Other Music New Release Update
February 13, 2002

In This Week's Update:

The Notwist
"Vertical Forms" compilation
"The Very Best of Bollywood Songs Vol. 2" on Outcaste
Mendoza Line
Sun City Girls
Vladislav Delay
Grandmaster Flash mix-CD
Okkervil River
Tosca remix album
Victor Duplaix "DJ Kicks"
The Wake (3 re-issues)
Elbow
Arnold Dreyblatt
Monolight
Current 93 re-issue
Borneo and Sporenburg
Bert Jansch re-issue

Restocked:
Malaria "Compiled"
"Shaolin Soul" Episodes 1 and 2


Featured New Releases:

NOTWIST "Neon Golden" (City Slang, Germany) CD $22.99
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After a wait of far too long (while presumably focusing on side-
projects like Console), Munich, Germany's Notwist return with a
sad and beautiful new album. Somewhat similar to their 1998
album "Shrink", the production on "Neon Golden" sounds as new as
the year, wrapping sad, tender melodies in churning guitars,
subtle, dubby drum programming, bass, strings, bubbling
electronics, woodwinds and even banjo. Marcus Acher's lonely poems
of train-rails and missed connections blend seamlessly with the
spare yet rich tracks -- sending us out on the long trip alone,
but not without a friend back home. "Neon Golden" is a record
with appeal for fans of melodic pop as well as those hungering
for cutting-edge, inventive production. [JM]
(Please note: Limited quantities available now. More next week!)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS "Vertical Forms" (Vertical Form) CD $16.99
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The amazing Vertical Form label has been promising this
compilation for a while now, and after numerous delays here it is.
With so many electronic music collections around these days it is
really hard to determine which ones are worth your hard-earned
dollars. Well, let me tell you, this one is essential! From the
beautiful flowing melodies of Isan's 'Dirno, Nanno, Keel' to the
dubbed-out excursions of Monolake's 'Rain' on to the dirty hip-
hop infused IDM of Funkstorung's 'Lolita' -- and these are just
the first three tracks! Other contributions come from Vladislav
Delay, Kid 606, Smyglyssna, Fehlmann, EU, Bola, and Mum. Ten
tracks total -- all unreleased -- and there's not a throwaway in
the bunch! Classic. [JS]
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[V/A] "The Very Best of Bollywood Songs Vol. 2" (Outcaste) CD  $13.99
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"Following the success of their first Bollywood Songs compilation,
Outcaste presents the second album in the series. Another
collection of songs from everyone's favorite Bollywood films, old
and new, sung by Bollywood legends such as Asha Bhosle. This new
album continues where its predecessor left off, bringing you
tracks from recent Bollywood smashes such as "Lagaan", as well as
favorites from classics like "Sholay". It features some of the
most memorable Hindi film music made since 1949, dominated by
filmi heavyweights like SD and RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and
AR Rahman, and drenched in rock, funk, Latin, disco and Western
classical sources, all of it guaranteed to put a big, stupid smile
on your face. You'll hear it in Jakarta minicabs, Iraqi
dancehalls, British curry-houses, and pretty much every Asian home
around the Diaspora. It was the music that the people of Kabul
played joyously after the downfall of the Taliban. It's the most
popular music in the world."
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MENDOZA LINE "Lost In Revelry"  (Misra) CD $12.99
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It's easy to conclude that the members of the Mendoza Line have
spent a lot of time drinking to and playing along with well-worn
Elvis Costello and Replacements records. But what differentiates
their honest embrace from cheap imitation isn't merely aesthetic.
There's nothing more real or compelling than the conflicts in
human interaction. It's here that the group's three
singer/songwriters are equally descriptive in their must-be-true
stories and sometimes all too-personal jabs traded amongst
themselves. Like previous Mendoza Line releases, precise yet
expansive lyrics are countered by a loosely arranged mixture of
fuzzy guitar pop and twangy back-porch ballads. From Shannon
McArdle's sweet but venomous delivery in 'Something Dark' to the
pedal steel driven 'We're All In This Alone', the juxtaposition of
music and words seems effortless. However unconscious, the Mendoza
Line have made their best record yet. With "Lost In Revelry" they
perfectly reflect the frail beauty within human relationships. [GH]
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SUN CITY GIRLS "High Asia/Lo Pacific" (Abduction) 2xCD $16.99
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The Sun City Girls return with volumes 9 and 10 of the "Carnival
Folklore Resurrection Series", a double-disc set titled "High
Asia/Lo-Pacific." Much of the series has been haphazardly
compiled, but this volume is nearly filler-free, with otherworldly
sounds spanning both disks. "High Asia" contains studio recordings
from 2000 and 2001, with the SCGs in full ethno-folk oddness mode.
