Tuesday, September 30, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) Time Pieces: the Ann Arbor Film Festival DVD!

ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL Time Pieces DVD
"Ten award-winning and favorite short films from the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival, covering all dimensions of the frame: avant garde film art, experimental animation comedy, alternative narrative, poetic and abstract explorations of nature, indie documentary. Time Pieces also includes rare bonus material with deleted scenes, director commentary, artist statements, video installations and audition outtakes.

"All sales revenues of Time Pieces are shared with the filmmakers, furthering the Ann Arbor Film Festival's mission to help support talented artists working with film and video."

Finally! The first-ever DVD collection of short films from the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival -- and it's an unsinkable, top notch batch, rivaling any experimental film DVD collection out there. It's not all serious brainbenders either; much of the material is hilarious and/or beautiful. By buying this little gem, you're supporting great filmmakers and one of the longest running festivals in the world, A2's own Ann Arbor Film Festival.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Mount Eerie, Mason Proper, Black Moth restock!

BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW Dandelion Gum LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

MASON PROPER My My (Bad Fruit) / Traveling Men (The Pond) PICTURE 7"
*** A very attractive picture disc featuring one track from MP's previous album, Moth, and an exclusive track.

MOUNT EERIE Black Wooden Ceiling Opening 10"+CD
*** "In late 2006 the punkest incarnation of Mount Eerie convened in Anacortes, Washington, made up of Phil Elverum, Jason Anderson, and Kjetil Jenssen (prodigy drummer from the cult hardcore band “The Spectacle” from arctic Norway!). They translated 10 or so songs of Mt. Eerie and The Microphones into a vastly heavier form. They made this recording in the former fire department garage/venue “The Department of Safety”. Half of the songs are never-before released, half are reinterpretations of previously released soft songs. This 10” comes with a 21”x21” fold out double sided poster, a white vinyl record, and a CD."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Madlib, Ani, Dungen, Medeski Martin & Wood and more!

TERRY CALLIER What Color Is Love CD
*** "Essential, classic album! Epic, melancholic folky soul produced & arranged by cult producer Charles Stepney! A masterpiece! Highly recommended!"

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL Green River CD
*** "40th anniversary edition! Digitally remastered with rare and previously unreleased bonus tracks, expanded liner notes, rare photos and more."

ANI DIFRANCO Red Letter Year CD
*** "Ani Difranco says, 'I've got myself a new mantra: Don't forget to have a good time.' This attitude has clearly influenced the dozen tunes on Red Letter Year, which celebrate existence, profess love and tackle thorny political issues with an infectious sense of glee. It's one of Ani's most joyous records to date."

DUNGEN 4 CD
*** "4 extends Dungen's sound past psychedelia into something far more rare. Blazing, raw guitar workouts have their own time and place, but now, so do stirringly orchestrated, jazz-cooled compositions with cinematic undertones. This is a classic and seamless sound, constructed with lavish studio flourishes and moving, narrative arrangements, and yet able to toughen up to tear veins of fierce blues-psych instrumentals up from the surface."

BEN FOLDS Way To Normal CD
*** "Way To Normal is the first full length release since Songs for Silverman, a very honest look at the last few years of Folds' life. Folds collaborated with Dennis Herring (Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello) and the track 'You Don't Know Me' features a duet with indie songstress, Regina Spektor."

GRATEFUL DEAD Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1978 2xCD+DVD
*** "30th anniversary edition 2xCD+DVD set. The CDs feature highlights from historic shows at Egypt's Great Pyramid and pristine HDCD sound. The DVD includes extremely rare concert footage, home movies, and more."

MADLIB WLIB AM: King Of the Wiflip CD
*** "WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip finds Madlib returning to his Western hemisphere roots in hip-hop and R&B, and plays like the days when AM radio ruled the airwaves, transmitting a crackling, low-fi mélange of endless sample fodder, vocal snippets, and sonic intuition, turning singles into stars and flipping wigs with each twist of the dial." Featuring TALIB KWELI, MUTS, OH NO, GUILTY SIMPSON, DEFARI, GEORGIA ANNE MULDROW and others.

MASON PROPER Olly Oxen Free CD
*** "Bandleader and wispy-voiced lyricist Jonathan Visger weaves us into entrancingly experimental post-pop music that sorta recalls indie greats The Dismemberment Plan, Menomena and Islands."

