[ aquarius records new arrivals — issue 121 ]

Showing results 1 through 50 of 91.

AFX2 Remixes by AFX()cd ep$ 8.98

Richard D. James -- aka The Aphex Twin -- had reportedly gone into retirement after the sexually grotesque production "Windowlicker," emerging briefly with an oblique composition on the aptly titled "Or Some Computer Music Compilation." Fortunately, his plans of retirement will be put on hold with the release of his upcoming album "Drukqs" in the near future...

ANONYMOUSInside the Shadow(Aether)lp$ 14.98

If you prefer vinyl, the Anonymous record is available here (although not with the J.Rider tracks which are on the *cd* reissue of it). Heavily influenced by the psychedelic sounds of the Byrds, the Beatles, Crosby Stills & Nash, Heart, the Mamas and Papas, etc. If this material had been released in the late '60s instead of '77, he would've had a hit on his hands, but instead the records languished in obscurity until being reissued this year. Lush 12-string guitarwork, unison male/female vocals, epic song structures and a heavy California psych vibe permeate the music in a really good way. Very fresh and pretty.

ANONYMOUS / J. RIDERInside the Shadow / No Longer Anonymous(Aether)cd$ 14.98

Two ridiculously-collectible albums ($600!) one on cd, ostensibly by the groups Anonymous and J. Rider, who were basically the same bands headed by Ron Matelic, who was heavily influenced by the psychedelic sounds of the Byrds, the Beatles, Crosby Stills &

ART ENSEMBLE OF CHICAGOBap-Tizum(4 Men With Beards)lp$ 15.98

Originally released in 1973 on the Atlantic label, 'Bap-Tizum' is highly regarded as one of the finest moments in the vast output of the Art Ensemble. Recorded in 1972 during the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival, this dynamic performance is a testament to the brilliance and intensity of the group. Not just for jazz heads, the AEC intertwined elements of African funk, tribal rhythms and

AUTOSALVAGEs/t(Acadia)cd$ 15.98

1968 psychedelia from New York City, that comes across a bit more like West Coast stuff (and consequently didn't do too well at the time). Noodly, fuzzy, upbeat psych-rock, very much of its era and thus pretty fun. Frank Zappa didn't produce this album, but

BASHO, ROBBIEBashovia(Takoma)cd$ 17.98

"In fact, as usual, when Robbie spoke to me, I didn't understand what in the world he was talking about" -- from John Fahey's liner notes to this new 72-minute compilation of Robbie Basho recordings from three of his albums (The Falconer's Arm I, The Bashovia is composed of "Orientalist" raga-folk-guitar improv with some of the man's unique vocalizations on a few of the tracks -- but most are instrumental, darkly gorgeous and inspired examples of six-string and 12-string manipulation. Moreso than Fahey and other contemporaries, though, there's a super intense, almost scary, impassioned element to Basho's playing. There's also a lot of surface noise to be heard on some of these tracks (almost like he's playing next to a campfire), and we're not sure if that's 'cause the master tapes were lost and this cd was mastered from scratchy old copies of the original records (which seems odd, especially since this is billed as "remastered") or if the noise was intentionally included by Basho to make his songs sound like the came from old 78s...either way, it sounds cool!

BHOSLE, ASHABest of Asha Bhosle(Manteca)cd$ 14.98

What with all these Bollywood soundtrack compilations coming out it's about time that there was a disc that features the work of one of the all time greats in the genre. Asha Bhosle is, as stated in the liner notes, the "indisputed Queen of Bollywood." With

