ear Park sounds a lot like a great Grizzly Bear record, if not a bit more focused and even more emotionally impacting. Most of these songs were written after Rossen's father passed away, and there is such an honest reflection and mournful tone to these songs. So nice.

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Grizzly Bear fans, here's a reissue that might pique your interest! Department Of Eagles was the name of Dan Rossen's pre-Grizzly Bear duo, and this was their debut (originally released by Isota Records back in 2003). He along with Fred Nicolaus crafted The Cold Nose, a sprawling album that on occasion brings to mind the expansive musical patchwork of bands like Beta Band and Badly Drawn Boy. The songs languidly come into view, alternately locking into sun-dappled folksy melodies, nutty pop jigs and jazzy grooves for a stretch only to have an array of hazy samples and electronic squiggles tug it all apart. Nice! Includes four bonus tracks and new artwork!

MPEG stream: Noam Chomsky Spring Break 2002
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If Martin Newell from Cleaners From Venus or Robert Pollard of Guided By Voices somehow grew up in the sleepy San Diego suburb of La Mesa, CA in the seventies, managed to secure a bunch of instruments and recording equipment from garage sales and swap meets and then recorded in their bedroom an elegiac ode to the ordinary charm and civic pride of their childhood hometown, you would get something very close to this brilliantly lo-fi slab of DIY bizarro-pop wondrousness! Recorded in 1984 by Joseph D'Angelo and a handful of friends, At The Medieval Castle Nineteen 100-Year Lifetimes Since (one of the best titles ever!), is the kind of obscure scrappy visionary recording (along with the likes of Daniel Johnston, Sun City Girls and The Frogs) that is embedded in the DNA of so many indie bands that came afterward - from Yo La Tengo and The Supreme Dicks to The Unicorns and the bands of The Elephant 6 collective. It's a hotly Technicolor teenage daydream of nostalgic childhood, of Sears Christmas catalogs, Disneyland, skate parks and summer carnivals, that is slowly fading away, as some songs here delve into more ornery young adult concerns, like the psychedelic pseudo anti-drug PSA of "An Open Letter To The Seniors From Mackenzie". Layered riffs of guitar, horns, organs and drum machines, sometimes used in pondering twee instrumentals, but more often in wide-eyed and wobbly surreal psych-pop confections, seemingly sung by earnest but very warped high schoolers. In our minds we can imagine Departmentstore Santas trying to enter this record in a city wide talent contest sponsored by the local chamber of commerce and barely squeaking by with an honorable mention from a baffled jury. So very great and weird!! Thanks to the folks at Superior Viaduct for digging out this obscurity. A must have for fans of any of the above bands/artists mentioned!

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Depeche Mode are back, and they're poised to bring out the goth in ya! After some highly publicized tumultuous times on the part of lead singer Dave Gahan, it seems the group has regained some stability and creative flourishes. That said, Playing The Angel is still coming from a very very dark place. Martin Gore still expertly handles the bulk of the songwriting, but Playing The Angel is all about David Gahan's imposing downcast vocals. They're so impossibly burdened by the weight of the world. Sure makes for one big ol' morbid bummer of a listen... but in a good way. Now in their 25th year, they've produced an album that contains some of their best material since the good ol' days of Violator, Black Celebration and Music For The Masses. On Playing The Angel, they haven't rehashed, but rather refreshed their sound -- creating a work that's not only respectful of their analog synth-laden past (not to mention their longtime devoted fans) but also shows an openness to the present and future. Older and wiser, indeed. We were a bit taken aback though by the rather unflattering photographs of the band members on the cover. Hard living, indeed. Just the other day we saw an early photo of the band, and it was quite a shock to see each of the members' transformation from coiffed pretty boys into grimacing elders.

MPEG stream: A Pain That I'm Used To
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Ultra limited cd document of this 2005 live performance by Der Blutharsch, in Vienna in 2005 before a small audience of invited guests. Unlike the lush composed industrial soundscapes of DB records proper, these songs and versions are performed in a much more straight ahead apocalyptic folk style. Strummed acoustic guitar, wheezing accordion, simple percussion and dueling male / female vocals. Urgent and strident, powerful and emotional. Wild gypsy rhythms collide with simple moody ballads, dark and dreary epics are woven into expansive militaristic epics. Packaged in a gorgeous, matte black, embossed digipak. And again, VERY LIMITED!!!