MEDESKI MARTIN & WOOD Radiolarians I CD
*** "With the Radiolarians series, MMW will convene for brief writing retreats, perform only that new material on tour, record the material immediately after getting off the road and release it as an album on their own Indirecto label."

MERCURY REV Snowflake Midnight CD
*** "Swirling atmospherics and mantra-like lyrics abound and Mercury Rev continue experiments with laser harps, ad-hoc computer programs and random note generators resulting in a record that moves with grace between avant garde and traditional pop sensibilities." Download the absolutely free companion album, Strange Attractor, from mercuryrev.com.

TOM MORELLO THE NIGHT WATCHMAN The Fabled City CD
*** "Second release of self-penned singer/songwriter Leftist songs from the guitarist best known for his work with Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave."

MURS Murs For President CD
*** "The new album. 15 real hip-hop tracks featuring SNOOP DOGG and WILL.I.AM with production from 9TH WONDER and NOTTZ."

JAMES JACKSON TOTH Waiting In Vain CD
*** Formerly WOODEN WAND. "Toth's scenarios are intriguingly tawdry with dreamlike harmonies and touches of blues, country, soul and punk swagger."

Thursday, September 25, 2008

(( RECOMMENDED )) To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie

TO KILL A PETTY BOURGEOISIE The Patron CD
"The Patron is the debut full length release by To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie. The songs center around an underlying love story between two merging corporations that manage to capture the raw sentiment of isolation, profound discovery, and morbid betrayal.

"The recording process typically began with a basic vocal and guitar structure which was then slowly developed by adding electronics and manipulating sounds, until the original outline is blurred yet still identifiable. The steady passing of sounds and samples are most important to TKAPB's recording process, and they rely heavily on the loss of translation between each pass.

"What TKAPB have produced is a near perfect storm of structure and chaos, melody and noise, the precise and the random, fused into their own unified musical theory of everything that at times soothes while simultaneously grabbing your throat."

A beguiling album of melody and dissonance, TKAPB might be comparable to an imagined collaboration between Broadcast and Wolf Eyes. It's a dense record and a bit of a journey but so completely worthwhile.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: DVD ))))) Silver Jew!

SILVER JEW DVD
*** "In 2006, after five albums and fifteen years, DAVID BERMAN finally decided to take THE SILVER JEWS out on the road. The band toured across America and Europe, all the way to Israel, playing their first forty shows to a widespread outpouring of joy. Silver Jew is a simple document of one of those stops, whereupon the band played two shows in Tel Aviv, and spent a profound afternoon in Jerusalem."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Mogwai EP & LP, Ratatat, and two more Pixies LPs

BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT Motion To Rejoin LP + MP3 / CD
*** NOW ON VINYL!

MOGWAI Batcat Ep 12"
*** "Limited edition, specially packaged EP containing the song 'Batcat' from 'The Hawk Is Howling', plus two non-album B-sides: 'Stupid Prick Gets Chased By The Police And Loses His Slut Girlfriend' and 'Devil Rides' (featuring ROKY ERICKSON)."

MOGWAI The Hawk Is Howling 2xLP + MP3 / CD
*** Sixth album. "A brooding and atmospheric collection, full of the band's exceptional use of dynamics and creation of hypnotic soundscapes. Instrumentally, the band have somewhat branched out by utilising synthesizers, yet The Hawk Is Howling shares much in common with 2001's Rock Action."

PIXIES Bossanova LP
PIXIES Trompe Le Monde LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

RATATAT Shempi 12"
*** Remixes by ZONGAMIN and E'ROCK.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Jenny Lewis, Mogwai, Otis Redding and a couple of other greats

LUIS BONFA Plays And Sings Bossa Nova Music CD
*** With LALO SCHIFRIN and OSCAR CASTRO NEVES.

JENNY LEWIS Acid Tongue CD
*** "Jenny Lewis has never sounded so passionate and her songs never so hard-hitting and acerbic as on her aptly titled solo disk, Acid Tongue. Featuring collaborations with SHE & HIM, ELVIS COSTELLO, and CHRIS ROBINSON. Wicked good."

