Fuzz has taken everyone by storm in 2013 - spitting out three killer singles and their undeniably SHREDDING debut album on In The Red, but WATCH OUT DUDES. We know you thought you could end 2013 unscathed, but Fuzz is back on the block with this HOT SHIT scorcher of a live album on Castle Face Records. Pay attention:
"Behold—when we introduced this live series, we spoke of lightning in a jar—this here’s a thunderstorm. TY SEGALL’s new stoner thrashers FUZZ not only totally murdered this set at San Francisco leather-daddy hangout The SF Eagle, but it was Ty’s birthday and he blew out his birthday cake candles mid-song, didn’t miss a beat, and that moment is forever etched into this record (we took a photo, too). “The place was insanely packed and they sound like the agile wolf-men they are up close and personal—Ty, mic wailing through a guitar amp and dominating drums like it’s the easiest thing in the world; CHARLIE, guitar set to Hendrix-meets-Hawkwind melter-mode; and ROLAND, keeping his bass firmly lodged in the groove—the jams are thick and wooly, we got some great photos of the night—man, this was one to remember and we’re super excited we captured such a freakishly good performance. As always, captured hot to tape, and mixed and massaged by our crack team of speaker-freakers (CHRIS WOODHOUSE, ERIC BAUER, BOB MARSHALL and JOHN DWYER) and shot to nicely grainy (real) film by BRIAN PRITCHARD.”
BELIEVE US when we tell you that as great as the Fuzz album is, the best way to experience FUZZ is in a live setting. If you haven't yet, then this album should get pretty damn close. Recorded like a live-wire direct t tape by master audio-alchemists Chris Woodhouse, Eric Bauer, Bob Marshall and John Dwyer, Fuzz is practically sweating thru these grooves pushing out the tuneage by force and jamming them into your earholes. The controlled chaos of the tunes in their recorded version is blown apart in these four jams herein - the band is tight as fuck & Charlie shreds - SHREDS like a man possessed! Live album stigma be damned this one is WELL WORTH your attention and is full to the brim with more cauldron bubbling evil than conveyed in the pic of a smiling Segall and Dwyer holding birthday cake on the back cover. RECOMMENDED, but act fast - if Fuzz's previous sales history tells us anything is that these WILL NOT be around long!
Austin, TX's Spray Paint are BACK buds and they're back with a vengeance. "Rodeo Songs" is their second full-length this year and it's on S-S Records again, Soriano's got the low-down on these chaps, so perk up, young buckaroos:
"We released Spray Paint's first full length at the beginning of 2013 and it quickly sold sold. Did a repress and it keeps selling. Why? Because not only are these guys a great band, playing an updated mix of Wire/100 Flower/Lake of Dracula/A Frames - style punk/post punk, but they regularly tour (and like to do so). They've played SXSW a few times, Cropped Out, Gonerfest, and a couple stages at Fun Fun Fun. They have played live on WFMU and KDVS and get good rotation at college stations across the US. They have an increasing fan base in Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2014, they have their sights set on touring Europe and the West Coast. Their second album Rodeo Songs is even better than their first, so we expect no drop off in response to this Austin trio."
It's only been nine months since Spray Paint's eponymous debut album was released and in that time they've gestated this mutant masterpiece in their respective wombs. "Rodeo Songs" skitters and scrapes like a shuriken-stocked ninja tweakin' on joy-juice, upping the ante on the debut by exuding not only a firmer grasp on their musical vision, but also a dizzying confidence is the power of silence and space. The songs push and pull on each other, radiating a tension and menace we haven't had the pleasure of hearing since the last time The A-Frames graced our turntables! There's ample amounts of cacophonous No-Wave guitar scree all over this platter, but the band uses it with precision, only drawing the blade when necessary (which makes it's impact all the more jarring) This is a TERRIFIC one-two punch from S-S by one of the best and most alluring bands out there right now - GRAB THIS ONE NOW before you get lost in the dust, cowpoke. RECOMMENDED and destined for Top Tenner status fer sher.
HOO BABY - S-S Records just won't quit! Soriano's back with two heavy hitter's just comin' in under the wire of 2013, one being this debut MONSTER of an album from San Francisco band Life Stinks! Grab a beer and read what S-S is spewing:
"As Robvertogo of Terminal Boredom wrote, Life Stinks is "San Francisco's last punk band." Firmly standing in the puddle created by Crime, Flipper, Fang, and the Fuck-Ups, Life Stinks is the proper negative reaction to the rapid take over of San Francisco by cyber douchebags. Cool, dark, bad attitude with a groove (and a nod to Velvet Underground). They have a single on Totally Punk which is aces, a nice slap in the face. Producers Mikey Young and Kelley Stoltz have taken that face slap and turned it into a gut punch. Blow for blow, this is one of the best punk rock & roll albums to come out of the Bay Area in at least a decade."
Life Stinks features former Outdoorsmen singer/guitarist Chad Kuwamara and shares that band's chaotic scumfuckery, however Life Stinks comes 'atcha with switchblade drawn like some back-alley scuzzball with ice in his veins and a thirst for blood. There's a healthy dose of treachery and menace that's been sorely missing from a lot of rock'n'roll and punk these days, and to our ears the warped tunes spewing from this platter sidle up and push you around like the unholy collision of Fang, Flipper, Modern Lovers & the Velvet Underground (particularly on the 16 minute closer "My My My", a tune we wish would never end every time we hear it). This is music made for miscreants, mutants and malcontents, so if you're jonesin' for some nihilism grab this one ASAP. Guaranteed to bum out yer friends before side one is over. This party-killer is RECOMMENDED.
Limited to 300 on Blue Vinyl!!!
The Great Pop Supplement's Deep Distance imprint gets yet another fine addition with Samantha Glass' "Midnight Arrival" LP and here's the details straight from the label:
"Next up on Deep Distance comes the second full length from Wisconsin based Beau Devereaux and his Samantha Glass project. Previous releases on Digitalis, Golden Cloud and the initial cassette release to “Midnight Arrival” here (on Not Not Fun) caught our attention and the wax version to “MA” is extended by 2 bonus cuts- creating Samantha Glass’ first UK release in the process….
