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Showing results 251 through 300 of 1073.

Ha! Ha! Ha!!! It comes with a fucking credit card! A credit card, forsooth! What a bunch of scrubs.

The future funk robots are back and they brought with them an arsenal of legendary guests: Electronic euro-disco king Giorgio Moroder, Phantom of the Paradise and AM Gold madman Paul Williams, and Chic's Nile Rodgers who reigns over what will definitely be THE summer jam this year, "Get Lucky" with Pharell. Panda Bear of Animal Collective and Julian Casablancas from The Strokes round out the special guest roster. In the eight years since their last effort, the duo decided to eschew the computer technology of today and instead recorded the whole album in analog direct to tape, rewiring modern dance music with a fresh prog-disco retro sheen. Basically, school's out kids, here's your candy. Bright, delicious, electric candy. Vinyl is 180 gram, includes digital download; the cd is not quite so thick and is its own digital download.

MPEG stream: Give Life Back To Music
MPEG stream: Giorgio By Moroder
MPEG stream: Get Lucky

This is the one!! The beautiful, raw, and majestic lost Karen Dalton recordings we've all been waiting for. While we loved the recent release Cotton-Eyed Joe, it was mostly because we thought we'd never get to hear any other recordings, so we were happy with the below lo-fidelity and wavering performances (Dalton never liked performing live, so we don't think those recordings showcased her best side). Then these recordings showed up and have blown the others away. Recorded in 1962 at home on two track tape, played mostly on solo banjo, Green Rocky Road captures Dalton at her most intimate and unearthly. Like some old dusty recordings of lost Appalachian folk, Dalton's circular fingerpicking and warm wooly voice invokes a magical quality as she works through several interpretations of traditional folk songs including versions of "Katie Cruel", "If I Had A Ribbon Bow", and "In The Evening", which were featured on her studio albums. Other songs not previously featured are the British Folk classic "Nottamun Town", the ghostly "Little Margaret" and the famous cowboy song "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo". There's even a nice moment where you hear Dalton talking to her mother about going to dances. The quality of the recordings while still raw is so much greater in fidelity than Cotton Eyed-Joe, you'd think she was singing to herself in your home not realizing you were secretly standing behind her hanging on to every breath, praying that nothing breaks her transcendent spell. We can't recommend this enough!!!

MPEG stream: Green Rocky Road
MPEG stream: Little Margaret
MPEG stream: Whoopie Ti Yi Yo

Funk - It's a tricky thing. In the wrong hands it can be some of our least favorite music in the world (think cheesy bass slapping bro's in dorky outfits, you know that scene) but the few who really possess TRUE FUNK can move us like no others. Of course there is the old school pantheon of funk pioneers like Parliament-Funkadelic, The JB's, The Gap Band, The B.T. Express, Cameo, Betty Davis, Rick James, Zapp, Con Funk Shun, and Prince, but when it comes to modern day funk it's really rare to get the real deal. Folks either be faking the funk so hard it hurts, or they rely so heavily on being retro copy cats that they don't really bring any new flavor to the funk legacy they so want to be a part of. Which brings us to Dam-Funk, who has most definitely got the true funk special spirit running through his veins. We had heard his amazing mixes over the last couple years and knew the guy had talent but it wasn't until this proper full length of his own songs that we totally realized just how damn special and full of the real funk this man is. While of course taking inspiration from many of the above mentioned funk pioneers, Dam-Funk is no mere retro act, as he knows that one of the major defining forces of true funk is how it should always be injected with a sense of very modern/future minded vision that's always a bit left of center. While folks like Outkast, Sa-Ra, and Gnarls Barkley have gotten close to entering that realm, Dam-Funk really lives, breathes and exudes the true funk aesthetic. He's able to bring in his futuristic electronic stylings informed by everyone from Kraftwerk to Cybotron/Model 500 and inject such natural soul into his beats and grooves. Everything about this record kills, all the elements come together so perfectly, the production, the vocals, the actual songwriting, it's all there and it all just oozes real funk! There's also a second all instrumental disc, which helps keep Dam-Funk's amazing party of a record going on and on and on and we STILL really can't get enough. No joke, every single time we've played this in the store someone has bought a copy, and even if you're a bit funk-shy we think you should give this a chance! Funk jam of the year contender for sure!

MPEG stream: Let's Take Off (Far Away)
MPEG stream: Burn Straight Thru U
MPEG stream: Searchin' 4 Funk's Future
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Record number two from Thee Oh Sees' John Dwyer in his Damaged Bug electro synth pop guise, and like his first outing under that moniker, Hubba Bubba, Cold Hot Plumbs is another strangely delightful collection of quirky home-brewed pop, that sounds a little like Thee Oh Sees, but without guitars, and produced by Joe Meek and Brian Eno. And as much as we love Thee Oh Sees (and we do, a LOT), we find ourselves digging Damaged Bug even more. The record begins with a brief bit of cheesy Casio sounding schmaltz, before launching into "What Cheer", all synth buzz, laid back vocals, and wild, tribal drumming, pocked with some Stereolab style squelches, as well as some sax (!). "The Mirror" is up next, and it's very reminiscent of the first record, and sounds like an electro pop version of Thee Oh Sees, you can definitely imagine it recast all distorto guitars and yelped vox. But it's here where Cold Hot Plumbs gets REALLY good, and demonstrates Dwyer's pop song smarts, the record darkening considerably, but at the same time revealing previously unplumbed (yup!) depths of songsmithery. "Jet In Jungle" is anchored by an arpeggiated synth melody, the vocals are wispy and falsetto, all driven by propulsive rock drumming, and everything wreathed in wheezing synth buzz, and laced with cool, creepy backwards vocals, the sonics are practically perfect, but the song is too. We got to this song and spun it about 20 times before we could move on - and then were quickly rewarded with what might be our favorite Dwyer jam yet, Damaged Bug or otherwise, the brooding, moody "Der Mond", with its woozy melody, skittery rhythm, and moody vocal croon. Every time this song comes on, we almost forget what we're listening to, it sounds like some lost electro-folk rarity from the sixties or seventies, and yeah, just like "Jet In Jungle", we played this track to death before digging any deeper. And you'll probably not be surprised to discover, that Cold Hot Plumbs had much more to offer seeing as we weren't even halfway in. From playful singsongy electo-glam, that sounds like a more new wave Ty Segall, to pulsing almost krautrock sounding groovery, wreathed in swirling shimmer and bouncy synth chords, to synth-funk electro reminiscent of Perrey & Kingsley, albeit with some swoonsome vox over the top, to wild spacey, psychedelic synth pop, to full on synth drenched garage rock crunch, to what sounds like some lost seventies library music. All impossibly catchy, and super melodic, and sonically lush, and really, fast becoming our favorite Dwyer record EVER.

MPEG stream: What Cheer
MPEG stream: The Mirror
MPEG stream: Jet In Jungle
MPEG stream: Cough Pills

We first heard about this Indonesian sixties all girl garage group when three of their records were reissued on Chicago label PlusTapes, we all went nuts for them, as did you, we couldn't keep them in stock, but sadly they were crazy limited. Even at the time, and even on tape, we wanted to make one or all of them Records Of The Week, but they disappeared before we had a chance. But now Sublime Frequencies swoops in and saves the day, reissuing on a compact disc all three of the Dara Puspita's records proper (all the stuff on the cassettes, and then some!). But what's so great about these ladies? Read on.... Dara Puspita (Flower Girls in English) were Indonesia's most successful girl group in the sixties, and one of the few -actual- bands, who played their own instruments as opposed to just singing with all male backing bands. Even though rock and roll was banned at the time, with some bands being jailed for performing rock music live (Koes Bersaudara in particular, whose Sublime Frequencies disc we reviewed a few lists back - Dara Puspita and Koes Bersaudara had very similar histories, their careers often directly influenced by each other, the whole story to be found in the copious liner notes). Dara Puspita took their influence from that banned rock music, borrowing liberally from the Rolling Stones, The Beatles (whose songs they were warned by the authority to not perform, the very songs that got Koes Bersaudara jailed!) and the like, but giving it their own twist. Performing a mix of covers and originals, these ladies were legendary for their wild live shows, but they really shine on record, with a totally distinctive and keen pop sensibility, gorgeous lilting vocals, an awesome rhythm section and some really excellent guitar playing. Dara Puspita weren't avant garde or super far out, not really heavy or psychedelic, instead they were just a kick ass pop group, an awesome garagey rock and roll band, catchy and fun, super energetic and with a distinctly unique vibe that makes this sound so special. Just listen to the sound samples. You'll be hooked in no time. Lavish packaging, a full color six panel digipak, with tons of photos, a huge booklet of liner notes, with the story of the band, of the recording, more about the state of Indonesia at the time, the producer and more more more. So great!!

MPEG stream: Lonely Street
MPEG stream: Bertamasja
MPEG stream: Mari Mari
MPEG stream: Minggu Jang Lalu
MPEG stream: A Go-Go
MPEG stream: To Love Somebody
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So cool! And cold wavey. A wonderfully produced piece of vinyl to replace those crappy downloads which have been bouncing around the internet for the past five or six years. Dark Day was the project spearheaded by R.L. Crutchfield, who first worked with Arto Lindsay and Ikue Mori in the earliest incarnation of the seminal No Wave band DNA in the mid '70s. By 1979, Crutchfield was striking out on his own as Dark Day; and at first, this band was an intentional reversal of roles within the trad-rock band with two women playing guitars and drums and a man behind the keyboards. The ladies for that incarnation were Nancy Arlen of Mars and Nina Canal of Ut; and they managed a few gigs and one hell of a great single - "Hands In The Dark" - which appeared many years later on a Soul Jazz No Wave compilation and has been covered spectacularly by the Chromatics. Canal and Arlen weren't terribly interested in continuing in the project, leaving Crutchfield to find likeminded folks with whom to work. The second (and last) Dark Day record was recorded in 1982, with Crutchfield going into the studio with a bunch of cheap electronics and toy synthesizers with Bill Sack to flesh out the accompaniments on similar instruments. Their interlocking arpeggiations are punctuated with blooping electronics that are equal parts Trio and Kraftwerk with an underlying dread to the spiralling songs that detoured from Kraftwerk's utopian vision of man-machine hybrids and down a paranoid vision of man being at the mercy of his machines, no matter how innocent their intent. Dark Day's songs are insistent and catchy despite their utterly simple structures. "Metal Benders" and "Danger / Dance" are probably the closest thing to being 'hits' on the album as weird / anti-romantic variations of Young Marble Giants with whip crack rhythms and spectral pre-X-Files electronic whistling melodies. Coming out of the NYC No Wave scene helped craft Dark Day into a something other than neo-Romantic post-punk outfit with electronics. This was a wholly unique band, who never got the attention that many of their contemporaries. Kudos to Dark Entries once again on a splendid reissue!

