Here's a new reissue of this well-regarded one-shot '60 psych artifact. Canada's Plastic Cloud (they have to be psych with a name like that, eh?) issued this, their sole album, on the Allied label in 1968. And if you like fuzz, it's for you! These darkly melodic psychedelic tunes, maybe something like a harder-edged Kaleidoscope (UK), don't stint on the killer fuzz tone. The band -- four modish lookin' gents in their early '20s named Brian, Randy, Mike and Don -- sure got the fuzz-laced, post-Peppers acid-psych-pop sound down, complete with sinewy psuedo Eastern sitarish stylings, vocal harmonies, and trippy lyrics with themes ranging from notions of reality to anti-war polemic. Those lyrics are presented in this cd's booklet alongside the LP's original J.R.R.-meets-the-Jabberwocky liner notes, photos, and a facsimile of the press release that heralded the LP's release. As melodic '60s vocal psych-pop goes, this is pretty decent (though no threat to the Beatles or the Beach Boys)...but when they unleash the fuzz guitar, that's when your hair will get hard if you're at all receptive to such soundz. A must-have for fuzz-freaks, essential to any serious '60s psych collection, no doubt. And dabblers may be get hooked too. Fer instance, if you took a shot on the Sam Gopal reish we reviewed recently, and were satisfied, you might wanna make this next item for your personal '60s hit parade.
Hot on the heels of his mellower-than-mellow Chicago pop comrade Archer Prewitt and his latest solo album Wilderness, The Sea & Cake's Sam Prekop (usually even mellower than current Prewitt mellowness) has returned with his eagerly anticipated second solo album. Actually it's been out since March 8th, but we've just had such an unbelievably hard time keeping this in stock. Don't blame us though 'cause the distributor's had a difficult time of it keeping this in stock too. Anyways... While we we've been somewhat disappointed with the direction Mr. 'Sof'Boy' Prewitt's taken with each album since his first (the fantastic In The Sun from 1999), we didn't have as high expectations for Who's Your New Professor? 'cause it seems he's consistently been verging on becoming Mr. 'Sof'Rock' Prekop, and it just wasn't a sound we were such big fans of. But wait! It appears that the two fellows might've pulled something of a switcheroo on us. Now, it's Prekop who's planting a few odd 'n' interesting details into each song. Don't be mistaken though he's by no means getting all flamboyant or anything like that, but he's definitely spicing things up ever so subtly. Overall though this Professor simply continues to school the kids on the art of finely crafting his ultra smooth, sleepy, dreamy, jazz-infused pop. Seemingly effortless.
We haven't really been consistent about listing this magazine on our website (it's more of an in-store purchase thing anyways) but thought we'd mention this one just to remind y'all that we carry it. And this ish might be of special interest 'cause it's Punk Planet's third ever special Art & Design issue, so in addition to the usual band interviews and music reviews and columns and ads and political stuff, you'll find features on a bunch of underground artists in the fields of fine arts, graphic design, fashion, tattoos, and even cartography. If you've ever wondered about, for instance, who did the cool art for Converge's Jane Doe album (that'd be band member Jacob Bannon), he's in here...along with others whose names you also might not recognize but whose art and design work chances are you've seen gracing some of your favorite punk/indie releases. Some names, nonetheless: Cat Chow, Andy Mueller, Tara McPherson, Crista Donner, Paul Booth, Joe Rush, and others. 160 artsy, attractive pages.
Ok, c'mon. Do we really need to tell you about Queens Of The Stone Age? Seems to us that pretty much everyone we knows loves 'em. Whether you're an MTV teenybopper, a stoner rock dude clinging to some sort of misplaced Kyuss loyalty, a metalhead who likes the occasional melodic rock record, or a total music nerd who finds QOTSA a perfect guilty pleasure. But what's there to be guilty about? This stuff totally rocks and absolutely rules! Warm fuzzy guitars wrapped around perfect pop hooks and Josh Homme's velvety croon. There seems to be a lot less all out rocking this time around, and a lot more almost-ballady crooning which is fine, those songs are still killer, but it's when Homme's semi-secret stoner desert rock past peaks through that things get good. Rollicking and riff heavy, head banging and fist pumping. Crashing drums and that umistakable fuzz guitar. How can you feel guilty about that?
Tommy, Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, and Marky. They lived to see themselves reach iconic status. Yet, through intense inter-personal strife impacted by the eclipsing success of the musical acts that followed in their footsteps, these guys seem to have barely enjoyed anything at all. This incredibly well-made rockumentary tells the story of four kids from Forest Hills, Queens who bonded over a mutual admiration of The Stooges and found a way out of their shitty home and school-life by playing music together. It follows their early career in the 70's as The Ramones, playing gnarly Bowery-bum ridden CBGB's alongside other new acts like Television, Talking Heads and Blondie to touring through Europe and Latin America with huge sold-out gigs. Success seemed to shine on them overseas solely, while in small shitty clubs across the US, they were boo'd, jeered, laughed at or the subject of thrown bottles and cans. Simultaneously, their record sales refused to escalate as they had hoped.
The Ramones were a musical force, however. Their songs were brutal, consice and earnest. Their sound was fast, fierce and fucking impenetrable - in the vein of garagey Americana pop punk. But God dammit, you already knew that! Well, you've probably forgotten how fucking GOOD they were. You'll see some pretty amazing live footage inside this over-two-hour film. Early live shows and incredibly endearing interviews with bandmembers (save Johnny) will regenerate anyone's adoration for these boys. Their story also emphasizes the emotions involved in being a Ramone. This is a tragic but important part of who they were. For instance, of the band's original personnel, Tommy (the only one to quit pretty early on), is the only one still alive.
Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy created an inspirational legacy and this documentation does its absolute best to communicate to us their lives' work. It will award you with an awesome fight on stage, a re-telling of their experience with producer Phil Spector, priceless moments of Dee Dee's "other musical exploration", and... aw, c'mon, did you really think I'd tell you any more? I will tell you this and none more: extra features include bonus interview footage and among other things, the Marky Ramone Drum Technique! All you drummers out there will appreciate that little nugget.
