It's always the records we love the most, and listen to the most, that are the hardest to describe. Hmmm. As we were writing that, we realized it sounded familiar and what do you know? That's almost exactly how we started our review of the last Nada Surf record. We've joked before, that instead of rambling on and and on and gushing like we often do, we should just write what we usually tell people in the store: "Just buy it. It's AWESOME!!!" But because some folks now do base their idea of a record's importance on the length of the review, we'll go ahead and try to explain exactly why Lucky is so awesome and why you should absolutely buy it, and most importantly why it's almost for sure our:
POP RECORD OF THE YEAR. Sure it's only February. But it was a done deal two songs in. And sure, we're hoping some record will be able to knock Lucky out of its top spot, but it seems very very unlikely.
And while even after probably 100 listens, Lucky doesn't seem quite as genius as it's predecessor The Weight Is A Gift, it gets a little closer every listen.
For those who somehow missed out on the whole Nada Surf phenomenon, they had a HUGE hit back in the nineties, "Popular", you'd know it if you heard it. And it got played enough to become one of THOSE songs you never wanted to hear again. But as with most one hit wonders, they ended up dropped and broke, another victim of the unforgiving major label machinery. They sort of just disappeared after that, almost completely, until years later they resurfaced with a brand new record, on a cool little indie label, and an almost entirely new sound. Lush and introspective, but super rocking at the same time, gorgeous vocal harmonies, amazing melodies, incredible hooks, and really funny, bittersweet lyrics. The next one was even better, another record of the week in fact. The Weight Is A Gift instantly became one of our favorite records of not just that year, but ever. Played to death, every song practically perfect. Heavy, dark, pretty, poppy, and so so so catchy.
A week or so ago, totally unexpected, Lucky showed up in the mail, and from the first song, we knew we'd end up loving this one too. But like almost all of our favorite pop records, it wasn't immediate. It took some listens for the songs to blossom, for the hooks to sink in, for the subtleties to reveal themselves. But as they did, and continue to do, the record just became that much deeper, the sound that much more complex. Instantly catchy throwaway pop has a very limited lifespan, but complicated, grown up pop music, deftly composed and executed, infused with soul and passion, humor and emotion, well, those are the kind of songs that stick. And this record is chock full of those sorts of songs. "Whose Authority" could have come straight off The Weight Is A Gift, with its incredible hook and chorus, then there's the churning minor key groove of "Weightless", dark and heavy, but shot through with pop sunlight, the sweet jangle of "I Like What You Say" with yet another impossibly catchy chorus, "The Fox" is the darkest and brooding of the bunch, but it too manages to remain catchy and pretty. It's hard to pick out songs, since like most great albums, it is an album, the songs working together as much as they work on their own. Fucking brilliant. Again. As much as we love all that crazy weird shit, sometimes nothing does it for us like perfect perfect pop.
We love Aidan Baker. That should be abundantly clear from a quick look at past reviews on the aQ list. The artist that can hold our attention, and can continue to push the boundaries of his or her sound, are few and far between, especially after 20, 30 or more releases. It helps in Aidan's case, that he has multiple outputs, Nadja for the heavy stuff, under his own name for the more abstract minimal stuff, as well as various other ensembles and collaborations. As much as we dig everything we've heard, our hearts belong to Nadja. Blending huge roiling waves of downtuned doom, and glistening blissful ambience, Nadja just might be the masters of this new wave of post-metal shoegaze blisscore or whatever you want to call it.
In addition to the steady stream of new releases, Baker has been picking older, long out of print classics, and not just re-issuing them, but also reworking them, after all, years later, given the opportunity, most folks might ant to make some changes to recordings they made years earlier. Frustrating for the true completists probably, but won't matter to most folks, as those cd-r's were limited enough that only a handful of folks actually got to hear them.
One of our favorite Nadja discs was always Bliss Torn From Emptiness, so we're super psyched to finally have it as a real cd, with better sound, and all new fancy artwork. We didn't play the two versions side by side, so we'd be hard pressed to point out any distinct differences, regardless, Bliss is a fucking massive, gorgeous, collection of dreamy Teutonic crush.
Unlike the more fluid washed out shimmer of later Nadja, Bliss finds the band lurching and pounding, almost industrial, with plenty of Godflesh going on. The drums, a staggering stuttering staccato, the guitars long streaks of blistering psych blur, gauzy clouds of whir and buzz, the whole song like some massive sonic beast, lumbering into the twilit night. The melody and mood intense and emotional, very cinematic, and very darkly dramatic.
As the record progresses (it's a three part suite), the rhythms smooth out a bit, slow down, lurch less and groove more, the atmospherics growing more shimmery and soft focus, with more stretches of tranquility, softly processed vocals, glimmering minimal drones, gauzy glitchery, while remaining really really heavy, the final part, after a looooong stretch of fuzzy warble and sun dappled drift, finishes off with a deafening supernova of sound, the guitars so white hot that they almost drown out the drums completely, a swirling chaotic soundscape, all end of the world psych blow out and bleary eyed solar eclipse shoegaze, a bit like playing ALL your M83 records at the same time and blasting them through loudspeakers mounted on satellites, showering the planet with brilliant blinding shards of glorious buzz.
We didn't realize it when we first listed the Residual Echoes ep a short while back, but Elevation Records, the label that released that, and this here new Nadja ep, is co-run by professional hockey player�Boyd Devereaux, who plays for the�Toronto Maple Leafs. Wow. Story goes something like this: Hockey player into weird underground sounds, meets an ex-member of the Dirtbombs at a Dead Meadow gig. The Dirtbombs guy (let's call him Joe Greenwald) just so happened to also work for Warner Brothers. The two became fast friends and decided to start a label and voila! Elevation Records. Pretty cool. Well, we already told you all about the Residual Echoes ep (and if you missed that we still have a few in stock), so now let's talk about the new Nadja record...
A brand new 28 minute ep, from one of the originators of this new bred of blissful brutality, Canadian duo, Nadja, featuring AQ favorite, the crazy prolific Aidan Baker. While this ep starts off tranquil and drifty, it doesn't take long for things to get down to business, with a sudden onslaught of super corrosive downtuned sludge guitar and simple doomic plod. Now Nadja have always been heavy, but it's always been sort of shimmery and blown out, heavy in a drifting soft focus sort of way, but the opening track here sounds almost black metal, still with a sort of slow core pop heart, but wrapped in blackened buzz and super damaged crumbling distortion, seriously intense and ominous. Pretty amazing actually. The song fades out into a glimmering pool of distant buzz laced with dreamlike melodies, only to be clobbered by the second track, the most straight up riffy song Nadja has ever recorded wethinks, some wierd sort of slow motion stoner doom metal, but being Nadja, still wrapped in fuzzy sparkles and warm whir. All four tracks, minus brief interludes of whispery tranquility, are massive lumbering distorted dreamdoom beasts, that could definitely hold their own in a room full of hellboun heavies and devastating doomlords. While somehow managing to also sound pretty the whole damn time...
The self-titled album by this lengthily and peculiarly named* obscure early '80s band has been reissued by Vinyl On Demand. If we were taking the label's name at face value, we'd wonder who has been demanding this vinyl. Heh Heh, just kidding.
Anyways, The Naughtiest Girl Was A Monitor were a group from Sheffield whose music sounds like Human League tangled in a knot with David Bowie. Or if you're lookin' for a contemporary reference point, you might wanna imagine Ariel Pink going full-on new wave! Off-kilter, breezy tunes filled with analog synthesizers, drum machines and strings too! Limited pressing of 600!
*FYI: their name is actually the title of an Enid Blyton book!
Three tracks. Two artists. One solo track each. One collaboration. Each 22 minutes and 22 seconds long. Benny Nilsen provides the first track, and it's a signature piece for him with a long slow ascent of skull-cracked drones. The icy sounds of this piece, its spectral, shadowy allusions are more keeping with his earlier work as Hazard, a grim, post-industrial production of steely ambience. Very nicely done. The same can be said for Z'ev's track, as he's become far more adept with digital production in recent years. His arsenal of percussive strikes is at the core of his solo track, yet Z'ev has deftly smeared much of the metallic reverb and sustained magnetic vibrations into a monstrous low end composition of slow motion explosions crossing paths with Lustmord's Heresy or The Monstrous Soul, minus the death-obsessed imagery. These two tracks are clearly worth the price of admission, but it should be noted that the third collaborative track is pretty pointless. After 17 minutes of silence, the two merely present a room mix of the two of them playing drones and percussion. Eh.
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Winsome pop melodies that gently caress the ear, relaxed and lovely--WHOOPS. N-n-n-n-nnoo, wrong review. Anybody familiar with insectoid, techy guitar playing of Mick Barr (of Ocrilim, Orthrelm, Octis, and Crom Tech fame) knows that we had to be pulling your collective leg with the beginning of this paragraph. Not a chance in heck that Ocrilim's latest release, on Hydra Head, would be anything less than a completely nerve-wracking, possibly aggravating, virtuoso six string mindfuck. And is it ever. Unique as well, 'cause nothin' else sounds quite like this. It's insane ear candy for those of us who like the concept (put forth in a previous Mick Barr review on the AQ site) of Ygnwie playing Metal Machine Music!
