November 14, 2007

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES Ophiucus Pluramon Burial Vashti Bunyan Hisato Higuchi Caetano Veloso Jorge Ben Gene Clark & Carla Olson Gram Parsons Testbild! The Dreamers Art of Field Recording Box Set Ethiopiques Vol. 22 Efterklang Baby Dee Sun City Girls The Abyssinians BJ Nilsen Boscoe Health Marc Wilkinson   Witchcraft Excepter Kathy Smith Dan Kaufman Tommy Roe 10 Tons Heavy (Planet Mu compilation) ALSO AVAILABLE LCD Soundsystem Tussle Lindstrom Sigur Ros Citay Bright Eyes Little Brother Bear in Heaven Besnard Lakes Castanets Holy F**k COMPLETE LIST OF THIS WEEK'S NEW ARRIVALS

		NOV Sun 18 Mon 19 Tues 20 Wed 21 Thurs 22 Fri 23 Sat 24   WIN TICKETS TO SEE BRIGHT EYES AT RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL! It seems like just yesterday when Conor Oberst was playing the early slot, warming the stage for Grandaddy at the Bowery Ballroom. Fast-forward seven or so years later, and he and his Bright Eyes are headlining New York City's prestigious Radio City Music Hall next Monday night! It's surely a show that fans won't want to miss and the opening acts, Thurston Moore and the Felice Brothers, aren't too shabby either. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away to this night, and all you've got to do to enter is send an email to contest@othermusic.com, along with your daytime phone number. We'll be picking the two winners this Friday, November 16th. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19 RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL: 1260 6th Avenue NYC

		NOV Sun 18 Mon 19 Tues 20 Wed 21 Thurs 22 Fri 23 Sat 24   WIN TICKETS TO SEE WILEY A week from this Friday, Wiley will be performing his only currently scheduled United States date at New York City's Knitting Factory, supporting his latest album, Playtime Is Over! Joining the Godfather of Grime is a slew of other performers on the bill, including MRK 1, Messiah, Zinc Larynx, Killer Waldren and Jason Mundo. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away, and all you have to do to enter is send an email to enter@othermusic.com, and please include your daytime phone number. We'll be notifying the two winners this Friday, November 16th, so what are you waiting for?! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 KNITTING FACTORY: 74 Leonard Street NYC

		NOV Sun 18 Mon 19 Tues 20 Wed 21 Thurs 22 Fri 23 Sat 24   BLACK DICE TICKET GIVE AWAY Next week, avant-noise alchemists Black Dice will be performing at Highline Ballroom in support of their great, recently released Load Blown album on Paw Tracks. Opening the night will be Wizzardzz (which features fellow RISD'er Brian Gibson of Lightning Bolt) and Awesome Color. Other Music has three pair of tickets to give away; to enter send an email to tickets@othermusic.com, and please include your daytime phone number. We'll be picking the three winners on Friday, November 16th. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 HIGHLINE BALLROOM: 431 W 16th Street NYC

		DEC Sun 25 Mon 26 Tues 27 Wed 28 Thurs 29 Fri 30 Sat 01   WIN RICHARD HAWLEY TICKETS One of Other Music's favorite crooners (and Pulp's touring guitarist), Richard Hawley returns to the States to perform at the Bowery Ballroom on Saturday, December 1st. Anyone who's seen Hawley play live can attest to the fact that he's a great showman, he and his band delivering a live set of originals (and usually a few surprise covers) that fit nicely between the songbooks of Roy Orbison and Scott Walker. To enter to win a pair of tickets, just send an email to giveaway@othermusic.com, and please include your daytime phone number. We'll be picking two winners this Friday, November 16th. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 BOWERY BALLROOM: 6 Delancey Street NYC

		$15.99 CD   OPHIUCUS Ophiucus (Lion Productions) "Darbouka" "Universe" I was watching the Lost Books of Nostradamus on the History Channel a couple weeks ago, which was a total crock of doo-doo by the way, and there was much talk of an obscure zodialogical sign/constellation named Ophiucus, that I'd never heard of, but that I apparently need to be watching as there's some sort of cosmic aligning regarding the serpent-wearing star-man that's going to happen soon that'll usher in the Apocalypse. But what really concerns me is if Nostradamus could have possibly predicted that just days after having watched said program, a compact disc bearing the name Ophiucus would arrive at Other Music and end up being the most wonderful French record heard within these walls since Gerard Manset's La Mort de Orion? It would take a multi-million dollar budget and a panel of dubiously degreed experts to find out, no doubt. Ophiucus (the band) cut one stellar album for Barclay back in 1972, a singularly ambitious affair that nevertheless orbits a similar artistic territory to that covered by the Pretty Things Parachute, the Beatles White Album, early Pink Floyd, and Faust IV. There's a heavy use of pastiche, often within a single track, with references to musique concrete, pastoral folk, French chanson, and the multi-part harmonies of the Beach Boys. They were also capable of flat out rocking, in sales floor parlance we call these songs "mega jams." Seriously though, this is yet another killer release from Lion Productions, on a fast track to being the best reissue label on the planet, and this one oughta appeal to a wide swath of Other Music customers, whether you favor the Decadanse or the Psych section. [MK]

