NEW ARRIVALS: CDs - Bonnie 'Prince' Billie, White Stripes, She & Him, Autechre, Kleenex & more

v/a AFRO ROCK Vol. 1 CD
*** "A collection of rare & unreleased Afro-Beat quarried from across the continent. Includes music by Geraldo Pino, Steele Beauttah, K Frimpong, The Yahoos and Dackin Dakino."

v/a BRAZILIAN GUITAR FUZZ BANANAS 2xLP / CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Following the brilliant PSYCH FUNK 101, Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas is a master class for those entranced by the rarest & best funky, heavy psychedelic wonders of the Tropicalia psychedelia movement. You will recognize some of the labels contained here, but not the artists!"

v/a NIGERIA AFROBEAT SPECIAL: The New Explosive Sound In 1970s Nigeria 3xLP / CD
*** "Focusing on the big-band sound dominated by wailing saxophones, brass solos and relentless poly-rhythmic grooves, Nigeria Afrobeat Special delivers a no-nonsense collection of tracks that (bar one) have NEVER been re-issued outside of Nigeria."

v/a NIGERIA SPECIAL Vol. 2: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-6 3xLP / CD
*** "The range of styles on Nigeria Special Volume 2 vary from highlife to Juju and Nigerian blues in the languages of Yoruba, Igbo, Bini and Ijaw. With a peppering of "Afro" experimentation, the same musical stew pervades volume 2 as its predecessor -- he emphasis continues to focus on the laid-back and mid-tempo feel found on volume 1."

AUTECHRE (Oversteps) CD
*** Autechre's latest work shows an oft-overlooked playfulness and a rarely mentioned musicality that comes to the fore, in what could be described as their most accessible work to date. Between the layers of cold digital pings and fuzzed out tones, there are true chord changes and warm soundscapes being built from the ground up.''

WILLIAM BASINSKI Vivian & Ondine CD
*** Yet another GORGEOUS, mesmerizing album from Basinski -- one long track culled from "a lunchbox of ancient tape-loops."

DAVID BEHRMAN Leapday Night CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Three pieces/suites, one involving Rhys Chatham & Ben Neill on trumpet & mutantrumpet, Fluxus mainstay Takeisha Kosugi (violin), and Behrman himself on electronics. Heavy period-synth float w/ bare accompaniment, thankfully just-pre DX-7." -- Hrvatski.

BESNARD LAKES The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night LP / CD
*** "Still helped by the Ghost of Beach Boys Past (more Dennis Wilson than Brian), The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night calls upon the influence of ELO and finer parts of the Alan Parsons Project, and more Peter Green Fleetwood Mac than Lindsay Buckingham. Dark bliss-out that folds the eerie guitar epics."

BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY & THE CAIRO GANG The Wonder Show Of The World CD
*** "This new album of songs is assembled with riffs and bits from EMMETT KELLY’s guitar and the lyricism of Bonnie’s heart. It’s a record made eye-to-eye in a room, close and careful, by and for a few men who wanted to be together, who wanted to make music that sounds as good to listen to as it did to make, and who in doing so forged something new in space, the wonder of you and of them." Feat. PHIL ELVERUM.

THE BUNDLES The Bundles LP / CD
*** "The Bundles is KIMYA DAWSON, JEFFREY LEWIS, JACK LEWIS, ANDREWS GRIFFEN, and KARL BLAU and their debut album is a delightful fusion of everything they have done on their own: tragic-comic folk narratives, friendly calls for bravery, and daffy multi-instrumentations. The result is an album that is able to be both snarky and tender, and vulnerable and confident at the same time."

CITAY Dream Get Together CD
*** "Many of the touchstones from Citay's previous work remain intact flourishes of Led Zeppelin, Eno/Fripp, Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd, Popul Vuh and ELO can be heard throughout but a newfound swagger pushes Dream Get Together way over the top."

COCONUTS Coconuts CD
*** "Ugliness, despair, un-marketability: a sound rooted in inherent darkness, influenced by early-80's post-punk, no wave (fellow Australians The Birthday Party come to mind) and the bleakest of world-views. Homemade guitars + primitive drumming + killer harmonies."

DRIVE BY TRUCKERS The Big To-Do CD
*** New studio album!

DRUMMER Feel Good Together CD
*** A bunch of drummers got together (including the bespectacled skins-man of BLACK KEYS) and create a full-on champagne jam!

FENN O'BERG In Stereo CD
*** "After a 9-year hiatus, the legendary trio of Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg have returned with In Stereo, implementing a wider instrumental palette of analog and digital synthesis, guitar, piano, bass and percussion. A near-psychedelic audio blend, where it's impossible to determine who does what."

