Rock /
The Pyre Of Angus Was In Kathmandu
a rare 7-inch single of studio outtakes by the violin-and-percussion drone masterpiece Outside the Dream Syndicate. Long out of print
Too Many Miles: Complete Singles 90-95
This is the CD collection of all the long-unavailable Ramleh singles spanning the years 1990-1995, now reissued due to Ramleh's sprawling 6-page feature in The Wire (issue #305, July 2009). Ramleh's history goes back to the early '80s, when their brand of "power electronics" caused outrage, along with their contemporaries Whitehouse. Much has changed since then, and over the years, they developed a reputation as one of the leading exponents of UK "noise rock." Along with the likes of Skullflower…
Luminous Night
Luminous Night is the first set of new Six Organs Of Admittance material to leap forth from Ben Chasnys' cerebral cortex in 18 months, and what a joy it is. With the release of odds-and-sods collection RTZ earlier in the year there to bridge the gap between 2007s Shelter From The Ash it doesn't seem like he's been away for long per se but for serious Chasny-heads a new album is something to get pretty excited about and with his other musical outlet Comets On Fire either on extended hiatus or spl…
Instrumentals For The Broken Hearted
As sold on recent tour - Limited to 500 copies on clear green vinyl with all handpainted covers. This record features 5 instrumental mixes of songs from the latest kranky lp (songs for the broken hearted). These mixes are completely different & in some cases hardly sound like the kranky version. There is also a sixth song which is unreleased. The covers were made using recycled lp jackets, all white washed & then painted on. Some have concrete designs & some are very free form. Photocopied tour …
Hunt Like Devil/Jamz
New project form Warhammer 48K mastermind COOPER. Space rock rifffs, squalls of guitar freak-outs, repetititeve & hypnotic grooves and chanting, cult like vocals.
Sirenum
Take the manic snorts of captain liberty, dissonant as chalk & the next moment as melodic as sharp yet slick, metal teeth. Take the mermaid, 1988, turn the tides, gently, gently away. Selected breath/silences/selected feedback. Take an argument you have here w/ an empty street while the memory of high traffic is leaking back. Sirenum has a real "spiritual food" vibe & it's fucking pain & pleasure relief in this real met en zonder sort of way.
The Cosmological Eye Trilogy
They call their home studio the Space Room; they name their pieces after galaxies and nebulas; and their cat appears to be an alien. Please act surprised when you learn that this duo from Torino, Italy, plays space music -- not your ordinary brand, though: experimental space music. Maurizio Opalio and Roberto Opalio are exploring the cosmos through epic improvised journeys involving astral percussion, electric astral guitar drones, and space toys. Their territory is somewhere past the fringes of…
Radio Myanmar (Burma)
This entry in the Sublime Frequencies world Radio series -- where the producers simply feature samples of radio programs from shortwave or other sources -- appears at a very strange time in the nation of Myanmar's history: immediately in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, which wiped out tens of thousands of people and left countless others homeless. In fact, as this is being written and the album is on the headphones, it feels completely crazy to listen to music from such a mishmash of Asian cult…
Rose/Thorn
Blissful Klang Industries vinyl issue of two vintage side-long improvisations performed by Christina and Tom Carter as a duo. Far removed from their more recent song-shaped enters, the pieces here (recorded in 2000) strive for a different kind of goal, stretching out exquisitely complex organic drone tones that draw on organ, various sustaining (bowed?) instruments and a line in supremely elegant pedal steel glissando whose esoteric delights are matched only by Christina's unceasingly remarkable…
Karawane Der Mystiks
Alfred Otterstaetter began playing music in the late '70s, releasing homemade tapes and records under different band names. Blumen des Exotischen Eises LP was released in '86 in the quantity of 100 copies on his Dead Eye Records. It was recorded between '83 and '85 and consisted of spontaneous music, some of it played by Alfred alone on different instruments with overdubs, and some with friends. Some tracks have early '70s open-air spaced out feel, others -- more heavy hypnotic Teutonic sound. O…
Come Out, Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone
For once, why don't we elide the obvious-- in this case, Norwegian band and recent Vice signees 120 Days' superficial resemblance to certain electro-and-Krautrock forebears-- and experience "Come Out (Come Down, Fade Out, Be Gone)" as a first-order phenomenon, with its own heat and light. A lopsided parabola than spans nine tautly thrumming minutes, "Come Out" is a marvel of ethereal precision, immaculate pacing, Teutonic austerity, trance-inducing miasma, and dark euphoria. A supple motorik cad…
Live On
Follow-up to last year's well-received full-length of collaged live performances released on SHDWPLY. This is another half hour-plus of the Baltimore drum/drone collective at their most zoned and loose-limbed.
