NEW RELEASES
DJ Language (Mix CD)
Mr. Toytown Presents Vol. 2
Tralala
Terry Melcher
Safe Travel (Various)
Roisin Murphy
4 Women No Cry (Various)
Brian Eno
Soul Fire (Various)

Thai Beat A Go-Go Vol. 3
Monolake

ALSO AVAILABLE
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
AFX (2 new Analord 12-inches)

BACK IN STOCK
Jaume Sisa
Andy Votel

"Be With" Koushik

Most noted for being one-third of the great, modern soundsystem known as Negroclash, DJ Language offers his first legitimate mix, thanks to BBE. Featuring his unique blend of bubbly, soulful, and thumping grooves, Real Music for Real People effortlessly moves from hip-hop (Nas and Pete Rock), to trippy soul (Koushik, Spacek), hip-hop-soul hybrids (Foreign Exchange, Platinum Pied Pipers), broken beat (Bugz in the Attic), and, of course, the classics (Roy Ayers, Patrice Rushen). Language has an engaging yet hands-off approach to the art of blending. Mixing across genres, finding the connection between urban beats, and skillfully matching the rhythms, each selection pushes the party a little further. What makes a good DJ? Real Music for Real People shows you exactly what's needed: A crate full of tasty tunes, and the skill to put them together in a cohesive AND enjoyable way. Perfect for your next gathering, outing, ride, photo shoot, and, heaven forbid, runway walk. [DG]

"Le Compagnon de Voyage" Francois Wertheimer

"Eyes Blue Eyes" Light Reflections

The second installment in this series is yet another delectable blend of euro-curiosities, as Mr. Toytown runs the psychedelic gamut from bubblegum/mod-psych, via library exploitation, to the heavy stuff. The most remarkable oddity, and maybe the best, is "My Mind" by…Chubby Checker. Yep, Chubby moved to Holland in the early-'70s, where he cut this raging monster that reeks of Hendrix and coffee shop corruption. Perhaps hammering the point home a little too well, the flipside of the 45 (sadly not included here) is titled "Stoned in the Bathroom." Another noteworthy standout is Francois Wertheimer's "Le Compagnon de Voyage," which gives Jean-Claude Vannier a drug-addled run for his money. Full of weird effects and overblown fuzz, the record is one of the scarcest 45s on everyone's favorite collectable French label, BYG. And as if the song itself isn't bizarre enough, the sleeve depicts two naked hippies…and one of them has the face of Adolf Hitler!

In the same vein as compilation series such as Fading Yellow and the classic Circus Days, the Toytown comps are more varied and perhaps the hardest-hitting. Pick up volume 1, Obscure Psychedelic Popsyke, while you can. Now, who ate all the purple pills? [AK]

"All Fired Up"

"No/Yeah"

After debuting in grand style last year with a double-dose of Arthur Russell (the World of Echo reissue and Calling Out of Context), Audika Records releases the first album by Tralala, once known in these parts as Tight Fit. Our New York customers will no doubt recognize three of the faces pictured in the CD sleeve fold-out--former Other Music staffers Nicole Lang and Liane Moccia, as well as OM mainstay Josh Madell make up three-sevenths of the band. But unlike Animal Collective, Jane or Excepter--all groups that feature either current or past Other Music employees--there's nothing surreal, abstract or avant about Tralala. In fact, you won't find a better pop record to sing along to during your weekend outings to the beach.

Featuring four girl vocalists who are backed by three guy instrumentalists, there's no greater descriptor for Tralala's music than "rock 'n' roll." Amidst a buzz of power chords, handclaps, and unison singing with lots of doo-doos and feel good lyrics like "Boys and girls are all fired up/whole world's shaking, breaking/baby we're all fired up," the eponymous debut from this sexy septet plays like the Shangri-Las leading a punk rock pep rally on the last day of school.

