Aquarius Records closed in 2016. This site is an archive — a place to rediscover their extraordinary music recommendations. Nothing here is for sale.
Showing results 51 through 100 of 115.
LOCUST, THEFlight of the Wounded Locust(GSL)cd ep$ 9.98
Finally on cd (the 7" got a headstart earlier this year) and with bonus tracks to boot! This ep also includes their songs from the puddle-shaped split 7" they did with Arab On Radar. If you're familiar with this San Diego quartet, you already know that their
MANILLA ROADThe Deluge(Underground Symphony)cd$ 17.98
A few months ago, "Open The Gates", now, "The Deluge" -- it's a deluge indeed, of Manilla Road reissues! Manilla Road? They're the ultimate obscure American fantasy metal band from the '80s, a cult group if there ever was one, having a bit of a resurgence today
MASADALive at Tonic 2001(Tzadik)2cd$ 22.00
It's becoming really hard to creatively describe records by John Zorn's Klezmer-bop ensemble Masada, especially considering this is record number twenty or something. Every record sounds quite similar, but by the same token, every record is absolutely
MATHIEU, STEPHANFrequency Lib(Mille Plateaux)cd$ 15.98
Just as Christian Fennesz transformed the canonical rock icons The Rolling Stones and The Beach Boys into sublime electronica-glitch perfection, Stephan Mathieu has pillaged the 'public domain' archives of the 20th century to create his own
MC5Motor City Is Burning(Trojan)cd$ 16.98
With so many retro rock bands out there these days attempting to recapture the magic and fury of the MC5, I think we must pay respect where it is due and remember how awesome and revolutionary this band was. Recorded live at various venues, Motor City Is Burning features one of very few known recordings of "Black To Comm", their infamous two chord blast, and the main inspiration for
MERCURY REVAll Is Dream(V2)cd$ 18.98
The peculiar, exuberant band from Buffalo, NY bring forth their long-awaited follow-up to 1998's Deserter's Song. All Is Dream is their fifth album: an often sublime, ambitious orchestral pop assemblage that even in all of its grandeur and oddness still
MICROPHONESGlow Pt. 2(K)2lp$ 11.98
Phil Elvrum -- the ever so shy Microphones ringleader who has also appeared in Old Tyme Relijun and D+ -- will probably never be so bold as to express his songs with all of the heartwrenching, off-key scream of a great emo vocalist, although his songs ooze with the post-adolescent grand bummer that is so common in the emo. His quivering voice holds nothing more than a few muttered All of the Mircrophones albums have a great sound, there is always that little critical voice that wishes he would bring to the production table a set of really great songs. Elvrum is way too talented to waste his production and arrangement abilities on being just an indie-dork. This is a pretty good record, but if he continues to improve his songwriting ability - let this be a prophecy - Elvrum will write the next "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea."
MORODER, GIORGIOE=MC2(Oasis)cd$ 14.98
Soooo wonderfully vacuous! Unabashed rump-shakin' boogie beats, ebullient falsetto vocals... what more do you want from disco king Mr. Moroder? This is the re-issue of his 1979 release of completely electronic dance tracks - one of the earliest examples of such music. Co-produced by Harold Faltermeyer. Oh and just so you know, if you got the Best Of compilation that we reviewed a few lists
MORWELL UNLIMITED MEETS KING TUBBYMorpheus Special(Select Cuts)12"$ 9.98
12" from the second volume of Select Cuts From Blood & Fire featuring Kid Loco's contribution to the comp, plus a dub mix of his dub.
