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   February 16, 2012  
       
   
     
 
 
FEATURED NEW RELEASES
Shearwater
Caretaker
Susumu Yokota
Voguing (Various)
Phenomenal Handclap Band
Tennis
Porter Ricks
Loops of Your Heart
Moon Wiring Club (7" single)
Aimer et Perdre (Various)
Best of Disco Demands (5CD set)
Lee "Scratch" Perry DVD
West Indies Soul (Various)
 
ALSO AVAILABLE
Ulrich Schnauss & Mark Peters
Jonathan Kane's February (Live CD)
Howlin' Rain
Islands
Windy & Carl
Radiohead DVD
DJ Food






All of this week's new arrivals.
Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

 
         
   
   
   
   
   
       
   
 
 
FEB Sun 19 Mon 20 Tues 21 Wed 22 Thurs 23 Fri 24 Sat 25

  MEREDITH MONK CD RELEASE PARTY GIVE AWAY
This Sunday, Joe's Pub will be hosting the release party for Monk Mix, a double-CD tribute to pioneering composer/singer/director/choreographer Meredith Monk. Several of the artists who contributed to the album will be on hand to perform, including DJ Spooky, Don Byron, DJ Rekha, Rubin Kodheli, and more, not to mention Meredith Monk herself. Other Music is giving away one pair of passes to this special night, and you can enter by emailing tickets@othermusic.com. We'll notify the winner tomorrow.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19 @ 9:30 P.M.
JOE'S PUB: 425 Lafayette St. NYC

     
 
   
   
 
 
FEB Sun 19 Mon 20 Tues 21 Wed 22 Thurs 23 Fri 24 Sat 25

  BARRY ADAMSON IN-STORE PERFORMANCE
Just in! This Monday evening, the one and only Barry Adamson will be performing at Other Music supporting his new album, I Will Set You Free. It's a great, soulful and often rocking record which finds Adamson pulling from almost every stage of his career, from his days in Magazine and the Bad Seeds to his more cinematic explorations. Spread the word and get here early to guarantee a good spot on the floor!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20 @ 8 P.M.
OTHER MUSIC: 15 East 4th Street NYC
Free Admission | Limited Capacity

     
 
   
   
 
 
FEB Sun 19 Mon 20 Tues 21 Wed 22 Thurs 23 Fri 24 Sat 25
  Sun 26 Mon 27 Tues 28 Wed 29 Thurs 01 Fri 02 Sat 03

  OTHER MUSIC MONDAYS AT ACE HOTEL NYC
Other Music returns to the gorgeous lobby of NYC's Ace Hotel for the rest of the month of February, each Monday night featuring an eclectic DJ set from 8 p.m. to midnight by one of our staff members. While you're at the Ace, check out Other Music's new release display by the front desk, where we've stocked Bollywood Bloodbath, the Big Pink, Mighty Sparrow, Porcelain Raft, and several other titles on CD and LP formats.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20: DJ SCOTT MOU
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27: DJ AMANDA COLBENSON

ACE HOTEL: 20 W. 29th St. NYC


     
 
   
   
   
       
   

 

 

     
 

$13.99
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Colored Vinyl

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  SHEARWATER
Animal Joy
(Sub Pop)

"Pushing the River"
"Insolence"

Album number five, or is it eight, for Austin, TX's Shearwater comes for a new label, and with it a shift from the more arty, some might say experimental works for Matador and Misra. The process of change is all but complete, the band (featuring former Okkervil River member and current associate Jonathan Meiburg, and percussionist Thor Harris, late of the most recent incarnation of Swans), stripped down to a trio with bassist Kim Burke, bursting from its chrysalis, making the sort of inspiring, triumphant album we don't hear enough of anymore. Their heavy fixation on late-period Talk Talk records, evident on previous works like Rook, hasn't been sublimated so much as digested, the ambitious sweep of their sound now focused like sunlight through a magnifying glass; everything that made the band work refracted into a language, a second-nature response that can now be applied to more conversant forms of pop. And it's a marvelous thing, Shearwater now uncannily able to exhale cold spells and set the room ablaze between songs. The focus here seems to be on the New Romantic era, chiefly through Meiburg's Mark Hollis/Peter Gabriel-esque vocal delivery and the force with which this rhythm section swings, Shearwater easily capturing the grandiosity and outcast beauty of the form with ease. At points Animal Joy shakes your skull ("Immaculate," "Breaking Your Yearlings"); at others it brings down the temperature in the room to accommodate the sort of concealed anxiety you might find on the best Comsat Angels or Sleepers records. Either way, they kill it on all fronts. This might be their best album, and definitely their most accessible -- expect to be hearing a lot from them this year and from here on out. [DM]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$17.99
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  CARETAKER
Patience (After Sebald)
(History Always Favours the Winners)

