Hey folks!! How you doing? I'm fine, thanks for asking. So another week of Normo-towers madness spawns another fine fine selection of kick ass rekkids that will no doubt amuse and delight in equal measure. The big news is the arrival of the new Piano Magic record, it's a beauty i tell thee and fully worthy of the ultimate Normo-accolade, that being the illustrious title of record of the week. The new Fuck Buttons album is also all up in the house! The office staff are still trancing out to that little baby. We've also had a bunch of exciting bits from Touch Records and an excellent selection of limited tapes from the always reliable Blackest Rainbow. Personal favourites this week are the White Shit EP, the amazing Zun Zun Egui debut and a tasty little split 10" from Cave and California Raisins.....Oh happy days. We are also rocking another Normo-super-sale (one weekend only kids!!) with 40% off a shed-load of titles (10,000 titles yo!!!) ensuring furrowed brows and early starts all round come Monday morning at Normo-HQ. So good luck with the virtual rummage through the Normo-bargain baskets and i'll catch you on the flipside. Peace out yo! Business Lady. x

Well that incredibly busy chap Glen Johnson returns with a new full length CD under his much beloved Piano Magic guise and surprise, it's an absolute gem from start to finish! I can definitely hear influences from Coil to prime dark wave Depeche Mode in these haunting gothic tinged songs but the sheer depth & richness of the music on 'Ovations' suggests something more tribal & majestic. There's a discreet Eastern influence in parts, for instance the slinky 'March of the Atheists' suggests an Arabian-esque era Banshees with Ian Curtis on vocals but with some awesome swooping strings blowing on the undercurrent. The next track changes tack completely, employing a hard itchy electronic beat with bursts of guttural guitar shearing & mesmerising vocals. I'd normally be a little repelled by that kind of "electro goth" sound but somehow, 'On Edge' really appeals to me, its juxtaposition of atmospherics & intensity married with a warm, powerful production makes for arresting listening. I can see why Glen & his myriad projects are so popular now, he's the definitive craftsman, the grace & passion he injects into his records, each one a true, beautifully rounded collection, showcases an unstoppable talent with a finely tuned ear for neuron tingling detail. Big nods to Joy Division and the early 80s overcoat brigade, and why the hell not? A real treat.....

I've been waiting a while for this Zun Zun Egui EP to arrive and it's been totally worth the wait. For those of you who have not encountered the band before I advise you to check them out next time they tour. Highly skilled and super enthusiastic players ZZE are a total treat for the ears. They mash up western and eastern influences so effortless it's hard to believe that the band are still in their infancy. So 'Bal La Puossiere' is their first three track EP released on 12" through Black Tapes and it's a corker! 'Chunk and Swirl' is a kaleidoscope of sounds and influences (afro beat, tropicalia, no-wave, punk rock, Krautrock to name a few) jostling for position with afro-grooves and eastern guitar pickery enticing the listener toward the dancefloor. The best is saved for track two ('Brown Mao') that tastefully reinterprets the call and response afro-funk of Fela Kuti at his best before departing for a quick once around the solar system, it's a blissfully spaced out number that perfectly captures the band as you might hear them live. Final track 'Sun God' can only be described as beautiful. Kushal Gaya's (formally a member of the under appreciated Designer Babies) vocal enthuses and inspires the band to play with wisened skill and ingenuity. They pack in more tangents than the Magic Band at their most insane whilst keeping that rhythm locked down solid. Think Captain Beefheart, The Boredoms, Warrior, Fela Kuti and The Mars Volta and you'll get a vague (and I mean vague...) idea of where these kids are coming from, totally amazing stuff. My pick of the week fo' sure!!! I wish them all the luck in the world and look forward to the next opportunity to see them live.

Brett thinks he's that guy who thought he was Superman in that episode of Press Gang that was on telly that time

I think the odds were kind of stacked against Bad Lieutenant from the start.. An awful name (though Brian's uncle liked the film), a dodgy premise (Barney Sumner and the bloke from Marion on the acoustics, bringing out the latent beauty of the former's ever-rich, soulful voice) and a rubbish last New Order album all point to the Ohdearmometer becoming overloaded before 30 seconds is up. Well actually I suppose it does some sort of job if jangly MOR dadrock is what you're after. Not horrific, but painfully average (which may well be a worse crime).. There were Electronic album tracks that were loads better than this. How the mighty have fallen.

