The Other Music Update

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	January 26, 2012


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Cate Le Bon Porcelain Raft Atomic Forest Porter Ricks LP Gonjasufi Chairlift Young Hunting Leila Cloud Nothings Istanbul 70 (Various) Sunn O))) Meets Nurse with Wound Laura Gibson Pop. 1280 Wiley First Aid Kit Mighty Sparrow Mantronix		ALSO AVAILABLE Ilyas Ahmed Craig Finn Nada Surf Phil Pratt Yuck (Sale Priced) Youth Lagoon (Sale Priced) NOW ON VINYL Biosphere (Substrata & N-Plants) BACK IN STOCK Andy Stott Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

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		PULP TICKET GIVE-AWAY! Pulp is back together touring the U.S. this spring for the first time in more than a decade with a handful of shows including a stop in New York at Radio City Music Hall! Featuring all of the original members of the band, the group will be playing songs from all periods of their career, certainly making this one of the hottest tickets of the year. Bowery Presents have given Other Music one pair for the Radio City show to offer to our readers for a chance to win, and you can enter by emailing tickets@othermusic.com. Make sure to include your full name and we'll notify the winner via email. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL: 1260 6th Avenue, NYC Tickets go on sale Friday (January 27) at 10 a.m.


	$13.99 CD $14.99 LP		CATE LE BON CYRK (The Control Group) "Falcon Eyed" "The Man I Wanted" Well, this was a lovely surprise! Welsh singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon has collaborated with Super Furry Animals frontman Gruff Rhys in his Neon Neon project, and over the past few years he's become something of a mentor for her; he released her 2009 debut Me Oh My but it's on her new album where Le Bon's talents truly begin to shine. Cyrk (Welsh for circus) is a gorgeous record of fuzzy modern psychedelic pop, overflowing with hooks, scrappy wit, and a slightly ramshackle charm that echoes the approach of American bands like Pavement and Fiery Furnaces. She balances that, though, with a distinctly European pastoralism and leftfield sophistication evoking the work of fellow Welshman John Cale, who ably combined gentle rustic beauty with uneasy urban ennui, and packaged it all in songs overflowing with hooks and sly lyricism. It's her soft, dreamy voice that ties everything together, though; somewhere between Nico and Broadcast's Trish Keenan set in a higher key, she softly but emphatically coos across these lovely tapestries, weaving melodies that gently echo like English folk lullabies with keen pop sensibilities. This is a subtle record, a grower rather than a shower, but spend a little quality time with it and its charms will win you over. I'm impressed with the simultaneous specificity of the album's references and its impressively broad appeal; many artists attempt such feats but often fall flat on their faces. Le Bon definitively nails it, and Cyrk deserves your full attention. This is a woman to watch. [IQ]


	$12.99 CD $14.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3		PORCELAIN RAFT Strange Weekend (Secretly Canadian) "Drifting In and Out" "Unless You Speak from Your Heart" Porcelain Raft's Mauro Remiddi isn't your typical "glo-fi" wunderkind a la Neon Indian's Alan Palomo or M83's Anthony Gonzalez. At 40 years old, Remiddi has led a full life: amongst a litany of other things, he's toured with the Berlin Youth Circus, composed a short film soundtrack, played piano in an Off Broadway show and, with a group of other performance artists, represented Italy in North Korea's Spring Festival. His persona, like his music, is intricate and varied. Over the years, he's worn many hats, all the while collecting and internalizing bits of eras and pieces of places, a quality that Remiddi's first solo debut, Strange Weekend, reflects more than anything else. In that vein, Strange Weekend has this uncanny ability to remind you of artists and songs you've heard before without ever sounding exactly like anything else. The cold, hard-hitting drum machine and effervescent bass line on "Put Me to Sleep" manage to be reminiscent of the era of New Order without sounding like a copycat; the grandeur and bombast of "Unless You Speak from Your Heart" pokes at Yoshimi-era Flaming Lips without going all the way there; that slick, piercing guitar on "The End of Silence" reminds of the way bands like the Smith Westerns borrow and filter from the great T. Rex, but it's filtered all over again; and the acoustic "Picture" hints at the simple, beautiful pop behind groups like Girls, but tweaked with different atmospherics. The album is full of all these great textures, well-crafted soundscapes and breathy vocals that ignore range, but in its 34-minute run time Strange Weekend, maybe like Remiddi himself, never settles into a home. It's neither a record that sounds just like Beach House or just like M83, it occupies the connecting thread between and, really, that's what makes it such an interesting, enjoyable listen. [PG]


