April 7, 2011

		APR Sun 10 Mon 11 Tues 12 Wed 13 Thurs 14 Fri 15 Sat 16   RECORD STORE DAY: SATURDAY, APRIL 16 As many of you know, Record Store Day is just around the corner, Saturday, April 16! That means tons of limited, exclusive vinyl (and a few CD) releases will be available at Other Music (and other participating RSD stores) for one day only (see the full list of RSD releases here -- no guarantee of actual quantity and availability at OM) as well as lots of other giveaways, special promotions and more. Record Store Day has become our biggest day of the year, it's always a lot of fun, and we hope you can join us. We will be releasing the full details of our RSD 2011 schedule next week, but we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting an intimate private performance by NYC's own Regina Spektor for a small group of lucky fans who purchase Regina's exclusive RSD Four from Far record from us on the 16th. Keep an eye on the Update for more information, and thanks for supporting Other Music and other great record stores wherever you may be on Saturday the 16th!

		FEATURED NEW RELEASES Cold Cave Stan Hubbs The Sandwitches Trust German Punk & Wave Vol. 1 (LP Box Set) Ike Yard The Kills The Raveonettes Autumn J Rocc Martin Newell Vijay Iyer Dickie Landry Dug Dugs 13th Floor Elevators     Marijata The Astronauts Gary Higgins ALSO AVAILABLE Ethiopiques 27 Cravo & Canela Oh Land Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

		APR Sun 10 Mon 11 Tues 12 Wed 13 Thurs 14 Fri 15 Sat 16   OTHER MUSIC WEDNESDAYS AT ACE HOTEL NYC Every Wednesday evening during the month of April, members of Other Music's staff will be DJing the gorgeous lobby of NYC's Ace Hotel. The next installment will feature OM's Daniel Givens and Mikey IQ Jones, who will be spinning a wide spectrum of sounds, from electronic and future pop, to mutant disco and vintage international grooves, and everything in between. We hope you can join us! Schedule for the rest of the month below: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13: Daniel Givens & Mikey IQ Jones WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20: Amanda Colbenson & Andreas Knutsen w/Call the Doctor WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27: Scott Mou & Chris Pappas ACE HOTEL: 20 West 29th Street NYC 8 p.m. to Midnight, every Wednesday in April

		APR Sun 03 Mon 04 Tues 05 Wed 06 Thurs 07 Fri 08 Sat 09   WIN PASSES TO UNSOUND FESTIVAL AT THE BUNKER Other Music is giving away a pair of passes to both nights of the Unsound New York Festival events taking place at the Bunker to one lucky winner! On Friday, Unsound will be presenting Bass Mutations, with an amazing line-up that features: Kode9, Appleblim, Badawi, KiNK, Lone, Spatial, Sepalcure, Dorian Concept, Dave Q, Chancha Vía Circuito,Eleven Tigers, Zeppy Zep, and The Phantom. The following night will have more of a techno slant with another fantastic roster of producers and DJs on the roster: Atom(tm) & Pink Elln, Octave One, DJ Olive, Tin Man, Petar Dundov, Pulshar, Samuli Kemppi, Glitterbug & Ronni Shendar, Jurek Przezdziecki, Christina Chatfield, and Kamil Jankowiak. To enter, email tickets@othermusic.com and we'll notify the winner via email on Friday morning. FRIDAY, APRIL 8 & SATURDAY, APRIL 9 PUBLIC ASSEMBLY: 70 N. 6th Street, Williamsburg, BKLN Both nights, $25 in advance (tickets available at Other Music) | $30 at the door.

		APR Sun 03 Mon 04 Tues 05 Wed 06 Thurs 07 Fri 08 Sat 09   WIN TICKETS TO EMERALDS, ALAN HOWARTH & HARALD GROSSKOPF + GUESTS Another great Unsound NY Festival give-away, RVNG Intl. partners with the Krakow-based art and music festival to bring the label's ongoing FRKWYS series to the live setting of (le) Poisson Rouge on Friday, April 8th. In FRKWYS fashion, this bill will be looking both back and ahead, featuring John Carpenter collaborator nd Pi Corp co-founder, Alan Howarth, the North American debut of Harald Grosskopf who will be playing his landmark 1980 masterpiece Synthesist in its entirety (joined on stage by ARP, Julianna Barwick, Blondes, Pink Skull, Laurel Halo and more), and Emeralds. The evening will be full of solo performances and collaborations, which you can read more about here. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away. Just email enter@othermusic.com and we'll notify the two winners on Friday morning. FRIDAY, APRIL 8 LE POISSON ROUGE: 158 Bleecker Street, NYC