MPEG stream: Window
MPEG stream: The Metal Benders
MPEG stream: Danger/Dancer
MPEG stream: Don't Bother

Synth punk at its best! Here is the long overdue reissue of Dark Day's homage to the Luis Bunuel film of the same name. Dark Day was the project spearheaded by R.L. Crutchfield who first worked with Arto Lindsay and Ikue Mori in the earliest incarnation of the seminal No Wave band DNA in the mid '70s. By 1979, Crutchfield was striking out on his own as Dark Day; and at first, this band was an intentional reversal of roles within the trad-rock band with two women playing guitars and drums and a man behind the keyboards. The ladies for that incarnation were Nancy Arlen of Mars and Nina Canal of Ut; and they managed a few gigs and one hell of a great single - "Hands In The Dark" - which appeared many years later on a Soul Jazz No Wave compilation and has been covered spectacularly by the Chromatics. Canal and Arlen weren't terribly interested in continuing in the project, leaving Crutchfield to find likeminded folks to work with. On Exterminating Angel (originally released in 1980 on the Lust/Unlust imprint Infidelity), Crutchfield recruited Phil Kline and Barry Friar to flesh out the Dark Day sound. At the time, Kline was an emerging composer who had worked with Glenn Branca and at least here, he styles himself after Mark Ribot or Arto Lindsay with his expressive shards and bends of guitar melody; and Friar follows the tom-heavy patter that Nancy Arlen brought to Dark Day on the "Hands In The Dark" single. But Dark Day is truly Crutchfield's vision, with his heavily syncopated synth chords, elliptical repetitions, and spiral staircase ascensions in lieu of the traditional verse-chorus song. Crutchfield preferred to keep a very restrictive use of synth tones and filters, all the while crafting a very claustrophobic, horror-laden atmosphere. The inventiveness of his minimalist melodies and twisted lullaby-like structures are all the more impressive, perhaps only matched by Young Marble Giants or Suicide. Motorik yet stumbling, Dark Day's songs are stark and bold in their poetry about freaks, suffocating anxiety, and the toxic life of contemporary society circa 1980. "Trapped" was a strange song to be the single for the album, as it's an epic, spiralling number with those ominous synths and siren-like blurts from a distant saxophone. Many of the other songs on the album were short and condensed, jabbing the grimly simple melodies deep into the ear-canal and then moving on. Like "Trapped" the album's finale - "No, Never, Nothing" - is another lengthy track, appropriating a Moroder like disco-syncopation to a sinister, nihilistic collage of texts taken from a children's book about raising unusual pets such as squirrels and chimpanzees. The more the song spins through it's punchy chords the creepier it becomes. Exterminating Angel is the high-point of Crutchfield's recorded works, and stands also as one of lost gems of the No Wave era. This should have been released long ago, so we have to commend Dark Entries once again for their reissue campaign.

MPEG stream: Chameleon
MPEG stream: Flightless Birds
MPEG stream: No, Never, Nothing

The Date Palms debut lp on Root Strata, Of Psalms (now sadly out of print) was one of our standout favorite records from last year. A blissful combo of Eastern drone classicism and hypnotic psych fluidity. Now the core Oakland-based duo of Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons follow their debut up with this stunning, no doubt limited, vinyl-only release on Mexican Summer (which comes with a download card). Composed of two side-loooooong tracks, the structure of Honey Devash is set up in the form of two ragas as their basic foundation but open wide enough to allow a number of key compositional elements to play through. The title track is the morning raga stirring softly at first with slowly energizing phase shifts and bowed violin drones setting up the mood before the heavy bass riff bursts forth into a forward moving momentum aided by percussive elements and all sorts of sonic layering: oscillating bloops, arc-ing violin loops and modal electric piano phrases. Slowly-burning upward toward a white hot light, the gorgeously smoldering momentum breaks off into a purifying hypnotic cosmic bliss punctuated by spacy violin figures before a long slow fade. The second side track, "Honey Dune" is the evening raga and it cools down with a wide drifting expansiveness lke the end of a long desert heat just before twilight. The mood is less propulsive, more contemplative but beautifully rich with added instrumentation of bass clarinet, tampura and cascading piano motifs. Melodically pretty and explorative, the track gives ample room for each instrument to stretch out and play yet remain tethered to a unifying whole by the grounation vibes of Trevor Montgomery's basslines. Like some heady hybrid of spiritual Eastern jazz and rockish psych extrapolation, fans of Bruce Palmer, Dadawah, L. Shankar, Brightblack Morning Light, and Spacemen 3 should definitely scoop this up. This is the perfect soundtrack for hot desert nights, staring at the stars. Sooooooo gooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ----* ----* Highlights : ----*

Date Palms make their long awaited Thrill Jockey debut and we couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate the Summer Solstice than with this Oakland outfit's sun scorched desert ragas. The band headed by Marielle Jakobsons and Gregg Kowalsky have expanded their sound since their last release on Mexican Summer, adding flute and guitars (both pedal steel and electric) to the mix of violin, keys, tambora and bass. This was recorded in one long session last year during the solar eclipse, and it has the feel of shimmering sky worship as it finds kinship with the earth along an arid expansive plain. In the three part "Yuba Source" suite that makes up the bulk of the first half of the album, the tamboura and keys buzz in a cloudy atmosphere while the violin and pedal steel soar above, the loping basslines keeping everything grounded but moving, building to a heavily dense concentration of sound. On other tracks, Kowalsky's electric piano riffs dominate reminding us of Brightblack Morning Light or Bruce Palmer, bringing spiritual jazz vibrations to a kaleidoscopic core. Prismatic drones and flute trills simmer like sounds of night lit by flickering campfires, with bass tones like falling stars, plummeting earthward with dramatic emphasis. "Night Riding the Skyline", the longest track on the second half of the record, brings in scorched acid guitar and plodding drum machine rhythms for a distant night journey into the sand dunes. Probably their most complexly composed and deepest record to date, each song connected to each other, but remaining distinct and distinctive on their own. Highly Recommended! The lp for a limited time comes on dusted pink vinyl, black vinyl after that and always with a download card.

MPEG stream: Yuba Source Part 1
MPEG stream: Six Hands To The Light
MPEG stream: Dusted Down

Finally reissued on cd last year were these three albums by Miles Davis' funky ex-wife, who should be famous in her own right for the tough, heavy duty '70s funk she waxed on those records. Now they're available, briefly, as LPs once again, but we've only got a couple of each and don't think we'll be able to get more (they're limited or something), so you'd better hurry on down if you want to get down with Betty on vinyl. Reissue of 1975's "Nasty Gal", Betty Davis' third album of sexy funk. This one is more of the same, maybe a little more "rock" than before. Slightly less essential than the others.

For all aficionados of the Funk, here's cause for celebration! The long-awaited cd reissues of these early '70s albums by Betty Davis, ex-wife of Miles (famously, the subject "They Say I'm Different"'s second track, "He Was A Big Freak")! Betty belts out her lowdown lyrics over some super heavy funk grooves, kinda like a rawer version of Lyn Collins backed not by the JBs but by the swampier P-Funk band. Betty doesn't hold back and her band does their best to match her attitude. Both records (her third, "Nasty Girl", still awaits reissue but should soon be making the scene) are the quote unquote bomb. The self-titled one is her 1973 debut, and features jams like "If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up" and "Game Is My Middle Name". Larry Graham's the bassist, and Neal Schon (!) appears on guitar. The follow-up, "They Say I'm Different", continued Betty's Afrodelic party, with guests Buddy Miles and others, and made the list of "100 Records That Set The World On Fire" in The Wire magazine a few years back. Tough, sexy funk classics unearthed, don't miss 'em!

RealAudio clip: Anti Love Song
RealAudio clip: If I'm In Luck I Might Get Picked Up

This 1972 Miles Davis album stands as one of our favorites and one of the most played at AQ over the years. And for good reason, it seriously is one of the most gritty, dirty, funked out jazz records of all time. Influenced by his then wife, Betty Davis's vision of raw, nasty funk, this was Miles at his most forward thinking, inventive, deep hitting, psychedelic and purely bad ass! Part of the concept of On The Corner, was to try to get black youth engaged and brought back into the world of jazz, as Davis saw that the jazz scene was getting so straight laced, watered down and stale. This album really served as his biggest 'fuck you' to the jazz establishment, all the squares that wanted him to just make pretty sounds with his trumpet and not rock the boat. But Davis was interested in much more then what jazz was traditionally considered to sound like, as this is an album equally influenced by psychedelic rock, true funk, and spiritual ritualistic music. It's an album that has found such a devoted and diverse following. Hip-Hop heads and krautrock alike count On The Corner as sacrosanct! Distorted guitar, fucked up organs, these sounds laid the foundation for so much of our favorite music of the last several decades. While Bitches Brew, always gets the most attention, On The Corner might just be THEE one, and quite possibly one of the most brilliant and game changing albums of all time!