By far, End Of The Century, The Story of The Ramones is not only an important addition to any rock collection, it's absolutely informative and inspirational to any musician and/or music-lover. But hey ho this baby's Region 1. ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just cut and paste the info into the comments area on the order form, or just email mailorder@aquariusrecords.org. AKIYAMA, MITCHELL "Small Explosions That Are Yours To Keep" (Sub Rosa) cd 14.98 AKIYAMA, TETUZI "Route 13 To the Gates of Hell" (DAT-3 / Fader) cd 19.98 AKIYAMA, TETUZI / TOSHIMARU NAKAMURA / OTOMO YOSHIHIDE / TAKU UNAMI "Compositions for Guitar Vol. 2" (A Bruit Secret) cd 17.98 AKRON / FAMILY "s/t" (Young God) cd 13.98 ALIAS "All Things Fixable" (Goodwithmoney) cd 14.98 ANDEREGG, BRENDON "Falling Air" (Psych-O-Path) cd 13.98 APOTHECARY HYMNS "Trowel and Era" (Locust) cd 14.98 ARCHITECTURE IN HELSINKI "In Case We Die" (Bar/None) cd 15.98 ATTACK, THE "The Complete Recordings From 1967-68" (Acme Gramophone) cd 15.98 AUBE "Chain[Re]Action" (Blossoming Noise) cd 14.98 AXOLOTL "Oranur" (Jyrk Collective) cd-r 5.98 AYLER, ALBERT "Live On The Riviera" (ESP-Disk) cd 14.98 BEANIE SIGEL "The B. Coming" (Roc-A-Fella) cd 14.98 BENT WIND "Sussex" (World Psychedelia) cd 17.98 BIZZY B "Science EP Volumes III + IV" (Planet Mu) cd 16.98 BLACK BONED ANGEL "Eternal Love" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98 BOOKS, THE "Lost And Safe" (Tomlab) cd 15.98 BRASIL AND THE GALLOWBROTHERS BAND "The Band Plays On, The Dunes Move On (Caught Me With My Eyes Closed)" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 BRIGITTE & THE HANSEN EXPERIENCE "Frau Hansen Am Bass" (Psychedelic Pig) cd 15.98 BROTHERS OF THE OCCULT SISTERHOOD "Run From Your Honey Mind" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98 BUDD, HAROLD "Avalon Sutra" (Samadhisound) cd 17.98 CEPHALIC CARNAGE "Anomalies" (Relapse) cd 14.98 CHEVRON "Everything's Exactly The Same" (Planet Mu) cd 16.98 CLARINET THING "Agony Pipes And Misery Sticks" (C + P BC Records) cd 12.98 COH "0397post-pop" (Mego) 2cd 24.00 COLD BLEAK HEAT "It's Magnificent, But It Isn't War" (Family Vineyard) cd 14.98 COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN "This Is Not An Erect, All-Red Neon Body" (No Idea) cd 13.98 COMETS ON FIRE / BURNING STAR CORE (Yik Yak) lp 14.98 CONCRETE RUBBER BAND "Risen Savior" (Radioactive) cd 17.98 CORROSION OF CONFORMITY "In The Arms Of God" (Sanctuary) cd 16.98 CRAIN "Speed" (Temporary Residence) cd/cd 14.98/14.98 DAEDELUS "Exquisite Corpse" (Mush) cd 14.98 DALE, JON "Son d'Or" (Rhizome) cd-r 7.98 DAREDIABLO "Twenty Paces" (Southern) cd 14.98 DEB PLAYERS "Umoja - Love and Unity" (Badda) cd 22.00 DEBRIS INC. "s/t" (Candlelight) cd 15.98 DIG! "A Film By Ondi Timoner" (Palm) dvd 27.00 DIZZEE RASCAL "Off 2 Work (#1)" (XL) cd single/12" 4.98/4.98 DIZZEE RASCAL "Off 2 Work (#2)" (XL) cd single 4.98 DUNGEN "s/t" (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98 EDAN "Beauty And The Beat" (Lewis Recordings) cd/lp 16.98/16.98 ERICKSON, ROKY "I Have Always Been Here Before" (Shout! Factory) 2cd 31.00 ET SANS "Par Noussss Touss Les Trous De Vos Cranes!" (Constellation) cd 14.98 EVOL "Magia Potagia" (Mego) cd 16.98 FANTOMAS "Suspended Animation" (Ipecac) cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "For Keeps" (LTM) cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Skywriting" (LTM) 2cd 17.98 FIELD MICE, THE "Snowball" (LTM) cd 17.98 FOG "10th Avenue Freakout" (Lex) cd 15.98 FOSTER, JOSEPHINE "Hazel Eyes, I Will Lead You" (Locust) cd 14.98 FRANCISCO "Cosmic Beam Experience" (Radioactive) cd 17.98 GANG GANG DANCE "God's Money" (Social Registry) cd 14.98 GHOST "Metamorphosis" (Drag City) cd + dvd 17.98 GIRTH "Living In Truth" (Hector Stentor) cd 9.98 GRUBBS, DAVID & NIKOS VELIOTIS "The Harmless Dust" (Headz / Fader) cd 19.98 HALF-HANDED CLOUD "Thy Is A Word + Feet Need Lamps" (Asthmatic Kitty) cd 14.98 HALL, ARCH JR. "Wild Guitar!" (Norton Records) cd 14.98 HARMONIC 33 "Music For Film, Television & Radio Volume One" (Warp) cd 16.98 HAWK AND A HACKSAW, A "Darkness At Noon" (Leaf) cd 14.98 HYUN, SHIN JUNG & THE MEN "s/t" (World Psychedelia) cd 17.98 ISLAJA "Palaa Aurinkoon" (Fonal) cd 16.98 JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER / MY CAT IS AN ALIEN "split" (Very Friendly) cd 14.98 JAGA JAZZIST "What We Must / Spyderberg Sessions" (NinjaTune) 2cd 16.98 JANDEK "When I Took That Train" (Corwood) cd 8.98 KAMMERFLIMMER KOLLEKTIEF "Absencen" (Staubgold) cd/lp 15.98/14.98 KASABIAN "s/t" (RCA) cd 12.98 KILL THE VULTURES "s/t" (JIB) cd 14.98 KIRKEGAARD, JACOB "Eldfjall" (Touch) cd 15.98 KUTI, FELA "The Best Of Fela Kuti: Music Is The Weapon" (Wrasse) 2cd + dvd 33.00 KYLESA "To Walk A Middle Course" (Prosthetic) cd 11.98 L PIERRE "Touchpool" (Melodic) cd 14.98 LAST OF THE JUANITAS "In The Dirt" (Wantage) cd 13.98 LAVAGNINO, ANGELO "Gamma 1 Quadrilogy" (Dagored) cd 16.98 LOUIS XIV "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept" (Pineapple / Atlantic) cd ?14.98 MAGNOLIA THUNDERPUSSY "Starin' Down The Sun" (Mar Vista) cd 14.98 MARZURAAN "Solid State" (Traqueto) cd 14.98 MATHIEU, STEPHAN "The Sad Mac" (Headz / Fader) cd 19.98 MENCHE, DANIEL "Sirocco" (Important) cd 