NEW RELEASES
Low
Six Organs of Admittance
Matt Sweeney & Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
Pop Ambient 2005 (various artists)
M83
Magnolia Electric Co
Lemon Jelly
Bruce Langhorne (Hired Hand Soundtrack)
AFX (Analord 12-inches)
Stereo Total
Willie Hightower
Bright Eyes
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings

Sunn O)))
Destroyer
Amon Tobin
Big Business
Pete Rock
Lou Barlow
Skam Cats (various artists)
Field Mice (reissues)
The Raspberries (reissues)
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

BACK IN STOCK
The Go! Team

"California"

"Broadway (So Many People)"

Before you threaten a lawsuit on Sub Pop's newest signing, Low, for infringing on the name of Duluth, Minnesota's longtime masters of the sonic slowburn, be forewarned. This is the same Low, eschewing past and precedence for their seventh full-length, even recording with famed Flaming Lips producer, Dave Fridmann. As the title lays out, Low are all about destroying past and precedence, and even the art and credits run past the margins. But that's nothing compared to the relative velocity or volume attained within by the trio. One might even suspect that singer/guitarist Alan Sparhawk's side project Black-Eyed Snakes has seeped to the fore. Destruction (or as the Hindus might see it, reinvention) runs as a theme throughout, as does an interesting take on the art of making art, or in this case, writing songs about writing songs. "Everybody's Song," "Just Stand Back," "When I Go Deaf," and "Death of a Salesman" all reflect on the act of music-making. Having spent their career turning inward, Low are now extroverted, ready to rock. [RB]

"Words for Two"

"Saint Cloud"

The latest full-length from Ben Chasny's Six Organs Of Admittance, School of the Flower is definitely his most accomplished. This time out he recorded with Chris Corsano, a musician who has made his way around the free jazz circuit. Here Corsano plays the organ, drums and percussion giving Chasny the ability to concentrate on just the singing and guitars. This newfound focus, and the budget for a proper studio and great mastering courtesy of Drag City, has benefited him well. The album sounds amazing, from the free jazz drum intro of the first song to the lone acoustic guitar playing of the last track.

School of the Flower takes cues from many of Chasny's past releases. The title track has elements of "Manifestation" with its fingerpicked guitar repetition, manic percussion and drones. "Words for Two" sounds like something from his more song oriented Compathia album. It is a short piece with Chasny's voice sounding more fragile than ever, and his guitar playing on this track is impeccable. "Thicker Than a Smokey" is a brilliant rendition of an extraordinary song by legendary psych vagabond Gary Higgins (whose album will hopefully be reissued soon). Chasny, a prolific songwriter, has released his best album to date, and the first truly great album of 2005…just take a listen. [JS]

"Only Someone Running"

"Beast for Thee"

I do wonder how a collaboration so palpable took so long to actualize onto record. This is easily one of Bonnie's best works to date (if not THE best) with Sweeney generously providing the resolute, gritty backbone. With songwriting so raw, pure and sincere, this is bluesy country-rock at its finest. From graceful soft-spoken narratives to soaring, righteously dueling guitars and subtle hints of organ, Will Oldham invites you into his world of silvery Americana-inspired poetics and exalted innocence. Gorgeous, highly recommended. [MT]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Pop Ambient 2005
(Kompakt)

"Pop" Gas

"Sunbeams" Peter Grummich

It is year five for the dearly beloved Pop Ambient series, and we are fortunate to receive the gift of glistening jewels to start the year off fully blissed. All the master craftsmen you know and love from the Kompakt ambient clique are here yet again to leave the bass drum behind and bring the warmth: Ulf Lohmann, Markus Guentner, Peter Grummich, Triola, Andrew Thomas, Klimek, DJ Koze, Thomas Fehlmann, The Orb, a classic slice of heaven from Gas, yes GAS (culled from his 2000 masterpiece, Pop), and a simultaneously sweet and haunting offering from the mysterious Popnoname. The types of song structures and movements will be familiar territory for those of you who own one, some, or all of the PopAm series. If that is the case, or if it's your first dabble, you will experience some of the most exquisite, enchanting, and unbelievably LUSH electronic ambient pop soundworlds on this here planet.

