When our Andee was away on his vacation to Finland last year he got turned on to this compilation of early ('60s/'70s) Finnish experimental music. It also has been getting a good deal of airplay on our favorite radio station, New Jersey's wonderful WFMU (www.wfmu.org, tune in!). So, now we're real happy to have finally gotten this in stock, and felt it deserved Record Of The Week status for several reasons: it's Finnish, it's fucked, and it's also of historical import. Mainly, though, it's just fucked. In that fun way we at AQ totally dig. Sure, "Arktien Hysteria" (translation: Arctic Hysteria, if you couldn't guess) is all experimental and avantgarde but definitely not super serious -- heck, it starts out with a veritable symphony of burps, and one of the best artists on here is known as The Sperm. These tracks tend to feature (one or more of the following): early "sampling" cut-ups, druggy proto-punk psychedelic rock freedom, free jazz noise, groovy oddball electronics n' drone, conceptual flux, and vocal derangement. Arktien hysteria indeed! The freakouts on here should prove that none of the art-punk noiseniks of today can make a noise that hasn't been made already. Such as the turkey gobbling style sax and maniacal percussion of Jouni Kesti & Seppo I. Laine's "Analysis of Revolution".
Not that it's all zany hijinks, there's abstract soundscape stuff on here too, some of it really dark and weird. Quite a few home-built instruments/machines/synths feature here, along with tape loops galore. Thougth some folks make do though with just sheer frenzied performance gusto. All tracks were taken, we believe, from rare LPs originially released circa 1967-1970 by the legendary Finnish label Love Records. Actually, one cut even dates from as far back as 1961. The cd booklet's got photos and (thankfully) some liner notes in English, though there's more text in Finnish, oh well.
Pan sonic and Circle and Keuhkot and Kemialliset Ystavat and all the rest of Finland's current avant/underground scene start to make a lot more sense when you hear what their aunts and uncles were up to a few decades back, makin' noise at live happenings, or constructing tracks in primitive DIY studios built in their sauna huts. Damn, what a cool compilation. Insane, and arguably essential.
MPEG Download: BLUES SECTION "Shivers Of Pleasure" [/audio/arktinenblues.mp3]
MPEG Stream: BLUES SECTION "Shivers Of Pleasure" [/audio/arktinenblues.m3u]
MPEG Download: JUKKA RUOHOMAKI "Mika Aika On" [/audio/arktinenjukka.mp3]
MPEG Stream: JUKKA RUOHOMAKI "Mika Aika On" [/audio/arktinenjukka.m3u]
Interesting collection of early recordings from throughout the African continent. Rare recordings dating as far back as 1929 and on up to the early 50's give us a peek into the germinus of modern popular music on the continent. Inundated by Christian missionaries, Europeans looking to make a buck and an increasingly urbanized lifestyle new forms of music had been developing even long before the introduction of the phonograph to Africa. There's a wealth of proto-African pop on here in the form of string bands, concertina and/or accordion groups, guitar, brass bands and vocal ensembles.
MPEG Download: WEST AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET "Bea Tsin No. 2" [/audio/westafricanbeatsin.mp3]
MPEG Stream: WEST AFRICAN INSTRUMENTAL QUINTET "Bea Tsin No. 2" [/audio/westafricanbeatsin.m3u]
MPEG Download: SITTI BINTI SAAD "Njia Ungurusumbwe" [/audio/sittibintinjia.mp3]
Second volume of classic porn soundtrack recordings following the successful "Deep Note" compilation we listed a year ago. Like the previous collection, this one comes interespersed with dialog from the films themselves. And while the sound quality of the music is much better (many of the previous album's tracks seemed to be dubbed straight from the VHS tapes), the variety in the music is less interesting. Given that there's not much information on the individual tracks, it's guess work as to when they were recorded. But it seems clear that these tracks come from a later period of porn films. The musicians, more accustomed to what's expected of them in the studio are less likely to experiment. Either that, or the producers just chose to pick a collection of tracks which better represent what one might expect to hear on a porn soundtrack: smooth, funky jams and a few jazzy numbers. Which is a bit of a disappointment. With this collection is included a glossy booklet with plenty of sexy film stills and liner notes entitled "Casting Room Capers of a Female X-Rated Movie Director (circa 1974)" in which a supposedly "female" porn director recounts her experiences casting her first film "Hot Rocks". Unfortunately, the producers of this disc forgot to credit her name at the end of the booklet and a search on google revealed no such film from the early 70's so we can't give you "her" name either. Any porn experts out there who might be able to enlighten us? Once again, this one's for fans of Vampyros Lesbos, Schulmaedchen Report and other sexy soundtracks.
