The Other Music Update

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	July 25, 2007


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Bishop Allen Patrick Cleandenim Val Stoecklein Bokoor Beats (various) Shugo Tokumaru Yoon Youn Sun Nicole Willis Sebadoh Yeah Yeah Yeahs Tully Nurse with Wound Debris Norma Jean Malvina Reynolds Tiny Vipers		ALSO AVAILABLE UNKLE Morgan Packard / Joshue Ott Adam Franklin John Vanderslice MF Doom (MM...Food reissue) Iron & Wine (single) Joy Division (Martin Hannett's Personal Mixes) BACK IN STOCK Pan Sonic

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		1990S TICKET GIVE AWAY! Scotland’s 1990s are returning to NYC to promote their new album, Cookies, which sees Stateside release on July 31, on World's Fair. Featuring two guys from Yummy Fur and one from V-Twin, their awesome live shows can be summed up with one word: Glamtastic! Other Music has a pair of tickets to give away for two of their upcoming New York appearances. To enter, send an email to tickets@othermusic.com, and please leave a daytime phone number along with the preferred show that you would like to see. The two winners will be notified this Friday, July 27th. AUGUST 1 @ MERCURY LOUNGE: 217 E. Houston St. NYC AUGUST 2 @ CLUB NME AT ANNEX: 152 Orchard St. NYC

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Spoon Peter Bjorn & John		WIN TICKETS TO THE VIRGIN FESTIVAL! Whether or not you're the type of person who would normally enjoy a weekend at Baltimore's famed Pimlico Race Course, we're pretty sure that quite a few of our customers will be heading that way the first weekend of August for this year's Virgin Festival. The lineup is loaded with many favorites, including Peter Bjorn & John, Spoon, TV on the Radio, Wu-Tang Clan, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A., Modest Mouse, Amy Winehouse, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, Regina Spektor, Booka Shade, CSS, Dan Deacon, Explosions in the Sky, Felix da Housecat, Girl Talk, and a headlining set by the Police! We’ve got two pairs of general admission tickets (worth $175 each) to give away to this event, and all you have to do to enter is send an email to contest@othermusic.com, and please include a daytime phone number where you can be reached. (The two winners will have to cover transportation and accommodations.) The winners will be notified on Friday, July 27th. SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 & 5 PIMLICO RACE COURSE: 5201 Park Heights Ave. Baltimore, MD Click for Mapquest Directions


