Sound Camera CD
"Instrumental music is an afterthought for many, but for serious practitioners of the genre, instrumentals offer the sonic equivalent of cinematography. Davis' luminous Acme Rocket Quartet must know that; it goes widescreen on this new 13-track disc, covering enough bases here to make up an audio film festival. Guitarist Roger Kunkel's many voices drive the band--e.g., Memphis rhythmic cool on "Tracksuit Suite," lyrical Ennio Morricone baritone lines on "Lusitania" and Beefheartian skronk on the loping "Spoke French." Trumpeter John Killebrew occasionally gets a little too brassy, but most of his fluid lines are spot-on, and bassist Dave Thompson and drummer Rusi Gustafson provide solid grooves, with band members adding various keyboard parts for texture. All in all, it's solid cinema, sans visuals." - Sacramento News & Review

UHF CD
"The Acme Rocket Quartet is an incredible, but underrated, lounge group from Davis, CA. Ultra High Frequency, the group's second full-length on Lather Records showcases the group's subtle style that hearkens back to the panoramic soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone (one track even has horses whinnying in the background). Led by the tasteful trumpet of John Killebrew and the sinuous guitar work of Roger Kunkel (formerly of underground desert-rock group Thin White Rope), the band is equally comfortable taking on straight lounge, Tex-Mex, moody rock and jazz. UHF is not to be overlooked." - CMJ

Acme Rocket Quartet CD
"This Davis, California, quartet belongs only loosely to the lounge movement. Roger Kunkel's elegant guitar evokes the distant surf like a shell held to your ear on "Clown Theft Auto" and "High Centurians," while John Killebrew's trumpet carries echoes of the Tijuana Brass on "El Baño de Amor." But the lounge influence is more in the mood--distracted, sexy, subliminally edgy--than the material.

This is really more like '60s film music. One can almost visualize the wistful "Vengeance of the Loin," our hero (Clint? Warren?) walking down a long street into a darkening sunset as the credits roll. I wish there were movies to go along with Acme Rocket Quartet's scores. They'd be terrible and I'd watch them over and over." - Option

High Centurions/Tiny Geenie 7-inch (Tiny Superhero-UK)
The A-side is a clanky number from their self-titled CD, while the B-side is a buzzing, electronic nerd theme.

Tired Minds Improvised

Incredible Husk CD
Pete Lohstroh is still mining Davis, CA for every last drip of sweaty pain it has to offer. Read his diaries of said pain to the tune of his trademark guitar hugeness. Zero Hour doesn't understand, but Lather kind of does.

Sweatertongue CD
"Buick is essentially a drums/guitar duo with the occasional pal lending a hand instrumentally or vocally. The songs develop slowly and ladder their way up to higher tempos. Four minute songs pack the velocity of two minute ones and Buick can resemble a younger, more volatile Pell Mell or a less bombastic Slint. Buick eschews the pointless vocal in favor of instrumental development. It's good. Really good. Sweatertounge has real power, motivation and depth and grows with each listen. Who needs much more than drums and guitars?" - Your Flesh

Sorry, SOLD OUT

Humiliation Jacket CD
"Three's a charm for Carquinez Straits on Humiliation Jacket. But then again, so charming were records #1 and #2 by this Sacramento, California quartet. Their humble, country-tinged indie-rock is very interesting and likable, however illusive and hard to pin down. But that's the best part; it's a quirky, unpredictable trip when you travel down Carquinez Straits. It's with good reason they've been compared to bands like Camper Van Beethoven, Meat Puppets, Pavement, The Feelies, The Shramms, Thin White Rope, Ass Ponys and Uncle Tupelo. And yes, you can hear these elements from one song to the next if you look for them. But in the end you'll like them for their own style, which offers offbeat folksy lyrics and Jed Brewer's plaintive, sun-baked (or just plain baked) vocal delivery. From the delicate choogle of the pedal-steel rich "Paco + Witch" to the desert-rock (ala Green On Red) of "The Time We Left H-Bomb In Woodland" - which ends the disc with a Brian Jonestown Massacre-style sonic behemoth - and everything in between, Humiliation Jacket is really a fine coat of many colors." - Miles of Music

Welcome to El Sobrante CD EP
Check out the 4-song companion EP, Welcome to El Sobrante. Two non-album songs and two covers. It's a limited-edition CDR and is only $3.