MOSSMANVs. the World Bank(Dispensation)cd$ 14.98
"I can't believe it's not Scratch." Bringing together the holy trinity of Lee Perry, King Tubby & Scientist (the cover even features a classic Scientist-esque cartoon drawing of Mossman smashing the World Bank and squaring off against hostile military forces) the group known as Mossman (led by percussionist and turntablist "Moss") are to dub / roots what Brooklyn's Antibalas are
MURDER CITY DEVILSThelema(Sub Pop)cd$ 8.98
Last record from these Seattle garage goths. This e.p. was released right before they broke up a few weeks ago. Too bad too cause 'Thelema' is probably the best thing they've done. Dark and damaged garage punk filtered through Siouxsie and the Misfits. In fact, it sounds exactly like the Misfits at moments, mostly because of the singer's Danzig like howl. Tight black jeans, lots of
MYLES OF DESTRUCTIONDoom Town(Gruntled)cd ep$ 7.98
Our buddy Myles has finally managed to get us some new music, after we sent him money months and months ago. Good thing too. We were getting ready to crack some skulls. His previous cd, which we had a while back, was a sort-of lo-fi, bedroom recorded, queer positive metal. All made with just cello, bass and drums. No guitar. Weird concept but it really worked. So Myles is back. The
NAPPYTIME JUNCTIONs/t(360 Stereo Abuse)cd ep$ 9.98
First off, this is going to be a good review. Maybe even a great review. But first we have to talk about something. I was in New Jersey a while back, in a little rock club, out in the middle of nowhere, and there was a flyer on the wall looking for a lead
NEGATIVLANDThese Guys Are From England(Seelard)cd$ 13.98
Way back in the 20th century, 1991 to be precise, media pranksters Negativland got themselves into a legal tussle with Island Records when they naively released a single on SST that covered U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and revealed
NIHILIST SPASM BAND & JOE MCPHEENo Borders(Non Musica Rex)2cd$ 25.00
Everyone's favorite bunch of old Canadian guys making crazy noise, the one and only Nihilist Spasm Band of London, Ontario, teamed up with outside jazz saxophonist Joe McPhee for this double cd set of studio and live improvisations. Armed with their usual array
NINEY THE OBSERVERMicrophone Attack(Blood & Fire)cd$ 15.98
Collection of deejay cuts produced by Niney the Observer between 1974 and 1978. Toasts by U-Roy, Big Youth, I-Roy, Ranking Trevor and Dillinger are featured here and each track is annotated nicely in the liner notes by Blood & Fire.
ONENESS OF JUJUAfrican Rhythms 1970-1982(Strut)2cd$ 17.98
Spanning the years 1970 to 1982, this is a wonderful double-disc collection of cuts taken from Plunky Branch's career as the bandleader of such acts as Oneness of Juju and Juju & the Space Rangers, also as a principal behind such personalities as Roach Om
ORANGE BICYCLEHyacinth Threads(Edsel)2cd$ 19.98
Two cds packed full of the happy, trippy sounds of the '60s. You know what I'm talkin' about... the Beach Boys and the Mamas & Papas. Ah yes, super sunny, uplifting and just a little bit tweaked were this obscure late-'60s British pop group. Clocking in at a total of 33 tracks, this just might be all the Orange Bicycle you'll ever need!
OWENs/t(Polyvinyl)cd$ 13.98
Very warm and pretty! Waves of dreamy strummi-ness and murmured vocals. Drifting in a similar path to that of Tristeza, the newest American Analog Set album or fellow Chicago, IL mellow boys Sea And Cake... actually, I very much prefer this. So who is Owen
PENDROPeninsula(Fflint)cd-r$ 8.98
Most of you who read the list know how into Fflint recordings we are. And what do ya know, the almighty Fflint Central strikes again! Why aren't these guys huge? Especially when they are making some of the craziest, most original electronic music we've ever
PERSONSAttack The Scene(Black Bean & Placenta)cd$ 9.98
What starts off as an angular instrumental juggling act comprised of one part circus, one part surf, one part Talking Heads, and one part jazz, eventually becomes a much less interesting all parts punk pop. Perhaps they should have stuck with their much more promising and energetic original direction? At any rate, they're certainly not a long-winded bunch, taking care of business in
PIANO MAGICSon de Mar(4AD)cd$ 17.98
Glen Johnson - Piano Magic's ringleader and only consistent member on all of the albums - has admittedly never left the dark baroque sounds of the '80s behind, especially those of early Dead Can Dance, The Wolfgang Press, and Tones on Tail. Thus, for him
POLER(Scape-Music)cd$ 17.98
In keeping true to Pole's self-referential titles, "R" is the re-issue of his first single "Raum" along with a handful of reworkings of the tracks off of that single and some remixes by Pole's associates, Burnt Friedman and Kit Clayton. While the original "Raum" tracks featured his signature style of skeletal digi-dub, constructed out of faux-PiL basslines, tinker-toy
POTIONAmong Dreams(www.potionmusic.com)cd$ 9.98
If you love the warm female vocals of Call And Response or in fact those of '70s singers Helen Reddy or Maureen McGovern (remember the theme from "Poseidon Adventure"?), then hop to it! The SF duo known as Potion embrace many genres but most often find their way back to a smooth, lounge-y sound. A low and lilting, calming debut.
