March 25, 2009

		Buy Early Get Now: Sonic Youth "The Eternal" Pre-order Sonic Youth's The Eternal (out on June 9) on CD or LP, and you'll also receive access to an advanced stream of the album (beginning April 28), a limited live LP, exclusive MP3s and a poster. Currently, this Buy Early Get Now offer is for purchases made in person at the store only, but will be available for mail order on April 28th. Questions? Email: orders@othermusic.com

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES Wavves Fever Ray Chimera Music Release No 0 (Various) Abner Jay (Mississippi LP) The Birth of Bossa (Various) G-Spots (Trunk Records comp.) Kurt Vile (Limited LP) Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Funkadelic Obits Red Red Meat (MF) DOOM Dan Deacon Guru Guru Condo Fucks (a/k/a Yo La Tengo) The Only Ones (3 reissues w/bonus tracks) Muslimgauze James Carr   ALSO AVAILABLE Cymbals Eat Guitars Lotus Plaza Harlem Shakes Jeremy Jay Decemberists Mayfair Set (7" single) Royksopp Mono Fridge Peter Doherty MSTRKRFT AVAILABLE ON VINYL Pop Ambient 2009 Ponytail Marissa Nadler

		MAR Sun 22 Mon 23 Tues 24 Wed 25 Thurs 26 Fri 27 Sat 28   WIN TICKETS TO PRIMAL SCREAM! Other Music is giving away two pairs of tickets to see Scottish rock legends Primal Scream, who'll be performing in New York this Saturday, March 28th at Webster Hall. To enter, send an email to tickets@othermusic.com. We'll notify the two winners this Friday afternoon, via email. Good luck! SATURDAY, MARCH 28 WEBSTER HALL: 125 East 11th Street NYC

		MAR Sun 22 Mon 23 Tues 24 Wed 25 Thurs 26 Fri 27 Sat 28 Moodymann   WIN TICKETS TO EGYPTIAN LOVER & MOODYMANN On March 28, the Egyptian Lover and Moodymann are coming together for one night only at the Mister Saturday Night party at Santos Party House. It's doubtful anything like this has ever happened. Moodymann's dropping Detroit roller-skating jams downstairs, and Egypt is going live -- full on dance routines with partner Jamie Jupiter. Oh. My. Goodness. Other Music has two pairs of guest list spots up for grabs. To enter, send an email to enter@othermusic.com. We'll notify the two lucky winners on Friday afternoon. SATURDAY, MARCH 28 SANTOS PARTY HOUSE : 100 Lafayette Street, Ground Fl South (btwn Walker & White Streets) NYC

		APR Sun 29 Mon 30 Tues 31 Wed 01 Thurs 02 Fri 03 Sat 04   ARTHUR RUSSELL TRIBUTE TICKET GIVE-AWAY On Saturday, April 4, Le Poisson Rouge presents a tribute to Arthur Russell. This concert of live music, held on the anniversary of Russell's passing, will bridge the gaps between the extremes of his practice, and will include instrumental works, dance tracks, and songs played by an ensemble of Russell's original collaborators -- Steven Hall, Ernie Brooks, Peter Zummo, Bill Ruyle, Joyce Kirby, Elodie Lauten, Mustafa Ahmed, and John Scherman -- along with musician-composers Nick Hallett and Alex Waterman. They will be joined by special guests including Nomi (of Hercules and Love Affair), and then a dance party follows with DJs Lee Douglas (Rong), Justin Vandervolgen (ex-!!!), and Dan Selzer (Acute), while artist Rafael Sanchez caps off the evening with a special performance to Dinosaur L's "Go Bang!" Enter for a pair of tickets by emailing giveaway@othermusic.com. We'll notify the two winners via email on Monday, March 30. SATURDAY, APRIL 4 LE POISSON ROUGE: 158 Bleeker Street NYC This concert is being co-presented by Wordless Music as part of its Spring 2009 season, along with Justine D., BoomBOOM and Nick Hallett.

		$12.99 CD $16.99 LP   WAVVES Wavvves (Fat Possum) "Beach Demon" "So Bored" Noise is IN, at least that's what the kids are telling me and this particular kid is shouting it louder than anyone else presently. This is, however, far from the cocksure ear-splitting experimentation of Wolf Eyes, Hair Police and the like; the kids aren't quite that brave, but noise is still a strangely popular focus of the late noughties. Outre pop terrorist Ariel Pink might have inadvertently started a revolution with his series of Haunted Graffiti CD-Rs, as his skewed, cassette-worshipping ultra lo-fi take on symphonic pop music was to spawn many a follower. This brings us to Wavves, the confusingly spelled moniker of one Nathan Williams, a green-smoking twenty-something with a love of Brian Wilson, AC/DC, Sonic Youth, Journey and, well, noise. I'm sure somewhere within his toasted brain cells, Williams is convinced that he's writing the most precious indie pop music, ruminating on the wonders of goths, beaches and err... well that's it really but it's a lot to think about. In the process, however, something got mangled and the result is a singular vision of chunky, half-burned rawk-pop-punk that's far harder to describe than it is to enjoy. Think of it as DIY punk music for the credit crunch generation -- a cheap PC and a few junk-shop tape recorders is all Williams needed to make his vision of indie-pop more engaging than that of his peers and it's all the better for it. Where Ariel Pink perhaps got lost somewhere along the way with delusions of grandeur, there is no such confusion here as Williams stomps through his sophomore album Wavvves and shows us over a mere half-an-hour that even in the darkest times it's okay just to have fun. These three-minute marvels are explorations of the finer things in life -- sun, sea, sand and girls, and who can possibly begrudge him that? The songs aren't well developed, well produced or even well written, but there's something so totally engaging, so totally life affirming and so oddly inspiring that it's hard not to be caught up in the waves (sorry) of hype surrounding Williams at the moment. Unusually enough, the more you listen to the record, the more its ghostly resonance starts to make sense, and deep within the pastiche and radio hiss there might even be a hint of melancholia. [JT]