		APR Sun 10 Mon 11 Tues 12 Wed 13 Thurs 14 Fri 15 Sat 16   WIN 3-DAY PASSES TO NUMINA LENTE FESTIVAL Other Music is giving away a pair of 3-day passes to one winner for next week's Numina lente festival, which features an outstanding array of boundary pushing artists and experimental music figureheads. To enter, email giveaway@othermusic.com and we'll notify the winner on Monday, April 11. Here's the line-up: THURSDAY, APRIL 14: Lubomyr Melnyk, ILITCH, Tamio Shiraishi, Andrew Lampert with Flower-Corsano Duo FRIDAY, APRIL 15: Charlemagne Palestine + Tony Conrad, Bill Orcutt SATURDAY, APRIL 16: Blood Stereo, Hype Williams, Michael Smith with Title TK FLAMBOYAN THEATER / CLEMENTE SOTO VELEZ CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER: 107 Suffolk Street (at Rivington) For each evening: Doors at 7pm, Concerts begin at 8pm

		$12.99 CD $16.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   COLD CAVE Cherish the Light Years (Matador) "Catacombs" "The Great Pan Is Dead" Cherish the Light Years is a big step forward for Cold Cave, the first statement from the group that feels less like the solo bedroom project of Wes Eisold and more like a band. And while the sound is bigger and broader, with several tracks that feature guest musicians and live drums alongside the programmed beats, this never feels like anything less than a continuation of Eisold's vision. His confidence as a vocalist has grown by leaps and bounds, as evidenced right from the opening "The Great Pan Is Dead," with its triumphant chorus' shout, "Yeah! I will come running/Gunning through the years." There's an immediate air of vitality to the proceedings that never lets up. The record is said to be about Eisold's new adopted hometown, New York, and as such Cherish the Light Years could hardly be all upbeat. While maintaining a decidedly synth/pop palette, in his lyrics Eisold is still exploring the contrast between the dark and bright elements of modern living, and often sets his darkest thoughts against his most alluring grooves and sweetly melodic hooks. "Confetti" is glamorous pop perfection, with a bass line that could sit well alongside anything Manchester has thrown up over the decades, tripping across the dancefloor with a coda that offers, "You look so good on the outside, I feel so good on the outside." Eisold is not afraid to make moves that might confuse some, such as the jazzy horn arrangement on "Alchemy and You," a track that also includes Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner on guitar. The grit of the electronic production (provided by Dominick Fernow of Prurient on several songs), as well as Eisold's background as a former hardcore vocalist, set Cold Cave apart from even their edgiest peers in contemporary dance music. The band has digested diverse sounds, ranging from the polished synth-pop of the Cure to the most raw and experimental electronic noise, dark wave, modern dance production and blistering punk, and it's precisely this merging of worlds that makes Cold Cave special. Cherish the Light Years is much less tentative than the band's earlier work in every way. Eisold's transformation from a well-respected poetic screamer to an introspective, yet brash pop singer is remarkable and bold, and it works because, like any true artist, his vision carries over across any number of media. [NN]

		$24.99 LP   STAN HUBBS Crystal (Companion) Totally bitchin' private press obscurity that has been making major waves in collector circles of late, despite -- or because of -- rumors that only a very small handful copies are known to exist. You've always gotta take the hype surrounding these things with a grain of salt (I mean, the Acid Archives claims the guy died of a pot smoking overdose!), but man, I've got to admit that this one not only lives up to the hype, it obliterates it! I'm pretty much floored by how awesome this is, recorded by the enigmatic Stan Hubbs in his Sonoma County living room (circa 1982) with a cast of much younger band mates, this is some seriously epic and wasted lo-fi bedroom rock with arena-level pretensions scuttled by some of the most endearingly blank singing imaginable. Think early X, but with massive amounts of flange, and you'll have but the faintest sense of what's happening here. The whole thing is just a serious head-scratcher, made even more intriguing by the inclusion of a couple of stunningly blissful ballads that seemingly levitate on thin air. Crystals is a singular experience if ever there was one, and Companion has given it all the love and attention it deserves, with a gorgeous exact replica production that even includes the original 16 page insert. Highest, and I mean highest, possible recommendation!!! [MK]