	$14.99 CD $9.99 mp3		BISHOP ALLEN The Broken String (Dead Oceans) "Rain" "The News from Your Bed" Brooklyn's Bishop Allen created a fair amount of coveted buzz last year with a much blogged-about series of EPs released in quick succession, a new one for every month in 2006. For fans of their 2003 debut Charm School, the series was both a confirmation of the group's potential and a justification of their commitment to another aspiring indie hopeful, as month after month the band delivered a suite of songs better than the last, full of pop hooks and smart arrangements, still steadfastly DIY, but with a newfound confidence and a string of great songs that seemed to never end. Their formula is simple and straightforward -- joyful and melancholy pop songs with a nod to classics like the Kinks and new classics like Spoon, delivered with an unstudied sense of fun, and the results are infectious. The Broken String for the first time finds Bishop Allen in a real studio, with a handful of new songs and the best of their EP tracks remade as a real rock band. Signed to new Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar offshoot Dead Oceans, the group has truly risen to the occasion and crafted a great album that is more than the sum of its parts. One listen to "Click, Click, Click, Click," "Chinatown Bus" or "Like Castanets" (which all can be previewed on our mp3 website) and you will want to play them again and again. [JM]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 mp3		PATRICK CLEANDENIM Baby Comes Home (Ba Da Bing!) "Days without Rain" "Whispers Only Hurt Them" Looks like Ba Da Bing!'s got quite a knack for discovering young up-and-coming crooners, what with the 2006 success story of Zach Condon (a/k/a Beirut) and his gypsy folk-inspired indie pop and now, a year later, Patrick Cleandenim, who's just released this surprisingly ambitious debut. Like Condon, it's impossible not to be impressed with the songwriting chops of this 22-year-old who possesses a voice that sounds to be a natural cross between Rufus Wainwright and Todd Rundgren. But rather than going to the Balkans for musical inspiration this Lawrence, Kansas native sticks a little closer to home, delivering a swinging piano-driven full-length that's much more American-influenced, with strong elements of Tin Pan Alley, Burt Bacharach, and Rat Pack-era orchestration thanks to his lively 12-piece backing band. In this day and age, it would be easy to imagine all of these pieces of the puzzle coming together as some sort of ironic pastiche better suited for the '90s-era bachelor pad, but Baby Come Home stays faithful to the form and remains perfectly suited for these modern times as well. The self-titled opening track kicks the album off with the same swagger as "(You Give Me) Fever," but Cleandenim and his band quickly turn the song into a jaunty, sexy number involving vampires and werewolves. On the surface, his lyrics are simple and romantic, but his gift is turning easy rhymes into detailed stories with plenty of dark twists. "Cognac and Caviar" sounds like a plot lifted from an old Thin Man movie, where Cleandenim plans the murder of his love interest's boyfriend -- "I'll put poison in his cognac and caviar" -- following up with the promise that "if you can find a hideaway, I'll take you there." The crown jewel of Baby Come Home is surely "Days Without Rain," a dramatically lush psych-pop song with dense harmonies and waltzing strings that head for the cinematic scope of Jean-Claude Vannier. Meanwhile, Cleandenim uses the song title as an effective, heartbreaking metaphor, where he begs his lover to come home in the morning, "before our love begins to dry away." I honestly can't imagine how Patrick Cleandenim will ever be able to follow this work up, as debuts of this caliber are pretty rare. No use worrying about that now, however, as this album has far from overstayed its welcome in my CD player. Baby Come Home is one of those records that reveals itself a little more with each listen, and I'm still listening. [GH]


	$15.99 CD		VAL STOECKLEIN Grey Life (Fallout) "Color Her Blue" "Possibility I Was Wrong" When I first moved to New York from Kansas almost eight years ago, I listened to this 1968 solo album by Val Stoecklein relentlessly. I think I'd already owned it for a couple of years, as it was fairly well regarded within the music scene happening in Lawrence, KS at the time. And of course Val had been the leader of the Blue Things, the Kansan answer to the Byrds, and the source of much local pride. But it wasn't until I moved away that I became fully obsessed, treating the album like some sort of totemic object to aid me in my transition to a new life. When he recorded Grey Life, Stoecklein was in the process of putting his life back together. He had left the Blue Things after a mental breakdown while on tour; he had a meaningful relationship collapse, and was suffering from a bi-polar disorder that was exacerbated by alcohol and LSD. He was admitted to the famous Menninger Psychiatric Hospital in Topeka where it is speculated that he underwent shock therapy. After being released, he headed to California where he had a record and publishing contract waiting for him. The producer remembers him as a very sensitive and shy young man, and so he appears to be on the cover, backed into a nondescript corner with his twelve-string in a pose reminiscent of Nick Drake on the cover of Bryter Layter, except that Stoecklein's eyes don't even bother to meet the camera, cast as they are on the floor. His world weariness is apparent throughout the recording, at times even bordering on being stiflingly depressing, and yet...his frankness and romantic longing bear the album aloft until you end up feeling like a confidante on an endlessly overcast road trip. Stoecklein wasn't happy with the album, nor was it well received. He thought the string arrangements were overwhelming, but at this point I don't think they in anyway detract from its success. There were two other singer-songwriters I was obsessed with when I moved to New York, Scott Walker and Gene Clark, and Grey Life plays like a perfect amalgamation of their best traits. Stoecklein faded from the music scene not long after this record was released, returning to a life of near-obscurity in Hutchinson, KS. He committed suicide in 1993. [MK]


