…..news letter #528 – the more records the merrier…..

howdy all,

last week someone ran down the tree in front of the store. not really a big deal, but one thing i have noticed is that everyone keeps telling me it’s windy out, and i can no longer tell for myself. i’ll miss you, tree. anyway, lots of great stuff in this week for your listening pleasure, and just for good measure, i bought some more used stuff the other day, and might come in tomorrow morning with even more….

…..pick of the week…..

*belbury poly – belbury tales – ghost box – lp

– finally! some ghost box…. “the belbury tales is the fourth full length album from belbury poly. usually a solo project for jim jupp, the co-founder of ghost box, but for part of this album he augments the belbury sound with guest musicians jim musgrave on drums and christopher budd on bass & electric guitar. in addition to the usual array of keyboards and analogue synths, jupp himself plays guitar, percussion, zithers, melodica and ocarina. its a unique yet oddly familiar soundworld drawing on tv soundtracks, progressive rock, radiophonics, and library music. like all their album releases the music and artwork expand on the fictional / parallel world that ghost box loves to play with. at odds to the anodyne minimalism of much electronica julian house’s artwork like jupp’s music is lavish, detailed and witty. this is very much a concept album in the tradition of english prog rock taking in medievalism, the supernatural, ideas about the re-invention of the past, childhood, initiation and pilgrimage (both spiritual and physical). these concepts are further enhanced by a joyfully unsettling piece of fiction penned by rob young, author of electric eden.”

…..new arrivals…..

*acid mothers temple – wild gals a go-go – eclipse – lp
*acid mothers temple – the day before the sky in america – eclipse – lp
*acid mothers temple – troubadours from another heavenly world – eclipse – lp
*acid mothers temple – in c – eclipse – lp
*acid mothers temple – pataphisical freak out mu!! – eclipse – lp

