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The Cherry Point & NVH, "Salt Killers"

The Cherry Point and Comets on Fire’s Noel von Harmonson create a monstrous cauldron of noise on this one-sided 7" record.

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11206 Hits

(retards) / Paul O'Reilly, "Ich bin ein Shitlander" / "Take Care of Each Other"

This split 7” features two very different artists from Dublin: Paul O’Reilly is a softly sung singer songwriter and (retards) are no wave disco funk electronica or something along those lines. This is a bit of a lukewarm release, not bad but not essential by any means.
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12517 Hits

John Clarke, "Rootsy Reggae / Visions Of John Clarke"

Packed with far more tunes than the typical Wackies re-release through Basic Channel, this extremely accessible CD comprising two long out-of-print albums will surely satiate reggae lovers.
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5855 Hits

Prurient, "Point and Void"

A record built from distorted, screaming renditions of Christian and Catholic prayers could’ve easily ended up buggering an already stiffened concept. Having already been thoroughly pillaged by bearded Norwegian sociopaths through the late eighties, this turns the concept into something beyond ineffectual ranting at the already converted. This re-released and reformatted six track disc sees Dominick Fernow spewing venom and generating tension.

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13419 Hits

Ben Reynolds, "Outmospheric Arts of the Outmosphere"

The new album from Ben Reynolds is almost more of a collection of alien beeps, hums, chimes, and drones than actual songs since there’s little melodic interplay between these elements. As an interpretation of the cosmos, however, it succeeds splendidly.
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9750 Hits

Henri Pousseur, "Musique Mixte 1966-1970"

The fourth Henri Pousseur CD in Sub Rosa’s Early Electronics series features two long works. Although his condensation of his own interpretation of the Faust legend has been heard infrequently, this is the premiere of "Crosses of Crossed Colors" and to me is the more intriguing and powerful of the two.

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9978 Hits

Quetzolcoatl, "The Eternal Electrical Flesh Storm"

Queztolcoatl is the one man noise project of Dublin’s Timothy. All of the releases I’ve listened to from his label, Haunted Tape, are heavily indebted to anything and everything on the similarly named American Tapes run by Wolf Eyes. This holds true for The Eternal Electrical Flesh Storm. Much of the hour or so of audio could be culled from anyone of the many lacklustre Wolf Eyes releases. It sounds to me like noise done for the sake of boredom.
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8283 Hits

Spires that in the Sunset Rise, "Four Winds the Walker"

This is a psychedelic folk four piece that from Chicago who combine a fin de siècle chamber style similar to Rasputina but stripped of any rock and pop pretensions. Blended with eastern tones and rhythms the result is a spectacular album.
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7542 Hits

Tolcha, "Gestalt"

This Berlin act's debut full length for the so-called "digi hop" label Meta Polyp astoundingly manages to simultaneously impress and tragically disappoint, making for a truly uneven listening experience all around.
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8952 Hits

Shit Robot, "Wrong Galaxy"/"Triumph"

Stuttgart-based Marcus Lambkin is one of the newest DFA members and as Shit Robot his 12" single is two sides of groovy 8+ minute genre-bending dance poop.
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9767 Hits

Theme, "Our Angels Dislocated"

For their second album, this trio utilizes traditional and exotic instruments that are refocused digitally into airy, minimalistic atmospheres with a quasi-mystical vibe that's geared more toward darkness than enlightenment.
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5120 Hits

Gabriel Paiuk, "Res Extensa"

Inspired by the low-volume, "marginal" sounds that make up the unconscious bed music of urban living, Paiuk creates a tape collage of musique concrète for the microsound/lowercase generation.
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5468 Hits

Peter Wright, "Red Lion"

Although Peter Wright is a talented musician who produces evocative drones, what separates his music on this album from others exploring similar territory are the field recordings underlying the mix which provide a narrative of sorts. If they don't add up to one grand tale, then it is these pockets of stories scattered throughout the album that lend it an emotional core.
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5439 Hits

Early Day Miners, "Offshore"

Daniel Burton recruits a talented cast, including members of Black Mountain and Windsor for the Derby, to expand a track from 2002’s Let Us Garlands Bring into a touching suite of songs surrounded by emotionally charged instrumentals.
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5442 Hits

"Touch 25"

To celebrate a quarter century of great compilations and albums by many exciting artists, Touch have released this new compilation. 25 exclusive tracks featuring most of Touch’s luminaries sum up both Touch’s history and mission perfectly while at the same time showing that Touch still know how to make a great compilation (an art that is neglected by nearly every other label).
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6156 Hits

Burial

The first time I heard Pole, I recall, I vividly sensed an odd feeling of simultaneous warmth and cold, washing over me in wave after wave of dubwise potency.
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8957 Hits

Magik Markers, "Red Tour 2006"

On this three-track food/petrol/strings funding release the band continue their rock and roll d/evolution. What the Markers do maybe easy to flippantly sum up, but it’s spat out as complex improvisational process. This trio take the roots of musical cultures, personal experience and labels and feed them with a row of cocktail shots and composted Ginsberg instead of the same old generic watery rock moves. The thing about Magik Markers is that while they refuse to stick the tried and tested templates, they are happy to batter new life into traditional trio instrumentation.

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5261 Hits

Barry Adamson, "Stranger on the Sofa"

A monologue labyrinthine enough to confuse David Lynch is performed by Anna Chancellor to open this album. The narrator could die at any moment, there is an organized operation controlling metaphysical principles beyond human recognition, and data is being processed in order fulfill some clandestine goal; Barry Adamson is still one strange customer, his music as varied as his imagination and resumé.
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7860 Hits

Yellow Swans, "Drift"

From what I had heard about the Yellow Swans, I expected this album to be harsh, with plenty of layers of static and distortion washing over all other sounds. While those elements are present to a certain degree, Drift is much more varied and better than I had hoped.
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7190 Hits

John Wiese, "Black Magic Pond"

Bastard Noise, Sissy Spacek, and Sunn O))) member John Wiese concocts an arsenal of blistering eruptions that’s sure to blow both eardrums and speakers alike.
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7297 Hits