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Exclusives!!!
ATLANTEAN KODEX - White Goddess (A Grammar of Poetic Myth) - 20 Buck Spin - SPIN 057 CD - cd - $ 12.00
ATLANTEAN KODEX - White Goddess (A Grammar of Poetic Myth) - 20 Buck Spin - SPIN 057 LP - 2xlp - $ 22.00
***Received an 8.0 rating from Pitchfork."I wish to speak to you today about the tragedy of Europe." So begins the speech sample from English PM Sir Winston Churchill that opens "Twelve Stars and an Azure Gown (An Anthem for Europa)," the fifth track on The White Goddess (A Grammar of Poetic Myth). Indeed, the entire concept of Germany's Atlantean Kodex is expressly European in nature--from the classically influenced melodies, to the lyrics and concepts that inspire the towering, grandiose heaviness of the songs, on through the band's use of German Romantic Caspar David Friedrich's "Monk by the Sea" as cover art.Continuing on from the band's previous album, 2010's near-universally praised The Golden Bough, Atlantean Kodex build upon their sound to achieve an album like no other in 2013. Many bands and labels lay claim to the word "epic" to describe a particular sound, but on The White Goddess, Atlantean Kodex embodies the term in a way very few others could imagine. Drawing from traditional heavy metal, doom and Norse metal, The White Goddess showcases their strongest songwriting, lyrical, vocal performance and production yet, already nearly without equal on their previous LP. Unequivocally, The White Goddess is the best pure heavy metal record of 2013. Self-described as falling somewhere between Twilight of the Gods-era Bathory, early Manowar (Ross the Boss-era) and other classic US bands like Fates Warning, Cirith Ungol and Warlord, Atlantean Kodex retains a singular modernity and heaviness via their incredible production and recording techniques, and through singer Markus Becker, who has the naturally blessed pipes to rival the best heavy metal vocalists past or present. There is no irony or pretense in their music; like last year's Pallbearer debut album, Atlantean Kodex plays deeply reverent and devoted heavy metal with an emphasis on superior, timeless songcraft.20 Buck Spin is very proud to present this monument of True Heavy Metal, representing Atlantean Kodex's first domestic label release in North America; a collection of perhaps the most memorable songs ever released by the label.
BOTANIST / PALACE OF WORMS - Hanging Gardens of Hell / Ode to Joy - Flenser - FR 37 - lp - $ 16.00
***San Francisco's two most peculiar black metal bands have conspired to release a mind bending split LP via The Flenser. Botanist and Palace of Worms each contribute three tracks mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven) at The Atomic Garden Studios; the album is available on vinyl in a limited edition.Botanist is an unconventional one-man post-black metal act featuring vocals, drums and hammered dulcimer instrumentation. Hanging Gardens of Hell is told from the perspective of a crazed man of science who lives in self-imposed exile, as far away as possible from humanity and its crimes against nature. The Botanist awaits the day when humans will either die or kill each other off, which will allow plants to reclaim the Earth.Formed in 2007, Palace of Worms is a one-man black metal band in the vein of Leviathan and Crebain. Frontman Balan plays all instruments: drums, guitar, bass. Palace of Worms has released a demo, two full-lengths (2009's The Forgotten and 2010's Lifting the Veil) and a 2012 split with Mastery."Botanist could be the fullest realization of the post-black metal concept yet, and that makes the future awfully exciting." --The Quietus "The brilliance of Botanist, then, is that he takes all these things that are not metal--gentle British folk, shoegaze, New Age--and shows you that they are, in fact, more metal than metal." --The Atlantic "Palace of Worms comes highly recommended to anyone who has at some point found refuge in the recordings of other San Franciscan black metal monuments (Leviathan, Draugar, Necrite, etc.)." --Lurkers Path
CIRCUIT DES YEUX - Overdue - Ba Da Bing! / Lewis + Lynn - BING 092 CD - cd - $ 9.50
CIRCUIT DES YEUX - Overdue - Ba Da Bing! / Lewis + Lynn - BING 092 LP - lp - $ 17.50
***Received a 7.2 rating from Pitchfork. A few artists have had studios built for themselves--Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios a notable example--but certainly few albums have had studios built for them. Circuit des Yeux's Haley Fohr and Cave's Cooper Crain erected USA Studios in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood over a few weeks in January 2013 for the two months of recording sessions that make up Overdue. Founded with the acquisition of a one-inch Otari MX-70 tape deck (modded to 8-track) and a vacancy in a friend's apartment, the studio endured hundreds of hours over its brief flash of life. Fohr's fifth LP under the name Circuit des Yeux (her fourth to see release) weaves a sonic Bildungsroman, documenting the transition from collegiate cloister in pastoral Bloomington, Indiana, to the noisy, haggard Chicago South Side. Even with the hand-constructed baffles and grandmother-sourced quilts thickly covering the walls (and, intermittently, a light crust of sloppy snow), the sounds of Little Village are literally embedded in the recording. The strains of nearby nortenos pierce the floorboards and the elevated trains murmur just a few dozen feet from USA Studios' flawed sanctuary. The songs rise above the din, however--full orchestrations ("Lithonia") and damaged hallucinations ("Acarina") alike. Fans of Fohr's prior, more experimental work are not catered to with this immeasurably more sophisticated new effort--but nor will they, or any other listener, be disappointed.
CIRCUS DEVILS - My Mind Has Seen the White Trick - Happy Jack Rock - HJRR 30 LP - lp - $ 16.00
***Founded by Robert Pollard, completed by the Tobias brothers Todd and Tim, Ohio's Circus Devils have been lurking under the radar since 2001. They're back with two new albums for 2013, both released on the same day! The trio continues to stretch their musical muscles on My Mind Has Seen the White Trick, a set of thematically unrelated pieces that at times ventures into jazzier territory. The terrain remains darkly mysterious, as always, with multiple layers to explore and reward the listener on repeated plays. Unlike the trio's albums of the past, the music was written to match the vocal melodies, instead of the other way around. It may be the birth of a new Circus Devils.
CIRCUS DEVILS - When Machines Attack - Happy Jack Rock - HJRR 29 LP - lp - $ 16.00
***Founded by Robert Pollard, completed by the Tobias brothers Todd and Tim, Ohio's Circus Devils have been lurking under the radar since 2001. They're back with two new albums for 2013, both released on the same day! On When Machines Attack, the trio delivers a collection of eighteen sonic postcards from a probable future forecasting civilization's approaching doom and the opportunities to cash in. The cast of improbable characters on display includes the "Controller" who introduces the album, along with Johnny Dart, Bad Earthman, Doberman Wasp, The Brain of the Iron Fist, and more. A satisfyingly unsettling listen from top to bottom (or perhaps unsettlingly satisfying?), it's perfect for late-night car trips--driving alone, of course. Keep watching the skies!
DAEDELUS - Drown Out - Anticon - ABR 0140 CD - cd - $ 12.00
DAEDELUS - Drown Out - Anticon - ABR 0140 LP - lp - $ 13.00
***There is music that's made from the outside looking in. The textures are vibrant and the beats bang, but there's a hollow radiance at the core. It's pantomime. Then there's Los Angeles's Alfred Darlington, a.k.a. Daedelus, who has released a dozen albums in a dozen years straddling countless sub-genres. They're united by his insistence on letting his emotions guide the blueprint.His listeners perceive a balance between the direct and the obtuse that can't be articulated in words. This is part of the subtext for Drown Out, Daedelus's most elegiac album. His debut for Anticon is a heart-on-sleeve meditation devoted to loss, coded language and the maddening failures of communication. And yet one can still bob one's head to it."Music can be this ultimate form of poetry--a place to express huge ideas and a whole range of emotion in a few minutes," Daedelus, says. "But it can fall short because no one can quite share in the experience as much as you feel yourself. Someone can empathize, but your melancholy ultimately rests in you. Title the songs, name the album, but the music is what speaks in the end." Perfectly imperfect.There's a sadness that courses through Drown Out. During its gestation, Daedelus grappled with the deaths of his grandmother and close friend and collaborator Austin Peralta, and the debilitating illness of another family member forced him to take a sabbatical from touring. The grief is exorcised not through overwrought builds and releases, but through quiet ripples and agnostic hymnals--a winding and unraveling of nerves.It can be alternately intense or mellow, melancholy or ebullient, danceable or introspective. Genres ransacked and sublimated include '90s West Coast gangsta rap, rave, classical, jazz, footwork, juke and the heavy beats that crop up out of the Low End Theory. There are neither speed limits nor straight paths, but there's always a voice and a roadmap.
DAVIS, JOHN - Spare Parts - Shrimper - SHR 171 LP - 2xlp - $ 19.50
***Spare Parts is the first solo album from singer / songwriter / multi-instrumentalist John Davis since the release of Blue Mountains in 1997. In contrast to his collaborative work with The Folk Implosion, Davis's solo work in the '90s was about as solo as solo gets. He played all the instruments and did all of the cover art for records like Pure Night and Leave Home, as well as for assorted singles and compilation tracks. Having been there and done that, Davis charts a new course with Spare Parts, right down to the cover art, which was done by Boston-area painter and photographer Walter Crump.No less than eight musicians and three engineers lend their talents to the ten tracks and 65+ minutes of this double-LP. (Be warned: the songs are long.) Appearing most frequently are drummer and percussionist Jose Medeles (Breeders, 1939 Ensemble, Portland Ore's Revival Drum Shop) and cellist and violin player Megan Siebe (Anniversaire, Simon Joyner and The Ghosts). Siebe also appears as a member of a trio of backing vocalists that includes Laura Burhenn (Mynabirds, Bright Eyes, The Postal Service) and Sarah Gleason. Simon Joyner produced the strings and backing vocals, and contributes backing vocals himself to the track "Blood Feud." Mike Friedman plays lap steel on "You Won't Cry" and "Southwest," and Chris Deden plays drums on "Upon a Train." The record was mixed by Brandon Eggleston (Mountain Goats, Swans, Scout Niblet, tUnE-yArDs, Modest Mouse).Spare Parts mines an acoustic singer-songwriter vein while avoiding a stylistic rut by veering back and forth between artistic formulas in a way that recalls Folk Implosion's Dare to Be Surprised. Influences include the textural percussion work of Han Bennik and Andrew Cyrille, the electronic moonscapes of Stockhausen, the drawn-out ballardry of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" and the spooky strings and reclusion of Scott Walker. Cue it up--Shrimper promises you won't have to wait fifteen years for the followup this time.