All the typically strange SCG elements are present: the scraped
and plucked strings, skewed horn blasts, warbling nonsensical
vocals, spacious eastern drones, and random percussive rumbles
blended into furious snippets of jagged, surreal folk jams. "Low
Pacific" is a one-track collage, culled from the SCG's Asian field
recordings stockpile, including short-wave radio recordings from
Burma circa 1998. Random bits of short-wave are spliced between
environmental sounds, Dada vocal pieces, and snippets of field-
recorded music, creating cut-up sounds that would make Pierre
Henry proud. This double-disc set provides a fantastic cross
section of nearly every aspect of the SCG's aesthetic, making it
both an essential recording for fans and a valuable introduction
for the uninitiated. [PW]
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VLADISLAV DELAY "Naima Live" (Staubgold) CD $14.99
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Vladislav Delay continues to amaze with his newest full-length on
the German Staubgold label. For "Naima" Delay compiled the best
moments of his live set at the Ars Electronic festival in 2001.
Based on source material culled from his last album "Anima", Delay
proceeded to cut up and destroy it so that it resembles nothing of
the original. He then added vocals courtesy of Antye of Laub
(a.k.a. AGF), that were also spliced and dispersed to create an
incredible sound installation for the entire festival. Once again
Vladislav Delay transforms like a chameleon, recording an album
like no other that he's done before. A beautiful record, and
extremely limited -- just 2000 copies worldwide! [JS]
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GRANDMASTER FLASH "The Official Adventures Of..." (Strut) CD $15.99
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Not exactly the return of Grandmaster Flash, this album is instead
more of a tribute to one of the originators of the DJ/hip-hop
genre. "The Official Adventures Of?" is a series of vintage and
recent turntable mixes (and a few surprising favorite tracks),
spun by Grandmaster Flash, an artist who sounds as fresh and
musical today as he did when he pretty much invented DJ-ing back
in the early 70s. Flash was responsible for getting the party on
its feet before break records and remix 12s were stuffing the
crates. Consequently, this CD is chock full of bits and pieces of
the unexpected, with electro choruses colliding with funk breaks,
disco beats, jazzy grooves, and really anything that could be
spliced together to make the perfect beat. Between the original
turntable mixes (including some truly old-skool moves from the
70s and 80s) Flash has included a few untouched originals that
reflect his diverse tastes: the weird progressive soul of Babe
Ruth's 'The Mexican', Kraftwerk's 'Trans Europe Express' and
Yellow Magic Orchestra's ethno-electro 'Computer Games'.  With the
added bonus of a comprehensive 30-page booklet of history and
background on the rise of this American legend, the compilation is
a must for longtime fans, current turntable obsessives, and anyone
who hopes to get the party started this weekend. Lots of fun. [JM]
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OKKERVIL RIVER "Don't Fall in Love With Everyone You See" (JagJaguwar) CD $12.99
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There is something unmistakably Texan about Okkervil
Rivers "Dont Fall in Love With Everyone You See". Their country-
inflected, densely orchestrated pop swings with a purpose. But
even with the lush production, "Dont Fall In Love" sounds as if
it were recorded on a porch, looking over the wide open Texas
landscape. Utilizing an arsenal of instruments that includes pedal
steel, Wurlitzer, mellotron, banjo, violin, cello and a complete
horn section (not to mention the normal array of guitar, bass and
drums), Okkervil River covers a wide range of territory, from
introspective, dark country musings, to emotive and exuberant pop.
