Dear People,

Right now the biggest thing on my mind is the June art show. Relative Theory will be featuring the work of Jeremy Okai Davis and I am going to speculate here for a moment and say we extremely anticipate his arrival - like we might get some kazoos or something. His work will be up the entire month of June and you should do your best to come and party on the opening night. There is a flyer below (also note the band will be Probably Vampires as the bands listed on the flyer are playing the day before). Also we are not really able to get the whole radio webcast thing going of what play in the store so we are probably going to try a do a podcast - 2 different ones once a week. One will be music the is going to play live at Relative Theory and the other will be new and notable music. Hopefully this will get us a dj gig at some radio station so we can actually earn some money. Who knows. Who's excited about Asobi Seksu's new album out next week? Or maybe you are just ready to let your ribcage get all fuzzy when Black Revelation comes to the Taphouse. Seriously folks - be there to catch a wild case of slack jaw.

relative links
www.jeremyokaidavis.com
www.wikipedia.org/podcasting

With your support we can stay on the map.

Alias & Tarsier
Brookland / Oaklynn

Release Date: 05/23/06
Label: Anticon
CD: $14.98

Brookland/Oaklyn is the result of a bicoastal collaboration between anticon beatmaker extraordinaire Alias and vocalist Rona "Tarsier" Rapadas of New York's cinematronic duo, Healamonster & Tarsier. Prompted by one fluke email, the project took twenty-one months to complete, each artist recording in isolation and sharing the results long distance. Though the two hadn't met face to face, they clicked musically, the relationship flourished, and Brookland/Oaklyn is the pay off.

Astronautalis is a classy-ass rapper hailing from the US of A. He's graced the Relative Theory stage a handful of times, pleasing the crowd with intellectual rhymes and and savvy pick-up lines. He was voted the BEST dressed MC of 2005 by blackplanet.com. This new release includes super special packaging containing polaroids which correspond to each of the tracks. SUPURB!

Their sound is totally unique yet slightly familiar. Hints of Fugazi, Bad Brains, and Mars Volta but imagine these bands being played by Captain Beefheart. It's punk, it's hardcore, yet there's this undeniable groove that holds it together. The Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck EP will not only serve as a fantastic entry point it is a great addition to the Blood Brothers catalogue.

Their third full-length studio album proper might be the most aggressive, raw, and challenging in the bands storied career. Its as relentless and engulfing an album as Vs. some 24 years ago. Black humor, topical humor, general dense agro with hooks split into the sound like kindling. This is the next uneasy listening album of the year.

Go When The Morning Shineth is the new solo release from longtime Innocence Mission guitarist Don Peris. His career in that band has spanned close to twenty years, produced nine albums and received four- and five-star reviews across the globe. On this mostly instrumental outing, Peris's unique and unmistakable guitar tone dips, soars, and shimmers with tremolo. Like the sea on the album's Polaroid cover, these songs are deep and inviting. A close listen reveals nods to other great melodic songwriters like Paul Simon, Chet Atkins, Lindsey Buckingham and Nick Drake.

Peris explains the album's nostalgic summertime feel, "My summers have always included trips to Atlantic beaches. The summer holiday picture on the cover was shot many years ago by my dad with his Polaroid Land Camera." "North Atlantic Sand," one of two tracks featuring vocals by wife and Innocence Mission partner Karen Peris, was written during a Pennsylvania winter. "It's a remembrance of early trips to Delaware and New Jersey beaches," says Peris "though it's also a love song to my daughter."

Red Sparowes return to Robotic Empire with another amazing record, this time being joined by Gregor Samsa for this split CD release. Richmond, VA's Gregor Samsa shine bright here with two tracks of serene and dark ambient/rock music. Haunting and beautifully sung male and female vocals intertwine with atmospheric guitars, keys and string arrangements. One of their two tracks is a preview for their 55:12 full-length album, and the other is exclusive to this release. Los Angeles, CA's Red Sparowes deliver two phenomenal tracks of their moving and intense instrumental creations. One exclusive new track is joined by a phenomenal demo version of a song found on their "At The Soundless Dawn" debut... and with members of Isis and Neurosis behind this ship, Red Sparowes continue to steer into amazing directions. In fact, both bands harken back to the glory days of shoegazing's past without compromising their modern spin on powerful and innovative independent music.

Emerging from the debris of mclusky, the haunts of various damp, dark basement clubs, and the forging of drum power through seven grades of piano teaching, Shooting At Unarmed Men bring you tunes you can whistle, dance, or fight to, depending on your preference, consumption, or IQ level.