		$14.99 CD   FEVER RAY Fever Ray (Mute) "When I Grow Up" "Triangle Walks" What can we say about this solo release from the Knife's Karin Dreijer Andersson, save that if you were ensorcelled by Silent Shout and can't bear to wait for the brother and sister duo to reconvene for its follow-up, then you definitely need Fever Ray. All of Silent Shout's sonic tics remain. Narcotic drum programming and production? Check. Eerie, icy ambiance permeating the crevice of every song? Check. Uncanny songs about the haze of childhood, being a farmer, and dishwasher tablets? Yep. Dreijer Andersson's girl vocals chopped'n'screwed down to the point of gender confusion, thematic indecipherability and lobe-scrambling bliss? Check. Even after the critical praise and devotion of the Knife, no one has quite mimicked or equaled their body of work, and Fever Ray continues to be both inscrutable and irreducible. [AB]

		$15.99 CD   VARIOUS ARTISTS Chimera Music Release No 0 (Chimera Music) "You Feel Right (Cornelius Remix)" If By Yes "Ask the Elephant!" Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band Chimera Music is a brand new label from none other than Sean Lennon, troubled offspring of Yoko Ono and John Lennon. The surprise to me (having heard his earlier recordings) is the artistic variety on offer here as he pulls in favors from friends and colleagues to come up with a genuinely high quality sampler. Gone is the Beatles-lite jangle of Lennon's earlier work and we are treated to snippets of his psychedelically-minded compositions for the forthcoming movie Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead. Sitting beside this are tracks from (unsurprisingly) the Plastic Ono band, Cornelius and, most interestingly, If By Yes, a new project from Yuka Honda, the woman behind Cibo Matto. The mood here is very much psychedelic, bordering on the kind of library-heavy soundtrack digging you find from Trunk Records or B-Music, but with an artistic focus that gives the tracks a distinctly contemporary feel. It's hard to know exactly what Chimera Music will offer in the months and years to come, but if this collection is anything to go by, then the early signs are very good indeed. The damaged mind sounds more appealing than ever when it has company... [JT]

		$14.99 LP   ABNER JAY True Story of Abner Jay (Mississippi) Abner Jay was one of those true American originals, the self-billed "last working Southern Black minstrel." Born in the 1920s and supposedly performing since the tender age of 5, Jay took his one-man band all over the South, strumming his electric banjo and tapping out bass drum rhythms from the stage of his converted mobile home. His songs were steeped in the blues, and yet he tackled relatively atypical topics like cocaine use, the Vietnam War, and venereal disease with equal amounts of poignant sincerity and bawdy humor. He self-released a number of records throughout his life, and while Swedish label Subliminal Sounds released a compilation of some of his tracks a few years back, Mississippi Records' True Story of Abner Jay is the first readily available (until it sells out) vinyl peek into Abner Jay's singular world. Tracks like the gut-wrenching "I'm So Depressed" here map out much of what Abner Jay was all about -- a profoundly deep voice, the echoes of his amplified banjo, forceful harmonica lines, and an insistent rhythmic thump as he told his tales. Though he hardly deviated from this approach, that doesn't make pieces like "St. James Infirmary Blues" (one of the easy highlights here) or "Woke Up This Morning" any less enjoyable. Even more surprising here is "Cleo," a touching ballad that would have made Roy Orbison jealous. Sadly, a lot of Jay's oft-hilarious and poignant spoken word interludes didn't make it onto the LP. Though a shame, some of the best of them are preserved on the accompanying insert, so you too can learn the man's theories as to why cigarette companies were going to start manufacturing queen-sized cigarettes instead of king (because the former have bigger butts!). [MC]

		$16.99 CD   VARIOUS ARTISTS The Birth of Bossa (El / Cherry Red) "Chega de Saudade" Joao Gilberto "Outra Vez" Elizete Cardosa My, my, my, it's astonishing to realize how truly overdue this collection happens to be in its arrival. El/Cherry Red hands us an absolute gem in The Birth of Bossa, a 30-track overview of the formation of what has become one of Brazil's most defining musical styles. Bossa nova was a true musical revolution upon its arrival in the late 1950s; its evolution from the samba into a harmonically complex, rhythmic guitar-led style was largely the work of three individuals: composer Tom Jobim, poet/lyricist Vinícius de Moraes, and guitarist João Gilberto, himself possibly the single most important and revolutionary figure in bossa music. His first three albums for EMI/Odeon (sadly long out of print, perhaps never to be reissued again for complex legal reasons), as well as samba singer Elize Cardoso's Canção do Amor Demais LP, were the first true bossa LPs, and all revolve around Gilberto's revolutionary guitar work and Jobim's lush, melancholy arrangements. Cardoso's LP forms the backbone of this collection, appearing in its entirety along with Gilberto's first solo 45, as well as a handful of relevant tracks by the likes of guitarists Luiz Bonfa and Laurindo Almeida, and singers Os Cariocas, Agostinho Dos Santos, and Sylvia Telles. After decades of cool jazz flirtations, crossover smashes, and literally hundreds (thousands?) of versions of "The Girl from Ipanema," this set shines like a beacon. It has an earthier, more rootsy sound, the orchestrations rarely overwhelm the material as was the norm in later adaptations of the style, and more than anything else, the songs still move, sigh, and even groove as much as ever. There's no question --- if you're a fan of Brazilian music, this is as essential as it gets. Perfectly timed to coincide with the arrival of warmer climes, curl up with this one and get your saudade on. Highest Recommendation! [IQ]