Genius Loci have an intriguingly packaged CD out on Acrobiotic called The Psychogeographical Commission, the picture we've got kind of makes it look like a three panel foldout map thing but it's actually a slimline DVD case job with the map printed on the inside of the sleeve and a little foldy insert. It's all about London. I know that 'cos the map is of a bit of London and some of the tracks are called things like 'Fires of London' and 'Camden Book of the Dead'. High concept! As are the influences, most notably the neofolk of David Tibet's Current 93 who this fella's singing/speaking voice is a real dead ringer for. Instrumentally its often based largely around watery guitar arpeggios and a submerged feel which makes me think of bad lads running around the capital in pairs with one of them getting on all fours behind people while the other pushes their victim from the front, watching them as they trip, screaming and cursing their delinquent foes, into the yukky old Thames where they'll flail about wildy with strands of poo stuck in their hair. It's probably more about murderers and depressing stuff, but still. It's pretty good stuff.

It's probably fair to say that I don't really get No Age. I think some of their stuff's alright but I've never been able to understand quite the level of hype and adulation they've had from the start. But 'Losing Feeling' I'm liking. The title track is much hazier than anything I've heard of them before, reminding me of the likes of Deerhunter or (as Brian suggests) early Mercury Rev - all vague and dreamy but with a hint of garagey harshness. Elsewhere they come up with a strummy ballad, an ambient psychedelic instrumental and one that sounds bizarrely like post-shoegaze chancers My Vitriol (but better, to be fair). I'm pleasantly surprised I've got to say! And Sub Pop continue to show how it's done - wrapping it all up in a thick cardboard sleeve with a picture inner sleeve, chucking in a download code and keeping the price down to boot. Nice job!

I'm taken by the new Stefan Kushima tape on Blackest Rainbow before it's even started since it comes on a purple wow cassette and features lovely squidy artwork. Respect to the palette selector for we have attained colour nirvana! I think I've enjoyed Stefan's stuff before but it gets hard to remember things in here, it seems likely that I have because Magnetic Levitation release is a crackerjack victoryfest of bonzer noisy psychedelic droning. Its smacked-up hallucinatory darkness is making me drift off, deep in thought of black suns, pink skies and red grass. Mint!

Sabu Toyozumi and Mototeru Takagi are new names to me but they've got a new double LP out on the ever-lovely Qbico. It's very free stuff indeed, with Takagi's sax either honking manically like the most sonically aggressive work of Arthur Doyle, John Zorn or Evan Parker or displaying a surprisingly subdued clarity of tone when he feels the need, while Toyozumi skitters and bangs and skitters away in a largely puncuatory style. When they come in together though, that's the fucking stuff! Free jazz that somehow manages to retain a distinctive Japanese avant-garde flavour despite the traditional Western instrumentation. As for the office jazz hater, Phil reckons it's 'the sound of someone going insane'.

The ever-mighty Shackleton returns, post-Skull Disco and now residing in Berlin whose Perlon imprint have packaged up his new triple 12" in fine style. Three EPs had me really excited from the sample stream that was kicking around a month or so back and it kicks off excellently with '(No More) Negative Thoughts' based around a fleet-footed dub bassline, cutting stabs, littered handclaps and the insistent repetition of a word which could either be 'cancel' or 'council'.. Sounds like someone's not had his bin emptied. I'm not gonna go through every track so I'll get more general with it: although the sub-bass is still present and correct there's more of an emphasis on a traditional bass sound (dub gone super agile), warped and cut vocal samples feed in and out (almost in a Burial style from time to time), the Eastern sound is still there (toned down ever so slightly and given a more pronounced sci-fi inflection), it sounds like he's getting a little into that 'future garage' style at times and as ever, he's teaching everyone a thing or two about a satisfyingly spacious mix. To cut directly to the chase, I think this is the best stuff he's ever done - minimal in sound but with maximal atmospherics, fitting in with the Perlon sound whilst being instantly recognisable and forging new paths for techno, dubstep, 'bass music' or whatever, seemingly effortlessly, in the process. A staggering work of epic genius!

BORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!! Have gone a bit odd on the first of their series of three 'Heavy Rock Hits' 7"s on Southern Lord. Odd for them anyway, developing the hair metal influence apparent on Smile into a more shoegazey indie rock sound that has me reaching for the My Vitriol comparison for the second time this week.. You wait ages for a bus to come along etc. etc. Obviously '8' is loads better than that though, if only for Wata's epic twiddles - she's the queen of the mighty solo! 'Hey Everyone' revolves around the most simplistic of caveman beats and the bizarre of lyrics: they seem to be discussing some sort of unfortunate situation involving 'heavy castanets' in voices reminiscent of Kurt Cobain in the verses and Bobby Gillespie in the chorus. This probably doesn't sound very good in theory but there's definitely something about it in practice and it's Boris after all..

