The Other Music Update

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	June 28, 2012

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		GREENE MUSIC: LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS + JANKA NABAY & THE BUBU GANG Other Music is thrilled to again be working with our friends at the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, presenting two free shows this summer in our favorite (and the first) Brooklyn park. The first show is Tuesday, July 10, with Lee Fields & the Expressions, Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, and DJ Akalepse. These are wonderful family events, you can picnic in the grass or dance all night -- we hope you join us on the Myrtle Lawn of Fort Greene Park! And on July 24 don't miss Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, and OM's own DJ Daniel Givens. TUESDAY, JULY 10 - 6-9 P.M. THE MYRTLE LAWN OF FORT GREENE PARK (enter Myrtle and N. Portland), Brooklyn


	FEATURED NEW RELEASES Codeine (Box Set & LP Reissues) Peter Zummo LP DIIV A Place to Bury Strangers Ty Segall Band Go Go Get Down (Various) Lorn Dave Dub Dabke Sounds of the Syrian Houran LP Beachwood Sparks The Lijadu Sisters Everything but the Girl Candy McKenzie Chain & the Gang Perry Leopold LP David Kilgour LP		ALSO AVAILABLE Animal Collective 45 Grass Widow Cassette Paul Banks Limited EP BACK IN STOCK Saint Etienne Tom Moulton Remixes (4CD Box) X-O-Dus Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/othermusicnyc Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/othermusic

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		WIN TICKETS TO YOUNG MAGIC We've got tickets to give away to this Brooklyn-by-way-of-Australia next-wave chillwaver, who'll be playing two shows in New York this summer with Quilt: tonight (Thursday) at Glasslands and then next month at Mercury Lounge on Sunday, July 29. Young Magic's recently released Melt on Carpark is a fantastic, beguiling set of hazy dreamscapes that recall Flying Lotus working in a more indie pop mode. Great stuff and great double bill! Email giveaway@othermusic.com right away and please list the show that you'd like to enter for. THURSDAY, JUNE 28 GLASSLANDS: 289 Kent Ave, Brooklyn SUNDAY, JULY 29 MERCURY LOUNGE: 217 E. Houston St. NYC

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		WIN PASSES TO A SCREENING OF DAISIES AT BAM Other Music is giving away two pairs of passes to see a screening of Vera Chytilova's Daisies -- a freewheeling landmark of the Czech New Wave. BAM Rose Cinemas will be showing a new 35MM print of the film, July 6-8 (2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15 p.m.) and July 9-12 (4:30, 6:50, 9:15 p.m.), courtesy of Janus Films. Email enter@othermusic.com, and please list the date and showtime you'd like to see. JULY 6-12 BAM ROSE CINEMAS: 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn

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		WIN TICKETS TO THE BUNKER, FEAT: OMAR S., DONATO DOZZY, NEEL & MORE The upcoming installment of the Bunker is going to be another incredible evening for house and techno fans, with Italian DJ/producers Donato Dozzy and Neel not only DJing in the back room, but also performing a live set with their duo project Voices from the Lake! In the front room, Detroit's Omar S. will be making his Bunker debut (!!!), and of course, residents Spinoza, Mike Servito and Eric Cloutier will be spinning throughout the night as well. We've got two pairs of tickets to give away: email tickets@othermusic.com. FRIDAY, JULY 6 PUBLIC ASSEMBLY: 70 N. 6th St. Williamsburg, BKLN

$74.99 LPx6+CDX3 Box

$26.99 LPx2+MP3

Barely Real
$26.99 LPx2+CD

The White Birch
$26.99 LPx2+CD

CODEINE
When I See the Sun - Box Set
(Numero)

CODEINE
Frigid Stars
(Numero)

CODEINE
Barely Real
(Numero)

CODEINE
The White Birch
(Numero)

After months of waiting, and just in time for the East Coast leg of their short reunion tour, the Codeine boxed set and LP reissues have arrived! This is a late addition to the Update, and as such this review will be brief, but I think most of you already know that you need this thing! Numero Group has lovingly collected the (almost) complete works of the pioneering "slowcore" band Codeine, whose early-'90s albums on Sub Pop presaged much-loved groups like Low, Slint and Red House Painters in getting indie rock to take a deep breath and just slow down for a minute. Their music was glacially paced (I know this first hand -- I played drums with the band on a trio of amazing European and US tours in 1992), but not mellow by any means; they were all about tension and release, and these records had a strange, fragile beauty that is to this day unrivaled. The reissues look and sound amazing, and each record comes paired with a second LP of singles, demos, live recordings and Peel Sessions, most of which have never been heard before even by an 'insider' like me, plus CD versions of everything. The six-LP/three-CD set comes with a killer book full of history, photos, essays by Sub Pop honcho Jon Poneman, Wayne and Steven from the Flaming Lips, and much more, or you can buy the double-LP/single CD sets individually. Just like their music, the wait for these records has been all about anticipation, but they're finally here! [JM]

Purchases of the Codeine Box Set come with a free 7" single, for a very limited time, while supplies last.


