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3LP
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KRANK 100LP
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2023 repress. "This is the first time this monumental album has been available on the vinyl format in five years. Painstakingly recorded, processed and assembled over five years, SOTL once again deliver a massive work filling two compact discs and three vinyl albums, clocking in at over two hours. While most albums of this length would be considered tedious at best, SOTL are arguably the only contemporary composers who can seemingly alter the time-space continuum simply through the playback of their organized sound. They take time itself and stretch, compress and turn it inside out, altering what would otherwise be an arduous test of nerves into an interlude of half awake dreams that ends too soon. In this album, SOTL picks up where The Tired Sounds Of... left off with an emphasis on melodic development, moving their epic soundscapes beyond mere drone and subsequently frustrating all the typical ambient cliches associated with their music. Perhaps the best references for this current work would be found in the score to the film Le Mepris by Georges Delerue, the orchestral works of Zbigniew Preisner, or the 1958 CSO/ Fritz Reiner recording of Hovhaness' Mysterious Mountain, specifically the third movement. But in the final analysis, such comparisons are superfluous at best, as Stars of the Lid have created a musical universe in which they are the sole inhabitant. Simply put, this album is a masterpiece."
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3LP
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KRANK 050LP
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2023 repress on triple-vinyl. "Are there other earthling-conjured soundworks rivaling the majesty of Henry Flynt's minimalist hillbilly fiddle fantasias or the heavens-rending power of Messiaen's works for organ? Undoubtedly, else why bother listening. But the only thing speaking at us right now from these charmed regions are the celestial airs of these Stars of the Lid. Alternately lulling and wielding a potency that wholly escapes 'experimental' musics, SOTL bring big, whomping chunks of sonic firmament with a sustaining, life-affirming sweep. For the most part the latest SOTL missive offers sound sources which refuse to readily reveal themselves. Treated strings, organ or backwards tubular bell runs -- it's simply a sublime chorus of instrument voices, irresistible as the undertow. Also gurgling up in the mix are whimpering pups, shuffling feet, Dictaphone-preserved foreign lecture hall blather, a city bus shouldering to an unsteady stop -- common enough stuff, but rendered here as the sounds of civilization heard distantly, the human receiver filtering everything through a palpable dis-ease that bespeaks a Higher yearning." -- Dean Blackwood
"I simply feel that they are making the most important music of the 21st century." --Ivo Watts-Russell (4AD label founder)
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CD
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SED 023CD
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New edition of the first Stars of the Lid release. "This was Sedimental's first CD release back in 1994. Robert Overtz (Ultrasound) mentioned this guy Adam who was doing amazing 4-track stuff at home. I think the name of the tape he gave me was called Ombudsman. The success of this release was a nice surprise and certainly having Joel at Cargo champion it, who was just getting Kranky going as well, certainly put us both out there. Ultimately, SOTL ended up at Kranky and are still making amazing recordings for them. Many say this is still their favorite Lid release, although I am partial to the Ballested Orchestra, too. It certainly remains a powerful touchstone for and precursor to, the post-whatever independent music scene and still sounds incredibly solid and undated today. Though Stars founder Adam Wiltzie has admittedly distanced himself from the release in artistic terms, he felt it was time to revisit and refresh the work with a new mastering job, as well as having new artwork designed by long-time visual collaborator, Craig McCaffrey. Sedimental has always kept the document in print in its original form with a remarkably steady stream of sales, but we welcomed the opportunity to update the release and make it more widely available to a new generation, so to speak."
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LP
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KRANK 059LP
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2023 repress. "The first vinyl release in the U.S. for this, the fifth SotL album, originally released by Sub Rosa in 1999 and then reissued by Kranky in the fall of 2002. A pivotal album in their career, this marked the first time the duo completely stepped away from the more abstract sound pieces of earlier albums and engaged with the more symphonic and compositional approach that has become the forte of their more recent recordings."
