September 28, 2011

		OCT Sun 02 Mon 03 Tues 04 Wed 05 Thurs 06 Fri 07 Sat 08   TEAM OTHER MUSIC AT MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY'S NYC BIKE TOUR For many years now Other Music has sponsored a team in the annual Multiple Sclerosis Society of New York's annual fundraiser bike ride, and each year -- with your support -- our team raises many thousands of dollars to combat MS with medical research as well as support services for those facing this devastating disease. If you can help this great cause, please follow this link to make a secure credit card donation to team captain (and Other Music owner) Josh Madell's ride. Thanks for your support!

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES Zola Jesus (Pre-order w/ Download) Dum Dum Girls Hanni El Khatib Sleep Over Arthur Russell Wilco Shin Joong Hyun Tinariwen Bill Orcutt Twin Sister Bullion Inga Copeland Gui Boratto Mark McGuire Angel Gruppo NPS Franca Sacchi     Madlib Ahmad Zahir Monomono Spank Rock ALSO AVAILABLE Animal Collective (LP Reissue) Nirvana (Nevermind Reissues) Mastodon The Jayhawks Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

		SEP Sun 25 Mon 26 Tues 27 Wed 28 Thurs 29 Fri 30 Sat 01 Send an email to enter@othermusic.com for a chance to win tickets to Anika's show at Brooklyn's Glasslands, next Thursday, October 6.   JUST IN: SURPRISE ANIKA DJ SET, TONIGHT! Coming off of her NYC debut live performance last night at Le Poisson Rouge, Other Music is pleased to announce that ANIKA will be spinning a SURPRISE DJ SET TONIGHT (Wednesday, September 28) in the back bar lounge of The Bedford in Brooklyn, before heading off to perform at the ATP festival this weekend. As you know, we're huge, huge fans of her debut album released late last year on Stones Throw, which was produced by Portishead's Geoff Barrow and also features members of his band BEAK>. Joining her behind the decks tonight will be Other Music/WFMU-er Duane Harriott, so don't miss! TONIGHT! WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 THE BEDFORD - BACK BAR: 110 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, BKLN Use side entrance on the corner of N. 11th Street No Cover | 21+ w/ID

		OCT Sun 25 Mon 26 Tues 27 Wed 28 Thurs 29 Fri 30 Sat 01   Sun 02 Mon 03 Tues 04 Wed 05 Thurs 06 Fri 07 Sat 08   WIN PANDA BEAR TICKETS + ALIEN WORSHOP SKATEBOARD Panda Bear is back in New York, playing this Saturday in Manhattan at Webster Hall and then the next night across the river at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. We've got one pair of tickets to give away for each of these shows, plus the winner of the tickets to the Saturday evening performance will also get a limited edition Panda Bear skateboard from Alien Workshop featuring Tomboy album art, which was designed by Other Music's own Scott Mou. Email enter@othermusic.com to put your name in the hat, and make sure to include your mailing address. We'll notify the winner and grand prize winner this Friday. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 WEBSTER HALL: 125 E. 11th Street NYC SUNDAY, OCTOBER 2 BROOKLYN MASONIC TEMPLE: 317 Clermont Ave. BLKN Brooklyn Masonic Temple Tickets Available at Other Music

		OCT Sun 02 Mon 03 Tues 04 Wed 05 Thurs 06 Fri 07 Sat 08   WIN TICKETS: PSYCHEDELIC FURS + TOM TOM CLUB Between the Psychedelic Furs' smokey art-pop and the Tom Tom Club's sunny, tropical funk, concert goers at Irving Plaza will be treated to both sides of the new wave spectrum, and we've got a pair of tickets up for grabs to this pairing of legendary '80s acts. To enter, email contest@othermusic.com, and we'll notify the winner this Friday. MONDAY, OCTOBER 3 IRVING PLAZA: 17 Irving Place NYC

		OCT Sun 02 Mon 03 Tues 04 Wed 05 Thurs 06 Fri 07 Sat 08   WIN TICKETS TO THE HORRORS So many great shows happening in the city next week, and the Horrors' appearance at Webster Hall is certainly at the top of the must-see list. Their new full-length, Skying, has received rave reviews on both sides of the pond and is already being hailed as an instant Brit-pop classic. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away to their show on Tuesday, so email giveaway@othermusic.com to enter, and we'll notify the two winners this Friday. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 WEBSTER HALL: 125 E. 11th Street NYC

		WIN A PAIR OF PASSES TO A SCREENING OF DRIVE Based on the James Sallis novel of the same name with Ryan Gosling leading the all-star cast, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn's neo-noir suspense-thriller Drive just began its run in America, and we're giving away 10 pairs of passes to our Update readers (good for use in any Manhattan AMC theater). Each winner will also receive a CD copy of Cliff Martinez's haunting, synth-driven film score (also includes tracks from the Chromatics, Desire, Riz Ortolani, Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx, and College). Email tickets@othermusic.com to enter, and please include your mailing address.

		Pre-Order On Sale $13.99 CD Pre-Order $15.99 LP   ZOLA JESUS Conatus (Sacred Bones) Zola Jesus' highly anticipated new full-length, Conatus, hits store shelves this Tuesday, October 4. Pre-order the CD or the limited edition LP (pressed on clear vinyl) in person at Other Music or off of our mail order website and get a complementary MP3 download code to start listening to the record that day!