	$21.99 LP		PETER ZUMMO Zummo with an X (Optimo Music) Peter Zummo is a NYC trombonist and composer perhaps best known for his work with Arthur Russell during the late 1970s and '80s -- it is his horn that kicks off the psychedelic, intergalactic dub disco of Dinosaur L's iconic "Go Bang," and it is his sympathetic playing which propels Indian Ocean's epic "Schoolbell/Treehouse" into the stratosphere amongst a latticework of congas and Russell's cello. If there's a trombone on a Russell recording, it is Zummo, yet his own recorded work as a composer during that epochal period in downtown NYC is somewhat limited. Thank the fine gents of Optimo for this lovely reissue of Zummo with an X, a 1985 LP that features some of his best playing from that era, and one of his most stunning dialogues with Russell set to record. In short, any Arthur Russell fan worth his or her salt needs this in their collection, plain and simple. Side A of the album consists of a series of brief instrumentals featuring trombone, amplified cello, marimba, and trumpet (performed by Zummo, Russell, Bill Ruyle, and Rik Albani, respectively); these pieces, recorded in 1980 and '81, are very much in line with the minimalist school of composition that was in vogue at the time, with small, short tone bursts interlocking into unified wholes. Zummo, however, slows the pace of these pieces down as though they are lava flowing from a volcano top, their rhythms dislocated and their focus placed more on pure sonics. It sounds rudimentary at first, like a slow-moving warm-up, but over time, they grow into lovely, brief snapshots. It is Side B's majestic "Song IV," though, upon which this album has built its reputation. A 20-minute trio for trombone, tabla, and amplified cello and voice, the song was commissioned for a Trisha Brown dance piece in 1985, and sees Zummo, Ruyle, and Russell at simultaneously their most focused and relaxed. Ruyle sets up a pulse on tablas which is then blanketed by Russell's cello, as he scrapes and bows quietly, humming to himself as though in a deep meditation; Zummo then interjects with brief punctuations from the horn, and over the course of the side, a shuffling, hypnotic conversation is documented, sounding like a downtown dancefloor raga most akin to the quieter moments of "Schoolbell/Treehouse," yet with the intimacy of Russell's World of Echo. It is quite simply one of the most stunning pieces of music any of these gentlemen have recorded, and has gone under-recognized as such for far too long. As I've said before, this is essential listening for any and all Russell fans, and is a key document of downtown NYC's creative hotbed during the 1980s. [IQ]


	$11.99 CD $17.99 LP+MP3 Colored Vinyl $9.99 MP3		DIIV Oshin (Captured Tracks) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Not long ago thought of as the home recording project of Z. Cole Smith of Beach Fossils (then spelled Dive), DIIV has become a living breathing band, and delivered one of the more compelling debuts in recent memory. The sound is hazy dream-pop, with chiming guitar melodies and subtle rhythmic shifts carrying more emotional weight than the buried, mumbled vocals, and while there is a definite retro sound here, drawing on a diverse array of favorites including Ride, the Cure, Television and Jesus and Mary Chain, this is a modern indie group with their own original sound and a forward-looking approach to their music. Songs ebb and flow like the wind in the grass, sunlight filtering through the trees or ripples on the water, and with lengthy instrumental passages and moody interludes interspersed with actual pop songs, the record washes over you. The intertwined guitars dance and swirl across these 13 tracks, bringing with them both melancholy and joy, in equal measure, and the fact that the moods are all in the music -- I mean, really, I have no idea what Smith is singing about -- in the end gives these songs that much more power, leaving ample room for the listener to wallow in their own heartache and joy. We knew this was a band to watch, but DIIV have far surpassed expectations here, and Oshin is sure to be remembered as one of the best of 2012. [JM]


	$11.99 CD $15.99 LP+MP3 Colored Vinyl $9.99 MP3		A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS Worship (Dead Oceans) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store The third full-length from A Place to Bury Strangers finds the NY-based noise rockers inching closer to the perfect balance of pop music and sonic annihilation. While the Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine comparisons still apply, when that first sampled explosion detonates over the rumbling bass and jackhammer beat of the opening track, "Alone," I can't help but think of the gunshots and other plundered clamor that you'd hear in old records by Colourbox or even Ministry. Of course, with APTBS frontman Oliver Ackermann also being the mastermind behind the custom guitar effects pedal company Death by Audio, the man's surely got a whole arsenal of stomp boxes, and he's never shied away from using 'em. "Why Can't I Cry Anymore" borders on the dark intensity of speed-freak paranoia, with ear-piercing shrieks and feedback cluster bombing the frantic, Suicide-esque drum-machine pulse. Elsewhere, "Dissolved" mirrors the detached brood of a Reid-brothers ballad, until the fuzz and drone unexpectedly veer into punky '80s pop territory -- think early Cure or Banshees -- complete with a Far East-sounding guitar lead. Yet even though Ackermann's icy lonesome croon is indebted as much to JAMC as his guitar squall, lines like "No matter what I do it ends up bad / so I'll do bad / and keep feeling bad" most often come across as personal confessions rather than paint-by-number posing. The torch has indeed been passed, and while there is no shortage of noisy bands these days, Worship affirms that A Place to Bury Strangers are not only the loudest of the bunch, but they're also one of the best. [MF]


