Contrary to last week’s lack of new stuff, this week seems to have a lot of new items in, mind you there’s a whack of reissues in the lot. But still, good news! New stuff! And some real gems at that…
Also,don’t forget….As usual, we will be closed at the end of the month from July 29th to August 2nd, and open again on Saturday, August 3rd. Mark it on your calender, cuz we won’t be here… so stock up in advance.
…..picks of the week…..
Ruth White: Flowers of Evil (Black Mass Rising) LP
“Edition of 500 copies reissue of this amazing off-the-wall 1969 dark electronic/psych/weirdo side: White recorded Flowers Of Evil in 1969 in her own studio using invented or otherwise modified electronics. It was a setting of the famous poem by Baudelaire scored for electronics and her own voice, often Satanically modulated or processed through weird sing-song patches and alien F/X so that it comes over as somewhere between the Poetry Out Loud jams, Lothar & The Hand People, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot” and the oracular tape work of Joan La Barbara. The atmosphere is massively psychedelic, with aspects of composers like Laurie Spiegel and Eliane Radigue, but with an almost Kenneth Anger soundtrack vibe and a heady ritual feel that could almost be a Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser and Starmaiden production. The music is amazing, with gothic high mass keyboard ascensions over the kind of hypnotically automating vocals that would give Steven Stapleton a bad trip. White plays her own pitched oscillators, built using bathroom tiles for keys (!), as well as using a primitive rhythm box, a spring reverb unit, hand-cut tape loops, subliminals, backwards F/X and various vocal filters. It’s impossible to classify this amazing side, call it black psychedelia, Kosmische music, sound poetry, avant garde composition, it defies any of these categories, totally transcending its crude DIY genesis with an atmosphere that is deeply occult and an unfolding sense of narrative that is totally gripping. Fans of Bobby Beausoleil, Nurse With Wound, Ash Ra Temple, Laurie Spiegel, Poetry Out Loud et al pretty much need to hear this. One of the most unlikely reissues of the year and a big personal favourite. Suffice to say you’ve never heard anything quite like it. This deluxe edition comes with a glossy insert with extended personal notes from White, a short contemporary interview and a ton of snaps.” -Volcanic Tongue… Imported from France. Highest possible recommendation!
File under: Early Electronic, Occult, Electronic Psych, Weird, Library
Various: Black Mass Rising OST (Black Mass Rising) 3LP/3LP+DVD
Veering from lysergic, sun-bleached kaleidoscopic visions and pulsing, trance-state musical emanations down into monochromatic, stark chiaroscuro graveyard imagery and harsh, claustrophobic outbursts of noise, Black Mass Rising, the debut film from the pseudonymous Shazzula Nebula, is quite the hypnagogic sensory overload. Filmed entirely on a camera-phone, this homage to Kenneth Anger’s classic experimental film Lucifer Rising is as much about the visual as it is the auditory, boasting a soundtrack composed of the crème de la crème of the dark side of the underground music scene welded to those hypnotic and oft-times chaotic images. Divided into two parts, essentially a ‘light’ and a ‘dark’ part, Black Mass Rising is an abstract impressionistic stream of manipulated imagery and visual moods that syncs up perfectly to its soundtrack, creating, in some ways, almost a visual album. This epic soundtrack includes exclusive tracks from: Master Musicians Of Bukkake, The Entrance Band, Sylvester Anfang II, Kawabata Makoto, Rose Croix, Ga’an, Mater Suspiria Vision, In Zaire, Mourning Ring, Horror Illogium, L’Acephale, Cultus Sabbati, Sayona, Sum of R, Kinit Her, Yoga, Aluk Todolo, Burial Hex, Menace Ruine, Demonologists, and Bobby BeauSoleil – with an outtake from his original Lucifer Rising soundtrack, which ties things back in very neatly. A killer collection of tracks making up one of the best collections of this style of music pieced together in a long time, and one hell of a soundtrack! Imported from France, available with or without the DVD.
File Under: Psych, Occult, OST, Trippy
…..new arrivals…..
