The Other Music Update

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	May 10, 2007


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Boredoms Elliott Smith The Clientele (mp3 available) Sea & Cake (mp3 available) Efterklang Bjork Lavender Diamond (mp3 available) Keren Ann Dan Deacon (mp3 available) Som Okay 5 Tarkus Original Silence Mice Parade Music in the World of Islam (3 volumes) Casa Das Maquinas Rumble in the Jungle (various) DJ Jazzy Jeff		Tales from the Australian Underground Maximo Park Claudia ALSO AVAILABLE Feist Arcade Fire (7" single - mp3 available) Mary Timony Band Tarwater (mp3 available) Mystery Jets FEATURED MP3 DOWNLOADS Beirut (download-only single) The Go Find Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir Nazz

May

Sun 06

Mon 07

Tues 08

Wed 09

Thurs 10

Fri 11

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Sat 19

Spank Rock

TICKET GIVEAWAYS FOR SPANK ROCK & DJ ANDY SMITH OF PORTISHEAD AT THE HIGHLINE BALLROOM
Enter to win a pair of tickets to one of these upcoming concerts at the Highline Ballroom! We've got two pairs to give away for each show: DJ ANDY SMITH (of Portishead) this Friday, May 11, and SPANK ROCK with GHOSTFACE next Tuesday, May 15. Send an email to tickets@othermusic.com, and please include your daytime phone number along with the show that you'd like to enter for. We'll notify the four winners on Friday afternoon, May 11. Good luck!

FRIDAY, MAY 11: DJ ANDY SMITH
TUESDAY, MAY 15: SPANK ROCK w/ GHOSTFACE

HIGHLINE BALLROOM
431 W. 16th Street NYC

MAY

Sun 13

Mon 14

Tues 15

Wed 16

Thurs 17

Fri 18

Sat 19

DUNGEN LISTENING PARTY AT K&M
Next Thursday, we'll be featuring DUNGEN's highly-anticipated new album, Tio Bitar (set for release next Tuesday, May 15), at our next listening party at K&M. It all gets underway at 10:00 P.M. when we'll play the record in its entirety, and afterwards, Other Music DJs will take over the decks. There will lots of Kemado Records give-aways plus FREE VODKA GIMLETS (while they last) and BEER SPECIALS all night long!

THURSDAY, MAY 17
10 P.M. to Last Call

K&M BAR:
225 N. 8th Street (Corner of Roebling)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
*NO COVER*


	$29.99 CD		BOREDOMS Super Roots 9 (Shock City) "LIVWE!!" This really great, new Super Roots installment from the Boredoms is a 40-minute, live scored performance, partially inspired by Rhys Chatham's Die Donnergotter (The Thundergods) and Jon Gibson's Cycles, that uses three drum sets, two CD-J's, one turntable and, get this, a 24-member choir. There are plenty of great Super Roots releases but I have to say, this is one of my favorites so far. Celestial and fantastic, number 9 is as much of a remarkable example of human endurance as it is an epic experience. The first five minutes of heralding angel-like voice blasts and cymbal rides is enough to rate this one. It just goes from there, thundering, climbing and blasting with intense positivity, like an army of angels. At times, it's hard to believe that the choir is not sampled and triggered electronically; it's that tight and relentless. The drum trio follows suit with the same precision and endurance -- everyone ate their Wheaties that night. The whole shebang is thrown into a thick jewel case along with a booklet illustrating the entire score in eye-burning color schemes. The photos inside illustrate the balloon-filled Exploding Plastic Inevitable-Acid Test-rave vibe of the show at Laforet. Sure wish I coulda been there. [SM]


	$15.99 CDx2 $16.99 LP		ELLIOTT SMITH New Moon (Kill Rock Stars) "High Times" "Georgia, Georgia" So about two days ago, a friend in Berlin sent me an IM. "What do you think of the new Elliott Smith?" I had to look twice at his message; I had no idea what he was talking about. It has to be admitted, after From a Basement on the Hill, I had slowly let all of Smith's music quietly retreat to the not-so-often reached for shelf, only on occasion looking for the first few albums, almost embarrassed that those once-cherished songs were no longer so cherished. So I picked up a copy to review and found out what exactly it was, and was overjoyed. For folks who once and still hold dear what many consider to be his best output (circa '94 to '97), this collection is like remembering a first love before it all went bad. Imagine putting in his self-titled album or Either/Or for the first time, or just discovering a treasured record has a twin. New Moon features 22 songs culled from sessions for those first two albums (mostly recorded in home studios, of which all but three are unreleased), and two Heatmiser songs performed solo. Fans and file traders may recognize some. From a Basement on the Hill, Smith's posthumous and elegiac last release, was the work of an artist long since defined (by the press and public) by his misery. These recordings, however, document the realization of an artist, at his most vibrant. Instead of pondering as to where material for a "new " Elliott Smith could have been dredged up by the well-meaning, spend an evening rediscovering works respectfully and thoughtfully presented by folks who nurtured a long, lost friend in his prime. [NL]