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The Philosopher's Stone marks the end the of ten long and productive years during which Der Blutharsch have unleashed their signature dark neo-folk upon the masses. Apocalyptic prophecies, mantras, and manifestos spewed forth from the hate-forged lips of Albin Julius, but even this must come to an end. Over the course of 8 tracks and nearly 56 minutes, long-time fans can't help but sit back and marvel at the gargantuan change between 1998's Der Sieg Des Lichtes Ist Des Lebens Heil! and the present release. The band was considered highly innovative at its inception, but in retrospect it's easily classifiable as straight-forward neo-folk, albeit at its very finest. These days? Geez, I mean, we're hearing something like a blackened, post-industrial Loop or Jesus and Mary Chain. Or maybe even what the Birthday Party would've sounded like if they were a suicidal '70s psych group. Staccato dirges grab distorted basslines and ride them into droney psychedelia, underneath a sky of swirling guitar leads and brutal, haunting vocals. In a way, the album is heavily indebted to Death In June's old, old album The Guilty Have No Past, but on tons of heroin -- and probably a fistful of other downers and/or mood stabilizers. But through it all Julius's mantra could not be clearer. In fact, the back page of the booklet even reads in bold letters: "Uniforms are always changing, rock n' roll will stay forever." And if rock n' roll's main objective is to scare parents, or the majority of society in general, Der Blutharsch are definitely, definitely a rock band. Even though they sure as hell don't look like one. If you were to see them in the street, you'd probably try as hard as possible not to make eye contact, and maybe assume they were an extremely well-funded fascist militia of sorts. Ah, which brings up their (at least implicitly fascist) politics. Well, they're highly questionable at best, and to get the whole story, you'd need to maybe talk with them yourself. As for us, it's not much different than listening to old Ike and Tina Turner recordings, great songs written by a much-less-than-admirable dude. Either way, The Philosopher's Stone is a fantastic cross-section of what Julius and crew are capable of producing, truly mood-altering, honestly fucked up music that completely transcends any traditional understanding of the way songs -- and albums -- work. Somewhere between a heathen liturgy and a well-produced personal catharsis, Der Blutharsch never fails to provide the listener with new experiences and forge new territory in a genre that tends to be cripplingly simplistic, predictable, and indulgent. Recommended. As always, the packaging is incredible, the cd is in a miniature hardcover book style digipak, all glossy inks and subtle embossing, a big booklet, and super striking imagery. The lp too is extravagant, a similarly rendered glossy layout, but with a BONUS 7" with two tracks not on the cd, in a full color sleeve affixed to the inside of the gatefold.

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Not sure why we've never listed any Der Blutharsch before. Especially considering they've been a favorite of ours for a long time. And in that whole militaristic folk / industrial scene, we much prefer Der Blutharsch (and MZ 412) over Death In June or Current 93 (at least if you ask Andee). As far as we can tell, this is DB's sixth full length and is as dark and hypnotic and intense as ever. Weaving together childrens choirs, maniacal growls, martial drumming, dark ambient drones, epic cinematic soundscapes, soaring strings, mumbled spoken word, pagan folk, found sounds, wartime propaganda soundbites, industrial rhythms, and apocalyptic / nihilistic lyrics. For those of you new to this stuff, imagine a renaissance faire, strolling minstrels the whole bit, but suddenly the sky starts to darken, shadows lengthen wrapping everything in inky blackness, the strolling minstrels slowly take on the appearance of demons, and the music loses its sunshine and cheer, becoming more and more ominous, major keys change to minor, bells toll, the men start chanting, invoking some unspeakable mystery, while the children's eyes turn black and they begin to sing as well, as if in some sort of trancelike state, the whole thing becoming less of a celebration and more some sort of ancient pagan ritual. Imagine Dead Can Dance with the vocalist from Rammstein, performing in the forest, covering the Comus record in its entirety, backed up by a military drum corps. Or imagine some impossible mixture of Current 93, Magnetic Fields, World War 2, In The Nursery, Ennio Morricone, a gypsy caravan, all the great black metal intros and all of those times you were lost and alone and afraid. It's that intense. And amazing. Allan actually thinks parts of this sound like a Hari Krishna version of Swedish drone folk outfit Parson Sound which they most definitely do at times. Time Is Thee Enemy is an epic and dark, cinematic journey through war and hell and the dark side of human nature. So recommended.

