BOB DYLAN The Other Side Of The Mirror: Dylan Live At The Newport Folk Festival DVD
*** "Over 80 minutes of Bob Dylan's groundbreaking and controversial appearances at Newport. Featuring rare and previously unseen performances of some of Dylan's greatest songs."
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Akron / Family, Vashti Bunyan, Italians Do It Better
AKRON / FAMILY Love Is Simple 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind 7"
*** Repress of Vashti's debut Decca single, written by Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the forthcoming two-disc collection of old odds and ends.
CHROMATICS In The City 12"
*** “CHROMATICS draft in new vocalist RUTH RADELET for this ‘70s opus of Chicago Nosferatu disco. A stabby little cardiac-monitor bleep darts back and forth through the shimmering strings and swathes of gold and silver. Chromatics cast themselves as afro-ed divas gliding through the city in a gleaming Back To The Future Delorean, but we’re only seeing this in the dazzling reflective sheen from their aviator shades as the vroom off into 2012 AD leaving flaming tire marks."
DJ BLAQSTARR Shake It To The Ground 12"
*** "With Baltimore club's influence seeping everywhere else on earth, it might seem strange that the new 12" from DJ Blaqstarr - Bmore's most talented and quickest rising producer - is way darker and more intense than your average gimmick club track." Released on DIPLO's Mad Decent label. SWITCH, CLAUDE VON STROKE, and DROP THE LIME remix.
FAUST Faust LP
*** "Legendary German post-rock band formed in 1971 by undisputed noise pioneer Uwe Nettelbeck, Faust garnered an immediate following due to its artistically extreme experimentations with music cut ups and other mixed sources hinging on cacophony and distortion. Don't miss their 1971 cult classic debut, now reissued with its original clear printed sleeve on clear vinyl."
GLASS CANDY Miss Broadway 12"
*** "One of GLASS CANDY's most insane covers ever! Originally recorded by Euro-disco legends Belle Epoque, “Miss Broadway” is a legendary baeleric disco song. Known for the epic string arrangements and insane vocal range--the band does it justice." Features main, instrumental, and synth/drum mix versions.
HOLY GHOST Hold On 12"
*** "Holy Ghost! consists of NY boys Nicholas Millhiser and Alexander Frankel formerly of AUTOMATO. Holy Ghost! is a product of their obsessions with analog synthesizers, rare disco, and ancient production techniques. Their first single is 'Hold On', a thumping disco trot that recalls a smoother and more mysterious time. Accompanying the title track is an instrumental version and a rhythmic French disco remix by Blackjoy a.k.a. Jerome Caron."
JAY DEE Jay Deelicious 3xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
PHAT KAT Carte Blanche 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
PROFESSOR GENIUS La Grotta 12"
*** "PROFESSOR GENIUS come out of Jersey City with three totally intense dancefloor anthems rocked with breezy synths, thumping Italo basslines, and smooth analog drums that brings to mind Cerrone and Moroder, but with a more soundtrackish feel à la Midnight Express or Scarface."
RUB Party Medleys 12"
*** "Basically the record is 4 medleys, about 6 minutes long each, in four different genres (at four different tempos). Each side is a continuous 12 minutes, so that is also valuable if you have to run to the bathroom, or if you're a beginner, just to throw on at a party. It's all quick mixed, NYC party style, but with intros and outros to each medley for mixing, and it's easy enough to just run a couple songs off of it."
SAGE FRANCIS Personal Journals 2xLP / CD
*** BACK IN PRINT!
SCOTTIE B Money Lotion Vol. 3 12"
*** "Baltimore club godfather Scottie B sets the record straight on this new EP for the DJ's champ, the Money Lotion series. Sick of all the amateurish Baltimore-style records dropping lately, Scottie’s created an instant classic with every style of the Baltimore spectrum represented. Scottie finally unleashes the track that EVERYONE has been look for the Bmore version of: “Never Be Alone.” (This one’s been getting hammered by Hollertronix, Tittsworth, Ayres...)" Limited edition.
SHIT ROBOT Chasm 12"
*** "On the epic A-side, 'Chasm', Lambkin masterfully joins relentless, brooding, patiently building techno with underlying melodic rock grooves. This dance track is both innovative and immediately familiar. The flipside, appropriately titled 'Lonely Planet', is a galactic krautrock adventure through whirling synths into the unknown." On DFA.
JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Jukebox Explosion LP / CD
*** "Beginning in 1992, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion earmarked songs from their recording sessions for their Jukebox Single Series on In The Red. Now, for the first time, all five out-of-print singles have been collected in one place on Jukebox Explosion, along with eight previously unheard rarities from the band's early days that are every bit as action-packed, frantic, and furious."
STILL GOING Still Going Theme 12"
*** "Still Going is the combination of two NYC dance music leaders-- Eric 'Dunks' Duncan of Rub 'n' Tug and Olivier Spencer of Manthraxx and Mr. Negative." On DFA.
VENETIAN SNARES My Downfall 2xLP / CD
*** "Since 2005, there has been one Venetian Snares album that everybody has talked about: the masterpiece Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett, Aaron Funk's story of falling in love among the spires of Budapest, scored by an orchestra and the Amen break. If that album was in effect a question, then this one is his answer: the unfolding of this particular Hungarian story. If anything, My Downfall is even more epic and bombastic than its predecessor, but not without those little humorous touches so beloved of Snares."
NEIL YOUNG Tonight's The Night LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!
*** NOW ON VINYL!
VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind 7"
*** Repress of Vashti's debut Decca single, written by Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for the forthcoming two-disc collection of old odds and ends.
CHROMATICS In The City 12"
*** “CHROMATICS draft in new vocalist RUTH RADELET for this ‘70s opus of Chicago Nosferatu disco. A stabby little cardiac-monitor bleep darts back and forth through the shimmering strings and swathes of gold and silver. Chromatics cast themselves as afro-ed divas gliding through the city in a gleaming Back To The Future Delorean, but we’re only seeing this in the dazzling reflective sheen from their aviator shades as the vroom off into 2012 AD leaving flaming tire marks."
DJ BLAQSTARR Shake It To The Ground 12"
*** "With Baltimore club's influence seeping everywhere else on earth, it might seem strange that the new 12" from DJ Blaqstarr - Bmore's most talented and quickest rising producer - is way darker and more intense than your average gimmick club track." Released on DIPLO's Mad Decent label. SWITCH, CLAUDE VON STROKE, and DROP THE LIME remix.
FAUST Faust LP
*** "Legendary German post-rock band formed in 1971 by undisputed noise pioneer Uwe Nettelbeck, Faust garnered an immediate following due to its artistically extreme experimentations with music cut ups and other mixed sources hinging on cacophony and distortion. Don't miss their 1971 cult classic debut, now reissued with its original clear printed sleeve on clear vinyl."
GLASS CANDY Miss Broadway 12"
*** "One of GLASS CANDY's most insane covers ever! Originally recorded by Euro-disco legends Belle Epoque, “Miss Broadway” is a legendary baeleric disco song. Known for the epic string arrangements and insane vocal range--the band does it justice." Features main, instrumental, and synth/drum mix versions.
HOLY GHOST Hold On 12"
*** "Holy Ghost! consists of NY boys Nicholas Millhiser and Alexander Frankel formerly of AUTOMATO. Holy Ghost! is a product of their obsessions with analog synthesizers, rare disco, and ancient production techniques. Their first single is 'Hold On', a thumping disco trot that recalls a smoother and more mysterious time. Accompanying the title track is an instrumental version and a rhythmic French disco remix by Blackjoy a.k.a. Jerome Caron."
JAY DEE Jay Deelicious 3xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
PHAT KAT Carte Blanche 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
PROFESSOR GENIUS La Grotta 12"
*** "PROFESSOR GENIUS come out of Jersey City with three totally intense dancefloor anthems rocked with breezy synths, thumping Italo basslines, and smooth analog drums that brings to mind Cerrone and Moroder, but with a more soundtrackish feel à la Midnight Express or Scarface."
RUB Party Medleys 12"
*** "Basically the record is 4 medleys, about 6 minutes long each, in four different genres (at four different tempos). Each side is a continuous 12 minutes, so that is also valuable if you have to run to the bathroom, or if you're a beginner, just to throw on at a party. It's all quick mixed, NYC party style, but with intros and outros to each medley for mixing, and it's easy enough to just run a couple songs off of it."
SAGE FRANCIS Personal Journals 2xLP / CD
*** BACK IN PRINT!
SCOTTIE B Money Lotion Vol. 3 12"
*** "Baltimore club godfather Scottie B sets the record straight on this new EP for the DJ's champ, the Money Lotion series. Sick of all the amateurish Baltimore-style records dropping lately, Scottie’s created an instant classic with every style of the Baltimore spectrum represented. Scottie finally unleashes the track that EVERYONE has been look for the Bmore version of: “Never Be Alone.” (This one’s been getting hammered by Hollertronix, Tittsworth, Ayres...)" Limited edition.
SHIT ROBOT Chasm 12"
*** "On the epic A-side, 'Chasm', Lambkin masterfully joins relentless, brooding, patiently building techno with underlying melodic rock grooves. This dance track is both innovative and immediately familiar. The flipside, appropriately titled 'Lonely Planet', is a galactic krautrock adventure through whirling synths into the unknown." On DFA.
JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Jukebox Explosion LP / CD
*** "Beginning in 1992, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion earmarked songs from their recording sessions for their Jukebox Single Series on In The Red. Now, for the first time, all five out-of-print singles have been collected in one place on Jukebox Explosion, along with eight previously unheard rarities from the band's early days that are every bit as action-packed, frantic, and furious."
STILL GOING Still Going Theme 12"
*** "Still Going is the combination of two NYC dance music leaders-- Eric 'Dunks' Duncan of Rub 'n' Tug and Olivier Spencer of Manthraxx and Mr. Negative." On DFA.
VENETIAN SNARES My Downfall 2xLP / CD
*** "Since 2005, there has been one Venetian Snares album that everybody has talked about: the masterpiece Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett, Aaron Funk's story of falling in love among the spires of Budapest, scored by an orchestra and the Amen break. If that album was in effect a question, then this one is his answer: the unfolding of this particular Hungarian story. If anything, My Downfall is even more epic and bombastic than its predecessor, but not without those little humorous touches so beloved of Snares."
NEIL YOUNG Tonight's The Night LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Chromatics, Coltrane, Venetian Snares, & more
o.s.t. TWIN PEAKS Season Two Music & More CD
*** 21 jams by the great ANGELO BADALAMENTI from Twin Peaks second season and another jam from David Lynch hisself.
v/a MILKY DISCO CD
*** "Variously referred to as Nu Disco or Cosmic Disco, this underground scene has been getting bigger and stronger in the last couple of years. Milky Disco features exclusive tracks from LINDSTROM (under his Six Cups Of Rebel alias), SALLY SHAPIRO, QUIET VILLAGE, KERRIER DISTRICT, and BLACK MUSTANG, along with rare tracks previously released on vinyl only, making this the quintessential cosmic disco compendium."
v/a PORTABLE SUPERSOUND CD
*** "Label compilation showcasing the current & future sounds of Smalltown Supersound. Features ARP, DISKJOKKE, LINDSTROM, KIM HIORTHOY, BJORN TORSKE, 120 DAYS, MENTAL OVERDRIVE (with a track that is soon to be released on 12” by DFAbroad in US and by Prins Thomas`s Full Pupp label in Europe), LARS HORNTVETH (Four Tet remix) & TOY."
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS A Place To Bury Strangers CD
*** "A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS is not loud simply for the sake of it. The sonically overdriven sound they've accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered by an unbridled passion that's clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. While there are obvious reference points--Pornography-era Cure, early Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and pre-1990s Jesus and Mary Chain--the sound is all their own."
ACID MOTHERS GURU GURU Psychedelic Navigator CD
*** "AcidMothersGuruGuru features Mani Neumeier from the legendary and influential German Krautrock group Guru Guru as well as Kawabata Makoto and Atsushi Tsuyama from Japan's holy Acid Mothers Temple. The result is a fiery fantasy filled, loud/soft, colorful trans-generational psychedelic collaboration."
ANGELS OF LIGHT We Are Him CD
*** "We Are Him is the fifth album from Angels of Light, the main vehicle for Michael Gira's music since he disbanded Swans in 1997. Backing/contributing musicians include Akron/Family, Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Swans, Robert Fripp, and currently drummer for both Robyn Hitchcock and REM), Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons) Christoph Hahn (longtime Angel and former Swan) and many, many more...."
BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Falling Through A Field CD
BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Start A People CD
*** The first two BMSR albums re-released with bonus tracks!
BUCK 65 Situation CD
*** "Following his prior record's release, BUCK 65's label folded. While waiting to get through the red tape, he made a record with Tortoise (which saw no American release), moved to Paris, fell in love, scored a film, won a Juno (he also co-hosted said awards show with Pamela Anderson), and toured the globe. He settled in after all that and made his most realized work yet-- Situation, out on Strange Famous Records/Warner Bros. worldwide."
BURIED AT SEA Ghosts CD
*** "Buried At Sea is a flowing wave of trance-like massiveness. They combine elements of doom, space rock, and experimental noise to create a sound of thick and heavy textures that migrate from quiet to an Earth-rattling assault. The weak need not apply."
