'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012)

Third wave post-rock legend Godspeed You! Black Emperor made a very triumphant return to the music scene in 2010 when they decided to start touring after their break-up back in 2003, and now they have revealed their first album release since 2002. With no prior warning, this album was sold only in record format during their tours, starting on the first of October. Soon after the news hit, an official post was made on Constellation's website, promoting the album. Released on one 12" record and one 7" record, this album departs from most Godspeed releases, with the 7" specifically being the "drone" tracks that break up the album.

Strung Like Lights at Thee Printemps Erable.

Cell-Scape (2003)

Noise rock in possibly the most literal sense of the term.

Shield for your eyes, a beast in the well on your hand.

American Football (1999) [24bit/96kHz]

Best friends, and better halves.

Goodbyes.

Live at The Stone NYC (2010)

Finishing up the small lossless discography for these guys, this is the only official live album to be released by them. This fittingly lo-fi recording of one of the few live performances only contains eight songs and clocks in at a short show of only 53 minutes. As brief as this performance is, it sure is a heavy hitter, with songs from all stages of the band's brief career.


I hope I can hold on
Until the day that I escape.

299792458 (2012)

299792458, more commonly known as the speed of light in meters per second, is the first release by Mariko Goto (後藤まりこ), the former front-woman of the popular Japanese jazz-punk band Midori (ミドリ). After the break that followed the band calling it quits in 2010, Goto began her solo career in 2011 with this as the result. More pop orientated than anything, 299792458 is an album that more shows Goto's experience with song writing and her vocal performance, which is absolutely stellar on this album. Definitely something to check out if you're a Midori fan, even if it isn't really your cup of tea.

HARDCORE LIFE

The Great Cold Distance (2006)

This album is best described as the moment when Katatonia fully realized their sound.  Dark alternative metal with hints of prog, this is the formula that their future albums have been built from, and even after the band released two more albums, there was nothing that sounded quite like this.

Evacuate, assemble here.

The Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack (1996)

One of the most iconic platformers of all time also has one of the most iconic soundtracks. Composed by Koji Kondo (近藤浩治), this OST has all of the themes, stage tracks, and some of the minor chimes you'll encounter throughout the game. Totaling at about 51 minutes, this is fairly short for a game soundtrack by today's standards, but this has everything you would want to hear from the original game. Ripped from one of the original Pony Canyon releases.

"It's-a me, Mario!"

Deathconsciousness (2008)

With the recent re-release of the album on both vinyl and CD, I figured that I would finally own this masterpiece of an album and rip it myself. Unfortunately, I was very late on the gun on was only able to pick up the CD version. Still the classic you all know and love, Deathconsciousness was the first musical endeavor by the duo Have a Nice Life. The album experiments with rich soundscapes and ambient sections, heavy post-rock and noticeably industrial segments, and incredibly low quality all around. To be honest, lo-fi doesn't even begin to describe this album's quality. That aside, Have a Nice Lfie's Deathconsciousness is an 80 minute experience set across two discs that is simply too good to pass up. I would use the new cover of the album for the post image, but my scanner is pretty shitty and nobody seems to care about scanning that sort of thing anymore, unfortunately. Thankfully, the old cover is still awesome.

a thousand tiny lives
disappear into the black depths
I guess I thought I'd feel something
but I didn't

Plan Infiltration (2011)

Japanese emo guys. Really swell band, mostly sound like some of the other emo bands I'm fond of, including Algernon Cadwallader and Snowing. This album is a compilation of some tracks recorded in 2005 and some older singles and split tracks. Give it a listen here.

Malegoat is one of the most talented bands from Japan, if not everywhere. We sold several imports of their latest full length "To Face the Music", and we toured with them in Japan. Now we have a handful of copies of their early work, newly collected and issued for the first time on one CD from the wonderful Waterslide Records out of Japan.
                                                                              -CYLS

Soundtracks for the Blind (1996)

This is Swans' most varied studio release, touching on various genres, from EDM to early post-rock.  Created from various sound experiments by Micheal Gira, it is unlike any previous Swans album.

See for yourself.

Bad as Me (2011)

The seventeenth studio album from the prolific rock artist. His first album since 2004, Waits brings his usual bluesy song arrangements and unique vocal style to the table and does not disappoint. Receiving widespread critical acclaim, Bad as Me is Waits in his most refined and efficient form. From this album, you can really feel the over thirty years of experience that Waits has under his belt.


