listen records

howdy all,

well, we may have sold half the store on record store day, but have no fear… it appears that i’ve pretty much completely refilled it this week alone. tons of awesome new stuff in this week, as well as a slew of restocks. as you can maybe guess from below, i’ve got plenty of receiving to do so i’ll leave it at that. enjoy…

…..pick of the week…..

*aphex twin – selected ambient works volume II – 1972 – 2lp
– massive classic of the genre…. “aphex twin’s 1994 masterpiece selected ambient works volume II includes barely anything resembling a beat or any sign of typical song structure, yet the album continues to garner adulation generally reserved for holy music. fans have been testifying on its behalf for nearly two decades, as if it were capable of curing ills or healing the soul. its synthetic construction belies the intuitive, human, melancholic and uplifting nature of the music. some have speculated the album was intended by aphex twin’s richard d. james as a farce, as if its uber-minimalism was a joke played on an electronic community that relied so heavily on the beat; an expectation-defying statement from ambient-house’s young hero. the album induces varied responses and often from the same person. a listener may go from being incredulous to drenched in tears within the span of a single track. music critic frank owen described the music as “veering between an eerie beauty and an almost nightmarish desolation.” james himself described it as “like standing in a power station on acid.” the album’s raw emotional power is built upon the influences of brian eno, erik satie, steve reich, terry riley and the orb. each of its tracks has an elegiac and desolate feel far removed from the tooth-rattling, drill-‘n’-bass or abstract electronica for which james was originally known. the soft, nimble flow leaves one in a tranquilized state. throughout the album, james resists the temptation to layer the sound with beats or samples. instead, he relies on swathes of sound and harmonics and almost-implied pulses. when the music does incorporate subtle industrial sounds, rhythmic drums or muted samples, it is only to affect a menacing feel in the textures. remarkably, for an album that is often perceived as difficult, selected ambient works volume II is quite accessible. featured in films, commercials and video games, the music continues to offer an entry point for listeners new to the ambient genre while remaining a classic touted by connoisseurs.”

…..new arrivals…..

actress – r.i.p. – honest jon’s – lp/cd
– now in on vinyl! between sleep and the void lies the electronic interzone of actress. following splazsh, actress returns with a suite of electronic laments, tone structures and dream-time rhythms which all carry his unmistakable fingerprint. a conceptual arc taking in death, life, sleep and religion. there are no soft synths or plug-ins, and instead he uses meticulous manual sound-tinkering to create tones, tunings and textures.
allo darlin’ – europe – slumberland – lp
– darlings of the international indie pop scene, the london-based four-piece creates perfect, sophisticated pop gems and knows how to put on a effervescent, fun-filled live show. achingly personal, incredibly poignant and familiar all at once. there’s a sense that europe reflects the changes in the world since their debut in 2009-with riots and protests across the globe and a deepening feeling of gloom, a carefree album didn’t seem appropriate.
luigi archetti – null II/III – die schachtel – cd
– null II and null III are the second and third part of italian/swiss composer luigi archetti’s massive electronic work on the theme of “nothing”, whose first part saw the light with the 2010 die schachtel “Null” edition. within these pieces, archetti’s thick sound-drones border on the edge of tonality as their many layers develop with a sort of “geological” pace. a trance-inducing sense of slow-motion and even stillness, alternating with subtle changes often obtained only by tiny, almost “invisible” variables. will certainly appeal to fans of eliane radigue, thomas köner and long and sustained drone electronic music in general.
geoff barrow & ben salisbury – drokk – invada – lp
– “drokk was written in a six month period between barrow’s Pportishead world tour and salisbury’s composing jobs for the bbc. even though it is a sound-track of sorts, barrow and salisbury instinctively felt that music for mc1 should steer clear of the rich orchestration common to many contemporary film scores. even for electronica the music is often purposefully stark and spare, with the majority of tracks created exclusively on the oberhiem 2 voice synthe-sizer (a 1975 classic keyboard), and its onboard sequencer used to create rhythm and drums sounds. the only exceptions are a handful of tracks which combine the synth with digitally manipulated and time-stretched performances of acoustic instruments (such as piano, violin, mandolin, ukelele, voice and hammered dulcimer).”