The sophomore album from Omaha quintet Tilly & the Wall. Ten songs of fun and feisty pop, inspired by 1960s pop, boy/girl harmonies, and American folk, and delivered fuller and more rousing than before.

The fourth volume in Numero Group's Eccentric Soul series examines the oil stained underside of the Motor City sound. There are no gold records, million dollar buyouts, or quaint museums at the end of the story, just a handful of four figure 45s, a box of photographs, and a condemned building. If Detroit was once an ocean of soul, the Big Mack label was certainly an island.

Big Mack lasted an incredible twenty years with out so much as a sniff of a hit. Dogged by lack of airplay, distribution, and a general lack of understanding of the music business, the label failed on almost every level except where it counted; the music. From soulful doo-wop to blistering garage funk, a left at sultry R&B and then a quick dodge into budget Hendrix wailing over a steel drum break, this disc is the epitome of Eccentric Soul.

When one thinks of bands with multiple synthesizers and no guitars in its lineup, the usual black-clad new wave suspects spring to mind: Depeche Mode, Kraftwork, New Order, etc. But when it comes to Richmond, VAs synth-punk insurgents VCR, one must completely banish these dated preconceptions. VCR calls it adventure funcore. Power Destiny picks up where the bands self-titled debut EP left off, delivering twelve songs of electro punk keyboard mania.

To Find Me Gone is the second album by Andy Cabic's ever-evolving band Vetiver, released two years after the debut self-titled release. Andy has since toured the world, usually as a member of Devendra Banhart's band, and sometimes even with Vetiver. In those two years, Vetiver has expanded into a full-on singer-songwriter band/project, aided and abetted by some of the best players (and usually his best friends) in the extended family of which Cabic finds himself a member. Musically, there's a dreamy Topanga Canyon vibe on select songs (maybe that's the pedal steel calling on 'No One Word'), and there's also plenty of crunchy candy for those who have appreciated Cabic's recent nod toward the magic of '70s-era Fleetwood Mac.

The Walkmen have been solidifying their position as one of the most important bands in the alternative music community with their previous releases, Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone and Bows And Arrows. Extensive touring, media prominence, critical acclaim, national modern rock radio airplay, and TV performances have helped establish the band in the music community. A Hundred Miles Off is their most solid effort yet.

Earth are a US drone metal band formed in 1990 in Olympia, Washington by Dylan Carlson, Slim Moon and Greg Babior. They are pioneers in the minimalistic, long and repetitive form of doom metal known as drone metal. The band at some point moved to Seattle where they met with grunge music icon Kurt Cobain who sang lead vocals in the song "Divine and Bright" from a demo included on the re-release of the live album Sunn Amps and Smashed Guitars. Dylan Carlson has been the driving force of the band and still remains the core of an everchanging line-up.

Sub Pop is proud to reissue all the early Earth titles on vinyl.

Her 12 track song cycle is a crossroads where haunting meets joyful a voice from the heavens singing stories of the underworld. Hollands songs rise and fall like heavy eyelids and convey the peace between asleep and awake creating a special place for you to be. Sounds from past and present tense waltz together to a never ending melody that flickers between folk jazz blues and pop. Jolies lyrics conjure characters and situations one might find in the surrealistic celluloid of Jim Jarmusch. Its this level of bravado that prompted All Music Guide to describe Holland's sound as a listening experience that is singular startling and soulful.

RECORD OF THE WEEK.The Red Hot Chili Peppers last album was a greatest hits collection, but they could have just as easily slapped that title on “Stadium Arcadium.”  It’s that good. This two cd set is like a career retrospective with all new songs, a culmination of what they do best with all their previous trademark elements on display in each song of the sprawling twenty eight track cd.  
 
How do their attention span-challenged fans cope with this quality overload, this embarrassment of riches?  Think of it as a play list to download of the best Chili Peppers songs you’ve never heard. The album was originally intended as a single cd with 10 or 12 songs, “hit ‘em and quit ‘em” as lead singer Anthony Kiedis explained but after they recorded the 38th song of the sessions they began to consider releasing a trilogy of albums.  Is it possible they’ve come up with a double album with no filler?  Even The Beatles had “Revolution No. 9.”
 
A true band effort, each member contributes equally. Kiedis’ lyrics and unique deadpan delivery, Flea’s charging bass lines, Chad Smith’s outrageous drumming and the biggest surprise, John Frusciante’s fiery, Hendrix-like guitar solos and smooth, full vocal harmonies. Each song has a different flavor of what the Chili Peppers do best, from the funk of “Hump De Bump” and “Storm in a Teacup” to the rock/rap of “C’mon Girl” and “21st Century” and the atmospheric romanticism of “If” and “Snow ((Hey Oh)).” But how do you pick highlights when they’re all good?
 