	$17.99 CD $24.99 LPx2		ATOMIC FOREST Obsession (Now-Again) "Locomotive Breath" "Boo Boo Lullaby" At long last, here's the reissue of one of the top international psychedelic grails, the lone LP by India's Atomic Forest. The album is a red-hot mix of fuzz-laden garage rock and psychedelic excursions (probably the only one of its kind coming out of India), sweaty barroom funk, and the odd blue-eyed (brown-eyed?) soul-sounding number. Actually, "fuzz-laden" might be selling some of songs short on here, since the heaviest ones practically explode out of the speakers. It's a cliche but "Obsession '77," in particular, has to actually be heard to be believed. There's a wealth of bonus material on here too, including unreleased demos and some scorching live stuff, and it's all top notch not counting a lame Beatles cover or two. As with all Now-Again releases, the packaging is unmistakably luxurious with a small novel's worth of liner notes and a ton of photos. Whether you're looking for funk breaks or a new psychedelic trip, this one's got both and more. [AK]


	$25.99 LPx2		PORTER RICKS Biokinetics (Type) Type Records celebrates its landmark 100th release with a long-needed reissue of an equally landmark album. Porter Ricks was the electronic duo of Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig; named after the main human character from the old American television show Flipper, Köner and Mellwig expanded upon the minimal techno being trail-blazed by the likes of Moritz Von Oswald and the Basic Channel crew, but mutating the smoky dub atmospheres of Basic Channel into a lush, enveloping aquatic atmosphere that was hugely groundbreaking. Biokinetics was also the first CD release on the massive Chain Reaction label, known as much for their important roster of electronic artists as their frustrating packaging. Anyone who ever fought Chain Reaction's annoying tin CD boxes and lost with a shattered disc in their hand will understand how great it feels to know that this album is finally back in print, currently available as a limited 2LP release (a first, as the CD was initially a compilation of 12" cuts with exclusive material appended), with a new CD reissue to follow in the coming weeks. This record sounds like watery dub lost in the Bermuda Triangle, with oozing fluid textures enveloping rugged techno beats pulsating like jellyfish electricity and delivering one of the most effortless organic and mechanical combinations; it's a masterpiece that has oft been imitated but never duplicated. This is hands down one of the most important reissues of the year, and is essential listening for anyone who's ever purchased an album on Type, Kompakt, Modern Love, or just about any other modern electronic label making records these days. Those are big words, I know, but the proof is in the pudding. Electronic music rarely gets as good as this. [IQ]


	$13.99 CD $19.99 10"x2 $6.99 MP3		GONJASUFI MU.ZZ.LE (Warp) "Nickels and Dimes" "Feedin' Birds" As Gonjasufi, Sumach Ecks creates a psych/blues/hip-hop hybrid that's filled with mystery, raw energy, politically and spiritually minded lyrics, and a leftfield/off-the-cuff approach. For his proper follow up to 2010's love-it or hate-it debut, A Sufi and a Killer (and its companion remix album The Caliph's Tea Party), GS takes to the boards (with his wife singing on two songs and some production assistance from Psychopop) and sculpts a 10-track/25-minute mini-album of smoked-out vibes and blunted beats. At times filling a similar mind space as Tricky's Angels with Dirty Faces, MU.ZZ.LE is steeped in downtempo, bluesy melodies and distorted rhythms that tumble and collapse, giving the whole listening experience an unsettling edge. Without the production work of Gaslamp Killer or Flying Lotus, GS wanders a sonic desert (and literally the Mojave), speaking to spirits of hope, desperation, and isolation. A lo-fi aesthetic -- including tape hiss, static, in-the-red vocals, etc. -- is present throughout, often making the songs feel like demos more than anything else, yet there are moments where it works in his favor and heightens the drama, as on the great single "Nickels and Dimes." As the album title and cover art suggest, this is music from a man with a guarded tongue, held captive yet needing to make a plea to the world. Though this may not be as rich and otherworldly funky as his debut, it feels like Ecks is finding the spirit within. If you were awestruck by what you heard from him before, MU.ZZ.LE is a fairly agreeable collection of further explorations in new-school desert blues. Like a hip-hop version of Ariel Pink, Gonjasufi is on some other shit, and I think I like it. [DG]


