Staff Picks
Curious what the staff at Torn Light are listening to? Check out the titles we’ve been digging lately below.
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Equipment Pointed Ankh – Without Human Permission
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “One of my favorite bands making music in the world today. All star cast of Kentucky HEADS – members of Flanger Magazine (Torn Light), […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
God’s Own Country : A NZ Mixtape – Radio Topo #16
$8.00 | Cassette, CS Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Very cool mix from Brian McCabe (Sorry Eric) of the highlights from New Zealand’s indie rock history. A great primer for the uninitiated or […]
GENRE: -
Here Comes Your Midnight Man – A Folk Mixtape – Radio Topo #5
$8.00 | Cassette, CS Add to cartRecycled C60 CS Folk mixtape curated by Alex York (Torn Light/Fantastique) & John Rich (Wasteland Jazz Unit / No Response) C60 (minus a few min’s) of downer folk. Dreary and […]
GENRE: Folk / Country -
Transmissions From Abroad – The Italian Connection / Italo 77-90 – Radio Topo #9
$8.00 | Cassette, CS Add to cartRadio Topo #9 Recycled C60 of Italo Disco / High NRG bangers from the 80’s All Vinyl Mix by DJ WW4
GENRE: Dance -
New Monuments – Language Is The Skin CD
$13.00 | CD Ships on/around Jun 30, 2022 Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “The birth of NEW FREE JAZZ. A completely unhinged document of New Monuments. Fresh new quartet line-up. This is the next level, and the […]
GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz -
Tiny Vipers – Hands Across The Void
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Achingly beautiful, sparse, acoustic singer-songwriter tracks with occasional noise moments, situated somewhere in the Cat Power, Adrianne Lenker, and even [...]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Gun Outfit – Dream All Over
$18.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “From the class of early 2000’s Olympia WA heroes including bands like Milk Music, Sex Vid, and Broken Water. I really love Gun Outfit. […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Alex York – Black Tupelo CD
$12.00 | CD Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “A completely mesmerizing, beautiful CD by Alex. His droning, minimal collages speak perfectly to how in sync folk and minimalism are.” – Hannah Alex [...]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise -
Scritti Politti – Early
$23.00 | 2xLP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Been jamming a lot of the early Rough Trade singles lately, so gotta throw on these early Scritti Politti one’s included on this comp.” […]
GENRE: Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth -
Dead C – Tusk
$29.00 | 2xLP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Ba Da Bing! dropping the heat with three Dead C reissues from their mid 90’s period, The Operation of the Sonne, White House, and […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Indie / Alternative -
Love Cry Want – S/T
$30.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Wild record on many levels, recorded at an anti-war rally in DC in ’72, featuring organist Larry Young and percussionist Joe Gallivan. Organ heavy, […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych, Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz -
The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
$24.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Still one of the best, haters be damned” – Cleo Vinyl LP pressing. Digitally remastered edition of this 1985 album from the legendary British […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Osmo Lindeman – Electronic Works
$35.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Incredible works from Finnish electronic music composer. Fits right in with the Sahko catalog.” – Alex *includes a CD featuring all tracks from the [...]
GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Cosmic Scholar: The Life and Times of Harry Smith
$31.00 | Book, Print Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “The Harry Smith resurgence is upon us.” – Jack He was an anthropologist, filmmaker, painter, folklorist, mystic, and walking encyclopedia. He taught [...]
GENRE: Art/Photography, Folk / Country, Non-Fiction -
Magnús Pálsson – Enginn Gleypir Sólina CD + Book
$21.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Audio from a Magnus Palsson exhibit. Very Runzelstirn Gurgelstock or Hermann Nitsch energy here. Lots of of grunting, moaning and intimate human sounds. Includes [...]
GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Chlorine – Wait For The Light To Shine
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “The instrumentals on this record are fantastic – super hazy synths, steady drum machine, all creating this surreal wash of sound. Perfect for lonely […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative, Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth -
Gong – Magick Brother
$29.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Gong’s first, a previously hard to get album is back in print. Comparatively to the albums they did a few years after, this one […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
T.V. Star – Hallucinate Me
$16.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Seattle’s TV Star Hallucinate Me is a short but sweet 12″ EP. 6 songs of killer Alt Country Twangy Psych Rock.” – Dan The […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Model Citizens – NYC 1978-1979 (Red Vinyl)
$27.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Adjacent to New York’s No Wave movement, but straddling a line maybe a bit closer to new wave than a lot of the no […]
GENRE: Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth -
Oneohtrix Point Never – Again (Blue Vinyl)
$35.00 | 2xLP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Been jamming this nonstop for a week now. It scratches all itches for those who love OPN & his refined 21st century electronic pop […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Techno / House / Electronic -
Peter Jefferies – Closed Circuit
$25.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “New Zealand’s best! Keep the Peter Jefferies reissues coming, and for the love of god someone reissue the damn Plagal Grind EP already!” – […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Dead C – Operation Of The Sonne
$21.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “The weird, undersung cousin of Tusk & The White House. Operation Of The Sonne is the closest Dead C’s gotten to touching on the […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Indie / Alternative -
Hayden Pedigo – The Happiest Times I Ever Ignored
$26.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Beautiful instrumental acoustic guitar for late-summer relaxing. Hayden Pedigo has a great touch for crafting melodies and setting atmospheres.” – [...]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Technical Space Composer’s Crew – Canaxis 5
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Holger Czukay & Rolf Dammers getting so wild. Stockhausen zoned experimental. Incredibly various and musical. ‘Shook Eyes Ammunition’ is the best song title ever.” [...]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
DAF – Alles Ist Gut
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “An incredibly cold & efficient record that still rips hard 40 years later.” – Cleo Many things have been said about this band: they […]
GENRE: Industrial / Power Electronics, Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth -
Twink – You Reached For The Stars: The Best Of Twink (Violet Vinyl)
$25.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Wild British psych from Twink, of Pretty Things and Pink Fairies. His Think Pink record is classic, and this combines a number of tracks […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Jackie Mclean – Capuchin Swing
$18.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “McLean is the man. 1960 bebop chiller, and a good starting point for his vast catalog. He’s well worth diving into deeply, mid to […]
GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz -
David Axelrod – Earth Rot
$18.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “My favorite of Axelrod’s works. The Warning Talk Pt. 1 starts the record off with a bright opening, it feels like the sun is […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych, Rock / Pop -
Magnus Jäverling – Bowdark
$22.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Feels and sounds like a real movie score. For fans of electronic music sounds.” – Jack Bowdark is the name of a fictitious town […]
GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Equipment Pointed Ankh – Downtown! LP
$22.00 | LP Add to cartShips prior to release date of 9/29/2023. What our staff has to say: “‘Kentucky Kraut Rock’ If you are not yet familiar with EPA, please make it a point to […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Colin Andrew Sheffield – Images
$15.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Gorgeous ambient soundscapes through manipulated samples of jazz records. While the source material is mostly unrecognizable, completely repurposed into amorphous [...]
GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Herbie Hancock – Takin’ Off (Blue Note 80th Anniversary Edition)
$28.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Early Hancock album. His first acoustic version of Watermelon Man. A 1962 Blue note album through and through.” – Jack In honor of Blue […]
GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz -
VA – Revolutions Per Minute (The Art Record)
$20.00 | 2xLP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Originally released in 1982 and now available from Song Cycle Records, Revolutions Per Minute (The Art Record) showcases 3 to 5 minute sound pieces […]
GENRE: Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Faust – S/T
$29.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “The first Faust record still hits the hardest. The warped sample of All You Need Is Love is still just as startling. Absolute best” […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Alternative TV – Vibing Up The Senile Man
$21.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartPossibly one of the weirdest experiments in the post-punk realm, Vibing Up the Senile Man (Part One) is the second studio album by English anti-heroes Alternative TV, originally released in […]
GENRE: Post-Punk / Goth / Darkwave / Minimal Synth -
Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965
$25.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Previously unreleased early demos of some of most beloved Velvet Underground songs, played by Lou and John with their guitars and nothing else. You […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych, Rock / Pop -
Alan Licht, Charles Curtis, & Dean Roberts – May 99
$19.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Live set from 1999, from Alan Licht (gtr), Charles Curtis (cello), and Dean Roberts (electronics). Great electro-acoustic drone!” – Jon In the spring [...]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise -
Alan Licht and John Krausbauer – Self Titled 7″
