Lilys - A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns 10" EP

Stunning 6-song EP by a band (Kurt Heasley) at the absolute height of their (his) powers. "Ginger" was one of the first indie rock songs to be used in a commercial (if you're feeling rank, Calvin Klein's CK-1 was the product...). Like most of the Lilys best releases, this isn't available on eMusic or iTunes, and it doesn't seem to be available on many blogs (or perhaps I haven't found the right ones). Released in 1994 on Spin Art and deserving of reissue.

Sample mp3: Lilys - Any Place I've Lived
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/11317187be67d1a5/

Loop - The World In Your Eyes CD

If for some unknowable reason you don't have this Loop album, and the other handful of Loop albums, here's your chance to begin to make amends. Loop released both "The World In Your Eyes" and "Heaven's End" in 1987 and although both are spacey drone rock classics to be revered, to be sure, I particularly enjoy the sonic variety on this compilation ("Brittle Head Girl" and "Burning Prisma" are simply [inter]stellar). But...1988's "Fade Out" is by far and away their most mind-blowing sonic workout. I can't hear the opening of "Pulse" without getting goosebumps and hearing my inner voice say "Oh maaaaaan". Still...I'm posting this album because I run into it less often in bloggoworld. Check out a detailed Loop discography here. My version of this CD was released on Loop's own Reactor Records label. I read an article in which Robert Hampson said he was thinking about reissuing all the Loop albums at their 20th anniversaries. Perhaps he changed his mind. Pity.

Here's a great quote about Loop from the CBC's Brave New Waves profile of Loop from April 17, 1993 (which I recently converted from tape to mp3): "Loop stands for fetishistic fascination with dense walls of texture and trademark one part songs. Songs whose internal logic is based on mood and shift, and songs that, generally, require a fade out. Loop forbids solos of any kind. Loop are to music what the never ending, always changing Mandelbrot set is to quantum physics. This is a Croydon based quartet...destined I guess to be appreciated only in their absence. Dug up maybe in a decade or two and revealed to a new audience who may wonder where the hell they came from and why no one ever heard of them." Word. Soundheads can download the entire profile here.

Album download: http://www.zshare.net/download/113167082acd8cf7/

Kepler - Fuck Fight Fail CD

Under appreciated band from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, who broke up in 2006. FFF is more consistently pleasing than their 1999 EP "This Heart is Painted On", but musicianshipwise, they hit full stride on 2001's full lengther "Missionless Days". FFF is no slouch, mind. It's a solid effort that should appeal to fans of Trees-lounge-soundtrack-era Hayden, Slint, Mogwai, and Hypatia Lake, who enjoy hushed (but worth trying to make out) vocals, plenty of bass, and quiet-loud-quiet rocksercise ("The Changing Light At Sandover" is a great example of all of the above). Released in 2000 on Troubleman Unlimited.

Sample mp3: Kepler - The Way You Fall Apart
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/113182679e895c8d/

Joby's Opinion - Slippy Jewels Cassette

Chapel Hill's Friction Media released this 10-song lo-fi indie-rock cassette in 1992. Shades of early Silver Jews and Pavement. An enjoyable esoteric artifact, in fact.

Sample mp3: Joby's Opinion - Hey Ginger
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/1111345016f192c4/

Imajinary Friends - Lunchtime in Infinity CD

Anton Newcombe (Brian Jonestown Massacre) side project (with Swervedriver's drummer!) that would have made a killer 12" EP (New Fast Car, Faked Out, Silence Is Golden Applesauce, and Love Your Stereo Typewriter, ). The other three songs are strictly for completists. Uneven but historically interesting release on Bomp! in 1994.

Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/11113355a1114c10/

I Like Walt! 7" Compilation

I've posted 3 of the 6 songs on this magnificent 7" Walt Records compilation here before, but for those who missed out, here's another chance to enjoy Franklin Bruno, The Mountain Goats, Guiding Genius, Dump, Marcellus Hall, and Butterglory. Hey stranger, what's your favourite 7" comp? This one's right up there for me...

Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/11090621343735f1/

Going Against Maz's Advice - Four Letter Words Compilation CD

Totally fun 21-song "international compilation of rock & fucking roll!" released on Four Letter Words in 1994, featuring The Summer Hits, Cat's Miaow, Starstreamer, Belmondo, Holiday Flyer, Orange Cake Mix, Tricycle Popstar, and Boyracer. "Total running time: 15 fucking hours". "Part one of HOT DOG! We've Got A Wiener!". Part two was supposed to appear on Somersault Records...but I don't think it ever did. The sleeve design was done by our old friend and sometimes mailer Chip Porter, and the insert features Tim Sendra of Veronica Lake and Madison Electric fame supine in front of his records wearing an MC5 shirt. All that plus Boyracer covering Henry's Dress. How can you go wrong?