	$12.99 CD $9.99 MP3		TY SEGALL BAND Slaughterhouse (In the Red) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Until now Ty Segall's records have been mostly solo affairs, and over the years his progression as a songwriter has been easy to chart. His music has become a bit -- for lack of a better word -- mellower as well. Of course, for live shows he performs with a full band and that band has, in an almost inverse proportion, become louder, wilder and tighter than almost any other group on the road these days. For this recorded debut of the Ty Segall Band, the title Slaughterhouse is almost too appropriate, as the group here is so explosive, it is as if every rote rock & roll cliché has come to life. "Fire all of my guns at once and explode into space" -- that one works! Ty and his band (featuring Emily Rose, Charlie Moonheart and Mikal Cronin -- all are also very active outside of this group and should be investigated if you're not familiar with them) deliver a nice balance of new, original songs and a few covers of classic '60s tunes that normally fall into the "not again" category for me -- including a hilarious, irreverent take on "Diddy Wah Diddy." One last thing, it would be a big mistake to call Slaughterhouse lo-fi. With Chris Woodhouse (Wild Flag, A-Frames, Mayyors and many more) sitting behind the console, this is a well-recorded and accurate representation of what this great band sounds like live: loud, brutal and fun! [DMa]


	$22.99 CDx2		VARIOUS ARTISTS Go Go Get Down: Pure Ghetto Funk from Washington D.C. Compiled by Joey Negro (Z Records) "Back It on Up" Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers "Hang with the Gang" Backlash Being a New Yorker obsessed with Washington, D.C. go-go music always made me a bit of an oddball; my discovery of the essential Go-Go Crankin' compilation (originally released in the mid-1980s on Island Records) blew my brain apart, presenting to my ears a new strain of funk that took the "on the one" essence of James Brown funk and, to borrow a phrase from one of go-go's most famous tunes, pump-pump pumped it up. Go-go's sound, largely developed and perfected in the 1970s, relies on the standard bass/drums/chicken scratch guitar format of most funk, but infuses it with a hefty dose of P-Funk synth squiggles and piles of extra percussion; everything from timbales, congas, and cowbells are utilized for maximum percolation, and the resulting sound can best be characterized as a jam session between the JBs and Fat Albert's Junkyard Band. There has been surprisingly few significant anthologies of the extremely localized sound even now, and save for a few collections like my beloved Go-Go Crankin', and minor hits like E.U.'s collaboration on Grace Jones's "Slave to the Rhythm," there has been little evidence of go-go in the (inter)national landscape outside of the sound's connection to early hip-hop and rap music. Thank Joey Negro and Z Records for this outstanding and much-needed 2CD set of some of the best go-go jams I've ever heard, ably balancing more widely-known names like Chuck Brown, Trouble Funk, E.U., and Rare Essence, alongside more obscure artists who never really made it outside of the local D.C. scene. This is an essential document of one of the most overlooked factions of American funk music, and is a straight-up party in a box; anytime I put this collection on in the shop, literally EVERYONE on the premises stops to ask what we're playing. I've been pumping this in constant rotation for a solid month straight, and it's proven to be a nice eye-opening primer on a sound and scene that is beyond overdue for reappraisal. This is a music that thrives on social and community interaction, and its do-it-yourself aesthetic proved influential not only to funk and hip-hop fans, but also to D.C.'s punk and hardcore community, where none other than Minor Threat themselves played their final show on a bill with Trouble Funk (not an uncommon occurrence). That same spirit and energy still resonates in the music today, and you'll find no better example on the shelves than this impressive collection. This is absolute essential listening. [IQ]