10 primarily synth based pieces backed by looped drum machine, waves of distorted guitar / bass drone / atmospherics and hazy lo-fi vocal washes- create a wonderful brew which in equal measure tips it’s cap towards Schulze / Tangerine Dream territory yet equally brings to mind that feeling of discovering some discarded, hidden stack of small run, private press, post punk / DIY minimal synth 45s- where one unmistakeable guiding hand experiments over a number of styles. Either way it works and the sensation of “could be Sheffield circa ‘78/’79 or Cologne ‘72/’73” makes for more than a satisfying listen over the course of a full length.
Released Mid November as a pressing of 300 on transparent blue wax expected not to hang around long…."
Originally a cassette release from Not Not Fun, "Midnight Arrival" arrives on wax with a coupla extra tracks. Bonus! If you dig the above mentioned, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream, and all the minimalist kosmische space drones we're always blabbering on about week after week then stop what you doing and grab this one pronto! There's only 300 to go round folks and this will not be coming back so act fast. Blissfully Recommended.
LIMITED TO 300 ON RED SPLATTERED CLEAR VINYL!!!
Texas' mighty Quttinirpaaq are not messin' around as this is their second album of 2013 and holy shit is it great. Once again brought to the public by Rural Isolation Project, we'll let the label fill in the details:
"Syrup-thick bass licks run amok. Messy, scratching and screeching effects cut across fuzzed-out space noise. The bash-your-brains-in pounding of the drums rounds things off. Ugly, painful, whacked-out sludge, sure, but this is Quttinirpaaq’s second full length album this year, so it’s gotta go further (and it does). Pounding, minimal hypno-riffs extend past the horizon, shards of guitar feedback fall in and out of the landscape, spiky electronics fizz and pop like a mellotron buried under a mound of Popul Vuh records. Clear vinyl with red splatters. Color insert. Edition of 300."
We loved Quttinirpaaq's earlier offering of "No Visitors" and now "Let's Hang Out" is busy buckling our speakers. We get more gobs of drugged out distortion, more blown-out riffs that get hammered into nothingness, more looped rhythmic sound collages, more blasts of what can only be molested power tools, more mind melting aggro-psychedelic thuggery and more fugged up experimental lunacy. And we can get behind that! Quttinirpaaq keep alive the grand tradition of Texas pig kickin' noise punk freak flag flyers like some ungodly mix of Shit and Shine, Butthole Surfers, Walking Timebombs and Rubble these freaks are giving absolutely no fucks and providin' some damn fine noise jams in the process. So by all means "Let's Hang Out" and turn this one all the way up! Savagely Recommended.
Medical Records drops a doozy of a reissue here with its release of "Vortex" by Paul Nelson. Here's what Medical Records has to say on the
matter:
"Medical Records is proud to release it’s first reissue originating from the Pacific Northwest region of the USA in association with 2510 Records in Portland. MR-024 is the one and only release by Portland’s PAUL NELSON. Vortex was released in 1981 on Paul’s own Optiman Systems Inc imprint. Paul grew up around Portland and had a strong background in music and music theory. He built a PAIA synthesizer when he in junior high and developed a keen intuition into analog synthesis. Eventually he purchased a MiniMoog and was very influenced by Alan Parsons, ELP, and ENO. Armed with more gear as time went on (Sequential Circuits 600 sequencer, Oberheim DS-2, etc), Paul was offered an opportunity to record his own album which led to the Recording Associates sessions during which Vortex was born. The LP was also half-speed mastered at JVC Studios in CA. 1000 copies were originally pressed and self-distributed by Paul. The opening track “Automated Man” which also happens to be the only track with vocals, is a slab of genuine electro greatness with it’s sharp synth hooks and vocoded vocals. The LP takes many twists and turns with many tracks of sequenced pulsations, electronic drums, and rhythms reminiscent of the Sci-fi soundtracks mixed with a healthy dose of almost proggy space/cosmic disco crossed with later-age Tangerine Dream. “Vortex 2” is a perfect example of the above description with imagery of a Blade Runner esque chase scene meets Carpenter at his most upbeat. “Labyrinth” takes more a more relaxed synth odyssey approach with slower percussion and a spacier vibe overall. The rest of side 2 “Vortex 3-4-5” is a magnificent build up of ambient soundscapes that morph into a slow cosmic burner and fades out again into the darkness to close the LP. All tracks have been restored and remastered by Paul Nelson for this release. For many years this LP could be found in the PNW in record bins but over the last decade, it has been become quite rare which has led to it fetching rather high prices on the collector’s market. Medical Records is thrilled to introduce the world to this work of art again. For fans of library synth, sci-fi soundtracks, and other more sequenced electronic acts such as Tangerine Dream, Axxess, and minimal synth. This reissue is presented on high-quality 180-gram splatter paint on opaque white vinyl. Features exact reproduction of the front and infamous back covers. Contains bonus insert with in-depth interview with Paul Nelson by ELSE TEICHER. Limited edition."
It seems not a week goes by without us finding yet another stunning album of mind blowing electronic music that some fine minded people have given the reissue treatment to and this week it is Medical Records with their reissue of Paul Nelson's "Vortex". "Vortex" is ear pleasing album of arpeggiated synthesizers, space pulse drum machines, the occasional vocoded vocals and absolutely entrancing electronic wizardry! Fans of Tubeway Army, John Bender, Vangelis, Doris Norton and Kraftwerk will be picking their jaws up off the ground after giving this one a spin. We're sure "Vortex" is gonna ignite more than a few love affairs with this record. Magically Recommended.