		$15.99 CD $9.99 mp3   PLURAMON The Monstrous Surplus (Karaoke Kalk) "If the Kids Are United" "If Time Was on My Side" Marcus Schmickler has been a longtime favorite of ours, a dynamic artist with a formal electronic composition background who emerged from the edgy Cologne scene in the late '80s with the freewheeling improv performance groups Pol and Kontakta, before masterminding Pluramon's amazing debut Pickup Canyon, released on Mille Plateaux in 1996. That album, featuring Can's Jaki Liebezeit on drums, was a groundbreaking and eminently listenable blueprint for future music, blending electronics and found-sound samples with live improvisation, creating an unclassifiable soundtrack to the modern world. Schmickler has released a handful of diverse albums under his own name, as well as another, more electronic alter-ego, Wabi Sabi, but Pluramon has endured, and 10 years and five albums later we have The Monstrous Surplus. On the surface this new record could not have less in common with Pluramon's auspicious beginnings, and while for a cutting-edge artist bold change is always welcome, longtime fans may be surprised at the sound of this one. In fact, the band really morphed on 2003's Dreams Top Rock, adding Julee Cruise (of Twin Peaks fame) on vocals and turning to a dreamier pop sound. The Monstrous Surplus embraces that direction wholeheartedly, with Cruise again handling some vocals (and co-writing half the tracks with Schmickler), and a dense, guitar-heavy dream-pop sound that draws heavily on '90s shoegaze like Slowdive and Chapterhouse, but with an updated, churning electronic undercurrent that is sure to appeal to fans of recent stuff from Ulrich Schnauss and M83. In the end, Pluramon's music has always been about sound and texture; and though early releases were painted from a freeform post-rock palette and the new direction is far more song-oriented, Marcus Schmickler's attention to detail and meticulously layered creations are always sweet nuggets of ear candy. [JM]

		$15.99 CD $9.99 mp3   BURIAL Untrue (Hyperdub) "Archangel" "Untrue" As last year drew to a close, we watched Burial's self-titled debut creep up from nowhere only to top many best of 2006 charts. Now the follow-up, Untrue, seems poised to do similar damage in '07. For lack of a better term, Burial makes dubstep, though I would argue that the palette and scope moves far beyond any tag. What Burial has done -- twice now -- is craft albums that are more about the overall journey than the stops along the way. He creates a deep, mysterious and dark world that is at once easy to penetrate for some, and a completely foreign place for others. Unlike many contemporary electronic producers, this is not a compilation of singles, nor is it a tastemaker's collection of inspirational songs; it's mood music...in the best possible sense. Burial makes albums that dare to be played from start to finish, and he invites the listener to step into the cavernous realm in which he dwells. Imagine coming in off the dark, shimmering urban city streets and walking into a party; but rather than stepping onto the dance floor, you take solace from hanging out on the sidelines, simply observing the action in front of you. Assembly line clicks, pops, booms, and scratches move along like the best Detroit techno, still the melodies are steeped in 2-step/garage, and England's low end theory. Burial's albums feel expansive, open, and wondrous. This is not, however, a party record, yet when the beats do drop, the firm influence of dance culture is embraced. If you're into new emergences in dance music and culture, Untrue may blow you away, but if you're the occasional dabbler in the world of electronic music, you may miss the point, it's hard to say. I feel like Burial could appeal to many, from fans of Battles to Panda Bear, Pantha du Prince to Rhythm and Sound. Electronic record of the year, just watch. [DG]

		$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3   VASHTI BUNYAN Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind (DiCristina) "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" "17 Pink Sugar Elephants" British folk chanteuse Vashti Bunyan is the stuff of legends, her truly inimitable voice instantly creates an unparalleled sense of intimacy and warmth that's both individual and universal, her simple sad songs emanating a sense of joy and wonder in the trials and tribulations of love, loss and self-discovery. Thirty-seven years after the release of her, up until recently, lone album, Just Another Diamond Day, she has become a sort of elder stateswoman of the contemporary folk scene and beyond, collaborating with the likes of Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart, as well as recording stellar new work of her own. Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind, however, looks back, collecting two 45s she released for Decca and Columbia, unreleased material she recorded for Immediate, her very first acetate demos, and reel-to-reel recordings made by her brother John, all dating from 1964-67, thus predating Just Another Diamond Day by several years. After getting kicked out of art school for spending too much time playing guitar and singing her songs, she caught the ears of Rolling Stones manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham who was so impressed that he gave her a Mick Jagger / Keith Richards tune ("Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind') to record as her first single for Decca, coupled with her own number, "I Want to Be Alone." A single on Columbia followed as well as some recordings for proposed singles on the Oldham co-owned independent label Immediate that were never released. Though there was a minor buzz, Bunyan never quite caught on. Disenfranchised with the recording industry, she disappeared for a few years only to remerge, quite literally, out of the woods with her most personal and fully realized statement yet in the form of Just Another Diamond Day. While the vocal delivery and gentle guitar playing on these early singles are unmistakably Vashti, the production and orchestration (strings, percussion, backing vocals, etc.) of these songs recall a more '60s pop sound, almost like a British Francoise Hardy rather than the more stripped-down folk stylings that she has become known for. Several of the songs on the debut album are found in earlier versions here ("Love Song," "Winter Is Blue," "I'd Like to Walk Around in Your Mind") -- while it's not quite as captivating as the version on the album, it's interesting to hear the aforementioned "Winter Is Blue" as a somewhat melodramatic pop song featuring sweeping strings and shakers! The rest of the songs included in this collection are from home recordings that Vashti and her Brother John made, the second CD being an entire reel-to-reel tape that Vashti recorded of her earliest tunes in 1964 and which she only recently rediscovered, where she announces each song title prior to the performance. The fragility and slightly lo-fi quality of these recordings lends itself well to Bunyan's intimate style, amplifying the feeling that she's singing directly to you. Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind is another fine glimpse of one of the most honest and direct female voices to be rediscovered in recent years, and includes detailed liner notes by Vashti and Andrew Loog Oldham as well as lyrics and rare photos. In the words of Oldham, "It took a little while, but it's her while now." [KH]

		$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3   HISATO HIGUCHI Butterfly Horse Street (Family Vineyard) "Electric Guitar Light" "Kind Line" Japanese guitarist/vocalist Hisato Higuchi's third full-length seems to function in two modes. The first is a plaintive, reverb-drenched approach to electric guitar that seems intent on slowly building melodies one lingering note at a time -- an approach that fans of Higuchi's last album on Family Vineyard or of his like-minded elder, Loren Connors, will undoubtedly appreciate. The second approach Higuchi employs here is heavily distorted and always on the verge of feedback; and while louder than the former approach, it isn't as different as it might seem. Both styles of playing share a disciplined, searching sense of intensity and appear more like two sides of the same coin than dialectical opposites. Higuchi's infrequent but affecting wordless vocalizations arrive and disappear like passing night clouds, a grounding human presence in what is otherwise a decidedly abstract, emotional landscape. An intimate record of solitary improvised exploration. [CC]

