Update: Note that we'll be closed this coming Monday (Aug 2) for the holiday.

First, some store news: Classical is now GONE. All of it. We were going to offer 50 percent off remaining stock for one week and we did it for five, which I think is more than fair. Even at that only about 30 percent of it sold, which says a lot about the remaining inventory. Those upset about this deletion, I feel your pain, but there simply was no other solution. The reason we do no longer carry classical is that none of the staff listens to the genre which makes buying it and pricing it very difficult and a zero sum game. We recommend Second Vinyl (10 Wellesley Street) or Amoroso (4 St. Patrick) for your Classical fix.

We have now moved Jazz into Classical's old home. This may be temporary--we're thinking of some other solutions as that space is not quite big enough for Jazz. Until another solution comes up, it'll be under the window.

New sections are coming as soon as I get a chance to wrangle them together. We're thinking Soul/R&B, Ambient/Experimental/Electronic, and maybe Metal. If you have suggestions for what you'd like added, by all means mention them and we'll see if we can accommodate.

Some new vinyl arrived yesterday (both new and used), including a bunch of jazz (Coltrane, Blakey, Gordon, Moncur III, Pepper). Here's a list of what I can remember:

Tool - 2LP ltd ed. picture disc
Panda Bear 7"
Husker Du - Metal Circus
Beck - Guerro
Eminem - Recovery
Tina Brooks - True Blue
The National - High Violet, s/t, and Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers
Joy Division - Closer
Svarte Greiner - Penpals Forever (Digitalis; in on CD as well; vinyl is ltd to 450 copies and is already sold out from the label)
Soundway's two 3LP sets: The World Ends Part A and Part B
Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974 (2LP on Sublime Frequencies)

A bunch of you have asked about the new Mississippi Records releases I mentioned a few posts previous. They're on order but have not arrived. Those who have emailed about them will get a heads-up when we've got them in-hand. MR are somewhat notorious for announcing titles early, so we may have these very soon or not for a while--it's impossible for me to say. However, I can say with certainty that there's no doubt we'll get them as soon as they're available. Of course, I'll announce their arrival here on the site as well. We have a different (faster, cheaper) source for MR titles than anyone else in the city so should have them first and a couple bucks cheaper than everyone else, just like we do with all other MR vinyls.

We also received a heap of nice used LPs of some contemporary artists (Cat Power, Paul Weller, Tom Petty, and a few others).

Someone brought in a bunch of Emerson, Lake and Palmer Japanese CDs as well as a complete set of those UK Rolling Stones CDs with the miniature album art repros.

Lastly, we also got stock on the Roll the Dice album on CD (it's out of print on vinyl), as well as stock of the latest CDs by The Gaslight Anthem, National, Great Big Sea, Stars, Nirvana, Dum Dum Girls, Discovery, Black Keys, Tom Petty, Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse, Jonsi, Sting, Sun Burned Hand of the Man, Jimmy Webb, New Pornographers, Melissa Etheridge, KD Lang, and a few others I can't recall off the top of my head.

Just a heads-up about some upcoming vinyl pieces. Some interesting stuff, for sure:

Five volumes on Mississippi Records of Various Artists compilations to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Lomax's Southern Journey.

1. Wave the Ocean, Wave the Sea
2. Worried Now, Won't Be Worried Long
3. I'll Meet You On That Other Shore
4. I'll Be Glad When the Sun Goes Down
5. I'm Gonna Live Anyhow Until I Die

Here's a little write up:

