At a Glance:
DELIA GONZALEZ & GAVIN RUSSOM “Track 5” (DFA - DFA2244) 12" (UPC: 829732224412 - LPGONZATrac)
SHIT ROBOT “Tuff Enuff?” (DFA - DFA2262) 12" (UPC: 829732226218 - LPSHIT Tuff)
HALLO GALLO 2010 “Blinkgurtel / Drone Schlager” (Vampire Blues - VB 01) 7" (07HALLOBlin)
FRESH AND ONLYS “Play It Strange” (In The Red - ITR 202) CD (UPC: 759718520224 - CDFRESHPlay)
FRESH AND ONLYS “Play It Strange” (In The Red - ITR 202) LP (UPC: 759718520217 - LPFRESHPlay)
DEAD C “Patience” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 070) CD (UPC: 600197007020 - CDDEAD Pati)
DEAD C “Patience” (Ba Da Bing - BING 070) LP (UPC: 600197007013 - LPDEAD Pati)
PETER GORDON “Love of Life Orchestra” (DFA - DFA2229) CD (UPC: 829732222920 - CDGORDOLove)
ARTICLES OF FAITH “New Normal Catastrophe” (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 422) 12"
TERMINAL CITY RICOCHET Director Zale Dalen (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 407) DVD+CD
WIDOWER Director Marcus Rogers (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 408) DVD+CD
YOKOTA, SUSUMU “Kaleidoscope” (Lo Recordings - LCD 84) CD (UPC: 730003418426 – CDYOKOTKale)
SEELAND “How to Live” (LOAF - LOAF 38) CD (UPC: 730003463822 - CDSEELAHow)
SOLAR BEARS “She Was Coloured In” (Planet Mu - ZIQ 270) CD (UPC: 60011682702 – CDSOLARShe)
GRAILS “Burden of Hope” (Pamlico Sound - PMLO 001) LP (UPC: 616892099765 - LPGRAILBurd)
GRAILS “Redlight” (Pamlico Sound - PMLO 002) LP (UPC: 616892099864 - LPGRAILRedl)
SHARON VAN ETTEN “Epic” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 072) CD (UPC: 600197007228 - CDVAN Eepic)
SHARON VAN ETTEN “Epic” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 072) LP (UPC: 600197007211 - LPVAN Eepic)
BLOODY PANDA “Summon” (Profound Lore - PFL 048) CD+DVD (UPC: 880270289127)
PAPERCUTS “Can’t Go Back” (Gnomonsong - GONG 04) LP (UPC: 655035050416)
SPENCER, JON BLUES EXPLOSION “Jukebox Explosion” (In The Red - ITR 146) LP (UPC: 759718514612)
HIGHLIFE “Best Bless” (Social Registry - TSR 077) CD (UPC: 656605757728 - CDHIGHLBest)
CHROMATICS “In The City II” (Italians Do It Better - IDIB 027) 12" (lpchromin 2)
DWARR “Animals” (Drag City - DC 443) CD (UPC: 781484044321 - CDDWARRAnim)
DWARR “Animals” (Drag City - DC 443) LP (UPC: 781484044314 - LPDWARRAnim)
BELFI / GRUBBS / PILIA “Onrushing Cloud” (Blue Chopsticks - BC 21) LP (UPC: 781484702115 - LPBELFIOnru)
DIPLO & TIESTO “C’Mon” (Mad Decent - MAD 118) 12" (LPDiplocmon)
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW “Autumn, Again” (A Sunny Day In Glasgow - ASDG 002) LP
v/a “FROM THE LAND OF THE ICE AND SNOW - THE SONGS OF LED ZEPPELIN” (Jealous Butcher - JB 089)
BLUE WATER WHITE DEATH “s/t” (Graveface - GRAVE052) CD (UPC: 643157412120 - CDBLUE Wate)
AIAS “A La Piscina” (Captured Tracks - CT 075) CD (UPC: 847108063670 - CDAIASA La)
ZOLA JESUS “Valusia” (Sacred Bones - SBR 039) CD (UPC: 616892105565 - CDZOLA Valu)
LA VAMPIRES & ZOLA JESUS “s/t” (Not Not Fun - NNF 195) LP (LPLA VAs/t)
GARY WAR “Horribles Parade” (Sacred Bones - SBR 023) CD (CDGARY Horr)
TIM COHEN “Two Sides of Tim Cohen” (Empty Cellar - SS002) LP (LPCOHENTwo)
BRAIN IDEA “Survival Scrolls” (Permanent - PERM 020) LP (LPBRAINSurv)
SUFJAN STEVENS “Age of Adz” (Asthmatic Kitty - AKR 77) CD (UPC: 656605607726 - CDSTEVEAge)
ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS “Swanlights” (Secretly Canadian - SC 215) CD (UPC: 656605021522 -
COMMON EIDER, KING EIDER “Amnesia” (Eider Press - 002) LP (LPCOMMOAmne)
FLIGHT “Lead Riders” (Zoo Music - LPFLIGHLead) 12" (LPFLIGHLead)
EXTRA LENS “Undercard” (Merge - MRG 406) CD (UPC: 673855040622 - CDEXTRAUnde)
SAILORS WITH WAX WINGS “s/t” (Angel Oven - AO 2374 002) CD (UPC: 724101226229 - CDSAILOs/t)
WHITE MOTH “White Moth” (Angel Oven - AO 2374 003) CD (UPC: 724101226328 - cdwhitemoth)
BLACK HEART PROCESSION “Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit” (Temporary Residence Ltd - TRR 170) CD
ENVY “Recitation” (Temporary Residence Ltd - TRR 168) CD (UPC: 656605316826 - CDENVYReci)
DOUG PAISLEY “Constant Companion” (No Quarter - NOQ 025) CD (UPC: 899922001253 - CDPAISLCons)
SUUNS “Zeroes QC” (Secretly Canadian - SC 125) CD (UPC: 656605012520 - CDSUUNSZero)
WOLF PEOPLE “Steeple” (Jagjaguwar - JAG 159) CD (UPC: 656605215921 - CDWOLF Stee)
HAUSCHKA “Foreign Landscapes” (Fat Cat - FAT 1312) CD (UPC: 600116131225 - CDHAUSCFore)
KENDL WINTER “Apple Core” (K Records - KLP 224) CD (UPC: 789856122424 - CDWINTEAppl)
SILJE NES “Opticks” (Fat Cat - FAT 9020) CD (UPC: 600116122025 - cdnes sopti)
CALLERS “Life of Love” (Western Vinyl - WV 73) CD (UPC: 656605461427 - CDCALLELife)
SEAN SMITH “Christmas” (Tompkins Square - TSQ 2486) CD (UPC: 894807002486 - CDSMITHChri)
NURSE WITH WOUND & LARSEN “Erroneous: A Selection of Errors” (Important - IMPREC 310) CD
SMEGMA “Mirage” (Important - IMPREC 311) CD (UPC: 793447531120 - CDSMEGMMira)
SMEGMA “Mirage” (Important - IMPREC 311) LP (UPC: 793447531113 - LPSMEGMMira)
LESSER / MATMOS / WOBBLY “Simultaneous Quodlibet” (Important - IMPREC 312) LP (UPC: 793447531229 -
JOE COLLEY “Disasters of Self” (CIP - CIP 022) TRPL.LP (LPCOLLEDisa)
AGENT RIBBONS “Chateau Crone” (Antenna Farm - ANT 534) CD (UPC: 646315453423 - CDAGENTChat)
PENA “s/t” (Secret Stash - SSRCD 274) CD+DVD (UPC: 895826002747 - CDPENAs/t)
SWEET TALKS “Party Time In Hollywood” (Tropic Vibe Productions - TVPCD 13039) CD (UPC: 804317130395 -
SWEET TALKS “Adjoa” (Tropic Vibe Productions - TVPCD 13041) CD (UPC: 804317130418 - CDSWEETAdjo)
CHRISTINE SHIELDS “In The Sun” (Awesome Vistas - AV 10) LP (LPSHIELIn T)
IS “Sound of Energy in Space, The Space of Energy in Life” (Awesome Vistas - AV 09) LP (LPISSoun)
TU FAWNING “Hearts on Hold” (Jealous Butcher - JB 082) CD (UPC: 751937394327 - CDTU FAHear).
