Volcanic Tongue Catalogue

Hair Police
s/t

Hospital Productions HOS-85a

CD
£10.99


Totally necessary compilation of a bunch of ferocious and long out-of-print sides by the Hair Police trio, bundling the Hospital cassette and Mortuary Servants EP with a whole raft of new exclusive mud/noise constructions from the Drawn Dead sessions. No one reconciles confrontational noise and fucked rock dynamics like these guys and this as satisfyingly-oiled as anything in their back catalogue. Highly recommended.

Walter Carson & Three Legged Race
Nocturnal Hymn

Heavy Tapes

Cassette
£6.99


New wretchedly destroyed primitive rock ascension from Robert Beatty of Hair Police/Eyes And Arms Of Smoke and collaborator Walter Carson. One of the most repeat-killing Heavy Tapes blats to date, with full colour artwork by Maya Miller of Double Leopards and the usual classy HT production job.

Hair Police
Totaled And Stranded

Hundebiss Records H003

one-sided LP
£10.99


Limited edition of 500 copies LP from Hair Police, with beautiful art sleeves assembled from hand-cut recycled paper and featuring a silkscreened B-side. Recorded while the group were trapped in a hotel room in Ohio during one of the worst snowstorms in history, this is classic bass-driven entropic noise/rock that occupies the same kind of low-end oblivion as early Neubauten, Skip Spence’s Oar etc while moving deeper into territory previously mapped by the less overtly aggressive tracks on Certainty Of Swarms. Recommended.

Walter Carson
Recalcitrants

Gods of Tundra GOT-010101

LP
£10.99


Limited full-length album (edition of 300 on clear vinyl) from Carson, a frequent collaborator with Robert Beatty of Hair Police/Three Legged Race/Eyes And Arms Of Smoke etc. First side pitches a staggering glut of invasive electronics against improvised crank, scrape and klang while the second side builds a muddy mire of celestially-encrypted electronics from particles of shredded tone.

Ara
Pick Up And Run 2007

What The…? Records What-003

LP
£18.99


Edition of 177 copies on Spencer Yeh of Burning Star Core’s own label documenting two live performances from this group that features Sara O’Keefe (Handicapper Horns/Eyes & Arms Of Smoke) and Trevor Tremaine (Hair Police/Burning Star Core/Death Unit et al). The sound is primitive, laid-back/stoned free jazz and electronics, with O’Keefe blowing brief halos of folk tone that Tremaine echoes and mutates via subtle shots of electricity while the two of em raise revenant vocal tones high above the din. One of the nicest reconciliations of free/folk in a while. Packaged in individually unique screened/sprayed sleeves. Already sold out at source.

The Cove
s/t

Catholic Tapes No Cat

2xCassette
£10.99


Edition of 80 copies in card boxes with paste-on wraparound full-colour sleeves. The Cove is Mike Connelly of Wolf Eyes/Hair Police in combative electro-acoustic/Industrial ritual mode. Clattering metal and unidentified tectonics conjure the claustrophobic sound of early CCCC and the Akita/Null duets, all played with a wild free music abandon.

Failing Lights
Dismal Winds

Heavy Tapes

One-Sided C20 Cassette
£6.99


Rarity: Brand new solo radiation from Mike Connelly of Wolf Eyes, Hair Police et al on Mike Bernstein of Double Leopards' imprint. Looped conveyor belts of tiny metal tracks are punctured by rattlesnake tones and steel blades of stumpy Morse code while fleets of black, tattooed helicopters come to a sticky halt in clouds of thick, flashing boo. Comes with a great full-colour printed cover by Maya Miller of Double Leopards and bonus sticker. Edition circa 200.

Wretched Worst
Let The Girls Scream

Mountaain 013

CD-R
£6.99


Excellent fucked-up distorto recording of this Lexington-area super group featuring members of Hair Police, Cadaver In Drag, Warmer Milks, Walter Carson and Kraken Fury playing pummelling Swans-style doomy hardcore illuminated by confused coils of spaghetti electronics and fronted by a vocalist who gargles black microphones like he’s choking on carrots. Massively fucked lumber-punk style, like if the NZ scene hadda spawned a sloth rock behemoth that only released cheap tapes via Expressway. More please! Recommended. 

Birth Refusal
Summer Acoustic

American Tapes AM-861

CD-R
£7.99


“Connelly & Oldzone Refusal Unit: Two complete gigs from the mid summer tour with Uneven Universe, Evenings & Hive Mind. All acoustic, no amps, no electricity, nothing. Horrible scrape, empty litter containers with glass, bottle caps, metal, reeds, acoustic clutter supreme. One set from Gabe's killer Toledo Den of Death, the other from the amazing GOOD STYLE shop in Madison. Killer tour, ended in the woods jammin THE CHIEFTANS x 2 45s on 3rpm. Summer simmer acoustic. Racket to rocket to uncharted ear trails. Color Covers.” – John Olson.

