April 14, 2011

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES Panda Bear Ponytail Applehead LP TV on the Radio Anne-James Chaton Autechre (CD Box Set) Mirror Mirror LP Crystal Stilts Afro Latin Via Kinshasa (Various) Afro Latin Via Dakar (Various) D. Charles Speer & the Helix Low The Feelies Chalk Circle LP Bing Ji Ling Trembling Bells     ALSO AVAILABLE Hauschka CM von Hausswolff Psychic TV (Themes CD Box Set) If By Yes (Petra Haden & Yuka Honda) Alela Diane & the Wild Divine Jonny Figurines Joan As Police Woman Diego Garcia Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

		APR Sun 10 Mon 11 Tues 12 Wed 13 Thurs 14 Fri 15 Sat 16   RECORD STORE DAY, THIS SATURDAY! The time is upon us; Record Store Day 2011 is this Saturday, April 16 and many of you have been waiting for this all year. For those of you who don't know, RSD is a one-day-a-year event in which record shops across the country, and the people who love them, celebrate their unique place in modern culture. Hundreds of artists and labels get together to support indie retailers by creating limited-edition vinyl (and some CD) pressings that are available only at your favorite independent record store. This Saturday, participating shops like Other Music will be packed with great new releases, limited reissues and special one-offs, so please stop by and dig through some records with us and join in the fun. (See the full list of RSD releases here -- no guarantee of actual quantity and availability.) We'll also be giving away a ton of cool gifts and prizes, records, CDs and swag, including a backpack and a gift certificate for a pair of sneakers from our friends at Onitsuka Tiger for the first five customers who spend $250 or more. We will open at 11 a.m. on Saturday, and it's first-come, first served; the RSD rules are no holds, no pre-orders, and no reservations, just come on down and shop! PRIVATE SOLO PERFORMANCE FROM REGINA SPEKTOR We also have a very special in-store performance on Saturday from NYC's own Regina Spektor. We used to carry Regina's records on consignment at the shop, and she has gone on to phenomenal success, so it goes without saying that we are extremely thrilled that she will be joining us in our celebration. The first 100 customers who buy her new RSD 7" Four from Far at Other Music on Record Store Day will get one ticket to see a private solo performance Regina is giving right next door to OM at 2 p.m. on Saturday. That's the only way to see the show, so come on down early, get in line and buy her new RSD 7" record. And even if you can't get into our show, you can join Regina later that evening at the Film Society of Lincoln Center for the RSD 2011 premiere of her stunning new concert film, Regina Spektor Live in London, at 7 p.m., followed by Jeanie Finlay's Sound It Out. Bring your Other Music RSD receipt to the box office for $3 off the ticket price. BLOOD, SWEAT & GLUE STICKS ART SHOW OPENS Finally, when you join us on Record Store Day, we hope that you will look up from the bins for a few moments to take in the great new art show we're opening on Saturday: Blood, Sweat, & Glue Sticks, a collection of self-published American 'zines from 1985-1990. It's a great show assembled by Eric Wielander, highlighting an era of passionate grassroots music journalism that predated the digital age.

		ENTER TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED PANDA BEAR "TOMBOY" POSTER & LP To celebrate the release of Panda Bear's much anticipated Tomboy (featured below in this week's Update), Other Music is giving away a limited autographed 24"x 36" poster and an LP copy of his new record to one lucky winner. Enter by emailing contest@othermusic.com, and please include your phone number. Winner must be local to NYC for in-store pick-up.

		APR Sun 17 Mon 18 Tues 19 Wed 20 Thurs 21 Fri 22 Sat 23   OTHER MUSIC WEDNESDAYS AT ACE HOTEL NYC Every Wednesday evening during the month of April, members of Other Music's staff will be DJing the gorgeous lobby of NYC's Ace Hotel. The next installment will feature Call the Doctor (OM's own Andreas Knutsen and Christian Schaal), and Amanda Colbenson, who will be playing a red hot mix of '60s garage, psychedelic delicacies, swampy Americana, girl groups, and stirring soul. We hope you can join us! Schedule for the rest of the month below: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20: Amanda Colbenson & Andreas Knutsen w/Call the Doctor WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27: Scott Mou & Chris Pappas ACE HOTEL: 20 West 29th Street NYC 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. every Wednesday in April