"I Have Become Almost Invisible..."
"As If One Were Sinking into Sand"

Last year's An Empty Bliss Beyond This World brought deserved and newfound attention to Leyland Kirby's Caretaker alter ego. Though his Caretaker project has been around since the mid-'90s, something about this record struck a chord -- albeit a refracted, warbly chord that simultaneously haunted and enchanted.

Like Philip Jeck's turntable experiments (see Vinyl Coda I-III), Stephen Mathieu's glitch-infused sampling (see FrequencyLib and Heroin) and by extension Gavin Bryars' Sinking of the Titanic and Christian Marclay's hip-hop-inspired appropriation, Kirby's music is not, strictly speaking, his own. Both An Empty Bliss and Patience (After Sebald) use others' music as source material, typically sampling passages in elliptical loops, often creating a woozy sensation through pitch and speed manipulation, intentional degradation and the addition of copious surface noise. That Kirby was a DJ first perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise. In a way, he's still DJing, just now in a manner where he's manipulating recorded material as an auteur.

Patience, which forms the soundtrack to Grant Gee's film about German writer W.G. Sebald whose own work often concerned memory and loss of memory, is very much a companion to An Empty Bliss Beyond This World. But where the latter album sampled swinging post-WWI popular music -- with a healthy layer of dubbed 78 crackle added for good measure -- to more upbeat, tipsy ends, Patience, which uses Franz Schubert's piano and voice song cycle Winterreise as its main source material, is far starker. Akin to Chopin's Nocturnes, the brief vignettes that comprise Patience suggest a dark night of the soul. If An Empty Bliss felt like you were hearing a 1920's party through the wall, or half asleep in a drunken slumber, Patience suggests what it might feel like to be lost in a vast tundra unable to reach civilization or warmth. Memories in this context, like water leaking through a crack, only serve to taunt. Crackle, such a factor on An Empty Bliss, only makes a late appearance, nearly altogether eschewed in favor of tape hiss, creating windy horizontal planes across the fragile piano vignettes.

Like Bryars' Titanic and Mathieu's Heroin, there is an element of Requia at work. The simple act of slowing and pitching the music down -- Bryars might even be seen as the progenitor to the chopped-&-screwed method so prevalent these days -- adds the gravitas of all things passed. A tribute to the past: memories, people, things lost in the fire, or those lost when the ship went down. The feeling of going down. Of possibilities not realized. Of love slipping away. Of... everything slipping out of one's grasp. If it all seems like so much doom and gloom, Kirby is able to buoy such heaviness with a sleight of hand that imbues the music and the atmosphere (after all, Kirby is often called an ambient music maker) with the heft of hope. That in such nocturnal moments of darkness, morning will come. That hope finally arrives in the album's closer. Kirby, who all but omits the vocal elements of Winterreise in favor of Schubert's delicate piano phrasings, seems he was saving the voice for effect. "Now the night is over and the dawn is about to break" is the album's climax, and probably the album's best piece. Highly recommended. [AGe]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

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  SUSUMU YOKOTA
Dreamer
(Lo)

"Human Memory"
"Inception"

