Digital Releases (40 items)

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Will You Marry Me Glitzerland

  Artist/Title: Ails al'on - ten ten ten 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR193 This is the last release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 36+ minutes of noisy pop, synth, psych, heaviness from this duo consisting of David Merulla of Autumn in Halifax and Joe Tunis (of Carbon, Tuurd, Tumul, formerly of Pengo, etc). [packaged with 3-color silkscreened covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Andy Gilmore - Lord, hold my hand while i run this race. 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR88 10YR.Series.08 - the eighth in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. a truly magnificant collection of guitar and piano pieces from one of the nicest and most creative people i know. Andy creates, whether it be with guitar or piano, pencil or ink, word or thought. clocking in at over 44min, this release contains 13 tracks, one of which is a 14min live piece, each of which exudes the level of emotion and delicateness that we've come to expect from Andy. Reviews (1): Foxy Digitalis I’ve only ever paid Andy Gilmore passing interest. I never really gave his Of Lice and Moons much contemplation. It was only when I absorbed myself in Lord, Hold My Hand While I Run This Race that I discovered a truly captivating and emotionally-driven exhibition of sound. These lonesome guitar and piano creations drift and stray out of the disc and implant themselves directly into your imagination, where they reminisce over whispered sighs of sentimental memories and ecstatically rejoice over the empty shells of past glories. In doing so, it evokes a stirring, sequestered awareness of abandonment, and removal from these joyful recollections. These bleaker elements begin to penetrate and alter those thoughts. The stark sensation that you are now withdrawn from reality is a cold wake-up call that spits you back out into Gilmore’s desolate sounds. The clanking of piano pedals and clinking of keys makes for a perfect soundtrack to a despondent existence, but through this, it still manages to radiate splendour and beauty. This won’t just pull at your heartstrings, it will puppeteer them. When we were younger, we couldn’t appreciate the lack of responsibility we had. Now that we’ve grown, we increasingly find ourselves asking, like Gilmore, for someone to hold our hand while we run this race. - James Clarke

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Screen of Province In Slow Arcs