		$19.99 CD   CAETANO VELOSO Araca Azul (Lilith) "De Cara /Eu Quero Essa Mulher" "Julia/Moreno" This one's for all of the freaks. In 1972, Caetano Veloso was back from three years of political exile in London and riding a new wave of popularity thanks to his excellent Transa album. His follow-up, Araca Azul, went on to become somewhat legendary as one of the most returned and refund-requested albums in the history of Brazilian music. While not exactly Metal Machine Music, it's easy to understand what all of the fuss was about -- Veloso decided to make a record in which he plays around with sound poetry, a bit of musique concrete and field recording experimentation, and intensely fragmented song structures. It's amazing, and actually proves to be one of his most beautiful (and misunderstood) albums. On Araca Azul, Veloso takes all of the lessons learned from the rollercoaster ride that was the Tropicalist movement and pushes them to their logical extremes as a fitting farewell to the movement as a whole. The abrupt juxtapositions of traditional carnival sambas rubbing and knocking elbows with flailing electric guitars and rock drums prove more startling when placed side by side rather than overlapping one another in pastiche; the onomatopoeic wordplays of Tropicalia's clever lyrics here stretch into concrete syllables and palindromes recorded both forwards and backwards. What's most startling amongst all of the experimentation, though, are the gorgeous gems of song that Veloso seemingly smuggled onto this album -- the unexpected turn "De Conversa"'s layers of sound poetry and body percussion suddently segue into a beautiful arrangement of Milton Nascimento's "Cravo E Canela" for, well, voices and body percussion, for instance. Or, take the simple, catchy-as-flu melody of "Gilberto Misterioso" which Veloso spends five minutes treating it like Silly Putty -- he bounces it around the room on a simple bossa beat for a few minutes, stretches it across some blocks of atonal piano in its middle section before rolling it back into a ball and bouncing on the keys and some bongo drums for its conclusion. Then there's "Julia/Moreno," one of Veloso's most beautiful ballads -- written for his then-unborn first child, of which the sex was unknown (it was a boy!) so he serenades it as though it were both. On "Epico," he takes a walk outside, singing to himself on the streets, serenading the passing traffic as a bombastic spy theme trumpets inside of his head. The album closes with the title track, a sharp, melancholy minute-and-change acoustic haiku that's there-and-gone like a daydream; in reality, this last song serves as Veloso's return to reality after his preceding 37 minutes behind the looking glass. Highest recommendation! [IQ]

		$24.99 CD   JORGE BEN Big Ben (Universal Japan) "Na Bahia Tem" "Lalari - Olala" Here we have a long-overdue Japanese reissue of one of samba-soul master Jorge Ben's most elusive albums, 1965's Big Ben. Overall, Big Ben is unique in his discography because it's definitely the most jazz-influenced of all of his records -- acoustic piano, swinging ride-cymbal grooves, and robust horns are featured on nearly every track, with much less of Ben's trademark staccato rhythm guitar sound. These changes in turn work much more to the album's advantage than one may expect, and it's fitting to note that half of the album's 12 tunes are covers; while perhaps not unusual for most bossa and samba stars' albums of the time, it was unusual for Ben, who was a prolific songwriter from the start of his career. This record also was the end of an era and a figurative calm before the creative storm for Ben; he'd drop a serious scene-changing bomb with his next record, 1967's O Bidu (Silencio No Brooklin), which predated the Tropicalist movement by a whole year and would influence it immensely. Highlights on Big Ben include opener "Na Bahia Tem," with Ben coming out swinging in full, robust voice, "Patapatapata," featuring one of those beautiful onomatopoeic melodies Ben writes so well, only this time subbing his rhythm guitar for tumbling piano riffs, and the hyperactive album closer "Agora Ninguem Chora Mais." Best of all is "Jorge Well," with its heavy jazz groove and Ben pleading (in English) to "take it easy, girl... come dance bossa nova/ come dance with me/ I dance very well/ because/ I am Jorge Well/ ask my mama..." Advice worth listening to...Mama would be proud. [IQ]

		$17.99 CDx2   GENE CLARK & CARLA OLSON In Concert (Collectors Choice) "Tried So Hard" "Last Thing on My Mind" I ignited a minor continuing controversy at the shop eons ago when I first started working here, after having written a description card for a then recently reissued Gene Clark album in which I stated that Clark was more soulful than Gram Parsons. Certain staff members were outraged at the perceived slight against Parsons, others were clearly Clark partisans. I know what you're thinking, but seriously, we work in a record store, this is what we do during the day, and sometimes it is as ridiculous as you'd imagine. Anyhow, the point is essentially moot, both men were geniuses, as evidenced by this week's update which finds two totally essential reissues of elusive live recordings by the twin titans of American roots rock. Parsons might have the bigger cult, but the many Gene Clark fans I've met have all been really, really, really into Gene Clark. Like when you have a secret that you don't want anyone else let in on, so you hold it close and treasure it. What some of them don't know however is that he was still capable of making some devastating music right on up to his death in 1991. The eighties were a rough decade for his health, he had a tragic drug and alcohol addiction that necessitated the removal of a portion of his stomach and intestines the same year the first disc of this set was recorded, but his music was also having its first go-round of being rediscovered by the Byrd's worshipping members of L.A.'s paisley underground. He hooked up with a young Texan singer on the scene named Carla Olson who managed to steer him back towards the stripped-down roots music he was best at performing, they recorded one critically lauded studio record together before Clark's old demons caught up with him again. The first disc is from a 1988 radio show featuring a solo Clark singing selections from a number of his best solo albums, his voice in top form with a well worn patina shaded by some incomparable inner turmoil or tragedy. The second disc is from a live gig in 1990 with Carla Olson, the arrangements are sparse but the mood is lighter, and they perform duets reaching all the way back to the Byrd's catalog. It's a seriously good show, and a fortunate gift to finally have it on CD. Clark succumbed to a bleeding ulcer less than a year later, the drink having finally done him in. [MK]

