little brother records' Compact Disc Catalog

Welcome to the little brother records on-line catalog

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Compact Discs

little brother releases:

lb-016 Steven R. Smith-Slate Branches CD. $10.00.
Steven R. Smith has been making starkly beautiful music for years, both as a solo artist and as a member of Mirza, Thuja and The Knit Separates. On his fourth solo effort, Slate Branches, Smith lights up the pavements in his own rich tradition of instrumental psychic gesture that is both original and familiar, dissonant and musical. Slate Branches starts off with "Minen Flats" which features gentle bell percussion reminiscent of Harry Partchâs Cloud-Chamber Bowls, then moves to the This Heat-inflected "Cities", with its rock drums and accordion. Throughout the rest of the record, Smith utilizes electric and acoustic guitars, bells, violin, keyboards, string percussion, toy piano, and a few other sonic weapons to sculpt a record that is at times uplifting, at times ominous, always engaging.

lb-013 Tim Berne & Michael Formanek-Ornery People CD. $10.00.
Saxophone and bass free-jazz duo action from two of the best improvisers around. Berne has been making records for close to 20 years with the likes of Zorn, Motian, Frisell, Dara, and many others. Formanek plays bass in Berne's Bloodcount group and has released a couple records of his own. Though they've played together for years, this is the first recording of Berne and Formanek as a duo, and it's all that any of us could have hoped it would be.

lb-012 Nels Cline Trio-Sad CD. $10.00.
Here it is at last, the long-awaited follow-up to Chest. Perhaps the most diverse release yet from the Trio. Five long compositions and five short tracks. Alternately beautiful, noisy, abstract and ferocious.

lb-011 Nels Cline & Thurston Moore-Pillow Wand CD. $10.00.
First studio collaboration between two of the most innovative guitarists working today. Most pieces feature quiet layered strumming and build slowly to their resolution. Packaged in a fold-over jacket with inner sleeve (like a mini gatefold record). 67 min.

lb-006 Nels Cline Trio-Chest CD. $10.00.
Epic record that spans the emotions from menacing to tender to furiously aggro to other worldly. 2xLP is limited to 1000 copies and has a bonus track not on the CD.

lb-003 Our Band Could Be Your Life-A tribute to D Boon and the Minutemen CD. $9.00.
A bunch of bands (Lou Barlow, T. Moore, Free Kitten, Unwound, Dos, Nels Cline Trio & many more) doing Minutemen tunes plus a D Boon interview and live Minutemen song. CD has quite a few extra songs.

non-little brother stuff:

Alva-Slattery for Ungdom CD (Menlo Park). $10.00.
Second "full-length" (how anyone could release a 16-minute-long record and charge full price for it is beyond me) from a group whose debut release was on John Zorn’s Avant label. Juvenile melodies played on violin, piano and other non-rock instruments.

Beef-Thinking in a Drunk Tank, Drunk in a Think Tank CD (Shithouse Rat). ~~$7.50.~~ $6.00. SALE
Drunk, sloppy, loud rock that recalls the best of the Am Rep catalog. This ain't normally my style, but Beef pulls it off way better than most, with a sense of melody and a sense of humor throughout.

Tim Berne's Bloodcount-Discretion CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
Live recordings from 1997 featuring Tim's Blodcount band (the same group from that amazing triple CD--Tim Berne: alto and baritone sax, Chris Speed: tenor sax and clarinet, Michael Formanek: bass, Jim Black: drums). Essential contemporary free jazz. 74 minutes. One copy left.

Tim Berne's Paraphrase-Please Advise CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
Stellar release from this trio, which features Berne on sax, Drew Gress on bass and Tom Rainey on drums. 2 long improvisations recorded in Europe in November 1998.

Tim Berne's Paraphrase-Visitation Rites CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
Trio recording from Berlin in 1996 featuring Berne with Tom Rainey on drums and Drew Gress on bass. As with all Screwgun releases, comes in Fireproof Press packaging. 74 minutes.

Tim Berne & Hank Roberts-Cause & Reflect CD (Level Green). $15.00.
Berne has been busy lately, but all of his releases have been very high quality and this one's no exception. Recorded live in July 1998, this CD features Berne performing duets with cellist Roberts.