  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - Kites With Broken Strings 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR117 autumn in halifax is "the quiet avant folk drone guitar and voice of david merulla." and this release showcases pretty much every aspect of that description. in addition to his amazing guitar/looping and vocal work, he is joined on a number of tracks by various friends from his previous stomping grounds in the San Diego (post)pop/rock scene. David does an amazing job of mixing delicate (and catchy) melodies and looping, with abstract sounds and textures . www.autumninhalifax.com Reviews (4): Two Way Monologues A lot of people have a tough time understanding how I can appreciate watching baseball, golf or even (gasp!) curling as much as I do, and I can understand that. The reality is that those activities just move too slowly for the majority of people. It can be the same way with a movie, like one of my all-time favourites, Waking Life. I find that movie riveting, and to date I still am trying to wrap my head around the intricacies of what it all means. I'd be an idiot to expect everyone to have the patience for that type of movie. And I would be an idiot to expect everyone to have the patience for Autumn in Halifax's record Kites With Broken Strings. Patience is absolutely crucial to enjoy Autumn in Halifax. There are moments that occur in the album that are absolutely crushing. The music has a way of lulling you into a mesmerized state where it is just you and the music; and then, like a cold bucket of water to the face, an abrupt change in the pacing or volume awakens you. It is just an incredible feeling when music can do that to you. The key is in the build up, or what I referred to as the lull. Rudimentary rules about song lengths are ignored here, and whatever length it takes to satisfactorily complete the song is used instead. The album title is fascinating, isn't it? Kites With Broken Strings -- what does that mean to you? To me, the one word that comes to mind is potential. A kite with broken strings at is useless; the sole function of a kite cannot be performed without strings. But that doesn't mean it can't regain that potential again and that it hasn't done beautiful things before. Maybe I am completely wrong and the band just named the album what it did because it sounds cool. I hope not. I also like my analysis because it fits well with this music in general. It is only as rewarding as you let it be. A casual listen to songs like "Farewell" just isn't going to cut it. "Farewell" actually offers the listener a great microcosm for what they going to experience during Kites With Broken Strings. Clocking in at 10:38, it is a slowburn, to say the least. In many ways I am reminded of Raising the Fawn but with a heavier emphasis on folk and more of a hint of fragility in David Merulla's vocals. Repeatedly, Merulla plays this quiet tranquil melody against the rhythmic drums, and the melody has more of an effect on me than most hard rock riffs ever do. When I listen to this song I know that everything will go on hold for ten minutes of my life and I can just let myself get lost into this music. And this, as I am discovering, is the true beauty of the drone style. For a minute and thirty seconds "Memphis" plods forward as it builds toward something, but the repetition soothes you -- and then it happens and demands that you perk up and listen. Merulla's voice couldn't be described as polished, it has a raw quality that contrasts well with the meticulous thought that goes into the guitar and instrumentation. I wouldn't suggest playing any of these songs at your next social gathering, but in those late artistic, contemplative hours of the night this is the soundtrack that you are craving. I am asking/encouraging anyone who reads this and would like to share an opinion on what they think the following lyrics mean to post or email and let me know, because I find them utterly fascinating: "Ghostly coma breaks/the radius of your smiles/when I need them most/Sparkles rival faith/Rivals sparkles truth/Sparkles rival faith/Rivals sparkle truth" Those lyrics come from "Stinger Glows Relief," another of the many excellent tracks Kites With Broken Strings has to offer. The song is constructed to force the listener to focus on Merulla's voice and those mysteriously beautiful lyrics. In spite of not knowing precisely what the lyrics mean, the sadness or despair in this song is still bordering on overwhelming. And it doesn't end with the three songs I mentioned. On their own these songs are decent, but as a whole the album is a more powerful and rewarding experience. The learning curve is higher, so you make the call. The flavour of the month or something that you won't be sick of this time in July? That is up to you. Songs to hear: As your attorney, I'd advise listening to the entire album. (Fear and Loathing reference, for those who just decided that I am crazy.) SCORE: 8.5 - Dan City Newspaper Cover story excerpt Rochester City Weekly (OCTOBER 26, 2005) A brisk wind blows through David Merulla's music At times, he inhabits his own music with such a gentle touch that he may as well be a ghost himself. His playing also moves forward at an unhurried pace almost unheard of in this day and age. The arrangements, which feature light electronic touches and playing and recording by members of Kill Me Tomorrow, Bartender's Bible, and the Black Heart Procession, leave ample room for echoes. Echoes in the spaces of buildings, echoes that span the rural American West... echoes of a tree-lined Rochester street bracing itself for the cold. - Saby Reyes-Kulkarni Pop Matters Autumn in Halifax is (mostly) David Merulla, and to get an idea of his music, it helps to know that he’s intrigued by both nature and architecture, and these two obsessions shape his music.  Like the former, his songs are often unconstrained and unpredictable, changing direction and feel without warning.  But like the latter, Merulla’s songs possess shape, though it’s not always apparent.  This is the rewarding part of his music—a few listens just do not suffice.  You have to live with the songs to discern the overall harmony and symmetry of its components, and what first sounded like random noise reveals itself to be part of a larger structure.  Merulla, you might say, paints on a large canvas, and standing too close prevents you from seeing the complete picture.  Once you see it, though, you can’t look away, despite that it’s often haunting, lonely, and unsettling. Kites with Broken Strings is Autumn in Halifax’s new album; consisting of eleven tracks, it exemplifies Merulla’s eccentric brand of folk.  Merulla handles vocal and guitar duties, but it would shortchange him to say he “plays” the guitar.  All the conventions of guitar playing—pleasing chord progressions, catchy hooks, pyrotechnic guitar solos—are absent from Merulla’s songs.  Lest you think, though, this means Merulla doesn’t know the tool of his craft, he does.  His approach, however, is completely different from the classic pop model of verse/chorus/solo/chorus/fade. Instead, his guitar lines drift back and forth, moving in and out of frame, disappearing only long enough to instill a sense of unease and anxiety, returning to both please and taunt.  His playing has been described as “quiet avant folk drone,” and while it’s all of these things, it might be more apt and succinct to say it’s surreal.  Each song on Kites with Broken Strings sounds like a collage of fragments of dream or memories, juxtaposed against one another, the interplay equally revealing and disturbing. Adding to the illusory feel of Autumn in Halifax’s songs is Merulla’s voice, which is always shaky, often shrill, and deliberately off-key.  Yes, this doesn’t sound like the kind of music you play at a party, and it isn’t—at least, that is, not until all the obligatory guests have left and only your core group of confidantes remain.  Autumn in Halifax, you see, isn’t for everyone, but only those who enjoy investing in the listening experience, those who know that rewarding art often requires something from the observer.  And Merulla’s voice and songwriting do require that you pay attention, but together, they are hypnotic, each chasing after one another until they collide. Overall, Kites with Broken Strings is disquietingly serene, much like a memory that has no tangible power in the present, but still manages to disrupt.  Indeed, songs like “A Quiet Long Enough” and “In Slow Arcs” capture the transitory nature of memories, each based on loose guitar patterns that repeat themselves.  “A Quiet Long Enough” is an instrumental song, and the repeating guitar patterns are complimented with backwards electric guitar notes.  This gives the song a reverse momentum, as if any forward progress is always determined, and ultimately thwarted, by what came before.  “In Slow Arcs” features vocals and instrumentation, but still feels transient.  Drums crash into the middle of the song, accelerate the pace, but then disappear into the background.  Later, they repeat the same pattern, creating a bizarre ebb and flow. Lyrically, Merulla isn’t interested in telling stories or creating character sketches; rather, he gives the listeners images and lets them make connections.  You might, for instance, think a song titled “Memphis” would tell of drunken nights down on Beale Street, but that’s too obvious.  Instead, Merulla presents a series of snapshots that, while loosely related, don’t tell a coherent story: “The sound of winter... I came to... Memphis... we left it in the sea.” Likewise, in “Water + Wire,” the listener is forced to make coherence out of fragmented thoughts: “Nothing left unless we rest / Accidents, they... they test / The gentle texture of water and wire.” Only half the words in most the songs are discernible, which somehow makes the lyrics all the more intriguing.  Of course, such lyrical wordplay would be easy to dismiss as artistic pretension, but Merulla’s lyrics make perfect sense within the context of his songwriting. Like both architecture and nature, Autumn in Halifax’s songs deal with the role of space—the space between people, the space between the past and the present, and the space between reality and illusions.  Kites with Broken Strings is perfect for pondering such reflective matters, and while it offers no answers, it makes you realize that questioning is better than knowing. Transitory and haunting, Autumn in Halifax's songs sound like all those past moments that determine your present situation. - Michael Franco Delusions of Adequacy “Thank you...from the bottom of my bloody folk heart,” David Merulla writes in the liner notes for Autumn in Halifax’s Kites with Broken Strings, and I’m struck with what an interesting description that would be for this band: bloody folk. Take your structured folk music, and dissect it, sometimes into its barest components and sometimes into delectable chunks of folk goodness, and you get the unique and endearing sound of Autumn in Halifax. Rochester native Merulla is the heart of his bloody folk sound, assisted on the album with assorted friends, and on this release, he delivers one of the most intriguing albums I’ve heard in ages. There’s tracks here for those who love traditional song structures and those who eschew them, and sometimes both will be pleased in the same song. At the heart of these songs is a moody folk sensibility, but Merulla and friends get so creative in mixing these songs and adding in ebow, lap steel, Rhodes piano, and assorted noises, that the result is something truly unique. The album opens with the quiet “A Quiet Long Enough,” which warps its guitars forward and backward, creating a kind of ambient soundscape. It’s merely a prelude, though, to the lengthy and brilliant “Farewell,” which gives perhaps the perfect feel for Autumn in Halifax’s sound. It’s flowing, eerily moody at times and yet striking in Merulla’s lyrics and lilting vocals. The drums are booming, the guitar repeating its lines in the backdrop, keyboards lilting and pretty by contrast, and what seems incohesive in theory comes together beautifully. “In Slow Arcs” brings to mind Joan of Arc in structure as well as Merulla’s purposefully off-key singing style. “Water + Wire” is sweet and gentle, and Merulla’s singing style is endearing more than jarring, nicely complimenting the rich tones of this quiet yet poppy track. “Echo in the Lower Case” is a gentle instrumental, lilting and smooth and evocative. It leads nicely into the album’s centerpiece, the brilliantly powerful and instrumentally textured “Memphis.” The album is rounded out by the more folky “Aluminum Smile,” creative found songs to back up “Lemon Tigers,” more poppy “Pretty Noise,” the stark and stripped-bare “Stinger Glows Relief,” and the esoteric “Screen of Province” that provides a nice bookend to the opening instrumental. Merulla spins tales in true folk style that take on an almost dreamy feel, his lyrics telling of “birds, avalanches, water, hearts, and silence,” as he notes in his bio. His instrumentation – at times quiet and moody, at times experimental in approach – is the perfect accompaniment to these tales and still works on its own in the instrumentals. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself getting lost in these songs, wondering where the time went, wondering where these strange and discomforting thoughts are coming from. Merulla’s music is meant to lull you disarmingly and strike you with its dichotomies. It’s enigmatic and unusual and startlingly effective. And I’ve yet to hear a release this experimental in approach work so well. This is truly a gorgeous album. - Jeff Marsh