MPEG Download: ANONYMOUS "Slip It In" [/audio/deepnoteslipitin.mp3]
MPEG Stream: ANONYMOUS "Slip It In" [/audio/deepnoteslipitin.m3u]
For the past few years now, we've been singing the praises of the Last Visible Dog catalog, which mostly consists of cd-r editions from the likes of Thuja, MCMS, Shizuka, Dead Raven Choir, and many other bands specializing in primitive electronics, droning lo-tech minimalism, or drugged-out psychedelic improvisation. Having recently made the jump to manufacturing real cds with their reissue of the Jewelled Antler project The Birdtree, Last Visible Dog now offers "The Invisible Pyramid" as a double-cd primer to their catalog, with *all exclusive* tracks from Thuja, Reynols, Charalambides, Omit, Birdtree, Fursaxa, Birchville Cat Motel, Karma (yet another Kawabata Makoto project!), Pelt, The Iditarod, Kemialliset Ystavat, SubArachnoid Space, Avarus, MCMS, Drona Parva, Karl Precoda & Mike Gangloff, Miminokoto, Pylon, Sandoz Lab Technicians, Black Forest / Black Sea, and Peter Wright. A wonderfully steady listen, "The Invisible Pyramid" fortunately doesn't suffer from the problems of most label comps, which are often filled with tracks not good enough to make it onto proper albums. Since all of these bands are SO prolific (just look to Birchville Cat Motel and the Jewelled Antler collective for evidence of the wealth of great recordings), getting great tracks couldn't have been that difficult a task for Last Visible Dog. The highlights include a massive four-part opus of space-fug from Reynols, the alienating electronic cryptography of Omit, the minimalist, sleepwalking strum of Fursaxa, and the wistful avant-folk of The Birdtree. Altogether, a wonderful compilation!
MPEG Download: KARMA "1st.Sex" [/audio/karma1stsex.mp3]
MPEG Stream: KARMA "1st.Sex" [/audio/karma1stsex.m3u]
MPEG Download: FURSAXA "Chartreuse My Green" [/audio/fursaxachartreuse.mp3]
This release seeks to recognize the Florida studio T.K. Records/ Tone Distributors and their roster of artists as a regional force in the funk & soul world, with its grouping of talented in-house musicians, songwriters and producers paralleling the succesful recipes of labels like Motown in Detroit, Stax in Memphis and Philidelphia International. "Miami Sound" collects big hits and regional rarities by artists like Gwen McCrae, Timmy Thomas, Little Beaver, and Clarence Reid-- who many people might know better as nasty comic Blowfly (the funky backing music on the Blowfly records being played by the same T.K. in-house musicians as appear on "Miami Sound"). Highlights include both Frank Williams & The Rocketeers and Helene Smith's versions of "You Got To Be A Man," a total funky gem of a hit that never was; the smooth n' sexy vibe of George McCrae's "I Get Lifted;" mellow grooviness laced with string arrangements infusing Gwen McCrae's "90% Of Me Is You;" and the sweet sadness and motown heartbreak of "A Woman Will Do Wrong," another cut from Helene Smith. This collection sticks to 1967-1974, before many of these same artists went on to have disco hits. Some sweetly soulful tunes and seriously funky shit is unearthed in another winning compilation from Soul Jazz!