MOIRA SCAR “Slink to Intensity” (Hollow Wood World - HWW 000) CD (CDMOIRASlin)
MOIRA SCAR “Slink to Intensity” (Hollow Wood World - HWW 000) LP (LPMOIRASlin)
NUCLEAR POWER PANTS “Wicked Eats The Warrior” (Anchor Brain - ABRN 005) LP (LPNUCLEWick)
LUKE ROBERTS “Big Bells and Dime Songs” (Ecstatic Peace - E# 109 D) LP (LPROBERBig)
FAT WORM OF ERROR “s/t” (Ecstatic Peace - E# 212 D) LP (LPFAT Ws/t)
ROGER & WENDY “Love Rog + Wem” (Lion Productions - LION 639) CD (UPC: 778578063924 -
JAMES GOODE “Somniloquy” (James Goode - CDGOODESOMN) CD (CDGOODESomn)
EPSILONS “Kill’em Deader” (HBSP-2X - HBSP-2X 018) LP (LPEPSILKill)
MOONHEARTS “s/t” (Tic Tac Totally - TTT 666) LP (UPC: 655035166612 - LPMOONHs/t)
FILM SCHOOL “Fission” (Hi-Speed Soul - HSS 1036) CD (UPC: 694968103622 - CDFILM Fiss)
LES RALLIZES DENUDES “Blind Baby Has Its Mother’s Eyes” (Phoenix - ASH 3035) LP (UPC: 5051125303526 -
LES RALLIZES DENUDES “Heavier Than A Death In The Family” (Phoenix - ASH 3037) DBL.LP
SERGE GAINSBOURG & BRIGITTE BARDOT “Bonnie & Clyde” (4 Men With Beards - 4M 178) LP
KAPITAL BAND 1 “Playing By Numbers” (Mosz - MOSZ 017) CD (UPC: 689076751445 - CDKAPITPlay)
TREY TOLD ‘EM “Super Epic Thrill Jockey Mega Massive Anniversary Mix” (Thrill Jockey - TJ TREY) CDEP
TOM WAITS “Under The Influence” (Sexy Intellectual - SIDVD 553) DVD (UPC: 823564520292 - dvwaitsrevi)
MAXIMUMROCK’N’ROLL “Issue # 330 Pt. 2 - Fall 2010” (Maximumrock’n’roll - MRR 330 P2) MAGAZINE
MARSHMALLOW GHOST “Trick B/W Treat” (Graveface - GRAVE054) 7" (UPC: 847108016508 - 07MARSHTric)
DELIA GONZALEZ & GAVIN RUSSOM “Track 5” (DFA - DFA2244) 12" (UPC: 829732224412 - LPGONZATrac)
***If the music of DELIA GONZALEZ and GAVIN RUSSOM is cinematic in its essence, the way their songs unfold
into soundscapes and conjure up serene images, it's because the visual is inextricable to their work, whatever form it
takes. The two artists initially began making music to score their own video creations, so it follows that the
compositions they've since created are both sonically and visually expressive, bringing to mind moving pictures and
static images. In 2005, Gonzalez and Russom released The Days of Mars, an album inspired by "everything from Alice
Coltrane to acid-house, Santeria ritual music to the kosmische side of krautrock," and filled with warm, spacey,
almost tactile music from Russom's self-built analog synthesizers. The album's four songs sounded not unlike a
soundtrack for an imagined film. The same can be said of "Track 5," a previously unreleased single meant for The Days
of Mars, but ultimately deemed out of place on the record. It begins with the slow reveal of a repeating electronic ring
atop a rising, falling, sine-curving synth. With each additional layer—a piercing, urgent synthesizer; a deep,
continuous, ever-expanding rumble; the sound of a guitar, awash in reverb—the atmosphere thickens. It's both
restless and placid, anxious and tranquil. Just over ten minutes in length, the track closes with a chorus of highpitched
synths that fade to a sparse, darkened end. This 12-inch, very likely Gonzalez and Russom's last, also features
a remix from AME, comprised of Germany's KRISTIAN BEYER and FRANK WIEDEMANN. The house duo wholly
transforms the A-side into a track so unrecognizable it seems brand new, taking it far from the introspective
dreamworld to a dance party in the sweaty, blissed-out, wee hours of the morning.
SHIT ROBOT “Tuff Enuff?” (DFA - DFA2262) 12" (UPC: 829732226218 - LPSHIT Tuff)
***“Tuff Enuff?” sounds just the way an affirmative answer to the titular question should: lean and muscular, with
sinewy bass flexing its way straight through. It’s a song full of robust underpinnings and carefully placed
counterbalances: synths that lustrously shimmer and slowly dissipate, keys that sparkle faintly at the quietest
moments. The first single on From the Cradle to the Rave, the debut album from SHIT ROBOT—aka MARCUS
LAMBKIN—is a perfectly executed composition in “homage to Chicago house, Kraftwerk and gay electronic disco.”
The B-Side features a WILD GEESE remix of “I Found Love,” another stellar track from Lambkin’s debut.
HALLO GALLO 2010 “Blinkgurtel / Drone Schlager” (Vampire Blues - VB 01) 7" (07HALLOBlin)
***As participants in the heyday of early ‘70s Krautrock go, MICHAEL ROTHER's resume and contributions to the
world of experimental music and progressive rock might be among the highest. He spent time as guitarist in a 1971
incarnation of KRAFTWERK, then co-founded the legendary combo NEU! with Klaus Dinger. With a combination of
studio manipulations with producer Conny Plank, Dinger's driving motorik drumming and Rother's spirited and
textural guitar playing, Neu! created a body of music that weighed heavily across sections of classic and modern
music cornerstones as diverse as Joy Division, PiL, Bowie, and an entire electronic music scene. He also was a
member of HARMONIA, joining Cluster's Hans-Joachim Roedelius and Dieter Moebius, worked with Eno, and
created a selection of solo recordings into the present time. Rother has been touring as HALLO GALLO 2010 using his
past projects as a template for live performance, joined by STEVE SHELLEY (SONIC YOUTH) on drums, and
AARON MULLAN (TALL FIRS) on bass. The trio recently performed during WFMU's broadcast at Primavera Sound
in Barcelona, and have shows this week at Maxwell's, Lincoln Center, and in Philadelphia. Includes free digital
download coupon.
FRESH AND ONLYS “Play It Strange” (In The Red - ITR 202) CD (UPC: 759718520224 - CDFRESHPlay)
FRESH AND ONLYS “Play It Strange” (In The Red - ITR 202) LP (UPC: 759718520217 - LPFRESHPlay)
DEAD C “Patience” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 070) CD (UPC: 600197007020 - CDDEAD Pati)
DEAD C “Patience” (Ba Da Bing - BING 070) LP (UPC: 600197007013 - LPDEAD Pati)
PETER GORDON “Love of Life Orchestra” (DFA - DFA2229) CD (UPC: 829732222920 - CDGORDOLove)
ARTICLES OF FAITH “New Normal Catastrophe” (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 422) 12" (UPC: 721616042214 -
LPARTICNew)
TERMINAL CITY RICOCHET Director Zale Dalen (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 407) DVD+CD (UPC:
721616040791 - DVDALENTerm)
WIDOWER Director Marcus Rogers (Alternative Tentacles - VIRUS 408) DVD+CD (UPC: 721616040890 -
DVROGERWido)
YOKOTA, SUSUMU “Kaleidoscope” (Lo Recordings - LCD 84) CD (UPC: 730003418426 – CDYOKOTKale)
SEELAND “How to Live” (LOAF - LOAF 38) CD (UPC: 730003463822 - CDSEELAHow)
SOLAR BEARS “She Was Coloured In” (Planet Mu - ZIQ 270) CD (UPC: 600116827029 – CDSOLARShe)
GRAILS “Burden of Hope” (Pamlico Sound - PMLO 001) LP (UPC: 616892099765 - LPGRAILBurd)
GRAILS “Redlight” (Pamlico Sound - PMLO 002) LP (UPC: 616892099864 - LPGRAILRedl)
***Originally released by Neurosis’ Neurot Recordings label, Burden and Redlight together represent “phase one” of
the band that would go on to become one of the world’s most acclaimed instrumental / experimental rock outfits.
Still considered to be fan favorites of many, these first albums were recorded in a live studio setting with minimal
overdubbing, an approach far from the dense psychedelic production of the records that would follow (e.g. Burning
Off Impurities, Doomsdayer‘s Holiday). This early material offers an intriguing glimpse of the genre-colliding
experiments around the corner, with covers of tunes by Sun City Girls and Richard Thompson, as well as a guest
appearance from STEVE MACKAY (THE STOOGES). Long out of print in these formats, the two albums have been
remastered for vinyl reissue in 2010. Includes a free download. Exclusively available. No Export restrictions.
SHARON VAN ETTEN “Epic” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 072) CD (UPC: 600197007228 - CDVAN Eepic)
SHARON VAN ETTEN “Epic” (Ba Da Bing! - BING 072) LP (UPC: 600197007211 - LPVAN Eepic)
BLOODY PANDA “Summon” (Profound Lore - PFL 048) CD+DVD (UPC: 880270289127)
PAPERCUTS “Can’t Go Back” (Gnomonsong - GONG 04) LP (UPC: 655035050416)
SPENCER, JON BLUES EXPLOSION “Jukebox Explosion” (In The Red - ITR 146) LP (UPC: 759718514612)
HIGHLIFE “Best Bless” (Social Registry - TSR 077) CD (UPC: 656605757728 - CDHIGHLBest)
CHROMATICS “In The City II” (Italians Do It Better - IDIB 027) 12" (lpchromin 2)
***An expanded new version of the In The City EP from CHROMATICS. Includes the original 12-inch vocal and
instrumental versions of “In The City,” the B-side cover of Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” (also from the original), along
with the added “Tears of Pain,” “Lady,” “Dark Day” (Robin Crutchfield), and “Dagger Moon” (Dead Moon).