MPEG stream: On The Corner
MPEG stream: Helen Butte

While we totally dug Matthew Dear's debut from several years ago, we just haven't gotten into his last few outings as much as we wanted to, but with Black City, he shows us why we fell for him in the first place. He merges elements of house, electro funk, and dark pop into such a compelling and unique sound, one as influenced by folks like Herbert and Swayzek as it is Gary Numan, early Nine Inch Nails and mid-era Cabaret Voltaire. While there has been no shortage of white guys doing their best Prince imitations in recent years, we love how Matthew Dear takes elements of Prince's sound yet totally injects his own voice and style in it, adding darker beats, sleeker rhythms and more hypnotic melodies, all without having to resort to a really forced high pitched vocal delivery, which so many others do and just comes off as beyond corny. Kind of like if Junior Boys started listening to lots more dirty techno or how that last James Pants record tapped into the same kind of unique hybrid of electronic left-field pop. Undeniably groovy and funky and so very good.

MPEG stream: Honey
MPEG stream: Little People (Black City)
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The trilogy is complete! The third and likely final volume of unearthed archival recordings from now-celebrated '70s Detroit rockers Death has now been released via Drag City. Who knew it was going to be a trilogy? Well of course it would have to be, what with Death being a trio of brothers. It's obviously another thing orchestrated from beyond the grave by Death's late mastermind, eldest brother David Hackney. We probably don't have to explain the whole amazing story behind Death to you at this point - hopefully you've picked up one or both of the their other two full-length releases, and seen the really excellent and touching documentary film about them, A Band Called Death (you really should see it if you haven't!). But it's not just that Death is such a great story - it wouldn't matter as much if their music wasn't so killer, which it is. So what did they find to fill up this third volume? With recordings done in 1975 and '76, some more from 1980, and one final cut from 1992, it's all over the place. You do definitely get another dose of Death's intense post-Hendrix, proto-punk - this is especially worth it for "North Street", full of hyper caffeinated drumming and living-in-the-ghetto lyrics. Totally could have been on the first Death album, For The Whole World To See. However, a lot of the rest of the material here wouldn't exactly rank among the "hardest" tracks that Death ever cut, much of it being more gentle and soulful, with sunshiney, R&B grooves. There's spacey psychedelic noodling, and even a track of almost country-folk balladry. But it's all pretty good, still possessing the mystical, out-there Death vibe for sure, if exhibiting a lot less of the punked out attack that caught everybody's attention in the first place. Really some of it's quite moving, particularly if you've seen the heartwarming movie, in which one of these songs previously was heard (the ballad "We're Gonna Make It"). We'd say Death newbies need For The Whole World first and foremost, but if you're a fan, you'll want this also.

MPEG stream: North Street
MPEG stream: We Are Only People
MPEG stream: First Snowfall In Detroit

The rabid response to Drag City's monumental release of Death's For The Whole World To See - a lost classic if there ever was one - had people everywhere foaming at the mouth for MORE MORE MORE Death. It was really hard to believe that such a primal and emotive slab of heavy punkish rock n' roll could have gone UNRELEASED since its 1975 recording, nor that there could be even MORE in the vaults. Yet astonishingly, Drag City have once again come through with this awesome collection of demo tracks from these Detroit rockers - the brothers Hackney - recorded by the band in their practice space between 1974-1976, some of which served as preproduction for the album proper. The sound here is raw, upfront, and bullshit-free, and like FTWWTS, quite a revelation when one considers the state of rock music before punk exploded. While comparing these guys to Bad Brains may seem a bit cynical at first - ya know, both being all-black rock bands seeming to exist in a world of their own - it really is an apt comparison, especially if anyone is familiar (as they should be) with the Bad Brains' demo album Black Dots. Like those songs, the sound here is swinging and kinda loose without too much fuzz or distortion muddying things up. There are definite nods to the heavier sounds of the late '60s/early '70s (think Alice Cooper, Sabbath, etc.) AND the Beatles ("The Masks" shifting from mean power chords into a brilliant, scuzzed out appropriation of "Got To Get You Into My Life"), and throughout there is a surprising melodicism (check out the tuneful guitar workout of "The Change") and vocals that often rise into the manic screams we all loved from the album proper. The brothers seem to know exactly where to take things, which isn't surprising considering they had been jamming together since the '60s. The lyrics are also awesome, focusing on the state of the world and where things might be heading. There's also some in-the-practice space experimenting thrown in at the end, hinting at possible directions the band unfortunately never headed in before dissolving. While this might not be For The Whole To See Pt. II, it is nonetheless an essential slab of proto-punk greatness by a band who is finally getting their due, and we couldn't be happier to have this in our dirty little hands. YEAH!

MPEG stream: Views
MPEG stream: The Masks
MPEG stream: The Change

A few years back, there was a comprehensive reissue campaign for moody atmospheric pastoral eighties jangle poppers Felt, a group we had convinced ourselves we wouldn't like, until we finally heard them, and not only liked 'em but became a bit obsessed. And while most folks are probably familiar with Felt mainman Lawrence (nee Lawrence Hayward) who was the face of Felt and who would go on to front Denim, and less successfully Go Kart Mozart (ugh), it's the lesser known Maurice Deebank who helped create Felt's signature sound, which is evidenced on here, a reissue of Deebank's 1984 instrumental solo debut, which finds Deebank creating lush landscapes of shimmer and jangle, swirling minor key chords, looped, cyclical melodies, and warm whirling layered ambience, introspective and heartfelt, the music here shadowy and dreamlike, lovely and lyrical, reminding us at times of Roy Montgomery, and at others Vini Reilly, but really sounding like our favorite moments on those early Felt records. Deebank would leave Felt in 1986, as Lawrence moved more toward the bubblegum pop that would begin to seep into the later Felt outings blossoming into the pure pop of Denim, while Deebank continued to look inward, creating gorgeous soundscapes of soft psychedelia and glistening guitar shimmer. "Dance Of Deliverance" might be our favorite track here, ominous low end, soft swells of shimmering synths, all swirled into a sort of shadowy new age drift, or it might have sounded new age if it wasn't so dark, a brooding mini masterpiece that is the perfect balance to the rest of the record's more sun dappled crystalline dreaminess. So great!

MPEG stream: The Watery Song
MPEG stream: Four Corners Of The Earth
MPEG stream: Silver Fountain Of Paradise Square
MPEG stream: Dance Of Deliverance

The first Deerhoof review we ever wrote, for their first cd release, 1997's The Man, The King, The Girl, read as follows: "Amazing blend of Caroliner sludge, and Melvins slop from this local groop. (Includes members of the late great Nitre Pit.)" Ha. Look at 'em now. Something like a dozen albums later, Deerhoof, these days featuring fewer former members of Nitre Pit, are still at it, but probably nobody would mention the Melvins or Caroliner in reference to this record or other recent output. Sludge? Slop? Nope, more like pop! Still, amazing is the right word. 2014 Deerhoof, on La Isla Bonita, sound a bit like a funkier (rhythmically and perhaps otherwise) Flaming Lips, super duper poppy, with a mathy dash of Melt-Banana in there too - in part 'cause of Satomi Matsuzaki's Japanese accented, sometimes yelpy, sometimes breathy female vocals, but also 'cause of all the angular quirk and curious noise amidst the extremely rhythmic catchiness. Yeah, you don't have to be told that one of the main peeps in the band is the drummer, this can get pretty funky/groovy (though in an often off-kilter kind of way). Very cool! As always.

MPEG stream: Tiny Bubbles
MPEG stream: Exit Only
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Our long standing love affair with Deerhoof is still in full force after all these years. Not only do they continue to make fantastic and rewarding music, but they've managed to remain in touch with the wondrous spirit and deep creativity that made them so irresistible right from ther beginning. While their sound has been fleshed out and fine tuned over the years, they have not lost any of the unique and off kilter elements that made their music so special. They're perhaps the only band you can play for your two year old niece AND your weird druggy psychedelic uncle, and chances are they both would be bopping and bouncing and grinning like crazy and loving every sound coming out of the speakers. Offend Maggie could just be their most effortless sounding outing to date, it's so cool that despite being such precise and proficient players they've found a way to make their songs jump, hop and skip through all sorts of wonderful shapes and colors without ever sounding self conscious. There is a delightful freedom and sense of play and wonder in these songs that has us falling in love with Deerhoof all over again. Much like the most recent outing by Stereolab, the songs on Offend Maggie really start blossoming after repeated listens and we're pretty sure we'll be spinning this over and over for the rest of the year. It's almost a decade since they were our little San Francisco secret, and now they've shared tours with the likes of Radiohead and The Flaming Lips, and earned a spot as one of the more popular and respected bands in the indie rock world while keeping their music so innovative and inspired and original!

MPEG stream: Offend Maggie
MPEG stream: Basket Ball Get Your Groove Back
MPEG stream: The Tears Of Music And Love

As the opening sun soaked moments of Halcyon Digest begin, we kind of immediately knew we were in for a special outing by Deerhunter. They really haven't made a misstep yet, but this is a record that finds them reaching new levels of excellence. They have found this incredible way of crafting songs that can transport you into a daydream, whisk you into a bubbly underwater world of warm sound, and then hit you so spot on with timeless pop melodies, which swirl with an effortless delight. The record is paced so perfectly that just when you think you're going to get all dazed and wasted a new song will come up with rushing hooks and irresistible melodies, but then once you're afraid of getting a sonic sweet tooth cavity, new layers and textures come and take you to a breezier and more haunting destination. Feels like they've been digging lots of Velvet Underground, Chapterhouse, and the most stoney moments of Built To Spill. The album flows so fantastically from beginning to end that we've found ourselves deeply hooked. Our favorite Deerhunter record yet!