	$14.99 CD $24.99 LPx2+MP3 $9.99 MP3		LORN Ask the Dust (Ninja Tune) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Since his 2010 debut, Nothing Else, Marcos Ortega a/k/a Lorn has moved on from Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder label to Ninja Tune. And where that debut brought a bracing cold and brittle edge to the usually warm and jazzy world of instrumental hip-hop, his latest ventures out from the icy, crumbling beat terrain into slightly more pleasant climes. A standout moment on Nothing Else came during the last track, "Until There Is No End;" that song introduced Ortega's singing voice, and gave a glimpse of where the young producer might be headed. On Ask the Dust, Lorn begins where the last record ended, sharpening his sonic and verbal skills, and honing the best aspects of his debut. Lorn's brand of electronica is part electro (the futuristic synths), part hip-hop (the snappy hard hitting beats), part nu-bass (the deep low end) and part gothy musique concrète (the foreboding atmosphere). The music is grimy in the best sense of the term; Lorn likes his grooves surrounded by dense and rough atmosphere, yet all the dirty synths and beats work well together, offering a variation on the now commonplace squiggly neon and day-glo rubber bands of sound used by his contemporaries. Named after a John Fante novel set in Great Depression-era L.A., Ask the Dust is at times reminiscent of older Clark (who engineered his debut), Emptyset with a backbeat, Zomby with sharper angles and a harsher sonic palette, or EL-P minus the Kraut-psych overtones. Throughout the album, Ortega uses his deep, treated voice to deliver a bit of warmth, always finding its proper place within the songs themselves, as well as in the overall sequence, so it never feels like an "oh, now here comes the singing" moment. He keeps his vocals present yet uses them sparingly, a little buried in the mix, at times you might even not notice them at all. Another nice addition comes from the use of live drumming and upright bass. On three of the songs, the drums move from the locked grooves to more free and open pounding, while elsewhere the bass is bowed, distressed, and plucked to nice effect. It's not all bang-on-a-can electronic-noise fusion, however; even when there's not a beat at all, his pieces are quite melodic and weighty, filled with emotive textures, and stern sound design -- and when the beats drop, they drop hard and swing tight. All these elements come together great keeping the album shifting and expanding, creating an accomplished and dynamic, though overall dark listen. Among the current crop of American beat bangers, Lorn offers something dark, moody, beat-driven yet not derivative or hyperactive. He's quite grounded, maybe even occasionally buried. On Ask the Dust, Lorn keeps his melancholy steady, his head down, and his sounds thick as concrete. Recommended for those that can take the weight. [DG]


	$12.99 CD		DAVE DUB The Treatment (Stones Throw) "The Treatment" "Daring a Ruler" The beautiful thing about hip-hop is that you can always trust it. It's a product of reactionary impulses, so just when you're about bored to tears of the genre and your attention is flagging... it happens. An artist like J Dilla, Madlib, Anti-Pop Consortium, Dr. Octagon or Odd Future comes along to reset the game to zero. In some ways The Treatment does the same. Dave Dub's hip-hop "career" seemed to stop before it really started; despite the fact that he had been honing his emcee skills since the age of 13 and delivered a handful of brilliant mic turns on some albums during the mid-'90s, the San Jose native pretty much dropped out of the game by the end of that decade and booked it to Jamaica to ride out the aughts. A few years later, his original collaborator, Tape Master Steph, convinced Dave to return to emceeing and they sought out to make some "Basquiat if he rhymed type shit." The obvious musical comparison would be the psychedelic, creepy conceptual comic book murkiness of Dr. Octagon, but The Treatment sucks all the color out of the madness and revels in the noirish, soundscapes that serve as the backdrop for Dave Dub's arrogant, slightly paranoid rhymes. To these ears, the best comparison would be Anti-Pop's classic underground debut, The Tragic Epilogue, as both albums mirror the underlying anxiety of the times, which serve as a sharp contrast to the bright, party hip-pop prevalent throughout the hip-hop mainstream. Uneasy instrumentals like "Space Nigga" and "Much Gratitude" are peppered throughout the record and the whole thing is best digested in one sitting, but individual highlights include the first single "Superfly" and the seven-and-a-half minute proggy hip-hop of "Domination." If you loved the grimy boom-bap of the Quakers, Company Flow and all of the aforementioned, this is right up your alley. Highly recommended!!! [DH]


	$18.99 LP		VARIOUS ARTISTS Dabke: Sounds of the Syrian Houran (Sham Palace) The inaugural release on the Sham Palace label (run by Sublime Frequencies associate Mark Gergis) was an epic 2LP set putting Omar Souleyman's 1997 Leh Jani cassette to vinyl for the first time, restoring his classic signature tune to its full 30-minute glory. It provided a deeper glimpse into Souleyman's soundworld, unedited and left free to explore and expand upon dabke's high-octane celebratory party music (these are wedding songs, after all). They return with another release that helps to expand the West's knowledge of the dabke sound with an excellent seven-track compilation of further dispatches into the Syrian dabke scene, culling tracks that are even more raw and unrefined. These tracks feature the synthesized Arabic scales utilized in Souleyman's music, fleshed out with programmed ritual hand drums and amplified double-reed tones, but the energy and fidelity here is even more wild, like comparing a classic Detroit house 12" to a soundboard recording made of a DJ's warehouse set. If you're familiar with Souleyman's records, and have been yearning for more of that wonderful, high-octane bounce, this is a must-hear; the double-reed bamboo mijwiz flutes add a droning layer of disorienting harmonics that recall snake charmers at a rave. This is gorgeous, unhinged celebratory music, and we're truly privileged to have the opportunity to hear it. Adventurous DJs and dance heads, fans of Omar Souleyman and Sublime Frequencies' previous dispatches, and those simply looking for some hot, sweaty party music or a wild psychedelic listening experience will find much to love here. This one comes most highly recommended, and as usual, it also comes extremely limited -- 1000 copies only, so buy now or cry later! [IQ]