They told me you were no good
I know you’ll take care of all my needs
You’re the same kind of bad as me

Filth (1983)

FLEX YOUR MUSCLES

Candy Cigarettes, Capguns, Issue Problems! and Such (2011)

A compilation of Andrew Jackson Jihad's first LP, first EP, and some other bits and pieces.  It does a great job of capturing the band in their earlier years, as said in the album's liner notes, "when we had nothing to lose or prove, long before our lavish spending habits had gotten the best of us and we had to spend more than 15 minutes making an album."

"Some of you may have noticed that we do not play a fair amount of these songs anymore, particularly some songs featured on our first record, Candy Cigarettes and Cap Guns.  To be perfectly honest, I don't remember how to play most of these songs, and furthermore, my grandmother has now heard tured on our first record, Candy Cigarettes and Cap Guns.

Here's how it happened: She has recently discovered how to use the internet, and now checks up on AJJ news daily.  While skimming through our videos on Youtube (which she thinks is our website), she came across the songs "Be Afraid of Jesus,", "Lady Killer", and "Fuck White People".  When she wrote to tell me that she had heard these songs, waves of embarrassment flooded my brain, and I knew that my greatest subconscious fear had been realized.  The prospect of my grandmother hearing these songs had been a long time fear of mine, and I should have known that it was only a matter of time before she heard these songs, which were written under my grandparent's roof while I was living there in high school.

If you happen to be at one of our shows, and Ben and I do not honor a request from this album, please think of my grandma, because while we are very proud to have released and rereleased Candy Cigarettes and Cap Guns, the thought of my grandmother watching us play "Fuck White People" is personally horrifying, and I am not willing to take the chance that it'll end up on Youtube

-Sean Bonnette 2010

Tripper (2011)

The most recent full-length from the hella rad math-rock duo from Sacramento, California. Imagine Lightning Bolt and Behold...the Arctopus making a collaboration album and you have these guys. They're a really groovy and powerful blend of noise and math. It's hella sweet.

"We wrote, recorded, and mixed Tripper in only 16 studio days but we did it in short 2 or 3 day sessions spaced a couple of months apart each. 95% of the album is just one guitar track, one bass track and one drum track.  On Headless I doubled the guitar part and on a section near the end of the song I actually played a harmonized lead for a second."


Source.

Beautiful (2008)

Second album by the Japanese math/post-rock band About Tess. Consisting of two guitarists, two bassists, and two drummers, they're a nice blend of great guitar grooves and very diverse post-rock movements.

It's somewhat hard to explain, so just give it a shot.

Ire Works (2007)

The third album by one of the predominant mathcore bands. After two major band departures that effectively changed how the album was recorded, Ire Works was released in November of 2007. All of the guitar work on the album was performed by Ben Weinman, who also reprised his role of programming on the album, and the drums were done by Gil Sharone, who remained in the band until the start of 2009. The album is composed of more avant-garde metal with the more traditional mathcore sound that the band was known for on their first album, Calculating Infinity. This album continued the buildup that eventually led up to the band's most recent release, Option Paralysis.


Got so much salt from your lies poured into me
You didn't see yourself dead already
So full of with every breath that you breathe
But you forgot that in your fairy tale I'm the wolf
All this attention got you thinking that you're a queen
You think that everything you're doing isn't a dream, long as it feel alright.

Nothing Was Missing, Except Me (2010)

The start and end of it all. Much like other emo bands, Hightide Hotel followed the tried and true formula of releasing a demo, some singles, and one LP. Nothing Was Missing surely does not disappoint, with some great new material and a few rerecords from their demo. It's sad to see these guys go, but at least they left us with a nice album to remember them by.


I can’t wrap my mind around where you find time to screen-print valentines between five classes, but I’ve kept mine tucked underneath pamphlets about loneliness and suicide prevention by my bedside.

F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997) (Vinyl Rip)

The first official release from the critically acclaimed post-rock band. Initially released in 1997, the LP version of the album only contained two songs, one on each side, that was divided into six and four "movements" respectively. Possibly the most interesting fact about the record version of the album is that in the final movement of "Bleak, Uncertain, Beautiful...", the last groove on the record is an infinite groove which will continue to play until you manually stop the record. This rip obviously stops pretty soon after the groove starts, but doesn't lose any content. Unlike most vinyl rips, this version is not 24/96 (24 bits sampled at 96 kHz), but standard ripping rates. If I ever feel like actually getting around to it, I might also decide to upload that version.