Bobby BeauSoleil: Lucifer Rising Suite (Anja) 4LP Box
The Lucifer Rising Suite begins with the 1967 version of the soundtrack and continues through a logical sequence of the recordings made in the years spanning 1976-79. With respect to the latter, the original master tapes were mined for music that had not been heard by anyone in nearly three decades. The newly unearthed recordings were then restored, cleaned up and combined with those previously released to make the anthology as complete as possible. The compositions that comprise the Suite are sequenced in an order that tells a story, after a fashion. It is a story that may be impossible to tell in a strictly literary manner, one that — like a mirrors reflection into another — is both personal and allegorical. A complete anthology of the recordings made for the Lucifer Rising motion picture soundtrack by Bobby Beausoleil with The Freedom Orchestra and The Magick Powerhouse Of Oz. And, this third edition comes on colored vinyl. Each vinyl color scheme was personally chosen by Bobby to correspond to the art related to the jackets and center labels for each respective disc.
File Under: Kenneth Anger, Psych, Essential
Cosmic Dealer: Crystallization (Pseudonym) 2LP/2CD
Re-issue of cult Dutch psychedelic rock band COSMIC DEALER! Formed in Dordrecht in 1968, Cosmic Dealer were one of the most gifted Dutch bands to emerge from Hollands rich psychedelic scene. Their only album, Crystallization, has come to be regarded as an underground classic with copies changing hands among collectors for ungodly sums of money. Allying powerful heavy rock with softer acoustic sections, along with some sublime three-part harmonies, the album is reminiscent of the Pretty Things’ Parachute. Highlights include the magnificent Child Of The Golden Sun, the West Coast-flavored If There Is Nothing Behind The Hills, and the mesmeric title-track, which demonstrates that psychedelic rock was still very much alive and well in the Netherlands in 1971. This expanded 2CD edition presents the “Crystallization” LP in its entirety, along with a treasure trove of previously unreleased demos and live-tracks, all mastered from the original tapes in ear-caressing fidelity. Exclusively restored dynamic 24 bit remastering from the original master tapes. Original restored artwork. Deluxe 2CD digipack gatefold sleeve. Bonus-material includes the wonderful previously unreleased ’71 demo Winter (We’ll Be Walking), two versions of the thrilling instrumental Fast, taken from a live radio-session, a pile of album-session demos, single-mixes and a small clutch of 1973 demos. The CD booklet includes the stunning original artwork, plus rare photos and in-depth liner notes by Mike Stax.
File Under: Garage, Psych, Dutch
Devo: Hardcore 1 & 2 (Superior Viaduct) LP/2LP/2CD
In tomorrow… Superior Viaduct and Booji Boy Records are proud to present Devo’s Hardcore to a new generation of spuds, lovingly packaged with Moshe Brakha’s stunning cover photography. As David Bowie said in 1977, Devo is indeed “the band of the future.”. Devo’s Hardcore documents the group’s beginning as prepunk outcasts in the fertile Akron, Ohio, underground rock scene. Spawned at the nearby college of Kent State, site of the infamous May 4 Massacre, Devo formed as a conceptual art project armed with the radical philosophy of de-evolution. Brothers Mothersbaugh (Mark, Bob and Jim) and Brothers Casale (Jerry and Bob) along with drummer Alan Myers soon whipped up an otherworldly brand of ‘devolved blues’ that could hold its own alongside the beatnik groove of 15-60-75 (a.k.a. The Numbers Band) or the primal rock poetry of The Bizarros. Recorded on various four-track machines and in tiny studios, basements and garages between 1974-1977, Hardcore reveals their strikingly clear vision: rock ’n’ roll stripped bare of its collective cool and jerked back into propaganda fit for post-modern man. It’s no surprise that these transmissions would soon catch the eye and ear of Brian Eno, who later produced their landmark 1978 debut album. Noisy synth, strangled guitar chops and a primitive rhythmic thud power the early Devo sound. Threaded beneath it all are lyrical themes of post-McCarthy paranoia, middle-class ephemera and Devo’s long-running topic of choice: sex, or lack thereof. Few moments in pop music history can match the grinding, pent-up energy of ‘Mongoloid’ and the spastic bounce and sputter of ‘Jocko Homo’ (two anthems presented in their earlier and superior versions here). Cult favorites like ‘Mechanical Man’ and ‘Auto-Modown’ with the caveman hit ‘Be Stiff’, the space age surf-blues of ‘Clockout’ and even a demented take on bubblegum pop, ‘Goo Goo Itch’ makes this set essential listening.
