905.1: Tusco Terror + Wether - 'Giver' split C20 $6
"on new years day i made a 400+ mile trek to cleveland, oh in which moods were low, weather was shitty, and i only had one pair of socks and some canvas shoes, which don't do shit to protect your feet in mounds of snow. in a couple of hours snot was pouring out of my face and I felt like dying right where i stood. by midnight or so tusco terror was ripping it and i thought "yeah, this is exactly what should be happening right now". dudes were spilling themselves over a mess of cables and semi-functional equipment. just pure blown out destruction. not sure how long it was before i asked them to do this split, but here it is. kind of like a documentation of falling down, getting up, and stumbling through the haze. disgruntled material from both parties."

905.16: Pillars Of Heaven - 'Breeding Moths' C30 $6
"light bending, guitar gush from philadelphia peasant magician salvatore giorgi. side a, "the old ways", plays like newton's law of reciprocal actions laid onto magnetic tape. like levitating above overgrown fields until the skies fill with ash and everything is laid baron. side b, "gallows weed", is a (impressively recorded) live track from a house show in 2007. this should prove for once and all that even socially awkward, home-schooled hermits can emit feeling."

HERE

CV-50 Robe. self titled C90 $5(North AM)/$7(world)
"long hidden recordings from back in 2006. dark and broody creepshow. Cavernous chamber fidelities and heavy engine bass frequencies fuel this 6 track 70+ minute monster and make for one heavy trip to headspaces-unknown...at times its like a black cloud orchestra when the bass, guitar, and trombone are all chugging and motoring at once...you think you're in a cave...but its actually a mouth." 50 copies. SAMPLE

CV-51 Slow Listener - 'Behold!' C30 $5(North AM)/$7(world)
"Sugarcanes for the inner ear...best way to clean them. the man who makes drones dance and sing offers 2-15 minute sides of strangely melodic tonal crust, interweaving in and out of itself...making for one intensely melodic magic carpet ride. Side A offers warmth and vibrance in the chaos. Side B, very intense pensivity..sadness taking a moment to ponder the logistics, moments of numb while navigating a heavy focused flight." special ed. of 39 copies. SAMPLE

CV-52 Xiphiidae - 'Star Dive' C10 $5(North AM)/$7(world)
"Slight of hand, never shy of light. Side A: Levitation is created by the omnipresent force of light, metaphysical prowess and awareness channelled from warmth and embrace. Side B: The overwealming truth, in our present existance the answer to the nature of all is always too hard to fathom-its frightening, but in the afterlife its all we have...thus it really is a wonderfull thing, the kindest thing..the honest arms of light itself." 47 copies. SAMPLE

CV-53 Hunting Rituals - 'Wood Haunts' CDr+ 1-sided C60 $8(North AM)/$10(world)
"1 sided c60: Kamakaze horn, diseased and ferral cdr: ghosted...mourning...blind meditation...sharpen teeth with raw steel....full moon ahead...skwauk and squeal." 33 copies made.

CV-55 Gutted Piano CDr $4(North AM)/$6(world)
"yup. title says it all." ltd. to 23

OR 2$/4$ with purchase of 3 cv releases OR 2$/4$ if bought with Hunting Rituals "Wood Haunts" chose colour, ive got green, red, grey, blue. also, any 3 CV titles for 12$NorthAM/15$World (and CV-55 discount rules still apply happily)

Hunting is for assholes. Buy tapes instead: WEBSITE

A note from Abandon Ship:

Just trying to clean house a bit to make room for some upcoming vinyl releases! They won't be done for a few more months, but I will keep you informed. So for the months of July and August, I am offering a deal on all ASR releases:

-Buy one 7", and get any 2 releases of your choice for free
-Buy any 3 tapes/cdrs/3" cdrs and get 1 release of your choice for free
-Buy any 5 tapes/cdrs/3" cdrs and get 2 releases of your choice for free
-Buy any 7 tapes/cdrs/3" cdrs and get 3 releases of your choice for free

Just include which free release(s) you want in the Paypal notes. This sale applies to all customers throughout the world... Great time to get caught up with the back catalog of releases. HERE

I can only imagine that is due to a fleeting and simultaneous flirtation, a confusion of affiliations, or most likely, a confusion of one-off statuses, that until this very moment I’ve conflated the bands Graveyards and Religious Knives; for anyone familiar with both groups, this will seem as ridiculous as I feel when listening to ‘Resin’, the latter’s most recent release, a collection of three (more or less) small-press releases with an added three tracks to entice even the most vigilant of collectors. That is, as the grime recycled to prolong a hundred highs, ‘Resin’ is a blackened collection of choice residue from the band’s young career, accumulated on tour CDrs and vinyl tokens. Reviewing the band’s catalog in preparation, the first flag went up for their split release with Woods, a most un-noisy psychedelic project so complimentary to the Deep Purple stomp and bleary keys of “The Sun”, the Knives’ contribution from that fleeting release reproduced here: made of Maya Miller and Mike Bernstein of Double Leopards, Nate Nelson of Mouthus, and bassist Todd Cavello, it didn’t take long for the group to grope their way out of the dense and into the dank, as only the earliest exhibitions may vindicate my prior confusion: a rich, “Riders on the Storm” sense of directionless and jam permeates the eight tracks, quelling any concerns that this thing might stand on it’s own; with a median length of eight and a half minutes, there is likewise little deviation, sustaining this tone throughout the disc. Amon Duul and Can are easy marks for building a genealogy, while White Magic and the faint Red Kites serve as modern, RIYL coterie in essence, if not demeanor. Opener “In the Back” reaches the furthest, with a piecemeal, tribal beat and track-long reverberation rippling high in the background; Bernstein’s acid howl repeats the title, buried under the guitars as if signifying his location. Compliment “Luck” is a melancholy stretch of receding percussion and patchy, aimless vocals, a lonely harmonica’s whistling introduces just the right amount of camp in a Harry Nilsson style crocheted within the vacant airs of organ blows. “Everything Happens Twice” may be the collection’s highlight, as the most “happens”, from lyrical disagreement to rhythmic switches and defined verses which so often collapse in the haze of the other tracks. Guest drummer Dave Nuss helps construct the exclusive tracks “Twelve Bottles and One White Cone, Parts I and II” with a subtler, albeit more ornate skeleton complimenting the erratic surges of reverb and the organ’s petulance, Bernstein’s jawing held steady through the suite with just delicate alterations in bass rhythms and an extended finale raving slowly skyward. A bonus, live recording of “In the Back” ends the disc with a rendition made rawer by Miller’s vocals and the embellishments of feedback and a live room, revealing a more detailed set of guitars not subject to as much processing. CD comes in patented No Fun gatefold with new and recycled art by Miller and Jeremy Earl, with mastery by James Plotkin. Highly recommended. (No Fun CD, $12 HERE)