	$13.99 CD $15.99 LP $9.99 mp3		THE CLIENTELE God Save the Clientele (Merge) "I Hope I Know You" "The Garden at Night" Just in time for the lazy days of summer, the Clientele return with their third full-length God Save the Clientele, a proper continuation of 2005's well-received, whispering collection of elegant, atmospheric pop songs, Strange Geometry. Wearing their '60s/'70s era influences respectfully upon their sleeves -- you can sense everything from the Beatles to Left Banke and early Scott Walker -- the group creates aural, weightless tunes that beautifully alternate between wistful and bright. The breathy vocals, slick guitar, polished piano, soothing violin, and gushing drums coalesce as one to form the soundtrack of everyday reveries, lulling you into an airy haze and waking you up with a gentle tap of more upbeat rhythms -- check the transition between "Isn't Life Strange" and "The Dance of Hours" as well as "Carnival on 7th Street" and "Bookshop Cassanova." Thematically, it all fits, with the lyrics centering on the darker, more dramatic aspects of life along with the heavy-eyed wish of "Good night." Although there is nothing groundbreaking here, it is impossible not to take comfort in these songs; they pleasantly wind together to form a complete work that is best listened to in its entirety. In sum: the Clientele make it okay to succumb to your daydreams. [PG]


	$14.99 CD $12.99 LP $9.99 mp3		SEA AND CAKE Everybody (Thrill Jockey) "Exact to Me" "Up on Crutches" It's been more than four years since Chicago's Sea and Cake delivered a new full-length, and well over a decade since their self-titled debut quietly established the group as one of the more interesting and influential pop bands in the underground. The ensemble is more than the sum of its parts, but the four parts of the Sea and Cake are substantial any way that you count them. Both lead-singer/guitarist Sam Prekop and guitarist Archer Prewitt are successful solo performers with well-established careers as well as visual artists; drummer John McEntire is at the center of post-rock luminaries Tortoise and an in-demand producer and recording engineer; and bassist Eric Claridge is, among other things, a damn fine player and the band's secret weapon. Beneath their lite-pop surface, the Sea and Cake are a sophisticated and timeless group who build their sound on the low-key synchronicity of their rhythm section, subtly interpolating jazz, Brazilian and African pop and modern electronica into the building blocks of effortless rock songs. Everybody is the first album that the group has recorded without McEntire manning the soundboard, allowing him to concentrate on the drumming duties. Instead, they took a retreat to producer Brian Paulson's isolated snow-bound studio, and recorded the full-length largely live in the studio, with a minimal amount of overdubbing. The results are a more muscular, direct sound, with crisp, bubbling rhythms supporting the intricate guitar interplay and Prekop's soulful, lazy and mesmerizing lilt on vocals. But we still find the Sea and Cake doing what they do best, effortlessly distilling a myriad of influences into their own distinct, and distinctly original sound, crafting both straightforward indie-pop and complex, nuanced, and supremely soulful styles that are near-irresistible. Everybody may, in fact, be their finest album to date. As with their best work, it won't overwhelm you with its hooks and hits, but it will seep into your consciousness and casually surprise you time and again. [JM]


	$9.99 CD-EP		EFTERKLANG Under Giant Trees (Leaf) "Himmelbjerget" "Jojo" This little super group from Copenhagen made their first splash a few years back with their debut, Tripper. Like a chip off of the same ice block that gave us Sigur Ros, Efterklang's music is crisp, clear, and expansive -- a rich tapestry of sound. This EP, Under Giant Trees, finds the eight-piece ensemble joined by seven additional guest vocalists and players. The result is a stark and dramatic sweeping soundscape that subtly pulls you along with its blend of classical ambience (including a men's choir) and laptop texturing. If you're a fan of the moody, melancholic music of artists like Grizzly Bear, Mum, Radiohead, or Amiina (whose members are players in Efterklang as well as Sigur Ros), this will be 30-minutes well spent. (Comes nicely packaged with four magic puzzle cards.) [DG]