DWARR “Animals” (Drag City - DC 443) CD (UPC: 781484044321 - CDDWARRAnim)
DWARR “Animals” (Drag City - DC 443) LP (UPC: 781484044314 - LPDWARRAnim)
(STREET DATE - 10/19/2010) ***DWARR is DUANE WARR. Dwarr put out the suicidal, droned out, and brilliant
debut Starting Over in 1984, followed by Animals in 1986, Holy One in 2000, and Times of Terror in 2003. Dwarr's
masterpiece Animals tells tales of rage, obsession and vengeance. Duane worked at a plastic factory in South Carolina.
Criticism of Starting Over sent him into a paralyzing depression. He decided to appease the people by making a
country record. Folks were entertained but it did nothing for Duane. He planned his revenge and decided to make a
Dwarr record for himself and no one else. He gave everything he had to Animals. He recorded on a Tascam 8-track in
his trailer and played everything but the drums himself. There was no dubbing; all the tracks had to be played
straight through. He could nail it and miss the last note and have to start all over again. The making of Animals was a
supernatural, spiritual experience that came at a dark point in Duane Warr's life. Visions and hauntings took place
during the making of the record. The lyrics are heavy and breathy and the guitar riffs are doom laden, brutal and
heavy as hell. Dwarr created an impenetrably slow and heavy sludge of a record that promises to bludgeon you into a
dark yet willing oblivion. There is nothing else like Animals. No Export to Europe.
BELFI / GRUBBS / PILIA “Onrushing Cloud” (Blue Chopsticks - BC 21) LP (UPC: 781484702115 - LPBELFIOnru)
(STREET DATE - 10/19/2010) ***Onrushing Cloud is the first recording by the trio of ANDREA BELFI (drums,
percussion, electronics), DAVID GRUBBS (electric guitar, piano, voice), and STEFANO PILIA (electric guitar). Prior to
meeting, all three had released recordings on the excellent Swedish label Häpna, and were already fans of one
another’s work. In the spring of 2009, Belfi and Pilia were invited by the Harlem Studio Fellowship for a residence in
New York, and the three took this opportunity to get down to the brass tacks of forming a power trio. Onrushing
Cloud is characterized by the eccentric, fleeting symmetries of Grubbs’s and Pilia’s guitar playing simultaneously
mediated, punctuated, and over and underscored by Belfi’s hybrid assemblage and deeply personal vocabulary of
electronics and percussion. Although ultimately divided into five songs, this is clearly a single start-to-finish skein.
“Hermitage” records the preliminary gestures of these musicians’ first encounter, and the album steadily builds
towards the appearance of Grubbs’s vocals on “Onrushing Cloud,” a tale of being stranded atop a mountain and
facing a rapidly approaching storm. No Export to Europe.
DIPLO & TIESTO “C’Mon” (Mad Decent - MAD 118) 12" (LPDiplocmon)
***Pressed in a limited run, the track that has rocked stadiums all year long is finally getting released on vinyl! DIPLO
teams up with the most unlikely of collaborators, trance god TIESTO, to make “C’mon,” a boundary crossing banger.
Also included on the release is a dirty electro rework done by the recently unmasked duo TOADALLY KROSSED
OUT. One-sided pressing with a B-side etching of Diplo & Tiesto holding up peace signs. Limited to 1,000 copies.
A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW “Autumn, Again” (A Sunny Day In Glasgow - ASDG 002) LP
(UPC: 879198005902 - LPA SUNAutu) (STREET DATE - 10/19/2010) ***If there ever was an album "for the fans", it is
Autumn, Again. The band is keen to stress that this is not a glimpse of what lies ahead, but rather document of where
they have been and what they have accomplished. A big "thank you" to the fans that have come on board over the
years and everyone who came to shows and made the past year so incredible for the band. Limited to 500 vinyl only
copies.
v/a “FROM THE LAND OF THE ICE AND SNOW - THE SONGS OF LED ZEPPELIN” (Jealous Butcher - JB 089)
DBL.CD (UPC: 751937328629 - cdfrom land) (STREET DATE - 10/19/2010) ***A tribute release featuring
friends both near and afar, not being a "who's who" sort of tribute, but rather a "community" inspired collection of
Zeppelin songs. Heavily focused toward the thriving Portland, Oregon music scene and features such luminaries as
M. WARD (SHE & HIM), CHRIS WALLA (DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE), REBECCA GATES (SPINANES), LAURA
VEIRS, CHRIS FUNK, JOHN MOEN (THE DECEMBERISTS), PORTLAND CELLO PROJECT, LAURA GIBSON,
LOCH LOMOND. Deluxe gatefold LP-style packaging with two CDs of music and a download card with an
additional sixteen songs. 60% of proceeds go to First Octave to benefit music programs in local schools.
BLUE WATER WHITE DEATH “s/t” (Graveface - GRAVE052) CD (UPC: 643157412120 - CDBLUE Wate)
***BLUE WATER WHITE DEATH is the brainchild of two of today’s most unique songwriters—JAMIE STEWART of
the eclectic, risk-taking pop group XIU XIU, and JONATHAN MEIBURG, golden-throated front man of Austin artrock
quintet, SHEARWATER. “Longtime fans of each other’s music, for their first collaboration Stewart and Meiburg
adopted the name of a 1971 documentary that follows a team of increasingly reckless explorers on a shark-finding
quest to Australia’s aptly-named Dangerous Reef. As Blue Water White Death, the two conjure music that, like the
underwater world of the ocean, is dually ominous and serene, and fittingly, considering the band’s namesake plunges
boldly into new sonic territories.”—Greater Jihad
AIAS “A La Piscina” (Captured Tracks - CT 075) CD (UPC: 847108063670 - CDAIASA La)
***AIAS are GAIA, LAIA and MIRIAM. Gaia sings and plays guitar. Laia sings and plays drums and Miriam sings
and plays bass. And the three together they try to make songs for anyone else to sing. Pop with distortion, lots of
"oooos" and vocal harmonies in in a cave with endless ceilings sung in their native Catalan (not Spanish, mind you!)
Aias began as a birthday party band and by surprise ended up being a band for real. The desire to win in the fight
against the instrument itself, the need to shout a bit during the week, a Vivian Girls concert during the Primavera
Sound Festival and the providential intervention of CRISTIAN PALLEJÀ (Nisei, Sedaiós) lead to a home made
recording in a village lost in Catalonia and an unexpected winter signing with the New York Label, Captured tracks.
A La Piscina is their first full-length release, for which they will be touring the US in the Fall.
ZOLA JESUS “Valusia” (Sacred Bones - SBR 039) CD (UPC: 616892105565 - CDZOLA Valu)
***“,ZOLA JESUS has attained some crucial career milestones since her last EP. She will be heading out on her first
proper tours this fall, (three of them back-to-back, actually) supporting Fever Ray and Xiu Xiu abroad and The xx
stateside. She has also worked with a producer (CHRIS COADY) for the first time, the fruits of which labor appear
here on the first track, ‘Poor Animal.’ Gone are the morose, gothic lo-vibes and in their place is an airy almost dance
track that still sounds as true to form as other endeavor DANILOVA has ever undertaken. An old hit and recent
show-stopper live track, ‘Seatalk’ has been re-recorded as well and this new well mic'd version is breathtakingly
good. Closer, ‘Lightsick’ is a straight piano ballad. Not synth, real piano. And for her darker fans, ‘Tower’ still has
that Mad Maxian apocalypse creep we know and love. To top it all off, we've gone ahead and completely 180'd the
harsh chocolate artwork of Stridulum to present you with a softer, gentler, blonder ZJ as photographed by her mother
in the woods near their home.”—Sacred Bones
LA VAMPIRES & ZOLA JESUS “s/t” (Not Not Fun - NNF 195) LP (LPLA VAs/t)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Virtual reality trans-time zone collab between So-Cal sample sister LA VAMPIRES
(POCAHAUNTED’s AMANDA BROWN) and neo-Siouxsie ZOLA JESUS (NIKA ROSA DANILOVA). Cold dub
rhythms echo down grimy corridors while heartbroken tag-team femme howls come bleeding out of the horizon
drenched in spectral delay.
