From list #120 (31st of August, 2001): Scott Tuma - Hard Again

"Take a little John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke's Bad Timing, Souled American, maybe some space-y Brian Eno, play it back on a ancient tape machine, and listen to these understated and completely gorgeous guitarscapes..."

Let me know if they project my visage covered in whipped cream at any point during the show.

From list #119: Cavendish Sanguine - Vitriol Crusts

How could I ignore this review: "...swarming buzzing & muted electronic skree...warm waves of fuzzy hum...stuttering hiccuping samples beating against each other...underwater drum-roll-drone...dark and dreamy (but still creepy) ambience. So good."

From AQ mail order list #117: D. Haines - Emo

"Throughout the album, Haines weaves sublime slashes of digital squiggles between laptop-tricked-out drones probably originating from accordions & orchestral warm-ups...a fantastic dreamy album."

RIYL Jasper TX, Machinefabriek, Troum, Celer, etc

No idea how Neotropic evaded me until now (esp. with the Low connection) but AQ List #115 hipped me to it.

"...A really abstract, non-linear collection of sounds & sort-of-songs; flutes, field recordings of children playing, organs, gently strummed guitars, chopped up sambas, processed vocals..."

Seeing them live on the '98 US tour kept me from caring at all about these reunion gigs.

Also from List 109: Miasto Nie Spało - "Pieśni Żałobne I-VII"

Polish chamber music trio. Their minimal Arvo Pärt-inspired threnodies are played on double bass, cello, and accordion. The group's name means "The City Didn't Sleep." On OBUH Records.

List 109: Robert Lippok - "Open Close Open"

"At first, a few micro-second laptop samples...But then things find their way outside of that crystalline synthesis -- a gaggle of ducks quacking, door slams, Mahler. The effect is sheer yet textured, very lovely, fans of Oval will be pleased."

MORE! MORE!!!!!!!!!

Slightly further down list 107 is "Baltyckie Szepty" which aQ describes as, "Recordings of seals swimming in the Baltic Sea augmented with instruments & electronics...an aquatic musical document of bathing, breathing creatures & drifting, gorgeous, sometimes sinister, shimmering soundscapes."

List 107 introduced me to Ashtray Navigations, who has released gobs of music since 2001's "Tristes Tropiques," all of which is on Bandcamp. Says aQ:

"...gorgeous, hazy ambience from this UK mystery man. Droning & buzzing & humming with tinges of middle eastern flavor and NNCK style free chaos."

Was lucky enough to see Pat play these songs a ton at Tonic in NYC (RIP), then once or twice on harp (!) opening for Slint. He's a brilliant songwriter and musician, and I'm so happy to see this expanded reissue. A must-buy!

Oh we're really doing this.

I call this one "Guys From My Fantasy Baseball Past: The College Years"

(the messages function on my bsky account is broken both on the app and website, shoot me an email so I can see what you had to say)

Shut up and take my money

Oh, this one is pretty solid too. From aQ List number 105.

"...recording finely-tuned glasses (wine glasses) onto five different reel-to-reel machines, and then carefully splicing and mixing the tapes. A bit of theremin, kalimba and bass is added on two of the tracks as well."

Today's discovery comes from aQ mail-order list number 104. Brian And Chris' VECTORS (via Megalon Records)

"If Jim O'Rourke wasn't so afflicted with attention deficit disorder, if Boards of Canada weren't so s-l-o-w in making new records, if the Champs weren't on tour all the time..."

Same issue that eventually cut short Matt Harvey’s career.