	$16.99 CD		BJORK Volta (Atlantic / WEA) "Wanderlust" "Hope" This record really pissed me off upon first listen -- but bear with me, as this review has a happy ending. After hearing all of the hype about African party jams with Konono No1, Brian Chippendale, Chris Corsano, and Timbaland, one couldn't help but salivate... but "Earth Intruders" aside, it seems Flavor Flav was right. I'm a bit perplexed as to whether we're hearing the same record Bjork herself is, but regardless, the album is still great. In fact, it plays much like a sequel to Homogenic, generally agreed upon to be her high-water mark (Vespertine is still my fave, and while I liked elements of Medulla, IMO it needed less Rahzel & Patton and more Dokaka & Wyatt... but anyway). The main sonic thematic elements tying the songs together on Volta are gorgeous, stately maritime brass arrangements for tubas, trombones and euphoniums, as well as assorted aquatic noises -- the ebb and flow of waves and the patter of rainfall, for example. Two tracks feature beautiful duets with Antony Hegarty, and three of the more upbeat songs feature co-production by Timbaland, it should be noted that Bjork's really cut his beats up enough to obscure his fingerprints almost entirely. So where's more of the positivity I promised? Well, if you disregard the name-brand misnomers and simply take the record for what it really should be worth -- the value of the songs themselves, not their means of creation -- Volta's a great listen; the record's pleasures derive from their relative safety in not attempting to reinvent her wheels this time out. You can trace the roots of nearly every song here back to combinations of previous experiments which, in their new collusions or permutations, provide fresh context to sounds which may have grown too familiar on previous records, as well as a more pop-friendly context for some of the ideas explored on her collaborations with husband Matthew Barney. As I mentioned earlier, of all records in her back catalogue, the ghost of Homogenic haunts most heavily on this album, from the "Joga"-esque epic brass sweep of "Wanderlust" to the ripping, blown-speakerbox beats of "Declare Independence," in which Bjork lets her voice loose in a shout that recalls nothing so much as a punk rock call to arms. Other highlights include "Innocence," which recalls the sassy punch of "Alarm Call" most literally -- the beat is derived from what sounds like a laser zap and the "uuh!" of someone being slugged in the gut, and "I See Who You Are" which features the excellent, scrabbling pipa playing of Min-Xiao Fen amidst soft Vespertine-esque chimes, morse code rhythms, and swells of wonderfully farty brass. So there you have it -- a bit of initial false advertising, but in the end, we still win. Like any record worth keeping on the shelf and not in the used bin, the rewards reveal themselves over gestation rather than via instant gratification. Volta also gets my vote for the best of her record covers. I'd still love to hear those African party jams someday, though. [IQ]


	$11.99 CD $13.99 LP $9.99 mp3		LAVENDER DIAMOND Imagine Our Love (Matador) "Like an Arrow" "Open Your Heart" Originally conceived as an operetta in Providence, Rhode Island, and given life as a quartet once singer-songwriter Becky Stark migrated to Los Angeles, Lavender Diamond caused a minor stir with their debut EP The Cavalry of Light. Aligning Stark with the multifaceted talents of guitarist Jeff Rosenberg (formerly of Young People, Tarentel, and Pink & Brown), drummer and artist Ron Rege, Jr. (late of the Swirlies), and pianist Steve Gregoropoulos (who also does time with W.A.C.O.), Lavender Diamond deftly explores classic baroque pop, shimmering country-touched ballads, and late-'60s/early-'70s AM gold with equal aplomb, pinning sunny harmonies and textures to beguiling instrumentals. Loping along through our modern cosmos, Lavender Diamond pulled off an exceedingly rare feat with their four song debut, taking easily recognizable influences into the current day while sounding every bit as joyous and airy as those styles undoubtedly did oh so long ago. With a new home on New York's stalwart Matador label, Imagine Our Love is Lavender Diamond's much-anticipated debut long-player. Brighter sounding and more carefully crafted than previous efforts, the twelve songs gathered herein give Stark and her cohorts room to breathe. Just as comfortable galloping over the relentlessly optimistic "Open Your Heart," with its thumping backbeat, chiming keys, and exultant handclaps, as she is meditating on the country glide that is "My Shadow Is a Monday," Stark and her lithe voice run the show here with gracious ease. The endless Linda Rondstadt comparisons that get tossed her way are surprisingly accurate, though her pipes just as easily call to mind folks like Emmylou Harris and Evie Sands as well. But even in the presence of such a remarkably singular vocal talent, the band holds their own, be it in the full head of steam they craft on "Here Comes One" or the sly groove of "Like An Arrow," in the process painting Lavender Diamond almost like a less debauched version of Fleetwood Mac. It's indeed a rare event when such a hotly tipped record actually exceeds the expectations set for it, but with Imagine Our Love, Lavender Diamond has done just that, creating an album's worth of near-timeless pop that would have been as comfortable on the airwaves 35 years ago as it could be three-and-half decades from now. [MC]