Big Swifty-Akroasis CD (Cherry Smash). ~~$9.50.~~ $7.50. SALE
Fine collection of composed minimal, sustained drones (a la Tony Conrad, La Monte Young) from this Los Angeles(?) group.

Biosphere/Deathprod-Nordheim Transformed CD (Rune Grammofon NOR). $13.00.
Two contemporary Norwegian artists use pieces from Arne Nordheim's Electric as source music. "Deep and haunting and acknowledged by Nordheim himself as more than worthy".

Blowhole-Billowing Sheen CD (Apraxia/Animist). ~~$12.00.~~ $10.00. SALE
First digital foray for the 'hole and it's a damn fine place to start.

Kjetil D. Brandsdal-Freedom - Waaaoh Waaoh CD (Corpus Hermeticum NZ). $15.00.
Collection of the best songs from the first two self-released LPs from this Norwegian guitarist. Recommended.

Rob Brown & Matthew Shipp-Blink of an Eye CD (No More). $13.50.
"Phonic ping-pong" recorded October 1996, with Brown on alto and flute and Shipp, of course, on piano.

Burning Sofa No. 10 CD (Krown Pocket). $9.00.
Sebadoh-esque lo-fi pop from this LA band. 2 EPs on one 73-min long CD. One copy left.

Eugene Chadbourne-Jungle Cookies 2xCD (Old Gold). $18.00.
Double CD from this veteran iconoclast documenting his time spent in Amsterdam. This release is all over the map, with long improvised tracks, tossed-off songs, even a song written and performed by Chadbourne's daughter. The musicianship is shabby at times (who buys Chadbourne albums for musicianship, anyway?), but it's interesting throughout.

Nels Cline-The Inkling CD (Cryptogramophone). $12.00.
Quieter than most of Nels' recent records, this CD features Nels on acoustic and elecrtic guitar, Mark Dresser on contrabass, Billy Mintz on drums, and Zeena Parkins on harp. A beautiful, challenging record. Recorded May, 1995.

Nels Cline Singers-Instrumentals CD (Cryptogramophone). $12.00.
Debut release from Nels Cline's post-Trio trio, featuring Devin Hoff on contrabass and Scott Amendola on drums. The Singers mine much of the same territory as Nels' old trio, but Instrumentals is perhaps less jazzy and harder rocking than any of the Trio records. As with all of Nels' work, this is highly recommended.

Coffee-Artifact/Artifact Shadow 2xCD (Lotus Sound). $16.00.
Collection of two recordings from April & May 1997, one a radio broadcast on WITR, the other recorded live at the Bug Jar in Rochester. Over 100 minutes total. Perhaps the most impressive Coffee release yet.

Crawlspace-¿Et II Bluto? CD (Lotus Sound). $11.50.
Another CD from this group of Majora regulars.

Crude-Inner City Guitar Perspectives CD (Flying Nun NZ). ~~$10.00.~~ $8.00. SALE
A collection of recordings that originally appeared on cassette.

Dead C-Tusk CD (Siltbreeze). $11.00.
A recent studio release and arguably their best in years. Essential.

Dead C-The White House CD (Siltbreeze). $10.50.
More electronic and drone in nature than most of their stuff. Maybe not their best release, but still miles beyond most bands.

Doramaar-Copula CD (Corpus Hermeticum NZ). $16.00.
Free-improvisation collective headed by Kim Pieters (Dadamah, Rain, Flies Inside the Sun, etc.).

Marc Ducret-l'ombra di verdi CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
Ducret's second Screwgun release, and while the first one was a solo guitar CD, this one is a guitar/bass/drums trio. Similarities to Nels Cline's trio records are inevitable, but Ducret has his own voice and is always unpredicatble. An excellent record.

Marc Ducret-Un Certain Malaise CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
Live solo guitar improvisations from a guitarist known for his work with Tim Berne.

Ellery Eskelin & Andrea Parkins-Green Bermudas CD (Eremite). $13.50.
Hit-and-miss duo with tenor and sampler. Samples range from bells to Eskelin's father, Rodd Keith, to Eskelin himself.

