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LP
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SV 183LP
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$25.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 11/12/2021
"In 1981, The Ex started squatting Villa Zuid, an estate overlooking abandoned Van Gelder paper factory in the village of Wormer, Netherlands. Formerly the home of the factory's manager, the Villa briefly served as the band's base of operations and would inspire one of The Ex's most impactful, enduring albums in their 40+ year history. Originally released in 1983, Dignity Of Labour is 'our idea of improvised industrial punk noise,' states Ex-frontman G.W. Sok, which not only offers a perfect summation of these idiosyncratic sounds, but also of the group's music in the decades to come. During its heyday, Van Gelder employed over 1,000 workers. By 1981, it had gone bankrupt, following the takeover and divestment of a multinational corporation. Having saved the Villa from demolition through squatting, The Ex pored over newspaper articles, interviews and business records to tell the story of the factory and the people whose labor brought it to life -- an unparalleled example of DIY archival action. With new drummer Sabien Witteman bringing polyrhythmic accents and a supporting crew of agitators (credits include piledriver, bus engine, printing press, etc.), The Ex recorded eight tracks in-studio and then played them back in the ruins of the factory while recording the playback -- giving Dignity Of Labour a haunting sense of space that is at once cavernous and decaying. This first-time vinyl reissue (configured as single LP) comes with 24-inch x 18-inch poster and 24-page booklet."
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LP
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SV 184LP
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$25.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 11/12/2021
"While awaiting the release of Dignity Of Labour, The Ex headed back into the studio in early 1983; this time with a new friend -- The Mekons' Jon Langford -- helping produce. Originally released in April 1983 (only a month after Dignity Of Labour), Tumult marks a major evolution in Ex-sound. Opener 'Bouquet Of Barbed Wire' emerges snarling out of post-punk atmospherics with Terrie Ex's glacial guitar, Bas Masbeck's loping bass and cascading tom-toms from new recruit Sabien Witteman, while 'Fear' and 'Survival Of The Fattest' bring to bear the rhythmic core of the band, their signature angular style. Lyrically, the songs on Tumult cycle through a series of familiar concerns: animal rights, squatters, the working class, punk's penchant for radical chic and the creeping fascism of nationalist sentiments. G.W. Sok's voice is squalling and perfectly wry throughout. Tumult remains a high-water point of early Ex, serving as both developmental guide and way-station. The next 18 months would see the departure of Bas and Witteman and the arrival of long-serving bassist Luc Klaasen and drummer Kat Bornefeld (whose supple rhythms propel the group to this day). The album stands as one of the most compelling and unique documents of early '80s DIY exploration. If Mark E. Smith had only one favorite Dutch punk band, then it would undoubtedly be The Ex. This first-time vinyl reissue comes with 28-inch x 39- inch full-color poster."
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LP
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SV 179LP
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$25.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 9/24/2021
"If your brain has a shortlist of bands that instantly evoke New Wave, Suburban Lawns deserve a slot right next to the likes of Devo, Talking Heads and the B-52's. After putting out two singles on their own Suburban Industrial imprint, the Lawns signed to I.R.S. Records and released their debut LP in 1981. While the band gained cult status thanks in part to a Jonathan Demme-produced music video which aired on Saturday Night Live, their self-titled album would sadly be the five-piece's only full-length statement. Suburban Lawns' asymmetrical aesthetic is personified by co-vocalist Su Tissue, whose mesmerizing stage persona was at once childlike and terrifying. Her unique style embodies the awkward/arty female singer of the Reagan era, while the group's male vocals -- courtesy of Frankie Ennui, Vex Billingsgate and John McBurney -- maintain the satirical themes of Southern California's postwar mirage of limitless sprawl. Suburban Lawns' catchiness can be attributed to their drum-tight performance and taut songwriting. Listen to the vocal trade-offs on 'Anything,' which could have easily come out on any purely punk label from LA at the time, while Tissue's deadpan delivery on 'Janitor' glides into the best art-warble this side of Lene Lovich, broaching the possibility of nuclear annihilation with a murmured 'Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom.' From a West Coast scene dominated by 7-inch singles and EPs, the Suburban Lawns' lone LP remains in a class with precious few. It's not surprising that they found acceptance in the Hollywood punk scene, despite their Long Beach roots, and would influence other bands such as Minutemen. This is not a disc that will get parked in your collection hoping to get pulled once in a while; this is a record you will play."
