John Berberian -- Middle Eastern Rock

Oud mastery from 1968. To quote Fat Badger, who turned me on to this, "a few minutes in he's playing like his life depended on it." So true. Kinda like a cross between this and this, for those of you who have been following along.

256 kbps

Arriver -- Simon Mann e.p.

A while back y'all went crazy for Arriver's debut album Vanlandingham and Zone, and for good reason -- it was fresh and epic and easily one of the best albums of the past few years. Well, they've finally put together some new material which I just so happen to have a copy of, and you're going to like it just as much, if not more. Gone are the denizens of the Zone and their hero Halon Hong, in their place is a real-life mercenary/asshat out to rape the dark continent. The music is somehow tighter and more focused and more determined to pummel your face, too. In a good way, as always.

Now, since this is hot off the presses, as it were, and since I don't usually post stuff that's brand new out of respect for the artists, I'm also providing you with a link to go buy it for yourself. By all means check it out, listen to it, love it, etc., but then go cough up a few bucks to show your support.

d/l
buy

Transmission -- Transmission

By request, here's the Transmission self-titled album from 1996, which features Adris Hoyos post-Harry Pussy. Her relationship with guitarist Graham Lambkin went south not long after this was recorded, and he even tried to sue at one point to prevent its release. As if anybody would have noticed.

If you like HP, then this is certainly worth a listen.

224 kbps

ZA! -- Macumba o Muerte

Holy shit. I don't know what else to say about this one. Holy fucking shit. Imagine some fluid combination of Masada, Oneida, Fela Kuti, Zu, Rudolph Grey, Fanfare Ciocărlia, Crash Worship, Tuvan throat singing, Einstürzende Neubauten, etc. (I could probably go on if I tried). If that sounds over the top, well...it is. But it works. I haven't been this floored by a new album in a long time. The album is a bit uneven, but the highlights are unlike anything else you've ever heard. I can't stop smiling.

VBR 192+ kbps

Alamaailman Vasarat -- Käärmelautakunta

Finnish klezmer music from 2003. Go buy their more recent albums, starting with this year's Huuro Kolkko or 2007's Maahan. Fuckers just did a gig last month in Mexico and didn't even bother to swing by the U.S. Not cool.

256 kbps

V.E.G.A. -- Cocaine

Oh hai. Haven't seen you in a while. Here's some strange music from Italy.

320 kbps

Bratty & Jackass -- Bratty & Jackass

OK, I can pretty well guarantee that you've never heard this one. This is a CD-R the band made before splitting up some years ago. The appeal here is mostly the axework from the lead guitarist -- I can hear some Greg Ginn, some Sonny Sharrock, a little Nels Cline, maybe even a dash of Fred Frith. And, if you listen really closely, you may even hear him cashing my rent checks. Yup, that's my landlord, although at the time that this was recorded my money was just a twinkle in his filthy slumlord pocketbook (Hi, Drew.)

Anyway, if you've enjoyed any of the instrumental/jazzy/punky stuff I've posted (Coptic Light, Massacre, Warhammer 48k, Deep Turtle, The Wayward, etc.) you'll probably like this, too. I don't have an actual cover image, so that will have to do.

VBR @ 256+ kbps

The Wayward -- Overexposure

2007 release from Baltimore-area "post-rock" trio. I put "post-rock" in "quotes" because I don't really know what "post-rock" is. This sounds kinda like fellow Baltimoreans Oxes but with vocals (although frankly they could ditch the vocals and be better off, if you ask me). Also sounds a bit like Trumans Water from time to time in that the songs often seem to be on the verge of collapsing altogether. In any case, you should check it out pronto. Thanks to Obinna for this one.

VBR @ 192+ kbps (re-zipped with track 6 included)

Shiny Beast -- Shiny Beast ep

Posting this for Big Fat Satanist, whose blog is fucking incredible. I seriously can't believe how much high quality stuff he puts up over there. And quickly, too. I sometimes go weeks between posts, but he has a new post with multiple uploads almost every day. Stop wasting your time here and go over there now.

VBR @ 256+ kbps

Chang Ffos -- Azerubine

4 song EP from Croatian heavynoise guys Chang Ffos.

320 kbps

Massacre -- Killing Time

Really excellent no-wave noise rock played by early-'80s downtown NYC jazzmen, including Fred Frith on guitar. This is not the remastered version that came out in the late '90s, but the original from 1983. Perhaps the best of its kind.