		$18.99 CDx2   GRAM PARSONS & THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS Archives Volume 1: Live at the Avalon Ballroom 1969 (Amoeba) "Hot Burrito #2" "You're Still on My Mind" First of all, major, major thanks to the always excellent Amoeba record shops for having the tenacity to get this brand spanking new Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Bros two disc live set out into the world. The man died much too young and as we all know, there's a dearth of material in his rack. These tapes had long been hiding out in the Grateful Dead's infamous tape vaults, recorded long ago by the legendary Owsley "Bear" Stanley who'd since kept them pretty close to his chest. Incidentally, I was personally told recently by a (very) longtime Grateful Dead roadie that the Dead stashed their liquid LSD in a hidden compartment in Owsley's tape recorder, his eyes sparkling in rapturous wonderment at all the hours upon hours of music that had to pass by those vials on its way to posterity. Cosmic American Music indeed. Regardless, Owsley knew what he was doing when he pressed the record button, and the Burrito Bros were killing it on these two nights in early April, 1969, Gram mic'ed close up, the very breath of clarity, aching in all the right places. Hillman no doubt feeling the heat off of Garcia, competitively ratcheting up the heights of his guitar solos. If this here artifact doesn't put to rest the rumors that the Burrito's were slouches live I don't know what will. Hell, I'm thinking of packing it in for the rest of the year, I can't even imagine anything on the horizon kicking this baby out of constant rotation. [MK]

		Testbild! $13.99 CD The Dreamers $13.99 CD   TESTBILD! Une Teinte Intense (Friendly Noise) "Labyrinthine" "L'Errante" THE DREAMERS Day for Night (Friendly Noise) "Day for Night" "Michael" In our endless quest to try to introduce you to interesting sounds ahead of the curve, we bring you six new titles from Friendly Noise. Based in Skarpnack, Sweden, the label's output combines the styles and sensibilities of imprints like Morr Music, Karaoke Kalk, Type, and Hapna. You can also detect a sort of post-Belle and Sebastian charm in their artists, the musicality and orchestration bolstered by an overall sophistication that unintentionally seems to reference Les Disques du Crepuscule. One of the most recent Friendly Noise releases, Testbild!'s Une Teinte Intense is a good one to start with to get an overall sense of the label. Excellent production qualities showcase a variety of modern, trans-continental pop thanks to old-fashioned songwriting decorated with sampled bits and field recordings. What results sounds like the United Nations of Antena: a little dubby indie tropicalia here, a little Arabian ambient pop there, a little mod-pop Free Design/ indie-lounge a la Sea and Cake there; but Testbild! maintain a skilled balance of sweet and mature throughout. The Dreamers' Day for Night is another great release for trying out Friendly Noise. Featuring a male/female duo with the vocal texture and cadence of Broadcast's Trish Keenan, but with its own musicality, personality and atmosphere set in a breeze-blown, sun-drenched pasture, the record is really charming and full of self-assured confidence -- light on its feet in that Brazilian way and positive in that modern indie way, but solid and thoughtfully written. The Dreamers are very easy to like but definitely not just another guilty pleasure. I really wish I had the time and space to elaborate on all the releases but listed below are some other great Friendly Noise titles that we're carrying. (Click on the title to add to your shopping cart.) [SM] MOST VALUABLE PLAYERS: You In Honey $12.99 Excellent post-Dntel electronic songs with exceptional variety, subtlety and charm. DIFFERNET: Collapsing Universe $12.99 Also excellent female-led pop-tronica that has slightly more abrasive electronic sounds but still maintains the label's overall qualities. They're almost like a Friendly Noise version of the Knife, but more personal. Includes a killer cover of Eurtythmics' "Savage!" VARIOUS ARTISTS: Are You Scared to Get Happy? $12.99 Includes tracks by the Field and Radio Dept., as well as Flow Flux Clan, Testbild! and Kuryakin...not a bad place to start! TESTBILD!: Imagine a House $12.99

		$63.99 CDx4   VARIOUS ARTISTS Art of Field Recording Volume 1 Box Set (Dust-to-Digital) It would be difficult to overstate the appropriateness of the title "Renaissance man" for Art Rosenbaum: he's an accomplished writer, educator, musician, painter, record producer, concert and festival organizer, and with the help of his wife Margo, a tireless musicologist and archivist of traditional American music. Since the 1950s, Rosenbaum has committed to tape hundreds of hours of incredible music most of us would have assumed to be extinct. Impassioned hymns, work songs, blues, dance music, topical songs, and Child and Laws ballads are among the music he has collected from all over America. Taking his cue from Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, as well as from Pete Seeger's advice to him, "don't learn from me, learn from the folks I learned from," Rosenbaum set out to find those for whom music was a family and community heirloom: something learned and used, and then passed on to the next generation. This quest led him to blues guitar great Scrapper Blackwell in Indianapolis, IN, singer/banjoist Buell Kazee in Winchester, KY, Skillet Licker Gid Tanner's son Gordon in Dacula, GA, folk-art icon Howard Finster in Pennville, GA, Tommy Johnson protege Shirley Griffith in Indianapolis, IN, as well as numerous outstanding heretofore-unknown musicians, all heard for the first time on CD on this collection. The generous number of tunes on AOFRV1 (110!) doesn't lend itself easily to more than an unfair cursory summary, which, given our space limitations, is all this review can undertake. Spread out over four themed discs (Survey, Religious, Blues, and Instrumental and Dance), the music contained demands attention. Though I can't call it a standout, as every track on this set is outstanding (no exaggeration), one of my favorites on the Survey disc is Mary Lomax's "Lord Daniel [Child 81]," particularly her assertion after the performance that she felt "not a bit sorry for Lord Daniel" -- you don't get this sort of insight on commercial releases confined to the sterile environment of the studio. Something about Jack Bean's demented delivery on "Song of Fifty Cents" is, in the best way possible, analogous to SST punks Saccharine Trust! Although the Religious disc seems to get progressively better with each passing track, the Sacred Harp Singing Group's "Assurance" has a uniquely chilling yet triumphant effect on me, while the shout number "Jubilee" performed by Lawrence McKiver and the McIntosh County Shouters as well as the lined-out "The Lord Is Risen" by Deacon Tommy Tookes and Congregation transport this listener to a place other music simply cannot. A revelation on the Blues disc is Eddie Bowles' "Bowles' Blues:" Bowles was born in New Orleans in 1884 and his playing encapsulates the "melting pot" characteristic of that region, with elements of jazz and blues in equal and superlative measure, all learned firsthand well before the popularity of the phonograph. The Instrumental and Dance disc contains many rollicking numbers, but none more mesmerizing than Alan Lomax discovery Pete Steele's "Coal Creek March." As with each of Dust to Digital's releases, Mr. Ledbetter has raised the bar: the packaging (LP size) is stunning, with paintings, drawings and photographs by husband wife team Art and Margo Rosenbaum, beautifully re-printed in a 95 page bound book with extensive notes on their half-century journey, as well as track by track analysis. Trust me when I say that if you enjoy music at all you owe it to yourself to buy this set and spend as much time as you can spare with it. There won't likely be a more engaging release, until Volume 2 of Art Of Field Recording comes out next year. [KC]