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  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - Robert Frank & The Moon 10 Format: BOOKLET and CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR175 The short story Robert Frank & The Moon written by David Merulla began as a title written in one of David's notebooks and then continued to reappear in subsequent notebooks and on various scraps of paper. David's affinity for the Swiss photographer Robert Frank plays a subliminal part in seeing the story through however the story is more about memory, shapes and origami. The companion soundtrack ep is an instrumental music recording by Autumn in Halifax & The Leaves, meant to be listened to while reading the story, however can also be enjoyed by itself. The ep was recorded live to two track at the Wolf Den, Rochester, New York by Joe Tunis, mixed by Chris Reeg & David Merulla. Autumn in Halifax & The Leaves is David Merulla, Scott Oliver, Chris Reeg and Joe Tunis. [package include a 5x7 booklet with pro-printed cover, silkscreened cdr and silkscreened kraft stay-flat envelope] Reviews (2): Pirtlegimp This is an EP of instrumental tracks from the wonderful Autumn in Halifax – the band that is directly responsible for the existence of Pirtlegimp Promotions. These tracks are the audio portion of a package that includes a short story and should still be available from Carbon Records should you be interested. If you like the more minimal and lo-fi leaning post rock then you should be all over this; to me it sounds like a very slowed down collaboration between The Dead C and the pretty post rock band of your choice. - Rob Rioux Indie Street Radio Autumn in Halifax - The Story: Taking notes from Raymond Carver and Proust in a distinctly contemporary sense, Robert Frank & The Moon uses a traffic accident as the centerpiece to thematically explore and concretize an Augustinian conception of time. The Music: The soundtrack to Robert Frank & The Moon stands on its own right as a contemplative (primarily) guitar-based piece with a distinct interplay between both arpeggio rhythm and warm-sunset-drone, and structured song and ambiance. The “Total Package”: There is an inherent problem of putting story to music in this fashion: timing. That is to say, should one read the story to the pace of the music, is the music composed to fit the average amount of time one takes to read the story, how closely aligned is the music to the story, etc.? I chose to simply read the story at my own pace accompanied by the music without worry of any sort of artistic intention of alignment. While I finished the story sometime in the third song of the “soundtrack,” it would be inaccurate to say that this juxtaposition doesn’t have any meaning. My reading often became one with the pervading rhythm or mood of the piece, mimicking the narrative’s complex, intersecting, and inextricably tangled rhythms of life.

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Dyed in the Wool Valedictorian

  Artist/Title: Autumn in Halifax - the soft, soft shakes 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CR177 Recorded in multiple studios over the course of 2007 and 2008, in both Upstate New York and San Diego California, Autumn in Halifax; David Merulla and W.Dirk Doucette, along with various contributors put together another collection of songs with considered arrangements and colored by multiple instruments including Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes pianos, singing saw, accordion, trumpet, vintage effects and the familiar guitars,drums and bass. The warmth of 1970's rock and roll, concise pop songs and subtle experimentation all can be found within this particular song cycle. Reviews (1): City Newspaper Setting out to make a "more pop-sounding" album this time around, Autumn In Halifax leader David Merulla proves that poppiness doesn't have to come at the expense of substance. Merulla's work can flow as gently as a canoe being carried downstream by a slow current, but tends to be heavy on the atmosphere. He also writes prose, and his songs often come across like the sonic equivalent of pastoral scenes described in dense passages of literature. By contrast, "Soft Shakes" immediately gets off to a more anthemic start with the singalong-inducing "Sleepwalkers." As the album goes on, drummers William Doucette and Jonathan Stevens provide lively beats even as Merulla begins to evoke the deep stillness of vintage acoustic Neil Young. Merulla has an unparalleled knack for challenging your expectations while going easy on your ears. As accessible and beautiful as it is, "Soft Shakes" still commands a most rewarding kind of patience. - City Weekly

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  Artist/Title: Blood Stereo - Hymn for the Crippled Mulato 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR90 10YR.Series.10 - the tenth (and final release) in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. 30+ minutes of a beast emerging from a swamp of static. or a seismic mic on the tail pipe of my brother's Harley. kicks ass! [Blood Stereo is Karen Constance and Dylan Nyoukis]

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Take It For a Ride (excerpt) Trying To Be Something Diffferent (excerpt)

  Artist/Title: Bruise Halo - + 12 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CR199 nearly 30min of heavy dirty synth, buried beats, mumbling, effect-saturated vocals and other elements. this is the electronic/synth side of Joe Tunis (aka, Joe+N, member of Tumul, Tuurd, Crush the Junta and more, and former member of Pengo and Hilkka). [packaged with a 12"x12" piece of unique wooden artwork, layers of drywall compound, paint, sprayed, stenciled and splattered. limited to 96 pieces]

