Joshua McAbee & the (7/13) Moon - Accidentally Transcending cassette (Housecraft) 1

This comes sweeping in like a melodic fog off the sea: oscillations turn into a radio dial tuning in strings on the shortwave, a voice squelches up and down in pitch like scratching vinyl and there's a very hopeful sounding end too. All on a neatly packaged tape with 5 screw fixing on the cassette shell, just so you know it's good quality. (JC)

Raymond MacDonald / Neil Davidson - Flapjack cd (FMR) 7.50

Saxophonist Raymond MacDonald and guitarist Neil Davidson have worked together extensively within the large ensemble framework of the Glasgow Improviser's Orchestra. Honing the empathy down to a duo performance shows how well they react to one another. For me, they key to this album lies in their joint feel for the quiet side of their playing. Sure, they can cut it at the harsher end of improv sound, but the real magic turns on when Raymond is underpinning the rising tension of Neil's guitar with a soft warmth suggesting a subtle glow in the dark or when Neil is using his guitar as a sound generator, applying a battery powered fan to the pick-up. These two should do more together and I hope they will. (JC)

Scottish film maker David MacKenzie has made some interesting choices for soundtrack material thus far. The music on this album will feature in his new movie Asylum and it's very spacious and atmospheric stuff. Saxophone and treated piano weave angular, yet eerily melodic patterns that sometimes remind me of Town and Country's recent work on Thrill Jockey and, at others, imply a world where Roy Budd morphed into Schnittke when he was scoring Get Carter. Slightly glacial; oddly beautiful. (JC)

also: Phosphene, GIO, Tatsuya Nakatani, Neil Davidson, Peter Nicholson, Raymond MacDonald, Nick Fells

Even if you think you have enough saxophone and drum improv duos on your shelf (and there have been a few of late), this record comes with a high recommendation to make room for another one. Gunter Baby Sommer is the leader of the Dresden Ensemble. Their two way collaboration with the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra led to some exciting concerts and workshops on each side of their Scottish and German home turf in 2005 & 2006. Meanwhile, MacDonald and Sommer found their playing gelled as a duo and - voila - along comes an album full of expressive and melodic playing. The recording is top class and Neil Davidson's witty sleeve note raises the question: how many quality-lit references can you get into 3 short paragraphs? A record to enjoy in so many ways. (JC)

New label specializing in improvised and experimental music in handmade packages and run by Una MacGlone, Raymond MacDonald and Neil Davidson of Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. The one features the above trio - double bass, voice and guitar. It opens with a beautifully pure tone-drone that makes me thing of distant planes overhead on a summer's day. Later on the disc "Muslin" employs buzzing drones that seem to make the air throb. The trio's improvised pieces are equally impressive with Neil & Una manipulating strings with real energy and Aileen's squeaks, croaks and gurgles the quiet sound of nightmares. The air of unease is palpable, particularly on "Slither" where the bass and guitar seethe and indeed slither around the vocal contortions, and again on the closing "Clearing", a writhing mass of quiet noise. Beautifully recorded by our own Mr Cavanagh! Highly recommended. Now sold out at source.

Aberdeen meets Glasgow: Kitchen Cynics (aka Alan Davidson) and Rory McIntyre share this disc and the results are very pleasing. Some tracks are collaborations, others are solo (McIntyre plays a lovely cover of the Cynics song Now's the Time and Marissa Nadler's Virginia) and the "best title of the set" award has to be taken by A slow dance for Alfie Bass! Enchante, for sure! (JC)

Maher Shalal Hash Baz / Bill Wells & Maher Shalal Hash Baz split 7" (Geographic) 3

a truly uplifting 7" of glorious melody: the Maher SHB side was recorded in Scotland and is addressed to a rival bidder on Ebay chasing the same bassoon as Tori Kudo. Like recent Maher live gigs, there is plenty of woodwind (including, of course, a bassoon, an instrument I've loved since Ivor the Engine) and brass weaving delightfully round Tori's ragged guitar. The other side is a live version of a tune by Scottish self-taught free jazz pianist Bill Wells, recorded in Japan, a  mixture of halting concentration and joyous spontaneity. 

Anthony Magen - Pourquoi? 3" cdr (Black Petal) 4

"dub-revisioning of personal pain. an attempt to abstract himself from sorrow...or intensify the hurt" (Black Petal)

Magnetic North Duo - Static Fields Forever cdr (Tape Drift) 5.50

New project featuring Sindre Bjerga alongside improvising guitarist Nils Rostad. It's a good match with the warm guitar tones splashing like sunbeams through Bjerga's low bass rumble and fog of hum.

Greg Malcolm - Leather and Lacy cd (Interregnum) 12

Magical multiple guitar playing from Greg Malcolm. On this release he offers interpretations of Steve Lacy tunes recorded at the Wellington Jazz Festival. Greg plays 3 guitars: one on his lap, one at his side and one at his feet without processing or any effects. The result is hypnotic picking mixed with scratchy improvisation.

Were you needing to visit the dentist to have your teeth de-scaled? No need: just open wide, play the first track on this cd at volume and the plaque will be melt away in seconds! It's called Flash Pumper: fairly short, but very effective and an overture to the sonic warfare to follow. Ominous subsonics, hypnotic morse-like patterns, extreme electronics from Jaime Fennelly and Chris Peck. Mr Fennelly's other credits include Phantom Limb, Bison, Peeesseye, and the splendidly named peeinmyfacewithsurgery. I am not familiar with the oeuvre of the latter combo, but decided it might be prudent if I avoided searching for them on the computer where I work. (JC)

Two extended imrprov pieces exploring the harmonic ranges and possibilities of 'cellos, voice and saxophone. Simultaneously intense and subtle, this music was captured in the spacious acoustic of the Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco in front of a commendably quiet small audience. I liked the closing moment of the album, after the applause dies, when a voice confirms "Yeah, we're done"! (JC)

improvised-on-the-spot guitar, cello and vocals songs by London-based Basque artist Mattin (also a member of Sakada, along with Eddie Prevost)

also: Sakada

Mechanical Children 

• Blue Mouth cdr (Blackest Rainbow) 5.25

A duo featuring Ben and Sarah of Jazzfinger. Apparently recording using two broken drum machines, although you'd be hard-pressed to have guessed that, as this sounds like the rheumatic wheeze of old machinery - buzzing analogue electronics. Comes packaged in an LP sized sleeve.

• I Rise To Cover All LP (Blackest Rainbow) 9.25

"Debut vinyl release from this new duo that makes up two thirds of Jazzfinger (Ben Jones and Sarah Sullivan). Based around the idea of used broken keyboards, Ben and Sarah make some totally fucked and pretty heavy noise jams, there's some searing moments in this beast, particularly across the two part 'Burning of the Light Fields' which spans all side A, and most of side B... the closer is 'Planatary Wasp', which pretty much would be what Jeff Goldblum would have sounded like if he'd turned into some kind of rancid badass wasp instead of that pussy fly! Turn it up and get ready for your neighbors to come knocking with an ASBO for ya. Limited to 300." (BR)

• Mar'ah cdr (Rural Faune) 5.75

The sound of crackling black electricity from darkest Iowa . Sometimes a dense churring like millions of robotic grasshoppers, sometimes the high whir of interplanetary radio waves.