		$15.99 CD   ETHIOPIQUES VOLUME 22 Alemayehu Eshete (Buda Musique) "Ne-ney Weleba" "Yetentu Fegratchen" If you're fan of African music, you no doubt know about the fine Ethiopiques series. The latest edition, number 22, is probably one of my favorite installments yet. Featured artist Alemayehu Eshete has been included on other volumes of the series, but only with a song or two at a time, so it's great to finally get a whole disc of his late-'60s/early-'70s works, all put to tape during the years leading up to the fall of Emperor Haile Sellassie I in 1974. Often dubbed the Ethiopian James Brown or the Abyssinian Elvis (I also hear a lot of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' moody, slow-burn blues as well), Eshete's work is the crown jewel of Ethiopia's swinging sixties sound. Like the outstanding work of fellow countrymen Mahmoud Ahmed and Mulatu Astatke, Eshete's music is a kind of cultural time capsule, from his lyrical content to the mellow blues of his compositions. Rich arrangements of horn, flute, guitar, bass, piano/organ, percussion, and drums by his accomplice Girma Beyene, bring the swing of the music to full tilt. (Both Eshete and Beyene had fine success as solo performers, but it wasn't until they joined forces that they enjoyed their greatest success.) Despite the moodiness and dark themes that inhabited Eshete's songs, he became a beloved talent in his homeland, and this collection perfectly illustrates why. One of my favorite songs here is "Men Tetchiye Medritu," which poses the question "How much more can this world take?" over a slow horn-driven groove, with Eshete's low, full melody reminiscent of "Just My Imagination;" listening to the dubby production on the voice and guitar, you can almost compare it to Lee Perry turning the knobs on Porter Wagoner's Rubber Room. Needless to say, Ethiopiques 22 gets my highest recommendation. [DG]

		$14.99 CD $20.99 LP   EFTERKLANG Parades (Leaf) "Mirador" "Caravan" Icelandic soundtrack-tronica...Efterklang's Parades is a perfect marriage of Mum meets Broken Social Scene (how about "Icelanada"?), interwoven with strings and marching band instruments. Breathy passages are mixed with swooning choral arias, string breakdowns and build-ups, and fluttering electronics/piano that suddenly drop down and then crescendo for what seems to be days. The album shifts to starker stuff at the halfway point with a more vivid, up-close production quality: militant dirges, almost mourning strings, more drive and even more build-ups. Parades sounds like the score to The Grinch That SAVED Christmas set in a mysterious toy village with snow capped mountains in the distance. Hey, just like the cover! [SM]

		$18.99 CDx2 $14.99 mp3   BABY DEE Robin's Tiny Throat (Durtro Jnana) "The Prince of a Sparrow" "Half a Chance" Long associated with David Tibet's Current 93, Cleveland-born performance artist Baby Dee has also come to acclaim over the past few years for her work on Antony & the Johnson's stellar pair of albums. Originally a music director and pianist for a Bronx church upon her arrival in New York, Baby Dee gave up that life in favor of one with a circus sideshow before finally settling down to write and record for Tibet's World Serpent label. Compiling the out-of-print Little Window and Love's Small Song albums as well as the Made for Love single, The Robin's Tiny Throat presents a pretty authoritative view of the earliest stages of this beguilingly unique singer, songwriter, harpist, pianist, and occasional accordion player's career. Simultaneously calling to mind iconic vocalists like Tiny Tim and more stripped-down Scott Walker, tracks like the haunting piano monologue of "A Weakness for Roses" and the grim, harp-laced ballad "So Bad" neatly showcase Dee's impeccable performance and composition skills, as well as her undeniable flair for the dramatic. With a new full-length slated for release on the Drag City label at the beginning of 2008, The Robin's Tiny Throat gives intrigued listeners a perfect chance to catch up before then. [MC]