But Okkervil Rivers sound is based on much more than crafty
arrangements. Singer Will Robinson Sheff delivers with an
enthusiasm that recalls Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, belting out
densely lyrical passages that are both earnest and surreal. "Dont
Fall in Love" is a gorgeous and totally captivating debut. [PW]
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TOSCA "Different Tastes of Honey (Remixes)" (G Stone) CD $15.99
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Sort of a new release from Richard Dorfmeisters K&D side-project
Tosca (the group is Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber), this is a full-
length album of  dub versions of a track, 'Honey', that appeared
on their 1999 album "Suzuki". As such, there is really no new
ground broken here, but is that what you want anyway? Tosca is
one of the top producers of a style of smoked-out, sexy, organic
electronica that rely on immaculate production, deep bass, and
just enough snap to the beats to satisfy those on the dance floor
or in horizontal position -- so why mess with a formula that works?
With 13 versions, tweaked by an international crew of artists
(including the Funky LowLives, Faze Action, and Only Child), you
are left with well over an hour of essentially the same, mutating
groove. But again, this music is not about variety, is it? Despite
their jet-set pedigree, Tosca may be the comfort food of
electronica, cooking up a warm and satisfying meal out of pure
honey. And if somehow you are still hungry, the honey-dipped girls
gracing the inside cover will definitely satisfy -- or else make
you lose your appetite completely. [JM]
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VIKTER DUPLAIX "DJ Kicks" (Studio K7) CD $15.99
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This Philly-based engineer/producer is one of the unsung heroes of
the Philadelphia neo-soul movement. Duplaix has been involved in
the recording of seminal albums by the Roots and Jill Scott.  And
he himself has been putting out beautiful, self-produced 12-inch
singles of shuffling, broken-beat house music that DJs have been
raving about for years. This DJ mix album is a brilliant record
documenting the international sound of abstract soul. The sounds
range from the glitchy four-on-the-floor thump of Herbert and Nepa
Allstars to the Batucada rumblings of Mandrake. Throw in a dash of
De La Soul and Spacek, and you have the best DJ mix soul record of
the year so far. If you love 4 Hero or any of the aforementioned
artists you should definitely check this out. [DH]
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THE WAKE "Here Comes Everybody" (LTM) CD $14.99
THE WAKE "Holy Heads" (LTM) CD $14.99
THE WAKE "Assembly" (LTM) CD $14.99
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Glasgow's The Wake were the quintessential Factory records band.
Brilliant, modest, somber, and struggling -- originally overlooked,
and until now, nearly forgotten. James Nice of label LTM is a
completist, and following his long-awaited re-release of The
Wake's Factory debut, "Harmony", we are treated to the rest of
their catalog, filling in the gaps of their Factory career, as
well as the entirety of their Sarah Records releases.
LTM is famous for re-releasing albums with extras, and these are
no exception. "Here Comes Everybody" includes The Wake's second
and last Factory album of the same name, as well as three
singles: 'Talk About the Past', 'Of the Matter', and their final
Factory release 'Something That No-One Else Could Bring'. On 'Here
Comes Everybody', 'Talk About the Past', and 'Of The Matter', you
are treated to the Factory staple: awash in Arp Quadra synth
tones, driving the compositions with bass-lines that form and
direct the melodies. Behind a driving pop beat that teeters on
punk's edge, Caesar's vocals are deep and dark, whispered at
times, and certainly reminiscent of Joy Division's Ian Curtis.
Caesar, in fact, sang 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' with New Order
onstage at the Factory all-stars performance at the Hacienda ---
the similarities were frightening.
'Something That No-One Else Could Bring', their final Factory
endeavor that split them from the label over an artwork dispute
(among other things), displays a different side of the group
altogether. Recorded in 1987, these songs are a perfect example of
what was to come from the group on Sarah. The guitars are
uplifting and dreamy, the synths almost triumphant rather than
moody -- the song 'Pale Spectre' features cheery pop female vocals
complete with vocal harmonization. This release could easily be
filed next to Talulah Gosh or The Wolfhounds.