		$15.99 CD $17.99 LP   VARIOUS ARTISTS G-Spots: The Spacey Folk Electro-Horror Sounds of the Studio G Library (Trunk) "Moon Nightclub" Douglas Wood "Cosmic Blues" F. Afzelius I sometimes wonder to myself if Trunk is ever going to put a foot wrong? Johnny Trunk's astonishing imprint has been stapling my jaw firmly to the floor since I first got my grubby mitts on their early re-issue of the Wicker Man OST. Since then the label has traipsed across the potholed world of library music, jazz and film and television soundtracks, unearthing gems many thought were long gone, while acting as protector in many ways to music that is so dear to our hearts. This latest release is a collection of lesser known library gems from John Gale's Studio G. Gale worked in advertising in the 1960s and was appalled at the low quality of the library music he was being offered -- in response to this he started his own studio and Studio G was born. In the years that followed, he issued a series of 7"s and LPs concentrating on different musical styles, from horror themes to electronic experimentations, and these records have become prized and sought after by everyone from Keiren Hebden to Julian House (Belbury Poly). Hearing these tracks now, it's no surprise why -- typically British, these are eccentric and engaging jingles ranging from the sort of sci-fi themed electronic hiccups better associated with The Radiophonic Workshop to funkier, slinkier pieces. Effortlessly unusual, there is a peculiar soft-focus to these tracks, no doubt coming from the recording process. It's a sound we rarely associate with electronic music these days and it gives them an endearing loungey glow, helping the themes to sink into your head for the minutes, hours and weeks that follow. With such a wide remit in terms of style you'd think the compilation would lose focus, but there's a linking thread somewhere here and as the tracks jump from soundscapes to jazz, to lounge, to funk, to electro world music (the utterly mind-blowing "Voodootronics"), you should be left in no doubt that what you're hearing is something very special indeed. Another treat from the Trunk imprint then, and something you are sure to cherish for some time to come. Incredible music. [JT]

		$16.99 LP w/MP3   KURT VILE God Is Saying This to You... (Mexican Summer) Philly boy Kurt Vile was responsible for my favorite record in 2008, a moody, mostly lo-fi disc of gems called Constant Hitmaker that showcased his innate knack for low-slung pop songs created with contemplative guitar, moody drones, and a spare drum machine or two. Apparently, bigger labels out there are lining up to rescue the guy from the instant obscurity that comes with releasing an album on Gulcher, but in the meantime, he's got plenty to keep him busy, with three new releases arriving almost on top of each other. Dropping almost simultaneously alongside The Hunchback, a punched-up EP that shows his ability to lead a full-throated rock band, God Is Saying This to You... collects a bunch of intimate tracks recorded over the past few years. Those who fell hard for Constant Hitmaker will be equally smitten with this limited edition LP, as it's chock full of the modest numbers that made his debut so memorable. Held mostly to intricately plucked acoustics, warm guitar and synth tones, and that ever-so-stoned voice of his, tracks like the gorgeous "My Sympathy" and "Can't Come" are more earnestly folky than anything he's attempted before, while pieces like "Beach on the Moon" and "My Best Friends" douse slightly ominous and slack-jawed pop moves with liberal doses of reverb that make for some truly haunting moments. Closing out with a pretty endearing stab at No Pussyfooting-era Robert Fripp, this latest collection from the young Vile is all the more proof that he's one to watch this year. Grab this one while you can. [MC]

		$13.99 CD $15.99 LP   BONNIE 'PRINCE' BILLY Beware (Drag City) "Beware Your Only Friend" "You Can't Hurt Me Now" A lot of the reviews we've seen so far for Will Oldham's umpteenth recording cite Neil Young's devastating spiritual-nadir exploration, Tonight's the Night. Beware of judging an album by its cover though, as aside from some hand-lettering and a black and white front sleeve photo, the two couldn't be more polar opposites. Rather than deploy the ragged, staggering rock of Neil (which, as you recall, Oldham already tackled waaaay back on Viva Last Blues), Oldham and his cohorts (of which there are heaps this go-round) are tight, swinging, and both country- and jazz-tinged. Arrangements are bright and nuanced, with cornet, pedal steel, marimba, and woodwinds dancing about these songs of love. A fine follow-up to last year's gorgeous Lie Down Down in the Light. [AB]