Bubbling synth arpeggios, luxurious pink/lavender/baby blue/baby yellow/silver/gold drones, textures, washes, smears, wisps, reverberations, and hums…almost all the tracks are absolutely perfect, infectious, satin pop gems. And, these tracks absolutely shimmer in their epic majesty. The Orb's huge, cinematic opener "Falkenbrück" (Falcon Bridge), and Lohmann's cavernous "Wasted Years" have a soaring-through-a-vast-mountain-range kind of feel, while tracks like Guentner's glowing, slowly shuffling "Innenfeld" (Internal Span), and DJ Koze's "Hummel" (Bumblebee) have a mesmerizing sprawled-out-under-hypnosis effect. One can liken Grummich's "Sunbeams" to being submerged alone in a sea pod exploring the oceans lit from above by countless fractured rays of, well, sunbeams. Fehlmann's nebulous and utterly amazing "With Oil" is like being stuck in the blackest of pitch, then to rise triumphantly into the brightest of skies...twice.

These examples are only a fraction of the riches to be found in this treasure chest filled with sonic gold. This fine collection has been my essential early morn, dusk, AND nightcap listening as of late. Can I possibly say enough great things about Pop Ambient 2005? Probably not. I am fully blissed out. Thoroughly bewitching and highly recommended. [DD]

P.S. It would be nice to have some of the LADIES represent inna pop ambient stylee, wouldn't it? Maybe next time.

$15.99 CD

M83
Before the Dawn Heals Us
(Mute)

"Teen Angst"

"Moon Child"

Since we last heard from French synth-gazers M83, Nicolas Fromageau has departed the ranks leaving Anthony Gonzalez holding the reins. Who knows how much this line-up change actually affected the making of the follow-up to Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts but the third M83 full-length marks a significant evolution. Production value alone, Before the Dawn Heals Us sounds huge.

Gonzalez is also utilizing more live instrumentation now and M83's penchant for elegant sweeping drama has been taken to a new, higher level. It's immediately apparent in the anthemic album opener. Not far from something off of Air's prog-inspired score to The Virgin Suicides, sonically "Moon Child" seems to be recorded for movie theater surround sound -- an accompaniment to some big budgeted, widescreen sci-fi fantasy. Live drums propel this minor key instrumental as soaring vocal harmonies are shrouded in dense layers of strings and buzzing synths.

Like previous M83 albums, this new record is absolutely cinematic, sculpted from a rich orchestration of analog synthesizers, swooshes of Kevin Shields-inspired guitar and many spooky spoken word samples. But Before the Dawn Heals Us is more immediate in its icy melodrama with many songs shifting moods amidst tempo changes and dramatic crescendos. There is also more of a vocal presence throughout with Gonzalez's breathy melodies; even the instrumentals contain more female harmonies.

While M83's eponymous debut as well as Dead Cities were both epic in scope, modest production humanized their grandiose vision. However, Before the Dawn Heals Us is quite possibly how Gonzalez and his former partner Fromageu heard their project from day one. Perhaps shooting for a computer screen-gaze equivalent to Loveless, M83 seems to have landed closer to The Dark Side of the Moon. [GH]

"Dark Don't Hide"

"Don't This Look Like the Dark"

Trials and Errors is Jason Molina's twelfth full-length and the first with his new band Magnolia Electric Co. The group's name was taken from the title of his last Songs Ohia album, a record that was a big departure for Molina. With that release he shed his alt-country sound for something a little bit more rock, a la Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

Magnolia Electric Co is not a Crazy Horse tribute act, but they are so similar to Young's group that it is scary; Trials and Errors is Molina's Live Rust. It is an amazing album that shows a songwriter at the top of his game. Molina's backing band is super talented giving his songs the extra something that I felt Songs Ohia lacked...they can ROCK!