DRAKE, MOLLY - s/t - Squirrel Thing - ST 4 - cd - $ 16.00
***Squirrel Thing Recordings, the label behind the mysterious lost recordings of Connie Converse, is proud to announce the proper release of this self-titled collection of never-before-heard songs recorded by Molly Drake in the 1950s at the Drake family home, lovingly restored by Nick Drake's engineer John Wood. According to Joe Boyd, legendary producer of Five Leaves Left and Bryter Later, "this is the missing link in the Nick Drake story."For fans of Nick Drake, Molly Drake reveals an undeniable influence on her son's celebrated canon. Moreover, these songs present a comprehensive first look at a singular and sophisticated artist in her own right. Molly Drake's music is at once beautiful, charming, dark and pensive. The easy elegance of her lyrics belies their deeper themes of regret, memory, dread and the sublime, crystallized as only a poet can. Her performances are intimately staged in the family sitting room, and perfectly complemented by her own piano accompaniment.With an initial CD pressing that quickly sold out earlier this year, Molly Drake is now receiving a grander release, and appearing on vinyl for the first time. The album features family photos and a biography by her daughter, Gabrielle Drake.
HOLLOW SUNSHINE - Held Above - Robotic Empire - ROBO 109 - lp - $ 19.50
***Painting a hypnotic swirl of lush vocals over down-tuned riffs and steady rhythms, Hollow Sunshine's debut album brings together deep tuning with melodic undertones and a garage recording for a unique mix of warmly familiar elements. The balance of blown-out sludge, narcotic drone and pop sensibilities is an unlikely combination, yet the contrast between heaviness and catchiness, with mesmerizing vocals providing a calm and consistent drift throughout, sets the band well apart from contemporaries. Held Above is Hollow Sunshine's first full-length and most realized vision after several EP releases. The album's nine tracks were recorded by the band--vocalist Morgan Enos and guitarist / songwriter Reuben Sawyer--and mastered by James Plotkin, aiming for a soothing "lo" fidelity with clarity preserved. An artist renowned for his work via Rainbath Visual, Sawyer also conceived the stark imagery for the cover, which is screen-printed on colored paper by Broken Press. Initial press of 700 copies; includes a complimentary high-quality digital download.
KASSIN - Sonhando Devagar - 20|20|20 - 202020 13 - lp - $ 16.00
***In his native Brazil, Kassin is a sought-after producer (Bebel Gilberto), bass player (Caetano Veloso) and musical director (Orchestra Imperial, a new-twist samba band that regularly plays for audiences of 40,000). But outside Brazil, he is best known as a member of the mysterious trio known as +2, who released three albums on Luaka Bop, each identified by a different leader: Moreno +2 (lead by Moreno Veloso, Caetano's son), Domenico +2 (lead by Domenico Lancellotti), and Kassin +2 (the last of the series, released in 2008). The +2s toured the world, collaborated with royalty of the indie rock world like John McEntire (Tortoise) and Sean O'Hagan (High Llamas), and, upon completing their high concept trilogy, called it a day.Kassin's first songwriting project since the +2s, and his first proper solo release, is likewise conceptual: a set of songs about dreams. Sonhando Devagar ("Slowly Dreaming") is no routine mishmash of oneiric whimsy, however; Kassin's unconscious turns out to be both lucid and precise. He dreams / sings about eating zebra ("Natural World") and bananas ("Potassium"), about losing cell phone signal ("Out of Service") and his heart ("When You Are Dancing Samba"), about sex in a handicapped bathroom ("Gym Pants"), and about the similarities between ice cream and bodily fluids ("Absorb You"). The journey is as deadpan as it is surprising--plus, you can dance to it.
PAMPERS - s/t - In The Red - ITR 245 LP - lp - $ 16.00
***After two incredible 7-inch singles released on the band's own excellent Jack Shack Records, Brooklyn's Pampers are proud to announce their debut full-length on In The Red. Pampers are a four-piece--two guitars, bass and drums, plus echo-laden vocals--and there's a postmodern art-punk angle afoot here, yet the band's relentless, breakneck tempos and all-out aggression tilt more punk than art. Self-described as "thug pop," the band's sound is a brutal, psyched-out pummeling with hooks fighting to be heard beneath the din. It's certainly more thug than pop.Produced by Ben Greenberg of The Men, Pampers' twelve tracks explode with opener "Eruptions" and don't let up until "Head Bag" fizzles out in a whirl of guitar noise and equipment buzz. Everything in between is a cavernous whomp of mongoloid vox, primitive drumming and a cloud of warped sonics swirling above the rock 'n' roll thud."I only caught the last song of Pampers' set and mainly remember them being very, very loud." --Brooklyn Vegan "They're awesome and you all are missing out by not seeing them perform. Seriously, they're great." --Impose
STAR SPANGLED BANANA - Pebbles 2000 - Agitated - AGIT 025 CD - cd - $ 13.00
STAR SPANGLED BANANA - Pebbles 2000 - Agitated - AGIT 025 - LP+CD - $ 17.50
***Whoa! Daddy-o! Here's some 100% hi-octane grooviness!!! Agitated is pleased to announce release of the long awaited debut album from these pioneers of the happening sound soon to be known to the masses as BUBBLEGRUNGE! Yes, believe it! Dirty amps tweaked to a happenin' rhythm and floorshaking beat, eviscerating the soul of your tired and over-referenced Nuggets comps and bustin' you loose with some wild grunt and grind! The songs may be familiar, but you will be too furiously wigging out to even care who or what wrote them in the first place! It's an ever-lovin' tribute to the bubblegum greats of yore! The Beatles! The Monkees! Paul Revere! Tommy James! Flipper! And more!"Probably the Koolest thing that's ever happened on this planet!"500 Banana yellow vinyl LPs with a free CD of the musick.
TOUGH AGE - s/t - Mint - MRL 150 - lp - $ 16.00
TOUGH AGE - s/t - Mint - MRD 150 CD - cd - $ 13.00
***Tough Age is culmination-rock, the sound of four radical adults with shared decades of experience, chops and killer record collections coming together to create charismatic, idiosyncratic pop songs for the ages. Following the dissolution of Vancouver's beloved surf-punks Korean Gut, frontman Jarrett K. (also a member of Apollo Ghosts, Role Mach and too many more bands to list) cherry-picked a stacked lineup for his next project. Penny "Agamemnon" Clark provides a jangly drone-wash of guitar and backup vocals, Lauren Smith holds down the low end with beating-heart bass-lines, and drummer Chris Martell (Sightlines, Collapsing Opposites, and last seen with K. in a Minutemen cover band) rounds out the dream team.For their stated sonic inspirations, the band is quick to whip off a laundry list of musical heroes from lo-fi godfathers Guided By Voices to the New Zealand fuzz-pop of Toy Love, The Clean and Bird Nest Roys. They also dig deep into Canadian garage 45s of the '60s from names like The Townsmen, The Jury and The Ferraris of Canada. Heck, there might even be a dash of Tommy James and the Shondells, plus the cartoon bubblegum of The Archies, Groovie Ghoulies and Ohio Express. Yummy yummy!Tough Age tapped fellow Mint Records signee Jay Arner for the production of their debut LP, and the results are immaculate. Emerging from the gritty basement recordings of previous projects, these golden-hued tunes mix head-rush rippers, swoon-worthy slow jams and hooks for days. Offsetting the barbwire riffs of "We're Both to Blame," the beach-blanket bingo of "Open It Up" and frenetic fills of "Cocaine Vouchers," the band slows things down with the stop-start rhythm of "Have You Seen Her," the paisley-pop jangle of "Seahorse" and the soda-shop romance of "The Heart of Juliet Jones." For fans of timeless songwriting from an off-kilter filter, it doesn't get much better than this.
V/A - Mountains of Tongues: Musical Dialects of the Caucasus - L.M. Dupli-cation - LM 7 - lp - $ 13.00
***Because of its unique geography--situated at the borders of Europe and Asia, between the Caspian and Black seas--the Caucasus has been at the crossroads of multiple empires as well as home to an exceptionally diverse population, resulting in a rich mosaic of history, culture, religion and language. Early Arab travelers referred to the region as the "Mountains of Tongues," a term that reflected both the geographic and linguistic variety. An incredible number of languages and traditions still exist, but many have yet to be thoroughly documented and are close to disappearing completely. Since the fall of the Soviet Union the majority of attention the Caucasus has received from the outside world has been as a result of wars in Chechnya, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The countries of this region have also struggled to forge national identities, a process that has often resulted in the exclusion of smaller folk cultures (ethnic Azeris from Georgia, Kurds from Tbilisi, Avars and Lezgis from Azerbaijan, or Molokans in the South Caucasus, all groups that don't fit the category of "national" folk music). Mountains of Tongues: Musical Dialects from the Caucasus includes recordings of songs in languages that have rarely been caught on tape (Lezgi and Batsbi), instruments that only exist in extremely small numbers (the Tushetian chianuri, of which there are only two, and the agach komuz from the remote territory of Dagestan) and performances from a variety of underrepresented ethnic minority communities. These musicians, whether they recognize it or not, are guardians of the distinct musical cultures of the Caucasus, a region whose many traditions are still relatively unknown to the rest of the world. The Sayat Nova Project is a non-profit group with the goal of preserving and promoting the musical dialects of the Caucasus. The recordings on this album were made between September 2012 and June 2013 in villages, towns and cities across the South Caucasus. Members of the project recorded more than 50 musicians playing a wide variety of instruments and singing in ten different languages. Mountains of Tongues presents the music of the Caucasus without regard to political borders. Through the inclusion of recordings by Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Georgians, Chechens and many others ethnicities, it represents this region's unique traditions and shared histories and emphasize the diversity that exists within these "mountains of music."