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12"
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SV 177EP
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"These songs were recorded a few months after the Los Angeles punk scene began. These five statements of intent transcend Punk and project forward into the future: to the analog synth wave of the late '70s and beyond, to the present day, four decades later, when they finally receive an official release. Sourced from the original reel-to-reels, they are a revelation compared to the countless copies that have been circulating by multiple generations of tape-traders. Here, for the first time, is the Screamers' initial and legendary manifesto. The Screamers concept was simple, yet audacious: take the spirit and the look of punk -- the pseudo-psychotic aggression, the spiky hair, vacant stares and barely concealed sadomasochism -- and match it to a different configuration than the typical '60s rock template. As launched, the Screamers featured two keyboard players (Tommy Gear and David Brown), a drummer (KK Barrett) and an intensely charismatic singer (Tomata du Plenty). The idea was to be confrontational -- to evoke (as Tomata described in an early interview) a state of anxiety. Forty years later, this release builds on the groundswell of interest in the Screamers that has been occurring in the early 21st century. There are web sites with detailed histories of the group and several bootlegs of demos and live material from 1977-79. The video of '122 Hours of Fear' -- perhaps their peak moment, recorded at Target Video in August 1978 -- has now passed over 650,000 views online. This is the Screamers' time, and the time is now." --Jon Savage (excerpt from the liner notes). Cover featuring artwork by Gary Panter.
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LP + 7"
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SV 181LP
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"Emerging out of Amsterdam's vibrant squat scene in 1979, The Ex -- a name chosen for the ease and speed with which it could be spray-painted onto a wall -- have for four decades been an entirely self-sustaining musical entity, charting a course through the global underground with a spirit of freedom and radical exploration. Disturbing Domestic Peace, The Ex's debut album, appeared mere months after their first single, 1980's 'All Corpses Smell The Same'. Originally released on the band's own Verrecords (they made up different label names with each record), the LP falls squarely within a punk idiom and, at the same time, shows this influential Dutch group's restless energy. Terrie Ex's guitar serves up vectors of percussive pulse, fraying the edges of the music's squared-off rhythms. Vocalist G.W. Sok -- an anarchist Dziga Vertov with a mic -- observes, declaims and condemns across a set of interrelated political concerns that would return in Exmusic for years to come. While The Ex channel the poise and principled attack of Crass or Flux Of Pink Indians, they create a unique declamatory sound all their own -- trailing brilliant flashes of color in the wake of punk's monochrome palette. Offering ten songs in only twenty-two minutes, Disturbing Domestic Peace lays bare a vivid snapshot of a truly singular band who (at the time) were just finding their feet. This first-time vinyl reissue comes with bonus 7-inch, insert and 20-page booklet."
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LP
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SV 182LP
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"Emerging out of Amsterdam's vibrant squat scene in 1979, The Ex -- a name chosen for the ease and speed with which it could be spray-painted onto a wall -- have for four decades been an entirely self-sustaining musical entity, charting a course through the global underground with a spirit of freedom and radical exploration. Originally released in 1982, History Is What's Happening features one of the most harrowing title/cover art combinations in recent memory. What at first glance looks like a firing squad is, upon closer inspection, a concentration camp orchestra. On their second album, The Ex advance into a distinctly more post-punk style: textural guitar shards and tumbling motorik drumming with Bas Masbeck's thunderous bass shouldering much of the melodic load. Railing against political duplicity and the illusory nature of 'freedom' in an age of manufactured consent, G.W. Sok offers some of punk's most bracing and memorable agitprop lyrics. These twenty songs are a quick-moving and caustic trip, a DIY studio rendition of the band's explosive live set from this era. History Is What's Happening remains an important signpost in the history of both Ex-evolution and the cataclysmic '80s. With their sophomore LP, the group would put Holland on the underground music map. Indeed, many now-lifelong fans around the world were just beginning to take notice and get down with the mighty Ex. This first-time vinyl reissue comes with 23" x 16" poster and 24-page booklet."