		APR Sun 10 Mon 11 Tues 12 Wed 13 Thurs 14 Fri 15 Sat 16   Sun 17 Mon 18 Tues 19 Wed 20 Thurs 21 Fri 22 Sat 23   WIN TICKETS TO UPCOMING SHOWS AT BELL HOUSE We've got a handful of tickets up for grabs for these great two shows at the Bell House. First up, this Saturday, April 16 features a mighty pairing of two indie legends, Come and Eleventh Dream Day, who are performing along with cosmic country boogie troubadour D. Charles Speer. To throw your name in the hat for a pair of tix, email enter@othermusic.com, and we'll notify two winners (one pair each) on Friday. The following Thursday, April 21, Roy Loney & Cyril Jordan of the Flamin Groovies will be performing with (and backed by) the A-Bones for what is currently the only appearance scheduled for 2011. We know we've got a lot of Groovies lovers reading our Updates, so enter right away by emailing tickets@othermusic.com, and we'll notify two winners (one pair each) on Monday. SATURDAY APRIL 16: COME | ELEVENTH DREAM DAY | D. CHARLES SPEER THURSDAY, APRIL 21: ROY LONEY & CYRIL JORDAN + THE A-BONES THE BELLHOUSE: 149 7th Street Brooklyn

		APR Sun 17 Mon 18 Tues 19 Wed 20 Thurs 21 Fri 22 Sat 23   WIN TICKETS TO MOGWAI Other Music is giving away a pair of passes to each of Mogwai's upcoming shows at Webster Hall, next Thursday and Friday, April 21 and 22. To enter for either of these shows from the legendary Scottish post-rockers, email giveaway@othermusic.com and list the day you'd like to see, if you have a preference. We'll notify the two winners on Monday, April 18. THURSDAY & FRIDAY, APRIL 21 & 22 WEBSTER HALL: 125 E. 11th Street NYC

		APR Sun 24 Mon 25 Tues 26 Wed 27 Thurs 28 Fri 29 Sat 30   UPCOMING EVENTS AT OTHER MUSIC YUCK: TUESDAY, APRIL 26 @ 8PM In-store performance from this great, young British band who are indie-rockin' like it's 1993 all over again, and doing it right! TALIB KWELI: THURSDAY, APRIL 28 @ 6PM The Brooklyn-born emcee will be stopping by Other Music to meet fans and autograph copies of his latest album, Gutter Rainbows, before his performance at S.O.B.'s later that night. Free Admission | Limited Capacity | All Ages

		$12.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   PANDA BEAR Tomboy (Paw Tracks) "Tomboy" "Alsation Darn" Noah Lennox has seen countless imitators jack his style over the past few years, not only in the details of his solo work, but in that of his band Animal Collective as well; Panda's Person Pitch and A.C.'s Merriweather Post Pavilion were great albums which, maybe unfortunately, have a lot to answer for when scanning Other Music's new releases these days; their influence is everywhere. But Tomboy manages to focus the sound that Lennox pioneered, delivering what is possibly the perfect take on that loopy, celestial pop. By distilling his core ingredients to their most recognizable elements, Tomboy seems to document the end of an era, as if this is the Panda Bear sound at its essence, and I'd be surprised if we hear another record like this from him. (Hopefully all his imitators will be able to move on as well!) Taking the loose, jammy structures of Person Pitch's loop-Olympics and tightening them up with the help of Spacemen 3/Spectrum member Sonic Boom at the mixing desk, Tomboy features some of the best moments of the teaser singles that were released over the past couple of months on its A-side, all remixed by Sonic Boom, with most of the new material tucked into the album's phenomenal B-side. Each song floats across the stereo field with the multi-tracked vocal harmonies, hypnotic clap and snap poly-rhythms, thick clouds of whispered samples, and dub-influenced reverberating pop drones fans have come to expect from Lennox, but those soundscapes are boiled down to their purest forms here, as if he's rolling Tomboy into a bottle and sending that message out to sea. Lennox says that, unlike his earlier electronic-based productions, these songs were written and tracked on guitar, and while you wouldn't know it from the hazy textures, you can sense it in the directness of the songwriting. These songs are gorgeous, and from the buzzing organs and slow-motion incantations of "Drone" to the lovely Debussy-on-the-Beach lullaby that is "Sheherezade," there are plenty of hints of where Lennox could go next. Tracks like "Friendship Bracelet," which to me sounds like Dazzle Ships-era OMD transplanted in a South American rainforest, the excellent J Dilla boom-bap of "Slow Motion," or the dizzying Steve Reich at Coney Island spin of "Surfer's Hymn" all point to new directions that prove to be quite inspiring, but the one problem I have with the album is the rather monochromatic delivery of Lennox's vocals. Where his choirboy trapped in a well delivery was once startling and fresh, it is now beginning to sound confining. Regardless, this record is fantastic -- probably his best yet -- and honestly one of the best indie/pop releases I've yet heard this year. Fans will find much to love, and even non-fans can find a great deal to chew on here. This is the record that delivers the most of what people have come to recognize in Animal Collective while razor-sharpening the hooks and the haunts in equal measure. Such a strong step forward wasn't easy, especially after such a defining statement as Person Pitch, and he's to be commended wholly for the treasures which Tomboy delivers in full. Here's to the future. [IQ]