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  Artist/Title: Burnt Hills - Alpha Seven 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR186 This is the eighth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 60+ minutes of psyched out jam vibrations from this Albany NY ensemble. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Century Plants - Copper Visions 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR184 This is the sixth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 32+ minutes of dirgy space jams from this amazing duo out of Albany NY. like lost transmissions from deep seated roots. Ray and Eric are also members of Burnt Hills, Transcendental Manship Highway, Rambutan and Fossils From the Sun. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

• Artist/Title: Coffee - pissing contest loser 0 Format: DIGITAL Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR138 At some point QBICO mentioned to Dave Cross that they were interested in putting out a Coffee album. Dave Cross gave me two cassette tapes that were recorded years earlier. One had a spacey synth jam that he wanted me to change from Stereo to Mono and spruce up a bit. The other was a four track practice jam tape of Dave Cross, Tim Poland and Joe Sorriero playing some sort of noisy free jazz or something. Dave told me that he liked how bits of it sounded, but did not like any particular chunks as songs. His direction to me was to use this as source material and make it sound like Harry Pussy. I transfered the four tracks individually from the tape, listened to each and then selected short sections that seemed the most appropriate and mastered them individually. I then dumped all the snippets into a multi-track program and started to arrange them. Mostly I stuck similar bits together and sort of constructed songs, that overlapped. At some point I also got the idea that I should give each player a short solo section, to make it seem more like one long, organic, free jazz piece. The result was "Pissing Contest (Loser Version)". It did not sound like Harry Pussy. For some reason it reminded me of This Heat. I then had an idea that I should make a more chaotic version by simply looping every track after it made its appearance in my constructed recording. Afterwards I made several different mastered versions of both versions and gave them to Dave. Dave told me had a hard time picking as he liked both versions, but the second version came closer to his original concept so that's what we sent to QBICO to get pressed as "Pissing Contest". If one listens closely, one can hear this first version underneath the official version. Also included in this release is a Stereo version of "Space 1988". r.nuuja 2011

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  Artist/Title: Coffee - dik mik rabbit ear antennae 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR86 10YR.Series.06 - the sixth in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. almost a full hour of Coffee magic. consists of two live recordings from 1997 and 1998. includes the Coffee core of Dave Cross and Tim Poland, along with Brian Shafer (Nod), Phil Marshall, John Olsen (Wolf Eyes), Sticky Foster, Neil Campbell and Nuuj.

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  Artist/Title: Crawlspace - melbourne cabbage ratio 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR85 10YR.Series.05 - the fifth in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. always expecting great things from this veteran noise/out-rock group, and as usual, they deliver with this jam packed release. over 67 minutes full of non-computer aided electronic, out-rock, noise and even a little comedy thrown in.

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Your Brother, My Brother

  Artist/Title: Crush the Junta - your brother, my brother 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR191 This is the fourteenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 3 pieces from a live set recorded at the Bug Jar in July 2010. The heavy, loud low-end-heavy free-rock you've grown to expect from this 3-piece. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes] Reviews (1): Crucial Blast The latest chunk of lava-like improv-rock from Crush The Junta, that towering trio from Rochester, NY that features members of Entente Cordiale and Transcendental Manship Highway. Yep, we love dark, heavy free rock, and Crush The Junta deliver that in spades with this three track full length that documents a live performance at the Bug Jar in Rochester from earlier in 2010, released as part of Carbon's sprawling 15YR. Series. Think loud, bass-heavy riffage wandering through pounding saurian rhythms, wailing noise guitar freak outs, lumbering slow-core; this'll be right up your alley if you are into the likes of likeminded freeform riff monsters like Rakhim, Burnt Hills, Skullflower, Heavy Winged, Ultrabunny, and Grey Daturas. First up, "Driving Forward" hangs suspended guitar notes among the slow outward wheeze of feedback, introducing their set with a thick foggy drone, a stream of feedback slowly beginning to swell, then recede; the band gradually cranking the volume as the drums enter in a storm of crashing cymbals, and the song strengthens into a pounding drone-rock jam with a powerful melodic riff forming within the bashing, overloaded rock drone, a monstrous single-chord pounding that becomes infused with rumbling, buzzing machine noises that fade in and out, then veers off into jazzier, noisier territory in the latter half of the track. Then the title track comes in with crushing Codeine-esque slowcore based around a droning repetitious riff and slow heavy drums that tread into oblivion, splattered with drugged howls and gusts of amplifier noise. Finally we come to the massive seventeen minute "Clausius", starting with a minimal percussive rhythm and the buzz of a cranked amp, then introducing a lone guitar playing a simple, almost jazzy figure, the drums alternating between shuffling snare and heavier pounding, the guitar beginning to work itself into circular shapes; after several minutes of this, the band finally lets loose, erupting into a brutal squall of Fushitsusha-style feedback and powerful drumming and mangled guitar skronk, and then around halfway in, it turns into a rumbling, zonked out feedback drone jam, waves of garbled guitar noise and bending feedback notes rippling through the air, forming a thick atmosphere of amplifier electricity that gets pretty hypnotic as it stretches out for several minutes. Then the drums crash back in, hammering out a slow, ponderous dirge, while the simple droning guitar begins to bloom into a simple moody riff that repeats over and over, the whole thing morphing into a super heavy droning slowcore crush, getting noisier and more atonal and more distorted as it goes on, screaming high end guitar dropping in sinister howling leads, the sound going from trancey and mesmeric into this darker sludge assault that finishes out the set. Comes in a full color cardboard jacket in a thick vinyl sleeve.

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  Artist/Title: Dead Machines - mystery of the fall off islands part two 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR84 10YR.Series.04 - the fourth in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. more amazing handmade electronics and tape manipulation from John Olson (Wolf Eyes) and Tovah O‘Rourke, otherwise known as The Dead Machines... Reviews (1): Weirdo Records One big slow stream of speckled, fritzing electronics from Olson & Tovah, made back before the spray paint had dried. Bubbles up crude like the Beverly Hillbillies striking oil.

