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 133.
ICEBREAKERExtraction(Between the Lines)cd$ 16.98
Don't be confused by the name. We couldn't figure out why the band we remembered as sounding sort of post rocky and Tortoise-y could make a record like this. Well, they didn't. This Icebreaker is not from Chicago, but from Great Britain. And this Icebreaker
IF THEN ELSE(Pause)(Emanate)cd$ 11.98
A review from "electronicmusicreviews.com" offered an interesting piece of personal history regarding Deno Vichas (aka If Then Else). He had apparently received a 6 month jail sentence for marijuana possession before recording this album. What is so strange
JACKSON, MICHAELThriller (Special Edition)(Sony)cd$ 17.98
... in which we discover that there was a baby tiger present at the Thriller album photo shoot. Bonus stuff included, namely a demo version of "Billie Jean", interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton, the unused second verse of Vincent Price's
JAY-ZBlueprint(Roc A Fella / Def Jam)cd$ 17.98
Commercial hip hop deals another blow to the underground, by spitting out one of the best hip hop records of the year. Catchy and funky and funny and absolutely fucking perfect. Makes Puffy seem like the Young MC he really is.
JECK, PHILIP / VERGIL SHARKYAFull Moon Warship(Vergilreality)cd-r$ 12.98
A few months ago we received an email from a fellow in the UK asking if we were interested in a live unreleased Philip Jeck cd. And of course we said yes. Anyone who reads the AQ list regularly knows that in our eyes Jeck can pretty much do no wrong (with
JONES, JOESolar Music At Sierksdorf, Ostsee(? Records)cd$ 22.00
This is the second cd documenting composer/inventor/sound artist Joe Jones' Solar Music released on the same label (part of the Hundertmark Art Gallery in Germany) that released the last Hermann Nitsch document. This disc is live and was recorded in the "A gauzy and cloudy shimmering wash of keening high pitched whines, hums and whirrs, and simple and slow, calculatedly tribal percussion. At times it sounds like Pelt or Skullflower, at others an ethereal otherworldly hippie jam ala Taj Mahal Travellers." Totally essential for drone fanatics!
KID 606 / POSTERBOYS OF THE APOCALYPSEThat's What I Got / No Angels(Tigerbeat6)7"$ 6.98
Volume 5 in Tigerbeat6's "$" series. Kid 606 throws down another hip-hop slammer. Posterboys make a bunch of noise. Limited.
KID LOCOKill Your Darlings(Atlantic)cd$ 17.98
Hmm. Kid Loco's newest full length is not as incandescently good as his A Grand Love Story, although it has its high points. The weed-smoking, ladies-lovin' French Kid Loco is writing more proper songs, as opposed to just sit-back-and-kick-it loungey
KNUTuntitled(Hydra Head)cd$ 10.98
Knut are an intense Swiss metalcore band from Switzerland that seem to have found the perfect home on Hydra Head, their sound having much in common with Isis, Old Man Gloom and the like. This is their newest e.p. and teaser for their upcoming full length.
KOPSTEIN, JACQUESa(Frenetic)cd$ 11.98
Jacques Kopstein is actually Marty Anderson of local rockers Dilute. 'a' is his first solo record and it's pretty fucking great. Great, but really, really strange. Anderson plays all the instruments and does all the singing and even drew all the pictures. The
KRAFTWERKSomewhere In Europe()lp$ 14.98
Two live sets of Kraftwerk captured with reasonably fine fidelity, one from a 1976 show in Paris (performing tracks from Ralf & Florian and Autobahn) and the other from a 1981 show in Utrecht (performing tracks from Computer World and Man Machine).
LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT, THEInnocence and Despair(Bar None)cd$ 15.98
Rural Canadian schoolkids ages 9-12, sixty of 'em, singing pop hits like "Space Oddity", "Good Vibrations", "I'm Into Something Good", and "Band On The Run", backed by shimmering, gamelan like percussion and sparse rock instrumentation?? Yes! And of course it's Irwin Chusid (of "In The Key of Z" fame, a specialist in "outsider" music) who's responsible for getting these 1976-77 recordings finally issued on cd for our enjoyment. Apparently these kids had a somewhat unorthodox music teacher, who, tapping into his student's musical enthusiasm, arranged and captured this amateur outpouring of charmingly naive genius...lovely yet fucked up. And funny. Yet so heartfelt and innocent. Over the course of these nineteen earnest tracks, you'll either lose your mind or fall in love with the Langley Schools Music Project. Genius or not, certainly Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, Bowie, the Bay City Rollers, Fleetwood Mac, the Carpenters, the Eagles, Barry Manilow, etc. never sounded so...odd. "Lo-fi Spectorian majesty" indeed. It's like an all-Shaggs orchestra playing AM radio covers. We have to agree with John Zorn's cover sticker blurb: "Touches the heart in a way no other music ever has, or could." So terrible, yet so brilliant. Never intended for release (it was originally pressed as a limited double 12" for the kids and their families) but now the 2-track tape reels have been remastered, and this cd, with a detailed 16-page booklet featuring super cute photos of the kids, has been unleashed on the world! Great Christmas gift material, if we may be so bold.
LE TIGREFeminist Sweepstakes(Mr Lady)cd$ 13.98
Second full length from Le Tigre, the trio headed by ex-Bikini Kill wailer Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and new member JD Sampson. While there's nothing here as ferociously kickass as Le Tigre's "Bang Bang" (off the From the Desk of Mr Lady ep), this
LOWLast Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me(Chair Kickers Music)cd ep$ 7.98
A few years back, Low played a Halloween show in Los Angeles in which they came out as the Misfits, complete with hyperbolic widow's peak, ghoulish corpse paint, and -- most shockingly -- a rather accurate performance of Misfits covers. While Low hasn't Low really does try to out-do Morrissey's melodrama on "Last Night..." with Alan gently singing along to a quiet guitar strum over ringing feedback and an ample dose of reverb, before the band explodes in a majestic crescendo of theatrical excess. Add an original from Low and a video of the single "Dinosaur Act" off their "Things Lost In The Fire" album, and you've got yourself one fine cd single.
METALUXFluorescent Towers(Hanson)lp$ 10.98
From the latest handful of releases on Ann Arbor's Hanson Records comes this Chicago trio of art twaddlers and tape manipulators, Metalux. Having been around for a few years without a record, and hearing much about their live shows, my hopes of a band over their self indulgent "experimental" beginnings - formulating a more refined and original creature- were cut short on my first
MODEST MOUSEEverywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks(Epic)cd ep$ 12.98
An eight song EP (golly, that's a big EP!) from Isaac Brock and company compiling some mostly recent Modest Mouse odds 'n' ends. Includes tracks from the "Night On The Sun" 12" which was gathered up from the recorded material that didn't make it onto their
MONEY MARKChange Is Coming(Emperor Norton)cd$ 16.98
Gotta say, I really liked Money Mark's first two full lengths. His instrumental debut "Mark's Keyboard Repair" and the more pop song-packed follow-up "Push The Button" were both fun and quirky. Well, this release sees The Mark returning to the solely
MOTH WRANGLERSNever Mind the Context(Magnetic)cd$ 12.98
The debut full length from the Moth Wranglers, otherwise known as AQ-pal Chris Xefos (ex-King Missile) and LD Beghtol (Flare, and also one of the four vocalists from the Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs box). They have made a polished mellow record in a variety
MR. LENPity The Fool(Matador)cd$ 14.98
The Holy Trinity of underground hip hop, Company Flow / Def Jux / Anticon, can seemingly do no wrong. And here they strike again. This time it's Mr. Len of Company Flow, with a record of dark and sinister gloom-funk, all staticky a.m. radio wah wah and crunchy