With the absence of valleys to offset the peaks, the best parts of “Stadium Arcadium” are Frusciante’s wild solos and Kiedis’ lyrics which sound like they were composed for what they sound like rather than what they actually mean. As Flea says, “If you don’t like this album, you don’t like The Red Hot Chili Peppers.” --Paul Shugrue

Springsteen's twenty-first album features personal interpretations of thirteen traditional songs associated with legendary folk singer Pete Seeger. Recorded with a large ensemble of musicians in a DualDisc format with full album on one side and 30 minute DVD content on the other. The DVD contains extensive behind the scenes footage of the recording sessions. The DualDisc package will also contain two bonus tracks and special booklet.

Tree Colored See is a collaborative effort between renowned L.A. hip hop and electronic producer Nobody (Elvin Estella) and Mystic Chords of Memory (featuring Chris Gunst of The Beachwood Sparks and The Aisler SetÕs Jen Cohen). After swapping successful guest appearances on a few releases, the trio began working on a collaborative project in the spring of 2004. After a year filled with road trips and mailorder-only production efforts, the group hits upon a perfectly crafted blend of psychedelic hip-hop and sunshine folk-rock. A producer/ arranger in the classical sense, Nobody uses his samplebased tool set to create the foundations of the album. Gunst continues to mature as a songwriter and along with partner Cohen, adds wistful vocals and accomplished musicianship. Fans who may have followed these artists throughout their respective careers will be thrilled at how Tree Colored See brings out the best in each.

Record of the Week. "Capturing all the magical madness associated with the first warm days of spring, Georgia Anne Muldrow's 'Larva' brims with so much optimism and anxious energy that it barely contains itself. Muldrow composed and performed all of the music on her debut EP, Worthnothings. In light of her established alliances with other funk-forward groups (SA-RA Creative Partners, Platinum Pied Pipers), the gutsy ingenuity of 'Larva' isn't a surprise. It's just an enchanting moment from an enormously promising young talent." - NPR

Final serves as an undefinable and experimental interpretation of Justin Broadrick's more recognized music; encompassing the brutal and the dark, the beautiful and melodic. The term "ambient" is often used to describe the sound of FINAL, but the music is not designed to function purely as background as the term "ambient" generally applies.

Relative Recommends! The songs of Human Television ache to be loved the same way R.E.M., the Wedding Present, the Clean, and My Bloody Valentine’s do. At times honey-dipped and idyllic, and at others reflective and dark, the band drifts freely in both word and sound.

OvO
Miastenia

Release Date: 04/18/06
Label: Load
CD: $11.98 Sale $7.98

Milan, Italy’s Ovo are a two piece using guitar/violin cellos and drums that dump a toxic sludge with an unmistakable butterscotch scent. This sludge is in line with contemperous doom salesmen such as BORIS and the MELVINS, with the addition of vox stylings that take this record to a new place entirely. The sounds coming from Stephania Pedretti’s mouth as she sings go from lullaby sweet to terrifyingly raw in short intervals. Instrumentation on this platter is diverse, with guitars, bass, drums being added to the mix as well as music store stand-by’s like harmonica, piano, and cello.

They think They Are The Robocop Kraus their fifth full length but first to be released in the US showcases the bands unique razor wire punk disco noise as it rises above the fads and fashions of the current post punk revival with songs after hooky song already making noise as singles in the UK. They Think They Are The Robocop Kraus delivers the boldest melodies and most spirited album of their career.

With a majority of the songs on 10,000 Days clocking in well past the seven-minute mark, you wouldn't be entirely mistaken in thinking that the title of the album refers to how long it actually takes to make it through the whole thing. Two of the tracks--the sitar and tabla enhanced "10,000 Days (Wings Part 2)" and its suitably epic psych-rock sister "Rosetta Stoned"--even linger on for nearly a dozen leisurely minutes each. That's delightful news for the legion of Tool fans that have been waiting five years for the follow-up to 2001's Lateralus, which debuted at number one and sold 2.3 million copies in the United States. Singer Maynard James Keenan is back on mystical form after his hiatus with the politically slanted A Perfect Circle, sounding at once ethereal and eloquent as he calmly charges through the metal tempest of the opening track "Vicarious." The rest of the band, meanwhile, hits a series of high-flying moments with tracks such as "Jambi" and "The Pot." When Tool sounds as good as it does on these songs it's hard to get enough. Which makes it all the more baffling that a surprisingly large chunk of the disc is given over to mood-enhancing soundscapes like "Lost Keys" and "Vigniti Tres." Who has time for filler? --Aidin Vaziri

TUES MAY 23, 2006

Lover you should have come over.