		$13.99 CD   DUM DUM GIRLS Only in Dreams (Sub Pop) "Always Looking" "Caught in One" Written after the passing of front woman Kristin "Dee Dee" Gundred's mother, Dum Dum Girl's sophomore album Only in Dreams is, at its core, a deeply personal record. Loss, lament and loneliness heavily underscore the album, making it apparent that the Dum Dum Girls here are, in many ways, different from the band behind the blithe and bouncy debut, I Will Be. Though there are still those great, characteristic elements of surf guitar, smooth rockabilly grooves and trademark traces of '60s-infused girl group melodies, here, the music is more distilled, with the material lending a certain gravitas that really showcases the band's growth and ambition in a way that was hinted at on this year's He Gets Me High EP. Thus, as producer Richard Gottehrer (Blondie, the Go-Gos) peels back the layers of fuzz so prevalent on I Will Be, it becomes clear that Dee Dee and her Dum Dum Girls never had anything to hide. With every guitar lick, tempered drumbeat and bass line polished to a fine sheen, the focal point is now deservedly Dee Dee's voice, not only as an exceptional singer, but also as a talented songwriter. The music here is, if nothing else, driving and moving; on "Wasted Away," Dee Dee sings about her mother -- "I want to save you any way I can, I'll wear your rings, Make these your hands" -- in a way that is not only affecting, but heartbreaking. And, although the album is missing the spark of catchy, lighthearted singles like I Will Be's "Jail La La," there's the weighty and impressive Mazzy Star-tinged epic "Coming Down" in their place as well as enjoyable blasts of bright pop like "Always Looking" and "Bedroom Eyes," making Dum Dum Girls akin to something like a latter day Shangri-Las or Bangles. In less capable hands, this album could have been a maudlin mess. Instead, Dee Dee managed to create something tuneful, captivating and cathartic, making Only in Dreams just as much about how to live with life as it is about how to live with death. [PG]

		$14.99 CD $17.99 LP $9.99 MP3   HANNI EL KHATIB Will the Guns Come Out (Innovative Leisure) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store The raw, primitive, guitar and drums garage-rock swagger of this Bay Area son of Palestinian and Filipino immigrants will undoubtedly draw comparisons to White Stripes, Black Keys, Flat Duo Jets and other notable two-piece blues slanging combos. That's not necessarily a bad thing at all, cuz you don't listen to this music for its innovation; it's all in the interpretation and swagger, and Khatib's got those in spades. Khatib's blues wail is decidedly more Dionysian in nature than the aforementioned artists; you get the feeling he would rather out drink the devil than shout him down. The first half of the album burns like cheap whiskey caught in the throat. "Fuck It, You Win" possesses a nice helping of fuzz guitar, low-end Stooges-meets-glam-rock thump. "Dead Wrong" is a cool tribute to '60s girl-group crafted pop, accented by perfect tambourine fills, and "Come Alive" is perhaps the record's highlight, an undeniable catchy stomp-along anthem delivered with potty mouth swagger. The second half of the album show's Khatib slowing it down a bit with the backhanded Iggy-styled love ballad "Garbage City" ("She's my garbage city, and I love her" boasts the chorus), before picking up the pace a bit and ending on a high note with the inspired rave-up cover of the Funkadelic classic "I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing." It all flies by at 31 minutes and in the end it's an impressive debut from an artist who understands and respects the adrenaline rush of a whiskey-fueled bar brawl. If you're the type that would walk away from that sort of thing with a smile on your face, win or lose, this record is for you. [DH]

		$13.99 LP   SLEEP OVER Forever (Hippos in Tanks) In just over a year, Austin resident Stefanie Franciotti's Sleep Over project has evolved from a lo-fi trio producing cassettes and 7"s for labels Night People and Light Lodge, to a mainly solo project. Her new full-length, Forever, for Hippos in Tanks, is a hazy and soft mélange of vintage synths, shoegaze guitar, primitive drum machines, and feminine cries, with lots of reverb. Much like other artists on the label (i.e. Hype Williams and Laurel Halo), Sleep Over crafts slow burning, almost ambient/dark hypnagogic pop songs. There's a stark beauty throughout these tracks that creates an enveloping effect, like swimming in the ocean under a full moon. Franciotti's lo-fi aesthetics are finely tuned though soft focused here, filled with emotion yet still guarded by the hazy effects. Like the cover image, this is music for the fetal position, curled up within an incubation chamber of sound, mood, and voice. An engaging listen that continues to haunt you long after the music has stopped, fans of Maria Minerva, early Night Jewel, Grouper, Kate Bush, or Cocteau Twins will find much to get lost in here. [DG]