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LP
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SV 170LP
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"Flaming Tunes' sole release is perhaps the finest elegy to the '80s home recording ethos that you've never heard. Originally released in 1985 on cassette (with individually hand-colored covers), this self-titled album grew out of the collaboration between childhood friends Gareth Williams and Mary Currie. Williams is best known as a member of English art-rock band This Heat. After leaving the group in the early '80s, he travelled to India where he studied classical Kathakali dance -- an experience that would profoundly shape the music of Flaming Tunes. In an old Victorian house in South London, the duo recorded during the day while Currie's young son attended school and Williams conducted tape treatments at night. They were joined by various guests including This Heat guitarist Charles Bullen as well as long-term collaborators Martin Harrison and Rick Wilson. Using whatever instruments they had on hand (clarinet, piano, bells, etc.), Flaming Tunes create lo-fi melodies around simple arrangements, oblique rhythms and densely layered natural sounds. The results are a mesmeric collage of instrumental daydreams and sideways pop songs, floating into one another in a hazy confluence of late '60s Canterbury psych-folk and early Residents experimentation. All of these beguiling elements converge in a personal manner, quietly insistent in listeners' ears like the blood pulsing in one's veins on a warm summer day."
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LP
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SV 135LP
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Last copies, RSD 2020 release. "When I say 1980 was a kind of dead zone in the Cleveland music scene, I can hear a collective, 'Isn't every year a dead zone in Cleveland?' Go ahead, take your Johnny Carson-era jokes and see what they buy you. Puff your chest about NYC in '75 or London in '76 or L.A. in '77 to some 27-something today. Allow me to save you face and remind you to add in late '70s Cleveland. Because when you revisit this comp of struggling, straggling, oil-stank Cuyahoga River rats, it might sound like the most intriguing current day, underground punk. Here was compiler Mike Hudson (Pagans) and pals/enemies circa 1978-82 (when these rackets were recorded), glancing out bar windows to see 'hoods of crumbling warehouses and factories that, unlike in England, couldn't be blamed on the Nazis. Musically, they were inspired by the fifteen (give or take) forefathers of that early '70s Cleveland legend (Rocket from the Tombs, Pere Ubu, Dead Boys, Peter Laughner, Mirrors, electric eels). But instead of seeing them sit at bars complaining about their failed major label deals, simply saw them sitting at bars. The later '80s Cle action that led to some excellent post-punk was still in the burbs, and the mainstream radio world that once had a few of its biggest offices in Brownstown had given up on the leather 'n' spikes stuff. Hence, the amazing, idiosyncratic, clanky shuffling that permeates all the Rust Belt rants herein. From AM-radio hook-ghosts (Severe, Keith Matic, Lab Rats), to a few lingering legends (Styrenes' shambolic cover of eels' anthem 'Jaguar Ride' and Dave E.'s own Jazz Destroyers), trashy sarcasto-punk (the Pagans, with Pere Ubu's Davd Thomas on gtr/back-up vox on 'Boy Can I Dance Good'), slimey proto-core (Dark, Easter Monkeys), and a prostitute or two -- this 'scene,' as it were, might've been unseen in its dark day, but sounds surprisingly congealed on Cleveland Confidential. The soot-stained mood and context of this shit can't be replicated. And in a few decades it will seem as foreign as a gaslight. It might also seem like a dream. A time when humans could make music in abandoned storefronts, generally stave off the day job a few more months, and not just wander a barren landscape searching for food. Who knew end-of-the-'70s Cleveland would look so appealing?" --Eric Davidson (New Bomb Turks)
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LP
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SV 058LP
