Forced Exposure New Releases for the Week of 8/28/2023

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: AALP 1600LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"While many of Dennis Brown's later recordings won't be remembered as well as those of his early days, the man that Bob Marley called his favorite reggae singer never really released a disc that wasn't worth hearing. Even during his most turbulent times, Brown brought a caring, spiritual vibe to his music that few others could. I Don't Know is a mid- '90s Clive Jarret/Peter Chemist production that has a more electronic feel to it than Brown's earlier material. Songs such as 'Trod On' and the bubbling 'Give Me the Vibe' serve as good examples of how consistent Brown's music was, regardless of what else what going on his life. Vocalist Onite Boone joins Brown on two tracks ('Should I' and 'Treat Me Bad'). Both work quite well, giving us just a glimpse of what Boone and Brown could do together. Other notable tracks include 'Piece of My Heart,' 'True True,' and 'Fly Away Home.'" --AllMusicFeatures Little Lenny.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: BING 201LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Remastered for its 10th Anniversary, the newly cut vinyl edition of Ripely Pine features the bonus track 'Up In The Rafters.' More than anything, Aly Spaltro has 20,000 second-hand DVDs to thank for her first album. Taking the name Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, Spaltro became one of the most beloved musicians in Portland. Her live shows were unhinged, as melodies followed an internal logic only apparent to Spaltro herself. She sang and played guitar, and the songs offered a vivid yet brief snapshot of her expansive world. At 23, with years of writing and performing music already under her belt, she ventured to the next milestone -- recording an album. This would be the first time she did so in a professional studio and the first time she shared the process with anyone else. Luckily, she met Nadim Issa at Let 'Em Music in Brooklyn. He was taken enough by her abilities to dedicate nine full months toward the recording of Ripely Pine, and she with his producing abilities to ease comfortably into making him a part of her recording process. She wrote everything -- all the songs, all the arrangements. And the two of them assembled an album that finally fit what existed in Spaltro's mind. Keeping the songs' stark rawness, the record is a pure representation of her sound. Ripely Pine shouts the introduction of a new talent from every groove. These recordings come as close as possible to conveying the intense majesty of her live shows, and, much like those performances, a narrative breathes through the record's progression. The album opens with urgency and anger, settles into reconciliation and reciprocation, and ultimately reaches toward resolution, realizing infatuation leads to a loss of self; instead, embracing one's own strengths is the most powerful thing of all."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: BTR 081LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Led by tenor saxophonist and composer Niklas Mündemann, Muito Kaballa are a collective based in Cologne. Originally started as a one-man loop station street show, the project has grown to be known for its eclectic and mesmerizing live show. Acting as the introduction to the musical world and lyrical narratives of the upcoming record "Like A River", the track, leans into the river theme, providing an all-encompassing, flowing journey. Tim von Malotki's percussive bass clarinet lines cut through the meandering wash of Benjamin Schneider's rootsy, highlife-inspired guitars and atmospheric piano flourishes, courtesy of Jan Janzen. Vocalist Nora Beisel floats across the arrangement, backed by emotive horn harmonies whilst reflecting on the change of path at the end of a relationship; a new orientation and course set. "Musically we tried to really engage with the river metaphor. We worked with all these 'water' sounds and effects that kind of produce this ocean vibe. As the song evolves, it also follows along this idea of a river that grows stronger and more dangerous as the current grows." An album focused on transitional moments in life, and separation from ingrained social ideals, Like A River is anchored around the three movements of "Like A River Parts I-III" which act as the record's source, middle and end point. Set to be accompanied by a film to which these movements are the score, it's an achievement of songwriting and collective arrangement, incorporating wide-ranging influences that span Afrofunk, Gnawa, contemporary jazz, and rumba. Whereas their previous albums have mostly linked to afrobeat, and addressed topics like social equality, racial politics and climate change, Like A River is a concept album that takes a more intimate, personal approach. "The album deals with transitioning and separations, taking on ideas like: at age 30 you should definitely have children, a house and a car, or ideas on how to live relationships and love. Separating from these ideas or overcoming them can be challenging..." Tracks such as "Like A River Part II" dip into swirling psychedelia centered around an explorative 12/8 groove, whilst "Carry Me" takes a subtle shift away from the '70s analog sounds favored by the band, combining full bodied synth soundscapes with euphoric horn arrangements. Not content with just its core members, the group also employ the skills of Belgo-Congolese vocalist Reinel Bakolé for "Let Go" and "All This While", further expanding their pool of influence into the world of future soul.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BEWITH 142LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Pierre-Alain Dahan & Mat Camison's Rythmiques is another iconic release in the hallowed Tele Music catalogue. First appearing in 1973, it features tense funk, blunted jazz and heavy breaks all the way. Considered the rightful sequel to Continental Pop Sound, it's a vital album for producers and DJs. French drummer, percussionist and composer Pierre-Alain Dahan was a key member of the legendary Arpadys, Disco & Co, Voyage, Tumblack (with Wally Badarou, Mallia et al!) and Jef Gilson Septet whilst his partner here, Mat Camison, was a pioneering synth LORD. The album opens with the stabbing thriller-funk of "Rythmiques N° 4". The dubbier "Rythmiques N° 5" is no less electric and definitely has a spacey air of wonky funk about it. "Rythmiques N° 6" is more percussive-focused with a brilliantly hypnotic opening that really stretches the drama out. "Rythmique N° 7" alternates between fast-paced, skipping drums and slo-mo funk. The dope jazz of "Rythmique N° 8" truly mesmerizes with licks of electric piano, funky bass flourishes and varied percussion. "Rythmique N° 9" has great, sloppy-yet-hard intro drums which sound like something Daft Punk could've pilfered circa Human After All. The A-Side closes with the beautiful, melancholic "Piano + Piano", a reflective jazzy piano track which could easily open a wide-ranging set this autumn and many after it. Opening Side B, "Auto Rythmiques" is a hectic yet compelling funk workout but it's all about the frankly devastating breakbeats on "Rythmiques N° 10 & N° 11" with effortlessly twisted funk bass lines over open drum breaks and enough tension and rhythmic switch-ups to keep your neck-snapping and your mind lifted. Taking leave from the heavy funk break action, the pastoral "Océan Horizon" is perhaps an unfairly overlooked highlight. A gorgeous, softly-aquatic, ambient gem, it's gently percussive with warm, floaty keys decorating the mellow rhythmic bed. The brief "Super Carrousel" is harmless fun-fair-funk, followed by the intriguingly titled "Gay Shopping." To close out this memorable set we're left with "Suspense N° 1" to get us back on course with its unsurprisingly tense mix of urgent stringed instruments that flirt with rhythm and melody yet the longer the track goes on. The audio for Rythmiques has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BEWITH 143LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

A Tele Music classic from 1972, Pierre-Alain Dahan's Continental Pop Sound is of those library albums with something for everyone. French drummer, percussionist and composer Pierre-Alain Dahan was a key member of the legendary Arpadys, Disco & Co, Voyage, Tumblack (with Wally Badarou and Sauveur Mallia) and Jef Gilson Septet. Experience the minimalist groove of "Slowrama", a humid masterclass in low-slung, creeping crime funk with weighty breaks and beefy bass complimented by hypnotic wah-wah and warm electric piano. The galloping "Latin Pop Sound" is a percussive, Santana-esque tour de force featuring fantastic guitar shreds over a bassline to die for. "Morning Melody" is a lightweight amble whereas the brief but deliciously psych-rock heavy "Islam Blues" is a must for your mixes when requiring short segue tracks. The A-Side closes out with "Phasing Drums N° 1, 2 & 3", all completely ace. The genuine monster "Pacific Rock" blasts out the gate to usher in Side B, a thrilling and unrelenting pop-rock instrumental that really drives. "Quasimodo Pop" contains great slow-mo funk breaks and scratchy guitars that alternate with pretty heavy riffing to create a compelling base track. "Carmel Beach" is as beautiful as the location it's named after, as insouciant guitars glide over super slo-mo beats and dramatic organ. "Auto Moto Rallye" is a brief driving funk gem, as you might expect, complete with revved up guitars tuned and played to emulate the irresistible sound of growling race cars. The three most famous tracks "Rythmiques 1, 2 & 3" all come complete with breaks. This album is often considered as the "baby brother" to Tele Music's Rythmiques, and this triptych is all the proof you need. The audio for Continental Pop Sound has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue. Part of Tele Music Reissue Campaign, 2023 first time reissue, 140g vinyl.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BEWITH 144LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Pierre-Alain Dahan & Slim Pezin's Neo Rythmiques is a Tele Music library classic from 1976. It's absolutely sensational throughout, all scorching, up-tempo jazzy soul funk that Mr. James Brown himself would've been envious of. This is serious business with breaks for days. French drummer, percussionist and composer Pierre-Alain Dahan was a key member of the legendary Arpadys, Disco & Co, Voyage, Tumblack (with Wally Badarou, Mallia et al!) and Jef Gilson Septet. With Neo Rhythmiques, he's joined by his eternal guitar colleague Slim Pezin (Voyage, Manu Dibango, Nino Ferrer). Opener "Soul Car" is a swaggering, horn-drenched jazz-funk beast whilst the slick JBs funk of "Happy Penalty" is just plain irresistible. The blazing "Kuzi-Kuza" is again horn-fueled but has a more exotic, Latino feel, all loose grooves and bastard blues with funky organ and shredding guitars. The stomping, proto-disco of "Mercy Boa" is a guitar-sizzled Bohannon-esque hypno-groove for adventurous dance floors the world over. The A side ends with the monumental, stratospheric "Slim Bertha," slo-motion, deep drama funk breaks with jazzy guitar and gleaming percussion. Side B opens with "Country + Country," followed by "Super Airship," a driving fuzz-guitar psych-rock workout of the highest order. The brilliantly titled "Electronic Mutation" is a total highlight, the funk most definitely returning and, indeed, strong in this one with its deep clean breaks (with some particularly ace hi-hats), echoey effects and funky clavs. "Africa Semper" follows, all funky percussion, trippy echo and distorted, psychy guitar licks. To close out the set, "Neo Rythmiques 1 and 2" form a great salvo of top-tier, percussion-heavy synthy-funk-fusion. The audio for Neo Rythmiques has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: BEWITH 147LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Pierre Dutour's infamous Top Fiction is the epitome of a five-tracker. Coming to light in 1979 on Tele Music, its collection of environmental themes are all astounding. They come recommended as tracks you'd choose to elegantly elevate deep selector sets or mixes. Opening with "Captain Parade," it then heads straight to the glistening synths and proud horns of beatless ambient wonder "Mountain Echoes". The sci-fi atmospherics of "Space Fiction" are definitely sampleable whilst the proud horns of "Mountain Trumpet" definitely contain blasts that could be of creative use. "Tambours Parade" is more marching-band funk, only this time the drums go hard and there's a lot to like about this one. The B-side opens with the gorgeous "Deer Forest". It's one of the most beautiful songs you'll ever hear. Like something off Brian Bennett's Voyage, it rides dreamily melodic synths, and comes on, as one fan claimed "like something Angelo Badalamenti would have co-written with Final Fantasy composer, Nobuo Uematsu". Be instantly beguiled by the deep eerie nostalgia and pretty delicate piano of "Magic Lake I" and the whistling-synth-augmented "Magic Lake II". The almost-title-track "Pop Fiction" is another hidden gem, containing dreamy, glistening arpeggios that are just begging to be sampled with a heavy knocking beat behind it. The set closes with "Damnation Space", two minutes of spooky Musique concrète. The audio for Top Fiction has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this divisive release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original space-age sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: 9781953691156

FILE UNDER: Misc

"The first book on the art-world legend who installed his ephemeral sculptures on the streets of New York's East Village. Curtis Cuffie (1955-2002) was an artist from Harstville, South Carolina, who found local notoriety in the 1990s for the thrilling and surprising way he adorned the streets of New York's East Village. His on-the-spot sculptures were woven into fences, hung from walls and sprawled along the Bowery and Cooper Square. Making use of whatever he could find to fashion works that were imaginative and real, Cuffie took the street for all it could provide: materials, an audience, a rhythm and a sense of the strange unexpectedness of public life. He was unhoused for stretches of his life, and his sculptures were viewed near to his outdoor quarters. Cuffie's art was often removed by city sanitation, but new work would spring up soon after. Though little of his art survives today, a trove of photographs documenting it keeps him in the present. This publication, the first on Cuffie, seeks to honor the artist and rectify his omission by going backward to recover that which has been left behind. It places Cuffie's own photographs and those of his companion Katy Able alongside pictures that photographers Margaret Morton and Tom Warren took of Cuffie and his art on the streets." 252 pages. 8.00(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.6 (d).