cheap time – wallpaper music – in the red – lp
– a quintessential ingredient is the low-fi bombast with which they scuzz up their otherwise lightweight brand of simplified 1970s glam punk, packing an impressive amount of adolescent snottiness into two-minute blasts of sound with both precision and melody. wallpaper music distills perfectly all the phases through which the band has passed to date. retaining both the punk moves and pop-damaged glam jams.
cleaners from venus – blow away your troubles – captured tracks – 2lp
cleaners from venus – on any normal monday – captured tracks – lp
cleaners from venus – midnight cleaners – captured tracks – lp
– the first three records from english home-recording jangle pop pioneers cleaners from venus on vinyl for the first time! ‘blow away your troubles’ (1981), ‘on any normal monday’ (1982), and ‘midnight cleaners’ (1982), all were previously released on cassette. the reissues will contain bonus tracks, rare photos, and liner notes from cleaners mastermind martin newell. it’s an appropriate time to revisit cleaners from venus, as the lo-fi pop aesthetic they first embraced three decades ago is surfacing in the decidedly damaged work of indie artists like ariel pink and more.
dolphins into the future – canto arquipelago – underwater peoples – lp
– there is something phenomenally enticing about a sequestered island chain, literally bounded by a vast and enveloping sea. perhaps it’s the romance of discovery—the knowledge that here lies the safety of land within the great seclusion of nature. perhaps it’s the raw beauty that is simply emerald speckled turquoise. dedicated to the azores, a remarkably beautiful volcanic archipelago that lacks very little by way of inspiration. the ambient conjurer weaves glorious tones and minimal percussion with brilliant and evocative field recording, having spent several weeks on the island cluster for this body of work.
*hildur gudnadottir – leyfdu ljosinu – touch – cd
– icelandic cellist hildur gudnadóttir presents a new album, leyfdu ljósinu (trans. “allow the light”), recorded live at the music research centre, university of york, in january 2012, by tony myatt, using a soundfield st450 ambisonic microphone and two neumann u87 microphones (nb — it was not played in a concert environment and there was no audience). to be faithful to time and space — elements vital to the movement of sound — this album was recorded entirely live, with no post-tampering of the recordings’ own sense of occasion.
hard corps – clean tables have to be burnt – minimal wave – lp
– aside from their releases on survival and polydor, hard corps gained some notoriety for their unique and uncompromising live shows throughout the 1980s. it was the juxtaposition between their hard edged industrial sound and the fragile and enigmatic vocals of french frontwoman regine fetet that created an unusual dichotomy, lending to their strength of character as a band and thus allowing them to stand out from the rest. now for the first time ever, rare unreleased versions of tracks from the 1980s have been remastered and are being made available.
*hayvanlar alemi – yekermo sew – sublime frequencies – 7″
– hayvanlar alemi comes smashing out of the gates in 2012 with a jaw-dropping version of mulatu astatke’s “yekermo sew” as the a-side of this single. side b is an unreleased improvisation featuring the quartet version of the group. this limited one-time pressing vinyl single was made for the band to sell on their european tour, which begins in may of 2012. limited copies, however, will be available through normal distribution channels. 45 rpm.
*ktl – v – editions mego – lp/cd
– rooting themselves in such legendary electronic music studios such as ems in stockholm and grm in paris, stephen o’malley (sunn o))), khanate, etc.) and peter rehberg (pita, fenn o’berg, etc.) have delivered a rich set of sound experiments far removed from the harsh metal/noise blizzards of their early albums. they took a step further by inviting icelandic composer jóhann jóhannsson to orchestrate “phill 2” (performed by city of prague philharmonic, conducted by richard hein), resulting in a towering storm of monumental classicism. finally, “last spring: a prequel” turns the whole album on its head with the abstract alien textures of the gisèle vienne installation of the same name.