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Finally, Demdike Stare's dark and dizzying, murky and mysterious hauntological black dub triptych, previously available via three separate slabs of vinyl, is now available on cd, gathered up into a single, nicely packaged triple disc set. And loaded with bonus tracks (nearly 40 minutes extra all told), which makes this pretty much a shoe-in for Record Of The Week... Demdike Stare are one of the few bands who seem to be a unanimous aQ favorite, everyone here LOVES these guys, and judging on how many of the various lps we've sold, everyone out there does too. Which makes sense, when you consider, DS basically create a kind of black metal dubstep, or as we (and others) like to describe it, a blackened dub record on Chain Reaction. Either one should give you an idea of the sort of dark sonic energy these guys conjure up. Thick claustrophobic atmospheres, skeletal rhythms, thick throbbing bass, skittering dubbed out beats, disembodied voices, stuttering minimal sort-of-dubstep, looped and processed African folk music (??), swirling glitched out electronics, deeeep pulsing dronemusic, reverb drenched post-rock-via-techno skitter, all woven into a swirling organic mass of dub flecked blacktronica, dark and sinister and dubby, and weirdly house-y, sprawling and epic and creepy and so totally sweeping and cinematic. The first disc, Forest Of Evil, was originally two sidelong tracks, the first starts out all deep shimmer, with a softly melodic buzz, spidery acoustic guitars, long stretches of billowy black ambience, bits of shuffly jazzy drift, peppered with thick shards of buzzy fractured dub bass and Kompakt style skitter, giving way to glistening late night techno, whirling pop ambient, and blissed out ethereal dronemusic, while the second is darkly dramatic, epic and majestic, like some lost Italian soundtrack, big drums, orchestral and ominous, looped samples, blurred melodic smears over deep pulsing bass, whirling clouds of cymbal shimmer, insectoid FX buzz, jumbled atonal melodies (hints of Bernard Herrmann), the vibe tense and haunting, with some dubstep bass buzz, that slowly dissolves into a Caretaker like outro, all layered strings wreathed in hiss and crackle, hazy and druggy and divine. The bonus track "Quiet Sky" conjures up just what the title implies, a quiet sky, but a dark, bruised midnight sky, flecked with stars, soft swirls of metallic shimmer like gauzy clouds, the song gradually developing a strange minimal hiccuppy rhythm, underpinning the deep melancholic swells, a strange almost industrial tinged bit of pop ambience. The second disc, Liberation Through Hearing, is thematically related to the Book Of The Dead, and focuses on the space between death and rebirth. Rendered in greys and blacks, in buzz and rumble, beginning with some woozy late night Portishead style downtempo trip hop, low slung looped skitter and swell, lush swirls of cinematic strings, ghostly choirs, a softly lurching rhythmic stutter, a deep cavernous throb, sounding like a ghostly stripped down dubstep. Which gives way to heaving expanses of black tidal thrum, muted scrapings, all wound into hypnotic pulses of dark energy, laced with distant chiming melodies, a haunting, gauzey faded memory in sound, drawn from radios with dying batteries and gradually slowing turntables, a soft focus symphony of creaks and rumbles and blurred low end shimmer. The first half finishes with a swoonsome smear of looped ambience, like a field recording of an after hours nightclub captured in a temporal loop, warm and druggy and fuzzy, strangely hypnotic and rhythmic, totally trancelike, a creeped out wasteland soundscape, mysterious and chilling, which is eventually augmented by thick slabs of corrosive low end, and heavily reverbed industrial clatter, which eventually emerges into a strange sea of crackle and hum, of warbly rhythms, chiming bells and distorted crunch, sounding a bit like Jeck spinning Pole record, abstract and spaced out and hauntingly lovely. The second half opens with thick streaks of ghostly mesmer, all washed out and slowly decaying, underpinned by thick swaths of dubstep style bass wobble, but muted and smoothed into soft smears of undulating blackness. Subtle skitter surfaces, as do distant voices, the sound getting more and more dubby, a bit like a Caretaker record on Chain Reaction, that sort of hazy abstract drift, but anchored to barely there beats, the buzz building to an intense coda, all the while wrapped in throbbing woofer punishing low end. Some super stripped down rhythms are laid over a swirling ghostly backdrop of fragmented melodies and a buried house music thump, tangled and blurred strings wrap the proceedings in a veil of softened reverb and subtle echo, the almost Eastern sounding pulse and swell reminding us a bit of the late great Muslimgauze. Finally, the record collapses into some sort of melancholic sonic reverie, a hushed ambient outro, a tranquil sea of soft swirling swells, clouds of echo and reverb, a dreamy darkness, a blackened bit of blurpop minimalism, laced with muted streaks of fuzz and hiss, but all gradually sinking into Demdike Stare's endless trancelike billowing blackness. The bonus tracks on this one (3 of them, clocking in at nearly 20 minutes) continue the record's surreal sonic journey, spidery rhythms, and chiming melodies are looped and layered over a simple pulsing propulsive groove, the whole thing slightly warped and warbled, as if recorded onto an old piece of tape, and played back on some dusty old ramshackle tape player, ghostly, but surprisingly playful at first, before slipping into some seriously creepy, deeeeeep droning rumbles, wreathed in shimmering solar winds, softly billowing sheets of hiss and static, eventually shedding all of that, leaving just a thick morass of softly undulating low end, shot through with a slo-mo house music pulse, only to have the hiss and whir return, this time relegated to the background, until the track finishes surprisingly with what sounds like a bit of African style funkiness, before disappearing in a brief cloud of swirling hushed buzz. Finally, the third disc, Voices Of Dust, unveils the Tryptych's final movement, opening with "Black Sun", a short stretch of some super minimal electronic dronemusic, all layered overtones and strange sonic shadings, which gives way to the chopped and looped and stuttery vocal driven "Hashshashin Chant" which takes tribal drums and traditional folk music vocals, and twists them all up, and tangles those elements with strange percussion, industrial buzz, the whole thing a dizzying chunk of hypno-electronic collaged psychedelic mashup weirdness, before slipping into the much murkier and minimal "Repository Of Light", which unfurls like some sort of Hawkwind-meets-Pole spaced out digi-dub drift. And so it goes, the sound flitting between impossibly realized miniature sound worlds, cinematic electronic ambience, ominously pulsing low end rumble, hazy glitchy dubbed out Jeckian smears, super blown out electronic big beat bombast, almost industrial sounding avant big band abstraction, roiling corrosive soft noise, bellowing foghorn-like melodies, warped and woozy scratchy old lp warblescapes and beyond. The bonus tracks are the perfect, hazy, ghostly coda, the first, a warm, whispery bit of keening abstract melody and thick pulsing thrum, all very washed out and space-y and dreamlike, a constantly vibrating living thing, a throbbing organic expanse of minimal space drone psychedelic ambience, until finally, the whole disc is laid to rest with 9 minutes of heaving, glacial, metallic creep and creak, wreathed in record crackle, the final sounds unfurl like some old dusty Tim Hecker 45 spinning at 16rpm, mournful moaning melodies, buried rhythmic thumps, shimmery sitar like buzz, all hazy and smeared and lysergic and mysteriously murky, the perfect slipping-into-darkness, leaving-this-world-behind finale... Gorgeously evocative, creepy and cinematic, abstract and otherworldly, druggy and dreamy, fantastically haunting and utterly spine tinglingly stunning. And thus, absolutely recommended. Packaged in a super swank, oversized, hardcover book style digipak.

MPEG stream: Forest Of Evil (Dusk)
MPEG stream: Caged In Stammheim
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While labels like The Numero Group and Soul Jazz have done a great job of unearthing so much amazing soul that slipped under the radar back in the day, there is still so much true golden soul to be mined. Of course there are the amazing songs here and there that some groups and folks created back in the day that have been included on compilations of lost soul, but then there are also artists who have entire legacies of amazing recordings and while they were not totally obscure, they just never got the full on fame & recognition they so rightfully deserved. Folks like Irma Thomas, Carla Thomas, Betty Everett, Betty Harris, etc. Sugar Pie DeSanto deserves a special place on that list as well. These are all people that with luck treating them a little different would be held in the same limelight as Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight, etc. Sugar Pie, who has lived most of her life right here in the Bay Area is truly a living legend. This collection of her Chess singles from 1961-'66 is filled with pure hip-shaking soul drenched rompers that burn with flare and sass. There is a strength and conviction in her delivery that makes her songs as deep hitting as they are fun and toe-tapping. This is full on sock-hop style dance floor burners, that you could imagine The Rolling Stones listening to at the time and getting inspiration and ideas from. So damn sassy, as she sings it like she means it. There are even a few duets with Etta James, and thinking of those two strong powerful women in the same recording booth gives us chills! Sugar Pie Desanto has had such an amazing life with many ups and downs. She was a singer and touring member in the Johnny Otis Review as well as the James Brown revue. Her own live shows are something of magical legend, as folks who were lucky enough to see her back in the '60s still brag about what a mind blowing performance she put on. Just a few years ago her Oakland home was destroyed in a terrible fire, claiming the life of her husband. There were some benefit concerts in the Bay Area to help her during this difficult time and we're also hoping that this collection of her music helps with those burdens as well and more importantly shares her amazing music with a whole new set of ears. Awesome!

MPEG stream: Go Go Power
MPEG stream: Do I Make Myself Clear
MPEG stream: Mama Didn't Raise No Fools

Everything Johnny Jewel touches these days turns to sultry dancefloor gold. Whether it's Glass Candy, the Chromatics, or a handful of other groups on Italians Do It Better that have felt Jewel's magic touch, he has really been largely responsible for making IDIB a label to trust when it comes to sizzling, late night spaced out disco! What sets Desire a little apart from other acts on Italians Do It Better is that it's much more of a full band effort, with an affection for analog synthesizers as well as strings, percussion, piano, and it's got an overall delivery that is much more warm and rich than some of the other similar sounding outfits on the label. Desire still have that icy-detached aesthetic that can be found in the sounds of Chromatics, but there is something a bit more personal sounding in the songs here. While most records in this genre tend to be filled with super immediate hooks that sometimes lose their staying power on repeated listens, this record is a serious grower. In fact on first listen we thought maybe this was going to be a bit of a let down, but we're so happy we gave it a few more spins, cuz we were eventually totally sucked into the moody, sultry stylings that Desire conjure up. Between this and the Nite Jewel record we gushed about recently, our late night coming down soundtrack is sounding better then ever. Feel the slow burn!