MPEG Download: FRANK WILLIAMS & THE ROCKETEERS "You Got To Be A Man" [/audio/FrankWilliamsBeAMan.mp3]
MPEG Stream: FRANK WILLIAMS & THE ROCKETEERS "You Got To Be A Man" [/audio/FrankWilliamsBeAMan.m3u]
With this third and final volume in the Scratch Attack series, beloved local hiphop go-getter Billy Jam has managed to collect together some of the most astonishingly good and exciting turntablist tracks out there, many of them having been performed live on his Scratch Attack radio show, with the studio tracks boasting just as much energy and creativity as the live stuff. Honestly, these are some of the most impressive, well chosen tracks out there. A fine survey into the current turntablist scene. With appearances by T-Rock, Live Human, Qbert, Shing02, Alien Army, etc.
MPEG Download: SHING02 & FREELANCERS UNITED "Organ Transplant" [/audio/scratchshingo.mp3]
MPEG Stream: SHING02 & FREELANCERS UNITED "Organ Transplant" [/audio/scratchshingo.m3u]
Subtitled "17 A-Go-Go Ultrarities From the 60's Singapore and South-East Asia Underground", this comp fairly smokes in a psychedelic pop haze. Covering standards like "Buttons and Bows", but mostly playing by-the-numbers originals, bands like October Cherries, Rosnah and the Siglap Five, Ronnie Ong, and Naomi & the Boys (playing a great Peter Thomas number) played a mixture of surf, soul, r&b, and plain ole psych pop. A couple of the groups here even went to #1 in their home countries. Fuzz guitar! The tracks featuring girl singers sound just like the Ultra Chicks French girl group comps, thus testifying to the universal appeal the rock music of the day held for young people the world over.
On transparent blue vinyl. Dutch import. ----* ----* Also New In Stock, Reviews Coming Soon : ----* 400 BLOWS "Black Rainbow" (Tone Capsule) cd 11.98 ANZELLOTTI, TEODORO "Leos Janacek" (Winter & Winter) cd 16.98 AROVANE "Icol Diston" cd 16.98 ATMOSPHERE "God Loves Ugly" (Fat Beats) cd 16.98 BRAXTON, ANTHONY "Actuel Sessions" (Fuel 2000) cd 12.98 BREAD LOVE AND DREAMS "s/t" (Hugo-Montes) cd 17.98 CANDIRIA "The Coma Imprint" (Lakeshore Records) 2cd 17.98 CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND "Magnetic Hands" (Viper) cd 19.98 CARDIACS "A Little Man And A House And The Whole World Window" (Alphabet) cd 14.98 CARDIACS "Sing To God - Part Two" (Alphabet) cd 14.98 CARDIACS "Sing To God - Part One" (Alphabet) cd 14.98 CASSERLEY, LAWRENCE "The Edge Of Chaos" (Sargasso) cd 14.98 CERBERUS SHOAL / HERMAN DUNE "The Whys And Hows Of Herman Dune and Cerberus Shoal" (North East Indie) cd 9.98 CHERRY, DON "Blue Lake" (BYG / Toho / Get Back) 2lp 19.98 CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY "s/t" (Rhino) cd 16.98 COMETBUS "Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus" (Last Gasp) book 14.95 FELDMAN, MORTON "Complete Works For Two Pianists" (Alice Musik Produktion) cd 14.98 FORBIDDEN PLANET "(OST)" (Moving Image Entertainment) lp 21.00 FUNGAL HEX "s/t" (Ministerstva Kultury Cr) cd 11.98 FURSAXA "s/t" (Ecstatic Peace) lp 13.98 GORILLAZ "Spacemonkeyz versus Gorillaz - Laika Come