LP - Various Artists - Electroconvulsive Therapy 1 - A Collection Of Rare Singles Etc - $18.99 - BUY
- LISTEN 
- LISTEN Medical Records continues to RULE with this staggeringly catchy comp of minimal synth and electro pop acts! Get the full story directly from the label here:
"Medical Records is proud to release it’s first compilation LP. In association with Crispy Nuggets blog, we have carefully curated a collection of extremely rare and sought after singles and rare tracks. This compilation includes 5 complete A + B sides as well as 2 other tracks that only appeared on obscure compilations in the early ‘80s. The first 2 tracks are by UK’s THE ELECTRONIC CIRCUS. Featuring CHRIS PAYNE (who also performed synth work on the iconic Pleasure Principle by none other than Gary Numan), the track “Direct Lines” is pure synthpop perfection. The second featured artist is Boston’s PSYCHIC YOUTH who released one lone 7” in 1982. One of the members, PERRY GEYER, was also a founding member of the industrial outfit MANUFACTURE. “Step in Time” and “The Future Is Now” are both dense minimal synth hits that have been remastered by Mr. Geyer himself. Another excruciatingly rare 7” is the self-titled single by UK’s AAHH…! “Slip Away” and “Duty Calls” further fit the bill for moody minimal synthpop greatness. Possibly even more rare is the SHAZAM single released in 1983 in the UK. Both tracks from the single are included here. The 2 “wild card” tracks if you will on the record are “Panic In Your Mind” by N.A. POP 2000 (UK) and “Maske” by BERLINER STRASSE (Yugoslavia). Both tracks were plucked from rare wave compilations from the early ‘80s. The final single featured is the solo outing by CLAUDE ARTO from MATHEMATIQUES MODERNES. Released in 1981 on Celluloid (France), the 2 tracks drip synthetic bloops and blips while being propelled by rhythmic electro sequences. A perfect closing of each side of the LP. This collection will certainly appeal to fans of the rare minimal synth culture, early stripped down synth pop, or anybody else who has wanted even one of these tracks on wax again as they are all quite rare. This reissue is presented on high-quality 180-gram splatter paint on transparent green vinyl. Front cover photography by ALAN MASTERS. Limited edition."
The "Electroconvulsive Therapy 1" compilation gives us 12 tracks of insanely infectious new- wavey electronic pop gems. Track after glorious track unfolds like a nonstop neon 80's avalanche and we are freaking loving it! It's like everybody and their brother was busy pumping out high energy electro pop in the early 80's with all these long lost singles getting given the reissue treatment these days. Hell, we ain't complainin'! "Electroconvulsive Therapy 1" is full of cold robotic synth pop winners from start to finish, grab this pronto cuz its prolly yer new favorite record. Most Certainly Recommended.
2xLP - Various Artists - The Ecstasy of Gold: 25 Killer Bullets from the Spaghetti West Vol. 3 - $23.99 - BUY - LISTEN
- LISTEN Semi-Automatic Records offers up volume number 3 of their amazing Spaghetti Western compilation series, here's the whosey whats its directly from the label:
"Volume three in this essential and peerless series. Selected from one of the most complete Spaghetti Western audio archives, this five volume series showcases the most inspired tracks in this legendary genre. Digging deep to excavate a treasure trove of obscure and rarely-heard tracks by some of the genre's greatest composers and vocalists, Ecstasy of Gold is the definitive series for aficionados of Euro-Western films and the music that they created. Loud gunshots with reverb and echo appear with the first image of a lawless killer riding a horse... a punchy & trebly bass guitar seeps into your brain as he draws his pistol, a hair-raising scream half-melodic, half-banshee spews forth from the speakers as blood splatters yet again onto the desert floor. The audio soundtrack to the Italian version of the American West is flamboyant, brutal, intense, and unforgiving. Songs composed for the Italian Westerns of the 1960s and 1970s have become a genre all unto themselves. There were hundreds of European Westerns during this period and the majority of them were made by Italian directors and scored by Italian composers. Crying trumpets, exploding surf guitars, thundering drums, droning organs, dramatic vocal performances, and innovative special effects were woven into a wild and violent desert backdrop, creating that undeniable Spaghetti Western sound heard on this record. The most famous of all the Italian soundtrack composers is Ennio Morricone and his music for the Italian Western is guaranteed to inspire and amaze until the end of time itself. But there were many other great and legendary maestros who scored their share of Westerns and this compilation presents transcendent, brilliant and challenging tracks from the likes of: Bruno Nicolai, Gianni Ferrio, Francesco De Masi, Marcello Giombini, Luis Bacalov, Stelvio Cipriani, Alessandro Alessandroni, Nora Orlandi, Nico Fidenco, Piero Umiliani, and many others. 2LP gatefold in a limited edition pressing of 750 copies."
This 3rd volume is further proof of the thrilling sounds coming out of Italy in the hey-day of Spaghetti Western productions. 25 more heart pounding, mood setting pieces rife with tension to perfectly compliment the image. 25 more examples of how when great score music is composed by some of the most talented composers going, the image becomes unnecessary as the sounds more than stand on their own. This compilation will more than deliver with its 25 cuts of cinematic soundscapes, but we recommend tracking down all 3 volumes for the full experience. Heavily Recommended.