MOGWAI The Hawk Is Howling 2xLP + MP3 / CD
*** Sixth album. "A brooding and atmospheric collection, full of the band's exceptional use of dynamics and creation of hypnotic soundscapes. Instrumentally, the band have somewhat branched out by utilising synthesizers, yet The Hawk Is Howling shares much in common with 2001's Rock Action."

OTIS REDDING Live In London And Paris CD
*** "The legendary London and Paris concerts presented together for the very first time!" 19 tracks.

TOUGH ALLIANCE A New Chance CD
*** "The hottest electronic pop duo to come out of Gothenburg. This is the much awaited follow up to their debut New School."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Fiery Furnaces, Matthew Dear, Tortoise re-issues & more

MATTHEW DEAR Dog Days: The Robsoul Remixes 12"
*** "A cross-continental project that mines the connections between Matthew Dear's precision techno-pop and the French label Robsoul's expansive funk." Remixes by DJ SNEAK, PHIL WEEKS, CHRIS CARRIER.

THE FIERY FURNACES Remember 3xLP + MP3 / 2xCD
*** "Remember captures the high energy, intricate complexity vocal acrobatics and the technical musicianship that defines a Fiery Furnaces performance. Collecting songs from their entire catalogue and performances across the globe, Remember is 51 tracks." 3xLP version comes with a coupon to download the album in MP3.

HIGH PLACES High Places LP / CD
*** "The debut full-length album! The duo have created a signature sound out of using bass-heavy, yet crisp beats, lilting vocal melodies, syncopated rhythmic lines performed on folk percussion instruments, guitar duets turned into treated samples, and percussive lines created from the manipulation of household objects."

SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS Half Asleep 7"
*** Ex-SECRET MACHINES, ex-ON!AIR!LIBRARY! "School of Seven Bells stylishly split the difference between shoegazing introspection and stargazing dream pop. Compact, propulsive throb; layers of milky-blue synthesizer; bottomless guitar; and the angelic, harmonized coos of sisters Alejandra and Claudia Deheza."

IRMA THOMAS Sings LP
*** "This is a fantastic collection of all of Irma's early singles for the Minit and Imperial labels. Dubbed 'The Soul Queen of New Orleans,' Irma had some of the most beautiful and raw soul singles yet she never received the notoriety of contemporaries like Etta James and Aretha Franklin."

TINDERSTICKS The Hungry Saw LP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED “The first new TINDERSTICKS album in five years, The Hungry Saw, is most certainly a great one and it sounds a lot like you'd imagine it to. After all, this is a band who've crafted their own very specific language over the years."

TORTOISE Standards LP + MP3
TORTOISE It's All Around You LP + MP3
*** RE-ISSUED! Standards is on red vinyl.

TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science LP + MP3 / CD
*** 'Best New Music' by Pitchfork with a 9.2 "Fine-tuning what they did best on 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain, TVOTR tweak, loop and distort a grand arsenal of aggressive percussion, new wave synths, epic guitar noise and various kitchen-sink devices, then layering them all into a big, beautiful art-rock symphony."

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) TV On The Radio, High Places, Brightblack Morning Light & more

BLITZEN TRAPPER Furr CD
*** "B.T.'s fourth record, refining and expanding on the far-ranging yet distinctive songcraft that lies at the heart of Blitzen Trapper’s unique appeal, rhythm sections printed hot to four-track and then layered and embellished and deconstructed or sometimes just left the way they were."

BOSTON SPACESHIPS Brown Submarine CD
*** "The debut album from ROBERT POLLARD's new band!" And it's only 14 songs, believe it or not.

BRIGHTBLACK MORNING LIGHT Motion To Rejoin CD
*** 'Recommended' on PITCHFORK with an 8.3 "Haunting, beautiful, and weird in equal doses, Brightblack Morning Light's second album for Matador was recorded entirely under solar power. Deeper and heftier with sounds ranging from folk to gospel to experimental electronics."

CHRIS BROKAW Canaris CD
*** Ex-CODEINE. "Canaris is an instrumental album entirely for solo acoustic guitar - half ‘straight acoustic’ and half acoustic plugged into amps and pedals. Featuring a cover of Vlad Tepes’ 13 minute epic 'Drink the Poetry of Celtic Disciple' and the title track, an 18 minute drone/feedback piece."