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2021 repress, black vinyl. "Animated sci-fi masterpiece La Planète Sauvage (aka Fantastic Planet), winner at Cannes Film Festival in 1973, is a bizarre and beautiful film. Towering blue-skinned figures, tiny humanoids in the midst of revolt, and drug-induced Tantric sex transport viewers to a truly magical setting. Composer Alain Goraguer creates an equally hypnotic score from a palette of effects-laden guitars, flutes, Fender Rhodes, and strings. While the lush arrangements are reminiscent of Goraguer's collaborations with Serge Gainsbourg in the 1960s, space-age synth flourishes suggest a more psychedelic era. Moody vignettes flow together in tense, slow-paced funk rhythms and Baroque textures. It comes as no surprise that La Planète Sauvage has been cited as an influence on contemporary artists such as French duo Air and American hip-hop producers J Dilla and Madlib. Gorgeous, interplanetary soundscapes resemble the surreal meeting point between Pink Floyd's Obscured by Clouds and Broadcast's Future Crayon. This long out-of-print vinyl release features the original soundtrack recording and newly designed artwork. Recommended for fans of Ennio Morricone, Basil Kirchin, and David Axelrod."
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12"
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SV 045LP
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Last copies, RSD 2020 release. "New York no-wavers Ike Yard are perhaps best known for being the first American band signed to Factory Records, and it isn't difficult to hear why: the group's music has much in common with the existential frigidness of Joy Division and early New Order as well as the mutant noise-funk of Section 25 and A Certain Ratio. That said, the sound of Night After Night, the band's debut EP, is one that could only have emerged from the lawless dystopia of '70s New York City. Vocalist/percussionist Stuart Argabright, guitarist Michael Diekmann, vocalist/bassist Kenny Compton and synth player Fred Szymanski traffic in a particularly foreboding rhythmic tension, creating in the process an unlikely amalgam of minimal wave, industrial and post-punk. Recorded shortly after forming in 1980 and originally released on seminal Brussels imprint Les Disques Du Crépuscule, Night After Night suggests an alternate history in which Tobe Hooper and Jah Wobble provided the soundtrack to The Warriors. The atmosphere throughout is thick. Every cymbal is dubbed-out and spacey; every vocal utterance treated, alien and detached. Fans of Chrome's damaged ice machine-guitar or Suicide's menacing, anything-can-happen m.o. will rejoice in the siren-sounds, metal clanging and metronomic death-pulse of 'Sense of Male,' while 'Infra-ton' evokes the cacophonous rattle of gates being pulled down over bodega storefronts and the screech of subway brakes. Side two kicks off with 'Motiv's' mechanical dread, and the squelchy din of 'Cherish' recasts The Residents as streetwise, urban punks. Night After Night remains primal evidence of the dank, uncompromising narcotica of Ike Yard's embryonic period. This first-time reissue comes with original sleeve design. Limited edition translucent red vinyl."
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LP
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SV 046LP
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Restocked. "Ike Yard remain a legendary band of early '80s New York City -- at once immensely influential, yet obscured by a far-too-brief initial phase. Their debut EP, the dark and absorbing Night After Night, sounds almost like a different group, so rapidly would Ike Yard evolve towards the calmly menacing electro throb of their self-titled LP. Originally released on Factory in 1982, the album put Ike Yard's indelible mark on the synth-driven experimental rock scene then emerging all over the planet. While historical analogues would be Cabaret Voltaire's Red Mecca or Front 242's Geography, opening track 'M. Kurtz' makes starkly clear that Ike Yard is a far heavier proposition. With a thick porridge of bass, ringing guitar and strangled/stunted layers of voice, these six pieces are densely packed and perversely danceable. 'Loss' sounds like a minimal techno track that could have been made last week, while 'Kino' combines Soviet-era imagery with sparse soundscapes à la African Head Charge's Environmental Studies. Ike Yard somehow pull off the toughest trick in modern music: making repetition hypnotically compelling through subtle variation. The effect of Ike Yard's first LP can be heard in many genres -- from industrial dance labels like Wax Trax to electro-punk bands and innumerable European groups (Lucrate Milk, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, etc.). The fact that the cover artwork does not include any photos of the band, but rather features the original catalogue number (FACT A SECOND) only further illustrates the release's importance and Ike Yard's timeless mystique."