Home" (Astralwerks) cd 16.98 HEADLANDS BAND "California" (Headlands Band Music) cd 11.98 HERMANO "...Only A Suggestion" (Tee Pee) 2cd 14.98 HIDDEN "Spectral Magnitude" (Red Stream) cd 11.98 HURLEY, MICHAEL "Blueberry Wine" (Locust) cd 14.98 INVISIBL SKRATCH PIKLZ VS. DA KLAMZ UV DETH "Furious Ostrich Tracks" (Asphodel) lp 7.98 MISERY INDEX / COMMIT SUICIDE "Split CD" (Willowtip) cd 12.98 NARGAROTH "Black Metal Ist Krieg" (No Colours) cd 14.98 NARGAROTH "Hervstleyd" (No Colours) cd 14.98 OMIT "Rejector" (SySecular) cd-r 9.98 ON FILLMORE "On Fillmore" (Locust) cd 14.98 ORTHRELM / TOUCHDOWN "Split" (Troubleman) cd 12.98 PARTON, DOLLY "Halos & Horns" (Sugar Hill) cd 17.98 REINHARDT, DJANGO "Djangology" (RCA Victor) cd 16.98 RITUAL CARNAGE "The Birth Of Tragedy" (Osmose) cd 14.98 RJD2 "Deadringer" (Definitive Jux) cd/2lp 17.98/17.98 ROWE, KEITH & OREN AMBARCHI "Flypaper" (Staubgold) cd 14.98 SHIOMI, MIEKO "A Musical Dictionary of 80 People Around Fluxus" (? Records) cd 22.00 SPUNK "Den Overste Toppen Pa En Blamalt Flaggstang" (Rune Grammofon) cd 15.98 STARS AS EYES "Important Youth Movement / People Kill People" (Tigerbeat6) 7" 4.98 TABLA BEAT SCIENCE "Live In San Francisco At Stern Grove" (Axiom) 2cd 17.98 TATSUYA, YOSHIDA "Magaibutsu" reissue w/ bonus tracks (Review Records) cd 13.98 THORNSPAWN "Wrath Of War" (Osmose) cd 14.98 TROLLHEIM'S GROTT "Bizarre Troll Technology" (Woodcut) cd 14.98 V/A "Chocolate Soup For Diabetics 4" (PCP) cd 14.98 V/A "Chocolate Soup For Diabetics 5" (PCP) cd 14.98 VINTERSORG "Visions From The Spiral Generator" (Napalm) cd 14.98 WALDAMSEL / FOREST BLACKBIRD "s/t" (Natural Sound / Wergo) cd 18.98 WARLORD "Rising Out Of The Ashes" (Atrheia) cd 14.98 WOLF EYES "Fuck Pete Larsen" (Wolf Eyes) lp 14.98 ZORN, JOHN "Filmworks XI" (Tzadik) cd 15.98
Punky noisy label Troubleman records has put out many awesome records; this comp is a low-priced way to check out tracks from a bunch of their current, recent and here-very-soon releases. Features a ton of AQ and customer fave bands! Dig it: Erase Errata, Wolf Eyes, Glass Candy, Orthrelm, The Walkmen, Subtonix, Pixeltan, The Roger Sisters, Songs Of Zarathustra, Meta*Matics, The Flying Luttenbachers, The Panthers, ABC's, Numbers, Kepler, Red Monkey, The Lack, Touchdown, Milky Wimpshake and Pussycat Trash, plus an Erase Errata remix by Adult (from the upcoming Erase Errata remix album).
MPEG Download: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.mp3]
MPEG Stream: ERASE ERATTA "Marathon (Adult. Remix)" [/audio/eraseerratamarathonrmx.m3u]
Yes, a double cd tribute to black metal's most notorious one-man-band, the currently incarcerated Burzum aka Varg Vikernes. The twenty three bands on here are all mainly super underground black metallists obviously influenced (musically and perhaps in other ways, unfortunately) by Burzum to begin with and thus the cold misanthropic drone of Burzum's black metal is fully in evidence here, making it good listen for all those who appreciate Varg's music, if not his politics or actions (he's a murderer, churchburner, and a Nazi, in case you were wondering).