Recorded at a live show in Brussels, Trials and Errors showcases forthcoming songs from Magnolia Electric Co's soon to be released debut, and also features fleshed out versions of some Songs Ohia gems. There is no band around right now that sounds like this, or does southern rock this good. If this album is the teaser for what is to come, then their full-length will floor me. Trials and Errors took me by surprise and totally blew me away. Limited, live, and essential. [JS]

Track 1

Track 8

I guess it was about a year ago that I headed up to Cinema Village (or was it the Quad?) one evening after work to catch the world premiere rerelease of Peter Fonda's 1971 subversive western The Hired Hand. This was his follow up to the monumentally successful Easy Rider, and in an attempt to bring the hysteria around him down a notch Fonda embarked on a much more reflective filmmaking endeavor. His western upends most of the conventions of the genre, with vaguely homoerotic themes, a stately pace, fragmented or anti-climatic violence, and elegiac passages of psychedelic montage that were inspired by his days of hanging out with the experimental filmmakers Bruce Baillie and Bruce Conner.

The movie tanked when it was released, but Fonda seemed unperturbed as he fielded questions after the viewing. Tall and preternaturally tan, he recounted showing the film to his famous western film star father Henry Fonda, who responded deadpan, "That's my kinda western." The Hired Hand really was ahead of its time, and in the year since I first saw it, those psychedelic interludes have been seared in my mind, as has the stunning score by Bruce Langhorne.

The next morning I searched high and low for a copy of the soundtrack only to discover that it didn't even exist on CD or LP. In one of those moments of inspiration that never come to fruition, I convinced myself that I was going to devote myself to getting it released. Thankfully someone with a little more conviction and follow through than I was able to get it out.

Langhorne was a session musician par excellence who appeared on countless folk rock records in the '60s. Bob Dylan has written that Langhorne was the inspiration for "Mr. Tambourine Man," and he figures prominently on Bringing It All Back Home as well as the soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, with which the earlier Hired Hand has a little in common stylistically. During the showing I remember thinking that the music reminded me of a more blissful, psychedelic, and spaced out John Fahey or Sandy Bull; later I came to find out that Langhorne actually borrowed Bull's twin reverb amp to produce all those ringing pastoral overtones.

With a battery of Farfisas, recorders, and ancient Martin guitars, the passages on this disc seem to defy time, suspending the clock on the CD player with each graceful, echoed parsing of a banjo note or dulcimer slide. Langhorne's 23-minute score is a gorgeous accomplishment that is more than able to stand outside the framework of Fonda's film and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to fans of Americana, psychedelia, finger pick guitarists, spaghetti western soundtracks, Bjorn Olsson enthusiasts, or perhaps people just looking to find some music that'll help them slow down and clear their heads a little bit. [MK]

By this point, you've probably already missed out on the 40 quid hardbound leather binder that is to hold all twelve of the latest slabs from British godfather of electronic music, Richard D. James. Highly reclusive, oft-brilliant, maddeningly prolific, and at the same time, maddeningly stingy with his music since peaking with the "Windowlicker" single, the promise of twelve(!) new 12-inches from the man are cause for celebration. While his two previous remixes were too dense and punishing (not to mention spotty), these harken back to his earliest work in electronic music, emphasizing all his weird homemade components and old synths.

Fat squiggles of analog blips and wobbling melodies squeeze across bumblebee-buzzing bass and hyperactive 808s, all of it jumping about like a game of Q*bert. At certain moments, James flashes his wit and humor, and it's reassuring to see that he retains the highest metabolism in the game, frantically changing speeds and patterns on you. An excellent start to a series that will no doubt reveal where the maestro's really at. [RB]

$13.99 CD

"I Am Naked"

"Cannibale"

Do the Bambi is a generous offering of 19 tracks that show multilingual pop collagists Stereo Total doing what they always do: have fun while we watch (listen). The thing is at this point, with all the bad versions of what they do out there, it's hard for the ones who do it right to stand out. As a result about five of the 19 songs only rate as 'average' Stereo Total tracks. But come on, that still leaves a sizable album of 14 tracks so cut 'em some slack. And of course, 'average' for them is above average for most of the artists out there who are considered their peers.

