Aquarius Records closed in 2016. This site is an archive — a place to rediscover their extraordinary music recommendations. Nothing here is for sale.
[ aquarius records new arrivals — issue 266 ]
Showing results 101 through 106 of 106.
WIRE #280#280 June 2007()magazine$ 9.98
Hard to believe a month has gone by already but it's most definitely that time again! More adventures in modern music, this month, grime-lord Wiley on the cover, inside, Ukrainian electronic musician Zavoloka, Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem, Swiss guitar / electronics improvisor Tomas Korber, a global ear on San Francisco, artist / musician Brian Duffy, an Invisible Jukebox with Vibracathedral Orchestra's Neil Campbell, The Sea And Cake, Brazilian avant bossa trio Kassin + Mareno + Domenico (featuring the son of Caetano Veloso), plus the usual assortment of reviews, record, show, print, installation and otherwise, and an last page Epiphany from write Michael Faber about discovering mysterious music on the streets of Budapest.
WITCHLocal Band Nitemare(Tee Pee)dvd$ 14.98
The Witch album that came out last year was, in our doom-lovin' opinion, one of the best Black Sabbath/'70s styled doom metal records we'd heard in a long time. And quite a surprise, considering that Witch is something of an unlikely "supergroup" -- including members of new weird folksters Feathers, and Dinosaur Jr. mainman J. Mascis, on drums!! Of course, Mascis is super busy now with the (equally unlikely but totally awesome) Dinosaur reunion, we know that our hankering for new material (or live dates out here in California) from Witch was probably gonna require some patience on our part. Fortunately, to keep us tided over 'til whenever that happens, there's this unexpected DVD documentary on Witch! With the great title "Local Band Nitemare", it's about 20 minutes long, shot on tour in in the Northeast, 2007 including both live performance and interview footage... join Witch on the road, in the van, backstage, in the hotel. Hijinks ensue, sort of. Some of it is actually funny, maybe just 'cause it's J. Mascis there in his long grey hair and glasses... and the live bits will serve to remind you how this multigenerational band of longhairs are almighty masters of the swingin' doom RIFF, in the tradition of Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Sleep, Dead Meadow, and even the Flower Travellin' Band. Also included in addition to Local Band Nitemare: the psychedelic-visual-effects overloaded promo video for the track "Seer" (check out J. spinning those sticks!), a special full live rendition of "Isadora" from their very first show, and also an art/photo gallery feature. So, if you like Witch as much as we do, you'll be pretty stoked on this. If you haven't checked Witch out yet, well we urge you to pick up their self-titled debut if what we said about 'em above has interested you at all!
NB. the band originally released this themselves on dvd-r, wrapped in just a xeroxed paper sleeve, but this new version on Tee Pee is a real dvd, packaged in a normal dvd case, done up all pro-like.
WRIGHT, SHANNONLet In The Light(Quarterstick)cd$ 14.98
Shannon Wright and her trusty piano (and guitar) are back. Oddly enough on this, her sixth album, she could easily be mistaken for a more melancholic Mary Timony. Considerably more stark and less tormented than her last album Over The Sun, Let In The Light is nonetheless still very heavy in mood and emotion. Her lyrics continue to be rife with puzzles of troubled relationships and despairing betrayal. Each of her songs puts forth a brave face, but when you glimpse away, it allows an aching sigh as it brushes aside a stubborn tear. A richly poetic rural cabaret.
Wow, we've gotten in three releases this week that starkly contrast with the sunny warm weather we've been having. Seemingly residing in the chilled shadows of dense forests and ancient stone chambers are the latest albums from XXL, Rothko and Tanakh. Dark, expansive beauties, all of them! Go on, defy the sun or tuck these away for a suitably overcast autumn or winter eve.
Larsen and Xiu Xiu have joined international forces once again for another handwringing aural onslaught. They sure bring out the best in each other. In molten lava like fashion, Spicchiology burns, sparks, and engulfs everything in its immediate vicinity. It's a double disc no less. Clearly the sprawl of this project couldn't be contained on one disc. The second cd presents the groups' rehearsal sessions for this album. Now, for pretty much any other band this would seem superfluous, however, for Xiu Xiu and Larsen the raw immediacy and unstructured nature of these recordings are revealing and affecting in their own right. All of the characteristic calling cards of each group come together wonderfully. Prickly percussive sounds, withery breathless vocals and sprays of dissonance punctuate Spicchiology while slowly leaning string and organ drones fuse everything into one. Fingers alternately soft shoe and wrestle across organ and synthesizer keyboards, guitar and banjo fretboards and accordion keys. Dare we say, this is a collaborative pairing whose combined strengths far exceeds the individuals' efforts. Distressed and absorbing. Very recommended.
You know this is gonna be good -- from the same dedicated diggers at B-music/Finders Keepers that brought us the Anatolian Invasion of Selda and Mustafa Ozkent, the freak-folk of Susan Christie, the dreamscape soundtrack for Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders, etc., comes this "best of" collection from beautiful Hungarian singer Sarolta "Cini" Zalatnay, from the late '60s, early '70s. An obscure cult figure elsewhere, in her native country Zalatnay remains famous, a liberated Socialist-era sex symbol known for her scandalous personal life. DJ Andy Votel's extensive liner notes allude to all the shocking details. Fascinating as her story is (at age 54 she posed for Hungarian Playboy, has appeared on a Hungarian hidden-camera "reality TV" show, and was given a three-year prison sentence for fraud!) it's her breaks-friendly music that gets the B-music crowd all turned on. And while the 19 tracks here include some lovely pastoral pop and torchy ballads, it's her specialty of groovy, psychedelic hard rock wherein the best breaks are to be found. And there's plenty of that here. Yep, cow-bell rockin', acid guitar fueled hard rock, the ideal setting for her to let loose with her powerful voice, which draws comparisons to Janis Joplin (an impression reinforced here by one of the English-language bonus tracks, a cover of Joplin's "Move Over"). Plus the funky drumming and wah wah fuzz guitar licks are enough to make DJ-types drool. We're reminded a bit of Funkadelic vocalist Ruth Copeland's solo material, and the more kick-ass Shocking Blue cuts...good stuff!
This anthology brings together tracks from impossible to find LPs and singles, released by Cini as a solo artist as well as when she fronted such bands as Locomotiv GT and Skorpio. As usual the cd booklet is heavily illustrated with full color repros of the cover art from some of these treasures.
ZIDANE: A 21ST CENTURY PORTRAIT (MOGWAI)OST(Play It Again Sam (PIAS)cd$ 16.98
How many times have you heard us muse that Mogwai's epic, evocative music is like a soundtrack for some imaginary film? Many many times. Too numerous to mention. Sorry, didn't mean to sound like a broken record! Well, now it has finally come to pass that their music has indeed found its cinematic match not once but twice with their recent performances for Darren Aronofsky's movie The Fountain and for Zidane, a documentary about the soccer player of the same name. Worry not, you won't be hearing sound effects of soccer balls or referee whistles on this soundtrack. In fact, there aren't any great departures from Mogwai's trademark epic atmospheric post-rock sound whatsoever. What this all means for you, dear Mogwai fan is more of the richly expressive, sweeping instrumentals you know and love.