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MPEG stream: Oxygene
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Hailing from Olympia, Washington, Desolation Wilderness create hazy dreampop that's the perfect twilight of summer soundtrack. With shimmering guitars, breezy vocals, infectious melodies swirled amongst the fog and haze, this record has been reminding us of so many bands we love, like Chapterhouse, Spiritualized, The Chills, 764 Hero, Galaxie 500, Sparklehorse, Ride, etc. While there is a definite shoegaze element to their sound, the songs also have a spark and punch to them. We also can't help but think of a very awesome and underrated '90s band from Los Angeles called Strictly Ballroom who similarly found enticing ways to evoke this kind of daydream nation. New Universe is one of those records that's perfect for so many occasions - the long ride home, the blissed out late night walk through the city, the lazy Sunday afternoon... Desolation Wilderness pleases on so many levels!

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MPEG stream: You Hold A Power Over Me

We can probably count the major female figures of Krautrock on one hand. Most of them like Rosi Mueller of Ash Ra Tempel, Renate Knaup from Amon Duul II, Djong Yun from Popol Vuh, or Sabine Merbach from Gila were either singers or muses for their male-led bands. And don't even mention Clara Mondshine, which was a pseudonym for Walter Bachauer, a very real actual man. But even among those women, you don't find too many female krautrock composers. Actually, we really couldn't think of any, offhand. Can you? If so, please enlighten! Thankfully, the brand new reissue label, Medical Records, who has bolted out the gate running with not only one but two amazing (and amazingly limited!) vinyl-only reissues, sets the record straight! The other reissue, Alexander Robotnick, reviewed elsewhere on this list, is a weirdo Italo-disco / French electro classic we've known about for awhile and we're super psyched to see finally reissued. But this one, Deutsche Wertarbeit , the solo project of Dorothea Raukes, is altogether completely new to us and what a fantastic discovery it is! Released on Sky Records in 1981, Deutsche Wertarbeit was Raukes' first solo effort after years of being the singer for a German Progressive band we're not familiar with called Streetmark, who started in 1968, and released 4 lps between 1976 and 1981. Two of those were also released on Sky Records and one of them was even recorded in collaboration with Wolfgang Riechmann, the same year he was murdered. What? Really? Why didn't we know of this already? Just goes to show, there are still many treasures to be unearthed. And if you dug Wolfgang Riechmann's Wunderbar reissue, that we raved about awhile back, or Klaus Schultze, Tangerine Dream, Cluster, Peter Baumann, or even some of the later Manuel Gottsching recordings such as New Age of Earth, then add Deutsche Wertarbeit to the essential kosmiche synthscape canon. But while she definitely fits in with those artists, she carves out her own defining sound of warm minimal hypnotic rhythms and vocoder voicings that display a joyous exhuberance you don't see as much in artists like Schultze or Baumann. In fact this would fit in well with the stuff on that Dirty Space Disco comp, as it sounds like a mystical combination of Vangelis and Popol Vuh, expansive and cosmic, upliftingly propulsive while keeping it all beautifully reigned in. LIMITED TO 500 COPIES, each 180 gram colored vinyl and hand-numbered. We're not sure how long we'll have these, so don't wait too long. Highest Recommendation!!!!!!

MPEG stream: Guten Abend Leute
MPEG stream: Auf Engelsflugeln
MPEG stream: Der Grosse Atem

Another gorgeous release from the Ex's Terp label, that brought us the amazing Konono No.1 live record and the Beraki double cd reviewed elsewhere on this list. Djibril Diabate is from Mali and is a master on the kora (a 21 string harp-lute) and the music he makes is unbelievably dreamy and otherworldy. Dense tangles of melodies, compex but smooth and soothing, minor key and super melodic. These are modern re-interpretations of traditional pieces, all instrumental, but based thematically on tales and stories that are centuries old. And sonically this could have been recorded 100 years ago (except for the crystal clear rcording of course). Hard to describe exactly what this sounds like, but it has a similar vibe to the recently reviewed Richard Crandell thumb piano cd. Swoonsome and twilighty, delicate but rich with harmonic overtones. It remided some of us of a little of Christmas carols, but only if you can imagine a Christmas carol stripped to its essence, a crystalline framework of melody amd delicate filligree. So so lovely. Another cd vying for the coveted position of perfect late night / going-to-sleep record!

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MPEG stream: Enkonen Sava

Simply stunning sparse and majestic sounds from one of the most talented kora players of all time! Known for his collaborations with everyone from Ali Farka Toure, to Taj Mahal and Bjork. This is Toumani by himself and his kora which he employs to make such magical and enchanting music. Toumani has that same kind of elegance and sheer transcendence that folks like John Fahey and Ravi Shankar had/have with the instruments they mastered. The Mande Variations demonstrates how Diabate has been influenced by Indian classical music, flamenco and blues as well as the Griot music of his native home of Mali. This is the kind of record that allows you to just let go of everything as the hypnotic trance of Diabate's playing takes you away to a higher dimension. The Mande Variations is reminding us of some of our favorite beautiful sound of the last few years from the likes of James Blackshaw, Debashish Bhattacharya and Lanaya. Undeniably stunning and filled with trance inducing soul!

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Wonderful! One of our favorite rocksteady vocalists who just might become one of yours. This posthumously released tribute album compiles a whopping twenty nine songs from Phyllis Dillon's early years spanning 1966 through 1971. The productions blend the traditional reggae and rocksteady sounds with the decade's smooth bright girl group pop. A perfect summertime album to be cherished. Absolutely recommended.

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MPEG stream: Midnight Confessions

Bjork has always thrived on collaboration, the list of folks she has worked with is pretty much a dream list of musicians and producers including Matmos, Konono No.1, Will Oldham, Zeena Parkins, Timbaland, Tricky, and tons more. But up until now she's never made an actual full album as a true collaboration, and while some of us had our doubts if the Dirty Projectors were worthy of this co-billing, it's actually a totally awesome match up. Bjork's most resent album, Biophilia, is as dark as it is challenging yet so totally rewarding, but it's nice to get to enjoy a much more bright, colorful, and pop side of Bjork's magical presence. Dirty Projectors are all about bright colors, swirling melodies, and infectious pop, so they bring that element into these tracks, while Bjork guides them to create songs that feel like vocal miniatures from some awesome early Steve Reich or Philip Glass album. There is a feeling of bright eyed innocence and openness on this record that makes it one that we think could win over folks who have taken a little break from Bjork lately. Such a perfect record for a crisp winter day.

MPEG stream: On and Ever Onward
MPEG stream: Sharing Orb
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THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

SORRY. From the same great tastemakers who put together the Dirty Space Disco collection that has become an all-time AQ favorite, comes this collection of sultry and sensual French psychedelia. These are the sounds and artists that have influenced folks like Sebastian Tellier, Air, Islaja, Blonde Redhead, Bjork, Broadcast, Komeda, etc. And while we of course love the peppy sounds of classic French ye-ye pop, it's the more seductive, warped and tripped out sounds from France in the '70s that really gets us going! When we realized that one of our favorite songs of all time, "Il Pleut" by Brigitte Fontaine (complete with arrangements by Jean-Claude Vannier!) was included, we knew there was some mighty fine curatorial work going on here. But it's not just that one track, not even close, this comp has turned us on to amazing sounds from new-to-us folks like Christophe, Nino Ferrer, Jeanne Marie Sens as well as long beloved AQ faves like Dashiell Hedayat, Ilous & Decuyper, and Francois de Roubaix. While many of their US and UK counterparts were injecting large amounts of blues and hard rock into their psychedelia, the French kept it sensual, steamy and tripped out, realizing an alternate yet completely enticing musical universe. Full on sexy psychedelic seduction! Weirdness too, like the awesome track whose grooves are backed with the sounds of revving race cars.

MPEG stream: Il Pleut
MPEG stream: Sunny Road To Salina
MPEG stream: Tape Tape Tape

It seems like many of the figurative walls that used to keep musical scenes and and record collections segregated are finally crumbling to the ground. In recent years indie rockers have embraced pop and the dance floor while lots of pop, hip-hop and R&B artists have latched on to the always evolving world of electronica. Discovery are kind of like the perfect poster boys for this evolution. While best known for their more indie rock minded bands (one of those bands being quite the buzz band from a couple years ago) these two soundmakers have taken the opportunity to fully embrace their love of un-ironic pure dance pop delight. Much like the way Hot Chip brought the sound of Prince to a more indie sensibility, Discovery have crafted totally irresistible modern pop gems that kind of sound like the newest Phoenix record mixed with Kanye West. There is something so bright, colorful and refreshing about the sounds on LP. A bit more bouncy and playful then the Junior Boys while still using a bit of the same sonic template that they and Hot Chip helped create a few years back. The beats and electronics on LP are executed so flawlessly, if tweaked just a bit more they would sound right at home on a skweee record, but even so, this record is all about full on shiny pop perfection. Imagine the sound in the mall as we all roller-skated down the escalators after hours, in some teen movie with an Orange Julius in our hands, the food court behind us and a Forever 21 on the horizon. So yummy!

MPEG stream: Osaka Loop Line
MPEG stream: So Insane
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Wow, what a change of direction for this long underrated electronic music maker. While past outings by Diskjokke were great examples of left-field beat driven techno, this outing finds Diskjokke exploring totally different territory. Commissioned by Norway's Oye's Festival, he packed his bags and headed to Indonesia to collaborate with Gamalan musicians and make not only the most ambitious record of his career, but his most satisfying and rewarding. It would have been more expected and easy for Diskjokke to use the more rhythmic and percussive elements of Gamelan to make electro-dance-gamelan jams. But he didn't go the expected route, instead he flipped his entire music making past upside down, trading beats for drones and dance floors for bliss out sessions. There is a patience, subtly and warmth in these sounds that has made it one of our favorite languid explorations of the year. Such an awesome surprise!