	$20.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Bokoor Beats (Otrabanda) "Maya Gari" Bokoor Band "Atiadele" Mangwana Stars Mostly focused on highlife, Afro-beat, and Afro-rock, this new compilation of Ghanaian music traces the lineage and trajectory of the Bokoor Band and subsequently, the Bokoor studio. Formed by John Collins, a white man who came to Ghana to attend school and never left, the Bokoor Band's beginnings go back to the early seventies when they started as a highlife dance ensemble, whose repertoire mostly consisted of covers of contemporary American funk and rock bands, especially James Brown. (Bokoor, incidentally, means "coolness.") Dozens of musicians would come and go during the group's existence until they disbanded in 1979, which is when Collins founded the Bokoor studio and label. Kind of an Alan Lomax type, he would go on to record over 200 local bands, from traditional drumming and chants to Afro-beat, highlife, gospel, and various combinations of genres like Afro-reggae and Afro-Cuban. Collins, a trained guitarist and harmonica player, is featured prominently in these songs and his Bokoor Band is credited with eight of the 12 tracks. His group sounds like a mixture of Fela, Dr. John, and James Brown, with African polyrhythms, accents, and textures. These recordings and compositions are unique in that they are definitely African, expansive and layered, yet they also possess an intimate quality that keeps the songs warm and bright; a great reflection of the music and performers' spirit is captured in sound. A nice selection from one of the foundations of modern contemporary African music. [DG]


	L.S.T. $12.99 CD Night Piece $9.99 mp3		SHUGO TOKUMARU L.S.T. (Compare Notes) "Kiiro" "Mizukagami" I still remember the first time I heard Shugo Tokumaru's Night Piece back in 2004, and being instantly captivated by the Tokyo guitarist's imaginative bedroom pop; it was one of those records that took the listener to many different places in its brief 25 minutes. Tokumaru's mix of western and eastern influences was absolutely magical and connected with many of our customers; our shop sold hundreds of copies until the CD sadly went out of print. (Thankfully, Night Piece is still available in digital form and can be bought on our mp3 site.) One would think that we would have been able to get a hold of his 2005 follow-up, L.S.T., when it first came out on Japan's Compare Notes. Our buyers tried and tried with no success, and it wasn't until recently that Music Related, the American label behind Night Piece, got a sufficient quantity, that we were able to finally bring it in. And while it's the Japanese pressing, we're able to sell the CD at a non-import price. (Thank you Music Related!) Right off the bat, there's no mistaking the soft voiced Tokumaru in opening track "Mist." Meanwhile, guitars sparkle amidst recorders, toy xylophones and accordions, the song twisting and morphing through daydream melodies and finally landing in a playful frenzy of downward strums before returning to the opening theme. Sure, on paper that description doesn't seem far off from a song or two off of Night Piece, but what differentiates L.S.T. from its predecessor is a much more developed path that the tracks take. Where Night Piece was almost modular in its construction, the pieces here are built out of more layers of instrumentation; even Tokumaru's vocals are higher in the mix. It turns out L.S.T. was recorded with the same band which he took on tour. As you can probably guess, there's nothing bedroom-recorded about this album, and even with the songs being a little more structured, Tokumaru's exotic folk-pop lures the listener into his dreamy multi-hued world; it's as if Ambien could be used as a hallucinogenic. For a description a little more tangible: imagine the Karaoke Kalk label commissioning Cornelius to deconstruct Happy End's Kazemachi Roman album, with the only rule being no samplers allowed. There's no telling how long L.S.T. will be in stock, but if you were a fan of Night Piece, I wouldn't hesitate, especially at this price. And for those who haven't heard Shugo Tokumaru, get ready to experience some of the most colorful and imaginative music that you'll ever hear. [GH]