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2LP
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SV 174LP
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"Ellen Fullman began developing The Long String Instrument in her St. Paul, Minnesota studio in 1980 and moved to Brooklyn the following year. Inspired by composer and instrument builder Harry Partch, Fullman's large-scale work creates droning, organ-like overtones that are as unique in the world of sound as her vision of the instrument itself. Along with her 1985 debut album -- appropriately titled The Long String Instrument -- Fullman's only output in the 1980s would be two self-released cassettes, In The Sea and Work For Four Players And 90 Strings, recorded in 1987 at an unfinished office tower in Austin, Texas. This double LP collection features music from both cassettes as well as a previously unreleased piece from 1988 at De Fabriek in Den Bosch, Holland. Ethereal and exquisitely paced, these rare recordings capture minimalism's quiet radiance. Within a musical landscape that has seen the rise of contemporary drone practitioners like Ellen Arkbro and Kali Malone, Fullman is sure to find a legion of fans. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this long overdue archival release that marks a particularly vibrant period of Fullman's pioneering and timeless work."
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2LP
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SV 173LP
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"Since the mid-1960s, Jon Gibson has played a key role in the development of American avant-garde music. As a versatile reed player, he has performed with everyone from Steve Reich and Philip Glass to Terry Riley and La Monte Young. In the 1970s, Gibson would emerge as a minimalist composer in his own right and release two exceptional albums, Visitations and Two Solo Pieces, on Glass' Chatham Square imprint. Songs & Melodies brings together recordings from 1973 to 1977 (mostly previously unreleased), featuring prominent figures in New York's scene including Arthur Russell, Barbara Benary and Julius Eastman. This double LP collection showcases the breadth of Gibson's expressive range -- from introspective piano meditations to cerebral ensemble works -- and the subtlety of his radical compositional techniques. The front cover artwork, a hand-drawn diagram by Gibson, originally appeared in the program for a March 1974 concert at Washington Square Church in Greenwich Village. While this concert was not the first to feature the composer exclusively, it would be a pivotal event in Gibson's early career as a composer. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this long overdue archival release that not only documents Gibson's important work, but also a crucial period in NYC musical history."
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2X7"
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SV 160EP
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Includes DVD. "One of the most savagely cool and confrontational punk acts in history, CRIME famously dubbed themselves 'San Francisco's First And Only Rock 'N' Roll Band.' This inflammatory claim was supported by unpredictable live shows that often ended in riots. In 1978, film producer Larry Larson captured CRIME in their natural habitat, the dimly-lit nightclub Mabuhay Gardens. They looked and sounded more severe than anyone in San Francisco was ready for. The footage sat dormant for decades, until now! Edited and directed by Jon Bastian, the recently completed movie features archival live performances and unruly behind-the-scenes straight from the original 16mm color film. A vital document of the group -- Frankie Fix, Johnny Strike, Ron The Ripper and Hank Rank -- as well as North Beach's sordid scene: parading punks, square thrill-seekers and Fab Mab promoter Dirk Dirksen's provocative emceeing. Superior Viaduct presents this first-time release of the 35-minute movie on DVD and double 7" of its soundtrack. Feel the beat -- it's CRIME time."