The liner notes are interesting, as each band gets a half page to share their thoughts on the tribute's subject. Most wax rapturously about his genius ("...Burzum's music speaks directly to the very essence of man, where dwells the truth. Burzum is like a starry, pure night sky where among light and darkness a perfect harmony reigns..." says the band Krigstrommer) but weirdly/thankfully several bands make a point of condemning (or certainly not condoning) Varg's political views even as they of course admit to their love of his music. The line-up includes Aborym, local boys Black Queen (?!), Nokturnal Mortum, Sarnath, DHR act Schizoid, Judas Iscariot, and a host of lesser-knowns (except to cult black metal followers of course) like Pagan Hellfire, Ewigkeit, Aegishjalmar, Fornost, etc. As we said, it's all very Burzumic indeed, with our favorite tracks being Aboryms twisted (but still true) dayglo machinelike blast of Varg worship and Schizoid's DHR-via-the-frosty-north industrial hyper-distorted droning buzz-take. Although all the tracks are pretty great!
Of course, we tend to prefer tribute comps where the artists *aren't* at all similar to the tributee to begin with, but that's not likely to happen with a Burzum tribute is it? And with Varg in a Norwegian prison making bad synth albums, hearing these guys reinterpret his old classics is as close as we're gonna get to a new "real" Burzum record...
MPEG Download: SCHIZOID "En Ring Til A Herske" [/audio/schizoiden.mp3]
MPEG Stream: SCHIZOID "En Ring Til A Herske" [/audio/schizoiden.m3u]
Here's a recording that ought to appeal to fans of the Orgues A Bouche, the Central African Banda Linda Horns, or the Aluar Horns ( featured on the Explorer East African Ceremonial & Folk Music disc we listed late last year). The music on this disc is that of the Waza trumpet ensembles of the Berta people. The Berta are a distinct ethnic group living in the borderlands between the Sudan and Ethiopia who've long struggled for years to remain culturally autonymous against the forces of the surrounding dominant ethnic groups. The Waza trumpet ensemble, the most important musical expression of the Berta, was originally performed as a sort of status symbol by local chiefs to demonstrate their power. The ensemble generally consists of 10 to 12 trumpets ranging in length between 50 and 180 centimeters and accompanied by percussion -- in the form of wood blocks -- and often a chorus of female singers. Like the Banda Linda Horns, each horn player in a Waza ensemble plays only one note and through rigorous group cooperation participates in producing a stunning polyphony. Along with the large Waza trumpet ensembles on this disc, there are several recordings of smaller ensembles of flute, percussion and choruses. This release from Wergo comes deluxely packaged in an oversized slip cover along with a seventy page booklet of detailed liner notes, photos and even musical transcriptions.
MPEG Download: "If You Say My Name, I'll Fuck You!" [/audio/wazaifyousay.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "If You Say My Name, I'll Fuck You!" [/audio/wazaifyousay.m3u]
Subtitled "Dread Meets Punk Rocker Downtown" this is a brilliant collection of dubbed out and reggaefied punk and new wave b-sides circa '77-'81, demonstrating the Jamaican dub influence on the youth culture of music and rebellion in England and elsewhere, back in the day. The underground dancefloor avantgardists of today can cop these styles, but this is the real deal, with tracks from well-known acts like The Pop Group, Killing Joke, The Slits, PIL, The Clash, Grace Jones and Stiff Little Fingers, plus some more obscure bands as well, like Red Beat, 4 Be 2, and Basement 5. Some cuts are actual echoey dubs, others are more about the Jamaican influence, and the dub concept of studio as instrument. All are pretty cool.
