Parasol New Arrivals • April 10, 2007

Howdy all,

Well, it’s Tuesday again and do we ever have some goodies in store for you. The frequencies didn’t seem to stop this week with the likes of Bright Eyes, Coco Rosie, Blonde Redhead and Xiu Xiu. Our ears will be busy today for sure.

In other news, it seems like a lot of our Parasol pals are out and about either on tour or in the studio. For example, our buddy, Jeff, from the Lassie Foundation, is the new guitar player in the latest Smashing Pumpkins line-up and Sol, from Year Of The Rabbit, is now on tour with Morrissey. Both of these dudes are fucking talented beyond belief so do yourself a favor and make sure to catch their shows in a city near you.

And now we’re on to the update. Like we said earlier, there is a heap of great new records out there so dig deep, friends.

Until then,

Roy & Paul

Below is a list of new arrivals for this week. To search for a specific item or to browse our entire catalog click here. Or, click here to go back to the Parasol Home Page. Click here to see previous weeks new arrivals.

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Panda Bear "Person Pitch" CD $9.00 (Paw Tracks)
On his latest solo offering Animal Collective's Noah Lennox infuses his narcotic dream ditties with all manner of electronics and samplers, creating a deliciously twisted take on the Brian Wilson psychedelic canon, with a twirl of turntable-ism. Pitchfork graded this a 9.4/10 and called it "overwhelming and inspirational", and after several spins we are in no shape to argue. Quite recommended!

New Releases

Army Of Me
Citizen

PS, US Army Of Me was named one of the top unsigned bands in America by Alternative Press, and the article started a barrage of major label interest for the Washington, DC-based band. On the surface, their music could fit snugly into the playlist of any mainstream radio station. The epic guitars and soaring vocals are more reminiscent of early Coldplay and U2 than of quirkily trendy indie pop. Below the surface, however, Army Of Me carries the self-starter scars of one of the hardest working bands in showbiz.
Doghouse
CD
$12.50


Basic
Splinters of the Cross

PS, US Features the long awaited single "Splinters of the Cross" w/ vocals
by DAVID J (Bauhaus/Love & Rockets). Originally an iTunes exclusive release, the EP also features a remix by The FRIENDS OF JESUS SOUNDSYSTEM & a remix of "C404" by PLASTIC PERVERT. Formed in '99 & soon came to the attention of Bono & The Edge of U2, who released the band's debut single on their label 'Kitchen Recordings'. The dark & eclectic music video that accompanied became an MTV & SKY TV chill out favorite.
ReverbRecords-015
CD
$8.50


Bears
Shortest Day Of The Year

PS, US Brand spankin new 7-song EP. Where the first album was sunny and carefree, the Shortest Day Of The Year EP from Bears is obscured by clouds. The pop band from Cleveland has recorded a 7 song EP using slightly darker melodies and lyrics and, at times, minimal instrumentation. Maybe it was the Ohio winter that put them in this mood, or maybe it was the need to change something from the early songs, but the Shortest Day Of The Year EP takes the trademark Bears sound and adds something a little more personal, though not immediately identifiable.
Bears-002
CD5
$4.75


Blonde Redhead

23
PS, US As rich and densely layered as their last album, "Misery Is A Butterfly", but the overall mood of wistfulness, melancholy, and regret has been replaced by one of mystical wonder and renewed energy. "It's art music and heart music, with equal appeal to a Serge Gainsbourg fan as to a Sonic Youth fan, without ever sounding like either act" - LA Times. "An otherworldly, richly cinematic adventure" - Q Magazine.
4AD
CD
$13.25


Blonde Redhead
23

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
4AD
LP
$11.00


Bright Eyes
Cassadaga

PS, US A swirling, euphonious record, at times bursting w/ bombastic confidence & country swagger & at others loose-limbed & mesmeric. An album so full of soaring strings & female harmonies that it feels almost buoyant in comparison to previous releases. Feat. ANDY LEMASTER (NOW IT'S OVERHEAD), BEN KWELLER, JANET WEISS (EX-SLEATER-KINNEY), JASON BOESEL (RILO KILEY), JOHN MCENTIRE (TORTOISE), M. WARD, MARIA TAYLOR & many others!
SaddleCreek-103
CD
$11.50


Bright Eyes
Cassadaga

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
SaddleCreek-103
DLP
$16.50


Cap D
Return of the Renegade

PS, US As a Muslim hip-hop artist who truly lives & breathes the culture, he's in the vein of other Chicago Muslim MCs such as Lupe Fiasco & Rhymefest, who makes a cameo appearance here. Guest producers include J.Rawls & Maker & other guest MCs incl. ANIs Iomos Marad & OneBeLo, another fellow Muslim MC & veteran of the underground hip-hop circuit
AllNatural-050
CD
$11.50


Cap D
Return of the Renegade

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
AllNatural-050
LP
$7.25


Cave, Nick & The Bad Seeds
Abattoir Blues Tour [2CD/2DVD]

PS, US 17 live tracks from 2003/2004 tours, spread over two CDs. Two separate concerts on 2 DVDs plus bonus footage, short films, etc. By all accounts: incredible.
Mute
DCD
$29.00


Chinese Stars
Listen To Your Left Brain

PS, US Having honed their chaotic four-on-the-floor post-punk dance style into an unequivocal signature. Here, the Chinese Stars set in motion a tsunami of new waves, crafting an atmosphere of propulsive sonic escapism fueled by noodle-stringed guitar riffs, seat-of-your-pants lyrics, and hallucinatory synths. This is a fast-forward audio movement, taking music back to the base pleasures. Razor-sharp, aural pop art: the overblown are busted.
SkinGraft-086
LP
$14.50


Christ On Parade
Sounds of Nature

PS, US Reissue of the legendary 80's Bay area hardcore band's classic 1985 debut lp, with bonus tracks & a previously unreleased Avenger's cover.
Neurot-048
CD
$10.00


Clark, Gene
Gene Clark with the Gosdin Brothers [Bonus Tracks]

PS, US The first solo album by an ex-Byrd, Gene Clark doesn't fly too far from the nest -- Byrds' Chris Hillman and Michael Clarke make up the rhythm section, while the Gosdin Brothers chime in with sweet harmony vocals. Add guitarists Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole and future Byrd Clarence White, and some beautiful orchestration by Leon Russell to Clark's melancholy melodies and the result is a forward-looking country-rock primer that sounded like nothing else in '67 and continues to astound and inspire today. With 3 bonus tracks and liner notes courtesy Sid Griffin. Bonus Tracks: The French Girl, Only Colombe, So You Say You Lost Your Baby (acoustic demo)
Sundazed
CD
$16.25


CocoRosie
Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn

PS, US Here the girls continue to experiment w/ their disparate voices & clashing personalities, juxtaposing devastating ballads w/ exhilarating tracks. This is a departure from their earlier obscured blur of stained glass rêve to what they describe as ""a more self-exploitive memoir."" A lush, orchestral array of sounds & beauty - A vaudevillian opera, if you will. W/ producer Valgeir Sigur?sson (Bjorks main studio conspirator since Dancer in the Dark).
TouchandGo-306
CD
$12.50


CocoRosie
Adventures of Ghosthorse & Stillborn

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
TouchandGo-306
LP
$14.25


Dying Californian, The
Coarsegold

PS, US The sound of The Dying Californian is rooted in American tradition, influenced by country and folk as much as rock. With floating melodies and complex harmonies, it is difficult to place it into a genre. It is as much at home in a drunken hootenanny as in a late and lonesome night. It all just fits. The Dying Californian's third release on Turn Records is titled Coarsegold. Three years in the making, the album marks a jumping point in the bands signature style and sound, refined and redefined. The story of the album starts 3 years ago when Nathan Dalton, the primary songwriter for The Dying Californian found himself with a new job that had him traveling throughout California, staying in a variety of different places, often, for weeks as a time. On one lengthy trip, Dalton found himself holed up in the small town of Coarsegold, the geographic center of California. Neither northern or southern, western or eastern, simply Coarsegold, California - a town existing somewhere in between. It was here that Dalton found a new center for his own writing, influenced by the stark contrasts of California as well as the isolation and inspiration that only come from being on the road. He began to pen a new record; handheld tape recorders, lyrics on napkins, music on motel notepads, wherever he could find to write it down, he would. Coarsegold, the geographic center of California, the heart, also serves as the pinion for the record.
Turn-021
CD
$9.75


