Paper

Aaron and Adrienne Snow have been making music together for many years usually within the wonderful band Landing, but now as they bring their first human child into the world we here at States Rights are bursting with pride to bring you their first music child as the band Paper.

As As is simply gorgeous, the most rhythmic based music from the Snows it finds them exploring areas inspired by Kraut, drone, shoegaze, and more. It is soft, beautiful, and at at times ambient but also driving, strong, and the kind of record you can listen to over and over again

Flash Lights

"Eckords" is the first release by Flash Lights, the duo of Liz Harris
(better known as Grouper) and Bay Area sound sculptor Jorge Behringer.
Here, Liz's spectral vocal transmissions (the ones that blew our collective
minds on last year's superb opus "Way Their Crept") are augmented by
disorienting field recordings, bubbling electronics, meditative guitar lines,
and Jorge's angelic, processed viola. Each piece is unique and bursting with
vibrant, otherworldly energy, running the gamut from almost poppy (!)
songforms, to distant choral ghost codas, and moving effortlessly from
seering blasts of electronics to calm, glacially evolving, painstakingly
wrought towers of dynamic vocal murk. Beautifully mastered by Pete Swanson,
presented in a sleeve adorned with Liz's wonderful black and white artwork.

Sian Alice Group

The Social Registry is pleased to announce the debut full-length album from London-based Sian Alice Group. The album, 59.59 is set for a February 19, 2008 release. The band is already on the rise in its native England having opened a string of shows for Spiritualized and received a flurry of attention in the press.

At the core of Sian Alice Group are multi-instrumentalists Rupert Clervaux and Ben Crook who formed the group along with vocalist Sian Ahern in late 2006. In order to flesh out their sound they bought in Sasha Vine and for live shows have added Douglas Hart (Jesus & Mary Chain) and John Webster Johns. 59.59 was recorded and produced predominantly during the summer of 2007 by Clervaux at Sian Alice Group's central London studio where the group are able to enjoy complete self-sufficiency, enabling full flexibility in their creative process (Clervaux is a professional sound engineer and producer who currently works with Treader records and Spring Heel Jack). As a testament to the open and collaborative nature of Sian Alice Group, the group welcomed other musicians in to the studio and, for the album closer 'Complete Affection,' were joined by John Coxon (Spiritualized, Spring Heel Jack) on guitar and Brian DeGraw (Gang Gang Dance) on lead piano.

As work began on London-based Sian Alice Group's debut full length 59.59, it became clear early on that it would not simply be a collection of songs. The music which they have brought to bare is a much more fully realized experience that moves through traditional pop songwriting and dynamic instrumental composition while tempering it with studio improvisation. The title of the record comes from its running time and, as this suggests, 59.59 manipulates elements of texture, pacing and timbre as if it's one sweeping composition. It is an epic record that showcases the talent, range and ambition of this young group, taking in elements of various genres and making them their own. At a time when the musical landscape seems inundated with derivative retrogressive guitar bands, or acts reliant on sequenced beats and oscillator knobs, Sian Alice Group's more classical inclinations show their willingness to tread their own path. Sian Alice Group have already received a number of lazy comparisons to Shoegaze music, something that they should shrug-off with ease after the release of this album. The stylistic range of 59.59 is way more far reaching than such a reductive comparison would imply and further brings to mind references such as Arthur Russell, Angelo Badalamenti and Steve Reich. The album even features a song, 'Motionless,' that is inspired by the music of legendary Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills, and loosely based on his track 'Solid Sleep'. They look set to be a big part of the musical landscape of 2008, and we are proud to be a part of it.