I'll admit, I'd fallen off the radar with Japanese producer Susumu Yokota in recent years (his 2006 album Wonder Waltz is a personal favorite), but damn, I'm loving his new record, Dreamer. Yokota throws himself fully into a dense, psychedelic world of thick incense fog, clouds of Indian strings and Brazilian percussion, wordless choral vocals, and dub effects aplenty; the album takes the "fourth world" concept of Jon Hassell and Brian Eno and updates it for the Modern Love/Sandwell District generation, using minimal electronic beats (sparingly), occasional puddles of sludge, and the sorts of atmospheric haze that Demdike Stare love so much. He utilizes these sounds, though, and puts a distinct twist on them; while parts of this record wouldn't sound out of place on either an ECM or Blackest Ever Black record, he's taking the context and dissonance and adding more light to it, giving oxygen to the often oppressive, arid landscapes of the aforementioned labels' work. His use of Asian and Middle Eastern melodies and harmonics only adds to the feast, and if you've been thirsting for a new take on the psychedelic sounds that have been flogged a bit too hard lately, check this out... it's a solid winner. [IQ]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$22.99
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  VARIOUS ARTISTS
Voguing: Voguing and the House Ballroom Scene of New York City 1976-1996
(Soul Jazz)

"Din Daa Daa (Original Mix)" George Kranz
"Just Like a Queen (Share the Throne Mix)" Eliss D

With Madonna's recent performance of her classic ode to New York's vogue scene still fresh on the minds of anyone who caught the Material Girl's Super Bowl halftime show, now comes Soul Jazz's detailed exploration of this legendary yet still relatively forgotten underground ballroom phenomenon with a coffee table photo book (currently out of stock) and a three-CD compilation. Voguing was (and still is) the gay minority equivalent to the runways of the high fashion world. Gay and transgender men of all shapes and sizes would don their handmade wears, designer knockoffs and highly imaginative outfits to compete in cut-throat pageants that primarily took place in Harlem and across the Hudson in New Jersey. These men formed 'houses,' usually named after faux designers like the House of Omni, Dupree, Labeija, Xtravagnaza, and Ebony, and the talent competed in 'balls' where drag flourished and self expression reigned. Probably the most high-profile personality was Willi Ninja and his House of Ninja, who both choreographed and appeared in videos by Madonna and Malcolm McLaren, and was also a focal point in the documentary, Paris Is Burning.

These CDs capture the fierceness and glamour of the scene while bridging the gap between the eras of DJs Larry Levan and Junior Vasquez. From the lush and swaying ballroom classic "Ooh I Love It (Love Break)" by Salsoul Orchestra to Kevin Aviance's sharp-tongued "Cunty" to the macho manifesto of George Kranz's "Din Daa Daa," the track selection balances disco and hard house with ease. Every song here could be heard booming from the speakers of the various balls hosted in convention centers, hotel lobbies, basements and the cavernous Webster Hall throughout voguing's heyday, and you can almost see the dazzling, sweat-soaked competitors in their sparkling ensembles of sequins and lamé.

With a total of nineteen tracks from names like Masters at Work, Loose Joints, Armand Van Helden, Cheryl Lynn, Malcolm McLaren, Raze, MFSB and many more, both the CD set and volume one of the vinyl also include a very lively mix from Junior Vasquez, as well as several postcards taken from the book, plus great liner notes from Love Saves the Day author Tim Lawrence. This is by far one of my favorite eras in New York history, the gay version of the b-boy if you will, and Soul Jazz has done a fantastic job at encapsulating the scene. If the Madonna song is all you know about voguing, do yourself a favor and pick this up. [DG]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$11.99
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$9.99 MP3

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  PHENOMENAL HANDCLAP BAND
Form & Control
(Tummy Touch)

"Following"
"Winter Falls"

Nothing like a group seizing its moment and its momentum and running with it. After a delightful debut that started as a studio project and quickly developed a life of its own, the Phenomenal Handclap Band are back, road-tested, cohesive and ready to surprise a lot of people. Form & Control synthesizes the various strains of the group's DNA, sharpens it all, and the result is an album that is destined to feature very prominently at dance parties in 2012. The prog element of the PHB is still present although considerably less prominent overall, with the focus shifting to a dance/new wave/post-disco aesthetic. Right off the bat, there are a handful of instant club bangers that leap out at you, like "Shake," "Give" and "Right One." The insidious catchiness of the material here grabs you and won't let go, and those feeling orphaned by LCD Soundsystem's march off into the sunset are in for some serious consolation, although the Handclaps have their own identity distinct from any disco-influenced dance-rock act you can name. Prepare to hear this album at many a house party this year and beyond. It's so sharp you could use it as a straight razor to shave with. [GC]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$13.99
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  TENNIS
Young & Old
(Fat Possum)