CHROMATICS IV Night Drive CD
*** "Nite Drive is the latest CHROMATICS tour CD turned-actual-release due to consumer demand. Like the After Dark compilation, the response was so great the label had to do a proper pressing. Like all IDIB releases, this one is limited (1,000 copies) and will probably not be repressed. Vinyl will be released sometime next year.
JOHN COLTRANE The Impulse! Albums Volume One 5xCD
*** "Specially priced, limited edition 5 CD box set containing these five classic, influnential John Coltrane albums: Africa/Brass (1961), Live At The Village Vanguard (1961), Coltrane (1962), Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1962), and Ballads (1962). Each album newly remastered from the original master tapes."
DOSE ONE Skeleton Repellent CD
*** "An inspired collection of hooks, mayhem and mantras, produced entirely by doseone. From prose to percussion, doseone wields and reveals the fallapart then fullon production style behind his band's SUBTLE, THEMSELVES, and cLOUDDEAD. Fear not, the terms rap, rock, folk, ambient, electronic, and experimental all apply here."
FRUSTRATIONS Glowing Red Pill CD
*** From X! Records Detroit!
JOY DIVISION Unknown Pleasures 2xCD
JOY DIVISION Closer 2xCD
*** The albums newly remastered with a bonus disc for each including one live show from 1979 and 1980.
LINDSTROM Contemporary Fix EP CD
*** "This EP features the original version of The Contemporay Fix as well as a alternative version by Lindstrom himself called Serious Syntoms version. Also features a fantastic remix from EYE of The Boredoms who delivers a raving tribal-disco mix, and a remix by the innovator of the Norwegian disco scene, BJORN TORSKE."
MURCOF Cosmos CD
*** "Fernando Corona's long-awaited third album as Murcof marks a dramatic departure from previous works. Truly monumental in scale, Cosmos is composed almost entirely of recordings of classical instruments, a process which Corona describes as 'expanding the possibilities of acoustic instruments through electronics.'î It's a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer, and his seamless integration of these apparently opposed forms is almost unprecedented."
OCTOPUS PROJECT Hello Avalanche CD
*** "With ragged, furious distorted guitars at one end of the spectrum and the pure, luminescent tones of the Theremin at the other, the members of The Octopus Project mine a staggering variety of sounds in between (via strings, synthesizers, drums, glockenspiel, trombones, etc.), filling their songs with brilliant contrasting colors and cascading waves of sonic bliss."
TERRY RILEY Music For The Gift CD
*** This CD brings together four seminal tape works of Terry Riley. The Gift music was performed in Paris 1963 by Chet Baker, with tape manipulations by Riley--the first use of tape delay to fragment, attenuate, and return time, looping tape through twin-tape recorders. The Gift recordings, referred to often by Soft Machine members, is the precursor to the landmark that launched the minimalist movement In C. Also included are 'Bird of Paradise', 'Mescalin Mix', and 'Concert for Two Pianos and Five Tape Recorders' with La Monte Young."
SAGE FRANCIS Personal Journals LP / CD
*** BACK IN PRINT!
SAVES THE DAY Under The Boards CD
*** 13 new tunes. Includes a bonus DVD that gives you a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the album.
BIM SHERMAN Tribulation: Down In Jamdown 1974 to 1979 CD
*** 23 tracks, about half original tunes and half the tasty dub versions. Too cool.
JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Jukebox Explosion LP / CD
*** "Beginning in 1992, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion earmarked songs from their recording sessions for their Jukebox Single Series on In The Red. Now, for the first time, all five out-of-print singles have been collected in one place on Jukebox Explosion, along with eight previously unheard rarities from the band's early days that are every bit as action-packed, frantic, and furious."
SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN Fire Escape CD
*** "Produced by FOUR TET with artwork by EYE. In March 2006, FOUR TET asked the band if they would like him to record them with the idea that he would take the recordings & construct his vision of a Sunburned record. This is that vision!"
TUSSLE Warning EP CD
*** "Tussle remix EP with remixes by HOT CHIP, OPTIMO, DENNIS YOUNG (LIQUID LIQUID) and KANGO & TORKILL!" “Makes the last Rapture album sound like some rank American jam band" -(9/10 VICE MAGAZINE)
VALET Blood Is Clean CD
*** "The debut release from Portland, Oregon’s HONEY OWENS (JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER) under the name VALET. The songs are at once spare and expansive; exploratory, yet deceptively simple. A mix of alien-psychedelic-blues jams, Voodoo drumming, and shamanic dream music." On KRANKY.
VENETIAN SNARES My Downfall 2xLP / CD
*** "Since 2005, there has been one Venetian Snares album that everybody has talked about: the masterpiece Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett, Aaron Funk's story of falling in love among the spires of Budapest, scored by an orchestra and the Amen break. If that album was in effect a question, then this one is his answer: the unfolding of this particular Hungarian story. If anything, My Downfall is even more epic and bombastic than its predecessor, but not without those little humorous touches so beloved of Snares."
LUKE VIBERT & JEAN JACQUES PERRY Moog Acid CD
*** "The Godfather of space age pop meets the undisputed champ of left field Moog beats to create one of the most unusual records of the year so far. An eclectic but accessible mixture of electronica, dnb, disco, hip hop and beyond."
XBXRX Sounds CD
*** "Sounds documents the improvisational side of XBXRX. Through the years improvisation has been a major part of the XBXRX live show, but remained unrecorded until now. The album features 7 improvisations of distinctive character and mood ranging from frenzied storms of white noise to pointillistic chamber music."
*** 21 jams by the great ANGELO BADALAMENTI from Twin Peaks second season and another jam from David Lynch hisself.
v/a MILKY DISCO CD
*** "Variously referred to as Nu Disco or Cosmic Disco, this underground scene has been getting bigger and stronger in the last couple of years. Milky Disco features exclusive tracks from LINDSTROM (under his Six Cups Of Rebel alias), SALLY SHAPIRO, QUIET VILLAGE, KERRIER DISTRICT, and BLACK MUSTANG, along with rare tracks previously released on vinyl only, making this the quintessential cosmic disco compendium."
v/a PORTABLE SUPERSOUND CD
*** "Label compilation showcasing the current & future sounds of Smalltown Supersound. Features ARP, DISKJOKKE, LINDSTROM, KIM HIORTHOY, BJORN TORSKE, 120 DAYS, MENTAL OVERDRIVE (with a track that is soon to be released on 12” by DFAbroad in US and by Prins Thomas`s Full Pupp label in Europe), LARS HORNTVETH (Four Tet remix) & TOY."
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS A Place To Bury Strangers CD
*** "A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS is not loud simply for the sake of it. The sonically overdriven sound they've accomplished is no clumsy accident, but a carefully cultivated and well-maintained entity all its own, fostered by an unbridled passion that's clearly evident in every live show they play and each recording they make. While there are obvious reference points--Pornography-era Cure, early Ride, My Bloody Valentine, and pre-1990s Jesus and Mary Chain--the sound is all their own."
ACID MOTHERS GURU GURU Psychedelic Navigator CD
*** "AcidMothersGuruGuru features Mani Neumeier from the legendary and influential German Krautrock group Guru Guru as well as Kawabata Makoto and Atsushi Tsuyama from Japan's holy Acid Mothers Temple. The result is a fiery fantasy filled, loud/soft, colorful trans-generational psychedelic collaboration."
ANGELS OF LIGHT We Are Him CD
*** "We Are Him is the fifth album from Angels of Light, the main vehicle for Michael Gira's music since he disbanded Swans in 1997. Backing/contributing musicians include Akron/Family, Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Swans, Robert Fripp, and currently drummer for both Robyn Hitchcock and REM), Julia Kent (Antony and the Johnsons) Christoph Hahn (longtime Angel and former Swan) and many, many more...."
BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Falling Through A Field CD
BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Start A People CD
*** The first two BMSR albums re-released with bonus tracks!
BUCK 65 Situation CD
*** "Following his prior record's release, BUCK 65's label folded. While waiting to get through the red tape, he made a record with Tortoise (which saw no American release), moved to Paris, fell in love, scored a film, won a Juno (he also co-hosted said awards show with Pamela Anderson), and toured the globe. He settled in after all that and made his most realized work yet-- Situation, out on Strange Famous Records/Warner Bros. worldwide."
BURIED AT SEA Ghosts CD
*** "Buried At Sea is a flowing wave of trance-like massiveness. They combine elements of doom, space rock, and experimental noise to create a sound of thick and heavy textures that migrate from quiet to an Earth-rattling assault. The weak need not apply."
CHROMATICS IV Night Drive CD
*** "Nite Drive is the latest CHROMATICS tour CD turned-actual-release due to consumer demand. Like the After Dark compilation, the response was so great the label had to do a proper pressing. Like all IDIB releases, this one is limited (1,000 copies) and will probably not be repressed. Vinyl will be released sometime next year.
JOHN COLTRANE The Impulse! Albums Volume One 5xCD
*** "Specially priced, limited edition 5 CD box set containing these five classic, influnential John Coltrane albums: Africa/Brass (1961), Live At The Village Vanguard (1961), Coltrane (1962), Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1962), and Ballads (1962). Each album newly remastered from the original master tapes."
DOSE ONE Skeleton Repellent CD
*** "An inspired collection of hooks, mayhem and mantras, produced entirely by doseone. From prose to percussion, doseone wields and reveals the fallapart then fullon production style behind his band's SUBTLE, THEMSELVES, and cLOUDDEAD. Fear not, the terms rap, rock, folk, ambient, electronic, and experimental all apply here."
FRUSTRATIONS Glowing Red Pill CD
*** From X! Records Detroit!
JOY DIVISION Unknown Pleasures 2xCD
JOY DIVISION Closer 2xCD
*** The albums newly remastered with a bonus disc for each including one live show from 1979 and 1980.
LINDSTROM Contemporary Fix EP CD
*** "This EP features the original version of The Contemporay Fix as well as a alternative version by Lindstrom himself called Serious Syntoms version. Also features a fantastic remix from EYE of The Boredoms who delivers a raving tribal-disco mix, and a remix by the innovator of the Norwegian disco scene, BJORN TORSKE."
MURCOF Cosmos CD
*** "Fernando Corona's long-awaited third album as Murcof marks a dramatic departure from previous works. Truly monumental in scale, Cosmos is composed almost entirely of recordings of classical instruments, a process which Corona describes as 'expanding the possibilities of acoustic instruments through electronics.'î It's a move away from the micro-programmed sound he helped to pioneer, and his seamless integration of these apparently opposed forms is almost unprecedented."
OCTOPUS PROJECT Hello Avalanche CD
*** "With ragged, furious distorted guitars at one end of the spectrum and the pure, luminescent tones of the Theremin at the other, the members of The Octopus Project mine a staggering variety of sounds in between (via strings, synthesizers, drums, glockenspiel, trombones, etc.), filling their songs with brilliant contrasting colors and cascading waves of sonic bliss."
TERRY RILEY Music For The Gift CD
*** This CD brings together four seminal tape works of Terry Riley. The Gift music was performed in Paris 1963 by Chet Baker, with tape manipulations by Riley--the first use of tape delay to fragment, attenuate, and return time, looping tape through twin-tape recorders. The Gift recordings, referred to often by Soft Machine members, is the precursor to the landmark that launched the minimalist movement In C. Also included are 'Bird of Paradise', 'Mescalin Mix', and 'Concert for Two Pianos and Five Tape Recorders' with La Monte Young."
SAGE FRANCIS Personal Journals LP / CD
*** BACK IN PRINT!
SAVES THE DAY Under The Boards CD
*** 13 new tunes. Includes a bonus DVD that gives you a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the album.
BIM SHERMAN Tribulation: Down In Jamdown 1974 to 1979 CD
*** 23 tracks, about half original tunes and half the tasty dub versions. Too cool.
JON SPENCER BLUES EXPLOSION Jukebox Explosion LP / CD
*** "Beginning in 1992, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion earmarked songs from their recording sessions for their Jukebox Single Series on In The Red. Now, for the first time, all five out-of-print singles have been collected in one place on Jukebox Explosion, along with eight previously unheard rarities from the band's early days that are every bit as action-packed, frantic, and furious."
SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN Fire Escape CD
*** "Produced by FOUR TET with artwork by EYE. In March 2006, FOUR TET asked the band if they would like him to record them with the idea that he would take the recordings & construct his vision of a Sunburned record. This is that vision!"
TUSSLE Warning EP CD
*** "Tussle remix EP with remixes by HOT CHIP, OPTIMO, DENNIS YOUNG (LIQUID LIQUID) and KANGO & TORKILL!" “Makes the last Rapture album sound like some rank American jam band" -(9/10 VICE MAGAZINE)
VALET Blood Is Clean CD
*** "The debut release from Portland, Oregon’s HONEY OWENS (JACKIE-O MOTHERFUCKER) under the name VALET. The songs are at once spare and expansive; exploratory, yet deceptively simple. A mix of alien-psychedelic-blues jams, Voodoo drumming, and shamanic dream music." On KRANKY.