	$12.99 CD		CHAIRLIFT Something (Columbia) "Sidewalk Safari" "Ghost Tonight" A lot has changed for Chairlift since these Colorado transplants first appeared on the Brooklyn scene. The then-trio's debut full-length from 2008, Does You Inspire You, begat a crossover hit of sorts for the band with the infectiously breezy electro-pop of "Bruises" being featured in a high-profile iPod Nano ad campaign, and a contract with Columbia Records came soon after. Of course, for any group the stakes are always high for the sophomore follow-up, especially if it's on the dime of a major label, and one can only imagine that when Chairlift co-founder Aaron Pfenning (who's releasing a full-length as Rewards on DFA later this year) left the band after he and lead vocalist Caroline Polachek ended their romantic relationship, the creative strain for Polachek and drummer/bassist Patrick Wimberley must have multiplied tenfold. From the very first listen of their new album, Something, you know things are different with Chairlift. With producers Alan Moulder and Dan Carey (Hot Chip, CSS) sitting behind the console and Wimberley taking on more instrumental and programming duties, the group have never sounded better, utilizing thick pads of synthesizers, percolating, forward-moving rhythms, and occasional exotic ear-candy to enhance the magic-hued sheen of the band's digital pop. While there's a heavier reliance on electronics than before, Polachek's breathy, expressive melodies are as unmistakable as ever, yet they've also greatly matured, effortlessly channeling Feist, Christine McVie, Kate Bush, and even Sade during one of the album's most beguiling moments, the slow-yearn torch song, "Cool as a Fire." Lyrically, she's reigned in some of the art-school wordplay of the earlier material; instead, Polachek approaches every track like a method actor, fully inhabiting the characters and emotions of the songs, be it slyly scorned during "Sidewalk Safari" in which she vows to run down an ex-lover with her car ("All of the bones in your body / Are in way too few pieces for me"), or newly smitten in the anthemic dream-popper "Met Before." Chairlift have moved well beyond writing direct, bouncy earworms like "Bruises," but instead of mirroring their good friends MGMT -- whose second album, Congratulations, took a hard left turn that baffled some of their less open-minded fans -- Polachek and Wimberley have honed in on what they were already doing so well: balancing catchy songwriting with a touch of weirdness. There's nothing new about art-pop but Chairlift keep it fresh and forward-thinking by making music that's at once highly listenable, original, unpretentious and real. Something will appeal to a wide swath of people, no doubt, and it's the first great, new pop record that I've heard this year. [GH]


	$17.99 CD		YOUNG HUNTING Attachment in a Child and the Subsequent Condition (Agenda) "Static Arena" "Maternity" One of my favorite surprises of 2011 was a 12" EP titled The Night of the Burning on Blackest Ever Black by a new Scottish duo calling themselves Young Hunting. They ably blended experimental dronescapes, thick, dark aural atmospheres, heavy tribal drums and clattering metallic percussion, and a heavy dose of black magick and ritual arcana for four tracks of lush industrial witchcraft. I was hungry for more, and to my delight, I discovered that the duo had self-released a full-length CD sometime in 2010 entitled Attachment in a Child and the Subsequent Condition, and needless to say, I'm thrilled to finally have this on our shelves. Attachment sees the duo crafting a hallucinatory environment of the blackest psychedelia imaginable, filled with deeply reverberating washes of electronics, field recordings, organ drones, small orchestral flourishes, quietly intoned vocals, and tumbling cycles of heavy percussion. They ably and admirably fill a void left by the dissolution of Coil, drawing from many of that highly influential group's same inspirations, but fusing them together in new ways that manage to display both the beauty and menace of darkness. This is intelligent, articulate, and highly crafted, and stands as one of the best debuts I've heard in years; Young Hunting have quickly taken seat as one of my favorite new groups, and while their 12" on Blackest Ever is now unfortunately unavailable, this album will hold you over nicely until their new one drops later this year. If you've taken interest in the works of Coil, Dead Can Dance, and the new orbit of Blackest Ever/Modern Love contemporary occultists like Demdike Stare, Raime, Cut Hands, and the like, you'd be wise to pick this up. It's certainly not for everyone, but the bold souls out there will find themselves awash in black beauty. This one gets my highest recommendation this week, and as I love to say, buy now or cry later. [IQ]


