This arrived much sooner than expected, so here’s the good news, much sooner than expected:

First, no thumbnail can do justice to the gorgeous print on this CDr. It's like a tissue-paper collage or something. The insert is pro as well, printed on thick, glossy paper. High class! And the contents? Here’s your play-by-play:

Witcyst, posing as Cheal Sep, introduces this behemoth with the miniature "L'avis des Specialistes Roll" - a sliding, chiming, babbling piece of contact concrète which exposes very few of the surprises to come. Like - BLAM! Sic Alps play ultra-fuzz garage jam “Latin”. It's got snappy vocals, harmonies, huge bass solo, and an all too brief exit. This is awesome! It’s definitely time to track down more by this crew... [wandering away] ...and I’m back: Animal Disguise has a cassette EP available and will be releasing an LP by the end of the month. There you go. Next, Id M Theft Able offers a frenetic paste-up of slurping, puffing, howling, fucking. It's jarring. Smegma’s is a surprisingly sedate interlude from the back of the UFO where Alvarius B opens the peaceful “Dukun Burial Song”: a plucked piece of eastern fable accompanied by overlapping drones, oms, and Sir Richard’s low-pacific twang. Top form. Blood Stereo’s “Talons of Tar” is a stroll across the shop floor, over the hum of progress, where mechanical stomps press widgets from the soundtrack; perforations through which groans of ennui emerge to clash with the whistling of estranged labor. Nautical Almanac’s “Live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” track follows with skonky blasts and cartoon bursts battling thick feedback bolts and electric guitar; the recording is top notch, with nice separation despite such dynamic fluctuation. Sick Llama comes through with the stomach numbing flutters of “Dark Vision”, and Glamorous Pat (who gets the nod for the album's tremendous artwork) offers a fantastic, way-loopy piece of No dance (as in drama, not your mama); with cloppy-clashy percussion, magic flutes, and something like a jaw harp. Very nice! Another brief piece of psychotic collage follows from Charles Balls & Crank Sturgeon which seems to lead back to that waiting room in the spacecraft where Kawasome Yoshihiro has arrived for deep exfoliation and aural detox in "Yaya & Recipe of Milk + Hot Milk". Portland Bike Ensemble shares the same sentiments with an untitled piece of rude, creeky door-knobbery, after which Robedoor holds a humming séance for scary shit - evoking guerrilla radio, bombed-out opera houses, and oceans of angry waves with "Holy Mob". The atmosphere thickens as Porest lingers late-night outside the walled bazaar where crickets and turmoil stir the air into a horn of high-budget horror: "Halfway to Palestein". The menace darts close, so we flee beyond the sentry and enter the candle-lit burlesque. Still out there, The Punks offer the second “live” event of the night, a ten-minute bonfire of marching beats and jug-band bass, keyboard jewelry and yelps by the pack – a rousing affair! Maths Balance Volumes’ “Shootin’ Shaman Ridge” is another skronky brass freak-out, augmented by bowed shrieks, jack-hammer on low, and spooky pulsations. At a lower register, Sounds of North American Adult Bookstores play “Piasa Dolore Spreca”, an exotic string piece ornamented by wood chimes and clicks, apparently performed and recorded underwater. A little “ding” leads into the coda, Tsupoonu’s hyper-active opus “Dr & G & Bicycle”. Played at triple speed, the effect is “1,000 arcades in 180 seconds”. Game Over.

‘Hip Hop Shop Sweepers Vol.01’ offers an impressive range of styles and compositions from all over the place. It flows well, though I can’t say the album is exceptionally cohesive or coherent - of course this doesn’t matter when it is a compilation of so many fantastic tracks. Seriously, there is no dead space here. Outstanding contributions by Porest, Sic Alps, Robedoor, and Glamorous Pat. Limited to 100 copies - PANIC! (777 was 666 CDr, $10/8€/¥1200, worldwide air-fare included. WRITE for availability and ordering details, or check out Fusetron in the USA.)

New releases by Ruralfaune:

(rur009) CORSICAN PAINTBRUSH - 'D i a m o n d s' CDr $9 ppd/7€ ppd
"Corsican Paintbrush was officially formed in the late spring of 2004. This project consists of Brad Rose (The North Sea, The Golden Oaks, Ajilvsga; Alligator Crystal Moth...) and Eden Hemming Rose (Wax Ghost, The Cone Bearers, Akhet...). After releases on foxglove, Musicyourmindwillloveyou and a split with My Cat is an Alien, welcomed this new album from the digitalis headquarters. Clattering folk melodies, hesitant voices , take a deep breath to feel the mint smell... Wrapped in a virgin white tapisserie baroque and closed with a stick. Limited to 85 copies."

(rur010) SEHT - 'Guyrz nz you are thus alienated' CDr $9 ppd/7€ ppd
"The New-zealander master of minimalism music is coming back with a new piece of drone music. Some Repetitive sound treatments and an analogue synth approach for a journey through your mind. Again and again, a profound reflexion into unexplored territories and where the time is lost between past and future... Limited to 86 copies... Wholesales and trades welcomed as usual."

Check out the website and Email for more information and to order.

Unread is sensitive to the wants of vinyl. As a permeable format, vinyl absorbs the spirit of the sound it captures, allowing even the most casual recording a distinguished persona. The label also recognizes the fluidity and archival potential of compact formats, offering an impressive array of dirt-cheap releases on cassette and CDr. Here are Unread’s newest releases:

Chaucet – ‘Memory Debt on My Deathbed’ CDr
Compiled from recordings circa 2000, the influences on this album seem fitting to a micro-era passed. Sounding like self-conscious Euro-rock in the vein of Gene or Kent or old Pernice Brothers demos where they let the drummer sing, these songs are straightforward and sappy, yet credible in their rawness. This rawness is largely an effect of low-fi production - in irony the reason these songs failed to see a sooner release. “She laughs as his kingdom burns” is a much sharper song than the title lets on, rubbing acoustic guitar into a lather around one bleak, sing-song lamentation. “Japanese Death Song” also belies its title; there are no flutes or abrasives, just some nice, twangy guitar and a mellow beat. The 8 minute-long “New Boss” is perhaps the most dramatic moment on the album, with pensive guitar building into a full-band crescendo. And though “An Obnoxious Howl” shows the band can do loud, “Be Silent and Drink Your Wine” highlights the band’s strongest point: modest vocals delivering subtle-yet-catchy melodies over strummed guitar. In hand-made, hand-stamped inserts and limited to 100 copies. $6ppd (US)

Charlie McAlister - ‘Creosote’ one-sided LP
17 songs of the man’s rough and tumble ramble, mixed with greasy skits and assorted garble. Non sequitur, lo-fi pop songs banged out with surprising care. McAlister’s verse recalls the Dead Milkman, though red/reb like Jon Wayne, and less joke-y than either. The one-sidedness of the LP is a nice touch, giving us just one side of a clearly fucked-up story. In hand-screened paper sleeves and limited to 300 copies. $10ppd (US)