BLECTUM FROM BLECHDOMHaus de Snaus(Tigerbeat6)cd$ 14.98

Blectum from Blechdom's "Haus de Snaus" is a collection of the previously listed but currently out of print releases "Snauses And Mallards" (their first EP, originally on Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork) and "De Snaunted Haus" (their 4th release on Tigerbeat So here's what we've previously written: "Snauses and Mallards" from Kit Clayton's Orthlorng Musork label is from Blectum From Blechdom - the work of two local technicians showcasing their electronic output from the Mills College conservatory. This eight track 12", while playful and childlike, has a distinctly creepy and maniacal element, sort of like the sounds of scary funhouse at an evil carnival. Or something. It's full of dense sample mutilation, constructed into spasmodic yet anthemic rhythmic complexities. The music hints at both '80s electro and at early computer music with all of its nerdy whimsy & tinniness. Quality stuff for, say, fans of Matmos' textured 'organica' (to use Hrvatski's term for it). Blectum From Blechdom keeps on getting better and weirder with each release. "De Snaunted Haus" is the fourth release this year for San Francisco's carnivalesque electro-shock / horror-techno duo. There honestly hasn't been much that sounds like Blectum From Blechdom, it's almost like somebody took a baseball bat to the head of Laurie Anderson and made her act, punch-drunk, in some really silly horror skits, scored on a Casio keyboard by somebody who has never listened to anything but Thinking Fellers albums at the wrong speed. Their warped electronica simulates child-like melodies as reflected through a funhouse mirror of distortion and exaggeration, and in-between these songs Blectum From Blechdom set up surreal skits that involve mad ducks, bloodied children, and the undead, all of which end in somebody screaming (nice touch). So we say: Blectoids, keep hammering away at Laurie Anderson's head with that baseball bat! If only.

BOVINE LIFESocial Electrics(Bip Hop)cd$ 15.98

Bovine Life presents a weird album of abstract electronica, sounding like the mid-90s clunky techno of As One or David Moufang with plenty of mechanical sequencing sort of like Tackhead, but with the purposefully angularity of Laurie Anderson to guarantee qualifications of this as "conceptual." Bovine Life offers some collaborations with Smyglyssna (Plug Research), renowned turntable

CALIX, MIRAPrickle(Warp)cd ep$ 6.98

Chantal Passamonte was at one time (and may still be) Warp's publicist, but has certainly come into her own as one of the label's most interesting artists as Mira Calix, celebrating and augmenting the advanced electronics that Warp has always championed.

CANNON'S JUG STOMPERSBest of(Yazoo)cd$ 16.98

Yazoo has just released an entire cd's worth of songs by Cannon's Jug Stompers who've previously apppeared on numerous compilations of American roots music put out by the label. Cannon's Jug Stompers were a country blues trio led by banjo player Gus Cannon (who had a rack made to fit the jug around his neck so he could blow it and play banjo simultaneously.) The backbone of

COILLove's Secret Domain(Threshold House)cd$ 17.98

The re-issue of "Love's Secret Domain" from 1991 is not unlike unearthing a long lost exquisite treasure. Obsessively coveted and revered over the last decade, it re-emerges still sounding fresh and current. Sadly and strangely, this album was often During the construction of this album, Coil's core duo -- Peter Christopherson and John Balance -- had immersed themselves in the acid house culture of the UK that flourished around The KLF (I don't care what you think of "What Time is Love," The KLF were geniuses in the art of pop subversion), 808 State, and even the early bleep techno from Warp Records. To Coil, the UK rave culture reflected many of their own ideas of transgression through almost pagan rituals of communities uniting around liberating music, sexual exploration, chemical enlightenment, and the release of hidden dark energies from the body and spirit. "Love's Secret Domain" embodied a near-perfect harmony between the dark, occultish overtones from their previous albums "Scatology" and "Horse Rotovator" and the technological futurism at the heart of rave culture. Within this synthesis, Coil has not just created a handful of singles (although "The Snow" and "Windowpane" off of this album still make great dancefloor fodder), but has articulated the entire album as a sonic narrative. Swelling through the sampledelic abstraction on "Disco Hospital" (recently covered by admitted Coil fans Matmos) and the surreal tension of "Things Happen" (with Annie Anxiety Bandez' obtuse guest vocal appearance), Coil offers "The Snow" as a magnificient techno track, with creepy cut-ups of choral elements, constantly shifting and reforming melody patterns, and an 808 techno pulse. "Windowpane" in turn is far more seductive in its low slung bassline and downtempo pace. The rest of the album continues through a darkened path of hallucinatory electronics, intricate instrumentations, and occasional bursts of subverted pop sentiment. Unlike a lot of electronica records, nothing on "Love's Secret Domain" ever feels like filler. This is a marvelous record that even after a decade has very few rivals.