MY BLOODY VALENTINEThis Is Your Bloody Valentine(Dossier)cd$ 18.98
There will be some of you who will not heed this review and pick this up simply because this may in fact be the earliest documentation of My Bloody Valentine. At this time in 1984, Kevin Shields' project consisted of an entirely different line-up than
NARITA, MUNEHIRO & SHOJI HANOKyoaku No Intention(PSF)cd$ 19.98
High Rise axeman Munehiro Narita (known as King of Japanese Speed Freak Guitarist Heavy Motor Cycle Free Sound according to his website!) here teams up with Japanese free jazz drummer (and sometime Mainliner skinbeater, also fresh off another PSF-released
NEW NATIVE FEATURING RADIOACTIVEBreakthrough(4sound)cd$ 9.98
Some of the best local hip hop we've heard in a while. Kind of upbeat (which usually turns me off immediately) but with a real sinister vibe and what sounds like a full on band: sliding guitars, funky bass, live sounding drums and actual catchy rock-ish
NEW ORDERGet Ready(Reprise)cd$ 17.98
Get ready ... to do what?! To flee from this disappointing cd, that's what. Appallingly schlocky rhymes abound... "You're everything to me, the sweetest symphony" and "What I mean to say is you keep the wolves at bay" Oh dear. Oh dear dear dear!
NURSE WITH WOUNDChance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Machine And An Umbrella(United Dairies)cd$ 17.98
Infamously receiving a rating of "?????" instead of the normal star system employed by Sounds Magazine in 1979, "Chance Meeting On A Dissecting Table Of A Sewing Machine And An Umbrella" was the first release, from what would eventually be a massive catalogue This is the recently remastered version of this album and also includes new (but unfortunately inferior) artwork (although the original cover is found within), and a new (but possibly unnecessary) track, which is a collage of David Tibet reciting the "Nurse With Wound List" -- the list of Stapleton's favorite bands, part of the liner notes to "Chance Meeting..."
O'NEIL, TARA JANEIn the Sun Lines(Quarterstick)cd$ 14.98
Newest offering from O'Neil formerly of the mighty Rodan, although her post Rodan work bears little or no resemblance. Dark and twangy melancholia, rough around the edges, but rough the way your favorite warm coat is rough: frayed and tattered but still the
OMEN, THEOST(Varese Sarabande)cd$ 17.98
This soundtrack won an academy award in 1976 for best score and we can see why. It is so fantastic. Jerry Goldsmith also scored the original Planet of the Apes, Chinatown, Poltergeist, and the first Star Trek movie, among others. The Omen is full of maniacal
ONO, YOKOBlueprint for a Sunrise(Capital)cd$ 16.98
Well, Yoko Ono's always generated love-her or hate-her responses, and this new disc sure is no letdown in that department! For the Yoko Ono lovers at AQ (Allan, for instance), it offers some prime '70s style Yoko screech, proving that even at 68 years old she's
ORGANUM & THE NEW BLOCKADERSPulp(Robot)cd$ 16.98
Again, Organum and The New Blockaders have released archival recordings without providing any information about those recordings. Fortunately, we here at Aquarius can subvert the two outfits' willful mysteriousness by providing a bit of information to go along When collaborating with the Rupenus Brothers (aka The New Blockaders), David Jackman (the ringleader for Organum) hedges for a punishingly abrasive tone to come from his arsenal of scraping metal and growling motors. The "Pulp" ep is no exception with multiple hand-grinders abusing piles of scrap metal. Yet, behind this noise, Organum and The New Blockaders offer a strangely calm organ sound that drones noxiously like the late-period, carcinogenic work of MB. "Wrack" find the two ensembles again grinding away at another pile of metal, but with Jackman's Kawasaki motorcycle humming in the background. I'm not kidding. "Raze" finds all of the textural grit collapsing into a blur of white noise. Still quite nervous in its construction. There is also a track given the unfortunate title of "No Title" that rounds out this album. Since Jackman has five or six releases with this name, it's hard to say what this is, exactly. Nevertheless, it fits within the harsh acoustic noise that Organum and The New Blockaders are masters in creating.