Smog

After a decade as one of indie rock's most consistent, versatile artists, Smog's ninth album catalogs the sounds and emotions that Bill Callahan explored on previous albums. Dongs of Sevotion borrows Wild Love's chamber rock arrangements, Red Apple Falls' droning folk, The Doctor Came at Dawn's painful honesty, Knock Knock's sardonic humor, and even nods to Burning Kingdom's album artwork. While these eclectic influences could have had scattered results, Dongs of Sevotion is remarkably spare and focused; over half the album is just Callahan on vocals and guitar and/or piano, with Tortoise's John McEntire on drums. Not surprisingly, the starker songs are the most lyrically loaded. On the coming-of-age ballad "Nineteen," Callahan laments, "My movements were slow/She didn't even know/What she was taking away," and on "Devotion," he notes, "There are some terrible gossips in this town/With jaws like vices and eyes like drains." "Easily Led" and "Distance" are musically and emotionally similar, tending to blend together in the middle of the album. However, Dongs begins with "Justice Aversion," a survival-of-the-fittest tale set to icy, detached synths, and "Dress Sexy at My Funeral," a warm, sensual recounting of a man's final wishes: "Tell them about the time we did it with fireworks above us" -- a one-two punch that captures the album's range. "Bloodflow" mixes a Jew's harp, cheerleaders (the "Dongettes," natch), and a galloping beat, and rhymes "tete-a-tete" with "machete," distilling the album's twists and turns. But Callahan saves the best for last: "Permanent Smile" a song of devotion that, with its echoing drums and rippling piano loop, sounds like a collaboration between Phil Spector and Philip Glass. It's this reverence and irreverence that makes Smog so enduring, and Dongs of Sevotion another strong album.

Klang

Inspired by post-punk, Krautrock, and the most minimalist indie rock, the spare, intense sound of Klang is the brainchild of guitarist/vocalist Donna Matthews, bassist Isabel Waidner, and drummer Keisuke Hiratsuka. Matthews was one of the driving forces behind Britpop luminaries Elastica, but the band fell apart -- collectively and individually -- due to a vicious cycle of drug abuse and blocked creativity, and she left the band in late 1998. After taking some time to readjust after Elastica's fallout, Matthews was ready to make music again, and she began collaborating with the German-born Waidner, who worked in a London record store that Matthews frequented. Their music was largely electronic until the addition of Hiratsuka, a Japanese expatriate who also shopped at Waidner's store.

As a trio, the group's style expanded to include more rock elements as well as their previous electronic and experimental ideas. By late 2002, their sound had jelled and they adopted the name Klang (which is German for, fittingly, "sound"). On the strength of some of the demos they recorded at that time, Klang were featured on a Sonic Mook compilation and also scored a gig opening for Erase Errata on their U.K. tour, as well as slots supporting the Futureheads, French Kicks, and Max Tundra. In spring 2003, they released their debut 7", Love, on the Damaged Goods label, and spent the rest of the year playing shows with the Kills, Pink Grease, and Black Box Recorder while finishing their first album. No Sound Is Heard arrived in summer 2004 in the U.K., and in the States in early 2005.

Fuck Buttons

Sweet Love For Planet Earth Ep
Fuck Buttons was conceived by Andrew Hung & Benjamin John Power in the winter of 2004, Bristol UK.
Initially the group was born as an outlet for their nihilistic-noise tendencies but quickly, the two Fuck Buttons realised they could harness the use of noise as a tool to immerse and evoke. No longer afraid of melody or rhythm, the group started fusing all these elements to the point when drone becomes melody becomes rhythm.

With their electric live performances sealing the notion that the two Fuck Buttons are attempting some kind of transcendence between the listener and the Universe itself, one could easily envisage one’s psyches being shaken by the very rumbles of the earth’s motions.

Tribal beats and subtle beautiful melodies weave amongst contorting Technicolor drone-scapes while preaching distorted-vocals scream for dear hope herself…

Fuck Buttons straddle you between the wall of sound that lies between the beginning of destruction and the end of birth. This grand noise will fondle you into a state of immersed euphoria.

The Dragons

It was nearing the end of the sixties’ decade. My brothers, Doug ,Daryl and I were living in Malibu, surfing and gigging around the Los Angeles area in various bands including our own. We came from a very musical family; our father Carmen Dragon was a well known symphony conductor and arranger around Hollywood, our mother Eloise, a colaratura soprano singer and our two sisters, Carmen and Kathy played harp and flute respectively. I was the youngest of the brothers. I played drums and was dabbling with recording equipment and photography. My brothers played great keys. Daryl also played the vibes, bass, guitar and a few other instruments.

