Picture disc 7" debut release of the new project formed by Julian Cope, with Martin, Doggen (called 'Sid Mooneye'), Kev and Thighpaulsandra of Spiritualized making up the rest of the band. Both songs on this single are three chord punk. "She Saw Me Coming" sounds a bit like The Stooges on their 'Funhouse' LP, both musically and vocally. The slower paced B-side has vocals that almost remind me of the early Misfits song "Cough" as Julian says "Mission Control" in the lyric. Julian has said that he sees Brain Donor as "the natural summation of all things Shamanic and Odinist and very very human." It is the first time he has been a live bass player in years. I like this single a lot and can't wait to hear the upcoming full length. Faves: both .

Electrelane are a all girl band from Brighton in the UK who play instrumental rock with a farfisa upfront. This full length follows three earlier 7"s, the A-sides of which are on this CD ("Film Music", "Le Song", and "Gabriel"). Electrelane nearly got swallowed up in the disappearance of post-rock (which they had initially been associated with), but it now seems that they have a sound of their own that they play convincingly throughout this disc. What gives them their unique sound is the rock driven structure of the songs and the intense farfisa organ used throughout. "Long Dark" (#2) is a 9:46 track that builds into one of my favorite songs. At times the guitar sounds like The Cramps in "Human Fly". "Gabriel" (#3) is a flat out rocker beginning to end. "Le Song" (#7) and "Spartakiade" (#8) are rockers with guitar like The Buzzcocks in "Ever Fallen in Love". Most songs here build to rock bliss slowly. "The Invisible Dog" (#1) has a lonely sounding barking dog and a processed vocal or voice sample. The song which builds up craziest is "U.O.R." (#9). "U.O.R." is an 8:42 monster that peaks out halfway, then unravels in "Radio Ethiopia" (Patti Smith) styled feedback evolving into "Porno Base" (23 Skidoo) sub-bass rumbles till it's end. "Mother" (#11) reminds me of Th Faith Healer's cover of Can's "Mother Sky". "Mother" ends 11:27 into it's 22:24 listed length at -10:57. A hidden extra tacks begins at -1:23. It is an acoustic guitar/vocal sung in a fun fashion. It is completely unlike anything else on the disc. It's pretty good too! Faves: 1,2,3,7,8,9

The fourth single by Electrelane has one song from the CD, a new song unique to the single, and the super-fine remix of "Blue Straggler" (#3) by Jagz Kooner. Jagz Kooner (a producer who had done remixes for Primal Scream's last record among many other things) really takes the best parts of Electrelane and magnifies them. I would love to hear a full LP by Electrelane produced by him. He does not radically rewrite anything about the band, he just makes it sound bigger and better. The new song is called "I Love My Farfisa". It reminds me of ? & The Mysterians with the farfisa sound. It is a good track - far from a throwaway, but it is the "Blue Straggler" remix that steals my heart on this EP. The original version of "Blue Straggler" has some angelic vocals in the middle of several sections in the song. It has the same foggy morning at the beach feeling that much of the full length has. The farfisa is operated with a heavy hand not unlike that of a church organ. Fave: 3

The first legitimate release of this record, which first appeared as a bootleg in 1994. 'Backdrop' collects studio out-takes and different versions of Fall songs. Most of the stuff is from the late 80's. One song is a rehearsal tape from 1977 ("Dresden Dolls", #12). My favorite tracks are: "Marquis Cha-Cha" (#1), a rerecorded version of the song, never given a proper release. "Lucifer Over Lancashire" (#4), an alternative (poorly recorded but filled with spirit) version which appeared on a 7" EP given away in a September 1986 issue of Melody Maker. "Hey Luciani" (#5) sounding cliche 'Fall', but doing it just right. "Wings" (#6) from the 'Bugs on the Wire' LP recorded live in NYC in april 1985, featuring some vocals by Brix. "US 80's - 90's" (#8) from the 'Head Over Ears' LP recorded live in Bremen Germany in Feb 1987. It is the first song on this disc that shows the electronic phase The Fall entered into around this time. "Guest Informant" (#9) is from a 7" EP given away free with issue 9 of "Sniffin' Rock" magazine in 1989. It has Brix vocals along with Mark E. Smith's. "Strychnine" (#13) completes my list of faves, sounding like a version of "Stepping Stone". Pretty neat disc by a band that has remained relevant for over 20 years. Faves: 1,4,5,6,8,9,13

This 12" is divided into a Detroit side with Adult and D.I.E., and a Holland side with 2 Viewlexx artists, Electronome and I-f. The sound of all 4 bands are electro with vocals. Adult add their distinctive touch and vocals to "The Men You'll Never See" (A2) making it my favorite track on this 12". The other three tracks have treated male vocals which remind me of The Strangler's "Waiting For the Men in Black". It is these vocals that really distance me from liking the other three tracks. Fave: A2

The Rapture are a NYC band who relocated first from SF, then Seattle after releasing the 'Mirror' LP on Gravity Records. This 7" is a rerelease of their first single on Hymnal Sound in 1998. Both sides are exclusive to this release. The A-side is an original , and the B-side is a Psychedelic Furs cover. "The Chair That Squeaks" has guitar like "Killing An Arab" (early Cure) and vocals that remind me of Gary Numan mixed with (80's Boston band) Human Sexual Responce. With all the attention this band has gotten through their Sub Pop 6 song EP and tour with !!!, The Rapture stand to develop into a great band with time. Fave: A