*les rallizes denudes – mars studio 1980 – phoenix – 4cd
– the best-known studio recordings by les rallizes dénudés is the legendary mars studio sessions from 1980. the tracks were laid down during the tenure in the group of guitarist fujio yamaguchi. yamaguchi is one of the more notorious figures in the japanese rock underground. yamaguchi’s sojourn in rallizes lasted just over a year, from early 1980 to march 1981, but the weightless, languid weird-form blues created by the meshing of mizutani’s billowing feedback and yamaguchi’s acid-etched lines has been regarded by many japanese fans as one of the group’s peaks.
los miticos del ritmo – s/t – soundway – lp/cd
– from the sweltering tropical depths of cali, colombia, los miticos del ritmo (trans. “the mythics of rhythm”) return with an album of hip-shaking, dancefloor-quaking instrumental cumbias. 100% analog and comes with an original screen-printed front cover. a 7-piece studio band put together by british musician, producer and now colombian resident will “quantic” holland.
terry manning – home sweet home – 4 men with beards – lp
– “terry manning is best known as an engineer and producer who spent the ’60s and ’70s in memphis working for ardent and stax studios on some of that city’s most important records, from isaac hayes to big star. in 1970 he cut the album home sweet home and it was released on the stax subsidiary, enterprise. originally intended as a joke project, home sweet home is now a highly regarded and collectible lp, praised for its innovative studio trickery and manning’s offbeat arrangements, especially the epic opening 10-minute version of george harrison’s ‘savoy truffle.'”
mean jeans – on mars – dirtnap – lp
– portland’s premier party punks the mean jeans return, more mid-tempo catchier, and poppier (but less “pop punk” if you know what we mean) than their debut. in addition to the standard 3 piece instrumentation, mean jeans on mars also features, at various times, acoustic guitar (!), keyboards (!), drum machines (!), empty jaeger bottles (!) and boxes of macaroni (!) played as extra percussion.
motion sickness of time travel – s/t – spectrum spools – 2lp
– an expansive, definitive 2lp project, that carefully arranges sounds to create immense, alchemical side-long tracks which push the boundaries of the project into new territory. these incredible new highs are documented in a clear, spacious fidelity where cerebral sounds gently flow and wash through the stereo-field, creating a beautiful deep-listening situation. big changes in sound and scope are evident; a shift from the murky, mysterious haze of the older recordings into a highly addictive concentrate of airy tones and gem-like glow, each track forming a universal sky-map . there is, however, no loss of mystique. one of evans’ most charming elements is her ability to create a divine magnetism, and to capture this very magic unfiltered, raw and uncompromised.
*pye corner audio – black mill tapes volumes 1 & 2 – type – lp
– a perfect introduction to the head technician’s fuzzy radiophonic funk. while pye corner audio might be loosely associated with the much-lauded ghost box collective, his music is more difficult to pin down. at times, the dusty soundscapes bring to mind the flickering intro to mid-’60s doctor who, but at others, you’re catapulted into a dodge-driving, neon-flecked u.s. road movie circa 1979. black mill tapes are a collection of long-lost club records, engineered solely for the woozy drive home — 4 a.m., long highways and bright lights. just leave ryan gosling out of it.
lou ragland – i travel alone – numero – 4lp
–  finally in on vinyl! between 1967-1977 lou ragland produced the most thoughtful, hopeful, and downright soulful work to come out of the forest city. bookended by his dynamic albums hot chocolate and understand each other, i travel alone gathers period singles, collaborations, and an unreleased live album cut in 1973, revealing a cleveland genius in a musical microcosm of fearless and confident creation.
sonny smith – one act plays – secret seven – lp
– a new album from sonny smith, performed without the sunsets, but with guests neko case, edith frost, mark eitzel, rico bell, jolie holland, andy cabic, john dwyer, and others.
sonic boom – spectrum – vinilisssimo – lp
– reissue of sonic boom’s first solo album, recorded between 1988 and 1989 while spacemen 3 were still active and with the participation of its band members. a captivating, gentle space-rock masterpiece, which includes amazing covers of doc pomus’ “lonely avenue” and suicide’s “rock’n’ roll is killing my life.” reissued on vinyl for the first time. the beautiful gatefold sleeve is an op-art wonder with two swirly plastic discs. limited edition of 1,000 copies.
spiderwebs – brighton beach – wholly other – lp
– “spiderwebs is the duo of tom carter (charalambides, etc.) and houston improvising guitarist sandy ewen. starting from the sparse and sometimes pastoral base of spiderwebs’ two previous releases, brighton beach constructs towers of fuzz, electronics, and naked scrape from which the duo launch deep into the inarticulate heart of sonic maximalism.
susanna – wild dog – rune grammofon – cd
– wild dog is susanna’s eighth album, including three with susanna and the magical orchestra, her “norwegian” album jeg vil hjem til menneskene and the ecm album with giovanna pessi. that is effectively one album a year of quality releases since her debut in 2004, indeed, a very rare treat these days. the ten originals on wild dog are darker, wilder and more intensely seductive than ever.
