AFS v. 199 ~ Takin' the Night By Storm!

The brand-new LP by Monterey, Mexico's Los Llamarada has finally dropped, and it rockets to the top of the list of the great albums of 2008 next to Hairdryer Peace by The Hospitals, the Hank IV's Refuge in Genre, Dan Melchior's Christmas for the Crows, and a handful of others that are the cream of what is a really great crop. When will 2007-2008 be declared a halcyon age, d'ya think? I've enjoyed everything I've heard by Los Llamarada so far, but with Take the Night, the band has finally revealed themselves to be turning a corner in terms of recording fidelity. Side A and the first half of B. Much of what you've heard from the band so far has been self-recorded on a boombox. Last year, the band graduated up to a four-track machine. After much trial and error, they finally nailed it, and the results of that newly gained mastery is the first two-thirds of the LP. The last three songs are from their Live in Studio A session at KDVS during their September 2007 west coast tour. Take the Sky varies in sound from mesmerizing psych-punk seances that'll levitate your chakras, to strains of panic-stricken distress calls. This effectively makes all their previous output damn near obsolete. I give this my highest recommendation!

Download this program within two months at either link...
CLICK HERE for 192kbps rate.
(168mb file)
CLICK HERE for 320kbps rate.
(280mb file)

LOTEK | Running Dog | v/a: Portland Punk Live at Earth, 10-29-79 | Trap 1980
THE NIXE | Mentally Disturbed | The Nixe | Polly Maggoo *new (orig 1980)
COREY ORBISON | Who's the Monkey? | Your Name Is Poison 7" | Everard *new
LAS NURSES | One Eyed Girl | Remora 7" | Discos Humeantes *new
LOS LLAMARADA | The Late Great MTY Trip | Take the Sky | S-S *new
GRAFFITI ISLAND | Pet Snake (backwards) | 3-way split CS | no label *new
LIFE PARTNERS | Teenager in Trouble | AIDS of Spades 7" | Ride the Snake *new
ANGEL FACE | 12½ | A Wild Odyssey | Pacific Productions 1985 (orig 1974-1976)
RUSTED SHUT | Dyin Up Here/I Hate Seattle | 1992-1995 | boot *new
KRASH ÜN LURNE | Jessamyn's Lips | III: The End Is Nein | Scatalogical Liberation Front *new
STEVEN FIELDS | Legalize Heroin | Legalize Heroin 7" | no label 1988
SWIFT WINGS | Dead Tropic | Swift Wings CDR | no label *new
FEY GODS | Face Like a Rat | free comp CDR/zine | Chicago on a Spree *new
SQUIM | Nightingale Part II | Zephyrus | Olde English Spelling Bee *new
SQUIM | Nightingale Part III (Red Boiling}
THE USA IS A MONSTER | All or Nothing | Space Programs | Load *new
BUICK | Immortality | Sweatertongue | Lather 1992
GGREEN | Swimsuit Drugs | Hot Streets CS | no label *new
BIG BLOOD | The Grove Is Hotter than an Ocean's Oven | The Grove CS | Phase *new
BIG BLOOD | Little Lepers
MARK TUCKER | Everywhere With Sally | In the Sack | De Stijl *new (orig 1982)
CRYSTAL STILTS | Verdant Gaze | Alight of Night | Slumberland *new
CAUSE CO-MOTION | Cry for Attention | It's Time | Slumberland *new
THE TOURS | Language School | v/a: Apprentices Dance | Sounds Interesting 1981
THE EMBARRASSMENT | Celebrity Art Party | The Embarrassment EP 12" | Cynykyl 1981
MATT K. SHRUGG | I'm Gone | I'm Gone 7" | Plastic Idol *new
TY SEGALL | Where We Go | It 7" | Chocolate Covered *new
LIGHTNING BEAT MAN | I Wanna Be Your Pussycat | Wrestling Rock & Roll | Voodoo Rhythm *new
JACK MONAHAN | Poems | v/a: Shadow Mouth compilation one | Shadow Mouth 1987
RUSSIAN TSARLAG | Breadwater | Let Your Dreams Touch Air CS | Unskilled Labor 2007
SKY JUICE | untitled | Hard to Kill | Olde English Spelling Bee *new
DARAKA | Burn Your Docs | v/a: Reality Control? Compilation | Reality Control? 1994
MEGHAN McCAIN | The Only Way to Be Punk... | Interview on Fox News
SAM & JOE | Save the Children | v/a: Fear of Smell | Vermiform 1992
RUGBURN | Left Behind | v/a: Reality Control? Compilation
JEBERREKENELLE | And My Hands Move Around | split LP w/ Rugburn | Reality Control? 1994

And y'know what else???

This 7" by the Life Partners is absolutely scathing and great! Weirdpunk that's funny and tastes a lit'l like hardcore, and it's gotta meanstreak! This B-side shoulda been copped by California's No-on-Prop-4 coalition!

Also, the best drone album in a loooong time is this Zephyrus LP by Squim. It just sorta snuck on my and is now vying to get in that best-of-'08 list.

If I can find time this week before leaving for vacation (running up Eastern Oregon desert, then cutting across to Portland through the Columbia Gorge, and finally down the coast of Oregon and Northern California), I will post some reviews.