	$13.99 CD $19.99 LPx2+MP3		BEACHWOOD SPARKS Tarnished Gold (Sub Pop) "Sparks Fly Again" "Tarnished Gold" Together again after more than a decade, L.A.'s Beachwood Sparks sound as fresh as they ever did -- which, considering the Sparks' early-'70s Laurel Canyon vibe, definitely does not mean they sound modern, but these days old is new again. In the years since the group's last album, 2002's Make the Cowboy Robots Cry, the landscape of pop music has in some ways caught up with the band, or perhaps slowed down with them; when Beachwood Sparks started releasing records around the dawn of the millennium, their Byrds-indebted folk-pop was pretty much a freakish anomaly in the indie scene, but since then, with fellow Sub Poppers Fleet Foxes conquering the world, and groups like Mumford & Sons selling out arenas, their brand of California lite-rock is on the charts and in the earbuds of kids everywhere, and The Tarnished Gold sounds as good as anything the group has done. For a band working in a genre built on songwriting, they might be a little light on actual hits here, but they almost make up for that with sweet, aching harmonies, sighing pedal steel guitar, and gentle finger picking, and these songs fully inhabit the mood and 'tude of the California dreamers the group have long idolized. Beachwood Sparks are back, and they brought summer with them. [JM]


	Sunshine $12.99 CD $18.99 LP+MP3 $9.99 MP3 Danger $12.99 CD $9.99 MP3 Mother Africa $12.99 CD $9.99 MP3		THE LIJADU SISTERS Sunshine (Knitting Factory) "Promise" "Sunshine" Since the launch of Knitting Factory's reissue series of the music of Taiwo and Kehinde Lijadu, the mesmerizing Nigerian singing twins, I have been smitten. First came Danger (1976), bringing on some serious grooves with overlapping dirty guitar riffs, wailing organ and powerful drumming, making for a great Nigerian funk-rock album filled with thoughtful political and social commentary throughout. Then came Mother Africa (1977), which has a completely different feeling from the first album, with traditional drums and percussion replacing the guitars, and the sisters singing in Yoruba instead of English. The songs here are sprawling and beautiful, with most tracks over six minutes in length. Now with Sunshine, their third album from 1978, I have to admit I might have found my favorite from the Lijadu Sisters if I was forced to choose one -- especially for the summer months ahead, with its bright swagger and upbeat tempo that beckons you to "Come and Dance" (as the first track is titled). Biddy Wright, who is responsible for co-arranging all four Lijadu albums and playing almost all the instruments on each of the records, really outdid himself here. In addition to bringing back the electric guitar and organ prominently featured in Danger, he also adds synthesizer to the mix, giving these tracks a dreamy disco vibe at times, like in "Promise" and "Come and Dance." There is also a rocksteady vibe to parts of Sunshine, with "Reincarnation" bringing on a horn section and heavy bass. But the standout cut for me here would have to be the album's title track; with swirling organs, triumphant horns and the sisters singing in perfect harmony about brighter days to come, both spiritually and literally with the sunshine coming in, this track is one of their most joyful arrangements, and a perfect combination of everything Lijadu. If you already have purchased Mother Africa or Danger then you will not be let down with Sunshine. If you are a fan of all the Nigerian funk/rock compilations and Fela reissues coming out lately and have yet to explore the sisters' catalogue, then by all means begin here and let the sun shine on in. [AC]


	$22.99 CDx2		EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL Eden (Edsel/Rhino ) "Each and Every One" "Laugh You Out the House" Everything but the Girl's 1984 debut, Eden, is a personal desert island disc; it effectively bridges the gap between Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's early work in the Marine Girls and as moody, introspective solo artists recording for smaller independent UK record labels. This was their first step into the big pop wilderness, and it's astonishing to this day how sure-footed they came forth, with one of the most tuneful, accomplished debuts of the post-punk new-pop 1980s. Trading the spare instrumentation of their solo material for a rich, lush sound informed by jazz, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, and a bit of soul, Eden features lovely, airy horn charts, a swinging rhythm section with upright bass, Brazilian percussion, and This Heat's Charles Hayward on trap drums, and some of the most worldly lyricism by a group of early twenty-somethings you're likely to hear. The album ably fuses together the sounds of Astrud Gilberto, Chet Baker, and both Tracey and Ben's respective solo records; it has very little in the way of dated, time-stamped production touches which would crop up on some of the next few albums, and the songs are quite stellar, filled with hooks, sharp wit, and a deep bed of emotions that cut deep without oversaturating. The album is remastered for the first time, and comes fleshed out with a bonus disc of 7" and 12" single and b-side cuts, BBC sessions, and best of all, a handful of home-recorded demos which place some of the album's best songs back into the spare DIY context of the duo's beginnings. The group has done an outstanding job with this reissue, giving this album the justice it finally deserves; if you only know Everything but the Girl via their hits, this record will come as a lovely surprise, as many listeners in the shop have come to discover upon hearing it on our stereo. If you're also a fan of groups like the Style Council, Sade, Swamp Children, and the post Young Marble Giants group Weekend, this is also a most highly recommended example of that same jazzy soul-pop which soon became a key sound in the era. I've listened to this album so many times that I lost count years ago; I know it back to front, lyric by lyric, and I'm absolutely delighted to see it back on the shelves where it belongs, never having sounded better. [IQ]