		$9.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   THE SANDWITCHES Mrs. Jones' Cookies (Empty Cellar) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store I have to admit that I dismissed this band out-of-hand and unheard when they first appeared on the shelves last year. After all, we're talking about an album titled How To Make Ambient Sadcake, featuring a painting of a kitten's face on the cover, by a group called the Sandwitches. I mean, c'mon. I imagined either a painfully earnest twee-pop band formed by the Keebler Elves (best case scenario), or, at worst, a calculated, CocoRosie-esque inside joke on chillwave. The reality of these San Francisco women is not quite what I feared, and I'm not too proud to say I love this new record, though there are grains of truth in first impressions. Okay, there is nothing "chillwave" about this band, but I'd be lying if I said they weren't a little precious -- even TWEE; there are certainly passages of their new album, Mrs. Jones' Cookies that sound like something excavated straight from the Kindercore vaults. These are three girls playing a haunted and shambling, slightly histrionic strain of garage-pop/twang that falls somewhere between the dark entries of the Renderers and Moe Tucker's naive odes to the small hours. Calling this "country" would be misleading, and it's not straight-up indie-pop by any means; some of this hits the same sweet spots that the Billotte sisters nailed in the early-aughts with Quix*o*tic and the Casual Dots. The Sandwitches succeed in the same way these groups did -- by taking the traditional '60s "girl group" conceit, and injecting a darker, almost mystic eccentricity that was only suggested by the original vision. This is what I imagine bands like Real Estate and the Fresh and Onlys might secretly be striving for; the F&Os occasionally get there, crafting the perfect spectral psych-pop burner, and Real Estate pull off the meandering, lazy vibe, without ever managing to stumble on a hook or chorus in the process. In fact, I would venture to say that the Sandwitches are closing in on the summit of this particular Rock Candy Mountain while their competitors are taking the Stairmaster. Not because they are writing better songs, or playing them better, but because their songs convey a soul and humanity that can't be faked or taught. And sure, a little panache doesn't hurt either. As much as the grumpy old man in me hates to admit it, I love it when my preconceptions are blown to bits like this. I learned the hard way so you don't have to. [JTr]

		$4.99 45 $1.99 MP3   TRUST Candy Walls (Sacred Bones) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Brooklyn label Sacred Bones provides one of the most exciting debuts of the year with this two-track 7" from Trust. The Toronto duo creates a palpable dank environment and a thick, claustrophobic atmosphere, while still showing solid and engaging songwriting. Robert Alfons's voice has a unique, somehow classy quality that sits perfectly within the slow-moving, ghostly synthscapes of both cuts. Though at first it sounds quite barren, "Candy Walls" is surprisingly rich in melody upon closer listen. Echo-laden drums ricochet off a cavernous bass foundation, in a way that renders the track sparse and active at the same time. "Trinity" continues this approach, with an intermittent piercing high-end tone shining through the fog, like sunlight catching a shard of broken glass just right. Bleakness and catchiness are not often such comfortable bedfellows. Trust is a much-needed streak of burgundy across the mostly dayglo map of contemporary electronic pop music. This is music for floating into the night, indeed. More, please. [NN]