"It All Feels the Same"
"Robin"

If you believe the story, Tennis were a band who stumbled, or maybe sailed into the spotlight, surprising even themselves with their sweetly emotional 2011 debut. Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley were just married when they set off on a honeymoon at sea, and Cape Dory was an intimate reflection of the newlyweds' adventures by boat along the Atlantic Eastern Seaboard, a cabin-pop take on classic sounds from the Brill Building to St. Etienne. These tracks were a rather personal diary, not originally intended to be shared with an audience, but now Tennis are an acclaimed young band with a lot of folks listening, and without ocean-faring metaphors to fall back on. With production from the Black Keys' Patrick Carney, and a hook-filled new set of songs that nod to artists like Camera Obscura, the Cardigans and the Concretes, they have navigated the dreaded sophomore slump like seasoned deck hands. Tennis showcase their Phil Spector and Swedish indie pop band influence throughout the album, relying on Moore's pure honeyed vocals and a vintage production style that delivers reverb guitar, tinkling piano, and clattering drum set percussion that sounds more like 1962 than 2012. They have even softened their cover art with timeless sepia wistfulness in place of the pure creepiness they gave us last year. Overall, Tennis have largely stuck to their original formula, and given us another glimpse into their warm personalities and great pop sensibilities, this time less sugar-coated and more philosophical, and Young & Old finds the band on solid ground. [ACo]
 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$15.99
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  PORTER RICKS
Biokinetics
(Type)

"Nautical Nuba"
"Port of Call"

Type Records celebrates its landmark 100th release with a long-needed reissue of an equally landmark album. Porter Ricks was the electronic duo of Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig; named after the main human character from the old American television show Flipper, Köner and Mellwig expanded upon the minimal techno being trail-blazed by the likes of Moritz Von Oswald and the Basic Channel crew, but mutating the smoky dub atmospheres of Basic Channel into a lush, enveloping aquatic atmosphere that was hugely groundbreaking. Biokinetics was also the first CD release on the massive Chain Reaction label, known as much for their important roster of electronic artists as their frustrating packaging. Anyone who ever fought Chain Reaction's annoying tin boxes and lost with a shattered disc in their hand will understand how great it feels to know that this album is finally back in print and housed in a much more user-friendly CD case. This record sounds like watery dub lost in the Bermuda Triangle, with oozing fluid textures enveloping rugged techno beats pulsating like jellyfish electricity and delivering one of the most effortless organic and mechanical combinations; it's a masterpiece that has oft been imitated but never duplicated. This is hands down one of the most important reissues of the year, and is essential listening for anyone who's ever purchased an album on Type, Kompakt, Modern Love, or just about any other modern electronic label making records these days. Those are big words, I know, but the proof is in the pudding. Electronic music rarely gets as good as this. [IQ]
 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$15.99
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$22.99 LP
180 Gram

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  LOOPS OF YOUR HEART
And Never Ending Nights
(Magazine)

"Neukölln"
"End"

It's impossible not to look for some correlation between Loops of Your Heart, the name of Axel Wilner's new music project, and Looping State of Mind, the title of last year's full-length from his better known guise, the Field. Try as you may though, the only real connecting thread here is the emotional, meditative quality that any of his productions elicit for the listener. With the Field, Wilner has kept his eyes focused on the dance floor, often looping snippets from unexpected sources like the Four Tops, Lionel Richie or the Cocteau Twins and rendering these samples almost unrecognizable through a wash of digital psychedelia, resulting in what could be considered dreamy, melodic trance music for the Pop Ambient set. But on his debut full-length as Loops of Your Heart, the Berlin-based Swede has abandoned his signature micro clips, instead coaxing contemplative soundscapes from long swaths of synthesizer chords and pulses.