This is really a great night for singer-songwriter showcasing their talent. Listening to all the bands, all I can say is, "Wow". Langley Holland have the traits of an early Nada Surf, charming songs that are, simultaneously, downtrodden and hopeful. An Epic at Best is also on the bill and they are fantastic. They rock in the same way that Death Cab rocks, which isn't really rockin', just really great.We invited local lovemaker, Wes Mason to the bill and he has an incredible voice. He told me that he's thinking about doing a Jeff Buckley cover! We <3 JB! And the dark folk seductress, Lacrymosa will be in the house providing their beautiful melodies and gorgeous harmonies. Only insects will miss this.

FRI MAY 26, 2006

The Assault | site & sound
Skye Zentz | site & sound
Sarah Carter | site & sound
Danatalie | site & sound
Armisteads | site & sound

Time: 8pm
Tickets: $5 adv | $7 day of show
Relative Card: 50 points

powder pufff .

Brooklyn ladies, The Assault are coming to Relative to drink beers, break hearts and make rock. Dirty, glammy garage rock is the perfect combination of Joan Jett and Sleater-Kinney. Local lovelies, Danatalie are bringing their combination of acoustic folk / beach pop. Also, Skye Zentz (the newest member of the Relative Theory staff) will be singing her lyrical poetry and strumming a guitar to the delight of everybody in the room. And we if the night couldn't get any better, Sarah Carter just hopped on the bill for an Autoharp session and Armistads are going to play an instrumental set. Perfect!

SAT MAY 27, 2006

cheeky .

Avalanche music is presenting a night of some of the up-and-comers from the area and a hot little number from the 804. River City High (my favorite Nintendo game of all-time!), is Jordache rock from Richmond. Gritty guitars and catchy sing-a-long songs, you scream at the bar when you're with your friends. Opening acts, Fox Trot Rio, the local Crazy Horse have an awesome down home sound. Amatersu, also on the bill, will start the night with an energized set of NEW material.

TUES MAY 30, 2006

mondo generator .

Warning - this is the kind of rock n' roll show that makes you want to get tattoos.This is at the Taphouse and it's going to be bad ass. Blackfire Revelation are seriously dixie metal. Kind of like The Black Keys' older beer guzzlin' brother who went to a bunch of Samhain shows as a kid. You would be a fool to miss these guys. Come get loose!

TUES MAY 30, 2006

rocketman .

Straight up, Jetpack UK is playing RTR and they are the cat's meow. Seriously, they guys design the world's sweetest, amiable and infectious garage pop I've ever heard. So F ' n good. Also on the road and stopping by is Grey Milk, they sound like Rocky Votalato or an acoustic Saves the Day, kinda folky but always rocking.Frank Willow will be making there first appearance at Relative Theory. The Ben Folds meets Neil Diamond is very chic and we can't get enough. Wes Mason is appearing on the bill as well. You're going to fall in love with him when you see him. Let that be tonight.

MAY 14 thru MAY 30 | 2006

A Student at the Governor's School for The Arts, Said will be holding his senior exhibition here at Relative Theory Records. His work recycles materials into visual diplays as drawings, ceramic sculptures and paintings. He was born in Mexico City and while he may not consider himself an artist, art is what he does. It is a means of expression for all individuals and his expression is on display right now. Simply Said.

Relative Brews

Remember Relative Cardholders:

Cafe Specials

Groovin' Selections

We all have room for a little change in our lifestyles, therefore the Relative Cafe is offering new ways to spruce up your favorite beverage. Think an iced mocha, but with prepared with delicious almond milk. Or possibly a foamed chai steamed with scrumptious rice milk. YUM! All-natural and dairy-free! Pick a beverage and choose the rice/almond milk option and receive $.50 off the price of your drink!

New Organic Products:

New Shapes!

New To The Menu

Now Available

PomWonderful the dopest Pomegranate Juice. Loaded with more antioxidants than found in green tea, chocolate, and blueberries, PomWonderful helps our bodies fight against free radicals. Drinking one glass of this delicious juice, exercising and eating healthy every day will improve your cardiovascular health, prevent cancer, and fight the aging process. So, what are you waiting for? Stop by and help save your life! Enjoy a bottle today and every day. Choose one, two, three, four or five of the five flavors! 100 % Pomegranate, POM Blueberry, POM Cherry, POM Mango, POM Tangerine.

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