		$12.99 CD $14.99 12" $8.99 MP3   ARTHUR RUSSELL Let's Go Swimming (Audika) "Let's Go Swimming (Puppy Surf Dub)" "Make 1, 2" Audika finally sets the world of Arthur Russell right by reissuing this long-unavailable document of Russell's avant-dance genius. "Let's Go Swimming" was a 1986 12" single issued on Rough Trade subsidiary Logarhythm, and it remains one of his shining releases, one which balances his most outre impulses with some of his most pop moments. It's a record that touches upon nearly every aspect of song craft explored in his work, combining the dance flirtations of Loose Joints and Dinosaur with the tweaked solo voice/cello incantations of his World of Echo soundsystem, to the more synth-laden pop of the material collected on Calling Out of Context. Russell takes a simple lyrical concept and explores every side of its sentiment in both voice and environment; over the course of these three mixes, each radically different, his vocal is bathed in some of the most liquid musical environments Russell ever put to tape. Russell's own "Gulf Stream" and "Puppy Surf" dubs give the song a propulsive thrust amidst the deep layers of bubbling sound, but it's Walter Gibbons' legendary "Coastal Dub" that really shines here; Walter's mix still sounds avant-garde today, its pumping, reverberating drum machine pulsations and dub-chamber congas slapping against Russell's percussive cello bow slaps and low end synth zaps like waves on rocks. Gibbons cuts the track up like a piece of musique concrete, creating a psychedelic dubscape that shows equal worship for earthbound rhythms and the more fluid sound worlds that Russell seemed to float toward. As if it weren't enough to remaster the original three tracks of the 12", they've sweetened the deal for the freaky completists out there who already tracked down an exorbitantly-priced original copy of this by adding a gorgeous, previously unreleased 11-minute mix of Calling Out of Context's "Make 1, 2." "Gem Spa Dub" stretches the song out and lets some air in, giving the tune's cello/conga/synth/trombone sound palette less of a demo vibe than the original, instead giving it the relaxed, live jam feel of one of my favorite Arthur tracks, Indian Ocean's "Schoolbell/Treehouse," but with a warmth that recalls some of Calling's finest moments like "That's Us/Wild Combination" or "Get Around to It." I cannot stress enough how essential this is for Russell fans, and I've got to give props to Audika for puling out a real gem of a bonus for the diehards; I was starting to think we were getting left out in the cold, but they come through with one of the best releases the label has yet offered. The whole thing comes in a gorgeous picture sleeve by Arthur's partner Tom Lee, and gets my absolute highest possible recommendation. The "Coastal Dub" of "Let's Go Swimming" is one of those pieces of music everyone should hear at least once before they die; do yourself a favor and submit to the ritual, because this is absolute heaven on disc right here. [IQ]

		$13.99 CD   WILCO The Whole Love (Anti) "Dawned on Me" "Capitol City" Wilco open The Whole Love with a statement; it's the group's eighth album, but the first on their own dBpm imprint, the first to be tracked entirely in their Chicago rehearsal loft, and the first to feature the band's multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone as a co-producer (along with bandleader Jeff Tweedy and Tom Schick). And after a couple of pretty straight-ahead records from this shape-shifting alt-country-rock-whatever band, the burst of static and distinctly motorik groove that kicks in the seven-minute "Art of Almost" makes it clear that this album is a return to the more adventurous sonic explorations of their celebrated mid-period releases like Yankee Hotel Foxtrot or A Ghost Is Born. That Krautrock opening salvo is enveloped in a wash of strings and keyboards before dissolving into nothingness, Tweedy's raspy vocals bringing the song back to life, dragging the band with him on a melancholy pop journey dressed up as a sonic freakout. That pretty much describes this record from start to finish. It's a series of embracing songs built around Tweedy's earworm melodies and churning guitar strum, straightforward and embracing, but simmering and stewing in a pot laced with swirling rhythms, gurgling keyboards, Nels Cline's piercing leftfield guitar explorations, and such a meticulously detailed, ever-shifting sonic web of orchestration, it could take months of listening to sort it all out. Tweedy likes to describe his band as critically hot but commercially lukewarm, and while the group may not headline at stadiums, they clearly have a lot of fans, and I can think of few if any other rock acts on their level who take this many chances on their listener's willingness to be surprised. This music is accessible for sure, and Wilco's recordings can have an almost Beatle-esque approach to the studio, stitching together songs from a glorious patchwork of sound that can be enjoyed on a number of levels. The Whole Love is a headphone haven, and truly a celebration of what Wilco fans seem to love most: the simple sadness and joy of Tweedy's easy-flowing songwriting couched in his band's meticulous, yet somehow irreverent playing. We've come to expect the unexpected from Wilco, and the most surprising thing, it seems, is that the more chances this band takes, the more they sound just like Wilco. [JM]

		$15.99 CD $24.99 LP $9.99 MP3 From Where to Where EP $6.99 MP3   SHIN JOONG HYUN Beautiful Rivers and Mountains: The Psychedelic Rock Sound of South Korea's Shin Joong Hyun 1958-1974 (Light in the Attic) "Please Don't Bother Me Anymore" "Pushing Through the Fog" Beautiful Rivers and Mountains is a rare feat in the world of career-spanning artist collections, as it is both comprehensive and extremely listenable on its own terms. And it doesn't hurt that the backstory is almost as compelling as the music; Shin Joong Hyun was obsessed with music from a young age and worked his way up to be one of the most successful artists in South Korea. As a young man he worked often at US Army bases, which ensured that he was well-versed in the popular American music of the '60s, from Motown soul to the San Francisco psychedelic scene, and he absorbed it all and reinterpreted it like no other. However, as the '60s turned to the '70s, the political climate in South Korea was bleak and SJH was imprisoned and tortured when he refused to write pro-government propaganda songs. This is all covered in the excellent liner notes that also feature comments on each track by Shin Joong Hyun himself as well as tons of discography info and original artwork from the many records released over the years. The tracks in the first half of the record are more orchestral, with understated guitar lurking in the background. Most of them are SJH backing various singers, and although all are good the highlight is undoubtedly Kim Jung Mi's "The Sun," from her excellent Now album. Midway through the collection Shin Joong Hyun lays it all out with the wonderful 15-minute "'J' Blues 72," a slow-burn fuzz guitar and organ workout for the first seven or eight minutes and then a full-on hypnotic funky jam for the second half. The album closes with a fantastic, otherwise unreleased version of "Beautiful Rivers and Mountains" that, like the best of his work, seems far shorter than its ten minute running time. Light in the Attic has been on quite a streak lately with killer compilations and album reissues, and I know this one has been a long time coming -- believe me when I say that this is one of their best releases yet. (Companion download-only From Where to Where EP is also available on Other Music Digital and is not to be missed!) [DMa]