	$14.99 CD $22.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3		LEILA U&I (Warp) "Welcome to Your Life" "Colony Collapse Disorder" Previous "solo" albums from Leila (perhaps best known for her work with Bjork) found this Iranian-born London resident enlisting a variety of vocalists to sing atop her dissonant electronic productions. On Leila's newest album, however, Mt. Sims is the lone vocal collaborator and the two fuse together in a space similar to the electro/noise/dance of the Knife (whom Mt. Sims has collaborated with in the recent past), with an abrasive, static and reverberating collage of sounds. This album feels like a sort of reinvention of style for Leila; where previously her productions came draped in small sounds, elaborate programming, and intimate moods, here she intensifies the distortion and speeds up the tempos to create a pounding and fevered array of high-energy songs. The two collaborated in person briefly, then swapped files over the Internet while Leila flexed her skills to craft the final result. The moods do shift throughout, including a few instrumentals and some slower songs, adding some needed breathing space after the high-octane first third of the record. It was quite a surprise upon first listen, mostly due to the shift in sonics, but after that initial shock, the underlying beauty of the inner workings of the album start to appear. If you like any of the above mentioned or just like your electronic music dark, moody, thick, and piercing, this may be right up your alley. [DG]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3		CLOUD NOTHINGS Attack on Memory (Carpark) "Wasted Days" "Stay Useless" Recorded in a real studio (by Steve Albini, no less) with a real band, Cloud Nothings' new record is a huge leap forward for Dylan Baldi, who has taken his bedroom project into the big leagues with Attack on Memory, without sacrificing its fragile soul. In the year since Cloud Nothing's self-titled full-length debut was released, Baldi assembled a full-time touring band who took his homemade emo-pop-punk recordings on the road, and now that group, sounding fierce, loose and focused, delivers a new set of angsty tracks with an abandon that Cloud Nothings never quite achieved. The hooks and the melodies are still there, but with Baldi egged on by a furious rhythm section and pushed to the sonic edge by Albini's spacious and transparent production style, this record explodes off the grooves. Fans of his bedroom work will still love this -- the songs, the heart and the head are still intact -- but this is simply a great rock record, and these songs should be laying teenagers flat on their backs from coast to coast, and well beyond. [JM]


	$11.99 CD		VARIOUS ARTISTS Istanbul 70 (Nublu) "Nem Alacak Felek Benim" Cem Karaca "Ayrilik" Edip Akbayram & Dostlar Nublu Records issued a series of excellent 12"s last year featuring some awesome Baris K reedits of vintage Turkish psychedelic dancefloor jams; Istanbul 70 is an album compiling the original versions of those reedits, featuring prime cuts by Turkish luminaries like Baris Manco, Cem Karaca, Ersen, Mogollar, and Erkin Koray, and many others. This is a wicked collection of gut-busting, tab-dropping, trail-following grooves that falls somewhere between the recent Turkish Freakout comps and the quintessential Disco (Not Disco) collections, where traditional folk elements intermingle with synths, machine drums, and au courant dancefloor sounds of the 1970s and '80s. This is a side of the Turkish scene that as of yet hasn't been as heavily anthologized, focusing on cosmic stoned grooves and a more spaced, dub-influenced disco-funk vibe than the usual funk-rock breaks of recent Anatolian reissues. Fans of Finders Keepers' recent Googoosh set will find much to love here, as her Iranian psych-disco draws upon similar warped yet accessible sonics, and if you're looking for some new electricity in your DJ bag, look no further -- Istanbul 70 delivers a set of passionate international funk that stands as one of 2012's first notable reissues. This has already received heavy airplay from me at home, at work, and at play; cheers to Nublu for delivering the goods and leaving me wanting another helping. Let's hope they're hard at work on a second volume, because once these tunes get into your pores, you'll be clamoring for more. Get it while it's hot! [IQ]


