The Other Music Update

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	December 3, 2008


			We hope we can make your holiday shopping just a little bit easier this year with Other Music gift certificates. They are perfect for that music lover in your life and can be redeemed for purchases made both in the store and off our CD/LP website. You can buy a gift certificate in the shop, or purchase one on-line by going to: www.othermusic.com/giftcertificates.html We also offer gift certificates for the MP3 download site, in $25, $50 and $100 increments. You can buy them in person at the store or email our shipping department at giftcertificates@othermusic.com


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Wavves Night Jewel Surf City Susanna Alexsis Taylor The Rebel Children's Hospital J Spaceman & Matthew Shipp Dancehall (Various) Dancehall (Book) Kung Fu Super Sounds (De Wolfe comp.) Felt Blank Dogs		Sacros Shindig! (Book) Neil Young Los Llamarada Franco Henry Flynt & C.C. Hennix Jackie Mittoo Famous When Dead 6 (Various) ALSO AVAILABLE Jewelled Antler Library Box Set

DEC

Sun 07

Mon 08

Tues 09

Wed 10

Thurs 11

Fri 12

Sat 13

Mercury Rev

WIN TICKETS TO MERCURY REV W/ DEAN & BRITTA
Two longtime favorites, Mercury Rev and Dean & Britta will be performing at the Highline Ballroom this coming Sunday, December 7th. Sure to be a great night of soaring modern psychedelia and dreamy pop songs, you can enter to win a pair of tickets by emailing contest@othermusic.com. We'll notify the two winners this Friday, December 5th.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7
HIGHLINE BALLROOM: 431 W 16th Street NYC

DEC

Sun 07

Mon 08

Tues 09

Wed 10

Thurs 11

Fri 12

Sat 13

Deerhunter

WIN TICKETS TO THE GUMMY AWARDS
Stereogum and sister website Videogum are throwing a concert at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Monday, December 8, in honor of their third annual Gummy Awards. Hosted by comedian Max Silvestri, the event will feature an outstanding lineup of music and comedy with live performances from Deerhunter, Violens, and 2008 Stereogum "Artist to Watch," Bell. Other Music has two pairs of tickets to give away to this great night... to enter, email tickets@othermusic.com. We'll be notifying the two winners on Friday, December 5th.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 8
MUSIC HALL OF WILLIAMSBURG : 66 North Sixth Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Ages 16+ / Click here for tickets

DEC

Sun 07

Mon 08

Tues 09

Wed 10

Thurs 11

Fri 12

Sat 13

UPCOMING OTHER MUSIC IN-STORE PERFORMANCE

WILL SHEFF: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10 @ 8PM
The Okkervil River frontman will be stopping by Other Music to play a special solo set on the eve of his band's performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg.

OTHER MUSIC: 15 East 4th Street NYC
Free Admission / Limited Capacity

DEC

Sun 14

Mon 15

Tues 16

Wed 17

Thurs 18

Fri 19

Sat 20

Mercury Rev

OTHER MUSIC & XLR8R PRESENT: GARY WILSON, PEANUT BUTTER WOLF, DINOWALRUS & MORE
Only weeks away from bolting the doors at their longtime downtown location, the Knitting Factory is marking the end of an era with a series of goodbye shows before their relocation to Brooklyn. Other Music and XLR8R are helping with the send-off, presenting this killer night of music, featuring Peanut Butter Wolf (Video DJ Set), Gary Wilson, Dinowalrus, DJ Duane Harriott (Negroclash), and hosted by Edan! You won't want to miss this one. We've got a pair of tickets up for grabs, just email enter@othermusic.com. We'll notify the winner on Monday, December 8th.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14
KNITTING FACTORY: 74 Leonard Street NYC
Tickets available at Other Music


	$12.99 CD $14.99 LP		WAVVES Wavves (Woodsist) "California Goth" "Wavves" Wavves is the one-man band of San Diego's Nathan Williams, and before he even had his songs pressed on vinyl, CD or cassette he had set the blogs abuzz. His debut seven-inch on Tic Tac totally sold out on pre-order in a matter of hours, and his debut cassette on Fuck It Tapes was gone almost instantly. The first readily available release is this self-titled album on Woodsist, and let me tell you that it is a stunner. Williams creates some of the best lo-fi, noisy pop songs that I have heard in years. Wavves lives in a world where ultra-overdriven guitars collide with trash can drums, and atop of it all are those melodic distorted vocals with choruses that will stick in your head for days! His tracks range from Beach Boys-influenced noisy surf gems like "Wavves" or "California Goth" -- with instantly danceable drumbeats and killer melodies -- to the trashy punk rock of "Lover," to the gorgeous Sonic Youth-like "Vermin" or "Beach Goth." Wavves has created an amazing record, and with another album coming out on De Stijl in February and numerous seven-inches scheduled for 2009 already, it seems there is no stopping this man. Well, we here at Other Music say bring it on! I cannot get enough of these songs and neither will you. There will be no escaping Wavves in the New Year; don't say we didn't warn you! [JS]