		$14.99 CD   TINARIWEN Tassili (Anti) "Imidiwan Ma Tennam" "Tiliaden Osamnat" If the advance promotion for the latest disc from Mali-based rockers Tinariwen suggested the mainstreaming of a "world" act, some anxiety was not misplaced. The collaborations on Tassili, beginning with the guest turn of Wilco's Nels Cline on album opener "Imidiwan Ma Tenam," are never truly essential. Brothers Kyp Malone and Babatunde Omoroda Adebimpe of TV on the Radio fare better with their contributions, particularly in responding to the Sahelian blue note with a lil chuuuch stank courtesy of Malone's native Harlem on the lone bilingual foray "Tenere Taqhim Tossam." This last was recorded live at Tassili N'Ajjer in southeast Algeria, and is capped by the project's most welcome guest star: the region's first rain in five years. Such timely display of the will of the Creators at the close of a praise song to the desert's heart underscores how vital Tinariwen's collective expression of Tamazgha's harsh realities is. And it's something which no doubt translated well to the project's most fitting stars from across the Atlantic: New Orleans' Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The kin and friends of trumpeter Gregory Davis and sax player Roger Lewis have also always had their lives shaped by water and privation, and the group's complex interweaving with the guitars of Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and 'nem achingly forges a link between struggle in the mostly parched Sahel and that in the floating city (also once colonized by the French) where death is being dealt out of the Calliope even as musicians and folks bravely fight to keep their traditions alive. The Dirty Dozen and TVOTR also help tie this collection back to the similar pioneering of Hugh Masekela throughout the 1960s, who recombined brethren and sounds of African descent from the Townships to Harlem to Los Angeles to Lagos and beyond across the deserts. Such are the overarching messages of all the songs on the haunting, essential Tassili. Above all, as they stand at the apex of the pan-African continuum (sonic or otherwise), Tinariwen of all bands does not need the "Hendrix treatment" to exit their niche. Of course, there are shades of that surrounding great Bombino of Niger, the wild boy comin' for 'em on the global stage. Yet there's room for all, with Kel Asuf on their side (as shall be made plain this autumn when both acts head this way on tour). Singing of his compatriots abandoning the desert while also revealing / reveling in its oft-hidden treasures, Brother Ibrahim has ascended to the forefront of artist-activists in the wake of Odetta gone to glory, and it is clear -- whether his band keeps rendering Westerners ecstatic at Coachella or not -- he is merely getting started. [KCH]

		$15.99 CD $9.99 MP3   BILL ORCUTT How the Thing Sings (Editions Mego) "The Visible Bosom" "Till I Get Satisfied" Bill Orcutt almost ruins other music for me. His furious improvisations on an unusually metallic-sounding, partially strung acoustic guitar are so unpredictable and teem with such energy that most "normal" music seems hopefully tame by comparison. Don't be fooled by the red-herring reference to Stevie Ray Vaughn on the cover of his latest, How the Thing Sings, or for that matter the bissected Muddy Waters image that adorned last year's Way Down South EP. Any links to the blues are oblique if not nonexistent; this stuff is simply without precedent. In 2009 his A New Way to Pay Old Debts LP came seemingly from nowhere to explode more than a few heads and become an instant classic. His chief modus operandi is to attack his instrument as if his fingers wanted to destroy it, and each other, cracking out fractal inversions and variations of the same brief phrases, regular thumps of the lonely bottom string providing a semblance of grounding the whole affair. You can occasionally hear him hum or moan along in spots, as if he was too entranced to even realize he's doing it, but otherwise that's pretty much it: a single acoustic guitar quaking the room. This, of course, is not news to anyone already familiar with Orcutt, but on How the Thing Sings he widens the scope a bit without diminishing his vitality. Everything said above still applies, but thoughtful pauses and sustained vibrato notes are used more liberally than before, and more than a few moments are pensive, if not practically lyrical... before, of course, he jolts you out of it with another cacophonous crash as in "A Line From Ol' Man River" (which, no surprise, does not recall "Ol' Man River" in the slightest). If you're already a fan, this stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his essential prior LP. If you're a Bill Orcutt neophyte, you might want to sit down for this. [JB]