Rayon 18 Towering Breaker feat. Ben Morris - 'Like Light' C30
"These recordings see TB teamed up with Chora gong/bowl hero Ben 'mad dog' morris, laying down a thick watery mass of germs, sloth and fear. cover photos by the man with the golden lense Joincey." edition of 50

Rayon 17 YS TRYS C40
"Gritty basement jams from two of stuckometer's finest stir up a foggy blend of mutant riffs/midnight moods/free splutter. cover photos by legendary Joincey." edition of 50

WEBSITE

SIC ALPS - "United" 7" $5
"This merch table gem is a one sided 7" limited to 1000 copies. 500 on blue, 200 on red, 200 yellow and 100 on green. Contained on this thick piece of love is a rockola version of Throbbing Gristle's track United. This will be gone fast and won't be repressed."

CARLOS GIFFONI - 'Zamura' LP $14
"Limited edition of 300 copies in a heavy stock screen printed jacket.
A Zamuro is a dark South American vulture of great size. Zamuro is also a solo composition piece for portable synth and analog filter. Side A on this LP is a live realization of this piece recorded at the Compound in San Francisco in 2006 (Mastered by Lasse Marhaug). Carlos composed and performed this piece live on several tours in the US/Europe/Japan all trough out 2006 and 2007, if you saw him live in those two years this is the piece he performed. This was the most complete version of it that made it to tape. Side B is a studio piece recorded live on a much larger modular synth, based around the same theme, but with structural and tonal variations not in the original composition. .This is pure psychedelic electronic music. Cover illustration by Megan Ellis. Screen printed at Monoroid."

HERE

ace014: steve gunn - 'sundowner' CD $13/$18 CD+CDr edition
"Steve Gunn is probably best known as a key component to the mighty GHQ with Marcia Bassett (Double Leopards) and Pete Nolan (Magik Markers), but his solo efforts have been even more impressive. With a couple limited & hard-to-find CDRs under his belt and a few offerings under the moniker Moongang, Gunn is ready to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight with his first proper CD. This music is finely tuned and expertly crafted by Gunn's capable hands, showing his skill not only as a guitarist, but as a songwriter as well. "Sundowner" may short & sweet, but it has an epic feeling. Gunn reaches deep into the vaults to line the walls with hypnotic acoustic guitar dirges, organic drones, and banjo ditties. And unlike any of his previous work, he also unleashes his voice on three songs, showing that not only can he play with the best of them, he can sing too. When he's not wowing the listener racing around the fretboard, his simple but effective vocal hooks are sinking themselves deep into the confines of your memory." Limited to 500 copies in 2-color black gatefold jackets. **NOTE: Special 2-disc edition features bonus CDR with collaborative tracks between Steve Gunn and a) Marcia Bassett & Tom Carter b) Marc Orleans (Sunburned) c) Heidi Diehl (Vanishing Voice). It is strictly limited to 100 handstamped & handnumbered copies** HERE

ltd#18: leo fabriek + mariska baars + rutger zuydervelt + wouter van veldhoven - 'live edits' C34 $7/$9
"most people will probably recognize the main projects that this group of dutch artists are involved in: julie mittens, machinefabriek, & soccer Committee. so it's pretty exciting when they all get together to make music. "live edits" collects two side-long tracks from two separate sessions, both in march of this year. beautiful drones that flicker like powerflashes in the distance unfold slowly. using an array of instrumentation such as harmonium, guitar, voice, & taperecorders, the group keep things simple. these recordings glow. they are warm and inviting, but never lose sight of the golden sun that beams from the horizon. stunning music." SAMPLE

ltd#21: goodwillies - 'greenmachines for all the childrens' C30 $7/$9
"tim goodwillie is the man with a plan. as 1/3 of the mighty (VxPxC), he's got something just for you, just in time for summer. this tape unleashes some ass-shakin' synthesized rhythms - full of fluff and overcooked grooves. goodwillie smokes the greenweed for the greenmachines and makes his pro-one purr. distortion laden beats suck all the air out of the room. it just grows and grows and grows. "greenmachines for all the childrens" is a final document from the streets of los angeles before these sweet pioneers relocate back home and join us in the midwest. as the goodwillies embark toward kansas city, we welcome them with open arms." limited to 50 handnumbered copies with silkscreened handmade paper covers. SAMPLE

ltd#23: sea zombies - 'it died in africa' C41 $8/$10
"the first incarnation of sea zombies was entombed at bottled smoke in 2007. that one-off performance featured john xela, jefre cantu-ledesma, gregg kowalsky, jed bindeman, & myself. but the original intent of the project was always as a duo between xela & the north sea, with assorted special guests thrown into the mix in various places. it seemed appropriate, then, that the first ever sea zombies release consisted of stripped-down duo recordings. both tracks were launched into the stratosphere during xela's boozed-out visit to tulsa in march of 2008. much blackness was birthed. much ginger beer was consumed. "it died in africa" is the first thing we recorded during that fitful week in early spring. accompanied by dudes in africa sermonizing in french, walls of synthesized ruins were blown to bits with oscillating shards of burned-out glass. thick and syrupy and ready for consumption." packaged in oversized black envelopes with gold lettering which house the tape (with black-on-gold cover), insert, and a different african tarot card with each copy. limited to 100 handnumbered copies. LOOK

