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	Velvet Crush "Stereo Blues" (no export to Japan) CD $12.00 Here It Comes • Rusted Star • Son Of Ray • Want You Now In Velvet Crush's 6th proper album (7th I suppose, if you want to include Chastain & Menck's pre-VC "Hey Wimpus"), "Stereo Blues," I've found everything I long for in records these days. The duo of Paul Chastain (vocals, guitars, bass, pedal steel, & keyboards) and Ric Menck (drums & guitars) have long been one of my favorite bands and with "Stereo Blues" - dare I say it? - I believe they've released my favorite record in their heralded discography. (more info/sound samples)
	The Fiery Furnaces "Blueberry Boat" CD $14.25 Quay Cur • Chris Michaels • Straight Street • Bird Brain Press darlings Matt Friedberger (ex-Liquorette/Corndolly/The Mezzanines) and his sister Eleanor save more chitty chitty bang bang from the fiery furnace with their sprawling sophomore album, Blueberry Boat. A far cry from the Furnaces’ feted debut, Gallowsbird’s Bark, Blueberry Boat is more ambitious, more elaborately arranged, more diverse, longer, bigger, louder and better in just about every way: It makes the unusual Gallowsbird seem positively conventional. It's progressive without being prog; it's smart without being supercilious. Although many of the songs date from the band's early days and will be familiar to anyone who's seen them live, they’re presented as parts of a sprawling, ambitious 76-minute opus inspired by The Who's mini-rock operas before 'Tommy': quick-cut songs like 'Rael' and 'A Quick One.'" The band darts in and out of the songs, changing direction abruptly and theatrically, but in a way that makes perfect sense according to the album's own logic. Blueberry Boat contains the band's best work to date, with some of its prettiest and poppiest moments juxtaposed with some of its most ambitious and complex. It's an album in which you continually discover new things; it’s an album that can be your friend for a long time. "...a record for the overgrown part of our brain that craves engrossing complexity. The exuberant overload of Blueberry Boat will thrill and transport you with the ineluctable force of a great children's story, one whose execution matches its imagination." - Pitchfork Media
	Ken Stringfellow "Soft Commands" CD $14.50 When U Find Someone • You Drew • For Your Sake Written and recorded in Seattle, Hollywood, Stockholm, Paris, Senegal, Vancouver and NY, "Soft Commands" is as much an album as it is a travelogue through time - specifically, the era when modern pop composition caught up with studio soundcraft. Posies co-founder, sideman to the stars and world citizen Ken Stringfellow is equally adept at the grandeur of Spector, the subtlety of Nilsson, and the eclecticism of everything in between. Ken first caught the world's attention in the early '90s with the Posies - one of the great power pop bands of that decade. But critics and fans weren't the only ones who took notice. When the Posies broke up, a steady stream of the most universally cool musicians came knocking on Ken's door. First, Alex Chilton recruited Ken to tour with Big Star, and later, he toured with R.E.M. as a backing vocalist and musician. Recently, Ken has become a steady member of Scott McCaughey's revolving door of pop discovery - The Minus 5. But through it all, he's never stopped crafting his own personal brand of endearing pop gems for your listening pleasure.
	Rogue Wave "Out Of The Shadow" CD $13.00 • LP $11.75 Endless Shovel • Every Moment • Be Kind + Rewind Out of the Shadow is a gentle, undeniable charmer, full of the naturally timeless sophistication and fierce, penetrating hooks that define a classic album. Originally released in a limited quantity on the band's own Responsive Recordings label in early 2003, Out of the Shadow has been re-mastered & given spiffy new artwork to boot! This quartet from San Francisco effuses vitality, all the while infusing their damaged melodies with casual charm. Band features Zach Rogue (Desoto Reds), Pat Spurgeon, Sonya Westcott, and Gram LeBron (Schrasj/Jessica Six/Sad Like Crazy/Ojet Records). Now folks can find out why this gem snuck onto many "Best Of 2003" lists last year. There's something very familiar about it to my ears that makes it sound like an album by an old friend... it smacks of Jeff (Castor/Big Bright Lights) Garber's bedroom recordings, rings of Unbunny's organic intimacy, and hooks with a Wolfie-esque melody... throw in a helping of The Shins and I'll be darned if it doesn't look like one of 2004's finest releases as well!
