★VHF Records
The Queen Of Guess
Masterful, transcendental psychedelia from the mighty Vibracathedral Orchestra, who prove they're capable of making a varied and multifaceted din on this nine-track, seventy-one minute album. The group truly excels on the two long-form pieces (both 'Ramshackle Sunrise' and 'Goodnight Stars Goodnight AIr' hover around the twenty-minute mark), although the shorter tracks reveal the wealth of different instrumental approaches that goes into making up the band's considerable repertoire. It's that ma…
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Raw and rocking collaboration between Jack Rose and the Black Twigs with some of the most swinging, hard-hitting string music waxed in many a decade. Rose’s solo playing has always had a tough edge, with his prodigious technique often employed in the service of dropping right-hand bombs – his use of a thumbpick originates from his years of duets with Twig Mike Gangloff, struggling to make his guitar heard over Gangloff’s crashing banjo. The front line of Rose and Gangloff’s strings are joined by…
Kensington Blues
Available now for the first time on vinyl, Kensington Blues is the fourth full-length release from Jack Rose and his most diverse outing by far. The album is an inspired mix of styles and sounds, with straight ragtime, heavy 12-string, and that sweet, sweet Weissenborn lap guitar all checking in. Honed during endless touring in 2004, the repertoire here is delivered with maximum authority in a series of first-take performances recorded in early 2005.
Four Aims
LP has tracks not on the CD and not available via download. The Four Aims is the much-anticipated second full-length by the long-running duo of Mick Flower (Vibracathedral Orchestra, Sunroof, Michael Flower Band) and Chris Corsano (Flaherty/Corsano, Jandek, Bjork, Sunburned). In the couple years since their debut, The Radiant Mirror (Textile), the two have toured and recorded frequently, expanding their range to include a mind-boggling array of free sound. "I, Brute Force" kicks off the record w…
LAmmERGEIER
This finds the duo continuing to pursue the head-scratching assortment and range of outer sound in a somewhat more contemporary style. LAmmERGEIR makes use of all sorts of exotic instruments, but like Metallic Sonatas, many of the pieces have undergone electronic transformation, adding an extra layer of unsettling aural alchemedia to the tunes. Some of the sounds show the influence of Simon's laptop work over the last couple of years. Laptops aside, the layers of microscopic detail on LAmmERGEIE…
Two Originals Of...
Debut solo CD from Jack Rose, combining his much-lauded Eclipse LP's Red Horse, White Mule and Opium Musick. While Red Horse, White Mule is generally recognized as in the Takoma-inspired tradition, Jack adds his own exotic influences and recognizable touch - whether abstracting on the modal epic "Red Horse" or the rough slide stylings of "The Colonel's Blues." Opium Musick is an eclectic collection with pieces for 12 string (the percussive and dark "Black Pearls), 6 string, and lap guitar. The t…
Holy Letters
Recorded in 1989 and 1990, Hiroyuki Usui's barely circulated masterpiece of deeply felt self-expression beautifully captures the spirit and substance of a half-dozen key sub-underground pillars of sound. Working with guitar, vocals, vibes, harmonium, bass, drums, cello, field recordings, digeridoo, and more, Usui blends delicate folk, psychedelia, and experimental sounds into a mostly subdued but undeniably glowing suite. The layered but careful instrumentation on the epic title track and "Troll…
Astral Social Club
With this release the VHF catalog moves into triple digit territory and the label is celebrating with the first official album by Neil Campbell's (Vibracathedral Orchestra) genre-destroying Astral Social Club unit. Following a series of instantly sold-out limited edition CDRs, Campbell agreed to select, edit and remix a collection of tracks for wider release from the group's rather exclusive catalog. VHF100 is a dense mega-mix of continually peaking sound-flow. Working a tricky hybrid ground bet…
Faking Gold And Murder
Faking Gold and Murder is the third Earth-shattering full-length by Vincent De Roguin (Shora), Stephen O'Malley (Sunn0))), KTL) and Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo). This time, the core trio is joined by percussionists Nicolas Field and Alex Babel, as well as renowned guitarist Alexander Tucker and the inimitable David Tibet. AEthenor's heaviest outing yes is driven by a weighty low-end and the full fury of Babel and Field's free-wheeling drums. The band's electronics, guitar, Rhodes, and organ ride wa…
Betimes Black Cloudmasses
Betimes Black Cloudmasses is the highly-anticipated second album from Vincent De Roguin (Shora), Stephen O'Malley (SUNN0))), KTL), and Daniel O'Sullivan (Guapo). Like their genre- and audience-confounding debut Deep In Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light, Betimes is an atmospheric, constantly changing piece that encompasses a mind-boggling array of different performance and processing techniques. The deeply psychedelic and moving results present a soundstage that is continually evolving, with new eleme…
Octuplex
NEIL CAMPBELL returns w/ an album of squelching, restless ambience. The CD is split roughly in half between Harmonia/Voigt-style chuggers & sweeping swirls of instantly recognizable dronage. Includes contributions from RICHARD YOUNGS, JOHN CLYDE-EVANS & SPIDER STACY (POGUES)
Electric Lotus
This epic double set combines an LP of all-electric rock mayhem with a CD of subtle drum/shakuhachi tracks. Electric Lotus is the Youngs and Neilson's self-proclaimed 'rock' album, and it is a mind-boggling clutch of guitar/bass/drums demolition. Coming off like an amphetamine-fueled Guru Guru, the music tumbles out in a crazy quilt of stun-level attack zonage, especially on the side-long Electric Lotus. Neilson's staggering freedrumming hits a new peak here, stepping beyond his laudable work wi…