Thursday, May 31, 2007

(( RECOMMENDED )) LSD ROMA

NINO ROTA LSD Roma CD
"Nino Rota and Federico Fellini are Italian cinema. This compilation features a number of scores from the internationally famous composer-director team. Most notably is Toby Dammit--the soundtrack of Fellini 's LSD-inspired cinematic masterpiece, a film widely regarded as the most eloquent example of film psychedelia. The music of Nino Rota is the timeless sound of Italy; a mixture of romance, surrealism and madness. Nino Rota's theme song for the film La Strada sold more than two million copies in Italy alone."

Perhaps best known for penning the score of The Godfather, Nino Rota had a long career primarily scoring the films of the great Fellini. El Records issued this fantastic compilation of some of Rota's most playful and elegant musc that's become a favorite in our shop.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

((((( NEW ARRIVALS ))))) CDs + LPs: Electrelane, Lavender Diamond, Omar R-L, and more

ELECTRELANE No Shouts, No Calls 2xLP / CD
*** "From the first euphoric cymbal crashes in 'The Greater Times,' there seems to be a new kind of light shining on Electrelane which remains strong throughout the album. Whether it's because of the dainty guitar notes of "To The East", the ebb-and-flow piano of "Saturday" or the charmingly simplistic ukulele strums on "Cut And Run", there's no doubt that this is an album inspired by warm emotions. No Shouts No Calls is an album of enticingly irregular brilliance."

INTERPOL Antics LP
*** Reissued on 180g vinyl with bonus coupon to download the album. Fancy pants. And probably limited as all get out.

LAVENDER DIAMOND Imagine Our Love LP / CD
*** "A tour-de-force of gorgeous folk-pop melody and uplifting sentiment. The band's slightly tongue-in-cheek demands for world peace and harmony are subtly undercut by minor key modes and absurdist lyrics. The result is deeply entertaining and subversive - one of the most original musical statements we've heard in years."

OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo CD
*** "A 10-track full-length album featuring performances by Volta members Bixler-Zavala, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Juan Alderete de la Pena, and Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales, as well as appearances by Money Mark Ramos Nishita (Beastie Boys, etc.) and John Frusciante."

SEEFEEL Quique Redux 2xCD
*** "In those crazy, post Stereolab high days of the early 90's this record hit hard and unlike anything that anyone expected.  It is safe to say that it would be very hard to imagine the general cross-polinization of rock and electronic music that has happened over the last 10 years or so with out this record. This is a double CD release comprised of the band's debut full-length, Quique , newly remastered (disc 1) and a bonus disc that has rare mixes and 6 new unreleased tracks (disc 2)."

RICHARD THOMPSON Sweet Warrior CD
*** Richard goes electric (again)!

VOXTROT Voxtrot CD
*** "In these frantic times of overblown hyperbole, instant acclaim and quick-fire backlashes, it's refreshing to find a band that's not terribly worried about being the next big thing. This is a band that, over the five years of its existence, has released fewer than twenty songs spread across two hard to find 7-inch singles and three EPs. Voxtrot's debut album is a powerful statement of intent: louder, harder, a little more complex, a more confident Voxtrot."

YOUNG GALAXY Young Galaxy CD
*** On Canada's ARTS & CRAFTS label.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS ))))) Pavement + Belle & Sebastian reissued on vinyl

BELLE & SEBASTIAN If You're Feeling Sinister  LP
BELLE & SEBASTIAN The Boy With The Arab Strap LP
BELLE & SEBASTIAN Fold Your Hands Child, You Look Like a Pervert LP
PAVEMENT Slanted & Enchanted LP
PAVEMENT Crooked Rain Crooked Rain LP
PAVEMENT Wowee Zowee 1.5xLP
*** Holy shit! Reissued on high quality 180g vinyl manufactured at the very excellent RTI. Each reissue includes a code to download the entire album. On top of that, this if the first time If You're Feeling Sinister has been issued on vinyl in the U.S.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS ))))) 7"s & 45s

BLACK HEART PROCESSION The Mask/Not Just Words 7"
FRUSTRATIONS Nerves Are Fried/Summer 7"
LEMON JELLY Make Things Right 2x7"
LES SAVY FAV Accidental Deaths 7"
MADLIB Invazion 7"
MR. DIBBS Ugly & Proud Vol. 3 7"
NOBODY w/ KURT HEASLEY (LILYS) Fancy 7"
OM/SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE split 7"
BENOIT PIOULARD Fir 7"
BENOIT PIOULARD Enge 7"
THE RANTS Look Passive 7"
SIXTOO Next 2x7"
SIXTOO Vs. SIMAHLAK All-Star Battle 2x7"
ELLIOTT SMITH Pretty (Ugly Before)/A Distorted Reality... 7"
STATE No Illusions Ep 7"
TORTOISE Why We Fight/Whitewater 7"
WHY? Dumb Hummer 7"

