Marcin Swietlicki is a poet who lives in the extreme in his native Krakow, in Poland. He has books with his poetry alongside underground photographers works, and he works as an editor in an art magazine. His band Swietliki (which translates to 'Fireflies') have out 3 albums, Ogrod Koncentracyjny 'Concentration Garden', Cacy Cacy Fleischmaschine 'Nice Little Meatgrinder', and now Perly Przed Wieprze 'Pearls Before Swine'. His sound is very intense, like a beat poet Nick Cave having Birthday Party nightmares. He sings in Polish, so you don't have to worry about the FCC with the language and imagery he uses. I think that he is a true world callss artist, and that the novely factor of him being Polish has little to do with his appeal to me. I hope that you will spend some time with this CD, maybe tape a copy or burn a disc. It's entirely worth such effort.

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

The latest full length by this Paris band that have out many records on Elefant (and one on Bungalow) but have seemed to avoid much attention by music listeners, outside of the great article on them in Chickfactor #11. In that article their vocalist Alex (she has a voice not too far from Claudine Longet with it's lisp & accent) talked about the history of the band since 1993 and the many events that have brought them to the present. In the Elefant website you can find that Alex was born in Madrid, has lived in London but now lives in Paris, & listens to Laura Nyro, Dusty Springfield, and Moose. She thinks Mark E. Smith is a genius, and Lawrence (of Felt & Denim) is a god. Jean-Baptiste, who plays guitar and writes, likes old books and wants to write like Tim Hardin, Nick Drake, and Tim Buckley along with Francious Hardy. He listens to Stereolab and Krautrock. This is in my opinion Spring's best record. I liked the Bungalow release ('Spring & Friends') a lot too, but feel that this record would be a wonderful addition to the playlist at WZBC. With all the current attention Dot Allison and Saint Etienne are getting, the time is ripe to put Spring on the airwaves where they can find new fans.

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

Follow-up to their LP, released as a 10" or CD. There are 6 songs here, and the band ( Hiroki: machines, Minori: vocals/guitar) seem to be getting more confident in their strange individual sound. I like them and find their off kilter songs to be a balm to my soul. The first song 'Inner Dead Point' is an (almost)instrumental that uses a bossa beat as its electronica launching point. It is much odder than anything that Stereolab might attempt. The second song 'Looked Through You in Mexico' is my fave on this disc. The third song 'Wafflehead' mixes up some totally seperate items into an electronic female vocal song with a beat surrounded by many outside elements,like dub, orbiting but seldom touching it so the song remains sparse. Songs 4, 5, & 6 make up the piece called 'See My Ghost'. Four is 'Day One: Tense', which is an instrumental that has an up front bass riff with electronic drum embelishment. Five ('Day Two: Adverse') is a very busy electronic instrumental that is confusing and hectic with sounds, not beats. The last song 'Extra Inning: Ms. Boo Boo's Return' is a somewhat peaceful resolve which has an almost traditional Chinese feel to it, like something from the soundtrack to The Last Emperor played by Arto Lindsay (in other words, made slightly dissonant and odd). Pop-Off Tuesday seem to be following the same muse Demi-Semi Quaver followed a few years ago on their 2 CD's on the God Mountain label. Like Demi-Semi quaver, Pop-Off Tuesday are definetely worth your time and effort.

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

New EP from Joe & Amanda of Wolfie (helped out by pal Jennifer). Busytoby play organ-dipped pop, harmonic chic, with 60s production values, & a Donovan cover ('The Sun is a Very Magic Fellow'). The label One Hundred GM Audio (which used to be known as 100 Guitar Mania) has of late had an unbelievably defined sound in the releases they put out. All their releases have the Elephant 6 sound without being based in Denver CO or Athens GA as most of the Elephant 6 bands are. One Hundred GM Audio HAS put out singles by the Denver and Athens bands, but they are also finding that same sound in a myriad of other places for all our delight. The female vocalist in Busytoby reminds me of Boston's Jody from Secret Stars.

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

The Gants Never Again!: Tribute To The Gants is a tribute to these 60s pop unknowns (they're on the "Nuggets" BoxSet) feat Wolfie, Of Montreal, Outrageous Cherry, & Kleenex Girl Wonder. I don't know anything about The Gants, but the songs here are really good, and the versions work splendidly. Kleenex Girl Wonder cover a song ('I Wonder') that sounds like The Beatles song 'In My Life'. Wolfie's song 'I Want your Lovin' bops along and has great vocal hooks and harmonies. 'Six Days In May' which is covered by Outrageous Cherry, has the reverb on the vocal that makes it practically sound authentic, and Of Montreal's 'Spoonful Of Sugar' has a country-ish feel like The Monkees 'Last Train to Clarksville', and a killer harmony vocal hook too. This EP is really fun, and I guess The Gants were pretty great!

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

Hefner's third single from The Fidelity Wars LP, with an unreleased flipside. 'I Took Her Love for Granted' is an upbeat tale of love where Darren Hayman talks about how good he feels when the girl he's after wants him, set to a Northern soul bassline and chugging guitar. "I feel beautiful when when she says I am beautiful, but she is more beautiful". A nice song with fun lyrics. 'A Belly Full Of Babies' is a waltz beat shanty of just bass and vocal w/tapped highhat concerning his desire to impregnate his girlfriend, ending in the curious refrain "The children cry loudest in the athiest houses". Go figure...

---Carl, Oct.26 1999

Arto is continuing in his Brazil influenced mode - he even has Vinicius Cantuaria guesting on 3 songs ('Manners', 'Her Name', & 'Tone'), but now he is incorporating more of the dissonance and unrest which marked his work in the past. This might be the influence of his girlfriend Kazu (of Blonde Redhead), who adds vocals on 'And Then I Forget', or it might just be the work of NYC life creeping into his Tropicalia world, which is almost palpable on songs like 'Modos'. Whatever the reason, I think that 'Prize' is his best recent work. It's also his first for the small label 'Righteous Babe' which he left Bar None for. Bar None has just put out a fancy compilation of the stuff he recorded on their label to cash in on the stir that Arto should create with this great record. Artoo Lindsay has kept current better than anyone I can think of, and this record would be just as amazing if it came from a complete unknown rather than from a living legend who has created sharp music since his no wave start in DNA.

---Carl, Oct.26 1999