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MPEG stream: Naive
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The Dodos continue to remain one of the most immediate and satisfying voices to rise above the crowded indie rock scene. With each subsequent record they've built on what came before, pushing it a little further every time, their sound becoming more fleshed out and fully realized, and the songs just getting better and better. With their last outing, Time To Die, Dodos showed they could make a record that kept their frenetic energy but also really raised the bar on their songwriting capacity. On No Color, they've made an album that so perfectly melds their unique ability to sound so urgent while also being rife with such lush melodic layers, unique time changes, incredible guitar shredding, and powerful percussion, all of which really makes their songs sound like sonic marching orders to get through the mundane of the every day. There is an epic nature to these tracks, as Dodos have the rare ability to make a four minute song sound so big and wide in scope, yet still remain grounded by an intimacy that shines through it all. It doesn't hurt that their pal Neko Case joined them on many of these songs. Alongside Pinback, they stand as one of the most substantial and engaging indie rock bands around!

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MPEG stream: Don't Try And Hide It
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Long gone are the days when Meric Long's sweet vocals and talented songwriting skills were just our little secret. After carrying his debut self released cd-r from a few years back, Meric has merged his forces into creating one of the most refreshing and rewarding bands in the modern indie-pop landscape. The Dodos have proven to be a force to be reckoned with, their record from last year, Visiter, launched them into the stratosphere and rewarded them with a whole new and very large fan base. Which was well deserved considering that Visiter was most definitely the sound of a band finding their sound, everything falling into place perfectly, passion, hooks and creative instrumentation. Time To Die finds the band sounding even more assured with a refined sound that is pretty darn irresistible. Like a more effervescent Built To Spill, The Dodos create songs that have maximum mix-tape potency, every song here a gem, really not a wasted moment or a throwaway track anywhere to be found. While not many of today's indie rock bands really do it for us, The Dodos are a shining exception!

MPEG stream: Two Medicines
MPEG stream: Fables
MPEG stream: Time To Die

Since her departure from the fuzzy, feedback-laden world of Eric's Trip many moons ago, Julie Doiron has quietly and steadily amassed a lovely, intimate and sizeable body of work under her own name as well as under the moniker Broken Girl - garnering her

RealAudio clip: La Jeune Amoreuse
RealAudio clip: Don't Ask

Autumn Sunday mornings just got a little sweeter with this release we have been waiting ages for. We first heard Molly Drake, the mother of the British folksinger Nick Drake, years ago on a compilation of early Nick Drake recordings called Family Tree that featured only a couple of her songs. While that compilation attempted to position her as a key influence on the popular folksinger, we weren't quite convinced back then, but we sure are now. Squirrel Thing, the New York label that brought us the sad and lovely Connie Converse album a few years ago has compiled an amazing collection of 19 original songs that not only confirms Molly Drake's indelible influence on the musical output of her son, but also showcases Molly Drake as an amazing artist and songwriter in her own right. These intimate original songs recorded in the fifties and featuring just her voice and piano are beautifully poignant and moving. Like the work of Connie Converse and Sibylle Baier, they reveal a veiled melancholy in their pure-toned and dryly heartfelt delivery as well as their charmed combination of majestic wistfulness and simple plainsong. One can see clearly now that Molly Drake's seemingly simple but technically complex arrangements, sadly wise and effortlessly delivered as a key compositional influence on the songwriting of her son. Highest recommendation! Vinyl is packaged in a beautiful die-cut sleeve. Download card included.

MPEG stream: How Wild The Wind Blows
MPEG stream: Breakfast at Bradenham Woods
MPEG stream: Poor Mum
MPEG stream: Cuckoo Time

As much as we dig White Fence, this might be our favorite recording yet by that band's Tim Presley, as he teams up here with an unknown-to-us Welsh musician named Cate Le Bon. The result of their collaboration is sheer post-punk perfection. Taking turns on vocals, the interplay between Tim and Cate through these minimal and infectious songs works so well. There is not a wasted note or wasted second on this record. Think of the best parts of Young Marble Giants and Deerhoof coming together, and you might start to get a sense of the vibrant sounds that Drinks create. Angular, punchy, and stripped down sounds that ring with an immediacy that is so damn refreshing. We're also reminded of a long and super underrated record that came out a decade ago, that was the only recording by a band named Klang who featured an ex-member of Elastica. If you ever heard that record, No Sound Is Heard, you know the greatness it contained and we were so stoked to finally hear a brand new record that taps into that same sound, and likewise channels early Rough Trade output in all its brilliant post-punk glory. Recommended, though maybe we don't even need to tell you that, as these Drinks have been flying out the door...

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MPEG stream: Hermits On Holiday
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Sometimes it's hard to believe that certain records just go out of print. I mean who would let the Conet Project go out of print, or Souled American, or the Incredible String Band. It's even weirder when the record is not old or obscure. Then it's usually some bureaucratic red tape or major label bullshit that keeps people from hearing some great record. Such is the case with the second, ultimate release from San Diego's Drive Like Jehu, originally released on Interscope in 1994. A record Allan and Andee and Jim and Sadie and Windy and quite possibly the rest of the AQ staff would rank as one of the best rock records ever! Easily as good/important as Slint's Spiderland. For those who don't know, Drive Like Jehu was fronted by John Reis of Rocket From The Crypt (who has now reissued Yank Crime on his own Swami label) and featured vocalist Rick Farr (his rock name, he's also known as Eric Froberg) who later went on with Reis to play in the Hot Snakes. Drive Like Jehu also just happened to have one of the tightest rhythm sections EVER. E V E R! Yank Crime is a tightly wound record of 'post rock' (before post rock meant watered down instrumental indie rock bullshit) with head nodding, repetitive grooves, propulsive, ultra concise drumming, and some of the most inventive guitar playing we've ever heard. All topped off with Farr's distinctive high pitched vocals (familiar to all you folks who dig the Hot Snakes) The songs are looooong and hypnotic but never boring. The band locks into totally intense, static grooves, that can go on for minutes before exploding into mayhemic bursts of controlled fury. So goddamn good. Anyone who likes the Hot Snakes MUST own this record. Drive Like Jehu is like a hyper charged, heavier, more intense and complex, MUCH BETTER Hot Snakes. Anyone who likes Feuhler or Don Cab or Slint or Engine Kid or almost any post rock will discover what all those other comers had been shooting for. This is IT. Trust us. An automatic AQ "record of the week" selection as soon as we heard it was finally being re-released -- with three bonus tracks to boot! ("Bullet Train To Vegas" and "Hand Over Fist" from their Merge label 7", and the original version of "Sinews" from a Cargo/Headhunter compilation.) So even if you have the original you might want to get this reissue for those.

RealAudio clip: Do You Compute
RealAudio clip: Sinews

Droids is the '70s French space disco project of Fabrice Cuitade, former Barclay Records employee and founder of their Egg imprint - which released the likes of Vangelis, Conrad Schnitzler, and Heldon, among others. The back of this disc claims Droids to be "the Daft Punk of the 70's," but even a quick listen will prove that claim reductive. Neither will the typical Giorgio Moroder comparison suffice. So the story goes that Cuitade saw Star Wars for the first time, and then decided to make his own musical interpretation. As we first listened to the album, we heard something much more nuanced than some sort of filtered French House prototype. Maybe if you picture Battiato partying in the studio with Patrick Cowley then you're getting close. That's right. This is nothing short of some seriously progged-out space disco. But whereas many artists in that arena seem to be cold, calculated, and sterile, Star Peace is an album that manages to hold on to the funk that disco originated with. Cuitade even foreshadows the piano stab-driven funky house of Chicago's Traxx label, while hinting at the celestial impulses of Italian cosmic-groover Daniele Baldelli. Fans of disco, prog, new wave, house, or anything electronic, arpeggiated, or dancey will positively need this. Essential. (Note: includes a track you might have heard already on the now sadly out of print compilation So Young But So Cold that we love love loved...)

MPEG stream: Do You Have the Force (Part 1)
MPEG stream: Renaissance De L'Amour

Ducktails is another one of those bands that went to zero to sixty in no time, in terms of releases. Before, it was a tape here, maybe a 7" there, now every week brings a new slab of Ducktails' twisted tropical pop, but hell, we're not complaining one bit. Especially this time, as Landscapes might just be one of the strangest Ducktails record yet, The first track is what we've come to expect, and dig big time, swirling lo-fi, tropical soft fuzz pop, antiquated drum machine, warbly synths, playful woozy sun dappled melodies, plenty of tape hiss and amp buzz, definitely raw and muddy but also weirdly lush. That, however, is just the first song, from there on out, Ducktails bounces wildly from sound to sound, all held together by a strange hard to describe thread that runs through all the songs here, keeping this from being just a mish mash of sounds and songs, and instead smearing it into a crazy yet cohesive dizzying drift through some seriously tweaked eighties retro future fuzz Ducktails dream pop. Weird buzzing Eastern sounding new age gives way to some groovy hard pop, with warped guitars, lots of flange, rad leads, like an alternative dimension instrumental lo-fi Loverboy (?), before switching gears and unfurling some looped almost African sounding warble, which then transforms into fuzzy jangly blissed out garage pop, then falsetto crooned jangle and swoon, then a bit of bluesy bedroom slow jam and finally a wicked, twisted late night infomercial soundtrack, all of the sights and sounds in Ducktails' soundworld hazy and shimmery and otherworldly and gloriously washed out.