Sample mp3: Boyracer - Feathers (Henry's Dress cover)
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/107612052e284894/

Good Horsey - All their 7"s, I think

Thanks to Martijn's supersale, I doubled my collection of Good Horsey 7" singles today, and just in a nick of alphabetical time. Vancouver's Good Horsey was Mark Szabo, Max Lee, and Justice Schanfarber (until Justice left to form Pork Queen). Three of the four 7"s I'm sharing with you today were released on Vancouver's Trackshun Industries label (run by Justice), including 1994's Go Light EP, a 6-song Trackshun compilation from 1994 (Bugskull, Noggin, Pork Queen, Paste, Good Horsey, and Roughage...all in the archive) called "Optional Ingredients From A Vile Recipe", and 1996's Emperor Nick/Pink Pages. The fourth, The Last Customer EP, was co-released by Shrimper, 18 Wheeler, and Baby Huey in 1995. I've sung the praises of Good Horsey on YSKOD before. "Go Light" is one of the best indie rock songs I've ever heard, and though their discography is uneven, it's been a joy to discover. Hearing three Good Horsey songs I'd never heard before certainly made my day today. As exciting as when I plopped the Go Light single on my turntable (golly) 14 years ago.

Because even Google has a hard time crawling its way to info about Mark and Good Horsey, I'll let you know that what's in the zip file here, plus the Kazue CD below, represents a good chunk of (Good) Horsey's releases, but there's still lots more out there...somewhere. For example, the Trackshun Industries catalog mentions a 7-song self-titled cassette as "Horsey" (TR03). And I also found reference to a 1994 cassette compilation on Chocolate Monk called "The International Audio Journal Of Green Tea Consumption" (Choc.63) that apparently contains a Good Horsey song. As a solo artist (with Max Lee) Mark Szabo released (as the search-engine unfriendly "Mark") a full-length CD (Chocolate Covered Bad Things, still available on Catsup Plate here, though there are only 1,000 copies), at least two tapes (1994's Regressing, on Union Pole, is the second one, the liner notes of which make reference to an earlier unidentified "Mark" tape), and he has contributed songs to a number of compilations (tune in later...). Then there's the impossible-to-find Capozzi Park album "The Record Of Capozzi Park" from 2001, and the 1992 double-7" side-project Thee Crusaders, with AC Newman and others. In 2007, Heartbreak Scene released a terrific CD on Fayettenam Records called "The Szabo Songbook" featuring Mark's songs, which you can buy here. The only interview with Mark I found on the web was with Discorder, after he sorta dropped off the fringes of the music scene...but if you can believe it, the page no longer loads. Despite being heralded by the likes of Dan Bejar, Franklin Bruno, John Darnielle, and now me (haw), it seems Mark Szabo is destined to remain obscure. Probably for the best eh.

Sample mp3: Good Horsey - Pink Pages
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/107657848c3b629f/

Good Horsey - Kazue CD

Mark Szabo and Alexander Keiths have one thing in common: Those who like them, like them a lot. A brilliant, lost album, released on Trackshun Industries in 1994. Apparently Mark played guitar upside down...but he left the strings alone...which in part explains the unique guitar sound. I'll stop just short of begging you to download this album.

Sample mp3: Good Horsey - But She Knew
Download: http://www.zshare.net/download/10763245f1ee53b1/

Guided By Voices - Crying Your Knife Away 2LP

From the insert: "Bela Koe-Krompecher's 26th birthday party at Stache's in Columbus, Ohio, June 18, 1994. The party actually started at 3:00 pm in Bela's backyard. Kegs were flowing, and Pete Jamison manned the grill, while Bela's grandmother, beer in hand, presided over the whole affair from a lazy boy in the middle of the yard. Records were traded, lies were told, and perception was severly impaired. Around 10:00 pm the party went modile, stumbling a few blocks away to Stache's. The drink of choice was Rolling Rock, and before GBV took the stage, at least one band member caught a nap."

Classic GBV live set, 25 songs in all, released as a bootleg in 500 copies on Lo-Fi Recordings in 1994. As a GBV fan in the mid 90s, I especially enjoy Bob Pollard's opening thanks (before launching into Postal Blowfish), which end with the following: "...we'd like to thank this dude here that knows all Guided By Voices Songs...and he owns all Guided By Voices records...he is one of the chosen few". We accept you! We accept you! One of us! One of us! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble! One of us! One of us!

Download LP1 here: http://www.zshare.net/download/10765913014f3775/
Download LP2 here: http://www.zshare.net/download/10765872d72530bc/

More bandwidth next week

Flying Saucer Attack - 7"s Part 2

As promised, here are the rest of FSA's glorious 7" singles. This round you can download All About Dreams on what is known as "The Polite Cream Tea Corps" single that came with Ptolemaic Terrascope magazine vol. 4 no. 4 in 1994 (read more about this one here), 1995's Beach Red Lullaby/Second Hour on Planet Records, 1995's Domino Records single featuring the oft-covered Outdoor Miner by Wire b/w Psychic Driving, 1996's split 7" with Jessamine on Enraptured Records, and 1997's Domino Records single featuring a cover of The Prisoner's Coming Home b/w Hope.

