SORROW - 'SLEEP NOW FOREVER'

Formats

• LSSN091 - 2xLPs

  5061041820137

• LSSN091CD - CD

  5061041820151

Details

*300 BLACK VINYL REPRESS* First time to be released on vinyl, this long out of print CD only album is remastered by Mikey Young for a deluxe 2LP version on Black Vinyl with an exclusive etching on SIDE 4 A total Underground classic.  Sleep Now Forever is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted by singer Rose McDowall. Originally released in 1999 and long since deleted it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, Sleep Now Forever is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall’s most complete long-form work to date. Released through the group’s own Piski Disk Records, Sleep Now Forever was distributed by World Serpent which struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company’s troubles, Sleep Now Forever was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company’s failure. Released on CD only, original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels. Remastered by Mikey Young for a limited vinyl release, Sleep Now Forever will be released on April 20th on double vinyl format, with one side an exclusive etching by Glasgow artist Holly Allan. Despite its rarity, Sleep Now Forever enjoys a firm cult following. The album’s textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an array of players from the underground Neo-folk / industrial scene: Nigel McKernaghan (Uilleann pipes, Whistles), Susan Franknel (Bassoon), John Contreras (Cello) and Lawrence Frankel (Oboe, Cor Anglais). The eleven songs here revolve around McDowall’s instantly recognisable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall’s vocals are impeccable and angelic, particularly on tracks like Turn Off The Light where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe and guitar backing. By far the most evolved and realised version of Sorrow’s vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this beautiful could be lost to time until now. McDowall’s lyrics throughout Sleep Now Forever deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death and redemption. Wave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowal’s vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener Soldier benefits from Robert Lee’s use of the studio as instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground. Mikey Love’s master treats the compositions to brand new frequency dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall’s vocal on Love Dies, a slow, lurching lament that feels transcendent. On Haunting, the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into Fear Becomes You, with chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s psychedelic folk movement. A towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally resurfacing from the darkness.

Tracks

1. Soldier
2. Love Dies
3. Turn Off The Light
4. Haunting
5. Fear Becomes You
6. October Faul
7. Wishing Stone
8. Nomadic Man
9. Epiphany
10. Angel
11. Sleep Now Forever

Press

Audio & Video

TRISTWCH Y FENYWOD - 'TRISTWCH Y FENYWOD'

Formats

• LSSN096 - LP

  5061041820526

• LSSN096CD - CD

  5061041820779

Details

Singing black-lit liturgies of bog bodies caked in mud, entranced by nocturnal landscapes flickering in the moon-glow and powered by queer enchantment, Tristwch y Fenywod are a Welsh-language gothic avant-rock power-coven. Exhumed from the depths of Leeds’ experimental underground, the trio consist of Gwretsien Ferch Lisbeth (Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop), Leila Lygad (Hawthonn) and Sidni Sarffwraig (Slaylor Moon, The Courtneys). Stark, striking and bewitching, Tristwch y Fenywod’s self-titled album is their debut studio recording, following just 10 gigs and a live demo. Formed in 2022, Tristwch y Fenywod ("The Sadness of Women”) record exclusively in the Welsh language, conjuring an eldritch, subterranean, alien folk music played on dual zither, electronic drums and bass guitar. With towering, siren-like vocals curling around the Welsh consonants, accompanied by stark, martial rhythms and swirling claw-plucked strings, Tristwch y Fenywod feels like an early 4AD recording dredged from the waters of an Anglesey swamp. The effect is simultaneously chilling and stirring. The eight tracks on the record constitute what feels like a recently rediscovered, unholy grail of edgy, atmospheric, occult feminist goth emissions. Gwretsien’s dual-zither playing scatters melodic fragments and spirals of harmony around the decimated space opened up by the lugubrious bass playing and pounding, brooding drum pads. Coupled with the Welsh vocal, Tristwch y Fenywod embody a new, unique Celtic darkwave sound, equal parts Pornography-era The Cure, Svitlana Nianio’s haunted hammered string-work and the dark beauty of Dead Can Dance or This Mortal Coil. Opener Blodyn Gwyrdd feels like the last ride of Princess Ukok, with lumbering bass and 6/8 rhythms in procession to the event horizon with an entreating, impassioned vocal and surprising lyrical theme. The doomed dancing of the zither provides the mysterious melodic bedrock throughout the album, particularly on Ferch Gyda’r Llygaid Du’s heavy funereal sway and the slowly building, paroxysmal banshee breakdown of Awen: an astonishing swell of thrilling chaos. The album was recorded and produced by Ross Halden and the band at Hohm Studio, Bradford, Summer 2023.

