[ aquarius records new arrivals — issue 136 ]

Showing results 1 through 50 of 98.

A WILD MAN BRANDISHING AN UPROOTED TREEs/t(Supermegacorporation)cd$ 8.98

Geoff Soule from Fuck's solo cd is varied and subdued. Very mellowwwwwww. If you are sad that Fuck is now defunct, then here is a chance to enjoy the similar quality and charm in a whole new guise.

ACID MOTHERS TEMPLELive Bootleg()lp$ 14.98

The deluge continues unabated. Lp after lp after cd after double cd after double lp after 12" after picture disc after double 7". Phew. And for those that still need even more, the 'Temple do not disappoint. This is a massive 40 minute slab of live mayhem. From squealing free-noise workouts to relentless Stooges-ish riffing to super distorted, fuzzed out Mainliner style psychedelic

ANTIPOP CONSORTIUMArrhythmia(Warp)cd$ 17.98

First new full length since the waaay expensive Japanese import 'Shopping Carts Crashing' which we also carry, and it's a good one. With every release, the NY avant hip hop crew of rapper/producers Beans, M Sayyid and High Priest along with engineer

AQUEDUCTPower Ballads(Popular Music)cd$ 14.98

Check out this one-man band from Tulsa, OK! David Terry is Aqueduct. Don't be expecting any knee cymbals or harmonica-chinstraps though. Recorded in his apartment over the past three years, "Power Ballads" is Aqueduct's debut album, but we should also stress

ASTROQUEENInto Submission(Pavement)cd$ 15.98

Sure, these heavy jam-kicker-outters from Sweden are yet another '70s lovin' stoner rock band hoping to become the Scandinavian Kyuss, joining the ranks of Mammoth Volume, Roachpowder, Spiritual Beggars, Terra Firma, etc. I mean, the Swedish government must Astroqueen (who in homage to the second half of their name use a detail from Queen's "News Of The World" album cover for the back of their cd) are not to be confused with the also awesome and similarly "astro" Dutch stoner rockers Astrosoniq, although we did, which was a good thing 'cause otherwise we might have overlooked this excellent release!

AUTUMNFAIR1986-1989(Mobilization)cd$ 12.98

Autumnfair was the shortlived side project of Savage Republic bassist Thom Fuhrmann and British transplant Val Haller. So shortlived, in fact, that by the time their first record was released on IPR in 1991, they had been broken up for two years. In

BADLY DRAWN BOYAbout A Boy (Original Soundtrack)(XL Recordings)cd$ 16.98

Once Byram brought it to my (Cup's) attention that Mr. Damon Gough sounds remarkably like a rather chipper Elliott Smith, I couldn't hear these songs as being sung by anyone but! Check out the songs "Something To Talk About" or "River Sea Ocean" if you

BAILEY, DEREKBallads(Tzadik)cd$ 15.98

John Zorn's Tzadik label presents legendary (notorious?) British guitar improviser Derek Bailey playing, like the title says, a set of classic ballads (recorded at the behest of Zorn himself). No, he's not taking the piss: these really are jazz standards

BETSCH, BERTRANDBB Sides(Lithium)cd$ 14.98

While Bertrand Betsch's lovely previous album, La Soupe a la Grimace, was a sensitive singer songwriter affair, with heartbreakingly pretty hooks and whispered vocals, this record features the addition of 'beats' so it's a lot heavier and Bertrand

BJORK, BRANT AND THE OPERATORSs/t(The Music Cartel)cd$ 13.98

Stoner rock's best known drummer, Mr. Brant Bjork (he's the former sticksman of both Kyuss and Fu Manchu) presents his second solo disc. In spite of the "and the Operators" part of the band name, this really IS a solo record, as Brant sings, drums, plays "Ain't nothing gonna stop the rock tonight...I got rock tonight...feeling good it's so right...I got the rock tonight...ain't nothing gonna stop the rock tonight." It's all knowingly dumb, good fun. I wasn't expecting much from this record, and as a result was pleasantly surprised and captivated by the catchy, summertime stuff Brant came up with here. The album closes with some dentist office funk to mellow you out after all the rock tonight.