Yes, Wilner is venturing into kosmische territory here and while there are plenty of other current artists exploring the spaceways first blazed by Krautrock purveyors like Cluster, Klaus Schulze, et al., And Never Ending Nights is an entirely enjoyable journey. Opener "Little You, You Should Develop" acts as a perfect bridge between his two projects, with swooning atmospheric textures that you might hear on a Field track floating atop low analog pulsations. As the album plays, however, Loops of Your Heart takes its own form, the foreboding clangs of "Broken Bow" sounding like they could have emanated from Moebius and Roedelius' studio and then, three minutes later, disappearing into a dazed cloud of synth arpeggiations and a robotic, motorik rhythm -- the only beat to be found on the album. Though minimalist in nature, Wilner covers a lot of ground here, and from the icy, eerie world of "Neukolln" to the slow, eloquent Frippertronic-esque sweeps of "Cries" to the dreamy, bubbling bliss-out of "At the Boards," he coaxes new emotions from familiar sounds -- really not surprising considering his work with the Field. It's this quality that makes And Never Ending Nights stand out from so many other of Wilner's contemporaries currently dipping their toes in the Kraut pool. Fans of the old guard as well as current names like Oneohtrix Point Never, ARP, Emeralds and the like will be just as entranced with Loops of Your Heart. [GH]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$9.99
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  MOON WIRING CLUB
Always a Party
(Gecophonic)

Hot off the presses, we've got a brand spanking new vinyl-only single by Moon Wiring Club, one of the UK's best producers of recent vintage and a personal favorite. I've written about Ian Hodgson's excellent haunted funk before, blending samples of old British arcana (soaps, TV commercials, sci-fi programs, etc.) with eerie synth warbles and some heavy beats enveloped in a thick fog of spliff smoke. Always a Party, though, sees him kicking the tempo up a notch, with two of his most jacking tracks yet; he's throwing in some seriously fucked acid techno vibes and even a bit of heavily chopped vocal melody that recalls classic Art of Noise. The A-side deals with a mutated hardcore techno/rave framework, while the B-side has him working in a ragga dancehall mode that is one of the most wicked variations on his sound that I've yet heard (so much so that here's hoping that his next move is production for some MCs or vocalists... I'm dying to hear what he'll do with a live vocal! Ian, are you listening?). Fans should snap this up post-haste -- the single was allegedly pressed in a miniscule edition of only 300 copies (!), and with these being two of his best tracks yet not slated to appear anywhere else, you'd be a fool to pass this up. I swear, Hodgson just gets better and better; we've got the entirety of his catalogue currently in print back in stock here at the shop, so if you're missing any of the four CDs and one LP currently available, get em while you can -- we're the ONLY physical retail store in the entire world carrying his music! [IQ]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$27.99
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  VARIOUS ARTISTS
Aimer et Perdre: To Love & to Lose, Songs, 1917-1934
(Tompkins Square)

Just in time for V-Day, this amazing, heartfelt collection of pre-war love songs from the Cajun Bayou, the Carpathian Mountains of the Ukraine and Poland, and across rural America. For this set, producer Chris King (People Take Warning, Charley Patton, Bristol Sessions) included just a handful of well-known entities, like Dock Boggs and the Carter Family, but explored the depths of expressions of love in early pop recordings. What holds the geographically diverse collection together is the passion and heartbreak in the music, and a ton of amazing fiddle playing -- songs of first love, courtship, loss, redemption, marriage and divorce too. The essence of life, distilled with sincerity, swagger, sadness and joy. Many of these tracks are not sung in English, but any fool can hear (and feel) the deep love pouring off the grooves here, and the beautiful 60-page book provides translations, photos, and three original drawings by R. Crumb. [JM]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$24.99
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  VARIOUS ARTISTS
Best of Disco Demands, compiled by Al Kent
(BBE)