		$15.99 CD   FUNKADELIC Toys (Westbound) "Heart Trouble" "Vampy Funky Bernie" Westbound unleashes a long-promised treasure-trove of previously unreleased Funkadelic material on Toys, and man, was it worth the wait. Comprised of 51 minutes of studio tracks (so yes, it's top-notch quality, soundwise) from the early 1970s, before Cosmic Slop, Toys features four vocal tracks, most in a loose, almost freeform lyrical stream, and five instrumental jams during which keyboardist Bernie Worrell and guitarist Eddie Hazel tear sh*t up -- it's no exaggeration to say that the two players really make, and practically own, the session. Highlights on a record of damn near nothing but include opener "Heart Trouble," in essence an early version of Cosmic Slop's "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure" in an entirely different arrangement (recorded circa Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow), Worrell's gorgeous gospel lament "Talk About Jesus," recorded during the Maggot Brain sessions and featuring some of Bernie's finest piano work, as well as inspired vocals by Isaac Hayes's then-backup singers Hot Buttered Soul and some Leslie-cabinet guitar work by Tawl Ross. The band tears into some heavy psyche-blues on "Slide On It (2nd Tune Olympic)," giving Hazel some choice post-Hendrix fretboard freakwork, and Ross and Hazel battle it out over the awesome trance-out of "Vampy Funky Bernie (3rd Tune Olympic)." Also included are different versions of Maggot Brain's "War of Armageddon" (sans sound effects and overdubs), a waaay heavier treatment of "The Goose (That Laid the Golden Egg)," more widely known from Parliament's Up for the Down Stroke, and the wonderful Let's Take It to the Stage outtake "Stink Finger," with its choice "I don't wanna get up/quaalude me down" refrain. Bottom line, if you're a P-Funk fan, you need this. If you're a crate-digging, dusty-fingered beathead, you need this. If you've been inundated with too many blazin' Caucasian sounds lately, you need this. I repeat: You Need This. One of the best reissues of the year! [IQ]

		$13.99 CD $14.99 LP w/MP3   OBITS I Blame You (Sub Pop) "Widow of My Dreams" "Pine On" Rick Froberg has been leveling the kids since debuting with his band Pitchfork back in the late '80s, but most of you recognize him as the frontman of two very important groups in the development of modern punk rock: Drive Like Jehu and Hot Snakes. Having been stationed in Brooklyn for this decade, the dissolution of his previous outfits allowed for the glacial, yet rewarding development of his latest project, Obits. Having parted ways with Jehu/Rocket from the Crypt co-founder John Reis (who's now performing with the rest of the Hot Snakes guys as Night Marchers), Froberg and his new band take a slightly more mature, but no less rigorous, swing at familiar sounds. His ragged voice wearily screeching out over a handsome hybrid of post-punk and early UK mod & psychedelia (check out the "Lucifer Sam" nod in opener "Widow of My Dreams," or their ripping cover of "Milk Cow Blues"), Obits play like the studio is burning down around them. You couldn't ask for a more exciting record for this spring. [DM]

		$14.99 CDx2   RED RED MEAT Bunny Gets Paid - Deluxe Edition (Sub Pop) "Chain Chain" "Saint Anthony's Jawbone" I'll be the first to admit that Red Red Meat could be a bitter pill to swallow. Lurching to life in the early-'90s, an era where the likes of Pavement, Superchunk, and Archers of Loaf dominated the indie underground, Red Red Meat never quite found the audience they deserved. Sure, they had slack for days, but they also had a hard case of the blues, a genre still largely relegated to the pursuits of sniveling completists (think Steve Buscemi's character in Ghost World) and over-earnest guitar instructors. It would be another five years before the White Stripes made the blues safe for public consumption again, opening the iron gate for the success of the Black Keys and their brethren, who would take liberties implementing the genre as a key ingredient in their recipe. In short, RRM were simultaneously a band out of, and ahead of their time. To paraphrase band roadie/mascot Tim Loftus, there literally was NOTHING like this album when it first came out fourteen years ago. And there wasn't. While they'd been building up steam with the relatively by-the-numbers Exile on Main Street damage of their early albums, it wasn't until Bunny Gets Paid that Red Red Meat began to break down the components of a great rock band into something far more compelling and enduring. The members would later boil this approach down to a trademark as Califone, but it was here that their systematic dismantling of the blues, and by extension, classic rock, would begin in earnest. Sure, we still get some (slightly) more orthodox riffing in the sing-along chorus of "Chain Chain," but album opener "Carpet of Horses" is far more emblematic of the overall tone here, quietly loping out of the speakers, and having the same effect as watching a prehistoric reptile you thought long-extinct nonchalantly emerge from under a rock. It's a hollowed-out exoskeleton of the electric blues slowed to a crawl, as interpreted by four stoned witch doctors convening in a truck stop bathroom. Into this primordial stew, the singer slurs hints of confusion, ennui, and dislocation, but never assembled as anything resembling a coherent statement or story line. Like the sudden appearance and stumbling retreat of banjo, slide guitar, and cinder block, the obscure(d) lyrics and vocal melodies work to create yet another layer in Red Red Meat's rickety junkyard portraits of beauty and disorientation. This is one of those rare albums that may actually make more sense, and sound BETTER now than it did in its day. With the constant onslaught of over-hyped blog bands and next-big things, it's nice to see a record like this get the deluxe reissue attention. Red Red Meat: It's not just for sniveling blues hounds anymore. [JTr]

		$15.99 CD   DOOM Born Like This (Lex) "Lightworks" "Angelz" feat. Tony Starks The extensive bio of Mr. Daniel Dumile -- known to most as MF DOOM, though for this outing he's dropped the "MF" from his name -- is too many pages for this update, so I'm going to just cut to the chase. For his first full-length for the Lex label, the British born American has "a plan that will shake the heavens." Born Like This is classic DOOM, filled with intricate wordplay that is equally thought provoking, social, humorous, and wildly imaginative. Though he's mostly holding it down solo, Raekwon, Tony Starks, Kurious, Slug, Posdnous, Prince Paul, and a few others pick up the mic and drop a verse or two. He even hands over the production on a few tracks to Madlib, the late J Dilla, and producer on the rise, Jake One. Musically speaking, his loop-based, cinema and TV sampling technique is still intact, though it has become more fluid and complex over the years. DOOM's taste for beat making sits on the fence between kitsch, funk, pyschedelia, soul, sci-fi, and library music, but he warps and crafts in such a tight mesh that all of it sounds natural and refreshingly unique. (The list of sample credits here include: ESG, Giorgio Moroder, Raymond Scott, Charles Bukowski, Galt MacDermot, and Brenton Wood, though there's likely countless others.) As it's been awhile since his last solo outing, there are a lot of issues for DOOM to address and comment on. Over a sample of MacDermot's "That's That," he actually croons, "Can it be I stayed away too long, did you miss these rhymes while I was gone, as you listen to these crazy tracks...?" [DG]