Divvyed up into seven parts, the all-instrumental Annwn is a tour-de-force of repetitive yet complex high-end trill, incorporating spiralling sixteenth note fretboard frenzies that burrow into your skull like a trepanist's drill. These trance-inducing pieces are all long ones, upwards of ten minutes or more, most of 'em, and take that time to build into truly grandiose symphonics, that (if the listener can, um, hear the forest for the trees) are indeed melodic, if not poppy. Never before has anything so trebly also sounded so majestic! Barr's swarming sounds somehow hint at John Williams' Star Wars/Death Star theme music... and very much makes us think, Black Metal. It's not, but comes pretty close indeed. And in fact, if this WAS a black metal band, we'd be all, "best/most fucked black metal of the year so far." Albeit one that's all-guitar (consisting entirely of the notes, noise, and drone that Barr can call forth from his mystic, multitracked axe), no vocals or drums or drum machine or nothin'.... and owes as much to no-wave and minimalism and 20th c. classical.
Omega is the final installment in a series of releases from Organum that vaguely deals with the notions of holiness. Like Sanctus and Amen before it, Omega is a composition for Hammond organ, gong, and tower bell, with the addition of a droning sitar replacing the monastic chants found on Amen. And again, the compositional structure is a simple drone from a Hammond organ gaping towards infinity, with the gongs and tower bells struck for dramatic punctuations. The raga-drone from the sitar is a nice touch, slanting Organum's gaze upon spirituality toward the East. Omega may be the most interesting piece in this trilogy and may even appeal to those fans of Aidan Baker's ambient atmospherics; but it has to be said that Organum's best work is not found here. For that, look to the Organum albums (e.g. Vacant Lights, Ikon, Sphyx, etc.) from the late '80s and early '90s, which continue to slip in and out of print.
We've been raving about krautdronedrifters Expo 70 quite a bit around these parts, and you all have been equally smitten it seems. Their blissful spaced out meditations, looped guitars and thick washes of outerspace shimmer pushing all our krautrock and doomdrone buttons.
But imagine Expo 70 with a bit more muscle, more grit, more guitars, more synths, just... MORE. A bit darker, a bit heavier, more buzz and more layers, less blissy and more propulsive. Imagine almost if you can, a more metal Expo 70, and maybe you'd end up with something like Ozmadawn.
We highlighted a disc by an SF band called Horseflesh a short while ago, a killer slab of post industrial krautdrone, channeling the German masters, but also more recent floorcore like Wolf Eyes, Yellow Swans, Skaters, etc. Well, the man behind Horseflesh just so happens to be half of the duo known as Ozmadawn, and on Rise Of The Moth, he and his partner take up from where Horseflesh left off, jettisoning some of the washed out shimmer and industrial crunch for something much more thick and corrosive, blown out and druggy, dense throbbing pulsing blasts of buzzing snarling layered krautdrone nirvana. Falling somewhere between Popol Vuh and SUNNO))), Hawkwind and Vulture Club, gloriously trance inducing outerspace hypno-heaviness. Not to say there aren't blissed out moments, there definitely are, the band unfurls super dreamy synthscapes, that drift and pulse, that feel like they trail off into forever, but those tranquil stretches always eventually seem to build into something equally hypnotic but way more fierce, soon overtaken by coruscating blackdrone guitars, and all manner of thick buzz and oscillating whir, somehow retaining the same sense of mesmer, but within a much more dense and aggressive framework. Simultaneously thick and heavy, soft and space-y, murky and metallic, drone-y and dreamy.
Packaged in cool hand screenprinted digipaks, pressed on black cd-r's, with a screen printed cardstock insert, and each with a unique 'recycled' Ozmadawn sticker.
Oh how we adore the Finnish label Fonal Records -- home to the likes of Kemialliset Ystavat, Islaja, Kiila and Es. And now, won't you please kindly welcome the newest addition to the Fonal roster, Paavoharju! We can say that that welcoming 'em is not such a difficult thing to do 'cause they sure do make some wonderful music! In fact, Cup (and Jim for that matter) has listened to it almost every day since its arrival. It's true!
Note: We don't want to deny anyone the pristine 'first listen' magic that we experienced. We can attest that it was a sheer delight packed with many surprises, and our fondness has only grown with each listen. So if you want your introductory spin to be 'pure', please be forewarned that this review contains what some might call spoilers... that means stop reading now!
In many ways Paavoharju can be likened to fellow enchanting Finnish artists Lau Nau and Fonal labelmates Islaja, but their finely detailed yet loosely strung music is considerably more melted and collaged and electronic. Listening to Yha Hamaraa is almost like eavesdropping on a dream... or having someone else's heartbreaking memories come back to hazily haunt you. Sounds, voices and melodies drift in and out of focus, occasionally overlapping and seeping into one another. Sometimes it seems like you're listening to a rickety old radio with the dial set between stations so that the sounds somehow magically fit together. Odd faintly familiar elements make their presence felt such as in the ninth song where the male vocal melody brought to mind a twisted folk (and of course very Finnish) version of "Stairway To Heaven". The swooping, trebly female vocals find their own special place between Indian film music singers and the Southeast Asian voices that surface on the similarly (un)structured Sublime Frequencies travelogue field recording compilations. And reference must be made to Bjork as well! Now after having read this far in our review, you might find the very first track with its swell of distorted static-y noise to be somewhat unexpected, disorienting even, but we encourage you to go with it (and with us). Allow the wash of sounds to transport you into Paavoharju's intoxicating world. Completely and utterly breathtaking.
For an instrumental metallic post rock combo, made up of pretty ordinary looking dudes, Pelican seem, at least compared to their peers, to spend a lot of time being filmed for dvds. Okay that may be a bit of an exaggeration, this is probably dvd number three, but three feels like a lot. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but visually, 4 dudes in jeans is not necessarily fodder for riveting visuals. With Pelican, and most bands, it has much to do with the energy of being there, the sweat and the blood, the physicality of the sound, the deafening volume. Seeing it on the screen isn't always the same. That said, we find ourselves digging Pelican live on dvd. A lot. Much of it has to do with the music, and Pelican just keep getting better, more expansive, more epic, and way less metal. Which in this case is a very good thing. Their vibe continues to draw heavily from nineties mathrock, the soaring melodies, the churning riffage, the complex arrangements, they're like Godspeed, if they released records on Touch And Go. And while their sound references much of what came before, it helps them standout from the way too crowded field of Neur-Isis clones.
So what you have here is a live set from London in 2005, as well as various performances from various locations over the last 3 or 4 years as well as various interview segments and a 'music video'. The London show looks and sounds the best, obviously it was meant to be recorded, and it's a scorcher, the sound thick and heavy, the band rocking out wildly, limbs flailing, head banging, the crowd bouncing and weaving, The songs sound as good as ever. And again, they sound less like a band that spends its time playing metal fests, and more like a band you'd see in some packed sweaty little rock club, who already sound like they should be playing somewhere bigger. They do plenty of favorites, but it's good to see them played live, given new life, and it's interesting to see the songs actually played. A whole different vibe than on headphones.
The other live stuff is good, but the sound varies wildly, as does the lighting, but it's all pretty cool. And the interview footage will convince you of what we already know from numerous Pelican visits to aQ, that besides being a pretty bad ass band, they're some of the nicest guys ever.
Also included is the video for "Autumn Into Summer", the song itself, dreamy and mathy and post rocky, only really getting slightly metal near the middle with some soaring guitar harmonies and double kick, but the video is awesome, animated, and haunting, intercut with home movies, and strange super 8 footage. In addition to that stuff, there's also a photo gallery with tons of photos from various shows and tours.
But even if you're not one for dvds, there's still a reason to pick this up. Included with the dvd is a 3" cd that contains both tracks from the recent super limited Pink Mammoth 10". The first is the title track, epic and majestic and major key, the guitars thick, a throaty roar, the drums simple and massive, heavy but pretty, a definite Jesu vibe for sure, the track occasionally blissing out into stretches of mathy nineties style indie rock, albeit way heavier and way radder. At moments things also veer into Fucking Champs territory, but for the most part we hear some gloriously bastardized and metallized version of Polvo or Pitchblende. The track ends with a super shimmery outro/coda, all swoopy and soft focus, super spare drumming, spacy FX and weird far away production... yet another argument for these guys being one of the finest purveyors of metallic post rock going. The second is a reworked and remixed blend of another couple old Pelican songs, courtesy of Mr. Prefuse 73. A fuzzy expanse of glitchy acoustic guitars, sounding like Oval mixing some super minimal folky prog track, a laid back dreamy electronic folk, that eventually builds until an almost funky rhythm kicks in, simple handclaps laid over glistening harmonics and lilting minor key guitars, more and more fuzzed out as it progresses, a blown out sheen not unlike everything was dipped in a pixelated Fennesz style gritty guitar wash.