COLD WAR KIDS Loyalty To Loyalty CD
*** "Featuring the new single 'Something Is Not Right With Me'."

ALICE COOPER From The Inside CD
*** RE-ISSUED!

DIANOGAH qhnnl CD
*** "A trio of two bass guitarists and one drummer plus appearances by ANDREW BIRD. The band has progressed since previous efforts to make a mature, consistent album that visits the extremes of both tender and abrasive."

FANNYPACK Ghetto Bootleg CD
*** "Fannypack are an all-female electro/Miami booty bass-rap group from NYC and this is their new release!"

THE FIERY FURNACES Remember 3xLP + MP3 / 2xCD
*** "Remember captures the high energy, intricate complexity vocal acrobatics and the technical musicianship that defines a Fiery Furnaces performance. Collecting songs from their entire catalogue and performances across the globe, Remember is 51 tracks." 2xCD version comes with a coupon to download a bonus song.

GERM (GI) CD
*** BACK IN PRINT!

HIGH PLACES 03/07 - 09/07 (Singles Collection) CD
*** "High Places songs contain a fascinating range of aural layers: bells and bird calls over a wash of ocean waves; mallets hitting mixing bowls over treated guitar and glockenspiel; Mary’s reflective vocals over Rob’s inventive and infectious beats."

HIGH PLACES High Places LP / CD
*** "The debut full-length album! The duo have created a signature sound out of using bass-heavy, yet crisp beats, lilting vocal melodies, syncopated rhythmic lines performed on folk percussion instruments, guitar duets turned into treated samples, and percussive lines created from the manipulation of household objects."

KINGS OF LEON Only By The Night CD
*** NME says "(The new album is) growling, anthemic, and sophisticated."

EDGAR MEYER & CHRIS THILE Bass & Mandolin CD
*** "Co-writing a dozen compositions, their wide-ranging musical dialogue incorporates bluegrass, folk, country, and classical elements. No frills, no words and no other musicians were needed."

GRACHAN MONCUR III Evolution CD
*** RE-ISSUED! RVG edition.

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW Tennessee Pusher CD
*** "The third and most personal album by OCMS. The album itself offers a virtual American road trip, populated with characters that span a century of the South. Down and outers, hustlers, junkies and freighthoppers are just a few of the archetypes we meet along the way."

PIERO PICCIONI The Seduction Of... CD
*** Subtitled: Fantasy & Mod Psychedelia of Sixties Italy and The Wild West. "Of all Italian film music composers, Piero Piccioni is second only to Ennio Morricone in terms of popularity regarded by his many as equally important. Inventive, futuristic jazz for science-fiction, moody orchestration and funk for gangster movies and political thrillers and sunny organ and wah-wah groovers for oddball sexcapades; no genre was beyond his range."

PONTIAK Sun On Sun CD
*** "Swaggering three-part vocals, drums, organ and stellar slide guitar rock that Julian Cope described as, 'straddling a wide sonic rift valley, with references that stretch from the southern latitudes of Spain’s Viaje A800 to the northern majesty of Black Sabbath and Harvey Milk via The Doors.'"

THE REPLACEMENTS Tim CD THE REPLACEMENTS Pleased To Meet Me CD THE REPLACEMENTS Don't Tell A Soul CD
THE REPLACEMENTS All Shook Down CD
*** Remastered + bonus tracks! Plus previously unavailable outtakes and home demos, extensive liner notes, and rare photos."

SAM RIVERS Dimensions & Extensions CD
*** RE-ISSUED! RVG edition.

THIEVERY CORPORATION Radio Retaliation CD
*** "Join an outernational music revolution as Thievery Corporation move seamlessly through a vast myriad of global sounds. An opus!" Featuring FEMI KUTI, SEU JORGEm ABOUSHKA SHANKAR and more.

THE THREE SOUNDS Soul Symphony CD
*** RE-ISSUED! Blue Note Rare Grooves Series.

TINDERSTICKS The Hungry Saw LP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED “The first new TINDERSTICKS album in five years is most certainly a great one and it sounds a lot like you'd imagine it to. After all, this is a band who've crafted their own very specific language over the years."