BRIGHTFull Negative (or) Breaks(Ba Da Bing)cd$ 13.98

Not sure why I always thought this band was English. Maybe the name? Maybe the labels that have released their records? Maybe the music? It must just be me. On second thought actually, it could be the music. This American duo weave lush, blissed out, dreamy,

BURNING STAR COREA Brighter Summer Day(Thin Wrist)lp$ 9.98

Not having journeyed to the Dead C extravaganza in LA, I'm glad to see this LP by Burning Star Core, who opened that show. A project of C Spencer Yeh, whose name I've been seeing around for years, not knowing he was such a fine noisemaker. Side one of the LP is prime dronological beauty encased in fiery treated violin and carefully used electronics. The effect is a sizzling wall of Side two is Yeh on computer and I sort of miss the violin but it's also good, unpredictable, and detailed. It seems like lots of people are stepping up to the drone plate these days, and it can be hard to sort the dilettantes still in search of their own style from the true dronemakers. Fans of the Sunroof! / Skullflower / Richard Youngs axis will like this. Limited to 500 copies. Recommended.

CATTLE DECAPITATIONHuman Jerky(Three One G)cd$ 14.98

San Diego's masters of Carcass worship finally see their awesome debut lp get the digital treatment. Fast and furious, super technical, but kind of sloppy at the same time, Cattle Decapitation take their love of Carcass and all things gore and treat us to

CAVENDISH SANGUINETruculence(Fflint Central)cd-r$ 8.98

Another installment in Fflint Central's campaign to take over the world. Or if not the world, to at least annoy the fuck out of your neighbors! For those of you just tuning in, Fflint is a small cd-r label run by a couple of guys in the UK, who manage to put out some of the best experimental electronica we've ever heard. I'm still amazed that Warp or Lo or someone hasn't just snapped up

CHAINSMOKERGuarana Planet(Bad Vugum)cd$ 15.98

Another installment of Finnish madness from the brilliant and unpredictable Bad Vugum label. Chainsmoker were born from the ashes of Bad Vugum stalwarts Sweetheart, but the sound is far from Sweetheart's freaked out guitar rock. Chainsmoker are a strange mix

CHARALAMBIDESHistoric 6th Ward(Time Lag)2lp$ 22.00

Gorgeous double lp reissue of Charalambides' amazing 'Historic 6th Ward' record, until now only available on cd. And this reissue isn't just for vinyl lovers, as the cd is long out of print -and- this lp version adds 7 extra tracks not found on the cd. Charalambides play hazy, dreamy, spaced out acid-drone folk, with ethereal female vocals, using minimal instrumentation and lots

CHURCH STEPS / GANG WIZARDsplit 7"()7"$ 3.98

This split release is between the wonderful SF-based, lo-fi melding of dreamy electronics and melancholic, sensitive boy strummery known as The Church Steps and the very mysterious group called Gang Wizard. A limited lathe-cut 7" pressing which - you may or may not know - is not the sturdiest of music formats. So we definitely recommend transferring the songs onto a more durable medium for

COLTRANE, ALICEEternity(Sepia Tone)cd$ 13.98

Alice plays it all on this reissue of her weird 1976 album -- she's wields the harp and organ, a Fender Rhodes electric piano, even cymbals. Each song is different in mood and instrumentation, with the first track "Spiritual Eternal" featuring a veritable

COLTRANE, ALICETranscendence(Sepia Tone)cd$ 13.98

A welcome reissue of Alice Coltrane's 1977 album Transcendence, this is a sort of unlikely (although if you know Alice Coltrane's work then you know not to expect the usual) yet LOVELY album. On three tracks Coltrane's harp leads the way down an ethereal,

CORNERSHOPHandcream For A Generation(Wiija)cd$ 17.98

Words cannot express how terrible this record is. What happened? The band whose music was a charming mix of indie rock, casio electronics and Indian melodies, all filtered thru the lens of politically aware British Asian youngsters, has made a record 1st song -- straight up soul, and who is singing? so totally unlike Cornershop that we took the cd out of the player just to make sure we hadn't accidentally put in a disc by Wilson Pickett. track 2 - really bad wimpy halfhearted indie rock. track 3 - bad house with muffled attempts at vocals. track 4 - whose chorus goes "overgrown super shit". track 5 - more soul music with embarassingly simple organ, bits of scratching. track 6 - reggae! what are they thinking? who is singing "rastafari!" track 7 - disco. And there are five more tracks! Arghhhh!