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  Artist/Title: Drive the Pieces Together - Ethnography 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR182 This is the fourth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. "Drive the Pieces Together was a band that existed for one performance only. Actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure if it was a band or a composition....Peter Warren, a guitarist, had composed a piece of electronic music with significant silences in it. The group, consisting of Steve Norton (a sax player who would, for this project, only play a turntable), Vic Rawlings (amplified cello), Erik Carlsen (tuba), Dave (reeds), and me (Howard Stelzer) (cassette tapes), would improvise along with Peter's recording, which would function as a sort of score." [packaged with silk-screened logo over a unique "sampled" page in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Dylan Nyoukis - The Curious March of the Goat Faced 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR187 This is the ninth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 1 second under 60 minutes of vocal experiments, field recordings, sound collage, synth space effects, string arrangements and more. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes] Reviews (1): Weirdo Records A rather outdoorsy feel to these recordings from then-recent touring around the continent. Some background growling that makes it seem like you're Jane Goodall traipsing down a misty mountain, but at the bottom, instead of gorillas there are a bunch of tiny aliens landing in thousands of miniature spaceships, beeping as their engines swoop down. Plenty of contact mics rustling, dogs & birds & cow imitations, daughter Elka laughing like she just got a good one over on you, a cello sawing back & forth, whispery shudders of some sorta footpump (played by Chris Corsano no less), wet ploppings, unidentifiable brapps, and so on. I hear my favorite brand of duck call in there too!

• Add to Cart Song Previews: Lake of the Clouds Hatchback

  Artist/Title: Hinkley - Heaven is High 8 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR190 This is the tenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 14 tracks from Will Veeder and company. Hinkley is a departure from the usual Carbon improv/abstract/noise/etc releases, but if you're into song writing, and really great rock, sometimes country-ish, sometimes poppy, songs, then this is your bag. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Howard Stelzer and the Cherry Point - Gross 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR89 10YR.Series.09 - the ninth in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. 46+ minutes of bi-costal, brutal, tape/electronic fabric. full, and right on!

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  Artist/Title: Irene Moon ++ - Triffles and True Trifles 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR181 This is the third release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. This is an amazing collection of various projects of Irene Moon, including Auk Theatre, Darker Florida, Collection of Late Howell Bend and solo Irene. Performance art/installations, meets science/entomology, meets weirdo noise-scapes. check out www.begoniasociety.org for more information on each group. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Joe+N - live at christchurch 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR81 10YR.Series.01 - the first in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. this is recording from a show at Christ Church in Rochester NY, which features Joe on solo guitar and later, feedback and piano. 17+min. [full-color cover in vinyl sleeve] - NOTE: check out the 10YR.Series page(http://www.carbonrecords.com/10yr_series/) for more info. Reviews (1): Foxy Digitalis Joe + N is Joe Tunis, the mastermind behind Carbon Records and the 10YR Series. This is, as the title states, a live recording at Christchurch. Here Joe serves up a gorgeous slice of resonating solo guitar that rings out and basks the audience in a warm, misty glow. The guitar continues to ascend into the highest reaches of the atmosphere, like a stream of smoke rising and then dispersing into thin air. This reverb-treated guitar passage is maintained until it begins to decompose and then gradually expands and progresses into a much more shadowy, heavy, piano-trodden piece. If the first reverb-led half covered the listener in a warm glow, then this is the cold, stark, solitary aftermath. It increasingly detaches itself from the original body, and embarks on a journey into the ominous unknown. Now becoming much more assertive, a high pitched ringing builds in strength, and the scattered piano keys develop into a thunderous pattern. From here, it turns into something much more sinister and destructive; the ringing drone growing louder and more dominant, then collapses under its own chaotic confusion. This slow recording ends up falling to pieces, but the perverse beauty still shines through the rubble. - James Clarke

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  Artist/Title: John Horner - s/t 8 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR207 2 sides, each around 12 minutes of heavy pummeling solo bass guitar excursions. [C24. limited edition of 51. Wood cut and stamped Stumptown press covers, with color copy inserts]

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  Artist/Title: Jungle Heart - nipple confusion 6 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR189 This is the thirteenth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. a new collaboration between the members of SHED and TUMUL. 47+ minutes of beat-oriented, draaag influenced. low/sloooow vocals, dirty electronics, beats and loops and more. [packaged with spray/splattered/stamped cardboard cassette holder, pro-dup'd and printed cassettes and b&w poster sheet. ]

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  Artist/Title: Mike Shiflet - Xenakis Youth 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR82 10YR.Series.02 - the second in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series.This is an AMAZING collection of tones, glitches and drones. Would fit perfectly on your shelf alongside releases from such labels as Mego, Touch, Raster-Noton, etc. I was blown away by this when i got the master CDR from Mike in the mail.

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  Artist/Title: Mike Shiflet and Ryan Jewell - Hysteresis 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR183 This is the fifth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 35+ minutes of controlled feedback, drone, silence, static, samples and acoustic/live improv. [packaged with silk-screened logo over a unique "sampled" page in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Ming - Versus the Great Satan 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR83 10YR.Series.03 - the third in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. the anonymous force of Ming, in the great battle for the hearts and minds of all beings everywhere, from the Great Satan. the battle rages on....

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  Artist/Title: Muler - Hope You Found a Home 15 Format: LP Label: Carbon Records Price: $15 Catalog ID: CR197 THIS LP COMES WITH A COUPON FOR FREE DOWNLOAD OF HIGH 320MBPS TRACKS After a 10 year hiatus, the boys (now men?) of Muler decided to get back together to document some lost (never recorded) gems and some brand new tunes. Recruiting a couple old friends, the 5 guys went into the studio and laid themselves out on these 10 tracks, blending the old with the new, and keeping it all fresh and lively. All proceeds from this record are being donated to The Grant Fund (www.thegrantfund.org). played and written by: David Baumgartner: vocals and guitar Sean Leahy: drums and vocals Daniel Smith: guitars and vocals Joe Tunis: bass, noise and vocals Will Veeder: guitar, piano and vocals with Kris Durso: guitar Nathan Montague: harmonica photographer: Jason Wilder model: Casey Daggett design/layout: Chris Reeg with Joe and Dave recorded and mixed at ACME Recording Company Rochester NY, in the Summer, Fall and Winter of 2010. engineered by Luke Yaeger. mixed by Luke and Muler. mastered by David Hurtgen we dedicate this record to Anna Nuuja, Jen Schoen and Grant Stone. All proceeds of this record are being donated to The Grant Fund. www.thegrantfund.com thanks.

