Agalloch, Colloections of Colonies of Bees, Sunn0))) and Boris

Folk metal band Agalloch's records are pretty difficult to find, especially at an affordable price. That is why I biked down to Vacation Vinyl the minute I heard they got copies of their most recent album "Marrow of the Spirit" in stock. Agalloch has long been one of my favorite metal bands and this was my first opportunity to purchase one of their records and not have to pay $150+ for it. The release is pretty great too. Heavy duty gatefold packaging with clear writing on the front and back. It is a 2xLP pressed on clear vinyl and includes a really nice 12 page booklet.










Next up is an album that I accidentally bought twice. It is Collections of Colonies of Bees - Giving. I preordered this album months ago and then forgot all about it. Later on I saw it on another site and ordered another copy. Now I have an extra copy, if anyone wants to buy it off me...
Collections of Colonies of Bees are a post-rock band that I have really gotten into over the past couple of years. It is former members of Pele(and it really sounds like it) and is the backing band for Justin Vernon(Bon Iver) in the band Volcano Choir.
This release comes on a really cool looking black/magenta swirl colored vinyl. It includes a digital download and has a really weird image of a deer with a human head on the front of it.







The final one today is Sunn 0))) and Boris - Alter. This is a record I actually already own, but found it for such a good price I had to get it again. I already own the Daymare release of this album which is a little bit different than this one. The Daymare version is a box set with a ton of goodies in it and is pressed on black 200 gram vinyl where as this one is on 180 gram vinyl.
I am a big fan of both of these bands and this is one of my favorite releases by both of them. I found this on sale at Amoeba at a price I couldn't pass up. This is the Southern Lord release and is a 3xLP set that is pressed on opaque yellow vinyl. It includes a really nice booklet with lyrics and pictures and has really amazing artwork. This pressing was limited to 1,500.

Om, Beecher, Envy, Sharks Keep Moving

I have a huge backlog of LP's that I got recently that I need to go through and catalog, but here are a couple of good deals I got.

First off is Om- Conference of the Birds. This is the second record from Om with their original lineup of Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius. It consists of two excellent songs that are 15 and 17 minutes long. While I really love the new energy and creativity that Emil Amos brings to the band in it's current form, this is probably their best album overall.

The release is pretty standard from Holy Mountain records. Black pressing (they pressed it on orange and green as well), lyric sheet, and free download coupon.








Next up was a steal I got from Amoeba records a few weeks ago. It is an album by British hardcore band Beecher titled This Elegy, His Autopsy and I got it for only $6! The unique thing about this release from Earache Records is instead of pressing it on one 12" record they decided to press it on five-7" records and release it as a box set. As a collector piece that is really awesome, but trying to listen to this album in its entirety is actually really annoying. I'm really glad I picked it up, especially with how little I paid for it, but I can definitely see myself not playing this record much. As much as I like the music, it is a real hassle to have to get up and change or flip the record after every 1-2 songs.

1000 copies pressed.








Next up is long out of print album Insomniac Doze by Japanese band Envy. Envy is a screamo band that I have been in to for quite some time. This release is not one of my favorite albums of their, but it still has some really good songs and it was only $8 at Amoeba, which is a great deal! This release is the first edition color pressing that was only available through mail order on the Temporary Residence website. It is a 2xLP release with the first LP on transparent red while the second LP is on transparent blue. Holding next to each other gives you a really cool classic 3D glasses kind of feel.








Finally is Sharks Keep Moving - Desert Strings and Drifters. It is a release I got from the web store www.invinylwetrust.com. For those of you who have never been there, you should check it out. They have an excllent selection, really affordable prices, and a great, friendly staff. I had been looking for this record for a while and every place seemed to be out of it. Sharks Keep Moving was one of the first math rock bands that I got in to way back in high school, so I was really thrilled to finally find this release available online. This release is a reissue that was pressed on 523 copies in 2009 from Second Nature Records. It is pressed on translucent orange with black splatter and looks spectacular.

Amoeba Finds 7/30/11

I went to Amoeba today to do some digging. I decided ahead of time that I wasn't going to look for any specific bands, but rather look through the miscellaneous section for each letter and see what gems I could find. I ended up leaving with about 10 good to great records. These are probably my three favorites of the day.

First up is Girls - Album. I actually avoided this album for most of 2009 for several silly reasons. The first reason was all the buzz it received before it was released. I am always wary of the indie darling buzz bands that blogs and music sites alike fawn over non stop. I seem to always be dissapointed by them in the end. The other reason I avoided them was their band/album name. I thought they were dumb. I still do. After putting those silly reasons aside, and with a lot of encouragement from Seth, I finally got around to listening to Girls. I felt like a fool for putting if off for so long.