Catchy as hell jangle-pop from this Melbourne quartet - none of whom are named Steven - released on Aussie label du-jour Chapter Music, who have a few words to fill your head with:
"Melbourne scratchy pop foursome The Stevens formed in 2011 around guitarist (and now Twerps drummer) Alex Macfarlane and NZ-born axe-slinger Travis MacDonald. The band now also includes bassist Gus Lord (Boomgates) and drummer Matt Harkin. Earlier this year, Chapter Music reissued the band's 2012 self-titled EP, six insanely catchy songs that haunt your ears for much longer than the record's 13-minute duration. Now Chapter is very excited to announce A History of Hygiene, The Stevens' debut album. A History of Hygiene is markedly different from the EP, an impressionist whirlwind of song fragments and frenetic anxiety-pop classics, sequenced almost without pause in a heady 24-song, 44-minute rush. First single "Hindsight" was premiered in early October by Ad Hoc, and was picked up by the likes of Pitchfork and the Guardian and played on BBC 6. Drummer Tam Matlakowski (Pop Singles) and bassist Callum Foley appear on the album, but departed the band in late 2012. The Stevens are now made up of two pairs of childhood friends -- Alex and Gus have known each other since they were babies, and Matt and Travis went to school together in Victoria's Central Goldfields. The Stevens formed when Travis moved to Melbourne, met Alex, and the pair decided to combine their respective solo projects into a single band. Much of the album was recorded by Eddy Current/Total Control guitarist Mikey Young (whose vast recording CV includes Chapter bands Dick Diver, Twerps, and Fabulous Diamonds), and the rest handled by the band themselves. A History of Hygiene was mastered by MacDonald family friend Tex Houston, who has worked with the likes of the Clean, the 3Ds, and the Verlaines. "
This album has 24 tracks, which sounds like a lot but none of these are of any outstanding length. The Stevens keep it lean and mean, never letting a song overstay it's welcome - when it feels like it should end... it does. Wire's "Pink Flag" and Guided By Voices' "Alien Lanes" are other records that have a similar manifesto and while this record sounds nothing like Wire (but a touch like GBV) we can get behind their shared sense of sonic economy. The Stevens operate in a decidedly Aussie/New Zealand pop mode with scruffy riffs of earworm "slacker-pop" (for lack of a better term... maybe "back-porch jangle"? I dunno - it's great though). These tunes are resting comfortable in the nonchalant pop canon of bands like The Clean, GBV, Unrest, Pavement and other ramshacklers from their homeland like Boomgates, Dick Diver and Twerps, but imbibed with an urgent quality in the recordings that give an overall vibe of UK D.I.Y. a'la TVP or Cleaners From Venus. Recorded and mastered to perfection by ECSR/Total Control savant Mikey Young, this one is a REALLY solid album that we've been jammin' HARD here at the shop! Includes a download too! Grab it fast and don't let go! RECOMMENDED!
Three and a half decades in the making, Chapter Music is way fucking stoked to release the debut album from Australia's Primitive Calculators!!!!!
"Thirty-five years after they first crawled out of dark, suburban Springvale to spew their synth-punk filth over Melbourne and beyond, Primitive Calculators have made their first-ever studio album, aptly entitled The World Is Fucked. Stuart Grant, Denise Hilton, Dave Light, and Frank Lovece formed Primitive Calculators in 1978. They existed in bitter antipathy and vile hedonism in St. Kilda and Fitzroy until 1980, reformed briefly to appear in the 1986 film Dogs in Space (starring INXS' Michael Hutchence), and then reconvened more permanently in 2009, at the invitation of the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival at Mount Buller. Their original releases, classic synth-punk single I Can't Stop It/Do That Dance in 1979 and a posthumous live album from 1982, are now Holy Grails for collector scum around the world. French label Desire Records reissued both records in limited vinyl editions. Despite their vicious reputation, Primitive Calculators actually nurtured a thriving community of impromptu bands around them, now renowned worldwide as the "Little Bands" scene, including groups like Thrush And The C**ts, Too Fat To Fit Through The Door, and the incredible Take. Recorded with Neil Thomason (My Disco, The Slits) and mastered by David Walker (Lost Animal, Pikelet, Twerps, etc.), The World Is Fucked pulls no punches across its nine one-word songs. The sound is a kind of shimmering ball of white noise and malice, a floating miasma filled with all the bile most people never let emerge from their subconscious. The album also includes their version of a song they have been playing since the late '70s, "Nothing" by New York outsiders The Fugs. Thirty-five years later, bleaker, harsher and more desperately hilarious than ever, Primitive Calculators present The World Is Fucked -- the ultimate aural statement of aging, despair, and futility." - Chapter Music
We never thought this day would come, but after some coaxing and a few reunion gigs, Primitive Calculators reformed to show the world just how noisy, deranged, outrageous and fucking wild RnR needs to be. Sure in their absence we've had our Big Black and Jesus Lizard lps to keep us agitated and hateful, but nothing quite compares to the gnarled / blown out synth punk of the Primitive Calculators!!!!! And even after all the years in hiding, Primitive Calculators are EVEN MEANER AND MORE FERAL THAN EVER!!!! This isn't some washed up reunion cash grab, "The World Is Fucked" is a roller coaster of spastic screaming, wailing synths, bonkers drum machines and strangled guitar effects, warped, ugly and turned up, WAY up. Surely one of the most engrossing and disturbing spins of the year, Primitive Calculators mix of noise, synth damage, punk and proto industrial chaos is just what you need for those long winter nights ahead. "The World Is Fucked" is Aussie punk at its best!!!!! VICIOUSLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY HELL. We sit here with mouths agape as we throw on this BRAND NEW vinyl platter of a Gunter Schickert cassette-only release from 1983 consisting of (at the time) unreleased material! It's on Bureau B (or course) and they've got the EYE on the SKY, so pay attention:
"The fact that this album appeared at all in 1983 owes less to Günter Schickert and more to Steven and Alan Freeman, who sought him out for their Krautrock encyclopedia The Crack in the Cosmic Egg. On learning that Schickert had heaps of recordings in his archive, the Freeman brothers proposed compiling an album. Schickert agreed and handed over material which the English YHR label had released in cassette form. Kinder in der Wildnis is a more heterogeneous album than either of its predecessors, understandably so, since the pieces it contains are not immediately related to one another. Occasionally (above all, on the two bonus tracks -- available here for the first time), the influence of Neue Deutsche Welle (German new wave), virtually omnipresent in that era, may be detected. For the most part, however, Schickert stays true to form and creates layers of hypnotic, filigree echo patterns, frequently accompanied by a dragging beat. To add to the atmosphere, he mixed in dummy head recordings made in Kreuzberg on New Year's Eve, 1980. In the following decade he augmented these with corresponding recordings from New Year's Eve, 1990. A rare treat awaits on the title track -- his four year-old daughter can clearly be heard singing the chorus at full pelt. Günter Schickert remains one of the greats of the Krautrock underground. Alongside his solo album work, he was a member of GAM, No Zen, and Ziguri Ego Zoo and composed a wealth of music for theater. He also painted (the drawings in the booklet, for example) and worked as a multimedia artist. His career in music began in the late 1960s, early 1970s in Berlin's legendary Zodiak Free Arts Lab (founded by Konrad Schnitzler and Hans-Joachim Roedelius). Among the similarly creative free spirits he met here was a certain Klaus Schulze, then drumming for Tangerine Dream. He would later join Schulze on tour as a roadie and musician and sometimes looked after Schulze's house when he was on the road. They recorded an album together in 1975 and intended to release it under the title Ich bin zwei Öltanks ("I am two oil tanks"). Alas, it would be another 38 years until it saw the light of day (with the rather more sensible title of The Schulze-Schickert Session). Today, amongst other things, Günter Schickert is back touring with his old band, Ziguri. "
"Kinder In Der Wildnis "" translates to "Children In The Wilderness" and we're not sure if Schickert's referring to the fact that these jams he birthed were sort of 'lost in the wild' until the Freeman's compiled them in '83, but regardless the presence of children are all over this thing. Schickert's own daughter appears on a track or two. The disparity of recording time isn't evident AT ALL - the whole album flows like a fever dream from wistful avant-pop, to flat-out odd tape collage experiments, to electro-fried jams that wouldn't sound out of place on Chrome's '3rd From The Sun". YEAH. For reals. This is a tremendous record by a lesser known artist in the krautrock scene who deserves more attention. Gonna grab this? Make sure to get "Uberfallig" if you don't have it already. MASTERPIECES. This one comes absolutely, positively RECOMMENDED. Essential listening, bros.
The Bureau B label continues its drool inducing reissue campaign of essential ksomische and electronic music. This time around it is 1982's "In Die Nacht" from Asmus Tietchens. We'll let the Bureau B folks fill you I on the history behind this one:
"Bureau B reissues Asmus Tietchens' third solo album on Sky Records, originally released in 1982. It stands to reason that any musical journey undertaken by a skeptic like Asmus Tietchens is destined to head into the night (In die Nacht) rather than into the day. In die Nacht, the third album in the so-called time signal ("Zeitzeichen") phase, continuing in the same vein as Biotop (BB 141CD/LP) and Spät-Europa (BB 142CD/LP), while laying down its own stylistic markers, no doubt attributable to the sizeable challenges facing the composer. Time, or the lack thereof, was the most pressing concern. With only a few weeks available in which to produce the record, he had to rein in his ambition. In the past, Tietchens had seldom allowed tracks to exceed three minutes in length, avoiding the effect of "musical drift"; hence, the ideas came thick and fast on his previous two albums. This time around, in creative terms -- and with all due meticulousness -- he needed to be more economical. Four of the tracks turned out far wider-ranging than they might have done under different circumstances. Ironically, these are the very pieces which lend the album its enduring character. The exuberantly stumbling rhythm of "Höhepunkt kleiner Mann" is as typical as the dark mood of the title-track, although jaunty and highly-charged tones creep into the latter. "Regenwald," on the other hand, carries the listener off to a magical sonic setting, a hypnotic allure underneath pulsating rhythms. Such a display of color is akin to the atmosphere of Max Ernst's jungle paintings. In technical terms, In die Nacht differed notably from its predecessors as Tietchens now had access to a Polymoog, enabling him to play chords. The Minimoog and rhythm machine he had used until then were deliberately pushed into the background; the drum machine in particular was drastically taken out of the mix. The creative versatility of this relatively modest equipment still appears remarkable today."
"In Die Nacht" is wonderfully catchy album of dark minimal electronics, skittering drum machines and masterfully layered synthesizers. Everything decays in warm washes of reverb and echo and pulsating rhythms give this record a surging vitality as each track perfectly segues into the next. Another classic brought back to life for a whole new generation of electro junkies. Hop to it cuz this one is Mega- Recommended.
Get ready for Hozac's latest new sensation, Toronto's First Base and their s/t debut lp !!! Read on for the deets -
"Wait, is this a new band? We've positioned this incredible debut LP along with our Archival series batch for good reason, as FIRST BASE are one of the purest bands you're likely to come across, a true pop milestone so authentic and airtight, you'll swear you've heard these chords before. Originally one of the 'mystery bands on MySpace" from the mid-2000's, FIRST BASE released a string of much loved singles & EPs but kept a low profile despite being an active performing band in their hometown of Toronto, but it wasn't their intent to be anonymous. If you'll recall, they gained a wider appreciation after Personal & the Pizzas covered their iconic "Nobody Makes My Girl Cry But Me" which pushed them further onto the underground pop radar, and they returned the favor by covering " I Don't Feel So Happy Now" on their last EP. But affiliations aside, FIRST BASE are going to leave a deep scar on your world, and they'll be dumping sugar and syrup deep in those wounds with every repeated listen of this incredible pop debut. Like Jesus & Mary Chain fronting the Ramones, covering Joey Levine, FIRST BASE are pure honey-dripping salvation from the sadistic world we're trapped inside, a true ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day, just try to not melt away." - Hozac
Earworming power popped punk jams from north of the border doesn't get better than this debut batch of killer songs from First Base. Sugar coated melodies, infectious riffs, bubblegum hooks and late 70s punk swagger combine for what is for sure gonna soundtrack yer next all night party. Fans of White Wires, Nobunny, Young Governor, Exploding Hearts, Warm Soda and Games all need to get to First Base NOW!!!! Nonstop bouncing around and humming awaits. So yeah it's WAY RECOMMENDED!!!!!