		$10.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 $6.99 MP3   PONYTAIL Do Whaever You Want All the Time (We Are Free) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store It's with mixed feelings that we acknowledge the posthumous full-length from well-loved Baltimore art-pop quartet Ponytail. One cannot help but feel grateful that the group, initially assigned together at random as part of an art school project, released any records at all, but there's a limit to our excitement knowing that the band, whose live shows were widely known as an unparalleled inspiration, will not be touring in support of this new release. There could be no more fitting last words from the empowering musical force than Do Whatever You Want All the Time, however, accented with psychedelic cover art by Yamantaka Eye of Boredoms. Ponytail tease us with a farewell record that is less straightforward than sophomore stand-out Ice Cream Spiritual, but no less demonstrative of their singular progressive vision. All of the staples of Ponytail's sound that have attracted their fanatical cult audience are still firmly in place: for example Willy Siegel's rallying cry, which on this record, often sounds like the question -- or is it a demand -- "Why?" This lends the record a more philosophical tone, as do near-instrumental experiments like the six-minute jam "Beyondersville/Flight of Fance." In fact, the band's average song length has doubled since their Kamehameha debut, allowing lots of space for dueling guitar innovators Dustin Wong (Thrill Jockey) and Ken Seeno (NNA Tapes) to feed each other plenty of upbeat, fast-paced melodic fragments, and for touring Boredoms drummer Jeremy Hyman to demonstrate his deeply instinctive, erratic drumming. Arguably recorded at the band's peak, some of Ponytail's strongest and most epic songs are featured here, and you can't beat album closer "Music Tunes," first heard locally at Brooklyn's Silent Barn nearly three years ago, wherein the steady build of a guitar loop, sparse drumming, and Seigel's coaxing vocalizations explode out of nowhere into futuristic, celebratory post-punk frenzy. Don't miss out on the final document from one of the most creative pop bands of the '00s. Ponytail share the same organic mystique as Talking Heads, the B-52s, and Charm City staple John Waters, and we're beyond grateful that they had the courage to let their freak flag fly. Reunion? [KS]

		$19.99 LP   APPLEHEAD Applehead De Applehead (Pre-Cert Home Entertainment) Very interesting work from the UK duo of Tony DeVal and Anworth Kirk (tied into the whole cult of Andy Votel, and interpersonally linked with Demdike Stare). The music of Applehead is certainly more deliberate, than, one of those sort of collage sessions where it's difficult to know where the sampling stops and the live instrumentation begins. Regardless of where these sounds were sourced, Applehead takes them further out, makes them more specific, removes them from the pressures of whatever visuals they might have once soundtracked, for a funky, progressive rock-minded excursion down the paths of Goblin, Fabio Frizzi, Stelvio Cipriani, and mid-'70s Morricone, (re)creating the sort of potpourri provencal with which one might have scored some tawdry, dubbed-to-market giallo soundtrack instrumentals that might've played bottom of three on the Deuce back in the day. Groups like Zombi, Umberto and Ensemble Economique have taken this direction to heart in their individual works, but with Applehead you can really smell the garlic bread, with the end result likely collecting dust in one of those big box of VHS tapes now available only in flea markets and swap meets. Crazy record that leaves you wanting more. Really cool. Limited edition of 500 copies, so hurry up. [DM]

		$13.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 180 Gram   TV ON THE RADIO Nine Types of Light (Interscope) "Second Song" "Future Shock" Last time we checked, weren't TV on the Radio going on an indefinite hiatus? That was only in 2009, following the release of '08's Dear Science, but maybe in this accelerated, blog-driven age of new band turnovers, two years is the new 20. Then again, TVOTR aren't your typical Brooklyn group, basically bucking every short-lived music trend that's blown through the city (and world) since their formation, be it garage rock, electroclash, dance punk, freak folk, chillwave... But along the way they've shape-shifted on their own terms, introducing themselves as doo-wop art-rock minimalists on their Young Liars EP from 2003 and over the course of three albums evolving into dense cosmic-funk merchants, dropping politically charged, apocalyptic anthems for the troubled times we live in. However, Nine Types of Light is the group's biggest shape-shifting move yet. Following a break marked by a couple of solo projects (Kyp Malone's Rain Machine and Dave Sitek's Maximum Balloon) and Tunde Adebimpe's star turn opposite Anne Hathaway in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married, the group reconvened in Los Angeles, the new home of Sitek and his studio, to record this new album. What results isn't exactly California dreamin' but there's an overall change of tone. Peeling back their dense sonic layers, the feeling of claustrophobia has been notched down; while the world may still be going to hell, there's at least the glimmer of hope that if we stick together, we might just pull through. During album opener "Second Song," Malone answers Adebimpe's proclamation of "While you define your heartless time / I'll defend my love forever" with a soaring falsetto of "Every lover on a mission / shifted your known position / due to the light," and the effect is nothing less than cathartic. Though the track is slow building at first, it soon opens into one of TVOTR's most accessible and soulful moments to date, buoyed by its funky groove and horns. While the band may have scaled back on their intense sonic explorations, they still pull from a big grab-bag of worldly influences, channeling Prince over a sultry mix of Afro-guitar lines and stuttering electronic beats during "Keep Your Heart," or introducing Eno-esque synth pads to the concept of the slow jam on the surprisingly gorgeous "Will Do." Sure, there was always a lot of sensuality pulsing through TV on the Radio's blood, but it's finally bubbling all the way to the surface. And while there are still a handful of TVOTR stormers (the exotic, buzzing funk of "No Future Shock" and the punky "Repetition"), Nine Types of Light seems to be about returning home, after the big fight, and fighting for love. The new battle lines are drawn and it's for a much more personal, quiet war, and it's also enabled TV on the Radio to create some of the best music of their career. [GH]