TV ON THE RADIO Dear Science LP + MP3 / CD
*** 'Best New Music' by Pitchfork with a 9.2 "Fine-tuning what they did best on 2006's Return to Cookie Mountain, TVOTR tweak, loop and distort a grand arsenal of aggressive percussion, new wave synths, epic guitar noise and various kitchen-sink devices, then layering them all into a big, beautiful art-rock symphony."

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Metallica, Fleet Foxes, J Dilla and then some!

13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS The Psychedelic Sounds Of... LP
*** REISSUED! Mono edition.

ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Peacebone 12"
*** BACK IN STOCK. Remixes by BLACK DICE and PANTHA DU PRINCE.

BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds LP
*** BACK IN STOCK. Limited edition. 180g.

BUILT TO SPILL Keep It Like A Secret LP
*** BACK IN STOCK. Recently reissued LP featuring one bonus track.

NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS Dig, Lazarus, Dig! 2xLP + MP3
*** NOW ON VINYL! 180g double-vinyl with a free high quality download of the full album. You can't go wrong!

FLEET FOXES Fleet Foxes 2xLP + MP3
*** BACK IN STOCK. Double-vinyl includes both the full-length and THE SUN GIANT ep plus the free download of both records.

J DILLA (JAY DEE) F*** The Police 12"
*** BACK IN STOCK! In and out of print track from Detroit's own JAY DEE.

METALLICA Death Magnetic 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL! And surprise -- no mp3 coupon!

RADIOHEAD Pablo Honey LP
RADIOHEAD The Bends LP
*** BACK IN STOCK. Limited edition.

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) David Byrne, Gilberto Gil, The Stills & more

DAVID BYRNE Big Love: Hymnal CD
*** Subtitled: Music Written For The HBO Series Plus Other Recent Compositions. Not the ENO collabo everyone's been waiting for but a disc of themes from BIG LOVE and other places.

DRAGONFORCE Ultra Beatdown CD
*** "The true guitar heroes triumphantly return!"

ESHAM Sacrificial Lambz CD
*** "Sacrificial Lambz is the twelth studio album by Esham. He is quoted as saying 'I feel like Sacrificial Lambz is like a gift to the industry and a gift to the consumer, whoever buys it. It’s actually a gift.'"

GILBERTO GIL The Sound Of Revolution 1968-1969 CD
*** RECOMMENDED "The Sound of Revolution combines Gilberto Gil's brilliant 1968 and '69 Tropicalia albums, Frevo Rasgado and Cerebro Electronico; joyous, extraordinarily inventive pop music made against a background of terrible political unrest in Brazil and in the shadow of both imprisonment and eventually exile." Featuring OS MUTANTES and ROGERIO DUPRAT.

GZA / GENIUS Pro Tools CD
*** "One of the most renowned and continually relevant Hip-Hop emcees of all time, GZA returns with his fifth solo album, Pro Tools. GZA is an original member of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan."

ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE EGYPTIANS Gotta Let This Hen Out! CD
ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE EGYPTIANS Fegmania CD
ROBYN HITCHCOCK & THE EGYPTIANS Element Of Light CD
*** Deluxe reissues of Sr. Hitchcock's mid-1980s output, all expanded with a number of bonus tracks.

MESHUGGAH Destroy Erase Reloaded CD
*** The most brutal or truly brutal bands remasters and re-releases an early offering. Oh, the brutality!

SONIC'S RENDEZVOUS BAND Live, Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, January 14, 1978 CD
*** THE METRO TIMES said, "The absolute closest you'll ever get to being battered senseless by the buffeting sound that made the Motor City famous." Featuring GARY RASMUSSEN, SCOTT ASHETON, and SCOTT MORGAN.

THE STILLS Oceans Will Rise CD
*** "Beginning with the anthemic lead single, 'Being Here,' conveys a rejuvenated, reinvigorated sense of being. According to vocalist Tim Fletcher, the group felt 'a raw energy of inspiration' during the new album's recording efforts that was absent in previous sessions."

MATTHEW SWEET Sunshine Lies CD
*** "Matthew returns with a power-pop stunner - a kaleidoscopic masterpiece!"

UNKLE End Titles... Stories For Film CD
*** "Featuring 73+ minutes of brand new music inspired by the moving image." Collaborators galore: JOSH HOMME (Queens Of The Stone Age), BLACK MOUNTAIN, WARREN DU PREEZ, GAVIN CLARK and more.