		$15.99 CD $15.99 CD   SUN CITY GIRLS Dulce - OST (Abduction) "Dulce" SUN CITY GIRLS Jack's Creek (Abduction) "Bubblin' Greenery" Dulce and Jack's Creek are the second two releases in the ongoing series of Sun City Girls soundtrack reissues and good news to anyone trying to track down this prolific trio's mostly out-of-print back catalogue (both albums were originally released on LP in the late '90s in limited editions). Dulce is the soundtrack to a never-released Japanese film about a secret underground alien base in New Mexico that has a truly bizarre real-life back story. According to the liner notes, the film's director -- who we will refer to as "Hachiro Maki," even though it is most likely not his real name -- was a member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult made famous for its Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. He also claimed to be an associate of Aum Shinrikyo's head scientific weapons researcher, Hideo Murai, who was killed by a Korean hitman that same year. And if that isn't enough to make you want to hear this record, the Girls are joined here by none other than Eyvind Kang on violin and guitar and Tatsuya Yoshida and Ryuichi Masuda of Ruins. The results are eerie and ritualistic miniatures that live up to SCG's reputation as genre bending, pan-ethnic purveyors of utterly strange music. Jack's Creek, as the title suggests, finds the Girls in a more rural-American terrain, complete with banjos, harmonica, rollicking piano lines and of course, absurd diatribes delivered by deranged, squirrel-eating, Civil War obsessed characters with severe cases of verbal diarrhea. In the Sun City Girls typically caustic fashion, all concepts of "Americana" are turned on their ears but oddly, these bouts of dialogue and playacting, which are often long and quite hilarious, transition into instrumental passages that are quite beautiful and even transcendent. It's a tough dynamic to maintain and it is a testament to the uniqueness -- and queerness -- of the Sun City Girls' vision that they even tried it, let alone pulled it off. [CC]

		$15.99 CD   THE ABYSSINIANS Satta Massagana - Deluxe Edition (Heartbeat) "Declaration of Rights" "I and I" Let's sum it up in one sentence for y'all: this is perhaps THE most important, heaviest roots reggae record ever made. The title track to this record has become, over the years, the reggae music national anthem -- it is sung in Rastafarian churches, and its rhythm has probably been versioned more than any other in reggae history; entire albums have been released consisting of nothing but versions of the "Satta" rhythm. The rest of the album, though, tends to be a bit overshadowed as a result. It's a shame, because the album is all killer, no filler, and the Abyssinians are one of the most soulful vocal trios in music history, reggae or otherwise. Tracks like "Declaration of Rights," "Forward Unto Zion," "Leggo Beast," and "Reason Time" feature gorgeous, heavenly harmonies overtop deep, throbbing, earthy grooves; this reissue of the 1976 album also includes a handful of bonus dubs and 12" mixes. From aficionados to neophytes, this is one reggae record any fan of roots music should own -- from the guy obsessed with Heart of the Congos to the casual rocker whose reggae collection is a Bob Marley album or two. You like reggae? You need this. [IQ]

		$15.99 CD   BJ NILSEN The Short Night (Touch) "Pole of Inaccessibility" "Black Light" Although active under the name Hazard since the mid-90s, Swedish sound artist BJ Nilsen only recently began recording under his given name, issuing the exquisite Fade to White in 2005, as well as more recent collaborative efforts with field recordist Chris Watson, not to mention cellist Hildur Gudnadottir and Icelandic trio Stilluppsteypa. While each of those records explored facets of his blend of processed environmental recordings and other assorted audio flotsam and jetsam, his latest disc The Short Night easily presents his most confident refinement of his wealth of techniques yet. Once again combing through field recordings, radio broadcasts, and a host of other source materials, here Nilsen creates staggering pieces like "Front" and "Pole of Inaccessibility," both elegiac movements that drape warm drones over carefully manipulated location recordings to create organic yet wholly alien unmapped landscapes colored by subtle tone shifts and burst of white noise static. Carefully conceived and created, The Short Night deserves a rightful place amongst the most celebrated works of Nilsen's Touch labelmates like Biosphere and Philip Jeck. [MC]

		$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3   BOSCOE Boscoe (Asterisk) "We Ain't Free" "I'm What You Need" Doomed to obscurity almost from the start, Chicago crew Boscoe managed to cut a single LP in the early 1970s that hardly made a dent in the collective consciousness of their hometown of Chicago. A deep, dark funk/soul ensemble that mixed minimal, bottom-heavy grooves with firebrand, almost proto-hiphop spoken word, Boscoe gigged hard in and around the Midwest, sadly never seeing even a fraction of the recognition that obvious influences like the Arkestra or the Art Ensemble commanded. In fact, it wouldn't be until the dawn of the new millennium that Boscoe's reputation would start to gather steam, championed by rare groove collectors in Japan. Reissued and re-presented here as a part of the Numero Group's Asterisk imprint, Boscoe at long last gets a chance to unleash its intensity on a whole new generation of listeners. Be it in the passionate screeds of "Writin' on the Wall," the rolling, horn-drenched swagger of "We Ain't Free," or the cautionary sway of "Money Won't Save You" and its over-the-top vocal harmonies, Boscoe bounces with a passion that's hardly been dulled by the three decades it spent unheralded. [MC]

		$13.99 CD $8.99 mp3   HEALTH Health (Lovepump Unlimited) "Glitter Pills" "Triceratops" Los Angeles' DIY community keeps on giving, what with No Age getting picked up by Sub Pop (their Other Music in-store is still being talked about at the shop) and now comes another bunch of noise makers, HEALTH. Hailing from the same scene that also brought us Mika Miko, Captain Ahab and Abe Vigoda, the band recorded their debut album at the Smell, an all ages venue/art space -- an "underground hub" if you will -- located in downtown LA. Of all the above mentioned, however, HEALTH is probably the most confrontational of the crew, eschewing almost any sign of traditional song structure in this concise, 29-minute album, and it's a joyously chaotic ride. First impressions might make you think of hardcore kids who've recently discovered This Heat, but that same description could also have been used on Liars once upon a time, and in this case, Liars might be a more appropriate reference point for this LA quartet. But HEALTH aren't one trick ponies, as the abrasive transition between the controlled slow-build of album opener "Heaven" into the 36-second pummel of the following track "Girl Attorney" proves. Then you get songs like "Triceratops;" its ADD arrangement is almost impossible to follow -- one second all tight and wiry with razor-scrape guitars and ghost-chant vocals, and the next, an unhinged mess of cascading drums, and feedback. It's interesting to see that young West Coast bands like HEALTH have not only been paying close attention to East Coast avant-adventurists like Black Dice and the Far East's Boredoms, they've made it punk...again. [GH]