That all being said, it was a great time for music. The Beatles with George Martin opened up a big door to just about anything musically and production-wise. Hendrix was blowing minds with his trip and Zep defined new parameters for rock and roll. Around the same time The Doors and others were freaking us out with their hypnotic sounds. Doug and I thought it was time for us to enter the arena and put something “serious” on tape. We hooked up with my high school buddy/recording engineer Donn Landee who was working at Sunwest Recording Studios in Hollywood at the time. We worked out a “spec deal” and arrived in the off hours, sometimes after our club gigs around 3 am and working ‘till morning. We became more “driven” as we laid down more tracks; Doug and I had never explored this territory before, especially in the vocal department. I was playing my usual “jazzy” style with Doug laying down the groove on the keys. Doug was singing the low parts and I was experimenting with high layered harmonies. Donn added his great recording and production ideas and as we listened to the playbacks we were all fired up! There was a unique sound coming from the JBL control room speakers…

We called it BFI, for “Blue Forces Intelligence”! Don’t ask me why. We were certain we had a “hit”. We shopped the finished product all over Hollywood to the major labels with no luck. We got comments from the big boys like “Great production but I don’t hear a hit” to “We can’t fit it into a niche”. After a few months we became discouraged and shelved the tapes. It was fun recording, but The Dragons and the BFI project seemed destined to obscurity.
Advance the clock 37 years…I get an e-mail from Kevin, DJ Food at Ninjatune, and he says he loves the song “Food for my Soul” by The Dragons and wants to include it in his latest mix. He found the song on a surf film soundtrack album that I produced that was released in the mid seventies. I had put that one BFI tune on that record because the film’s producer, the late Hal Jepsen, really liked it. I told Kev there was more that was recorded at the same time period and sent him MP3s of the album. He liked what he heard. All I had in my possession was a copy of the master tape. I tracked Donn down after losing contact with him decades ago. I asked him if he knew where the BFI master tapes were. He said he was “looking right at them”. Miraculously, the tapes were “rescued” in 1974 by his friend, Howard Weiss when the tape vault at Sunwest was being cleaned out and they were headed for the trash .What a trip.

We’re now up to speed. “BFI” is now released. My brothers, Donn and I couldn’t be more pleased. In the mid seventies, Doug moved to Hawaii. Around ‘79-’80, he made a name for himself gigging around Australia. Daryl went on to join Toni Tennille as “The Captain”, and I am still producing and recording bands and now doing music television, occasionally drumming and “beaching it” in the Santa Barbara area.. Donn went on to make records at Warner Brothers with Ted Templeman, Lenny Waronker and Ed Van Halen. He is currently doing Internet commerce and still photography.

Keith Fullerton Whitman

The source material for every piece on Playthroughs is guitar: acoustic, electric or otherwise. From Sept. 2001 to April 2002. Keith Fullerton Whitman transformed raw guitar tones via laptop computer into the tracks on Playthroughs. Whitman has used ring modulators, granular re-synthesis algorithms, banks of delays and special effects in a process that owes much to Terry Riley's Time Lag Accumulator setup and Steve Reich's Phase Pieces. Technology and Whitman's careful selection of notes combine to create shimmering drones and deep waves of sound. Though the source material was improvised guitar and the procesing involved computer technology, Playthroughs reflects Whitman's mastery of composition.

John Maus

John Maus lives and works in Austin, Minnesota. Although first drawn to our attention as a core member of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti and keyboard player with Animal Collective's Panda Bear, Maus has proved himself to be an extraordinary musician with a distinctive sound in his own right.

Perhaps co-conspirator and collaborator Ariel Pink perhaps has the definitive insight into the talents of the man:

"John Maus is a maniac on a bloody crusade; a tortured evangelist on a mercenary quest to rid our world of villainous defilers of The Gospel of True Love. By turns shockingly infectious and disarmingly unpredictable, his music conflates a perplexing marriage of Moroder's 'Never Ending Story' and classical 12-tone renegades of 20th century past, harking THE NEW path which resurrects romance from its post-modern shackles, and reignites the promise of a better world."