The car is on fire, and there's no driver at the wheel
And the sewers are all muddied with a thousand lonely suicides
And a dark wind blows 


The government is corrupt
And we're on so many drugs
With the radio on and the curtains drawn 


We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
And the machine is bleeding to death 


The sun has fallen down
And the billboards are all leering
And the flags are all dead at the top of their poles 


It went like this: 


The buildings tumbled in on themselves
Mothers clutching babies 
Picked through the rubble
And pulled out their hair 


The skyline was beautiful on fire
All twisted metal stretching upwards
Everything washed in a thin orange haze 


I said, "Kiss me, you're beautiful -
These are truly the last days" 


You grabbed my hand 
And we fell into it
Like a daydream 
Or a fever 


We woke up one morning and fell a little further down
For sure it's the valley of death 


I open up my wallet
And it's full of blood

Divorce Lawyers I Shaved My Head (2009)

Often compared to the folky recordings of acclaimed artist Jeff Mangum and his band Neutral Milk Hotel, this album is the only release by Jordaan Mason under the name Jordaan Mason and the Horse Museum. From what I've heard, the very disjointed lyrics, similar to those of Mangum, tell the story of a failed marriage between two people of confused genders and identities. The album takes place during a glandolinian war and includes horses, shotguns, carnival horn sections, religion, male birth, sickness, semen, haircuts, and an eventual apocalypse in 1990. Filled with very acoustic lo-fi and folk flare, this album is a roller-coaster of ridiculousness and strangely touching feelings.


my mouth is filled with his ovaries
i hold them: here, between my teeth

Vocalogenesis (2010)

If the cover somehow is not a dead giveaway, this is a Vocaloid compilation. If you don't know what that means, that's not my problem. Give it a shot anyway.

Click here to give shot. (Lyrics someday maybe.)

Exmilitary (2011)

The debut release from the Sacramento based experimental hip-hop trio. From MC Ride's intense vocal delivery to Zach Hill's insane drum beats and Andy Morin's great synth lines, Death Grips is relentless with this mixtape. Considering just how commercially successful their second album that was released this year did, these guys are definitely going places.



Into the flame, into the fire 
With no regard for a thing, fuck that I'm the lord of the game 
I rule this empire 

Voids (2010)

An anthology of demos and b-sides from the popular lo-fi/shoegaze/post-rock/industrial/ambient band.


a thousand tiny lives
disappear into the black depths
I guess I thought I'd feel something but I didn't

An Endless Sporadic (2009)

The first (and only) album by the instrumental prog band that was popularized by the work of one of its members at Neversoft on the famous Guitar Hero rhythm games that also feature five of the band's songs. Overall a really great album that has a very experimental and forward sort of feeling to it while also staying pretty progressive. I am a huge fan of the drums and keyboard work on this album.

Point of No Return

EP's 1988-1991 (2012)

Part of the complete remastering of the band's work done by their frontman, Kevin Shields. The collection features three EPs (You Made Me Realize, Glider, and Tremolo), a single, and some rare and unreleased tracks. A fine collection for the My Bloody Valentine fan in your family.


Get the hell inside
You can close your eyes
Well you might as well commit suicide

Second (2007)

The aptly-titled second album from the Japanese band. This album is also notably their second longest album, clocking in at around thirty-two minutes. Being considerably longer than their first album, Midori made use of the extra time to expand on the sound that they had originally presented on their previous release. Including more intricate piano and drum sections, and more diversity in the vocals, this album surely is an outstanding follow-up to First.

セカンド♥

The Amazing New Electronic Pop Sound Of Jean Jacques Perrey (1968)

A selection of delightfully whimsical early electronic tracks.

Four, Three, Two, One!

Another Green World (1975) [2004 Remaster]

All the clouds turn to words

All the words float in sequence

No one knows what they mean

Everyone just ignores them

THE WORST ALBUM (2011)

Second soundtrack released from the highly successful show. Mostly features the works of Japanese DJ TeddyLoid, but also has other contributions. Ranges from mostly electronica and some techno to a little bit of dubstep. Certainly not what you would expect from the soundtrack to an anime.

Also, did I mention the album also features a series of drama tracks? They're mixed in with the actual music, and are fairly interesting for being in Japanese. Even if you don't know the language, at least you can oogle at Stocking's voice.

パステルカラーのキャンディ口にして
大きなケーキを一人で食べるの
甘い切なさとほろ苦いつらさは
どちらも正直好きな物じゃないの

Mandala (2009)

The band's first album to feature the four-piece lineup.  It provides a perfect example of their blend of prog, punk, ska, and reggae.