The third track though is brand new, or at least previously unreleased as far as we know. It's another version of "Pink Mammoth", but this time Pelican is joined by the band These Arms Are Snakes, and while this version is quite similar to the original, it's much heavier, double drums, double everything, but also more blissy and washed out, with soaring vocals buried way down in the mix, the rhythm more loping, the sound way more blown out and in the red, but just as epic and dreamlike, if not more so.
As with all Hydra Head stuff, the packaging is amazing. Full color sleeve in a dvd case, thick matte paper full color oversized booklet, double disc holders, 3"cd mounted on top of the dvd, the whole thing housed in a matte slipcover, adorned with super complex blue on black amoeboid designs. Nice! ----* ----* In Stock, Not Yet Reviewed : ----* If you want to order one of these, just search for the item, then click on the buy button and it will be added to your cart! 3/3 "s/t" (P-Vine) 2cd 42.00 ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE "Festival Vol. 5" (Acid Mother's Temple) dvd 21.00 AHMED, MAHMOUD "Ere Mele Mele" (L'arome Productions) lp 16.98 AHMED, MAHMOUD & EITHER / ORCHESTRA "Tsedenia Gebre-Marqos" (Buda Musique) dvd 14.98 AHOUSEN "s/t" (PSF) cd 22.00 AKIYAMA, TETUZI & JOZEF VAN WISSEM "Hymn For A Fallen Angel" (Incuna Bulum) cd 17.98 ALTER EGO "Why Not?!" (Klang Elektronik) cd 16.98 ANAAL NATHRAKH "Hell Is Empty, And All The Devils Are Here" (Feto) cd 14.98 ARCADE AMBIANCE "'83" (GDG) cd-r 12.98 ARCADE AMBIANCE "'86" (GDG) cd-r 12.98 ASTATKE, MULATU "Ethio Jazz" (L'arome Productions) lp 16.98 AXA HOUR OF DARA BLEU "Clones Of Eros" (Fire Museum) cd 13.98 AXELROD, DAVID "Live: Royal Festival Hall" (Mochilla Films) dvd 28.00 BACH, SEBASTIAN "Angel Down" (Get Off My Bach) cd 13.98 BACHDENKEL "Lemmings" (Ork) cd 17.98 BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS "Skullgrid" (Metal Blade) cd 12.98 BETTER BEATLES, THE "Mercy Beat" (Hook or Crook) cd 11.98 BIRCHVILLE CAT MOTEL "Seventh Ruined Hex" (Important) cd 14.98 BLACK COBRA "Feather And Stone" (At A Loss) cd 13.98 BOSMANN, KARL "Eskalation" (You Don't Have To Call It Music) lp 38.00 BOX "Studio 1" (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98 BOXCUTTER "Glyphic" (Planet Mu) cd 14.98 BOY DIRT CAR "Spoken Answer To A Silent Question" (Aftermusic) cd 14.98 BRIDGEWATER, DEE DEE "Red Earth: A Malian Journey" (DDB Records) cd 16.98 BROTZMANN, PETER / PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE / MATS GUSTAFSSON "The Fat Is Gone" (Smalltown Superjazz) cd 16.98 BRYARS, GAVIN "The Marvellous Aphorisms Of Gavin Bryars: The Early Years" (Mode) cd 16.98 CHERRY, DON "Tibet" (Piccadilly) lp 12.98 COPE, JULIAN "You Gotta Problem" (Head Heritage) 2cd 27.00 DAS EFX "The Very Best Of (Greatest Hits)" (elektra) cd 12.98 DOWN "III: Over The Under" (Down Records) cd 17.98 ESHETE, ALEMAYEHU "Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 2" (L'arome Productions) lp 16.98 ESKIBOY "The Best Of Tunnel Vision" (Baked Goods) 2cd 22.00 FAUST "Od Serca Do Duszy" (Lumberton Trading Company) cd 24.00 FENNESZ "Transition" (Touch) 7" 8.98 FERN KNIGHT "Music For Witches And Alchemists" (Eclipse) lp 21.00 FOLK SPECTRE, THE "The Blackest Medicine" (Wodsist) lp 14.98 FOOD "Molecular Gastronomy" (Rune Grammofon) cd 17.98 GAZHEART (RITA ACKERMAN / DAVE NUSS) "s/t" (Locust) lp 23.00 GENDAI SOKKYO "s/t" (PSF) cd 22.00 GHOST "Overture; Live In Nippon Yusen Soko 2006" (Drag City) cd + dvd 17.98 GRUDZIEN, PETER "The Unicorn" (Subliminal Sounds) 2lp 39.00 GRUPO AMIGOS "Paloma Mensajera" (Guerssen) cd 22.00 GRUPPO D'IMPROVVISAZIONE "Nuova Consonanza" (Cherry Red) cd 17.98 GUSTAFSSON, MATS / PAAL NILSSEN-LOVE "Splatter" (Smalltown Superjazz) cd 14.98 HABIBIYYA, THE "If Man But Knew" (Sunbeam) 2lp 34.00 HALF MAKESHIFT "Final" (Small Doses) cd-r 7.98 HAVOHEJ "Dethrone the Son of God" (Hells Headbangers) cd 13.98 HEXLOVE "Knew Abloom (Life's Hood)" (Holy Mountain) cd 13.98 HEY WILLPOWER "P.D.A." (Tomlab) cd 15.98 HIGUCHI, HISATO "Butterfly Horse Street" (Family Vineyard) cd 14.98 HUMAN BEAST "Volume One" (Sunbeam) lp 24.00 HUMAN INSTINCT "Stoned Guitar" (Rockadrome) cd 14.98 IDA "Lovers Prayers" (Polyvinyl) cd/2lp 14.98/16.98 INCAPACITANTS "Burning Orange" (Pica Disk) cd 14.98 IRISH COFFEE "s/t" (Set) cd 25.00 ISUNGSET, TERJE "Iceman Is" (All Ice) cd JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER "Valley Of Fire" (Textile) cd 15.98 KLIMEK "Dedications" (Anticipata) cd 15.98 LANG, K.D. "Watershed" (Nonesuch) cd 16.98 LOIUS XIV "Slick Dogs And Ponies" (Pineapple / Atlantic) cd 13.98 MACHINEFABRIEK "Bijeen" (Kning Disk) cd 14.98 MASHAYEKHI, ALIREZA & ATA EBTEKAR (SOTE) "Persian Electronic Music: Yesterday And Today (1966-2006)" (Sub Rosa) cd 16.98 METABOLISMUS "Snowy Meadows / Somnia" (The Social Registry) 7" 6.98 MONO "The Sky Remains The Same As Ever" (Temporary Residence Ltd.) dvd 17.98 MONSTER MAGNET "4-Way Diablo" (SPV) cd 16.98 MOULD, BOB "District Line" (Anti) cd 16.98 MURPHY BLEND "First Loss" (Kuckuck) cd 15.98 NEMETH "Film" (Thrill Jockey) cd 14.98 NERVE NET NOISE "Dark Garden" (Intransitive) cd 14.98 OCEAN, THE "Precambrian" (Metal Blade) cd 14.98 ONNA "Katawa" (PSF) cd 22.00 OPETH "The Roundhouse Tapes" (Peaceville) 2cd 16.98 OSCILLATION, THE "Out Of Phase" (DC Recordings) cd 25.00 PARTON, DOLLY "Mission Chapel Memories: 1971-1975" (Raven) cd 22.00 PATTIE BLINGH & THE AKEBULAN FIVE (AKA GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW) "Sagala" (Ramp) cd 14.98 PINCH "Underwater Dancehall" (Tectonic) 2cd 22.00 PLANES MISTAKEN FOR STARS "We Ride To Fight" (No Idea) cd 13.98 POLLARD, ROBERT "Superman was a Rocker" (Needmore Songs) cd 10.98 PROTEST THE HERO "Fortress" (Vagrant) cd 14.98 RADAR BROTHERS "Auditorium" (Merge) cd 14.98 RANDALL OF NAZARETH "s/t" (Drag City) cd/lp 14.98/15.98 REED, LOU / ZEITKRATZER "Metal Machine Music" (Asphodel) cd+dvd 17.98 REID, STEVE ENSEMBLE "Daxaar" (Domino) cd 15.98 REITZEL, BRIAN "30 Days Of Night OST" (Ipecac) cd 16.98 RELIGIOUS KNIVES "It's After Dark" (Troubleman) cd 13.98 RIGGS, DAX "We Sing Of Only Blood Or Love" (Fat Possum) cd 14.98 RIMPOCHE, BOKAR "Sacred Chants & Tibetan Rituals From The Monestary Of Mirik" (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98 ROBEDOOR "Rancor Keeper" (Release the Bats) cd 15.98 ROBIN WILLIAMS ON FIRE "Jungle Gym Of Crucifixes" (Deathbomb Arc) 7" 5.98 ROCHE, JEAN C. "Rossignols: A Nocturne of Nightingales" (Fremeaux & Associes) cd 15.98 ROOT "Daemon Viam Invenient" (Shindy) cd 15.98 ROSETTA "Cleansing Undertones Of Wake/Lift" (Translation Loss) cd 9.98 ROSETTA "Wake / Lift" (Translation Loss) cd 13.98 SIMONETTI, ENRICO & GOBLIN "Gamma" (Cherry Red) cd 17.98 SINCLAIR, JOHN "Guitar Army: Rock & Revolution With MC5 And The White Panther Party" (Process) book+cd 22.95 SKEPTA "Greatest Hits" (Boy Better Know) cd 21.00 SKULL DEFEKTS, THE "Open The Gates Of Mimer" (AA / Nosordo) cd 14.98 SKULL DEFEKTS, THE "The Sound Of Defekt Skulls" (Utech) cd 14.98 SORE THROAT "Death To Capitalist Halmshaw" (Area Death Productions) cd 14.98 SOUTH SATURN DELTA "Experience The Concreteness" (Cold Spring) cd 15.98 STRIBORG "Trepidation" (Displeased) cd 14.98 SUN RA "Disco 3000" (Artyard) 2cd 33.00 SUN RA "Some Blues... But Not That Kind Of Blues" (Atavistic) cd 15.98 SUPER FURRY ANIMALS "Hey Venus!" (Rough Trade) cd 13.98 SWIRNOFF, PRESTON "Maariv" (Last Visible Dog) cd 11.98 SZCZEPANIK, NICHOLAS "Astilbe Rubra" (Small Doses) cd-r 7.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI "Dislocation" (Jinya) cd 17.