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  Artist/Title: Rash - The Weight of the World 16 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR202 The Weight of the World is the debut release from this duo consisting of Scott Oliver (Torus) and Patrick Doyle. Incredible heavy, yet intricate, guitar compositions, much in the same vein as early Earth and Gate. [Packaged in a handmade and charred wooden box. Includes a coupon for a free digital download, which includes 2 bonus tracks! Limited to 40 copies. C45]

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  Artist/Title: Rash / Bruise Halo - split 8 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR203 A split release from the heavy duo of Rash, consisting of Scott Oliver (Torus) and Patrick Doyle, and Bruise Halo (Joe Tunis from Tuurd, Tumul, Jungle Heart, Crush the Junta, formerly of Pengo). Two dueling sides of layered heaviness. Rash utilizing guitars to create a thick layered beauty (RIYL Earth, Gate, etc). Bruise Halo's side consists of a bass guitar centered piece, layered with distorted keyboard, effects pedals, and overblown vocals. [Packaged in a canvas bag with stamped titling. Includes a coupon for a free digital download. Limited to 35 copies. C45]

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  Artist/Title: SHED (aka Jungle Heart) - Street Ghost 6 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR188 This is the twelfth release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 32+ minutes of sampled and live vocals, guitars, drones, cut-ups, dirge, textures, beats, throb, sourced-tape warble, and electronic wizardry. Note: this is the US based duo, not the European DJ guy. [packaged with spray/splattered/stamped cardboard cassette holder, pro-dup'd and printed cassettes and b&w poster sheet. ]

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  Artist/Title: Sindre Bjerga and Textured Bird Transmission - Temple of Transparent Wisdom 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR180 This is the second release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. Recorded in 2007 and 2009 in Stavanger Norway and Weymouth UK respectively, this is some dense heavy drones with the perfect balance of texture and movement. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Social Junk - Summer Concussion 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR179 This is the first release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. Documenting Social Junk's 2008 Summer Tour (with Big Nurse), this is a great collection of live drone/drum/out captures. Similar to the Dead C, but with their own unique rhythm and pace. [packaged with a full-color pro-printed folded card in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Stone Baby - if English is good enough for jesus, then its good enough for me 6 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR185 This is the seventh release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 40+ minutes of guitar, effects, violin, synth and vocals. textured drones, ghostly vocalizations, keyboard swells and progressions. this is quite a collection of tracks from this geographically challenged duo (WesternNY/US and Germany) [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve] [Digital Download comes with a PDF of the artwork and liner notes]

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  Artist/Title: Sympathetic System - box chocolate 8 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $6 Catalog ID: CR204 Sympathetic System is Peter Vincent from the Rochester area, but currently residing in Brooktondale, NY. This release is a collection of improvised single-takes, but you'd be hard-pressed to discern that. They come across as composed thoughts, laid out with guitars, vocals, homemade synth, a bent drum machine, keyboard, and more. An amazing use of space and tone. Similar to the Wolf Eyes related project Starecase, or Shadow Ring at times, or Jandek at other times. Completely captivating. [C32. Edition of of 58 copies in standard cassette cases. Comes with digital download coupon]

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  Artist/Title: Thurston Moore - Suicide Notes for Acoustic Guitar 8 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR192 This is the eleventh release in the Carbon 15YR.Series. 25+ minutes of guitar explorations from this veteran of the scene, as well as Sonic Youth. this is some of the best solo guitar works i've heard in a while and one of my favorite from Thurston. [packaged with pro-printed covers in a heavy duty vinyl sleeve]

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  Artist/Title: Tom Carter and Shawn McMillen - colors for 4 Format: CDR Label: Carbon Records Price: $8 Catalog ID: CR87 10YR.Series.07 - the seventh in the Carbon 10 year anniversary CDR series. a beautiful collection of drones, tones and guitar magic. All of what you would expect from Tom Carter (of the Charalambides) and Shawn McMillen (Ash Castles On the Ghost Coast, Iron Kite) and more!