The LP is pretty much a standard release. It is a gatefold LP, black vinyl, no insert or anything.










Next up is Lazarus - Trickster. I was really happy when I found this, especially for only $6 brand new. Lazarus is the solo side project from Trevor Montgomery(Tarentel) and a band I have always been a fan of. Even though this album came out in 2008, I hadn't heard it yet. I really didn't have too much information on it prior to purchasing it. Once I got it home I took it out and listened and fell in love all over again. This album is much less electronic than previous releases. It is still pretty minimal in terms of instruments, but doesn't have as many loops and samples.

The release is pretty cool too. The vinyl color is Blood Red and the jacket is individually handmade. It looks like they got a random jacket from some band, spray painted over it, and added a design on top. You can see through the paint in a few spots, so I have been trying to figure out what jacket they painted over for mine.





The final one I am writing about today is Mouth of the Architect - Quietly. I was really excited to find this one for $10 new! As much as I love Translation Loss records, they charge a shit load of money! They do quality releases, but they are $25 plus every time. This isn't my favorite Mouth of the Architect record, but it is still really stellar.

This is a 2xLP pressed on a beautiful Black with White explosion colored vinyl. It is a gatefold jacket with notes and drawings on the inside.

P.W. Elverum + Baroness

I got a shipment of 3 long awaited records today from P.W. Elverum (The Microphones, Mount Eerie). I also scored on a great original pressing of Baroness - The Blue Record yesterday.


First up is the classic Microphones album "The Glow Pt. 2". This was easily one of my favorite albums from 2001 and this is a really great K records reissue. It is a 3xLP set with an extra lyric/notes/picture book. The first 2 LP's are the full Glow Pt. 2 album and the third is all bonus content. The bonus content is a little hit or miss, but it is still nice to be included in this set.







I do have one complaint of The Glow Pt. 2 LP though. The packaging, while being beautiful visually, is a huge pain in the dick to get the records in and out safely. This is especially bad with the second LP. I have always been bothered by 3x gatefolds for this exact reason. Besides that this is a great release. Also, this album has one of my favorite opening tracks ever!

Next I got Mount Eerie - Black Wooden Ceiling Opening 10". I usually hate 10" records and here is why. I don't have very many of them(maybe 5 or 6) and they don't fit nicely with my other records. For example, I have all the Radiohead full length LP's lined up all together, but the Amnesiac and Kid A 2xLP 10" get lost in the shuffle because they are 2" too small. It bothers me to no end. It literally keeps me up at night thinking about it! Anyway, this is a good record from Mount Eerie. I remember years ago I saw Elverum play a tiny show in San Luis Obispo. It was a really bizarre show too, solo acoustic steel drum. Seriously. It was just him and a steel drum for an hour plus. At the show he was wearing an old Deadguy "Death to False Metal" hoodie, so naturally I did what every metal music dork would do and went up and talked to him about how awesome Deadguy was. We talked about metal for about 20 minutes and at the end of the conversation he told me how much he really wanted to make a metal album. I sort of laughed it off and said, "Sure Phil, you just played a steel drum for an hour, I guess you can make a literal metal album, but I wont be holding my breath for a chung-chung mertal album." Well, he did it...sort of. This is his first attempt at a more "metal" sound and it is actually a pretty great EP. The vinyl release also comes with a cd version of the EP and includes a pretty wacky bootleg of one of his shows.





The last Phil Elevrum record I got was the release he did with Julie Doiron and Frederick Squire called "Lost Wisdom". Apparently between tours Doiron and Squire just spontaneously showed up at Elverums house one day and they wrote some songs and recorded an album a few days later. Elverum had wanted to work with them for a while, so he was excited and nervous to be able to record this record.
This release comes on clear vinyl and the sleeve for it actually folds out to a 2 sided giant poster!








The last record I am putting in this post is one I got yesterday at Vacation Vinyl. I went by there to get some clear record sleeves, but couldn't walk out of there without a new record to put in my sleeves. Up on the wall I saw a beautiful gem staring back at me. It was an original pressing of the Baroness "Blue Record" that just happened to be signed by the entire band on the insert. Now even though I already own this LP(a 4th pressing on AMAZING coke bottle blue with rainbow splatter colored vinyl. I will post this some other time, it is one of my favorite looking records) I had to have this copy of it. This particular pressing came on seafoam green and included a different insert than the version I have. As always it has GORGEOUS artwork and layout by guitarist/vocalist John Baizley. I have several of the releases that he has done artwork for and I will do a post on them some other time. Needless to say, I am very happy to add this LP to my collection.