El Perro Del Mar
S/T

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
TheControlGroup
LP
$14.00


Flying Luttenbachers
Destroy All Music

PS, US Fully re-mastered, extended edition of FL's landmark 1995 album. This special edition, which features notorious drummer/multi-instrumentalist Weasel Walter & renowned jazz saxophonist Ken Vandermark, captures the band at the height of the internal struggles that would soon dissolve the quintet line-up. This comprehensive edition includes seven never-before-heard vintage recordings, all painstakingly re-mastered by bandleader Weasel Walter.
SkinGraft-085
CD
$14.50


Folkswingers
Raga Rock

PS, UK This heady blend of instrumental pop covers, fuzzed-up guitars & sitar is a kitsch blast from start to finish. Feat. the cream of L.A.'s session players alongside sitar virtuoso Harihar Rao (Ravi Shankar's senior disciple), it was originally released in 66 & makes its long-overdue CD debut here, showing itself to be the first & best "sitarsploitation" album ever recorded.
Fallout
CD
$16.25


Gelfand, Dmitry + Evalina Domnitch + Various Artists
Camera Lucida

PS, US 12k/LINE are very happy to announce their first DVD release with groundbreaking visual artists Dmitry Gelfand + Evalina Domnitch. Their visual work is enhanced by a roster of musicians we are very proud to be working with including Alva Noto, Carter-Tutti (chris & cosey) and Matmos. Camera Lucida is a highly introspective immersive spatial art work creating a fleeting ephemeral materiality by intersecting ultrasound with hyperlight... in essence the creation of a sonic aurora. Domnitch and Gelfand's piece rejects any possibility to be fixed in space and time, but rather offers up the very definition of an unstable work of art, existing entirely for and within the perceptive realm of the viewer. Stephen Kovats, Director of Transmediale 2008. LINE is proud to announce the release of its first DVD, Camera Lucida. The project by Russian/American installation and video artists, Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand and developed in collaboration with scientific laboratories in Japan, Germany, Russia and Belgium, Camera Lucida (chamber of light or lucidity) is a 3-dimensional sonic observatory that directly transforms sound into light by employing a phenomenon known as sonoluminescence: ultrasound, propagating within a liquid, triggers the formation and implosion of micro-bubbles that reach temperatures as high as are found on the Sun, and emit light in the shape of sound waves. The authors of the installation, Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand, joined forces with multiple sound artists to create the sonochemical compositions presented on this DVD. This DVD also contains a data partition with uncompressed high resolution audio files of all the works. Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand create sensory immersion environments that merge physics, chemistry and computer science with uncanny philosophical practices. Having dismissed all forms of fixative and recording media, Domnitch and Gelfand's installations exist as ever-transforming phenomena offered for observation. Because these rarely seen manifestations take place directly in front of the observer without being distorted and flattened onto a screen, they often serve to vastly extend the observer's sensory envelope. Their works have been exhibited worldwide, including shows at V2 Institute for Unstable Media (Rotterdam, Netherlands), Nijo Castle (Kyoto, Japan), Museum of Dreams (St. Petersburg, Russia), I-20 Gallery (New York, USA), Die Schachtel (Milan, Italy) and Tesla (Berlin, Germany). TRACKS/CHAPTERS: TAYLOR DEUPREE + RICHARD CHARTIER specification.sixteen 8:54 ALVA NOTO sonolumi (for camera lucida) 4:04 EVELINA DOMNITCH + DMITRY GELFAND xenon wind 9:03 ALEXANDER KALINE analyzing turbulence 3:16 ASMUS TIETCHENS camera lucida 4:08 *KENNETH KIRSCHNER august 18, 2006 3:10 MATMOS photisms 6:48 COH not sweet without honey 3:04 CARTER TUTTI the noise of chance 4:35. Due to the detailed and subtle visual nature of this work and phenomenon the artists have chosen to use PAL over NTSC encoding to maintain the maximum resolution possible for the movie and sound files. This DVD is region free and can be played on any computer DVD drive. No region switching is necessary For television screen viewing, it can only playback on a PAL or multi-system DVD player. Playback in a darkened space with monitor brightness turned up is encouraged.
Line-030
DVD
$20.25


Giant Robot
#47

PS, US Mountain Man (animal planet), Paradorn City (white line fever), Back to the Future (TaroShoten talks), Invisible Waves (un-deconstructing art) & tons more about Asian pop culture & beyond!
ZINE
$4.75


Goldrush
Heart Is The Only Place

PS, US Goldrush Heart is the Place Better Looking blr026cd 8 .1 9 CD STREET DATE 4/10. EXPORT ONLY!! For this new album, the band worked with James Rutledge (aka DJ Pedro on Mush Records). Goldrush had previously worked with the legendary David Fridmann, but Rutledge took a different approach and encouraged the band to be more sonically adventurous.
BetterLooking-026
CD
$11.25


Grinderman
S-T

PS, US Nick Cave sporting a scary mustache, playing music that is even leaner and meaner than his "usual" Bad Seeds stuff. In fact fans of The Birthday Party will be in ecstacy. Pitchfork calls it "An indulgent study in excess, sure, but the twist is that at every turn Cave keeps the chaos carefully in check, emphasizing messiness when need be but also showcasing the deceptively precise playing of his band as well as his loose and at times gloriously silly lyrics."
Anti-86861
CD
$14.00


Hentchmen
Form Follows Function

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
TimesBeach-015
LP
$11.75


Hunter, Jana
There's No Home

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!
Gnomonsong-006
LP
$14.25


Hunter, Jana
There's No Home

PS, US second full-length formal release from Jana Hunter. Recorded over two consecutive weeks in Fall 2006 at a friend's home in Houston, TX (known locally as "Feagan House"), the album features Hunter writing, playing and producing throughout. As extroverted as Hunter's previous release "Blank Unstaring Heirs of Doom" was introverted, "There's No Home" focuses on community involvement. While Hunter plays most of the instruments herself, she's aided and abetted here by her brother John (Inoculist, Dethro Skull), John Adams (Fatal Flying Guilloteens) and Matt Brownlie (Bring Back the Guns), among others. Released on Devendra B's Gnomonsong label.
Gnomonsong-006
CD
$13.25


Hynes, Nina
Staros

PS, US Dublin's Hynes sophomore album, released in 2002, was only available in the US as an Import. It was received extremely well by Irish an UK critics & audiences. The album was recorded in Studio Black Box in France & Produced by Nina & ex-Frames member David Odlum with many musicians including The Frames helping out. The first single from the album, Mono Prix, was mixed by the legendary Steve Osborne (Perfecto), whose recent work includes New Order, PJ Harvey & tracks by Doves, U2 & Placebo, among others.
ReverbRecords
CD
$10.00


Hynes, Nina
Creation

PS, US Originally released in 1999, the Irish artist's debut album got amazing reviews from all corners. Amazon.com voted it No. 44 in their 'Top 100 Releases Of The Year'. HITS Magazine called it "The last amazing find of the year." Ireland's HOT PRESS tipped her as "One of the country's most exciting new artists." She also ventured out on several U.S. tours in 2000/2001 w/ Nina's solo electro-alternative sound capturing new admirers at every turn.
ReverbRecords-001
CD
$10.00


Junior Boys
Dead Horse

PS, US This EP gathers a dizzying array of talents from the world of electronic music to bring a personal touch to the music of Junior Boys: Carl Craig's contribution is a subtle and brooding epic, Hot Chip's is a dreamy organic take, Tensnake shifts gears from minimalist house to four-on-the-floor electric dreams, and Kode 9 offers a deep space futurist dub, providing a ghostliness that's equal parts Eno and Fennesz.
DominoRecordingCo.
CD5
$4.75


Karlzen, Mary
Wanderlust Diaries

PS, US Eclectic enough to cover both Tom Waits ("Heart of a Saturday Night") and Paul Westerberg (the touching "Skyway" has never sounded more lovely) without feeling forced, Mary Karlzen keeps both feet firmly in the folk-rock Americana that has always defined her work. Her girlish voice shifts between Juliana Hatfield, Beth Orton and Jewel, finding the innocence and longing in personal songs that are almost always sung in the first person. She's a singer/songwriter in the tradition of John Hiatt and early Joni Mitchell, serious and smart with an unerring eye for detail in her lyrics. Wanderlust Diaries is bookended by stripped-down tunes where Karlzen is joined only by John Deaderick's spartan piano. But the disc is dominated by strummy band tracks played with finesse by, among others, E Street Band bassist Garry Talent and ex-Wilco drummer Ken Coomer. Karlzen's acoustic guitar focuses the sound, and producer/multi-instrumentalist Jansen Press adds just enough instruments and frills to underscore the singer's lyrics without ever overwhelming them. "Stupid or Something" is a terrific example of a song that takes flight with a folk-rock arrangement that leaps out of the speakers. Percussion and theatrical strings are added for drama on "Sixteen," a story-song that starts as a fond reminiscence of a summer but turns terribly dark in its final verse. It's a textbook example of what Karlzen does best as this album shifts from one highlight to the next on a journey through a scrapbook life, some of which might be based on personal experience. On her fourth release, all for different labels, Karlzen has delivered a gem that, in a perfect world, would generate a major Americana buzz. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
Dualtone
CD
$14.00