Kyle Jacobson – ‘I Can Make New Friends with You’ LP
According to the label, this album is the distillation of over 100 songs into just 20; the effect is an erratic mix of four-tracked pop songs glued together at all angles, playing like the scrapbook of someone who really enjoyed high school. The somewhat ambiguous title suggests an attempt to win you over, or win you back. Give it a shot and see if it does. In thick, screened jackets and limited to 500 copies. $10ppd (US)

Ed Gray - ‘Fresh Coat of Paint on the Powder Keg’ 7”
Seven songs in seven inches, this music is much more sincere by comparison to Gray’s vinylmates above. Reminiscent of the guy who sings for The Dears, Gray’s voice often appears unrefined and strained, which is not entirely a good thing, though it does lend his songs a degree of desperation, which is not entirely a bad thing. Violin is thrown into the mix alongside acoustic guitar, drums and organ, creating a nice, western-folksy sound through a variety of moods. The record comes in neat, off-set screened covers, limited to 300 copies. $3ppd (US)

Press HERE to see the whole catalog and to order.

The cover of Flying Canyon’s self-titled debut, at first glance, suggests the title “California doom folk” to which they attach their music: cumulonimbus stretch beyond the frame below, exposing the deep blue of sky above and beyond with just a hint of sunlight spread too thin through the ozone, upon which the brooding image of a bearded Norseman is superimposed. From this introduction, one would expect a far-darker sound than the high-altitude that this album reaches. In fact, the imagery takes on entirely converse meaning as Flying Canyon rarely dip below the stratosphere, instead coasting above and between the clouds, be they thick or thin.

The phantom in the photo is Cayce Lindner, who guides by voice, picks and strums - and who in turn is supported by Shayde Sartin and Glenn Donaldson (both of The Skygreen Leopards) who buzz and pound, respectively. Like a clear day atop a mountain, the music is warming from an angle, yet chilling in the movement of thin air. Inhaling some vintage California, the boys do well to recall their influences without recalling a note: an early dedication to their forefathers (CSN&Y, Eagles above; spookier types below), “In the Reflection” opens the album with booming percussion ushering-in a warm, fuzzy bass line and humble acoustic strumming. Lindner’s voice is alternately bold and reluctant, breaking from the sing-along verses to the wounded chorus. Despite the regular back-up from Donaldson, Lindner’s voice is alone through all his songs, distanced from the spacious bass and beat, and even a little estranged from his own ambling guitar. Slight instrumental adjustments from song to song refresh the album with each track, with highlights plenty. “Down the Summer” exchanges percussion for the subtlety of flute, wafting the gentle tune higher and higher with each note. “Relover” features the creep of a nicely veiled, bubbly organ over dueling acoustic guitars and cloudbursts of bass and drums. Even at its biggest, the band maintains sparseness and melancholy. Though the last track “At Night When the World Goes Quiet” is a nice send-off of day-dreamy slide-guitar ushered off with a brief piece of poetry, unlisted track (“hidden” – really?) “Black April” is the more emotive song, though not necessarily a logical conclusion, ending the album back in the midst of the darkest clouds with no upward orientation. For this retraction, the (fantastic) track plays like a cover (is it?), misplaced at the end of the flight.

Indeed, Flying Canyon are sharpest when at their most melancholy, gloomiest - alright, doomiest – but I refuse doom folk as a label too narrow to capture the spirit of atmosphere that the band conjures through this album. Whatever, this is a great daytime CD - the kind you play right when you wake up, and again in the early afternoon when you’ve done little but drift in between. Very nice. (Soft Abuse CD, $10ppd (US)/$13ppd (World) RIGHT HERE)

If Foxglove were a butt, it would be a butt that won't quit! Get a load of this:

(foxglove135) Fabio Orsi - 'South of Me' 3" CDr $5ppd (world)
"From the rugged coast of naples, italy emerges one of the brightest stars in the italian underground. fabio orsi, who is also a recent collaborator with his italian brethren, my cat is an alien, offers up a masterful journey of complex, organic drones and salutations to the sun. emotive guitar glances shoot off into the breeze like ancient magic being rekindled at birth. solemn organ tones search out the lost souls of yesteryear, all the while orsi is contemplating his next move toward the heavens. this music is so rich, so descriptive and full of emotion that its all-too-easy to get lost in its massive seas. 100 copies."

(foxglove136) Rory Storm - 'ZstarshipZ' CDr $7ppd (world)
"Rory storm makes his stateside debut with an album full of charred drones and moon songs of highest order. "ZstarshipZ" looks on from its celestial perch like a wise wizard, enchanting the world below with the blink of an eye. solar broadcasts that emerge from the earth's core, whirl around in all their electric-field glory before crashing to the ground like a comet-fueled rocket. this is dense like a black hole, but burns as bright as a supernova. rory storm conjures up music that is painfully beautiful. it doesn't get much better than this. 100 copies."

(foxglove137) Campos Verdes - 'Leaving All These Things Behind' 3" CDr $5ppd (world)
"Deep within the trenches of new york lies the world of campos verdes. ben deitz (who also records and performs as math head) shows a magnificent ability to blend many worlds and modes into something singularly his own. with scores of acoustic guitars, voice samples, and synthesizers, sometimes whirring away on their own and other times sailing on a bed of drum loops, campos verdes is an exquisite triumph. it's filled with vivid memories of running across green pastures in the rain and recollections of lost loves adrift at sea. "leaving all these things behind" is steeped in elegance and beauty. 100 copies."

(foxglove138) Pink Luminous Invocation - 's/t' CDr $7ppd (world)
"Pink Luminous Invocation is a new quartet hailing from the nordic confines of denmark. this, their debut release, sees two guys and and one girl battling it out in a thicket of organic drones and ethereal harmonies. with hints of the irish deserted village collected, pink luminous invocation's sound is shrouded in mist. using everything from bells and toy keyboards to clarinets and zurnas, it floats around the edges of the forests, unsure of whether or not its safe to enter the magick wood. it is improvisation on a massive scale. while bowed strings lift their arms skyward, the woodwinds flicker underneath a blanket of stars, and we all listen to these three voices sing us toward the dawn. 100 copies."

(foxglove139) Saiko - 'Sketches of Several Southwestern Felons on the Eve of Their Just Demise' CDr $7ppd (world)
"Saiko is one of multiple monikers used by berlin-by-way-of-texas resident jeff gburek. as a friend and collaborator of such luminaries as tetuzi akiyama and charalambides' tom carter, gburek extends his guitar into a world of otherness. mixing in elements of obscured and manipulated vocals and minimal synthesizers, saiko is an cosmos-bound vessel appropriating the sea. this is the blues cut-up, pieced back together, and then drowned in the bathtub before ascending to the heavens. 100 copies."