GARY WAR “Horribles Parade” (Sacred Bones - SBR 023) CD (CDGARY Horr)
***NOW AVAILABLE ON CD!!! Horribles Parade is the new full length from GARY WAR This is the second album
and the follow-up to last year’s New Raytheonport LP on SHDWPLY Records. Gary War's thick, synth-heavy
psychedelia occupies a space between spacey bedroom experimentalists like R. Stevie Moore or the more
contemporary Kurt Vile and the abrasive proto-punk of Chrome and Debris. The album expands on the more
stripped down sound of his Sacred Bones "Zontag" single, plying layers of warm fuzz and feedback on top of
psychedelic pop song structures. The CD contains “Anhedonic Man” previosly released as a one sided single on Hell
Yes! records as well as the whole Galactic Citizens 12-inch EP on Captured Tracks.
TIM COHEN “Two Sides of Tim Cohen” (Empty Cellar - SS002) LP (LPCOHENTwo)
***REPRESSED!!! The debut solo full-length from FRESH & ONLYS frontman TIM COHEN. Ten tracks. A split
release between the Secret Seven and Empty Cellar labels. "Tim Cohen may be familiar to you because you recently
heard about the Fresh & Onlys, are a fan of the multi-genred BLACK FICTION, or are familiar with one of his many
mysterious side projects. This record, however, is the first to bear his name. Written and recorded by Tim at his home
during the interim between the unfortunate end of Black Fiction and the birth of the Fresh & Onlys, The Two Sides of
Tim Cohen is perhaps his most personal work to date. An immensely creative psych-folk opus, it is full of heartfelt
love songs, amazing visions, & musings on death and worms. Tim's songs are reminiscent of the catchy, selfproduced
pop songs of (RAM era) Paul McCartney and Emitt Rhodes crossed with the skewed baritone bellows of
Skip Spence and Michael Yonkers. Recommended for fans of Ariel Pink, Panda Bear, and Mayo Thompson, this vinylonly
release is limited to 250 copies. Keeping with the times, the album comes with a CD-quality digital download of
the full album plus seven unreleased bonus songs."
BRAIN IDEA “Survival Scrolls” (Permanent - PERM 020) LP (LPBRAINSurv)
***BRAIN IDEA is one of Chicago’s most exciting new bands. Their second release is also their debut full-length on
Permanent Records. It’s fulla stripped down, super upbeat, catchy and totally DIY-style rock’n’roll jams, heavily
influenced by New Zealand’s legendary DIY indie rockers, The Clean and ‘90s bedroom recording pop savants. The
band took most of the material on their out-of-print and highly sought after demo tape and re-recorded it with much
more depth and reverb, especially on the vocals. They’ve added some great instrumental interludes that tie the tracks
together which are quite kraut-y in nature.
SUFJAN STEVENS “Age of Adz” (Asthmatic Kitty - AKR 77) CD (UPC: 656605607726 - CDSTEVEAge)
***The Age of Adz (pronounced Odds) is SUFJAN STEVENS’ first full-length collection of original songs since 2005’s
conceptual pop opus Illinois. This new album is probably his most unusual, first, for its lack of conceptual
underpinnings, and second, for its extensive use of electronics. The album almost entirely eschews the songwriter’s
former tools of the trade: namely, acoustic instruments that accompany an expansive narrative scope. While the
sounds on this record are distinctly “artificial” (drums machines and analog synthesizers reign supreme), the
proclamations of the songs are unabashedly visceral, sung loudly, with a backdrop of insistent orchestration. The
result is an album that is perhaps more vibrant, more primary, and more explicit than anything Sufjan has done
before, incorporating themes that are neither historical nor civic, but rather personal and primal (if even a little
juvenile). Love, sex, death, disease, illness, anxiety, and suicide make appearances in an aggressive (and sometimes
danceable) tapestry of electronic pop, conveyed with the urgency, immediacy, and anxiety of primary colors.
ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS “Swanlights” (Secretly Canadian - SC 215) CD (UPC: 656605021522 -
CDANTONSwan) ***While I Am a Bird Now was arresting in its simplicity and vision and The Crying Light is a
masterpiece of austerity, Swanlights may be ANTONY’s most wide-ranging emotional work to date. It is a record that
is at moments excruciating and tender, and at other times has a wicked gleam to its teeth. Musically it’s the most
maximal of his work to date. Whereas on The Crying Light, Antony paired everything back to its most distilled and
essential, on Swanlights the vines have become overgrown and the sound palette has become more exotic, strange
percussive elements, John Cale-esque string drones, heavily distorted guitars and symphonic voicings thread the
song cycle together.
COMMON EIDER, KING EIDER “Amnesia” (Eider Press - 002) LP (LPCOMMOAmne)
***A limited edition one-sided white vinyl silkscreened 12-inch with silkscreened clear plastic sleeve from FREE
PORCUPINE SOCIETY’s ROB FISK and company. One fourteen-minute track. “Arvo Part, AMM and Godspeed get
in a fight on a hot afternoon day...” Edition of 100 copies.
FLIGHT “Lead Riders” (Zoo Music - LPFLIGHLead) 12" (LPFLIGHLead)
***Zoo Music presents the limited edition The Lead Riders EP 12-inch vinyl from Mississippi-based blown out punks
FLIGHT. The Lead Riders features six full-throttled exclusive unreleased tracks coated in noise and layered
distortion. “An explosive blast of jagged guitars and distorted ‘Woo’s’ that nicely balances hooks and production”—
Pitchfork. Pressed in a limited edition of 500 vinyl records.
EXTRA LENS “Undercard” (Merge - MRG 406) CD (UPC: 673855040622 - CDEXTRAUnde)
(STREET DATE - 10/19/2010) ***Comprised of JOHN DARNIELLE (MOUNTAIN GOATS) and FRANKLIN BRUNO
(NOTHING PAINTED BLUE, THE HUMAN HEARTS) and formed in the Inland Empire during the region’s brief
next-Seattle shortlist period, the project began as a potential home for any song John wrote that had a) more than
three chords or b) a bridge. New songs for the group only happened when John figured he’d written something that
Franklin might find clever or amusing. Reasoning that permanent-bridesmaid status means you never have to
actually buy the dress, the duo have approached record-making at a pace that one would call “leisurely” if it
wouldn’t make the leisure class look like busybodies. Undercard. Recorded with BRIAN PAULSON (Slint, Beck, US
Maple) at the Rubber Room in Carrboro, North Carolina, and with MITCH RACKIN (Excepter, Heavy Hands) at
Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn, Undercard is the first EXTRA LENS record to arrive as a full collaboration between
songwriters. The recording method, however, persists: John plays guitar, sings, and then gets the hell out of Dodge
City, leaving Franklin to provide arrangements as the songs required: here sparing, here ornate; sometimes gentle,
sometimes not; once with vibraslap, mostly without. No Export to Canada.
SAILORS WITH WAX WINGS “s/t” (Angel Oven - AO 2374 002) CD (UPC: 724101226229 - CDSAILOs/t)
***Conceived in June of 2009 by R. LOREN (PYRAMIDS), after a horrific encounter with the late Stephen Crane, this
took many hands to birth. After traveling the world, the result could not possibly adhere any closer to the original
vision. The debut, self-titled release from SAILORS WITH WAX WINGS will feature contributions from the following
group of renowned artists: J. LEAH, TED PARSONS (SWANS, JESU, GODFLESH), SIMON SCOTT (SLOWDIVE),
AIDAN BAKER (NADJA), COLIN MARSTON (KRALLICE, DYSRHYTHMIA), VERN RUMSEY (UNWOUND),
PRURIENT, JAMES BLACKSHAW, HILDUR GUDNADOTTIR, AARON STAINTHORPE (MY DYING BRIDE),
JONAS RENKSE (KATATONIA), MARISSA NADLER, DAVID TIBET (CURRENT 93), and FAITH COLOCCIA
(MAMIFFER).
WHITE MOTH “White Moth” (Angel Oven - AO 2374 003) CD (UPC: 724101226328 - cdwhitemoth)
***Following the recently announced SAILOR WITH WAX WINGS project featuring a stellar all-star lineup of indie
rock and metal pioneers past and present, PYRAMIDS frontman R. LOREN has announced his second star-studded
project, entitled WHITE MOTH. White Moth features collaborations with C. ROGERS, COLIN MARSTON
(KRALLICE), SAM HILLMER (Zs), CHRISTOPH HEEMAN (H.N.A.S.), LYDIA LUNCH, DALEK, ALEC EMPIRE,
SHELBY CINCA (FRODUS), JOHN GOSSARD (WEAKLING, ASUNDER), ASHLEY SCOTT JONES, and CHET W.
SCOTT (BLOOD OF THE BLACK OWL).
BLACK HEART PROCESSION “Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit” (Temporary Residence Ltd - TRR 170) CD
(UPC: 656605317021 - CDBLACKBloo) ***Befitting of THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION, Blood Bunny / Black Rabbit
takes the experimentation hinted at on Six and expands upon it in bizarre and brilliant ways. Centered around three
stunning new songs, the collection is arranged and mixed as one continuous composition, sounding every bit like an
LSD-influenced DJ set in the kind of terrifying but strangely alluring vampire sex den commonly seen in True Blood.