Kite Operations
Heart Attacks, Back to Back

PS, US A thrashing, beautiful destructive collection of love songs from the end of the world. Singer JOSEPH KIM'S open-throated belting is contrasted by co-frontman DAVID YANG'S hushed delivery. As guitarists, they are both well versed in the vocabulary of noise, trading off abrasive & delicate passaged w/ ease.
KOA-006
CD
$10.25


Larsen & Friends
Abeceda (CD/DVD)

PS, US This CD/DVD set captures an extremely special evening for Larsen, one that places them in a perfect visual and musical perspective revealing more an a little about this enigmatic quartet from Torino Italy. For one night only Larsen assembled their closest musical friends to play to a sold out crowd at the Teatro Colosseo in Torino Italy. The purpose of the performance was to pay tribute to the work of Czech avant garde designer, typographer, founder of Devestil and cultural radicalist Karel Teige and his Abeceda - a 1926 collaboration with poet Vitoslav Nezva which minimalised text down to its basic components establishing a poetic dialogue between text and images. To Abeceda Larsen brings their minimalist beauty and melody with this live performance incorporating music, dance and projections. With Larsen are their close musical friends David Tibet (Current 93), Baby Dee ( Current 93 member and acclaimed solo performer), Johann Johannsson (Touch/4AD) The music swells in gentle pulses of soflty stated melody. Emotion clings to each note while glistening shimmers of electonics dance quietly in the mix. The DVD reminds us of what a rich visual experience Abeceda was and is. As The Wire so perfectly put it in a extensive write up of the evening, David Tibet's performance "Provides a vital link between the music and the visuals... At one point he connects beautifully connects perfectly with the dancer, breathing deeply into the microphone in time with her movements." Visual projections, created by Bellissimo, portray a woman in a 20's style bathing suit, much like Teige's original work, portraying letters of the alphabet which slowly become obscure by Teige's brilliant typography. Thanks to Larsen's definitive discipline and their kindred visual and musical collaborators. Abeceda is an event of great subtlety and complexity. It is truly a gift that this performance was so perfectly documented in both an audio and visual format. Where the work of Karel Teige was a tremendous gift for the eyes, Larsen & Friend's Abeceda is a gift for both the eyes and the ears. Hats off to Bellissimo, the design team responsible for Larsen's distinctive packaging, for putting the finishing touches on a perfect evening and a perfect package. "My dear friends Fabrizio and Larsen honoured me by asking me to interpret the alphabet for their project ABECEDA in the light of Nezval's verses for Karel Teige. Being neither an admirer of dada, surrealism or the avant-garde, I escaped from them all by taking a train from the seaside town of Hastings where I live, to London, after kissing my cats goodbye. I looked at the blurs of sheep, tree, hedge, sea, pond passing me like living clouds. I looked at each letter of the alphabet, and covered Nezval's text with my hand. I ordered the letter to tell me what it looked like. I disbelieved its answer. Letters always lie. So I peered at the shape of the letter and wrote down my immediate responses.
Important-129
CD/DVD
$14.75


Lesbians On Ecstasy
We Know You Know

PS, US The much anticipated sophomore release delves deeper into some of the cliches of iconic lesbian music. More melodic than the previous release with hooks that might remind you of campfire sing alongs at some mythical womyn's event in the 70's, with several tracks featuring a chorus backing. A danceable album that is at moments uplifting and at other moments very dark, but all with a sense of humor and fun . Their sound bridges the gap between electro/techno with punk rock.
Alien8-069
CD
$11.75


Lesbians On Ecstasy
We Know You Know

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Alien8-069
LP
$11.75


Limbeck
S/T

PS, US Their third full-length is equal parts rock, Americana, pop, and country. "Limbeck" proves that these four former punk rockers from Orange County and Milwaukee have finally grown into their cowboy boots and crafted a disc that everyone from The Bamboozle to Bonnaroo can appreciate. "This California indie band works a terrain similar to that of the Old 97's, who helped invent a more upbeat, carefree alt-country" - Rolling Stone. For fans of The Format, Wilco, The Replacements, The Beach Boys.
Doghouse
CD
$12.50


Loden
Valeen Hope

PS, US Debut full lenght of melodic electronica from up and coming Dutch producer. Shoegaze-inspired electronic work with rays of early 90's pop melody and layers of deconstructed beats and oceans of ambient synth noise.
Mush-251
CD
$10.00


Machine Go Boom
Music for Parents

PS, US A distorted pop invention that is a frighteningly good mix of acoustic folk balladry, amphetamine-lit punk & synth fed new wave. It has been generally agreed that the city of Cleveland deemed it the most welcomed musical event. The 3 year wait for a new album is definitely worth it!
CollectibleEscalators-013
CD
$11.00


Magnet
#75

PS, US
ZINE
$3.25


Manasyt
Filthdonor

PS, US Terminal Dusk Records is proud to present the sounds of Manasyt's Detroit electro-industrial hybrid LP, Filthdonor. Extensive production, attention to detail, and dark undertones define the other worldly realm Manasyt creates. Witness the brilliance of Petar Tassev with nine carefully chosen tracks of razor-sharp electro created from 2005 - 2006.
TerminalDusk-008
12
$9.50


Marcus, Joshua
Make/Believe

PS, US Featuring duet compositions for the banjo & upright bass, these songs are both easy to listen to & hard to forget, as the subtle melodies deliver potent lyrics in an inviting manner that inspires the listener to sing along. Marcuss songwriting is powerful & astonishingly honest, evoking beauty from lifes many juxtapositions. He has been the subject of considerable praise & has been featured on NPRs All Songs Considered.
Contraphonic-062
CD
$9.75


Merzbow
Merzbear

PS, US Author, activist, painter and sound artist Masami Akita had been at the foreground of experimental music for over 25 years. Inspired by psycedelic rock, free jazz, early electronic composition as well the physical arts, especially Kurt Schwitters' Merzbau, Masami Akita has created a musical language all his own. Merzbear is the sixth Merzbow release in his utterly essential Merz series for Important Records. Merzbear pulses and pounds with distorted droning heavy guitar feedback, pulsing noise-blasts and swirling analog sounds of Akita's distinct EMS Sythi. Like most of Merzbow's recordings, Merzbear is a significant document of his ever evolving improvisational style. Slowly, he's been moving away from his pure laptop era and reincorporating elements of his pre-laptop analog days w/ his homemade junk guitar, EMS Synthi & electronics. This hybrid sound brings the past into the present and pounds with total junk-collage Dada urgency as only Masami Akita can do it. Cover art by Jenny Akita.
Important-136
CD
$12.25


Mojo
#162 (May 2007) [MAGAZINE+CD]

PS, UK New issue of the planet's best music magazine features extensive features on Arctic Monkeys, Clash legends Joe Strummer, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, the weird world of Tom Waits... The age of disco, in the studio with Dr Dre, Ian Brown and Dungen.. New psych meltdown with the Besnard Lakes' Bassekou Kouyaté, king of the n'goni (it's like a cricket bat with four strings)... Bloc Party's Kele Okerere on the record that changed his life... How to buy U2... The melancholy tale of Dr Feelgood... David Lynch's favourite band, Au Revoir Simone! Free CD features the best bands the UK has to offer: Field Music, The View, 1990s, Noisettes, Maps, Bat For Lashes, The Aliens, and more.
ZINE
$9.50