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI "Inanimate" (Jinya) cd 17.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI "Mass Hysterism" (Jinya) cd 17.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI "Shibito" (Jinya) cd 17.98 TAKAYANAGI, MASAYUKI NEW DIRECTION UNIT "April Is The Cruellest Month" (Jinya) cd 24.00 TAU EMERALD "Travellers Two" (Important Records) cd 14.98 TEMPLE OF BON MATIN "Flower Footed Ghost" (Ruby Red Editora) cd 16.98 TENNISCOATS "Tan-Tan Therapy" (Hapna) cd 16.98 THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS "Here Come the 123s" (Disney Sound) cd 17.98 TURBONEGRO "Retox" (Cooking Vinyl) cd 14.98 V/A "10 Tons Heavy" (Planet Mu) 2cd 13.98 V/A "Asian Flashback: Underground Music From Asia" (PSF) cd 22.00 V/A "Dr. Boogie Presents: Rarities From The Bob Hite Vaults" (Sub Rosa) cd 15.98 V/A "Garden Of Forking Paths" (Important Records) cd 14.98 V/A "Golden State Funk" (BGP Records) cd 19.98 V/A "Greasy Truckers Party" (EMI) 3cd 38.00 V/A "Melodii Tuvi: Throat Songs And Folk Tunes From Tuva" (Dust To Digital) cd 15.98 V/A "Messthetics #104: D.I.Y. '77-81 South Wales" (Hyped To Death) cd 14.98 V/A "Messthetics #105: D.I.Y. 77-81 Scotland I" (Hyped To Death) cd 13.98 V/A "Pillows & Prayers" (Cherry Red) 3cd+dvd 42.00 V/A "Realistic Patterns" (Psychic Circle) cd 17.98 V/A "Runeology 3" (Rune Grammofon) cd 9.98 V/A "Smashits" (Shitkatapult) cd 16.98 V/A "Welsh Rare Beat 2" (Finders Keepers) cd/lp 23.00/30.00 V/A "You Got Yours!: East Bay Garage 1965-1967" (Big Beat Records) cd 19.98 VEEDEE "Glimpses Of Another World" (Criminal IQ) 7" 5.98 VERDUNKELN "Einblick In Den Qualenfall" (Van) cd 13.98 VETIVER "You May Be Blue" (Gong) 12" 8.98 VILE CHERUBS "The Man Who Has No Eats Has No Sweats" (Afterburn) cd 13.98 WANDERING MIDGET, THE "I Am The Gate" (Eyes Like Snow) cd 15.98 WEISMAN, KURT "Spiritual Sci-Fi" (Important Records) cd 14.98 WHITE MICE "Excreamantraintraveinanus" (Blossoming Noise) cd 14.98 WILLITS, CHRISTOPHER + RYUICHI SAKAMOTO "Ocean Fire" (12K) cd 14.98 WOELV "Tout Seul Dans La Foret En Plein Jour, Avez-Vous Peur?" (K Records) cd 14.98 WYATT, ROBERT "Comicopera" (Domino) cd 15.98 YEASAYER "All Hour Cymbals" (Are We Free) cd 14.98 YEH, C. SPENCER "Violin, Objects" (Tone Filth) lp 17.98 YOSHIMIO "Yunnan Colorfree" (Shock City) cd+dvd 50.00 YOUNG, NEIL "Chrome Dreams II" (Reprise) cd 17.98 _______________________________________________________________________ ABOUT MAILORDER
Okay black metal freeks and fanatics. We've all been going apeshit for everything and anything from the super tangled and inbred French micro-scene that spawned Alcest, Amesoeurs, Mortifera, Valfunde and of course Peste Noire, and we had been trying to track down enough of these double cassettes to finally list, and obviously we did, but odds are these will FLY out of here, and as we're not sure how limited these actually are, and how long it will take to get more, if indeed we can, please be prepared to maybe be disappointed, or very patient as we try to get more.
We reviewed Peste Noire's second full length FolkFuck Folie a while back, and the Lorraine rehearsal lp, both were amazing, stumbling chaotic, filthy fucked up blackness, and these two tapes are no different. If anything, they're more raw, and more gritty and blown out. Lo-fi and ultrablack. The first track is so fast it almost sounds like it was recorded at the wrong speed. But much like the records proper, the sound lurches from furious black blasts to stumbling midtempo buzz, to plodding almost-doom, but even on these early ultra lo-fi recordings, the mood and vibe is already in place, haunting and creepy, demented and freaked out, borderline psychedelic at times. Noisy as fuck, crumbling and super distorted, everything painted a washed out black, grime-y but at times weirdly melodic and blissy.
Collects pretty much all of Peste Noire's recordings outside of their 2 proper cds and the rehearsal lp (including their problematically titled 2001Aryan Supremecy demo, which seems out of character since according to Encyclopedia Metallum, their lyrical focus is on "Aesthetics of Evil, Medieval Demons and Decadent Poetry") including a couple unreleased bonus tracks. But probably, unless you're a crazy obsessed tape trader, you haven't heard any of this stuff anyway.
Needless to say, WAY recommended, and again, probably super limited, so act fast.
Cool packaging too, two cassettes, laid side by side in a small printed black cardboard box, with two inserts, old demo covers on one side, liner notes on the other.
Empires fall, Rome burns, and the heathen tribe that is Primordial sing a gallows hymn, both grim and grandiose, from their rugged emerald isle... gosh and begorra, these Irish metallers have outdone themselves on this, their sixth album. It's sweeping, weeping, epic wall o' metal, some serious shit indeed. You can get a good idea of the mood To The Nameless Dead conveys just by perusing the song titles, several of which we referenced in the first sentence of this review. Ancient pride and the sadness of loss mix masterfully on this album, the barbarians at the gates of the fallen empire knowing that their pagan glories too are fated for ruin and doom in the end...
Primordial are a band that doesn't fit neatly into any category. Perhaps black metal comes the closest, with a folky vibe and a fair share of aggression. Primordial's vocals are sometimes clean and melodic, sometimes quite harsh, always super emotive and stirring -- as is their music. They're certainly heavy, so let's just call them an Irish extreme heavy metal band that can stand tall next to the likes of Scandinavia's Opeth and Enslaved.
A lot of the time the black metal we recommend is all about being the quote unquote most fucked up ever. But once in a while, tribute must be paid to a band like Primordial whose massive and melancholic art -isn't- brutally primitive or inadvertently avant garde, but is just plain excellent, from writing to performance to production. In all respects, powerful.
As always, we were way ahead of the curve. You were too, right there with us. Going all the way back to Acid Bath, that seminal NOLA rock band, that somehow combined Eyehategod style sludge, and groovy dramatic emotional rock a la Alice In Chains or Katatonia or Jeff Buckley, we were proclaiming that not only should Acid Bath have been HUGE, but AB frontman Dax Riggs should be a rock star. So here we are over ten years later, and all that time, Riggs has continued on, first with Agents Of Oblivion, then Deadboy And The Elephantmen, all groups and records we LOVED, and played incessantly, but still, Dax and co. lurked way underground, barely even making a ripple in the mainstream music world.
But come last year, Riggs resurfaced, performing live and releasing a pretty decent disc (that we've yet to review), and suddenly being pushed hard, his sound, not all that different from Agents Of Oblivion, but now with some promotional real label muscle behind him. Unfortunately, not much happened with his solo record, so it was time for plan B, the first Deadboy And The Elephantmen record, re-released as a Riggs sort-of-solo record. Fair enough. We proclaimed it genius way way back when, and time has done nothing but demonstrate what a killer slab of dark grooviness and intensely emotional heaviness this record is, was and continues to be. So since lots of folks may not have been around when we first gushed about this disc, figured this was the perfect time to gush again.