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7"
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SV 156EP
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"Few first wave California punk bands burned as brightly as The Avengers. Formed in San Francisco during 1977's Summer of Hate, they swiftly ascended to the top of the West Coast scene and earned the coveted support slot for The Sex Pistols' final concert in January 1978. The Avengers' frenetic performance at Winterland made quite an impression on Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who offered to record the group. From the Jones produced sessions, 'The American In Me' remains an unmistakable anthem. Embodying the punk zeitgeist, singer Penelope Houston fiercely declares, 'Ask not what you can do for your country, what's your country been doing to you.' The original White Noise EP version of 'The American In Me' is paired with 'Uh-Oh,' featuring Jones on piano and bravely demonstrating Me Too sentiments four decades earlier. Comp-only track 'Cheap Tragedies' closes this reimagined lost-single set. The American In Me perfectly captures The Avengers' dynamic power -- frustration, style and passion forged into some of the most pivotal sounds of punk's formative era."
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LP
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SV 171LP
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"After two singles for Fast Product, Leeds art-punk collective The Mekons signed with Virgin Records in 1979. The band would have to borrow gear from their mates Gang Of Four to record their major label debut. In classic Mekons style, the album's back cover featured a photo of Gang Of Four instead of themselves. As Simon Reynolds writes, 'The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen got a mixed reception at the time. Listening to it now, though, the first LP sounds more of a piece with the band's early punk singles. What's striking is the commonality of sound across the three key Leeds groups of that moment (Gang Of Four, Delta 5 and The Mekons). There are textural affinities in terms of scrawny abrasiveness and a general departure from rock 'n' roll norms of singing and emoting.' With boundless energy, The Mekons net a dozen barbed takes on pop culture, art and politics. 'What Are We Going To Do Tonight' stands out as a razor-sharp critique of leisure, while 'Beetroot' drowns apathy in angular riffs and catchy, unmelodic chants. Clad in one of the most striking record covers of its era, The Quality Of Mercy Is Not Strnen is now available in the US for the first time. Liner notes by Simon Reynolds."
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2LP
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SV 166LP
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"Drummer, composer and poet William Hooker has been a tireless force in free improvised music for over 40 years. He emerged from New York's loft jazz scene in the mid-70s, part of a generation of artists fueled by the social, political and cultural frustrations of their era. This second wave of American free jazz would push relentlessly into new territories -- collaborating in a variety of non-traditional settings, establishing their own labels, venues, etc. -- all in an effort at creative self-determination. While William Hooker's output extends past 70 albums as leader, it all began with the double LP ... Is Eternal Life. Recorded in 1975-1976 and released privately on the artist's own Reality Unit Concepts imprint, ... Is Eternal Life is nothing short of visionary. Filled with tension, intricacy and raw fury, these extended compositions feature the playing of David Murray, Mark Miller, David S. Ware, Hasaan Dawkins and Les Goodson."
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LP
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SV 167LP
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"With This Kind Of Punishment, Graeme Jefferies and Peter Jefferies produced some of most adept DIY sounds to emerge from New Zealand's 1980s post-punk scene. After their phenomenal self-titled debut and classic A Beard Of Bees, the brothers would make one last album together, In The Same Room. Originally released in 1987 on Flying Nun, In The Same Room is perhaps the straightest rock offering in TKP's esteemed catalogue. Opening track 'Immigration Song' expertly pairs jagged guitars with wrathful vocals -- resulting in one of the most celebrated moments in their recording career -- while 'Don't Go' puts the full breadth of the Jefferies brothers' method on display: spiraling riffs, somber baritone and chamber-like calm give way to frenzied rhythms and antagonistic lyrics. From deeply insular songwriting to hands-on production, This Kind Of Punishment draw the listener in close -- nearly within the same room as the players -- and remain rooted in a distinct approach to presentation that is inseparable from their music."