	$11.99 LP		NITE JEWEL Good Evening (Gloriette) DISCLAIMER: This is the vinyl version of Good Evening, the new, remastered, anticipated debut full-length from Nite Jewel, released on the LA-based Gloriette records. The CD version, which comes out on the Human Ear imprint, will not hit shelves until Christmas(!), but we wanted to let all the vinyl lovers know about this LP edition. And of course, we'll give everyone a heads-up when the CD arrives. This new full album from bedroom disco princess Nite Jewel (who is currently on tour with Times New Viking and Deerhunter) includes tracks featured on her self-released CD-R, My CD, and her Italians Do It Better 12-inch, plus three new songs and a cover of Roxy Music's "Lover" to round it all out. It's all pressed on decent-weight vinyl and housed in a "lo-fi," Photoshop picture sleeve (by Cole M.G.N.) of Ms. Jewel possibly becoming a "Mrs." in a Las Vegas chapel. All the tracks are remixed and remastered by Jay Rajeck to bring out the vocals, beats and bass -- the beats on "Weak for Me" are almost thunderous compared to the CD-R's version, and the distortion crush at the end is way heavier. The same pretty much goes for "Artificial Intelligence," "Let's Go the Two of Us Together," and all the other jams from My CD. What results is more club-friendly but it doesn't lose any atmosphere, which we had described in an earlier review as: Calling Out of Context-era Arthur Russell eating opium with a black rubber-bangled Madonna and Mark Hollis, all huddled in the corner while the 4-track tape is rolling." New tracks like "Universal Mind," with choral/aria background vocals, nail the ethereal breakup, '80s radio vibe (what's she sayin'?). And "Chimera" features a sweet marching-in-place beat and she really hits the Kate Bush notes in a nice way, particularly on the "EEEee's." This time around, I also noticed that "Weak for Me" has an infectious (DeBarge) "Rhythm of the Night"-thing running through it, that is if it were submerged in warm cough syrup. Again, that's a compliment! What can we say, we're still lovin' what she's doin'. Without trying, Nite Jewel pretty much nails what seems to be a trend these days: marrying pop with an underground sound, BUT, without sounding like a pandering, watered-down sell-out!! Oh, snap! [SM]


	$14.99 CD $14.99 LP $5.99 MP3		SURF CITY Surf City EP (Morr Music) "Records of a Flagpole Skater" "Headin' Inside" It's a funny old place New Zealand; one minute it's just masses of sheep, rolling hills and people with accents not too dissimilar from a neighboring country we will leave nameless, and the next it's a hip epicenter of music and film. Okay that's probably an exaggeration, but it's far from being simply "that place where they filmed Lord of the Rings;" we now have HBO's Flight of the Conchords and a whole host of jangly lo-fi indie bands following in their wake. The NZ underground has been healthy for some time now, with Flying Nun (home of The Dead C., the Clean etc.) acting as the face of a sprawling scene, but outside of their home country most of these bands have never had the impact they deserve. Surf City don't deviate from this scene so much as hone it to streamlined perfection, and manage this somehow without losing any of the kinetic punk spirit in the process. It's an about-turn in many ways for the Morr Music label, as there's none of the high-end electronic production you'd usually expect; this is grimy, lo-fi garage rock with more in common with the Vivian Girls than B.Fleischmann. That's nothing to be afraid of though; the band have got a firm grip on pop songwriting worthy of sunnier climes. This is music for better times -- jangling pop songs the way pop used to sound. A good recent comparison might be the Muslims, with a similar sense of understanding of 50s and 60s rock 'n roll and a similar "loose tightness" to their sound. Imagine if the Clash had been into the Shadows rather than King Tubby, or if Brookyln's cassette-trading scenesters were pushed into a room with Brian Wilson and you might have some idea of the three-minute pop gems these boys have no trouble in churning out. At times I'm even reminded of early-'90s UK indie music -- big throbbing basslines, lazy vocals and a roomy reverb that wouldn't sound out of place on a Factory 12-inch. As you've probably guessed, I've really fallen for this little six-tracker. The band simply do everything right, summing up all the things I love about indie music without compromising their garage unpredictability. Try them out; they might just turn out to be your favorite discovery of 2008...fantastic stuff! [JT]