Hozac Records is proud to present their first full length archival release and it's from none other than Chicago's Epicycle, entitled "You're Not Gonna Get It" !!!!!
"Like a snotty bottle rocket shot out of The Damned’s dressing room and straight into the gut of Cheap Trick, suburban Chicago’s sorely under appreciated teen punk pioneers, EPICYCLE, were left out by most modern historical accounts of Midwest underground music of the time, which is such a shame. We here at HoZac first contacted the band about 10 years ago when researching our ‘Trunk City Punk: Chicago Underground 1976-81′ feature article for Horizontal Action Magazine, so it was only natural as we evolved into a record label that we needed to rescue these tracks from the cracks of history. With this compilation LP, we present to you the original punch this band was trying to deliver with their three incredible singles, and tracks from their sole LP, along with some pre-razored demos from their earliest sessions, when they were angry, young, and unstoppable.
Although the band were ambitious enough to do everything themselves (back when that didn’t need an annoying acronym), they went above and beyond and even started their own record label, ‘Circkle,’ and released three singles, an LP, and a handful of singles for other bands, all within a span of a few years, yet it just wasn’t enough, despite some key local supporters in the rock’n roll underground. One of their earliest and most enthusiastic champions was none other than Subterranean Pop fanzine editor, and future Sub Pop Records co-founder, Bruce Pavitt, before he left the Midwest for Evergreen University. It was clear that Pavitt was attempting to become the band manager and he had even laid out a multi-point system of attack for the band, luckily of which the original handwritten copy still exists! Another notable band released on the Circkle label was Identity Crisis, who featured a teenage Kim Thayil (along with Pavitt’s brother,John) before he followed Bruce out to Seattle and started Soundgarden a few years later, by default, tying EPICYCLE into the fabric of the primitive beginnings of Sub Pop in it’s original Midwest manifestation.
As one of only a handful of Chicago punk/new wave bands with an actual record out in the late 1970s, EPICYCLE hit the scene hard and could be found not only gigging around the usual local punk spots such as Tut’s, O’Banion’s, Gaspar’s, Lucky #, and Space Place, but also at Winnetka all-ages shows, and north suburban Glencoe teen dance halls just as well. Their raw-edged pop cut a fine line between the emerging punk and powerpop worlds, and compared with regional bands such as Shoes, Pezband, The Names and many others in the shadow of post- “Surrender” Cheap Trick, they were far younger and more aggressive, yet still just as talented and refined when it was in order. But for all intents and purposes, this is the sound of pure teen punk with a knack for hooks and harmonies, and is just as essential of a document of Chicago’s underground sound of the late 1970s as any of the more well-known usual suspects, who are more than likely the subjects of their classic song, “Hardcore Punk.” -VictimofTime.com
“Chicago: summer of ’79. I remember catching many inspiring shows by the remarkably epic mod/pop band Epicycle. They were the most melodic and anthemic (and youngest) of the Chicago bands I was lucky enough to witness, and were undeniably the hit of the punk/alternative loft party circuit that summer.” -Bruce Pavitt, 2013 Subterranean Pop Fanzine/Sub Pop Records founder
YES !!!! It's about time Epicycle get their due, too long have they remained a forgotten footnote in Chicago's diverse and wild RnR history books. "You're Not Gonna Get It" documents a promising young band finding their own sound in the midst of the punk explosion, somewhat different from everything else going on in Chicago at the time. Epicycle's catchy combo of power pop meets punk, with a healthy dose of mod jangle, should've taken the world by storm but such was not their fate. Instead their three singles and one lp became super coveted by collectors (deservingly so). But now that Hozac's issued this collection we don't have to spend years tracking these killer songs down. Fans of likeminded bands such as the Kids, the Shoes, the Speedies and 20/20 or junkies for Numero Group's "Buttons" comps and any of the Sing Sing reissues need to Epicycle now!!!! SERIOUSLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!
3xLP - Various Artists - I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age Music In America 1950-1990 3xLP Boxset - $34.99 - BUY - LISTEN
- LISTEN Light In The Attic continues it's banner year right up 'till the end with this beautifull looking & sounding anthology of private-press "New Age" music spanning the Fifties thru the Nineties! That's quite a wide berth, but we trust LiTA's got both hands on the tiller, so let 'em sail on, sailor:
“Sound created the universe. It wasn’t a word. Sound created atoms; sound and light are the original manifesting principles for worlds… A musician sources that primeval, eternal sound, and it comes out as music.” – Constance Demby
Forget everything you know, or think you know, about new age, a genre that has become one of the defining musical-archaeological explorations of the past decade. I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America, 1950-1990 is the first major anthology to survey the golden age of new age and reveal the unbelievable truth about the genre. For new age, at its best, is a reverberation of psychedelic music, and great by any standard. This is analog, handmade music communicating soul and spirit, often done on limited means and without commercial potential, self-published and self-distributed. Before it became big business and devolved into the spaced out elevator music we know and loathe today, this was the real thing. From mathematical musical algorithms to airport murder mysteries to Henry Mancini and Bugs Bunny, the connections to mainstream culture run in curious directions. (Did you know, for instance, that a track from the first modern private press new age album is featured on the Blade Runner soundtrack? It’s called “Pompeii, 76 A.D.”, and we’ve got it here.) I Am The Center is a knowing, but never cynical overview that invites listeners at last to the mainspring of a misunderstood genre’s greatest lights. Many of the biggest names are present — Iasos, inter-dimentional channeler of “paradise music”; Laraaji, discovered by Brian Eno playing for spare change in Washington Square Park; and the recently famous JD Emmanuel, icon to a new generation of drone, ambient, noise musicians. Call it what you will — before it was anything else, it was new age.
Lovingly conceived and lavishly presented, I Am The Center features stunning paintings by the legendary visual artist Gilbert Williams, and liner notes by producer Douglas Mcgowan, who weaves the words and images of the wizards and sorceresses of new age into a prismatic portrait of music that can finally be recognized for what it is: great American folk art."