	$16.99 CD		YOON YOUN SUN Wing of Peace (World Psychedelia) Track 4 Track 7 Originally released in 1972, this album from Korea's Yoon Youn Sun features the dualities of every great folk record -- some lighthearted elements mixed with the dark and depressive. On Wing of Peace, Yoon's austere vocals ground the mostly buoyant arrangements like a balloon-clutching child. At times reminiscent of France Gall, and others Judy Collins, her clear voice is beautifully serene. The highlight of the album is track 7, where bluesy piano, harpsichord and flute bring out the feel-good in ye-ye (e.g. the la-las in the chorus) and wrap it around some catchy British folk-inspired melodies. Strings kick in on track 8 in a Bacharach flourish, but really get their moment in the (ahem) sun on tracks 9 and 11 with an instrumental break, karaoke style. Other standouts include the flute-led male/female duet (track 3) and the sad, guitar-picked balladry (track 12 -- the lone song with English words uttered, "I Love You"). It's also one of the only songs where the arrangement takes a gloomy turn, conjuring a tale of heartache and loss. Recommended for Kim Jung Mi (the Korean Francoise Hardy) fans looking for a more leisurely vibe. [LG]


	$12.99 CD $9.99 mp3		NICOLE WILLIS & THE SOUL INVESTIGATORS Keep Reachin' Up (Light in the Attic) "Invisible Man" "Holdin' On" The much-needed tru-skool soul revival continues to pick up steam with the stateside release of the stellar Keep Reachin' Up. Nicole Willis has been kicking around the modern soul scene since the mid-'80s, performing with early incarnations of the Brand New Heavies and Deee-Lite before leading the influential, unheralded NYC-based band the Repercussions in the early '90s. By the close of the decade, she had relocated to Finland, where she released two critically acclaimed yet little heard albums produced by her husband, Jimi Tenor. But judging by this collaborative effort with the Finland-based Soul Investigators, it seems that Willis' ship has finally come in. This excellent album of feel-good Northern soul-funk tunes has slowly been gaining word-of-mouth notoriety over the past year or so. Originally released in 2005 on a tiny Finnish label, the lead-off single "Feelin' Free" became a leftfield pop hit in that country, and soon after Gilles Peterson proclaimed it "Single of the Year," and with good reason. "Free" is a near perfect slice of authentic sounding sunshine soul that could easily be mistaken for a lost Tammi Terrell outtake. The rest of Keep Reachin' Up is a solid, meticulous recreation of classic-sounding cavernous soul with a touch of summery psych-pop for good measure. Amy Winehouse fans will find a lot to like, but minus the boozy, profanity-laced self-confessions -- just sunshine, smiles and losing yourself on the dance floor...and there ain't nothin' wrong with that, my friends. All in all, a most welcomed and refreshing listen that should appeal to anyone with any sort of ear for song craft. And if you're still stunned from the Winehouse windup from last year, then the heavy hooks from the velvet gloves of Willis and company will leave you on the canvas in starry, cross-eyed bliss. [DH]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 mp3		SEBADOH The Freed Man w/ Bonus Tracks (Domino) "Healthy Sick" "Moldy Bread" Were Homestead psyched on the early Sebadoh records or did they just figure, "Oh well, Lou is in Dinosaur so we may as well release this stuff?" Just wondering. Aside from that, what else can I say about them that we didn't say in the Sebadoh III review? I mean, come on, aside from Pavement who else functioned like the Velvet Underground of the '90s, making everyone who heard this shit wanna start a band? If ya gotta know, Freed Man is the first Sebadoh album. Like so many classic records, the album originally came out on the cheapest DIY medium available for its time: a self-released cassette. Then Homestead signed 'em and put out the album on vinyl and an "official" cassette -- no CD version until the label tacked it on to the killer Weed Forestin' disc. Now Domino have reissued it with the Vertical single (a/k/a Asshole EP with gem "Julienne"), plus 20-something (ha, no pun) extra tracks, including the songs from the Magic Ribbons box set and the Sonic Life split, PLUS a track listing that retains the original song order, including tunes that were omitted from the Homestead pressing for lack of space. No one can really sum it up better than Lou Barlow in the liner notes: "This record was intended to be a mess, a stinking garden of delights...we expected the listener to be as open-minded as we believed ourselves to be...true hardcore." It's all here in raw-ass form: tape collage; mic-ed purring cats or cats in heat; rough diamond gems of songs ("Healthy Sick," "K-Sensa-My," "Bridge Was You," "Moldy Bread," "Pig"); indie-manifesto jams like "Soulmate" and "True Hardcore;" and even drone-y, eastern, raga-pop reminiscent of Sun City Girls ("Believe"). How about the black metal folk by accident of "Elements?" No wonder Sebadoh did a split with Dead C. The lo-fi, anything-goes vibe made them soul-bros in a way then that is so less likely now. It's as if Fiery Furnaces tried to hit up Wolf Eyes to do a split single... "Yeah, lets do it!" (SIKE!!!) One listen is all you need to know that, intentional or not, Sebadoh cut the mold that everyone from bands like Ariel Pink, Animal Collective and the Fonal label (Kemialliset Ystavat), to any "anti-folk" artist and/or intimate, fucked-with singer/songwriter is based upon. Recommended only if you are as open-minded as Sebadoh thought they were. [SM]