	$17.99 CD		SUSANNA Flower of Evil (Rune Grammofon) "Jailbreak" "Can't Shake Loose" Susanna Wallumrod first made a mark on the music world with her "group" the Magical Orchestra (actually a duo with fellow Norwegian and In the Country member Morten Qvenild) in 2004. Their debut release, List of Lights and Buoys, firmly established her, at least critically, as one of the most important young voices in music. Keeping busy, she released an incredible Magical Band follow-up (2006's Melody Mountain) as well as her first "solo" release (last year's Sonata Mix Dwarf Cosmos). Wallumrod's seemingly effortless ability to reinterpret classics by the likes of Leonards Bernstein and Cohen, Bob Dylan, AC/DC, Joy Division, Scott Walker and Dolly Parton, as well as her cripplingly intimate and fresh songwriting skills place her amongst the ranks of musical double threats! But there is much more going on with this incredible talent than a set of pipes serving up sucker punches of the morose. I can't think of another current singer who so creatively re-contextualizes songs as does Susanna. She doesn't so much cover songs as claim them as her own. Moreover and more importantly, she is responsible for some of the freshest original music in the past 10 years. On Flower of Evil (perhaps a nod to the 1971 Mountain album??), Susanna returns with 12 covers and two new originals. This time around she adds to her expanding songbook with a sundry set of tunes by Sandy Denny, Black Sabbath, Badfinger, Prince, Roy Harper, Lou Reed, Thin Lizzy, Tom Petty, and Will Oldham (who contributes vocals to two tracks). The result is nothing short of astounding. With the help of guitarist/producer Helge "Deathprod" Sten, and drummer Pal Hausken (also of In The Country), Susanna adds keys and (of course) vocals to round out her piano trio to transform these originally rocking, funky, or psychedelic songs into intimate meditations on sorrow, desperation, hope, madness, love and loss. Perhaps most impressively, she achieves the miraculous feat of turning ABBA's disco-pop anthem "Lay All Your Love on Me" into the creepiest ballad of obsession this side of Nick Cave's "Watching Alice." As incredible as the covers on the record are, the two originals ("Wild Is the Will" and "Goodbye") steal the show -- further evidence that Susanna is still on the way up. There is patience and efficiency sadly lacking in most music nowadays evidenced on Flower of Evil making it easily the most mesmerizing record I've heard this year. Buy it and go see her in December (Dec 8 2008, Empty Bottle, Chicago; Dec 13 2008, Joe's Pub, New York). [KC]


	$17.99 CD		ALEXIS TAYLOR Rubbed Out (Treader) "Baby" "I'm Not a Robber" Is it now the done thing for X member of alt-indie hipster hype-act to toddle off and record a "lo-fi" collection of bedroom compositions? Already this year we've had Deerhunter and Grizzly Bear throw their contributions in, and very nice they were too, but for my money this latest from Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor is the best of the bunch. Let me first be straight with you; I've never been a huge fan of Hot Chip. Something about their Williamsburg-friendly electrified r+b worship never sat properly with me, but strip away all that production and you're left with pretty good songs. Taylor keeps it deathly simple here -- a smattering of wonky synth, a single drum beat, a modicum of fretwork, and the results just speak for themselves. Occasionally it sounds like the ghost of Arthur Russell channeled through Daniel Johnston's blubbery body, at other times he manages to make Paul McCartney credible again and all while retaining a sense of humility. There's a self-deprecating humor on show here, something that was a little too "ironic" when faced with the glossy production of Hot Chip proper, but here seems perfectly in check. At times you might even have your dark heart broken by Taylor's fuzzy love songs, and though he has stripped his songs down to the bare bones, there's more substance here than I ever thought he was capable of. A gorgeous collection of songs, and well worth checking out, whether you love Hot Chip or not! [JT]


	$13.99 LP $13.99 LP		THE REBEL Northern Rocks Bear Weird Vegetable (Sacred Bones) CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL Alone Together (Sacred Bones) Oh Sacred Bones how I love thee. After great LPs by Pink Noise and Factums, and top notch 45s by Dead Luke, Nice Face, and His Electro Blue Voice, here come two more surefire winners, new LPs by the Rebel (a/k/a Ben Wallers of Country Teasers) and Children's Hospital (members of A-Frames/Intelligence/Rodent Plague), with that same instantly recognizable, uniform cover art. First off, Ben Wallers is a genius, from the abrasive Fall-like twisted country swagger of the Country Teasers through to the Burroughs-ian solo ramblings as the Rebel. Northern Rocks Bear Weird Vegetable is very cohesive for being Wallers, especially as the Rebel, with a proper backing band (Country Teasers, natch) and recorded in a proper studio, but sacrifices none of the ramshackle qualities which made his earlier records so unique. Quite the ambitious fella, Wallers here tells the story of life on the decaying planet 3AR7H (the narrator is in a band, hmmm...) which includes his takes on the dangers of consumerism and celebrity worship, politics, war, and radical Islam. A mandatory purchase for those with a penchant for Mark E. Smith, outsider art, and the rock n roll that exists on the fringes. I've never been a huge fan of either the A-Frames or the Intelligence but this is something altogether different. Alone Together, by Children's Hospital, eschews those two bands' post-punk leanings for a darker, more ominous type of wave. If you heard the Rodent Plague 45 from earlier this year, you'll have a slight clue what to expect but it doesn't reveal the full magic of Alone Together. Deconstructed punk meshes with a loner/droner folk vibe (yes, Jandek) and is somehow enveloped by a grey blanket of Krautrocking soundscapery. It's a bit tricky to describe without sounding like a total clown but I think I'm doing a fair job here. Might not hit you in the face right away, but much like the Factums LP, it will reward you doubly down the line. [AK]