		$12.99 CD $19.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   TWIN SISTER In Heaven (Domino) "Bad Street" "Gene Ciampi" This local group's pair of much-blogged-about EPs were perhaps most notable for their sheer diversity; from (almost) twee indie-pop to (sort of) bouncing electro-disco, Twin Sister have made their name thus far on a hard-to-pin-down, ever-shifting sound that coalesced behind Andrea Estella's dreamy vocals, but refused to be pigeonholed by any rote categorizations. And the band's proper debut album continues the trend, delivering a suite of songs that are, if anything, more wide-ranging than their earlier recordings, while never giving up that distinctive pop sound. Built around Estella's shimmering, haunting singing (she occasionally shares mic duties with bandmate Eric Cardona), the group explores a swaying '80s electro groove on first single "Bad Street," with a clear nod to Blondie's "Rapture" that is as awkward AND nearly as much fun as that NYC classic. Elements of that production appear throughout -- shimmering keyboards, simple drum-machine grooves, vintage pop innocence -- but the album never again approaches that level of funkiness, moving in a variety of directions, from the minor-chord Cure-ish melancholy of "Space Babe," to the jazzy trip-hop of "Daniel," to the blue-eyed soul of Cardona's "Stop," to the straight indie-pop of "Saturday Sunday." The focus and fidelity of the record goes well beyond the haziness of Twin Sister's earlier recordings, the hooks are subtle, but unforgettable, and front to back In Heaven pretty much justifies the excitement this band has been courting for two years now. I still can't say exactly WHAT Twin Sister is, but I know I like them. [JM]

		$15.99 CD   BULLION You Drive Me to Plastic (Young Turks) "Slight Jig in the Sky" "Spirit Mighty" Of the many psych-beat producers currently on the scene, Bullion is one of my favorites. This EP, You Drive Me to Plastic, was originally offered as a free one-track mix on the Young Turks website; now the actual release breaks that mix into nine individual cuts of spacey, funky beats. Much like his The Beach Boys vs. J Dilla mix, these are synth-heavy, swirling, thick and chunky collages that fuse samples and live playing into something new, a blend of slow motion disco, break-beat folk, psychedelic soul and cosmic meanderings. If you're a fan of Dimlite, Gaslamp Killer, Madlib, or even Edan, you should know the name Bullion; he doesn't have the track record yet, but his productions are top notch all the way. [DG]

		$13.99 12"   INGA COPELAND Inga Copeland EP (Rush Hour) Inga Copeland, the vocal half of UK bass experimentalists Hype Williams, strikes out on her own for this excellent, super-limited 12", and it may just be the best thing to come out of the Hype camp yet. Consisting of three woozy, dreamy vocal cuts and one brief, amorphous instrumental, this single conjures up some great, head-nodding amoebic avant-R&B flavor, recalling the sort of magic spells Copeland cast on Hype cuts like "The Throning," their excellent cover of Sade's "Sweetest Taboo." Beats rise from the fog of tape hiss like vapors from a witch's cauldron, while thick, gauzy synth textures and glass and metal percussive accents pepper the stew with additional percolation. Copeland softly but assuredly coos overtop, flirting with pop and soul forms but never sculpting them fully, instead recalling everything from Nite Jewel or Maria Minerva to Black Ark-era Lee "Scratch" Perry to Warp Records fare like Plaid and Boards of Canada. If you're already a fan, you want this; if you're new to their scene, this is probably the best slice for the casual onlooker, and if you enjoy these sorts of muggy, druggy, humid electronicists, I've got one of the year's best records in that style right here. It's pure magic, and just as mysterious as anything else Hype has busted out thus far. I want to write them off as a novelty, but they keep putting out records like this, and I keep coming back for more; joke's on me, I guess, but damn, I'm laughing all the way to the run-out groove. This shit rules. [IQ]

		$15.99 CD $21.99 LPx2+CD $9.99 MP3   GUI BORATTO III (Kompakt) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store On his third full-length for Kompakt, Brazilian Gui Boratto redresses the balance of his well-honed sound towards the experimental. Though he has always worked squarely within 4/4 parameters, it's clear that Boratto has always had his sights set beyond the dance floor -- opener "Galuchat" is full of the subtle sonic variety that is best heard in headphones. Though his music belongs, unquestionably, to the techno world, there are always subtle pop elements that make his albums just as ideal for home listening. "Striker" almost sounds like a New Order instrumental, with its lead bass; the rolling triplet feel of "The Drill," heard on a 12" earlier this summer, gives a nod to Kompakt's classic "Schaffel" period, while the downtempo "Trap" has some almost Morricone-esque moments. At times lush and grandiose ("The Third"), at times moody ("Soledad"), III is varied, yet cohesive and recalls the brilliant debut Chromophobia more than the slightly underwhelming second album. Boratto's wife, Luciana Villanova, lends her vocals to the closing "This Is Not the End," repeating her role on Chromophobia's "Beautiful Life," one of the highlights of Boratto's career thus far. It's a triumphant finale to an album that marks a glorious return to form for one of the best artists on the Kompakt roster. [NN]