VASTUM - Patricidal Lust - 20 Buck Spin - SPIN 050 CD - cd - $ 12.00
VASTUM - Patricidal Lust - 20 Buck Spin - SPIN 050 LP - lp - $ 17.50
***Vastum's second full-length is the manifestation of much personal tribulation and strife, reflected not only in the morbid hyper-realism of the album's content, but also in the making of the record itself, which involved devastating real-life tragedy, numerous delays, departed members and a sense of frustration by all involved. It's work born of pain. Nonetheless, Patricidal Lust is noticeably heavier, more abusive and more mentally calamitous than its predecessor Carnal Law.Recorded with Jeff Davis (R.I.P.) and later Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios, Patricidal Lust has an atmosphere of eerie foreboding shrouding the doomed death metal husk at its center; the cryptic dual vocal dynamic of Daniel Butler (Acephalix) and Leila Abdul-Rauf (Saros, Amber Asylum, Hammers of Misfortune) narrates this journey through the body. The ghosts of Steer and Schuldiner echo in twisted half-remembered inference while the calculated, blunt rhythm section invokes abhorrent basement torture dungeons. Lyrically far beyond that which most death metal bands are capable, Patricidal Lust delves ever deeper into subject matter first seen on Carnal Law--the anguish and confusion associated with sexual abuse, incest and the blurry area where eroticism and madness vaporize into an unrecognizable fog of horror. Certain to leave a lasting impression, Vastum's Patricial Lust is what lies at the core of obscene abomination.
VAURA - Missing - Profound Lore - PFL 125 - cd - $ 12.00
***Brooklyn, NY's Vaura was formed in late 2009 by guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (also of Gorguts and Dysrhythmia fame) and vocalist / guitarist Joshua Strawn after the two musicians were introduced by a mutual friend; the pair were soon demo-ing a set of songs that mixed grandiose melodic guitars, synth textures and hazy, distant vocals. When bassist Toby Driver (Kayo Dot and Maudlin of the Well mastermind) and drummer Charlie Schmid joined the fold, Vaura reworked the demo material to assemble their debut Selenelion, released early 2012 on Wierd Records. Praised upon its release by notable press outlets such as Decibel, Pitchfork, Dusted and Alarm Press, the album showcased Vaura's seamless meld of progressive metal, shoegaze, post-punk and indie rock.With their new album The Missing, Vaura takes their sound even further, building upon the foundation they laid down on Selenelion. Their progressive metal elements harken back to '80s-era Rush and classic Queensryche, to which the band adds strains of post-punk and dark-wave to deliver one of the most distinct heavy music albums of the year.
WRECK & REFERENCE - No Youth - Flenser - FR 23 - lp - $ 16.00
***The Flenser is proud to reissue No Youth, the debut album from California heavy experimental duo Wreck and Reference. Originally released in 2012, No Youth quickly went out of print and has become a sought-after collector's item.Formed by drummer Ignat Frege and multi-instrumentalist Felix Danbold, Wreck and Reference augments the typical heavy-guitar-driven doom tradition with frenzied electronic samples. Usually filed under "Metal," the duo defies genre classifications, presenting an existential threat to the tired and trite conformity found within the metal hegemony. Their melancholic, fierce and catchy sound is crafted with synths in place of guitar, along with live drums and vocals. Drawing on influences ranging from industrial to doom metal and noise rock, No Youth is a unique mix of seemingly contradictory elements that results in a devastatingly heavy, somber and addictive whole."The uncategorizable Wreck and Reference has released two weirdly heavy and unnerving records thus far--Black Cassette and No Youth--by scribbling together doom metal, industrial, drone, noise and whatever else with drums, guitar and a Korg sampler. Riffs and sonic quirks are regularly abandoned as the songs move forward, making for unpredictable cliffhangers that leave listeners wanting more." --NPR "... spare, haunted, and riveting." --Stereogum "Youth is an unconventional composition. Wreck and Reference have no rules." --Cvltnation
YOB - Catharsis - Profound Lore - PFL 126 - cd - $ 12.00
***Fans across the globe consider Catharsis, the 2003 sophomore album by Oregon's YOB, to be the band's best work and one of the finest doom metal releases of the genre. The group even performed Catharsis in its entirety at the 2012 Roadburn Festival to much acclaim. However, as the label that originally issued the album folded, it has remained out of print for years and hard to come by--until now.Profound Lore is proud to unveil the long-awaited reissue of YOB's sought-after cult classic, ten years after its initial release. Remastered from the original tapes by legendary grunge godfather Tad Doyle, Catharsis sounds heavier and more monstrous than ever. Liner notes by the band's founder and mastermind Mike Scheidt are complimented by new artwork by designer Aaron Edge, making this CD the definitive edition of one of the most colossal American doom metal releases of the last decade from one of the most important bands in heavy music today.
Non-Exclusives!!!
A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN - s/t - Kranky - KRANK157 CD - cd - $ 13.50
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Received an 8.0 rating from Pitchfork. A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN is the first installment of the new collaboration between STARS OF THE LID member ADAM WILTZIE and composer DUSTIN O'HALLORAN. The duo agreed to leave their normal home studio comfort zone and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, and to hunt down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end. Other traditional instrumentation was used including string quartet, French horn, and bassoon, but always juxtaposed is the sound of drifting guitar washed melodies. The recordings began in one late night session in the famed Grunewald Church in west Berlin on a 1950s imperial Boesendorfer piano and strings were added in the historic East Berlin DDR radio studios along the River Spree. One last final session in a private studio deep in the norther cusp of Italy on a handmade Fazioli piano, and the final mixes took place in a 17th century villa near Ferrara, Italy, with the assistance of FRANCESCO DONADELLO. All songs were processed completely analogue straight to magnetic tape. Their secret to harvesting new melodic structures from the thin air of existence was for the duo to push themselves to live dangerously, realizing that clear thinking at the wrong moment could stifle the compositions. The final result is seven landscapes of harmonic replicating ingemination. In "Requiem for the Static King Part 1" (created in memory of the untimely passing of Mark Linkous) they have taken the age old idea of a string quartet and then shot it out a cannon to reveal exquisite new levels of mellow bliss. Of the 13 minute track "Symphony Pathetique," Wiltzie says "after almost 20 years of struggling to create interesting ambient drone music, I feel like I have finally figured out what I am doing." Notable guest musicians include Icelandic cellist HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR and violinist PETER BRODERICK. A Winged Victory for the Sullen is not a side project. This is the future of the late night record you have always dreamed of.
ANTISEEN / MEATMEN - Meatmen / Antiseen - Tribute With Two Heads - TKO - ROUND 197 - 7" - $ 9.25
***The two titans of Toilet Rock, ANTiSEEN and the MEATMEN team on up this disgusting slab of wax to pay tribute to GG Allin and the Sex Pistols.
ANYWHERE - Olompali - Valley King - VKR 1201 - pic12" - $ 33.60
***ANYWHERE have returned! The sonic collective experimentation started by CHRISTIAN ERIC BEAULIEU (TRICLOPS!, PEACE CREEP), Cedric Bixler Zavala (The Mars Volta / Zavalaz), and Mike Watt (The Stooges / Minutemen) has expanded it's identity, unveiling the much anticipated four-song Olompali EP. The lineup this time around features Beaulieu with DALE CROVER (MELVINS, ALTAMONT), KRIST NOVESELIC (NIRVANA, SWEET 75), JONATHAN HISCHKE (HELLA, EV KAIN), ETHAN MILLER (COMEST ON FIRE, FERAL OHMS), TOSHI KASAI (BIG BUSINESS, Altamont), BRET CONSTATINO & MATT HOLLIMAN (SLEEPY SUN), and CYRUS COMISKY (DRUNK HORSE, HOWLIN' RAIN). Edition of 500 copies with artwork by ALAN FORBES.
ARU - DPV3.5 - Captcha Records (HBSP-2X) - HBSP-2X 042 CD - cd - $ 14.00
***Unbeknownst to most, a wrinkle in the spacetime continuum links Iowa to Jamaica on the Astral Plane. Iowan dub guru ARU presents his debut long- player entitled DPV3.5 (Dub Plate volume 3.5) on Captcha Records. Influenced by Jamaican dub studio tactics and Eno's Fourth World series, DPV3.5 uses noise, circuit bending and glitch sounds to generate a bizarre and hypnotic soundscape. ARU utilizes eccentric and disorienting lo-fi beats to craft a driving, heavy-psych dread vibe that draws comparisons to Muslimgauze, Cut Hands, Oval and Zoviet France. Easily one of the most interesting records I have heard in the calendar year... PENEBRANCA's artwork completes the package on this limited edition release.