		$17.99 CD   ANNE-JAMES CHATON Evenements 09 (Raster-Noton) "Evenement N 20" "Evenement N 28" French sound poet and multi-media artist Anne-James Chaton's new release for Raster-Noton is dizzying, funky, and hugely impressive in its simplicity. Chaton creates sound poems out of his collection of everyday "disposable" texts which he dubs "low intensity literature," culled from shopping receipts, bank slips, business cards, bus and train tickets, promotional flyers, and most importantly, newspaper headlines. Following a noteworthy current event, Chaton picks up a newspaper the following day and creates a piece based around that event's headline and the textual ephemera he collects for the rest of that day. From there, he cuts up and restructures elements of his recitation of that headline into a rhythm until a particular phrase works for him; then, he recites his low intensity literature in what is in actuality a rather ardent fashion. "Vendredi 26 Juin 2009 - Événement N°23" crafts a piece around the passing of Michael Jackson, with a vocal loop pumping a beat out of the phrase "the King of Pop is dead;" as the rhythm percolates in the foreground, Chaton's recitations spill forth at lightning speed, like a bastardized hybrid of early Steve Reich pieces like "Come Out" or "It's Gonna Rain" with hip-hop beatboxing, the high-octane Detroit club music and Chicago house of DJ Assault or Green Velvet, and the textural crirhythms of sound poets Francois Dufrene and Henri Chopin's Revue OU. The CD is comprised of nine of these recorded "événements" with accompanying texts included in the booklet so you can follow along (if you dare!), and as a tongue-in-cheek nod to the rhythmic nature of the pieces, a series of "bonus beats" at the end of the disc for each corresponding event. To listen to the beats taken out of context is both humorous and startling as to display the gob-smacking simplicity of the DNA of the pieces contrasted with their textual complexity. To hear someone craft a jacking house beat out of the words "Barack Obama," "Pina Bausch," "pop is dead," or "Taliban" is unsettling; in total, this stands as one of Raster-Noton's best releases, as it balances both a startling confrontational listening experience and a hugely satisfying rhythmic accessibility in 34 short, razor-sharp minutes. Consider this one of my favorite releases of 2011, most highly recommended to all adventurous listeners, and rock-solid proof that the voice is still the most powerful instrument known to man. [IQ]

		$34.99 CDx5 $24.99 MP3   AUTECHRE EPs 1991-2002 Box Set (Warp) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store An essential collection, this mammoth five-CD set compiles almost every non-LP release by the Sheffield duo. Tracing their trajectory from relatively linear techno and hip hop-inspired material to the disjointed, angular abstractions of their later work, EPs 1991-2002 clearly proves that Autechre are one of the most vital electronic acts of the last 25 years. Even the melodic Artificial Intelligence-era material holds up well after almost two decades. Never one to treat EPs as a dumping ground for throwaway material or endless remixes, Autechre often saved some of their best tracks for the format; 1999's EP7 in particular, originally spanning 60 minutes across two 12"s, plays more like one of their best major statements than anything resembling an extended single. This, alongside 1998's LP5, is perhaps the pinnacle of their career. Other highlights include the Anvil Vapre EP, including the constantly mutating dynamo "Second Bad Vilbel." The inclusion of their Peel Sessions EPs is another high point, as both were standouts in the short-lived Warp series. The stunning "Gelk," from Peel Session 2, sounds like a pointillist electronic Balinese Gamelan. The jittery "Dial," from 2002's Gantz Graf EP, was wonky before there was a name for it. Though most of this material will be familiar to big fans, the inclusion of the pre-Warp Cavity Job EP is a real treat. Their first release, it has never been available in any digital format. Most of this stuff still sounds downright futuristic today, and it's a rare feat to make electronic music that doesn't come across as dated. Autechre tracks always sound like equal parts machines gone haywire and calculated transmissions by composers in total control of where the mess is headed. I'm glad Warp realized the need for their EPs to remain easily and affordably attainable. In an age where so many unnecessary reissues and compilations are thrust upon the public week after week, this thing was a really good idea. [NN]