	$17.99 CD		J SPACEMAN & MATTHEW SHIPP Spaceshipp (Treader) "Inner" "Outer" Nice to see Jason Pierce (a/k/a J Spaceman of Spiritualized/Spacemen 3) popping up so frequently these days. Having overcome taking too many drugs to make music to take drugs to, he's finally got himself on something of a creative conveyor belt, with releases dribbling out all over the place. This particular record sees the drone-king team up with avant jazzer Matthew Shipp, also a veteran of the Treader label, and between them the duo make quite a racket. Lower case noise is what I'd like to call it, although my better judgment would disagree; it's somewhat noisy but devilishly quiet all at once, channeling all sorts of hum, white noise and delicious bowed percussion through a pulsing wave of Spacemen 3-era feedback. This is a level of beauty chiseled out by two old masters of the genre, and in an era when CD-Rs, tapes and limited edition wax slabs give us more average drone than we can shake the proverbial stick at, it's a breath of fresh air. By the time the pair get stuck into the second of the two long-form pieces on Spaceshipp they have pared the sound down to merely a clatter of distant pots and pans and a music box, giving way to the occasional patented Pierce tremolo. And all is good with the world. [JT]


	$24.99 CDx2		VARIOUS ARTISTS Dancehall (Soul Jazz) "Trash and Ready" Super Cat "Informer" Lady Ann Soul Jazz comes through with an all-killer, no-filler 2CD/4LP collection of solid dancehall jams charting the movement's early history, providing nearly all sides of the sound from slack, sexed-up jams to roots-conscious decrees to my faves, the heavy skills of early female MCs on the scene. While dancehall's come a long way since its origins, much like hip-hop's evolutions, the classics never die, and they also provide still-solid skills in party-rocking satisfaction. Put any given number of these cuts on the system at a social function and people are going to respond, I guarantee you. This is some of my favorite music, and if you're a newbie, it'll get you digging in the crates for certain. The excellent selection features foundation DJs like Yellowman, Ini Kamoze, Cutty Ranks, Eek A Mouse, Triston Palma, and Barrington Levy alongside lesser known champions like Brigadier Jerry, General Echo (with "Track Shoes," perhaps the first-ever jam praising sneaker culture), Michigan & Smiley, Lady Ann, Clint Eastwood, and my personal favorite, Sister Nancy. A near-staffwide favorite as of recent, if you've any passing interest in these sounds, this is essential listening. You've pulled up the roots, you've scrubbed up on the dub, now it's time to nice up the dance. Highest recommendation! [IQ]


	$39.95 BK		DANCE HALL: THE STORY OF DANCEHALL CULTURE Beth Lesser (Soul Jazz) Soul Jazz offers up another visual slice of life from days gone by. Following up their great New York Noise book, this coffee table, LP-sized volume documents the rise, development and fall (?) of the 1980's dancehall movement and is a great complement to the label's two-CD Dancehall compilation, reviewed above. Over 200 pages, author/photographer Beth Lesser provides a detailed history with interviews, playlists and comments on the UK and US connection to dancehall culture, all accompanied by a plethora of colorful, energetic, and vibrant images of Jamaican life. The photographs and text give many insights into the vast, spirited music and style that swept the island, and also shows the more functional aspect of the actual dance hall yards and the sound systems at work. It's a visually stunning and fun look into the unbelievably endless list of names and faces that continue to make music, play music, sell the records, support the cause, and/or just enjoy a good party. If you're into the aforementioned CD compilation or reggae in general, this is a great, informative addition to any collection. [DG]


	$19.99 CD		KUNG FU SUPER SOUNDS Kung Fu Super Sounds (De Wolfe) "Heaven & Hell" Dr. Witch-Wot "Return to the 36th Chamber" Electro Link 18 Being the fanatical pop culture whore that I am, my eyebrows immediately hit the North Pole when I saw this collection listed for review. For those not familiar, the Shaw Brothers studio was responsible for almost every single classic old-skool Kung Fu flick that '70s babies and '80s pre-teen latchkeys like myself were weaned on. Sunday afternoon playtime in my neighborhood consisted of clumsy recreations of the scenes we had just watched earlier that morning on Channel 7's Kung Fu Theater. Wu-Tang owes their image, lifestyle, lyrical inspirations and creative life to the Shaw Brothers, and Tarantino's Kill Bill series was 100% inspired by the Bros' aesthetic. The sharp, dramatic musical interludes that purveyed throughout would go on to be unsung influences in hip-hop and reggae. These movies were extremely popular in the urban ghettos of America and in the cheap penny theaters in Jamaica. Still, very little of this music made its way on to vinyl, so this collection of unreleased soundtrack highlights is a big deal for all Kung Fu soundtrack fanatics. Curated by Gareth Goddard (a/k/a Cherrystones) and Joel Martin of Quiet Village, this CD consists of 43(!) exquisite little cinematic pieces culled from the massive De Wolfe sound library. The sounds range from early minimal wavey electro pieces to groovy John Barry-esque secret agent soul. Fans of Finders Keepers, Morricone, Wu-Tang, Stereolab, Broadcast, Dangermouse and aspiring beat makers take note! [DH]