BANOS, ROQUE - Evil Dead (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - Unseen Forces - UF009 - 2xlp - $ 37.45
***Unseen Forces is proud to present the complete motion picture soundtrack from FEDE ALVAREZ's incendiary 2013 reimagining of cult horror masterpiece the Evil Dead. Spanish composer ROQUE BANOS dazzles with a crisp modern orchestral score that bows reverently toward such genre classics as Jerry Goldsmith's The Omen Suite, Anton Webern and Krzysztof Penderecki's creepy string movements from The Exorcist and Joseph LoDuca's beautifully understated atmospherics for Sam Raimi's original creation that launched the grisly Kandarian franchise and revolutionized the contemporary horror film with its startling velocity. Anxious purists need not fret. Banos studied music at the Upper Music Conservatory of Murcia and Madrid's Real Conservatorio Superior before graduating from Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music, but with Evil Dead he steps beyond the jazz influences evidenced in his previous scores. Here the maestro eloquently assumes the role of firestarter, conducting like a pyromaniac invoking the destructive majesty of flame--both demonic and cleansing--with smoldering strings and brass building toward total aural incineration. To that end, he cleverly employs a prominent siren motif that at turns suggests a dreadful fire alarm in slow motion, the nostalgia of an amusement park haunted house attraction and a prodigious yawning door somewhere in the deepest chasm of hell. A thoroughly cinematic experience suffused with sweeping overtures and jarring choral crescendos, Banos has created a dark and vital epic for the ages. Double LP pressed on 140-gram gore splattered vinyl--with a locked groove for extended terror--and entombed in a lavish gatefold cover, this gorgeous collection carves through the glut of overblown soundtrack reissues of late like a trusty chainsaw. It is, in a word..."Groovy!"
BITCH PREFECT - Adelaide - Bedroom Suck - BSR 040 - 7" - $ 11.25
***Adelaide-via-Melbourne slackers BITCH PREFECT release their first single since 2012 s debut LP, Big Time. Aptly titled "Adelaide," the track explores events from their past hometown, and what it was like to leave that city for bigger and better things. This all culminates with an unearthly choir singing the refrain 'Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah Nah, Nah Nah Nah', which, to be honest, pretty much sums it all up.
BLACK MARKET BRASS - Big Muffler / Snake Oil - Secret Stash - SSR 1001 - 7" - $ 5.40
***Secret Stash Records is proud to partner with Minneapolis based BLACK MARKET BRASS for the first in a series of 45s containing new music recorded by the label. Black Market Brass is an 11 piece Afrobeat band that delivers a unique, yet very authentic interpretation of the genre. "Big Muffler" is a hard charging tune that always keeps asses moving on the dance floor. "Snake Oil" is an intricate song that mixes heavy grooves with an intensely eerie vibe. Both tracks were recorded live in one room directly to tape, capturing an energy lost in many of todays over produced digital recordings. This 7" is a must have for any fan of Fela Kuti's Afrobeat sound.
CAMEL HEADS - Anoluz - Captcha Records (HBSP-2X) - HBSP-2X 045 CD - cd - $ 14.00
***CAMEL HEADS come straight outta Sao Paulo, Brazil, bringing their mind-bent experimental psych sounds to these shores for the first time ever with new release Anoluz. Influenced by Dead Man and North African desert blues, these long-form kraut jams will leave your brains baking on a rock in the Global South, drenched in cosmic sweat. Like waves crashing into the shoreline, the ebb and flow of Anoluz will free your mind, bury your toes in pink sand, and orient your lawn chair towards the sunset. Fans of early Pink Floyd, Sun Araw, desert blues and krautrock rejoice: Captcha Records is pleased to dose you up with the Camel Heads' Anoluz.
CASEY, DAN - Empty City - Ceremony - CER 016 - 12" - $ 12.75
***Appearing on a variety of taste-making micro-labels and regularly flushing his various web outlets with immersive one-offs and inventive remixes, DAN CASEY has built a reputation as a producer who may be hard to pin down in exact terms, but is always reliable for delivering the goods. Delicious hooks and poignant melodies grace "Empty City" which will continue to prove that Casey is one of California's most dependable & consistently evolving talents in the realm of electronic pop. "'Empty City' builds to a gorgeous swirl of vocal harmonies, drum machines & hook-laden guitar riffs, but the sonic pay off is worth every second."--NPR.
COLD BEAT - Worms / Year 5772 - Crime On The Moon - COTM 001 - 12" - $ 9.45
***COLD BEAT is HANNAH LEW, bassist and co-songwriter of the band GRASS WIDOW. It's the fully expressed voice and emotions of one person, versus the harmonic and lock-step declarations of three women. It's the emergence of Lew as a singular voice, using dream logic and abstraction to describe the themes of death, internet surveillance, paranoia and science fiction that permeate her music. "Worms" is the lead single off "Worms/Year 5772," the first EP from Cold Beat released on Lew's new label, Crime On The Moon. Written not too long after Hannah Lew's father passed away in 2009, it's largely about the horror of things one does and does not know about death. Lew uses the tools of pop music to access the inaccessible and honor her grief while discussing some of the most jarring aspects of her father's death. However, anyone who listens to "Worms" can hear that it transcends the overtly personal and manifests itself as melodious and universal. The A side of this 12" EP features "Worms" and "Year 5772". The recording features KYLE KING, LILLIAN MARING (Grass Widow, RUBY PINS) on drums and CODY BLANCHARD (SHANNON AND THE CLAMS) on guitar/synth. The B side of the EP features a "Worms" remix by POW!, a local SF doom synth band, and also a remix of "Year 5772" by MIKEY YOUNG of TOTAL CONTROL. The live band features BIANCA SPARTA (ERASE ERRATA) on drums, and GREER MCGETTRICK (THE MALLARD) on guitar as well as KYLE KING on guitar.
COUM TRANSMISSIONS - Home Aged & The 18 Month Hope - Dais - DAIS 051 - lp - $ 20.65
***The most recent installment of the rare & unheard archival recordings from the transgressive '70s performance art group COUM TRANSMiSSIONS. Founded in late 1969 by GENESIS P-ORRIDGE, COUM Transmissions's provocative performances mixed with visual art solidified the group as one of the most forward thinking breakthroughs within the '70s conceptual art scene. Only in the past couple years has COUM's recorded works seen the light of day. This release collects various selections spanning the years 1971 through 1975, including a rare live performance opening for Hawkwind, lost radio interview, obtuse poetry readings by early member FIZZEY PEAT, piano & violin compositions by Genesis P-Orridge and insightful field recordings. Limited to 1,000 vinyl copies.
CRUSADES - Perhaps You Deliver This Judgement With Greater Fear Than I Receive It - No Idea - NIR 333 CD - cd - $ 12.25
CRUSADES - Perhaps You Deliver This Judgement With Greater Fear Than I Receive It - No Idea - NIR 333 - lp - $ 14.00
***Ottawa, Canada's CRUSADES began in late 2009. Comprised of current and ex-members of SEDATIVES, THE CREEPS, BURIED INSIDE, STEVE ADAMYK BAND, LAST COMMUNION, ZEBRASSIERES, THE VISITORS, PREGNANCY SCARES, BLACK TOWER and others, Crusades initial (and ongoing) goal was to provide the somewhat accessible vehicle that is melodic punk rock for decidedly less than accessible ideas--namely atheism, antichristianity, secular humanism, satanism, and a vehement disdain for the crippling disease that is organized religion. Thematically, Perhaps You Deliver this Judgment with Greater Fear than I Receive It. is a meditation on the life of philosopher, heretic and antichristian martyr Giordano Bruno as an archetype for the modern atheist, freethinker, artist, poet and lover. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered by MIKE BOND at Pebble Studios and his own compound The Bond Cave. Crusades will celebrate the album release with performances at The Fest 12 in Gainesville (as well as Pre Fest in Ybor) and a handful of Canadian dates. Colored vinyl; includes download code!
DAY CREEPER - Hell Is Real - Tic Tac Totally - TTT 064 - lp - $ 14.00
***DAY CREEPER, a lazy, high millipede, stares with bloodshot eyes at the bright light of the world spying this miniature, odd living room of dark and twangy decor. Ancient wallpaper updated with dirt. AARON TROYER is a devout creator of his own worlds, visually and musically, and his slant on modern life is as timeless as beautiful as accurate as strange. Every few months, for several years now, Troyer's "Strange Delights" would land in my (Monsieur TTT) mits with scrawled drawings and detailed lettersattached, more like diaries from the depths than "demos" of a band. It seems like we've talked for years about "finally geting an LP off the ground", and with this, HELL IS REAL. The first whole round and square triangular album, resounding with an oddly charming and scientific aura recalling big time Half Japanese movement, timeless and very spaced, lethargic like Darby Crash's pulse, high and low, full of sideways genius and ennui to match all twisted all around. An album to be swallowed extremely whole and digested in the stomach of a snake. The fat American belly should be ready. It's all going to be ok.
DIPLO - Express Yourself Serato Vinyl Collab - Mad Decent - MAD 165 - 2xlp - $ 34.45
***AVAILABLE AGAIN AT A NEW LOWER PRICE!!! Mad Decent teams up with Serato to press DIPLO's genre bending Express Yourself EP on vinyl for the first time. Much like a live Diplo set, the EP spans genres from Dancehall to New Orleans Bounce to EDM and a laundry list of exciting collaborations, from dustup superstars DATSIK and FLINCH to Dancehall pioneer ELEPHANT MAN and up and coming artists GENT & JAWNS. Each artist brings something exciting and new to Diplo's wild productions. The EP's title track features the maddening beats and booty-popping sound of New Orleans bounce with NO native NICKY DA B, and has amassed over 2 million plays on youtube and radio play across the US. Pressed on translucent red vinyl, the package also comes with 2 Diplo themed slipmats.