	$16.99 CD		KEREN ANN Keren Ann (Blue Note) "It's All a Lie" "Caspia" One has to assume that when an artist with a full discography of works behind them decides to release a self-titled album, they are making a statement, be it marking a drastic change of direction, delineating a coming-into-their-own with their craft, or offering up their most personal material to date. I'd be going out on a limb if I were to suggest that Keren Ann's eponymous record here were any of the three, or any combination thereof. The songwriter's music has been in a slow but constant state of evolution for more than a couple of years now, going back to when she began stripping away the trip-hop leanings of her early collaborations with Benjamin Biolay (including her debut full-length La Biographie de Luka Philipsen), and honing in on the gorgeous, lilting folk-pop of her last few albums while adopting English as the primary language for her chansons. There is, however, a warmth to these proceedings that we haven't felt on her earlier records. It's immediately apparent in the opening track, "It's All a Lie," where Keren draws out every syllable into a smoky-voiced slur, conjuring images of Mazzy Star amidst its lazy tempo and guitars squalling in the far distance. It's not all stormy though, the lovely sentiment of "Lay Your Head Down" or the gorgeously bittersweet "In Your Back" finds the singer augmenting her lullaby melodies with layers of strings and lush pads of synthesizer, the latter reminiscent of mid-'90s Beth Orton. Throughout, she experiments with styles and sounds, from the plodding "It Ain't No Crime" to the blissfully airy orchestrations of "Liberty" -- complete with the backing of a vocal choir -- to the playful bedroom funk of album closer "Caspia." One can't help but feel that these songs present a full range of Keren Ann's personality. And that being the case, I can't think of a better name for the album. [GH]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 mp3		DAN DEACON Spiderman of the Rings (Carpark) "Crystal Cat" "Okie Dokie" Set your phasers on FUN! Somewhere between ZX81 nostalgia and dayglo futurism rests Dan Deacon. With a tabletop littered with gadgets, including vintage synths, drum machines, a sine wave generator, a vocoder, a homemade light board, and glowing skulls, Deacon creates some of the most inspired and inspiring party music...ever. What makes him even more intriguing is the fact that he supposedly has a degree in electro-acoustic composition, and after a few listens one starts to realize these songs are actually quite carefully crafted. Raymond Scott partying at Pee-Wee's playhouse? Musique concrete for the party set? All and none of the above. Will be huge. [BC]


	$22.99 CD		SOM OKAY 5 Som Okay 5 (Som Livre) "Cantiga Por Luciana" "Duro De Roer" This album is a quirky-yet-perfect foray into loungey international late-'60s pop through a Brazilian lens. Led by early-'60s organ veteran Celso Murilo, this five-piece does sublime grooving covers of assorted Jorge Ben and Antonio Adolfo tunes and the like. The album is a primer in both soft-pop '60s styles and the funkier samba-based pop songwriting of the era that continues to fascinate and make collectors part with large sums of cash. You can approach an album like this from an "ironic" perspective, or simply revel in the superior songwriting on display here as well as the arranging acuity. Oh yeah, it's awesome for sample-fishing too...[GC]


	$16.99 CD		TARKUS Tarkus (Repsychled) "Cambiemos Ya" "Rio Tonto" Colossal, heavy psychedelic hard rock from this Peruvian band, which lasted long enough to cut an album in 1972 (original copies of which trade for ridiculous sums on the collectors' market). It's a very strong piece, with eight short songs ripping up hard, loud and urgent. At odds with the other groups in their scene, Tarkus fought tooth and nail to be accepted despite their jet-engine volume and reckless behavior. This well-designed reissue will fit in well with most of the early, crucial Vertigo roster, Sir Lord Baltimore, and other rough customers from the early '70s proto-metal pantheon. [DM]


	$16.99 CD		ORIGINAL SILENCE First Original Silence (Smalltown Supersound) "In the Name of the Law" "If Life Has No Age, Time Has No Shadow" All-star improv sessions are, sadly, rarely more than the sum of their constituent parts. Something about the old "too many cooks in the kitchen" axiom generally rings true, as normally adept players often have a difficult time transcending their own styles in the pursuit of singular sound, giving over to limp records that merely sound like a bunch of mouths impatiently waiting for their turn to speak. Original Silence, however, is an entirely different beast. A world-class wrecking crew that unites saxophonist Mats Gustafsson, drummer Paal Nilssen-Love, guitarists Terrie Ex and Thurston Moore, bassist Massimo Pupillo, and electrician Jim O'Rourke, Original Silence run through two lengthy pieces on their debut First Original Silence that showcase an ad hoc sextet with a keen and intuitive ability to communication while creating the ultimate group sound. What's most surprising about this disc is how little it sounds like "conventional" free jazz or improv. Given Moore and Ex's pedigrees as respective members of Sonic Youth and the Ex (and Gustafsson and Nilssen-Love's work in their distinctly rock-influenced group the Thing), that's hardly a shock. Even still, the group's collective back catalogue is barely an adequate preparation for the album opener "If Light Has No Age, Time Has No Shadow." Anchored by Pupillo and Nilssen-Love's fearless rhythm, the track lurches and staggers like an epic, thrashy punk dirge, with a nervous pulse of a backbone that allows each player to contribute to a scorching wall of heat and white noise that ebbs and flows throughout. Though "In the Name of the Law" evidences the same manic blast of energy at times, it's largely given over to headier negotiations, with blistering string runs and staccato horn blasts coalescing into a fluid mass of aggressive tone shifts and near-incandescent interplay. Far from being just another live set, First Original Silence is indeed that rare thing of beauty - a ferocious jam session that actually manages to cohere into a taut, engaging, and well-communicated group effort. [MC]