THE VERVE Forth CD
*** Hello big deal! The Verve reunites again and this time it's for real. Maybe!

BRIAN WILSON That Lucky Old Sun CD
*** The old man's back again with his first post-SMILE album. Reviews have been quite kind, even hailing the record as a masterpiece.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Silver Jews, BSS, limited reissues,

v/a PEBBLES Vol. 12 LP
*** REISSUED. Another volume in the series of killer obscure 1960s garage and psychedelic rock, originally released in 1983.

OREN AMBARCHI A Final Kiss On Poisoned Cheeks LP
*** "A Final Kiss on Poisoned Cheeks offers a dizzying gaze straight into a chasm of extreme frequencies - paint-peelingly high and bowel-churningly low - all set atop a sub-strata of menace, angst, and contemplative beauty." MARBLE VINYL.

BEACH BOYS Pet Sounds LP
*** REISSUED! Limited edition. 180g.

BORIS Smile 2xLP
*** NOW ON VINYL! Includes two bonus tracks not found on the album, one with SUNN0)))'s Stephen O'Malley. 180g.

BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE / BRENDAN CANNING Something For Everyone LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

CALEXICO Carried To Dust LP+MP3 / CD
*** "Carried To Dust is a return to form, incorporating many Spanish elements and further defining their dusty film noir soundtrack. Calexico have constantly imbued their music with an unparalleled sense of drama, calling upon the myths and iconography of the American West and its Spanish speaking neighbor Mexico."

BOB DYLAN Blood On The Tracks LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

MY MORNING JACKET It Still Moves LP
MY MORNING JACKET z LP
*** REISSUED!

PEARL JAM Ten LP
*** BACK IN STOCK!

RADIOHEAD Pablo Honey LP
RADIOHEAD The Bends LP
RADIOHEAD Hail To The Thief LP
RADIOHEAD Ok Computer LP
RADIOHEAD Amnesiac 2x10"
RADIOHEAD Kid A 2x10"
*** REISSUED. Limited edition.

SILVER JEWS Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea LP / CD
*** NOW ON VINYL!

THE SONICS Boom LP
*** RESTOCKED!

M WARD The Transfiguration Of Vincent LP
*** NOW ON VINYL!

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: CDs ))))) Calexico, Okkervil River, Tricky, and then some, pal

CARLA BLEY Appearing Nightly CD
*** "Rich and robust performances of new Bley material with particularly stellar contributions by various soloists. Centrepiece of the album is the 25 minute title track commissioned for the Monterey Jazz Festival and heard here in a premiere recording."

THE BROKEN WEST Now Or Heaven CD
*** "The Broken West wrote most of this record while touring on their last record, still keeping with their Byrds-y vibe, but a bit less alt-country and more XTC pop."

CALEXICO Carried To Dust LP+MP3 / CD
*** "Carried To Dust is a return to form, incorporating many Spanish elements and further defining their dusty film noir soundtrack. Calexico have constantly imbued their music with an unparalleled sense of drama, calling upon the myths and iconography of the American West and its Spanish speaking neighbor Mexico."

CHILDREN OF THE SIXTH ROOT RACE Songs From The Source CD
*** "A lost-and-found 1973 recording of The Source family. SONGS FROM THE SOURCE is more r’n’b-grooved energy, with splashes of synth and organ, a female vocal chorus and streamlined fusion rhythms backing the uniquely Yahowan lyrical populism."

CRYSTAL ANTLERS ep CD
*** "So these sweet bros from Long Beach self released this EP last March. Kinda raging soul punk like. People like PITCHFORK fell under their spell and started flirting with them and they sold 3,000 copies via their myspace. Now on TOUCH & GO."

KIMYA DAWSON Alphabutt CD
*** "A collection of children's songs written by Dawson with her musical friends and their children, successfully leads a group of children in this sunny and energetic batch of songs with plenty of fun in the form of snapping fingers, clapping hands and stamping feet."

FAUN FABLES A Table Forgotten CD
*** Recent BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY collaborator. "Continuing from previous Faun Fables material, vocals are strongly featured throughout; surprising melodies, contrapuntal harmonies, breath and unison chants on the theme of age-old practices of tending a home and its immediate impact upon our day to day lives."