VENETIAN SNARES My Downfall 2xLP / CD
*** "Since 2005, there has been one Venetian Snares album that everybody has talked about: the masterpiece Rossz Csillag Allat Szuletett, Aaron Funk's story of falling in love among the spires of Budapest, scored by an orchestra and the Amen break. If that album was in effect a question, then this one is his answer: the unfolding of this particular Hungarian story. If anything, My Downfall is even more epic and bombastic than its predecessor, but not without those little humorous touches so beloved of Snares."
LUKE VIBERT & JEAN JACQUES PERRY Moog Acid CD
*** "The Godfather of space age pop meets the undisputed champ of left field Moog beats to create one of the most unusual records of the year so far. An eclectic but accessible mixture of electronica, dnb, disco, hip hop and beyond."
XBXRX Sounds CD
*** "Sounds documents the improvisational side of XBXRX. Through the years improvisation has been a major part of the XBXRX live show, but remained unrecorded until now. The album features 7 improvisations of distinctive character and mood ranging from frenzied storms of white noise to pointillistic chamber music."
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Scott Walker, Saturday Looks Good To Me, Black Dice, etc.
RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS Follow The Lights CD
*** When this arrived, I thought "Another Ryan Adams album!?" It turns out it's not an album after all--it's a 7-song EP, featuring 4 new tracks and 3 alternate versions of Adams' songs.
OREN AMBARCHI In The Pendulum's Embrace CD
*** "Ambarchi continues his otherworldly investigations with his latest where he expands the scope and range of his unique musical language, incorporating an even broader palette of instruments and sensibilities."
BABYSHAMBLES Shotters Nation CD
*** The NME said: "Babyshambles have far exceeded all expectations. This record is the work of a bunch of musicians hellbent on making he best record they have in them."
BLACK DICE Load Blown CD
*** "Strange and abrasive, yet somehow more familiar, accessible and familiar than ever, this is Black Dice at their most palatable yet."
CAN Anthology 2xCD
*** "A double CD of 29 classic CAN tracks--the perfect intro to the legendary German musical pioneers."
CASSIUS 15 Again CD
*** "Features the international dance floor smash 'Toop Toop' and the PHARRELL collabo 'Eye Water'." Plus bonus track!
CASTANETS In The Vines CD
*** "Appropriately, the album he was struggling to complete is based on a Hindu fable about being trapped in an inescapable fate, with death and the limitations of our physical lives closing in from all corners. The songs are sung with such intimacy and earnestness that "In The Vines" sways somewhere between the serpent, elephant, bees and rats, the honey representing a strange sense of hope and delight in the brief moments of beauty that sustain our lives."
COHEED AND CAMBRIA No World For Tomorrow CD
*** Yes, they're still mining that prog/hardcore thing, even going so far as to include a 5-part (re: song) cycle called "The End Complete". Most hilariously fantastic art of 2007? Perhaps. (Curious about the 2006 cover? It was Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquer album. It was every 1980s 5th grader's dream yearbook photo.)
iLIKETRAINS Elegies To Lessons Learnt CD
*** "The Leeds five piece arrived in 2006 with their powerful tales of morose events from bygone days, murder and misfortune. The stories told by iLiKETRAiNS are set to carefully structured, adorning melodies with instrumental patterns capable of creating an incredible range of emotions."
JESU Lifeline CD
*** It looks like Jesu took a note from Ryan Adams and decided to pop out an EP following an album too. Damn, 2007! But yeah, this features JARBOE of Swans and is a "clutch of dream rock gems. ...Lifeline is upper-atmosphere music that works just as well down here on Earth."
KRAFTWERK Aerodynamik / La Forme CD
*** NOW ON CD.
LITTLE BROTHER Get Back CD
*** These guys were so hot and then it slowed down but I think it's going to pick back up. LIL' WAYNE guests, for crying out loud.
METALOCALYPSE Dethklok CD
*** "The full length album from the most brutal band on the planet. Featuring songs from the [adult swim] series."
OF MONTREAL If He Is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? CD
*** Would you like a mouthfull with your Of Montreal reissue? Just say the title! Moving on, this was an import-only item that's been unavailable for a year or so now.
ORTHODOX Amanecer en Puerta Oscura CD
*** "Sophomore release from this Spanish power trio helps give a new perspective into the soul of the music they create as well as its movement into several different directions without forgetting their metal roots."
ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS Raising Sand CD
*** What!? Are these two together? MOJO magazine seems to think so, referring to it as their "courtship dance." I also heard it's "gentle, attentive, and respectfully intimate."
PREFUSE 73 Preparations 2xCD / LP+CD
*** "By focusing on the foundation of his creative process and less on the intricacies of his trademark editing and chopping magic, he's emerged with an album that will give fans a subtle taste of his record that have come before." Apparently the bonus disc is the jam.
SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME Fill Up The Room CD
*** Yow! Fred Thomas jumped the Michigan ship and got signed to Olympia, WA's #1 former cassette label: K! Congrats, fellow. It turns out Thomas has been shying away from the Motown sound of past records and has expanded into the ether a bit. Give it a whirl.
DAVID SHRIGLEY Worried Noodles 2xCD+BOOK
*** Two years ago, artist DAVID SHRIGLEY released an LP-sized book of song lyrics which sold out almost immediately. It found a slew of admirers in music circles, wherein the idea of adapting these songs to music was realized. Featuring 39 exclusive tracks with contributions from DAVID BYRNE, FRANZ FERDINAND, ISLANDS, GRIZZLY BEAR, TV ON THE RADIO, HOT CHIP, LIARS, TRANS AM, and many more. Included with the two discs is a hardcover book reproduction of the lyrics.
SIGHTINGS Through The Panama CD
*** Produced by ANDREW WK. "Bass, drums, and guitars meshed together with a synthetic twine envisioned in future think tanks...this is a rock album, but a rock for times coming, a sound of future days."
SKULL DISCO Soundboy Punishments 2xCD
*** "Skull Disco's dubwise approach is a mutant mix of techno, tribal drums, eastern drum patterns and dubbed out resonating bass lines fused together to make this one of the most exciting and forward thinking new sounds to come out of the UK's underground dance scene. Includes RICARDO VILLALOBOS' epic remix of 'Blood On My Hands'."
SUBTLE Yell & Ice CD
*** Their second disc of collabos and exclusive b-sides, etc., featuring TV ON THE RADIO, NOTWIST (remember them?), WOLF PARADE, FOG and believe it or not, CLOUDEAD!
THE THRILLS Teenager CD
*** Perhaps the most apt cover art in regard to the album title. Hmm... what else should you know? It's a 4 star (****) album according to both MOJO and UNCUT.
SCOTT WALKER And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? CD
*** "After confirming his position as one of the most singular talents working in any field of the arts by releasing The Drift, Scott was commissioned by London's South Bank Centre to write music for a contemporary dance piece. Titled 'And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball?', the entirely instrumental composition is made up of four movements with a total running time of 25 minutes. This is a limited edition release in deluxe packaging and will never be repressed."
ROGER WATERS / RON GEESIN Music From The Body CD
*** "Sound experimentalist Ron Geesin collaborated with Pink Floyd's Roger Waters to release this twisted auditory exploration of the human body. PINK FLOYD joins the duo for the soundtrack finale."
WEEN La Cucaracha CD
*** The brothers Ween holed up in a rented bungalow and recorded at least three albums worth of tunes, but here's 13. Like the last few albums preceding it, the fellows eek out a little bit serious territory while polishing up the fart jokes for a truly strange experience.
WEST INDIAN GIRL 4th & Wall CD
*** New album from very pretty, very Astralwerks sounding band formerly known in Ann Arbor as WIG.
WITCHCRAFT The Alchemist CD
*** "Third album from Witchcraft, finding the band delivering their 70s laden rock while expanding into a progressive soundscape. Includes a 13 minute three-part doom epic."
YEASAYER All Hour Cymbals CD
*** "Pulling from every spectrum and mashing, then re-mashing, the YEASAYER collective have bent genre's until unrecognizable. YEASAYER'S components are four, each multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and chanter. Founded by half of a barbershop quartet, then followed by the rhythm, YEASAYER is a tight brotherhood undisrupted by the external."
NEIL YOUNG Chrome Dreams II CD
NEIL YOUNG Chrome Dreams II CD+DVD
*** Critically acclaimed new album of ten songs and a sequel to an unreleased album. This is Neil Young's world!
*** When this arrived, I thought "Another Ryan Adams album!?" It turns out it's not an album after all--it's a 7-song EP, featuring 4 new tracks and 3 alternate versions of Adams' songs.
OREN AMBARCHI In The Pendulum's Embrace CD
*** "Ambarchi continues his otherworldly investigations with his latest where he expands the scope and range of his unique musical language, incorporating an even broader palette of instruments and sensibilities."
BABYSHAMBLES Shotters Nation CD
*** The NME said: "Babyshambles have far exceeded all expectations. This record is the work of a bunch of musicians hellbent on making he best record they have in them."
BLACK DICE Load Blown CD
*** "Strange and abrasive, yet somehow more familiar, accessible and familiar than ever, this is Black Dice at their most palatable yet."
CAN Anthology 2xCD
*** "A double CD of 29 classic CAN tracks--the perfect intro to the legendary German musical pioneers."
CASSIUS 15 Again CD
*** "Features the international dance floor smash 'Toop Toop' and the PHARRELL collabo 'Eye Water'." Plus bonus track!
CASTANETS In The Vines CD
*** "Appropriately, the album he was struggling to complete is based on a Hindu fable about being trapped in an inescapable fate, with death and the limitations of our physical lives closing in from all corners. The songs are sung with such intimacy and earnestness that "In The Vines" sways somewhere between the serpent, elephant, bees and rats, the honey representing a strange sense of hope and delight in the brief moments of beauty that sustain our lives."
COHEED AND CAMBRIA No World For Tomorrow CD
*** Yes, they're still mining that prog/hardcore thing, even going so far as to include a 5-part (re: song) cycle called "The End Complete". Most hilariously fantastic art of 2007? Perhaps. (Curious about the 2006 cover? It was Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquer album. It was every 1980s 5th grader's dream yearbook photo.)
iLIKETRAINS Elegies To Lessons Learnt CD
*** "The Leeds five piece arrived in 2006 with their powerful tales of morose events from bygone days, murder and misfortune. The stories told by iLiKETRAiNS are set to carefully structured, adorning melodies with instrumental patterns capable of creating an incredible range of emotions."
JESU Lifeline CD
*** It looks like Jesu took a note from Ryan Adams and decided to pop out an EP following an album too. Damn, 2007! But yeah, this features JARBOE of Swans and is a "clutch of dream rock gems. ...Lifeline is upper-atmosphere music that works just as well down here on Earth."
KRAFTWERK Aerodynamik / La Forme CD
*** NOW ON CD.
LITTLE BROTHER Get Back CD
*** These guys were so hot and then it slowed down but I think it's going to pick back up. LIL' WAYNE guests, for crying out loud.
METALOCALYPSE Dethklok CD
*** "The full length album from the most brutal band on the planet. Featuring songs from the [adult swim] series."
OF MONTREAL If He Is Protecting Our Nation Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? CD
*** Would you like a mouthfull with your Of Montreal reissue? Just say the title! Moving on, this was an import-only item that's been unavailable for a year or so now.
ORTHODOX Amanecer en Puerta Oscura CD
*** "Sophomore release from this Spanish power trio helps give a new perspective into the soul of the music they create as well as its movement into several different directions without forgetting their metal roots."
ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS Raising Sand CD
*** What!? Are these two together? MOJO magazine seems to think so, referring to it as their "courtship dance." I also heard it's "gentle, attentive, and respectfully intimate."
PREFUSE 73 Preparations 2xCD / LP+CD
*** "By focusing on the foundation of his creative process and less on the intricacies of his trademark editing and chopping magic, he's emerged with an album that will give fans a subtle taste of his record that have come before." Apparently the bonus disc is the jam.
SATURDAY LOOKS GOOD TO ME Fill Up The Room CD
*** Yow! Fred Thomas jumped the Michigan ship and got signed to Olympia, WA's #1 former cassette label: K! Congrats, fellow. It turns out Thomas has been shying away from the Motown sound of past records and has expanded into the ether a bit. Give it a whirl.
DAVID SHRIGLEY Worried Noodles 2xCD+BOOK
*** Two years ago, artist DAVID SHRIGLEY released an LP-sized book of song lyrics which sold out almost immediately. It found a slew of admirers in music circles, wherein the idea of adapting these songs to music was realized. Featuring 39 exclusive tracks with contributions from DAVID BYRNE, FRANZ FERDINAND, ISLANDS, GRIZZLY BEAR, TV ON THE RADIO, HOT CHIP, LIARS, TRANS AM, and many more. Included with the two discs is a hardcover book reproduction of the lyrics.
SIGHTINGS Through The Panama CD
*** Produced by ANDREW WK. "Bass, drums, and guitars meshed together with a synthetic twine envisioned in future think tanks...this is a rock album, but a rock for times coming, a sound of future days."
SKULL DISCO Soundboy Punishments 2xCD
*** "Skull Disco's dubwise approach is a mutant mix of techno, tribal drums, eastern drum patterns and dubbed out resonating bass lines fused together to make this one of the most exciting and forward thinking new sounds to come out of the UK's underground dance scene. Includes RICARDO VILLALOBOS' epic remix of 'Blood On My Hands'."