		$14.99 LP   MIRROR MIRROR FRKWYS Vol. 5 (RVNG Intl.) RVNG Intl's hallmark FRKWYS series has been an interesting exercise in pairing contemporary artists with experimental music heavyweights of the past for remixes, re-workings, and collaborations. For their fifth installment, Brooklyn psychedelic-goth duo Mirror Mirror get reworked by four incredible artists from the post-punk era: Stuart Moxham (Young Marble Giants/ the Gist), Alig Fodder (Family Fodder), Rico Conning (the Lines), and Stuart Argabright (Ike Yard/ Death Comet Crew/ Dominatrix). Having seen Mirror Mirror a number of times (albeit at scrappy art spaces or basements), I really wasn't sure what to expect here; their messy live performances didn't necessarily feel befitting of a project like this -- yet, the results are quite astounding. Stuart Moxham's mix of "Love Is the Law" uses a minimal guitar line a la Young Marble Giants as a starting point as dreamy vocals float in and the song opens into sunny, Elephant 6-esque pop territory. Alig Fodder's very excellent interpretation of "New Horizons" continues with the psych-pop vibe, yet in classic Fodder fashion, he mixes in spoken word excerpts until the song melts into pure dub abstraction. The flip-side's tone is slightly darker; the collaboration between Mirror Mirror and Stuart Argabright finds them working with mostly electronic instrumentation and washed-out industrial sounds, while Rico Conning's remix of "Oddfellows" is certainly the 'hit' on the 12" with its heavy, somber synth lines and echoing vocals. Fans of Panda Bear, Animal Collective, Small Black, Wild Nothing, or the Mexican Summer roster are going to find a lot to love. Mirror Mirror are definitely a band to keep your eye on. [CPa]

		$9.99 CD $9.99 MP3   CRYSTAL STILTS In Love with Oblivion (Slumberland) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store The less articulate among us will likely dub the second Crystal Stilts album as "their Beat Happening moment;" sure, Brad Hargett is channeling Calvin J. a lot harder here than he has on past efforts, and the band's music has progressed past the hypnotic forehead drillers of the past into that jaunty, plodding sound shared with the best Beat Hap moments -- elements of Spector's wall commingling with a staid, knowing innocence that belies a lot more. But what In Love with Oblivion proves, ultimately, is that the hype bestowed upon the Stilts, arguably Brooklyn's best pop band, was not hyperbole; that there is an inner tension beneath that trebly reverb, underneath that smirk, behind those sunglasses worn at night. Safe to say, even, that this could be the product of an entirely different band that made Alight of Night, a band that's grown, a band that has embraced their own concepts of melody and light in a dark void, one that loves the '60s (and the old world/modern world dichotomy). This is totally excellent and I hope it sets your loins on fire all summer long. [DM]

		$21.99 CDx2 $21.99 CDx2   VARIOUS ARTISTS Afro Latin Via Kinshasa (Syllart) "Kashama Nkoy" Tabuley Rochereau "Kiri Kiri" Docteur Nico-Sukisa VARIOUS ARTISTS Afro Latin Via Dakar (Syllart) "Fonseca" El Monte "Mathiaky" Star Number One Afro-Jams are back, ladies and gentlemen!! Discograph follows up their epic, monstrous 18-CD box set documenting 50 years of African music with these lovely two-CD collections of Afro-Latin sounds from Kinshasa and Dakar, capital cities of the Congolese Republic and Senegal, respectively. We've carried assorted comps over the years documenting this vibe, but these sets raise the bar rather high, featuring some pretty sweet rarities and a few classics, all nicely re-mastered, with some solid transfers of a few tunes whose master tapes vanished long ago. The Kinshasa set focuses on the indestructible Congolese rumba beat, filled with gently percolating congas, swooning vocal harmonies, and layers of trippy, interlocking electric guitar lines that dance across the speakers. Featured artists include Tabu Ley Rochereau, Franco & OK Jazz, Grand Kallé & African Fiesta, Docteur Nico and Negro Succès. It's all golden, but I've got to single out a few cuts here; the a cappella breakdown in the middle of Franco's "Chéri Lovyi" and his wild, weird "Baila Mi Carabine" with its unchecked phase shift are great, while Tabu Ley's impassioned take on "Guantanamo" and Grand Kalle's absolutely amazing "Valentina Valentino" -- complete with a string section!! -- prove to be standouts. Other noteworthy jams include Docteur Nico's "Manbo Hawaïen," which riffs on the infamous "Tequila" to awesome, brassy, psychedelic effect, and the intro to Grand Kalle's triumphant, kicking "Monsieur L'Argent," all adding juice to a collection that's possibly the most satisfying set yet of Congolese rumba for which I've shelled out hard-earned dough. Congolese rumba tunes are one of my ever-reliable spring and summer soundtracks; I'm a pretty intense, high-strung gent, and this music is one of the only things that can successfully calm me down when I get wound up. Simply gorgeous and 100% swoonworthy. The Dakar collection features a higher diversity of artists among its track selection, among them Super Eagles, Baobab, Laba Sosseh, and Sabor Band De Dakar, to name a few. This set at hand veers into slightly more melancholy territory, and there are some nice touches in arrangements throughout, from the eerie, blipping organ and horns of Amara Touré's "Lamento Cubano" (one of my personal faves) to the Martin Denny-esque birdsong that peppers Fonseca's excellent "El Monte," or the lo-fi megaphone and transistor production of Star Band De Dakar's amazing "Vamos Pal Monte," which reminds me of the flippant, avant groovy beauty of the first Latin Playboys record. The vibe gets a bit more raw here than the sweeter, more romantic tones of the Kinshasa collection. If the Congo set has the air of love and affection, this Dakar comp is oozing with sensuality and raw sexual power. Its grooves are also a bit more diverse; from the vibraphone-laden basso lamento of Fonseca's haunting "Sibouten" to the high-octane gallop of Baobab's spirited "Jarraaf," there's a huge display of innovation and creativity here. I've always enjoyed the unintentionally psychedelic vibe of the arrangements on much of the 1970s Sengalese material, and this set, much like Discograph's awesome Senegal 70 collection, offers that in spades, but with less emphasis on funk grooves, and more on pure sensual heat and darkness. If the Kinshasa comp is all about the rumba, this one owes more to the tango, if anything else. As to be expected from Discograph, both releases come in spiffy packaging, including booklets stuffed to the gills with informative notes and incredible period photos. If you've made it this far, you know what comes next: Afro Jams of the Week! [IQ]