		$129.99 LPx5+10"   VARIOUS ARTISTS German Punk & Wave 1978-1984 Vol. 1 Box Set (Vinyl on Demand) Vinyl on Demand, the World's most comprehensive and luxurious reissue label specializing in post-punk, synth and industrial musics, pulls out all the stops with its new box set. Focusing on unreleased recordings of German punk, wave, and minimal synth from 1978-84, the set contains a whopping five LPs and 10" worth of mostly superb stuff across all genres. Outside of the UK, Germany had one of the more fertile underground scenes in Europe, and while the Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave, for the German-impaired) movement has become well-documented over the years, there still seems to be an endless wealth of material that's of very high quality. German Punk & Wave Vol. 1 features 11 bands that get one LP side each, with the exception of Die Gesunden who get an entire 10" all to themselves. And rightfully so because Die Gesunden is one of the definite highlight of the box. Stark, razor-sharp minimal synth with a decidedly raw edge, and a killer version of Velvet Underground's "I'm Waiting for the Man" to boot. It continues with Werkpiloten who do a great take on the Factory Records sound, with a couple of tracks that echo the Wake, and Funtastiklons and the Off Band, who both share a motorik Krautrock/Sky Records sound but with an updated new wave vibe. One LP is split between two pretty straightforward punk bands, PVC and White Russia. PVC was one of Germany's first punk groups, and included here is their first demo with surprisingly good sound quality, but the real find here is White Russia. A total unknown for me, the band rip through a dozen or so punk 'n' roll songs with a swagger that's reminiscent of the Saints. Elsewhere, there's a rare cassette of Din A Testbild material, which mixes Residents-style synth experimentalism with freeform industrial noise; Poison Dwarfs, who also take some cues from the Residents but more than anything sound like they got super excited when Der Plan came to town for the first time; and Didaktische Einheit deliver dark, dirgey synthwave that makes for one of the highpoints of the set. As you can tell I'm pretty much loving it all, and if you have more than a passing interest in these genres, chances are you will too. 600 numbered copies so act fast. [AK]

		$16.99 CD $24.99 LP   IKE YARD Nord (Desire) "Traffikers" "Shimmer" To be honest, I feared the worst when I heard that downtown NYC luminaries Ike Yard were releasing an album of new material after an almost 30 year hiatus. With the return of so many post-punk bands releasing watered-down rehashes of the sound that made the early '80s so potent, I worried a similar fate would befall one of my favorite groups of that era. What a relief it was when I finally heard Nord, an outstanding collection of new tracks that finds Stuart Argabright (of Dominatrix/ Death Comet Crew fame) and company continuing to masterfully deconstruct, reprocess, and strip down the sounds of the urban, industrial landscape in a way that is both new for the group and also so completely "Ike Yard." Like many too young or distanced to have experienced Ike Yard first hand, I discovered them by ways of Acute Records' essential reissue of their recordings for the Crepuscule and Factory labels, 1980-82 Collected (also available on Other Music's download site). Certainly one of the most adventurous bands either label ever signed, Ike Yard drew influence from a variety of scenes -- no wave, Krautrock, post-punk, German and British industrial, and the nascent hip-hop sound gaining momentum at the beginning of the '80s in New York -- and stripped it all down to the barest of essentials. Their sound was fractured, skeletal, and unbelievably disquieting. Still, Ike Yard managed to retain a striking insistence, a sexiness even, due in large part to their focus on rhythm, the cavernous production of their recording, and Kenneth Compton's haunting vocal delivery. Nord follows a very similar trajectory as the band's early material; however, whereas Ike Yard in the '80s was essentially an art rock band using electronics as a medium to express their dystopian vision, Ike Yard in 2011 is a full-on electronic outfit, with any acoustic instrumentation serving only as texture. The sound here is slightly more confident and definitely updated, as if Ike Yard has absorbed the last 20 years of (German and Detroit) electronic music and have been slowly trying to refract and reassemble it for themselves. Dark and propulsive, Nord is beat driven and rhythmic as in their earlier recordings, yet the sound is fuller; layers of electronic dissonance (resonant drones, distorted samples) hover over most of the record as strange synth lines are dropped in creating a fully realized sonic environment. I can't help but draw a comparison to more contemporary minimal techno here in its attention to texture and detail (fans of Basic Channel, early Kompakt, and Ostgut Ton will find a lot to appreciate on Nord); yet, Ike Yard are definitely doing their own thing, as on the abstract, baseless pseudo-dubstep "Citiesglit" or the constantly mutating, very excellent closing track "Robot Steppes." While the record may not be perfect -- it unexpectedly slows in the middle, and at times Compton's vocals are slightly too loud in the mix -- the excellent moments outweigh any of its missteps. One of the most engaging and exciting releases this year so far -- highest recommendation! [CPa]