COSTELLO, ELVISWhen I Was Cruel(Island)cd$ 17.98

This is Mr. Costello's first solo record in seven years, and a couple of his Attractions -- pianist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas -- join him on this release. He planned to make it a rowdy work... at least in contrast to the abundance of balladry he's

DAMON & NAOMISong To The Siren: On Tour With Kurihara(Sub Pop)cd+dvd$ 16.98

This is definitely the week of former Galaxie 500ers, isn't it? Let's take a peek at where two of the three are at these days (for the other third, check out the Luna review this AQ list), shall we? We've not heard from them since their 2000 collaboration album

DAN THE AUTOMATORWanna Buy A Monkey?(Sequence)cd$ 16.98

A sixteen-piece "mixtape" created by Dan the Automator. While there are plenty of tracks that he himself originated or remixed (like Deltron 3030, Gorillaz, Lovage) there are also personal favorites of his that he's messed with in typical cool Automator

DANIELSON FAMILE, THEFlip Flop Flim Flam(Fluevog)cd ep$ 4.50

A li'l single cd containing just one song, which was commissioned by powerhouse shoe maker John Fluevog, who I guess is a big Danielson fan. The Famile also designed a lovely shoe for the line, a heavy white loafer with a big red leather heart on top

DAT POLITICSPlugs Plus(Chicks On Speed)cd$ 16.98

Formed in the discreet industrial town of Lille, France, DAT Politics -- a former side project of Sub Rosa post rock outfit Tone Rec -- has evolved into a full-time labor of love. For four years, the trio (formerly a quartet) have been transforming

DECAER PINGAU-Sound Archives #5: Green Conclusion(U-Sound)cd-r$ 9.98

The fifth archival document from Jackie-O Motherfucker's U-Sound series features Decaer Pinga, whose members had previously explored the nether regions of shitnoiserock as Prick Decay. The Scottish duo of Dora Doll and Dylan Nyoukis now have quieted

DETROIT COBRASMink Rat or Rabbit(Sympathy For The Record Industry)cd$ 12.98

This is yet another cd that is not new but is -so- important to our Sadie that we are listing it now. "Mink Rat or Rabbit" was the first release by this lovely Detroit quintet, a band I just can't shut up about. I've convinced, like, seven of my friends to buy

DIANOGAHMillions Of Brazilians(Southern)cd$ 14.98

Although they often fall into step with their mellow instrumental post-rock contemporaries such as San Diego's Tristeza, Dianogah seem restless sticking to that gentle pace as they shuffle their deck of time signatures and tempos. Solid, dynamic drumming

DIE TODLICHE DORISKinderringellreihen Fur Wharen Toren Des Grals(Psychedelic Pig)cd$ 15.98

The atypically named label Psychedelic Pig has spent some serious time digging deep into the cavernous history of experimental music, recently uncovering the very hard to find Masstishaddhu album of dark occultish ritualism originally on United Dairies, and

EITZEL, MARKMusic For Courage And Confidence(New West)cd$ 16.98

Mon dieu! Do my ears deceive me? Alas, the worst is true: Mark Eitzel has made a covers album. That's right. The amazing Mark Eitzel, formerly of American Music Club, who were local but had cultishly loyal fans the world over, has made an album of songs I'm a huge AMC and Eitzel fan, but dang this record is dismal. Here's why: Eitzel's voice and lyrics -- which once had meaning and depth for AMC/Eitzel fans, which once came from his heart -- has been reduced to nothing but a 'style'. Weak loungejazz singing might work for Harry Connick Jr, but how dare anyone try to superficialize (is that a word?) Mark Eitzel. His voice hasn't got the range nor the appropriate bland sappiness to carry off the tunes they way they "should" be covered. He sounds really muted and only half-caring, as if he knows how wrong the whole idea was. The band is similarly hesitant (except on the Curtis Mayfield song where they funk it up tolerably well.) Mark's voice is far more suited to the angst-ridden catharsis AMC records trafficked in. Yes, I'm biased in favor of his older music but this... this isn't even his *new* material -- they're not his songs! (And yes, if the covers were truly well done I would totally applaud the project... but they are bad bad bad.) A sad thumbs-down for the many fans including myself who've been patiently waiting for new Eitzel songs.