	$12.99 CD		MICE PARADE Mice Parade (FatCat) "Tales of Las Negras" "Double Dolphins on the Nickel" If post-post-rock had its own construction outfit, New Yorker Adam Pierce would be a mogul of crooked rooftops and sapphire-glassed penthouses and moving skyway garages. His newly built high-rise lounge -- with a view of planes departing LaGuardia, for an ambience as visual as it is sonic -- would only be open from 1 to 6 P.M. daily. While patrons sipped muddled blood-orange drinks and gazed at the jumbo jets, wondering what kind of people might be on them, they would be treated to a not-terribly-distracting but peculiarly mesmerizing soundtrack. That soundtrack would be Pierce's seventh Mice Parade release, a coddling, sunny batch of solidly hewn atmospherics that both honor his moniker (one doesn't get to one's seventh album, critical reputation intact, by building shoddy product) and stretch deftly into the urban oasis of singer-plus-band-plus-doodads. Pierce, himself not much of a traffic-stopper in terms of vocal projection, here ups his game, ably shifting between breezy Archer Prewitt-icisms, Mark Kozelek's almost-earnest tenor, and -- this sounds awful, but it's meant as a sincere compliment -- Evan Dando's confident, happy-hippie style (listen to "The Last Ten Homes" if you doubt). He began toying with Mice Parade's instrumental canvas on 2004's Obrigado Saudade, adding lyrics with increasing degree between that effort and 2005's silken Bem-Vinda Vontade, featuring among others Mum's Kristin Anna Valtysdottir, who also crops up here to create gorgeous elfin magic on the soothing "Double Dolphins on the Nickel." Her obsidian oohs cascade into a choral cleanliness, and one wishes for perhaps a bit of metallic, computer-driven interjection to give it the heft it needs to really shine. Elsewhere, Stereolab's incandescent (and, some would argue, ubiquitous) Laetitia Sadier comes in just before the two-minute mark on "Tales of Las Negras," ushering along the song's watery, almost Brazilian flavor without upsetting its settling afternoon pace. And, not perhaps surprising, her vocals are a click-and-drag match for Pierce's sometimes distant delivery -- two aloof voices alight to become a positive. There are some throwaways, tracks perhaps too good at their job of lulling the listener into picking apart the layers, into attuning to Pierce's building blocks. "Swing" is borderline wasteful, while "Snow" drags on too long, caving in around the middle, like the aftermath of a free Ben & Jerry's day. That said, there's nothing not to love about the rich, tonal sheaths of vibes, the slap-shot drums, and the gentle fadeouts, particularly on "Sneaky Red." By the time you finish exploring the lounge that Pierce built, you're swimming through static, tail-chasing layers of guitar and ambient percussion with a cocktail shaker full of sand in your fist. "Won't you take me out again? I never had a better friend," Pierce implores. Hey, as long as it's not after 6. [KO]