NYC MC/production crew Anti-Pop Consortium (Priest, Beans and M. Sayyid) just released this CD of new material in Japan - no US release slated. This disc follows the 'Tragic Epilogue' LP which did very well and made many "best of" lists last year. The style they play is hip-hop, with appeal beyond the genre because of the way they avoid hip-hop cliches and incorporate many different styles into their sound (reggae/dub:#5, electro: #7, film music:#6). I like "Tilt" (#3) which has cool music, rhythms, and wordplay. I like the lyric string with "atop the Twin Towers when the twin powers deactivate" which uses the imagery of the Saturday morning cartoon with the Wonder Twins. Lyrics are rattled off incredibly fast. This is quite a song! "Starring Me As Me" (#5) starts off with a rap which becomes a reggae styled toast that is really catchy. "Technocracy" (#7) borrows it's title from an old Voivod song (Canadian Metal band of late 80's). This song has treated computer styled vocals throughout it's short 1:33 length. Songs like this make their recent signing to Warp Records seem less of a mystery. I can't wait to see what they put out on Warp. First Prefuse 73, now Anti Pop Consortium. Let it never be said that Warp is standing still. "M" (#8) has a minimal dirty underbeat. It is just super in music and word. "Cats Locked Out" (#9) just seals this disc further as a great buy. Like "M" it is based on a futuristic sounding minimal music track and maximized word imagery. "Verses" (#15) is the longest song on the disc at 4:53. It starts with bells and an upright bass. After the first string of words is over a female rapper starts in, followed by Anti Pop reflecting on the state of the world before starting a toast vocal for the remainder of the track. Faves: 3,5,8,9,15

DAT Politics are a band from Lille France that use laptops exclusively to create their music. They are Emeric Aelters, Gaëtan Collet, Claude Pailliot, and Vincent Thierion. They used to record together as Tone Rec before forming this band. The DAT Politic sound is very punk in it's guerilla use of technology. They seem more playful than intellectual, but work in a completely technology driven area and manage to sound better than many of their more serious peers. I liked their Tigerbeat 6 'Tracto Flirt' CD last year, but think that this disc is even better. They also have a new full length 'Sous Hit' which has been released here in the US on vinyl by Tigerbeat 6. I hope 'Sous Hit' gets sent to WZBC so we have all three of their records. DAT Politics seem to be kin to bands like Helgoland, Groenland Orchester, or Sofa Surfers, even though those bands play a much more organic sound than DAT Politics. Each seem to be artists with an eye for art (see DAT Politic's website) and a twist of danger in their sound. Soundwise I'd say their closest contemporary is Schlammpeitziger. Both bands have an upbeat feel to their toy-like sounds in compact structured pieces. This CD consists of eleven untitled tracks. Faves: 4,6,7,8,11

Malaria! were a Berlin all girl band who existed from 1981 to 1995. There was recent interest in them brought about by the split 10" that Barbara Morgenstern and Chicks On Speed made, each covering "Kaltes Klares Wasser". In fact, Chicks On Speed recently had a hit with their version of the song on German radio. This CD has 13 artists covering or remixing Malaria! songs. Only a few of the versions leave recognizable traces of the originals. They are Thomas Fehlmann's version of "Your Turn To Run" (#2), Alter Ego's version of "Duschen" (#8), and Matador's version of "Traum" (#13). My favorite of those who completely reinvent Malaria! electronically is the Atom (Uwe Schmidt) version of "Leidenshaft" (#4). He uses just one word (the song title) sung by Malaria! and repeats it into his weave. My fave of those who cover Malaria! with their own vocals are Barbara Morgenstern "Geld". Then there is DJ Koze and The Tease's version of "Kaltes Klares Wasser" (#11) that remixes Chicks On Speed's version of the Malaria! song. Chicks On Speeds version is here as well. Their version of "Kaltes Klares Wasser" (#1) sounds very little like the original, though I prefer it to the original version. Solex's treatment of "Your Turn To Run" (#12) sounds really great. All said and done, my favorite tracks are those that retain some song structure instead of just making Malaria! into an electronic instrumental. Too bad this wasn't a double CD with the originals on a second disc! Faves: 2,4,8,10,11,12,13

Reissue of the 1968 LP by this project from Nice France. The liner notes tell you "the genre of this record is unidentifiable". To me this is an LSD exotica LP. Some of the songs have chipmunk styled vocals (#7, 10 & 12), some have horror movie inspired screams (#1 & 14), some have (excellently done) easy listening styled brass and orchestra (#5 & 8). The common theme throughout is the soundtrack styled fender bass guitar, sharp drums, and good production. There are oddball things thrown in everywhere. "The Whistler" (#2) has whistling (natch), kazoo, and tympani mixed with the bass, brass, and piano. "Inside My Brain" (#3) is ultra psychedelic with a burning guitar solo front and center above the sax,brass, drums and bass. "Blues Section Club" (#4) has a blues guitar, tinkling keys, and a string section. One of my favorites is "Transfer From the Modulation" (#6) which seems to have a little bit of everything discussed so far. "Radio Pirate Program" has a lightning fingered Wurlitzer organ extended solo followed by a psyche guitar solo. I love the race car sounds that starts off "Jim Clark Was Driving Recklessly" (#10), though on this CD it is preceded by "Stupidly Made In Gaulle" on the same track. Whoever mastered this CD did not separate the songs as they were on the original vinyl version. This means that it you want to play the cool race song you have to start song 10 at -2:21. Song # 12 contains 2 songs on 1 as well. To start "Art Director" (#12) you have to begin the song at -2:51. "Art Director" is worth the extra effort needed to play it. The climax and centerpiece of the record is the bonus track "L'Entrage Monsieur Whinster" (#15) which is an 8:43 freakout piece incorporating field recordings of tribes into it's unpredictable tapestry. Faves: 6, 10 at -2:21, 12 at -2:51, 15