All four tracks are beasts, big and chunky. This is the kind of record you seek here, high quality and underpriced. Lots of stuff of generic quality fetches a high price for whatever reason, while gems like this can be had for less than the shipping. Aesthetically, that's annoying, but if you're buying, it sure is great news. Last time out, I played all four tracks on this, and somebody came up for every one of them asking what it was.

"Float" is one of the dreamiest bits of heavenly dub you will ever hear. I named it, so there. The rest of the record is listenable, but a bit dated, but Float is way worth the price of admission. Another one of my fish-in-a-barrel tracks; when you need to hypnotize the room and you need to be sure, it won't let you down. Mix it into Starseeds "Parallel Life" and watch everybody sink into their seats and snuggle.

This is an utterly essential record, and I think it's them at their best. After this they added a bass player, and while some of the tracks were perfectly lovely and shimmering, too often they relied on the same plodding groove. Obviously I'm in the minority because they became very popular then, but I think this is the masterpiece, seriously perfect. It covers the range from dreamy soft melodic songs (C of People, so gently haunting) to grinding walls of noise that will scour your insides clean out. Guitarist/vocalist, and keyboards/synths, just the two of them, complete chemistry.

This was them at their peak, lush acid jazz, sometimes oh so smooth, sometimes bumpin and grooving. This record was really not promoted like it could have been, and they went on to record many more, none of which I've listened to carefully, but what i heard didn't have what this one does. They move together so well, ten masters of their instruments, solos flowing seamlessly from instrument to instrument, everybody perfectly complementing each other. This is a record you will listen to over and over. I think I know almost every note.

Oh those days, when Twilo made a flyer full of label-less bottles that were obviously not little Absolut examples, when the DJs would drop the lights every so often to signal it was time to bump up. This will take you back, what a hoot, big rollicking tribal, with a long sodden breakdown to oblivion, then a gasping build right back to orgasm. Essential. I used to mix it with a record from my Mom's old rack, "Make the World Go Away"; they were made for each other.

Parallel Life is one of the dreamiest songs you'll ever hear. I originally caught it on a demo CD from a magazine, Future Music maybe? It's one of those swoon tracks, fun to look out over the room before you drop it, because you know the whole room is about to be covered in goosebumps. Luscious production, gorgeous ethereal vocals, sweeping lost shimmering reverb. Top marks. Highly recommended for making out, snuggling, afternoon naps, sunny days, rainy days, love it.

One of the most berserk and fun records you'll ever find: ragged punk from the point of view of a freaked out five year old. Apparently it was largely improvised too, a quick scribble on a napkin, a swig of liquor, and press record. "I Wanna Watch Cartoons" will have you in tears. I had the unique pleasure of passing a mix CD to a guy from a silly country band once, and shortly after he comes running up behind me, "I'm Mr. Anus! I'm Mr. Anus!!" He was half this band, and saw a track from this on the disc. Other guy is Mr. HCI, aka Mr. Horribly Charred Infant. "why can't we eat the baby, you said we have chicken cause chicken is cheap, well the baby was free, i wanna eat the baby!!" Perfect.

This is the definitive compilation of the short-lived but extraordinary Illbient scene that rolled through NYC in the mid-90's; just about the time the name caught hold, everyone ran away from it. Though this album carries the work of four different groups/producers, it flows through like one long dark ride through the underworld, passing abbatoirs, reliquaries, catacombs, and long seas of gloom and lost souls. "Dancehall Malfunction" is one of the heaviest crushing basslines you'll ever hear. Fans of dubstep/grime might be surprised to find that much of it was already done ten years previously.

This CD contains several of what I call my "fish in a barrel" tracks; I know if I put one on, a wave of ghostly luscious ecstasy will ripple across the room. As one reviewer put it, these sounds could be from two thousand years in the past or future. Haunting and ethereal, and immediate, it gets right under your skin. Middle-eastern percussion meets sizzling violin/cello, and whatever else fits; quite masterful. Badawi (aka Raz Mesinai) is definitely someone to keep an eye on; of late he has been doing soundtracks for films, which I fully expect are worth tracking down.

This was the essential album that opened my mind to the world of truly psychedelic music, tunes made not to break through into wider fame, but for the trippers to take home and wrap up in. The title of one of their other records says it all: "Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To". Other Music's logo uses the same font that they did; unconfirmed, but I think it is a fairly safe assumption that it's an homage to this incredibly seminal band. Generally people have either not heard of them, or they're one of their top favorite bands. Long grinding drones, or two-chord barges, lots of vibrato shimmering like narcotized moonlight, and wild lost leads pushed way back in the mix; not for everyone I suppose, but highly recommended if you're fond of the other side.