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  Artist/Title: Tuurd - I wish my wife was this dirty 12 Format: LP Label: Carbon Records Price: $12 Catalog ID: CR198 35 minutes of mostly slow, sometimes fast, and always super heavy and thick bass and drums, with limited vocals. Tuurd rises from the ashes of Hilkka (math/indie rock band around for 13yrs). Featuring Nuuj (Pengo, Asthmatic, r.nuuja) and Joe Tunis (Tumul, Crush the Junta and formerly of Pengo), on bass and drums respectively. metal/stoner/doom/spazz/noise. In the tradition of two-man acts such as Ruins, godheadsilo, Halo, Lightning Bolt, Big Business, Hella, Orthrelm and Om and influenced by the sounds of Corrupted, Abruptum, Sleep, Harvey Milk, Crom, Melvins, Karp, Killdozer, Zeni Geva, Thrones, Earth, Sunn 0))), Codiene, Painkiller, Oxbow, Cheer Accident, Slug, Unsane, Pelican, Meshuggah, 400 Blows, Isis, and of course Black Sabbath. Limited to 300 on brown vinyl with full color sleeves. Reviews (3): Weirdo Records Nuuj & Joe Tunis (aka half of Pengo) duo of bass & drums. Slow, vibrating stoner metal with growly vocals that sometimes does a 180 & picks up for fast & muscular riff workouts. Bass distortion is great sounding- it's a record that could make you want to buy a motorcycle. Upstate Soundscape Rochester sons Nuuj and Joe Tunis are pretty busy guys. They can be spotted on the roster of numerous projects, many of which are backed by Tunis’s Carbon Records. While some of those former projects include Pango, Crush the Junta, and the deteriorated Hilkka, I’m glad they’ve come together as Tuurd, a name both infantile, idosyncratic, and awesome. For such a simple and straightforward sound on their debut EP I Wish My Wife Was This Dirty, Tuurd keeps me focused. Following suit in the vein of stoner metal/sludge metal/prog rock, Tuurd has found a sound that fits in between all these genres. The first track “Water” starts off with a climbing riff and a constant drum thud, taking us on a journey down a dark and weary moat. As the song progresses, the bass maintains a slow and sturdy progression. About halfway through, a voice that sounds like an orc from Middle Earth growls “I’ll show you some power, to get you some water.” In fact, Sauron would enjoy rocking out to Tuurd in his chamber on Mt. Doom. Combined with the simple melody and captivating concept, this is a strong first track. Not all the songs are as hypnotic as “Water.” If you are looking for something more upbeat, “Reeses Feeses” fits the bill. As the second track, this song accomplishes hooking the listener by opening with straddling chords (if The Black Keys got dirty, they’d create something similar), and rare pauses, leaving time to think. It’s not for long until Tuurd propels back into the ruckus for a roll in the mud. Throughout the album the lyrics and vocals are scarce, but when they come in its satisfying. Tuurd has a unique falsetto that I haven’t heard before within metal, almost satirical, but just enough. There’s a meditative quality to stoner metal that I’ve come to appreciate over the years. The grit, sweat, and pacing remind me of great warriors barging their way through knotty forests. It’s not in your face crazy or senseless strumming. Especially a band like Tuurd, which has an interactive quality and each song seems to emphasize rhythm and drive as with “Eating Ice Cream with Satan,” which is focused on the back and forth play between guitar and drums. It pushes and pulls until the lyrics brag about eating ice cream with Satan in hell. Not going to lie, I’m pretty jealous. Similar to “Eating Ice Cream with Satan” is the album’s eponymous track, “I Wish My Wife Was This Dirty”. It opens with curly cueing dizzying guitar, paired with an intense drumbeat that begs for a breather.The drums continue to chant, until the sound stretches and grows. A lot of this album is focused on exploring a certain riff, repeating it, then building upon that solid noise and contrasting it with excellent drums and humorous vocals. Tuurd’s biggest quality is keeping it together, seen in the gritty distortion of “Sliding Down” and the massive collisions in “Doot do doot.” Overall, I’m impressed with Tuurd’s hilarious concept and physical skill. Honestly, I wish my wife was this dirty, too. Aquarius Records First we've heard from this oddly monikered duo, just bass and drums, who traffic in a sort of sludge/doom dirgery, the bass super distorted and blown out, sounding in places more like a guitar than a bass, but unfurling thick slabs of buzzing low end, while the drums deliver a plodding caveman accompaniment. The vocals might be the strangest of all, a sort of sung/spoken demonic growl, which give Tuurd a much more abstract experimental vibe. It really does sound like a Neanderthal version of OM. The groove is dark and stonery, thick and sludgey, but when it slows down, and gets a little mathy and dynamic, stripped down while the vocals gurgle malevolently, it's transformed into something else entirely. Which is also what happens on the second track, at least in the first half, the band ditching the sludge for some dense mathy noise prog, the bass and drums in a wild tussle, which finally gives way to a more slithery downtuned groove. It's hard to really nail these guys down, the label mentions all sorts of other duos, from Lightning Bolt to the Ruins, as well as other bands that occupy a similar sonic space, Sleep, Abruptum, Killdozer, Slug (someone needs to reissue all the Slug records!), Black Sabbath and a bunch of others. But to our ears, Tuurd sound like slowed down power violence, like Man Is The Bastard covered by Corrupted, or some rare Slap A Ham 7" spinning at 5 or 6 rpm, but that's only one side of the Tuurd, the band totally capable of whipping out some seriously dense downtuned progginess, the combination of the two is what makes this stuff so good. Murky and muddy, dirgey and doomy, crusty and filthy, heavy as fuck obviously, proggy and mathy and not without a sense of humor (check out "Eating Ice Cream With Satan"). Definitely recommended for fans of any and all of the above mentioned bands, and anyone who like their music sloooooow and loooooow. Super striking cover art, the album titled drawn in dirt on the front, the band name smeared in mud (please let it be mud!) on the back. Pressed on brown vinyl (of course) and includes a digital download. - Andee

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  Artist/Title: Tuurd - Not So Heavy / Pollock Dracula 9 Format: 7inch Label: Carbon Records Price: $10 Catalog ID: CR206 Culled from the same recording session as Tuurd’s LP I Wish My Wife Was This Dirty, this single features the almost poppy (but still heavy and loud) Not So Heavy, and the slow trudging Pollock Dracula. [Packaged in a silkscreened Stumptown press fold-together kraft sleeve featuring artwork by Mike Turzanski. It also includes two 7” x 7” one-color silkscreened prints on heavy chipboard of Turzanski’s work. Digital download coupon included. Random colored vinyl. Limited to 100 copies.]