During the course of a dozen tracks--most coming in at under three minutes--there are lots of crushes, a couple of broken hearts, and even when the girl gets the boy the rating hovers at PG. Tracks like "The Girls Say," "Little Side of Town," and the aforementioned "All Fired Up" are stickier than Annie's "Chewing Gum," and obviously a lot more primal. When Lang steps up to the lead mic and unleashes her killer vocal chops on the tom-tom driven rave-up "No/Yeah," it's enough to make Ike and Tina smile. Also included is a cover of the Jesus and Mary Chain's "Never Understand," a live show favorite in which Tralala chase away all the gloomy English rain and turn the song into a surfy punk anthem, complete with their sassy girl harmonies. Put Tralala next to your Raveonettes albums in the CD changer, and let your summer begin! [GH]

"4th Time Around"

"Just a Season"

After playing in the surf duo Bruce & Terry, producing the Byrds' Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! albums, and playing tambourine on parts of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Terry Melcher released this haunting and delightfully extravagant mid -'70s country-rock epic. Backed by a band that included Hal Blaine, Chris Hillman, and Ry Cooder, Terry belted out classics like "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms," Jackson Browne's "These Days" (a duet with his mom Doris Day!), and Dylan's "4th Time Around," "Positively 4th Street," and "Like A Rolling Stone." He also wrote a couple of his own songs, which should most definitely be lifted if anyone ever decides to produce a Broadway musical about the LA country-rock scene. Melcher had been through some extremely rough times in the years leading up to this record, which one critic described at the time as "a disturbing, difficult album that reverberates like a cosmic sigh." The singer's unbelievably tragic story is laid out in the lines notes... suffice to say it involves Charles Manson. A couple of us have been waiting most of the year for this one to come in. It's not for everyone, but I'm sure it will turn at least a few of our customers into hardcore fans. Love it or hate it, it's a fascinating piece of musical history and a fitting tribute to a true legend who passed away a couple of years back. [RH]

"The One I Love" Ken Boothe

"Black Man's Country" Horace 'Andy' Hinds

The newest compilation from UK-based Pressure Sounds is essentially the soul of rock steady, featuring 23 of the rarest singles from producer and vocalist, Phil Pratt. In the timeline of Jamaican music, rock steady follows ska and predates reggae's birth. This was the era when musicians and vocalists from the Isle fully embraced American soul of the time (mid-to-late-'60s). Many of the artists had left Studio One, due to unfair treatment from Coxsone Dodd, and found temporary home on labels like Caltone and John Tom. Originating in West Kingston, this new form of music spread across the small island and soon became a favorite in the resorts and upper class sections, as well as on the Jamaican charts. With great vocalists, sexier tempos, and smooth, yearning melodies, it's easy to understand why. Where ska had been a frantic assault of sound and groove, rock steady introduced the tight, soulful fusion of bass and drums, and would go on to establish the sound of Jamaica worldwide.

Safe Travel focuses mainly on the output of the Caltone and John Tom labels. The tracks were all produced by Pratt and arranged by guitarist Lynn Taitt--Taitt and his band the Jets, as well as saxophonist Tommy McCook and his group the Supersonics laid the solid music foundations. Vocalists like Ken Boothe, Larry Marshall, a young Horace Andy (his first ever recording is included), and Pratt himself make warm, soulful appearances. Also included are more than a handful of instrumentals led by Taitt, McCook, pianist Gladstone Anderson and organist Winston Wright. This was an exciting time in Jamaican music, before the mood, lyrics and rhythms of Bob Marley's work with Lee Perry would take over and introduce the next wave--not unlike the places they would go, but more mainstream in lyrical content (i.e. love/relationship songs) and more in line with the vocal styles of rhythm and blues. It's all good, just sit back, listen, and rock steady. [DG]

"Night of the Dancing Flame"

"Sow into You"

Giving it a go in the solo world, former Moloko vocalist Roisin Murphy had the good sense to enlist producer extraordinaire Matthew Herbert to handle production duties for this album. With Ruby Blue, Murphy gives us 12 sunny tracks of jazzy dance and mid-tempo house grooves. A very particular voice that's nimble and agile, she effortlessly moves from slow, seductive crooning to uplifting crescendos of layered vocals, while Herbert orchestrates the cosmopolitan, electronic jazz soundtrack. Utilizing horns, strings, flutes and a Rhodes piano, Herbert meticulously cuts, dices and reedits the sources--horn stabs and drum fills are isolated while saxophone and flugel horn swell to the fore. An album for both a dinner party and a dancefloor, fans of Feist, Goldfrapp, Matthew Herbert's Big Band and, of course, Moloko will want to check out Ruby Blue. [GA]

