German lo-fi new wave atari-styled electropop with vocals. Dis*ka are a duo who started out doing electro versions of punk songs. This CD has a slice n' dice feel to it and a rough around the edges aesthetic that extends to the postage stamp perforated graphics of the sleeve. "Have You Played Atari Today?" (#2) is a spoken advert for Atari that starts off "When I'm C64" (#3), which sounds like a sped up "Rocket USA" (Suicide) with garbled Leather Nun (a very cool 80's band from the Netherlands) vocals. "P.O.P." (#4) uses a tune I can't quite remember as the hook to it's video game styled sounds. It ends with a snippet of M's song "Pop Musik". "I Hate My Country" (#8) reminds me of something that could have been on Led Zeppelin III with it's slide acoustic guitar and drum beat, though the lyrics are way more acidic than Robert Plant would have sang. The song ends with a child reading a passage, much as the 1980 band New Musik did on their (excellent) Gary Numan influenced song "On Islands". "Skamenco" (#10) is a guitar based almost-ska instrumental that has flair and is one of my favorite cuts on the disc. "Showdowns" (#12) starts with a guitar that sounds like it is playing the theme from a showdown in a western. Vocals come in which detail many ways he could be 'erased' before he proclaims "I don't need your showdowns" to the girl he is sick of fighting with. It is a musically fun song that does not get too heavy in subject matter. This disc is not any world class entry for this artist, but it is worth checking out, particularly if you like the band Ten Benson, who Dis*ka remind me of on some cuts.

Faves: 3,4,8,10,12

While I prefer the first volume in this series (Am I Dreaming?) by no means does Reflections come off like "here's all the odds and ends that weren't good enough to include on the first one." This is more quality British girl pop from 1962-1971. Some personal faves include Linda Laine's "Low Grades & High Fever" (a re-write of The Orlons "Don't Hang Up"), Jean & The Statesiders (actually from Liverpool) cover of the Shirelles' "Putty in Your Hands" (later covered to great effect by the Yardbirds and the Detroit Cobras), Cilla Black's (yeah, yeah, the coat-check girl from Liverpool's Cavern Club) "Work Is a Four Letter Word" and "You Too (Can Have Heartac hes)" by Jackie Lee (Lee later sang the theme for Rupert the Bear, covered by Sunshine Day on Siesta's Algebra Spaghetti collection). Sure there are a number of rather overwrought vocal offerings and a few second-rate Dusty Springfields, but the pros drastically outweigh the cons. Even Bond-Girl-to-be (she was in The Spy Who Loved Me) Caroline Munro's white-bread blues-by-number ditty, "This Sporting Life" is redeemed by (Tomorrow's) Steve Howe's blazing guitarification. Oh, and in case you need one more reason to check this out, it was compiled by Saint Etienne's Bob Stanley. So there!

Peter Ledebur, August 28, 2001

The first release by Kid Loco in 3 years will strike you immediately for it's sleeve. Kid Loco is a Parisian producer/musician who has put out 2 CDs of his own music, and a CD of mixes he did for others. He is a guy whose music does not sound like his name. Where his name paints him as a hiphop styled DJ, his sound is more like Saint Etienne with male vocals (by Tim Keegan on this single) or (more commonly) doing instrumentals. The sleeve would make Roxy Music's 'Country Life' seem classy and safe. It is a B&W photo of 2 tarts exaggerating every aspect of themselves, like a modeling session for Toulouse-Lautrec. The 12" is a one-sided single with three songs. It starts with "Horsetown in Vain", an instrumental that has a tune from a song I know but cannot place. It is a real lazy shuffle down the road. The second cut is "Lullaby", a short song with vocals that is my least favorite of the single. "Lullaby" was written by Emitt Rhodes - the guy from the 60s harmony pop band Merry-Go-Round. "I Can't Let It Happen To You" is the standout track for sure, written by John Maus - one of the Walker Brothers. It is a cool cut that really picks up when the beat kicks in about halfway through. At that point it has a staccato guitar part that reminds me of the band Orange Juice. Eventually I'll listen to this song enough to figure out what it's about, but in the meantime it is THE cut for this single, and (hopefully) a taster of what we can expect from the inevitable upcoming full length. If you are afraid of commercial sounding cuts from the underground stay clear, but if you like full sounding smoothness minus desperate attempts to 'make it' you might enjoy his stuff (just as you would enjoy Saint Etienne who fit the same description).