"Holyheads" comprises their two Sarah Records albums "Make it
Loud" and "Tidal Wave of Hype". The Sarah-era Wake is
significantly more polished, refined, and hey! -- are they
_smiling_ in those pictures? These albums are certainly pop,
certainly C86, and certainly reflective of their Sarah label-
mates. Dance gems like 'Cheer Up Ferdinand' and 'English Rain'
perfectly compliment the bed-sitting twee pop that fills out the
album. It seems the clouds have cleared, and you're at a picnic
with Felt and The Field Mice. You could almost mistake The Wake
for another band on these recordings, and as perfect as they were
on Factory, perhaps it was their labels that forged their sound as
much as they did themselves, for here they represent a group
perfect for Sarah -- irresistible and addictive pop bliss.
"Assembly" contains two live sets, one from the BBC and another
from the Ayr Pavilion in 1983, comprising most of the
band's "Harmony" release. A raw, driving Wake in their infancy --
beautiful. This release also contains the remainder of their Sarah
output, (all the singles) including the moving 'Crush the Flowers'
and a CD-only bonus track, 'Brit-Mix'
With the rediscovery and resurgence in popularity and interest in
post-punk, this group has never sounded more pertinent or
inspiring. There is certainly something here for everyone, as
their catalog is as varied and broad as most people's tastes.
Initially a near secret amidst Factory owner Tony Wilson's no
advertising policy following New Order's success, these albums,
available once again, should not be ignored. [Gibby]
"Here Comes Everybody"
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"Holy Heads"
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"Assembly"
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ELBOW "Asleep in the Back" (V2) CD $12.99
Released in the UK last summer, Elbow's full-length debut "Asleep
In The Back" has finally found a domestic pressing in the United
States. Like a good percentage of the current English crop of
bands, this Manchester quintet's music orbits around a soulful
singer who never lets his band-mates push the tempo above medium.
But that's about as far as the comparison goes. Unlike most groups
of the same ilk -- the kind who finally succumb to a little rock
action by the middle of the record, and if not, you the listener
wish they would have -- Elbow's slow-build dynamics perfectly
support singer Guy Garvey's often hushed vocals. (At points,
Garvey's haunting delivery is very reminiscent of Talk Talk's Mark
Hollis.) Each song is expertly arranged, at times slightly prog
rock-ish, with the band applying a tasteful coat of sonic texture
-- whether it be a subtle organ line, a woodwind countermelody, or
a delay-drenched guitar. And while a little studio polish
certainly gives "Asleep In The Back" the glisten, it's the
authentically emotive singer backed by a creative crew of cohorts
that makes this one of the most engaging and enjoyable debuts to
come out of Britain in a long, long time. [GH]
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ARNOLD DREYBLATT "The Adding Machine" (Cantaloupe) CD $17.99
"A disciple of LaMonte Young and Alvin Lucier, Arnold Dreyblatt
has cultivated a strong underground fan base for his
transcendental and ecstatic music. Among the second generation of
New York minimalist composers, Dreyblatt has developed a unique
and original approach to composition and performance. He has
invented a set of new and original instruments, performance
techniques and a system of tuning. The Orchestra of Excited
Strings is a unique ensemble of strings -- plucked, bowed, and
struck -- composed of instruments designed and built by Dreyblatt
to illuminate the strings' hot overtones."
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MONOLIGHT "Free Music" (Rune Grammofon) CD $15.99
"The second solo album from label founder Rune Kristoffersen is
centered around a series of impulsive improvisations using a very
basic electronic setup often resulting in strange, free-floating
and rhythmic abstractions that occasionally take off in unexpected
directions. There's plenty of melodic playfulness in these synth-
improvisations. It's minimalistic, dynamic and unpretentious but
definitely more complex then the first meeting suggests."