I love a bit of Rachel's, me. Funny how Rachel Grimes is in them and they're not named after her though.. Would you bloody credit it. Book of Leaves (For Solo Piano) is a gorgeous collection of shortish piano pieces which are thoroughly evoking an autumnal feel in my mind, it could just be the suggestive artwork and title or the fact that it was a bit nippy on my walk to work this morning but still, it's very fitting. The playing runs the gamut from plaintive, balladic chording to nimble key jumping, taking in styles both classical (neo and regular) and folky, all in the service of the lovely, peaceful and melancholy atmosphere.. It's making me delve into past happy autumns, collecting conkers, coming to the time of year when I realise Huddersfield Town won't be getting promoted this season, kicking piles of leaves to reveal dead tramps and all that. It's very, very nice!

Business Lady thinks wearing heels to work is her right as a human being

First up this week is 'A.Medic' by Disconcerts, a heavily tipped post punk group from London town. These guys are tearing it up '78 style! The drums sound like tin pots played by some hyperactive teen fueled by cider and cheap speed, the bass player serves up the the melody that perfectly compliment the aggravated vocal outbursts and razor sharp guitar riffs. The vocals come of sounding like a cunning mix of John Lydon and Eddie Argos and the majority of the tracks stink of Gang of four and early XTC. It's a pretty decent selection of upbeat tracks but I can't help but think that these guys are treading a well worn path. Saying that, all the elements are in the right place and i'm enjoying the general feel of this EP. I like this sort of thing very much, it'll probably appeal to those of you out there with a hankering for PiL, Gang Of Four, XTC, James Chance and the Contortions, Erase Errata and the like.

White Shit!!!! Ace name!!! This is a new outfit featuring the dudes from Big Business as well as Andy Coronado of Skull Kontrol and it's totally fucking sweet. Nine tracks of Big Business style rock with hints of Black Flag, Motorhead and The Dead Kennedys thrown in for good measure and all on one side of 12" vinyl. Recorded on the cheap with an emphasis on good raw takes, these tracks sound rough and rugged in the best possible way. Jared Warren's vocals (kinda Glenn Danzig infused with elements of Keith Morris) sound totally amazing and the riffage is second to none. I recommend this to anyone who wants to hear some inventive hardcore music, a rare and beautiful thing in the year 2009. The artwork is also worth a mention if only for the insert that depicts Obama observing a flying pig whilst dressed in futuro US border police get up, rifle included. The cover is equally as bemusing as it is amusing and no doubt, with another couple of listens, some form of scathing political commentary will present itself from behind the powerful riffs and general enthusiasm for RAWK!! Ace mini LP! If you don't buy this you've gone all wrong.

A Place to Bury Strangers, NYC loudest rock band (though i'm sure that accolade belongs to Sonic Youth) return with their second LP 'Exploding Head' with an emphasis on 'Total sonic annihilation!'. A Place to bury strangers (APTBS) have the uncanny ability to purge from the most likely of places (shoe gazing rock, Goth, 80's synth rock and pop, 80's british psychedelia) and transform those influences into a massive american rock assault. It's the ability to streamline and simplify these styles is APTBS greatest strength as a band and they do it rather well. Single 'In your heart' is the best example of this theory in action, they take the best elements of Joy Division and ramp everything up to great effect. The guitars are wildly frantic in Kevin Shield's kinda, the bass playing is pure hooky and the drums sound like all machine like with the added heaviness of them being played by a real human. As well as being obscenely loud they also show a keen ear for melody which is apparent on 'Keep slipping away' and 'Losing feeling' as well as the aforementioned single. The recording is impressively loud and screechy, especially on 'Ego Death' where we are treated to some super wailing guitars and some intense sonic manipulation. A great record that will appeal to shoe-gazey, gothy types and anyone with a love for both Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine at the same time. Not bad for a major label band yo!

I missed Fuck Buttons recent tour which is was really bummed out about as I saw a Primavera last year and thought they totally killed! That set was enough for me to dig deep and invest in their last album 'Street Horrrsing' who's strange combination of ambient and dance influences I found totally refreshing, like a more enthusiastic version of Growing. After the immense amount of praise that 'Street Horrrsing' received I'm not surprised to hear that Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power have made a valiant effort to up the ante and produce something truly special for album number two. The big news is the induction of legendary DJ, producer and remixer Andrew Weatherall who has taken on the role of producer and sculptor of 'Tarot Sport'. Weatherall's presence can be heard clearly on an album that takes the original analogue Fuck Buttons formula and pushes it into the digital age. 'Tarot Sport' doesn't necessarily suffer for it but it definitely sounds like a hi-def dance record as opposed to the mutant lo-fi effort that was 'Street Horrrsing'. Single Surf Solar mangles up some old house vocal motif whilst adding layers of synth ambience to create a massive tune that is good for both dancing and tripping out on the hammock. 'Rough Steez' is a favorite as it utilizes some really strange loops and has a totally nutty beat. Elsewhere we hear familiar Fuck Button's themes manipulated and tidied up for the dance floor without sacrifying what made them so special in the first place. Certainly a step up for the band.... I wonder what these tunes will sound like live? Mint I hope.