 

PRICE: $17.50

CAT #: BM 010CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Formed in the late 70's, the duo is still grooving at their studio in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Laid Back gained their first international major breakthrough in the '80s with "Sunshine Reggae" and "White Horse." The dualism and originality of the two songs has left a worldwide and everlasting reputation of their music. The third evergreen from their hand was made in 1990 named "Bakerman" altogether with a music video by Lars Von Trier. More recently, the two members has co-founded their own record company, Brother Music, which has released Laid Back singles such as "Cocaine Cool," remixes from Soul Clap, and latest the mini-album Cosyland and the chill out album, Cosmic Vibes. In 2013 they released the double album Uptimistic Music. 2019 was the 40th anniversary and release of the album Healing Feeling. 2023 marks the year of a new 21-track studio album Road To Fame.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: BL 754174LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"The spectrum of musical expression has broadened considerably in recent years and it would appear that no extent of sound development has escaped some for of interpretation in music. One of the most basic instruments that seems to be an integral part of any size musical group is the piano, whose eighty-eight keys have produced a limitless variety of sounds, rhythms and harmonies in every conceivable form. The list of piano greats is comprised of masters of this instrument who have entertained and educated music lovers in jazz, blues, pop, rock and the classics. It is rare to discover a pianist who combines all of these directions into a style that is unique, distinctive and totally fresh in approach, but Don Walker is that kind of a talent. A native of Evanston, Illinois, Don graduated from Northwestern University and served his musical apprenticeship with the likes of Nancy Wilson and Young-Holt Unlimited. Early in 1970, Don embarked on his own and formed The Complete Expressions, in itself an indication of what Don Walker is all about. In the relatively short life of this new trio, critics have described it as 'traveling a broad road between commercialism and experimentation,' to which Walker adds, 'We also try to stretch out.' Don is a strong rhythmic player who puts much emphasis on a contemporary soul sound, while displaying an uncanny expertise on fast blue tunes. This debut album contains mostly original songs composed by Walker, plus an imaginative rendition of the Lennon-McCartney classic, 'Dear Prudence.' Whatever your tastes in music happen to be, we predict The Complete Expressions will more than satisfy your appetite for the inventive, new direction in music served up by the exciting sounds of Don Walker."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: LPCT 002LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

2023 repress. Jah Thomas meets Scientist In Rock Dub. All titles written by Nkrumah Manley Thomas. 14 dub tracks, featuring the Roots Radics. MIxed by Scientist. Originally released 1996?

 

PRICE: $18.50

CAT #: RAS 3052LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

1989 release. "Tough personal choices, romantic frustrations, and 'Jealousy' are all explored, the latter with the able assistance of Jimmy Cliff. Gussie Clarke again takes the production honors, with the dancehall fired rhythms laid down by Steely & Clevie, abetted by the fabulous Ras Brass and Robbie Lyn's exceptional synth work." --All Music GuideAlso featuring Mutabaruka.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: CMR 007CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Sun Ra's Jazz in Silhouette was enshrined in the Penguin Jazz Guide's 'Core Collection' as an album that 'will someday be recognized as one of the most important post-war jazz records.' Jazz in Silhouette is the quintessential record of Sun Ra's late 1950s Chicago period. Recorded and issued in 1959, it marks a coda for the bandleader's bebop/hardbop stage, as his interstellar traveler persona began to transform the band (and the music). It also charts the future, showcasing the brilliant tenor sax stylings of John Gilmore, and introduces the iconic playing of Arkestra mainstays Marshall Allen, Pat Patrick, and Ronnie Boykins. Many of the early works on these recordings would remain staples in Arkestra set lists for the rest of Sun Ra's life. This expanded edition includes the complete, contemporaneous "Sound Sun Pleasure," rare stereo mixes, and bonus tracks."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: CMR 007LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. "Sun Ra's Jazz in Silhouette was enshrined in the Penguin Jazz Guide's 'Core Collection' as an album that 'will someday be recognized as one of the most important post-war jazz records.' Jazz in Silhouette is the quintessential record of Sun Ra's late 1950s Chicago period. Recorded and issued in 1959, it marks a coda for the bandleader's bebop/hardbop stage, as his interstellar traveler persona began to transform the band (and the music). It also charts the future, showcasing the brilliant tenor sax stylings of John Gilmore, and introduces the iconic playing of Arkestra mainstays Marshall Allen, Pat Patrick, and Ronnie Boykins. Many of the early works on these recordings would remain staples in Arkestra set lists for the rest of Sun Ra's life. This expanded edition includes the complete, contemporaneous "Sound Sun Pleasure," rare stereo mixes, and bonus tracks."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: DLC 010CD

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

De la Catessen Records present the original score of the celebrated cinematic feature documentary Franklin by AACTA nominated composer Luke Altmann (Transfusion, Fell, The Leunig Fragments). Franklin (dir. Kasimir Burgess) tells the story of the seven-year campaign to save Tasmania's wild Franklin River from being dammed, through Oliver Cassidy's rafting adventure in the footsteps of his late father -- one of the original activists of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society. Franklin had its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2022, and has since screened around the world to wide acclaim. From moments of quiet musical intimacy to sweeping orchestral grandeur, Luke Altmann's original score for Franklin features stunning performances by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Benaud Trio, and Konstantin Shamray. Franklin is the first original soundtrack release by Luke Altmann on De la Catessen records.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: DLC 011LP

FILE UNDER: SOUNDTRACK

De la Catessen Records presents a limited vinyl release of the original score for the 2023 film Transfusion (a Stan. original film) by Luke Altmann (Franklin, The Leunig Fragments, Fell). Leaning into the sense of fragility, grief, and volatility of the film's central characters, Luke Altmann's original score for Transfusion combines compelling performances from ensembles of understated and gorgeously recorded drifting strings, trumpet, ronroco, and broken piano, with the visceral and barely suppressed dread of growling brass and orchestral percussion. Transfusion is the second original soundtrack release by Luke Altmann on De la Catessen records, following his score for the celebrated cinematic feature documentary Franklin (dir. Kasimir Burgess).

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: DLC 012CD

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

With Empyrean Traces, De La Catessen Records focuses on another aspect of Adelaide composer David Kotlowy's career -- his works for trio. It follows the 2021 release of Final Fragments: Piano Music of David Kotlowy, where David Kotlowy's solo piano compositions were performed by composer and scholar Stephen Whittington. The three compositions on Empyrean Traces are brought to life by the Benaud Trio, whose ability to carry the gentle poetics of such work allows for bravura performances: as Luke Altmann of De La Catessen says, "it often felt during these sessions less like we were listening to the Benaud Trio and more like we were scanning for a signal from outer space." Indeed, Kotlowy's compositions share something otherworldly. His compositional ethos is informed by several key influences -- Japanese musical aesthetics; John Cage; Morton Feldman; Ross Bolleter and his ruined pianos -- but while you can hear relationships between Kotlowy's compositions and these forebears, Kotlowy is not beholden to that which has come before, and over several decades, has marked out his own patch of aesthetic territory with unerring clarity. The works on Empyrean Traces span the 1990s to 2020s, with two "earlier" pieces, "Chromatic Traces" and "Under Stars", revised earlier this decade. While significant time has elapsed between their composition, the three pieces on Empyrean Traces share the same "sound world", one where an exterior seeming-fragility masks a resolute interior: these are sturdy, powerful pieces. Kotlowy draws from several compositional tactics -- the use of Cagean time brackets, or breathing as measure, such that this album, in his own words, "traces a transition from outer to inner clock time." There is also a "relaxing of musical austerity" as Empyrean Traces progresses; the spare chill of "Chromatic Traces" acquiesces to the relative richness of the title composition. A gorgeous album of deeply moving music, Empyrean Traces is sure to appeal to fans of composers such as Morton Feldman, Jürg Frey, or T?ru Takemitsu. CD version comes in edition of 300.

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: DLC 012LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

LP version. Edition of 300; hand-numbered. With Empyrean Traces, De La Catessen Records focuses on another aspect of Adelaide composer David Kotlowy's career -- his works for trio. It follows the 2021 release of Final Fragments: Piano Music of David Kotlowy, where David Kotlowy's solo piano compositions were performed by composer and scholar Stephen Whittington. The three compositions on Empyrean Traces are brought to life by the Benaud Trio, whose ability to carry the gentle poetics of such work allows for bravura performances: as Luke Altmann of De La Catessen says, "it often felt during these sessions less like we were listening to the Benaud Trio and more like we were scanning for a signal from outer space." Indeed, Kotlowy's compositions share something otherworldly. His compositional ethos is informed by several key influences -- Japanese musical aesthetics; John Cage; Morton Feldman; Ross Bolleter and his ruined pianos -- but while you can hear relationships between Kotlowy's compositions and these forebears, Kotlowy is not beholden to that which has come before, and over several decades, has marked out his own patch of aesthetic territory with unerring clarity. The works on Empyrean Traces span the 1990s to 2020s, with two "earlier" pieces, "Chromatic Traces" and "Under Stars", revised earlier this decade. While significant time has elapsed between their composition, the three pieces on Empyrean Traces share the same "sound world", one where an exterior seeming-fragility masks a resolute interior: these are sturdy, powerful pieces. Kotlowy draws from several compositional tactics -- the use of Cagean time brackets, or breathing as measure, such that this album, in his own words, "traces a transition from outer to inner clock time." There is also a "relaxing of musical austerity" as Empyrean Traces progresses; the spare chill of "Chromatic Traces" acquiesces to the relative richness of the title composition. A gorgeous album of deeply moving music, Empyrean Traces is sure to appeal to fans of composers such as Morton Feldman, Jürg Frey, or T?ru Takemitsu.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: DLC 013CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

As co-director of new music organization The Firm, Raymond Chapman Smith has quietly presented over 130 concerts of new music. But his uncomplicated disinterest in recognition or recording means his music is rarely heard beyond the walls of Adelaide's Elder Hall, where The Firm's annual concert series is presented to a regular audience of 50-100 initiates. This is the first album of his work, played by US born Australian-Iranian pianist Amir Farid. As a teenager in the 1970s, Chapman Smith began performing in AZ Music in Sydney with the recently returned Australian assistant to Cardew and Stockhausen, David Ahern, feeding new ideas into the local music scene, and fielding phoned-in performance instructions from La Monte Young for their improvisations at Brett Whiteley's gallery. After moving to Adelaide to study with Richard Meale, through the '80s and '90s Chapman Smith founded and co-helmed loosely Cageian composer-performer collectives. Since 1996 he has co-directed new music organization The Firm, reveling in the poetic aesthetic of 19th Century German romanticism. On Ländler from 2002, Chapman Smith says: "The references, the paying of homage to Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Mahler, Wolf, and Zemlinsky are so obvious as to hardly need comment. They are heard through lenses polished by a later, more reductive aesthetic and a somewhat fortuitous arrival at a kind of diatonic serialism." Of 2003's Nachschriften: "Some of my thoughts while making this music revolved around a passage from a speech which Paul Celan gave in 1958. Celan, of course, was speaking of lyric poetry but I would respectfully paraphrase his words as follows ... 'Music is not timeless. Certainly, it lays claim to infinity, it seeks to reach through time -- through it, not above or beyond it. Music, as a manifestation of language and thus essentially dialogue, can be a message in a bottle, sent out in the -- not always greatly hopeful -- belief that somewhere and sometime it could wash up on land, on heartland perhaps. Music in this sense too is underway: it is a making toward something. Toward what? Toward something standing open, occupiable, perhaps towards an addressable Thou, toward an addressable reality.'"