Fats Thompson CD (Trinder NZ). ~~$10.00.~~ $8.00. SALE
A classic, but sadly overlooked debut from Paul Dagarin (ex-Polyp) under a pseudonym. Ranks with the finest work of nearly any New Zealand singer/songwriter, i.e. Alastair Galbraith, Peter Jefferies, Chris Knox, etc. Guests include Galbraith, Robbie Yeats, Bruce Blucher and many others.

Milo Fine Free Jazz Ensemble-Precision in Inexactitude CD (Lotus Sound). $11.50.
To Milo Fine, "ensemble" usually means "duo with Steve Gnitka", and this CD (Milo's first?) is no different. It features two duo perfomances (from 12/96 and 4/97) with Milo playing whatever instrument he damn well feels like and Gnitka on guitar. Excellent, as usual.

Dave Fischoff-Winston Park CD (Secretly Canadian). $11.00.
Quiet, delicate record consisting primarily of guitar and voice, but augmented very nicely with found sounds, samples and electronics.

Michael Formanek-Am I Bothering You? CD (Screwgun). $12.00.
There really are few bassists that can pull off a solo bass CD and keep your attention for the whole thing. It's really a testament to Formanek's ability as a musician, composer and improviser. Recommended.

Frosty-Liquor Drink CD (Menlo Park). $10.00.
Fresh from their split single with Harry Pussy, Frosty serve up 10 songs of gutter rock that make Pussy Galore seem downright literary. Strange, I woulda thought the title was redundant to guys like these. Oh well.

Gezoleen-Stiff Miserable Goodbye CD (Subversive Workshop). $4.50.
Interesting, engaging (if a little unfocused) layered experimental, improv guitar that at times reminds me of Gastr del Sol.

Vinny Golia-Nation of Laws CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
Recorded on July 30, 1996 and featuring Nels Cline, Rob Blakeslee, Joel Hamilton, and Alex Cline. One copy left.

Vinny Golia-Razor CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
Another quintet recording, this one from 1995 and also featuring Nels Cline, Michael Vlatkovich, Joel Hamilton, and Billy Mintz.

Vinny Golia-Worldwide & Portable CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
This group is called The Chamber Trio so music is generally somber, more interested in texture than some of Vinny's other recordings. Recorded in 1986, it features Wayne Peet on piano and Ken Filiano on bass. One copy left.

Golia/Lewis/Turetzky-Triangulation CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
Trio recording from 1996 with Golia on sax and clarinet, George Lewis on trombone and Bertram Turetzky on bass. One copy left.

Phillip Greenlief/Scott Amendola-Collect My Thoughts CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
Excellent sax/drums duo CD.

A Handful of Dust-Musica Humana CD (Corpus Hermeticum NZ). $16.00.
A reissue of their first LP (Concord on the Twisted Village label) as well as tracks from a 7" and various compilations.

Hands To-Circumscription CD (Urthona GER). $12.00.
Jeph Jerman (also of Blowhole) is Hands To, and he creates mesmerizing sound sculptures from various sources.

Hands To-Nazha CD (Manifold). $15.00.
Title is a Navaho word meaning "to spiritually surround". The CD is encased in hand-printed paper and then wrapped in twine. A beautifully understated package. Hand-numbered edition of 200.

Julius Hemphill-Blue Boyé 2xCD (Screwgun). $20.00.
The first of what will hopefully be many reissues of Hemphill's early work by Screwgun. Originally recorded in 1977 for Hemphill's own Mbari label, Blue Boyé is an epic solo saxophone statement that's both innovative and extremely enjoyable.

Hochenkeit-I Love You CD (Road Cone). $10.50.
Taking their cues from Sun City Girls, Hochenkeit are a Portland band who have more than just a passing interest in Indian and Middle Eastern music. The title track is one of the most hummable examples of this type of music that you're likely to hear.

Hood-Silent '88 CD (Slumberland). $9.75.
2nd record from this British band. One of the best bands working in this over-crowded genre. They infuse a good bit of noise/weirdness. One copy left.

Jeff Humphrey Trio-No Fun Camp CD (Lotus Sound). $11.50.
Skewed pop from a New Jersey singer/songwriter. Should appeal to fans of GBV, Kinks, etc.