File Under: Devo, Punk, New Wave
Egyptian Sports Network: Interstitial Luxor (New Images) LP
In tomorrow… New Satellite transmissions recorded in Pacific City Sound Visions Studio by Matt Mondanile of Ducktails and Spencer Clark of Pacific City Sound Visions. This futuristic tale of a Zero Gravity Sports network’s soundtrack being transmitted from the Olympic Space Station via Satellite feed, revealing an intuitive feel for the grace and immensity of space when brought into conjuction with the next advent in Transglobal Sports News Interstitial music. Five pieces of high energy portal from the difficult listening and metallic abstraction of “2042 Zero G Olypmics” to the Global Space Station Club Hit “JAI-LAi Nightclub.” A modern soundtrack to a film such as Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos,” ESN combines the the tele-prompt madness of current Global Sports Network with that of the blissful repetitions of ‘70s Minimalism. Think Sportscenter, but Intuit the the stream of your consciousness fed through satellites as it breaks through into the ether. “Like Christine Amanpour on Acid”, quoted from BBC Analyst.
File Under: Experimental, Ducktails, Real Estate, Skaters
Factrix: Scheintot (Superior Viaduct) LP
In tomorrow… Arguably the most prescient band of the entire late ‘70s San Francisco underground, Factrix released just one 7-inch and two pioneering LPs in the early ‘80s. Formed in 1978 by Cole Palme (one-time member of the LAFMS group Airway) and Bond Bergland (later of Saqqara Dogs), the two initially called themselves Minimal Man and performed a handful of shows along with Patrick Miller (who would go on to have a great solo career under the MM moniker). Soon they enlisted bassist Joseph T. Jacobs (Bay Of Pigs) and emerged from their Mission-district basement with their own unique take on the burgeoning English and New York post-punk scenes. The results were throbbing walls of damaged electronics, grim lyrical musings, droning bass, piercing guitar, and a modified Roland CR-78 played at 1/4 its slowest speed. Factrix’s sole “studio” album, 1981’s Scheintot, is a dark, moody, and penetrating work that grows more contemporary every year. Genuinely disturbing at times and often disorientating, it filters the influence of peers such as Cabaret Voltaire and DNA through the sonic and structural sensibilities of The Velvet Underground. An underappreciated masterpiece of the early industrial/No Wave era, Scheintot is a record that compels the listener to lift the needle from the run-out groove and listen again and again. Julian Cope describes it best: “Facrix’s Scheintot deserves to be experienced several times, preferably in the darkness and in a state of near exhaustion (and/or informed by psychoactive chemicals).” This first time reissue comes from the original analog source. LP with gatefold insert. CD with 16-page booklet, plus the “Empire of Passion b/w Splice of Life” single. Liner notes by Julian Cope.
File Under: Post Punk, Industrial, No Wave
Food Pyramid: Ecstasy & Refreshment (Intercoastal Artists) LP
In tomorrow… Food Pyramid’s new LP Ecstasy and Refreshment calls to mind Sky Records’ 1970s kraut-pop output filtered through 1990s DC futurism—Trans Am-esque motorik pop, Game Boy console sound effects and the current Mordant Music roster, particularly Echoplekz. Disembodied voices float in and out of the mix, reminiscent of Byrne / Eno’s ethnomusicology-inspired My Life in the Bush of Ghosts or The Residents’ Eskimo. There is a strange post-DC vibe here, much like if Dischord Records’ Black Eyes played ambient synth-jams instead of Wire-y punk. The record also calls to mind Cloudland Canyon, perhaps not surprising since Kip Uhlhorn from that band mastered Ecstasy and Refreshment and is helping to release it to a wider audience. Jana Hunter from Lower Dens, Nona Invie from Dark Dark Dark, and Tony Janas and Otto Junker from Deep Earth lent their collaborative efforts as well.