The Ruts' "Jah War" starts things off in deceptively ordinary fashion, pretty much straight up reggae (not a dub), though it does succesfully demonstrate this comp's thesis regarding the influence of reggae on punk (with The Ruts eventually becoming Ruts DC, subject of an anthology on Select Cuts we recommended a while back)... That's followed by Mikey Dread's dub version of The Clash's "Bank Robber" which of course sounds pretty much like The Clash, but dubbier. It's with track three, "Wild Dub" from Generation X, purportedly the first punk dub ever cut, that the punk-dub collision starts to get really interesting. And if Billy Idol's old band's dub attempt is cool, you can only imagine what more some of the more out-there groups came up with. For instance, dig the bizarre sounds of The Slits, whose disjointed dub of "Typical Girls" comes off like Italian 'rock concrete' deconstructionists Starfuckers by way of Jamaica, all cut-up and sparse and loopy. Definitely a highlight. Meanwhile, you've got The Pop Group setting an example for current acts like Out Hud/!!! to emulate, 4 Be 2's weird Irish hoedown skank, the throbbing "Turn To Red" by Killing Joke (from a super-rare 9" record), and Grace Jones' 1980 Chrissie Hynde penned dance classic "Private Life" with bass and drums from Sly & Robbie. And more... Former Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten is a ubiquitous presence, in addition to PIL's quintessential "Death Disco", there's a bunch of other John Lydon productions on here, including a great track from Vivien Goldman ("Private Armies") dubbed up by Lydon and Adrian Sherwood. Goldman, former singer with the Flying Lizards and reggae writer for the punk weekly Sounds, contributes the disc's liner notes, with an enthusiastic, informed, she-was-there-then-and-cares-deeply-about-it-now perspective. So, totally, recommended -- everyone who loved those great Disco Not Disco and/or In The Beginning There Was Rhythm compilations will want to check this out for sure!
Praise Odin! At long last, a reissue of the sole full-length Ved Buens Ende album, originally released in 1995 on the now defunct cult label Misanthropy. A black metal super session of sorts, this band featured past, present, and future members of Satyricon, Dodheimsgard, Aura Noir, Cadaver Inc. and Arcturus. But Ved Buens Ende ('At The End of the Rainbow' in English) hardly sounded like ANY of those black metal stalwarts -- as avant garde as any of them ever got, Ved Buens Ende went way beyond. Yes it was heavy and dark and the vocals had a unique Viking/monk chant strangeness that isn't typical of black metal but would make even less sense coming from another genre of music... but rather than black metal, Ved Buens Ende could just as easily be categorized as a post-rock or math-rock band. A really amazing math-rock band, with Don Caballero's "2" being the closest comparison! But totally sad and metallic and strange and forlorn and beautiful. Utter weird progressive instrumental genius. And the vocals, once you get used to them (and they do add to the bizarre vibe already created by the unsettling, atmospheric music) are used to deliver some mysterious, poetic lyrics as well. Overall, this is not like anything else!
It's too bad they never released another record (except for a disc of demos) but it's also unlikely that they could have surpassed this masterpiece anyway. Over the past eight years, this record has really proven itself to be a lasting classic, growing in stature, foreshadowing (but still exceeding) much of the 'post-black metal' innovations to come -- such as the most out-there psychedelic parts of recent Enslaved albums, for instance, or Opeth's epic dynamism. It's been out of print for a long time, and hopefully now will reach a whole new audience with this remixed, remastered re-release, which features brand new cover art/graphic design that's not bad at all, kind of a fancier, Ralph Steadman ink-splatter take on the original artwork. As one of our favorite so-called black metal albums EVER, this gets the highest recommendation, though the vocal style may be a test that hopefully you will pass.
MPEG Download: "I Sang For The Swans" [/audio/vedbuensendeIsang.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "I Sang For The Swans" [/audio/vedbuensendeIsang.m3u]
After releases on Howe Gelb's Ow Om label and Future Farmer Records, M. Ward finds his new album a welcome and fitting home on Merge Records, and what a splendid one it is! It might get filed under "country/folk/Americana", but Ward doesn't stay within the confines of these genres. He's much more of a vagabond, bringing a great deal more to his slightly skewed aural canvas - very akin to Tom Waits or the aforementioned Gelb's Giant Sand. For example, lend an ear to the warm rollicking pop of "Vincent O'Brien" with its plinky piano and driving tempo or the creeping, almost funereal cover of David Bowie's "Let's Dance". Pretty darn fine! Vocally, Ward has drawn comparisons to the weathered, emotive pipes of Waits, Vic Chesnutt and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous. It can go from hoarse and near-spoken in one song to gentle and sweetly pleading in the next. He's backed up by The Old Joe Clarks with some extra field recording input from Grandaddy's Jason Lytle. So timeless, otherworldly, and intriguing. Recommended.