'Love Is Real'
Second album 'Love Is Real' is an apocalyptic journey through the nostalgic streets of our home towns deep into the recesses of the human heart. It is a map of self discovery, rejection and escapism captured across 14 songs of melancholic baroque pop music. Similar in style to his 2006 debut 'Songs', the album is a mixture of exploratory synthesiser theatrics, tensely-strung bass lines and insistent drum machine clicks and pops, all set off by John's deeply resonant reverb-drenched vocal. 'Love Is Real' is a more reflective and realised effort than 'Songs' however, focusing its attentions on impulsive song writing and inspired musicianship, replacing the reminiscent feel of the first record with genuine poignancy.

'Love Is Real' is an album of contrast, of obscurity and familiarity, of darkness and light. Moments of intense disco anxiety warning against the sin of avarice - "Too Much Money" - find themselves rubbing shoulders with romantic virtuoso fugues - "Green Bouzard". The juxtaposition of the buoyant 80's synth pop alongside John's sombre, sometimes even morose lyrics is another good example of this tension. "Without you girl, I'm going over the edge" Maus sings over the four-to-the-floor dance rhythm of the album's prescient closer 'Times Is Weird'. Over the fantastical keyboard gymnastics of 'The Whole World's Coming Apart' John finds relief in repeatedly confessing "This is my nightmare, my nightmare". It's contrasts like these which point towards John's preoccupation on this album with confused emotions and misunderstood intentions.

Whilst 'Love Is Real' maintains the same anthemic genius and sense of humour that it's predecessor revelled in - the impassioned 'Rights for Gays' being perhaps the most neurotic example - this album finds its strength in its more delicate and revealing moments. The superbly mournful 'Do Your Best' is an elegiac paean to true love - "Reach out your hands to the one alone, in the city tonight" croons Maus to baritone abandon, sounding like a man resisting his own best advice. Similarly 'Tenebrae', the album's tour de force, follows the grand tradition of many classical composers who have tried to convey the suffering, 'great noise' and joy of the Holy Week in music over the last 300 years. It is a stately and majestic song which soars and pulses into inevitable splendour becoming the focal point of this remarkable album.

'Love Is Real' is a record about facing the demons within, searching through eternity and finding hope in the darkness of these uncertain times. It's about never giving up and holding out for the one you love. Put simply it can only be an album by John Maus.

The For Carnation

The For Carnation was a low-key, mostly acoustic vehicle for ex-Slint/Squirrel Bait member Brian McMahan, whose previous projects had all made their impact through jagged, noisy art-punk. Mirroring his old bandmate David Grubbs' evolution with Gastr del Sol, McMahan continued to explore the complex, cerebral patterns that were his stock in trade, but with delicate arrangements and far subtler dynamics. Slint fans were taken aback by the For Carnation's low-key sparseness, and while it wasn't as groundbreaking as McMahan's earlier efforts, the quietly unsettling creepiness of its best moments was rooted firmly in the leader's trademark aesthetic. McMahan was the lone constant in the For Carnation, which shaped up as a revolving-door outfit with collaborators coming and going from other projects; the initial lineup featured several members of Tortoise, who gave way to a collection of Louisville and Chicago scenesters.McMahan formed the For Carnation in 1994 as the latest in a series of high-profile indie outfits. Beginning his career in Louisville's seminal post-Husker Du punkers Squirrel Bait, he next moved on to the groundbreaking math-rock unit Slint; following their breakup, he moved to Chicago and played for a short time as a sideman in Will Oldham's Palace Brothers project, along with former Slint bandmate David Pajo. McMahan and Pajo started jamming on their own, along with ex-Slint/Squirrel Bait drummer Britt Walford, who stayed around only briefly. Pajo had begun playing with post-rock bigwigs Tortoise, and two of that band's members -- Doug McCombs (bass) and John Herndon (drums) -- came on board to fill things out, completing the first version of the For Carnation. This lineup recorded the three-song EP Fight Songs, which was released on Matador in 1995. Pajo subsequently left to concentrate on his other projects, which included Tortoise as well as the solo venture Aerial M and several sideman gigs.McCombs and Herndon continued to play sporadically with the group, but their full-time commitment to Tortoise made things difficult. McMahan pieced together the next For Carnation record, 1996's relatively brief full-length Marshmallows, from contributions by McCombs and Herndon, and those of a new lineup featuring onetime Rodan drummer John Weiss,guitarists Tim Ruth (also of Slint offshoot) Evergreen) and Michael McMahan (Brian's brother), plus additional contributions by hotshot Chicago producer Brad Wood. The For Carnation subsequently embarked on its first national tour, with a lineup featuring the McMahan brothers and an all-Louisville supporting cast of guitarist Tim Furnish, bassist Todd Cook (both ex-Crain), and drummer Kip McCabe. By this time, the group's brand of post-rock was drawing comparisons to Gastr del Sol, as well as slowcore bands like Codeine and Low.The For Carnation later split from Matador to sign with Touch & Go, and McMahan returned to Louisville and set about crafting new material with a lineup of Michael McMahan, Todd Cook, and the returning Britt Walford (then also in Evergreen). Meanwhile, Runt reissued the band's first two EPs together under the title Promised Works. Walford returned to his other commitments later in 1997, and was eventually replaced by Steve Goodfriend; guitarists/keyboardists Bobb Bruno and Rafe Mandel later came on board as well. Finally, in 2000, Touch & Go released The For Carnation, the band's most substantive and fully realized record to date. Boasting considerable involvement from Tortoise's John McEntire, the album also featured guest spots from the Breeders' Kim Deal and that dog.'s Rachel Haden.