The general feel is Casiobeat go-go beach/garage pop done in a very clever yet nonchalant, typical S.T. style with the odd rager sandwiched in between. I have to say, amongst the OK songs lie jewels like "I Am Naked," "Cannibale"(dizzying in its gritty catchiness), "La Douce Humanite", "Europa Neurotisch", "Troglodyten" (which hits you the way only Stereo Total know how), and "Do the Bambi" (here at the shop, J loves to say the title as much as possible)...the list goes on. While some tracks could have been edited out at the cutting board, we still have a solid jam from the god-uncle/aunt duo of postmodern electronic kitsch pop. Nice one. Ooh la-la. [SM]

WILLIE HIGHTOWER
Willie Hightower
(Honest Jons)

"You Used Me"

"Because I Love You"

Honest Jons brings the third installment in their unbeatable series of southern soul reissues. First there was Candi Staton, then Bettye Swann, and now Willie Hightower. This CD is every bit as great as the first two... if not better? I realize that's probably hard to believe if you already love the other two discs, but Willie Hightower is really quite amazing. After listening to the recent Baby Huey reissue over and over again, I was ready to hear another powerful male vocalist and Willie hit the spot in a serious way. His voice sounds as tough as Sam Cooke and as sweet as Otis Redding.

This compilation is split just about evenly between tracks recorded with Rick Hall at Muscle Shoals and Bobby Robinson in New York City in the late 1960s. Willie performs seven original songs and covers "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," "If I Had a Hammer," and others, all with wonderful arrangements, tremendous energy, and a subtle infusion of political content. Now in his mid-'60s, Willie continues to sing professionally in Alabama and regularly performs all of these fantastic old songs (tour, please?). It's hard to believe how many amazing soul reissues continue to pop up all the time. I for one couldn't be more satisfied. [RH]

BRIGHT EYES
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
(Saddle Creek)

"Old Soul Song"

BRIGHT EYES
Digital Ash in a Digital Urn
(Saddle Creek)

"Arc of Time"

Two new Bright Eyes albums simultaneously released yet stylistically very different from each other. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning displays a refreshing, country-inspired side of Conor Oberst. A modest performer (so what if his fingers miss a guitar string), here his strength as a singer-songwriter reminds us of the forte that he has been polishing since a young teenager: writing simple yet intriguing acoustic songs. Some of the tracks are stripped down to just Oberst and a guitar, while others are a bit more complex (like the upbeat rocker "Another Travelin' Song") and include guest performers; Emmylou Harris lends her heart-breaking voice to a few of the songs. Oberst pays homage to his influences of the past, yet still remains somewhat modern -- one of the lyrics mentions a cell phone -- so he can voice his current political concerns. Finally, Oberst lets his erstwhile persona overcome the bare, acoustic strings in the loudening, climactic finale, "Road to Joy." Bright Eyes is certainly stepping in the right direction!

Two minutes into my first play of Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, I literally opened my CD loader to make sure I was listening to the right album. Then suddenly, Oberst's unmistakable wavering voice sounded and it could not have been anything other than a Bright Eyes album. While I'm Wide Awake renders Oberst treading more familiar acoustic grounds, Digital Ash shows him testing almost entirely new waters: electronic-indie-pop that at times is a bit coolly ambient and gaze-y. I might have considered it a true experiment if it wasn't vaguely reminiscent of his Desaparecidos project. Jimmy Tamborello handled some of the programming, which is why a few of the tracks are Postal Service-esque. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner plays guitar and keyboards on half the tracks and gives the album a bit of a rock edge. Enjoyable, fun, and certainly danceable. [CP]

"How Do You Let a Good Man Down?"

"How Long Do I Have to Wait for You?"

If you are a fan of classic funk and Motown and flip for the legendary women of soul music like Lyn Collins and Aretha, or have been gobbling up stellar reissues of more obscure gems by Bettye Swann or the like, then you owe yourself a copy of Sharon Jones' new one. She is the real deal, a strong, charismatic vocalist, with great material and the incomparable Dap-Kings backing her up. This music is so authentic, so sincere and expertly done, it's not a tribute or homage, this is real, honest, brilliant soul music, recorded today, but with timeless appeal. Check it out. And if you can, see them live, you will dance the night away...[JM]

"Grimm & Bear It"

