The Relict is ex-Clientele member Innes Phillips recording with The Clientele backing him. Both bands have a Galaxie 500 styled sound that isn't a world away from the 60's band Gandalf reviewed in this week's gullbuy. About this 7' the Johnny Kane website says 'Quite simply, the imagined beauty of this idea has got everybody talkin'... a split 7' single with a female singer guesting on exclusive songs for both bands, all we know for sure right now is that this record's sound lies somewhere within: the shadows on the sleeve of 'Otis Blue' the leaves spiraling across the sculpture garden in Burghley Park the moment that Dylan realized'I'll keep it with mine' truly did belong to Nico... just keep believing!'

5 songs in 11 minutes by David Tyack, alias Dakota Oak. This EP is on the label run by Damon Gough and Andy Votel, and has the acoustic sound that characterizes the 'Badly Drawn Boy' styled bands such as Kings Of Convenience or Turin Brakes. Dakota Oak's slant on the sound includes piano, harmonica, and instrumentals. In fact all the songs but the Neil young cover are instrumentals. 'How Danny's Friends Became A Force For Good' (#1) is my favorite song on the disc. Second favorite would be 'How Danny's Sorrowing Friends Defied Convention' (#2). It's piano riff in the beginning reminds me of Burt Bacharach's 'Close To You'. It then grows into a harmonica part that works in the context. There are touches of timpani in the background, but overall it is a very mellow song that reminds me of a rainy day in the morning. The Neil Young cover of 'Helpless' (#3) is OK but doesn't really do much for me. Nothing is really changed or added upon from the (superior) original. Shame - I expected the cover to be my fave track on the disc. It's two minute length
doesn't really allow for anything but the somewhat minimal reading it receives. 'Coffee Dreams' (#4) is a 1:16 instrumental that sounds like it is based remotely on the melody from The Doors 'Love Street'. The EP closes with 'Summer In Rhode Island' (#5), which is a two minute piece sounding a bit too 'new age' for me with it's glistening acoustic guitar and sparkling piano notes. A brushed drum that comes in halfway through is the only part I like in it. This EP is not really as good as I expected it
to be. I doubt that I will pursue the just released full length. Faves: 1,2

A genre which still interests me despite the glut of sub-par releases is the jazzy downtempo sound. Hull's Pork Recordings have put out some really great releases in the last couple of years. Their biggest artist would be Fila Brazilia. They also have Baby Mammoth on their label and even the UK release of the ex-Pavement guy who records as Marble Valley. The guy who runs the label DJ's on Radio 1 and at clubs as 'Porky'. This disc has cuts unsigned artists gave him while he was DJing at his 'Fidel's Cigar Bar' night at The Lamp. This disc is my single favorite Pork release. I like 5 of the 12 songs a lot. Kennedy's 'Woman and Money' (#1) is kind of haunting. Free Drink's 'Sound Of The Camel' (#2) has a really neat picked nylon stringed acoustic guitar part over the strong bass/beat driven back. Unforscene's 'Sunbear and the Orange Light' (#3) has the sound of crackling old jazz records, marimbas, and wordless vocal backgrounds. The Anthorne Project's 'Pie oh Pie' reminds me a lot of Kid Loco's 'Sister Curare' with the criminal giving a monologue about their crimes in the beginning of the track. Zka4t's 'Quaterhead' is a dub-like echoey track with trumpet on it. It is really fine! This comp will be good for you if you like Kid Loco or The Thievery Corporation, both of who most of the tracks recall without completely imitating. Faves: 1,2,3,4,6

Lost Dreams is meant to be the definitive compilation album by The Electric Prunes, put together by the band and re-mastered to their specifications. It has 23 songs on it and even has 3 songs that were never released before. Everybody knows their song 'Too Much To Dream Last Night', which was on the Nugget's compilation and was even covered by NYC's Wayne County on his 'Storm The Gates Of Heaven' LP in 1978. But few people's knowledge of The Prunes goes further than that. Fact is that they had some really great tunes and put out lots of great records. Bands like The Chesterfield Kings based their whole look and sound on the cool of The Electric Prunes. The Electric Prunes came out of LA's San Fernanado Valley in the 60's and were signed to Reprise records while still between 16 and 22 years old. They put out a self titled debut, then the 'Underground' LP. As far as the tunes go, my absolute favorite here is 'Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less)' (#8). Rhythm guitarist Weasel sings 'Big City' (#18) which is more pop than psyche. It sounds very different than the other cuts but is very good too, though much 'squarer' than the other tracks. Right after it is 'Wind-Up Toys' (#19), probably my second favorite. 'Shadows' (#1), 'Ain't It Hard' (#2), and 'The Great Banana Hoax' (#11) are my other faves. This disc is really super fine. Faves: 1,2,8,11,19