It’s the ideal atmosphere for The Black Heart Procession, where they feel most comfortable and sound most in control.
The set is rounded out by a series of remixes, most notably the eccentric freak-out “Freeze” by legendary dub pioneer
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY and ambient electronic luminary ELUVIUM’S 10-minute orchestral reconstruction of the
solitary piano ballad “Drugs”. PALL JENKINS remixes a couple of tunes himself under the guise of MR, TUBE, and
San Diego electronic producers JAMUEL SAXON close the album with an unlikely downtempo dance reworking of
“Drugs” that transforms the song’s morose lyrics into a meditative, almost hopeful trance.
ENVY “Recitation” (Temporary Residence Ltd - TRR 168) CD (UPC: 656605316826 - CDENVYReci)
***It’s no surprise that ENVY have increasingly found inspiration in instrumental rock and experimental ambient
music. With each album since their inception in the early ‘90s the group have chipped away at the linguistic and
cultural barriers inherent in international rock music. Their breakthrough came with 2003’s A Dead Sinking Story, the
groundbreaking third album that replaced familiar hardcore breakdowns with the sound of actual emotional
breakdowns, and helped blur the lines between more than a few genres. That began a transition that leads straight to
Recitation, by far the most musically and lyrically dynamic, technically diverse and emotionally complex album of
Envy’s two-decade career. All the touchstones of classic Envy are there: Enormous dynamic range, soaring melodies
that feel equally inspired by late ‘80s power ballads and dramatic film scores, and tortured, impassioned vocals that,
even in a foreign language, vaguely recall 19th Century romantic poetry. The difference with Recitation is in its
execution. Where recent co-releases with fellow underground rock icons Thursday and Jesu hinted at a band in
transition, Recitation is a fully realized vision from a band at their most inspired.
DOUG PAISLEY “Constant Companion” (No Quarter - NOQ 025) CD (UPC: 899922001253 - CDPAISLCons)
***“Songs of poetry, harmony and sweetness and the honeyed, craggy voice of the classic American country singer...
Paisley's perspective is that of the Canadian outsider, seeing America anew whilst being fully immersed in its history
and myths. Like The Band he re-presents American music history without the trappings of fashion and, like the
Young of After The Goldrush uses his outsider status to ruminate on America's fate"—Mojo
SUUNS “Zeroes QC” (Secretly Canadian - SC 125) CD (UPC: 656605012520 - CDSUUNSZero)
***Montreal’s SUUNS possess a rare trait in rock music: restraint. They use it like an instrument, which makes their
debut full-length Zeroes QC as unsettling as it is wonderfully exasperating. It’s immediately apparent in album opener
“Armed for Peace,” a track that starts off like a robot breaking down in a hot desert; the song’s mechanic beat plods
like iron-shoed footsteps as the melody of a wheezing synth mirrors the crackling sound of old transistors and
circuitry being cooked in the sun. It’s deceptively lulling, the tension almost unnoticeably wrenching up and up until
the track unexpectedly opens into a barrage of nose-diving guitar riffs and crashing drums —yet the band still stays
locked on the song’s linear, forward-motion direction. Zeroes QC is a warm yet dark, propulsive collusion of pop,
post-punk and experimental rock—one that allows the group to musically shapeshift without losing any of the sense
of tension and unease that runs throughout the record.
WOLF PEOPLE “Steeple” (Jagjaguwar - JAG 159) CD (UPC: 656605215921 - CDWOLF Stee)
***Steeple is the first album proper from WOLF PEOPLE and represents the emergence of a fully fledged band from
the fragmented, haunted bedroom meanderings of their Tidings singles compilation, released earlier this year.
Recorded in a converted chicken barn on the grounds of a 17th century Welsh mansion, Steeple takes on a heavier
sound while maintaining the arabesque electric guitars, groove-laden drums and ethereal vocals that characterized its
predecessor. Cheerfully aware of the English rock band cliché of “getting it together in the country," the quartet did it
anyway, inspired by the rural isolation of West Wales to conjure shifting rhythms, entrancing folksong and smokefogged,
riff-stoked jams. Steeple captures a band in metamorphosis, bridging frontman JACK SHARP’s earlier solo
efforts and the speaker-shearing attack developed in concert over the past four years.
HAUSCHKA “Foreign Landscapes” (Fat Cat - FAT 1312) CD (UPC: 600116131225 - CDHAUSCFore)
***The follow-up to 2008’s breakthrough Ferndorf, HAUSCHKA’s Foreign Landscapes represents another tremendous
shift for FatCat’s engaging composer/pianist: nine of its twelve tracks feature a 12-piece string and wind ensemble
from San Francisco’s MAGIK*MAGIK ORCHESTRA alongside VOLKER BERTELMANN’s own prepared piano.
While Ferndorf explored the composer’s relationship with his pastoral hometown, Foreign Landscapes is an album of
travel, locational snapshots, and shift; always evocative, Hauschka’s compositions here sing with the urgency and
movement of exploration, the rushing exhilaration of new cities, new environments. Now dark and intimate, now
playful, now driving—the ensemble’s fleshed-out instrumentation enables Hauschka to bring his exuberant
versatility to a new and vital level. With Foreign Landscapes, Hauschka stretches for—and reaches—stunning new
realms.
KENDL WINTER “Apple Core” (K Records - KLP 224) CD (UPC: 789856122424 - CDWINTEAppl)
***KENDL WINTER is a dreamer of dark clouds. She has a drawer stuffed with stolen socks, she picks banjo and
guitar and makes good driving music. Born in Arkansas and based in Olympia, Washington, Kendl twists those
instruments into captivating melodies; Apple Core is Kendl Winter's fourth solo album and her first release for K. On
this album apples represent temptation, a prize for beauty, a gift for knowledge, gravity, truth, autumn, and harvest.
With its country roots, indie trunk, and sweet soulful sadness fruiting on the branches, Apple Core is apple to the core;
mostly sweet with an occasional bruise. Kendl safety pins patches of piano and slide guitar on to the cloth, washes it
in a lather of honest and provocative songs, and hangs it on the line to dry in the shy, unpredictable Northwest sun.
SILJE NES “Opticks” (Fat Cat - FAT 9020) CD (UPC: 600116122025 - cdnes sopti)
***Nearly a year and a half in the making, Opticks is a gently enchanting new record that—while once again homerecorded—
dramatically upgrades SILJE NES’ sound and sees her making considerable advances on her acclaimed
2008 debut, Ames Room. Intricately constructed, warm and brimming with melodic hooks, Opticks is a record full of
wonder, unfurling a series of increasingly accessible and catchy little songs. Orbiting around Nes’s unique vocals are
tracks constructed from a wide range of instruments and effects—guitars, drums, viola, bass, xylophone, electronics,
keyboards, concertina, flute, trumpet, percussion and, as Nes puts it, “basically anything I have lying around, adding
random recordings of things, video clips, effects...” Despite—or, more likely, due to—this kitchen sink approach,
Opticks is a coherent expression of Silje Nes’s lovely, forward-looking vision: engaging, delicate, and transformative.
CALLERS “Life of Love” (Western Vinyl - WV 73) CD (UPC: 656605461427 - CDCALLELife)
***Life of Love is the first collection of songs CALLERS wrote and recorded exclusively in New York as a three-piece.
Naturally the band's sound grew in volume in response to the volume of the city; however, they held on to what
makes them so consistently affecting: their raw spartan style, anchored by SARA’s sensually tough vocals, and RYAN
and DON’s Southern-honed chops as multi-instrumentalists. The album started with the band's cover of Wire's
"Heartbeat", and the idea of creating something simple and cathartic. Using borrowed amps and mics, in bedrooms
and in studios, and by the grace of their good friends, Callers recorded Life of Love. The new songs pulse with gritty
urgency, colored by the sounds of damaged gear and the earnest spirit of a middle-school gospel choir. The result is
an album stripped to the core, an expression of the inexpressible space between us and the places we inhabit and the
people we share those places with.
SEAN SMITH “Christmas” (Tompkins Square - TSQ 2486) CD (UPC: 894807002486 - CDSMITHChri)
***Accomplished Bay Area guitarist SEAN SMITH has released several albums under his own name, and has
produced and contributed to the compilations Berkeley Guitar and Beyond Berkeley Guitar. His latest album, Christmas,
is a gorgeous contemporary acoustic guitar recording featuring fourteen well known Christmas classics and two Sean
Smith originals. Considering the vast amount of syrupy instrumental music in the genre, Christmas is a most welcome
holiday album, and one which could well become a classic for many years to come.