WEBSITE

Like the recent long-player by Mincemeat or Tenspeed, the three pieces of ‘Unstringed Guitar & Cymbals’ by Alan Courtis capitalizes on those unsung laborers of guitar music: the body, boards, and crafted details of the instrument, sans strings and pick-ups (a contact mic is placed on the heart of the guitar to gather sound). Recorded wintertime in Buenos Aires, seasoning and such information is ultimately irrelevant in the cold plate of Ascorbico Studio, where the contour-less shapes of unstringed sound blossom acoustically with the accompanying sear of cymbals, exercised more as a tonic than meter. Nor is the concept of the unstringed guitar attacked in any particularly experimental or academicized way; rather, with the same merry indulgence as the droner, power tool, or free-reformist, Courtis feels out a hunkering monolith with each double-digit entry, disposing of Menche’s multi-tracked tact while retaining his label mate’s bright colors and holism. “Cardamomo” builds with restrained volume for ten minutes before even a submerged figure can be recognized, and then the phasing foreground stands always ready to collapse with the high rumble in the back, all dimensions of the track pressing toward an infinity which refuses a prevailing lead. On “Coriandro”, a richer collection of percussive contact babble idles behind a waning tide of sharp cymbal clamor which, on its ebb, uncovers an unattributed whistle accompanied by a similar loaming like whale song bent from the toothless vessel of a guitar. The third takes a familiar form to the second, as “Fenogreco” samples a similar percussive looping which welcomes a clashing onslaught of shimmering pitches of maximal volume and a wilting chorus of whistling spirits over glassy organum. A stately appearance! CD comes in a handsome digipak. (Blossoming Noise CD, $13 HERE)

The next bundle of 7"s from the L'animaux Tryst 'Haunt' series:

LTH 707: visitations & big blood - ''lectric 'lashes'
"in the true spirit of the occasion, southern maine's outerworldly psych-folk beacons visitations and big blood decide to forgo the concept of the "split" release and instead launch forth into a mindbending collaborative effort. the bands are not new to performing together: they've toured together and have even backed each other up under various names. but this release marks the first physical release by their combined forces, and, unbelievably enough, is big blood's first vinyl release ever. the ease with which the bands complement each other is astounding - five clear voices reaching together to guide the record through a buzz-guitar singalong, a breathless pastoral folk tune, a chugging nightmare rock-dirge, and a sweetly-lighthearted vocal exercise. this 33rpm 7" record contains four tracks in a 14-minute official runtime, but will play forever if you let it." in addition, the record comes with a bonus cd-r of tracks from the late-night jam session that pre-dated the recording sessions for the 7", as well as the four tracks from the 7" itself in digital form. a one-of-a-kind package, with each record sleeve offset printed with the bands' artwork in dark blue ink on colorful, individually hand-painted sheets of heavy art paper. embossed, hand-numbered limited edition of 300 record/cd-r sets.

LTH 708: prisma & drona parva - 'best buds' 7"
"the two spectral ladies of prisma mark their debut release with this 7" split with drona parva. prisma has been performing the quietest shows in and around portland for a couple years now, mixing softly echoing vocals with flute drones, only the gentlest plucking of various stringed instruments, and the occasional analog noise rumble. their a-side track resonates with beautiful restraint and delicacy; the stunning debut all of us entranced by their live show have hoped for. on the b-side, drona parva--the long-running solo project of time-lag records' nemo bidstrup--turns in a blissed-out muti-tracked free-flowing guitar composition. trance-inducing acoustic plucks and strums eventually give way to shimmering waves of fuzz guitar until the whole thing becomes impossibly beautiful. the minimal packaging for the record complements the gentle touch of the recordings held within." the 45rpm 7" record is a custom, slightly-marbled avocado green color with a yellow-green mandala-design center-label. the record is held in a semi-transparent vellum sleeve that has been hand-punched on the corners, giving a soft mask to the striking colors on the record itself, and hand-numbered to 300.

LTH 709: the north sea - "nikolette (reborn)" b/w corsican paintbrush - "under storm skies"
"anyone familiar with the extensive north sea discography is aware of brad rose's keen ability to mix it up between eastern-tinged folk instrumentals and more straightforward strummers, which usually feature rose's classic low-in-the-mix mumble-drunk vocals and charmingly loose playing. "nikolette (reborn)" finds him revising a beautiful, quivering folk song from 2007's baby blue bones cd (mymwly) with the more-confident-than-ever vocals now at the forefront, and an army of acoustic strings and hand percussion backing this boxtop prophet's hymn. corsican paintbrush's contribution follows suit, foregrounding eden hemming rose's soft, lilting vocal melody and some rhythm-driving strums while keeping a lush, hazy swell of drones and cave-echo vocals as the backdrop. equally ethereal and dusty, like 4AD dream-pop marred by dirt under fingernails and ash from the campfire turning cheeks black." black 7" vinyl record has a hand-stamped center label, and comes packaged in a textured black art paper sleeve with flower petal inclusions, with line-drawings and stamped titles in white ink, and an embossed screenprinted insert featuring liner notes and a topographic street map of tulsa. limited edition hand-numbered to 300.

These three 7" records are bound together with kite string and available for $24 US or $28 Worldwide, shipping included. The first two editions of the Tryst Haunt Series are still available, as are full subscriptions for this year's twelve 7" records (still to come: GHQ, Vollmar, and Elephant Micah in September). Please visit the new "work-in-progress" label WEBSITE.