		$15.99 CD   MARC WILKINSON Blood on Satan's Claw OST (Trunk) "Fiend Discovered and Titles" "Angel Naked" At long last, here's the first issue of some truly haunted, affected soundtrack work. It comes courtesy of Marc Wilkinson, a British film score composer and musician best known for Lindsay Anderson's If..., and several Hammer horror/"Quatermass" projects for television and the big screen. His music for the 1971 Tigon production of Blood on Satan's Claw plays an integral part in that film's bewitching, lurid tale of demonic seduction and murder among the teenagers of a remote British village. The film itself is one shade removed from the cover of Black Sabbath's first album come to life, accented by a fragile, menacing score, based around a descending chord progression known as "the Devil's Interval." Electronic swoops and a folk-goth menace throughout make for a pronounced, tantalizing piece of work which holds its own against the majesty of Lubos Fiser's Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, rediscovered by many this year as well. [DM]

		$14.99 CD   WITCHCRAFT The Alchemist (Candlelight) "Leva" "Remembered" Heralded as the second coming of doom metal, Sweden's Witchcraft have had significant difficulty in bringing their gifts across on record; their first album is an authentic-sounding mudpit of stately dirge, while its follow-up, Firewood, exchanged a much fuller sound for slightly inferior songs. Thankully, the third time's a charm; The Alchemist blends the band's strengths into strident, caterwauling psych-rock downers, the knowing sound of the eternally damned beckoning the saved with a handful of empty promise and lustful persuasion. It's a tremendous accomplishment for the group, which is finally able to resemble its influences (most points between Comus and Pentagram apply). An excellent effort all around. [DM]

		$10.99 12" $1.99 mp3   EXCEPTER Burgers / The Punjab (Paw Tracks) The newest 12" slab of insanity from Excepter marks another change in their always-morphing sound. The closest comparison my ears can draw here for "Burgers" is the B-52s stuck in a blender with Dinosaur L. B-side "The Punjab," on the other hand, is a hypnotic, rhythmically intense electro bhangra banger, Excepter style. Hypnotic and rhythmically intense, this is undoubtedly their idea of a club hit. Get ready for a new full-length to drop soon. (Preview both songs on Other Music Digital.) [LR]

		$15.99 CD   KATHY SMITH Some Songs I've Saved (Fallout) "Topanga" "Same Old Lady" Kathy Smith's Some Songs I've Saved was the third release on Richie Havens' short-lived Stormy Forest label back in 1970. Luckily, Fallout has re-released this obscure singer-songwriter's collection of mature, heartfelt folk for a modern audience. Smith's clear voice eagerly carries the listener through nine uniquely honest stories about coming-of-age as a young woman, urban hardship, devotion, heartbreak, and ultimately, togetherness. Ambitious, poppy orchestrations permeate the album; Smith and her "freaky" friends make the tabla, sitar, flute, banjo, and even handclaps coexist beautifully with soaring, meandering strings that underscore so many of the songs, seemingly a manifestation of Smith's yearning to "get this world together!" Some Songs I've Saved is a treat for both the diehard '70s female acid-folk collector who has everything and the most casual melodic folk enthusiast! [KS]

		$14.99 CD   DAN KAUFMAN Force of Light (Tzadik) "Aspen Tree" "Count the Almonds" In Europe, the Second World War is remembered with two-minutes of silence at eleven o' clock in the morning on the eleventh day of the eleventh month every year. Marking this occasion in his own way, guitarist Dan Kaufman's contribution to Tzadik's Radical Jewish Culture series interprets the life and work of the poet Paul Celan, whose first poem, "Mother's Day," was penned as a gift to his mother who had been shot by a guard in a Ukraine concentration camp. Staying true to Celan's style of using silence as a means to contemplate language, Kaufman's instrumental arrangements personify the anguish felt in the poetry, while the grave tone to Fiona Templeton's recitation delivers a sort of gravity that verges on aching. Before my first listen, I was concerned that the album would succumb to the macabre, given the theme and untimely end to Celan's life; however, the use of cello, violin, clarinet and Theremin manifest thoughts of loneliness and mourning, rather than complete devastation. Contrary to what might have been a dark and heavy-handed work, Dan Kaufman and his ensemble succeed in creating a compelling piece that touches on many emotions; Force of Life is at once accessible, engaging and thought-provoking. [KP]

		$15.99 CD   TOMMY ROE Phantasy (Fallout) "Mystic Magic" "The Executive" The second of Tommy Roe's two psychsploitation records, following 1967's It's Now Winter's Day. Roe lost the pink crystalline touch of Curt Boettcher this time out, and with it a lot of the credibility, but he was in his prime such a strong songwriter that Phantasy's peaks hold up admirably to his later hits, particularly "Mystic Magic," "Little Miss Sunshine," and sitar stomper "It's Gonna Hurt Me." Hey, we have to face it -- there's not enough well-crafted, forward-thinking studio pop from the '60s to go around. If you're into that sound, you need to have this. [DM]

		$13.99 CDx2   VARIOUS ARTISTS 10 Tons Heavy (Planet Mu) "Quawwali" Pinch "Traffic" Distance The ever energetic Planet Mu compiles some of their favorite dubstep thrashers on this two-CD set featuring new and old favorites, including Vex'd, Milanese, Benga, Pinch, and Boxcutter. As the title suggests, these tracks are some of the heaviest, brashest, and downright bonkers musical stabs to be unleashed on the unsuspecting masses as of late. Two CDs can barely hold all the extended play rhythms compiled here, and that's not even mentioning the killer mix from DJ Hatcha which is crafted from all of the tracks of the first disc and interjected with even more cuts. Looking for something to make your body move and your head explode? Look no further! [DG]

		$14.99 CD $18.99 LP $9.99 mp3   LCD SOUNDSYSTEM 45:33 (DFA) "45:33" It's not exactly a new LCD Soundsystem album, it's not precisely a DJ mix either, and most importantly it's not strictly enforced that you take up jogging to enjoy this. "45:33" was originally commissioned by Nike (gasp!) last year as an original workout mix (huh?!), but the crazy thing is it turned out so well, it's being reissued now by DFA. Portions of this epic piece might be familiar to you, as parts to several songs off of Sound of Silver show up as prototypes here. The CD includes three exclusive tracks not available on the original release of "45:33," download comes with one.