Merrill Baker & Jordan cd (ArchiveCD) 4

One hour, 3 performers, 4 pieces recorded live in Hartford, Connecticut. Todd Merrell, Aidan Baker and Patrick Jordan create huge patterns of drone with guitar, shortwave radio and electronic processing. The cover, which opens from the centre, has mirror images of trees and cloud, which suit the sounds admirably. (JC)

Metal Rouge 

• Three For Malachi Ritscher cd (Root Strata) 9

First non-cdr release from Andrew Scott & Helga Fassonaki and it's a gem. Guitar, pedal steel and wordless vocals combine in incredible zoned drones, focussed through delay and some brutal distortion. The opener builds into a string-bending wail of molten metal. The second may be quieter but is no less intense, with dulled tone thrums and shimmering steel. The final track echoes Charalambides with Helga's spectral vocals weaving a path through the pedal steel and guitar. Highly recommended.

• Salt Stones cdr (Stunned) 4.50

Another blast of molten metal / drone / noise from Andrew Scott & Helga Fassonaki. Cacophonous wails rung from guitar / pedal steel / vocals. Nicely packaged in a plastic cd case covered in sari cloth and with a plastic flower. Sold out at source.

• Ephemeroptera 4 cdr (Seymour) 8

4th in the "Ephemeroptera" series from the Metal Rouge duo - Andrew Scott & Helga Fassonaki. It's another blast, split between the cacophonous - feedback, pedal steel and vocals undulating in a nauseous throb - and the spectral - long beams of feedback shrouded by Helga's wordless vocals.

• Republican Trees LP (Digitalis) 15

Metal Rouge on vinyl - Christmas has come early! And in a gorgeous silk-screened sleeve too. Spectral string-bending reminiscent of "Joy Shapes" Charalambides. Andrew Scott's shredded guitar at times bleeds out the speakers and Helga's disembodied vocals will haunt you from here to next week.

MHFS - A House Painter's Manual cdr (Black Petal) 6

MHFS is Mark Sadgrove, joined on one track by Sam Hamilton, Andrew Scott (Metal Rouge) and Ben Spiers. 10 lo-fi song fragments, sometimes so quiet and disjointed you feel like you're eavesdropping, sometimes distorted and angular with Mark's mumbled vocals lost in the fuzz. Handmade packaging.

Three tracks by guitarist Evan Miller. The two on side 1 are beautifully elegaic meditations on acoustic guitar with acres of space between each note. Side 2 is a denser (relatively speaking) affair with post-Takoma guitar playing merging with field recordings to hypnotic effect. Now sold out at source.

New cd from the guy who runs Pseudoarcana and is also A.M., Mrtyu!, Nether Dawn as well as sometime Black Boned Angel member. A lovely collection of wayward lo-fi NZ pop songs that sound so insular it's as if they were never intended for our ears. Mumbled vocals, scratchy violin and acoustic guitar never sounded better.

Debut album by Melbourne's Tim Condon that manages to shift through an eclectic range of sounds from dilating guitar repetitions to shoegazey textures, the most melodic electronica to strange Radiophonics. Limited to 75 and packaged as usual in those S&F trademark envelopes sealed with wax.

Mixers by the River - Born With This cdr (MYMWLY) 5.75

Mixers By the River are Keijo and Sami Virtanen and this is another slice of fantastic cosmic folk. Guitar and hand-held percussion mantras, spaced-out drones and some of that wonderful snake-charmer-esque Keijo guitar work.

Moglass are a trio from Ukraine who use guitar, bass and electronics to create a glacial world where space and time are drawn out to the point of becoming meaningless. 

also: Tom Carter

Mok Nok cdr (Reverb Worship) 5.50

Mok Nok is "best friends" in Innuit and this duo from Copenhagen are clearly united in a love of overloaded lacerating guitars, vintage synth tones and pounding beatboxes in a sound quality which is more fuzz-fi than lo-fi. Every splatter-painted cover has a paste on witch with red eyes, just to keep things friendly, like... (JC)

Monopoly Child Star Searchers 

• Mandala Levitations cassette (Pacific City) 4.50

Two new instalments of mesmerizing casio / fuzz gloop from Spencer Clark (Skaters / Vodka Soap) - cheap keyboard sounds flutter rhythmically, jungle beat percussion throbs and a levitational vibe permeates both cassettes.

• Infant Spirituality Rates Coconut cdr (Pacific City Sound Visions) 5.50

Reissued cdr from Spencer Clark. Enchanting recorder plumes, frenetic jungle handdrums, that wonderful sound of cassette recorded saturation and as hypnotic and out there as those '60s flicker films.

• Prince of Parrot Shooters cdr (Pacific City Sound Visions) 5.50

More hypnotic over-saturated casio levitations  / jungle rhythms from Spencer Clark.

Monosov / Swirnoff 

• Five Recorded Works Vol 3 LP (Eclipse) 11.25

Third in the Eclipse series of LPs by Preston Swirnoff and Ilya Monosov. This features an intriguingly eclectic mix as usual: a brutal guitar / drums / synth psych-out, semi-improvised piano / guitar / percussion weave, an abstract lullaby with lovely vocals from Naomi, bleak electronica / drone and a track of Indian-influenced drone recorded with Charles Curtis (on tamboura / cello). Another excellent instalment.

• Split LP Vol 4 LP (Eclipse) 11.25

The final LP Eclipse series from Preston Swirnoff and Ilya Monosov. Subtitled "Habitat Sound System" one side of this LP sounds like it has been beamed straight from the dub caverns of Jamaica. The first side starts with a fuzz-psych gem similar to the duo's work in The Shining Path. The rest of the first side is a slowly unfolding piece of acoustic-based improv, featuring hurdy gurdy, glockenspiel and harmonica, that builds into hypnotic drone-riffing, and ends up in the dub-infested waters that fill the other side. Excellent stuff.

