Thursday, April 29, 2010

EVENTS - DARK MATTER meets MACHO CITY

DARK MATTER - Friday, April 30 @ Elks Lodge
*** The international psych, r&b, and cosmic jazz of Dark Matters meets the deep disco of MACHO CITY w/ DJs Mike Tee, Scott Zacharias, and Chuck Hampton. They call it a dance party. Fellows must check their hats at the door.
Elks Lodge / 220 W Sunset, A2 / 10:30PM / $3 / http://bit.ly/brV9IL

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl - Mastodon, Modest Mouse, Pantera & some other jerks

MASTODON Blood Mountain 2xLP
*** DELUXE EDITION. First time available on 180g vinyl, two-discs, masteerd at 45rpm for superior quality, gatefold jacket.

MODEST MOUSE The Moon & Antarctica 2xLP
*** BACK IN STOCK! Back in print, too.

PANTERA Cowboys From Hell 2xLP
PANTERA Vulgar Display Of Power 2xLP

*** Hello! Perhaps you've heard of them. These are Record Store Day fancy pressings.

WILCO Summerteeth 2xLP+CD
WILCO Yankee Hotel Foxtrot 2xLP+CD

*** BACK IN STOCK!

ZOMBIES Odessey And Oracle LP
*** BACK IN STOCK! Good luck finding an original copy in good shape!

NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - Miles, Nels, Juan MacLean and Gogol Bordello

MILES DAVIS Live In Berlin 1969 CD
*** "Previously unreleased performance by the 1969 Miles Davis Quintet with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette. In his autobiography, Miles would state that this group was 'really a bad motherfucker'."

GOGOL BORDELLO Trans-Continental Hustle CD
*** "Trans-Continental Hustle combines the band's radical invocations of positive primal energy and planetary consciousness with music infused with Ska, Metal, Punk, Rap, Dub and intimations of indigenous Brazilian sounds to produce a party maelstrom of electrifying proportions."

JUAN MACLEAN Dj Kicks CD
*** Spectacularly reviewed mix from former SIX FINGER SATELLITE member and current DFA artist, Juan MacLean. Mixed with two turntables in a single take, this is deep house - the past mixed with jams from the last five years.

ROVA & NELS CLINE SINGERS The Celestial Septet CD
*** "The Celestial Septet is the Nels Cline Singers + the Rova Saxophone Quartet - a trio of guitar, bass, and drums, and a quartet of saxophones ranging from baritone to sopranino. Elements of jazz, rock, fusion, late-20th-century classical, minimalism, and noise inform their combined efforts."

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

EVENTS - HOTT LAVA presents HOUSE (HAUSU)!

HOTT LAVA presents HOUSE (HAUSU) - Friday & Saturday, April 23/24 @ State Theatre
*** Whoa nelly! By far, one of the most insane psychedelic films of all time, this 1978 gem from Japan was the directorial debut by a TV ad wizard & is quite unlike anything you've ever seen. It's not been available in the US before & rarely has it been shown with subtitles. HOTT LAVA is giving away a few HOUSE t-shirts and debuting pieces of a new original program beforehand. For more info, consult: http://www.hottlava.net or http://www.janusfilms.com/house
State Theatre / 233 S. State, A2 / midnight / $6 / http://bit.ly/bTqKDf

NEW ARRIVALS: DVD - Dengue Fever + Richard Kern's Hardcore Collection

DENGUE FEVER Sleepwalking Through The Mekong CD+DVD
*** "The document of DENGUE FEVER's journey to Cambodia to perform ‘60s and ‘70s Cambodian rock n' roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer CHHOM NIMOL and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way."

RICHARD KERN The Hardcore Collection DVD
*** "The gritty best from noted New York filmmaker, Richard Kern! His sexually-charged work has been alternatively dismissed as 'violent' and 'offensive' by the mainstream press, but embraced by the underground as the perverse standard." Featuring LYDIA LUNCH, HENRY ROLLINS, KIMBRA PFAHLER, SONIC YOUTH, and FOETUS.

NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl - Tyvek, Rites Of Spring, Mi Ami, Caribou, Black Tambourine...

BABY DEE A Book Of Songs For Anne LP / CD
*** "After seeing the overwhelming response to Safe Inside The Day in February 2008, the peerless Baby Dee returns with A Book Of Songs For Anne Marie, essentially a prequel to Safe Inside The Day."

BLACK TAMBOURINE Black Tambourine LP / CD
*** "2010 retrospective includes everything ever released by the late '80s/early '90s D.C. Indie Pop band that included members of Velocity Girl. Features four new songs that the band reunited to record, including Buddy Holly and Suicide covers."

CARIBOU Swim 2xLP+MP3 / CD
*** "With its absorption of club culture sounds weaved within subtle pop frameworks, Swim is Caribou's masterpiece the record he's wanted to bring to fruition for as long as he's been making music."

CRYSTAL ARK City Never Sleeps 12"
*** "Long-term DFA stalwart Gavin Russom returned home from Brazil with not only a love for the music he'd discovered there -- Carioca Funk, atabaque drumming, Tropicalia, South American-style rave -- but also a newfound source of inspiration for his own meticulously crafted recordings."

FARAH Gay Boy 12"
*** "Probably the strangest record Italians Do It Better have ever heard. Imagine LL Cool J’s 'I Need Love' and the Shangri-las 'Leader of the Pack' through the eyes of a valley girl on lithium."

MAZZY STAR So Tonight That I Might See LP
*** "MAZZY STAR’s second album, a beautiful, gently psychedelic, folk-rock album and one of the greatest 'alternative' records of the 1990s gets deluxe vinyl treatment."

MI AMI Cut Men 12"
*** BACK IN STOCK! "Mi Ami's Thrill Jockey debut with their most dynamic track to date; 'Cut Men' is a blazing, raucous commentary on the alienation with American male/'dude' culture. The B-side is a heavy, deep, and oblique dub re-visioning." Out of print & sold out, we picked up copies from the band.

MI AMI Steal Your Face LP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED & BACK IN STOCK! "A joyful noise at the intersection of vicious high-energy. In this climate, when pretty much every band has some dub records at home and a myriad of musical influences have been rendered mundane, Mi Ami defines itself by turning inward. Transformed from a “fun time party band” into a lean, tight, near-telepathic unit, Mi Ami have turned in their finest recording." Vinyl is sold out in the U.S. but we picked up some more copies.

MICHOACAN In The Dark Of The Night 12"
*** "Punch-drunk, flanging keyboard; sauntering basslines, a springy, funk bounce; tripped-out, multi-tracked vocals. It's like David Byrne with funk aspirations and a vaguely cosmic feel." On DFA.

JONAS REINHARDT Powers Of Audition LP / CD
*** JONAS REINHARDT continues his cosmic flight inward on a mesmerizing journey to cracked and digitized moonscapes. This is music of the spheres for an electronic era where new age visions are re-imagined through a lens of experimental rock." Feat. Damon Palermo of MI AMI.

RITES OF SPRING End On End LP+MP3
*** Featuring Guy & Brendan of FUGAZI, this was a monumental album for Washington D.C. as well as progenitor of a new style of emotional rock music. Now remastered on vinyl with the download.

SHE & HIM In The Sun 7"
*** “Guest vocals by TILLY AND THE WALL, this the first single from Volume Two."

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS Inflammable Material LP
*** NOW ON VINYL! 180g treatment.

TYVEK Blunt Instrumental EP 12"
*** "Absolutely killer stuff here on this deluxe arted-out vinyl reissue of a limited tour cassette. While not all instrumental, there's a step forward into a more groove-oriented, noisy jammy territory while simultaneously returning to the sound of the early singles."