In 1959 and 1960, at the height of the Folk Revival, Alan Lomax undertook the first-ever stereo field recording trip through the American South to document its still thriving vernacular musical culture. He traveled through Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina, making over 70 hours of recordings. The trip came to be known as Lomax's "Southern Journey," and its recordings were first issued for the Atlantic and Prestige labels in the early '60s. Those, however, as well as subsequent releases on New World and Rounder Records, are now all out of print. To remedy this, and to celebrate the Southern Journey's 50th anniversary, Mississippi Records and the Alan Lomax Collection have collaborated on five commemorative LPs, spanning the breadth of Lomax's '59-60 Southern recordings, drawing on new transfers of the original 1/4" tapes, and featuring a considerable amount of previously unreleased material. The five LP volumes feature singing siblings Hobart Smith and Texas Gladden from Saltville, Virginia; menhaden fishermen's chorus the Bright Light Quartet; the Young Brothers' Mississippi Hill Country fife and drum band; Blue Ridge instrumentalists Wade Ward and Charlie Higgins; Bessie Jones and the Georgia Sea Island Singers; work songs and hollers from Parchman Farm; congregational hymns from African American and white Appalachian meeting-houses; Alabama's singing washerwoman Vera Ward Hall; the 1959 United Sacred Harp Convention; and the debut recordings of bluesman Fred McDowell, among much else.

Each volume is being sold separately with its own distinctive packaging. All come with a 12 page booklet featuring many never before published photos. Old school tip on sleeves & beautiful sound. Like all MR releases, these will be limited. I've ordered a few of each but if it's something you're desperate for, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) so I'm certain to order enough. Not to be missed!

Italy's Doxy Records has some nice stuff coming out:

Willie Dixon - Walkin' the Blues
Ornette Coleman - Something Else
Ornette Coleman - Tomorrow Is the Question
Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'Echafaud
John Lee Hooker - Driftin' the Blues
John Lee Hooker - The Blues
John Lee Hooker - The Great John Lee Hooker
Lightnin' Hopkins - Country Blues

The wonderful The National's first few records are finally coming out on vinyl: Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers and The National.

Ambient Doom master Svarte Greiner's got a new release on Digitalis--it's a rerelease of a 2008 cassette-only album, with a new side of material as a bonus. We'll be getting it in on CD and LP. Title is Penpals Forever (and Ever). The vinyl is limited to just 450 copies.

Speaking of Digitalis, the Roll the Dice LP which we sold out of earlier in the year... ? It's coming in on CD. I play it often at the store and people always inquire. It's a duo, featuring the male half of The Knife, which lots of people have been asking about as well. We'll have Silent Shout 2LP in stock soon.

Soundway's got two 3LP sets coming: The World Ends Part A and Part B. But what are they, you ask? Here's the write-up:

The World Ends is the latest title from Soundway Records showcasing a wave of guitar-driven and psychedelic groups that sprung up in Nigeria during the early 1970s. Featuring 32 electrifying and funk-laden grooves, this is the sound of a generation attempting to pick up the pieces after the devastation of the Nigerian civil war. Spread over 2 triple gatefold LPs, this bumper collection is brimming with youthful exuberance, fuzzed-out guitar and cosmic organ vibes and owes much to the psychedelic sounds of Jim Morrison, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and James Brown. As the Summer of Love was blossoming in London and San Francisco, Nigeria was imploding into civil war. Also known as the Biafra War of 1967, it was a grisly conflict taking over three million lives, yet at the same time the country was being pulled apart, there was a new world beginning. The tracks featured represent a forgotten chapter in Nigeria's musical history when the youth threw their varied morsels into the pot, from hard rock to psychedelic soul, when guitars were cherished instruments, symbolic of a new movement, when highlife and Afrobeat played second fiddle to "the beat."

Another interesting 2LP release is coming from Sublime Frequencies: Saigon Rock & Soul: Vietnamese Classic Tracks 1968-1974:

Saigon Rock & Soul delivers the goods international retro collectors have been searching for in vain for many years -- and it delivers beyond belief. Every song is a mini-masterpiece, be it heavy acid-rock psychedelia, horn- and guitar- drenched funk grooves, or gripping soul ballads reflective of life during wartime. The tracks that form this collection cut a window into a rich musical Vietnamese music scene that has long been obscured, and for the most part, forgotten. As the scope of electrified Vietnamese music from the 1960s and 1970s begins to be revealed, it becomes evident that this was among the heaviest and most eclectic musical scenes of Southeast Asia at the time. These songs tell of war, love and what war does to love. All of them were recorded in makeshift studios and even U.S. army facilities while the Vietnam War raged -- and were issued by a handful of Saigon record companies on vinyl 45s and reel or cassette tapes.