Giorgio Moroder

From Here to Eternity is Moroder's quasi-instrumental masterpiece, a continuous mix of banging Eurodisco complete with vocoder effects and this statement on the back cover: "Only electronic keyboards were used on this recording." The metallic beats, high-energy impact, and futuristic effects prove that Moroder was ahead of his time like few artists of the 1970s (Kraftwerk included), and the free-form songwriting on tracks like "Lost Angeles," "First Hand Experience in Second Hand Love," and the title track are priceless.

Valgeir Sigurðsson

Having worked on some groundbreaking albums over the last decade Ekvílibríum is Valgeir Sigurðsson's own debut, but here he has revealed that as well as being a gifted producer, engineer and musician, he is equally skillful as a crafter of songs and instigator of a cascade of emotions.

Valgeir is joined by a number of guests on Ekvílibríum, such as Nico Muhly, Samuli Kosminen, Warren Ellis, Guy Sigsworth, and a a string ensemble. The album also features vocal performances from Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, who helps craft 2 of the songs, as well as Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy and J. Walker aka Machine Translations.

Donnacha Costello

This long overdue CD compilation of Donnacha Costello's Colorseries draws on the artist's own favourite selections from the 12"s and even throws some unreleased material into the bargain. It was 2004 when Costello embarked upon the project and even after three years of rotation by DJs like Josh Wink and Loco Dice it's still a pleasure to listen through the assembled tracks. Thanks to a mixture of digital finesse and classic analog equipment Costello's productions sound incredibly warm and soft, with the contoured bass of 'Grape A' and the bright beams of synth in 'Mustard B' still making for some immensely tactile listening. In amongst the classic techno dynamics of the series you'll also find a few opportunities for downtime ambience: the cuts from the Cocoa 12" are every bit the mug of auditory hot chocolate the title suggests, with a particularly mellifluous unreleased track making the cut, exhibiting a grip on muted, reverberant synth tones worthy of classic-era Boards Of Canada.

Sapat

Mortise and Tenon


Spawned from the formidable Louisville, KY collective known as Black Velvet Fuckere (Valley Of The Ashes, Phantom Family Halo, Kark, etc.), Sapat resides as the centrifugal force in this Midwestern psychedelic madrigal set in the psychosexual backwaters of the mighty Ohio River. For the entirety of the '00 decade, members have kept busy collaborating with and/or massaging the egos of various and sundry avant-pontiffs such as Robert Fripp, Magik Markers, Dead Child (David Pajo's metal band. That's right, David Pajo!) and Eugene Chadbourne -- when not honing the orgone energy of Sapat.
The Fall of '06 saw their debut release, a seven-inch on BVF entitled Tongue-Tied & Staid that had a few astute bloggers comparing the action within to "aggressive blues a la Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band." However, for this self-titled full-length release, Sapat has opted for a different, more organic sonic waft. Acoustically packed to the gills, the octet effortlessly strums and blows breezy vibes, emitting kosmisch melodies and Teutonic ambience that channel-- Julian Cope-like-- past giants such as Limbus 4, Siloah and Lord Krishna Von Goloka (you know, the A-team of Krautrock). Once you launch into the group's spacey and entrancing, yet calming and soothing asteroid belt, you might mistake the Ozarks for the Alps if you're not careful. And who could blame you? You're way up there and the air's thin; hallucinating's a must.