DRUMM, KEVIN - Purge - Ideal - 105 CD - cd - $ 11.00
***Reissue of instantly sold-out cassette (Ideal 2007) that guarantees exhaustion. Powerful and dynamic noise built with travelling frequencies, rich with details, very little hope.
ELEVEN POND - Bas Relief - Dark Entries - DE 001 - lp - $ 17.25
***BACK IN PRINT!!! Dark Entries Records is proud to announce the reissue of the debut album by ELEVEN POND. Long sought after by collectors, the Rochester, NY band only released a single LP in their time together before dissolving into obscurity. Their sound-a merging of post punk, dark dance and synthpop full of melodic arrangements-reflected the originality of gifted songwriters who met in art school with a shared interest in 4AD and Factory Records. In cooperation with the band members, the entire album has been remastered from the original 2-track analogue masters by GEORGE HORN at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The recordings on this release comprise the band's entire recorded output and the LP includes a 2009 redesign by JEFF GALLEA of Eleven Pond: 11" x 11" cardstock lyrics/artwork sheet, two Eleven Pond postcards and one Dark Entries Sticker. Eleven Pond officially parted ways in 1987 but nearly a quarter-century later these recordings prove how vital they remain. Second Edition now available.
FULL UGLY - Drove Down - Bedroom Suck - BSR 041 - 7" - $ 11.25
***This is warm breeze in your face, arm out the window, someone else driving you somewhere you want to go pop music. FULL UGLY have made an album of endearing and disarmingly sincere loping shanties, showcasing Nathan Burgess' tuneful melodies and literal impressions of everyday life. For every sad song, there's one that makes you want to kick off your thongs and feel the hot sand between your toes. It is, to use the parlance of our times, all good. "Drove Down: is the first single from this record, and catches the band at their finest.
G-FLUX - Ritmo Universal - Electric Cowbell - EC 027 - 7" - $ 9.25
***Mexico City's producer-by way of Washington DC G-FLUX explores his love for what he calls "space cumbia" on this 7" for Electric Cowbell Records. Side A features the vocal stylings of Guadalajara-based duo LOS MASTER PLUS, who are considered the new kings of cumbiatronica. Side B features "La Reina del Palenke" aka AFRODITA from Chile on the track "Meneito" along with the cumbia-surf guitar stylings of Peruvian chicha guitar legend JOSE LUIS CARBALLO. "Nu-cumbia has its pantheon of legendary heroes, pioneers and those who pushed the boundaries of the hybrid genre further. Mexico's G-Flux is in the latter camp."--Remezcla
GINO AND THE GOONS - Oh Yeah - Pelican Pow Wow - PPW 005 - 7" - $ 7.25
***"Party stomping and busted up sing along punk from Tampa, FL greats! Here is another 45 for those who missed out on the mp3 pre-release edition. Hey Hey Yeah Yeah Supercharger dumbo punk with a Floridian charm and carefree attitude that you won't find in a Greg Lowery or a Buck Biloxi."
GRAF, J. - The Future Is A Faded Song - Juneau Palace - JUN 001 - lp - $ 17.75
***Improvisation and song structure explore the grey area between order and chaos, between listening and being subsumed by sound. J. GRAF (BRIDE OF MNO NO, METALUX, THE GUITARS PROJECT) makes melody behave like a Loch Ness monster, surfacing and resurfacing in unsuspected moments, rearranging it temporally to bring forth the uncanny in the familiar. Through a matrix of sonic shifts, The Future is a Faded Song ranges from very lyrical vocals to the throbbing chaos. Guests include KATHERINE PORTER on cello, DAN BREEN on drums, INGE-LISE SHEPPARD on vocals. Edition of 300.
HAZLEWOOD, LEE - Trouble Is A Lonesome Town - Light In The Attic - LITA096CD - cd - $ 15.50
***BACK IN PRINT ON CD!!! Light In The Attic's Lee Hazlewood Archive Series continues with an expanded reissue of LEE HAZLEWOOD's debut album. Remastered from the original tapes, this is the first time Trouble Is a Lonesome Town has been available in its original mono mix since the 1960s. Presented as a CD and double LP with 15 bonus tracks and an eight page booklet, this is an essential purchase for Hazlewood fans or anyone curious about about the man before the mustache. Originally released in 1963, Trouble... finds the bohemian cowboy sketching out a vivid picture of a backwater place named Trouble, where trouble with a small 't' is never far away.
HEAVY LIDS - Gravity Reverse - Pelican Pow Wow - PPW 003 - 7" - $ 7.25
***Unmarked white van Creep Rock in the golden tradition of Crime or '80s Chrome (but this is the mean streets of New Orleans, not SF)--led by JOHN HENRY (STATIC STATIC, DETONATIONS, SEX HUNTER) and HEATHA (Static Static), both fresh out of jail and tuff as nails and punk as shit. Also features BENNY DIVINE (NATURAL CHILE, GARY WRONG, WIZZARD SLEEVE, MISSING MONUMENTS) and ANDY GOCELJERK (DIE ROTZZ, PALLBEARERS, INSURGENT STING)--both fresh from the big chinese buffet--and the catlike JAYME (Sex Hunter, MICROSHARDS) on bass gurgle. Buy or DIE. Nice handscreened, numbered sleeves too. Recorded by QUINTRON inside the Spellcaster Lodge.
HOFFMEIER, FREDERIKKE / SEWER ELECTION - Aska - Ideal - 104 - lp - $ 14.50
***Two side-long pieces of static, beautiful, crude experimental electro-acoustic noise filled with amazing laidback anger and aggression. No hope, no love. Edition of 250.
JONES, GEORGE - Country Song Hits - Reserve - RSV LP 101 - lp - $ 17.50
***In 1956 The Grand Ole Opry invited a young country singer named GEORGE JONES to perform on their show. The 25 year-old Marine Corp veteran was already picking up momentum in his homeland of Texas, where he was signed to Starday Records. A year earlier his song "Why Baby, Why" became his first hit. However, in his own words, "My success as a country singer, no matter how big it became, would always be limited unless I appeared on the Grand Ole Opry." When he finally got the call to perform at the Opry, he drove almost 800 miles from Houston, borrowed a guitar from Jimmy Dickens, and performed one song. His appearance was a success and he was quickly asked to come back and become a member. Back in Beaumont, Texas, Jack Starnes and Pappy Daily knew they had to move quickly if their label, Starday Records, was going to keep up with Jones' new found popularity. In early 1957 they released George Jones' first album, Grand Ole Opry's New Star (known here as Country Song Hits), which also happened to be Starday's first LP. To this day this record has never been reissued in its entirety, making it one of the most collectible country records in the world. Lovingly remastered and carefully restored, this remarkable piece of music history has never looked and sounded so good. Manufactured and distributed by Secret Stash Records, Reserve Records is a new imprint that will become the home for projects that don't quite fit the funky Secret Stash ethos. What better way to start than with a reissue of the debut album by one of the greatest artists of all time released as the first LP by one of the most historic labels in the history of American music? Expect the same quality, care, and attention to detail in each Reserve release that you would expect from Secret Stash.
KIVEL, MATT - Double Exposure - Olde English Spelling Bee - OESB 77 - lp - $ 17.50
***Received an 8.0 rating from Pitchfork. Olde English Spelling Bee is proud to announce the release of Double Exposure--the debut solo album by Los Angeles based musician MATT KIVEL. Double Exposure was recorded over the span of a year and a half in various L.A. locations with the assistance of MARK NIETO and it was mixed by PAUL OLDHAM. The album art features original paintings by MAX MARKOWITZ."Matt Kivel used to be the guitarist in Cleveland's GAP DREAM, but he recently quit the band to focus on his solo music. His first record under his own name, Double Exposure, is a lovely, understated, and quietly personal document that will see release on October 15 on Olde English Spelling Bee. Back in April, we premiered 'Tetro,' a winsome song that sat beneath a knotty tree and hummed to itself contentedly, and 'Rainbow Trout' feels overheard in the same way. Kivel sings in a relaxed, open falsetto over delicately finger-picked acoustic guitar and a few notes of piano; the sound blooms right in your inner ear. Kivel's words aren't easily intelligible, but the phrase "Sweet babe, don't cry" leaps out, a consolation whispered to whomever gets close enough to hear it."--Jayson Greene (Pitchfork) "Most of the record was done at this rehearsal space that Mark had moved into above Solutions Audio in Los Feliz. He was living there and there was no shower. It was pretty gnarly. We would meet at night, drink whiskey, and talk about music. We spent a lot of time listening to Bruce Springsteen--though it doesn't show in the record--I was convinced that 'Born To Run' was the best song ever written. I was watching a lot of movies--I have this ambitious program where I'm trying to watch the entire Criterion Collection. A lot of those films influenced the work on this record: Kurosawa's Ran and Pasolini's Salo left a big impression on me. Salo is one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. Other things that I was into at the time of this record: John Renbourn The Lady and the Unicorn, Saul Bellow's Herzog, Broadcast Tender Buttons, Fennesz Endless Summer, John Woo's The Killer, Peter Weir's Picnic At Hanging Rock, Steve McQueen's Hunger, Bert Jansch Lucky 13, and lots of Nick Drake"--Matt Kivel
LABRADFORD - Prazision - Kranky - KRANK001 - 2xlp - $ 18.95
***To coincide with the 20th anniversary of the original release, we are issuing kranky katalog #001 on vinyl for the first time since 1993, newly remastered and with new artwork. The debut album from LABRADFORD, as well as the premier kranky release, was originally issued in late 1993 to a surprising amount of acclaim as well as a fair bit of confusion. What was one to make of these beatless atmospheres cum pop songs that had little to do with contemporary "indierock" (TM). The album was typically lumped into such newly minted sub-genres such as "lo-fi" and "post-rock" even though there was no connection to any such imagined scenes. Lo-fi? You can hear MARK NELSON breathe between vocal lines. Must be the lack of cymbals and hi-hat that accounts for that fallacy. Post-rock? Did that catch-all phrase for disparate musical groups and sounds even imply anything concrete or encompassing? Alas, just another label that quickly became meaningless. What is clearly evident upon listening to the album anew is that this is not a dated or stale work by any means. It could just as likely have been recorded in 2003, or 1983 for that matter, as in 1993. It does not contain any of the markers so typical of pop music that would place it in any time frame, no production touches or instrumental sounds that would identify it as being the product of a specific period. At the very least, Labradford created a timeless work, one that still challenges the listener today. More to the point, they created a masterwork.