		$13.99 CD   DAN DEACON Bromst (Carpark) "Red F" "Paddling Ghost" While we loved the whiplash, Saturday-morning-cartoon-binge-on-a-sugary- breakfast-cereal high of Baltimore's Dan Deacon and his breakout disc Spiderman of the Rings, we also knew deep down that the conservatory-educated Deacon had something a little less manic but still physically-affecting in him. Deacon has proven us right with Bromst, a staggering effort on a larger scale. Taking Reichian pointillist minimalism to the nth degree here, Deacon deploys player pianos, sacred harp singing, vocoders, and broken toys to their absolute sonic threshold, atomizing such components and then reassembling the sounds into something that beggars belief. We can't wait to see what interactive games will accompany these new tunes in his now legendary live show. [AB]

		$14.99 CD   GURU GURU UFO (Lion Productions) "Stone In" "Der LSD-Marsch" If you could only own one Guru Guru album, UFO is the one. While the band's place in the Krautrock canon might be debatable, there is absolutely no debating the sheer weight of this 1970 psychedelic masterpiece from West Berlin. The trio manipulated psychedelic rock song structures for ultimate guitar rock satisfaction, with musical nods toward Jimi Hendrix and Ash Ra Tempel in tow. The A-Side (songs 1,2,3) is a classic full-frontal assault of a power trio improvising along some serious grooves. I can only imagine the mind-blowing force this album packed in the 70s, with the opener hailing a Hendrix audience and then, two songs later swaying towards the kind of hypnotic, metallic bass throbs and searing guitar feedback that is reminiscent of Amon Duul's best work. The last two cuts on the album delve into a spaced-out bliss of improvisation that slowly builds into a noisy rocket blasting out of your speakers , with an outrageous guitar solo for a coup de grace; the drumming propels and accentuates the jarring riffs and spills out behind the meditative bass lines. UFO is creaky and expansive, fleshing out purely possessed undertones, floating from riffs to drones and solos with feedback and cymbals filling in an atmospheric aura of the rarely traversed realms of seriously heavy guitar rock. Until UFO, music like this was reserved for astronauts and deep sea divers. If you like early Tangerine Dream, heavy Jimi Hendrix, German prog, or Acid Mothers Temple, you must not pass this up. [BCa]

		$13.99 CD $15.99 LP   CONDO FUCKS Fuckbook (Matador) "The Kid with the Replaceable Head" "Gudbuy T'Jane" Yo La Tengo performing an all-covers set under a pseudonym? Isn't the WFMU Pledge Marathon over? Kidding aside, those of you who remember the joke albums offered on the insert to their 1997 album I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One may recall the dulcet tones of "F*ckin' Gary Sandy," from the Condo Fucks, Connecticut's #1 punk band. Well, here they are, turning in a potent 35-minute live set, split between covers of '60s classics (Troggs, Beach Boys) and '70s proto-punk sneers (Electric Eels, Flamin' Groovies). I don't see any other new Yo La Tengo records out right now, do you? No? Recorded under scrungy lo-fi conditions, New Jersey's pride prove that, even without their own material, they're still more compelling than just about anyone else out there. [DM]

		The Only Ones $13.99 CD Even Serpents Shine $13.99 CD Baby's Got a Gun $13.99 CD   THE ONLY ONES The Only Ones (Sony Import) "No Peace for the Wicked" THE ONLY ONES Even Serpents Shine (Sony Import) "You've Got to Pay" THE ONLY ONES Baby's Got a Gun (Sony Import) "Why Don't You Kill Yourself" Too adept to be punk and too enamored with rock 'n' roll to be new wave, the Only Ones were an underappreciated, late-'70s British rock band lead by raffish singer/guitarist Peter Perrett who had a knack for song composition and a penchant for smart prose. Hailing from London, the group's three albums, originally released in '78, '79 and '80, have finally been reissued and re-mastered, each with bonus tracks. While critics hailed the Only One's eponymous debut, the public, unfortunately, did not buy into their sound, a perfect blend of power pop, new wave and rock 'n' roll with a hint of psychedelia. Featuring "Another Girl, Another Planet," one of the greatest singles of all time (in my humble opinion), the Only Ones managed to create a complete record that sounds both familiar -- Perrett is a dead ringer for Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks on "Language Problem" and echoes Lou Reed on "No Peace for the Wicked" -- and fresh and innovative with skilled musicianship and witty lyricism showcased in songs like "City of Fun" and "The Immortal Story." The reissue includes three bonus tracks: "Lovers of Today," "Peter and the Pets" and "As My Wife Says." Also hailed by critics was the follow-up album, Even Serpents Shine, which was beautifully produced by the band themselves, yet it unfortunately suffered the same commercial fate. More straightforward and aligned with power pop (see "Flaming Torch" and "Out There in the Night") than the previous album, Perrett's songwriting is just as well-crafted, the tracks just as catchy and the lyrics just as clever, if not more so. The jaunty single "You've Got to Pay," a song about a fallen woman, is easily one of the standout tracks, matched in excellence by its follower "No Solution," a track dripping with an almost loveable self-mockery on the fruitlessness of love. Here it's apparent where bands like the Exploding Hearts and the Libertines got their shtick. The three bonus tracks on this album are "Special View" (the B-Side on the "Another Girl, Another Planet" 45), "Oh No," and "This Ain't All (It's Made to Be)." In another decade, the Only Ones' records would have made them rich; yet, after their third release, Baby's Got a Gun, CBS and the group parted ways. Despite the album's content -- stellar, original tracks like "The Happy Pilgrim," "Why Don't You Kill Yourself" and "Oh Lucinda," which both fuses and reinvigorates traditional rock 'n' roll standards -- it wasn't enough to earn the band the popularity and sales the label wanted. The highlight of the three bonus tracks included here is a Martin Hannett-produced alternate take on "The Big Sleep." It's good to see the Only Ones finally getting the reissue treatment that they deserve. Fans of the Undertones, Magazine, Wire and Johnny Thunders (who, as it turns, had the band play on his first solo record) that have yet to delve in should consider these three records essential listening. [PG]