File Under: Sky Records, Kraut-pop, Eno
Human Expression: Love At A Psychedelic Velocity (Mississippi) LP+7″
Unbelievably great psychedelic garage rock from 1966-1968. Up there with the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, Love and the Seeds in quality but with an outsider edge to it. Tough as nails deep heavy group who never got the exposure they deserved back in the day. A few songs leaked out on vinyl on psych comps (Optical Sound, Love at a Psychedelic Velocity and Reading Your Will) but the rest has not been on vinyl until now. Beautiful singer/songwriter ballads and frantic rockers sit side by side creating a truly great lost classic of the 1960s. We couldn’t be happier with this record. Easily one of the best Mississippi releases ever. Comes with liner notes and a bonus 7″. Old school “tip on” cover with gold ink imprint on it.
File Under: 60s Garage/Psych, Nuggets, Pebbles
Isis: Celestial (Robotic Empire) 2LP
Isis’s classic debut full-length Celestial highlights the band’s roots in metal and hardcore while displaying the post-rock and ambient experimentation for which they became best known. It was described by Decibel Magazine as “a transitional record between the band’s early work and the post-metal benchmarks such as Oceanic… the elements of the greatness are present, but rawer, more direct.” With chugging sludge, expansive doom, droning metal and a nuanced use of keys, samples and noise, the album shifts between moments of complete devastation and graceful passages of sheer beauty. Isis came into their own with Celestial, mastering the flow of sonic dynamics and smoothly bringing sparse elements into an otherwise oppressively heavy sound. This unique and varied album, nearly an hour long, was their first captured by engineer Matt Bayles, who subsequently recorded Isis’s following three long-players. For this special reissue, Aaron Turner’s artwork has been fully re-imagined from the original elements, and the two discs are housed in a gatefold jacket with printed inner sleeves containing flood-black interior printing. Out of print for years, Celestial is finally available again with newly remastered audio, carefully crafted specifically for vinyl by longtime cohort James Plotkin.
File Under: Metal, Doom
Jook: Jook Rule Ok (Sing Sing) 2LP
In tomorrow… JOOK came on like bastard sons of The Who and, if this first ever collection of the band’s entire recorded works achieves anything, it should be to elevate the band from the Glitter Bin, and back to their rightful place as one of the greatest rock n’ roll acts ever.
File Under: Glam, Power-pop, Sing Sing
Andy Kaufman: Andy & His Grandmother (Drag City) LP/CD
In tomorrow… Andy Kaufman changed the worlds of comedy and performance in the 1970s, showing fans and friends alike a determination to follow put-ons into territory no one had ever even considered “comic” before. His fervor was so intense that when he passed away suddenly in 1984, it seemed as if the ultimate disappearing act had been staged; one that some people believe is still ongoing, with the reveal soon to come. This makes him the quintessential entertainer of our generation, a man ahead of his time and ours, and a force that has yet to be matched—even in the mega-saturated media world of the 21st century. Among the many things that Andy achieved in his lifetime (and in the years following), a phonograph album release, the staple of standup comedians in his time, never happened—until now. Andy and His Grandmother is material never heard before, a skimming from 82 hours of micro-cassette tapes that Andy recorded during 1977–79. Andy regarded the micro-tape recorder as a fantastic new way of capturing his hoaxing, and carried it with him everywhere, for use at any given moment. Real life was the ultimate frontier for him, and these tapes demonstrate the heart of Andy’s comedy. With gusto, he involves those closest to him, as well as total strangers, in put-ons, falsehoods and other provocations, pushing the limit on logic and emotional investment in everyday situations from the trivial to the deeply personal until any suspension of disbelief is out of the question for all involved, and everyone becomes fully immersed in whatever scenario Andy is suggesting as the new reality. With so much material on hand, we turned to a writer, producer and comedian whose resume indicated to us that he was a true child of Kaufman’s twisted talent. Since the late ‘90s, VERNON CHATMAN’s work has been experienced by television viewers and aficionados of South Park, Wonder Showzen, Xavier: Renegade Angel, The Heart She Holler, and Doggie Fizzle Televizzle, as well as fans of the Drag City DVD release Final Flesh. Vernon dug deeply into the tapes, coming up with a concept for a single LP that would include several dozen excerpts. Slowly and carefully, the final sequence was shaped. Along the way, Vernon produced several tracks, adding effects to pieces that were clearly unfinished (in particular, “Sleep Comedy”) and drafting SNL’s BILL HADER to provide narration for the journey. The finished album, with liner notes from Vernon and Kaufman cohort BOB ZMUDA, is a work of comedy for our times—one that was performed over thirty years ago.