 

PRICE: $27.50

CAT #: DLC 014LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Superior State is the second Leitmotiv Limbo album released by Port Adelaide's De la Catessen Records, after the 2022 CD Spiritual Disturbance. This time, Leitmotiv Limbo's isolationist studies have been bumped to vinyl, which feels like the perfect format for these twelve miniatures. The project of Adelaide artist Elijah Värttö, Leitmotiv Limbo has, over the past few decades, tracked a history of quietly insistent experimentation, embracing several technologies -- invented instruments; analog filters; drum synth -- to sketch desolate, cavernous structures, sometimes performed in reverberant spaces, such as church halls, which gifts the recordings a ritualistic air. For Superior State, Värttö is more intently focused on rhythms and pulses, resulting in a beautifully sculpted collection of poetic vignettes. You can hear some trace elements, here, of the minimalist techno-not-techno of artists like Pan Sonic, or Studio 1/Freiland, in their reductionist ethos. But also, in the insistence of Värttö's attention to detail, and his careful focus on a delimited number of elements, the twelve pieces on Superior State recall the work of mysterious German outfits Werkbund and Mechthild Von Leutsch, or the solo explorations of artists like Asmus Tietchens, Achim Wollscheid, and Goem. It's intensely evocative music, recalling all kinds of phenomena, both man-made and natural: electricity pulsing through wires; the humming of the central nervous system; the quiet hiss of deserted computer laboratories; the pulsations of plant life; the molecular vibration of atoms. Värttö has tapped into the poetry of the programmatic on Superior State, and he's sharp in his grasp of the significant effect that the incremental shifting of a few simple parameters can have on the overarching structures he's building here. Indeed, that poetry is echoed back in the beautiful liner notes by Adelaide artist Michael Hocking. Alive, flickering with incident, Superior State is energy transmitted, coursing through the collective's veins. Edition of 300; hand-numbered.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: DC 846BK

FILE UNDER: Misc

"After Math retails what becomes of the cast of characters introduced in Art, Mystery, joint and severally pursuing an erotic Rinascimento statuette attributed to Antonio Pollaiuolo, a pursuit that lands them in court. On the way, their collective and singular fates are unfolded and accounted for, the consequences of the truth of matters for them are brought to bear and a kind of rough justice is seen to have been done, as is appropriate in rough trade." "After Math begins where Art, Mystery, the first installment in Mr. Thompson's two-part novel, left off. The chrome trader Perlat Tile has just witnessed the criminal Pablo Palbon attempt to smuggle a small erotic bronze by Pollaiuolo out of Tirana disguised as a funeral urn. The ensuing trial -- described in After Math -- pits the gallerist Ms. Jasmine, who wants to acquire the work legitimately, against the state of Albania, which also claims ownership of it. Written in the impeccable prose that we have come to expect from Mr. Thompson, After Math proves that what happens after a plot is foiled can be just as delightful as the action itself." --Michael Sanchez 132 pages; hardcover; 7.25"x4.25".

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: DC 883LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Back from the silence from which P.G. Six always emerges, the new album release Murmurs & Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011's Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they've been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there's a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years -- but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler's always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He's been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat's been playing the harp for more years than he's been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he'd played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again..."

 

PRICE: $35.50

CAT #: MTE 065LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock. The long awaited repress of Slight Freedom, acclaimed guitarist & composer Jeff Parker's first solo album & a New York Times' best albums of 2016 selection, is here. Pressed on premium 120-gram audiophile-quality vinyl by RTI from lacquers cut at sterling sound by Steve Fallone, presented in a retro flipback jacket. Second edition of 1,399 copies. What we said in 2016: "Slight Freedom, Jeff Parker's first ever solo record, presents the first opportunity to hear the guitarist in fully self-revealed circumstances. recorded 2013 & '14 in the Hollywood Hills as he relocated from Chicago to Los Angeles, Parker combines the dark tonal palette & percussive attack he's long been known for with real-time processing elements & field recordings, deftly crafting a unique world of solo guitar music -- multilingual, mysterious, alive with extraordinary sonic events, with a sturdy intelligence in charge & a raw homestyle vibe. parker's title composition sets the album's cavernous mood. terse lines & ricocheting loops morph into a gnarly ambient section that resembles Neil Young droning out over a vg+ copy of discreet music. Parker creates a different sort of ambient space in his take on Frank Ocean's 'Super Rich Kids', bending the melody around a bossa nova rhythm into a moodsville tone poem. parker makes an extraordinary long-form statement out of Chad Taylor's 'Mainz', a piece he first recorded with Taylor & Chris Lopes on the album Bright Light In Winter. Twice the length of the trio recording, the multi-layered soliloquy finds parker leaping from the high rung to damn near orchestral heights, pushing his techniques & concepts to the breaking points. It's one of the great solo performances you'll hear from a musician this year. To say 'Lush Life' comes with formidable baggage is an understatement. Parker achieves instant classic status with a rendition that sounds beamed-in from a decommissioned satellite -- burned out, covered in space grit, yet still formally nuanced & beautifully reflective of Strayhorn's world-weary lyrics. twenty years into the game it's a joy for eremite to present work by an artist who's clearly taking his music to the next level." "It's not jazz, it's not ambient, it's not noise; it's something more idiosyncratic and more personal, something only Parker could have come up with. Perhaps this is what Slight Freedom is supposed to mean: Not an anarchic exploding of rules, not the total liberation proposed by free jazz, but a steadier, stealthier path -- dissolving boundaries, softening constraints, and wearing away at the edges of things until the ideas run as freely as water." --Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: MTE 078-79LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Repressed. The next chapter of the Natural Information Society is here. Since Time Is Gravity, credited to Natural Information Society Community Ensemble with Ari Brown, presents a newly expanded manifestation of acclaimed composer & multi-instrumentalist Joshua Abrams nearly 15 year, 7 albums- &-counting flagship ensemble. Joining the core NIS of Abrams (guimbri & bass), Lisa Alvarado (harmonium) Mikel Patrick Avery (drums) & Jason Stein (bass clarinet) are Hamid Drake (percussion), Josh Berman & Ben Lamar Gay (cornets), Nick Mazzarella & Mai Sugimoto (alto saxophones & flute), Kara Bershad (harp) & Chicago living legend of the tenor saxophone Ari Brown. Recorded live to tape at Electrical Audio & The Graham Foundation, cover painting Vibratory Cartography: Nepantla, by Lisa Alvarado."Since first developing Natural Information Society in 2010, Joshua Abrams has been gradually expanding the group's conceptual underpinnings, its musical references & the sheer number of the group's members. Its music is, in a sense, an expansive form of minimalism, based in repeated & overlaid rhythmic patterns, ostinatos & modality. Its roots, its scale & its meaning become clearer in time. If time is gravity, it also allows us to carry more. Having begun as fundamentally a rhythm section with Abrams' guimbri at its core, the version here can stretch to a tentet, including six horns. Abrams has been expanding his minimalism gradually, but he has long understood a key to minimalism's potential: the breadth of its roots in the late 1950s & early 1960s, ranging from the dissatisfaction of young European-stream composers with the limitations of serialism to the simultaneous dissatisfaction of jazz musicians with the dense harmonic vocabulary of bop & hard bop. The former began exploring rhythmic complexity & narrow tonal palates in place of harmonic abstraction (Steve Reich's Drumming, Philip Glass' Music with Changing Parts; perhaps above all Terry Riley's In C & his late '60s all-night organ & loop concerts); the later reduced dense chord changes to scales (signally with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, but rapidly expanding with John Coltrane's vast project). In the 1950s the LP record opened the world with documentation of Asian & African musics, key influences on both minimalists & jazz musicians. If John Coltrane's soprano saxophone suggested the keening shehnai of Bismillah Khan, the instrument was rapidly taken up by two key minimalists, LaMonte Young & Riley, similarly appreciative of its flexible intonation, the same thing that kept it out of big bands. If the guimbri, the North African hide-covered lute that Abrams plays with NIS, involves a rich tradition of hypnotic healing music associated with the Gnawa people, Abrams' music also touches on other musics as well --other depths, memories & healings, different drones, rhythms & modes. As the group expands on Since Time Is Gravity, he has made certain jazz traditions in the same stream more explicit as well. If there is a mystical & elastic quality involved in the experience of time, both in direction & duration, you will catch it here. The parts for the choir of winds expand on the roles of Abrams' guimbri, Mikel Patrick Avery & Hamid Drake's percussion & Lisa Alvarado's harmonium: at times, the winds are almost looping in the tentet version, each hitting a repeating note in turn, at once drone & distinct inflection on temporal sequence. The brilliance of the work resides in Abrams' compositions, the NIS' intuitive execution & in Ari Brown's singular embodiment of the great tenor saxophone tradition, including the oracular genius of Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, & Yusef Lateef..." --Stuart Broomer, April 2022

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5041CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

There are some jazz musicians long known by cognoscenti for a mere handful of recordings: Dupree Bolton, Earl Anderza, Hasaan Ibn-Ali, Alan Shorter, Dewey Johnson. Add saxophonist Mark Reboul to that list. Before the release of this album, his discography consisted of four tracks on three albums on which he was a sideman. On Higher Primates' Environmental Impressions (GM, 1987), he plays sax on two of the percussion-heavy album's five tracks: a fragmentary track, and a sixteen-and-a-half-minute improvisation; he has a percussion cameo (playing waterphone) on Bill Gerhardt and Cotangent's Stained Glass (SteepleChase, 2007); and on Gaelen McKenna's self-released 2004 album Woodbach, a Reboul improvisation is manipulated and looped. ESP-Disk is a label with a history of albums by under-documented musicians (Byron Allen, Lowell Davidson, Marzette Watts, Nedley Elstak) and thus the perfect label to redress the situation. The other musicians in the trio heard here have been more prolific in the recording studio. Piket, daughter of a classical composer and a standards singer, got a degree from the New England Conservatory, studied with pianists Richie Beirach, Stanley Cowell, and Fred Hersch, and was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk BMI Composers Competition. She has a baker's dozen albums as a leader, a smattering of collaborative projects, and work as a sideperson stretching back to a 1995 Lionel Hampton album. Mintz is Piket's husband (they married well after this recording was made). Three years ago, she made a solo piano recording of an entire CD's worth of his compositions. He also has a fascinating bio: already a gigging musician at the age of fifteen, and in his twenties recorded with Lee Konitz Nonet, Perry Robinson, and Gloria Gaynor, among others; during a period living in Los Angeles, he worked with an equally eclectic range of musicians, from Vinny Golia to Mose Allison to the Merv Griffin Show band. The style is free improvisation, but a quieter and more subtle form of free jazz than ESP is famous for. Reboul is a unique player, and that's why ESP considers this an important release that adds to fans' knowledge of the NYC free scene.