Joe Montana - Shifting Spaces cassette (Digitalis Limited) 6

Keyboards in fuzzy overdrive, melodic sweeps and repeated figures over drones, all wrapped in a cassette liner which has a triangle and a steak of prismatised light on it... do I detect a Dark Side of the Moon/Hipgnosis homage here?! Oh, be sure to leave the tape playing after the music seems to be over. On the copy I listened to, there was a long gap and then an organ reprise! (JC)

Moor Loups - Death By Someone's Choice 3" cdr (Reverb Worship) 4

"This is the "Death By Someone's Choice" by the very strange and mysterious Moor Loups.The band come from Portland, Oregon and their cd features four tracks of quite dark,considered music. At times there is a psychedelic twist with samples of animals, distorted noises, dub, echoes, voices and murmerings, saxophone, keyboards and guitars pinned down by a simplistic slow drum machine pattern. The cd has a running time of around 20 minutes and comes with oversized photographic artwork featuring an antique photograph of two lumberjacks." (RW)

Thurston Moore - Built for Lovin pic disc LP (Lost Treasures of the Underworld) 10

" A scabrous grab bag of weirdo recordings assembled by Thurston Moore: hardcore basement slam jammer with Mark Ibold (bass) and John Moloney of Sunburned (drums), a rough demo cue made for an HSBC TV ad (w/ Steve Shelley-drums
– uncredited – sorry Steve!),  a few noise b-sides from various lost releases and a couple of long psycho-bead kosmi-killersz. And some subterranean acoustic luv — all wrapped up n a pic disc with art by T Moore extracted from his Street Mouth series of collages....... " (label)

Morning Stalker / The Ghost of 29 Megacycles - Silhouettes 2 cdr (Hello Square) 6

Two long tracks of manipulated guitar tones. First up Morning Stalker - swirling breezes of wowing breath and single note repetitions on guitar that sparkle like dew drops. Ghost of 29 Megacycles is more contemplative still: gentle undulating drone and single droplets of guitar occasional forming above the haze.

Compiles recordings from previous cdrs (Ghost Town By the Sea, Kodak Ghost Poem and Secret Tapes).

also: Jon Dale

Mountainhood is the new project from the guy who formerly recorded as Almaden and this is his second release on Reverb Worship; the first sold out pretty fast. The deals in similar territory - late night lo-fi melancholy. Hand-painted sleeves.

Rob Mullender - Human Resources cd (Bo'weavil Recordings) 4

This album broadens the scope of the Bo'Weavil catalogue into the realm of expressive acoustic improv. Rob Mullender plays nylon & steel string guitars in a distinctive style which can be sparse, expansive or frenetically attacking. I especially liked the piece where he detunes the string throughout, reminding me of an old spring driven gramophone winding down. It's a case of folk roots, very new routes - and packaged to the usual high standard of this label. (JC)

Music and Movement - s/t 7" (Aufgeladen und Bereit) 0.50

The sticker on the front says "with Teenage Fanclub & BMX Bandits members", so Music and Movement score a few points immediately by sounding completely distinct from either of these bands which Lorna Lyon & Finlay MacDonald have been involved in previously and ploughing their own furrow instead. I hear the amalgam of Stereolab's motorik drive with, sometimes, the laconic vocals of the Pet Shop boys and, at others, the harmonies of '60's folk pop. This is the sort of imaginative pop single which, once upon a time, could even have reached the top 50. This juke box jury will vote it a hit... one has to live in hope! (JC)

also: Teenage Fanclub

Muura 

• Sun Dreamer / Moon Shaker cdr (MYMWLY) 6.50

This disc matches the intensity of Matt Earle's earlier release on Anthony Guerra's Black Petal label but is a much sparser sound. A repeated note resonating with an Oriental metallic clang marks a slow descent into humming silence, broken by uneasy brushes of percussion. An intensely focussed and singular journey into the unknown.

This is another spine-tingling descent into blackness from Australian Matt Earle. Master of monolithic repetition, Earle's sparse thuds on drums, rhythmic one note meditations on guitar and distant murmurs of vocals become almost engulfed in amp hum towards the end. Now sold out at source.

also: Minerals

Amazing art edition LP with screen-printed artwork by Roberto Opalio on the cover, also an etching on one side of the vinyl by him and as if that isn't enough purple vinyl. Yum. The music is great too, opening on an unearthly high with legions of looped vocals. It's MCIAA at their most pared down as the LP progresses with notes echoing out into deep space amidst primal tribal drumming. 

My Enemy - Elil EP cdep (Vapen & Godis) 1

"n.213 is the godchild of the inimitable nic hughes. most are probably more familiar with the band he plays guitar & sings for: shearing pinx. but his solo digs never disappoint. jolting bursts of electronic mayhem laced with pcp-inflected vocal incantations make "vexaction" a hypnotic & catchy carnival ride. blitzkrieged pop elements even make an appearance, but these short & noisy bones are nothing but the sweetest candy for the noiseniks in all of us. the weapons used range from drum machines, keyboards, reel-to-reels, & guitars to shakers, bells, trumpets, pedals, and more. it's a virtuoso circus of all that is juicy." Sold out at source.

Tatsuya Nakatani, Neil Davidson, Peter Nicholson, Raymond MacDonald, Nick Fells - Aporias cd (Creative Sources) 8

Here we have several members of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra with percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani during a late 2004 visit to Glasgow. Although some of the expression is wild and full-on, it's a tribute to all involved that a lot of the strongest material on Aporias lies in the most restrained sections. The big reverberant soundstage is especially well suited to Nakatani's deepest drums too. Incipient is the common word throughout the five titles. Thus far, I've tracked down the source for one line as Samuel Johnson... there should be a prize for the person who gets all five! Anyway, the suggestion of something new and fresh is just about right for this meeting of forces. (JC)

also: Neil Davidson, Raymond MacDonald

An exquisite album of experimental folk from the stunning gatefold sleeve to the extraordinary music within. Glasgow-based trio Nalle are artist Hanna Tuulikki, Chris Hladowski (One Ensemble, Family Elan) and Aby Vulliamy (One Ensemble, National Jazz Trio of Scotland). Side one opens with an adaptation of a poem by Robert Frost: a warm cocooning drone of singing bowls and harmonium, delicate improvisatory fingers of oud playing and Hanna's voice and Aby's viola swooping and swooning round each other. The album mixes Eastern European and English folk forms with modal drones and madrigals with Japanese Gagaku and throughout Hanna's vocals are in stunning shamanic form almost as if she's trying to birth a new emotional language. The Japanese influence can be heard most strongly on "Alice's Ladder" with vocal, bowed bouzouki & flute carrying the melody / harmony lines amid the otherworldly pluckings of kantele and also on "Young Light" which features some great hammer dulcimer playing from Chris. "Voi Ruusani" is a reinterpretation of a Finnish gypsy song as atonal funereal dirge, and at 10 minutes long it forms the backbone of the album along with joyful episodic "Seven Sirens" which comes over like Family Elan playing "A Very Cellular Song" with a hand-clapping, bells-a-jingling Hanna defying you to resist a jig around your bedroom. The album ends austerely with the avant-madrigal "First Eden Sank to Grief". This is an album that slowly uncoils its secrets and magic and although the influences are often obvious, it's woven together by 3 very talented individuals into something completely unique. The music is beautifully recorded by our reviewer John Cavanagh at Glo-spot and I've been a big Nalle fan for some time so I may be biased, but this is an utterly magical album I can't recommend highly enough. 

also: The Mystery Water Saloon Boys, Singing At the Moon comp, One Ensemble, Hanna Tuulikki, Family Elan