		$11.99 CD $16.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   THE KILLS Blood Pressures (Domino) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Though the White Stripes might have recently called it a day, two other blues-punk duos are making the best music of their careers. First came the Black Keys whose gritty, psych-fueled Brothers just earned the Akron group a Grammy, and now come the Kills, three years since their last album, and this new set finds Allison Mosshart and Jamie Hince reinvigorated and offering their most nuanced record to date. Mosshart's time spent moonlighting in Dead Weather with Jack White and Co. has certainly given the singer a new sense of confidence and depth to her sultry swagger, enough so that the duo includes a torch ballad ("The Last Goodbye") three-quarters through; featuring not much more than Mosshart's heartbreaking croon and a piano, it's an uncharacteristic move for the band and also an album highlight. It's not that the Kills have changed their formula, but rather have refocused their previous strengths. Listening to Blood Pressures, you forget that the duo is drummer-less, with massive, kick-and-tom heavy drum kit samples sitting high in the mix, all but replacing the synthetic beats of previous records and providing more heft to Hince's raw, bluesy guitar-work. From the dark, slinky slow-funk of "Satellite" to the glam-stomp of "Nail in My Coffin," the Kills have never sounded this big, with most of the group's updating coming from distinctly vintage moves. Even as the Strokes clamor to reignite the spark that kicked open the door to the garage rock revival some ten years ago, the Kills are just hitting their stride. [GH]

		$11.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3   THE RAVEONETTES Raven in the Grave (Vice) "War in Heaven" "Ignite" Honestly, it took me a while to warm up to the Raveonettes. Despite Richard Gottehrer's seal of approval (because of it?), the Danish duo's earliest stuff had a studied sense of cool and a sort of corporate sheen to it that just rubbed me the wrong way. But hey, maybe I've changed a little, and maybe the Raveonettes have too; surely times have changed in the decade since this band launched, and their once-unusual blend of '50s rock 'tude, girl-group vibes and Jesus and Mary Chain swoon sounds a lot like some of the bigger indie bands around these days, including Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, and the like. The band's sound palette is intentionally quite narrow, with short, hook-filled and hazy pop songs ruling the roost, but each record has its own take on the formula, and their sixth studio album (give or take a couple of EPs) finds them in fine form, stepping back from the poppier sound they explored on 2009's In and Out of Control, and making a more intimate album, both quieter and sunnier than much of their recent stuff. Self-produced in the group's own NYC studio, with no guest musicians and no complicated arrangements, these are simple, effective and moving songs, built from pounding tom-toms, swirling guitars, and the close Everly Brothers-styled harmonies of Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo. It's a formula that works, and a great record from start to finish. The first 30 CDs purchased from us come with autographed booklets. [JM]

		$21.99 LP   AUTUMN Autumn (Minimal Wave) The Minimal Wave imprint continues its investigation of the Belgian synth auteur Peter Bonne's early-'80s output with this compilation of tracks from Autumn, the band he started with Geert Coppens before forming Linear Movement, Twilight Ritual and A Split-Second. Compiling Autumn's sole single from 1981 and songs from cassette compilations released on Bonne and Coppens' label Micrart Group, Synthesize is a fantastic collection of icy minimal synth, synth pop, and spaced-out, dark-as-hell electronic pseudo disco. Those who have been following the minimal synth reissue craze over the last several years will likely be familiar with "Synthesize" from Autumn's first single; however, the rare cassette tracks really make this LP shine. Falling somewhere between the straight-up synth pop of Linear Movement and the dark, industrial sound of Twilight Ritual (while managing to incorporate elements of both), Autumn's songs are dynamic and wholly engaging, featuring some expert analog synth work, great deadpan vocal delivery, and a spacey production aesthetic that feels almost reminiscent of certain Sky Records releases. From the bouncy electronic pop of "Night in June" (a track cut from the same cloth as Depeche Mode's Speak & Spell), the dancefloor-ready "Laughter of a Madman," to the stark, classic Belgian minimal synth sound on "I Say You Hello" and "Behind You," Synthesize is another excellent release from Minimal Wave. [CPa]

		$16.99 CD $9.99 MP3   J ROCC Some Cold Rock Stuff (Stones Throw) "Play This (Also)" "Don't Sell Your Dream (Tonight)" What kind of album is J Rocc's newest offering on Stones Throw? According to the label, it's like nothing you've ever heard before. And that's probably true, unless you listen to a lot of instrumental hip-hop. J Rocc brings to bear everything you'd expect from a veteran DJ who's been digging and making beats for over twenty years, layering sharp, tight breaks and hypnotic samples together seamlessly to create this madness. This is the album of a working DJ (J Rocc has been Madlib's live DJ for nearly a decade), someone who digs and listens day-in and day-out to find the most deranged source material available, and knows exactly how to make those records work for him in the studio. The album is a continuous fabric of sound, pinned to the wax with a range of head-snapping beats. It starts out strong and only gets stronger, touching on soul, early hip-hop, African dance rhythms, and American jazz before you hit the runout groove on the fourth side. Highly recommended to people who like to get down, erstwhile diggers and DJs, and fans of sound collage á la the Books who want to hear what it sounds like done by a founding member of the Beat Junkies. [AS]