Where The Freeways Arc Over The Burnt Edges CD
"With a range of sound that touches on lazy twang, crunchy jangle-pop, indie rock and psychedelic-tinged space exploration, this Jed Brewer (Harvester) led band runs heavy on vibe. Their now characteristic loose vocals - a ramshackle mix of narcotized detachment - invite a sing-a-long with every chorus. The songs unfold into off-balance character sketches, groggy commentaries and poetic musings of the new, unshaven face of Americana." - Miles of Music

The Flat Earth Just Got Flatter CD
"Carquinez Straits has avoided being too oblique or defiantly weird in framing up its own unique sonic alt.americana ethic." - Rockpile

Drinks/Sketchfoot Re-Entry 7-inch
"With a sinuous horn that wails in smooth, brassy squeals, and a pace that could anesthetize an elephant, the Curbfeelers crawl through a self-pityingly '30s film noir of a hangover in 'Drink's On Me', the a-side of this yellow-vinyl 45. The instrumental b-side, "Sketchfoot Re-entry", is a happier composition, reminiscent of bands like Love Tractor because of its tickling pitch changes in the middle of a note, twangy poppiness, and cymbal heavy percussion." - Alternative Press

Grapes/Slurpy 7-inch
"Slurpy sounds like Herb Albert doin' a '60s game-show theme, and Grapes sounds like the guy from Pavement singing for East River Pipe, with a pretty trumpet added, to boot. Basically, the best single I've heard all year. Schizophrenia is an endearing quality." - You Could Do Worse

Viking Prairie Schooner/Bald Electrician 7-inch
"Viking Prarie Schooner showcases what I like best about this band; a breezy instrumental, kind of sound-tracky with a couple guitar squeals and plenty of trumpet fare. More and more I am convinced that the trumpet was made to ROCK! as evidenced by the totally righteous cover of Tripod Jimmie's Bald Electrician on the flip side. It reminds me of the Hell Cows or Flipper the way it struts and spazzes about like a drunken deacon." - Snipe Hunt

The Path to Going Down CD
"Dearest, Crown are a pleasant alternative answer to the quirkiness that is Neutral Milk Hotel and the Verlaines, except with more of a Rex campfire folk twist. Although at first listen their approach might sound traditional, it is their lyrical/storytelling approach that is like a vaguely twisted yet comically truthful psychological breakdown of human relationships that is the pull in, somewhat like an extremely charming but watered down version of Ween's 12 Country Golden Greats, except conceived by a bluegrass-loving psychologist bent on futility and teasing.

An additional feature of this album is the perfectly balanced organic analog recording by Larry Crane, who makes the sound so clean that you almost have to be careful when listening to it because it's like the cleanest sheet of plate glass that you don't see and walk into by mistake." - Exclaim

A Single Star, Bigger than the Universe CD
"A stunning first album from Portland, Oregon's Dearest, Crown, on which they combine their ragged down-to-earth but ethereal music with some of the finest, most evocative lyrics I've encountered for some time now. Musically reminiscent of Matt Pond PA, Califone and Green-/Out Of Time-era R.E.M., Dearest, Crown's drum-less campfire sound may be too much for some listeners, but proves to be a subversive approach to songs that would have fallen apart had they been treated otherwise." - Ink 19

Make a Home CD
The Envelope Peasant (Harvester frontman Sean Harrasser’s solo persona) has finished up recording and mixing his 2nd album, Make a Home. This album was recorded with his splendid Scientific Orchestra.

7-inch
Former Thin White Rope badboys Sto Odom and Roger Kunkel (also of Acme Rocket Quartet) team up with like-minded SF types to create new guitar twang and grind with Odom's Mississippi-drawl on the vox.

Mt. Tallac CD
First new album in over a decade.

Kentucky Fried Roberta Bus CDR EP
This is a limited edition CDR of 9 unreleased songs and covers taken from sessions during the '95-'97 period. Only $3 ppd. Only two of the tracks are complete nonesense.