Good news for those who've shown up late to the party. Part 1 is still available for downloading here.

Sample mp3: Flying Saucer Attack - Coming Home
NEW DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.zshare.net/download/10991302eda11cec/

Fortune Cookie Surprise: A Tribute to Beat Happening CD

A very enjoyable compilation released on Simple Machines in 1992, featuring covers by: The Cannanes; Velocity Girl; Leaky Chipmunk; Scrawl; Seaweed; Thurston, Kim, and Epic; The Geeks; Lovechild; Unrest; Superchunk; Fish & Roses; and Whorl.

Sample mp3: Leaky Chipmunk - Our Secret
Full download: http://www.zshare.net/download/10384645c8843143/

Further - Sometimes Chimes 2LP

From my previous post:

"Speaking of wilfully obscure, California's Further proffers the paradigm case. If you're a fan of skronky, sloppy indie rock a la early Dinosaur Jr, Sebadoh, and Pavement, well then this may be your Golden Grimes ticket to Glory. The shortish story is that members of Further started off in Shadowland who released two dismal "alternative" albums on Geffen. Disenfranchised with their experience on a major, Brent and Darren Rademaker formed Further, who released four albums and handfuls of singles (as evidenced by their discography) of liberatingly unrestricted indie rock. Rarely critics darlings, Further were often chided for sounding like the bands listed above, thus spawning the excellently tongue-in-cheek song "Furtherdoh Jr-Q" provided below. After the band broke up in the late 90s, Brent joined Beachwood Sparks and Darren joined The Tyde. Sometimes Chimes is a double LP released on Christmas Records in 1993. It is out of print and fetches a pretty penny on eBay. There are 27 songs here, clocking in at 1.3 hours, and by my count, it's 20 songs too long (though it's an admirable excess as it is). So I've handpicked a fine EP's worth of True Indie Rock songs. For more background on the band, check out this and that."

This round you can check out the admirability of the excess.

Sample mp3: Further - Furtherdoh Jr. Q
Download LP1: http://www.zshare.net/download/103809785d7d2432/
Download LP2: http://www.zshare.net/download/103837701714f909/

The Earthmen - Flyby CD EP

Australia's The Earthmen released this awful-sleeved but quite good 4-song EP on Summershine in 1992. Recommended if you like Midway Still, Jupiter Sun, that kind of thing. Add one part indie rock, one part indie pop, and one part shoegazer. Mix well. These are in mp4 format for some reason, so no sample.

Full download: http://www.zshare.net/download/100538972b112f65/

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - ...Fluidtrance Centauri CD EP

Probably the most consistently mind blowing 13-minutes of shoegazing you are likely to hear this side of 1991's Loveless. The Czech band released this criminally short 3-song EP on Free Records in 1993, before packing up their guitars and effects pedals and turning electronic. Their Pigment (1991) and Sensurrate (1992) albums are definitely worth tracking down too.

Sample mp3: Esctasy of Saint Theresa - Alpha Centauri
Full download: http://www.zshare.net/download/10053294666e053b/

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Free D (Original Soundtrack) CD

I was woozy with anticipation when I received this Free Records CD in the mail back in 1994. I was awestruck by their 1993 Fluidtrance Centauri EP (look up) and here was an overpriced, import-only full-lengther! Hot damn...to plain damn. I was so disappointed by it...guitars replaced with bleeps and bloops and wind sounds...and bird calls? Huh? I still lament EofST's paradigm shift when they were at the height of their powers, but I don't hate this album. In fact, it's a very compelling listen. I particularly enjoy it when I'm sick, after ingesting lots of cold meds. Makes me feel pretty spaced out and, well, better (if not ecstatic). Gorgeous packaging too...it's not often that CD artwork rivals album artwork.

Full download: http://www.zshare.net/download/10052717b769ed22/

Evie - Evie CD

This may well be the best indie pop/rock album I will ever post on YSKOD of which I am confident none of you have ever heard. Hailing from the small town of Swan River in Manitoba, Canada, Evie (husband and wife duo Rosie and Al, now joined by Jawn) began as a seemingly intentional Eric's Trip copycat in 1996. They've released an armful of homerecorded 4-track cassettes over the years, many of which are apparently still available in that format or on CD-Rs from their website (although I'd contact them first to make sure). In 2001, they self-released this THIRTY song CD, which I picked up for $10 their awesome CD launch at the lovely, rundown, and now sadly soon-to-be-defunct Royal Albert Arms hotel in their new hometown (my old hometown) of Winnipeg. The CD consists of "older 4-track stuff from previous tapes and some re-recorded on a digital 8-track." Do you like Eric's Trip? Elevator (To Hell)? Do you like Slumberland-records style indie pop? Black Tambourine? The Cannannes? What about recent artists like Herman Dune? You do? Whew. You had me scared for a moment there. Well, then, dear sirs and madams, do yourself a favour and check this out.

Sample mp3: Evie - Next Time With Me
Sample mp3: Evie - I Knew You
Full 30-song download: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TVHSJTVU