Argumentix - 'Boss of Goth' CD $7
"This is the first album I wish to be remembered by. Recorded through a bleak year of my life, 2006, Boss of Goth is an album of power-mourning, demon-fighting and vengeance-fucking. Trapped inside despair over the death of true love, childhood, and joy, I have always clung voraciously to a promise of a better tomorrow. I finished this album in March of 2007 and held on to it until now to make sure I would still love it enough to make 500 of them. Boss of Goth includes industrial punk and pop style songs with occasional fleeting dance beats and bursts of harsh noise. Vocals are the central focus, creating sweet pop ballads and lurking creep-stalker punk melt-downs. A variety of microphone processing accompanying sequencers, drum machines, and tons and tons of manipulated cassette tapes. Twisted collage journeys and quick punches to the throat. A fitting comparison perhaps half joking: To Live and Shave in LA meets Nine Inch Nails, with the spirits of Edward Ka-Spel, Suckdog, and bedroom four track. Includes 6 songs that have appeared regularly in live performances. Oh yeah, and I play piano on the last track. Album includes two hidden bonus tracks. The first a live performance caught at the end of my "temper tantrum approach" to harsh noise performance. The second is Dragging an Ox Through Water (aka Brian Mumford) singing a cover of my song "Save Life's Golden Receipt in Case Refund Needed." Both were recorded at Someday Lounge by Ryan Olson." CD comes with a 12 page booklet with lyrics. Cover art by Brian Mumford. HERE

SOD-38 Ajilvsga - 'Asleep Amongst the Thick Weeds' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"Asleep Amongst the Thick Weeds" could very well serve as a statement of intent for Brad Rose and Nathan Young's Ajilvsga duo. Here, over the course of one simply MASSIVE 45 minute track, the pair navigate an astounding range of electronic detritus sourced from synthesizers and boutique pedals, offering deep, ringing chorals which collapse into unforgiving torrents of sine waves and hissing analog crunch."

SOD-55 ACRE - 'Painless' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"Acre is the solo endeavor of Portland's Aaron Davis, with prior releases on Yarnlazer and Black Horizons, and a full length LP due out soon on Arbor. "Painless" is a carefully composed, intensly FOCUSED study of HEAVY tone. Clocking in at 79 minutes, it is perhaps the most daunting and awe-inspiring Acre missive to date, with Davis casting looong, cascading drone spells which are as impossibly heavy as they are narcotically hypnotic. Don't miss this one."

SOD-72 Treetops - 'In the Everglades' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"New recordings by Arbor frontman Mike Pollard. Pollard continues to push his sound in different directions, here he melds bleary drones with smears of FX-hazed voice and keyboard half-melodies, floating this fragile mess overtop throbbing percussive elements with downright disorienting results. Another compelling document from this fresh faced Chicago lad."

SOD-75 Sparkling Wide Pressure - 'Touching Pasture' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"Following a stellar release on the newly minted Digitalis LTD. imprint, Frank Baugh returns with another collection of crackly bedroom nodout. Baugh's compositional sensibility is rooted in nostalgia, as evidenced by the cover photo (an image of his younger self). Sonically, it's one big fog of garbled radio transmissions, voice and sprawling, Appalachian guitar lines. Wonderful, moving stuff."

SOD-76 Caboladies - 'Earth Canal' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"For the uninitiated, Caboladies are a trio of fine gents from central Kentucky who have, heretofore, kept a relatively low profile, releasing just a handful of small run tapes and cdrs on various Kentucky imprints, including their own Smooth Tapes label. The Cabos utilize various synths, keyboards and pedals to generate dense, swirling malestromes of sound rife with microcosmic detail. Not a million miles from recent Astral Social Club flights. Full length Caboladies CD on Students of Decay, late 2008/early 2009."

SOD 78 David Kirby - 'The Scythe' CDr (ltd 100) $7
"David Kirby returns for his second outing on Students of Decay, following 2006's "Inside, it is Ringing." "The Scythe" may well be David's most realized composition to date. A veritable cornucopia of source material hammered and melted into shape, forming a truly vast, humming universe of sound. The drones which drift throughout remind me of something from Christoph Heemann's backcatalog. But far from being so easily pigeonholed, David's use of found sound, samples and other wry "appropriations" renders this piece and sound very much his own. Keep your eyes peeled for a full length proper CD from David here on SOD later this year."

or all six for $38

WEBSITE

RYAN JEWELL CDr £4
"New - very short - piece from this Ohio based percussionist experimentalist whose collabed with a buncha folks recently (C.Spencer Yeh, Fossils...). One extremely minimal piece of drone using a snare, totally acoustic with an insane ending... n Ryans words 'it's all acoustic. Supersonic acoustic sine waves interfering with one another making audible sweeps, etc. It's all just a floor tom. Secret fuckin' ninja jedi mind moves and shit'..." Edition of 80 in gold sprayed and stickered sleeves of painted and stamped sleeves, everyone individual in either marron, black or white papers... HERE

Reversing the path of contemporaries, compatriots, and champions Tarentel, the latest vinyl release (and debut 7") by California’s Starving Weirdos moves from the band’s increasingly loose-form psychedelia (their ‘Home Ruckus’) and concrète ambience (‘Ghost Weight’ maybe?) to the equivalent sounds of the ‘We Move Through Weather’ coup [perhaps a strong word for some] as reinforced by the ‘Big Black Square’ and ‘Paper White’ EPs. With a similar move toward percussion-rich industrialization, the Weirdos (here in two different configurations of three) play a heavy-handed loop called “Absolute Freedom” with steely marching drums, wheezing anti-vocals and a churning drum of organ patterns, all clipped with an almost locked-groove repetition. A more familiar construction ends the piece with lots of open space and ambient texture made of recording effluvia, suggesting all the more an intentional experiment in this new sonic aggression. On the reverse, “Mt. Josephet” continues the barrage of punctuations, now like the heavy engagement of freight on tracks clacking a steady if not speedy intensity which is in periods submerged under the pandemonium of an electronics swirl, droning with the occasional feedback flare-up, and then narrated out with a belligerent dictation shouting from within the storm. Though the close comparison to Tarentel might be dashed away by some "degrees of separation" over-statement, the source of these recordings from quite early in the Weirdos' career (hence the different line-ups) suggest an even truer parallel between bands, and an acceptable contradiction of any reverse development. On black vinyl, the record comes in a handsome screened sleeve with glossy postcard insert. A gorgeous little package and a vinyl first for Abandon Ship Records – and in this regard, something of an unusual choice for a first release – I would have liked to see three more inches attached to each side; hopefully this signals the phonographic turn for ASR, one of the most aspiring young labels out today. Limited to 500. (Abandon Ship 7”, $7.5 HERE)

HNT010 – Locrian/Colossus C50 $5
"Split tape from Chicago's Locrian and New Hampshire's Colossus. Locrian presents a live track of forward moving drone and bass while Colossus maneuvers subtly about soft harmonica tones and ambient guitar." Limited to 100. HERE