Stains on a Decade
$15.99 CD

Strange Idols...
$15.99 CD

$9.99 MP3

Forever Breathes...
$15.99 CD

$9.99 MP3

FELT
Stains on a Decade
(Cherry Red)

"Penelope Tree"
"Trails of Colour Dissolve"

FELT
The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories
(Cherry Red)

"Spanish House"
"Dismantled King Is Off the Throne"

FELT
Forever Breathes the Lonely World
(Cherry Red)

"All the People I Like Are Those That Are Dead"
"Hours of Darkness Have Changed My Mind"

Felt have always been one of my favorite groups, and as of recent I've been on a HEAVY listening kick, revisiting every album over and over and pretty much brooding autumnally to this group's vibe. Long an Other Music favorite, the British band's back catalogue was unavailable for many years until Cherry Red recently remastered and reissued all but one of their studio albums, along with releasing a collection of the group's 10 singles on one CD for the first time. As my coworkers vibed in with me, we came to a realization -- the band had never been featured in any form in an Other Music update, which seemed rather inexplicable. As such, I'm stepping up and providing a few picks for newbies and subtle reminders for those who know but have perhaps forgotten.

Let's start with the singles. To briefly sum up the band's career is not an easy task (and thankfully we've got things like Wikipedia for that now!), but the Cliffs Notes version goes like this: Felt was started by a man named Lawrence, who had a plan: ten albums, ten singles, ten years. Upon completion of the last of these in 1989, he broke the group up and moved on to the proto-Britpop sounds of Denim, but that's for another day. Felt released records on Cherry Red and when they grew tired of the label's inability to properly promote the group, they moved to Creation, who then went on to know even less what to do with them. Felt brilliantly combined and contrasted stark minimalism with lush sensuality, both in their musical arrangements and in Lawrence's oblique yet cutting lyrics, which grew over the band's lifespan to become more and more overtly autobiographical. In the beginning, they counted amongst their ranks a classically trained guitarist, Maurice Deebank, whose non-rockisms became a key factor in the group's expansive, pensive, complex sound. When Deebank left midway through the plan, unable to handle the thought of the commercial success that never came, he was replaced by keyboard prodigy Martin Duffy, who would later on end up joining Primal Scream. They count bands like the Smiths amongst their aesthetic peers, and are pretty much the reason Belle and Sebastian exists. I'm also going on record saying that they wipe the floor with either of those bands' catalogues, but that's one man's opinion. Anyway...

Stains on a Decade is the place to start if you've never heard any Felt. Comprising 15 songs from their ten singles, it provides the best chronological overview of all aspects of the band's history, and at the same time includes many of the group's catchiest, best tunes, some in versions which were rerecorded from their album versions and which satisfyingly differ substantially. The set opens with "Something Sends Me to Sleep," a stark landscape of strummed guitars and oddly stiff drumming. It's definitely the most raw of the band's recordings, but sets the scene nicely for the Deebank era. Tracks like "Trails of Colour Dissolve" and "Fortune" mix rainy-day jangle and thick opium haze; they rub up against taut barbs like "Dismantled King is Off the Throne" and my personal favorite, "Penelope Tree." Then the group recorded what remains their most well known song, "Primitive Painters," with the Cocteau Twins. It was an indie smash, complete with keyboards (a first for the band -- this single and its accompanying album, Ignite the Seven Cannons, were the only records which featured both Deebank and Duffy on record together) and Liz Frazier's soaring vocals on the chorus. From there, Deebank leaves and we get Duffy onboard in full force, adding his intricate layers of keys to tracks like "I Will Die with My Head in Flames," "Sandman's on the Rise Again," and the Deebank-slamming "Battle of the Band" ("Where were you when I wanted to work?/ You're still in bed/ You're a total jerk"). The disc also includes the group's only cover version, a gorgeous rendition of the Beach Boys' "Be Still." All in all, it's essential listening from beginning to end.