MPEG Download: "Vincent O'Brien" [/audio/mwardvincent.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Vincent O'Brien" [/audio/mwardvincent.m3u]
Wigrid is a one-(Ger)man band that plays raw black metal definitely influenced by the notorious Burzum. Indeed, as you become enveloped in the depressive, distorted, plodding fuzz-forest of Wigrid's imagination, you'll be convinced that such unending grimness hasn't been inflicted upon the world since before the incarceration of Varg Vikernes, aka Burzum. Wigrid's massive, murky wall of fuzz, with desperate, screamed vocals lost behind it, marches slowly ever onward, with primitive, minor-key melodies subliminally effecting your soul. The sparse, pulsing drum machine hits are similarily buried in the repetitive guitar riff-stortion. Nothing fancy, or that original (the cover drawing even looks suspiciously like it was borrowed from Burzum's "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss"), but wholly satisfying if this is a mood that interests you. Submitting to Wigrid's monotonous yet majestic misery and cold, cold anguish is a release. It's trancey and hypnotic and ambiently ear-grinding. For fans of "Hvis..." / "Filosofem" era Burzum (duh), Weakling, and other troglodytic, minimal dirge metal.
I used to like Lucinda Williams a lot but she's sort of going thru the Bonnie Raitt style smoothing over of the rough edges, which takes a lot of the charm out of her music. Still, there are a few achingly pretty songs here, her gritty growl of a voice over minor key melodic blues. Be forewarned, though, there are also some stinkers on the album -- check the soundclip for "Atonement" to see if you can handle it.
MPEG Download: "Fruits of My Labor" [/audio/lucindafruits.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Fruits of My Labor" [/audio/lucindafruits.m3u]
Black metal bands are notorious for their scarily complex and utterly unreadable logos. With this release, Germany's Winterblut take that unreadability to new heights -- by deliberately *blurring* their logo (and all other writing) on the front and back of this cd. If you squint at it from a distance, maybe you can make it out -- but then you have the ornate logo itself to contend with. And don't try to look on the cd spine for help (our technique, 'cause usually the band's name is printed in a normal font there) because the spine is totally blank. Cunning bastards. Anyway, the blurred logo is not the strangest thing about this album... We already liked Winterblut's previous stuff, total Darkthrone styled Nordic black metal, grim and true. We ended up liking this new album a lot too, but not for the reasons we expected. This more-or-less one-man band (a person named L. Hiver responsible for wretchedly bizarre vocals, guitar, and bass, assisted by various drummers) sounds less like Darkthrone than it does Voivod! More accurately, "Grund" sounds like an SST band circa '87, full of Greg Ginn guitar skronk, all gnarly and proggy and punkly produced. In the realm of black metal, we can only cite Enslaved and Ved Buens Ende as precedents. With Gore-like midtempo plod, math-rock twists, and some quietly atmospheric grooves, you'll forget this is supposed to be a black metal record -- then, whoomp! Hiver unleashes the evil. His vocals are as ever wonderfully wretched as before, but the music is a total surprise.
MPEG Download: "track 1" [/audio/winterblut1.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "track 1" [/audio/winterblut1.m3u]
Because Wire were so influential to so much of the punk and post punk music that followed in the wake of their amazing 1977 debut album Pink Flag, there's no surprise that any millenial efforts by them will be regarded with doubt and worry. Well, although I've heard from the camps that love it and the ones that hate it, I have to say I find their new material decent, even excellent. And ferociously intense, with throbbing bass, thick layers of guitar, spit out lyrics (plus occasional singing). Send resides somewhere between Pink Flag's early punk ferocity and the cleaner production of their mid-career experiments like "Drill". Listen to the soundclips to see for yourself. This appears to share seven (!) tracks with Wire's 2002 pair of EPs, Read & Burn 01 and Read & Burn 02, so buyer beware if you already own those two. If you don't already have those two, then buy now! And if you've never heard Wire before, buy Pink Flag NOW, you'll be glad you did.