14.98 MERZBOW "Bariken" (Blossoming Noise) cd 14.98 MF DOOM "Live From Planet X" (Nature Sounds) cd 12.98 MIASMA & THE CAROUSEL OF HEADLESS HORSES "Perils" (Web of Mimicry) cd 14.98 MIKAMI, KAN "Bachi" (Abruit Secret) cd 17.98 MILTON, ANTONY "'Sirens' & 'And Where The Coloured Planes Are Rafts" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 MOBY "Hotel" (V2) 2cd 16.98 MONTAG "Alone, Not Alone" (Gooom / Carpark) cd 14.98 MOUNTAINS "s/t" (Staartje) cd 14.98 MOUTHUS "s/t" (Psych-O-Path) cd 13.98 MR. DORGON "God Is Greatest" (Tzadik) cd 16.98 MU "Out Of Breach (Manchester's Revenge)" (Output) cd 16.98 OCS "3 & 4" (Narnack) 2cd 14.98 OKKERVIL RIVER "Black Sheep Boy" (Jagjaguar) cd 14.98 OS MUTANTES "Everything Is Possible!: The Best Of Os Mutantes" (Luaka Bop) cd 12.98 OSBOURNE, OZZY "Prince Of Darkness" (Epic) 4cd boxset 42.00 PARLOUR "Hives Fives" (Temporary Residence) cd ep 9.98 PLAIN RIDE "On The Flow" (Ektro) cd 14.98 PREFUSE 73 "Surrounded By Silence" (Warp) cd 15.98 PRINCE PO & RAEKWON "Bump Bump" (Lex) 12" 5.98 RITUAL STEEL "Blitz Invasion" (The Miskatonic Foundation) cd 14.98 RODEN, STEVE "Ear(th)" (Alyce de Roulet Williamson Gallery) cd 13.98 ROVA :: ORCHESTROVA "Electric Ascension" (Atavistic) cd 15.98 RUNEMAGICK "Envenom" (Aftermath) cd 14.98 SAN UL LIM "s/t" (World Psychedelia) cd 17.98 SECTION 25 "So Far" (LTM) dvd 32.00 SEHT "The Voice Of The Taniwha" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 SHIFLET, MIKE "The City Is All In Your Head" (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon) cd-r 14.98 SMEGMA "Rumblings" (Hanson) cd 14.98 SNOW PATROL "The Trip" (Fiction) 2cd 28.00 STARZ "Attention Shoppers!" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Coliseum Rock" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "s/t" (Ryko) cd 12.98 STARZ "Violation" (Ryko) cd 12.98 TAAKE "Doedskvad" (Karisma) cd 14.98 TAR BABIES "Face the Music / Respect Your Nightmares" (Lexicon Devil) cd 14.98 TARWATER "The Needle Was Travelling" (Morr Music) cd 16.98 TEMPLE OF BON MATIN "Infidel" (Spirit Of Orr) cd 14.98 TERRESTRIAL TONES "Blasted" (Psych-o-path) cd 13.98 THUNDERBIRDS ARE NOW! "Justamustache" (Frenchkiss) cd 14.98 TINDERSTICKS "Bareback: Nine Films By Martin Wallace" (Beggars Banquet) dvd 14.98 TOMOKAWA, KAZUKI "Itsuka, Toky Mite Ita" (PSF) cd 21.00 TOMOKAWA, KAZUKI "Pistol - Shibuya Apia Live" (PSF) dvd 26.00 TWEET "It's Me Again" (Goldmind) cd 16.98 V/A "Cold Heat: Heavy Funk Rarities 1968-1974 Vol. 1" (Now Again) cd/lp 14.98/16.98 WORKS, THE "s/t" (Subliminal Sounds) cd 16.98 ZORN, JOHN "Rituals" (Tzadik) cd 15.98 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER
Every time we start a review with a phrase like "we don't really like techno all that much" or "we've never been huge fans of pop punk" we end up getting people writing in defending the genre in question. But truth be told, we -do- like techno and we -do- like pop punk, and we do like all kinds of music, it's sort of the point of this store. It's just that we generally tend to dig the weirder, more far out, more creative risk-taking fringes of all those genres, which is -also- the point of this store. But that said, we don't actually like pop punk all that much, at least not the strain of cookie cutter made-for-MTV dreck that one typically thinks of as pop punk. But we do love pop. Do we ever!!! And we do love punk! And unlike the bad math that results from adding metal and hip hop (oh how we desperately wish someone could make that work!), pop and punk fit pretty comfortably together, add some good songs, and maybe even some metal riffage, and we're in business. Thus we have Reggie And The Full Effect, originally a joke side project for a handful of emo / pop punk luminaries (Coalesce anyone?), now a band that's as good as if not better than all of the serious bands that spawned it. They are the ultimate emo band. Of course you have the huge kick ass production, great catchy songs, sensitive whiny boy vocals and big distorted guitars. BUT THEN, you've got some chugging metal guitars and howling throat shredding vocals, fuzzy synths, goofy lyrics, and an ultra dumb / totally brilliant sense of humour. And as if that weren't enough, every third or fourth song is a total eighties synthpop workout, straight up New Order mockery / worship (one of which is a dead ringer for track two on the recent Killers record! Now who's laughing?!). Goofy and silly, but actually really good and fun and catchy. And finally, you've got RATFE's hardcore alter ego, the fictitious Finnish electro punk outfit Common Denominator, who have contributed one track to each Reggie record, always with Common Denominator's lead vocalist introducing the band, in a thick inexplicably German accent: "HELLO AMERICANS, THIS IS KLAUS FROM COMMON DENOMINATOR. WE ARE THE BAND YOU THAT YOU ARE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW WE ARE FROM FINLAND AND THIS IS THE THIRD SONG OFF OUR DEBUT ALBUM IN AMERICA, THIS SONG IS CALLED DEATHNOTRONIC AND IT GOES LIKE THIS!!! And what follow is what can only be described as Ministry meets Rammstein meets that song that ALWAYS seems to play during cheerleader competitions (Y'all Ready For This!) as well as some awesome noodly guitar leads.