From Riverside, California’s eclectic man/band/myth Whitman comes the fourth full-length, ‘White Sunrise’: 12 songs of various bedroom-shaped configurations, with titles like “The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All” and “Children and Other Garden Creatures” which hint from the offset at a certain closeted fantasma, so effectively confirmed in the explicit, exquisite, expressionistic lyrics and vocal punctuations complementing scuffed and scraped instruments. Arriving courtesy his own Folktale records (with help from Shrimper), Whitman’s struggle with the “F” word at times obscures in the denial of tracks like “Chasing Rabbits”, “Blood in the Fur”, and “Sweet Nothings”: stark, baroque guitar performances with an undeniable nod to Devendra Banhart’s wry bubble of a voice and dodgy sense of melody; the help of both she and he backing vocals only bolsters the similarities, as the creaky-cracked harmonies of Banhart’s early experiments are repressed with an inscribed practice which both recalls those nostalgic times and makes this mode Whitman’s own. On the other side of the equation, the band’s inquisitions of a variety of instruments and instrumentalities provides a nice scattering of understatement which rebukes the convention of the folk tag. Members of a loose West Coastal network of artists including the Dead Science, Carla Bozulich, and practically everybody accumulated in the punctuation mark of San Diego’s Che Café, the band invites dissonant/Jandek timbres of a certain ethereal quality as favored by many of their compatriots, perhaps best illustrated here in the accordion keys and distinct strings of John Thill and Anni Rossi, familiar to much of the collective, as well as barely-there additions of clarinet, sax, and cello.

The very anti-thesis of the album’s first and last minutes expresses well these competing musical slants, as reckless percussion and feedback are tossed into a futile heap of electrified noise – a false start and stop from the Lightning Bolt school of non-music. And it is with this that the album retains its imperfections in the undecided rebellion/collusion with the freaks through “Tanning in the Sun”, a quaky-voiced relapse into jangly “indie” music perhaps better suited to the uneven, quiet-loud outbursts of early Midwesterners Bright Eyes or Boys Life - in other words, more Crank! than Not Not Fun. Yet the easiness of this track with the rest testifies to the protean nature of these songs, ready for the studied beauty of highlight “Blood in the Fur” as quickly as the Tom Waits one-off “The Elephant Song” which in hind-sight feels more out of place than the raucous instrumentals which bookend the album. “Keep Your Chin Up Kid” appears late with a unique sobriety and restraint which lends the song a gratis dimension of sincerity, as a simple three notes are plucked to a lonesome whisper, more exhalation than singing. Final piece “Claustrophobic in Your Arms” is ironically the only track not recorded directly inside the ear, affecting a cavernous space populated by the same sparseness of sound and the neurotic romance of Patty Waters. In total, the package reads like a young career’s commitment to songwriting - perhaps not always lifted directly from the stars, but persistently crafted and practiced – resulting in a rich collection of songs, often nuanced to a challenging fault. On white vinyl with silver stickers, with two-ink screened recycled covers and a thick book of lyrics. Limited to 500 copies. (Folktale LP, $12 HERE)

I cannot seem to recall my sole experience with Long Legged Woman from the very fine ‘Deeded to Itself’ compilation of bands from Athens, Georgia. I remember liking it, but after hearing the band’s latest 7” release, I wouldn’t believe I had ever encountered them. In the least, they’ve changed overwhelmingly. Recalling the noise and noise-rock/noise of that disc, the ominous title “Something is Pressing Against it from the Inside” and raucous cover art of this disc prepared me well for a 45 RPM onslaught of heat-sick scrabble and perhaps some fancy jabs of amp on amp frequency duel; instead, we find a genuine composition from the quartet, a heat-weary psych-rock emerging from a bouncy Pitchblende post-rock into something resembling a Deep Purple demo reel of the sort Sic Alps cants so well: varying meters and reverb-obscured vocals bemoaning the title over a clanging crest of guitars feigning pseudo-solos. On the reverse, “Scalpels in the Sky” departs percussion for an even deeper wash of reverb, mixing several currents of vocals with a fine detail of rhythm guitar and the yawning song of a harmonium – something akin to Syd Barrett as approached by Hush Arbors. At a few scarce minutes apiece, I’m still trying to figure this all out, how they flipped it so well - perhaps a long-player would help [hint]. On minty-green barf colored vinyl with grey labels, in a colorful pro-sleeve. Limited to 300 copies. A split-release with Pollen Season. (Thor’s Rubber Hammer 7”, $6.5 HERE)

From the mighty IKUISUUS, every album ever made:

BOOK OF SHADOWS - '777' CD (IKU-010) 10€
"The Book of Shadows CD 777 on the label Ikuisuus is the bands seventh release. The band was formed in 1999 when ST 37 founder Carlton Crutcher and his wife Sharon began seeking a magical, improvisational musical outlet. The band has stayed true to this vision for 9 years of live shows, studio recordings and numerous musicians. All of the recordings on 777 were recorded in 2007 and represent a peak for Book of Shadows as a live band as well as a studio band. For this CD, Sharon on vocals and Carlton on keys, are joined by Eric Archer (Numbers on the Mast) on guitar/electronics, long time Book of Shadows guitarist/composer Aaron Bennack, guitarist Jonathan Horne (Plutonium Farmers), Johnny McCollom (Primordial Undermind) on percussion, Matt Thies (Numbers on the Mast) on keys/electronics, Greg Elliott (Spagirus) on dulcimer, and Vanessa Rossetto (The Mighty Acts of God, Bright Duplex, Pulga, etc...) on viola, bowls and bells!!!....You are the magic that you make." EDITION OF 500 copies.

HETERO SKELETON - 'Hasardi' CD (IKU-009) 10€
"Second full lenght CD from Finnish noise weirdos. A 40 min goof parade." EDITION OF 500 copies.

