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WOM 037CD
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"Good for Cows' fourth full-length, Audumla, finds the formerly acoustic, instrumental 'crust jazz' bass and drums duo starting afresh. The constraints of flying with an upright bass, increasing volumes, and a steady listening diet of black metal and harsh noise music have lead Ches Smith (Xiu Xiu, Secret Chiefs 3, Traditionalists, Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog) and Devin Hoff (Nels Cline Singers, Xiu Xiu) to reinvent their sound with electric bass, large drums, and electronics. The pair's extensive background in improved music and sonic experimentation serves the songs well, resulting in a compact record with no filler. The Ornette Coleman influence remains, but is now filtered through a lens of early Mayhem, Prurient, Abruptum, and Darkthrone. Nine noisy instrumental jams, from dirgey to blasting -- but all heavy."
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WOM 027CD
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"Secret Chiefs 3 have been running covert operations for twelve years now. For a band that tosses their releases out into the mirage of human civilization with little or no fanfare, it's no wonder that Secret Chiefs 3 have remained off the music media's radar, and have weathered innumerable musical fads without so much as a flinch. History has shown that the bulldozers will eventually come to break up cults like this, destroying their compound and seizing their weapons cache. Secret Chiefs 3 have therefore recognized the need to publicly gather some of their most universally recognizable doctrines into one affirming document. Path of Most Resistance is just such an offering to the public. Unbeknownst to too many, this music is lush, gigantic, heartfelt, and organic, and can't be written off as mere musical gymnastics. People who may not be so geeked-out on the sophisticated hologram of ancient Pythago-quasi-Dastgah or modern Western poly-tonal temperaments going on in this music, who judge things more on just whether it's good listening or not, now have a clean welcome mat rolled out, and bodyguards to usher them past the scowling elites, past the annoying zealots, and straight to the garden where the heart of this music beats. Culled from SC3's four main studio recordings, plus some enhanced CD bonus material (out-of-print live tracks, obscure cover versions, and two live videos), Path of Most Resistance will delight new and seasoned SC3 listeners alike."
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WOM 013CD
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"Every band contracts Departure Album Syndrome at some point in their career. With Estradsphere, one has to ask what 'departure' could mean for a group who never bothered to establish much of anything about themselves, other than capable and graceful navigation of any musical landscape, and the daily performance of feats unimaginable to most musicians. On Quadropus, the band navigates terrain usually reserved for people who take themselves quite seriously. Who's kidding whom?These guys could eat most of the Downtown pros for breakfast. It's finally evident that the shameless flaunting of the inner-dork that has banished Estradasphere to the annoying joke bin is not by any means the end of the story."
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WOM 006CD
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"An instrumental odyssey, Book M features full string sections, an assortment of Persian, Turkish and Arabic stringed and percussion instruments (played by people who actually know how!), microtonally altered synthesizers, organs and guitars, innovative compositions and truly off-the-map production techniques. The album is deceptively focused and deliberate, making the out-of-control aspects seem perfectly natural. Even moments of violent aggression are merged with the tenderness and subtlety of the band's blatant otherworldly passions." Members include: Eyvind Kang, William Winant, the cast from Mr. Bungle (Danny Heifetz, Trevor Dunn, Bar McKinnon and Trey Spruance).
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WOM 003CD
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"Reissue of two Secret Chiefs 3 CDs with previously unreleased bonus tracks, originally released by Amarillo. Taking their cue from medieval esoteric Shi'ism and the Ismaili gnostics, the SC3 weave sound tapestries strangely consistent with their unorthodox worldview. The music so passionately pits itself against the banal shitworld of the Apparent, refusing to be pinned down, gentrified or co-opted into any consistent format that it can't help but exude that other, more controversial side of mysticism: holy war. No mere ignorant blunder into militant experimental darkness, Secret Chiefs' music is a heroic and Herculean effort that brings real excitement into the world of sound."
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WOM 004CD
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