I guess I should also be asking whether anyone is keen on the multi-LP Neu! box. It's CRAZY expensive so we're not bringing it in unless it's a special order. That said, I *do* think I can get the best price on it in the city, which would be around $200, I think. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you want me to investigate further.

And, finally, 12-string guitar master James Blackshaw's new album, All Is Falling is coming soon. Here's a taste:

I've been threatening for a while to bring in a bunch of new ambient / drone / experimental / folk. Many of you have tried to stop me. Anyone visiting the store from here on out will be a testament to your failure.

As I've done in the past when bringing a new batch from a new supplier, I've put them at quote unquote introductory prices, so gobble them up. I've seen one or two of the titles at other shops but no one stocks this many and we've got them at absolutely the cheapest price I've seen them for anywhere in town. These are almost all limited edition CDs. Available today:

Valerio Cosi - Heavy Electronic Pacific Rock
"What Valerio Cosi coaxes from his saxophone on Heavy Electronic Pacific Rock is unparalleled. ... Cosi's captivating sonics sit alongside the greats of experimental music … it's so fresh that calling it ‘free’ limits its potential and blemishes the sound … genres bend to the will of Cosi and his feverish imagination" - Tiny Mix Tapes

Black to Comm - Charlemagne & Pippin
“Starting with a microcosm of a drone, the piece largely develops itself as an extended crescendo, continuously moving steadily forward into ever deeper waters … an intoxicating and immersive experience akin to the very MC5 song it is named after. Not in sound perhaps, but certainly in attitude and scope.” - Brainwashed

Barn Owl - From Our Mouths A Perpetual Light
"Some might label this as garden variety stoner rock, but it transcends those genre misgivings. Barn Owl's ultimate value lies within the subtlety of their approach, reminiscent almost of Indian classical music." - Cokemachineglow
"It's as though the first layer of American settlers has been reactivated through the music and Barn Owl are transmitters." - Julian Cope

Ilyas Ahmed - The Vertigo of Dawn
“Heavy, jamming, acoustic guitar licks, eastern grooving hand percussions, stoned backwards or fuzzed-out electric guitar splatters, and subtle creaky drones. The vocals are nearly unintelligible but swirl beautifully through the songs like floating, smoky ripples. Woozy, head-bobbing, and completely there.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Ilyas Ahmed - Between Two Skies / Towards The Night
"These primitive recordings house some remarkably beautiful sounds, largely focussed on Ahmed's solo guitar playing and mournfully howling voice." - Boomkat
"Call it abandon, a facility for letting go, for moving on; either way Ahmed's music is gone. And all we have are the recordings, scattered notes to prove that he once existed and felt it all as deeply and miraculously as any of us. And right now, from where I'm calling from, I wouldn't ask for anything more." - David Keenan, from the liner notes

Evan Caminiti - Psychic Mud Shrine (Caminiti is one half of Avant Metal band Barn Owl)
“Four towering guitar pieces that move beyond the pursuit of drone and sludge and take on a more slippery, mystical quality.” - Boomkat

Elm - Nemcatacoa - (Jon Porras (Elm) is one half of Barn Owl)
“Achingly beautiful album fusing elements of everything from Earth to Windy & Carl, Stephen O'Malley, My Bloody Valentine, Fennesz, Keith Fullerton Whitman and Emeralds. … Incredible.” – Boomkat

Turner Cody - Buds of May (Turner is the bassist for Herman Dune.)
“I think he's a really gifted songwriter. Whatever it is, I think he has it … If you can track down his Buds of May, that's where it's at!” – Wooden Wand “Cody is pre-war, Old Testament & A Confederate General from Big Sur.” - Glenn Donaldson (Jewelled Antler / Skygreen Leopards)