 

PRICE: $12.00

CAT #: ESPDISK 5062CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

The most well-informed aficionados of NYC's jazz avant-garde speak of pianist John Blum with reverential respect, yet his discography is shockingly small for someone with a three-decade career: five albums as a leader, four as a sideman. Blum studied piano with seminal avant-gardist Cecil Taylor and ambidextrous master Borah Bergman, and it shows, yet his style at its most intense is more thickly textured than even theirs, and fully individualistic. Blum's left hand recalls James P. Johnson: energy, power, rock-solid rhythm driver of the improvisation's engine. And speaking of engines, some of Jimmy Yancey's locomotive motion is there as well. Blum is actually a very melodic player, but the melodies are short and fast and may not be repeated more than once, so that's not the quality that the average listener might take away from the experience. Nonetheless, in a 20-minute solo improvisation, he creates enough catchy motivic material that a dozen or more songs could be woven from it. Another of Blum's teachers was Milford Graves; they share the sense of music as a journey to a higher understanding and a life-altering and life-enhancing practice. Blum looks more like an athlete than a musician, but then, the way he plays piano is athletic and requires a lot of muscle and stamina. The power of the concert performance on this album (performed collaboratively with video) is a revelation. "Explosive Pianism!" --Nate Chinen, New York Times

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: FB 5127LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Black vinyl. "With one foot in the past but their eyes firmly set on the future, El Michels Affair are among the leaders of a resurgent funk & soul movement from New York City that's sweeping both the music community and the charts. Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of session musicians (including members of top-selling acts Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, the Budos Band, and Antibalas) that looked to blend some of the vibrant quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock -- they called it 'Cinematic Soul.' This delicate balance was evident on their 2005 debut album Sounding Out the City, which earned critical acclaim and acted as the inaugural full-length release for Michels and Silverman's burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team). The buzz generated from the album and a series of moderately successful 7" vinyl singles from Truth & Soul led to an invitation by Toyota's Scion division for El Michels Affair to accompany the rapper Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan for a promotional concert. As avid Wu-Tang fans, not only were the band leaders thrilled with the opportunity, but Michels found that the 'Cinematic Soul' sound was consistent with the moods of RZA's gritty soundscapes on the classic Wu-Tang releases. The concert was such as success, El Michels Affair went on to play several more concerts nationwide backing Raekwon and other members of the Clan, and the shows led to the recording of two smash 7" singles featuring instrumental reinterpretations of the Wu-Tang classic songs 'C.R.E.A.M.' and 'Bring Da Ruckus.' The singles combined to sell an extraordinary amount of over 7,000 units worldwide, and their success led to a contract in 2007 with indie hip hop powerhouse Fat Beats Records to record an entire album of Wu-Tang Clan interpolations entitled Enter the 37th Chamber. Since the contract was inked, a worldwide explosion of retro soul led by Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings has transformed the pop music landscape, and the Truth & Soul production duo have been in strong demand, recording with everyone from breakthrough Grammy-nominated artist Adele to punk rock innovator Iggy Pop. They've been commissioned for official remixes of Amy Winehouse and Dinah Washington (for the popular Verve Remixed series), and produced for Australian multi-platinum acts Jet and Gabriella Cilmi. Despite the eclectic group of clients for the Truth & Soul production company, El Michels Affair continued to build an audience within the hip hop community. A track from Sounding Out The City was sampled for Ghostface Killah's 2007 track 'Shakey Dog Lolita,' and a horn part written and performed by Michels (for Menahan Street Band) was famously lifted for Jay-Z's smash single 'Roc Boys.'"

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: FTR 659LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Recorded in Madison Wisconsin a year after In The River, the latest record from this amazing trio (Troy Schafer, Patrick Best, Mikel Dimmick) breaks a bit with Spiral Joy's drone-dominant tradition. There is a crackling, noise energy curtain surrounding much of the playing here that makes me remember the sound of the Richmond VA trio, Pelt, from whom Spiral Joy Band draw specific inspiration (as well as two members). The listed instruments are bowed gong, gong, bowed bowls, electric guitar, bowed materials amplified and acoustic, mouthpiece and effects, modified zither. So yeah, there is still a patchwork of drones at the heart of Elvehjem, but there is little in the way of uninterrupted flow. The music on this one is a cascade of sound events with a feel almost more in line with the less antic inventions of Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza than anything inside the 'rock' realm. But there has often been a certain rockist element lurking inside Spiral Joy Band's music (which supplanted the overt hayseed elements of their original iteration) and the direction and manner of their clangor here has the weight of rock rather than something more ephemeral. The two sides are presented as discreet pieces -- 'Shore' and 'Shine' -- but they run together seamlessly, both displaying surface pocks and tremors with a pride usually reserved for magic tricks. The drones are often created with a searing metallic edge, and their spiky protuberances brook no guff. If that ain't rock, at least attitudinally, I'll eat your fucking hat. In the meantime, Elvehjem, is a stone gas to listen to. And, by the way, the name is taken from a famous Wisconsin biochemist, and is not meant as a mean commentary on Orlando Bloom's obsession with the Dave Matthews Band. Although that would be warranted as well. Dig in!" --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: FTR 712LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

"At last, the trade edition of Schiamachy has appeared, following the test-press/tour version by more than a couple of months. The album's title is a term used to describe mock battles between warriors. It's a fair description of the music on this record, although it's safe to say the battle was a friendly one. Michael Zerang is a very well-known percussionist, composer and improviser from Chicago, with an amazing jazz-based discography. He previously appeared on the Illinois Glossalia LP (FTR 285LP, 2017) playing with Spires That in the Sunset Rise. Asheville-based guitarist Tashi Dorji is a generation younger than Zerang, but has been an unstoppable force since he hit the scene in 2009, playing in all manner of rock and improv situations. He has appeared on four other Feeding Tube releases, most often with his free form power duo, Manas. It's also worth mentioning that both musicians are nice guys. But even nice guys can get a thrilling mock battle raging, and Schiamachy is surely one for the books. Recorded at Chicago venue, The Hideout, in August 2016, the music ranges from splotchy plucking in the British plink-plonk tradition to something more akin to sophisticated post-rock noise explorations. I kept expecting passages to emerge styled more in the vein of the free-fusion ecstasies explored by McLaughlin with Tony Williams, or what Bishop, Chasny and Corsano do with Rangda, but Michael and Tashi always opted to keep their battle plans more smudged and confounding. The music is not about edges and momentum, it's about textures and collaging. Zerang stays away from any sort of standard set-up here, choosing instead to play an instrument he calls 'Queequeg's Coffin.' He describes this as 'a large hurdy-gurdy like instrument where four cello strings are bowed simultaneously with a friction wheel that is hand-cranked.' It looks as wild as it sounds, creating vast fields of whizzing and ringing, while the guitar strings and knobs wrench and wobble and throb. The sounds on Schiamacy are all about unexpected interactions and the pleasure of new discoveries. The deeper you let these sounds into your head, the farther they'll transport you. Be not a moldy fig, embrace the unknown." --Byron Coley, 2023

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: FPE 054CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"Paper, Not Plastic is the second album of solo taiko recordings by Kioto Aoki, and her first for FPE Records. Fusing the minimal with the maximal, Kioto creates a space where melody is embodied by rhythm, and composition's relation to motif is questioned. As with all of Aoki's practice (she's also a photographer and filmmaker), the medium imparts a veil: you can't see her choreography in this sonic space, but her movements are integral to the way it sounds, broadcasting through stick hits and hollow echo a robust and nuanced practice of being through time. The recordings, rich with detail and nuance, come from Aoki's close collaboration with producer Caleb Willitz, aiming to capture the aliveness of taiko in a room. Engraved here, aliveness is surely what you hear. Big declarations of boom, little punctuations of click, purrs of rumble and roars of motion. Distinctively, irrevocably human, drawn from nature, engaging fully with consciousness, balanced between what life is and what life comes from. A joy to listen to, to be with, and to know. Kioto Aoki is a taiko artist descending from an okiya (geisha house) performing arts family in Tokyo -- called Toyoakimoto -- with roots dating back to the Edo period. Her musical practice maintains a balance of retaining the artistic and aesthetic integrity of traditional Japanese music with a musical flexibility that extends beyond the measures of cultural preservation. Her playing is informed by the Japanese aesthetics of ma, while challenging the common misinterpretation and beliefs of percussion as rhythm, and often uses stoic gestures of sonic textures, abstracted soundscapes and embodied phrasing that incorporates choreography as part of melody."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: GGGR 131LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Originally co-released by Helicopter and Troniks as CDs, Magnetic Stencil 1-3 is a series of albums produced using an expanded ensemble of recorded sound contributions from a large and diverse group over the course of the three volumes. While elements from the individual artists may ebb and flow throughout the releases, the series once again highlights John Wiese's uncanny abilities as an architect of creative sound. Composed and mixed by John Wiese in Cleveland, Ohio throughout 2020, featuring: Aaron Dilloway, James Fella, Hair Stylistics, Aaron Hemphill, C. Lavender, Charmaine Lee, Lasse Marhaug, Katsura Mouri, and C. Spencer Yeh. Magnetic Stencil 2 features Aaron Dilloway, T. Mikawa, Joe Potts, and Robert Turman. Magnetic Stencil 3 features Mitchell Brown, James Fella, Nathan Howdeshell, Tim Kinsella, John Collins McCormick, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, Howard Stelzer, Dennis Tyfus, Katie Vonderheide, and C. Spencer Yeh."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: GGGR 132LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Originally co-released by Helicopter and Troniks as CDs, Magnetic Stencil 1-3 is a series of albums produced using an expanded ensemble of recorded sound contributions from a large and diverse group over the course of the three volumes. While elements from the individual artists may ebb and flow throughout the releases, the series once again highlights John Wiese's uncanny abilities as an architect of creative sound. Composed and mixed by John Wiese in Cleveland, Ohio throughout 2020, featuring: Aaron Dilloway, T. Mikawa, Joe Potts, and Robert Turman. Magnetic Stencil 1 features Aaron Dilloway, James Fella, Hair Stylistics, Aaron Hemphill, C. Lavender, Charmaine Lee, Lasse Marhaug, Katsura Mouri, and C. Spencer Yeh. Magnetic Stencil 3 features Mitchell Brown, James Fella, Nathan Howdeshell, Tim Kinsella, John Collins McCormick, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, Howard Stelzer, Dennis Tyfus, Katie Vonderheide, and C. Spencer Yeh."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: GGGR 133LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Originally co-released by Helicopter and Troniks as CDs, Magnetic Stencil 1-3 is a series of albums produced using an expanded ensemble of recorded sound contributions from a large and diverse group over the course of the three volumes. While elements from the individual artists may ebb and flow throughout the releases, the series once again highlights John Wiese's uncanny abilities as an architect of creative sound. Composed and mixed by John Wiese in Cleveland, Ohio throughout 2020, featuring: Mitchell Brown, James Fella, Nathan Howdeshell, Tim Kinsella, John Collins McCormick, Sigtryggur Berg Sigmarsson, Howard Stelzer, Dennis Tyfus, Katie Vonderheide, and C. Spencer Yeh. Magnetic Stencil 1 features Aaron Dilloway, James Fella, Hair Stylistics, Aaron Hemphill, C. Lavender, Charmaine Lee, Lasse Marhaug, Katsura Mouri, and C. Spencer Yeh. Magnetic Stencil 2 features Aaron Dilloway, T. Mikawa, Joe Potts, and Robert Turman."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: VPGS 7076LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

LP version. "Cries From The Youth' rounds up ten in-demand 80's roots anthems. Produced by King jammy 'Cries From The Youth' showcases the rising stars of the '80s 'longside '70s elders like Dennis Brown & Junior Murvin. Conscious reggae very much standing the test of time!"