OSBOURNE, OZZYDown To Earth(Epic)cd$ 16.98
A new Ozzy record! His first in quite a few years. And we have to say, it's not all that bad. The sound is a lot heavier, due in no small part to the return of Zakk Wylde (which is also why a lot of the songs sound quite a bit like Wylde's Black Label
PAN AMERICAN / KOMET / FISHEROFGOLDPersonal Settings(Quatermass)cd$ 16.98
"Personal Setting" is a split release of electronica-dub from Pan American, Komet, and Fisherofgold. Mark Nelson has transformed his Pan American from a slightly electronic version of Labradford (Nelson's other project) into a VladislavPoleKitClaytonDelay dub
PER MISSIONA Ritual Loop(Monitor)cd$ 14.98
Where would indie rock be today if the Rachels and Rodan had never existed. The kids would probably still be listening to the Dead Milkmen. Which to me doesn't seem like such a bad thing, but I digress. Per Mission is Jason Noble of the Rachels doing his ambient electronica thing. Spoken word snippets whirring ambient noise, simple stuttering drum loops, smooth fuzzed out spacy trip hop. A little bland and mediocre, and a bit too hippy dippy with all the 'spiritual' spoken word stuff and the website all about how he fed his baby -- nobody would care probably if this didn't 'feature a member of the Rachels'.
PHOENECIAOdd Job Discrimination(Schematic)12"$ 11.98
Not to be confused with the "Odd Jobs" remix cd, this new 12" of remixes sees Florida's IDM wunderkind Phoenecia get tackled by the likes of Adult., Matmos, Prefuse 73, Dino Felipe, Otto Von Schirach, and Jeswa. Nicola of Adult. replicates the vocal samples that Phoenecia took from "Me And My Rhythm Box" (from the film soundtrack of Liquid Sky) with icy determination.
PHOENECIAOdd Jobs(Schematic)cd$ 12.98
Back in stock! Seven outstanding remixes mutating Phoenecia's super-rubbery beats into even more rhythmically complex IDM from Autechre, Richard Devine, Push Button Objects, Ectomorphm Takeshi Muto, Soul Oddity (actually, this is one of their alter egos...
PIMMONElectronic Tax Return(Tigerbeat6)cd$ 11.98
Australia's Paul Gough returns with another disc of noise and glitch recorded live earlier this year. Powerful and abraisive shards of digital ruptures that cover beautiful textures and found sounds. Like sifting through dogshit to find your lost
PUSH BUTTON OBJECTS360 Degree Remixes(Chocolate Industries)2x12"$ 12.98
Push Button Objects, the Miami-based hip hop producer, here releases an interesting new track, 360 Degrees, with mic duties handled by Del tha Funky Homosapien and Def Jux's Mr Lif, and nice turntablist scratching courtesy three-time DMC champ DJ Craze.