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LP
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SV 165LP
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"In 1966, when Marion Brown was ready to make his first record as a leader, he was standing on the shoulders of giants. Formative associations with Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra established Brown as a saxophonist to watch, and he had already appeared on free jazz landmarks Archie Shepp's Fire Music and John Coltrane's Ascension. Originally released on Impulse!, Brown's debut lays down three startling originals and three tunes by Shepp -- echoing his mentor's 1964 homage to Coltrane, Four For Trane. Featuring Grachan Moncur III on trombone, Dave Burrell on piano and Norris 'Sirone' Jones on bass, Three for Shepp balances fiery energy and delicate precision. Side A showcases Brown compositions that mix modal structures with ecstatic playing, particularly when the bandleader chases Moncur and Burrell on the exhilarating 'The Shadow Knows.' On the album's all-Shepp side, 'West India' draws inspiration from India and Africa, while the feverish post-bop of 'Delicado' demonstrates the band's versatility, swept by the wheeling drums of Beaver Harris. Even this early in his career, Brown stood apart from his peers in 'the new thing.' His solos were as gentle as they were furious. Informed by the African American folk traditions of his native Georgia and an enthusiastic embrace of the avant-garde, his music would confront and challenge society. As Brown says in the original liner notes, 'The music is definitely a part of what's going on in the black revolution in America.' Three for Shepp still sounds crucial today (over 50 years later) and remains a vital statement of jazz's past, present and future."
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LP
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SV 145LP
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"Hailing from Nuneaton, England, Kevin Harrison recorded both solo and collaboratively throughout the late '70s and early '80s. While his early recordings would come out in hyper-limited editions or go unreleased for decades, Inscrutably Obvious remains his sole LP -- a lost gem of Britian's '80s cassette culture and DIY bedroom aesthetics. Originally released in 1981, Inscrutably Obvious covers a lot of ground on its seventeen inscrutable tracks -- from analog synth workouts to mutated disco and shimmering guitar improvisations. The album maintains a late-night vibe, filtered through a post-punk lens. Harrison clearly wears his influences on his sleeve -- major debts are paid to Brian Eno, Robert Fripp and Manuel Göttsching -- yet finds his own unique voice, combining quirky instrumentals and surrealist sensibilities. This first-time reissue is recommended for fans of Chris & Cosey, Cupol and The Normal. Inscrutably Obvious sounds as fresh today as it must have nearly 40 years ago."
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LP
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SV 164LP
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2021 repress. "'It's been nearly five decades since Joe McPhee assembled a group of musicians to perform the weekend concerts that would become Nation Time, his debut LP. It was December 1970, thirty-one-year-old McPhee was inspired by Amiri Baraka's poem 'It's Nation Time,' and the students at Vassar College didn't know what hit them. 'What time is it?' shouted the bandleader. 'C'mon, you can do better than that. What time is it?!' The music on Nation Time came out of the fertile, but little-known creative jazz scene in Poughkeepsie, New York, McPhee's home base. Two bands were deployed, one with a funky free foundation featuring guitar and organ, the other consisting of a more standard jazz formation with two drummers and the brilliant Mike Kull at the piano. Across the concert and the next afternoon's audience-less recording session, the band was ignited by McPhee's passion and his gorgeous post-Coltrane / post-Pharoah tenor. On 'Shakey Jake,' they hit a James Brown groove filtered through Archie Shepp, while the sidelong title track is as searching and poignant today as it was during its heyday. Originally released in 1971 on CjR, an imprint started expressly to document McPhee's music, Nation Time has a sense of urgency and inspiration. Additional material from those December days would later appear on Black Magic Man, Hat Hut's first release. In fact, the first four records on this seminal Swiss label all featured McPhee. Nation Time was largely unknown a quarter century or so later, when it was first issued on CD through Atavistic's Unheard Music Series. On Corbett vs. Dempsey, we reissued the album along with all known tapes leading up to and around it as a deluxe box set, but the standalone LP has long remained incredibly rare. Now is the time for a new generation of freaks to lose their shit when settling into the cushy beat of 'Shakey Jake' and answer McPhee's call with the only appropriate response: It's NATION TIME.' --John Corbett."