		$19.99 CD   MUSLIMGAUZE Sulaymaniyah (Staalplaat) "Disinfekt" Originally submitted for release in 1997 and then pulled by Bryn Jones himself in typically enigmatic fashion, Sulaymaniyah is the latest in Staalplaat's collection of dedicated reissues from the now departed electronic pioneer. This particular record is a collection of breakbeat-heavy tracks, pushing the expected Arab influence into the background to allow for thick, stark beats reminiscent of early Scorn or Wasteland. Occasionally dipping a toe into dub ("Nadir") or dancehall ("Disinfekt") patterns, this shows Jones typically ahead of his time, pre-empting the current electronic music trend for all things urban. Burying snippets of droning ethnic instrumentation beneath a growing fuzz of percussion and squelching acid gives these tracks a strange resonance right now. It seems like a number of artists, from Blackdown to Pinch, have been attempting a similar collision of styles and have only been moderately as successful. What Bryn Jones always had to set him apart from his imitators was an outsider's passion and irreverent charm which gives his music an oddly singular focus. Over ten years later, it still sounds just as stark and just as mind-melting as I'm sure it will ten years from now. Grubby, psychedelic and incredibly good. [JT]

		$19.99 CD   MUSLIMGAUZE Sycophant of Purdah (Staalplaat) "Cairo Mercedes" Another 'pulled' release from now-passed oddball producer Bryn Jones, Sycophant of Purdah was originally submitted to the label back in 1994. It was replaced later, but now Staalplaat have resurrected it for the dedicated Muslimgauze followers like ourselves to discover finally, after fifteen years of waiting. It was worth the wait too as this is prime-era Muslimgauze beats-and-bass experimentation. Like Sulaymaniyah, Sycophant of Purdah is another bleak journey into percussive modes, yet here we are slightly more focused on Jones's Arab obsession. Pummeling Djembe rhythms are set against a wall of industrial bass and hiss, occasionally (but only very occasionally) allowing for a snippet of melody or harmonic variance. This is the punishing, moving percussive experimentation with the primal energy that netted him dedicated followers around the world. With overdriven, aggressive tracks like "Cairo Mercedes," we hear just how influential this music has been to a newer wave of industrial experimenters such as Dalek, or even possibly Kode9. Always remarkable and never dull, Bryn Jones' influence lives on thanks to the dedicated folks at Staalplaat. [JT]

		A Man Needs a Woman $18.99 CD $9.99 MP3 You Got My Mind Messed Up $18.99 CD $9.99 MP3   JAMES CARR A Man Needs a Woman (Kent) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store JAMES CARR You Got My Mind Messed Up (Kent) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store James Carr has been dubbed "the greatest soul singer who ever lived" by many aficionados around the world and these two albums contain his first and biggest hits. His song "The Dark End of the Street" (off of A Man Needs a Woman) is, hands down, one of the best southern soul singles ever made -- recorded in the midst of one of the singer's spells of depression, it's the very definition of "cheatin' soul." Carr gives a performance of a lifetime; his delivery leaves you hanging on every note, as he offers a sorrowful, first person account of an ongoing illicit affair. Within his voice you hear the guilt, self-loathing and dignified resignation of finding one's self in such a situation, in a pathos that Otis and Wilson were never able to convey on wax. His recording of "You Got My Mind Messed Up," from the album of the same name, is another heartbreaking blues ballad that Carr rips into, and it's all the more devastating considering the bipolar disorder that would plague him throughout his troubled life. The only two full-lengths in the Goldwax label's catalog, A Man Needs a Woman and You Got My Mind Messed Up are both filled with emotional, jaw dropping ballads, my faves being a dynamite cover of the Bee Gees "To Love Somebody" and the bluesy "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man." There are also some great upbeat Memphis soul steppers that'll get you movin', but it's the ballads that gave the man his moniker. In late '67, Carr was poised to break big; managed by the same team that handled Otis Redding he was hyped as the "next big thing." Unfortunately his erratic behavior and drinking problem cut short any chance at stardom. His life, though long, was a checkered one, filled with flashes of brilliant performances and recordings in between dark periods of depression, reclusiveness and addiction. Carr kept performing and releasing material sporadically until his death from lung cancer in 2001, but these two albums contain the best material from this soul singer's soul singer. Outstanding! [DH]

		$10.99 CD   CYMBALS EAT GUITARS Why There Are Mountains (Self-Released) "And the Hazy Sea" "Living North" NEXT BIG BAND ALERT! With some unexpected twists and turns, the debut album, Why There Are Mountains, from New York's Cymbals Eat Guitars is an uplifting blast of indie rock that recalls greats like Built to Spill, Pavement and early Modest Mouse, but still sounds fresh. Kinda like the first time you heard Broken Social Scene's You Forgot It in People. (Full review next week.)