NURSE WITH WOUND & LARSEN “Erroneous: A Selection of Errors” (Important - IMPREC 310) CD
(UPC: 793447531021 - CDNURSEErro) ***Erroneous, A Selection Of Errors is the result of the meeting of Italian cult
band LARSEN and STEVEN STAPLETON’s ubiquitous creature NURSE WITH WOUND. Almost two years of file
swapping and occasional conceptual meetings led to a multi-headed collection of deformed sounds based on one long
NWW piece and two Larsen tracks (that both bands have written specifically for this project) then deconstructed and
rebuilt by each other into totally brand new opuses. Erroneous also features NEU! and KRAFTWERK original member
EBERHARD KRANEMANN on additional guitars, synth, sax and vocals as well as Larsen collaborator DANIELE
PAGLIERO (aka LO DEV ALM) on bass. Just like the music, the artwork of the album is also a joint effort sporting
works of Stapleton’s alter-ego BABS SANTINI, Larsen’s graphic designer BELLISIMO and E. Kranemann.
SMEGMA “Mirage” (Important - IMPREC 311) CD (UPC: 793447531120 - CDSMEGMMira)
SMEGMA “Mirage” (Important - IMPREC 311) LP (UPC: 793447531113 - LPSMEGMMira)
***With Mirage, SMEGMA again does the impossible. 38 years after reinventing the musical wheel, they have
recorded a stunning masterpiece. With four of the original members working together again for the first time in many
years, together with many new collaborators, they have kept alive their unique brand of Old School primitive,
Avant/Garage music. Running the gamut from the "Music Concrete" inspired subtlety bombastic mood of the title
track. to "World of My Own's" frenzied noise/funk jams, that morph past rock (Eno/Roxy Music era) garage band,
before finally slipping into a primitive meditation involving silly voices, toys, record players and such. On the other
hand "F-85 Turbo Rocket" blasts strait to psycho Rockabilly Heaven and is over before it all sinks in. Also worth
mentioning, with its timeless creepy beauty, the front cover drawing/collage sets the stage for this strange journey.
Several of the tracks were recorded "live' at a Smegma House Party in Portland September 2009. including a
spontaneous jam, exclusive to the LP. The CD includes a unique Smegma House Party track and a bonus 1973
original Pasadena unreleased recording.
LESSER / MATMOS / WOBBLY “Simultaneous Quodlibet” (Important - IMPREC 312) LP (UPC: 793447531229 -
LPLESSESimu) ***MATMOS, WOBBLY and J. LESSER present: Simultaneous Quodlibet. These pieces originated in
improvised recordings which were then taken to Snowghost Studios in Montana and overdubbed with additional
instruments, synths, drums, bass and organs. They were then edited down over the course of a few months until
becoming a fully realized studio album of carefully constructed and meticulously composed pieces rooted in music
that could only have been performed spontaneously. Simultaneous Quodlibet was created out of the spirit of long-term
colleagues and friends using the studio-as-instrument to recreate what they had already created. Warm and complex
with a fine rhythmic shuffle, these pieces are both glowing with surprises emanating from enduring collaborations
and musical companionship. Limited edition pressing of 500 copies.
JOE COLLEY “Disasters of Self” (CIP - CIP 022) TRPL.LP (LPCOLLEDisa)
***“I’ve known Joe for close to 15 years—his audio output for a few more. His composition techniques, recording and
editing methods, and persistent refinement and redefining of his aural goals has helped to define a body of work that
I firmly believe only few artists could hope to match. After a handful of releases on C.I.P., ranging from full-length
CD to one-sided 7-inch, my resolve solidified that Joe was a contemporary artist whose work deserved the focus,
breadth, and depth of a multiple LP release. The all-new material in this collection includes fractured electronics, rich
multi-level drones, digital bite, the sounds of decaying technology, analog twists and turns, and recording
experiments and documents—plus some other aural surprises that I leave to the listener's discretion as to whether
they can be classified as ‘pleasant’ or ‘otherwise.’”
AGENT RIBBONS “Chateau Crone” (Antenna Farm - ANT 534) CD (UPC: 646315453423 - CDAGENTChat)
***AGENT RIBBONS is a Sacramento trio whose music has been described as “Victorian Punk” or “The White Stripes
lost in Alice’s Wonderland.” With an old-timey aesthetic that is nonetheless thoroughly modern, they miraculously
reconcile seemingly unrelated genres, sounding something like Girls In The Garage doing the Three Penny Opera.
And with almost constant touring since 2007, the band has cemented a deeply devoted fan base across the US and
Europe. Chateau Crone is a tremendous step forward for the band. With delicate violin arrangements, noisy dissonant
tangents, Spector-esque vocal harmonies, and clever melodic phrasing, the album cannot commit to a genre but
always manages to sound like the same brand of baroque pop. Includes a 24-page full-color booklet and a temporary
tattoo.
PENA “s/t” (Secret Stash - SSRCD 274) CD+DVD (UPC: 895826002747 - CDPENAs/t)
***In April of 2010, Secret Stash Records traveled to Lima, Peru to record Afro Peruvian music. With a portable
recording studio, an interpreter, and no pre-planned engagements or sessions they hit the streets. Within one week’s
time they put together a band they called PENA and recorded over 50 tracks. The cast of musicians was a revolving
door of sorts. This self titled release highlights the best recordings from those sessions. In addition to hours of audio
recording, they filmed the entire adventure in HD. This CD+DVD package contains interviews, live performances,
session footage and more. Housed in wood boxes.
SWEET TALKS “Party Time In Hollywood” (Tropic Vibe Productions - TVPCD 13039) CD (UPC: 804317130395 -
CDSWEETPart) ***THE SWEET TALKS started out as a highlife band in Ghana known as EL DORADOS, later to
change their name to MEDICAN LANTCIS before settling on The Sweet Talks. They were under the joint leadership
of SMART NKANSAH and A.B. CRENTSIL as the resident band at The Talk Of The Town Hotel in Tema near Accra.
It was there they established a name for themselves as one of the most exciting young bands in the country. They
were one Africa’s most loved bands throughout the ‘70s. Due to the popularity and commercial success of their first
three albums—Adam & Eve, The Kusum Beat and Spiritual Ghana—the band began touring on a regular basis and made
it as far as Los Angeles (1978) where they recorded what was to be their biggest selling record; Party Time In
Hollywood. This CD reissue of one of the most popular (and now hard to find) African records of all time is sure to be
welcomed addition to people’s music collections the world over.
SWEET TALKS “Adjoa” (Tropic Vibe Productions - TVPCD 13041) CD (UPC: 804317130418 - CDSWEETAdjo)
***Legendary Afro-pop group, THE SWEET TALKIS released a string of great records during the ‘70s, The Kusum Beat
was their most popular beyond the continent. However, in its homeland, The Kusum Beat was vastly under
appreciated. Adjoa, is in essence a reissue of The Kusum Beat. However, in an effort to reintroduce the record to the
Ghanaian people, it has been given a new title and includes three bonus tracks not included in the original version of
Kusum Beat. This CD reissue is a must have for any collector of African music.
CHRISTINE SHIELDS “In The Sun” (Awesome Vistas - AV 10) LP (LPSHIELIn T)
***PHIL FRANKLIN (SUNBURNED HAND OF THE MAN) nailed it when he referred to In The Sun, CHRISTINE
SHIELDS’ first solo LP, as “ten songs of dark and light.” The album is very much about opposites, the sun and moon,
descent into darkness and return to light. Instrumentation includes guitar, banjo, baritone uke, and voice, with
percussion by WILLIAM WINANT, guitar JOE GOLDRING (ENABLERS, TOUCHED BY A JANITOR, SWANS),
soundscapes by SHEILA BOSCO (FAUN FABLES, AUTOBODY), and drums and production by TIM MOONEY
(AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB). Shields musical pedigree includes ARCHIPELAGO BREWING COMPANY, GROUSE
MOUNTAIN SKYRIDE, SHADY CREEK GRILS, and STEEPLE CHASE, but one could hardly be blamed if none of
the above ring a bell. ABC released a CD on Brinkiman in the ’90s, and Grouse Mountain Skyride contributed a track
to a Kill Rock Stars Comp, but Shields is perhaps best known for her portraits of musicians, short-lived comic book
Blue Hole and dark and humorous, Addams-meets-Gorey illustration work for countless small-press publications
and zines. Her music, like her images, is dreamy, dark, melodic, harmonious, and high-lonesome. (That old-time
influence has its hooks in her good.) If you want to make her day, compare her to Opal. You wouldn’t be far off the
mark.
IS “Sound of Energy in Space, The Space of Energy in Life” (Awesome Vistas - AV 09) LP (LPISSoun)
***The second IS album by CHRIS JOHANSON. This time recording with SAM COOMES, RON BURNS, BRIAN
MUMFORD, DANA DART-MCLEAN, GEORGE KUCHAR, WILL LEMON, SAM COOPER, MICHAEL
MARTINSON, and JEFF YARBROUGH. Full length album of three song/sound pieces recorded in Portland for
Chris’ solo art exhibit at the Schunck Museum in Heerlen, The Netherlands in 2010. When the museum told Chris
that he could do a catalogue for the exhibit he told them he would like to make a record as a document instead. Learn
all about the recording process and exhibit in the four 2-sided full color inserts that come with the LP. Also include is
an essay by SEAN KENNERLY. The covers were printed by NEIL BURKE at Monoroid..
