Tuesday, November 17, 2009

((((( NEW ARRIVALS: Vinyl ))))) Wolf Eyes, Trunk Records, Kompakt, Annie & more

v/a KOMPAKT TOTAL 10 3xLP / 2xCD
*** The Kompakt label's most-anticipated compilation release of the year reaches the double-digits with number 10. This diverse collection of solid-gold hit favorites is still standing and stronger than ever, coinciding with the Kompakt Total event.

v/a TUMBELE: Biguine, Afro & Latin Sounds From The French Caribbean, 1963-74 2xLP
*** "The scattering drums and soaring clarinets of the biguine ruled the airwaves and dancefloors of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the 1960s. This album showcases the vibrancy of the scene on the islands in the '60s and '70s -- a scene that would go on to develop the all-conquering sound of zouk in the '80s."

ANNIE Don't Stop LP / CD
*** "Both immediately listenable and utterly beguiling, this 'pop with strange edges' is mainstream and underground, all at once. Sometimes expressive, sometimes funny, but always totally fresh and utterly human, it's a twelve-course feast for the modern musical connoisseur -- a frenzied, but undeniably solid proposition, an effortless and organic blend with Annie center stage."

JIMMY EDGAR Funktion Of Your Love 12"
*** "Sweet chord stabs and laid-back laser sweep, dark acid tones, dirty vocals posturing over a sparse, razor-sharp 808 groove." Remixes by Edgar and SETH TROXLER.

TLAHOUN GESSESSE Ethiopian Urban Modern Music Vol. 4 LP
*** "Although he is still completely unknown to Western audiences, for Ethiopians, Tlahoun Gèssèssè is THE VOICE. The first-ever pan-Ethiopian star, he has embodied such nonstop unanimity since the end of the 1950s that is a role-model and a point of reference."

MISSISSIPPI FRED MCDOWELL Fred McDowell LP
*** "Reissue of the Arhoolie LP originally titled Fred McDowell - Volume 2. A beautiful set by the Mississippi blues legend. One of Fred's best. Intense Delta blues."

SIGUR ROS Gobbledigook 12"
*** "The spectacular opener on Sigur Rós' Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust remixed by fellow Icelanders Stephen Stephenson aka President Bongo (Gus Gus) and Jack Schidt, transforming the complex, polyrhythmic original into an exceptionally ethereal club track. Add'l remix by Thomas Fehlmann."

EDWARD WILLIAMS Life On Earth: Music From The 1979 BBC TV Series LP / CD
*** "This is the first-ever release of the beautiful music composed for the groundbreaking natural history program Life On Earth. The magical, twinkling ambient sounds of science, nature and music for jellyfish -- soundtrack music, hinting at classical & library music, touching on the avant-garde, with a strong ambient feel and an unusual timeless quality."

WOLF EYES Always Wrong LP
*** NOW ON VINYL! "Coming forth from the piles of tape loops and effects, the bulk of tables reeling with electronics have been shed. This clarity never sacrifices intensity as paradoxically this is the most organic of the full lengths but also the harshest and most dissonant."