SUBTLE Yell & Ice CD
*** Their second disc of collabos and exclusive b-sides, etc., featuring TV ON THE RADIO, NOTWIST (remember them?), WOLF PARADE, FOG and believe it or not, CLOUDEAD!
THE THRILLS Teenager CD
*** Perhaps the most apt cover art in regard to the album title. Hmm... what else should you know? It's a 4 star (****) album according to both MOJO and UNCUT.
SCOTT WALKER And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? CD
*** "After confirming his position as one of the most singular talents working in any field of the arts by releasing The Drift, Scott was commissioned by London's South Bank Centre to write music for a contemporary dance piece. Titled 'And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball?', the entirely instrumental composition is made up of four movements with a total running time of 25 minutes. This is a limited edition release in deluxe packaging and will never be repressed."
ROGER WATERS / RON GEESIN Music From The Body CD
*** "Sound experimentalist Ron Geesin collaborated with Pink Floyd's Roger Waters to release this twisted auditory exploration of the human body. PINK FLOYD joins the duo for the soundtrack finale."
WEEN La Cucaracha CD
*** The brothers Ween holed up in a rented bungalow and recorded at least three albums worth of tunes, but here's 13. Like the last few albums preceding it, the fellows eek out a little bit serious territory while polishing up the fart jokes for a truly strange experience.
WEST INDIAN GIRL 4th & Wall CD
*** New album from very pretty, very Astralwerks sounding band formerly known in Ann Arbor as WIG.
WITCHCRAFT The Alchemist CD
*** "Third album from Witchcraft, finding the band delivering their 70s laden rock while expanding into a progressive soundscape. Includes a 13 minute three-part doom epic."
YEASAYER All Hour Cymbals CD
*** "Pulling from every spectrum and mashing, then re-mashing, the YEASAYER collective have bent genre's until unrecognizable. YEASAYER'S components are four, each multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and chanter. Founded by half of a barbershop quartet, then followed by the rhythm, YEASAYER is a tight brotherhood undisrupted by the external."
NEIL YOUNG Chrome Dreams II CD
NEIL YOUNG Chrome Dreams II CD+DVD
*** Critically acclaimed new album of ten songs and a sequel to an unreleased album. This is Neil Young's world!
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Black Dice, Matt Dear, and some new porn (get it?)
ACEYALONE Lightning Strikes 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
BLACK DICE Load Blown LP
*** "Five tracks from Load Blown not previously released on vinyl." Includes 22" x 22" poster.
MATTHEW DEAR Don & Sherri 12"
*** Why'd Matt Dear do a record about my parents? Who knows but it's the jam! Includes remixes by HOT CHIP and DJ KOZE. Nice. Real nice.
HOLY FUCK LP LP
*** "If electronic music is a highly sophisticated robot operated by hi-tech computers, Holy Fuck are the evil counterpart, hell bent with battery operated gadgets, keyboards and analogue tape. They are less of an indie rock band then they are the exploded diagram of an indie rock band, splitting open to reveal organic guts, tangled wires, and brokenbits of drumsticks. Balanced somewhere between an experimental noise-out and a free-forall dance party."
NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Myriad Harbor 7"
*** "Matador UK 7" for the ultima-hyper catchy 'Myriad Harbour' with the excellent 'Fugue State' now making it's first vinyl appearance as well. All wrapped in one of the funniest sleeves of any record in quite some time."
*** NOW ON VINYL!
BLACK DICE Load Blown LP
*** "Five tracks from Load Blown not previously released on vinyl." Includes 22" x 22" poster.
MATTHEW DEAR Don & Sherri 12"
*** Why'd Matt Dear do a record about my parents? Who knows but it's the jam! Includes remixes by HOT CHIP and DJ KOZE. Nice. Real nice.
HOLY FUCK LP LP
*** "If electronic music is a highly sophisticated robot operated by hi-tech computers, Holy Fuck are the evil counterpart, hell bent with battery operated gadgets, keyboards and analogue tape. They are less of an indie rock band then they are the exploded diagram of an indie rock band, splitting open to reveal organic guts, tangled wires, and brokenbits of drumsticks. Balanced somewhere between an experimental noise-out and a free-forall dance party."
NEW PORNOGRAPHERS Myriad Harbor 7"
*** "Matador UK 7" for the ultima-hyper catchy 'Myriad Harbour' with the excellent 'Fugue State' now making it's first vinyl appearance as well. All wrapped in one of the funniest sleeves of any record in quite some time."
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda
IRA COHEN The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda DVD
*** "The first-ever, fully authorized commercial release of Ira Cohen's legendary 1968 film, The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda, fully restored and director's cut. The legendary soundtrack, newly remastered by Tim Barnes, featuring The Universal Mutant Repertory Company (Loren Standlee, Ziska Baum, Angus MacLise, Raja Samayana, Tony Conrad, Henry Flynt and Jackson MacLow) and two new, never-before-released alternative soundtracks to Invasion by SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN and ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SWR."
*** "The first-ever, fully authorized commercial release of Ira Cohen's legendary 1968 film, The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda, fully restored and director's cut. The legendary soundtrack, newly remastered by Tim Barnes, featuring The Universal Mutant Repertory Company (Loren Standlee, Ziska Baum, Angus MacLise, Raja Samayana, Tony Conrad, Henry Flynt and Jackson MacLow) and two new, never-before-released alternative soundtracks to Invasion by SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN and ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE SWR."
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Kompakt, Soul Jazz, & more
V/A Brazil 70 -- After Tropicalia 2xLP/CD
*** On SOUL JAZZ. Brazil 70 follows Brazilian music in the 1970s in the aftermath of Tropicalia and as the country's dictatorship entered its most oppressive phase. Musicians and artists from the Tropicalia period of the late-60s such as Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee (Os Mutantes lead-singer) and Gal Costa entered a new phase mixing rock, funk, samba and soul alongside a wealth of like-minded new artists such as Novos Baianos, Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo and Joyce and more."
V/A Detroit Beatdown Vol. 2 EP
*** The first of five EPs from Third Ear of their Detroit Beatdown series. First up in DB2 is EP1: The 'Black' EP." Included here: DJ Minx, Reggie Dokes, Smith, Black Art Music.
BABY OLIVER Feelings 2/Shot Caller 12"
*** "Check out the new record from new Environ act, Baby Oliver! More hot and twisted tracks for disco jackers and neurotic nu-romantics... you don't want to miss it. Baby Oliver's jams slice across genre divides and sound like nothing else coming out! Sure to drive your dancefloors wild."
BORATTO, GUI Chromophobia Remixe Part 2 12"
*** The second part of the Chromophobia Remixe series is purely dedicated to "Beautiful Life." The original version got re-mastered and re-cut in order to blow up each and every open-air summer jam. Gui Boratto himself provides a dense remix that translates the exuberant original into a dark and sexy club version. BPitch's Sascha Funke did what he does best: he transformed "Beautiful Life" into a cheeky little heartbreaker.
SOUNDMURDERER + SK1 Soundmurderer + SK1 2xLP
*** "Compilation of some of the best tracks from the Detroit jungle label Rewind by Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) and SK-1 (aka Tadd Mullinix). Rewind are leaders of a wave of American junglists obsessed with the development of the original ruffneck ragga and frenetic breakbeat sound."
STUDIO Life's a Beach! 12"
*** Mixes by Prins Thomas & Todd Terje. "Sweden's Studio make beautiful organic electronic music that falls midway between dance/indie and electronica. Here the Norwegian kings of nu-disco remix the bands signature release to devastating effect. Latter day comparisons would read Cluster / Neu / La Dusseldorf / Kraftwerk / Manuel Gottsching."
STUDIO West Coast 2xLP/CD
*** "This is the first full-length album by Studio, finally given a full-fledged release after a limited release disappeared from the racks last year. West Coast will appeal to fans of the new slo-mo Italo disco and is the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an Afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure."
SUPERMAYER Two of Us 12"
*** Supermayer are Superpitcher and Michael Mayer, the super-power duo who will the save the world of techno. "Two of Us" is an irresistible bass-driven groove that steamrolls the first three minutes until the glockenspiel puts a magic spell on the dancefloor. On the flipside, Geiger delivers a killer remix in a deeper, dubby fashion without missing the euphoric peak of the original. Last but not least, Supermayer bring back the glockenspiel for an excessive DJ tool. Its mantra-like repetition sounds like a message.
*** On SOUL JAZZ. Brazil 70 follows Brazilian music in the 1970s in the aftermath of Tropicalia and as the country's dictatorship entered its most oppressive phase. Musicians and artists from the Tropicalia period of the late-60s such as Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee (Os Mutantes lead-singer) and Gal Costa entered a new phase mixing rock, funk, samba and soul alongside a wealth of like-minded new artists such as Novos Baianos, Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo and Joyce and more."
V/A Detroit Beatdown Vol. 2 EP
*** The first of five EPs from Third Ear of their Detroit Beatdown series. First up in DB2 is EP1: The 'Black' EP." Included here: DJ Minx, Reggie Dokes, Smith, Black Art Music.
BABY OLIVER Feelings 2/Shot Caller 12"
*** "Check out the new record from new Environ act, Baby Oliver! More hot and twisted tracks for disco jackers and neurotic nu-romantics... you don't want to miss it. Baby Oliver's jams slice across genre divides and sound like nothing else coming out! Sure to drive your dancefloors wild."
BORATTO, GUI Chromophobia Remixe Part 2 12"
*** The second part of the Chromophobia Remixe series is purely dedicated to "Beautiful Life." The original version got re-mastered and re-cut in order to blow up each and every open-air summer jam. Gui Boratto himself provides a dense remix that translates the exuberant original into a dark and sexy club version. BPitch's Sascha Funke did what he does best: he transformed "Beautiful Life" into a cheeky little heartbreaker.
SOUNDMURDERER + SK1 Soundmurderer + SK1 2xLP
*** "Compilation of some of the best tracks from the Detroit jungle label Rewind by Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) and SK-1 (aka Tadd Mullinix). Rewind are leaders of a wave of American junglists obsessed with the development of the original ruffneck ragga and frenetic breakbeat sound."
STUDIO Life's a Beach! 12"
*** Mixes by Prins Thomas & Todd Terje. "Sweden's Studio make beautiful organic electronic music that falls midway between dance/indie and electronica. Here the Norwegian kings of nu-disco remix the bands signature release to devastating effect. Latter day comparisons would read Cluster / Neu / La Dusseldorf / Kraftwerk / Manuel Gottsching."
STUDIO West Coast 2xLP/CD
*** "This is the first full-length album by Studio, finally given a full-fledged release after a limited release disappeared from the racks last year. West Coast will appeal to fans of the new slo-mo Italo disco and is the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an Afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure."
SUPERMAYER Two of Us 12"
*** Supermayer are Superpitcher and Michael Mayer, the super-power duo who will the save the world of techno. "Two of Us" is an irresistible bass-driven groove that steamrolls the first three minutes until the glockenspiel puts a magic spell on the dancefloor. On the flipside, Geiger delivers a killer remix in a deeper, dubby fashion without missing the euphoric peak of the original. Last but not least, Supermayer bring back the glockenspiel for an excessive DJ tool. Its mantra-like repetition sounds like a message.
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Strange, unusual, wonderful and beautiful music...
OST The Wicker Man CD
*** "Music and songs by Paul Giovanni. First ever release of the stereo masters of all the songs from this cult British Horror Film. The original stereo masters that were prepared for a US album release in 1977 were thought lost but have now been discovered." Deluxe US version with a 20-booklet of elaborate liner notes and photos.
V/A Brazil 70 -- After Tropicalia 2xLP/CD
*** On SOUL JAZZ. Brazil 70 follows Brazilian music in the 1970s in the aftermath of Tropicalia and as the country's dictatorship entered its most oppressive phase. Musicians and artists from the Tropicalia period of the late-60s such as Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee (Os Mutantes lead-singer) and Gal Costa entered a new phase mixing rock, funk, samba and soul alongside a wealth of like-minded new artists such as Novos Baianos, Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo and Joyce and more."
V/A Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music... CD
*** "Never before presented outside a tiny minority of the Burmese community, this unbelievable collection of garage and psychedelic rock, raw folk-blues ballads, and country-western styled music is a product of Shan and Pa'o musicians hailing from the early 1970s."
V/A The Great Lakes Sound: Techno from the I94/I104 Corridor 2xCD
*** "What you hold in your hands is from the next wave of electronic musicians from the Great Lakes area of the American Midwest -- the cradle of house music and techno. On the path cut by Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Richie Hawtin, DJ T-1000, Mike Dearborn and Green Velvet, Thee Madkatt Courtship and DJ Skull, the artists on this compilation are working their gear to keep the heavy grooves and the driving beats flowing."
V/A The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974 CD
*** "Twenty handpicked soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems from Germany -- all recorded between 1966 and 1974. Among them many Kraut-pleasin' obscurities and long-forgotten nuggets that appear now for the very first time on CD."
V/A The In-Kraut Vol. 2 CD
*** "Once again we take a deep trip into the funky musical spheres of 1960s and 1970s Germany -- an undiscovered universe full of Hammond-heavy grooves, tight big band arrangements and fuzz guitar enhanced dancefloor nuggets. Dip into a motherlode of 20 rare soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems -- most of them appearing for the first time on CD."