Even with the presence of Common Denominator, and the occasional synthpop workout, this is Reggie's least 'jokey' record to date, which is probably what makes it their best. Even the lyrics aren't as straight up goofy, in fact if anything, unless this is all a REALLY subtle joke, the lyrics tend toward straight up emo territory, love and loss and boys and girls and all that stuff. Pretty heartfelt stuff actually, and if there's one thing we're a sucker for it's emo! In fact the final song, a brooding piano driven emo ballad to end all emo ballads, is SO sincere, it seems like it MUST be a joke coming from these guys. But it's not. At least we don't think so. At first we were a little disappointed by the lack of skits and random stupidity, but as much as we love those old Reggie records, this one definitely has the potential for most repeated listens. There's just something about Reggie's combination of crunchy metallic guitars, weird Cars / Tupac synth melodies, perfect pop and goofy eighties high school ballads that we can't seem to get enough of!
Probably the best description of the music on this first-time-reissued Brazilian '70s acoustic acid-folk rarity comes in the form of a picture, that's right there on the sleeve -- a drawing on the back cover depicting two naked hippies sitting crosslegged with guitar and sitar. And, they have wings. Winged hippies. One's set of wings is butterfly-like, while the other is sorta batwinged, demonic. And both make sense, as the music is light and pretty enough for the butterfly one but also serious and sad enough for a guy cursed with batwings to play. On this, their eponymous and only album (a private press LP originally released in 1973), the Satwa duo unfurl delicate psychedelic rainforest folk ragas, super pretty, mellow and meandering maaaaaan. These tracks are largely instrumental, but there's are occassionally some wispy vocals wandering high (indeed) over the sparkling string play. And a lil' fuzz guitar makes the mix too. Utterly beautiful stuff. It's kind of a South American, decades-past version of Jewelled Antler faves Ivytree or Skygreen Leopards... If we didn't know any better, we'd suspect Glenn Donaldson had a hand in it. But Glenn's too young, doesn't speak Portuguese, and also doesn't have wings.
This cd version comes in a mini-LP style sleeve... lovingly packaged, lovely music.
As much as we might be led to believe otherwise, post rock is alive and well. And we mean post rock in the 'classic' sense, you know, the late nineties, post-Slint, instrumental mood rock, June Of 44, Tortoise, Rodan, Engine Kid, Bastro and all those bands we loved and still love. As evidenced by the post rockisms of recent aQ faves Chevreuil, Isis, Conifer and now the return of one of the classic post rock bands the Shipping News. We are admittedly suckers for a lot of sounds, the buzz and blur of frosty black metal, the classic amen break drum and bass, big crunchy metallic emo, but almost more than all of those, we can't get enough of that stretched out, hypnotic and rhythmic, brooding, propulsive post rock. Sinewy guitar lines, wound around crisp, intricate drumming, throbbing bass and spoken /sung / shouted vocals. Well, to be honest we -can- get enough of the vocals, in fact the vocals here were almost enough to put us off this record completely, but there's just something about this record that grew on us, even the vocals, especially the vocals. It's got this super dark, claustrophobic vibe, expansive and loose but weirdly tense and paranoid so completely reminiscent of THE post rock record, Slint's Spiderland. And while every band that has employed the quiet-loud, hard-soft song structure has been accused of ripping off Slint, a handful of bands just happened to occupy a similar sonic niche, deftly exploring the structure of rock, dismantling it and re-assembling it as a crystalline framework, delicate, but razor sharp, wrapped in warm melodies, subtle and woozily minor key. But unlike some of their post rock brethren, Shipping News don't ever really get loud, their dynamics are conveyed instead through intensity, and arrangement, owing a sonic debt of sorts to bands like Godspeed and Silver Mt. Zion as much as Slint. Regardless of its influences or precedents, Flies The Fields is just a gorgeously languid, mesmerizingly rhythmic, completely hypnotic epic rock record. Post or otherwise.