Years and years ago, the big rock n' roll sleeper hit here at Aquarius had to be the awesome Agents Of Oblivion album, featuring two crucial ex-members of the late lamented cult band Acid Bath. Heavy, poppy, psychedelic rock with vocalist Dax Riggs crooning beautifully over it all. We shoulda made it record of the week, we all thought in retrospect. It became one of our favorite records EVER. We were really bummed then to hear that the Agents, like Acid Bath before 'em, broke up not long after the album's release. But, rumors filtered in that Dax and a new crew of New Orleans n'er-do-wells had formed a new band with the unlikely name of Deadboy and the Elephantmen to carry on where the Agents left off. Allan confirmed this when he happened to visit N.O. and was lucky enough to catch a live performance from this new band. They had a demo out then, and we anticipated a full album release on some big label to appear soon...we waited...and waited... and eventually a Deadboy record did come out, but the band had to release it themselves, since once again, the big labels had no idea and dropped the ball big time. Mystifiying, 'cause Dax is a rock star if ever there was one, and these guys should have been HUGE. This record is epic and darkly dramatic, heavy and groovy and weird as fuck, but also catchy and beautiful. Totally accessible yet morbidly underground, we hear everything from some voodoo Alice Cooper darkness and drama, to a little Aerosmith swagger, to the heaviness and angst of Alice In Chains of course -- Acid Bath was always an AIC meets EHG (Eyehategod) hybrid, in a really good way. Radiohead's "Ok Computer" is hinted at too, and Jeff Buckley, as the music combines weirdly sensitive melodicism and dark atmosphere inspired by their hometown's swamps and cemeteries. Dax is as impressive as ever, he really *sings*, drawing out vowels over a dozen notes. His vocals are oddly warm and comforting but also anguished and intense. While the songwriting on this album does not quite match the relatively flowery yet heavy tunesmithery of the Agents of Oblivion album, and neither does the instrumentation call attention to itself, that's not necessarily a bad thing here as it lets Dax' voice take center stage and he... just... wails. He's like a sludge metal Bowie, flamboyant, and dramatic, his vocals impossibly emotive and intense. Sometimes despairing, sometimes incantatory. Oh the angst! And the music is a perfect match, going from brooding and minor key, to explosive and space-y. For fans of Alice in Chains, Acid Bath/Agents of Oblivion (of course), Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees, and Woven Hand. It may have taken a decade, but finally the rest of the world can discover what some of us knew all along�
As you all should know by now, Eugene Robinson is the lead singer of Oxbow, a swamp-rock punk explosion of pure id in a musical context. Eugene's primal engery, which gets exorcised on stage most definitely and to a lesser extent on record, has also manifested itself in Robinson's parallel career as a mixed martial artist. That's right, as more than a few foolish hecklers at Oxbow shows have learned the hard way, Eugene is not a dude you want to mess with! Being both a brawler and an intellectual, Eugene has thought quite a bit about his pastime. A few years back, Eugene penned a column for the fight magazine Grappler about the art of getting his ass kicked by fighters much better than he; and he began working on a book about the oft misunderstood bloodsport-cum-artform known as mixed martial arts. The book in question is FIGHT: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Ass-Kicking But Were Afraid You'd Get Your Ass Kicked For Asking, and it's something of a coffee table book with ample bloodsplattered photographs from the brief history of MMA as it has broached the mainstream of Western Culture (thanks to UFC in America and Pride in Japan).
This Fight 2cd finds Eugene reading various bits from that book. Eugene's words come across as a mixture of Harry Crews, Lydia Lunch and Quintin 'Rampage' Jackson, poetic in language, vitriolic with emotional drama, and arrogant with the boastfulness of first hand knowledge in ass-kicking. This spoken word set is a pretty entertaining listen, providing insight into Oxbow's music, the history of the UFC, Eugene's enthusiam for devil-in-the-ring / nice-guy-at-home fighters Kevin Randleman and Maurice Smith, and the fact or fiction world of prison fighting called "jail-house rock." Hey, did you know that Oxbow were up for a Grammy? Look it up! We love Oxbow. And we love Eugene. And for the record, he could totally kick all our asses, combined.
A few weeks back, we made the newly unearthed and amazing Harmonia Live 1974 album our Record Of The Week, and also highlighted two of the four solo albums by Harmonia's Michael Rother that were also reissued at the same time. That's a lot of krautrock goodness to absorb at once, so we are just now getting around to listing those other two Rother solo discs, Flammende Herzen (1976) and Katzenmusik (1979), chronologically his first and third solo efforts. On both of these, as with the previous pair, Rother's beautifully harmonized, multitracked guitars and synths are joined by the incomparable, propulsive drumming of fellow krautrock hero Jaki Liebzeit of Can. And another legendary figure in the scene, Conny Plank, produces.
Flammende Herzen, which means Flaming Hearts in English, is a blissful concoction of motorik beats beneath Rother's trademark shimmering, soaring melodies. It's easy to see why it was a big hit when it was first released (apparently outselling all of Rother's albums with Neu! combined!). Truly gorgeous instrumental compositions that will brighten your day, being sources of both relaxation and energy... ok, that sounds a bit New Agey, doesn't it? But fans of the kosmische krautrock stuff should be comfortable with that, after all, there's a definite overlap, with Ashra, Tangerine Dream, Deuter, and Popol Vuh among others being krautrockers later to cross over to careers in the New Age field... and it's not like you have to get into a yoga pose to enjoy this album (though you could). Such nice music for a drive in the country, or lazing at home on a rainy afternoon, as well. Definitely a fine follow up to his work in Harmonia, tracks like "Feuerland" certainly not ignoring the r-o-c-k part of the krautrock equation in the process of being all spacey and hypnotic.
While we can solidly recommend Rother's solo debut, the other one under review here, Katzenmusik, is a bit iffier (though some folks actually consider it his masterpiece, cf. allmusic.com). On it, Rother moves more and more in that much-maligned New Age direction, mellowing out even further. The blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and arcing jet-trail of the cover photo are well-evoked by the music inside. Twelve untitled, again all-instrumental tracks, all very airy-fairy. Gently uplifting guitar confections ride along on the tick-tock of Jaki's drumming... It's quite nice all right, just without any edginess. If you love Rother, you'll probably want it, but get the others first.
These are both, again, nicely done reissues from the Water label, with the original art and new liner notes.
A few weeks back, we made the newly unearthed and amazing Harmonia Live 1974 album our Record Of The Week, and also highlighted two of the four solo albums by Harmonia's Michael Rother that were also reissued at the same time. That's a lot of krautrock goodness to absorb at once, so we are just now getting around to listing those other two Rother solo discs, Flammende Herzen (1976) and Katzenmusik (1979), chronologically his first and third solo efforts. On both of these, as with the previous pair, Rother's beautifully harmonized, multitracked guitars and synths are joined by the incomparable, propulsive drumming of fellow krautrock hero Jaki Liebzeit of Can. And another legendary figure in the scene, Conny Plank, produces.
Flammende Herzen, which means Flaming Hearts in English, is a blissful concoction of motorik beats beneath Rother's trademark shimmering, soaring melodies. It's easy to see why it was a big hit when it was first released (apparently outselling all of Rother's albums with Neu! combined!). Truly gorgeous instrumental compositions that will brighten your day, being sources of both relaxation and energy... ok, that sounds a bit New Agey, doesn't it? But fans of the kosmische krautrock stuff should be comfortable with that, after all, there's a definite overlap, with Ashra, Tangerine Dream, Deuter, and Popol Vuh among others being krautrockers later to cross over to careers in the New Age field... and it's not like you have to get into a yoga pose to enjoy this album (though you could). Such nice music for a drive in the country, or lazing at home on a rainy afternoon, as well. Definitely a fine follow up to his work in Harmonia, tracks like "Feuerland" certainly not ignoring the r-o-c-k part of the krautrock equation in the process of being all spacey and hypnotic.
While we can solidly recommend Rother's solo debut, the other one under review here, Katzenmusik, is a bit iffier (though some folks actually consider it his masterpiece, cf. allmusic.com). On it, Rother moves more and more in that much-maligned New Age direction, mellowing out even further. The blue sky, fluffy white clouds, and arcing jet-trail of the cover photo are well-evoked by the music inside. Twelve untitled, again all-instrumental tracks, all very airy-fairy. Gently uplifting guitar confections ride along on the tick-tock of Jaki's drumming... It's quite nice all right, just without any edginess. If you love Rother, you'll probably want it, but get the others first.
These are both, again, nicely done reissues from the Water label, with the original art and new liner notes.
The first time we heard from the UK's bass and drum (not to be confused with drum and bass) ensemble Shit And Shine, we were already predisposed to love them. Seeing as they featured multiple bass players, a stage full of drummers, and most importantly, at least to us, several lawnmowers. Fuck. Yeah.
Over the course of the last three or four years, these guys have continually pummeled us within an inch of our lives, with their throbbing tribal Butthole Surfers style onslaught, a furious blown out in the red drug drenched psych rock, but only the loosest approximation of rock. More like some sort of government drug experiment, where various deviants and ne'er do wells, criminals and sociopaths, were incarcerated, dosed with all manner of experimental psychotropics, then let loose in a concrete bunker filled with drums and amps and busted up old bass guitars, everything recorded for posterity, until someone started leaking the tapes, code name: SHIT AND SHINE.