	$29.99 LPx2		SUNN O))) MEETS NURSE WITH WOUND The Iron Soul of Nothing (Editions Mego) As Nurse with Wound, Steven Stapleton has always been a master of eliciting the hidden elements of sound to draw his listeners into his surrealistic world, and The Iron Soul of Nothing -- a complete reworking of Sunn O)))'s 2000 released ØØ Void -- stands as a pinnacle example of his craft. Originally released as a bonus CD to a Japanese reissue of ØØ Void in 2007, Stapleton completely dismantles and reimagines his source material, reconstructing the record from the ground up by bringing the elements that were submerged under Sunn O)))'s dooming power to the front. He tweaks and stretches out this material into something akin to a haunted chamber group playing three rooms away, that both pays homage to Sunn O)))'s sound and turns it into a work that is undeniably NWW and totally Stapleton's own. The four epic tracks here move at a glacial pace, with Stapleton drawing out ØØ Void to its most droning and meditative. In many ways, The Iron Soul of Nothing recalls Stapleton's 1988 masterpiece Soliloquy for Lilith in its sprawling, understated execution, as on the 17-minute opening track that uses a gently ringing drone and a lamenting string melody to hypnotic effect. Yet, Stapleton takes the material to even darker places, especially on the epic "Ash on the Trees..." that utilizes a murky guitar riff, Sunn O)))'s doom-y reverb, and a buried vocal track that ebbs and flows before dissolving into industrial abstraction. This is a must have for any NWW or Sunn O))) devotee, but fans of more meditative drone from the likes of Stars of the Lid, Tim Hecker, Fennesz, or the Type roster will find much to appreciate here. One of the best and most engaging listens from Nurse with Wound in the last decade -- absolutely stunning. [CPa]


	$13.99 CD $9.99 MP3		LAURA GIBSON La Grande (Barsuk) "La Grande" "The Fire" Despite Laura Gibson's Pacific Northwest pedigree and La Grande's cover shot of Gibson wrapped in an old Indian blanket in the glow of a blazing campfire, this is not a backwoods folkie affair, and while the record revels in silence and quiet, Gibson has added layers of sound and texture here to her sometimes stark, achingly intimate sound. Drawing on jazz, folk, bossa nova, scratchy old blues 78s, and pre-WWII pop, La Grande creates an inviting world out of time, out of place, that relies on Gibson's dreamy, antiqued vocals, evocative songwriting and subtle acoustic guitar, fleshed out with jazzy percussion, tinkling piano, string bass, cooing clarinet and other haunting orchestrations. It's an instantly engaging album that draws you close with a whisper, but still grooves, and even soars. Gibson's best, most nuanced record, soulful and sweet. [JM]


	$11.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3		POP. 1280 The Horror (Sacred Bones) "Burn the Worm" "West World" Pop. 1280 began turning heads a year ago with their Sacred Bones-released EP, The Grid, which showcased the New York band's dissonant melodies, abrasive tidal fuzz and metronomic rhythms. At last their full-length debut is here, and The Horror finds key songwriters Ivan Lip and Chris Bug fully exploring their dystopian viewpoint, conceived in a prism of cyberpunk and industrial rock and realized at Brooklyn's Python Patrol Basement Studios with engineer Ben Greenberg (of Zs). The Horror, as the title implies, is an album boiling over with fear and anxiety, told through stories of disorder and conflict. The first single, "Bodies in the Dunes," sets the tone for the record; with the subject matter dealing with a recent serial killer case in Long Island, Pascal Ludet and Zach Ziemann hammer out beats on two different drums alongside Lip and Bug's layered synthesizers, guitars and distortion, and I can't imagine a track getting much more unhinged or paranoid than this. It's this noisy, doom-laden approach that best describes the band's mindset, with album highlight "Burn the Worm" featuring Pop. 1280's signature mark of clanging metal incorporated into the percussion parts. However, what makes The Horror stand apart from their first release is the introduction of angular, psyched-out guitars in tracks like "Hang 'em High," a song which plays out a perfectly rendered panic attack. This is a cracking debut made by four sonic sleazers taking you from one world to the next; don't be afraid to step into the void, and with Pop. 1280 leading the way, you're in safe hands. [KP]