Tracks

1. Blodyn Gwynedd
2. Ferch Gyda?r Llygaid Du
3. Y Trawsnewidiad
4. Llwydwyrdd
5. Byd Mewn Cysgod
6. Gelain G?rs
7. Awen
8. ?Nes I Ddawnsio Efo?r Lleuad

Press

#2 THE QUIETUS' AOTY 2024 |
#46 CRACK MAGAZINE'S AOTY 2024

Audio & Video

OCS - 'LIVE AT PERMANENT RECORDS'

Formats

• RIP120 - 2xLPs

  657628449119

Details

*UK EXCLUSIVE - PLS SUBMIT FIGS BY SEP 14th* LTD CRYSTAL CLEAR VINYL W/ A LITTLE BLUE & RED During the holidays of 2023, Brigid Dawson and I got together at my house in Los Angeles and started transcribing a nice list of songs. Some new some very old that I've never been played live ever and put together a holiday set list which we performed two nights in a row at Permanent Records Roadhouse in Los Angeles and did a bit of it at a charity event at the Lodge Room. Seven tunings later... It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of libation and celebration. We surrounded ourselves with good friends and came up with this charming off kilter set of recordings. I think they capture the casual energy of the evening in the mood of the crowd. Hope you enjoy. - JPD

Tracks

1. Dreadful Heart 2. Golden Phones 3. Ship 4. Make Them Kiss 5. Devil's Last Breath 6. I Agree 7. Hounds 8. If II Had A Reason 9. Rescue 10. Burning Bridges 11. I Am Slow 12. What The Driven Drink 13. Memory Of A Cut Off Head 14. The Pool 15. Wait All Night 16. Crime On My Mind 17. Im Coming Home 18. Highland Wives Lament 19. Block Of Ice

Press

Audio & Video

ROBERTO CACCIAPAGLIA - 'SONANZE'

Formats

• SV201 - LP

  857661008476

Details

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to NDR/WDR in Germany, GRM/IRCAM in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Sonanze (Sonatas) is Cacciapaglia's debut album, a monumental work that was recorded over a two-year period and released in 1975 via seminal German label Die Kosmischen Kuriere (Ohr). While a "sonata" is traditionally performed by easily distinguishable instrumentalists (often soloist and accompaniment) and with repeated structural themes, Cacciapaglia flips this hierarchical form on its head – blending harpsichord, strings, brass and analog synths to create ambient mini-soundtracks. As the composer writes in the original sleeve notes, "I am aware, unfortunately, that I am a few millennia late in how I would like music to be understood, which today I find diluted in its primary powers, in an era that is destructive of essential values. Precisely for this reason, I want to search for it in depth and not on the surface, perhaps alternating the knob of a synthesizer with a marranzano (mouth harp)." Mixed in quadrophonic surround-sound under the auspices of Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser (celebrated producer of Tangerine Dream and Ash Ra Tempel), Sonanze remains on the fringe of Kosmische realms. Each movement explores hypnotic rhythms, intuitive arrangements, musique concrète techniques and a pure psychedelic awakening.

Tracks

1. 1st Movement / 2. 2nd Movement / 3. 3rd Movement / 4. 4th Movement / 5. 5th Movement / 6.6th Movement / 7. 7th Movement / 8. 8th Movement / 9. 9th Movement / 10.10th Movement

Press

Audio & Video

ROBERTO CACCIAPAGLIA - 'SEI NOTE IN LOGICA'