	The Hellacopters "By The Grace Of God" CD $13.00 By The Grace Of God • All New Low • Carry Me Home Domestic edition of 2002 release includes 2 bonus tracks and 2 videos. Great stuff. Great riffs and melodies. Supremely great, hooky rock 'n' roll and Southern boogie highlighted by crisp production. Excellent stuff for fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard, Cheap Trick, Kiss, Sahara Hotnights, Mother, etc. This is a terrific CD!
	Paco "This Is Where We Live" CD $12.25 My Love • Shaded • Lie New band led by Ivy's Dominique Durand and Andy Chase (also Brookville and with production/engineering credits spanning the Smashing Pumpkins and Tahiti 80) and Hem's Gary Maurer. Good stuff for the continental pop set and fans of Club 8, The Cardigans, Saint Etienne, Dubstar, and Ivy. "Paco plays a blend of nimble new wave and synth pop [with] plenty of swirling and elegant hooks and loopy, textured choruses... Where We Live is loaded with spacey effects, innovative techno flourishes and seductive vocals." - Magnet
	Broder Daniel "Broder Daniel Forever" CD $13.50 I'll Be Gone • Dark Heart • Whirlwind • Love Doesn't Last Wildly popular Swedish band who's largest exposure in the US comes via independent movie houses - the band are featured extensively in Lukas Moodysson's brilliant coming-of-age film, "Show Me Love" (or "F*cking Amal" overseas), the biggest Swedish movie of the 90s. Six years on “Broder Daniel Forever” easily ranks among the most important albums released in Sweden. This Gothenburg band defined a time and a place for an entire generation of Scandinavians. “Broder Daniel Forever” is Sweden’s “The Queen Is Dead”, it is their “Psychocandy”, it is their “What’s The Story Morning Glory”, their “Loveless”, and their “Nevermind”. Bubblegum pop tricked out with a million Marshall halfstacks, urgent voices and heroic harmonies, crucial riffs and bombastic rhythms and reverb twirled to Spectoresque levels…and then there’s charismatic pixie-punk frontman Henrik Berggren, equal parts Syd Barrett’s inner elf and Bono’s leprechaun.
	Purple Confusion "The Sound Of The Atom Splitting" CD $14.00 Dreaming Of A Hypersomniac Princess • Jeff Koons • Breathing Underwater • Running Behind Butterflies Highly Recommended! Features M83 duo as core members! The legendary This Mortal Coil is to 4AD as glitch-pop-ambient supergroup Purple Confusion is to Gooom… Purple Confusion is comprised of M83’s Anthony Gonzales and Nicolas Fromageau, plus members of Mils, Moughqual, Bertuf, and Gooom honcho Jean-Philippe Talaga. Shadowy glitch-pop with propulsive Krautrock rhythms, balancing driving neo-shoegaze romps with freestyle disco-pomp and Kranky-esque atmospherique, with some serious kinship to artists like Guitar and Cornelius. Is Gooom labelhead Jean-Philippe Talaga the French Ivo Watts-Russel? Remains to be seen. Is Purple Confusion one of Gooom's finest offerings? Why yes, it is. Top tier stuff for fans of M83, Guitar, Orbital, DJ Shadow, Cornelius, The Cure, Severed Heads, Antarctica, Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream.
	Trembling Blue Stars "Southern Skies Appear Brighter EP" CDEP $6.75 Helen Reddy • A Beginning Of A Kind Advance single taken from the forthcoming fifth album by one of the world's most moving and beloved bands. This CD-single includes "Helen Reddy" as the main track, followed by four more previously unreleased songs ("A Beginning of a Kind," "Open Skies," "Hurry Home through the Crowds," and "One Wish Granted"), which will not be included in the album "The Seven Autumn Flowers." Limited edition.
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The Parasol 5-Star serves to highlight our favorite releases for the month. No money has been exchanged between Parasol and the bands or labels involved for this consideration. These releases are profiled because of the impact they've made upon our ears, hearts and minds - not Parasol's advertising revenue. Parasol Purity. Payola free since 1991. No additives. More real cheese flavor.