This was the most wacked shit we'd heard since Terminal Cheesecake or the Strangulate Beatoffs. And every record drifted further and further out, as the band became more and more unhinged, and now there's this, Cherry, a massive double lp that while still demonstrating the kind of physical and psychic damage Shit And Shine can do, also reveals a whole new world of fucked up sound these guys have tapped into. In fact, when we first threw this on, we weren't even sure it was the same band.
The record opens with a simple percussive drum jam, all toms, sort of tribal, beneath a series of samples, and film clips, a little weird, reminiscent of old industrial, until the next track obliterates the first with a blast of awesome processed metallic riffing, almost like some heavily FX-ed Iron Maiden leads, draped over some shitty shiney sludge, then suddenly guitars flip backwards, the sound becoming some freaked out psych damage, lurching into some killer stop / start dynamics, a churning what-the-fuck sort-of metal jam. Oh yeah, there's also a long long track of old school proto disco, groovy, druggy dancefloor shit, unexpected, but it sort of works in S+S's tweaked sound world. And all of that stuff is peppered with brief super short tracks of classic Shit And Shine tribal drugpsych pummel, but it always slips back into something� curious.
Side three is a single side long track, a gorgeous chunk of layered drone, guitars buzz and rumble, basses throb and pulse, there are probably some synths in there too, the various layers churning and shifting, drifting and shimmering, super hypnotic but still subtly fucked up and creepy.
And finally, for those folks who were put off by all this weirdness, meaning even more weirdness than normal, all of side 4 is taken up by a full on, head crushing Shit And Shine blow out. Doped up and spaced out, huge loping rhythms, pounding multiple drumkits, the basses and guitars a chaotic tangle of crumbling riffs and throbbing distortion, everything locked into relentless looped churning crush. So completely filthy and crusty and damaged that it sounds constantly on the verge of falling to pieces, but it's this continuous chaos and impending doom, that makes S+S's freaky jams so intense and so fucking awesome!
Need we say, TRES RECOMMENDED!
More totally and hilariously garish cover art. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES! We got a bunch but AQ folks seem especially partial to Shit -AND- Shine, so these will probably go pretty quick. You have been warned.
Some of us here at aQ feel like Brooklyn's sightings have never really gotten a fair shake (and some of us here, also, never gave 'em a fair shake!). Their particular brand of speaker-fried, uber-distorted, 4-track noise bludgeoning has never really caught on in same way as some of their Load Records cohorts, despite being every bit as jagged, intense, brutal and engaging as anything else that label has to offer. That said, over the course of a half dozen records Sightings have slowly and quietly (well, as quietly as a band this mammothly loud can do things...) refined their aesthetic, adding subtle electronic tones and touches, and moving slowly away from the confrontational pummeling that characterized their earlier recordings.
For Through The Panama, their 4th full length on Load, Sightings have taken a step further toward reinventing themselves completely. Gone are the blown out production values, the throat shredding yowls, and the muscular relentlessness of their earlier records. In their place? Cleaner production courtesy of Andrew WK and a simmering, sinewy intensity that ties together a range of disparate influences (This Heat's fractured tape loop groove, DNA's angular guitar skree, to name but two...) into something so tightly wound that it feels constantly on the verge of completely falling apart. The whole thing churns along at a low boil of muttered vocals, rumbling bass, tinkling piano flourishes and rhythmic density with occasional bursts of their old, frenzied selves breaking through. It's almost like you can hear the band trying to reign everything in and failing in really fantastic ways.
Hopefully this will be the record that pushes the band out of the shadows and garners them the attention they deserve. Totally, thoroughly, completely recommended.
A totally amazing collection of instrumental gems from Studio One's legendary in-house band. Best known for backing up the talented likes of Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Ken Boothe, Marcia Griffiths, Dennis Brown, and lots more, Sound Dimension are responsible for brewing up some of the most funky and warm sounding reggae tracks ever recorded, and in fact, so much of the music they created has been covered and duplicated by so many other artists that they almost sound like reggae standards now. What made Sound Dimension so irresistible was how they were actually fusing so many sounds in creating a new one. You can hear hints of big band, calypso, soul and funk all coming together to create a rocksteady sound that has withstood the test of time. As much as we loved the first collection of Sound Dimension tracks put out by Soul Jazz a couple years ago we are digging Mojo Rocksteady Beat even a little bit more!
While so many other in-house studio bands were of course technically amazing players they often lacked creativity and color, something Sound Dimension was totally oozing with. This is music pretty impossible not to fall in love with. So great!
Hurrah, Kelley's back! Granted we might sound like a broken record comparing his music once again to the three mighty B's -- The Beatles, Bowie and The Beach Boys -- but the influences continue to ring loud and clear. However, Mr. Stoltz is such a terrific singer/songwriter that his songs somehow always sounds fresh, and he sounds as fresh as ever on his latest full length Circular Sounds! This time though his vocal delivery also recalls the older, knowing tones of Ray Davies and Robyn Hitchcock. You'll wanna go round and round with these fourteen songs filled with wistful musings on age-old sentiments about talking to girls, losing one's mind, etc. Sweet!
Japanese guitarist Mitsuru Tabata's name should be better known than perhaps it is... he was an early member of the Boredoms, is a current member of Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno, and has served as KK Null's axe associate in Zeni Geva for many many years, among other activities. He's also made some brilliant solo albums, of which this is one (his third -- a fourth, on Utech, also just came out)!
Rather than making much use of the heavier guitar blurt that so many of his other projects feature, on this solo disc Tabata works with layers of lovely loops, quietly cycling 'round a spacey cosmos of his own invention... well for the most part, though the track "Annihilation" does sound appropriately amped up and ferocious. But most of these pieces are built from backwards tapes, shortwave drones, guitars and synths spinning out gentle folky melodies amidst soothingly tripped-out electronic effects. Abstract psychedelic lullabies, calm and spacious and really nice! Highly recommended, all Acid Mothers Temple fans should check this out -- and not just them!
Got some "early heavy" freakdom for here for ya, Shadoks digging up and reissuing this 1970 album by a bluesy acid rock power trio from Denmark. If you're familiar with some other Danish heavy psych bands like Moses and Blues Addicts, these guys are in that grungy ballpark, all appearing on the same label originally. There's some stormin' tracks here all right, with plenty of Iommi-ish guitar moments, topped by some quite unhinged, strangled-sounding vocals in English. Not sure if we'd call this proto-metal or not, the fuzzy guitars are loud and wild enough, with some urgent riffing, but really it's more like a mix of raw garage punk with some more mellowed out hippie stuff too, definitely very much of its time and ultimately quite charming in a ramshackle way.
This reissue's cd booklet includes cool old photos and show fliers, plus new liner notes by bassist/vocalist Joachim Ussing wherein he recalls the three days of extremely stoned recording sessions that produced this album, as well as the story of how in 1968 the band made it to the finals of a national pop group contest, in which in response to the "nice pop covers" played by their competitors, they instead unleashed a 15 minute psychedelic improv freakout on live radio. No, they didn't win...
Cold frosty, grim and furious black metal from Germany. Total Transylvanian Hunger worship, and we LOVE it. Taking the feral blackness and primitive old school buzz of Darkthrone and somehow making it even more blown out and black, more drenched in hiss, this is total vacuum cleaner whir, hailstorm on a tin roof ambience, the band blasting away behind thick sheets of dense gritty distortion, at low volume, it almost sounds like a TV between stations, but listen closer, and the abstract buzz coalesces into killer riffs, howling hellish vocals surface, the drums are buried WAY down and stay buried, a distant clatter beneath the suffocating maelstrom of blackened riffery, this one is not weird or fucked or damaged (although the extreme buzz might just set the record for the most buzz drenched disc we've heard), but it is as we said above, buzzing, cold, grim, cvlt, frosty, hateful, brutal, old school, TRUE black metal.
Over the years Smalltown Supersound has released some of our favorite creative dance minded records from folks like Tussle, Kim Hirothoy and Lindstrom. And in the last year they have shown a really cool widening of their scope putting out the beautiful kosmiche sounds of Arp and the charged driving and druggy excursion that was Sunburned Hand Of The Man as envisioned by Four Tet. While they do release records from artists across the globe they are best down for flying the flag of the electronic music scene of their home turf of Norway so it makes perfect sense that their latest release is from one of the pioneers of the minimal house/creative dance scene in Norway. We are kind of late to Torske, only recently discovering him as we loved his remix on the latest Lindstrom ep. But we've come to find that he is actually a huge influence on folks like Lindstrom and Prins Thomas, and Feil Knapp demonstrates exactly why.
This is seamless and wonderfully playful and smart electronic music. Managing to mix elements of down tempo, disco, dub and video game sounds into songs that bubble over with rich melody and infectious rhythms. We love how Torske makes it all sound so calm, cool and collected. In lesser hands the worlds he mixes together could sound haphazard or annoying but his unique touch gets it all so right. An early contender for electronic record of the year!