"I Am The Center" positions itself to "take back" New Age music from it's Eighties defilers, by letting the listener discover the true and authentic origins of it's sound and the thread it's sewn through to the present day. Showing it's humble beginnings in the Fifties with a track by Gurdjieff/de Hartmann whose sparse piano mantras lead nicely into more modern works by folks like Eno collaborator Laraaji, whose pulsing drones in turn lead nicely into more modern electro-acoustic excursions. A real treat that we wouldn't have pegged LiTA to reissue, but are sure glad they did. Gorgeously packaged (as expected) and sounding excellent, this one's a great one to align your chi or augment that "chillspace" you've been meaning to get together. Cop this one and RELAX, man. RECOMMENDED.
Just in time for all yer post punk xmas shopping, 4 Men With Beards has repressed the absolutely classic lp "Cut" by the Slits !!!!
"2013 repress. "Originally released in 1979, the debut from British all-girl post-punk band The Slits is available on 180 gram vinyl for the first time. Mixing a punk attitude and D.I.Y style with reggae rhythms and dub recording techniques, The Slits made some of the most avant pop of the period, which still sounds fresh and innovative today. Mixing unavoidable hooks, minimalist arrangements, and exuberant vocals with a rough, street smart style, Cut is a classic masterwork." - 4 Men WIth Beards
UM YOU NEED THIS LP RIGHT NOW, saying anything else would be beside the point! Cuz the Slits seriously reinvented what it meant to be punk and "Cut" is a thoroughly wild and enjoyable listen every fucking spin (and it will be til the end of time!!!). Just as essential as PiL, Kleenex/Liliput, Au Pairs, Gang Of Four and Essential Logic for yer collection Big hugs go to 4 Men With Beards for keeping this MUST OWN lp in print for music lovers to rediscover all over again. MEGA RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!
BLACK VINYL VERSION
OUI!!!!!! Our favorite French rock n rollers, Limiñanas, are back with their third long player, "Costa Blanca", on Trouble In Mind!!!!
"The Limiñanas are back on Trouble In Mind with their third album, “Costa Blanca”! Once again recorded at their home in the south of France by Lio himself, “Costa Blanca” pushes the envelope of their signature Franc-o-phonic sound; the coloeur café cool of Gainsbourg, the hypnotic drone of VU-era Cale, and the spiky fuzz of Davie Allan. This time around the band laces the tunes with a dramatic flair of French New Wave soundtracks and the percussive sonic accents found in Morricone’s work in Il Gruppo, particularly “The Feed-Back” whose funk-laced tracks incorporate elements of avant-classical and experimental sonic elements.
Fans of the band will no doubt hear familiar passages; melodic themes that appear and disappear not only over the course of this album, but that also reference The Limiñanas’ entire oeuvre - melodic “jump-cuts” that are sonic echoes of previous tunes and future melodies. Thematically, “Costa Blanca” is an insular record, with subjects that reference Lio’s youth growing up in Spain in the 1970’s near the Mediterranean Sea and lyrics which are nostalgic odes to the music, films, girls, books and cars that shaped his world. “Costa Blanca” includes a printed inner sleeve, and a download code.
RIYL: Sérge Gainsbourg, Velvet Underground, Kim Fowley, Ennio Morricone, Stereolab, Stereo Total"
On "Costa Blanca" the Limiñanas have hit their hypnotic stride!!! Hazy melodies waft through the air, sexy vocals twist and turn around the droning psych, fuzzed out ye-ye morphs into garage jangle and then vanishes into thin air. "Costa Blanca" is a place you've never been before, a new wave French film you've never seen, a good memory that's gonna repeat itself, a dream you spend all day revisiting and remembering, an aural journey you're gonna want to take over and over again. No French band going these days swirls together such an addicting mix of Gainsbourg and VU like the Limiñanas. So grab yer sunglasses and yer pack of Gauloises, and head out for the "Costa Blanca." It's where you need to be. Vous besoin de cela. Très recommandé!!!!
LIMITED COLOR VINYL EDITION!
There's no stopping Cheap Time frontman, Jeffrey Novak, who just dropped another killer solo effort, "Lemon Kid" this time on local RnR purveyors Trouble In Mind !!!!!
"If there’s one thing you need to remember about Nashville-ian Jeffrey Novak is that he never stops. Like... never. Between his main band Cheap Time’s relentless touring schedule and recording (they probably have a new album out by the time you read this), he somehow finds the time to record solo material under his own name. His debut solo effort, “After The Ball” came out of nowhere - self released on his own Sonic Assault Records in 2009 to very little fanfare, it showcased a very different side of Novak. Gone were his blown-out, trashy Reatards/Oblivians/Persuaders worship, replaced with a sincere understanding of the maudlin melodies and pop music from the Early Seventies inspired by the likes of Ray Davies, John Cale, Brian Eno and the pervy balladry of Kevin Ayers.
“Lemon Kid” is undoubtedly his most focused solo work to date, distilling all that came before into one succinct and engaging listen. Guitars squeal and synths unravel from song to song, with Novak pushing the envelope of what in takes to create music in a pop setting, teasing sonic boundaries while retaining what makes a song great - the hooks. The first edition of “Lemon Kid” is pressed on 150gm randomly-mixed vinyl, includes a download code and is housed in a full-color, tip-on sleeve.
RIYL: Kevin Ayers, Brian Eno, Ty Segall, Van Der Generator, Jay Reatard"
If you haven't been paying attention to Jeffrey Novak and/or Cheap Time, now is the time. Hot on the heels of his previous solo effort "Baron In The Trees" and Cheap Time's widely celebrated album "Wallpaper Music" (both on In The Red) comes "Lemon Kid" his most succinct and earworming album yet. Combining the best of arty UK psych, garage rock and glam indebted punk, Jeffrey Novak's third LP is wild roller coaster that leaves you something different every spin. Sometimes it's hints of "Taking Tiger Mountain", other times it's warped pop of the first Soft Machine, but mostly it rocks just as hard as "Electric Warrior" and "Blood Visions". And if you own those classics, you need "Lemon Kid" STAT!!!! A SUPER RECOMMENDED ALBUM from one of our go-to faves. (Ps, grab one now before the color wax is all gone!!!!)