Jan Jelinek also records as 'Gramm' and 'Farben'. On this CD he has used exclusively as his source material Jazz records. But beware, this record has NOTHING to do with any form of jazz. He merely uses one second samples to form the palette that he builds into Pole-like pieces of dub. From the press release: 'Specific ideas require specific labels. Jan Jelinek releases a new album on the Stefan Betke/Pole-label ~Scape and we welcome a new concept: 'loop-finding-jazz-records'. Jan Jelinek? You know, the production link no 1 between SND and Blaze, the human sound poetry
generator any computer, be it Amiga or the Mac Cube, would be honoured to work with. With the aid of his sampler Jelinek has developed an exclusive music discovery approach, building on three central themes: jazz, the loop finding modulation wheel
and moiré. Jazz sequences from the '60s and '70s are cut up into second-long loops, shifted by the wheel of the sampler and combined into spatial arrangements with maximum depth of field, re-creating the notorious moiré-effect, this ground-breaking
painting technique of creating three dimensional space in a plane without the classic tools of perspective. When Vasarély slightly tilted a few lines in a square grid it seems to flicker three-dimensionally. Similarly, when Jelinek uses his modulation wheel to
twist linear loops, sounds dance into zero gravity. It´s just a little twist for Jelinek´s index finger and a large step for the grammar of crackle poetry. Should anyone inquire after the lyrical scope of clicks and cuts and glitches, 'loop-finding-jazz-records' will
overwhelm them like Jerichos trumpets. The more gentle, the more insistent. And the initial concept will be forgotten amongst excited listening surprise.' Faves: 2,7

This disc is a 14 song compilation of tracks from the 1st eleven 'whiskey' singles. All have been previously released apart from the 2 By Bukowski and Left Hand tracks which are both new. Track Listing: Seafood- are we rolling, Tristeza- shakabraka, One Star- silversodapop (Steward remix), Billy Mahonie- rot of thestars 2000, Jumbo- rocketship, 2 By Bukowski- the wind was whistling outside, making a sound like some ancient music,
Hood- i can't find my brittle youth, Chicks On Speed- post police razzia in the le corbusier lounge marseille (feat Hecker), The Remote Viewer- meet melia & messent in town, Lazerboy- boy on a bike, Rothko- exits into open spaces (remix), Yellow 6-
expressway 427, Left Hand- imitation, Mum & Dad- lady porno. The 2 By Bukowski track is just 2 monologues by Charles Bukowski set to ambient music. It's not as spectacular as it may sound (goes on with just music for too long), and it curses a
couple of times as well ('Shut that god damn thing off', and 'f**k that guy'). There are 4 songs I like a lot though. We sure haven't heard much from Hood lately. I don't know if they are even together naymore, but I DO know that their 'I Can't find My Brittle Youth' (#7) track is my fave on this comp. The song has some spice to it - it is not them in the 'ambient' mood. The end of the song gets crazy even. My second fave would be the Chicks On Speed cut (#8). It comprises them talking over a classical music piece, played intact for all of the 4:50 length of the cut. There is a little bit of looped static-y noises as well, but basically it is just a Chicks On Speed monologue over a classical record. I like Lazerboy's 7:44 cut 'Boy On a Bike' (#10). It is an instrumental with collaged snippets of opera, parts of The Sound Of Music, radio voices, and other stuff over a strong bass beat not too far from Talking Head's 'Psycho Killer' riff. The last of my faves is the Mum & Dad song, though sadly it cannot really be played on the air because of the sexually explicit nature of it. It doesn't have any curses per se, but it seems to me to be far more outrageous that curses alone in it's depiction of the sexual act. There are 2 songs that are OK but not my faves. They are Steward's remix of One Star's 'Silversodapop', which just sounds busy and one dimensional, and The Remote Viewer's song, which is OK, even decent, but just doesn't astound in this electronica saturated time. Faves: 7,8,10,14