The Fall of '06 saw their debut release, a seven-inch on BVF entitled Tongue-Tied & Staid that had a few astute bloggers comparing the action within to "aggressive blues a la Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band." However, for this self-titled full-length release, Sapat has opted for a different, more organic sonic waft. Acoustically packed to the gills, the octet effortlessly strums and blows breezy vibes, emitting kosmisch melodies and Teutonic ambience that channel -- Julian Cope-like -- past giants such as Limbus 4, Siloah and Lord Krishna Von Goloka (you know, the A-team of Krautrock). Once you launch into the group's spacey and entrancing, yet calming and soothing asteroid belt, you might mistake the Ozarks for the Alps if you're not careful. And who could blame you? You're way up there and the air's thin; hallucinating's a must.

Robert Wyatt

"It's really about the unpredictable mischief of real life - it's sort of chaotic our life. It's about humans and the things we turn to, and looking for fun and stimulus and meaning and stuff." Robert Wyatt

-----------------------------------------------------------

Robert Wyatt is one of my favourite singers, writers, makers of wonderful music. It is with pleasure that I can introduce you to this, his latest album, and first for Domino.

I first discovered Robert Wyatt's music when borrowing, and then stealing, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard from a library. Then came a second-hand purchase of the 'Shipbuilding' 7", which I played repeatedly, not even thinking to flip it over. A few years later, it was my near-20 years late discovery of the Mid Eighties compilation and Old Rottenhat that really fixed my glue to Wyatt's music. I was obsessed (and not least by that very b side to 'Shipbuilding' - 'Memories of You'). It seemed in Robert's 'home' recordings, these unfinished-sounding, and barely accompanied, odds and ends - covers, originals, spoken pieces - with just wonderful synthesizers, percussion and piano to support the familiarly fragile voice, I had found home. I've been delving further and repeatedly into his deep well for a few years now, and it is no surprise to even find his songs cropping up in many of my DJ sets, as well as my home listening. With Dondestan, Shleep, Cuckooland and now Comicopera, Wyatt seems to have found his own 'home' music - each record intimate and sophisticated, played with (the suggestion of) ease and curiosity. And also fun.

Comicopera, divided into three Acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies', continues where these albums had left off, but it is initially less dense than Cuckooland, and more light and live sounding. Robert says he was keen to have the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly, to have friends (furthermore than musicians who play these particular instruments), playing together:

"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the Big Bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room." (Wyatt)

That gives this record its sense of spontaneity, despite its deliberate pacing and construction as something of a three Act 'Opera':

"Musically, the changes are quite abrupt. And the narrator actually shifts. At the end of the second section I'm both the euphoric bomber ('A Beautiful War'), and the apoplectic bombed person ('Out of the Blue'). It shifts about in a way that I haven't consciously done in the past."

In Act One, the album opens with a plea for patience - Anja Garbarek's 'Stay Tuned', and as stated, a fair amount of light has crept in (from which end of the tunnel is it not clear...). We are treated to love songs (of sorts), before Act Two threatens to brighten further, with a community and carnival-esque feel pervading the mood; before at the close of the Act, the bombing takes place. Act Three, 'Away with the Fairies', the darkest, and most noisy, recalls some of the unsettling mood of his 80s productions, where odd synths underpin the voice and minor chords are wedged next to each other in close chromatic proximity. Act Three also marks the shift from songs in English language to Italian and Spanish - a pivotal moment in the record from which point onwards Robert claims he refused to sing in English, as a protest -

"After the bombing - it's to do with feeling completely alienated from Anglo-American culture at that point. Just sort of being silent as an English-speaking person, because of this fucking war. The last thing I sing in English is "you've planted all your everlasting hatred in my heart". I then wander off round the world searching for different kinds of meaning - whether its avant guard, or revolution, or serialist fantasy, or religion, or all those things. Pretentious or what?! Well I don't care anymore."

