Absolutely Kosher Records
San Francisco-based Absolutely Kosher Records has been releasing the finest cuts since 5758. Independent music as a frame of mind, not as a ghetto. One might say they're blessed.
Franklin Bruno
Lovers, losers, and junkies populate singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno's songs, but you'd never know it from the music's sunny tone. On Kiss Without Makeup, he craftily walks the fine line between narrator and character, infusing his songs with a sense of drama while maintaining a contemplative distance.
Kiss Without Makeup
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2000
Eltro
Eltro: ethereal, enigmatic, epic. These Philadelphia mesmerists use guitars, percussion, and heavy electronics to play with dynamics, texture, and tone, and in doing so create a voluminous sound that suggests strange constellations and unknown planetary systems.
Information Changer
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1998
Velodrome
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2001
Extra Glenns
The Extra Glenns is a wonderful collaboration between Franklin Bruno and John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats which dates back to the two men's time in Claremont, CA during the early '90s. A must for fans of smart songwriting and simple folk-derived pop.
Martial Arts Weekend
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2002
Jack Hayter
You big softy. Jack Hayter, from Hefner fame, has discovered his acoustic roots with his Practical Wireless solo project. Scratchy crooning over simple instrumentation provides us an interesting view into the inner workings of Hayter's folk soul.
Practical Wireless
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2002
The Mountain Goats
Never underestimate the power of the guitar coupled with the human voice. The Mountain Goats craft devastatingly beautiful and earnest songs using little more than these two elements.
The Coroner's Gambit
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2000
Optiganally Yours
Though their instruments of choice may be unusual, Optiganally Yours has a keen sense of melody and a knack for cleverness that makes their songs instantly familiar.
Exclusively Talentmaker
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2000
P.E.E.
Dueling male-female vocals, layers of guitar, and endless time changes highlight P.E.E.'s energetic songs. Their beautiful cacaphony has been labeled math-pop, quirk-rock, and emo-post-punk-pop. Whatever you call it, the music is graceful and gutsy, pretty and powerful.
Now, More Charm And More Tender
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1996
The Roaring Mechanism
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1998
The Places
Portland's The Places deliver beautiful fragile pop- and country-derived ballads streaked
with love, loneliness, and longing. This is music that will resonate deeply within you.
The Autopilot Knows You Best
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2000
The Swords Project
Portland's Swords Project is a seven- to eight-person ensemble which delivers grand, stately chamber rock epics surprising in their delicacy and minimalism.
The Swords Project
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2000
Telegraph Melts
Telegraph Melts creates panoramic musical vistas using only guitar and amplified cello. Emotional, elegant, and sublime, it's the soundtrack for solitary exploration of internal and external landscapes.
Ilium
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2000
Virginia Dare
San Francisco's Virginia Dare takes false hope and heartbreak, tints them with dust, and filters the whole mess through Mary O'Neil's sultry sweet voice. She is your best friend giving advice, baring the truths that are almost too painful to see.
Baby Got Away
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1998
Xiu Xiu
An extraordinary band that combines an appreciation for modern composition, free jazz improvisation, and the gamelan with a vintage post-punk aesthetic and goth histrionics. Xiu Xiu's nontraditional structures, eclectic instrumentation, and melodramatic aesthetic take a little getting used to, but after a few listens, you'll find it difficult to listen to "normal" music ever again.
Chapel of the Chimes
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2002