Formats

• SV202 - LP

  857661008483

Details

Roberto Cacciapaglia is an Italian composer and pianist who started out in the fertile Milan avant-garde scene of the 1970s, which included Franco Battiato, Giusto Pio, Lino Capra Vaccina, Francesco Messina, among others. After studying at the conservatory, he worked at RAI's Studio of Musical Phonology – an electronic music laboratory similar to NDR/WDR in Germany, GRM/IRCAM in France or BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Originally released in 1979, Sei Note In Logica (Six Notes In Logic) is Cacciapaglia's second album. While his debut, Sonanze, offers a series of ambient mini-soundtracks, Sei Note presents a singular, sinuous piece. The composition is based on a finite set of musical notes, yet this limitation is the point of departure for a grand tour of possible combinations and enthralling timbres (marimbas, strings, reeds and human voice). Like Steve Reich's Music For 18 Musicians, the joyous experiment of Sei Note is grounded in constant variation. Often doubled by multiple instruments, non-repeating patterns are exquisitely layered, while electro-acoustic signals transform and further refract through visceral effects. Within this conceptual framework, Cacciapaglia does not so much juxtapose rigid dichotomies – acoustic vs. electronic, melodic vs. dissonant, simple vs. complex – as fuse them into an expansive whole. What started as an inspired study in Minimalism becomes a bold feat of 20th century music. Sei Note In Logica is deeply sincere and, at the same time, quite playful. With one foot firmly planted in the past and the other steeped in technology, Cacciapaglia's influence can be heard in the work of Jim O'Rourke, Fennesz and Ben Vida.

Tracks

1. Sei Note In Logica - Part I / 2. Sei Note In Logica - Part II

Press

Audio & Video

JERRY GARCIA & DAVID GRISMAN - 'BARE BONES'

Formats

• JGFRR1056 - 2xLPs

  880882643515

• JGFRR1055 - 3xCDs

  880882643423

Details

ROUND RECORDS IS PROUD TO REINTRODUCE THE RECORDINGS OF DAVID GRISMAN & JERRY GARCIA AT RETAIL WITH THE DEBUT OF BARE BONES, a collection of duo performances exploring the foundation of their beloved studio recordings. After over 30 years, Grisman has opened the Dawg Vault to curate a collection honoring the magic of their studio works. They are presented for the first time in their original unadorned state as part of a vinyl series and in its entirety as a 3-CD set. The 3-CD set contains the entire collection while the 2xLP set contains only Volume 1: Master Takes (disc 1 on the CD) Vol 2 & 3 will be released separately as 2xLP sets over the next year The 2xLP set will have a standard black vinyl and a limited edition purple vinyl exclusively for indie retail

Tracks

Disc One // Volume I - Master Takes

Originally recorded as duos which were later embellished with various instrumentation before released on Garcia/Grisman, Shady Grove, Been All Around This World, and Not For Kids Only

Tracklist:
1. Walkin? Boss
2. Dreadful Wind and Rain
3. I Truly Understand
4. I?m Troubled
5. When First Unto This Country
6. The Handsome Cabin Boy
7. Casey Jones
8. The Sweet Sunny South
9. Freight Train
10. Jenny Jenkins
11. A Horse Named Bill
12. Arkansas Traveler
13. Hot Corn, Cold Corn
14. The Miller?s Will
15. There Ain?t No Bugs on Me
16. Hopalong Peter
17. Three Men When A-Hunting
18. Whiskey In the Jar 19. Down In the Valley


Disc Two // Volume II - Other Tunes & Arrangements

Comprised of unreleased original recorded versions of tunes that became staples of the Garcia/Grisman repertoire and duo versions of other songs

Tracklist:
1. Bare Bones Prelude
2. Friend of the Devil
3. Grateful Dawg
4. The Sweet Sunny South
5. Take Me
6. Walkin? Boss
7. Dawg?s Waltz
8. Two Soldiers
9. Little Glass of Wine
10. Teddy Bear?s Picnic
11. Arabia
12. Crawdad Song
13. Man of Constant Sorrow
14. Moonlight Bay
15. Drink Up and Go Home
16. Shenandoah


Disc Three // Volume III - Alternate Takes

16 alternate takes of duo recordings that were released on Garcia/Grisman, Not For Kids Only, Shady Grove, and Volume II

Tracklist:
1. When First Unto This County 1
2. Walkin? Boss 1
3. Two Soldiers 2
4. Freight Train 1
5. The Sweet Sunny South 1
6. There Ain?t No Bugs on Me 1
7. Hot Corn, Cold Corn 1
8. The Miller?s Will 1
9. The Sweet Sunny South (Banjos) 1
10. Jenny Jenkins 2
11. Whiskey In the Jar 1
12. I?m Troubled 1
13. Hot Corn, Cold Corn 1
14. Walkin? Boss 3
15. There Ain?t No Bugs on Me 2
16. When First Unto This Country 2

Press

Audio & Video

WATER DAMAGE - 'REPEATER'