So, i didn't realise Germany had a hidden penchant for funky ass groove but that seems to be the case as i'm presented with a compilation of teutonic funk grooves, disco and boogie courtesy of Marina Records in the form of 'D-Funk - Funk, Disco and Boogie Grooves from Germany'. These tracks date from 1972 to 2002 and span all manner of funky sounds from cheesy dancefloor fillers to more sophisticated contributions. The first few tracks kick things of with some super stylized dancefloor disco funk from the likes of Boney M, Veronika Fisher & Band and Discotizer & Supermax. Cheeseslider's 'Sweatmajor' brings the true funk sound of the seventies to the mix with it's fusion of Funkedelic and Kool and the Gang influences. This is complimented with the Meters style instrumental workout of Charley Antolini's Power Dozen 'Jumping'. Smoother numbers are supplied by Fehlfarben and Stolen property who flex a damn fine rendition of War's 'Low rider'. I'm particularly taken by Zatopek's Pigbag style 80's no-wave outbursts on 'Dispo funk' and the P-funk madness of Montana Chromeoboy's 'War on the bullshit'. So, rare gems and funky rarities a plenty. If you're a fan of Marina's previous collections then this will no doubt be of interest to you but this'll suit anyone with a itch for a funky-ass groove. Get foonky yo!

The new The Pains of Being Pure At Heart isn't very hardcore, which is a shame..... The good news is that they've finally come up with a different piece of cover art to adorn there growing output of singles. 'Higher Than the Stars' is another strong indie pop single from these highly tipped Brooklyn cutie's. It's a classically dreamy pop number with overtly self depreciating, romantically savvy lyrics and layers of sleek production. It reminds me of the soft synth pop tunes of Future Islands. B-side '103' points more in the direction of messy, fuzzed up shoe-gazing pop. The production sounds cheap and simple which really compliments the tune and again, these guys and girls are delivering on hooks, big time. The single finishes with an Others in Conversation remix of 'Higher Than the Stars'. I find remixes of indie pop tracks to be a little pointless but this sounds pretty cool to me yet I know nothing of Others in Conversation so it's difficult to comment upon at length. Another strong single that will no doubt serve the band and their emerging fan base well.

I Like Trains are Leeds' very own bleak pop pioneers. New single 'Sea of Regrets' is a song inspired by the environmental musings of natural scientists James Lovelock and George Monbiot and seems to touch on themes of a doomed human race. It's the first single from thier new self produced/released LP expected later this year. It's a thoughtful track that builds to an epic crescendo thanks to layers of violins, cellos and soaring guitars. It's like a particularly reflective Editors single and it's the best track i've heard by the group since their inception. B-side 'The Spark' touches on previous musical themes and has that waltz feel of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 'Murder Ballads' LP. It's a short but effective track that compliments the A-side perfectly. Very nice, though still a little bleak chaps.

We've got a couple of 3" cd's from the excellent Rusted Rail label this week. I've been assigned 'The Shadow is That Hidden' EP from Yawning Chasm, a one man bedroom producer and songwriter (and one half of Mirakil Whip) Aaron M. Coyne. This is beautifully crafted, hypnotic folk of the like you don't hear much nowadays. Simple guitar motives are punctuated by thoughtful and reflective vocals and executed in short sharp doses. Some of the additional guitar effects and sounds help push these formal sounding tracks into the space zone. This is particularly apparent on opener 'To the void' and 'Tumble River' that have a slight Syd Barrett feel to them. Sort of reminds me of my fave solo artist of the moment, Ducktails sans all the mashed up sound experiments and such. Blissful musings and beautiful melodies, what more could you ask for eh? Not much....