		$15.99 CD $9.99 MP3   MARK MCGUIRE Get Lost (Editions Mego) "Get Lost" "Alma (Reprise) / Chances Are" The thing that puts the music of Mark McGuire -- and for that matter, his work in the group Emeralds -- far ahead of that of his peers, is McGuire's intense focus on creating a palpable mood. Not atmosphere, exactly, the gritty texture of the recordings reveals his fingerprints too readily, making sounds too human to be otherworldly. Rather, it's the way he can tease out subtle variations of similar themes that allow him to be wildly prolific without suffering from the unevenness that plagues so many others intent on spitting out cassette after cassette of over-processed noodling. I'm not sure whether Mark McGuire is stepping up his game lately or if Editions Mego is just skimming the cream, as they did with their recent compilation A Young Person's Guide to Mark McGuire. Either way, Get Lost is a superb addition to the discography. The basic building blocks are largely unchanged: circular, dizzying layers of guitar and burbling arpeggiated synths, but the overall tone here is more languid than in albums past, picking up on the more melancholy bits of last year's Living with Yourself. The guitar work is atypically straightforward and clean (aside from the title track), trading in wistful strums instead of endless delays. The pace is relaxed, taking its time, especially on the closer "Firefly Constellations," which shimmers and pulsates through several movements in its 20-minute length (not including the time you'll need to readjust to reality when's it's over). For what it's worth, the track "Alma" also marks McGuire's first prominent use of vocals, and whereas most instrumental outfits tend to lose their way with the addition of voice, McGuire integrates the singing so organically that one wonders what took him so long. Comparisons to early kosmische/Krautrock still apply, I guess, but surprisingly Get Lost reminds me of Fennesz's classic Endless Summer more than anything. It doesn't sound like that record, really, but it does transport the listener to a similar headspace, stirring a nostalgia for something elusive lurking in the fuzzy recesses of the subconscious -- get lost, indeed. [JB]

		$15.99 CD $19.99 LP $9.99 MP3   ANGEL 26000 (Editions Mego) "In" "Paradigm Shift" Raising awareness of the global "refresh" that is to take place every 26,000 years, the duo of Angel -- Pan Sonic's Ilpo Väisänen and Schneider TM's Dirk Dresselhaus, joined here by BJ Nilsen, Oren Ambarchi and cellist Hildur Gudnadottir -- reinvigorates the classic monolith of abstract noise that we've come to expect from Editions Mego, and all that they do. Anyone looking to be moved by a glacial chunk of sound matter, like a net of a million dead subcompact cars somehow reanimated, stitched together, and ripping up everything that it rolls over (come on, that's all of you) will be over the moon by the violent end of opening track "Before the Rush," a prime example of The Kind of Noise You Don't Hear Anymore, and yet vastly superior to much of the noise we accepted as new and dangerous back in the '90s. These performers have masterful control over frequency and spatial placement -- listen to "In" through headphones, and you'll find yourself ducking to dodge glass bottles being tossed around your head. Angel provides just the right amount of danger and instability in a volatile cauldron of electroacoustic constructions. You may never hear the cello in quite the same way, and after the end of "Paradigm Shift" you may not want to. Highly recommended for adventurers and those who think like them. [DM]

		$21.99 CD   GRUPPO NPS Nuove Proposte Sonore 1965-1972 (Die Schachtel) Die Schachtel is offering up vintage electronic gold this month with the release of two outstanding archival boxes, one dedicated to the music of Franca Sacchi, the other being this collected work of the Gruppo NPS (the New Sound Proposals Group), which formed in 1963 when composer Teresa Rampazzi and visual artist Ennio Chiggio met over their mutual love for electronic music. By 1964 they had written a manifesto together rejecting traditional instrumentation and tonality in favor of frequency generators, filters, and sound events. Serenella Marega, Gianni Meiners, and Memo Alfonsi joined the group in 1965, and together they developed a regimented and "scientific" approach to electronic music that required running tests in a laboratory specially built by Rampazzi and operating various machines together with the help of very precise clocks. With their preoccupation with control and a desire to eliminate unpredictability from live performances, Gruppo NPS produced almost nothing but frigid, positively alien music, and it couldn't sound more gloriously scientific. Though the album is indexed as ten songs, several of the pieces are actually composed of smaller studies, called "sound objects," each of which focuses on a different compositional parameter or idea. "Modulo 4," for instance, layers pulses with varying attacks and decays on top of one another over the course of five distinct sections, and the "Masse" pieces contrast sound groups that rumble and squeal like Louis and Bebe Barron's Forbidden Planet score. That fragmented quality infuses the entire album with a sound effects vibe and a studied sensibility; it's as if I can hear the musicians testing their machines, making observations, and taking notes. In 1969, Chiggio left the group and Rampazzi formed a sort of female collective that carried on the mission with an expanded ensemble of women and an enlarged arsenal of machines, but the group's dedication to a scientific attitude prevailed. Ultimately, that dedication generated a body of bizarre and exotic atmospheres, as strange and amazing as any I've heard. Thankfully, Die Schachtel presents that material with respect, issuing it in a gorgeous foil-embossed box with a generous booklet full of images and diagrams in both Italian and English. Anyone with even a passing interest in electronic music will want to seek this out; it's historically relevant, exquisitely presented, and it sounds phenomenal. [LS]