TU FAWNING “Hearts on Hold” (Jealous Butcher - JB 082) CD (UPC: 751937394327 - CDTU FAHear)
***It’s clear from the opening seconds of TU FAWNING’s debut full length, that there’s something very, very
different about this Portland, Oregon band. The trumpets, ghostly chanting, violins, trombones, funereal drums,
guitars, samples, piano and golden harmonies are not the sound of your everyday indie rock act. In fact, CORRINA
REPP and JOE HAEGE carved out cult reputations in 31 KNOTS, and violinist LIZA RIETZ held her own in SWORDS
PROJECT. "This is cinematic music at it's sweetest."—RCRD LBL. Opening for Memomena on 2010 Fall tour.
MOIRA SCAR “Slink to Intensity” (Hollow Wood World - HWW 000) CD (CDMOIRASlin)
MOIRA SCAR “Slink to Intensity” (Hollow Wood World - HWW 000) LP (LPMOIRASlin)
***MOIRA SCAR is two beings (ROXY MONOXIDE and LULU GAMMA RAY of FLOATING CORPSES fame) on
multiple instruments (analog synth, guitar, keyboard, drums, vox, t-sax, trombone, sampler) enacting garage rock,
noise jazz, and monster wave sound spells. Slink To Intensity, the second album from Moira Scar, is seven songs that
are both catchy and haunting; from the rocking pop of "Gnu Groove" to the meloncholy movements of "Maggot
Dance," Moira will Scar your synapsis like a love affair and a car crash.
NUCLEAR POWER PANTS “Wicked Eats The Warrior” (Anchor Brain - ABRN 005) LP (LPNUCLEWick)
***The debut record from the band NUCLEAR POWER PANTS, an act born out of the Wham City Collective in
Baltimore, MD. Wham City has been the breeding ground for many other notable Baltimore bands such as Dan
Deacon, Ponytail, Future Island, and DJ Dog Dick, just to name a few. Nuclear Power Pants are a five-piece orchestra
of blipping, beeping, shouting, moaning, grinding, pounding, leaking craziness. This curious orchestra is fronted by
two male nuclear mutant singers and three gorgeous, choreographed, singing female librarians appropriately called
the REDFIELD LIBRARIANS. The males make the mess. The females make it sparkle. To anyone who has ever been
obsessed with The Modern Dance by Pere Ubu, the hypnotizing Moog madness of Kraftwerk, the energy of 1st Issue by
P.I.L. or anyone who has ever been afraid to admit how much they adore the Shangri-Las, then Wicked Eats The
Warrior is the record for you.
LUKE ROBERTS “Big Bells and Dime Songs” (Ecstatic Peace - E# 109 D) LP (LPROBERBig)
***“I was born into a charismatic-nondenominational family in Nashville, TN.. My mother sang hymns and spoke in
tongues. My dad played bluegrass. I hopped trains for the first time when I was eleven years old under the Ben Allen
Bridge in East Nashville. At thirteen I was sent to live with my father in Cuhllowhee, NC. Neglected to be enrolled in
school, I spent the year running through the backwoods of my father's government-housing-cabin. Soon I ran away
from home and traveled around the United States on Greyhounds and trains, looking to start a band. In Olympia,
2004 I formed hardcore band SPREAD EAGLE 1979 with JUDD TAYLOR of SEX VID and filmmaker BRITTANY
PISANO releasing two live cassette albums and a video. Over the past few years, inspired by folk and world music, I
focused on the guitar and writing songs of my own. My greatest influences being southern folk, Delta and
Appalachian Blues, I bought a pair of white shoes and moved back to the South. This past year, I have written and
recorded my first collection of songs entitled, Big Bells and Dime Songs, recruiting KYLE SPENCE of HARVEY MILK
to back me in his studio in Athens, GA. I am currently living in New York, writing my second album, and planning
for a tour of US.”—Luke Roberts, April 2010. “Luke Roberts voice evokes both the great and lonesome Pacific Rail
and the wild heart of the Brooklyn J/Z line.”—Thurston Moore
FAT WORM OF ERROR “s/t” (Ecstatic Peace - E# 212 D) LP (LPFAT Ws/t)
***“Maybe its something in the raw cows milk one can so fortuitously procure here in Western Massachusetts, or
maybe it’s that lysergic haze of Berkshire foothill emanation, but whatever it may be, it is most definitely in
manifestation as the five-headed rock n’ noise n’ bleet n’ zzrrp n’ roll n’ weirdcore phenomenon known only as FAT
WORM OF ERROR. After more than six years of live gig decimation and confusion and a smattering of cassettes,
CDRs, ‘legit’ LP releases (on labels as swank as Load and Ultra Eczema), FWOE has become, along with Noise
Nomads and Dinosaur Jr, as one of the most astounding musical whatsis factors in the Pioneer Valley. It was after
being stunned into melted delight one evening at our local hang (the Flywheel ‘natch) by the dead battery guitar,
silent psycho-killer bass, drums punked beyond the free thump joy of John Stevens n’ Drumbo, and the supremely
swinging costume-cuhraziness of the FREEKwency singer…well, we wanted to do a, ahem, ‘proper’ LP. Put this
genius fringe into the studio with Justin Pizzoferrato (that’s right, the guy who helps engineer J Mascis and T Moore
sides) and capture the delirious magic of FWOE in their inimitable prime. And we did! And Mark Beyer did the cover
art! And the drummers name is Neel Young! And this LP rules HARD, and if you happened to be in the same room
as the live FWOE this last summer than you know: Fat Worm of Error has got the coolest moustache in town. Case
closed.”
ROGER & WENDY “Love Rog + Wem” (Lion Productions - LION 639) CD (UPC: 778578063924 -
CDROGERLove) ***Formerly of 1960’s U.S. psych-folk band EUPHORIA (MGM/Heritage), not to mention veterans
of the late 1960’s Greenwich Village coffee-house scene that spawned many a career, ROGER & WENDY made this
private press album for family and friends in 1971, in an edition of 50 copies. They later renamed themselves
BERMUDA TRIANGLE; their recently reissued 1977 album under that name has garnered terrific reviews throughout
the years. With strong roots in folk music, Roger & Wendy have electric and often unconventional arrangements. The
lyrics are complex and symbolic, the instrumentation very unusual. Roger is also the inventor of much of the
technology required to create multiple effects that achieve a multidimensional quality: passages that listeners mistake
for electric guitar are actually autoharp. Roger redesigned the autoharp's chord structure to facilitate switching
between keys; now all major autoharp manufacturers worldwide make autoharps using his design. The Roger &
Wendy Love Rog & Wem album is a alluring collection of shimmering psych-folk gems, and is the rarest of the duo’s
records (fetching $900+). A superb artifact from the early 1970’s underground psych folk scene, taken from the
original master tapes, and using the original sleeve artwork for this deluxe mini-LP sleeve reissue. Booklet has
photos, great stories, and five bonus tracks, too.
JAMES GOODE “Somniloquy” (James Goode - CDGOODESOMN) CD (CDGOODESomn)
***The score of Somniloquy was composed collectively by JAMES GOODE and the players— LARA ALLEN
(HEAVENLY TEN STEMS, RAGTIME GERMS), ERIC MARC COHEN (JOB’S DAUGHTERS, UNITED NOISE), TIMB
HARRIS (SECRET CHIEFS 3, ESTRADASPHERE), JASON SCHIMMEL (ORANGE TULIP CONSPIRACY, SC3,
Estradasphere), CHES SMITH (SC3, XIU XIU, TREVOR DUNN, MARC RIBOT), and TREY SPRUANCE (MR.
BUNGLE, SC3, FAXED HEAD). For two weeks all participants logged what they experienced while repeating phrases
generated by Goode (a different one for each night) as they drifted off to sleep. A portion of the subsequent dreams
and hypnagogic experiences serve as the piece's narrative score, which was constructed to highlight the visual and
thematic similarities between different people's dreams and hypnagogic experiences taking place during the same
twenty-four hour period. The performers interpret the dreams within the score, and make choices regarding how they
to translate sounds and/or music (literally, emotionally, symbolically or oneirically). Recorded live at The Stone,
NYC, July 13, 2007.
EPSILONS “Kill’em Deader” (HBSP-2X - HBSP-2X 018) LP (LPEPSILKill)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Features TY SEGALL and CHARLIE MOONHEART.
MOONHEARTS “s/t” (Tic Tac Totally - TTT 666) LP (UPC: 655035166612 - LPMOONHs/t)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! THE MOONHEARTS (formerly CHARLIE AND THE MOONHEARTS) fired up the ol’
failing 7-track (no shit!) tape machine and soaked it in their guitar-driven trash pop to glorious effect, and along with
friendly accomplice TY SEGALL bring forth an LP that slays asses. We are talking "butt cutters" from start to stop.