Fave: 3

The title of this comp is a misnomer if not an outright lie. While the majority of the tracks on this CD fit the titular description, there are two vocal cuts (neither of which are about surfing, either), two tracks from a British studio band (featuring Ritchie Blackmore and produced by no less than Kim Fowley!), and more than a handful of *proto*-surf instrumentals that date from well *before* the surfing craze. In fact, the only thing these tracks all have in common is that they were released on the Los Angeles label Titan between 1959 and 1964. Wait, that's not true, either. Two of the cuts are from a Titan subsidiary: Marc Records. Well, anyway, there is plenty to recommend, nonetheless. Gorgeous, mellow pieces by the Surfmen ("Paradise Cove" and "Malibu Run") (and their "Ghost Hop" bears a striking resemblance to the Sonics' "Strychnine"), a reworking of a classical piece (is it Hall of the Mountain King? I can't think of the title) titled "Satan's Holiday" by the Lancasters (the British studio group mentioned above), and a positively smoking cut from 1959 by The Strangers, "Hill Stomp." Of the two Gary Usher songs (both *not* instrumentals), I dig his first ever record, "Driven Insane" -- perhaps it's not as far off the deep end as Porter Wagoner's "Rubber Room," but it's certainly on the way there. Other stand-outs include a pair of cuts by Gary Lewis' back-up band The Playboys, "The Cat Walk" and "The Scramble" and a great early track by Davie Allan (pre-Arrows): "Warpath." All in all, there's a lot of twangy guitars and growling sax from start to finish.

Peter Ledebur, August 28, 2001

The British label Ace (see above) and its sub-label Big Beat do an excellent job of issuing hard-to-get music from the '60s, much of it American (they're also responsible for those two stupefying comps of Japanese Group Sounds). This set is no exception. All tracks are taken from the Los Angeles labels Titan, Modern, and Downey from the years 1965-1967. Two cuts that might sound familiar to some: the original versions of "Just Like Me" (a hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders), and "Beaver Patrol" (released as a single by Pop Will Eat Itself twenty-two years later). Some of the best songs also have the best titles; witness "With Friends Like You, Who Needs Friends" (The Composers) and "Don't Call Me, I'll Call You" (The Last Word). Other winners (I found *many*) include "You're Wrong" (The Electric Company), "Me" (The Brain Train), "Leave Me Alone" (The New Generation -- they're no Shaggs, but their sense of timing is, well... interesting.), "Tell Me" (ESP Limited) and "I Can't Believe You're Really Mine" (The Barracudas). There's even an attempt at starting a new dance craze -- "The Frog" (by Sir Frog and the Toads). Expect to hear many of these songs on the Psychotic Reactions show (Wed from 5-6pm in case you forgot).

Peter Ledebur, August 28, 2001

70's Afro-Beat is becoming the newest type of music I am questing for. It has much to offer, and seems to be in top reissue swing right now. This comp has some really fine tracks that have just brought my love of the sound a little deeper. Most of the bands seem to have been composed of many members. There are always interesting rhythmic beats from percussive devices. This is probably the thing that first made me love the sound. The bands seem to be 'roadhouse' units that would be much more at home at a gig than in a recording studio. Usually there are saxophones and some sort of brass. Afro-Beat has some of the only sax I can handle (I do not like that instruments sound in most cases). At the bottom is a funky Fender bass, providing a solid root that even the drum can follow (in most music it is the drum that provides the root). The opening song on this comp "Fever" by Jingo is a perfect example of all this. 6:42 of sound that is much finer than the cliché title could ever convince you without hearing. Many of the tracks on this disc are even longer than "Fever". It seems that the bands are more comfortable jamming into a sound than in counting out standard structures for their cuts. All I've written is good and fine, but really does little to let you know what to expect from this comp. I will say that nothing here is too ethnic, foreign, or frightening. The sound fits your ears like a glove, and coats your mind like velvet on a moose's antlers.

Part of the heralded 'NY renaissance' spearheaded by The Strokes. A.R.E. Weapons (I had what it stood for, but it left my head before I wrote it here, though I remember thinking it wasn't too clever) have been receiving press in the NME for the fact that one of the guys goes out with Chloe Sevigny. There are 3 guys in the band: vocalist Brian, keyboard Thomas, and another guy. All look like dirtbags with beards and sweat. They play music that sounds very much like the 1976 NYC band Suicide with a touch of early Pere Ubu. It is simple synth, drum machine and vocal, but it has style and attitude. I like this EP. All three songs are pretty good sounding to me. "Street Gang" is the standout track, and the one which emulates suicide and Pere Ubu the most. "Black Mercedes" has crash sounds (is it about Princess Diana?) and is more contemplative than "Street Gang". Unfortunately it doesn't really go anywhere and just kind of fades out when you the listener notice the fact. The CD-only track "Saigon" is my second fave track on the EP. It has machine gun sounds in the beginning (natch), a helicopter sound and a very Alan Vega vocal.