ELECTRIC WIZARDLet Us Prey(The Music Cartel)cd$ 13.98

AQ-faves Electric Wizard return with the eagerly anticipated "Let Us Prey". After their totally wrecked, wretched performance here in San Francisco last year (which we still enjoyed, but as comedy), this excellent, totally competent new album can only beg the Doom metal doesn't have to be stoner rock, and stoner rock isn't always (or even often) doom metal, but the combination is natural -- and for that nobody beats the Wiz. Electric Wizard's spacey, metallic drug-punk (a mixture of Sabbath, Hawkwind, and the Melvins) features lost, buried, hopeless vocals singing dirgey hymns to the God-Bong amidst bowel-rumbling, super-heavy, super-sludgey guitar and bass psychedelia. What's not to like? This is the kind of album that lends itself to a track-by-track rundown (why? 'cause there's only six songs): The disc starts with a classically slow n' massive Wizard song entitled "A Chosen Few", designed to bludgeon the listener into stuporific submission from riff one. "We, The Undead" changes tactics, being fast and kinda punky (in an Eyehategod/Black Flag way), with a riff that's *very* Saint Vitus. "Master Of Alchemy" is another slow crusher a la the first track, with a truly EVIL sounding main riff. This song is a relentless juggernaut that eventually morphs (it's a two-part suite nearly ten minutes long) into a mellower, but still quite EVIL, psychedelic drone jam. "The Outsider" is, if possible, even lower, slower, and more drugged-out sounding, building into a wah wah propelled epic before its nine minutes are out. Then, out of nowhere, the beautiful, melancholy "Night Of The Shape" (great title) kicks in -- noir-sh piano figures over busy, shuffling drumbeats that sound almost drum n' bass inspired. This could be on a Radiohead record, yet somehow it's totally doomy. After that lovey interlude, the Wizard get back to their usual business on the epic album closer "Priestess Of Mars". More sludge, more wah, more pot smoke. And then, three quarters of an hour after you put it on, "Let Us Prey" is over and you'll need another fix!

FELDMAN, MORTONTurfan Fragments / For Samuel Beckett(Dog W/A Bone)cd$ 19.98

The iconoclastic 20th Century composer Morton Feldman had been quite vocal in his disdain of traditional opera, making his historic collaborations throughout the '80s with author Samuel Beckett all the more idiosyncratic. Nevertheless, as the two "Turfan Fragments" was a composition dating seven years earlier, relating to a collection of 9th Century Chinese calligraphic fragments housed in Berlin's Preussicher Kulturbesitz. Compared to the lugubrious pace of "For Samuel Beckett," "Turfan Fragments" cycles much faster through the rotations of atonal leitmotifs and gradaually shifted chord progressions, sounding much more nervous than its preceeding composition on this disc. Yet, both pieces (performed here by Petr Kotik and the S.E.M. Emsemble) are exceptional and highly recommended examples of Feldman's third and final chapter of his impressive catalogue.

FLYNT, HENRYSpindizzy(Recorded)cd$ 16.98

Henry Flynt's "Spindizzy" is the second volume in his series of "New American Ethnic Music," following the incredible document "You Are My Everlovin' / Celestial Power", an earlier assortment of country-fried, Fluxus inspired minimalism. Flynt had been an

FRIDGESemaphore(Output)cd$ 16.98

The London instrumental trio Fridge's album from 1998 is finally reissued here on the Output label from the UK. (Still an import, but at a somewhat reasonable price.) While there are folks who think this is Fridge's best record, I still say its followup Eph is

HAIR POLICEBlow Out Your Blood(Freedom From)cd$ 8.98

Are the Lexington, KY group unfortunately named Hair Police attempting to dethrone the Digital Hardcore crew? Sure sounds like it. Cacaphonous art punk angst in a head-on collision with a very DHR sonic barrage. One dozen brief, thick'n'murky tracks of