PRINCE JAZZBOMr. Funny(Pressure Sounds)cd$ 14.98
It's amazing sometimes how the DIY aesthetic is all but permanently affixed with punk rock at times. Now don't get me wrong, I love punk rock just as much as the next sailor, but when you look at all the Jamaican artists out there that formed their own
RED MONKEYGunpowder, Treason and Plot(Troubleman Unlimited)cd$ 10.98
Members of Red Monkey also run the DIY punk collective Slampt and started out rocking in UK underground legends Avocado Baby and Pussycat Trash, they now make up 2/3rds of this dynamic group. The songs on this record are political, strong, angular, and almost
REHBERG & BAUERPasst(Touch)cd$ 15.98
Peter "Pita" Rehberg and Ramon Bauer betray all of Mego's artsy mythologies of being a completely serious project, by opening this album with a lame speedfreak MC introducing Rehberg and Bauer at some festival in Australia, with the nonsensical outburst: "Oh Considering that Rehberg and Bauer follow this act of puerile behaviour with a stoicly quiet piece for muffled cable hums and pops, this introduction, at best, is irony through contradiction; at worst, is self-congratulatory arrogance. The rest of the album picks up considerably with their trademarked dense layers of digital grit, harsh noise, and occasional motorcyclical melodies. Brilliantly packaged by Jon Wozencroft, after all it's on Touch.
REINDEER SECTION, THEY'all Get Scared Now, Ya Hear!(PIAS)cd$ 16.98
A super-group that'll surely make Scot-pop fans everywhere alternately weep with joy and pee their pants. Are you ready? The Reindeer Section team is a mighty fifteen members strong featuring members of Arab Strap, Belle And Sebastian, Mogwai, Astrid,
RIVAL SCHOOLSUnited By Fate(Island)cd$ 16.98
If you're anything like me (Andee), you absolutely -loved- Quicksand and shed quite a few tears when they called it quits. Rarely had there been such an aggressive, almost-metal band that managed to be melodic and catchy as fuck without sounding cheesy or
RORSCHACHLive In Italy 6/18/92(Gern Blandsten)cd$ 11.98
Rorschach, for those of you that don't know, were THE hardcore band of the early nineties. Seminal, influential and completely amazing. Furious and pummelling, political and totally kick ass. The singer went on to start super hip, post hardcore indie label
SCHMICKLER, MARCUSParam(A-Musik)cd$ 15.98
Better known for his post-Kraut rock electronica as Pluramon, Marcus Schmickler has also been tinkering with the ideas of academic composition. He claims that his interest is a "confrontation with modern classical composers," and that "innovations are only
SET FIRE TO FLAMESSings Reign Rebuilders(Alien 8)cd$ 13.98
Halfspeed! You Grey Bureaucrat. Something like 6 members of this 13 piece ensemble are part of Godspeed! You Black Emperor, and Set Fire To Flames does little to hide their connection to that band, producing the same theatrical crescendos for glide guitars
SEXSMITH, RONBlue Boy(Interscope / spinART)cd$ 15.98
If you have a particular penchant for balladry that has the power to move you to tears, please do yourself a favor and check out the wonderful Canadian singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith! Highly lauded by critics and notable fellow songwriters - Elvis Costello,
SHIRE, DAVIDThe Conversation OST(Intrada)cd$ 27.00
This is simply one of the greatest films ever made. You can call AQ and argue with us if you disagree. This film is so personal and intense. So completely thrilling and perfect. And it features what has to be Gene Hackman's best performance ever (except And for those of you who haven't seen The Conversation...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? WALK AWAY FROM YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW. WALK TO YOUR NEAREST VIDEO STORE. RENT THE VIDEO. UNPLUG THE PHONE. AND WATCH. YOU WILL NOT BE SORRY. An absolutely beautiful film with some of the best performances, directing, and music you will ever see or hear.