VEX'D Cloud Seed 2xLP / CD
*** "Cloud Seed is comprised of original music intended for the group's never-released sophomore album, plus rarely heard remixes from the same era. Expertly sequenced to flow like a full album, it's an addendum to the career of Vex'd (who rarely work together anymore), made from the best of their work."

NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - Rufus, Disappears, Wooden Shjips, Roky, Baby Dee...

THE APPLES IN STEREO Travellers In Space & Time CD
*** ''The new material recasts the Apples' signature pop sounds in chrome-plated futurism, all while adding a dance-driven vibe channeling ELO, Barry Gibb, Wild Honey-era Beach Boys and Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson."

BABY DEE A Book Of Songs For Anne LP / CD
*** "After seeing the overwhelming response to Safe Inside The Day in February 2008, the peerless Baby Dee returns with A Book Of Songs For Anne Marie, essentially a prequel to Safe Inside The Day."

BLACK TAMBOURINE Black Tambourine LP / CD
*** "2010 retrospective includes everything ever released by the late '80s/early '90s D.C. Indie Pop band that included members of Velocity Girl. Features four new songs that the band reunited to record, including Buddy Holly and Suicide covers."

CARIBOU Swim 2xLP+MP3 / CD
*** "With its absorption of club culture sounds weaved within subtle pop frameworks, Swim is Caribou's masterpiece the record he's wanted to bring to fruition for as long as he's been making music."

CIRCA SURVIVE Blue Sky Noise CD
*** "A reinvention of the bands trademark sound led by unique vocals and distinguished musical styling from one of the most visionary and forward-thinking young bands in contemporary rock music today."

DENGUE FEVER Sleepwalking Through The Mekong CD+DVD
*** "The document of DENGUE FEVER's journey to Cambodia to perform ‘60s and ‘70s Cambodian rock n' roll in the country where it was created and very nearly destroyed. The odyssey is a homecoming for singer CHHOM NIMOL and a transformation for the rest of the band as they perform with master musicians and record new songs along the way."

DISAPPEARS Lux LP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Drawing on a combined reverence for reverb, heavy tremolo, distortion, delay and repetition, Disappears play minimal rock music inspired by krautrock, punk rock, the mid ‘80s New Zealand scene, and a bit of everything in between." On KRANKY.

ROKY ERICKSON True Love Cast Out All Evil CD
*** "Legendary musician Roky Erickson triumphantly returns with a new album backed by Okkervil River. The jams detail with heart-breaking candor a harrowing life that has included shock treatment, imprisonment, mental illness, and irreversible loss."

JD & THE EVIL'S DYNAMITE BAND Explodes Across The Nation CD
*** "Solid breaks from the label that would become Truth & Soul, a bit more on the jazz / experimental side of things, each song basically showcasing a different instrument going solo over a steady sparse funk backing. Spooky vibes."

KID 606 Songs About Fucking Steve Albini CD
*** "A collection of psychedelic love songs paying tribute to all things analog. This album was carefully constructed to be the soundtrack for the peak 72 minutes of your next trip."

KING KHAN & HIS SHRINES Three Hairs And You're Dead CD
*** Voodoo soul is the name, dirt-ass R&B funk is the game. Early KING KHAN AND HIS SHRINES at their best.

NATALIE MERCHANT Leave Your Sleep CD
*** "Natalie Merchant has adapted 19th and 20th century British and American poetry - well-known and obscure works, anonymous rhymes, children's lullabies, all of it timeless material full of direct emotion - and fashioned new songs from these words."

JONAS REINHARDT Powers Of Audition LP / CD
*** JONAS REINHARDT continues his cosmic flight inward on a mesmerizing journey to cracked and digitized moonscapes. This is music of the spheres for an electronic era where new age visions are re-imagined through a lens of experimental rock." Feat. Damon Palermo of MI AMI.

SIGHT BELOW It All Falls Apart CD
*** "The Sight Belowʼs overcast moods give way to a rainbow of brooding, melancholy textures, incorporating strings, brass, samplers, synthesizers, and vocals into the mix alongside the usual guitars and beats."