	$5.99 CD-EP		YEAH YEAH YEAHS Is Is (Fontana / Interscope) "Rockers to Swallow" "Is Is" This new five song EP from Karen, Nick and Brian is actually made up of old songs which were written during their Fever to Tell tour, but appear here for the first time as studio recordings, produced by Nick Launay, who's turned the knobs in the past for PiL and Gang of Four. Sure enough, the band show that they can still rock like it's 2002, as this primal set is performed with the kind of vitriol us old timers remember from their early days -- check opening track "Rockers to Swallow" for proof. Other highlights including the Banshees-esque "Down Boy" (have you seen the video filmed in night vision at Glasslands?) and "Is Is"...hell, it's all good! I can hear some calling this a comeback, though I don't think they ever went away. [GH]


	$20.99 CD		TULLY Sea of Joy Soundtrack (EM Japan) "Softly Softly" "I Feel the Sun" You know you're not dealing with a typical surf movie soundtrack when you find the band members all wearing coats on the back sleeve of the album. The music bears your initial hunch correct; the sounds contained could not be any further from the sun-dappled harmonies and carefree summer bliss you've long associated with the genre. It's simply on another level, one that is deeper, more spiritual, and which more accurately reflects the power and magnitude of the ever-shifting ebb and flow of coastal waters. Paul Witzig's 1972 film Sea of Joy, to which this music was made to accompany, wasn't really a typical surf film to begin with. It has long been considered a cult classic due to the commentary-less, free floating and communal vibe Witzig conjured, in stark contrast to the typically aggressive and hot action of most surf films of the era. When Witzig approached the Australian rock group Tully about scoring the movie they were one of the biggest acts on the continent, known for their hard rocking head music and psychedelic light shows. However, they'd just come off a tour with Extradition, a legendary psych-folk group whose album Hush happens to be an all time Other Music fave. Musical sympathy developed, and both groups became heavily influenced by the teachings of Indian guru Meher Baba, who took a vow of silence from 1925 until his death in the late sixties, and who coined the phrase "Don't worry, be happy." They subsequently merged into one group, shed the drummer, changed their name to Tully the Second, and henceforth became much more introspective in nature. They created an absolutely beguiling soundtrack, one which flows effortlessly from track to track, with mellow organs and maracas providing the initial propulsion, before veering into roiling and intense passages that suggest the earlier incarnation of Tully. Extradition vocalist Colin Campbell drops in on a couple of tracks to deliver a beautiful melody or two the likes of which you only usually ever find on an early John Cale or John Martyn record. I don't think anyone here at the store however has heard anything quite like it before, and it's been on near constant rotation since we got it in. Beautiful! [MK]