VBR @ 256 kbps

Hauler -- The Haymaker

Heavy stuff from defunct Vancouver, WA band Hauler. Thanks to Obinna for turning me on to this, even though I had to go find it for him.

320 kbps

Heinous Killings -- Hung with Barbwire

Utterly ridiculous drum machine goregrind with some of the craziest vocals you'll ever hear. Apparently these guys have a real drummer now and are working on new material. Yes, I realize that it's barbed wire, not barbwire, but at least they get title case.

320 kbps

Carcass -- Symphonies of Sickness

My first and still my favorite Carcass album. Can't believe this is 20 years old, but then I've said that a number of times on here. I also can't believe that it's still being imitated, though of course without the same wittiness/humor. I saw them on this tour (Reseda Country Club, probably 1990 or so) and was completely floored, and apparently they've re-formed and are playing again, although I doubt that it's the same now. Still, you should have this if you don't already.

192 kbps

Oneida -- Anthem of the Moon

Before their current incarnation as a dull (and therefore more popular) indie sensation, Oneida made some truly interesting and varied music. I'm speaking roughly of the period that includes Each One Teach One, Enemy Hogs, Come on Everybody Let's Rock, the Steel Rod ep and this one here, perhaps my favorite of the bunch. There's an exuberant energy that's wholly absent from their later stuff. I think perhaps the personnel has changed since these days, but I can't be bothered to check it out. Anyway, this is from 2001, and it kicks major butt.

VBR @ 224+ kbps

Can Can Heads -- Last Tongues in Ass Pick

More Finnish weirdness. This is a 9 song, 7'' EP from 1996. It's mostly instrumental with some structured parts and some not-so-structured parts, and some noisy parts and some fast parts and even the occasional trumpet bleat. If you tend to like the stuff on this blog, then you'll probably like this, too. If not, then go take a flying fuck at a rolling donut.

320 kbps

Coptic Light -- Coptic Light

Instrumental explorations from former members of Antioch Arrow, Bitch Magnet and Storm & Stress. Released in 2005. Should appeal to those of you who enjoy Laddio Bolocko, Hella, those instrumental Black Flag albums, etc.

VBR @ 192+ kbps

Claw Hammer -- Claw Hammer

More early '90s nostalgia for me. Claw Hammer always seemed to be opening up for whatever band I really wanted to see back then, so I kinda took them for granted. But this is some solid material here, and probably sounds better today than whatever the headliners were at the time. It's their debut full-length on Sympathy for the Record Industry from 1990. This album is sometimes called F.U.B.A.R., although I have no idea why.

192 kbps

Group Inerane -- Guitars from Agadez (Music of Niger)

So-called "world music" has always been something that sounds better to me in principle than in reality. So much of the supposed music of the world sounds like a slight sprinkling of non-Western elements (instruments, scales, etc.) on top of what is essentially Western pop music (or worse yet, new age-y schmaltz). It mostly bores the pants right off of musical aesthetes such as myself and those of you reading this. But that's not to say that there isn't genuinely great stuff out there.

Enter Sublime Frequencies, a record label founded by members of Sun City Girls. Their mission is to track down and then make available these musical gems from faraway lands untainted by Western sounds or commercial interests. This particular one comes to us from Niger, and while the sound quality is not great, it's nonetheless easy to imagine yourself in the middle of some massive desert gathering with ululating and dancing and Nigeri hooch, whatever form that may take. (If it sounds like I'm describing a rave, fear not -- there are no glow sticks or whistles or ravers to spoil the fun.)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I do.

320 kbps

L. Ron Hubbard -- Space Jazz: The Soundtrack of the Book Battlefield Earth

Jesus holy fuck is this one weird. OK, all people of faith are by definition insane, and all religions are equally wrong -- we can all agree on that. But after hearing this I'm forced to admit that some doctrines are more jaw-droppingly bizarre and further out of touch with reality than others. Here we have a record from Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that defies description, and if he had sat in his room and recorded it by himself, we could all laugh it off as the work of an isolated madman. But no -- on this one he had help. Semi-respected jazz musicians Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke helped to realize this vision. How these guys were not laughed right out of the metaphorical room, along with John Travolta and Beck and Tom Cruise and all the others, is beyond me. And if you haven't pissed your pants or fallen out of your seat or ejected milk from your nose by track 4, Terl the Security Director, then perhaps you should join them.

P.S. -- "Credit" goes to Losty for turning me on to this.

192 kbps