BLACK VINYL VERSION
Alex Cuervo, garage punk extrordinaire who you know from various killer bands, is back on the scene with whole a new spooky sound and his new horror synth project, Espectrostatic. Trouble In Mind wants you to cross over to the darkside now, so read on:
"Alex Cuervo has been rattling skulls for years in punk and garage bands like The Hex Dispensers, Blacktop, This Damn Town and Feast of Snakes. 2011 saw the release of two solo EPs under his own name, exploring his interest in darker, synth-oriented punk music. Since then, the Texan native has not only honed his skills on the synthesizer, but constructed this 13-song suite of instrumentals that owe a serious debt to the pioneers of late-seventies horror soundtracks like John Carpenter, Italo-prog masters Goblin and the work of German pioneers Tangerine Dream.
“Espectrostatic” unfolds like the soundtrack to a lost horror classic, with it’s pulsing synths and ominous passages inferring the unleashing of an ancient, horror creating a Lovecraft-ian musical journey. The tracks range from near ambient clouds of dread (”Consulting The Necronauts”) to throbbing tunes that could almost be mistaken for the goth-club floor-fillers created by Skinny Puppy and Soft Cell (”Phantom Swarm”). This is music made for the night and all things that reside therein. The LP edition of “Espectrostatic” is pressed on 150gm black vinyl and includes a download code. Features sleeve design from reknowned designer/illustrator Jason Willis.
RIYL: Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, Umberto, Skinny Puppy"
COUNT US IN!!!!! We've fans of anything synth heavy around the shop and Alex Cuervo's Espectrostatic is nothing short of a mind melting spin!!!! Think of the eerie moments of Umberto mixed with the electro kraut ambience of Klaus Schulze's sonic experiments, as well as the more menacing Death Waltz reissued work of John Carpenter and Alan Howarth. Yes if you consider yourself a fan of Italo horror, minimal synth and/or German komische musik, you'll need some Espectrostatic is yer life right away! HAUNTINGLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!
The Luxury Products USA label has reissued this long out of print essential and we are freaking elated to finally get our grubby wittle hands wrapped around this one. Lend an ear as the Luxury Products USA folks fill you in on the full story behind one of most unsung bands:
"Germany’s self-crowned “Psycho Beat” combo, 39 Clocks were a low-lit shadow unit operating in a sparsely inhabited contrarian counter-culture all their own. Evolving from a confrontational art-punk experiment, known for playing vacuum cleaners and saws and terrifying audiences with brute volume, Christian Henjes (C.H. 39) and Jurgen Gleue (J.G. 39) put 11 tracks to tape in 1981 for what would become their debut album. Oozing out shock waves of bad acid trips, decayed guitar, and the dull stomp of a tiny beatbox, Pain It Dark is American garage and proto-punk filtered through some shadow-filled masterpiece of German expressionism.
The pair’s most obvious touchstones are Suicide’s crusted synths and the ragged stumble of Loaded-era Velvets – if fed through a particularly British lens of Swell Maps/basement-DIY whack-job-ism. Amongst the outsourcing, one can nevertheless detect a native Kraut heritage peeking through in the robotic beats and icy demeanor of “Twisted & Shouts” – as Dada and nihilistic an oldies cover as can be imagined. Following De Stijl’s Zoned retrospective and a Bureau B issue of Pain It Dark on CD, this reissue marks the first availability of 39 Clocks’ music on vinyl in over 25 years!"
Do you like, Suicide, Velvet Underground, Simply Saucer or say Wire? Well how bout all of them mashed together helmed by a sunglasses sporting duo from Germany that somehow manages to meld all these classic sounds into some mutated art damaged bliss. This another of Permanent Records staff faves and we are over the moon to have this available on vinyl again cuz it is SO SO GOOD. Trust us, you NEED this record. Absolutely Recommended.
The Dangerous Age label gives up a state side pressing of this long gone album of synthesizer churn. Here's the Dangerous Age folks take on the matter:
"Steve Moore is a New York based musician active in projects such as Zombi and Titan as well as creating under various aliases of his own. After a whirlwind of outstanding releases the last few years, Moore has managed to carve out a following of dedicated loyalists who come back time and time again for his special brand of synthesizer composition. Primitive Neural Pathways was originally released 2010 on the Static Caravan label based out of the U.K. A CD edition followed, as well as a tape edition on the VCO label, which quickly disappeared. This instant classic has been hard to obtain on vinyl for a while now and Dangerous Age is pleased to present a deluxe American repressing, hot off the heels of Moore's Zero Point Field EP on the L.I.E.S. imprint. Falling somewhere between the best composed pieces of Jean Michel Jarre and the glowing electro sounds of early Walter Christian Rothe's more synthesizer driven pieces, Primitive Neural Pathways vintage inspiration combined with forward thinking this album has proven itself to be an essential modern work. No bin in any good record store should be without this classic work and D.A. is glad to have it back on the streets again."
When not making up half of the influential Zombi act, Steve Moore is busy composing high-brow synthesizer works that borrow from the past while inflicting an ultra modern spin of his own on the pieces. Arpeggiations gallop along side of white hiss washes and a steady beat giving the music its organic pulse. Primitive Neural Pathways evolves in a narrative manner giving the album a soundtrack vibe throughout its entirety. Moore's solo work is akin to Tangerine Dream, Arp, and Jean Michel Jarre with shimmering liquid squiggles and glossy deep space exploration. Its a real treat to have this available again so if you dig any of the above mentioned acts and old school sci-fi soundtracks be sure to grab a copy of "Primitive Neural Pathways" now! Recommended.