CONVERGEJane Doe(Equal Vision)cd$ 13.98

It's raining blood in Boston with the release of this new, state-of-the-art Converge album. These New England metalcore masters (the closest rivals to the now-defunct Coalesce) have produced their most vicious, best-sounding disc yet; pummelling, complex,

COPPER PRESS#7()magazine$ 4.00

Music, art and skateboarding -- yeah! John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats), Pleasure Forever, Get Hustle, The New Year (ex-Bedhead folks), pro skateboarder Ed Templeton and his art, Q and Not U. All in a well designed square journal sized format. Nice.

CORRUPTED / DISCORDANCE AXIS / 324split cd(HG Fact)cd$ 11.98

Three-way split cd featuring a new seventeen minute long song from Japan's Spanish-speaking kings of doom, Corrupted! But that's not all. American "grindcore ninja commando team" Discordance Axis, who also rate highly in the international metalcore

DARKMOON.308 Antichrist(Tribunal)cd ep$ 11.98

Four song, 20 minute ep of blistering black metal from the frosty environs of...North Carolina. At least that's *North* Carolina. Darkmoon vocalist/guitarist Jon Vesano has recently joined America's reigning kings of death metal, NILE, so that ought to get some folks into this band, folks who perhaps overlooked their previous, excellent album "Seas of Unrest".

DAVIS, MILESLive At The Fillmore East: March 7, 1970(Columbia)2cd$ 23.00

Recorded a few months before the release of 1970's astonishing Bitches Brew, these nine tracks have never been previously released (so don't confuse this album with heavily-post-produced Live at the Fillmore -- this live material has not been messed with). With Wayne Shorter (tenor sax), Chick Corea (Fender Rhodes electric piano), Dave Holland (bass), Jack deJohnette (drums), Airto Moreira (percussion) -- this album documents the first official recording from this lineup, one of Davis' great sextets. Within days Shorter would leave the group to found Weather Report with Joe Zawinul. Highly recommended! Comes with a cool psychedelic slipcase.

DESERT SESSIONSSeven & Eight(Rekords Rekords / Southern Lord)cd$ 13.98

Guitarist/vocalist and "desert rock" big-shot Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, ex-Kyuss) likes to get his musical friends together for jammin' jamborees. Homme's friends this time include Mark Lanegan, and, allegedly, somebody from Motley Crue.

DILUTEGrape Blueprints Pour Spinach Olive Grape(54�40' Or Fight!)cd$ 12.98

There's real stark emotion nakedly playing across the music of local quartet Dilute, whose totally epic tone recalls Flaming Lips, and vocalist Marty Anderson sounds just like a cross between Neil Young and the Lips' Wayne Coyne, a male version of the gentle

DJ SCUD / RICH KID (PANACEA)Murder Sound(Ambush)cd$ 14.98

The incredible DJ Scud (aka Toby Reynolds, Bloodclaat Gangsta Youth, head honcho of Ambush Records) steps into the ring to take on the Rich Kid (aka Kate Mosh, M2, Bad Street Boy, best known as German dancefloor militiamensch PANACEA). Murder Sound sees these

DOWNES, GRAEMEHammers And Anvils(Matador)cd$ 14.98

Ah, the Verlaines. One of my favorite New Zealand bands of all time. In the early nineties they made music filled with intense Wedding Present-style strumming, and wailing minor key melodies that sounded so urgent and vital. This is the solo debut of the

DYMAXIONDymaxion x 4 + 3 = 38:33(Roomtone)cd$ 14.98

New York is home to Jeremy Novak and his mad sampledelic science fair project Dymaxion, whose stripped down collages resemble something like Peter Thomas redux by The Hanatarash by way of sampled and looped sound effects lp's on an old Califone. Or maybe a lo-fi Tipsy bearing a more sinister edge with emphasis on groove and fucked-up sounds. This disc (previously released -- and