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: GUESS 168LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Guerssen Records present a reissue of Salem Mass's Witch Burning, originally released in 1971. The only fully-authorized vinyl reissue of Salem Mass in the current market. Ultimate US hard-psychedelic/proto-prog burner. Obscure Sabbath-esque hard-rock band Salem Mass self-released their only album in 1971. Recorded at a beer bar converted studio, Witch Burning consists of seven tracks full of ripping guitar, crazy Moog attacks, heavy keyboards, demented vocals and satanic/occult related lyrics, especially in the mind-blowing, ten-minute long title track. Original artwork. Remastered sound from the original masters. Includes insert with liner notes and rare photos/memorabilia. Hard cardboard sleeve; obi.

 

PRICE: $42.00

CAT #: GUESS 210LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Repressed. Top notch hard-rock/proto metal by post-Atomic Rooster and pre-Hard Stuff band Bullet, featuring the explosive guitar and vocals of John Du Cann (The Attack, Andromeda, Atomic Rooster) plus bass player John Gustafson (Quatermass, Roxy Music, Ian Gillan Band), and Paul Hammond (Atomic Rooster) on drums. Their legendary studio recordings from 1970-71, now for the first time on vinyl. Gatefold sleeve with detailed liner notes and photos. RIYL: Hard Stuff, Captain Beyond, Uriah Heep, Dust. "... gritty sounding, blues based power trio built around John Du Cann's unlimited arsenal of crunchy guitar riffs and scorching solos..." --Ryan Sparks (Sea Of Tranquility).

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: HGBS 18005LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Post-war musical history was written in Germany with the MPS label: noble music productions with many international greats come from the Black Forest and are timelessly legendary. Some treasures from the label's archive are released by HGBSBlue on high-quality vinyl. More than 20 top-class jazz musicians met in July 1965 for a jazz workshop at the Ruhr Festival in Recklinghausen and recorded a total of 17 pieces. Nine tracks from the live recording were to be released the same year as the first double LP on the young Villingen jazz label SABA (the forerunner of MPS). Everything was prepared for this, but it never happened. It is not really clear why, because everything was technically ready for release. With Hans Koller, Rolf Kühn, Leo Wright, Benny Bailey, Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Ross, Stuff Smith and others, many leading players of the jazz scene at the time were involved. However, the two music tapes were not pressed onto record and slumbered unheard for many years in the MPS archive in Villingen. In 2018, on the 50th anniversary of the MPS label, this was made up for: the double LP, which was to be released as Junges Forum 65 by SABA, was released by HGBSBlue in a limited edition and is now also available here. The music of the workshop formation is still full of sparkling creativity today, almost 60 years after it was recorded. You can hear first-class jazz on a bebop basis, which was played in Europe at that time by an immensely creative generation of musicians full of commitment. A listening pleasure for every jazz fan on the one hand, but also a wonderful documentation captured on this double LP."

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: FL 1016LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

"The string of albums Culture recorded during the late '70s contained some of the most reliably solid sets from the tail end of reggae's roots era. These early releases for the production team of Joe Gibbs and Errol 'E.T.' Thompson yielded the group's finest work . . . The typically excellent assembly of session men respond to such material with an appropriately light touch: the exemplary rhythm work of keyboardists Ansel Collins and Earl Lindo and guitarist Willie Lindo is kept under close watch by the great Sly Dunbar. The drummer's playing is effortless as he alternates the makeup of a particular pattern or subtly changes up the rhythm, heading into a chorus. Closer attention to the backing for tracks like 'Behold,' 'Tell Me Where You Get It,' and 'Vacancy' reveals the sort of strength, though subtle, that drives the best roots music." --Nathan Bush, All Music Guide

 

PRICE: $39.50

CAT #: HOS 769LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Hospital Productions announces Trick on double LP. Trick is deeply important to the Hospital history as it was the first time working with the icon Richard Ramirez in 1999. Five tracks spread across each disc, "Only If You Want To Fuck" and "Voyage Of Tempted Flesh." Trick shows Ramirez at his most focused, linear, and darkest. Listeners will be torn between minimalist brittle static and eerie envelope-filter delayed electronics creating a chasm of gravel and a subsequent rising dusty atmosphere. waves of searing feedback crashing right into your brain! Red vinyl with red-eyed hot foil stamp cover. Digital download code included.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: ANGELICA 053CD

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Born in 1966, Uday Bhawalkar studied Dhrupad for more than 12 years, following the traditional method of transmission from guru to disciple (guru-shishya parampara), under the supervision of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, and in 1987 was awarded the Dagar Swarna Padak prize by the legendary Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar Sahab of Senior Dagar Brothers -- all three of them members of the Dagar Family who have been passing on this music tradition since the 15th century. In addition to performing at the most prestigious classical Indian music festivals since a young age, Uday Bhawalkar has collaborated internationally with artists from different music traditions, amongst whom the choreographer Astad Deboo and the Ensemble Modern of contemporary music. He has also contributed to the soundtrack of films such as Cloud Door by Mani Kaul, Mr & Mrs Iyer by Aparna Sen, Anahat by Amol Palekar, and more. AngelicA invited Uday Bhawalkar to perform in Bologna twice, in 2008 and 2019. Despite a decades-long career his production has been poorly documented on records, and it is now enriched by Raga Yaman, on which he is accompanied by Manik Munde on the pakhavaj (a two-headed horizontal drum) and by Aniruddha Joshi and Chintan Upadhyay on tanpuras. The recording is not of one of his concerts in Bologna (during which he performed the same raga), but of a rendition of the same piece considered particularly significant, which had been privately pressed on CD by Bhawalkar only for personal use in 2006. Raga Yaman is a raga, based on a heptatonic scale, considered one of the most important and fundamental of the Hindustani tradition. It is often the first to be taught to students, but it also offers great opportunities of improvisation, and it is a raga that has been recorded by historic artists such as Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Pran Nath (in the Yaman Kalyan variant), and Uday's master himself Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, on one of his CDs from 1991 in which one of the two accompanist on the tanpura was Uday himself.

 

PRICE: $38.00

CAT #: ITR 286LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "Fuzz has abandonment issues. Abandoning expectation. Abandoning reservation, consummation, resignation and trite dictation. Instinct is all there is when it comes to the divination of harsh salvation. Segall, Moothart, and Ubovich are exploring all the blank-ations of what will be, or has always been, Fuzz II. Tried and true methods mixed with tongue-twisting, teeth-shattering, seizure-inducing stabs at the norm. Bathe in the heat wave that is Fuzz, and regret nothing in the time freeze. Necessity is the mother of creation; and devolution stakes its claim in the past as it continues to bind itself to the future. San Francisco, Los Angeles, heaven, hell, lunar fields, subterranean hallucinations, traffic jams, sleepless days, hazy nights, recollection or blind reflection. To translate the auditory from ethereal to saliva-soaked semantics is to shatter a promise as it's made. In the meantime, Ty, Charles, and Chad walk on. It is what it is. Just like everything else."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 086LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Debut 1969 album by New Orleans funk legends The Meters. Sourced From the original 1969 analog master tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio. Features the hit song 'Cissy Strut.' Limited color vinyl pressing."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 087LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"1970 seminal second album by The Meters. Featuring the hit track 'Look-Ka Py Py.' Sourced from the original 1970 analog master tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio. Limited color vinyl pressing."

 

PRICE: $34.00

CAT #: JPR 088LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Third album from The Meters, originally released in 1970. Features the hits 'Chicken Strut,' 'Hand Clapping Song,' and more. A classic and heavily sampled record. Sourced from the original 1970 analog master tapes. Cut by Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio. Limited color vinyl pressing."

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: LMS 5521768

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Limited restock. LP version. White vinyl. In 1997, after a lengthy hiatus, Echo & The Bunnymen returned to the fore with Evergreen, revealing the brighter side of the band, and standing up with any of their earlier work. The self-produced album was recorded at The Doghouse in Henley-On-Thames with additional strings, horns, and vocal arrangements recorded at Abbey Road. The album saw the band rightfully return to the UK album charts at #8, with three singles ("Nothing Lasts Forever", "I Want to Be There (When You Come)", and "Don't Let It Get You Down") entering the UK top 50. "Nothing Lasts Forever" (with backing vocals and tambourine by Liam Gallagher) has grown to become one of the band's most enduring and well-loved songs -- a UK Top 10 and a fan favorite to this day. To celebrate its 25-year anniversary, London Records releases Evergreen.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: LMS 5521937

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Jimmy Somerville's debut solo album Read My Lips, reissued with rarities and new remixes. Originally released in 1989, the album enjoyed gold sales and three Top 30 hits in the UK, as well as Jimmy's Top 10 cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". Includes new liner notes from journalist and author Paul Burston.Double-CD version (LMS 5521937) includes new and classic remixes, unreleased demos and B-sides and a 24-page booklet. Single-LP, solid blue vinyl version (LMS 5521938) comes in a blue sleeve; includes printed inners. Deluxe, double-LP, crystal clear vinyl version (LMS 5521939) comes in an orange sleeve; includes six bonus new and classic remixes and B-sides; includes printed inner sleeves.2CD (LMS 5521937) version features AMYL, Gerd Janson, Pascal Gabriel, Arpeggius, Claudia Brücken, and William Orbit. Deluxe, double-LP, crystal clear vinyl version (LMS 5521939) features AMYL, William Orbit, June et Jim, Madame Tata, and Pascal Gabriel.

 

PRICE: $30.50

CAT #: LMS 5521938

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

LP version. Solid blue vinyl; includes printed inners. Jimmy Somerville's debut solo album Read My Lips, reissued with rarities and new remixes. Originally released in 1989, the album enjoyed gold sales and three Top 30 hits in the UK, as well as Jimmy's Top 10 cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". Includes new liner notes from journalist and author Paul Burston.

 

PRICE: $43.00

CAT #: LMS 5521939

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

Double LP version. Crystal clear vinyl. Orange sleeve; two printed inner sleeves. Jimmy Somerville's debut solo album Read My Lips, reissued with rarities and new remixes. Originally released in 1989, the album enjoyed gold sales and three Top 30 hits in the UK, as well as Jimmy's Top 10 cover of Sylvester's "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". Includes new liner notes from journalist and author Paul Burston. Deluxe, double-LP, crystal clear vinyl version (LMS 5521939) features AMYL, William Orbit, June et Jim, Madame Tata, and Pascal Gabriel.

 

PRICE: $11.50

CAT #: LCD 1001CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

2023 restock. 1990 release. Centered around the mesmerizing voice of Robert Ashley, presented here is early version (released on LP by Lovely Music in 1979) of "The Park" and "The Backyard", a masterpiece in its simplicity of form and in the purity and intensity of its effect on the listener. These two pieces were later to become the opening and closing segments of the seven part opera for television, Perfect Lives. Personnel: Robert Ashley - voice; "Blue" Gene Tyranny - keyboards; Kris - tablas.