File Under: Comedy
Cast King: Saw Mill Man (Mississippi) LP
Cast King of Old Sand Mountain was a great country singer/songwriter. His songs sound as if they have been here since the beginning of time. Some might say he sounds like the working mans Johnny Cash. For fans of Hank Williams and Townes Van Zandt, Cast will satisfy. Unique and soulful home recordings not to be missed. Old school “tip on” covers. A one time limited pressing.
File Under: Country, Back Porch Pickin’
LA Machine: Phases & Repetition (Castleface) LP
In tomorrow… “The year was 1996 (a guess really), when I had LA Machine play in our Olneyville warehouse space. It was the first time I danced in front of other people. (I was later told I was really good). I think maybe it was the first time I can recall where I stood in front of something I would consider modern psychedelic music. Not a rehash of some ghost from the past but something new to me. We had a plethora of hardcore, improv, and noise bands in New England… but this… this was something different. It was churning and it had a haunting floor-scraping ass on it. It had hints of nausea and a cyclic simplicity that to this day I still love and listen to often. Loudly, stoned, driving through the desert, laughing. They played and my friends skated the quarter pipe my flate mate had built…it was my first successful party and I thank La Machine for it. Rick Pelltier and John Loper have compiled these tunes for us to release post-mortem, but who knows…maybe they will come back to haunt a warehouse near you…OoOoOoOH. Every song reminds me of when I was younger, stronger, and faster. But now I know enough to realize how lucky I actually was to have this stuff around me. And now you can too. Enjoy.”—John Dwyer (4.30.13). Lovingly remastered from the original cassette with new original art by William Keihn.
File Under: Lo-fi Funk, New England
Craig Leon: Nommos (Superior Viaduct) LP
In tomorrow… First appearing incongruously on John Fahey’s Takoma label in 1981, Nommos remains enshrouded in impenetrable mystery—from its understated artwork to the rich assemblage of analog synths contained inside. According to Head Heritage, Nommos is the “missing link between the proto-industrial rhythm and drone of Suicide and the whole minimalist drone / static / repetition method of Terry Riley and La Monte Young.” Best known as a producer, Craig Leon worked on landmark debuts from Suicide, Richard Hell, The Ramones and Blondie. Rather than ape the early NYC punk that he helped foster, Leon’s own music is filled with lush textures and pulsating rhythm boxes. Comparisons can be made to German innovators such as Cluster and La Dusseldorf, yet Nommos is an unbalanced cosmos marked by anxious melodies, aggressive shifts and spiritual overtones. The name “Nommos” itself refers to mythical deities worshipped by tribes in West Africa. Some scholars have argued that the myth has extraterrestrial roots. While these are significant details for understanding the album’s peculiar meditative qualities, there was little context for these sounds upon their initial release. Even today, in the cold light of the early 21st century, Leon sounds fiercely contemporary. This first-time official reissue is mastered from the original analog tapes and pressed in a limited edition.