Here's some seriously warm, wobbly, surfy, tropical sounding lo-fi gems that have totally captured our attention! Dripping with such melty, melodic yet slightly tripped out perfection. Ducktails had a lot going for it before we even heard the music, the name obviously (!), the great cover art by Jan Anderzen (Kemialliset Ystavat) and the fact that it was mastered by Graham Lambkin of The Shadow Ring already lead us to believe there might be some kind of magic being brewed under the colorful, inviting cover, so we threw this on the stereo right away and it's been beyond the perfect soundtrack for the bright and sizzling sunshine days we've been baking in for the last couple weeks. Ducktails is the work of one person, Matt Mondanile who has found such a unique sound, melding elements of the lo-fi pop movement that came out of New Zealand in the '80s with a tropical undertone and wandering spirit that sounds like bits and pieces from some gem of a find on a Sublime Frequencies compilation, the kind of rare multidimensional sound that Pumice is able to achieve, or the more pastoral side of prog that folks like Bo Hannson explored, or a sun-soaked instrumental passage from an Ariel Pink record (actually this actually reminds us a lot of the great Holy Shit record Ariel Pink made with Matt Fishbeck a while back), or maybe White Rainbow shining their hypnotic rays through the bodies of a band on Woodsist. The album's closer "Surf's Up" is almost like a new generation's version of Terry Riley's A Rainbow In Curved Air! This record is like a soft edged maze that leads in a million different directions and takes you around on a sonic adventure that isn't as concerned with destination as it is in creating a totally and wholly encapsulating journey. While many in the new wave of one-man-band lo-fi noise pop combos have been focusing their sonic scope more on the fuzz, and burn, and rocked out side of things, Ducktails have a much more languid, dreamy and enchanting approach to finding lo-fi bliss through conjuring up so much warm sun soaked color in their hypnotizing sounds. Highly Recommended!

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MPEG stream: Surf's Up
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We fell in love with the Dum Dum Girls at first listen, back when we heard their self titled 12" from a year ago, it was this awesome blown out girl group inspired garage pop that just totally satisfied. With their/her jump to Sub Pop they have cleaned up their sound a bit, but oh my god we think it's totally for the best. When it comes down to it, the songs have to stand up for themselves. You can pour all the reverb and lo-fi glory on top of your music but if that's all you got it's going to get old and tired pretty quick. Luckily that's not all Dum Dum Girls are about. I Will Be shows that what they are about is totally heartfelt, addictive and impactful songs. But don't worry, it's not like its gotten all slick or smoothed out, it's still totally immediate, rocking, punchy, sassy and also so sincere. Dee Dee (who as it turns out is pretty much the fiery force behind Dum Dum Girls) recorded all these songs at home and then sent them to the legendary producer and hit maker Richard Gottehrer, whose resume is pretty damn drool worthy. In the '60s he wrote totally amazing songs that have become party of our cultural landscape like "I Want Candy" and "My Boyfriend's Back", and in the '70s he went on to produce the debut records by both Blondie and The Go-Go's as well as being a cofounder of Sire records (home of The Ramones, Talking Heads, The Dead Boys, etc.). So awesome to see how this collaboration turned out so damn perfect. Gottehrer knew it wasn't his job to sugarcoat or generically polish the Dum Dum Girls songs, but instead he did use his wisdom to help them jump out with so much vibrancy and color. While his contribution can't be overlooked, it's still all about Dee Dee's songs and charisma. Whether she's totally rocking out, or melting hearts with her cover of Sonny & Cher's "Baby Don't Go", there's an authenticity and unhinged passion that can't be denied. She's also so smart and economic about her songs, no fat, no wasted notes, just the good stuff. The album is over before you know it but it works out just fine because all you're going to want to do is play it right over again. This one is going to be a strong candidate for record of the year!

MPEG stream: Jail La La
MPEG stream: Baby Don't Go
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In the last few years Dungen have gone from being a mysterious underground Swedish psych sensation to one of the most beloved bands in the indie music landscape. With 4 they prove they deserve all the acclaim and recognition that's come their way as they continue to evolve and expand their sonic horizons in such pleasing ways. It's not always how hard you hit but instead what kind of magic you can create with sound, thus this is probably the least rock sounding record Dungen have made, and we think the lush arrangements and warm texture suits them perfectly. While this could still pass for some lost gem from the Scandinavian psych underground of the early '70s there is something so unique and distinctive about their sound. They are one of those bands that after hearing only several seconds, their signature sound is already evident. But unlike folks such as Clinic who also have a sound we like but continue to make the same record over and over, Dungen have proven to be imaginative and skilled songwriters who move forward with each release, while remaining the Dungen we know and love. It's almost like they've been listening intently to the more nuanced and atmospheric psychedelic reissues from Ennio Morricone we've seen lately. Along with the new record by The Alps reviewed last list, this Dungen is more exciting evidence that that folks are still finding fresh (also lush and gorgeous) ways to enter a psychedelic state of mind. So great!

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There are those certain records for all of us that just change things when they enter your world. For a few of us here, this 1981 album by Durutti Column is one of those records. An album that showed that music could be sparse and majestic at the same time. D.I.Y., yet and grandiose in how it evokes emotion, memory, longing and desire. The work of Vini Reilly, Durutti Column emerged out of Factory Records yet their sound was something completely of its own world. Merging impeccable guitar playing with subtle drum machines, soft vocals and a golden warmth that makes this one of those albums that makes you melt everytime you put it on. Pastoral and blissful, LC is filled with both perfect restraint and full on flowing beauty. You can hear how traces of the more blissed out side of Krautrock influenced him, merging that with the stripped down emotional quality of British folk and placing it into a very modern moment. While not an obscure band by any measure, we are still blown away though by how many people who would love Durutti Column have never heard them. And with the reissue of their first two lp's we hope that so many of those folks finally do. We could go on and on listing folks whose music we love and who have undoubtedly been influenced by Durutti Column, and this record in particular: Felt, Fuqugi, Danny Paul Grody, Colleen, James Blackshaw, Ducktails, Fennesz, Manuel, A.R. Kane, My Bloody Valentine, and on and on. One of our favorite records of all time, so if you didn't have this before, now's the time!

We've got two great vinyl reissues of the first two lps from Manchester's Durutti Column this week. Despite the title, The Return of The Durutti Column was their debut release from 1980, originally on Factory Records. While the title is tongue in cheek (as was the original album cover, covered in sandpaper so that it would scrape and scuff any record filed next to it), it was truly a return, as by the time they were set to record, the original five piece group enlisted by Factory label boss Tony Wilson had dissolved into sole member, guitarist Vini Reilly. In less capable hands, this might of been devastating, but Vini Reilly, a true alchemist of the electric guitar, could more than hold his own. Working with Martin Hannet, who provided the atmospheric production and synth washes, and a couple of session players, The Return of... is a tour-de-force of warm pastoral instrumentals, soft textures and intricate jazz-like compositional dynamics. Durutti Column didn't have the typical Factory Records sound associated with bands like A Certain Ratio or Joy Division. In fact, Reilly's interweaving filigree guitar lines and bright chiming tones sounded more like a group that would be on Crepuscule or even 4AD. "Sketch for Summer" is one of the most beautiful openers ever and completely sets the tone for the rest of the album. Sweeping and expansive, yet also introspective and labyrinthian, Reilly conjures beautifully spiraling melodies that glide and wander, sometimes letting themselves get lost in the exploration but never get aimless or muddled. Highly Recommended!

Gotta give it up to the folks at Drag City, they're (weird) music lovers after our own hearts, all right. Not only did they reissue the eccentric 1986 outsider "doom" "metal" "masterpiece", Animals, by one-man-band Duane Warr aka Dwarr (an album that we at aQuarius had previously made a Record Of The Week, back when we were ordering an earlier, self-released cd version directly from Dwarr himself, we might add), they have now reissued that album's predecessor, 1984's privately pressed Starting Over - which, despite its title, was in fact Dwarr's debut. Thereby proving that they didn't just put out Animals for a lark! They're serious about their love for Dwarr, and really think people should hear his stuff - and people should, we agree. Maybe not all people, but certainly people who appreciate the finer things in, well, wacked out, downer DIY psychedelia, occasionally dosed with Eddie Van Halen style guitar shred. It's the '60s in the '80s, the dark sides of both decades distilled down to a unique, entertainingly demented essence. And not just entertaining, but truly affecting. Now, we hope you already have Animals (go read our rave review of that right now, if you haven't!). If you do have it, we probably only need say you want this too. If you don't, well, while we would have to say Animals is the #1 best Dwarr, this one comes close, certainly possessing a similar vibe, and since it was the man's first album, there's no reason not to start with it if you wish to delve into the weird world of Dwarr. In fact, depending on your inclinations, this one might just be a bit more accessible, as it's not so overtly metallic, but perhaps even more sparse and psychedelic (if possible). Super slow but for the soloing. Black Sabbath is perhaps less of an influence on this one, than Pink Floyd... Or at least, rather than riff monsters like "Iron Man" and "Electric Funeral", this one takes its cues from the mellower, pot-wreathed Sabbath numbers like "Solitude" and "Planet Caravan". This is a gentler, folkier Dwarr, sort of. But definitely druggy and proggy (like Captain Beyond, circa Sufficiently Breathless), very odd and home-brewed, and certainly sometimes heavy too. Well, always "heavy", maaaann. The songs are moody and melancholic, with hushed, woeful vocals. The production is lo-fi, of course, with tinny, trebly guitars indulging in widdly, effect-drenched soloing. Heck, there's a gnarly two-minute instrumental called "Christmas Shopping" that sounds like something Mick Barr might do, overdosed on cough syrup! Or anyone remember the '90s Mexican prog/psych band Humus? Probably not, but it totally could be them. And is that a genius song title or what? We also like "Lonely Ecstasy" as a title, that's another one here. Well, he's got a lot of interesting ideas, that Dwarr. And, as with Animals, this has an amazing piece of album cover artwork, to match the music in outsidery strangeness. Along with Sabbath and Floyd, another "ordinary" comparison we could make would be to, maybe, solo Steve Hillage in the '70s. And Hendrix is a likely influence (Dwarr's vocals on "I've Been Thinking" kinda remind us of Jimi). Uli Jon Roth's solo stuff, too?? But given an even more eccentric, living-in-his-mother's-basement makeover. Then there's the pantheon of other outsiders we love, with whom Dwarr totally belongs... Michael Yonkers, Bobb Trimble, Todd Tamanend Clark, and more recently, and possibly more precisely too due to the doom metal element, Tony Tears. Ok, enough said really. Either we've piqued your interest, or your life will stay sadly Dwarr-free. And again, if you're already a fan, you'll want this for sure! Hmmm. Maybe 25 years from now Drag City will be reissuing Fastest albums too...