		$15.99 LP   MARTIN NEWELL Songs for a Fallow Land (Fixed Identity) "Julie Profumo" "Gamma Ray Blue" The list of under-appreciated geniuses in the world of music is rather gigantic but Martin Newell definitely deserves a place up at the very top. Newell started his career in the early 70s, as a member of Plod, a glam rock band that sounded like a tougher version of T. Rex (check out the great, bootstompin' "Neo City" on the Velvet Tinmine compilation), and by the 80s had matured into the frontman of the Cleaners from Venus, a unique and brilliant DIY band that combined the quirky pop sound of XTC with 60s jangle. During this time, he also made a ton of solo recordings at home, many of them released only on cassette in very limited runs. Songs from a Fallow Land, a collection of highly personal, acid-damaged tracks from 1985, is perhaps the best of them all. The mood is psychedelic and the means are limited, but as the saying goes, sometimes the biggest pop songs are made on the tiniest 4-tracks. To put things in a more modern context, it's remarkable how many of these songs sound like a blueprint for records by Ariel Pink and his buddy John Maus. Might as well get the real deal then, eh? Limited to 500 LPs, with new liner notes by Newell himself. My favorite reissue of 2011 so far. [AK]

		$15.99 CD   VIJAY IYER WITH PRASANNA & NITIN MITTA Tirtha (Act Music) "Duality" "Gauntlet" Man, New York City-based pianist/composer Vijay Iyer has been on an absolute hot streak lately, and his latest is certainly no exception. Here he's joined by the South Indian-born players Prasanna and Nitin Mitta, on guitar and tabla respectively. The three musicians have been sorting out their sound since around 2007, apparently attempting a way to figure out how to fuse Carnatic and jazz modes as Tirtha is the first release from the trio, and it's totally worth the wait, as the results are startlingly fluid, and wholly unique. Although I've heard many, many Indian-influenced jazz recordings over the years, it's been rare to find one that manages to achieve this level of seamlessness. Guitarist Prasanna in particular is a revelation, supplying intricate and almost pointillistic notes that unexpectedly bend into surprising zones. All in all an extremely subtle and refreshing listen that feels extremely integrated, and which bears repeated listens. [MK]

		$9.99 CD   DICKIE LANDRY Fifteen Saxophones (Unseen Worlds) It's inevitable that Dickie Landry will get lumped together with such giants of American minimalism as Philip Glass and Terry Riley, seeing as he performed extensively with the former, and conducted tape delay experiments not unlike the latter did on A Rainbow in Curved Air. Yet the performances on his 1974 landmark Fifteen Saxophones, now reissued by Unseen Worlds, are neither static nor repetitive enough to merit direct comparison, and seem to be informed as much by free jazz as by minimal composition. The two pieces that comprise the first half layer clean, sustained woodwind tones and trills through tape delay to create vast, unsettling landscapes that constantly evolve and dissipate. "Alto Flute Quad Delay" surprisingly manages to ratchet up the tension of the preceding title piece while maintaining its otherworldly character. The second half consists of a live recording, "Kitchen Solos," that proves to astonishing effect how well the same method worked for Landry during solo performances, with results that have as much in common with Albert Ayler or Evan Parker as Terry Riley. Be sure to clear out a space on the floor for your jaw to hit after this one. [JB]