RABELAIS, AKIRAEisoptrophobia(Mille Plateaux)cd$ 14.98
Not just another member of the electronica community who programs code by day and is a Mille Plateaux superstar by night, Akira Rabelais has wonderfully romantic bone in his body that affects everything he does, including programming. If his cheerleaders are
REFRIGERATORComedy Minus One(Shrimper)cd$ 13.98
I've loved Refrigerator for so long that hearing a new album from them is like replacing one warm blanket with another. This lonesome downer rock quartet fronted by LA's Callaci brothers is back with one of their most upbeat albums yet... but don't let
RESTIFORM BODIESs/t(Anticon / Pointless)cd$ 15.98
Not directly related to the Anticon crew as far as we can tell (although they give shout outs to Dose One, Sole etc.) but they sure sound like it. Fucked up, malfunctioning hip hop weirdness, with whiny tongue twisting white boy flows, bizarre samples and
REYNOLS / NO-REYNOLSs/t(Freedom From)cd$ 14.98
In keeping true to the uncanny laws of nature in the Reynolsian universe, No-Reynols came into creation because the world had slipped out of balance due to the invincible musical force that is Reynols. This is not to say that No-Reynols is the evil
RIBOT, MARCSaints(Atlantic)cd$ 16.98
Simply solo guitar from one of the great stylists Marc Ribot, denizen of the downtown Knitting Facotry avant jazz scene. He puts his own flavorful, loping, precise take on pieces by Albert Ayler (three of them), Leonard Bernstein, The Beatles, John Zorn, John
RICHMAN, JONATHANHer Mystery Not Of High Heels And Eyeshadow(Vapor)cd$ 16.98
I saw the last 2 songs of Jonathan Richman's Live set opening up for Belle and Sebastian (who are rumoured to never have an opening band, except the Tindersticks, and I guess now Jonathon Richman). He was so personable and funny and gave me a warm
ROEDELIUS / SCHNITZLERAcon 2000/1(Captain Trip)cd$ 18.98
Krautrock electronics legends and former collaborators in seminal proto-ambient-industrial act Kluster, Conrad Schnitzler (prolific solo artist, initial member of Tangerine Dream) and Hans-Joachim Roedelius (Cluster, Harmonia, solo) get up to their old
ROTHKONot Gone, Not Forgotton(Lo Recordings)cd$ 15.98
Although Rothko have been an AQ staff favorite for a while now, I was never quite convinced. Their moody ambient soundscapes tread dangerously close to new age for my taste. Thankfully this live album, while still mostly 'ambient', sounds so visceral and raw
SAINT VITUSHallow's Victim / The Walking Dead(S.O.S.)cd$ 12.98
There were other great underground metal bands in the '80s who practiced what doom messiahs Black Sabbath preached: Trouble, Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram... But it was LA's Saint Vitus who took the Sabbath sound to even further extremes.
SEA OF TOMBSs/t(Gravity)cd$ 11.98
Sea of Tombs are a heavy psychedelic instrumental bass/drums/guitar trio from Chicago. They have some membership ties to Lake of Dracula, Jaks, and Clikitat Ikatowi, although that's kinda irrelevant to whether anyone would like this or not. What is relevant:
SHAPE OF DESPAIRAngels of Distress(Spikefarm)cd$ 14.98
Album number two from these Finnish doom merchants and man does it make me want to just end it all. This music is dismal and bleak and totally hopelessly perfect. So slow and miserable and heavy and dark. Take the lo-fi doom of Skepticism, and beef up the Shape of Despair deftly mix haunting funereal dirges with ultra crushing doom, but add gentle folk melodies and subtle but soaring strings. This is the sort of stuff that should be on the soundtrack to the new Lord of the Rings. You can just imagine being lost and alone in the forest, just waiting to die. So good.
SIMIANChemistry Is What We Are(Astralwerks)cd$ 15.98
Trippy, psych-pop with textural electronic bloopy explorations flowing overtop which occasionally threaten to overwhelm the pretty spaced out melodies and wonderful falsetto harmonies. This Manchester quartet has drawn a few comparisons to Beta Band and Badly
SISSY SPACEKs/t(Helicopter / Nu Form)cd$ 9.98
John Wiese (Bastard Noise) and his pal Cory Ronnau deliver what is probably the world's first plunderphonic grindcore record. Although in this case all of the plundering is self inflicted and self directed as the two record their own two piece (guitar and
SKULLVIEWConsequences Of Failure(R.I.P.)cd$ 14.98
First of all, you've got to admire a mostly unknown American swords-and-sorcery metal band that follows an album called "Kings of the Universe" with one titled "Consequences of Failure"! That definitely demonstrates a sense of realism amid the fantasy and an
SLAYERGod Hates Us All(American)cd$ 17.98
God hates us all, and has decided to punish us with probably the worst Slayer record ever.