My favorite songs on this 17 song compilation are The Melvins 'Let It All Be' (#6). I have never listened to The Melvins before and this track is nothing like I had thought them to be. On this track they sound more like the Sofa Surfers, who remix Eardrum's 'Low Order' (#5), another one of my faves. I've always liked Sonovac, and their 'Breaths, Deaths, & Puppies' (#8) track is no exception. It reminds me of Soft Cell's 'Tainted Love' in the music. Unlike 'Tainted Love' it only has a little bit of vocals in it. The last of my faves is the cut by Gilad Atzman & DJ Face (#2). It almost sounds like it could be on the New Orleans Funk compilation, though it might be jazzier than it is funk. 'Beware The Cat is based in North London and they have just released their eleventh issue. As with the previous issues it covers the usual mixture of articles, reviews, and quite a bit of music. Each issue comes with a CD companion attached to the cover, and each track on the CD reflects a corresponding piece in the zine. This time around Beware The Cat CD features: Hermann & Klein - Kickboard Girl (Morr Music), Gilad Atzman & DJ Face - Listen To Joe (Fruitbeard), Trinity - Tradition (Blood & Fire), Lexi Love - This Feelings Gone (Second Skin), Eardrum - Low Order: Sofa Surfers mix (Leaf), The Melvins - Let It All Be (Ipecac), Blue States - Diamente (Memphis Industries), Sonovac - Breaths, Deaths & Puppies (Output), Papa M - Up North Kids (Domino), Madeline Bell & Alan Parker - That's What Friends Are Fore (Strut), DJ Bombtrack featuring Mr Thing - Brothers Grim (Apeman), King Biscuit Time - Niggling Discrepancy (Regal), Bogdan Raczynski - You As An Out Of Control Extension Of Me (Rephlex), SK Radicals - Reachin 4 Da Farside (People), The Creators - Hard Margin (Bad Magic/Wall Of Sound), Evolution Control Committee - By The Time I Get To Arizona (Pickled Egg), Lee Taylor & Soul Twister Ltd - 151 Rome Proof (Wah Wah). All the tracks are then complimented with a feature in the magazine and the articles are as follows (and corresponding with how the tracks appear on the CD for easy reference)'. My Faves: 2,6,8

The third of 3 records she released between 1972 and 1975. The first 2 of her records were added in the February 20, 2001 gullbuy . Please read those reviews for more info on Betty Davis. I was afraid when I bought this CD. I thought that this disc might have been really watered down or just had weak writing, and that maybe this CD was why her career didn't last longer. I further figured that if this CD was crucial then the label who re-released these discs would have put it out at the same time it put out the first two. No need for worry though: this disc has the same amount of great songs as the other two had. I love the opening song, 'Nasty Gal'. 'Talkin' Trash' (#2) has her trading lines with a male vocalist a la Sly Stone. 'The Lone Ranger' (#10) is 6:18 of smoky slink. It is a really cool song. The one song that catches me most is 'F.U.N.K.' (#6). In the cut she cites three groups of four influences. First up Sly Stone, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Al Green. Then next verse Barry White, Larry Graham, Isaac Hayes, The O'Jays. Last verse has Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, The Funkadelics. I could say lots more about this disc, but I think her list said it better. All three of these re-issued discs are pretty darned crucial. Faves: 1,2,6,10

My favorite of Hideki Kaji's many records. To me he has always been like Game Theory's Scott Miller. He writes great pop and surrounds himself with wonderful musicians as well. Yoshie (drummer/percussionist for Cornelius who also put out a great CDEP on
Trattoria last year) plays on 8 songs (#'s2,3,5,6,8,10,11,12), Yukari Fresh sings 'chorus' on 2 songs (#'s3,8), Helana Josefsson sings background vocals on 3 songs (#'s1,4,6), and Hiroshi Horie, who Kideki Kaji collaborated with as 'Dots and Borders', plays on 6 songs (#'s2,3,6,8,11,12). My favorite song is caught in a tie between 'Ebony' (#4) which keeps reminding me of the Paul McCartney/Michael Jackson duet, though it is totally unrelated. Hideki Kaji sings about 'Ebony, Ivory' which just can't help but bring up the comparison. The song has a bossa feel with acoustic guitar and an electronic percussion. The melody and structure are ace. The other tie in my 'faves' selection is 'Water-Blue-Tempo' (#6) which has the smooth backing vocals of Helana Josefsson ('Ebony' does as well). The melody in this song almost sounds like The Beatles song 'Here Comes The Sun' in the opening guitar riff, though like most of Hideki Kaji's idea that phrase never outstays it's welcome. In fact there are a bunch of different changes in the song including a totally different riff and feel for the last minute. The other 2 songs I like a lot on this 12 song disc are the opening track 'This Is Still OK' and 'Ivy Ivory Ivy'. Hideki Kaji is a Jpop artist who writes more of a guitar oriented pop than the cut n' paste electronic/sampler collage pop that his peers excel at. (#3). Faves: 1,3,4,6

