White label and sleeve 10" with no info at all on it. I know that it has a song from his next full length (the song "F Word", which does not actually have any cursing in it), but I can't tell you for sure what the song on the B-side is. I can say that both songs are very good; much better than the last stuff he put out, which was very commercial, produced, bland rip-offs of the glory years of Echo & The Bunnymen. It sounds like he has started out fresh again, with good results.

Cinerama is the post-The Wedding Present band of David Gedge. This new 3 song EP is the first release of the new record label Scopitones. The label is off to a great start with this release. There are 2 new originals and The Smiths cover "London", which is also on The Smiths tribute album "I Know It's Over" on The First Time Records. The featured song ("Manhattan") is really great, with a spoken female interlude and orchestration that completely works.

Pretty nifty single by the Brooklyn band The Essex Green, which has members of The Ladybug Transistor in it. The Sixth Great Lake appears to involve the same people as The Essex Green. This single is put out by the Vermont label Sudden Shame, a label which has been putting out stuff of little acclaim, though they had a one off hit 2 years ago on WZBC with a song by The Stupid Club, and put out a siingle I liked a lot by The Van Pelt, split with Radio To Saturn.

This compilation is a follow up to the "Extreme Music From Japan" and "Extreme Music From Africa" CD's that this label put out, as well as putting out the Whitehouse CD "Mummy and Daddy". Most of the pieces here are pretty intense performance pieces that cut into the red line on emotion and ferocity. You may know some of the artists by the bands they are in. This disc has solo pieces from the women, and they alone are credited, though each gets a page in the booklet to explain their piece or their philosophy. My interest in this CD stemmed from the inclusion of a piece by Clara Clamp. She fronts the Atlanta GA band Pineal Ventana who have put out 4 CD's, most recently the "Malpractice" CD which we have at WZBC (along with the other CD's, an awesome picture disc 12", and 7"s). I've loved this band since thier first CD came out in 1995 ("Living Soil"). Through time I've come to call them my friends as well, though I sadly don't get to see them as much as I'd like. Clara's piece on this comp is called "September" and consists of collaged answering machine messages collected during September, with an explosion of sound at the end.

Split single between Mt. Laurel NJ's Flowchart and Dayton OH's Smothered In Hugs. The label that put this out (North Of January) has had no releases by artists of the stature of Flowchart in it's 6 releases. Flowchart perform an instrumental that is a perky electronic ditty that goes well with the retro robot images on the sleeve. Smothered In Hugs hand in a low key workout in honor of Flying Saucer Attack's Dave Pearce. To my ears, Flowchart clearly rule this slice of wax.

Lina is a French artist who sounds like April March on some of the songs, and like Franciose Cactus (of Stereo Total) on others. The music is post-Stereolab electronic pop. Lina mostly sings in French, but she also sings in German and English too. The disc is put out by Apricot Records, the label run by Hanns-Christian Mahler of Brideshead, so you know the quality has got to be high!

Melody Bar - "gorgeous melancholic grooves from Looper member, reminiscent of Kid Loco". DJ Magazine - "more super seven treats from the wonderfully manicured Liquefaction stable, this time courtesy of Looper bed fellows David & Twynholm. 'The Lost Notes' follows a path similar to the recent Payroll outing: looped hip-hop beats, quaint piano melodies, lazy scratches and angelic vocals. 'Red Hose Swing' is the stuff of day dreams, as brushed drums, fairground dub and sci-fi effects collide. Captivating and enchanting in two agile moves." I really enjoyed this single, particularly the a-side, with it's speeded up female vocals (yes - the correct speed is 45RPM). The song is a blast.