If you're a Shrimpboat neophyte who found their recent Something Grand boxset (three cds packed with an immense amount of previously unreleased material) simply too massive and unwielding to digest or conversely if you're a fan who just yearns to revisit their more familiar old songs, this is the cd you want/need! It's the reissue of this highly influential Chicago band's debut album from back in 1989. Hurrah! Often seeming inspired by the quirksome likes of Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers (check out "Greenhouse") and clearly a precursor to the yelpy ramshackle pop sounds of bands such as Modest Mouse (check out "Seven Crows") as well as the breezy jazz-inflected postrock sounds of band member Sam Prekop's later endeavors (both solo and in Sea & Cake).
Godspeed alumnus Efrim forges ahead with his third (or fourth if you include the tour ep Pretty Little Lightning Paw) album. Efrim and co. continue in the pagan drone folk style of the previous Silver Mt. Zion releases, but with even further emphasis on the vocals (which Andee insists sound like Brak from Space Ghost, which he also insists is a GOOD thing!). Ernest political lyrics are sung in a damaged, cracking voice. Fists clenched and thrust into the air, a chorus takes up the fight and brings the march to the shields of the riot police. Tear gas stings their eyes, batons bruise their arms, and cut their faces, but they continue forward, pushing the line of masked officers backward... I open my eyes and I'm sitting in front of a computer. As good a soundtrack to the next WTO demonstration as any, none the less Silver Mt Zion have matured musically with every release. Unlike their predecessor project Godspeed You Black Emperor, the compositions of Silver Mt. Zion are not constrained by the bombast of the ever increasing crescendo for every song. Horse In The Sky is more a collection of ballads and sing-a-longs, with dark and brooding piano, cello and violin which occasionally break out into rocking cathartic releases. As usual, comes gorgeously packaged in a printed bi-fold wallet with lyric booklet and drawings.
More analog synth hi-jinx from Japan's Space Machine (the retro electronica obsessed alter ego of Takushi Yamazaki aka Masonna). The nifty Modular Series of 3" cds, the first two of which paired Yamazaki and his synths up with equally psychedelic sparring partners, sees Yamazaki going solo for installments number three and four. Model-201 is the third in the series, and it's an impressive, oppressive 13+ minutes of squelching, zinging, droning electronics (specifically, Yamazaki's credited with playing the Maestro Echoplex EP-3 and P-tronic Sound Lab Mini-Synth here), not unlike the sound of a series of flying saucers taking off and landing at a busy Area 51 UFO base. Soothing music for your inner malfunctioning robot.
More analog synth hi-jinx from Japan's Space Machine (the retro electronica obsessed alter ego of Takushi Yamazaki aka Masonna). The nifty Modular Series of 3" cds, the first two of which paired Yamazaki and his synths up with equally psychedelic sparring partners, sees Yamazaki going solo for installments number three and four. Model-202, Zone Of Avoidance is the fourth in the series, with Yamazaki utilizing Roland System 100, System 100M, and RE-501 to create close to twenty minutes of jittery, minimally repetitive dronage that arcs into a realm of Jurassic birdcalls as recorded by dying, batteries-running-down technology...or something. And just as Space Machine fetishizes their vintage equipment, P Tapes have managed to make these attractively designed 3" discs into fetish objects themselves for fans of this sort of electronic voodoo.
Simply put, this is a weird-as-hell, warped, late night, difficult-listening 'trip' for all you AQers looking for truly strange atmospheres... Okay, first things first; Spoonbender 1.1.1 is not a side-project of I Am Spoonbender. The duo of Dustin Donaldson and Cup (of AQ!) consider Spoonbender 1.1.1 to be a self-contained project that ventures outside the 'populist avant-tronics' of I Am Spoonbender into the realms of sidereal soundtrack music, the transmission of ideas through subliminal means, manifestations of "third mind" techniques, and the non-logic of chance operations. Okay, not so different on paper, but put another way: there are no drums, singing, or 'songs' in the 1.1.1 project. The Stereo Telepathy Academy cd-r documents Spoonbender 1.1.1 live in SF while performing with (appropriately enough) Psychic TV.
The J.G. Ballard-esque text was taken from David Cronenberg's 1969 student film 'Stereo', a faux-documentary detailing the work of a Dr. Luther Stringfellow, which concerns surgical procedures for the advancement of telepathic communication, while the visuals came from 'Crimes Of The Future' (another Cronenberg film, which transpires in an urban dystopia populated by pedophiles and oozing victims from a female-eliminating cosmetics related catastrophe). As creepy and sterile as the images were, we have to say that its Canadian-ness was positively charming, somehow. Spoonbender 1.1.1 composed a musical accompaniment for these texts and images to a third film whose identity is both unknown and irrelevant. As Donaldson announces in the introduction to this performance / recording (a sort of 'Wizard Of Oz/Dark Side Of The Moon' for telekinetics), Stereo Telepathy Academy features "text taken from one film, overlaid on images from another, and the audio score was written around a different, third film... the results appear to be intentional". In this score, Spoonbender 1.1.1 lunges ominously forward with an otherworldly radiance of slow motion electronic pulses and melodies that retain an even darker hue than that of Klaus Schulze, Coil (e.g. Coilans / Time Machines), and Alan Splet, who are probably Spoonbender 1.1.1's closest sonic neighbors. Given the nature of their intense, masterfully detailed sea of electric sound, Spoonbender 1.1.1 hedged their bets that Cronenberg's pseudo-scientific spoken text would situate nicely against their audio. And indeed, this freakish document of prepared-chance context, atmosphere and appropriation works exceptionally well.
Special handmade packaging comes with a single white glove (as seen in the film) for your edification.
PLEASE NOTE: In keeping with the numerological-binding-of-3 theme, there will be 3 released versions of Stereo Telepathy Academy, all with different packaging (versions 2 and 3 will be non-cd-r, and on a proper label, with pressings of 333 and 3 copies respectively). Available here at AQ exclusively, this first version is limited to 111 cd-r copies only, so you know what to do!
