OUR FAVORITE NEW MUSIC & MOVIES! - Amoeba Music

Alaric – Alaric 7” (BUrIED IN HELL)
Debut 7” of Oakland based death rock punk featuring
members of Cross Stitched Eyes, Noothgrush,
and Dead and gone.
Withered – Dualitas (prOSTHETIC
rECOrDS)
Blazing blackened death doom from georgia
that leans much more towards black metal on
this release.
Agalloch – Marrow of the Spirit
(prOFOUND LOrE)
A great release that I feel embodies the whole of
their collected output best while still making a
slight return to their more blackened roots.
Panopticon/Skagos (Split)
(FLENSEr rECOrDS)
Both of these bands offer up their own original
take on atmospheric anarchist pagan black metal
while incorporating elements of folk.
Electric Wizard – Black Masses
(METAL BLADE)
I’ve only been able to listen to this twice
at this point but it’s already my favorite
Electric Wizard album. Stoner
Doooooom!
Shades of Grey –
Freedom/Incarceration
Melancholic melodic hardcore from
Sweden. One of the best crust records
of the year.
Iskra – Bureval
I hadn’t been the biggest fan of this
band up until this point, as they were
a bit too discordant and sloppy for
me, but they definitely tightened up
and added a ton of melody on this record
and have officially won me over.
Tip:
DESTROY NASTIC!!!!! OBEY MCQWUON!!!!!
ShAWN
Shawntronica.
Tristeza – Paisajes (SANITY MUFFIN)
Buy this record! Sonically one of the the best
the band has created. The sounds are dark, lush,
rhythmic. This is one of those albums you play
over and over and over again.
26 MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011
John Bender – I Don’t
Remember Now / I Don’t Want
To Talk About It (rECOrD SLUTS)
reissue of an amazing minimal synth album
from 1980. This is raw electronic music at its
core; sounds like this was made during a time
of loneliness and despair, no one around…with
a weird uplifting feeling that puts a smile to my
face everytime.
Port Said – Live in NYC //
1-14-83 & 9-03-82 (SANITY MUFFIN)
Another amazing release from the boys down at
Sanity Muffin. Think MS-20 roving the back alleys
of New York with simple percussion that helps
to drive this excursion along. Very live, very raw,
very good.
Demdike Stare – Liberation
Through Hearing 12”
(MODErN LOVE)
The second of three Demdike Stare albums for
2010. Its title Liberation Through Hearing is a direct
reference to the “Tibetan Book Of The Dead,”
an ancient text intended to guide the reader
through the experience of the consciousness
occurring during the interval between death and
the next rebirth. Billowing sub tones and heavenly
choirs alongside meditative rhythms keep
you in a trance. great for when you want something
in the background while working on art.
SpENSAUR
COOpER
In-store promotions and
rock floor monkey…
Yi – Brain Party 12”
(BrICk gUN rECOrDS)
This 12” which features the five songs
from the band’s debut cassette along
with a few others is a very promising release
from this newer Oakland band. Yi sounds
like a cross between Fugazi and Foreigner, coupling
powerful licks and groves with lo-fi production
and distorted punchy vocals. Like eating
a double bacon burger in a bouncy house.
Sharkpact – Ditches (SELF-rELEASED)
This debut cassette from Olympia, Washington’s
grrl/Boy duo Sharkpact, is what happens when
peace punks pick up a keyboard instead of an
acoustic guitar. See these guys live and bring earplugs!
Jeff hits his drums hard and Camille cranks
her casio… simply amazing!
Butcher Cover – Butcher Cover
12” (rOTTED TOOTH rECOrDS)
The 12” from Oakland’s Butcher Cover (featuring
Amoeba Berkeley employees rob &
kyle) will punch your pregnant sister in the
stomach. It won’t stop for the elderly man on
his motorized wheel chair. It most certainly
won’t give you spare change. It will make you
laugh with delight as your open wounds bleed
all over your turntable. gritty, rusty, detrimental,
offensive, brash. These are adjectives for
Butcher Cover’s new and extremely limited
release (only 245 copies pressed on red vinyl)!
Street Eaters/
Severance Package –
Polluted Waters 7” (DEAD BrOkE/
LOST CAT/DIrT CULT rECOrDS)
This 7” split is a good guide
as to where the East Bay
scene has been going
over the past couple
years. Street Eaters’
fuzzed-out bass lines
coupled with explosive
yet controlled drumming is
catchy as all hell, yet weird
enough to keep their songs
interesting, raw, and even a little artsy.
Severance package’s side includes a classic
East Bay sound, complete with snotty vocals,
4-chord punk progression, and a surfy
intro lick. This split just feels like home.
Grass Widow –
Past Time
(kILL rOCk STArS)
grass Widow got a lot of press for this
one through the indie mags and blogs, and rightfully
so! The San Francisco trio seem to start
with equal parts ’60s girl groups and ’90s riot
grrrl, and then add in a dash of jazz and even a
pinch of prog to create a style all their own. Their
eerie harmonies, odd metered turnarounds and
twangy instrumentation are a perfect addition
to the kill rock Stars indie-rock time line.
Marnie Stern – Marnie Stern
(kILL rOCk STArS)
Marnie Stern is a better guitar player than you’ll
ever be… that’s it… that’s the review…
Tip:
Superhero-based MMO video games will be the death of
my social life and musical aspirations.
TOM O
Parting Gifts – Strychnine
Dandelion (IN THE rED)
I’ve recently discovered that I love everything I
can find with Greg Cartwright on it (see: Reigning
Sound, Compulsive gamblers, Oblivians).
This is his latest record. Surprise… I love it! I
was a little worried about what this one would
sound like because it’s a collaboration with The
Ettes’ singer Coco Hames. The Ettes aren’t really
my cup of tea, but this record is great, and
Cartwright’s vocals and songwriting really shine.
Dan Melchior – Visionary Pangs
(S.S. rECOrDS)
I have more records by Dan Melchior
in my collection than almost any other
artist. You would think that with this
guy being as prolific as he is you could
expect a few duds in the bunch but
that is just not the case here. He has
another Lp that will be out by the
time this booklet is printed called
Assemblage Blues on Siltbreeze records.
I have no problem buying up all his
records knowing that even if I don’t have time
right now, in the future I can dig deep into his
catalog and enjoy his clever, bitter lyrics atop his
noisy psychedelic blues stomp.
Ben Nichols – Last Pale Light
in the West (SABOT)
First time on vinyl! Originally released
on CD back in ’08, this is Ben’s only
departure from his main gig with the
southern rock band Lucero. This record
is inspired by the Cormac McCarthy book
Blood Meridian and that bleak imagery fits well
with Ben’s unmistakable gravel voice and old
west styled tunes. Not a bad place to start if
you’ve never heard Lucero before. I’ve heard
it described as sounding like if Tom Waits sang
Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska and I’d say that
comes pretty close. Sabot is also reissuing Lucero’s
first five Lps — which is nice because
it means I won’t have to cough up some hefty
cash for their original pressings on eBay. Thanks
Sabot!
The Fresh & Onlys – Play It
Strange (IN THE rED)
We manage to sell a copy of this record just
about every time we play it in the store. Do
yourself a favor and give it a listen.
MUSIC WE LIKE H Spring/Summer 2011 27