SETH TROXLER Boogybytes Vol. 5 CD
*** "The track selection conveys a palpable deepness, occasionally harboring a touch of melancholy, yet never becoming overwhelming, for at its peaks -- which certainly include Seth's Fever Ray mix -- the tension is released in the most explosive and unbridled manner."

VEX'D Cloud Seed 2xLP / CD
*** "Cloud Seed is comprised of original music intended for the group's never-released sophomore album, plus rarely heard remixes from the same era. Expertly sequenced to flow like a full album, it's an addendum to the career of Vex'd (who rarely work together anymore), made from the best of their work."

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu CD
*** "Recording the hugely personal & deeply emotional All Days Are Nights: Songs For Lulu was one of the most difficult things he has ever done. Piano, voice and maybe not much else."

WOODEN SHJIPS Vol. 2 CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Strap in for travels beyond the galaxy to tranced-out cosmic bliss! This second compilation of hard-to-find Wooden Shjips tracks is nearly 44 minutes of fuzzed-out psych jams." It's better than their second album proper, even.

Friday, April 16, 2010

RECORD STORE DAY: DVD - Mountain Goats!

MOUNTAIN GOATS The Life Of The World To Come DVD
*** This looks pretty fancy. http://www.4ad.com/news/announce-record/

RECORD STORE DAY: 7"s - Seven inches of pleasure! No holds!

v/a THE STARS OF GOLDWAX 7"
*** Gems from JAMES CARR, BARBARA PERRY, THE OVATIONS, and GEORGE & GREER.

BUILT SO SPILL Water Sleepers 7"
*** It's got that Charlie Brown tune.

JULIAN CASABLANCAS 11th Dimension 7"
*** The cover is impossible to read. Kinda' looks like a Satriani cover or something.

COCO ROSIE Lemonade 7"
*** Yeah, you know, they have mustaches now.

THE DOORS People Are Strange / The Crystal Ship 7"

*** And why not!?

DUM DUM GIRLS & MALE BONDING Pay For Me 7"
*** Limited & the packaging is oh so fine.

FUCKED UP Daytrotter 7"
*** Three jams!

CHARLOTTE GAINSBOURG Sunset Sound Session 7"
*** Jams by Beck, whispers by Little Miss Charlotte.

GOGOL BORDELLO We Comin' Rougher 7"
*** Produced by Rick Rubin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shampoo 7"
*** Limited & the packaging is oh so fine.

JOHN LENNON Singles Bag 3x7"+POSTER+MORE

*** Perhaps you've heard of him!

TED LEO & THE PHARMACISTS The Oldest House / North Coast 7"
*** Two non-LP tracks!

PASSION PIT Little Secrets 7"
*** Remix by FELIX DA HOUSECAT who was one of the kinder famous Wazoo customers.

THE RATIONALS Rationalism 7"
*** Woof! Didn't think we were going to get any of these.

ROLLING STONES Plundered My Soul 7"
*** Perhaps you've heard of them!

SOUNDGARDEN Hunted Down 7"
*** We got so many requests for this one. SP #12, y'all!

YEAH YEAH YEAHS Skeletons 7"
*** Studio + live.

RECORD STORE DAY: 10"s - Gorillaz, Fela, The Boss? Alright!

GORILLAZ White Flag 10"
*** Looks cool Two jams.

FELA KUTI My Lady Frustration 10"
*** Didn't expect this. But I accept it!

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Wrecking Ball (Live) 10"
*** The most requests for a 10" that we've ever had.

RECORD STORE DAY: 12"s - Might we recommend the Sub Pop 12"s? They're gorgeous.

v/a FRAGMENTS FROM A WORK IN PROGRESS 12"
*** Looks like a tasty sampler from 4AD - new jams from ARIEL PINK, TUNE-YARDS, BLONDE REDHEAD, GANG GANG DANCE, and THE BIG PINK.

ALBUM LEAF There Is A Wind 12"+MP3
*** A beautiful package from Sub Pop.