Before you reach that final segment (the inverse of the traditional Comic Opera light and uplifting ending), this feels like it could even be Robert Wyatt's 'pop' album. He's openly a fan of 'tunes', and the deep influence of songs such as 'Raining in My Heart', covered on his last record, has perhaps had an impact on the melodies and compressed structures of these new performances. But the depth of the journey here, from start to finish, is magnificent, and stopping off along the way for the sublime steel pan and sax battle of 'On the Town Square'; or for the frantic song of bomber versus bombed, featuring Brian Eno's sampled voice replayed by Wyatt on synthesizer, 'Out of the Blue', seems only to be expected in an album as enjoyable and ambitious as this.

-------------------------------------------

"Greeks divided things into Comedy and Tragedy, and Comedy didn't mean funny, it meant just, 'about human foibles', as opposed to tragedy which is about Gods and Destiny. So this is about human foibles. I want to emphasise that because I do end up singing a kind of hymn to Che Guevarra, but I'm talking about human foibles, I'm not looking for new Gods."

There are some of Wyatt's best songs here, seemingly tossed off with ease. There are love songs of sorts, but love songs of tolerance as much as simple delight. 'Just As You Are', for example, is further from the sentimentality of the Billy Joel/Barry White classic, than should be possible with such familiar linguistic terrain. It is about living with someone else. The emphasis here is on realism; on the gaps and distance as much as the closeness, between lovers. The song crops up later in 'Fragment', in what sounds like reversed, compressed form, an anarchic and crude remix - either undermining the beauty of its original version, or emphasising, via cut up repetition, the implicit contentedness versus resignation of the lines "I'm never going to change a thing about you". Songs like 'Just As You Are' and 'A Beautiful War', are, melodically so sweet, but they veer away from any safe 'pop' territory in the tension between mellifluous beauty and lyrical harshness. For others the juxtaposition is the other way around, but it is this tension, which is central to Comicopera's mastery.

"When I'm writing I write completely on automatic - actually a better word is composing, meaning putting together, because I didn't write the first song or the last one - so when I'm putting together a record I do it completely instinctively, like an animal hunting for food or whatever. And only once I've done it do i work out what I was up to. I don't think beforehand, I think afterwards. I find that plans ahead, concepts ahead limit you."

Whether or not the concepts that help elevate this record above a mere loose collection of songs came before or after, it is clear that the editing process, the composition here, and the songwriting itself, is quite astounding. There is so much to find, and to return to, in the generous 'company' of this record.

Alexis Taylor
Hot Chip

Lucky Pierre

Arab Strap followers anxious to listen in on more of Aidan Moffat's tales of infidelity, drunkenness, and other various forms of sloppy debauchery will hear nothing of the sort in Hypnogogia, his solo album credited to Lucky Pierre. Throughout, Moffat utilizes the style of leisurely paced, bass-heavy hip-hop beats heard in many an Arab Strap song and casts a somewhat limited range of moods -- sadness to eeriness to outright terror -- with the use of sighing cellos, twinkling melodies, and plaintive pianos. It's not all thumping rhythms, however; "Ghost One" and "Ghost Two," two of the album's most pensive and exceptional moments, are beatless, with echoed piano and unsettling drones wafting throughout. "Nurse Flamingo" sticks out like a sore thumb, but somehow manages to fit the flow of the album, swiping its chiming melody and tropical nuances from easy listening albums. Despite the album's consistency, nothing tops the opening "Angels on Your Body," a dramatic track with spectacular use of machine claps and an elegy of strings so alluringly mournful you'll want to swim in it. Despite the absence of Moffat's mate, Malcolm Middleton (the man usually credited in the duo's liner notes as "most things musical"), and despite the absence of Moffat's slurred miserablisms, Hypnogogia could've been released as a proper Arab Strap album without blemishing the reputation the name carries. More importantly, Hypnogogia shows that Moffat is adept at conveying his feelings without the use of words.