"Everybody Party (Get Down)" The Fireballs
"Strung Out" Bobby Sanders & Magic

Like Theo Parrish, Greg Wilson and Dimitri from Paris, Al Kent is a master of the dance floor edit, and over the years this low-key Scotsmen, whose wife and kids know as Ewan Kelly, has built a stellar reputation producing floor-filling edits for his Million Dollar Disco 12" series. This is an amazing five-CD (!!!) set of Kent's killer re-edits of disco rarities, and with just one look at the sensuous cover-art homage to black '70s adult film star Desiree West, you know what kind of affair this is gonna be. This is sleazy, after-hours funk for dimly lit, packed basements, lofts and hot tub parties. Kent's sensibility is steered towards that raw, soulful East Coast disco sound, personified by Patrick Adams, Peter Brown, Tom Moulton and the like. Adams & Brown are represented with a classy edit of Universal Robot Band's "Disco Boogie Woman" and my namesake Derrick Harriot's reggae-disco production of Althea Forrest's "Hey Mister" gets a nice sped-up retreatment too. The beat goes on and on and on and on... This comes highly recommended, in case you didn't know. [DH]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

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  LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY
The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee "Scratch" Perry
(MVD)

Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough's 2011 film The Upsetter, a 90-minute documentary on the life, legend and myth surrounding reggae great Lee "Scratch" Perry, has finally made it to DVD for mass consumption. Made over the course of seven years, and featuring extensive interview footage with Perry himself, along with an incredible trove of archival footage from various sources, this film charts the course of Perry's life beginning with his childhood roots, moving on to his apprenticeships with various Jamaican record label bosses, and his move into writing and production himself. They cover just about every important aspect of his career, including the Studio One days, his mentoring of Bob Marley & The Wailers (including their falling out when Perry sells Wailers recordings to Trojan UK, which in turn exposes them to a more widespread, mainstream audience), and on to Perry's most lauded time helming his own Black Ark studios. Narrated by actor Benicio Del Toro, the film doesn't shy away from the many myths and legends of Perry's alleged descent into madness and distrust, which in turn led him to burn down his own studio after recording the landmark Heart of the Congos album. I don't want to give any surprises away but if you're a fan, this is the most essential Perry informational document after David Katz's essential biography People Funny Boy. Perry himself proves to be a lucid, intelligent and hilarious interview subject; he doesn't miss a trick and it's great to hear him acknowledge and talk about his role in the public eye as reggae's clown prince. Fans will want to see this post-haste as it's filled with great footage, excellent interviews, and of course, top tunes. File this next to Rockers and The Harder They Com as essential reggae cinema. [IQ]

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

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  VARIOUS ARTISTS
West Indies Soul
(Trans Air)

"Bring My Lover Back" Mark Holder
"People Get Ready" The Troubadours

After three wicked volumes of West Indies Funk, Trans Air Records offer up a great collection of Caribbean R&B with West Indies Soul. This one focuses more on vocal soul tunes, with covers aplenty, and a slightly lo-fi vibe akin to the early reggae recordings of Studio One Records. These artists are taking the sounds of soul scenes all over the States, from Muscle Shoals to New Orleans, Motown to James Brown, and infusing a breezy tropical twist; I was hoping for a bit more steel pan in the arrangements but this is great, sunny stuff all the same. Fans of the Numero Group's Eccentric Soul collections will find much to love here, and out of the sixteen tracks on offer, I was only previously familiar with about five or six of them (for goodness sakes Trans Air, give us some liner notes), so diggers take note! I'm hoping they go even deeper with volume two, but for now, sink your teeth into this fine morsel of soul; slather on some sunblock and enjoy! [IQ]
 
         
   
       
   

 

 

     
 

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  ULRICH SCHNAUSS & MARK PETERS
Underrated Sience
(Bureau B)

"Long Distance Call"
"Gift Horse's Mouth"

While Ulrich Schnauss is best known for his landmark electronic albums released in the early 2000s, he has worked on several smaller projects, including a collaboration last year with Danish guitarist Jonas Munk and also recently with UK dream-poppers the Engineers, a group which features Mark Peters. Here, Peters' sparkling guitar is the perfect melodic anchor for Schnauss' lush electronics and floating beats. Bridging Eno-esque ambience with the hazy melancholy of the Durutti Column and the shimmer of the Cocteau Twins, Underrated Silence is Ulrich Schnauss' best record in recent times, perhaps since A Strangely Isolated Place, and that says a lot.