BEACH HOUSE Zebra 12"+MP3
*** Exclusive jams! Beautiful packaging.

BLACK KEYS Tighten Up 12"
*** I don't know anything about this.

LCD SOUNDSYSTEM Pow Pow 12"
*** I don't know anything about this either.

MUSE Exogenesis Symphony (Parts 1-3) 12"
*** Mm-hmm!

REM Chronic Town 12"
*** Some may say, "It's about time!"

RECORD STORE DAY: Vinyl - And we only got one copy of that Hold Steady record. Sorry!

THE BIRD & THE BEE A Tribute To Hall & Oates LP
*** I guess somebody had to!

NEKO CASE Middle Cyclone 2xLP+MP3
*** Clear vinyl plus mp3s!

DEVO Duty Now For The Future LP / CD
*** Dang! My favorite DEVO record back in print.

JOHN FAHEY The Yellow Princess LP
*** Without a doubt, this is one of the very best Fahey albums.

ROKY ERICKSON True Love Cast Out All Evil LP+MP3
*** Roky + Okkervil River. Heard good things about this.

FLAMING LIPS The Dark Side Of The Moon LP
*** Featuring HENRY ROLLINS and PEACHES. I'm dying to hear this.

JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE Live At Clark University LP
*** This is more of an EP.

THE HOLD STEADY Heaven Is Whenever LP+MP3
*** WE RECEIVED JUST ONE (1) COPY & WE CAN'T PUT IT ON HOLD, MY BABY! Also, it's coming out in a couple weeks anyway so don't sweat it.

MASTODON Blood Mountain LP
*** "Custom colored vinyl."

MODEST MOUSE The Moon & Antarctica 2xLP+MP3
*** Perhaps you've heard of them! Includes download!

MONSTERS OF FOLK Monsters Of Folk 2xLP
*** The new CSNY!

PAVEMENT Quarantine The Past 2xLP
*** The alternate version! We had some fans look at this & they approved the tracklist over the official version for whatever it's worth.

ARTHUR RUSSELL Calling Out Of Context 2xLP
*** Like last year's Arthur Russell limited RSD release, you would be a fool to miss it...

SONIC YOUTH Hits Are For Squares 2xLP
*** This comp ain't just for Starbucks patrons!

JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS Streetcore LP+MP3
JOE STRUMMER & THE MESCALEROS Global A Go-Go LP+MP3
*** On vinyl (again?) with a free download. Sleep not!

TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science LP
*** Incluces download of the album + bonus jam.

TOM WAITS Mule Variations 2xLP+MP3
*** Heavy-duty vinyl + Jim Jarmusch print. And why not!?

RECORD STORE DAY: CDs - Limited quantities & no holds! This is our policy!

v/a SP 20 CD
*** Live jams from the Sub Pop anniversary thingamajig.

DEVO Duty Now For The Future LP / CD
*** Dang! My favorite DEVO record back in print.

ANI DIFRANCO Live At Bull Moose Music 4.17.2009 CD
*** If you haven't heard Ani live, this is a CD of her performing... live!

NADA SURF If I Had A Hi-Fi CD
*** For some reason, Nada Surf wanted to cover Depeche Mode (and some other people).

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

EVENTS - Mi Ami hits Ann Arbor!

MI AMI w/ OUR BROTHER THE NATIVE, PEAKING LIGHTS + FOREST JUZIUK - Friday, April 16 @ Arbor Vitae (above Wazoo)
*** San Francisco's inimitable, visceral, not-disco but that kind of danceable MI AMI drop in on Ann Arbor w/ DJ Forest Juziuk + Peaking Lights + OBTN. A team-up to end all team-ups -- sleep not, friends, for this is a Vitae show & will be ca-ca-ca-crazy!! Dancing & destruction for the meagre sum of $5.
Arbor Vitae / 336 1/2 S. State, A2 / 9:30PM / $5 / http://bit.ly/9UVfdq

Check out the two previous features Wazoo wrote on Mi Ami + download a new track:

D/L "Latin Lover" by Mi Ami @ RCRD LABL: http://bit.ly/dvqPZI
http://wazoorecords.blogspot.com/2008/06/recommended-mi-ami.html
http://wazoorecords.blogspot.com/2008/10/recommended-mi-ami-pt-ii.html

HOTT LAVA presents HOUSE (HAUSU) - Friday & Saturday, April 23/24 @ State Theatre
*** Whoa nelly! By far, one of the most insane psychedelic films of all time, this 1978 gem from Japan was the directorial debut by a TV ad wizard & is quite unlike anything you've ever seen. It's not been available in the US before & rarely has it been shown with subtitles. HOTT LAVA is giving away a few HOUSE t-shirts and debuting pieces of a new original program beforehand. For more info, consult: http://www.janusfilms.com/house
State Theatre / 233 S. State, A2 / midnight / $6 / http://bit.ly/bTqKDf

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl -Badu, God Help the Girl, Goldfrapp & Harlem

ERYKAH BADU New Amerykah Pt. 2 LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

GOD HELP THE GIRL Stills 10"
*** New EP, y'all!

GOLDFRAPP Head First LP+CD
*** NOW ON VINYL! Includes CD.

HARLEM Hippies LP / CD
*** "Austin's hardest working troublemakers can make club gigs seem like living room shows (and living room shows feel like club shows), harnessing this energy in its 16 blasts of pure pop energy with anew dimension of songwriting that is as tightly masterful as it is true to a joyfully frantic primitivism."

NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - MGMT, The Stooges, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Harlem & more

JEFF BECK Emotion & Commotion CD
*** "For his first studio album in seven years, Jeff Beck returns with an eclectic mix of tracks that find the guitar virtuoso accompanied by a handpicked cast of talented musicians, as well as several songs accompanied by a 64-piece orchestra."

HARLEM Hippies LP / CD
*** "Austin's hardest working troublemakers can make club gigs seem like living room shows (and living room shows feel like club shows), harnessing this energy in its 16 blasts of pure pop energy with anew dimension of songwriting that is as tightly masterful as it is true to a joyfully frantic primitivism."

KAKI KING Junior CD
*** "This collection of songs delivers twists-and-turns: lyrically from exuberance and anger to heartbreaking melancholy; and sonically from experimental pieces to accessible pop."

MGMT Congratulations CD
MGMT Congratulations LTD. ED. CD

*** "Congratulations unlocks a new musical world whirling in its own space/time grid infused with hints of music from the past five decades. Produced by MGMT and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum), Congratulations is soulful and complex -- a delightful quantum step forward."

GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW Kings Ballad CD
*** "Slicing pop n'lock-friendly funk with gospeland gracious soul, the seeds of early experimental releases are now blossoming as Georgia's trademark scattershot beats and adventurous deepjazz melodies have grown to become the backbone for fully crafted songs."

SERENA-MANEESH Abyss In B Minor CD
*** "It may sound like a caffeinated Can or something from Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain', but the whole album is so concise, so perfectly realised that it's all over in 38 minutes and 45 seconds. Self-indulgent? No. Self-important? Yes, and rightly so."

THE STOOGES Raw Power 2xCD
*** "The savagely bombastic Raw Power is a confluence of The Stooges' ages, hormones, creativity, ability, experience, tastes, lack of supervision, contempt for authority and ambition. This is the original 1973 David Bowie mix along with a second disc of previously unreleased live recordings from the Raw Power tour and studio outtakes."

Thursday, April 8, 2010

EVENTS - two dates w/ MI AMI!