Ben Nash / Nautilus LP (Blackest Rainbow) 9.75

"Nautilus is the solo project of Heidi Diehl of Vanishing Voice/Time Life, long time BR transatlantic e-mail buddy who we finally got to meet just over a year ago on the very brief Vanishing Voice tour... since then she has begun recording solo material under this alias, and has self released one CDR which blew our minds, and likewise blew local long time BR friend Ben Nash's cranium apart, thus the concept for this split LP was born! The Nautilus side opens with 'Still Rings', a far out trip of weirdo outsider dripping mind fuzz, like some kind of spatial insect gathering.  'Tallahasse Woman' rings more bells with the sound of Vanishing Voice and Heidi's psychedelic string playing, and subtle vocals buried below it. 'Jeans Theme' is another sweet track of tranced out guitar with approaching percussion and waves of vocal drones.  Ben Nash holds his side with two nearly 8 minute tracks, opener 'Plymouth Bredren Blues' has definetly got the blues as mentioned in the title, there's some serious woe in the wah right here, and some almost Paris, Texas moments. 'Interloper/Latch' also starts off pretty bluesy but half way through goes to a speaker shredding guitar shaker, with some seriously serious riffs, that are almost breaking up as they begin, and then reverting back to the blues mediation of the beginning of the track.. A great release, in an edition of 269 copies with paste on artwork." (Blackest Rainbow)

Alex Neilson & Richard Youngs - Electric Lotus LP & Lotus Eedition cd (VHF) 12

This is a entirely different experience to previous Neilson / Youngs recordings with the emphasis on a breathtaking form of free rock improv, Richard Youngs guitar work ranging from over-amped heavy riffing to searing psych-metal solo-ing while Neilson is in similar territory to the recent Motorghost record with ben Reynolds. The accompanying cd "Lotus Edition" features a quieter but no less intense set of drums / shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) duets. Highly recommended.

also: Swagger Jack, Antony Milton, Organ Organ Organ Organ

Stefan Neville - Do Not Destroy cd (Last Visible Dog) 3

Stefan Neville is, of course, Pumice. These are a collection of early recordings (issued originally on Stabbies etc I think) and as shambolic and ragged as it gets. Distorted to the point of disintegration guitar-and-organ squall and drone.

also: Pumice

Once upon a time Lol Coxhill was set to play a show with drummer Steve Noble and double bass player John Edwards. Unfortunately, Lol wasn't too well, so Alan Wilkinson, who was due to play a solo set at the same show, joined the others instead and that's how the trio we find on this record got together. I'm sure that Lol, ever the generous spirit, will be pleased at the results which have come out of such adversity, for this trio recording is a very good set of free pieces. I'm especially struck by the energy and soul in Wilkinson's baritone playing and the way that big, sonorous tone and such a fluid rhythm section seem to propel each other's energy. (JC)

scuzzy noise and scrawl from a trio featuring CJA, Rahmane and Matt Middleton

also: Sunmilk, Golden Oaks, Juniper Meadows, Autumn Galaxy, Akhet, Eastern Fox Squirrels, Ajilvsga

Reissue of a 1973 Brazilian private press LP from ex-Satwa members and poet Marconi Notaro. Uplifting folk pop with a real loose groove, fried exotica, some gorgeous sunshine ragas (similar to the Satwa LP) as trance-inducing as the midday sun, echo-ridden garage-psych. Heavy vinyl and gorgeous artwork. Highly recommended and guaranteed to make you feel like it's summer again.

Nova Scotia - Memphis cdr (Ikuisuus) 4

New Zealand improv recorded live at the Photospace Gallery, Wellington and featuring Antony Milton on the first track. Using mainly homemade instruments, broken electronics and other found objects, the sound is at times writhing mass of scraping and high end whir suspended in space. The opening track lurches like free jazz caught in a quagmire with trombone sliding and seesawing bass bowing.

NTHnthsthSTH - s/t LP (Release the Bats) 12.50

Second release from this duo featuring Antony Milton (Nether Dawn / Black Boned Angel / AM) and Jani Hirvonen (Uton). A churning drone-pool seething with Milton's ragged guitar, field recordings, percussion, flutes and the underlying influence of Jani Hirvonen's travels in India. Excellent.

Electronic / oscillator / synth sounds from Roope Eronen of Avarus / Maniacs Dream. Dense analogue drones and primitive Suicide-like pulsing melodies. 

Nuslux / Amon Dude / Kiiskinen & Reijo Pami - Feelin' Strong cdr (Lal Lal Lal) 4.50

Tour cd from April 2008 featuring Arttu Partinen's Amon Dude, Roope Eronen's Nuslux and 2 new names (to me): Kiiskinen and Reijo Pami. 

Infernal electronics and noise from Dr Bibber, a Dutch guy who released Enema Syringe stuff as far back as 1987. One of the wildest Imvated-related packages yet - flowery plastic sleeve and a slimy lizard stuck to the box.

unnerving electronic ambience from this French artist

Lovely new album from Loren Chasse (Blithe Suns / Thuja) of horizon-reaching floating tones carved from autoharp, cymbalon, zither, sheng, guitar and stones. 

On - s/t LP (Saucerlike) 3

Vinyl issue of the recent C/Psi/P cdr. Germs-style primal punk from Australia, propelled by a two pronged bass rumble that's loaded with menace.

Roberto Opalio 

• The Last Night of the Angel of Glass cdr & dvdr (Foxglove) 8

Vast chorales of looped wails and cries dissipating into pure tonal guitar traces. Carrick's son wants me to point out that the vocals made his internal organs rise into his neck and his soul shrivel ... Anyway, he's still alive and he's right about one thing, this is as far from aural wallpaper as it gets. Mind-messingly beautiful. There's a dvd-r with a hypnotic film shot in real time of an Opalio glass art creation and candle burning on his balcony. Highly recommended. Sold out at source.

• The Last Night of the Angel of Glass, Vol I & II 2cd (A Silent Place) 6

This double cd release comprises a reissue on Disc 1 of the Foxglove release (which came with a dvd-r of the film it soundtracks), vast chorales of looped wails and cries dissipating into pure tonal guitar traces. Disc 2 features the second half of the recording session and is previously unreleased: sparse guitar murmurs and Opalio's luminous looped vocals disappearing into a thick electronic morass.  

• Whispers of the Last Night dvdr (Opax) 6

I've been having a bit of a fight with the dvd player and remote controls to try and play this (my pathetic failure is down to me, not any deficiency in the disc) so the review itself will have to wait til next week. Here's what Opax say: "New short film by visual artist / musician Roberto Opalio, one half of My Cat Is An Alien. Filmed on March 21st, 2006, the video represents a visionary, introspective view of the empty spaces over the city, Torino. Through a unique, hand-manipulated shot made in real-time, Roberto Opalio's poetic fragmentation and distortion of real objects recalls early film experiments by Man Ray, as well as a certain Warholian psychedelia in the use of filtered light as a main principle of creation / perception of one's own reality. The soundtrack, recorded the same day appositely, leads to a further estrangement with the use of Opalio's looped wordless vocals and electronics merging into a heavy, ecstatic stream of sounds."

also: My Cat Is An Alien, Praxinoscope, Painting Petals on Planet Ghost

Roberto Opalio / Maurizio Opalio split LP (Important) 16

Two long-form solo tracks from the My Cat is an Alien brothers. Maurizio contributes a piece of quiet contemplation on acoustic guitar while Opalio opts for the exotic clang of zither and his disembodied vocals levitating high above like a cosmic breath.