Moya, Raul
La Nueva Era Glacier

PS, SPAIN It is said that the Anglo-Saxons carry their memory in their hearts. And it seems that Raül Moya (who plays with élena, Miqui Puig, Sitcom, Romodance and Refree) has gone there to recover the memories which bring his solo debut to life. That is because "La Nueva Era Glaciar" sounds as if it had been made with his heart and memories. It also sounds Anglo-Saxon due to the dragging-tempo of his confessional folk-rock. However, the fact that the album is written in Spanish (and really well) and that it gets a Latin-Mediterranean touch by using accordions, toy percussions, and so on, moves him away from the Anglo cliché. From that cliché and from any other. This is a very personal album. The more you listen to it the more you cannot avoid comparing him with the Andrés Calamaro of "Honestidad Brutal": both albums share a lack of emotional reserve and have fed themselves with legends, but without being trapped inside caricature. Here you have more suspicions that Raül and Andrés have lived parallel lives: Raül has spent lots of hours looking at the sea, as near as possible to his so beloved Buenos Aires, and when he looks deep inside of him he finds the same as Andrés does, that is Bob Dylan. The album starts with an harmonica. That is reminiscent of "Come Pick Me Up", from the album "Heartbreaker" by Ryan Adams, which is another confessional ode. And there are more connections with that record: the guitar in "Rían Con Sentido" flickers just like Ryan's in "My Winding Wheel". That is not a coincidence. "Heartbreaker" and "Honestidad Brutal" are like swells for Raül and lighthouses for the seafarer who goes deeper into the album "La Nueva Era Glaciar". These are dangerous comparisons, but we make them. That is because we are not before a shy musician who looks at his feet, we are introducing you to someone who knows how to defend some lyrics that echo words that burn on your lips: "you", "forever", "life", "to go back". Promotional reserve tempt us not to say that this debut is a very especial album. But we say so. We know that writing something like "of course they are not precisely the same" next to the proper nouns and other albums that have been mentioned in this text, would have been a kind of defensive detail. And voluntarily we have not included any: with these songs we cannot be that fussy.
Rhonda/HoustonParty-11
CD
$14.75


Mystery Jets
Diamonds In The Dark

PS, US The beauty of it thus far: they've been born of paradoxical simplistic complexities, glorious sing alongs rise out of intriguing & technically mesmerizing verses. The epic synth-led solo on display here comprises few notes yet still manages to sound like the whole world is singing it. Enlisting the help of Brit-pop legend Stephen Street this debut is fed through the pop-aliser & comes out the other side polished, accessible & better.
DimMak-106
CD5
$6.25


Null, KK
Fertile

PS, US Composer, guitarist, singer, mastermind of seminal noise group Zeni Geva & electronic wizard. In recent years he has concentrated his efforts on his solo & collaborative recordings, exploring the outer territories of electronica. His intense clashing waves of noise, structured electro-acoustic ambience, broken down rhythmics, scattered pitch sculptures & droning isolationist material could be described "cosmic noise maximal/minimalism."
Touch-074
CD
$15.50


Panthers
The Trick

PS, US Panthers have returned from the sprawling highs of their 2004 LP "Things Are Strange" with a follow-up record so concisely intense it demands attention from all areas; from jaded riff-rock devotees to the most indifferent pop listener and everyone in between. Recorded in 2006 by renowned producer and engineer Steve Revitte (Liars, Beastie Boys, Black Dice), "The Trick" is the third full-length offering from this Brooklyn-based quartet and their second on Vice. Ten tracks of calculated abandon.
Vice
CD
$11.50


Peel, Julie / The Caulfield Sisters
Divine Candy

PS, US 7" Blue Vinyl Split featuring French indie-rocker JULIE PEEL covering The Breeders "Divine Hammer", and Brooklyn's favorite daughters THE CAULFIELD SISTERS covering The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Some Candy Talking" live. Mastering by Sean Glonek at SRG studios (Frank Black, Kristin Hersh, The Dresden Dolls, Matthew Sweet), and renowned rock poster designer Lon Unitus (Liz Phair, The Decemberists, The Shams, John Doe) created a custom sleeve just for this release. It's a very limited pressing (only 500 hand-numbered copies worldwide). For fans of The Breeders, The Amps, Juliana Hatfield, Galaxie 500, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and The Pixies.
AmericanLaundromat-0006
45
$5.50


Poem Rocket
Invasion!

PS, US A sumptuous smorgasbord of acoustic and amplified sonic delights, and their best album ever. An incredibly sophisticated, expansive, and densely layered double album. "This week's most beautiful pop record" - Melody Maker. "...a new type of organism...the songwriting is just too inventive to bog down in matchmaking" - Alternative Press.
Atavistic
CD
$17.50


Qua
Forgetabout

PS, US Thirteen tracks in a plethora of electronic sub-genres that mingle elements of world music, folk, rock and more. Cool keys, warm guitars & found sound recordings are heightend by pristine digital editing & expert musicianship.
Mush-210
CD
$10.00


Qua
Painting Monsters On Clouds

PS, US An unrepentent, gorgeous & nostalgic mix of sunlit electronics & guitars, buoyed by complex arrangements. Brings to mind the playfulness of Mouse on Mars, the sophistication of Ennio Morricone & the quirky pop of Architecture in Helsinki.
Mush-229
CD
$10.00


Rollins, Henry
Talk Is Cheap Vol. 4

PS, US This set documents his 2004 tour. This show happening at San Jose State in N. California. Disc 2 being the show at the University of California @ Bakersfield, Oct. 21, 2004.
2.13.61
DCD
$11.00


Rough Bunnies
Weisse Westen, Dreck Am Stecken

PS, US LIMITED TO 200. I once saw an interview with the members of Nirvana talking about when they toured with Shonen Knife and would cry every night while they watched their set out of sheer joy and unrivaled beauty. I didn't think much about it or even try to understand that feeling until my band played a festival in Sweden last year and the Rough Bunnies played right before us. Hailing from Malmo, this duo (with occasional guests) encapsulates a sense of innocence, joy, confusion and real youth style feelings and communicates them in a way so honestly it's hard to look away, whether or not you like the music. All the elements of ameturish-yet-immediate songwriting and musicianship that go into the songs of the Rough Bunnies could illicit comparisons to bands that came before with a similar vibe; the Velvet Underground, Beat Happening, the Vaselines, Moldy Peaches, Shonen Knife, et al.. but paying attention and really getting to know the group, you come to understand that they're not just another band that SOUNDS like those lifechanging, unsung, widely overlooked and underrated groups, nor are they trying to coyly mimic that feeling. The Rough Bunnies are the next band on that page of history, a beautiful and amazing, if dog-eared and tea stained page. This LP is their first, following three extremely limited CDRs available
only in Sweden.
Yipsilanti-032
LP
$15.00


Shaky Hands
S/T

PS, US Debut full-length from Portland jangly-pop wunderkinds. Sliding bouncy go-go beats under shambling guitars & reedy, swooning vocals, SH make the kind of catchy, soulful indie rock tailormade for brokedown car stereos & river-rat boomboxes. Sloppily romantic warmth thats equal parts summer sunshine & candlelit mellow, pre-party buzz & scruffy day-after fuzziness. The result is a fully formed and confident debut; a big-hearted, starry-eyed bear hug of a record full of youthful energy & tumbling vigor.
HoloceneMusic-005
CD
$15.25


Soft Machine
Third [Remastered/Bonus CD]

PS, US Soft Machine plunged deeper into jazz and contemporary electronic music on this pivotal release, which incited The Village Voice to call it a milestone achievement when it was released. The original vinyl release was a double album of stunning music, with each side devoted to one composition -- two by Mike Ratledge, and one each by Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt, with substantial help from new bandmember Elton Dean on saxophones and a number of backup musicians, including Canterbury mainstay Jimmy Hastings. The Ratledge songs come closest to jazz fusion, although this is fusion laced with tape loop effects and hypnotic, repetitive keyboard patterns. Hugh Hopper's "Facelift" recalls "21st Century Schizoid Man" by King Crimson, although it's more complex, with several quite dissimilar sections. The pulsing rhythms, chaotic horn and keyboard sounds, and dark drones on "Facelift" predate some of what Hopper did as a solo artist later (this song was actually culled from two live performances in 1970). On his capricious composition "Moon in June," Robert Wyatt draws on musical ideas from early 1967 demos done with producer Giorgio Gomelsky. Lyrically, "Moon in June" is a satirical alternative to the pretension displayed by a lot of rock writing of the era, and combined with the Softs' exotic instrumentation, it makes for quite a listen. Not exactly rock, Third nonetheless pushed the boundaries of rock into areas previously unexplored, and it managed to do so without sounding self-indulgent. A better introduction to the group's psychedelic pop side is Vols. 1 & 2, but once introduced, this is the place to go. [The 2007 remastered edition features the original two-disc vinyl set of Third on one CD plus a bonus live disc of the Softs' "classic quartet" -- Ratledge, Hopper, Dean, and Wyatt -- performing "Out-Bloody-Rageous," "Facelift," and "Esther's Nose Job" live at Royal Albert Hall in 1970; this live material (also remastered) was previously issued as the Live at the Proms 1970 CD.] ~ Peter Kurtz, All Music Guide
Sony / BMG Import SNYB687293.2
DCD
$11.50


Sons
Viracochas

PS, US Former members of Boston shoegaze/drone outfit SUNTAN (Kimchee) & 3 members of Chapel Hill by way of Arkansas spazz lunatics "A Problem of Alarming Dimensions." Deftly combines Swervedriver style shoegazing, Loop-esque drone, the haphazard psych of the 13th Floor Elevators & 90's staples Seam & Built to Spill. Charged guitars & rolling bass lines. Big rock fused w/elements of psych pop & indie rock quirkiness. RECOMMENDED
FracturedDiscs-009
CD
$9.75