$12.00 | 7" Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Insane amplified violin shredding on top of electric guitar on A side – I’ve never heard a violin sounding like that, blending completely with […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Albert Ayler – Europe 1966 (RSD)
$125.00 | Box Set, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Lovely boxset of select dates from Ayler’s 1966 Euro tour. Live material from this tour has been dug up over the years, most notably […]
GENRE: Jazz / Fusion / Free Jazz -
XV – On The Creekbeds On The Thrones
$16.00 | LP Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Psycho garage jammers XV with an incredible LP of mangled rock. 10/10 Beyond measure, it’s a perfect album. Disjointed jangle garage stoner thrift midnight […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Einstürzende Neubauten – Live At Rockpalast 1990
$7.00 | CD-R Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Nasty live 1990 bootleg CDr from Neubauten.” – Alex CDr packaged with fold over cover in polybag. When the band Einstürzende Neubauten was being […]
GENRE: Industrial / Power Electronics -
Shirese – Rose Of Smiling Faces LP
$23.00 | LP Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “If the almighty Grapefruit Records has a hand in it, you know it’s going to be good. Killer psyched out rock very reminiscent of […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Auntie Pus – Halfway to Venezuela b/w Marmalade Freak (Pink Vinyl)
$10.00 | 7" Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Leave it for General Speech to show you something you’ve never heard of. This time it’s Auntie Pus. Early UK punk, friends and contemporaries […]
GENRE: Punk / Hardcore -
V/A – Sound
$24.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Etats-Unis (Superior Viaduct’s more experimental reissue label) had a recent LAFMS drop (Smegma, ID Art #2, Blorp Esette Volume One, and the La Forte […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Modern Composition / Musique Concrete / Electronic -
Beat Happening – Black Candy
$23.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Some records should never go out of print, Beat Happening’s output is a staple of indie rock. Glad these are available again, for now.” […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Beat Happening – Jamboree
$23.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Indian Summer is one of the best songs to ever come from the PNW. Thank you Calvin Johnson.” – Dan Produced by Steve Fisk, […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Parson Sound – S/T
$60.00 | Box Set, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Unreal to think this came out in the 60’s. Sounds like the heaviest side of psych possible (think something closer to Earth) but with […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World
$31.00 | 2xLP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Absolutely floored by this, feels like it’s already 20 years old. Everything from the recording to the writing feels genuine for YLT and the […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Roky Erickson & The Explosives – Live At The Whisky 1981 (Grey Marble Vinyl)
$26.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Roky is the greatest of all time. Live recording rock records are usually a pretty big pass for me, but this one is great […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
The 12th Annual International Sound Poetry Festival – Boxset & Book
$85.00 | Book, CS Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Almost 5 hours of recordings from the 12th Annual International Sound Poetry Festival on 4 cassettes and including a lovely 240 page book documenting […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise -
Faust – The Faust Tapes
$27.00 | LP Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Meant to be more of a promotional album on being signed to Virgin Records and only costing the amount of a single, this one […]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych -
Matthew J Rolin – Passing
$22.00 | LP Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “I’m a big fan of Matthew Rolin’s guitar style, and this recent record is stunning. Each track is a dense, glimmering passage of fingerstyle […]
GENRE: Folk / Country -
Stereolab – Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements
$35.00 | Box Set, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “One of the best Stereolab records to zone out to in my opinion. I’ve definitely gotten lost in my thoughts to the droning masterpiece […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Unica Zurn – The Man of Jasmine & Other Texts
$24.00 | Book, Print Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “A unique and disturbing memoir from an underread surrealist master” – Cleo Anagram play meets psychic crisis in Unica Zürn’s acclaimed [...]
GENRE: Memoir, Weird Fiction/Sci-Fi/Unexplained Phenomena -
Missouri Williams – The Doloriad
$17.00 | Book, Print Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “An amazing and dark first novel about the different forms that humanity and perseverance can take. Probably the best and most troubling book I […]
GENRE: Weird Fiction/Sci-Fi/Unexplained Phenomena -
Edgar Froese – Aqua
$30.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Froese’s first solo album reissued for RSD, a completely immersive electronic experience of pulsating synths and library music-like atmospheres. He creates [...]
GENRE: Art Rock / Krautrock / Prog / Psych, Experimental / Noise -
Equipment Pointed Ankh – Changing Legs
$10.00 | CD Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “EPA return with a disc of duos. I would say this is a good disc for all Improv Heads, Kraut Rock Dropouts, & Kentucky […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise -
Alan Licht – Three Chords and a Sword: Solo Cover Versions 1988-2021
$12.00 | CD, CD Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Nobody could make Van Halen sound pretty but Alan Licht.” – Cleo Three Chords and a Sword is a collection of eight cover songs […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise, Indie / Alternative -
Chronophage – S/T
$20.00 | LP, Vinyl Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “Chronophage is one of those bands that I will forever be interested in their output. This most recent record feels like a small departure […]
GENRE: Indie / Alternative -
Fuxter Schittly – “1998 – 1999 God Particles”
$10.00 | CD, CD Add to cartWhat our staff has to say: “An excellent example that we have no real grasp on what is going on around us. In a world of fake news and discordianism, […]
GENRE: Experimental / Noise