"Kursaa" Tusia Beridze

"Boa" Eglantine Gouzy

4 Women No Cry is a compilation that includes the songs of four international electronic songstresses from Buenos Aires, Tbilisi (Georgia), Paris and Vienna respectively. In typical Monika label fashion, these songs (a hearty four to six tracks per artist) display an affinity to Gudrun Gut's quote included in the liner notes, "Enough of all these tears, let's tear up preconceptions instead!" The overall mood is definitely gentle, with a dreamy, reminiscing vibe. Each artist utilizes quiet electronics accented with vocals, spoken or gently sung, and sometimes without vocals at all. It's interesting to see how all involved approach the same type of songs with their own regional touches. The mood is similar to the unconventional electronic pop of Barbara Morgenstern, or Bjork, or Colleen, or Doreen Muraille, or Tujiko Noriko, or...you get the idea. All involved seem to be all about producing their own tracks for the added level of intimacy, which this compilation has a lot of. The songs all share a minimal neo-pop song style sprinkled with fairy dust that would be at home in a dimly lit lounge or in your apartment on a rainy day. [SM]

"This"

"Just Another Day"

Although he is perhaps best known for his more abstract work (the guy actually INVENTED ambient music, for pete's sake), Brian Eno's 1970s era pop albums have had a huge and lasting impact on rock music, and those classic albums are as relevant and influential today as ever (LCD Soundsystem anyone?). Another Day On Earth is Eno's first solo effort in the pop vein in some time, but the record covers much familiar territory: warm, yet detached vocals, meticulously layered production, and a haunting blend of the electronic and the analog. Save the opening cut, this is a relentlessly laidback album, with warm washes of sound and slow-moving grooves often taking the place of actual beats, and vocals drifting in and out of the circular song-forms with a druggy nonchalance. In the end, this is not one for the record books, but it is a solid album throughout, with a few standout tracks, and there should be plenty for the fans to enjoy. [JM]

"Problems" Lee Fields

"Everglades" JD & the Evil's Dynamite Band

What do you get when you combine a love of classic soul music, young and inspired musicians, 24-hour recording sessions, and a 4-track recorder? Answer: The best sounding new soul around. Yes, the guys over at Soul Fire Records are a clever bunch; after all, this is the same quality crew that introduced us to the excellent music of Sharon Jones. Here, we get an endless configuration of bands playing soul, Latin, Afro-beat, and psychedelic rock. The 34 tracks on this two-CD collection are culled from recordings made over the past four years, including a bunch of unreleased material. Most of the songs are instrumentals with a few nice vocal tracks scattered throughout. Since Soul Fire mainly deals with vinyl--usually released in the 7-inch single format--the energy is direct and the playing is tight. While it's a respectful continuation of the music made by the soul and funk greats of yesteryear, these new artists are far from simply aping already established grooves and melodies. This compilation flips the script and turns what's new into something old and classic; you'll think you walked into a time machine. One of the funkiest and hardest hitting soul labels around today. Wondering what happen to the soul? It's still burning! [DG]

"Thai Boxing" Jiraphand Ong-Ard

"Flash Disco" Panatda

While the previous two volumes of Subliminal Sounds' Thai Beat A Go-Go series focused on ultra-rare tracks of exotic '60s-era rock 'n' roll and female vocalists respectively, the third and final installment is definitely the funkiest of the bunch. During the late-'60s, Bangkok had a vibrant music scene made up of a slew of local bands. Inspired by Western music, thanks to an influx of American GIs in the region, the sound emanating from the nightclubs and hotel bars was a curious blend of American/British pop and more traditional, Southeast Asian music. Unfortunately, recordings from this era are very scarce (including the tracks on this comp) and most of the artists have been long forgotten.

Subliminal Sounds has saved the best for last. Most of the songs here display a serious influence of American funk, with in-the-pocket grooves and lots of Moog, wah-wah guitar and stacked horns mingling amidst traditional stringed instruments and instrumental passages. Tracks like Jiraphand Ong-Ard's "Thai Boxing," "Khon Muangkhan" by Erawan Band and Oriental Funk's "Come Together" feature passages overlaying Eastern music scales over Western rhythms and melody. But it's still a pretty diverse and often surreal offering of music. Vimarn Naeramit's "Heoow Sabat" is apparently a children's song, but with its strange Zappa-esque backing, to these ears it sounds like listening to the Muppets on acid. You'll also hear shout-outs to Muhammad Ali, as well as recognizable music breaks by Carlos Santana and classic American disco being reinterpreted by these inspired Thai musicians. [GH]

"Invisible"

"Carbon"