LESS THAN JAKE - See The Light - Fat Wreck Chords - FAT 916 CD - cd - $ 12.75
***After more than two decades together, 8 studio albums, and a tour schedule that'd make Jules Verne blush, LESS THAN JAKE's longevity and level of popularity are unassailable. See The Light, their first full-length in fiver years shows the band making a triumphant return to the basics. Throughout a career that has run the gamut from self-releases and small indie imprints to large independent labels and major music conglomerates, the band's arc has led them back to the proud status of a DIY collective that works together, much the way they began. The result of their approach is the old school sound of See The Light. The album recaptures the bouncy energy and essence of the genre defining classics Pezcore and Losing Streak, while looking through the fresh lens of experienced and cohesive song writing that LTJ have honed over their long haul together. One listen to the lead single "My Money Is On the Long Shot" and you'll know exactly what we're gettin' at. From start to finish See the Light is a springy powder keg of fun songs filled out with poignant lyrics and undeniable sing-along melodies; it's the perfect embodiment of exactly the kind of electrically charged sound that originally put Less Than Jake at the top of their genre and has kept them there ever since.
LESS THAN JAKE - See The Light - Fat Wreck Chords - FAT 916 - lp - $ 13.50
***After more than two decades together, 8 studio albums, and a tour schedule that'd make Jules Verne blush, LESS THAN JAKE's longevity and level of popularity are unassailable. See The Light, their first full-length in fiver years shows the band making a triumphant return to the basics. Throughout a career that has run the gamut from self-releases and small indie imprints to large independent labels and major music conglomerates, the band's arc has led them back to the proud status of a DIY collective that works together, much the way they began. The result of their approach is the old school sound of See The Light. The album recaptures the bouncy energy and essence of the genre defining classics Pezcore and Losing Streak, while looking through the fresh lens of experienced and cohesive song writing that LTJ have honed over their long haul together. One listen to the lead single "My Money Is On the Long Shot" and you'll know exactly what we're gettin' at. From start to finish See the Light is a springy powder keg of fun songs filled out with poignant lyrics and undeniable sing-along melodies; it's the perfect embodiment of exactly the kind of electrically charged sound that originally put Less Than Jake at the top of their genre and has kept them there ever since.
LOVE, CALVIN - Cool - Hit City USA - HCUSA 09 - 7" - $ 7.25
***Unafraid to play the tease, CALVIN LOVE walks amidst a realm of conflicting dualism. His creative demeanor blending gritty exploration and an effortlessly cool croon. He's hot and cold, twisted and beautiful and reels in your cozying affection through wistful verse, entrancing rhythms and weighty synthesized pleas. He strings you along. A thrust and a swoon, a lover lost, he asks you to come back to him. And you do. And then he leaves, with cigarette smoke marking his trail. Through such casual flirtation, this Canadian bedroom punk out of Edmonton delivers suave and demented tunes, nostalgic and spun through otherworldly calculations. He's a stranded space captain locked in his cockpit recording his final thoughts, or a madman explorer roaming the bush with mismatched socks, good luck charms in his pocket and a rucksack of illicit findings. "Full seedy lounge, retro-disquiet"--Stereogum
LOW - Christmas - Chair Kickers Music - CK cd - CD - $ 11.00
***BACK IN STOCK!!! A CD collection of seasonal songs plus four originals from Duluth, Minnesota's frostiest dream elves. With special attention paid to musical detail and the lovely voices of ALAN SPARHAWK and MIMI PARKER, these time-honored classics will continue to please for many seasons to come. Includes renditions of "Silent Night," "Blue Christmas," and more. Now an annual tradition.
LOW - Christmas - Kranky - KRANK153 / CKU 001 - lp - $ 14.00
***BACK IN STOCK!!! First time vinyl release for this classic LOW holiday recording. We would suggest that few bands from an ostensibly "indie rock" background should release Christmas music, if not out of respect for the holiday or material then at least out of a sense of self-esteem. Low, however, were made for this. Their attention to musical detail combined with the heavenly vocal harmonies of ALAN SPARHAWK and MIMI PARKER are perfectly attuned to both traditional carols like "Silent Night" and more contemporary tunes such as "Blue Christmas." Christmas contains a selection of seasonal songs, including four originals by the band, mostly recorded at Low s 20o Below studio in Duluth, MN. "If You Were Born Today" and "Blue Christmas" were released as a 7-inch single in 1997 on the English Wurlitzer Jukebox label, while "Taking Down The Tree" is taken from a 1998 compilation of live recordings issue by the Dutch VPRO radio station.
MAC BLACKOUT BAND - Heartbreaker - Pelican Pow Wow - PWW 004 - 7" - $ 7.25
***Sheer blazer! Dark, synth and shred fueled rock'n'roll from a former member of MICKEY, DAILY VOID and FUNCTIONAL BLACKOUTS. Serious shit! Three songs, numbered edition of 400 copies.
MANATEEES - Out For Booze - Pelican Pow Wow - PPW 001 - 7" - $ 7.25
***Nasty, threatening Memphis punk. ABE WHITE (TRUE SONS OF THUNDER and OSCARS) gets out from behind the drums, to front this group of sickos once again. Three ripping cuts--"Neatfreak," "Under The Gun," and "Stupifier." Previous releases on Goner and Tic Tac Totally.
NAKED INTRUDER - s/t - Jeth-Row - JRR 017 - 7" - $ 6.30
***Featuring GARY WRONG from WIZZARD SLEEVE on drums, a HIBACHI STRANGLER on bass, and DEKE PURPLE on vocals. Scum Punk in the vein of early Dwarves and Meatmen. Limited to 400 copies.
OSTARA - Paradise Down South - Soleilmoon - SOL 184 CD - cd - $ 14.00
***OSTARA return with their sixth album, Paradise Down South, a thirteen-gun salute to 2013 that explores the heart of darkness with a spirit of upbeat pes- simism. RICHARD LEVIATHAN has a long history in the neofolk and industrial scenes, having worked and performed with many of the leading names, including Death in June, NON, Sol Invictus, Sieben, Forseti, Foresta di Ferro and Knifeladder. The album traverses themes both historic and universal, from the spiritual fallout of the Global Financial Crisis to the darkest corner of Hollywood. Songs to uplift you to the depths! Features a guest appearance by DOUGLAS P. from DEATH IN JUNE. Look upon this world of secrets. Look upon this work of demons.
PLATEAUS - Wasting Time - Mt. St. Mtn. - MTN 11 - 10" - $ 14.50
***San Diego's PLATEAUS are back and following up their acclaimed debut LP on Art Fag with a limited one sided 10" coming from Mt.St.Mtn. Plateaus have a laid back minimalist sound doing more with less with a niche for catchy song writing and melody. Hazy guitar tones, pounding drums, fuzzed out bass, and blown out vocals they deliver a sonic sound scape your ears with be thrilled to hear. With a range of influences from The Clean to The Wipers to Guided By Voices to Harry Nilsson to The Country Teasers, their sound is hard to pigeon hole into one specific genre. Cover artwork by JAY HOWELL, design by MARK KAISER. Edition of 500 copies pressed on one-sided 10-inch splatter vinyl mastered at 45 rpm, and packaged in offset printed die cut jackets.
PRIMITIVE MOTION - World's Floating By - Bedroom Suck - BSR 031 - lp - $ 20.65
***PRIMITIVE MOTION is the lovely finger-paint scrawl of Brisbane residents LEIGHTON CRAIG and SANDRA SELIG. Together they conjure repetitive waves of dream/float pop using an array of cheap keyboards and machine-made beats woven with echo-drenched vocals, brass, wind instruments and off-kilter drumming. The music of Primitive Motion is suspended in time at the blissful confluence of kosmiche Kraut rock and post-punk DIY. Reset your clocks to Primitive Motion. After releasing a string of 7 s, cassettes and cdr-s on US label Soft Abuse, Australian cassette imprint A Guide to Saints, and Craig's own Kindling label; Worlds Floating By is PM's first long player.