Spiritualaires
Singing Songs of Praise

PS, US The Spiritualaires of Hurtsboro, Alabama are 1 of the very last still active gospel quartets w/origins in Gospel's Golden Age of the '50s. Weaving together influences from the blues & country & western, the Spiritualaires over the years have remained faithful to their ever distinct yet traditional sound. Drawn from recent studio recordings & live radio broadcasts, "Singing Songs of Praise" reveal the Spiritualaires as both a super fine harmony quartet & a unique blues guitar driven ensemble.
CaseQuarter-103
CD
$12.50


Sur La Mer
Prelude to the Sea

PS, US The brainchild of ATSU NAGAYAMA (Boredoms, Prescriptions), who wrote & arranged all of the material for this debut EP. Nagayama enlisted the help of friends Dino, Julie Liu (Rex, Tortoise), Jason McDermott, Kim Ambriz (Rabbit Rabbit), and Fred Erskine (June of '44, Hoover) when it came time to record. The results speak for themselves-provocative, captivating & ambient instrumental bliss.
ThirtyGhosts-004
CD5
$7.75


Ten Speed Racer
Eskimo Beach Boy

PS, US Debut album released in 2000 to critical acclaim. US College radio immediately took to it & amazing reviews began pouring in. Comparisons were made to The Stooges, The Dandy Warhols & even Spiritualized. At the heart of the band are 3 brothers; Dermot, Pat & John Barrett, w/ 2 other close mates, Terry Cullen & Joe Chester filling in the musical gaps. "A vivacious mix of sonically charged guitars, ethereal melodies and intelligent vocals."-Virtually Alternative
ReverbRecords-005
CD
$10.00


Torske, Bjorn
Kokt Kveite

PS, US Bjorn Torske delivers another killer 12". This one shows us more of the soundworld that Torske is in these days. With references to 23 Skidoo, This Heat, Residents, Idut Boy & Count Ossie and his unique blend of quirky, avant-garde, dubbed out, psychedelic sounds Torske creates a whole new genre; the free-disco. This 12" contains 3 tracks "Kokt Kveite" & "Soloppgang Over Yukigaya" (written by Torske togehter with Cato canari and Ole Andre Farstad) as well as the bonus "Yukigaya Bonus". 25 minutes of new music!
SmalltownSupersound-12912
12
$9.25


Uncut
#120 (May 2007)

PS, UK
ZINE
$10.25


Under The Radar
#17

PS, US Feist cover plus Bands on their favorite films, ,Jarvis Cocker, Gruff Rhys, Interpol, Charlotte Gainsburg, Bright Eyes, Klaxons, Yoko Ono, Deerhunter and much more.
ZINE
$3.75


Veirs, Laura
Saltbreakers

PS, US Listening to Veirs is like looking up into the night sky and suddenly witnessing a meteor shower: there's something startling and magical, both intimate and awesome, about her songs. The nature-obsessed images she conjures up and the mesmerizing sound she creates are as indelible as the blaze of shooting stars. Her third Nonesuch release is her most beautifully realized, band-oriented yet. Produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Built To Spill), it is by turns haunting, playful, tender, and fierce, embracing everything from machine-driven beats to angelic gospel choirs to fuzzed-out guitars, and driving alt-rock rhythms.
Nonesuch
CD
$14.00


Wreckless Eric
Big Smash [Deluxe Edition, Bonus Tracks]

PS, US One of the best songs ever, "Whole Wide World", plus 27 bonus tracks... ; )
Stiff
DCD
$12.50


XBXRX
Wars

PS, US Continuing to progress, they expand their musical horizons, incorporating a wider palette of textures, rhythm & structure as well as gaining a newfound clarity in the vocals. Never wishing to repeat themselves, they've made a conscious effort to move beyond the non-stop blastbeat/screaming assault of previous releases, while retaining the vigorous exhilaration that people expect from them.
Polyvinyl-129
CD
$12.00


XBXRX
Wars

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Polyvinyl-129
LP
$12.00


Xiu Xiu
Remixed & Covered

PS, US The 1st disc, a batch of covers, is an exercise in sisterly fan-domand inspired innovation. Feat. LARSON, OXBOW, MARISSA NADLER, WHY?, DEVENDRA BANHART & others!!! The remix half feat. GOLD CHAINS, SON, KID606, TO LIVE & SHAVE IN reach your arms into them & get pulled into their reality for awhile.You might not come back the same.
5RueChristine
DCD
$14.25

Forthcoming Releases

A&E
Oi! (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US Artists formerly known as AE. Pleasant ballads drift into daringly arranged pop songs. A meld of traditional Japanese singing, deft jazz guitar , gameboy chirping, junkshop keyboards & punk drums. Four of the tracks are electric interpretations of Japanese folk songs from the late 19th & early 20th centuries.
Sonig-060
CD
$15.00


Aa
gAame (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US They've been honing their unique, intensely stylized brand of DIY maximalism in the lofts, clubs & parking lots of NYC since '02. Like an ADD-afflicted Boredoms or Aphex Twin re-imagined as a high school marching band, their polyrythmic sound synthesized elements of hardcore, ambient, pop, crunk, noise, dance, psych & dance filtered through their distinct, largely self-taught aesthetic.
GiganticMusic-017
CD
$14.50


Acrnym
Flowers (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 29TH)

PS, CANADA Genre: Electronic/Breakcore. Discovered by Bong-Ra for his Kriss record label, 20 year old Glasgow, Scotland artist Calum Gunn makes music under the moniker Acrnym, his debut album "Flowers" is 13 killer tracks tethering spastic rhythms and malfunctioning breaks with spellbinding melodic instrumentation. "Flowers" shows off some awesome technical exercises in speedy BPMs with a buzz-storm of frenetic break episodes and blazing synth lines. Think Venetian Snares meets Wisp i.e., Amazing breakcore with actual melodies.
Sublight-3401
CD
$12.25


Acute
Arms Around a Stranger (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US LA indie boy trio who place an emphasis on quality songwriting while playing both energetic hook-filled pop & reflective rock that ranges from Pavementy though practiced indie rock to Neutral Milk Hotel chewy goodness. Wonderful, subtle & surprising inflections of southwestern appeal like pedal steel, horns & tremeloed guitar sit next to dreamy cello, piano, occasional violin & even some Andrew Bird-esque whistling. RIYL: Magnetic Fields, Shins, Sea & Cake, Seam. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Help
CD
$11.00


Alchemist
Rapper's Best Friend (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Decon-048
DLP
$16.75


Alchemist
Rapper's Best Friend (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US One of the most celebrated producers in hip-hop today, he's been making hot beats for nearly 15 yrs. This is an instrumental CD comprising 14 finely chiselled jams, which feat. a combination of previously unreleased beats & recent studio work that he did for Mobb Deep, Jadakiss, Tony Yayo, Dilated Peoples & more!
Decon-048
CD
$15.75


Alex Delivery
Star Destroyer (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Jagjaguwar-099
LP
$9.50


Alex Delivery
Star Destroyer (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US ALEX DELIVERY have gleefully exposed their myriad gifts and influences with their debut full-length "Star Destroyer," almost two years in the making. On it the New York-based quintet have demonstrated their penchant for the electro-organic, seamlessly blending the sharp and gentle, like a chain-gang draped in organza. You can hear the chattering of insects resonating from the inside of a kettle drum, and you can imagine this colossal robo-beast wobbling and waltzing down an abandoned carnival boardwalk. Sylphs soar across strings, occasionally descending to enjoy some wiggle-worthy poly-rhythms. These and many more colorful characters have climbed aboard the "Star Destroyer."
JagJagWar-099
CD
$11.00


Alsace Lorraine
Dark One (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH) (ON SALE)