Concern – Truth & Distance
“Despite the heavily processed sound of this material, the three long tracks here were constructed almost entirely out of acoustic instrumentation … almost unspeakably beautiful.” - Boomkat

Scott Tuma – Not For Nobody (Scott is Ex-Boxhead Ensemble & a member of Zelienople)
“This album is too good to be true. It captures some of the finest elements of music and places these notes and passages in contexts that are at once instantly familiar and yet new. A truly unique work.” – Boomkat

Taiga Remains – Wax Canopy
“Neither sedate enough to fall into the ambient category nor ferocious enough to sit alongside Yellow Swans and the like, Wax Canopy resides somewhere in the blurry betweenness, at times bringing to mind Lichens, Birdshow and perhaps even the rainforest collages of Francisco Lopez.” – Boomkat

Cursillistas – Wasp Stings the Last Bitter Flavor
“…sounds like an intimate secret whispered in the listener's ear.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)
“…sweet, abstract narratives in a lowest-ever-fi setting… otherworldly folk and esoteric song warping, with one foot in the outsider undergrowth and the other firmly rooted in more traditional soils.” - Boomkat

Chriss Sutherland – Me in a Field (Chriss is a founding member of Cerberus Shoal)
“Fans of Sufjan Stevens, Akron/Family or just good 'ole fashioned American Primitive folk music would do well to check this without any further ado - I'm off to grab a bottle of moonshine, last week's Sunday paper and a rockin' chair.” – Boomkat

Ensemble Economique – At the Foot of Nameless Roads (Brian Pyle (ee) is in Starving Weirdos and RV Paintings)
“This is vivid, haunting music that leaves a trail of gold in its wake. – Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) / Mariska Baars (soccer Committee) / Wouter Van Veldhoven – Zeeg
“A glorious forty-minute epic of a track … melts into gut-churning bass drones and a dense brick-wall of hissing, reverberating sound. All this is slowly piped through the tape machine again and again before the calmer elements start to wade through the fog and calm is restored. Highly Recommended.” – Boomkat

The Green Blossoms - Whiskey Leaves
“Aiko Koga’s voice is the real focal point of the album. Soft and restrained, even when you can't understand her words (some of the lyrics are in Japanese), you are hooked from the get-go. Hours later, you find yourself humming her melodies while her ghostly incantations are stuck in the back of your mind. … Beautiful.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Theo Angell & the Tabernacle Hillside Singers - Auraplinth (Theo Angell has worked with Hall of Fame & Jackie-O Motherfucker.)
“There's a feel to this album perhaps best described as Manson-esque.” – Boomkat

(VxPxC) - Porchmass
“These guys are a three-man scene, and a joy to follow.” – Dusted Magazine
“The wordless vocals flicker like volcanic ash falling from a sunkissed sky. There's so many things at odds with each other throughout these pieces that the resulting dichotomies and trichotomies create an entirely new sound.” - Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Milton Cross - Light in the West (Cross is in Tarentel, Dial Square, & Party of Doom)
“Cross does his best work when he's playing his violin or harmonium. He's classically trained and his skill is immediately apparent. Both instruments permeate the album, adding a thick layer of glowing warmth to the songs which they haunt.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Jeremy Kelly - s/t
“A hypnotic Middle-Eastern jam that feels baked in the scorching desert sand. Add in some blues-infused acoustic ragas that throw a nod to Ben Chasny's Six Organs of Admittance and glazed walls of analog noise, and you're somewhere in the ballpark of this album.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)

Fabio Orsi & Gianluca Becuzzi - The Stones Know Everything
“Crafting something this immense puts these two musicians into the realm of Stars of the Lid, Birchville Cat Motel and Growing, creating several intense worlds of ambient splendor, juxtaposing the sounds of everyday life with jetstreams of microtones and pulses of audible light.” – Brad Rose (Digitalis)