V/A Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Forget such flamboyant cover stars such as Genesis, Yes and ELP, what about the unintentionally progressive musicians from the far reaches of the globe who were forced to create their own brand of psychedelic rock in a country shielded from the influence of the western world? Even though most of the 15 tracks on this compilation were recorded over 30 years ago they still, individually embody a wide range of challenging progressive musical ideas which are as relevant today as they were when the vinyl first came off the press in each of their scattered countries of origin." Artists: Picchio dal Pozzo, Visitors, Baris Manco, Phillipe Besombes Drugi Nacin, Bran, Breakout, Martin Kratochvil, San Ul Lim, Egg, 3 Hurel, Illes, Jean Claude Vannier, Embryo, Czerwone Gitary, Jazz Q.
BABY GRANDMOTHERS Baby Grandmothers CD
*** "Baby Grandmothers were a short-lived Swedish band, but one of the most prolific and unique psychedelic, modal, experimental power-trios to emerge out of the Scandinavian psychedelic underground scene in 1967."
BEN, JORGE Força Bruta CD
*** "First time on CD in the U.S.! A groundbreaking album from the young Jorge Ben -- one of Brazil's most soulful singers ever -- heard here at a pivotal point in his career. Força Bruta is a record that forever transformed Brazilian music with its unique blend of samba and soul -- and it features some tremendous rhythm work from Trio Mocoto -- who bring in a wide variety of percussion techniques to make the whole thing groove. There's an earthy, laid-back feel to the whole set -- one that makes the album feel like a spontaneous expression of genius, even at the few points when larger orchestrations slide into the mix. The album is easily one of Jorge Ben's greatest!"
LUOMO Paper Tigers CD
*** Vladislav Delay is finally back as Luomo. Paper Tigers is brilliantly lush and expansive dance music, and it is here to stay. As the trends of electronic music shift like Saharan sands, there are a few releases which stand as classics. For Luomo, House music is an aquatic experience, vocals are edited, beats are environments and atmosphere extends outward past the solar system and inwards towards the ear canal, until the two meet at your feet.
SECOND HAND Reality CD
*** "An acknowledged landmark of progressive acid rock, this 1968 classic combines top-notch songwriting with vicious guitar, swathes of mellotron and dense arrangements, to unique and unsettling effect. Late-period UK psychedelia with weird strings, flute melodies other synthie orchestral moments."
SOUNDMURDERER + SK1 Rewind CD
*** "Compilation of some of the best tracks from the Detroit jungle label Rewind by Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) and SK-1 (aka Tadd Mullinix). Rewind are leaders of a wave of American junglists obsessed with the development of the original ruffneck ragga and frenetic breakbeat sound."
STUDIO West Coast 2xLP/CD
*** "This is the first full-length album by Studio, finally given a full-fledged release after a limited release disappeared from the racks last year. West Coast will appeal to fans of the new slo-mo Italo disco and is the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an Afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure."
TRENTEMØLLER The Last Resort CD
*** This is Danish producer Anders Trentemøller 's debut full-length. The 13 instrumental tracks together form a wordless musical story, almost like the soundtrack to a movie. It manages to capture a whole range of emotions in subtle melodic miniatures, dreamy ambiences, dusty beats, deep dub-tracks and driving groove-excursions. Although it's definitely an electronic album, it also incorporates live drums, guitars and other acoustic instruments like celesta, glockenspiel, melodica and even DJ scratching to create a more organic feel."
*** "Music and songs by Paul Giovanni. First ever release of the stereo masters of all the songs from this cult British Horror Film. The original stereo masters that were prepared for a US album release in 1977 were thought lost but have now been discovered." Deluxe US version with a 20-booklet of elaborate liner notes and photos.
V/A Brazil 70 -- After Tropicalia 2xLP/CD
*** On SOUL JAZZ. Brazil 70 follows Brazilian music in the 1970s in the aftermath of Tropicalia and as the country's dictatorship entered its most oppressive phase. Musicians and artists from the Tropicalia period of the late-60s such as Gilberto Gil, Rita Lee (Os Mutantes lead-singer) and Gal Costa entered a new phase mixing rock, funk, samba and soul alongside a wealth of like-minded new artists such as Novos Baianos, Raul Seixas, Nelson Angelo and Joyce and more."
V/A Guitars of the Golden Triangle: Folk and Pop Music... CD
*** "Never before presented outside a tiny minority of the Burmese community, this unbelievable collection of garage and psychedelic rock, raw folk-blues ballads, and country-western styled music is a product of Shan and Pa'o musicians hailing from the early 1970s."
V/A The Great Lakes Sound: Techno from the I94/I104 Corridor 2xCD
*** "What you hold in your hands is from the next wave of electronic musicians from the Great Lakes area of the American Midwest -- the cradle of house music and techno. On the path cut by Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Jeff Mills, Underground Resistance, Richie Hawtin, DJ T-1000, Mike Dearborn and Green Velvet, Thee Madkatt Courtship and DJ Skull, the artists on this compilation are working their gear to keep the heavy grooves and the driving beats flowing."
V/A The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974 CD
*** "Twenty handpicked soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems from Germany -- all recorded between 1966 and 1974. Among them many Kraut-pleasin' obscurities and long-forgotten nuggets that appear now for the very first time on CD."
V/A The In-Kraut Vol. 2 CD
*** "Once again we take a deep trip into the funky musical spheres of 1960s and 1970s Germany -- an undiscovered universe full of Hammond-heavy grooves, tight big band arrangements and fuzz guitar enhanced dancefloor nuggets. Dip into a motherlode of 20 rare soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems -- most of them appearing for the first time on CD."
V/A Prog Is Not a Four Letter Word CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Forget such flamboyant cover stars such as Genesis, Yes and ELP, what about the unintentionally progressive musicians from the far reaches of the globe who were forced to create their own brand of psychedelic rock in a country shielded from the influence of the western world? Even though most of the 15 tracks on this compilation were recorded over 30 years ago they still, individually embody a wide range of challenging progressive musical ideas which are as relevant today as they were when the vinyl first came off the press in each of their scattered countries of origin." Artists: Picchio dal Pozzo, Visitors, Baris Manco, Phillipe Besombes Drugi Nacin, Bran, Breakout, Martin Kratochvil, San Ul Lim, Egg, 3 Hurel, Illes, Jean Claude Vannier, Embryo, Czerwone Gitary, Jazz Q.
BABY GRANDMOTHERS Baby Grandmothers CD
*** "Baby Grandmothers were a short-lived Swedish band, but one of the most prolific and unique psychedelic, modal, experimental power-trios to emerge out of the Scandinavian psychedelic underground scene in 1967."
BEN, JORGE Força Bruta CD
*** "First time on CD in the U.S.! A groundbreaking album from the young Jorge Ben -- one of Brazil's most soulful singers ever -- heard here at a pivotal point in his career. Força Bruta is a record that forever transformed Brazilian music with its unique blend of samba and soul -- and it features some tremendous rhythm work from Trio Mocoto -- who bring in a wide variety of percussion techniques to make the whole thing groove. There's an earthy, laid-back feel to the whole set -- one that makes the album feel like a spontaneous expression of genius, even at the few points when larger orchestrations slide into the mix. The album is easily one of Jorge Ben's greatest!"
LUOMO Paper Tigers CD
*** Vladislav Delay is finally back as Luomo. Paper Tigers is brilliantly lush and expansive dance music, and it is here to stay. As the trends of electronic music shift like Saharan sands, there are a few releases which stand as classics. For Luomo, House music is an aquatic experience, vocals are edited, beats are environments and atmosphere extends outward past the solar system and inwards towards the ear canal, until the two meet at your feet.
SECOND HAND Reality CD
*** "An acknowledged landmark of progressive acid rock, this 1968 classic combines top-notch songwriting with vicious guitar, swathes of mellotron and dense arrangements, to unique and unsettling effect. Late-period UK psychedelia with weird strings, flute melodies other synthie orchestral moments."
SOUNDMURDERER + SK1 Rewind CD
*** "Compilation of some of the best tracks from the Detroit jungle label Rewind by Soundmurderer (aka Todd Osborn) and SK-1 (aka Tadd Mullinix). Rewind are leaders of a wave of American junglists obsessed with the development of the original ruffneck ragga and frenetic breakbeat sound."
STUDIO West Coast 2xLP/CD
*** "This is the first full-length album by Studio, finally given a full-fledged release after a limited release disappeared from the racks last year. West Coast will appeal to fans of the new slo-mo Italo disco and is the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an Afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure."
TRENTEMØLLER The Last Resort CD
*** This is Danish producer Anders Trentemøller 's debut full-length. The 13 instrumental tracks together form a wordless musical story, almost like the soundtrack to a movie. It manages to capture a whole range of emotions in subtle melodic miniatures, dreamy ambiences, dusty beats, deep dub-tracks and driving groove-excursions. Although it's definitely an electronic album, it also incorporates live drums, guitars and other acoustic instruments like celesta, glockenspiel, melodica and even DJ scratching to create a more organic feel."
Monday, October 15, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: RESTOCKS )))))
FM3 Buddha Machine GADGET
*** Have you heard of this yet? Awesome little box about the size of an iPod with an 1/8" headphone jack and built-in speaker. This little gem plays nine (9) ambient loops but I dare you to make it past the first one during the first month of ownership. Batteries included!
DEREN, MAYA Experimental Films (1943-1959) DVD
*** "From the early 1940's until her death in 1961, Maya Deren evoked and exemplified the American avant-garde movement virtually by herself. Her first film, Meshes Of The Afternoon, set the tone for the decade and linked the movement to the older European avant-garde films of Cocteau and Bunuel ." -- Cecil Starr, The New York Times. 'Intensely personal, symbolic and surreal films that reveal her deepest, darkest fantasies. She's Fellini and Bergman wrapped in one gloriously possessed body. Watching these films can change forever your concept of what cinema can be." -- L.A. Weekly.
V/A The Bombay Connection: Funk From Bollywood Action Thrillers CD
V/A Bombshell Baby of Bombay: Bouncin' Nightclub Grooves.. CD
*** Excellent compilation series of Bollywood music from the 1960s to 1980s covering bizarre funk and some of the best nightclub jazz you've never heard.
V/A Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub CD
*** Soul Jazz comp of new tracks, all dubstep and beyond.
V/A Music De Wolfe Vol. 1 CD
*** One of the first comps of DeWolfe library tracks to make it out of vinyl purgatory. This disc covers a fair amount of DeWolfe's hard and dirty funk. The original records are very rare and very hard to find.
V/A The Tomorrow People - Original Television Music CD
*** BBC Radiophonic Workshop alert! Perhaps the last of the unreleased Radiophonic song and sound experiments from they early days.
AFX Analogue Bubblebath 3 CD
AFX Chosen Lords CD
*** Richard D. James restocked.
APPARAT Walls CD
*** Brand new excellent album from Ellen Allien's recent cohort.
GUI BORATTO Chromophobia CD
*** One of Kompakt's biggest stars.
ESG Come Away With ESG CD
*** Oof--one of the best early '80s downtown NYC albums. Really key stuff. Simple and infecting. Amazing.
THE FIELD From Here We Go Sublime CD
*** Another recent Kompakt star.
SQUAREPUSHER Feed Me Weird Things CD
*** Squarepusher's first album. We haven't carried this in a long time.
V/A Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound 2xLP
*** One of Soul Jazz's best comps--hands down. A must!
BURIAL Burial 2xLP
*** This is a hot item 'round these parts and we can barely keep this heavy-duty vinyl in stock.
THE FIELD Things Keep Falling Down 12"
*** Kompakt's golden boy, currently on tour with !!!, nice EP.
JUSTICE D.A.N.C.E. Remixes 12"
*** A tasty 12" from France's hottest export. Great remix by JACKSON (Warp Records).
LIQUID LIQUID Liquid Liquid 2LP
*** Another hard-to-find record from the early '80s downtown NYC scene. These fellows were best buds with ESG and made some of the most provocative and sampled "body music."
*** Have you heard of this yet? Awesome little box about the size of an iPod with an 1/8" headphone jack and built-in speaker. This little gem plays nine (9) ambient loops but I dare you to make it past the first one during the first month of ownership. Batteries included!
DEREN, MAYA Experimental Films (1943-1959) DVD
*** "From the early 1940's until her death in 1961, Maya Deren evoked and exemplified the American avant-garde movement virtually by herself. Her first film, Meshes Of The Afternoon, set the tone for the decade and linked the movement to the older European avant-garde films of Cocteau and Bunuel ." -- Cecil Starr, The New York Times. 'Intensely personal, symbolic and surreal films that reveal her deepest, darkest fantasies. She's Fellini and Bergman wrapped in one gloriously possessed body. Watching these films can change forever your concept of what cinema can be." -- L.A. Weekly.
V/A The Bombay Connection: Funk From Bollywood Action Thrillers CD
V/A Bombshell Baby of Bombay: Bouncin' Nightclub Grooves.. CD
*** Excellent compilation series of Bollywood music from the 1960s to 1980s covering bizarre funk and some of the best nightclub jazz you've never heard.