	$24.99 CD		NURSE WITH WOUND Stereo Wastelands (Beta-lactam) Track 1 Track 2 Nurse with Wound are a bunch of weirdos, but that's why we love them. Their dedication to fucking us in the brain through our ear holes is legendary. Stereo Wastelands: A Collection of Musical Debris from the Original Who Can I Turn to Sessions is made up of long tracks of slightly manic, cyclic, miasmic, ACID funk (lysergic, not house). Since this is labeled "Musical Debris," it's safe to say that this stuff was intended to be just parts of songs that would be arranged later. That's exactly what's great about these tracks; they are basically open, slightly ritualistic, rhythmic cycles that grow and develop and bend along with the walls around you. Imagine Ghost doing an open-ended jam with Sun City Girls using a 303, bongos, mandolins, violins, electric guitar and various hippie girls picked up while on tour who handle the spoken word/backing vocals. Sorry for all the LSD cliches but we are talking about Nurse with Wound here after all -- they always sound like they are doing a total "taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" kinda thing. Jokes aside, this record is killer. Love it. [SM]


	$15.99 CD		DEBRIS Static Disposal (Anopheles) "Boyfriend" "Real Cool Time" I have no idea what was going on in Oklahoma in 1975, but the fact that Debris didn't reside in Ohio, or thereabout, is pretty shocking. They have that same acid punk, metallic scrape, heading straight for the heart of darkness vibe as Electric Eels, Pere Ubu, and MX-80. Chrome come to mind too. Debris themselves admit to digging Velvet Underground, Beefheart, and the Stooges, but that only explains half of the mystery behind this unique art-punk stew. There's a funny anecdote in the liners about how they finished last of 50 in a Battle of the Bands, but such is the fate of true visionaries, I guess. Musically, the twisted riffing is fortified with hallucinatory modulator effects (and a circular saw, according to legend) and some seriously tweaked guitar soloing. The lyrics are part dada and part soapbox ramblings and part... indescribable. While this record gained some notoriety because of its inclusion on the Nurse with Wound list, the sounds here stand proud on their own, and as far important DIY punk documents go, this is right up top. Comes with a bunch of bonus tracks too, and a really extensive booklet with amazing photos, including some where the drummer does his best Bjorn Borg impressions. Buy it. [AK]


	$18.99 CD		NORMA JEAN I Guess That Comes from Being Poor (Omni) "I Wish I Don't Have to Miss You" "Po' Folks" Many may remember traditional country singer Norma Jean Beasler -- or "Pretty Miss Norma Jean" -- best as Porter Wagoner's stage and television partner before a certain Dolly Parton replaced her. Yet, I Guess That Comes from Being Poor eschews Norma Jean's short-lived period of prominence between 1958 and 1967, ignoring the years following her big break as a cast member of ABC's Ozark Jubilee with her first chart single, "Let's Go All the Way," top 25 hit, "I'm a Walkin' Advertisement (For the Blues)" and first top ten single, "Go Cat Go," all deliberately omitted from this recording. Instead, what we have here is a 30-song collection of Norma Jean's later RCA catalog, three albums all recorded after her 1967 split with Wagoner and a subsequent, but undeserved decline in recognition. Not unlike those of a more inebriated Wagoner, I Guess That Comes from Being Poor is centered around Beasler's 1972 titular concept album where Norma Jean, true to her roots, plays the role of the grown daughter of poor farmers, her strong and capable vocals turning bittersweet narratives of poverty into sugary tunes like "Hundred Dollar Funeral" and "Po' Folks," with a softened rendition of Parton's "Coat of Many Colors" thrown in for good measure. But don't let Norma Jean's simple beauty and innocent smile deceive you, as 1968's full Body and Mind Nashville sound chronicles the singer's gender role-challenging tales of mourning, unapologetic adultery, and pure lust. Often cited as a Dolly Parton or Loretta Lynn clone, Norma Jean proves she can withstand comparisons: her morally-contradicting gems and straight-from-the-heart refrains of troubled times pleasantly roll off the tongue as all but three songs from 1970's Another Man Loved Me Last Night finish up the track list. Re-mastered from the original RCA Victor tapes and available for the first time on CD, this is quite the honky-tonk treasure. [PG]