Ophibre 

• NNNE cdr (Reverb Worship) 5.50

One long piece of analogue electronics / synth gloop - pulsing endlessly. Lovingly handmade sleeves with silver spots.

• Damballa Presented Via Possession 3" cdr (Housecraft) 1.50

Creeping tendrils of creaking and atonal drones that evoke a growing sense of unease as the disc progresses.

Ophibre / Katchmare - Divided Transmissions cassette (Tape Drift) 5.50

Another gem from Eva (also Frozen Corpse). This is full of warped nursery rhyme weirdness with spooked plinking keyboards and moon-orbitting space electronics. 

Italian sound-artist Fabio Orsi never fails to create something compelling and mysterious from his array of field recordings paired with guitar and piano and this is one of his finest creations to date. The middle track with its lulling repeated piano melody and dreamy drones / submerged ticks and clicks reminds me a bit of the more cinematic end of Yellow 6's work, which is no bad thing. The other tracks are dense dronescapes. This has been reworked and produced by sometime collaborator Gianluca Becuzzi.

• Audio For Lovers 2cd (Last Visible Dog) 9

The latest from Italian sound artist Fabio Orsi is another masterpiece of ambient atmospheres. Some of the more obviously guitar-based pieces remind me of a more expansive Yellow 6 with their endlessly decaying repetition; other tracks with their layers of subtly shifting drones, warm tones and faint sense of unease sound like melting glaciers. The first 3 tracks on disc 2 are from a Students of Decay release (Psychedelic Power of Bubbles).

also: Gianluca Becuzzi / Fabio Orsi

Fabio Orsi / Valerio Cosi - We Could For Hours cd (A Silent Place) 9.50

Two Boa HQ favourites join forces again! Sound sculptor Fabio Orsi has released countless invocations of landscape and memories, drones full of melancholy. Cosi is just as prolific and his transcendental free jazz has brightened up the last couple of years no end. Both are also prolific collaborators. On this release the mood is one of exultant joy with organ, synth, sax, guitar, harp and electronics layered into a sumptuous drone that throbs and pulses with as much intensity as the midday sun. "Pink Sheep Blood" sounds like a dream-world Alice Coltrane, fuzzed and blurred round the edges. I can't recommend this highly enough.

Fabio Orsi / Mamu Thones - The First Born cd (A Silent Place) 9.50

Another superb collaboration featuring Fabio Orsi teaming up with ex-Jennifer Gentle member Alessio Gastaldello who plays drums, percussion and a pianorgan on this. Together they create a couple of downbeat meditations on the first 2 tracks: bells, murmurs and elongated tones on the opener, then the bellows-driven wheeze of the pianorgan and Gastaldello's Mogadon drumming on track 2. This is an altogether darker album than Orsi's other work, particularly on the latter 2 tracks with growling guitar underpinning the tribal drumming on "The Battle". The closing track's breathy tones feel like cold fingers of night-time fog.

Two way collaborations: on side 1 Fabio "demixes" The North Sea and on side 2 the roles are reversed. Orsi's side ranges from sitar drones to field recordings; The North Sea start with sparse strings and end in a tidal wave of sound. Fine stuff and nice artwork from George Parsons too. (JC)

Outerdrive - Hallucinations cd (Mar / Ino) 9.50

A superb example of the big, brooding beast they used to call space-rock on Elsie and Jack offshoot label Mar / Ino. Bass- and delay-heavy, some great trumpet, cosmic vocals: in some ways it's like a psychedelized version of the Drift. Packaged in a gatefold cardboard sleeve with some nice inserts. Be sure to 'rewind' the cd at the start or else you'll miss the best track on the album!

This is similar to the Rokkiryma disc: unhinged bedroom lo-fi pop with basic strummed guitar, whistles, handclaps and "incidental" vocals. Again it reminds me of the days of Slampt cassettes which is a very nice memory indeed!

Paper Wings is a duo of Antony Milton (AM, Nether Dawn, Black Boned Angel) and Anthony Guerra. This opens with a corrosive dirge of distorted guitar of the kind you might expect from Haino. The melancholic mood prevails throughout: spectral melodies, doomed feedback clouds, mournful bowing and a sense of dislocation. Beautiful hand-painted artpaper sleeves. Highly recommended.

The latest on Dublin's Deserted Village is a split cdr featuring 2 tracks, a collaboration from papercut and Wrecking ball. The first track is a lovely piece of drifting submarinal drone that starts off gloomy in a Bjerga / Iversen way, then brightens like the sun is piercing the depths.The 2nd is a longer piece of slowly uncoiling manipulated tones that buzzes initially with distant electronic chatter then evolves into piercing tones feeding back on each other.

Some folks start out wanting to be pop stars as they watch the idols of their early experience. It's a case of "I want to be just like Mark Owen/Kylie/Adam Ant/Frank Ifield..." (well maybe not quite!). With Park Attack, it sounds as though they cut their teeth on a raw diet of the Residents and Pere Ubu and thus was their twisted vision formed... bass lines bubble to boiling point, oscillators wail and vocals aim for 13 on a dial that stops at 11. This band are a very polular live attraction in Glasgow. this record goes some way to explaining why. (JC)

mini album of soundtrack music to 'The Last Great Wilderness' - Pastels releases are few and far between but every note of this is a treat - the Pastels are joined by Bill Wells, Gerry Love, Tom Crossley (International Airport), Tori Kudo (Maher Shalal Hash Baz), John McEntire and others in creating a beautiful pastoral dreamlike work

also: Nu Forest

New Pefkin release that comes with a lovely rural twig and handmade paper sleeve. Short fragments of toybox folk and VCS3 / violin throb. Four longer tracks: mutilated thumb piano and bubbling vocals recorded on Joe Meek's old Ampex tape recorder in its death throes, harp / clarinet / vocal drone / tone meditations, spacious wild wood folk-improv and ending on a hugely reverberant organ and Radford oscillator drone with melancholic melodica offering a requiem to an extinct bird. John Cavanagh (Electroscope / Phosphene) plays clarinet on one track. 

Pefkin / The Circle and the Point split cdr (Deep Water) 5

It's a bit weird to review one's own music but here goes - the pefkin track is an extended piece of string reverie (little lute type thing, hammer dulcimer and electric guitar) with bursts of almost distorted melodica blast which eventually dissolves into a lengthy drone section of harmonium wheeze and VCS3 which I like to imagine is Oliver Postgate meets Brian Eno. Anyway, enough of me, and onto the Circle and the Point: Grant Capes (of (VxPxC)) and Adam Richards (House of Alchemy). These 4 tracks find them at the more blissful hazy end of their sound with guitar, organ, percussion and flutes merging into a sunlit blur.

also: Electroscope, Gold Leaf Branches comp, Rewriting the Book comp, Kanoja, Myos Hanoja comp, Wailing Bones Volume 8 comp

Pewt'r is Ron Schneiderman, member of Sunburned Hand of the Man and the guy who runs the Spirit of Orr label. Solo guitar that sounds like a lacerated Loren Conors and has a real loner feel to it. "Circle of Wax" overloads on delay and sounds like a bleak black-hole dub.