		$13.99 CD $14.99 CD   DUG DUGS Dug Dugs (Lion Productions) "Let's Make It" DUG DUGS Smog (Lion Productions) "Smog" Probably Mexico's best-known band of the original psychedelic era, these newly mastered reissues of Dug Dugs great first two albums are long overdue. Dug Dugs formed in the late '60s and honed their act with years of heavy duty club gigs in Tijuana and Mexico City, and even an ill-fated move to NYC where the musician's union thwarted their attempts at playing and recording in the US. All of that constant gigging leads up to their excellent first LP from 1970, and the band is firing on all cylinders on their self-titled debut. A great mix of full on, heavy rock, fuzz-filled psychedelia and even a few softer psychedelic moments, the album is really without any duff moments. Smog, from 1971, sees the band dropping down to a power trio and losing any pretensions of American success with the switch to singing in their native Spanish, and it is just as good as the first album if not even better, and certainly heavier. The record leads off with the amazingly heavy, flute-laden "Smog," and doesn't really let up. A return to the first album's ultra rock anthem "Let's Make It Now" ("Hagamoslo Ahora") takes up most of the first side and is even more frantic and ludicrous than in its original form. Side one would be more than enough to push this into must-have territory, but they aren't done yet as the ultra-sick riff that opens "Yo No Se" answers the "how could it get any better" question before you even thought of it. There are two more tracks where the guitar licks go head to head with the flute that bookend the beautiful interlude "Meditacion," and the record ends with six great minutes of the San Francisco psych-styled "Voy Hacia El Cielo (Voy Hacia El Sol)." So there you have it; both record are must haves and as usual Lion comes through with excellent no-frills reissues. Well, the CDs come in mini LP jackets, so maybe that is a bit of a frill, but no doubt these are tasteful CD editions of long-unavailable classic albums, and should be a staple of any collection. [DMa]

		$17.99 CD $9.99 MP3   13TH FLOOR ELEVATORS Bull of the Woods / A Love That's Sound (Charly / Snapper) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store The Elevators third and final studio LP was without a doubt the work of a band on the rocks, and few fans would call it their best -- but that may be because their first two albums are so damn good; it's still better than most garage-psych missives. In the year leading up to Bull of the Woods' 1969 release, Roky Erickson's legal and health problems had become crippling, and he only appears on four tracks on the record, which was largely driven by lead guitarist Stacy Sutherland, who wrote nearly all the songs here (half with Tommy Hall). This should not be your first 13th Floor Elevators album, but if you're a fan, you might need it, as this excellent new two-CD digipack version from International Artists/Charley has some essential bonus material. Disc one is a nicely remastered stereo version of the original record; disc two has some treats previously unheard outside of the exhaustive (and out of print) Sign of the 3-Eyed Men set. The sessions that became Bull of the Woods were numerous and ongoing, commencing shortly after the release of Easter Everywhere in '67, and there was a famously "lost" album, titled A Love That's Sound, featuring different versions of many of these tracks as well as several different, never released songs, that never saw the light of day. That reconstructed album is here in its entirety, and while the stuff may not live up to the Elevators' very best tracks, it is all well worth your time. [JM]

		$17.99 LP   MARIJATA This Is Marijata (Voodoo Funk / Academy LPs) Just when you thought the Afro-funk well must be running dry, Voodoo Funk and Academy Records have reissued the long-sought 1976 classic This Is Marijata. All the expected elements are in place here: deep polyrhythmic grooves, heavy funk guitar, squeaky horns, and socially conscious lyrics. But Marijata simply pounded harder than most of their contemporaries, not just in Ghana but all of Africa -- just listen to those shrieks on the opener, "No Condition Is Permanent" (also featured on Soundway's Ghana Soundz 2 comp). "Breakthrough" could pass for straight-up Western funk, but extended jam "I Walk Alone" leaves no question of their roots, even with the trippy wah-wah and organ solo. The focus is so tight that it's hard to believe the core trio of Kofi 'Electrik' Addison, Bob Fischian, and Nat Osmanu were moonlighting from another band and recorded this concurrently with a Pat Thomas record in Nigeria. The rawness is proclaimed in the original liner notes, but rarely is self-hype so accurate. A can't-miss for fans of 70s African grooves. [JB]