FOTHERINGAY Fotheringay CD
FOTHERINGAY Two CD
*** BACK IN STOCK!

FRIGHTENED RABBIT The Winter Of Mixed Drinks CD
*** "The Winter Of Mixed Drinks a collection of ambitious, moving, and gloriously accomplished songs more than meets this challenge."

GIGI Maintenant CD
*** "Capturing the spirit of the pop music that flooded the hit parade in the early 60's is a tall order, but Gigi's songs aren't content to be throwback-y pastiches or polka-dotted retro workouts but rather stand as attempts at working within a specific and incredibly rich tradition of pop music production."

GOLDFRAPP Head First CD
*** "Head First is Goldfrapp's most powerful trip to date, a speedy rush of synth optimism, euphoria, fantasy and romance. With life affirming lyrics and stellar production it lifts off at full tilt and takes us on a journey to the heart of 2010."

INFINITE BODY Carve Out The Face Of My God LP / CD
*** "INFINITE BODY casts aside harshness, transforming noise into a lush and bright planetary awakening. Drawing the harmony of the spheres into his brain and channeling it through his fingertips onto recorded medium INFINITE BODY causes sound to bloom where there once was only darkness!!!! Yes!"

jj jjn°3' LP / CD
*** "Destined to be the quintessential winter 2010 album -- a soft, red smear of blood on a field of fresh snow -- jj create R&B and balearic dub from the ghosts of lost lovers; pop as delicate as a fawn's nose across blades of frosted grass. It is the soundtrack for moontanned, apple-cheeked friends packed into the town square's tiniest tavern."

KLEENEX/LILIPUT Live Recordings, TV-Clips & Roadmovie CD+DVD
*** "This CD/DVD set is a testament to the live greatness of Kleenex/LiLiPut! Two full live sets (incl. unreleased songs), Roadmovie (the much rumored document of their '82 Euro tour), as well as live performances of the band on Swiss TV and a super-8 film created during Liliput tour, 1982."

JEAN-PIERRE MASSIERA Psychoses Discoïd (1976-1981) CD
*** "Jean-Pierre Massiera's career started with early '60s French beat groups spread through '70s disco into the '80s and beyond. Exclaim! mag said, 'Check out the low-brow vaudeville buffoonery, horror film kitsch, psychedelic organ vamps and high energy fuzz garage guitar all run back to back. Film noir soundtracks and bluesy jazz meet Zappa-esque rock absurdity and big band orchestrations around every corner.'"

BRAD MEHLDAU Highway Rider 2xCD
*** "A double-disc of original work by pianist and composer Brad Mehldau with producer Jon Brion, Mehldau's trio, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. Mehldau also orchestrated and arranged the album's 15 pieces for the ensemble."

JOHN MUELLER Metals CD
*** RECOMMENDED "Percussionist Jon Mueller works with rhythms that come from gong frequencies, from vibrations of the bodies of bass drums, and the surprising sonorities that occur with the combination of these elements. Now he applies these techniques to Metals: a bold, all-percussion foray into heavy metal. No theatrical silliness here; just sheer exhilaration; the fundamental power of loud, organized, precise rhythms; ringing, heavy anti-melodies."

SHE & HIM Volume Two CD
*** "This time, the harmonies have grown more angelically layered, the string arrangements more dramatic, the songwriting even sharper and more confident. All songs (except 4 and 7) written by Zooey Deschanel. Produced by M. Ward."

SHOUT OUT LOUDS Work CD
*** "Stripped of the bells and whistles of previous efforts, the band does what they do best: writing and playing pop music that is 'nostalgic and angst-ridden, but ultimately life-affirming.'"

IVOR SLANEY Terror/Prey - The Original Unreleased Soundtrack Recording CD
*** "Compiled by Joel Martin of QUIET VILLAGE, these two scores include 35 unheard tracks full of shrill, nauseating swarms of minor-key, dark proto-synth wave, electronic hip-hop, dirty cabaret rock, wonky guitar stomp, cloying, murky piano and clarinet ballads, and some breakbeat-infused percussion-led groovers. Just as sinister and terrifying as the Dario Argento/Ennio Morricone soundtracks!"

WHITE STRIPES Under Great White Northern Lights CD
WHITE STRIPES Under Great White Northern Lights CD+DVD
*** "The first-ever live album from White Stripes - 16 songs recorded at various stops on their Canadian tour PLUS a film by Emmett Malloy offers an insightful look into the very private and complex world that is White Stripes."