		$13.99 CD $14.99 LP $9.99 MP3   D. CHARLES SPEER & THE HELIX Leaving the Commonwealth (Thrill Jockey) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store At first, probably the hardest thing to swallow about D. Charles Speer & the Helix, especially listening to their new album, Leaving the Commonwealth, is simply that they exist at all. Anyone who has ever heard Dave Shuford (the alter-ego of the eponymous D. Charles Speer) performing with his other long-running project, the No-Neck Blues Band, will surely tell you that they never saw this coming. Shuford is, in the context of the noisy, largely improvisational NNCK, an impenetrably mysterious guitar player. Before I go any further, I have to say, for any of you who don't know it yet, D. Charles Speer & the Helix are a country band. Straight up and down, no bullsh*t, money on the barrel cosmic country, in the style of Parson's Flying Burrito Brothers, Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen, or Ernest Tubb's Texas Troubadours. From the opening notes of "Razorbacked," to the final measures of the title track, "Leaving the Commonwealth," this is a country album. Lazy, drawling baritone vocals, friendly harmonies, twanging Telecasters, and the ever-present ebb and flow of the steel guitar are the defining sounds of this record; the stories told are those of country folk, hard times, tough love, and good, old-fashioned fun. And this music is great; standouts include the rollicking, cajun-inspired "Le Grand Cochon" and "Leaving the Commonwealth," which stretches out into a manic, gratefully dedicated electrified jam that brings the album to a satisfying conclusion. NNCK is music best accompanied by unknown, mind-bending substances -- but D. Charles Speer & the Helix go great with a warm spring night and cold can of beer. Fans of this album would also do well to pick up the band's collaboration with the late, great Jack Rose, Ragged & Right, which was released by Thrill Jockey last year, for even more laid-back, good-times country gold. [AS]

		$12.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3   LOW C'mon (Sub Pop) "Try to Sleep" "Done" Nearly all bands have some sort of preconceived parameters that give their songs a definable sound and a tangible form. When Low appeared in the early '90s, they were at the forefront of a new sound, so-called "slowcore," and while they have stuck with aspects of that melancholy, dream-infused, glacial sound for close to 20 years now, the band has continued to grow and change, and each record has its own character despite the self-imposed limitations of their sonic palette. Recorded in the same church that gave the group's 2002 LP Trust some of its ethereal atmosphere, and all of its stunning natural reverb, Low's great new album for Sub Pop uses that organic ambiance to great effect. The sound is as lush as the band's recent Dave Fridmann-produced Drums and Guns, but without that record's flourish. The richness of the recording comes from its depth, not its width, from Alan Sparhawk's stunning guitar tone and from his and Mimi Parker's haunting harmonies. And they have also moved on from the incessant bleakness of that last album, delivering one of their sweetest sets in memory. The songs here have a variety that can be surprising if you really listen for it, from loose-gun feedback squalls to subtle folksy fingerpicking, yet it never sounds scattershot, as some of the band's more experimental albums have. In the end, it's like a well-worn sweater, or a quiet afternoon with an old, dear friend; it's just right. [JM]