We also got a bunch of tapes from the equally as consistent Blackest Rainbow records this week. I get 'The Thinner the Air' which is the first tape release from the awesome Heavy Winged. Recorded back in late 2007 this is a document of the band in full practice space mode. The two tracks 'Against Ocean walls' and 'Mesmer Crush' are spread over both sides of the tape and once you get beyond the incredibly lo-fi recording you'll no doubt be pleased with what you hear, as i am. It kicks of with some thunderous riffage!!! This is punctuated with more ambient moments throughout but the best bits are when the band are going hell for leather on the riffs yo. The ambient parts are kinda spaced out and minimal yet only serve to emphasise the sweetness of the rocking moments and bring much needed dynamic to this rough and ready tape jam. I'm liking this alot, time to dust of the old tape player yo!

Ant thinks bus drivers have got it in for him

It's not often we get CDs from Malaysia, but this Goh Lee Kwang CD came right across the planet and landed in our stereo system and what a joy it is. At least to these ears. Hands begins with some really cool synths that sound like racing cars accelerating. Then we're into crackling and bubbling electronics with a primal beat that Brett says "sounds like someone that has had a lobotomy banging on a cell". You know I've never heard of this sound artist before but I really dig what I'm hearing. I'd recommend this for anyone into experimental synthesis type gear. You can really just lose your self in the abstract sounds and build your own little universe, and I always reckon with this type of stuff you're only limited by your imagination as this is such a colorful palate of alien sounds. The sounds of machines speaking to each other in some coded language on 'Tape 1' would give the likes of Hecker's computer music a run for its money. Out on his own Herbal International label. Impressive stuff.

Yet more gear in on the Experimedia label and this one has a lovely sleeve with ice crystals all over it and it's by Shinobu Nemoto. 'Improvisations #1' has real nice feel about it with crystalline tones that almost echo the patterns and icy beauty of the sleeve photography. From the first track it really builds right up from very little and then really gets going with swirls of organ type drone and lovely dripping fluid sounding electronics, there's a faint amount of fuzz giving it an extra dynamic. I'm really enjoying this. The album continues with a fairly similar winning formula throughout i.e. building layer upon layer as the tracks slowly unfold and give off some really cool vibes. Totally chilled and will have you freezing your knackers off over the coming winter.

Agitated Radio Pilot (David Colohan and cohorts) has a limited 3" CD called A Field Day out on Ireland's Rusted Rail label and it's a 6 track EP of earnest singer songwriter gear that straddles a folkish vibe. Our Business Lady is laughing at the lyrics, I heard a mention of watching Withnail and I which is always good. The musicians play piano, melodica, accordian , banjo etc. and it all sounds really quite delicate leaving plenty of space for the songman to do his thing. If were into the Slow Loris disc then give this a whirl. It's no happy ride mind but a goodie to weep into the whisky glass to.

The prospect of Al Cisneros of Om/ Sleep playing in the same band as Dale Crover from The Melvins almost made soil myself with excitement. Add Scott "Wino" Weinrich from Saint Vitus etc. and Scott Kelly from Neurosis both on guitars and you have Shrinebuilder. A metal supergroup some might say. There are elements of the album that I really dig and make me wanna punch the air but it's a bit of a mixed bag really. There's certainly elements of each players style but it doesn't come across as particularly like any of the players respective bands except one track which is very Om sounding but to be fair Al never really veers far from his thing that often. So this really sounds like a totally new band rather than some novelty collaboration. As you'd expect there are some monster riffs and the pace is suitably slow and heavy as they chug and pound away. There's even a psychedelic element coming through at times and then there's just total meathead metal growling that made me want to wear leather pants the first time I heard it. The promo CD we have is one track short so I'm unsure what we're missing there. This certainly has its moments though. Out on Neurot.

I'm fairly sure Simon Scott is a name that will be familiar to many of you as a member of The Charlottes, Slowdive, Televise etc. Well he has a spankingly delicious solo CD called 'Navigare' out on Miasmah and what a fine specimen it is. Applying all the haze of his shoegaze history to moving and vivid experimental ambient music really works a treat. He creates an ultra dreamy state of consciousness before 'Flood In' kicks in with it's lush repetitive beat that carries the layers of decaying crackles. Some of the heavier sounds give me the feeling of being a drop of water traveling through the weather system. Some of the dissolving textures really hit the spot. This is the type of stuff I really enjoy after a hard days work, I put the headphone on while I'm on the bus making my journey home and for just under an hour I'm no longer on the bus but in a different world completely. To throw a spanner in the works the CD and LP both have different final tracks on them.

