[ aquarius records new arrivals — issue 163 ]

Showing results 51 through 55 of 55.

V/ABrutal Police Menace(Brooklyn Beats)cd$ 13.98

Pretty cool comp of lesser known beat mashers gathered on this here compilation to protest police violence. Lot of lo-fi, blurred and bombastic beats, from digital hardcore skull snap to more sort of lower impact hip hop flecked beatscapes. You'll probably recognize Nettle and maybe Zipperspy, and there's a DJ/Rupture remix, but other than that, this comp is chock full of possible new discoveries. Check it out. MPEG Download: NETTLE "End Of Public Space" [/audio/nettleendofpublic.mp3]

V/ADeath Before Disco(Princehouse)cd$ 13.98

The title for this compilation of gloom 'n' groove bands, "Death Before Disco" is a loaded historical allusion dating back to the late '70s, when rock purists held an irrational, fascistic antagonism toward the culture of euphoria and leisure that disco offered as a legitimate alternative to the American hegemony of straight, white-boy rock'n'roll. Well, with Princehouse themselves claiming that this compilation "represents where Princehouse is coming from and what we're into" (i.e. electro-punk dance bands who often exhibit plenty of disco slipperiness), "Death Before Disco" is an ill-fitting title to an otherwise good (and well-timed) compilation of mutant, death disco with tracks by Adult., I Am Spoonbender, The Pattern, The Numbers, The Vanishing, Ghost Orchids, Gogogoairheart, A Tension, Hint Hint, Dance Disaster Movement, The Pleased, The Lovemakers, Broker / Dealer, Paradise Boys, and Kill Me Tomorrow. Most all of the tracks had been featured on other albums, giving it a sort of K-Tel feel; but the curatorial decisions work well enough in favoring the infectiousness of rhythms dolled up with black eyeliner and plenty of artworld / designer-drug attitudes, typified by the excellent cuts from The Vanishing and Dance Disaster Movement. The compilation noticeably detours with two blue collar rock'n' roll cuts from The Pattern and The Pleased, the latter sounds *exactly* like The Strokes. Those strange additions aside, "Death Before Disco" is worthwhile medicine for those waiting for another fix of Fisherspooner or The Rapture. MPEG Download: VANISHING "Black Umbrellas" [/audio/dancedisastercestlavie.mp3] MPEG Stream: VANISHING "Black Umbrellas" [/audio/dancedisastercestlavie.m3u]

VANDER, CHRISTIANLes Cygnes Et Les Corbeaux(Seventh)cd$ 21.00

Magma fans, here's a qualified heads up. Magma maestro Christian Vander does a bird-themed "orchestral" release (voices, piano, percussion, and keyboards -- no real orchestra, unfortunately, but it sounds loads better than Glenn Danzig's orchestral synth effort, remember that?). The vocals are definitely the thing here most in the Magma vein, totally over the top at parts, Vander and his wife Stella taking the lead but with plenty of choral back-up from their zeuhl cohorts. Musically, it has got its massive and majestic moments, with pretty piano interludes linking big, stirring emotional passages. So, the big question: without the Magma connection, would I really be listening to this sort of thing? Well, and this is tough for a guy with a Magma wristwatch to admit, but, probably not... it's a bit too Peter & The Wolf at times. The vocals are awesome, the fake flutes aren't. Still, I bought one! We really have to quote the label's press release on this, just for kicks: "Fifteen years in composition (1982 - 1997) and more than four years in the making, this music is something entirely new, bridging the compositional efforts of the 20th Century post Schoenbergian greats to create a 21st Century music which grasps the essence of the vast interior stillness behind all sound and pierces the intensity of silence behind all noise. Disavowing all mechanical tempos, this free-flowing masterpiece reveals itself through the formless form of vortices and spirals, cascading, recursive, ineffable. 65 minutes of fluttering wings, of song, of cries, of absolutely different sensations, this is a neo-impressionist composition of revolutionary proportions and aspirations." "I have found in the motion of swans and crows a parallel with the inner motion of the Kosmos itself. Or, at least, this is what I perceive in it."--Christian Vander, 6th March 2002 Wow. Dunno about all that, but as a bird-inspired cosmic keyboard symphony from the mastermind behind one of the most astounding '70s prog rock rock bands ever, this will tempt diehard Magma fans, though it is quite a bit more expensive that other Seventh label releases we've got, probably due to the fancy mini-lp sleeve style packaging this boasts, which unfortunately bears a graphically kinda crappy looking cover painting (of course, as is so often the case, there's some really nice artwork to be found in the cd booklet that could have made for a wonderful cover instead of what they chose...oh well, just look in the booket not at the cd sleeve when you're listening to this). MPEG Download: "Sahiss Siiaaht" [/audio/vandersahiss.mp3] MPEG Stream: "Sahiss Siiaaht" [/audio/vandersahiss.m3u]

WALL OF SLEEPOverlook The All(psycheDOOMelic)cd$ 11.98

All right, psycheDOOMelic is the new doom metal label run by Hegedus Mark, the Hungarian doom/psych freak responsible for the excellent doom-oriented Psychedelic fanzine. Wall Of Sleep's debut ep (four songs, 22 minutes) is one of the label's first releases. WOS feature two ex-members of Hungarian Sabbath-worshippers Mood, and pretty much sound just like what you'd expect! Nothing less, nothing more. Chugging massive doom riffage and Ozzy-possessed vocals (albeit with a wee bit of a Hungarian accent that might take some getting used to -- this becomes particularily noticable on their cover of Sabbath's "The Wizard", the last track here, complete with harmonica!). Did you know that "The Wizard" is the song that converted Allan into a raving Black Sabbath/metal fan back in his college days? So he has to give this the thumbs up, and recommends Wall Of Sleep to all hungry (and/or Hungarian) Sabbath/Sleep/Vitus/Obsessed obsessives out there... MPEG Download: "Overlook The All" [/audio/wallofsleepoverlook.mp3]

WOBBLY / PEOPLE LIKE US / MATMOSWide Open Spaces(Tigerbeat6)cd$ 15.98

Not gonna spend a lot of time on this one, not because this isn't a good record; rather it's just that by the time you've finished reading about this record, it might already be gone. We have limited stock on this collaborative album of plunderphonia from People Like Us, Matmos, and Wobbly, and it's apparently already gone out of print, without any plan for future repressings. All in all "Wide Open Spaces" sounds an awful lot like People Like Us' previous album "Fistful of Knuckles," a cavalcade of bawdy jokes culled from Western storybook records, but that isn't to say that neither Matmos nor Wobbly can be heard. On the contrary, there's plenty of Maymos' twisted rhythms and Wobbly's mutant samples splattered throughout the album. Recorded live at the San Francisco Art Institute on October 5, 2002. MPEG Download: "Clawing Your Eyes Out Down To Your Throat" [/audio/wmpluclawingyour.mp3] MPEG Stream: "Clawing Your Eyes Out Down To Your Throat" [/audio/wmpluclawingyour.m3u]