MY3YEAH s/t CDr (IS-019) 5€
"MY3YEAH started last year as a duo formed by Tomas Müller and GMC. Tomas also released one CD-R in Canada with another group and GMC released a 3" solo CD-R on Music Your Mind Will Love You label. Tomas did a tour in Japan in 2003/2004, playing and recording with the late Jutok Kaneko, also gigs with Kei of Hanadensha and Tori Kudo of Maher Shalal Hash Baz, among many others. GMC played in Vlüba some years before they started releasing material worldwide, then he did a tour in Chile doing noise shows with many local acts. Nowadays Tomas is playing with Roberto "Moncho" Conlazo of Reynols, the name of the band is UFO Zion and we recorded at a studio twice, now we are mixing the tracks. Soon I guess you'll hear all about it. Back to MY3YEAH, we did several sessions (one is from 1999, but with another name) and every session we are trying to do different things. For instance, GMC is also a drummer and Tomas is a guitarist. Sometimes we play with this format or sometimes we connect all our pedals and play with drones and frequencies. GMC also likes to do circuit bending. The record on Ikuisuus is a session recorded on a tape deck with 3 different types of delays, whammy, volume pedal, distortion, feedbacker, guitar, and more , but we can't remember exactly. We did it in an empty apartment in the middle of the night in Buenos Aires. Then some months later GMC did a bit of mixing with his computer. Tomas was locked in the loony bin a few months ago, trying to recover from mental problems. ETC. Bye!" - MY3YEAH. EDITION OF 120 COPIES.

NOVA SCOTIA - 'Memphis' CDr (IS-021) 5€
"The recordings were done at 2 separate gigs at Photospace Gallery in Wellington, NZ. I exhibited at the gallery twice and we began performing there quite often (the owner even played drums for my group The Rick Jensen Trio). Nova Scotia played a number of times there as the environment was particularly suited to us, outside was the main street in Wellington, where everyone would go drinking at night. It was all nightclubs and bars, buskers and drunk people. When we performed we'd open the windows and use any street sound that came through and integrate it into our performance. For the track that features Antony, we played a gig with him and then invited him to join us, it turned out to be an unusual song. All of the performances we did at Photospace had a particular feel to them, and we certainly developed our sound alot with these gigs. There's not a lot more to say about them, at this point we were using many homemade instruments, broken electronics, 4 tracks, and anything we had at hand. This album represents a highly experimental period for us and shows the way we were going at the time." - Rick Jensen. EDITION OF 150 COPIES.

DORA BLEU - '12 December 2007' CDr (IS-022) 5€
"12 December 2007 is a live recording of Dorothy Geller (From Quagmire) alias Dora Bleu and Alexandre St-Onge (Shalabi Effect, et Sans) taken in Montreal at Zoobizarre on that date. Several of the songs are inspired by the film The Night Porter (1976). The live event itself was called "Music on Dark Screens." St-Onge's dark, minimal and lush double bass is a perfect compliment to Geller's unconventional and minimal song structures. The songs and sounds refract each element together like an interplay between cracked and broken mirrors. The lyrics to the songs, like the film, make explicit that the violence of political reality interweaves with emotional, personal and psychic life, demonstrating the total inseparability of the world and self and sexuality. Recommended for people who saturate and submerge themselves in their listening." EDITION OF 120 COPIES.

KHETA HOTEM - 'Bowl Ceremony' CDr (IS-023) 5€
"Gigging with a varying and often an extensive group, Kheta Hotem has visited the studio with a somewhat stripped basic essence. This release is a collection of sense-filling presentations starting with a ritual-like bowl ceremony, which leads into results closely related with free jazz and ethnomusic. In their gig brochure the group claims they continue the more than 1000 years old musical tradition of Komutia, where the musician acts as a mediator between the world of sounds and everyday existence. The instruments Kheta Hotem use are traditional instruments of ritual music: the didgeridoo and different percussions. However, the synthesizer and the electric guitar are not forgotten, either. Acoustic instruments, including the human guttural voices, meld with those produced electrically - the traditional Komutian rituals turn into avant-garde. One can admire and listen to the outcome as an impressive technical performance, and experience the atmosphere to the marrow." EDITION OF 150 COPIES.

CENTURY PLANTS - 'Inversions' CDr (IS-024) 5€
"Latest from Albany guitar duo whose six string damaging has often shred the guitar beyond recognition. For this outing, however, Century Plants plug in, and allow their guitars to be guitars. Psych raga, melting icebergs of roaring drone, metallic strum and clang, oceanic melody and even a helping of pastoral song melody separate this from previous smash ups. Hardiman and Hare create these hypnotic states from the ground up, building their sound out of pure improvisation. Oh yeah, the guitars don't always sound like guitars!" EDITION OF 150 COPIES.

HASSU PELLE s/t CDr (IS-025) 4€
"Ikuisuus releases the underground classic of Finnish rhythm music! Hassu Pelle (Funny Clown) from Tampere, Finland was active only a couple of years at the first part of 2000s. This hilarious quintet was formed by Pelle Eloton, Pelle Svanslös, Ulkomaan Pelle, Pelle Jätkä, and Apupelle who was involved with the recording session. Hassu Pelle’s self-titled first and only record was originally released by the band members themselves with the edition of approximately only 30 copies. Hassu Pelle played some mind-boggling live shows for the handful of people mostly just in their home town. These small audiences were witness to the surprisingly fresh and thrilling musical happiness. First impression might be that Hassu Pelle’s music is just ‘foolery’, but hidden underneath the seeming simplicity these compositions carry true brilliance. Eight catchy tracks were recorded at those mighty days when Hassu Pelle was dancing at the peak of their strength. At the recording session they used the simple one-take-with-a-style technique + no overdubs. The result is extremely playful, yet confident, jagged with the taste of life. Hassu Pelle played beautifully bittersweet, yet at the same time hysterically merry music, which could be described in this context as "circus music". Even the most hardened humourless person will get a smile on the face while listening to Hassu Pelle. There's no other ensemble which has reached such enchanting carnivalistic atmospheres like Hassu Pelle. This cultural achievement from Ikuisuus label saves these sounds of delight from the oblivion. Step into the circus, you won't regret!" - Runar Patentti, Helsinki. EDITION OF 150 COPIES.