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A sprawling and expansive career retrospective from seminal militaristic folk / post industrial / dark ambient outfit Der Blutharsch, whose sound, while ever shifting, has remained constant in its dark mesmer, each record, and every track, a miniature epic, harrowing and hypnotic journeys through war and hell and the dark side of human nature. Weaving together children's choirs, maniacal growls, martial drumming, dark ambient drones, epic cinematic soundscapes, soaring strings, mumbled spoken word, pagan folk, found sounds, wartime propaganda soundbites, industrial rhythms, and apocalyptic / nihilistic lyrics. Imagine a renaissance faire, strolling minstrels the whole bit, but suddenly the sky starts to darken, shadows lengthen wrapping everything in inky blackness, the strolling minstrels slowly take on the appearance of demons, and the music loses its sunshine and cheer, becoming more and more ominous, major keys change to minor, bells toll, the men start chanting, invoking some unspeakable mystery, while the children's eyes turn black and they begin to sing as well, as if in some sort of trancelike state, the whole thing becoming less of a celebration and more some sort of ancient pagan ritual. DB take the apocalyptic folk of Death In June and fuse it to the Teutonic metallic stomp of Rammstein, wind it all up in the clattery industrial cabaret of Einsturzende Neubaten, before dousing it in the swampy fire and brimstone dirge of Sixteen Horsepower and the dramatic gothiness of Sisters Of Mercy or Bauhaus,. Elsewhere the sound is even more dazzlingly disparate, a roiling sonic cauldron equal parts Dead Can Dance, Laibach, Comus, Current 93, Magnetic Fields, World War 2, In The Nursery, Ennio Morricone, a gypsy caravan, all the great black metal intros ever, all of those disparate elements deftly woven into something dark and delightfully dreary, creepy and sometimes truly haunting... Der Blutharsch's music most definitely mutated and transformed over the years, the core sound still dark and droning, but the rock element much more noticeable, with a seemingly omnipresent churning low slung bass weaving a dense framework of rumbling low end, supporting doom laden soundscapes constructed from moaning cellos and martial snares, wartime sound samples and military speeches, pounding rhythms and dramatic Teutonic vocals, gypsy violin and distorted guitar. But even within this industrial doom rock framework, DB managed to inject all sorts of truly unexpected twists and turns, like some hellish take on a Morricone spaghetti western with little bits of blackened twang one moment, and like a lost track from some sixties girl group, albeit in this case, swathed in dark sonic swirls and all sorts of rhythmic interference, the next. This later sound something like a blackened, post-industrial Loop or Jesus and Mary Chain. Or maybe even what the Birthday Party would've sounded like if they were a suicidal '70s psych group. Staccato dirges grab distorted basslines and ride them into droney psychedelia, underneath a sky of swirling guitar leads and brutal, and of course the apocalyptic prophecies, mantras, and manifestos spewed forth from the DB mastermind Albin Julius... "Uniforms are always changing, rock n' roll will stay forever" is boldly emblazoned on a later DB release. And if rock n' roll's main objective is to scare parents, or the majority of society in general, Der Blutharsch are definitely a rock band. And really always were.... LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, on 180 gram vinyl, with hand numbered inserts, housed in black and red foil stamped jackets, odds are these could very well be the only copies we ever see...

Final glorious missive from Austrian militaristic folk / post industrial / dark ambient outift Der Blutharsch. Ex members of The Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud and former collaborators with Death In June, DB carved out a truly unique and musically diverse niche in a genre rife with problematic politics and unoriginal ideas. The music of Der Blutharsch was and is a seemingly impossible mix, taking the apocalyptic folk of Death In June, the Teutonic metallic stomp of Rammstein, the clattery industrial caberet of Einsturzende Neubaten, the swampy fire and brimstone dirge of Sixteen Horsepower and the dramatic gothiness of Sisters Of Mercy or Bauhaus and crafting all of those disparate elements into something dark and delightfully dreary, creepy and sometimes truly harrowing. Their sound has gone from dark ambience to industrial clatter to dramatic doom, and have now arrived at a sound that is even more difficult to describe. We once wrote that the music of DB sounded like "Dead Can Dance with the vocalist from Rammstein, performing in the forest, covering the Comus record in its entirety, backed up by a military drum corps. Or some impossible mixt of Current 93, Magnetic Fields, World War 2, In The Nursery, Ennio Morricone, a gypsy caravan and every great black metal intro ever" and that still pretty much sums it up. BUT, somehow, for their last hurrah, they've managed to sound even more bizarre and unique and all over the map. The core sound is still dark and droning, but the rock element is much more noticeable this time around, with a seemingly omnipresent churning low slung bass weaving a dense framework of rumbling low end, supporting doom laden soundscapes constructed from moaning cellos and martial snares, wartime sound samples and military speeches, pounding rhythms and dramatic teutonic vocals, gypsy violin and distorted guitar. But even within this industrial doom rock framework, DB manage to inject all sorts of really unexpected twists and turns, one track sounds like some hellish take on a Morricone spaghetti western with little bits of blackened twang, and another even sounds like a lost track from some sixties girl group, albeit in this case, swathed in dark sonic swirls and all sorts of rhythmic interference. So amazing and strange and totally mesmerizing. It's sad to think this is the last we'll hear from Der Blutharsch. Packaged in a gorgeous all black, letter pressed sleeve, with a little sprig of edelweiss in full color, black text on a black background. Quite striking.