		$13.99 CD-EP   TUSSLE Warning EP (Smalltown Supersound) "Warning" Kango & Torkill Mix Tussle's organic grooves are obvious fodder for remixing, and this nice EP has a great cross-section of dance floor freaks deconstructing the Telescope Mind album, including a pretty tasty Hot Chip version of "Flicker 33.3," a 10-minute Krautrock floor-filler; Optimo's JD Twitch compressing the whole damn record into a schizo mash-up; Liquid Liquid's Dennis Young turning out a sprawling reworking of "Elephants," his signature marimba licks instantly recognizable; and Kango and Torkill's disco-house take on "The Warning." These remix EPs are often just an excuse for live bands to trade emails with their dance heroes, but not this time... a great little record that is chock full of gems.

		$13.99 CD-EP   LINDSTROM Contemporary Fix (Smalltown Supersound) "The Contemporary Fix" One of the best tracks on It's a Feedelity Affair gets the full-on remix treatment by Hans-Petter Lindstrom himself, with help from fellow Norwegian disco crusader Bjorn Torske and Boredoms' EYE. The first nu-disco track to incorporate the banjo? Who knows but it sounds awesome. Torske's mix is a soaring 10-minute disco house anthem and EYE cooks one up in his, now trademark, tribal rave style. Great little package.

		$13.99 CD $9.99 mp3   SIGUR ROS Hvarf / Heim (XL) "Samskeyti" Not exactly a new album, but this lovely new Sigur Ros record is full of all new material and is practically TWO new albums if you're gonna be fair. The first five tracks are unreleased rarities from the band's archives, three unheard numbers and a couple of radical re-workings of tracks from Von, their arresting 1997 debut. Then you get six more breathtaking live acoustic versions of classic Sigur Ros, for an irresistible package.

		$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3   CITAY Little Kingdom (Dead Oceans) "First Fantasy" Call it arena rock or call it post-rock, San Francisco's new groove merchants (featuring, amongst a cast of many, Ezra Feinberg of Piano Magic and Tim Green from the F**king Champs) deliver some trippy riffs on the more pastoral side of 1970's hard rock, when flutes, synthesizers and mandolin could coexist nicely with heavy guitar jams and sweaty headbanging. Soulful, accomplished rock and roll!

		$13.99 CD   BRIGHT EYES Motion Sickness (Team Love) "Old Soul Song" Back in print! Motion Sickness Live Recordings features 15 songs recorded during Conor Oberst and company's 90 day world tour. Includes several tracks from "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" and covers of Elliott Smith's "The Biggest Lie" and Feist's "Mushaboom," plus a 24-page booklet which features a tour diary written by Rilo Kiley's Jason Boesel, who is also member of Bright Eyes' touring band.

		$14.99 CD   LITTLE BROTHER Get Back (ABB) "Extra Hard" The third album by North Carolina's Little Brother (now without production wiz 9th Wonder) sees them moving alone in fine fashion. On Get Back, the duo are further perfecting their formula of combing the old school (EPMD, A Tribe Called Quest) with Roots-style conscious hip hop -- but never without a much appreciated sense of humor -- and Southern flavors. From the raw funk of opener "Sirens" to "Breakin' My Heart" which stars Lil Wayne, the highlights on Get Back are plenty.

		$13.99 CD   BEAR IN HEAVEN Red Bloom of the Boom (Hometapes) "Shining and Free" It's nearly impossible to pigeonhole this band and this album, in the best possible way. A passing listen might come across as pure cacophony, a mess of analog synth, overlapping guitars and propulsive drumming sending the listener into freefall, with little room for aural purchase. But there is method to this madness, and the logic is slowly revealed, as head bear Jon Philpot's warm vocals (joined at times by On!Air!Library!'s Alejandra Deheza) bring into focus the joyously individual vision of this band.

		$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3   BESNARD LAKES Volume 1 (Breakglass) "Thomasina" Vol. 1 is what it says it is, the Besnard Lakes' debut album, originally self-released in 2003, being reissued by Jagjaguwar after the group found some success with their lovely sophomore album Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse earlier this year. Vol. 1 is less orchestrated and epic than their follow-up, but still wallows in warm, churning rock ambience, dark layered guitar chords and complex pyrotechnics nearly obscuring Jace Lacek's paranoid, mumbled vocal delivery (he had not yet explored the haunting high register that occasionally appears on the later album). Although probably not as compelling as the follow-up, a nice treat for the fans.

		$14.99 CD $12.99 LP   CASTANETS In the Vines (Asthmatic Kitty) "Strong Animal" One doesn't put on a Castanets record to cheer up, and while In the Vines is their most fully realized and produced effort to date (with guests like St. Vincent's Annie Clark and Sufjan Stevens), it also finds mainman Ray Raposa's sparse, southern gothic influenced tropes really tapping into some desolate emotions. Salvation rarely comes in his songs, but when it finally does rear its head, it's enough to make you feel born again, if but all for a fleeting moment. His recorded world is a lonesome one for sure, but it's one that you'll find yourself wanting to return to many times over.

		$12.99 CD $9.99 mp3   HOLY F**K LP (XL) "Milkshake" No, we're not prude, we just don't want to set off everyone's spam filters! H.F.'s new full-length is a pulsing, sometimes pounding album of freaked-out rhythm and synthesizer jams, taking vintage Kraftwerk and Neu! as a jumping-off point for a sound that incorporates electro strut, acid-house squall, and Dexedrine-laced insanity. Funky, junky, and fully juiced up!

		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 for any reason, please visit: digital.othermusic.com/subscribe.php   THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [CC] Che Chen [KC] Kevin Coultas [MC] Michael Crumsho [DG] Daniel Givens [GH] Gerald Hammill [KH] Koen Holtkamp [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [MK] Michael Klausman [JM] Josh Madell [DM] Doug Mosurock [SM] Scott Mou [KP] Kimberly Powenski [LR] Linden Renz [KS] Karen Soskin THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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