tennis – young & old – fat possum – lp
– sophomore album from the denver-based indie pop band made up of husband-and-wife duo alaina moore and patrick riley. for this album, guitarist riley, vocalist moore and drummer james barone headed to nashville to work with the black keys’ patrick carney.
martino traversa – critical_path – die schachtel – cd
– a very well-known italian composer who studied at salzburg’s mozarteum, at the ccrma at stanford university and with luigi nono from 1987 to 1989. critical_path presents for the first time ever a selection of his electronic music works, composed between 2000 and 2008. the most important piece on this cd is undoubtedly “variations upon a labyrinth” (2000), prompted by two of the most significant personalities of italian avant-garde, the poet edoardo sanguineti and the composer luciano berio.
traxman – da mind of traxman – planet mu – lp
– one of the longest-serving producers working in footwork, with releases stretching back to the glory days of ghetto house on dance mania records in the ’90s. very strongly rooted in chicago’s history of soul, funk, house and ghetto trax; he’s a veteran and renowned crate-digger who has provided sample sources for many of footwork’s classic tracks over the years. an incredibly well-rounded suture between hip hop’s natural funk and resourceful sample flipping; the hyper-kinetic innovation of footwork’s stop-start, half-time to double-speed drum programming; and a deep respect and understanding of Chicago’s house music past that few producers can match.
townes van zandt – for the sake of the song – fat possum – lp
– originally released in 1968 for the sake of the song is a reissue of townes van zandt’s well-known debut album. produced by jack clement (charley pride, chet atkins, u2, etc.) and featuring original liner notes by mickey newbury, van zandt went on to cement his status as a cult icon among gifted songwriters such as willie nelson, merle haggard, and emmylou harris who eventually recorded their own covers of towne’s songs.
*volcano the bear – golden rhythm/ink music – rune grammofon – cd
– now in on cd! killer modern prog moves. their previous work followed in the style of this heat’s s/t debut album, and this is vtb’s deceit.
jack white – blunderbuss – thirdman – lp/cd
– debut solo album from the man behind (or is it in front?) of the white stripes, as well as thirdman records, and a ton of other bands.
*various – bed of pain – mississippi – lp
–  “excellent compilation of greek rembetika/folk/mortika music. dark and beautiful 78’s about love, crime, death, drugs and so on. all songs never reissued on lp before. extensive liner notes by ian nagoski with great photos. a co-release with canary records. old school ‘tip on’ cover. a real winner.”
various – eastbound & down – fat possum – 2cd
– hbo’s outrageous cult comedy hit eastbound & down is the story of the rise and fall (and fall, and fall…) of kenny powers as he navigates life after the big leagues as a washed up super star who hasn’t come to grips with the “washed up” part, yet. from small town south carolina to smaller town mexico and then back again, kenny’s story (and life) unravels week by week on hbo. features dialog from the show’s characters, along with music from the black keys, too $hort, the stooges, r.l. burnside, kenny rodgers, and lee hazlewood.
*various – prix italia – die schachtel – 6cd box + book
– subtitled: the prix italia and the radiophonic experimentation. deluxe boxed edition — 6cd + 400-page book in italian and english. after five years of intense, passionate and sometimes painful work, die schachtel (in collaboration with rai) is proud to announce the release of the long-awaited massive book + 6CD boxed edition dedicated to some of the most compelling italian radio works which took part in the prestigious prix italia, a world-famous contest established by the rai (the national italian broadcasting company) in the ’50s and still alive today, aimed to award the best and most uncompromising audio-visual works produced throughout the world.
*various – sticks over my shoulder – mississippi – lp
– “a compilation of georgia bluesmen who play all in a style of their own. truly great recordings made by george mitchell between 1979-1981. features the hypnotic sounds of john lee ziegler, the incredibly rockin’ drumand guitar music of james davis, the hair-stands-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck voice and guitar of william robertson (also known as cecil barfield!), the unique doaist playing of jimmy lee williams and the ragged and beautiful music of jim bunkley. really just the best blues music you could ever hope to hear. another testament to the brilliant ear of george mitchell, who traveled the south in search of the real stuff and found it. old school ‘tip on’ cover.”