Formats

• CFUL0325 - LP

Details

There is something really special about music based on drones. Whether it's the vocals of Pandit Pran Nath, the ARP 2500 of Eliane Radigue, or the nearly-blown amps of Sunn O))), by changing the listeners's focus on details to one that favors flow, drones are uniquely capable of transporting our brains far far away. The debut LP, 'Repeater', by this loudly droning Austin septet is a goddamn splendid example of how the process works. Using the motto, “Maximal Repetition Minimal Deviation,” Water Damage create glowing fields of post-rock lava that pretty much suck you right in and boil you alive. Water Damage, while technically a septet, actually operate in various configurations, with the proviso there should always be two drummers and two bass players on hand. They prefer if each of their sonic ideas takes up a whole reel of tape, and once they start they don't look back. Everything proceeds towards an imaginary end point that is only achieved when the tape starts flapping. What a way to run a railroad! But the folks in the band are all vets of various projects – Spray Paint, USA/Mexico, Marriage, Black Eyes, Thor & Friends, among others -- so let's assume they know what they're doing. And why not? They sound fucking great. Their approach to the form is less front-loaded than most of their peers, and the surface of their sound is sometimes ruffled by aural events of an un-drone-like nature. But the main gush is usually a blend of harmonic tones and textures pointing towards a goal that is just out of ear-shot, just over the next bluff, and perhaps forever just beyond our reach. So remember to drink plenty liquid while you spin this fine album. Nobody wants you to parch. --Byron Coley MAXIMAL REPETITION MINIMAL DEVIATION

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

WATER DAMAGE - '2 SONGS'

Formats

• CFUL0326 - LP

Details

More Water! More Damage! The second proper LP by this Texan juggernaut is even more biggerer than the first, a head-drowning pair of new “reels” (every Water Damage tracks generally take up a reel of tape, hence the “reel ____” song titles) that makes you feel like you’re swimming in a sun-drenched river of sound. Two drummers, two bassists, and tons of vibrating strings are once again a recipe for massive rocking-drone fires. “Two Songs” has two songs, and they’re kind of the yin/yang of Water Damage: one toned very low, growling and roaring, groaning over a beat, while the other hums high, troubling the treble clef and ringing like a bunch of church bells that don’t want to be in church. They’re more alike than different though, divining momentum from repetition, flying forward by staying in place, climbing a mountain that they’re building as they go. Enough ink has already been spilled about the previous-band pedigrees of the players in this hurtling collective, and by this point, the past seems way less relevant than the present when it comes to Water Damage’s present-pounding sound. These people know what they’re doing, sure. You don’t need a resume in front of you to figure that out. It’s there in every second of this gigantic, eternal music - in all the strings being bowed, the skins being slammed, the rumbles being rumbled. You might notice that this time around, Water Damage haven’t just given their tracks reel numbers. They're also called "Fuck This" and "Fuck That." I take that as instructional. Whatever you’re doing, whatever you’re fretting about, whatever someone’s trying to use to occupy your attention so you’ll buy something or vote for something or ignore something: Fuck This. Fuck That. Listen to Water Damage. - Marc Masters MAXIMAL REPETITION MINIMAL DEVIATION

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video

COSMIC PSYCHOS - 'BLOKES YOU CAN TRUST'

Formats

• SBWLP75 - LP (COLOURED)

  4059251660750

Details

40 Years COSMIC PSYCHOS, 40 years dirty, mean, simple, garagey punk rock & roll! EU pressing of the guys seminal 1991 album, the first for Amphetamine Reptile Records back then Noisy alternative punk rock from Down Under for fans of Stiff Richards, The Chats, Nashville Pussy, Supersuckers, Hard -Ons, AmpRep, early Sub Pop "As 1990 set in, Jones vacated the guitar spot. Knight and Walsh asked their friend Robbie Watts, a self-taught guitarist, to join the fold. Watts said yes and Cosmic Psychos ventured to Wisconsin to record their third full-length release at producer Butch Vig's Smart Studios. Released in 1991, Blokes You Can Trust was the band's first record for the American noise rock label Amphetamine Reptile, after the bandmembers became drinking buddies with label head Tom Hazelmeyer. [...] The Psychos conducted a European tour during which they developed an unusual trademark. After seeing many other rock bands take bows after performances, at the end of a show in Potsdam, Germany, Cosmic Psychos decided to alter the tradition by pulling down their pants and mooning the unsuspecting audience." - allmusic.com Do we have to say more? Classic.