V/A Box of Dub: Dubstep and Future Dub CD
*** Soul Jazz comp of new tracks, all dubstep and beyond.
V/A Music De Wolfe Vol. 1 CD
*** One of the first comps of DeWolfe library tracks to make it out of vinyl purgatory. This disc covers a fair amount of DeWolfe's hard and dirty funk. The original records are very rare and very hard to find.
V/A The Tomorrow People - Original Television Music CD
*** BBC Radiophonic Workshop alert! Perhaps the last of the unreleased Radiophonic song and sound experiments from they early days.
AFX Analogue Bubblebath 3 CD
AFX Chosen Lords CD
*** Richard D. James restocked.
APPARAT Walls CD
*** Brand new excellent album from Ellen Allien's recent cohort.
GUI BORATTO Chromophobia CD
*** One of Kompakt's biggest stars.
ESG Come Away With ESG CD
*** Oof--one of the best early '80s downtown NYC albums. Really key stuff. Simple and infecting. Amazing.
THE FIELD From Here We Go Sublime CD
*** Another recent Kompakt star.
SQUAREPUSHER Feed Me Weird Things CD
*** Squarepusher's first album. We haven't carried this in a long time.
V/A Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound 2xLP
*** One of Soul Jazz's best comps--hands down. A must!
BURIAL Burial 2xLP
*** This is a hot item 'round these parts and we can barely keep this heavy-duty vinyl in stock.
THE FIELD Things Keep Falling Down 12"
*** Kompakt's golden boy, currently on tour with !!!, nice EP.
JUSTICE D.A.N.C.E. Remixes 12"
*** A tasty 12" from France's hottest export. Great remix by JACKSON (Warp Records).
LIQUID LIQUID Liquid Liquid 2LP
*** Another hard-to-find record from the early '80s downtown NYC scene. These fellows were best buds with ESG and made some of the most provocative and sampled "body music."
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Tom Verlaine scores!
TOM VERLAINE & JIMMY RIP Music For Experimental Film DVD
*** "Innovative and influential musician Tom Verlaine, joined by celebrated producer and guitarist Jimmy Rip, reawaken the spirit of the avant-garde film as they perform a series of newly composed musical scores. The ground-breaking works of Man Ray, Watson & Weber, Fernand Leger and Hans Richter take on new life wrapped in scores that are by turns playful, haunting, serene and intense."
Read more about this release here: http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=876
*** "Innovative and influential musician Tom Verlaine, joined by celebrated producer and guitarist Jimmy Rip, reawaken the spirit of the avant-garde film as they perform a series of newly composed musical scores. The ground-breaking works of Man Ray, Watson & Weber, Fernand Leger and Hans Richter take on new life wrapped in scores that are by turns playful, haunting, serene and intense."
Read more about this release here: http://www.kino.com/video/item.php?film_id=876
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Kraftwerk, Super Furry Animals & more!
BAND OF HORSES Cease To Begin LP / CD
*** "The songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less elliptical and more straightforward, dealing with the reconciliation of attachment and detachment, the strength that’s found through suffering, and the understanding that we are as significant as we are insignificant. It’s also a great rock record."
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS: KEVIN DREW Spirit If... 2xLP+MP3s
*** NOW ON VINYL!
FIERY FURNACES Widow City 2xLP / CD
*** "The sixth album (and first for Thrill Jockey) from the FIERY FURNACES. While Widow City is rooted in the Furnace’s aesthetic of challenging conventional notions of timing and song structure, the record is absolutely unlike any other in their expansive repertoire. Sixteen tracks that are among the finest and catchiest they’ve written to date."
KRAFTWERK + HOT CHIP Aerodynamik / La Forme 12"
*** Total nerds HOT CHIP remix the O.G. German nerds. Did it have to happen? I don't know!
JENS LEKMAN Night Falls Over Kortedala LP / CD
*** "JENS arduously labored over these songs over the last three years. It's characterized by a vague musical pop sound with hints of tropicalia, it has more in common with PAUL SIMON's Graceland'."
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS Hey Venus LP+MP3s
*** "One the Super Furries catchiest and best albums to date" on vinyl-only in the US for now, but it has a coupon for mp3s!
*** "The songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less elliptical and more straightforward, dealing with the reconciliation of attachment and detachment, the strength that’s found through suffering, and the understanding that we are as significant as we are insignificant. It’s also a great rock record."
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE PRESENTS: KEVIN DREW Spirit If... 2xLP+MP3s
*** NOW ON VINYL!
FIERY FURNACES Widow City 2xLP / CD
*** "The sixth album (and first for Thrill Jockey) from the FIERY FURNACES. While Widow City is rooted in the Furnace’s aesthetic of challenging conventional notions of timing and song structure, the record is absolutely unlike any other in their expansive repertoire. Sixteen tracks that are among the finest and catchiest they’ve written to date."
KRAFTWERK + HOT CHIP Aerodynamik / La Forme 12"
*** Total nerds HOT CHIP remix the O.G. German nerds. Did it have to happen? I don't know!
JENS LEKMAN Night Falls Over Kortedala LP / CD
*** "JENS arduously labored over these songs over the last three years. It's characterized by a vague musical pop sound with hints of tropicalia, it has more in common with PAUL SIMON's Graceland'."
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS Hey Venus LP+MP3s
*** "One the Super Furries catchiest and best albums to date" on vinyl-only in the US for now, but it has a coupon for mp3s!
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Beirut, Band Of Horses, Fiery Furnaces, Jens Lekman & more!
BAND OF HORSES Cease To Begin LP / CD
*** "The songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less elliptical and more straightforward, dealing with the reconciliation of attachment and detachment, the strength that’s found through suffering, and the understanding that we are as significant as we are insignificant. It’s also a great rock record."
BEIRUT The Flying Club Cup CD
*** "Six months of recording led to an homage to France's culture, fashion, history, and music. Two years ago, Zach Condon immersed himself in Balkan folk, absorbed sounds, scales, styles, and the sonic joys of a skeletally structured, cacophonic ensemble and moved west. Soaking up the likes of Francois Hardy, Charles Aznavour, and, most notably, Jacques Brel (a huge influence on both Scott Walker and Mark E. Smith), Condon has been articulating his conversational French for this new platter."
CELEBRATION The Modern Tribe CD
*** "The Modern Tribe is an album of sublime colours, rich textures and glorious, ascending melody. And if tracks like "Pony" and "Fly The Fly" have the dense groove and full-throated impact of past classics, they're balanced by the swooning swirl of "Evergreen", the heady gospel of "Heartbreak" and the cosmic, chanted "Tame The Savage". It's a development which has to be heard to be believed, and one that establishes Celebration as one of the most distinctive bands at work in the world today.
DUKE ELLINGTON Meets Coleman Hawkins CD
*** Remastered and made to look nice.
ENON Grass Geysers... Carbon Clouds CD
*** "Enon are back with their long-awaited 5th album, and this time they brought the can of whoop ass! Blasting through 12 tunes lodged between your conscience and the red lights, this is their most consistent and striking work yet. It builds you up from 'Mirror on You' before burning you down in 'Ashish'. A manic and fast paced punch in the neck."
ENON Believo CD
*** "Long, long ago, at the beginning of the new millennium, the world begot Enon. It was before Willliamsburg was, like, totally over, before beards made you cool, and just at the cusp of all this modern computer recording tomfoolery. This record makes a bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries full of effects, samples, pop sensibilities, and a complete respect for and disregard of The Rules."
FIERY FURNACES Widow City 2xLP / CD
*** "The sixth album (and first for Thrill Jockey) from the FIERY FURNACES. While Widow City is rooted in the Furnace’s aesthetic of challenging conventional notions of timing and song structure, the record is absolutely unlike any other in their expansive repertoire. Sixteen tracks that are among the finest and catchiest they’ve written to date."
KID ROCK Rock N Roll Jesus CD
*** Surely, the original "early mornin' stoned pimp" needs no introduction. Rolling Stone gave it four (4!) stars.
JENS LEKMAN Night Falls Over Kortedala LP / CD
*** "JENS arduously labored over these songs over the last three years. It's characterized by a vague musical pop sound with hints of tropicalia, it has more in common with PAUL SIMON's Graceland'."
CASS MCCOMBS Dropping The Writ CD
*** New! and quite tuneful.
SCOUT NIBLETT This Fool Can Die Now CD
*** "Recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini, featuring Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) on vocals. Mournful pleas, plaintive cries, and guitar-driven indignation over 14 songs that traverse a spectrum of charged emotions from yearning and grief to resignation and acceptance."
ROBERT POLLARD Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love CD
ROBERT POLLARD Standard Gargoyle Decisions CD
*** "In the universe where Bob Pollard explains the Freudian divisions of his psyche he calls Coast his id; Standard his ego; and himself his super ego. A psych 101 course might change that order a bit -- but it's one good explaination for his continued prolificacy."
SHE WANTS REVENGE This Is Forever CD
*** "With no intention of playing it safe this time out, the boys continue on the path of creating thought-provoking and emotional dance music both challenging and compelling."
SUNSET RUBDOWN Random Spirit Lover CD
*** "The woven lyrics and singular songwriting style heard in SUNSET RUBDOWN invoke a mythological world, where magical narratives and tiny metaphors give shape to ordinary objects in the room; sometimes beautiful, sometimes beastly. Twelve songs that bleed in and out of each other, mixing portents with theatrics, confusions with conversions."
TRENTEMOLLER Chronicles 2xCD
*** "His best songs and remixes, 2003-2007. Includes new and unreleased material and his remixes for ROYKSOPP, MOBY, THE KNIFE, etc."
*** "The songs on Cease to Begin are strikingly beautiful, if less elliptical and more straightforward, dealing with the reconciliation of attachment and detachment, the strength that’s found through suffering, and the understanding that we are as significant as we are insignificant. It’s also a great rock record."
BEIRUT The Flying Club Cup CD
*** "Six months of recording led to an homage to France's culture, fashion, history, and music. Two years ago, Zach Condon immersed himself in Balkan folk, absorbed sounds, scales, styles, and the sonic joys of a skeletally structured, cacophonic ensemble and moved west. Soaking up the likes of Francois Hardy, Charles Aznavour, and, most notably, Jacques Brel (a huge influence on both Scott Walker and Mark E. Smith), Condon has been articulating his conversational French for this new platter."
CELEBRATION The Modern Tribe CD
*** "The Modern Tribe is an album of sublime colours, rich textures and glorious, ascending melody. And if tracks like "Pony" and "Fly The Fly" have the dense groove and full-throated impact of past classics, they're balanced by the swooning swirl of "Evergreen", the heady gospel of "Heartbreak" and the cosmic, chanted "Tame The Savage". It's a development which has to be heard to be believed, and one that establishes Celebration as one of the most distinctive bands at work in the world today.
DUKE ELLINGTON Meets Coleman Hawkins CD
*** Remastered and made to look nice.
ENON Grass Geysers... Carbon Clouds CD
*** "Enon are back with their long-awaited 5th album, and this time they brought the can of whoop ass! Blasting through 12 tunes lodged between your conscience and the red lights, this is their most consistent and striking work yet. It builds you up from 'Mirror on You' before burning you down in 'Ashish'. A manic and fast paced punch in the neck."
ENON Believo CD
*** "Long, long ago, at the beginning of the new millennium, the world begot Enon. It was before Willliamsburg was, like, totally over, before beards made you cool, and just at the cusp of all this modern computer recording tomfoolery. This record makes a bridge between the 20th and 21st centuries full of effects, samples, pop sensibilities, and a complete respect for and disregard of The Rules."
FIERY FURNACES Widow City 2xLP / CD
*** "The sixth album (and first for Thrill Jockey) from the FIERY FURNACES. While Widow City is rooted in the Furnace’s aesthetic of challenging conventional notions of timing and song structure, the record is absolutely unlike any other in their expansive repertoire. Sixteen tracks that are among the finest and catchiest they’ve written to date."
KID ROCK Rock N Roll Jesus CD
*** Surely, the original "early mornin' stoned pimp" needs no introduction. Rolling Stone gave it four (4!) stars.
JENS LEKMAN Night Falls Over Kortedala LP / CD
*** "JENS arduously labored over these songs over the last three years. It's characterized by a vague musical pop sound with hints of tropicalia, it has more in common with PAUL SIMON's Graceland'."
CASS MCCOMBS Dropping The Writ CD
*** New! and quite tuneful.
SCOUT NIBLETT This Fool Can Die Now CD
*** "Recorded at Electrical Audio with Steve Albini, featuring Will Oldham (aka Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) on vocals. Mournful pleas, plaintive cries, and guitar-driven indignation over 14 songs that traverse a spectrum of charged emotions from yearning and grief to resignation and acceptance."
ROBERT POLLARD Coast To Coast Carpet Of Love CD
ROBERT POLLARD Standard Gargoyle Decisions CD
*** "In the universe where Bob Pollard explains the Freudian divisions of his psyche he calls Coast his id; Standard his ego; and himself his super ego. A psych 101 course might change that order a bit -- but it's one good explaination for his continued prolificacy."
SHE WANTS REVENGE This Is Forever CD
*** "With no intention of playing it safe this time out, the boys continue on the path of creating thought-provoking and emotional dance music both challenging and compelling."