PROFLIGATE - Red Rope EP - DKA - DKA 003 - 12" - $ 9.45
***A veteran of the American underground noise circuit and one of it's most prolific and quietly influential figures, NOAH ANTHONY retired his long running NIGHT BURGER alias last year and launched his new PROFLIGATE project with exceptionally strong releases on Not Not Fun (12" single) and MORE Records (12" LP). Unlike many of the current crop of relentless experimentalists, Noah uses the Profligate project to bridge the gap between noise music and the dancefloor in an exceptionally bold and unique way, shifting the focus to pre-techno styles like Industrial and EBM. Brutal drums, stark atmospheres, brilliantly controlled explosions of noise and chaos, and definitive melodies and basslines clash against soft-sung vocals whispering beneath the mix to create a sound that is reminiscent of classic acts like Front 242 or Skinny Puppy but has an atmosphere and feeling that is very much it's own. The immediacy of the music is the result of Anthony being a master of live execution--Profligate is very much a live act, his sets steal the show on any bill he's found on and he is able to capture this live intensity on his recordings. The three tracks presented on The Red Rope EP see Anthony further developing and refining the styles he explored on his first two Profligate releases and prove that there is still a lot to be said and done in contemporary Industrial music. Low-tech but not Lo-Fi, perhaps most impressive is that Anthony does not rely on fancy analog equipment but is able to produce a depth of sound not heard out of some of the most advanced studios with a few outdated digital samplers, keyboards, and effects--a true testament to creativity and vision. Edition of 500 copies with printed jacket and insert.
PURLING HISS - Water on Mars - Drag City - DC 533 - lp - $ 17.75
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Received a 7.3 rating from Pitchfork. It takes balls to let PURLING HISS get in your face. Their records are a half-corroded, screaming roar of high-end guitars crushed together, obliterating vocals and even drums with their singular assault. Well, if you've got balls, get ready to swing 'em. With Water On Mars, Purling Hiss have broken out of the basement, run through the bedroom and are out in the streets, blasting one of the great guitar albums in the past couple minutes. It's a tumble of hits and ragers, sewing together nine new Purling Hiss celebration laments out of their usual patches of distortion, singing melodies and unexpected production hoohah--but this time the unexpected part is how the guitars gleam so precisely as they pile upon each other, how they work alongside of the rhythm section rather than avalanching it. And how the songs embody a variety of Hiss-teric moods. Water On Mars is Purling Hiss's first recording outside the fuzzy confines of MIKE POLIZZE's inner rock utopia, where the first three albums and EP were constructed in solitude with a home-recording setup. Over the past couple years, Mike's been working with a band and fine-tuning new songwriting ideas while playing shows all over the place. Now, Purling Hiss projects their sounds and ideas onto a new platform, with a visceral and soulful presence. Now there is a center to the Hiss maelstrom, with Polizze's guitars slugging, sizzling and spiraling their way around the rhythm throb. Polizze lyricises like a poet of the disaffected, shifting from aggro to slack and back over the course of a song; the production highlights the schiz by buffing the raw power into a streamlined blast, hitting down hard and covering a lot of ground in just over a half hour. Purling Hiss have a deeply satisfying way of drawing from the red, white and blue wells of '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s rock to inform their own sound, giving things a retro ring while doing what they do in the Philadelphia of today--and no other time could apply, really. Water On Mars is heav y stuff from Purling Hiss, unknotting the strings that tangled all their previous records together so righteously to reveal--another, greater storm within.
SAPPHIRE SLOWS - Allegoria - Not Not Fun - NNF 285 LP - lp - $ 13.00
***On her first proper full-length album, Tokyo netscape nightingale Sapphire Slows impressively expands on the spider web tone-bank nocturnes of 2011's True Breath EP, with headier, haunted highs and eerier, elegant depths. Patiently pieced together across all of 2012 (plus change), and inspired by everything from St. Etienne's plasticine Euro-house, obscured J-pop memories, Blue Bell Knoll and the saddest Section 25 remixes, Allegoria swirls and spirals through ten textural electronic melancholias composed in solitude. The record grows more reflective and insular as it goes on, ebbing from the Casio ghost-dub of "Dry Fruits" and "Third Party" into the fragile sleepwalker techno of "Corekill" and "Fade Out" before dissolving into even more weightless 4 AM pop-ambient Kompakt abstractions like "Break Control" and "Meteor." An effortless fusion of emotive and exploratory impulses, arranged in a blue-lit rock garden in an invisible apartment in the heart of urban infinity, Allegoria was mastered by Andrew Veres and features "piercing jewelry textile" cover artwork by celebrated Angeleno artisan Natasha Ghosn. As the artist herself puts it, "Darkness no one can enter; only listening to this album lets you into my real world."
STRANGER, THE - Watching Dead Empires in Decay - Modern Love - LOVE088 CD - cd - $ 20.15
***Polymath JAMES LEYLAND KIRBY must surely have one of the most confounding CV's in the business: he spent years taking the piss out of the music industry with anthems rallying against the (VV)MCPS, he notoriously fell out with various well known record labels for reasons you'll just have to google, goaded Aphex Twin with a series of 'tributes' and channelled his love of everything from Falco (Rock Me Amadeus), Chris De Burgh, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and Stockport karaoke nights into a stream of increasingly bizzare 7"s back in the early noughties. But at the same time he was responsible for releasing some of the very earliest material from Boards of Canada (Hell Interface: 1997), made a ruck of frankly groundbreaking industrial electronic records, brought New Beat to the world's attention and, in 1999, made his first album as THE CARETAKER, a project that would go on to release some of the most loved Ambient/ Lynchian albums of recent times. Since then he's also produced an incredible suite of releases under his own name, scored various film projects and released three EP's under the 'Intrigue & Stuff' banner which are, for our money, so ahead of their time they might just start sinking in properly by the end of the decade. All of which brings us to Watching Dead Empires in Decay, a new album recorded under another of Kirby's pseudonyms THE STRANGER and released on Modern Love, a label that has been close to Kirby through these last eventful 15 years. It's a dream album for the label: perhaps the most ambitious of Kirby's career so far. It's complex, singular, enigmatic, percussive, dark, and you just can't work out how it was constructed. Gone are the sampled 78's of The Caretaker, but it also doesnt exactly sound electronic--you just can't quite fathom how any of it was put together: Field Recordings? Found Sounds? Sheets of metal scraped and hammered? Drum machines re-wired? It's stark and unsettling, haunted, even troubling--but often just beautiful.It starts with the sharp clang of opener 'We Are Enemies But Not Here' before the woozy percussive crawl 'So Pale It Shone In The Night' sucks you into a bare landscape: somewhere between Eraserhead and Fumio Hayasaka's music for Akira Kurosawa. And then there are moments that break through the tension with clarity and familiarity, nostalgia even: 'Where Are Our Monsters Now, Where Are Our Friends?' could have been made by Boards of Canada if they had taken a turn into more noxious terrain back in 1998, while 'Spiral Of Decline' offsets the drum programming you'd most likely associate with a Powell record with an oblique sense of timing and space. It all ends with 'About To Enter A Strange New Period', an unusual, vaporous coda that offers no resolution - it just shuts proceedings down with nothing settled.
STRATEGY - Clocky Man / Snowdrift Dub - ZamZam - ZAMZAM 14 - 7" - $ 6.75
***STRATEGY's glorious return to ZamZam! PAUL DICKOW's explorations through myriad strains of house, ambient, and dub have been celebrated by dancers, listeners and critics for well over a decade, most recently with outstanding releases on Peak Oil and Idle Hands. "Clocky Man" is analog hardware dub that journeys deep into sparkling caverns full of ancient mystery and wonder. A galloping dubhouse rhythm, squelching synths and emotional skanks will bring dancefloors to ecstasy and headphone listeners to tears. "Snowdrift Dub" combines a bouncing, elastic bassline with grittier, syncopated stabs and a haunting melodica breakdown, also sure to fill the floor and keep hands in the air. Strictly limited to 500 copies for the world, no repress, no digital. Housed in a hand screen printed gold-on-white jacket by Polygon Press.
SWEET TALK - Flash Of Light - 12XU - 12XU 057-1 - 12" - $ 12.00
***In the wake of their universally hailed 2013 full-length debut, Pickup Lines, the firm of SVACINA / FRAZIER / ASSI and JONES, aka Austin's SWEET TALK, return with six new songs, created this past May in Denton, TX with the Marked Men's MARK RYAN and JEFF BURKE at the recording desk. The twin-guitar attack of Stephen Svacina and Mitch Fraizer has been captured in all it's multi-dimensional glory ; for those stunned by Pickup Lines' all-killer/no-filler collection of new pop classics, Flash Of Light is ample evidence these guys were merely getting started. Featuring guys who are in/out of such bands as UPTOWN BUMS, CHURCH SHOES, WICCANS, MIND SPIDERS, OBN IIIs, BRAIN ATTACK, JONLY BONLY, VIDEO and probably a few more by the time you're done reading this.