HARCOURT, EDHere Be Monsters(Capitol / Heavenly)cd$ 10.98

Here Be Monsters sounds not unlike a dreamy meeting of Sparklehorse, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake and Rufus Wainwright. Harcourt's hoarse, weary vocals - often a frail whisper - coupled with pretty darn fine songwriting and lush instrumentation make for quite

HENRY COWWestern Culture(East Side Digital)cd$ 16.98

"Western Culture" was the final recording of Henry Cow and the end result of a tumultuous two year period of tour mishaps, line-up changes and general hardship amongst the group's many members. Formed in 1968, this legendary English group (which takes its name

HERMAN DUNESwitzerland Heritage(Prohibited)cd$ 14.98

Herman Dune is a band, not a person, consisting of two Swedish brothers named David-Ivar Herman Dune and Andre Herman Dune, plus a drummer named Neman. We really liked the "They Go to the Woods" cd they released last year on Shrimper. It was a dark, but

HOLLIES, THEGreatest Hits(Epic)cd$ 12.98

Perfect paisley pop from these British Invaders, whose gorgeous harmony vocals and expert songsmithery garnered 'em many a hit from the mid sixties through the early seventies, including "Bus Stop", "Carrie-Anne", "King Midas In Reverse", and ten others

IDAHO FALLS, THEs/t(self-released)cd+lp$ 9.98

One thing's for sure, those Idaho Falls folks are a generous bunch. They offer up their self-titled debut album on vinyl and cd together in one package, and a very reasonably priced one at that! So you get to enjoy their rootsy, twangful tunes twice as much, or I suppose you could share it with a friend. A wide variety of tunes for those porchswing days or campfire nights - complete

JERICHO JONESJunkies Monkeys and Donkeys(Akarma)cd$ 16.98

Late '60s Israeli psych rock group Churchill's is well liked here at AQ -- indeed, it's one of Windy's all time faves -- so we were quite curious about this Arkarma reissue by the band Jericho Jones, which was the hard rockin' '70s incarnation of the

KHOLDPhantom(Moonfog)cd$ 13.98

Album number two from these grim purveyors of Nordic darkness. The first Khold record was one of Andee's favorite records of last year, so our expectations were high for this one, and 'Phantom' did not diappoint. But it did surprise, however -- more on that

KID 606The Action Packed Mentallist Brings You the Fucking Jams(Violent Turd)cd$ 13.98

I know we seem to be kind of hard on Kid606. We are. He's the artist du jour. He's on practically every electronica compilation that came out in the last two years, everyone wants to put his records out, everyone wants to remix him (or be remixed by him),

KOSMIK KOMMANDOUniversal Indicator 5(Beta Bodega)12"$ 8.98

"Universal Indicator" is loaded with seriously hard acid house tracks from Mike Dred's Kosmik Kommando persona that were recorded back in the day, and may have been slotted for release on Rephlex back in the early '90s. Beta Bodega has been purposefully vague on the true facts about this release, but this is nevertheless a fine reminder of the nastier face of rave culture.

LANGLIE, MIKETwink(Dyspepsidisc)cd + book$ 9.98

Beloved AQ customer Mike Langlie has put together this picture book and cd, which at first glance/listen would appear to be just a cute children's book. But as the cd progresses, the music, all playful and bouncy, becomes slightly sinister, and when coupled

