howdy all,
hard to believe that it’s the end of september… yet here we are, a month into the school year and i’m already exhausted. and to make matters worse (?) this weekend i’ll be down at the edmonton music collectors show slinging vinyl all day. and just to make it worth your while i’ve been saving some nice used stuff from the last month or so… yay!
also don’t forget, we are hiring right now! someone for part-time (mainly weekend shifts although weekday availability is a bonus) please drop off your resume along with top ten albums of 2012, all time, and top ten beers, or something else interesting. we hope to be starting this new staff member in mid october so get on it!
…..pick of the week…..
*agitation free – malesch – made in germany – lp
– hot damn! their debut, pensive and relaxed. a masterpiece, originally released on vertigo in 1972. “not willing to compromise, and heavily into the avant-garde (many members studied with the influential thomas kessler) it took a long while until agitation free got an album out. by that time they had developed a cosmic styled rock with a strong ethnic element. although in the spirit of ash ra temple and pink floyd, they had their own individual identity, with a largely improvised music that was predominantly instrumental, featuring lots of electronics, keyboards and dual guitars, and a great flair for invention. malesch documents their trip to north africa and the middle east, blending location recordings together with their own compositions and improvisations, and is still quite a unique experience even today, combining cosmic, avant-garde and ethnic musics with great invention.” — the crack in the cosmic egg. hopefully there is much more vinyl on the way from this label…
…..new arrivals…..
*john avery – jessica in the room of lights – forced nostalgia – lp
– john avery’s 1986 soundtrack to a theater performance employs piano, synth, tape and fx in chillingly purposeful union to reflect the piece’s storyline, itself centered around a cinema usherette for whom the lines between fiction and reality become blurred, and its intertwined themes of failed romance and the infidelity of memory. it’s a largely-unknown yet spellbinding touchstone in the canon of sheffield’s industrial music heritage.
*brain police – s/t – guersson – lp
– “san diego’s only psychedelic cops” is how this brilliant california band presented themselves in their promo posters. psychedelic they certainly were, though they might better be described as a british-influenced garage/psychedelic band. unavailable on vinyl for some time now, here’s a welcome new reissue of this powerful organ/guitar garage rock beauty.
*john carpenter – prince of darkness – death waltz – lp
– “undoubtedly one of carpenters darkest and most underrated films and the score complements the images perfectly. in fact, this has to be one of the most understated, atmospheric and downright scary soundtracks ever made. carpenter and howarth keep it simple with oodles of tension. listen to this late at night in the dark and you won’t be going to sleep anytime soon!” shorted again on the carpenter, but likely will get more…
*dinosaur jr – i bet on sky – jagjaguwar – lp/cd
– “the third dinosaur jr. album since the original trio – j mascis, lou barlow and murph – reformed in 2005. and, crazily, it marks the band’s 10th studio album since their debut on homestead records in 1985. j’s guitar approaches some of its most unhinged playing here, but there’s a sense of instrumental control that matches the sweet murk of his vocals (not that he always remembers to exercise control on stage, but that’s another milieu). this is head-bobbing riff-romance at the apex.”
dum dum girls – end of daze – sub pop – lp/cd
– a new ep from dee dee following the successful only in dreams album.
efterklang – piramida – 4ad – lp
– in august 2011, the members of efterklang went on an audio expedition to an abandoned russian settlement just shy of the north pole. spitsbergen is home to the ghost town of piramida, which was abandoned overnight in the 90s. along with discovering the world’s northernmost grand piano, the trio spent nine days exploring and recording the sounds that would inspire and build the songs on “piramida”.
*ben frost – steel wound – room 40 – lp
– first-ever vinyl edition of this classic ben frost album from 2007. since his earliest days, ben frost has been fascinated by the cinematic qualities of the guitar. his output to this point has hinted at this, but with steel wound, he makes a bold statement of intent. in early 2003, frost set up a remote studio at a derelict cabin overlooking the icy waters of bass strait. with a constant wind flowing off the sea his only companion, frost started work on a series of improvisations that would eventually become steel wound.
gaslamp killer – breakthrough – brainfeeder – lp
– “breakthrough is the debut full-length album from the gaslamp killer, a manic and mystic trip through the mind of a madman. resident dj and co-founder of the mythic low end theory club night in los angeles, the gaslamp killer is known across the globe for his impeccable turntable skills and high-energy performances. he delivers the same fire to breakthrough, a project pulled from within his soul that is his strongest musical statement yet.”
grizzly bear – shields – warp – lp/cd
– “shields is the fourth and most fluid album by grizzly bear. the potential energy gathered in tour vans and buses, in studios and on stages for years was finally released, giving the individual band’s pieces the chance to recover and, after a year, return to being grizzly bear, and delivering their best album yet.”
jj doom – key to the kuffs – lex – lp
– the debut collaborative album from mf doom and jneiro jarel (aka shape of broad minds) under the moniker jj doom. “on paper, a full collaborative album from nyc’s notorious rap villian doom and space age production from jneiro jarel can’t fail. in practice it’s even better. doom is in the form of his life here.” – mojo
krallice – s/t – gilead media – lp
– “the debut album from brooklyn, ny’s krallice is finally back in print after nearly two years. this self-titled debut broke new ground in the world of black metal upon its release in 2009, dividing an entire scene and causing many to argue the definition of black metal and how krallice did or did not fit into it.”