The Mary Onettes

Review by Margaret Reges, All Music Guide
Swedish indie acts are notorious imitators, and The Mary Onettes are no exception. Their eponymous debut sounds eerily familiar -- there's the synthiness and jumpy new wave basslines of Echo & the Bunnymen ("Void" is a good example) and just a touch of jangly R.E.M. guitar work ("Pleasure Songs"). In this respect, the Mary Onettes could be lumped in with other Scandinavian shoegaze worshippers, and those familiar with Swedish indie pop will no doubt reach for comparisons to bands like Lane and Celestial. All of this sounds great on paper, and to be honest the album itself sounds pretty darn good at first. "Pleasure Songs" does a great job of blending their jangly alt-rockiness with their shoegaziness, and for all its familiarity it sounds quite fresh. Sadly, the remainder of the album relies on nondescript, by-the-book synth-pop fare, and the album suffers as a result. The Mary Onettes are literally consumed by their influences, and there's little to distinguish them from the Bunnymen. Now, relying on an array of tried-and-true shoegaze clichés does not a bad record make, and the Mary Onettes manage to do justice to their synthy trappings. This album is more than merely listenable; to be perfectly honest, it's essentially a technically flawless debut. The songs are catchy, the atmosphere is pleasantly foggy, and Philip Ekström is a subtle and versatile vocalist to boot. But the band leans too heavily on its influences, and when it comes right down to it there's very little difference between the Mary Onettes and Echo & the Bunnymen. So why not just cut out the middleman and listen to the real thing? The Mary Onettes, barricaded as they are in their influences, offer little reason not to. Not on this release, at any rate.

A Mountain of One

A Mountain of One's Collected Works is like a drugged out fleetwood mac, pink floyd's meddle, the full blown 70's santana, arthur russell, laurel canyon, air's moon safari, jj cale, talk talk, madchester, the 1st beta band ep, the verve's northern soul. that's the only way of describing the step up that amo1 have taken with this set. a true magical spell, and one that is going to soundtrack many memories for a long, long time.thanks Rough Trade!

Wooden Shjips

Wooden Shjips, a quartet from San Francisco heavily influenced by the experimentalism of psychedelia, classical minimalism, and garage rock excess, started as an experiment in rhythmic primitivism and group improvisation. The current roster brings a more structured rock approach to its performances, utilizing a traditional lineup of drums (Omar Ahsanuddin), bass (Dusty Jermier), organ (Nash Whalen), guitar (Erik "Ripley" Johnson), and vocals.

The Cave Singers

Here is the mystery of Seattle’s Cave Singers: They never listened to much folk music, they never intended to play folk music, and more importantly, their guitarist never picked up the instrument until recently. Yet, this strange trio is writing and performing some of the most hypnotizing folk music we have today.

One listen to Invitation Songs, however, and you’re ready to call bullshit on them. It sounds like an updated version of the Anthology of American Folk Music. Not the graduate-student, learned interpretations of folk music circa 1962, but folk music approached by way of punk rock. It's sparse, melodic, creepy, and alluring, like the widow mourning graveside in Johnny Cash’s “Long Black Veil”. Guitarist Derek Fudesco's bottom-end acoustic work sounds like Mississippi John Hurt's soft, rolling finger plucks. Singer Pete Quirk's appealingly nasal voice simultaneously echoes Arlo Guthrie and a mosquito's buzz. And drummer Marty Lund plays like he's slapping a newspaper on a kitchen table.

Though Quirk spent time in Seattle post-punk group Hint Hint, Lund in Cobra High, and Fudesco as bassist for Pretty Girls Make Graves and the legendary Murder City Devils, maybe they’ve been folk artists all along and we just haven’t been open to the idea.

The band maintains that they never made a conscious effort to play a certain 'style' of music, and that, besides the odd Dylan record, their favorite bands are still the Replacements, the Pixies, Fleetwood Mac. With that in mind, I do believe it was Big Bill Broonzy who quipped: “All music is folk music.”