MPEG stream: Starting Over
MPEG stream: Screams Of Terror
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It's all been leading up to this. In the early nineties, when most of us heard Earth for the first time, our minds were totally blown. What was that massive slab of fuzzy sludge doing on Sub Pop? Why didn't it sound like Soundgarden or Mudhoney or Tad? It didn't take long before we stopped asking questions like that and began wondering where the hell were all the other bands that sounded like Earth. Well, it took 10 years, but now that whole downtuned slow motion sludge thing is an actual genre. With more and more new bands popping up every day. All honoring the mighty sludge that was Earth. But those of you who were into Earth the first time around, might remember the band changing directions pretty dramatically, adding a drummer, and playing actual songs, even doing a Hendrix cover at one point, the Earth of old having mutated into a groovy sort of stoner post rock, propulsive swinging riffs, relentless chugging guitars, all wrapped in a druggy spacy swirl. Back then we were all a bit bummed out, as Earth became, well, more normal, at least to our ears. It was as close to selling out as Earth were liable to get. Back to the present day. Recordings started popping up here and there, along with rumors of actual Earth shows, limited 7"s and tour only 12"s, all filling us with an impossible anticipation. Earth was back. But if they were back, why were all the recordings from live shows and all several years old? It made sense, the sound of the new Earth practically picked up right where they left off, stretched out, spaced out, druggy post rock with simple drumming and wavering distorted riffs, not heavy per se, but dark and dreamy and mesmerizing. But none of that could have prepared us for the desolate, sun baked, slow crawl, shuffle and twang beauty of long-awaited new studio album Hex. Definitely hewing closer to Earth's more recent post rockisms, Hex is warm and expansive, slow building and contemplative, with simple drums, heavily reverbed, not distorted, guitars, occasional lapsteel, the whole thing unfurling into a haunting twang, a ghost town desert lullaby, a Cormac McCarthy novel in song, tumbleweeds, miles of scrub and windblown landscapes, old dead trees, plenty of space for the cymbals to sizzle and each riff to drift into black clouded skies. Drone / doom / dirge / sludge purists (if there can be such a thing) may well be a bit disappointed, or at the very least confused. And Earth's history / reputation for black hole heaviness might be an albatross at this point as this new sound falls squarely within the territory of groups like Low, Codeine, Friends Of Dean Martinez, Calexico, Scenic, Torrez, Sixteen Horsepower, even Mazzy Star or Godspeed You Black Emperor. But ultimately none of that has anything to do with the fact that Hex is just simply beautiful. A dark and mysterious and truly haunting record. Huge swells of instrumental tension dissipate into warm washes of drift and shimmer, melodies are slowly uncoiling snakes, waking drowsily and slithering off sun baked rocks, every note and every drum beat, every slippery lapsteel swoop, every stretch of near silence, are all draped lazily over broken fences, fallen power lines, rusted out tractors, fallow fields. Dark clouds drift above, across a steel grey sky, sending small shadowy shapes scurrying across the landscape like mysterious creatures, the breeze is warm and smells of death and desolation. Every one is lost and alone, out of money, out of time, just waiting around to die. The mood is bleak, but the sound of Hex is so so beautiful. Somehow hopeful and full of joy, but the sort of joy that comes from being powerless and close to despair, and simply choosing joy over misery, finding happiness the way animals in the desert seek out moisture. The heart of Hex is heavy, the sound appropriately heavy as well, but in a way few conventionally heavy records can manage. A brooding, storm about to break, dam about to burst, soul about to loose itself from its earthly moorings and escape to a better place kind of heavy. The sound of the desert, and the human spirit, of death, of sadness and horror, of loneliness, of abandonment, of hearts breaking, lovers lost and drifting apart, of life. The sound of laying in the dry dirt, the breeze stretched across you like a moth eaten old blanket, eyes closed, the sun sending all sorts of shapes spinning behind your closed eyelids, memories becoming fuzzy and drifting away, your whole body and soul wrapped in a warm darkness, the world fading into nowhere, you fading into nothing.

MPEG stream: Lens Of Unrectified Night
MPEG stream: An Inquest Concerning Teeth
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Holy crap, a new Earth album! Since the full-scale return (and reinvention) of Dylan Carlson's Earth project with last year's highly regarded studio album Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method (a Record Of The Week here at Aquarius when it came out) and subsequent tour, fans of the slow and low have had plenty to be happy about. That album took the extreme drone-metal Earth invented in the early '90s (a sound appropriated by SUNNO))) some years later) and turned it into a bleak n' desolate hybrid of post-rock and country-western! Spacious desert drone dirge with lap steel, something like Low meets Calexico meets the old Earth. Most Earth fans, ourselves included, had to give Hex a spin or two just to be sure we were hearing things right. But then, we all knew we were hearing it right and right it was. Such a great album. What manner of follow up then is this new Hibernaculum? Well, some of it is gonna sound familiar...yet different. Since Earth's approach has morphed so much over the years, Dylan and co. have decided to revisit and re-record some old Earth compositions in the style of Hex, the way they've been playing 'em on tour, like when we saw them here in SF last year. Not a bad idea at all! You get to hear 'em do the classic "Ouroboros Is Broken" from their 1991 debut Extra-Capsular Extraction, "Coda Maesoso In F (Flat) Minor" from their final Sub Pop album, 1996's Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons, and the obscure "Miami Morning Coming Down" from a 1997 compilation on the Ash label called Scatter. These tunes all get the Hex treatment and wind up as windswept and lovely as you'd expect. There's also a fourth track, a new mix of the 16+ minute "A Plague Of Angels" which originally appeared last year on a very limited edition split vinyl release with SUNNO))). All of these pieces are simply gorgeous. Minimalist, Morricone-cinematic, twangfuzzdrone. Glacial twilight shimmer, velvet-hammer heavy. Droning deep and dark but uplifting as well. Weirdly we realize that Earth now sounds more like Bohren & Der Club Of Gore than Bohren & Der Club Of Gore ever sounded like Earth, if you know what we mean. And their instrumentation is a lot more like Bohren's now, including Hammond B-3, piano, upright bass, and trombone among other things (not the typical doom arsenal). And, as they say, that's not all -- this comes with a dvd disc as well! A documentary film by graphic artist Seldon Hunt entitled "Within The Drone", shot on tour with Earth and SUNNO))) in Europe in 2006. Lots of live performance footage, intermixed with scenes from the road, and interviews with Dylan Carlson, who proves to be charmingly laid-back, plain spoken and (yes) down to earth. He talks about LaMonte Young and suchlike inspirations, but he's got no pretentious theories of "the drone" to espouse, though he does opine interestingly that for him, the more complex music becomes the closer it is to noise. So a simple sound, slowly repeated -- a drone -- is much more to his liking. Aha. Hmm. But it's clear from watching the scenes of Earth in action though that simple does not mean "easy". Supreme precision and feel is needed. To play music this slow, they've got to be good -- and they are.

MPEG stream: Ouroboros Is Broken
MPEG stream: A Plague Of Angels

FINALLY! The most recent Earth album on vinyl, but this ain't just any old vinyl, even by Southern Lord standards, this is so deluxe it's off the charts. Metallic gold ink on faux leather hardcover, like an old fashioned, and very big Bible, inside the lps are attached like pages in a scrapbook, loads of full color artwork, but the most important thing about this limited vinyl version, and perhaps the most frustrating, is the extra bonus track, available only here. More gorgeous sunbaked gospel flecked blues, languorous guitars, minimal drums, with horns and slide guitar, so beautiful and fits perfectly with the record proper. And again, only available here. Limited to less than 5000 copies, which seems like a lot, but for Southern Lord, and Earth in particular, it's probably not nearly enough. Here's what we had to say about The Bees when it first came out: Our beloved Earth return, and continue to move ever farther away from their pioneering slowmotion riffage, into a world much more stately and elegiac. A sound that more and more resembles A Cormac McCarthy novel rendered in notes and chords. In fact, some forward thinking movie exec, might consider having the modern incarnation of Earth score the next (inevitable) McCarthy movie adaptation. Blood Meridian? Would be pretty amazing. And almost overkill. As the sound of Earth evokes all of those images all on its own. The heat rising off sunbaked desert highways, animal carcasses beneath leafless tress, carrion circling overhead, old farmhouses burnt out and abandoned. The sky thick with a haze of campfire smoke, a dusty path stretching out forever into the horizon. The sound on Bees is not a huge departure from Hibernaculum, more a subtle progression. The first track sounds as if since the last record, the fields have grown more fallow, the creek dried up, the youngest passed away and is buried in the backyard, beneath a pile of stones so the coyotes don't dig her up, the factory in town closed down, everything quietly and sadly fading away, leaving nothing but ghost towns and weed choked fields. But the music on Bees, is not all as dour as that, it's also strangely hopeful, glimmers of sunlight through the slowly parting clouds, the chords major, the melodies, sweeping and majestic, it's hard with Earth to not think in cinematic terms, like coming over the hill to discover a verdant valley, a rushing river, and cows grazing, fattened on the bounty of the land. The guitars on Bees are thick and full, but not distorted or heavy really, just massive, paired up with piano, and organ, thick ropy bass, leaving plenty of space, lots of drift and shimmer, the drums not so much a pound as a soft insistent shuffle, the music moving in waves, like a heavier Low playing country music, or Godspeed slowed way down, darkened and simplified. Earth is now a four piece and it shows, the sound is definitely more expansive and sprawling, cinematic and subtly complex. They're even augmented by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell on a few tracks. Fans already know they need this (and probably already have it), but folks who have yet to check out Earth, or found their doomdrone trailblazing unappealing, might really dig this, as might fans of the Dirty Three, Calexico, Friends Of Dean Martinez and other outfits who traffic in the twangier strains of dark dolorous slowcore.

MPEG stream: Omens And Portents I: The Driver
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MPEG stream: Miami Morning Coming Down II (Shine)