Annoying the Waitress CD
"Harvester churns out another batch of hybrid music, fusing alt.country and noisy indie rock; off beat humor and moments of thoughtfulness. Their eclectic style finds them jumping from the punk-grass of "Perfect Vacation" to the angular Pavement-like rocker of "Salad and Bread". - Miles of Music

Mud is My Ally CD
"Mud Is My Ally is the third album by Portland's Harvester, and though the band has parted ways with DGC, its glistening country/folk/pop-rock hybrid hasn't been tarnished. The quartet does trade a sizable portion of youthful enthusiasm for a more controlled pace, but this even-handed sobriety lends a remarkable beauty to Harvester's songs of strength and tenderness.... Harvester is cool and unrepentant in its love of guitars and rural sensibilities, and its best melodies linger with tear-streaked lyrics that sit heavy on the heart." - CMJ

Camper Van Landingham CD (Trocadero-Germany)
"Todd Steinberg's bass is the glue that holds the songs on Camper Van Landingham together. It provides a steady anchor that keeps limbs from popping off as the band accelerates from taut, spare guitar passages to supple pop choruses (such as on 'Batholithic Intrusion'), and his more intricate designs give texture and interest to more straightforward rockers (like 'Give It Up Smooth'). And true to the band's name, there is a certain corn-fed quality to some of the songs, especially the rockabillyish "Whiskeydick" and the messily anthemic 'Tumble On.'" - Scratch

Congratulations on Your Nudity CD EP
"... raw, rootsy, rustic, dusty rock with a sense of humor and more than just a hint of flat-out absurdity....Don't take Harvester too seriously, but don't laugh too hard either. In the words of a great British philosopher, 'There's a fine line between clever and stupid.' It is on this fine line that Harvester ever so tenuously teeter." - The Rocket

Me Climb Mountain CD
"Harvester has a knack for both guitar and vocal hooks, and their performance style delivers enough energy to overcome any doubts sown by the bucolic agricultural images on the front and back covers of Me Climb Mountain." - Option

North State CD EP
"This Portland-by-the-way-of-Northern California quartet has some impressive songs on its debut CD. Vocalist/guitarist Sean Harrasser proves himself quite a songwriter and lyricist, with poetic imagery strewn throughout the seven songs the Northstate EP. Musically, Harvester plays competent, melodic rock with enough of an edge to energize several of the tracks. The punchy "Hairtrigger" sounds like a cross between the Clash and Pavement,while the Versus-like "I Know That I Know This Won't Get Caught In Your Eye" offers a glimpse of Harrasser's inspired lyrics: 'The sky is hung like watercolors, the frail descent of autumn's pall resplendent once thesecolors wane beneath the crusting shadows.' Sprinkled with a few hooks,many of Harvester's songs are instantly likeable and engaging." - Tonic.

Sorry, no longer available.

Killed by Bears CD
Portland’s Killed by Bears have just released their excellent self-titled CD. Ryan Martin and his Fort Lexington troops have assembled an album that is as accessible as it is intriguing. Pop, folk, and trumpet are all equal parts in this unstoppable killing machine.

You're Looking Very Beautiful Man CD
"...and if you have a particular affection for the kind of jangly reinvention of the Brian Wilson California aesthetic as practiced by such Dunedin, New Zealand, bands as the Chills a decade or so ago, this certainly will fly your kite." - Sacramento News & Review

Perhaps the Most Satisfying Joy Left... CD
 

Twice-Baked Coma EP CD/cassette
Specify CD or cassette in order

"...a four track frenzy that skronks with an intensity that keeps sand dunes in disruption." - SNR

First Nation Spy b/w Last Man Standing 7-inch
Brand new instrumentals! Only 220 pressed.

“It's a psych sounding Turing Machine; plenty of tension in the chase sequences obscured by the smoke from the chronic. Loose and hectic they're still at it, flying that very specific freak flag.” – 7 Inches

Drought Times CD EP
“The whole thing sounding like Spacemen 3 jamming with Gong in a sleazy nightclub, very probably as the soundtrack to a cheesy sixties exploitation flick, the dance floor filled with twirling flower children, stoned out of their gourds and having a bloody good time” - Terrascope UK

Idle Ships CD
"This Sacramento, CA band is lather Records entry into the Eastern psychedelia sweepstakes. Their songs will take you different flea markets where snake charmers will try and steal your wallet and the incense is burning like a California wildfire. Mike Woo’s clarinet steals the show…just don’t eat the curry!" -Daggerzine

Greetings From Beautiful San Kazakgascar CD
“…it sounds like it could have been ripped of the soundtrack to some 60’s spy movie, when the secret agents find themselves in a smoky lounge in some exotic eastern nation.” - Aural Innovations

Planet Dog split 7-inch
A co-release with URCK Records.