– hot damn!!! got our hands on some long out of print acid mothers lps, sealed, from the label. don’t sleep, again.
*ilyas ahmed – with endless fire – immune – lp
– “since 2005 ahmed has been blurring the folk/drone/raga/rock realms into a sound that is uniquely his own. written, performed and recorded direct to analog tape by ahmed in portland, or. it is ahmed’s first album since his 2009 release goner (root strata) and continues the much fuller sound presented there, giving us his unmistakable voice with a mix of acoustic and electric guitars, harmonium, organ, and drums.”
*bardo pond/tom carter – 4/23/03 – 3lobed – lp
– “originally released on cd in 2004, this new edition of 4/23/03 is now pressed on two slabs of vinyl and housed within a handsome two color silkscreened gatefold jacket bearing artwork replicating that from the album’s cd incarnation. the entire contents of the original cd version plus a ‘new’ additional track from the original recording sessions. all copies of the 4/23/03 lp are accompanied by the hour long 4/25/03 cd presenting a blistering collaborative live set from bardo pond and tom carter.”
frank black – christmass – vinyl lovers – lp+7″
– “a collection of live acoustic performances from frank black’s (a.k.a. black francis, ex-frontman of the pixies) 2006 us solo tour. featuring renditions of pixies favorites like ‘where is my mind?’ and ‘wave of mutilation’ and many gems from over the course of black’s solo career. also includes a bonus 7″”
black to comm – earth – de stijl – lp
– “earth is a 2009 silent film by ho tzu nyen, one of singapore’s foremost artists. the visually arresting film has been live-soundtracked by a number of artists (including oren ambarchi) in several locales. ‘most of the music was composed under the influence of heavy pain killers while recovering from a broken leg. the music (like the film) is about slowness and decay, states of unconsciousness, sleeping and waking up, dying and being reborn.”
*bryter layter – two lenses – students of decay – lp
– comprised of joseph raglani (kranky) and mike pollard (arbor), bryter layter is a collaborative unit that focuses on the lyrical faculties of analog synthesis. for the most part, these recordings find the pair eschewing the at-times unfocused, long-form drone techniques that have become fixtures in the scene in favor of short, melodic compositions that are strikingly rich in detail. brings to mind popul vuh’s work for werner herzog at its most grandiose, as waves of rising, symphonic tones surge and dissolve, carrying us along with them.
*celer – evaporate and wonder – experimedia – lp
– “since 2005, celer, the duo of the late danielle marie baquet and william thomas long, have released a wealth of ambient material and established themselves as one of the preeminent and best loved outfits in the genre. for the uninitiated, celer’s aesthetic is glacial, beautiful and devotional. it is utterly devoid of hard edges and culled from a wealth of exotic and traditional instrumentation.”
decemberists – we all raise our voices… – emi – 3lp
– decemberists’ first live full-length in their decade-plus career, sets all their heady concepts, genre nods, and oddball experiments side by side.
*expo ’70 – journey through astral projection – immune – cs
– “justin wright’s expo 70 project has been pushing experimental, drone and kosmiche musik to new realms for nearly a decade now. the follow-up album journey through astral projection, further cementing the fact that wright’s work captures a true spirit of free thinking and creates tranquil moods and vast landscapes in audio fidelity. by the second track the gates open into a bed of dense organ tones and heavy guitar dirges, resembling a more meditative terry riley jamming with sunn O))).”
*lee fields – faithful man – truth & soul – lp
– now in on vinyl! “the older lee fields becomes, the closer he gets to perfecting the sound of soul” this album is the next step towards perfection. drawing comparisons to the moments, the delfonics, the stylistics, and (of course) james brown, ‘faithful man’ is able to create a space of its own due to the group’s desire to interpret and further the formulas of good soul music rather then imitate them. chalk that up to truth & soul producers and co-owners jeff silverman and leon michels.
from the mouth of the sun – woven tide – experimedia – lp
– “a new collaboration between jasper tx and composer aaron martin. out of the charred embers of dusk woven tide emerges with an incandescent glow. each glimmer cast by the sustained notes of ebony keys, the taut strings of the cello, and the rampant buzz of guitar lights our way, gives us hope, brings us into the dawn of a new day.”
gunn-truscinski duo – ocean parkway – 3lobed – lp
– “ocean parkway covers a great deal of sonic territory. for all of the slow, furious build of both the album’s opening and closing tracks, there are also tracks featuring a substantial bit of playful and hypnotically mesmerizing phrasing, acoustic twelve string-centric strolls and the full-on rollicking rockers. it is breathtaking to listen to near-telepathic instances unfold. reminiscences of the most potent moments of both fantasias-era sandy bull and the more guitar-centric sun city girls albums”
innercity – terrestreality – aguirre – lp
– hans dens second vinyl offering on aguirre with more synthcrapings and zonked adventures in lo-fi music. loads of damaged audio and otherworldy synth bubblles spread over 11 tracks. no need to look at your watch, time has become infinitive.
je suis le petit chevalier – l’enfant sauvage – aguirre – lp
– felicia atkinson is having a very productive 2011. she has released tapes and cd’s under her own name and the moniker je suis le petit chevalier. currently based in brussels, félicia is a french musician, artist & writer who is making an increasing impact in experimental music circles as of late. her music pieces and drawings are often improvised and inspired by her travels and her night visions. fans of grouper, motion sickness of time travel, and other forest droners should definitely check her out.
joe with the flower travellin’ band – the times – phoenix – lp
– although post-group scene band flowers were gaining increasing popularity in late ’60s tokyo, founder and guiding light yuya uchida was becoming increasingly frustrated that cult status was not translating into commercial success. watching a rehearsal for the tokyo version of the hit u.s. musical hair, uchida’s wily gaze fell upon the afro-sporting cast member yamanaka akira aka joe. eventually, the inevitable happened and uchida disbanded ftb in 1975, after which the band’s record label, atlantic, offered the world one final, posthumous release in a greatest hits package, the times, with the artist as “joe with the flower travellin’ band” becoming the band’s epitaph.
sean mccann – open resolve – orange milk – lp
– here we have a seminal recording of sound collage and experimental synthesizer noise from one of the brightest musicians in underground america. ‘open resolve’ is all about tension and texture. originally released as a short run cassette on stunned, the vinyl edition comes on clear purple wax with new masters by the artist.
sean mccann – sincere world – amethyst sunset – lp
– “listening to new work from sean mccann is always an exciting prospect. go far back into this young pioneer’s catalog and you’ll without a doubt uncover a collection of music as diverse as it is long. sincere world is the somber younger brother to these the capital and open resolve. adrift on badalamenti-like lethargy, skeptical of the world around and unsure of what to do about it. sean takes us from under the bed to behind the bleachers and finally, to the bottom of the sea.” – michael jantz
mirrorring – foreign body – kranky – lp/cd
– “mirrorring is jesy fortino, who has recorded under the tiny vipers moniker, and liz harris, better known as grouper. the recordings on this album came about through a songwriting session in portland, oregon. the resulting sounds are contemplative, reflective, and introspective, creating a feeling as much as a song, a mood as much as a tune. one could try to assess what part of the album each artist was responsible for, but that would prevent one from seeing the proverbial forest for the trees.”
monolake – ghosts – monolake – lp
       – now in on vinyl! dark and colorful, with haunting and deep excursions into magic worlds of sound and grooves, held together by a fragmentary story as part of the artwork that indicates a continuation of themes present on silence: precisely-crafted, earth-shaking beats, rough, dirty noises, wide, lush soundscapes and little sonic creatures inhabiting a fascinating planet in which a lot of things go badly wrong and nothing is taken for granted.
no neck blues band – cino 51 – kelippah – lp
– quoted in its entirety due to absurdity… “previously, a boy dreams the dreams of many other boys. he meets three other boys and they dream together. sadly, one of his co-dreamer’s dreams become nightmare. In an effort to avoid seeing their own dreams relegated back to sleeping, our hero and his fair dreaming compatriots leave their troubled friend to face his nightmares on his own. his nightcap is quickly filled and the boys march forward, eventually seeing all of their dreams made manifest. in this installment our boy has become a man too accustomed to living his boy dreams. when he places his head upon his pillow these days there is nothing, as if there is nothing left to dream of. perhaps his conspirators sense this? they dream apart now and our hero’s empty nights only serve to marginalize him from these other boys. our man must be gifted with powers beyond the ordinary because, much as his boy dreams had become real, so too his man dreams of emptiness soon become his waking life. unlike his lost troubled co-dreamer from years past, his nightmares are far too mundane for anyone to care about. he dies this way. special thanks to charlie gilmour, millionaire.” what does that have to do with this record?!
panabrite – sub aquatic meditation – aguirre – lp
panabrite – soft terminal – digitalis – lp