	$18.99 CD		MALVINA REYNOLDS Malvina Reynolds (Omni) "The World's Gone Beautiful" "Morningtown Ride" Another great album rescued from obscurity by the Omni label, whose back catalog includes must-have reissues by Porter Wagoner, Jimmy Driftwood, Jack & Misty, Henson Cargill, and Bruce Haack. Perhaps best known for her song "Little Boxes" (which is the theme song to the TV show Weeds, but was made famous by Pete Seeger), Malvina Reynolds had reached the ripe old age of 70 when she joined forces with members of the Byrds and the Dillards in 1970. The result of these sessions, a self-titled LP, is a lovely protest slash county-folk album that is definitely more sprightly than grandmotherly. Her aching voice, which occasionally turns into more of a creak and a croak, delivers topical tales very specific to the era (there are songs about the Black Panthers, capitalism, and the destruction of Mother Nature), and the all-star backing band sounds sublime. The expanded reissue comes with twelve bonus tracks, some unreleased, and extensive liners. [AK]


	$13.99 CD		TINY VIPERS Hands Across the Void (Sub Pop) "Campire Resemblance" "Shipwreck" Like the female equivalent of Richard Buckner, or the offspring of Handsome Family's darkly literate Rennie and Brett Sparks, Northwest singer-songwriter Jesy Fortino cocoons herself (and her introspective narrators) in a mournful, tremulous river of existentialism. The touching, raspy vocals and sparse musical framework (largely provided by pal Ben Cissner, who occasionally offers up fuzzy little noise freakouts) also recall the Southern gothic ruminations of Chan Marshall -- particularly on opener "Campfire Resemblance" and tearjerker "Aron" -- completing a trifecta that's sure to convince fans of the dark side to invest in Tiny Vipers' debut. Fortino sounds much older than her years, and her clarity is piercing; softly picked songs like "Swastika" and "Forest on Fire" (improvised entirely in the studio) are not what they seem on the surface, but instead fold outward and upward like origami, with only Fortino's far-away utterances to guide you through the cavern of a brooding yet hopeful soul. [KO]


	$14.99 CD $21.99 CDx2		UNKLE War Stories (Surrender All) "Lawless" James Lavelle's third proper album under the UNKLE moniker, released on the Mo' Wax founder's new Surrender All imprint, pretty much fulfills all the best and worst expectations we have for this legendary artist after years of great music as well as great letdowns. War Stories pushes UNKLE's genre-crushing explorations in a decidedly stoner-rock direction, basically delivering an album of live instrumentation performed by the likes of Queens of the Stoneage's Josh Homme, Ian Brown, the Duke Spirit, the Cult's Ian Astbury, Massive Attack's 3D and more, and co-produced by Chris Goss. As with past albums, there are wonderful highlights and a couple of breakout singles, as well as bit of rather trite filler, but it really wouldn't be an UNKLE album any other way. (Also available as a limited double-disc, featuring a bonus CD with instrumentals and a 50-page booklet.)


	$20.99 CD w/ DVD		MORGAN PACKARD/ JOSHUE OTT Airships Fill the Sky (Anticipata) "Mink Hills" Great, and incredibly versatile, album by classically-trained producer Morgan Packard. Airships Fill the Sky morphs from Fennesz-styled minimalism into sparse, experimental techno and cinematic soundscapery (some of the Type records come to mind), and back again. As a bonus, there's an accompanying DVD with all new material and hallucinatory computer-generated visuals by Joshue Ott.


	$14.99 CD		ADAM FRANKLIN Bolts of Melody (Hi Speed Soul) "Seize the Day" The debut solo release from the main songwriter/singer/guitarist of legendary shoegaze innovators Swervedriver might be just what that great band's rabid fans have been waiting for, even those who loved Franklin's more ambient explorations with his post-Swervedriver project Toshack Highway. Without trying to rip-off his own moves, Franklin returns to pop songwriting and stays true to the Swervedriver aesthetic while unabashedly experimenting with some new colors on his palette, tempering the haze of his trademarked sound with laidback psychedelia and folk influences.