SUNSET RUBDOWN Random Spirit Lover CD
*** "The woven lyrics and singular songwriting style heard in SUNSET RUBDOWN invoke a mythological world, where magical narratives and tiny metaphors give shape to ordinary objects in the room; sometimes beautiful, sometimes beastly. Twelve songs that bleed in and out of each other, mixing portents with theatrics, confusions with conversions."
TRENTEMOLLER Chronicles 2xCD
*** "His best songs and remixes, 2003-2007. Includes new and unreleased material and his remixes for ROYKSOPP, MOBY, THE KNIFE, etc."
Monday, October 8, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: RESTOCKS ))))) Can, Seefeel, & Cinema16
CAN Can DVD 2xDVD
*** BACK IN STOCK! The non-CD version of the very excellent CAN concert and more. If you aren't a CAN fan now, this will change you.
CINEMA 16: European Short Films 2xDVD
*** BACK IN STOCK! Excellent compilation of short films featuring the first films RIDLEY SCOTT and LARS VON TRIER made among many other excellent films.
SEEFEEL Quique 2xCD
*** REISSUED in jewelcase. The landmark record is back again after a short delay.
*** BACK IN STOCK! The non-CD version of the very excellent CAN concert and more. If you aren't a CAN fan now, this will change you.
CINEMA 16: European Short Films 2xDVD
*** BACK IN STOCK! Excellent compilation of short films featuring the first films RIDLEY SCOTT and LARS VON TRIER made among many other excellent films.
SEEFEEL Quique 2xCD
*** REISSUED in jewelcase. The landmark record is back again after a short delay.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) The second & final volume of films by Kenneth Anger!
KENNETH ANGER The Films Of...Vol II DVD
*** RECOMMENDED. "Covering the second half of Anger's career, from his legendary Scorpio Rising to his breathtaking phantasmagoria Lucifer Rising, this is the long-awaited final volume of films by this revolutionary and groundbreaking maverick."
Read more about this release here: http://www.fantoma.com/fantoma.html
*** RECOMMENDED. "Covering the second half of Anger's career, from his legendary Scorpio Rising to his breathtaking phantasmagoria Lucifer Rising, this is the long-awaited final volume of films by this revolutionary and groundbreaking maverick."
Read more about this release here: http://www.fantoma.com/fantoma.html
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Kon & Amir
KON & AMIR Off Track Vol 1: The Bronx 2xLP
*** "Rare and sought-after previously uncompiled tracks spanning soul, disco, jazz, & funk." This DJ duo is known for their On Track series, featuring mixed super-rare tracks and edits. Here's their first unmixed record.
*** "Rare and sought-after previously uncompiled tracks spanning soul, disco, jazz, & funk." This DJ duo is known for their On Track series, featuring mixed super-rare tracks and edits. Here's their first unmixed record.
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) The Boss, Sharon Jones, The Sadies & more!
ACEYALONE Lightning Strikes CD
*** "Aceyalone's genre-bending new album!"
BLANCHE Little Amber Bottles CD
*** "With glints of grit and strychnine-laced grandeur from the birthplace of Motown, Blance weave eerily beautiful tales, inspired by Depression-era blues, early country, and stripped down rock 'n' televangelism, all delivered in the style of an electrified gospel quintet."
CAKE B-Sides & Rarities CD
*** Covers, live stuff, and a scratch&sniff cover. Believe it!
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL The Shade Of Poison Trees CD
*** "This album marks a return to the signature acoustic sound that Carraba first developed on early albums."
FIRE ENGINES Hungry Beat CD
*** "Finally back in print, the collected releases of Scotland's most fiery and influential post-punk band." Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream endorse these guys.
PJ HARVEY White Chalk CD
*** Ah, perhaps you've heard of this lady and her bleak music! Another gem from Polly Jean.
JAHCOOZI Blitz'n'ass CD
*** "Sophomore release. This bass heavy electronica trio present a low-end monster that effortlessly boils down the infinite shades of electronica into an irresistible blend of pop."
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS 100 Days 100 Nights 2xCD
*** "On their own independent Daptone label, the band has sold over 50,000 copies of their first two records (not to mention over 20K vinyl 7-inches) without any major label support or promotion. The Dap-Kings have been highly sought after, working with artist such as Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Mark Ronson, Hank Schocklee, Kenny Dope, Lilly Allen, and Rhymefest."
KON & AMIR Off Track Vol 1: The Bronx CD
*** "Rare and sought-after previously uncompiled tracks spanning soul, disco, jazz, & funk." This DJ duo is known for their On Track series, featuring mixed super-rare tracks and edits. Here's their first unmixed record.
ANNIE LENNOX Songs Of Mass Destruction CD
*** "Fourth solo album--thought provoking and intelligent lyrics matched with her distinctive pop sound."
THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC Population CD
*** "The sophomore album from this indie rock band from Canada who fill rooms with their imaginative, sprawling sound and unbridled, youthful enthusiasm."
OM Pilgrimage CD
*** "Three songs featuring their unique use of riff, cadence, and chant. Newest album of drone mantra from OM, recorded by STEVE ALBINI."
PEANUT BUTTER WOLF Presents 2K8: B-Ball Zombie War CD
*** Stones Throw soundtrack for the new zombie basketball game featuring pretty much everyone from the Stones Throw family, including J DILLA, MADLIB, and ARABIAN PRINCE(!!!).
ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI Scared Famous CD
*** "Compiling selections from Ariel Pink's massive bank of half forgotten cassettes can seem like an effort in vain, or a pyrrhic victory at best, as what is left out is equally deserving of a listen as what's included. The tracks selected for Scared Famous were all recorded at a key moment in Ariel's recording adventure, dating back to, or immediately following the recordings on 'House Arrest.'"
THE PIPETTES We Are The Pipettes CD
*** NOW AVAILABLE DOMESTICALLY. Pitchfork said "A modern indie pop album, and a classic one at that." Someone else said "This contemporary, wiggle dress wearing trio merges the rich, layered harmonies and pristine pop of classic Motown girl groups with modern themes."
THE SADIES New Seasons CD
*** "Fifth album! Featuring the brotherly harmonies and dazzling guitar interplay of Dallas and Travis Good, this is their most confident album to date. The Sadies' inspired amalgam of psychedelic country rock, surf, bluegrass and Ennio Morricone-inspired instrumentals has made them the preeminent torchbearers of cosmic American music."
SIOUXSIE Mantaray CD
*** "The debut solo album from renowned British artist and leading Bandshee is fresh and contemporary incorporating industrial rhythms, modern glam and other organic elements."
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Magic CD
*** "The Boss's first album with the E Street band since The Rising. Bruce has never been more excited than he is right now about this record. Cut in two months, many awesome moments, it's the Springsteen we love."
*** "Aceyalone's genre-bending new album!"
BLANCHE Little Amber Bottles CD
*** "With glints of grit and strychnine-laced grandeur from the birthplace of Motown, Blance weave eerily beautiful tales, inspired by Depression-era blues, early country, and stripped down rock 'n' televangelism, all delivered in the style of an electrified gospel quintet."
CAKE B-Sides & Rarities CD
*** Covers, live stuff, and a scratch&sniff cover. Believe it!
DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL The Shade Of Poison Trees CD
*** "This album marks a return to the signature acoustic sound that Carraba first developed on early albums."
FIRE ENGINES Hungry Beat CD
*** "Finally back in print, the collected releases of Scotland's most fiery and influential post-punk band." Franz Ferdinand and Primal Scream endorse these guys.
PJ HARVEY White Chalk CD
*** Ah, perhaps you've heard of this lady and her bleak music! Another gem from Polly Jean.
JAHCOOZI Blitz'n'ass CD
*** "Sophomore release. This bass heavy electronica trio present a low-end monster that effortlessly boils down the infinite shades of electronica into an irresistible blend of pop."
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS 100 Days 100 Nights 2xCD
*** "On their own independent Daptone label, the band has sold over 50,000 copies of their first two records (not to mention over 20K vinyl 7-inches) without any major label support or promotion. The Dap-Kings have been highly sought after, working with artist such as Amy Winehouse, Kanye West, Mark Ronson, Hank Schocklee, Kenny Dope, Lilly Allen, and Rhymefest."
KON & AMIR Off Track Vol 1: The Bronx CD
*** "Rare and sought-after previously uncompiled tracks spanning soul, disco, jazz, & funk." This DJ duo is known for their On Track series, featuring mixed super-rare tracks and edits. Here's their first unmixed record.
ANNIE LENNOX Songs Of Mass Destruction CD
*** "Fourth solo album--thought provoking and intelligent lyrics matched with her distinctive pop sound."
THE MOST SERENE REPUBLIC Population CD
*** "The sophomore album from this indie rock band from Canada who fill rooms with their imaginative, sprawling sound and unbridled, youthful enthusiasm."
OM Pilgrimage CD
*** "Three songs featuring their unique use of riff, cadence, and chant. Newest album of drone mantra from OM, recorded by STEVE ALBINI."
PEANUT BUTTER WOLF Presents 2K8: B-Ball Zombie War CD
*** Stones Throw soundtrack for the new zombie basketball game featuring pretty much everyone from the Stones Throw family, including J DILLA, MADLIB, and ARABIAN PRINCE(!!!).
ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI Scared Famous CD
*** "Compiling selections from Ariel Pink's massive bank of half forgotten cassettes can seem like an effort in vain, or a pyrrhic victory at best, as what is left out is equally deserving of a listen as what's included. The tracks selected for Scared Famous were all recorded at a key moment in Ariel's recording adventure, dating back to, or immediately following the recordings on 'House Arrest.'"
THE PIPETTES We Are The Pipettes CD
*** NOW AVAILABLE DOMESTICALLY. Pitchfork said "A modern indie pop album, and a classic one at that." Someone else said "This contemporary, wiggle dress wearing trio merges the rich, layered harmonies and pristine pop of classic Motown girl groups with modern themes."
THE SADIES New Seasons CD
*** "Fifth album! Featuring the brotherly harmonies and dazzling guitar interplay of Dallas and Travis Good, this is their most confident album to date. The Sadies' inspired amalgam of psychedelic country rock, surf, bluegrass and Ennio Morricone-inspired instrumentals has made them the preeminent torchbearers of cosmic American music."
SIOUXSIE Mantaray CD
*** "The debut solo album from renowned British artist and leading Bandshee is fresh and contemporary incorporating industrial rhythms, modern glam and other organic elements."
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Magic CD
*** "The Boss's first album with the E Street band since The Rising. Bruce has never been more excited than he is right now about this record. Cut in two months, many awesome moments, it's the Springsteen we love."
Monday, October 1, 2007
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Warp Films & Cinema16
CINEMA16: EUROPEAN SHORT FILMS 2xDVD
*** "Launching for the first time in North America, Cinema 16's European Short Films DVD celebrates some of the best short films to have come out of Europe in the last half-century. With over three hours of films, this DVD is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the moving image." Read more about this release here:
http://www.cinema16.co.uk/dvd.php?dvd=4
*** "Launching for the first time in North America, Cinema 16's European Short Films DVD celebrates some of the best short films to have come out of Europe in the last half-century. With over three hours of films, this DVD is essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the moving image." Read more about this release here:
http://www.cinema16.co.uk/dvd.php?dvd=4
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Joy Division, Radiohead, Stars, Animal Collective & more
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Strawberry Jam 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
THE DECEMBERISTS The Perfect Crime #2 EP
*** Four tracks with remixes by OLIVER STUMM & DOMIE CLAUSEN, DIPLO, JUNIOR BOYS, and TUCKER MARTINE.
PJ HARVEY White Chalk LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
JOY DIVISION Closer LP
JOY DIVISION Unknown Pleasures LP
*** Reissued real nice like -- 180g -- by Rhino.
RADIOHEAD I Might Be Wrong LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!
STARS In Our Bedroom After The War 2xLP
*** 180g, double vinyl.
*** NOW ON VINYL!
THE DECEMBERISTS The Perfect Crime #2 EP
*** Four tracks with remixes by OLIVER STUMM & DOMIE CLAUSEN, DIPLO, JUNIOR BOYS, and TUCKER MARTINE.
PJ HARVEY White Chalk LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!
JOY DIVISION Closer LP
JOY DIVISION Unknown Pleasures LP
*** Reissued real nice like -- 180g -- by Rhino.
RADIOHEAD I Might Be Wrong LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!
STARS In Our Bedroom After The War 2xLP
*** 180g, double vinyl.
((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Stars, Mum, Tunng, black metal & more
v/a LA BELLE EPOQUE: EMIs French Girls 1965-1968 CD
*** A fantastic selection of chanteuse pop, once import-only and now available domestically.
AMP FIDDLER Afro Strut CD
*** New!
ATHLETE Beyond The Neighborhood CD
*** New!
DEVENDRA BANHART Smokey Rolls Down The Canyon CD
DEVENDRA BANHART Smokey Rolls Down The Canyon CD+BOOK
*** "Recorded in Topanga Canyon, once home to Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Joni Mitchell, Mick Fleetwood and members of the Doors. Those ghosts inhabit the sound and vibe of these recording sessions. Everyone wants to say that an artists' new album is the best thing they've ever done, but this is truly the case here. The whole "freak folk" tag is gone and in its place is a classic, gorgeous rock album. There are songs that are fragile and solipsistic, ones with a pronounced Tropicalia influence, and ones that are wildly electric and epic."