Makoto Kawabata/Kawabata Makoto??? Why do some releases by Japanese artists have the first and second names the opposite way around? It confuses me/me confuses. Anyway the talented man has an LP out on Qibico and here he's in his finest, ultra subtle medatitive mode. Apparently the recording was done way back in 2003/2004 and it's a superbly crafted piece of shimmering ambient guitar work. To think that Under Your Moonshine was created with electric guitar alone with no overdubs is quite amazing, a real testament to his skills. What I really like is that lurking deep with in there is a kind of magical Japanese flavour where I imagine the ghosts of fallen samurai. Lovely stuff as I've come to expect from this dude when he's not blazing amps and scorching the psychedelic wail with Acid Mothers.

I got some really cool stuff this week which pleases me. This fellow on the cover of this Ouled Bambara: Portraits Of Gnawa CD/DVD set on Drag City looks like an all round cool geezer. Gnawa music is the sounds that accompany tagnawit, a tradition that involve deeply spiritual ceremonies with clairvoyants that trance out to the music. Sounds way cool to me. Apparently the Gnawa are considered an underclass in Moroccan society, much in the same way as chavs, bogans and guidos who also trance out to music. The difference is that they don't battle evil spirits and are not remotely involved in healing. The music is really quite uplifting and cheerful and not as spooky as I imagined it would be. It's very percussive with some great rhythms. Anyway you should totally check it out. I bet the DVD rules but I've not watched it.

Blackest Rainbow Records speak the truth when they say the Pine Smoke Lodge's Cranberry Horn cassette is dark, bleak, mysterious and mystical. This is some proper lost in the dark forest with foreboding fog type nightmare stuff. It's like one of those bad dreams that you you don't want to wake from because you want to know what will happen next. It flows wonderfully as little spooky sounds are introduced into the mix. It's kinda like wading through vegetation and swamps listening to your heavy breathing and pounding heart. Pretty awesome stuff from this mysterious act that have previously had stuff out on Existential Cloth. Limited edition as always. Recommended.

Some downtown NYC free improv-racket fun from White Out with Jim O'Rourke and Thurston Moore is available on Ecstatic Peace. 'Senso' is a 2CD Set that was recorded at the Tonic Club New York back in 2004. It's totally all over the place clattering drums and oddball guitar and other unidentifiable sounds,effects. They sound like they're having a blast. It's quite out there with even a free jazz edge to the percussion. At various points it sounds totally deranged which is always good.

Starless and Bible Black have their 'Shape Of The Shape' album out on Static Caravan (well the CD, vinyl is through Locust I'm told). It's quality moody stuff actually. Business lady was reminded of Crosby Stills and Nash/ Neil Young and Phil reckons it may well appeal to fans of Marissa Nadler. Female fronted, easy on the ear folkie/ country-ish rock/pop that was recorded in North Wales. Most pleasant.

What on earth is going on... This Gowns record has some crazy lady singing about being sick in drugs in a car. Taking drugs in cars is bad. Bikes, helicopters, hovercrafts are fine, but never in cars. Anyway the music proceeds in unexpected ways with a cool sounding fucked up fiddle/ bagpipe sort of instrument. Drums are whacked frantically, swirls of feedback and such like. Sounds like an electric session down yonder at Southern Studios. Why isn't there a Northern Studios? If there was we'd hang out their throwing meat pies at southerners and setting our whippets on them. Oh this Gowns lot are pretty smart. 'Broken Bones' is on nice heavy vinyl and limited to 500.

 

Phil thinks a lot of fingerpicking

Finders Keepers are the bringers of many a compilation album to your door. They collect hard to find tracks together into one obi striped themed platter for you the consumer to enjoy. The Byg Deal is (I think) a collection of rare tracks from a label called BYG Records which existed between '68 and '74. It's a weird mix of people and styles on there as well... Featuring tracks by Gong (3 by them!), Brigitte Fontaine, Vangelis, The Art Ensemble Of Chicago and loads more. It's all very 70's American rock but with the added loveliness of flute or some French vocals here or there to quirk the tracks up. Thus they're elevated to maximum funstick capacity with those simple extra ingredients. Nice!! On 2 x LP and 1 x CD!! The track by Alice is well good.... Really reminds me of Can which is always a good thing!

Speaking of reissues Soul Jazz know their onions and here's another of their fine collections. This one is is called 'Can You Dig It? The Music And and Politics of Black Action Films 1968-1975'. You get 2 CDs with a small but fat book thing all wrapped up in cellophane or you can buy it on 2 double LP's. I have to say disc one is the highlight here... If not just to here Coffy by Roy Ayers again.. And believe me it's so not a chore to listen to 'Across 100th Street' by Bobby Womack. I could listen to that tune all day.... There's some amazing songs by loads of dudes on here. Disc 2 peeters off a wee bit and you could say a lot of these songs have been lumped together before. But maybe that's because they's some of the finest examples of the Blaxploitation genre and they're gonna be used though we did have a feeling that Soul jazz would have dug a bit deeper. Still it's a fantastic listen and it's well worth checking out!