 

PRICE: $11.50

CAT #: LCD 1013CD

FILE UNDER: CLASSICAL

2023 restock; originally released by Lovely Music in 1981. In this fascinating exploration of acoustical phenomena, Alvin Lucier slips from the domain of language to that of music in the course of 40 minutes and 32 repetitions of a simple paragraph of text. In I Am Sitting In A Room, several sentences of recorded speech are simultaneously played back into a room and re-recorded there many times. As the repetitive process continues, those sounds common to the original spoken statement and those implied by the structural dimensions of the room are reinforced. The others are gradually eliminated. The space acts as a filter; the speech is transformed into pure sound. All the recorded segments are spliced together in the order in which they were made and constitute the work. I Am Sitting In A Room was composed in 1970 and was first performed at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City that same year. A second version was made in 1972 to accompany the dance, Dune, performed by the Viola Farber Dance Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Since that time, numerous versions of this composition have been realized in various ways by other musicians, including a Swedish radio broadcast version. This recording was made by Alvin Lucier on October 29th and 31st, 1980, in the living room of his home in Middletown, CT. The material was recorded on a Nagra tape recorder with an Electro-Voice 635 dynamic microphone and played back on one channel of a Revox A77 tape recorder, Dynaco amplifier, and a KLH Model Six loudspeaker. It consists of thirty-two generations of Alvin Lucier's speech and was made expressly for Lovely Music, Ltd.

 

PRICE: $19.00

CAT #: MIG 072CD

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Since the 1980s, Mario Schönwälder, born in West-Berlin/Germany, has been involved in the production of electronic sounds, first in the environment of Bernd Kistenmacher, and later mainly in duo and triple formations. In 1992 Mario founded his own label Manikin Records, on which he released his albums from then on. Four years earlier, Mario Schönwälder had released Aus einer anderen Zeit..., his first solo work, which was launched in a limited edition and only as a cassette. One year later followed The Eye Of The Chameleon, an album completely in the style of the Berlin School, with a melancholic, partly even somewhat gloomy basic mood. He dedicated the title 'Earthtime' to a deceased friend. The album was released on Bernd Kistenmacher's label Musique Intemporelle, the Berlin electronic musician and label boss described his ever slightly pensive artist as a 'pessimistic optimist' at that time. A nice re-issue with personal words by Mario Schönwälder in the booklet about the making of the album."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: MATERIAL 008LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Dirg Gerner is a lover, a vulnerable observer, and an artist who's managed to create an effective interface with an ever-accelerating world. He may appear mysterious and media-shy; but when it comes to vocalizing, he's a raw, uncut soul-element. Unintentionally off-grid and committed to his personal evolution, he is more of a souldocumentarian than a singer-songwriter. Drop the needle on Simple Man and the jaggedness of modern life dissipates altogether. You're wrapped up in a warm cocoon now -- the type of sound that feels almost tangible, moving in sync with the ebb and flow of the human heart beat. And, when the man begins to sing, he starts dropping jewel after jewel wrapped up in silky, breathy harmonies: wisdom distilled from life, concentrated and served in emotionally charged plain-speak. Features Theo Croker.

 

PRICE: $41.00

CAT #: MMA 003LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

A state-of-the-art '80s Yugoslavian new wave reissue. Lubljana-based band new wave archive finally repressed. Videosex was the biggest Yugoslav electronic pop band, formed in Ljubljana in 1982. Their singer Anja Rupel sung on Laibach's 1988 version of the Beatles' "Across the Universe" and their drummer Iztok Turk produced early Laibach records. The release of their eponymous debut album in 1984 and the subsequent major live and TV performances propelled the young band into major stardom. The follow-up was highly anticipated: in March 1985, Videosex released Lacrimae Christi to critical and general acclaim. In comparison with the first album, the production on the Lacrimae Christi was state-of-the-art, as the most modern recording and composing techniques were used. The songs "Sivi dan" ("Gloomy Day") and "Tko je zgazio gospo?u mjesec" ("Who Ran Over Mrs. Moon") became nationwide hits. For fans of early new wave sounds, Bronski Beat, Propaganda, Denis & Denis. 180 gram, gold vinyl.

 

PRICE: $27.00

CAT #: MKY 033LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Legendary debut album by Junko Tange, originally issued by Osaka's Vanity Records. Dadaesque recitations and sparse guitar, piano and electronic meanderings combine for a beguiling, hypnotic dreamworld. Officially licensed from the custodians of Yuzuru Agi's Vanity Records archives, this edition has been fully remastered from brand new transfers of the original analog tapes by Stephan Mathieu."

 

PRICE: $37.00

CAT #: PALTO 013LP

FILE UNDER: ELECTRONIC

"Woo, the project of brothers Mark and Clive Ives, return to Palto Flats for the reissue of Into The Heart Of Love, originally released on cassette in 1990. Formed in the seventies in South London, the duo developed a cult following over the years, with renewed interest in their catalog through 2010s reissues by labels such as Drag City and Emotional Rescue. Woo's music, encompassing new-age, folk, ambient electronic and jazz idioms, yet transformed into a fully inimitable sound, is the profound result of years of brothers honing and tinkering with their craft from their home studio. Into The Heart Of Love, often heralded by fans as their most complete work -- sees the group expanding their sound over 20 plus tracks, utilizing vocoded clarinets, homespun folk melodies, and lilting electronics, coalescing into a journey traversing through otherworldly soundscapes. Containing touchstone Woo tracks such as 'Make Me Tea,' a duet between Mark Ives and Sue Amor over guitar and clarinet, 'It's Love,' a classically influenced guitar ballad, and 'Hopi,' Woo's astrologically influenced cosmically propulsive opener, which hints at the sonic adventure to ensue. Closing the album is the never before released vocal version of 'It's Love,' a testament to the healing power of love. This edition sees the album released for the first time in its entirety on vinyl, spread over two LPs, as well as a limited cassette reissue, all meticulously remastered by Stephan Mathieu from newly discovered hi-quality DAT masters. The gatefold jacket features new liner notes by Clive Ives, along with photos, drawings and images from the brothers' archives, with cover art inspired by its 1990 cassette release. Often lovingly held in the same regard and referenced knowingly to bands such as the Durutti Column, Cluster, and the Penguin Café Orchestra, Woo surrounds the listener with a transformative warmth. The band describes this album as their most all-encompassing collection of material, and it remains a highlight of their catalog. The brothers continue to record and self-release material from their home in Brighton, England to this day, manifesting new sounds along the way."

 

PRICE: $28.00

CAT #: RPUT 040X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. Transparent pink vinyl. The sixth album from Californian psych-pop artist. Lionel "Vinyl" Williams is an American multimedia artist based in Los Angeles. Vinyl Williams' music is deeply intertwined with his other media of expression (graphic design, interactive website, and videos) with whom he shapes a consistent immersive new-age-infused psychedelic universe. Vinyl Williams' celestial pop is part of the construction of his own Cosmopolis, an ideal city, where the skyline is drawn by marvelous organic architecture and monumental ancient structures, where while walking on twisted paths, you can hear indistinctly lush vocals, iridescent gauzy keyboard harmonies, and rolling rhythms. Without acknowledging it, you are floating, your soul can ramble, free to imagine. Musically, Cosmopolis is a synthesis of Williams' craze, his contemporary dream-pop production, '60s sunshine pop influences, Brazilian Tropicália hints, jazz chords, and complex arrangement. With this sixth album, Cosmopolis, Vinyl Williams continues to dig deep into his parallel universe, which he has developed with a rare consistency. From chaos emerges harmony and incredible pop songs. For fans of Triptides, Gold Celeste, Toro y Moi, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, GUM, Tame Impala, Chris Cohen, Morgan Delt, Dungen, Dumbo Gets Mad, Pond, Maston, Holy Wave, Arthur Verocai, The Free Design, The Association, Once And Future Band...

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: SCAT 087LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia was Guided By Voices' third album, self-released by the band in 1988 in a pressing of 500. While both of the band's earlier albums exhibit strong songwriting and plenty of vision, it is here that the GBV sound really begins to coalesce. While Devil Between My Toes is rife with contrasts, variety, and dark psychedelia, and its follow up Sandbox is a cohesive '60s-influenced affair, Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia marries the two approaches to outstanding effect. Unsurprisingly, recording began before Sandbox was even done pressing. These sessions would yield an aborted LP titled Learning To Hunt, but after personnel changes and second thoughts, Robert Pollard shelved most of the tracks, dismissing them as too similar to those on Sandbox. Fair enough, as many of Pollard's more recent songs were simply on another level than previously. Here are the first of the classic Pollard slow-burners, often built on a simple melodic or rhythmic figure that circles itself ever outward, accumulating heft, variation, and inevitability as the song evolves into something unexpected yet inevitable. It's the aural equivalent to watching a butterfly grow out of its cocoon. A few things are unique to this particular LP. Original powerhouse drummer Peyton Eric returns for nearly half the tracks, while engineer and lead guitarist Steve Wilbur shines at his brightest, resulting in some of the most thoroughly rocking GBV songs to ever be cut to lacquer, such as 'Earful o' Wax,' which simply explodes out of the speakers when the solo section begins. On the other end of the spectrum, you get Pollard recording perfect pop gems at home with just voice and guitar, which would become a calling card on later GBV albums. There's simply a tremendous variety of material, all strung together in such a way that the album is all of one piece, a mosaic."

 

PRICE: $24.00

CAT #: SCAT 087X-LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

Yellow vinyl version. "Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia was Guided By Voices' third album, self-released by the band in 1988 in a pressing of 500. While both of the band's earlier albums exhibit strong songwriting and plenty of vision, it is here that the GBV sound really begins to coalesce. While Devil Between My Toes is rife with contrasts, variety, and dark psychedelia, and its follow up Sandbox is a cohesive '60s-influenced affair, Self-Inflicted Aerial Nostalgia marries the two approaches to outstanding effect. Unsurprisingly, recording began before Sandbox was even done pressing. These sessions would yield an aborted LP titled Learning To Hunt, but after personnel changes and second thoughts, Robert Pollard shelved most of the tracks, dismissing them as too similar to those on Sandbox. Fair enough, as many of Pollard's more recent songs were simply on another level than previously. Here are the first of the classic Pollard slow-burners, often built on a simple melodic or rhythmic figure that circles itself ever outward, accumulating heft, variation, and inevitability as the song evolves into something unexpected yet inevitable. It's the aural equivalent to watching a butterfly grow out of its cocoon. A few things are unique to this particular LP. Original powerhouse drummer Peyton Eric returns for nearly half the tracks, while engineer and lead guitarist Steve Wilbur shines at his brightest, resulting in some of the most thoroughly rocking GBV songs to ever be cut to lacquer, such as 'Earful o' Wax,' which simply explodes out of the speakers when the solo section begins. On the other end of the spectrum, you get Pollard recording perfect pop gems at home with just voice and guitar, which would become a calling card on later GBV albums. There's simply a tremendous variety of material, all strung together in such a way that the album is all of one piece, a mosaic."