LOVELIESCRUSHINGGlissceule(Sonic Syrup)cd$ 9.98

Shoegazing - originally the derogatory term applied to bands like Ride, Slowdive, and My Bloody Valentine for the lackluster stage presence - had developed into an impressive aesthetic during the early '90s whereby the jangle of '60s psych-pop had been married with Brian Eno's notions of ambient music as an oceanic / prelingual return to the womb. After its gilded crescendo from a couple of records (most notably MBV's "Loveless"), shoegazing as an artform faded away, with many of the original proponents shedding the layers of distortion to concentrate upon their songwriting (most notably Neil Halstead formerly of Slowdive, now a minstrel of sunny folk-rock). Loveliescrushing - the post-shoegazing US duo of Scott Cortez and Melissa Arpin-Henry - disagreed with this trajectory away from etherealism and towards songsmithery, thus centering their music around only the faintest residues of melody and ghostly reminders of what might be a song somewhere within all of their bleary-eyed guitar washes. Their first two exceptional albums ("Bloweyelashwish" and "Xuvetyn") found their way onto Projekt, the stalwart proprietors of America's darkwave / goth scene, although they didn't readily fit with Projekt's aesthetic for black lace and blood red roses. The only connection with Projekt may have been in the mutual affinity for the Cocteau Twins, whose glossalaic siren songs certainly resonate within the incomprehensible siren-like vocalizations of Arpin-Henry. Yet for all of the aforementioned references, Loveliescrushing has little use for a rhythm section, presenting that soft female voice floating way off in the distance amidst oceans of radioluminescent layers of guitar reverberation. Compared to their previous records, "Glissceule" has smoothed over some of Loveliescrushing's expressionistic bursts of static and bristling noise, striving for a more enchanting eternal drone. In all probability, this will stand as one of my (Jim's) favorite 'pop' albums of the year, even though there's nothing 'pop' about it.

LUNARomantica(Jetset)cd$ 16.98

The sixth album from Luna certainly sounds all warm and welcoming. And of course it's well-performed and well-recorded like any other Luna release - perhaps partly due this time to the presence of producer extraordinaire David Fridmann (Sparklehorse, Flaming

MARU SANKAKU SHIKAKUs/t(Captain Trip)3cd$ 34.00

English speakers may prefer to refer to this group simply as Circle Triangle Square (for their name is actually just those shapes, with no words English or Japanese). Yup, Tokyo's Captain Trip label has really dug up a weird obscurity here for fans of out-there Liner notes (in English as well as Japanese) by leader Sakuro "Kant" Watanabe explain that his group travelled around Japan with tents and sleeping bags doing street performances in costumes and make-up. Meanwhile, along with releasing LPs, Watanabe also privately published underground magazines and played drums in another group called, in English, Social Ostracism. Other Maru Sankaku Shikaku members included a young Reck (later of Friction and Optical*8) and a fellow who also played the starring role in a local production of Hair! It was apparently a very radical scene going on, in which these folks played a part. Watanabe speaks of his artistic efforts as being "tools for trips" and you'll believe it, particularily in light of this passage of free-association in his liner notes: "Time, avant-garde, rock n' roll, vagabond, inhaling paint thinner, journey, beat, nihilism, underground, blues, hippie, Kohenji, genius, LSD, Shinjuku, yippie, painkiller, death, shoplifting, long hair, revolution, insanity, Kyoto, grass, hitchhiking, sex, commune, psychedelic, hashish, Zen, Asobi (playing or game), Satori (spiritual enlightenment), make-up, solitude, loneliness, anti-establishment, idiot, cool, rock festival, trip, Guru -- they were neighbors, part of us, and enemies sometimes." These discs convey the vibe of a quiet, mysterious ritual, one which can build into a sudden frenzy, however. Seemingly random sounds coalesce into rhythm and structure. Vocals, sometimes quite wild, and percussion are the basis for their music, which appears to be entirely freeform and improvised, full of electronic blurts, whistles, bells, clapping, wah wah guitar stabs, plus many and various unidentifiable noises. There's even hints of a very primitive '70s Miles Davis/Sun Ra thing in this stew of sounds, but it's way out, way abstract, and certainly not jazzy or funky. It's either avant garde genius or babbling directionless indulgence, depending on how much into their mindset you can get. And, it's very important to mention: there's SO MUCH beautiful cracky surface noise from the LPs (no digital clean-up here!) that it almost sounds like Maru Sankaku Shikaku is jamming with Philip Jeck! While perhaps not an intentional part of their music, it really adds to it, making this seem more ancient and secret and hidden and droney. Spiritual/artistic ancestors of the Sun City Girls, the No Neck Blues Band, Thuja, Hochenkeit, AMT, Boredoms, etc. Thus, definitely not for everybody!

MASADAFirst Live 1993(Tzadik)cd$ 16.98

Though an interesting and wonderful document of John Zorn's Ornette Coleman inspired quartet -- fabulously rendered by four of the most amazing performers in the Downtown scene -- we think Tzadik have outdone themselves with the obi strip comments this time