I'm not familiar with Mark Bradley so I'm listening to Eternal, his new CD on Blackest Rainbow, with fresh ears. He's had bits out on Basses Frequencies and a CD out most recently on Reverb Worship but we've not heard that one yet. Too much music!! Anyway he makes some eerie spacey sounding electronics along the lines of Tangerine Dream and that sort of thing. It reminds Brian of some of the Nordic fellas who've had stuff out on Biosphere's label and I reckon it's gonna appeal to folks who have enjoyed the Oneohtrix Point Never stuff and maybe even some Zombi gear. Nice! I'm gonna check out his Reverb Worship CD out when I get a mo! 100 copies only!!

Here's a smashing neo classical CD by a fella called Richard Anthony Jay. It's called 'This Is What I Live For' and it's a fine example of beautiful chamber music. Lots of strings and pianos combine to make some really gorgeously moving arrangements. It's very emotive indeed and I'm reminded of folks like Yann Tiersen, Michael Nyman and Max Richter with the way the music builds and flows. It's all very maudlin and it's making me weep all over the huge pie I'm eating. Actually that's not strictly true (it's only a small pie....) but it's a highly emotive collection of pieces. If you're into neo classical gear then this is a must!! He's been making music for 20 years and here's his debut album so you know when someone spends that long on a record it's going to be worth it!

So I'm listening to Kill It Kid for the 1st time. I was slgihtly put off listening to 'em cos their name is shite. Looking at the fresh faced young picture of them on the back of the sleeve for 'Heaven Never Seemed So Close' I'm amazed they're making this complex bar room blues/boogie music which would make our Jools well proud. To be honest I'm reasonably taken aback as I didn't expect 'em to sound like that! They look too young to be making hoary old blues rock music like this.... The strings which smother it are an unusual addition which continues the astonishment. I genuinely don't know what to say about it....

I quite like this King Cannibal album on Ninja Tune. It reminds me of the kind of thing I liked a few years ago, got bored of, not heard of in ages and I now quite like it again 'cos no one is really doing this sort of thing these days. It's a mix of dancehall, grime, techno, drum n' bass smothered in darkness. Man, this is well dark.... It's not getting off with your mum dark... It's got that dark paranoid feel about it where you think someone is watching over you all the time. 'Virgo' is well Ghislain Poirier sounding what with the French rapping over it and the whole dancehall thing going on. I'm not sure why this is a CD only release?? I think perhaps most of the tracks have been out on vinyl before so it serves as a nice digital companion for those who can't be arsed with downloads. Still, there's no excuse for jewel cases in this day and age. Let The Night Roar is totally slicing..... Many thanks to the Ninja Tune label.

Brian thinks of the bottom of the glass as a beginning rather than an end

Leeds combo Just Handshakes (We're British) are to be commended for actually approaching the befuddled Auntie Norman and shaking some CDs at us whilst chanting in unison "sell these, we're great, your office is nice BTW, really peaceful" whilst sporting the sweetest of smiles & graceful manners. Not sure what to expect as the diddy things are tied so tenderly with ribbon & string that we're utterly terrified of opening the damn things with our fat, greasy manfingers so Brian "I hate computers" Dangerouses has opted to peruse their brightly adorned Myspace for glimpses into their tender indie worldview. 'Shipwrecks' is one of the 2 track singles they've delivered, a gentle swaying number with a remarkably gorgeous, fragile & childlike female vocal carried along by these playful minimal guitars, softly tumbling drums & a charming bobbing basslines, with the occasional discreet breeze of an organ popping up it's head - the nearest I can muster, comparison wise, is somewhere between Young Marble Giants, Vampire Weekend & fellow W. Yorks scamps Sky Larkin. A truly lovely tune. The other single is 'Paper Cranes' which has a rougher indie guitar sound embellished with some twinkly xylophone & more dreamy sing-song vocals from vocalist Clara. For some reason this reminds me considerably of a less dark Melys, the Welsh band John Peel used to adore. Just clean, timeless, sensitive indie pop with no frills, just pure & natural! Top marks for the loving presentation too...