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Search back into the Aquarius archives, and you'll come across reviews of records that we loved with just a phrase or a sentence, giving a few choice references and adjectives. Oh, how the times have changed. Way back when, we summed up Der Plan's classic weirdo kraut new wave record with the following pithy statement: "A head on collision between the Residents and Conny Plank." Still very true to this day, although an expansion of that description is most definitely in order. Der Plan hailed from Dusseldorf, and Geri Reig was their first record, emerging in 1980 as a particularly bizarre version of the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) sound. It seemed that every single German punk and NDW band would twist and mutate some sickly sweet ballad into something monstrous and perverse. Even Neubauten did a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je T'Aime" on their first record; but polkas, waltzes, and cabaret numbers seemed to the prime target for the venom, bile, and ill-thoughts of the youth from back in the day, and Der Plan had authored a good number of these cheeky tunes, with atonal blooping electronics, plinkety-plonk melodies, and disjointed scratchy vocalizations. As a result, the Residents are still an apt reference for most of Geri Reig, although perhaps the equally bizarre, although less known Die Todliche Doris should also be referenced as well. For all of Der Plan's weird disposition, they would also craft a percolatingly brilliant minimal wave track here and there, as heard in the man-machine sequencing on "Commerce Exterieur Mondial Sentimentale" and the future-shock arpeggiations of "Adrenalin Lasst Das Blut Kochen." A classic record from the NDW period, now available once again thanks to the fine folks at Medical Records!

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Album number two by Der Plan came out originally in 1981, and it follows the art-pop quirkiness of the band's Geri Reig album with a slightly more conventional approach to their Neue Deutsche Welle songs. Just slightly, though. For the most part, the overt references to the vernacular of Germanic pop music (waltzes, polka, cabaret, etc.) are dropped for more of a primitive electro sound, with plenty of clipped rhythms, flanging electronic sequences, mutant funk anti-grooviness, and occasional vocoder-treated vocals. Der Plan takes delight in rendering each and every sound in a deliberate staccato choppiness, with electronic and vocal melodies often in naked opposition to each other, while the rhythms are loose skeletons that hardly anybody could dance to. The album features 17 tracks, and many more ideas running through all of those cuts, mucking up the streamlined new wave surfaces within disjointed, Residents inspired asynchronicity, and there's even a couple of early plunderphonic experiments popping up, such as "Kleine Schlager Revue" which mashes up saccharine German pop ditties with a smutty sex-recording lifted from some porno flexi-disc, and the grimmer "Wat's Dat?" snipping bits of commercials and breathy exhortations and melding them onto teletype synth modulations. Like Geri Reig, Normalette Surprise is back in print on vinyl... but probably not for long, as Medical Records only released 550 of these!

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What's the connection between the seemingly defunct Jewelled Antler collective and the legendary Siltbreeze label? What do Teenage Panzer Corps and Der TPK have in common? More than you might think. Some might remember a couple killer cd-r's released on the Pink Skulls label, the sort of weirdo subsidiary of Jewelled Antler, by a band called Teenage Panzer Corps, featuring Bunker Wolf, Catholic Pat, Edmund Xavier and Boy True -- AKA various members of The Birdtree, The Knit Separates, Blithe Sons, Skygreen Leopards, Thuja and more... The sound was distinctly unlike any of the Jewelled Antler stuff, raucous, droney, arty garagey punk rawk. Loud (or at least distorted), not too fast, and Teutonically snotty, referencing '80s downer artpunk (The Fall, Factory Records stuff I guess or maybe some of Savage Republic's tracks), and '60s garage with fuzz organ, as well as noise rock and krautrock. Noisy breaks, abrupt edits, and poppy grooves all tangled up into short sharp stabs aggro art punk, with clangy angular guitars, stumbling drums, lo-fi production and German vocals. Well Der TPK is what the Panzer Corps are now calling themselves, and somehow they've wound up on Siltbreeze, which ends up being a pretty good fit. Some of the tracks are a little more drone-y and krauty, a bit more dubbed out, but still wild and noisy and punk as fuck. Not sure how much of this is actually new stuff, but at least a handful of tracks are taken from the now out of print cd-r's. Either way, this is essential stuff, fans of any of the aforementioned bands will definitely want to pick this up. Packaged in plain white sleeves, with purposefully crappy paste on art, and probably pretty damn limited...