Earth worshipping (synonymously) began around 1998 through a haze of green swirling out of an existential black hole, envisaged by guitarists Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson. Specializing in brown studies, ruminations, and trance-reveries conducted via low-end experimentations, supernatural feedback, and unearthly bassisms, Sunn O))) are summoning earth Hessians, wizards, and the virgin listener alike. Doom Ambience in the spirit of Earth (there is even a song tribute to Dylan) paired with an almost eight-page booklet of the strangest, vilest notions towards nihilistic angst I've seen since the back of my 8th grade notebook. Food consumption is not recommended prior to experience. Side effects may include inclinations towards bowel removal and chest cavings. [MT]

"Notorious Lightning"

Last year, Dan Bejar released Your Blues, certainly the most ambitious album to come from his Destroyer guise. Bejar, who is also an on-again/off-again member of Canadian supergroup the New Pornographers, replaced the rock band instrumentation of his past few records with mostly MIDI synth orchestration and guitar, the result being a challenging yet breathtaking record. For the Destroyer tour that followed, Bejar was joined by fellow British Columbians Frog Eyes, who not only shared the bill but also acted as his backing band for the string of dates. Needless to say, in the art rock hands of Frog Eyes, the live versions of the tracks from Your Blues would receive dramatic and electrifying revisions.

Consequently, Notorious Lightning and Other Works was recorded during a weekend-long studio session with Bejar and Frog Eyes, who are listed in the liner notes as The Destroyer Players. Six songs from Your Blues are reshaped, replacing most of the synthetic instrumentation with guitar-heavy backing and raw production. Supporting Bejar's David Bowie meets Tom Verlaine vocals, Frog Eyes' carnival-on-acid accompaniment is tamer than usual but the teaming is near magical. Bejar seems to be possessed with a new energy; his singing is urgent and filled with more emotional punch than ever. Though better known as Frog Eye's elastic voiced howler, here Carey Mercer's electric guitar playing is almost as expressive as Bejar's vocals.

Notorious Lightning and Other Works is by no means an attempt for Bejar to rethink or apologize for the unorthodox arrangements and production of Your Blues. But if anyone needed further proof of his songwriting talent, the fact that these six tracks can take on new life without losing their essence speaks volumes. [GH]

"The Lighthouse"

"El Cargo"

Amon Tobin was recently commissioned to create the music for a new video game, and his latest album Chaos Theory is the result. Tobin pushes this one straight into leftfield darkness as he sculpts, muddles and remuddles almost entirely acoustic sound sources. On "Ruthless," agitated strings create a dark omnipresence while hollow drum breaks push forward only to be pulled back again; you don't know what the hell is coming next. The result is frightening and full of mayhem; it could be the perfect score to your latest bloodbath indie film.

Not all the album contains his ballistic sense of rhythm, but it does retain a heavy paranoid feeling throughout. At times, Chaos Theory is very cinematic, with brooding orchestration and twisted sonic embellishments that modulate in between anticipation and tension.

There is also some good instrumental hip-hop that harkens back to Ninja Tune's glory days. In "El Cargo," a spinning guitar line comes in and out while a neck snapping breakbeat chugs along; haunted vocals levitate just above the surface.

The whole album has Amon Tobin's stamp on it: rich, detail oriented productions that move fluidly from rapid-fire drum 'n' bass, spooky atmospherics, and tuff sci-fi b-boy bizness. It's the audio sensation of not knowing what is up or down, back or forth. Be forewarned, this one is not for the faint of heart. [GA]

BIG BUSINESS
Head for the Shallow
(Hydra Head)

"O.G."

"Technically Electrified"

These guys do mean it: Big Amps, Big Sounds, a Big Presence... just no more big hair. Jarred Warren from Karp is back, louder and more rambunctious than ever. Armed with a bass and paired with virile drummer Coady (Murder City Devils, Dead Low Tide), these dudes are taking their already legendary fascination with Melvins and Sabbath, and amplifying it through an absurd amount of Sunn heads and that wicked, bold and brash temperament. Though retaining a subtle, cynical bite, Big Business stray further from the comic-like premise Karp built upon into a doctrine of iron-fisted hell-raising. This is straight up, balls-out, unruly rock and roll that is thick and swirling with everything LOUD and HEAVY, with a sound that's a bit more smoked out, a style that sometimes conjures a southern wrangler, and a tone that delicately reminisces the death of late friend Scott Jernigan (Karp, the Whip). CD does not include earplugs. [MT]

"Hop, Skip & Jump"