		$18.99 12   THE ASTRONAUTS Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs (La Vida) Here's a much-deserved reissue of a brilliant, one-of-a-kind English DIY artifact from 1981. The Astronauts' Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs is so varied musically (and much more musical, and devoid of any self-congratulatory f'ing around, than many of the other underground releases of the era), it's hard to take it all in on just a few listens. While one can definitely sense a kinship to Desperate Bicycles/the Fall, on the more straightforward, punky songs, there's so much more brewing underneath. There are moments of acid folk grandeur ("Protest Song" in particular), Hawkwind-esque psych punk, progressive tracks that sound like they were outtakes from Gong's Magick Brother, and then there's "How Long Is a Piece of String?", which is best described as industrial. It sounds like a hodgepodge but not once does the album feel like a jumbled mess, helped in part by the really clever lyrics. One part social commentary and one part kitchensink storytelling, the words on Peter Pan Hits the Suburbs are far superior to the vampire stories and Batcave drivel that was so popular in the early '80s, and helps the album maintain a kind of red thread. Truly unique listening and a definite desert island disc for me. Limited to 500 copies for those that are keeping score. [AK]

		$12.99 LP   GARY HIGGINS A Dream a While Back (Drag City) "Laugh a Little" "Oxygen" A few years back, amidst a flurry of psych-folk reissues, Gary Higgins' luminescent 1973 masterpiece Red Hash was rediscovered and given a proper release by Drag City, effectively freeing the sought-after LP from obscurity. Higgins made the most of the opportunity his newfound popularity provided, touring and also recording and releasing an album of new material, with somewhat mixed results -- it's not easy to recapture the stoned innocence of a bygone time and place. So it makes sense that Drag City would reach back into the archives for Higgins' next release, digging up pre-Red Hash home recordings from 1970 and '71 that breathe with some of the same smoke and fire as that record does. Spare, beautiful, and slightly paranoid, A Dream a While Back finds a young, growing songwriter illuminating the conflicts that come with life, love, and the problems of being. Recorded on his lonesome in a hissy cloud of reverb, these songs pass between worlds of loneliness and hazy joy, as on the Lennon-esque, "Waiting for You" or the darkly blissful "Oxygen," a lament for the failure of youthful idealism, which spins outward on a starry, fast-picked guitar line. Higgins' guitar is subtly powerful throughout the EP, deftly weaving harmonic passages to support his gentle careworn voice, relating a vibrant travelogue of emotions, some darker than others. "Song to Springtime" is a bleak meditation on divergent love, which is so persuasive in its melancholy, you'd believe spring would never come. There is much substance and beauty in what's presented here, but in the end these eerie, hollow dream tunes probably work best when listened in relation to Red Hash, as a complex premonition of the greater work that Higgins was soon to create. [JCa]

		$17.99 CDx2   Ethiopiques 27: Centennial of the First Ethiopian Azmari Tessema Eshete (Buda Musique) Ethiopiques Volume 27 finds the series digging waaaay back in history, to resurrect the more than one-hundred-year-old recordings of Tessema Eshete. Haunting stuff, these tracks have been culled from the impossibly rare 78rpms of one of Ethiopia's first and most influential stars. Two CDs clocking in with over an hour and a half of material, and featuring an outstanding, oversized book stuffed with images and insights, making this one of the grandest releases in this venerable series to date.

		$15.99 CD   CRAVO AND CANELA Preco De Cada Um (Mr. Bongo) Excellent and rare 70s-era samba-infused MPB, featuring gorgeous, male and female sun-baked harmonies. Utterly infused with a positive and uplifting vibe, this one will be a killer jam throughout the coming summer months for sure.

		$11.99 CD   OH LAND Oh Land (Epic) Oh Land is the stage name of Danish (now living in NYC) electro-pop stunner Nanna Øland Fabricius, and after a bit of an international hit with last year's "Sun of a Gun" single, this is her full-length debut. Truth be told it's not ALL as infections as the single, but it's a solid and diverse album, that sometimes steps back from the dance floor and explores classical allusions and nuanced vocals that remind of Regina Spektor or Annie in equal parts.

		PHONE ORDERS Phone orders are accepted at (212) 477-8150 (ext. #2, mailorder) Mon-Fri, Noon - 7pm EST EMAIL For general inquiries or other information please email sales@othermusic.com. Do not reply to this message. REMOVE This is an automated list. If you would like to be removed for any reason, please visit: digital.othermusic.com/subscribe.php   THIS WEEK'S CONTRIBUTORS ]JB] James Bess [JCa] Jesse Carsten [GH] Gerald Hammill [MK] Michael Klausman [AK] Andreas Knutsen [JM] Josh Madell [DMa] Dave Martin [NN] Ning Nong [CPa] Chris Pappas [AS] Andrew Siskind [JTr] Jon Treneff THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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