	$12.99 CD		CANDY MCKENZIE Lee 'Scratch' Perry Presents Candy McKenzie (Trojan) "Disco Fits" "Sky at Night" After logging session work in the UK with reggae greats like Bob Marley, Aswad, and Keith Hudson, British born vocalist Candy McKenzie journeyed to Jamaica in 1977 to record her own album with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry for the Trojan label. The album was rejected and shelved by Trojan, along with several others produced by Perry at the time, as rumors of his 'unstable' condition ran rampant. Indeed Perry was a wild card, but though McKenzie was initially a little put off by the unorthodox studio methods championed by Perry during his famed Black Ark period, the two established a working relationship that resulted in Lee "Scratch" Perry Presents Candy McKenzie, her lone, long lost LP. The album was recorded during the beginning of Perry's 'Pipecock Jackson' period, which found the righteous and wacky producer heightening his use of reverb, space echo, flange and phase effects, rising at dawn to overdub percussion, and establishing the wet and dripping sound that would become his signature. Perry is in fine style here, even a bit reserved, treating McKenzie's vocals with a slight effect, a bit fuzzy and slightly phased, feeling at times like she's singing in a spacious chamber, yet he never lets his effects overtake the sweetness of McKenzie's spirited high register vocals. Often known for recycling rhythms, here Perry uses his Upsetters house band to create a fresh and original set of bouncy, soulful, yet bottom-heavy backings. This may be the closest Perry ever came to producing something resembling lovers rock, with the UK flavor of her vocals, the sexiness of the lyrics, and the use of an early drum machine. This was recorded in the same time and place that gave birth to some of Perry's best and most iconic productions, including Heart of the Congos and Police and Thieves; any fan of his work, of female-led reggae, or outsider soul will find much to enjoy here. Yo Trojan, keep 'em coming!! Recommended. [DG]


	$7.99 CD $9.99 MP3		CHAIN & THE GANG In Cool Blood (K Records) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Chain & the Gang's main man Ian Svenonius has been kicking around the D.C. underground scene for decades, fronting such diverse bands as Nation of Ulysses, the Make-Up, and Weird War, and is infamous for his witty, narcissistic, socio-political lyricism voiced in a spoken rasp, wrapped up in a cooler-than-cool rock'n'roll attitude. The rest of 'The Gang' continually shifts members, with the latest line-up to include players of the M'Lady's Records house band and Vivian Girls. In Cool Blood is the group's third LP, and it's no surprise that Svenonius chose to collaborate with longtime friend and fellow DIY music pioneer Calvin Johnson, recording and mixing the album at the famous Dub Narcotic Studio -- the album was recorded in mono, emphasizing warm retro-garage instrumentals, tantalizing bass lines, raw male/female duets, plus the occasional organ or conga coloring. The lyrics are as clever as ever, slightly veering from topics of rebellion and politics and toward subjects of romance and lust, with Svenonius stepping back on the vocals and giving room to his partner in crime Katie Alice Greer -- a welcome change of pace from the group's previous two releases. Svenonius' pool of ideas never ceases to impress, and it's pretty clear that this Gang aren't leaving the scene any time soon! [ACo]


	$26.99 LP 180 Gram		PERRY LEOPOLD Experiment in Metaphysics (Guerssen) It's often hailed as one of the first psych-folk artifacts of its kind, but on Experiment in Metaphysics (1970), Perry Leopold's debut full-length LP, you don't hear much by way of daisies and sunshine blotter. Instead, you find a great, sparse record charged with anger, hurt, frustration; an album that sounds largely cinematic and weary; a disc that transcends the trappings that would later plague folk-at-large and at times render it ridiculous. This fantastic reissue on Guerssen Records holds true to the original privately pressed copy -- of which only 300 were made, most of those handed out by Leopold himself one August afternoon in the year of its release -- and is, all told, the first legit vinyl repress extant. It kicks off with "The Absurd Paranoid," a funereal opening salvo if there ever was one, complete with a heavy-handed and dour spoken-word passage that leaves even seasoned fatalists scratching their heads, and then veers into "Cold in Philadelphia," a pretty damned honest account of Leopold's own experiences as a wayward folky troubadour out East. My favorite tune is the eponymous instrumental number -- "progressive" in the simplest sense, and moody in the best sense. Highly recommended record! [EC]