HETERO SKELETON - 'Borborygmi' tape (ikasus-01) 5€
"Insider's note: I just can't recall who played what. There's some photographic evidence, Arttu hunched over an amp, pitch-shifting, feedback, a whole lotta horn, the drums were buried & a mistake in the first place, the unreliable bullhorn, did I play some guitar? Don't know. Maybe we tried too hard. Maybe we even had a plan. Kinda reminds me of those Borbetomagus/Voice Crack-collaborations, if that's not too arrogant a description. Nowadays it's always like this, the train keeps a-rollin' from the get-go, does anybody remember when we used to do short songs? Where's the funny stuff? Nobody's laughing. We lost it, man, should really pack it all up & leave, call it a day. Just listen to those drums - what is that all about? Turn it over and you'll get JS666's real-time remix of the mess we left behind. Is it any better? Can a heap of foul-smelling turd be compressed into a shiny little nugget of gold? Lord have mercy. And now I'm dancing with myself. For obvious reasons. Thanks for listening, little boy. - Tero Skeleton." EDITION OF 130 COPIES.

VAPAA - 'Se Soi, Soi!' tape (ikasus-02) 5€
"Live recordings from 18.11.2005 Rauhanasema, Helsinki, Finland; 17.11.2005 Vastavirta, Tampere, Finland; 10.04.2005 Telakka, Tampere, Finland." EDITION OF 130 COPIES.

HUNTON QUINTET - 'Kuutelus' tape (ikasus-03) 5€
"HUNTON QUINTET is a project which made two small edition cdr albums and one tape under name Anti/Uton. At summer 2007 they met again after few years of silence, and started to make music again. Recorded in Pappilanmäki, Porvoo 2005. Mastered 2007 by Zelig. Agent Stepanoff: vocals, piano, quitar. Zelig Concrete : piano, guitar, percussions." EDITION OF 130 COPIES.

SHIGGAJON/DREAMERS CLOTH split tape (ikasus-04) 5€
"Split tape including two more or less new Danish acts. In these recordings (made during past 6 months) huge collective Shiggajon was five people playing out many kind of musical experiments & improvisations, with large amount of instruments (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, water, electric guitar, cello, scrap metal, violin, cembalo, bells, didgeridoo, bottles, chimes, drums, paper, and flutes). Floating orchestral jams to alienspace deep mystic drones, krautrock freakouts & free jazz moods from the structures of academic darkness - to the atmospheric swirls of heavenly light. Dreamers Cloth is a solo project by Jonas Frederiksen from Beyond Repair cassette label. Diving underwater in the ambient dreamlands of fantasy creatures and unknown high sky visions. Beautiful & psychedelic new age bliss-sound drones, for the fans of Tangerine Dream, Ashtray Navigations, Family Underground, Skaters, Dolphins Into The Future." EDITION OF 100 COPIES.

Special: 5x CDr/TAPE FOR 20€

WEBSITE

Yikes! See:

Ecstatic Jazz Duos 12” Series 3LP $45(N. America)/$60(World)
[PRE-ORDER] "The Ecstatic Jazz Duos Series collects six of the most innovative duos in the avant-jazz/free-noise realm. Each duo contributes a side of vinyl over three LPs (each in an edition of 500) to be released over 2008." The subscription (limited to just 100) includes all three 12"s plus stickers, buttons, and a CDr of exclusive content only available to subscribers.
LP1: Talibam!/Wasteland Jazz Unit
LP2: I Heart Lung/DWMTG
LP3: Valerio Cosi & Enzo Franchini/Jeremiah Cymerman & Matthew Welch

HERE

FANTASTIC MAGIC 7"
"The album, entitled "Fantastic Magic" features the track, "Jam and Yima"
released on 2007's, "Witch Choir" cassette as well as the new, transcendent track, "Sea of Gold" and will be released in limited edition green vinyl. The record will also be available digitally, in your iTunes, eMusic, etc. FANTASTIC MAGIC are a 3 piece out of San Diego, CA creating ethereal, campfire-pop dirges. They have shared the stage with Black Heart Procession, Vampire Weekend, Ariel Pink, Celebration, Frog Eyes, Castanets and HEALTH, to name a few." HERE

"No synthesizers, sequencers, samplers, drum machines, computers, or musical instruments" are present in the mad science of Davey Harms, heretofore known as Mincemeat or Tenspeed. The four songs of the one-man debut entitled ‘All Critters’ are composed strictly of feedback from guitar effects pedals chained to a mixer, a deadly feedback loop which magnifies the flaws of this consumptive technology as it produces its own pearls through so much dirt of imperfection. With the fixed-gear industry of the quasi-mechanic Hangedup, opening salvo “End Time” presses forth with impeccable geometry, at first a deceptively guitar-like picking noise skronks a simple melody with maximum gain, increasingly diffuse with distortion and the accumulating filth of sound until it disappears into a cloud of sharp static. Clearly the Mincemeat of Tenspeed setup corrupts through multiplication, but in this stultified musical environment – giving us everything/nothing – this brutal formula may sustain as long as the medium. The brassy bass of a modulating croak laps like a tide through “Accident Prone”, a droning sizzle high behind it, then into a leading tone with an impressive display of control over this impossible material, a wrangling of free-radical sounds on par with the creative peaks of Black Dice. Following an extensive track of maximalist noise mashed into electronic grids of near dance-ability, title track and finale “All Critters” enters on an elongated flutter of oscillating tones, and like the opening piece, bursts forth with less constrained enthusiasm marred with hot white static and an exhaust of excessive notes like a sizzling sea through which emerges beaty bubbles and the sharp shrieks of a would-be bagpipe shredding over the crest of the welter. In light of the man’s methodology, the precision and detail of these creations (would “composition” be fair?) raise complimentary questions of validity and brilliance, as either there is something missing in the explanation or this guy is just really fucking good at making something out of nothing. On black vinyl with an amazing, frameable, three color screen cover on heavy paper. A co-release with Malleable and Big Monies Tapes. (Deathbomb Arc LP, $10 HERE)

Burnt Hills - ‘blunt greeper’ C60 £3.5(UK)/£4(EU)/£4.5(World)
"Minotaur surf party firing nitrous arrows into a flaming headswim universe, a wealth of decomposing monster saturated jams, dripping n’ melting in a heavy golden like syrup….." edition of 50.