	The Human Voice/Lutes $15.99 CD Strings/Flutes & Trumpets $15.99 CD Reeds & Bagpipes Drums & Rhythms $15.99 CD		MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM Human Voice / Lutes (Topic) "Gurdum Gurdum" MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM Strings / Flutes & Trumpets (Topic) "Kamaycha" MUSIC IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM Reeds & Bagpipes / Drums & Rhythms (Topic) "Dance Music" Originally issued in 1976 as a six LP set by Tangent records that has become increasingly difficult to find, Music in the World of Islam is now available through the UK's Topic records, this time as three CDs, with each CD containing two of the original LPs. Recorded and compiled by Jean Jenkins and Poul Rovsing Olsen during their travels throughout the Middle East, North Africa, India, and Central and Southeast Asia, this kaleidoscopic collection is testament to the rich and diverse musical traditions to be found through out the Islamic world -- a world that spans the Northwest Coast of Africa to the islands of Indonesia, from Russia to India, and everywhere in between. Revealed here are musical traditions full of ecstatic religious and secular fervor, ancient meditative spirituality, and elegant, vernacular forms; this outstanding collection offers a cross-section of the results of thousands of years of cultural evolution and musical adaptation to different environments and shifting ideologies. The Human Voice/Lutes collects the first two records in the series and is devoted to the two musical traditions perhaps most readily identified with Islamic music: singing or recitation and the playing of various lutes. The first half of the disc focuses on a wide array of vocal styles, both sacred and secular, acapella and accompanied. Some, like the chanted recitations of the Qu'ran, or ornate, melismatic solo singing, will seem familiar to some listeners while others, like the breathy, work song-like call and response of Sufi ceremonies, may come as more of a surprise. The second half of the disc collects a dizzying assortment of lutes, and features virtuosic performances on 'Ud, Tambur, Tar, and Gunbri, to name just a few. Strings/Flutes & Trumpets focuses on the -- mostly -- bowed string and wind instruments of the Islamic world, from the sonorous, cello-like tones of the Indian Kamaycha (used here to accompany epic poetry), and the nasal leading voice of the Indonesian Rabab, to the festive, marching band racket of a Moroccan wedding procession and the ethereal, shakuhachi-like tones of the Nay, an end blown flute found from Turkey to Algeria. While it is hard to pick a favorite, Reeds & Bagpipes/Drums & Rhythms, which collects the final two records in the series, definitely takes the cake for sounding the most insane. On the first half, shawms, oboes, gourd pipes with drones, bagpipes, and double clarinets with air bladders from as far a field as India, Italy, Malaysia, and Pakistan are featured in both tough, spirit-possessed solos or backed by infectiously propulsive, regional dance rhythms. The sounds here are somehow both jarring and irresistible, and truly strange. Part two offers up an incredible assortment of solos and ensemble performances from the impossibly deep rhythmic traditions of India, North Africa, Persia, and the Middle East. The collection even finds room for some hypnotic Jew's harp playing from Pakistan. Outstanding. [CC]


	$22.99 CD		CASA DAS MAQUINAS Cas Das Maquinas (Som Livre) "Canto Livre" "Domingo a Tarde" This is the debut release by one of the great "what-if?"s in Brazilian rock history. Formed by a couple of former Os Incriveis members, the "House of the Machines" were equally adept at a number of different rock subgenres and ranged stylistically far beyond what the glam look on the sleeve suggests. Boasting the advanced playing and songwriting skills of Pisca, one of Brazil's most underrated rock guitarists, the band ricochets between glam, prog, pop, hard rock and psych on this debut (even a little yacht rock!), showing prowess at all of them, even if the diversity sometimes suggests a band in search of a definitive direction. There are more than enough moments here that bear repeated listens, and this is a lost chapter in post-tropicalia '70s Brazilian long-hair lore. The band went on to release two more albums, 75's prog classic Lar De Maravilhas and 76's back-to-rock-basics classic Casa De Rock, generally considered their finest release. They then broke up after a roadside altercation with a TV crew in which one of the TV cameramen was killed! But this is a welcome reissue from happier times when CDM seemed to be on the verge of greatness. [GC]


	$18.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Rumble in the Jungle (Soul Jazz) "Super Sharp Shooter" DJ Zinc "Incredible" M. Beat with General Levy Alright, maybe I'm showing my age but I remember when these songs first hit the streets. Ragga-jungle, a much too short-lived sub-genre of drum-n-bass, developed out of the combined evolution of techno, reggae, hip-hop, and rave culture. It featured the vocal fever, skills, and bass lines of dancehall, and the hardcore aesthetics and breakbeats of gangsta rap; and it was all made with the same samplers, drum machines, and software that built the bed of techno. The UK is an interesting place; cultures and genres seem to clash and absorb each other with ease, every combination exploring new territory with sharp imaginations. No doubt, the British have produced some of the most raw and exciting dance music since house. And what is described in the liner notes is a story that's never been told -- the birth and evolution of what was, at the time, a wild clashing and a vibrant thing: British culture, New York influence, and Jamaican flavor. That said, Rumble in the Jungle, is a feverish selection of the rough and tough rhythms and vocals that established the scene and sound of the UK underground during the early- to mid-'90s. In the tracks you hear the roots of what went on to become grime, digi-dub and, of course, dubstep. Though it started out as an experiment in making "fast hip-hop," many of the techniques used in crafting this rootsy mash-up can still be heard 10 years later. With all the talk of rave culture returning, the timing seems to be right on for this music to resurface. A lost era that established what the future would bring, listen and learn, youngsters. This music is exhilarating and sounds fresher than ever. [DG]


	$14.99 CD		DJ JAZZY JEFF Return of the Magnficent (Rapster / BBE) "Let Me Hear" "The Garden" The uber-talented deejay/producer returns with a solid follow-up to his acclaimed solo release from three years back. The format is basically the same as before: Jeff behind the boards and decks with a slew of guest vocalists passing the mic. Whereas The Magnificent focused on showcasing mostly unknown yet talented singers and rappers from his native Philly, Jeff secured some true school heavy hitters this time, including Method Man, Big Daddy Kane and C.L. Smooth. The sound is still steeped in that trademark boom bap sound that he and fellow Philly cohorts Questlove and Kev Brown helped nurture, but there's a bit more of an edge this time around. Though he may always be the "DJ" to Will Smith's "Rapper," to us he has become one of the most talented and important established artists, continuing to keep that deep true school hip hop vibe alive. Thank the Lord! [DH]