		$13.99 CD $17.99 LP+MP3 180 Gram $9.99 MP3   THE FEELIES Here Before (Bar/None) "Nobody Knows" "Way Down" I was surprised at how easily a new song by the Feelies could, musically speaking, almost erase decades. From the strummed guitars to the Lou Reed-esque delivery of Glenn Mercer, the opening track of the group's first new album since 1991's Time for a Witness is downright transportive. It took me back to college radio's halcyon era, when the left-of-the-dial airwaves were filled with the jangling sounds of American bands who had tempered the raw DIY ethos of punk from a few years before with folk idealism, and filtered it all through a shared love of the Velvet Underground. Featuring the post-Crazy Rhythms line-up of Mercer, Bill Millions, Dave Weckerman, Brenda Sauter and Stan Demeski, the Feelies pick up from where they left us 20 years ago -- everyone older, a little wiser, and certainly more reflective. On paper this may all seem like a nice way of saying "proceed with caution," but Here Before is the group's strongest set since 1986's The Good Earth, and sonically closest to that record as well, with Mercer and Million's acoustic/electric guitar blend as entrancing as ever. The first lyrics you hear out of Mercer's mouth on Here Before are: "Is it too late to do it again / or should we wait another 10?" It's as though the group is pensively approaching this record -- longtime friends who want to make music together again, yet are slightly nervous about what the fans will think. But this is the Feelies through and through, and over the course of 13 songs, the band offer up chugging Velvets-influenced pop ("When You Know"), hypnotize with the pastoral ebb and flow of "Later On," and crank out a quick blast of no-frills garage rock ("Time Is Right"). Here Before mainly plays at a relaxed pace, though -- a far, far cry from the frantic, punky minimalism of Crazy Rhythms and of course a half-a-band difference in personnel, and more than 30 years, since that 1980 debut. One gets the impression, though, that this would have been the same album had the group continued to record into the Clinton era, or any time since, really. The band seems unfazed by time and the changes that have taken place in music since they were last in the studio together, and it's a reunion that I can definitely get behind. [GH]

		$12.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   CHALK CIRCLE Reflection (Mississippi) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Extant in the early '80s DC punk scene, the women of Chalk Circle stood both alongside and in stark contrast to the hardcore bands remembered by that time and place. Their music -- discordant, joyful, arty punk, because there's no other name for it -- fits like the crown jewel into American response outfits to groups like the Raincoats, LiliPUT and the Delta 5, incredibly off-kilter yet highly melodic, a sound with no rules, and dimensions strictly their own, songs that ask questions with mellifluous aggression. During their existence, Chalk Circle cut demos, and appeared on a WGNS tape comp and the Mixed Nuts Don't Crack LP, but until now, their music has never been gathered in one place. You're due for some serious hours with Reflection, 12 songs and a brilliant and informative set of liner notes (penned by Don Fleming) and photos which correctly position this brilliant band into the adequate historical context. Chalk Circle stood out and didn't take much shit from the boys around them; here's your chance to find out why. Absolutely recommended! [DM]

		$12.99 CD $9.99 MP3   BING JI LING Shadow to Shine (Tummy Touch) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Bay Area-raised/NYC-based Quinn Luke is a busy man; not only a member of psych-disco collective the Phenomenal Handclap Band and a collaborator with the group's leader, Daniel Collas, in another project called Incarnations, Luke also records his own albums under the nom de plume of Bing Ji Ling (which means "ice cream" in Mandarin). This record at hand is his third solo full-length, in fact, and with Collas sitting in the co-producer seat and his Handclap mates serving as his ace backing band, it's a wonderfully loose, easy affair from start to finish. As the name suggests, Shadow to Smile is all sugar and sunshine -- tailor-made for ears that were raised on the mellow gold sounds of AM radio, the bubblegum funk of the '70s and the bright psych-soul of Shuggie and Stevie. From the horn- and string-laden, uptempo groove of "Move On," which boasts great falsetto runs by Luke and a nifty little Whitfield-esque breakdown, to the earnest acoustic soul of "Where Am I Gonna Go," Shadow to Smile shows off some serious airtight arrangement chops and a high level of musicianship that's rarely found on an album recorded by a bunch of twenty-somethings. Other highlights include the blue-eyed, shuffly stepper "Sunshine Love" (a playlist fave at DJ David Mancuso's legendary loft parties) and the fuzzy, organ-fueled funk-rock energy of "Hold Tight." Fans of the aforementioned as well as the retro-smooth sounds of Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne and Jamie Lidell shouldn't hesitate. [DH]