MI AMI w/ COTTON MUSEUM, FOREST JUZIUK & FIT - Saturday, April 10 @ Lager House
*** Thrill Jockey's inimitable, visceral, totally not disco but that kind of danceable San Francisco sons MI AMI return to Detroit w/ Cotton Museum and DJs Forest Juziuk & FIT. A team-up to end all team-ups! Dancing & destruction for the meagre sum of $5.
Lager House / 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit / 9PM / $5 / http://bit.ly/cZMv5V

MI AMI w/ OUR BROTHER THE NATIVE, PEAKING LIGHTS - Friday, April 16 @ Arbor Vitae (above Wazoo)
*** MI AMI's second stop in Michigan, this time w/ Our Brother the Native, Peaking Lights and DJ Forest Juziuk. Sleep not, friends, for this is a Vitae show & will be ca-ca-ca-crazy!!
Arbor Vitae / 336 1/2 S. State, A2 / 9PM / $5 / http://bit.ly/9UVfdq

NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl - Growing, Mi Ami, Madlib & more

ANNE BRIGGS Nottinghamshire Tales LP
*** Vinyl only! The lost album!

DR. DOG Shame, Shame LP / CD
*** "Dr. Dog have peeled back the intricate arrangements of last album Fate to reveal the raw immediacy of a tight five-man unit honing their craft."

FUNKADEIC America Eats Its Young LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

FUTURE ISLANDS In The Fall 12"
*** NOW IN STOCK!

GILES GILES & FRIPP Brondesbury Road Tapes LP
*** "US compilation of pre-King Crimson recordings which languished for over 30 years in a private collection. Over 70 minutes!"

GROWING Pumps LP
*** "The 8th album from Brooklyn, NY's Growing is another top-shelf freakout. Drum machines create dense tribal rhythms and form the bedrock for the loneliest dance floor in the universe. Vocal samples swoop in and out like starlings over effects laden synths and guitar."

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS I Learned The Hard Way LP / CD
*** "Sharon’s raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command almost single handedly stewarded today’s return of soul music to its more traditional sound. I Learned the Hard Way is the 'Daptone Sound' at its best."

MADLIB Medicine Show Vol. 3 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

MI AMI Steal Your Face LP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED "A joyful noise at the intersection of vicious high-energy. In this climate, when pretty much every band has some dub records at home and a myriad of musical influences have been rendered mundane, Mi Ami defines itself by turning inward. Twelve weeks of touring transformed Mi Ami from what friends described as a “fun time party band” into a lean, tight, near-telepathic unit, which remains fun. The album is far and away Mi Ami’s finest sounding, and the one which is most aligned with their live show."

NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - Madlib, Elliott Smith, High Places, Mi Ami, Sharon Jones & more

MULATU ASTATKE Steps Ahead CD
*** "This is the first new solo album by MULATU ASTATKE -- a rich new album of Ethio sounds, perfect for all fans of world music, jazz and the outstanding selling Ethiopiques series."

ERYKAH BADU New Amerykah Part Two: Return Of The Ankh CD
*** "New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh features lush live instrumentation and taps into Badu's emotional side by thematically focusing on romance and relationships."

DAVID BYRNE & FATBOY SLIM Here Lies Love 2xCD
*** "Here Lies Love' is a 22 song double-disc song cycle - improbably poignant, decidedly surreal, surprisingly thought provoking - about the rise and fall of the Philippines' notorious Imelda Marcos. "

DOUBLE DAGGER Masks EP+MP3 / CD
*** "Visceral, raw, cacophonously loud, yet with unexpected moments of clarity, humor, and revelation, this is nothing but bass, drums and vocals. Sweat drippin'!"

DR. DOG Shame, Shame LP / CD
*** "Dr. Dog have peeled back the intricate arrangements of last album Fate to reveal the raw immediacy of a tight five-man unit honing their craft."

P.E. HEWITT JAZZ ENSEMBLE Winter Winds: Complete Works 1968-1970 3xCD
*** RECOMMENDED "P.E. Hewitt was but 16 years old when he recorded and released in a press of 50 copies his debut. By the time he sold through the 100 copies of this third, he was approaching the ripe-age of 20. The three albums he and his young compatriots wrote, recorded, and pressed are three of the rarest damn-good 70s jazz albums you could ever hope to come across. "

HIGH PLACES High Places Vs. Mankind LP+MP3 / CD
*** "High Places vs. Mankind is straight-up LA: warmer temps and mountain vistas. What can be said about the first can be said about this one: ambitious blending of genres, a rich array of influences...."

