In later years, the Chords were often cursorily dismissed as little more than Jam copyists, and while there's no denying that the two groups traveled in very similar musical waters, both drawing from the British beat and Northern soul that filled their youths and sending it soaring through the prism of punk, it's there that the comparisons end. While Paul Weller coyly played footsy with both the punk and mod scenes, refusing to commit to either, there was no doubt that his soul lay wit...   [ read more ]

CD $18.98

VINYL FORMAT. Insound Staff Pick - 2008! Their eleventh album is a collection of purposefully short, dense, fast pop songs brimming with Motown-like drums, baroque-pop brass and string arrangements, and mellifluous vocal performances. It is, nonetheless, classic Stereolab; like all their best work, a perfect equipoise between an implausibly cool past and a shamelessly exotic future.

2xLP $17.99

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In 1997, before Death Cab for Cutie was a band, Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla made an eight-song cassette. Originally released by Bellingham's Elsinor Records, "You Can Play These Songs With Chords" is a remarkable document of what was to become DCFC. The Barsuk release compiles the original eight songs (five of which were later re-recorded for "Something About Airplanes"), plus 10 tracks of unreleased early recordings, covers, and outtakes from 1997-2000 (taken from recording sessions for "Chords," "Somethi...   [ read more ]

CD $13.99

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