PS, US Alsace Lorraine is the delicately delicious and unique electronic/guitar pop creation of seminary professor Paul Francke. We're pleased to announce that our favorite singer on Earth, Argentinean Singer/Artist Isol has joined Alsace Lorraine to sing on four of the album's 14 tracks too. Isol sings here in English for the first time! Isol left her band Entre Rios (Elefant {Spain}/Darla {US}) when the group signed with EMI Latin America because the deal demanded too much time away from her profession as an Artist/Illustrator. Caitlin Brice sings backing vocals on two tracks. Jane Francke (Paul's sister) sings one track. The sophomore Alsace album Dark One, though not literally very "Dark", was recorded and mixed by Paul at Paul's home studio in Chicago. Isol's warm, exotic, sensual vocals were recorded in Isol's bedroom studio in Buenos Aires. Paul's unique bedroom uber-pop soundtrack provides the perfect music bed to Isol's vocal. The result is a unique blend of Astrud Gilberto, Wolfgang Press, Eurythmics, Pale Saints, St. Etienne, Magnetic Fields, Hope Sandoval, as well as The Wake, Section 25 and other Factory-esque influences. Hopefully, Paul and Isol will make more beautiful music together. Alsace Lorraine sounds romantic; thoughtful, sensuous and smart. Comment from Paul Francke: I began the album begun during college on the south side of Chicago and completed it while working in Campbeltown, on the end of the Kintyre Peninsula, the most remote part of mainland Britain. Between those points I worked on the record in an Episcopalian seminary dormitory in Alexandria, Virginia, while training to be a seminary professor. It couldn't have been done without my brilliant, non-religious friends: Isol sings four of the best songs on the album, but she also made important suggestions for changes to the lyrics and music. We share a lot of beliefs regarding art and beyond, and it has been fascinating to work with her. Her friend Nico recorded her vocals in a studio in Buenos Aires. Caitlin Brice, the lead singer from the previous album, sings excellent backup on two songs here. Joe Moore plays guitar on one song, and my younger sister Jane sings on one song as well.
Darla-178
CD
$12.25


Amandine
Solace in Sore Hands (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US The sophmore album from Malmo, Sweden is 11 tracks of plaintiv, bittersweet songs that merge a newly extensive sonic palette w/ their poignant lyrical content. Though still centered around an Americana/roots axis, their songs have broadened in both scope & depth in addition to easy references like Rex & Songs:Ohia/Jason Molina.
FatCat-050
CD
$13.25


Antiguo Automata Mexicano
Kraut Slut (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, MEXICO Angel Sánchez Borges, the man behind AAM (Antiguo Automata Mexicano) takes techno to the next level with his second album and first release with Static Discos. Previously AAM released the infamous Microhate album on Germany's Background label. Inspired by German kraut and space rock, minimal techno and screwed up digital antics, AAM's Kraut Slut is the stuff of wicked dance dreams. Angel Sánchez Borges also records as Seekers Who Are Lovers on the Soundsister label. In a recent interview on URB Magazine, Borges says his secret to the AAM sound is his love for "My Bloody Valentine, a gentle way of dealing with strange layers of sounds. I want people to dance to these noisy grooves". Pitchformedia recently described his music in "the glitch/dub/minimal techno vein, with carefully constructed rips and blips stretched across a wide, white sonic canvas".
StaticDiscos-019
CD
$12.25


Arcade Fire
Neon Bible (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Merge-285
DLP
$17.50


Arcade Fire
Keep the Car Running (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US Feat. single from Neon Bible. Youve probably heard the song by now - but its a hook laden affair w/ a driving Joy Division bass line & drum pattern held together by Win Butlers impassioned vocals! "Broken Window" is another mini epic building on a minor key acoustic gutar strum & insistent violin.
Merge-304
45
$5.00


Arctic Monkeys
Favourite Worst Nightmare (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US New full-length.
Domino
CD
$14.50


Arctic Monkeys
Brianstorm (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US This pre-album single serves to prepare you for the coming onslaught that is the rocking brilliance of their new release, "Favourite Worst Nightmare". Like some cruel bait-and-switch, this record opens with a lovely string quartet before a rude intrusion of frantic drums and squealing guitars send them packing (apparently inspired by The Jesus Lizard no less). The second track, "Brianstorm" barrels out of the gate with an itchy energy. "Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend" is a taut, suspenseful track featuring a guest verse from Dizzee Rascal.
DominoRecordingCo.
CD5
$4.75


Asa Irons & Swaan Miller
S/T (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US This record is forever. After listending to it you'll realise that it doesn't matter that Asa Irons plays in Witch with J Mascis as well as the acclaimed folk outfit Feathers. This record needs no associations and it's songs are so timeless that they feel as if they've been passed around for generations and hardly need any recording medium at all. This is the first release from Asa Irons and Swann Miller but it sounds like they've lived within each others voices for a million years. Asa's deep-breath-voice lays down a mossy hill for Swann's beautiful voice to tread upon. His guitar work is simply intricate and his fingerpicking perfectly suits the way their voices combine to become one. This record always has been and always will be. This record is forever. "After spending years in New Hampshire and often Nova Scotia, I began writing songs about my Northeastern window through which I view the world. Most of the pieces represent strong fundamentals in my life such as living without comfort resources like electricity and running water, the building trends of carpentry and masonry with which I make my living, and the slow paced rural life in which I grew up. The land of Northeastern North America is very important to me and compelled me to describe it in the form of music. Many people in my life were musicians - my father, cousins, friends - so I had plenty of good examples to pull from and think about. My style of song writing, I believe, comes from the influence of these loved ones combined with certain deep-rooted melodies or images from books that have stuck with me. (Such as sound tracks of old cinema and authors like Tolstoy and Carolyn Chute.) My older sister's art work has also had a tremendous effect on the way I see the world. Many of her primary subjects revolve around various representations of our own home place and the people who inhabited this and the other woods houses in which we grew up. One of the people connected to me through music and lifestyle is Swann Miller. She is the daughter of a man who was a good friend of my father's. Through the '70's our fathers built houses together around N.H. and also played a lot of music. So, I have known Swann my whole life and perhaps it was inevitable that we made music together. When I reached her house in the winter of 2003, I had just had my notebook of songs stolen along with other things. I decided to try to catalogue all I could remember by practicing them. Swann practiced with me. On a whim, her boyfriend - who works as a sound engineer - recorded the two of us singing in an abandoned yellow women's bathroom in the basement of the building where they lived. It all took about an hour and a half including set up of mics, recording, and breaking down. I borrowed a twenty year old Guild guitar from a friend of a friend which was very similar to my father's guitar that I grew up with. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to help capture Swann's beautiful voice and continue the music of our families. The album is a quick glimpse of a world view from Southern New Hampshire through the voices of two old friends whose fathers were friends before them." Asa Irons
Important-143
CD
$12.25


Badgerlore
We Are All Hopeful Farmers, We Are All Scared Rabbits (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US BADGERLORE is the great tribal council of the so-called "Freak Folk" movement. The supergroup features Rob Fisk (DEERHOOF, 7-YEAR RABBIT CYCLE) and Ben Chasny (SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, COMETS ON FIRE), with Tom Carter (CHARALAMBIDES), Pete Swanson (YELLOW SWANS), Glen Donaldson (BLITHE SONS, JEWELED ANTLER) and Liz Harris (GROUPER). Together they proceed with masterful nuance and inexorable tension; "We Are All Hopeful Farmers, We Are All Scared Rabbits" is the sound of effigy mounds slowly rousing from prehistoric slumber.
TableoftheElements-114
CD
$12.25


Basement
Illicit Hugs Playground (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US Brit press darlings who live in the soup made from that late 60's wet spot left by Gram & the Flying Burritos, Dylan's albums w/The Band & Van Morrison's best work. From jangly footstomping romps to raucous twang & bittersweet laments. "Effortlessly charming folk-tinged tales."-The Sun.
Zealous-704
CD
$13.75


Bergraven
Dödsvisioner (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 22ND)

PS, US Bergraven turns the traditional blast-and-flay aesthetic of "frost bitten grimness" on its ear and comes at you with sweeping riff dirges, winding cinematic passages, melodic guitar interludes, tortured-yet-vaguely authoritarian and Germanic vocal overtones and - get this - ambient pedal steel excursions. All of which is enough to make your head spin, especially if you're down with weirdness. "Dodsvisioner" is not your typical black metal experience, and Bergraven is not your standard Swedish killing machine.
HydraHead
CD
$12.50


Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (B.R.M.C.)
Baby 81 (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US New album, heard it's awesome.
RedInt/RedInk
CD
$14.25


Black Tie Revue
Code Fun (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Their hooky keyboard driven power-pop has been drawing ravenous fans everywhere they play. Often compared to power pop bands likeThe Only Ones, The Wildhearts & The Records, the band is everything great about being young, geeky & American: adictively hooky, powerful, flagrantly irresponsible three-chord pop songs, loud guitars & new-wave keyboards, & a whole lot of jumping around.
Gearhead-074
CD
$11.50


Bloarzeyd
Delirious Insane Ventilator of Bloarzeyd (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US An explosion of joyful, eardrum shattering, wildly fun music by 2 guys from New England, Phil on bass & vocals and Mike on drums. If you like Shellac, LIghtning Bolt, Dionagah or old Batman reruns, you are sure to like these guys.
WoodedMan-008
CD
$8.50