No Magic Man
Finally, we have managed to track down copies of one of the most revered Sunburned Hand of the Man records in existence. Originally pressed up by the prestigious Arthur magazine's own imprint, this handmade reissue (straight from the Sunburned Men themselves) takes the factory made cd and plonks it in a very plush gatefold hard-cover with handprinted artwork. 'No-Magic Man' was the first time that the band submitted a truly coherent album, prior to this their cds although insanely good were more…
Dums Will Survive
RFTO Bandwagon have just released their first full-length LP entitled Dums Will Survive on Dull Knife Records this month. Coming latently on the heels of their excellent New Jack 7" on the same imprint from last spring, RFTO Bandwagon continue with their mark of gritty folk-pop, and often sway into the weirdo territory of the genre with songs the grip the edges of so many sounds, and yet stay held together with beautifully frayed strands of brilliant songwriting. The title track on the a-side (t…
Hairdryer Peace
VINYL FORMAT. The new Hospitals LP Hairdryer Peace is finally here. Hairdryer is a ripper/apology for the band's previous two albums. Vinyl only, homemade covers, 500 copies.
Shitgaze Anthems
After a 2-year absence, what has happened since we last peeked in on these "shitgaze" innovators? Well, that famous "distorto-lo-fi-sound" has been popping up in quite open spaces: No Age has become the new Brittany Spears, Wavves crashed in outta nowhere like a mid-90s grunge signing, and Vivian Girls are playing on the speakers in Target stores nationwide. Expect better production, poppier songs with druggier references, and elements as disparate as dub & emo combining to form a revionistic cl…
Smalltown Supersound On Fire
Limited edition vinyl! All new stuff taken from the forthcoming STS releases. As well as some exclusive goodies such as Bjorn Torske's great Sunburned Hand Of The Man remix (a Moondog meets Count Ossie & the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari style remix) as well as Prins Thomas' remix of Tussle. The album also introduces the new sinings; K-X-P from Helsinki, Finland, Mungolian Jet Set from Oslo, Norway, Meanderthals from London/Oslo, and, Drivan, which is Kim Hiorthøy with 3 Swedish girls on vocals…
Balf Quarry
LP version; printed innersleeve with lyrics. Before Balf Quarry landed on my desk, I figured the dirtiest thing in Connecticut was Chris Dodd's browser history. Not so. Among other things — like guitar tones that buzz around like contact-high June bugs, Elisa Ambrogio's slack vocals wavering between coy calls and willfully distant snarls, and a production value so low and dense you feel you're listening to them from the dining room above their rehearsal space — Hartford natives the Magik Markers…
Crookt, Crackt Or Fly
Crookt Crackt Or Fly is a 1994 album by Gastr del Sol released on Drag City. The album was written and performed by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke, with John McEntire (percussion), Steve Butters (percussion) and Gene Coleman (Bass Clarinet) also contributing. All tracks were recorded by Brian Paulson in October 1993 at King Size studios.
Selections From The Symphonies (For Electric Guitars)
Intro sampler collection of Glenn's various guitar orchestra classics for the uninitiated. Glenn has personally selected a track listing representative of his absolute unique-on-this-planet vision, with material ranging from the delicate celestial beauty of Symphony No. 3 to the demonical, otherworldly terror unfurled in No. 10. Selections is the ultimate 'in' to Branca's work if you're yet unacquainted with the most influential composer of the era.