Tussle's disco dub track "Disco D'oro" gets a couple more remixes on this 12", a round two of sorts for this single. The first one was great. The original track and then two remixes by Ben Cook and DJ Spun. But now, ok, I think I'm gonna need a redbull over here. Side A is a deep-dish techno disco beat blanket by Berlin's MUNK, while Ben Cook's Side B parties in the art-rock dance-dub circuit. Friends and fans of Tussle's other work, as well as DFA and LCD Soundsytem, will have something to keep on in the zone of their all-out discotrash dance attack with DD2. Will there be a 3?, 4?, 7?! This party may never die.
Back in the '80s there was an abundance of dance pop 12"s coming out of the UK. Seemed that any ol' song could be hoisted up to dancefloor hit heights via the wonders of the extended mix (or if you prefer: the long version, 12" mix, long mix, discotheque, mixe plurale, dancing remixes et al). Nothing like spending a little more time spinnin' around the dancefloor (or hoppin' about in your bedroom) with your fave songs, eh? This triple cd set corrals some of the most inescapable 12"s and shows just how much of a musical mixed bag the '80s were. If you were born anytime before 1979, most if not all of these tracks will ring a bell (perhaps for some a louder, more garrish bell than others). Each disc contains twelve tracks each, which if you do the math, adds up to thirty six different 12"s (or 432 inches)! Although that barely scratches the surface, the compilation does hit the '80s nostalgia button with alarming accuracy -- from the impossibly vapid (Stephen 'Tin Tin' Duffy's "Kiss Me", Curiosity Killed The Cat's "Down To Earth" and Animotion's "Obsession" ) to the absolutely delicious (Soft Cell's "Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go" and Fun Boy Three's "Our Lips Are Sealed") to the classic (Siouxsie And The Banshees' "Spellbound", Talk Talk's "It's My Life", The Cure's "A Forest" and Bauhaus' "She's In Parties"). You also get ABC, Spandau Ballet, Human League, Yazoo, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Propaganda, Hipsway, Aztec Camera, Tom Tom Club, The Passions, Pete Wylie, Japan, Blow Monkeys, Simply Red, Simple Minds, Monsoon, The Icicle Works, Tears For Fears, Lloyd Cole, Visage, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jam, Black, Man Parrish, Scritti Politti and Grace Jones... did we/they miss anybody? Hmmm, the only glaring omissions we've come up with are Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Blancmange, Wang Chung... uh oh, maybe we should stop now. You'll probably find (as we did) that some of these songs that you adored so throughly back in the day have aged far less gracefully than others. Some are downright cringe-inducing (yikes, did I really like THAT!?). For one thing, there's enough of those whiteboy soul affectations here to sink a rather large teakettle. Nevertheless, sure to satisfy even your most insatiable '80s craving! (Pssst, as we write this, Deborah 'Debbie' Gibson is taking the stage at Cafe Du Nord here in SF!)
Here's the second annual compilation of the selected staff faves over at the UK record shop, Rough Trade. In the liner notes, they make a point of specifying that the songs weren't chosen according to sales figures. No, these are forty-nine tunes that simply captured their fancy this past year, and the selection runs the absolute gamut. From Coil to Cryin' Shames to Cobra Killer to Cocorosie to Cornershop to Candi Staton to Coachwhips, from Wanda Jackson to Whitey to Whirlwind Heat, from Measles Mumps Rubella to Micah P. Hinson And The Gospel Of Progress to Magoo to Mara Carlyle to Mu, from Sunburned Hand Of The Man to Sons And Daughters to The Soviettes to Schwab to Sonic Youth, from Le Tigre to Liars, from Animal Party to Ambrose Tompkins to Alter Ego to Alan Glen, from Bloc Party to Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham to Brakes to Brooks to Beastellabeast, from Throbbing Gristle to Todd to Ten Minutes With My Dad, from Jolie Holland to Jad Fair... and there's plenty more, but you get the picture, doncha? So many familiar and not-so-familiar faces, it's like a cool mix tape made with loving care by your most obsessive music fan buddy.
We remember when Temporary Residence's Jeremy Devine was first putting this tribute to Ozzy-years Sabbath together, some years ago. Before The Osbournes, the Sabbath Ozzfest reunions, the Kelly and Jack backlash, etc. etc. At long last, though, he's finally got it finished. And for Sabbath fans (aren't you one??) it's good fun, and might be a neat way to introduce some young indie-rock-only friend of yours to the music of the best band ever (sez Allan). There's an odd, random assortment of participants to be found here, none of 'em metal bands, and they take a variety of approaches to the material at hand... Wisely, several opt for doing instrumental versions, cutting back on the amount of faux-Ozzy crooning, the likely failure of which would have detracted from what turns out to be a quite enjoyable collection. Thankfully, also, the rule that the weirder and less-like-the-original a cover is, the better, is generally observed here as well.
Briefly, track-by-track:
Track 1, Matmos. Taking the piss? They do the non-song "Fx" off of Vol. 4. A good joke, and very Matmos appropriate.
Track 2, here Japan's Ruins almost render the rest of the compilation obsolete, cramming almost every famous Sabbath riff into one of their insane medlies! Wow. This also appeared as a bonus track on their last album Tzomborgha, though.
Track 3, a blissful post-rock instrumental version of "Black Sabbath" from Grails, lacking the menace of the original but enhancing the melodicism.
Track 4, Fourtet. Lovely. But is it really "Iron Man"? Definitely the least recognizable cover on here. Which gets a lot of points 'cause of the rule mentioned above.
Track 5, Curtis Harvey (of Rex and Pullman) and friends turn in a kinda No Depression country-folk version of "Changes" with female vocals. Real nice and a darn sight better than Ozzy n' Kelly!
Track 6, Paul Newman do "Fairies Wear Boots". More instrumental post rock (hey this IS on Temporary Residence) and very very good. A fine interpretation, recognizable yet renewed, wound up with that post rock tension...