	$13.99 CD $24.99 LPx3		WILEY Evolve or Be Extinct (Big Dada) "Link Up" "Money Man" Barely six months after last year's excellent 100% Publishing, Wiley returns with a new record, released on his 33rd birthday. He is one of my all-time favorites of the British hip-hop scene and is the self-professed creator of grime, but he never rests on his laurels, this being a double-album appropriately titled Evolve or Be Extinct which shows Wiley truly evolving as both a producer and rapper. As usual, the bulk of the tracks are self-produced, but someone had the brilliant idea of enlisting Mark Pritchard (Harmonic 313, Africa Hitech) to collaborate on a few cuts, and it's a great fit. The album explores grime, UK garage, hip-hop, and Caribbean sounds, effortlessly blending varied styles and moods. This is a dark, personal record, yet not a downer -- clearly the opposite in fact. Wiley has made some big room bangers (don't forget that he has produced major hits in the UK), and among the tough talk, cultural perspectives, and self-references, his use of humor and energy (check "Weirdo," with the refrain "They ain't on the same planet as me") is welcome, and makes listening to his album fun. His tracks are urban and alien, robotic and hypnotic, tight, tropical, bassy, and bouncy. The rhythms presented here are some of his most wild and energetic to date, sounding like he's discovered a neon coloring box filled with a nice collection of inspired sounds. The record strips away Wiley's standard fallback hook of using cheeky female R&B singers for his choruses, in favor of just streamlined rhymes and his own multi-tracked vocals, showing his growth as a rapper and recording artist. For those that have followed Wiley's steady stream of releases for the last fifteen years, this is a career highlight, and for those that don't know the name, this is a nice place to start. [DG]


	$11.99 CD $9.99 MP3		FIRST AID KIT The Lion's Roar (Wichita) "The Lion's Roar" "Emmylou" Sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg grew up in the quiet suburb of Enskede, outside of Stockholm, harmonizing together with Johanna's acoustic guitar, and in another time, perhaps they would still be there -- though stories like theirs, of small-town innocents singing their way into the spotlight, are age-old. In the Söderberg's case it was a YouTube video that changed their world forever, of two teenaged sisters playing a stunning, spot-on version of the Fleet Foxes "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" in the woods behind their parent's house in 2008. That video was a viral sensation, eventually leading the duo, known as First Aid Kit, first to the U.K., and since then all over the world, performing their own original music and finding fans and champions in every corner, from their idols the Fleet Foxes to Jack White (who produced a single with them for his own Third Man label) to Bright Eyes, whose Mike Mogis produces this, their second full-length album. Their music is built on the melancholy and the beauty of their two young voices singing close harmonies in the quiet night, informed by modern artists like the Foxes and Joanna Newsom, but moreover classic country, '60s folk-pop and the early alt-country sound -- over an aching pedal steel guitar, the second track on The Lion's Roar features the refrain "I'll be your Emmylou, / And I'll be your June / If you'll be my Graham / And my Johnny too." Yes, their influences are plain, and with those voices, a surprisingly strong batch of original songs, and now Mike Mogis on board to flesh out their strumming with quiet drums, woodwinds, strings, keyboards and other subtle orchestral flourishes, they pull it off in spades, and this new album is surely destined to take First Aid Kit beyond their prime opening slots, and to the big stage. It is their rare combination of innocence and wisdom beyond their years that gives those voices and their excellent songwriting its depth and staying power, and fans of any of the above-named should give this a listen. [JM]


	$16.99 CDx2		MIGHTY SPARROW Sparrowmania! (Strut) "What's the Use of Getting Sober" "Ten to One Is Murder" Dedicated Update readers know that I hold calypso forefather the Mighty Sparrow in high regard; his Hot & Sweet album is a fiery, defining calypso document, but much of the rest of his massive discography has remained out of print or relegated to bargain-styled compilations with little or no proper documentation. Strut now comes to the rescue with Sparrowmania!, a wild, raucous, and well-assembled collection of classics and deep cuts from Sparrow's career between 1960-75. This set is epic, balancing heavily orchestrated arrangements with uptempo, high-octane grooves that could make a concrete block rock to the beat. As is to be expected, Sparrow's lyrics are absolutely brilliant and razor-sharp, blending social commentary with biting wit, sly puns, and double entendre. This is one of the best collections of Sparrow's material I've ever heard, with top-notch sound quality to boot, and is most highly recommended to anyone with an interest in deeply funky and soulful tropical grooves with a message. We're finally getting a bit of winter chill here in the Big Apple; let the Mighty Sparrow's calypso heat warm you up during these remaining weeks of freezing temperatures. [IQ]