(foxglove140) Anthony Guerra & Matthew Nidek - 'White Eagle' CDr $7ppd (world)
"Anthony Guerra and Matthew Nidek have released a string of impressive albums already on labels like pseudoarcana and black petal. their duo recordings are monolithic. like scattered buckshot, they race in all directions as fast they can. "white eagle" is another bombardment of intense, melodic jazz-infused improvisations for guitar and drums. nidek's skill behind the skins is immediately obvious, while guerra etches out personal diamonds with his guitar playing that, at times, is reminiscent of loren connors. this is emotional music soaring underneath the nebulae of history. guerra and nidek are the seeds that grow strong after the rain has washed everything else away. 100 copies."

Available individually HERE, or get the whole lot for $32! EMAIL to say you want them all.

If you go to shows where everyone lies down and the band is one word, this is what you want this week. If the name BONUS evokes a specific sound in your head, pat yourself on the back because you are correct. This is the enlightened, fuzzy, pulsing, glowing heart of the world. Growing knows it; so does BONUS. This is tectonic movement, timber-line adjustment, glacial expansion. Recorded in the fourth dimension, ‘On Earth’ is a three track survey of the planet, B.C. – Before Christians, Capitalism, Conquest and Compact discs. We’ve fucked up 98% of the earth, but we can take this anywhere. These are the psalms which follow natural holocaust, circa now. Swells of drone rise up like hot weather, swirling with dust and moisture; figures form and shift in the mix. The winds die and the hum of silence is headier than the storm. The elements settle into strata of sound and a new earth is born. This is sound therapy: a trilogy of subtle movements with vibrations that crumble your brain into your body and your soul into the soil.

Produced with Pete De Yellow Swanson, the recording is blessed with the same rich, full quality you know the man’s band to make good on. Hot on the heels of the top-notch Zelienople LP, Root Strata has released BONUS’ strobe on a dangerously black CD with fun folding-paper sleeves painted all sexy in an edition of 500. Get this and regenerate! (Root Strata CD, $12ppd (US)/$14ppd (World) HERE)

To our Europals, a festival for all tastes:

"We can now announce the latest incorporations to the Tanned Tin 2006 programme. We have just confirmed Okkervil River, M. Ward, David Thomas Broughton, Matt Elliott, The Magik Markers, The One Ensemble of Daniel Padden and Radio Dept. As for native combos, there are Litius and El Hijo (ex –MIGALA) + Grupo Salvaje who will not only play their own material but also will also present Johnny Cash´s autobiography “Man in Black” recently published by our sister company Acuarela Libros, with a series of cover songs originally performed by the man in black.

"These artists will join Portastatic, Dakota Suite, The Montgolfier Brothers, Annelies Monseré, Manyfingers, Psychic Ills, Lisa Germano, I love you but I’ve chosen darkness, Mouthus, Darren Hayman & Band, Apse, David Grubbs, Spires that in the Sunset Rise, Nick Castro, Six Organs of Admittance, The Secret Society, His Name is Alive and two noteworthy bands from the label Constellation: Carla Bozulich and Hrsta.

"The eighth edition of the Tanned Tin will take place in the Teatre Principal in Castellón on 9th, 10th and 11th November (with extra activities on 8th and 12th). Last year, the festival was held in the Auditori i Palau de Congresos of the same city, however this year we have chosen a more central and cosy venue, near the hotels, restaurants and other services.

"The main objective of the Tanned Tin is to provide a small appetizer of what we consider to be the most interesting things happening in the independent, international music scene. This intimate festival is a wholehearted venture to bring innovative and exciting proposals to Spain or simply the most stunning and sincere projects that pop, rock, folk, electronic and its most unlikely combinations have to offer.

"The programme has been put together once again with the relatively unpragmatic, idealist spirit of the most incurable music addicts. Apart from its unique criteria when choosing the artists, an unmistakable distinguishing characteristic of the Tanned Tin is that it offers its fans the possibilty to enjoy the best live music in surroundings similar to your own living room, allowing you to concentrate and watch without any annoyances or interferences.

"The Tanned Tin has always taken place in an auditorium with excellent accoustics, with all theatre luxuries and with the public comfortbly seated watching the shows in an almost religious silence which is only interrupted by jubilant cries similar to those incited by Herman Düne´s and Animal Collective´s excellent concerts in 2005, Coco Rosie´s and The New Year´s shows in 2004 or Julie Doiron´s performance which dazzled us in 2003. We believe that in the 2006´s edition, we are offering the best possible line up and that there are definitely many groups worth checking out, enjoying and supporting.

"Tickets will be available from October 4th and can be purchased through Servientrada from Bancaja and in El Corte Inglés, either by telephone or through their respective web pages (www.bancaja.es and www.elcorteingles.es) and also in the Teatre Principal in Castellón. Tickets cost 14 Euros (Thursday), 20 Euros (Friday) and 20 Euros (Saturday) plus distribution charges. You will find instructions about HOW TO BUY THE TICKETS EVEN IF I DON’T SPEAK ANY SPANISH soon at www.tannedtin.com and www.acuareladiscos.com - BUT BE PATIENT!

"The final line-up will be made public within the next few days. As a sneak preview, we can tell you that there will be concerts during the day (we like to call them “matinees”) completely free of charge in the Casino Antiguo on 10th, 11th and 12th November and an inauguration party on Wednesday 8th."

James has opened shop in Portland (where else?) under the banner Below PDX. Releases one and two are already way gone, so you best get your ass in gear for the newest. From the label:

Mattress - 'Eldorado' CDr $7ppd (US)
"Mattress may bring images of discarded furniture, caked and reeking of dead skin and matted clumps of hair. From the lip-chapping desert air, a deep bold voice collides against ancient rock walls, stabbing icicles in the rubbery flesh of cacti while oozing sinister intentions across lizard flesh. Mattress is what Suicide's first album would have sounded as a blues band: confrontational, sinister and somehow still dancy. Like more recent era Nick Cave low dark vocals meets old era Smog, pop with a lonely bedroom recorded desperation. Rex Marshall is a one-man rhythm ace of prison water torture repetitive beats and slippery casio keyboard progressions. 6 Songs, 21 Minutes - 1st pressing of 100"

Get it HERE, listen to an Mp3, and have a look around Below PDX.

777 was 666 is a Japanese label with crazy releases at reasonable prices from bands that destroy. The newest release is a monster:

(777-013) v/a - 'Hip Hop Shop Sweepers Vol. 01' CDr
Featuring: Blood Stereo, Alvarius B, Smegma, Sick Llama, Sic Alps, Robedoor, Portland Bike Ensemble, Kawasome Yoshihiro, Witcyst, The Punks, Nautical Almanac, Charles Balls & Crank Sturgeon, Id M Theft Able, Porest, Sounds of North American Adult Bookstores, Glamorous Pat, Maths Balance Volumes and Tsupoornu.