Faves: 1,3

DJ Rupture is one of the guys who used to spin as Toneburst here in Boston. He moved to Barcelona which is where he lives now. This 7" is very good! "Rumbo Babylon" is my favorite cut. The sound reminds me of the Roots, Rock, Ravers EP on Transparent Records. It is a very modern cut up of so many different things all woven in a fantastic way. The B-side is much wilder. "Descarriada" is much more typically 'broken beat' in sound. Moments of digital silence are tormented by disjointed blasts which enter and leave before they find good footing. Many people really like this sound, but for myself I like the calmer excitement of the A-side. Rupture's website says this about his sound: "Contemporary experiments in digital-audio & breakbeat reconstruction are informed by North African musical traditions"

Fave: A

5 versions of a song seems crazy when the original version is the best of the lot, as it is in this case. "Space Invaders Are Smoking Grass" is I-F's finest piece, and I-F themselves are maybe the finest practitioners of classic electro currently recording. This song has all the traits that you can expect on an electro cut. There are plonky synths, clipped beats, a vocodered vocal, and cool breaks. The remixers are Alden Tyrell, Zombie Nation (both full version and radio edit), and Elektrochemie LK (Thomas Schumacher), who also mixed 'System F feat. Marc Almond' in last weeks gullbuy. Elektrochemie LK's mix is my favorite because it changes the song the most out of any of the remixes. Alden Tyrell's mix is just a radio edit of the original mix. Zombie Nation's mix adds a few cool embellishments, but sticks so close to the original at heart that I find it unnecessary to play.

Faves: 3,5

Kid 606 got me interested in buying another record of his with two successful devices. 1 - he evoked the 'dub' word. Recently I am loving dub, both original Jamaican style, and bass heavy modern electronic beat treats. 2 - he brought in two artists I like a lot to provide dub versions of his tracks: The man of many names Uwe Schmidt (recording here as Atom), and Kitty-Yo recording artist Rechenzentrum. Their tracks are on side 1 along with new Kid 606 track "Horseback". The flip has a single long track credited to "the posterboys of the apocalypse and Kid 606". It has a 4/4 beat, but is a little bit too fast to be in the same realm as Thomas Brinkmann's Soul Center. It reminds me of a blend of Ed DMX's Breakin' All Stars stuff and the recent Kit Clayton/ Sutekh collaboration Pigeon Funk. I expected to like the Atom track the best, as he is my favorite artist of the bunch, but I found that I liked the Rechenzentrum track best, the Atom cut second best, and the long cut on the flip had me thoroughly engaged throughout.

Faves: A1,A2,B

Probably the only band that will ever make the transition from Elefant Records (known for pop sweetness) to Irritant Records (earned their name more than once). Printed Circuit is a woman named Claire from Leeds in the UK. She plays instrumental electropop that is much more playful than any of her electronica peers. Each song has some individual sound or feature to be recommended. Even the vinyl has something to recommend, in it's pretty pink color which matches the color scheme of the sleeve. It is a little tricky though, with one side playing at 33 and the other at 45 (something that is not always easy to detect with instrumentals!). My favorite song is the first on side A. Added up to a whole I like this single but wouldn't say it is anything crucial to buy for yourself, particularly at the price.

The followup to the Soul Jazz compilation 'New Orleans Funk', 'Saturday Night Fish Fry' is just as good if not better than the original. There are many similarities between the sound here and the sound on the Afro-Rock compilation. The famous offbeat of New Orleans music occurs in Afro-Beat as well. The major difference is that music and recording came much easier to the musicians in New Orleans, so you will hear more 'weekend warrior' outfits on this comp than on the Afro-Beat comps, where road hardened bands EARNED the right for someone to pay for their studio time. It is to my pleasure that things were easy in The Big Easy, or else treats like Dixie Cup's version of "Iko Iko" would never have been recorded. There are some road hardened folk on the New Orleans comp too. Dr. John's "Gris Gris Gumbo" is as psychedelic and real as you can get on Bourbon Street, where you need eyes behind your head, and a clear mind below your deepest buzz. Irma Thomas tells the gals "you can have my husband but please don't mess with my man" on her song "Don't Mess With My Man". She is in full control of the situation, and won't mind if you off her hubby in a poolroom brawl. Cool place this New Orleans - cool comp this 'Saturday Night Fish Fry'.