Latest in the ever expanding sonic microverse that is the Mystery Sea label's super limited, gorgeously curated and meticulously assembled series of night-ocean dronemusic cd-r's. Each limited to 100 copies, and presented in beautiful full color packaging, and every one, a breathtaking disc of dark and meditative minimalism. Fans and obsessive collectors of releases from folks like Jonathan Coleclough, Andrew Chalk, Mirror, Ora, Organum, anything on the Drone Records label and other like minded dronelords, should absolutely consider every Mystery Sea release required listening.
From the Basque region of Spain comes the one man soundscaper known as Tzesne, with previous releases on Drone, Antifrost and a handful of other small labels, this is his first for Mystery Sea, and it's a perfect match. A deft blend of deep billowing blackness, and subtly processed field recordings. Of whispery ambience, and soft focus atmosphere. Three long tracks, that sprawl and drift, dense and ominous, pulsing clouds of muted black buzz, a sonic black cloth draped over a slowly undulating sea of dreamlike murk, and mysterious indistinct sonic activities. It's like laying on the ocean floor, observing life and movement above, all filtered through the dim prism of the constantly shifting waters, everything rendered in smeared streaks, and softly wavering shapes. All three tracks are ultra minimal, near static stretches of deep layered drone. The most musical moment being the second half of the second track, where the various layers coalesce into one thick ribbon of sound, a very Niblockian drone, huge layers all tangled and interwoven, rife with microscopic overtones that transform static shimmer into an intensely (yet still subtly) active sonic swirl. Then it's straight back into the gauzy blurred abyss, underwater, underground, a sleepy staticky world of whir and hum wrapped around the ghostly traces of barely perceptible melodies. So gorgeous. Another disc of perfect late night drift.
Beautiful packaging as always, and again, LIMITED TO 100 COPIES.
Thank goodness for compilations like The In-Kraut and Disco Deutchland which were not only super fun collections, gathering up some of the most amazing late '60s and '70s German grooviness, but they also helped dispel the common stereotype that German music and culture is deadly serious, cold and austere. Those records helped highlight a carefree side to to the German music scene that we hadn't often been exposed to. Achtung! furthers our exposure to this fun filled world with 20 instrumentals that perfectly tie together the go-go kitchy fun of the In-Kraut records, the dancefloor ready jams of Disco Deutchland as well as some serious grooving funk and poppy psychedelia informed by Philadelphia soul, The JB's, afro-pop, cocktail parties, ye-ye French-pop and B-movie scores. Totally fun and totally perfect as the soundtrack to your next party. Artists include: James Last, Max Greger, Peter Thomas, Ambros Seelos, Ady Zehnpfennig, Gerhard Narholz, Hans Haider, Don Kelly Band, Kai Warner And His Orchestra, Theo Schumann Combo, Henry Arland, Heinz Kiessling, Orchester G�nter Gollasch, Pete Jacques, Hans Ehrlinger And His Orchestra, Catch Up, Helmut Zacharias, Roberto Delgado, Berry Lipman and Orchester Walter Kubiczek. All your favorites!
Strut is back! After releasing 2 amazing comps of the finest in underground leftfield disco and post-punk dance rarities, Strut called it a day. This was heartbreaking news as we were hoping Strut would become a stalwart reissue label like Soul Jazz or Numero Group. Miraculously, they have defied the odds and with the help of K7! and risen once again, hopefully to stay around for awhile. And with their return comes this third volume from the always exciting Disco Not Disco series. Billed as Post Punk, Electro and Leftfield Disco classics from 1974-1986, the bulk of the cuts are heavier on the eighties side with classic tracks from Shriekback, Quango Quango, Material and Konk. But also with rare leaps into Belgian and German territory with Liaisons Dangereuses, Kazino and Gina X performance (which due to an 11th hour dispute may or may not really be a Yellow Magic Orchestra track). Vivien Goldman and Delta 5 represent classic late seventies British post-punk while a Kid Creole remix of James White and The Blacks "Contort Yourself" offers a breezier twist on the New York scene favorite. The proto-disco fusion groove of Isotope is the earliest and our least loved track, but the white hot store favorite status goes to A Number Of Names' "Sharivari" and The Pop Group spin off project, Maximum Joy's minimal dub winddown "Silent Street / Silent Dub". So Killer! Strut's essential comps do not stay in print for very long so don't miss out on the first of 2008's awesome party jams!
Just when it seems like the well of quality West African reissue compilations is about to run dry, the Sound Way label returns with another outstanding collection of rarities. This time the focus isn't on a particular style (as previous compilations on the label such as Afro Baby or Ghana Soundz have tended to do) so much as on the artists, styles and scene that thrived in Nigeria during the cultural moment that followed the Biafran war. The three years of civil war left millions dead and displaced, but also injected Nigeria with a sense of newfound optimism and self-determinance -- just as Nigeria itself had once been a colonial creation, the nation was free to reinvent itself in the wake of brutal conflict.
What makes Nigeria Special a compelling listen is the way it reflects this period of expansion and transition by seamlessly placing traditional sounds side-by-side with afro-funk and psychedelic-tinged rock. Similarly, it contrasts the hybrid styles emerging from rapidly expanding urban centers such as Lagos with the rural sounds of their non-Yoruba countrymen. The musical diversity displayed on this collection reflects the growth and upheaval in Nigeria itself - tellingly, some of the most exciting tracks are the result of cross-pollination between old and new.
As with all things Sound Way, the 2cds are beautifully packaged with a detailed introductory essay, reproductions of original cover art and detailed annotations for each track. The vinyl version is split over two 2lp sets. The selections run deep enough to please even the most die-hard African music aficionados, while still being a great introductory collection for those unfamiliar with Nigeria's amazing musical output.
Just when it seems like the well of quality West African reissue compilations is about to run dry, the Sound Way label returns with another outstanding collection of rarities. This time the focus isn't on a particular style (as previous compilations on the label such as Afro Baby or Ghana Soundz have tended to do) so much as on the artists, styles and scene that thrived in Nigeria during the cultural moment that followed the Biafran war. The three years of civil war left millions dead and displaced, but also injected Nigeria with a sense of newfound optimism and self-determinance -- just as Nigeria itself had once been a colonial creation, the nation was free to reinvent itself in the wake of brutal conflict.
What makes Nigeria Special a compelling listen is the way it reflects this period of expansion and transition by seamlessly placing traditional sounds side-by-side with afro-funk and psychedelic-tinged rock. Similarly, it contrasts the hybrid styles emerging from rapidly expanding urban centers such as Lagos with the rural sounds of their non-Yoruba countrymen. The musical diversity displayed on this collection reflects the growth and upheaval in Nigeria itself - tellingly, some of the most exciting tracks are the result of cross-pollination between old and new.
As with all things Sound Way, the 2cds are beautifully packaged with a detailed introductory essay, reproductions of original cover art and detailed annotations for each track. The vinyl version is split over two 2lp sets. The selections run deep enough to please even the most die-hard African music aficionados, while still being a great introductory collection for those unfamiliar with Nigeria's amazing musical output.
Just when it seems like the well of quality West African reissue compilations is about to run dry, the Sound Way label returns with another outstanding collection of rarities. This time the focus isn't on a particular style (as previous compilations on the label such as Afro Baby or Ghana Soundz have tended to do) so much as on the artists, styles and scene that thrived in Nigeria during the cultural moment that followed the Biafran war. The three years of civil war left millions dead and displaced, but also injected Nigeria with a sense of newfound optimism and self-determinance -- just as Nigeria itself had once been a colonial creation, the nation was free to reinvent itself in the wake of brutal conflict.
What makes Nigeria Special a compelling listen is the way it reflects this period of expansion and transition by seamlessly placing traditional sounds side-by-side with afro-funk and psychedelic-tinged rock. Similarly, it contrasts the hybrid styles emerging from rapidly expanding urban centers such as Lagos with the rural sounds of their non-Yoruba countrymen. The musical diversity displayed on this collection reflects the growth and upheaval in Nigeria itself - tellingly, some of the most exciting tracks are the result of cross-pollination between old and new.
As with all things Sound Way, the 2cds are beautifully packaged with a detailed introductory essay, reproductions of original cover art and detailed annotations for each track. The vinyl version is split over two 2lp sets. The selections run deep enough to please even the most die-hard African music aficionados, while still being a great introductory collection for those unfamiliar with Nigeria's amazing musical output.
We've all been huge fans of Geoff Mullen's for a while now, and were appropriately freaked out by his recent mindblowing Armory Radio double lp reviewed a few lists back.
But in addition to crafting gorgeous and epic buzzing stringscapes, he also started up a label called Rare Youth, to not only release some of his own records, but to help document the vibrant Providence underground rock scene. As if that scene needed ANY more documenting?! Well, in fact if this comp is anything to go by, it most certainly does!