Monolake are back with another album and this time they've traded some of their trademark deep, moody dubbiness with a slick, shiny, kinda-dubbiness. Though it functions as dance music, I can't keep from imagining some of it as a video game soundtrack. (Check out the slightly stuttering, relatively unchanging break in "CCTV.") The hollow metal bass is still there, so are the icy snare hits, as well as the nicely panning clicky sounds, but within the first five songs the tracks stand above ground, bringing to mind images of robot landcrawlers making their way over a future-urban landscape. Even on "Invisible," one of the best cuts on the album, a female flight conductor voice echoes over the intercom, making my ears perk up to pick out the information necessary to get through the next level! Track seven, "Carbon," is where the new sound balance/palette fully pays off. Hi-fi snaps trade blows with a nice cement-scraping sound; it's funky and focused. "Plumbicon" also has a spidery, robotic clunkiness, but its bobbing funk gives it momentum. [SM]

"The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth"

No longer a best-kept-secret, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have become Brooklyn's favorite sons in a little over a year, setting Internet blogs and e-zines on fire, all the while unpretentiously just doing what they do. The Talking Heads/David Byrne comparisons are inevitable (especially in the vocals), only these newcomers aren't on some new wave revival trip. Both direct and quirky in their music, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are breathing fresh, new life into indie rock.

With volumes 9 and 11, Mr. Richard D. James is about to reach the home stretch in the Analord series. As for the missing number 10, it is no great mystery. Aphex/Rephlex diehards will remember it as the ridiculously expensive mailorder-only 12" that came with a binder for the subsequent releases in the series. As the saying goes, "Evil businessmen make the best techno".

"Retorn al Vans"

"Le Clau del Foc"

The territory of Catalonia and its Catalan language have existed within what is now modern day Spain since the Middle Ages. Catalanonia has seen periods of both autonomy and Spanish domination throughout its history, with the most recent suppression of its traditions and inhabitants beginning during the Spanish civil war of the thirties. A Catalan protest movement began developing in the 1950s that sought to reclaim its suppressed heritage; released in 1970, Jaume Sisa's Orgia is a part of that continuum. Like the Tropicalistas in Brazil, Catalan musicians seem to have absorbed mid-to-late sixties popular musical trends in England and America and adapted them towards their own radical agenda, with the results being an almost entirely new musical form. Sisa was one of the main movers in Musica Dispersa, and his album Orgia was recorded with many of the same musicians who contributed to the MD record.. The songs here are a bit tighter, with a more humorous and whimsical vibe overall. There are still plenty of delightfully experimental and moving moments though, not least of which is when his group is rocking out to a typewriter playing in perfect time. Sure to appeal to fans of psych, folk, tropicalia, etc. [MK]

This is the man who presented us with the Vertigo Mixed CD and Folk Is Not A Four Letter Word compilation, in addition to the spectacular reissues from Jean-Claude Vannier and Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki on his Finders Keepers label. All of those forays are pretty obvious indicators of this dude's sharp-edged tastes and his knack for obscuro crate wonders. I personally champion Votel as a kind of connoisseur-ace-charlatan, a self-warranted geek-purveyor in the realms of weird and adventurous psych, acid rock and funky-rock, and as someone who unbiasedly enjoys music and just simply gets it--with an edged, radically indulgent meditation on diverse sequencing and multivalent methodology in referential weaving in order to create a culture-genre-f**k of deliciously ill tunes. Groovy and danceable, too. Did I mention that Votel also excels at deck shredding?? His blends and mixes are absolutely seamless, a continuous head-swimming jam of beats and bassisms, with the b-boy in mind. And undoubtedly, Votel concocts and constructs from a hip-hop context and mentality, even down to the endearing spoken word snippets that occasionally lace the sonic swirl. Prepare to experience a heady-yet-FUN hallucinogenic party of sounds from the Eastern Bloc, to Kraut grooves, fervid-hairy-funk-rock, cosmic soul, bubbly pop, percolating Indian funk, wildly acidic axe licks, pervy Turkish-psych, soundtracky vibes, jazzy grooves, to any other valid genre that you can fabricate on your own--because it all makes sense here. [MT]

THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS

[GA] Geoff Albores
[DG] Daniel Givens
[GH] Gerald Hammill
[RH] Rob Hatch-Miller
[MK] Michael Klausman
[AK] Andreas Knutsen
[JM] Josh Madell
[SM] Scott Mou
[MT] Mahssa Taghinia



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