File Under: Takoma, Drone, Minimalism, Suicide
Loop: Fade Out (Reactor) 2LP
In tomorrow… Reactor Records is pleased to present the long-awaited vinyl reissue of Loop’s sophomore full-length Fade Out, first released on the Chapter 22 label in late 1988. Re-cut from the 2008 remasters by Kevin Metcalf, the album comes on its original format: a double-LP set pressed at 45 RPM for maximum fidelity, packaged in a gold gatefold sleeve. This 2013 edition is limited to 3000 numbered copies and includes a digital download postcard. Loop were loosely influenced by bands such as The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and The MC5, but retained an avant-garde and experimental edge from the likes of Can, Faust, Neu!, Rhys Chatham, Glenn Branca and minimalist systems music. Band founder Robert Hampson recently announced the group is reforming to play a series of shows in 2013 and 2014, beginning with a co-headlining spot at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival.
File Under: Ambient, Drone, Minimalism
Master Musicians Of Bukkake: Far West (Important) LP
In tomorrow… On Far West, the Master Musicians of Bukkake mark a turn from their Totem Trilogy. If the Totems were an expression of yang energy, then the Far West cycle is the yin that took seed within the trilogy. What happens when you travel so far east looking for enlightenment that you pass your destination and are headed west again? The mania of being lost in the mountains of the Cascade Corridor, searching aimlessly for the Northern Pacific coast. A spiritual Donner party of sorts, feeding off fantasy and mirages and imaginary shamans. Far West is the soundtrack to this expedition to the caves of light we all travel into with hopes of acquiring redemption, only to realize our bodies have dissolved—gone like rain from the sky, snow from the ground, thoughts from the mind. The sound of Far West is a progressive folk record inspired by Paul Giovanni’s Wicker Man soundtrack, early Canterbury prog folk, the suspenseful soundtracks of Goblin and Ennio Morricone, Gerry Goldsmith’s interwoven dark orchestrations, and Pacific Northwest folk rock. The Master Musicians of Bukkake take an earthly and shamanistic approach to these influences and infuse it with Krautrock pulses interweaved with acoustic guitars, intricately layered rhythms, hazed-out modular analog synths, brassy stabs, and cultish choirs. A true psychedelic, audiophile experience to dissolve your body in. Far West also features backing vocals by Sub Pop! recording artists Rose Windows, a deluxe cover illustration by Simon Fowler, and the amazing photography of Alison Scarpulia.
File Under: Psychedelic, Shamanism, Wicker Man, Occult
Mothers of Invention: Freak Out! (Barking Pumpkin) 2LP
2LP remastered reissue!! “This is the voice of your conscience, baby…” The recording debut of the Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention is a brilliantly wicked counter-strike to the flower power sensibilities prevalent at the time of it’s release in 1966. Arguably rock music’s first true “concept album,” Zappa’s aural collage mashes together chunks of psychedelic guitars, outspoken political commentary, cultural satire, and avant-garde musical sensibilities, and then hides it all under cleverly crafted pop melodies. Not diminished in the slightest by the passage of time, Freak Out! remains as vital and relevant today as it was in the 1960’s. –Andrew Boscardin
File Under: Zappa, 60s Psych, Satire, Freak Out!
No Means No: Wrong (Wrong) LP
Limited edition pressing of 1000 on red & white splatter vinyl! Issued in the fall of 1989, “Wrong” drew together all the elements of No Means No that had been developing over the previous 10 years. Featuring the original guitarist Andy Kerr, it was a pared down, punk rock headbanger but with the nuance & subtlety that has always set NMN apart from the genre. Features the additional bonus tracks “State of Grace” & “End of the World” – rare tracks taken from a single released by Mr Wrong in 1992.
File Under: CanCon, Punk, Wrong
Tragically Hip: Road Apples (Music On Vinyl) LP
uh… do you really need me to tell you about The Hip? Really? Anyway, this Canadian classic is finally available again on vinyl.