"red records #3… well, its been a damn long time since we released their debut album, “shishimumu”, back when they were called THE PONYS, but we sure are happy there’s finally a proper follow-up, even if it took six years to happen. if anything, the long wait says something to the greatness & humility of the band; never bending to commercial concerns, ego, hype, or changing trends & changing times. in fact, “take to the trees” picks up just about right where “shishimumu” left off all those years back, another little nugget of timeless psychedelic pop perfection. of course, there is a new level of maturity and depth to the songwriting here, but there's still plenty of slightly naive & youthful charm… and to be certain, the world these guys create is just as surreal now as its always been… musically, things come together just right, with thick, swirling, chiming triple electric guitar textures, spot-on drumming, liquid but powerful bass, gurgling moog, acoustic strumming, accordion, and sweet soaring fuzz-tones. vocals hover as high & sweet as ever, harmonizing, doubling, and layering heavenly. the mood of the album floats through drifting fragile melancholy, quirky pop, crunchy psychedelic rockers and anthemic rave-ups, often all within the same track. beautifully recorded, but never over polished… just the way a great pop record should be. so forget all pretense, folks, maybe not freak folk enough for kill rock stars ain’t such a bad thing at all… packaged in a lovely heavy weight 60s style gatefold cover with elaborate full color art by the band, plus an insert. pressed on 180gm bright red vinyl. hand numbered limited edition of 300 copies…  packaged in a color offset printed tri-fold cover with hand stamped disc art. numbered edition of 230 copies." (label)

Before anyone hurls a charge of nepotism in my direction, I was in the thrall of Rusted Rail before I made a record for them and my undimmed enthusiasm for Keith Wallace's label would be - er - undimmed even if he hadn't just released a new Phosphene cd. Did you detect the faint whiff of self publicity there? Where was I...? Oh yes, the new R/R/release from these Yorkshire based Galway folks is utterly lovely. Aaron Hurley's high, plaintive voice sits atop a shimmering cloud of tremolo guitar, vibraphone and 'cello. Guests include Anne Marie & Aaron from mirakil Whip and Dave Colohan, there's a marvellous track with lots of spoken contributions... it sounds good; it looks good... go on, get it! (JC)

Phosphene 

• Projection cd (Secret Eye) 8.50

Spooky analogue electronic soundscapes that hint of Delia Derbyshire or Mount Vernon Arts Lab, singing woodstoves, psychedelia of  luxuriant and vibrant textures, and a few surprises: a cover of John Leyton's 'Wild Wind', some Beach Boys style harmonies and John McKeown (ex-Yummy Fur/1990s) playing some fuzzed-up guitar - excellent stuff. 

• featuring Lol Coxhill and Friends - The Plum, the Orange and the Matchbox cd (Secret Eye) 8.50

An intriguing tapestry of sound from John Cavanagh (ex-Electroscope and author of a book on Pink Floyd's 'Piper ...' LP) in collaboration with soprano saxophonist Lol Coxhill and others (inc Raymond MacDonald & George Burt): John underpins their free jazz blowings with some magical Delia Derbyshire-inspired analogue electronics and spiked organ-playing - highly recommended

A reissue of the super limited Nidnod release from a few years back. "The King Who Would See Paradise" is a story collected by Andrew Lang and published in in The Orange Fairy Book in 1906. It's an utterly magical tale narrated by Mr Phosphene - John Cavanagh - and it sounds like the music and narration from a gently spaced-out Oliver Postgate animation, with backwards (and forwards!) Appalachian dulcimer, subtly distorted clarinet and phased synth drone. It's one of the best things he's done. As if that wasn't enough, there are 3 other tracks of that alchemical blend of Radiophonics, psych-folk, dolls' house darkness and old perfume (with apologies to Syd Barrett) Phosphene excels in. As I said, magical.

also: Electroscope, Raymond MacDonald, George Burt, The Honeymoon Music Compilation, Rewriting the Book comp

To cram the talents of Nalle, Bridget St John, Bill Wells and Isobel Campbell onto one slab of 7" vinyl and top it off with some of Hanna Tuulikki's fabulous artwork is quite a feat! "See A Sign Defined" has long been a favourite Phosphene song of mine and this version is an exquisite folk-pop confection  - with Bridget St John in fine vocal form, backed initially by harpsichord & Farfisa Compact Duo, with Wells & Campbell providing a gorgeous piano & 'cello coda. As it that's not enough, Mr Cavanagh is joined on the other side by Nalle on an dream-like version of Ask Me No Questions, with all four singing slow hypnotic harmonies, influenced by Pauline Oliveros deep listening concept, accompanied by bouzouki, accordian and bells. Play this before going to sleep every night and have the most sumptuous dreams.

reissue of a self-released cd from 1999 from Picks and Lighters from Knoxville, Tennessee: a mess of Royal Trux -like strung-out blues, some crepuscular back-porch picking and more unstructured improv-rock

"Haikustrings is a "work in progress" diary composition began in 2004. The tape consists of 111 sound miniatures divided into 3 sequences, at once random and simultaneous. On side a and side b are recorded 2 of the possible cycles of the 3 sequences and of the infinitely possible versions of this piece. This was presented earlier this year at Turin's Silence festival as a sound installation." (Sloow) The above explains what this release is all about - the result is a series of slow drifting drones and hazy ambiences.

also: Invisible Pyramid

The Pistil Cosmos 

• Wandering in the Dark cdr (Great Pop Supplement) 5.50

If the shimmering guitar and heavily echoed melodica of the opening track aren't enough to sell this to you, there's plenty more to follow.... a big, expansive skyscape of a piece which builds to a thunderous fuzz-finish, a soothing drone-wind enveloping much melody and atmospheric use of voice too. Vincent Caylet is the person behind Pistil Cosmos and he's previously recorded as "V". This is a lovely record with nice quality card packaging too. (JC)

• The Praying Eyes cdr (267 Lattajjaa) 5

Gorgeous new recording from Vincent Caylet who formerly recorded as V. Two long and slowly unwinding tracks that sink in cosmic levels of delay and reverb. Heavy-lidded drone rituals and space hymnals dusted with sparkling synth and wordless vocals.

• Smoking Clouds in the Land of Fire cdr (Stunned) 4.50

This is a darker trip into the cosmos with Vincent Caylet (V, Monks of the Balhill) than previous releases. Vincent's wordless vocals echo endlessly into a chasm of reverberating haze on the opener and on the second track his voice tracks beams of pulsing electricity and heavy blasts of fuzz. Sold out at source. 

With an album already out on Scarcelight, this laptop-totting group features Richard Francis (Sandoz Lab Technicians), Rosy Parlane, Tim Coster, Mark Sadgrove, Clinton Watkins and Paul Winstanley, and this cdr features a live recording from June 2006. Computer-generated drones and loops of ringing feedback provide the background for frenetic burst of machine chatter.