A super bargain priced double cd (not cd-r), collecting nearly 40 tracks from a bevy of random Providence noisemakers. Some you probably know, Furisubi, Area C, Kites, Black Forest / Black Sea, Workdeath, Black Pus (Lightning Bolt sideproject), but most you probably don't: Unicorn Hard-On, Haunted House, Russian Tsarcasm, Teenage Waistband, Petal Boat, Pedestrian Deposit, Feral Children, I Would Eat That Pizza, Siren Cult, Lucky Dragons, God Willing, Total Gym, Red Delicious and tons more!
The record opens with Black Pus' buzzing blown out noisejam freakout, and from there on out, the sound careens wildly from washed out murky dronemusic, to crushing crumbling white noise skree, to super lo-fi drum jams, to murky punk rock pound, to gorgeous rainy day piano, to gentle tangles of fluttery folk, to super dense blackbuzz noiserock, lo-fi, damaged casio electro-core, creepy 8-bit Goblin style soundtrackery, to gorgeous warbly droned out dreamscapes, touching on a million other sounds and styles, most that don't even have names yet, and require super hyphenated and tongue twisty descriptors.
Needless to say, while very few folks will love EVERY single thing here, most of the tracks and the bands offer up some awesomely twisted, noisy, dreamy, damaged, freaked out sonic weirdness, that in most cases definitely left us wanting more. Dying to hear more music from Haunted House and Summer City just to name a couple.
Super deluxe handmade packaging. A thick cardstock gatefold sleeve, with paste on bright orange artwork and tracklistings, inside a fold out Xeroxed mini-poster with band info and cool art.
Don't know what all the fuss is about with this current flavor of the day, but we suspect that XL Recordings must've gotten a particularly crack team of marketing schemers and hype generators 'cause their name is absolutely everywhere!
Sure, it'd be easy to be suspicious and slag this band on that aspect alone, but we won't. They're not bad really, but nothing really special or 'holy shit!' either. Nope, they sound like an adequate cross between Arcade Fire, The Shins and New Pornographers... who've eaten way too many Cracker Jacks. Worth checkin' out if you're looking for some lighter fare along the lines of those two abovementioned bands.
Oh man. The third album from the Swedish prog/psych/doom wizards Witchcraft is finally here. We can barely contain ourselves. They say third time's the charm, and of course with Witchcraft it can't help but being so, since the first two times were charmed as well. This band's debut destroyed us with its incredibly authentic retro Pentagram/Sabbath stylings, with lashings of flute and folkiness too. Their second album, Firewood, captivated us with an equally early '70s heavy progressive vibe. Now The Alchemist succeeds at giving us what we want from Witchcraft -and- pushing further into the realm of melodic, folky proggy rock that stands on its own far beyond being a mere tribute to its '70s ancestors.
Guitarist/singer Magnus Pelander and his band Witchcraft have pretty much proved that the old adage "they don't make 'em like they used to" isn't always true. Witchcraft sure as hell does. That it's 2007 not 1972 isn't evident from anything on here, though it sounds as fresh as a daisy at the same time. These guys are so old school analog you halfway expect that their cd would be made out of black plastic and have visible grooves in it. We certainly could imagine some DJ's looking for breaks wanting this on vinyl real bad, you could do some badass hiphop mix with parts of "Remembered" ferinstance. Bet Andy Votel digs this band. Totally sounds like they could have gotten a deal with his favorite progressive record label back in the day (that'd be the famed Vertigo) had Witchcraft really existed in the '70s... certainly the inclusion of the sax solo (yes, a sax solo!) at the end of "Remembered" helps make it sound like something from an old Vertigo LP! Elsewhere Witchcraft get super sweet and gentle, or break out the heavy riffs Sabbath style (like you'd expect -- Sabbath originally being a Vertigo band y'know) in a blend we can't help but love.
Magnus' emotive, melodic vocals are so crucial here, one of this record's shining strengths. He still sounds a bit like a Swedish-accented Ozzy, yet with a graceful finesse, belting it out expressively or crooning with lilting loveliness. His vocals are matched by the absolutely powerful and gorgeous guitarwork throughout the disc. This album sweeps us off our feet immediately with the instant-classic opener "Walk Between The Lines", which is followed by a re-recorded version of the A-side of last year's 7" single, "If Crimson Was Your Colour", an urgent, witchy rocker embellished with some tasty Moog licks. Then there's the loping "Leva", which though Magnus sings it in Swedish, still goes straight to our soul. The Sabbath factor is ratcheted up on "Hey Doctor", a lumbering doom-riffed downer lamentation/accusation. The next track, "Samaritan Burden" combines the heavy riffs with a mellower mood and more acoustic-y moments, masterfully structured. It's followed by the aforementioned "Remembered", definitely an album-standout that's so '70s in so many ways that pretty much only Witchcraft could have done it in this day and age. And then, speaking of standouts, comes the nearly 15 minute long title track, "The Alchemist"! We'll omit description other than to say it's of course an epic mindblower, closing the album with magnificent, mesmeric, proggier than thou flourish.
Definitely a Top 10 Best of 2007 album. We'd have made it Record Of The Week, but what we've got here is the somewhat pricier Japanese import edition (the domestic version is due out towards the end of the month), with a Japan-only bonus track added on at the end, "Sweet Honey Pie", a lovely, acoustic little number. Not sure when/if we'll get more, so we were wary about giving it pole position. But with or without bonus track, it's an AMAZING new effort from this fantastic band, highly recommended. Seriously, we'd have been happy taking all day to write this review, just 'cause we love listening to this album so much.
Is this album cover supposed to make us think of a Cocteau Twins record? And maybe the title too? Even the Kill Rock Stars label logo on the back looks suspiciously like 4AD's from a distance. Well, the record definitely doesn't sound like the Cocteau Twins... at least not entirely.
As always is the case with Xiu Xiu, there are many references to other musics in Women As Lovers. They are both subtle and overt, and ever ingeniously assimilated into the band's unique ethos. 20th century avant-garde composer Lou Harrison (or maybe just his namesake?) makes a cameo in the lyrics of 'No Friend Oh!' As well, sharing vocals with Xiu Xiu's Caralee McElroy and Jamie Stewart on a cover of Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" is Michael Gira -- the presence of whom seems more iconic than musically awesome. Regardless, it is good to hear him and to be reminded of Swans records needing to be listened to again! With Xiu Xiu, the musical tips of the hat consistently seem genuine and inspired, never gratuitous nor shamefully derivative.
The palette of sounds on Women As Lovers is similar to most Xiu Xiu records -- electronics, guitar, strings, acoustic and electric percussion, vibraphone, organ, bass, kalimba, whip, wind, 'drones'. Oh, and what may be a new addition to the arsenal... saxophone! If you're a fan of the free jazz skronk, then this is the Xiu Xiu album for you!
One can't help but think that even the parts of songs that break down into stumbling noises, jerks, shards, scrapes, blasts and off-kilter thrusts couldn't possibly be improvised. Each sound and its place in the song is so deliberate. The overall music has a spirit of great intention behind it, the duration of each song part so seemingly calculated for optimal effect, that Xiu Xiu's genius seems to lie much in the composition of these songs.
Theirs is a music so excessive and yet strangely so economical. After listening, you ask, only 14 tracks? There are as many songs within each song as there are tracks on the album. It's a genius spirit that unites so many disparate musical tropes into a seamless and jaggedly ecstatic music - music that has great pop hooks at its core (or maybe, more exactly, along its edges?). It's the sort of music that goes into the 'acquired taste' category -- the kind of music that younger bands might eventually be taking their cues from. If you're willing to listen and undergo the embarrassment, the dark laughter, self-deprecation, 'hurt buttholes', Freudian complexes and all-out heartbreak in the stories within the songs, you might end up beholding your favorite pop/noise/ambient/industrial/electronica/free jazz/chamber music album of the year.
*Listening to Xiu Xiu is like looking at photos of Leigh Bowery, deeply personal, outlandish and strangely embarrassing, that is, Embarrassment as an art form. http://www.leighbowery.com.br/.
Boredoms fans!! Bandleader Eye Yamataka, when not conducting the Boredoms themselves through thunderous drum-circle tranceouts, has a sideline in doing remixes for other artists, incorporating the same mega dosage of percussive craziness, throbbing rhythm, and swerve-y turntablist glitch that you'd find spilling forth from the most way-out Boredoms tracks. If you picked up Lindstrom's Contemporary Fix remix ep that we listed a couple weeks back you've heard a good example of Eye's handiwork. This Japan-only import disc brings together a dozen other of his best recent remix projects, the raw material coming from bands both known and unknown (to us). All of 'em -- except for Gong -- being Japanese bands we're pretty sure. Along with Gong, some of the names we do know: OOIOO, Wrench, DJ Pica Pica Pica (who IS Eye, right?), and Ken Ishii's Flare. And the names we don't: Walrus, Zeebra, Atami, Black Drop The Bomb, NXS, Boat, and one more we can't figure out (it's written in Japanese). Given the headspinning EYE extreme remix treatment, these artists' disparate tracks sound like they belong together on one disc for sure, he's put his surreal stamp on each of 'em big time. It's a colorful, energetic melange of tribal drumming, barnyard noises, faux ethnic exotica, techno beats, tape manipulations, guitar riffs, and heaps of psychedelic electronic effects.