MICHAEL FRANTI & SPEARHEAD All Rebel Rockers LP / CD
*** "Franti's fiery protest music and thought-provoking lyrics backed by seductive elements of dub, infectious dance music, and irresistible hook-infused soul."

FUJIYA & MIYAGI Lightbulbs CD
*** ""Lightbulbs" is a journey littered with fragmented images, anecdotes from the sublime to the ridiculous, and blurry stories that you feel you shouldn't have overheard. Each track is an aural contamination set to itch your inner ear every waking moment. Truly contagious music that carves a niche all its own."

GROWING All The Way CD
*** "Kevin Doria and Joe DeNardo complete the conceptual arc initiated on their 2006's "Color Wheel", finally achieving a perfect balance of noise and pop. "All The Way" sounds like some sort of frozen urban chaos taking place at a superclub on another planet."

HUMAN HIGHWAY Moody Motorcycle CD
*** "A sound reminiscent to that of ‘50s/’60s soul and doo-wop (i.e. the Everly Brothers) created by ISLANDS members NICK THORBURN and JIM GUTHRIE. The album, which Guthrie says features "hot man on man vocal action," was put together in the course of one week at his house in downtown Toronto."

JESU Why Are We Not Perfect? CD
*** "On this five track EP, Justin Broadrick has set aside the heavy foundation of pounding guitars prevalent in past recordings and brought to the fore elements of texture and melody."

DANIEL JOHNSTON 1990 CD
DANIEL JOHNSTON Artistic Vice CD
*** REISSUED!

DAMIEN JURADO Caught In The Trees CD
*** "Jurado took a full year to make this record, longer than ever before, as he ran away from and eventually found himself in his own songs -- an enigmatic world with an energy and intensity that is all-consuming."

MUSIC TAPES For Clouds And Tornadoes CD
*** "ELEPHANT 6's Julian Koster texturally rich sonic palette and songcraft with an almost religious devotion to the singing saw, and numerous contributions from other musicians in the Elephant 6 orbit."

THE NEW YEAR The New Year CD
*** "Former BEDHEAD brothers Bubba and Matt Kadane return! Several songs are built around the piano. Albini mans the helm as usual. Longing, loneliness, acceptance, resolve, all of our feelings are represented here."

OKKERVIL RIVER The Stand Ins LP / CD
*** "'"The Stand Ins" is the sequel to 'The Stage Names' -- part two of a staggered double album -- delving deeper into the story and theme of 'The Stage Names'. It is a full-length, fleshed-out, deeply ambitious labor of love."

PARENTHETICAL GIRLS Entanglements CD
*** "An orchestral song-cycle of grand sonic ambition! An eleven-song, linear narrative of ascendancy, adolescent sexuality, quantum mechanics, consent and other moral ambiguities! String-swept sentimentality borrowed from the likes of Van Dyke Parks, Scott Walker, Jack Nitzsche, and Burt Bacharach! Hues distantly reminiscent of names like Krzystof Penderecki, Philip Glass, and Gavin Bryars."

sBACH sBACH CD
*** "A.K.A. SPENCER SEIM, the man/creature who serves as the feral axe shredder of HELLA. Kitschy, stoner rock fueled archfiend chock full of bastardized jazz rhythms and chicken scratch electronica. With the grating jingles and chimes of an explosion at a pinball machine factory."

SHAKY HANDS Lung Light CD
*** RECOMMENDED "The current break out of the basement summertime jangly feel good band, already toured with the Shins, played Sasquatch, and recorded a Daytrotter session. A killer live band."

THAO We Brave Bee Stings And All CD
*** "These eleven diverse tracks make for a subtly powerful album concerned with admissions of guilt, life revelations, and failed domesticity. Thao Nguyen's music feels buoyant, even giddy at times, yet she endows her lyrics with a curious juxtaposition of gripping personal detail and saucy humor."

TRICKY Knowle West Boy CD
*** "Tricky is back with an album detailing the travels and travails of his youth, resulting in an eclectic aural history of his diverse upbringing. He reaches into post-punk, Two-Tone, reggae, hip-hop, and pop, twisting them into surreal songscapes."

DAR WILLIAMS Promised Land CD
*** "12 reflective songs that introduce a new Pop sound for Dar Williams. Lending support on the album are such renowned artists as Suzanne Vega and Marshall Crenshaw."