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

((((( NEW ARRIVALS ))))) CDs + LPs

v/a CHROME CHILDREN Instrumentals 2xLP
*** The instrumentals from this snappy compilation.

v/a HALLELUWAH #1 LP
*** "A limited edition compilation compiled for the first-ever Halleluwah music, art, and film festival held in Portland. 12 exclusive, previously unreleased tracks from DEERHOOF, SIR RICHARD BISHOP, WHITE RAINBOW, TARA JANE O'NEIL, MICHAEL HURLEY, YACHT,  and others, along with a nonexclusive track from festival headliner VASHTI BUNYAN. Packaged with stunning artwork printed on mylar boards. Only 450 copies available for distribution."

v/a NO NEW YORK Picture.LP
*** NOW AVAILABLE ON PICTURE DISC VINYL!!! "One of the brightest and most famous projects of the entire punk/new wave scene, No New York was released in 1978 on Island's sub-label Antilles and became a total cult in the indie scene. Featuring some of the most incredible rule breaking bands of the underground New York art and music scene, the project--strongly pursued by Brian Eno--is a genuine snapshot of the massively creative NYC scene, from which innumerable trends started and became part of the modern pop music as we know it. Influential, powerful and ground breaking, this collection features Gotham City no-wave giants like JAMES CHANCE (CONTORTIONS), ARTO LINDSAY and IKUE MORI (DNA), LYDIA LUNCH (TEENAGE JESUS) and SUMNER CRANE (MARS).."

v/a SPACED OUT 2xCD
*** "A collection of underground dance music circa 1975-1983 culled from both sides of the Atlantic. Thirteen pioneering tracks that expand the horizons of disco incorporating elements of dub, funk, electro, jazz and Latin. Disc one features ten tracks from ATMOSFEAR, EL COCO, DINOSAUR L, DISCO DUB BAND, RAW SILK, INGRAM, FRANCINE McGEE, POWERLINE, MANZEL, and CHOCOLATE MILK, while disc two features remixes by MASTERS AT WORK and HARVEY UNDERDOG."

v/a SUNKISSED CD
*** "For the first time, Smalltown Supersound has released a mix album. Named after Oslo's most popular club concept, Sunkissed is mixed by resident DJs G-HA and OLANSKII, and features a wide range of Norwegian electronic/disco from the 1980s to the present. Sixteen tracks in all from SERENA-MANEESH, FELIX LABAND, BJORN TORSKE, DISKJOKKE, BLACKBELT ANDERSEN, WEKAN, MUDD, MAGNUS INTERNATIONAL, CRUE-I GRAND ORCHESTRA, LINDSTROM, 120 DAYS, EROT, TELEX, MENTAL OVERDRIVE, and LSB."

ALIAS Collected Remixes 2xLP / CD
*** "Collected Remixes features tracks from a diverse group of successful artists: One AM Radio, John Vanderslice, Lucky Pierre, Giardini Di Miro, Sixtoo, Lali Puna, Christ., Lunz, and Boy in Static, with Anticon's own Yoni Wolf (Why?) dropping by to perform on a lost jam session from 13 & God. "

ARCTIC MONKEYS Your Favourite Worst Nightmare LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

AU REVOIR SIMONE Bird Of Music CD
*** "Brooklyn's AU REVOIR SIMONE conjure a gorgeous, child-like effervescence via three keyboards and a drum machine. That's right.  Layers of synths anchored by palpitating drum machine blips and frosted by ethereal vocal melodies."

BATTLES Mirrored 2xLP / CD
*** "The long-awaited third album from New York quartet BATTLES. A complete eclipse of the band's earlier work, Mirrored embodies all the group's prior ideas and qualities and extrapolates upon them. The fractured rhythms, crystalline staccato guitar lines and throttling drums still remain, and are embellished with new textures and vocals courtesy of TYRONDAI BRAXTON. Features current and former members of DON CABALLERO, HELMET, TOMAHAWK, LYNX, and THE MARK OF CAIN."