	$18.99 LP+MP3		DAVID KILGOUR Here Come the Cars (De Stijl) In 1991 I was working in a record store in Pittsburgh, and my co-worker Karl Hendricks proclaimed that David Kilgour's solo debut Here Come the Cars was his new favorite record. I'll admit I was a bit baffled; it didn't sound much like what I listened to at the time (already on a steady diet of garage and grunge), and it didn't even sound much like the Clean, Kilgour's New Zealand group with his brother Hamish and Robert Scott of the Bats. A bit later I became absolutely obsessed with David's 1995 album First Steps & False Alarms and quickly realized that I was probably missing something here. Boy was I ever! The title track which opens this record is what initially threw me, as David's trademark guitar sound, which I usually think of as a caffeinated jangle (Bruce Russell described it as "the jet-plane guitar sound"), is slowed to a steady, deliberate pace that has the effect of replaying a scene in slow motion. The pace picks up a bit after that (as well as the return of some of that "jet-plane" guitar on some tracks) and the end result is a fantastic pop record that is distinct and as essential as David's work with the Clean. I won't go so far as to say that this is the best David Kilgour record, because, really, the case could be made that the best one is the one that is playing, but trust me, it is a great LP that has only gotten better with age. The only thing missing all these years was that it was unavailable on vinyl, but the wise folks at De Stijl have fixed that. [DMa]


	$7.99 45 $9.99 MP3		ANIMAL COLLECTIVE Honeycomb / Gotham (Domino) Preview Songs on Other Music's Download Store Two new songs from Animal Collective to tide us over to the release of their highly anticipated new album, Centipede Hz, out in early September. The lead cut of this single, "Honeycomb," is a fun, gurgling, herky-jerky joyride that only this band could take us on, contrasted by the sweetly subdued melancholy of "Gotham" on the flip.


	$5.99 CS		GRASS WIDOW Internal Logic - Cassette (Burger / HLR) San Francisco trio Grass Widow's third full-length, Internal Logic, has inspired a kind of cultish adoration amongst customers here in the shop, an energetic mix of complex pop songs with infectious melodies and intuitive three-part harmonies. Other Music has a handful of this new favorite on cassette, a split release by the band's own HLR label and California's Burger Records. Limited to 500 numbered copies, this is the only way to take these songs home except for the vinyl version (with MP3 download). Pop the Iron Maiden out of your old jalopy's deck and cruise around to this all summer long!


	$9.99 CD $10.99 10"+MP3 $9.99 MP3		PAUL BANKS Julian Plenti Lives... EP (Matador) "Summertime Is Coming" Brand new and limited five-song EP from Julian Plenti, a/k/a Interpol frontman Paul Banks. Featuring two new originals -- "Summertime Is Coming" isn't too far off from the chiming, brooding pop of his main gig -- the real surprises here are his covers of songs by J Dilla ("Mythsysizer"), Frank Sinatra ("I'm a Fool to Want You") and "Beverly Hills Cops Theme" composer Harold Faltermeyer ("Perimeter Deactivated").


	$21.99 CD		SAINT ETIENNE Words and Music by Saint Etienne (Heavenly) "Tonight" "Twenty-Five Years" UK pop stalwarts Saint Etienne return with their first album in seven years, following a break which saw the band members remaster and reissue their back catalogue in excellent deluxe editions, make more than one film, curate a few compilations for the Ace label, and write a book. That book, by St Et's Bob Stanley (who has been a journalist/music critic for as much time as he's been a producer and musician), is an ambitious history of pop music due to be released in the fall, and it was during the research and writing of that book that Stanley and the group came to the idea of making a record about records -- while Sarah Cracknell and Pete Wiggs relocated and began families, Stanley recognized that he was still firmly entrenched in the waters of pop, far from the quiet reclusion of suburban life his band mates were living, and which they'd brilliantly begun to explore on their last album, the criminally underrated Tales from Turnpike House. They decided they'd stick to what they knew, and the group crafted the stellar new record, Words and Music by Saint Etienne, a tribute not only to music's important role in even the most mundane aspects of a fanatic's life, but also to the idea of learning how to grow older and wiser while never letting go of the youthful exuberance and euphoric rush that pop and its door-opening epiphanies can provide. Lyrically, the album's songs focus on different day-in-the-life aspects of the pop fan: the excitement of getting ready to see your favorite act live, the private universe provided by the safety blanket of headphones playing your favorite song, the friend who always knows the perfect song to play for you when you're having a bad day, and also the community of bitching, moaning, and hyperbolic praising about musicians on internet message boards -- it's all here, set to music that balances the more mature, nuanced arrangements of albums like Turnpike House and Good Humor with some of the band's shiniest, most curvaceous pop/club textures they've ever put to disc, provided by collaborators Ian Catt, Xenomania and Richard X. I'll be honest, Saint Etienne have been and still remain one of my all-time favorite groups, and I can say as a hardcore fanboy that this is one of their best, most mature albums yet, filled with their referential trademarks and sharp eyes on both pop's past and its contemporary trends. This is not only one of the best records of their career, it's also one of my favorite albums of 2012 thus far. Pop music seldom gets as sharp, witty, and euphoric as this, and its easy to hear how they've become the forefathers of a new generation of pop collusionists like the Avalanches, Air France, and Grimes, amongst many others. This album readily answers the questions posed in the songs' lyrics about whether or not an adult can age gracefully with pop, and that answer is a joyous, resounding yes. In other words, there's still hope, and this album provides yet another key piece of the puzzle that is Saint Etienne's impressive, iconic canon. In short, it's absolutely stunning. Give it a listen and learn its lessons. [IQ]