		$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3   LOTUS PLAZA The Floodlight Collective (Kranky) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Working under the guise of Lotus Plaza, Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt goes it alone with his solo debut, The Floodlight Collective, an album that's as gloriously hazy as his main band, but with a sweet, understated, and classic pop sensibility all its own. Pop Ambient meets Person Pitch, with a touch of Atlas Sound thrown in for good measure, but a strong personality all its own. Recommended! (Full review next week.)

		$10.99 CD $9.99 MP3   HARLEM SHAKES Technicolor Health (Gigantic) "Strictly Game" With their anticipated full-length debut, Harlem Shakes give us an album-long serving of the same kind of joyous indie pop that the group had teased us with a few years back on their Burning Birthdays EP. Produced by Chris Zane (the Walkmen, Passion Pit), Technicolor Health finds the NY quintet summing up the past decade of Big Apple rock, bridging the raw pop sounds of the Strokes with the Ivy League smarts of Vampire Weekend, and throwing in a couple of synths, some off-kilter beats, and catchy hooks galore.

		$14.99 CD $9.99 MP3   JEREMY JAY Slow Dance (K) "We Were There" Jeremy Jay returns with another great set of icy indie pop songs. Recorded at Calvin Johnson's Dub Narcotic Studio, the Los Angeles singer/songwriter's chilly croon conjures vivid imagery of galloping horses, disco balls and ice skaters while a very skeletal backing of guitar, bass, synthesizer and piano drapes his tunes in a mysterious cloak of influences ranging as far and wide as '80s Anglo pop (a la Felt, the Cure) and early rock 'n' rollers like Gene Vincent.

		$16.99 CD   DECEMBERISTS Hazards of Love (Capitol) Like the sorcerers and shape-shifters that Colin Meloy dreams of in his quietest hours, Decemberists have managed to deliver to the indie-pop masses a prog-rock epic in the vein of the finest unfashionable mid-'70s British excess-icons, and then get thanked for a twee masterpiece. There are no big surprises here for the initiated, but the band have taken it all to another level, with a finely executed concept-album on, of course, the hazards of love, that pulls from Fairport, Crimson, even Tull, and in the end cashes the check as well. Over the top, and brilliant.

		$5.99 7" Single   MAYFAIR SET Already Warm (Captured Tracks) This excellent collaboration between Blank Dogs and Dum Dum Girls results in a charming new concoction that is more than a simple hybrid of the two group's sounds (though we wish they would have named the group the Dim Bitches, regardless). A dark, noisy, melodic pop confection that comes off as a fine new band rather than a side-project, and hopefully will live up to its promise with a full album and live presence.

		$14.99 CD   ROYKSOPP Junior (Astralwerks) The Norwegian duo's third proper full-length finds the group in a somewhat celebratory mood, with a batch of sprightly, effervescent tracks that feature vocal contributions from longtime collaborator Anelli Drecker, as well as a trio of Swedes in Robyn, Lykke Li and the Knife's Karin Dreijer. The sound falls somewhere between Melody A.M.'s sunny introspection and The Understanding's darker grooves, and it's full of pure, lighthearted, dare we say funky fun.

		$14.99 CD   MONO Hymn to the Immortal Wind (Temporary Residence) "Ashes in the Snow" Ten years and five albums into the game, Tokyo's Mono have delivered one of the most ambitious and undeniably successful albums you will hear this year. Recorded by Steve Albini, strictly analog to 2-inch tape, the group worked with a 28-piece orchestra alongside the quartet's standard bass/drums/guitar/guitar lineup. The results are frankly breathtaking -- an evocative, deeply romantic, swelling, soaring organism that owes as much to John Williams as it does to Eno's ambient masterpieces.

		$14.99 CD   FRIDGE Early Output 1996-1998 (Temporary Residence) Fridge's early recordings have become criminally scarce since the once triumphant Output label folded, but Temporary Residence does a pretty solid job of setting that all straight with this jam-packed disc of early and unreleased material. Featuring Four Tet's Kieran Hebden, Adem Ilhan, and drummer Sam Jeffers, these boys were inventing post-rock in the UK while Tortoise did the same in Chicago, and here's the proof. Not the trio's absolutely most essential stuff, but excellent nonetheless.

		$14.99 CD   PETER DOHERTY Grace / Wastelands (Parlophone) Pete Doherty is without a doubt a silly, sad sort of anti-hero, but that is a fine look for a rock-star, if he has the songs to back it up. On the walking headline's solo debut, he nearly pulls it off, with a batch of mellow tracks (some of which the hardcore may recognize from live shows dating back several years) that generally avoid his favorite subjects of drugs and betrayal for a more well-rounded survey of British working-man's laments. Some of Doherty's best lyrics in a long while, and with Stephen Street producing, and Graham Coxon strumming in the band, it's a solid album from a truly unlikely lad.

		$14.99 CD   MSTRKRFT Fist of God (Dim Mak / Downtown) "Word Up" feat. Ghostface Toronto twosome MSTRKRFT are awfully intent on bringing the party on their sophomore full-length, amping up their pounding electro-house grooves with overloaded Justice-style synths, and scrapping the vocoder vox of the debut for a succession of guests that include Ghostface Killah and John Legend (on the slow jam). I think you get the picture. Turn it up or turn it off.