SHRED, TEDHip Hop Vs. It All!(Upper Playground)cd$ 10.98
In the burgeoning new field (heh, not really) of hip-hop-destroys-rock-music mixes, as typified by DJs Z-Trip and Jester, local DJ Ted Shred breaks out with a totally weird and hilarious cd. He'll throw on P. Diddy next to Night Ranger, Biggie Smalls vs. Peter Oh, and Allan wants you to know: the track "Van Halen vs. Van Halen" illustrates the obvious similarities between deft turntable scratching and fleet-fingered guitar wanking, as well as demonstrating the superiority of the latter. Beware -- we have very very few copies of this and will probably never have it again! Although we should have plenty of copies of the forthcoming volume two. Highly recommneded!
SMOGRain On Lens(Drag City)cd$ 14.98
It seems that people either love or hate Bill Callahan's songs. Actually a lot of people love old Smog and hate it now. I must say I've remained loyal. Though I have a hard time stomaching lines like "how could I forget your left breast", I do think he has a
SPARO, FRANKIEArena Hostile(Constellation)cd$ 7.98
Second release from this mysterious Canadian solo artist who goes by the pseudonym Frankie Sparo. A couple of years ago he made the move east from Victoria, BC to Montreal, PQ and into the welcoming arms of the Constellation label. Now don't swiftly lump him
SPIRITUALIZEDLet It Come Down (Special Edition)(Arista)cd$ 17.98
A lot has transpired since the superb "Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space" album from 1997. Members Sean Cook, Damon Reece and Mike Mooney were given the boot, but swiftly moved on to form the very similar sounding Lupine Howl (which we included
SPOOKY, DJUnder the Influence(Six Degrees)cd$ 15.98
Gap poster boy (in good company, I must say: Tina Fey! Will Farrell! etc.) Paul "DJ Spooky" Miller turns up on the world music leaning electronica label Six Degrees with a DJ mix cd for their "Under The Influence" series, showcasing his influences (natch) rather than current faves... So we hear from Moby, Carl Craig, State of Bengal, Ryuichi Sakamoto/Talvin Singh, Antipop Consortium,
SPROUT, TOBINDemos & Outtakes(Wigwam)cd$ 15.98
During his time with Ohio's Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout wielded his pop songwriting pen and four-track studio with sweet skill, but unfortunately all too often he was overshadowed by mainman Robert Pollard. Since his departure from GBV in '97, Mr. Sprout has been quietly continuing his lo-fi popcraftsmanship on his own in Michigan. As the title states this cd compiles some of his demos
SUN CITY GIRLSHandsome Stranger, the(Abduction)cd$ 14.98
The 'Girls have finally gotten around to releasing volume 8 in their Carnival Folklore Ressurection series and is it worth the wait? Err... well, the dwindling fanbase around here say "nay!" But then again, we haven't been the staunchest supporters of this
TECHNO ANIMALBrotherhood of the Bomb, The(Matador)cd$ 14.98
Like their awesome "Dead Man's Curse" cd single I raved about a coupla months ago, this newest full length from Techno Animal is dark, dark screwed-up mutant hip hop with an unavoidably ferocious driving breakbeat on the bottom end. *Totally* heavy and About half the tracks are instrumentals and they stand on their own quite well -- interesting, dynamic, not repetitive -- but even their excellence pales in comparison to the tracks that have various hip hop MCs adding to the mix, cos those are REALLY good. With Dalek, members of Anti Pop Consortium, Rubberroom, El P from Company Flow, and last but not least Toastie Taylor toasting deliriously on "Piranha". I like this record more every time I listen to it. Highly recommended.
TENACIOUS Ds/t(Epic)cd$ 17.98
For those you who have somehow managed to not become completely obsessed with the 'D', let us bring you up to speed. A few years back there was an amazing sketch comedy show on HBO called Mr. Show. Completely hilarious and more importantly, unfettered by the So a few things have changed. Most noticeably, the D are no longer an acoustic duo. They are a full on rock band, with drums (courtesy of Dave Grohl of course) electric guitars and even strings! On first listen, it was kind of a bummer, since part of what made it so funny was that these two dorky fat guys were playing classic rock/metal on two acoustic guitars. But the flipside is that the D's unabashed love of seventies cheese metal and FM rock can be fully realised and becomes even more of a brilliant parody. Allan keeps telling us that if we lived in the dorms, we would hate this record. Probably true. It's stupid and silly and the songs are all about fucking and smoking and swearing. But we don't live in the dorms and hopefully we can appreciate this on a different level. Lots of the songs from the series are redone and revamped, and there's a handful of new songs as well as a lot of arguing and discussions about stuff like cock pushups. And the songs sound great. Super rocking, big riffs, stupidly catchy hooks, really heavy, great production, and the vocal harmonies are still intact and still perfect. So of course you should buy the record, but if you get hooked, you can find the tapes of the HBO series on EBAY and definitely go check out their video for 'Fuck Her Gently'. It's offensive enough to guarantee you won't be seeing it on MTV anytime soon. It's by John K. (of Ren and Stimpy infamy) and it's pretty amazing. You can watch it at http://www.spumco.com.