lv – sebenza – hyperdub – lp
– “sebenza shares a palette of sounds, but each track stretches those sources into different templates, each custom built with the mc’s flow and topic in mind, slowed down and sped up where needed. the three mc’s styles differ from each other dramatically. sebenza is a joyful listen, refreshing in its disregard for musical and verbal cliché. it brings to attention a handful of the awesome talent of south africa’s young generation of mcs over the finest productions of south london.”
metz – s/t – ossining – lp
– “metz take on glam includes some of the associated clichés like heavy chunks of chord strokes and catchy riffs, danceable rhythms and beats, and a vocalist with some theatrical influence in the singing department. besides the obvious, metz bring some original flair that pushes their material over the top! instead of the lead singer getting all the attention (he sounds like a cross between marc bolan and a less angry johnny rotten), its the two or three sassy black girls that steal the show with the best vocals (leads & harmonies) on the entire album. metz also provide lots of mind-stripping guitar solos and untamed organ with hovering lesle cabinets that occasionally drift into dark and gothic sound trips. it’s an album way overdue for reissuing.” – scott “loopden” bubrig, acid archives.
*oneohtrix point never/rene hell – split – nna tapes – lp
– “nna’s second split lp unites two american artists on the cutting edge of experimental electronic music: brooklyn’s oneohtrix point never and los angeles’ rene hell. opn brings us ‘music for reliquary house,’ which consists of sonic reworkings from a collaboration between lopatin and video artist nate boyce. hell presents ‘in 1980 i was a blue square,’ a suite of five pieces for piano, synthesizer, and computer.”
raekwon – only built 4 cuban linx – get on down – lp
– “the cultural phenomenon that is the wu-tang cannot accurately be described without referencing one of the pillars in the clan’s discography. chef raekwon’s only built 4 cuban linx remains firmly planted as one of the defining triumphs in their artistic legacy. the oft referred ‘purple tape’ has been cited and debated by many as the greatest wu-tang solo project to date and remains a bullet point in any discussion involving the greatest ‘cocaine rap’ or ‘street hop’ albums of all time.”
soft pack – strapped – mexican summer – lp
– soft pack are back with strapped, an adventurous album that finds the los angeles-based foursome breaking with expectations and exploring the possibilities of how they can push their sound. in making it, the group took to heart a quote from the sage pasadena thinker david lee roth that goes something like: “the first rule of rock & roll is if it sounds good, it is good.”
yo la tengo – stupid things – matador – 12″
– the first new music from ylt since 2009’s popular songs. “stupid things” is a different version of the song that will be appearing on their new album coming out in 2013. this limited-edition 12″ contains the original version along with a clashing, chaotic & randomly beautiful remix by eye of the boredoms. the b-side contains the full original 12-minute long instrumental of the track, awash with gorgeous “autumn sweater” style organ and some of ira kaplan’s most thoughtful and lyrical guitar improvisations yet.
*various – khana khana – pharaway sounds – lp/cd
– subtitled: funk, psychedelia and pop from the iranian pre-revolution generation. following the footsteps of the celebrated zendooni, here comes another comp dedicated to the persian pop scene of the ’70s. and what a comp! exotic psych, funk and pop doesn’t get better than this. pharaway sounds offers you a 19-track selection culled from rare vinyl pressings and cassettes which have miraculously survived until now. east meets west in an explosive way!
various – loving on the flipside – now again – lp/cd
– “twenty-one rare and unreleased sweet funk and soul tracks from 1969-1977, collected by the teams behind now-again and truth & soul. Presented as an 80-page book filled with rare photos and each band’s story. cd comes in its own sleeve within. we at now-again unearthed so much information about the bands that recorded the definitive disco and modern soul contained in our soul cal anthology that we decided we had no choice but to release an album and a book at the same time.'”
*various – psych funk a la turkish vol 1 – turk-a-disk – lp
– “psych funk á la turkish is a welcome addition to the many reissues and comps of turkish psych and funk that have been released in the last years (some of them strangely just dropping the same well-known songs again). diggin’ deep in turkish sounds from the 70s and 80s, we present an ‘all killers-no fillers’ selection of tracks taken from original 45s and lps. if you go crazy about erkin koray, 3 hur-el, baris manço, cem karaca and the likes but need to know more, there is a lot more, you need to hear this.”
…..restocks…..
arcade fire – funeral – merge – lp
*black flag – damaged – sst – lp
*black mountain – in the future – jagjaguwar – lp
bloc party – four – arts & crafts – lp
david byrne & st. vincent – love this giant – 4ad – lp
*captain beefheart – trout mask replica – reprise – lp
*contortions – buy – klimt – lp
cooly g – playin’ me – hyperdub – lp
*donnie darko ost – death waltz – lp
fresh & onlys – long slow dance – mexican summer – lp
lighting hopkins – s/t – doxy – lp
husker du – zen arcade – sst – lp
king tubby – roots of dub – clocktower – lp
king tubby – rastafari dub – clocktower – lp
king tubby – meets the upsetters – get on down – 3×10″ box
*let the right one in ost – death waltz – lp
nirvana – nevermind – geffen – lp
nirvana – in utero – geffen – lp
sigur ros – valtari – xl – lp
*six organs of admittance – ascent – drag city – lp
television – adventure – 4 men with beards – lp
timber timbre – s/t – arts & crafts – lp
xx – xx – xl – lp
*various – eccentric soul: outskirts of deep city – numero – lp
*various – eccentric soul: mighty mike lenaburg – numero – lp
*various – eccentric soul: young disciples – numero – lp
thanks for listening….
listen records
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