This comp came to me with high recommendations from unlikely sources. The first person to tell me about it was Sandra Barrett of WZBC (Tuesdays 3-5 PM). She simply said that she had bought it for herself (she works at Other Music) and we HAD to get it for the station. Next I heard about it from Ryan who works at the Harvard Square location of Newbury Comics. He said a friend of his had bought and that when he listened to it he thought it was great. I was already sold at this point. After reading the extensive book that comes inside the paper outer box of this CD, the one thing I could distill 40 pages into without feeling too guilty (of omission) is 'The Second Line'. (From the booklet) 'Parade Bands, Mardi Gras Indians, Jazz Funeral Bands, Saturday Night Fish Frys - these are all unique New Orleans traditions that have one thing in common: whenever they're going on you will find a mass of drummers/singers/dancers/percussionists accompanying them. In parades this became known as The Second Line. The Second Line play and dance in a syncopated time that is not 'on' the beat and not on the 'off' beat. They play between the 'on' and 'off' beat! The Parade rhythm has a backbeat that makes you clap your hands, move your feet. In short, it is the sound of Funk. The sound of New Orleans African-American music, be it Jazz, R'n'B or Funk is, in turn, a reflection of the sound of the original African-American music that emanated from Congo Square since the birth of New Orleans'. Every one of the 24 songs is pretty good, but the ones I especially like are The Meters 'Handclapping Song' (#1), The Explosions 'Hip Drop' (#2), Huey 'Piano smith & His Clowns 'Free, Single, and Disengaged' (#7), Chuck Carbo 'Can I Be Your Squeeze' (#8), Ernie & The top Notes 'Dap Walk' (#17), and Dr. John 'Mama Roux' (#20). Each of those songs get my highest recommendation, as does this comp in general. Faves: 1,2,7,8,17

This is the fourth record by this Atlanta GA band. What I like most about Pineal Ventana is that they are extreme, in the way I love. They encompass many things that should not fit together as well as they do. Even as people: It is VERY hard to stay together as an underground band for 8 years. They have had many players in and out of their lineup, though it has always revolved around Clara Clamp and Mitchell Foy. Even though not currently playing in the band, PV webmaster Kim Chee is part of the lasting core of the band. From their very first CD 'Living Soil' in 1992 I was hooked. Pineal Ventana became the sister band of Turkish Delight during the time that we existed. Now in 2001 PV have changed and evolved like Jacqueline Ess in Clive Barker's 'Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament' from his 'Books Of Blood'. They continue to take their shows and sounds over the top, wearing body paint or shedding cloth in pagan-like rituals of purging. 'One Held the Key - One Held The Sleep' (#7) is 12:39 of intensity, kind of like their version of Patti Smith's 'Radio Ethiopia'. The lyrics in it are very scary for me. The images they bring are not their own, I hope. As Clara sings 'I'm completely out', & 'this is the last time I share with my neighbor' I think of a desperate drug addict looking at the empty tin on the table and freaking out with mad desire. Like I say, I hope these are not THEIR visions. Knowing them as friends though, I know that it is not. There is a violin part just before her vocals that reminds me of the blind man playing in the hut in the original Frankenstein movie. My favorite song is 'Breach Denial' (#2) which is just 'to the point' and intense. I also like the song which follows it, 'Control?' (#3) which has Mitch singing as well as Clara. 'Control?' has the intensity of 'Breach Denial', only the longer duration of the track allows it more space to breathe. Pineal Ventana used to remind me of Nitre Pit or Oiler. They still do, only PV are the only ones left at this point. Each of those bands have female vocals and explore far out pits of intensity. Nitre Pit put out one self released LP/CD, and Oiler had several 7's on their own Big Jesus label and a CD on Sympathy For The Record Industry. The rhythm section of Nitre Pit is now Deerhoof. My second favorite track on 'Axes To Ice' is the combo of 'Hark' & 'S'vreem' (#'s 4&5) played together. 'Hark' is really just a thirty second intro to 'S'vreem'. It is Mitch playing his truck gas tank and hollering. It propels you right into the awesome collaged 'S'vreem' perfectly. Snippets of a Beatle song and a tribal chant come before Clara's voice and Mitch's backgrounds. The truck gas tank that Mitch plays is a strong part of the musical identity of PV. It brings them close to Faust in sound, or to Mitch's beloved Magma. Clara turned me on to the Japanese band Demi-Semi Quaver a few years ago, and that is a good reference point as well. Faves: 2,3,4&5,7,8