		$17.99 CD $9.99 MP3   TREMBLING BELLS The Constant Pageant (Honest Jon's) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store If you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing late-'60s Fairport Convention, stop whatever you're doing right now, go out and pick up Unhalfbricking and Liege & Lief and Full House and the first one. I'm confident that if you have any shard of a soul, their music will move you, not just because of its power but its assuredness -- few if any really had the gumption to mix rock and traditional British Isles folk in that way, and to play it with such a personal, masterful style. For the rest of you, might we recommend Trembling Bells? They're a Scottish ensemble mining very similar territory, giving the folk reels and melodies the good, hard scouring that they need, only for 2011, where they've been bolstered with widescreen vistas and 12-channel flourishes in line with the Arcade Fire and all the other blood-pumping, anthemic charges that go along with it. Soaring music on all accounts, lovely female vocals and sturdy male ones duke it out over all manners of folk, country, and middle ground. No regrets, this is passionate and sweating and awe-inspiring music that will uplift and empower even the most jaded soul. [DM]

		$14.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   HAUSCHKA Salon des Amateurs (Fat Cat) "TwoAM" "Cube" Barely six months after his Foreign Landscapes album took the prepared-piano composer into orchestral work, this new one finds Hauschka deconstructing techno with a percussive prepared piano, and a "band" featuring Mum's Samuli Kosminen and Calexico's Joey Burns and John Convertino. If that sounds interesting to you, you're right.

		$15.99 CD $9.99 MP3   CM VON HAUSSWOLFF 800,000 Seconds In Harar (Touch) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Von Hausswolff's Touch debut is a remarkably soothing score that the found-sound artist composed for a German play about Rimbaud, with much source material taken from an expedition he took to Ethiopia visiting many of Rimbaud's old haunts. The first three-section piece is built largely on a quiet rural recording, dripping water, and sustained string drone. The closing piece is a humming oscillator composition.

		$44.99 CDx6   PSYCHIC TV Themes Box Set (Cold Spring) After a few delays, Cold Spring finally delivers the Themes set, which compiles the three original Themes LPs from the early and mid-'80s, plus a new fourth album Gen recorded with Lady Jaye. This is hard to find stuff, rare soundtrack sounds that are described on the Cold Spring site as "thee essential collection of rare, archive and modern PTV ritual/esoteric musick!" Indeed.

		$14.99 CD $16.99 LP   IF BY YES Salt on Sea Glass (Chimera Music) "Eliza" "You're Something Else" Born from a long distance collaboration that started in 2002 between Petra Haden and Yuka Honda, these two leading ladies of avant-pop are joined by a few members of Cornelius' band, creating a lovely, cinematic album crafted from breezy exotic rhythms, lush orchestration and light percolating electronics. David Byrne and Nels Cline stop by for special guest appearances, and there are a few remixes by Keigo "Cornelius" Oyamada. Fans of our old La Decadanse section will love this.

		$12.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   ALELA DIANE Alela Diane & Wild Divine (Rough Trade) "To Begin" "White Horse" The third full-length from Alela Diane finds the Northern California singer following the lead of so many folk artists of past, trading the sparse, often guitar-only instrumentation of earlier records for more of a Nashville-influenced sound. With Scott Litt (Nirvana, the Replacements, R.E.M.) sitting in the production booth and backed by a full band that includes Alela's father and her husband on guitars, the arrangements are fully formed yet perfectly light, and never overpower the singer's gorgeous airy timbre and Laurel Canyon-inspired twang.

		$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3   JONNY Jonny (Merge) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store What would you get if you crossed Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub and Euros Childs from Gorky's Zygotic Mynci? Well, Johnny, that's what. It's the perfect mix of the best of both bands, weird, twisted psychedelic pop that is, actually, more than the sum of its parts.

		$13.99 CD   FIGURINES Figurines (Control Group) "Hanging from Above" "Every Week" Almost a decade into their career, this Danish indie-pop band have shaken things up a bit, losing a couple of longtime members, and perhaps a self-titled third album is meant to be seen as a rebirth. If so, they could have done worse, as Figurines is perhaps the best record they've made. Still exploring the Modest Mouse-Built to Spill-Pavement axis, but with a stronger dose of songwriting and originality.

		$12.99 CD   JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN The Deep Field (PIAS) Joan Wasser explored a hard-to-pigeonhole sound on her first two albums, crafting her own offbeat and truly original songs that owed much to classic soul as well as modern R&B, yet honored her background in the indie and punk scenes. Deep Field is a little edgier than the band's earlier records, with a rawness seeping into the instrumental sound, but Stevie Wonder and Al Green come bursting through in the songwriting and the vocal delivery. Fans of Feist should definitely check it out.

		$10.99 CD $9.99 MP3   DIEGO GARCIA Laura (Nacional) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store The Elefant frontman delivers a great album worthy of the sometimes-difficult position of "solo debut." A swooning set of tango-infused pop songs lightly orchestrated by an acoustic-guitar, a cello, and some subtle coloring. It's a story of love lost; we're told Laura is in fact Garcia's ex, and you can feel their love, and their loss, in these songs

		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 [GH] Gerald Hammill [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [JM] Josh Madell [DM] Doug Mosurock [NN] Ning Nong [CPa] Chris Pappas [AS] Andrew Siskind [KS] Karen Soskin THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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