		$15.99 LP w/CD $15.99 CD $12.99 MP3   VARIOUS ARTISTS Pop Ambient 2009 (Kompakt) "True Enemies & False Friends" Klimek "Nuage III" Sylvain Chaveau Kompakt's Pop Ambient series has been drifting through our fuzzy brains since 2001 now, troubling the techno-loving world with a little bit of light relief. By the sounds of this latest edition though, the years have taken their toll on the focus of Cologne's favorite imprint and the lilting electronics they had become known for have taken a back seat, allowing (gasp) real instruments to make an appearance. Bookending the compilation is a familiar name for dedicated Kompakt aficionados, the ever-reliable Klimek who turns in two gorgeous pieces of post-orchestral wooziness. The opener "True Enemies and False Friends" works as the perfect introduction, blending lush instrumentation with reverberating electronic treatments to come up with a narcotic happy medium. Before long, however, the electronics have all but disappeared totally with Sylvain Chauveau's sparse and beautiful "Nuage III" (the first of two tracks from the French composer), which wholeheartedly steps into the world of modern classical composition. Elsewhere, we are treated to a rare track from Mint, a lesser-seen alias of Kompakt founder and musical legend Wolfgang Voigt (a/k/a Gas); unsurprisingly this is the high point of the disc, with its measured blend of shadowy cinematics and light treatments. Kompakt also widen their reach to drag in a track from American ambient music purveyors Tim Hecker and the Fun Years. Some of you might remember the Fun Years from last year's phenomenal full-length, Baby, It's Cold Inside, and this exclusive new track carries on their explorations into guitar-led distorted shoegazing bliss. Probably Kompakt's finest Pop Ambient collection to date, this is a diverse and hugely enjoyable compilation which should keep the unashamed Eno followers out there nourished for just that little bit longer. A huge recommendation. [JT] LP comes with a CD version of the album.

		$14.99 LP $14.99 CD $9.99 MP3   PONYTAIL Ice Cream Spiritual (We Are Free) "G Shock" "Late for School" Not since 2007's Rise Above by Dirty Projectors have we had the opportunity to gush about a new album by a band that, despite being largely under-the-radar, has earned one of the most solid live reputations in the East Coast experimental pop underground. Truly one of the majors in the first wave of important players recently to emerge out of Baltimore -- along with Dan Deacon, Videohippos, Ecstatic Sunshine, and Beach House -- the Charm City quartet has spent three years incessantly playing all-ages, d.i.y. shows, as well as touring with Battles, the Death Set, and most recently, Joan of Arc. Fortunately, Ponytail's second album, Ice Cream Spiritual, not only captures the spiritual harmony and molten energy of their infamous live performances, but is a spectacularly written, expertly executed, extremely-inspirational-to-the-point-that-we-could-all-do-an-extra-pull-up-sounding, top 10 year-end shoo-in, listen-on-repeat kind of record! Ponytail has refined a distinctive sound that is as chaotic as melody can get, short of becoming noise. The tight ensemble shreds out one musical celebration after the next, largely staying true to an indefinable blend of shimmering beat-driven pop, psychedelic jamming set on fast-fast-forward, and Molly Siegel's potentially karate-inspired shrieks, trills, and airy vocalizations. This one's for second generation Deerhoof fans, totally bizarre but unwaveringly confident, seamlessly tight but nail-bitingly spontaneous. Ice Cream Spiritual is ablaze from start to finish with chiming dueling guitar hooks (the inimitable Dustin Wong co-founded the duo Ecstatic Sunshine) and all-out, math-y attacks driven by Jeremy Hyman's uncurbed, survival-style drumming. Ice Cream Spiritual slays, but good-naturedly and light-heartedly; is totally far-out yet super accessible; and is THE quintessential record of the year to give you an idea of what the hell the kids are doing in those rad, smelly basements anyway! You've gotta, gotta hear this one to believe it! [KS]

		$14.99 LP $11.99 CD   MARISSA NADLER Little Hells (Kemado) "Heart Paper Lover" "Ghosts & Lovers" Marissa Nadler shot onto the indie-folk radar a few years back when the goofy catchall 'freak folk' scene was stealing column inches in any music rag worth its weight. In the time since, she has reframed herself as an avant-pop songstress, losing the association with the rotting corpse of that now dead scene, but struggling to achieve the hype once lavished upon her as a fledgling performer. Her last album, Songs III, failed to live up to the promises made by her stunning earlier records, but on Little Hells, it sounds as if Nadler has finally found her footing as an artist. Her voice is where she has always been most stunning -- the sounds that erupt from her lips are unmistakably hers, and while there are echoes of Joan Baez and others, Nadler has developed a clear personality all her own. The shadows of folk music are still present, of course, and the songs are minimal to say the least, but the hesitant finger picking that made her early releases so charming is now pushed back to make way for electric piano, percussion and all sorts of trimmings. There are even hints at a Kate Bush-like transformation on electronic-heavy tracks such as standout "Mary Comes Alive," but this is quickly reigned in so as not to become the primary focus of what is still very much a singer-songwriter record. Comparisons with Joanna Newsom will no doubt be made, as Nadler has a similar kooky spring in her vocal chords at times, but where Newsom went orchestral, Nadler has perfected the three-minute song, making it lean and perfectly enjoyable. The starkness in her voice might hint at an age she's not yet reached, but I have no doubts of her sincerity. Little Hells is Nadler's most assured and most consistent work to date; lets hope it grants her the attention she well deserves. [JT]

		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 [AB] Adrian Burkholder [BCa] Brian Cassidy [MC] Michael Crumsho [PG] Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh [DG] Daniel Givens [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [DM] Doug Mosurock [KS] Karen Soskin [Jtr] Jonathan Treneff [JT] John Twells THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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