	$13.99 CD		JOHN VANDERSLICE Emerald City (Barsuk) "Kookaburra" As with much of the best pop music, John Vanderslice's excellent new Emerald City album is so sweet on the surface, but so dark and uncomfortable underneath. The title is a reference to Baghdad's Green Zone, and lyrically Vanderslice explores that, and other areas of false security and very real insecurity with a sharp poetic ear for both words and sounds that will seep into your consciousness and take hold. As with the title, this album disguises its fear and paranoia in beauty and light, and the results are gloriously unsettling.


	$16.99 CD w/DVD		MF DOOM MM...Food? (Rhymesayers) "One Beer" It's a bit funny to be trumpeting a reissue of a classic from the good old days of hip-hop...2004-style! But you don't have to be an oldie to be a goodie, and Doom's snackalicious opus was a classic for sure. Beautifully repackaged, with an hour-plus bonus DVD of live and behind-the-scenes footage, the album sounds as smart, funny and deliciously real, no additives, no preservatives, as it did way back when.


	$3.99 CD-single		IRON AND WINE Boy with a Coin (Sub Pop) "Boy with a Coin" Here's a teaser from Sam Beam's forthcoming album, The Shepherd's Dog. Judging by the beautiful title track, Beam keeps moving further and further away from his rustic, lo-fi beginnings, with layers of handpicked guitar and handclaps. Also features two equally killer tracks exclusive to this single.


	$14.99 CD		JOY DIVISION Martin Hannett's Personal Mixes (Interstate) "Heart and Soul" Joy Division field recordings, anyone? As if it wasn't apparent by some of the titles ("Joy Division Keyboard Doodles," "Curtis, Hannett, Gretton Interplay, Chit Chat and Cup Smashing", "Hannett Lift Recording," etc.), this one's for the rabid Joy Division and Martin Hannett obsessives only. Some of it is random stuff Hannett recorded with the tape machine running during recording sessions, including conversation and sound effects, and the songs are alternate mixes of Joy Division classics (supposedly Hannett's favorite takes) such as "Heart and Soul," "Autosuggestion," "The Eternal," "Passover" and "24 Hours."


	$14.99 CD		PAN SONIC Katodivaihe / Cathodephase (Blast First) "Lahetyst / Transmission" Pan Sonic have a deep and impressive catalog, spanning close to 15 years, but after all this time I've probably returned to their early, groundbreaking Sahko EPs more often than anything subsequent. In the early-'90s, minimalism was still a delicacy generally reserved for the avant-classical set, but Pan Sonic instinctually explored the cool underbelly of electronica that was as far removed from Eno's hazy ambiance as it was from the dance floor, crafting melodic, musical, rhythmic and compelling pieces from the tiniest and most meticulously assembled bleeps and pops. Inevitably, the duo (formerly a trio) has fleshed out their sound on subsequent releases, but their essence remains, and Katodivaihe is a thrilling and sometimes startling progression. Pan Sonic has broadened their palette, if not their focus, with dense sheets of metallic noise, swampy and propulsive bass tones and even cello weaving in and out of these pieces. The tracks can freeze time, hanging on minutia like a fly buzzing against a window or a door slowly creaking in the wind, or thunder unstoppably like a freight-train, but their core emotion is consistent, and consistently spine-tingling. Katodivaihe is a powerful and lasting statement from a true modern innovator. [JM]


	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 from it for any reason, please send an email from the address you wish to delete to list@othermusic.com and make sure the word "Remove" is included in the subject line.		THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS [PG] Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh [LG] Lisa Garrett [DG] Daniel Givens [GH] Gerald Hammill [DH] Duane Harriott [MK] Michael Klausman [AK] Andreas Knutsen [JM] Josh Madell [SM] Scott Mou [KO] Kristy Ojala THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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