ANDREW BIRD Armchair Apocrypha LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

BLACK DEVIL DISCO CLUB Black Devil In Dub LP / CD
*** "Hot on the heels of last year's incredible 28 After album, Black Devil return with their sinister, psychedelic disco sound which recalls both Joy Division and Giorgio Moroder. Containing 6 electronic 'dub' versions of the album tracks by the Devil himself plus 6 by some of the Devil's biggest fans who just happen to be some of the best exponents of the cosmic nu disco sound. PRINS THOMAS, FLAGRANTI, QUIET VILLAGE, BLACK MUSTANG and more contribute."

BLACK DICE Roll Up/Drool 12"
*** "Reflecting another withering season in a Brooklyn basement rehearsal space, the band created a work of abandon, a sonic balloon to unfamiliar vistas. The tunes were debuted on a Peruvian network television show called, funnily enough, "Jammin," on the band's trip to Lima last fall. Limited to 1,000 copies, packaged with a 24x24 inch full-color poster. Both tracks are exclusive to this release."

BORIS w/ MICHIO KURIHARA Rainbow CD
*** "Japanese noise rockers BORIS team up with Japanese psychedelic guitar giant MICHIO KURIHARA (GHOST, WHITE HEAVEN) for some classically heavy and wonderfully melodic rock action. Nine tracks that array Kurihara's encyclopedic knowledge of guitar tones with Mesozoan stomping and some near-static meditations and concise, precision melodies."

JEFF BUCKLEY So Real CD
*** A new collection of hits plus two previously unreleased songs. Total makeout music.

CHARALAMBIDES Electricty Ghost CD
*** "A collection of trio recordings (featuring HEATHER LEIGH MURRAY on vox/ pedal steel/ psaltry) and date from the same sessions that produced Joy Shapes. Completely improvised, and similar in feel and instrumentation to "Natural Light" from Joy Shapes, these five pieces snake out of a gently detailed terrain of interlocking  thought forms, eventually weaving themselves into towering thickets of monolithic spikes. Some of the most emotionally charged and harsh Charalambides sounds ever laid down. Edition of 300."

WILD BILLY CHILDISH Punk Rock At The British Empire CD
*** "The debut album from the latest band fronted by British punk/rock'n'roll legend WILD BILLY CHILDISH. Fourteen tracks of homemade punk and rhythm and blues featuring backing from NURSE JULIE and WOLF HOWARD."

CLUSTER Cluster II CD
*** "Originally released in 1972, this is the second album by legendary German ambient pioneers Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. Moebius and Roedelius essentially create ambient electronic soundscapes that ebb and flow, droning on in a suspended world of anti-gravity where machine has conquered man."

ALICE COLTRANE Transcendence CD
*** "Transcendence is Alice Coltrane 's most successful vocal album. Side two is especially mind-twisting for its use of surprisingly funky Hindu chants accompanied by Alice's organ and the Indian percussion of the singers. Purists might balk at calling Hare Krishna filtered through a gospel sensibility "jazz," but they're too busy arguing about Ken Burns' documentary to worry about Alice Coltrane reissues anyway. This is probably the most "swinging" Alice Coltrane material since Ptah The El Daoud."

DEERHUNTER Flourescent Gray Ep CD
*** "DEERHUNTER follows up their successful Cryptograms album with four new songs recorded while mixing the Cryptogram release. While exploring themes not especially dissimilar, this EP functions in many ways as an epilogue to both the album and the accompanying well-documented anxiety surrounding its creation. The band now as a clean slate to explore something new."

DEERHUNTER Turn It Up, Faggot! CD
*** "The debut album from Atlanta's DEER HUNTER. A nine-track smash of catchy and infectious punk rock noise with a total dance edge inspired by early-'80s groups Sonic Youth, Pylon, The Fall, Chrome, and the like. Explicit artwork to boot."

DEERHUNTER Cryptograms/Fluorescent Gray Ep 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

EARTH Hibernaculum LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

EFTERKLANG Under Giant Trees CD
*** "A limited edition five-track mini-album in deluxe packaging. Efterklang's five core members set to work recording the foundations of these new songs, with a view to this stand-alone release. Extra vocals, brass and strings were added, with Edda and Hildur (from Icelandic quartet amiina) recording further violin parts. Using musicians who had performed with the band on tour, the idea was to capture the songs as they had been played live, retaining the free spirit of their origin. Vibrant, otherworldly, poignant and panoramic."