The band's debut LP continues along the lineage set by a few great 7-inches, offering their take on sinking the fuzzcovered
hooks straight into some hefty, meatier chunks of blown out punk scuzz. Peppering it up with a few minor
mind-benders and melodic garage-moves to great effect. There's even some spine-shivering, nihilistic elements of
beautifully twisted sound-torture that recall No Trend in spots, though for the most part, rough, angsty, blown out
punk with big melody. The Moonhearts require (and deserve) the "pre-cliché-culture" treatment if anybody out there
does. Because though familiar, it is done so well, it becomes the furthest thing from "paint-it-by-numbers and get a
grade" punk. It’s just real, brute shit, a record that's got balls and with a great sense of melody, doing what it does
correctly.
FILM SCHOOL “Fission” (Hi-Speed Soul - HSS 1036) CD (UPC: 694968103622 - CDFILM Fiss)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! Not often do you find a band who has experienced success yet still has the desire to explore
new sonic directions. Los Angeles’ FILM SCHOOL, a band who released two critically acclaimed album on Beggars
Banquet, played sold out shows across Britain with Mercury Prize nominees British Sea Power, toured Europe with
The National, headlined multiple North American tours, and was hand-picked by UK legends Swervedriver to open
their 2008 North American reunion tour, felt like mixing things up a bit this time around. Fission is an album of
clarity, energy, and change. One of the most notable differences on this album is the more prominent vocal presence
of bassist LORELEI PLOTCZYK. The result is a dynamic mix of songwriting by BERTENS, Plotczyk and RUCK with
help from guitarist DAVE DUPUIS and drummer JAMES SMITH. On Tour Now. No Export to Japan and Portugal.
LES RALLIZES DENUDES “Blind Baby Has Its Mother’s Eyes” (Phoenix - ASH 3035) LP (UPC: 5051125303526 -
LPLES Rblin) ***BACK IN STOCK!!! Legendary Japanese rock outfit LES RALLIZES DENUDES were formed in 1967
and incredibly, for a group that had only one official release (Oz Days Live, a double vinyl compilation release in
1973), played their last gig almost 30 years later in October 1996. The band's name apparently means "fucked up and
naked," which more than adequately describes their music. Formed by band leader MIZUTANI TAKASHI, the music
remained remarkably familiar over the years, and is best described as high volume, raw, lo-fi, repetitive, feedbackdrenched
guitar-noise fests with nods in the direction of The Velvet Underground and Blues Creation, but without
the electronics. Radical left-wing politics were never far from the band's agenda, with one original band member
(WAKABAYASHI) being involved in the Japanese Red Army's hijacking of a flight to North Korea. Consequently, the
group's live appearances became less frequent and increasingly clandestine. All the band's albums were released in
very small quantities, and because of the group's reputation for secrecy and violence, as well as the difficulty in
tracking down their recordings, Les Rallizes Denudés has assumed almost mythical status. Blind Baby Has Its Mother's
Eyes sits at #11 on Julian Cope's list of top Japanese albums.
LES RALLIZES DENUDES “Heavier Than A Death In The Family” (Phoenix - ASH 3037) DBL.LP
(UPC: 5051125303724 - LPLES Rheav) ***BACK IN STOCK!!! Phoenix Records releases the oft-bootlegged Heavier
Than A Death In The Family by legendary Japanese rock/psychedelic noise band LES RALLIZES DENUDES. This
"album" is in fact, a blistering assemblage of live performances (all recorded in 1977, except for "People Can Choose,"
which was recorded in 1973) which sits at an esteemed #3 position on Julian Cope's Japrocksampler top 50 list.
Reverb so heavy, it will split your frontal lobe in two.
SERGE GAINSBOURG & BRIGITTE BARDOT “Bonnie & Clyde” (4 Men With Beards - 4M 178) LP
(UPC: 646315117813 - LPGAINSBonn) ***BACK IN STOCK!!! Featuring a couple of duets, some BRIGITTE
BARDOT-sung, SERGE GAINSBOURG-penned numbers, and a number of Serge-only tunes, this is not, technically, a
completely collaborative record. It is, however, one of Gainsbourg’s finest releases featuring a wide range of styles
from moody, funky French-pop (“Bonnie And Clyde”), to barroom piano jazz (“Bubble Gum”), to Afro-Caribbean
rhythms (“Pauvre Lola” and “Baudelaire”), to the swinging ‘60s pop he was most known for at the time (“Docteur
Jeckyll et Monsieur Hyde”). A classic from these two French heroes (originally released in 1968). No Export to
Canada
KAPITAL BAND 1 “Playing By Numbers” (Mosz - MOSZ 017) CD (UPC: 689076751445 - CDKAPITPlay)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! “Playing By Numbers—the new album by KAPITAL BAND 1. Here electronics have been
pushed a bit to the side, in favor of acoustic instruments—cello, guitar, vibraphone and marimba, voice, flute and of
course drums. The three parts of the composition play around playing by numbers.”
TREY TOLD ‘EM “Super Epic Thrill Jockey Mega Massive Anniversary Mix” (Thrill Jockey - TJ TREY) CDEP
(CDTREY Supe) ***LAST CHANCE!!! Thrill Jockey opened up the vaults to GREGG GILLIS (GIRL TALK) and
FRANK MUSARRA (HEARTS OF DARKNESS) aka TREY TOLD ‘EM and let them go to town. Exceeding all
expectations, they managed to craft a 74-minute mega mix featuring nearly every Thrill Jockey artist old and new.
The CD plays out as one continuous track and features some mind-blowing mash ups. The mix includes an OVAL
mega mix that fits every single Oval song into one track and also includes a special TORTOISE and TRANS AM mega
mix. This item is very LIMITED and non-returnable.
TOM WAITS “Under The Influence” (Sexy Intellectual - SIDVD 553) DVD (UPC: 823564520292 - dvwaitsrevi)
***BACK IN STOCK!!! This documentary film examines, dissects and all but lobotomizes the wealth of music,
literature, theater and film that have assisted in creating TOM WAITS' legendary genius and, results in hand, reviews
the life and career of Tom Waits from this fascinating and rarely identified viewpoint. With exclusive interviews, rare
and often previously unseen footage and contributions from; Tom's legendary producer BONES HOWE; MORRIS
TEPPER and JOHN FRENCH from CAPTAIN BEEFHEART’S MAGIC BAND; occasional TW collaborator, KEN
NORDINE; HARRY PARTCH associates DAVID DUNN and DEAN DRUMMOND; BBC's head of music CHRIS
INGHAM; and Beat-era scholar JOHN TYTELL; plus Tom Waits historians, music academics, and respected writers.
Also features numerous seldom seen photographs, much archive film and a host of other features which all at once
make for an educational, inspiring and joyous celebration of Tom Waits and those he holds close to his heart.
MAXIMUMROCK’N’ROLL “Issue # 330 Pt. 2 - Fall 2010” (Maximumrock’n’roll - MRR 330 P2) MAGAZINE
(UPC: 725274992867 - MGMAXIM330P2) ***MRR shreds up autumn with the second installment of a two-part issue #
330 (for those keeping score, there is no issue # 329). You get what you’re told on FOREIGN OBJECTS, FORGETTERS,
ACEPHALIX, HANK IV, PHEROMOANS, LA LA VASQUEZ, CREDENTIALS, BUKKAKE BOYS, NEGATIVE
LIFESTYLE, TYRANNA, and KATARINA ETHOLEN. Also included is an Irish scene report and all the usual
columns, news items, scene reports, and film, ‘zine and record reviews.
MARSHMALLOW GHOST “Trick B/W Treat” (Graveface - GRAVE054) 7" (UPC: 847108016508 - 07MARSHTric)
***”THE MARSHMALLOW GHOSTS are as ethereal as their name, neither here nor there, neither real nor imaginary,
with no permanent members. They make their presence known only once a year, and they’re certainly the first house
you’ll want to stop at on your trick-or-treat route (if you can find it.). Effectively acting as the Graveface Records
house band, the shape-shifting cast of boo-gooders includes members of BLACK MOTH SUPER RAINBOW, THE
APPLESEED CAST, DREAMEND, and THE CASKET GIRLS. The players change but their distinct séance sound of
skin-prickling E.V.P. manifestations and eerie, haunting tones remain the same. This special Halloween Glow in the
Dark 7-inch is a limited edition and features an extra-spooky glow-in-the-dark sleeve. It’s more exciting than
scoring a King-Size Kit-Kat after harvesting a pillow case worth of apples, salt water taffy and Tootsie Rolls. Turn
down the lights, drop the needle on this other-worldly gem, and let the beyond-the-grave sounds creep out your
Halloween party-guests this year. It’s guaranteed to make any house a haunted house.”