Bloomfield, Mike
Junko Partner (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians of his era. A maestro of guitar, & an excellent composer & interpreter, he introduced young & old alike to a world of pure & authentic blues. This excellent album was released just after his death.
Akarma-376
CD
$15.75


Blow, The
Poor Aim: Love Songs (reissue) (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US "Poor Aim: Love Songs" is resilient electro-pop music that can be lovingly devoured by people of all ages and coolness factors. Already, the songs have fallen into a beloved repeat-play position in many a heart (and cell phone, as ring tones!). In their experiment, the two challenged each other with stringent requirements: JONA insisted that the rhythms couldn't be redundant; KHAELA guaranteed that the lyrics held sentences worth repeating. They succeeded. The songs are catchy as hell, and rise to meet all of the duo's snobby music standards. With sing-along-when-you-think-you're-alone types of refrains, it's as if the oldies station on the car stereo is playing at the same time as the urban party music station, with the occasional interfering sonic sway of an eighties keyboard refrain. That mash of sounds would come closest to describing "Poor Aim's" productional pitch, the sound of feeling fun and desperate and bravely romantically unsuccessful all at once; easy listening for difficult feelings.
KLP167
CD
$11.00


Boonaraaas!!!
5 Steps Ahead (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
SoundsOfSubterrania-083
LP
$16.50


Boonaraaas!!!
5 Steps Ahead (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US While most musical groups are taking two steps back, their thrust is most definitely forward. They bash out their heart & soulpoppin' sonic nuggets using vintage equipment but the noise they make is very much NOW! A treat for the ears & the eyes, no matter what your persuasion. Trich's sassy singing & bass attitude along w/ Christina's command of the big beat provides a rockin' solid foundation. Laura's Danelectro action blends w/ Tine's rhythm licks to create a fuzz-infused wall of sound that is so direct that you'll wonder what the heck just hit you.
SoundsOfSubterrania-083
CD
$17.00


Brown, Steven
Brown Plays Tenco + Live 1988 (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 29TH)

PS, UK Steven Brown is a core member of cult avant garde band Tuxedomoon. As a solo artist he has recorded some ten solo albums, including Music For Solo Piano (1983), Searching For Contact (1987), Half Out (1991), Nine Rain (1996) and Decade (2003). Brown Plays Tenco was recorded in Italy in 1987 and features Steven's own interpretations of five songs written by cult artist Luigi Tenco. Born in Cassine in 1938, Tenco scored many hits as a singer in Italy during the 1960s, but shot himself through the head at the San Remo Festival in 1967 after Ciao amore ciao (Hello, Love, Hello), failed to reach the final. The suicide note explained that his suicide was a gesture of protest against the jury's taste in music. Never available on CD before, Brown Plays Tenco has now been digitally remastered with twelve bonus tracks recorded live in Italy in 1988. These include in-concert renditions of songs by Luigi Tenco as well as solo material by both Brown (Besides All That, rwf) and Tuxedomoon (What Use?, Egypt , Lowlands Tone Poem). Artist Resume: Steven Brown was born in Chicago in 1952, and currently resides in Mexico City. Tuxedomoon formed in San Francisco in 1977 around the nucleus of Steven Brown, Blaine Reininger and Peter Principle. Following a string of releases on the Residents' Ralph label, the band relocated to Europe in 1981. Their dozen-odd group albums include the classics Half Mute, Desire, Suite En Sous-Sol, Ghost Sonata and Holy Wars. The latest TM album Bardo Hotel was released in 2006.
LTM-2428
CD
$16.25


Camera Obscura
Tears For Affairs (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, SPAIN "Tears for affairs" is the fourth song taken as a single from the highly praised third album by CAMERA OBSCURA. Along with the title track, the CD-single format includes one new, previously unreleased track: "The last song", as well as a brand new video of "Lloyd, I´m ready to be heartbroken", directed by Victoria Bergsman (THE CONCRETES, TAKEN BY TREES) and filmed by Blair Young, the man behind most of the band's videos; the clip features artwork by François Marry, French designer and musician living in England.
Elefant-253
45
$6.25


Camera Obscura
Tears For Affairs (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, SPAIN "Tears for affairs" is the fourth song taken as a single from the highly praised third album by CAMERA OBSCURA. Along with the title track, the CD-single format includes one new, previously unreleased track: "The last song", as well as a brand new video of "Lloyd, I´m ready to be heartbroken", directed by Victoria Bergsman (THE CONCRETES, TAKEN BY TREES) and filmed by Blair Young, the man behind most of the band's videos; the clip features artwork by François Marry, French designer and musician living in England.
Elefant-368
CD5
$6.75


Celestial
Dream On (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US You may have heard some of these songs on Music is My Girlfriend or Lost Music eps - these are completely new recordings and sound amazing. Andreas Hagman returned to his native Örebro, Sweden in 2000, where he began recording dreamy pop, jangly guitar and vocals that reflect a tender, soul-baring honesty.

"Precious songs, in the Sarah Records vein, between a super romantic dreampop and a dreamy and tender melodies jangle pop" - Mira El Péndulo

"stay true to their roots and produce a completely wonderful indie, drenched in effects... nostalgia knows no limits." - 4 Lighthouses

"wanders from shoegaze via Field Mice to JAMC in five songs" - Groove
SkippingStones-009
CD
$9.50


Clientele
God Save The Clientele (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Merge
LP
$15.50


Clientele
God Save The Clientele (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US On their third full-length, The Clientele are setting free their inner Monkees with a lovely blend of Big Star twisted powerpop, Byrdsian country achin', and flashes of The Beatles at their most joyful and upbeat. The ghosts, half-light, and uncertainties remain, but included in this music is a newfound optimism. With the addition of piano and violin, the band paints from a broader palette, adding splashes of pedal steel and slide guitar to their already lush songs.
Their most accomplished and triumphant record. Recorded in Nashville with Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Calexico, Silver Jews).
Merge
CD
$13.25


Clorox Girls
J'aime Les Filles (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
BYO-113
LP
$13.75


Clorox Girls
J'aime Les Filles (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Third LP from Portland, OR popsters channels the 70's style LA punk attitude of brevity, urgency & punchy pop hooks. Produced by Pat Meares (EXPLODING HEARTS).
BYO-113
CD
$13.75


Cold Bleak Heat
Simitu (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US "Simitu" is the second album from COLD BLEAK HEAT, the dream-team, east-coast avant jazz line-up of alto/tenor saxophonist PAUL FLAHERTY (DREAM/AKTION UNIT), drummer CHRIS CORSANO (VAMPIRE BELT, SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE), trumpeter GREG KELLEY (NMPERIGN, HEATHEN SHAME), and acoustic bassist MATT HEYNER (NO NECK BLUES BAND, TEST). While explosive as their 2005 debut, "Simitu" brings a melancholic, even sensitive feel to these improvisations. Yet, no need to worry about these four wipin' tears on their sleeves. CBH wages between the melodic centers/ghostly solos of Flaherty/Kelley and loose, downhill, free blow outs you'd expect, all while mainting the grand swell of a hardcore jazz symphony. Even as complex and multi-paced beats sink into bowed-drones and vocal hollers, focused lyricism remains the returning leader. Features liner notes and drawings by Christina Carter (CHARALAMBIDES).
FamilyVineyard-041
CD
$11.00


Comas, The
Spells (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US
Vagrant
CD
$12.25


Creteens
4-Track Blues (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE TBA)

PS, US 4 song EP from some French kid(s?) making with the Memphis-sound garage-punk racket. The title cut and "Contaminated" are definitely 'Teenage Hate'-esque. B-Side has an Oblivians cover & a slower-style Fatals-ish long-titled bloozer. Recording is pretty rough. Scums stats: 600 copies on baby- blue swirled vinyl.
Contaminated-009
45
$6.00


Damiak
Micalavera (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US Abe Dichi who's musical works are released via the Damaik alias is what you would classify as a true cosmopolitan musical entity. Spending most of his life moving between Mexico, Europe and the United States somehow gives his debut album "Micalavera" for n5MD an undercurrent of international, almost globalized, method. Add in the mixing and mastering of Mio and Valgeir Sigurdsson (Bjork, Mum, Bonnie "Prince" Billy) at Greehouse Studios in Iceland and this compounds the borderless sense of musical place that Micalavera embodies. The album title which roughly translates to "my skeleton" utilizes guitars, melodium, harmodium, violin, piano, field recordings, and live drums as well as electronic elements and edits that may recall similar moments to Sigurdsson's copatriots Mum and Blindfold or even to the more delicate moments of Dntel. Micalavera is an absorbing mix of many musical styles interwoven into a bright, affectionate, yet cohesive whole that features 12 vignettes of multicultural instrumentation, technique, and raw wondrous emotion.
n5MD-147
CD
$12.00