Id Battery-Last Blue Before Black CD (Unique Ancient Tavern). $14.00.
Second excellent CD of subtly shifting drones. This disc particularly shows their remarkable level of restraint and ability to create a maximum impact with a minimum of sound. One copy left.

Irving Klaw Trio-Utek Pahto Mogoi CD (Road Cone). $10.00.
Sun City Girls-influenced jazz/noise/rock from this Portland group.

Kaia CD (Candy Ass/Chainsaw). $11.50.
Ex-Team Dresch and Adickdid. Her first solo LP and first solo release since the little brother 7". Of course it's great.

King Loser-Caul of the Outlaw CD (Flying Nun NZ). $10.00.
Their last (are they no longer a band?) LP (from 1996) and possibly their best. This one has a more laid-back feel, at times reminiscent of Giant Sand or Calexico.

King Loser-You Cannot Kill What Does Not Live CD (Flying Nun NZ). $10.00.
Second full-length from this New Zealand garage-drone band.

Caroline Kraabel-Now We Are One Two CD (Dark Beloved Cloud). $10.50.
Solo CD from the leader of the Honkies. Very strange (read: out) disc of sax and voice improvisations. Impressive hand-made covers.

Suzanne Langille with Loren MazzaCane Connors-The Enchanted Forest CD (Secretly Canadian). $10.50.
Concept album featuring the vocals of Langille, accompanied by MazzaCane's distinctive, understated guitar.

Alan Licht-The Evan Dando of Noise? CD (Corpus Hermeticum NZ). $16.00.
Solo recordings from 1995 and 1996. If you know who Alan is, you know you need this. If you don't, this is a great place to start.

Loren Mazzacane Connors-Evangeline CD (Road Cone). $10.50.
Loren's making a bid for 1998's "Hardest Working Man in Music" award. This is (at least) his fourth CD release this year, to go along with a handful of singles. Perhaps his most lyrical release yet, this one is an excellent introduction to his simple, beautiful style.

Loren MazzaCane Connors-Hell! Hell! Hell! Hell! Hell! CD (Lotus Sound). $11.50.
This CD starts off unexpectedly with a few faster, noisier blues guitar tracks that could almost be described as "chooglin'", before settling into Loren's trademark style. A bit unfocused perhaps, but an interesting document.

Mink Shoals/Squirrelly Drawling split CD (Berlap). $8.00.
Mink Shoals features acoustic slide guitar instrumentals that show a strong John Fahey influence, while never imitating. Should certainly appeal to any Fahey fan. Quite excellent. Squirrelly Drawling leans toward more standard lo-fi rock with some weirdness thrown in.

Monotract-Blaggout CD (Animal World Recordings). $9.00.
Debut full-length from this Florida group who bridge the gap between Tower Recordings and Harry Pussy. Gatefold CD package that features bits of broken glass glued onto the cardboard jacket. Nice.

Roy Montgomery-Scenes from the South Island CD (Drunken Fish). $15.00.
Beautiful solo guitar pieces. Ex-Dadamah, etc.

Joe Morris & William Parker-Invisible Weave CD (No More). $13.50.
Guitar and bass duets recorded in January 1997 live at the Knitting Factory in New York.

Nordheim/Biosphere/Deathprod-Electric/Nordheim Transformed 2xCD (Rune Grammofon NOR). $22.00.
Arne Nordheim's CD of classic electronic works (see below) released together with the reinterpretations of those works by a couple of contemporary Norwegian artists. Packaged in a limited edition slipcase.

Arne Nordheim-Electric CD (Rune Grammofon NOR). $13.00.
Beautifully packaged reissue of works originally recorded in 1968 and 1970 and first released in 1974. Nordheim is considered by many the greatest living Norwegian composer, and this CD respresnts the bulk of his innovative electronic compositions. Even thirty years after their creation, these pieces hold up remarkably well and are absolute classics of electronic composition which certainly deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Stockhausen. An important and essential reissue.

Null-Ultimate Material vol. III CD (Manifold). $13.00.
Textured noise, sometimes harsh, sometimes ambient, from a mainstay of the Japanese noise scene.