Track 7, The Anomoanon play and sing "Planet Caravan". One of Sabbath's most haunting numbers, not "heavy", well-suited to these folks. A respectful cover that you should try on any Sabbath-haters. It can't be denied. A spacey, psychedelic, folky beauty.
Track 8, shifts moods again, as the maniacs known as Racebannon fuck shit up with a noisy rampage through "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". Their art-punk-mayhem is the most racous thing on here so far, and certainly captures the "going insane" vibe of mid-to-late Ozzy era Sabbath.
Track 9, maybe the odd one out here, and not only 'cause we have no idea who Greeness w/ Philly G is (thankfully Philly G is not a rapper, indeed, he's got the Ozziest vox on the comp). Whoever they are, they do a grunge by way of the Butthole Surfers run-through of stoner nugget "Sweet Leaf" that ends this comp with a clear reminder of Sabbath's riff mastery.
Overall, something like this is hard to review -- curiousity as much as anything ought to compel fans of the Sabs and/or any of these artists to pick this up. We certainly can say that this is a varied and enjoyable listen!!
Dirty, DIRTY! sex rhyme booty beat music from Brazil. Sounds interesting, mmmmno? I think it might be called a couple of other names, but this comp's titled Rio Baile Funk: Favela Booty Beats. The sound is a rudimentary hodgepodge of beats/breaks/melodies appropriated from all sortsa other music: Os Mutantes, Def Leppard's "High and Dry", an assortment of late 80s/early 90s Hip Hop, and 90s New Wave/Top 40 all mixed into an incessant percussion, over which a (for the most part) singular (and sometimes a child's) voice yells totally explicit sex rhymes! Now, I don't know Portugese, but it doesn't take rocket science to imagine what they're yellin about here. First of all, what comes to mind with the term dirty sex ryhmes? Hmm, ok. If you haven't gotten the hint yet, imagine where it comes from: the ghettos of Rio and its millions of homeless children ruling the sprawling city with violence day and night. In a place like this, nothing but this type of music would be appropriate. Regardless, the beats are amazing, the lyricism (well, yelling) is hilarious but fierce, and the overall sound is fresh, inspiring and ridiculously fun. Crazy recommended!
Man can we not get enough grime. Ever since we first heard Dizzee Rascal, we've ben jonesing for more grime. Which was tough since most of the killer grime was released as limited run 12" singles in the UK. Then came not one, but two whole compilations on Rephlex, and while we sort of dug 'em, there was just something missing, namely the vocals. Sure the jagged stuttery beats and fucked up synths hit the spot, but those mostly instrumental tracks were lacking some of the fire and vigor and snarkiness of the Dizzee Rascal (and the Wiley record we also dug!).
So Vice records comes to the rescue, with a comp of CLASSIC grime tracks, many of which were essential genre defining 12"s (a few of which are even mentioned in this month's Wire, in the suddenly timely Grime primer, or, uh 'grimer') So what the hell does grime sound like you ask? Well, it's like hip hop, mixed with simple two step drum an bass (or garage -- pronounced gare-ij), some dancehall, constucted frrom simple hiccuping beats, weird synth melodies, throbbing basslines and some crazy cracy rapping/toasting. This comp is so high energy, fit to explode, fiery and furious and funky as fuck. The whole thing is so hyper and hard core and relentless. Totally raw and powerful. And then there's the ladies, who typically get left out in the cold when it comes to electronic music, but the ladies here represent. In a big way! Lady Sovereign, No Lay, and Shystie fucking rule it!!! Lady Sovereign's "Cha Ching" is one of the most awesome sounding songs we've heard lately. The much-hyped and biggest band of the lot, The Streets (who isn't technically grime, but whose track features a handful of heavyweight grime MC's hence his inclusion on the comp we suppose), have a song on here that almost pales in comparison to the other tracks, simply for its use of "rock" as an element in his track. The other tracks work so well because they're so simple and primal and stripped down. They contain only the most important elements. A beat, some electro zzzap, some sharp synthy melody, and a barely there bass line to hold it all together. And of course raw, mean-ass snarky lyricism. Run The Road is pretty fuckin "fit" as it were. If you haven't gotten into grime yet, you best mate. And this is the perfect place to start.
Booyakasha! Been a long time since we've had any dancehall, ragga or no, to throw at you, beloved AQ customers. It's also been a while since Trojan has thrown us a box set we could count as more than a recycling gimmick. To their credit they've put out a hefty many top notch anthologies. We still sell tons of the Dub, Rocksteady, Ska, Nyahbinghi, X-Rated and Revival box sets. So when we saw that they had compiled an anthology of crucial raggamuffin tracks we had to check it out. When we put on the first disc we knew we had scored a fucking party smasher. It's fucking relentless. But it's not just the super fast tempo tracks with auctioneer style ribbity vocals that score the points for their aggressiveness. The slow numbers, like Simpleton's heavy "Pretty Little Angel" that have as much power and intensity as the fast tunes. Nearly every track on this first disc could be used as an example of ragga at its best: insane vocals with nutty production. This isn't the minimal dancehall of Wayne Smith's "Under Mi Sleng Teng" with his sole accompaniment a casio keyboard. Dirts Man's "Watch De Girl" is a perfect example with its synth power chords on every phrase ending and echoed vocals which make his already manic sounding toasting sound even more insane. The disc is well sequenced both between fast and slow tracks as well as between uber-digital productions and rootsy reworkings of older rhythms. Fans of Ward 21, like us, should take note on this one as it's filled with the entire bag of production tricks which they put to such good effect on all their recordings. That fucking heavy steamroller rhythm, like Ward 21 used on "Petrol"? All the fuck over this disc. So we're listening to this and just slobbering, and we think we're going to have a fucking aneurism by the time we made it through the third disc. So we put on the second disc... and... We just go flacid. Yep, nearly all 17 songs on the second disc are laden with suuuuper smooov "oooh girl, oooh", "three times one minus one's gonna make it 'aight" kind of stuff. Not really even that "conscious reggae" stuff, but just limp wristed pap. So with one more disc it looks like we're headed toward a split decision. Points for including Buju Banton & Tenor Saw's "Ring The Alarm Quick Quick" (we shit our pants way back in 2000 when we got turned onto this track through Soul Jazz's 400% Dynamite comp.), and FUCK!, Baby Wayne's "We Them A Defend" could well have been a bonus track on The Bug's Pressure and no one would have been the wiser, what with its super hard pile driver like rhythm, dirty production and even dirtier vocals. "Ring The Alarm Quick Quick" is an onion of a song and an essay on the Jamaican music industry in and of itself, what with Buju Banton roughing up Tenor Saw's "original" (an indictment on the state of music in Jamaica) which was recorded right over Ansel Collin's "Stalag 17" vocals and all. Throw in some madness from Capleton and a two fists worth of other hard, hard, hardcore ragga and you've got another disc as strong as the first. So you've got two great discs and one, well, you may get more mileage out of it than we did... Either way, for this price it's still a great fucking deal.