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2CD
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KRANK 100CD
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"The long awaited new album from Stars of the Lid is finally ready for your sonic immersion. Painstakingly recorded, processed and assembled over the last five years, SOTL once again deliver a massive work filling two compact discs and three vinyl albums, clocking in at over two hours. While most albums of this length would be considered tedious at best, SOTL are arguably the only contemporary composers who can seemingly alter the time-space continuum simply through the playback of their organized sound. They take time itself and stretch, compress and turn it inside out, altering what would otherwise be an arduous test of nerves into an interlude of half awake dreams that ends too soon. In this album, SOTL picks up where The Tired Sounds Of... left off with an emphasis on melodic development, moving their epic soundscapes beyond mere drone and subsequently frustrating all the typical ambient cliches associated with their music. Perhaps the best references for this current work would be found in the score to the film Le Mepris by Georges Delerue, the orchestral works of Zbigniew Preisner, or the 1958 CSO/ Fritz Reiner recording of Hovhaness' Mysterious Mountain, specifically the third movement. But in the final analysis, such comparisons are superfluous at best, as Stars of the Lid have created a musical universe in which they are the sole inhabitant. Simply put, this album is a masterpiece."
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CD
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KRANK 059CD
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"Avec Laudenum was originally released on the Belgian Sub Rosa label in 2000. Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride recorded the album via mail and by the time it was released Wiltzie had moved from Austin, TX to Brussells. Avec Laudenum marked a decided expansion of the Stars of the Lid drone methodology. The duo's use of guitars and samplers was more compositionally directed, creating long, exquisitely stretched out melodies."
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2CD
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KRANK 050CD
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2021 repress. "Are there other earthling-conjured soundworks rivaling the majesty of Henry Flynt's minimalist hillbilly fiddle fantasias or the heavens-rending power of Messiaen's works for organ? Undoubtedly, else why bother listening. But the only thing speaking at us right now from these charmed regions are the celestial airs of these Stars of the Lid. Alternately lulling and wielding a potency that wholly escapes 'experimental' musics, SOTL bring big, whomping chunks of sonic firmament with a sustaining, life-affirming sweep. For the most part the latest SOTL missive offers sound sources which refuse to readily reveal themselves. Treated strings, organ or backwards tubular bell runs -- it's simply a sublime chorus of instrument voices, irresistible as the undertow. Also gurgling up in the mix are whimpering pups, shuffling feet, Dictaphone-preserved foreign lecture hall blather, a city bus shouldering to an unsteady stop -- common enough stuff, but rendered here as the sounds of civilization heard distantly, the human receiver filtering everything through a palpable dis-ease that bespeaks a Higher yearning." -- Dean Blackwood
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CD
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KRANK 020CD
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"Reissue of the very limited LP that was on Sedimental label, with additional material added."
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CD
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KRANK 015CD
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2013 repress, originally released 1997. CD version of the new album by this Texas outfit, following 2 released on Sedimental. Purely droning ambiance. "...finds Stars of the Lid adding harmonica and didgeridoo to an arsenal of sound sources that already includes guitars, effects and field recordings."
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2LP
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KRANK 015LP
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2013 repress, originally released in 1997. "The vinyl version of the second (or third, depending on how you calculate) Stars of the Lid album, their first for kranky, is finally being reissued. When kranky tried to reorder this title from our then vinyl manufacturer many years ago, we learned that the metal mothers had become oxidized and unusable, probably through poor care in storage. So we shrugged our shoulders and let it be. But with the recent resurgence in vinyl sales, the continued interest in the SotL catalog, and the promise of recent and future activity by the duo, here we are. The original 4 track cassette recordings (yes, 4 track cassette my friends) were remastered and new lacquers were cut, and the original artwork has been updated. The music itself shows Sotl with one of their first major transitions, from the found sound and guitar abstractions of their previous Music for Nitrous Oxide to a much more defined and refined compositional structure which would soon develop into the full blown miniature symphonies heard on later works. As an added bonus, the double LP vinyl version has 9 additional minutes of material not on the CD or digital versions. Sotl's first major statement as a sonic force to be reckoned with is now available on the analog format once more." Gatefold sleeve.
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