MPEG Download: "Spent" [/audio/wirespent.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Spent" [/audio/wirespent.m3u]
Our monthy dose of good reading about good music, Britain's The Wire, this time brings us stuff about Matthew Herbert (on the cover), Steffen Basho Junghans, Akio Suzuki, the Mego label, the Nonesuch Explorer Series, and even The Cramps (doing the Invisible Jukebox). And more, of course, including the usual slew of reviews.
Regardless of what style or mood they choose - this time it's very '70s soft rock influenced - Yo La Tengo always create music that reveals their deep personal and artistic bonds. Clearly they know each other very very well. It's so wonderfully evident in the ways the three interact - their voices and instruments weaving together so effortlessly. Summer Sun flows gracefully from the gentlest lullabies into more funky and playful, but still super mellow numbers much like those on their Sounds Of The Sounds Of Science soundtrack. A lovely display of this is on the sixth song "Tiny Birds". Beautiful. Ira, Georgia and James extend their warm familiarity and fondness to the listeners as well - always both welcoming and welcome. Really, what more can be said? The high quality and consistency of their last four or five albums speaks for itself. Very recommended!
MPEG Download: "Tiny Birds" [/audio/yolatengotinybirds.mp3]
MPEG Stream: "Tiny Birds" [/audio/yolatengotinybirds.m3u]
Anticipation was high for this collaboration between Yoshimi (Boredoms, OOIOO, Flaming Lips guest) and Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto)... But unfortunately this turned out to be pretty much a total throwaway of a record, this sounds like Yuka and Yoshimi got set loose in an instrument store and just futzed around with the toys, like, y'know, playing the piano with two fingers and trying out the mikes, etc. With absolutely no actual songs to speak of, it's sometimes atmospheric and pretty, at times reaching towards Miles Davis style quiet cool, but no amount of sampled bird calls can make up for how tossed-off this album sounds. A complete disappointment, especially considering how much we like and respect their other work with their other projects, and a little insulting that they expect us to pay money for this album because it doesn't sound like they put any actual work into it.
MPEG Download: "La Donna Ni Demo Des Kinna" [/audio/yoshimiyuka.mp3]
The "Masada Guitars" disc from a few months back was but part one of Tzadik's 10th anniversary celebration of John Zorn's Masada group. Volume 2, "Voices In The Wilderness" continues the tribute, this time with two discs worth of catchy Masada covers by a host of musicians from downtown NYC and beyond. There's a lot of jazz and klezmer ensembles represented, as you'd expect, but also rock and electronica artists as well, many with previous releases on Tzadik. Some of 'em: Mike Patton, Naftule's Dream, Rova Saxophone Quartet, Satlah, Mephista, Pachora, Cracow Klezmer Band, Marc Ribot, Steven Bernstein, Jewlia Eisenberg, Tin Hat Trio, Kramer, Davka, Medeski Martin and Wood, and more. Definitely a lively crew! This is kind of the "party" Masada release as a result.
MPEG Download: PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER "Karaim" [/audio/masadapharaoh.mp3]
MPEG Stream: PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER "Karaim" [/audio/masadapharaoh.m3u]
This split 7" offers just a brief glimpse of these two SF experimental electronic artists, but perhaps it's just enough to whet your aural appetite! Both tracks are transportation themed (Zygote's "Monorail" and The Luxury Tax's "Van Conversion"), and are very much in the soothing and pulsing abstract variety. They just might stir you to sway gently, rather than get a move on. Really, it'd be great to hear both of these artists on a longer format, allowing them to stretch out and expand upon the sounds and themes (yes, transportation!) that they can only merely hint at on this little slice of vinyl. ----* ----* Compilations : ----*