FENNESZ SAKAMOTO Cendre CD
*** "This is the highly anticipated full-length collaborative release by Christian Fennesz and Ryuichi Sakamoto. Fennesz would send Sakamoto a guitar or electronic track and Sakamoto would compose his piano piece. This process was also reversed -- Sakamoto initiating the track with a piano composition and Fennesz responding. Meanwhile, they met for live shows, or communicated via digital means to compare notes, swap ideas and develop themes. And the cyclical process continued right up until the final mix. Christian Fennesz is far and away the standard-bearer of laptop music, his thawed sound of fractured guitar chords and warm noise melts hearts around the world. Ryuichi Sakamoto, meanwhile, has been a contributing force in electronic music for almost three decades in Yellow Magic Orchestra , not to mention his vast solo oeuvre."

GIRL TALK Night Ripper CD
*** BACK IN STOCK!

GLASS CANDY I Always Say Yes 12"
*** "By far the group's most complex and riveting single to date. They're redefining dance music as we know it; their sound has evolved over the years from a no wave/death disco rock band to a full-fledged dance music band. Using all analog equipment, they're bringing it back to the era when Giorgio Mororder and Claudio Simonetti ruled the dance world. Bridging the gap between Italo disco, punk rock, and glam rock in ways never imagined. Limited edition of 1,000 copies with exclusive mixes."

HOLLY GOLIGHTLY & THE BROKEOFFS You Can't Buy A Gun When You're Crying CD
*** The debut album from THE BROKEOFFS--HOLLY GOLIGHTLY and LAWYER DAVE. A winding, dirt track of a record, pitted with potholes over which Holly and Dave walk with a stumbling ease. Touring the US in March.

GROWING Vision Swim LP / CD
*** "GROWING returns with their most focused and intense work to date. The twin guitar attack is complimented by a wall of amps and deafening volume--and just the right amount of extreme quiet and delicacy. Growing have ventured into uncharted territory, where sheets of noise meld with metallic noodling and blissfully numbing drones and exploratory electronic manipulations."

HOLY SHIT Stranded At Two Harbors CD
*** "HOLY SHIT are MATT FISHBECK of PUSH KINGS and ARIEL PINK. Fishbeck might have reigned in some of the wildness of Ariel Pink's music while Ariel adds an unmistakable sound quality to these otherwise straightforward songs. Fishbeck takes care of the lead vocals and guitars leaving Ariel to work out the beats and bass lines."

HOT CHIP Dj Kicks CD
*** Another all-over-the-place-and-great installment of DJ Kicks by DFA buddies, Hot Chip.

FEMI KUTI The Definitive Collection 2xCD
*** Fela's son gets the hits treatment with a comp culled from albums, remixes, and more.

LICHENS Omns CD+DVD
*** "The second long-player from LICHENS (aka ROB LOWE), like his first, is an ascent to a higher plane. Lowe's sound recordings are of a distinctly personal nature, works turned inward as much as they are projected outward. Includes a DVD featuring a single live 28-minute performance from 2006."

MAROON 5 It Won't Be Soon Before Long CD
*** A bunch of music geniuses got together and made the most amazing album of all time. And I get to sell it to you!

MELT-BANANA Bambi's Dilemma LP / CD
*** "Bambi's Dilemma 's eighteen tracks careen from extreme, fast-blast attacks to more serene moments (usually reserved for non-album releases) to the band's revolutionary new, guitar and bass-less "Theremin-core."

MERZBOW Merzbear CD
*** "Merzbear pulses and pounds with distorted droning heavy guitar feedback, pulsing noise-blasts and swirling analog sounds of Akita's distinct EMS Sythi. This hybrid sound brings the past into the present and pounds with total junk-collage Dada urgency as only Masami Akita can do it."

CHARLES MINGUS In Parks CD
*** New!

CHARLES MINGUS Tijuana Moods CD
*** REISSUED!

THE NATIONAL Boxer CD
*** Pitchfork gave this one the star treatment. See also:
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/43053-boxer

PETER, BJORN, AND JOHN Writer's Block 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

PHAT KAT Carte Blanche CD
*** BACK IN STOCK!

QUA Painting Monsters On Clouds CD
*** "An unrepentant, gorgeous and nostalgic mix of sunlit electronics and guitars, buoyed by complex arrangements, and crafted by a gentle iconoclast. The album's eleven tracks bring to mind the playfulness of Mouse on Mars, the sophistication of Ennio Morricone and the quirky pop of Architecture in Helsinki. Beautiful, harsh and as exciting as it is soothing."

TERRY RILEY Les Yux Fermes & Lifespan CD
*** "This first-ever CD release of these two classic Terry Riley soundtracks-- both on one disc-- was remastered from the original tapes, the hypnotic songs sounding far superior to the below-average vinyl pressings. Having brought the '60s Corti archive back into print, Elision Fields now turns its attention to the under-examined crucial period of Riley's work-- the '70s."