 

PRICE: $35.00

CAT #: S4R 002LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Welcome to Soul4Real's second album, a collection of originally unreleased tracks which feature a whole host of soul royalty. First off are two songs from the inimitable Bobby Bland, both of which hail from his prolific period at Duke Records. Sandwiched between two stunning Chicago recordings by Etta James is the later 'I Never Meant To Love Him,' taken from a Philly session she recorded with Bobby Martin. Fontella Bass brings this side to a close with a mysterious Chicago recording of which, to this day, hardly anything is known. Side two transports us to Detroit, when Motown was at the peak of its output. 1966 was not a good year to secure the approval of quality control, as proven in the rejection of this wonderful Velvelettes´ version of 'Your Heart Belongs To Me.' It was in that same year that Ashford and Simpson arrived at Hitsville as both singers and songwriters. Their 'Love Woke Me Up This Morning' was recorded by Brenda Holloway and produced by Norman Whitfield. Despite being overlooked at the time, its appeal was undeniable, and it later resurfaced on albums by Marvin & Tammi, Valerie Simpson, and the Temptations. As an integral member of the Motown family for over 14 years, it is surprising that to date only three songs recorded by Johnny Bristol have surfaced. In collaboration with 'Mickey' Stevenson, 'Tell Me How To Forget A True Love' was completed in May 1964. 'One Lucky Day I Found You' was inexplicably not included in the 'David' project. Ruffin´s later work with Van McCoy is also featured on this album. From almost the start of his career, Marvin Gaye had endeavored to project himself as a great balladeer, and nothing could illustrate this better than his rendition of 'I Wish I Didn't Love You So,' which brings this chapter to a perfect end." --Chris Forrest

 

PRICE: $31.00

CAT #: SUNARK 012LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. Gatefold 2LP version."Heartfelt and marbled, this album is documentation of the slow exit (the triumphal entry): moving the camera back 8 stages along the circumference of the circle to the point where the obverse is reverse, in order to celebrate the building of an edifice and then walk away from it in wisdom, gaining freedom from it."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 056LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. 2014 release. "Glenn Branca's first full-length album The Ascension is a colossal achievement. After touring much of 1980 with an all-star band featuring four guitarists (Branca, fellow composers Ned Sublette and David Rosenbloom, and future Sonic Youth member Lee Ranaldo) along with Jeffrey Glenn on bass and Stephan Wischerth on drums, Branca took his war-torn group into a studio in Hell's Kitchen to record five incendiary compositions. Originally released in the summer of 1981, The Ascension effectively tears down the genre-ghettos between 20th century avant-garde and ecstatic rock 'n' roll. On 'The Spectacular Commodity,' chiming, shimmering tones unfold into sinister drone-territory à la Tony Conrad, while abrasive guitars and repetitive beats retain the raw primitivism of No Wave. The title track attains a densely packed, larger-than-life sound and (as author Marc Masters says best) 'never stops climbing skyward.' With artist Robert Longo's stark front cover that depicts Branca battling an unidentified man, The Ascension is a must-have record not only for fans of early Swans and Sonic Youth, but also of Steve Reich or Slint's Tweez."

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 077LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "In the late '70s, The Avengers established themselves as one of the US's preeminent punk bands. Fusing incisive guitar hooks, explosive rhythms and adolescent venom, the group forged some of the most in-your-face songs of the era. Their live shows were legendary, playing up and down the West Coast and even blowing Sex Pistols off the stage at the latter's final performance. As Byron Coley writes in the liner notes, 'Of the best bands of San Francisco's first wave in 1977, The Avengers were by far the coolest and youngest sounding. They roared without irony, as though this were indeed Year Zero (and, for a moment, it was), with history being overwritten by the new. The honesty of their belief was carried by their sound. And it was convincing!' Originally released in 1983, four years after the band's dissolution, The Avengers' self-titled LP is often referred to as 'The Pink Album' for its magenta-hued cover design. Frontwoman Penelope Houston's iconic voice and razor-sharp lyrics resonate on anthems 'We Are The One' and 'The American In Me,' while penetrating ballads like 'Corpus Christi' reveal a truly out-of-body euphony. The Pink Album remains The Avengers' definitive statement -- collecting their classic Dangerhouse EP, sessions recorded with the Pistols' Steve Jones and a half-dozen revelatory demos. While much has been written about The Avengers in the past three decades, rock critic Greil Marcus puts it succinctly, 'The word I always come back to is mystical, and that remains almost theirs alone.'"

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: SV 114LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

2023 repress. "If The Fall truly is a cult band, then Slates both benefits from and reinforces such shrouded obsessions. In presenting these six particular songs as a 10-inch EP, the inherent and attractive difficulty of The Fall's sound is made physical, framing the urgency of their singles from this period (notably How I Wrote 'Elastic Man' and Lie Dream of a Casino Soul) alongside lengthy rumblings normally restricted to long players. The tumbling and phased 'Middle Mass' begins on an incredible high note, segueing into the snake-charm hypnotism of 'An Older Lover Etc.' 'Slates, Slags, Etc.' is built on stretched VU-inspired riffing, complete with ace feedback bleed that doubtlessly went on long after fade-out. Ultimately, it's the piercing chimes of guitar and marching drum grind of 'Prole Art Threat' that elevates Slates beyond oddity. Truly one of Mark E. Smith's finest, busiest and most enigmatic performances, equally matched by a band at the peak of their powers. LP edition compiles the six tracks from the original EP release, their March 1981 Peel session and an early '80s studio outtake. Liner notes by Brian Turner."

 

PRICE: $22.00

CAT #: TW V-LP

FILE UNDER: EXPERIMENTAL

Over the past decade Sult has created a thrillingly dynamic and visceral sound world, forging a musical unity while also asserting the radically unique languages of its three core members, Guro Skumsnes Moe (contrabass) and Håvard Skaset (acoustic guitar) from Norway along with Jacob Felix Heule (percussion) based in California. Their raw acoustic improvisations crackle with an energy that makes indirect communications reverberate on a cosmic level. Their music evokes natural phenomena; storms, landslides, tectonic frictions, lightning splitting forests of trees. Sult exists on the outer edges of free improvisation and the avant-garde, echoing the multi-layered, sonic intensity of AMM's Crypt era as well as Mauricio Kagel's most physical/textural work and the existential force of Helmut Lachenmann's "instrumental musique concrète". Always I Gnaw is the sharpest realization of Sult's vision to date. Over the course of three pieces the group deploys extended techniques and invents original approaches to their instruments with a joyous fervor. Moe's contrabass brims with primal urgency, sometimes providing ballast and at other times glancing away in unpredictable directions. Skaset's guitar scrapes and snaps like a fire's embers giving way to air, all the while Heul's percussive frictions percolate from a distilled concentration, piercing the sonic maelstrom. The title of the album's closing track, "The Freedom of Others Extends Mine To Infinity" quotes Mikhail Bakunin, the 19th century revolutionary anarchist, and perhaps perfectly encapsulates the uncompromising ethos and spirit that is embodied by Sult's music. The trio's distinct voices both splinter and resonate in sympathy; individual demonstrations of virtuosity become utterly unnecessary. The combination of quick-tempered interactions, noisy brutality and acoustic earthiness results in an album that glows with a healing, free-spirited wonder and an astoundingly unified wholeness. Featuring the photography of Aage Villy Skåret. Presented in three variant tip-on jackets with gloss film laminate finishes, contrasting uncoated paper and metallic spot colors. Includes 27" x 11.5" tri-fold insert printed on both sides. Heavy tip-on jacket with three variant covers, film laminate gloss, contrasting uncoated paper and metallic spot color. Pressed to high quality vinyl at RTI.

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: LH 030LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

"Doin' It Right was originally released in 1973 and re-issued by Luv n'Haight in 1999. Considered a sacred gem in the soul and rare groove canon, it would fetch $500 and upward on the collectors' market. Mike James Kirkland's sweet soulful voice floats off the turntable and into the collective consciousness on killer joints like 'Got To Do It Right,' 'Love Insurance,' and 'The Only Change,' plus five other groovy tracks."

 

PRICE: $26.00

CAT #: VNT 201LP

FILE UNDER: HIPHOP

2023 repress. "J Dilla is widely regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time, having supplied timeless soundbeds for the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, Busta Rhymes, Common, De La Soul, The Roots, D'Angelo, Erykah Babu, Madlib, and many more. In 2005, rumors began circulating about an album called Jay Love Japan, a J Dilla solo project inspired by one of Jay Dee's favorite locations to visit on tour. After Dilla's untimely death in early 2006, the album became a lost classic shrouded in mystery, with only unofficial bootlegs and promo versions available. An official CD version was eventually released in 2008, but quickly went out of print. Now, the album is finally receiving the official release it always deserved."

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: CDWEIN 023CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Recorded at the historical Kaleidophon Festival in Ulrichsberg (Austria) in 2008, this is the result of the duo meeting between Barre Phillips, one of the most influential bassists in the history of contemporary jazz, and clarinets specialist Giancarlo "Nino" Locatelli one of the most rigorous figures on the Italian creative scene. Dance of the Scorpions consists of four beautiful, dynamic, and well-recorded improvised dialogues between two uncompromising musicians in full power who eventually decided to dedicate the whole album to master improviser Coleman Hawkins.

 

PRICE: $20.00

CAT #: CDWEIN 024CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

This live performance, recorded in an ancient church, is based on some of the music conceived over the last few years by saxophone player Francesco Aroni Vigone. The recording location was chosen for its particular acoustics, perfect for a saxophone "solo" and its aptitude for meditation. The performance took place during worship hours, in front of an unusual "audience" in an unusual "liturgy." The pieces are monodic songs that can be traced back mainly to the concept of repetition, but also pay attention to the harmonic overlap provided by the acoustics. Songs that can be associated with different paces and their rhythm. In some cases they are fragments that develop into improvisations as in "Marea" and "Orbita."

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: WRJ 002CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

2023 restock. We Release Jazz (WRWTFWW Records' new sister-label) present the official reissue of criminally overlooked Japanese jazz gem Mellow Dream by Hokkaido pianist wunderkind Ryo Fukui, originally released in 1977. Released in conjunction with the its legendary predecessor 1976's Scenery (WRJ 001CD/LTD-LP). Firmly standing on the foundation he laid down with Scenery, Ryo Fukui continues his exploration of modal, bop, and cool jazz sounds with meticulous grace and absolute mastery. As its title suggests, Mellow Dream ventures into slightly mellower, more soulful, and sometimes more contemplative territories (the Bill Evans-reminiscent "Mellow Dream" and "My Foolish Heart") while still packing the commanding punch Fukui's work is loved for, as heard on the amazingly bombastic "Baron Potato Blues" or the gigantic McCoy Tyner/John Coltrane-influenced "Horizon" which sees each member of the trio -- Satoshi Denpo is on bass and Yoshinori Fukui is on drums -- demonstrating their virtuosity for nine exhilarating minutes. With his sophomore album, Ryo Fukui swings from melancholy to vibrant joy with ease, and reminds you that jazz is best served with a pinch of blues, and displays an immensely rare combination of pure talent, unique personal approach and focused discipline. The man undeniably deserves a spot in the pantheon of all-time great jazz pianists. After releasing the outstanding Scenery and Mellow Dream back-to-back, Ryo Fukui worked on developing his live skills, often performing at Sapporo's Slowboat Jazz Club (which he co-founded with his wife Yasuko Fukui), and even releasing two live albums. He sadly passed away in March 2016, leaving behind a legacy of works that all jazz lovers should explore. Sourced from the original masters. CD comes in digipack.