• (Out of print)

  Artist/Title: Various Artists - CR200 4 Cassette box set 16 Format: CASS Label: Carbon Records Price: $0 Catalog ID: CR200_CS

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  Artist/Title: Various Artists - CR200 16 Format: LP Label: Carbon Records Price: $15 Catalog ID: CR200 A mighty comprehensive snap-shot of the underground sounds emanating from the city of Rochester New York circa now (2012). From the post-noise extreme sounds of LICKER & r. nuuja (both members of Pengo) to the more pastoral psych smudged compositions of Joe Sorriero (of Nod) & Drippers, this collection of Western NY weirdos addresses the question “What the hell is going on in Rochester to create such odd sounds?”. This LP is the 200th release on long time Rochester based record label Carbon Records. We think in due time that this LP will sit easily next to other regional compilation records like Waste Sausage (Black Eye Records - Australia) & Labyrinths And Jokes (Hanson Records - Michigan) as a definitive & defining document of the Flower/Flour City's post-everything scene. The LP consists of r.nuuja (Pengo), Colonel Parmesan (Thunderbody), Dr Hamburger (Tumul, Jungle Heart), Crush the Entente (Crush the Junta and Entente Cordiale collaboration), Stone Baby, Martin Freeman, Tumul, Autumn in Halifax, Chris Reeg (Blood and Bone Orchestra, Ian Downey is Famous), Joe Sorriero (Nod), Licker (Pengo), Drippers, Andy Gilmore, Pengo, MntDst, and the Bloody Noes. White vinyl with digital download coupon. Mastered by James Plotkin. Reviews (3): Beats Per Minute Rochester seems a weird place, if Carbon Records is any indication. This local noise label, started in 1994, has long specialized in bringing the best leftfield tunes that the upstate NY town has to offer, and with CR200 they’ve released a massive compilation of bands their mining has dredged up over the years. Kicking off with some Phil-Elverum-goes-black-metal instrumentation (courtesy of Chris Reeg) and spanning more traditional noise in addition ambling acoustic guitar experimentation, fractured yelps of pop songs, and doomy drones, this compilation represents a wealth of diversity in the label’s stable. Whether it’s the kraut-noise stomp of “Free To Starve”, Crush The Entente’s contribution, or Autumn In Halifax’s austere, bluesy spiritual “David O David”, there’s incredible tracks throughout. If this is the work of a great curator, then, well, good on Joe Tunis for bringing these tracks together and celebrating the best the region had to offer. But if the general darkness of these tracks is inherent to the Rochester experience, we might be worried about the emotional state of that city’s inhabitants. Above I list several noise and psych bands in the “For fans of”, but this time you shouldn’t necessarily take those as guidelines so much as benchmarks: by and large the tunes on CR200 take a similar sort of intellectual preparation. These are tracks that, while endlessly intriguing, present a pervading heaviness that even in the most accessible moments can be a bit off-putting. That all being said, if you’re willing to give it the time it demands, it’s a compelling cross section of a widely under-examined scene. It’s like wandering into your city’s weirdest art gallery – in the dingiest warehouse space – and allowing yourself to be bombarded with what the underground has to offer. Choice Cuts: Autumn in Halifax – “David O David”, Joe Sorriero – “Electricity’s Out!”, Crush the Entente – “Free to Starve” - Colin Joyce South Wedge Quarterly Consider this a voyeuristic glimpse into what your neighbors have been up to. Small cities and towns across America all tend to have their own experimental music scenes and record labels. But it's rare to find them as uniformly dedicated and pedigreed as Carbon Records. CR200 marks the label's 200th release. It's on vinyl and cassette. And it includes exclusive recordings from several Carbon artists, new and old, all local. There's a wide range of material and recording quality among this set of (mostly) instrumentals. Some of this is rather poised, like Andy Gilmore's chiming guitar pointillism on "Clipper Ship," or the oddly tender power electronics of Dr Hamburger's "Twin Speak." And some of this is expectedly shambolic, though never predictable. Despite the variety in approach, it all hangs together rather nicely as an often breathless sonic document; the sound of your city's shadows. It even flows -- a debt owed solely to the label's curative skills and James Plotkin's expert mastering. You're very lucky to live in a city with a Carbon Records, even if you don't know that. Buy this LP or the LP/cassette boxset at Needledrop. Consider it a contribution to the untamed local arts. And then realize how lucky you are, indeed. - Chad Oliveiri Weirdo Records In every ignored town across the US, the reason there's a scene... the reason there's anything at all for you to check out while you sit bored in front of your computer... is usually that one lone sonofabitch has been grinding it out there, breaking his back day in & thankless day out to champion some local bands that no one gives a fat shit over. That single guy, he's out there telling everybody within earshot about the bands that he likes & dragging people to shows & giving his friends money for their bullshit basement recordings, and doing it over & over & over again. That guy actually causes subtle changes in the way bands sound in the area over time. In Rochester that guy is Joe Tunis & he's been whipping up bass-heavy doom, electronic freedom & some other cool shit out of nuthin & with zero dollars since 1994. A tip of the hat on his 200th release, which sounds like Rochester and no place else.

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  Artist/Title: Various Artists - CR200 (LP + 4X cassette box set) 32 Format: OTHER Label: Carbon Records Price: $25 Catalog ID: CR200_bonus A mighty comprehensive snap-shot of the underground sounds emanating from the city of Rochester New York circa now (2012). From the post-noise extreme sounds of LICKER & r. nuuja (both members of Pengo) to the more pastoral psych smudged compositions of Joe Sorriero (of Nod) & Drippers, this collection of Western NY weirdos addresses the question “What the hell is going on in Rochester to create such odd sounds?”. This LP is the 200th release on long time Rochester based record label Carbon Records. We think in due time that this LP will sit easily next to other regional compilation records like Waste Sausage (Black Eye Records - Australia) & Labyrinths And Jokes (Hanson Records - Michigan) as a definitive & defining document of the Flower/Flour City's post-everything scene. The LP consists of r.nuuja (Pengo), Colonel Parmesan (Thunderbody), Dr Hamburger (Tumul, Jungle Heart), Crush the Entente (Crush the Junta and Entente Cordiale collaboration), Stone Baby, Martin Freeman, Tumul, Autumn in Halifax, Chris Reeg (Blood and Bone Orchestra, Ian Downey is Famous), Joe Sorriero (Nod), Licker (Pengo), Drippers, Andy Gilmore, Pengo, MntDst, and the Bloody Noes. White vinyl with digital download coupon. Mastered by James Plotkin. The 4-cassette box set include 15min sides from Colonel Parmesan, Dr Hamburger, Entente Cordiale, Martin Freeman, r.nuuja, Stone Baby, Pengo, and Jungle Heart. Packaged in library-style cassette binder (VHS size) with white cassettes and spray/splattered labels. Includes digital download coupon.