Limited edition of 100 with full color sleeves and cover artwork by Glamorous Pat. $10/8€/¥1200; price includes postage worldwide (air). No PayPal, No Check - Postal money order & cash only. WRITE for availability and ordering details. Go HERE for more information and buttons to push. *In the US, the label has distro through Fusetron.

and coming soon:
(HATE-001) v/a - 'Hate Songs' cassette
with: Blood Ov Thee Christ, Club Moral, Liver Mortis, D.C.A. (Le Syndicat & N.B.N.), Door, D.D. Dobson, plus more... Cover art by Nick Bougas.

The Watery Graves of Portland is/was Curtis Knapp on piano, Davis Lee Hooker on upright bass, and Adrian Orange (aka Thanksgiving) percussing and recording. As the name suggests, they are from Portland, the land of the thirty-hour day where no one pays rent and one can subsist on damp air alone. 'Caracas' is their only LP. I’ve seen this filed under “jazz”. I suppose I see why someone would feel inclined to do that, but make no mistake: this is to jazz what Do Make Say Think is jazz - there are a few parallels to be drawn but it’s really in no one’s interest to do so. Still, it’s would be difficult to describe this record without a number of jazz references. The band’s sound is dominated by Knapp’s piano, and is therefore mostly Satie for his casual, strolling style and light composition. Bass and brushed drums travel well, minding themselves and rarely stepping out of turn (except in order to be kick ass - that happens a bit). All eleven tracks are tastefully brief, hovering between two and three minutes, yet melded together by interludes and ambient ruckus. Following the grand introduction of “The News”, “Dead Body in the River” is a terse little story told by piano to rhythm section - at times reminiscent of Brubeck’s plodding “Take Five”, but a tad more atmospheric, as if from Rachel’s ‘Handwriting’. Maybe I’m given to suggestion, but the general feel of this record could well be described as “watery”; wet and cold, in the same way old Blue-Note records feel overcast and dank. “Three White Men Rowing” and “Caracas” are two particularly rousing tunes with skittley drums, bulging bass, and sassy piano. Patches of exotic percussion are found throughout the record, and special guest Adam Forkner (White Rainbow, etc.) stops by to add some serious trumpetry to the final tracks, completing the quartet ever-so temporarily. The loose pacing of each song gives the album a distinct liveliness as tempos speed and slow, often several times in one track. It’s almost like they won’t (can’t?) keep time. That LIVE sound is all over this, adding a rough, intimate feel that nicely compliments the melancholy of these songs. This is embarrassingly listenable in ways which would make a self-conscious youngster destroy things in compensation. That’s okay; it’s your journey. The LP comes in beautiful hand-screened jackets, with a CDr version of the album and two posters, plus a hand-sewn booklet of letters/fan art. Dear everyone: this crew is showing you up! (Marriage Records LP, $15 HERE… Yeah it’s a year old - big F!) Very recommended.

Bangor Records is a new little label out of Montreal. They've had two releases so far, one of which is all gone. The first release is still available, and it is RAD. Animal Psi recommended for fans of any artist mentioned below. The label's all like:

Mile End Ladies String Auxiliary - 'From cells of roughest air' CD/10"
"Coming from backgrounds in rock and punk, The Mile End Ladies String Auxiliary (MELSA) takes the conventionnal string trio format and twist it so it integrates the angst and energy crucial to these genres. The ladies began working together as a module of large scale experimental improv band Set Fire to Flames and decided to carry the experiment on their own. The MELSA blends elements of punk, folk and minimalist composition, with an ear for the music of avant-garde legends like Arnold Dreyblatt, Iva Bittova and Steve Reich. They are Becky Foon (A Silver Mount Zion, Esmerine) on cello, Genevieve Heistek (Sackville, Hanged Up) on viola and Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor, ASMZ) on violin... 'From cells of roughest air' is the Mile End Ladies String Auxiliary’s first record and a first also for the Bangor label. It features a vibrant main composition by the whole group and three solo pieces where each individuality can fully express itself. The main piece was recorded by Howard Bilerman at Montreal’s Hotel 2 Tango and the album mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering. Available in hand-packaged CD and 10” vinyl formats with beautiful silkscreened cover."

The 10" is $15/15€ post-paid and the CD (barf!) is $10/10€ post-paid... TOTALLY GET THIS! The Bangor website gots Mp3s, ordering information, and more HERE. Enjoy!

Hototogisu - 'Chimärendämmerung' CD $14ppd (US) (De Stijl 062)
PayPal to DeStijl<at>Mindspring<dot>com, or EMAIL for more data.
The duo's newest full-length is out now. Animal Psi review HERE. De label says:

"Hototogisu are Marcia Bassett and Matthew Bower, and they dwell upon two continents (Marcia in brooklyn NY and matthew in leeds UK). Both share rich discographical heritage. Marcia has recorded with numerous labels (siltbreeze, time-lag, eclipse, troubleman unlimited, etc.) with UN, GHQ and the Double Leopards, and Matthew with Total, Skullflower, Sunroof!, Vibracathedral Orchestra and more. Chimarendammerung is the 3rd Hototogisu release on Destijl and the 5 untitled walls of vertical viola drone / overtone, lapped by shifting electronic waves of feedback, blackened guitars, rhinegold cast deep into dying rivers, an instrumental cycle of conflict, of the birth of a supreme aristocratic beauty into a fallen world, and its inevitable conflagration, then a glimmer of hope of escape from the cycle, in tune w/ the breath of the cosmos, like a glacial reimagining of van der graafs 'a plague of lighthouse keepers', and it represents a current plateau for the duo."

Melted Mailbox is ending its short subscription life, but there's still hope: All 7 LPs are available as a box set, and orders are still open! From the Melted Mailbox site:

"MELTED MAILBOX is a collection of music that arrives in bi-monthly installments. The first series will consist of seven one-sided 12” records. The music-less side will be etched. Each record will be bright & thick. The series is limited to 700 copies & all tracks are previously unreleased!! Limited Edition CDR’s with come with the first 300 subscriptions! Limited Edition Paintings & Prints!"

The records:
*Sunroof! - 'Goldfoxradianthowl' [17:24]
*Dino Felipe - 'Lucky Chairs EP' [17:58]
*Keith Fullerton Whitman - 'biprosia (parts 1 & 2)' [14:58]
*Arrington de Dionyso - 'The True Folk Sounds of Arrington de Dionyso' [17:07]
*Ariel Pink - 'Witchhunt Suite for World War Three (parts 1 & 2)' [17:06]
*Carlos Giffoni [16:46]
*000 - 'Railroad' [14:30]

Plus:
* Melted Mailbox Stickers
* Hand made box & packaging
* Postcards by photographer Tim Guillen [miami, fl]
* Limited edition CDR's (from unannounced contributors)
* Pins & buttons/various surprises

The entire set is $70ppd (US), $125ppd (World) [do the math - it's a steal!] The set ships Novemeber 5th (following the last installments), and the series will not be available in stores. Contact melted@meltedmailbox.com to order and check out more HERE. Keep your ears crooked for series two...