Basillica come through with some quality turgid noise to hurt Uncle Brian's ears, the monging sound of an underground cavern being scraped out with shovels forged from the remains of concrete ghosts. Or the sound a rat in a damp alcove would hear if it was caught foraging in the wall recess of a murky pub backroom where some nihilistic sound sculptor was merging haunting guitar drone textures with industrial field recordings. Quite muffled, freeform & strangely inviting, this particular Basillica don't sound anything like the Roman religious temple they're (almost) named after. They sound like the dank sewer running beneath, infested with all forms of mutant bacteria & deformed denizens of the night. Haunting stuff, the nattily titled 'Rotting Desert Queen And Black Isolator Radar Strip' is on the ever stubborn Blackest Rainbow, ltd to 100.

Listening to the new Falty DL promo we've got is initially a disorientating exercise. The first track 'Made Me Feel So Right' has a proper fucked-up beat that sounds like a skipping CD player and loads of warped Burial style atmospherics lurking beneath. It is not exactly a club banger, if you tried to dance to this girls would laugh at you and you'd possibly get really depressed and think you've totally lost any sense of rhythm you ever had. There's some spot on blurred vocal snippets and eerie twinkles happening under the pissed garageisms though. 'Mother Beam' continues in that monged, staggered fashion with a sort of stripped back R 'n' B vibe, all cut-up and hazy but however, there's a really strong rhythm punching through. Things start getting even more twatted by the stunning title track, 'Bravery' - all bloopy synths, echo-ey vocal snippets, dreamy keys and at almost 2 minutes in it turns into a euphoric druggy disco blurter like FlyLo falling down some stairs after a bottle of Absinthe. Fucking A! There's loads more top ranking twisted material & progressive beatery on here, like the jazzy and eerie 'Tronman' with it's ominous, pulsing waves and funky percussive onslaught, a proper trippy beauty. If you like the LP he did you need this - more screwed up and thought provoking, plus the grooves 'n' myriad sonic trickery are well evocative & proper rinsin' like - i'd like to take this EP home and cuddle up with it some more, all those mad-ass spaced synths....ooh missus.

Khate is a lady from Virginia who likes to produce truly absorbing ambient music interspersed with mesmerizing sound design. Here she introduces her soundworld with a lovingly packaged LP on SMTG called 'Pareidolia'. From the off it's like listening to an old Biosphere album remixed by Machinefabriek, eerie pulses, ominous phasing and quiet aquatic burbles with those digital crumpling sounds going on we like so much, Later on there's a space hoover vacuuming up a lazerquest troop stuck in a metallic jungle, lovely tribal incantations are overlaid with these strange juddering blades of sound. 'Autumn' is a deliciously creepy dark ambient techno number with this ace little moody keyboard refrain - may be nods to SAW II by th' Twin - before it dissolves into more laptop scrunch & drifting, ghostly basslines, haunted klaxons and sleepy ambient melancholia. There's a really organic, rhythmic feel to this record with some simply wonderful sound applications. It all sounds like a real labour of love - 8 tracks produced in 4-5 years means an incredibly perfectionist mind is at work here, you can hear the feminine touch, some bits remind us of the hugely underrated Portable on Pole's ~scape records but with a darker outlook. Mastered by James Plotkin, i'm loving this LP, housed in a wicket screen printed sleeve.

The lovely Alasdair Roberts, one time Appendix Outer and now trad/contemporary folk blurrer extraordinaire, has a sweet new EP out on the hallowed Drag City. 'Wyrd Memes' is a most worthy companion to 'Spoils', being 4 essential fresh tracks, featuring mostly his tender, searching auld poetry, earthy K Yairi guitar, brief bursts of marching percussion & a discreet dusting of drifting atmospherics/fluttering electronics from his Yamaha synth. Other players quietly flesh out these heartfelt paeans to days gone by, but this man possesses such a strong presence, you're hardly gonna notice when your wrapped up in his magic. Tinged with a strange mysticism and an otherworldliness that is most sensual, Alasdair cements his reputation as one of modern folks most precious talents, here in the most devourable form, the classic 4 tracker. Hurrah!

Haha. How to damn your reputation in the space of one press release. Mention Alan McGee and Peter Hook in the same sentence, not to mention promote yourself as "electro rockers" & "the hottest undiscovered band in the UK". I love it when we get this kind of hollow, empty stadium toss. Isolated Atoms make Editors sound seriously edgy, they display the very worst elements of modern "indie", some inane drivetime chorus, a seriously comical Ian Curtis-lite vocal (truly preposterous, especially on 'Here We Go'), horrendous limp synths that sound so fucking dated I cannot believe they're being let into a studio and the glossy production you'd expect from the worst Europop chart pap. The big black dude in the band though, he's a rugged looking feller who looks so cool that you're kind of tempted to give them some kudos regardless. 'Tell Me What I Want' is a ltd 7" on the reliably excreble Weekender recs.

AND ON THAT BOMBSHELL xxx