Didn't know too much about this Spanish combo, but the fact that they seemed to often be described as equal parts Kraftwerk and Arab On Radar definitely piqued our interest. And once we finally heard this latest 4 song blast of electro punk crunch, we'd probably add Black Bug to the equation, the same sort of urgent punked out riot grrly rrroooaaar. But instead of BB's synthpunk howl, the sound of DV is more garagey, a sort of punky Stoogesy groove, laced with bits of electronics and peppered with dueling boy girl vocals. The opening track here, "Kill D.I.Y Idols" is itself a killer, with fuzzy bass, programmed beats, caterwauled vocals, and a bad ass main riff, the tripped out FX and minimal electronics only adding some extra weirdness. In an odd way, it reminded us a little of Burzum, the same sort of lilting electronic melodies, but here wedded to some garage punk blast. Super dynamic, with some rad stop starts. "Potential H-Bomb" is more of the same, with a postpunk groove, some cool weirdly harmonized vox, some noisy chaotic guitars, and lots of fuzzed out synth blurt. "Scrawl" applies the same sonic approach to punk folk, acoustic guitar, simple drums, off key crooning, sassy female back up vox, and occasional feedback drenched squalls of noise. Finally "Lightning Field" gets back to the warped electro punk, with thick synth buzz under some frenetic programmed beats, some bloopy spaced out melodies, crunchy guitars swirls, the whole thing pretty spaced out and psychedelic, again laced with occasional blasts of in-the-red buzz and howl, everything wreathed in alien synths and fractured FX. So killer. A bit surprised these guys (and gal) aren't way more popular. Imagine it won't stay that way for long... Super nice packaging, thick super striking black and white sleeve, with a full color printed insert, pressed on orange vinyl, and includes a cd version of the same music on the 7"!

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Here is the full length from Mr. Bright Eyes Conor Oberst's emo pop band. We were given an EP's worth of Desaparecidos in late 2001 (which was quite promising), and now it's high time for a full dose. Far from the fragile, low-key, warbled sensitivities of

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...is where you'll find these quavery-voiced emo boys -- namely one Conor Oberst (aka the leader of Bright Eyes). Hear them practically hollering the words to get their message to you. Driving drumbeat, crunchy guitars, springy melodic hooks sorta like a

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Milo is back where he belongs, fronting the mighty Descendents. 'Merican is a 4 track blast of that classic Descendents pop punk sound. A sound that has been borrowed by a million other bands and turned into boring MTV pap. There was just some sort of magic with the Descendents and while it may not be as magical 20 years down the line it's still pretty fun and catchy and great. Two tracks of hyper speed, in your face punk rock, and two tracks of that heart-on-your-sleeve, pop on punk's clothing that the Descendents do so well. Can't wait for the upcoming full length. If you've never heard the Descendents, get Milo Goes To College or Enjoy and you'll know what we're talking about.

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Descendents are back! And they kick as much ass as ever! Being the huge-est Descendents fan, I (Andee) was pretty worried about a new Descendents record after 7 years of frontman Milo, teaching biochemistry and living a normal life, and the rest of the band releasing lots of mediocre pop punk as All. The recent ep teaser wasn't all that encouraging either. The sound was there, and Milo's voice was as great as ever. But it just didn't hit. But now that the full length is here, everything is perfect! Easily one of the tightest fiercest rhythm sections ever (obviously, with Bill Stevenson, ex-Black Flag on drums) backs up Stephen Egerton's weird weird guitar playing and Milo's awesome raspy vocals! Drummer Bill Stevenson usually did most of the songwriting, but here bassist Karl Alvarez and Milo do most of the writing and the results are surprisingly good, and surprisingly like classic (All / Enjoy era) Descendents! Great songs, catchy and kick ass, with lyrics about politics, being a nerd, and mostly love and girls. The song Mass Nerder is the best Descendents song in forever. NERD POWER! The best lyrics: Don't got no biceps Don't got no pecs But I'll read you under the table With my thick specs! See I got these glasses So they kick my ass But I'll kick their asses When I get to class I got these glasses So I can't wear shades But I'll kick their asses I'll get good grades And the music is so cathcy and heavy. Had me wanting to jump around like crazy! And the song 'Merican is one of the best anti-American regime songs in quite a while. But of course, the bulk of the record is made up of those classic Descendents sad boy, minor key, lost love perfect pop punk nuggets! So good!

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

SORRY.