So where do you go from there? Well, I chose one album apiece from each era of the band -- one with Deebank, one with Duffy -- and they're both stone cold classics. Felt's third full-length, The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories, was the group's first attempt at fusing the ethereal abstraction of the first two albums with a more overtly direct pop approach. It's quite possibly the band's most rollicking record, with the rhythm section pumping forward as Deebank's intricate, Spanish-inspired guitar lines dance and swirl around the bite of the lyrics and the force of the beat. Amidst some of Lawrence's most direct, effective songs are a few moody, ethereal guitar instrumentals by Deebank; upon his exit from the band, he would go on to make one solo record of nothing but such instrumentals, and it's nice to have a taste of that here as it really boosts the mood. Elsewhere, tracks like "Spanish House" and the original renditions of "Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow" and "Dismantled King Is Off the Throne," stripped of the gospel tendencies and more tender delivery of their versions on the singles, are here given a bit of muscle and the effect is exhilarating. Without question one of their best from beginning to end.

Next up, we have Forever Breathes the Lonely Word, where Duffy picks up Deebank's vacant seat and uses it to take the band through some of their most dense musical textures, filled with layers of organ and keys as Lawrence croons some of the strongest, most poetic lyrics of his career. Songs like "Rain of Crystal Spires," "Grey Streets" and "Gather Up Your Wings and Fly" are filled with an exuberance previously unheard on a Felt record, while Lawrence comes forth with such barbed lines as "Don't make me a martyr for your causes/'Cause I don't believe a word that you said/All the people I like are those that are dead." It's perhaps the most dizzying, exhilarating 30-odd minutes the group would ever record, and it almost single-handedly writes the book on what Stuart Murdoch would try to do with Belle and Sebastian in the decade following, but with the twee sentimentality here replaced by a cynical, world-weary lyrical outlook that occasionally lets true optimism shine through like the rays of light emanating from Duffy's keyboard. The band would never sound so driven, so committed, and so sure of itself again. Moments like these are fleeting in any person's life to be sure, but thankfully, they got this moment down for posterity, and we're all the better for it.

So there you are. Dive in, go crazy, get heavy, and suit up for an intense winter. Your life will never be the same. [IQ]


	$10.99 CD $14.99 LP		BLANK DOGS The Fields (Woodsist) "Red World" "The Other Way" Imagine if Ian Curtis hadn't popped his clogs -- would Joy Division have sunk into mediocrity and embarrassment? Would they have become Manchester's answer to U2, peddling iPods and other such lifestyle enhancements to the middle classes? I don't think we can ever really know, but with two peerless albums under their belt, the band's achievement and lasting influence is legendary and permeates every facet of the modern rock underground. Blank Dogs is an artist who probably wouldn't doubt the influence of Curtis on his home-taped compositions. He has notched up a steady stream of releases already in just about every medium around, so Woodsist has cornered Mr. Blank Dog for this mini-album before the imminent full-length drops on In the Red. Those expecting the noisy abandon of the artist's earlier efforts might be disappointed -- where previously he would disturb his love of Manchester's finest with a chunky layer of hiccupping SY-worship, The Fields is almost straight doom-pop. These are the Joy Division offcuts that never happened with wonky synthesizer, down-tuned guitar and cycling drum machine in check. It works too -- with the Woodsist-patented Walkman hiss acting as the perfect accompaniment to Blank Dogs' navel-gazing post-punk. Occasionally we get a hint of Depeche Mode, occasionally early Pet Shop Boys (seriously), but for the most part The Fields sounds like Ariel Pink covering the best of early Factory. And that's no bad thing in my book. [JT]


	$17.99 CD		SACROS Sacros (Shadoks) "Le Realidad" "Manos Duras" Very lovely Chilean folk-rock album from 1973, apparently little heard even then as nearly every copy was allegedly destroyed during the military regime. In a similar artistic orbit to contemporaries like Other Music faves Los Blops and Congreso, though lacking those acts' heavy investment in the sounds of Chile's indigenous peoples. As such, it maybe took me a bit longer to sink into, but it's an album of fairly subtle charms that has really, really grown on me lately. It sounds like they had aspirations to make the South American equivalent of The Notorious Byrd Brothers, but with boxier percussion and hazier guitars, which may sound like a slight but is not at all. A good one to have rescued from oblivion as it's the kind of stuff you can honestly never get tired of. [MK]


	$19.99 BK		SHINDIG! Annual #1 (Shindig!) Quickly becoming one of our favorite magazines, Shindig! covers the 1960s and '70s like none other (well, with the exception of Ugly Things) and if you missed the boat early on, Shindig! Annual #1 goes some way to remedy that. With a hardback cover and 112 glossy pages, the book features interviews and photos from out-of-print issues of the magazine, including features on the Action (great interview with Reggie King), Florida garage/psych legends We the People, Beatles popsike proteges Grapefruit, John's Children (interviews with two members, including lots of interesting Marc Bolan chatter!), the UK Kaleidoscope, Rubble royalty Les Fleur de Lys, an in-depth chat with Jesse Hector of Crushed Butler/Gorillas, and tons more. This will stuff any stocking and then some! [AK]