Pain Jerk/Dogliveroil split CD (Betley Welcomes Careful Drivers UK). ~~$12.50.~~ $10.50. SALE
Split/collaboration CD between a couple noise artistes.

Pelt-Brown Cyclopaedia CD (VHF). $11.50.
CD reissue of a double LP from this Virginia band. Think early Sonic Youth with the banging and clanging. One copy left.

Pieters/Russell/Stapleton-Last Glass CD (Corpus Hermeticum NZ). $16.00.
Improvisation trio featuring members of such esteemed New Zealand bands as Dadamah, Pin Group, Dead C, Rain, Doramaar, Flies Inside the Sun, and A Handful of Dust.

Project W CD (Apraxia). ~~$12.00.~~ $10.00. SALE
Their digital debut. They mine the same territory as Blowhole at their jazziest.

Pyramid Trio-Ancestral Homeland CD (No More). $13.50.
The Pyramid Trio is a group led by Roy Campbell (trumpet, flugelhorn, etc.) and also features William Parker on bass and Zen Matsuura on drums. Recorded in February 1998.

Sandoz Lab Technicians-The Tale of Pixielamb CD (Lotus Sound). $11.50.
The follow-up to the excellent full-length debut on Siltbreeze, this CD is more improvised and all-instrumental but just as intriguing. New Zealand's answer to the No Neck Blues Band.

Scarnella CD (Smells Like). $12.00.
Collaboration between Nels Cline (if you don't know) and Carla Bozulich (Geraldine Fibbers) with as many songs as improvisations. Both are top-notch and fans of either Nels or Carla will not be disappointed.

Dave Scott/Tony Malaby Quartet CD (Nine Winds). $11.50.
From 9/95 with Billy Mintz and Trey Henry. Like a more free Miles Davis.

Splinter Group CD (W.D.T.C.H.C.). $13.00.
First release from a band featuring L.A. improv music heavies, G.E. Stinson (L. Stinkbug, Alex Cline, and about a hundred others) and Stuart Leibig (L. Stinkbug, Gregg Bendian, Vinny Golia, etc.). The instrumentation is pretty adventurous (turntables, applied tools, and toys, along with bass, guitar and voice), and the sound is just as adventurous. Sometimes sounding like Yoko Ono fronting a trance-funk band, and other times shaking up the old industrial-type skree. Not everything works completely, but still an impressive debut from a band that ain't boring.

V/A-I Scream CD (Old Gold). $9.00.
Performances from the first night of a two-day festival in Atlanta in July 1997. Features tracks from Shaking Ray Levis, the Gold Sparkle Band, LaDonna Smith & Davey Williams, Charlie Parker, Eugene Chadbourne and William Carlos Williams. Numbered edition of 500.

V/A-Tinker Compilation CD (Tinker). $11.50.
Excellent noise/improv comp. feat. Blowhole, Pork Queen, Climax Golden Twins, Merzbow, Deerhoof, Noggin, and many more.

Village of Savoonga-Philipp Schatz CD (Communion). $11.50.
The domestic CD release of their second LP.

White Winged Moth-I Can See Inside your House CD (Poon Village). $14.00.
Quiet layered textures and ringing guitar tones from Dean Roberts (Thela). Typically great PV packaging.

Simon Wickham-Smith & Richard Youngs-Metallic Sonatas CD (VHF). $14.00.
15 short droning improvisations using a wide variety of instruments. One copy left.

Richard Youngs-House Music CD (Meme JAP). $18.00.
Youngs was responsible for two of 1998's best records, Pulse of the Rooster (with Wickham-Smith on VHF) and Sapphie (solo on Oblique); this CD is certainly more abstract than either of those, but still very captivating. Though he uses no traditional instruments (the disc lists oven tray, fire and chimney, radiator, drain pipe, etc.), Youngs is able to create soothing, albeit minimal, music. Another gem from someone who seems to be getting better and better.

Richard Youngs-Sapphie CD (Oblique). $18.00.
A wonderfully intimate solo CD from half of one of the most creative duos around. Richard uses just classical guitar and his voice on this release, that comes off as very personal and endearing but never sappy or hokey. This is the rare original version, now long out of print.