It's hard to argue with this one. Indeed, we're gonna do quite the opposite and make it a Record Of The Week! This collection, the third in the World Psychedelic Classics series on Luaka Bop (David Byrne's "world music" label), after an Os Mutantes collection and that incredible Shuggie Otis album, is further subtitled: "The Funky, Fuzzy Sounds Of West Africa". Stress on the funk we thinks. Yup, authentic '70s West African funk with a 'delic bent. Really really hard stuff not to like.
The dozen tracks here have got it all: Afro-centric chants, polyrhythmic percussion, James Brown style raspy yelps, wicked organ workouts, and even hard wah-wah acid fuzz jams (Ofo & The Black Company's bad-ass "Allah Wakbarr" is about the last word in that department, though we'd like to hear more). Though some come closer to the compilers' stated concept than others, all the tracks are winners, from the moody, marimba-based soundtrack theme of Manu Dibango's "Ceddo End Title" to the Cuban stylings of No. 1 de No. 1's "Guajira Van" to the percolating political space-funk of William Onyeabor's "Better Change Your Mind". And Alison simply says that "Ifa" by Tunji Oyelana and the Benders is her favorite. Probably because it sets itself apart from the other tracks by utilizing a more scrappy electronic sound to back its stripped-down politically-bent Afro-pop-style lyricism.
All the tracks come from the decade of the '70s, and the bands that recorded them hail from the West African countries of Ghana, Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Benin, and Nigeria (but only two tracks overlap with the now-out-of-print 3cd Nigeria 70 compilation). And we think the compliers did a damn fine job, though it seems any survey of West African psych shoulda included a track by Blo, the closest thing to Cream the continent produced as far as we know. Ah well... we can hope for a second volume someday perhaps. Meanwhile, anyone who digs James Brown, Fela, Funkadelic, Orchestra Baobab, or more recent AQ reviewees Konono No. 1 and Black Merda, for instance, will certainly find that love IS a real thing when it comes to how you're gonna feel about this compilation!!
The liner notes go on about the psychedelic aspect of these bands, and while this stuff is definitely far out and groovy it's way more James Brown than brown acid. Mention of Haight-Ashbury seems a stretch, and the music of these bands has got as much or more to do with their motherland than, say, the generally more Western-derived psych we've heard from Thailand, Cambodia, or Turkey on various other comps we've carried. Then again, when you look at rock music influencing African music, you've got a full-circle phenomenon to examine. And when we reviewed the (currently unavailable) Love Peace & Poetry: African Psychedelic Music compiliation some months back, the stuff on this new comp is exactly what we felt was missing and should have been included.
In any case, proper psych or not, and with or without much fuzz, this is definitely FUNKY.
The attractive cd booklet includes notes on each track/artist, complete with color album sleeve art where available. Nicely done. Furthermore, this is an "enhanced cd", allowing those with the appropriate computer technology to witness a video of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou Dahomey's track "Minsato Le, Mi Dayhome".
This is indeed the first Wedding Present album in eight years! While it's not like David Gedge has been sitting on his hands all this time -- he's had his share of other irons in the fire, one of them being the glorious band Cinerama -- but to that we still say, "Holy smokes!" The first AQ customer to buy it had this to say, "Gloriously heartbreaking. Makes me want to drink expensive liquor & sleep around." And to that we say, "Oh my!" While we didn't have quite the same reaction, we can wholeheartedly confirm that all of you Wedding Present devotees have certainly been rewarded for your admirable patience. Mr. David Gedge delivers his trademark top-notch pop goods with Take Fountain. Somewhat darker and more subdued than the WP of old, but no less captivating -- he's definitely brought a great deal of the smooth elegance of his other group Cinerama into the mix, and it blends super well. Happy to hear that even after eight years, Wedding Present pop songs continue to snap, sparkle and soar in that unmistakable Gedge fashion. Recommended.
Pedal steel guitar player Speedy West, along with being half of the legendary duo with country / jazz guitarist Jimmy Bryant is one insane mother fucking player. He's credited as country music's first pedal steel player, starting with Spade Cooley (read about Spades tumultuous life and tragic death in the new issue of Murder Can Be Fun) and later working with such notables as Johnny Horton, Spike Jones and Roy Rogers. Renowned for his lightning fast playing -- how else does one get named Speedy? -- explosive chords and myriad effects that would make a seasoned vaudevillian blush, he was also quite the songwriter. The 12 instrumental originals on this album were recorded in 1960.
On the cover: the ubiquitous Mike Patton (hiya, Mike!), whose fab new Fantomas album we have in stock but has made us too dizzy to review in time for this list...soon though! Also: recent AQ Record Of The Week honoree Venetian Snares, C-Schulz, MIA, Antony & The Johnsons, Elliott Sharp, and an "Invisible Jukebox" with poet and photographer Ira Cohen. Plus a primer on Grime, and all the other usual regular features and reviews.