Psychedelic Horseshit - ‘magic flowers dubbed’ C22 £3.5(UK)/£4(EU)/£4.5(World)
"Dirt driven overturned casio mangled, gravel mulched pop songs. Broken down folk house incinerators, sun bleached unearthed oceanic murmurs…." edition of 50.

EMAIL or WEBSITE

From the label: After weeks of silence, it's now time for Faunasabbatha to re-open the gates 8 new releases, 7 cdrs and one tape. Be sure that you have to act fast, last time it's gone at the speed of light. (click image for full poster)

sab005 LAW OF THE ROPE - 'The Book of Three' CDr ltd73
sab006 SUBURBAN LEPROSY - 'Bohemian Leprosy' 3"CDr ltd52
sab007 QUTTINIRPAAQ - 'Quttinirpaaq' CDr ltd81
sab008 AJILVSGA - 'Destruction of the Bison' CDr ltd87
sab009 ELECTRIC OMEN - 'Fortress of Solitude' CDr ltd80
sab010 DE MAGIA VETERUM - 'Verus Diuinus Magus' CDr ltd66
sab011 KORPERSCHWACHE - 'dead flowers and a handful of Plague' CDr ltd60
sab012 WORMSBLOOD - 'In the Stars' cassette C50 ltd70

HUNTON QUINTET - 'Rugcode Reader' rCDr $5(US/Canada)/$7(wold)
Finnish psychedelic masters Uton and Anti unleash a new beast as the Hunton Quintet. Heavy hazy woven jams as Zelig Concrete and Agent Stepanoff. Clay whistles, wooden electronics, animal hide drums. Serious carpet tripping deep in the dark woods. 6 tracks straight outa Porvoo, Finland - namecheck all things Finnish and hard to pronounce: MYSPACE Deluxe handcrafted gatefold sleeves. Limited edition of 99.

partli cloudi - 'for bear' CDr $5(US/Canada)/$7(wold)
"Ritual recordings from partli cloudi (one half/third of the NEWYAKI duo/trio with Gown). A missing Jorodowsky soundtrack by rainforest dwellers. Self medicated ragas, peyote tom tom percussion, bells, wah, mysterious strings plucked like chickens by a slow motion Raccooon. Recorded by Alien Lomax and Vishnu Woods- a true labour of loveliness." Handmade collages assembled by Meadow Sweetie, each one beautifully unique. limited edition of 34.

HAT CITY INTUITIVE - 'ROCKS IN MY PILLOW - IMP(s)' CDr $5(US/Canada)/$7(wold)
"Book of 3" - triple split invoking the magik ESP impulse actuel trinity for our third release: Hat City Intuitive - blasting minds since early days with Matt Valentine's Superlux label, Cromagnon, Ayler-esque free form truth never hurt so good. Rocks in My Pillow - threads of Graveyards, Celestial Communication Orchestra, grinding cellos with sheets of metal. Dark drones, lovely, and deep. AACM+(CCMC x MEV) = ??? Imp(s) - blew away minds opening Canadian shows for GHQ and NNCK. Mysterious beards reveal the Creator and Sharka has a master plan, bells, drumming, chants of a revolutionary cyborg nature." Hand printed in antique style book covers. Limited edition 69.

HERE

No strangers to the 7” format, Vancouver’s Shearing Pinx continues their No Wave Revision Project with the ‘Haruspex’ EP, three tracks recorded at various moments along the west coast of North America. Almost as a formality, side A’s “Negaman” rushes forth with the barbaric rhythms and over-chewed vocals of DNA’s more melodic moments or Dmonstrations’ recreations of these, but this attempt at not-song is exploded as the band reveals a new agenda in second-phase free play, not unlike Sonic Youth’s early forays from the same platform: amplified shrapnel peeling of in a jangly mess, seething bass cabinets and a troublesome audio overlay are allowed to billow through the bulk of the track, eventually the thrust of toms and power-chords returning the rhythm to book-end this new No-song. On the flip, “No Face” comes on overanxious from the lull of experiment – “No Wave” is, after all, still a “Wave” – a herky-jerky race to the breakdown with a land-speed drumming record and guitar pulling like hamstrings left and right; the focal point is arguably located in the coda, a Devo spasm of reckless lyrics in call-and-response with the band. It is a brilliant concision that Skyscraper recognizes the band a west-coastal reply to AIDS Wolf. Final lap “Sinking Ship” suggests the rawest production yet, and is substantially all lead-out similar to Negaman’s midriff, with bleary feedback and punch-drunk percussion to a crowd-pleasing finish. On black vinyl, with sexy sleeves hand-numbered to 500 copies. (Divorce 7”, $7/8/10CND (Canada/US/World) HERE)

Happy Friday the 13th. Here's a new label from Robin Dickinson (Slow Listener), called Archivo de Sangre de Dios:

Budweiser Sprite - 'Marble Barbarian' C30 £5/$10(UK)/$11(world)
"Heavy tape mangling and manipulation from the Reiser man himself, hear what's in the mind of Together Tapes head honcho.......that'll learn you! Edition of 50. MP3

Oneohtrix Point Never/Slow Listener C20 £5/$10(UK)/$11(world)
"Something different from Slow Listener and Lopatin (of heavy synth hitters Astronaut and Infinity Window), both going for an opposite approach to what you're used to. Dan's headed into heavy static distortion, something closer to Demons synth blasts while my side's from a much mellower show I played recently, Nyoukis said it sounded like Oval, Lopatin says"yr track is a monster of cloud forms and ghoulish satellite detritus. shit is reaaalll" Edition of 50 MP3/MP3

Hockyfrilla/Deepkiss720 C30 £5/$10(UK)/$11(world)
"Hockyfrilla (for those that don't know) are Dora Doll (ex-Prick Decay etc) and Rhian (C.K. Dexter Haven) hitting us with a heavy electrical migraine drone,marvellous. Deepkiss720 will make you laugh and cry with his cracked electronics,the ending made me laugh out loud, 80's metal hmmmmm!" Edition of 50 MP3/MP3

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