"At last, a new LP from Chicago's spacepunk purveyors--! Following 06's sprawling double concept LP, 'No Wonderland," this is perhaps their most consistent and paint peeling statement yet. These tracks were captured with little studio trickery, in a live-type fashion--a set of bellowing free-fest scuzzrock, biker boogie, kraut-style dirges, cosmic communal jams, and fist pumping no-anthems. This is easily the most seriously rocking Plastic Crimewave Sound line-up yet, with hot new leads courtesy of Nick D'vyne, and the solid backbone of PCW (guitarscrawl, yelps) Mark Lux (bass rumblage, electronix) and Lawrence (Skog Device) Peters-(drum). Folks have actually been clamoring for this line-up to lay it down to wax (especially the aforementioned anthemic cut "Shockwave Rider") for some time, so get ready to explode into space. Limited edition - one time pressing." (Eclipse)

Pneumatic Consort / Johann Wlight split cdr (Larkfall) 3

Pneumatic Consort is a side-project of Xenis Emputae Travelling Band and evokes a similar air of ancient landscapes and ways but using recorders and flutes (and sounding very 'Wicker Man' with it) instead of his usual naturalistic drones. The Johann Wlight track is one of his best: birdsong and outside bustle build into a seething mass of atmospheric drone with a melodic plinking interlude - gorgeous stuff from both.

Split cdr featuring 2 Finnish bands with contrasting styles. The Orchestra build huge static-charged pulsating drones, injected with occult energy. The second half of the disc belongs to the dreadfully-named Body Odour who grind out bass-heavy black metal chords as if trying to slow time to a standstill. 

The Polyps - Isla & Elma cassette (Digitalis) 1.50

Quirky bedroom pop from Raf Spielman of the Golden Hours. The kind of fuzzed-out over-the-limit home recordings you thought had gone the way of 8 track cartridges ... introspective fragile laments with melodica mingle with ramshackle pop with cranked-up gutar and rudimentary percussion. Nice hand-painted sleeves.

Ramona Ponzini & Z'ev - Ankoku cd (A Silent Place) 9.50

A postal collaboration between Ramona Ponzini (Painting Petals on Planet Ghost / Praxinoscope) and English sound manipulator Z'ev. The title means "deep darkness" and it's most appropriate. Ramona's Japanese chants and bells are deconstructed into soporific tones, layered swarming mantras and warped slowed-down tones. Z'ev provides an oppressive layer of electrical hum and hiss and silvery swoops of metallic whir. 

Power Pill First - Extra Life cd (Gymnastics / Graveface) 0.50

During their renovation for the next series of Doctor Who, a fault occured with some cybermen. Instead of planning to dominate the earth as emotionless killing machines, they mutated into an army of synthesizers! No more spreading of deadly rays, their armoury is now oscillation, ring modulation and envelope filtering. They staged an attack in my room earlier and I at once surrendered to the relentless pounding of their beat, the sweeps and swoops of their tonal bursts, the mind-scrambling cuts from track to track. They may be calling themselves Power Pill Fist on this record, but we know better, we know their aims and they are winning! (JC)

Fletcher Pratt - Mind Gunk Vol 14 cassette (Digitalis) 6

"when you've got 13 previous installments of a series under your belt, you obviously know what you're doing.  fletcher pratt's "mind gunk" series is definitely no exception.  as with previous beasts, vol. 14 is an epic maze of tape collage, synth sprigs, acoustic skronk and general analog chaos..  it's all over the map and you're likely to lose your head along the way, but isn't a little fun always worth the risk? " (Digitalis)

Praxinoscope 

• s/t pic disc LP (A Silent Place) 6

also: My Cat is an Alien, Painting Petals on Planet Ghost, Roberto Opalio

A comprehensive overview of this Melbourne band and their offshoots, including singles and live recordings, from 1979-82. It's pounding beatbox, buzzsaw guitar and screaming keyboard with a vocal snarl of the PIL-Lydon variety. Although it's mostly male vocals, the girls in the band let rip too ("I want to tattoo my whole body so no one will give me a job" - now there's an opening line for you!) and their covers (Beat Goes On, Shout…) are really off the scale! (JC)

These are the first recordings made by Constantin Dubois (who runs the Nothing Out There label) and Aurelie Brouet. Recorded during winter in a cold bedroom, according to the insert, the sounds within do seem to be infested with chill air; abstract notes amid a lonesome spaciousness and heavy sense of foreboding and melancholy. 

Queen Elephantine are a New-York based duo and the tracks on this cassette sound like a doom-infested Gown at times, with deathly slow black chords ground out and wavering vocals. Later there are some Indian-tinged drones, acoustic guitar and a loose strung-out feel.

• Forever Bleeding Canyon Cloud cdr (Foxglove) 4.50

More shudderingly gorgeous otherworldly drift from Dublin's Timothy Hurley, also of Bonecloud. Bottom-of-the-well drone, a huge, enveloping fog of wordless vocal swarm and spooked choral clouds. 

• Living cdr (Leaf Trail) 5

Another lovely release on new Irish label Leaf Trail from another Boa favourite Quetzolcoatl, Dublin's Tim Hurley, who also runs the label. This is apparently made from piano pieces recorded over several years, then played back again and again by the sounds of it 'til severely distorted and creating a mass of dense ringing drone. I guess it's a bit like Charlemagne Palestine's "Strumming Music" played at the bottom of a well: warm womblike swells of sound with Hurley's Skaters'-esque vocal ecstasies floating in the interior. Gorgeous.

• Sleeping Within the Sun cdr (Phantom Limb) 4.25

"Easily one of the hardest working young artists in the free-form music world today, Tim Hurley, aka Quetzolcoatl, has been releasing his sonic bliss like a hundred flowers blooming.  Luckily, he stopped by our garden and gave us this collection of works, a cosmic swirl of keyboard pulses and vocal loops.  Guaranteed to make you nod out and then undergo some powerfully transformative dreaming.  " (PL)

Donovan Quinn & the 13th Month

• 7" (Soft Abuse) 1.50

San Francisco's Donovan Quinn is known for his work with Skygreen Leopards & collaboration with Glenn Donaldson. Here, his solo songs make me think of Peter Perrett - indeed "The Rabbit Tracks" is a bit like the country-ish side of Hefner with the Only Ones front man singing instead of Darren Hayman! The end result is rather good too. (JC)

• s/t cd (Soft Abuse) 7.50

Debut full-length from the Skygreen Leopards' member. Sun-baked West Coast loner country with a wonderfully loose, stoned feel. His band includes Karl Bauer of Axolotl and Jason Quever of Papercuts. The kind of leftfield songwriter stuff Time Lag has been releasing recently. 

Solo tape by a member of Death Chants. Solo minor-key guitar, spacious & melancholy in a Heathen Prayers / Loren Mazzacane-Conors vein.