ELLIOTT SMITH New Moon 2xCD
*** BACK IN STOCK!

STARS Do You Trust Your Friends? CD
*** Stars get their buddies to re-record their last album. Featring FINAL FANTASY, THE DEARS, JUNIOR BOYS, THE RUSSIAN FUTURISTS, METRIC, and more.

TREES COMMUNITY Christ Tree CD
*** "The official, first-time REISSUE of this much sought after and highly collectible 1975 LP release by this alternative Christian commune formed in NYC, remasted with nine bonus tracks. A simply stunning set of experimental music and a must-have for fans of psychedelic-folk, psalmody, choral music and commune jams."

WHEAT Everydat I Said A Prayer For Kathy... CD
*** New!

JOHN WIESE Soft Punk LP / CD
*** "After almost 10 years of performing solo and over 50 releases in every conceivable format, JOHN WIESE (SISSY SPACEK, et al.) finally unleashes his debut full-length. Thirteen songs of harsh yet beautiful soundscapes that explore the realm of piercing cut-n-paste assemblage and harsh noise."

XXXCHANGE Money Lotion Vol. 2 12"
*** "Spank Rock producer and worldwide party-rocker XXXchange is back with the second volume in the Money Lotion series. The A-side, "Our Love"-- is a heavy electro workout of Justin Timberlake & T.I.'s ridiculed smash hit "My Love" with elements of Britney's "Slave 4 U" and Frankie Knuckles "Your Love" (and some brand new, minty drums). On the flip, "The Knife Edit" is exactly what the title suggests, a smashing together of three tracks from Swedish indie darlings The Knife ("Silent Shout," "We Share Our Mother's Health" and "The Captain") where XXXchange attempts to "subvert the group's dark and strange lyrics and turn it into something fun and uplifting." Well, mission accomplished, as Mr. Armani tacks on his own drums, pianos and synths, then gets underground dweller MC Juiceboxxx to record some additional vocals. XXXchange says the whole edit is loosely based on Derrick May's house classic "Strings Of Life," and it really comes across in the old school house/techno vibe. Limited to 500 copies worldwide, so don't nap..."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS ))))) BREAKS

DJ QBERT 100mph Blackslidin' Turkey Breaks LP
DJ QBERT Battle Breaks LP
DJ QBERT Dirtstyle Records 10th Anniversary LP
DJ QBERT Gag Seal Breaks LP
DJ QBERT Skratchy Seal's Training Breaks LP
DJ QBERT Super Sealed Breaks LP

Monday, May 21, 2007

(( RECOMMENDED )) TRAP DOOR (AN INT'L PSYCHEDELIC MYSTERY MIX)

v/a - TRAP DOOR
LP / CD
"A brand new 'mixed' album from the crate diggers at Dis-Joint. You get a unique blend of ultra-rare, late-’60s/early-’70s funky psych rock records from around the world--including Turkey, Korea, Italy, Israel, China, Spain, and more. In true DJ mixtape fashion the tracks are 'secret squirrels,' and you will be challenged to name any."

Released by the label arm of SF's Groove Merchant Records, Trap Door sounded too good to be true. The mix is totally solid: vintage dirt, funky rock, outerspace surf, and the outright bizarre. It was featured at least three times in our mailing list recommendations and is so fine that I bought copies for myself on CD and LP. And it's $10.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

( NEWS ) WAZOO IS A "FAVORITE SHOP" OF STYLUS MAGAZINE

Andrew Gaerig of Stylus Magazine cited Wazoo Records as one his favorite Midwest record shops in online magazine, Stylus. Read his article below and check the link at the bottom for the rest of the Midwest! Thanks, Andrew.


Wazoo Records 336 1/2 State St Ann Arbor, MI 48104

About: Located above a head shop in the middle of the University of Michigan campus, Wazoo makes the most of its pencil-thin space, using old wooden crates to house a surprisingly large slice of indie rock's catalog.

Specialty: Volumes and volumes of rock's back catalog, Wazoo makes hay off the classics other shops miss: The Pogues' If I Should Fall from Grace with God , Syd Barrett's Barrett, as well as stocking British imports before virtually everyone else: The Go! Team and Bloc Party come to mind.

What They're Missing: Vinyl selection could be stronger; they seem to be about two weeks behind on important electronic releases.

Why We Love It : The best moment every semester: strolling out of the Science Auditorium after your last final, walking across the street into Wazoo, and blowing a week or two's worth of wages in celebration. Freshman year I strolled in, picked up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Califone's Sometimes Bad Weather Follows Good People and carried that last-day-of-school feeling throughout the summer.