New six track EP of austere Euro synth and doomy Industrial settings from Nika Danilova aka Zola Jesus. Danilova’s song writing has really come into its own of late and her vocals are perfectly pitched between the high drama of Diamanda Galas and the hypnotic cabaret of Siouxsie Sioux. The instrumental settings owe a whole bunch to the Cale/Eno Nico productions but there’s an eerie electronic/sidereal aspect that touches on late period Coil, that same feel of ‘something’ going on just beneath the surface. Married to Nika’s soaring vocals and epic drones it feels like the perfect transport. “Since her debut lp for Sacred Bones last summer, Zola Jesus’s profile has grown exponentially. Her video for “Clay Bodies” debuted on The Fader and her likeness was plastered all over the Internet. The Spoils made dozens of year-end lists including The Wire, Pitchfork, The Fader, and Dusted, and fans and critics alike now seem rabid for new material. So without further ado, we present Stridulum, the new, far less lo-fi 6-song EP from Nika Roza Danilova. Recording her vocals for the first time with professional instruments, Nika’s voice is brought to the powerful forefront of the mix unleashing the full range of emotions that had previously only been hinted at in her previous work. It’s a siren song for the apocalypse, which manages to come across immensely nurturing at the same time. Born and raised in the backwoods of Wisco, Nika Roza was literally raised by wolves (well proximally anyways). Trained as an opera singer from a young age, she applied to Julliard. At 10 years old. Rejection didn’t slow her down, though, as she went on to complete high school in three years and is set to graduate from university with a double major in French and philosophy in the same amount of time. As soon as school’s out this summer, she will begin touring full time with a full band on both sides of the pond. Until then please keep an eye out for weekend excursions and the requisite standard umpteen SxSW shows. Her next full length will not be ’til 2011, but we feel pretty certain this will tide you over until then.” – SBR. Recommended.

New six track EP of austere Euro synth and doomy Industrial settings from Nika Danilova aka Zola Jesus. Danilova’s song writing has really come into its own of late and her vocals are perfectly pitched between the high drama of Diamanda Galas and the hypnotic cabaret of Siouxsie Sioux. The instrumental settings owe a whole bunch to the Cale/Eno Nico productions but there’s an eerie electronic/sidereal aspect that touches on late period Coil, that same feel of ‘something’ going on just beneath the surface. Married to Nika’s soaring vocals and epic drones it feels like the perfect transport. “Since her debut lp for Sacred Bones last summer, Zola Jesus’s profile has grown exponentially. Her video for “Clay Bodies” debuted on The Fader and her likeness was plastered all over the Internet. The Spoils made dozens of year-end lists including The Wire, Pitchfork, The Fader, and Dusted, and fans and critics alike now seem rabid for new material. So without further ado, we present Stridulum, the new, far less lo-fi 6-song EP from Nika Roza Danilova. Recording her vocals for the first time with professional instruments, Nika’s voice is brought to the powerful forefront of the mix unleashing the full range of emotions that had previously only been hinted at in her previous work. It’s a siren song for the apocalypse, which manages to come across immensely nurturing at the same time. Born and raised in the backwoods of Wisco, Nika Roza was literally raised by wolves (well proximally anyways). Trained as an opera singer from a young age, she applied to Julliard. At 10 years old. Rejection didn’t slow her down, though, as she went on to complete high school in three years and is set to graduate from university with a double major in French and philosophy in the same amount of time. As soon as school’s out this summer, she will begin touring full time with a full band on both sides of the pond. Until then please keep an eye out for weekend excursions and the requisite standard umpteen SxSW shows. Her next full length will not be ’til 2011, but we feel pretty certain this will tide you over until then.” – SBR. Recommended.

Edition of 100 copies cassette w/silkscreened sleeve and packaged in the quality we’ve already come to expect from Ayal Senior’s great Medusa imprint. This tape compiles a buncha OOP spectral Americana from Megan Remy aka US Girls, with eight tracks that collect the early 7"s and the cassingle U.S. Girls released in 2008-2009 on Cherry Burger Records, Hardscrabble Amateurs and Not Not Fun. 

Fantastic new studio album from Megan Remy aka US Girls. Remy’s marriage of classic 50s/60s girl group sounds, apocalyptic night-time USA stylings and occult pop ala Kenneth Anger/David Lynch/Bruce Conner is massively infectious and On Kraak floats the whole deal out into the kind of phantom radio waves that would combine the ghost of Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” with after-images of minimal drum machine/F/X for a great set of dark psychedelic pop. Remy’s song-writing is at a peak here and the way its set within distant starfields of reverb and repeat drones is supremely seductive. And while I’ve had it up to about here with the embracing of vacuous mainstream pop moves by underground heads when she drops a massively dosed version of Brandy & Monica’s “The Boy Us Mine”, well, it kind of makes perfect sense. Remy’s best yet? Highly recommended. 

Sublime set of downer/primitive female DIY psych soundings in the tradition of Suckdog/Azalia Snail et al from Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux. Three tracks recorded straight to portastudio for maximal time/space dislocation. 

New album from Haley Fohr aka Circuit Des Yeux. Her last few releases have been almost perfect articulations of the ESP-Disk singer-songwriter style, with almost Suckdog-scale tape goofs alongside dark communal jams w/a heady cultic edge. Portrait moves more definitively into dark singer-songwriter territory with an atmosphere that could almost be Nico circa the Cale/Eno productions all cut-up with a weightless/devotional aspect that is almost Scorces. Her cover version of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” situates her music alongside the liminal Americana of US Girls but whereas Megan Remy’s particular brand of magick is channelled via occult 60s pop stylings Circuit Des Yeux seem more kind of  high gothic complete w/downer rural strings that come out of the whole Aryan Sample/Tommy Roundtree school and power vocals ala early Zola Jesus. 

Latest issue of this fantastic Australian zine, the in-house publication of the great Negative Guest List label. Classic old school feel, some great writing and the kinda pro-rock/underground aesthetic that is pure VT. Comes with a classy tribute to two of our favourite ladies of porn, Desiree Cousteau and Desiree West, articles on The True Believers (Mike Rep + Tommy Jay), Starfuckers, Richard Stark, Bruit-Direct, Circuit Des Yeux, Milk Music, Ribcage Wrestlers, Smog Veil, The Pagans/Mike Hudson, M Squared/Scattered Order and a ton of cool reviews.