– panabrite is the project of norm chambers — the man responsible for one of the most-loved synth albums of the last few years, although that’s a journey he took incognito and we just aren’t at liberty to divulge that identity quite yet. vivid, liquid dreams are sculpted into intricate fantasy landscapes, each layer revealing another aspect of chambers’ production prowess. richly-textured, melodic compositions that have as much in common with vintage electronic library music as they do with minimal synth-pop and ’70s prog.
pharaoh overlord – lunar – sige – lp
– “though originally incarnated as a fire breathing serpent of riff encrusted krautrock, subsequent mutations have generated an entire host of enchanting aural beasts. seemingly adept at myriad forms of fringe music – hypnotic stoner freakouts, improvised art rock, ambient hymnals, cyclic minimalism – the sprawling reach of the big p.o. seemingly knows no bounds. most recently, these gentle gods of finnish thunder brought forth a massive missive of stadium metal, aptly titled out of darkness proving once again the potency of their midas touch and their mastery in the realm of the rock. to what astral horizons their trajectory would lead them from there was a mystery as large as the cosmos through which they’ve traveled, but now the light of a new moon is upon us.”
*pulse emitter – aeons – aguirre – lp
– a stunning new album full of clear cosmic tones for the new space age. aeons, as the title suggests, is about different periods in time. ‘pangaea’ is ancient earth, ‘hermits’ is based on a panel of the ghent altarpiece representing renaissance europe, ‘spaceship’ is the future, and ‘immortality’ is an even more distant future where consciousness has been uploaded to computers and people live without bodies.
saschienne – unknown – kompakt – lp+cd
– as saschienne, sascha funke has formed a duo extraordinaire with multi-talented instrumentalist, singer and wife julienne dessagne, displaying an expressivity previously unknown to anyone following his solo work. far away from the romantic hokum of crude feel-good songwriting, they not only focus on the harmony and bliss, but explore the discord, the misunderstandings that great love brings with it. saschienne’s debut release maintains the perfect balance between intimate idiosyncracies and public formatting.
split cranium – s/t – hydrahead – lp
– “debut album from split cranium, the new band featuring aaron turner (isis) and jussi lehtisalo (circle). crusty traditionalist hardcore by way finland and vashon island. live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse? how about play fast, die old and leave the next round of stiffs wondering what the shit their crusty old grandpop was up to back in the economically vibrant 20-teens, when liquid gold flowed down from finland’s kemi river and crisp american sawbucks grew on trees?”
tortoise – standards – thrill jockey – lp
– “2001: following the massive success of their 1998 album tnt, tortoise delivered their fourth album standards. in and out of print over the past decade we are happy to finally give everyone what they have been asking for – standards on vinyl again! pressed on high quality virgin vinyl with the original heavy duty artworked inner sleeve and custom silk-screened pvc outer bag — this repress also includes a free download coupon.”
*white hills – frying on this rock – thrill jockey – lp
– “white hills’ newest and most energized recording to date is bursting with raw energy packed into their most concise songs to date. frying on this rock opens with an under five minute scorcher and closes with a 15 minute track that reminds us why space rock gatekeepers like julian cope were very early supporters. an album that is at once able to channel the energy born of a collective anger into a swirling psychedelic, brutalizing musical statement that mainlines the thrill of defiance straight to the listener’s heart.”
wooden shjips – remixes – thrill jockey – 12″
– “to follow up the release of their critically acclaimed thrill jockey debut west, wooden shjips return with a limited 12″ featuring three exclusive cuts and remixes from andrew weatherall, sonic boom (of spacemen 3), and kandodo (simon price of the heads). limited to only 2,500 copies worldwide.”
*richard youngs – core to the brave – root strata – lp
– “core to the brave hits with a shock and never lets up. composed of what appears to be blown out bass & spastic drum rhythms, these tracks cascade into shimmering loops of distortion, their weight reaching a critical mass that often feels likes it’s on the verge of ecstatic collapse. everything is elevated further in & up by that one and only voice, floating over top like a lush wind come down from the mountains.”
zomes – improvisations – thrill jockey – lp
– “with improvisations, the drum loops are replaced with a more obtuse drone bed pulsing not unlike a key on a harmonium that’s been taped down. the continually changing tones create a warm sea of sound that acts as a canvas for his melodic improvisations. tonal transmissions that phase in and out of a thick drone-filled ether, captured, translated, and expressed in zomes own unique language of meditative bliss.”