TAR - 1988-1995 - Chunklet - CHKLP 011 - 2xlp - $ 28.75
***Contains every non-12" vinyl release by TAR, including all singles, compilation tracks, unreleased, a 1992 Peel Session, covers of songs by Pere Ubu ("Non-Alignment Pact"), The Wipers ("Doom Town"), Jawbox ("Static"), AC/DC ("Hell's Bells"), & Dobie Gray/Bryan Ferry ("The In Crowd"). Comes with download of over two hours of live Tar recordings from the band's archives, spanning every period of the band's development. Aluminum guitars are (still) the best. One time pressing of 300 copies.
v/a - Hassaniya Music from The Western Sahara and Mauritania - Sublime Frequencies - SF 083 LP - lp - $ 25.25
***In 2006, HISHAM MAYET returned to West Africa to continue his search for an unknown musician he had heard six months earlier on the radio in a Morocco hotel room. Knowing only that it was Sahrawi music--music of the south--he headed down through the vast and remote desert landscape of the Western Sahara and Mauritania in hopes of finding someone who could identify these revelatory recordings. The story of how he finally found this elusive artist is the stuff of ethnomusicological legend. But he also found much, much more as he wandered from Laayoune, Western Sahara, to Mauritania's capital city of Nouakchott. From intimate, sinuous home recordings by GROUP MARWANI, to a sublimely devastating track by the enigmatic ABDUL RAHMAN AL-GHEID, to the inimitable tidinit artistry of SADOUM OULED AIDA, the performers on this album exemplify the haunting and intoxicating qualities of Sahrawi music. Featuring Mayet's first recordings of the electrifying GROUP DOUEH, as well as dizzying field recordings from Nouakchott's Marche Capitale--where relentless traffic noise swirls together with fragments of melody from countless cassette vendors' PA speakers--Hassaniya Music from the Western Sahara and Mauritania is the evocative soundtrack to a chimerical journey that is also documented visually in Sublime Frequencies' breathtaking film Palace of the Winds. It not only traces Mayet's own passage through these barren and beautiful lands, but also charts the evolution of Sahrawi music from sung poetry accompanied by traditional acoustic instruments to electrifying modern grooves drenched in reverb and phase effects. Limited edition pressing with Stoughton tip-on full-color gatefold jacket.
v/a - I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America 1950-1990 - Light In The Attic - LITA107LP - 3xlp - $ 40.95
***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Forget everything you know, or think you know, about new age, a genre that has become one of the defining musical-archaeological explorations of the past decade. I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990 is the first major anthology to survey the golden age of new age and reveal the unbelievable truth about the genre. For new age, at its best, is a reverberation of psychedelic music, and great by any standard. This is analog, handmade music communicating soul and spirit, often done on limited means and without commercial potential, self-published and self-distributed. Before it became big business and devolved into the spaced out elevator music we know and loathe today, this was the real thing. I Am The Center is a knowing, but never cynical overview that invites listeners at last to the mainspring of a misunderstood genre's greatest lights. Many of the biggest names are present--IASOS, inter-dimentional channeler of "paradise music"; LARAAJIi, discovered by Brian Eno playing for spare change in Washington Square Park; and the recently famous JD EMMANUEL, icon to a new generation of drone, ambient, noise musicians. Call it what you will--before it was anything else, it was new age. Lovingly conceived and lavishly presented, I Am The Center features stunning paintings by the legendary visual artist GILBERT WILLIAMS, and liner notes by producer DOUGLAS MCGOWAN, who weaves the words and images of the wizards and sorceresses of new age into a prismatic portrait of music that can finally be recognized for what it is: great American folk art.
v/a - La Castanya 5 - La Castanya - LC 008 - BK - $ 17.75
***The compilation book & MP3 release (book comes with mp3 coupon), La Castanya 5 sums up 4 years devoted to releasing records and putting on gigs in their home of Barcelona. The book features countless pics of their bands through tours, gigs & studio sessions, as seen through the lens of ABLERT POLO. Features unreleased tracks from TED LEO, REBECCA GATES, ME & THE BEES, NUEVA VULCANO, LA ORQUESTA DEL CABALLO GANADOR and BISCUIT.
v/a - Paink: French Punk Anthems 1975-1982 - Born Bad - BORNBAD 055 LP - lp - $ 21.35
***Best of the best of French punk tracks. Only French KBD killer tracks. Released for the forthcoming exhibition Europunk at Cite de la Musique (Paris - October 2013/January 2014). The first French incarnations of "Le Punk" (pronounced "paink" in numerous locales) were not carbon copies of their foreign exemplars. Babbling, swarming, morphing, genuinely disorganized anarchy, bad intentions transformed into good ones: that's how punk rock (or at least a close approximation) was initially adapted to fit our peculiar French perspective. There was not the slightest network to distribute records or organize concert tours. Older generations were hostile (or worse, compassionate or even paternalistic). There was nothing and no one to forge a connection between the handful of small, isolated groups, fundamentally motivated by a passion for what they deemed true rock 'n' roll (the desire to terrorize the neighborhood arrived soon afterward), each in their own little world, trying to provoke their backwater village or their lame metropolis, and meeting, of course, with total indifference. Artists include: Les Nouveaux Riches, Strychnine, Electrochoc, Gasoline, Sexe A Pile, Soggy, Marie France, Ruth Elyeri, Les Olivensteins, Coronados, Dogs, Warm Gun, Gloires Locales, and Guilty Razors.
VATICAN SHADOW - Remember Your Black Day - Hospital Productions - HOS 399 LP - lp - $ 24.35
***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Remember Your Black Day is the debut album proper from VATICAN SHADOW, the first material conceived and produced as a full-length by DOMINICK FERNOW for the project following almost a dozen tapes (mostly released on Hospital Productions) and vinyl editions (released by the likes of Blackest Ever Black, Modern Love, and Type) over the last three years. None of the eight tracks included have been released before on any other format. At a time when the scene is saturated with "noise techno," the album is almost celebratory by contrast, balancing caustic licks of distortion and oppressive bass with cleanly mixed synth tones and ricocheting claps in a shell-shocked, surreal soundsphere. With production assistance from JUAN MENDEZ (SILENT SERVANT), the album includes the most direct and propulsive Vatican Shadow material yet, continuing an evolutionary shift away from the complex, collage-based narrative of those cassette releases into more visibly direct contact with the listener. There is a functional connection to dance music here, honing in on the human element embedded within a subject matter so fraught with inhumanity.
VON HAUSSWOLF, C.M. - Matter Transfer - Ideal - 102 - lp - $ 14.50
***Pure tone torture. Edition of 300.
WESTERN ADDICTION - Pines - Fat Wreck Chords - FAT 270 - 7" - $ 5.60
***Steady yourselves. The wait has been long (8 years!) and trying, causing many to abandon all hope, but WESTERN ADDICTION have finally reemerged with brand new material. After an extended and not entirely intentional hiatus, tending to the rigors of day to day life, the guys pick up right where they left off, flexing some of the heaviest and headiest punk rock around. Unapologetically forged with the same ire of early Black Flag, Pines boasts 3 throttling tracks that'll leave you simultaneously begging for mercy and begging for more. One listen to Pines andyou'll know exactly why Western Addiction are such a revelation among modern hardcore bands.
WHITE FENCE - s/t (Reissue) - God? - GOD 002 - lp - $ 17.50
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Restoring a lost gem to the crown of WHITE FENCE, God? is bringing the first, self-titled, White Fence album back to the vanguard. White Fence originally came out on San Francisco's Make a Mess label; the CD is currently in print on Woodsist. TIM PRESLEY's been building a White Fence he can be proud of since back in 2010; his fourth trip to the other side of the fence just dropped and new pop music horizons continue to shimmer invitingly in all the music that he makes. If you walked into the party when the second album was playing or even the new one, those're probably a great place to start too. But this first record is a REALLY good place to start. Tim's a veteran of a few bands before White Fence, like DARKER MY LOVE, and he's made records with TY SEGALL and THE STRANGE BOYS too, but his own thing is very special, as you may know--a foolproof and ever-morphing approach to writing songs by bringing the freshness of lysergic '60s visions into the present day. This pressing returns White Fence to the LP shelf for the first time since the Saladin daze of 2010, when too few copies were made and they all went away. Now it is back, with all the bells and whistles intact (insert! stickers!) that made it such fun to ride in once upon a time not so long or so recently ago, either. It's a perfectly balanced two-sided journey--and with "Be Right Too," the best is saved for last, a melody that will haunt and linger in a righteous way. Leaving us to feel that this is what pop songs were meant to be. They were!
WINANT, WILLIAM - Five American Percussion Pieces - Poon Village - PV 007 LP - lp - $ 35.25
***The percussionist WILLIAM WINANT's first-ever artist release, this is the first of a vinyl-only two volume series of contemporary classical solo percussion music. Features works by all American composers: LOU HARRISON, MICHAEL BYRON, ALVIN CURRAN and JAMES TENNEY. Recorded from 1976 through 2013. Limited edition of 350 copies available for sale for the whole world. Pressed on 200 gram vinyl. Gallery edition-style packaging, in hand-crafted 10 plate screen printed jackets with mitred-corner wood spines.
YOUNG, OSCAR BAND - Damp Circuits: The Golden Era of Synthesizers in East Asia Vol. 1 - Sham Palace - SHAM 005 EP - 7" - $ 9.45
***This special limited edition 7" EP showcases the fantastic and underrated synthesizer sounds of Hong Kong's OSCAR YOUNG. These four instrumental cuts from 1976 see the prolific musician and producer modernizing Chinese folk melodies and rocketing them into the space-age. Solid synth leads are backed with fuzz and wah-wah guitars, tight funk bass lines and haunting organs--integrating shades of surf, soul, rock, and disco into his unique sound. Multifaceted rhythms feature punchy electronic beats peppered with hand-drums and other natural percussion, while synths of all shapes and textures pan throughout the spacious mixes. Young's adventurous and unpredictable technique and production never missed a beat--unless it was intended. Oscar Young--known also as YANG ROAD FIRE, or YANG DAOHUO--worked prolifically in the East Asian rock and pop music scene between the 1960s and 1980s. He first gained acclaim as an arranger, working with singers such as Teresa Teng, Xiao-Jun Huang and go-go bands like the Apollo, as well as creating scores for movies. His classical background allowed him to create a perfect hybrid of traditional Chinese music and new electronic sounds and instruments of the time. Young released multiple volumes of albums: his own series spans over 30 volumes, while his collaborations with the Apollo Band yielded an equal amount. His music can be compared to the likes of Martin Denny or Dick Hyman's synthesizer-infused exotica, or the high-profile Moog pioneers, Perry & Kingsley. The tracks featured on this EP are from his booming period of electronic experimentation during the early-to-mid 1970s, and represent a mere sliver of his giant catalog and immeasurable talent--a short-but-sweet introduction to the wondrous synthesizer world of Oscar Young.
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