		$21.99 CD   FRANCA SACCHI En (Die Schachtel) Franca Sacchi's En, released by Die Schachtel in 2005 in a limited vinyl-only edition, is here lovingly repackaged in a lavish golden CD box with an accompanying booklet. Collecting recordings made from 1970-1972, En consists of four pieces, each a product of her conceptualization of "En-Static," the organic, innate material that sound itself is composed of. Utilizing something of a deconstructionist methodology of composition, Sacchi's pieces traffic in the signals from which we are meant to extrapolate musical form. Building upon what she calls "conscious spontaneity," there is a pre-cognitive bliss to the flow of the works, as pure tones undulate and refract, seeming to exist outside of space or time, as if Sacchi is arranging pure matter to expose the universal truth of hearing. This rigorous, metastatic quality of the first three works on the album belies a certain tranquility in listening, as the ritual and meditative aspects of sound begin to take hold, in a manner not dissimilar to some of La Monte Young's sine wave or tamboura compositions. There is a focus and determination whose presence can be felt in the sound, as if the composer is rifling through the recesses of the preternatural in search of a descriptor for the act of listening. This conceptual weight lifts slightly for the final piece on the album, "Danza, Mia Cara." Here we are witness to more of an electro-acoustic lab experiment, as Sacchi's petri dish of sound fragments radiates and engorges itself through combinative structure. In this composition as well, however, Sacchi's temperate method holds the pieces in a kind of aural suspension, sounds allowed to run to the edges of consciousness, then redrawn and pumped back into the system. This is truly the kind of record that you will want to listen to again as soon as it ends, and is one that will not only change the way you hear other music, but the way you consider your own sense of sound itself. [SG]

		$15.99 CD   MADLIB Medicine Show #12: Raw Medicine -- Madlib Remixes (MMS) "Capone-n-Noreaga" "Cross Bronx Expressway" Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz A little late (but we won't hold it against him), Madlib now concludes this monthly series with Medicine Show #12: Raw Medicine -- Madlib Remixes. This collection of 30-odd bits-n-pieces finds the Beat Konducta chopping up his own productions and delivering a set of unreleased remixes and, of course, a heaping serving of oddball interludes. Skewing towards the hip-hop side of the multi-talented producer's catalogue, it's a fun, funny, head snapping, loosey-goosey collage, in fine style. Without informative liner notes (or even a track listing), we get to play the guessing game with the various voices and beats that appear throughout, and there are a bunch. Over the 12 installments in this series, Madlib has seemed to empty his hard drives for all of us to enjoy, and this one tops off the set off perfectly. He's always been energetic, eccentric and eclectic, now with a clean slate, we're waiting to hear where this diverse talent dares to take us next. I can't wait. [DG]

		$17.99 CD $26.99 LP   AHMAD ZAHIR Hip 70's Afghan Beats (Guerssen) "Dar Kunj Dilam Eshqi Kasi" "Nishe Gardom" We've had this on limited edition vinyl for a few weeks now, and I've been playing it to death, but we've now finally got this excellent compilation on CD for wider offer. Ahmad Zahir was an icon amongst the singers and musicians of 1970s Afghanistan; his legacy of some 30-odd albums remains canonized by the Afghan people after he was reportedly assassinated by order of an Afghan general in 1979 because his outspoken political views clashed with the communist government of the time. Zahir had a passionate, poetic voice and though most of his songs were sung in Persian and based on traditional Persian poems, he embraced some eclectic musical leanings; the nine songs collected on Hip 70's Afghan Beats! mine some psychedelic collusionist territory, blending hypnotic echo chamber rhythms with fiery brass sections, electric guitar, piano, organ, sitar, and some lovely orchestration. At times the songs recall the classic Bollywood sound at both its most devotional AND outré, at others it recalls the likes of the recent Pomegranates and Googoosh sets on Finders Keepers, keeping things groovy but with heavy psych/ prog elements running underneath, subverting subconsciously. Zahir's got a powerhouse voice, and despite only being nine tracks long, this collection covers a wide stylistic breadth, flirting with raga, dub, surf, and good old fashioned rock & roll, sometimes all in just one song! Hip 70's Afghan Beats! gives a great retrospective of Zahir at his finest, making him a name to dig for in the international crates. This one's most highly recommended to the freaky internationalists in the crowd. [IQ]

		$11.99 CD $9.99 MP3 $11.99 CD $9.99 MP3 $11.99 CD $9.99 MP3   MONOMONO Give the Beggar a Chance (Tummy Touch) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store MONOMONO Dawn of Awareness (Tummy Touch) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store JONI HAASTRUP Wake Up Your Mind (Tummy Touch) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store At long last, Soundway gets to the Nigerian singer/ bandleader Joni Haastrup and his body of work. Over the years, Haastrup has been featured in Strut's epochal Nigeria 70 comp as well as Soundway's stellar Nigerian Rock series (that's the man mid-howl on the front of the Nigeria Disco Funk Special compilation). Haastrup was a prime mover on the Lagos scene in the mid-'60s, singing on Orlando Julius' classic Super Afro Soul, one of the first Afrobeat albums, and played organ on the early Blo albums. He also caught the attention of drummer Ginger Baker, who recruited him to join his new group, Ginger Baker's Air Force. But Haastrup's main focus was on his own band, Monomono. Soundway comes through in a big way with the reissue of Monomono's first album, Give the Beggar a Chance, (as well as their second album and Haastrup's late-'70s soul and funk-indebted solo album). Front and center throughout are Joni's strong yet elegant vocals and his deft keyboard playing. The slinky and percussive "Ema Kowa Lasa Ile Wa" was a highlight of the two-disc Nigeria Special and reappears here. Joni's howl pierces the slow psychedelic lament "The World Might Fall Over" while his organ lifts the song skyward, and nimble closer "Kenimania" (also from a Soundway comp) ties up the album nicely. [AB]