 

PRICE: $16.00

CAT #: WWSCD 076CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

Wewantsounds announce the first international reissue of Ayako Shinozaki's Music Now For Harp released in 1974 by Nippon Columbia. The LP was released on the label's cult "Master Sonic" series and features Shinozaki's harp soundscape on works by renowned composer Toru Takemitsu and Katsuhiro Tsubono. The highlight of the album is the spaced-out, ethereal 25-min ambient epic "Heterodyne" featuring cult musician Takehisa Kosugi (Taj Mahal Travellers, Group Ongaku) on electric violin and sound waves. Japanese harpist Ayako Shinozaki first studied in Japan, then at Julliard in New York and, upon her return in Japan in the early 1970s, she launched her yearly "Harp No Koten" recital (the first or which took place in 1972) with the idea of pushing the boundaries of the instrument, delving into the more experimental side of the spectrum and following in the recent steps by Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane to get the instrument out of classical music. The album Music Now For Harp is the fruit of this first recital and is composed of three pieces that were played there. The first piece, "Stanza II" was composed by Toru Takemitsu, one of the most famous contemporary Japanese composers of the 20th century. "Stanza II" was written in 1971 for Swiss harpist Ursula Holliger and is a subtle piece featuring Shinozaki's harp intertwined with tapes of drones, birdcall and street sounds. It's typical of the music composed by Takemitsu at the time and in the Japanese notes, he refers to the music as "a midday scene, a stone shatters the silence, words are exchanged, a bird crosses the sky, casting no shadow." The second piece of the album, "Poem of Lin" was written by the young Japanese composer Katsuhiro Tsubono (who was 25 years old at the time). The piece was composed for harp, bells and voice and is an eerie yet percussive soundscape emphasizing Shinozaki's interplay with percussion and voice. The final piece "Heterodyne" makes up the whole of side two, composed by legendary Japanese musician Takehisa Kosugi. It is an extraordinary piece of music featuring Shinozaki's harp and Kosugi violin dialoguing over Kosugi's added electronic effects. The piece is a deep, spiritual journey mixing the organic feel of the harp and violin with the futuristic touch brought by Kosugi's hypnotic, almost funky sound waves. Newly remastered by Nippon Columbia. Original artwork designed by legendary Japanese graphic designer Kohei Sugiura. Includes two-page insert with new liner notes by Alan Cummings.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 076LP

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

LP version. Wewantsounds announce the first international reissue of Ayako Shinozaki's Music Now For Harp released in 1974 by Nippon Columbia. The LP was released on the label's cult "Master Sonic" series and features Shinozaki's harp soundscape on works by renowned composer Toru Takemitsu and Katsuhiro Tsubono. The highlight of the album is the spaced-out, ethereal 25-min ambient epic "Heterodyne" featuring cult musician Takehisa Kosugi (Taj Mahal Travellers, Group Ongaku) on electric violin and sound waves. Japanese harpist Ayako Shinozaki first studied in Japan, then at Julliard in New York and, upon her return in Japan in the early 1970s, she launched her yearly "Harp No Koten" recital (the first or which took place in 1972) with the idea of pushing the boundaries of the instrument, delving into the more experimental side of the spectrum and following in the recent steps by Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane to get the instrument out of classical music. The album Music Now For Harp is the fruit of this first recital and is composed of three pieces that were played there. The first piece, "Stanza II" was composed by Toru Takemitsu, one of the most famous contemporary Japanese composers of the 20th century. "Stanza II" was written in 1971 for Swiss harpist Ursula Holliger and is a subtle piece featuring Shinozaki's harp intertwined with tapes of drones, birdcall and street sounds. It's typical of the music composed by Takemitsu at the time and in the Japanese notes, he refers to the music as "a midday scene, a stone shatters the silence, words are exchanged, a bird crosses the sky, casting no shadow." The second piece of the album, "Poem of Lin" was written by the young Japanese composer Katsuhiro Tsubono (who was 25 years old at the time). The piece was composed for harp, bells and voice and is an eerie yet percussive soundscape emphasizing Shinozaki's interplay with percussion and voice. The final piece "Heterodyne" makes up the whole of side two, composed by legendary Japanese musician Takehisa Kosugi. It is an extraordinary piece of music featuring Shinozaki's harp and Kosugi violin dialoguing over Kosugi's added electronic effects. The piece is a deep, spiritual journey mixing the organic feel of the harp and violin with the futuristic touch brought by Kosugi's hypnotic, almost funky sound waves. Newly remastered by Nippon Columbia. Original artwork designed by legendary Japanese graphic designer Kohei Sugiura. Includes two-page insert with new liner notes by Alan Cummings.

 

PRICE: $31.50

CAT #: WWSLP 078LP

FILE UNDER: WORLD

Wewantsounds team up with Disco Arabesquo for the reissue of Nagat El Seghira's cult 1980 album Eyoun El Alb. Originally released only on cassette on the Egyptian label Soutelphan, the album has since become a sought-after classic on the Arabic groove scene and this is the first time it is released on vinyl. Consisting of four tracks, the album features two tracks, "Bahlam Meaak" and "Ana Bashaa El Bahr" produced by Hany Shenouda whose group Al Massrieen is a reference to the Arabic funk scene. The long title track "Eyoun el Alb" features a more traditional percussion-heavy orchestra enhancing Nagat's languorous singing and was recorded live while the track "Fakra" brings the best of both world with a syncopated rhythm and arrangements that are slightly more traditional than the Shenouda-produced tracks. When it comes to Arabic Divas, Oum Kalthoum, Fairuz and Warda usually take the lead in the poll list. But in her native Egypt, singer Nagat Al Saghira comes very close to this triumvirate. She rose to fame in the late forties and became an essential part of classic period of Arabic music, interpreting songs by such titans as Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Baligh Hamdy and Kamal Al Taweel. One such song is "Eyoun El Alb" ("Eyes of the Heart") which makes up the whole of Side 1 of the original cassette. Written by Mohamed El Mougy and Abd al-Rahman al-Abdouni, "Eyoun El Alb" is a love song made up of several distinct sections enhancing Nagat's hypnotic singing, accompanied by a percussion-heavy, traditional Egyptian orchestra. Side 2 is the "diggers" groovier side featuring two floaters, "Bahlam Ma'ak" ("I Dream with You") and "Ana Basha El Bahr" ("I Adore the Sea") produced by cult Egyptian musician and producer Hany Shenouda. Both tracks feature an infectious slow-burning groove and incorporate funk influences with fat bass and lines of synth and clavinet that adds a funky tone to Nagat's soft singing. The third track "Fakra" ("Do You Remember") brings the best of both worlds with a syncopated rhythm and arrangements that are slightly more traditional than the Shenouda-produced tracks. The album is now making its vinyl debut on Wewantsounds annotated by Disco Arabesquo and remastered for vinyl by Colorsound Studio in Paris for the joy of Arabic funk and Global beats worldwide. It includes the original cassette artwork plus a two-page color insert featuring liner notes by Disco Arabesquo.

 

PRICE: $15.00

CAT #: WH 369CD

FILE UNDER: JAZZ

"Outstanding drummer Mike Clark unites with Blue Note trumpeter Eddie Henderson, fellow Headhunter Bill Summers, Skerik, Wayne Horvitz, and Blackjazz Records legendary bassist Henry Franklin for an amazing new release on Wide Hive Records. Kosen Rufu is 10 well-crafted compositions that are drawn together by awesome musicianship and a classic version of Erik Dolphy's 'Hat and Beard.' Mike Clark is one of the most sampled drummers in history. Here he reunites with Bill Summers; both were in many bands together and most notably Herbie Hancock's Thrust and Man Child. Joining the rhythm section is Henry Franklin on standup Bass; known for his work with Hugh Masekela, Stevie Wonder, and his eponymous release on Blackjazz Records. Also in the band are Skerik on saxophone (Galactic) and virtuoso pianist Wayne Horvitz."

 

PRICE: $15.50

CAT #: WSR 050CD

FILE UNDER: ROCK

In Blood is the 14th album by Hey Colossus and the follow-up to 2020's critically acclaimed Dances/Curses. It was typical of a band so well-known for stellar live performances to release their most successful album at a time when they were unable to back it up on the road. As was the case for many, lockdown changed the band's lives in unexpected ways. Some felt a form of cabin fever at not being able to continue to make music (diverting their energies elsewhere -- founding Wrong Speed Records for starters) whereas others relished the peace and quiet, perhaps questioning whether they wanted to return to the life they had before. Gigs (so long the lifeblood of the band) were booked, postponed, and cancelled. Things began to unravel and perhaps for the first time since the band formed in 2003 it was hard to see how it could continue. A plan was hatched to attempt to re-energize and reassemble the band: they would begin work on a new album. They would approach this as though a Somerset version of The Desert Sessions -- members old and new and guests would contribute as and when time and restrictions allowed. Lyrically, British folk and ghost mythology provided the starting position for the song themes ranging from mutated stories of grief and loss written in the 14th Century ("Perle"), spiritual reawakening by ancient apparitions ("Avalon") to the growth of nature after devastation ("Can't Feel Around Us", "Over Cedar Limb"), a metaphor also for spirit and body renewal and rebirth after trauma. The results sound free of any genre shackles and it suits Hey Colossus. They have taken the expansive anything-goes approach that made Dances/Curses so successful and fine-tuned and shaped it into an eight-song single album that never treads water or fills time. The prominent vocals steer the listener through the music, defining it as opposed to punctuating it (or being buried by it). In Blood positions Hey Colossus somewhere new, outside of perceived contemporaries and in a more rarefied place altogether, alongside "classic" bands like The Cure, Killing Joke, Sonic Youth, Dead Can Dance, or even New Order (or The F-word of course). The band changes but in doing so remains the same. Hey Colossus only sound like Hey Colossus. The album is a calling card for the band in their 20th anniversary year. As odd and challenging as long-term fans would expect or hope for, but somehow more accessible and to the point than ever before.

 

PRICE: $25.00

CAT #: WSR 050LP

FILE UNDER: ROCK

LP version. In Blood is the 14th album by Hey Colossus and the follow-up to 2020's critically acclaimed Dances/Curses. It was typical of a band so well-known for stellar live performances to release their most successful album at a time when they were unable to back it up on the road. As was the case for many, lockdown changed the band's lives in unexpected ways. Some felt a form of cabin fever at not being able to continue to make music (diverting their energies elsewhere -- founding Wrong Speed Records for starters) whereas others relished the peace and quiet, perhaps questioning whether they wanted to return to the life they had before. Gigs (so long the lifeblood of the band) were booked, postponed, and cancelled. Things began to unravel and perhaps for the first time since the band formed in 2003 it was hard to see how it could continue. A plan was hatched to attempt to re-energize and reassemble the band: they would begin work on a new album. They would approach this as though a Somerset version of The Desert Sessions -- members old and new and guests would contribute as and when time and restrictions allowed. Lyrically, British folk and ghost mythology provided the starting position for the song themes ranging from mutated stories of grief and loss written in the 14th Century ("Perle"), spiritual reawakening by ancient apparitions ("Avalon") to the growth of nature after devastation ("Can't Feel Around Us", "Over Cedar Limb"), a metaphor also for spirit and body renewal and rebirth after trauma. The results sound free of any genre shackles and it suits Hey Colossus. They have taken the expansive anything-goes approach that made Dances/Curses so successful and fine-tuned and shaped it into an eight-song single album that never treads water or fills time. The prominent vocals steer the listener through the music, defining it as opposed to punctuating it (or being buried by it). In Blood positions Hey Colossus somewhere new, outside of perceived contemporaries and in a more rarefied place altogether, alongside "classic" bands like The Cure, Killing Joke, Sonic Youth, Dead Can Dance, or even New Order (or The F-word of course). The band changes but in doing so remains the same. Hey Colossus only sound like Hey Colossus. The album is a calling card for the band in their 20th anniversary year. As odd and challenging as long-term fans would expect or hope for, but somehow more accessible and to the point than ever before.