	$18.99 CDx2		MANTRONIX King of the Beats (Anthology 1985-1988) (Traffic Entertainment) "Bassline" "Needle to the Groove (Alt Version)" Every few years there seems to be another collection coming down the pike featuring the iconic production work of Kurtis "Mantronik" Khaleel. Essentially a DJ turned producer turned A&R man (he was hired by Arthur Russell to run Sleeping Bag's A&R department after being signed himself as an artist/producer), Mantronik's productions were undeniably a deep influence to the evolution of hip-hop, house, bass, freestyle, and even big beat and eventually footwork. This latest reissue compilation, King of the Beats (Anthology 1985-1988), is a two-CD set, the first disc focusing on releases by Mantronix the duo (with rapper MC Tee), while the second disc showcases Khaleel as a producer for rappers Just Ice, T La Rock, and Tricky Tee, as well as MC Tee, including a few rare 12", dub, and alternative versions. Kurtis Mantronik brought an original sound and his own vibration into mid-'80s hip-hop, introducing synths, drum machines, and editing techniques unlike anything anyone else was into at the time, and his ideas are still reverberating in the indie and dance worlds today. With a futuristic yet primitive (i.e. simple) aesthetic, Mantronik made hip-hop that appealed more to the electronic scene, and that's the difference. No matter who was fronting his tracks, people listened because of the thumping and stuttering background of production techniques that Mantronik surrounded the rappers with. Like his contemporaries and elders, Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish or Steinski, Mantronik created space-age hip-hop, yet his was a world made of iron grids, dirty snares, and locked grooves, and he was the voice of the next phase in sound and skill. For all those out there that want hip-hop from New York, think a little deeper than the current era, and dig into some true-school roots of the b-boy. [DG]


	$21.99 LP		ILYAS AHMED With Endless Fire (Immune Records) Another mesmerizing, transcendental LP by Ilyas Ahmed (you know, the guy who made a record with Grouper), that continues in the fuller, more expansive style presented on 2009's Goner album. Ahmed's easily recognizable vocals are buried deep in the mix, and his guitar playing (which ranges from acoustic blues to grungy scuzz) is complemented by harmonium, organ and percussion. With Endless Fire exists outside a variety of genres -- folk, raga, drone -- and is a truly unique listening experience.


	$11.99 CD $19.99 LP		CRAIG FINN Clear Heart Full Eyes (Vagrant) Hold Steady frontmain Craig Finn releases his first solo record, Clear Heart Full Eyes. Backed by various musicians, Finn still has the swagger behind the rollicking bravado of the Hold Steady, but he lacks the loud, sloshy boisterous quality of any bar rock band. Instead, the music is more restrained, focused on a quieter narrative that broaches the space between indie rock and country.


	$13.99 CD $18.99 LP $9.99 MP3		NADA SURF The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (Barsuk) "When I Was Young" "Looking Through" The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy marks Nada Surf's seventh studio album as well as their first collection of all original work since 2008. As they sing about subjects like aging gracefully, you realize that the band, who have now been together for 20 years at this point, have done so themselves. Lush and hooky, their guitar pop is as well crafted today as it ever was. Still burning bright after all these years, fans of Nada Surf will have no complaints here. (CD version includes bonus disc featuring acoustic recordings of five album tracks.)


	$16.99 CD $16.99 LP		PHIL PRATT Dial M for Murder in Dub Style (Pressure Sounds) "Dial M for Murder" "Don't Watch My Size" Somewhat of an unsung hero in the reggae history books, Phil Pratt started out producing alongside Bunny Lee and eventually set up his own imprints in the early '70s (most notably Sunshot and Sounds United, on which he released records by such greats as Gregory Isaacs, Horace Andy and Ken Boothe). As opposed to those vocal classics, Dial M for Murder is a deep, heavy dub masterpiece recorded at Channel One studios in 1979 with an all-star line up of musicians that includes Sly & Robbie, Ansell Collins, Bobby Kalphat and Tommy McCook. This CD sees Pressure Sounds tacking on an additional four tracks, and is a must for fans of Keith Hudson, King Tubby, and Lee Perry's deeper works.