…..used goodies…..

beatles – 1967-1970 – apple – 2lp
*captain beefheart – unconditionally guaranteed – mercury – lp
miles davis – kind of blue – columbia – lp
bob dylan – blood on the tracks – columbia – lp
bob dylan – infidels – columbia – lp
*man or astro-man – experiment zero – touch & go – lp
phil ochs – chords of fame – a&m – lp
*perth county conspiracy – school bus tour album – rumor – lp
*pogues – rum, sodomy & the lash – stiff – lp
*shellac – at action park – touch & go – lp
skatalites – scattered lights – top-deck – lp
turbonegro – scandinavian leather – epitaph – lp
neil young – comes a time – reprise – lp
*neil young – on the beach – reprise – lp
neil young – reactor – reprise – lp
*neil young – tonight’s the night – reprise – lp
*neil young – zuma – reprise – lp
various – studio one classics – soul jazz – lp
and more!

…..restocks…..

arcade fire – neon bible – merge – lp
arcade fire – suburbs – merge – lp
black keys – el camino – nonesuch – lp/cd
black keys – brothers – nonesuch – lp
*charles bradley – no time for dreaming – daptone – lp
*budos band – s/t – daptone – lp
*budos band – ii – daptone – lp
*captain beefheart – trout mask replica – reprise – lp
clash – london calling – sony – lp
*cluster – II – lilith – lp
*current 93 – dogs blood rising – durtro jnana – lp
*current 93 – nature unveiled – durtro jnana – lp
darkside – s/t – clown & sunset – 10″
dj shadow – pre-emptive strike – mo wax – lp
dj shadow – endtroducing – mo wax – lp
*elm – nemcatacoa – sweat lodge guru – lp
*franco falsini – cold nose – spectrum spools – lp
*flower travellin’ band – satori – phoenix – lp
flying lotus – 1983 – plug research – lp
serge gainsbourg – anna – universal – lp
*serge gainsbourg – cannabis – universal – lp
*serge gainsbourg – historie de melody nelson – universal – lp
grimes – visions – arbutus – lp
*tim hecker – ravedeath 1972 – kranky – lp
jimi hendrix – are you experienced? – reprise – lp
howlin’ wolf – blues from hell – not now – 2lp
kinks – arthur – universal – 2cd
*abner jay – true story of.. – mississippi – lp
*abner jay – folk song stylist – mississippi – lp
*les rallizes denudes – heavier than a death in the family – phoenix – lp
*gareth liddiard – strange tourist – atp – lp
m83 – hurry up, we’re dreaming – mute – lp
m83 – before dawn heals us all – mute – lp
m83 – dead cities… – mute – lp
m83 – saturdays=youth – mute – lp
*matsuo ohno – i saw the outer limits – em – 2cd
neutral milk hotel – in an aeroplane.. – merge – lp
nirvana – nevermind – geffen – lp
nirvana – unplugged – geffen – lp
*porter ricks – biokinetics – type – lp
radiohead – hail to the thief – emi – lp
*conrad schnitzler – live 72 – further – 2lp
*sunn o))) – domkirke – southern lord – 2lp
television – marquee moon – rhino – cd
tool – opiate – sbme – lp
tool – undertow – sbme – lp
tool – lateralus – sbme – lp
tom waits – round midnight – let them eat vinyl – 2lp
tom waits – frank’s wild years – music on vinyl – lp
tom waits – swordfishtrombones – island – lp
*scott walker – scott 3 – 4 men with beards – lp
wu-tang clan – enter the wu-tang – rca – lp/cd
neil young – american stars ‘n bars – reprise – lp
*zombies – odessy & oracle – lp

thanks for listening…..

listen records
10443a – 124 street
edmonton, ab
t5n 1r7
780.732.1132

www.listenrecords.net
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