	$21.99 CD+DVD		NEIL YOUNG Sugar Mountain, Live at Canterbury (Reprise) "Sugar Mountain" "Birds" Neil Young is already an institution. A cornerstone among cornerstones, an influence to the influential, and into a 40-plus-year career, he's still a mystery of sorts. Sometimes the mystery is "What were you thinking, Neil Young?", but even with a sometimes spotty track record, the wealth of classic songs and magical albums alone makes for a lifetime achievement award, mystery and enigma not withstanding. Sugar Mountain, the newest volume to the Neil Young Archive series, finds a ridiculously fresh-faced kid in a sold-out gig at a tiny but respectable room in an excitable college town, circa 1968. This is not the enigmatic Neil Young we all came to know later. A few days shy of his twenty-third birthday and just a few months before his first solo album drops, a goofy and almost-charismatic Young banters without self-consciousness between the tunes about how songs just come to him, or nervously shouts into the two microphones recording the performance and then jokes about blowing the levels. This stoned and joyful demeanor flows hand-in-hand with first runs of early songs, altered lyrics to what became favorites later, and an overwhelming sense of innocence and naivety. Even playing through stripped-down versions of his previous band Buffalo Springfield's songs, one wonders... did he feel like he'd come a long way? Was it a "been there, done that" kind of vibe or could he have ever known what was going to transpire with the coming years? As he's stopping songs to tell dorky stories about working at a bookstore before he got into show biz, or what kind of car he drives, even asking if there's any cops in the audience ("Everyone in here's alright, right? Everyone knows about, you know... pills?"), there's an overwhelming portrait of sweetness in the form of this young man, at the start of the road, a few years before he'd be writing songs about friends dying of overdoses or wanting to escape from fame into cold isolation. A rare and beautiful snapshot that almost becomes sad at times, and a must for anyone with even a passing interest in Neil Young. [FT]


	Take the Sky $12.99 LP The Exploding Now $12.99 LP		LOS LLAMARADA Take the Sky (S-S) LOS LLAMARADA The Exploding Now (S-S) Revelatory new music from Mexico, steeped in trash rock aesthetics and working a limited yet flexible palette of noise, dirge, and pathos. Los Llamarada have been kicking around Monterrey since the earlier part of this decade; decidedly non-musicians, the quartet taught themselves how to play out of boredom and rebellion against their culture, and succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. Obvious touchpoints to their sound include the Dead C. (and much of the more chaotic New Zealand band axis), the Fall, and the UK DIY scene, but the band transcends those influences into a hazy yet direct whole, time and again. Rumor has it that Scott Soriano of S-S Records (who's released incredible records by A Frames, FM Knives, Tyvek and Cheveu over the years) found them while searching through MySpace, and pressed up a cassette the band had sent along. The rest is history in the making. Two singles and two albums have surfaced thus far, with the newest full-length Take the Sky emerging as their definitive statement -- abrasive, occasionally melodic shifting of simple themes against impenetrable scuzz, laid bare on guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, various pieces of hand percussion, and droning, atonal vocals. Short songs and steady go-go dancer drumming prevent them from drifting off in the ways that bands more focused on creating textures fall into; these ones are designed to hurt, even while you shake it. 2007's The Exploding Now provides an obvious foreword to these sounds -- it's way more desperate-sounding and shrouded in murk, but the same concepts are present, like they ate the entire contents of a pharmacy and hit the record button, the music floating above the band rather than coming directly from it. Great, ear-cleaning, genre-busting landmarks for our modern agenda. [DM]


	$22.99 CDx2 $18.99 MP3		FRANCO AND LE TPOK JAZZ Francophonic Vol. 1: 1953-1980 (Sterns) "Anduku lutshuma" "Kinsiona" From the same label who gave us those stellar Bembeya Jazz, Rail Band and Mbilia Bell releases comes this much needed retrospective collection from one of the most popular and influential, yet very unsung, African musicians of all time. Hailing from Zaire, Franco Luambo built his first guitar at age 7, joined a street band at age 11 and began a recording career at age 15. From that point until his untimely death in 1989, Franco and his band were the biggest act "In all of Africa south of the Sahara." His immense popularity in Africa is possibly the reason why many have never heard of him outside of that continent. Unlike names like Fela, Salif Keita, or Miriam Makeba, Franco didn't really need to go Europe or America (though he would eventually end up there later in his life) to expand his audience because he was so popular in Africa. The first volume of this retrospective focuses on the period of 1953 to 1971. One thing that stands out is how incredibly catchy and tightly arranged it these tunes are -- its no wonder that the man was hemorrhaging hit records his whole life. Early tracks like "On entre O.K., on sort K.O," "Tcha tcha tcha de mi amor" and "Tika kondim na zolo" are all infectious African rhumbas, boasting tight two-part harmonies and Franco's strong lead picking. It's all positive, slightly naughty, African party music that will immediately stay with you after an initial listen. The CD version includes a stunning 48-page booklet that contains pictures and a track-by-track analysis, all lovingly curated by noted music scholar Ken Braun. A+++ [DH]