	ON SALE $8.99 CD $9.99 CDx2 $12.99 LPx2		YUCK Yuck (Fat Possum) "Holing Out" "Get Away" Yuck's debut album from last year is now on sale. This shaggy young group of Brits ushered back '90s indie rock like no other, plundering an era's worth of mixtape staples and stolen moments in their songs, reminiscent of classics by Superchunk, Dinosaur, Jr. and Small Factory to the Wedding Present, Yo La Tengo and Mogwai. Yuck, however, had the chops and sincerity to pull it off, and even the jaded old-timers were nodding their graying heads in approval. (The 2CD and 2LP versions features six bonus tracks disc not included on the original pressing.)


	ON SALE $9.99 CD $12.99 LP+MP3		YOUTH LAGOON Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum) "Cannons" "Daydream" Another great album on the Fat Possum roster at a special sale price. This 22-year-old multi-instrumentalist possesses a surprising knack for writing melodies that sound familiar yet refreshing, timeless, and nostalgic. Imagine a band like Beach Fossils having a meeting of the minds with Washed Out and you're on the way to understanding the allure of Youth Lagoon's music. Underneath all the layers of bright guitar leads, warbled synths and Powers' high, hazy vocals is a mature songwriter beyond his years. A truly sweet and wistful debut!


	Substrata $33.99 LP N-Plants $33.99 LP		BIOSPHERE Substrata (Biophon / Touch) BIOSPHERE N-Plants (Biophon / Touch) Now available on double-LP. Originally released in 1997 on Eno's All Saints label, Biosphere's classic Substrata is one of the most beautiful ambient albums ever recorded. Gentle and deep, it has a lot in common with Eno's own work, from the clearer parts (there's muted singing here and there, lots of softly echoing warm guitar and bamboo chimes), to the immersive soundscapes of innocent -- not ominous -- drones and electronic gurgles. Last year's N-Plants also gets its own double LP pressing, and is one of the most subdued Biosphere recordings -- which is almost strange to suggest given the restrained nature of Geir Jennssen's work. Inspired by Japanese nuclear power plants, many built so close to the sea and prone to earthquakes and tsunamis, Jennssen sought to soundtrack the plants, reflecting on the beauty of their design and inherent dangers due to the positioning. Tragically, this album wrapped less than a month before the undersea megathrust earthquake ravaged Japan and its people, and as such, the pensive atmosphere of the pieces inspires deep, deep reflection. Limited pressing for both records.


	$22.99 CDx2 $5.99 MP3 Passed Me By $5.99 MP3 We Stay Together		ANDY STOTT Passed Me By / We Stay Together (Modern Love) Preview Passed Me By on Other Music's Download Store Preview We Stay Together on Other Music's Download Store Modern Love does the world a favor by reissuing Andy Stott's two incredible vinyl double-packs from earlier this year, Passed Me By and We Stay Together, on CD, much in the way they did Demdike Stare's epic Tryptych set. As with the Demdike set, this includes both releases on their own disc, mastered LOUD, with about 25 minutes of extra, never-before-released material. These records pretty much set the high bar for bass-heavy, rumbling, dub-infused techno; many others tried to emulate the slow, deep majesty of Stott's work, but few came close. (Those who DID were Stott's labelmates on Modern Love.) Both Scott and myself have enthused most highly about these records, and they've sat among many of our staff's monthly Personal Best lists as seen in the store. Quite simply put, these are two of the year's best, most important releases, finally put together in one tidy package for mass consumption. If you haven't jumped on these yet, you'd be a damn fool not to take a bite now. Absolute highest recommendation, folks! (Download versions do not include bonus material.) [IQ]


	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 [PG] Pamela Garavano-Coolbaugh [DG] Daniel Givens [GH] Gerald Hammill [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [AK] Andreas Knutsen [JM] Josh Madell [CPa] Chris Pappas [KP] Kimberly Powenski THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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