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2LP
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SV 053LP
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"Originally released in 1979, Iceland is Richard Pinhas' third solo album and his first following the breakup of Heldon. While moving away from the maximalism of his old band, paring down Heldon's hybrid of otherworldly sci-fi imagery and pummeling psych-prog riffs, the journey through Iceland is decidedly more inward. Consisting of longer, brooding synth-based pieces as well as short proto-industrial études and interstitial sketches, Iceland features Pinhas' delay-ridden electric guitar, pulsating machine rhythms and analog synthesizer washes -- all vivid in texture and timbre, notwithstanding an undeniably chilling ambience. This first-time vinyl reissue includes 'Wintermusic,' an immersive 25-minute bonus track recorded in 1983 and appearing here on vinyl for the first time. Pinhas' excursions channel the season's stillness and sublimity, its majesty and its threat. Without a doubt, one his finest moments. Recommended for fans of Cluster, Mica Levi, and Fripp & Eno."
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SV 163LP
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"Hopeton Brown, better known as Scientist, has been a pioneering figure in the world of dub for 40 years. His early love of electronics proved fruitful when (still a teenager) he was hired at King Tubby's studio in Kingston. Brown quickly ascended the ranks and became heir to Tubby's throne, producing imaginative and technically impressive mixes that solidified his forward-looking nickname. Originally released in 1981, In The Kingdom Of Dub remains one of the best early LPs in Scientist's long career. Produced by Roy Cousins at Channel One and featuring Sly and Robbie along with members of The Revolutionaries, The Aggrovators and The Soul Syndicate, the album offers a wide range of arresting rhythms, bold effect drops and exquisitely melodic bass. From '18 Drumalie Avenue Dub' (a reference to King Tubby's address) to 'Burning Sun Dub', Scientist lays down a veritable roadmap of dub -- filled with disintegrating echoes of satiny organ and textural guitar -- firmly cementing his place as one of the true innovators in Jamaican popular music."
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SV 146LP
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"Given The Fall's penchant for iconoclasm, it's no surprise that they decided to say goodbye to the '70s with a series of gigs at Northern England's gruffest halls. The band's formidable live show was met with even more derision and disorder than customary during these late '79 and early '80 performances, and they skillfully amplified such sentiments back at the crowd. Totale's Turns, The Fall's first live album, was released on Rough Trade just prior to their pivotal third album, 1980's Grotesque. 'The difference between you and us is that we have brains,' shouts Mark E. Smith to open Totale's Turns as the band breaks into the rollicking 'Fiery Jack,' their latest single at the time. Each player is at their jagged best: Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon's splintering guitars, Steve Hanley's thunderous bass and Smith's combative sneer reverberate over 'Rowche Rumble,' 'Choc-Stock,' and 'Spectre Vs. Rector' more than any studio would ever allow. Totale's Turns never panders to live-record conventions, serving instead as a gripping exhibit of The Fall en masse and arguably the most accurate document of the group to date. Superior Viaduct's edition is the first time that Totale's Turns has been available on vinyl domestically. Liner notes by Brian Turner."
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SV 158LP
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"Composer, multi-instrumentalist and mixed-media artist, Takehisa Kosugi has stood on the forefront of the Japanese avant-garde for over six decades. In the 1960s, he was part of Japan's first improvisational music collective, Group Ongaku, and contributed to Fluxus in New York. In 1969, he founded the influential, experimental ensemble The Taj Mahal Travellers, and in 1975 he would release his first solo album, Catch-Wave. 'Mano-Dharma '74' features improvised violin drones and voice with various oscillators, echo delays and layered tape experiments that the artist made in New York in 1967. While Kosugi's continuously changing spectrum of sound shifts gradually (almost imperceptibly), photocell synthesizers create ultra-low frequencies to disturb the crestless sound waves. The brighter the light is, the harsher the noise becomes. Catch-Wave's second sidelong piece, 'Wave Code #E-1,' is a three-part performance for solo vocalist. As Kosugi describes in the liner notes (translated into English for this edition), the concept of onomatopoeia played an essential role in the type of sounds he generates with his voice, manipulated through customized electronic circuits and at times recalling Gregorian chant, throat singing and cosmic soundscapes. This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Tony Conrad, Eliane Radigue and Fennesz."
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