EMAll the Stars Burning Bright(The Foundry)cd$ 12.98

eM is the work of Michael Bentley, who also happens to run the local ambient label The Foundry. His own work is well entrenched within the proper definition of Ambient, or at least the aesthetics initially propagated by Brian Eno in the early '80s. "All the Stars Burning Bright" is conceptually a sci-fi album, with heavily processed sounds culled from NASA deep space recordings and

FAHEY, JOHNDays Have Gone By(Takoma)cd$ 16.98

Another welcome reissue from fingerpickin' folk guitarist John Fahey, who died earlier this year. We miss him, especially in light of the more current experimental guitarwork he was exhibiting. This album, however, was recorded in 1967 and contains his mostly traditional take on folk themes and even pseudo-"ragas". Ten seconds of listening to this and you'll recognize Fahey's signature

GOBLINContamination OST(Cinevox)cd$ 17.98

This is the soundtrack for 1980 Italian movie Contamination directed by Luigi Cozzi. To heighten the tension in the gory scenes and to capture the mood of pure panic towards the end, the director called on the Italian prog mayhem masters, Goblin. You can

GOBLINPhenomena OST(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

Known in the USA as "Creepers", starring Donald Pleasence, written and directed by horror master Dario Argento. This edition features alternate versions of songs *not* used in the film. While the original soundtrack LP of 1985 was a blend of Goblin songs

HAGGARD, THENo Future(Mr. Lady)cd$ 12.98

Portland, OR's Haggard return with their second cd for Mr. Lady. These two girls (just guitar and drums) bust out thirteen new songs about bikes, quitting your job, buying liquor on Sunday in Oregon (apparently you can't), and more bikes amongst queer issues. No dildoes in Nebraska?

INOUE, TETSU + ANDREW DEUTSCHField Tracker(Anomalous)cd$ 14.98

Mostly known for his deep space, ambient work that was released on Pete Namlook's Fax label, Tetsu Inoue has collaborated with Andrew Deutsch for an uncharacteristic album of recombinant computer music on par with the current algorithimic procedures of Kim

JAMES, SKIPThe Complete Early Recordings of...(Yazoo)cd$ 15.98

If you're new to the wonderful Delta Blues sounds of Skip James (perhaps your first exposure to it was via the recent Ghost World film soundtrack), don't miss this '94 collection compiling his rare, early 78's. Highly influential and respected, Skip James'

JON WAYNETwo Graduated Jiggers(Waco's Goats Records)cd$ 14.98

Of course, the Jon Wayne we're talking about is not THE John Wayne, archetype of the bad-ass cop / cowboy / sheriff / general. This Jon Wayne appears as a scrawy, incompetent drunk who got it in his head that he needed to move to Fresno, California because Yet, there is no doubt that Jon Wayne loves Texas, for Texas is huge. Texas is oil. Texas is J.R. Ewing. Texas is The Alamo. Texas is country AND western. Texas is a pick-up truck with tobacco stains puddled on the running board. Texas is a Longhorn (both the cow and the football player). Texas is a fucked-up place where the good ole boys control the state with backroom politics, blaming problems on immigration, but won't dare have their sons working in the field instead of some Mexicans. While it may not be true for all, it's true for Jon Wayne: Texas is God. It's a mythology that holds similarities to the "South will rise again" belief of Tennessee rednecks, but the two should never be confused. It may not make much sense, but asking why will just get your ass kicked. So don't. In fact, it's hard to tell if Jon Wayne and his band are the genuine bastard sons of Texas or if they are a part of the great Southern lineage of telling tall tales of hard drinkin' and hard livin' or if they are just a bunch of indie-rock dorks method acting. I don't much care what Jon Wayne's intention is, just as long as it isn't irony. "Texas Funeral" was Jon Wayne's first album, mostly recounting how screwed up it was for this drunk Texan to be in the California Central Valley. His half mumbled / barely sung tales ambled alongside a raucous musical affair of sloppy cow-punk tunes and spouted the infamous epithets "I had to jerk off the dog just to feed the goddamned cat" and "Mr. Egyptian you're a goddamned liar." Even after all the time since its release in 1992, "Texas Funeral" remains an incredibly hilarious record. Nearly nine years later, Jon Wayne makes his musical return with his sophomore album, "Two Graduated Jiggers." Upon first listen, Jon Wayne has become just slightly more competent as a song writer, without so many of the miscues and false starts which ran through "Texas Funeral." Of particular note is the opener "Generator," which is exactly what a drunk Calexico would sound like, yet is much more musical than anything else Jon Wayne has ever recorded. The rest of the album stays truer to "Texas Funeral" with Jon Wayne's country/western two-step crashing out of rhythm and tune during almost every song. Lyrically, he's even less decipherable, with his drawl overtaking the delivery and reducing what little song their might have been to a rambling mumble of obscenities. To many, that may be a living hell. But to those of us who find the current output from Nashville reprehensible, Jon Wayne's drunk antics are a blessing.