	$31.99 CDx4		VARIOUS ARTISTS Philadelphia International Classics: The Tom Moulton Remixes (Harmless) "Let's Groove" Archie Bell & the Drells "Do It Anyway You Wanna" People's Choice Tom Moulton is an iconic figure in dance music history and a pioneer of the remix; he essentially invented the concept of the 12" single, allowing for better fidelity and increased dynamic range via wider, deeper-cut grooves, and as a producer and remixer he reshaped good songs into great ones, including many of the most highly regarded soul, funk, and pop classics you still hear on dance floors today. Many of his best-known remixes were for the Philadelphia International label, who have just released a jaw-dropping 4CD set in celebration of their 40th anniversary that compiles all of Moulton's remix work for the label. The collection includes the entirety of the essential 1977 Philadelphia Classics album -- an absolute MUST LISTEN for any and all soul/R&B/dance music heads -- along with seven rare early mixes, and a whopping sixteen previously unheard mixes of classics by Archie Bell & the Drells, the O'Jays, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass, and many more. Moulton was a brilliant mixer in that he saw his job as a means to accentuate and highlight a track's innate potential, rather than license to tweak something out into the stratosphere. Many of his mixes collected on the Philadelphia Classics album became monster hits, such as the O'Jays' "Love Train" and his epic rework of MFSB's "Love Is the Message," which became the unofficial anthem of the NYC loft disco era. He stretched grooves and intros out into hypnotic, kinetic, symphonic movements, and many of his remixes remain more timeless in sound than the originals! This package is essential for anyone interested in the history of dance music, and is also one of the best R&B sets you'll pick up all year. These tracks are rich, robust, and funky as all get out; if that sounds good to you, do the right thing and dig Philadelphia International Classics, this one easily gets my highest recommendation! [IQ]


	$16.99 CD $9.99 MP3		X-O-DUS English Black Boys (LTM) "See Them A'Come" "Take It from Me" Not many people know this, but there was actually a reggae release issued by Factory Records during their early years. X-O-Dus were a Manchester band who specialized in a highly political style of reggae that steered clear of religious Rastafarian dogmas; their songs dealt with the hardships of living in British Babylon, melding cutting, realist lyrics with a sharp, hard-edged refinement of spliffed-out loping menace. The group recorded their sole 12" with master producer Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell, known for his work with the Slits, the Pop Group, and his own excellent reggae band Matumbi. English Black Boys was laid to tape in one day, but in typical Factory fashion, it took ten months to mix, and another four months for art direction. The record's stark, post-punk Peter Saville sleeve made it look more like a Joy Division or A Certain Ration release than a soulful roots reggae dispatch, but that 12", featuring only two songs yet clocking in at nearly twenty minutes, is an unheralded classic of the era. Thank the fine folks at LTM once again for restoring its glory to the masses, bringing together the EP's two tracks with another seven tracks found from 1980 studio sessions that were meant to form the band's debut LP on Factory, which sadly have never been released until now! These tracks are simply wicked, seeing X-O-Dus evolve their heavy sound with a bit of jazzy guitar licks and even a little lovers rock soul thrown into the mix. The CD concludes with some 1992 white label bangers recorded by the band's drummer Leddy as Subsonique + Rico, which shows how they were able to hold their own with Manchester's underground club culture, and would have been able to fit the Factory ethos even then, with a bit of rave-inspired ragga soul. This whole package is, quite simply, one of the best reissues I've heard all year -- that 12" is one of my favorite Factory releases, with Bovell's dark dub mixology giving these tunes an added bite, showing that X-O-Dus could have easily ranked right up there amongst the heavy hitters of UK reggae like Matumbi and Steel Pulse. The unreleased album tracks, though, have been kicking my ass; they're so soulful, lightly psychedelic, and massively catchy. This CD will hopefully help to relegate X-O-Dus out of footnote status; for now, it's holding a firm place near the top of my list of best reissues of the year in any genre. Reggae heads, Factory completists, and anyone who wants some good, solid, soulful tunes to jam this summer need this in their collection. This is the definition of a highest recommendation, but please -- Mr. James Nice, LTM mastermind, I beg you, now that you're pressing wax... issue this collection on vinyl!! [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 [EC] Eric Cecil [ACo] Anastasia Cohen [AC] Amanda Colbenson [MF] Michael Fellows [DG] Daniel Givens [DH] Duane Harriott [IQ] Mikey IQ Jones [JM] Josh Madell [DMa] Dave Martin THANKS FOR READING - all of us at Other Music

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