TERRORISTSForces 1977-1982(ROIR)cd$ 16.98
Formed in NYC in 1977, the Terrorists were a punk infused reggae/ska band that predated the UK Two Tone movement by two years. Regularly playing such clubs as CBGBs, Max's Kansas City the Terrorists quickly became the darlings of NME and Melody Maker. The recordings here, which feature guest appearances from both Roland Alphonso and Lee Perry, sound a bit dated but may interest those
TWILIGHT CIRCUS DUB SOUND SYSTEMDub Plates Volume Two(M Records)cd$ 11.98
Dub Plates Volume Two is a collection of reworked dubs (mostly from Horsie and Binshaker Dub) and rarities from Ryan Moore and Twilight Circus, now available at a nice price, lets hope for a while. One thing that I really like about Twilight Circus, and I
TWILIGHT CIRCUS DUB SOUND SYSTEMU.K. Steppers(M Records)12"$ 11.98
Four tracks: two from Binshaker Dub ("U.K. Steppers" & "Lowell And Nine") on side A and "Beneath the Valley of the Dub" and a remix of "Rocking Dub" from In Dub Vol. 1 on side B. Pressed on delicious red vinyl.
V/AArchipelago: Islands(Foundry)6cd$ 40.00
Embracing the decentralized nature of artists working in isolation outside of the club circuit and disconnected from the current rhetoric of Raster-Noton glitch worship or Mille Plateaux micro-house, the musicians on "Archipelago" have attempted to forge a community that exists out of the cooperative spirit, rather than by commodifying yet another posse of knob twiddlers. That said, Rhomb's disc (disc one) opens the proceedings with subterranean drips, trippy electric tones, sparse rhythmic clicks, and lots of space to drive home a mysterious cosmology. Csero's (disc two) glitch-music with static irradiating the pointillist bleeps and blips sounds sort of like a composition made from a broken nintendo game-boy. Seofon (disc three) offers a dodgy amount of hippy space music laced with electronic tribal rhythms very much like the recent work from Brian Eno or Bill Laswell. Thermal's (disc four) ambient techno noodles around a very Pete Namlook analogue synth line and some downtempo rhythms. The biggest break from the San Francisco ambient sound comes from Dean Santomieri (disc five) who has produced a grizzled piece of spartan media cut-ups and industrially-minded musique concrete. eM (disc six) completes the series by mutating clipped speak-and-spell tones into erratically forming ambient passages. Nice.
V/ABucolique Vol 01(Arbouse)cd$ 10.98
Arbouse is a new label out of France offering the obligatory compilation as an introduction to what they're all about. "14 titres inédits, entre post rock, ambient et electronica," is all they have to say about it; but it does include tracks by Twisted Science (mutilated drum & bass), Sink (a really nice Autechre / Third Eye Foundation piece of electronica), Rothko (a very nice piano and
V/ADarker than Blue: Soul from Jamdown 1973-1980(Blood and Fire )cd$ 14.98
Soulful, funky reggae trax from Jam-aica circa the mid to late seventies. Most of the cuts here are covers of R&B or funk hits, stuff originally by Curtis Mayfield, Kool & The Gang, War, Bobby Bland, Isley Brothers, and others -- even Randy Newman (by way of
V/AGern Blandsten: The First Nine Years(Gern Blandsten)cd$ 11.98
New Jersey's Gern Blandsten Records celebrate nine years of existence with this compilation of two dozen tracks by two dozen of Gern Blandsten's finest boy bands galore. Running the gamut from Wire / Gang of Four influenced post punk angst (Computer Cougar)