File Under: CanCon Classic, The Hip, Rock, Gord Downie
US Maple: Long Hair in Three Stages (Skin Graft) LP/DLX LP
In tomorrow… US Maple’s debut album, and the one that “rocks” the hardest with disjointed machinations, poppy locksteps, and jarring sideways excursions that all lead down a path to Nowheresville. The classic rock of tomorrow recorded yesterday (by Jim O’Rourke). If I’ve never told you, these guys were hands down the best live band I’ve ever seen. Ever.
File Under: “Rock”, Deconstructionalism, Fried, Skin Graft, Best
White Fence: s/t (God?) LP
In tomorrow… Restoring a lost gem to the crown of White Fence, God? is bringing the first, self-titled, White Fence album back to the vanguard. White Fence originally came out on San Francisco’s Make a Mess label; the CD is currently in print on Woodsist. Tim Presley’s been building a White Fence he can be proud of since back in 2010; his fourth trip to the other side of the fence just dropped and new pop music horizons continue to shimmer invitingly in all the music that he makes. If you walked into the party when the second album was playing or even the new one, those’re probably a great place to start too. But this first record is a REALLY good place to start. Tim’s a veteran of a few bands before White Fence, like Darker My Love, and he’s made records with Ty Segall and The Strange Boys too, but his own thing is very special, as you may know—a foolproof and ever-morphing approach to writing songs by bringing the freshness of lysergic ‘60s visions into the present day. This pressing returns White Fence to the LP shelf for the first time since the Saladin daze of 2010, when too few copies were made and they all went away. Now it is back, with all the bells and whistles intact (insert! stickers!) that made it such fun to ride in once upon a time not so long or so recently ago, either. It’s a perfectly balanced two-sided journey—and with “Be Right Too,” the best is saved for last, a melody that will haunt and linger in a righteous way. Leaving us to feel that this is what pop songs were meant to be. They were!
File Under: Woodsist, Pop, Lo-Fi, Ty Segall
Various: Perfect Like The Angels (Social Music) LP
Perfect Like The Angels is a private press / small regional label sourced gospel rarities compilation, culled directly from a handful of obscure spirit-filled 45s. Unlike many gospel collections before, Perfect Like Angels is church music at its most outsider, joyous and DIY; these singles were often paid for church congregations and/or performers themselves. That being said, the songs included here are pretty much impossible to get on your turntable until now. So we should all thank Social Music for this helping of Sunday morning soul cleansing: “Volume one of a two record set culled from Mike McGonigal’s acclaimed 2011 Tompkins Square 3CD set ‘This May Be My Last Time Singing.’ Never reissued on vinyl before. Get ready for sanctified soul, Pentecostal jams, drum machine gospel, slow-burning moaners, guitar sermons and ragged a cappela hymns! The music on this compilation was originally released on small label 45s, mostly in the 1960s and `70s. Includes liner notes insert. Limited pressing of 500 copies” HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. AMEN!
File Under: Gospel, Mississippi, Blues, Mike McGonigal
Various: The Art of Funerary Violin (Mississippi) LP
‘The Art of Funerary Violin’ presents a selection of works from the great masters of Funerary Violin dating all the way back to George Babcotte’s monumental Dirge, performed in 1586 for the funeral of Sir Philip Sydney. It includes works by Addleston, Meunier, Gratchenfleiss, Sudbury, Duibuisson and Eaton, covering the entire period when the Art was at the very centre of funerary ritual. The music is performed by members of the Guild of Funerary Violinists, under the direction of Rohan Kriwaczek, and is occassionally accompanied by Tobias James on bass drum.” Co- release with Ajna Records.
File Under: Funeral Violin, Mississippi
…..restocks…..