Free improv music which encompasses jazz influences, a tinge of acid rock and that rather fascinating jumping-off point where punk artists melded their edginess with the feeling that their music could go almost anywhere. Moments here made me think of the feel the Raincoats caught with Odyshape, although most of this is instrumental, so that's more an impression than any direct similarity. The main instruments here are drum and guitar, with Rhodes keyboard sounds, a Damo-esque vocal or two and, throughout, a very strong sense of groove. (JC)

Solo recordings by Eric Hardimann of Burnt Hills / Century Plants. Ghostly oscillations and weird atmospheric fluctuations in the midst of a great fogged fuzz. 

• Rusted Prayers Converge cdr (Tape Drift) 5.50

This is Eric Hardimann (Burnt Hills / Century Plants) debut solo release. Effects-laden solo guitar that sounds subaquatic - ghostly & nauseous swirls.

Jimb Currin (who runs the United Fairy Moons label from New Zealand), with 3 additional musicians including Tim Cornelius of Sandoz Lab Technicians. This is really beautiful: highly charged atmospheres and a secretive music - a quiet and eerie mix of strings, melodica, harp and voice. The songs send shivers up your spine and other tracks are more improv in nature with sawing violin, 'cello and voice. Highly recommended.

Rmeaajlimk - Orphans All Around Us cdr (MYMWLY) 2

 "Post gig jam with stay up late members of blank realm and 6majik9 , melding blowout afterglow laziness with trance divination to smack a gleam of freedom.
Stumbling clatter and teased out noise , hitchhiking trumpets , electronic fuckery and so forth." (MYMWLY)

Two Horses follows on from Andy Robbins' instrumental tape (which was well received at the Melodybar) in fine style. This is an album of songs - very good they are too - and one long, driving instro. to finish. There's elements of psych-pop, drone-folk and old country blues going on here. I'm thinking that I might be hearing some nods to Bert Jansch, Will Oldham and Tyrannosaurus Rex, but I only mention these as a rough outline. There are really nice textures, from violin & 'cello, electronics and autoharp and, all in all, this album is one I can recommend quite easily. (JC)

Robedoor - Shrine to the Possessor LP (Music Fellowship) 12

"New batch of brutal minimalism from Robedoor on their first vinyl full length, Shrine to the Possessor. This one is pure darkness - no light, no air, just tortured souls and echoed cries. Three epic droning processionals built from the heaviest, thickest low-end tones. The sound of indentured servants from a scorched dustbowl wasteland. Caveman aesthetic pushed to its limits by recording to eight analog channels. Recorded by Bobb Bruno at Bored Fortress HQ in Eagle Rock, CA. Artwork by Andy Spore. Includes silkscreened 11x17 poster. Limited and numbered to 500." (MF)

An epic epistle from two of LA's finest: 3 tracks from Pocahaunted, 4 from Robedoor and one collaboration. The Pocahaunted tracks are very fine indeed as always - zoned dirge lullabies with those ghostly female vocals hovering several miles above the earth. Robedoor unleash more of their noxious gas-drones. The collaborative track ends the double on a particularly malevolent note with a doom-laden siren song.

It would be a lazy reviewer who simply compared this to another contemporary female singer-songwriter (insert Scout Niblett or similar name here). Yes, this will appeal to fans of these artists, but this is a distinctive voice which has a smoky haze to it more reminiscent of Karen Dalton and the style would've sat well on the Electra label in its pre-corporate days. A new voice to welcome warmly. (JC)

suave polo neck pop in a similar vein to post Neu! fixation Stereolab - bubbly keyboards, liquid-hipped basslines and Cinecitta soundtrack quirkiness and Anthony's understated vocals - on the split Testbild serve up a cheery number with fiddled-with vocals and catchy keyboards melodies a-go-go 

Guitar / feedback tones ring out with storm-clouds-on-the-horizon intensity or the disquieting calm of mist lingering in hollows. Rory Storm has released cdrs on United Fairy Moons and Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. Recommended.

Another excellent missive from New Zealand's Rory Storm. Outsider songwriting with scouring guitar and some malfunctioning electronic interludes. 

My first thoughts when I heard the opening piece here related it to Colleen's album of pieces constructed from old musical box sounds. A quick glance at the liner note explains why: Singing Tower uses an automated carillon as its sound source. The other two pieces on the album call upon an old player piano, an optical film reader and some musical boxes. The approach to the sounds is very different from the Colleen record, being more about extended space and sustain than building structure. This is a record that calls for detailed listening to appreciate the loveliness of all that is within - and there's plenty to discover. (JC)

• Raag Manifestos cd (VHF) 7.50

• LP (Tequila Sunrise) 12.50

Reissue of the recent Archive cd, which sold out pretty quick. This comes in just as beautiful packaging as that cd did. This features Jack playing lap steel guitar, from ragtime to raga, and is thrilling stuff as usual. Highly recommended.

• I Do Play Rock 'n' Roll LP (Three Lobed) 14

While jack rose's compositional skills are always clear and apparent, observing one of his live performances allows even the most casual of listeners to be exposed to his works in an entirely new light. when played for an audience, rose's compositions are given time to stretch out and display an improvisational punctuation. various live tracks have popped up over the course of rose's discography, but i do play rock and roll is his first complete album of live material. I do play rock and roll's forty-one minutes are comprised of only three tracks meticulously selected from jack's live archives. an epic workout of "calais to dover" (originally appearing on 2005's kensington blues) recorded in 2006 starts the whole affair with a bang. the follow-up is documentation from a 2004 appearance on VPRO-fm in the form of "cathedral et chartres." the disc's closer, "sundogs" is a real treat. previously available only as a studio performance on the seminal by the fruits... triple LP compilation, it takes on a whole other twenty-two minute grinding, droning life live. This disc will be released on vinyl by three lobed recordings in september 2008 from a limited edition of 1000 copies. the LP will be on 180g RTI vinyl and housed within an "old style" high gloss LP cover." (3 Lobed)

• The Black Dirt Sessions LP (Three Lobed) 17.25

Great new album from Jack Rose that encompasses ragtime on "Fishtown Flower" which also features jaunty piano, melancholic folk blues, expansive raga, wonderful finger-picking and a new version of the epic "Cross the North Fork" from "Kensington Blues".

Jack Rose & The Black Twig Pickers - s/t LP (Klang Industries) 15

Excellent new album of hoe-downs, Appalachian fiddle tunes, ragtime, some great finger-picking and fiddle-playing and some Jack Rose originals. Heavy vinyl.

RST - Axes cd (Last Visible Dog) 6

New album hot on the heels of the epic 3 cd set on CPsiP earlier this year - immense charged hum and earth-shifting drone

Rural Tradition - s/t LP (Dorset Paeans) 10

Here's a record that manages to sustain a sense of wonder and naive charm without becoming effete or twee on the way. A wheeze of accordion and chiming glockenspiel, Julian Poidevin's voice, guitar the ambience of 4 track cassette are captured intimately in shimmery fragments of song. I'll avoid any comparisons here by saying that this music sits more comfortably alongside Ivor Cutler, Oliver Postgate soundtracks and early Medicine Head than it does with the singer/songwriter end of things. Charming. (JC)