"U Are What U Are"

B-Boy icon and super producer Pete Rock is back with 15 more shining instrumental tracks. From super soulful cuts like the opener, "You Remind Me," and the stripped down re-edit of Al Green's "You Ought to Be With Me," to tracks with sparse snare drums and punchy key stabs, there is a good variety of solid hip-hop. And though Rock comes from the golden age, he's not trapped in time; The Surviving Elements sounds fresh without needing the glitz and glamour which so many current producers plague us with. From start to finish, it's all pretty laidback, the kind of music you'd chill out to on a Saturday afternoon. With crisp production and a deep head nodding vibe, The Surviving Elements is excellent for people who love hip-hop but don't always want to hear a rapper. For headz and lovers alike. [GA]

LOU BARLOW
Emoh
(Merge)

"Puzzle"

"Mary"

Barlow is back, and I'm pretty glad to see him. Lou Barlow was really one of the leading figures in this thing called indie rock. He played bass in the most essential early incarnation of Dinosaur before angrily and publicly splitting with J. Mascis and turning his 4-track side project Sebadoh into one of the more influential bands of the era. Barlow's skilled home taping aesthetic and biting, heartfelt, and sometimes hilarious lyrics were hugely important to bands like Smog and Pavement. Beck pretty much stole his whole concept with the hit "Loser" and even LCD Soundsystem's recent "Losing My Edge" is thematically a remake of Sebadoh's love/hate hipster lament, "Gimme Indie Rock!" Add to this "Natural One," the surprise hit he had with his side project the Folk Implosion, Barlow seemed like the little indie rocker who could.

Anyway, he never totally disappeared but all his groups sorta petered out and disbanded. You had to wonder if indie fame added up to a hill of beans in the end, until a sold-out Sebadoh reunion tour last year raised a few eyebrows. Now Barlow has delivered a quiet and beautiful solo album on Merge Records. As the market is flooded with young singer-songwriters these days, it's truly refreshing to hear a seasoned professional deliver the goods. At its core, this is a sincere folk-pop album reminiscent of more sober, later-day Sebadoh, but stripped down to Barlow's melancholy songwriting, acoustic guitar, subtle string orchestration and voice. The topics still tend to focus on heartbreak and love, although now the subjects are more than likely to evoke rocky marriage rather than a high school crush. The appeal is broader than ever.

Barlow hasn't completely abandoned his early, silly homemade ideas. Seemingly scrawled album art, a goofy title, found-sound snippets added to a few intros, and a cover of Ratt's "Round 'n' Round" show us that he is still the ironic anti-star. But these trifles can't distract from the fact that Barlow is back with a solid, heartfelt album that should be a welcome return for longtime fans and also a great introduction for all those young appreciators of singer-songwriters both old and new. [JM]

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Skam Cats
(Skam)

"New Purrspective" Greenkingdom

"Help" Rivas Gonzalez

Harkening back to the days of the IDM concept album (remember Lucky Kitchen's Songs for Imaginary Video Games…ah, the good ol' days), Skam has dropped a 2-CD set of tracks by almost all IDM-New Kids on the Block (heretofore relatively unknown artists except Mira Calix, who realizes the concept to a "T"). The first 300 come with ultra-velour, plushy, strokeable, silver-gray carrying bags that feel just like a fuzzy feline. The damn thing even sheds like one.

I guess everyone involved was asked to make tracks involving or relating to the sounds cats make. And since most are new artists, the compilation also serves as a calling card to introduce all the new Skam talent to the world. Each artist introduces him/herself in the booklet complete with links and websites.

The album is divided into two CDs, one labeled Rest and the other Play. One is more experimental ambient, while the other one is more beat-oriented; I'll let you guess which is which. But both CDs are chock full of digital bass, breaks (where applicable), distortion, squeals, hiss, glitches and washes in typical Skam fashion -- all the sounds found deep within the depths of a laptop. Imagine a freewheeling version of the Skam Smak tracks without the emphasis on electro. Skam-style breakbeats dominate here with the occasional drum 'n' bass(!) track coming straight outta nowhere. One for the headz. [SM]

THE FIELD MICE
Snowball
(LTM)

"Sensitive"

THE FIELD MICE
Skywriting Singles
(LTM)

"It Isn't Forever"

THE FIELD MICE
For Keeps
(LTM)

"Coach Station Reunion"

It's been about 15 years since I first heard the Field Mice in the bedroom of a friend's house. I can't explain exactly why I liked them so much; maybe it was the simple guitar or the distant, heartfelt vocals. I quickly started snapping up every release I could find, and soon after, every release on Sarah Records too. Well, with these long overdue reissues I guess I can't make a mint auctioning them off on eBay anymore, which is just fine with me.