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

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  JONATHAN KANE'S FEBRUARY
Live at Issue Project Room
(Issue Project Room Editions)

Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store

New live album from Jonathan Kane, recorded over the course two evenings at the old Issue Project Room space in the Old American Can Factory -- recently moved to a new location in downtown Brooklyn. It's a scorching, visceral set, with Kane and his band (made up of guitarists Peg Simone, Jon Crider and David Bicknell and bassist Adam Wills) reimagining the blues as thunderous, motorik Americana, and performed with hypnotizing minimalist muscle. The album sounds great and turned up loud, you practically feel like you're in the room. (Download is an exclusive advance on Other Music Digital.)
 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$12.99
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  HOWLIN' RAIN
The Russian Wilds
(American)

"Self-Made Man"
"Dark Side"

It's been four years coming, but the long-awaited Rick Rubin-produced new album from SF classic-psych-rockers Howlin' Rain is here. You pretty much get what expected, a more focused version of this band's guitar-heavy, sprawling sound. To everyone's credit, the music falls a lot closer to the Allman Brothers than it does the Kings of Leon, and Rubin really just did what he's good at; rather than remake a band, he helps them be the best version of what they already are.

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$14.99
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$19.99 LP+CD

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  ISLANDS
A Sleep & A Forgetting
(Anti-)

Going back to the dawn of humankind, who could ever begin to count the number of song makers who have sought catharsis from a failed romance? Adele certainly made it through okay, and while we're not ready to hedge our bets on Nick Thorburn being a big winner at next year's Grammys, his new album is a touching set inspired by his recent divorce and the lonely journey that followed. As far as Islands (and Unicorns) records go, A Sleep & A Forgetting is surprisingly direct, with traditional rock arrangements and the occasional orchestrated swell carrying Thorburn's melancholic yet still at times playfully honest confessionals. By no means a joyous romp, there's a certain hummable sweetness to these pop songs that keeps the album afloat; Thorburn's heart may be broken but it's still beating.

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

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  WINDY & CARL
We Will Always Be
(Kranky)

Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store

Ten albums and 20 years into the game, Windy & Carl are still crafting some of the purest, most satisfying pop ambience around. Languid guitar and keyboard tones, the occasional whispered vocal, and only the most static of flourishes, it's an apt title for a timeless record that relates more to Eno's iconic experiments than any flavor of the moment.

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$25.99
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  RADIOHEAD
The King of Limbs Live from the Basement
(Ticker Tape)

DVD and BluRay release of Radiohead's 2011 in-studio TV performance of The King of Limbs album, plus two unreleased cuts and one bonus track. Directed by Nigel Godrich, with a 32-page book with photos by Steve Keros.

 
         
   
   

 

 

     
 

$14.99
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  DJ FOOD
The Search Engine
(Ninja Tune)

"All Covered in Darkness, Pt. 1"
"The Illectrik Hoax"

A lot has changed in the musicscape in the 11 years since the last proper full-length from DJ Food surfaced -- just think, back when Kaleidoscope was released, people were still using words like turntablism, broken beat and Napster. Fast forward to The Search Engine and we find this onetime collaborative project now solely guided by Strictly Kev who exchanges the break-tastic beat science of past for an album that's far more song-oriented, while still being completely sample-driven and grooving. Amidst far-out '60s sci-fi snippets and guest appearances from J.G. Thirlwell, The The's Matt Johnson (featured in a remake of "Giant" off The The's 1983 classic Soul Mining), Natural Self, DK, and 2econd Class Citizen, DJ Food concocts a funky, trippy soundworld that exists in its own time and space. By no means groundbreaking this go around, but a fun ride nonetheless.

 
         
   
       
   
         
  All of this week's new arrivals.

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THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS

[GC] Greg Caz
[ACo] Anastasia Cohen
[AGe] Alexis Georgopoulos
[DG] Daniel Givens
[GH] Gerald Hammill
[DH] Duane Harriott
[IQ] Mikey IQ Jones
[JM] Josh Madell
[DM] Doug Mosurock



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- all of us at Other Music

 
         
   
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