KELLY, SCOTTSpirit Bound Flesh(Neurot)cd$ 16.98

"Spirit Bound Flesh" is the debut solo album from Scott Kelly, guitarist / co-vocalist for the Bay Area tribal-metal outfit Neurosis, and follows the path set forth by fellow Neurosis member Steve Von Till with an album of desolate acoustic numbers. Kelly wishes himself to be to US country (in particular Hank Williams) what David Tibet is to UK folk (in particular Shirley

KLOODP4.2: A Collection of Drones(Self Released)cd$ 12.98

The French ensemble Klood was responsible for one of the best releases from the Drone Records series of limited edition seven inches, coming very close to sounding like a lost track of melancholic guitar ambience by Maeror Tri. "P4.2: A Collection of Drones" is much grittier and more distorted than the rather lilting sound of that aforementioned single, but does live up to its

KROKOFuria(Verdura)cd$ 12.98

Circle's Jussi Lehtisalo recommended this to us: another Finnish band that operates in the in-between realm of rock, improv, jazz, and prog. Kroko are an all-instrumental basso/perkussio/kitara trio featuring the guitarist from Bad Vugum recording artists Deep

LE SHOKL.A. To N.Y.(KaPow!)6"$ 4.50

Hmmm, I could swear that they broke up recently... a few times. Southern California's art-punk spazz-wave brats Le Shok dish up three live-on-the-radio tracks including a Screamers cover and two of their own. Recorded on KXLU in LA and WNYU in NY, and with different line-ups both of which include Joey from The Locust. Noisy, confrontational and messy. Yes, this is a 6" record on denim

LOFTY PILLARS, THEAmsterdam(Truckstop)cd$ 14.98

Led by Michael Krassner of Boxhead Ensemble, The Lofty Pillars deliver a rich, earthy second full length. Considerably less pop than their "When We Were Lost" album but no less lovely and orchestral. If you liked their previous release or perhaps the beautiful, moving sounds of Calexico, this is for you. The Lofty Pillars also feature folks who play with Wilco, Simon Joyner, and

LUPINE HOWLThe Carnivorous Lunar Activities of...(Beggars Banquet)cd$ 14.98

Three former members of Spiritualized - Sean Cook, Mike Mooney and Damon Reece - regroup to form Lupine Howl. Brit rock imbued with a very similar swirling, space-y, psych sound, heavy soul influence and bombastic grandeur to that of their previous band,

MACEO & ALL THE KING'S MENDoing Their Own Thing(Fuel 2000)cd$ 12.98

Reissue of this classic soul/funk album. Escaping from under the thumb of Soul Brother No. 1, Mr. James Brown (a genius, but a tyrant), tenor saxophonist Maceo Parker formed a new group of equally fed-up ex-James Brown sidemen, including trumpeter Richard

MASTER'S HAMMERRitual / The Filemnice Occultist(Osmose)2cd$ 14.98

Black metal fans into the brilliance (and weirdness) of Czech band Root shouldn't forget that other great black metal band from Prague, Master's Hammer. Osmose has just reissued their first two early '90s discs as a double cd digipack. First there's the raw,