Various Artists
Sunday Matinee At The Frying Pan

American Tapes AM-855

one-sided LP
£11.99


Compilation featuring unreleased tracks from Connelly & The Machines, Body Morph, Hive Mind, Dog Lady and Drainolith: “So the other day, me and my lab buddy supreme Scott were knee f'in deep in trying to find out if a huge craggly motor was delta or wye three phase connected, and needless to say, was NOT having luck. It was a one of them RAW bologna built motors that has wire numbers, but its pointless cause its all on its own weirdo system. Whatever. So as usual, we shot the shit.
"What’s up this weekend man?"
"Not much, got a killer afternoon gig at the spot on Sunday...."
"What’s a gig?"
"Ah.... I’m having some of my weirdo friends over to make ah.... music...."
"You make music?"
"Sure"
"Would you ever play a 'gig' for the troops?"
"We should get black to that motor...I think I know the lead wires now..."
"Well, I can’t come over, I gotta fix my tires on my hunting jeep, but you know what would rule Olson?"
"What’s that?"
"If you would press that jammer on wax, mix all the tracks together into one inzane mess and sent it to Smith out west to press...."
"Man, you might be on to something"
"Make it one long one-sider with a lock groove, I mean shit...that’s how I remember gigs anyway.... and just use a flyer for the cover!!!"
"My man!!!"
So I took Scott's advice. Took the killer matinee jam, got out the scalpel, mixed everything together seamless inzane style, book ended it with an EVIL Hive Mind loop and boosh!!!! Pressed gig memory!!!! So it's just like a gig, except you don’t have KNOX MITCHELL's dad dropping you off or Collino spilling brews everywhere or your secret recipe INZANE CHILLI remains burning up in the bottoms of an empty crock pot. Oddly, not a peep of crew-audience noise to be found. Dog Lady played acoustic string scrape, Dan Body jammed reed universe from the uneven side (and then BLASTED Disclose and Firmeza 10 in the jamm room), Drainolith is my main man Alex K from Montreal and kept it uber real with amazing synth scramble, live from yep, THE BASEMENT. Greh said he did a cover of THE SHINING but I’ve never seen that mini-series. Dead Machines and Connelly jammed magical pixie flutes, infected metal scrape and vocals from an eerie afternoon lagoon. Like an endless gig, ...you gotta SIT THRU THE WHOLE THING...in one inzane memory blurr surpreme.... Record ends with an EVIL Hive Mind lock groover, endless...party. ... forever.... Was a blast, more of this style to come. And BYOB!!! There are three party stores right in the hood, duh!!! 2pm SHARP!!!> Edition of 100 in handmade recycled sleeves, numbered.” – John Olson.

Three Legged Race
Persuasive Barrier

Spectrum Spools SP-022

LP
£18.99


Debut full-length album, recorded over five years, for Robert Beatty of Hair Police’s solo project: inchoate cut-up vocals and fucked-up beats give Persuasive Barrier a dark, Throbbing Gristle/Psychic TV/Coil vibe and the electronics have a heady ‘automating’ appeal. The drones are microtone thick and have a devotional aspect to them that comes over like some of the more gothic Krautrock but it’s all cut up with a deeply illogic style, jump-cutting from transcendent tone ascensions to minimal beats and deconstructed speech that gives it the feel of an hallucinatory travelogue through surreal, imaginary landscapes. Think Minimal Man re-worked by Steven Stapleton w/Pan Sonic and you’re still nowhere close. 

Dead Machines
Futures

Troubleman TMU-151

10"
£9.99


Beautiful/limited 10” vinyl edition of this brand new collection of homemade electronic grudge and tape-lurch from the always flattening duo of John Olsen (Wolf Eyes) and Tovah O’Rourke (Wooden Wand And The Vanishing Voice). Parts of this sound like The New Blockaders in denim cut-offs and Reign In Blood patches with a penchant for Roxy-era Eno. Recommended.

Dead Machines
Plays Invasion Of The Body Snatchers

Arbor #97

one-sided LP
£11.99


New edition of 450 copies one-sided LP with a gorgeous full-colour sleeve by John Olson (Wolf Eyes). Here the duo of John and Tovah Olson move deeper into the kind of liminal, broke back electronics zone that defined their great run of collaborations with John Wiese, with creeped-out midnight soundtracks populated by shadowy nocturnal forms, firefly drones and a murky, drug-addled atmosphere. This feels like the beginning of a whole new phase for Dead Machines and it makes for a subtle but powerful trip.

Wolf Eyes
Human Animal

Sub Pop SP-688

LP
£13.99


2006 Sub Pop album from the Wolf Eyes trio of John Olson, Nate Young and Mike Connelly, mixed by former member Aaron Dilloway, the official follow-up to Burned Mind. The preceding Human Animal 12" gives a good snapshot of the kind of blasted topography that the group map out here, with the first half of the album given over to the kind of eerie midnight stasis sound of the group circa River Slaughter albeit given a hi-fi upgrade and new depth of field via slow smokes of drone and viper-shots of electronics. The drum machine is at its most space-puncturing, firing repeat beats into cloaks of doom while Olson works serpentine sax patterns into steel helixes somewhere at the bottom of a ventilation shaft. One track features creeped-out spoken word narration, while over on the flip/later tracks the group move into full pit-pounding mode with assaultive nod-out rhythms and Nate's insane post-Iggy vocal shred moves foregrounded by a ton of metal. Exactingly programmed, this is the one to peak with. Highly recommended. Vinyl edition limited.

Dead Machines
Gelatin Wide Teeth

American Tapes AM-898

2xCD-R + C90 Cassette
£10.99


Excellent set of home experiments, basement jams and ferociously a-formal electro-acoustic sound from the duo of John and Tovah Olson, here stretching the concept of ‘music’ into the kind of scientific Americanisms of the early LAFMS constructs via the sound of barren electronics communicating with each other across a void of creepy slo-mo silence. “RETURNS!!! Olzone duo collection of down low studio recordings, a ton of styles / EQ. Again the experiments, some dying, some young and aware and ready to explode.  Duo communication via home freedom. RAW & PERSONAL. Color covers with insert., edition of 50.” – John Olson.