The world is yours to devour.

The Great Misdirect (2009)

The fifth full-length from the metalcore-gone-progressive band from North Carolina, the lengthy but short tracked album does not disappoint. Between the Buried and Me has been refining their sound with each passing release, and The Great Misdirect is the pinnacle of that. It features diverse instrumental sections with fast-paced and clashing vocals to make a very powerful and unique sound. Definitely an album to check out from their rather lengthy discography.


Every night while you're asleep they have been discussing what the future holds for us all.
The outer space takeover. 
Worlds collide in a dreary pre-determined idea brought by our fellow night owls.
Their stories have been mocked... their ideas have been crushed... but after last night they control every idea we think from here on out.

Knife Man (2011)

This is the Arizona band's fourth full-length release, and it does not disappoint.  The folk-punk duo have fleshed out their sound from their original acoustic guitar and stand up bass setup, giving an almost orchestrated feel to some of the songs on this album.  However, the cynical, hateful, self-deprecating lyrics of their previous efforts remain intact here.  Clever lyricism and the broken, whiny voice of the lead singer is what makes Andrew Jackson Jihad stand out.  While humorous at times, moments on some of these songs can turn very dark and serious, bipolar perhaps.  Whether upbeat or heart-wrenching, Knife Man cuts deep.

You can buy a Salad Glove, you can buy an iPod
and you can sell that shit to Bookmans when your wife dies and you lose your job.
You can hope it gets better, you can follow your dreams
but hope is for presidents and dreams are for people who are sleeping.

Supercell (2009)

The first and only full-length from the Japanese 11-piece band to feature Miku as the vocalist. Probably one of the most successful albums to use the program, considering that most of the songs on the album are still popular today. The album also features some really great instrumental work on behalf of the more physical side of the band.

忘れそうになったら　この歌を
歌うの

Ziltoid The Omniscient (2007)

Greetings humans, I am Ziltoid The Omniscient.

I have come from far across the omniverse.

You shall fetch me your universe's ultimate cup of coffee...

Black!

You have five Earth minutes.

Make it perfect!

The Ugly Organ (2003)

If at first you don't succeed

you gotta recreate your misery

'cause we all know art is hard

young artists have gotta starve

Try, and fail, and try again

the comforts of repetition

Keep churning out those hits

'til it's all the same old shit

Pamyu Pamyu Revolution (2012)

Chances are that you know what this is if you follow j-pop at all. It's good, it's catchy, and her fashion sense rivals that of Lady Gaga. This is the follow up to her mini-album, and her first full release. Three tracks make a return on this album, but the new content is what you would expect from Ms. Pamyu Pamyu: the unexpected.

ぱみゅぱみゅレボリューション

In the Attic of the Universe (2007)

The band's second release, back when the band was only Silberman. This time around, things still remain acoustic and very folk influenced, but there are a few more instrumentals this time around. Commenting on this album, Silberman said that the album was written during a low point in his life, where he would often turn to the vastness of the universe to find comfort. He also stated the album has a large theme of religious misdirection, which was inspired by his tendency to find "the wrong solutions" to his problems in life.


And suddenly I saw that I was
Upstairs and outside and freezing on the roof.
Finally it had found me,
The answer, the feeling, and the truth: that I'm small.
I'm smaller than the smallest fireball.

Merzbeat (2002)

Standard Merzbow noise set over very simplistic drum beats that feature a fair amount of distortion. It's surprisingly pleasurable to the ear, despite the rest of his discography being almost the complete opposite.

I was influenced by aggressive Blues Rock guitar sounds like Jimi Hendrix, Lou Reed, Robert Fripp and fuzz organ sounds such as Mike Ratledge of Soft Machine. But the most structured Noise influence would have to be Free Jazz such as Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor, and Frank Wright. I saw the Cecil Taylor Unit in 1973 and it was very influential. I was a drummer for a free form Rock band in the late '70s and I became very interested in the pulse beat of the drums within Free Jazz. I thought it was more aggressive than Rock drums. I also became interested in electronic kinds of sounds. I started listening to more electro-acoustic music like Pierre Henry, Stockhausen, Fancois Bayle, Gordon Mumma and Xenakis. Then I found the forum for mixing these influences into pure electronic noise. I was trying to create an extreme form of free music. In the beginning, I had a very conceptual mind set. I tried to quit using any instruments which related to, or were played by, the human body. It was then that I found tape.