MATES OF STATEBeehive State / Über Legitimate(Snowglobe)7"$ 3.50

A short sweet -- ok the only word for it is quirky -- Randy Newman cover is side A of this single, but I like side B, an original, much better. Trademark boy girl razors-dipped-in-honey harmonies, pretty plinking piano and staccato drums. For fans of Rainer

MERZBOWDharma(Double H Noise Industries)cd$ 14.98

Merzbow's intense noise attacks continue with this release on the noise subsidiary of Hydrahead. Like his more recent recordings, Merzbow infuses his white-hot grinding distortion with bursts of frenetic shards and ominous low end pulses. The major departure for "Dharma" is his sporadic repitition of a very clunky, purposefully avant-garde sounding piano riff, sprinkled with generous

MILEMARKERAnaesthetic(Jade Tree)cd$ 13.98

Chapel Hill, NC post-hardcore, synth rockers Milemarker sound as though they really want to rage but fall short on firepower. For instance, the angstful, aggressive male and female voices seem to be grasping for the Atari Teenage Riot umph that's just out of their reach. Nevertheless when they step back a bit, details like piano lines and driving rhythms shine through. This actually

MOLDY PEACHESs/t(Rough Trade)cd$ 14.98

The Moldy Peaches are the latest purveyors of indie slapped-together slop rock brimming with the irony of "talented" musicians playing badly (lack of rhythm, juvenile poetry about cartoons and indie boys in tight pants, stupid guitar solos, and just barely

MOLLUSKAccretions(The Foundry)cd$ 12.98

While Malcolm Bly's ambient project Mollusk is conceptually grounded within the biology of ancient sea creatures, his "Accretions" album holds a lot of similarities to the deep space music found on Hearts of Space or just the backing ambience that would go along with a Carl Sagan narration about "the billions and billions of stars that span the night sky." Sure the case could be made

MORRICONE, ENNIOL'Assoluto Naturale(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

The plot, as best I can tell, of the 1969 Mauro Bolognini film "She and He" involves a man who's looking for true love but chooses a woman who just wants sex, when it doesn't work out, he plots to have her kill him with a car. The warped sex and frustration is

MORRICONE, ENNIOL'uccello Dalle Piume Di Christallo(Cinevox)cd$ 16.98

Originally released in 1969, this is the soundrack for Dario Argento's "The Bird with the Crystal Plumage", which is rumoured to be an amazing movie. The soundtrack starts with a creepy Rosemary's Baby feel -- tinkling bells and reverby girl vocals. The

NEUTRAL MILK HOTELEverything Is(Orange Twin)cd$ 8.98

Hooray. Long awaited re-re-press of a rare, stunning early single from Neutral Milk Hotel. Not throwaways at all, the songs here are lovely and should tide you over until a proper new Neutral Milk album. "Everything Is" is a happy, ridiculously catchy tune

ORTHRELMIorxhscimtor(Tolotta)cd ep$ 9.98

Ok, we were wrong back on AQ-L 117 when we said that former Crom Tech guitarist Mick Barr's Octis project was "the polar opposite" of his other band, Orthrelm. For some reason we had gotten the idea that while Octis specializes in short, fast, squiggly guitar

OZOMATLIEmbrace The Chaos(Interscope)cd$ 19.98

One of the most infectiously exuberant bands I've ever seen live, Ozomatli are LA's premiere latin/jazz/salsa/funk/hip hop sensations. Don't take those genres lightly -- these guys do it all and they do it with joy and energy. The hip hop is real, so is

OZOMATLIVocal Artillery(Interscope)12"$ 6.98

Vinyl single from the new album...

PERRY, LEELost Treasures of the Ark(Jet Star)3cd$ 29.00

I bet some of you are wondering just when these collections of unreleased, lost, MIA, and otherwise obscure tracks from the archives of Lee Perry are going to end. Well, I guess one answer might be "hopefully never", because there's definitely a lot of great stuff consistantly being recovered from the bygone days of the Ark. Having said that, it must also be added that this