Tracks

01. BACK AT SCHOOL 02. DEAD ROO 03. I'M UP YOU'RE OUT 04. LOSER 05. NIGHTSHIFT 06. HOORAY FUCK 07. DO IT TO ME 08. NEVER GROW OLD 09. WHAT 10. ELLE

Press

Audio & Video

BARBICAN ESTATE - 'BARBICAN CITY OF TOKYO'

Formats

• FC56 - LP

Details

Last release of a productive year for Feral Child sees a fabulous mini LP from London based, Japanese Psych band BARBICAN ESTATE. Six beguiling tracks of atmospheric, occasionally acid folk flavoured, melodic > freakout shifts, taking in tips of the hat to Popol Vuh (check Miri’s beautiful vox on “Angel”), Amon Duul and fellow countrymen Acid Mothers Temple and Kikagaku Moyo amongst others. Formed in 2019, this three-piece consists of Kazuki Toneri (guitar, sitar), Miri (bass, flute, vocals), and Koh Hamada (drums, percussion). Each member is well-versed in music, film, and various other arts, drawing inspiration not only from experimental, psychedelic rock, and noise music but also from art across the world, both past and present. Their music weaves solid, architectural elements with destruction into a dark and gloomy soundscape, is often described as "dark psychedelic." They released their first album, “Way Down East”, in 2021. In 2022, they relocated to London, where they performed on UK tours and at festivals. Having already played nearly 50 live shows, they are gaining attention in the local scene. Their latest EP, "Viscum" was released in June 2024. “Barbican City of Tokyo” is a compilation of tunes previously consigned to digital release only that label head, Dom had free rein to assemble an EP from, which luckily the band wholeheartedly agreed upon! …and all four tracks appear on vinyl here for the first time. This release hopefully cements a growing interest in the band’s fabulous music, and early reviews of both the LP here and their live shows are overwhelmingly positive.

Tracks

1. Reconquista 2. Abandon 3. Angel 4. The Innocent One

Press

Audio & Video

STUFFED FOXES - 'STANDARDIZED'

Formats

• SBR109 - LP (COLOURED)

Details

**LIMITED ADDITION COLOUR VINYL** Tours (France) -based post-psych and deep-shoegaze powerhouse Stuffed Foxes are set to release their third LP, Standardized, on December 6th, 2024, via Bristol’s Stolen Body Records and French labels Reverse Tapes and Figures Libres. Songs / Revolving and Songs / Motion Return, a discographic diptych released in 2022, established Stuffed Foxes as accomplished ambassadors of the French rock scene. True to its predecessors, Standardized was recorded live in the Rennes studio of producer and musician Thomas Poli (Laetitia Sheriff, Dominique A). Mastering was entrusted to Matt Colton (Spiritualized, Swans, Shame). Early on, the six members transformed their youthful camaraderie into an adventure, embracing communal living (sharing a leaky roof had to be an integral part of the ride) and diving into the underground with their label, Reverse Tapes, a source of endless exciting music. They also adopted a democratic approach to creation fueled by endless jams, with the sexted striving to compose together from the outset. It is from this collective spontaneity that the unique expression of their music is born: long, hypnotic tracks, swirling mists of noise, and moments of vocal urgency that should be experienced in person during their invariably cathartic and incendiary concerts. It is a band that strives to stay true to its ethos, its soul haunted but never enthralled by the ghosts of its musical ancestors and battered icons. Their influences create joyful chaos: the musical walls of noise of My Bloody Valentine, the No-Wave drones of Swans, the psychedelic vapours of Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Post-Shoegaze eclecticism of Six-By-Seven. Standardized opens with Biting the Dawn, a Noise elegy that builds with relentless intensity. Léo's recitative voice soars above a searing blend of saturated guitars and echo-drenched drums. Next, Merry Xmas unleashes sharp, incisive guitar riffs reminiscent of Gang of Four and Fugazi, only to surprise with a dramatic twist that builds to a breathtaking, soaring climax echoing the brilliance of Ride’s most epic moments. Rough Up emerges as a Velvet Underground-inspired ballad, built on two simple acoustic guitar chords and an organ, showcasing a more subdued and vulnerable side of the band. In contrast, Standardized plunges into a powerful trance, unleashing a massive, deliciously primal wall of saturation with raw, unfiltered intensity. With Standardized, Stuffed Foxes appear to have reached an aesthetic milestone, transcending the semantics of the genres that once defined them. They have ‘de-standardized’ their sound and embraced a sense of freedom, opening up to the possibilities of a wider creative spectrum. Stuffed Foxes - Pretend to Be a Dog (Gamelle) (Official Video)

Tracks

Press

Audio & Video