Artists! Submit art NOW to Melted Mailbox!

Melted Mailbox wants to provide an audience to artists of all styles & backgrounds. Anything that you send, in any quantity will be put into a mailing. There are 700 total subscriptions – any contribution (be it one copy or 700 copies) will go into a mailing. We will post your name on the Melted Mailbox site with a link to your site or contact info.

If you have the desire to contribute 1 to 1000 (whatever & however much you want) of ANY physical format ANYTHING THAT YOU CONSIDER ART we will too.

Examples: cloth / paper / cardboard / wood / napkin / loose-leaf / dvd / cdr / cassette / vhs / stickers / patches / pins / scribbles / doodles / paintings.

ART SPECIFICATIONS
-no more than 12" x 12" x 1"
-must fit inside box without damaging vinyl
-no urine, sperm, feces or blood

If recieved August 21st - October 20th art will go into mailing three.

Send to:
MELTED MAILBOX c/o Matt
455A Myrtle Ave
Brooklyn, New York 11205

Sounds just like Shalabi Effect. Where’s my check?






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When I was a kid I was reading a copy of Ben Is Dead when I came across a review of the first Three Mile Pilot LP. The entire review (keep in mind, this was 1993) said, quote

Sounds just like The Replacements. Where’s my check?

I read this over and over. I was totally into 3MP (see?), yet at the same time strangely attracted to the arrogance of this “review”. I thought, “one day, I’ll be a dick too.” // Now I’m inadvertantly asshole enough in real-life (57% according to one online – and therefore bulletproof – quiz), so I chose to pay homage without transgression. I’ve taken liberties with the reference, and indeed the newest release by To Live and Shave in L.A. actually does sound a whole lot like Shalabi Effect at their most experimental and the closely related work of Et Sans (see: musique concrète, sound verité, extreme cut-and-paste). Compiled of recordings from the last four years, the concept of ‘Horóscopo: Sanatorio de Molière’ is characteristically high (from the Blossoming Noise website): “Horóscopo, Vatican temporal assassin, is ordered to fall 300 years through time to prevent Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (Molière) from writing the scabrous Tartuffe. A portal divides, doors fly open... Horóscopo’s eyes roll back into his head, and an empty scabbard clatters across marble. "Taisez-vous, et songez aux choses que vous dites." The Nightgaunts descend...” - Got it! This incarnation of TLaSiLA features: Tom Smith, Rat Bastard, Ben Wolcott, Don Fleming, Mark Morgan, Andrew (WK) Wilkes-Krier, Chris Grier, and special guest Thurston Moore. The music is such an authorless tangle, it’s impossible to parse who contributed what; I can only say that if any of those names pique your interest, you will not be disappointed.

The cover art of the digipak is particularly eye-catching, and I spent a good five minutes staring at it before I realized I had yet to hit play. Track One opens on a collage of death rays, cut-up conversation/crooning, and a little late-night piano melody, all woven through an increasingly pervasive tone-riff. The frequency is always in flux, as this fucked-up radio won’t stay tuned, dialing-in nearby planets and cable satellites. Two intros on a verse and a swarm of digital gnats, the radios continue to shifts, and a glimmering beat actually develops among the alien pulses and bleeps. Streams of liquid spurt through the soundscape and this is all very surrealist. Armies of sound continue to enter at random through track Three, now as a brassy overture bleeds into a traditional minimalism akin to Terry Riley’s live recordings (‘Olson III’ comes to mind in particular). Nothing lasts long on this album, and soon a whole new barrage of transmissions blast through, laced with static and cosmic timbres. Four opens and closes with an exceptionally stimulating series of vocal samples, book-ending a mudslide of thick, greasy rudeness. Either the album becomes more consistent by track Five, or I have just grown accustom to the patterns of randomness, but a theme apparently emerges for each track from this point on; a theme that is introduced early, then slides underneath each successive layer, always audible but more so when new layers are thin or gapped. Seven plays somber like an early requiem, and Eight takes us outside (who knew we were In?) to the sounds of earth-nature, interrupted by what appears to be a five second sample of the history of rock-n-roll, collapsing into a hot, dense little dot.

There are many ways to approach this album, both as a casual listen or a text to decipher; there is certainly too much going on to put into words. This is an exceptionally cerebral album and surprisingly user-friendly, asking no prerequisite from the listener. This is a mature experimental treat for gourmand and novice alike. Where’s my check? (Blossoming Noise CD, $13 HERE)

The newest long-player from Chicago’s Zelienople is an unusually diverse batch of whispered psychedelia. The album manages to cover a substantial breadth of sounds while all the while sustaining a consistent high. Rarely wandering, each track feels deliberate despite the light-headed flourishes and drone passages. What makes the album unique is the careful interplay between instrument and vocals/ a relationship reminiscent Sebadoh, Wooden Wand/ WWVV’s ‘Xiao’, Maquiladora, and dark, early Smog (c. ‘Burning Kingdom’). Rather than lose itself in variety, the band composes itself in the mix so deftly that the record remains not only whole, but linear. Over all, the album sounds as though recorded into the same mushroomaphone as Eyes and Arms of Smoke’s fantastic fantasy ‘Religion of Broken Bones’ (shit - add that to the list above). Like a more concept-driven ‘Spiderland’, the songs create and manipulate both scene and emotion with an overwhelming power. A quartet in membership, Zelienople maintain the presence of one/ a lone, sorrowed spirit.

‘Stone Academy’ enters through “Plaster Dog”: a droning, groaning instrumental which flaunts the concept with the addition of a single vocalist. Like a ghost ship floating alone a fog, the tired tides turn to a maelstrom of metallic sheets and winds of agony/ the barge enters a sunken cave where the lost singer returns with steely guitar and harmony to sing the bare lament “Fuck Everything”/ melody and guitar break-down in a forgotten, Barlowesque fashion, dissolving into “Elephant”/ between mechanistic scraping and tapping drone, the voice of a horn is lost in the gusts of an accordion breeze until the deep beating of the hull on a shoal awakens the singer once more. “Fire Machine” engulfs the vessel and singer with the billowing chaos of winds, drones, and scattered percussion. /// Flipping sides, “More Mess” recalls the sparse guitar and ornament of “Fuck Everything”/ with a melody familiar of Wooden Wand’s ‘Harem of the Sundrum’ LP, the singer is present in voice only, and shifts again to horn as “Southside”/ a brassier horn this time, accompanied by clattering percussion, the intonations meander a glimpse of free-jazz. “Pissing” again rejoins the guitar and voice, with specks of tambourine/ a membrane forms and the tune invisibly shifts to “Bird’s Face”, where our singer drowns in electric guitar and a swirl of feeback which washes through to “When You Were 9”: the ship settles into a harbor of chirps and moaning chorus/ the silence of stillness erases all sounds when a sudden sailor’s ballad rises from the heart of the ship/ with marching guitar and percussion, arching strings and an imaginary army of hand-claps, the harbor fades majestically as the singer and spirit return to sea.