Source.

Neck of the Woods (2012)

I shouldn't really need to introduce these guys. Alternative rock with a hint of indie and noise influence.


If we can stay here long enough
We can play with Bloody Mary
Say her name into the dark
Activate our nerve endings

Heavy Rocks (2011)

The sequel to the trio's 2002 album. Just as loud and just as redefining as the original, Boris does not disappoint. I'm also going to include the record version of the final track on the album, since the track fades out after about a minute or so on any other format.

They intend to conquer the universe.
We're gonna kick out the evil guys.

Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)

Good indie rock hidden under the guide of post-punk revival.

We can cap the old times, make playing only logical harm.
It takes a long time just to get this all straight.

A View From The End Of The World (2010)

The latest album from Machinae Supremacy, the strange Swedish SID-metal group.  It's not quite as good as Overworld, but that's rather difficult of an album to top.  There are some weak spots on here, but the best tracks may even outdo some of the best on the aforementioned album.  It loses a few points for consistency; regardless, it's a great album, and I'm glad that the band keeps refining their style.

A borderless nation of thoughts to replace your walled-in existence in space.

Moshi Moshi Harajuku (2011)

First mini-album by the up-and-coming j-pop singer. It's petty fuckin' kawaii.

PON PON WEI WEI WEI

Feels (2005)

I could make a feels joke, but I'd like to think I'm better than that. Also included are a few bonus live tracks. To be honest, they're not really the best, but Anco has never really been known for putting on spectacular live performances.


Well I'd like to spread your perfume around the old apartment
Could we live together and agree on the same wares?
A trapeze is a bird cage even if it's empty and defintintely fits the room 
And we would too.

Heavy Rocks (2002)

Known by many genres (including drone metal, psychedelic rock, ambient, sludge metal, ambient, and stoner metal), this Japanese trio is loud. Like, hella loud. Their mix of nice and spacey ambient sections, catchy choruses, and very sludgey droning rifts make them the band they are today. Overall, I would describe this album as being a very enjoyable assault of loud distortion.

鐘

Loveless (1991) [2012 Remaster]

Originally released in 1991, this is the remastered edition.  It comes with the "Original Tape" version, which is the same source of all previous pressings of Loveless.  It also comes with the "Original 1/2 Inch Analogue Tape" version, which is just that.  If you like shoegaze at all, this is album is excellent.

IMPORTANT: The packaging for this remaster incorrectly lists CD 1 as the "Original Tape" version and CD 2 as the "Analogue Tape" version.  Because of this, I feel that I should point out that the tags I have given these songs correctly identify which CD is which.

In addition, you may notice a weird glitchy sound at around 2:46 on the analogue version of "What You Want".  This is not an error when ripping the CD, this is actually present in the song itself, and is found on all copies of the remaster.  I can only assume it is a manufacturing error, which is a shame, because the rest of the album is very nice.

Close my eyes
Feel me now
I don't know
How you could not love me now

Hypermagic Mountain (2005)

Noise punk in possibly the most raw form. This duo from Rhode Island features their drummer on vocals, and their bassist using banjo strings. And just think, that isn't even half of what this album offers.

What the world needs,
is another dead cowboy.

Tigers Jaw (2008)

I think you guys know the drill with emo that I like at this point. This time around, you might actually know who these guys are however. On an unrelated note, that looks like one hell of a pizza.


the worst part of my existence
is you can call whenever
but I can't wait forever

Live at Jittery Joe's (2001)

Jeff plays an unprepared set list with a bit of a hoarse voice as he takes audience requests and a baby squeals in the background.


"Phil, do you really want to hear the song about Jesus?"
"Yes."
"Okay.  Song about Jesus."

Ferris Wheel on Fire (2011)

Released as part of their Milk Box compilation, this record only EP features several officially unreleased songs, as well as some earlier versions of songs that would go on to be part of their first full length release. Recorded between 1992 and 1995, these were the first recordings to feature Julian, who is a master at the singing saw, as you can clearly hear here.

And if I was the king of all the kids,
You'd hear me singing in my spit,
But all you would hear is the shit inside my burnt emotions.

Some Kind of Cadwallader (2008)

A very DIY emo band. If you love Snowing, you'll probably like these guys.



I bought you a corsage
And pinned a flower on my jacket,
Because this night means a lot to me.
Then you went
And spilled punch
All on my tuxedo shirt.
White as a cloud
And now i'm screaming out loud.
OH MAN, IT'S TAKING ME OVER