JAVELIN No Más LP+MP3 / CD
*** "Javelin throw a party that sees nothing wrong with dropping crooked disco, schoolyard funk, abstract R&B and pitch-perfect pop in the same set." Previous 12" EPs on THRILL JOCKEY were the whip.

JAWBREAKER Unfun LP / CD
*** "2010 reissue of this classic 1990 debut album!"

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS I Learned The Hard Way LP / CD
*** "Sharon’s raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command almost single handedly stewarded today’s return of soul music to its more traditional sound. I Learned the Hard Way is the 'Daptone Sound' at its best."

JONSI Go CD
*** "Jónsi has spent more than a decade writing epic compositions with Sigur Rós, creating some of the finest, most acclaimed albums of the last ten years. But, there exists a backlog of ecstatic, dramatic songs Jónsi had written that didn't seem to fit within the Sigur Rós context."

ROBERT A.A. LOWE Fazo IV: La Kvalito de Speguloj CD
*** NOW ON CD! "ROBERT A.A. LOWE (LICHENS, SINGER, 90 DAY MEN) constructs haunting, meditative, at times hypnotic rhythms and melodies using warm, bubbling synthesizers. Sonic vocabularies! Emotional landscapes! Includes an add'l 14-minute track not on the limited edition LP."

MADLIB as YOUNG JAZZ REBELS Slave Riot CD
*** "Slave Riot is a rather chaotic affair. While his previous album, Last Electro Acoustic Space Jazz and Percussion Ensemble's Miles Away rambled along at a leisurely pace, Slave Riot guns to top speed almost immediately and rarely lets up its frenetic pace. To put this in a Sun Ra context, think of this as Madlib's Black Mass."

MI AMI Steal Your Face LP / CD

*** RECOMMENDED "A joyful noise at the intersection of vicious high-energy. In this climate, when pretty much every band has some dub records at home and a myriad of musical influences have been rendered mundane, Mi Ami defines itself by turning inward. Twelve weeks of touring transformed Mi Ami from what friends described as a “fun time party band” into a lean, tight, near-telepathic unit, which remains fun. The album is far and away Mi Ami’s finest sounding, and the one which is most aligned with their live show."

MORNING BENDERS Big Echo CD
*** "BIG ECHO is an album made to be played LOUD. It sounds great on headphones. It should also be said that BIG ECHO is made of some of the most glorious pop music you'll hear this year or any year."

NEW HEAVENLY BLUE New Heavenly Blue CD
*** "First time on CD for this 1972 album from the experimental Rock band that incorporated aspects of Jazz, Blues, Classical and Rock into their music. The band features Chris Brubeck, son of Jazz pianist Dave Brubeck."

JACK ROSE Luck In The Valley CD
*** "Jack Rose's 10th album continues the exploration of pre-war American music with a set of brand new material with various groups & a handful of solo pieces. This recording set out to capture the energy and feel of the classic three-track shack recordings by the Wray Brothers & Mordicai Jones."

ELLIOTT SMITH Roman Candle LP / CD
ELLIOTT SMITH From A Basement On The Hill 2xLP / CD

*** REMASTERED & REISSUED. Roman Candle on LP -- about time.

TUNNG And Then We Saw Land CD
*** "TUNNG founder Sam Genders has left the band but they still got: lyrics, vocals, drums, synthesizers, sing-a-long choruses, guitar solos. A new take on British folk music!"

JASON URICK Husbands CD
*** NOW ON CD! "Those well-versed in Baltimore experimental electronics might be familiar with WZT HEARTS. Urick is at a crossroads where his ideas are still experimental in nature, the songs are envisioned as an honest attempt at 'pop'. Ghosted, fragmented melodies, distorted tones and so forth."