Each record in this hand-numbered edition of 300 comes mounted with one of six beautiful photographic prints by artist Dianne Jones. One might be tempted to rip the print off and frame it/ let me suggest framing the entire fucking record. (Root Strata LP, $14ppd(US)/ $16ppd (World). As with each Root Strata release, this will be gone in forty seconds/ GO HERE NOW!)

Noise artists calling themselves American Band essentially beg one of two impressions. Either: bursting with irony, subject to an obscene, iconoclastic aesthetic and a general air of smiling depravity; or, as with the band in question, severity and a wrathful brooding, fitting the namesake of a dark, brutal death machine (I suppose an American replica of Prurient might cover both bases, but whatever [I thought he was British; isn't he British??]). Further, if this genre of noise is subject to the spectrum of subdivision that other genres be, ‘American Band’s First Album’ demands a ‘hardcore’ sub-camp for its Spartan, unrelenting attack of/on sound. With just one exception that proves the rule, each track on this disc fiercely asserts less an idea than an even more powerful impulse to destroy, like the aliens in the ‘Alien’ movies. The stark font and sinister art of the digipak cover recall the militarism imprinted on later hardcore punk, while the album’s sound incorporates aesthetic concepts from this and other combative genre sub-sects. Of the album’s five tracks, “Bone Skirt” and “Garbed Edge” – title-imagery fitting perhaps a Neurot release – are both presented as live recordings from summer 2005 and 2006, respectively. “Bone Skirt”, the CD’s first track, opens to a whir and rattle, as though someone on stage is playing an industrial fan or maybe a Dremel tool on sheet-metal (alongside Matt Franco on guitar/vocals and Jason Crumer on electronics, Lee Counts is credited “on metal”). This quickly gives way to the swell of brutal feedback and rifts of high-frequency buzz. At a leisurely 22 minutes, the track offers a menacing cadence, merging maximal noise with organic - or at least live - sound, forming macroscopic shifts which move the music linearly, however creepy the pace may be. “First Time In Heels” follows, laying a foundation of low-end buzz over which mechanical parts squeal and spin. The recording has a deep acoustic quality, vividly portraying the open ‘space’ of the presentation. This is short-lived, however, as quickly a massive, singular tsunami of stuttering feedback rises up, drowning all other sound. The wave labors, swapping channels, cutting in and out in a glitch-y fashion. It fades, then rises again in full health, dragging along the sound of ghosts and appliances. With a crash and a literal whimper, the track ends, and “General’s Lament” enters slowly with a soothing drone. The pinnacle track of the album, the drone stretches at an irregular pace, as shimmers of feedback burst overhead in transmitted packets. As though tuning a cavern to pick up a lost frequency, the signal comes in fuller and louder, though never as pure as the drone underneath. Tuning past, the drone regains it’s presence like a pulse which then dies away into silence. The second live track, “Garbed Edge”, enters abruptly with the swell and buzz of the opener, though at a far swifter gait. The tremolo of feedback is so aggressive that an almost gabber beat is formed, over which gilded screams mix with the clash of metal until it is all sucked into a vacuum and shattered. The finale “Terrified” is brief, and carries on the brutality of the former track, though minus the percussive phantom and plus a rabid dynamic of busted-electronic reverb, the screams of dying machines, and the roar of electrified clouds destroying the earth. HxC. (Blossoming Noise CD, $11 HERE)

The other day an envelope materialized in my mailbox that appeared as though it’d been stepped-on at least ten times over, with layers of stamps and addresses, and return-labeled to DAS (a.k.a. dAS). Inside, I found a dusty plastic bag filled with some sort of gravel-like textile, a pretty, unnamed cassette, and a card. The card explained that the tape is a copy of Big City Orchestra’s ‘We Like Noize Too’, released by the Bay Area’s UBUIBI, and recorded in 1990(!). UBUIBI is the same outfit which recently released the ‘Women Take Back The Noise’ comp (See?), and both the label and BCO has been around long enough that this seemed a plausible recording, though ever more vexing as it showed up alone without correspondence of any form. Now, I’m still not sure whether this was meant as a threatening gesture or some sort of dare, but I was genuinely concerned as I extracted (over the sink) the cassette (wrapped in foil) from the bag of, what, coal? shale? brimstone?? I ran the tape through my oldest jambox to shake loose any dust/debris that made its way past aluminum security, and then put it in. According to the card, this is a live recording by a four-piece incarnation of the Orchestra (dAS included). Under "Process", I learned that "Fifty 7" 45's were prepared by spraypainting black and etched with a spirograph. During the three hour performance the records were subject to; candle wax, cutting with razors, white-out, tape, glue and misc. flames. All fifty records were used by all four artists." The effect, as you may have guessed, is ultimately that of an early LaMonte Young/Terry Riley experiment; a minimal fabric made of loops and snippets of conventional sound. Like a room full of staticky radios, the racket is at the same time chaos and choral. The spin of the turntable creates a steady meter through which a number of really nice noises emerge and transform. The real-time and random elements of the concept give it a tasty organic feel despite the lackluster quality of the recording/dub. An approximately 90 minute cassette, 'We Like Noize Too' features much to hear and almost as much to enjoy; the highlights are found in the moments when several seconds of the original recordings show through unobscured, breaking the momentum of the drone and recalling the ruinous songs underneath. As a collective spanning multiple decades, BCO has released hundreds of cassettes, LPs, and CDs, of what one can assume to be highly-diverse qualities. In this sense, I would be hard-pressed to give an image of a single "sound", but could say that it will be conceptual and experimental in the truest sense, and likely wrapped in something that scares the shit out of you.

There are currently a handful of mysterious releases available through UBUIBI:

*'In A Persian Market' CD; in hand-sewn carpetbag. Albert Ketelby's classic ravaged 78 minute soundscape. $35ppd(US)

*'Tryst 5: the Hand and Star issue' CD. Musical guests: The Haters and Big City Orchestra. $8ppd(US)

*'Tryst 6: the Sex issue' CD. Musical guests: Nux Vomica and Big City Orchestra. FOR ADULTS ONLY.[?] $9ppd(US)

*'Tryst 8: the Food issue' CD. Musical guests: Voice of Eye and Big City Orchestra. FOR ADULTS ONLY. [?!] $9ppd(US)

***Get them HERE***


dAS also has a radio show in northern California. Check it out HERE.