BLACK FRANCIS Blue Finger CD
*** "Musicians gain songwriting stimulus from broken relationships, bad intentions, and pop culture, but leave it to Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank Black) to find inspiration in the works of the late Dutch painter Herman Brood, who was also recognized as a musician fronting His Wild Romance. The Pixies' alter ego alludes to Brood either candidly or implicitly in all 11 songs, veering far from the Nashville-and-Memphis tones of the last two Black albums for a return trip to his raucous roots on loose-knit tracks."
THE CAVE SINGERS Invitation Songs CD
*** "A fascinatingly rural blend of homespun mystery and 'folk music approached by way of punk rock, or an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music,' to quote the Seattle Weekly. You might hear bits of Calexico, Iron & Wine, Devendra or indeed Lindsey Buckingham in their dense and eerie sound."
STEVE EARLE Washington Square Serenade CD
*** "America's greatest songwriter" returns. 12 new tracks and ALLISON MOORER duets.
FOO FIGHTERS Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace CD
*** New!
TIM GANE & SEAN O'HAGAN La Vie d'Artiste 2xCD
*** "Tim Gane and Sean O'Hagan (respectively of Stereolab and High Llamas fame) put their heads together to pen the music for a new French comedy 'La Vie d'Artiste.' This is the first time they've worked together as a double act since their one-record band, Turn On, released a self-titled album in 1996. When originally approached by the director, Marc Fittousi (a huge fan of both the High Llamas and Stereolab), he wanted them to deliver something that captured what he loved about both bands and reached the heights of classic film composers like Ennio Morricone, François de Roubaix and Piero Picconi."
JOSE GONZALEZ In Our Nature CD
*** BLENDER said "Set against dense, dizzying syncopated guitar patterns, Gonzalez' words acquire unexpected hypnotic power."
HERBIE HANCOCK River: The Joni Letters CD
*** "The legendary pianist and innovator explores the words and music of another pioneer--JONI MITCHELL." Features performances by LEONARD COHEN, NORAH JONES, JONI MITCHELL, CORINNE BAILEY RAE, LUCIANA SOUZA, and TINA TURNER.
HAWKWIND Space Ritual 2CD+DVD
*** Reissued, remastered, bonus tracks, PAL DVD and it's the shit.
HELIOCENTRICS Out There CD
*** URB said “Malcolm Catto’s band turns traditional funk on its head with his syncopated drums tying up ’60s psychedelia and free jazz into chaos-on-the-one.” In an alternative galaxy, where the orbits of Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, Psychedelic, Electronic, Avante-Garde and Ethnic music all revolve around “The One” – that's where you might find The Heliocentrics." Malcolm's brainbending drumming has been featured on releases by Madlib's YNQ and DJ Shadow albums and live show.
HIGH ON FIRE Death Is The Communion CD
*** This is High On Fire's ultimate sonic masterpiece!
CHARLIE HUNTER & BOBBY PREVITE Altitude 2xCD
*** Extraordinary pairing with JOHN MEDESKI as the special guest. One disc is an acoustic set, the other an electric.
BETTYE LAVETTE The Scene Of The Crime CD
*** With DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS as her backing band. "A blistering mix of anguished soul & greasy rock&roll, laced with swampy guitars, slippery Wurlitzer piano and Bettye's razor sharp voice in the forefront."
LE LOUP The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations... CD
*** "The complex themes of The Throne are characterized by mounting tension and dramatic swells, coupled with an engaging emotional resonance that lifts just as much as it illuminates. Simple melodies plucked on a banjo are buoyed by keyboard lines, improvised percussion, and sometimes as many as a dozen overlapping and intertwining vocal tracks, creating a complex and lush soundscape which shrouds itself only long enough to surge into hugeness. Conceptually abstruse while remaining fundamentally personal, The Throne is a collection of rushing narratives that connect the individual struggle of each of us to the death of the universe in a manner that is both intimate and unshakably vital."
PAT METHENY Secret Story 2xCD
*** Fully remastered, featuring 5 bonus tracks from the original session available for the first time.
JONI MITCHELL Shine CD
*** "The radiant return of one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time."
MUM Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy CD
*** "Over 3 years after the release of múm's last album, a new batch of songs making up a fresh album, strangely titled 'go go smear the poison ivy', a colorful, twitching and playful work of art, full of life affirming energy. The album was recorded in a number of different places, one of them being the music school in the small fishingtown of Ísafjörður, making use of the schools various instruments. The drums were mostly recorded in an old school house on the island of Nötö west of Finland. The songs on this multifarious album were conceived over a long period in many a different fashion, one song even dating back to the period of 'Yesterday was dramatic, today is OK.'"
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams CD
*** Limited edition. 12 new tracks + "Soul Spaceship" as a bonus.
SHOCKING PINKS Shocking Pinks CD
*** NME called Shocking Pinks "an icon-in-waiting...we're in love with DFA's new signing." XLR8R said the album is "like a lo-fi shoegaze Belle & Sebastian."
STARS In Our Bedroom After The War CD+DVD
*** The follow-up to Set Yourself On Fire. Bonus DVD includes a 55-minute documentary of live performances and interviews.
TUNNG Good Arrows CD
*** RECOMMENDED. "Dubbed in the British press as 'nu-folk' or 'folktronica' and by Pitchfork as a 'digital folk collective,' this septet uses traditional as well as non-traditional instruments to create music that mixes in electronica, folk and pop elements among others and skillfully avoids any genre limitations as a result. Good Arrows is a totally immersive record, enveloping the listener and their first album to be recorded in its entirety with the full, six-piece band. Taking influences from Icelandic prog rock, choral music and film soundtracks, Good Arrows marks a significant development for Tunng."
WEAKERTHANS Reunion Tour CD
*** "This Canadian quartet has always excelled at mixing pop hooks with slice-of-life lyrics that earn comparisons to short story masters like Grace Paley and Raymond Carver. Musically, if you could imagine the Mountain Goats crossed with Death Cab--or even an older, slower, rocking-er Decembrists more in love with life itself than the dictionary--you'd not be too off the mark."
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Two Hunters CD
*** "Grim & purifying black metal from the forests of Cascadia." Yes!
*** A fantastic selection of chanteuse pop, once import-only and now available domestically.
AMP FIDDLER Afro Strut CD
*** New!
ATHLETE Beyond The Neighborhood CD
*** New!
DEVENDRA BANHART Smokey Rolls Down The Canyon CD
DEVENDRA BANHART Smokey Rolls Down The Canyon CD+BOOK
*** "Recorded in Topanga Canyon, once home to Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Joni Mitchell, Mick Fleetwood and members of the Doors. Those ghosts inhabit the sound and vibe of these recording sessions. Everyone wants to say that an artists' new album is the best thing they've ever done, but this is truly the case here. The whole "freak folk" tag is gone and in its place is a classic, gorgeous rock album. There are songs that are fragile and solipsistic, ones with a pronounced Tropicalia influence, and ones that are wildly electric and epic."
BLACK FRANCIS Blue Finger CD
*** "Musicians gain songwriting stimulus from broken relationships, bad intentions, and pop culture, but leave it to Black Francis (a.k.a. Frank Black) to find inspiration in the works of the late Dutch painter Herman Brood, who was also recognized as a musician fronting His Wild Romance. The Pixies' alter ego alludes to Brood either candidly or implicitly in all 11 songs, veering far from the Nashville-and-Memphis tones of the last two Black albums for a return trip to his raucous roots on loose-knit tracks."
THE CAVE SINGERS Invitation Songs CD
*** "A fascinatingly rural blend of homespun mystery and 'folk music approached by way of punk rock, or an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music,' to quote the Seattle Weekly. You might hear bits of Calexico, Iron & Wine, Devendra or indeed Lindsey Buckingham in their dense and eerie sound."
STEVE EARLE Washington Square Serenade CD
*** "America's greatest songwriter" returns. 12 new tracks and ALLISON MOORER duets.
FOO FIGHTERS Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace CD
*** New!
TIM GANE & SEAN O'HAGAN La Vie d'Artiste 2xCD
*** "Tim Gane and Sean O'Hagan (respectively of Stereolab and High Llamas fame) put their heads together to pen the music for a new French comedy 'La Vie d'Artiste.' This is the first time they've worked together as a double act since their one-record band, Turn On, released a self-titled album in 1996. When originally approached by the director, Marc Fittousi (a huge fan of both the High Llamas and Stereolab), he wanted them to deliver something that captured what he loved about both bands and reached the heights of classic film composers like Ennio Morricone, François de Roubaix and Piero Picconi."
JOSE GONZALEZ In Our Nature CD
*** BLENDER said "Set against dense, dizzying syncopated guitar patterns, Gonzalez' words acquire unexpected hypnotic power."
HERBIE HANCOCK River: The Joni Letters CD
*** "The legendary pianist and innovator explores the words and music of another pioneer--JONI MITCHELL." Features performances by LEONARD COHEN, NORAH JONES, JONI MITCHELL, CORINNE BAILEY RAE, LUCIANA SOUZA, and TINA TURNER.
HAWKWIND Space Ritual 2CD+DVD
*** Reissued, remastered, bonus tracks, PAL DVD and it's the shit.
HELIOCENTRICS Out There CD
*** URB said “Malcolm Catto’s band turns traditional funk on its head with his syncopated drums tying up ’60s psychedelia and free jazz into chaos-on-the-one.” In an alternative galaxy, where the orbits of Hip-Hop, Funk, Jazz, Psychedelic, Electronic, Avante-Garde and Ethnic music all revolve around “The One” – that's where you might find The Heliocentrics." Malcolm's brainbending drumming has been featured on releases by Madlib's YNQ and DJ Shadow albums and live show.
HIGH ON FIRE Death Is The Communion CD
*** This is High On Fire's ultimate sonic masterpiece!
CHARLIE HUNTER & BOBBY PREVITE Altitude 2xCD
*** Extraordinary pairing with JOHN MEDESKI as the special guest. One disc is an acoustic set, the other an electric.
BETTYE LAVETTE The Scene Of The Crime CD
*** With DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS as her backing band. "A blistering mix of anguished soul & greasy rock&roll, laced with swampy guitars, slippery Wurlitzer piano and Bettye's razor sharp voice in the forefront."
LE LOUP The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations... CD
*** "The complex themes of The Throne are characterized by mounting tension and dramatic swells, coupled with an engaging emotional resonance that lifts just as much as it illuminates. Simple melodies plucked on a banjo are buoyed by keyboard lines, improvised percussion, and sometimes as many as a dozen overlapping and intertwining vocal tracks, creating a complex and lush soundscape which shrouds itself only long enough to surge into hugeness. Conceptually abstruse while remaining fundamentally personal, The Throne is a collection of rushing narratives that connect the individual struggle of each of us to the death of the universe in a manner that is both intimate and unshakably vital."
PAT METHENY Secret Story 2xCD
*** Fully remastered, featuring 5 bonus tracks from the original session available for the first time.
JONI MITCHELL Shine CD
*** "The radiant return of one of the greatest singer/songwriters of our time."
MUM Go Go Smear The Poison Ivy CD
*** "Over 3 years after the release of múm's last album, a new batch of songs making up a fresh album, strangely titled 'go go smear the poison ivy', a colorful, twitching and playful work of art, full of life affirming energy. The album was recorded in a number of different places, one of them being the music school in the small fishingtown of Ísafjörður, making use of the schools various instruments. The drums were mostly recorded in an old school house on the island of Nötö west of Finland. The songs on this multifarious album were conceived over a long period in many a different fashion, one song even dating back to the period of 'Yesterday was dramatic, today is OK.'"
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO The World Has Made Me The Man Of My Dreams CD
*** Limited edition. 12 new tracks + "Soul Spaceship" as a bonus.
SHOCKING PINKS Shocking Pinks CD
*** NME called Shocking Pinks "an icon-in-waiting...we're in love with DFA's new signing." XLR8R said the album is "like a lo-fi shoegaze Belle & Sebastian."
STARS In Our Bedroom After The War CD+DVD
*** The follow-up to Set Yourself On Fire. Bonus DVD includes a 55-minute documentary of live performances and interviews.
TUNNG Good Arrows CD
*** RECOMMENDED. "Dubbed in the British press as 'nu-folk' or 'folktronica' and by Pitchfork as a 'digital folk collective,' this septet uses traditional as well as non-traditional instruments to create music that mixes in electronica, folk and pop elements among others and skillfully avoids any genre limitations as a result. Good Arrows is a totally immersive record, enveloping the listener and their first album to be recorded in its entirety with the full, six-piece band. Taking influences from Icelandic prog rock, choral music and film soundtracks, Good Arrows marks a significant development for Tunng."
WEAKERTHANS Reunion Tour CD
*** "This Canadian quartet has always excelled at mixing pop hooks with slice-of-life lyrics that earn comparisons to short story masters like Grace Paley and Raymond Carver. Musically, if you could imagine the Mountain Goats crossed with Death Cab--or even an older, slower, rocking-er Decembrists more in love with life itself than the dictionary--you'd not be too off the mark."
WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM Two Hunters CD
*** "Grim & purifying black metal from the forests of Cascadia." Yes!
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