"There was a flyer for a recent Savage Republic gig tucked away in this single, which was a pretty good indicator of where these outfits are coming from. We’re looking at tribal drumming, shamanistic vocals, a heavy burnout blues vibe scented with myrrh and sticky with warm peyote buttons. The groups aren’t necessarily interchangeable – San Kazakgascar clearly has the better of the two tracks here, but The Master Musicians of Hop-Frog show them up in percussive intensity – but they fulfill a small yet dutiful role in the spiritual enhancement of man via rituals..." - Dusted

A Sense of History 7-inch EP
"Sidearm could mean a concealed weapon or an unconventional baseball pitch, and on their debut single "A Sense of History" it means both: "concealed" in the sense that it's one of those records you'll only read about in Incite and kindred fanzines, "weapons" in the sense that it leaves an unforgettable impact, and "baseball" in the sense of the words "a sidearm delivery" imprinted on the vinyl. This record features three flawless songs that give both songwriting and "lo-fi" the good names they deserve, which might suggest Pavement if they weren't so insistently original. If you have a spare $3, or better yet if you run a worldwide distribution service, write down that Lather address down in four or five places and order freely." - Incite

Garden of Idle Hands vinyl LP (via Baggage Claim)
"The band has a way of imparting a worn feeling of age, timeless and turbulent to their work and as such there are few moments in the record that feel like the were laid to tape in 2016. They dart through worn street tapes picked up at adhoc Indian markets, ’60s jazz flare ups and subsequent ’70s jazz infatuations with stronger connections to non-American sounds." - Raven Sings the Blues

Ashes For Gwynn (live) CD

Vol. 1 CD
Eastern-inspired drone improvisations with turns and burns.

“Sacramento trio Swimming in Bengal makes music like hookah smoke. Slow, sensual and snakish, their Indian-influenced blend of drone and raga builds exponentially past mere Eastern imitation and into a state of pure, hypnotic Param dhama” – Decoder UK

Dry July CD
"This Davis, CA quintet makes its full-length debut with a dozen originals and a cover of Robyn Hitchcock's obtuse 'Superman' thrown in for good measure. Grafting Johanna Galos sometimes soothing vocals onto lethal doses of brittle distorted guitar makes a nice a la mode. 'The Peacock Killer' is a hoedown spiked with clanging guitars conjuring visions of a roomful of reeling recalcitrants. The slower, hypnotic 'Quiero Fuego' and the near Gregorian chant feel of 'Thorn Cafe Orchestra' display the band's strong suit: sliding from fast to slow seamlessly."

Wake Up/Lullaby 7-inch
"A fuzz-crusted guitar (that lilts on 'Lullaby') and strong women's vocals are the basic elements that Thornucopia combine to create their ballads, which have all the clean sweetness of a steelwool pad. For those who like ballads that rock, not put you to sleep." - Alternative Press

Pell Mell & Acme Rocket Quartet split 7-inch
Cloverleaf b/w Hey, Hey, Hey
"Instrumental heroes Pell Mell return to peak form after the overly glossy Star City. Sounding more like Cul De Sac than either band might prefer, 'Cloverleaf' is caked with trail dust and true to the open-road, slide show feel of the band's wonderful SST records. Imagine the Lounge Lizards trading the neon of the naked city for the day-lit glitz of Vegas. ARQ's 'Hey, Hey, Hey!' is a light n' tangy instrumental mishmash, clever but a little goofy. Think Steely Dan plays War." - Magnet

Harvester & Chance the Gardener split 7-inch
Give it Up Smooth b/w Another Sat-Nite With The Stoners
No review here. All you need to know is that it's party rock recorded live at The Grange. At least that's what it sounds like.