Marisa Anderson: Mercury (Mississippi) LP
Aphex Twin: I Care Because You Do (1972) LP
Aphex Twin: Richard D James Album (1972) LP
Baroness: First & Second (Hyperrealist) LP
Beirut: Flying Club Cup (Ba Da Bing) LP
Black Keys: Rubber Factory (Fat Possum) LP
Black Sabbath: 13 (Vertigo) LP
Burial: s/t (Hyperdub) LP
Bill Callahan: Apocalypse (Drag City) LP
Bill Callahan: Sometimes I Wish… (Drag City) LP
Chromatics: Night Drive (Italians Do It Better) LP
Gaspar Claus: Jo Ha Kyu (Important) LP
Coloured Balls: Ball Power (Sing Sing) LP
*Comus: First Utterance (Rise Above) LP
Converge: Caring & Killing (Hydrahead) LP
*Hot Snakes: Automatic Midnight (Swami) LP
*Hot Snakes: Suicide Invoice (Swami) LP
*Mammatus: s/t (Holy Mountain) LP
Oblivions: Desperation (In The Red) LP
Oh Sees: Carrion Crawler (In The Red) LP
Oh Sees: Help! (In The Red) LP
*Om: Advatic Songs (Drag City) LP
*Om: Variations on a Theme (Holy Mountain) LP
Queens of the Stone Age: Rated R (Interscope) LP
Reigning Sound: Too Much Guitar (In The Red) LP
Rockin’ Horse: Yes It Is (Sing Sing) LP
She & Him: Volume 1 (Merge) LP
She & Him: Volume 2 (Merge) LP
She & Him: Volume 3 (Merge) LP
Smog: A River Ain’t Too Much To Love (Drag City) LP
Smog: Knock Knock (Drag City) LP
*Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (Goofin) 4LP
*Stereolab: Dots & Loops (1972) LP
*Colin Stetson: New History Warfare 2: Judges (Constellation) LP
*Sun City Girls: 300,003 Crossdressers From The Rig Veda (Get Back) 3LP
*Sun City Girls: Dante’s Disneyland Inferno (Get Back) 3LP
Them: Now & Them (Spiral Groove) LP
Them: Time Out! Time In! (Spiral Groove) LP
T Rex: Slider (Fat Possum) LP
*Kurt Vile: Constant Hitmaker (Woodsist) LP
White Fence: Cyclops Reap (Castle Face) LP
White Fence: Is Growing Faith (Castle Face) LP
…..used goodies…..
Kevin Ayers: Confessions of Dr. Dream & Other Stories (Island) LP
Beach Boys: Endless Summer (Capitol) 2LP
Black Sabbath: Paranoid (Warner) LP
David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust (RCA) LP
Arthur Brown: Crazy World of (Polydor) LP
Bruce Cockburn: s/t (True North) LP
Leonard Cohen: Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia) LP
Creedence Clearwater Revival: Cosmo’s Factory (Fantasy) LP
Deep Purple: Machine Head (Warner) LP
The Doors: Absolutely Live (Elektra) 2LP
The Doors: Morrison Hotel (Elektra) LP
The Doors: 13 (Elektra) LP
Fleetwood Mac: Tusk (Warner) LP
Golden Earring: Moontan (MCA) LP
Gong Kebyar, Sebatu: Bali: Gamelan Music From Sebatu (Archiv Produktion) LP
Jimi Hendrix Experience: Smash Hits (Reprise) LP
Harry James & His Big Band: The King James Version (Sheffield Lab) LP
Keith Jarrett: Solo Concerts: Bremen/Lausanne (ECM) 3LP Box
Led Zeppelin: I (Atlantic) LP
Led Zeppelin: II (Atlantic) LP
Mothers of Invention: Mothermania (Verve) LP
The Mothers: Just Another Band From LA (Reprise) LP
Perth County Conspiracy: Does Not Exist (Columbia) LP
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon (Harvest) LP
Pink Floyd: The Wall (CBS) LP
Pink Floyd: Ummagumma (CBS) 2LP
Rolling Stones: Goat’s Head Soup (Rolling Stones) LP
Ravi Shankar: Music Festival From India (Dark Horse) LP
Star Wars OST (20th Century Fox) 2LP
Talking Heads: Fear of Music (Sire) LP
Stevie Wonder: Songs In The Key Of Life (Motown) 2LP