Dead Meadow
Howls from the Hills (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Their new album of accomplished and mesmerizingly authentic psychedelic rock.
Xemu
CD
$15.00


Deerhunter
Flourescent Grey EP (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Four new songs recorded while mixing Cryptograms. A snapshot of what direction the band might explore next? Probably not. This EP arrives on the heels of a well received sophomore LP, Cryptograms. EP functions in many ways as an epilogue to both the LP and the accompanying well-reported anxiety surrounding it's creation. The band now has a clean slate to explore something entirely new in the future. Four songs plus video for "Strange Lights". DOA: "The Flourescent Grey EP basically picks up where the album left off, combining the droning atmospherics of space-rockers like Loop and Spacemen 3 with the kind of Martin Hannett style production and drumming of Unknown Pleasures-era Joy Division."
Kranky
CD5
$7.00


Dinosaur Jr.
Beyond (Digipack Packaging) (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US Reunion album by all original members (J, Lou, and Murph, and all the accompanying disfunctional psychoses and neuroses) is one of the finest "comebacks" in the history of "comebacks". A triumphant return to form, highly recommended.
FatPossum
CD
$14.00


Drakes Hotel
Tell Me Everything (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US The married duo of Amy Drake and Chris Y make up the core & soul of Drakes Hotel. Having done away with live drummers altogether, they have taken the complex beats from their recordings and reimagined them for their live shows. Their use of countless older drum machines is now an integral & legendary part of their live appearances. They be will touring hard in 2007 to support their debut album & will also head out w/ label mates The High Violets later in 2007.
ReverbRecords-021
CD
$10.00


Draper, Linda
Keepsake (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US Linda Draper's much anticipated fifth studio long player, "Keepsake" brings you along for 10 beautifully crafted songs - it continues where her last LP, 2005's "One Two Three Four" (produced by Kramer) left off. The album marks her first self-produced effort, along with co-producer Major Matt Mason (Adam Green, Kimya Dawson, Jeffrey Lewis etc.) and was recorded at Olive Juice Music Studios in New York City. The CD presents Linda in an intimate setting accompanied throughout by stand-up bass, piano, violin, cello, slide guitar, touches of percussion and xylophone - the focus always being the pure beauty of Draper's vocal performance. "A shining light of excellence...a delightful voice that immediately enchants." (Tasty, UK)
PlantingSeeds-048
CD
$12.25


Dungen
Tio Bitar (ON SALE / PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 15TH)

PS, US Vinyl version.
Kemado
LP
$12.00


Dungen
Tio Bitar (ON SALE / PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 15TH)

PS, US New album! Over the past two years, the profile of Swedish psychedelic rockers Dungen has grown at an alarming rate, from a cult studio project into a worldwide musical phenomenon. And on Tio Bitar, we're hearing the end results of an outpouring of success and support - one which has, for once, inspired the creative processes at hand to make something wholly new and original, yet remaining within the same sphere of emotions that fostered Dungen's three previous albums. Gustav Ejstes, Dungen's founder and principal member, made Tio Bitar (translated, "Ten Pieces") - a bracing display of psychedelic rock, presented with a bright, avid confidence - largely by himself, with the assistance of guitarist Reine Fiske. Gustav wrote the songs, and played all of the instruments on his own, with Reine on many lead guitar and bass parts; his style of play puts him well within the top ranks of modern guitar heroes past and present.
Kemado
CD
$13.50


Eames Era
Heroes & Sheroes (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US The bands sophomore record is so brazenly hooky, with songs that are so totally fleshed out with memorable sing-a-longable instantly familiar melodies, chugging guitars, ba-bas, harmonies & handclaps, you could forgive it for what it lacks in innovation. In fact, Heroes highlights are some of the best chick-pop, and wholeheartedly deserve to sit amongst your Go-Gos greatest hits CD, Blondies Parallel Lines & the last Mates of State record too. The first single, "When You were a Millionaire", is currently featured as the theme song on MTV's new show, "I'm from Rolling Stone". Also had a song featured on Grey's Anatomy soundtrack.
MDF-429
CD
$10.00


Electrelane
No Shouts, No Calls (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US Following "Rock It To The Moon" (2001), "Power Out" (2004), and "Axes" (2005), there seems to be a new kind of light shining on Electrelane that remains strong throughout this record, but the willingness to push the envelope hasn't left the band either. "No Shouts No Calls" is an album of enticingly irregular brilliance. "Electrelane effortlessly assimilate a wide cut of moods and influences - the off kilter harmony of the Velvet Underground, the droning insistence of Krautrock heroes Can, the bratty brashness of feminist popsters Le Tigre - into a heartfelt batch of art-pop that never sounds snobby" -Blender.
TooPure
CD
$13.25


Electrelane
No Shouts, No Calls (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
TooPure
DLP
$13.25


Elk City
New Believers (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US New album from former Hidden Agenda artists, now on Friendly Fire. For 'New Beleivers' the band would recall the soul of Dusty Springfield, the power of Patti Smith, the big sound of Phil Spector and the warped-pop sensibilities of The Breeders on an album that brought vocalist Renée LoBue to the forefront. his new Elk City calls upon a wide palette of influences: 1960's psychedelic bands such as Love, the girl group sounds of classic Motown, 1970's proto-punk heroes John Cale and Television, and 1980's alternative rock such as The Smiths and The Pixies. Features guest appearances by Brother JT and former members of Luna.
FriendlyFire
CD
$15.00


Elope
9 Distilled Dreams (ON SALE / PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL??? 2007)

PS, SWEDEN COMING SOON? Perhaps Elope's finest album to date...and that's saying something consideing how brilliant 'The No Name Record' and '3WD' are... It is also their very mellowest. '9 Distilled Dreams' is the mainly acoustic companion piece to the rocking '3WD' released earlier this year. Check out Jim's Pick page for a sound sample.
Gravitation-026
CD
$10.50


Fall of Troy
Manipulator (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US Having built upon their reputation for lightning fast guitar riffs, raw screams, catchy choruses & a volatile rhythm section, this finds them combining metal w/ progressive, rock & blues, & past w/ present to once again push themselves beyond.
EqualVision-1402
CD
$15.50


Familjen
Det Snurrar I Min Skalle (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, SWEDEN The music is joyus. Not to mention, deceptively simple. Run a three-note arpeggio through a phaser and there's your refrain. Naturally, there's a bit more to it than that, but the essence of Familjen's pop/electronica sound is uncomplicated fun. Perhaps the lyrics tell a completely different story, but hey - I don't speak Swedish so I don't really care. Familjen makes warm electronica. Sounds like the Hacienda in springtime, Mylo on downers, Rex the dogs soundsystem and A guy called geralds dreams. It makes us all fuzzy and fightable inside.
Hybris-047
CD
$13.50


Feist
Reminder (ON SALE / PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 1ST)

PS, US New album from Canadian electro-chantuese, the follow-up to 2005's 'Let It Die', which was very very popular. New album is s produced by Feist, Gonzales and Renaud Letang. VANITY FAIR: "A one-in-a-million voice that evokes both Astrud Gilberto's sexy cool and Billie Holiday's languorous quaver."
Interscope
CD
$11.00


Filip
Crane-Grief (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 24TH)

PS, US Second full length from Sweden's eccentric pop poet. Simple beautiful songs performed on guitar, piano, pump organ & auto harp. For fans of Daniel Johnston, Will Oldham & Tom Waits.
Filipsongs-001
CD
$16.75


Fine Arts Showcase, The
Sings The Rough Bunnies (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 2007)

PS, SWEDEN Third album from Gustaf Kjellvander's Fine Arts Showcase, and the follow-up to his 110% brilliant 'Radiola'. Oddly enough a tribute record. TFAS covers 11 song by Swedish cult-twee-punk-lofi duo The Rough Bunnies. Highly recommended.
Adrian
CD
$15.00


Flying Burrito Bros
Definitive Collection (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE APRIL 17TH)

PS, US Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman (BYRDS) & the FBBs made country cool again when everybody else was into big rock sounds. They introduced the fuzztoned pedal steel and psychedelic nudie suits to a culture that was about as far from country cool as you could get. And God, "Hot Burrito No. 1" is one of the best vocal takes ever put to tape. 25 songs.
Hip-O
CD
$15.00


Francis, Sage
Human The Death Dance (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US VINYL VERSION!!!
Epitaph
DLP
$15.50


Francis, Sage
Human The Death Dance (PRE-ORDER: SALEABLE MAY 8TH)

PS, US Rapper, activist, and cultural provocateur Sage Francis offers his most personal and fully realized work on his second Anti/Epitaph release. With topics ranging from 9 to 5 cubicle madness to addiction to sex and