	$14.99 CD $9.99 MP3		HENRY FLYNT & C.C. HENNIX Dharma Warriors (Locust) "Warriors of the Dharma" "Mount Fuji on My Mind" Another long overdue release from the archived recordings of the New York underground's self-proclaimed cognitive nihilist, Henry Flynt. Dharma Warriors is two long improvised recordings from 1983 featuring regular collaborator C.C. Hennix on drums and Flynt on guitar. The tracks focus on basic blues and R&B riffs that never abandon chugging, strumming low ends as the duo goes out in search of an endless boogie. Frequently, the improvisation sounds like a meditation on the first few seconds of a Junior Kimbrough song but, with Hennix's responsive, creative drumming, the songs never lose momentum or become redundant. Hennix propels the performances towards a tension between the free jazz improvisations and blues roots fundamental to the recording. Though more likely intended to display the natural relationship between minimalism and the American primitive, and the foundations of the improvisation that breeds free jazz, the album finds its path in an ultimately satisfying and unstructured stoner rock. Well before No-Neck Blues Band and Sunburned Hand of the Man, Flynt was crafting a classically oriented psychedelic homage to the roots of American rock that is finally available twenty-five years later. [BCa]


	$19.99 CD		JACKIE MITTOO Rides On (Jamaican Recordings) "Jah Jah Harmony" "No Get Dub Over" Once the musical arranger for Studio One, Jackie Mittoo, was king of the black-n-white keys...the organ, piano, and keyboard. His sound can be heard throughout reggae music's history, from the Skatalites on up to the Wailers. With their latest collection of previously unreleased gems, Jamaican Recordings gathers 15 slices of Mittoo's 70s-era keyboard-led dub. Recorded at Channel 1, Randy's and Dynamic Sounds during these studios' prime years, the tracks feature the usual suspects sounding like they are having fun and spreading the sonic love. Produced by Bunny Lee, each song is rich in groove, stride, and pulse. The great musicians gathered here were the backbone of reggae, names like Sly & Robbie, Tommy McCook, Ansel Collins, and Bobby Ellis, among others. Johnny Clarke sung on most of these tracks, but here he only appears as a dubbed-out ghost vocal throughout these versions. A nice, upbeat and fresh-feeling collection from a man whose input into the sound of reggae is still being recognized. [DG]


	$15.99 CDx2 $9.99 MP3		VARIOUS ARTISTS Famous When Dead 6 (Playhouse) "Neues Testament" Roman IV "Love Love, Love, Yeah (Chloe's Remix)" Rework Playhouse has been pumping these compilations out for some time now, showing the world that their deep, playful brand of house music is still there, bubbling away while dance music drifts in and out of sub-genres. So as Kompakt goes the fancy-trance route, Playhouse is still finding gems from Losoul and Common Factor among others. Interestingly they have brought in Norwegian blog-houser Todd Terje who produces the compilation's most disarming track. A sort of mashup of Dick Dale and Playhouse's own Recloose, this is probably the furthest we stray from the deep house/electro vibe of the label but it makes for an unusual highlight. Other highlights come from Roman IV who throws down a funky number with "Neues Testament," a slow moving ass-shaker of a track replete with cheeky stabs and skittering percussion. My My take the most traditional Playhouse turn with the deep, rolling dancefloor bliss of "Day for Night," showing that there's still life in the old sound yet. They might be on their sixth installment but Playhouse still have a lot going for them; unfairly compared to Kompakt all too often, they have to me always done their own thing, and who can begrudge a label that? Comes in two parts -- one mixed and one unmixed for the DJs among us. [JT]


	$59.99 CDx4		VARIOUS ARTISTS Jewelled Antler Library Box Set (Porter) Wow! Here's a 4-CD box set (4 hours and 40 mins of music) that collects the long outta print Jewelled Antler CDR-series and other bits and bobs, including twelve new field recordings by Loren Chasse. A veritable who's who of today's psych folk/drone/noise/weirdo beardo underground, the set features recordings by Fursaxa, Dead Raven Choir, Kemialliset Ystavat, Thuja, Ivytree, Uton, and a bunch of other cool stuff that's ripe for discovering. Comes in a chip board stock box with the JA logo in foil(!), and includes 14 panels of original artwork. Limited to 1000.


	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 [BCa] Brian Cassidy [KC] Kevin Coultas [DG] Daniel Givens [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [MK] Michael Klausman [AK] Andreas Knutsen [DM] Doug Mosurock [SM] Scott Mou [JS] Jeremy Sponder [FT] Fred Thomas [JT] John Twells THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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