	Singles 1976-1989 $15.99 CD Volume 2 $15.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Tales from the Australian Underground: Singles 1976 to 1989 (Feel Presents) "The Disciples Know" The Moodists" VARIOUS ARTISTS Tales from the Australian Underground: Vol 2 1977 to 1990 (Feel Presents) "Things Will Be Different" Little Murders Australian rock and post-punk were among my first exposure to the world of out there, exciting music as a teenager, with college radio providing me with as much Birthday Party, fEEDTIME, Scientists, and Radio Birdman as I could handle. Something about most of the bands from Down Under was more of a threat than a lot of what else was available in the '80s and early '90s; it was almost as if all of the cutout Stooges records got shipped down there, warped under an outback sun, atomized, and inhaled by scores of young men, who it maddened and made capable. Even the pop bands like the Hoodoo Gurus (one of the dozens featured here) had an attack that would make most American bands blanch. Punk rock never left the populace alone the way it did it in America, and the people replied in kind with hundreds of remarkable releases. If you've already been through Murder Punk and the Can't Stop It! and Where Birdmen Flew comps, you might have already heard a good portion of what's included here, but these are by far the most panoramic and complete views of the Aussie scene to date. They play out like the well-meaning Rhino DIY comps should have; with chronological punch and a welcome view of all types of below-sea level sounds. Power pop sidles up against dusky goth rock, manic punk rock is cut across with arcane minimal synth and bright new wave, and it all sounds of a piece with itself. Featuring all the bands mentioned above, as well as God, Victims, Celibate Rifles, SPK, Severed Heads, Psycho Surgeons, the Triffids, Died Pretty, Venom P. Stinger, and so many more. Very thorough, well-executed, and essential collections for any discerning rock fans. [DM]


	$11.99 CD $16.99 LP		MAXIMO PARK Our Earthly Pleasures (Warp) "Girls Who Play Guitars" "Nosebleed" On its sophomore release, the swerving, going-out-tonight bravado of Maximo Park takes pause to sober up for the drive home. Where the Newcastle outfit's 2005 debut, A Certain Trigger, bristled with exuberant post-punk, Our Earthly Pleasures acknowledges a certain melancholic thread running amok in its good-time midst. Pixies producer Gil Norton may have something to do with the shift, brokering a bond between the wild-paced primal needs of the rhythm section and the step-lightly intellectualism of the songwriting. From start to finish, Earthly unveils an innate bookishness (mainly about breakups) without sacrificing its dynamic tone. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" Smith peevishly pleads on the frenetic "A Fortnight's Time," noting "When it comes to girls, I'm mostly hypothetical." But wait, there's more: He obsessively extends the rhyme with "alphabetical," "theoretical," and "dialectical" before skittering off into a wash of splashy synth and scrawled guitars. As on "Nosebleed," Smith enjoys carrying a certain Mark E. Smith factor to the fore (as always, accompanied by Wooller's skittering synth), and with excellent results. His pangs of self-doubt are never maudlin, mainly because even if he's sometimes too smart for the band's own good, the lyrics are constantly enhanced by an aggro snarl of sound that's equal parts prickly and effusive. What could be a dry, by-the-numbers ode to frozen relationships is an interesting framework of stellar rock showmanship and solid song craft that, albeit with a slightly different MO than its predecessor, still feels like a night to remember. [KO]


	$22.99 CD		CLAUDIA Claudia (Som Livre) "Chora Ceu" "Silencio Para um Rancho Passar" Claudia was only 18 when this debut was issued in 1967, and although her best work was still a few years ahead, this is a very cute example of bossa-pop new-artist marketing in Brazil circa 67, literally moments before the paisley-colored worldwide youth counterculture explosion landed in South American country in the form of tropicalia. Her strong, distinctive voice is already in full evidence here as she sings a varied program notable for a couple of relatively obscure songs by a then-unknown Gilberto Gil. [GC]


	$10.99 CD		FEIST Reminder (Interscope) "I Feel It All" The focus of Leslie Feist's The Reminder is her voice, a stunning vibrato that never fails to captivate. Overall, this album is more sparse and stripped down than 2004's hugely successful Let It Die, but its torch songs, folk ballads, and pop gems make for a more urgent listen nonetheless. Gonzales and Mocky provide the perfect backing, based mostly around guitar and piano, to Feist's confessional stories of love and travel. Gorgeous record that lands that lands somewhere in a territory inhabited by Cat Power, Joni Mitchell, and Dusty Springfield.