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CURRENT 93 "Live At Bar Maldoror" (Durtro) CD $17.99
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Prior to the 'Apocalyptic-Folk' that David Tibet would become
known for, there was first a much darker phase that grew out of
his involvement with 23 Skidoo and Psychic TV. Surging with an
unrestrained savagery and menace that possesses a remarkable --
half vision, half nightmare -- hallucinatory reality, "Live At Bar
Maldoror" is one of the many tributes to Lautreamont (Isidore
Ducasse) that dominated much of the early recorded work of Current
93. With the assistance of John Murphy (SPK), John Balance (Coil),
Steven Stapleton and John Fothergill (Nurse With Wound), 'Alone
Into The Alone' and 'Only Shadows Of Hooks' explore a slower
moving -- almost ambient -- sense of darkness by re-working the
same source material of electronic textures and chanting drone
tape-loops used on the first two C93 albums "Nature Unveiled"
and "Dogs Blood Rising". This newly remastered version, like
previous re-pressings, contains the bonus tracks 'Christ's First
Howling' and 'Fields Of Rape' (which originally appeared on
the "From Torture To Conscience" compilation LP), both of which
are early (headphones required) collaborative works between Tibet
and Stapleton. If you're like me, in need of a replacement for a
1990-edition CD that has crapped out from disc-rot, here it is! I
am so glad Durtro chose to clean up this one. It sounds even
darker than I had remembered -- from subtle, to eerie, to evil!
[AG]
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BORNEO AND SPORENBERG "Remember Today" (Italic) CD $15.99
Minimal, uber-pop-disco for your dancefloor from the solid Italic
record label (you may have heard of labelmates Antonelli Electric
or Soda). This could be considered either "new electro-disco
that's more sophisticated" or "Germany's (minimal) answer to Daft
Punk as if Daft Punk didn't exist." "Remember Today" is another
German record that manages to make cheeky, poppy, seemingly
frivolous house with a brain. Substance arrived at sonically and
through reduction. Nice. [SM]
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BERT JANSCH "It Don't Bother Me" (Sanctuary) CD $14.99
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Bert's second album circa 1965 with newly remastered sound and
liner notes -- a great improvement over the previous Transatlantic
reissue. "It Don't Bother Me" is very similar in scope and quality
to his self-titled masterpiece from 1964. It also signaled the
beginning of a long-running collaboration with future Pentangle
member John Renbourn. This is classic low-key British folk ala
John Martyn, Nick Drake, Roy Harper, and Dylan. Highly
recommended. [MK]
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Restocks:

MALARIA "Compiled 1981 to 1984" (Moabit, Germany) CD 14.99
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This is the future of the past! With "80s again" post-punk so
prevalent now, not only should Rapture, Erase Errata, and Life
Without Buildings take notice of Malaria, but also those of you
looking for a taste of something real. This document to the
greatness that was Malaria has been in print for almost 10 years
now, but has been criminally hard to come by in the U.S. They have
been noted by many as a mere footnote to Einsturzende Neubauten,
as the result of one member's involvement. This compilation offers
the pop of 'Kaltes Klares Wasser' (which Chicks On Speed have
covered), the electro of 'You You', the no-wave
of 'Eifersucht/Jealousy', the cabaret of 'Macht/Power', and an
infectiously danceable masterwork in 'Your Turn To Run'. Liliput,
Raincoats, and the Slits come to mind, but please put aside any
irrelevant socio-political rant that tends to plague an all-female
band, and welcome what is Malaria's unique, and sometimes
dissonant sound that can not be ignored, dismissed, or forgotten.
If your collection has recently been swelling with post-punk, make
room for Malaria, every bit as important as those Rough Trade
albums you already have. [AG]
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VARIOUS ARTISTS "Shaolin Soul Episode 1" (Hostile, France) CD  $19.99
VARIOUS ARTISTS "Shaolin Soul Episode 2" (Hostile, France) CD  $19.99
Volume two back in stock! Volume one in stock for the first
time! "Shaolin Soul" is a series dedicated to documenting the
original tracks sampled by The RZA. Full of dark and moody soul,
pulled from 1969-79. Listen for the haunting echoes of the "Ghost
Dog" score, ODB's raunchiness, and classic moments from the Wu-
Tang Clan. More than a collection of breaks, these songs work
together to showcase the influence of crate-digging on hip-hop's
aesthetics. [DG]
"Shaolin Soul Vol. 1"
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"Shaolin Soul Vol. 2"
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This week's contributors: Andrew Giles [AG], Gibby [Gibby],
Daniel Givens [DG], Gerald Hammill [GH], Duane Harriott [DH],
Michael Klausman [MK], Josh Madell [JM], Scott Mou [SM],
Jeremy Sponder [JS], and Phil Waldorf [PW].


The Big Picture:

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