Snowball collects the first three 7-inches ("Emma's House," "Sensitive," and their single on Caff), as well as the "Snowball" 10-inch, all released in '88 and '89. While a little sparse and shambling at times, these songs are probably their poppiest.

Skywriting contains the Skywriting LP, the "So Said Kay" 10-inch, and "The Autumn Store Pts. 1 & 2" (both 7-inches), plus four outtakes, and a compilation track, all from 1990. At this time, the band seemed to be exploring more drawn out and dancier territory, not unlike New Order, or the Wake who were also a Sarah band at the time.

To me, the final disc, For Keeps, is the Field Mice's finest moment. This disc compiles their final album along with the "Missing the Moon" 12-inch and the "September's Not So Far Away" 7-inch, all from 1991. For Keeps features the most varied songwriting along with a control of dynamics that they were developing before their break-up. The addition of more musicians and female vocals certainly helped out.

Soon afterwards, the Field Mice split and Northern Picture Library formed; the Trembling Blue Stars followed not long after. But to me, the innocence and pure pop perfection was never regained. [RS]

"Go All the Way"

"I Saw the Light"

We've touted so many lost albums, commercial failures, and obscurities in the Other Music Update, it's about time we recommended something that was genuinely popular at the time of its release. "Go All The Way," the second single from the Raspberries (and the opening track on their eponymous debut album), rapidly shot near the top of the charts upon its release in 1972 and sold close to a million-and-a-half copies. You can still hear the song every once in a while on classic rock radio, or late at night during infomercials for "Best of the 1970s" box sets. Unfortunately, other than that song and 1974's "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)," the group's output has been almost completely forgotten by the general public. The last time their albums were reissued on CD was almost a decade ago, so the resurfacing of their first two full-lengths (to be followed closely by their final two) seems worthy of at least a little attention.

Raspberries and Fresh are two of the landmark albums of the power pop genre, along with Big Star's #1 Record and Radio City, but the Raspberries didn't have the dark streak that Big Star did. They wrote incredibly catchy songs, heavily influenced by the Beach Boys and the Beatles, but with a more biting guitar-driven rock sound than either of them. Todd Rundgren was recording his incredible Something/Anything? album right down the hall when the Raspberries were making their first record, and they sound very much like they came out of the same place and time.

The Raspberries are quite honestly one of my favorite bands of all time. If I were forced to choose only 10 albums to listen to for the rest of my life, one of these two would most definitely be among them. The old CD reissues almost never turn up in our used bin, so now's your chance to pick these up if you missed out on them last time or just never heard about the Raspberries before now. My only question is this: where's the rarities collection that RPM promised the last time they reissued these classics? [RH]

"Worlds Apart"

"The Best"

And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead's Worlds Apart opens with "Ode to Isis," a brief yet intense track that mimics a medieval chorus. While at first this overture seems mammoth, it is an accurate sample -- not in sound, but in theory -- of the rest of the album, their boldest work yet. Fans will find this record a bit more refined than 2002's Source Tags and Codes. Trail of Dead seem more confident on Worlds Apart; they experiment with new sounds, arrangements, and instruments. Keely's voice has also been granted more attention: it is noticeably more separated from the other instruments than in previous albums. Clear and polished he sings lyrics that are both personal and political, including several social commentaries regarding the music industry. The overall result is an eclectic collection of tracks that range from prog-inspired to pop-oriented. [CP]

"The Power Is On"

You'd think these rambunctious British rockers stole the Avalanches' laptop. The Go! Team are imaginative and funky mixing nostalgic samples with live instruments. Very original and strangely familiar, like listening to a '70s kid show soundtrack with a sugar buzz.