	$5.99 45 $1.99 mp3		ARCADE FIRE Keep the Car Running (Merge) The first official single off of Arcade Fire's powerhouse sophomore full-length, Neon Bible. The A-side, "Keep the Car Running," is accompanied by the six-and-a-half-minute, rumbling "Broken Window," which is not available on the album.


	$13.99 CD		MARY TIMONY BAND Shapes We Make (Kill Rock Stars) "Summer's Fawn" A legendary voice in underground punk and indie pop circles, Mary Timony was a member of the great Autoclave in the '80s, and later formed Helium who put out multiple albums on Matador. She has continued to forge her own path as a solo artist, and The Shapes We Make is no exception. The sound here is warmer and more immediate than on her last solo outing, with multiple layers of intricate guitar work, banjos, keyboards, mellotron, and analog synths, with leanings towards classic '70s rock. Another chapter in the book of Timony, and it reads just as well as the best of them.


	$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3		TARWATER Spider Smile (Morr Music) "A Marriage in Belmont" Based on themes relating to the United States of America, Spider Smile is album number eight by Ronald Lippok (To Rococo Rot) and Bernd Jestram. Perfecting their formula of blending analog instruments with electronica, Spider Smile showcases an expanded palette, with hints of dub, blues, and Krautrock, but with the main focus still on writing pop songs. A vintage album by these wiley veterans. We can't think of a more effective marriage of indie rock and electronic music.


	$13.99 CD		MYSTERY JETS Zootime (Dim Mak) "Inside Four Walls" Classic British pop here by the Mystery Jets, which channels XTC, John Lennon, Dexy's Midnight Runners, the Kinks, and more. Fortunately they have the tunes to make it work, and a vocalist (Blaine Harrison, whose dad is also in the band!) to carry them. Zootime compiles tracks from their UK-only album, a single, and a couple of new ones produced by remixer du jour, Erol Alkan.

$1.99 mp3

BEIRUT
Pompeii
(Ba Da Bing!)

Here's a download-only EP from the boy wonder. These two Beirut tracks ("Fountains and Tramways" and "Napoleon on the Bellerophon") were recorded prior to the breakthrough "Gulag Orkestar" album, and the sound is distinctively more lo-fi but lacking none of the charm. With subtle accompaniment of drum machine, piano, and trumpet, Zach Condon again proves he's a songwriter with that certain gift.


	$9.99 mp3		THE GO FIND Stars on the Wall (Morr Music) Led by Belgian songwriter Dieter Sermeus, the Go Find returns with the follow-up to 2004’s Miami. For the uninitiated, indie-tronica doesn’t get much sweeter than this -- more laidback than Postal Service, but not lacking any of the catchy pop charms. Unlike its predecessor, however, Stars on the Wall takes on more of a band feel, the electronic elements a little more subdued as lovely minor key harmonies and layers of guitar come to the forefront.


	$9.99 mp3		ESTONIAN PHILHARMONIC CHAMBER CHOIR Part: da Pacem (Harmonia Mundi) The third in a series of recordings of sacred choral music by Estonian composer Arvo Part to appear on Hillier's Harmonia Mundi label, and here the imminent Part interpreter leads the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, with organist Christopher Bowers-Broadbent. This is a powerful record, and one that collapses the boundaries between the spiritual, emotional, and aesthetic experience of music.


	$9.99 mp3		NAZZ Nazz I (Castle) Garage values? Check. Anglophilia? Check. Killer songs? Double-check. The Nazz's eternally rocking 68 debut reappears with a slew of bonus tracks, finally gaining the reissue it has long deserved. A mere 19 when it was recorded, Todd Rundgren was solely responsible for about 90% of the songwriting here! "Open My Eyes" still gets parties going with its ferocious slashing riffs and remains one of the definitive garage-band standards. "See What You Can Be," "If That's The Way You Feel," "When I Get My Plane" and the original version of "Hello It's Me" are all worth their weight in gold.


	PHONE ORDERS Phone orders are accepted at (212) 477-8150 (ext. #2, mailorder) Mon-Fri, Noon - 7pm EST EMAIL For general inquiries or other information please email sales@othermusic.com. Do not reply to this message. REMOVE This is an automated list. If you would like to be removed from it for any reason, please send an email from the address you wish to delete to list@othermusic.com and make sure the word "Remove" is included in the subject line.		THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [BC] Baxter Cardona [GC] Greg Caz [CC] Che Chen [PG] Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh [MC] Michael Crumsho [DG] Daniel Givens [GH] Gerald Hammill [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [NL] Nicole Lang [JM] Josh Madell [DM] Doug Mosurock [SM] Scott Mou [KO] Kristy Ojala THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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