!!!!!!!!!!!From DBA.com: (!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Tik///Tik / Stomach Aches - 'Seadoor' split 2x 3" CDr, edition of 50, $8ppd (US & Canada)/$15ppd (World)
"Elaborate music deserves elaborate packaging. Captain Ahab has called the Stomach Aches one of his favorite producers. With the same genre playfulness of early Beck combined with the sophistication of the best Aphex Twin, the Stomach Aches are one of LA's best kept secrets. Also hailing from LA is tik///tik, self-proclaimed "amateur" musician, has quickly become a local favorite. Combines everything you love about top40 pop, digital noise, and true romance into a completely individual sound. There currently is nothing like tik///tik and thats why we love him... Features a remix of each artist by Captain Ahab. Artwork include full color transparency art by Tik///Tik sewn together with stenciled boat art that houses two "anchors" (aka 3" cdrs) tied to the packing by ropes so your ship will never get lost at sea. Both these artists are also featured as remixers on Captain Ahab's 'Snakes on the Brain' CD." Mp3 and order HERE.

Foot Village - 'Fuck the Future' CD, edition of 1000, $10ppd (US & Canada)/$16ppd (World)
"Pure hardcore. No electricity. Fuck the future. Foot Village needs nothing but their own fists to make music, to make you scream, to make you dance, to make you thrash. An imaginary step back to a time more futuristic than now, yet shrouded in magic. Kung Fu was invented by peasants as a method of fighting so confusing to their enemies that it appeared as magic. Foot Village has invented acoustic hardcore in the same regard. If you are confused, perhaps you are the enemy. Foot Village features members of Men Who Can't Love, Rainbow Blanket, Gang Wizard, Rose For Bohdan, and tons more. CD compiling Foot Village's early "country" releases. Country as in songs about the countries of this world. Done as research for their current work building their own nation, Foot Village. Originally released in extremely limited edition and now sold out, all tracks have been remastered by Pete Swanson. Contains all tracks from debut 3" cdr, 7", and World Fantasy 10". Art by Lart." Mp3, order HERE.

Brian Miller vs. Nicholas Gitomer - 'Slavelords' CDr, edition of 50, $6ppd (US & Canada)/$12ppd (World)
"Recorded during Brian Miller's period of prolific collaborating (see Celesteville, Argumentix, Kites, Ren Schofield & of course Kevin Shields), this session dedicated to the lofty notion of freedom shows two old friends doing what they do best: sparring. Utilizing his signature deep harmonic noise, Brian Miller (Foot Village, Gang Wizard) faces off against the brutal psych-folk guitaring of Nicholas Gitomer (My Little Red Toe). Beginning just as horse play with some cute pop vs. noise antics, the fight escalates into some trans-Platonic, hyper-cosmic clash of the magi shit that music be heard to believe... Packaged as rough and tumble as possible in a burlap sack ready to toss in the slavepit." Mp3 and order HERE.

"Big Fucking Deal!": DBA is offering all 3 hott new releases for just $20ppd (US & Canada), $30ppd (World). This is top secret for Anipals only, so you need to write Brian at dbombarc@deathbombarc.com and tell him "Get 'er DONE!"

AND: Outdoing this month's HUGE radathon of Friends Forever vs. Nightwounds, October's DBA Tape Club release will be a split betwixt My Little Red Toe and Skull Skull - a band made with parts from Liars and Young People! It's not too late to be a bad ass... Enlist HERE! 12 tapes/ 24 bands/ $40!

This looks great! The first release from Finland's newest little label, Harha-askel:

v/a: 'Goin' Down Slow - music for acoustic guitar'
"A compilation of new music for acoustic guitar. 13 tracks by 13 artists/acts from New Zealand, Norway, UK, Finland and USA. Blues,folk, noise, drone etc."
Featuring: Tom Carter, Robert Horton, Andy & Michael Futreal, Keijo, Mark Dagley, Mike Tamburo, The North Sea, Stephen Lewis, Sindre Bjerga, Amigo Result, Ville Moskiitto, Don Bosco, Armpit.

Limited, numbered edition of eighty copies. Black cd-r, handpainted cardboard sleeve, printed inserts. 6€ ppd/$8 ppd; go HERE.

It's about damn time! From the label's website:

BONUS - 'On Earth' CD $12ppd (US)/$14ppd (World)
"On Earth , is the first studio document created by the group, recorded with Marcelo Spinna at the Space in May 2006 with production assistance from Pete Swanson (D. YELLOW SWANS). While previous CD-R releases were entirely improvised, On Earth is comprised of three untitled pieces composed by the group with elements of restrained improvisation. Musically, each piece has a specific concern, ranging from extremely subtle microtonal shifts to distorted crashes of intervals against one another. On Earth captures the reductive BONUS sound with all the sustained tones and sparkling textures, but with a more focused and succinct delivery. Edition of 500."

Zelienople- 'Stone Academy' LP $14ppd (US)/$16ppd (World)
"Cracked song poems from a basement in Chicago with no lights on. Zelienople create acoustic improvisations that have as much in common with Thuja as they do the late period work of Talk Talk. Slowly drifting guitar tones run head first into blown out harmonium drones and the broken edges of homemade instruments. These songs aren't drifting as much as they are lost at sea. Each cover comes with a real photo by Bay Area photographer Dianne Jones. Six different ones in all. Hand numbered as well. Edition of 300."

For Mp3 samples and to order (quickly), go north to Root Strata!

What's in a name? ErstQuake 3 - Four-day festival!
(co-curated by Erstwhile, Quakebasket and Little Enjoyer)
At Tonic, 107 Norfolk St., NYC

Thursday, September 28:
Jeph Jerman/Greg Davis, Los Glissandinos (Kai Fagaschinski/Klaus Filip),
Bryan Eubanks/Barry Weisblat, Scenic Railroads (Joe Panzner/Mike Shiflet), Mattin/Tim Barnes

Friday, September 29:
Sachiko M/Sean Meehan, Michael R. Bernstein/Mike Shiflet, English (Joe Foster/Bonnie Jones), Burkhard Stangl/Christof Kurzmann, Aaron Dilloway/Lasse Marhaug

Saturday, September 30:
Radu Malfatti/Mattin, Kai Fagaschinski/Burkhard Stangl, Cosmos (Sachiko M/Ami Yoshida), GOD (Bryan Eubanks/Leif Sundstrom), Aaron Dilloway (solo)

Sunday, October 1:
Jeph Jerman/Tim Barnes/Sean Meehan, Ami Yoshida/Christof Kurzmann, Sachiko M/English (Joe Foster/Bonnie Jones), Phill Niblock/Jason Lescalleet, Jazkamer (Lasse Marhaug/John Hegre)

$18 per night, $65 for a festival pass (plus one drink minimum per night); doors open at 7:30 each night

Ordering Instructions (Dear New York: you're weird)

How to buy advance tickets: Tonic wants people to pay for their drink
ticket in advance also, so a ticket to any single night will be $18
plus $6 for the drink/tip, so $24 total. a four night festival pass
will be $65 plus $18 (four drinks for the price of three), so $83
total.

there will be no actual tix issued this way, your name will be placed
on the advance paid list at the door (just like we did it last year).
there will be other ways to buy tix through Tonic's normal channels
closer to the fest, but as of now, this is the only way to get them,
directly through me. you can PayPal me at erstrecs@aol.com or send a
check to:

Erstwhile Records
374A Monmouth St. #2
Jersey City, NJ 07302

Is "Schizo" a genre yet? How about now? Devil Music is all over the place like nobody's business. "Message", at 33 1/3 rpm is an extended pastiche of styles yet to be mixed in a single album, let alone a single song. Opening on a dark, solid punk jam in the vein of labelmates Magic People or even Love Life, the three-man group (for this recording anyway) weave thick, murky synthesizers and junkie drums into a tres chic club jam for a decade passed. With vocal watermarks looping in the goop - "Someone will preach a message/the devil wants me" - it's like a Locust track run at quarter speed. Fade out, and then... what's this? Does the other band have a track on this side too? This is the same song?! After an unexpected break-down, the band says "Fuck gears!" and switches vehicles altogether, losing the synth and sprinting into instrumental "post-rock" mode with drum/guitar/violin in a rocker reminiscent of Hangedup or Esmerine. Crazy, right? Anyhow, I can't complain because they do it all very well, and any attempt to pick out a dominant style is useless. If this is the ground they can cover in seven inches, I'd be eager to see what they do with twelve or more. On the flip-side, GOLD tones things down conceptually, not sonically, straight-up lunging at your ears with unrequited mathmatics. Like a Don Cab highlight, drums pulse and piston while the sound of a thousand guitars form fractal patterns high and wide. Building a city just to level it, "Wive Hive" tears by with power and force, and does not facilitate a quick recovery. The split comes nested in very fine, red-as-hell covers & labels screened with gold in a eyeball crushing design. (Mister Records 7", 4th installment in a series, $4 HERE)

What a treat! There's something inherent in the Ariel Pink sound that is enhanced by the vinyl format. Unfortunately, he has been limited - until recently - to very few releases of the fairer sort. The latest of these blessings is the 'My Molly EP': Four tracks of top-form Pink plus a cover song! Check it - "The Bottom": wicked new-wave synth-line zig-zags while Pink alliterates like a motherfucker and backs himself - very nice; one of my favorite Pink tracks to date. "My Molly": Dove-tailed lyrics and collapsing melody. There's a generic comparison to be made here, yet it escapes me... refrain like a Turtles/Beach Boys song or something thereabouts; "Rock Play": What? Fat Wreck Pink?? A thick bass rumble and ultra-sneer Pink "They just want to play/ all day/Yeah, they don't wanna work/ all day" - Okay! Flip it over and blam, a Smith's cover! "This Night Has Opened My Eyes": Chelsea's right; Ariel does a good Morrissey, and this is an open acknowledgment of one of the man's most vital influences. Sounds like a demo for said track, except on a 4-track made of bread-dough, like in that Tomie dePaola book (anyone?); all mushy, mouth-made beats, color-bleeding guitar and vocals, and melodies that spell "Solid Gold". Oh, and finally, "GoX2" (sp.? it's cut off on the sleeve) is a nice little send off with jangly, chorus-peddle guitar and soliloquy to a sweetheart... Mysteriously silent locked-grooves urge you to flip this gem over and over. Comes in a b&w sleeve with crazy middle-earth artwork, including handwritten lyrics(?) - the first 100 came with unique, hand colored sleeves as pictured above in a "limited edition" (methinks they got lazy and said, "Fuck it - Limited Edition!"); a handful of these are available at the Tiny Creatures gallery (see below). Also included: an array of fun postcards of the highest quality in all shapes and patterns. (Tiny Creatures 7", ed. of 1,000, $7.50ppd HERE).

ATTENTION! This Saturday night, baby-label Tiny Creatures is having an opening - they have a gallery! Sorry for the short notice. I just found out today. Read about it HERE, and here:

'Tiny Creatures opening', Sept. 16 2006, 6-11pm
Featuring art work by Ariel Pink, Vibe Cental, Matt Fishbeck and performance by Holy Shit!
628 N. Alvarado Street, Los Angeles CA, 90026 (in Echo Park by the 101)

Be a winner: show up!

That's right. Then check this out (from ReleaseTheBats.com):

DOVE YELLOW SWANS - 'LIVE DURING WAR CRIMES VOL.2' CD
"The second volume, this time a collection of darker and more sinister live recordings taken from their tour in Europe early 2006. 42 black minutes of creepy soundscapes painting a depressive picture of a world going down in dust and ashes. The 5 songs all has a weird desperate and dense apocalyptic feel to them, making this a haunting and very bleak experience. Trashy dark rumblings and total coldness. Again very well-edited stuff by Pete Swanson, works more like a full proper album than just a collection of random recordings. Amazing... Comes packaged in a Dual Plover full color sleeve with black felt. Cover drawings by Liz Harris of Grouper. €8.50"

Also up for grabs HERE:
TAR.. FEATHERS - 'MAKE WAY FOR THE OCEAN FLOOR' CD
RACCOO-OO-OON - 'IS NIGHT PEOPLE' CD <---- Animal Psi recommended with extreme prejudice!

Arbor got treats to rot yr teeths. From the website:

Shepherds - 'Acid Bath' c20 $5ppd
"The acid drenched guitar hymns on this tape, seem to come from somewhere other then Brooklyn. It sounds like an escape from the city. The sounds contained within still feature the rhythm and busy-ness of the city, but sound as though they were recorded on an old tape deck in the woods, or the shed in the woods behind the cabin in the woods. It is only fitting that members of Shepherds come from groups such as Meneguar, Woods, Non-Horse, and Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice. It features the same "drop everything and make music" vibe that those other projects produce. Perfect hearthside tape to keep you warm as those metropolitan winters are approaching. Features super nice silkscreened art by Shawn Reed of Raccoo-oo-oon with copper rusted tapes. In a numbered edition of 100 copies."

Fossils/Waves - 'Ghetto Primitive' split CDr $5ppd
"Crumbling latitudes form a sonic bridge connecting Hamilton, Ontario and ypsi, Michigan. Recorded at the peak of canaduh's summer, the fossils half of this split stinks of the melted ghetto blaster thistrack was recorded on. The whole things chugs along at a super slow-mo rate giving the whole track a gotham city sewer system field recording vibe. Waves is john olson of American tapes, wolf eyes, dead machines, and just about every other rad unit out there. Here he comes in surfing on a sonic torrent of sirens crashing like the waves and bringing the seashells onto the shore. Wavesss second track sounds like the distress call of a submarine crashed on the ocean floor being heard through dolphin ears. In a numbered edition of 100 with slim cases slathered in a whole bunch of paint, but actually ends up looking super slick."

Also available:


v/a - 'arbor.' compilation CDr + 18pg art book $8ppd
treetops - 'sandy floors' 3" CDr $4ppd
horse head - 'birds and bees' c36 $4.50ppd

Arbor also carries a handful of rad releases from other labels. Look thee, HERE.