		$12.99 CD   SPANK ROCK Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar (Bad Blood) "Ta Da" "The Dance" Since releasing his 2006 debut album, YoYoYoYoYo, Naeem Juwan a/k/a Spank Rock has been at odds: first with his onetime labels Big Dada and then Downtown (he launched his own Bad Blood Records imprint for this release), and second with former partner/producer XXXchange (who has officially left the group, but does share some production credits here). Spank Rock's new album, Everything Is Boring and Everyone Is a Fucking Liar, finds Juwan hoping to keep alive the party he started way back when, but also trying to stay current and valid. Production duties are mostly handled by Boys Noize, yet also include work by Mark Ronson and Savage Skulls, who along with XXXchange all take their turn at providing a sweaty, claustrophobic, and bouncy atmosphere for Juwan to spit his rhymes over. The album has less of the naughty raps over skeletal Baltimore breaks that defined the older material, and instead is a noisy and high-octane affair, more electro/rave/Euro than dirty south hip-hop. The variety is welcomed, but to my ears it's not quite as interesting or fun as Spank Rock was a few years back, and yet Juwan sounds assured even when shrouded in a fog, or the bleeps, sirens, and other high definition effects that proliferate. His guest list this time around includes New Orleans bounce icon Big Freedia, as well as Santigold, who sings the chorus and bridge of the enjoyable single, "Car Song." Juwan takes a few chances here, like on the track "Baby," which marries his nerdy sexiness with distinct production and a hooky chorus that works in his favor, and doesn't seemed forced (sonically or lyrically). The few moments when he tries a different vocal style actually seem to work best, and while there is growth and exploration here, it might not always be quite what the fans have been waiting for, proving just how hard it can be sometimes to recreate the magic of a breakout debut. [DG]

		$16.99 LP+MP3   ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Danse Manatee (Fat Cat) It seems like only yesterday that two Other Music employees, along with a childhood friend, put out a CD in a cool matchbox case. It was credited to a rather unwieldy group, Avey Tare, Panda Bear and the Geologist, and the album was called Danse Manatee. Okay, it feels a lot longer ago, nine years or so, as the group soon changed their name to the Animal Collective and left their retail jobs behind so as to alter the face of modern music. Danse Manatee was their second album, when the band was deep into German kosmische collectives like Amon Duul. It's noisy, trancey, mischievous, but with sublime moments like "Ahhh Good Country." [AB]

		$10.99 CD Deluxe $27.99 CDx2 $79.99 LPx4 Box Set   NIRVANA Nevermind - Remastered (Geffen) NIRVANA Nevermind - 2CD Deluxe Edition (Geffen) NIRVANA Nevermind - 4LP Deluxe Edition (Geffen) For the 20th anniversary of this iconic album, the label is rolling out a variety of expanded editions -- maybe not necessary, but of real interest to Nirvana superfans (and there are a lot of us, with more than 30 million sold). Though the 4CD "Super Deluxe Edition," which includes a live CD and DVD plus Butch Vig's original album mixes, will not be available at indie retail for another few weeks, we have the remastered CD, plus the deluxe 2CD version and the 4LP set, which both add significant material to the original album. All of the Nevermind b-sides are compiled (all top-quality live or exclusive studio recordings), a couple of BBC sessions, and the questionable (read: shitty) "Boombox Rehearsals." The biggest boon here is the Smart Studio sessions, recorded with Butch Vig and used as a demo tape to present to major labels. The arrangements are slightly less defined than the final sessions would yield, pulling back the curtain on all the work the band put into those songs in the year leading up to their final tracking, and these raw recordings are a welcome relief to ears that have been shredded by the super-polished album versions -- the big highlight on this disc is an awesome recording of the Velvet Underground's "Here She Comes Now."

		$17.99 CD Deluxe Edition $19.99 CD+DVD   MASTODON The Hunter (Reprise) Mastodon's fifth full-length finds these Atlanta metal monsters shedding the cumbrous, conceptual prog-leanings of their last few albums and delivering their most concise -- albeit still expansive and dark -- set yet. From the dueling buzz-saw guitars to the jazzy pummel of drummer Brann Dailor, this is the closet the band has come to matching their trailblazing 2004 breakthrough, Leviathan, with just enough of sludge during the latter half. (Limited deluxe CD version comes in a digi-pack with an alternative cover, and includes a bonus DVD featuring a "psychedelic visualizer" for each track and music videos for "Black Tongue" and "Deathbound.")

		$14.99 CD   THE JAYHAWKS Mockingbird Time (Rounder) It's been more than 15 years since Gary Louris and Mark Olson released Tomorrow the Green Grass, back when they co-fronted the Jayhawks, and alt-country was on top of the world. Soon after the duo fell out, with Louris retaining the Jayhawks name, and they have each released some fine music on their own. Still, this original band, with its ringing Byrds-ian guitars, Buffalo Springfield harmonies and languid melancholy, will always be the fan favorite. And the fans can rejoice, because the duo have taken their time (they began collaborating again several years ago) and cooked up a great new set of songs that rival their best work together. It's nothing new, but you didn't want that; it's new classics from the old Jayhawks, finally!

		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 [JB] James Bess [AB] Adrian Burkholder [KCH] Kandia Crazy Horse [SG] Simon Gabriel [PG] Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh [DG] Daniel Givens [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [JM] Josh Madell [DMa] Dave Martin [DM] Doug Mosurock [NN] Ning Nong [LS] Lucas Schleicher THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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